#I’ll probably draw more scenes from it but I have another scene in mind from this Halloween fic that was just… *chefs kiss*

[sinnbaddie]

Kakagai fanart based on this excerpt under the cut:

Kakashi: I hurt you.

Gai: Kakashi…

Kakashi: (being embraced by Gai, blushing and thinking *help*)

Gai: no matter what happens next, this conversation has made me the happiest man alive. I am honored that you chose to share your affections with me. To know I am worthy of your love… even if you decide that we must remain friends rather than passionate companions, tonight means more than I can ever express.

Kakashi: I don’t like curry.

Gai: nobody’s perfect.

Based off this fanfic:

[planetxiao]

# HAPPINESS FOR TWO

𖤐 umemiya hajime ; suo hayato ; sakura haruka x reader

⟢ fluff, scenarios // when their friends realized you’re good for each other.

𖤐 UMEMIYA HAJIME

Damn it all.

Hiragi wasn’t sure how, but he managed to make it home without realizing he didn’t have his antacid tablets on him. He checked – double checked – each of his pockets, but alas, they were gone. He sighed. There was only one place he thought it could be: back on the rooftop of Furin High.

He wasn’t usually forgetful, but it had been a long day, he supposed. That unnecessarily big fight took a lot out of him. 

It was like any other day, another leader of a gang demanding to fight Umemiya, except this guy was too persistent about it. In fact, all of his men seemed to have been of one mind. In the end, Umemiya gave him the fight he wanted. Of course, the white haired Bofurin leader reigned victorious, but he didn’t leave the fight unscathed. No one did. That being said, everyone was fine; they just left with minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

A meeting on the rooftop was held after the fight, each captain and vice captain giving their report before leaving for the day. That was when he must’ve set them down.

Hiragi trudged all the way back to Furin High, stomach turning at the possibility of getting roped into Umemiya’s antics again – if he was still there, anyway. The sun was about to set, and all of that day’s teams were on their last patrol shift. 

He had half a mind to kick down the door in irritation, but he resigned to pushing it open.  With his hands stuffed in his pockets, Hiragi’s eyes peeled this way and that to look for the very guy whose mere mention gave him indigestion in the first place.

Left, clear. Right, clear. A breath of relief… let out too soon.

Hiragi took one step before freezing. Sat at the picnic table about 15 feet away was Umemiya and someone he recognized to be his partner. 

Hiragi had seen you a couple times before. You would come to bring Umemiya lunch from time to time, and he would show you all of the plants he was growing in return. He really didn’t know anything about you but your name, nor did he ever feel the need to know more than that.

That was probably his fifth time seeing you. You both straddled the bench, facing each other, with your legs pulled over Umemiya’s. His hands rested on your hips as you gently wiped a cotton pad over the scratches on his face. Umemiya gazed at you with eyes that held nothing but love in them and a smile so easily made, like that of a dreamer stuck within his fantasies.

“Hajime, how many times have I asked you to be careful?” You sighed.

He laughed bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck, “Sorry, Sorry! I tried, I really did!”

You applied a large bandage to the cut on Umemiya’s cheek, shaking your head lightly.

“I know. I just worry about you.”

“I know, my love,” He cupped your face, “But, it’s okay. I’m okay! You don’t need to worry, I’ll always come back to you, okay?”

It was almost picturesque, the way you melted together like chocolate under the setting sun. Your forehead rested against his while he interlocked his fingers with yours. Hiragi felt bad watching the scene unfold in front of his eyes.

You giggled, “That was so cheesy, you dork.”

“What?! I thought it was romantic!”

He would rather eat his own shoe than admit this to anyone, but Hiragi smiled at the sight of Umemiya holding his world in the palm of his hands. He seemed to have found his true other half, someone that understood and cared for him in the way Umemiya deserved.

The creak of the rooftop door closing was heard by both you and Umemiya, the only sign that Hiragi was ever there. 

He’d come back for those tablets later.

𖤐 SUO HAYATO

Shouts bellowed down the street, drawing a crowd. It’s not unnecessarily unusual for a fight to break out there, but the people of the town watch as if it was the first time. Onlookers lined the walls of the narrow street close to the action.

Sakura and Nirei had been walking to meet up with Suo on their day off. They agreed to meet outside of Kotoha’s cafe at noon, but Sakura and Nirei were running late. As for why, well, Nirei had to take the time to go all the way to Sakura’s apartment and wake him up because he had overslept. Let’s just say Nirei had a rather stressful morning.

The fast shuffling of feet caught Sakura’s attention. He quirked a brow, looking up from his shoes to see a group of people in the distance. Some of them had been sent flying back in different directions, piquing Sakura’s curiosity.

What the hell? There’s a fight right now?

The itch of annoyance Sakura felt from that morning had him rearing to go. Nirei gulped. However, a comment from one of the onlookers was what sent them running towards the crowd.

“Hey, isn’t that eyepatch guy from Bofurin?”

Suo was in it?

They pushed through the crowd to see for themselves. Sure enough, they recognized the tassel earrings whipping in the air before they could even see their friend’s face. From the look of it, there weren’t that many foes left, and he had someone fighting alongside him.

You and Suo were back to back, taking one guy after another. Your movements mirrored each other as if watching a master and student. While your actions were more limited and practiced, Suo’s refined moves looked purely instinctual. He drew in his opponents with a mere look and had them on their backs within seconds. It was a violent dance that you both had invited your foes to.

Sakura and Nirei watched in shock, seeing these men drop like flies. It was ridiculous, this wasn’t a fight. There was no struggle from both sides, only one.

There were only two left, and Suo seemed to sense foul play heading in your direction. The sun gleamed off the metal bat that reeled back in front of you. You gasped. You weren’t used to fighting against weapons. Hell, you weren’t even that used to fighting in general. The guy smirked, swinging as hard as he could. But, the path of the bat was abruptly stopped as Suo flew through the air, swiftly kicking the guy in the face. The metal bat hit the ground with a clang, the owner flying back into a wall before crumbling onto the ground.

Suo’s venomous gaze lingered for a second on the man who sought to hurt you, though another one charged at him from behind. You called out his name – a warning hot on your lips. Suo took notice of the impending presence, but before he could turn and deal with the person, the crisp sound of a fist connecting with skin rang in his ears. Suo looked back, seeing the guy unconscious on the ground with most likely a broken nose.

Cheers erupted in the street, praising Suo and his partner in taking down the brutes. Sakura stuffed his hands in his pockets with a huff, while Nirei beamed at the two of you.

“Wow! I wonder who that person is. Do you know, Sakura?”

“No idea.”

As Nirei was about to approach them, he watched Suo take your hand in his and examine your bleeding knuckles.

You laughed bashfully and shrugged, “I improvised.”

Suo smiled softly, raising his other hand to caress your burning cheek.

“You did well, my dear.”

Oh! Oh.

Nirei whipped his head back to Sakura, about to shout about how Suo had a secret romantic partner, but stopped when he saw Sakura’s wide eyed blush. When Nirei turned back around, he saw Suo leading you into Kotoha’s cafe with a hand on the small of your back. Your head nestled in the crook of his neck.

The blond couldn’t help the way his lips curled. He ran after the two, pulling out his small notebook. That was the first time he had seen you, but he could tell you were special to Suo and he to you. You two made one hell of a good team. A scary one, but good nonetheless.

He just hoped he and Sakura would never do anything to piss you off.

𖤐 SAKURA HARUKA

Nirei was pacing.

“Where could he be? He’s never disappeared for this long before. One day, sure. But three? Something’s wrong. I just know it.”

Suo placed a hand on Nirei’s shoulder, a friendly smile remaining on his face. He understood that Nirei worried about Sakura as much if not more than anyone else at Furin High, but biting his nails over the issue wasn’t going to fix it. Ever the voice of reason, Suo spoke calmly to his friend.

“Relax, Nire-kun. The last time Sakura was gone, he was sick in his home, right?”

Nirei looked up at Suo, concern furrowing his brow.

“That’s the thing. I checked his apartment yesterday and he wasn’t there.”

Suo hummed. An interesting turn of events. He doubted that Sakura would just up and disappear – he could’ve just been out when Nirei came around. There’s an explanation for everything, after all. Sakura’s strong, it’s not likely he was kidnapped or anything of the sort. He was probably just sick again. Even so, it wouldn’t be good if Sakura was ill and wandering around…

“I see. Then why don’t we check one more time?”

Nirei nodded and turned on his heel, making a bee-line out of the classroom with Suo following behind.

Nirei kept a brisk pace. He was always at least three steps ahead of Suo, who kept his normal pace. It was Suo’s second time coming up on the desolate complex. The scenery was less surprising this time around, but the tattered place was eerie all the same.

They knocked once, twice, thrice, receiving no answer each time. Suo’s hand grasped the knob, remembering how it was unlocked last time they came to check on Sakura, and turned it. The door opened with a ghostly creak, no sign of life anywhere in the room. Suo called for Sakura. Still no answer.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Suo murmured, deja vu creeping over him.

Nirei followed. Suo slid the door to the main room open and was greeted by nothing, Sakura’s futon rolled away haphazardly in the corner. Not even his uniform hung where it was last time. Nirei began to wring his hands. Where the hell could Sakura have gone?

“Huh, he’s still not here,” Suo wondered aloud before turning to his worried friend, “Have you tried asking his partner if they’ve seen him?”

“No, I don’t have any way to contact them.”

The brown haired boy had an inkling that he knew where Sakura might be.

That was how they wound up on your doorstep after the sun had set. They had seen you quite a few times, even coming with Sakura to see you once or twice. Sakura had told them each time not to come, but of course his friends were curious about his partner. Suo would insist, while Nirei would just follow.

Like earlier, they knocked on the door and awaited a response. If he wasn’t here, Nirei was going to lose his mind.

The knob turned. Nirei didn’t waste a second.

“Hello, sorry for the bother, but have you seen-”

A hand covered his mouth, surprising him. When he looked up at you with wide eyes, you simply held your finger over your mouth, signaling him to keep quiet. Suo peered through the door behind you and understood.

Surrounded by various medicine bottles and a tissue box laid Sakura, sound asleep. His monochromatic hair splayed in different directions, twirled together in some spots like yin and yang. Nirei and Suo could see his reddened nose and cheeks from where they stood at the door. All tell tale signs of Suo’s confirmed suspicion. Taking one last peek, Suo and Nirei chuckled at Sakura’s sleeping form, a trickle of drool peeking from the corner of his ajar mouth.

You stepped outside with the two boys, closing the door behind you.

“Sorry Nirei, I didn’t want him to wake up. What’s going on?”

“Has Sakura been here for the past three days?” Nirei asked.

You nodded.

“He started feeling sick while he was here a couple days ago, so I’ve been taking care of him. He’s doing better though, his fever finally broke just before you came actually. Should be up and moving by tomorrow.”

Nirei breathed a sigh of relief. Sakura was fine, he could finally relax his tense shoulders. Suo’s usual kind smile melted into something softer after hearing your explanation. An unspoken thought was shared between the two boys as they glanced at each other. The heavy feeling of deja vu had dissipated because something was different this time.

Thank god Sakura has you.

note: i’m actually pretty happy with how these turned out :D also in suo’s, if not implied well, he taught you those moves :3 i hope their characterizations are all okay!!

[hxt1b]

good girl's don't beg

-> geto x reader 

-> WC: 1.2k

-> CW: swearing, pwp, edging, protected sex, penetration, choking, some titty slapping, a bit of rough sex, some overstimulation, soft dom geto, sub reader. This is literally just sex my dudes. 

Masterlist

Requests Open 

Rules for requests | prompt list

A/N: The grammar may not be perfect but I tried my best. 

Thank you for reading this, that’s what I’ll start with. I’m not a stranger to writing, however this is my first jjk fic, and I also have not written for a couple months. I try to consistently write but that’s an ideal, and isn’t always reality. Anyway, that’s not the point, the point is I hope you like this. I have more ideas for fics with jjk men, and my requests are currently open. Feedback is always welcome as long as its in some form constructive being a hater isn’t helpful to anyone. 

I'll probably have longer fic's with plot soon too, but for obvious reasons, shorter scenes like this will come out faster. 

The kitchen table was cold on your back. Your fingers digging into the edges of the wood. 

"Please," You begged. Your fingers itching to trail in his hair. 

"Good girls listen," Geto said, his thumb ghosting over your clit, "they don't beg." 

His breath was hot against your already heated centre, your mind was numbing slowly from the number of times he'd taken you to the edge only to pull back and leave you whining on the table. 

You couldn't touch him. 

You couldn't come. 

You couldn't think. 

You whined his name again your grip on the table tightening as he leaned in, letting his tongue graze your clit. 

"You want more?" He asked. His hands move to roughly holding your thighs, his fingers digging into your skin. 

"Yes." Your voice was unsteady and you focused on keeping your hips still. He licked slowly applying more pressure than before but not enough. 

You bit your lip to keep from whining but it was no use, a whimper left your lips anyway. 

He laughed at you, a soft chuckle that moved through you. He brought his hand to you again sinking two long fingers into your wetness and pumping once. 

"Move your hips, babe," He said and kept his hand still. You sighed and shifted your hips, moving on his fingers as he rose above you lining his face up with your tits, he caught a nipple in his mouth biting down on it. 

"That's it, baby girl," he mumbled around your nipple as you found your rhythm. Your moans got louder as you got closer to the lip of the familiar cliff again. His teeth moved to nipping your sensitive skin as you got closer and closer. 

You prayed he wouldn't pull away from you again. You were there, just a few seconds more. One foot was off the cliff, any second now you'd fall. A heavy heat clawed at the pit of your stomach, your hips were moving at a frantic pace. 

"You close baby?" Geto asked his words coasting over your heated skin. 

"Yes." You breathed, and his fingers were gone. A heavy hand pressed into your lower stomach holding you against the table. You groaned loudly, your eyes closing as your orgasm receded. 

"Not yet." He smirked. 

You breathed heavily as Geto leaned over you, his lips moving over your skin, tugging and nipping. His hands coasting over skin trying to soothe your frustration. 

Your hands still white-knuckled the table. You felt like you were going to die from this, you wanted to beg, but you knew if you did it would prolong his tormenting. 

You stayed still, breathing, eyes closed tightly as he moved slowly caressing your body with soft touches and softer kisses.

"Let's try that again." He muttered his lips hovering just above you. "But keep your hips still this time." Your breath shuttered at his words. 

"Okay." 

He sank two fingers into you again, you could hear how wet you were as he pumped them. He was going so slow, but you were so sensitive that the knot in your stomach built again fast. He added another finger drawing a breathy moan from you. His pace increased and the sounds of him fucking you with his fingers vibrated in your ears as you began to drown in the heat all over again. 

"Open your eyes, baby," Geto spoke softly his lips still hovering over yours. "Do you want to come?" 

"Yes." You whispered, the word barely leaving your mouth. 

He pressed a heavy wet kiss to your lips, his tongue pushing in. But his fingers slowed again, his free hand threading into your hair. He kissed you like that, his tongue moving with the same rhythm as his fingers. 

"Then come around my cock," He said pulling away from you completely. 

You kept your eyes from fluttering shut again at the loss of him. Instead, you watched him as he pulled a condom out of his pocket and pulled his cock out of his sweats. It only took him seconds to glide the condom on and line up with you, but it felt like forever to you. 

Geto settled on his elbows over you as he pushed into you slowly. 

"Fuck," he cursed as he sank into you, his hips pressing into yours as he bottomed out. He stayed like that for a minute, his face buried into your neck, his teeth pulling at your skin. 

Finally, he thrusted up, but it was slow still. Painfully slow. 

"Geto," You stretched out his name. 

He pushed off his elbows, his hands moving to your hips as he stood up. He pulled you with him, your hips hovering above the table. Geto moved for your hands next grabbing them both, bringing them to your belly button and pushing down. He held them tightly in one hand. The other hand digging into your waist. 

He looked down at you unmoving for another second before pulling his hips back and thrusting into you. 

"Keep your eyes on me." He demanded as his hips snapped into you again, and again, and again. His pace picked up with each thrust. 

"I love watching your tits bounce like this." He said, letting your hip go to quickly smack your boob. 

You whined at the sting, your eyes shutting for a second.

In that second Geto dropped you back to the table his body coming down over yours again as he moved your hands over your head. 

You groaned as the angle changed. His cock hit your g-spot as his thrusts got angrier. 

"Eyes open." He snapped. His other hand moves from your hip to your throat. 

"Fuck," You mutter around the pressure at your throat. 

"Take it." He muttered, his pace picking up again. Your body slid up the table an inch and Geto cursed his hips snapping into you harder. 

The knot in your stomach was at its end, the heat crawling over you was oppressive. Geto's hand at your throat was almost bruising and it all came crashing down on you in a rough wave. 

You cried out, your hands fighting against his, and he let you go. Finally getting to touch him. Your arms instantly went around his head and your body arched up into his. Your chest crushing into his as you came. 

He cursed as your walls spasmed around him, your body writhing and shaking under his. His fingers stayed around your throat as he fucked you through your high. His thrusts didn't slow, instead, he became rougher milking your orgasm. 

"Dammit, baby." He moved his head down to yours pressing his forehead to yours, and letting his fingers drift down your chest so that he was holding your tit, his thumb rubbing at your nipple. 

You mewled at the ministration, overwhelmed by him. It was almost too much, his cock was still hitting your g-spot as he worked himself up to his orgasm. You were gasping under him. 

"Geto please." You begged, looking up into his eyes. Your hand twisted into his hair as you tilted your head up to kiss him. 

Geto's hands dropped to the table beside you as he finally came, his hips stuttering through his orgasm. He moaned into your mouth as the condom filled with his cum. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck" He repeated as he worked through his orgasm your hips lightly rocking against him as he slowed. 

He stilled against you, his cock still buried inside you. His lips still moved with yours in a lazy kiss. You didn't want him to move. Honestly, you felt like you could stay like this forever with Geto pressed against you, in you.

A/N: again thank you for reading! send in a request if you'd like!

~ hxt1b, feb 5 2024

[wendylianmartin]

hi!! do you have any tips for anybody who wants to create a webcomic?

hope you’re doing well! :3

Well if you want to make a comic you probably already have an idea in mind so go ahead and make that one ;)

It’s usually good advice to make a shorter comic first but just jump in and make any comic you want. 👍

I recommend making a collection or mood board consisting of other comics you really like so you can examine them and see how each artists handles transitions, speech bubble placement, framing etc. it can give you a lot of ideas and inspiration.

Another fun thing is to try doing some ‘test’ pages. If it’s not ‘the official comic’ in your mind then it might encourage you to experiment a bit and you can figure out how you want to do the colors and lineart and such.

Random tips that come to mind:

-don’t get stuck doing only ‘close up shots’ it’s a good idea to have at least one panel on each page (or at least every 5 panels) that is zoomed out a bit so you can see a full shot of your characters and some background.

-if the scene changes to a new area it’s a good idea to start with an establishing shot with a big background image that shows off the new area.

-don’t avoid the things you’re bad at drawing. Purposely write your weaknesses into the story so you can get better at drawing them.

-pay attention to the kind of angles you’re drawing your characters at. If you notice you’re only drawing a front or side view it can be fun to try more dynamic shots like one from overhead or one from below.

-readability is important so make sure you pick a font that’s easy to read and make sure the text isn’t too small. (Try comparing the size and readability to other well known comics to give yourself a reference.)

-use references a lot and as much as you can. It might seem like the effort of finding a reference picture will make the drawing process longer but I find that it speeds up my drawing process A LOT. I’ll struggle to draw a hand from memory and keep deleting it but as soon as I just take a pic of my own hand to look at I’ll have it drawn in 30 seconds lol.

-don’t stress over anything I’ve said here and just have fun drawing. At the end of the day, all that matters is that you’re making comics because that’s the only way to get better at them 👍

[dreamsoflightvalley]

Robbie Valentino X Reader (Headcanons)

A/N: Made a little banner for this myself since I couldn’t find any good gifs for him, thought it’d be cute! I noticed a severe lack of Robbie content and also a resurgence in the GF fandom (raising fellow Rob-heads from their grave as well). Good to know I wasn’t the only one with a big ol’ crush on him as a kid X)

Content: Completely SFW (not even a swear), typical teen shenanigans and romance, use of the nickname babe.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Robbie is a mega jerk, but sometimes it comes from a place of approval seeking. He’ll start (and lose) fights with other guys over you, probably puff his chest in public and brag very loudly about how in love the two of you are, but he’s never had someone to really sit him down and tell them they love him no matter what. If you have a serious talk with him about things he does that make you uncomfortable or upset, he’ll listen. Actually listen. Sometimes he gets so caught up in impressing his (rather empty headed and shallow) friends that he forgets you don’t care about all that stuff.

He’s not the ideal partner, but he’s loyal to a fault. He’ll obsess over you, maybe even an unhealthy amount, but the thought of cheating never ever crosses his mind.

If you’ve ever told him about past partners, best believe he’ll have some things to say. Nothing good, that’s for sure.

“Those guys/gals were friggin’ jerks, and they didn’t deserve you. If I ever see their faces around town, I’ll kick their butts all the way to the mountain tops for you babe.”

Regardless of whether you’re a goody two shoes or not, he will try to rope you into some mischief. Whether it be more graffiti, vandalism, or petty theft, he’ll beg and plead for you to accompany him on his misadventures and if you’re lucky he’ll reward you with something romantic.

Even if you outwardly disapprove of his actions or reprimand him when he’s wrong, he is 100% a ride or die for you specifically and will very rarely if ever correct you on something or tell you you’re wrong. He either A, thinks you’re right, or B, thinks calling you out will embarrass you and if you look bad then HE looks bad and that’s not gonna fly with him.

Since he learned from his experiences with Wendy before dating you, he’s a little less rough around the edges. He tries to be more genuine with you, and do right by you. Instead of ripping off another band he’ll actually try his hand at writing his own lyrics/poetry for you. It might not be good, heck, it might be edgy drivel, but it’s from the heart and you can’t laugh in his poor little face like that!

If you are emo or decide to get a little adventurous with your fashion style, he will 100% help you shop or do other things like dye your hair and do your makeup.

It’s a surprisingly tender thing for him, very patiently doing your eyeliner, the air from his nose fanning against your face as he breathes quietly with that subtle yet concentrated smile on his face…

Surprisingly the big shows of affection aren’t what gets him shy and flustered, it’s the small things. Tiny pecks on the lips, morning cuddles, little whispers of affirmation, he runs on that kind of stuff. Public makeouts and sneaking out at night are still awesome, but they don’t give him the same flutters that the softer things do.

If you’re scene or just plain crafty, he will hoard all of the bracelets you make him like a dragon. He goes feral for black and red kandi, bonus points if there’s a little broken heart charm dangling near the knot because he’s never taking it off for as long as he lives.

He can and will make mix CDs of songs that remind him of you, and then hand over a copy once the ancient PC at the library is finished uploading it. He tries to save them for special occasions, but he makes so many it’s hard to resist for him sometimes…

Yes, he will draw both of you as emo solves, yes he thinks it’s deep, and no you cannot stop him.

You’re gonna have to put up with his insane beef with Dipper, and bite his head off for it (figuratively) every once in a while. For someone who cares about appearance he sure doesn’t realize how bad bullying a kid looks.

If you have any siblings, he’ll try to hold himself back for your sake. If they’re older they’ll probably get along well, but if they’re younger he’ll be weary of interacting with them and heavily dismissive at first… Until one night you catch them playing games and making microwave s’mores together. Don’t be surprised if your little sib starts to wear more black and stars painting their nails.

Ironically enough, Robbie likes being the little spoon. He’ll never admit it, but if you flop down behind him while he’s resting and snuggle up he gets embarrassingly happy.

If your styles are opposites, he’ll do his best to enjoy the contrast instead of trying to change you. If he’s in a particularly good mood that day, he’ll try some of your hobbies or let you pick some clothes out for him. No guarantee that he’ll like them, and even if he does he’ll still act like he doesn’t.

He secretly tries to sniff you when he thinks you won’t notice, even though its hard to sniff quietly with such a big nose he still tries to get away with some soft whiffs (or some heavier ones if you’re like asleep or something).

If you work at a job, specifically a customer service one, he can and will go up to the counter and try to flirt his way into the discount. If your manager is a strict jerk it’s best to keep him away from the property, because he will start beef and spray paint their car.

[tilebytiles]

till you tell me to leave - a.t.

summary: alex would probably let you stay at his house for the rest of your life, right? word count: 3k warnings: making out so a little suggestive, major fluff otherwise a/n: this was SUPPOSED to be a short little drabble but quickly turned into a whole self-indulgent thing bc cowboy!al is very special to me. smiles cutely settle for a draw

the first time you went to Alex’s farm, you were immediately reluctant to leave. you were situated on Twilight’s saddle, ambling along behind Alex and Lizzie and barely past the front gates that he’d just opened before already trying to cook up some lame, half-assed excuse for your parents so you could stay another day. or two. or maybe for the rest of your life. he had a lot of land to his name; the fence around his property stretched on for a while, and the path that led to his house was a bit of a long one, although not unbearably so. to your immediate right was a little pond and — were those fucking ducks?

“you alright?” he asked, his low chuckle snapping you out of your momentary mystification. you gripped the reins and nudged Twilight around so you could face him, watching as he pushed the gates shut. you did, admittedly, watch the way his arm muscles flexed in the sunlight for just a little too long to be considered normal.

“you have ducks,” you said, as if that explained everything.

“that I do.” Lizzie’s reins in hand, he approached you and your steed, peering up at you from beneath the rim of his hat. if you didn’t know any better, you would have reached over and snatched it from his head to put it on your own. unfortunately, you did know better, and your relationship with Alex was nowhere near the level that you felt was appropriate for riding a cowboy.

the dirt shifted and was kicked up beneath his boots and your horses’ hooves as the two of you made your way down the path to his house. the silence that settled in the air was comfortable, although you did still try to search for things to say. finding none, you opted to look around the property some more, now that you weren’t so distracted by the ducks. the area immediately surrounding his house and, consequently, the farm had been cleared of trees, although there were trees closer to the perimeter, making the fence almost imperceptible. you could hear birds chirping in the distance, and one of the ducks quacked. scattered throughout the grass were flowers of different kinds. the sun was out, but it wasn’t uncomfortably hot; just bright. you felt like you’d stepped into a scene out of a fairytale, not your boyfriend’s farm.

ah. boyfriend. that term still felt weird to use.

although he’d given you his phone number and texted you regularly (you remembered the smile he’d given you when he said “I’m not good with phones, but f’you, I’ll try”), your relationship with him hadn’t been solidified until the last time he’d dropped by your house for a quick visit. it wasn’t intentional — neither of you had planned to bring it up to your parents, but when you’d sat down for dinner, your father chewed his food and eyed Alex for several seconds before saying, “you want my blessin’, boy?”

Alex nearly choked on his water. he coughed a few times and set his glass down, spluttering, “what?”

“hon, what did I tell you about scarin’ him like that?” your mother scolded, lightly swatting at your father’s arm.

his resolve was stronger than steel, though. “you think I’m blind?” he pointed his knife accusatorially at Alex. “I’ve seen the way you look at my daughter. I might be old, but I’m no fool. I’ve seen it all, boy.” he lowered his knife to carve another piece out of his steak. “you’re pinin’ after her the same way I pined after m’wife.”

you dropped your fork and buried your face into your hands. “papa, please,” you groaned.

“your … wife.” Alex’s foot nudged yours beneath the table, a silent plea for your help. you all but kicked him, making him hiss under his breath. he was on his own.

"don't pay him any mind," the wife in question said, waving her hand dismissively at her husband's words. "he's jus' grumpy 'cause I didn't let him have his nightly beer."

"right." Alex didn't seem to buy her reassurances — he might've looked a little more panicked, actually — but he certainly wasn't about to dwell on it. he glanced over at you then, setting his fork down. "marriage wouldn't be ... so bad."

"Alex!" you hissed, kicking his foot again. he winced. you glared at your father. "no more marriage talk. I'm not even twenty-one yet."

later that night, as Alex laid beside you, arm draped over your waist and fingers drawing lazy circles against your back, his expression grew contemplative. "I meant what I said earlier, y'know."

you opened your eyes. you'd almost fallen asleep. "what do you mean?"

"about marriage. I think I'd like t' marry ya someday."

you were sure he could make out your blush in the darkness. "well ..." you let out a small huff. "that's not for a while."

"no, I s'pose not." silence, then, "can I at least call you mine?"

and that was that.

Alex’s home was quaint; not too big and not too small, it was constructed of wood and had a porch with stairs that led up to it. on the porch were two rocking chairs, as well as a table with a lantern. one of the chairs had a blanket draped over its back; you wondered how much time he spent out there. with his help, you hopped off of Twilight and followed him up the steps to the front door. late nights were etched into the wood that surrounded you, and when he saw you eyeing a small stain beside one of the rocking chairs, he said, “Nick spilled his whiskey there. was never able to get rid of that damn stain.”

his keys jingled as he pushed one into the knob and unlocking the door, swinging it open. he turned to you with a soft smile, the kind that made your heart flutter every time. “go ahead and make yourself at home, alright? I’ll take the horses ‘round back an’ bring your stuff in for ya.”

“okay.” he freed his keys from the doorknob and stuffed them back into his pocket, then turned to retrieve the horses, but not without giving you a quick peck on the forehead first. affection had become easier between you two over time, as natural as breathing. every touch, every soft utterance, felt like hot chocolate on a bleak winter’s day. the affection he held for you — you weren’t sure yet if it was love, and frankly, the L word was a scary one — never failed to set off fireworks in your head, momentarily putting your neuron pathways on halt as every cell rejoiced.

the walls of the home were painted a creamy white — briefly, you wondered if he’d built the home himself, but while Alex was a lot of things, he was most definitely not a carpenter. the floor was comprised of wooden planks that were polished and shiny, and the sight of it reminded you of sliding around your house in socks as a kid. the door that led to the backyard was situated beside a large brick fireplace. in the living room, different photographs sat framed on the walls, some of landscapes and others of Alex and his friends. he had a couple of guitars hanging by the fireplace, and they made you wonder how serious of a hobby playing was for him. did he know any other instruments? could he sing? you’d have to ask him at some point. there was a sofa and an armchair, and a giant rug sprawled out in the center of the room. there were bookshelves, too, and they were filled to the brim with novels, biographies, and the like. they hosted random trinkets, too. there was even a potted plant in the corner.

you made sure to slip off your shoes and leave them by the door before venturing any further. despite appearing quite rustic on the outside (and on the inside, to some degree), the interior had clear modern touches. one of these was the partially open floor plan, with a wall that spanned from floor to ceiling but not wall to wall and served as a barrier between the kitchen and the living room — it had a window installed in it, offering a glimpse of the kitchen. behind the wall sat the dining table; it was a paler wood than you’d seen so far, as were the chairs. the kitchen walls were painted the same cream color, and there were a couple of photos here, too, including some held up by magnets on the fridge. the sink and dish rack were both clear of dishes — Alex must have cleaned up before he left to get you. the ceiling fan overhead had a light bulb in its center, protected by a small glass dome. the microwave sat above the oven, and there was a door that led into the pantry.

wandering back into the living room, you headed for the stairs next. there was a closet built underneath the stairs that didn’t house much, likely due to its size. you quickly ascended the staircase, which opened up into a hall on the second floor. both sides had two doors, and there was another door at the end of the hall. opening the first door on the right revealed another closet; the second door led to what you assumed to be a guest bedroom. the first door on the left was the master bedroom (where Alex slept), and the second was the bathroom, which was connected to the bedroom. the door at the end of the hall led to a bigger closet than the one downstairs.

the room you were most interested in was Alex’s. it wasn’t as decorated as the living room, which surprised you. one of the only photos you saw sat idly on the nightstand, right beside the bedside lamp. there was a book on the nightstand, too; you guessed he was in the middle of reading it. the window provided a nice view of the front of the property, and you peeked through the blinds to see if you could spot Alex below. he was nowhere to be found, though. his bed was neatly made, and you wondered if that was a regular habit of his or if he’d only done it for you. his closet was full of jeans and button-down shirts — typical for a cowboy, you thought. he had a fair number of shoes, too.

“if you wanted to wear my clothes, you coulda just asked.” you jumped and whipped around, spotting Alex in the doorway. he leaned against the frame, arms crossed, and cocked an eyebrow at you. he was smirking, too. you wanted to punch him.

you refrained, though, and smiled sheepishly. “I was just looking.”

“well, the offer stands as long as you’re here,” he said, approaching you. he stood beside you and peered into his closet, as if it, too, was his first time seeing his own wardrobe. “I think you’d look real cute in one o’ my shirts.”

you flushed and looked away. “I’d probably look kind of weird. they’d be too big on me.”

he snorted. “yeah? that’s why you’d look cute, doll.”

deciding you needed to end this conversation before you combusted, you quickly asked, “where’d you put my stuff?”

“in the other bedroom.” he jerked his head back towards the hallway. “figured we can jus’ move it in here later an’ get you properly unpacked.”

“you want me to stay in here with you?”

he threw an arm around your shoulders and pressed a lingering kiss to your temple. “what kind of prick would I be if I left my girl to sleep on her own?”

his girl — you liked how it sounded coming from him.

•••••

“Alex, that’s cheating!”

“it is not! Y/N, I swear on m’life, I’m not tryin’ to cheat!”

the two of you were sat in the middle of the living room floor, engaged in an intense game of uno. you hadn’t even planned to play at first, but after having dinner about an hour ago, you’d found the pack of cards on one of the shelves (one of his friends had left it after a visit). your first round, which was a practice round, was comically short-lived (“I’m rusty,” he’d said after losing in less than ten minutes). the game you were currently locked in had lasted about half an hour and showed no signs of stopping soon; each time one of you approached victory, the other took it away.

“I have to be able to see all of your cards,” you huffed. “it’s cheating.”

Alex sighed, rolled his eyes and made a dramatic show of fanning his cards out further, revealing the card that had been hidden behind another. “I wasn’t trying t’ do it on purpose,” he grumbled. “why does it even matter?”

you put down a yellow 7. “because it’s the rules, alex.”

his tongue darted out to wet his lips as he set down a draw four card. “blue. I didn’t expect you to get so worked up over this, y’know.”

“the aggression is a staple of uno.” you drew four cards and swore under your breath when none of them were blue.

he planted his hand down on the floor behind him and leaned back, eyeing you over his cards. “it’s not like you.” a beat of silence, then he said, “I like it.” he dropped a blue 5.

that made you pause. “you like it?”

he hummed in response, his gaze dropping to your cards as you mulled over what to put down next. “you’re attractive when you’re frustrated.”

ah. that was what he meant. you set down a green 5, hiding behind your hand as heat rushed to your cheeks. “you’re just saying that.”

“yeah? just to get under your skin and tick ya off?”

“yeah.”

he sighed and plucked a green 6 from his hand, dropping it into the discard pile. “my mama didn’t raise a liar, so I’ll say it again: you’re hot when you’re mad, sugar.”

you looked up at him, only to find him staring right back at you. you both remained silent for a few seconds, although you were the first to speak up. “um ...” you looked away again before setting down a green draw two. "thank you." I think, you muttered internally.

he cracked a grin and set his cards down beside him, then motioned you over. “c’mere.”

you set your own cards down and maneuvered over the discard pile, being careful to not knock or scatter any cards. once you were within reach, one of his hands went to your waist and the other to the nape of your neck, pulling you in for a bruising kiss. your home quickly became his lap as you straddled him, and your hands found purchase in his hair in a desperate bid to maintain as much contact between the two of you as possible. although you had kissed like this before, it had only been very occasionally, and the way he pressed himself to you made you feel warm all over.

his teeth grazed your lower lip before his tongue plunged into your mouth, rehearsing its usual dance with yours. a quiet groan crawled out of his throat, muffled by your lips on his, and the hand that had been at your nape moved down to your ass, giving it a light squeeze. you yelped and broke the kiss, practically panting as you stared down at him. a faint string of saliva remained as the only tether between your mouths, although it quickly snapped. you were sure your face was redder than a firetruck, and you dipped your head down to hide it in his neck. his chest rumbled beneath you as he chuckled, his arms wrapping around you and keeping you tucked against him. "so shy all of a sudden," he teased.

you rolled your eyes and nipped at his neck. "shut up."

"I don't think you want me to."

you chose not to satisfy him and turned your head, looking down at his cards on the floor. you squinted. "you had a yellow 4 this entire time?"

he hummed. "that I did."

"you cheated!"

"Y/N, you didn't even notice!"

after you (rightfully) called him out, the two of you decided to wrap it up for the night and head to bed. although your belongings had since been moved into his room, you opted to steal some of his clothes for the night instead. you were right — his shirts were too big on you. his shorts were, too, and they sat low on your hips. he thought you were absolutely adorable, though, and couldn't help but take pictures with his phone when he thought you weren't looking.

as you settled down for the night, he turned to lay on his side, staring at you amidst the darkness of his bedroom. "you should come over more often," he mumbled, almost as if he was talking to himself.

you turned to face him; there was hardly any space between you now. "I was kind of hoping you'd say that," you quietly admitted.

even in the darkness, you could make out his smile, soft and lazy and reserved for only you. "maybe I should kidnap ya. keep you here forever."

"I don't think my parents would like that."

he scoffed. "if I kidnapped you, I wouldn't give a damn 'bout your parents, sweetheart. wouldn't even bother with a ransom, I'd just keep ya all for m'self."

you giggled softly. "I don't know how much I'd complain if you did that, y'know."

he cocked an eyebrow. "you wanna be kidnapped?"

"that's not what I mean, Alex, and you know it."

you both grew quiet after that, and you could feel sleep tugging at you, begging you to succumb to its siren song. you were a breath away from doing just that when he spoke up again. "I really oughta marry you someday, Y/N."

you really hoped he would.

tags: @elexnorislingtxn / @edandmollydeservebetter / @sagegreensimmr / @billyseye / @supernaturalandpain / @not-a-big-slay

[magicxc]

Frenemies

Pairings: Survey Corps - people they cannot STAND

Word Count: 1076

Warnings: none

A/N: Idk man I love a good tussle jskksks. Like give me two characters who absolutely hate each other! And with AOT I really don't have to look too far, yay. This is basically canon but it's funny to think about so here it is as well. 

Headcannons Masterlist

Eren  - Jean, Weak People

I think the Jean one gets over exaggerated a little, and for good reason too, cause the girlies be EATING with those tropes. But at the end of the day they have a mutual understanding and are cordial at best. They're mostly cool because they share mutual friends and spaces but it’s no longer beef per se. 

Hear me out, I don't think anyone wiping out 80% of humanity is willing to kick it with people who aint about it. Mans need someone who’s willing to stand on business behind him. Even throughout the show he’s always admitted to not liking people who’s willing to live like “livestock.” So this is not to be confused with physically weak people by the way but psychologically weak people. Essentially Eren has beef if you’re willing to take it lying down. 

Levi - Zeke

Listennnn I LIVE for their fight scenes okay lmao. Like it's almost always on sight for them and their lil jabs at one another? It’s chucklessss for me omg. Lets be clear, their beef is absolutely warranted. It can be safely argued that Levi doesnt really care for most people but Zeke?? Oh baby its all smoke for him. 

Erwin - The Government 

I swear if it wasn't for the literal fate of humanity and his brewing theory Erwin would've just said fuck it cause baybeeee, they wanted that man GONE. They've tried to get him fired, pointed guns in his face, and built a whole ass guillotine to unalive him; in front of the entire town mind you. Maybe that was the custom back then I don't know. I don’t remember Erwin outright saying that he doesn't fuck with the government but fuck it, I’ll say it for him. Cause I'll stand ten toes down behind this one here. 

Connie - Ymir

I promise you I let out a nasty ole chuckle at the thought cause he don't even dislike her fr fr. I think it's a situation similar to Eren and Jean's in the sense that their friends and environment often see them in the same places. Because if we’re being real, not only do they have little in common but they just don't really vibe like that. I think they could've been a little more cordial but Ymir be on her own timing and it's usually at the expense of the squad. Like when she made fun of Connie for suspecting his mother was a titan or when she kidnapped Historia like 3 times and put them all in danger. And I can't even be mad at Connie for being the voice of reason cause him calling her ugly was simply the truth. I, too, reared back when I first saw Ymir's titan form. 

Jean - Eren, Reiner, Annie, Bertholt

The whole Eren thing is basically squashed but it’s worth noting that if he were to see him in public, he’d walk the other way. 

I lowkey had to dig deep for this one cause I genuinely forgot. But even though they’re all kumbaya now, those three bitches literally watched his homie get half his face chewed off by a titan. Jean is absolutely pouring one out for Marco every birthday by the way, but yeahh it’s still fuck them. Like if they were playing uno stacked, he’d save all his draw 4’s and make them draw 16. 

Onyankopon - Yelena

I'm not too sure that Ony dislikes anyone honestly. But I'm going with Yelena here mostly because she’s the reason he found himself in his current predicament. On what was supposed to be a solid plan in motion to save his people quickly turned into Ony modernizing a primitive people, helping build their resources from scratch, having people question his race (and I'm willing to bet my bottom dollar it was mfs that got ignorant), seeming untrustworthy among his peers, almost getting killed, fighting in a war he had nothing to do with, and probably losing his entire family in the rumble. Now, one or two of those things were inevitable, but if you were to view things from Ony’s POV everything went to shit over a bitch with a fatal attraction to a man with daddy issues. 

Reiner - Himself

Lmaooo I LOVE a good Reiner drag. And while this started out as a joke, I'm deadass now. This man stays talking about wanting to end it all but never follows through, smh. With lots of therapy and support, I genuinely think that Reiner would be on the road to recovery and a healthy lifestyle; but there’ll always be that lingering thought on if he’s worth it or not

Honorable mention: Ymir. But solely because she would get in the way of his fantasy life with Historia. 

Armin - Floch? 

This munchkin is damn near Tanjiro levels of sweet cause omg who does he even hate??? He is always looking for the good in people and I'm about to dislocate my shoulder reaching this hard BUT, hear me out - It’s Floch even if he doesn’t outright say it. The same Floch who damaged the flying boat and almost ruined their mission before it even started? The same Floch who fucked it up so bad that Hange had to sacrifice herself which resulted in Armin taking on an even bigger responsibility? The same Floch who got in a lil too close with his bestie Eren? Close enough to be trusted with his future plans? The same Floch who when he lay on that ground bleeding Armin was nowhere in sight? Even at the port where they attacked the Yeagerists and Armin got shot in the face, he pleaded with his old comrades to stand down but Floch is beneath that level of reasoning huh? Whether Armin despises Floch or not it's safe to say if Floch were getting jumped, Armin would definitely sneak in a kick before helping. 

Floch - Erwin

This is literally one of those cases where its like I disagree but I understand lol. That man legit made them do a suicide charge and yeah he lead the charge blah blah blah but I could never be that brave. And so that resentment is understandable but in all fairness it shaped Flochs character for the better to be honest; cause that whole pwussy boi arc was annoying. 

Also adding the main cast of the Scouts lmao. They thwarted his plans and he spent his DYING breath standing on business. Gotta respect it.

Tags - @eveningatthemoviesnetwork

[batneko]

Okay I got another bowuigi idea.

Koopa Kingdom gets infested with Legally-Distinct-From-Tribbles and nobody can figure out how to get rid of them, they're eating everything, fire only makes them multiply somehow, and one day Bowser is trying to come up with ideas and mutters "What would Princess Peach do?" and one of his minions says "Call the Mario Brothers probably." They both have a good laugh over this.

But time goes by and the not!Tribbles are still everywhere, and finally Bowser is like "okay I'm at least going to ASK, can't hurt to ask, but I'll address it to the green one, that'll be less embarrassing."

Meanwhile Luigi has been feeling a little down about himself, so when he gets the letter he's like "Maybe if I do it it'll prove I can solve problems by myself!" (he was the only one who was doubting this). So he rolls up to the castle determined to Be A Hero and only changes his mind and turns around three times along the way.

Bowser is kind of a dick at first, naturally, but Luigi manages to stand up for himself and insist on being paid at least. This is an extermination job, not a rescue mission. After some back and forth Bowser agrees to give him a Kidnapping Rain Check - next time Luigi just isn't feeling it, he can use the rain check and make Bowser give up on his latest Kidnap Peach plan.

So Luigi goes around, studies the not!Tribbles, comes up with some plans for keeping them out of the food, etc. At first he's having to power through the fear, but eventually he realizes Bowser is mostly bluster (this time) and focuses more on doing the job.

A lot of time passes with both of them being surprised by each other. Luigi learns that Bowser rules through respect, not fear, and that he cares about others. Bowser learns that Luigi is more than just an inferior copy of his brother. I'm picturing a scene where Bowser (who has been casually talking down to Luigi this whole time) says something insulting, and Luigi snaps back with an insult of his own, and Bowser is so surprised that he busts out in genuine laughter. "Okay that's a good one. If you ever repeat it I'll throw you off something, but that's pretty good."

And maybe a scene where they're planning a Public Awareness Campaign so people will keep their food in sealed containers and stop burning the not!Tribbles already seriously you're only making it worse, and as they're talking about it Bowser Jr. wanders in and demands to be able to help. Bowser is like “Sure, you can make the artwork for all the posters we're going to put up, here's what I need you to draw.” Luigi watches this and thinks to himself, in order, “huh, I didn't think Bowser would be a good dad” and then “wait a minute, why didn't I think Bowser would be a good dad? That's not fair to him,” and then “wait since when have I cared about being fair to Bowser?”

Bowser definitely falls first, though he doesn't realize it for longer. He finds himself actually caring what Luigi thinks of him, and gets angry at himself for caring. At one point they're looking for cracks that the not!Tribbles might be sneaking in through, and have to take down a portrait of Peach that Bowser had put up in a secluded corner. Once that's done he completely forgets to put it back up for like two weeks, only realizing when he stumbles over it that he's barely thought of her at all lately.

Luigi, on the other hand, one day thinks to himself “Bowser is so cute when he laughs” and realizes instantly that he's sunk.

Finally they start making progress with the not!Tribbles, so Luigi is like “okay I'll come back in a week and see if the numbers have gone down,” and Bowser is like “yeah sure whatever.” But the next day he's listless and grouchy (he'd barely been grouchy at all lately, what's up with that?) and takes until almost evening to understand he misses Luigi. They both miss each other.

When Luigi finally comes back the not!Tribbles have gone down, but not enough, so he's back to coming over every day to do more research. Bowser is still barely clinging to denial, but he's started trying to look nicer, polishing his shell and combing his hair. Luigi notices and tries very hard not to notice.

If fire makes them multiply, maybe ice prevents it? So they put together some kind of giant mousetrap with lots of food and successfully manage to trap most of the not!Tribbles in a giant ice cube. It only takes another couple of days to track down the stragglers. They've done it! Luigi has saved (for a certain value of “saved”) the Koopa Kingdom.

And... that's it. There's no reason for him to stay anymore. Bowser scribbles out the rain check and starts to hand it to him... And stops.

“Don't take it.”

“What?”

“Don't take that. It's useless.”

“You're not going to honor it?” Luigi asks. He'd almost been allowing himself to think Bowser might like him back, a little bit, but now he's reminded that there's been someone more important to him since before all this started. Before they even met.

“I mean you're never going to have a reason to use it!” Bowser says.

He's never going to kidnap Peach again. At least, not the way he used to. Bowser still wants to take over the Mushroom Kingdom – as well as everywhere else, but Peach... she doesn't mean anything to him anymore.

He can't bring himself to say that though, and frustrated and angry he snaps at Luigi to take something else from the castle too, treasure or tools, anything he wants. And goes up to his bedroom to mope.

It's not until days later that he realizes one of his portraits is missing. It was a good one, he thought he looked really imposing in it, so he yells at people until somebody admits that the portrait was the thing Luigi took as his “payment.”

It wouldn't have been worth much. The frame was nice, but not THAT nice. If Luigi took Bowser's portrait it must be because he wanted it.

Bowser writes Luigi another letter, this time inviting him to dinner.

[quietlyimplode]

Black Widow Fest - Day One

the letter be

ao3 link (pls note that the fic starts below and finishes on ao3 - i know how annoying it is to start on one platform only to have it finish on another)

Natasha and Clint are split up and communicate through letters. Fluff, missions and a little bit of saving.

Word count: 2956

Warnings: warnings for domestic violence

..

It starts with a cat.  

At least that’s what Natasha thinks. 

Clint would say it started with the mission to Antwerp, but really, Natasha thinks that it’s starts with the cat in the window. 

With Clint’s leg broken, he was so bored, she’d suggested letters; emails were easily tracked and she supposed; so could mail, but the postal service still seemed to have more protections than an email Al carrier. 

Clint had agreed and the time for a letter to get from Antwerp to New York wasn’t as long as she thought. 

It was different to a mission report. Something that that actually had to put thought into, but actually something that over the six weeks, she came to enjoy.  

Even the search in the stationary shop, for letter writing stationary and envelopes. 

She can’t remember if she’d ever sent a letter.  

Not when it hadn’t been coded, and so when she sat down to write the first one, she stared at the paper and then got up and left it there.  

She came back with a glass of water and an iced coffee  

Staring again, she hears the cat at the back window and stands again. 

Natasha looks into the darkness and whispers to the cat to come in, clinking a spoon against the saucer of milk and waiting.  

This, she thinks, this is where she started. 

. 

Clint, 

Don’t laugh. There’s a cat here. I’ve named him Liho, for obvious reasons. Remember? He sits with me at night. In fact, if you find fur attached to this letter it’s likely his. Did you know that Antwerp has a stray cat problem? I’m sure there’s more out there, but he’s been the bravest and I think, well, he might be coming back with me. 

All is boring here, there’s not much to report on just yet. I’m sure more going on than there though. 

How is the leg?  

Are you doing the exercises Richard gave you? Follow them, please, otherwise they’ll be on my back to get you to do them.  

The house here is quiet, no neighbours; like most of our houses. It makes the nights long.  

The previous owners must have been just as bored because there’s some 1000 piece puzzles - I’ve started one. I’m enjoying it. It’s of London buses - a whole scene of the square. I’ll probably have it finished in a day or two. 

Perdy and Pongo - the contrived meetings have been nice and easy. Another one tomorrow, all going well. 

It’s nearing one in the morning.  

I’ll send this off. 

Miss you terribly.  

. 

Nat. 

Liho the cat sounds like a keeper. I’ve looked into it, and your apartment has a no animal policy, but the good news is mine doesn’t.  

Draw a picture of the cat? I’ve added what I think he looks like below, but you might have better luck in the drawing department.  

Glad that all seems to be going well Pongo and Perdy, has anything changed?  

The leg. 

I’m doing the exercises. Honest. 

It’s just shit.  

I’m bored, and your not here to keep me company.  

We really gotta train others in Russian because you being the only one speaking it fluently, seems actually ridiculous. It’s like, why am I the only one to speak Persian Arabic? It pigeonholes us and sets us up for really specific… holidays. Anyway. Food for thought. 

Puzzles sounds like a good way to pass the time.  

Coulson has taught me crochet. He said it’s a good way to keep my mind busy, and do maths. 

I can crochet a straight line. I’m aiming for a blanket.  

Anyway.  

Here’s my picture of a cat. 

🐈‍⬛. 

Miss you terribly. 

. 

Continued on ao3...

[atinylittlepain]

Firehouse Harrington - Chapter 4

fireman!Steve x f!reader/f!oc

series masterlist

Steve told her he'd come home safe from his last shift at the station. When plans change, she'll have to come to terms with what it means to love him.

warnings | 18+ big time angst, minor descriptions of injuries

If she has to let one more locked-out freshman back into their dorm room she’s going to lose it. The post-halloween weekend has been a mess of taking people to the campus medical center for alcohol poisoning, consoling crying girls who found their boyfriends hooking up with someone else, and wondering why these kids can’t make it to the toilet before throwing up whatever jungle juice they’ve been imbibing. She’s exhausted and Monday can’t come soon enough.

She’s been too busy to call the station. Steve had left her a message on her room’s landline Saturday night, letting her know that, just as he predicted, there had been no emergencies that day. She had meant to call him back, but it seemed like she couldn’t sit down for more than two minutes before someone else needed her help.

It’s Sunday evening now, and she’s finally off shift, passing the baton off to another RA. The first thing she does when she gets back to her room is call the station, but she gets the answering machine. She doesn’t leave a message, figuring that she’d rather not have whatever she might say be heard by a bunch of other men. She figures that Steve will call soon, probably just busy packing up his stuff to head home tomorrow morning after his shift. She does her best to ignore the thread of anxiety being tugged in her mind, telling her that something has happened. 

To take her mind off it, she takes a long shower, changing into something more comfortable before settling in the dorm lounge to talk with a few of her friends. The news is playing lowly on the TV while they all catch up, but her attention is pulled when she sees the image of a burning building on the screen. Her heart jumps in her throat.

The anchorman announces that there’s been a five-alarm fire in a downtown apartment complex, drawing aid from nearly all the stations in the city. She doesn’t realize it, but she’s shifted off the couch to kneel in front of the TV, watching the scene of fire engines and scrambling firefighters, some carrying people out of the building. Just as the reporter goes to sign off, an explosion of flames shatters several windows in the building, causing a shriek of activity to stir up as people scramble on the ground below. She feels like she’s going to throw up. 

The reporter regains his composure, adding that injured civilians and responders are already being taken to the Indiana University Hospital for treatment. Her friends are all calling her name, but she can barely hear them through the white noise in her mind, her only focus being getting to that hospital. Her friend who has a car on campus offers to drive her and she mutely nods.

…

When she gets to the emergency room, it’s a swirl of chaos. Gurneys are being hauled in one after the other, with people covered in soot and ash curled on them. Nurses are shouting commands and the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles strike through the entrance. She’s not quite sure what to do, she’s already on the brink of tears.

She walks up to the front desk, not even sure what to say, trying to catch the eye of one of the nurses frantically fielding calls. An older-looking woman finally stops in front of her, asking her what she needs.

“Um– I– um– it’s–” the nurse cuts her off, softening her eyes just a bit. It’s a look of pity, and she knows it.

“Are you here for someone, hon?” She swallows hard, nodding to the nurse.

“Alright, hon, if you give me the last name I’ll check for you, but it’s gonna take a little bit, ok?” She just nods, telling her Steve’s name, and the nurse tells her to go sit down, that she’ll call her over when she finds anything out. 

She keeps her eyes down, only seeing the wheels of gurneys rolling past, a seemingly endless march of people coming into the emergency room. The image of that burning building is stamped into her mind, and the only other thing she can think about is how she didn’t answer Steve’s call the night before.

It could have been twenty minutes or two hours by the time the nurse calls her back over. She tells her that a Mr. Harrington had been brought to the ER just before she came in. He had been near the initial blast of the explosion, knocked unconscious by the force. They were currently stabilizing him, he had only sustained burns on his hands and neck, having been suited up and protected by the brunt of the flames.

It feels like time turns liquid and viscous as she goes to sit back down, the nurse telling her that it would be a while before she might be able to see him. She puts her head in her hands, curling over the tops of her thighs. Her friend finally comes in after parking her car. She sits down next to her, bringing her palm between her shoulder blades. After telling her what she found out about Steve, her friend asks her if she’s ok. 

“I really don’t know.”

…

She spends the whole night in the ER waiting room, at some point dozing off just enough for her friend to have to wake her to let her know she needs to get back to campus in the morning. She tells her she’s going to stay, and her friend leaves her with one final squeeze to her shoulder.

Finally, the nurse, who she had learned was named Vicky, calls her over to the front desk.

“He’s doing just fine, hon. His file says that he has a moderate concussion and his burns were all superficial. Doctors want to keep him today and overnight for observation, but he should be ready to be discharged tomorrow.” A sigh shudders through her. He’s alright, he’s alright.

“Can I see him yet?” Vicky takes her herself to his room, opening the door for her and motioning for her to go in.

She’s taken aback when she sees someone else sitting at his bedside. Another girl. Her stomach drops for the seemingly hundredth time, but now for a very different reason.

The girl immediately jumps up when she notices her, shuffling around the end of the bed and taking hold of her hands.

“You must be the girl Steve’s been telling me about since August! I’m Robin, Steve’s friend. I’m sorry we’re meeting like this, very shitty circumstances, but it’s still nice to meet you!” She’s left speechless by Robin’s flurry of activity, opening and closing her mouth before finally glancing at Steve’s sleeping figure. Her breath catches when she takes in his appearance, soot still smeared across his face, bandages around his hands and over his neck, hooked up to a bunch of beeping monitors. 

She finally turns back to Robin, “um, S-Steve never told me about you. I’m sorry. How did you–?”

“Oh, we’ve been each other’s emergency contacts ever since he came back from overseas. I got called right away. Doctors say he’s gonna be totally fine, though. Believe me, I’ve seen him banged up far worse than this.” Her head is spinning with all this new information. Why didn’t Steve ever tell her about this person who seems to be his closest friend? When had he been “banged up worse?” Sure, he had been in the army, but she didn’t think he’d sustained any serious injuries in that time, at least he never mentioned anything. What else hadn’t he mentioned?

There’s not much time for her to ponder these things because Steve starts to stir. She’s frozen where she stands, but Robin squats down at his bedside, bringing her palm to squeeze his bicep.

“Hey, dingus. Glad to see you alive and kicking.” He coughs, turning to peer at his friend. When he speaks, his voice is hoarse.

“Robs?” She rubs his arm before lightly patting it.

“Yeah, man. Present and accounted for. Someone else is here to see you too.” Robin looks over to her and she shuffles forward just slightly, opening her mouth to say something, but Steve beats her to it.

“What’s she doing here?” It feels like someone has punched her in the gut, his voice soaked in contempt, the furrowed look on his face as he glances at her before looking back to his friend. Robin is quick to chastise him with a pointed “Steve.” He huffs, throwing his head back into his pillow and shutting his eyes tightly. 

“Need more fucking painkillers.” He grumbles it out, keeping his eyes closed. Robin looks apologetically at her, but she’s already stumbling out of the room, feeling tears threatening to pool over, her throat tight and hot. Her mind is a blur of emotion, the only clear thought being that she needs to get out of here as quickly as possible. He didn’t want her there. He didn’t want her there. 

She thought he had really cared about her, but obviously, she was just a good fuck to him. She had been so stupid coming here, silly really. She had dropped everything just to come see if he was ok, and meanwhile he wanted nothing to do with having her here. To think that she had the right to him, to care about him so hard. Well, that wouldn’t be a mistake that she’d be making again. 

She bursts out of the emergency room into the stark light of the morning. The tears are flowing now, and she’s entirely disoriented, pulling herself together just enough to get to the payphone outside the hospital. She calls her friend and thankfully she picks up, telling her that she can come get her in the next half hour. She hangs up the phone and lets her shoulders slacken, shuffling over to the curb and sitting down, drawing her arms around her knees and resting her forehead on top of them. The exhaustion of the last twelve hours is finally washing over her and all she wants is to curl up in her bed for a long while. 

Just then, Robin comes out of the hospital, making a bee line for her when she finally sees her sitting on the curb. She’s startled by the young woman crouching down beside her, quickly wiping away her tears.

“Hey, I’m so sorry about him. I know he didn’t mean for that to come out the way it did.”

“It sure sounded pretty clear. I’m not welcome.” Robin sighs.

“He’s just… jumbled right now. Believe me, he’s told me too much about you and how much he likes you for that to be what he really wanted to say.” Her heart does a little kick at Robin’s words, but she’s quick to smother it out, sighing.

“Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do. I just– it’s been a long night and I can’t think straight about any of this.” She finally glances at Robin who offers her a soft smile.

“I get it, really. But can I ask you for a favor?” She waits for Robin to continue.

“Please don’t give up on him. I know it’s too much to ask. But, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard him talk so much about someone. Long time since he’s seemed brighter when we speak. I just– Steve’s a rough one for sure, but man does he love hard when he chooses to.” She sighs at Robin’s words, shaking her head a bit.

“I just don’t know if I can promise you that, Robin. I need some time.” Robin nods, bringing a tentative hand to her shoulder.

“Can I give you my number? I live here in the city too. Please, call me whenever you wanna talk.” Robin fumbles in her pockets, pulling out a pack of tissues and a pen. She folds up a tissue and scribbles her number down on it before handing it to her with a small smile. 

Her friend has just pulled up, and she and Robin slowly stand. They share a quiet goodbye before she gets into the car, tucking the tissue into her pocket. She needs a fucking nap.

…

It’s been a week since that horrible night at the hospital. She’s moved through her classes and work numbly, her mind a constant swirl of conflict. She had talked to Robin on the phone on Thursday, and she told her that Steve was home, begrudgingly taking a few weeks off work to rest. Robin had been dropping in to look after him, and she hinted that some other visitors would do him good. 

She had been hesitant to say anything to this invitation, offering Robin a noncommittal reply. Part of her wanted to never see Steve again. She had been so mortified at his reaction to her being at the hospital and thinking about it made her feel physically ill. Yet, for some other part of her, all she wanted was to see him.

He had tried to call her a few times, and she had to admit that he did sound pretty pitiful, his sentences still sounding a bit jumbled and his speech slurred, which Robin had assured her was normal given his long history of concussions. She didn’t know he had a long history of concussions. But apparently she didn’t know a lot of things about Steve.

The weekend came and she still hadn’t made up her mind about what to do. When she got back to her room after her morning class she found that Steve had left her another message.

“Hey, um, s’me. Steve. My head’s getting a lot better. I just, um– fuck– wish you’d answer the fucking phone. Shit, that didn’t come out right. Um, I guess– I’d just really like to hear from you. Or see you. Been thinking about you nonstop. That’s all, I guess. Um, bye.” She lets out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. 

She grabs her jacket and bag, resolving herself to go see him before the impulse fades.

When she arrives at his building she hesitates to press the buzzer, feeling a knot in her chest when she finally does. It takes him a moment to answer, a gruff “hello?” sounding through the speaker.

“Steve? It’s me.” There’s a long silence, only broken by the click of the door letting her through. 

She uses whatever courage she has left to knock firmly at his door, but she’s woefully unprepared for coming face to face with him again. When he opens the door, he’s shirtless, a pair of gray sweatpants with the station’s insignia on the thigh slung low around his hips. He has bandages still on his hands and up his neck. There are dark circles under his eyes, but she still thinks he looks so pretty.

He wordlessly lets her in and she takes in the state of his apartment. All the blinds are drawn, leaving the room shrouded in shadows. Blankets are strewn on the couch, a collection of pill bottles and wound dressings scattered on the coffee table. He’s the first to break the silence, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his neck.

“Sorry about the, uh, mess. Been a long week.” He keeps his eyes trained on the floor, even as she implores him to meet her gaze.

“I-It’s fine, Steve. How are you feeling?” He sighs, walking over to the couch to clear it off before sitting down. She follows his lead, sitting down at the other end of the couch, twisting to look at him.

“I’m doing a lot better. Still just a lot of pain. S’nothing I can’t handle though.” She just nods, looking down at her hands in her lap. Steve sighs before continuing.

“Missed you a lot.” She jerks her head to look up at him at that and when their eyes finally meet, it’s both relieving and painful. She’s quick to avert her gaze back down.

“I didn’t think you wanted me around.” There’s a long pause before Steve speaks.

“To be honest. I didn’t know why you weren’t answering my calls until Robin told me what I said that morning. Baby, they– I was so hopped up on pain meds I didn’t know up from down.”

“Steve, you and I both know that’s not the whole story. You were with it enough to recognize Robin. And then, when you looked at me, the way you spoke? Not to me, but about me? It broke my fucking heart.” Steve grumbles at that, but she continues.

“Do you know how worried I was about you? Did Robin tell you I spent the whole night at the ER? Waiting to find out anything about how you were doing? And then for you to just dismiss me when I finally did get to see you? I just– I don’t know, Steve.” His eyes widen at her words.

“You don’t know what?” She scoffs, meeting his gaze again.

“I don’t know why I still care about you so goddamn much when you keep giving me every reason to never speak to you again.” She laughs lamely, huffing as she leans back into the couch.

“God, Steve. It’s not fair. You’re just– I don’t really know anything about you. You’re always pushing me away. You never told me about Robin. Or that you’ve been hurt like that before. I felt like such an idiot talking to her, having to get her to explain it all to me.” She closes her eyes, leaning her head back and bringing her palms to her face, kneading at her temples. She doesn’t know what else to say, settling instead for a long sigh.

Steve finally breaks the silence, “I-I’m sorry. For all of it. I just– I wasn’t expecting you to be there, at the hospital. I don’t know, I guess– I didn’t want you to see that. To see me like that.” She glances at him, he’s hunched over his thighs, elbows propping him up, fingers dug into his hair as his head rests in his hands.

“To see you like what? Alive? Ok? Relatively unharmed after I watched the building you were in literally explode?” He shakes his head, letting out a sigh.

“I didn’t want you to see me so fucked up, ok? A-and I didn’t tell you about my past because I don’t want your pity, I don’t need anyone’s pity. I just– fuck– I want you to think that I’m good.” She reaches out to him, resting her palm on his bare shoulder, her heart seizing up at the way he flinches under her touch. 

“I’m not trying to pity you, Steve. I just want you to let me in. I-I want to understand whatever you’ve been through because– christ, I want to be there for you.” He turns to look at her, and the clear confusion across his face makes her heart break. 

“Steve, you don’t need to make me think that you’re good. I know you’re good. But I also know that I can’t love you the way I want to when you’re keeping me at arm’s length.” His eyes widen at her words right as she realizes what she just said, her breath catching in her throat.

“Do you love me?” Fuck. She swallows hard.

“I’m trying to, if you’ll let me.” The moment is interrupted as Steve’s face scrunches up in pain. He brings his hand to his head, clutching at his hair and letting out a harsh breath. She feels a lick of panic down her spine.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He shakes his head, his eyes still crinkled shut.

“Just need to get more meds in my system. My head’s fucking pounding.” She goes into RA mode, squeezing his shoulder one more time before shuffling into his kitchen to get him a glass of water. She starts sorting through the pill bottles on his coffee table.

“Baby? Which one of these do you need to take right now?” 

“The oxycodone. M’supposed to take two.” She finds the bottle and quickly passes him two of the pills and the glass of water. She sits on the edge of the coffee table and watches him take his meds, promptly setting the glass down and resting back into the couch, his eyes still closed. She studies the prescription bottle, brows furrowed.

“This says you’re supposed to take those with food. Have you eaten anything recently?” He grumbles, a shrug of his shoulders telling her that no, he hasn’t had anything. She sighs.

“You gotta eat something, baby. Lemme make you something, ok? I’ll be right back.” He huffs, but stays laying back on the couch as she goes back into his kitchen.

She’s dismayed by what she finds when she opens his fridge. It’s sparse save for some half-empty containers of soup that Robin must have brought over earlier in the week. She calls over to him from the kitchen.

“Steve? Will you eat some soup?” That gets a groan out of him.

“Can’t eat anymore fucking soup.” She scoffs, rolling her eyes before turning her attention back to his nearly empty fridge. Luckily, there’s a loaf of bread on his counter and some cheese that doesn’t seem to be off. She fumbles around in his cabinets for a pan and takes to the task of making a grilled cheese. Even Steve, in his petulant state, should be able to manage to get that down.

As she brings the sandwich over to him, she finds him dozing, his head tipped over the back of the couch cushion. She sits on the edge of the coffee table, their knees brushing. She lightly rubs his thigh to wake him up.

“Baby? Let’s get something in you, ok? You need to eat.” He grumbles, cracking his eyes open, but reluctantly sitting up. He raises his eyebrows at her when she sets the plate in his lap.

“It’s a grilled cheese. Humor me here, alright?” He huffs, but still picks up the sandwich and takes a wolfish bite. His eyes widen at her as he chews, grumbling around the bite.

“Did you put pickles in it?” She shrugs, fighting a smile.

“You need to eat some vegetables, that’s all I could find. Plus that’s how my mom would make it for me whenever I felt sick.” He chews slowly, his brow still furrowed, but he seems to like it enough to keep eating, finishing off the whole sandwich in a few large bites. 

She takes the plate from him and places it in the sink, coming back to sit down next to him, resting her arm over the back of the couch to turn and face him. He clears his throat before glancing at her.

“My, uh, my grandma used to make grilled cheese with pickles for me when I was a kid. Never met anyone else who made them like that.” She can’t help the grin that slips onto her face. It’s small, but it feels different, it feels like Steve trying.

“Well, great minds think alike, I guess. That’s like, the best way to make a grilled cheese.” It’s barely there, but she still sees the small smile he offers her. He nods, shifting to face her on the couch, their knees brushing. He very tentatively rests his hand over hers in her lap. She flips her palm to tangle her fingers with his, being careful of the bandages there. His voice is barely above a whisper when he speaks.

“Thank you. For everything.” She sweeps her fingers through his hair, brushing it out of his eyes. He leans into her palm and the sweetness of it makes everything ok for a moment. 

“Why don’t you lay down, Steve? Get some rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.” 

“You will?”

“I will.”

She goes to stand up, giving him space to lay out on the couch, but is caught unexpectedly as he shifts to lay his head down in her lap. He moves cautiously as he settles down, trying to avoid his burns, curling on his side as he rests his cheek on the plush of her thigh. Once he seems comfortable, she rests a palm on his bare chest after drawing a blanket over him. His breathing steadies out quickly, lips parted in the drift of sleep. 

A streak of pain races through her chest because she knows now for certain that she could never leave Steve, not even if she really wanted to. He’s hers and she’s his. She traces the map of his freckles with her eyes, a marvel in how peaceful he looks.

Nothing has been fixed, not really. And so much has been left unsaid. But for now, she thinks that this is enough.

[ryuichirou]

Replies

TWST related: about Idia’s designer choices, Azul’s Jamil-related fantasies and other stuff.

Anonymous asked:

Are you going to draw more genderswap twst soon? My bisexual heart enjoys the men but craves the females. I'll even take writing.

Anon!! Thank you so much for enjoying the ladies~ 🥹 They’re very special to me as well.

I actually draw them quite often these days, this is why we post them a lot on our Ko-Fi and 🔑🔞twt… Maybe I’ll finish up something and we’ll post it. Eventually. At some point. Knowing that you’re waiting for them. 💪

As for the writing, we have at least one ask prompting hcs about them, so maaaybe I’ll write some pretty soon.

Anonymous asked:

thank you for being one of the sole people feeding the shroudcest nation. i will lay my life down for you

We’re happy to do our part, Anon 🫡 The only nation I am willing to serve.

In all honesty, I am very glad you like our interpretation of these two and their relationship <3

Anonymous asked:

I just want to say as a robotfucker Ortho’s appearance with his bondage gear inspired look that is canonly built by Idia just carries the ship by itself. Why is Idia such a weirdo degenerate pervert lol

YES LOL

I love that the majority of sus decisions in Ortho’s gears are the result of Idia’s design. And we’ve heard a couple of times that Idia is all about aesthetic + functionality, so…. Idia, mister, sir, please explain this…. Or rather, show your inspiration board. Come on, don’t be shy, we won’t judge👀

Anonymous asked:

You know those femme fatale characters that are as dangerous as they are beautiful, but who also seem completely devoted to the big villain of the story? I think that's the first thing that comes to Azul's mind when he imagines a romantic partner, except instead of an elegant and mysterious lady it's Jamil.

Azul, don't you know that those types turn against their boss/partner as soon as it's convenient for them? (something that is also true for Jamil, oh!) Realistically he knows that he would hate to be in a relationship with someone like that, but he can still let himself fantasize from time to time

This is actually quite a good point, Anon. I think this is exactly where Azul would put Jamil in his fantasies: this way they end up being a power-couple, but Jamil is still his pretty trophy snake. He is also probably aware that Jamil would never be fully and genuinely devoted to him, but yeah, just like you said, that won’t stop him from fantasising lol

Actually I think in Azul’s mind he would always outsmart Jamil somehow. Like Jamil would try to backstab him, but Azul predicted that he would, and therefore Jamil’s plan would backfire… hey, this is actually their dynamic in Ch4, sort of, at least in the Snake Whisper scene. So yeah, Jamil tries to betray him, Jamil gets overpowered and outwitted, they have a fight and then they have passionate sex during which Jamil can’t help but give in because he wants Azul so much and finds his intelligence and cunningness very sexy.

Of course, those are the fairy tales Azul tells himself as he falls asleep at night… who knows what the reality of that scenario would be.

m1lk-n-cook1es asked:

I saw you talking about twisted Shrek & Donkey and I've been thinking about making a DreamWorks-based fan school (but idk if they'll have a rivalry with NRC and RSA since it'll be a company feud, but I'm referencing the fact that DreamWorks was founded by a former Disney employee) so maybe their twisted versions can be from there

That would actually be funny lol Not sure what role they would play in-universe, but yeah, a mage that used to work at RSA/NRC suddenly opening up another school for those who deemed too unfit for these two schools? Or something like that.

Anonymous asked:

There are, surprisingly, or maybe not, a lot of mushroom themed household objects.  Do you think Jade only uses objects shaped liked mushrooms?  Is he trying to replace the utensils in the Mostro Lounge with mushroom shaped cooking ware?  Do you think any of the other boys have similar...fascinations?

I think Azul wouldn’t allow that… He is a meanie and doesn’t understand just how much it would boost everyone’s morale if Jade used mushroom-shaped cooking ware! But unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to fit the Lounge’s theme, even if it’s just for the kitchen…

In reality, I think if Jade were to try to sneak in some mushroom-themed stuff, he would do just for the sake of subtly being a menace lol

Also, there are surprisingly little mushroom-shaped things in Jade’s own room and accessories. What if he only acknowledges the real ones? 🤔 But then again, I could easily see him having an obnoxious collection of ceramic and plushy mushrooms in the future. It all started with a mushroom-shaped salt and pepper shakers…

[naavispider]

A follow up to this post, which is a bonus scene from Quaritch's POV at the end of The Cat's in the Cradle. This one was egged on by @hyperfixatedfandomer who always manages to inspire me!

It’s been four years since Spider decided to stay with the Sullys, effectively cutting his father out of his life. Quaritch has been coping the best way he knows how, but it’s been rough and life moves on. He always hoped that someday his son might change his mind and miraculously show up on the doorstep. What he didn’t count on was that day being today.

Quaritch sighed wearily as he resigned himself to another afternoon sorting out Selfidge's mess. The RDA had welcomed him back with open arms when he'd got of prison six years ago, but he'd been too obsessed with trying to get custody of his son back for the first two. Then, Spider had turned his back on him and Quaritch had slipped into a dark place; his loneliness and self-hatred had driven him to the verge of insanity. Only Lyle had been able to reason with him. He'd turned up at the door after Quaritch was re-arrested and hammered some sense into his superior officer.

And Quaritch was grateful. Getting stuck back in at the RDA was a chore - especially when working with civvie pencil pushers like Selfridge - but a welcome distraction from the pit of sadness that had found a home in his guts. He cleaned himself up, dusted himself down and focused on commanding his squad. Eventually, time stitched over some of the deepest cuts Spider had left him with, and Quaritch simply grew used to living with the pain.

It had been four years since he'd seen his son, and even though it killed him, he'd kept his word. If I get out… you draw the shots. No more plots behind your back. If you want nothing to do with me… I’ll leave. He hadn't tried to contact Spider. The boy had made his choice, and the biggest mistake of Quaritch's life was that he once didn't respect that.

He would now, even if killed him.

At that moment, the doorbell rang, rousing Quaritch from his thoughts. He frowned, unsure who was calling. It was probably Lyle - the man was always dropping in unannounced. He left his laptop open and went to the door. But wait. Just as he was about to open the latch, he realised that couldn't be right. Lyle was out of state on RDA business. Must be one of the others he shrugged, though his hand hovered over the Beretta in his waistband just in case. He opened the door.

For four years he had waited for a moment like this. He stared at the young man in front of him. He just stared.

"Um... Hi, Dad."

Quaritch focused his eyes on every aspect of the boy's face, taking in every inch of his appearance. If he didn't know his son like the back of his hand he would have believed it to be trick from the enemy. Spider was here. He was really here.

"Son..."

Spider's hair fell carelessly in a messy half up, half down style. The years had matured the angle of his jaw, the arch of his brows. This wasn't the sixteen year old boy that Quaritch remembered. This was a twenty year old man.

Spider smiled awkwardly, dreadfully reminiscent of the way Paz used to, and for a moment Quaritch couldn't speak.

Spider looked like he understood, and shifted awkwardly on his feet. "Can I come in?" he asked. God, his voice was deeper. He had to reach out and touch him... make sure he really was here....

He nodded, stepping back slowly to let Spider in the house. He couldn't take his eyes off him as Spider stepped over the threshold. In a daze, Quaritch shut the door and walked to the living room. "Sit down..." It should have come out as in instruction, but instead it sounded more like a question.

Spider tentatively crossed the room and sat on the edge of the comfortable sofa. Quaritch couldn't remember the last person other than Lyle to sit on that sofa. Was his son really here?

Spider's eyes drifted down to Quaritch's hands. Without realising it, Quaritch had started to run the MJ tattoo on his wrist, like he always did when he was stressed. He immediately stopped, not wanting to freak Spider out. They were both quiet for a moment, before Quaritch followed Spider's suit and sat next to him on the couch. He measured the distance between them carefully. There wasn't quite enough room for a third person between them, but there was plenty of space. He took a deep breath as he stared at the floor, trying to pull himself together.

"This is weird," Spider stated.

Quaritch let out a dry chuckle. That was one word for it.

"I'm sorry for... dropping in."

Quaritch forced himself to look up and meet Spider's eyes. He was met with the familiar blaze that burned behind his chestnut irises. A necklace dangled around Spider's neck, catching the light. The sight of him was breath-taking. Spider was an adult. He'd outgrown him in the most complete sense imaginable. It made Quaritch's heart yearn for the years he'd missed. He wasn't sure if he could do this. Suddenly, all he wanted was that fiesty sixteen year old back.

He wanted to be cussed out, insulted. He wanted to know that the best place for Spider was by his side. He didn't want to see that Spider was doing fine without him. It was breaking him.

"What are you doing here?" Quaritch finally managed to say.

Now it was Spider's turn to avert his eyes. He looked... ashamed. "I... I wanted to explain. I wanted to see you."

"It's been a long time, son," Quaritch reminded him.

"I know. And I'm sorry." He paused, clearly unsure what to say next. "You really hurt me."

Quaritch closed his eyes slowly, pursing his lips. "I know." He did. He knew what he'd caused.

Thankfully, Spider continued. "I didn't know how to handle that. You were supposed to be there for me. You were supposed to love me because I'm your son, not because you wanted to be a father."

Quaritch nodded. Spider was being completely fair.

"Would you have done it?"

Quaritch looked up. He knew what Spider was referring to. The reason he'd decided to maintain the restraining order in the first place. He sighed. "I don't know. I was a desperate man who'd lost eleven years of his son's life. I wanted you back, but I don't know how far I could have gone through with it. Not if you weren't cooperative."

Spider pursed his lips. "I wish I'd never found out."

"That I was gonna take you?"

His son nodded. Quaritch's heart bled. "For the record, I wish I'd never come up with it."

Spider half smiled.

The damn that had been waiting to burst since Quaritch first opened the door reared its head at last. "Is it really you?" he whispered.

On the couch, Spider turned to face him full on. "It's me, Dad."

His arm moved of its own accord, reaching up slowly to rest his hand on Spider's shoulder, then slowly, making sure Spider could pull away if he wanted, up Spider's neck until he was cupping his son's face. It took Spider a moment to give him eye contact, but when he did it was all he needed. Warmth flooded his insides as light filled up the bottomless pit of despair he'd worked so hard to live with all these years. Spider's presence alone was enough to cure it all. He could see him melting into his touch, and without realising it he'd shuffled closer and was enveloping his son in a fierce embrace. Spider's shoulders shook with emotion and Quaritch held him tighter. If anyone ever tried to take his son away again, he'd see them in Hell. "Shh, it's okay." He breathed in the scent of Spider's hair, wrapped his arms around his boy as if his touch was the only thing keeping him alive.

"I'm sorry-" Spider choked out, but Quaritch shushed him, letting him cry it out. Quaritch didn't cry, he just thanked his lucky stars that his son had returned home. "I'm so glad you came back," he murmured, because it was the only thought he was capable of holding.

When Spider's breathing finally seemed to return to normal, Quaritch released him. "Stay here," he ordered, making his way to the kitchen. He didn't want to leave Spider, not for one second, but he needed to make him comfortable. They had a lot of catching up to do. He returned with two cups of tea, and his adult son kicked his feet up onto the couch, making himself at home. He took the mug as Quaritch sat back at his end of the couch.

"Tell me everything."

[jerreeeeeee]

i also read the suffering game graphic novel. here's praises and criticisms. this one is also more negatives than positives unfortunately, i tried to be fair and thoughtful but i did not like it very much

things i liked:

-lucretia prologue establishing that she went to wonderland + talking abt missing the crew. fun & mysterious

-hi mavis and mookie :) they are cute

-HI BARRY sometimes i forget he stalked merle’s family outing. i love that freak

-magnus and angus scene!! fisher showing angus the statue drawing!! ango detective subplot!! this is a nice and natural addition since we know he was sleuthing around the BOB

-merle teasing taako about his date is kinda cute actually love seeing them be friends

-thank god they got rid of the chimera. idk if this is a hot take or anything but its probably my least favorite fight in the podcast its so out of place and unnecessary. there are lots of fights that didnt really matter in the beginning like all the gerblins and the slime swamp in rockport but they were still like getting their bearings and the show was more like a real dnd campaign than a typical actual play, but by the time you get to the suffering game there’s more interesting things to do and you're like god why are we still doing random forest encounters just get to wonderland already

-not a positive per se but i’m not that upset about sterling and his party being cut. i feel like an adaptation would’ve had an opportunity to make that little c-plot matter more, and that would’ve been awesome, but as is in the podcast, i never felt particularly strongly about it? not enough to miss it. idk like magnus and merle were already for ‘trust’ even if it were strangers and taako never seems all that regretful about it (which like. fair. he’s the pragmatist and that’s how the prisoner’s dilemma works. he played the game right because he couldn’t afford to lose, knowing they hurt some slightly-less-strangers doesn’t really change that).

-i dont remember which of the boys discovered it in the podcast but merle noticing the smoke thing is good. he actually is competent and especially in an arc that’s meant to make him feel useless that’s a good little reminder

-i do like that the liches say the bell is very powerful & is threatening to destroy them like both keeping in theme with the rest of the relics and an introduction to the idea that sharing an incredible and dangerous power between two people makes it easier to keep your sanity, similar to lichdom

-griffin getting cut off with the hunger is awesome finally we’re taking advantage of the medium. nothing more to say that choice rules

-posts on tumblr hyped me up for taako recognizing barry’s dick but unfortunately that’s not really what happened and now i’m disappointed. but the graphic novels arent canon so i’ll just have to continue with my barry/taako awkward past one night stand agenda despite it all

-i dont quite know how to feel about the umbrastaff leaping to barry to replace the “love barry, trust barry” moment. on the one hand, having lup actually speak to taako wouldn’t work super well in graphic novel form, not to mention the whole band of projected thought thing was kinda convoluted and they are clearly very limited on time, and taako choosing to trust the umbrastaff in this way is a creative way to get that same effect. on the other hand, its so unclear what even happened or why it changes taako’s mind without podcast context. that’s one of my big gripes, you’re expected to be familiar with the story already, but if you’re familiar with the story, the graphic novels are… worse in every way. also, i really really liked the original scene so even though it doesn’t work, i miss it. this isn’t as effective—we don’t find out there’s a person missing from taako’s memory, his heart doesn't swell at the sound of her voice, he doesn’t know with certainty that she’s someone dear to him. it's just like, another instance of the umbrastaff acting weird. maybe you put together that 'LUP' is a person but you don't have any indication until the moment of remembering how important she is. all of that would be really difficult to get across in a visual medium anyway, but still, yknow, it doesn’t hit as hard.

-ango!! his mage hand is coming along so well!! although. why is his wand just like a stick. did he pick it up off the ground. taako needs to take better care of his boy this reflects badly on him as a teacher lmao

-i felt this way about the eleventh hour too but there’s so many little details of taako and merle’s friendship i feel like they have little asides and jokes together a lot and i love that

-the looming dread of the hunger is done pretty well (as well as it can be with such time restraints)

-merle trying to commune with pan and seeing john instead is good. very ominous and intriguing for new readers and exciting for podcast listeners

-really liked the panel of barry in the red robe against the stars and the bond engine’s white ring as he’s remembering. very cool very cinematic

-i actually also really like the framing as taako remembers, filling in the memories we’d seen previously and clearing out the static while he looks so broken, and merle asking him what he’s remembering, and then finally speaking his sister’s name. its framed very powerfully. i wish he and lup didn’t look awful so i could actually feel something at that part. like they are my favorite characters ever their story makes me so emotional and i just. they’re unrecognizable. the character designs are terrible and taako has spent 6 books now being mischaracterized and flattened to hell so i just can’t muster any emotion. maybe i'll redraw that page someday though because the panelling is genuinely very good

-the ending lucretia monologue is good she's the narrator she's the main character she's everything. love the portraits staticking out and mirroring and changing, and ending on the beach painting is great. very cinematic and a natural way to phase into the stolen century

things i didn’t like:

-i dont think taako’s deepest desire is his own brand of fashion forward athleisure wear if i’m being quite honest. these little things irk me

-why is liches get stitches all the way in the beginning… ill portent for how the rest of this book will go

-i think they shouldve introduced the flaming raging poisoning sword of doom way earlier. the payoff isnt nearly as good without the setup of having been magnus’ white whale for like fifty episodes. maybe they did mention it in earlier books and i just forgot though

-^ i hate his stupid ugly oversexualized stereotyped ass so fucking much its unreal

-why are edward and lydia ugly :( —(they're not ugly because they're chubby they're ugly because their color schemes and outfits are fucking awful) (fr though why are all their colors so muted and dingy?? why are their outfits boring?? at least their heart attack looks are fun)

-oh so there’s just no trust or forsake at all. yeah i don’t like that. in the end no great loss since i don't think it really says anything about thb's characters that hasn't already been said, but so much of thb's characters and arcs have been cut from the gns already

-i get that they’re low on time trying to fit in reunion tour but like come on part of the suffering of the suffering game is how long and painful it is cutting it down really just. makes it not matter as much

-magnus looks no different after aging LMAO he gets like 2 gray hairs and that’s it

-edward and lydia’s lich forms are also boring unfortunately

-no tasha’s hideous laughter on the heart attack mannequin? lame. although i have for the first time realized that dnd shows kinda have a thing for characters uninterested in romance being forced by mysterious powers to be haunted by creepy puppet-like “romance partners” huh

-magnus doesn’t forget kalen?? why cut that out? i guess because there was never closure for it in the original story?

-no boss rush?? that was fun :(

-magnus and taako aren’t surprised merle has kids??? did they know???

-dupree looks terrible but i guess props to carey for giving him feathers even though it looks bad

-just axed the liches’ backstory?? that was kind of important?? the fact that they turned to necromancy out of love for their family & powered themselves with positive emotions too? that like, has relevance later…

-NO BAD LUCK FOR ARMS OUTSTRETCHED? COME ON

-the framing of magnus’ soul being removed is so anticlimactic in general like the POINT of a VISUAL adaptation is to have interesting & cinematic VISUALS its just so messy

-all of arms outstretched didnt look very good in general sorry. its just such a big important moment and to make it so mid… a tragedy

-“i guess we still needed each other after all” doesnt work anymore because they removed all of edward and lydia’s backstory and character but it was an interesting line to me that i wish had been kept. hammering in that liches need anchors is, again, pretty relevant later on, getting rid of that foreshadowing sucks, and it also humanizes these villains in an interesting way that really highlights their powerlust as their downfall rather than just, like, cruelty for evil’s sake. like yes they torture people and find it fun because they’re so distanced from their own humanity but they also truly believed it was necessary for their own safety and seemingly only became sadistic after they desensitized themselves. i wrote a post about this a while ago but idk if i’ll ever post it

-not a fan of barry killing lydia either. idk why, its not like he hasn’t killed other people to protect the boys before. but that’s earlier in the show before we know he’s not just a villain and is in fact meant to introduce him as a villain. now he’s a friend so idk if you can just go back to having him murder people? again its not a wrong choice but it feels like messy storytelling. also like i think seeing a lich grieving her anchor and a sister grieving her brother would pull some heartstrings for him. it would maybe remind him of some people he loves and garner some sympathy and give him some pause. and i liked that in the podcast even though lydia was so distanced from the idea of positive anchors, killing edward just immediately undoes her, fits in with the themes and the way we understand liches to work, another powerful example of what bonds can do, and that's kinda lost here

-magnus’ answer to the bell sucks so badddd lmao when these books NEED context they’re devoid of it but when they actually have the necessary plot points/character arc established for the reader to put something together they have to go and spell it out like the audience is stupid. there was something so raw and powerful about magnus’ original “i’d hate it. shut the fuck up.” like just shutting it down and not even considering it. that’s completely lost when he has to be like “recap time! my wife, julia,” eugh just didnt like that. there are so many powerful lines from balance that i don’t hate on principal that they’ve changed, but there was no good reason to change, and so the new version just falls flat and there was no reason not to include the original lines verbatim? i get not wanting to just deliver a podcast highlight reel and have the gns be their own story or w/e but if you’re gonna do that you have to do it well, and they just keep being worse unfortunately

-they don’t get the chance to go off the grid themselves and choose to trust barry?? come the fuck ON that is IMPORTANT to the STORY

-this may or may not be an unpopular opinion but i’m not a fan of barry’s design either. i don’t like the hair and he’s not fat enough. less egregious than others but its still another instance of being like who tf is that

-barry’s little coin monologue was kinda fun and dramatic and i (finally) liked the visuals of him falling from the sky/silhouette of the starblaster against faerun’s single sun. but i wish they’d kept more of the original. add drama that’s fine but the point of it is to humanize him after we’ve spent so long thinking of him as a villain and a ghost and a force of the story and now it turns out he’s barry bluejeans. he’s just a guy. he loves his mom. he’s allergic to dairy. he’s afraid of the dark.

-especially not a fan of cutting out the “love that defined and redeemed you” and “dull weight in your chest” in barry’s coin monologue. those are important parts of his character. whether you interpret the love and the weight to be for lup or for the whole crew, you need to know that the red robe has lost people, and that everything he does is to try to get them back. he’s the lover and he’s grief personified. his mission is to save the world AND recover his family. thats like. kinda important for his character and role in the story. if you ask me.

-again the “we’ll get em next time” magnus flashback is not BAD but it could’ve looked so much better? carey definitely has strengths as an artist but her fight scenes and character design tends to be very weak so its unfortunate that this is an adaptation of a dnd podcast where those 2 things are like, the most important. idk i feel like i should be articulating what i mean better but i’m not sure how. the fights just are often really cluttered and framed in an odd way that doesn’t look very good or dramatic or dynamic. i don’t want to say carey is a bad artist, i really don’t think she is! but i think she was not the right artist for this project. the magic of a visual medium is, well. the visuals. when they’re mid the whole story suffers.

-taako and merle not just saying magnus is dead is sorta unnecessarily confusing since everyone like assumes he’s dead anyway? idk i don’t understand that choice. kinda fucks with his moment with carey. not a big deal in the end but it does seem unnecessary

-MAGNUS DOESN’T GO SEE FISHER?? the mannequin dies in fantasy costco??? what about johann???

-“you stole half of my fucking heart” i know a lot of people loved this line but it genuinely baffles me. Why Only Half. not only referencing one of the most heartwarming (and heartbreaking) lines in the original show with no context for why its meaningful at all yet—but also minimizing it? why soften that blow? why detract from the raw intensity of that grief? why reduce a very powerful sentiment? an adaptation of balance that doesn’t allow itself to be earnest and wholehearted (ha) about its platonic bonds is not a good adaptation, straight up. maybe its not that deep but it is To Me. maybe it has no real import and i’m just being stupid but like they made that choice to write half instead of just “my heart.” Why, genuinely

-hey what the fuck happened to johann for real though. that was a really important part of the story. hey. hey. what about johann. like are we just ignoring johann. am i insane. how has no one mentioned this. what’s up with johann

-

so all in all, again, rushed pacing, axing of a lot of very important plot points, shoddy visuals.

it did not make me relive the emotional journey of the suffering game and reunion tour. it inspired a vague nostalgia for the first time i experienced reunion tour, reminded me of how much i love the original show, and made me want to listen to the podcast again. especially reunion tour good god i love reunion tour. and it made me desperately wish for a good adaptation. i would do fucking anything for a good adaptation. the longing is making me sick. at least we always have podcast reunion tour.

the graphic novels are just so empty and soulless compared to the original show. i wouldn’t have an issue with changes, except that the changes, at every turn, gut the emotional core of the story that makes it so special, and ruin the strong themes throughout the story. they fundamentally misunderstand what is so good about balance. and also, like, basic storytelling. they’re poorly designed and poorly written, so they don’t even stand on their own as a different story. i'm not expecting an exact replica, but i am expecting good writing, good changes when necessary, and respect for the original beloved story. without those, the soul is gone, the spark of what makes balance so compelling and emotional.

i am dreading the story and song graphic novel. i don’t think it will be any good. the themes and character arcs and plot of the show have been mangled beyond belief so nothing is really meaningful anymore. can we go back to the johann thing for a moment—

[bexorok]

Poorly written Sonic Movie 3 Pitch/outline pt. 7

THE scene

This was actually one of the first scenes I wrote. Maria’s death might be one of the most heartbreaking but somehow beloved scenes in the entire franchise. Why is that? I think it’s a moment that a lot of people really connected with due to the shear amount of tragedy in it. A lot of people played this game as a kid, and this was probably the most thought provoking scene in all of Sonic media. I was too young to understand watching my cousins play the game what the scene really meant, but I had that moment latter on watching Sonic X. I was a kid seeing another kid go through this great sacrifice and felt the weight of her choice, and it made me understand Shadows philosophy before and after he remembered.

I wanted to make that really stand out. I wanted to build and feel the connection between Shadow and Maria the way Project Shadow did. I wanted to capture how they were just kids dreaming of seeing the world, and wanted the audience to feel the weight of the consequences of Maria’s choices, and the added tragedy that shadow only remembered the sacrifice and not what it was for.

I also wanted Amy’s speech to go beyond just “give humanity a chance”. I know her speech to him is pivotal, but I decided to make it focused on reminding him of who he really is rather than the means of revenge Gerald turned him into. I also wanted it all to tie back into her own experiences and character development through the course of the film. Of remembering those of the past while still opening yourself up to new people.

This might seem way too deep, or like I’m reading way too much into it, but this is how that original scene makes me feel now. I hope people enjoy it, and I hope people know that even though I title these as “poorly written” I actually put a lot of thought into them. Thanks for reading. I’ll definitely write more as my mind races with even more concepts I hope that the movies include.

Interior: Space Colony Ark

Amy’s search for sonic leads her to an open observation room. The entire wall is taken up by a single window, and earth can be seen. Lights continue to flash, and the distant sound of sirens reminds the viewer that the Ark has only 22 minutes until it enters earth’s atmosphere.

In the room, Sonic is sitting on the floor, looking out at the earth as it draws near. Amy opens her mouth to say something, then closes it. She sits down next to him.

Sonic: It's weird seeing it like this. We tried so hard to save it, and now it’s too late. I can’t fix this.

Amy: I know. You can’t alone. But maybe there’s still time.

Sonic: how? Shadow’s the only other person here that can use the emeralds’ power, and I can’t get through to him.

Amy: you don’t have the full story.

Sonic glances at her.

Sonic: Then who does?

Amy: I think he does. He just doesn’t remember.

Sonic: What do you mean?

Amy: I mean, I saw a security tape. I saw… everything that happened that day. And I heard everything too. Shadows story lines up, but it’s missing a huge piece of the puzzle. He doesn’t remember how much he and Maria loved the earth. All he remembers is the moment all of that came to an end, and nothing else.

Sonic: So what now? Show him the video?

Amy: no. This is something he needs to remember himself. I just need to talk to him.

Sonic: how do you know he would still want to work together?

Amy’s face brightens into a smile.

Amy: Sonic, you’ve always seen the best in people, given them the chance they needed to prove themselves. You never gave up on them, never gave up on me. It’s one of the things I admire most about you. You have an amazing power, and it has nothing to do with the emeralds. Somehow, despite being alone for so long, after everything you went through, you brought us all together, as a team. As a family. If there’s anyone on earth that Shadow would rally behind, it’s you.

Flashbacks of moments from the previous movies appear as Amy talks. Sonic asking Tom for help getting to San Francisco. Him talking to knuckles on the beach. Him holding out his hand to Tails to follow him through the portal. Him giving Amy a fist bump, signifying that she’s officially part of the team. The flashbacks end with one group shot of team Sonic celebrating finding their first chaos emerald.

We cut back to the room. Amy is dreamily staring at the earth, lost in thought. Sonic looks at her in awe, a blush creeping up on his face.

Sonic: that… that was the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever said to me.

Amy smiles at him.

Amy: And I believe every word of it. I’m sure that Shadow will too.

Sonic sheepishly grins back at her.

Sonic: I don’t think I’ll be able to do it alone this time.

A realization crosses Amy’s mind as her eyes light up.

Amy: I need to help him become the hero…

Sonic: sorry, what was that?

Amy: (more excited) I need to help him become the hero! The cards weren’t just talking about teaching you, they were telling me that I have to be the one to talk to Shadow!

Sonic: the fortune?

Amy: oh thank you Sonic!

She embraces him and his face flushes again. She realizes what she’s doing and stops, also looking bashful.

Amy: you go find the emeralds, leave the rest to me!

She runs out of the room and down the hall. Sonic watches for a moment before he smirks and takes off to find the emeralds.

THE scene

Interior: Space Colony ARK

Shadow is looking out the window of the observatory room. The ARK continues to gain speed, and earth slowly but surely gets bigger. Amy runs into the room.

Amy: Shadow…

Shadow: have you come to admire the view one last time? I must admit, it’s bittersweet seeing it like this.

Amy: Do you know why you’re doing this?

Shadow: an odd question. This was my mission. Destroy humanity.

Amy: Are you sure?

Shadow turns to glare at her.

Shadow: and what is that supposed to mean?

Amy: We found some records earlier. Do you really know why Gerald created you?

Shadow opens his mouth to say something, only to close it again.

Amy: You weren’t meant to be a weapon like GUN wanted you to be. You were created to heal.

Shadow winces.

Shadow: None of that matters! My purpose is gone now and it’s thanks to those despicable humans! The only thing left is this!

Amy: Is that what you really think?

Shadow holds his head in his hands.

Amy: (realization) You keep fighting it, the rest of the memory.

Shadow: Shut up!

Amy: I’m so sorry, Shadow. What happened was horrible. It must be so painful to remember, to have only that final moment replay in your head again and again. It’s the only thing you were able to hold onto. That isn’t your fault though.

Shadow writhes, his head pounding.

Amy: I know it hurts to think about. That’s why you haven’t let yourself remember. But letting yourself remember all the good times you had together, the moments that gave your life and hers meaning, it’s how you can honor her memory.

Shadow clams his breath.

Shadow: When? When will it stop hurting?

Amy smiles sadly.

Amy: I wish I knew.

Over Amy’s monologue, we see flashes of her past as well as Sonic and Knuckles. Amy with her grandmother, learning how to fortune read, followed by an image of her in front of a gravestone with a flower in hand. Sonic wrapped in a hug from Longclaw, followed by the scene of him racing towards her only to phase through the ring portal as it closed. Then the scene of him looking out at the hologram of Longclaw disappearing as he solemnly reaches towards it. Knuckles looking at his father walking away with the rest of his tribe, followed by a scene of him and the ghost of Pechacamac.

Amy: There isn’t anyone who can answer that. But we remember anyway. Because it means all those moments meant something. They helped make us who we are now.

Shadow exhales, seemingly preparing for something.

Amy: I know it’s painful, but please, try to remember the entire story. Remember what happened before the end.

Shadow relaxes, letting his mind finally go.

We cut to a flash of memories all coming at once. The first is of Maria looking at Shadow in a testing tube, covered in wires as he’s suspended in fluid. She presses her hand up to the glass and stares up in wonder.

The next is of them dancing in the halls of the ARK while Yellow Submarine play on a cassette tape. They laugh together as they trip up while trying to dance.

The clips get more brief.

There's a memory of Shadow helping Maria brush her hair, putting in her signature hairband, one of them looking up at the Milky Way, one of Shadow resting his head on Maria’s lap as they look at the earth, one of them eating together in the mass hall, one of them reading together, and moments that flash too fast to properly make out what’s happening.

The flashes suddenly stop, and we cut to the final memory. Maria is looking at Shadow through the glass of the space capsule with tears in her eyes. We hold on her for a few seconds before the camera cuts to Shadow, looking terrified.

Shadow: Maria, what are you doing?

Maria: I’m not going to let them catch you, Shadow. Grandpa and I found out the truth. If they catch you, they’ll turn you into a weapon. I have to do this.

Shadow: Maria, please… Come with me! We said we would go to earth together!

Maria: I’m sorry, Shadow. I wish I could go with you. There’s nothing in the universe that I want more than to go with you! But I wouldn’t survive down there. My illness would catch up to me the moment the capsule opened.

Shadow: I can’t leave you!

Maria: And I can’t let them take you!

The room is completely silent as they both stare at each other.

Maria: Shadow, there’s a whole world of people that need you. Give them a chance. You were created to help humanity, not just me. Please, I beg you, give them the same hope that you gave me. Protect them. Let them live their dreams. Promise me you will.

Shadow: Maria…

Maria: Promise me, shadow! Please...

The room is silent as we pan on Shadow, looking reluctant.

Shadow: I… I promise.

Maria smiles through her tears. She walks over to the lever, resting her hand on it.

Maria: Shadow. You’re the best brother I could have ever had. I love you. If you don’t remember anything else, remember this, I love you.

Tears stream down her face as she turns to smile at him.

Maria: Sayonara, Shadow The Hedgehog.

Before she can pull the lever, an agent holding a gun walks into the room.

Agent: freeze!

Maria doesn’t even turn to look at him. Both hands are on the lever, a determined look on her face.

Agent: I said stop!

Maria closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

Shadow: Maria! No! Please don’t-

Maria pulls down on the lever, and we hear the sound of a shot ring out as we focus on shadow, suspended in the single moment. All sound is cut, except for the sound of ringing.

Shadow: MARIA!

The cry is visceral, and pierces the silence. We only focus on the shot of shadow as the capsule finally is ejected into space. Shadow curls up. No sound is heard, but the full body heaving lets us know he’s crying.

We cut back to the present shot of Shadow. Tears are running down his face as he tries to maintain his composure.

Shadow: Maria… I- I promised you I would protect them. What have I done?

Amy: It's not too late, shadow!

Shadow turns to her, wiping his face.

Shadow: It’s not too late...

Amy: Sonic’s already gone to get the chaos emeralds. He should be waiting for you.

Shadow smiles in relief.

Shadow: I can’t believe I’d forgotten.

Amy: I’m sure it wasn’t easy remembering all of that.

Shadow: No. Remembering was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But now I know my true purpose. I won’t be the weapon they want me to be. I won’t be the means of revenge that Gerald tried to turn me into.

Amy: Well, what are you waiting for? You have a promise to keep.

Shadow smiles.

Shadow: Thank you, Amy.

In a flash, he runs out of the room.

Amy smiles to herself.

Amy: You’re welcome, Shadow.

She runs out of the room herself to meet up with everyone.

[lostcybertronian]

Gahhh! I wish I could write as well as you, because I have this 1 scene stuck in my mind for ages, and I don't know how to write it down!

Okay, so, it's like, Yandere is bloody and beaten, tied down to a chair. The perpetrator was her current Senpai, whom she didn't realise was dangerous. But she's grinning as the night gets closer. Senpai asks why is she smiling, and Yandere replies with a "My parents are waiting for me, and I'm never late." "So what? You crazy stalker." Yandere continues to smile, as the room gets darker. "My dads are the most dangerous men in the world, and I'm their favorite daughter."

And then! Dark and Wilford arrives to rescue her. AAAAAHHHH.

I’m torn between writing advice and writing the scene out because this idea is SO awesome. So I’ll do both.

If I’m struggling, I write down a sentence.

Yandere was strapped to a chair.

Gives you an image right? Probably something you’ve seen in a movie. It is perfectly good by itself in terms of imagery, but it doesn’t really tell you about what is going on around her, or in her head.

Let’s expound upon it. Add more detail. What, exactly, does Yandere feel? Where? What are her internal sensations? What are the external? What’s around her?

Thick, nylon straps bit into the chafed skin of her wrists and ankles, and no amount of struggling would free her from the chair. Her head pounded; she could hear the rush of blood. Feel it, dribbling in thick, overwhelming red from her broken nose.

It gives you MUCH more sensation, and really puts you in her body, to feel what she’s feeling. It’s called “zooming in” and it’s something I use a LOT to add more detail and increase word count.

—-

Thick, nylon straps bit into the chafed skin of her wrists and ankles, and no amount of struggling would free her from the chair. Her head pounded; she could hear the rush of blood. Feel it, dribbling in thick, overwhelming red from her broken nose. Its coppery stench would’ve been overpowering, if she wasn’t so used to it.

Her captor loomed over her, leering. Two hours ago she would have basked in his attention, her heart swooning. She would have done anything he’d asked, if he’d only asked it.

But much had changed in those two hours.

Now, she spit a thick, disgusting glob of blood and saliva at him, striking his cheek. He recoiled, lips peeling back from his teeth in a rictus grin.

Then, he backhanded her, adding another bruise to the collection of blue-black mottling her body. “I’ll teach you to respect your betters.”

He must’ve thought that would put the fear of god in her. Instead, she tipped her head back and laughed. “Oh, you’ll regret that.”

He backhanded her again, snapping her head to the side. Something else in her nose went scrunch. “Shut the fuck up!”

But Yandere only laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Bordered on hysterical.

Meanwhile, the room around them grew dark. The lamp in the corner guttered. Went out in a flash of pink sparks. A pair of bright, black eyes appeared over one shoulder, then, over the other, a pair of neon pink ones, pulsing.

Even through the throbbing pain, Yandere grinned wide. “Dads!”

Now her captor faltered. Felt more than saw the presences hovering just behind.

He turned, just as the lamp flickered. Came back on and flushed the isolated basement room in light.

Dark’s hand darted forward, quick as a snake strike, and seized her captor by the throat, manicured nails digging in hard enough to draw blood.

No amount of scrabbling would free him, Yandere knew, but her captor struggled anyway. Futilely.

And then Dark threw him across the room, where he hit the wall with the crack of skull against concrete and collapsed to the floor.

“Save a little for me, Darkie, dear!” Wilford admonished, but Dark only sneered at him and stepped past.

“So rude.” Wilford tsked. Then, his attention was on Yandere. From one of his many pockets he produced his butterfly knife, flipping it through a series of complicated movements before slicing through the nylon straps. It disappeared just as quickly and he held his hand out to her with a wink and a smile. “My dear.”

Yandere took it and allowed him to help her up, giggling when he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, playing the gentleman.

“Darkie,” Wilford called. “I do believe it’s time to go. Our dear, darling daughter requires Doctor Quack-“ a wave of his hand- “you know who. Whatever his name is.”

“Go without me.” Dark didn’t even look up from where he was systemically dismembering what used to be her captor. His white suit remained spotless, where blood pooled on the floor. “I’ll be along.”

“It’s just you and me, then.” Wilford said, twisting at one end of his mustache. “How do you feel about ice cream?”

Then, without waiting for a response, they were gone in a burst of pink glitter.

[lilaeleaf]

I love your art so much! Do you have any of your brushes for sale, or any tutorials, especially on colour?

Hi!! Thank you so much! 💕

Honestly, my go-to brushes are all procreate brushes with slight adjustments (like stabilization, etc.) my personal preference is brushes that kind of mimic graphite pencils. The best thing you can do is find a brush that suits you & get very comfortable using it! Specific brushes won’t necessarily improve your work, it’s all about practice! (But yes, a nice brush does help!)

I do have a video on my favourite brushes:

I’ve never really made any tutorials, but I’m happy to try and relay what I know and what I’ve learned so far!

Colours are a big part of illustration! I could probably ramble on for hours, honestly—in any case, it’s always helpful to know fundamentals of colour theory. Once you learn and apply it, it becomes intuitive! I’m gonna stick to RGB colours because CMYK is it’s own thing (printing!)

There’s a handful of basic terms like hue (pure colours), shade (adding black to a colour), tint (adding white to a colour), tone (adding gray to a colour) and also opacity (transparency) that help us understand and define the complexity of colours.

My colour choices are more often than not a gut feeling—but that does come from practice! There’s loads of colour palettes available online like this one, but if you wanna come up with your own, there’s some neat ways to do that using a colour wheel! Colours can broken down into primary, secondary and tertiary colours. We can also categorize them as warm or cold. With this we can make colour schemes!

Some basic schemes!

Complimentary: two colours, opposites on the colour wheel

Analogous: three colours side-by-side

Triadic: three colours that form a triangle, evenly spaced

Monochromatic: using one colour (using different shades)

(Bonus) Monochromatic with accent colour : using one colour as a foundation and having an accent colour (similar to analogous, but one colour is used for a majority of the piece while the accent colour is used sparingly)

It’s also important to keep in mind that values (a colour’s range from dark to light) will look different on different colours. Sometimes, you’ll put two colours together and think “huh, something about this feels off” and it turns out, the colours just happen to be very close in value and melt together. Switching your piece to grayscale just to check on your values every so often can help with contrast and muddiness! A light tone on a darker tone will look brighter than it really is. Colours can also influence each other and trick your eyes.

Environment is also a big part of choosing your colours for a piece. Determining what the setting is important! A sunset will make a drawing warmer, while a scene set in the night will usually have colder tones. Using only local colours (true colours, like green grass or blue sky) vs non-local colours (atmospheric perspective, accent colors that give depth, etc) can help enhance your drawing too. Don't be afraid of artistic interpretation!

Also, there’s always the option to use gradient maps (at least on procreate & photoshop but I’m sure it’s available in csp and other programs) where you draw in grayscale & apply a gradient map. The gradient map basically applies a color to every value (e.g all the shadows become blue and the highlights become orange) it can look really nice (and help out if colours just aren’t working that day yk)

Another thing, when I’m drawing (and this is specific to me!) I tend to start with pretty desaturated colours. Once my illustration is done, I’ll duplicate & merge my layers to do colour edits. Most programs give you the option to play with curves or colour balance—menus that allow you to play around with the hue of the shadows, midtones and highlights. I tend to make my shadows more cyan-blue, my midtones a little warmer and my highlights warmer as well. Of course, this depends on the mood of the piece, whether it’s warm or cold, lighter or darker, etc!

You can always make adjustment layers on top of your work; a low opacity yellow, magenta or blue (or anything your heart desires) overlay to tie all the colours together.

I hope this helps a bit!! Happy to answer more questions to the best of my knowledge :^)