#I'm almost certain I'll draw some more of them both

[icantdothistodaybruh]

Designs by @vodyaniks

[writingoddess1125]

Poly or just 3 some vibe swith shanks and Mihawk?? I just feel that power imbalance would be addictiveee

Oh This is what I live for Love! You got it!

MWAHAHAHAHHAHAH

Shanks X young!Reader(mid 20's) X Mihawk

Warning: Sexual Themes, Threesome vibes, Sex, Unprotected sex, Eiffel Tower ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Tag You're It

You stood there at the bar looking at your few regulars as you spaced out. It was a slow night, almost like every night. Your village was too small and too secluded to get any real traffic. If it wasn't for a few months ago it would have closed- not for a certain pirate crew then it would have defiently closed their doors.

Speaking of which- the door busted open with a fairly dramatic flare. As if summoned by your thoughts there stood the entirety of the Red Haired Pirates, cheeks already flushes with alcohol it seemed.

"Good Evening Mr. Shanks! Glad to see you back" You smile cheerfully at him, He would often come to the bar when he ran out of his monthly supply on his Island next door. Him and his crew were very nice, paired with the fact they always payed very well.

"Good Evening to you (Y/N)! Please bring out the best you have little one! It's a celebration!" It was no secret that Shanks had been eyeing you for the months he had been stopping by, How his eyes would linger on your form a bit more then most- How his gaze would track you as you moved through the bar.

"A celebration?" You asked innocently as he held up a wanted poster proudly. A dark brooding figure Stepping in behind him, looking a bit irritated to he there, even as his gaze settled on you.

"Yep! My Lad Luffy got his first bounty and is now a Pirate! Paired with my good Pal here Mihawk is here for a visit!"

"Well in that case I'll pull out the best!" You said cheerfully waving at your co-workers to bring our the large crates of rum and ale for them.

As the liquor was poured you saw Shanks and Mihawk quietly talking- Their eyes locked onto you as they stared at you, watching every move you did. Which made your cheeks heat up dramatically. After a few moments of this and the bar coming to life with loud music you ended up grabbing a drink as well.

This seemed to drawn Mihawk over, his form shadowing yours. "Is it wise for you to drink?" He cautioned a brow, making you feel a bit flustered by both his accent and eyes.

"It's fine, it's not like anyone here would hurt me" You say softly, Waving your hand dismissively. His lips curving to a slight smirk at this-

"I don't think hurting you is what they would have in mind" Oh your face was bright red now- especially with the purr in his tone and look in his eye-

"W-Well if they asked I wouldn't be opposed I'm sure-" You manage to squeak out, drawing his gaze in. Before he gestured you to follow him, which you obediently did. Returning to his seat next to Shanks he pulled you to his lap which made your face crimson- The red head smiling at the sight.

"Didn't know all I had to do was smile to bring you over finally" He teased, Gesturing to yourself seated on his peers lap. You took another sip of your drink and shyly shrugged

"As I say, ask and you shall receive Shanks. Number one rule here" You quip back which earns a noise from Mihawk- seemingly a chuckle.

"Well if that's the case. Me and my friend here, both would love to take you out for the evening, to get to know you better. But you'd have to choose my dear"

"I-I wouldn't be able to choose-" You admit shyly, Looking between the two of you. Shanks laughing loudly at this as he bit his lip.

"What about both of us?" He chimed, something in his eyes made tour stomach warm. Maybe it was the underlying danger or the arousal but yoh nodded.

"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt- It's a celebration afterall" You blushed, drinking more of the rum in your glass. The alcohol making your head buzz and warmth filled your body.

Mihawk squeezed your thigh as you were still seated on his lap.

"Deplorable as usual-" Mihawk grumbled, but his gaze did fall to you as you sat there blushing in-between the two men. His golden eyes practically staring through your soul, reaching forward and taking a peice of your hair in his hands and messing with it- Like he was trying to decide to go through with it. Once your big beautiful eyes settled on his, he sighed almost defeatedly.

"But I suppose a bit of sharing wouldn't be the worse" He said softly. Shanks smiling widely as he heard this and gave a proud laugh. Patting Mihawk shoulder in joy.

Shanks was the first to stand, pulling you up to your feet. Mihawks hand on the small of your back and lead you out of the bar and towards the inn. Mihawk tossing down some berry and guided you up to the given room.

Author Note!: ⚠️ Final Warning ⚠️ Once you go past this line. THERE IS NO RETURN! ITS ABOUT TO GET INFERNO SPICY- 18+ ultra mature!

Shanks and Mihawk stood on either side of you. Shanks was the first one to kiss you, it was gentle at first sweet even. It wasn't till you felt a tug on your blouse that the sweet kiss was broke, feeling him pull off your blouse as you felt your pants fall down to the floor. Realizing Mihawk had taken the time to undo them, along with your bra as Shanks smiled and pulled down your underwear. Blushing you felt a push as you fell onto the bed behind you.

You were laid there on the soft comforters of the local Inns bed, Blushing as the warm lights of the lanterns barely lit the room. But you could make out the two men staring at you like you were fresh prey infront of two hungry carnivores.

"How shall we go about this Hawkeye? Maybe a good game of tag?" Shanks said with a wicked smiled, Mihawk smirking as his gaze never left you and nodded.

Mihawk too the left while Shanks moved forward climbing into the bed with a grin as he found himself between your legs.

"He can't help but put everything in his mouth Darling" Mihawk said calmly playing with your hair as you moaned helplessly against his chest, Watching your face contort and shift from Shanks pleasurable torture. You could feel Shanks smirk between your legs as his mouth wrapped around your clit and sucked hard, crying out in pleasure as Mihawk captured your lips in a deep kiss. Wine filled your senses as you accepted the kiss, feeling him hungry mouth dominate your own.

Pulling away as Shanks pulled your hips with his arm, bringing your core closer as he seemed too lost in his meal to be concerned with the lost kiss between you and Hawkeye-

At being pulled down your face sliding down Mihawk's chest and to his waist, Blushing deeply as you laid infront of the Warlords tending pants. Mihawk smirking at your reaction as he gestured for you to proceed, not needing a cue you carefully undid his pants. Blushing as his large cock bounces out enthusiastically- opening your lips you took all of him in, Blushing at the feeling as he groaned above you.

You moaned as you bobbed your head up and down, the feeling of Shanks driving you to your upcoming orgasm, your legs starting to shake at Shanks talented mouth before he suddently pulled away. Chuckling at the whine you gave at the sensation even while Mihawk chuckled at you as well.

"Don't worry love~ I got something better~" You heard Shanks say sweetly. A shuffling of fallen clothes fell behind you as you felt Shanks hand rest on your hip and pulling you up to your knees while you chest still laid on the mattress before Mihawk.

Your thighs shake as you felt every inch of him slide into you, combined with still too high from his mouth earlier was just enough to cum right as he bottomed out. Moaning loudly against Mihawk cock and shaking.

"Aww~ She came just from me entering. So cute~" the Red head teased, making Mihawk even chuckle. Without time to even settle through your bliss you felt Ahanks hips start to move. Like a tidal wave, the shocked of ecstacy rushed through your body.

Shank hips started to sputter against you, still shaking from your previous orgasm that had your nerves on fire.

"You know I don't care for a mess Red Hair-" Mihawk grunted out, his pace quickening on your lips as you felt him hit the back of your throat, tears rolling down your cheeks as you felt Mihawk tughten his hold on your hair, pulling your lips as far down his member as possible as he came. Heat running down your throat as you felt Shanks pull out of you at the same time and spill on your back.

"Well done Darling~" Mihawk praised as he pulled himself from your mouth, smiling at the sight of you. Tears down your cheeks, lips red and bruised and panting. He pulled you up once more, this time placing you against Shanks chest.

"Very nicely done~" Shanks purred out, praising you for your skills. You only gave a bubbling moan at the sweet praise and Mihawk hands kneading your chest, drawing out moans sweet moans from you. Feeling Mihawk place kisses down your neck in reward for your moans.

"Think you can last one more round for us Sweetheart?~" Shanks sweetly asked, nodding softly even if you mind was fuzzy from your pleasure.

It felt like a blur but suddently you where on your back, Mihawk in turn sliding into you. Your back arching at the sensation as you gasped, he was bigger- Somehow or it was just how sensitive you were. As you laid there gasping you felt Shank touch your shoulder looking up as you saw his already hardened member before your lips, accepting him you felt him thrust into your mouth.

You felt your body bounce with each powerful thrust, sending Shank's cock deeper past your bruised lips. Another hard orgasm already building in your stomach as you felt Mihawk's relentless hips slam against your form,

A muffled cry left your sore throat as you felt warmth flood your mouth and core, spots scattered in your vision as you heard the muffled pants and groans of the two above you.

Mihawk was the first to pull out of you, his large hands securing you as Shanks did the same making cold air filling your lungs. Both men working gently to clean you up, whispering praise at you as they did so. Mihawk laying you down first on the cleanest part of the bed and covering your tired form in a blanket. You felt your eyes close, too tired to open them again as sleep was already starting to take over your form.

"We must share her once again" Shanks whispered, pushing some of your hair from your face. Carefully holding your waist with his hand. You could feel Mihawk nod in agreement as he settled you on his broad chest.

"I can't disagree with that" Mihawk whispered before sleep finally claimed you.

[2kverrr]

SAM GIDDINGS - Dating Headcanons

UNTIL DAWN || Sam Giddings x Reader

sam had 0 time for drama, especially including that of her own friends'. And being one of emily davis' closest friends basically encased your life in her drama.

you didn't feel as close with sam as you were with the group. but you felt most drawn to her, her maturity, her nurture, her kindness. more or less everything your friends lacked.

she's kickass, not scared to put someone in their place, something you never quite found the confidence to do.

she hates fishing, loves gardening, tolerates publicly accessible nature reserves, enjoys outdoor activities, despises zoos and you're not so sure how you know all of this.

you doubt she knows a single thing about you. it's weird - you can be friends with the top dogs and have some sort of silly superiority over people, yet nobody really knows you.

you and sam had spoken numerous times before, each you could remember were rather enjoyable. the two of you got on really well, but it was rare either of you could get any time alone

that was until you were approximately 4 weeks away from winter break.

"for fuck's sake em, just call him." you groan, your left hand massaging the bridge of your nose, but the girl straight out refused aggressively shoving her hands onto her hips and socking her head, yelling, "how many times do i have to tell you. i? am. not. wanting. i. am. wanted. a girl like me doesn't chase after people, they cha-""emily i'm going to leave you with your problem, since it is yours, not mine. see you at lunch." and with that, you head out of the girls' bathroom and out into the busy corridor.

you catch a glimpse of sam leaning against a locker, scrolling through her phone. There’s an ease in her posture that draws you in despite the weight of your worries - well emily's. “hey, everything okay?” sam looks up, her hazel eyes sharp and assessing. it’s both intimidating and comforting at the same time. you take a breath, trying to shake off the frustration of the last few minutes. “just another day in the life of emily,” you say with a half-hearted chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood. sam arches an eyebrow, not buying the attempt at humour.

"mike? is she still hung up over him?" she asks, her voice laced with understanding. you nod, with a deep sigh and an eye roll. "well, at least you're not like that, that's what I like about you." but you're too caught up in staring at her moving mouth to actually respond, before you know it she's waving her hand in front of your face, "huh- sorry, what were you saying?" she giggles, picking up the books from her locker and beginning to make her leave, "I'll see you around."

that interaction definitely stuck with you, or maybe it didn't, but the fact that you continued to think about it for the rest of the day is a big giveaway.

you're almost certain the corner of your eye spotted a suspicious emily briefly witness the interaction and watch you stare giddings down as she walked away, but that's a conversation for later.

after that talk with the blonde, you both found yourselves in more situations on your own, bumping into each other in the hallway, finding yourselves bored at parties, fixing your makeup in the bathroom mirror and seeing a certain hazel-eyes blonde behind you.

the week of receiving the message from josh, you and sam became really close, almost replacing emily in some way. besides, emily was now happily married off to matt, a sweet boy, not the sharpest tool in the box though.

you'd manage to persuade her to let you give her a lift to josh's mountain getaway, despite her refusal she ended up in your passenger seat feeding you mints as you drive.

you get out of your car and begin to lug bags out, placing them on the floor, sam is busy checking out her surroundings quite contently. but she swiftly turns around to face you, "hey, i wanted to tell you something," you raise your head curiously along with a quirked eyebrow, "i know we've been hanging out a lot lately," she continued, her voice dropping to a more conspiratorial tone. "but it feels different, doesn't it? like, we've really clicked, and I really like it - so please expect me to follow you around like a puppy dog... i still can't look at all the guys the same after last year." her eyebrows furrow. you sigh softly, the gears in your mind turning as you contemplated her words, "i get it sam, i like it too," you smirk, ", now am i taking both of our bags up or are you gonna' lend a hand?" she chuckles, her tension breaking as a playful glimmer replaces her earlier seriousness. "ugh - i really thought i'd get away with that." "i'll take them up for you. just lead the way," you nod, "this place really freaks me out."

settling in was a bit of a cofuffle, sam bagsied our rooms and had already called dibs on a bath.

you'd barely made it up the mountain with yours and her bags before she'd waltzed in, beckoning you to hurry up. don't even start on the wall you had to hop.

"guys, guys, hold your horses. we can't get comfy yet - generators, boilers and locks. i've sent mike and jess off to the generator outdoors, em and matt are... um- somewhere," josh takes a long scan for the couple that weren't present, ", right! sam's bath, boiler's downstairs, switch it on then you can have your beloved bath." she firmly places her hands on her hips and tilts her head, "you think i know how to work those kin-" you're quick to cut her off, "i'll go, can't be that hard." shrugging your shoulders. "that's the spirit, amigo!" the dark-haired boy cheers, fussing up your hair. of course sam's protests began, and again you managed to butt in. "look, i know what i'm doing, trust me.” you say, trying to keep the tension in the room from rising. “it should be pretty straightforward. i'll check for the spark plug first—if it’s clean, just give it a gentle pull. worst-case, i might have to troubleshoot a bit more," there's a bit of a silence, confusion mostly, "yeah, um- my dad's a plumber.” you didn't exactly understand half the words you'd just said but if it gave you a chance at impressing sam, it was so worth it. she slowly smiles, "impressive..." biting her lip, looking you up and down with newfound admiration. "who knew you had all these hidden talents?" she teases, eyes sparkling with mischief. "maybe you can teach me a thing or two about plumbing after this bath fiasco." the playful banter felt like a breath of fresh air amidst the clamour of everyone scurrying around and arguing, and you couldn’t help but swell with pride. “alright, let’s see if I can live up to the expectation,” you reply, trying to sound more confident than you felt. josh looks between the two of you, a devious grin slowly forming on my face, "is this- oh wow. this- this is great!" he turns around, presumably going to find chris and ash, you do the same, not at all looking forward to seeing this 20 year boiler in all it's glory.

fortunately, the boiler hadn't frozen over completely.

the basement was eerie enough, never mind all of the creepy shit happening around you: screams, shouts, smashes. something wasn't right.

like any stereotypical horror movie, you walk right into the danger to find out what was going on."

and as always, you were right. josh's basement was fucked up, led to some sort of mine, where you soon found a battered and bruised mike, stumbling his way through the caved area. his ankle didn't look so good, but he didn't complain

the next half hour you were trying to navigate your way, the poor guy was traumatised, jess had disappeared, dead or alive? not a single clue.

there's apparently somebody or something out there with her and they're in the mines, you're baffled to say the least, but you stayed put.

all until a scream was heard, female, it was far yet so close.

"mike! what was that noise?" the two of you pause your movements, and prick your heads up, faint cries could be heard and the occasional, "anyone! help!" you knew that voice, almost naturally you race over the source of the noise, struggling to find a door, "where's jess? is it her? oh, please say it's her." mike whiles up against the wall while you attempt to barge your way in. "sam! i'm here, mike too. i'm coming in." “almost there!” you shout back to mike, who is still positioned by the flimsy beam of light your flashlights provide. he looks torn between helping you and staying on guard, eyes darting nervously around the oppressive shadows. the urgency in your efforts intensifies, and you feel your fingers digging into the rough surface of the door. it shifts slightly, just enough to give you hope, and with one last shove, it creaks open. you stumble inside, breathless, and immediately the air feels thicker, charged with an unsettling energy. "fuck sam! what the fuck happened?" the girl was tied up in a chair, nothing but a towel. whoever did this must've been fucked in the head, sick. you take a cautious step forward, your eyes zeroing in on the girl’s wide, terrified gaze. “you’re alright now,” you whisper reassuringly, though your own insides are knotting up at the sight. "oh my god, you're here... i- he chased me! th- then-" the blonde leans forwards into you once you complete untying her ankle bounds, sore red marks forming over her pale skin. her arms completely wrap around you, she's freezing. sliding off your hoodie and body warmer, you begin to wrap them around the girl. "-sam, it's okay. you can explain everything later. you safe now we-" but before you can finish your sentence, the girl leans in, connecting your lips in a kiss, short and sweet due to their being a third presence in the room. as your lips part, you both freeze, momentarily caught off guard by the sudden surge of intimacy in the midst of chaos. sam's eyes are wide with surprise, glistening with unshed tears, but there’s a flicker of gratitude behind her fear. you clear your throat, feeling the heat rush to your cheeks, but the urgency of the situation quickly pulls you back to reality. "i thought you were dead, y/n.”

after all police interrogation had been completed, those who survived were wasting away. josh dead. matt dead. jess dead. sam and yourself isolated yourselves from the rest.

after sam almost sacrificed herself to save you, you made an oath to yourself that you're forever indebted to her.

you were in love - even amongst the sick and twisted events that you two had to go through.

you both didn't go out as much anymore, your previous party-girl lifestyle completely left behind.

instead you both settled on movie nights or cooking sessions.

you immediately expanded her music taste, she's a great girl but her music taste could definitely do with some improving.

rock climbing dates, kayaking, surfing (which you absolutely smashed - sam could barely stand up on the bored)

sam always managed to convince you to go camping with her, bribing you with all sorts, despite your hatred for bugs.

she's the most peaceful sleeper, she looks like and angel when fast asleep. you're both early birds, which meant you really enjoy spening the morning in bed just admiring one another.

every month or so you'll pay a visit to the friends you lost together, paying respects. hell even josh - sam calls him mentally ill, whereas you call him batshit crazy. but he was your friend, one of our closest, you're still unsure to this day why you were apart of his cruel game but you couldn't keep dwelling on the past so you came to forgive him.

it's even rare to see the friends that made it out alive, you knew chris and ash moved away together, forgetting all that had happened. the last you heard off of mike was "i'm igniting some old flames - definitely going for drinks soon?"

it'd been 3 months and you never went to see him.

you and sam assumed that old flame is emily, your once best friend who you hadn't spoken to since before the disaster.

[nana-b0b]

》🔞 These panels are censored, you can go to the last of the post to find out where to see them!

A little historical info to better understand:

♡♡♡♡♡!!! I really feel happy and overcome with these panels, I was thinking a lot about how to make them since there were several obstacles: I had never drawn something NSFW before as it should be 😅 I never got that far so to speak, there was always a line that prevented me from taking that step, since it is not the same to draw some small scene where you only see something specific to a whole pose as such and all that implies. But after many ideas and turns I managed to take that step (maybe small for some but for me it was like reaching the moon 😂) and the most important and most feared was that the essence of the drawings and the style would be lost but I could keep it well and make it coexist ♡.

Note: as for the text accompanying the panels I want to say that it's not my best work as a narrator hahaha I don't write anything since I was about fifteen and it was my era of fanfics and stuff, so I feel its very basic and empty! 😅 ♥!

Now, let's talk a bit about the panels! Well, as we all knew this moment was coming, it was no surprise -3- Ryomen really had to be patient to get what he had been thinking for a while, but he didn't want it to be something random as it could be with any woman he wanted, he was really curious to see how Aurora could look like with the full appearance of a lady of the Heian era and when he saw her, he just couldn't resist. One thing will be clear: Aurora won't wear black teeth again, there will be no way to paint her teeth again without someone losing a limb. As for her eyebrows: she's really mad about that, but I'll let it go.

And to close this post I come with a novelty (I've been thinking about this for days) now we are going to be able to have these drawings completely uncensored on patreon.

I'm not going to lie, using more than two social networks for me is already a lot 😥 if it were up to me I would only post everything in one place but we know how the rules are and we have to respect them, if just by showing a nipple (which is a pixel 😂 ) they almost censored me on Instagram I knew this would be difficult and Tumblr is not lagging behind, while there are things that it lets pass there are others that it doesn't and it's not nice to have to make such complex drawings so that the AI doesn't detect them as 🔞 since there comes a certain point that you get tired too and it loses the grace.

My patreon will be the place for all my works 🔞 without any censorship already, you are going to be able to enjoy both public and private content depending on the type of work ♡. I think also for me it's an incentive to be able to start letting go more of my ideas and continue with everything I want to do :)

To say goodbye first I want to always thank you for all the support you give me and all your messages 🖤 and second to warn you that this CAP of Ren will be in patreon already published privately but all the other censored drawings are public for you to see and enjoy them as they should ⭐

Here are the publications that I censored and that you can now see, there are not many at the moment x'D

[moinstar]

Lesson 54 spoilers

"...So, tell me. What is it you're plotting, exactly?" Raphael eyed Diavolo with mild irritation in his tone.

He smiles apologetically, caught in an act and felt the need to explain now. "So, you can tell something's up, huh? I was afraid of this."

"It's odd enough that we're the only ones here. And then after we were attacked, your response seemed unusually tepid. There are so many red flags..," the gray-haired angel sighs. "Of course I can tell that something's going on."

Moin speaks up. "I'm guessing that has something to do with me?"

"Yes, it does. Though it's nothing you should feel bad about." Diavolo reassures, though it's not bringing relief to the burgundy-haired human girl.

"This is about your magic power, Moin. And what has been happening to it." Mephisto stresses it strongly.

"Yes, your power has been growing greater by the day. And then there was the incident with the hostile demon in Meowcao. That's when we realized that you weren't in full control of it." Lucifer added.

Simeon nods mildly, carefully regarding Mephisto, Lucifer, and Diavolo's statements. "And when Raphael was attacked earlier, it looked like Moin cast a barrier spell of some sort, but without an incantation. I'm guessing that in the heat of the moment, the spell must have gone off subconsciously."

"What exactly is happening to Moin's powers, we need a definitive answer to that question. Then we can take action if necessary. However, we thought we needed to spend a bit more time observing things from afar." -Diavolo

"Right, our theory was built on too many assumptions. They needed to be verified." -Lucifer

"...So you used the SF as a chance to do that." -Raphael

"That's right." -Diavolo

"Ah, that must be why there was a second preliminary test. You presented everyone with a problem that no ordinary student could solve." -Simeon

"In any case, Lord Diavolo, Lucifer, and I were the only ones to pass the second test." -Mephisto

"So, it worked out exactly as you'd hoped, then." Raphael gapes his mouth a little, coming to a realization. "...Unbelievable. You mean to tell me that the fiery rock that nearly hit Simeon and the beast that attacked us were both YOUR doing?"

"No, that was the work of demons who oppose the royal family. We'd never resort to such cheap tricks." -Mephisto

"However, we knew that if we were to hold the SF finals here, those demons would see it as a good opportunity to strike... That I cannot deny." -Diavolo

"Yes. We did know they were here, and we didn't try to stop them." Lucifer sighs defeatedly. "So in that sense, you might be able to argue that it was "our doing"."

Moin's eyebrows furrowed at this. If Diavolo knew about the opposition, why didn't he do something about it? Why did it have to go as far as almost risking their lives since that incident in Meowcao?

"There are still many lower tier demons who think that harming an exchange student would be a good way to damage Lord Diavolo's reputation. They had no idea they were being lured here, the fools," Mephisto scoffs with a smirk.

"Even so, if you'd only told us this in advance-" Raphael notices Simeon who hasn't been talking for a while now. "...Um, Simeon?"

Simeon smiles. It was that frightening smile back when he used to scold the brothers. "Ah. I see... Thank you for making things so very clear." Everyone except Moin pales at the sight. She knew that Simeon would never direct his anger towards her. "For the sake of argument, I'll overlook the fact that you chose to test Moin's powers. Because I can see how that might be the only way to draw out certain aspects of these powers. Tell me though, why was it necessary to lure the Demon King's enemies into attacking us? What if Moin or Raphael had been hurt? What would you have done then, hmm?"

"It's only thanks to Moin that we're okay. Because she protected us, even though it meant putting herself in harm's way," Raphael added in.

"What's more, I'm a human now: weak and frail. Should I assume none of you cared about what might happen to me?" -Simeon

"I wouldn't call you "weak and frail"..." Lucifer mutters.

"Sorry, did you just say something, Lucifer?" Simeon pointedly smiles at him, daring to continue what he has to say.

"No, nothing."

"I didn't know it was possible to project so much anger while maintaining a smile..." Mephisto whispered to Diavolo as he takes a step closer to him.

"I'm too scared to move a muscle. It's been a long time since anyone's made me feel this way..." -Diavolo

Moin turns to Diavolo with an expressionless gaze. "I'd like you to avoid such methods in the future..., Lord Diavolo." His face immediately shifts to the one who's worried and hurt genuinely, sensing that Moin is indeed mad and felt betrayed at this whole discussion they were having. It's spiraling down rapidly that Diavolo almost forgot to consider her feelings and wanted to comfort her. But as he was about to speak his reassurances once again and offers his hand, Mephisto butts in with a disdainful remark.

"Well, I'd like it if you could learn to control your powers. Then we wouldn't be in this situation."

Something snapped in unison. There was a moment of defeaning silence, as if another wrong answer would cause an explosion, figuratively. Simeon could tell that it was the last straw. The revelation hurt her than they thought it would. And there was another person who wasn't helping the situation get any better. He could feel the gears of emotion running around her head and that she's barely holding to what she might impulsively do: tears, anger, or running away. She really wanted to do those three options but before she could react, Simeon shields Moin from them, hiding her behind his cloak.

"...Lucifer, Diavolo, Mephisto. You need to think about what you've done today."

[barelylivingscholar]

Arlecchino, with a daughter pt.6

I've been training my combat abilities with some of the harbingers, namely Signora, Pulcinella, and of course, Pantalone. I had not expected the sudden collaboration due to the tension around me. Whenever they are able to get to hang around me, it always end up with the question, "Is Regrator treating you well?" or the casual "You are free to live with me, if Regrator isn't able to accommodate you." Things like these makes me feel... Weird, but it is good to be wanted. But I wish it didn't feel so suffocating all the time. Lately, I've been having more nightmares, and panic attacks about the Knave... Making me grow restless and more ambitious to be able to heal from it... It was never easy from the start. Everything about the Knave makes me feel sick. I never cared to understand the reason behind her actions, because in the end, what is there to know, when her intentions were never pure from the start. Both Pantalone and Pulcinella told me about what's to know about her, and it makes me more angrier that the Knave was capable of doing such things... They fed me lies, lies that spiked my hatred for her. Until one afternoon, I fell into darkness. Endless darkness that had consumed my entire environment, different from Snezhnaya, everything appears endless, and devoid from any form of life. Enemies were fast approaching, I had to dispatch them. I draw my percussion-lock rifled musket, and started to fight off the horde. Occasionally switching to my rapier as my bullets began to wane... I became outnumbered, and surely enough I was swarmed with creatures that I have not encountered, some that were familiar. I was bound to be dead. The feeling of dread creeps up on me. In truth, I was scared to die, because I had just rediscovered my will to live during my time with Pantalone. It was too early, for me to perish without even getting the chance to see the Knave fall from her grace. It doesn't fuel my urge to fight at all. What rekindled my fighting spirit was when I saw someone, fighting their way up to reach me. I had to match their movements, I couldn't afford to lose here. It seemed like hours of endless fighting, but we managed. I lived. I collapsed from exhaustion. The mysterious woman caught me before I could land on the ground. I awoke to a woman observing a medallion...? I couldn't tell since my vision was blurry. The woman took notice of me when I slowly regained my consciousness. I see her holding up a vision. She stared at me blankly, then tossed me the vision. It was a geo vision. I sighed in relief knowing that I wouldn't have to use a delusion. For almost dying, they decided to grant me power? It was getting ridiculous. I then looked up to the lady, and thanked her for saving me from the verge of death. "...Thank you." The unknown woman sighed. "What led you here was your high ambitions." I struggled to grab a hold of myself as I feel the weight of of my actions from before. The woman sighed at the sight of the young girl slowly attempting to get back up. She was not supposed to be speaking with the girl, as she had no desire to speak with weaklings. But after seeing the girl's ability to withstand horde after horde, she decides that she is worthy to communicate with. The girl looked up at her, confused as to what she meant by that. She then elaborated further. "People do not easily fall here. Certain conditions are met before being able to traverse this realm. I barely even processed the words before responding, "...Which is why I'm here. Is there any way out?" She observed the girl who does not seemed to be disturbed by the events that had unfolded. "There is. But time will pass in long periods before you are able to get back to where you're from. Time passes differently in here." Again, the child's indifference to her situation has her interest peaked. She was eerily calm for a child.

I felt numb. Knowing that I'll be stuck here for months, or even years, decades... While the world that I'm supposed to be would pass for only days, or even weeks. It was supposed to drive me crazy. But it didn't. Maybe I wasn't recovering from the shock fully. "Oh... Okay then. I'm left to fight endlessly with creatures from the abyss, then?" Making the woman before her raise an eyebrow at her nonchalance. But the woman concludes the young girl's peculiar behavior as a side effect from already being corrupted by the abyss. "Not necessarily. You are the source of something being awakened." I wanted to ask more questions, but from the looks of it, the woman had no interest in holding long conversations. So I decided to keep things short. "I understand." Bowing my head to show my gratitude, the woman then halted me. "You're not going to last long without proper training. I'll train you in exchange for you to make things more interesting during your time here in the abyss..." This wasn't something that I can say no to, I barely knew my way around here. So of course, I accepted. Without knowing how brutal, harsh, and mind-breaking the experience was... Days have passed, with endless fighting, sparring with Skirk, with little to no breaks, I was bound to become mad... The thing that kept me from becoming mad was how the effects of the abyss kept altering my mind. I was not used to not being plagued by nightmares, thoughts, and especially the horrors of what I had experienced before... It felt peaceful, too peaceful that I start to see changes that I didn't know that I myself, am capable of. The abyss had changed me, in a way that I could not comprehend how. A month after endless fighting, I had gained some sense of morals. It had never occurred to me before, so this was likely due to the abyss's effects. Things felt out of place, as I was drastically changing into another person that I had not anticipated to be. I was never even the type of girl to put morals, above all. Despite my upbringing influencing who I was before, why did it suddenly all change to becoming righteous, and just? Since when was I ever a good person? Becoming virtuous was not part of the plan. Skirk was no stranger to the changes as well, noticing how my answers have changed from time to time. While we were on break, she asked something that made me think deeply about it. "You're strange, for a young girl who is but a child." "I am aware. I don't fit the standards of a "normal child." I was never normal to begin with. "A child from the hearth, raised to be a soldier for the Fatui, the mentality of a soldier, yet has the fragile mentality of a child. It is no wonder that the abyss was unable to corrupt you further into madness... You were already unstable, from the start. It is a miracle that your arrival to the abyss had changed you for the better. Tell me, after the effects of the abyss, what's your next move?" She could tell I was contemplating about how I will be able to move now that my ideologies have changed due to the temperament of the abyss... I summoned the geo percussion-lock rifled musket and shot it manually towards the opponent's head. "I'll remain in the Fatui. Changes will be made, regardless of the Tsaritsa's will. Justice is to be served, regardless of the ignorant, consequences are made. I am no different from the people who had fallen from the abyss. Being in an organization that is corrupt and unethical is ironic to begin with, perhaps I am there to inflict conflict, I will continue to cause tension and bring disharmony to them. My definition of rightness will be the standard, to all."

It had been 4 months since, and I was finally able to return to where I was. But this time, someone who I had not met before approached me. Judging from the description that Skirk, Pantalone, and Pulcinella had described him, this maybe is "Childe." He approaches me and enthusiastically greeted me. "You must be the disciple that I've been hearing from the old man and Regrator. Nice to meet you, I'm Childe. But you can call me Tartaglia." Before he could talk more, I cut him off. "So you're the one who is also a pupil of Skirk's." Making his eyes widen from shock; he was ecstatic to meet another student of his former master. But held back since you were still young. Too young to fight. "Oh, another fellow student of my former master! So I wasn't wrong about you falling in the abyss. 4 days have passed since your fall at the abyss. I assumed you know about how time works differently there, right?"

I nodded in response. "Yes. I know about it. Did anything happen while I was gone?" He chuckles. "Oh, a lot was going on while you were gone." Her expression hardened. "The Knave went ballistic on Regrator, you should've seen it in person! As well as La Signora, and the old man! Three of them were on Regrator's neck, chewing him for losing you." He stopped chuckling when he saw that I was not amused, at all. He scratched his head, his expression showed a nervous smile. "Well... I did tell them that maybe you fell into the abyss... Neither wanted to believe it until the old man made me look for you, but now you're here!" Making me shake my head and sigh. "The others haven't stopped searching, but I'll send someone after to tell them the news. But before that, why don't you hang out with me and share some stories with me as Skirk's pupils?" The man is persistent, he doesn't look like he'll take no for answer due to his eyes beaming with interest. "Lead the way." Looks like I'll be spending time with this strange man... We arrive at a dessert shop in Snezhnaya, he offers to buy me desserts despite my protests since I had enough mora to buy myself one... I was irritable to be honest since Tartaglia, treats me as a kid. He insists on calling him by his name. "After this, I'm going back to Pantalone's base." I say, he then responded, "Aw come on, I have been waiting to finally meet you. Let's chat more." I denied his attempts to stall me. "Tartaglia, I have to return to my mentor. He's looking for me, right?" He then counterargues, "But I already told an agent to inform them that you were found." I huffed at that. He only gave me a brotherly smile, to which I find annoying. "You know... If the Regrator mistreats you, I can-" I can't believe this is happening right now. I cut him off saying, "No. I'd rather stay at Signora's or Pulcinella's." I displayed a deadpan look, making him pout. "I have younger brothers and sisters for you to play with!" He attempts to bargain. "Erm... I'd still stay at Signora's or Pulcinella's." He looked determined to convince me. "I can be your big brother." Not sure if I want this guy to be my brother at all, he was overbearing. Too much for me. "No." After the back and forth conversation, he maintains a friendly aura during the exchange. The young girl was not an ordinary kid. She seemed too mature for her own age. Of course, the knave had something to do with it, she's crazy after all. Pantalone's a business man, so how can he take care of the child? The only sensible option here is him or the old man. But he's capable, he has his own siblings after all! He just needs to convince the girl to pick him over the others... She shouldn't be exposed to the Fatui at such an early age! She should be playing with toys, just like his siblings at home, protected, and sheltered from the harsh conditions of this climate. The Fatui is not a place for children. He of all people know that, except for the Knave. Who raises children to be child soldiers. But if it's the Tsaritsa's will... He can't do anything about the orphans of the Hearth. But he may be able to do something for this kid... He now sees why his fellow harbingers are fighting for this kid. He doesn't intend to lose at this custody case that they were having, even if no one looks at it that way. But he'll win. No matter what.

An: Kid gets thrown in the abyss, comes back out as fixed(?) 🤐🤐🤐 Not Childe at joining the ongoing child custody battle... 😶 *goes mia for days again* TOODLES!

[aimbutmiss]

Buggy gently held the face in front of him, fingers wrapping around the jaw to keep it still. He was supposed to go in for the eyeliner next, but the man in front of him flinched as soon as Buggy's fingers brushed his face, the reaction barely visible to the untrained eye. But Buggy knew Mihawk, or he thought he did, at least to a certain extent. He liked to think he improved a lot when it came to reading the hawk eyed man, especially compared to when they first formed Cross Guild. And what all that improvement entailed now, was the fact that the swordsman was uncomfortable. He let go of his face just as gently as he had held it.

"What's wrong?"

"..."

Buggy frowned and slumped his shoulders at the lack of response. "I let you do that horrifying gothic clown makeup on me, remember? Because I trusted you. But I'm not planning on turning you into a clown or anything, it's just your usual black eyeliner. So, trust me?"

"I do trust you." Mihawk sighed heavily, uncrossing his arms. "It's not about that. It's just... I'm not really used to- to this." He motioned between the two of them, trying his best to convey his feelings. He clearly needed more practice in that department, but Buggy took it in stride. They could work on it later, and frankly even this was an improvement.

Buggy retreated a bit, putting some more distance between them. "We don't have to do... this." He motioned between them just as the other had. "I just thought it would be fun, like last time. Even though I ended up looking straight out of a horror story, at least the process was enjoyable. Relaxing even."

Mihawk gave a small smile at that. "I thought you looked rather dashing in black."

Buggy rolled his eyes. "Of course you did. But I think I'll leave that to you. Wouldn't want to steal your schtick."

Mihawk's eyes squinted in amusement. "You couldn't if you tried."

"Nice try, but you can't provoke me like that. I'm not even going near black face paint for the unforeseeable future."

It was Mihawk's turn to roll his eyes, but he didn't say anything. They had fallen into a comfortable silence when Mihawk slowly reached for Buggy's hand, delicately caressing it with his thumb as Buggy held his breath.

"I'm sorry, I'm being difficult. This was supposed to be fun... But I'm okay now, you can continue."

Buggy shook his head, squeezing the hand holding his. "It should be fun for us both, I can't enjoy it if you're not enjoying it as well. You don't have to force yourself."

"I'm not." Mihawk looked Buggy in his big, round eyes that looked like they were portals leading straight to the ocean, his stare as unwavering as his voice as he spoke. "I'm not usually comfortable with people at this proximity... but I've come to find that I really don't mind it with you. I like it, in fact."

Buggy gulped, unable to break the intense eye contact. He didn't really know what he did to get into the swordsman's good graces, but he wasn't gonna mess it up no matter what. He gently reached for his face once again, getting in position to finally draw on the eyeliner.

"Don't move or I'll smudge it." He said, almost in a whisper.

Mihawk simply hummed in understanding, staying still as the waters of the Calm Belt. Buggy's breath was tickling his cheeks, and his hands were warm. He did his best to watch him do his work without moving, carving every inch of his focused face into memory.

"You're beautiful."

The words came out of his mouth without thinking, flowing as naturally as his haki through Yoru, and they made the clown still in his movements.

"What?"

Mihawk gave a breathy chuckle as Buggy's face grew redder by the second. "You heard me, beautiful."

Buggy moved back a bit, staring at the man as if he grew a second head. "What's gotten into you?"

Of course, Mihawk completely ignored him. "You look cute when you blush."

"Oh my God, can you stop?!" Buggy's face was now matching his nose, and Mihawk could swear he could see some steam coming out of his ears.

"You're not very good at taking compliments, are you?"

"I take them all the time! From my crew and my fans... It's just, unexpected from you."

That made something inside Mihawk twinge, but it didn't show on his face. "Then I'll have to compliment you more until you get used to it."

Buggy seemed to be struggling to put his thoughts into words, confused out of his mind at the other man's words. Did he eat something off? Was it a devil fruit user? Because something had to be wrong. But in the mess going inside his head, only one word was able to make its way to his tongue:

"Why?"

"Because I love to have your attention, your eyes on me, your hands on me... and your kindness. But I need to be kind to you as well to deserve it. This, right now... I don't deserve this, as things stand."

Buggy stared at the man in front of him for a moment, before slowly reaching out to cradle his face. "You are kind to me."

"Not kind enough to make up for the things I did before."

So, that's what this was about. Buggy sighed in understanding. "You apologised. I accepted your apology, and Crocodile's. Neither of you have any need to feel bad for your past mistakes."

Mihawk opened his mouth to speak but Buggy shushed him, pressing a finger on his lips. "I forgive you. Just take my word for it, idiot."

"... Alright."

Buggy smiled wide. "See? That wasn't so hard."

Later that evening, Crocodile walked into the tent to find a sleeping Buggy, drooling on a sleeping Mihawk. The swordsman's face was smudged with eyeliner, and the evening breeze was washing over them from the open window flap.

But neither of them were cold when they woke up, covered by a blanket they didn't remember getting.

[panelshowsource]

rather than who you would like to see on the next taskmaster series, who do you think will be on it? like just your predictions or any inklings you may have!

anon if you're still around then you'll know i really took my time with this hahaha so sorry! i hope anyone reading this takes it as just a bit of fun and nbd, who knows who we'll get or who alex & the network have in mind! i'm answering thoughtfully (bc i always feel guilty not to 😩 so sorry this is long lol) but it's really just fun!!

i will say, of the more recent-ish series, i did get a few right!!! krishnan guru-murthy, nicola coughlan, alan davies, judi love, sue perkins, john robins, and joanne mcnally were people i just knew would eventually be on if the show could get their schedules right, and i was also certain sarah millican and dara ó briain would be asked — though not necessarily that they'd actually agree. when you have a level of seniority and esteem, the "it's such a great opportunity" aspect of the show isn't such a draw 😅 for some reason i feel SO PROUD about guessing nicola! i was just WAITING and wish sooooo much she had done a full series 😭😭😭 (how fun would saoirse-monica jackson be too!)

anyways, as for people who haven't been on yet — and this isn't to say i want them all to be, just that i think it's likeliest they have been asked or will be asked; i talked about who i want to see a little while ago here — it's important to consider the casting 'roles' the network has in mind when working with the producers to form a series, so i will keep that in mind too!

established comedian, typically a straight white man over 40: bill bailey, vic reeves, harry hill, geoff norcott, kevin bridges, adam buxton, ade edmondson, paul whitehouse (tommy tiernan? god i feel bad for not saying ed byrne but why do i feel like he's not gonna make it in the next few series? i'm on the fence with nick helm — unless he's friends with alex, then his chances go up significantly imo — and tom allen for some reason, and i feel like john bishop is almost too much of an ask?)

fresh talent comedian, typically a man under 40: rhys james, huge davies, ahir shah, darren harriott would be my top guesses but tbh any of the semi-recent edinburgh comedy award finalists are good bets as a majority of the winners from the last ~10 years have been on the series + throwing out tom rosenthal (i know he's not fresh fresh and also mostly an actor)...and, like, jazz emu?...just because if taskmaster know how much its audience adores weird little white twinks then they'll cast them

female or non-binary comedian: 100% sarah keyworth + harriet kemsley, maisie adam, jess fostekew, suzi ruffell. i've shifted away from betting on cariad lloyd and catherine bohart for some reason... (joanne was my no.1 lady bet for the last like 4 series hahaha)

non-comedian: this is very, very hard to predict because between comedy actors, non-comedy actors, tv presenters, news people, reality & social media stars... the potential predictions are just so endless! logically, the most likely is an established actor with a lot of comedy connections (think sally phillips, lolly adefope, liza tarbuck, sian gibson, daisy may cooper, susan wokoma; this category is where tm gets quite a few of its female contestants): matt holness, kevin eldon, amanda abbington, tom davis, sharon horgan, kathy burke, georgia tennant (also friends w alex?), su pollard, tom basden, apparently anyone from the cast of ghosts, and so on and so on and so on... + i'll also throw out maggie aderin-pocock as a serious contender + i really feel like one of the spice girls will be on new years treat

friend of alex: john robins was the prediction for the past few series, so just worth keeping in mind other people in this circle include elis james, matthew crosby, tom neenan, and so on

freebie answers because alex/greg have mentioned them before: jack dee, lorraine kelly, joanna lumley (i want jennifer saunders SO BAD give us an epic series w both ade and jen pleaseeee tm gods!!!!)

complete wild card bets that are either my instincts kicking in or my bias taking over: limmy, adam buxton, paddy mcguinness, diane morgan, daniel sloss, joel dommett, jess hynes, spencer jones??, alasdair beckett-king or josh pugh + if suzy izzard wasn't doing a big nyc show i'd say that's a good guess if only bc you know greg & alex grew up big fans

did i mention too many people?? if i had to put my money behind a single person it would be either ahir shah or sarah keyworth

these are almost all of my fr big heavy hitters when it comes to placing bets! but there are of course so many people i didn't name who i could totally see on either a main series or the ny treat — so many people just make sense and that's the beauty of taskmaster!!

[scary-pixie]

November 1st = New Tina Year! (secret diary entry and upcoming goals)

I'm mainly writing this down so I don't slack off! Cause if I slack off I can look back on this and think, "wow, you failed terribly. dingus."

Ahem.

Anyways, I am in the process of thinking up some new short term goals now that:

2024 con season is over (with the exception of some smaller events)

Spooky Season is almost over (I like posting non-stop spooky stuff during this delightful time)

Twitter is going inside the toilet

Magazine troubles (more on this below)

I have met the famous man whose inspiration played a big role in both: a) getting back into drawing my old OCs after 15+ years (little round glasses are a bad influence), and b) getting brave enough to be on video after saying I would never do this for god knows how long. (secret: I watched a certain music video with one of his characters the morning before I made my own). BUT HE WILL NEVER KNOW ABOUT THIS AND I WILL NEVER TELL! I AM FULL OF CRINGE!!!

This is what I'm thinking at the moment, in terms of my next creative direction. I appreciate any thoughts or advice!!:

My OC art was an absolute flop in terms of gaining new social media followers. Bluesky seems to be a LITTLE bit better, but it's still early to tell and I haven't posted too many of my OCs there yet either. For the time being, though, I plan to get back to my Schoolism subscription assignments since I've been neglecting them for a bit!

good lord I need to flatten my stomach somehow, as I cannot fit into my preferred fashion choices. I quit watching TV for a while in the summer, which helped a bit (I tend to eat everything in the house while I watch), so I may try this again soon.

arm workouts are going alright I guess, I am gaining a bit of muscle in my armes so they do not look so much like noodles.

Tempted to get back into posting video game screenshots and mini-reviews on social media since people really liked this stuff, but I'm worried it might just add more to my plate.

I'm really enjoying doing videos now, I'm just not sure which direction to take them (or if I even should take them places). I tend to film a lot of myself and a long-time friend in the car just saying stupid shit, but I don't really want to post all of these.

I wish to read more books without falling asleep, jesus christ this is tough.

On a similar note: the magazine I used to write book and comic reviews for has SHUT DOWN GOD DAMN IT so maybe I'll write some new stuff here?? Not sure yet!

I need to get back to my Japanese studies!! I used to do them at lunch and dinner but now I get distracted by all the awful political shit online! Aaaaaaaa!! I really hope America doesn't combust in the next few days but I guess we'll find out soon...

Finally, I need to be more active HERE! It's the best place for longform writing and art that might be a bit too "cringe" for the general public. Let's see if I can stick to it!!

I think that's all I have to SAY for NOW. Wish me luck in sticking to my goals instead of spiralling into ADHD Twitter nonsense, aaaaaaaaaaaa!!

Tagging a couple frands: @prometheus-ghost @fadingdreamerdream @thewebspinner @autolykiss @draganwhorror

Also anyone who actually wants to watch my shitty ass videos, the link is below. I have a bunch more but haven't posted them! https://www.instagram.com/kittensoft39/reels/

[misc-obeyme]

I'm not sure if you're the right person to ask, but I want to hear your opinion on this.

So it's obvious that all the Demon brothers (+Dateables) have a crush on MC. Having said that, I think that even if some of the Demon brothers might get upset if MC decided to date one of them, they would still likely accept rejection and support whoever MC began a relationship with.

But here's something I've been wondering; Do you think Satan might get even more upset if MC chooses Lucifer over him? Satan already despises Lucifer, and he frequently draws comparisons between the two. He also finds it intolerable to think of himself as Lucifer's creation. I wonder if Satan's hatred for Lucifer might increase if that were to happen? Satan would never realise what Lucifer possessed that he did not. So I'm thinking he would merely let out his rage in his room, feeling somewhat betrayed by Mc's choice. This could be a good angsty story.

Well, anon, I'm certainly happy to give my opinion on just about anything OM related, so I'll do my best!

And yes, I do think Satan would be more upset if MC chooses Lucifer over him. In fact, I'm fairly certain this concept has been implied in canon? I can't remember anything specific, but for some reason that feels like something that's happened. If someone remembers, please let me know!

Anyway, from a writer's standpoint, considering Satan's character, I think it depends on the situation.

As it is in the game, all the brothers seem to be equally smitten with MC while MC doesn't ever choose one of them and tries to divide their attention among them. In this situation, if MC decided to choose Lucifer without any kind of evidence of their impending decision, I do think Satan would be upset about it more than he would be if MC chose one of his other brothers. It'd be like if it was anybody else, I see him being kind of like, okay weird choice, but I support you. Whereas if it was Lucifer, I see him being like OKAY. I support you, but WHY. Like he'd want to know what MC sees in Lucifer and he might even think MC is making a mistake. I could almost see him trying to talk them out of it.

But if you're writing a story about this and the MC has some build up that delves deeper into their relationships with both Lucifer and Satan, then you can kind of go a couple different ways with it.

For instance, if MC has a really close relationship with both of them and it kinda seems like they could go either way, I think Satan would be really upset. Like the other brothers aren't even in consideration and it's really just down to Satan and Lucifer? I think he'd be heartbroken, but also angry. And he'd demand to know why.

But if you had a situation where it was like more unrequited on Satan's side, like MC was likely going to choose Lucifer from the start, I think he'd be less angry about it. He'd have time to see it happening and probably would ask MC about it but in a more calm way because it'd be before MC actually made their choice.

Of course these are fictional characters and i really believe you can make them do whatever you want. If you wanted to write a story where MC chose Lucifer and Satan was cool with it, you could do that. It'd require an entire character arc that explains why Satan wouldn't be upset, though. But it's certainly possible. Anything is possible.

tl;dr yes I think Satan would be more upset if MC chose Lucifer. I hope that helps!

[starwarsmum]

Chapter 6 of Introducing: Mousinette! Results Day 😁

After Marinette left Gotham behind (hopefully temporarily) she braced herself for the final school term. She woke on the first morning back at school and felt melancholic - this was the last time she would start a fresh term with her current friends. Sure, it wasn't like she'd never see them again but still.

“Tikki, why is change so hard? I had a wonderful time in Gotham, but how is it possible that lycée is over so soon?” she sighed, ruffling her fingers through her hair as she took a final look in the mirror. Tikki gave her some encouraging words and she smiled, grabbing her backpack as she walked out of the room.

Approaching the lycée, Marinette slowed down and checked her phone for messages. Now that she was back in Europe, her new American friends were unlikely to message her during her morning routines and school - they should either be sleeping or working. But Adrien had found time to message her, asking about her trip and whether she was ready for school again.

She smiled and sent him a short text saying that she was happy but also sad and nervous about the next step after this. The rest of this term was about preparing students for their next step in life, rather than learning about topics. She kept her smile all the way to her desk, thankfully able to block out Lila's high pitched (and likely false) recounting of her break.

Sadly, she could only ignore it for so long, Alya dragging her into the conversation by asking how her break was.

“Isn't it crazy that you were both in Gotham? Lila was just saying that she spent most of her break with the Waynes, which is so cool! Didn't you say you went to view the Gotham U campus with your aunt and uncle?”

“Yeah, and we met up with my online friend's family. She has a younger brother planning to go to GU, same as me! He's a bit of a jerk, but you know, I don't have to spend time with him if I get accepted. I've already started researching fashion internships, in case. How was your break?”

“My break was boring, mostly spent it babysitting and being relieved that there's no more tests! Ooh, your online friend that sent you flowers on Valentine's Day? Did sparks fly when you finally met face to face?”

“Um, no, I think I traumatised her, actually. And she definitely only sees me as a little sister, so I spent some of my time getting over the tiny crush I had,” Marinette shrugged. She had grown massively from when she would sob about how unfair it was that someone didn't love her back. She had a better sense of her own self-worth and wasn't going to waste her energy on trying to force things to change. “Besides, she's almost twice my age, I'm not sure I would have liked her as much if she did have feelings for me.”

“Oh, that's such a shame, Marinette!” Lila cooed, drawing Alya’s attention back to her. “I'm sure you'll find someone eventually , some people are just unlucky like that. Like my friend, Damian, he told me he has feelings for someone, but she doesn't feel the same. I've told him I'll help him confess but he won't even tell me who it is.”

“Ooh, girl, you don't think he could be crushing on you , do you?” Alya had taken the bait, and Marinette had to work not to audibly groan. She knew it was all lies, because after spending two evenings with Barbara's not-quite-family, she had worked out that they were the same Waynes that Lila had been bragging about for the past few months. When she had asked about her, they had claimed confusion and she let it go.

“Oh, I hope not,” Lila replied, managing to sound both flattered and crestfallen. Honestly, if Marinette didn't detest her so much she would be impressed. “I would hate to hurt a friend, just because I don't feel the same. I mean, we all know how certain people,” she added significantly, eyes darting to Marinette, “can't handle when people don't return feelings. Our friendship might not be the same again!”

Gritting her teeth, Marinette turned away as Alya continued the conversation and tried to get a handle on the flash of anger that had flickered through her. It's my last term with the lying witch, she consoled herself. And then I'll be away from here, actually friends with some of the Waynes and she'll drop into obscurity.

_ _ _

Barbara was in the batcave when her phone started belting out Katrina and the Waves’ Walking on Sunshine. The others around her, getting ready to call it a night after patrol, glanced over to her, quizzical looks on most faces. Damian was scowling, but given that was his usual look, she paid it no mind.

“Hey Mari, what's up?” Barbara said as she answered the phone. Jason snorted at the ringtone and Damian seemed to freeze before shrugging it off. She eyed him speculatively for a moment, before focussing back on the call.

“I got in!” Came the shriek from the other end of the line. “I got my BAC score today, and I got a freaking 19 and I only needed a 16 to get in so I'm going to Gotham University!”

“That's incredible, way to go Mari! Does that mean it's time to apply for those internships? Oh my god, you have to promise me we'll do girls nights when you're here,” she was babbling, but she wasn't used to having civilian friends any more. It would be nice to let loose with Marinette, even if it was only once in a while.

“Obviously we will, but I have to go for now, I need to go down and tell my parents! Talk to you on Saturday.” And the dial tone rang in Barbara's ear suddenly. She grinned, shaking her head. Chances were, Marinette would realise she had called Barbara at 3 in the morning, Gotham time, but she was pleased that she had wanted to tell her so much that the time difference hadn't even crossed her mind.

“I take it that your…friend will be attending the same university as me this fall?” Damian said suddenly, standing to the side. He huffed slightly at her brisk nod and walked away without another word. She glanced around and caught Dick's eye, but he only shrugged as he walked over to her.

“I don't know what that was about, he hasn't mentioned her to me since the day we went to tour the college,” he said. “You know what he's like with new people though, he's probably just worried we're going to make them hang out.”

Barbara hummed in agreement, picking up her phone again when a message chimed. She smiled when she saw that Marinette had indeed realised the time in Gotham and was both apologetic and a little concerned that Barbara had still been awake.

Across the world in Paris, Marinette had messaged Chloe, Kagami, Adrien and Alya to let them know the good news. She was grinning from ear to ear, bouncing around her room and squealing every now and then. She had already started packing almost everything, regardless of if she would need it between now and when she moved to Gotham.

“Tikki, it's really happening! Oh my God, it's going to be so incredible, we can move into the dorms, make friends and learn so much! And I need to find an internship, God that's going to be so stressful!” She threw herself into her desk chair and let it wheel her to her computer, throwing herself onto her arms.

“Marinette, I'm so proud of you! You worked so hard on your BAC, and you have so many options with internships thanks to the work you've put into commissions!” Tikki was fluttering around her head, smiling and squealing. “We’ll need to consider our options because we can't let any dorm mates know about me.”

“Ugh, right, magical secrets,” Marinette moaned, thinking hard. “The dorms we looked at were pretty small, not a lot of privacy and no soundproofing. That doesn't sound like I'd be able to keep you out of the box…okay, new plan! We're going to secure an internship and get an apartment, that way it's our space. It'll probably be easier doing commissions anyway.”

Now that she had made the first decision, it was easy to see what next steps to take. She started looking at the listings near the university for 1 or 2 bedroom apartments, writing off several that looked beautiful but had ridiculously low prices. She settled on two or three that seemed reasonable and sent emails to them.

She then started to scout out internships, checking the employees testimonies and looking at potential salaries. She sent emails to all of them, but took extra care on the ones she wanted. Wayne Enterprises was at the top of her list, both because she knew them personally and because it was high on the list for employee treatment. 

She sighed and stretched again, checking her phone and grinning at her new messages. She opened the one from Kagami first, the slightly formal manner making her glow with pride at how well she had done. Chloe's was more relaxed but just as proud. Alya hadn't messaged back yet, but Adrien’s was sweet.

Hey Bug, that's so awesome! I knew you could do it, you've always been the perfect one of the two of us. Let me know if I can help at all with the changes etc. <3

Although it had been a hard decision at the time, breaking up was the right thing to do. When they had revealed their identities after catching Hawkmoth, it had been awkward and tense. They had decided together that there was too much between them now, and that being friends was better than trying to force it to work.

They had both made token arguments, trying to keep the relationship, if only because it turned out they were Ladybug and Chat Noir, Marinette and Adrien; their friends shipped them so hard, they had practically cried when the pair finally started dating (Alya totally cried when they stopped dating, too). 

Their new friendship was built on the solid foundation of having spent time fighting a supervillain, shared stresses of hidden identities and dealing with mini gods. But moving in with his aunt in England meant that Adrien had had to break up with another person - Plagg. Plagg was getting some much needed rest in the Miracle Box, coming out occasionally to chat with the Guardian and Tikki.

Now that she was out of texts and tasks, Marinette decided it was time to do some designing again. She had a free day from lycée and planned to utilise it properly. All of the joyous energy that had flooded her was ready to be honed, and she wanted to see what she came up with. 

So it was several hours later that she heard the chime of her emails, and realised that she hadn't moved in that time. Cursing softly, she made her way to the bathroom, went down to the kitchen to grab a drink and a snack, before settling down in front of the computer again. She opened the new email, squealing when she saw it was from Wayne Enterprises.

Dear Miss Dupain-Cheng, 

It was a pleasure to receive your application for the internship offered here at Wayne Enterprises and we are considering your application currently. We do wish to clarify some things regarding your experience up to this point.

You have successfully worked with Mme Audrey Bourgeois, and won a competition with the brand previously known as Gabriel. Based on those, we would just like to discuss what you have worked on since your brand ceased trading in the past year.

We look forward to hearing from you,

The Office of Timothy Drake-Wayne

Co-CEO

Marinette chewed her lip, wondering if she was ready to out the face behind MDC. On one hand, this was why she had rebranded, she needed to get her work out there and make it easier to break onto the fashion scene later. On the other…the anonymity meant that she didn't have to deal with paparazzi, or people trying to be friendly with her just because she was kind of famous. Her hands hovered over the keyboard before deciding, and starting the email back. She checked the time and saw that it was still early in the day in Gotham.

Good morning,

Thank you for your speedy reply, I appreciate that you are a very busy company so it means a lot that you have taken the time this morning.

In regards to my brand, I rebranded in December last year. Prior to the rebrand, I had kept my connection to Jagged Stone secret as I am still 17, and did not wish to present myself to the media yet. As this is still the case, I trust that you will treat this information with discretion.

All of my current work can be found under my new website, mdcdesigns.fr  

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, either by email or phone,

Marinette Dupain-Cheng (MDC)

She tried to relax but was checking her emails every few minutes. She figured they would need to check her claims out, but she so badly wanted this internship. It was the best paid - ie, not volunteer work - and the company had raving reviews from long standing employees.

After what felt like hours, but was only minutes, her phone buzzed with an incoming call. She picked it up hastily, not bothering to look at the screen as she did so. She felt herself physically deflate when Alya responded to her greeting.

“Girl, a 19? That's crazy amazing! We have to celebrate, like immediately! I can have the girls ready to go in half an hour, tops, and we can do whatever you want. I'll bet the others will want to celebrate their scores too, and anyone who doesn't can commiserate!” Alya was so enthusiastic that Marinette couldn't help laughing.

“Als, it's, like, Wednesday. We should wait until Friday, that way we can plan something spectacular,” Marinette mused, already jotting down a couple of ideas. “Now, I'm not 18 yet, so that vetoes a couple of options, but we could go for a meal, get glammed up and head to this new dance club, it allows 16 and up, you just can't drink without ID. Oh, or we could go listen to a band somewhere, although Kitty Section is obviously a no, since they'll want to relax too. Hmmm, why don't we- oh, sorry, that's another call, can I catch you back in a little bit? Thanks, Alya, speak soon!”

She switched calls while Alya was still laughing and went to say hello when someone else interrupted immediately.

“How could you not tell us you were MDC?” came Tim's voice. He sounded highly affronted, and Marinette choked back a nervous giggle. “You knew we wanted to know, Babs must have told you we were fans, so why didn't you say anything?”

“Uh, hi Tim, nice to hear from you,” she replied awkwardly. “Well, first off, I said in my email why I didn't say anything. Also I know Babs pretty well but I only met you that week? Anyway, Babs was the one that wanted it kept a surprise.”

“I didn't think you were so malicious, Miss Dupain-Cheng,” Tim said gravely, although he undercut the gravity with a snort a moment later. “God, no wonder we couldn't find out though, I bet she designed your website, didn't she? I knew the code was familiar when I struggled to crack it, but she didn't say anything so I didn't put it together.”

“She did, and off the record, the reason I needed a new site is because someone started spreading rumours that I was stealing someone else's work, so I had to shut my old one down. That's why I needed Babs' help to set up a new one, I couldn't trust my friend to do it without blabbing.”

“Oh, well, that sucks. Whatever, I already talked to Babs and she confirmed that you are who you say you are so I wanted to call personally and offer you a job.”

“Don't I need to interview for the internship? Aren't there, I don't know, a bazillion other candidates that need to be sorted through?” Marinette was alarmed at how quickly it was all moving.

“An internship? Oh, hell no, I want to hire you as the fashion consultant for Wayne Enterprises. We don't have one currently, just sort of pick up the odd suit and have Alfred tailor it, but if you're willing, we could give you a job to be in charge of our public event wardrobes.”

“...you know I'm going to be a student in the fall, right? And that I can't be a full time employee because I'm not even 18 yet?”

“Oh, well, sure, but there's no point giving you an internship when we could take you on part time. My understanding is that you're getting a full ride to GU and therefore don't need the money for school fees, but I promise as a part time employee, your pay would be significantly better than an intern’s. Plus, that leaves the internship open to someone who needs it.”

“How do you even know about the scholarship?” Marinette was stunned. He wanted to hire her? No awful internship, she could do what she loved for people she knew and liked? It sounded too good to be true. “Wait, no, that's not the point. I mean, yes, obviously I want the job, when do you want me to start? I can't move to Gotham right now, because I have to finish the year, and my birthday isn't until July, but then I could make my way over in August?”

“Okay, awesome, what if we hired MDC as a independent consultant, through your website, for the next 2 months, you can start making some designs for everyone, and then you can sign an actual contract just after your birthday, then whenever you move to Gotham, we can set you up with an office and creative space?”

It was more than Marinette could have dreamed of, and she was quick to agree. They hashed out the logistics, but he sounded just as gleeful as she felt when the call disconnected. She squealed and did a happy dance, picking up her phone to call Alya back. 

_ _ _

Once Damian knew that he would be seeing Marinette again, he decided that he needed to change his behaviour. It was not a sudden revelation, he had been thinking about their interactions more often than he would admit ever since she had gone back to Europe. So over the next week or so, Damian made an effort to improve his conversational skills. He spoke to random students at his high school, worked on being more patient with Kent, and asked his father to find him some work at his company to spend time with a range of different personality types. 

He of course did not relay this particular reason to his father, giving a more general explanation of wanting to get a feel for the business before he began working towards his economics degree. His father readily agreed and Damian found that he was more than capable of marshaling his temper around buffoons.

He did not want his brothers to make more of his change of behaviour than there was, and so he seldom interacted with others at the same time as them. Even so, Grayson had commented more than once that his patience had improved drastically, most likely referring to the fact that he had not threatened anyone who had been overly familiar with him.

He was determined to make a better impression on Marinette the next time they met.

[wishjacked]

Happy #WebcomicDay!! :D

This year we're celebrating the process of making pages... so below the cut I've got a bunch of pictures sharing how I go about making pages of my evil post-apocalyptic workplace sitcom, Cargo!! :D

So! My process!!

Writing-> I think sometimes there's pressure to "write" your comic a certain way, I see people talking about script format and stuff a lot. That really doesn't work for me, though! I write my "first draft" script in short scenes on scrap paper, in whatever order they come to me. Sometimes a scene will just be one or two lines, and then a little description of what I want to happen in the rest of the scene.

Later I type the scene up, and write the "connective tissue" that fits between the disjointed scenes so they all flow together like they ought. I don't do page breaks or even character tag or action notes hahahaha I like it to be as BASIC as POSSIBLE so it's easy to edit. And since I'm the person drawing it I can almost always remember who's supposed to be saying what lmao

I edit a lot, but the most major editing is also probably the last bit... when I letter my pages usually I realize "they would never say that" and so I end up rephrasing everything. My art brain is sometimes waaaaay better at phrasing hahaha. Like you can see in the finished page for this script I rewrote like basically all of it, and actually went back to the original "sketch" script in a lot of places.

Thumbnailing-> my thumbs are really big, I draw them with markers on printer paper and keep them in a binder!! I like to thumb scenes in batches and I also usually write my dialogue on them, just so I can read through them before (and while) I draw to get a feel for how the pacing works. :)

Sketching-> OH sketching is also really hard for me! I don't have a good visual imagination so it's really important for me to make sure I have good references. Last year I was especially focusing on setting.

My comic is set in Florida. I'm lucky in that I used to live there and still go back to visit sometimes, so sometimes I can gather my own reference images! But more often I start on Google Maps or Zillow, trying to find buildings that have interesting features or the right kind of "look" for what I want. I'll also look up other interesting elements, my comic is set in a post-apocalypse and I'll research home gardening and things like that which people would probably have.

For example, in this set in chapter 7, I used Google Maps images, photo references of indoor hydroponic gardening, and like, 90's-00's hacker computer setups haha. Also my BFF Roomstyler.com, where you can make 3d house interiors haha!!

Lineart-> I LOVE lineart it is my favorite!!!! I sketch and ink two pages at a time, and it usually takes somewhere between 10-12 hours to do both steps.

I actually think my art looks best when it's just lineart... but I think my STORY is better with color, like it makes it clearer and easier to read and it has a better atmosphere HAHA.

Colors-> I think it usually takes me 4-6 hours to do 2 pages (I haven't timed myself as consistently as I time my lineart and sketching). I have a big file with small copies of my previous pages that I color drop from, and my characters are all flats only. The limited palette that I use is also really handy, it streamlines coloring a LOT.

Finishing Touches-> aka I steal mercilessly from my one true love, my internet home, the beautiful and blessed Wikimedia Commons

I put lots of overlay layers on my art! I like textures so having some strange little textures or pictures on things makes my art feel a lot more finished to me.

And finally my very most favorite ✨finishing touch✨ is the bright colored/patterned gutters that I use. Here are some of my favorites that I've made and used in the past!

And that's all!! I hope you guys have a very happy Webcomics Day and find lots and lots of wonderful new things to read!!!

[blueskittlesart]

hi :] this isnt really a reqest cuz it'll prob be a longer answer but im rlly curious abt ur comic process

i love all ur comics and somehow they always manage to gutpunch me- and ur composition and the way they read is always so beautiful and adds so much to the message youre trying to get across

yeah lol let's get into it! Ive spent maybe 5 or so years refining this process to the point it's at now so it's pretty much my standard procedure now. I'm going to use Now that you're gone as my primary example here since i still have most of the planning stages associated with it (my laptop does not have a whole lot of storage left so i usually delete my planning once the comic is finished lol) but i'll try to throw in some other examples too!

I almost always start with a written script. (the exception for this is longform oc comics which i find easier to write in the moment, but for my shorter character studies I almost always write first.) I use discord to write because it's convenient, but before i had a dedicated discord server for my stuff i was using txt files on my laptop which i do NOT recommend. anyway, this is what the written script for ntyg looked like:

note that some small elements changed in production, like the amount of time that had passed since link's death. the lines "I look at her and i am only afraid. i remember all the ways in which i hurt you. She's almost as old now as you were then. I cannot stand the thought of outliving her, too" were also added during the rough stage because i felt like there wasn't quite enough emphasis on aryll in the initial script, and since this was a major change that necessitated a whole extra page in the comic I went back and edited those lines into the script so I wouldn't forget them. (both these changes were made during the rough stage. i'll almost never make major script adjustments after the roughs are finished.)

more examples of my scripts; specifically the original script for totk: failure and two versions of oot: adulthood (one before some major refining and one after.) with comics like these, where i have a very clear idea in my head of the imagery i want to go along with the words, i'll sometimes include it interspersed in the script, either spolier-marked or denoted with brackets.

with ntyg and some of my other more. canon divergent? i guess? comics, there's sort of a mini phase in between scripting and roughs where I do some minor character studies to get designs nailed down in the early stages. with ntyg I already had a clear image in my mind for aryll, but the central character was link's dad, whose design wasn't quite so solid in my head. I really wanted to make sure that his design was well thought-out and consistent throughout everything, so i did a few mini sketches and studies to ensure I had his design memorized and could execute it consistently:

these are sans hair and accessories because nailing down consistent facial features was my main focus with them, and both these sketches ended up getting used as references for certain panels later on. This isn't a step I ALWAYS take with my comics, but if there's a central character that i'm not super used to drawing i find it helpful to get some practice in before jumping into the real thing!

after the scripting and design phases i move on to roughs, which I consider to be the most important stage in my process. roughs are very very quick approximations of what I want the final pages to look like. they usually don't take me more than a few minutes per page to create, and their sole purpose is to help me visualize the flow of the page and the placement of major elements like panels, characters, and dialog. this is what the 1st page rough for ntyg looked like compared to the final page:

as you can see, all i have laid out is the major text and visual elements, but it really helps me to visualize how the finished comic is going to flow. i do the roughs for every page before i start on the finals so that i have an idea of what the entire comic is going to look like before I really start finalizing it. it's important that these roughs are FAST--i almost never draw fully-fledged characters unless the pose or expression is particularly important to the scene, and that's because the goal is to allow everything to flow quickly and easily from panel to panel and page to page, and getting too caught up on one panel or element often breaks that flow. Nowadays, i have a pretty good idea of how much room my writing takes up so i don't write out the entire script in my roughs, but back when i was a little less experienced i took the time to write everything out in this stage to ensure that my dialog would fit into the space it was given without getting cramped or cutting off other important elements. doing that really helped me build awareness of how much dialog and panel placement matters and how i could use it, so this rough stage is non-negotiable for me even now!

after the roughs i go straight into finalization. I never enjoyed lineart back when i was learning to draw digitally so i basically built my art style to be understandable and visually appealing after one sketch phase, meaning there's legitimately no in-between stage between that rough and that final page, i just sort of. go for it. this is what works for me, but i think most normal people would probably find a second sketch phase helpful LMAO i'm just crazy and i need everything done as fast as possible. the finalization stage usually doesn't contain any major adjustments of script, composition, etc; i make it a general rule to keep most of the major adjustments confined to the earlier stages, for my own sanity. One thing that DOES occasionally change in this stage is my plans for color--ntyg in particular was originally planned to be completely black-and-white with no grays added, but when looking at my completed pages i found them sort of empty and unengaging without the gray, so i added it. usually if my color plans DO change it's something small like that--I'll almost never switch between full-color and grayscale on a whim because the way that i sketch for those two versions differs significantly so it isn't an easy switch to make.

anyways i hope this is what you were looking for! I'm very passionate about making comics and this process is a result of years of experimentation & finding what works for me, but i hope it's of some use to you as well!

[nohoperadio]

My favourite author is Iris Murdoch.

I don't think I have favourites in any other category, it feels like a bit of an artificial concept usually, but it would be silly to deny this one. I was halfway through my first Murdoch novel (at age 20 or so) when I felt certain I was going to have to read them all (there are 26). My feeling was that I would have stayed true to that even if every other book she wrote had been terrible. I'm sure that's not true, but I say it to illustrate that she inspired a deep and irrational loyalty in me very early on that hasn't waned over time. I've been reading between one and three of her books per year since I started, deliberately spreading them out so as not to deplete a valuable resource too soon, although presumably I'll just start rereading them at the same rate after I've finished. I've read 21 out of 26 so far.

Maybe someday I'll have something to say on here about what draws me to her books so strongly. Not right now though. What I want to say today is that I usually like her opening lines very much, she often starts with some very punchy compact moment that feels weirdly complete already even as it clearly stands in need of unpacking, if that makes sense to anyone else. This post is going to be simply a compilation of some good ones. Let's say 10 of the best, in no particular order.

I'm defining "opening lines" as not literally just the first sentence but enough to cover the first self-contained "moment" of the book, which is a bit of a judgment call for sure but you can be confident I've judged correctly in every case. For The Philosopher's Pupil (but no others) I've blatantly cheated by entirely skipping a sort of prologue chapter because I think the opening of the next chapter is both more opening-like and more compelling, I acknowledge that this is illegitimate but you'll just have to deal with it. Okay here goes.

---

The Unicorn

'How far away is it?'

'Fifteen miles.'

'Is there a bus?'

'There is not.'

'Is there a taxi or a car I can hire in the village?'

'There is not.'

'Then how am I to get there?'

'You might hire a horse hereabouts,' someone suggested after a silence.

---

An Accidental Man

'Gracie darling, will you marry me?'

'Yes.'

'What?'

---

The Bell

Dora Greenfield left her husband because she was afraid of him. She decided six months later to return to him for the same reason.

---

The Philosopher's Pupil

I am the narrator: a discreet and self-effacing narrator. This book is not about me.

---

Bruno's Dream

Bruno was waking up. The room seemed to be dark. He held his breath, testing the quality of the darkness, wondering if it was night or day, morning or afternoon. If it was night that was bad and might be terrible. Afternoon could be terrible too if he woke up too early. The drama of sleeping and waking had become preoccupying and fearful now that consciousness itself could be so heavy a burden.

---

The Sacred and Profane Love Machine

The boy was there again this morning, and the dogs were not barking.

---

A Fairly Honourable Defeat

'Julius King.'

'You speak his name as if you were meditating upon it.'

'I am meditating upon it.'

'He's not a saint.'

'He's not a saint. And yet—'

---

The Message to the Planet

'Of course we have to do with two madmen now, not with one.'

'You mean Marcus is mad too?'

'No, he means Patrick is mad too.'

---

The Red and the Green

Ten more glorious days without horses!

---

The Sea, The Sea

The sea which lies before me as I write glows rather than sparkles in the bland May sunshine. With the tide turning, it leans quietly against the land, almost unflecked by ripples or by foam. Near the horizon it is a luxurious purple, spotted with regular lines of emerald green. At the horizon it is indigo. Near to the shore, where my view is framed by rising heaps of humpy yellow rock, there is a band of lighter green, icy and pure, less radiant, opaque however, not transparent. We are in the north, and the bright sunshine cannot penetrate the sea. Where the gentle water taps the rocks there is still a surface skin of colour. The cloudless sky is very pale at the indigo horizon which it lightly pencils in with silver. Its blue gains towards the zenith and vibrates there. But the sky looks cold, even the sun looks cold.

I had written the above, destined to be the opening paragraph of my memoirs, when something happened which was so extraordinary and so horrible that I cannot bring myself to describe it even now after an interval of time and although a possible, though not totally reassuring, explanation has occurred to me. Perhaps I shall feel calmer and more clear-headed after yet another interval.

[veliseraptor]

for the ask game: xueyao! ship it or not?

it's complicated!!! should be an answer for this meme, just for me, but I guess loosely speaking I'll say ship it (with some caveats, mostly that I ship it in the traditional sense exclusively as friends with benefits, and I'm much more attached to them as a platonic relationship)

What made you ship it? the whole dynamic between them! the partners in crime aspect but also the way that they are so very different. also the fact that xue yang knows jin guangyao with a depth and thoroughness that few people do, the good and the bad, and while I wouldn't say he understands him that's still something that I find fun to explore.

What are your favorite things about the ship? as with so many of my favorite dynamics, I think what particularly draws me about the relationship between these two (whatever form it takes) is the parallels/foils between them as two characters who are both outsiders in cultivation society, both seen as low and dirty by others, but who have responded to that very differently. where jin guangyao strives for acceptance and status, xue yang rebels by rejecting norms of society and all external judgment. and at the same time, xue yang makes jin guangyao laugh and offers a kind of unconditional acceptance that's decidedly scarce (and is willing to go to bat for him, in his own way), and jin guangyao offers xue yang a respect that pretty much nobody else does. love that for both of them.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? I feel like there are two unpopular-ish opinions I have about this ship, though as usual I don't have a great metric for what is actually "unpopular", but based on what I see around about the relationship between these two: the first is that I think jin guangyao genuinely liked xue yang - he wasn't just a job or a duty he was forced to deal with, but actually at least sort of a friend, if one who is (as friends sometimes are) frustrating at times. this isn't to say that jin guangyao actually, like, approves of everything xue yang does (I think there are many ways in which they both think the other is profoundly, shall we say, misguided; their approach to society is almost diametrically opposed), but I think he does like him and, at least to a certain extent, enjoy his company.

on the flip side of that opinion, I do think that jin guangyao meant to have xue yang killed. I can see the justification behind saying that he didn't - that he just ushered him out the back door and someone else attacked him later; it certainly does fit with jin guangyao's modus operandi with other people that are inconvenient to him (sisi, notably) - but I think that jin guangyao would see that as too much of a risk, and xue yang himself as too much of a loose cannon, to turn him loose like that. I think he'd be sad about it, and reluctant, but ultimately the calculus comes down on the side of it being necessary in order to start over as chief cultivator and disassociate himself from his father's less popular actions.

[arenabreadandbiscuits]

I've got one: an Adam that can SEE soulmates. He grins nastily as he takes a GOOD LONG look at Alastor and SMIRKS "Vox, huh? You love him, hmm? I can see it written right on your disgusting soul Al-ass-tor. Annnnd even better he's your soulmate. I kill him, I cause you unimaginable pain and suffering for eternity without touching you." And then he takes off, leaving Lute and his army to take care of the hotel--who HEARD HIM to search for Vox.

The Vees are in full out panic mode, of course. They have no idea what to do. Vox say he can carry both Val and Vel through the electricity but they need a location to go too--abd the vacation home is too far, he doesn't have the juice.

Valentino is pissed at Vox for being Alastor's soulmate, and panicking about the certain death heading their way.

Velvette doesn't care: "Take us as far as you can to the vacation home and we can steal a car!"

Alastor is RAGING. How DARE that pompous f-wit threaten what is HIS?!? (Although he is pleased Adam did announce Vox was his too all of Hell. Now no one would dare try to date Vox after he killed the moth.)

(Feel free to use :3)

Thank you anon because I definitely WILL be taking this.

No really this is good, honestly you anons are helping write the best voxal fanfic with me as well speak. I think after I finish my current writing coms today then I'll start on this story. It honestly sounds really fun and I'm a bit of a slow burn kinda gal with a passion for angst so this is definitely up my alley.

The idea of Adam coming in? Mwah!

Like imagine the way Alastor freezes the moment Adam says that stuff about going after Vox and especially before Vox finds himself having to defend the vees. Bro doesn't even know what's going on at first and that he's basically one of the reasons it's happening. Imagine his shock if Alastor does hunt him down before the angels get there, both confusion AND relief showing on his face just to see Alastor. Though there's also annoyance.

"ugh! I could have handle a few angels Alastor!" He growls after Alastor grabs them after fighting and imagine something like after Alastor saves them he and Vox are having this argument just for Vox to stop when it seems Alastor did in fact take some damage.

"a few isn't tons Vox." Alastor would most like his back while cradling a wound and Vox might as well be the one to help him clean it up, matter of fact he has too because everyone is rather fearful of the pair. Alastor doesn't want anyone to deal with the wound like a stubborn dog unless it's Vox and this could leave them a lot of time just to sit with each other. It's silent as Vox carefully cleans his wounds, gentle and careful not to do anything that would hurt even more and then as he's looking over Alastor's body he'll glare at nothing halfheartedly, brows burrowed in confusion and annoyance.

"why'd you do something so stupid?" He'll ask and I can see Alastor's ear twitching. Vox basically asks him what's his problem. Why'd he go out there to fight so many angels and over HIM of all people? He's both flattered and a bit unnerved.

If Alastor really did all that to help him then maybe he SHOULD go back to the hotel just to keep an eye on Alastor's healing though maybe it's just a way to get closer because though Vox being Alastor's soul mate is life changing on his own, knowing and seeing Alastor after such a fight and touching his wounds really manages to draw Vox in. Like he wants to be with Alastor in the same bed and everything as he heals.

I wanna say Alastor will heal with no issue but imagine a case where he doesn't. Where the angel blades hold off his healing for just long enough to where Vox is actually worried over the other man.

This could be an interesting part to rebuild their connection. Seeing Alastor almost die while showing Hell that Vox BELONGS TO HIM really makes the TV demon flustered and more than he's ever been before. (Vox likes knowing Alastor is possessive enough to literally have a battle of his own with heaven. It makes him feel special and more than he ever has before)

I'd like to say this situation really convinces Vox but with their history he's worried about getting too close even though he wants to.

He's scared of falling in love with Alastor because what it its 'not the right time' again?

Vox is definitely an over thinker in this case, will sit through the healing process for Alastor but maybe he finds Alastor's words to be a fluke? Did he really mean it? Yeah he almost DIED but he couldn't possibly- he definitely means it.

They've had their history but Vox is a runner now and Alastor wants to chase him. After all, who could know him better than his old friend and whether Vox likes it or not no one would DARE (especially after the shocking announcement that they are soulmates) take Alastor's destined spot in his life.

I honestly love these ideas and I have many myself, keep em coming y'all!

- A