#a little longer than planned

[airas-story]

Love Notes

Stephen’s gaze darted around the foyer. There had been the brief tug from the sanctum to let him know that someone had arrived, followed almost immediately by the indicator that they had left. Stephen would be more alarmed if this hadn’t been happening every day for the past thirteen days. 

There was a rose lying against the dark wooden bench against the wall. His heart pattered like rain in his chest as he stepped down the stairs and made his way to the bench. The rose petals were a deep, rich burgundy red, beautiful against the mahogany of the bench. 

There was a thick strip of paper rolled around the rose’s stem. He picked up the rose and rubbed his thumb over the paper. The paper was expensive, thick and almost soft to the touch. Each note the past two weeks had been short and sweet with different reasons why his mysterious visitor claimed to love him.

The same beautiful script from the other notes greeted him, spread gracefully across the thick piece of paper.

Stephen,

I’ve told you that you’re brilliant and beautiful and brave. That you’re clever and creative and charismatic. I told you that you make me believe in miracles and magic and mysteries of the universe.

But these are all just attempts to quantify and qualify the feeling in my chest, potent and powerful. But, some things are simply what they are.

So let me keep it simple with this last rose: I love you Stephen Strange.

Stephen ran a trembling finger over the paper, tracing the last sentence over and over again.

I love you Stephen Strange.

His heart thrummed like hummingbird’s wings, fast and light. It gave him a strange sense of buoyancy, like he could fly even without the support of the cloak.

There was no name on the note, nothing to tell him who it was who had left him the roses.

“You’re doing this wrong,” Stephen said, the words echoing in the quiet of the sanctum. “You’re supposed to give me a name at the end of this so I can find you.”

He ran his fingers over the elegant handwriting again.

I love you Stephen Strange

No one had ever given Stephen roses before. 

He tapped into the magic of the sanctum, asking it to transport him to the sanctum’s kitchen. The shift was smooth and seamless and he found himself next to the kitchen table pressed against the wall. There was a vase of flowers already there. Stephen found scissors in a drawer, cutting the bottom of the stem before sliding the rose into the vase with the other roses.

He’d already cast a careful spell on the vase to help prolong the life of the roses. Even the oldest rose, now over two weeks old, still looked as fresh as it had the day he’d gotten it.

For a long moment Stephen just stared at the roses. 

Someone out there loved him. Him.

Stephen felt a mix of cherished and cheated. Someone loved him, which was something Stephen hadn’t even realized how much he wanted until the first rose in the sanctum’s foyer. But Stephen didn’t know who. 

But with the note in his hand he could find out.

He hesitated a single moment, before he tapped into the sanctum’s magic again. He ended up in the library. He skimmed through the books for a tracing spell.

It took him less than five minutes to find what he was looking for. He didn’t let himself pause, setting the note on the table and channeling dimensional energy into his hands. Everyone had their own signature within their native dimension, whether they used the mystic arts or not. The note he had now, one infused with genuine emotion—he hoped—would carry enough of a signature for Stephen to follow.

He took a deep breath as he finished the spell. He could back out, could stop and never know… But he wanted to know.

And, he suspected—hoped—that this person who claimed to love him would know Stephen well enough to know that he’d find a way to find them.

With an exhale he let the spell go, the magic spreading out.

The note lit up in golds and blues. Stephen closed his eyes and focused on the signature, visualizing it.

Show me, Stephen thought. Show me who you are.

He wrapped the magic in towards himself, getting a sense and feel for it. He slid his sling ring on and brought his hands up focusing on the signature of the person he was trying to find.

The hum of the portal opening up in front of him was warm and familiar, the ability one that he’d harnessed and honed.

“You’re here early,” came a voice from the other side of the portal. A familiar voice. 

Oh. 

Tony.

Somehow he was both utterly shocked and completely unsurprised. Of course it was Tony.

Of course Tony loved him.

Tony had been showing him that in so many ways, big and small for months now. Stephen had always just been too afraid to see what could be if he let himself acknowledge that.

In this, Tony had been braver than him.

Stephen opened his eyes to see Tony standing on the other side of the portal, bemused furrow of his brows. “I thought we weren’t meeting until tonight.”

“Tony.” Stephen swallowed. “I got your note.” Tony’s eyes widened, mouth slipping open to an oh. “All fourteen of them,” Stephen added.

Tony leaned against the table next to him, arms crossing over his chest. “I probably should have expected this,” he said finally. “You’re not very good at leaving things be.”

That was very, very true. “Come on, Tony,” he said lightly. “You know me too well to think I wouldn’t try to find you.”

Tony’s lip twitched up into a smile. “I do know that about you.”

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say you love it about me.” He kept the words simple and self-assured, hiding his uncertainty.

That earned him a laugh. “I suppose I do,” Tony agreed. His eyes were warm and soft. “But I told you that.”

Tony had. And it was so much more than Stephen had expected to hear from anyone. He’d told himself that love wasn’t in the cards for him any longer. Stephen stepped through the portal, letting it close behind him. “Tell me now,” he pled. “Let me hear it from you.”

For a moment Tony looked unsure, but then he nodded. He stepped closer, right into Stephen’s space. “I love you Stephen Strange.” Tony’s smile was hesitant, almost afraid. “And I’ll tell you that as many times as you want.”

Stephen swallowed. “Give me a chance,” he said quietly. “Someday I’ll be ready to say it back.”

[zishu-arts]

Do you accept art requests? if so, could you draw Chosen being seriously injured and Dark helps her with her injuries and/or Chosen being unconscious and Dark is saving her (all with lesbian chodark)?

If not that's ok, thank you!

sorry anon i wish this was more polished but i tried !

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Redraw of my first post on this blog. Oh how far we've come B'*)

[Now with it's own redraw!]

[quirkle2]

space/saturn imagery ritsu i love you

[not-poignant]

Here's some of it @bloodlessbhaalbabe - I don't know if I'm brilliant at it but I do have a lot of practice! :D All my art is under the username Ravenari, if anyone wants to search for more of it!

(I also have more in the 'my art' tag)

(This is all traditional art - coloured pencil / watercolour pencil / waterfast ink and some minor acrylic or watercolour touches on illustration board!)

[covesdadappreciation]

Qiu: Can you be serious for five minutes?

Tamarack: My record is four, but I think I can do it.

[swordmaid]

i am wide awake thinking about that post canon jb au again when I should be sleeping …!!! such is the nature of the jbrainrot…

[sadisthetic]

my only critique of hi fi rush is that there shouldve been blood. and sure, maybe it wouldve been totally tonally incongruous, but consider this: i want BLOOD.

[deoidesign]

I've been... Busy 👀

Trying to get all 4 arcs from season 1 into books!

(not available for sale, these are print proofs. I'm planning a Kickstarter early next year!)

[relaxtimestwo]

Dan Heng Δ Witch Hat Atelier AU (part 2) ⋆｡˚ ⋆

Fleshed out my ideas for this AU a bit more. It's surprising how much of Dan Heng's lore could fit into the Witch Hat universe.

In this AU, Dan Heng is exiled for being an inadequate successor to Dan Feng by those who tatooed the forbidden spell onto his back. Dan Heng only inherited Dan Feng's appearance but not his mastery over magic.

While in exile, Dan Feng's foes in life would hunt down Dan Heng. He never stayed in one location for too long and defended himself with "Cloud Piercer".

Then, he met Himeko, a contraption repair specialist, in a town he drifted into. She introduces Dan Heng to the Astral Express, an atelier on rails she runs alongside Welt and Pom-Pom. Thus, Dan Heng became the Astral Express' first apprentice.

Some context for those who don't read Witch Hat Atelier -

In this world spells are cast by drawing seals on surfaces using special ink, rather than incantation or an individual's inherent magic. The spell takes effect when the outer circle of the seal is closed.

Because of its ease of casting, magic is a closely guarded secret and mostly only taught to those born into witch society.

Any spells that drastically affects the mind, body or environment is forbidden and punishable by memory erasure and exile. Healing magic is considered a huge taboo and is big source of conflict in the story.

Before becoming a full fledged witch, you have to apprentice under a more senior witch.

[mockingjaybirds]

A little look into a Drabble I’m writing for an au of Flightless Wings ^_^

I’m at 370 words currently

[smimon]

okay i know you probably have enough drawing ideas for giant k but i just had this idea invade me.

you know how in snow white (not just the disney version) she pushes together the beds and sleeps on like 3 or more of them sideways? anyway giant k sleeping on 3 beds pushed together. and now i'm just picturing giant k as snow white and everyone else as the various dwarves

Ohoho big brain!!! 👀👀👀 Big brain. I love this idea so much and not just because Snow White is my favourite fairy tale hdjsbdbdfh

Thank you!!! Of course I have to draw it and not just once, let's make it into a comic! Let's gooo

Giant K series #16: once upon a time, in a land far, far away...

To be continued 😉

[orcelito]

i've seen ppl talking about Meryl & how little we know about her family, but the geo-plant arc of trigun chapters 10-12 gives us some really useful pieces of info, i think

first, we see her thinking of herself as Cold Blooded, just like the dude that wanted Badwick to kill his own parents

[ID: Meryl stands with her gun drawn and a troubled expression on her face as she thinks to herself, "Exactly as you described him... the cold-blooded type..." In the next panel, she closes her eyes and wonders, "Am I really... any different?" End ID]

at the start of this arc, Milly wrote one of her massive letters to her family, while Meryl mentioned not knowing what she would write to hers. then we see Milly get PISSED at Badwick after she learns he threatened his parents at gunpoint, which leads to this page:

[ID: Meryl, held back by Milly, tells her, "Milly... I envy you... My father would have wanted me to get justifiably angry at a person who points a gun at his parents. That is an important thing." She flashes back to the moment in the chapter before where Milly is attempting to punch the son, Badwick. Milly calls in concern, "Ma'am?" Meryl continues, "But I... I just stood there and took it all in without even budging. I am such a cold person. I chose this path of blood and tears without thinking about the rest of my life. All I can see is what is right in front of me." The page shows the face of the father, dressed in basic battle gear, who is watching silently. Now in tears, Meryl laments, "Why could I not see... that when I closed myself off to him, something was wrong? I..." In the last panel, Milly stares down at Meryl in surprise as Meryl slaps her own cheeks and exclaims, "No... Nevermind!" End ID]

this entire situation is obviously striking something in Meryl's heart. some kind of insecurity she has about her distant relationship with her own parents. she shakes herself out of it, determined to not fall into a funk, and then jumps into defense of the land.

after the battle's over & the father's fallen to his ass, we see these pages:

[ID: In the first page, the father, off screen, tells Meryl and Milly, "There are no words to express how thankful I am for your help." Meryl replies with a smile, "Ah. There's no need." The father goes on to tell her, "Ms. Meryl... I know it was rude of me, but I overheard your conversation earlier. Having raised that rebellious son, I don't know if I have the right thing to say, but... All people are different, but the bonds between parents and children are inseparable. It is a great burden, but also the most precious thing in the world..." In the second page, the father concludes, "... Choose your own path, and walk it with confidence. All of life... is connected. You must live your own life, and your parents will love through you." As he speaks, we see Meryl listening to him with a surprised expression. End ID]

this entire arc feels like a metaphor for Meryl's own situation. after these pages, we see Badwick turning in the deed, then finding out that his parents were entrusting the property to him after all. he's the problem son, someone who separated himself from his parents due to his disagreements with them (likely stemming from his dead younger brother). yet at the end of the day, his parents still love him and entrusted their life's work to him.

Meryl sees all this go down, hears these words, and it touches something in her heart. so we see her go from talking about writing to her family like this in chapter 10:

[ID: A single panel of Meryl with her eyes closed and a peaceful expression on her face. She tells Milly, "That would be the normal thing to do... especially when I've been away from home for so long. But I don't know what to write beyond 'it's dry'..." End ID]

to this bit at the end of chapter 12:

[ID: Meryl approaches a mailbox with luggage in hand. She slips a letter inside, then sighs with a smile. Milly yells, "Maa'aam! What are you doing?! We're already late!" To which Meryl replies, "Ok! Ok! Ok! I'm coming!" End ID]

the experience was enough for her to accept that she might not be the closest with her parents (or just father? considering she only ever mentions a father in this all), but it's still worth reaching out even if she doesn't have much to say.

this arc is the most we see about Meryl's backstory in the manga, but I think we can draw a few things from it. we have a definite mention of a father, but no others. no mention of siblings or any other family members. she's distant from her father, too busy following her heart & goals, but she doesn't have a bad relationship with him. just Distant. she feels disconnected from him, even Cold, for her focus on her work & the practicalities in front of her. but even with that disconnect, she still cares enough about him to feel guilty when she realizes she's been doing this.

and then considering later, when we see the flashback of a man giving her the gun... i'd assumed that was possibly a senior at her work (probably tristamp giving me that perception, from Roberto), but keeping all the rest of this in mind... it really could have been her father.

i went looking to try to find that part. did not find that one exactly, but i DID find this one from trimax chapter 34:

[ID: A nearly bald man with a kind face and what appear to be shooting ear muffs around his neck tells Meryl, "Consider guns delicate. Women, most of all, should make use of them. One shot will level the playing field between you and a big, strong man." End ID]

if this is indeed her father, it would explain why she knows how to shoot like she does. perhaps her father taught her as she was growing up out of the wish to help her protect herself. maybe they weren't incredibly close, but he still clearly cared about her & wanted what was best for her and her safety. the kind of father that's content to let her do whatever her heart wishes, since her happiness is his happiness.

and then chapter 12 ends with this page:

[ID: A black framed page with a single panel at the center. The panel shows Meryl from behind, running with her luggage in hand. The text boxes to the sides state, "All of life is connected by a river... And the beginning of the river... is now." End ID]

she continues on her own path, not looking back, but she is still connected to the ones in her heart... including her father.

(Manga panels referenced from @trigun-manga-overhaul !)

[hastalavistabyebye]

The Keychain, Part 1

Ao3 version

The 21st Nova Corps were rarely deployed in inhabited regions. It was even less frequent for them to be able to stop in any city they would pass by. This campaign in the Ringlite system hadn’t been an exception until now. 

It had started three months ago. Three months during which they had been fighting against the Separatists, planet after planet, without a break. It has been one of their longest campaigns yet. 

But they were slowly getting to the end of it. One more month and the System should be back under the Republic’s control. It was a good thing, every trooper was starting to tire at this point. 

The 21st was known to be one of the most disciplined and no-nonsense battalions. Even then, the troops were getting especially calm and quiet, these days. The only noticeable incidents were from oversight mistakes born from too repetitive tasks, at worst. No rousing each other, no lighthearted antics during intermittent respites. No jabs nor laughter could be heard in the campement. All of them were saving their energy for fighting, they didn't have the force for not much of anything else, anymore.

In the face of this growing durasteel wall of exhaustion, Ki-Adi Mundi chose to take a break in a small shopping town their basement was close to, before setting off for the next planet and the next fights. It won't replace a proper leave break, but it would still get his men’s mind out of the conflict for just a little bit of time. After all, a handful of days of rest was still much better than none at all. The droids will wait.

Tellingly, Bacara didn't even protest his express interdiction to do any kind of work, physical or mental, for the entirety of those few rotations. It really was time for this campaign to end if even his Commander was seizing the occasion to rest. 

With the help of the Force, they might even be able to finally pull out of the Outer Rim for a proper leave, when they’d be over, here. They most likely wouldn't make it to the Core, but the Middle Rim would already be a welcomed change of air. The Jedi surely hoped for this much, and he knew all his troops were feeling the same. 

-

Bacara had found himself wandering into the city’s market. He had agreed to take these few days of complete rest because he knew it would help make his mind clearer for the end of this campaign. 

A few hours ago, he finally had been able to send a check-in on the CCs chat and browse the comms he had received since he had last been able to check. Mostly his training batch being their insufferable selfs. They had already planned to make a comm call in the evening, now that he had a small respite. Ponds had also sent him a holo recording of one of his Shinies having a staring contest with a big, bright pink toad for a few minutes before the toad jumped at the kid’s face, who in turn fell backwards with a yelp. Bacara hadn’t been able to hold back a smile at the sight. 

The market was lively. This city wasn’t much bigger than a simple village really, but there were still a lot of people milling around. Merchants were selling all kinds of things, jewelry, everyday ustensiles, textiles. A few were hassling the crowd, loudly promoting the quality of their articles. He had passed a few of his troops tasting the local’s food with various levels of success, a few stands away. On one side of the market’s square, a woman was twisting colorful strings of wool in a young boy’s hair. Bacara knew he would find a few of his siblings with similar hairdressing at the end of the day. 

Next to him, three persons were enthusiastically showing each other little handmade trinkets, trying to find the perfect one for each other. It drew his attention to the display, full of pendants, keychains, lockets, earrings and other ornaments, in various materials, all looking like little animals’ heads. 

His attention was catched on one corner of the stand. Without thinking about it, he reached lightly for the little keychain adorned with some sort of reptile or amphibian’s pendant, he wasn't sure. It was made of a simple braided leather rope to which hung a small, triangular head with two big black pearls for the eyes, carved in a deep purple-blue shaded crystal dotted with vivid yellow inclusions that mimicked scales. 

“It’s a salamander. An amphibian common to our forests.” The voice of the seller surprised him, making him retract his hand from where he was brushing the crystal with the tip of his fingers. Good thing none of his brothers was there to make fun of his lack of attention. “Our myths often depict them as protective spirits, even if they always like a little bit of mischief.”

The graying woman smiled at him, knowingly, before reaching for the keychain. 

“The stone comes from the next System over. We call it fincree, the best translation would be “changing precious” I believe. It’s a sort of obsidian you see, it has the same translucent colors that change with the light, even if it’s not exactly glass,” she explained while lightly moving the crystal from side to side, to make the bluer reflections hide the more purplish ones. “The yellow inclusions is what makes it precious. It’s both crystal and stone because of them, see ? It’s a strong stone, one that anchors its owner, keeps them whole and guides them where their soul calls.”

Before Bacara could react, still a bit too focused on the charm, she took his hand and placed the keychain in it, closing his fingers around it and keeping them in place with both of her hands. 

“It’s for you, young soldier. Take it.”

He didn't have the heart to refuse, the stone cool and heavy in his fist, grounding. He was resigning himself to dig a few credits from his belt pouch when she stopped him again with a laugh. 

“None of that, soldier. It’s already yours. It’s a gift isn't it ? Let's keep it that way, then.” She smiled with that knowing glint in her brown eyes shining even brighter than before. She patted his fist sympathetically and then noticeably turned away to her next clients. 

Bacara observed the little trinket in his hand for a few instants more, brushing his thumb lightly over the surface to feel the smooth glassy surface alternate with the rougher spots of yellow. He safely stored it in one of his pouches before going back to his exploration of the market. 

The keychain would stay safe there until he could give it to its rightful owner. 

Part 2

[codegeassyaoisavedmylife]

hey guys. so autism goes crazy huh

[bambeebirdie]

This is for @bluepeachstudios ‘s Ghost in a Shell. It’s really good you should read it.

I looked at exactly one picture of Jupiter Jim and went “yeah this should be enough to draw him.” I will not be answering if it actually was

Have some bonus content under the cut!

And sketches

(I love any character who can say “I don’t want to go back to prison” it’s like the funniest thing to me)