#anyway THANK YOU FOR ASKING <33< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[volivolition]

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

9. What are your file name conventions

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

-Mind

HELLO MIND THANK U FOR ASKS!! twirls you!! :D <33

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw i recently designed how i want to draw logic aND LIKE... BRO WHY ARE YOU PIECES.

honestly, its very methodical when you get into it, but it takes so much effort to know where it would look best to add splits or floaty bits. and then coloring is like. goddamnit my guy, everyone else is just one main color, why are you blues and yellows and greys and browns dude??? hkjhg just... so tedious (affectionate) :'] <33

9. What are your file name conventions

um. bad hgkjh

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what LMAO FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK, its been the CCCC album on loop for a WHILE now, like its been the constant background music for a few weeks now (recently joined by Count Eleven it is so damn catchy hkjgh), thank you for introducing me to these songs hfhjf <333!!

i also watch stardew videos, bdg's unraveled series, and drawfee episodes sometimes! :]

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated hm... i dont think any of my work is underrated? for the content i work on, whatever attention i get is fine really hfghhf i understand i occupy a small niche and if my few fellow skill enthusiasts find me im happy <33 i think some of my art is a little overrated actually? (the kim kissing harry comic thats currently my top liked is... not one of my favorites, to say the least, though im grateful people liked it :']) <33

if i had to answer, uh... my current profile pic i guess? not because im dissatisfied with the overall attention on it, but because i just really like it hhfgh <333 awwauh... i keep looking at it and smiling fondly, i am so happy with how soft and cute it turned out, the pink overlay was A GOOD CHOICE HJKFH i love how chemi is happily wrapped around voli and how voli's hand is delicately placed on top to show he wants him to stay... "yes, im okay with you being here. i want you here" very subtle reciprocation, but chemi understands him <3 jesus i am so fond of them...

[arthursfuckinghat]

i don’t know if you’ve already pointed this out, but i think it’s so interesting that arthur is afraid of alligators. like, he has to kick it when you’re about to skin it, just to double check that it’s dead. he’s so afraid it’s going to jump right at him.

I love this little detail!! It makes me laugh too because most animals don't seem to bother Arthur once they're dead, but alligators? That's a whole different story

[seijorhi]

RHIIII!!!! First off, kisses. Hi love, i've missed you. Second, more kisses because hello?

I will never get over how you can write something so doomed, so tragic, so terrifying -- so beautifully. I love how the reader is... just totally wrong? Reading everything incorrectly, and kind of just spiraling and feeling hopeless because she will always be second. Truly amazing scene-setting rhi because we know something she doesn't. it's just a matter of waiting for everything to kind of unravel.

My questions for you are: How did Aya react to Ushi coming out of that bathroom with unconscious reader? Do you think she sees it for how it is? Their obsession with her beta? What about when the reader's mates separate her and Aya? Would that inevitably happen since Aya will prob not agree to be in a pack with them after that incident and it's not like those alphas will be willing to give reader up either. Which leads me to my next question --> reader wanted someone who wanted her for her. now she has 3 of them. Does she soften up to the idea that she is so desired or will she always remain hostile towards her mates.

Anyway. I love you. Miss you. (i have my first ever set of law school exams tomorrow and here I am writing more in your ask box than I am in my study guides.

mwah mwah

birdie 🐦

ghfjdkhgfjdks pls do not abandon ur studying for the fics they will be there when ur done but ily and good luck with ur exam bby!!!

tbh it wasn't so much ushijima carrying the reader out, more like someone else stumbling in (the door was closed – not locked) to find a still knotted ushijima hunched over his unconscious, bleeding mate and snarling at anyone who came close.

in any case, aya's horrified – and for what it's worth, semi and tendou are pretty fucking stunned too.

for all her faults, aya's loyal. there's no part of her that would ever entertain the idea of mating with the pack of alphas who hurt her best friend, even if she can acknowledge he wasn't in control at the time.

which ofc puts her in the very precarious position of being 'in the way' and 'a problem'. doesn't usually end well for those types of characters 👀 poor aya

as far as your last question goes, it was kinda fun to make this whole thing into a twisted wish fulfilment. i think the biggest thing is that the bonds with her alphas aren't permanent. she has to go through it over and over and over again, and every time it's a reminder that she doesn't want this, didn't ask for it (not like that). they'll hurt her over and over again to reassert that claim, and they'll call it love.

[nekrosmos]

questions about nikolai and price (originally from an ask meme about original characters but i wanna hear your thoughts):

what do they want to hear?

what do they need to hear?

what do they dread to hear?

Thank you for the ask !! I honestly struggled with the answers, I'm not the best at deep character introspection so this really had me scratching my head. I hope what I came up with makes sense !

What do they want to hear?

Nikolai: "I trust you."

Nik is intimidating, isn't he ? Intelligent, strong, well-connected Nikolai. People know that. It usually takes only a half a second glance to know that you do not want to be on this man's bad side. He's used to it, really. But how many times as he entered a room only to see people shift uncomfortably, suddenly very aware of his presence? He makes people uneasy, whether he wants it or not. It's fine when he's on an op and needs to be menacing, but it gets old quickly when he just wants to relax, sometimes.

He's trustworthy, despite his shady dealings, he's loyal. Thankfully, a handful of people know that.

Price: "You made a difference"

Yes, his hands got bloody, but it was all worth it in the end, right? He saved people by pulling the trigger when it needed to be done. No hesitation, it's what the world needs. So what if he can't sleep at night and his file is covered in black ? He made a difference, the rest, he can live with.

What do they need to hear?

Nikolai: "You need to think of yourself, too."

Nikolai puts others first, this has always been true. He likes to help out, likes to feel useful, ready to answer a call. Loyal to a fault, devoted to his friends. But when was the last time Nik put his needs as a top priority ? Has he ever done that ? He has no trouble flying to the other of the planet at a moment's notice if someone asks him to. How many nights of sleep has he missed because someone needed a hand? How much time has he spent fixing up his helo because it got banged up the last time a friend needed transport in hostile territory ? It's always others first, never himself, and he needs to be reminded of that.

Price: "You matter."

It's easy to forget that you're someone when you've been used as a weapon since you were 16. You forget that you have a purpose outside of your work, too. You forget you're a human first, with needs and wants and desires. You are Captain John Price, but you are also just John Price, and he matters too.

When he comes home for a break, what does he see outside of blank walls and a barely lived in house he never really took the time to make his ? It's temporary, he thinks, he doesn't really live here.

Maybe John needs to be reminded that he exists outside of his work.

What do they dread to hear?

Nikolai: "You don't belong here."

From either side. I think Nik feels strongly about his relationship with his home country, how he's been working against it and how his actions might be perceived by his countrymen. I think he's scared of losing this part of himself, and being rejected, even though all he's done was in the name of his country.

And then on the other side, Nik knows he stands out, knows people see him as a "could have so easily been the enemy" kind of guy. People like him, sure, but how many, aside from Kate, John and Gaz actually trust him ? Everyone else sees him as useful, but ultimately, they still look at him with a suspicious eye.

Where is home for Nikolai, really ?

Price: "You failed them"

Losing people, he's used to it. It never gets easier though, does it? Men and women under his command, people he's known for years, people who trusted him, friends. But, there is something entirely different between losing someone when you did everything you could have done and it was the way it was supposed to go, and losing someone because of your mistake. He failed them, he knows that, and it haunts him.

[tunastime]

hiccuping tears into the shoulder + ranchers by chance?

hiccuping tears into their shoulder (1087 words) (x)

For the first time in a good, long portion of his life, Tango despises how silent the night gets. It's not without its natural noise—the balmy, sticky humidity and breeze in the grass, or the crickets, the cicadas quieting down, the sounds of animals rearranging themselves to a comfier sleeping arrangement. He should be doing the same, but he's sitting on the edge of the bed, his spine a rigid line. He can feel the blood in his body, he can feel the spaces where his muscles connect to each other, with every breath he can feel his lungs separate out the oxygen. It's at the very least startling, and at the very most, he feels like he might dissolve on the spot if touched. 

Tango knows how death feels—painless respawn and a few seasons of a life game behind him, but to feel someone else die, too. The echo of death alongside your own. He didn't like that! Not good at all. All his blood and heartbeat-y things are rushing around in his ears. He doesn't even hear Jimmy the first time he speaks up from the other side of the bed, with how his voice scrapes out.

"I didn't know they were aiming for us," Jimmy says.

"Of course not," Tango says, furrowing his eyebrows. "I know you didn't."

He's still looking at his hands, running his thumb over the lines in his palm and pushing into the tiny bones and muscle there. Jimmy flexes his hands like he can feel the pressure and bones moving around. He watches him fold his hand tight around each other and slump, pulling his shoulders to his chest. His breath squeezes in his chest as Jimmy deflates tiredly.

"I just don't want you to think—"

"I'm not gonna think this is your fault, alright?" Tango says, frowning at him. "Why would I?"

Jimmy sighs. His jaw works.

"Cause it usually is," he grits. Tango scrunches his nose on instinct, recoiling out of habit before he manages:

"That's not fair, man."

"This whole game isn't far!" Jimmy huffs, waving a hand about.

"Sure but—"

"But nothing, Tango. I just—I can't lose and drag you with me. That's more than not fair."

"I don't care."

"I care."

Before Tango can argue, though, he tastes the faintest hints of anger and frustration at the back of his mouth fade. He watches Jimmy's face contort as he tries to come up with a better sentence, something he probably thinks Tango deserves. Maybe an apology. 

Tango just looks at him. He kind of feels bad, that little bit of gut wrenching cold that trickles in, but mostly he's just confused. Jimmy's words bat around in his brain like dust particles. Dust bunnies. He definitely assumed they were done with this. That maybe Jimmy made peace like he did—though really he hadn't had that much time to make peace, if he's being honest. He's still bitter. He's sure a lot of people are still bitter. But in terms of Jimmy's whole situation? It's not like it could be helped. They just had to be careful. So Tango was being careful, and Jimmy was taking what Tango thought was a calculated risk, so he was mad, sure, but he couldn't really stay mad for a long time. So he takes a long breath and sighs it out his nose. It still tastes surprisingly reminiscent of smoke.

"So what are we going to do?" he asks softly. Jimmy inhales.

"I don't know," he says. "Go to bed? Wake up and start planning?"

Tango hums plainly. He likes that idea. The small spool of feeling in his chest that must belong to Jimmy gives a little tug, like it wanted to take him down with it. 

"Yeah," Tango says, voice coming hoarse. "Yeah, I think so."

For a moment, Tango runs his tongue over his teeth, runs his thumbs over the seams of his knees. He sighs, and then he leans into Jimmy's shoulder with a definitive huff. He's tired. From the ache in his bones, to the breathlessness of dying, to just taking in Jimmy's stress. Man. He's exhausted. Jimmy snorts quietly. He feels him press his cheek against Tango's head. The hand Jimmy had been fiddling with in his lap ends up at the base of his spine, splayed over the fabric. Tango squeezes his eyes shut.

"Thanks Tango," Jimmy says shakily. He sounds like he's on the knife's edge of crying, so Tango fumbles out a hand and lands it solidly on his knee. It's not a terribly comfortable thing to stretch one of his achy shoulders or biceps that far but he does anyway, and Jimmy huffs out a damp laugh. "Guess I'm just... pissed off."

Tango snorts.

"If you think you're pissed, just wait until they rile me up," he says into the fabric of Jimmy's shirt. Jimmy laughs. Tango tries to hold in a grin that he also smothers into his shoulder, but fails. Jimmy's hand skips over his knuckles and squeezes the hand on his knee.

"Sure thing, Rancher," he teases. Tango makes a half-suppressed noise of indignation, squeaking as he bolts upright. He nearly knocks into Jimmy's jaw as he untangles himself with all the grace of a cat trying to weasel out of someone's arms. 

"I'm just sayin'," he grumbles, crinkling his nose. "You seem like you're in a better mood though."

Jimmy sighs, rounding out his shoulders. 

"Think so," he says, working his cheek between his teeth. Tango feels the sensation of prodding in his mouth. Bleh. "Think so."

"Probably a good idea to make good on that sleeping... thing,” he says, reaching up to scrub at his eyes. He barely stifles a yawn as Jimmy stretches, twisting his tall body around in a way that feels surprisingly pleasant to Tango’s stiff muscles. He can’t imagine, especially with the way Jimmy holds all his emotions in his shoulders, that his upper back is doing him any favors. Jimmy makes a little noise in confirmation as Tango turns, attempting to make ample space for him in the small bed. He knows they’ll end up back to back at some point, but as he lies down, shoulder to shoulder, an easy comfort rolls over him. Sure there’s all the red blood rushing around in his ears, and sure he feels it right up on his skin like a bad rash, but for now, next to Jimmy, he shuts his eyes.

They’ll make this time count for something, at least.

[thedeadthree]

-ˋˏ .·:·. ⊱ 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐋𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐛𝐲 @pavus — day one: 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞.

— 𝐈𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐑 . 𝐕𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐈 𝐃𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀 . 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐀 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄.

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐃𝐀𝐒. 𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐒.

— 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 (mutuals can opt in/out via 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 <3):

@loriane-elmuerto, @carrionsflower, @auricfog, @girliefailure, @sunsofdawn

@risingsh0t, @griffin-wood, @lilywatt, @full---ofstarlight, @grapecaseschoices

@tommyarashikage, @shadowsofrose, @shadowglens, @weisshaupts, @queennymeria

@deadrlngers, @d-esmond, @courtana, @gothimp, @wlwaerith

@unholymilf, @aezyrraeshh, @socially-awkward-skeleton, @shellibisshe, @florbelles

@celticwoman, @neonshrike, @cloudofbutterflies92, @adelaidedrubman, @carlosoliveiraa

@pinkfey, @spookyrares, @yharnams, @aceghosts, @confidentandgood

@theelderhazelnut, @leviiackrman, @ellierenae, @anoras, @lavampira

@dialdrunk, @full---ofstarlight, @imogenkol

[inkykeiji]

ok oK OKAY but LETS consider sunday-nii right? like it had always been the three of you; sunday, robin and you. and then robin flew off to be the star and sunday just never really adjusted from the gap. he had all this love to give and since robin was no longer there to receive it, he just doubled it over on you. like he just gets this obsessive attachment, always needing to know where you are and what youre doing? thats too far. too dangerous. its better to just stay at home, i have everything for you here. the man has pretty much clipped your wings and left you stranded in his grip. and from there its just so easy for the lines to blur. youre not just his sister, youre his everything. so why not add wifey to the title list. after all, you dont need anyone else but him. so who else would be fitting as the title of your husband 🦦

ANON omggg i am in love with this because it feels so on brand with sunday’s character. we know he is obsessive + compulsive, we know he likes order and rules and complete control (and seems to get anxious/angry/agitated when he doesn’t have it or it is threatened), and we know that he truly believes himself to be benevolent + that his actions are in the chief interest and welfare of those he cares about.

he’s really protective, and he’s really overbearing with his protection and his love, and he genuinely believes he’s doing what’s right for you, what’s best for you, because (in his mind) he is more intelligent than you are and he knows so much better than his precious baby sister ever could. it’s so easy for sunday to delude himself into thinking that what he’s doing is not only right, but it is just as well, it is his duty as your older brother, his god-given role to fulfill and then exceed, and he plans to do so flawlessly.

and the worst part about it is that he’s so fucking sweet about it, too!!! he’s so doting, so darling, loves you so fucking much that you feel bitter guilt churn heavy and sick in your stomach at just the mere thought of disobeying him or questioning him + his motives. he’s so authentic in his self-deception that when your own sound logic and gut feelings break through the conditioning, you feel awful for doubting him and his intentions in the slightest, and gaslight yourself into believing that your paranoid or spoiled and ungrateful for such a adoring, devoted big brother.

i also think it’s entirely possible that he believes himself to have made a mistake with allowing robin to go off on her own, and vowing secretly to himself to never make that mistake with you. he’s learned his lesson from allowing his other younger sibling too much freedom; that it’s safer and better for all parties involved if you’re locked away in a gorgeous golden cage, where he can tend to all of your needs with precision and perfection. you’ll be happier and more peaceful and truly free locked away inside your big brother’s pretty cage, he promises.

[nyoomerr]

i was recommending your fics to a friend today and uh. i basically just listed all of them HAHAH but that got me wondering, which is your favourite of your own works? :3

ahh thank you so much, i'm happy you like my stuff enough you wanted to share it with someone!

honestly, my favorite of my own stuff changes every time i post something, because my preferences for characterization/writing style evolve a bit every time i write - so, my most recent stuff is the best reflection of those tastes, etc etc.

right now, i'd say that i think "raised by winter winds" is my best written fic... but it doesn't focus on binghe enough for it to actually be my favorite, LMAO, so i'll say that my current fav of my own stuff is either "if you don't have your own boyfriend, rented is fine" or "stuffed with fluff (and blood and bones and rage)."

...basically, it really is more or less just "whatever i've written most recently" 😅

anyway, in the spirit of sharing fics we've enjoyed with others, i'm going to take this chance to also recommend a few of the ongoing fics that i've been enjoying lately!!

Devour by Junavit vampire!binghe au, in which binghe desperately tries Not to be a vampire in order to remain a sweet little disciple on qing jing. i can taste how delicious the fallout is going to be in this fic from a mile away.

A Most Familiar Madness by diaboliquemilletbird disguised as a rogue cultivator, emperor bingge stumbles across PIDW!native sy and ends up going on an adventure with him to try and save sy's life. always love bingge finding his own sy <3

the mouth of the wolf, the eyes of the lamb by Elementicy binghe's cradle seal starts to crack prior to the immortal alliance conference, and he struggles to keep his new demonic instincts in check. feral binghe is always great!

[adagiorii]

Doodle of BnuyEiko in that one Cinnamoroll x Miku collab hairstyle trend in MS Paint

Sorry for going missing I was just trying to survive life and my impending doom (assignment due this friday but not anymore now I guess)

[s-ccaam-era-crepe]

maybe i shouldn't have picked up that hitchhiker.. or maybe you shouldn't have accepted that ride.

who's to blame at the end really

(Flash warning!!!)

[volivolition]

You hear a commotion outside, days after halloween had already passed...

You hear the door creak open...

VISUAL CALCULUS - It's not like the house is our permanent residence, anyways. We live in the void of a headspace. HAND/EYE COORDINATION - Yeah, this is just a convenient depiction that one of the Concepts made. Anyway, catch, Crowny!

[moraymoth]

Pretty pls draw Louis from wwoll, I’m obsessed with his design to an unhealthy degree-

Yeah! I completely adore his outfit too. It was rather easy to come up with in his reference, and honestly making him and Justin was probably the easiest? I know it was just supposed to be those two but as any things I make it always seems to start with duo characters and then sprout into more.

[darehearts]

good morning,  it's my birthday today  🫣

[nekrosmos]

The whimsy shall save us!

(ik it's tough, I wish and hope my whimsy can also give you comfort just as you had done for me ❤️)

What's a group meme that best describes the dynamics in your head currently?

(I gave some examples but if you have a better one in mind do share it ☺️)

<33 Not all of them are group memes but this made me want to share some stupid memes and make them CoD related so:

The current dynamic in my head rn:

That's soap whenever anything doesn't go his way

Price the minute he's done with an op, but make it cigars

Gaz and Soap had a few too many at the bar and that's usually how things end up. Which is which, I'll you decide :3c

Soap hitting Graves in the face with a giant "stop" sign anyone ?

Valeria doing her makeup probably

Kate whenever she just wants to have a nice drink with John and Nikolai but the two end up all over each other by the second drink (someone please bring her wife)

Ghost. Just Ghost.

That's all I have for now <3

[ragnarokhound]

hiii im working through all your jaytim week stuff bc i had to be in a wedding that week and i missed it 😭 i WILL leave an annoying amount of comments on ao3 but for now i just wanna say that i love the baseball au fic so bad. i don’t know a single thing about sports but i worked a summer job at the ballpark for a couple years and now whenever the weather gets hot i miss the vibes so bad and i CANNOT stop thinking about Them. do you have any more thoughts or rants or really just any crumbs from this au bc it’s delicious ty

AAHHH OMG I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE WEDDING and you have said the magic words because BOY DO I

I love baseball au!! I am actually very pleased with and proud of baseball au!! In my heart, baseball au has a massive rivals-to-lovers slow burn plot that I simply did not have the time to write OTL so instead for jaytim week, we got the scene that I would have reread over and over again if it had been a book I read in high school lmao

My notes this is a fucking outline how did that happen on baseball au:

Jason was the ace pitcher for the Gotham Knights for a few years running, taking over that mantle from Dick Grayson after he traded to the Bludhaven team. Jason was much more aggressive compared to Dick, and he was a two-way player - he could hit well enough to not need a designated hitter when it was his turn to go to bat, and that versatility made him unpredictable and a threat.

Unfortunately, after a big argument with Bruce about the game, he was hit with a hard injury during the playoffs one year. Everyone said it would be career ending. Bruce said to prepare himself for the worst. Jason takes a year off to recover and doesn't speak to Bruce the whole fucking time.

Enter Tim Drake.

Drake is a rookie, a nobody no one's ever heard of, but he's an excellent pitcher. He's got a million tricks and keeps a cool head. He can read the other team to filth and is ready to change tactics at the drop of a hat.

Word is that he bullied his way into the GM's office and demanded a tryout; Bruce was gonna throw him out. But then he saw him pitch. He was hired on the spot.

They started Drake as a relief pitcher, but it quickly became apparent that he was wasted there. He's switched to starter. They don't make it all the way to the Series that year, but it was pretty fucking close and in large part due to Drake. Not bad for a rookie.

Jason hates him on principle.

Apparently, Jason still has a spot on the team. But they've bumped him down from starter to relief. He knows it's necessary, that his injury still needs babying, but he's still not happy with Bruce. He hates it-- and the games he's relieving for Drake? He hates them most of all. He can't stand the guy.

(He's better than Jason.)

(And he won't quit staring.)

Drake doesn't actively antagonize Jason when training starts. Actually, for the most part, he tries to stay out of Jason's way, watching him quietly from the sidelines while Jason tests his frustrating new limits. But Jason's not about to let Bruce's new golden boy off that easy.

(He's almost surprised by the bite hiding behind those bangs. How fast those watching eyes can narrow in acidic consideration before he tears Jason a new one. He takes vicious satisfaction in seeing Drake sink down to Jason's level. And Drake needs a fucking haircut, but far be it from Jason to give this asshole tips.)

Their synergy is garbage in the first half of the season. Jason prides himself in his game, but when they're sharing the pitch, it throws everything out of whack. They butt heads over everything, and they get hyper competitive; half the time, they're not playing against the other team, they're playing against each other.

By the third game its plain they can't be paired together. Either Drake or Jason fuck up on the mound because one of them was doing something (For Jason, Drake's creepy, unblinking stare is enough to piss Jason off; for Drake, Jason's discovered he can get a rise out of him just by raising an eyebrow at the right time, as if to say really? That's what you're going with?) and the coaches (Babs) have just about had it with them.

They're switched to play on different days when possible, and given stern looks and reminders not to fuck up on the days they have to play together. It grinds Jason's gears, but he sucks it up because he's a fucking adult and his career is on the line. Maybe Drake can do the same.

Things start to change, though Jason can never quite remember when. Maybe they needed the space or whatever, maybe Jason needed to go drinking with Roy and just dump about Drake and Bruce and all of it and hear Roy's drunken two cents, maybe the game against Bludhaven meant seeing Dick and being forced to hear his two cents; maybe he needed to run into Drake at the coffeeshop a block away from the stadium one morning and see him bleary-eyed and clearly hungover. Maybe seeing him outside of the job, his gaze wandering out the window and not fixed on Jason for once, willing to shit-talk Bruce (and to a lesser degree, Dick), shifted something in Jason's brain a little to the left. Maybe it made Drake into a different person, and maybe Tim is someone Jason doesn't actually know that much about. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

They start to improve. They have to play more games together when one of their alts wrecks his ankle, but Jason is still pretty fresh compared to everyone else after being babied all season, and his injury hardly bothers him these days. Tim still flusters Jason at the mound sometimes, but it's not for the same reason. He doesn't know what the reason is yet, but he knows it's not the same. The prickle on the back of his neck that says Tim is watching isn't a precursor to anger, or spite. It's something else.

(And so what if Jason finds himself sticking around after practice days? So what if Tim catches him once, working on his swing, and he offers to pitch for him? So what if Jason suddenly knows he wants to find out how that crooked smile tastes, and threatens to break his bat on it instead? So what if Tim laughs at him like he was joking, because they joke now, and it makes Jason's stomach churn, makes him sick with wanting? So fucking what?)

Bruce even talks to him after a game, all fatherly concern and judgment, wanting to know if it's going to be a problem for him and Tim to be playing together. If he can trust Jason not to jeopardize the game over personal disagreements. Jason doesn't know how to explain it to him and he also doesn't fucking want to. He tells him no, it won't be a fucking problem.

It freaks him out. He backslides, hard. Tim had been warming up to him, but he's obviously surprised about getting the cold shoulder. Surprised and pissed.

He corners Jason in the locker room after a game Jason nearly lost them, a loss that would have shut them out of the Series this year for good. Jason's been closing every game he plays, but Tim had to be sent back in to clean up after his piss-poor showing. He lays into Jason. He reads him to filth. He correctly diagnoses the source of Jason's insecurities and his beef with Bruce that's older than basically any of his other problems, and basically tells him to quit yanking the team-- and Tim-- around. He storms out with the last word, and Jason fumes with his head in his hands.

(Apparently, Tim looked up to Jason, once upon a time. Apparently, Tim was a fan before he was a colleague, a rival; a friend. Apparently he'd been nervous but excited at first to meet Jason in person, to get to talk to one of his heroes. Jason feels like a heel.)

They don't talk after that except to play the game. Tim is professionally distant, doesn't stare at Jason the way he used to, the way he was starting to. The roles reverse-- one week later, he's the one who stares at Tim, watches him take the mound during the game that will decide their fate, decide if they'll go to the Series this year or not, with an awful, burning need bubbling in his chest for Tim to look back at him just once.

When Jason takes the mound for him, Tim glances at him. It's brief, but he nods at Jason, a dare in his eyes that Jason wants to take. It loosens his lungs and lets him breathe for the rest of the game. He plays the best he has all season. And Jason knows the reason.

They win the Series. Bruce offers to put Jason back as a starter next year, but Jason declines and does one more year as a relief pitcher. He's done taking stupid risks with his body, with his career, and he knows if he goes back now he risks a flare up. If he's gonna show Tim up, he's gotta give himself his best chance.

Cue the fic. (They absolutely fuck in the dugout btw. Tim asks with his hands already on Jason's skin-- "Can I touch you?" Tim asks with his mouth already on Jason-- "Can I--")

So i hit the character limit but TAH DAH thats bb au <3

[boltlightning]

May I request James Norrington & Governor Swann + 57. Sacrifice?

57. sacrifice

“…and though I hate to leave Port Royal as it is, laws suspended as they are,” Governor Swann says, arms crossed tightly behind his back as they recess on the quarter gallery of the Endeavour, “it is the price I have paid to see her—and you, mind— safe again.”

Safe. Norrington grips the rail before them and considers the price he has paid for his own security. He lifts his eyes from his sunburned, white-knuckled hands to the wake of the Flying Dutchman’s warpath in which they sail; Davy Jones has been hard at work, hunting and destroying so many pirates under Lord Beckett’s yoke.

Governor Swann looks at Norrington without seeing him, occupied with his own sins, and asks in a low voice, “Is…is there a chance she lives, James?”

“We can only hope,” he says hoarsely, though he cannot bear the thought of seeing Elizabeth again, and forces himself to watch as the mast of another ship sinks beneath the bright ripple of sea foam to the depths.

send me a prompt, get a drabble! ✨