#also gotta learn all these new boons and how they work together....

[zellkabellk]

Hades II ..... really fun...

[meruz]

once again i am answering asks in a big compilation post. included is... gotham, patrick stump, tips about drawing backgrounds, tips about drawing in general, links to my faq, and infinity train

like.... the tv series? No... I’ve drawn dc comics fanart before, though. But it’s been years since I’ve been really into it. I like jumped ship like 10 years ago when the New 52 happened LOL.

AFJHDSLKGH I’m sorry I (probably) won’t do it again??

Actually full disclosure I have a truly cringe amount of p stump drawings/photo studies in my sketchbook right now LOL. He’s just fun to draw... hats, glasses, guitar, a good shape... but I don’t think I’ll rly post those until I can hide them in another big sketchbook pdf.. probably Jan 2022. Stay tuned........ (ominous) 

(ominous preview)

These are all sort of related to backgrounds/painting so I grouped them together even though they’re pretty much entirely separate questions.... ANYWAYS

a) How is it working as a BG artist? Is it hard? What show are you drawing for?

I think you’re the first person to ever ask me about my job! Being a background artist is great. It’s definitely labor intensive but I think that could describe pretty much any art job (If something were rote or easy to automate, you wouldn’t hire an artist to do it) and I hesitate to say whether its harder or easier than any other role in the animation pipeline. Plus, so much of what truly makes a job difficult varies from one production to the next, schedule, working environment, co-workers etc. But I will say that I think while BGs are generally a lot of work on the upfront, I think they’re subject to less scrutiny/revisions than something like character/props/effects design and you don’t have to pitch them to a room like boards. So I guess it’s good if you don’t like to talk to people? LOL

A lot of my previous projects + the show I’ve worked on the longest aren’t public yet so I can’t talk about em (but I assure you if/when the news does break I won’t shut up about it). But I’m currently working on Archer Season 12 LOL. I’m like 90% sure I’m allowed to say that.

b) ~~~THANK YOU!! ~~~

c) What exactly do you like to draw most [in a background]?

@kaitomiury​ Lots of stuff! I really like to draw clutter! Because it’s a great opportunity for environmental storytelling and also you can be kind of messy with it because the sheer mass will supersede any details LOL. 

I like to draw clouds... I like to draw grass but not trees lol,,, I like to draw anything that sells perspective really easily like tiled floors and ceilings, shelves, lamp posts on a street etc.

d) Do you have any tips on how to paint (observational)?

god there’s so much to say. painting is really a whole ass discipline like someone can paint their whole life and still discover new things about it. I guess if you’re really just starting out my best advice is that habit is more important than product. especially with traditional plein air painting, I find that the procedure of going outside and setting up your paints is almost harder than the actual painting. There’s a lot of artists who say “I want to do plein air sometime!!” and then never actually get around to doing it. A lot of people just end up working from google streetview or photos on their computer.

But going outside to paint is a really good challenge because it forces you to make and commit to lighting and composition decisions really quickly. And to work through your mistakes instead of against them via undo button.

My last tip is to check out James Gurney’s youtube channel because hes probably the best and most consistent resource on observational painting out there rn. There’s lots other artists doing the same thing (off the top of my head I know a lot of the Warrior Painters group has people regularly posting plein air stuff and lightbox expo had a Jesse Schmidt lecture abt it last year) but Gurney’s probably the most prolific poster and one of the best at explaining the more technical stuff - his books are great too.

e) Do you have tips for drawing cleanly on heavypaint?

@marigoldfool​ UMM LOL I LIKE ONLY USE THE FILL TOOL so maybe use the fill tool? Fill and rectangle are good for edge control as opposed to the rest of the heavy paint tools which can get sort of muddles. And also I use a stylus so maybe if you’re using your finger, find a stylus that works with your device instead. That’s all I’ve got, frankly I don’t think my drawings are particularly clean lol.

f) Tips on improving backgrounds/scenes making them more dynamic practicing etc?

Ive given some tips about backgrounds/scenes before so I’m not gonna re-tread those but here’s another thing that might be helpful...

I think a good way to approach backgrounds is to think of the specific story or even mood you want to convey with the background first. Thinking “I just need to put something behind this character” is going to lead you to drawing like... a green screen tourist photo backdrop. But if you think “I need this bg to make the characters feel small” or “I need this bg to make the world feel colorful” then it gives you requirements and cues to work off of.

If I know a character needs to feel overwhelmed and small, then I know I need to create environment elements that will cage them in and corner them. If a character needs to feel triumphant/on top of the world then I know I need to let the environment open up around them. etc. If I know my focal point/ where I want to draw attention, I can build the background around that.

Also, backgrounds like figure compositions will have focal points of their own and you can draw attention to it/ the relationship the characters have with the bg element via scale or directionality or color, any number of cues. I think of it almost as a second/third character in a scene.

Not every composition is gonna have something so obvious like this but it helps me to think about these because then the characters feel connected and integrated with the environment.

Some more general art questions

a) Do you have any process/tips to start drawing character/bodies/heads?

I tried to kind of draw something to answer this but honestly this is difficult for me to answer because I don’t think I’m that great at drawing characters LOL. Ok, I think I have two tips.

1) flip your canvas often. A lot about what makes human bodies look correct and believable is symmetry and balance. Even if someone has asymmetrical features, the body will often pull and push in a way to counterbalance it. we often have inherent biases to one side or another like dominant hands dominant eyes etc. you know how right-handed artists will often favor drawing characters facing 45 degrees facing (the artist’s) left? that’s part of it. so viewing your drawing flipped even just to evaluate it helps compensate for that bias and makes you more aware of balance.

2) draw the whole figure often. I feel like a lot of beginner artists (myself included for a long time) defer to just drawing headshots or busts because it’s easier, you dont have to think about posing limbs etc. But drawing a full body allows you to better gauge proportion, perspective, body language, everything that makes a character look believable and grounded.

Like if you (me) have that issue where you draw the head too big and then have to resize it to fit the proportions of the rest of the body, it’s probably because you (I) drew the head first and are treating the body as an afterthought/attachment. Sketching out the whole figure first or even just quick drawing guides for it will help you think of it more holistically. I learned this figure drawing in charcoal at art school LOL.

oh. third mini tip - try to draw people from life often! its the best study. if you can get into a figure drawing/nude drawing class EVEN BETTER and if you have a local college/art space/museum that hosts those for free TREASURE IT AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT, that’s a huge boon that a lot of artists (me again) wish they had. though if youre not so lucky and youre sitting in a park trying to creeper draw people and they keep moving.. don’t let that stop you! that’s good practice because it’s forcing you to work fast to get the important stuff down LOL. its a challenge!

b) I’ve been pretty out of energy and have had no inspiration to draw but I have the desire to. Any advice?

Dude, take a walk or something.... Or a nap? Low energy is going to effect everything else so you gotta hit that problem at its source.

If you’re looking for inspiration though, I’d recommend stuff like watching a movie, reading a book, playing video games etc. Fill up your idea bank with content and then give yourself time/space to gestate it into new concepts. Sometimes looking at other art works but sometimes it can work against you because it’s too close. 

Also something that helps me is remembering that art doesn’t always have to be groundbreaking... like it’s okay to make something shitty and stupid that you don’t post online and only show to your friend. That’s all part of the process imo. If you want to hit a home run you gotta warm up first, right? Sports.

I should probably compile everytime i give tips on stuff like this but that’s getting dangerously close to being a social media artist who makes stupid boiled down art tutorials for clout which is the last thing i want to be... the thing I want to stress is that art is a whole visual language and there are widely agreed upon rules and customs but they exist in large part to be broken. Like there's an infinite number of ways to reach an infinite number of solutions and that’s actually what makes it really cool and personal for both the artist and the viewer. So when you make work you like or you find someone else’s work you like, take a step back and ask yourself what about it speaks for you, what about it works for you, what makes it effective, how to recreate that effect and how to break that effect completely, etc. And have a good time with it or else what’s the point.

for the first 2, I direct you to my FAQ

For the last one, I don’t actually believe I’ve ever addressed artwork as insp for stories/rp but I’ll say here and now yeah go ahead! As long as you’re not making profit or taking credit for my work then I’m normally ok with it. Especially anything thats private and purely recreational, that’s generally 100% green light go. I only ask that if you post it anywhere public that you please credit me.

(and I reserve the right to ask you to take it down if I see it and don’t approve of it’s use but I think that case is pretty rare.)

a) @lemuelzero101 Thank you!!! I haven’t played Life is Strange but actually  that series’ vis dev artist Edouard Caplain is one of my bigger art inspirations lately so that’s a really high compliment lol. And yeah I hope we get 5-8 too...!

b) Thank you for sticking around! I’ve been thinking about Digimon and Infinity Train in tandem lately, actually. They’re a little similar? Enter a dangerous alternate world and have wacky adventures with monsters/inanimate objects that have weird powers... there’s like weird engineers and mechanisms behind the scenes... also frontier literally starts with them getting on a train. Anyways if anyone else followed me for digimon... maybe you’d like Infinity Train? LOL

c) @king-wens-king I’M GLAD MY ART JUST HAS PINOY VIBES LOL I hope you are having a good day too :^)

a, b, c, d) yessss my Watch Infinity Train agenda is working....

e) aw thank you!! i think you should watch infinity train :)

[ukaiknowsbest]

breaking down Ace of Diamond - the "Hero's Journey."

Using the model/guide presented by Overly Sarcastic Productions in their youtube video Trope Talk: The Hero's Journey, I will attempt to discuss how Sawamura Eijun's story in DnA is his Hero's Journey to becoming an ace pitcher in the Japanese HIgh School Baseball environment.

Blue from OSP put forward the 12 basic parts of the Hero's Journey Cycle. The illustration below will be our reference. I simplified a graph made by Signy Wilson in order to match OSP's less rigid guide.

disclaimer: I am by no means any kind of expert. I was just fascinated when I learned about the Hero's Journey as a general trope/framework when it came to writing stories. I want to apply what I learned by breaking down the story created by Terajima Yuuji in Ace of Diamond.

A. ORDINARY WORLD

STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Hero: Sawamura Eijun. Captain and Ace Pitcher of middle school baseball team. He has no formal training in baseball whatsoever but was the one who gathered and convinced his friends to start a baseball club. He's the best player in their small team. Good at sports but bad at academics .

He is generally a baseball idiot and quite a naive/simple guy with a strong heart. He does not have any idea what competitive and pro baseball looks like because not only does he not have experience but also he does not watch the broadcasts on tv/radio at all.

Ordinary World of the Hero: rural town in Nagano Prefecture, where Sawamura formed a small baseball team with his childhood friends. Acording to him, as long as they all stay together they can always play baseball anywhere.

STAGE 2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

2.1 Problem/why hero's ordinary world is going to crumble: - He lessened his chances of being scouted/accepted in a good baseball school after he btchslapped an entire opponent team and the umpires in their first and only match as middle school team in Saitama Stadium.

He also has low chance of being accepted into the high school in their area (where his friends are all going to) because he struggles with his academics a lot.

Unless he does something he won't be able to be together with his friends and/or play baseball at all.

2.2 Caller of the adventure - Takashima Rei pursues Sawamura into Nagano Prefecture in order to scout him as a sports scholar for Seido High School, a baseball powerhouse school located in the West Division of Tokyo Prefecture.

2.3 medicine/ solution to hero's crumbling world: being a sports scholar for Seido. This would solve almost all of Sawamura's highschool enrollment problem and also give him the chance to play as much baseball as he wants.

STAGE 3. REFUSAL TO THE CALL

3.1 reluctance to go: Sawamura refuses to leave Nagano despite Rei's "sales pitch" to him and his family. He doesn't want to leave his friends just to play baseball in a stronger school far away because he had promised his friends that they would always stick together.

3.2 hero punished for this - his grandpa literally smacks/slaps him in being stupid and doubting his friends.!!! / technically circumstances are already punishing him for being a hotblooded baseball idiot in the first place.

3.3 do you think you have a choice - this is probably the only chance he'll get to play baseball with all his strength AND finish highschool.

B. EXTRAORDINARY / UNKNOWN WORLD

Venturing out into more competitive/pro baseball is a world beyond him. It's scary and unknown and he'd rather defeat bigger teams than leave his friends.

STAGE 4. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

4.1 crossing physical threshold - Rei persuades him to at least check the school out with his own eyes. They leave Tokyo together for one visit.

4.2. crossing a metaphorical threshold - in that visit, sawamura, picks a fight with a senior who's bound for baseball drafts, works together with a nationally acclaimed catcher in defeating the senior player, thus changing his worldview because he had so much fun.

4.2. conscious and irreversible decision - Because of the experience he goes home conflicted. His family encourages him in their own way to follow his guts and heart and go to Tokyo.

STAGE 5. REALM OF ADVENTURE

5.1 hero learns to navigate the unknown world - Sawamura learns the harsh realities of being in a baseball school once he actually starts to live there. Our boy also gets educated in Baseball and Pitching 101. He also finds out the true personality of the catcher he played with before.

5.2 meeting allies/rivals/mentors - he learns about the team better when he meets a whole bunch of people: batchmates, coaches and senpais. He builds interesting dynamics with all of them.

5.3 trials and initial failures - Sawamura undergoes difficult initial training and is barely allowed to play in matches.

5.4 meeting enemies - Sawamura being allowed to play as relief pitcher in the games and face talented pitchers and scary batters mostly in tense situations.

5.5 growth, new skills - Sawamura grows with each match, thus bolstering his confidence. Sometimes he falters but he learns from his mistakes.

5.6 first major success - striking out scary batters with each new thing he learns.

5.7 major challenge that leads to downfall - seido vs inashiro finals match where he goes in full of confidence and courage but then he and his team gets defeated in a devastating way.

STAGE 6. BELLY OF THE WHALE

6.1 lowest point of hero where hero physically or metaphorically goes down - one month after their major defeat, a lot of intense practice matches and change in team dynamics, the team find out that Sawamura has the YIPS. This condition took away Sawamura's ability to pitch in his trademark style/ the only thing he was good at.

6.2 hero's darkest hour - without the ability to pitch, Sawamura questions his reality and why he is still on the team.

6.3 Face and overcome inner demons - with a lot of help from allies and mentors, Sawamura finds a way to bring back a bit of his ability.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS

7.1 Discarding old self - In the duration of his downfall and eventual healing, Sawamura turns to books, meditation and becomes even more careful in maintaining his form and body.

7.2 Accepting the new role - instead of fixating on the ace position like before, Sawamura is just glad that he is still allowed to pitch as relief.

7.3 Finding path out of the belly of the whale/The road back - After figuring out a solution to fix his pitching, he focuses on it and regains some of his ability. Sawamura is then allowed to play in matches. Just like before, he improves little by little as he recovers from each failure. He gains fresher mindset and new weapons, thus becoming an even stronger pitcher than he ever was before.

7.4 more trials - they face new opponent schools and old but improved opponents which test the best of Sawamura and the team's ability

STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

every major match in ace of diamond has this part of the story but usually the most critical breather episode is the one before the final match.

8.1 show humanity of other characters - Somethng bad happens to the other mc without Sawamura knowing. This could absolutely wreck their chances of winning the final match. This shows that the other guys are not 100% invincible after all.

8.2 last chance to relax. - calm before the storm. It is also the time where they finalize sawamura's weapons.

8.3 quiet moment to reminisce - usually happens before each match. However the night before the finals was the major one because their old senpais went to visit their practice and encourage them.

STAGE 9. CLIMAX / STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE

9.1 Final Showdown - Sawamura helps in the team defense with the best of his ability and weapons and he succeeds. Their team eventually wins Fall Tournament even with a few setbacks.

9.2 Apotheosis - Sawamura's worldview changed once he realises that even with his improvement and skill, his goal of being the ace is still out of reach for him.

9.3 Ultimate Boon - Sawamura gets to be a pivotal member of their baseball team and can play baseball as much as he wants with his team.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS start again after the Fall Tournament Act 1 because Sawamura faces new challenges in Ace of Diamond Act 2.

Meiji Jingu Tournament - Play in matches without Miyuki

WInter camp and break - Intense Physical Training and development and improvement of his weapons which he will use and improve on throughout the rest of Act 2.

Spring Koshien where he realises that he has to do more in order to surpass the current ace which was Furuya.

Start of New Term/ Practice Matches - Sawamura and co. meets their new kouhai and team dynamics shift once again.

Spring Tournament / Summer Tournament - Sawamura meets old foes and new enemies. He also becomes the Ace Pitcher of the team, which adds more pressure on his part.

ACT 2 STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

This is the big and long one before Summer Tournament Finals match where injuries and problems were discussed and feelings were explored.

ACT 2 STAGE 9. CLIMAX

Final (Or most hyped and awaited rematch) Seido vs Inashiro in order to qualify for Summer Koshien Nationals.

**everything after this point will be prediction and just my opinion

STAGES 7-9 start again

Koshien Nationals Arc.

STAGE 10. CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD

Miyuki/3rd years retirement/graduation. Sawamura and his batch will have to lead the team.

STAGE 11. THE REWARD

Sawamura gets to play with his team as ace pitcher.

STAGE 12 / STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Sawamura may become both ace and captain, same as his role back in his middle school team, albeit in a stronger school. Even if he won't be the next captain, as ace he will still be in a strong leadership position.

CONCLUSION

That's how Ace of Diamond is written in the style of A HERO'S JOURNEY.

Act 1 writing especially followed the trope quite rigidly.

Notes:

I still don't want Sawamura to be the next captain. I hope that does not happen. However if it does, it means the story will have gone back full circle. That would be quite poetic ngl.

Gotta applaud Terajima's pacing. Can you believe that the story only reached its lowest and most pivotal point at around episode 70 of the anime???? thank godt that after ep 63 I read spoilers about yips arc in tv tropes or else i would have dropped the series completely.

I had difficulty in classifying the events after the climax stage into hero's journey stages because technically sawamura has not gone "home" yet. Moreover the challenges and trials just kept on piling up after Fall Tournament.

In this whole story, Sawamura has experienced only one true "Belly of the Whale stage" during his YIPS arc. I don't think he really came to a low point in Act 2 other than his first official match as Ace Pitcher. I treated that in the same vein as the effects of Raichi's first homerun off Sawamura back in Act 1.

I realized that having stages 7-9 recur starting from Meiji Jingu to the current summer tournament is what made reading Act 2 quite frustrating for me. That's at least 5-6 arcs of endless roller coaster ride loops.

I consider Miyuki's departure to be the "CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD" moment because playing with him was the major reason for Sawamura's decision to study and play in Tokyo. Something will change Sawamura when this eventually happens.

As Blue from OSP said, the Hero's Journey is just a general guide/framework to writing stories. It is flexible, writers don't even have to use it or all of its parts to make a good story. Terajima just seemed to have adopted A LOT of the hero's journey trope in his baseball series.

I wanted to add more pictures tbh but tumblr is a killjoy :(

This was a fun thought exercise. There were probably even some parts which I have used the tropes wrongly. Please feel free to dispute me.

I talked about Sawamura's mentors here (x).

[seyaryminamoto]

my school works are piled up this past few weeks (graduating tingz) and i just started reading the deadlock novel it feels like i'm reading a sokkla fic every time Mcashe has a scene because they just give off the vibes skskskskksksks. BTW, what's your top5 fav scenes from the novel? PS: I'm smiling like an idiot while reading the novel ughh i hate myself

I KNOW, RIIIIIGHT?! *-* and don't hate yourself, my anon friend, I spent the whole novel smiling and laughing and losing my goddamn mind because I was having the time of my life xD enjoy this beautiful content as best you can!

I mean, frankly, Reunion already had all the Sokkla vibes I could've wanted/needed to ship these two like FedEx and I always knew I wasn't getting off this ride anytime soon. But gosh, this book... it gave me everything I wanted and MORE! Their dynamics are soooo similar to Sokkla team-up dynamics, two power couples kicking ass and taking names... oh, I just love it so much. I probably will end up reading the book a third time soon x'D

As for my favorite scenes, damn, this is tricky xD

KEYCHAIN! HE MADE HER KEYCHAIN!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! God, it's just amazing how the book explains the "vintage" look for Ashe's hoverbike the way it does, and that they literally built it together *screams!!!*, but then he gives her that keychain for her birthday present, and the implications!! THE IMPLICATIONS!!! He gave her a keychain she's held onto for TWENTY YEARS?!?!?! Ships in the OW fandom have sailed far and wide with less than breadcrumbs: we literally have been granted a boon from the GODS with all this extra context for the little things in Reunion xD

Ashe going to hell and back to save her kidnapped BFF-for-whom-she-totally-doesn't-have-feelings-yeah-yeah-sure-Jan. I love the fact that McCree is, in a way, Ashe's damsel in distress and not the other way around xD Of course, it's what you'd expect from an Ashe-centric story, but it's still an amazing sequence, all around. Gotta highlight how she loves the way he smiles like a madman when they have that shootout at the end, and how he worries so much over Ashe's injury when he took an even worse one than she did (the Sokkla vibes in that particular situation were SO STRONG! I SWEAR!).

"Jesse McCree, are you trying to make me say you're handsome?" "Am I?" ... do I need to say more. That FLIRTING. These two were on fire already and they'd only known each other for like... weeks, at this point? x'D He has no sense of moderation, he's soooo into her and doesn't hide it at all. Ashe is so busy trying to plot all the crime and Jesse's practically like a shojo heroine, "oh I can feel it, this is how my love story begins!", basically xD

Finally I pick a not-McAshe scene... to bring up the one where Ashe picks up the Viper on her last moment in Lead Rose Manor. That moment was just... POWERFUL. The feeling of epicness in that scene just overwhelmed me when I was reading it xD

The ending of the book :'D the fully formed Deadlock Gang ready for business, down to the explanation for the Est. 1976 in the logo... *sobs* the fact that so much about the character design choices in these two characters is a shoutout to the past they share is just... *gross sobbing* oh, I just love it to pieces, I'm not even sorry.

Ashe's bike race to save B.O.B. x'D that whole situation was bonkers but I looooved how fierce she was about protecting her one and only buddy while growing up (AND THAT JESSE BLUSHED WHEN SHE TAUNTED HIM WAS JUST THE CHERRY ON TOP!). I appreciated learning more about the Omnic War and its consequences, how Ashe reflects on having escaped it practically untouched in virtue of her money and societal privilege while her new friends all faced many hardships to survive. But I can't help but also love that, however uneasy others could have been about the Best Omnic Butler, Ashe was so fiercely loyal to B.O.B. that she nearly broke Julian's nose herself over his ridiculousness x'D That's HER big omnic buddy and she's not about to lose him to anyone, not her shitty parents, not a bet in a race, NOTHING! (and it's so cute that B.O.B. is just as loyal to her, too *sobs*)

Ashe grabbing McCree's arm to explain things to him on their first heist and him being all "you gonna leave that there?" and only then does she realize her hand's still on him x'D what a McCree line, and he was absolutely enjoying the attention, he doesn't even pretend otherwise.

Everything poetic McCree says or does... meanwhile Ashe's like "um yeah I don't care about poetry I want money", right until his poet soul totally smashes her square in the heart with the KEYCHAIN!!! But damn, I swear I thought McCree would hold back a lot more, and yet there he was, saying things like Calamity was brilliant and mysterious... you could practically hear B.O.B., Julian and Frankie going "I can see what's happening..." in the background xD

The conversation about what they wanted to do once they were loaded with all the cash they could possibly want. That one was a real number on my heartstrings. It ties up to what I said earlier with Ashe finally being in touch with people who are completely removed from the ridiculous social circles of her parents and her school, people who really lost a lot in the war. But where Julian and Frankie seem to look at the past a lot, I loved that Jesse is basically just thinking about the future. The fact that he says he wants to chill out in a farm and that this is what he wants in life... many, MANY, shippy wheels have turned in my head since I read that <.< maaaany...

WHEN JESSE NEARLY FALLS AND ASHE CATCHES HIM!!! UNDERRRATED AS HECK!!! The fact that he's taunting her about fear of heights, then he nearly plummets to his death because ironies are beautiful xD and Ashe pulls him back to safety only to say that she's not afraid of heights but afraid of ~FALLING~??? I mean, okay, sure, maybe I'm reading too much into that line... or maybe I'm not <.< either way, the truth is I just love how absolutely broad of interpretation that scene and that DIALOGUE are :> ehehehe.

Oh, their first encounter. The fact that it's so cute and fun, and that it's this low in the list tells you how GOOD this book was x'D "You've got an awful lot of grit for a rich girl," first words he spoke to the love of his life xD then how they talked and laughed together about the crazy stories he shared (she was crying of laughter for the first time in her life! precious girl!), and then how she sat in the car thinking about the strange feeling she was left with after meeting him... they seriously had a meetcute in prison, how can a ship get any better? xD

WHEN HE COMES BACK TO HER WHEN THEIR FIRST HEIST GOES WRONG!!! That Ashe expects him to just leave after she falls off their getaway vehicle, but Jesse saves her and goes "pfft that's just not my style", basically... *sobs* without realizing it she ends up picking up that particular philosophy of his, saving her friends no matter the cost...! Honestly, though, the fact that every time something like this happens it hits Ashe like a truck racing downhill with no brakes because she's NEVER been cared about by anyone but B.O.B. and she's completely new to friendships and bonding with people... and in the mean time, Jesse immediately is "ride or die" with her because that's how he rolls... beautiful relationship dynamics between characters who influence each other for the better are just beautiful :')

A silly one here: Jesse enjoying the good life in Lead Rose. That description of him looking like a marshmallow in the CHAISE LOUNGEEEEE!!! (the one he references in their in-game interactions *CRYING SO MANY TEARS*), was just too cute to bear x'D Ashe just jumping back into work mode... while he was just thrilled to be a marshmallow in a towel xD

... So, um, I went overboard because I love this book a little too much for my own good :> what can I say? When things I love are good, I go wild xD There's probably more scenes I loved, but these... thirteen? XD are the ones that came to mind.

I think one of my favorite things now is reexamining Reunion with all this extra context in mind. The first time I watched that cinematic I, of course, fell in love with these two outlaws because how could I not? But while subsequent rewatches revealed a lot of things I didn't pay enough attention to the first time around, the book has done even more than I could imagine possible for a short that was already as shippy as could be xD

Ooookay so, shippy ramblings about Reunion, coming up! (simply because I have to put these down SOMEWHERE XD and your ask was a good idea for that, anon!)

First off, Jesse very much staged the whole rodeo in Reunion. He sent the tip to Ashe, he wanted Echo's crate specifically. He thought they could work together, basically, despite knowing it was entirely possible that those hopes wouldn't pay off. This train, according to the wikia, was a government train, so Jesse is very much telling Ashe to give a finger to the government for all he cares, all he wants is one (1) crate.

Ergo, Jesse, for all his "nice guy bountyhunter" deal, doesn't disapprove of Deadlock's actions. If anything, he counts on them to be exactly what he needs in order to get what he wants. He practically trusts Ashe to pull off the train heist disaster perfectly and only steps up when it's time to collect Echo.

Then the wacky shoot-out happens, it's veeeery charged (the UST is so thick, I swear...), and Jesse wins. He ties up Ashe, floats her off on the payload with the rest of the gang, and he sets Echo free. He's helping her out very nicely and everything, but the context in question is... he received the recall notification thingy XD Winston called him back to Overwatch, and Jesse...

... Jesse doesn't want to go back.

Jesse says "they want me", and the displeased tone of his voice, paired with the look on his face when he says that line, speak for themselves.

That, in my humble opinion, isn't the sequence of expressions you'd expect from someone who intends to return to the group where he thrived, had the time of his life and found his true calling. To me, he actually looks irritated about the recall (the sequence of expressions during that line is much better when you watch the full thing x'D), as though he REALLY doesn't want to return. He's not against Overwatch, I'm not quite saying that, otherwise he wouldn't have set Echo free and told her to go back at all... but this isn't remorse. It's not "Oh, I'm not good enough for Overwatch anymore". Nope... this is "My time with them is over and I don't plan on going back unless I have no choice", as far as I can tell.

If OW2 does bring him back into the fold and he's a perfectly chill and happy guy about it, I'll seriously be surprised. I mean, he could have set Echo free and, once his business is over, returned to Overwatch with her, he could have been in the Paris cinematic if he'd done that...

But he's not there.

Which outright says he didn't do that :> oops.

Basically, I think Jesse's reaction in Retribution (where he's markedly the most morally correct one of the bunch, and he's the former outlaw :'D) tells you his displeasure with Overwatch ran very, very deep. And someone can very easily say he felt the same way about Deadlock and that's why he left them for Overwatch... but that's conjecture. His displeasure with Blackwatch (and, in consequence, Overwatch), however, is FACT. And the previous conjecture falls flat pretty quickly considering he's perfectly fine with Ashe's train heist, even sets it up himself, from what the story suggests, so... how ~appalled~ was he over her choices and actions? Not appalled at all, if you ask me, and after you read Deadlock Rebels, you actually understand why: Jesse trusts Ashe.

From the first moment she enters the same prison block he's in, he's drawn to her. He wants to impress her, he absolutely enjoys her company and making her laugh (just as much as she enjoyed laughing at his wacky stories), and he's plain thrilled that she comes back for him when she does. Ashe manages the gang with inexperience but she's always willing to improve, and you see Jesse sticking with her through thick and thin, supporting her at the best and worst times alike, always putting his faith on her and constantly watching out for her (he protected and shielded her from attacks with his own body sooooo many times *sobs*). Ashe starts out intending to keep most profits for herself, and Jesse doesn't care much at first... but then she starts to share profit equally between their team. She works on her own bike herself, her own ride, and she plans and solves problems as best she can, to a point of even going overboard with planning too much. She's wild, reckless and takes insane risks... and this guy loves every second of it. The matter of morality regarding the actions of a criminal gang is, of course, something to think about... but as far as the book goes, Ashe mainly targets her own family, their specific brand of bullshit, and in the process she ends up helping lots of people and even saving lives that might not have been saved otherwise. I'm not going to put my hand on the fire here and say Deadlock never ever did anything absolutely wrong to people who didn't deserve it... but for a criminal gang? They're honestly the most wholesome one the OW team could have come up with, if you ask me.

So where you see Jesse is very much antagonistic with Reaper/Reyes, where he loses his temper with the guy's choices, he doesn't ever do that with Ashe. Overwatch ARE supposed to be the good guys... so how weird that Jesse McCree, reformed outlaw, ends up so disappointed with these guys when he was actually thrilled with Ashe's managing of their gang, as far as we saw. So much so that, when it came down to it, Jesse McCree, 20 years later, still counts on Ashe to give him a hand (without her full awareness) with a little operation to help out an old friend of his. Also worth pointing out: he doesn't want to fight at all, while Ashe, of course, does. Deadlock for life, is what Jesse said... and he's not Deadlock anymore, hasn't been for who knows how long. Worse yet... his tattooed arm is gone. It's like all his ties to Deadlock have been severed.

And even so, he came to Ashe and hoped she wouldn't want a shootout with him. Even when he knows she might be beyond unforgiving because of the betrayal (he has seen directly how outraged she was about a certain someone betraying her in the book...), Jesse goes back anyway and hopes it won't come to this.

THE IMPLICATIONS, MAN!!!

Carrying on: Echo is surprised that Jesse shows no intentions of going back to Overwatch. She asks him what he's going to do... and what does Jesse say?

He puts his cowboy hat back on (the symbolism in this short, I swear...), and when she asks him what he's going to do, he tells her "I've got some business to attend to."

THE MUSIC PICKS UP.

AND THEN HE CLIMBS ON THE BIKE HE BUILT WITH ASHE.

YOU GET A DELIBERATE CLOSE-UP TO THE KEYCHAIN.

THEN THE CAMERA PANS UP TO FOCUS ON THE PICTURE, TORN AND TAPED BACK TOGETHER, THAT ASHE CARRIES ON THIS BIKE, A BIKE WHICH, LET'S BE REAL, IS BASICALLY A MCASHE BABY CHOPPER/HOVERBIKE HYBRID, AND AS SHE PUTS IT LATER, IS...

HER

BIKE!!!

When Jesse says he has business to attend to, he could pick up any bike he wants (since it'd stand to reason that the other guys Ashe came in with would have bikes of their own). He could escape on horseback for all we know xD so there are lots of options... but no. He takes HERS. Right after saying he has "business to attend to".

Look, I could be wrong. I could be dead wrong. I can absolutely be digging around and going INSANE because nothing I ship EVER gets this much content.

But we literally get a guy saying he has "business" to take care of, and the cinematic focuses exclusively on elements that, even BEFORE Deadlock Rebels, all point towards Ashe?! You could easily say that taking her bike is just the final nail on the coffin, his last trolling idea to mess with his one true love... but that picture is right there. That picture, with them in their youth. The picture, btw, was bigger than just them: B.O.B.'s hand is there. The top of the picture is uneven, suggesting Ashe probably tore it to shreds in a fit of rage... and then specifically put together THEIR PART. And then she taped that to her bike's dashboard. Meaning, she carries the goddamn memory of Jesse with her EVERYWHERE SHE GOES. And she does it WILLINGLY.

Which, in turn, answers why Jesse expects MAYBE Ashe wouldn't go full-on hostile when they meet: this trolling cowboy knows exactly what he means to Ashe. He's not surprised when he sees that picture on the bike. He doesn't toss it away, which he could have, if he were saying "we are history now, forget it gurl" (and let's be honest, what a dick move that would have been @_@), he doesn't flinch after noticing and then goes "yeah, no, I'm picking another bike".

NOPE. The familiarity with which they talk, the way he hopes she'll just let him walk away, the fact that she DIDN'T change the keychain and bike in all those years and he's not even SURPRISED...

Jesse knows how much she loves him, point-blank. He's completely aware of it... and he's very much okay with it.

So much so... that I'm something of a 90% sure that the business he intends to deal with is ASHE HERSELF.

And no, I don't mean he's going to go on another shootout with her... I mean, evidently, that Jesse wants to come home. That he's tried the life of Overwatch, and he's decided to leave it behind. He's turned bountyhunter now, vigilante, pretty much... but he comes back to Ashe all the same. He's come back for the first time in who knows how long (going by Ashe's expressions and sarcasm with the "you promised you'd write" line, it miiiiiiight be they haven't seen each other since he got recruited into Blackwatch), and he expected a peaceful encounter, no less.

A good question to ask here is... what did Jesse hope would happen, if the encounter HAD been peaceful? He would've released Echo, sent her away to her business, and stayed behind anyway because he had business to deal with. Which business? :'D why... the business that would've been standing right in front of him.

There's no other, logical reason why this cinematic would put Ashe and McCree's picture into focus right when McCree says what he does to Echo. There's no other reasonable choice why McCree would turn his back on Overwatch quite so firmly. We know he had two important ties in his life: Overwatch and Deadlock. And Overwatch stole him away from Deadlock for a VERY long time. Well over half the time Deadlock has been in operations, as far as I can tell. He picked Overwatch over Deadlock once before... and now, it seems he's picking Deadlock over Overwatch instead :')

The follow-up short, Roadtrip, doesn't do anything to change my mind. The trolling jerk, Jesse McCree, hovers past Ashe's payload, where she's just... complaining, as she hovers xD going by what I know of the game and that map, the payload may just be en route to the gang's hideout, so that, I'd say, could explain why she hasn't climbed off it or escaped in any way (which she reasonably would have, if Jesse was trying to, I don't know, send her and her people to the authorities).

My point here is, however, that Jesse is headed the same way the payload is. If his destination is the same one, he'll beat it there for sure. Maybe, yes, he'll go away and drive well past the hideout... but maybe that's exactly where he intended to go.

Maybe, in the end, Reunion is about a man who's finally coming home :D

In addition, goes without saying, Ashe's rant about how everyone falls to pieces over Jesse showing his "stupid mug" (uh-huh, stupid, ANGELIC mug, we know what you really think, girl xD) ends with her saying she should have "put a bullet in him the minute he showed up".

Which begs the question of why didn't she.

Then, of course, she says she hates McCree when he drives past her while listening to some really ridiculous honky-tonky-sounding music x'D I cannot even help but imagine him deliberately picking that radio station or whatever it was just to annoy Ashe when he drove beside her, and so that she can get extra pissed when she retrieves her beloved bike, turns on the music and it's just more honky-tonky stuff x'D but anyway, the thing is she shouts after him, tells him that's her bike and says she hates him. B.O.B. wordlessly speaks for us McAshe shippers by giving Ashe the most "sure, Jan" side-eye in the history of side-eyes, and Ashe notices and is outraged enough to knock B.O.B.'s little hat right off his head again.

Again... this is renowned outlaw Elizabeth Caledonia "Calamity" Ashe, sitting on a payload, groaning about the guy she once very much had feelings for (and that doesn't even begin to cut it, if you ask me x'D) and for whom she tooooootally doesn't anymore, that picture on her bike doesn't MEAN that, OBVIOUSLYYYY!!, and so, she sits up, complains and doesn't do much of anything to get out of her current situation, right? :>

So, summing up my current understanding of EVERYTHING, thanks to Deadlock Rebels and my obsessive rewatches of Reunion + Roadtrip:

Jesse deliberately sought out Ashe so she would indirectly, unknowingly, help him set Echo free from the government's clutches.

Jesse hoped for a peaceful encounter despite knowing he might not get one.

Jesse has no intentions of returning to Overwatch but was willing to perform one final act of service for them by releasing Echo so she'd go give Winston and co. a hand.

Jesse is NOT surprised to see that Ashe: 1. Didn't change bikes at some point in the twenty years since they built it. 2. Didn't swap the ignition key for a button, the way she says she thought to do it in the novel until he gives her the keychain. 3. KEPT THE POETIC AF KEYCHAIN, despite resenting Jesse for his betrayal. 4. KEEPS A PICTURE OF THEM IN THEIR YOUNGER YEARS PASTED ON HER BIKE'S DASHBOARD.

Jesse claims he has business to deal with: he doesn't clarify said business verbally, but every shot after he says those words focuses on elements related to Ashe... and then, along with the novel's context, it's elements related to their BOND. Everything in that shot, EVERYTHING, is connected to the two of them. Elements that weren't shown before or during their shootout, and that are only introduced in that final moment when McCree is off to deal with his "business".

Ashe doesn't climb off the payload or stops it (which, going by how McCree simply pressed a button, and Ashe isn't immobilized in the least, she easily could have done it too if she had wanted to). Suggesting that, wherever the payload is heading, it isn't anywhere dangerous for Ashe and her crew, ergo, she is 100% sure McCree isn't trying to screw her over by turning her in to the authorities or so (or, at worst, she's completely confident that, even if he is going to do this, she'll be able to get out of it easily).

Jesse drives in the same direction the payload is headed. Another hint that suggests he might intend to head to the Deadlock hideout and that, whatever business he has left to deal with, it involves them.

If his intent ISN'T to go to the hideout... Jesse is still guaranteeing that Ashe will come after him by stealing her bike, the 18th birthday gift he gave her, and the picture she keeps of them. That he takes that very bike practically serves as painting a target on his back for her to hunt down, and he KNOWS IT.

In short: Jesse will have plenty of business with the Deadlock Gang in his future, and going by how pleased he seems to be when riding the bike, he's perfectly happy to handle that business on his terms, whenever he wants to handle it.

Extra tidbit: there's nothing in Deadlock Rebels about Jesse's smoking habit, something he definitely did pick up at some point while in the gang because, hahaha, he IS smoking in the picture Ashe keeps of him :> Which makes me wonder why, of all pictures Ashe chooses to keep on her bike's dashboard, she picks one where he's smoking.

Then, it makes me wonder about the fact that Jesse deliberately starts smoking when he's standing right in front of her (and then he winks at her!). He tosses that cigar after things get kind of dangerous for him because B.O.B. does something, and then... then he goes back to smoking.

RIGHT WHEN HE'S CLIMBING ON THE BIKE.

Like... seriously...

*unintelligible fangirl screaming*

I could be looking too deeply into this. I know I could be. Maybe Blizzard just wants me to go CRAZY with little symbolism and hints charged with SO MUCH MEANING that maybe don't have as much meaning as I thought it did...

... But man, I've sailed into the depths of the shippiest oceans for many ships that have gotten actual breadcrumbs from canon. I've gone wild over ships that have zero opportunity to become a thing in canon continuity. I've written a nearly 3M words story based on a ship that is just UNEXPLORED AMAZING POTENTIAL and ngl, I love exploring it myself, so I don't even begrudge canon that much for not giving it to me anymore.

But the fact is, no ship in OW, as far as I've seen, has remotely as much content, hints and strong ties as McAshe does -- at least, no ships between heroes. We had a cinematic that was CHARGED with significance, with little gestures, with even the smallest facial expressions that carried soooo much more meaning than whole episodes or even seasons in TV shows. And then? We got a novel. A full novel depicting their origins and exploring their dynamics, how tight their friendship was, and how some strong feelings were certainly brewing there, even if neither one was ready to act on them yet (as far as we saw...).

Finally... I'll say I did start working on a Sokkla Western AU ages ago because the idea I had for one was pretty amusing. Then Reunion dropped, and I said "Why would I need to finish that story anymore when the Sokkla Western AU is RIGHT HERE?!"

And that's it, I will stop rambling now because this got insanely long x'D but thank you very very much for giving me this chance to go WILD on everything I can see, within all those canon hints, with these two *-*

[avelera]

hi! im sorry if this sounds stupid, but im supposed to start uni this year, and im reallyyy nervous about it. coming across so many talented authors such as you really makes me feel incredibly stupid in comparison, and i feel like im going to set my own self back. i work really hard to improve my writing by practising and reading a lot, but i know it's never enough. there's so much out there i haven't experienced yet and i want to include but i just don't know how to express it. please help :((

Hey Anon! First of all, I'm really touched by your kind words about my work, thank you so much! And it’s not stupid at all, my dude, no one is born writing we all gotta practice at it. And don’t feel stupid either! Not knowing something is just the process of recognizing that you’re learning and growing, it’s not a bad thing! Every writer, even the most famous in history, struggled with no being able to express themselves, you are joining a GRAND tradition!

Second of all, HOOOO BOY do I understand the anxieties you’re facing right now about uni, so please forgive me for rambling but I've got SO MANY FEELINGS about what to do as a writer going to uni/college.

Uni/college can be a really hard time for writers. While I was at college in the US, I think I went almost three whole years without writing a single word that wasn’t for a class. The writing workshops I took there absolutely crippled my self-confidence, to the point where I really don’t recommend any budding authors take a college creative writing class unless they’ve already got a BUNCH of stories under their belt, and only take the class if they’re not afraid an individual student or teacher will have that one comment that breaks their desire to write or the teacher is already a mentor that they trust, or because they firmly understand that in the real world you're never going to have someone who was forced to read your story for an assignment, so the kind of apathy and dislike you’ll get for your work in a class is extremely atypical and seems almost designed to kill a new writers motivation when they’ve barely even started to write….

ANYWAY, personal rant out of the way, lemme see if I can put together some thoughts that will help you out, and don’t be afraid to follow up with another Ask if I missed something or you want me to expand on something!

Full disclosure, I’m 32 now and I’ve been writing for 20 years (with the aforementioned huge, multi-year gaps in there where I wrote almost NOTHING) and I’ve had a lot of privilege when it comes to my ability to write and freedom to do so.

If you're like me, writing is going to be hard in uni, don’t get me wrong, some people thrive as writers there, but I’m going to speak to my own experience. You’re going to have a lot of reading and writing you have to do for school and that can potentially drain your creative reserves. Be kind to yourself when that happens. The writing will come back. Maybe set aside time to do a 15 minute writing exercise once in a while if you’re feeling down on yourself, but don’t worry if writing isn’t something that happens every day!

Your note expressed anxiety about there being so much out there you haven’t experienced, but uni is great for broadening your horizons! You’re at the beginning of your road as a writer, not the end of it! Course selection is different for everyone and I don’t know your priorities. That said, if you have a chance for an elective, I recommend picking something that broadens your horizons instead of something you’d usually take. Engineering can help with sci-fi (and everything!), history can help with fantasy (and EVERYTHING), heck, accounting could give you ideas for a financial thriller, every course out there will give you new ideas AND even if you don’t have time to take a course for credit, some professors will let you sit in on the lectures for classes you're interested in but don’t have the time/energy/credits to take officially. I got very lucky my senior year and was allowed to sit in on a class on WWII with a world-renowned scholar on the subject just by asking nicely. Didn’t have to do the homework or pay extra or anything, and it gave me so many ideas for stories and fics!

Again, I actually DON’T recommend taking fiction writing courses unless you have a specific professor you have a good relationship with and want to work with or it otherwise comes highly recommended. In my opinion, it's better to broaden your horizons with a wide variety of ideas and courses over “specializing” in writing. To add to that, here’s some totally unsolicited career advice, I’d also say look into courses that build to a career that won’t suck your soul out. Having a career you don't hate, that gives you freedom to write (with time and/or money) and diverse experience to pull ideas from will be a huge boon to your writing career if it’s something you have any interest in pursuing professionally or as a hobby long-term.

Dropping the uni subject for a second and focusing on writing, one of the things I wished someone had told me sooner is that you don’t need someone else to teach you how to write. Sure, it can be really helpful at some point, but waiting until someone can tell you how to write lost me three good years at least. Again, I don't recommend taking creative writing classes in college because they can be debilitating to self esteem if administered wrong. So just keep writing and you’ll be fine! Maybe do a 15 minute exercise if it’s been a while since you wrote for fun and you're feeling down on yourself. But more importantly, be gentle with yourself if you can't get around to writing every day.

- Don’t WAIT to write the story that you’re passionate about right now. Write it now. Sure, future you might be a “better” writer, but future you might have just taken that cool WWII history class and wants to write a WWII vampire story, not about the thing you’re excited for right now. Don’t burden future you with the thing you’re excited about today, let future you write their own thing. Every story you write is going to have flaws, and is going to look awful to you at some point, but eventually you WILL be able to look back on it and see the good as well as the bad, and more importantly, see how you’ve grown and it will be an amazing feeling! But you can't get there if you stop writing entirely or give up on what you're working on.

Uuuh, other than that...just stay at it! This is a numbers game at the end of the day. Writing a bunch is the best way to progress, protect the spark of your motivation like your LIFE depends on it. If someone or something is making you want to give up writing, get that thing out of your life (to the best of your ability)! My philosophy is that the ONLY thing early writers should be worrying about is writing as MUCH as possible. All the editing and advice and “do this, don’t do that” ALL that stuff is meant for so much later in the process. If any advice makes you want to write less, ignore it! If you write 100 stories, or 10 novels, or whatever, the last one WILL be better than the first one, it’s just the super cool thing about working on something! You just have to stay at it! 

[askthiscpblog]

Hehe sorry to be a bother, but I still ship Jane and Imani... could they meet? Sksksks sorry I know you must be tired of romance asks, especially these Jane and Imani ones but they're so,,,, cute,, feel free to ignore this if you want!

Jane was out and about during the day, more often than anyone else in the house. It was the little magic boon she got, able to cover up what EJ could never fix about her burns. She was wearing a shorter black dress, around mid-thigh, with a t-shirt top and fishnets down her arms. It was one of those days she decided to look nicer than her usual. Jane was going to downtown for a night on the town. Being that Sally is too young, a girl’s night was an alone night for her. Doesn’t mean she won’t find any fun though.

Imani almost never left her house aside from business, and that’s what she was on. Well, not her usual business. She wasn’t heading out to fuck anyone, not that she would complain if the night led to that. She was out to find someone to have fun with while she rode out her manic episode. She had traded out her tight curve-hugging dress for a faded Marvel t-shirt and skinny jeans. She was going to play it casually, but of course, she still had her heels on. After all, she had to have a weapon on her even when she wasn’t carrying her purse. The heels had blades in them. Blades sharp enough to make the paranoid woman feel secure as she walked down the street, ignoring people’s occasional bewildered stare at the towering masked woman. Her eyes roamed the streets, looking for someone interesting to charm into wreaking havoc with her.

Jane kept her purse around her, looking around for a place to head to. Alright, it was still a little too early for the clubs tonight. So instead she decided to go to a classier bar, drinking a martini watching the crowd. Imani spotted something that sparked her interest. A bar instead of a person like she had anticipated but her intuition was telling her to go, and she wasn’t one to ignore her intuition. So, she did. She walked directly to the bar, ordering a shot of whiskey to fuel her fire. As she drowned her worries with the liquid, she noticed a woman with a martini in her hand and a mask on her face and she couldn’t help but turn her body to get a better look.

Jane looked over at everyone, trying to pick out who would be an easy target for a fun night. Granted, she was going to head to the gay club tonight. Better chance of picking someone she liked up than here. But after a little, her gaze moves over towards the woman who also had a mask downing whiskey. She was looking at her too, so it was a contest now. Imani crossed her arms over her chest, not breaking eye contact. This woman was gay. Hella gay. The gayest. And if she wasn’t then she was in for a shock when she came home with Imani. Imani set her now empty shot glass down on the bar and walked over to the masked woman. She looked down at her before she spoke, a smile forming under her mask.

“Hello there beautiful. I happened to notice that pretty mask of yours, and it sparked my interest. That, and the aura of glamour magic you give off.” She stuck her hand out to shake, “I’m Imani.”

That made Jane smile under her mask, seeing how quick this woman was to pick up what was around her. Yeah, she wasn’t stupid. Or at least, she was observant.

“Well well, aren’t you a clever person? Nice to see that someone has some brains around here,” she responded, bringing up her drink to her mask. For a second it looked like it melted to her face as she took a sip, acting it was like her real face. But blink and it’s gone, just back to a normal mask.

“Jane.” The one eye that Imani had left widened, and she eyed this woman, Jane’s, mask.

“A beautiful name for a beautiful lady… and you have got to teach me that trick. I guess I’ve been doing things the hard way this whole time, eh?” Imani crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head to the left, analyzing. Jane didn’t come off like a threat, she wasn’t radiating bad mojo, so Imani decided not to give bad mojo back and to be friendly.

“What brings you here this evening Jane? Usually, ladies like you don’t drink alone at places like this unless they’re on a mission.”

“Well, what makes you think I’m not on a mission? Waiting for the more fun and welcoming places open up,” she mentioned, putting the glass down onto the counter and circling the rim with her gloved hand. She gave a sly smile under it, though it couldn’t be seen If she focused more it’ll meld into her face again, this woman already figured out the magic. So, what more could she do?

“But no, otherwise I am here to have fun. Love your name too, by the way. Unique, and I like unique things. And I could teach you if you care to sit and talk with me until the other place opens.”

“I would love to, after all, I’m never one to turn down the attention of stunning women. Especially when they’re offering to teach me new things. Learning is one of my favorite things.” A smile made its way onto Imani’s face under her mask as she watched Jane. This woman radiated a certain kind of energy, one that Imani hadn’t tasted before.

“Who taught you that trick, if you don’t mind my asking. I know some teachers don’t like to be talked about. It’s not somethin’ I’ve seen before.” Jane froze at the question for a split second when asking who taught her. Technically, she taught herself. But the power came from something else, her boss which she didn’t want to talk about. At least, not now with a stranger after a raid in a bar.

“I picked it up from my boss, but I could show you a thing or two. Thing is, you gotta have the talent for it. Think you got it pretty lady?” she responded, smiling under that mask. Imani let out a small chuckle, looking down before looking into Jane’s eyes.

“Oh, believe me, I know I do.” She leaned back, raising her brow at the woman in front of her. She usually kept her practices a secret, a secret for her sisters and brothers and other siblings from Africa only. But she supposed that if this woman was going to show her something, she might as well give something in return. She twirled one of her coils, watching it spring back after she stretched it out. It was therapeutic.

“If you’re interested, I might be able to teach you something too… that is if you’re not too white meat for it. Well, more than I was already planning to teach you the second I saw you.” Oh, this woman had spunk, attitude, and everything that made Jane smile. She was good, and she knew the game that Jane played. It was obvious to the trained killer, as a person who talked one of the most famous ones. And found him, countless times.

“Alright, so what are you wanting to know the most then? Trade for trade. Also depends on how long we plan on being together, for this night anyway.” Jane leaned forward, taking the martini glass but kept her posture. Almost challenging Imani, but not in a dominance way. Imani noticed the change in the way Jane was leaning, and smirked.

“I’m dying to know that little mask trick of yours. I do hate giving everyone a flash of my scary lookin’ face every time I take a drink or smoke.” She answered the subtle challenge with a change of her own body language, leaning forward a bit and putting most of her weight on the foot closest to Jane. She had to admit she did like this woman. She was classy, more so than Imani was used to, and wasn’t challenging in a way that made her a threat. Instead, she was challenging enough to be a turn on.

“What do you want to learn most, hmm? Hoodoo is a powerful tool if you get someone who knows how to work it right. I surely wouldn’t mind spending the night with you to teach you some of my tricks.”

Jane watched her change her posture, seeing how it shifted to mirror match hers. Oh, this girl was good. Picking up her martini, she stands up to walk over to a booth off in the corner. Her long black dress trailed behind her in the wind she made, not touching the ground due to the clack of her heels against it. Getting to the booth, she spins around and slides on in, to graceful for a basic human as she does so. Her other hand was held out, using her finger to wave “come over here” to Imani. Imani couldn’t help but enjoy the view from where she had been standing when Jane walked away and followed when Jane beckoned for her. She walked in her steps of threes, her heels clacking against the floor. She sat opposite to Jane, crossing her left leg over her right and putting her hand under her chin.

“My, if you had told me the view from the back was as good as the view from the front, I would have suggested we move much sooner.” She leaned forward a bit, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“Now, I know you didn’t get me over here away from the rest of the bar to do naughty things, so why move? Are you gonna teach me your lovely trick?”

“Maybe because I could teach you a thing or two without others…interfering or interrupting anything,” she told to her with a devilish grin under her mask. Jane took the drink she had and lifted it to her mask again, it fades in and out like it did before. But instead of a sip, she drank the entire glass before setting it aside.

“Hoodoo sounds interesting, please do tell me more.”

“Hoodoo… is everything to me. It’s called many things, rootwork, juju… sometimes devil worships by ultra-religious bitches.” Imani couldn’t help but enjoy watching the mask fade in and out, it was so fascinating to her. A part of her started to explore the science behind it, if there was in, or if it was all magic.

“Hoodoo was made by slaves trying to preserve parts of their culture while in shackles which is why we prefer it to stay to people with…” she lifted her hand up, “melanin. But I can teach you some things without giving away everything. Judging the glamour magic, you’ve got going on, I’m going to guess you are the type of woman who likes to lure in her prey instead of running around for it like a savage. I can respect that.” Imani ran her nails over the surface of the table, looking down at it, thinking for a moment before looking back into Jane’s eyes. Imani couldn’t help the grin that came to her face before she spoke. She was really fucking gay and this woman? Definitely her type.

“I can teach you a little trick to help you dispel suspicion. I use it to make my sugar mommies and daddies ignore the whole scarred face thing. Of course, if you want, I could teach you much more than that… although it would probably stop being me teaching you hoodoo and me teaching you other things.”

“Oh, you think I am that easy of a catch, do you? I would like to see you try.” Jane responds immediately, giving the same devilish grin under her mask.

“And yes, apparently you and I don’t fall far from the same tree. Sure, let’s start with the dispel suspicion then and the melding mask. I think it will go smoothly if everything doesn’t end up getting tossed to the wind in conversation.” Jane put one hand on her cheek and leaned in on it, the other one having her nails thrum against the wooden table in a smooth pattern.

Imani let out a small laugh, “I think you’ll be one of the hardest women to get in my bed. But whether we end up there or not, I’ll be happy getting to talk with someone that isn’t a total asshole or completely boring.” The sound of Jane’s nails tapping against the wooden table made Imani relax, it was a soothing sound. She shifted, cocking her head to the side.

“Do enlighten me, Jane. Do I have a chance with you, or are you going to keep me on a hamster wheel? I’ll be more than happy to continue to chase after that fabulous ass of yours, but I’d like to know before I waste too much energy making gris-gris bags to try and get you in my bed.” Jane thought about it for a minute or two, about getting into bed with this woman. Yes, she was pretty, nice, tall, and overall gay as hell, and she loved that aura about her. At the same time, she was a killer like herself and didn’t want to change anything after the raid. Gotta be smart about this sort of stuff.

“Sorry to say, not tonight. But I do believe however you have my attention enough to warrant a second, maybe even a third depending on how tonight goes,” she responds, moving to pull her mask up and off to the side some. Her skin was white, but not as bleached as her attackers. More like a very pale person, someone who doesn’t go into the sun often. Good eyes will show some burn scars creeping up her face from her neck. Her guard lowering the magic to show this woman. It is obvious that she has had surgery on most parts, it’s smoother than it should be for scarred skin. Patchy skin grafts. Imani couldn’t help but smile at the sight of this woman’s true face. She took it as a sign of trust, even at a superficial level.

“I’ll focus my efforts on upping my game for next time. Maybe show some cleavage, wear a nice wig, get my nails did…” she tapped her nails against her mask, “I don’t mind being blessed by seeing a part of your beautiful face, but I really don’t think you want to see the hellish thing that’s under this. I don’t want to give such a gorgeous being such as yourself a reason not to want to see me again, now do I?”

“If you think I am a picky person, you’re absolutely right.” Jane joked, waving over a waiter. She ordered them both a bottle of wine, chilled, and not to dry. Even added in some small snacks for them to eat while teaching one another. “You have nothing to worry about, I have no right to judge anyone. I count myself fortunate to know a very good doctor who did the best he could.”

“He definitely did an amazing job, you’re stunning. Give him my compliments.” Imani unclipped her mask, taking it off completely and shaking out her curls that were pressed down from the tight straps. Her hand ran over the scars that covered well over half of her face, feeling how they swelled above what was her normal skin. Redish and inflamed, she never let them heal. Too paranoid for medical help from her friends, she let them be. A smile inched its way onto her face, “Now that you’ve seen my face are you still certain you don’t wanna tap this right here and now?”

She snorted as she giggled, “Sorry… it’s been a long time since I’ve been interested in someone that wasn’t paying me to be.”

Jane saw the balls this woman…Imani takes off her mask to show her the face. Well, that was something. Seeing her scars, she gives a small smile under the mask before taking off her own. And her burn scared face was revealed, matching something like Imani. It folded in over itself, twisting and turning with pits and sunken in sections. And this was all after she got the surgery, seeing the off colored patchiness of where old and new skin overlaps. She had no eyebrows either, drawn on with makeup. Looking at the surface, it was obvious she had burn scars, but the makeup works to distract it.

“Hey, no worries here about that. I don’t plan on paying you for anything more if I can help it.” Giving a wink, their bottle shows up with two glasses and a bucket of ice. Imani couldn’t help but smile at this woman, no matter how self-conscious she was about the lopsided dumbass smile that she had.

“My, you do know how to flatter a girl.” Imani tapped her nails against the wood, looking at Jane for a minute. She couldn’t help but admire her, her makeup skills, her obvious good taste in fashion. And her speech. And… well, everything. She took a deep breath, preparing to summon some energy and a cocky smile appeared on her face.

“Now… I’m gonna teach you some juju.”

[livvywrites]

15 for 15

Tagged by @quartzses​. Thank you~ I adore being tagged in games! ^^ 

Rules: Answer fifteen random questions, in either your character’s voice or your own.

Okay, you know I gotta do one of my babies. Picking which one was kind of hard, so if anyone wants to tag me again I’m down ;)  I decided to do Alinora, from The Martyr Queen.  

I picked these questions randomly (using a random number generator) from Arthur Aron’s Intimacy Quiz. I skipped any two character questions, though! 

I wrote this akin to an interview, as if someone was asking her these questions, and recording not just her verbal responses, but her gestures/body language as well. 

1. How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other people’s? 

“My mother and I weren’t... close, per se. But our relationship was good regardless. She loved me, and I loved her--and both of us knew it. We said it, often. We shared meals together, spent time together a lot when I was young, though a bit less as I got older, and she got busier. I looked up to her, and I knew that she was proud of me, even if I felt I could never measure up.

“My sister, though, was claimed as a Slaeyr when I was five. She joined one of their nomadic tribes to learn how to control her new powers. She kept in sporadic contact with my mother for a while, before cutting out. She never did write me, even when I was old enough to appreciate it.

“Altogether, though, my childhood was happy. I had a loving mother. While I do not know my biological father, I had a mentor who acted as one. He and I were close. I had two close friends--one of whom I fell in love with, and was eventually engaged to.” Alinora shrugs. “I have a lot of good memories growing up. Not a lot of bad ones. So I suppose, yes, my childhood was happier than most people’s. Idyllic, even.” 

2. Before making a telephone call, do you rehearse what you are going to say? Why? 

“I do. It helps me feel more confident. I hate stuttering, saying the wrong thing, being at a loss for words. Perhaps it comes from being groomed for the life of a queen. Politics can be a dangerous game if you don’t know exactly what to say, and when.” 

3. When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?

“I...” Alinora pauses. “The last time I sang to myself... I do not know. It was before the attack on my home. I sang often, then, though not oft in front of company. Usually as I was completing a task, particularly one that was repetitive. As for singing to someone else... I sang to Liera... or what I thought was Liera... the night before I found out that my homeland had fallen.” She falls into a pensive silence, before the next question shakes her out of it.

4. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be? 

Alinora hums in thought, the pensive mood from before not quite gone. “The ability to use magic would be a boon. Everyone in Eldora is capable of it--everyone but me. It makes getting around difficult, often. I can nullify it, sure, but even that advantage doesn’t outweigh the rest of it. However, I’m told that this ability is what will allow me to kill Kai’os, so perhaps I do not want to get rid of it just yet. 

“Though this question does speak of gaining one... not losing it. So perhaps, in this theoretical world, I could have both?

“Ah. I’m probably taking this too seriously...”

5. If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future, or anything else, what would you want to know? (*)

Alinora is silent for a long moment. “I... would want to know if my loved ones, my mother and my fiancee, if they were happy. Wherever they were now. If there is truly a better place, as the stories say.”

6. What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about? 

“The death of any loved ones. Well, any sort of death joke, really. It’s a very serious matter that deserves respect,” Alinora says firmly. “I would also say that any insecurities are serious, and deserve to be treated with respect. If you make the joke yourself, that’s one thing. But no one else has that right. Race, sexuality, gender... those, too, can be sensitive subjects.”

7. What would constitute a “perfect” day for you? 

“Hmmm. I suppose I should probably not count a day where I get to kill Kai’os, mm? Perfect a day as that might be, it’s a bit unattainable right now. Though I, and my newfound allies, are working on it.

“A perfect day... I’d wake up early, eat, get some training done. Take care of whatever business needs to be had. I wouldn’t remember the attack on my homeland, nor experience any heightened anxiety. I would be left alone, for the most part. Except when I chose to reach out. No one would bug me about my eating habits, or lack of. No one would pester me with uncomfortable questions. It would be... nice. Quiet. Uneventful, mostly. I’d sleep, and I wouldn’t dream.”

8. Do you have a secret hunch on how you’ll die?

“In a battle. Perhaps even the one against Kai’os. He is very powerful, after all, and I am... not. I’ve trained, extensively. But I am not nearly as old or experienced as he is.”

9. For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

Alinora laughs, a sharp bitter sound. “I suppose the opportunity to avenge my loved ones. The fact that I am central to this operation, this mission. I am grateful for that. I am grateful for my training. For being taken in, when my mentor had every reason to turn me out. For my position among the Swans.”

10. What roles do love and affection play in your life? 

“I guess you could say love is what drives me. It was the love that I held--that I hold--for my people, particularly those lost, that kept me going. I knew that I needed to live for them, so that I could ensure that what happened to them would never happen again. 

“Beyond that... I am not sure that love and affection play any role in my life. I do not think I can let them.” 

11. Of all the people in your family, who’s death would you find the most disturbing? Why?

Alinora lets out that sharp, bitter laugh again. “I have one family member left. By default, I suppose, it would be her. Yet, up until recently, I already thought she was dead.” She shakes her head. “Her death would be disturbing. I would mourn her. I would mourn the relationship we never got to have, or repair. But if you had asked me this ten years ago, I would have said my mother.” She smiles wryly. “We see how that turned out, don’t we?” 

12. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be? 

Alinora thinks. “I cannot think of anything in particular to complain about. Perhaps I would have spent more time with my mother. Perhaps I would have spent more time with the Sage. Explored my lack of powers more, asked more about it. Maybe I would have learned about my nullification ability earlier.” She shrugs.

13. What do you value in a friendship?

Alinora hums. “I don’t have many friends these days. By choice, before anyone goes making sympathetic noises. But, when I did have friends, I valued humor. People who laughed, often. I can be serious. Maybe too serious. Having people around me that could make me laugh, could laugh themselves... It was nice.

“I also valued compassion. I have no taste for those who treat others like their dirt, or who do not see the benefit in helping others. I valued honesty. Loyalty. I liked people who could fill my silences, or who didn’t mind sitting in them with me.” She opens her mouth, as if to continue--then stops, shutting down abruptly, as if she had said too much, or was about to. 

14. When did you last cry in front of someone? By yourself?

“I wake up crying almost every night, after being plagued by terrible nightmares.” Alinora waves it off. It’s nonchalant, almost, except for the way her shoulders have tensed and her face has closed off. “The last time I cried in front of someone... Oh. I don’t recall. Perhaps it was the day I lost my home. Perhaps my mentor walked in on me, one of those nightmare nights. Perhaps his friend, or his friend’s apprentices did. I don’t know if I was crying any of those times, or there were more I didn’t wake up for. I don’t particularly care.”

(But she does. You can tell.) 

15. What is your most terrible memory?

Alinora’s face darkens. “The day I returned to Mynera to find it taken from out beneath us. The day I found out my beloved was replaced by a shifter---before we even left.” Her eyes burn. “The day I found out that so many of those I loved were gone. And I hadn’t even noticed.” 

* This question is entertaining to me, because in one of my original drafts/outlines, I had Alinora find out about her immunity to Fate’s Loom by looking in a pool of water said to tell you your future. She saw nothing. Not even her reflection, which ultimately made her think she didn’t have a future. It’s still a scene I like a lot, but I don’t think it’ll make it into the final draft. Or even this draft. 

I tag: @apvtelesma; @queenie-dragon; @marniebalboa; @vieliwrites; and anyone else who wants to do this~ (Also, if you enjoy tag games or don’t, let me know and I’ll be sure to tag you or not depending on your preference!) 

[protagonistprepblog]

Protagonist Prep Ch 9 Team Time

All respective characters belong to their respective owners.

             Deep within the school all of the teachers were inside a room discussing a topic that concerned the students, this room was huge nearly two hundred feet wide and long, it’s ceiling round with images of various battles involving the teachers, and it was lit by a chandelier that made entirely out of fireballs of varying sizes. Normally in this type of room one would normally hear laughter and recollections of past victories or battles, instead only roars of arguments and anger were heard in that room.

 “Sargent, you can not be serious about this decision!” Barrage roared out in surprise, well granted he worked with Drooler he should start to expect surprise by now.

 “No, I’m Drooler.” Drooler told the bronze being with a completely straight face with tone being both serious and jovial, this caused the group of teachers to let out a groan. Like the surprises they should’ve gotten use to the terrible dad jokes but that doesn’t mean the jokes were any less terrible.

 “Fine no more dad jokes but I am serious about my decision.” Drooler told the group his voice no longer carrying a jovial tone, this caused the uproar to increase in the room loud enough to shake the fire chandelier.

 “Jefe are you sure about this, most of those ninos aren’t exactly amigos or the team type.” Ghost said remembering how Chloe and Marinette went at each other’s throats, from the observation videos they had to watch before letting the kids come to school though he was confused why Jefe was grinning like a Chesire when any romance happened.

 “Got to agree with spikes, leave those kids alone for a few minutes and they’ll tear each other part like sharks tearing apart a carcass.” Boulder said adding his two cents, thinking about how hostile Sashi and Gaz would act when faced with social interaction with others. The former a bit more than the latter considering Gaz would just ignore them but Sashi would react rather violently.

 ‘Heck, those two would probably maim someone if their buttons got pushed too hard.’ Boulder thought to himself, though he didn’t realize that familiar bird like was listening in and disagreed with the thought.

 “Actually Boulder, I have seen Ms.Membrane in action and she is willing to work with others. “Tech told the wolf dragon hybrid, who just glared at him and let loose a warning growl.

 “Now no fighting we can’t add to the chaos, but I do have do agree with Tech those children can work together at times.” Behemoth said both scolding the two and defending the idea.

 “I gotta agree with da boss, sooner or later dose kids are going to form a teams sooner or later.” Jack told the group throwing his hat in the ring with agreement of the idea, but all that did was increase volume of the argument. It took over a hour for things to quiet down, even then it was louder than a space shuttle taking off. Luckily all that ended when Zizzoro was tired of the bickering and just zapped almost everyone in the room leaving them a little annoyed.

 “If all you will stop acting like a nest of hatchlings, I believe I have an idea.” Zizzoro told them his tone stern and his gaze steely, the group slowly began to settle down though they won’t forget the little zap they got.

 “Anyway, the idea is that we test the kids in a holodome and one of us will monitor them. From the data we collected we find out which kids do the best with each other and from those interaction we form a team, next we assign a teacher to watch over them.” Zizzoro told, across the room there were mummers of agreement and it was much better than Drooler’s original plan. So with a chorus of cheers the teachers began to put the plan into action, so the next morning Zizzoro tapped the combination on the wall and dropped to his arms to walk through the hole. To his disbelief the students were already dressed and awake ready to start the today, also so that they wouldn’t experience anymore surprises.

                         “Huh, you guys are up early.” Zizzoro told them surprised, from what he learned about human teen is that they preferred to sleep in late and usually tried to avoid waking up or getting out of bed.

 “Well if we didn’t want anything else to be destroyed.” Sashi told him as she gestured to the girl’s dorm door, which was still crumbled up in a ball, and the boy’s dorm door, as it still laid flat on the ground. Zizzoro made a mental note to remind Drooler that new doors were needed.

 “Well since all of you are ready, follow me.” He told them as he turned back to the entrance and began to walk out, after avoiding Zizzoro’s sweeping tail the kids followed him out. However they began to worry as they passed the classrooms and went down an unfamiliar hallway, continued to do so for quite awhile it was also eerie that Zizzoro hadn’t said a single thing when they began walking.

 “Ummmm, where are we going?” Alya asked him but she met with silence, he then stopped giving the students a look of their destination, it was a surprisingly human sized door that had design similar to gears working in unison.

 “You guys have to go through there.” Zizzoro told, he then walked away from them later disappearing from sight leaving the kids alone in an unknown area. A sense of dread began to form within the stomachs of the students for a couple minutes no one did anything, but then Star carefully walked up to the door and opened it. From the opening the kids could see a strange room that was entirely made up by white cubes, with weird projectors in each corner, and large mirrors on the right side of the room. Slowly the kids began to filter into the room slightly creeped out by the lack of color or anything comforting, all of them having one question.

 “Where are those beasts??!!” That Zim yelled out in annoyance at the confusion and the mystery that the teachers created.

 “I suggest that you watch yourself private, Zizzoro is waiting for a chance to turn you into a fried snack and I don’t want to go through the paperwork right now.” A familiar militaristic voice rang out through the room, although it had a bit of anger in it. The kids jumped a little, slowly getting used to the surprises, and began to look for the owner of the voice.

 “Ummm, Mr. Barrage where are you?” Connie asked, hoping that Barrage wasn’t a telepath too.

 “I’m behind the mirrors, they’re actually a special type of one-way windows.” He explained although that did nothing to lessen the creep factor of the room.

 “So what exactly is this place?” Sashi asked rather hostile being in rather odd and unknown emviroment.

 “It’s called the holodome, it was going to be used for something else but Sargent thought it was best to use for all of you. So now it’s designated as the team training room.” Barrage answered, however there was one problem with what the bronze chitin beast said.

 “Not to put a kink in your armor dude but the only team here is me, Penn and Sash.” Boone told the Barrage, who just rolled his eyes.

 “You see Mr.Wiseman, we believe that a team of heroes is better than one. So we’re going to test how each of interact with each other, and those interactions will determine your teammates. Now team up!!” Barrage told the kids, quickly all of them began to join into teams not really thinking about who went about who they ended up with. What he forgot to mention that the process was a long and tedious, for five hours the kids were tested and each hour Barrage ordered them to switch. Finally, they heard Barrage told them that testing was done, which sounded like heaven, many of the kids were out of breath and some of them even collapsed on to the floor dead tired. The holodome’s door opened and the kids either walked out or they were dragged out, when they were all gone Barrage began to do something in the observation room. He walked over towards a huge monitor display that showed what the kids had to experience and for the first time since he was assigned here, Barrage actually smiled.

 “Heh, they might actually survive.” With his lower right arm, he plucked a small flash drive looking device from one of the monitors and walked out of the observation room. Later that day the teachers were back in the conference room ready to find out what the results of the holodome were.

 “As you can see the teams that function superlative are listed as Team Dimensions, Team Alien, and finally Team Miraculous. Team Dimensions is consisted of Star Butterfly, Marco Diaz, Penn Zero, Boone Wiseman and Sashi Kobayashi; though they tend to be a little crazy in planning and execution they get the job done. Next is Team Alien which is Steven Demayo/Quartz/Universe, Connie Maheswaran, Gaz and Dib Membrane, as well as Zim; now for the most part they would rather avoid conflict either trying to talk or deceive their way out however if there’s no other choice they’ll fight. Lastly is Team Miraculous those involved are Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, Alya Cesaire, Nino Lahiffe, Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Chloe Bourgeois, even though a good portion of them don’t have any powers they seem to do well; they use the environment and their minds to defeat their enemies. Now any questions?” Barrage finished his speech with a question to the other teachers, who seemed to lose interest and Zapp even looked like was asleep.

 “What’s with da names?” Jack asked confused by the names, Barrage just sighed and muttered out.

 “I thought that assigning names to the kids would prevent confusion, and they sound pretty cool.” A small blush appeared on his muzzle, most of the other teachers were ready to tease the bronze beast but a harsh glare from Drooler quickly shot that idea down.

 “So, who’s getting a team and who’s going home a lonely man?”  Drooler asked, Barrage just rolled his eyes but answered the fire beast anyway.

 “Sargent this isn’t the Bachelorette, but since I’m already talking I should probably just tell you anyway. Team Dimensions is going to be assigned to you Sargent, Team Alien is assigned to Behemoth and finally Team Miraculous is assigned to Zizzoro.” However, that answer created more problems than it actually solved.

 “Umm incase you haven’t noticed two of the kids on Team Dimensions sort of, what’s the word, oh right. Hate me!!!!” Drooler exclaimed referring to both Sashi and Star, with Star he could understand since he did threaten her parents but with Sashi that girl just flat out hates him.

 “Though I do agree with most of the ones you picked, but I do have an objection with Zim. Irkens are known to be a rather war faring species so how would he react to being led by a pacifist?” Behemoth asked, actually sounding concerned for the small insect like alien.

 “I’m fine with it.” Zizzoro said his voice holding nothing negative in it, Barrage just sighed and began to explain the choices that were made.

 “Yes Sargent, but you do have a past to be an asshole. So could you please just try to restrain yourself form doing anything too drastic.” Said asshole opened his maw to defend himself but closed it as he remembered what he did in the past, Barrage then began to address Behemoth’s problems.

 “Behemoth, the reason why I put Zim with your team for his own safety. Considering the fact that Zizzoro will turn him into ash if he tries anything and Sargent would probably light on fire, either accidentally or by purpose.” Barrage told the gentle giant while Drooler just acted hurt at the statement, he did have a hard time containing his excitement which resulted in extremely hot hellfire.

 “Now Zizz—” Barrage began to speak until he was interrupted by something unexpected.

 “I said I was fine with it.” That little statement caused the other teachers to just stare at him with wide eyes and open mouths, they never thought in a million eons that Zizzoro would be fine with this. Heck he wasn’t that pleased about the plan to begin with but here is not really upset about being stuck with kids. Annoyed at the dumbfounded looks Zizzoro just glared at them and angrily asked them a question.

 “What?” His voice trying to reign in the annoyance he currently felt, after a few awkward mutters and whistling it was Jack who finally broke the ice.

 “No offense Z but you ain’t exactly da most kid friendly guy.” He told the Godzilla like creature, still feeling bad for the child prince that they had to guard in dimension 687-903MJ.

 “Not to mention you have a rather short temperament.”  Tech mentioned, who still had nightmares about the mission on 248-92A and hoped that the inhabitants have gotten over the attack now. Meanwhile energy began to spark off Zizzoro’s dorsal spines, which caused the teachers look like as if a nuclear bomb was about to go off. For awhile most of them dared not to talk or move afraid for what could happen, however during this entire ordeal Drooler stayed eerily calm.

 “If you keep acting like this I’ll have to spill about your little trip to Dimension 298-556MA.” He told Zizzoro, with Drooler’s tone sounding completely calm and relaxed. That little sentence caused Zizzoro’s body to stiffen and the energy to just disappear, he just turned to his cousin and hissed out.

 “You wouldn’t dare!” His voice filled to the brim with anger and his tone more venomous than a thousand cobras, Drooler didn’t even react to the extreme anger. He just calmly leaned back in his seat and gave a warning to the lightning master.

 “I won’t if you calm down.” Begrudgingly Zizzoro did but he did send his cousin harsh glares, meanwhile in the kids in the student area were pondering why the teachers schedule the impromptu training exercise.

 “So, anyone else confused about what happened?” Marco asked the others from his position on the floor, he was used to an hour-long karate class but a five-hour long training session was something else. Still the kids agreed with tired groans and moans.

 “Yeah, what was up with that?” Star wondered, her abundant energy slowing returning to her but it had while until it was full.

 “Don’t care, too tired.” Chloe told them, her ill prepared muscles still aching and sore from the extreme usage.

 “We should care! For all we know they could be using that data to destroy us!” Dib yelled out from the couch.

 “Oh yeah, like a bunch of kids would be a threat to giant interdimensional monsters.” Sashi harshly snapped at the conspiracy theorist, which caused to blush in embarrassment.

 “I agree but not that rudely, maybe they were testing us for something important.” Steven suggested, offering Dib an apologetic look.

 “Can we talk about this tomorrow? Everything still hurts.” Boone complained, though no one was against the idea of going to bed but questions still buzzed around in their minds. Skip to the morning where many of them were sleeping peacefully, until a thunderous bellow woke them up. Grumpily they got out of their beds and did their morning routines, some of them still sore, as they exited the dorms they saw Jack standing outside the student area.

 “Ah youse guys finally woke up! Come on Boss and da others want ya down at the auditorium.” Jack told the kids, a little impatient from waiting and he heard that these kids were early risers. After a good five minute walk the group arrived at the first door they saw when they entered the building, when they entered the auditorium they saw Behemoth, Barrage, Drooler and Zizzoro. When Jack stopped so did the kid but they were slightly confused why there was only a few of the teachers were present in auditorium, then Barrage began to speak.

 “Thank you Jack, you may leave now.”  Jack just nodded and stomped out off, going somewhere else.

 “Now when I call your names come up to the stage and I’ll tell you which teacher you’ll be assigned to.” Barrage told the kids his strict military tone sounding even more serious, that made the kids a little nervous. However, they didn’t have time to try and calm those nerves as Barrage began to list off them off.

 “First is Star, Marco, Penn, Sashi and Boone.” The five teenagers nervously walked, well Sashi was indifferent and Star seemed to be excited, up to the stage. When they reached the stage, they revived news that they would rather not hear.

  “Your teacher is going to be Drooler.” Now this caused Sashi to gain a lethal glare and for the excitement in Star’s body just drained from her body as her facial features turned cold, Drooler just shivered from the looks and joked about it.

 “Brrrr, did Jack leave a blizzard or is it just Star?” Though none of kids laughed or even smiled, this caused Drooler to gain a sheepish grin and let out an awkward cough. Let’s not dwell on his embarrassment because if we did he would probably roast me like a rotisserie chicken.

 “Next group is Steven, Connie, Dib, Gaz and Zim.” As they walked up to the stage Zim was shaking with fear, especially when Zizzoro gave him a hard glare and a growl. When they reached it the five of them braced for what would come next.

 “Your teacher is Behemoth.”  A huge sigh of relief escaped their lungs as they realized getting Behemoth would be comparable to winning the lottery, considering despite his size he’s one of the nicer teachers. As they walked to the gentle giant he gave the group a warning, well mainly Zim.

 “Now though I do hope we forge amazing adventures I will not tolerate any tomfoolery understand.” Though his voice held no malice or anger, his facial features made the kids know that he wasn’t joking. Which surprised the kids they normally saw a kind and warm face on him, not one of fierce gravity that was currently on his maw. Then the final six, Team Miraculous, just walked up the stage and towards Zizzoro who currently had a small grin on his muzzle. While Barrage was just annoyed by that little action.

 “I did have a system, anyway I believe that all of you have some team bonding to do.” Barrage told the three groups as he walked off the stage and out of the auditorium, creating an awkward silence between the groups.

[booneandco]

92 Truths Tag Game

TAGGED BY: @gxnnabelegends​ TAGGING: @carelessxtroubled​, @problematicfaves​, @kayaofindie​, @storiesofoblivion​, @fuckheadwrites

LAST…

[1] DRINK: Water [2] PHONE CALL: Dialed– my dad. Received– from my youngest sister  [3] TEXT MESSAGE:  Sent– “I’m good. Was in a funk but better now. Working on something for work but I’ll call you when I get out 😘😙” Received– “Dang that’s early! Okay next time :)” [4] SONG YOU LISTENED TO: Bubblegum – TOTEM, Aalias (Youtube Link) [5] TIME YOU CRIED: Can’t remember...

HAVE YOU EVER…

[6] DATED SOMEONE TWICE: Almost, but I stand by not starting that up again. [7] BEEN CHEATED ON: You gotta be in a relationship for that shit to happen. [8] KISSED SOMEONE AND REGRETTED IT: More embarrassed if anything, but no regret. [9] LOST SOMEONE SPECIAL: Yes.

[10] BEEN DEPRESSED: Yes. [11] GOTTEN DRUNK AND THROWN UP: Once. Lesson learned – wait until you are sure you aren’t sick anymore before you go out to celebrate.

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS:

[12] Pink [13] Green [14] Blue

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

[15] MADE NEW FRIENDS: Yep! [16] FALLEN OUT OF LOVE: Nope. [17] LAUGHED UNTIL YOU CRIED: Totally. [18] FOUND OUT SOMEONE WAS TALKING ABOUT YOU: Yep, no biggie – it wasn’t hate. [19] MET SOMEONE WHO CHANGED YOU: Yes – I think everyone you meet changes you a little. [20] FOUND OUT WHO YOUR TRUE FRIENDS ARE: I guess? [21] KISSED SOMEONE ON YOUR FACEBOOK LIST: Nope.

GENERAL…

[22] HOW MANY OF YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS DO YOU KNOW IN REAL LIFE: All of them, at least I did in one point in my life.  [23] DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS: 2 cats, 2 dogs. [24] DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR NAME: Nah it’s aight– really pretty with my middle name I feel. [25] WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY: DFucking shit, I went to SD with my friends for the weekend – first time ever kind of thing. We rented a room, got day drunk, it was a shit show when my anxiety was acting up but overall it was nice – as nice as it can get with 5 girls in the same room and car for an extended period of time – don’t get me wrong no one was an ass, it’s just, that’s a lot of personality to smash together when everyone is drinking at different times. Anyway, yes that. [26] WHAT TIME DID YOU WAKE UP: 9:00-9:30 ish in the am obvs [27] WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT MIDNIGHT LAST NIGHT: TUMBLR. [28] NAME SOMETHING YOU CANNOT WAIT FOR: August– I’ll possibly be housesitting in Oregon. [29] WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR MOTHER: Around 9:30-10:00 ish in the am cause I was helping her move in the cars cause it’s street sweeping day.  [30] WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH YOU COULD CHANGE ABOUT YOUR LIFE: Having my shit together? Fuck man I dunno, a couple things...  [31] WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: Spotify on shuffle. Now we’re listening to Electric (feat. Khalid) – Alina Baraz (Youtube Link)  [32] HAVE YOU EVER TALKED TO A PERSON NAMED TOM: Yep, my little sister’s best friend’s uncle Tom. [33] SOMETHING THAT IS GETTING ON YOUR NERVES: My room that is slowly becoming a mess, I’m gonna have to do something about it soon. [34] MOST VISITED WEBSITE: Tumlbr. [35] ELEMENTARY: Was pretty fun, I guess? [36] HIGH SCHOOL: I didn’t really like it, so... no thanks? [37] COLLEGE: Taking a year off to just cool off. [38] HAIR COLOUR: Brunette/Ash Brown [39] LONG OR SHORT HAIR: Medium length rn. [40] DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON SOMEONE: Nope. [41] WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? I like that my friends feel like I’m so trustworthy, openminded, and insightful that they’re comfortable enough to come to me for anything and everything, even if I don’t know how to help them, I’m here for them. So I guess, I like that I’m a good friend. [42] PIERCINGS: 1 piercing on each ear. [43]BLOOD TYPE: I should know this huh? ... [44] NICKNAME: Britt, B, ‘Brinnay’, BLove, Boone [45] RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ [46] ZODIAC SIGN: Capricorn. [47] PRONOUNS: Feminine pronouns, so ‘she & her’. [48] FAV TV SHOW: TOO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM DON’T PRESSURE ME [49] TATTOOS: None yet, definitely gonna get some.  [50] RIGHT OR LEFT HANDED: Right. ( I practice with my left every now and then, getting better, I just wanna be able to write with it alright?! )

FIRST…

[51] SURGERY: Knee.  [52] PIERCING: Ears. [53] BEST FRIEND: My sisters, then my cousin, and then a stranger named Erica. [55] VACATION: Camping. [56] PAIR OF TRAINERS: Ash Ketchum, Misty, and Brock?

RIGHT NOW…

[57] EATING: Lucky Charms. [58] DRINKING: Milk I guess if you count the cereal.  [59] I’M ABOUT TO: Work on drafts or bios, not sure yet! [60] LISTENING TO: NWhat Ifs – Kane Brown, Lauren Alaina (Youtube Link) [61] WAITING FOR: The washer to be finished so I can do my loads. [62] WANT: Some good coffee. [63] GET MARRIED: “Right now... get married?” As in what, would I get married, I’m not even actively seeing anyone... [64] CAREER: I’m working at this extended education type place teaching reading comprehension to elementary kids, gonna also apply for this hostess job so, wish me luck cause I need more hours.

WHICH IS BETTER…

[65] HUGS OR KISSES: Depends. [66] LIPS OR EYES: Eyes. [67] SHORTER OR TALLER: Taller pls. [68] OLDER OR YOUNGER: Older pls. [69] ROMANTIC OR SPONTANEOUS: Yes and yes. [70] NICE ARMS OR NICE STOMACH: Arms for sure – I kinda dig me a bit of a dad bod...  DON’T SHAME ME FOR IT [71] SENSITIVE OR LOUD: Uh? [72] HOOK UP OR RELATIONSHIP: Hook ups are still something, but, I think I’d prefer at least working towards a relationship, I tried the other thing to try and prove to something to myself, just ended up learning something else instead. [73] TROUBLEMAKER OR HESITANT: A good mix of the two.

HAVE YOU EVER…

[74] KISSED A STRANGER? Yep. [75] DRANK HARD LIQUOR? Yes.  [76] LOST GLASSES/CONTACT LENSES? Yes, lost my glasses in a lake. Very sad day.  [77] TURNED SOMEONE DOWN: Yep, although it was hard getting them to take no for an answers. [78] SEX ON FIRST DATE? No. [79] BROKEN SOMEONE’S HEART? Maybe – and trust me it wasn’t the dude I turned down. [80] HAD YOUR OWN HEART BROKEN? Yes.  [81] BEEN ARRESTED? No. [82] CRIED WHEN SOMEONE DIED? Yes.  [83] FALLEN FOR A FRIEND: Friend crushes happen...  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

[84] YOURSELF? Some days are easier than others.  [85] MIRACLES? Hopeful. [86] LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? Yes and no? [87] SANTA CLAUS? He existed once right? So yes? [88] KISS ON THE FIRST DATE? Depends. [89] ANGELS? Yeah, I may not be a very good Catholic, but I’m still a Catholic and I do believe in Angels.

OTHER…

[90] CURRENT BEST FRIEND’S NAME: Oi, I have bestfriends, none of this only one business. So, Kalie, Megan, Erin, Annie, Elise – not including my sisters.   [91] EYE COLOUR: Hazel Green. [92] FAVOURITE MOVIE: STAPH WITH THE FAVORITES, TOO MUCH PRESSURE.