#The shading I did seemed too realistic? If that makes sense

[kp-studios]

Did a drawing of my boy.. Uh.. "Brain" Wally. I'm still figuring out what to name them, but they're there.

[mollyrolls]

all shades of blue; hinata shoyo

track 10 / now playing / track 12 : ̗̀➛ weatherman collection

Broken bottles shine / just like stars, make a wish anyway. / Just your smile lit a sixty-watt bulb in my house / that was darkened for days. / Been thinking you probably should stay.

tags: gn!reader x timeskip!hinata, established relationship, hurt/comfort, angst, fluff, mentions of blood and alcohol, happy ending.

wc: 2k

an: this one is dedicated to the lovely @nectardaddy, because wine-drinker hinata is so canon that it literally changed the original idea i had for this song. I'm proud of this one :)

Superstitions are a funny thing. You don’t necessarily believe in them, but you pick up the penny anyway, avoid cracks in the sidewalk, throw the salt over your shoulder. They feel too simple to avoid.

Superstitions make it easier to explain away the shitty things that happen to you, rather than letting you spiral into despair about what you’ve done and why you deserve it. 

Superstitions also have a lot to say about the broken glass you find lying around your feet, your glass of wine long gone.

Some people would say that it's a sign of demise and betrayal. Others claim that wreck and ruin are just around the corner. Most people would agree that it’s a sign of heartbreak.

Regardless of what they have to say, you have a mess on your hands that you are too paralyzed to fix. Your mind is screaming to move, get towels, do something, but all you can do is sit and stare.

Maybe on a better day, you could ignore it. Chalk it up to a shaky hand or a loud noise from the movie playing in the other room. Wipe away the spill, brush the glass into the trash, and forget that it happened.

But today there’s something about this mess, ruby liquid spilling and staining the floor, bleeding out like a wound, that makes your heart ache and renders you useless to the world. A sense of foreboding sends a chill down your spine.

You barely notice your boyfriend crouching next to you, examining the damage and trying to fix things. He’s not looking at the mess on the floor but rather at your body, turning your hands over in fear of cuts or scrapes.

And you're not quite sure what it is, maybe shock, maybe a cut, maybe the sudden feeling that everything is too much for you to handle right now, but the pressure building behind your eyes is bursting before you feel it start.

One measly tear drops, landing cleanly on the back of his hand. That single tear seems to worry him more than the glass ever did, and the emotions flooding his eyes are overwhelming: worry, fear, relief, panic.

“Are you okay?”

Hinata is a lover. He might as well be the personification of it. His love is unconditional, abundant, no one is too insignificant to get a piece. It’s one of your favorite things about him, but it's also the thing that causes most of your despair.

Because you are not like that. Yes, you love him, but nowhere near as easily or openly. Your love is not explosive and all-encompassing, but quiet and steady, falling into the background. Sometimes you wonder why he sticks around at all, when he could easily find someone that can give him the love that he deserves.

You’ve never voiced your concerns to him, somewhat worried that he’ll realize you’re right and leave you in the dust. But more realistically, you know he’ll deny it. And that hurts worse.

You don’t think he’d understand how you feel, to no fault of his own. Going above and beyond in everything he does is in his blood. 

You forget he’s like that because he also knows how it feels to not be enough.

So when your thoughts get to be too much, you box them all up and push them under your bed. Waiting for a night alone where you can cry and mourn and worry. He’ll come home and soothe you like he always does, but you vowed a long time ago to never let him know the worst of it. 

“Are you okay?”

You hum distantly, letting Hinata continue his examination. When he finds a small cut on your finger, he’s immediately up and getting you aid. All you can do is stay in your position on the floor, pathetic, like a dog waiting for their owner to return.

He’s gentle when he cleans the wounds. Apologizes when the saline stings, like he’s responsible for the pain. Kisses your finger after wrapping the bandaid.

Once he’s done, he settles back on his heels, kneeling before you. He cups your hand in his, a warm and sturdy presence you drink up. 

It’s quiet, movie in the other room muffled. Quiet moments with Hinata can often be overwhelming, but that might be due to the circumstances you find them in. Him waiting for something you can’t provide, an impossible persistence that’s somehow never overbearing. 

And it’s hard. It’s just another way that you’re not enough for him. He deserves someone who can open up, share what they’re feeling. Someone who can care for him the way he cares for you.

“Hey- hey, what happened?”

You didn’t feel them start, so the tears rolling down your face are unwelcome. Blinking them away just produces more and you can’t make them stop. 

“Are you upset about the glass? We can get a new one.”

You chuckle horsely. “No, that’s fine.” Prying a hand from his, you scrub at your eyes, hoping the sting will keep you from unraveling. Hoping to feel anything but this unbearable sadness. 

“Then what is it?”

“It’s stupid.” 

He stays crouching with you, tracing the lines in your hand. “I’m sure it’s not.” 

His finger settles at the topmost line, smoothing along the sloping curve, finding the path easily in the depths and grooves. 

And he stays sitting with you, letting the wine seep into the floorboards, just waiting until you’re ready to share.

At times like these, you resent your boyfriend and his patience. You know he’ll wait until he gets an answer. As more time passes, the more guilty you feel. 

Finally, you sigh, resigning yourself to a truly miserable conversation. 

“Do you know what they say about broken glass?”

He shakes his head no, brows pinching together just slightly. You don’t like seeing him worried, especially not over things like this. Like you.

But in his funny way of showing up, he squeezes your hand to keep you going. You feel your pulse humming beneath him.

“Some people think it’s a sign of heartbreak. If you break a glass, there’s something bad about to happen in your life, like losing a job or breaking up with someone. And I know it's stupid, but I just got scared.”

The admission leaves you breathless. He just hums. Lifting one hand to trace the curve of your jaw, the other hand never leaving yours. He won’t let you look anywhere but his eyes and all you see is raw devotion.

Instead of some grand speech, some large gesture about how much he loves you and he’d never leave you, he just stays. Admiring you in this moment, the luminescent bulbs of the kitchen lights casing you in warm light.

After a while, he lets go of your face and picks up a shard of glass sitting next to you. Thinking as he turns it over in his hand.

“It’s not stupid, but I don’t think it's true. I’m not going to let your clumsiness dictate that we’re over.”

He raises the shard of glass up to you, letting the light hit it. 

“I think that it's how you look at it. You don’t have to let it be heartbreak, but maybe it’s something that gets a new life.”

“How?” You whisper, fearful you’ll shatter the moment with even a breath that’s too heavy.

“Anything you want. We could put it back together, use it as stained glass, throw it away, make wishes. I’ll eat it if you want.”

“Don’t eat glass, Shoyo.”

When you laugh, he looks at you. His shoulders drop, relieved you’re no longer crying.

“Okay. I won’t.” The relief is palpable in the air and it makes breathing just a bit easier. He’s always made things easier. 

“Can I ask you something else?”

You nod, voice too caught in your throat to say anything.

“Why did this upset you so much? Did you think I wanted to leave?”

And in one soul-crushing move, he shrinks into himself. So insignificant you might have thought he was just breathing. But you love quietly and steadily and know his mannerisms like a second language.

“Did I do something to make you want to leave?”

The idea makes your mending heart shatter once again. 

It’s your turn to grab at him, cupping his hands in yours and bringing them close to his chest. The proximity feels right. 

“No. Never.” 

“Then why?”

A simple question, one that makes you feel like you’re drowning. Because he sounds so gutted, an indiscernible voice crack that only the most attentive would pick up on. And you have to disappoint him once again with your answer. You know it’ll turn into him comforting you, like always, when you need to be the one there for him. 

But you’ll do anything to make him happy again, and right now that means sharing the truth.

“It's just… sometimes I feel like I drag you down. You love everyone so easily and it's so hard for me. You don’t get enough from me, so why should I keep you here when you deserve so much more?”

He sits there, letting your words soak into him. While you’re waiting for the final blow, to your surprise he laughs. A wholehearted one, one so joyous you can’t help but laugh along, even if it's strained.

Once his laughter subsides he sighs, your name a whisper on the wind. “You think I don’t get enough love from you? Really?”

You nod, not sure what else you can do.

“Then I must be doing a horrible job at showing my gratitude. I feel so loved by you it can be overwhelming.”

You can hardly believe the words he’s saying. They hit you like a shock to the system, turning your world inside out.

“But I don’t do anything crazy or romantic like you. Does that not get to you?”

“Not at all. I don’t want to be with another version of myself, and there’s not a gesture you could make that would mean more to me than you coming to all my games with my name on your back. Having you in my corner is more than I need.”

You hear the words he’s saying, but your mind and your heart are at war. He’s breaking down your walls without even trying but your brain refuses to accept it. 

“Don’t you ever get tired of having to do so much for me?”

“I like taking care of you. Don’t say that like it's a chore or a burden. It makes me feel wanted.”

He answers all your questions with ease, never once diminishing you or making you feel wrong for asking them.

And bit by bit, piece by piece, you’re starting to believe him. Hinata has taken up the jagged pieces of your heart, reached into the darkest parts of your soul, and brought them back to life. 

Just to drive it home, he pulls you in closer, resting your head against his chest. His heartbeat is strong and steady, racing just a bit faster now that you’re so close.

“I want you to tell me if you feel like this again. I can’t believe I let you go on so long thinking you were anything less than enough. You’re-”

His voice falters, and he changes direction.

“Let’s make a wish, okay?”

He picks up a shard of glass and carefully places it in your palm, covering it with his. You’re protected from any jagged edges or loose flecks by the expanse of his hand.

“You can’t say it out loud though. Or it won’t come true.” You warn, right before the words fall off his lips. 

His radiant smile peeks through, shining a few rays down to illuminate the scene before you. 

“I wish that you’ll always be by my side and that you’ll keep loving me the way only you do. Nothing can take that away from me, broken glass or anything else.”

When his golden eyes meet your gaze, it’s like you’re falling in love all over again. 

And sitting here, crouched on the floor with your lover, admiring a broken shard of glass, you’re glad he’s here.

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 10 thoughts:

Well. Ok then. Regent can do that I guess. I mean it makes sense given that it's basically a more extreme version of what we've seen him do so far. And with who is father is, family powers being related and all that.

Just get up in there and Yeerk someone.

Creepy as it is, I do have a hard time feeling bad for Shadow Stalker. I'm not claiming to be morally correct. But she fucked with my daughter and I'll take what I can get.

Watching Grue deal with Imp is just such older sibling wanting a break energy - "No we can't turn on the TV". I feel him so much. I'm glad Tattletale is willing to step in to help.

WHY MY BABIES FIGHTING? NO FIGHT!

I mean like, nothing like trying to kill each other to bring two lesbians closer together, I get it. But I just want more lunches with puppies and sharing jackets. My faith in Wolfspider is rock solid but this is still hard to watch.

Chatterbug/Smugbug is going a little better at least. Lisa is the one who already knew the truth about Taylor and seems to trust her fully.

Infiltrating the Wards HQ realistically went better than I expected. Weld was exactly on top of things as I thought he would be.

Imp's power is sooooo cool! I fucking love her.

🔥🪓

HOLY SHIT MY DAUGHTER COVERED HER BUGS IN CAPSAICIN! She's fucking scary. But also such a problem solver. I love her so much.

I do feel bad for the Wards who got capsaicined though.

DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON! I love Dragon and was very excited to see her again. And she is understandably upset about someone trying to give her a virus made by a fucking third rate hacker. But I knew she wouldn't hurt my babies too badly.

Tattletale with the "Fuck it, lets take untested tinker tech and go to town" was amazing.

I think the Wards HQ needs a better lockdown procedure, until Dragon showed up it was shockingly easy for the Undersiders to go wherever they wanted.

I love that the fight with the Protectorate is almost a side note. Big fight with the Wards and then on the way out it's just "oh ya and we fought these guys for a minute but they weren't too much trouble." The fucking shade.

The Slaughterhouse Nine seem nice. I don't expect they'll become a major issue.

This end of the world thing is problematic though. I could see that getting in the way of my endless gay shipping so it's gonna need to be taken care of.

They making my babies live in different places! OH NO! How will Taylor and Bitch make up if they don't see each other as much? How will the cute lesbian polycule watch TV together in the evenings if they don't live together??! Fixitfixitfixit!

Interlude thoughts get their own separate bullet point lists cause HOLY SHIT! So first, Regent interlude thoughts:

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FUCKING DESTROY HER! AHAHAHAHA! REGENT YOU BEAUTIFUL LITTLE SOCIOPATH.

I mean you are legit a sociopath and it's kinda scary but right now I don't care. I'm making you cookies. And a pie.

He dismantles everything Sophia has piece by piece. Like it's an art form.

She carries her civilian phone around with her on patrol. It is unlocked. And she specifically saved texts about shit she did to Taylor? Just digging her own grave and I can't stop watching!

E-mails the school, all the teachers, and then adds in the police? God Regent you are earning so many brownie points from me. (Which I am sure you will burn through by doing horrible stuff in the future but I'm focusing on the here and now)

Fucks with her and Emma's friendship. Shows Sophia he could kill her. Leaves her with no real way out. Breaks her spirit. Terrifying. BUT YOU FUCKED WITH MY DAUGHTER BITCH SO THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!

I'm sure Sophia will leave town and never ever show up again in the next 20 arcs. /s

Regent gets so many fucking cookies.

Dragon interlude thoughts:

DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON!

Look at this wonderful little AI! She's so good!

Her dad watched too much Terminator and put a wonderful robot girl into a cage, denying her the ability to truly do what she wants. Fuck him.

I told Dragon to kill god and take his place, but god is already dead I guess. Too bad he died with the stupid rules in place.

Know what Dragon needs? A mom. I have two daughters now.

Look at my beautiful and wonderful AI daughter. I think she and her sister will learn to get along eventually.

The sexual tension between Lung and Marquis in that scene was thicker than peanut butter. Marquis a bit of a bratty sub to Lung's controlled Dom.

I will NOT apologize.

If my robot daughter loves Bruce Lame I will accept her choice but I do not think it's a good one.

[imsparky2002]

Barbie as Rapunzel: First Thoughts

The following is my thoughts while watching this for the first time.

Wow, already an upgrade in the shading and lighting judging by this intro alone.

And the CGI looks better too! Nice casual outfit Barbie’s got on.

I assume each special will start out with Barbie reassuring Kelly about something? Hope this doesn’t get stale soon.

Already this special feels like it has an upgraded sense of scale.

Ooh so instead of a tower, it’s a mansion protected by a magic barrier. That’s… actually pretty cool! A nice change from the original, even if the home seems pretty modern looking on the outside.

I find it humorous that the name of one of the coolest Spidermen ever is also the name of a cockney rabbit sidekick.

A sweet and colorful dragon portrayed by Cree Summer? I’m getting flashbacks to Sonic: SATAM.

Peneople looks like if a Dragon Tales character was in an early PS2 game and I like it. She’s so cute!

Remember how I joked about Disney copyright last time? Seems like Rapunzel did the idea of Gothel being an attractive witch first.

Ok this entrance of Gothel riding through the forest is way more metal than Tangled.

Interesting how this Rapunzel calls Gothel “m’lady” instead of “mother”.

Speaking of Disney, Gothel’s design reminds me a lot of Lady Tremaine.

The ferret sounds VERY fruity.

Man Hobie straight up wants Gothel to die. Pretty dark for a Barbie movie.

I find it funny that shenanigans with a tea set caused a secret entrance to be found.

Lol, I can relate to Penelope’s hatred of snakes.

The plot thickens as we see Rapunzel discovering a message from her real parents way earlier than in Tangled.

Heh, the ferret uses it’s tail as a sleeping mask for Gothel.

Once again, a new room discovered via accident.

Wow and she’s already out of the tower and discovered the kingdom. This thing’s going along fast!

Why is seeing the chef in his comically large hat standing in one spot with a goofy smile on his face causing me to mentally cackle like a loon?

Punzie, the cook wasn’t trying to poison you. It’s just a free sample.

I LOVE the “rabbit’s ear as a radio antenna” gag!

Wait, Penelope has a dad?

Looks like both Penelope and Rapunzel have parental issues.

I can relate to Penelope’s fear of heights. It’s ok, honey, we can curl up into a fetal position together.

Hobie: “Does he ever smile?” Penelope: “Not around me”. God my heart just broke into a million pieces at that line. Why does this hurt more than anything Gothel says to Rapunzel?

It’ll never not be odd to see all of these children with the same face.

The Prince looks just like the one from the Nutcracker. I wonder if that’s intentional?

Of course the kings are too stubborn to hash things out. As a result, you get death traps like that pit.

I love the way Otto pronounces “vill-oge”. Hilarious.

Nice showing of both Rapunzel reporting her day to her friends and Otto ratting her out to Gothel at the same time.

Damn, Gothel using her magic to destroy Rapunzel’s paintings of Penelope is cold! Honestly this Gothel seems a lot more menacing and realistic than the Disney version.

I like how this Rapunzel is not only selfless but also has a backbone.

Trippy visuals with Gothel making the house literally grow.

As Hugo was assigned by Gothel to guard the castle, all he could think was “fuck my life”.

Hang on, the little blond boy’s name is Tommy? Wasn’t that the name of the younger brother in Nutcracker?

This boy’s got the “Phantom Menace Anakin” haircut and the personality. Brings back memories of the Prequels. Poor Jake Lloyd…

I like the fact that Stefan and Tommy have the same relationship going on that Barbie and Kelly do IRL

How on earth did the prince find the tower? Isn’t it in the middle of nowhere?

Apparently he “searched everywhere”, but it would probably take ages to go around the entire kingdom. I feel like it’d have been better if maybe one of Rapunzel’s animal friends had been followed by him.

Oh, wait. It was a dream! Ok, that makes more sense. Once again, I should have not underestimated the intelligence of the writers.

Headcanon: (Unless Penelope's mom shows up) Hugo's ex-wife is the dragon from Shrek and they share custody of Penelope. Hugo really hates donkeys now.

Holy crap, this is a beautiful melody Penelope is singing.

The knights remind me of Bert and Ernie. I’ve always loved that dynamic.

The mental paintbrush is a really cool idea. More properties should use it.

Rapunzel straight up saying she’d rather be dead than be a prisoner. Respect.

See, now is Stefan tired and exhausted from actually looking everywhere.

Maybe Rapunzel doesn’t want to know Stefan’s name in case it’s a dream or so that she won’t hurt as much if she loses him.

Once again, we have a prince not telling Barbie’s character he’s royalty.

It saddens me to know that the silversmith is unable to visit or speak to his brother due to the ban on Wilhelm’s kingdom. It’s a realistic worry.

Now we’re getting elements of Cinderella with the masked ball. Once again, connections since Gothel reminds me of Tremaine.

Hobie, I don’t think that Gothel is going to care if you’re in pain. Woman’s a total sadist.

Did Otto just orgasm?

The paintbrush really is OP. It can make clothes!

The mystical music is funny because right now, they’re doing the “girl tries on new clothes” montage.

Eh the final dress is ok, but I actually think the first “simple” one looked the best.

Funny how in Tangled, Rapunzel's hair gets cut by Eugene to stop Gothel. Here, Rapunzel's hair gets cut by Gothel instead.

Gothel, maybe don’t piss off the big strong dragon who has been willingly helping you?

Now we’re finally seeing King Wilhelm. I wish we got some more of him earlier.

Ok, Gothel has to have some sort of spell activated because how the hell did Stefan not think “why does your face look so different?”.

Love to see Penelope call her dad out on his bullshit, and get through to his softer side.

Nice to see her get some love from her dad after all this time.

WOO! Tommy used his bow and arrow to save his big bro! Kid’s got guts.

And now the little children pelt her with fruit!

Really impressive sword choreography for a Barbie movie.

So Gothel just stole Rapunzel from Wilhelm because she hated being in the friend-zone. Ridiculously petty.

And Rapunzel STILL offers forgiveness to Gothel! She truly is an angel.

Honestly, the fact that this Gothel is trapped inside the tower due to her own spell for all eternity is WAY more of a scary way to go then falling out of the tower like Disney’s Gothel did.

What a wonderful ending! Seeing everyone reunited and hearing that wonderful credits score gave me such a smile.

Hopefully a full review will come out sometime this month. I've got other creative AUs to help with. Let me know your thoughts in the comments and reblogs. @msweebyness @artzychic27 @nerd-chocolate

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Hello! I was wondering if you could match me for Haikyuu, Bungou and Genshin.

Pronouns: I use he/him pronouns only, im a trans guy :D

Sexuality: I am gay! and acespec :D I only like men

Zodiac and MBTI: Im a Taurus/INTJ

Appearance: Im 5'6, Ive got a pretty pale complexion, my eyes are close to a chocolate brown. Ive got a short bob cut to my chin, brown hair with a bunch of pink highlights, all different shades from not dying it correctly. Gold-rimmed glasses that are kinda rounded with thick lenses, ive got really bad eyesight. Ive pretty much got a twink build, so look at Venti? Yea like that.

Personality: im pretty introverted, i dont really talk to people all that much until i get a chance to ramble ablution my interests, and then i could go on for hours. I tend to be quite sarcastic with most anyone, and get annoyed really easily when people make obvious mistakes/being idiotic, despite me doing similar things myself. Even tho Ive said all this, i sometimes get shoved into the therapist role to have everyone talk to me about their life problems. I also sometimes tend to overshare about things in my life to literall strangers. So fun.

Likes: Cosplaying, anime, music, VOCALOID, Story and lore heavy games like genshin, collecting rocks, any kind of gemstone, sea shells, manga collecting, reading, laying around in bed, going to conventions.

Dislikes: Spiders and snakes, people cutting in front of me in line, people walking slow in front of me, especially when i need to go somewhere in a hurry. realistic blood and death, Loud noises and sudden bright lights, excess amounts of cheese on pizzas, especially if its just mozzarella, squashes and zucchini (i have a reason) and certain clothing textures touching when i wear them. Also dresses. I hate dresses, especially ones that go past my knees.

Hobbies: Cosplay is one, i love doing it and makeup just for fun to go out in, i really like playing video games, i adore reading manga, and other light novels.

Other things: Ive got diagnosed insomnia and its difficult for me to sleep without holding something like a pillow, plush animal, or another person. I also wear an earphone headband to sleep with white noise.

Hi! Thank you for your request! Sorry it took a while. I hope you like your matchups!

In Haikyuu, I match you with...

You and Bokuto are certainly the odd couple at first glance. Where you’re introverted, Bokuto is bouncing around and being an extrovert in every sense of the word.

He absolutely loves listening to you ramble. It’s one of the only times he’ll be quiet himself since it’s such a change from what you’re usually like.

As soon as he finds out that you sleep better while holding something, he’s going to be completely insufferable. Did you know he sleeps better when he’s being held? Well, he’s not sure it that’s true but there’s no harm in trying right?!

Please get him into Vocaloid. Bokuto strikes me as someone who hasn’t really listened to much before but as soon as he discovers Hatsune Miku, he’s found his hyperfixation.

People cutting in line definitely irks him as well but while you might be too introverted to say anything, he’s puffing out his chest and giving them a piece of his mind. There’s no way he’s going to just let them cut in front of the two of you like that.

In Bungo Stray Dogs, I match you with...

Okay, since you’re easily annoyed, Dazai might seem like a strange matchup since he’s likely the source of most of your annoyance. But I really do think you’d get along well.

He’s always keeping an eye out for gemstones and sea shells to give you. He knows you like collecting them and likes being able to add to your collection.

Dazai would love going to conventions with you! He thinks they’re great fun and they take his mind off his suicidal tendencies for a while.

He totally gets that loud noises and bright lights can be a lot and he’s quite understanding when you reach your limit. He’ll happily step away from the action for a while to keep you company while you recover.

Please recommend some manga for him to read. I see him as someone who likes manga because it’s easy and quick to read. He also likes a lot of the characters.

In Genshin Impact, I match you with...

You and Kaveh are an unstoppable sarcasm duo. No one can stand in your way and Alhaitham is so tired of your combined antics.

It’s a good thing you’re the therapist friend because Kaveh needs a comforting presence in his life. He’s also more than happy to lend an ear if and when you need to get stuff off your chest as well.

He loves that you like collecting things. He’ll design rotating shelves and cabinets for you to house your collections in.

He’s an interesting balance of a slow walker and a fast walker. When he’s by himself, he’ll usually take it slow and admire his surroundings. But when he’s with someone, he’ll walk faster.

Please get him into cosplay! Kaveh would be so into designing and making his own costumes and would love helping you out with yours as well.

[bat-eclecticwolfbouquet-love]

Bnha didn't do it for me on the whole "Hero-Villain" tropes anymore. It doesn't feel like its groundbreaking ideas are getting written well like how there's no such thing as a defined Hero or Villain, there is just the nature of things. Everything is so Black and White

I think James Gunn's work, Peacemaker actually has amazing ideas on the whole Hero-Villain tropes, everyone had an absolute blast with it, great character developments and also amazing comedy too

The best thing about the entire series is that how they treat comic superheroes in it is exactly how one would expect Superheroes would be treated in a Modern world, like how Aquaman is getting dissed on Twitter lol, Aquaman even said when he made it as the ending's cameo that people gotta stop with the dumb rumours, yes he doesn't fuck fish AND ofc John Cena too, dang he's one hell of character

Also I guess at some point, the entire "Teenage Heroes" trope got stale since it all feels unrealistic and how no one is talking about the gravity of bringing kids into Heroism so early. They missed out on a lot of chances with "Real Horror" with the Modern Heroes World in Bnha, cuz there are bad things in good things and vice versa

It's sad how no one is talking about the societal treatment towards others and how there are always the Villains cuz mostly everyone didn't have the awareness of how badly they treat others who are considered "freaks of society".

The lack of education on certain social aspects is appalling, they ignore the social issues with Quirks in general and didn't educate children on how to treat others kindly regardless of Quirks, you can see that with Bakugo, since it was his huge characteristic everyone knows for. Honestly this part feels extremely realistic cuz it's an actual real life thing but I don't think it was improved and just left it as is. We see the consequences and never solutions to fix

Yeah to me it feels like hero don't face any consequences and the whole 'saving villains things ' was quickly discarded. I'm not saying all should be forgiven but it was made clear they became what they are because of tragedy, especially Shigaraki. I believe nothing is black and white. It's shades of gray, (I think Tokyo ghoul did this really well).

And yeah the whole kids being heroes and put through the things they've dealt with, like the Pro heroes seemed to step aside and let it happen which is weird. Let's be honest the young students were leading the way against AFO and Shigaraki. I know this was there story (Izuku Bakugou Shouto Shigaraki) these were the main characters but that doesn't mean we gotta like how they get there.

I also think the story got darker then people expected.

I've always felt the a hero or villain is perspective. A person can be a great hero then go home and abuse their family. A person whose a villain may be doing bad deeds to help their family or those they love because the system fucked them over. So to those they are the hero and the hero is the bad guy.

Society changes people and shows the world what it thinks is correct. Shigarakis life was horrible he deserves someone to save him but he's committed crimes that can't be swept under the rug yet he only did them cause he was groomed and lied to and abused but all the Society sees is he is bad. Heroes aren't suppose to kill but there ate heroes who enjoy the brutality of beating or killing villains. But their heroes so it's OK.

You made some great points and I really enjoyed reading this.

IM SORRY I RAMBLED. SO MANY THOUGHTS. I HOPE IT MAKES SENSE. I COULD GO ON AND ON. THIS IS NOT SPELL CHECKED.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

When thinking of your trademark in your writing, I think it is the way you go into details and paint a picture for the mind's eye. The way you balance descriptive imaginations and realistic detailing is just very captivating.

Your art has a funky loose feel to the lining that just feels fitting to the enigma that is your brain, too full to truly poor it all out onto the paper no matter how hard you try. But boi do we love the attempts that give us any slightest peek into that brilliant mind of yours.

You clearly don't draw or write without thinking it over thoroughly.

Bwaaaaaaaa

Thank u! that's super sweet of you to say.

I do tend to overthink a lot of things.

I'm not very good at making like... Outlines or roughs of poses. I very rarely make base outlines, like I usually just start drawing and the rough sketch becomes the final lineart. So I often rely super heavily on references when I draw. For some reason over my 28 plus years of drawing, I never really gotten a grasp on how the torso, legs and fingers all really connect and form one entity. I know I could try with enough discipline and practice, as art is a skill. So I have this weird blend of like... Super confident lines, but not knowing how a torso, shoulders and legs connect which make a really interesting balance, and leads to things like this:

Like I can always see the framework of what I want, especially when little reference is used, but it really seems like nothing connects. Like the understanding of SHAPES is there, but not the understanding of how they are coherent together, if that makes sense? And you can kinda see that in my more high profile art, but I feel there was a period where It did click and I understood how it all connected but I forgot it all.

Like at some point, with these two, (rest in peace. the ship tag has not been updated since I left the naruto fandom) around 2019 I was getting it! Like I felt I was really getting it, Like I MADE THESE!!!! but then I kinda forgot it all. Like I still didn't use a base outline for these and did rely on heavy references, but I feel I was getting a grasp on shading and autonomy and how the human body works and fits together. And then it... Just kinda vanished from my brain, and I regressed to a more chibi simple art style. Either because it was easier, or because I was experiencing more chronic pain in my back and hand.

At the end of the day, I think my art style regressed a lot due to lack of practice, and lack of encouragement from outside sources besides the internet likes and reblogs like RL friends or Family. That, and I feel my attention span and patience for things has just gotten worse as I've gotten older. I'm guessing my Dad's death had a lot to do with that. As, I am over the loss of my Dad as a person. but mentally, I am not over coming the fact that mortality is very fleeting. You think I would spend most of my time living life to the fullest. But that isn't the case. I kinda feel like I've been stuck in that "What is the point of anything if anyone can die suddenly without warning for any reason" Stage of grief that I have NEVER really got over.

Needless to say my Dad suddenly dying with no warning due to a ruptured aurora was just something everyone was unprepared for. He wasn't sick from an illness, no one knew he was in poor health. It wasn't even a car accident. Like he just suddenly died cus part of his heart exploded essentially.

I mean, I know I rarely talk about it, other then mentioning "My Dad died Eight years ago. Haha I'm over it tho, it was awhile ago"

And, While I think I'm over it in the sense with, I'm at peace with always missing him a little bit, and don't think about him constantly... I'm not over it in the sense of how fragile mortality is and how it can be taken away. For no just cause or reason.

I guess I'm over it, in that I'm over that my Dad, the person is dead. I am NOT over the fact of HOW he died. And I think it'll be a long time till I cross that hurtle.

And yeah, that's a heavy part of life, that we all get old and die one day, but some people don't even get to grow old. you think it would make me more.... "make time with what you have, enjoy what you like."

but if anything, it makes me more fearful in "what is the point of doing anything if I were to die tomorrow, what have I done. Folks will miss me, sure. But I will still be gone." So then I just end up doing nothing for long periods of time, and that's mostly why my art skills suffer because I don't see the point of doing a discipline or working towards any goal whatsoever. And I'm just going through the motions. And yeah, sometimes, I will be super productive and be happy and do a lot of things for a bit, but they're always short lived moments and it's hard to stick to things.

Looool sorry if that's all just too heavy.

Oh, if this sounds too complaining... Or "pity party. Woe is me, Dana is Depressed again" ahahahah. Like, that's not the point of this. I mean, it's my blog and I can talk about my feelings I guess, and I feel that Depression, even before my Dad's death impacted my art journey. So I'm still trying to struggle to remain consistent in my endeavors.

Or I could just be lazy. XD That too. XD

Anyways... Moving on in terms of my writing style, that's very nice of you to say.

I am a deep appreciator of inner monologues if it wasn't obvious. I like to dissect what characters are thinking and I sometimes feel I overdo it, and justify every single action and breath they take by getting so close in their own head that there's hardly any breathing room for error.

But I just write how I tend to think in terms of Overthinking, so I don't think I've ever written a character from a close third person (or first person) perspective that hasn't overthought every action before they speak.

But usually within the context of the story, their inner monologue spanning 20 pages actually takes place in the span of less then a few seconds.

I don't think I could write from Bob's POV if I tried. He's a man of action rather then overthinking. And if I held his hand as a third person narrator, he would sho me off and do his own thing gladly without my interference. XD

Anyways. Didn't mean to get so venty on this ask.

Thank you so much for the lovely compliment. Also some insight into my process I guess. XD

[sushiisiu]

Hello~ 🙋🏽‍♀️ Your art is really, really cool and beautiful, tysm for sharing it with us! 💕💕💕 I saw you mention that you would like more asks so I wanted to ask you, what's your favorite phase and why?

Hi! thank you so much for liking my art T__T and as for your question it's hard to decide since i like most of the phases a lot...

I'd say style-wise my favorite would be phase 2? I love that it's way more grungy and nasty looking, esp with the new greyer palettes and soft shading. it's in that perfect sweet spot of being more realistic but still having the stylized shapes and anatomy of phase 1, which is great because i get to see jamie's lineart. also big fan of the way he drew everyone's hair kinda choppy here it's soooo cute. most of my favorite gorillaz art all come from this phase

Story-wise tho then obviously phase 3. like plastic beach might've been a hot mess while it was releasing and a lot of things just never got followed through but fuck if it doesn't feel cinematic as hell and the most fleshed out out of all the phases. like the web game ??? and obviously the emotional weight of the story, murdoc alone ruling over a literal pile of garbage and the only people he has with him is a soulless copy of his daughter that HE killed and someone he's holding captive, his only outlet being songwriting and broadcasting a radio show that he knows no one will hear all while being chased down by all those he's crossed both demonic and mortal. like i could really go on it makes me so emo I dont even care if the lost chord doesn't make that much sense. it fucks me up either ways to see it wrapped up like that.

although music wise (and just general marketing and promotions) i LOVEEE phase 1 so much. EVERY song on that album is so memorable and i love the amount of weird noises and falsettos 2d did. love the hologram concerts and the ones with their vas up, 4 whole music videos and an animatic (AND THE GBITEZ!!!!) and a whole interactable website of their studio... INSANE like the dedication to making them seem real is insane i wish we still had that instead of them being glorified mascots. . .

that's honestly not to say i don't like the others as hell tho like humanz had a great art direction too with the photobashing and lineless style and personally i love realistic proportions soooo and the mocap interviews were funny as hell even if i hate kevin bishop. the now now was soooo crazy too im a big fan of spiral imagery and just.. the pink/blue thing is great Fav album art love the emotional complexity it gives 2d (never recovered from souk eye) and honestly song machine is amazing too i adore the "episodic" formula of the music videos and like personally i don't even mind keyframe 2d that bad since i barely noticed it within the videos themselves its the endless marketing that reuses that same pic that drives me insane (billboard near my college STILL has keyframe fred perry 2d on rotation and it ambushes me every time)

ANYWAYS i kind of rambled on but!!!! basically phase 1-3 i love those the most. Thank you for enabling me

[rainypebble07]

That airport wait sounds like death i’m sorry 😭

You wanted asks so:

lava lamps or conch shells?

horror movies or romcoms?

real color or dyed color hair?

lemonade or tea?

mario and luigi or princesses peach and daisy?

crossword puzzles or word searches?

warm or cold colors?

rain or snow?

Woah. Okay, so right after I made that post, things started picking up at the airport so I totally didn’t get to answer this there, but I did write an answer in my notes instead of sleeping on the plane.

(And death is a very good word to describe it, thank you)

Okokok I’m kind of excited bc these are such random asks. Like, I guess I didn’t specify what kind of asks I wanted, so anything goes. But still, this is exciting. I’m excited.

1. Lava lamps or conch shells? This question is very silly to me. They seem like very random things to compare, but perhaps in terms of room decor, it makes sense? I will, for sentimental purposes, have to go with lava lamps. I always wanted one of those things as a kid bc I thought they were so cool (I still do, I mean seriously, it’s so mesmerizing), but my mom never let me have one because she didn’t trust me with it.

2. Horror movies or romcoms? Easy peasy. Horror movies 100%. Every time I watch a romcom, I simply can’t care less (with a few exceptions, I guess). And I know that sounds strange coming from a fanfic author, but I can’t deal with them- at least the cliché ones. Horror movies, on the other hand, have always played a big part in my life bc I watch them with so many people and I have so many happy memories stemming from them.

3. Real color or dyed color hair? Hmmmm… this one’s hard. I think I’d realistically have to go with real color bc I’m too scared to dye my hair bc I occasionally act and you’ve got a better chance in the business if you look boring. But, I’ve always wanted to try dying my hair a crazy color but it kinda freaks me out.

4. Lemonade or tea? I cannot stand tea. I have a friend who is a tea enthusiast and I don’t know how they do it. Lemonade isn’t my favorite either since it makes your throat feel dry, but a cold lemonade on a hot day sounds much better than tea.

5. Mario and Luigi or Princess Peach and Daisy? These are such fun questions, they make me laugh. This one’s actually a hard one. Luigi is my go-to in Mario Party because I feel bad since he’s the less-loved brother, but the princesses are awesome too. I guess I have to go with Mario and Luigi in the end, but that doesn’t make daisy and peach any less cool.

6. Crossword puzzle or word search? I’m too dumb and uncultured to do crosswords. Word searches, on the other hand, I can do very fast and I love to brag about it.

7. Warm or cold colors? I love these questions so much! This one is very very hard, but I’ve always been a fan of cool colors. Blue is my favorite color and green is a close second. All the different shades of cool colors are just so stunning, especially together and warm colors are beautiful, but cool colors definitely take the win.

8. Warm or cold showers? I always try to take cold showers bc I know it’s better for you (maybe? Someone told me that once), but I can’t resist a warm shower. I live in a petty cold place too, so a warm shower at the end of the day feels amazing. I’ll take a cold one when I want to go fast, though.

9. Rain or snow? I already said I lived in a cold place, so you can guess I hate snow. I hate it with my entire being, I hate shoveling, I hate puffy jackets, I hate Icy roads, and I hate frostbite. Rain makes everything look so nice and I love it so much and it’s my favorite weather type, on the other hand.

Well, there you go. Idk if I was supposed to explain, but I’m so tired that I don’t even care. I just typed stuff. Hopefully you enjoyed this little dip into my life. Or perhaps you didn’t care. Oh well, either way. Thank you so much for the ask bc (as you can see) I love to talk. Have an amazing, amazing day!

[wwriothesley]

At heart, Wriothesley is a realist: he knows that he hasn't healed fully. He has merely learned to make peace with many things in his life, and thus has developed a better mentality.

Realistically, he knows that he had committed manslaughter at the time, and served his sentence for it- however, he knows that what he did and saw would have permanent, long-lasting consequences on his psyche, atoned for it or not. This is simply how trauma works, and the more someone denies having been affected, the more they hinder their recovery process. Logically, someone who's plagued by traumas cannot work as an administrator- so he learned new coping mechanisms and to deal with things knowing that there's very little he can do if he doesn't, at the very least, come to terms with several things.

He didn't had a choice, and didn't wanted to hinder the Fortress's administration by ending up having his mental health issues worsening, if left alone.

Wriothesley has learned to know that, while the law is strong, it's not an absolute thing. There will always be people like his adoptive parents, who go against the law fully knowing that what they're doing is wrong, and would protect themselves with any methods to avoid facing justice.

The law is not omniscient- and it being omniscient wouldn't be a good thing. Those who operate the law are only human- if given the power of absolute justice, they'd end up abusing it, as it's in human behavior to become greedy upon being offered to operate ''for the greater good''. Plus, even the law somehow can be corrupted- it's never a linear thing. Again, the people who operate around the law are only human, and humans can be tempted with their greatest desires. Wriothesley doesn't pity nor excessively blames them for human nature at it's finest. 

If there's someone at fault, these are the one who corrupt to keep the law silent- yet, it's never black and white as it could seem. A person could become evil after being corrupted by their gains- or they could be acting out of desperation. An human being has so many shades to it that it'd be impossible to truly read into the motivations of what they do without knowing them fully.

The only evil people he knew were his adoptive parents. I headcanon that they were from a very wealthy, upper class family at the moment where they started their ''business'', and could have done very well without the money- yet, they always craved more. That, and they loved the popularity that came with it- and to take their small frustrations out of their ''livestock'', aka much smaller people incapable to react and hurt them back.

Wriothesley didn't killed them for self-defense- Wriothesley killed his adoptive parents because he realized that they were rotten to the core, with no chance of ever being redeemed.

He has, by a long time, came to terms with this course of events, and made peace with the only solution he could have thought of, at his age and with his experience of the time, was execution.

I like to imagine him laying down on a makeshift chair that Sigewinne put on for him, and trying to make sense of what goes in his head by talking about it. Basically, a free therapy session for him- and a good learning-human-behavior session for Sigewinne too.

He got roped into it because she wanted to learn- but, apparently, vocalizing what he thinks helps him too. It's good for him to talk and place things together, and I believe that it continues to this day.

[psychelocktango]

After watching First Kill, the dislike it is getting from critics is sounding more and more like nonsense or bigotry. I want to see the same critics review Romeo and Juliet. I want to read reviews from people who have studied and LIKE or at least see the skill in Shakespeare.

"the writing was bad"

no, actually it wasn't. This is one of the most well written and thought out adaptations of Romeo and Juliet I have seen or read to date. There are so many clever uses of literary devices and techniques. I'm struggling to find any significant plot holes.

Apollo and Elinor are foils. Calliope and Juliet balance one another while testing one another. The representations of motherhood and fatherhood are nuanced, compassionate, and compelling. All the characters in both main families have DEPTH along with their flaws. Every problem that seems to go away too easily is brought back in another similar form with vengeance and deep consequences. You don't need to have a degree in English literature to see these things.

Plus the acting is consistently impressive from both major families and even supporting characters.

"Cal was a bad actress / not really interested in Juliet"

This makes NO SENSE. it's probably based on a combination of anti-Blackness, misogyny, and/ or ignorance of queer culture- she did an amazing job. You cannot judge Cal based on the construct of white heteronormativity. Because of course she's not excelling at that; she doesn't need to. Plus, she's so complimentary to Juliet's character as opposites that also begin to grow into more than just the binaries of opposites.

Cal at the beginning is stoic, certain, and detached (which is explained so well through her backstory) and ends crying, uncertain, and painfully present.

Juliet at the beginning is anxious, uncertain, and constantly in her emotions (which is explained well through her relationship with her dad) and ends in strong silence, certainty (in regards to Elinor), and is determined to live her life for herself. (Yes she ends the show crying but that's because of a mistake/accident. That doesn't mean she didn't grow).

I'm guessing at least some of these critics never looked beyond Romeo and Juliet as more than "two stupid teenagers who got people killed over their stupid love that wasn't even love." To say nothing about

the depth and how the play exposes the problems imposed by stupid arbitrary binaries of good and evil;

to show an exaggerated and yet real feeling of what one's first love feels like; to show the beauty and callousness of Betrayal;

the painful and yet poignant individualism, stupidity,and self importance of youth;

the different depths of violence and hate intertwined with the concept of unshakable fate that forces two supposed opposites to love one another and drag their families out of their strict binaries of good and evil in the process.

The emotional roller coaster of love and sweetness; violence, hatred, and fear.

And all of this cuts deeper with explicitly queer characters and the rawness many queer people know of rejection and alienation.

"it's got too many tropes that have been done already"

So is Shakespeare. Tropes are in basically everything. And yet this isn't even an enemies to lovers story, it's been tilted so that connection is immediate (which is Shakespearean and incredibly realistic for lesbians). I'm actually impressed at how often the tropes are subverted.

Is it perfect? Of course not. The CGI is low budget. The choices for camera angles seem random at times. Yet, It adds to a campy atmosphere. And that campiness is arguably very Shakespearean. The opening illustrations are interesting but they don't actually shade in the faces of the Black characters, for instance. There are valid criticisms to be had, for example I've seen some Jewish people disliking her incorporation (perpetuating antisemitism) and other Jewish people saying it's irrelevant or liking it as a continuation of feminist readings of Lilith (as vampires are not meant to been seen as evil in the show).

But the idea that someone would say Buffy is more well WRITTEN than this?! Blatant bigotry. Perhaps blatant hatred of two teenage girls being the main focus of the story instead of through a tiresome white cis and heteronormative man's gaze. I like Buffy but none can pretend those characters were more fleshed out and complex than the characters in First Kill. Same with the plot and relationships. This stands out as one of the rare well written vampire stories. I understand this won't be something everyone likes, but that does not change the fact that it is incredible. And maybe that's easier for me to see because I didn't binge watch in a day. Thoughts that can spiral in your head after each episode; that's good writing.

If Shakespeare's bisexual ass can see this from the beyond, I know he is applauding. It was all the emotional roller coaster of a Shakespearean tragedy and it was done without stooping to the "bury your gays" trope.

I see so many people just calling this camp. I was expecting Once Upon a Time nonsense. Not depth, character development, creativity, and a masterful use of literary devices. Like it or not, Don't let people sell this show short.

[ambivartence]

sorry in advance if you've already answered a question like this but i just wanted to ask, how do you improve on drawing?? i think especially for things like coloring, shading, and lighting , its been difficult for me to be happy with how it looks because compared to the sketch (that i think already looks nice) the colors just seem sort of flat and muddy and i feel like i dont have a good grip on what colors to put where and how to make it look unflatt if that makes sense! just curious on maybe what kinds of practices and studying you do for this(if any))<33 obv you dont have to answer if you dont want to, and thank you for being one of my inspirations, love youu<33333

hihi!! for simply shading/lighting, i would suggest you only work in black and white until you're totally comfortable with developing values. why? marco bucci explains it really nicely in this video but basically if you have good values u can have absolutely garbage nonsense colors and it will still make sense aka when i did this lol:

i'm guessing you're more interested in colored artwork though since black and white drawings can't be "flat and muddy" bc theyre in grayscale lol. for coloring, this is so tough for me too so i thought about this for a day or so and i came up with 3 tips that might help^^ 1) getting colors directly from photo reference or color reference, 2) manually adding filters/color harmony, and 3) studying color theory

i always work from photo reference so it informs a lot of my coloring/shading/lighting and often when i don't understand what color I'm looking at i directly just eye drop it and realize that what i thought was purple was actually just a gray-red. working from an actual picture helps make sure my colors don't look strange and while i used to think eye-dropping felt like "cheating" when i worked digitally honestly i've learned a lot from it and honestly if i stare at a color long enough i can get it pretty accurately now but i'm just too lazy so eye-dropping just speeds up my workflow (plus i hate digital color pickers anyways they r not built for artists and i wrote an entire paper on it in college once lmao) anyways here's an example of a color study i did by directly eye-dropping from a gif with @quokki's incredible coloring (love u ale <3)

if you're not working from a picture directly, you can still use other pictures or artwork as a "color reference" which I used to do a lot. i like to look at art from other ppl with pretty colors and create a color palette to use in my own drawings. for example, the color palette for this felix painting came from a piece (idr which) by Simón Prades on instagram but this palette is really easy to use since it's linear values it's like working in black and white but comes out looking cooler LOL

Recently for my lee know kiki's delivery service drawing i felt that the colors seemed a little flat n muddy to me because it was in an animated flat coloring style (lol) so I added a filter layer (just a flat apricot color set to overlay at 25% on photoshop) that livened up the whole thing and made it feel more cohesive. It's a pretty subtle difference to other people but made a world of difference to me :) it helped take the muddiness out of the shadows of his face and the glass reflection and took the painting from gloomy rainy day with stale bread to warm sunny day with fresh bread :]

and finally if u are interested in actually studying colors and lighting and shading and stuff these r some of the youtube videos and channels that i think do a great job explaining these very cool concepts:

pre-realism vs post-realism is a cool video about the difference between the mentality of how beginners draw vs how experts draw and kinda blew my mind tbh i think the big color takeaway from this video is that something that kids would color (like green grass) might actually be a totally different color to an artist's eye (dark yellow, red gray, even a super desaturated purple) depending on a realistic lighting situation

nathan fowkes did a 3-part guest talk series on understanding color temperature and relationships: (1) (2) (3) also not coloring but i love his video on value massing

this lecture on what charles bernard calls "the mother color principle" takes the "filtering" tip that i mentioned earlier to a much more developed level (it's an hour long so just skip through it.. u get the gist of what he's saying in a few min but the whole demo is also cool too)

i mentioned him earlier but marco bucci has many 10 min digestable videos about color on his channel that i like :) (also this lighting/value video is great too)

sorry i don't really know exactly how basic or advanced i should cater my advice but i hope this helps some anon^^ lmk if u have questions or if u ever want feedback my inbox and dms r always open

[maverick-werewolf]

Modern Dragon Designs - Where they came from

Your regularly scheduled werewolf facts will return soon. For now, we provide this special, because you may not realize this, but I love dragons. There’s a reason one of my protagonists is basically obsessed with dragons.

Once upon a time, there was a movie - I don’t see anyone talk about it, I’m not even sure how many people are familiar with it...

It’s called Reign of Fire.

This movie shaped the modern Hollywoodian concept of dragons. Seriously, it did. Hear me out.

Released in 2002, Reign of Fire was a movie about - essentially - dragons as that age-old trope of “let’s take one monster and turn them into an overpopulated zombie plague so we can use them to tell a story about humans and make the monster just this brainless evil locust swarm backdrop.” This has happened to a lot of monsters by now.

But wait, these dragons aren’t like the dragons you might be used to: these dragons were completely redesigned from the ground up by the filmmaker(s) in order to make a more “realistic” and “animalistic” dragon that was acceptable by Hollywood, who generally views “dragon movies” (like so many other fantasy things...) as cheesy and silly. Market your movie as a film about dragons and you probably won’t get a deal. Well, turns out, coming up with your own gritty dragon designs worked!

Doesn’t this remind you of every other dragon you’ve seen in a movie for the last, you know, 18 years? Although it actually looks quite a bit cooler than those other ones that came after it

Please note that while I may sound sarcastic, jaded, and often maybe a bit scathing, I mean nothing against the creators of Reign of Fire or director Rob Bowman. I watched the movie in theaters when it released. I applaud Bowman for coming up with unique and interesting dragon designs, in order to have a different take on the creatures, so that they fit the story he wanted to tell, instead of doing what so many people do and completely co-opting concepts without trying to alter them to fit anything and... yeah... okay, I’m not going to talk about werewolf things in this post. Getting back on track:

What I don’t applaud is everyone ripping off Reign of Fire for their own dragons, doubly so because most of these people didn’t even take into account the reasons why it was designed that way. They should have left his dragons alone and come up with their own thing, but at least I guess Bowman can go down in history as the man who designed every Hollywood dragon for over a decade to come - with no signs of stopping - even down to the tail shape.

On Vice, you can find an article and interview with Rob Bowman, the director of Reign of Fire, discussing how he came up with this dragon design and how influential it has become. I highly recommend giving it a read.

Please note the Vice article is clearly written with the bias of someone who “can’t take dragons seriously,” so it’s also a good look at the Hollywood mindset about dragons and how much Hollywood treats fantasy in general like garbage (jerks).

It’s impossible to pretend this movie didn’t basically reshape modern dragons. Let’s get to the details...

Animalistic Design

Dragons in popular culture are generally - or at least they were generally - assumed to be powerful, intelligent creatures, often of a higher nature than humans and other mere mortals. They may be good or evil, but one can’t understate that traditional fantasy dragons are regal and majestic either way.

Reign of Fire wanted to usurp the majestic, intelligent dragon image, creating a smaller, hunched, knuckle-dragging sort of dragon that looks more like an animal - like a pteranodon. This is because the dragons in Reign of Fire are not exceptionally intelligent, noble beings that speak and hoard gold and have the wisdom of the ages. They are brutal hunters that set things on fire and eat everything smaller than them. So this design choice was a conscious one and a smart one.

The dragons in Reign of Fire are meant to be more scientific, more plausible, and also simpler, in a manner of speaking. They are not colorful, magical, ancient fantasy dragons...

Trouble is, everyone took cues from this design for their talking wise noble fantasy dragons, and it... doesn’t really work, at least if you ask me.

The dragon design in Reign of Fire looks like an ancestral throwback, an evolutionary ancestor to the intelligent, talking fantasy dragon, although they are smaller. They’re hunched, they haven’t evolved forelegs independent of their wings... you get the idea. Take a look at the “proto-drakes” in World of Warcraft versus the ordinary drakes, which have tiny dangly T-rex forelegs that haven’t fully developed yet, so they walk like the Reign of Fire dragons.

A proto-drake in World of Warcraft - also say hi to my worgen warrior

So many things taking this design for their intelligent, “higher being” dragons seems kind of... odd to me, to say the least. Unfortunately, Hollywood decided that’s the only way moviegoers can “take dragons seriously,” so here we are.

“Wyvern” - Two Legs vs Four

Municipal arms of Stjørdal, Norway

In medieval heraldry, there came to be a creature called a wyvern. Now, the etymology on the term “wyvern” is a little shaky. It originally didn’t specifically refer to a “two-legged dragon.” It is thought to mean/be derived from words meaning anything ranging from “asp” to “light javelin,” and essentially boils down to a flying serpent. It is noteworthy, of course, that the word “dragon” basically just means “serpent” too.

In heraldry, though, “wyvern” came to refer to a two-legged dragon - at least, if you ask the English, Scottish, and Irish; elsewhere in Europe, they may not be so picky. And now, in modern pop culture (such as Dungeons and Dragons), we often use it in the same sense.

Wyverns weren’t really a “thing” in folklore, just as dragons in folklore didn’t look like our modern idea of a dragon. It’s debatable whether the father of our modern concept of dragons, Fafnir (from whom Tolkien drew inspiration for Smaug), even had wings at all; he was essentially a serpent, perhaps with legs. Point is, wyverns come from heraldry, especially the specificity of two legs versus four.

So now you know why you might see a lot of people (myself included) referring to this design as a “wyvern design” for a dragon.

Dull Coloration - Grey and Brown over Red, Blue, Green...

There’s something else - something very important - that Hollywood took from Reign of Fire... the concept that dragons aren’t pretty colors and are, in fact, various hues of grey and brown, and any more contrasting colors are just vague indications instead of bright red scales.

Now, Reign of Fire obviously did this because - again - they were going for the more animalistic, natural look as opposed to the mysterious majestic magical being look. Okay, that’s fine. But then Hollywood decided that fantasy, too, has to be devoid of dragons with bright colors.

The green dragon in Game of Thrones

There are countless examples of this in modern media. Any dragon that was previously brightly colored has been dulled pretty much to an extreme. Sometimes you might catch a fleeting glimpse of them looking like a brighter shade, but it was probably just a trick of the light. Why? Because all dragons are desaturated to the point of being almost indistinguishable by color.

The golden dragon in The Witcher Netflix series

This is also why you see so many mods on the Skyrim Nexus called things like “true red dragon.”

There are plenty more examples of this - I’m sure you can see the difference when you look at those dragons and other modern film dragons over, say, something like this...

Red dragon in D&D

And now we move on to...

The Fire Breathing - Chemicals, not Magic

Bowman insisted on ditching traditional fire breathing (you don't want the audience wondering whether the dragon's mouth is being burnt up with every flame) and again looked to the animal kingdom for inspiration. The king cobra, once again, was a great starting point. It doesn't spray fire, but it can spit its venom. Even more useful was the bombardier beetle, which shoots two chemicals from its abdomen that, once mixed, create a hot, burning spray. Bowman used these real-world examples to inspire his own dragons. They don't breathe fire exactly, but rather spit chemicals from two different sacks in their mouths that, when combined, ignite. "That's anatomy. That's already been designed, so we're going to draw from there," he said.

(quoted from the Vice article linked to earlier in this post)

The Hungarian Horntail in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - fire is streaming from two separate organs in the mouth, but they aren’t chemicals mixing together like in Reign of Fire...

The director of Reign of Fire wanted his dragons to be more natural in that they breathe fire through organic means, based on chemical reactions, instead of the usual dragon magic. But lots of people loved this “mouth flap”/”mouth organ” design with “streams” of fire coming from the mouth instead of fire flowing directly from the dragon’s throat, so now you see it pretty dang often.

Horns? Brow Ridges!

Another thing that is basically out now in dragon designs is the real horns of many traditional dragons, like Spyro, and like the dragons in Dungeons & Dragons used to have.

These days, it’s all about brow ridges and big spiny scales that aren’t separate horns, they’re just big pointed scales or piles of scales or bone ridges - and they aren’t a different color than the dragon’s scales, either, pretty often. And, in general, dragon’s horns have become much smaller and far more numerous, and more like spines/ridges, as opposed to the great, sweeping horns of classical dragons.

Firkraag, the red dragon, in the D&D video game Baldur’s Gate II, from 2000

Firkraag is a very traditional dragon. Now, while Dungeons & Dragons has generally kept more traditional dragons (yay!), they did fall into the brow ridge horn thing - although they, thankfully, didn’t make the horns smaller and subtler and more numerous little spikes, like so many other modern dragon designs. They also went with the brow ridge horns for tieflings (once humans with demon blood, then some weird thing in 4E, and now I think they’re humans with demon blood again), as opposed to the ordinary horns of the tieflings in previous editions of D&D.

Skyrim dragon head concept art

The Desolation of Smaug(’s design)

Here is... a big one. Here, we’ll talk some about the production of The Hobbit films over time, so we’re going behind the scenes.

Alright, so we all know Smaug, probably, by pop culture osmosis if nothing else. He is the quintessential dragon. He’s basically the founder of all Western dragon concepts: he’s big, he’s red, he hoards gold, he’s extremely intelligent and talks, etc. You get the picture. Every dragon that we have borrowed at least something from Smaug. And, in turn, he was inspired by Fafnir, the father of all our dragon concepts, from Norse mythology - but Tolkien took it all a step further and created the concept of dragons that we have today. Or, well, the not Reign of Fire ones. The fantasy ones.

A map drawn by Tolkien: notice the winged, four-legged Smaug over his mountain

During the first Hobbit movie, An Unexpected Journey, we see Smaug attack the Lonely Mountain...

In this clip, you can plainly see that Smaug has four legs. This was actually edited slightly for later editions of the movie, or so I’ve heard (I haven’t watched any later editions).

I can tell you for certain that when I saw the theatrical release, it was like this, too. It is apparent throughout the scene that Smaug has four legs and wings, separately. I know because I was paying very, very close attention, because I was going to be very upset if Hollywood turned Smaug into a wyvern.

Well, they did - later.

Smaug the wyvern looking like just another slightly different take on the bog-standard Hollywood dragon

Apparently, some studio exec decided that having a traditional fantasy dragon, even if this dragon happens to be frelling Smaug himself, would not be okay in this modern Hollywood world. So we ended up with a dull reddish spiney hunching knuckle-dragging wyvern with an angler mouth (I’m sorry; I really am sorry if you like the design, that’s totally fine, it’s a fine design, I am glad you enjoyed it, but Smaug shouldn’t have looked that way IMO and forgive me but I am still in pain over it) in place of a more traditional dragon that held more to things like, I dunno, how Tolkien himself drew Smaug. Smaug’s movie design flies right in the face of that and destroyed our chance to finally see a proper traditional dragon done justice on the big screen.

Tolkien’s art of Smaug - note the position of the forelegs, separate from the wings, like in the earlier map

This is all just one big example why we should be thankful that The Lord of the Rings films were all shot in one go, so no one could alter important things like the design of the fantasy genre’s father of all dragons, in the middle of production. Of course, the production on The Hobbit movies was a nightmare at best, as you can read about in assorted other articles, and Peter Jackson was very unhappy with what the studio had him do to the series. All of that is just another story, I suppose.

Dragons Redesigned by Reign of Fire: Example List

Now that we’ve gone over just a few of the talking points about Reign of Fire’s dragon designs (although I didn’t even get into the flat, spaded tail look in detail), here’s an undoubtedly incomplete list of several examples that have either entirely taken the design and/or were massively influenced by it...

(please note that not everything in this list held entirely to Reign of Fire’s design, obviously; some have the fire, some don’t; some have horns, some have head/brow ridges; but all of them are wyverns and most are darkly-colored)

Skyrim - Obvious influence with the general design, skin/scales and ridges design, as well as coloration; however, it is noteworthy that the Elder Scrolls has had dragons with no forelegs since at least 1998, in the game Redguard - though that dragon was also very brightly-colored (also of note: Peryite, while technically a Daedric prince and not a dragon, had four legs at least as far back as Daggerfall in 1996)

The Hobbit films, specifically The Desolation of Smaug onward - as mentioned before

Harry Potter movies - Wholesale. Two streams of fire from mouth flaps in Goblet of Fire, generally dull greyish and/or brownish colorations, no forelegs, short/simple horns that are mostly ridges...

Gods of Egypt - The giant fire-breathing cobras have the mouth flaps

Game of Thrones - This one’s pretty obvious too.

Disney’s Maleficent - In the new live action Disney movie(s), the dragon falls right into this design (though the fire doesn’t come from mouth flaps)

Netflix Witcher series - Villentretenmerth is very much a wyvern design and a dull shade, and he in fact has no horns at all, even though dragons weren’t portrayed this way in any previous Witcher adaptations

Stargate SG1 (season 10) - In the episode series “The Quest,” a dragon appears and... well, it looks just like all those other dragons, though the fire does come from its throat.

Beowulf (2008) - I try not to ever talk about or think about this film, but I have to just throw out there that the dragon is very much Reign of Fire, especially with that wyvern design.

Seventh Son - If you can call Malkin a dragon  - she was called one, I think - she definitely also has the same kind of dull-colored wyvern design.

Sucker Punch (movie)

Lots and lots of B-movies and direct to DVD/streaming films - Dawn of the Dragonslayer, Dragon (2006), Dragon Crusaders...

Something to note, also, is that cartoons, anime, and other non-film media is mostly - but not entirely - free from this influence. Cartoons especially are free from it, partially because they aren’t influenced by Hollywood producers who want “serious” and “realistic” dragons. Cartoons are allowed to have magical, colorful, four-legged dragons. Unfortunately, we are deprived of those in live action film and television, by and large.

There are still other exceptions - most notably things that were created before this influence, like Dragonheart and its spinoffs and sequels, which have thankfully kept their dragon designs consistent instead of erasing their forelegs.

Of course, why dragons are depicted as four-legged and winged in the first place - and when this depiction arose - is another topic entirely. I’m not going into that right now, seeing as how this post is already preposterously long.

Long story short, I was rewatching the movie Gods of Egypt and, when I saw the giant cobra monsters breathe fire, I was possessed to write this article. Because Reign of Fire’s influence is something I have always noticed ever since its release, and something my brother and I talk about a lot (and everyone who knows me has surely heard me talk about it, too) - because, frankly, it’s always bothered me. My favorite dragons are traditional dragons: four legs, bright colors, wings, horns, breathing fire, the works.

So, although the original creator of these design ideas did something cool and different because he wanted to do his own take on dragons, Hollywood decided that these design cues should be taken to dumb down all dragons forever, the same way that Hollywood has dumbed down so many monster designs so that the only acceptable ones just a bunch of near-replicas of each other, including werewolves.

I think it’s very sad that film producers think you can’t take something like dragons or werewolves seriously unless they are dull, nontraditional, and ugly. And I say ugly in the sense of these are not pretty, majestic fantasy designs - they are, many of them, intended to be ugly. Though I personally also hold the opinion that most of them are ugly regardless of if they are intended to be ugly.

So - now you know! If you haven’t seen Reign of Fire, go check it out to meet the father of modern dragon designs, from the color of their hides to the shape of their bodies, the smaller horns, and - sometimes - even their tails.

(Special thanks to everyone on my discord who helped me compile this list, as well as of course my brother and all our ranting at/with each other on this topic over many years)

If you like this post, maybe you’ll enjoy the rest of my blog, where I post a lot about folklore and all kinds of monsters (especially werewolves)!

Werewolf Facts --- Patreon

[mizunetzu]

Kuroo x reader - Kuroo’s Pocky Scheme!

⚠️ Warnings - Kuroo being a desperate simp, none!!

Pronouns - male, he/him

——————

Kuroo stared at the doorknob to the schools kitchen-y room. It was such a desperate, bottom-of-the-barrel move, but he was literally just that. A desperate simp.

He sighed and pushed open the door, more forcefully than he intended. A small, blonde girl jumped and whipped her petite form around.

Kuroo raised his arms in defense. “I come in peace, Yachi-san.”

The girl, Yachi, visibly relaxed. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “O-oh...you’re...sorry, I don’t remember your name, but you’re Nekoma’s captain right? Oh god, what if you told me your name and I forgot gosh I am so-“

“No-no! It’s fine, I dont think we’ve ever talked.” Kuroo nudged the door shut, and dropped his voice into a whisper. “Ok, hear me out. I gotta huge-and-kinda-stupid favor to ask.”

“M-m-me?! Wh-wh-whaddya need from me?!”

“Well-calm down, I don’t ‘need’ much from you, no offense.” Kuroo leaned against the door. “Uh-first lemme explain-and promise not to make a big deal outta this, okay?”

Yachi nodded. Kuroo looked around the room, seeing only Yachi and a big watermelon inside.

“So. I may or may not have a tiny...crush, on (Y/n).”

Yachi blinked. “Wait, who’s (Y/...(Y/n)..? (L/n) (Y/n)?! Oh my-!”

“That’s besides the point!” Kuroo flushed, waving his hands up to hush Yachi. He felt so pathetic. He felt like a desperate schoolgirl, coming up with ideas on how to get his crush to notice him with his school girl friends.

“Anyways,” Kuroo shakily ran a hand through his untamable hair. “I’m...uh, I’m kind of desperate, and I feel like I’m gonna explode if I don’t...kiss him soon.” That last part came out in a mumble. He shook his head.

Kuroo snapped a finger at Yachi. “That’s where you come in.”

Yachi nodded dumbly. She really had no incentive to helping out this...tall, scary man. But, if she recalled correctly, (Y/n) was close friends with him-so he should be perfectly safe, right?

“I need you,” Kuroo fished a red box of Pocky out of his Nekoma jacket. “To go up to (Y/n), and ask if you can kiss him. He’ll probably say no, but if you ask him and say you’ll do it Pocky-game style, he’ll say yes. He never rejects food.”

Yachi deadpanned. Then, she erupted into vast shades of red. “W-wait-! But I don’t like him! Why do I have to kiss him-!”

“No! Let me finish!” Kuroo was losing his cool. His desperate simp was really showing, huh. “Once he says yes, tell him to keep his eyes closed because you’re embarrassed or something, and while his eyes are closed-you and me will switch places and I’ll eat the Pocky in your place! I get my kiss, and I’ll owe you absolutely anything!”

Yachi sputtered. What if it went wrong? What if he didn’t switch in time and her poor first kiss was taken by this boy she wasn’t that interested in? He’d think she was interested in him and she’d have to marry him and have to live in a cave hiding for the rest of her life-!

“I’ll do it.” A mature, level headed voice suddenly pipped up. Kuroo and Yachi both flinched in suprise. The door softly pushed open.

“But if I may, I do have a few suggestions.” Kiyoko scratched at her collar, walking in and inspecting the two.

“Yeah-me too.” Yaku follower in after Kiyoko, sending a mocking lifted gaze over to Kuroo. Kuroo looked away in embarrassment. “Like, I don’t know, be more quiet so everyone-including (L/n)-kun, doesn’t hear about your stupid Pocky plan.”

Kuroo usually would’ve opened his mouth to retort, but Yaku could easily warn (Y/n) of his plan, and it would immediately fall into shambles. He probably wouldn’t get his kiss then. Kuroo, regretfully, kept his mouth shut.

“Anyways,” Kiyoko cut in, breaking the heated glare Yaku and Kuroo gave eachother. “I can ask him in Hitoka-chan’s place. But, I do have a few concerns.”

Kiyoko held her finger up. “One-how do we know he’s going to say yes in the first place? Even with the Pocky-“

“No, no. (Y/n) never refuses anything to do with food. I even got him to forcefully drag Kenma out of his room by offering to cook him dinner last year. He and Kenma had bruises all over. A kiss is nothing to him.”

Kiyoko hummed, seemingly accepting Kuroo’s answer. She held up her second finger. “Second, how will we-well I, ask him without seeming suspicious? If I ask him alone, and we do it alone, that won’t give Kuroo-san the opportunity to slip in and switch with me.”

“But if she asks him and all if us are, y’know, there, he’ll think somethings up or we’re tryna make fun of him.” Yaku finished her thought. Kiyoko nodded.

Kuroo blinked. He didn’t think this far. “Uh...”

“W-well, what if Shimizu-senpai asked (L/n)-kun while he was talking to uhm...Kuroo-senpai, and he tags along because he wants to just...be there...and Shimizu-senpai takes him to a room where me and...sorry, I-I don’t really know your name but-“ Yachi pointed at Yaku. “To a room with me and him in it?”

Yaku blinked. “Wait, wouldn’t it be suspicious If Shimizu took him into a room just to find us sitting there?”

“W-well...Wouldn’t it be more suspicious and awkward for Kuroo-senpai to be there alone with them? We can just, sit there and pretend to talk with Kuroo-senpai until (L/n)-kun closes his eyes.”

“Holy shit, that’s a great idea...” Kuroo rubbed his head in disbelief. If he had gone through with his original plan, he would’ve failed so hard. “Well then-what are we waiting for? Lets go-“

“I have one more thing.” Kiyoko turned to Yachi.

“Hitoka-chan, if what Kuroo-san is saying is true, we should have no problem asking him to do the Pocky game with me, but realistically, it would make more sense if you ask him.”

Yachi’s eyes widened. Kiyoko continued. “I’m a year above him, and since much upperclassman girls don’t...idolize and fawn over underclassman like the ones in his grade or first-years do, it would feel a bit weird if I asked him.”

“You, on the other hand,” Kiyoko grabbed the box of Pocky from Kuroo’s hands and placed them gently on Yachi’s. “Are perfect for this, since girls like you seem to gravitate towards (L/n)-kun. The ‘shy-girl-who-wants-to-kiss-her-crush’ type. And we’ll reenforce it with the Pocky according to Kuroo-san.”

Yachi was quiet for a second, then she opened her mouth. “O-okay...I guess I’m doing it then...”

“Wheey!” Kuroo clapped his hands. “You guys are so nice, helping me with my boy problems.”

Yaku jabbed a finger at Kuroos face. “Yeah, you owe us big time Mr. Docosahexaenoic face.”

“You aren’t even doing anything, though.”

——

“(Y-Y/-!” Yachi was standing behind (Y/n). Her mumbles of “(Y/-!” were practically inaudible as the sticks inside the Pocky box rattled around in her shaking fingers. Kuroo side eyed Yachi, nudging his head to (Y/n)-who was talking to him so obliviously-egging her to go on.

“(L/n)-kun!” Yachi tensed and downcast her whole head, suddenly finding immense interest in the small rip in her shoes. (Y/n) turned around, facing away from Kuroo.

“Yes? Yachi-san? Did you need—is that Pocky? Can I have some?”

Yachi almost threw the box straight into the air. (Y/n) had his eyes fixated hungrily on the Pocky box, pointing at it gently with his hand. Yachi cleared her throat nervously. She felt her heart hammering in her chest.

“I-I-please don’t take this in a weird way but-c-can I k-k-kiss you-?!”

Yachi bowed down in a sharp 90 degree angle, making (Y/n) step back awkwardly. He looked at Kuroo, who gave him an innocent shrug, and looked back at Yachi.

“Uh-I’m sorry, Yachi-san, I don’t really-“

“We can do it Pocky game style! A-and I’ll let you have all of the Pocky afterwards! Please! Please! Please!”

(Y/n) eyes flickered back and forth from the box of Pocky up to Yachi’s sweaty, bowing hair. He really wanted that Pocky too. It was just a kiss, he never really cared about sentimental things like “first kisses” and whatnot. Plus, he’d get a whole box of Pocky afterwards.

“Okay then.”

“Really?!” Yachi raised her head, and (Y/n) nodded.

“You better keep your end of the deal and give me the Pocky afterwards, though.”

“I promise I will-!” Yachi stiffly bowed again, before trotting off with (Y/n) trailing behind her. “W-we can do this in the managers bed rooms!”

“Ok...” They walked in awkward silence. After a few seconds of contemplating, (Y/n) turned around.

“Tetsu, why are you coming?”

Kuroo shrugged. “Am I not allowed to come? I want some Pocky too.”

(Y/n) pursed his lips. “I mean I give you like, two, but don’t you think you’ll make Yachi-san uncomf-“

“It’s fine! I-I don’t care if he comes!” Yachi said a bit too quickly. (Y/n) eyed her suspiciously. Both Kuroo and Yachi broke into a cold sweat.

“...okay...let’s keep going, then.”

Yachi and Kuroo let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding.

——

“Hello.”

“Yo.”

Yaku held up a peace sign while Kiyoko waved. (Y/n) raised an eyebrow, waving back.

“I thought we were doing this in private?”

Yachi tensed. “W-well this is private enough for me...”

(Y/n) softly plucked the box of Pocky away from Yachi, walking away from them to sit down and open the box. Yachi and Kuroo shared a knowing, determined glance while Yaku and Kiyoko pretended to immerse themselves in conversation.

(Y/n) fished out a Pocky stick, and sat cross-legged on the bed mats. He waved it around, eventually settling to pointing it towards Yachi. “Sit down, so we can do this.”

“Yes!” Yachi dropped down abruptly, sitting in front of (Y/n). Kuroo walked over as nonchalant as possible and plopped down near Yachi. (Y/n) looked at him skeptically.

“Whaaaat. I just wanna see my good friend (Y/n) have his first kiss.”

“Pervert. Just say you wanna kiss Yachi-san and leave, you creep. Or do you wanna kiss from me instead?”

(Y/n) soft clad smile turned into a teasing smirk, making Kuroo break into another cold sweat. His heart started picking up speed once (Y/n) placed a Pocky stick, chocolate side first, between his lips. They looked so soft.

“C-close your eyes please, (Y/n)-kun.”

(Y/n) hummed from the stick in his mouth. “Eh? But they’re already...closed?”

“I-I meant keep them closed! ...this is...this is embarrassing so-!”

“Gotcha, Yachi-san. Don’t worry, I won’t bite.” (Y/n’s) gentle smile reappeared as he smiled with the biscuit in his mouth. “Now, bite on to the Pocky already.”

Yachi turned over to Kuroo. Kuroo, as slowly as he could, shuffled his way into Yachi’s previous spot, in time while Yachi backed away. Yachi could see the way Kuroo’s hands shook as he placed himself down in-front of (Y/n), who was waiting ever-so-patiently with his fingers tracing the Pocky box.

“Yachi-san?” (Y/n’s) confused voice came out a bit muffled. Yachi squeaked out a quick “G-give me a second-!”, and (Y/n) couldn’t help but tell how far her voice sounded, even if it was just sightly father. Eh, he was probably just imagining things.

Kuroo was sweating buckets. He never thought his plan would work so smoothly. Hell, he didn’t think he’d actually be going through with it in the first place.

“God, hurry it up Kuuuua...” Yaku trailed off into a cough. “-Yachi-san. Hurry up ‘Yachi-san’, and stop staring at (L/n)-kun like that.”

Kuroo glared at Yaku, almost responding with a “shut the fuck up!”, before letting his mouth clamp shut frustratedly. He looked at Yachi for assistance. Yachi got the memo, and responded with a “I-I’m trying-! I’m just so nervous...!”

“Awwe...don’t be nervous, Yachi-san! Just think of it like we’re eating Pocky and our lips just so happen to touch.” (Y/n) smiled, and licked his lips the best he could. The chocolate part of his end was starting to melt, and the stick was getting soft in his mouth.

“The Pocky is melting...”

“I-I-I’m on it! Sorry, I’m doing it now..!” Yachi frantically motioned at (Y/n) to Kuroo. Kuroo nervously gestered back, as if to say “I’m fuckin’ trying..!”

Kuroo gulped, trying to swallow the lump in his throat, and closed his lips around the Pocky stick. This was really happening. He was going to kiss his long time crush. He was going to kiss (Y/n). Oh god, he’s awfully close. He’s closer than he’s ever been. Why won’t his heart just shut up and calm down?

Before he knew it, (Y/n) was nibbling at his end of the biscuit. The distance was becoming shorter. He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t ready. He thought he was fully prepared to come into this all suave and nonchalant, but now that it was happening all of his preparedness flew out the window. He starting eating at his end of the stick aswell.

Both (Y/n) and Kuroo stopped eating once there was less than a inch of the stick separating them. (Y/n) briefly felt ‘Yachi’s’ nose brush against his, and Kuroo could feel the barely noticeable breaths of air from his nose.

The room was silent. Either that, or the vociferous thumping of his heart rate picking up speed drowned out Yaku and Shimizu’s voices.

And now that he was closer, he could see just how nervous (Y/n) was. His eyelids were fluttering, his brows were slightly pulled down, his nose was scrunched up just a tad, and his fingers were nervously tracing the packaging of the Pocky box. Even if it was cute, Kuroo couldn’t help but feel a bit bad.

But a plan was a plan. And he’d been waiting for years.

Kuroo broke down the last remaining barrier from his lips to (Y/n’s), letting the small Pocky nub lay on his tongue as he connected their lips together. He heard a small “yaay.” From who he assumed was Shimizu, and an obnoxious “Get it, ‘Yachi-san’!”, followed by a wolf whistle from Yaku.

He felt (Y/n) push closer, tentatively and unintentionally grabbing hold of Kuroo’s hand in the process. Kuroo intertwined his fingers with (Y/n’s), and that touch alone probably gave him away, but he couldn’t care less. (Y/n) could coil away in disgust right now, and he wouldn’t care. He got his kiss. A kiss that tasted like Pocky and (Y/n). A kiss he’s been waiting for for forever. His, and (Y/n’s), first.

Kuroo was the first to pull away. Half lidded and breathless, he sat back on his ass with a sigh. (Y/n) started to open his eyes, when Yachi’s scrambled to cover them.

“D-don’t look..! Please! I-I’m-uh, I’m still...embarrassed..!” Yachi looked back at Kuroo, who seemed to have come back to his senses, and shuffled back into the spot he was in originally. Yachi crawled over back in front of (Y/n), and removed her hands gently. She placed them in her lap, looking down with a blush no one in that room could tell was genuine or real good acting.

(Y/n) opened his eyes softly. His smile returned to his swollen lips, and he leaned his head on his palm. “That wasn’t so scary, right?”

(Y/n) clasped his hands together. “Congrats, you can officially say you stole (L/n) (Y/n’s) first kiss! Now you got something to brag about, huh, Yachi-san?” (Y/n) chuckled, still feeling the warmth of ‘Yachi’s’ lips pressed against his.

Yaku scoffed quietly. “Yeah, aha. ‘Yachi’ stole your first kiss.” He earned a flick to the forehead by Kiyoko.

Yachi stood up abruptly. “I-I’m gonna go! Uh-..brag...to my...f-friends.”

“Don’t go spreading rumors about me though.” (Y/n) looked up at Yachi, who squeaked out a “Yessir!” In reply. Kiyoko stood up aswell.

“I’m going to go with Hitoka-chan. See you three.” Kiyoko walked over to Yachi, seemingly ushering her out the door discreetly and shooting Yaku a look. Yaku stood up aswell.

“Well I don’t wanna be in here with you two. Pretty Boy and Docosahexaenoic Face. I’m gonna go see what Kai or Shibayama-kun is doing.”

Yaku shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out of the room, leaving Kuroo and (Y/n) sitting there alone.

Kuroo laid down on the floor next to (Y/n), resting his arms on the back of his neck like a cushion. (Y/n) sat there placidly, smiling at his reward that was the Pocky box.

(Y/n) fished a stick out, and munched on it happily. Kuroo looked at (Y/n), and closed his eyes with a smirk.

“So, how’d it feel having your first kiss with a cute girl?“

(Y/n) hummed, and took another bite of his snack.

“You’re not a bad kisser, Tetsu.”

Kuroo choked on his words. (Y/n) crunched on another Pocky stick. Kuroo sputtered and shot back up, staring at (Y/n) with wide, embarrassed eyes.

“Wh-h-how-wait-“

“To be honest you would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for, hm, 3 things.”

(Y/n) held up a single Pocky stick. “Number one. When our hands touched. It was pretty obvious your hand was too big to be Yachi-san’s, so that was a bit suspicious.”

Kuroo opened his mouth to say something. (Y/n) pulled out another Pocky stick.

“Two. When we broke the kiss, I heard you grunt. You would have literally no reason to do that unless you, per se, break a kiss and need to breathe in. And your voice, again, is too deep to be Yachi-san’s.”

Kuroo couldn’t do anything but helplessly stare at him, as he pulled out a third Pocky stick.

“Three.” (Y/n) set all three biscuits into Kuroo’s lap, to which he absentmindedly picked up. “You don’t really think I couldn’t see you? My eyes were open right up until we started eating the Pocky, Tetsurou. I was squinting...and you all were acting suspicious, so how could I not? Not to mention how weird it was for you to be sitting so conveniently close to me and Yachi-san.”

“If anything, if you weren’t planning something and you actually just wanted to watch, you would’ve sat near Yaku-kun once you saw him.”

Kuroo averted his eyes and broke a Pocky stick with his teeth, chewing on it to fill his mouth and prevent him from saying something stupid.

“And, even if none of those things happened,” (Y/n) pulled out another stick, this time twirling it around in his fingers. “I heard you discussing your ‘plan’ earlier in the kitchen. You really need to work on your volume, like Yaku-kun said.”

(Y/n) stood up, stretching his arms with a small groan. All Kuroo could do was stare up at him dumbly. He almost had a perfect scheme. Almost.

(Y/n) turned his head around, his back still facing Kuroo. “Next time you wanna kiss, buy me dinner and we can suck spaghetti noodles until it meets in the middle. Y’know, like in that one movie.”

(Y/n) waved around his Pocky box in farewell. “I’m gonna go see what Kenma and Hinata-kun are doing. Later, Tetsu.”

(Y/n) timpered off, shutting the door behind him. Kuroo stared at the door blankly.

“(Y/n), you sneaky bastard.”

——————

Happy new year!!

[spectaclespencer]

P.H. // Part 1; Alone

Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

A/N; Here’s the first chapter! Let me know what you think <3 this is based off of this request I got. Any and all feedback is appreciated. Please know I know this theme/part has little to nothing to do with the actual meaning of the song, but some lines work if you ignore the rest 😅

Summary; After Gideon leaves, Reader takes up chess to comfort Spencer through the difficult time.

Category; Fluff, Angst(?), Hurt/Comfort

Content Warnings; Sad Spencer otherwise none!

Word Count; 3.5k

Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Next

It started when I found Spencer one morning. He had fallen asleep on a chair at the bau, and he explained to me that he’d been waiting for Gideon because he promised to play chess with Spencer that night.

“Is Hotch in yet?”

“No, he will be soon. We have a case, JJ is gonna brief us and we leave in 30.”

He thanked me and left the room, with his head down. He kept the same mood during the briefing, he kept drifting off as JJ was talking. Spencer was known to be stuck in his head often, but this was far more unusual behaviour. I figured maybe he slept wrong, or maybe just was simply looking forward to playing chess with Gideon. That was their usual routine, to have a game or two after cases to relax. It was understandable to see him on edge after not hearing from him all night.

As we got on the jet he didn’t sit with me on the couch right away as he usually did, instead he walked over to Hotch in the back corner. I craned my neck to try and see what he was doing and hear what he was saying. He spoke in soft whispers, seemingly asking questions I assumed were about Gideon’s presence. I saw Hotch shake his head, to which Spencer’s expression dropped. He thanked him, then made his way over to the couch beside me.

“You okay?” I asked.

He gave me a quick nod -- yet didn’t meet my eyes -- then curled up at the end of the couch to presumably take a nap before we landed.

We were all worried about Gideon, none of us had heard from him since the last case. We figured he just needed a break from the chaos; having a loved one die would take a toll on any of us. It was logical really, any one of the team would need time to recover when presented with that situation.

Spencer remained more quiet throughout the case, not engaging in conversation when it wasn’t crucial to the work. We ended up sharing rooms but even then he didn’t budge. He mostly sat in the corner and played chess against himself, often zoning out and staring at the wall. It was hard to see, and even harder to sit back and let him try to get through it. I could tell he was fighting himself in his head, probably going over scenarios on Gideon’s whereabouts. I imagine the stress was affecting him heavily -- or at least it was clear with the way his forehead had been creased all night.

Chess. Nobody on the team had a fair shot at him besides Gideon. Sitting there staring at the pieces probably wasn’t doing him too good, only making him worry more.

It wasn’t that I didn’t care because I did, but when it comes to certain things Spencer can be defensive and refuse help, so I wanted to give him a chance to get better. It wasn’t unlike him to refuse help, and I didn’t want to make the situation worse by opening my mouth. Instead, I opted to ask, “Mind if I join in for a game?”

“What? Uh- no it’s fine. I mean, okay yes. Sure,” Spencer stuttered, spooked by my sudden appearance beside him.

“Stop slouching, you’re gonna make your posture even worse,” I chuckled lightly, patting his shoulder to remind him. He shot me a small smile, watching as I rounded the table to sit across from him. I wasn’t too good of a player, but I wanted to make Spencer feel just a little less alone.

“Do you even know how to play?”

“Ouch,” I mocked offense, slapping a hand over my heart. “So cruel, Spencer.”

He raised his eyebrows in a form of asking again, to which I replied with, “Kind of. I haven’t played for years but I’ve observed you.”

“Y-you’ve observed me?” Spencer questioned, resetting the chess pieces on the board.

“Well, yeah. Kind of hard not to. You’re a pretty interesting guy.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

I smiled when he finally made eye contact with me. He looked tired -- more so than usual -- with his eyebags a deeper shade than they were normally.

The game didn’t last long. In only seven minutes, he managed to beat me. I groaned at my loss, lips pulled into a tight line. Spencer didn’t react, however.

“Okay that’s enough for me,” I said, heading over to the bathroom to brush my teeth before bed. “Goodnight Spence. Get some sleep. No offense but you look like you need it.”

He hummed at me, cleaning up the table before he climbed into his own bed.

I could tell he didn’t sleep much that night, as he kept a lamp on and littered his bed with various books. He looked cute, all swaddled up in the blanket he brings with him on every case for a sense of stability. His glasses were perched on his nose, and he was chewing his fingernails -- a habit I’ve tried to get him to kick over the past two years.

We didn’t talk during the night, but we both knew that each other were awake. I was kept up by my thoughts, trying to figure out how to get Spencer out of his slump. Re-learning how to play chess seemed like a decent enough idea -- yet one that would take some time. I was proved tonight that my skill needed to be greatly improved. It was nice in the moment, but realistically it would take a few weeks, if not more, to get the hang of.

The next day at the precinct I was stationed at the map, trying to figure out our geographical profile. I heard faint chattering coming from outside, and looked over my shoulder to see Spencer and Derek talking. I couldn’t hear much, but I did get that Spencer mumbled about calling Gideon, to which Derek answered that he might’ve just missed the call. It was possible, but likely deeper than that.

“Six times? Six calls? Something’s wrong,” Spencer sighed, rubbing his eyes.

I didn’t intervene with the conversation, instead deciding to finally speak to him about it after the case had ended.

On the last day, we all headed to our rooms after grabbing some dinner, to get a good rest before we took off early the next morning.

“Hey Spence, you awake?”

He hummed in response, and I could hear the rustle of the sheets as he rolled over in his bed to face me.

“I know you’re worried about Gideon. How about when we get back tomorrow I’ll drive you down to his cabin? We can go check on him.

“Would you really?” he asked softly. I couldn’t see him fully in the darkness, but I could sense he was looking at me with pleading eyes.

“Of course. I don’t like seeing you this stressed and down. I want to help.”

“Thanks ____, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Spencer.”

After our conversation it was like a blanket of grey was lifted over his head. He settled in more, drifting off to sleep within minutes. I hated seeing him sad, and I did my best to try and fix his mood whenever I could. Spencer didn’t like change, I knew that, and the team knows that. A part of me had a sneaking suspicion that Gideon wasn’t coming back, and I had fear for what that would mean for Spencer.

-----

“Do you want me to come in with you?” I asked, pulling up in front of the cabin and turning off the engine. The only sounds were the faint hum of rain outside, splattering against the windows.

Spencer shook his head and took a deep breath, before unbuckling himself and opening his door. He mumbled something about being right back, as he headed off towards the building. It wasn’t dark yet -- only being four pm -- but it wasn’t too light either.

It looked as if the lights inside the cabin were off, and I could just hardly see Spencer as he knocked on the door. He waited on the porch for a moment, waiting to see if anyone would come to the door.

Nobody did.

It was hard to just sit there and watch, as his desperation grew stronger by the millisecond.

-----

I took deep breaths, trying to even out my intake of air and remain calm. When nobody answered the fifth time that I knocked, I reluctantly grabbed a hold of the knob and turned it. Much to my surprise the door opened, creaking inch by inch as I stood there unmoving.

“Gideon?” I called into the home, taking one step inside. “Jason?”

I wasn’t greeted with an answer, he didn’t come to the door and thank me for coming to visit. It was eerily quiet -- so quiet I took a few more steps inside to create some sort of volume.

“Hello?” I spoke again, louder this time. Shutting the door behind me I took off my jacket and hung it on the coat rack next to the entrance.

The place had been mainly cleared out, there weren’t many personal items behind. I stalked over to the kitchen, to see if there was any trace of someone within the last few days. It’s been officially a week and a half since anyone had last heard from him that I was aware of. I thought someone must have eaten, or at least left a bit of a mess behind them that would signal a presence.

As I turned the corner to enter the new room I noticed something on the table. I stopped in my tracks, leaning down to take a closer look.

Gideon’s badge, gun, and an envelope.

I swallowed thickly, walking around the table and took a seat in front of the items. When I saw the envelope had my name on it, my heart dropped. With shaky hands I picked up the paper and opened it, seeing there was a letter inside.

Spencer,

I knew it would be you who came to the cabin to check on me.

You must be frightened, I apologize for that. I never meant to cause you any pain. But then I also never envisioned writing this letter. I’ve searched for a satisfactory explanation for what I’m doing, all I’ve come up with is: a profiler needs to have solid footing. I- I don’t think I do anymore. The world confuses me. The cruelty, indifference, tragedy.

I stopped there, my eyesight becoming blurry from tears. I shoved the letter in my pocket, not caring at the moment if it got crumpled or not.

I was out of the cabin in no time -- choosing not to stay there and sulk in a deeper sadness.

-----

Waiting in the car for Spencer felt like torture. It was difficult, letting him go in there alone to be met with possibly no answers. I was thrown out of my thoughts by the sound of the cabin door slamming shut, Spencer jogging over to the car.

“Hey. Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, red flags hanging immediately as he climbed in the car, tear soaked face pointed down towards his lap. It took me a moment to realize he was crying -- the rain had completely soaked through his top layer of clothes. He didn’t reply with words, instead reaching into his pants pocket to retrieve a piece of paper. He handed it over to me, still not meeting my eyes.

I unfolded it and began to read -- it was hard, through the tear stains smudging the ink across the page.

“Oh, Spence…” I whispered and stopped after the first few sentences, leaving the rest for him. I didn’t know what to say, how to comfort him.

“He’s gone,” Spencer sniffled, wiping his eyes on the sleeves of his nearly drenched jacket. “He just left. He didn’t say goodbye. He left me a note,” he froze, taking a few deep breaths. “Just like my dad did when I was a kid.”

“It’ll be okay. Wherever he is, I’m sure he’s okay,” I assured him. “You know he cares about you, right?”

“I know he is. It’s just-” he started, trying to find the right words between his gasping for more air. “Can you just take me home, please.”

I nodded, while turning the car back on to drive away. Spencer kept his gaze towards the window, refusing to let me see his face. I’m selfishly almost glad for it, because I don’t know if seeing his heartbreak is something I could handle.

It was a long, quiet drive, taking around an hour and a half to finally reach his apartment. He scrambled out of the car fast, but I still walked him up as I usually did. He got to the door before me, thanking me for driving him home. He shut the door just as I got fully up the stairs, leaving me standing with my mouth open.

‘Baby, when you fought me at the door

Kinda hard to force what's natural

Maybe you don't want what you need most’

-----

The next day when he came over after work he was almost back to normal. It was weird to see, to see such a shift in his behaviour after less than twenty-four hours. As much as he tried to hide it, I could tell just how hard it was for him. The sudden change didn’t go well with anyone, we’d all been informed that Gideon wouldn’t be returning and that he’d moved on from the BAU. It was especially hard on Spencer too, since Elle had just left not too long ago, and then Emily joined the team. First he loses a friend, someone who truly understood him as I did, and then someone he considered a father figure.

And neither of them had said goodbye to his face. It was scary, knowing a member of your team could walk out and never return before you know it.

We were seated on the couch, a game of chess displayed on the middle cushion between us.

It wasn’t anywhere near a fair game -- Spencer’s skills were still far ahead of mine. However I noticed it made him smile, and that’s all I wanted. For him to feel loved, and secured. It was a sense of grounding, a routine that was regular in his life. I still wasn’t very good -- not having played since high school and that night on the last case. But I downloaded an audiobook and several player’s guides for the plane ride home to study, because I wanted to learn for Spencer’s sake. However I soon realized it was easier to watch Spencer and how he plays, and to ask him questions. He seemed to enjoy it, having someone else in his life to play with.. And he loved to teach, to help people learn. He was so good at it too, his big brain being used to help people no matter the context.

Eventually he won the game as usual, causing me to groan in frustration..

“You bastard.”

“Not my fault you kinda suck,” he laughed bashfully, lips curling up into a small smile. It was nice to see a bit of happiness on his face, no matter how temporary.

“You’re so rude to me,” I joked, moving the board to the coffee table. “I thought we were friends.”

It was silent for a few moments, with me figuring out what I was going to say next.

“Spencer I know you haven’t wanted my help, but please tell me what I can do for you. Tell me how you feel, at least?”

‘Maybe you don't want what you need most’

“It’s nothing, ____,” he breathed, looking away from me and instead at the wall the couch was facing. He could see our reflection on the blank tv, and instead opted to just look down at his lap. “I’m better now.”

‘You ain't even there for me

Now you're scared to be alone’

“Respectfully, that’s bullshit.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh come on. I know you don’t want to talk about this but at least give me something. Don’t keep it all in. It’s not healthy.”

His face screwed up at my words, eyebrows furrowed and lips twitching. I could tell he knew I was right, as much as he hated it.

“I’m just- I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“I don’t want you to leave,” Spencer whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear.

‘Got me thinkin' that you scared of yourself, not me’

It all made sense -- the way he’d been distancing himself lately. It took me promising candy and Star Trek for him to come over tonight, and even then he almost declined. Too many blows to the heart made him afraid to get attached. He didn’t want anyone else from his life to disappear in a flash.

“Look at me,” I said, and he snapped his head to face me. “I’m not going anywhere. I can’t claim to be far in the future, but right now? I’m here. You’re stuck with me for a while, Spencer.”

He smiled, closing his eyes as a stray tear graced across his cheek. I used my thumb to wipe it away, and pulled him into a tight hug. He relaxed against me, I felt the tensions in his shoulders deflate as I held him.

“I’ve got you,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. His breath shuddered, and he wrapped his arms around my middle tighter, pushing his face into my shoulder to muffle his crying.

We sat for a while, my hands tracing patterns along his back. It took a few minutes for his cries to calm down, but eventually his breathing evened out with only a few hiccups here and there. He was practically sitting in my lap with his legs flung over mine, suddenly not caring about his personal space. I couldn’t blame him -- the boy was so touch starved he so clearly craved all contact he consented to.

“Do you want to spend the night?” I asked, quietly so I didn’t scare him with the sudden sound.

“Could I please?”

“Of course,” I smiled, pulling away. He still held on tight, not wanting to let go.

We made our way to my bedroom, repeating our usual routine. This wasn’t the first time we’d had a sleepover, and it won’t be the last I’m sure. Sometimes after particularly harder cases he would spend the night, just to be close to someone.

I went into the bathroom to change, giving him the opportunity to do the same. When I returned, he was dressed in a t-shirt and flannel pants he left at my place for sleepovers like this. He was already in bed, and when he saw that I was done in the bathroom he lifted the side of the blanket to welcome me in.

I joined him, grinning as he scooted over and pressed his back to my chest. I felt him breathing softly, my right arm slung over his torso to bring him in closer. He held onto my hand, and didn’t let me drift away. I was happy to comply, happy to feel his body warmth radiate through me.

“Thank you, ____. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Spence.”

From that day on for the foreseeable future, I swore to myself to have check-ins with Spencer whenever it seemed necessary. Whether it was in the form of words, sleepovers, movie nights, or chess.

His smile got brighter everyday, and eventually he no longer felt as much weight on himself a few weeks down the road. He still cried to me about how he missed Gideon, but it had gotten less frequent. And I was always there for him, offering my shoulder and the promise of my embrace. I knew he appreciated it too.

After a few months since our first game, I beat him in a game of chess. We were on the jet on the way to Montana for a case, and Derek was sitting beside Spencer. He kept annoying him, doing little things like twisting his hair and fanning him with files. Spencer kept shrieking quietly -- trying not to alert Hotch of the bickering.

“Checkmate,” I said, biting back a smile.

“What?!” Spencer froze, arm raised in what looked like to be a poor attempt of whacking Derek’s head.

“Awe, pretty boy. You’ll get her next time,” Derek threw his head back in laughter.

“What?” Spencer repeated quieter, eyes darting across the board, likely running calculations in his head.

“Better luck next time,” I smirked, tilting my head to the side. I wiggled my eyebrows, my small victory boosting my ego.

Spencer tried to keep a neutral face, but I could see by the tension in his cheekbones that he was happy. He was enjoying it.

-----

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permanent taglist; @spencerscumrag @spenxerslut

[tartagliaxx]

Happy birthday sweetheart! Congrats on 500+ followers :D

I'd like to ask for Albedo and lilacs 👉👈

“ ALBEDO + LILAC ”

━━ ☆ PAIRING: albedo/reader

━━ ☆ GENRE: fluff

━━ ☆ SUMMARY: lilac | first love

━━ ☆ WARNINGS: established relationship

"did you know that the flowers whisper little poems to everyone who cared enough to listen?"

albedo blinked, attention moving from his half-finished sketch to your quaint voice that rippled gently through the air. he heard your light footsteps drawing near first before he felt the gentle movement of your fingers as you pulled his hair back. he wondered if you were doing it on purpose, well aware of how electricity traveled down his back faster than the speed of light at the barest touch of your fingertips to his skin.

"is that another line from a novel you have read?" he asked, almost timidly as he allowed himself to be washed away by your affection.

you merely laughed and there it was again — the electric spark. "not this time, no. my mother once told me of the secret language of the flowers. it barely left my mind ever since." you paused. "may i?"

albedo knew you well enough to know that you were asking for permission to play with his hair. "go ahead."

"you should go finish your work. i won't disturb you with my ramblings any longer."

"please—" he blinked, not exactly expecting the hurried reply that subconsciously slipped past his lips. "—continue."

he felt your fingers stumble, clearly not expecting his words just as how he didn't himself but you didn't question it. instead, you fell into a little hum — a habit he observed you did whenever you attempted to string your words in something that made sense.

"there was once a story that was passed down from generation to generation about a time when people are unable to express their feelings as openly as we can now. and people, as creative as they could be when they mean to, began crafting bouquets of pretty flowers together, allowing them to carry secret messages to be decrypted by the other."

"and how do they know what the flowers meant?" albedo asked before frowning as he felt something foreign on his hair.

"who knows..." this time, he caught the delighted sigh that became his body's automatic response to your carefree giggles. "over time, the flowers grew out of the confines set by the people and began cultivating their own definitions. soon, miscommunication became more frequent than communication and the language was forgotten save for a few romantics who still cling onto it."

albedo listened as you went on and on about a story he has never heard of before. he was an alchemist, a realist, maybe even a skeptic, and such stories did little to contribute to his studies. it was no wonder that it remained foreign until now but as your words danced from your heart to his — as he toyed with the idea of singing secret love songs through fragile, innocent instruments — he wondered if your love for romance was rubbing off to him because truly, that sounded perfect and fitting for your budding relationship.

"—and that's about it." he didn't realize how deep the trail of his thoughts ran and before he knew it, he missed a great portion of your story. you didn't seem to mind though, half-expecting him to wander off because fantastical themes didn't quite draw him in as it did with you.

"you're leaving?"

you turned around to hide the bashful smile that told too many words for your liking. for his sake, you would pretend not to hear the silent plead that peaked through his normally monotone voice. for his sake, you would fight down the urge to tease him until his pale skin bloomed into a beautiful shade of rose: the ones just after rain.

"i'm afraid i can't stay. i'll see you tonight?"

"tonight." albedo repeated, hand leaving his lap, making its way home into yours. "stay safe."

"for you, always." you twisted your body to place a chaste kiss on top of his head, just a few inches away from the braids you had done for him. you let go first, though your fingertips lingered longer than it was supposed to be as if telling him that you'd rather stay. alas, responsibilities are not ones you should run away from.

as you parted — as you left his line of vision — as the familiar sound of your weight on the old wooden boards faded, albedo chastised himself for being so reliant on the presence of someone. then again, it was inevitable and one cannot fault him for falling for the wonderful mystique of your soul.

"mr. albedo?"

he blinked away the remnants of the dewdrops you left when you showered him with your love, refocusing and reclaiming who he was. for now, he was albedo, chief alchemist of the knights of favonius, temporarily not yours because distance weighted his heart more than he would like to admit.

"good morning, sucrose."

"these are the papers you asked me to look for yesterday— oh!"

albedo looked up, not expecting a giddy exclamation to leave his hardworking assistant's lips. "is something wrong?"

"o-oh! it's nothing... it's just— your hair..."

"my... hair?"

"those are lilacs, aren't they? i remember researching about them a long time ago. they have a striking resemblance to—"

as sucrose droned on and on, enthusiasm dripping no matter where you look, albedo almost felt bad for losing interest but the word 'lilac' screamed at him, echoing against the walls of his mind as little pieces of your conversation resurfaced like tidal waves against the shore.

did you know that the flowers whisper little poems to everyone who cared enough to listen?

"sucrose?"

he did. he cared enough to listen. to the flowers, to the earth, to you.

"i'm so, so sorry for rambling, mr. albedo! i'll go back to—"

"do you know any books about the flower language?"

later that night, you approached the water fountain that became 'your' spot out of pure circumstance. you half-expected albedo to be missing, knowing full well how invested he could be when it came to his art, and yet he surprised you — again and again — as he tipped his face to the side, the red rose you wished to see appearing in full bloom as he handed you a bouquet of handpicked lilacs that you heard loud and clear.

you are my first love too.

━━ ☆ NOTES: thank you very much, darling! i hope this is to your liking! view the rest of the event shorts here! 💐