#I want to make a more “sketchy” design sheet for him

[nomadicrusalka]

AAaAaahhh there's a 100 of us here already!! This is awesome and I just wanted to take a moment to say, I appreciate everyone on here that's been supporting my art! It's all very sweet and honestly, tumblr continues to be one of my favourite platform to post art on

And now pls help me choose what I should draw next sjsjs

[demigod-of-the-agni]

question about your incredibly cool looking httyd ninjago! i noticed lloyds arm looked a little sketchy in one of the drawings, and he had this metal covering in the one beneath it. but the character design sheet in another post had his arm look fine. instead of toothless losing his tail fin, did lloyd just lose a whole arm, and kai forged him a new one?

Ahah, yep! Lloyd was out and about before he was smacked into the ground and lost an arm, though I’m still working out the thematic kinks with this. Due to plot reasons, Kai makes him another arm because in the First Realm, losing limbs isn’t unheard of and fairly common, and prosthesis-making is an art much like 'smithing 😉 this will raise more questions I’m sure

The character design sheet was more so me wanting to figure out how I wanted the characters to look, so it’s not supposed to strictly represent anything that had happened to Kai or Lloyd at that point. The actual timeline for Lloyd losing his arm is pretty vague, even for me, haha, BUT we'll get somewhere soon!

[justablah56]

*sighs* tell me about your fursona /lh /pos

ok first off- Vik is that you 👁️👁️ you're the only one who I know has seen my fursona recently sbjsjdjs either that or it's rae who saw it on your blog and didn't interact w it so I wouldn't think it was him if they went on anon lmao- but methinks its vik

okay now I'm gonna actually answer- bUT INSERT THAT ONE ENTRAPTA MEME- THE "IVE WAITED Y E A R S FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ABOUT MY THEORIES" YEAH THATS ME RN- anon I am looking at you with my big ol autistic eyes that are sparkling with this 10 minute unstoppable rant that is about to occur (✧⁠ω⁠✧⁠)

SO ! ampen right ? my little guy ? my baby girl ? my beloved ? I'm gonna talk mostly abt their physical design than their other details bcs I have more notes abt their physical appearance than anything :]

I have no idea what they are, I kinda just started drawing her abhdjsjsj but I think the two most notable animals he could conceivably be are probably a fox and a dragon of some sort (original I know) however I do want to give an honorable mention to my first draft of them, bcs goddamn I changed a lot abt her bsjdhsjjs. at first he was just completely a dog but I decided to give them those 3 fingered claw/hoof things, here's the very sketchy guy herself who inspired Ampen:

yeah snndjsn basically the only thing that stayed the same was the vague color scheme and the "hooves" changed from the hands to the feet. a lot of ampens physical design was just cool things I saw in other fursuits that I thought would be cool, like I just loooove the hoof feet, they look v cool and I just like them a lot, so I included them ! (I didn't in my first real drawing of ampen but then I did on their character sheet) same with the tail, I'm p sure at the time of ampens actual creation I had recently seen a dragon fursuit with that kind of tail and was obsessed with it, I tried so many different tails for him and none of them were looking quite right until I tried their current tail, and I love it . the dragon bit also comes out in her muzzle, it's a bit more pointed and sharp than a canine muzzle would be, again mostly just bcs I think it looks neat :] and I knew I wanted my fursona to have big ol ears from the very beginning, I didn't put them on ampen-rough-draft bcs I didn't start with the intent for him to be my fursona sbjdjdjs but anyways- the fur pattern took me a while to come up with, I started with just vague splotches of color in random spots, messed around with specific colors, I don't think I decided on the pink stitch mark things until like- the very end dnjsjjd I have no idea where I came up with it , I was just trying random things and hoping they looked right lmao-

I gave them glasses bcs . I have glasses . and I think it's cute and there aren't enough furrys with glasses :3 then added the piercings bcs I think they look cool and that's really it bajshjejskwks

anyways , now for the couple things that aren't visible on a drawing, I imagine her being like 5'4 MAX , he's pretty short . mostly bcs I am v short and plan to actually make ampen, and that's a height I could realistically get to accounting for the ears hdjwjdjjejdke anyways, I don't really have many other little facts about them since they're basically just me personality-wise, so make of that what you will ! I will however GLADLY answer more specific questions if you (or anyone else 👀) have them bcs it will give me an excuse to come up with answers abhdjsjdjsjjd

anyways- this is all to say that I'm in love with Ampens design and I really should draw him more often and also probably just develop them more tbh- BUT ! ty v much anon for enabling me to ramble about Ampen, they're my most specialest little guy and I love her <33

[lboogie1906]

“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27 NIV “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.” Joel 2:12, 25, 32 NIV “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” 2 Timothy 2:15-16 NIV God has created everything that you will ever encounter, He knows the answer to every question you will ever ask. He is the great I am. He is a true miracle worker. So why not trust him with your life, your dreams, and your hopes? God wants to be your number 1, he is already your Day 1, return to God and he will restore you to your designed purpose. Make God the true architect of your life. Today put God on your to-do list, as the number 1 priority. Seek God. Study the Word of God for yourself. Godly living is a test, not a quiz, stop preparing for sections or using cheat sheets. Read the whole Bible so you know the history. There are many "experts" on parts of the Bible but few scholars of the whole Bible. Avoid sectionalists, their research is sketchy and subjective. Do not take just one scripture, read before and after. Ask God to reveal His truth and increase your knowledge. When you know better you do better. Seek God FIRST, study His Word, pray, praise, worship, repent, listen, celebrate, meditate, observe, believe, ask, surrender, fellowship, forgive, give, and be grateful and obedient. https://www.instagram.com/p/Co2N1sdrJIj/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[vargaslovinghours]

Lucky number seven 🎲✨ (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6)

Oh yeah btw there is a considerable amount of Edgar/Scriabin this time around so like - look out for that I guess lol

[MAY9] Thinking about healing plane Edgar had me very excited, big anticipation and looking forward to seeing him hehe ♪

[MAY16] I didn’t plan for it, but Incoming was basically the prototype of trying out minicomics with sketchier panels - it was a good start! You can also see more of the panel differences in the stream itself, Nny’s hair probably being the biggest one haha

[MAY16] Speaking of - since Scriabin’s expression was central to this panel, it’s interesting to me to see the original draft vs. the final version

[MAY18] I ended up with this mini in multiple stages of completion because I was struggling with it which made for some interesting progression-style gifs!

[MAY18]  I think this one was definitely the most extreme out of all the panels, just pop! There they are

[JUN8] Shy Lady!Edgar ♥ Too hot out to wear much, but too embarrassed to show off ✨

[JUN8] Lady!Scriabin getting into mischief she shouldn’t and bothering Edgar, the usual. I love writing out keysmashes, there’s something very funny about it to me

[JUN13] Mwah mwah mwah, so many hearts and happies 💕

[JUN14] And Also With You hands ♥ I made myself a little cheat sheet of the order the shackles attached themselves, I wanted to make an injury index as well but couldn’t swing it, maybe next time

[JUN14] A set of Vargas-style eye expressions! Specifically Edgar, or at least his body

[JUN14] A couple of pleading and contrite Edgars; got the image specifically as a spacefiller, it all worked out exactly as planned haha

[JUN29] I wasn’t kidding, I was very 👀✨💕 about his shirt riding up lol

[JUL2] Possibly the best bonewings I’ve drawn so far, I almost wish they were more of the focus haha. Well they are here! Central and important ✨

[JUL17] I still so love how goofy Demon!Scriabin is, casual and light! Doodling him spinning his tail was fun ♪

[JUL2] They still fight like cats and dogs, natural enemies and counterparts. The chains are just an additional directional tool, it’s all in the utilization

[JUL9] The aforementioned sketchy scratchy minicomic project, finally in full swing! The first one had them quietly interested and in agreement ♪

[JUL9] Well, at first anyway haha

[JUL9] They just can’t help themselves ♥

[JUL9] He’s baby your honour

[JUL17] No one likes a peeping tom, Scriabin!

[JUL17] Come run away with me to a convent with only a bunch of other women come onnnnn, we can totally pretend to just be devout about it ♥

[JUL17] What was I watching, I think it was an r/sapphoandherfriend video and there was a statue of two topless ladies kissing in the background of a failed proposal of a gentleman to the lady who owned said statue lol; an extremely cute pose on top of the environmental storytelling haha

[JUL17] More kisses, sleepy, fuzzy, out-of-it kisses

[JUL18] This was meant to be the original shape of Scriabin’s sheer shawl(?) in the digital Drider doodles but I unfortunately combined the layers before I meant to :’) At least I got to draw it here! Spiderweb design 🕸

[JUL18] @lunavos​ made mention of Scriabin holding onto Edgar with all his spare legs and mentally I was like “Funny you should say that-” haha, I’d only drawn as much maybe a day or so beforehand!

[JUL18] Just rests his entire body weight onto his oh so helpless human victim ♪

[JUL19] Continuing the trend of starting and then just not finishing pose ideas lol, I ended up losing steam because I think I had dialogue in mind? But I didn’t write anything down so I don’t actually remember :’D Floating Scriabin is always fun tho ♪

[JUL25] Not art, but I jumped back into Tomodachi Life for like, five seconds to quickly make an Edgar Mii because it is my mission to make the Vargases in as many character-customizable/life sims as possible. Unfortunately I literally only had one apartment left open so no Scriabin this time around :( Let’s just say this is while he’s still hanging out in Edgar’s head; I have given him at least one speech line to indicate that Edgar’s talking to him in there lol

[JUL29] It doesn’t count as long as you declare it first! I’m quite pleased with Scriabin’s expression in the second panel, cute ♥

[JUL28] Felt very inspired by WASU_ART’s extremely cute paper dolls and made a base ♪ Does it defeat the purpose of a live-action animation tool if I make a vector with a static pose? Hmmm

[JUL30] What you mean you don’t just casually draw softcore at the library using their scrap paper and pens? I made sure I was away from any potentially bothered eyes lol dw

[JUL30] A healing plane Scriabin for a warmup, what a floof <3

[AUG1] Another panel from the scratch project, I’m so amused with how his face turned out lol

[AUG1] Kiss-dip Edgar, it’s a good way to trick him into hugging him/holding onto him for dear life

[AUG1] And, done! What do I win? Even for just a sketch, I’m quite pleased with the depth on his shaded arm haha

[AUG1] I unfortunately had to scrap this one because I wrote down a specific injury and then forgot it when I went to draw, so it’s more like an offshoot of Restful Dreams - the expressions still turned out nice tho so here they are ✨

[AUG1] Scriabin yelling at a very aggressive scribble, I mean Shmee. Poor Todd, trying to play peacekeeper between them ♥

[AUG1] He just completely deflates in water, amazing ✨ It’s always fun to draw soaked-over-the-head stuff, it’s so silly haha

[AUG5] A handsome Edgar in a nice jacket and turtleneck combo - even tho he was drawn in Summer, just gotta give that Autumnal vibe

[AUG5] How many doubles would Edgar realistically need or have? Time to go thrifting for the less obvious necessities!

[AUG5] A brushed and put-together Scriabin taunting Edgar into fluster? He’s just too handsome, right?

[AUG5] A digital Scriabin that I had a lot of fun with the composition of - the string comes from offscreen and cuts him off like a panel but it’s not a panel! Magic ✨

[AUG6] Scriabin has Edgar’s attention taken away from him for two seconds and he gets So Mad about it haha

[AUG6] Cornered and kissed, what a terrible fate 💕

[AUG6] Ladies do be shopping tho. They’re so tall! They must get asked to pull stuff off the top shelves all the time

[AUG6] If ever chocolate was an essential item, it would be now

[AUG7] Don’t pick on Edgar, she doesn’t always think through her statements! Just because that makes it easy to twist her words!

[AUG7] Hugs ♥ Hugs for Edgar ♥ Time for Scriabin cuddles ♥ No hope of escape ♥

[AUG7] Exit, pursued by Scriabin. You can’t hide from him, Edgar!

[AUG7] Now poke me back

[AUG7] Maybe if you stopped being mean to each other you wouldn’t keep being mad at each other? No? Okay cool

[AUG9] An Eros and Apollo-style Scriabin, specifically based on the frame around 0:53 - super fluffy! And oddly sludgy (And definitely not at all inspired by the post that introduced me to this song in the first place, Scriabin could never be described as egoistic! Lol)

[AUG12] A mini I don’t plan to finish, but it’s still cute

[AUG12] Come on, Edgar, you know he’s playing you

[AUG12] So excited ♪

[AUG12] Y’know Edgar, I think that might have been a trick actually

[AUG12] Seeing something he shouldn’t be seeing! You know the verse about plucking out one’s eye if it causes you to sin? Does that mean his main, already blank eyes or...?

[AUG13] I cut the punchline ‘cause it gives away the entire joke, but I do love Edgar’s sleepy indignance and Scriabin’s *scandalized gasp* lol

[AUG13] Out using a library computer perhaps, got a lot of studying to do

[AUG13] “I was way faster when I was a computer!”

[AUG13] Scriabin and Jake discussing stuff that Edgar’s too uncomfortable with ♪ There’s so much to learn!

[AUG15] I really like the composition of this one hehe

[AUG15] I ended up scrapping this pose but her face really did turn out very cute ♥

[AUG15] Lady snuggles ♥ Scriabin’s close to listening to her heart 💕

[AUG20] Was struck with the image of them holding each other’s chibi counterparts -  they’re both so round and tiny!

[AUG21] What ended up being a single panel continuation of Outgoing, he’s gotta be in there somewhere!

[AUG22] Ladyverse Biblical Vargases 💕✨ What no I don’t already have a song picked out specifically for them you can’t prove anything

[AUG22] Casually sloppy Lady!Scriabin ✨ An open pose is very cute

[AUG25] Uncomfortable Edgar, inching away so as not to alert the invitation-extender :)

[SEP17] Somebody asking him about his scars just one too many times, can’t believe this was inspired by Spamton of all things lol

[SEP17] If he can smell “sad” you better believe he can smell other things too ♪ I’ve written down Edgar saying “That’s not a smell” more than once, why do I find it so funny lol

[SEP20] Guess what someone was doing right outside our window :)

[SEP20] Confrontation?? No way! But Scriabin knew that haha ♪

So that’s the end of May through September! A few different kinds of styles, digital stuff, longer projects - branching out :0 It’s fun to see :D

[vixkoidy]

Hello ppl of Tumblr, it is I, someone who hasn't used this app in forever!

I come baring the gifts of sbi + beeduo dragon au !!

I feel like I just wanna explain it all in one post and if you happen to follow me for more I can answer any questions y'all have!!

First- character relationship sheet for SBI!

Techno not trusting Phil?!? The horror!

Well you see, Techno, Wil, and Tommy have been living on their own together for ages. They world they live in is unkind to dragons, making them out to be demons when rlly they don't want their homes destroyed.

Phil is an ex dragon hunter who is only still alive cause of the healer pendant she left behind when she left years ago. Techno and Wilbur are desperate enough to let him heal Tommy- who has fallen I'll (he's always been sickly when he was younger).

Yes, they would all die for Tommy :)

Heres sketchy size chart-

They all have human forms unless stated otherwise :D

Heres younger Tommy human with current Techno :)

They're traveling to what's called the Safe Haven, it's over mountains said to be made made by gods- if you get over them a safe haven for dragons can be found. It's a dangerous trip, even for flying dragons.

Dragon sbi never took the journey as Tommy was always to sick. They have no choice now the he's relapsed- they can't go back to where they were hiding before, they have to continue forward. Which means kidnapping Phil to have him help take care of Tommy as a healer.

Beeduo

Honestly these fuckers should get a spin off of their own story cause it's wild.

To put it simply, Ranboo was imprisoned, Tubbo set him free and now they're besties. Platonic soulmates if you will. Bonded for life.

Tubbo is now a self proclaimed dragon rider

Micheal is here as well :D undead dragon bb they picked up from smugglers (after kicking their ass).

Anyway I'm fairly certain that's all I have for now, I'm planning out the ch for a fic currently :D

Have the rough Wilbur dragon design for your troubles.

[janaeekook]

Incapable ii. || {myg}

“You cant love Min Yoongi, he doesn’t know how to love. Or care for that matter. You’ll just end up getting hurt.”

pairing: assassin!yoongi x reader

word count: 2.4k

warnings: - mafia - depictions of death -

series masterlist

ii.

"This morning I received this." Namjoon spoke handing his phone around the room.

Unknown- You spill our blood, we spill yours.

"That's for rat face?" You asked,

"Has to be." Jin spoke.

"Taehyung do you think you could pull information from it?" Namjoon asked the tired looking, fluffy haired boy.

"I can try." He took the phone starting to get to work on it.

"Alright, Y/n, Jimin, get A-team together, gather as much information as possible." You both nodded, heading to the east wing to retrieve the 4 members of the A-team, Jeonghan, Jen, Win, and Kai. The members of army bowed to us as we entered, heading to the common room were you found the 4 sitting on the couch.

"Y/n, Jimin." Jeonghan stood quickly bowing which the rest of them followed.

"There's no need for formalities with me." You chuckled hugging him and Kai, You turned to Jen trapping her in a hug, Win who stood next to her smiled at you before you also gave him a hug, "I hope you've all been well, Namjoon gave us a casual intelligence mission."

Jimin handed Jeonghan a manila folder, his eyes skimmed over the pages before his eyes flicked back up to Jimin, "Is this all we have?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Taehyung is working on gathering more remotely, but they're good, they know how to cover their tracks." Jeonghan nodded at Jimin’s words before handing the folder to the other three.

"The Russian mafia? Why would they be in Seoul?" Win asked.

"Wouldnt be much of a mission if we knew right?" You jokingly poked fun at Win, He punched your arm lightly.

"Lets get going as soon as possible, we dont want to waste anytime." Kai said handing the folder back to Jimin.

Jeonghan nodded, "10 minutes, we'll meet at the entrance."

•

You tied your hair back and away from your face before leaving your room and heading for the main staircase, but the second you stepped into the hallway you collided with someone's chest.

The hands gripping your hips lingering longer than they should, the tips of the fingers constricting ever so slightly into your hips. You looked up your breath catching in your throat Yoongi's cold eyes stared back into your own, cheeks ablaze. Your skin all too aware of how he was holding onto your sides before they fell away.

"Uh, sorry." You hurried quickly away from him and down the stairs, not wishing him to know how much power he had over you. Or better yet read you like a book and know you'd fantasized about his hands on you the night before.

Yoongi watched you scurry down the steps. He had felt you shrink beneath his solid gaze, He felt you melt in his grasp, He had felt the control he had over you the brief moment you were in his hands and deep down he wanted more though he'd never admit it.

Jeonghan handed you an earpiece, you put it in your ear before going over the plan, "We're starting downtown dont draw attention to yourselves, you can't forget we're still highly wanted suspects by the government, and keep your eyes open. Understand?"

"Loud and clear." Jen said.

Jimin spoke next, "Alright, Kai and myself will be together, then with Y/n and Jeonghan, Jen and Win do you think you can handle yourselves on your own?" The two only nodded, they were experienced and used to working alone anyway.

You looked to your side peering up at Win, he glanced down at you and smiled. You all did a special handshake you made up years ago in training before heading out the door.

"Hey," a voice stopped you in your tracks, you turned around to see Jungkook, he wore a low V-neck shirt which exposed his tattoos that designed his neck and chest; complimenting  the sleeve running down his right arm. You told the others you'd be right out and turned your attention to Jungkook. He was a very attractive young man, you had found yourself tangled up in sheets with him on more than one occasion but nothing had ever been made official, it was more of a stress reliever than anything.

"Hey." You said with a smile which he quickly returned.

"Be safe alright?" He told you.

"Always am." This caused him to smile wider, before pressing a soft kiss on your forehead, and without another word you made your way out the door to join the team.

"What's up with that?" Win looked to you with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Jungkook?"

"Its nothing." You said with a smile, playfully punching his arm.

"Hey just looking out for you." He said flashing you another priceless smile before climbing into the vehicle. You sighed, following after him.

•

It had been 2 hours since you started to search, you walked around the streets with Jeonghan. He was quite a bit taller than you, he wore a baseball cap that shadowed his face, a man bun tied at the base of his neck due to his long hair.

"That man, all black straight a head." He suddenly stated, his eyes narrowing at the suspicious looking man.

"You got something?" Jen's voice came through the ear piece.

"We're on the main road, it's a bit crowded but I've got my eyes on him, we'll tail him." Jeonghan said, the man was thin, if his behavior weren't so odd you'd probably look right over him. "He just turned left at the bbq shop, he seems to be headed towards the docks."

"Headed that way." Win spoke.

You and Jeonghan reached the corner the man had turned down, Kai and Jimin were there as well. Jeonghan looked around the corner before waving us on.

"Keep your guards up." You spoke in a hushed tone. We all continued down the rather quiet road compared to the bustling road you'd just come from, the dock ahead was old and rundown unlike central ports. An abandoned factory you'd assumed, stood at the end of it, all the windows boarded, moss stretching up the old concrete and rusted metal.

"Well that's not sketchy." Jimin stated from behind you.

"Spread out, surround the perimeter see if there's anything of concern." You suggested and everyone nodded continuing forward before splitting to circle the aged building, Win stayed at the front watching over the building and studying the main entrance.

You walked around, Jeonghan still at your side, The sloshing of the ocean to your right and the monstrous building to your left.

"Anything?" Kai asked through the ear piece.

"Negative, Jen?" Jeonghan said.

"Nothing here."

"It doesn't make sense for there to be nothing, circle back around to Win. Win you have anything at the front?" Jeonghan asked, he was answered with silence, "Win, do you copy?" His question was met with another chilling silence. A blood curdling scream came from the direction we had come, you and Jeonghan looked at each other before taking off in a sprint.

You found Jen on her knees sobbing in front of Win, blood spilled from his throat staining his shirt before it seeped into the fine cracks of the concrete around him, forever stained a rusty red puddled that began to encircle his head. Your stomach lurched at the sight, the choked noises as he tried to find his breath but only finding his blood which was suffocating him slowly. An odd looking weapon still stuck in his chest, ungodly amounts of blood spilling from his fatal wounds, you felt frozen as he choked on his own blood. What could you do? Could you do anything? You felt utterly hopeless, fear clawing at the back of your mind, you didn't want to lose someone else, but what could you do?

You willed yourself to move but your feet didn't budge, Jens hands frantically trying to cover his wounds, to cease the blood from evading his body. Your eyes finally met his, softening upon seeing you, you'd bet you'd looked rather like a deer in headlights. His lips shook as he continually struggled for breath, but he managed to quirk them upwards the slightest bit, as if to tell you it was ok before you watched in horror and unexplainable helplessness as his eyes rolled back into his head, his chest no longer rising and falling, in an attempt to take in stuttered uneven breaths.

"No." You whispered, not wanting to believe the sight before you.

"No." It couldn't be Win.

"No." There was no way he could be dead.

Your mind couldn't process it; that he now laid there, no light, no life behind his eyes. Gone. Warmth fading from his skin.

Jen wrapped her arms around his body, You took stumbled steps towards her pulling her up into your chest, She continued to sob, gripping at the back of your shirt with her blood stained hands. Win had been with us for as long as you could remember, you stared at his pale face before allowing a single tear to fall. You looked around for any sign of the person who'd taken your friends life.

"I-Its my fault! I-I sh-should've stayed with him." Jen cried into your chest, you closed your eyes more tears slipping over your cheeks.

"No, Its not your fault. None of us could've known." You spoke softly into her ear, stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her down. When in reality your mind was just as frantic as hers, you mind begging for Wins eyes to open and tell you he was alright.

But he wasn't, the blood being evidence to that. It was real. Painfully, brutally real.

"We need to get him out of here." You told Jimin still holding onto Jen.

"I'll call Jungkook." Jimin said, his face seemed as shocked as the rest of us. No one had ever been able to sneak up on Win before or land an attack on their own, the person who did this had to have been very skilled.

•

You sat silently in the passenger seat, Jungkook driving. When Jimin had called him he thought it had been you that got hurt, although he was relieved, he had just lost another brilliant gunman. It was only the two of you in the car, the others had been taken in another one.

"You alright?" He finally broke the silence, his tone was soft.

"Ya, nothing I haven't seen before." You bit the inside of your cheek, trying desperately to bite back the tears that threatened to spill.

"It was Win, y/n." His tone dropped lower, you didn't want to respond for fear of your voice breaking. When you joined, you spent most of your time with Win, Jeonghan, Jen and Kai. They were your best friends and they got you through a lot.

It was quiet the rest of the way home, when Jungkook pulled up you jumped out walking up the steps and pushing the door open. You headed straight for the stairs not acknowledging the eyes of everyone on you as you came through the door.

"Y/n." You looked over your shoulder to see Jungkook and the others looking at you, "Where are you going?"

"Bed."

"It's 3 o'clock, Y/n." His tone remained soft.

"I'm tired." You stated, mentally cursing at yourself for allowing your voice to break. You hurried up the steps and to your room, shutting the door behind you and sliding down the dark wood as your body shook with each silent sob that racked your body.

•

"Y/n? Why didn't you save me?" The blood ran from his throat, soaking his all white clothing in dark crimson.

"I-I'm Sorry."

"Do you know what it feels like to have your throat slit?"

"N-no."

"Maybe I should show you then-"

You screamed yourself awake, it carried through the whole house. Hot tears spilled down your cheeks as you sobbed, the crown of your head littered with beads of sweat as anxiety ripped at you. The door to your bedroom swung open. Jungkook was the first one in followed by your brother and the others. Namjoon's eyes softened at the sight of you, he hurried over pulling you into a hug.

"Shhh, it's ok." He caressed you're hair in a soothing way.

"J-joonie, it was awful."

"It was just a dream, you're safe." He whispered, you looked over his shoulder, everyone's faces filled with worry, even Yoongi. You let your glistening eyes linger on his, "Get some rest ok?" Namjoon asked, pulling himself away from the embrace, you grabbed his wrist.

"Stay."

He sighed, "I've got work to do, y/n." You pouted.

"I can stay." Jungkook spoke from behind Namjoon, who now looked at Jungkook questioningly, "I'll watch over her."

"Is that alright?" Namjoon turned whispering to you, You nodded, he gave your hand a squeeze and smiled sadly at you. He remembered you getting nightmares when you were younger, and having to hold you until you fell back asleep, he wished he could be there for you like back then but his work called. He lead everyone out of the room to continue their prior activities. When the door had shut Jungkook immediately climbed into the bed next to you, propping his elbow on the pillow next to yours, resting his head in his hand.

"You alright?" He asked, you laid on your back staring at the ceiling.

"It was just a bad dream." You told him, not wanting to elaborate. He simply hummed in understanding, "did you get any information off the weapon?" You asked quietly fiddling with the sheets in your hand.

"We don't have to talk about that, y/n." He spoke soothingly.

"I want to know, Jungkook, please." You turned your head to look him in the eye, letting him know you were serious.

"Well, while you were asleep, I began to analyze it. It's an oddly shaped knife, the letters N-C-T were carved into the handle. They seemingly want us to know who they are, but the question we're trying to figure out now is, why?"

"N-C-T? Who are they?" You questioned but Jungkook shrugged.

"Beats me, they seem to be another group and we can't underestimate them anymore," He spoke as he played with the ends of your hair, "You should get some more sleep."

You nodded, though deep down you knew you'd wouldnt be able to fall back asleep; That your subconscious would only torment you. He put his arm around your body, your mind wandering, feeling miles away from your physical body. The thoughts left in your mind turned over again and again; Who was NCT? What are they looking for? What are they trying to prove?

taglist: @art-myg @hwaddict @ahgasearmyfan @gee-nee @janeelizabeth1216 @elliegrace1999tvd @sunnynxy @boba-king-iroh @deathkat657

[ineverlookavvay]

mirror, mirror on the wall

Michael helps Alex see how mirrors can be hot when they stop in a mirror-filled honeymoon suite at a roadside motel.

Fill for Kinktober Day 19: mirror sex, and Day 20: cream pie

contains: anal sex, oral sex, emotional sex

Read it on Ao3

“Wow.”  Alex stopped in the doorway of the motel room, blinking.  “This is…a lot.”  He stepped inside the room, letting Michael filter in after him, both of them standing just inside, looking around.  

Michael laughed, grinning widely.  “Well, it is the honeymoon suite.” 

Alex rolled his eyes.  They were coming back from what was supposed to be a day trip that had gone longer than expected, so they’d stopped at the least sketchy-looking roadside motel for the night.  And then had been informed by the humorless front desk attendant that the only room available at such last minute notice was the honeymoon suite, which of course came with a surcharge, and was way at the end of the row of rooms.  

With nothing else to do, both of them exhausted, they’d agreed to the overpriced room.  But now that Alex was seeing it in person, he wasn’t sure they hadn’t made a mistake.  A really, really mirror-filled mistake.  

The room wasn’t fancy, but it was clearly someone’s misguided attempt at romance.  The bed in the middle of the room was circular, covered in red and white sheets.  There was an open bathroom with a curtain instead of a door, and a reasonably sized bathtub.  The problem was that the walls on either side of the bed were covered in bright, sparkling mirrors, reflecting the bed back and forth in an endless loop.  And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the ceiling above the bed was also covered in mirrored paneling.  

“How does anyone feel comfortable sleeping here?” Alex asked as they stepped further into the room and the door swung shut behind them.  Michael walked over to the bed, pressing down on it to assess the quality, and beamed at himself in the mirror.  

“It’s not that bad.  Plus,” Michael strode back over to Alex and wrapped his arms around Alex’s waist, “I doubt this one was designed with sleep in mind.”

Alex laughed.  “Yeah, I guess.”  He looked around the room skeptically again.  “Just—who wants to see themselves reflected back on every side, regardless of what they’re doing.”

“Listen,” Michael said, leaning in and catching Alex’s mouth in a kiss that was not nearly as chaste as Alex was expecting, “mirrors can be hot.”

“Well, sorry to disagree, but this is way past hot and well onto fun house.”  Alex squirmed out of his embrace, opening the closet to see if there was an extra blanket or something that they could put up over the mirrors.  He pulled a tiny blanket out, holding it up skeptically to examine the length.  

Michael slipped up behind him, wrapping his arms around Alex’s waist from behind, pulling Alex close against him and pressing kisses against the side of Alex’s neck.  “Give it a chance.  Maybe you’ll be surprised.”  

Alex hummed, and Michael smiled against his neck, running his hands lightly over Alex’s chest and stomach.  Alex didn’t think he would change his mind about hating the mirrors, but maybe if they turned all of the lights off and just didn’t look around, it would be fine.  It had been a long day, and he was tired, but Michael’s touch was convincing, and Alex’s cock was starting to take an interest.  And really, Michael was right—the honeymoon suite was made for things other than sleep, and it would just be rude to not fuck Michael in it. 

“Okay,” Alex said, reaching behind him to stroke his hand through Michael’s hair.  “Get on the bed and we can find out.”  Michael made a pleased noise and Alex felt it reverberate through him.  “But we’re turning off the lights.” 

“One light,” Michael argued as he let go of Alex and started walking back towards the bed.  He flicked off the light switches with his mind, leaving on the one next to the bed, which had more of a golden glow than the harsh ceiling lights.  “See?  Totally sets the mood.”  Alex smiled as Michael started stripping off his shirt and jeans, tossing them onto a chair that Alex would absolutely not be allowing either of them to sit on.  

Michael sat back on the bed, looking at Alex expectantly.  Alex huffed, but dropped his backpack at the foot of the bed and started taking his clothes off, sitting down on the bed in his undershirt and boxers.  Michael immediately latched onto him, kneeling behind Alex and wrapping his arms around Alex’s neck, running his hands across Alex’s chest while Alex started taking off his prosthesis.  

The bed was actually reasonably comfortable, which was a plus.  Alex figured they’d just have to fuck hard enough that he was too tired to stare into the depths of the terrible mirrors when he tried to sleep, and then he’d be fine.  

    Michael moved his hands lower, kissing Alex’s neck.  He slipped his fingers under the waistband of Alex’s boxers, wrapping them around Alex’s semi-hard cock and stroking him lightly.  Alex groaned, closing his eyes and leaning back into Michael as he pulled his boxers off.  Michael kept stroking him, just hard enough to tease, sucking and licking the sensitive spots on Alex’s neck.  

“Look,” Michael said, and Alex opened his eyes, trying to follow Michael’s gaze.  

Michael was looking at the mirrors on one of the walls, and Alex looked too, his breath catching.  Alex liked the visual aspects of sex—he liked watching every twitch of Michael’s body, he liked watching Michael’s face, he liked the way it looked when his cock was sliding into Michael—this was different, but he actually didn’t hate it.  Even though Michael was behind him, he could see Michael’s face in the mirror, reflected over his, both of their expressions dark with lust; he could look down and see Michael’s hands on his cock, but there was something different about seeing it as if he was an outside observer—about looking into the mirror and seeing their entire bodies, watching Michael’s hand move over his cock and seeing it as part of the whole.  Plus, he had a nice view of Michael’s ass.  

Alex shuddered, watching his reflection do the same, watching Michael’s reflection grin.  Suddenly, he was thinking about all the other things he could watch—about letting Michael stare up into the ceiling mirror while he fingered him, about watching Michael fuck himself on Alex’s cock.  Alex moaned, turning away from the mirror and swiveling around to face Michael, kissing him roughly, nipping at Michael’s lips and pressing his tongue into Michael’s mouth.  

He shifted his weight, turning around and pushing Michael back against the bed, holding his weight on his arms, hovering above Michael.  Michael grinned happily up at Alex and wriggled out of his own boxers, wrapping his arms around Alex’s back and pulling him down.  Alex ground down with his hips, rubbing his cock along Michael’s, eliciting a satisfying moan from michael. 

Alex kissed him again, grinding down against Michael until both of their cocks were hard, rubbing precum against each other’s skin.  Alex broke away, breathing heavily, and started to slide down Michael’s body, kissing as he went.  He took his time, running his tongue over Michael’s nipples until they were hard little peaks, licking across each of his ribs, kissing his stomach. 

Pausing just before he reached Michael’s cock, Alex looked up to see where Michael’s eyes were.  He was looking at Alex, eyes dark with lust, panting; normally that’s exactly where Alex would want him to be looking, but this time he wanted to see how this mirror thing really worked.  

“Look up,” Alex said.  “If mirrors are so hot, tell me how we look.”

Michael groaned and tilted his head back, looking up at the mirrored ceiling as Alex started to slowly lick his cock.  He wanted to fuck Michael, badly, and he was tired enough that normally they wouldn’t drag this out, but he wanted Michael to get the full visual effect of it all.  He slid his tongue up from the base of Michael’s cock, making sure to keep his head to the side before he reached the tip, licking around it and then sucking it into his mouth.  Michael moaned loudly, and Alex could see his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.  

“How does it look?” Alex asked, pausing with his hand around Michael’s cock, breathing the words onto it.  

“Fucking good,” Michael said breathily.  “We should film ourselves like this, from above the bed.”  

Alex laughed wryly.  “We can talk about that later.”  He cut off Michael’s protest by abruptly taking Michael’s cock fully into his mouth, and Michael’s words turned into a groan.

Pulling off of Michael’s cock, Alex reached down to his backpack and pulled a bottle of lube out of the front pocket.  Michael looked up and laughed as Alex clicked the bottle open. 

“Alex, this was supposed to be a working day trip.  Why the hell did you bring lube?”

Alex grinned.  “Because I know how to prepare for every possibility.  And we keep getting caught without it when we need it, so now I basically just carry lube in my backpack all of the time.”

Michael laughed again, moaning as Alex pressed a slick finger against him.  “Have I mentioned how much I love you?” 

Alex smiled softly, emotions rising up around the lust.  He would never get tired of hearing Michael say that, and it would never feel less world-shaking, would always feel like it was breaking down every protective wall Alex had ever built up around himself, stone by stone.  Alex wanted to live inside the way he felt when Michael told him he loved him, and he never wanted to go back to the time where he didn’t believe it.  

Michael whined and pushed his ass down against Alex’s finger and Alex blinked, reminding himself what he was in the middle of.

He gave Michael what he wanted, fingering him open quickly but thoroughly, pushing his knees open far so that the mirror above the bed would catch at least some of the visuals of it.  Alex looked up himself a few times, his fingers deep in Michael’s ass, stroking his prostate while Michael squirmed and moaned.  Alex could see what he was doing well enough, but it was still something to see it in the mirror—to see the expressions he couldn’t see when Michael’s head was thrown back against the mattress, to see the way Michael’s hips worked against the air, to see how Alex’s own body looked as he fingered Michael.  

When Michael was stretched and ready, dripping lube onto the bed, Alex pulled his fingers away and crawled up the bed, kissing Michael happily.  “I want you to ride me,” he said quietly, and Michael shivered.  

“Absolutely.”  Michael grinned, pushing Alex down on his back and straddling him.  He reached behind him, rubbing Alex’s cock against the cleft of his ass, making Alex’s breath catch with each stroke.  “Actually,” Michael lifted himself away, turning around so he was facing Alex’s feet, “let’s see how this is, with the mirrors.”

Alex swallowed, nodding as he watched Michael lower himself onto his cock.  They usually preferred to be face to face in this position, but Alex hadn’t thought about how it would look to be able to watch Michael sinking onto his cock—to see each inch of his cock disappear into Michael’s ass, slowly.  Michael paused when he was fully seated and Alex groaned, running his fingers lightly along Michael’s ass, teasing at the rim of his stretched hole.  

“You look so good like this,” Alex said quietly, and then Michael started moving.  Alex gripped Michael’s hips, holding on tightly as Michael started to ride his cock.  He couldn’t take his eyes off Michael’s body, of the way his cock looked as Michael bounced on it.  Then, Michael groaned loudly, and Alex wanted to see his face, wanted to see how he looked as he took Alex’s cock like this. 

Alex turned sideways, his hands still gripping Michael’s hips, and looked into the mirror.  Michael was looking sideways too, and their eyes met in the glass.  It was different than fucking face to face, but it was different in a hot way—Alex could see Michael’s face, watch it contort as he aligned his body so that Alex’s cock hit him just right; he could see the way their bodies fit, the entire visual of Michael fucking down onto his cock, every muscle Michael tensed and every time he reacted to Alex thrusting his hips up to meet him.  

“Fuck, that is hot,” Alex moaned.

Michael grinned, licking his lips.  “We look fucking good.”  Each word punctuated by the slap of skin on skin.

Alex nodded, overwhelmed by the visual, by seeing everything and feeling Michael around him.  He felt the surge of emotions again, the soft, possessive need he sometimes felt to make Michael happy.  He suddenly wanted more contact, not just to watch but to feel Michael’s body along his.  

Alex pulled himself up towards sitting, enough that he could wrap his arms around Michael’s chest, pulling Michael back against his chest.  Michael’s motions stuttered to a halt, and he gave Alex a look that he could only see in the mirror.  Alex grinned, moving his hips and pulling Michael with him so that they fell sideways on the bed, and he was lying on his side, pressed up against Michael’s back.  

“You should not be able to do that so smoothly,” Michael whined, and Alex smiled as he kissed the back of his neck.  

“But aren’t you glad I can?”  

Michael nodded exuberantly.  Alex wrapped his arms around Michael, and Michael’s hand impulsively gripped Alex’s wrist.  Alex pulled his hips back and thrust into Michael.  They were facing the mirrors still, and Alex propped his head on Michael’s shoulder, so that he could see Michael’s face each time he thrust into him.  

Alex fucked Michael hard but slowly, making each thrust deliberate, drawing moans from Michael’s lips, watching Michael’s face twist with pleasure, his eyes closed.  “I never want to fuck you without seeing your face,” Alex said, and Michael’s grip on his wrist tightened, then changed as Michael entwined his fingers with Alex’s, linking their hands against his chest.  

Michael opened his eyes, staring back at Alex through the mirror, moving his hips to the rhythm Alex set, thrusting back to meet him.  Alex felt raw, unable to hide from the desperate look in his eyes as he fucked Michael, from the same adoration and need reflected back at him in Michael’s eyes.  

It was too much, too much emotion reflecting between them on a loop, in a position that meant closeness and contact but not usually this kind of connection.  Alex wanted to keep fucking Michael like this forever, barely blinking to keep the eye contact, their hands held tightly.  

Alex could feel his orgasm building, spurred on by Michael’s moaning, his thrusts getting quicker and more forceful as the need built, overriding the desire to make it last.  Michael dropped his free hand to his cock, stroking himself firmly as Alex’s hips stuttered,  pressing his cock into Michael hard as he came inside him. 

Alex kept watching Michael’s face, breathing heavily, keeping his softening cock inside of him as Michael stripped his own cock.  

“Come on, Michael, love,” Alex said, panting into Michael’s ear, “let me watch you cum while I’m still inside of you.”  Michael groaned, speeding up his hand on his cock and Alex pumped his hips, trying to keep fucking Michael as well as he could with his cock soft, shivering at the overstimulation as Michael clenched around him, hips thrusting back against Alex as Michael came in his first. 

Alex kissed Michael’s neck, unwinding their hands and slipping his cock out of Michael, pulling away and pressing kisses down Michael’s spine.  Michael shivered under the soft kisses, making little whining sounds that made Alex wish he could be ready to fuck Michael again, immediately.  

Michael shifted, reaching up towards a box of tissues on the nightstand, and Alex kept pressing kisses against his skin, working his way down to Michael’s ass, pulled his cheeks apart and pressing his tongue into the cleft of Michael’s ass.  Michael groaned, clenching his ass slightly, and Alex could see his cum along the rim of Michael’s ass, dripping out onto his thigh, dripping onto the sheets.  Alex inhaled sharply, watching his cum seep out of Michael, his cock trying valiantly to get hard again.  

Alex leaned forward, running his tongue along Michael’s rim, licking the cum there.  Michael whined more loudly, wriggling as though he meant to move away, then pressing his ass back against Alex’s tongue.  

“I wish I had a mirror back here,” Alex said, taking a breath, “so you could see how gorgeous you are, with my cum dripping out of you.”  He licked Michael’s hole again and Michael moaned.  

“We can always get one for at home,” Michael said breathily, and Alex grinned.  Every time either of them said that—at home—it made something in Alex’s chest feel bright and warm, like the glimmer of a fire.  They were making a home together—finally, they were making something real, real enough to talk about.

Alex pulled back, crawling up the bed and pulling Michael over so they were face to face, kissing him deeply and wrapping his arms around him.  The exhaustion of the day was catching up with him again, and he wanted to pull Michael under the covers and cuddle, to wrap himself around Michael and fall asleep to his steady breathing.  

Michael looked over Alex’s shoulder and the light flicked off, leaving them in mostly darkness—the only light was filtering in from outside through the thin curtains on the windows.  Alex rolled onto his back, pulling Michael on top of him, smiling when Michael grumbled but settled in, nuzzling Alex’s neck.  

Alex cracked open his eyes, looking up at the ceiling without thinking of it—there was still enough light in the room for him to see their outlines reflected, dark shapes curled together.  It wasn’t nearly as creepy as he’d expected—instead it just made him feel soft, seeing their reflections in the dim light as though they were one person, their bodies indistinguishable in the dim light.  

“Maybe we should put a mirror on our ceiling,” he mused, thinking Michael was asleep, and Michael snorted, pressing a kiss to Alex’s neck. 

“Absolutely not.”  He hummed, as if considering it again.  “But we can definitely fuck again before we leave tomorrow.”

Alex grinned, closing his eyes and curling his hand into Michael’’s hair.  “Definitely.”

[flowerfan2]

David x Patrick; 3300 words this chapter; 21k so far.  A03.

Summary:  Being stuck in the Milwaukee airport is bad enough. Then David realizes that the man who broke his heart is sitting right next to him. After a rom-com worthy reunion, David decides he won't walk away again.

Chapter 7

David wakes early and slides out of bed without looking at Patrick; if he starts mooning over him now, it will make it that much harder to get up.

He is soon outside in the early morning chill, watching the patchy fog dissipate as he runs along man-made waterways.  He knows it’s all manufactured, designed to entice retirees into spending their golden years sitting on a patio here instead of in whatever snowbound northern location they earned their 401k in, but it’s pretty nonetheless.

David does a few loops of Patrick’s neighborhood and then ventures out past the gates onto a busier commercial street.  The suburbs look the same as in any medium-sized town, albeit with a slightly sunnier vibe.  He passes a pizza place, a sketchy looking nail salon, and a hardware store, and then pauses when a sweet, yeasty scent floods his senses.  Following his nose, he heads down a side street where a nondescript sign advertises freshly baked bread and pastries.

Inside the shop, David stands and breathes deeply, then takes his time selecting a bag full of treats.  He’s not even upset about interrupting his run, everything smells so good.  It’s all he can do not to taste each of them on his way back (although he does allow himself one little chouquette – it’s been forever since he’s had a decent French sugar puff).

Back at the house, David leaves the pastries in the kitchen while he showers and gets dressed.  Only when he’s completely ready for the day, pastries arranged in a basket and coffee made, does he allow himself to return to the bedroom.  To Patrick.

It’s not creepy, he tells himself.  It’s allowed.  Patrick is curled up on his side, one hand under his pillow and the other tucked under his chin.  The bruise on his temple is almost gone, just a faint yellow-green tinge remaining, and his stitches don’t look nearly as ghastly as they did a few days ago.  Patrick’s hair is short – still the same way he used to keep it – so it won’t take long at all for the area around the cut to fill back in, although David thinks he may have a lingering scar.

David’s still not clear on how the head injury happened, and letting his imagination run wild (an impact against something sharp when he was knocked down?) is disturbing.  He thinks back to what Patrick told him yesterday about the attack, downplaying it as a bar fight, as partially Patrick’s fault for being drunk and stupid.  He knows Patrick can have a temper in the right (or wrong) circumstances, but it still doesn’t make a lot of sense to him.  David doesn’t think he’s being overly dramatic to say that Patrick is traumatized.  No matter what Patrick said, he didn’t ask to have his ribs broken and his head sliced open.

David is seized with the overwhelming need to protect Patrick.  There’s a sadness in Patrick’s eyes now that pains him, and he’s not sure that he’s equipped to take it away, not when David himself caused some of that pain.  But moments of happiness have emerged over the past few days, little smiles and tentative laughter.  It’s a start.  

David slides under the covers and scoots close to Patrick, then leans in and presses a soft kiss to his forehead, letting his hand rest gently on Patrick’s t-shirt clad shoulder.  Patrick snuffles adorably and scrunches his face up, so David kisses him again, this time on his nose, resulting in more adorable scrunching.

Patrick blinks a few times and then focuses on David.  “Morning?”  He reaches out and flops his hand on David’s waist.

“Um, yes.  Almost ten.”

Patrick blinks some more.  “Hi.”

David smiles at him.  “Seems like you slept well?”

“Yeah, actually.”  Patrick closes his eyes and leans his head against David’s face.  “Thanks.”

“Not sure it was my doing, but I’m glad.”  David kisses Patrick’s scratchy cheek, then his lips.  

Patrick kisses back, sleepy and soft, then rolls to his back.  “Do I smell coffee?”

“You do.  And…”  David twists around and presents Patrick with the basket of pastries.  “Breakfast.”

Patrick sits up, wincing, and David tucks him up against his body, one arm stretching around Patrick’s waist.  

“These look great,” Patrick says, curious.  “Did you go shopping again?”

“Found them on my run.  Try this one – it’s chocolate <i>and</i> pistachio.”  David can’t help being excited, even though it’s silly, but Patrick is smiling and happy and if baked goods are doing it, he’s not going to complain.

Patrick takes a bite, then another, and finally gets to the filling, his face stretching with a smile.  “Oh god, this is amazing.”

“Right?”  David kisses Patrick on the corner of his mouth, tasting the flakes of croissant.

“Here,” Patrick hands the pastry to David and takes another out of the basket.  “Is this one almond?”

“What gave it away, the almonds on the top?”

“Funny, you’re very funny.”

They make their way through the basket, trading bits and pieces of each pastry.  David finally gives up and starts breaking them open so he can get to the good parts.

“This one’s apple,” he says, showing Patrick.  “Fruit is healthy.”

“Definitely a healthy breakfast,” Patrick replies.  “Right up there with pizza and beer.”

“I’m offended that you would compare pastries made with imported French butter to pizza and beer.  Take that back or I won’t let you taste the apricot one.”

“Sorry, sorry.”  Patrick grins and nibbles at David’s fingers.  There are flakes of pastry everywhere, and David’s skin is sticky with glaze and sugar, and he could not care less, not when Patrick is warm and safe next to him and smiling up a storm.

After a while they have eaten their fill of the croissants, and Patrick sags back against David, groaning.  “That was delicious.”

“You���re delicious.”  David rubs Patrick’s tummy, a little bit of softness just above the waist of his sleep pants.  Patrick hums and twists his head, meeting David’s lips in a sugar-sweet kiss.

“Thank you for breakfast,” Patrick says softly, kissing David again, and then sighing as he tips his head back.  “But this kind of ruined my plans.”

David tucks his chin over Patrick’s shoulder and nuzzles his ear.  “What plans were those?”

“I thought we’d drive over to the next town, it’s significantly more interesting.  There are some nice architectural features, a few gift shops and boutiques, and a little bistro I wanted to take you to for lunch.  I think you’d like it.”

“So how exactly does our spur of the moment pastry feast interfere with these promising plans?”

“I’m stuffed.  Not exactly conducive to going out for lunch.”

“Patrick, even if we hurry, lunch is still hours away.  I’m sure we’ll be fine.”  David rubs at Patrick’s shoulders and pushes at him.  “At least, if you can manage to get out of bed and get dressed.  I’ll throw the sheets into the wash while you get ready.”

Patrick shoots him a strange look, and David points to the scattering of croissant debris spread out around them.  “I can put up with a little bit of a mess for spontaneity’s sake, but I’m not sleeping in a pile of crumbs tonight.”

As David gathers up the sheets, he thinks he knows what Patrick’s odd look was for.  Generally speaking, when they washed their linens in the past, it was due to somewhat less G rated activities than breakfast in bed.  He hopes Patrick isn’t worried about what they’ve been up to (or not up to) physically.  Given that they’ve only been back together for less than three full days, along with Patrick’s injuries, it seems utterly reasonable that they’ve been keeping it PG.

He knows Patrick has always seen sex in a more black and white light than David has.  For David, being with Patrick over the past few days has been more than enough.  The intimacy they have shared isn’t about sex, and doesn’t have to be – it’s being vulnerable together, holding each other through painful confessions and whispered reassurances.  It’s Patrick casually touching David’s waist when he walks by.  It’s how David’s hands flutter towards Patrick’s shoulders, and how Patrick looks at him when they land.

David thinks maybe they should talk about it, though.  God knows he’s given Patrick confusing signals before – he’s probably never going to live down the whole sleepover mishap when the guy died in the motel.

He goes out by the pool to make sure his outfit is suitable for today’s planned outing – it’s gotten warmer and the fog has all burned away, but there’s still a bit of chill in the air.  He thinks his white and black Christopher Kane sweater will be fine, it’s on the thin side and rather fitted, and if he’s honest with himself, shows off his shoulders quite nicely.

David smiles at the thought of Patrick planning an activity for them.  It’s shaping up to be quite a wonderful day.  And there was even a mention of boutiques…

He takes out his phone to scope out whether any of the shops might actually stock something he would want to buy, and realizes that Alexis has sent him increasingly frantic texts.  And as if thinking about her has actually called her into being, his phone rings.

“What?”

“David. You promised.”

“Promised what?”  

“Didn’t you read my texts?”

“Obviously not.”  David sits down on one of the lounge chairs, after giving the floral cushion a quick sweep with his hand to make sure there aren’t any fire ants or other sneaky creatures lingering about.  Clearly Alexis has something on her mind, he might as well get comfortable.

“The Haute Tea presentation got moved up to <i>tomorrow,</i> and you promised you would help me with it.”

“That was supposed to be next month.”

“Well, it’s not, and Koharu already emailed me twice to make sure you had blessed the key design elements.”

“You told Koharu I was helping you?”  Koharu had been an exchange student from Japan when David met her in high school.  Now she is the CEO of one of the fastest growing and most creative restaurant groups in the Seattle area.

“Yes, David, how did you think I got the account?”  Alexis’ voice is rising into the stratosphere, and David holds the phone away from his ear and takes a deep breath.

“Okay, Alexis, okay, calm down.”

“How can I be calm when you’re ignoring me at one of the most important moments in my career?”

“Given how eager Koharu is to work with me, isn’t it actually one of the most important moments in my career?”

“David!”

“Fine, fine.  Give me a few minutes to get set up and I’ll call you back.  Send me what you’ve got in the meantime.”

There is a silence from the other end of the phone, and then Alexis speaks, her voice gone quiet.  “Really?”

“Of course.”  He had promised to help her, and he isn’t going to go back on his word, not with Alexis.  Besides, he actually has several very promising ideas for the Haute Tea branding line.  Between the two of them, they can generate a dazzling powerpoint presentation in a solid afternoon of work.

The moment he hangs up the phone, however, David realizes his mistake.  “Shit.  Shit shit shit shit shit.”

“What’s wrong?”  asks Patrick, coming out onto the lanai.  David tilts his head back and recites “shit” again in his head another dozen times.  

“I got a call from Alexis.”

“Everything okay?”  Patrick sits down on the other lounger, his jean-clad knees knocking into David’s.  

“Yes.  Well, no, but nothing dire.”

“What’s up?”

“I promised Alexis I’d help her with a client pitch, and it got moved up.  So I can’t go to the cute town with you today.”

Patrick looks briefly disappointed, then his face smooths out and he nods.  “No problem, I understand.”

“I’d much rather hang out with you, you know that, right?”  David leans over and takes one of Patrick’s hands in his.  “I’m sorry to mess up your plans.”

Patrick’s eyes flit around, landing somewhere by David’s shoulder, and David feels his stomach sink.  Patrick doesn’t believe him.  He thinks David is blowing him off.

“What, um,” Patrick starts, then shakes his head.  “Forget it.”

“What?”  David shifts to sit next to Patrick.  “I mean it.  I was excited about our afternoon, the shopping and the food…”

“I know, I know you wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to check out a new restaurant for no reason.  It’s just…”. Patrick lets out a breath and takes his hand out of David’s, crossing his arms over his chest.  “I don’t think Alexis likes me very much.”

Oh.  David must be staring at Patrick with his mouth open, because Patrick huffs out a sad laugh.  

“You don’t have to come up with a response to that, David.  I shouldn’t have said anything.  It’s not your problem.”

David can feel his face scrunch up.  “How is it not my problem?”

“I messed things up with her, I’ll have to figure out how to fix it.”

David tugs Patrick’s hands back into his own.  “We messed things up with each other.  Alexis was merely an unfortunate casualty.”

Patrick stands up and pulls David up with him.  “Regardless, do what you need to do to help her out.  The bistro will still be there tomorrow.”

“Will it?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure.”  Patrick brushes a sweet, toothpaste-y kiss across David’s lips, and David smiles into it.  

“Mmm,” he says, pulling away but keeping his hands draped on Patrick’s shoulders.  “More of that later, perhaps?”

Patrick actually blushes – blushes! – and ducks his head.  “Sure.”

After another moment of awkward adorableness where David steals a few more kisses, Patrick suggests that David use his parents’ office.  David plugs in his laptop, facetimes Alexis on his phone, and they get to work.

It’s not the first time they’ve partnered up on one of Alexis’ many projects, especially where she veers into marketing.  David enjoys the chance to stretch his design skills, and it’s a lot more interesting than the Rose Apothecary sourcing work, which has frankly gotten fairly routine at this point.

Haute Tea is a high-end tea shop that is struggling to build its brand recognition, especially when it comes to competing against the zillions of coffee shops that also happen to sell tea.  They asked Alexis for a plan that would help them bring new energy to their brand and promote their unique strengths.

David thinks their logo needs an update, and he shoots some of his design ideas over to Alexis.  “They need to make sure people don’t get them confused with ‘ye olde tea shoppe’ stores.  Nothing British, nothing floral, no scones with clotted cream.”

“No Liberty prints?”  asks Alexis.

“Exactly.”

They work on some sleek, modern designs, black and white with a bit of color, and think about coordinating ways in which to update the company’s website.  Kokuro doesn’t want to lean into her Japanese heritage, which David thinks is a shame, but then again the name of the company is in French, so there’s that.

They finish up, David agreeing to look over the final slide deck after Alexis makes a few more edits and sends it to him later.  He thinks they did pretty well and is curious to see if Kokuro agrees.  He wouldn’t mind doing more work with her in the future.  If Rose Apothecary was still an independent business, he could see them featuring her teas.

“Thank you, David,” Alexis says.  “I’m sure it was hard to pull yourself away from Patrick, now that you guys have miraculously fixed everything.”

There’s a tone in Alexis’ voice that David doesn’t care for.  “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Alexis twirls her hair around her finger.  David thinks it’s remarkable that she has any left, given how often she does this.  “Nothing, David.”

“Okay…”

“Just – you were awfully mad at him, for an awfully long time.  It seems pretty convenient that you run into him a few days ago and now everything is magically okay.  Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?”

David feels a pang of doubt, but he’s also insulted.  “That’s my business, not yours.”

“It was my business when you cried on my shoulder for all those months, and when you threw out my French press because it reminded you of the one Patrick bought you, and when you made me delete all those pictures from my phone-”

“Fine,” David interrupts, not at all interested in going over all of this again.  “I will remember not to come to you for emotional support in the future.”

“That’s not what I’m saying!”  Alexis whines.

“What exactly are you saying, then?”

Alexis lets out a breath and shakes her head.  “You made me so angry with him,” Alexis says softly.  “He hurt you.  You guys had something really good, and he ruined it.”  

“It wasn’t all his fault,” David says, hoping he doesn’t have to go into more detail.

“I knew that,” Alexis says, and David rolls his eyes because it’s just like Alexis to pretend she knows better than him, even now.

“You didn’t.”

“David, fine.  Whatever.  Anyway, whosever fault it was, I saw what losing him did to you,” Alexis goes on, looking at him so earnestly through the screen that David has to duck his head.  “That night in the Hamptons… I can’t go through that again, David.  You can’t either.”

“That won’t happen again,” David says, a sick punch in his gut at the memory.  

“But how do you know?”

“I know because I’m working on it, Alexis, every day.”  David fights to stay calm.  He understands why his family is still questioning him, even almost three years later, but he wishes they’d have a little more faith.

“David, it’s just that… your break-up with Patrick wasn’t anything like your other break-ups.  It was more than mall pretzel level damage.  Just thinking about it makes my insides hurt.  I still have all of these icky, upset feelings.”  She waves her hands around.  “And I didn’t get a cathartic rom-com reunion at the airport, or any apology kisses.”  She punctuates her words with her finger, pointing at him accusingly.  “What am I supposed to do now, just do a three-sixty for no reason?”

“One-eighty,” David corrects automatically.  “And there is a reason.  The best reason.”  Patrick, he thinks.  A chance to be together again.  

“I know….” she says, dragging the word out into a whine.  “But it’s your reason, not mine.  Ugh, this is so aggravating.”

“He misses you too,” David says, the words coming out of nowhere.  He knows it’s true as soon as he says it.

There’s a pause, and then Alexis says, sadly, “That doesn’t help.”

Later that night, David finally finishes one last review of the Haute Tea presentation and sends it back to Alexis.  He’s in bed with his laptop, Patrick lying next to him, curled up under the blankets and snoring softly.  David was too busy to even worry about whether Patrick was upset about their current level of physical activity until long after Patrick fell asleep; that issue is going to have to wait for another day.

He also didn’t get a chance to talk to Patrick about Alexis.  David has certainly put a lot of energy into hating on Alexis’ exes after painful splits, and he thinks he understands how hard it can be to forgive someone for hurting a person you love, although it makes him uncomfortable to focus too hard on what that means about how much Alexis cares about him.

David hopes he can find a way to mend the relationship between Patrick and Alexis.  They were close, family, and they deserve to have that back.  And if David can figure that out, maybe there’s hope for him and Stevie, too.

He sets his laptop aside and slides under the covers, beaming to himself as Patrick pulls him close, seeking him out even in sleep.  They can really do this, he thinks.  It’s a chance he never thought he’d have, but it’s here, and David is going to make the most of it.

[jungle321jungle]

How I Long For Things To Be Restored

When Logan begins going to the old house on the end of Wendon Way, he doesn’t expect to meet the little boy who also frequents there. Nor does he expect to learn the forgotten secrets of the home. 

Taglist: @hells-missing-a-goat @angels-and-dreams @ollyollyoxinfree @gattonero17 @chumo-cookie @dreaming-always @anxiety-ismy-name @mrbubbajones @janustheliar @hogwarts-my-love

Ao3 - Masterlist

~~~~

How I Long For Things To Be Restored

The old house on the end of Wendon Way had stood for what felt like eons. Not one in the sleepy town could recall when it had been lived in last- or someone had ever lived there at all. But regardless of the details, it had become an urban legend among all ages. For children it was a place to avoid due to rumors, teenagers were responsible for spreading the rumors to keep kids away from their spot, and some adults didn’t agree with the idea of trespassing and understandably worried about what could be going on, and finally were the adults who had been those teenagers and fueled such worries among their peers. 

There were unofficial customs and rules to the house on the end of Wendon Way, so when Logan had seen the young boy sitting on the back stairs to the home, he had been more than surprised. Kids shied away from the large looming home, they didn’t sit on the deck stairs attempting to pet birds. 

“You shouldn’t try to touch them,” Logan commented as he approached. “They could have a disease even if they don’t bite or something.”

The boy’s eyes didn’t meet his, in fact he didn't seem like he was listening at all. It wasn’t until he had moved closer causing the birds to fly away that the boy’s dark eyes met his. “Hello, would you mind moving slightly so I can walk by?”

The boy gave him a confused expression as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his patchwork jacket, but after a pause he stood up and moved out the way. 

“It’s going to rain soon,” Logan informed the boy as he walked past him outside into the backyard. “You should head home.”

“Then why are you here?” The boy replied. 

“I need to do something.”

“Like what?”

Logan didn’t reply as he made his way down the stairs ensuring he skipped the one he knew was deemed sketchy by the neighborhood. He walked into the backyard silently wondering not for the first time who maintained the grass back here, before he turned to look at the home. 

“What are you doing?” The boy asked him. Logan hadn’t heard him approach but he had come closer, but he still kept to a relatively safe distance. 

“I need to take some pictures,” Logan answered, turning and walking further away. 

“Why?”

“For a project.”

Logan walked a bit further and then he turned and nodded satisfied with his choice. When he did, he pulled out his phone to snap a few pictures. Satisfied he began to move to other spots in the backyard and take pictures in each spot. 

“That’s a lot of pictures,” the boy commented. 

Logan gave a slight nod, “I want to ensure I have enough. 

“But what are you gonna do with pictures?” 

“You ask a lot of questions don’t you?”

The boy’s head lowered as he looked at his feet and shuffled them, but he didn’t reply. 

“It’s not a bad quality,” Logan assured him as he felt a raindrop hit his skin. “But you also should not talk to strangers as much as you are.”

The boy looked up and gave Logan a look of thought before he spoke, “What's your name then?”

Logan raised an eyebrow amused, “My name is Logan. And yours?”

The little boy gave him a smile, “I’m not going to talk to strangers.”

~~~~

When Logan returned about a week later, the boy was also back. 

He had been sitting on the deck stairs once more, kicking his legs lazily as he stared up at the sky. Upon seeing him Logan had two thoughts. Firstly, he wondered why the kid had returned, and secondly he wondered why the boy’s clothes hadn’t changed. Previously Logan had tried not to focus on the boy’s clothing given he didn’t want to judge, but seeing him here twice in the same outfit was a bit strange. 

The clothes were too big for him, most likely hand me downs. And they appeared worn, his pants had a few holes in them in places other than the knee, as did his shirt, it seemed all patches had been placed on his jacket rather than other clothes. 

“Hi Logan,” the kid said, moving from his spot to let Logan by. “Are you taking more pictures?”

Logan shook his head as he descended the stairs. “Not quite. What are you doing here again?”

The question went unanswered, but Logan wouldn’t force him. Instead he found a seat in the grass and pulled out his sketchbook from his bag. He turned to the page he had started on at home to give it a frown, it was... decent. But then against he hadn’t been looking at the home itself so hopefully he could get a better sense of it now. 

“You never told me what you’re doing,” The boy stated. 

Logan gave a slight sigh as he reached in his bag for his pencils. “I'm updating the house. What it would look like if it wasn't the way it is now.”

“Why?”

“Last semester in school I had to do the same for a building on campus, but the whole time I was thinking about what this place would look like restored. And I have time this summer so I thought I would try. Last time I was here I took pictures of the front and the back. I’m going to work on those. And then next will come the sides, and then I’ll move indoors.”

“Are you going to do each room?”

“I suppose. So now you know why I’m coming here. Why are you?”

The boy gave him a shrug, “Why not?”

Logan silently wondered why he even bothered asking. 

~~~~

“You’ve been coming more often,” the boy noted. “You used to just come once a week but these past few times it’s been more.”

Logan didn’t respond until he had finished setting himself up in the old kitchen. “I’ve been more eager to work on this. And I don’t have a job anymore, so I have more time.”

“Were you fired?”

“No. What are you going to do this afternoon? Are you going to watch me or do something else?”

“I can do both,” the child replied, drawing a slight smile from Logan. 

“I suppose you can.” With nothing more to be said Logan began to play soft music on his phone and began to get to work on redesigning the kitchen. The boy didn’t bother him as usual, and as always he sat far enough away but he’d watch intently. Logan didn’t realize how intently he had been watching until at least an hour had passed and the boy spoke again. 

“What happened to your arm?”

Logan paused in his sketching and looked up to the dark eyes of the boy in confusion. 

“There’s a big bruise.”

As understanding set in, Logan pulled rolled his sleeves down, he must have pushed them up due to the heat without realizing it, but the kid was awaiting an answer he didn’t want to give. “Does it matter?”

“It looks like it hurts.”

“It does.”

“What happened?” 

Logan gave a light sigh, “That’s not a polite question to ask.”

“Was it a fight? Hmm no, you don’t look like you’d win fights.”

“Also not a polite thing to say.”

The boy gave a slight pout but he didn’t question further. 

~~~~

“Can I see the finished drawings? You never showed me.”

Logan looked up in surprise. He hadn’t seen the boy when entering the house, and he had just assumed that for once the boy was home. But it seemed he just hadn’t arrived yet. “In  a moment,” Logan told him. “I’m putting the finishing touches on the kitchen, you can see it after.”

“Which room will you do next?”

“I want to do the living room, but that one may take some work given its size, so maybe the dining room next. That one should be simple.”

“Are you gonna do the bathrooms too?”

“I think so. It would be wrong to redo everything else but them... Alright. Kitchen is done, would you like to see?”

The boy nodded eagerly, but his steps were so slow and cautious as he approached Logan. Logan laid out his sketchbook going to his first drawing and waited until the boy was close enough. He still stayed out of arm's reach, but he was close enough to see as Logan went through the pages. Each one had pictures of the original house taped to it, and then came Logan’s designs done in different colored pencils and pens with a million notes in his neat scrawl beside the many details. 

“How do you know how to do that?”

“I’m studying architecture,” Logan explained. “And last semester I took a class which focused both on restoration and redesign.”

“The walls are plain. And there’s no kitchen things,” the boy commented. 

“There is not,” Logan agreed. “Stoves, paint, cabinets, and all of that can be bought and changed, this can't be.”

“Yes it can. You’re doing it right now.”

Logan couldn’t exactly argue with that. “You think I need to put it in then?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m afraid interior design isn’t where my skills lie... oh I have an idea. Why don’t you pick them out?”

“Me?”

“You’re always here while I draw and you take an interest. Next time I’ll bring some magazines and scissors and you can cut out the ones you like. How about that?”

The boy’s dark eyes scanned Logan’s face as if attempting to look for any hints of deceit, but finally he nodded. “Okay.”

~~~~

“Logan look at this one!”

Logan looked up from his drawing to see that the boy was holding up a magazine and pointing to its dining room set. 

“It would be perfect!” He decided. 

Logan gave a slight chuckle, “I haven’t even finished the dining room yet.”

“Well make the walls match this.”

“I’ll consider it. I thought you were picking out the kitchen though?”

“But I saw and I liked this one. I’m almost done with the kitchen. Promise!”

Logan resisted the urge to smile as he continued in his task. He hadn’t expected the boy to get so excited over clipping things out of magazines, but it was oddly nice to see him so happy. 

“Done!” 

Logan set his sketchbook aside and he moved to see the boy had spread out some clippings. “So I see. You want to do the next part now?”

“What’s the next part?”

Logan didn’t reply at first, rather he reached into his backpack and drew out the plastic sheets he had brought. They were nothing special, simply what his designs would slide into, but even so the boy watched him eagerly. Logan slid in his kitchen design to it and pulled out some clear tape. “Now you can tape them wherever you want on to it. Just be sure to do it on the plastic.”

“So the drawing isn’t messed up?”

“Exactly. And then when you’re done with that...” Logan pulled a thin pointed sharpie from his bag. “Then you sign your name so everyone knows it’s yours.”

“Got it!”

With the boy set up again Logan continued his work on the dining room but it wasn’t too long before a “Tada!” rang out. The boy was holding it proudly and the moment he had Logan’s attention he began to point out different things and why he had picked them, it was adorable in its own way, but what stuck out of the Logan most was when the boy pointed out his handwriting on the bottom. 

“And I finished it like you said. By signing my name, I even did it in cursive!”

“You’re trying to upstage me I see,” Logan learned a bit closer to decipher the messy letters. “Virgil. That’s a nice name.”

The boy nodded in agreement, “It’s nice to officially meet you Logan! Now can I put plants in the backyard?”

“Of course.”

~~~~

“Is it time to start upstairs?”

“I think so,” Logan nodded, picking up his things. “Any suggestions on which room to start with?”

“The office.”

“Then that’s where I’ll start. And you’ll pick out the living room for me in the meantime?”

“Uhuh.”

With that decided, Logan took to the stairs listening to the sound of them creak with each step. He’d be lying if he said it wasn’t unnerving. Like most others he had no reason to go upstairs in the old house, for one most people kept the main level and the party trashed area it had become. But according to the myths of his town, there were many stories on why one shouldn’t go up the stairs of the old house on the end of Wendon Way. Some claimed it’s where monsters lived, and others were convinced all who went up there were cursed. Logan personally didn’t believe in such fantasy, but he found himself more on edge than usual. As he reached the top stair and looked down the empty hall he took a deep breath, to calm and remind himself the differences between fact and fiction. 

“It’s the first door on the left,” Virgil chirped from behind him. 

Logan nodded and followed the instructions and opened the door to what had once been an office. Unlike downstairs, the old furniture remained. The room was small with tall bookshelves covering two of the walls. Directly in front of him sat an old dust covered desk and a chair, but Logan couldn’t bring himself to go over to sit at it. Rather he snapped a few pictures to use when he went home and sat in the middle of the floor to draw.  

“You’re not gonna sit in the chair?” 

Logan shook his head, “This spot is fine.”

Virgil didn’t reply, and rather he sat in the doorway and spread out the magazines he had been carrying and began to work. It was strange in a way, Virgil’s ability to stay on task for so long. Logan had always thought kids had short attention spans and yet he and Virgil could sit and work for hours. And even when Virgil had finished picking out what he liked he would find other ways to quietly occupy himself in the meantime. 

“What are you gonna do when you finish?” Virgil asked suddenly.

“I’ll do another room.”

“No like, when you finish the house.”

“I’m not sure. But I’ve got some time before then, I just wonder if I can finish before I go back to school.”

“Do you go to school far away?”

“It’s a few hours away.”

“That’s far away.”

“Then I suppose so.”

Virgil didn’t reply but rather he began to pull at the strings from one of the holes in those same pants he always wore. Logan didn’t push, the boy would speak when he was ready. 

~~~~

“Hi Logan.”

The sudden voice caused Logan to jolt in surprise. His pulse shot up as he looked up from what he had been doing to see Virgil standing in the office doorway. He took a deep breath, “You startled me.”

Virgil gave a shrug as he moved to the stack of magazines Logan had left to the side, “Did you bring new ones?”

Logan took another deep breath, “I did. You need to make more sound when you walk.”

Virgil ignored him, but something about his own words stuck with Logan. Since first meeting Virgil he had known that the boy walked quietly. And it certainly wasn’t the first time Virgil had accidentally snuck up on him, but with the loud creaks the stairs gave even under the slightest amount of weight, he would assume that Virgil would have made a sound coming up the stairs. Had he been that engrossed in his designs that he hadn’t even heard? Or maybe Virgil had been in a different room on this level already. It wasn’t as if Logan had any idea what Virgil did in the house when he wasn’t there after all. What did he do? And why did he come at all?

They were questions Logan had been wondering since first laying eyes on the boy, and yet it seemed as more time passed he was getting more curious rather than less. 

“Logan? Which do you think is a better couch?”

Logan refocused on the present and Virgil pointing out two brown couches in a magazine. “They look the same.”

Virgil responded with a frown, “No they’re not, you’re not helpful.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“I’ll do the sofa last,” Virgil decided, flipping to another page. 

“You could be quite the interior designer when you grow up.”

Virgil shook his head, “That’s not what I wanna do.”

“Oh? Then what do you want to do?”

Virgil didn't reply at first and when he did it was quiet enough that Logan nearly missed it. “Leave.”

“What do you mean by-”

“Logan?” A voice called from another room. Logan’s eyebrows knit in confusion as he stood. “Logan?” The voice called again. 

With that Logan exited the office and headed to the stairs to find his younger brother’s face looking up at him. Patton gave him a relieved smile. “There you are kiddo! This place gives me the creeps.”

“What are you doing here?” Logan replied descending the creaking stairs. 

“Dad wants you so mom called, but you didn’t answer and since I knew you were here I came.”

“My phone was off,” Logan lied. 

“What if something was wrong and we needed to call you?” Patton chided. “And if you got in trouble it would take too long for it to turn on to call for help.”

“Is he that mad?”

“I don’t think so.”

So he was. Logan gave a slight sigh, “Let me grab my stuff.”

He hurried up the stairs silently wondering how to apologize to Virgil, but when he returned to the office the boy was already gone. 

~~~~

“Who was that last time?” Virgil asked as Logan entered the house.

“My brother,” Logan answered. “I finished the office at home. Why don’t we move to the master bedroom?”

“Is he older or younger?” Virgil asked later when they had been sitting in silence. 

“He’s two years younger than me.”

“He sounded like he was treating you like the younger brother.”

“He does that.”

“Are you two close?”

No. “It’s complicated...”

“I have an older brother,” Virgil offered after a pause. “I haven’t seen him in a long time though.”

“Oh, is he old enough to move away?”

“Kinda.”

“Why don’t you like your brother?”

Logan stopped in his sketch and set his pencil to the side. “I didn’t say I don’t like him. I said it’s complicated.”

“Do you like him then?”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you get along?”

“We get along,” Logan amended. “Patton gets along with everyone. I said we weren’t close... What about your brother? Do you two get along when you see him?”

“No.”

~~~~

“The final room of the house,” Logan stated, pushing open the door. He glanced down to the boy beside him and Virgil gave a slight nod with an almost solemn expression. 

It was a bedroom.

There were two beds in it. On the left by the door was a twin sized bed, but on the right was a smaller bed meant for a child. Between the two was a large dresser on which sat a broken mirror. Like the others on this floor the furniture was covered underneath a layer of dust, but one thing which was different about this room was the presence of flowers. 

They were dead and shriveled, some even decomposing, but that would mean someone had been in here not too long ago to put them in here. But why and when? Hadn’t this house been abandoned for ages? It didn’t make sense, but even so the flowers laid on the child’s bed beside a teddy bear. Their presence didn’t seem to bother Virgil any, as the boy walked past him into the room to go sit on the bed and pick up the old toy. 

Logan took a deep breath trying not to focus on answers he didn’t have. He only had a week left at home, and one room to go. That should be his focus. 

He had just gotten himself situated on the floor when his phone rang bearing Patton’s name. 

“Hello?”

“Hey Lo!” Came Patton’s cheery tone. “Are you not coming home? We’re about to go see Grandma.”

“I told you this morning I’m not coming.”

“But she’s our Grandma,” Patton complained. “I know she wants to see you!”

“No she wants-” Logan forced himself to take a deep breath. “I’ll see you when you guys get back tomorrow.”

“Okay love you L!”

“You too.” When he hung up Logan found Virgil’s quizzical gaze on him. “My brother,” he explained. “He was asking if I was going with them to see our grandmother.”

“You’re not?” Virgil asked, setting the bear back in its place. 

“I’m not. I don’t really like going over there.”

“Why not?”

Logan grabbed his pencil and set to work instead of entertaining this conversation, but Virgil was still watching him. “Because,” he said finally. 

“Because why?”

Logan bit his tongue to keep from replying something he’d later regret. Virgil was a curious kid. He had known that for months now. “Just because.”

“You don’t like them do you?”

“They don’t like me!” Logan shouted in return. “Okay? My family doesn’t like me. So why should I go spend time with them?”

Virgil’s response came without any hesitation, “Because you have them.”

Logan’s sudden anger and frustration vanished at the words and he took a deep breath and forced himself to focus on the paper in his lap rather than into those dark eyes. “When we were kids we were at my grandparents’. And they have a pool... Patton wasn’t a good swimmer, I was. So I was supposed to watch him. But... but I didn’t. And Patton almost drowned. He died in that ambulance too, the EMTs actually brought him back...” he trailed off and shut his eyes trying to stop from falling deeper into his memories. “I nearly got my brother killed.”

“And you still blame yourself?” Virgil guessed. “Your family still does too?”

Logan opened his eyes to stare at the kid in confusion, wondering how someone Virgil’s age could even comprehend what he was saying, but it was all he could do to wipe away the few tears threatening to fall. “Patton is the only one who doesn’t blame me.”

“At least it was an accident,” Virgil said quietly. 

“What do you-”

”You always ask why I come here. It’s not that I come here, it's that I never left.” Virgil said slowly, getting up and coming closer. It wasn’t until he was directly in front of Logan that he spoke again. “Not since the day I died.”

Anything Logan could have said was cut off as Virgil poked his forehead- no Virgil had tried but Logan felt nothing but cool air. 

“That’s- That’s- That’s not...”

Virgil gave him a slight smile as he took another step forward only to walk through Logan. 

“I died a long time ago,” Virgil told him, walking around him and going to sit on that small bed. “I’m not good enough at time to say how long.”

Logan couldn’t get words to leave his mouth. He wanted to say something- anything but any half formed thoughts died on his tongue. 

“Take a deep breath.”

Logan did as he was told and even so it took him three tries just to choke out the word “how.”

“My brother,” Virgil answered, picking up a few dried petals and letting them fall from his fingers. “He pushed me down the stairs. He told everyone I fell.”

“Why?”

Virgil gave a slight shrug, “Without me Mommy wouldn't have to stay with Daddy. So when I died they left. But she used to come back to leave me flowers. And since she died he does it now. He comes on my birthday and... and on the day he killed me.”

“Virgil, I-”

“You should get close with your brother at least,” Virgil interrupted. “I don’t know about the rest of your family. But your brother seems nice.” 

“He is,” Logan replied quietly. 

The boy- the ghos- Virgil gave a satisfied nod. “You know, you’re the only one who’s ever seen me. I don’t know why, do you?”

Logan shook his head quickly, “N-no.”

Virgil gave a shrug as if it didn’t matter as he moved back over to Logan and picked up a magazine. “I’m gonna pick out the bathroom.”

Logan didn’t know how to reply, so he didn’t. He grabbed his sketchbook and instead began to draw. 

~~~~~

“Virgil?” Logan called cautiously upon entering the room. But Virgil didn’t reply or come out from wherever it was he went. He didn’t come out at all when Logan was drawing, or when he left. Nor did he come out the day after that. Or the day after that. 

Logan entered the room and looked around hopeful, but just as before he was completely alone. He gave a soft sigh as he set the flowers he had brought on the bed. “I head back to school tomorrow,” he told the nothingness. “I...I don’t know what to say to you. I don’t even know if you can hear me but, I’m making an effort with Patton already. My parents don’t seem happy about it but I am... so um. I guess I’ll go. I’ll come back though. I need to finish designing this room after all. So... I’ll talk to you then.”

The old house on the end of Wendon Way had stood for what felt like eons. Not one in the sleepy town could recall when it had been lived in last- or someone had ever lived there at all. But regardless of the details, it had become an urban legend among all ages. For children it was a place to avoid due to rumors, teenagers were responsible for spreading the rumors to keep kids away from their spot, and some adults didn’t agree with the idea of trespassing and understandably worried about what could be going on, and finally were the adults who had been those teenagers and fueled such worries among their peers. And for others it was a place to be far from the other worries of life. And yet there were unofficial rules to the house on the end of Wendon Way, one of which was not to go to the second floor due to the ghost which lived there.

But as he had learned, it wasn’t exactly a rumor. 

“This is you isn't it?” He demanded entering the second bedroom. 

The only occupant of the room looked up with a neutral expression. But not getting a response he gave a huff and began to read off the old news article he had found from his phone. “‘Local college student killed in violent car crash after supposedly leaving the Wendon House’. That’s you right?”

Logan’s attention fell back to the ever present sketchbook in his lap, “You're always so loud, Roman. I like peace when I draw.”

“But I’m right aren't I? You died like fifteen years ago outside this place? Am I right?”

“You are.”

“I knew it!” Roman cheered. “So, what are you drawing today?” When Logan didn’t reply Roman moved closer before he frowned seeing the face drawn in the book. “You always draw that same kid. Why?”

“Because I don’t want to forget his face.”

Romag gave an interested hum as he moved to sit across from Logan, “What’s his name?”

“His name was Virgil. And he was here before me.”

“And then what happened?”

“I got close to him.”

“And then?”

Logan stopped drawing for a moment and he looked up, those deep and sunken in eyes meeting Roman’s, “I took his place.”

[love-takes-work]

The Art of Steven Universe the Movie: Outline & Review

The Art of Steven Universe The Movie was released March 3, 2020. It's a wonderful journey through the concept art, character development, and experience of fashioning these ideas into the movie we all love.

Nuts and bolts: The book is published by Dark Horse, and it was designed by Ryan Sands (a zine specialist), with commentary by Takafumi Hori, Kat Morris, and Rebecca Sugar. It includes art by Rebecca Sugar, Kat Morris, Takafumi Hori, Alonso Ramirez Ramos, Angie Wang, Ashley Fisher, Becky Dreistadt, Chromosphere, Danny Cragg, Elle Michalka, Hilary Florido, Ian Jones-Quartey, Jasmin Lai, Jeff Liu, Joe Johnston, Julian De Perio, Katie Mitroff, Leonard Hung, Miki Brewster, Patrick Bryson, and Paul Villeco.

Full review below with low-quality images.

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

An introduction explains the same origin story that Rebecca Sugar told us in the movie DVD's commentary: that she accidentally restored her phone to factory settings and lost years of important stuff, and she ended up applying that devastating premise to her movie. That combined with the concept of "breaking" the main premise of a TV show to make a movie was how she got started developing the story. The opening of the movie styled like a storybook is blocked out with some great drawings and breakdowns of which narration would go to what storybook pages. This is combined with some partial sheet music for "The Tale of Steven." Rebecca writes about how she felt having to wrap pre-production on Season 5 only to take on this even bigger movie challenge. The biggest challenge was writing all these songs in such a short time--six weeks--and having to deal with the stress, being crushed under all that pressure while still wanting to do this story so badly, and it was humbling to still have to work so hard to sell the idea. The feeling of relief to finally be done that Steven expresses in "Happily Ever After" is very similar to what Rebecca went through feeling like she wanted to be finally done but still knowing what she had to do to climb an even bigger mountain. Some very cute Steven-at-age-16 and Connie in Space Camp clothes follow. Notes indicate that Steven and Connie are the same height now, but his poofy hair is just slightly higher than her head.

Notes from 2017 also give us the "Neckstravaganza": design notes on Steven's new form, with a neck and a jacket. It's very cool.

Some beautiful Joe Johnston boards follow, with sequences from the "Happily Ever After" song. We also get Angie Wang's final design (with Ashley Fisher's color) of the injector, including some sketchy concept art for it from Rebecca Sugar and Hilary Florido. In the rough concept notes, they call this the "Mega Injector," with notes for Takafumi Hori to use for scale. It looks beyond huge in a Leonard Hung drawing.

Spinel concepts are next. Some notes explain that aivi & surasshu (the usual composers) were involved very early since it was a musical, and Rebecca included them when pitching the story to the Crew so they could organically develop the sound. The heart shape was central to Spinel from the beginning, and early versions of her had an entire heart shape to her head.

(There's a doodle of what looks like a cartoon dog in the pile of drawings shown in this section. It's not clear what that was.)

Spinel was given the heart imagery partly because Rebecca had learned early on about the importance of symbols, and when it came time to assign one to Steven, the star was chosen because it's so positive and is read as gender-neutral. Rebecca still hadn't used hearts for anything, so it was time. They also incorporated really old, dated character design ideas to make Spinel feel like an outdated cartoon from the rubber hose era.

The aspect of her design with the running mascara versus cute eyelashes predated the rotation of her Gem. Rebecca likes to start with more realistic sketches when she's figuring out a character, and then she'll move to making it more cartoony. A quote from Miki Brewster is shared: "Spinel can do anything, as long as it's entertaining!" Her "best friend" form is described as "a doll for friendship fun & games! Of a different era--hokey, charming, weird...super gullible and trusting. Incredibly loyal, constant entertainment machine!"

When it comes to developing her "worst enemy" form, Rebecca explains a bit that she has a really complicated relationship with old cartoons because nostalgia is not compelling to her--the animation from the 1930s is so neat, but considering the social limits and the way the industry was at the time, Rebecca doesn't think she could have participated. Especially considering nowadays she even had to struggle to be allowed to tell the stories she needed to tell and it would have been impossible five years ago. The norms of the time aren't entirely extricable from the art itself.

Takafumi Hori weighs in with commentary on how fun it was to animate a scary but fun character on top of Miki Brewster's boards for the "Other Friends" fight sequence.

Next, moving on from the central new character, they also spend some time discussing Steg. Rebecca first explains "Steg Multiverse" as a character so uplifting he can make you fly, combining Greg's unending support and Steven's positive power. She makes reference to the early "stegosaurus" concepts they had for his look, but they didn't want to lose the opportunity to have his hair flow. Rebecca confirms that the pompadour idea was established in "Steven and the Stevens" so they wanted to give it to Steg, and she credits Paul Villeco for really finalizing his design and bringing him to life.

And of course the poofy hair from Steven and the double-necked guitar was essential for Steg.

Next, the book gives us a whole page of handwritten notes about "Drift Away." Kat Morris explains the intentional duality of the scene--how Spinel should be shown seeing her own past with new perspective, being embarrassed, blending together who she was with who she is. The partial lyrics to the song and some sketchy boards are offered.

Rebecca shares her personal connection with the subject matter--how she once left a stuffed animal in her garden and the side facing the sun faded. It really made a mark on her as a child that things changed without her, because of her actions, and that she'd left this treasured toy alone without thinking about it all that time, letting it be affected by the elements without her interference. She wrote "Everything Stays" for Adventure Time based on that plushie, and realized that she was writing about it again for the Steven Universe movie.

Many beautiful miniature boards are shown in this section.

Partial sheet music for "Drift Away" is also offered here. It's credited to Rebecca Sugar and Aimee Mann. The music sheet is followed by some lovely images of the garden by Julian De Perio, Patrick Bryson, and Leonard Hung.

Takafumi Hori returns for a discussion of the final fight sequence during "Change," which he animated from Jeff Liu's boards. He discusses trying to keep the fight feeling dramatic and serious even though Spinel's fighting style is funny. He wanted to keep her tension. Hori-san throws in a word of thanks for being allowed to work on his favorite show again, praises Jeff and Miki, and compliments Rebecca Sugar's demos. He hoped we'd get a soundtrack album. (Of course, we did.)

Some final boards by Rebecca Sugar and Becky Dreistadt of the characters in their show gear descending the steps close out the book. There are also some cute little doodles at the end on the credits page, like a head of lettuce with caption "lettuce adore you" and Spinel in a drifting go-kart laughing, captioned "drift away."

The back cover pictures Steven with his arm around a heartbroken Spinel, comforting her.

Overall, the book is wonderful--the accompanying information is generally not new to anyone who watched the DVD's documentary and commentary, and many of the sketches have been released one way or another directly by the artists through Instagram, Twitter, or Tumblr blogs. There was still plenty of wonderful new concept art that wasn't already out there, and looking at some of the iterations Spinel and Steg went through was particularly captivating. There was no new insight into the development of the plot beyond the premise and the Spinel-related conflict, though; nothing about how they decided to focus the Garnet storyline, the Pearl storyline, and the Amethyst storyline for how they would each get their memories back, and there was no spotlight on their movie versions--modern Cotton Candy Garnet, copycat baby Amethyst, and factory settings uncustomized Pearl. I was hoping especially for some Amethyst stuff because the movie was the first place we got to see her with the simple default outfit and segmented limbs. It was primarily an art book with commentary on some of the most definitive movie aspects--it didn't reach the depth that Art and Origins gave us. It has a start-to-finish feeling in a sense, but it's mostly just splashes of information that are fun to know. It's a great companion and definitely should not be missed by any fan of the movie. I recommend it heartily!

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

[pluto-art]

Pinky and the Brain - Animation Studios: An Essay

Howdy kids,

During production of Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and other shows, animation was outsourced to various studios -- TMS Entertainment in Japan, Wang Film Productions (also known as Cuckoo’s Nest) in Taiwan, and AKOM Productions in South Korea being a few. The quality, style, and fluidity of the animation varied per episode depending on who was given the work. The studios that had a hand in Pinky and the Brain, specifically, are as follows: - TMS Entertainment (Japan) - Wang Film Productions (Taiwan) - AKOM Productions (South Korea) - Rough Draft (South Korea)

For Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain, only Wang and Rough Draft contributed. On the Pinky and the Brain segments in Animaniacs, StarToons (USA, Illinois) was also given work along with the other studios. For this essay, however, we shall only be reviewing the studios that worked on the Pinky and the Brain spin-off.

Although a post or two has gone around detailing the differences in studio styles (I give credit to @mx-sid-warner​ for creating one of these posts), I wanted to submit a more comprehensive list, complete with a plethora of screenshots for better comparison purposes. My apologies in advance for the low resolution of many of the images. Had to work with what was available to me.

- TMS Entertainment (Japan) -

• Expressive, bouncy, fluid

TMS is undeniably one of the best, if not the best, studio that Warner Bros. turned to for outsourcing work, as they provided the most dynamic animation, shots, and expressions. Oftentimes, they would push the characters to their limit when it came to squash and stretch, compromising keeping them on-model for impactful poses. They were a “no holds barred” company and have stood the test of time, still churning out animation to this day.

Going for a cuter, goofier look, TMS didn’t always draw Pinky on-model, but it didn’t matter... ‘cause he looks so darn adorable in their style:

With Brain, TMS always ensured that his large cranium was kept as such, and, as with Pinky, they weren’t afraid to eschew correct proportions for the sake of making a character really ‘pop’ emotionally.

Depending on what worked better emotionally, they’d either set Brain’s eyes further apart or bring them really close in.

When it came to squash and stretch, TMS were masters at their craft. The following screen shots are from the short Brain Meets Brawn.

They didn’t have to animate him swallowing the potion like that, but they freakin’ did, and it’s much more impactful as a result. Even the thimble is pliable. I really like this angle and background, as well. It was probably done by an artist at the Burbank studio instead of at TMS, but it’s still worth pointing out.

Extreme stretches to emphasize the character’s current emotional state. They pushed that neck and held it, helping you feel the moment.

Another fun bit is when he turns into a rather beastly state after having drunk a potion that turns him into a Mr. Hyde version of himself:

These are some GREAT poses -- very bold, fun, and hilarious.

TMS is also known for having worked on the Christmas special, which had some wonderful moments in which Brain confronts his sentimental side:

Bonus screenshot ‘cause, I dunno, I like this shot:

Even these images don’t quite do TMS justice. They’re my favorite in regards to animation for just how bouncy and expressive it gets. It’s a good example of how veering way off model can work in your favor if done correctly.

-------

- Wang Film Productions (Taiwan) -

• Cute, sentimental, pliable

Although not as risk-taking as TMS when it came to animation, Wang is my absolute favorite of the studios for one thing alone: style. I can’t describe how they draw these characters as anything other than adorable, and when drawing Pinky and Brain myself I tend to take a leaf out of Wang’s book in particular.

Instead of following the standard when drawing Brain’s skull, they opted instead for a softer, cuter touch, slimming down his cranium a little and giving him a more pronounced forehead that gave him a sweeter, “babier” look.

Pinky gets a similar treatment, keeping his proportions cute, albeit more solidified:

Like TMS, Wang had a penchant for strong, palpable emotions in their work, and seemed to have a blast portraying everything from fear to smarminess:

Wang kept the proportions of the characters more petite, with their heads and limbs closer to their bodies. They would stretch them now and again, albeit not as often as TMS would, and the characters were given a lot of leeway and pliability in regards to expressions. They also seemed to have been given the more saccharine episodes that pushed the relationship between the characters and that explored the more tender sides of themselves -- episodes such as The Pink Candidate, This Old Mouse, Megalomaniacs Anonymous, Brain’s Night Off, and Broadway Malady.

-------

- AKOM Productions (South Korea) -

• Minimalist, direct, metamorphose

AKOM is... interesting. They are altogether simple in their performances of the characters, keeping the animation fairly direct and unmalleable, while at the same time being somewhat metamorphose in style. They seem to have had a difficult time sticking to a specific design, with the characters ranging in size and shape from short-to-short and sometimes even within one episode:

Brain is generally given a head quite a bit larger than his body (this is standard, of course, but as opposed to TMS and Wang, AKOM pushes it even further; it’s almost bobble head-ish at times), along with a more pug-nosed look and eyes set farther apart:

Pinky varies, going anywhere from his general form and big-nosed profile...

... to a literal pixie:

Occasionally, you get a cute pose that has a nice little spurt of emotion in it, but, generally, Brain is kept very straight-faced and dull against Pinky’s boisterous demeanor.

AKOM is known for animating the Brinky episode, which featured Brain and Pinky’s son/clone, Romy. I’ll give them credit in that there are some sweet Romy poses to be found throughout the episode:

That being said, I do wish that they’d pushed the emotional element more. Take this shot from The Maze, for instance:

Had TMS or Wang been in charge, we probably would have gotten much more dynamic expressions here. Not that these are bad, but they could have been pushed more than this.

AKOM is by no means the worst, but they’re not the best either.

-------

- Rough Draft (South Korea) -

• On-model, solid, sketchy (occasionally)

Of the four studios involved in the Pinky and the Brain show, the one that kept the characters most on-model was probably Rough Draft. They were somewhat conservative when utilizing squashes and stretches, rarely deviating from the model sheet and pushing the characters only so far animation-wise. While this resulting in stiffer performances, particularly in regards to Brain, they didn’t deprive their audience of cute expressions either.

The following screenshots are from Two Mice and a Baby, It’s Only a Paper World, and Pinky at the Bat.

Rough Draft harbored a couple of cute little ticks that, while not necessarily unique to them, tended to show up in their work.

One is that, when Brain was ruffled, they’d appropriately ruff up his fur, as well:

It’s a cute look that I wish had been put into play more often.

Another is what I call the “squirrel paws” pose, in which Pinky brings his hands up to his chest like a squirrel would do. They did this a lot, and it’s adorable:

When it comes to squashes and stretches, Rough Draft certainly didn’t take advantage of it as much as TMS or even Wang did, but the poses would still be expressive:

Animation-wise, Rough Draft kept it limited, but sweet and very on-model.

-------

So what’s the tally? That’s entirely up to you. Everyone is going to have their own, personal preference, depending on which style they favor. Speaking for myself, TMS is, in my opinion, the best studio overall, but Wang remains my favorite for how charming their drawings of Brain were and how emotive their facial expressions would get. Here’s my final ranking in terms of skill:

TMS: 10/10 Wang: 9/10 AKOM: 6/10 Rough Draft: 7/10

How about you? Which studio is your favorite?

-------

Episodes shown:

A Pinky and the Brain Christmas (TMS) Brain Meets Brawn (TMS) Megalomaniacs Anonymous (Wang) This Old Mouse (Wang) Fly (AKOM) The Maze (AKOM) Brinky (AKOM) Two Mice and a Baby (Rough Draft) It’s Only a Paper World (Rough Draft) Pinky at the Bat (Rough Draft)

[always5hineee]

Hell and Back - Chapter 2: Entry

Chapter warnings: Mild language

Word count: 1661

-----

       "So basically, I can have up to fifteen people." She explained. "And I figured you guys might want to help me out a bit?" Y/N was currently trying to explain the mysterious email she had received the night before, mentioning the opportunity for a wish and the potential group that she had in mind. The more people the better, right?

       "So you can wish for anything?" Sehun asked, leaning forward with an intrigued glint in his eyes.

       "I mean... yeah, it said that."

       "We could totally wish to be rich, then." Kris suggested.

       "Or famous!" Chanyeol added.

       "Guys." Suho held his hands out, quieting their overlapping suggestions. "We could get the band." The whole group went into what almost looked like a frenzy, Y/N watching it with a glossy stare. She hadn't mentioned yet that she'd already made her wish. She just needed their help.

       "This sounds awesome!" Tao cheered above the chatter, pumping a fist in a strange little dance. His and all the others' eyes were bright with excitement and hope, glittering with the promise of a better future. She didn't doubt that it was exactly the look that was on her face walking down the street the night before.

       How was she meant to crush their hopes on this? There wasn't really much she could do. Even if she could change her wish... would she want to? There were ways around it. She could say that it gave her a multiple choice, or that it just sensed her deepest desire. Better yet, maybe she could convince them that it was what they internally wanted, and the strange system just figured it out on their own.

       So now she was considering lying... Would it be worth it? For a power? She was conflicted beyond belief on it. It could change her life forever, make everything great, but... these were her best friends in the whole world. They were there for her even when she wasn't skilled, when she couldn't do what they could. They never made her feel worthless for it. How could she be expected to break the news to them now, though?

       As she considered her options, optimism already warping with worries, she heard a notification ring from her phone. She had all of her notifications turned off all the time- until last night. She had set her email notification to ring should something come in. Sure enough, the little envelope icon was glowing on the screen. Noticing it over her shoulder, Chen's face lit up.

       "Open it!" Hand shaking just slightly enough that she was the only one who noticed. Clicking into her phone after typing in her password. She moved to her inbox. Breath hitching, she recognized the clarity of the header. She felt a surge of heat as the large group of boys crowded around her, trying to see over each other to the tiny window.

       Pressing on the icon, the letter opened up, listing on in the same shimmery white script under the now slightly familiar elegant logo. The label at the top simply read Thank You. In the interest of her entire group of friends, she read it out loud.

       "You are allowed to enter up to fourteen teammates, providing for a fifteen-person team maximum. The signer of the initial email must be present for the start of the trials, but does not have to remain throughout the entire process. Please enter the names of those who wish to participate. After the details have been given, all will be given an opportunity to revoke their application. Looking around at them, she asked if they were all willing to participate.

       "This seems a little sketchy." Baekhyun said quietly. He hadn't really spoken up until this point, but he wasn't too excited at the prospect of some mysterious set of 'trials'. She had to admit that the word didn't sound the most pleasant.

       "Come on, we'll be able to pull out if we really want to." Lay nudged him. "Count me in! Seems like it could be fun!" Looking around, she saw the various nods and agreeing murmurs. Noting no objections, she wrote down all their full names. Clicking enter, it buffered, then switched screen.

       "Your wish has been ascertained."

       "You made a wish already?" Luhan asked, brows furrowing confusedly, wondering why she wouldn't have spoken up certain.

       "No, ascertained means to find something out. That insinuates that they picked it for us." Kyungsoo explained, Y/N breathing out in a quiet sigh of relief. She'd tell them eventually. Just... not now.  She continued reading to take their attention off of the tangent.

       "Your trials have now been activated." She read out. "An app request will be sent to your phone. To continue playing, accept the request and download the software. Follow the instructions from there. Thank you for your submission." Just as she hit the final 'enter' button, the email disappeared again, just as it had before.

       "Well..." Baekhyun noted. "That was... something."

       "Did you guys get the notification yet?" Lay asked, already pulling out his phone. After a few no's, Chen spoke up.

       "Wait, what is this?" Showing his phone to Kyungsoo, the man sighed. "That's an update notification from your settings app."

       "Oh... and that one?" Kyungsoo looked again.

       "Oh- now that's the notification." Lay ran over to look at it. Sure enough, he had received a generic notification that had the regular options of accept or deny. The simple black font asked, Allow dHJpYWxz to download and make changes to your device? Before Chen could even do anything, Lay groaned,

       "Aww, why did he get it first?" Reaching over his shoulder to tap 'accept'.

       "Hey!"

       "What? You were gonna do it anyway!" Sure enough, the notifications began popping up one everyone's phones. Once all the boys had accepted (some more excitedly than others), Y/N received a slightly different notification.

       All of your party has entered. Allow dHJpYWxz​​​​​​-party1​ to download and make changes to your device? Confused on the new wording, but unaware of a better option, she clicked accept as well, opening the app. Once her's was running, all the others began scrolling content across the screens. The app had the same sleek design as the email, featuring the black and silver color palette.

       The makeup of the app was very minimalistic. The homepage for the boys had four very distinct sections, each with a translucent color to separate it. The first was "Current Trial", second was "Completed Trials", the third was "Players", and the final was "Rules and Gameplay". Y/N's screen housed all of these, as well as another bar before rules titled "Abilities bar". Clicking through, everything seemed a bit bare, so she directed everyone a bit awkwardly.

       "Hey, we should probably read through the rules." They all agreed, clicking into the tab to skim the sheet as they took turns reading sections aloud.

       Welcome to the trials. You have all agreed to participate thus far. There are 100 rounds, each with a different goal that you will be given at the start of the round. There is no way to skip a round, and you will not be able to see rounds in advance. For every round, you will be given your goal. Some will include time limits or specific items you need to collect. In addition, for each round, one person will be prohibited from using their abilities. This will be non-negotiable, as you will find your powers rendered useless for the round.

       In all public trials, you are permitted to cause as much or as little of a scene as possible. You are not allowed to explain the trials to anyone, or you will be eliminated. You may not be caught by law enforcement, or you will be eliminated. You may not cheat, or you will be eliminated. Loopholes, however, are valid and could even be rewarded.

       At the start of every round, you will be given a chance to drop out. Each trial will have its own drop-out fee aside from Round 1. Your fee will be collected under any and all circumstances, so consider well before you choose to exit the trials. In the event of someone leaving the trials, they are not permitted to return, but the rest of the group remains unaffected. In the event that Player 1 leaves the trials, the remaining players will be given an additional trial to determine a new player 1.        

       To win, at least one person must complete all 100 trials successfully. In the event of a victor, a wish will be granted. Any questions may be asked through the Rules and Gameplay help bar. You will be answered in a timely manner. If you receive no response, your question may have been invalid, or there may be assistance on the way. At this time, if you wish to remove yourself from the trials, please go to the Current Trial page and follow the sequence. This will be accessible at all times.

       "This is... a lot to process." Kris said, rather obviously. Each of them was exploring the app curiously, most of the buttons inactive. Clicking into the Current Trial bar, she noted that the drop out button was indeed active. Underneath the big letters, "End Trials", there was a smaller script reading, Removal Fee: None. Next to the button, there was also a large "Begin" button. Looking at the others' screens, she noted that she was the only one who had it. She assumed that, as the so-called Player 1, she was in charge of deciding when the rounds began.

       "So... are we doing this thing?" Tao asked her, leaning forward to hover over her phone a bit.

       "If you all are ready." With sideways glances and nods from the group, she inhaled deeply, finger hovering over the screen. Finally, she worked up the courage and clicked it, lighting up the page.

       Trial 1: Start.

Go to Chapter 3

[tinsley-goldsworth]

blood still stains when the sheets are washed

summary: c.c. has a sneaking suspicion that ricky is hiding something from him [or the five suspicious signs c.c. noticed about ricky] 

(Week 1 of my 30 weeks of prompt challenge; dice and playing cards)

wc: 2851

read on ao3!

Ever since his teenage years, C.C. never liked parties all that much. The glamour of it all, the loud music, and the messy drinks never really appealed to his interest, but C.C. agreed to attend Francesca’s party as he knew she would probably murder him if he didn’t attend it. Francesca had questionable morals and a sketchy life but C.C. firmly separated his personal life from his work life. Every detective had a friend who occasionally committed crimes and got away with it, right?

C.C. wasn’t having the best time at her party and frankly, it was a little boring to have to make small talk with some mutuals he didn’t know well After a few drinks, he transitioned from talking to people to playing card games with strangers (drunk Tinsley was much bolder than sober Tinsley would ever be). He sat at a table with a dim light hanging over it and his long legs still reached the ground, even though he was sitting on a barstool. There were dozens of red solo cups on the table and he was surprised that nobody had knocked over any drinks during their games.

They played a variety of different card games, including poker, and C.C. was still sober enough to notice that a particular person was winning every single game and suspiciously, that person was always the one to shuffle the cards. He couldn’t recall the person’s name but as the person began shuffling the cards, C.C. asked loudly, “Hey, uh, shuffle guy! What’s your name again?”

“Ricky Goldsworth,” The person answered, raising an eyebrow at C.C.’s unruly volume. He continued to shuffle the cards nonchalantly, his fingers moving swiftly as he skillfully bent the cards. As inebriated C.C. was, he still took note of how oddly familiar Ricky was with the cards, which was seeming like he had spent the majority of his life just playing card games.

“Ricky! You’ve been shuffling the cards all night and you’ve been winning every single game! I think there’s something fishy here,” C.C. could hear the slight slur in his own words and he knew that he was too drunk to be taken seriously. The other people playing didn’t seem to think so as they laughed uproariously at his remark and Ricky cleared his throat as he placed the perfectly stacked and shuffled deck of cards in the center of the table.

“There are no such things as coincidences in the world, Tinsley,” Ricky commented mysteriously and C.C. couldn’t decide whether that remark was seductively mysterious or meaninglessly deep. Either way, the way Ricky’s eyes glinted mischievously after talking made C.C.’s heart skip a beat. The party had started to die down and eventually, the people who were avidly playing the card game moments earlier left. 

The detective was too intoxicated to make good decisions so of course, his night ended with hooking up with Ricky because a) he was insanely attractive and b) there was so much unresolved romantic tension between them and C.C. could never let anything remain unresolved.

The morning after, C.C. expected Ricky to disappear mysteriously but Ricky didn’t leave. He and Ricky never really discussed what happened as their relationship sort of took off from there. At first, it was a casual relationship where they went on a few dates and then, their relationship strengthened and they began spending more time with each other.

Despite C.C. sharing a large amount of information about himself, he still didn’t know much about Ricky. But in a way, he liked the mysterious sheen of Ricky’s personality so when Ricky brushed off any specific questions about his past, C.C. didn’t push farther. However, C.C. did learn that Ricky worked at a drug company but somehow managed to live a somewhat luxurious lifestyle.

After a few months of dating, C.C. decided to ask Ricky to move in since Ricky was basically already living with him. Many of Ricky’s belongings were already in C.C.’s house so the move was relatively easy and quick. For some reason, C.C. didn’t really process the fact that Ricky was going to be moving in with him until he gave his boyfriend a key to his house.

“Now, you better not lose this or else you’re going to be in big trouble,” C.C. half-joked as he handed his boyfriend the key. When Ricky received the key, he broke into his signature charming grin as he took out his keychain that had his car keys and attached the house key to the keychain. 

As he held up the keychain, Ricky proudly announced, “Don't worry, if it’s attached to my car keys I won’t ever lose them.”

When Ricky held up his keychain, C.C.’s detective senses flared when he noticed that there was a small gold dice charm attached to the keychain. C.C. would have brushed it off if the gold dice was plastic and coated in fake gold paint but the charm appeared to be made out of pure gold as it had scratches on the surface but no paint or other colors had been revealed from the scratches.

“Hey, is that a gold dice charm? It looks cool,” C.C. asked casually, pointing to the dangling charm. His mind was racing as he tried to connect the dots to find a logical explanation. There was no way Ricky could afford to buy a charm made out of pure gold if his only source of income was working at the drug company.

“Oh, a friend gave it to me for my birthday. It’s just a good luck charm. Hey, do you want Thai food for dinner tonight?” Ricky asked, smoothly switching the topic away from the charm as he put his keychain back into his pocket. The charm wasn’t mentioned again for a long long time after that interaction.

Living with Ricky was a dream but as time passed, C.C. started to notice more suspicious things happening. For example, there would be black cars that would constantly drive past their house and sometimes, they would park for a couple seconds and C.C. could feel whoever was hiding behind those dark tinted windows staring at the house before driving away. He hoped that he was just being paranoid and that these signs didn’t mean anything but it happened too often to be a coincidence. 

One day, C.C. returned home from work early and he saw one of the black cars that often drove by their house parked in their driveway next to Ricky’s car, occupying C.C.’s parking spot. The detective parked his car next to the sidewalk in front of his house and since the curtains were drawn, C.C. couldn’t see who was inside the house. He had a hunch that there was a conversation going on inside the house that he wasn’t supposed to hear so he entered through the back door quietly.

As he gently closed the door behind him, C.C. heard the soft lull of a hushed conversation in the living room floating through the air and after removing his shoes, he carefully walked closer to better hear what the conversation was about. The people were speaking in deep, low voices, which made it hard to distinguish words, but C.C. heard the words “money”, “delivery”, “job”, and “deadline”. He was approaching the living room and getting closer to hearing the conversation but he tripped over a fallen letter and made a loud noise. 

C.C. swore under his breath, cursing his clumsy behavior as the conversation halted to a stop and he heard somebody stand up and start moving towards where he was standing. He held his breath and when he saw that it was Ricky who walked out of the living room. His boyfriend had a frown on his face as he asked, “What are you doing here? I thought you were coming back later.”

“I got off work early. What’s up with the black cars in the driveway? Also, who are you talking to?” C.C. tried to move past Ricky to take a look at who was in the living room but Ricky blocked him smoothly. 

“Nobody important. Just dealing with some business. They’re leaving now anyway. Stay here,” Ricky instructed and C.C. nodded. When Ricky slipped back into the living room, C.C. broke his promise as he shuffled closer to the living room, trying to get a good look at whoever was in the living room without being too obvious about it. There were two or three men dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses that Ricky was talking to and C.C. was unsure whether they were government officials or outlaws.

Ricky murmured something to the men and the men nodded before leaving the house. C.C. quietly returned to his earlier position so when Ricky walked out of the living room, C.C. didn’t seem like he moved at all. The detective knew that if he pressed for answers, Ricky would divert the subject. And even though this was clearly a red flag, C.C. decided to yet again give Ricky the benefit of the doubt.

A few weeks later, Ricky surprised C.C. with an extravagant gift. Although he didn’t seem like one, Ricky Goldsworth was one of the biggest sweethearts C.C. had ever met. So, of course, on their one year anniversary, Ricky bought C.C. a gift.

They were sitting at the dinner table when Ricky took out a small bag and placed it in front of C.C. with a giant grin on his face. C.C. gasped delightedly and took the bag off the table, carefully placing it in his lap as he looked inside to find a small box. He took out the small black box and opened it to reveal a stunning red and silver ring.

“Just to clarify, it’s not a wedding ring. I would’ve spent more if this was a wedding ring. This was just a tiny gift I wanted to give to you,” Ricky explained nonchalantly as C.C. examined the ring. The ring was rather thin and delicate but the red ruby seemed to pop out against the silver band. Ornate vine patterns were carved into the ring and C.C. deducted that this ring was handmade and probably costed a fortune.

“How did you afford this ring, honey?” C.C. asked incredulously, still trying to comprehend how expensive the ring was. With a large jewel, hand-carved intricate designs, the ring must’ve been at least ten thousand dollars, which was definitely out of Ricky’s budget.

“Oh, just another shift at the drug company. It’s not a big deal. It’s not that expensive anyway.” Ricky casually replied, taking a sip out of his wine glass. C.C. eyed his boyfriend suspiciously, uncertain of whether Ricky was joking or actually trying to convince C.C. If he was trying to convince C.C., it was definitely not working as only an idiot would believe that an extra shift could cover the cost of this exquisite piece of jewelry.

Before C.C. could probe any further, Ricky quickly brought up the new topic of buying a new car and C.C. brushed any thoughts about Ricky’s behavior into the corner of his mind. The detective did end up wearing the ring often and as a result, he received a lot of questions about it. With each question asked about how much the ring was or who gave him the ring, C.C. was reminded of how shady the whole situation was. But then again, it wasn’t a big deal, just like the men in black, and C.C. didn’t want to make it seem more important than it was. 

However, C.C. wasn’t able to make any more excuses once he found a dead body in the bathtub. Once again, the detective had returned home early from work and he was surprised that Ricky wasn’t home yet as he usually arrived earlier than C.C. did. 

C.C. wasn’t looking to snoop around to find anything Ricky was hiding but a dead body lying face down in a bathtub was sort of hard to miss when you were using the bathroom. When C.C. first saw the body, he had a moment of frozen shock as he stared at it in dismay, uncertain about what to do with the bloody corpse in the tub. He had no clue how it got there in the first place but he had a very strong suspicion that Ricky was associated with the dead body. 

The blood was already caking in the body and C.C. carefully inspected it the best he could without touching it. He was examining the stab wound on the person’s bad when he heard Ricky coming in. Instead of pretending that there was no problem present like he had always been doing, C.C. decided to confront Ricky.

“Hey, sweetie! How was your day?” Ricky called out as he entered the house and walked towards the bathroom. C.C.’s heart rate quickened as he heard his boyfriend walk closer and closer and when Ricky opened the bathroom door, his mouth fell open in a surprised “O”. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“Ricky, can you please just explain what’s going on? I’m kind of tired of you brushing aside all these weird things you do. You owe me an explanation.” Looking Ricky in the eye while saying that was one of the most difficult tasks C.C. had ever done and he had solved hundreds of murders. Ricky sighed and he nodded in defeat, closing the bathroom door behind him as he stepped in.

“Where do you want me to start?” Ricky, normally warm and caring, started to display signs of defensiveness as he crossed his arm after anxious running his hands through his hair. 

The detective sat on the edge of the bathtub, where there was thankfully no blood, and thought for a moment before answering. “Start from the moment we met. When you were shuffling the cards. I couldn’t help but notice you were really good at shuffling cards.”

“You really do pick up on everything, huh?” Ricky smiled slyly at C.C. and C.C. couldn’t help but crack a small, proud smile at his skills. “Well, obviously, I don’t work at a drug company. I sort of deal with criminals. I did most of my connections when I was in Vegas over games of Poker so I learned how to play cards well to impress potential business partners.”

“And the golden dice?” C.C. raised a questioning eyebrow and Ricky leaned against the sink, tapping the side of the counter with his fingertips.

“I won the golden dice in a game of blackjack and to this day, the guy who I won it from still contacts me,” Ricky’s pride was starting to reveal itself in his voice. Even though being a criminal was nothing to be proud of, Ricky somehow managed to make doing dirty business seem like he was a famous actor rising to fame.

“What about the men in black?”

“Oh, those guys.” Ricky casually picked up a loose coin lying near the sink on the countertop and began fiddling with it mindlessly. “They were business partners. They gave me a task to do and they offered a lot of money for the job.”

“Which is what you used to buy the ring,” C.C. filled in the blank and Ricky nodded, placing the coin down on the countertop as he locked eyes with C.C. again.

“That’s right. They paid upfront since they’ve been working with me long enough to trust me so u decided to buy a small present for you. It didn’t cost too much compared to what I earned.” As Ricky spoke, C.C. glanced down at the breathtaking ring on his finger and realized that he was never going to be able to look at the ring again and not associate the deep red ruby with blood.

“What’s this about then?” C.C. gestured to the dead body and Ricky sighed, pursing his lips a bit. He clearly was fine with sharing everything but this. 

“He’s just a job. I needed someplace to put the body and I thought you weren’t going to come home early. Don’t worry, I’ll get rid of him.” Ricky flashed his signature smirk and C.C. hated the fact that that one simple gesture was enough to make him blush.

“You know I could technically call the police right now and you could be convicted with countless crimes, right?” C.C. asked loosely as he stood up to his full height so he was towering over Ricky. Ricky didn’t seem threatened at all as he calmly leaned further back against the counter and looked up at C.C., his classic smirk still on his face.

“You could. But are you going to?”

~ click the link in my bio for my bfu fics!

[breezethegame]

Dev Log #1-ish?

Seeing how I missed like two weeks of mini blog posts, I’m deeming this one an actual “Devlog” (fanfare and such yada yada). I'm just going to call it a Dev Log.

So much has gone on the last few weeks that I’m struggling to piece it all together, so here is an attempt:

Computer Adventures:

So, I don’t haven’t built a dev machine from the ground up for years now, (maybe since college?) and typically just upgrade parts as I see fit (graphics card, ram, processor, etc).

Well, my motherboard has been giving me problems for close to a year now, where it occasionally decides “yeah, don’t really care about your boot device today”, as well as other miscellaneous things that required me to do things like removing the CMOS battery or main drive. I was also running out of upgrade options, so I got a bit fed up and decided it might be time to replace it.

I wasn't going to be cost-effective to get another LGA1150 board and CPU, and I try to build computers with future-proofing in mind. I was also looking to get a smaller case too. I already had a nice GPU (GTX 1070) that I got a couple years ago before cryptocurrency “did the thing” and graphics card's prices got ridiculous, so didn’t have to worry about replacing that.

Ultimately, I decided to do a "completely new" build.

I’ve been building computers for friends and family for many years, so I literally woke up the next day and said, “I’m about to build this thing blind”.

Well, kinda learned the hard way of the hassle of going at it that way (along with committing a couple noobish mistakes)...

Shopping Time!

Lesson 1: Double check store inventory before heading to a store that's 20 miles away

Well, I choose the nearest Fry's Electronics (it was Saturday, and I really wanted to get a machine built the same day). I get there and start looking for all of the cases and motherboards (severally disappointed that they only had one Micro ATX board in stock, something I was looking to get for the more compact build, but not as restrictive as a Mini-ITX, which they had several of). Impatient as ever, I decided I was going to pick it up.

While looking at other things, I hear another customer talking to sales rep, and the rep mentions that they don’t have a certain CPU in stock. After listening even more (I’m noisy, sorry), he mentions that they have NO Intel CPUs in stock. I decided that I had to get in on this convo.

He informs up that as of late, their store may receive like, 10 at a time, and also mentions that their other location doesn’t have any either (both of these locations are 20+ miles away from me in Dallas).

I also find out that they don’t have the specific ram I was looking for either (I ended up getting something a little pricier). He ends up informing me that the Micro Center 10 minutes away from where we were should have some CPUs.

So I end up at the Micro Center and they did have the CPUs, as well as a case that caught my attention. They also had a lot of other nice things too! Kind of wished I would have known to go to Micro Center first, despite it being much farther from home.

Building Time!?

Lesson Two: Get a head-start of figuring out your plan for wire management and how pieces will fit in your new case

I got home and was ready to build. I spent a lot of time trying to get the interior wire management together since it’s a much smaller case than my last one. I ended up spending a couple of hours getting it just right (I don’t intend to go back into this machine once it’s complete since I’m nearly maxing it out spec wise for now), before moving out to everything else.

Getting my old water-cooling radiator in was a bit tough (a very tight squeeze), but after that, adding in the ram, etc was a Breeze.

Hours went by, I installed Windows, software, etc…

I go to shut it down (after having done several restarts for the software installs prior), and it doesn’t want to power off. After 10 minutes of waiting, I manually power it off. Whatever, I’m super tired at this point.

The next day (Last Sunday), I’ve encountered several other smaller issues. Updating the BIOS didn’t help either. Great…

Okay, Building Time For Real

Lesson 3: Kinda make sure things boot up and work before you get too early to clean/tighten things down in your build

After taking the whole thing apart, I ended up swapping out that mobo for another of the same kind (since Frys didn’t have any others), but then ended up ordering different board on Amazon. So waited another day or so and the new board arrived (it’s now Tuesday evening).

I rewired/rebuilt the computer once again, installed the software, etc. I spent most of Wednesday day checking in with the team and catching up with emails and such. Then Thursday as I was beginning to do some work, I noticed that the computer was saying that my Windows wasn’t activated. I go to my Microsoft account to retrieve my key, and the page wouldn’t load to provide me the key and would only show the transaction.

Lesson 4: Make sure to keep your activation key(s) somewhere other than online/digital if you can

It’s super late and the option to speak to someone was obviously closed, but they had a chat option, so I reached someone through there. After back and forth for a while, and him remoting into the machine to check the activation status, he tells me that the key might not be showing up because it was an “upgrade”, so I would need to buy another copy of Windows 10 again.

Lesson 5: Tell "Aaron" from Microsoft no over and over, and don't fall for possibly sketchy things like sales pitches that come out of nowhere

I originally bought Windows Home and upgraded it to Pro on the same day back in 2015, so I told him that and he kept insisting that I buy Windows 10 again. I refused and told him that I wouldn’t and that I’d take care of this in the morning, and he then offered that I could pay a smaller fee to reactivate my Windows 10, but it would be a one time fee of like, $40. (I refused again).

When I go to end the remote session, he then informs me that he “Really wants to help me out” and ends up activating it anyway. (This whole thing seemly suspicious, I ended up recording it). I watched him activate Windows for over 10 minutes through some manual process (it's almost 2am, and I had work in the morning). He eventually finishes and thanks/apologies. Not sure why I even had to go through all that, but whatever...

I ended up spending Friday wrapping up installs and doing a fresh system backup afterward, before moving along with pulling down the Breeze project from source control, and reminding myself of where I left off…

Anyway, long story short, I tried to get a system built in a day, and it ends up taking almost a week!

Okay, but did you get any dev done these last two weeks?

Yeah, somehow!

Health Bar and Health System:

First thing the team and I did was evaluate a few things that are critical, but we’ve been bouncing back and forth on: The Health System

(WIP of a concept we're working on for his health bar)

The reason for this is mostly for game balancing purposes:

Is this a game that focuses on having Breeze (the player) overwhelm his opponents with an array of abilities (think Devil May Cry/Bayonetta, Kingdom Hearts, God of War?)

Or is this a game where Breeze must focus on finding openings to deal damage and avoid an onslaught of danger (think Hollow Knight, Ori, Megaman, pretty much most NES/SNES platformers)

Game design… is hard at times. Sometimes you think something will work well in theory, but when you get down into the specifics, you begin to question how certain things will balance out.

You’d think something like designing a health bar isn’t too trivial, until you realize that the Health bar represents the player’s health, and the player’s health influences the character’s survivability, which is then tied to other factors: what options does the player have to “survive” and what threatens that?

Anyway, not going to get too deep into that because I lack the PhD.

Basically, there was a bit of a rift in the UI design process that led to really evaluating game design items, and I’ve been working towards seeing what Breeze’s options are and how to limit them in areas, or how I can build the world and it’s inhabitants in a way that will make this all work out.

It’s not going to be something that will likely be answered quickly, but nevertheless, that’s Game Design™ sometimes...  

Frame Data:

[Insert Craig of the Creek frame data meme here]

I used to have a really convoluted way of tackling this in which I would have events in the animation that if given an ID, it will look for a set of “Frame Data” and then look for a specific frame and then load that information up.

It would then pass that frame information into the active hitbox and if something is in it, math and physics and stuff would happen.

I didn’t change this up too much, but I did reduce the setup process by allowing you to just drop the FrameData right into the frame of the animation (no more extra array and ID lookup stuff!)

New Particles:

We’ve got new particles! There’s one for jumping/landing/dashing dust, as well as one for wall sliding.

In the last update, I added a feature that generates “points” at the edges of a character’s collider box (as well as other “checks”), so this helped in making sure that the particles are created in the right place. This was especially challenging with the wall sliding particle.

Also, with the wall sliding particle, I needed to implement a way to have a “looping” particle effect, as well as making sure the particle effect follows Breeze as he’s moving down the wall

Developing Sprite Model Sheets

We've got models sheets completed for just about all of the cast members, though, since there's several artists on the project, as well as animators (including I), I wanted to get some sheets together that would work as a base for animators to use, and to eliminate elements that aren't needed in the sprites (minor details that would be seen in promotional art or more detailed art in general), as well as get a proper size for the characters in-game.

Misc. Features

I’ve done various other quality of life code changes to make it easier to do certain things, like creating new attacks, making the screen pause/slow-mo when Breeze changes forms, and updated my Debugging Manager so that I can hide/show certain debug messages.

I’ve also been working on a RoomManager, and writing features to look handle what happens when the player enters a room (like starting a cutscene, showing UI, spawning things, etc)

I’ve also been looking into updating the game’s Music Handler, mostly for how to handle looping a song after it's intro plays, as well as finding ways to add effects to tracks!

Other Breeze things:

I’ve been working on getting shirts done through Teespring, and I would have loved to show off some of the shirts I ordered, but Teespring shipped them using DHL, and somewhere between DHL and USPS, my shirts have been sitting in shipping limbo for 5-6 days, despite being like a city or two away from me… Maybe tomorrow ~

Also, working on a couple of enamel pin designs! Haven’t figured out the maker yet, but designs are coming along nicely!

Quick Test Build Coming

So, a week or two ago, I planned on releasing a quick build for the Drop Tier backers and above. There was a lot of features and such that I wanted to get done... before my computer stuff happened. Our goal was to have one out before the end up March, so....

I’m going to release one anyway. Maybe tomorrow?

I’ll be creating a post for those in the eligible tiers once I’m done compiling/building it! Please keep in mind that this build will be very minimal and exists to test out controls/physics. I wanted to make a strong first impression, but I'll chill on the whole "striving for perfection" thing for now!

Also, I'm on vacation this week, so I'll be cramming on Breeze stuff this whole week to make up for lost time!

[dreamddana]

Recovery (EUNWOO)

Cha Eunwoo x Reader

POV: 3rd Person

Category: Fluff, Angst

Summary: Reader (Y/N) is a secret agent assigned to work undercover as an intern to gather information about the sketchy forensic science team that collects data for the police department. She gets to be mentored by the head scientist-detective, Cha Eunwoo. 

“We’ll leave you with the team for about 6 months. Here’s your personal data, inside includes everything that makes up your undercover persona.” Chief says, handing me a brown envelope. “You’ll be an intern, we’ve submitted your records to the facility and they’re expecting you today. Hopefully, you’ll be taken care of well there. Try to find out as much as you can about the team and their head scientist.” He goes on explaining to you what you can’t and can do. 

No giving away your real identity. No sharing of classified information. No falling in-love. No secret ties. No unfulfillable promises to anyone. Basically don’t be stupid. In 6 months, gather as much information about the team. Try to get hands-on with their projects. Report everything at the end of the week.

You, dressed work formal in a suit, get out of the car and walk into the precinct. You’re greeted by a tall, dark-haired man in a sweater with files and a cup of cofffee. Casual? He holds the door open for you as he reads a sheet of paper in his hands. He then scurries away. 

“You must be Althea Venn, the forensic intern.” A middle-aged man greets you. 

Name: Althea Maybelline Venn

“Yes! Good morning.” You smile. 

The man smile back. “My name is Miles, the head of the forensic department. I’ll be your boss.” Is he the target? “I’m not sure if the entire team is there yet since it’s only 7:30, usually they arrive around 8.” He says, with his hand on his chin, as if he was thinking. “But I think Eunwoo is there already, he’s always early.” He laughs and asks you to follow him to the office. 

You take the elevator to the top floor and then the stairs going up. “We like to keep the lab and office upstairs where its open and free so it doesn’t make the entire building stuffy.” He explains. You both arrive at the room top and walk to a room with pretty high ceilings. The room was full of test tubes, machines and sciencey stuff. 

“So, Althea, this is the forensic lab and office, its where-” He gets cut off by his phone ringing. “Hold on, I have to take this.” He excuses himself and leaves the room to take the call.

You take a look around, scanning the room for all the evidence, open files, prints and samples you could find. An open folder catches you eye. You walk toward it, and take a glance. 

“Excuse me?” You hear a male voice say. You’re caught off guard and stand up straight right away to greet the man. “What are you-” He stops talking, then continues to say “Oh, you’re the girl from earlier at the entrance.” He says. He walks toward a desk to put his coffee down then proceeds to you where he finds the open file. “Snooping on files?” He interrogates you.

You’re at a loss for words.

He laughs, breaking his straight face. “Bet you thought you were in trouble.” He says, sliding the files toward him and taking a look at them. “I think these are a copy of your data actually.” You give him a puzzled look. “Althea?” 

You two sit down by a desk. He opens the folder of paper with all your fake information on it. “You’re the new intern, huh? Do you have any idea what we do here?” He asks. You shake your head. He lets out a light scuff. “Well, Althea, I’m Eunwoo, the head of the forensics team. I’ll be guiding you through everything we do.” He smiles, closing the folder.

“Eunwoo?” You repeat. He nods his head. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.” You say.

“Oh, no need for formal credentials. We’re all pretty chill and casual here.” He says. “Which is why I didn’t think much of you when I saw you earlier. I thought you were a new detective cause you were wearing a suit.” He chuckles. “I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team when they arrive, but for now, you can just relax. I’ll just test a few samples.” He says, standing from his chair and walking toward the lab area.

You take a glance around the room and then immediately snap yourself back into the reality that you’re on a mission. Miles comes back into the room. He looks at you then at Eunwoo who was busy working, gives you a thumbs-up and leaves once again.

“Althea.” Eunwoo calls out. Yeah, you forgot that was you. “Hello? Earth to Althea?” He says, trying to catch your attention. When you finally snap into your senses and stand up and ask what he needs. He laughs, “Could you check the pile of folders on my desk for someone named Jason Dean?” 

You run through about 4 folders before you find Jason Dean’s file. You take it to Eunwoo. And he explains to you how the blood found on a piece of evidence matched with Dean. 

“See, since he’s an old criminal, we already have his file.” He says. “This case we’re testing on is another homicide. And they he’s a suspect because they found his car about 7 feet away from where the victim was found deceased.” You try your best to understand the information. “So, since his blood was found, he’s one of the top suspects.”

“If you hadn’t found that evidence, would he still be a suspect?” You ask. “What if he was just around the area?” You continue, as if you were defending him. 

Eunwoo chuckles. “You really are something. Defending an ex-convict.” He says while trying pour a chemical into the blood sample. Before you could defend yourself, he drops the tube and it spills on the counter. 

You take a cloth from the other side of the counter and motion to wipe it off. He grabs yous arm before you got to close. “Don’t touch it.” He says, sounding concerned. “It might give you a chemical burn.” He takes the cloth from you and wipes all the liquid off. He was wearing gloves. 

After, he tries to pick up all the glass that shattered. “Learn from me, focus on whatever you’re doing.” He laughs lightly. You help him pick up the glass, and you feel a sharp pain in your hand. You lightly groan and look down to see the glass sticking out of your hand. 

Eunwoo looks at you and asks you to sit down. He comes back carrying a first aid-kit. He brings out a pair of tweezers and carefully extracts the glass from your hand. “You should be more careful.” He says sounding really concern. 

“Sorry.” He looks at you and shakes his head, saying “No, don’t be sorry.”

After cleaning the wound, he puts a minions-designed band-aid on it. 

“Really? Minions?” You laugh.

“Hey, minions are like the best thing ever.” He defends his love for minions, making you laugh even more. 

He looks at you as you laugh your ass off. 

It was lunch time. You were sat down by the desk after the accident until Eunwoo asked you to read up on a certain case and review the pieces of evidence that was gathered. 

“I’ll just finish transferring these and we can have lunch, alright?” Eunwoo says, continuing to work with chemicals. “Alright.” You tell him.

As soon as he finished, he takes his surgical gloves off and tosses them in the trash. “Lets go.” He says, grabbing his phone and wallet and proceeding outside. You follow him.

As you both walk downstairs, he checks his phone and sighs. “The rest of the team isn’t going today.”

“Why not?

“It was Friday yesterday, they probably went out drinking again.”

“You don’t drink?”

“I do, with the right people.”

“What does that mean?”

“They’re a little to wild for me.” He chuckles in embarrassment.

“What did you do last night?” You put emphasis on you. “Read?” 

He stays silent and you burst into laughter.

“My mentor is middle aged mom.” You tease. And he just goes along and laughs with you.

You then arrive at a burger place, shake shack. You both order shackburger and cola. 

“So tell me about yourself.” Eunwoo says, munching on his burger.

“You have my data files, you should know everything about me.” You smirk.

“To be fair, all that includes is your basic information, background of study, list of certifications and achievements and the letter saying why you think you should be allowed to intern with us.” He explains.

“That’s my entire life.” You laugh, and he rolls his eyes on you. “Alright well what do you want to know?” You ask, then take a bite off your burger.

“I don’t know really.” He says, scratching the back of his neck. “How about just who you are in general?” 

“My name is Althea Maybelline. I’m 23. I was able to rent out a studio apartment a few blocks away from the precinct. I’m very broke but I the guys who got me the internship give me a weekly allowance.” You tell him. He would nod after everything you said and look as if he was paying attention to you. “I really want to go around the city, I used to live in the UK so this is all pretty new.” You say with excitement in your eyes.

He would look at you with all attentiveness as you spoke.

You continue to tell him about how interested you are in learning so much more now that you’re here.

It had been awhile since someone actually listened to me, you thought.

“How about you tell me bout yourself?” You ask.

“Oh.” He almost coughs on his burger, making you giggle.

Your giggle makes him smile a little.

“Well, for starters, I’m Korean. I’m turning 25 in a few weeks. I live in a house also a couple of blocks away, with my baby cousin; her parents are abroad so I took her in.” He says, picking some fries. “I have pet fish.” He says, really excited and enthusiastically, which you giggle at.

“Stop laughing at me.” He says, laughing as well. “Anyway,” He continues. I usually get out of work early to pick my cousin up, but recently she’s been wanting to go home on her own.” He says as he looks out the window. “She’s growing up so fast, I can’t help but feel a little sad about it.” He says, smiling and shaking his head. He looks at you and catches you staring at him with bright eyes, so invested in his whole being. You both look away, and he breaks the awkwardness by asking you about your family

“When my parents split up, they went separate ways, making their own families and I guess they forgot about me. I worked most of the time while I was in high school and college, eventually graduating with honors. Then they contacted me and asked me to do things like this.” You say and then flinch and clear up, saying “internships and such.”

“Woah, I’m with a pretty cool girl.” He says, smiling at you.

“I’m nothing special.” You laugh.

“Whatever you say” He joins you laughing.

-

thats it for now!! ill update this again soon! hope you enjoyed :>