#and meanwhile i'm like 'ok cool but what about having fun?'

[fictionadventurer]

NaPoWriMo #12

I glanced at a few how-to-write-poetry books and got a bit frustrated by their assumptions that poetry needs to be this deep and laborious artistic endeavor.

*

Song of an Amateur

I am a simple poetess I take my pen in hand While others long for lasting fame My dreams aren't near so grand

All I want's a little ink A peaceful touch of time To gather up my humble thoughts And scribble out a rhyme

While others labor to create Immortal artistry I play with words as children play With sand beside the sea

Delighting in their shapes and forms In meter’s playful joys I let the words fall to create New literary toys

Capturing a simple sight A pithy turn of phrase To give my friends a bit of joy To brighten up their days

It’s not for me to take a place ‘mong lit’rature’s elite I’d rather gaze up at their heights And play beside their feet

So tell me not to labor long O'er words meant to impress I’d rather live quite happy as A simple poetess

[oh-no-its-bird]

You are making me EMOTIONAL thinking about baby kakashi losing his teeth and not having his dad around to ask about things now, not even specifically for fang reasons either 😭😭

I think I was late and lost my first took when I was almost seven and idk exactly when Sakumo died officially but. Idk. Something something the tragedy of potentially not even having a parent around to explain what is going on when you lose a tooth for the first time

I'm so glad u sent this actually bc I was thinking ab wanting to write a post ab this premise but wasn't sure how to phrase or start it

Kid Kakashi struggling through starting to lose his baby teeth after his father dies <33

Google tells me that children start losing their baby teeth around 6, and the general age I've seen for Kakashi when Sakumo kills himself is usually around that same number, so, it works out!!

You bring up such a good and fun point actually in just. Does Kakashi know what's happening to him? Has anyone explained to him that your teeth just naturally fall out when you're little?

One day, Kakashi goes to class and sees Obito, who's a few years older than him, bragging about how he "just lost my tooth the other day"

And Kakashi quietly goes to himself, "wow this guy is so bad at fighting, he got his tooth knocked out and he's happy about it. What a weirdo."

Obito is IGNORING the judgmental stares coming from Kakashi's direction, assuming Kakashi is just jealous of his super cool milestone of growing up

Thinking maybe Obito even comes over to try to brag about it, but Kakashi just goes "??? Why are you bragging about losing your teeth ??? God, you're such a freak"

And Obito is like, "I know ur just jealous BAKASHI. Because you are still a BABY while I am on my way to being a MAN"

And inside Kakashi, still deeply confused and weirded out, is like, 'why the fuck would I be jealous' but outloud he just glares and goes, "I've never lost any of my teeth because I never lose."

To which Obito loses his mind because he's like 9 and to a 9 year old that sounded kind of sick and how DARE Kakashi try and be cool about this

(In the background, Minato is well on his way to losing his mind trying not to laugh. Rin meanwhile is squinting and doing mental math as she tries to tell if Kakashi is joking or not)

But anyways like. Kakashi later losing his own teeth and freaking the fuck out about it. Is he sick? Is he dying? Should he go to the doctor?

Oh my god wait ok but Kakashi cornering Rin after a training session and demands she help diagnose him bc he doesn't want to go to the actual doctor or ask Sensei for help. And Kakashi admitting she's a "good med nin" and Rin is kinda going omg Kakashi conpliment,,,, life goals,,

But also like Kakashi thinks he's dying and she's SUPER flattered he thinks she can help but she's like. 10. And a med nin in training.

So she's kind of sweating like "omg what are ur symptoms, why do u think ur dying?"

And Kakashi is like my "fucking teeth are falling out !!!!!!"

And Rin is like "woah that sounds super scary and seriou— Hold on a second."

Kakashi goes as far as to take off his mask to show her, which goes to show how desperate he is rn because he'd usually never do that.

And Rin is torn between being tempted to pinch his cheek and pull at it like it's Mochi and also like. She's struggling SO hard not to laugh at this point because she knows if she does Kakashi will literally never forgive her

So Rin has to break it to Kakashi as gently as she can (and without laughing or cooing at his cute kid naivety) that don't worry, you aren't dying, this is normal

Kakashi doesn't believe her at first. But when he does he's suddenly overwhelmed by embarrassment. He will never recover. Hes so fucking glad he didn't actually go to the doctor or to sensei because at least Rin he can swear to secrecy FOREVER

Kakashi has to deal with his suddenly too big for his mouth adult fangs and keeps going to Rin to help heal the cuts they keep leaving on his lips ,,,,

Somehow Obito catches wind of this, and hears "Rin + helping with Kakashi's lips (???)" And thinks they're kissing and loses his goddamn mind in spectacular fashion.

Toddler drama....

Idk where Im really going with this, it ended up taking a life of its own

Uhhh anyways. Moving this conversation entirely:

You can copy pasted this exact concept onto Naruto for a really funny (and kind of awful) au where Naruto loses his first tooth and becomes convinced he's dying

He does actually try to go to the hospital but they try to turn him away, but when he blurts out that he's scared he's dying a particularly mean spirited doctor pretends to examine him then goes "oh no. You really are dying and have a week to live. Boohoo."

Naruto loses his fucking mind and makes a "things I want to do before I die" bucket list and then spends the next week desperatley trying to complete it bc hes convinced he's gonna die on the final day

This list includes but is not limited to:

- become Hokage

- start a family

- eat every single different kind of ramen on Ichiraku's menu

Idk how to make the first and third especially funny but like.

"Starting a family" ending up somehow leading to Naruto very aggressively trying to get literally anyone to hold his hand in a similar fashion to "Uchiha Sasuke's 10 step plan to get revenge" where Sasuke tries to get Shikamaru to marry him in his quest to "live a good life" to get revenge on Itachi, while Naruto hears Sasuke is looking for a husband and very loudly tries to get him to pick him instead

Which is actually a really fucking funny one on its own and now I'm just thinking about that instead, so I'll leave this post here

I got a little distracted, but. Thank you for ur ask !!!

[quesocheeso]

Sorry if you got asked this before. But in this AU how did Xiaotian get his fear of spiders?

Actually haven't gotten this ask before,,, but I do have an actual answer💃

Okay for those who've only watched lmk, y'know Spider Queen? Yeah so in jttw there's 8 spider sisters, they get defeated by the pilgrims at some point

BUT since my AU doesn't have the journey or at least it isn't exactly the same, just assume the spider sisters are ok, and instead have entered into treaties with Wukong's court.

In one of those meeting one of the spider sisters brings their kid, who is around MK's age maybe (I don't have these characters fleshed out since they're not that important) and being a small kid the kid is like I gotta make the imperial Prince like me🤔🤔 and they're like I gotta be cool,,, and what do they decide to do? Terrify MK with a horror story they heard from their older sibling😭😭😭 it's kinda normal to tell scary stories in their village

Baby spider was like he'll think I'm so cool and mature😎 Meanwhile MK's in the corner like "what do you meAN SPIDERS CAN CRAWL INTO ME AND LAY EGGS??!😭😭😭 (aliens style✨)

Anyways MK lives in fear until Mac and Wukong call up spider lady and they're like "yo can you bring your kid over here to tell our kid the story was fake cause he won't believe us", they're not actually mad, kids can be intense, and once the spider kid is there he's apologizing to both MK and Shadowpeach like "I'm sorry I just wanted to be cool and be friends🥺😭😭" and they're like it's cool

Spider kid then proceeds to actually help MK get over his fear of spiders by introducing him to some of them and giving him fun lectures about them. MK ends up thinking they're cool by the end of it.

(Both kids are like 7)

[umbrellajam]

Tim (narration): Nightwing does an excellent cool, but I have to bite my swollen tongue. Lieutenant: Herman, have I told you how much I hate these flashy ginks? Officer: 'Least they don't have neon signs on their chests, Lieutenant. Lieutenant: No, but one's got wings, the other's got a cape, and they've both got masks. I hate masks. Tim (narration): He's still cool. Amazing. Lieutenant: All right, Captain Spandex, what happened here? We got reports of an explosion. Nightwing: It was Bracuda and Chulo - and a couple of drug-thugs they were making a buy from… Nightwing: We almost had them, until they chucked a grenade and got away on a boat. Lieutenant (jerking a thumb at Nightwing): You hear that, Herman? Our Halloween party boys had a little fun here on the docks--complete with fireworks. Officer: Ain't even Fourth O' July, Lieutenant. Tim (narration): My tongue's about to bleed, but Nightwing doesn't even flare a nostril. How does he do it? - Showcase '93 #12

this is still one of my favorite Tim-fanboying-Dick moments, not only for all the "wow how is Dick so good at keeping his cool when I have to bite my tongue bloody to keep from punching these jerk cops in the FACE 🤬 he's amazing I have to take notes and master this skill asap 👀📝"

but also because this is so early--their first actual team-up--that they barely know each other at all. they're still feeling out how to work together, and furthermore, Tim hasn't really. like. grasped yet how completely un-chill Dick can actually get at times lol

yes, Dick grabbed him by the arms and yelled in his face during ALPoD (provoked, I bet Tim would say!). yes, he just watched the priest get vaporized in the middle of Dick and Kory's vows at their terrible ruined wedding and yes, Bruce just broke his back and Tim had to try and justify him passing over Dick to make JPV Batman (even though Tim thought it should be Dick!) - I'm not sure if he knows that Dick was also fired as leader of the Titans and then blew up and left the group entirely (a lot has been going on in Gotham ok stalking keeping on top of Titans gossip might have fallen by the wayside) but he definitely knows Dick has plenty of reasons to be Unhappy and Short-Tempered

but Dick being Dick he channels his perceived failures into workaholism and even more perfectionism so right now he's a lean mean crime-fighting machine trained by Bruce's Batman and way better than JPV and so Tim is just like WOW HE STAYS SO COOL CALM AND PROFESSIONAL UNDER PRESSURE THAT'S SO IMPRESSIVE I'M SO IMPRESSED

and he's not wrong about Dick, it's just not. the full picture. and hindsight makes his current blissful ignorance even more hilarious because in the extremely near future, Dick, in front of Tim:

rips Bruce a new one during Knightsend when it looks like Bruce killed someone

mcfuckin' loses it at AzBats when he appears to have killed Bruce

worries at his doubts and insecurities like a dog with a bone all through Prodigal

meanwhile Tim during Prodigal (stubbornly): WOW YOU'RE SO IMPRESSIVE AT THIS BATMAN THING SO MUCH BETTER THAN PAUL NO SHUT UP YOU'RE AMAZING

he will not budge lol, Tim will witness or experience first-hand exactly how un-chill Dick Grayson can get throughout his highs and lows over the years, but the fanboyism won't dim or falter, just gain more facets and depth, and that's beautiful 😌

[lesbianrobin]

we are playing in the “tommy asks buck for an open relationship” sandbox rn. just go with me on this. ok? ok. he is entirely asking for his own purposes (perhaps trying to hook up with eddie perhaps not who’s to say!) but he frames it like well YOU deserve to experiment and be with other guys :) and so buck agrees despite being a diehard monogamist bc he's desperate to be loved and make this relationship work and tommy makes it sound reasonable.

so for a few weeks tommy like casually hooks up with a few people while buck hangs back uncomfortably and eventually buck is like SIGH well i guess i SHOULD get more experience with guys. and he asks eddie to come with him to a gay bar and buck absolutely knocks it out of the park like he's Killing it he and eddie r having fun and he hooks up with someone new every weekend and unlike his buck 1.0 days he's actually just having fun with it bc he isn't looking for emotional intimacy w these people that he'll never find! he's just letting himself explore things and be happy! meanwhile tommy is going for like shitty grindr hookups that don't even show up half the time. he tries asking eddie to Hang Out and eddie leaves him on read. like he is Not doing too hot.

and i think that buck is completely oblivious to the fact that tommy is not having fun like he is. but eddie does know and he's fucking Thrilled. he's just gonna let this shit play out. eddie knows that he loves buck at this point, but he's watching buck actually enjoy himself and kinda revise the terrible relationship he has with sex and find something liberating in it so eddie's okay with sitting back for awhile and letting buck have this while also laughing at tommy. maybe eddie is also finding hookups when they go out maybe not who's to say.

so after a couple months of this buck and eddie are hanging out and buck is like sigh yknow this open relationship thing was fun for a while but i just don't know if i see this thing with tommy going anywhere... like i don't really care when he hooks up with other people and i don't think it's because i'm cool and polyamorous i think it's because i just don't like him that much. and eddie's like well you shouldn't settle for a relationship where you don't really love your partner. yknow he does his sage advice thing. and buck is like yeah you're right...

and later buck goes to tommy and he's like hey man you're really great and i do like you but i think this just isn't really working. i think we both deserve something better. and tommy's like it's eddie isn't it. and buck's like huh? and tommy's like you were with eddie last night. and buck's like oh well yeah he and i were talking and he said- and tommy's like evan stop bullshitting me we're grown-ups you can just say you're dumping me for him. and buck's like sorry Huh. and tommy's like oh come on he was just "wingmanning" all those times you two went out? and buck is like ...yeah?? he's my friend?? and tommy's like sure. whatever fine. this was fun. have a good life evan. and buck's like what da hell...

and then when he tells eddie about the breakup, he mentions it and eddie's like ha 🙄 and buck's like oh haha yeah like that's crazy right! and eddie's like 🙄 as if you'd still be with him if we had been sleeping together. and buck's like . what. and eddie's like i mean. well it's us. we wouldn't... not as some side thing. if it was us, it'd be real.

and buck's like oh. yeah. do you, uh. think about that? if it was... us? and eddie's like ...once or twice. and buck's like ...once or twice? and eddie's like yeah. each time lasts a few years though. and buck laughs and he's tearing up and eddie grins at him and he says so. us? and buck says yeah. yeah, us.

and then they are in love and get married and are happy forever and ever the end 🫶🏻

[muscleloverz69]

Jock Juice

Ned was very anxious about moving into his dorm. Without knowing anyone at the university he had no choice but to go random and as luck would have it the only spots left were in the athletes housing. Ned had no interest in sports and found jocks completely obnoxious. Being a nerdy gay man Ned tried his best to steer clear but now his hands were tied. When Ned walked into his room he was met by a total jock. 

Jack was well over 6 feet tall with a square jaw, biceps that stretched the sleeves of his tee and pants that left little to the imagination. Ned was embarrassed when he felt his dick twinge but he quickly ignored it. “Hey bro you must be the roomie, sup.” Jack extended a fist which Ned awkwardly bumped.

Jack turned out to be not nearly as bad as Ned was anticipating. Actually he was pretty nice. He did come back really late from parties and his football gear was littered around the entire room but Ned enjoyed being able to watch Jack change from the corner of his eye. Ned was being driven crazy, staring at the bulging muscles and broad figure of his roommate.

One day as Jack pulled off his pants after a day of classes, he noticed Ned staring at his big bulge. “Hey dude it's ok to look, I’m actually gay too.”

Ned felt his face go red but his mind was reeling from the revelation. “Oh sorry-.” Jack interrupted, “Seriously dude it's fine honestly I’d be down to have some fun with you but you need to know something first.”

Ned couldn’t believe his ears, “You’d want to fuck me?”

“Yeah but dude the thing is I have a curse.”

Ned looked confused as Jack explained, “I used to be a nerd just like you but one day I fucked a jock and now I look like this.” Jack flexed one of his thick biceps.

“Now whenever someone comes in contact with my fluids they become a jock too, it doesn't matter what they looked like before, nerds, girls, old guys they all become jocks.”

Ned stared at his sexy roommate for a moment, he couldn’t be serious, this had to be some kind of prank but he didn’t care. Ned crossed the room and pulled Jack into a deep kiss. Ned laughed in his head for a minute before he felt a gentle fog fall on his brain. Jack pushed Ned off “Bruh I wasnt fucking with you, are you ok.”

“Bro--I mean Jack, I feel fine I think. Whatever, I'm going to bed.” Ned wanted to die. He thought Jack was a nice guy. Why would he pull such a mean prank, although he had no idea why he called Jack bro.

The next morning Ned woke up earlier than usual. He looked himself down in the mirror, he looked the same. Since he woke up early though Ned decided he might as well do something productive and went over to the campus gym.

Ned got to the gym and quickly remembered he had no idea what he was doing. That’s when Jack came up to him, “Hey bro, sorry about last night I guess you’re into the gym now, need some help?”

“Uh sure that’d be cool dud--Jack thanks.”

The two guys worked out together for the next couple hours, after Jack handed Ned a towel and as he did his sweaty hand brushed into his roommates. Ned hardly took note but did feel very tired from the workout.

Ned and Jack walked to the showers together. Ned started rubbing his body down with soap as he noticed some muscle he didn’t remember having. Nowhere near as much as Jack but his shoulders did seem broader, his chest protruded out just a bit, and his abs were showing. As he continued soaping his body he noticed his dick. It was throbbing hard and not only that it looked larger than he ever remembered it. Ned was hit with an overwhelming burning lust. He furiously started jacking off in the shower before cumming all over the tile floor.

Meanwhile Jack felt worried about Ned. He knew the kiss from the night before would result in some minor changes but as long as he was careful it didn’t have to go further unless he knew that’s what Ned wanted. Jack was torn though cute nerds like Ned were exactly his type and he wanted nothing more than to worship that thin nerdy body. 

Later that night Ned tried to study for his Calc exam but couldn’t remember anything. He was sure the questions must have been written wrong because nothing made sense. On top of that all he could think about was Jack’s body. He was losing his mind.

Ned stood up and faced Jack who was mindlessly scrolling on his phone. “Bro I need you inside me.” Jack met Ned’s start 

“You sure bro?”

Ned jumped on top of Jack quickly ripping off his pants revealing muscular thighs and an almost footlong dick. Jack yelped in surprise but couldn’t stop himself from letting Ned’s tongue slide down his shaft. Jack’s hips bucked as Ned got face fucked. Pre entered Nick’s mouth, causing his biceps to enlarge to 18 inches, his face sharpened into a chiseled look although Jack could hardly notice as Nick deepthroated his monster dick. 

Jack began moaning louder, gripping Nick’s enlarged muscular ass before cumming right down Nick’s throat. Nick swallowed load after load before rolling off to the side. Nick felt an even heavier fog descend on his brain. All he could think about was sports, working out and, bussy.

Nick got up and tried to put on his tee shirt which was now skin tight. “Dude that was fuckin sick!” Jack was still laying in bed disappointed. Jack stared at Nicks new thick cock and massive muscles uninterestedly. Jack was really only attracted to nerds.

Nick laughed “Bro I gotta find some other nerd to blow me.”

[dadsbongos]

Oh my gosh the I GUESS part was so funny cfdjkfd It will always make me so sad that we'll likely never see the later seasons, it would have been SO funny omg How are you btw?? Anything fun you've done/have coming up? Also any random headcanon thoughts about possibly dating both laios and kabru would be as lovely as you <3 -Artemis

i giggle thinking about his snooty fucking "i GUESS" that and calling mika gay for being attracted to him, a man

i was in a bit of a rut the past week or so but i've been getting better, drawing a lot and working on personal writing projects. plan on going out with a fwend on Wednesday :3 and i'm trying to con a hot person into liking me

labru poly hcs below!!

ok to get together with these two is a nightmare though it is worth it!

i can see it being you and kabru chasing laios, being romantic rivals with laios not paying attention to either of you LOL

kabru gets charmed by you after viciously studying you for months on end to try getting a leg up on you and you're just like every other hot-blooded mammal and can agree that kabru's hot

i can see you confessing to laios (because god forbid kabru actually voice his feelings to someone) so kabru is just silently devastated until eventually being absorbed into the relationship

domestic chores were a bit of a battle at first because kabru doesn't maintain his own space and laios can't maintain common spaces bc he doesn't know what everyone else is okay with him tossing out and dishes are a NO for him

but kabru is great at delegating/managing tasks plus he can care for others. so he managed to think out a way for everyone to be happy: kabru does most of the basic chores (dishes, sweeping, dusting), laios does most of the yard work and shopping, and you the laundry/cooking ft. laios as a lil helper while picking up minor tidying (but obvi you guys can share and help as with all relationships yk)

non-negotiable tho you and laios and kabru are all legally obligated to indulging each other's niche interests. you and laios are ears OPEN to kabru's novelizations of world history and current gossip, and you n kabru listen to laios ramble about useless mythos and cryptids factoids

and ofc they listen to you prattle on about your own interests cuz that's love bby <3

when walking outside, laios likes to intentionally try finding cool bugs or dogs and kabru has to wrangle him by the collar of his shirt while you're just there like :) aw bfs

kabru looooves planning dates and doesn't usually like feeling out of the loop or surprised unless its something you three agreed wouldn't be orchestrated by him

blowout arguments are not common in any manner, since kabru's an ace at recognizing/dismantling how you feel and is flexible in asking how to better put your mind at ease

meanwhile laios just HATES fighting and arguments and is not the type to enforce his way of thinking/doing certain things unless it'll actually drive him insane (which is pretty uncommon)

kabru is probably in charge of finances cuz its just less stress for him

laios likes decorating the space but you and kabru have to nyx some of his stranger ideas (a fully functional bigfoot puppet hanging from the ceiling, fresno night crawler figures on the tv stand, etc.)

nautical themed bathroom is a for sure though i'm sorry i'm sorry, laios is white and kabru was raised by milsiril they're just going to have a nautical themed bathroom no matter how you feel about it

i have an idea i want to make a fic but can't find the time: basically the same thing where you n kabru hate each other but get along for laios' sake cuz you're both dating him. until you fuck nasty and bond for realsies <3

[luimagines]

OK OK OK BUT LIKE WE GOT *HIM* REALIZING HE LIKE THEM. BUT CAN BE HAVE READER REALIZING THEY LOVE HIM?

Yeeeesss!!!!! I can't wait!! (I've been wanting to write this since I started this blog XD)

Masterlist

Part one will have Time, Twilight and Warrior.

Content under the cut!

Time

It was a quiet acknowledgement.

It was unintentional to boot. You weren't looking for anything with anyone. It was just... a bunch of little things that caught your attention.

When he'd ruffle Wind's and Twilight's hair for fun- how concentrated he'd get in the middle of battle- when he'd help braid Wild's hair to calm him down after a bad night. The quiet way he'd support Warrior from the side. Not to mention just how he leads the group causes you admire him in many ways.

And for a time that was all it was. Admiration. Nothing more, nothing less.

Then you got hurt one day. Your palm was bleeding. Nothing deadly or worrisome but it was your dominant hand. The bandages, swelling and bleeding made it difficult to do much of anything. Not to mention that you kept picking at said bandages, making them fall loose.

Time noticed and puled you aside, rewrapping your hand with grim look on his face. This felt worse, somehow. Like you've disappointed him. He looks pissed, even though he's yet to say a single thing to you.

"I'm sorry." You blurt, hoping that it'll ease whatever tension is on his face.

It doesn't work. If anything he looks angrier. "It's not your fault... I just wish I would have gotten to you sooner. this could have been avoided."

Hold up-

Your heart starts beating faster and your face warms. "Im-impossible, Time. You were so far away."

"Mmm." Time grunts, tightening the bandages once more. "Do me a favor, yeah? Get better. Stop picking at it."

He flicks your forehead playfully, smiling at last. The look... takes your breath away. It's far from perfect. But it's soft and genuine and... you've never seen him look at anyone else like that. You swallow the spit in your mouth, hoping that you're not blushing any more than you already are. "...ok..."

"Good." Time sighs and kisses your forehead. "I worry enough about you as it is."

Did your heart just stop? Hello? Anyone home?

"Thank you." You say and smile back, trying to outwardly keep calm. But on the inside you feel like screaming. Is that good or bad? You don't know yet.

Time smiles again and put his hand on your shoulder. He puts the back of his hand to your cheek and winks. "Always."

You stay there stunned and bite your lip. "...cool..."

He snorts and walks away. "Come on. Or they'll leave us behind."

"Right. I lo-" You panic. What were you about to say? Would you have meant it? I love you? Seriously? Just like that? When did this happen?

Time doesn't seem to notice and keeps walking.

Meanwhile your world just turned on its side. Then again- you've known for a while now, haven't you? It just now where it's grown too obvious to ignore anymore.

You take a deep breath and follow the man back to the group.

Maybe you'll tell him. But another day.

Twilight

Twilight was annoying. You hate to say it. But you would really like to get a grip when it came to him.

It was just some.... stupid puppy crush. There was nothing to it. It was nothing serious- but my god, did it get in the way of literally everything else.

He could say something nice or he would try and be helpful and you would be stuttering and fumbling over yourself. It was stupid. Dumb. Idiotic. You wanted to scream.

At best, you could try to avoid him, but he was so gentle. So sweet. You couldn't even be mad.

You sighed and shook your head, hitting your cheeks a few times to try and get a grip.

"You ok, Darlin'?" Twilight comes up from behind you.

You jump and whip your head around to look at him. You feel like you've been caught doing something suspicious- yet all you were doing was standing there hitting your face. "...Um... Ye-yeah. I'm fine. I'm cool! Don't worry about it."

Twilight raises an eyebrow. "Sure. And you were hitting yourself because...?"

"...I'm tired." You lie. "I feel like I'm about to fall asleep any second now."

Twilight frowns and stands a little straighter. "Everythin' alright? Had a bad night or somethin'?"

You cough and nod. "Yeah, something like that. I haven't been able to sleep well lately. I don't know why."

Yes you do. But it's fine. Totally fine.

Twilight puts the back of his hand to your forehead before either of you realize it. His fingers tips move down over your cheeks and behind your jaw. He frowns and leans in. Your breath stills completely, you think your heart stopped beating.

"Are you feeling alright?" He whispers. "I hope you're not getting sick."

You shake your head, gently taking his hand and moving it away from your face. Your attention instantly goes to the way his hand feels in your. Which is totally normal, right? "I don't think so... It just my brain not shutting up these days. I'll be ok."

Twilight leans back and you feel like you can breathe again. "Are you sure? I can help out if you need a break."

You snort. "Yeah? How?"

"I can carry you for a little bit. It's not like it costs anything."

You flush and shake your head, already feeling annoyed with yourself for not holding it together again. Naturally, you want to blame him. "No, really. I'm ok. Come on. We're being left behind."

Twilight nods and moves to walk to the group, still not looking satisfied with your answers. But then Warrior calls him over for something and with one last look to you, he leaves you behind.

It's the perfect excuse to finally break down and scream quietly. You're worse off than you thought. And he's still so sweet. And you can still feel his hand in yours and against your face and the way he looked at you and-

You whine in the back of your throat. "I think I love him."

Warrior

There was something about him that you couldn't look away from. You couldn't say for certain what it was but you liked it.

You like him, to put it simply. He was charming, funny, confident- he didn't hesitate to act and he was always there to put a smile on someone's face regardless if it was at his expense or not.

Speaking of, he kept to your side as it was pouring cats and dogs, sacrificing his scarf to hold it over your heads. You helped him as it got heavier and heavier, huddling closer to his side as it dipped and drooped.

You sigh and looked at him. "How're you holding up?"

"I might have to drop this thing, sorry." He admits quietly. And he's right. You can already see how tired his arms are getting and the scarf is soaked through already, it's not like it helping keeping either of you dry anymore.

Then again, that doesn't answer your question.

You sigh and shake your head, dropping the scarf already. The rain instantly soaks into your hair and shirt, making everything seem twice as heavy. "Do you think we'll reach the others anytime soon? Wild and Time are still behind us, right?"

Warrior sighs also dropping the scarf. Water drips down his face in an instant. "I'm no longer sure. It's too dark to make out anything directly in front of us. If anything, we might be better just sticking to one spot and waiting either for the others to catch up to us or for the storm to stop."

You hum and think about it for a moment. "Do you think there's any cave nearby to take shelter in? I know there's no lightning but I don't feel conformable taking shelter under a tree, just in case."

Warrior looks around, wiping his face free of as much water as he can. He takes your hand and point. "There's that."

It's not much, a large rock jutting out of the ground with only enough space for you both to sit under it. But it'll have to do. You nod and together you both run to the little respite in the storm.

Warrior instantly does his best to clear the area of smaller rocks and twigs for you both to sit comfortable. your heart squeezes a little at the act. He sits down, pressing his back against the rock and pulls you into his side, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. "I wish I do more..."

"This is good enough." You feel yourself growing shy at the close contact. He's never done this before... or has he? It seems so natural to him that he didn't seem to think twice- it's only now that you're noticing it.

You look down for a moment and tuck yourself closer. Warrior takes off his scarf and sets it aside. He takes off his armor and outer most layers. He's warm, you realize and his tunic is still dry. He gestures for you to do the same. Granted, you don't wear as many layers as he does, but by shedding the first one, you instantly feel better and warmer as he pulls you in closer again.

Only his form is more obvious to you this time around- and yours to him. Warrior doesn't seem bothered by it.

You however can feel yourself blushing. This seems awfully familiar to you. Have you dreamed about it before? Your heart is pounding, but it feels good. You feel happy just at the thought of this.

Hold on.... Why?

....Uh-oh.. are you crushing?

"Feel better?" Warrior whispers next to your ear and you look up at him. You bite your lip and nod, unable to hold the look for long. Warrior chuckles under his breath and rubs your shoulder comfortingly. "Good."

Oh, that laugh is going to haunt you now. You liked him. But now it's complicated.

part 2

[krchar]

Ok I kind of think someone must have thought of this, but - Steven Universe mirroring idea

ok it is obvious that the cool kids each mirror one crystal gem visually and vibe-wise - it is even on the cool kids wiki page

BUT

i was thinking about what is the point - what are their other relations

and it brought me to this idea that

Sadie mirrors Steven and Lars mirrors Rose Quartz

i have many feelings about it

but - consider the following points O.O

Lars starts as a side character, but happens to be there in episodes with quite important Rose Quartz stuff for Steven to resolve and his own story becomes incredibly cool and intense

we can always see Lars and Sadie together - like Steven always keeps a part of his mother inside - and Lars always gives Sadie a lot of trouble. It does not remain the case, though, does it, because they will not stay together...

the first episode with a huge Lars-Rose parallel, Lars and the Cool Kids, I can't even...

Lars wants to be friends with the cool kids BY HIDING WHO HE TRULY IS - like Rose (i believe that Rose truly was Rose, but she did hide her past) - but it is Steven who connects them

they go to this place where a dangerous sentient moss grows that Rose planted - the moss almost kills the cool kids and Lars says hateful stuff about Steven's mom and Steven stands up for her, which makes Lars regret what he said and they make friends, take the cool kids overgrown with moss up the hill, where it blooms and vanishes and it is beautiful - IN OTHER WORDS they face the burden that Rose left on everyone - Rose hated herself and part of the burden is her guilt, but Steven has to fight it - and Lars also has to accept her a bit in here, for everyone to survive and bloom

then there is The New Lars - where Steven accidentally spends the day in Lars's body and tries to fix his life and his mistakes - just like Steven is forced to accept Rose's role, powers, etc. Everyone likes this new Lars better, apart from Sadie - I'm not sure, but could be that Steven should accept his mother the way she was. Then the fun is that meanwhile Lars is in Steven's body, but remains asleep - thus remains "dead"

then of course the series of episodes when they go to space together, starting with I Am My Mom... oh dear gods

it just so happens that in the moment of facing his frustration with Rose's deeds, of all the characters it is Lars going with Steven to space to solve it

in a moment, when Steven fights his confusion of his own and his mother's identity, they are stuck together in the Topaz fusion in one body and they are forced to resolve their relation and Lars has to accept himself with Steven's help - while in these episodes, at the trial Steven also figures there is something strange about Rose shattering Pink Diamond for the first time

also Lars was kidnapped by Aquamarine after he was too nervous to hang out with the cool kids, hiding himself again from them, while steven and sadie got to join their party

then Off Colors and Lars's Head - Lars becoming pink and being directly connected to Steven's and Rose's magic is just really obvious. But also - Lars accepts himself more than ever before, and thanks to that they really bond with Steven.

Lars dies and it is through Steven that he is brought back to life omg (sorry i just can't) - and LARS SACRIFICES HIMSELF AND STAYS IN SPACE - THUS DISAPPEARS FROM EARTH FOR STEVEN'S SAKE LIKE ROSE omgods AND IT IS THROUGH LARS'S HELP THAT STEVEN EVEN GETS TO EARTH oh my

when Steven returns, Lars, who always wanted to be friends with the cool kids, is gone like Rose (even if not for good, unlike her) - and meanwhile the cool kids make friends with Sadie!!! like Steven became a part of the Crystal Gems.. it is even later shown that Lars feels as if she replaced him

meanwhile in space Lars becomes a criminal to homeworld with other unwanted gems like Rose did!!!! he is even their leader who inspires them to run to earth like Rose did!!! he changes his identity and finds his true self and sense in life like. rose. did.

from a different view he also leaves earth later, sort of leaving his original home, finding new friends and new purpose (like rose did. i should make an abbreviation for this. LRD.)

after he returns to earth he spends a bit of time there - but in the end he decides to leave - which is completely mirroring of Rose's travels (homeworld -> earth -> gone for good) this is already in SU Future

this includes final breakup with Sadie, who has a new life now with the cool kids and a new partner - they figure out they cannot be together, but they will remain friends - thus resolving their burdens and letting the other go - but Steven doesn't want to accept them not being together, relating this to Lars and everyone leaving him, and almost destroys everyone, including the cool kids - which is quite a parallel to him not being able to leave his mother's past behind and live, which brings quite some drama later - he needs to resolve his relation with Rose, like Sadie did with Lars, but he cannot

they obviously become very close with Steven - you would not have expected that at the beginning of the show. Steven takes some more time to resolve his trouble after Lars leaves, but we already get hints of what he needs to do - and what is difficult - to let Lars go, aka to let his mom go and accept her for who she was

and also maybe accept that she searched for a new self - acknowledge that she went through a lot of change - like Lars did -which was why he left Earth and Steven

ok. oh dear. oh dear. i believe there must be much more, but these were just sudden thoughts. other ideas?

anyway all this also gives me a lot of feelings about Lars's character and even some more layer on how his story is tragic like Rose's...

but, maybe unlike Rose, he managed to accept himself in the end truly, which is nice.

[pomeloandtv]

ok, that's two down, one more wish

ok, my girlfriend, when we are planning things, from now on occasionally i am going to suggest a completely disproportionate and unreasonable compromise, and when i do i wish that she will not recognise it as that, she will see it as a fair suggestion, clever even, like i've cut the gordion knot

##############

[six months later]

can we go camping this summer?

i dunno the mosquitos ate me alive last time, it ruined the experience

we'll get good mosquito repellent, i can investigate the best things we can do to prevent that, i promise

i dunno, i'm not convinced, lots of other things went wrong that last time

we just need to prepare properly for the trip! we know what went wrong now and so we know what we need to fix, we can do it!

hmmm, ok, how about, we go camping, you investigate the mosquito thing, we start writing a list of everything that went wrong last time, and start doing the research on preventing them, aaaaannnnnndd you get breast implants

"....."

honey?

no, i'm just thinking, that's ... good, really good, it's simple, it works, we can do this. oh my god we will have such good fun this time, i promise

but i mean, [raising eyebrow and cocking head], you know, big ones, like really fake looking too, maybe i should help decide

thank you so much! [big hug] this is so cool! just like that time we agreed who i could spend time with!

[hugging, stroking hair, laughing, maybe a bit too loud] or the time you agreed i should have complete control over your orgasms

[falsetto voice, happily, still hugging tightly] yyeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhh

[barely able to contain himself] hahahahaaaaa ah haha [wiping a tear away] oh my god!

[breaking off the hug to look at him quizzically, then smiling] you're funny

[calming down] aah ha ahh [wiping another tear] ok, ok, i'm good, ha! you know me

that's right, i [playfully punches arm] know you. ha ok, i know already what kind of tent we should get and ...

now hang on, here's the order we should do things, we should start making a list of everything we need to get right for camping, but each of those problems will be quick to solve. but your boob job will take longer , both to plan and to heal, we need to start working on that first

ok, huh, but i don't even know where to begin, i've literally never thought about this kind of thing before, ever

right, so it is important to get a good doctor, but not every doctor will want to perform any surgery. you start by investigating potential surgeons, look for people with a good track record and reputation, that specialize in, uh ... [mimes two hefty breasts on his chest], you know? this is important to get right, so you don't need to stay local in your search

ok, i'll do that

meanwhile i'll start compiling pictures that you can show doctors of the types of boobs you want, you know figuring out dimensions and profile and the like

[excitedly clapping hands together in front of her chest] yay!

##############

[four months later]

[posting] hey everyone, new profile pic!

[tadbitsketch]

accidentally took a 4 hour nap and now i can't sleep so mcsm theory time!

ok so this is kind of something that i never really see be debated in the community, but i do see it be represented in different ways. i'm talking about ✨the parallels between the new and old orders✨

for the most part, we can all agree that

magnus: axel (griefer)

ellegaard: olivia (redstonist)

gabriel: petra (warrior)

which just leaves two characters in each order: ivor and soren, and jesse and lukas.

i keep seeing people represent jesse in soren's place, because they're both the leaders of their respective groups or something like that. but i disagree.

lukas parallels soren much better because they're both architects. they're also both writers who live(d) away from civilization. they also both have a habit of being a little* bit dramatic in their storytelling of their adventures.

so if everyone else parallels each other in their roles... how does jesse parallel ivor?

the funny thing about these parallels is how it's not just in job that they match... kinda.

and i have some fun lil theories/analyzations on this, of which i will share!

theory 1: similar arcs

something really cool about these two (and some other notable characters i'll discuss another time) is that they both have character arcs where they grow and change as people.

ivor's plans of revenge backfire horrendously, and after that problem is solved, he makes new friends. ones who aren't liars, people who genuinely help. they're brave, and they forgive. they're willing to learn and change.

and so is he does too.

meanwhile jesse is a noob who knows barely anything about minecrafting who eventually saves the world. they learn a lot from the mistakes of their predecessors.

both ivor and jesse grow as people because of mistakes from the past. they both are characters who have decided to change things from how they were, whether it be how they were themselves or how someone before them was.

theory 2: creation/destruction

so i came up with this awhile ago, but you can split the members of the order into two groups (based on their "classes," so to speak): creators and destroyers.

olivia and ellegaard make redstone contraptions, lukas and soren build. they are creators.

axel and magnus blow things up, petra and gabriel slay monsters. they are destroyers.

what is ivor, then? his role as an alchemist means that he can create potions to help AND potions to harm. he is both a creator and a destroyer.

and jesse, our main character with quite the skillset (except for alchemy), also fits both the roles of a creator and a destroyer. jesse does whatever the heck jesse wants.

boom. parallels.

and one other funky thing i've noticed

ivor's stone in the amulet is the lapis blue one. jesse's favorite color is canonically lapis blue.

[wowstrawberrycow]

Reading the Silmarillion part 2 (#1)

Ok so here's my main take aways so far. All in good fun. The humor helps me focus. I'm also having to break this down because damn my attention span is bad! So here we go! Note: I legit had to take notes on my first initial thoughts, Because omg this is so dense.

Also this is the audiobook I'm following along with click here

Introducing people again

Manwe: Roses are red. My scepter and eyes are blue. I like poetry. It is Melkor whom I hate. Screw you.

Elbereth⬇️

Ulmo: The original shut in. Is a chuunibyou who thinks he's a mermaid??? Maybe?? Idk that's the impression I get of this dude.

Yavanna: That hippie chick who will give you a lecture about environmentalism and is the main save the earth guest speaker at all your local college campuses.

Orome: Is both of these men⬇️

Melkor: I friggin swear this bitch is a JoJo's villain.

I learned that elves are kinda clones? Those of you who have seen gravity falls get this joke⬇️

Humans are "special" (those assholes probably made short busses with humans in mind)⬇️

Aule: Created the first handy crafts club at your highschool "the dwarves". pretty sure that's why they are hoarders (I mean in the future they hoarde gold sometimes). Like have y'all seen handy crafts closets? They need a lot to make the good shit. That's where that hoarding habit comes from.

Iluvatar be like: Yo why'd you make these bearded lil bastards???

Aule be like: Cause I could??? But fuck, if you're going to bitch about it... *Aule smash!*

Then iluvatar was all like: Oh me god what are you doing bro!? So dramatic! You can keep your pets but get those fuckers out of my sight. All y'all are going underground. Peace out bitches.

Meanwhile

Dwarves get a cool off screen training montage. Aule sensei teaches them how to be awesome like those bros in shonen anime like Naruto. You know where they get stronger cause of cool ninja stuff and they learn their true ninja way is powered with the magic of friendship. Something like that but with more dwarves, less ninjas, no ninjutsu, and lots of axes probably?????

Aule to Yavanna: Yo homie wanna see this cool new anime I made?

Yavanna: That's cool but meh.

-Saty tuned after a brief break-

Here the other parts so far- part 1

Part 2- #2 , #3

[talewind-arts]

Hi I'm Aromantic and struggle to comprehend subtle and complex romances. So here's what I like about the simple, squishy, sappy, DoD romances!

-Clay/Peril

Clay grew up being told he was a monster, just like Peril. He sees a part of himself he has seen nowhere else in her and believes deeply that she is good, just as he believes he and everyone else is good.

Meanwhile Peril is 2 inches from his face staring and blushing and bubbling over the one dragon who was sincerely, openly, and unabashedly kind and genuine in a way nobody else could. Also he is the first person to be able to touch her, literally and figuratively and it's fucking hilarious any time the DoD shows they all know and he doesn't.

-Tsunami/Riptide

Two people whose lives have been out of their control since forever. They understand each other in ways only people who have had to learn how to flail around in the dark can.

Plus Riptide being in the Talons of Peace and Tsunami being royalty/the seawing egg is so juicy. Tsunami is, to no fault of her own, the cataclysm for everything about Riptide's life. Riptide is a member of the organization that Tsunami hates more than anyone, far more than the other at best resentful DoD. Their empathy and crushes for one another must be held at bay. Both are extremely loyal and have their own duties, and at the same time care too much for the other to enact those duties in a way that would directly bring harm.

It's a perfect display of the complex morals of Tsunami's character/book.

-Glory/Deathbringer

(I'm in the camp that scavenger logic does not apply to dragon age cause I love these two and its fiction, I do not condone pedophilia nor do I think it applies here. If you disagree that's totally OK, but if you feel the need to debate, I'd honestly rather it be about the actual psychology of the relationships so that I may learn more about this rather alien concept)

It's so fucking cool that after Glory's parental figures tried to kill her, she meets an assassin meant to do the same, who even though it is his job, actively and vocally tries not to kill her. AND THEN he becomes her bodyguard, making sure she never gets killed. It's SO GOOD.

Anyhow much like Glory, Deathbringer grew up an outsider. He is a healthy, continent bound, silly Nightwing, as unheard of as a fierce, serious, sarcastic Rainwing. Deathbringer says it himself, Glory fascinates him, I think he sees himself in her a lot, which is a uniquely new feeling for someone who broke free of the Nightwing’s trademark ‘all for the plan, none for the self’ mentality. At the other end, Glory's life is/was very unstable, and she constantly grapples with self worth and feeling like she doesn't belong. Having someone who constantly gives her affirmations (clearly crushes on/is attracted to her, finds her deeply funny and interesting, believes strongly in her choices) is so important for her. She needs someone who will worship the ground she walks on just as much as Deathbringer needs someone who can step on him who knows what it's like to be on the outside looking in.

-Starflight/Fatespeaker

(FYI I haven't done much thinking on these two yet, this may be subject to change)

All Fatespeaker ever wanted was friends. Heck, she actively lies to herself that she has friends in the false dragonets, who instead take any chance they get to berate and annoy her. Like all the false dragonets, Fatespeaker is a deliciously fascinating warping of Starflight. Both groups poke fun at their annoying Nightwing nerds, but only the DoD care enough to prompt Starflight to infodump, and they only tease him because they know he could dish it back. This was the life Fatespeaker thought she led, so of course Starflight piqued her interest. He is everything she wants to be.

Meanwhile, Starflight as we all know is totally into bubbly and hopeful personalities. In fact, his book is entirely started by him having some of that hope himself. Fatespeaker is hopefulness to the MAX. Starflight needs to be around her, to ground himself with that hope and kindness and reckless abandon, to keep his mind from racing. Just as Fatespeaker needs to learn what healthy relationships are from Starflight and those around him. They ground each other in ways they wish others could, in ways they have been searching for their whole lives, and even if they don't end up together (They will cause it's a sappy book but I headcanon it going either way)

So those are my thoughts. Please share your own if you have them, and keep in mind I'm Aromantic so if I missed any subtext…woops! Maybe add it onto this post so I can learn? Thanks for reading!

[nekomuraaoi02]

I didn't expect my pen/trevor post to gain attention 😭

Anyway, i'm not really a writer, like, i TRY but i can't do it for shit, so, this is gonna be actually just an yap sesh like i did with my looney tunes post..

Also my tumblr replies are soo bugged ugh. So if y'all wanna yap together send an ask or hit the dms 🙏

This is gonna be a long one.

Under the cut 👇

Ok, so this is set after bridgerton S2 (i don't hate colin but don't get me started otherwise this is going to become an essay) and trevor's death (i only watched what is available on netflix, i'm broke so i won't sibscribe for 18272 streaming plataforms, sorry if i get anything abt his character wrong🙏)

A few notes: i basically took this idea from a couple H$ fics i got in mind but then this escalated into it's own thing. Also, eloise and colin are already cool with pen from the get-go.

All that said, Penelope is nursing heartbreak over Colin (and probably questioning her own worth a little). And Trevor, instead of dying from his infamous "no pants" party accident, somehow wakes up (maybe magic? time travel? who cares, it's fun!) in Regency England, naked and confused in a lake on the Featheringtons’ backyard.

Penelope, being the secret softie she is (plus no way would she leave a weirdly-dressed — or undressed — man to scandalize the neighborhood), takes him in.

Their chemistry would be chaotic but adorable. Trevor, used to being loud and brash in modern-day America, would be completely baffled by the strict rules and repression of Regency society. Penelope would have to teach him how to behave properly just enough to not cause a scandal — while also trying to figure out where the heck he even came from.

Meanwhile, Trevor would be completely smitten by Penelope from the start — "You’re telling me no one here appreciates how insanely awesome you are? What kind of idiots are these dudes?" — and he’d immediately start hyping her up in ways she's never heard before, not even from her own family.

Trevor trying and failing to curtsy when Penelope tells him he has to "blend in", flirting with Penelope outrageously at a ball and Penelope being mortified but also blushing like crazy, very badly trying to defend Penelope's honor against rude society ladies but doing it in the most unhinged 21st-century way possible

Slowly, Penelope would find herself healing from Colin — realizing she deserves someone who sees her, values her, and isn't afraid to show it loudly and proudly. And Trevor, for maybe the first time in his life, would want to be better — because someone finally sees more in him than just the party bro.

I also imagine him having to get over his commitmentphobia because he has to marry pen so he survives that era. Like- their cover is that he was raised in the colonies (don't worry about understanding him, he's american) and they were pen pals and he came to england to ask to marry her. Then they'd use the whistledown money to start a business together.

But what starts as a "marriage of convenience to survive" turns into him genuinely falling head-over-heels, and realizing he wants to build a real future with her — not because he has to, but because he chooses her.

Penelope would have to fake all his background information, teach him proper manners, maybe even make up a noble-ish family history for him. (Which he would terribly memorize and almost blow their cover like every five seconds.)

After marrying him (and gaining access to her Whistledown fortune), they decide to leave the ton behind and start a business together.

I imagine Penelope wanting to open a printing press or publishing house, giving voices to people who never had one before. Trevor, ever the businessman (but now with a much bigger heart), would help her run it — he'd actually be great at charming investors and customers once he figures out Regency social rules.

Trevor's full name is Trevor Lefkowitz.

But because i assume that wasn't so common with the regency england elite, he goes by a fake name. So in an "a-ha" moment he becomes "Woodstone" by association with the mansion (and it sounds landed-gentry enough for Regency England.)

It's also, simbolic since in his new life he's taking the name of place the former ended on.

("Ah yes, Mr. Woodstone of the Virginia Woodstones. Very old family, very prestigious, very...invented last Tuesday by Penelope.")

[intertexts]

pulling u into a trap. talk about nhw not-demonkicks >:] 🔪🔪🔪

GOD. YOU'RE EVIL. man. i actually have to sort out my thoughts now....

ok. starting w/ ashe. inasmuch as any of them are "a thing" i think. ashe n william have their weird emo kids sitting in each others laps and giggling thing first. u mentioned once them like. sitting on the roof w/ fireball or something & being teenagers w/ big messy emotions that nobody else gets & maybe they kiss about it. ashe freaks out SO bad after this he's like ohhh my god i'm going to ruin their friendship i'm going to fuck everything up i'm just coming in here and breaking their whole thing virion's scary virion's going to kill me. wibby is like what? nah, it's chill, it's not like we're together (<- INSANE thing for ashe to hear btw. please imagine being in his pov. u know he's seen them up to shit in front of him.) in my head he straight up just calls virion on speaker phone in front of him & is like hey v do u care if i kiss ashe. virion just woke up from a nap tired flat affect staticky phone voice what??? sure? he's nice :] (<- thinking abt ashe & virion pre-muse dynamic immensely also. 2 me v takes the longest to warm up to him just bcos. virion sol insane paranoia forever & always. ashe thinks v hates him he doesn't ofc. they're both quiet & awkward enough that them being in a room alone together is just them sitting there in awkward silence. eventually dakota goes You two are so fucking stupid. & they figure it all out etc etc etc) & then also. well. of course they're all a package deal.

anyway. not-demonkicks. to me ashe has the closest thing to an actual big ol crush on dakota. dakota's the first friend he ever made!!! dakota's *failsafe*!!!! literally impossible not to be drawn into his orbit. he's so friendly and bright and brave and cool and nice and and and and. this is like. okay a lot of it literally is just "first friend/person who's Nice to you ever." & a little bit of hero worship. i'm incapable of writing like. allo shit ever, u know how it goes. there's a lot of confusing of emotions going on but that doesn't make it any less real or important yk? bro thinks he has such a normal person crush n meanwhile he's like ohhh he's so cool and nice and has such a pretty smile..... what if we h*ld h*nds.... i wish i could take a nap with him....... (<-terrified like a hunted prey animal about it) dakota knows n doesn't mind, it doesn't like, freak him out. he's literally got will n virion. & i won't go into the whole like discussion they have but they figure it out. so maybe it is wish fulfillment to have someone liking ("liking" hitting ashe w the arospec bream he just isn't that self aware to know what his feelings are) u & knowing that u. can't like them back in that way & being okay n even happy with it? anyway. what's kind of fun 2 me is that dakota does in fact kiss ashe sometimes. not, like, frequently, & usually more for ashe than himself. but like, nonzero amount. this has wibby & virion going >:( in a lighthearted unbothered way. (he doesn't do that to ME!!! but they all love ashe. so. u know. common consensus is that he deserves all the nice things.) (he & will don't + if anything he'll just tell wibby hey go make out with virion for me. their weird like proxy dynamic is so important to me.) ashe is like. his special little guy. william is like the other half of his soul insane binary star pair we all know this. & virion's his virion & i Absolutely cannot start talking about them & make this longer than it is. but point is he just likes ashe so much uncomplicatedly. he like. reminds him of himself before his second trigger? dakota didn't... he was also really fucked up about his powers for years. he didn't know many people & he avoided being Around people frequently bcos it hurts very badly! but that. isolation and desperate desire For friends For people to love and be loved by.... yeah. he likes listening to ashe talk about whatever wikipedia rabbithole he's been down and listening to his & will's music & watching virion braid his hair & the minutia of who-likes-who-how-is-it-labeled doesn't matter at all. anyway 70% of the time they're at work doing hero business or freaking out at school & 25% of the time they're being normal lame teenagers & this is really just about the 5% of time they actually have to have soft messy teenage relationship Situations <333 and of course. everything goes nightmare mode after overlord.!

[nerves-nebula]

I fucking adore your comic panelling, any advice on how to do it? Like specific ratios or ways to divide the page?

god there's so much advice i COULD give but i really dont wanna end up writing a book here. so I guess I'll say this: however you divide the page you should be CONSISTENT with it, i literally just learned/internalized this but it's made comic paneling soo much easier. when you break that consistency it will be more impactful. hold up lemme grab some pages.

so i recently started making loose stitches a 4 tier comic. it's not the exact same for each page cuz i'm lazy but i think it's made legibility way better. before i think it was kinda uhhhhh a little all over the place. not BAD but a little difficult to tell where your eyes supposed to go sometimes. which isnt great for a commic.

the page on the left in particular has always bothered me cuz i always read the top panels incorrectly and it's like. fuck man what is the paneling here why is it in two columns ????? that's so hard to understand. but the page on the right can be more or less easily understood (by someone who knows how to read comics) even without panel borders because it's just a simple 4 panel square.

one thing my comic professor really stressed was that he didn't like weird paneling or weird borders. for the most part, a square is fine. AND HE'S RIGHT. weird paneling is fun and cool but should be used sparingly or with intention, cuz if you do it too much then like. how tf are ppl gonna read your comic.

that being said there are a lot of cool ways to cut up panels even if they're just squares hold on lemme grab some examples

so the panels here are all square but the image in the one at the bottom is almost like a mural. one thing i really like to using is a lot of heavy BLACK, what can i say silhouette's have my entire heart.

in my fable comic, I used a 3 tier system. it wasn't the same exact size across all pages but all pages had 3 tiers of paneling. that way i can be a little more flexible with the SIZE of the panels to emphasize the more important things, without it feeling like it's all over the place

meanwhile in my comic final i used a 4 tier system where each tier was nearly the same across every page, but you can collapse tiers together for establishing shots and big reveals so that they're more impactful. it's still fully within the grid system I set up so it doesn't feel like it's messing with shit either.

ok i just spent a lot of time rambling about this one particular concept and it's probably not even what you wanted to hear about :') i didnt even go into ratios or anythinggg guhhhh sowwy

other than all that i'd just say you gotta keep looking at what comic artists have written and take note of how they use space and cut things up. there's this book called How To Read Nancy and it has all these exercises for understanding the building blocks of nancy. for real the author is OBSESSIVE and goes through everything of a 3 panel nancy strip from body language to spot blacks to the minutia of the background. we used this book in my class and did some of the exercises in the back and i think it's really good at getting you to THINK about what you're drawing. and you can easily pirate it if you're broke.

also try to make sure things dont get stagnant on a page. zoom out if you're only doing close ups (i try to make sure every page of loose stitches has at least one full body shot even tho I'm lazy and wanna just do talking heads- talking heads arent interesting!!)

also, take advantage of the fact you're drawing a COMIC. you can do shit in comics that you can't do in other mediums, try to implement them when u can! ALSO PRACTICE. you're not gonna get better just by reading and watching. you gotta do it lol. ok ok that's enough and you didn't even ask for that stuff you asked about PANELING sfdasfsd byeee