#anyway this is what happened after the christmas comic from last year

[tempo-takoyaki]

Merry Christmas!! I hope you all have a wonderful day <3

EDIT: I accidentally posted this too early but know this illustration is referring to a previous comic if you'd like to read it ! [Christmas 2023]

[thedensworld]

Is It New Year, Yet? | Y.Jh

Pairing: Jeonghan x reader

Genre: fluff, parents au

Summary: Every year, twins will make a new year list contained with everything they want to do.

Author note: hello everyone🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️ How's your 2024 so far? I hope you have a very warm heart this year and let's close the year with fluffy Jeonghan🙈🙈 (bcs i miss him sm???) However, i'll be back in 2025, stronger, wilder, angstier(?). Anyway, happy new year everyone!🎉🎊🎇

It was the day after Christmas, and Jeonghan was savoring the last moments of his holiday before the whirlwind of another tour swept him away to a different country the next day. He lounged on the couch, phone in hand, scrolling through video apps and occasionally sending funny clips to Seungkwan. His twin daughters, Nabi and Nabin, were sprawled on the floor, completely absorbed in their drawings. Every so often, Jeonghan glanced at their work, smiling softly and murmuring words of encouragement at their earnest efforts.

"Appa, look!" Nabin exclaimed, holding up her masterpiece—a family portrait with a brightly decorated Christmas tree in the background. Beside her, Nabi proudly showed off her drawing of a vibrant fireworks display.

"Appa, is it New Year's yet?" Nabin asked curiously, her big eyes filled with anticipation as she remembered how close it was to the end of the year.

"Let’s check our New Year list, Nabin!" Nabi suggested, her excitement bubbling over as she scrambled to their room to grab their special book.

Jeonghan’s smile widened as he listened to their conversation. Sitting up from the couch, he watched the twins return with their "New Year Book List" clutched tightly in their small hands. The tradition had been his idea—a way to encourage the girls to dream big and set goals. Since they learned to write, he had urged them to jot down all the things they wanted to do in the coming year and reflect on them at the end of it. Over time, this simple activity had become a cherished family routine.

"We didn’t go to the zoo with Dad this year!" Nabi’s voice broke through the quiet, tinged with disappointment. Her little face was scrunched up in a pout as she flipped through the pages of the book.

Jeonghan’s chest tightened with guilt. “I know, sweetie. I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice warm but tinged with regret. “I really wanted to take you, but things got so busy.”

"Promise us we'll go to the zoo next year," the twins demanded in unison, standing before him with their arms crossed, their tiny frames exuding an almost comical seriousness.

Jeonghan chuckled softly, brushing their hair lovingly with his hands. “I can’t promise for sure, but I’ll do my best, okay?”

Though his tone was light, the weight of his words pressed heavily on him. The truth was, his packed schedule often robbed him of precious moments with his daughters. He loved them deeply—they were his entire world—but between concerts, tours, and promotional events, it was you who attended their school programs, ballet recitals, and parent-teacher events. Every missed moment gnawed at his heart, a constant reminder of what he was sacrificing.

But the New Year list was different. It was their request, a tangible hope etched in crayon and ink. This year, he hadn’t managed to take them to the zoo despite their enthusiasm for animals. Urgent commitments had forced him to reschedule, and the thought of letting them down again made his chest ache.

“I’ll work on it, I promise,” Jeonghan said earnestly, pulling the twins into a gentle hug. They giggled, their earlier disappointment melting away as they leaned into their father’s embrace.

"Next year, Appa will definitely come with us!" Nabin declared confidently, as if her words alone could make it happen.

Jeonghan smiled, a mix of hope and determination flickering in his eyes. He might not always be able to keep his promises, but for his daughters, he would always try.

"I wrote about having a brother this year," Nabi said, her tiny finger tracing over her list.

Jeonghan’s ears perked up. "Huh?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

Nabin leaned over to peek at her sister’s list. "Oh, right! We talked about that. Yes, Dad! We want a brother!"

Jeonghan chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. “Having a brother isn’t as simple as writing it down on a list, sweeties. It’s a big responsibility.”

The twins pouted, clearly not satisfied with his response.

"And also," Jeonghan continued, moving to sit cross-legged on the floor with them, "it’s up to Mom. She’d be the one carrying him for nine months, you know."

Nabin’s eyes narrowed in confusion, her little hands on her hips. “Why not you, appa?”

"Yeah!" Nabi immediately echoed, mimicking her twin’s expression.

Jeonghan let out a hearty laugh, patting their heads. “We’ve talked about this before, remember? Only girls can carry babies.”

Nabin scratched her head, looking sheepish. “Oh, yeah… I forgot. Hehe.”

Nabi, however, climbed onto Jeonghan’s lap, her determination unwavering. “But don’t you do something about it, appa? I really want a brother.”

Jeonghan grinned and pulled Nabin onto his lap as well, wrapping his arms around both of them. “Hmm... I’ll talk to Mom about it, okay? But there’s a lot of other exciting things to do next year besides having a brother.”

The twins groaned in unison, clearly unimpressed with his answer. “But we want a brother!”

Jeonghan was about to respond when he heard the familiar sound of the door’s passcode being entered. Relief flooded him as he realized you were home. The twins immediately scrambled off his lap and ran to the door, their excitement bubbling over as they greeted you.

You stepped inside, a little pale but smiling warmly at your children. You’d been feeling under the weather since yesterday, likely from something you’d eaten during a Christmas gathering at a friend’s house. Still, seeing your family instantly lifted your spirits.

“Hi, babies! How was your day with Dad?” you asked, crouching down to let their little fingers curl around yours as they clamored to show you their New Year list.

“Mommy, look! Look at our lists! We had so much fun this year!” Nabi exclaimed, holding the book up to you.

"Did you?" you replied with a soft laugh, glancing at Jeonghan as you walked into the living room. “How’s the New Year list looking this year? We had a lot of fun this year, didn’t we?”

You sat beside Jeonghan, leaning into him slightly as he gently touched your forehead to check your temperature. “How are you feeling? Did the doctor say anything new?” he asked, his tone laced with concern.

“I’m fine,” you reassured him, though your voice was a bit weak. “Just some food poisoning, probably. I’ll be good as new tomorrow.”

"But it would’ve been more fun with Dad!" Nabin piped up suddenly, standing in front of you with her hands on her hips. “Daddy is a fun man!”

Both you and Jeonghan burst out laughing at her declaration. Nabin always had a knack for turning serious moments into comedic gold.

“Fun guy?” Nabi asked, tilting her head curiously.

“No,” Nabin corrected with a huff. “Fun man! Daddy is a man, not a guy or a boy!”

Jeonghan nodded in agreement, his chest puffing out playfully. “That’s right, baby. Daddy’s a man.”

You stood from your seat and made your way to the kitchen, brushing off the fatigue that still lingered. “What do you guys want for dinner?” you asked, your voice light and cheerful.

Nabi and Nabin immediately chimed in with their favorite meals, their excitement filling the air. Jeonghan, however, frowned slightly, his protective nature kicking in. “We can always order takeout, love,” he suggested, concern evident in his tone.

You shook your head, offering him a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. The doctor gave me a shot, and I feel much better now.”

As the four of you gathered around the dining table, Jeonghan took it upon himself to help by setting up the twins’ plates while you prepped dinner for the two of you. It was a simple routine, but moments like these felt special—a reminder of the quiet joys of family life.

"Jihyun talked about Santa this morning,” Nabi began, her voice thoughtful. “I don’t believe in Santa. It was her mom who gave her the present, right, Mom?”

Jeonghan stifled a laugh. “Did you tell Jihyun that?” he asked, glancing at his daughter with amusement.

Nabi shook her head firmly. “Nope, I kept it in my head. But Mom said it, didn’t you, Mom?”

You let out a soft chuckle, nodding. “I did. But it’s okay if someone believes in Santa. It’s part of the fun.”

Nabin tapped her chin with a finger, clearly deep in thought. “Hmm... I think Mom told us that because she didn’t want to give us Christmas gifts.”

Jeonghan burst into laughter at Nabin’s clever deduction, while you quickly defended yourself. “Hey! I got you two the plushies you wanted last week, remember?”

The twins giggled as the memory resurfaced, but Nabin wasn’t done yet. “But why does Santa give free gifts?”

Jeonghan set the twins’ plates down in front of them—Japanese curry tonight, a meal they loved. “Because Mom’s cooking tonight, we’re eating whatever she wants. That’s the rule,” he joked, winking at you.

Nabi, still fixated on the Santa topic, tilted her head. “Is Santa a god or something, Mom?”

Jeonghan shot you a look, his lips twitching in amusement. “Wow, babe, you’re raising a philosopher,” he murmured under his breath.

You laughed softly and addressed your daughter. “No, sweetie, he’s not a god. Santa’s just a figure—someone who gives gifts to kids who’ve been good all year. That’s why your Santa could be me, your dad, or even your friend’s mom.”

Nabi let out a relieved sigh. “Good. I can’t imagine you with a beard and a red suit, Mom.”

You burst out laughing, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, I think we’re all glad I’m not Santa.”

Later that night, after tucking Nabi and Nabin into bed, you quietly slipped into the master bedroom. Jeonghan was sitting on the floor, surrounded by neatly folded clothes and travel essentials as he packed for his upcoming tour.

“I don’t want to go,” he muttered, his voice heavy with reluctance as he opened his arms to pull you into his embrace.

You nestled against him, your head resting on his shoulder. “I know, baby,” you whispered, your hand gently stroking his back.

“The twins mentioned how many events I missed this year,” he confessed, his voice tinged with guilt. “It hurts. My heart aches every time I think about it.”

You pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, offering him the comfort he needed. “Don’t let it weigh you down. They were sad at the time, sure, but they also know how hard you work to give them the life they have. They’re proud of you, Jeonghan, even if they don’t say it.”

For a moment, silence enveloped the room, heavy with unspoken thoughts. Then Jeonghan spoke again, his tone quieter this time. “They said they want a brother next year.”

You hummed, a faint smile tugging at your lips. “They’ve been talking about that all year, actually.”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really? I thought today was the first time they ever brought it up. I told them it was up to you.”

You let out a slow sigh, your gaze distant. “I don’t know if I’ll be ready. The twins are growing up so fast, and it’s already a challenge to keep up with them. I know you’re here to help, but… I’m scared, Jeonghan.”

He immediately tightened his hold on you, sensing the vulnerability in your voice. “Hey,” he murmured softly, “it’s okay to feel that way. We all get scared sometimes. I do, too. But we’ve got each other, right?”

You nodded, but the words still caught in your throat. “I know, but… you’ll leave again. Like before. And I’ll be alone.”

The whispered admission broke something inside him. He hadn’t realized how deeply his absences had affected you, not just as a mother but as his partner.

“I’m sorry, love,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “Should I take a leave? A hiatus? I’d do it for you and the twins in a heartbeat.”

You shook your head quickly, your hands clutching his shirt. “No. I can’t ask you to do that. What about the band?”

Jeonghan chuckled softly, brushing a strand of hair from your face. “There are thirteen of us, love. Missing one person for a little while won’t hurt anyone.”

You let out a small huff, burying your face in his chest. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to do that. I think I’m just being a little too sensitive tonight.”

He kissed the top of your head, his hand rubbing soothing circles on your back. “Don’t apologize, love. It’s okay to feel this way. We’ll figure it out together, like we always do.”

*

Right before the concert started, Jeonghan decided to squeeze in a quick video call with his daughters. As soon as the screen lit up with their familiar faces, everyone in the room perked up, eagerly crowding around Jeonghan to wave at the twins.

“Hi, Nabi! Hi, Nabin!” came a chorus of greetings from the members.

The twins squealed in delight, and their eyes lit up when they spotted Seungcheol. They had a soft spot for him—unsurprising, given his habit of spoiling them with everything from Lego sets and plushies to clothes and candy.

“Uncle Seungcheol! Hi!” Nabin called out, her voice full of excitement.

Seungcheol grinned and waved back. “Hi, my favorite little humans! How are my girls?”

Before Nabin could answer, she turned to you, her voice suddenly secretive. “Mom, can we tell Uncle Seungcheol?”

The room erupted in laughter at her cheerful yet mischievous tone.

“What do you want to tell me?” Seungcheol asked curiously, leaning closer to the screen.

But the twins immediately shook their heads in unison, giggling. “Oh no, Mom said it’s a secret!”

“Tell me instead, baby,” Jeonghan coaxed, his voice playful as he tried to get in on the secret.

But Nabin was quick to deny him, shaking her head furiously. “No! It’s a secret to you too!”

Jeonghan gasped in mock betrayal, placing a hand over his chest dramatically. “We promised there wouldn’t be secrets between us!”

The twins giggled harder, clearly enjoying his reaction. The room was filled with laughter, as the members, seated around Jeonghan on the couch, watched the interaction with amused expressions.

“Cute,” Wonwoo mumbled, glancing over at the screen. His quiet comment caught the twins' attention immediately.

“Uncle Wonwoo!” Nabi and Nabin exclaimed in unison, their excitement palpable.

Wonwoo chuckled, waving at the camera. “Happy New Year, Nabi and Nabin! What are you two up to today?”

“We’re going to bake!” Nabin said enthusiastically. But then, as if struck by a sudden thought, she turned to you. “Mom, can our brother look like Uncle Wonwoo?”

The room went silent for a beat, and Wonwoo blinked in confusion. “What? A brother? Are you… going to have a son, hyung?” he asked, turning to Jeonghan with wide eyes.

Jeonghan froze, his face a mixture of shock and panic as the other members whipped their heads toward him in curiosity. He immediately shook his head, his hands waving frantically in denial.

“No, no, no! That’s not it—” he stammered, but before he could explain, Nabi turned to you with an innocent question. “Mom, how does Uncle Wonwoo know? Did you tell him about our brother?”

Jeonghan’s jaw dropped, and his phone nearly slipped from his grasp. Seungcheol, quick on reflexes, caught it before it could hit the floor.

“What is going on?” Seungcheol asked, his eyes wide as he processed the conversation. He turned to Jeonghan, his expression one of barely-contained amusement. “Are you hiding something?”

The rest of the members, sensing the commotion, crowded closer, their curiosity piqued.

“What’s happening?”

“Jeonghan hyung, do we need to congratulate you?”

Jeonghan’s ears turned red as he scrambled to retrieve his phone from Seungcheol. “Nothing is happening! Stop making things up!” he exclaimed, flustered.

Without waiting for more teasing, he hastily stepped out of the room, putting the call on a private line. The laughter and teasing from the other members echoed behind him as he closed the door.

“Hello?” you answered, your tone light, though you sounded curious about the sudden call.

“Love,” Jeonghan began, his voice low and urgent. “Why do the twins think they’re getting a brother? And why do they want him to look like Wonwoo?”

You couldn’t hold back your laughter, the sound making his heart soften despite his panic. “Oh, they’ve been on about this for weeks. I thought they’d mentioned it to you already. As for Wonwoo… well, I guess they just think he’s handsome!”

Jeonghan groaned, leaning against the wall as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “They’ve got the entire group thinking we’re planning something, love.”

You chuckled again, clearly amused by his predicament. “Relax, Jeonghan. Just tell them the truth. Or… you could let them squirm a little.”

Jeonghan sighed, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips. “You’re too calm about this,” he muttered, though the warmth in his tone betrayed his affection.

“Because it’s funny,” you replied, your laughter ringing in his ears again.

And just like that, Jeonghan found himself smiling despite the chaos. You always had a way of putting him at ease.

At home, you sat on the couch, trying your best to look stern while the twins stood in front of the wall with their little arms raised in the air. Their small figures looked so comically guilty that you had to fight hard to suppress your smile.

“Not done yet?” Nabin asked, her voice tinged with a mix of guilt and curiosity.

“Not even two minutes,” you replied with a hum, glancing at the timer on your phone.

“We’re sorry…” Nabin mumbled, her pout making her look even more adorable.

You crossed your arms and raised an eyebrow, trying to maintain your composure. “What did I tell you about secrets? It was supposed to stay a secret until Daddy’s home.”

“We were just excited!” Nabi exclaimed in defense, her hands starting to drop. But the moment you let out a soft warning sound, she quickly pushed them back up with a small huff.

The timer finally beeped, signaling the end of their two-minute punishment. The twins immediately lowered their arms and turned to face you, heads bowed like little penitents.

“Mommy, we’re sorry,” Nabi said earnestly, her small hands clasped together. “We promise we won’t say anything about the secret until Daddy’s home.”

You let out a small chuckle, unable to stay stern anymore. Opening your arms, you pulled them into a warm hug. “Thank you for apologizing, sweeties. I forgive you. But remember, no more talking about this, okay? It’s just between us until Dad comes home.”

The twins nodded solemnly, their little faces glowing with relief. But just as the moment of seriousness seemed to pass, Nabi piped up in her usual curious tone, “I just want my brother to look like Uncle Wonwoo…”

Her words caught you off guard, and you laughed softly, brushing her hair back. “Is that so?”

Nabin chimed in, nodding eagerly. “Yeah! Is it possible, Mom?”

You crouched down to meet their eyes, your voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Let’s see in seven months, okay?”

Their eyes widened, and Nabi’s little mouth fell open in surprise. “Seven months? Really?”

You smiled mysteriously, tapping your finger gently on her nose. “We’ll see.”

The twins squealed in excitement before bursting into giggles, their earlier punishment already forgotten as they began whispering about their potential “brother.” You watched them with a fond smile, marveling at how their innocent enthusiasm could brighten even the quietest days.

A week later, when Jeonghan finally stepped through the door after his long trip, the twins wasted no time. The moment they spotted him, they ran at full speed, their excited voices echoing through the house.

“Dad! We’re having a brother!” they announced in unison, their high-pitched voices practically bouncing off the walls.

Jeonghan froze mid-step, his suitcase still in hand, not even given a second to rest. He blinked at the two beaming faces before him, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten. “A... brother?” he asked, his tone filled with a mix of surprise and confusion.

“Yes! Mom said so!” Nabin chimed in, her hands on her hips as if to emphasize the gravity of the news.

“We’re so excited, Daddy!”

The end. See you in 2025!

[gothamslostboy]

The Lost Boys

Favorite Holiday

DAVID - New Year’s Eve

Not the actual day, but what it represents

Though he does like the parties

Particularly enjoys setting goals for the next year

Some of them have to do with murder but oh well

He fully writes out a little list and tapes it to a cave wall

He lets the others all submit a goal for him and he chooses one to actually do

He normally throws Paul’s out

“Stop being Michael’s little bitch boy”

They are less so about improving himself and more about what insane shit can he get away with in the new year

One year his only goal was to eat every person who protested during pride month

He got a stomach ache but he eventually tracked them all down

It’s the only holiday were you will EVER see him dress up

He does those glasses in the shape of whatever year it is and sometimes wears a suit

But only if he’s really into his next list

Won’t admit it, but also thinks the kiss tradition is romantic

Just the fact that the first thing someone wants to do after the clock resets is kiss him?

He’s a sucker for it

He doesn’t do a quick little peck either

It’s pretty much the only time he will give whoever it is a sweet, gentle, and sensual kiss other than in situations where he genuinely thinks he’s gonna lose them

Like when Marko got impaled in the stomach

His favorite memory of all time is when they all managed to do a group kiss as the countdown ended one year

It was kinda clunky and the least romantic kiss he’s ever had but he still loved it

MICHAEL - Thanksgiving

Doesn’t really care about the actual day and what it originally was

Just really loves spending time with the people he cares about

The boys all spend pretty much every second together anyways but this is the only day he can get his bio family and his boyfriends all together in the same place without one side trying to/ threatening to kill the other

It’s not as tense as you’d think either

They all love Michael enough to basically forget everything that has ever happened between them and pretend they’re all just regular humans

He loves to watch Sam and Dwayne geek out about comic books together

Even if he doesn’t know what half of what they’re saying means

It doesn’t hurt that Lucy is an AMAZING cook

He legitimately shoved Sam out of his seat one year when they were kids

He was NOT gonna let him get both legs of the turkey

Whenever it’s his year to do the wishbone he does the same thing

For everyone to get along like this more often

PAUL - Christmas

Honestly he loves all holidays

It’s just an excuse to be even more affectionate to everyone

ppl tend to be more happy and friendly during Christmas and he loves that

He’s a huge extrovert and during most the year ppl in Santa Carla are less likely to engage with strangers

But this time of year? Everyone is getting in the holiday spirit

He’s always wanted the boys to form a band and the comprise they came up with is caroling

They let him pick the song

If anyone slams the door in their face or is otherwise outright rude he gets SO sad

The rest of the pack hunts those ppl down through the next year and gives them to paul as a gift

He loves it

He also is a huge fan of decorating the tree

It normally looks like an elf threw up tinsel and joke ornaments but he’s very proud of it

Tries to convince everyone else to keep it up as long as possible

Plans a movie marathon on Christmas Eve

Actually BUYS candy canes, hot cocoa, & peppermint bark (stealing that would ruin the shop owners vibes and he refuses to do that near Christmas)

Sets up all the treats and picks 5 movies for them to cuddle up and watch near one of the caves barrels

The only movie he picks every single year is Die hard

Other than that one he has a rule that he can’t reuse a movie he picked in the last 5 years

MARKO - Halloween

Mainly enjoys the build up over the actual day

He takes a lot of pride in making his and all the boys costumes from scratch (except David -_-)

They turn out really high quality as well

Usually at least one of them gets stopped and complimented on it

Occasionally someone thinks they have the actual costume from the movie/show the characters from and they become invincible

Like marko refuses to let any of the boys eat that person for the rest of time

He takes it so seriously I’m not even joking

There’s a no kill list with names and updated pictures

David ignored it once and never made that mistake again

Marko genuinely was really hurt and didn’t hang out with him one on one for 4 months

And withheld any affection from him for 2 months

He made sure the body was found (made it look like a hit and run) and brings little trinkets to the grave every once and a while

LOVES horror movies

Especially the really gory ones

He’s a sadist and takes the really interesting kills as inspiration

It’s like his own personal Pinterest

Pulls a ton of pranks during the month of October

Toilet papers ~50 houses every year

Steals huge bags of candy and hands them out at the board walk

He loves Halloween so much and wants everyone to be able to enjoy it

There’s a family in town that loves it but can’t afford good quality costumes most years

He reached out to the parents and offered to make all the families outfits for free

He’s done it the past 3 years and loves it

When he drops of the costumes he leaves candy for the kids and a wad of money that definitely was acquired legally

Just trust him on that and don’t ask too many questions

Uses washable paint and decorates David’s bike

It’s the only thing David will let anyone else do to his bike bc he knows marko will take it seriously and make it bad ass

He also gets a free bike cleaning for Marko after it starts to peel/chip off so win-win

DWAYNE - Valentine’s Day

I personally see him as the most romantic of the group

But he’s also the one who has the hardest time showing it

Valentine’s Day is the day he feels the most comfortable showing love bc he knows all his boyfriends are in the mood for “all that mushy shit” (Marko’s words)

He does NOT hold back

Valentine’s Day is more like valentine’s week bc he gives each of them a special day leading up to the 14th

Then on the actual day he plans a group date

He spends the entire year stealing borrowing gifts from victims that he thinks the boys will love

He has a mini garden near the bottom of the cliff

He grows the other’s favorite flowers

He leaves them in random parts of their nests year round, but makes a huge bouquet of all of them for Valentine’s Day

His demeanor totally switches during this time

Normally he tries to be a chill, mysterious, laid back kinda guy

But during his favorite week?

He’s like an excitable puppy

He’s constantly giggling and being extra affectionate with the boys

Pulls out ALL the couples nicknames

Even in public he’s doing more than he usually does

Dwayne takes any extra flowers he has and if he sees anyone who looks sad or lonely on valentines night he gives them a compliment and a flower

Eats ppl who are being dicks to their partner that night

————

Hey yall! Haven’t posted in a bit so I finished this draft I started in October lol

Figured it’s the best time of year for it.

Gonna be so fr yall, I don’t think I’m ever gonna post as much as I used to. I was pumping out like 6 posts a month for 4 months which may not seem like a ton but it feels like it is lmao

But now I have more responsibilities than I used to and it’s killed my creativity a bit. That being said: I’m not giving up completely. I’m still keeping this blog and writing whenever I feel like it, just not at the speed or amount I used to do it. I’m setting a goal for at least once a month next year and I’m really gonna try to keep it.

Thanks to everyone who reads my hcs and fics, and a special thank you to anyone who sticks around:]

—— TAGS ——

@crustyboypix @britany1997

If you’d like to be added to my tag list for all/multiple/one of the fandoms I write for feel free to leave an ask or message me

[fictional-orphan-smackdown]

ROBIN VS. ROBIN, GO!

All propaganda and what each competitor is from under the cut

Dick Grayson (DC Comincs)

So a bunch of Robins are orphans or orphan adjacent but Dick has the strongest case in his birth parents, whom he was raised by, being very very dead. The kind of orphanhood that sticks in the characterization marrow. Plus in some versions he was carted off to the orphanage and everything, starting his "what if I fist-fought my parents' killer myself" arc early until Bruce ultimately decided to pluck him off his warpath and adopt him.

Dick Grayson is truly the orphan of all time not only is he the ward of another famous orphan (batman) but he really was able to surpass his mentor after being orphaned and used that anger towards his parents death to immediately start fighting crime under the Robin Moniker. The other orphans in dc wish they could do it like him. Plus his name is Dick which is objectively funny.

Dressing like a stoplight and kicking people in the face under a bat furry's direction was the MORE reasonable coping strategy than his original plan. Of singlehandedly taking down the entire mafia even though he was a baby.

Think Batman had issues? Well, consider what happens is he raises his mini-me. This guy is waaaayy too tactically driven and ambitious for a thirteen-year-old. And awesome. And the adult version is —- somebody append a photo.

Okay I submitted Bruce Wayne but like I can’t not submit my beloved boy as well! Anyway his parents have the nebulous honor of being so fucking dead, like literally never coming back to life ever. They died in that circus and the only time I can possibly think of them as ‘coming back’ in any way is in Darkest Night, where there were zombies everywhere. So even when they return to the story they’re still fucking dead! Anyway Dick is like super orphaned, I love him but you look at him and you know his parents are dead.

Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please

Trust me bro

Tim Drake (DC Comics)

An early reader-insert character, Tim had all the traits the average comics fan at the time wanted: money, martial arts skills, cool skateboard tricks, lots of girlfriends, secret knowledge about Batman and Robin. He volunteered to be Robin, because what comics fan wouldn't in his place? Continuing to be relatable, he's now bisexual, depressed, and living in a crappy apartment. Which is also a boat, because comics readers think it would be cool to live in a houseboat.

His biological mother, Janet Drake, was murdered in the carribean. In the same attack his biological father was hospitalized for injuries and in a coma. Janey Drake was buried on Christmas Eve. During the period that Jack Drake (his biological father) was in a coma he was temporarily under the care of Bruce Wayne. When Jack got out of the coma he was confined to a wheelchair while he went through physical therapy. He would meet his future second wife, Dana Winters through the physical therapy. The two would get married later, Tim having a good relationship with Dana. Her mediating between the father and son during some of the misunderstandings. Jack would find out that Tim was Robin, then realize Bruce Wayne was Batman, threaten Bruce with a gun, and order Tim to quit being Robin. Though later, Tim would get approval from his father to be Robin again and the two would start improving their father son relationship. During the event of identity crisis Tim's indenture would be at stake and Captian Boomerrang would break into the Drake's house and murder Jack just as Tim arrived. Tim having heard his last words over Comms. His stepmother Dana Winters would be hospitalized in Bludhaven for the mental trauma this inflicted on her, and would soon find herself a victim when Bludhaven was bombed/nuked. Tim would then be adopted by Bruce. Though in 2008 Bruce would be supposedly killed by an Omega Beam, leaving 17 year old Tim as a three times over orphan. Though Tim didn't believe Bruce to actually be dead, but lost in the timestream and would go on a Brucequest to get him back. On this trip he would lose his spleen, and nearly die multiple times.

Doomed by the narrative to become an orphan. Tim had a good thing going for a while, but after he started getting involved with the Bats, his life went downhill from there. He became Robin on the day of his mother's funeral. (I should note that the racism I mentioned in her cause of death is that the person who kills her is an awful racist caricature, NOT that she's canonically a POC.) From there, he spent a while balancing Batman (mentor) and his biological father (who was rendered comatose in the incident that killed his mother, but woke up not long after). Both the Robins that came before him were orphaned. As one Tumblr user put it: while Tim Drake managed to beat the odds and remain not an orphan, eventually, the writers succumbed to the calls of orphanhood. His father dies after he finds out Tim's identity, and it is because he knows the secret that he is ultimately targeted and dies. In the aftermath, Tim attempts to get revenge by assassinating the culprit, but ultimately is unable to betray his personal values and go through with it. He has one of the more realistic parent-child relationships among the Bats because it is down to earth in spite of the eventual doom. Really, it comes down to this: Robin isn't just Batman's sidekick, he's Batman's child. And that meant it was only a matter of. time before Tim Drake was orphaned

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA for taking everything I can from a former friend?

I 20 met this guy J 24M last year through a mutual friend, and since we happened to live in the same neighborhood we hung out more. For context, during this entire time I am/was also supporting an unrelated person financially, so I need every penny and have way less than J.

J has borderline personality disorder and does not go to therapy. I don't want to vilify anyone in the same situation, I'm just bringing it up because J's bps deeply impacts every aspect of his life.

He'd been going through some tough times, with his love life going to shit, cutting off his toxic family and having to find his own apartment etc, so I helped him often.

Since neither of us have much, we shared stuff regularly, e.g. he'd buy me food sometimes and I gave J my skateboard, among other things. I painted his walls & decorated, because I have the skill necessary and he doesn't. I went out to look at furniture with him. I asked my parents to give him furniture they were selling (he got it free). I frequently went to his place in the middle of the night, whether he had splitting migraines or thought someone had tried to break in. I helped him organize a Christmas party, even though he cancelled it because he got angry at someone or something. I cooked for him a few times (he doesn't cook). I let him use my washing machine after he moved into his new apartment without one, even though he owned a cat so all his clothes were covered in cat hair and I have a severe cat allergy, meaning I couldn't do my laundry normally & sometimes it came out with cat hair no matter how hard I tried (this lasted 8 months and would have gone on indefinitely if not for following events). Btw I did all of this without asking for anything in return.

Earlier this year, because of his ridiculously high expectations, he dumped his best friend at the time (the mutual friend), and assigned me his new best friend. After a few months, they became friends again anyway but I kept the "best friend" title.

In July, he hurt his dominant hand during an angry outburst. I was there when it happened but he seemed fine at the time. When he came to do his laundry the next day, Sunday, he told me that his hand was sprained and we talked about how he'd need to see the doctor the next day. He agreed to go. He promised to go to the doctor.

I know he's not good with going to doctors, especially on his own. So I texted him the next day and asked if he'd already gone. He responded "Nope, don't feel like", and upon asking why, he said that "it'll heal on its own anyway". Which to me read as 'I don't care.'

This pissed me off. I blocked him. I planned to unblock him once I'd calmed down, probably in a few days. I was really upset about this because it happens regularly. Him not going to the doctor when he should is a pattern, a bad pattern. He's gotten me sick that way.

The next day he texted my partner, asking if I was okay. They explained that i was upset at him for telling me he'd go to the doctor but then not going. He blew up at them that it was none of my business anyway whether or not he went to the doctor. Whined about his medical anxiety (which is valid but wasn't the point). Said that the sprain was healing so he didn't have to go. They argued for a while until my partner got tired and stopped responding.

Apparently I am now no longer his friend. He asked our mutual friend to tell me to pick up my stuff. I'm busy these days, so I haven't done it yet.

When I pick up my stuff, it's gonna be a whole list of things: a seat/cushion, a stovetop, 75€ worth of comics, a measuring tape, the skateboard, a box. I'll also bring him laundry detergents that are laying around at my place still.

Now WIBTA if I ask him to also give me pain medication to replace all the meds I gave him and money for the furniture I got him for free at the time (I'll ask 40€ even though they're worth more)?

What are these acronyms?

[linxuelian]

Comic Fiesta 2023 Anime Convention Experience Log - With Photos!

Hey there! After posting my previous experience log on Anime Fest+ 2024, I realized I'd shared photos from Comic Fiesta 2023 on Twitter but never did on Tumblr. Since this happened way back in late December 2023, I've forgotten a good portion of my experience there (I have unfortunately the memory of a goldfish) - so it'll mostly be photos of the crowd and MXTX cosplayers, whom I have some loose commentary on based on what I remember from our very short and random interactions.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this as an MDZS/TGCF fan as much as I do! I spent only a few hours there, but I did have a good time hunting down cosplays from the MXTX fandom during that time.

I'll begin with pictures of the crowd. If you don't already know, Comic Fiesta is an anime convention held in Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Malaysia, and it's one of the oldest here too. As of 2023, it's opened its doors to roughly 70,000 attendees, which is rather big considering our country's quite small in size. I've heard from my friend that there are attendees from overseas too, namely Singapore and Indonesia, due to the famous people the organizers tend to invite, so it does make sense that it's grown this large over time.

While the convention itself is held indoors, there's a large park outside where cosplayers tend to hang around and take pictures. A number of people don't buy tickets and go into the convention hall either - and I get why; the last time I was in the hall, I was squashed like a sardine, and not the fancy kind, either. We're a sweaty bunch after a good whole morning of lining up.

Anyway, the park is very pretty, as well as mostly green and neatly trimmed:

It's at this park where you can get the best shots of cosplayers, and find some space to line up for photos of them.

It's got this giant Christmas tree up at around this time of year too, which is super wonderful:

With that aside, I'll get to the cosplays. Let's start off with my favorite best girl of all time, Jiang Yanli:

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/clairegsw/

I'll admit I was both surprised and stoked to see a Jiang Yanli cosplayer around! She seemed pretty surprised too to have someone ask her for a picture - she was taking one with two elaborate bride cosplays, but as I'm a fangirl with heaps of love for Yanli, I thought she shone like the brightest star at that event. You go, Claire!

Next up is our boy Xie Lian, who seems to get quite a number of cosplays done of him:

Credits: https://www.instagram.com/ayana_liyana/ and https://www.instagram.com/itsmeira_az/

These two came together and were looking for wild, lone San Lang cosplayers to catch in Pokemon battle-like sequences respectively. Sadly, as it goes in the BL cosplay world, there's always a shortage of gong/top/seme cosplayers in a con. Everyone wants to be the beauty, it seems, and quite understandably too.

That said, here's another beauteous Xie Lian cosplay:

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/jingzu518/

Cute, nice, and also decidedly not looking for wild semes to capture.

Anyway, no Xie Lian is complete without a Hua Cheng by his side in any event, so here's the obligatory couple cosplay I saw by the escalators when I got up to the entrance:

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/njq_03/

This particular Hua Cheng cosplayer's one of the first dudes I've seen doing TGCF cosplay, which is pretty interesting considering the reception of BL by male anime fans in my country hasn't been... the best - or the kindest, from personal experience. But I'm happy to see it and would like to take this as a positive sign of changing times where our BL fandom gets more mixed in demographics.

Speaking of HuaHuas, here's a particularly fun and cheerful one:

Credit: https://twitter.com/meechandes

When I told this HuaHua that there were Xie Lians looking to form a couple, I was told that they already have a Xie Lian of their own! Again, HuaHuas are in great shortage! You'll definitely get a lot of attention dressed as him as he's both very flashy and coveted in the danmei cosplay scene as a character.

Moving along, here's a pic of my favorite best boy Jin Ling, the snazziest and most golden young master in the universe:

Credit: https://twitter.com/koni_kn

This particular cosplayer was kind enough to humor me at a crowded, fast-paced subway. We managed to find a quieter spot to take a picture. Look at how pretty it looks, bless! 😍 I'm so glad Jin Ling got some representation as a side character. He's absolutely the best!

On cue are his uncles, the twin heroes of Yunmeng, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian (whom Jin Ling will probably deny is his uncle, but hey, Mo Xuanyu's body will uncle him however he wants):

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/feza_yu/

The duo came with their own professional photographer, who also doubled as their translator (thank you, photographer man!). This Jiang Cheng's also the softest, gentlest and shyest Jiang Cheng I've ever met in my life. Legs are safe when he's around since he won't be breaking them anytime soon!

Next on the itinerary are our not-so-elusive, staple-of-any-con Wei Wuxians:

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/ken520.cos/

I dub this guy the Balenciaga Wei Wuxian, because, you know, I took his photo right in front of Balenciaga and he looked like the richest Wei Wuxian cosplayer there. No joke - his outfit even had pleather, and he'd spent about 270 bucks on it. I saw it up-close since he was pretty friendly. His arm bracers even had details sewn onto them instead of just being prints! Talk about luxury! I coughed up jealousy like blood from my mouth.

The outfit is from CQL, but he knows MDZS too. I'm familiar with the donghua but too lazy to finish it, so he's definitely put me to shame here as a fan as well, blast him!

Last but not least, we have kitty ears Wei Wuxian (a.k.a. Lan Wangji's Incense Burner Dream #965):

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/mikaecsr/

Now, I won't lie - I first thought they were wolf ears. But as Wei Wuxian does not like dogs of any kind, nature or breed, I'm going to assume that these are feline ears.

Whatever ears they are, though, Lan Wangji will be sure to get hot and toasty seeing them. Wei Ying, you devil you.

Anyway, this marks the end of my write-up! I hope you enjoyed the descriptions. As I don't have Instagram, feel free to hit up any of these cosplayers I've credited and link them here so that they can download pics of themselves and read what some random Internet weirdo had to say about their outfits.

Over and out!

[paperhats-and-evil-schemes]

Lovestarved (Rewrite)

Flug couldn’t believe it. Defying all of his expectations, Black Hat actually prevented him from hurting his friends. Not only that, but kept his secret from being exposed. He had been so certain that the eldritch wanted [...], but now, with every manipulative and cruel assumption Flug had made being tossed out the window, he had no idea what to think anymore. When he next spoke, his voice was but a meek stutter. “Th-Thank you, sir...” “’Thank you’?” Black Hat repeated, a ghostly twitch of annoyance betraying his smile for just a moment. “What have I told you, Flug? Your… gratitude…” That last word was uttered with notable disgust, “… is gravely misplaced. I only—“ He was stunned into silence when Flug unexpectedly clutched his hand. “You stopped me from hurting them.” The scientist spoke more firmly in spite of how his own hands trembled. Flug dared not make eye contact, instead staring directly at the floor. “Thank you.” He had almost expected to get lashed out at or shouted at for grabbing Black Hat so suddenly, and when he realized his mistake, he immediately let go… but Black Hat did neither of those things. He just stared, expression completely blank to the point of almost being comical, at where Flug had touched him. That doesn’t happen. People don’t touch him. He touches people. On his terms. After the initial confusion wore off, his cold and calculative eyes pierced right through Flug. “… Well.” He finally spoke, flat-toned, “You can thank me by getting rid of those pests outside.”

Okay look I know the White Hat fic’s been a long time coming and I’m definitely still working on it, but oh my god the complete and utter abomination that was the original Lovestarved fic was driving me completely insane, I HAD to give it a revamp for my own peace of mind lmfao, my GOD, IT WAS SO BAD YOU GUYS IDC WHAT YOU SAY I'M SORRY SZTEFA BUT YOU'RE W R O N G LMAO

So anyway, have the not-perfect-but-still-very-much-improved fanfic of a Monster!Flug x BH slowburn in which these idiots keep idioting around each other 24/7 until things happen lol (Btw one of my mutuals recently got instabanned for merely mentioning a certain phrase, so since I’m not sure how tumblr is deciding to auto-flag posts and I don’t wanna go through the headache of having to get my account reactivated again, this post is only the first half of the fic (the safe portion lol) and then there’ll be a link to the AO3 version at the bottom of this post for when things start to get on the risqué side.)

And of course, this fic series is based on this wonderful fic right here!

Previous works in chronological order: Hired, Don’t Try to Run, Lovestarved, Trial & Trust, Deeper Than Skin, A Small Solace, In Sickness and in Health, Benefit of the Doubt, Just Another Word I Never Learned to Pronounce, Merry (Late) Christmas, Compromise

Flug had never intended for this to happen.

Never in a million years had he planned on revealing this part of him to anybody , let alone Black Hat himself. Sadly, it’s not easy to sweep the unfortunate incident of devouring a test subject right in front of him under the rug. Then again, given his boss’s nature of being able to slip into any room unnoticed, perhaps Flug should’ve prepared for such an inevitable possibility. 

Oh well. Too little, too late, as some might say. At least Black Hat hadn’t reacted as negatively as Flug thought he might. On the contrary, in fact, Black Hat seemed to find Flug’s otherworldly nature quite amusing. Yet another reaction that his scientist perhaps should’ve expected to some extent. 

What he never could’ve expected was the change in attitude, however.

Yes, ever since that day, Black Hat had been treating him differently. It was subtle enough that any bystander likely wouldn’t notice a difference in their relationship. But Flug definitely took notice, especially in how his superior spoke to him.

He was still his usual brash, hostile self, but every once in a while, sprinkled in between whatever myriad of scathing remarks and scoldings Flug would face on any given day (and even those had lessened significantly), Black Hat would sometimes praise him. The first time Flug heard the words “Good work” out of his boss’s mouth, he thought he’d been hallucinating, as that explanation seemed far more likely.

Furthermore, Black Hat continued to surprise Flug by not broadcasting his secret to the rest of the household. He’d been certain that his boss would’ve gotten a kick out of airing his dirty laundry for everyone to see, if only for the sole reason that Flug gravely didn’t want that. Yet, Black Hat held back. Didn’t speak a word about it to 5.0.5. or Demencia. Not that Flug would risk getting too comfortable in that regard, of course. Whatever Black Hat’s motivations may have been, it definitely wasn’t coming out of a place of respect for Flug’s privacy. Knowing his boss, he was probably just waiting for either of their housemates to walk in on him devouring someone so he could indulge in whatever chaos might unfold. Or perhaps there was some other reason that Flug hadn’t considered. He certainly knew better than to try and guess what Black Hat was thinking, regardless.

Not all of the changes in Black Hat’s behavior were so positive, though. For one thing, his unnerving fascination with Flug’s souleater half has led to some rather uncomfortable arrangements. On the one hand, Black Hat providing him with prey saves Flug the trouble of having to sneak around anymore to feed himself, but on the other, his boss had a peculiarly keen interest in watching him eat. That was already bad enough, having to put what Flug had tried so hard to keep hidden all his life on full display like that, but it was made even worse by how handsy Black Hat would sometimes get afterwards.

He had a particular fascination with Flug’s teeth. Whether or not that was out of some twisted sense of humor or out of a genuine curiosity of Flug’s species, the doctor couldn’t tell. All he knew is that it was uncomfortable. Every time those hands crinkled up the edges of that paper bag to expose his bloodied mouth, anxiety spiked within him at the mere thought of his mask being pulled off completely. Luckily for Flug, Black Hat never went that far, for the time being. 

“Why do you always do that…?” He had asked once, during one upon too many fang inspections to count.

There was a click of the tongue, Black Hat tilting Flug’s chin whichever way he wanted, as he gave his unconventional answer. “The soul residue intrigues me. Besides, it's the only part of your face I’ve seen thus far. I like to admire it at its bloodiest.” Then he’d flash one of his many shit-eating grins. “Given how long you’ve hidden this from me, I certainly have the right to catch up on what I’ve been missing.”

What could he possibly have been “missing”? He knew Black Hat to enjoy displays of violence the most when they had some heart in them. Flug’s only ever been timid and reluctant in the way that he feeds, unable to understand what entertainment value Black Hat could possibly be getting out of such mediocre murders.

On one particular day, however, the situation differed.

Their domain had fallen under siege by a particularly persistent team of heroes… It would’ve been an all-out attack if Dr. Flug hadn’t activated an emergency forcefield just in time. But for now, all they could do was wait these heroes out until they came up with a proper plan of retaliation. Their anti-hero merchandise was the best there was, of course, but with the sheer amount of opponents waiting outside, the villains were put in a particularly tricky situation. 

Black Hat could easily dispose of the problem, Flug knew for a fact. These heroes were mere ants to somebody with his unimaginable power. But, in typical Black Hat fashion, he chose to instead put this job on Flug and Demencia. 

While Flug could understand to some extent that such matters were too trivial and boring for his boss to face head-on, he had hoped the demon would’ve made an exception in this case. This situation had cut Flug, Demencia, and 5.0.5. off from the outside world until they could find a way around those heroes, which wouldn’t be a problem if not for the fact that it left Flug without sustenance to keep his monstrous half in check.

Unfortunately for him, Black Hat found more interest in watching how his employees would tackle the problem instead. Because, for him, the slightly-more-interesting route would always be preferred over the easy way out. It’s not like the health of his underlings has ever held priority over his own amusement, so Flug had no right to be surprised. He’d just have to persevere, and he wouldn’t dare complain about his hunger to Black Hat himself. Knowing him, he’d expect Flug to earn his food under these circumstances. The way Black Hat was constantly hanging around the laboratory as he worked further cemented that idea into his mind. 

Instead, he threw himself into his work as if that were an adequate distraction. He did everything he could to keep his mind busy, to keep himself distracted from anything that may lead to one of his episodes, but it was so damn hard when these hunger swings can be so unpredictable. One minute, he would be completely fine, but the next…

“Whatcha workin’ on, doc?”

Hunger making him more irritable than usual, the mere sound of Demencia’s voice had been enough to grate on his nerves these past weeks of siege. It was bad enough that his cravings were already slowing him down far too much, he didn’t need Dem’s constant pestering on top of his current inability to focus. 

Shaking those concerns out of his head, he was none too kind when he answered her. “Oh, I don’t know, Demencia, maybe a solution to our little problem out there?”

Unfazed by the mockery dripping from his voice, her desire for mischief was left perfectly intact. “Oooo, is it cool? Will it blow ‘em up? Liquidize their insides? Lemme see it!” 

She jumped for the flask, and Flug had barely enough reaction time within him to dodge her. “ Stop that! Do you want to get a cloud of knockout gas to the face!?” Flug barked, scrambling to keep his work from falling out of his hands. Once stabilized, he shot her a nasty glare. “Don’t you have anything better to do than bother me?”

“You’re kidding, right?” She deadpanned in response. Dramatically flopping into a nearby chair, Demencia kept up her annoying lamenting. “We’ve been stuck with those dumb heroes outside for like a week, I’m boooored.”

“Well good for you, but since I’m the only one around here that seems willing to fix this damn mess, I need to focus.” Flug snapped at her, voice raising alongside his frustration, “What I don’t need is some brain-dead halfwit breathing stupid questions down my neck the whole time!”

Demencia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at how intensely he came off. Sure, she could get on his nerves with relative ease, but he usually took it with more grace than that, even at times when he’d sic Hatbots on her. Even Black Hat glanced up from his newspaper upon hearing such unusual hostility growing in Flug, though he reserved comment. 

“Ouch,” Demencia remarked, although not especially offended. “Well, sorry Mr. Grumpypants, didn’t realize you were in such a mood today.” She chided him. “You skip your coffee this morning or what?”

Narrowed eyes shot one last dirty look at her before Flug tried to shift his focus back to his concoction at the lab table. Key word being tried , because before he knew it, he was doubling over from pain when his cravings hit him full-force. He was barely able to catch himself against the table, almost knocking over the work he’d previously scolded Demencia for endangering. 

Serving up a confused stare, Demencia frowned at him. “Uhh, Flug?”

The ruckus also woke 5.0.5. who’d been sleeping nearby, a worried grunt coming from him as he wandered over to see what was going on.

What Flug had feared all along was now fast approaching. This sort of thing was exactly what Black Hat wanted, wasn’t it? For him to expose himself to the others in as violent a manner as possible? And if so, then where the fuck was he? Flug could’ve sworn he was in the room a second ago, and hell, maybe he was too disoriented to know for sure, but he couldn’t see the demon anywhere. 

All he could lock his starving gaze onto was Demencia and 5.0.5., the clueless pair coming foolishly closer to check on him. They’d make easy targets. They were practically offering themselves up on a silver platter. How could Flug possibly refuse the instincts that were screaming at him to eat?

“Okay, Flug, this is weird, even for you.” 

For the briefest of moments, he saw his mother, so stupidly drawing nearer in his state of delirium. She should have known better. She made herself too easy of an antidote to his suffering. The exact same mistake that Demencia was making now.

He wished he could tell her to get away. He wanted desperately to warn her of what danger she was in. But he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t stop himself from inching his starving body nearer, itching to dig his teeth into something –

“Demencia, step aside.” Black Hat’s familiar voice ordered from the doorway, yielding immediate compliance from her. With adept swiftness, he strode over to the unhinged doctor and proceeded to drag him away from his coworkers before any damage could be done, exiting the laboratory with Flug in tow, and leaving Demencia and 5.0.5. to their own confusion.

Black Hat dragged him through hallways and corridors, paying no mind to his scientist’s resistance. Flug’s thrashing wasn’t particularly troublesome for Black Hat, although he felt mild surprise to experience a jolt of pain inflicted by Flug’s fangs when they tried to find nourishment in the tendrils that restrained him. Judging from the retching and gagging that followed, Black Hat’s soulless form wasn’t exactly fine dining to him. 

They entered a darkened storage room, the only light source coming from a flickering bulb above that fought to stay lit. Within, there laid a hero, injured and bound in place by whatever impromptu restraints Black Hat could find in the moment. 

“Eat.” Black Hat ordered as he shoved Flug towards the helpless fool.

As if Flug needed any convincing. 

The second he was released from Black Hat’s grip, he lunged for the hero, tearing into him with such ruthless ferocity, ripping flesh out in bloody chunks that were strewn across the room with great fervor. The crackling and snapping of bones that’d dared get in the way of Flug’s relentless fangs was like music to Black Hat’s ears. The only way this could’ve been better was if the hero had remained alive long enough to scream.

Out of breath by the time Flug was through with him, it took almost a full minute for him to regain his composure. 

“My my, what a savage display.” Black Hat purred in amusement, drawing nearer to admire the carnage. “You’ve been holding out on me, doctor.”

“W-Wha… Wait, th-this is a hero f-from outs-side, isn’t it…?” Flug queried as he came back to his senses, casting a hesitant glance his boss’s way.

“They make for easy pickings. You looked like you needed something rather immediate.” Black Hat replied, wiping bloodied claws off on his clothes. With a disapproving quirk of the brow, he added, “You could have said something sooner , by the way. It’s not like I knew where your breaking point was.”

Flug couldn’t believe it. Defying all of his expectations, Black Hat actually prevented him from hurting his friends. Not only that, but kept his secret from being exposed. He had been so certain that the eldritch wanted the drama and chaos that would’ve come with him attacking 5.0.5. or Demencia, but now, with every manipulative and cruel assumption Flug had made being tossed out the window, he had no idea what to think anymore. When he next spoke, his voice was but a meek stutter. “Th-Thank you, sir...”

“’ Thank you ’?” Black Hat repeated, a ghostly twitch of annoyance betraying his smile for just a moment. “We have been over this, doctor. Your… gratitude …” That last word was uttered with notable disgust, “… is gravely misplaced. I only—“

He was stunned into silence when Flug unexpectedly clutched his hand. “You stopped me from hurting them.” The scientist spoke more firmly in spite of how his own hands trembled against Black’s. Flug dared not make eye contact, instead staring directly at the floor. “ Thank you. ”

He had almost expected to get lashed out at or shouted at for grabbing Black Hat so suddenly, and when he realized his mistake, he immediately let go… but Black Hat did neither of those things. He just stared, expression completely blank to the point of almost being comical, at where Flug had touched him. That doesn’t happen. People don’t touch him. He touches people. On his terms.

After the initial confusion wore off, his cold and calculative eyes pierced right through Flug. “… Well.” He finally spoke, his voice flat and rigid, “You can thank me by getting rid of those pests outside.” 

With that, the demon took his leave. Flug watched him go, blinking slowly as he tried to process what just happened…

… No. He can think about this later. For now, he had an order to carry out.

After cleaning himself up and changing out of his bloodsoaked clothes, Flug returned to the lab with newfound energy and determination. He threw himself at his experiment with ultimate focus, not allowing Demencia or even Black Hat’s presence distract him, despite how intently the latter was watching him.

Flug completed the substance within the hour, and it did not disappoint. Everything went according to plan. Firing the gas bomb at their intruders did the trick, knocking them out just long enough for Demencia to dispose of them without a single issue. 

When all was said and done, Black Hat approached the doctor from behind as he disarmed the forcefield, causing him to jump in surprise when the demon patted his shoulder. “Well done, doctor.” He said simply before walking off.

All Flug could do was stare as he left, completely befuddled. 

He had always craved Black Hat’s praise, but now that he’d been getting it, it felt beyond impossible to get used to.

The strange behavior, the way he kept lingering about the lab for no discernable reason other than to watch him, how he’d been keeping Flug’s diet in check, it was all just so… bizarre. Flug racked his brain day in and day out trying to solve this mystery, but nothing ever felt like it made sense. It couldn’t be coming from a place of respect, as he knew Black Hat was incapable of respecting him. He doubted it was coming from a place of any sort of concern, as nothing about their routine had actually changed. If anything, Flug was more healthy than usual these days due to Black Hat’s assistance in keeping him properly fed.

Perhaps it was something more akin to keeping a pet. Of course, that must be it. Black Hat likely had him lumped in the same category as Lil Jack these days, just a pet to feed and maintain.

While that dehumanizing assumption made the most sense so far, Flug still couldn’t be sure…

One day, curiosity finally got the better of him. He knew he should know better than to question Black Hat, but he just couldn’t help himself this time.

It was on another day that, as was becoming usual, Black Hat had joined him in the laboratory, overseeing his work from a distance. Flug couldn’t actually be sure how much Black Hat was actually paying attention to the invention he was building, but he worked as diligently as he could under his boss’s silent supervision all the same.

A handray of sorts laid in pieces on the table while the doctor fiddled a screwdriver inside the mechanism. Black Hat had taken to leaning against the wall by the door, not a word spoken by him this whole time.

Flug nervously glanced back at him for a moment, quickly averting his eyes back to the device when he was caught staring. Finally, he forced himself to say it. “… Y-You’ve been… a-acting strangely since you first saw me feed, sir…”

“Strangely?” Black Hat’s cold voice repeated, examining his claws without a care in the world. “What are you implying?”

That ice, that frosty and bitter manner in which his boss spoke, had always rattled Flug’s nerves. It was almost enough to discourage him entirely from completing his train of thought, but he knew that would likely annoy Black Hat even more. He put his screwdriver down, turning to face the demon. “W-w-well, it’s, u-um… er…”

“Out with it, doctor.” Black Hat snapped impatiently. He cast the other man a challenging stare, as though daring him to say something he’ll regret.

At this, Flug hesitated. A lump had started forming in his throat, preventing him from speaking. Black Hat’s glare was definitely making the doctor have second thoughts about saying anything at all. Swallowing hard, he forced himself to speak through his discomfort. “Y-You’ve been treating me differently.”

Black Hat’s visible eye slowly narrowed, but he decided to amuse his doctor. “Oh really? How so?” He said in a sort of sarcastic, dry tone, taking a step forward.

No backing down now. Straightening his back, Flug tried very hard not to flinch away at his boss’s advances. “Well…” He began, fiddling with his hands, “You’ve been, um… H-How do I put this… nicer …?”

That was a big mistake the moment he said it, Flug’s eyes going wide once he realized his mistake far too late. Rage flashed across Black Hat’s face, the demon’s familiar growl ringing through Flug’s ears as he came closer. Flinching back and shielding his face with an arm, Flug almost fell over the table behind him as he tried to back away. “W-W-Wait, I didn’t  m-mean it like tha–!” He cut himself off with a fearful yelp as Black Hat yanked him forward by the neck of his shirt, his threatening form towering over the doctor.

“How did you mean it , then?” Black Hat snarled, voice dripping with a biting venom.

“Y-You’ve been acting like you think I have more worth now!” Flug squeaked, hiding his face behind his arms with eyes squeezed shut, a clear exasperation lingering among the fear in his words. “Like because I’m half monster, that changes things!”

Expecting to get pummeled in the next few seconds, it was to Flug’s great surprise that Black Hat let him go. Risking a timid peek at his boss, his jaw almost dropped. Why was he laughing all of a sudden?

“Of course it changes things!” Blackhat grinned, as though it were ridiculous for Flug to suggest otherwise. For some reason, that prickled at Flug’s nerves. “Now that I’ve seen what you are– ”

“What I am doesn’t change anything! I’m still the same Flug I’ve always been!” 

In a moment of surprise, Black Hat’s grin faltered. He’d never heard Flug take such a tone with him before, nor had he seen that particular look of frustration, dressed with hints of defiance, within Flug’s eyes.

“Have you been basing my value on species this whole time?” The scientist went on, irritation building, “What, I’m suddenly worth more to you just because I’m less human? Is that why you haven’t been kicking me around as much? Are you seriously that shallow?” With a scoff, Flug looked away, brows furrowed in anger. “If my being a human really disgusted you that much, I don’t get why you haven’t just replaced me with someone more your style.”

There was a tense moment of silence between them, although the tension was likely only on Flug’s side. Eventually, Black Hat spoke again.

“I believe that’s the first time you’ve dared to raise your voice at me, doctor.”

… Wait… 

Shit.

“I’m sorry…!” He squeaked in fear, cringing away from Black Hat in anticipation of being struck. Realization of how badly he screwed up hit him like a semi truck, and he scrambled over his words trying to do damage control in whatever way he could. “I-I don’t know w-what c-came over me! I-I’m v- very sorry, sir…!”

No violence came his way, however. Instead, Black Hat eyed him with what Flug could only describe as intrigue. His head tilted a smidge to the side, not unlike that of a curious animal. When he next spoke, it was with a kind of guileless tone completely foreign to Flug’s ears. “I have always valued you, Flug.” 

A disbelieving snort escaped Flug before he had the chance to stop it, slapping a hand over his mouth the second such a disrespectful noise had come out. How or why Black Hat hadn’t lashed out at him yet, Flug had no idea.

“You think I would have hired some annoying, sniveling little human if you weren’t of significant value to me? I know you’re smarter than that, doctor.” He drew closer, much to Flug’s discomfort. “In spite of what a pitiful sight you made, it was your intelligence that’d far made up for that. Your intelligence, your dedication, your perseverance, I have seen it all. From the day I met you, I knew your talents were exceptional.”

Baffled by such claims, Flug could do nothing more than stare in disbelief as his boss spoke.

“You impressed me that day, Dr. Flug. I can count on one hand the number of humans that’ve accomplished such a feat.” He went on, circling Flug to admire the work he had laid out on the table. “Humans are one of the most irritating and pathetic species I’ve ever come across in all my years. To have ended up relying on one for the sake of my business has been no less than a major frustration to me. Without you, who the hell do you think would be making all of our products?”

“I-I-” Flug started to speak, but was quickly silenced by the raise of Black Hat’s hand. Clearly, he had more to say.

“In a way, you’re not wrong. It does please me knowing that you’re not entirely human. You are something better. But, you’ve always been better than other humans in my eyes.” When he next turned to face Flug, it was with a narrow-eyed stare on his face. “So, don’t you dare suggest that I haven’t valued you until now. If that were true, I’d have left you dead in that alley all those years ago.”

At that moment, Flug had been rendered speechless. This was the first time Black Hat’s ever verbalized any sort of appreciation for Flug’s work, especially in such a direct manner. He almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing, tempted to reach out and poke the eldritch to make sure it was actually him and not some sort of caffeine hallucination.

Instead, he averted his eyes. As comforting as that was to hear, it didn’t change the main problem.

“You don’t treat your valuables very well, then.” Flug’s hesitant voice spoke up.

With a boisterous laugh, Blackhat twirled his cane idly. “So what? That’s of no consequence to me.”

“You seem to forget that I’m breakable, sir. It is a consequence if I decide to leave.” If he really is as valuable as Black Hat says... Looking away, he muttered under his breath, “It’s definitely something I’ve considered.”

That came as no surprise to Black Hat. He’s seen the collection of house and apartment ads the doctor’s compiled and occasionally glanced through when his boss’s temper was especially testy. But surely he’d never actually go through with leaving. Not after all the work he put in to get here. It would be absurd.

Not paying the comment much mind, Black Hat decided he was done with this conversation and headed for the door. “Get that ray done. We start filming in two hours.”

Such dismissive behavior was what Flug was used to letting roll off his back. But, this time, it felt like it didn’t matter at all compared to the other things his boss had said.

It was beyond reassuring to know that Black Hat found him important for what really mattered. There had been many a day where Flug had wondered if all of his efforts were actually counting for anything, in that regard.

Now, he won’t have to wonder. 

Something new to wonder about, however, was why this conversation had left him feeling so flustered …

Their uncharacteristically genuine conversation didn’t mean everything was sunshine and daisies, of course. After all, This is the house of evil. Can’t expect much else. What Flug was used to was being yelled at. Though there was one recent incident in particular that had been… strange.

As usual, Black Hat was eager to advertise anti-hero merchandise to their viewers. The demon rarely ever began recording early without first informing Flug, but today was, unfortunately, one of those days. He already had Cam-bot recording before Flug was even in the room. It’s not like he needed Flug there, anyways, so he just went ahead and started without him. The product seemed simple enough, some kind of fireball launcher of sorts.

Black Hat was well into the presentation by the time Flug had gotten there. The doctor had appeared somewhat rushed, and was carrying with him a toolbox.

His eyes widened with terror when he entered the room to see his boss already wielding the product.

“… and with just the click of a button, your local hero will be enveloped in a Hellish blaze!” Black Hat took aim at a target across the room.

“Sir, no!” Flug shouted, darting towards him, “There’s a chemical imbalance that still needs to be–!”

Too late.

There was a flash, then a blast of intense heat as the weapon backfired. Cam-bot went toppling over sideways, making a series of distressed beeping noises, and Black Hat let out a startled snarl as his arm was blown clean off. That wasn’t too much of a concern, however, as a stream of inky black energy quickly formed a new one.

He wheeled around, eyes blazing with rage as he faced the now-shivering Flug. “You IDIOT!!!” He roared, storming over to the scientist and roughly gripping his arm. “Is your job to have our products ready in time or IS IT NOT!?”

“I-I-I’m sorry….!” Flug yelped, cowering. “I-I thought I h-had more time…! I just needed to make one minor adjustmen–” He cut himself off with a pained outcry as Black Hat’s grip tightened, near threatening to break his arm.

“I don’t want to hear EXCUSES, YOU BLOODY– You…” Black Hat trailed off, a whisper of that recent conversation with the doctor echoing in his head.

You don’t treat your valuables very well.

You seem to forget that I’m breakable.

Staring over the terrified doctor now, the way he immediately expected the worst, something felt… off. Black Hat was the one that decided to start early and without Flug’s knowledge… but that still shouldn’t excuse not having it ready before the deadline, so–!

“Sir…?” Flug’s voice, tiny and horrified as it may have been, managed to shake Black Hat out of his thoughts. Fearful eyes gazed up at him with a hint of confusion on top of the pain. Very slowly, Black Hat loosened his grip, then let go altogether and took a step back.

Flug stepped back as well at the first chance he got, gripping his hurt arm close to himself. He gave a puzzled frown. “S-Sir…. are you…. alright….?”

… How could he be asking that? It seemed so… backwards.

… It doesn’t matter.

“Get this mess cleaned up…” Black Hat finally said, his voice unusually low, “… and fix that infernal Cam-bot…” 

Then, he was gone before Flug could even reply.

Watching the door close behind his boss, Flug winced as he rubbed his arm. Sighing, he picked up the dropped toolbox and turned to Cam-bot. “Let’s get you cleaned up, then…”

A flood of blood trickled down the now-lifeless body and onto the floor, Flug’s shaking arm wiping away what dribbled from his chin. With a chunk of neck completely missing from the corpse on the operation table in front of him, it was leaving quite the mess. The doctor tentatively reached up to pull his paper bag back down and cover his mouth, but Black Hat’s cane pulled his arm away before he could. Flug squirmed slightly beneath his boss’s touch as he lifted his chin , discomfort setting in him, but Black Hat paid that no mind.

A gloved thumb lightly grazing across the edge of Flug’s fangs, Black Hat’s expression was oddly monotone today. “… So, tell me.” He said suddenly. “If I’m so unbearable to live with, why do you stick around?”

“S-Sir….?” Flug responded, caught off guard by the question.

“You’re not being forced to stay here.” The eldritch went on. “You said yourself that you’ve considered leaving. Many other villains would be glad to take you. So why do you stay?”

Flug was quiet for a long moment, considering what he should say. Truly, there was only one right answer. “… B-Because the other villains aren’t you.”

At that, Black Hat paused, a twitch of surprise on his features for a second. Then, his eyes narrowed slightly. “Elaborate.”

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Flug started to fiddle with the sleeves of his labcoat. “W-W-Well, um… I-I mean, you’re… successful, c-confident, accomplished…” Oh gosh, why did he have to be listing off things he admires about his boss while they were in this position? Hardly any distance between them, and Black Hat leaned in closer with every word! Swallowing again, he tried not to get too flustered as he continued, “I-It’s just… well, you’re Black Hat. You’re one of a k-kind, the best there is. I don’t– I-I refuse to settle for less than the best.” Sheepishly, he looked to the ground, voice quieting. “You’re everything I’m not.”

Silent for quite some time, Black Hat found he was only able to give Flug a dumbfounded stare. The demon’s never had a tendency for modesty, for Flug to be so upfront about both his admirations and insecurities felt strange as can be. It was a combination that Flug likely never would’ve spoken aloud if left unprompted. Then, a smile began to form on Black Hat’s face. “Well, aren’t you the little ego-booster.” He purred, chuckling. “Although…” Stepping back and rubbing his chin in thought, Black Hat tilted his head and looked Flug up and down. “For one thing, if it’s something like confidence you’re wanting improvements on, you really shouldn’t spend your time hiding underneath that paper bag.”

Flinching back, Flug subconsciously ran his fingers across the edge of the bag. “N-N-No. I-I need it.”

“… Tsk. Fine, then. But still, I am curious…” Taking a step forward again, Black Hat brushed at the paper bag with his fingers. Flug jolted back before he could get a proper grip, almost tumbling over the body table in the process. Black Hat simply reached out with his cane, hooked it around Flug’s neck, and yanked him forward. With the other hand, he reached for the bag again.

“No!” In a panic, the trembling scientist grabbed his arm with both hands in an attempt to stop him, eyes squeezed shut.

Surprisingly, Black Hat did stop.

Flug hesitantly opened one eye to evaluate the situation. Black Hat was staring at where Flug had gripped him, same dumbfounded expression on his face as from the last time Flug touched him.

Slowly letting go, hoping that he wouldn’t try to remove the bag again, Flug frowned. “… U-Um… sir… I-If you don’t mind my asking…. W-Why is it you look so… bewildered … when I do that…?”

“Hmph,” Black Hat pulled his arm back after being let go, absentmindedly rubbing the spot he had been grabbed. He tried to cover up the bewilderment with a sly smile. “Maybe because the only time people ever dare to touch me is when we’re fighting or having sex. Why else?”

…. Flug chose to ignore that second part. His frown deepened, a touch of his own bewilderment setting in. “… So you’ve… never been, like… just… casually or platonically touched…?” 

Black Hat took a moment to think about it, looking off to the side. He couldn’t recall any instances of such a thing, aside from maybe shaking hands with clients, if that were to count? But those were more like business obligations rather than anything casual or platonic. “Hmm… No, never.” He eventually concluded. His eyes narrowed just slightly when they pulled back towards Flug. “Well, unless we count you.”

Normally Flug might’ve winced away in response to the slow return of hostility in Black Hat, but he was just… too flabbergasted. The concept of going through life without that ever happening seemed so farfetched for some reason, but he supposed if you’re a guy like Black Hat, maybe it’s plausible…..?

After a long moment’s thought, he hesitantly reached out a hand, pausing near Black Hat’s right shoulder as he examined his boss’s face for permission.

Black Hat’s eyes further narrowed with skepticism at the gesture, but he made no protest. So, Flug continued. His skeptical gaze followed Flug’s hand all the way until it had made contact with his shoulder.

It was strange, how all the malice slowly drained from his boss’s face upon contact. The look in his eyes was no longer one of hostility, but rather, curiosity. Perhaps a touch of confusion, but mostly a genuine sort of curiosity that was, in a way, almost innocent-looking. It was a rather strange expression on him, Flug finding himself unable to look away until Black Hat’s questioning pupils darted to Flug’s own face, wondering why he had gone so still.

Quickly averting his eyes, Flug went back to what he was doing. Very slowly, he ran his hand down the demon’s arm, as if he were simply smoothing out the fabric of his sleeve. Gentle, yet so impactful. If he wasn’t mistaken, he could’ve sworn he felt the slightest shiver from his boss as he had done so. Another sneaking glance to Black Hat’s face confirmed that he was just as confused as Flug was about the whole thing.

Slowly still, Flug raised his other hand to meet Black Hat’s chest, just letting it rest there for a while. Then, as if snapped out of a trance, Flug realized all at once how weird this must be getting and jolted backwards, the sudden movement even startling Black Hat a tiny bit. 

“I-I… um… s-sorry, sir…”  There Flug was, getting all flustered again. Why the hell did these strange interactions with his boss keep stirring up such confusing butterflies in the pit of his stomach?

Black Hat raised an eyebrow slightly, but other than that, his expression remained vaguely passive. He ran his own fingers along where Flug had touched him, quiet for some time. Then, his familiar smile crept back along his face as he looked back towards the doctor. “Seems only fair that I’d get to look beneath that bag of yours now, doesn’t it?”

Crap. Flug was hoping he’d forgotten about that. His gaze fell to the floor, accepting defeat with a very hesitant nod. “I-I-I s-sup-ppose so, s-sir…” He stammered, anxiety quickly on the rise.

A victorious purr rumbled in Black Hat’s throat, and he closed the space between himself and his scientist. Hands once again meeting the bottom of Flug’s paper bag, he took unusual care in how he lifted both the bag and goggles off of his face. As soon as those harsh white lights from the room’s fluorescent bulbs hit Flug’s eyes, a sharp yelp left his throat, and he threw his face in his hands to hide. 

“Seriously, Flug?” Black Hat deadpanned, unimpressed.

“I-I-I’m s-sorry. It’s t-too b-bright.” He stuttered, unable to stop trembling.

There was a moment of silence before Flug heard his boss’s voice again. “Open your eyes, doctor.”

Already feeling dizzy and anxious without the comfort of his bag, the thought of being made to endure such harsh lights on top of that was too overwhelming to handle. But the thought of angering Black Hat frightened him even more. So, he fought back every instinct that screamed at him to protect his eyes, stifled whatever stressful noises tried to escape him, and lowered his hands.

To Flug’s surprise, rather than the headache-inducing brightness he was expecting, he was greeted with a well-dimmed room, black smoke swirling above them to significantly dull the lights. No doubt compliments of Black Hat.

View of his scientist no longer obstructed, the wide-grinning demon took hold of Flug’s chin, lifting his head to get a better look. He could feel the halfling swallow nervously, but was too focused on taking in his appearance to notice or comment. Honestly, Flug looked like any normal human being if you looked past the eyes and teeth. 

But Black Hat didn’t. He was especially focused on those eyes, this being the first time he’s ever actually seen them goggle-free.

Flug’s eyes were without a doubt attention-grabbing. Where a human’s eyes would normally be white, Flug’s were an abyss of pitch-black, glowing white pupils being the only contrast to exist within. 

“Captivating…” Black Hat commented under his breath. While the comment was not specifically addressed for Flug, he certainly reacted to it, feeling an intense heat rise to his cheeks. His boss definitely took notice of that, smirk widening in response.

Embarrassed and feeling like he was going to pass out, Flug quickly grasped for his bag and pulled away from Black Hat, struggling to pull it over his head again through short and shaky breaths.

Evidently, having the bag and goggles was a comfort thing as well as an eye protection thing.

Satisfied, Black Hat gave a firm nod and turned for the door, smoke dissipating with a snap of his fingers. “Clean up your mess and get back to work.” He ordered as he left.

Flug had to take a moment to regain himself, doing everything he could to calm his nerves. With the combination of deep breaths and counting numbers in his head to refocus, the doctor slowly but surely found his composure again.

That was… quite the experience… Almost surreal ….

Placing a hand on the side of his head in confusion, Flug shook it off and went to take care of the body. The entire experience didn’t stop running through his head the whole while.

There were no words Flug had that could describe how their altered relationship had continued to shift and morph since then.

Flug first noticed it with the way Black Hat’s eyes studied him, bore through him right to the bone and stripped his soul bare. There lived no mordacity or annoyance behind his constant gazes, which was unnervingly strange in and of itself. Worse was that Flug couldn’t tell what Black Hat was looking at him with. Was it condescension? It didn’t feel like something that negative... Maybe… curiosity? Interest? But interest in what? No matter what explanation his mind tried to present, Flug knew there was something he had to be missing. Something he wasn’t seeing.

The mystery was only made harder to solve by the way Black Hat would touch him. In the past, the only form of physical contact they’d ever shared was aggressive in nature, as Black Hat had a nasty habit of manhandling anybody nearby in his moments of explosive rage. As such, it was hard not to flinch when the demon would put his hands on him. But, especially after that unusual encounter they’d had, his touches have become shockingly gentle. 

What were once brief pats on the back became lingering touches, claws tracing temperate lines along his meek frame, a hand resting on his shoulder just a bit too long… He’d also just stand far closer than usual whenever they were going over work projects together. Flug thought for a moment that perhaps all this time spent around Black Hat’s eldritch presence was finally driving him insane, but there was no way that he could be imagining these things. Out of all things for his mind to try and play tricks with, why something like this?

Furthermore, as someone who’s always enjoyed his alone time, Flug simply couldn’t wrap his head around why Black Hat kept joining him in the lab for the most benign of times. Even today, all he was doing was reading a newspaper with his morning acid, something he usually did in the comfort of his own office.

Occasional glances in his boss’s direction yielded the same results, those strange stares that made Flug feel so vulnerable being aimed back at him every now and then. He tried to focus on his work, to throw himself into his invention to distract from the outside world as usual, but his rattled nerves simply refused to let him do that today.

The next time he found his boss staring, Flug put down his tools, confronting the issue with a meek question.

“A-Are you ups-set with me?”

A glimmer of curiosity passed through Black Hat’s eyes. He put his newspaper down, that unnerving gaze completely honed in on his scientist. “What makes you think I’m upset with you?”

“W-Well, it’s… uh… I-I don’t kn-know, you’ve just b-been kind of…” Flinching slightly as Black Hat rose from his seat to approach him, Flug greatly struggled to finish that thought, looking all around the lab to avoid any sort of eye contact. “Y-y-you’ve b-been s-st- staring a l-lot lately, a-a-and, um–” He backed up as his boss got closer, just barely catching himself when he knocked into the table behind him, “A-and th-the t- touching … I-I just d-don’t u-und-derstand w-what–”

Flug’s stuttering was cut short when Black Hat took the side of his face into his hand, turning the scientist’s head to make their eyes meet.

“Tell me, doctor,” Black Hat purred, “Do I look upset to you?”

“N-n-no…?” Flug squeaked in response.

“There is your answer.” His head lolled to the side, studying Flug far too closely for comfort. His hand slinked down from Flug's face, the doctor withdrawing a sharp breath as deadly claws traced along his neck before finding its new resting place on his shoulder. “Does it bother you when I touch you?”

“W-Would it m-mat-tter if it d-did…?”

The way Black Hat narrowed his eyes at him, the hints of an annoyed frown starting to tug at his lips, quickly startled Flug into correcting his behavior. He straightened his back, answering the question directly this time. “N-no sir, it’s n-no bother.”

Just like that, Black Hat seemed to relax again. “Good.” He pulled his hand away, returning to the couch to pick up his newspaper. “You look like you’re having trouble focusing, so I suppose I’ll leave you to it for now.”

And, just like that, he was gone.

That… did not answer any of Flug’s questions.

Honestly, it was likely in Flug’s better judgment to stop questioning these changes in behavior to Black Hat’s face. Confusing as their new dynamic may have been, at least it was better than getting thrown around like a ragdoll on a near-daily basis. 

That wasn’t the way Black Hat saw it, however.

The way Black Hat saw it, all of this peculiar behavior had been a simple case of testing the waters. Unfortunately, his next move would be one Flug could’ve never prepared for.

Aaaand here’s where things get a little tumblr-unsafe, so to the AO3 void you go! (Please heed the warning tags over there)

[unnamed-atlas]

I have learned so much about the progression of the undertale fandom in the last hour and I wish I could say it was against my will but

I think I must be having some kind of internal crisis about aging or graduating or some shit that hasn't quite bubbled into the forefront of my brain bc I feel fine but all of my interests are suddenly aggressively regressing back to those of 6th grade me and I know full well that can not be a good sign

[mikeywayarchive]

SDCC 2024: Mikey Way Rings in Holidays All Year Long with Christmas 365 (Interview)

By Justin Epps - Published Sep 7, 2024

Dark Horse Comics

☰ SUMMARY

• Christmas 365 from Dark Horse Comics releases this year, a festive series about a family celebrating Christmas all year round.  • Co-writer Mikey Way talks about the nostalgia and magic of Christmas, and the importance of family in his work.  • Way collaborates with Jonathan Rivera and Piotr Kowalski to craft a dream project embracing the 80s/90s Christmas movie feel.

Full interview under the cut:

Christmas has come early for Dark Horse Comics readers. During this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, the publisher revealed it would be releasing Christmas 365 later this year. This festive new series comes from the creative team of Mikey Way, Jonathan Rivera, Piotr Kowalski, Brad Simpson, and Joshua Reed.

Christmas 365 tells the story of a family who has gone through a particularly challenging year and their attempts to come back together through a Christmas season that lasts the whole year round. Screen Rant caught up with Christmas 365 co-writer Mikey Way and dug into his thoughts behind this unique holiday story.

Screen Rant: From the premise I'm guessing you're a big fan of Christmas. But why Christmas 365?

Mikey Way: As a child of the 80s, a lot of my favorite movies were Christmas movies. I think the holiday stuck with me, the the mythology of it, the imagery really resonated with me. I know I'm not alone on this, the world is obsessed with Christmas. You go in stores and the Christmas stuffs out in August. It was after 9/11 I noticed Christmas started earlier at the store. I remember taking a mental note of that. People needed it at that time. I feel like with social media people have been able to express their love of Christmas and find like-minded people that are like-minded. There's Christmas podcasts, there's Christmas basements.

Mikey Way: Anyway, child of the 80s. Christmas Story, Scrooged, Christmas Vacation, Gremlins, Die Hard, Santa Claus: The Movie, all those great Jim Henson movies. These were important stories to me. And so I've always had that itch in me to tell a Christmas story. And I think it was around 2013 I watched a bunch of Christmas movies in a row and it wasn't Christmas time, it was summertime, I think. I remember watching Home Alone and Christmas Vacation and being like "What stories are left to tell?". Then it hit me like a bolt. "What about a family that're kind of disconnected and one of them gets the the wild idea to celebrate it all year long?". Like that's gonna fix everything.

With Christmas, there's this effort to see the world through the eyes of a child and recapture that feeling of wonderment. Is that what you wanted from your story?

Mikey Way: It's the one month out of the year where you can forget about life's pressures a little bit. And there's wonder and magic and hope and promise. Especially when you have children. It's the Super Bowl. For a child things revolve around "Christmas is coming!". So getting to see it through my two girls' eyes...that's what it's all about. There's so many layers to it. It's a layered holiday. But it's just something that's so great. In a world full of gloom and doom, it's something that's just awesome and great. Like there's a velvet cloud around you in December. Even November.

Mikey Way: There's there's a lot of bad stuff that happens in the world. People get busy, people get stressed, people have responsibilities. And it's the time where you can celebrate being a family, celebrate the people you love, and you could show them how much you love them.

You're co writing this with Jonathan Rivera. Both of you guys did books for DC Young Animal which was definitely a more experimental line, but you guys are trying to tell a more grounded story here, correct?

Mikey Way: We're very like-minded. He went to art school with my brother. We all like the same stuff. Trainspotting, Britpop, Stone Temple Pilots, The Crow, action figures, X-Men, anime. Jon was a kindred spirit. He's one of my best friends in the world. He's someone I wanted to write a story with. This was the perfect opportunity because he feels the same way about this 80s/90s Christmas story. He's got the same itch to scratch.

Your previous book, Collapser, had a real strong family theme to it, which seems carry on in Christmas 365. What is it about family that speaks to you so strongly in your work?

Mikey Way: Family's everything. As you get older you start to realize that. And it plays into the holiday of Christmas. When it comes down to the family's all you got. You can have an important job. You can have all the material possessions in the world. You could have fancy this and that. But when it comes down to it, who's sitting at the dinner table with you? Those are who's important and the people that pick you up when you're needing it. They're there for you, you're there for them. So the family unit has always been something extremely important to me. Especially as I get older and have children and extended family. That's really all you got in this world and it's the most beautiful thing there is.

In addition to Rivera, you're also working with Piotr Kowalski. How was it crafting this dream project with him and his art?

Mikey Way: What's interesting about him is he's mostly a horror guy, really. When we got his artwork, most of the demonstration pages and pieces were horror and then I went on his Instagram recently and it's all horror and I'm like "It kind of works, because this is supposed to be an 80s/90s Christmas movie.". If you watch these movies, they're all dark and they always tried to sneak a horror element into it. In Home Alone there was the scary boiler.

For me, it was A Christmas Story when Ralphie goes on the slide and the Santa just boots him down.

Mikey Way: There's always a moment of playful scariness in those movies. So I think it fit the tone, because you want it to look a little VHS. I feel like he was able to tell it exactly. Like if we closed our eyes and we were envisioning Christmas 365 as a movie, that's what it would look like. Me and Jon saw his art and were like "This is the guy.".

You previously spoke about the influence of suburban genre movies like The Burbs and Better Off Dead. How did these movies inform your Christmas story?

Mikey Way: So the story goes me and my brother watched Better Off Dead probably a couple of times a week for years. That and One Crazy Summer, those those two movies for me and my brother were very important. There was this Gonzo stuff in it. It was a slightly grounded, suburban comedy that had all these kind of wacky, fantastical ideas in it. All those movies had a sport. Better Off Dead was skiing.

Oh, like Heathers and croquet?

Mikey Way: Team Wolf had basketball. They all had a sport. Also there's a weird claymation dream sequence, remember? There was all this weird stuff, but there's something about that movie that struck a chord with me and my brother and we watched it literally once or twice a week for decades. But yes, Savage Steve Holland was a big influence on me and Jon Rivera.

Christmas 365 #1 is available on December 4th from Dark Horse Comics.

[saberpastel]

An update on where I've been

I've been gone for a month and will continue to be gone as I am Sick As Hell (insert awesome sfx here 😎⚡️🎸)

Seriously though, I thought I'd give you all and update on where I've been because I never actually told anyone. I actually am super ill right now, so what was a 2-3 week hiatus from the internet to lock in on making some stickers and bleaching fun designs onto hoodies and sweaters is now a month long hiatus. Because of sick.

What I'm hoping is that Christmas will mark the end of this icky sicky hell I'm in, and if not by then, then the New Year. And once I'm free? Oh boy do I have plans.

---

First off, I'll be finally figuring out a way to sell posters and other things I've made. I've been meaning to do this for a little over a year anyway, but now I have a good amount of stuff to actually fill a shop with. This is going to be one of the first things I do in the new year before anything else, so you can look forward to that if you were losing hope I'd ever get it done. :)

Second, if you're seeing this on my blog for Hiro of Hyrule, great news! Progress will continue as usual. (Aka: slow as shit, or at least thats what my brain tells me) I'd say I'm about halfway done with the sketch draft of the prologue as of right now, but if everything goes according to plan you'll be seeing the first finished pages of Hiro of Hyrule sometime in January.

Third and finally, I'm finally going to start making comics out of my dreams so everyone can experience the horrors with me! (Hahaha yayyyy yayyyy yippeee) This has been something I've wanted to do for a long time, if you've seen some of the posts about my dreams you'll see why. To save you from a lot of reading, the "why" is because my dreams are surprisingly cohesive, at least in terms of having a plot.

In case you were curious, the first issue in this series will be called Mother Rabbit. It's about a dream I had where I got lost in the woods and taken in by a family of rabbits. And nothing bad happens. :) (/lie)

---

Of course I've got much more planned after all this, in fact I think all the projects I've planned out could last me like 10 years or more. Turns out when you spend all your formative years building up ideas and never executing them, you get a lot of stuff to revisit when you're older and more capable of executing the ideas you had in your head.

Anyway, I'll be disappearing again ✌️ See you all next year

[crying-fantasies]

Fast development

Masterlist

In most of the transformers comics, series, etc. it is show how fast a protoform or sparkling can get to the adulthood (but they are still called kids by the majority) for cybertronians it's the normal, like yeah, the little one just got out of the hot spot, just give it a few days, two to five in the best case scenario or a week in the worst to have a fully cooked cybertronian.

Even in the Christmas special we see how the scraplets trying to imitate a protoform maturation process, starting with a little body (for them at least) that starts to develop the face first with eyes (as in two or more deep lifeless empty holes), mouth (another void of darkness) and then little limbs, in that moment the protoform is totally dependant of others.

Imagine the whiplash it could give to a human parent that expected a cute little bot, it doesn't even last long.

(SPOILER AHEAD)

After the end of Unicron and the new future we can see sparklings playing with human kids, as in meaning not only cybertronians fostered their own kind but also humans and vice versa, having humans also raising protoforms.

Of course, with all the problems and the xenophobia (in all the directions) around, it would be a huge disaster in the first days if somebot tried to foster an orphan, it would be difficult in many ways to have a custody given by the human government, and don't even get me started in how overprotective Trypticon would be with his protoforms (as in forged from him), he would even go as far as demand constant visits just to be sure they are well cared and loved, we see how much he cares for them in the comic.

So, I like to imagine that some of the Terraformer sparklings came from Trypticon, as in Mariah, Mayhem and Codexia, and also the totally cybertronians that were later on adopted by a cybertronian-human couple like Amber Dust and Sideswipe II.

It was easy to have Mariah, in Jazz on words, I would like to think Trypticon didn't say much when the autobot asked about it and he was grateful for one of the new sparks to have loving family, maybe curious about the whole thing and a little worried, how can such a tiny protoform even exist, that was his main worry when Jazz conjunx endurae got the little spark out, the same with Codexia, like, hands down, even when the mech asking for a child is Optimus Prime and all the shit that comes with the name he knows Codexia was going to be loved since the first moment when Optimus took the femmling on his servos.

With Mayhem it was tricky, he tried to see if Soundwave was really going to be a good sire, given all the errors on his past, but he let him do it anyway since he has his own mistakes painted with energon and blood.

The unsaid threatening promise of vengeance on his part is obvious if anything were to happen to any of the protoforms forged from his own metal.

This can go different ways:

When Mariah was little she wasn't such a menace, she was quite the adorable little kid in the neighborhood, but once she understood how her little servo and existence hold the power of Trypticon's own presence she became such a little slag-

For Codexia it was different, she took the power on herself and was responsible about it, such a good kid.

Mayhem doesn't care, really, still goes to visit once a year.

Sideswipe II is a funny point, here was forged when everyone believed Sideswipe was going to kick it, and Arcee called him like her friend in loving memory and everyone accepted it, some still laugh when remembering the encounter between the two.

"I can't believe you named him after me"

"I almost lost hope, ok?"

What's the most funny point of this? When Sideswipe II looked at you he started to follow you around, big and round optics searching for you at every chance and even going as far as letting you touch him and give soft touches on his face.

"Sideswipe, little you is trailing behind me"

"He ain't me" he wasn't angry, not really, and it was even funny and cute to have such a young sparkling going behind you, making you look even smaller than you already were.

"His name is Sideswipe"

"We're going to give him another, it'll be troublesome if they call us-"

"Sideswipe!" It wasn't you, and obviously it wasn't Sides, both looked at the protoform, there was no mouth formed yet, but maybe the voice box was already developed, it was kind of young in his words, looking at you both before shouting "Sideswipe!", over and over, pointing at himself with a digit.

"No, mech, stop, you aren't-"

"Sideswipe!"

"I guess he learned his name"

"It ain't his-"

"Sideswipe!"

And so he was "Sideswipe II", or "Junior" by the older one, "son" when you two finally sealed the deal.

For Amber Dust it was a little more difficult, Jazz and you already had Pauline, but he couldn't live with himself leaving such a tiny protoform on his own, he found him when he got back to Cybertron and the liking and bond was immediate.

Jazz said he was on the smaller side, the runt of the whole batch, even less than your size when his limbs developed to the point of believe he was a mini, apparently fully cybertronian protoforms tend to be big pretty soon and follow others around, such curious little beans, he would follow Jazz around but also go with you, taking his servo on your hand and grabbing Pauline's too when going out, getting his helm on your lap for some cuddling before Pauline also joined.

You expected him to grow up like Pauline since Jazz said it was fast, you weren't ready for how fast it really took for him to be on his own (the empty nest syndrome was real).

Since they emerge protoforms tend to be given nicknames, Jazz called him lil' sounders because he liked to mimic words with his new vocalizer, you called him baby because he was your baby boy, Pauline, in the middle of her teenager years, called him Amber because his optics were yellow.

The name of Amber stuck, and while he got out of the house quickly, way too quickly to your own taste, he came back from time to time to say hi.

Amber Dust still calls you carrier and is still your baby boy.

Still, being young doesn't mean they forget like humans do, most cybertronians, if not everyone, can remember everything since they come online (in case of the constructed cold) or when they get out of the hot spot (natural delivery (?)), their databanks preserve every aspect of their lifes and so many cybertronian new spark remember their creators or mentors quite well.

But it can backfire, like in the case of trauma, just like Amber Dust.

[sungam-supo]

Just got done reading the last TF2 comic.

I'll be real, I dunno how to feel about it.

Think fast, chucklenuts. Spoilers below.

Now I think the reason why I feel mixed to the whole thing could possibly stem from me currently not being actively into TF2 at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I'll always love the series. It has brought so much joy into my life. It helped create so many treasured memories. I met so many wonderful people, some that I'm still friends with to this day. However, I sort of fell off due to multiple reasons. Life, lack of updates, community bs, the bot problem. Not to mention the bitter sweet memories. The painful reminders of stuff I don't think I can fully talk about here.

This game and the goofy lore that came with it has been one of my biggest hyper fixations for almost 15 years.

Anyways, the comic was not quite what I expected, but in a good way. Sort of. I'll admit I wasn't big on some of the outcomes for certain characters. The art was amazing, as usual. Some really good visuals. I loved the multiple issue covers, hinting at just how scrambled a particular character's memory had become.

I don't have the spoons to cover everything from the comic, so here are some loose thoughts on random sections:

The beginning sort of gave away that everything was gonna be fine (for most of the cast), by revealing a time skip. I know the whole issue all over the place to keep the reader guessing, but it did get a little old at points.

Not surprised that Soldier had kids. Also it ain't a tf2 comic without him getting completely naked for seemingly no reason at all.

Scout having kids was a bit more surprising. Very wholesome though. The way he's stepping up as a single dad is so cute.

Oh right... Spy face reveal. It was fine. He looks like the fan made maskless spy model that has been around for years. Guess they didn't want to rock the boat with the fan interpretations?

Scout and Pauling did not hook up. I'm honestly glad, as I felt they worked better as just friends.

Glad that there was no Pyro unmasking and/or gender reveal. They are a fire starting enigma, better keep it that way. The fandom would not survive otherwise.

Heavy looked hot with a beard. No further notes.

Really upset that both Demoman and Medic barely said/did a thing this issue. I know Medic had a lot of character moments in previous comics, so I can sort of let that slide. But my man, Demo? They did him so dirty. We don't even get any hints as to what they got up to after the time skip (granted its like that with most of the mercs). Never a good day when your faves do literally nothing.

Same could be said for Sniper, although his arc was more about finding his real parents (then regretting that decision).

Good on Engineer for ending the cycle.

Good on Pauling for ending (allegedly?) a cycle also.

Gonna get blasted for this, however- I was kinda bored with Saxton's sections. Yeah, it was important to see how his arc ended (predictably at that), I'll admit that at least.

I think they literally forgot about Olivia. Like, for real, forgot that she was a character. Her "story" was such an afterthought.

Helen girl bossed a little too close to the sun and I was there for it.

We got to spend christmas with the mercs. Best wall break ever.

Alright, I can't just sum up my feelings on the biggest reveal in bullet points.

It was fine. Almost fitting in a sense.

I was honestly a bit mixed on Helen's "motives". Mainly because she literally forgot why she did everything. Yeah obviously she was getting revenge for something. The whole lore of TF2 has been building up to this moment. When it is revealed that she's been doing everything just to spite one man, yet in the end, loses her way.

I know it is implied she did it to avenge her family (mainly parents). The variations of the cover art hint that even she cannot remember how it happened, or if it even happened at all. Hate and grief can mess with a person's head in many ways, yet there is also the fact that she's lived for many years. You know how humans aren't naturally immortal? Mainly our brains would not be able to retain every memory in detail. If a person lived for centuries, they could forget a lot of important stuff about themselves, including things like family, partners, achievements, heck... even their own names. So it is not out of the realm of possibility that Helen has truly forgotten as to why she started all of this.

That or the writers were scared that nothing they could come up with would be satisfying enough for the community.

The reason why I find this fitting, is mainly from when Engineer tells Pauling that this was all for nothing.

Because from the start, TF2 barely had anything. It was never planned nor expected for it to get to this point. At launch it almost expected to be like every other FPS that was out at the time. It had no story. Hardly any characters to speak of. Yet despite all odds, there was something that most players found charming that they kept playing. Eventually forming a strong community that created and shared thoughts, ideas and theories on who the mercs are. Valve was more than happy, yet overwhelmed with this response, as even they've mentioned that none of them expected things to develop the way they have.

So in a way, it feels to me like the writers were saying that it was honestly never meant to be deep. TF2 has hardly taken itself seriously since day one. Valve literally never thought they'd get this far. Perhaps they never had a true ending in mind, but attempted something as a way of thanks.

And I'm more than alright with that.

I know it seemed like I picked at certain bits, but honestly, I was satisfied with what we got in the end (least we got it period). This was not on my 2024 bingo card at all. I still love this game, even though I don't play it anymore (and possibly never will again). TF2 has been my longest surviving fixation and I know I have a lot to thank it for.

I think I've exhausted all of my spoons. So sorry for the rambling. Ima end it here, aha.

[raeloganthesonic06fangirl]

Not a prank exactly, but lemme tell you about the time a kid in my high school class managed to give me $50 without knowing it.

See, when I was a little kid, I was sort of trained by my birth mother to scope out coins on the ground when we were homeless, so my eyes were trained on shiny discs and folded green paper for the longest time. By the time my Mom ((grandmother who adopted me)) got custody of me, it was already a habit that was hard to break, so I'd chase after dropped coins to either give back to the person who dropped them or keep them if they didn't want them.

This also would happen at school.

One kid thought it was absolutely hilarious that I'd chase after pennies and nickels, and he started throwing them any chance he got. Thought it was a riot, and would laugh at exploiting what was essentially a tic I had for a while. The whole year, he'd throw coins on the floor in front of me and I'd get out of my seat to pick them up and ask if he wanted them back.

He didn't want them because "It's just pennies, what am I going to do with them??"

Everyone heard him say that. The teacher heard him say that. He absolutely gave me the okay to keep whatever he throws from then on. Alright, cool.

This continues for months. I would pocket the coins and drop them in a jar I had on my dresser, because I was saving money for some spending cash at Comic Con after having spent my Christmas money on a ticket half a year in advance. I was a teenager who didn't have a job, so my means of funds was usually just birthday or Christmas money I would ration out for specific fun things I really wanted, coins I saved, occasion tasks I'd earn up a little from, or just taking old stuff to the game store for in store credit to trade in. It was pretty cool back then, I got a rare Pilot Episode DVD of Samurai Jack for a buck once because the dollar store has some hidden gems if you dig through hard enough.

Anyway, this guy kept throwing coins at me, laughing and even getting other people to watch.

I kept picking up coins.

Finally, the last day of school comes for summer vacation, and it's just a month away from Comic Con, so I decided to bring the jar to class. He laughs at this awkward and heavy jar, which was an old glass candy jar with a strip of blue masking tape and "Fun Fund" written in sharpie on it.

I set the jar down smugly, and tell him "Hey, thanks for the $50, I really needed this for my trip to the Con next month."

I swear, his face dropped a few shades when he realizes that he just threw out half of a Ben Franklin's worth of cash this whole time. He starts getting mad and demanding I give it back to him.

"Nuh uh, you said I could keep it all."

"I DIDN'T KNOW THAT'S HOW MUCH IT WAS!"

The whole class and even the teacher agreed that yes, because he said I could keep it all when I asked several times over the year if he wanted it back, so it was definitely mine now.

Kid learned a $50 lesson that day.

I bought a Viz Media bag, a Kingdom Hearts manga, a Naruto headband, a King Ghidorah plush and four Sonic comic books at Comic Con that year

Best slow burn revenge I did, and probably my 2nd best revenge moment in school.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Computers in General

Computers. I love them, but sometimes I also hate them. Well, let's be fair, it's not the computers that I hate; they only allow me to access things, really, so it's the things that they access that I love or hate, and I can love them unconditionally because they allow me to access the good stuff and the bad stuff isn't their fault.

(Yes, I anthropomorphise my computers. We all do, I think. It's why we give them names. My current one is Gilmore, because my current one is powerful and glorious - and also has a colour-shifting LED in there so it's basically a Pride flag with a CPU.)

Anyway. Annoyances with the work systems continue, because ... well, they listened to about the whole thing where the software wasn't marking finished dictations as finished - sort of. What they did was try to make it so that it would attach our names to bits of dictation so they'd be able to look at a bit of dictation and know a typist had been at it even if it still got listed as Transcription Pending. Except ... well, despite the fact that we all log on to our own separate instances of this software and so it should be able to be an automatic thing to have our name stapled to them ... well, it should be automatic to have it listed as Finished when we click "Finished" and it's not doing that either. So what we have now is, every time we click a bit of dictation to type, a little window pops up and obliges us to put our initials into it before we can proceed to the typing. And because of the limitations of our frankly bullshit IT infrastructure, there's just enough pause between the clicking on the bit of dictation and the window popping open that, if you're on "speed-typing autopilot" (which I am basically all the time), you can kind of forget and leave the remote desktop window for the main desktop window where you're supposed to type the report. And then you press Play on the footpedal and nothing happens and then you remember and it's like, "Oh, fuck". IT Guy says he's going to try to automate the initials thing, but I'm not holding my breath. We're apparently not even going to be using this iteration of the software for that long anyway, so why they're making these changes is beyond me.

Also I still can't drag and drop a chunk of typing into my personal queue. This makes it harder to manage my workload effectively, and also not only makes it easier for Temp to pick out all the nice little short easy typing she craves, but also makes it easier to hide that she's doing it, because I have no way of checking up on her. I know she's doing it; I just couldn't prove it if I was asked to. So ... yeah, this is great for her and sucks for me. Story of my life where work is concerned, to be fair.

There was a break at 3pm-ish. Well. I say 'break', but that was the most tense part of my day, I think. Because that was when the autograph slots for the Critical Role cast's upcoming visit to London's MCM Comic Con went on sale. Now, after one year of missing it because I didn't know I had to book in advance (though I met a lovely woman who is now one of my D&D players, so it worked out okay), and another year of missing it because global pandemic, I was going to up and fucking die if I had to miss it again. And that was even with seeing the prices on the tickets.

Side note: I can talk about this now - there was an issue when I saw how expensive the tickets were going to be. Like, we're talking £63 per autograph. That's nearly doubled from the last time, if memory serves me. Now, my mother had agreed to having the autographs and the ticket to the expo itself be my combination Christmas / birthday gift for the 2023/2024 holiday season (my birthday's in February so that's kind of how I look at it) but £63 x 8 is £504 and the ticket itself brings the entire thing up to an even £600 and that was just ... way, way too much to ask. Yes, even for both gift-giving events. So I emailed my mother going, "This is what it is going to cost and I will totally understand if it is too much; can we please discuss something reasonable?" And she emailed me back with a "Yikes" and an offer of paying for just over half of them. Thankfully I had some money squirreled away for a new graphics card. I hadn't been saving for very long, so there was only just about enough to cover it if I pitched in some of this month's fun money, but y'know what? A new graphics card can wait. I have been waiting years for this, and I may never get this chance again.

Anyway, so I made sure everything was set up - debit card out and at the ready, MCM page open to let me refresh for the "Book Tickets Here" button as quickly as possible, etc etc, and a couple of minutes before 3pm, I moved from my little WFH office set-up to my home set-up (I have a long desk; the side near the window is my rig and dual monitors; the other side is my dinky work laptop propped on a bunch of RPG sourcebooks) and started navigating. Now, the first thing that happened was unbelievably slow loading as everyone swamped the page at once.

The next thing that happened was the whole server crashed on their end. Some of you might have heard the frustrated Quebecois swearing.

Thankfully that did not last long and things were running a lot smoother after that. And, after a bit of poking around my bank app validating the purchase (to be fair, that's a big spend for me) ... confirmation page and confirmation email went *ping* at me.

...So ... this is actually happening.

After all these years, THIS IS FINALLY HAPPENING!

It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt like hell. But it's going to be so worth it. And the best part? I'll have help! Mum can't go because she's visiting North America on that specific weekend, more's the pity, but she'd only have been coming on the Friday anyway. However, one of my D&D players - the one I met at MCM Comic Con the last time the Critical Role cast came to town - is coming as well, and I have offered her my sofa for the long weekend and I'll have company and someone with me in case of anything worse than the ow. You know, the bullshit like vertigo, balance problems, all that kind of thing. And someone to figuratively speaking slap me upside the head if I start going, "Eh, maybe I don't need an accessibility lanyard..."

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find some way of dealing with adrenaline afterburn. Because I was honestly expecting more to go wrong and it didn't but my body was in fight-or-flight mode for days and I am still vibrating. Also I probably need to start actively thinking about Scent of a Warden-ing Bell's Hells...

(Also I think I am going to raid the blackberry bushes that grow around the local cemetery and make blackberry tea out of them. And give some to Taliesin because a) actual Dead People Tea and b) how much more goth do you get than "blackberries from a literal cemetery"?)

[ooh-sorry]

I know this is way late but I just remembered I have this account so I wanna share my thoughts about these specific bits from the Christmas comic… I’d love to give a full commentary on it but that’d be way too long to reasonably post. So Just Hanzo and Weaver for now!!

Spoilers (sort of?) for Where Honor Lives & Rebuilding Ruins from Heroes Ascendant! As well as vague spoilers for Stone by Stone (haven’t read it yet 💔 jusy know a little bit)

HANZOOOOOOOOOOO FUUUUUIIIIIIIIIIIICKCKKKK HE ACTUALLY VISITED KIRIKO AND HER MOM FINALLLYYYYYYYOAAUHHRHG

there r so many interactions between the two where Kiri bugs him to come visit and talk to Asa and I think this is perhaps the most recent like? Update? We have? On Hanzo’s whereabouts? Potentially Kiri’s as well? I did read where honor lives a while back so last I know they were together fighting off Null Sector & the Hashimoto in Kanezaka, Right? Or he at least agreed to stay there with her. Excitingg! It’s at least very sweet to know he’s staying with them… the panel itself is so cute tooo awwww hanzo looking relatively at ease is so pleasant and I think it is fun to see them interacting more like family especially considering how tense things have been between them!

I’m being really optimistic here but I really really really hope that next year we get a continuation of Overwatch’s story PAST like. A day after the recall… I feel like this litle comic is sort of trying to push things along and I appreciate that but things have been pretty repetitive for a while now with a lot of story stuff so who knows how much longer they’ll be dragging it out for..,, I just want to see a Shimada family reunion some dayyyyy…. 💔 anyways

LIFEWEAVERERRRE……FUUIOOOOOOCKKKKKK….

I already saw another very insightful post about this whose author I unfortunately cannot recall (u know the one… u Must…) but it is very meaningful to see him here ooohhh!! It’s so sweet that they’re all together especially too omg. I have yet to read Stone by Stone but I know Satya and Zen meet and become friends? And I don’t know if this happened before or after the events of Rebuilding Ruins bur like ooh…. ohhh…. How sweeeettt… anyways… The Implications…

So this means Zen and Niran have talked for sure.. and it also means that currently in the story (I think?? The Christmas comic is like the latest? Event? Chronologically? Is it? It seems like it? I really need to check omg) Niran is staying with them both? Temporarily? Oohhh this is meaningful. Oohhh. Whenever I see characters who aren’t part of Overwatch talking to ones who are I want to say Oohhh so they are joining Overwatch Now! But it just sort of came to me that Niran sort of has the whole thing with the Arcology BUT LIKEEE Overwatch is operating illegally and Niran is being chased by a corporation so I mean… he could potentially seek refuge there? But also idk about possibly bringing the existence of Overwatch to another powerful entity’s attention by him being there so like. Maybe not. Many possibilities! Either way it seems he is safe with them for now….awwww….also I recognized those little flowery things in front of them but couldn’t for the life of me remember what map they’re in, I googled at like 2 am last night trying to find it but I fell asleep. And I don’t feel like hopping on just to check but surely other people have better memories than me and have already pointed out where they’re at,,,

I really feel like I need to fully catch up with all the comics and short stories because there’s a lot I’m thinking about but I jsut don’t have ALL the info…oooohhh… maybe this will be my New Year’s resolution.,,

[thekingmatt78]

KMN - July 28

Hey everyone. Matt here.

I haven’t posted a news update in awhile, with the last one being 

d e p r e s s i n g

SO UH, this one is going to be more positive, because I’m in a good mood. 

First off. WOAH! So much has happened. I recently started making shorts form content on both YouTube and TikTok since it takes a while for me to make more longer in detail videos. And HOLY CRAP, Those shorts are popular!! Especially on YouTube, I have now reached 100 subscribers. That is so cool. Thank you!!!

And NEWGROUNDS!! I was in a art collab and that was super cool to be part of. Being with other artist and seeing different styles. It was so cool. I’ve also gained some more followers on Newgrounds, WHICH IS ALSO REALLY COOL! THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING.  What’s also cool is that one of my animations is part of the homepage ON Newgrounds. That was such a cool thing to wake up and see. 

My art stuff is getting more popular. This is honestly my dream to make art and animations and I’m so glad that its growing and It’s honestly making me happy. Thank you everyone.

Now, here’s some other updates.

I start college in 2 weeks. Classes start in 3 weeks, but since I’m part of my college’s marching band, I move in a week early. Once I start college, I know work on videos and comics is going to be really draining on me. But I’m hoping to still make animations.

That’s why I am announcing that, at least right now for the month of August, I won’t be making anymore comics. This is so I can have more time focusing on animations and not having to worry about making a comic. I do like making comics, but I wanted to focus on what is getting more popular, which is the short animations. 

The series I am working, EggsWithNuts, is still being worked on by me. I’ve actually went and rebooted the characters behind the scenes into original characters. The ones I was using the comics and some of the animations was just me and my friends. But after thinking and talking to my friends about it. I’ve decided that I’m not really comfortable having my friends online in a series I make if they don’t want to do it. Especially if it’s later on in life and they don’t want themselves part of my animations anymore, or if me and a friend stops being friends. I don’t want to have to worry about that, so I have been working on original characters, some I have been using in these shorts

I’ve also been working on some “storytime” videos. I don’t know if they are storytime or not. The first one I am talking about is growing up with Minecraft, and another one being growing up with FNAF. Those are the ones I am currently working on as of right now.

So what could you expect from me in the next coming months.

Here are some plans I have. Note that these could change once college starts, and videos not being done in time. But here is a rough idea of what I would want to happen.

End of July

At least 1 more short

Growing Up with Minecraft

August

GET THAT BABY! (original animation)

Growing Up with Five Nights at Freddy’s

A FNAF animation

3-5 shorts

September

Inside The Mind of Genius

3-5 Shorts

Being a Band Kid 

Tom Cardy - Business Man Animation

October

EggsWithNuts Halloween Episode

3-5 Shorts

A BIG MISUNDERSTANDING (original animation)

November

Growing Up with Modern SpongeBob

3-5 Shorts

EggsWithNuts - Movie Night

December

EggsWithNuts Christmas Episode

3-5 Shorts

Hopefully I can do all of these, and maybe even more. Who knows.

Anyways. That’s it for this issue of KMN. I’m going to be very busy this next month so I don’t know when I’ll make another KMN for sure. I will at least try to before classes start.

Thank you everyone for all the support on the animations on Youtube, TikTok and Newgrounds.

Let’s hope for the best year of content around!

-KingMatt