#all those years drawing heroes in his notebook had turned him into an ARTIST

[theloveinc]

how come nobody cares about my deku can draw headcanon :(

[c-c-cherry]

Jojos Doing Jojo Things (with each other)✨😌

*sweating as the part 5 hc asks start piling up in my inbox*

 *looks at the one that mentions Jonathan*

Hello~~ I’m sorry for being criminally inactive here, I forgot during that long 6 month lockdown that I actually had a real life outside of the internet and now I have to go do real life things?? Instead of doing nothing but writing?? Crimes, I tell you.

I love the idea of Jonathan interacting with all the other jojos so I thought I’d take a little break from part 5 whump headcanons to fulfill this one :D SO HERE’S SOME SELF-INDULGENT HEADCANONS ABOUT JONATHAN DOING FUN LITTLE ACTIVITIES WITH THE OTHER JOJOS BECAUSE I KNOW WE ALL NEED IT RIGHT NOW😭😭😭

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Joseph (lets say Youngseph in this case because shhh)

-Hear me out but KNITTING

-Let this man do some nice calm things please

-Joseph has absolutely no way to connect with Jonathan. Like. Nothing.

-He doesn’t see the two of them as anything alike even though they both have the star, and when it comes to connecting with such a righteous, nice dude he’s a bit :/ about it

-He also doesn’t want to do anything stupid (In his words.) He hates baking, he’s never been into reading and school, and the two can never really click with sports

-Our man Jonathan has searched his heart and soul for something to bring the two of them together but Joseph is always just not into it >:(

-He’s almost given up on connecting at all BUT—

-One thing they do have in common? Erina.

-BOOM. Johnny-boy suddenly has ideas >:)

-Joseph is really put off when Jonathan shows up with a ball of yarn and needles and in the most innocent way possible he’s like “I have something to show you ^-^”

-the first thing Joseph thinks is NO FUCKING WAY. If Caesar or his mother or anyone caught him fucking knitting he’d never be able to live it down

-So instead he just watches as Jonathan sits by the fire, and it looks really boring at first but he just starts going at it

-And of course the gears start turning and all his brain sees is “fast task?? task I can be good at? something quick my hands can do??”

-And Jonathan looks up to take a break to see Joseph perched on the edge of the chair in complete awe, but the moment he asks if he wants to know how to do it, Joseph gets really withdrawn :/

The rest of their conversation goes a little like this:

“Isn’t that meant for girls?”

“Why would hats and scarves be only for girls?”

“But its—”

“You know...I’m making Erina a matching hat and scarf for her birthday. I could use a little help with the scarf…”

“...”

“We can make it a race.”

And with a fire lighting in his eyes, Joseph accepts the contest even though he has no idea what he’s doing. But isn’t that what he does best?

-Needless to say, he becomes obsessed.

-When his greatest fear comes true and Caesar finds out, he’s too obsessed to care about the teasing

-Joseph is good at something that Caesar isn’t. Caesar is jealous. Caesar picks up knitting.

-Are knitting contests even a thing?? I don’t care because Joseph and Caesar could probably open a fucking etsy shop with all the stuff they make (and absolutely shamelessly at that)

-Anytime they meet someone new it's immediately “which hat is better?” “Joseph’s is worse, right?” “Can you start the stopwatch for us?”

-Even in his older years, he never actually stopped making things for Holy, Suzi, and even sometimes Jotaro (thought Joot wouldn’t be caught dead wearing any of it in public)

-He actually progresses past knitting and making clothes in general becomes a secret passion of his

-The hat he’s wearing in part 4? He definitely made that. And don’t even think he doesn’t send Josuke the tackiest shit in the mail

Jonathan is very proud :)

Jotaro

-Animals. Is that even a question?

-Jonathan was always more of a dog or cat person, but the moment he finds out that Jotaro’s interested in marine life? MAN GOES ALL OUT

-He not only researches the shit out of marine biology just so he can hold up a conversation with him, but he also buys A SHIT TON OF BOOKS for his favourite angst man

-We all know that Jotaro isn’t exactly a man of words, but his heart is touched when they exchange a few sentences and Jonathan shows up the next day with a book all about what they were talking about🥺

-Like—Jonathan was always scolded for never listening to his father, but when it comes to stuff like this, Jotaro swears he’s able to read his mind

-Most people can barely get him to utter a sentence, but when these two are alone they’ll talk for hours about the ocean

-Holy was actually pretty worried for a while that Jotaro rarely ever opened up to anyone, but after seeing the two of them talk it was like a weight lifted off her shoulders :)

-They go on trips all the time to study water life. First, it's just to the river a few minutes away. Then they start going out to the lake nearby, and then they’re suddenly borrowing Joseph’s private boat and going on all these “research trips” together

-Which just consist of Jotaro taking hundreds of pictures and surprisingly never shutting up about what he sees (which is definitely a first)

-They pass by snooty, rich fishermen all the time who make fun of them for only looking at the animals, and Jonathan secretly uses Hamon to attract the fish to anywhere but where the fishers are lol

-I can blame snipster on instagram for introducing me to Smiletaro but the pure happiness and smiles of happy Joot on this boat with Jonathan is like a DRUG

-Star Platinum is absolutely thrilled, and when Jonathan realizes that Star is an amazing artist, he actually buys the stand a cute little purple notebook to draw all the ocean life they come across :3

-The moment they get back to shore Jotaro’s all -_- again around people, but you can still see the excitement in his eyes if you look hard enough

-When he gets into school for marine biology, Jonathan is so fucking proud

-This is an au which means anything can happen so I formally declare that Jonathan definitely got Jotaro those golden dolphin-shaped coat pins when the man first goes off to Uni

-He wears them as a good luck charm :3

Josuke

-Josuke is soooo easy to get along with, especially since both of them are such warm people :)

-Jonathan figures that it wouldn’t be hard to find something fun to do together, but when he actually thinks about it...he really knows nothing about what Josuke likes to do

-He ends up just asking the kid next time they see each other, and they end up just agreeing to teach each other one thing the other doesn’t know

-Because the power of KNOWLEDGE BABYYY

-Josuke shows up the next day with an entire fucking Nintendo 64 and is absolutely set on teaching him how to play something

-Erina just kinda watches like 👁👄👁 as Josuke plugs it in and Jonathan is confused but also SUPER EXCITED because he barely even knows what a video is but there are also video games??

-After much internal debate, Josuke decides on Ocarina of Time because he’s worried Jonathan will have a fucking heart attack if they play something like Mario Kart

-Also he thinks Jojo would enjoy the whole “righteous hero coming of age” archetype thing because,,,you know,,,

-They start it up and immediately Jonathan is like WHAT and has no idea how to play and dies in ways that Josuke didn’t even know were possible, but they somehow make it to the first temple with a lot of help from Josuke

-Right before the boss fight, his mom pulls up like “bitch we gotta go come on” so Josuke sees no harm in leaving the system at Jonathan’s and coming back next week

-Oho,,,ohohooo,,,

-He comes back a week later to a dark house,,,Erina’s off on some trip, and he can hear the faintest “HYAH!” coming from the living room

-He walks in to find Jonathan in the exact same spot he left him, ALL OTHER SAVE FILES ARE COMPLETE, and he’s in some obscure location doing a side quest Josuke didn’t even know existed

-Turns out he’s really good at quest games

-After Josuke realizes that Jonathan’s managed to beat the game more than once, he asks if he wants to try out another game

-To which Jonathan replies: “There’s MORE?”

.

-Aside from giving Jonathan a crippling video game addiction, Josuke also learns a vital thing about Jonathan Joestar

-Hamon ^-^

-Josuke’s a little surprised that Jonathan can even see his stand, and Jonathan has no other way to explain it than that it must be connected to his Hamon somehow

-To which Josuke is like “what” and Jonathan realizes that his stupid fucking grandson decided not to tell ANY OTHER Joestar about Hamon

-He’s no Zeppeli, but he could try and teach him...even if it didn’t work, it would still be a nice bonding activity

-When Jonathan finds out that Josuke’s stand ability is revolved around healing, he’s overjoyed because he might have a better chance

-They start small with breathing exercises and meditation, which eventually lead to Jonathan trying to teach Josuke how to make things like flowers

-Since it doesn’t exactly come naturally to Josuke, things don’t exactly work out,,,but both are unsurprisingly happy when Josuke manages to make a single flower bloom :3

-It’s not much, but it’s there and it honestly makes Josuke feel much better knowing that he could eventually learn how to heal himself, too :)

Giorno

-Jonathan considered teaching Giorno Hamon a while ago, but he realized that his stand already has the properties of Hamon, if not just in a more humanoid form

-And when Jojo puts two and two together that he and his son can both grow a lot of plant life, he has the perfect idea

-Garden buddies!!!! :D

-They grow everything you could possibly think of, and to top it all off, Giorno fills the garden with all this animal life :)

-When it comes to biology, Giorno never shuts up about it. He’s the quietest kid when it comes to virtually anything else but prepare for MAJOR info dumps about frogs and his vast knowledge of flowers

-Speaking of flowers, them just sitting and growing them together and talking about all of their favourites? Yes please

-Although they love to accelerate plant growth, there’s one patch in the middle of the garden that they’re determined to grow naturally

-Also them growing and eating carambola (star fruit) together because it’s my pocket dimension that makes no sense and I get to decide what fun fruits the Joestars get to eat together

-the garden becomes a great place for picnics and outings and the best place to go when things get too chaotic

-Giorno starts a plant journal where he records everything that ends up growing there, and Jonathan starts impulse buying all these flower guide books so they can look at pictures of them and put their favourites in the garden :3

-They end up creating a little pond in the middle of everything, and Giorno puts a whole bunch of frogs and fish in it and it's all very tranquil and calm and nice :))

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I was gonna do part 6 (maybe part 7 too?) but mental energy? I don’t know her, sorry y’all :(

Feel free to add on though!! I wanna see what y’all would think Jonathan would wanna do with Jolyne or anyone else I missed :D My first thought for Jolyne was Rugby because Jonathan was a rugby KING and I feel like she’d be really good at it lmao

[just-dreaming-about]

Big Hero 6

This time I come with a Big Hero 6 fanfic because I'm in the mood for this guys. Also I'm trying with (Y/N) because I couldn't find a good name for this one and you could imagine her/him whatever you want. I just love this movie and I hope you enjoy this!

Starting a new life it's always hard. You only had twelve years when your dad came to home with the news: "They give me the job!" You celebrated with your parents, both happy and excited, and you were happy because they were happy -you didn't had any idea what those words implied.

The first few weeks were very hard, unpacking and accommodating but luckily your parents made the job easier for you; music and laughs sounded throughout the house. Then, the day you were finishing painting the living room, the only place in the house that hadn't yet suffered your artistic attack with the brush, someone knocked on the door. You peeked down the hall without caring that there was paint all over your clothes, face and hair to see how your two parents opened the door to a stranger. That woman introduced herself as Cass Hamada and had brought her nephews to introduce herself to the new neighbors. It was weird. Where you lived, the neighbors ignored each other or yelled at each other because they annoyed each other.

One of this woman's nephews was your age, with messy black hair and a gesture of discomfort as if he preferred to be somewhere else. The other, the one who caught your young and easily impressionable heart, was tall, probably older than seventeen, wearing a baseball cap and preventing his little brother from running away from the situation. Still, no one was surprised that your parents were two men. One of them, the one who had gotten the job as journalist and for whom you had moved to that city turned to the hallway looking for you.

-We have a (girl/boy) your age, Hiro -said the one who hadn't turned.

-Wow, Hiro! An opportunity to make friends! -Mrs. Hamada was excited.

-It has to be around here... (Y/N)!-yelled the one turned.

You hid yourself and took a look in the mirror; it was when you realized how you looked. Your head was a chaos of negative thoughts and your hands tried to fix your hair. Your father shouted your name again and you took a deep breath, your two parents didn't mind going out with a paint mess, you shouldn't care either. Gathering all the confidence you were capable of, you went out into the hall and let them see you. Hiro looked annoyed, Tadashi just smiled and Mrs. Hamada looked like she was about to jump out of excitement.

-Aren't you the most adorable thing in town? -smiled Mrs. Hamada- Hiro, say something.

-I don't wanna to say anything -said Hiro crossing his arms.

-Then I'll say it -said Tadashi, bending down to be at your height- Hi, I'm Tadashi. This is my aunt Cass and he is the stupid, grumpy and immature of my brother -Tadashi was still smiling, although Hiro was complaining behind him, and extended his hand towards you- How are you?

In that moment you decided that Tadashi was the perfect boy.

From that day on, you became inseparable from the Hamada. They lived across the street and you always had fun being at their home. When you couldn't get out of your house because you were sick or punished, Tadashi made funny gestures out of his bedroom window -which looked at yours- while Hiro just looked at you wrongly or stuck his tongue out at you.

Trying to be friends with Tadashi was very easy, he was a person with whom you could talk about all subjects and who never laughed at your concerns. When you turned thirteen, a classmate invited you to the movies -your first date- and your response was to run to the Lucky Cat Cafe and tell Tadashi while you were dying of shame because Hiro was laughing at you.

Trying to be friends with Hiro was something else. Hiro was only interested in robotics and robo-combat and building robots. It was boring. The worst thing of all is that Tadashi started university and almost all his free time was spent at the university or working on his project so you had to spend time with Hiro. Now the routine was go to the Lucky Cat Cafe when finish class, grab some candy and interrupt Hiro in anything he was working on until Tadashi came home and played with you or your dads came to pick you up, whichever was earlier. Sometimes you stayed in his room or in the garage with Hiro while he worked and you did homework, both in silence until you had a doubt and Hiro tried that you find the answer by you alone because you wouldn't learn anything if he simply gave it to you.

The days went by while Hiro graduated from high school and rubbed it in your face, Tadashi continued to be an older brother to you, Aunt Cass prepared her delicious sweets, one of your dad entered as a professor at the University of San Fransokyo and the other entered as a journalist in one of the most important newspapers in the city. Things were going well.

The holidays passed quickly, Tadashi spent a lot of time in his laboratory, Hiro ignored you while working on his new robot and your young person of fourteen fantasized about Tadashi who was now your great crush.

-You know you will never be together, right? -said Hiro without looking at you.

-Excuse me? -you stopped sketching Tadashi's face on you notebook. You recently discovered that painting was one of your qualities and that you really enjoyed drawing everything you saw.

-Nothing, don't worry -he said with that tone that he always uses to make others believe that he doesn't care but you knew very well that he was dying to say something else.

-What do you know about this things?

-He is four years older than you, it is silly that you continue with that.

-It is none of your business if I have a crush for your brother.

-You are wrong about that. My favorite activity is seeing how you look at Tadashi, really expecting him to notice you like that. Do you know that that would be pedophilia? But what do I know about these things?

Finally, Hiro turned his chair to look at you with his sly smile plastered on his face until he saw your pained-angry expression and realized that you were about to cry. You ran out of there without saying a word, Hiro screaming your name running after you, you almost collided with Aunt Cass before leaving and crossing the street to go up to your house. You didn't open your bedroom door even to Tadashi when he came to see what had happened between you and Hiro. After three days without showing up at the Hamada's house, Hiro tried his luck with a drone that carried a message for you. At first, you were surprised to see that weird robot but when you looked behind it -towards Hiro's window- you saw the boy with the drone controls and with a nervous smile on his face. You shot him an angry look and closed the curtain, which didn't open all week.

One night after dinner, Aunt Cass appeared at your house, your dads were trying to calm her in the living room, she seemed about to break. Apparently, Hiro had disappeared and Tadashi had gone looking for him, Aunt Cass thought he would be here with you but he wasn't there -she didn't know that you and Hiro had fought. You sat with your parents in the living room, waiting for news from Tadashi while Aunt Cass was debuting the cookies your parents had brought, a feeling of anguish tightening your chest. Then Aunt Cass received a call from the police station and ran to find her nephews, your parents sent you to bed, it was very late and you had class tomorrow but you couldn't sleep: when Aunt Cass's car appeared on the street, you stuck to your bedroom window to see how the Hamadas were arguing with each other before entering the house. You sighed in relief to see that Hiro was safe and reacted late when the light in the brothers' room came on. Hiro had sat at his computer and looked out the window -out of habit- and saw you there with a worried face. He gave you the most sly smile and you show him your middle finger before closing the curtains again. Now you could sleep.

When missing your friends won over your pride, you showed up in the Hamada's garage to see Hiro and Tadashi very focused on something they were working on, Tadashi first became aware of your presence and gave you one of his kind smiles before leaving you with Hiro to fix whatever had happened between the two of you. Hiro was very bad asking for forgiveness and talking about feelings but you were honest with him; you told him that in your old city you didn't have many friends, so Tadashi behaving so well with you was a great change for you. You also told him that you weren't in love with Tadashi, not really you thought, you were in love with the idea of ​​Tadashi: an attentive, smart and funny boy who cared about making you feel welcome in his house because he knew you didn't know anyone and you needed friends. You ended up accepting Hiro's apology and hugging him even though he had never liked this kind of display of affection.

But he also hugged you.

Now you were in context; Tadashi showed Hiro his university and introduced him to his friends and Hiro had marveled at everything and was now trying to carry out a huge project to let him study there as well. You also met Tadashi's friends since they started coming to the Hamada's house to cheer Hiro and help him advance his project, you became good friends with Honey Lemon and Fred, you even went to eat with all of them because they invited you. Your parents were concerned that your friends list was practically much older than you but they couldn't say that they were a bad influence on you, quite the opposite actually. While Hiro was developing his project, you kept him company simply by being there with him; you talked to him about how the classes had gone, who you had a fight with, which teacher you thought was against you because you didn't pass the last exam and you drew. You spent hours talking and talking while you drew. Sometimes Hiro would go for hours and hours without answering and you thought he wouldn't listen to you and you were silent but then he interrupted his work and asked you what happened next. You smiled broadly at him and kept telling him the story. Sometimes he would ask you for help with the most important task; give him gummy bears. He would leave his mouth open and you would put the sweets.

Until the day you fell asleep at the Hamada's garage. It wasn't planned, you were really having fun with Hiro throwing gummy bears to his mouth and sketching Hiro's hands while he worked. At some point in the night Hiro realized that you had fallen asleep in the couch over your sketches but didn't wake you up, he looked for a blanket and put it on you before continuing to work. The next morning the laughter of the others woke you both up, Tadashi had taken a picture of you both sleeping together in the couch and Fred was starting to sing a song about you two sitting under a tree. From that day on, the atmosphere between you and Hiro changed. You wouldn't know if it was your negative reaction, the panic on Hiro's face or the fact that Hiro shouted that you liked Tadashi, you only knew that that day you felt very bad, a pressure in your chest that you wouldn't know how to define. Tadashi went to talk to you and you both sat down on the stairs in front of your house to talk; he told you that he was honored to have been your first love but he also told you that he felt bad for being the first to break your heart. You, to Tadashi's relief, told him that you weren't in love with him. You confessed that you didn't understand your own feelings but it was true that you took references from him for the idea of ​​your type of boy: cool, smart and who cares about your well-being. He said, mysteriously, that you would end up realizing it. What did you have to realize? You had no idea and Tadashi wasn't going to make it easy for you. The Hamadas were obsessed with you learning by yourself.

-I thought you promised to keep my secret -you said entering the Hamada's garage- I thought you were my friend.

Hiro was sitting at the computer but his head rested on his hands and his elbows on the table, he seemed to be overwhelmed by something. When he turned to see you, it looked like he hadn't slept in days.

-I'm your friend, (Y/N).

-Friends keep secrets.

He signed, seemed really bad.

-Is the idea of ​​dating me so bad?-you didn't know where those words came from but once they were said there was no going back. The tension between you two seemed to increase.

Hiro mumbled some things you didn't understand before sighing again and running a hand through his hair.

-What did you said? -you asked a little more abrupt than you intended.

-Can we become friends again?-he repeated a little louder- I miss you...

Something inside you stirred restlessly and perhaps it was his pleading look or that you missed your friend but you ended up smiling defeated. This time it was Hiro who hugged you, whispering another apology.

The day before the convention where Hiro was supposed to prove himself to Callahan, you spent the evening trying to calm Hiro who was on his nerves pacing from one side of the garage to the other checking that everything was perfect. Since it was an impossible task, you let him be while you made new sketches in your new sketchbook. So you spent several hours until Tadashi appeared and stood next to you to see your sketches.

-You never cease to amaze me with every drawing, (Y/N).

-Miss Trainor has taught me to focus more on how light moves -you commented absentmindedly looking at Hiro to erase a line from your sketch and draw it again.

-What are you drawing? -Hiro asked coming closer to look too.

You panicked for a few seconds and closed the notebook. This had been going on for a couple of weeks; when you started drawing you showed all your sketches, then when you started drawing Tadashi it didn't bother you that Hiro saw you draw but lately when you drew Hiro you didn't let him see your sketches. A feeling of urgency and shame arose within you every time he asked to see your notebook.

-Why can Tadashi see and I can't?

At Hiro's insistence that he was beginning to get upset and your denials that you were starting to get angry, Tadashi ended the discussion.

-Because I am a human being who stays neat and rests well. Have you seen your face? Did you even take a shower yesterday? What impression will you make tomorrow if you fall asleep in your own talk?

Embarrassed, Hiro fled to shower, slamming the door behind him. You and Tadashi laughed at the situation and then he started to go over the same details that Hiro had been perfecting.

-You care about him a lot -you said, storing your things in your shoulder bag.

-He is my little brother, for me it is natural to worry -he shrugged his shoulders closing one of the containers of microbots.

-I'm jealous... You have each other. I am always alone at home when my dads aren't around.

-You have us, (Y/N) -Tadashi approached you and put a hand on your shoulder and gave you that smile that was reserved for Hiro- You are one more and you know it.

-Thanks, Tadashi.

You hugged Tadashi with all your might, partly because you didn't want to cry and that he called you corny, and partly because you wanted to show him how grateful you were for accepting you into his family. After you broke up, Tadashi asked you to come upstairs to check that Hiro had showered and to see if you could get him to get some sleep, he was going to finish the last checks.

In other circumstances you wouldn't have minded entering Hiro's room without calling and yelling at him to do what Tadashi had asked but now every step that brought you closer to the room made you blush more. For some reason it took a lot of courage to knock at the wall to advise him that you were there, to your relief, a freshly showered and already dressed Hiro peeked down to see who was there.

-Since when do you knock? -Hiro asked, yawning and stepping aside to let you in.

-Since when do you not sleep?-you changed the subject bluntly but Hiro didn't seem to care.

-As the date gets closer I find it harder to sleep -he confessed with a shrug- I review things in my head all the time, I want it to be perfect.

-You will be better off if you rest properly - you scolded crossing your arms.

-I can't, okay? I can't sleep. Does it matter? My technology will speak for me.

-Of course it matters! Ugh. Sometimes you're impossible.

Full of rage and without saying another word you took Hiro's hand and dragged him to bed, laying you down with him. Hiro was a chaos of stammering, complaining and blushing but you imposed yourself and forced him to lean his back against the bed, you ordered him to close his eyes and you stayed with him looking at the ceiling. After a few minutes Hiro opened his eyes and turned his head towards you to tell you that he was still not sleeping. You completely turned around and looked at him angrily.

-I will stay with you until you fall asleep.

And he didn't try anything to make you leave.

The next morning both Hiro and you had to put up with comments from Tadashi, Fred, Gogo... Even Aunt Cass made a comment!

One of your dads as a professor at San Fransokyo University was helping to organize the event and the other had to be there to do an article about the event for the newspaper so Aunt Cass offered to take you with Hiro and Tadashi. Even you could see perfectly well that Hiro was pretending not to be nervous when he was actually about to have an attack so you spent most of the way holding his hand to cheer him up. You gasped when the convention doors opened and it had to be Hiro who pulled your hand in order for you to move forward. Before everyone scattered around the room to hand out the containers that guarded the microbots that Hiro had built, Honey Lemon took a selfie of the group where, to your surprise, it was Hiro who pushed you into a surprise hug so in the photo you came out looking at Hiro, smiling and if you looked closely you were a little flushed. After that you were going to go with Aunt Cass to wait for Hiro's exposition turn, but Hiro didn't let go of your hand.

-All right, bro. This is it -said Tadashi trying to bump fists with Hiro but he was distracted- Come on! Don't leave me hanging -Tadashi looked at me and then to Hiro to realize that Hiro was worried- What's going on?

-I really want to go here -he said frankly at the time he squeezed your hand.

-Hey, you got this -reassured Tadashi putting a hand on his shoulder.

Hiro looked at you one last time before releasing your hand and walk to the scenario. Tadashi and you shared a worried look but he put his arm around you and took you with him searching for aunt Cass, your two dads and the gang: they actually found the best place where they could see Hiro but when people started noticing Hiro exposition and they started to approach to see better you were too small to see through them so Wasabi sit you on his shoulders. Hiro started shyly and you thought he was so cute when he started talking with new confidence. That was the Hiro you knew and you were so proud of him. The exposition finished and you were left behind with aunt Cass and your parents and when you did it to where Hiro and the gang was, a men was already leaving them and you freaked out that this men was Alistar Krei from Krei Tech and Callahan was giving Hiro his acceptance card. Hiro seemed so freaked out and you take advantage to run and surprise him with a big hug.

-That was amazing! Why did you so much drama last night?

-What happened last night? -asked Fred with that tone that made you and Hiro blush and broke the hug.

-Nothing you should care -you crossed your arms and frowned to him.

Your parents called you and you thanks them for that, perfect timing. They told you that they should stay for the party because of their job so you had to go with the Hamadas, that didn't bother you and you found the gang going out the building. Actually, Hiro and Tadashi were leaving behind after a big hug from aunt Cass.

-Eh, where's going everyone?

-They're over there, we'll meet them at the cafe -answered Tadashi with his big smile.

-Aren't you coming?

-I want to talk with Hiro, would you save us a place with you in the cafeteria?

You smiled to Tadashi, nodding, and them looked at Hiro to hug him again.

-That was really amazing, Hiro.

He hugged you too and broke when Tadashi took a photo of you hugging.

-I'll send this to everyone!

You simply blushed again but Hiro started to chase his brother yelling at him. Laughing, you tried reach the gang at the parking but then you heard people yelling and when you noticed it the exposition building was on fire. You were so worried about your dads that you started running without care if aunt Cass shouted you don't. Your two dads were good, they could go out the building fine but then, the building exploded and when you looked you could see Hiro at the ground yelling Tadashi's name. Either your two dads could stopped you when you run to him, you stumbled and skidded on the floor in your way but you made it to him and took his face so he could look at you.

-Hiro, where's Tadashi? What happened!? Are you listening me!? What happened!?

But he didn't tell you anything. In fact he didn't tell you anymore since that day. He closed up to you, to everyone, and didn't care if there were people worried about him. You didn't know what you could do or say, your dads insisted that you only had to be there for him but you felt like you weren't welcomed in his room anymore. You tried a lot but you couldn't reach him and the person who you go when you need advice wasn't there anymore. It was frustrating and you were almost depressed as Hiro but you thought you had to be strong for Hiro and Tadashi so you still go to school and then to the Lucky Cat Cafe, you went to Hiro's room and helped him with cleaning and trying to get him out but he didn't want you there. You still trying showing him a new painting you did in Art Class but he didn't care. You thought that painting was horrible anyway, since Tadashi's death you didn't draw anything good. When it was time for you to go to your house, Aunt Cass hug you and said that you were doing good, but you didn't believe it. Took you a few weeks to stop trying. You didn't know what to do either the gang didn't have any idea.

And then, one night, your phone ring with a message from Baymax. You didn't remember what a Baymax was but the message said that Hiro needed you so you didn't hesitate, you dressed up and were careful to not wake up your dads, crossed the street and stopped when a car park next to you. Wasabi, Gogo, Honey Lemon and Fred were there, and all of you saw how Hiro with a big armored thing escaped to the streets. Gogo take you on the car and Wasabi drives following Hiro to the bay where they were spying something. He freaked out when all of you go out from the car.

-Dude, what are you doing out here? -asked Wasabi saying what everyone was thinking.

-Nothing! Just out for a walk. Helps my pubescent mood swings.

-Pubescent? -you asked as he was regretting said that.

-You have to go! -Hiro yelled at all of you stopping the questions about Baymax.

-No, don't push us away again, Hiro. We're here for you -said Honey Lemon- That's why Baymax contacted us.

-Those who suffer a lost, require support from friends and loved ones -said Baymax- Who would like to share their feelings first?

You looked at Hiro crossing your arms, after all those days without say nothing he were here playing around? You were angry and Hiro could feel that. And just when Fred was starting sharing his feelings a kabuki masked man with Hiro's microbots tried to throw you a container but Baymax stopped it. All of you run to the car but Gogo had to took Hiro because he was this stupid that he was staying there. Once in the car, Baymax broke the car ceiling with his butt so Wasabi drives you out of there.

-Hiro, explanation. Now! -said Gogo.

-He stole my microbots! He started the fire! I don't know who he is!

-And you were trying to go for him you alone!? -you freaked out taking him from the arm- You're crazy!

The whole chase took all over the town, Fred freaking out about this Kabuki man was a super villain, Honey Lemon stay at the positive part and Gogo lost all his patience and sit in Wasabi's legs to drive. Baymax saved Hiro's life and you were about to suffer a heart attack almost at every turn. Honey Lemon and you hugged while the car fell at the water and Baymax take all of you out of there.

-I told you we'd make it! -said Honey Lemon.

-Your injuries required my attention. And your body temperatures are low -said Baymax.

-We should get out of here -pointed Hiro.

-I know a place -Fred was so strange again.

While Fred took you to his house, Hiro looked at you with a feeling you couldn't say what was but you frowned at him and hugged Honey Lemon looking some warm. Fred house was ridiculously big and any of you could believe it was Fred's house. The conversation with the gang ended up suspecting about Alistair Krei was that Kabuki man, Hiro was so strange when he said he would upgrade all of you and you all agreed that someone had to catch the one who started the fire where Tadashi died. All of them worked on what skills they have and you heard them on the design on theirs suits, Hiro was the last word on the design because only him knows what he can do on his lab and you feel like old times. It was refreshing and inspiring and the fact that Hiro and you could talk again was the best part. And when everybody had their suit you looked at Hiro waiting for yours.

-What are you looking at? -he laughed a little nervous, you even said he blushed.

-Where's my suit? -you were so excited about it, you can't wait.

-Oh, your suit -Hiro didn't look at you, he was evading your eyes- I didn't do it.

-What? We were working on it! You said... -and then you realized it- You don't want me here.

-What? (Y/N) That's not true.

-You're pushing me away, again -he tried to denied it but you cut hum- You did this all the time! Why I still believing in you?

-(Y/N), I don't... You don't understand.

-I understand everything. You just were my friend because of Tadashi -you can feel tears forming on your eyes and your voice broking- You don't want to be my friend anymore?

-I don't said any of that! You're getting me out of context. Let me explain...

He tried to approach to you but you pushed him away from you and hugged yourself.

-No! I don't want more lies! I tried everything, Hiro, to cheer you up but you ignored me and when I thought we started being friends again... I don't want you to hurt me anymore.

You were crying now and Hiro looked terrible because of that, he didn't know what to do to calm you and was looking around to think something.

-I... I didn't want to hurt you.

-I wish Tadashi were here, not you.

You know from the moment those words escapes from your mouth that you will regret that forever. Hiro looked hurt first and then angry.

-Get out of here! I don't want you in my house! Never!

-I hate you! -you shouted leaving the garage but you could heard Hiro's last words.

-I wish aunt Cass never took us to your house! I wish I never met you!

That words hunted you all day and night. Your parents didn't know why you spend those days crying in your room, you were hurt and heartbroken and you knew perfectly that you have the fault. Also you knew that Hiro and the gang were busy with that Kabuki man so you thought you shouldn't bother them. You were alone, again, and you thought you deserved it. You received a message from Honey Lemon telling you to call her and when you did it, you were surprised.

-And Hiro just left you there?

-Don't worry, Fred called Heathcliff to pick us but we're worried about Hiro. Could you check if he's at his house?

-I don't know if I should... He don't want me there anymore.

-Look, I don't know what happened between Hiro and you -that was Gogo voice- But I know something about you. You two are the best friends I've ever seen, ok? And no matter what problem you have between you, you are always there for each other. Ok? So go there and check him because he wasn't himself and he needs you even if he didn't know it yet. Got it?

-But...

-Stop whining. Woman up -she said before hanging up.

At that moment you heard a noise at the street and saw how Hiro and Baymax landed and went to the garage. You took all the courage you have and send a message to Honey Lemon "I got him". When you reach the garage you were hesitant until you heard them.

-Yes! No! I don't know! Open you access! -that was Hiro's voice.

-Is this what Tadashi wanted? -and that one was Baymax's.

-It doesn't matter!

-Tadashi programed me to aid and...

-Tadashi's gone!

You were crying when you stopped hiding and called him.

-Hiro?

-(Y/N)? -he was crying too.

Neither of you moved, just stare at each other in silence. Then Baymax said:

-Tadashi's here.

-No -mumbles Hiro looking at the floor- He's not here.

Then Baymax started to reproduce a video about Tadashi building Baymax and his failed tries. He was so optimistic, and excited and tired but he never give up. You were crying again at the sight of your friend and approached to Hiro who was looking at him too.

-Oh, man. Wait till my brother and (Y/N) see you. You're gonna help so many people, buddy. So many. That's all for now. I am satisfied with my care.

The video stopped with the image of Tadashi smiling and Hiro took his hand to his brother face.

-I miss him -he said.

-Me too -you whispered looking at him- He was like a brother to me.

-He was my best friend -he didn't looked at you.

-I know... And you're mine -you surprised him and now he looked at you when the image switch off- And I hurt you and I know I said things and I am so sorry for that. I was so frustrated and upset and only thinking on me but you were suffering too and... -you stopped yourself because you were crying so much that you can't speak.

-I'm sorry too. I should talk to you before but I was scared that you would be angry with me and... -he signed- I don't regret aunt Cass forced me to go to your house to meet you, (Y/N). Actually I'm grateful.

-I... Do-don't hate you -you said between cries.

Hiro smiled at you and hugged you and you cried in his arms.

-Those who suffer a lost, require support from friends and loved ones -said Baymax.

You both laughed at this and break the hug to look at each other.

-I didn't build you a suit because I don't want you get hurt. I was trying to protect you because I can't lose you too, (Y/N).

-I understand now -you nodded smiling but then punch his arm- Next time, talk to me! Got it? I'm here for you, you stupid genius butt!

-I don't get it -he rubbed his arm- I'm a genius or a stupid?

-You're impossible!

-But you love me!

He started tickling you and you hopped he didn't notice your blush or at least think it was for the laughs.

-I knew you'll make it -Gogo voice stopped both of you.

-The all team again! -celebrate Fred.

They show you a video that they get on that spooky island and then explain to you what you discovered there. Callahan was that Kabuki man and he was taking revenge of his daughter.

The gang prepared for his next move and you helped them, givin to Gogo her bubblegum, her bag to Honey Lemon and when Hiro took his helmet you took it from his hands.

-You're gonna be careful, right?

-I promise -he smiled to you and you believe him so you put him his helmet.

-I'm trusting you, Hiro. Just come with me again.

-I will always come to you, (Y/N).

He seemed like he would say something more but Wasabi called him so he smiled at you one more time and went with the guys. You were left on the garage and use Hiro's computer to use the satellites that Hiro had hacked when he was working on Baymax scan to see what was happening. You were so proud of then when they make it to trick the bad guy and left him without the microbots. But when you saw Hiro and Baymax going on that weird portal thing you freaked out and couldn't take it anymore more. You run to your house, it was your dad free day but you needed him.

-Dad! I know it's your free day but I know where you can get a big new.

-What are you talking about?

-I'm talking about the biggest new your newspaper have never seen. Believe me.

And he believed you so he take you on his car to Krei Tech just in time to see Hiro getting out that portal thing. Your dad started to interrogate to Krei and Callahan and the police and ambulance were starting to park so you take advantage of that to run to Hiro without anyone noticed it.

-Hiro! -you jump to hug him- You made it! You came back.

-I... I promised you, didn't I?

He hugged you with a arm but he sounded sad so you looked around and that's when you noticed it.

-Where's Baymax?

He just looked at the ground without answering.

-We need to take you out of here.

The gang hides away and Heathcliff took them away while you came back with your father.

After a few days things went to normal or at least as normal as they can be. Hiro went to university with the guys and you were so proud of him while you still were going to high school but now you pass all the afternoon and evening with them at the university, Fred said you were the new pet of pet's university and you didn't complain him because it was funny. And then one day Hiro came running to the gang with a chip in his hand: it was Baymax's chip, the original! And he was so excited about it so you help him with whatever he needed, even if was only giving him gummy bears.

-I think I get it! -shouted Hiro waking you up from his desk.

You fall asleep on your sketchbook again. Since Tadashi's death you didn't draw anything good but now Hiro helped you drawing again. He worked with you and now you didn't care that his head suddenly appeared on your shoulder when you were drawing, in fact you blush and feel this weird thing because he was so close to you.

-What? -you rubbed your eyes approaching to Hiro.

-Let's try! Ow?

With that, the robot go out his container and said:

-I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. Hello, Hiro.

He was so freaked out that he jumped and screamed. You both were celebrating til Hiro took you by your arms and kissed you. On the lips. Your lips just touched but that was enough. He pushed himself away, blushing hard and mumbling excuses while you were so surprised that you didn't do or said anything.

-(Y/N)? I'm sorry? We can forget about this if you want.

That's when you wake up and blinked looking him like he was an alien.

-You're crazy? -you were blushing while you speak- There's no way I'm forgetting my first kiss. Furthermore when I like it.

-You did? -he smiled his eyes full of hope and excitement again.

-I like you.

-You do?

-Stop asking, you stupid brain of circuits...

You have more things to say to Hiro but he interrupted you with another kiss and then smiled you with that sly smile that you really loved.

-I knew you loved me.

-No, you didn't, you little bastard.

-You're spending so much time with Gogo -he laughed while you throw your tongue to him just for him to catch your mouth with a deepened kiss- I love you.

You blushed abruptly because of the kiss and his words.

-I... I said I like you -you mumbled.

-I know but I love you since last year -he simply said with his sweet smile- That's why I was so mean with you. I was jealous of Tadashi.

-You're a weirdo, you know?

-But you love me, just you don't realize it.

You were feeling that thing again, the blush doesn't go away from your face and you suspected Hiro was delighted with that fact.

-I'm going to kill you.

-Death is a thing I can't take care of-said Baymax pointing with his hand.

-It's just an expression, buddy-answered Hiro, smiling.

-Don't be so sure about that.

[komatsunana]

Chronicles of Exandria: The Legend of Vox Machina II

I did this for the first volume, so I bought this artbook right away just to do it again. <3 My Winter’s Crest gift to all the critters.

The art. Once again I cannot overstate the stunning artwork of the critter community. I know some fans balk at the price, but all the artists are paid to have their art in the book - and I think the big price tag is well worth artist getting some compensation for their work (do correct me if I’m wrong). I won’t be sharing any photos of of the art, but most of it is available online already.

However, I will share this photo of the print on the box the book came in:

Excerpt of the Foreward:

“The memories in this book are real. They were created with love and laughter around a table with friends, and let loose on the wind to find what ears would listen.  The joys and pains of every winding turn still occupy our minds daily and if you are reading this, I suspect they live on in yours as well.  We were there.  We witnessed it unfold.” 

Vox Machina was only able to scry on Scanlan once, as seen in the episode Jugs and Rods, but some time after Scanlan warded himself against arcane sight.

The Mantle of the Tempest is described as “eternal autumn leaves.”

Keyleth goes on to rule with wisdom and grace.

Usually the Cobalt Soul has problems researching historical figures for whom there is little written word about...... With Taryon they had the opposite problem: there was too much! lmao. And 90% of it is believed to be embellished or flat out lies.

Nicknames that Taryon gave himself and were never used by anyone ever: “The Winsome Winner of Wildemount,” “Talented Tary,” “Golden-Maned Guardian of Good,” and “The Vindicator.”

Uvenda, the gnome in Vesrah, is still alive!! She’s stepped down as leader now and is the tale-teller of Vesrah.

The Ashari call the kraken that VM fought for Keyleth’s Aremente “Ulugrah the Requisite.”

Uvenda claims that Ulugrah, upon learning that the creatures it had trounced were legendary heroes (I’m assuming they mean Vox Machina), it boasts about it’s victory against them to anyone who will listen any who come to its lair in the Plane of Water.

Tova went by different epithets including: “The Bear,” “Little Half-Ear,” “The Bloody-Handed,” and “The Skin Changer.” After surviving the Hells thanks to Vax’s ring of invisibility, she gained the name “The Unseen Death.”  Little else can be verified about Tova, but none of her friends she went to with Dis survived.

Grey Hunt Lore

Lord Wolf de Rolo and Lady Melanie van Musel de Rolo were the leaders of the 4th reign of Whitestone. It was a political marriage and Melanie was particularly unhappy. She had a garden filled with flora and fauna from her home in Wildemont. The garden is now known as the Widow’s Garden and many of the plants were poisons that she used to slowly assassinate Lord Wolf with.  

After being injured in the Great Whitestone Fire, he couldn’t recover because of the poison and he died leaving Melanie the ruler. She decided to redraw the lines of the city walls, pushing into the Parchwood Timberlands which didn’t go well. Construction was plagued by accidents, animal attacks, and phantoms were reported (such as of Lord Wolf) - though the construction of a Temple of the Dawnfather went unhindered.  

Lady Melanie’s cousin was Ivan van Musel, a cleric, and he declared that Melanie had pissed off the Dawnfather by expanding without showing reverence. Ivan went into the forest after much mediation and was later found battered but alive atop a felled Direwolf.  Ivan had a vision in which the Lawbearer agreed to the expansion no further than where Ivan had felled the Direwolf and that from here on, a citizen of Whitestone must venture into the Parchwood when called to do so and be tested. 

Melanie created the title Grand Master of the Grey Hunt, the third ruling house of Whitestone, for Ivan.  The third house has since forth been in change of the Grey Hunt and managing the city’s relationship with the world beyond the city walls.

Hundreds of gold in property damage during Vox Machina’s stay at Dalen’s Closet while VM “relentlessly pranked” each other.

Whitestone became a thriving metropolis during VM’s year off - in part because of Allura keeping it safe during Thordak’s reign while everywhere else was ravaged.

K’yrrn - the dark elf that kidnapped Taryon - is from Xhorhas!

Though Tary could be called a fool, a braggart, a coward... in the moment he stood against his father’s selfishness and bigotry and forgave and reconciled with him is described as being more valiant than slaying.

Lionel Gayheart had “an unusual case of amnesia.”

JB Trickfoot continued to work in Whitestone’s library and it’s thanks to many of her notes that the Cobalt Soul has as much as they do on Vox Machina.

“Uh, yes, the very first thing I remember about meeting Vox Machina was when the red-haired lady jumped off a mountain.  It was grisly.  But what I’ll remember forever is what happened afterward.  The coin that Lady Vex’ahlia used, the glow of light, the power.  It brought her back to life.  They really were like gods.”

Taryon’s autobiography’s dedication:  “This book is dedicated to Lawrence.  But it is for my family.”

Taryon thinks his father was actually proud of Tary’s Darrington Brigade.

Tary never liked his father, but after returning home Tary began to love him.

Mariya, Tary’s mom, was part of the Brigade and took care of the injured warriors.

Maryanne, Tary’s sister, became the driving force behind the Darrington Fund charity and even gave up her home for those less fortunate than herself.  When she called Tary “brother” it was no longer an insult.

Tary is most proud that his mother finally has a united family, one to be proud of.

Kaylie Shorthalt talks a bit about Lionel - says he was a goofy son of a bitch. He kept talking to her about ducks though.  He once tried to show her his house, but he just took her to an oasis in the middle of desert that was full of ducks.

The Cobalt Soul doesn’t like to spread rumors but they do have theories of Lionel’s Marquesian mallard heritage.

Aes Adan, aka the Meat Man, rise to power coincided with the disappearance of several low to mid level criminals.

A scholar once went to visit Scanlan to interview him to see if the rumors were true that Scanlan had been the Meat Man.  The Scribe returned, unable to remember anything from his visit.  In his notebook were only crude drawings of ducks.  Scanlan still using that Modify Memory...

The fucking Cobalt Soul knows that Scanlan sacrificed the 9th level spell he was saving for Vax to stop Vecna from leaving.  It’s history folks.

For the folks out there who love the Briarwoods’ love for each other, some of an excerpt of Delilah’s journal:  “No matter the cost, my love, I will do it.  I care not how many must die, or how grave the sins must be that I commit.  I broke the world once for you, Sylas.  I shall do it again, and again, and again, for you.  For us.  Forever.”

Vecna envied the Raven Queen, as her followers did so not just because they feared her, but because they loved and respected her too.

Vecna threatened the assembled protectors of Vasselheim, saying that it would be the perfect place for ambush, but that’s no fun when there are many less-protected loved ones.  People he threatened include Earthbreaker Groon’s daughter (Desir), Vord’s family, J’mon’s concubines, all of Whitestone and particularly Cassandra.  And Young Velora Vessar, “playing alone in her room.”

The Everlight: Redeemer of All

“Comprehension is the only true measure of dominion.”

Pelor, The Dawnfather: The Primordial Light

“Faith is defined by the darkness we have not conquered.”

Ethrid Brokenbranch AKA Sprigg the Obnoxious gets his own book of history by the Cobalt Soul.  Autobiographical writings were found in the wreckage of his house

The Goddess Ioun: Our Knowing Mistress

“Comprehension is the only true measure of dominion.” (This is the same quote as for the Everlight - idk which one is the error.)

The Raven Queen: The Matron of Ravens

“By my grace, all are rendered equal.”

It is forbidden to study Arkhan the Cruel.

Vox Machina lived out the rest of their days in relative happiness and peace.

Percy’s magnum opus is the Clock Tower of Whitestone - a national treasure of Tal’Dorei.

Vex continued to rule as Baroness for a time after Percy’s passing.  Vex saw her bother’s spirit after the birth of her first child.  She reconciled somewhat with her father and showered Velora with love and blessings.

Kaylie went to school at the Alabaster Lyceum in Emon on Scanlan’s dime.

Pike and Scanlan had a lengthy courtship.

Tary’s book The Daring Trials and Tribulations of Ser Taryon Darrington contained an accurate account of his time with Vox Machina, even if nothing else is accurate.

Grog helped Earthbreaker Groon restore the Temple to the Stormlord while staying Vasselheim, defending his title in the Crucible.

The final, actual words of the book that aren’t a dedication or part of an image:  “And as the story is told: ‘Everyday that raven comes to visit.’” ;’(

There is a stunning four page fold-out page of Percy’s clock tower. I cannot emphasize enough how lovely it is.  The end of it dedicates it to Vex and is quoted with, “I couldn’t have asked for a better dream.”

On the other side of the fold-out are some... sketches of Percy’s notes? It seems that Diplomacy is now powered up by Cabal’s Ruin.

 As part of “Cobalt Souls” thank you page: “Within a book, a story can only sleep. It requires a reader to give it life.”

[rattycattyfanfic]

stroke by stroke

Fandom: Once Upon A Time Pairing: Regina/Emma, Alice/Robyn, Regina & Henry, Regina & Zelena Genre: Family/Fluff Rated: T Words: 2,255

Once upon a time, Regina paints.

5 times Regina struggles with her secret penchant for creativity + 1 time she finds her muse.

Read on AO3

this grew out of the plot in the regina rising book, where regina takes art classes for a bit. if you haven't read it, it's not crucial for this, just the inspiration. purely wrote this because art school has been kicking my butt recently and i must live everything through the cathartic distance of fictional characters. enjoy!

warnings: suggestions of childhood abuse, swearing, bit of brief alcohol use.

Once upon a time, Regina paints.

She’s not good, not by a long shot, but she loves it all the same. Loves to paint the horses, the tall, breathing trees and the horizon with its promise of freedom always just out of reach. The thick oils feel luxurious in an unfamiliar way, a far cry from the extravagance of corsets and jewels and feasts. They feel sumptuous, soulful, vibrant as she lays down rich colour, and she delights in it, escapes into the stables through her mind every time she picks up the paintbrush.

Her tutor, Jasper, is handsome and smiles when she masters a new technique or finishes a work, and Regina blushes all the way down to her toes. And therein lies the problem; because mother rarely allows her daughter the distraction of hobbies, let alone friends or boys not specifically approved by her, and she’s eagle-eyed looking for any excuse to put a stop to this. The excuse comes in the form of Jasper hovering at her shoulder, guiding her hand gently and his breath in her ear, and that’s that.

Jasper is ordered to leave, banned from the estate, and mother gets her digs in about Regina's poor painting skill, and the pressure to find an eligible prince to wed heats up. She no longer has time for frivolities between other lessons and dances and tea with suitors, so she gives it up.

When Henry is little, he’s a prolific little artist. He scribbles and scribbles as she works at her desk, and they’re the most beautiful thing Regina’s ever seen. She laughs and kisses his cheek as he proudly holds up his latest masterpiece, and gently takes it from him and puts it up on the fridge with the other favourites, cooing praise all the while.

She remembers, sometimes, well, we can’t all be good at everything, Regina, and feels her stomach twist in humiliation even years later, and promises herself this is another way she will never allow herself to be like her mother.

Seemingly chaotic spirals of waxy colour become slightly messy colouring book pages – delightfully disordered as Henry colours inside the lines as best he can but takes creative liberties: blue Spiderman, green sky, pink dog, all boldly unapologetic like happy children are. “Mommy, help,” he pipes up one day during one of their Saturday Granny's breakfasts, and spreads out his crayons across the table and Regina freezes for a half-second before picking up the red.

She puts the new art up on the fridge with alphabet magnets and puts the old ones carefully into a box. Later, she’s grateful she had the foresight to save everything, because during that awful year she returns to it on the worst nights. After he finds out about the adoption in the worst way possible and gets stuck on fairy tales, Henry demands she takes everything off the fridge in a fit of anger and pre-teen embarrassment, and so those go in the box too. Between snarling fights with his birth mother and shaking panic, Regina spends all too much time gazing over those pages of childish shapes until her vision is swimming and all she can see is a garish blur.

• 

• 

They never pick up their comfortable colouring sessions after everything gets better again. Henry gets too old, too preoccupied with being a hero or the author or college or adventures, and Regina mourns it.

She fills her house with expensive paintings, artisanal prints of mythology, illustrations of plants in an attempt to fill the hole, make it warmer on those nights he’s gone. Her favourite is a huge horse painting that hangs above her fireplace and Regina imagines maybe she would have painted something similar if she’d been allowed the time, the encouragement to learn.

And once, in the Underworld after trying and failing to sleep curled up on one of the couches, she tries. The injured horse from earlier had stuck in her mind, had looked so much like her Rocinante but wasn’t, and the loft is dim, silent but for soft snores of Snow and Charming close by. Beyond a few minutes in the bathroom here and there it’s the closest to privacy Regina has had since they got here.

Enough for her to pick up a scrap of paper and pencil and hunch over the coffee table to draw. Regina tries to remember the arc of her steed’s neck, the angles of his muzzle, the soft fuzz at his chin, and sketches until her hand aches and her eyes grow tired.

It’s bad, but it’s not awful. She feels calmer, in the dark where no one can see her failure, mother long gone. She stares at the dark shapes meant to be his eyes, the glint and it’s off but she feels sixteen again, bringing the outside inside with her. And she feels tired, at last. Slowly, Regina lays back down under the soft blanket and allows herself this small ounce of serenity.

• 

• 

In Seattle, she is Roni and owns a bar and dresses in leather and old denim. She has pain – a failed adoption, an uncaring mother, an absent father, streetwise beyond her years and more loneliness than she knows what to do with, oh yes, she has pain. But the curse has taken away specific old agonies of forced marriage and murdered lovers and a mother who abuses and shames, and she might be relieved if only she knew that she’d forgotten anything.

Roni doesn’t remember never being enough in any way at all, being groomed for marriage and marriage only, denied the simple pleasures of hobbies or friends, and she’s something of a fixer-upper – handy enough to maintain the pub, physical and creative in a way Mayor Mills hadn’t ever been. Not to mention financially fucked. She can’t spare the cash for Regina’s extensive designer wardrobe even if she could stomach the idea of fast fashion.

So she does the next best thing – cuts up her tees, alters the fit with simple stitching, and one day when she has a spare few hours after a relatively slow shift, she picks up a set of cheap paints and goes to town on a jacket sitting in the back of her closet. After hours hunched over the jacket, a couple of cold beers, and a few loud spins of the Ramones, her mind is clear and her body pleasantly tired. The paint dries, and she marvels at her newly personalised jacket, adorned with tasteful flowers, unique to her, and for once, there’s no insecurity.

•

•

When Roni remembers and becomes Regina again, she admires the jacket hanging on the back of her door, trails her fingertips over the paint before finally slipping it on. Her cursed self had surprisingly done quite a good job and it’s hers and she won’t waste a perfectly comfortable jacket. (Zelena comments, one day, nudges her gently when she gets a closer look and sees the slight imperfections of a hand-paint job. “Never knew you had an artistic side, ‘Gina,” and Regina rolls her eyes and snaps a towel playfully after her, says “I don’t,” but has to hide her flushed cheeks.)

Robyn arrives in Seattle, tall and grown now, if a little rougher around the edges – her fault and in hindsight maybe the ticket to Amsterdam she hadn’t even run past Zelena had been a bad idea, much like the spellbook she’d passed on because we all experimented, Zelena. Robyn is brave and kind and funny, though, had never succumbed to the darkness or to vices like they both had even given the chance. She’s doing well, besides being, y’know, cursed, and some evenings, that bright-eyed, wild-haired girl Tilly – Alice – comes to visit and they exchange soft touches and warm smiles. (It reminds Regina painfully of a different blonde lost to her, and she turns her face down and pours out a shot.)

While Robyn dries glasses or wipes down the counter, Alice splits her time gazing at her girlfriend and hunching over a notebook, writing and doodling. Regina had seen over her shoulder once by accident, the pages and pages of loopy handwriting and beautiful drawings of stormy seas and far-off dream-realms (real, if only Alice would make the connection she’s so close to). And when Robyn gets off shift, they sit side by side and Alice explains each drawing with glinting eyes. “What about you? What do you dream about?” Alice asks, and so Robyn picks up a pencil and tentatively tries to illustrate a dreamt childhood filled with magic and mythical beasts.

(The curse breaks and for a short time, they all sit in Roni’s bar aware of what they mean to one another. Robyn smiles softly and says, “I remember when you and mom would colour with me, Aunt Regina,” and slides two pages across the bar counter towards the two witches. Regina’s mouth closes around a silent protest and she smiles too, exchanges a soft look with her sister, and grabs a purple pencil.)

•

•

The realms are united, and everyone is back together. Everything is good.

Regina sucks in a breath as she stands in one of the castle towers, looking over the kingdom. She still has her mansion, but occasionally, she likes to come up here and allow the treetops and winding rivers to clear her mind.

She sits down on a wooden stool near the window, brought up here especially for today. Actually, all of this had been acquired very discretely, just for her today. She could have summoned it, but she’s really trying to not use magic lazily these days and the ritual of gathering everything had been strangely soothing.

In front of her is a wooden easel and a small table laden with paints – oils, like she’d used as a girl, and fluffy brushes and spirit for rinsing. The blank canvas is terribly intimidating, but Regina keeps her breathing steady and reminds herself no one has to see if it turns out bad, this is just for her. To see if she can still, if it’s still as fun as she remembers. She picks up a brush and dips the tip in the pale blue and begins to work.

The time passes easily, and as the hours slip by the sky begins to turn pink, the sun warm and red and all the colours changing too fast to keep working. That’s about the time that the door creaks, and in comes Emma, a small quirk of a smile on her lips and blonde hair tumbling down her back. “How’s it going?” she murmurs, and Regina nods.

“I missed this,” she admits and surveys her work with her bottom lip between her teeth.

The blonde grins, and steps forward, her head tilted – “Can I see?”

Emma is tentative, always careful and considerate in these quiet moments despite her naturally chaotic state, and so Regina nods again, and breathes steadily. Arms wrap around her waist and a cheek rests on her shoulder as the blonde gazes at the painting, and for a long moment Regina is half-expecting disappointment or a stilted falsity.

Emma just makes this dragged out ohh sound though and tightens her embrace. “That’s really good, Regina, you never said you were good,” and Regina flushes deeply and shushes her, would maybe chuck something small and light at her if she wasn’t enjoying this hug so much.

“It’s just – practice,” Regina excuses, and lightly pushes away to spin and take Emma into her own arms, their eyes meeting. “But thank you.” She cups Emma’s jaw and brings her down to kiss her lightly, sweetly, awing all the while at how they finally got here. Her other hand trails down Emma’s cheek, and the woman feels slight wetness and whines, “Reg-ina.”

Regina smirks as Emma rubs at the smudge of wet emerald green on her cheek, only spreading it even more. “I’m so gonna get you for that,” the sheriff says with a childish grin and flicks a brush still covered in purple paint at her lover.

The paint splatters over Regina’s browbone and she gasps and then laughs, “Emma,” as she grabs ineffectually for the brush that Emma holds high above her head. Emma jumps back, bright laughter ringing against the stone walls, and her eyes are bright. Regina’s chest feels light looking at her, lunging for the brush again until she gives up and picks up a brush of her own. Emerald eyes widen and Emma murmurs a warning, backing up and still grinning until she hits the stone wall.

Regina closes in on her, presses against her, and then her sly smirk drops. Her hand closes around Emma’s wrist, pinning it as she leans in and brings their lips together tenderly. The kiss heats up, Emma moaning into her open mouth and flicking her tongue teasingly against red lips, and the brushes drop to the floor with a clatter.

And maybe they’ll regret this little paint fight when it comes time to clean up, but Regina thinks, this is what creativity, art is supposed to be like – serene solace, laughing with her lover over spilt paint, colouring with her son, drawing dreams with her family. They part, their breath huffing warm and unsteady, and she is contemplative, meeting Emma’s eyes and trailing her thumb over the woman’s plump lower lip. She’s beautiful, glowing in the soft sunset. Regina feels good and breathes into the space between them, “I think I know what I want to paint next.”

[thecomicsnexus]

The Case of The Chemical Syndicate

DETECTIVE COMICS #27 MAY 1939 BY BILL FINGER, BOB KANE, JERRY SIEGEL, JOE SHUSTER, JIM CHAMBER AND CHARLES BIRO

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC WIKIA)

Commissioner Gordon relaxes at home entertaining his young socialite friend Bruce Wayne. Wayne asks if anything exciting has happened lately, and Gordon explains that a fellow called the "Bat-Man" is puzzling him. Gordon receives a call that chemical manufacturer Lambert has been found murdered. They have Lambert's son in custody, whose fingerprints were found on the knife. Gordon invites Bruce Wayne to the Lambert mansion with him, and Bruce Wayne says he has nothing better to do.

When they arrive at the crime scene, young Lambert insists he is innocent. The lad explains that he arrived home early and saw his father lying on the floor. When he entered the library, he saw a figure escaping out the window. He pulled a knife out of his father's back, and his father's last word was "contract." Lambert's son recalls that his father had three associates, Alfred Stryker, Paul Rogers, and Steve Crane. Steve Crane calls Gordon on the phone. Lambert told Crane that he had received a death threat the previous day. Crane has received a similar death threat, and asks for police protection. Bruce Wayne decides to go home, and Gordon rushes over to the Crane residence.

Steven Crane is killed by a gunman who enters through the window. The thug and his partner steal a paper from Crane and climb onto the roof. They are confronted by a figure they recognize as the Bat-Man, standing in the moonlight. The Bat-Man punches the first thug out, then grabs the second one in a headlock and throws him off the second-story roof. He grabs the paper and escapes as Gordon is pulling up. The GCPD try to arrest the Bat-Man, but they are unable to catch him. Gordon learns that Crane has been murdered, and moves on to the next business partner. The Bat-Man smiles when he reads the paper he stole, and drives off in his automobile.

Paul Rogers visits the laboratory of Alfred Stryker, having learned of Lambert's death by news broadcast. Stryker's assistant Jennings clubs Rogers over the head and ties him up. Jennings explains that he will lower a gas chamber over Rogers and kill him the same way he puts animals to sleep. Jennings leaves to activate the gas. The Bat-Man leaps into the room through an open transom. The Bat-Man grabs a wrench and dives inside the gas chamber before it closes.

He plugs the gas jet with a handkerchief, and busts through the glass with his wrench. Jennings returns and tries to pull a gun on the Bat-Man, but the Bat-Man punches him in the face really hard. Alfred Stryker enters and demands to know what happened. When Rogers explains that Jennings tried to kill him, Stryker pulls out a knife to finish the job. The Bat-Man is hiding in the shadows, and he grabs Stryker from behind to stop him. The Bat-Man explains to Rogers that they were all partners in the Apex Chemical Corporation. Stryker had made secret contracts with all of them to pay them a sum of money each year until he owned the business. He grew tired of waiting and decided to kill them so he wouldn't have to pay. Stryker breaks out of the Bat-Man's grip and pulls a gun on him. The Bat-Man punches Stryker so hard in the face that Stryker breaks through a railing and falls into a tank of acid. The Bat-Man remarks that this is a fitting end for his kind, and leaves via transom. Rogers tries to thank the Bat-Man, but he is already gone.

Later at his house, Commissioner Gordon relates this story to Bruce Wayne. Bruce remarks that this is a lovely fairy tale, and leaves. Gordon thinks to himself that Bruce Wayne is a nice young chap, but he seems to lead a very boring life. Bruce returns home to Wayne Manor, where it's revealed that he is in fact the Bat-Man.

CONTEXT

There is a lot of bad blood behind this creation, so stay with me and we shall go through this...

So the legend says that Bob Kane created Batman when he was a minor and with the help of writer Bill Finger they did the story that was published in Detective Comics. And that is just a legend.

It’s hard to tell if Kane was a minor when he signed his contract to National. He was born in 1915, and that would make him 20 at the time National/Wheeler-Nicholson started the business. We know for sure he wasn’t the “creator” of Batman.

Comics historian Ron Goulart has referred to Batman as the "creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger". Bill Finger said this about Bob Kane:

Kane had an idea for a character called 'Batman', and he'd like me to see the drawings. I went over to Kane's, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of ... reddish tights, I believe, with boots ... no gloves, no gauntlets ... with a small Domino Mask, swinging on a rope. He had two stiff wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign ... BATMAN.

Finger offered such suggestions as giving the character a cowl instead of the domino mask, a cape instead of wings, adding gloves, and removing the red sections from the original costume. He later said his suggestions were influenced by Lee Falk's popular The Phantom, a syndicated newspaper comic strip character with which Kane was familiar as well, Finger named the character Bruce Wayne after Robert Bruce the Scottish Patriot.

Bob Kane said (and I quote): 

"Bill Finger was a contributing force on Batman right from the beginning... I made Batman a superhero-vigilante when I first created him. Bill turned him into a scientific detective."

Finger wrote both the initial script for Batman's debut in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) and the character's second appearance, while Kane provided art. Artist Bob Kane negotiated a contract with National Comics, the future DC Comics, that signed away ownership of the character in exchange for, among other compensations, a mandatory byline on all Batman comics (and adaptations thereof). Finger's name, in contrast, does not appear as an official credit on Batman stories or films, even the comics he wrote in the 1940s and 1950s.

To make Bob Kane more of a controversial figure, when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were looking for allies against the way National Comics was treating them, they went to Bob Kane, who betrayed them and at the same time re-negotiated his contract (as, like it was mentioned before, it wasn’t legal).

There is a documentary named “Batman & Bill”, that chronicles how Bill Finger created a legend and died penniless and forgotten, and how Finger's heirs, along with writer Marc Tyler Nobleman, finally righted this wrong. It also shines a light on the systemic injustices in Golden Age and Silver Age comics publishing, in which many other brilliant creators were shafted. 

The documentary’s most compelling when it focuses on the relationship between Kane and Finger, two men who couldn't have been more different. Kane, who died in 1998, was a brash, boastful figure, one who saw his creation—and its popularity—as an extension of himself. A classic showman, he greeted fans wearing sharp suits or Bat-cowls, sold original oil paintings of Bats (which the documentary claims were painted by other artists), and wrote a grandiose autobiography. Even when he wasn't around fans, he preened; the documentary makes much of archival footage and audio recordings of Kane extolling his own genius. Bill Finger, on the other hand, obsessively researched weird facts, and kept a giant notebook full of scraps and notes that he could use in the next Batman comic—information gleaned from riding the bus for hours on end, staring out at the city and recording what he saw. Batman's tragic backstory sprang from his own dark imagination, as did most of the hero’s other defining traits, and even feverish gimmicks like having Batman fight on giant typewriters or dodge giant pennies. But that creativity came with isolation: He made only one appearance at a 1965 convention, and did almost no interviews.

So yes, these days DC found a loophole (I suppose) and even though they still add the byline of “Created by Bob Kane”, they modified it to “Created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger”. I understand this was agreed by the Kane estate.

I think this Ty Templeton comic pretty much encapsulates the Batman created by Bob Kane...

REVIEW

A small synopsis for the other features I am following here. Crimson Avenger is dealing with a mysterious gambling-related murder. Bart Regan is trying to prevent the assassination of all the partners in a company (almost like the Batman story). And Slam Bradley is looking for his federal agent friend who went missing in Switzerland.

Of course the main attraction here is Batman, but I should put some emphasis on how the other features are changing and getting a bit more serious.

The Batman story has been remade several times, so this is not my favorite version of it. However, it is amazing that so many details of the Batman we know today are there already. And it feels too obvious for us, but the reveal at the end that Bruce Wayne is Batman may have been a mind-blower at the time.

I could go on and on about the many things in Batman’s style, but there are too many sources you can check about those.

Happy 80th anniversary, Batman!

I give the stories a score of 8

[sourwolfstories]

Shy Derek fics?

Noteworthy by joanc24

“You did WHAT?”

“I told Stiles he’s cute.” He can feel his face flushing as he fully admits, “Well, not exactly.”

“Derek.” He hated that tone, that ‘you better tell me everything before I punch you’ tone.

“I wrote it in his notebook!”

Possibili(tea) by dragon_temeraire

Stiles might have a crush on his co-worker, who always brews him amazing tea.

Big Spoon by Emela

If there is anything Stiles has learned from being forced to watch romantic comedies with Lydia since Freshmen year, it’s that when you begin to fall for someone, it usually starts with their smile. Or their eyes. Or even their ass. What all those hours do not prepare him for is falling head over- why-am-I-getting-a-boner-from-this- heels because of a blush.

A Perfect Storm by keeperofstories, queenofday

The first time Derek sees him is on the Subway.

The fifth time Derek spots him, the boy has a split lip and an angry alpha threatening him.

(OR: Where Scott is a really bad boyfriend and Derek ends up being Stiles’ hero)

Only You by Emela

Derek does his best to get out of the party, but despite his best efforts Erica somehow manages to convince him anyway. (The fact she mentions that Stiles Stilinski is going to be there, probably in tight jeans, is irrelevant.)

Derek finds himself roped into a game of 'Truth or Dare’ at a party and is dared to kiss Stiles.

Flowerwolf & Beacon Roots by alisvolatpropiis

Derek tries not to show his surprise, curiously hopeful, but still suspicious of Laura’s involvement. “Oh. How do you know my coffee order then?”

He grins. “The cute baristo knows your order, dude. All I had to do was ask for Grumpy Flower Guy’s usual.”

Derek huffs. “I’m not grumpy.”

“He says grumpily,” Stiles smirks, winking.

The sound of his own laughter surprises Derek, so yeah, okay, maybe Stiles has a point.

“Laura said that you weren’t really into dating,” Stiles goes on, “but that uh, you uh, well you know.” Stiles’ cheeks flush a very pretty ruddy pink under the scatter of beauty marks that Derek aches to taste. Stiles turns away, towards the cooler of roses, muttering to himself under his breath, which of course Derek can hear perfectly well. “Great freakin’ advice, Lydia, ‘just bring up sex and tell him you’re cool with having a one night stand,’ okay, sure, that worked fucking beautifully.”

“Okay.” The word is out of his mouth before Derek can even think about the consequences of saying it, something unusual for him. He wants Stiles however he can get him, it seems.

“Okay?” Stiles eyes are wide when he spins back to look at him.

“Yeah, okay. Let’s have sex.”

Pour Me Another by Brokenwords

If Stiles had been feeling a little less maudlin, he would have noticed the bartender right away. Because an ass like that with that body and a face to match? Yeah, that deserved to be noticed. As it was, he slouched his way up to the counter, plopped himself in a stool and waited until large fingers tapped the counter before mumbling, “Rum and coke”, without looking up. He was heartbroken okay? He was allowed to be rude and morose. It was in the rules or something.

Draw Me a Little More by BekkaChaos

Sterek AU: Artist!Stiles and Shy!Derek meet in a coffee-house when their waiter, Barista!Isaac, points out to Derek that Stiles has been staring at him.

The Way To a Man’s Heart is Through His Dog by SylvieW

Derek brings his dog with him to pick up Laura’s son, Isaac, from daycamp, and develops a crush of one of the counsellors.

The Predictability of I Told You So’s by crossroadswrite

“Erica,” he calls, patiently waiting until she deigns to turn his way. “It’s the fifth time in two weeks. I didn’t order this. You know it. I know it. Hot Angry Hale knows it, and I’d really like to get to work without any significant maiming so could you please, give me my order.”

Erica pouts, “You’re no fun, Stilinski.”

“You know what I am though? Hungry-“

“For dick?” Erica grins lewdly, cocking her head.

Something crashes loudly behind them and they both turn to see Derek staring mournfully at the glass of orange juice he just broke, the tips of his ears red. He looks like he’s regretting all of his life decisions.

Erica starts cackling.

‘Linski’s Late Night Antidote To Lame by WhoNatural

Where Stiles has his own college radio show, and the mysterious, faceless Derek is his number one fan.

Also there’s this really hot guy he keeps meeting in the library who totally hates his guts.

Give Me Shelter by WonderWolf

“I don’t make a good impression, I know,” Derek grumbles. “It’s fine. I get it.”

“Noooo,” Stiles groans in frustration, “but it isn’t fair because you’re not that guy, you’re not an asshole and you give cats punny names so they have a better chance at being adopted.”

“Who told you I named the cats?” Derek asks, his brows scrunching together in confusion.

“Scott,” Stiles smirks. “My favorite so far was Purrsephone.”

(Or the one in which Derek and Stiles both volunteer at an animal shelter, Derek works with cats and gives them punny names, Stiles works with the dogs, and misunderstandings ensue).

[mountphoenixrp]

We have a returning citizen in Mount Phoenix:

                                       Park Aryeh, who is also known as Leo;                                                        a 22 year old son of Brigit.                                    He is a writer and dance instructor at Zero to Hero.

FC NAME/GROUP: Park Jimin/BTS CHARACTER NAME: Park Aryeh/Leo AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: 22/October 13, 1995 PLACE OF BIRTH: Busan, South Korea OCCUPATION: Published Author, Poetry Blogger, Dance Instructor at Zero to Hero (Leo) HEIGHT: 5’9 WEIGHT: N/A DEFINING FEATURES: Fingers often covered in paper cuts and/or scorch marks, almost never seen without a notebook or journal and a pen, always has his laptop on hand, pastel pink hair

PERSONALITY: ARYEH Some people jokingly refer to others as afraid of everything. Aryeh literally is. His fears are broad, ranging from fire to abandonment to social interaction to the dark. He finds it difficult to make friends and spends much of his life alone. It doesn’t usually bother him; he’s more or less gotten used to it. Even when he makes close friends, he doesn’t often speak his mind. Preferring not to cause any kind of conflict, he mostly sticks to what others want to hear if he has to speak at all. Only those extremely close to him will get to hear his true unfiltered thoughts. This often makes him extremely persuasive, when he is willing to draw on his wordsmithing abilities. However, he generally chooses not to; what would be persuade someone to do, anyway?

Since his run-in with some overzealous fans, Aryeh has become even more shy and withdrawn. He holds interactions with other humans to be the scariest thing, the thing that causes him most anxiety. He more often communicates silently when he is able to, or simply speaks in few words when he must. Having a complete or extensive conversation with Aryeh is almost unheard of, and wherever he goes, he does so with as little face to face communication or conversation as possible. It is possible to have an entire interaction without hearing a single word from this shy demigod.

LEO Leo is everything that Aryeh is not. His hair is black (a high-quality wig), his clothes are stylish, his posture is good, his mannerisms are charming, and his eyes are lined in thick black eyeliner. He unabashedly loves to dance, and he is willing to dance just about anything. He’s fun, he’s flirty, he’s willing to try almost anything once. When someone needs help, Leo jumps in to help however he can. He fears nearly nothing and he’s never afraid to act or speak. This persona draws on his wordsmithing powers to become persuasive and charismatic when he wants to be.

HISTORY: Once upon a time, an average man charmed a goddess. He met her in a library and commented on the book of poetry she was reading. The two became fast friends, and then fast lovers, and then the woman disappeared. The man thought nothing of the short affair, that was what college was for after all, was it not? But then nine months later a baby appeared at the door of his dorm, bearing a note containing a love poem and signed Love, Brigit. The man knew right away it was the woman he had met all those months ago. But to suddenly have a baby, and in school nonetheless? It was all he could due to take care of both, though he somehow managed it.

Flash forward through his childhood, and the boy called Aryeh turned out to be the most cowardly of lions. Try as he might, his father could find no cure for his son’s anxieties and fears. His son was merely afraid of everything. The boy had very few friends, and most of the ones he did were fellow artistic souls. Aryeh’s one outlet was his poetry, but there were times when the poetry was an outlet for something bigger and darker, and the boy often burned that poetry. It was too strange, too dark, too morbid for him. The older he got, the more often Aryeh ended up keeping the pages scratchy handwriting that came from the painful fits of torment. Most of the time, when he wasn’t afraid, he was happy enough.

Flash forward again, and the boy was now in university himself. He was studying to become a nurse, and maybe one day a doctor. Maybe he will open his own clinic, or publish books of poetry, or own a bookstore or- but his dreams were cut short when he receives news one day. His father had died in a car crash. The ever present poetic muse cried Murder! Foul Play!, but there was nothing to prove that any of it was true. Cars were now on Aryeh’s list of fears, and he could no longer afford to go to school while working to support himself. While going through his father’s belongings, Aryeh found a single love letter, written from a woman named Brigit to his father. It mentioned a place known as Mount Phoenix, saying it would be a safe place for their child should he ever need it. And so to that island he went.

Fast forward once more, and Aryeh has left that island he once called home. University life wasn’t suiting him and he had more than enough poetry to fill books upon books. It called to him much more than medicine ever really had. And so he had bound up several of his poems, taken the work to a publishing company, and not so long after that his book of poetry was published. The book took off, becoming somewhat well-known. The small following it had gathered clamored for more. Aryeh’s poetry blog exploded, leaving him with more fans and messages than he had ever known what to do with. The boy lived in fear of ever meeting an obsessed fan, though he knew his paranoia to be unfounded; after all, he didn’t have any fans like that just yet. Nobody thought that highly of his work. Except then a few people started to. His first and only encounter with a few obsessed fans left Aryeh wishing for a safe haven, and the boy returned to his old home at Mount Phoenix and opened a bookstore, seeking peace and stability. Perhaps here he would be left alone.

Before long, Aryeh’s quiet and peaceful (and lonely) life began to dissatisfy him. He was a published author with a popular blog, he had opened his own bookstore, he had hobbies and passions, and yet holding a simple conversation with a stranger could overcome him? His myriad fears were still keeping him from doing things he loved? Why? So the boy left the island once more, though this this time with a much bigger purpose in mind: To become the person he had always wanted to be. So he took up residence somewhere he had never been and adopted an alter ego, one he called Leo, and kept up the persona until it finally satisfied him. Even if Aryeh couldn’t do things because he was afraid, Leo was never afraid of anything. He spoke his mind, he pursued things that interested him, he even flirted with strangers. The brilliant shell became popular in his new home, though the boy inside was still as full of fear as ever. At least now he could try out the popular catch phrase.

“Fake it ‘til you make it.”

PANTHEON: Celtic CHILD OF: Brigit POWERS: Despite being filled with fear of his godly inclinations, Aryeh uses his alter ego Leo to practice the martial arts and smithing aspects of his inheritance that he had always feared so much. As it turns out, Aryeh is quite good at martial arts and rarely ever loses a match or fight. He has always delved deep into the poetic and medicinal abilities that are indicative of his mother. His persuasive abilities, when he chooses to use them, are on a higher level than most and make him incredibly charismatic. He is also highly skilled in medicinal arts as he has a vast knowledge of medicine both modern and natural and knows what to do to heal or take your pain away.

STRENGTHS:

Physical Strength ~ Aryeh possesses above average strength and coordination thanks to his mother’s martial arts skills

Wordsmith ~ He is extremely good with his words, though he stumbles over them when speaking to someone new; however, his writing (especially poetry) is beautiful and moving and likely to inspire emotions in its readers

Medicine ~ Aryeh has both talent and education in medicine and physical healing, so he knows just how to set a bone and what medicine to take for most kinds of pain or illness

Alter Ego ~ His alter ego Leo makes the most of Aryeh’s strengths and powers and he isn’t afraid to use them

WEAKNESSES:

Crippling Anxiety ~ Aryeh is afraid of almost everything and has trouble doing anything or talking to anyone he is not familiar with; this is especially relevant to fans who approach him with a little too much excitement

Clumsy ~ because of his anxiety, Aryeh often makes silly mistakes such as tripping over his own feet and stumbling when he’s not focused or stuttering over his words, etc.

Darkness ~ not only does he have a fear of the dark, but Aryeh also is tormented by a poetic muse so powerful and dark that it can send him into bouts of depression; these bouts don’t last long though, especially after Aryeh has gotten the poetry out of himself

Artsy Fartsy ~ paintings, art museums, people who can paint (or other styles of traditional visual arts such as watercolors) are the one thing (other than poetry) that can break him out of his shell; his other love, creating a terrible trifecta with his love of poetry and paintings, is dance. Though he loves all kinds of dance, his favorite is ballroom. He does, of course, appreciate all and every art, but those are his favorites.

[daniel-browne]

Flaming the Flame

What a bummer to reader William Logan’s takedown of Leonard Cohen’s final poetry collection The Flame (and of Cohen in general) in the New York Times.

I’ll admit The Flame is not Cohen’s strongest work. Many, if not most, of the poems convey abstract concepts in simple rhyme schemes. With a couple of exceptions, they slip by without leaving much of an impression. The hundred pages of material from his notebooks are, unsurprisingly, tough to get through. Logan points out these failings and is within his rights to do so, though it would have been sporting of him to mention that Cohen was old, working through pain, and likely aware he was racing the clock when putting the material together.

The problem with Logan’s review isn’t so much his assessment of the book. It’s his rhetoric, which is personal and nasty to the point of obtuseness. At one point, he refers to Cohen’s “famous vanity and even more famous lechery.” “Lechery” is a tough word but defensible. Cohen’s obsessions with women and sex were certainly front and center in both his art and public narrative. But was he really famous for vanity? I can’t recall, in a lifetime of reading about him, coming across that description before, but to hear Logan tell it, you’d think Cohen was the original Morris Day.

The many homely self-portraits included in The Flame (and his previous volume The Book of Longing) may have made a different writer think twice about the accusation of vanity, but Logan has it both ways, saying of the drawings that “the singer’s amour propre came streaked in self-loathing.” Here he’s being either dense or disingenuous. Cohen’s sketches of himself are unmistakably comic; captions like “the importance of a previous existence as a fish has been exaggerated” leave no room for doubt about his intentions. “Self-deprecating,” yes. “Self-loathing”? Not the Cohen found in this book, Logan’s ostensible subject.

Logan is at his lamest in his repeated jabs at Cohen’s singing voice: “If singing badly is no bar to stardom, everyone who stands caterwauling in the shower should take hope.” Oy vey. What this remark is doing in a book review is anyone’s guess. As a line of attack, it could not be dumber or more tired. Is there a soul left alive who believes Leonard Cohen was less of an artist because he didn’t have the instrument of an American Idol winner? What about Bob Dylan, Joe Strummer, Madonna, late-period Billie Holliday? Are we really still doing this?

Logan goes on to assert “Cohen was not a poet who accidentally became a lyricist; he was a lyricist who for years fooled himself into thinking he was a poet.” I’m not sure exactly what he means by this, though I detect the implied insult in his refusal to concede that Cohen was a poet at all. It’s a doubling-down on pettiness that compels him to call Cohen “the singer” (rather than, say, “the author”).

The fact is, Cohen was writing, and being recognized for, his poetry long before he became a recording artist, publishing eight books in all (not counting collections). And while it’s true that many of the poems in The Flame resemble song lyrics in terms of rhyme and meter, the poems he wrote in his prime were completely unlike his songs: free verse consisting of plain, almost hardboiled language, along with feverish prose poems.

When I’m with you I want to be the kind of hero I wanted to be when I was seven years old a perfect man who kills

--“The Reason I Write,” 1968

I’m sure Logan could go to town expounding on this verse’s many sins, but it, and others like it, were a revelation to me when I was young and still guide the way I think about poetry now. Poetry doesn’t have to be pretty, or particularly musical, or loaded with sensory imagery. It can be the concentrated expression of a strange and startling idea.

I wrote a paper about this in college for Kenneth Koch’s poetry class. When I submitted my proposal, Koch wanted to make sure I intended to focus on Cohen’s poems, not his song lyrics (which, he said, tended to be “a bit tum-te-tum-te-tum”). Koch, unlike Logan, recognized the difference, but then, he was a great poet himself. He told me he knew Cohen, they’d been neighbors in their Greek island days. Leonard, he said, felt his poetry had been overlooked. My paper would cheer him up, a thrilling possibility.

I’m sure my words never made it to him, but at least he didn’t have to see Logan’s. Come to think of it, I wonder if Logan would have had the guts to undertake such a hatchet job—and if the Times would have had the guts to engage in such shameless click-baiting—when Cohen was alive.

Even more disappointing to me than the Times running Logan’s review is the esteemed Greil Marcus blessing it on the “Ask Greil” page of his website. Marcus has been an unforgiving critic of Cohen going at least as far back as 1975’s Mystery Train. I have a sense of why that is—the high romanticism of “Suzanne” and “Bird of the Wire” could be taken as an affront to the confrontational modernism Marcus generally favors—and, while I disagree with his position, I believe he’s thought it through. It speaks to his brilliance as a writer that he’s forced me to think harder about my own response to Cohen’s art. His praise of Logan, on the other hand, strikes me as piling on, chest-bumping a troll because he amplifies your unpopular opinion. It’s beneath him.

Logan ends this way:

“It’s hard to understand the cult of Leonard Cohen, the thousands who flocked to concert after concert, leaving with a feeling of illumination or exaltation, the sort of things for which people usually receive get-well cards. There are artists we don’t understand whom we are happy for others to love, and artists who attract an adoration that seems such a colossal mistake we can only shake our heads in bewilderment. Those who love Cohen may find in this gallimaufry the answer to their prayers. For everyone else, the only proper reaction is to shutter the windows and wait for the fever to pass.”

There’s a lot going on in this paragraph. Having found Cohen’s persona and body of work insufficient targets for his contempt, he turns at last to the fans: We’re a cult, meaning, I take it, we’ve somehow been duped into our appreciation. We’ve made a colossal mistake, our minds clouded by a fever so malign rational people have to quarantine themselves against it.

I’ll give Logan the benefit of the doubt he refuses to grant Cohen and assume this is meant to be funny. Lurking beneath the sarcasm, though, are many little perversities of thought and phrasing. There’s the pretentious filigree of “gallimaufry,” when “hodgepodge” would do. (Earlier, Logan sniffs that the words in Cohen’s songs are “just a syllable or two, on rare occasions three, almost never four,” as if this were a form of score-keeping.) There’s the insinuation that feelings of illumination or exaltation are, in themselves, something to be suspicious or dismissive of (“the sort of things for which people usually receive get-well cards”). There’s the smug conviction that the fever will, in fact, pass, which is to say that Cohen’s reputation will soon fade—possible, but if I were Logan, I’d stock up canned goods.

All this says more about Logan than it does about Cohen. Most telling is how bothered he is by the connection Cohen made with his fans. “There are artists we don’t understand whom we are happy for others to love”—Cohen is not one of those artists, as far as Logan is concerned. I’d be curious to know who makes it onto his approved list. The overriding question is why he begrudges others the passions that give their life meaning, but let’s leave that one to the professionals. There’s a time for criticism, and there’s a time for therapy.

UPDATE: In a Ringer piece that ends with Logan’s review, Rob Harvilla makes the case for the takedown as a fun and necessary part of the cultural conversation. I wouldn’t disagree, but if you’re going to get the knives out for Cohen, they best be sharp.

[dccomicsnews]

In the world of comics, Viktor Bogdanovic is a relative youngster. Recently on his Twitter (@VikBogdanovic) he announced that he would be working on Action Comics! This is a huge honor to any artist, to work on the original comic character on the original comic! He wasn’t just lucky though, he worked extremely hard to get to where he is today and it shows!

He started his career at image comics in 2013 working on Reality Check. The book focusing on a writer who creates a love-sick comic hero who suddenly becomes real and forces the protagonist to help him find true love, while the villain enters reality and goes on a murderous rampage. Two years later, in 2015 Viktor was brought on to DC where he worked on the comic for Batman: Arkham Knight which furthered his skills in the medium before being able to create New Super-Man!

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I reached out to Viktor on twitter after finishing a review of New Super-Man to see if he would like to interview with us. I was fortunate enough the he had the time and was able to do so. Being a fan of his work myself since New Super-Man #1, I was extremely excited to see what he would tell us! There are so many intricate and small parts to New Super-Man that can be over looked because it reaches deep into the history of the comics. But don’t take my word for it, see what he has to say!

  Q: What originally inspired you to get into comics and illustration? What inspires you today?

I watched a ton of Cartoons as a kid and then soon discovered comics and that was it. I was hooked. I started drawing my own Superman and Spider-Man stories at the age of 12 or so. I have never been more productive than I was at that time. I remember filling a bunch of large sized notebooks with sequential art in record time that my dad didn’t wanna buy.

Q: How did you originally get into the comics industry?

I did a few indie books and soon got the chance to work on my first mini series for Image Comics which was called Reality Check. I kept working on my drawing skills like a mad man and eventually brought up the courage to send a few sample pages to DC. It seemed unlikely that I’d ever hear back from them but two editors responded almost immediately. They gave me a test script to draw and about a week later I was working as the main penciller on Batman: Arkham Knight. It all went so fast, I didn’t even have time to process it all. So BAK went on for almost a year. Then came the next project with Deadshot and after that New Super-Man. I’ve been working pretty much non-stop for DC since the end of 2014 producing nearly 500 pages of sequential art which seems like a really crazy number to me when I see it written down like that, haha. Like I should go to a shrink or something to take care of my OCD (obsessive comic disorder).

  Q: How did your opportunity to work on Superman come about?

My editor just called me up one evening and told me that they’d like me to draw Action Comics. I was really psyched about it and also a little bummed out because I really loved working on New Super-Man. But there are just a few books in comics you can’t turn down as an artist and Action Comics is one of them so I said yes.

Q: What persona and story are you trying to tell through your work?

It all depends on the script. First, I try to figure out the right tone, rhythm and atmosphere. Then give the characters some dimension and personality through facial expressions and body language. I mostly follow a gut feeling. It’s all very intuitive. No pre-concept.

Q: What inspired the looks of each of the three Justice League of China members?

As for the costumes: they’re all derived from Kenan’s outfit. That’s the first one I designed and the other ones had to be similar because they all work for the same secret government agency. Chinese Wonder Woman is probably a mix of Sailor Moon and that Street Fighter chick. Chinese Batman looks like a young chubby Mr. Spock when his mask is off. I thought that’d fit his personality.

Q: What were the most important things you wanted to show in New Super-Man?

When we announced this we got a lot of comments on the fact that the New Super-Man is Chinese, that it all takes place in China, etc. The whole discussion about diversity in comics and all that stuff. It immediately started a political debate. Some people were very skeptical and I don’t blame them. We’ve seen enough bad examples of diversity for diversity’s sake. But I’ve read some of Gene Yang’s previous work so I knew that it’d be a good story that I could work with. And in the end that’s all that matters. A fun story is a fun story, no matter who’s in it or where it takes place. And when the political discussion ends and people start talking about plot twists and they start talking about a character, not because he’s of this or that ethnicity but because he’s cool and fun – that’s when you know you’re on to something.

Q: What led to the decision to recreate the cover of Action Comics #1 in issue 5 and why did you decide to do that?

That’s all Gene. The script said something like “Kenan is holding up a police car… etc… similar to the scene on the cover of Action Comics #1” so I drew it. Fun stuff

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Q: The “S” on Kenan’s chest is very unique from the Man of Steel’s in that it is connected to Chinese philosophy, was it originally conceived with that meaning behind it or did that come after?

No, Gene had the octagon shape and all that stuff worked out pretty early on. It’s a popular Chinese symbol with a lot of meaning so that’s why he used it.

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  Q: All of the heroes and villains in New Super-Man, such as the Freedom Fighters of China, are very flamboyant and interesting, what informed the choices of how to draw and color them?

They were all created on the fly, really (except the older characters from previous comics) so I’m glad people like them. I wish I would’ve had more time to design them. Not sure they’d look better tough, heh.

Q: What advice would you give to the artist who will next draw New Super-Man? And who would be your choice to take over if you could hand pick a team?

Easy. Just give Kenan puffy cheeks and make him likeable (actually that’s not easy at all, haha) and if I could handpick a team: I think Billy than did a great job with issues 7 & 8 and I hear he’s on the next issues as well so I’m really looking forward to that. + If we could clone Erik Larsen to do an issue or two that’d be cool to (because the real Erik Larsen sure as hell ain’t leaving Savage Dragon for some Chinese Superman – or any other book for that matter). Gene Yang is a given. Nobody can write New Super-Man like he does.

Q: When it comes to the details you show in the environment, fashion and the characters, you have done an amazing job at recreating China and how it feels. What research did you do in-order to include those details?

We had a few real locations from Shanghai, etc. But the rest is just me trying to remember all the Jackie Chan movies I watched as a kid.

Q: As one of the creators of this whole world and the characters that inhabit it, what were the most important ideas that you wanted to convey to your audience?

The idea of growing up, finding yourself and your place in this world and having some fun while doing it.

Q: What can we expect to be unique about your take on Superman?

Wow, that’s tough. I don’t know. So many artists have drawn this iconic character and you’d think we’ve seen it all. He looks easy to draw on a first glance but he’s actually not. He has to look both cool and a little bit old fashioned at the same time. He’s also a brute as well as elegant. So, a lot of contradictions there but I’ll try to bring them all together as good as I can.

Q: On Twitter you’ve recently posted a picture with Zod, can we expect to see him in your first arc drawing the Man of Steel?

Most definitely! We’ll all kneel before Zod.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to tell your fans?

Yes! You should all love each other! And then go buy New Super-Man and Action Comics before somebody else does! Cheers!!

  Viktor, like Kong Kenan, is such a bright person, unlike Kenan, his is also humble. He has done, and continues to do, great work. He creates eye catching and memorable characters and brings them to life on the page. I have thoroughly enjoyed the work he has done on New Super-Man, I will miss his style in the adventures of Kenan Kong but look forward to seeing what he does with Clark Kent!

Interview: Viktor Bogdanovic Artist of New Super-Man & Action Comics! In the world of comics, Viktor Bogdanovic is a relative youngster. Recently on his Twitter (@VikBogdanovic) he announced that he would be working on Action Comics!