#but I thought it'd be fun to make this a little more reflective

[cupcakeinat0r]

Thinkin' abt DadBod!Miguel at the gym <3

You'd been going to the gym routinely, or at least trying to. You decided to go after working up the courage and convincing yourself that this was just for fun. That your body was your temple, and you were tending to it, no matter how it looked <3

The first week wasn't so bad. After embarrassingly tripping on equipment or accidentally dropping weights here and there, it was alright! Though at times, it was still difficult to stay consistent, until one day, you saw him.

Over on the other side of the gym, curling some dumbbells (100s, mind you), was a total 6-foot, thick, hairy dream of a man. You first noticed his chiseled face adorned by fine lines, locks of black hair framing it. With each draw of the weights, his biceps bulged. Beads of sweat trickled down his bulky chest and wide shoulders. When your eyes wander downward, you're surprised to not find washboard abs.

Oh no, what you find instead excites you even more than any pack of abs could offer you.

Your mouth waters slightly to find that his tank top has ridden up slightly over his hefty belly, graciously allowing a peek at a happy trail, its path sadly blocked by some basketball shorts (his cute bubble butt and giant dick print made up for it tho).

Despite his low, breathy grunts and intense crimson gaze towards his own reflection, he was making it look easy. You thought about how easy it'd probably be for him to carry you bride-style and throw you onto a bed before spreading your legs with those enormous hands so he could feast until your eyes crossed. Or how it'd be effortless for him to hold you tightly with your legs wrapped around that stocky midsection of his while he bullied his-

"'scuse me, you waiting for this bench?" a deep voice snaps you out of a daydream. You see the man is now looking at you with what looks like a knowing smirk. Fuck, he noticed you staring.

"Oh! N-no, was just looking for the 10s!" You blurt, evoking a velvety chuckle and dashing smile from him.

"Right over there." He motions with his chin toward the weight rack where the 10s are obviously displayed. After you thanked him, He smiled and nodded back to you, turning back toward the mirror to do his last set.

The second week felt like no problem. Instead of dragging yourself to the gym, you looked forward to it, scanning for your new gym crush every time you entered.

You'd feel a lil surge of happiness when you do find him there, feeling brave enough to exchange smiles and sometimes even little waves from across the gym. One time, the older man made you swoon when he winked at you upon entering the gym. After seeing your cute reaction, this would be how he greeted you every time.

The third week came You're at the squat rack, feeling stronger than usual, so you opt to go the heaviest you've ever gone. Big mistake. By the third rep, you fail to get back up, panicking and legs shaking. Just when you feel yourself start to fall, you see a pair of hands dart toward the bar from behind you, lifting it with ease and allowing you to stand back up. The bar is re-racked and you turn to find gym bae.

"You okay?" he gently prompts, a worried look on his face.

"Yes, thank you... think I might've gone too heavy." you nervously chuckle. He does as well, seeing that you're alright.

"Next time you go for a PR, you need to ask for a spotter, hun." He gives you that dashing smile again, his hands on his love handles.

"Yeah, I probably should've," you lower your head in defeat, "I didn't bring anyone with me though."

"You could've asked me," He says matter of factly as if it should've been obvious that he should be the one to spot you. "I would've done it with no problem, mama." His pet names make your womanhood pulse.

You look back up at him, your lips curled into a shy smile.

"C'mon, let's try again." "No, no, mama, I got that, I'll put it away for you." "Keep your knees like this-theeeere you go. "Gimme one more, mama, just one more, you can do it." "Atta girl! Good job, mamita."

You learned that his name is Miguel. He'd become your designated spotter on leg days, the sensation of his larger frame against yours making you nervous in the best way.

Your favorite is when his tummy accidentally brushes against your back, and borderline, your ass, and if not his tummy, it'd be his prominent bulge (which isn't there bc he gets to spot the adorable girl with an amazing ass from the gym... totally not that).

On the Fourth week, Miguel would ask you if you wanted to be workout buddies altogether. Of course, you accept, in which he asks for your number so like that, he can text you when he's going and vice versa.

It's the fifth week, and you both have worked out together a couple times already. Miguel texted you in the morning asking if you'd like to join him, which you were totally down for.

You two started with lateral pull-downs. Once it was your turn, you sat on the machine and reached for the handle, pulling it as you began your set.

Anytime you felt like you wanted advice or correction, Miguel eagerly helped you.

His hands would stay on your waist, his warm breath tickling your ear. "Mhm, there you go, you're doin' so good, mama." He praises in almost a whisper.

If only he knew he was making the exercise only harder. As if that weren't enough, his finger would occasionally message your hip. Your bodies were so close that you were able to hear each satisfied hum from his lips, suggesting you were doing the exercise right.

"Good girl, that was better. You feel it now?" He says, letting go to let you off the machine.

"Yeah, thank you! When it comes to upper body, I'll need all the help I can get. I'm just glad I’m getting it from an upper-body master." You flirtatiously add, playfully poking at one of his biceps.

This makes him blush, but only for a moment before he returns with a cocky response, "Thanks, hun. I'm glad to be working out with a leg-day goddess."

Now it was your turn to blush, except you didn't have any smart comeback, boosting Miguel's ego.

"Listen, let me treat you to smoothie after this, yeah?" He says it more like a statement than a request, and you happily oblige.

What you were expecting was a simple, cheap smoothie from a spot you usually go to, but instead, you're met with a drive-thru menu listing shakes from $20 and up. Oh he got moneyyyy.

Miguel tells you to pick any that looks good to you. He orders for himself and you as well, parking the car once the two of you get the smoothies.

As he sips from the cup, you take the opportunity to subtly glance at his figure, his muscles, how his pecs sit beautifully on top of his soft belly, his thighs constrained by the confines of his gym shorts. You think how badly you wanna sit there, grinding on the print 'til there was a wet spot-

"Something on your mind, mama?" You look back at him, taking a few seconds to register his words.

You hastily look back down at your drink and shake your head, “Nothing… thank you so much for this, it’s delicious!”

then he grabs the shoulder of your chair to lean toward you, “Of course, mama, but I don’t think you’re being completely truthful with me, hm?”

You look at him, playfully shaking your head again, knowing full well you’ve been caught.

“What’s in that pretty lil head of yours, hm? dime.” He puts the smoothie into the cup holder to free his other hand, placing it on your thigh, and softly squeezes it. “Just say the word, and you’ll get anything you want.”

Your lips curl slyly as you think of a response.

“Well… we never did cardio.”

Now you were here in his car, being bounced on his fat dick on the passenger seat, holding onto his his big shoulders for dear life. You were basically his fleshlight at this point… with those big hands.

You could feel his body now taut against yours, your tits bouncing relentlessly, his muscled, thick thighs below your ass, his balls slapping against your pussy lips, his bush tickling your clit, his pelvis pushing your ass up and his curved belly against your front side. It all was sending you into euphoria.

With you vigorously bouncing on his cock and his beautiful moaning, you fully let go. “Aw yes, Daddy,“ you mumbled without thinking.

In fact, you couldn’t think at all. All you knew was this fat cock and your pussy was memorizing all its veins and curves.

“Mmfuck baby, yea, say that again f’me”, he groaned through gritted teeth as he mercilessly bounced you down his painfully hard shaft.

“Please, Daddy, please!” You whined with your hands desperately seeking support on his big shoulders.

You can feel the sheet of sweat on his belly and on his thighs, which turned the smacking of your ass sound even more lewd.

“Fuck, say it again.” He growled, getting faster now.

“Mmmm, Daddy— Daddy, pleaseeee.”

“Louder, baby, c’mon—“

“UNGH DADDYYYY”

“Oh FUCK… you wanted cardio, baby, I’ll give you cardio… fuckin’ take it… coño.” Your panting became synchronized with every pound of his cock into your abused and bruised cunt, getting higher and higher in pitch, firing him up to go faster and harder.

“Gonna cum on this fat cock, right? Gonna cum f’me, mami?” He ordered, dropping octaves from his usual gentle tone with you.

“Mmmnn, Nnyesyyesyesyes—“ you babbled, the shakiness of your voice the result of the aggressive bouncing.

“Ah… carajo…” his cock accidentally slips out from your cunt, making you wince from the sudden empty sensation, “ungh!”

Holding up your ass, he takes a moment to admire the view, hissing from the sight of his angrily red cock and veins pulsing from your cunt sucking him in so deliciously. A ring of your cream erotically placed at the base of his length, just above his perfect bush. He guides his fat tip back to your dripping cunt using his thumb, pushing it back into your swollen folds.

He was back to ramming into your abused cunt in no time, chasing each others high’s.

“C’mon…fuck, c’mon, mama, you’re almost there…. Aw f-fuck… almost there…” he moans with his brows knitted and through a clenched jaw.

“Daddy I’m g’na— I’m cummingimcummingimcumming—“

“Aw, fuck, asi— asi mami— ah, ah…” Miguel holds back choked whines as he get closer, not allowing himself to let go until he knew you came first.

You speak in gibberish before crying into your climax, Miguel letting out a long, exasperated groan when he reaches his. You can feel his hot cum overfilling you, making you whine as it leaks down your thigh.

After draining himself completely, making sure every drop was in you, he gently pulls out, “Fuck… you did so good for me, mama… so good.”

Miguel lets you rest against his heaving chest and soft belly, rubbing your back as you caught your breath. You smiled a tired smile when you notice how hard Miguel is breathing as well, knowing you worked him out, too.

“You ok, mamita?” He plants a tender kiss on your shoulder, making a trail up your neck and finally to your forehead.

“Mhm,” you hum, you look up at him and are met with his plump, wet lips, tongues becoming entangled with each other as he groans into your mouth.

“I say… we do cardio like this every day.”

A/n: Haiii, I hope u liked it <3 Love my man sm <3 None of my gym baes could ever compare to himmmmm😭😭😭

@angel-of-the-moons Ty Ty Ty my luv for planting the seed in my head <3

Want more DadBod!Miguel ? Here’s my master list, bae!!

[donelywell]

October 5 2023

I changed things up because it's got Frontiers Final Horizons Spoilers. I know the updates been out for like 2 months now but I'm being really cautious.

Super Sonic was really fun to play in the base game, having the auto combo thing on and just seeing so much bombastic energy and over the top moves being thrown at giant titans was so much fun.

I did however, not read the instructions where they tell you to hold the parry, I thought it was a perfect timing thing like a normal parry. So fighting Giganto and Wyvern for the first time was a nightmare for me until I actually read the instructions. =v='

For the design, I didn't change much, Super Sonic is really cool. I basically just changed the green parts of his shoes to red to reflect his new eye color.

Super Sonic² was so cool! The casual backhand slap, the sass, the move where he basically does the idw move, the finger point when he gets back in the game!

The only issue I had is that I didn't understand at all how to fight the final boss. I didn't 100% complete the map so I didn't get the hints. (I am still stuck on the stupid ball hoop map puzzle thing, I swear there is no way to do it) So unfortunately, I had to look up a guide. That kinda dampened the experience, but there was no way I was fighting Supreme over again, getting to the same glitch because I killed him too fast, and then fail the final boss fight again because I didn't know I was supposed to press r2.

I made his quills seem like they are turning into flames at the tips, I made his torso kinda have a sun symbol on it, I made his secondary fur white and his base fur/ quills bright yellow to kinda give it more sun imagery. His arm patterns are a little more detailed, his gloves have kinda formed into the body, making the cuffs look like they're on fire too. His socks turned into bandages and blue rings floating on him with the soles of his shoes kinda smoking on the back. It was a lot of fun interpreting this design differently, giving it a more ancient vibe with a modern twist. The original design is still really cool too!

Cyber Super Sonic... one of the coolest forms in my opinion and yet we see him for less than a minute in only a cutscene. I'm not complaining, the cutscene was so cool! Me and my sibling were star struck when we saw it!

I love the Fleetway elements! The sharp teeth, the crazy eyes, the chaotic behavior that almost made it seem like if Cyber Super Sonic wasn't being literally shot out to his enemy, he'd not be able to tell between friend or foe! God, it was so cool!! Even if it was just limited to a cutscene where you can barely see the entire design in a single image!

I did actually have a static version of this image too, but I'm not including it because it gave me eye strain, and I don't want to hurt you.

For the form I actually decreased the amount of polygons on Sonic. If you look, he's more angular & simplistic and his legs and arms are rectangles! I thought it'd help give him more of a Cyber Computer vibe. I used the blue static and made it kinda an accent color so you can see where things are. I don't really know why, but I also made some parts of him detached? The inside parts have the white spirals that Cyber Super Sonic's eyes were.

The update was a lot of fun to play when it came out, even if it was EXTREMELY challenging for a casual player like myself. Almost made me quit a few times and a couple guides were begrudgingly looked up. Playing as Tails and Amy were definitely the highlights of the update for me though. I hope it was as much fun for you as it was for me. :)

[yurinaa-world]

hiii!! if it's not too much to ask, can i get the twst dormleaders with a crush/s/o with an emotion ahoge?

the ahoge droops down when they're sad, stands straight when they're surprised, forms a heart when they're flustered...etc.

Characters: Housewardens x Gender Neutral Reader

Synopsis: with reader that has a emotion ahoge

Warnings: fluff, spelling mistakes

𝑅𝒾𝒹𝒹𝓁𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝓈𝑒𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈

He’s flustered whenever you're flustered: it wouldn’t have been obvious if it weren't for the strand of hair that forms into a heart and you just looking away from him. He’s curious about your hair and it’s moving, reflecting the way your emotions and you look very cute with your moving strand of hair (he wants to send him a photo of your ahoge).

𝐿𝑒𝑜𝓃𝒶 𝒦𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈𝒸𝒽𝑜𝓁𝒶𝓇

His cute little herbivore has something special about themselves, isn’t that cute? He makes empty threats like “What pretty little piece of hair makes me want to rip from your head” why is he messing with you? Because he feels like it and your pretty eyes widening and ahoge standing up in the air. He’ll keeping saying empty threats just to mess with you

𝒜𝓏𝓊𝓁 𝒜𝓈𝒽𝑒𝓃𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓉𝓉𝑜

It’s when Floyd pulls your ahoge saying it’s his way of playing with you, Azul has to step in since Floyd was having too much “fun” with you instead of working at the lounge. They think that it’s good to understand what someone is thinking just by looking at their face but your obvious, way too obvious one look tells what you're feeling. Now he doesn’t bother guessing if you like since your ahoge shows it all off.

𝒦𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓂 𝒜𝓁-𝒜𝓈𝒾𝓂

WOW! Does it move on its own? It does! SO COOL! Now that just gave him more of a reason to hang out with you than how much he already does— he wants to touch your ahoge whenever you're feeling other emotions a lot if you want him to, if you don’t then it’s fine! 

𝒱𝒾𝓁 𝒮𝒸𝒽𝑜𝑒𝓃𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓉

When you first saw Vil the strands of your hair turned into a heart, it always happened even while your together, his ego was getting better with the way he affected you to the point your own hair would jump up for him since he’s that beautiful! (He once tried to clip down your ahoge and the clip went flying across the room.

𝐼𝒹𝒾𝒶 𝒮𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒹

He wants to grab it, like really wants to grab it, whenever you come to visit, he just stares at it while it moves around in such an animated way, ‘pull it’ is what he’s thinking to himself, well he loses to his thoughts and just randomly grab onto your ahoge and gently tugs it while you whine at his action. So cute, your look so cute looking at him like that, your hand on top of your ahoge to keep from pulling it again. (Ortho lectures him) He's sorry HE REALLY IS but you look so..so cute he couldn’t help it! Forgive him, please!

𝑀𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓊𝓈 𝒟𝓇𝒶𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒾𝒶

How cute you were, your ahoge jumping up and down happily while walking over to see him, you really are one of a kind child of man, aren’t you? He tries his best to comfort you when you're feeling bad, grabbing your ahoge that was drooping down and making it stand up since you look better when you're happy.

if you liked this, consider tipping me on ko-fi! it'd mean a lot!

[partycatty]

dark star!johnny cage > against the world

what it's like dating the evil version of hollywood's golden boy. it's not all fun and games, even if that's how he sees it

warnings: lowkey abusive relationship like just straight up. yandere. lil smutty but nothing horrifically graphic.

notes: listened to "wrap me in plastic" and "watch me work" while writing LMFAO also please god the coat stays ON ‼️‼️‼️‼️ hes so scrummy i need him biblically

masterlist &lt;3

part 2* / part 3* / part 4* / part 5* / part 6*

•first of all, dark star!johnny is so incredibly emotionally immature. he's a whiny bastard fr. hell hath no fury like a white man that's in the wrong during an argument with his girlfriend

•"baaaabe what's wrong?? it was just a joke!" after he says you're a 6/10 compared to a model on his phone. ZERO awareness.

•WALL PUNCHER. IM JUST BEING HONEST. your beautiful pale pink walls have so many shoulder-height white patches from you having to fix the wall every time his water has an inadequate amount of cucumber slices.

•he's got the same upbringing as the better johnny, shitty dad and dead mom. he just never really knew how to cope with it. equally as famous as his counterpart, he prefers throwing punches in action flicks. he's just somehow more of a dick about it.

•pampered to holy hell between shots, all relaxed in his chair with his name embroidered on it while one woman tends to his makeup, another to his hair, a third feeding him water. it's how he wants it to be, he needs to be perfect. he is perfect.

•spends like two hours getting ready, most of the time is spent on his hair. you tell him it'd be more efficient to trim it down a couple inches but he likes the way it flops over. you also like the way it falls in front of his face during his stunts. he's just so effortlessly sexy.

•uses his height and physique to his advantage. he loves backing you into corners and looming above you menacingly to watch you squirm, flustered. his large sunglasses reflect your pathetic little face.

•now with you, he loves to show you off, but not enough for you to steal the spotlight. you're his favorite little accessory that hangs off his arm. he chooses your outfits when you make public appearances. INSISTS on matching all the time. misty blue dress with gold jewelry to match his obnoxiously large coat.

•the good johnny plays things up for the camera and saves the sweetness for behind closed doors. dark star!johnny doesn't know when to turn off "camera mode." bro will not be sweet with you unless it gets him brownie points after he fucks up.

•he's so unfair. women fawn over him constantly and he smiles all smugly and leans into their touches. but if a man so much as looks at you for more than a couple seconds, he's beating the guy in moments.

•hates it when you find joy in other people. he will constantly fill you with thoughts that everyone will leave you one day for one reason or another, and that you should feel lucky that a world famous actor wants you.

•will make you turn against people you hold dear, he cuts them out of your life so they can't influence you like he does. this man is a smooth talker and hardcore manipulator that'll leave you anxious when you talk to anyone but him. he has you thinking everyone's out to get you.

•"come on baby, you really think they'd love you like i do? don't be delusional. it's just you and me against the world, you got it?"

•you guys have had so many public scandals, you're the main source of income for the TMZ employees.

•sex tape here, public screaming match there

•speaking of which this dude FUCKS. HARD. :3

•johnny will literally pound you into oblivion whenever he pleases. he prefers doggystyle so he can use your hair as leverage. sometimes he reaches forward and holds your jaw, chest pressed against your back as he mercilessly fucks you. he totally gets himself off on your pathetic moans.

•records it every time. partially to jerk off to later, partially as leverage against you.

•"you like that?" he'll ask in that low growl, somehow hitting even deeper. "nobody can fuck you like i do. so don't even fucking think about leaving - ngh -"

•after an argument, you'll find gorgeous purses or necklaces on your shared vanity. not because he's sorry, but because he knows you'll forget about how annoying he can be when he shells out a couple thousand on a gift for you.

•you could honestly probably do better, but who's gonna say no to johnny cage?

[somewhereincairparavel]

🐚 Daughter of Neptune headcanons list 🌊 part one..

Note: I've never done a pjo hcs post like this with the aesthetic pictures and everything- but I've been Itching to make a daughter of Neptune one, since I consider myself as a Neptune child. So this is sort of a self insert haha, and I thought it'd fun cuz I have so many hcs abt this, I've only over seen ppl do a daughter of Poseidon one.

Also this one has reader x Jason Grace as romantic pairings, but it isn't the main focus. Like I said, this is a self insert, and I love my bb jason ;) + imagine having Percy as a big brother, goals fr

• Okay so you'd come to Camp Jupiter at the age of 8-9, so you definitely have a considerable amount of childhood before you came to camp. Which only made it harder for you to adapt to the barbaric ways the Roman camp worked.

• Also, Since Neptune was not a very respected Roman god, your arrival was considered bad luck. Octavian made you go through an intense trial (that motherfucker was like 10 years old and an augur, and was already such a bitch lol) + forced a newly elected praetor Reyna (who was also just 10 at the time) to hold a senate meeting before you were even offered a position at camp.

• Neptune is very feared by the romans though, since he represented the harsh brutality of the ocean, so you got the Roman Nico di Angelo treatment from camp. Everyone was scared of you, flinched when you walked passed them. this was to your advantage tho, since you never got bullied, mostly out of fear.

• so Neptune temples in Camp Jupiter are only taken care of by you, if you left for a quest or something then the shrines would be in such a horrible state, bc no one cares enough to offer Neptune anything or even clean up his shrine. You'd do the cleaning and offering.

• and the worst part? Your dad wouldn't even notice you even after your efforts.

• okay, your powers are quite similar to Percy's butt I feel like since Roman/Greek siblings always have powers that compliment eachother, you'd have better control over the earthly side of the domain. Like you can cause longer earthquakes, control seismic waves, and make volcanos erupt + cause bigger avalanches, Stuff like that.

• Your water control was actually a little limited, up until Percy arrived and helped you enhance your powers. And you helped enhance his control over earthquakes, since his earthquakes usually only lasted for a few seconds, his dad is more water dominant. So when you met him, you knew he was a missing puzzle piece in your life. You'd even be able to communicate telepathically to Percy underwater, a power you both never knew you needed.

• Seriously tho it would be hilarious to look at, bc to the others, you both sound like squeaky dolphins but in reality you are just telepathically speaking with one another. The others wouldn't understand, and poor Frank would be so confused as to why you both are making strangled fish noises

Leo would troll you guys so bad for this lol

• your eyes would actually be black. Not blue, not sea green, just black. Your eyes would literally glitter like black obsidian rocks. because Poseidon is the calm side of ocean, hence sea green eyes for Percy, Neptune is the dark and scary side of the ocean, so that's black eyes for you. that difference would clearly reflect in your guys's eye colours AND personality (I'll expand on this more in part 2)

• but your scariness comes with a downside, you had no friends. No friends, except Jason and Reyna. it's just your dad's naturally strict aura surrounding you that makes your overall personality a Lil grumpy and moody tbh. You did have such a resting bitch face that wasn't helping either.

• Jason, being the noble boy he was, knew you were going to be his friend the moment you made a dramatic entrance to camp for the first time, getting scouted by the waves to New Rome. He knew what it was like to have a powerful, scary dad, but he acknowledged and empathized that you had it harder than he did. He was considered a golden boy, while you were considered a scary bad luck charm. But regardless of that, Jason was your first best friend. And eventually, your boyfriend.

• Reyna on the other hand, badly wanted to befriend you because she admired your mental strength, you were 9 years old and you were openly scoffed at by the legionnaires simply because your father was a scary man. Yet you handled it all so well. But she befriended you a little later than Jason did. Since she was so busy, she barely had any time to chat with anyone. You, Jason and Reyna bonded as a trio when you guys had your first quest.

• Reyna secretly shipped you and Jason from the very beginning lol, bc a Jupiter x Neptune union? Y'all were powerful and cute af together. The mutual pining drives her crazy though, like kiss already smh.

• Also, Nicknames! Your nickname was ALWAYS "kelp head" because your hair was wavy and shaped like seaweed lol. As much as you hated to admit it, the name fit a little too well.

• okay enough with the friendship stuff, let's talk about how much that bastard Octavian makes it his mission to make your life a hellhole. It isn't even funny anymore, he hated you from the very beginning. Not only because you were considered bad luck, it's because he envied that you were a direct descendant of such a powerful God, he couldn't even handle Jason's arrival, yours was just the last straw for him. He opposes your opinions in front of the whole senate + prevents you from getting elected as Centurion + attempts to prevent you from going on quests, bc he can't handle someone else taking the glory.

• He was also the reason you were put into the unpopular twelfth legion. The underdog legion. But Jason? That sweetheart made it worth being in the twelfth legion so you weren't complaining tbh.

• honestly? Octavian and you are famous in camp for your bickering though lol it's just always a back and forth between you and him, such burning rivalry and enmity. You LOVED roasting him and you were fucking great at it too. He deserved that for making you go though hell. You'd laugh like a maniac when he trips and he smirks when has the upper hand against you in senate discussions.

• Reyna is the only reason you both didn't beat eachother up at this point tbh

• once, Reyna came running up to you all panicky because Octavian went missing from camp. In response, you beamed and told her that you'd get the balloons ready in the dining hall for a grand celebration. Jason would burst out laughing lol.

• you'd steal his teddy bears and give them to younger campers, asking them to hide it from octavian. So the younger campers absolutely adore you, unlike the older ones.

• you are also quite the rebel in camp, JUST like Octavian predicted you would be, when you first came to camp. It was actually written in his auguries that the new child of Neptune arrival would be always shafting the rules, since the sea can't be controlled. It's in a nature for a Neptune child to walk their own pace (lol have you seen Percy??) That gave another reason for him to hate you.

• Even some of the lares in CJ would call you an abnormal roman bc you never acted like one. You were wild and temperamental.

This rule breaking tendency you had did earn you lots of punishments that included scrubbing the whole camp with a toothbrush. But it was worth it for you. Camp Jupiter sucked. And you were already in trouble, so what's a little more, right?

• you'd sneak out at night to explore New Rome, because again, the Romans had this weird bedtime curfew like. they have rules for every. Fucking. Thing. It pissed you off so bad. They wouldn't even let you explore the city at night? They were seriously wasting the beauty of the city, You'd definitely rope Jason in to break the rules with you. Like don't be such a goody two shoes smh. I feel like that's what attracted him to you in the first place. He's a goody goody boy with such a boring life, youd just make it interesting for him.

• besides, sneaking out is SO much easier when you can fly. So Jason is your personal airplane. The Jason Grace airlines.

• okay so after all your hardwork in the legion, you'd finally get elected to Centurion, after you successfully finished a quest to retrieve a lost Roman artifact, which was formerly Jason's position and he would become a co praetor with Reyna. But you were still very much disrespected in camp tbh, it just became an internalised thing for everyone to hate you at this point, Octavian was also great at putting your reputation under dirt, but you didn't really care anymore.

• now here comes the catch, Jason and you were sort of in a half-pining half-relationship situation, Before that jerk goes missing. because neither of you knew how to confess, and camp was SO strict when it came to relationships for some reason?? Like even dating has to be lowkey.

• you and Jason are totally the grumpy x sunshine trope lol except you're the grumpy, snippy and batshit one and jason is calm, levelheaded and optimistic one.

Perfect balance. Gosh your dynamic would be so cute :(

• you'd just be grumpily stomping around while jason stalks behind you, laughing lightly. You're super short compared to him aswell, so yeah it makes it funnier.

• You were in charge of welcoming Hazel to camp, since Jason and Reyna had some serious meeting stuff about the new prophecy Octavian told them about.

• poor hazel would be scared to death while meeting you, not just bc it's you, it's bc she just came back from the dead, so this is all rlly new for her.

• That's where you met him. Nico di Angelo. You'd bond over your shared mistreatment in camp. So you became homies w him fairly quickly. He saw you as this cool big sister he could have happy meals with talking abt life.

• you would be a little curious when he keeps disappearing off to somewhere tho, you knew he was lying about where he came from.

Okay part 1 of this is done, this was so long lol, part 2 would drop later, that's where you and Percy meet and stuff.

Update: part two is out! https://www.tumblr.com/somewhereinhogsmeade/746489087922520064/daughter-of-neptune-headcanons-list-part-two?source=share

[fitzs-space]

I want to talk about all the details I put into the Ties comic cause I worked on that thing for like a week and my brain likes to think about many things

Anyway, pspspsps I'm info dumping about my own designs gather round.

Notes for the character designs themselves

-The colours show if they are Red/Yellow/Green are different per character. Tango with bright colours, Skizz's are cool and dark, Impulses are more yellow, and Ethos are more desaturated. -Not all characters in the Life Games will get colour indicators in their eyes, the fact 3/4 of the designs here have it is unimportant shut -Impulse has a heart knot in his tie!! Look at it!! -Impulse cannot tie a tie. Tango does it for him. -Tango having his tie undone is his own choice -The choice of them having/not having pupils is intentional. -Etho only has the one on one side, maybe its cause the red eyes a little fucky in the vision, who knows though -Impulse has i's in the eyes -Skizz just straight up doesn't have em, but I normally don't draw pupils with that iris shape anyway. something something normally only draw that iris style with certain magical characters -I just stopped drawing with Tango with iris' at some point, idk -Skizz is designed as a fallen angel. that's why the halo's are all separated/broken, and why you can see darker feathers growing -maybe Impulse used to help him dye them white cause of some insecurity, maybe not -the lower his lives go, the less dark feathers are seen in his wings. like a cruel joke the watchers get a kick out of

-mullet Skizz MULLET SKIZZ!!!!!

-Etho is a sentimental mf /pos. they will keep and make a lot of patches for memory's and stuff. notable patches are, The NHO patch, a creeper cause of general Spazz, Canada flag cause Canadian /j, I normally add rainbow ones for the button saga of s7 but forgot to this time. -the rings are from all their divorces /J -the colours on the rings correlate to their owners (Bdubs, Cleo, Joel) lives. ie will be red if one of them is red kinda thing.

think that's the most of the design thoughts, now the Details in the comic itself,,,

-Skizz is the kinda mf who would fiddle//stim with random things in his hands. Many times its other peoples hands -dude will just hold peoples hands randomly when talking to them, team Ties just got used to it -That's why Etho took so long to notice the bracelet!

-their ass isn't phased by this kinda stuff anymore /hj -Skizz just enjoys contact man let me be -Throughout most of the comic Skizz has some sort of contact with Etho

-Tango and impulse also end up giving Etho bracelets as well -All the bracelets Etho gets share their colour indicator + the colour form the person who made it!

-you can see the colours slowly shift when Skizz ties on the bracelet, something something the magic of the world does some shit sometimes man.

-Skizz taught Impulse how to make the bracelets, so they have similar styles, Skizz's is more of a simple braid style though. -Tango went for something that took longer to do. it is a little scuffed /pos

-Ethos been getting their ass handed to them the episode before this, had to rightfully reflect that. you know? /j -the Slashes across their chest where form when Gem/Cleo killed them twice in that one episode. -The bite was originally supposed to be cause of Scars dogs. But someone in a reply made a joke about it, and frankly I think it'd be funnier if it was cause of Joel or some shit like they said.

-Had the axe as more of a battle-axe style. It was something Impulse made for Skizz (I forget who actually made it//Didn't want to go back to check) -I like showing characters having specific styles/ways they make armor and tools. -It's fun to show characters with tools and armor that can be distinctly seen as being made by another player

-That being an axe Impulse made adds more weight to the narrative of this moment and I want people to cry -something something for Etho its a moment of taking a weapon that Impulse made to protect Skizz, and using that as the tool that finally kills him -For Skizz this is a moment of his trust and care for his teammates. Being surrounded by people that he cares about and tokens that show their love for each other.

-Suffer, I could have been angstyier, and I will be actualy.

-Skizz is the one putting the axe to his own neck in this moment. Etho is putting as little force into it as they can. -Red king parallels who- -Etho also gets cut by the axe, something about sacrifice and how no life/time can truly be free in these life games -The blood wasn't actually intended to be golden ichor, I was just lazy and didn't want to draw red blood// wanted to have the cool lighting effect -Etho has the same colour in their blood too so, take it as you will

-I've had this comic planed since EPICODE ONE. had full intentions for it to go angsty in the end, and dam if the narrative didn't play right into my grubby little hands.

-I also just love how well I could parallel the moments in this comic. the comparison of the pages where both their faces are visible? the Joy in ethos face turning to complete anguish? the fact Skizz never stopped smiling? the way both moments start with an outstretched hand, and end with Skizz still holding onto Etho in a moment of trust? beautiful

-all the pages in the second part of the comic were framed specifically so I could avoid drawing Skizz ass.

[kittyscupcakeandbunny]

A BREATH OF FIRE × Min Yoongi

[Hybrid gods AU]

INTRO

Run little girl

Warnings: mentions of blood, death, killing.

Keep breathing. Don't slow down. Run. Run. Run.

I hear their disgusting laughs behind me as i take a turn to the forest. How stupid of me thinking this was the best decision. But how could i know? I've been careful all my life, never going to parties, never staying up late after work and always making sure i wasn't alone at night. But today, it felt uncanny from the beginning of the day. I can't find the words to describe how it felt like some thing was going to happen, from the moment i woke up to me walking to my silly job at a coffee shop and then to my coworker asking me to work her late night shift, i thought why not? Nothing ever happen, why would it now? Right.

Wrong.

One moment i was waiting at the bus stop to go home, the second moment a car pulls up and two men are now following me non stop.

Why?

Why did i agreed to do a late shift tonight?

Why?

More then anything I was angry with myself for thinking i would be safe at night.

My chest was hurting at this point but i couldn't stop. I just kept running. Even when the trees would cut through my skin as i blinded made my way deeper and deeper inside the darkness of this endless forest. I would fall on my knees and go back to my feet, even if i was bleeding the fear and adrenaline keeping the pain away and i knew that if i survived this tonight tomorrow it'd probably hurt even more.

I can't keep going like this.

Defeated and tired, for a moment i stoped and looked around me, checking my surroundings i couldn't hear a thing. No bird. No wind. Nothing.

Everything was dark and the fear of what might happen to me now was suffocating.

I refuse to become a victim like this. I refused to die by the hands of those pigs.

Turning to my left i stared running again. Their laughs and disgusting comments were getting closer.

I had to do something but nothing came to my mind. Running was all i could do now.

My breathing was so loud i almost didn't hear it. But then the sound of water falling went through my ears and i decided to fallow it instinctively. From where I was i could already see a bit of the moon light ahead of me, lucky for me it was a full moon tonight and it's light was shining bright.

So i let it guide me.

Until I fell right in front of a lake.

A low groan came from my lips as i used my hands to stand up, the pain from the fall pushing me back down but i held on, my hands now even more bruise then before. An angry puff of air came out of my lips as i saw blood on them, how fucking lucky. As i slowly averted my eyes up to look at my surroundings the two men were standing behind me i saw their reflections on the lake.

They both stood stood there looking as if i was a fool, a victim, the prey they've been waiting for.

I was sick to my stomach at the sight of their disgusting smiles.

- well well... - one of them said.

- aren't you a runner huh?! - the other laugh, he was holding a baseball bat. They were old and looked like pigs - too bad is over now.

Quickly i made sure to stand up and grabbed whatever stone i could that felt sharp enough to cut while doing so. I would fight to the end of this.

- it was fun... - one of them said approaching slowly - but the hunt is over. Now is time for the real fun...

- you can do this the easy way and... start stripping, or you can do it the hard way - the other one took a knife out of his pocket and pointed at me, a wicked smile on his face - And let us do it.

Anger was building inside me as i watched them looking at each other as if they won, as if I was a mare piece of meat.

I knew my chances were low, for that i had only one choice to make. They were two and stronger then me, there is no way i can win. But at least one i can take it down.

- i would rather die... - i said holding the stone against my neck.

Even if it meant me.

They only laughed.

- come on princess... you don't have to be like this - the one with the knife started to approach me making me held the stone tighter against my neck.

- we all just wanna have some fun...

Looking over to the moon and the beautiful night sky, what a sight the moon must have of me.

I... would really...

How many death as have you witnessed in silence dear moon?

Rather die...

His sickening voice was cut out and silence by the sound of a slash.

I felt the wind blow against my face slowly and the smell of blood.

All it took was one breathe.

So fast that I almost didn't saw it happening.

So quietly.

In a flinch of a movement, his head was cut off so easily. Right in front of me. Still my eyes could not believe what i was seeing.

Until the body of the man fell right in front of me.

The moon was shining so bright now i could clearly see every inch of his features, the way his black hair fell over his eyes. They were made of a golden yellow color that just didn't seem real, nothing i have ever seen. And the scar on his right eye. A bloody scar.

He licked the drop of blood on the corner of his mouth, smirking at my direction. A devilish smile, yellow eyes shining even brighter under the moon light. He looked like a God, shining in his fancy clothes and unbiased by the blood on it.

All i could do was watch.

As he moved towards the other men holding his sword towards him, the man didn't move all he did was stare as the creature in front of him killed him in a glance with horror in his eyes. The mysterious creature didn't spare him much time as he slashed his sword against the man cutting his head off too.

So much blood. The smell was suffocating.

From the back i saw his ears standing behind his head falling down as he breathed, slowly looking up and smiling.

He was not human. I could clearly tell.

Have I really died already?

The smell of blood was so clear and the wind now blowing against my face, finally I could hear the trees and the birds singing again. As if all nature knew that now it was safe.

Slowly he looked at me not moving, a smirk on his lips. Then he guarded his sword walking in my direction.

- you owe me now human... - he said coming closer, nearly inches away from my face  - how are you gonna repay the fox for saving your life?

His voice was calm and low, almost a whisper. Taking the stone from my hand that i didn't even knew i was still holding hard against my skin, his touch was cold and it woke me up from the dream i thought i was in. This is real.

- breath little human... - he said and softly caressed the strand of lose hair off my face. At his command i finally breathed.

- you are in shock... - he mumbled, almost sounding like a cat purring. His golden eyes looking stray into mine made me feel warm.

Then slowly he lifted one finger and pressed on the center of my forehead, and i felt the heaviness and tiredness took over me in a second.

With one hand he held me by the waist, as i slowly feel into a slumber. The other hand he used to push my hair back so he could whisper the last part before i fall completely asleep.

- now... you owe the fox two wishes.

Next?

Note:

Sorry for any grammatical errors hehe. It's a rough post.

[himejoshiangels]

batgirl 2000 reread bcs I'm crazyy...IM NUTS!!!

her and that damned rose..what does it all MEAN!!! it makes a reappearance l8r...also I missed this dynamic so so bad. me when I'm in a seeing my kids as an extension of myself competition and my opponent is Bruce Wayne

I always forget how fucking potent and tension filled the first arc of this comic is man. it's like, bcs cass can't speak or even have thought bubbles everything's communicated via her actions or the words of the ppl around her. every panel she's in has to be chock-full of emotion and every time she interacted with someone the implications and the ffUCKKKKK‼️

the atmosphere in this damn comic man

I dunno man not to "back in my day!" when it wasn't even my day. but comics these days don't trust the audience even a little. there's always gotta be paragraphs of text having a character explicitly state every detail of their motivation and like not that old comics didn't also do that but at least the words they wrote were pretty like fuck man who are they hiring to write this shit anymorw

this transition is straight out of a movie. I know we say this with literally everything but if ANY comic in the world should get an animated show it has to be this one. top contender. it's formulated like one already, it's episodic w perfect overall themes and bigger plots. even the vibe is perfect, the grainy mtv cartoon thing it has going. every day I pray for a batgirl 2000 cartoon it'd go so crazy jsut adapt the shit straight

batgirl 2000 just keeps hitting you and doesn't let up bcs in the same episode SORRY issue..where cass meets lady Shiva for the first time is also the same issue where babs first begins to address her as Cassandra

^^WHICH IS CRAZY bcs we have to keep in mind that up to this point cass is nameless, she's only been referred to as batgirl. this is one of the first times she goes out as not batgirl too tho, bcs Bruce benched her. it's GAHHHHH that whole thing where vigilantes angst and drama abt titles and legacies and their individual identities is exacerbated so so bad for cass bcs batgirl is the first name she's ever given. like it's all she ever knew and ever was. Cassandra came after and THIS

THIS PANEL RUGHT HERE ohhh my god it makes me crazy. she's only batgirl. she doesn't even have the words to explain it yet. she's only a reflection of the city she's sworn to protect its all she is and at first its lowkey all Bruce let's her be. not to mention. her relationship w babs, I'll speak on them l8r can't do it now I'll explode

a 1:1 animated series man. it's all I can think about so so many iconic moments. I don't kill but I don't lose either is already as cold as cold gets. the way the comic is formatted already fully visualizes as animated in my brain and it's so so fun to watch

LIKE LOOK AT THIS!! cinematic as he'll and it's not even moving..

both cass and Bruce hit the bullseye like....

Cass's perfectionism is such an underrated character trait of hers (in like the greater batfam fandom and more modern comics not here, never here) bcs she literally sacrifices her life about it. she's so self detrimental about how not perfect she is anymore and Bruce's nonsense doesn't help either. man sees himself reflected in a teenage girl once and looses all his damn sense. I'm just, yea we know "mediocre for a life time or perfect for a year" < god that goes hard, but the true tragedy that is cass's inability to see how unnatural and upsetting it is that her mind works the way it does at all, that she can run into bullets head on but complains that she could do it with more skill when she was 6 or whatever like girl...never evr letting myself become desensitized to her trauma, David cain when I get you...

AND ANOTHER THING AND ANOTHER THING!!! KKKKKKKKK!! the sideplots and b plots and background characters in this comic..each of them are offered so much empathy by the narrative and are written purposefully to reflect or foil whatever cass's current conflic is all while feeling like fully fleshed characters even if they only appear for one issue

^^ I have feeling abt these panels but my lawyers are advising me not to speak atvthis ttime

THFUCKINH THE ROSE!!AGAIN!!! so sure this is old news but my running theory is that it definitely ties into cass's sense of self and identity outside of her living weapon status. this whole issue is prime babs v. bruce custody battle material bcs babs wants cass to be able to have a normal life, to be someone outside of batgirl bcs where she is now isn't healthy even a little bit but bruce argues that cass doesn’t need that, all she needs is her devotion to the mission < now we don't have time to unpack all that but in this moment we see her make the choice, dropping the rose. in the very first panel of the whole comic cass does the very same thing, she drops the puzzle (representing her childhood) in favor of violence bcs at the time its all she knows THE PARALLELS HELP HELP MEEE

AND AND THIS NEXT WHOLE PANEL is so evocative of the first few issues where cass couldnt yet put her emotions into words. just atmosphere and silence. BECAUSE she's confused!!! bruce says justice is what she needs that it will make her feel better, feel normal but it doesn't!! she looks over the city and still feels..feeling!!!! she picks the rose back up and extends a hand out to barbara bcs she was right, she not Bruce, she can't sit in a cave all alone all day and feel better (<which arguably doesn't even work for him either)

in the next few issues she meets steph and tim which is soo fun bcs letting cass have friends her age opens up so much for potential dynamics. especially her relationship w steph, not just in a stephcass way but in a narrative foil way, to me at least

next post I'll probably talk abt cass's guilt, self hatred, and need for atonement but we move‼️

[chubs-deuce]

What kind of friends, Dawn will have in future stories?

Have you thought of any original characters yet?

I don't actually know yet I'm ngl!!!

I am generally in lowkey desperate need for OCs to fill the background with and give the surrounding cast a bit of an expansion, I'm ngl :'DD

I've thought about repurposing some OCs of mine from other fandoms/stories for this, such as Zena:

But ngl I have just zero backstory ideas and her hazbin-ified AU redesign feels a little incoherent in comparison to the canon cast, since they're meant to reflect their life, sins and death...

And idk what kind of sin would make you spawn in hell as an anthropomorphic pig when she's - in her own story - the de-facto leader of a rebellious secret group of outcasts that are desperately trying to find a sustainable cure for a lethal disease that nearly wiped out her entire people... like, she's just a very noble soul fighting for a genuinely good cause? Idk how to make a backstory that matches the design that doesn't feel like a complete rewrite of her and her personality traits...

I also contemplated adding William from my hazbin hotel x fnaf AU to the roster of background characters as both a fun little cameo and an expansion of the sinners that reside in the hotel over time, but I'm unsure if that wouldn't be a bit too difficult for me actually implement without going in-depth about it (the temptation to explore the concept more is simply too high for me lmfao)

As for specifically friends for Dawn... I haven't the foggiest, man! :')

Thing is... her circumstances don't really allow for much room to find friends her age?

Sinners cannot reproduce in this AU, so most of the sinners in hell are teenagers at the earliest (I am assuming mortal souls that aren't at an age yet where they can even comprehend the concept of wilful ignorance of consequences and knowingly committing sins anyways don't go to hell) and they don't physically age after they fall.

I'm ngl I have no clue about what's going on in Cannibal Town and if all of the people there are sinners themselves or if they're more hellborn themselves? (something something hell's natural street-cleaning service that make sure dead bodies don't remain in the open for long) The fact that there's what seems like kids there is a bit bewildering but I imagine with their kind of hive-mind way of thinking and their dietary preferences they wouldn't really be interested in befriending non-cannibal outsiders like Dawn anyways?

And since Dawn is not really a true hellborn in the same sense as the sins, the royal hellborn society or even the lower class denizens of hell's various rings - and also visibly resembles Charlie and in extension Lucifer far less than she reflects her father's appearance, I imagine she wouldn't really fit into any of those social circles either ^^"

This is an issue I actually kind of really want to pick up on with Charlie's past some more as well and expand on with Dawn later, but this also means I don't really find many opportunities to introduce a friend circle for Dawn?

Then again Charlie doesn't really appear to have one either beyond Vaggie and her hotel, so I don't think it'd be thaaaat big of an unbelievability issue in the greater scale of things...

[p0rk-guts]

waitt but what's different about your ocified velvette... i like her a little but find myself wanting more substance from her in canon tbh

TEEHEE WHAT A GOOD QUESTION I TOTALLY DIDN'T SET PPL UP TO ASK ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay sew me and @ajistorpid were talking and they inspired a good chunk of my ideas so you can blame them for feeding my sick delusions.

Read more just like last time bc I talk too much sorry but there's art in there too oooo you should look u should read my ramblings

As far as I know, Velvette has no canon age at death, cause of death, or death date so based on what we know we just crafted our own headcanons. AJ proposed she might've had parents who ran one of those family vlog channels with her as the face of it, becoming a child influencer under her parents' control. I was thinking she could've been a child model- yk like. dance moms or something. Idk I don't remember what was happening on that show— anyways. Yea

Either way she grew up constantly controled and perfection was her standard. All of her outside thoughts and feelings and interests and opinions were constantly dismissed in favor of what made her more marketable. She never did get that popular in life tho, and her mentors always shamed and blamed her for it.

Idk if this is canon or not, but the idea of the sinners designs reflecting their vices or things they regreted or hated in life is an untapped gold mine to me so that could explain where Velvette's supposed doll and clown themes come from. Became a toy dressed up and paraded around for the entertainment of others + joke never taken seriously. She'd hate that

(As for how that ties into my redesign…. me and AJ were thinking she could be a vampire doll, but I'm not sure IDK I wanna sketch that out and see what it's giving)

In hell she easilly fell back into this warped facsimile of her old life bc it was all she knew. "she feels some form of pseudo control and enjoyment because she has no one pulling her strings now" (<-AJ) SHE'S running things!!! Who's the puppet now!!!!!!

Then THAT had me thinking too because now that I think about it. Why Is she the backbone of the V's?? She's like. An undergrad student in my mind at the MOST and Vox and Val are two men pushing 40 I'm sure. I think a big part of it is the fact that those two are almost complete and utter buffoons who let their emotions cloud their actions constantly, Valentino most obviously but even tho Vox seems more composed like when he's talking Val down from his outburst and when he was talking to the press, we can still see he's a total mess—especially where Alastor is concerned. He lost it so bad during their duet HE SHORTED PENTAGRAM CITY'S POWER.

Now out of all the V's we've seen the least of Velvette (I'd call it what it is but yall gon get real mad at me), The most we really got out of her character was the overlord meeting (and despite her huge ego and unruly behavior she did end up speaking facts), so maybe she Is just as unstable as them in canon but canon is SHIT and this isn't about canon anymore. In my mind she's very much in charge of the back end of their work. Vox is obviously the head of the operation—or at least he seems like it to me—what with the tech company having his name and with him answering the interviews, but I think that's all he is. The figure head. Velvette is the brain behind it all. When Vox proposes new buisness endeavors off the cuff she's the one who goes back and makes sure they're getting handled properly because he doesn't really dig into the backend of how things happen. Vox goes to most of the conferences or whatever (Vel's too busy running her shows and serving cunt after all) but Vel follows up on what was learned.

(also yeah all that makes this very much an au of an au bc it'd take a lot of radical changes for the two of them to be friends I think. It's fun to imagine anyway)

Quoting AJ here bc I'm bad at paraphrasing and they said it well:

"And if we're going to make her sympathetic, (obviously not excusing her enabling a rapist) Val and Vox are grown ass men and she never got to experience the world outside a camera

Velvette is easily malleable with no real relationships!! Some victims tend to gravitate towards people who are similar to their abusers the only exception is that she feels like she has control this time"

THIS this. THIS! Okay uhh vague personal experience w/ abuse cw ig. skip this paragraph if you don't wanna hear it. But It kinda reminds me of my relationship with my parents- NOT THAT I SEE THEM AS TWO DADS AND A DAUGHTER I DO NOT BELIEVE IN THAT NOTION IN A POST PILOT WORLD If future content proves me wrong it proves me wrong but at this moment they're all equals in my mind (…and I hc them as poly BUT WE'LL GET THERE) but In my situation it's like. I hate my parents for the abuse they've caused me, my mom more than my dad bc she's satan incarnate, but there are still things I like about my dad and. Tolerate. About my mother. We still can talk cordialy and spend time together, have fun together even, and I show affection to them, but deep down I know I wanna cut my mom off later and maybe my dad too depending. Additionally my mom is completely Incompatent and pulls none of her weight so despite it all I've been forced to pick up the slack and become half the brains of this family. I do chores she should take care of. Handle money. Make important decisions about our health and safety she doesn't care about.

AAAny ways. This is so my version of Velvette. No I'm not projecting (I am). She pulls a big chunk of the weight around there (some of it being carried by Vox and virtually none by Val). She's very close with the two of them but isn't a fan of everything they do (Cares more for Vox than Val in my mind). Speaking of, she definitely isn't some saint now, she still makes the love potions and is Impassive to both Val and Vox's behavior, but part of that Is her just seeing it as part of the business. Shady practices and exploitation are par for the course in any business to her. She never truly grew out of the harmful mindsets ingrained into her by whoever her enabling caretakers were in life and they're still apparent in hell. (Maybe she even experienced some of the darker sides of exploitation in life but was groomed into thinking it was okay contributing to why she doesn't see Valentino's actions as heinous. Idk. thinking on it)

Circling back to my poly V's idea. Idk it just seems plausible to me. Vox and Val already have their whole thing going on, they all live together, and they all have nicknames for each other (Vox calling her my dear, Val calling her baby doll, Vel calling Vox darling). Ik that could just be their personalities and the pet names don't have to mean anything more but this is MY au and my word is gospel hope this helps. It just makes sense

I could go on and ON about the toxic insanity of the Poly V's in my mind— particularly between Vox and Valentino— but this is NOT their post so maybe next time. As for Velvette, I get the vibe that she'd be intimate with both of them and enjoy it but she's never the one to initiate anything. Sometimes they're all like this 🤞🏾 and others the boys are a complete turn off to her (main example being the difference in her attitude towards Vox in episode 3 vs episode 8). Her tolerance of them flips on a dime depending on how they're acting. She also prefers to be a casually entertained observer to VoxVal more often then not (ex. end of episode 8 imo)

Boys aside. My Velvette is still a social media influencer and she's all about advertising. advertising products (like the love potion), clothing looks, technology... Heck even herself. "You're nobody if you don't wear this or use this or look like this ^ - ^". Projecting on her even further by making her have a love/hate relationship with her profession aka the modeling aspect of it: she's always had a genuine love for fashion and dressing up but the internal pressure for perfection she's placed on herself makes it hard for her. She's very hard on her models and designers bc of this

Couldn't think of a segway for this but also WHAT HAPPENED TO VELVETTE WANTING TO FIGHT THE ANGELS??? The "full assault plan" against the angels??? And then when the fight actually came they were all just lounging around watching it go down like it was afternoon tv????? This isn't even a "we'll get to it in season 2" thing did they honest to god forget? Did that line not mean anything??

Well I didn't forget and it's pissed me off since my first rewatch of that meeting scene. Don't think we don't know how the V's got the angel head, but In my head Velvette was the one who initially proposed the idea for an assault against heaven and her insatiable need to feel respected and feared only spurred this plan on, incredible risk be damned.

It also felt weird to me that Velvette just. Let it go when Carmilla said the meeting was over. Just. "Oh ok! Plan cancelled no more attacking heaven ^ - ^ I'm gonna go scroll for the rest of the show!" Hu h. My au-ified Velvette would definitely fight her on it— if she thought killing angels would change the game and Carmilla held the secrets behind it she would pry! Blow up at her about it until she wasn't getting results and bitterly storming off with as much composure as she could muster. Not wanting to team up with Carmilla but find some way to use her for all she was worth and get her way in the end, use the power and resources the V's had to actually make a plan. Would it have worked without the Morningstars? Eh. Either way I'm sure she could delude herself into thinking they were the most powerful people in hell. Ugh I don't wanna make an au rewrite of the show and I that was never my plan so idk where that'd go but. Yea

ANYWAYS anyways. wow you made it to the end somehow! Here's your treat :3

Context u didn't ask for: Some days Velvette overwhelms herself with her own impossible expectations. Nothing she creates or puts out is good enough. She gets extra anxious about her following; nothing's happened to them, but what if they see the miniscule flaw in her latest clothing that she sees? What if she's no longer perfect? (Even worse in the vamp Velvette redesign of her bc she literally feeds off their attention and admiration)

She'll snap at everyone and disapprove of every look and then hole herself away somewhere where she crashes and is just. So. Tired. But she'll be out of it the next day, ready to keep the conveyor rolling.

[sky-kiss]

prompt: they* go fishing

*whoever you want, raph/haarps would be fun maybe)

A/N: Mslanna, you wild and I love you. I truly should have taken this opportunity to write like. Wild West Au Raphael. Out on a boat. Fishing.

_________

Raphael x Haarlep: Fishing

_________

"You're brooding, boss."

Raphael doesn't look up at this little gibe, attention fixed, glaring, on the drafted contract. It's hardly his best work. He could fit a few more manipulative subclauses into section sixteen. A few phrases in the main body need reworking to allow for the maximum wiggle room on his part, but…

…well, he supposes his heart truly isn't in it today. It's a shame not to love your work.

Haarlep snorts, inspecting their claws. "Oh, Raphael is pouting, darling. His new favorite toy doesn't want to play." 

"Hush, you." 

"'Hush, you?'" They give him a look, hands planted firmly on hips. Haarlep hooks an arm around his neck, slipping into his lap. "Take note, Korilla: this is what depression looks like. No energy for witty repartee. No time for his old hobbies." 

His warlock shakes her head. Haarlep adjusts themself in his lap, squirming into some semblance of comfort. It'd be easier as the Archduchess, but ease has nothing to do with their prerogative: Haarlep wants attention. Haarlep wants to distract and inconvenience.   

"You're being tedious," they grumble. Haarlep pinches the back of his neck, claws threatening to break the skin. "They'll never want to play if this is how you act. Come, have a little fun. Entertain me." 

"I've no interest in your flesh, servant." 

Haarlep snorts. "However shall I cope, princeling?" The incubus waves off his rebuttal, sliding from his lap in one fluid movement. They clap their hands. "Oh, it's been a while. Can't we play in the Well?" 

The cambion pinches the bridge of his nose. Fishing, Haarlep likes to call it, though it is barely an accurate reflection of the sport. "Haarlep…" 

"You'll feel better. You always feel better after, dear." Almost as an afterthought, low and sickly sweet. "I know you, Raphael. Trust." The words make him itch, innocuous but with a hint of command. Trust? In the Hells? Trust this miserable creature? He thinks not. 

But Raphael stands, hands linked at the small of his back. He lets himself be led to the soul pillars, his prized jewels. Haarlep delights in them, eyes flickering over the shimmering service, tracing the souls trapped within. Their tail thrashes behind them. 

He's reminded of a housecat: trapped indoors, still hungry for prey, watching birds flutter past their window. 

"You'll have to throw them back," Raphael warns. 

"No fun at all." But Haarlep plunges their hand into the pillar, snake-quick. The stone's surface breaks around their arm like water. Haarlep catches one unfortunate soul, brings it forth, and squeezes. Savage glee flits across his features. The incubus holds their victim up for Raphael's inspection: a pretty little thing, no more than twenty, screaming, agonized, pledged to him for all eternity. A summer of pleasure for eons of torment; Raphael chuckles. 

"There, look at you enjoying yourself. Good boy," Haarlep purrs, dragging the tips of their claws across the spirit's flesh. They howl. Irritated by the noise, he tosses them back into the pool. It's no fun without a fight. They want something more stoic, more breakable. "You'll feel so much better about the situation if you just relax, princeling. Here," they yank their hand free of the pillar, bringing a fresh soul. Raphael recognizes them: one of his newer acquisitions. An opinionated little shit who thought they'd retain the upper hand in a deal with a devil. "Make this one scream." 

He does. And when the spirit is too weary to satisfy them with its cries, Haarlep thrusts them back into the pillar and fishes out new entertainment. The cycle begins again. A touch of mindless cruelty to break the monotony of his day…

…and Haarlep is right, damn them. Raphael feels better.

[robin33r]

Uhh warning this gets p detail-e

Warning for just mainly getting in detail w abusive relationships

Tired of pretending saurtis / tauram would've been healthy ngl. They are fr eachothers nightmares in the best way possible "Sam's insane and looney" okay but idk if you realized it was TAURTIS who was unhinged first. HE encourages Sam's shenanigans too. He influences it so so much.

I've seen people say Sam took after Yuki by resorting his problems using violence however.. Taurtis even at the start of the series suggested violence even for sam to use violence to get love. He tells Sam that he should be doing "chop chop" to make Sookie love him and he even thought it was too far at the time. I feel like now that's partially influencing his behavior in the reboot and how he's spreading the ideals onto his friends just like how taurtis influenced him subtly.

Now this isn't saying taurtis doesn't care and is only tryna negatively influence Sam. Taurtis cares about Sam but they're both codependent and they both reflect off of eachother, however Sam's a LOT more dependent and reflects off of taurtis much more than he does to Sam. Sam physically needs taurtis, almost like a dog and it's owner.

Sam and taurtis both have normalized unhinged thoughts that for ANY normal person would find it intrusive. They've straight up bathed in eachothers blood fir fun and normalized it. To anyone who thinks their love would be gentle and romantic I HEAVILY doubt that realistically it'd be that. They'd be the triple C's, cannibalism, confinement, and codepdency. They'd hurt eachother for the ballistic fun of it and ngl I even forget how often those two fight or hit eachother. They'd probably even carve out little shapes off if eachother even if it's immature, why? Because they can! There's no "gentle talking" with them, it's straight to the point and sometimes even mockery, if it isn't it's stern. They both love so roughly they almost *cant* be gentle, neither of them wanted to be either, they're just there for the fun and sake of it. Taurtis can be just as sadistic if not MORE sadistic than Sam sometimes even and ngl it's such an underrated thought of how much of a little shit he is.

Sam copied so much of previous behaviors from Yuki and Taurtis and it's so funny to me how the impact is so obviously hard. Sam would give taurtis EVERYTHING if jt meant to be with him, dead or alive. That desire could even probably lead Sam into grabbing his dead body and finding ways to bring it back alive/delude himself into believing the body. Most of the time he was unstable it was because of taurtis not being there and he's canonly always uneasy without taurtis, in which this could DEFINITELY Influence his behavior in the reboot.

The way he acts in the reboot is definitely twisted as ro how he normally acts without taurtis or when he's seemingly unstable and he pushes those ideals onto coolment and sometimes even owl. He's physically unable to handle himself holding the memories of what he had with taurtis yet not having him around. The absolute pain kf losing your favorite person and then having tk restart at the same place where hell went down and when things went down. Good lord only knows he probably hallucinates taurtis ' voice

This is a bit of a stretch but because of how little those two take eachothers mental health, injuries and pain seriously I'd even argue that hell maybe they'd even encourage ut and/or do it together or just laugh awkwardly st it. At MOST is the fact that taurtis did seem genuinely concerned at Sam's alcoholism but I don't know. This is just a huge stretch but god I love saurtis/tauram I sure wish toxic and doomed yaoi was real.

[boin-de-bindery]

Borrasca - C.K. Walker

This is a /r/nosleep story published in four parts in 2015, with a subsequent fifth part shared by the author on their blog.

Morbid choice for a first bind—it's not dissimilar to Manacled in terms of dark content—but as a tale I read back in my creepypasta phase and recently rediscovered, I thought it'd be fun to have a physical copy for my shelf.

The case is bound in green bonded leather, courtesy of an amazing local store that has a plethora of bookbinding supplies. Gold adhesive backed vinyl for the cover text, while the corner-guards are from a random Amazon seller.

The text block is bog standard A4 printer paper. Body text is in Noto Serif 12pt with titles/headings/pagecount in Bahnschrift. 59,000 words and 387 pages total.

Reflections on mistakes and lessons learned under the cut with more pictures.

I learned a LOT about typesetting, booklet printing and using a Cricut in making this. I still made a few silly mistakes with my next projects, but not so many as I did with Borrasca.

It's a rookie's first bind and it shows—the text block fits rather badly in the casebinding, because I goofed and made the spine support too wide. This doesn't look too bad from the front or the spine, but in opening the book the textblock shifts rather awkwardly.

I also scuffed the leather in parts, and totally misstuck the title on the spine. This is before I realised what transfer tape was for 🫠 Having the title running from bottom to top is novel, but I didn't want to risk gumming up the cover further by fixing it (not to mention my horror at the thought of repositioning everything by hand).

I'm pretty happy with the handsewn headbands though! I followed chezlin's tutorial and used tissue paper to secure the twine to the spine before sewing on embroidery thread. While the thread used was a little too thick, the headbands add a nice touch.

I had no idea what to put in the copyright page, ahaha. I've put a template together now, which does a better job at identifying the resources used and linking to the source material.

[cosqf]

An Alastor redesign!!

alright i have many thoughts abt this funny fella. keep reading for the design process + lots of ideas

ok so. i think he has too many "themes" going on - deer, radio, voodoo, shadow powers, tentacles, deal making, the list goes on. To have a balanced character one must make their "deal" clear and stick to only a few themes! So, based on that i chose to focus on the radio and deer aspect and then sprinkle some of the rest here and there.

To start, i wanted to make the main themes - radio and deer - crystal clear from his appearance. So i gave him some bulky headphones, similar to the ones radio hosts would use when broadcasting (and he's always broadcasting! more on that later) and painted his skin in deer-like patterns (freckles like deer spots!!! cute). i also gave him antenna/radio towers for his deer antlers.

Secondly, i got rid of his hairstyle and ears. but those are his main thing! i know but look it just doesnt fit much. Alastor is a mixed polite gentleman radio host in the 30's, and his hairstyle should if not directly reflect his past life, at the very least it should hint at it, and that bob cut is way too modern. what about the ears then? personal biased choice, really.

i played around with multiple ideas, throwing shit at the wall and seeing what stuck. i liked the idea of his hair having some curls like an old telephone wire and tried to mix that somehow with popular hairstyles for men in the 30's. don't mind the quality of the sketches

Next, his outfit! (the picture has the outdated hairstyle, which i changed cause i thought it didn't fit his gentleman vibe, despite really liking how it looked)

most of the changes i did were either because of personal opinion or because i had an interesting idea. i also wanted to keep the red suit going so that i did.

i gave his little mic little antlers and also a little "screen" that shows the radio waves it's recording, cause i think that's a neat look. some stripped pants cause it seems it was popular in his time, and his buttons are actually radio dials! i also kept the bowtie.

Alright, for the fun part now! when compared to Vox, who's the tv demon and quite literally a tv, Alastor sure didn't enough radio elements in his own body. so i had this idea, what if he had a radio built into his chest? instead of his voice (or whatever sounds he wants) coming out of his mouth, it would emanate from this radio, still with that old-timey effect he has. i also gave him a radio frequency dial that would change on it's own, maybe depending on his mood or when he's using his powers in a certain way, i havent fully decided yet.

Now, about his powers. most of them would work the same way, with a few tweaks. Since he's mouth-mute and is broadcasting his voice through the radio, i think it'd be cool if he made his voice echo from all nearby speakers - phones, tvs, whatever, he'd hijack them to ensure he's properly heard and grab everyone's attention, using the power his mic grants him. he could also be able to eavesdrop on audio transmitted through radio waves, so no phone calls or tv signals would be safe or private near him. when he wants to reach more people or crank up the volume his antlers would grow, extending the signal's range. with this, when he's angry or wants to look threatening, his antlers would shoot up, feeling like he's shouting at you from every direction. he'd fill the air with static, making your hair (literally) stand on end, and distort the sound around him to make sure only his voice is heard if he wants it to. these moments are when i imagine his frequency tune dial and button-dials spinning erratically on his body.

now onto his shadow and tentacle powers. i felt they didn't quite match his overall vibe BUT since they're such a core part of him i couldn't get rid of them. so i figured they could be like extra power granted to him after he struck the deal for his soul, very convenient and powerful but not entirely his own. breaking the deal would also mean losing that power which could be interesting for him considering how power-hungry he usually is and how truly desperate he would have to be to break the deal anyways. And so, since his shadow puppets (the ones he uses to fight adam and have the wall fixed) wouldn't be his this way, i changed it so they'd look like deer instead! and its part of his own power set. when the souls he owns and he "teared apart" aren't screaming on the broadcast he could summon them in and they'd help his fights out, just like normal.

heres some more sketches!

as some final notes, after his battle with adam some fun things would happen. with his mic broke and his wound fucking up the radio he has on his chest he'd have no way to broadcast his voice out, which would mean our beloved radio host would be unable to speak until he either fixed his mic or managed to heal up completely. fun stuff :)

thank you if u read all of this or just scrolled for the pictures, im grateful anyway. i want to make it clear i didnt make this redesign to "be better" than the original but rather as a fun creative assignment i gave myself, to enhance what i like about Alastor and smooth out the hard edges. i also wanna say i took inspiration from many things in the community - other redesigns, theories, rambles, they all helped me come up with this one. shoutouts to u all too

[purerehua]

how about ricky letting y/n to dress him up or letting her pick his ootd for their random dates? ><

studded

pairing ⇆ zb1 shen ricky x reader

genre ⇆ fluff ; established rs ; date night

wc ⇆ 435

cw ⇆ none i think

"i think you're getting carried away babe."

ricky stays as still as possible, examining himself in the mirror as you run around his walk-in closet searching for more accessories. as you help yourself to a sunglasses drawer you find, you reply back to him.

"what do you mean? you look hot!"

"well yes, thank you. but don't you think the studs are... a bit much my lovely?"

you enter his proximity again, this time wielding a pair of balenciaga sunglasses and a vision. but upon hearing ricky's observation, you realize he might be right.

you dressed ricky up with his usual fashionable monochrome style in mind, but a bit of your own excitedness to dress him up had clouded your own awareness of fashion dos and don'ts. in your eagerness to see ricky in something edgy over fancy, you turned him into... er something. studs everywhere even nineties' goths are shaking in their boots. tentatively, you place the shades on ricky's face to complete the look and he looks so ridiculous you can't help but burst into laughter.

"my bad, i thought it'd be... edgy or something!"

"i feel like we're past edgy, y/n. do you want help?"

"no, i got this! i'll fix this i swear. i just need..."

ricky watches you walk away as you trail off, once again way too serious about his ootd. but as strange as he found it, he loved you and this endeared him too much to really care. true to your promise, you ended up modifying the outfit, making sure all the accessories and accents don't clash with eachother. leaving ricky in a fashionable suit equipped with a tie that held silver chains, charms, and of course studs.

you excitedly once again, placed the sunglasses on ricky and did a fun little showcase of jazz hands to present ricky to his reflection. he stands around for a bit, trying out different poses and teasing you by looking way too deep in thought.

"well?!" already (lovingly) annoyed by ricky's showyness you exclaimed as he continued to pose.

"heh, it's so good y/n. you did so well, i look so handsome. right?"

"of course you do, you're my boyfriend. my boyfriend is always handsome."

the tips of his ears turn pinkish and suddenly ricky is all humble and bashful. you laugh at how quickly his demeanor changed before you glanced at your phone and realized you'd be late for your dinner reservation if you guys didn't leave soon.

"alright let's go handsome, we're gonna be late."

"okay okay, you're right. but next time i get to dress you up, beautiful."

[holdnarrytight]

A little encanto one shot:

The kids take Bruno out shopping

Please be warned this isn't really going anywhere it's just a (very long) writing exercise I did like two years ago and never meant to post anywhere. With that said, pleeeeease let me know what you think! I often write stuff on my phone's notes and never actually post them cause I'm sooo insecure of my writing. Please don't be afraid to give me very specific feedback on what I could improve, it'd make my day. I enjoy writing but I don't do it much cause I feel so embarrassed and like I'm no good

Part 1:

The dining room was filled with the sounds of the scraping of chairs, clinking of plates and chatter as the family settled down to have breakfast. Pepa had cooked today. She had been cooking more often in the past few weeks, insisting her sister should get some rest. Julieta eventually learned to accept the much needed help.

"Recemos, familia" Alma said after taking a seat at the head of the table. She offered her hands to Pepa and Julieta, who were sitting next to her. The chatter died down as the rest of the family took each other's hands and closed their eyes. Alma said a prayer of gratitude for the food on the table and the family's constant blessings. After saying their amens, they dug into the meal.

Antonio looked around the table at his family eating and talking unbothered, confusion etched in his features. He glanced at the balcony where Bruno's door stood now level with the others, but it was closed.

He got onto his knees on the chair and leaned against his brother's side, putting his hand up to hide his message. Camilo paused and leaned closer curiously to listen. "Otra vez no viene tío Bruno?" Antonio whispered into his ear. Camilo quickly looked around to check if his tío was anywhere to be seen, then shook his head.

"Nah, I don't think so" He continued to eat.

Antonio sat back, not touching his food but looking down at his feet distractedly and fidgeting as thoughts raced through his mind. Hours after receiving his gift all those months ago, he had been told by the rats everything he needed to know about his estranged uncle who he'd heard so little about. A fascinating and heart-wrenching tale that made sure from then on Antonio would do anything in his reach to make sure his tío Bruno felt included in the family.

The day Casita was officially finished had been the happiest day of Antonio's life. Even happier than the day of his ceremony, when he was so nervous. It was happier because that day was all about joy. The family was reunited, the entire village came over and surprised the family with a great party to celebrate the occasion, giving them the opportunity to relax and be on the other side for once, without doing all the planning and cooking.

They laughed, danced, played music, ate and chatted with friends and family.

That evening, each family member touched the doorknobs on their brand new doors, bringing the visual representation of their gifts back in an awe-inspiring spectacle of light as the rooms were once again brought into reality. Some of them looked different as a result of the self-reflection they had done. Mirabel even got her own room that day, and Antonio couldn't have been happier for her.

That evening his tío Bruno took his hand and sat with him on the floor in a quiet area with their respective plates in hand. Antonio told his tío all about his life, his friends in the village, his school, his favourite games and toys, his gift and his animals. Bruno listened attentively, asking questions and encouraging him.

Bruno, in turn, told him stories about his childhood in the village and his pet rats. He made silly voices, funny jokes and took interest in everything Antonio had to say; eager to get to know his youngest sobrino whom he'd never had a chance to interact with. When they were done eating, Bruno gave his nephew a piggyback to the heart of the party where his parents were dancing and joined the fun with the rest of the family.

It went like this all night long, until Antonio got tired and his papá tucked him into bed and went right back to partying.

After such special hours spent together, Antonio grew to admire and love his tío even more. He was looking forward to every interaction with him ever since. He thought they had become friends.

Unfortunately, since then Bruno had not been present for many family meals; still preferring to keep to himself. Antonio hadn't had many opportunities to interact with Bruno. Maybe life hadn't changed that much after all.

Camilo took a glance at his little brother to check on him. When he saw the look on Antonio's face, he put down his fork.

Camilo turned to Antonio and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. The child looked up at him with big, teary eyes.

"Hey, I know what you're thinking. Don't you go worrying about your tío. He's a grown-up, he's gonna be okay" He pointed a finger, keeping his voice down so the conversation would stay between them.

"But- but why does tío Bruno not wanna eat with us?" Antonio questioned, feeling hurt.

Camilo thought for a second, searching for the right words.

"Do you remember Scary Bruno?"

Antonio nodded sadly, picturing the silly impression of their tío that Camilo used to make. Seven foot frame, rats along his back. Mean expression and mischievous grin.

"That's how people used to see him. So they gave him a hard time because of it. But when tío came back, people learned to live with him, right? But he's still learning to live with people again" Camilo concluded.

"Do you get it?"

Antonio nodded slowly, processing the information as he started to understand and feel calmer.

"He just needs a little more...time and patience from us. Can you be patient for your tío?"

Antonio nodded again, determined this time.

Camilo patted him on the back and gave him a soft affectionate squeeze on the shoulder, as they both turned to their plates. Suddenly Camilo felt someone staring at him and looked up to see Mirabel, who he just now realized had been listening the whole time, smiling softly at him from across the table. He grinned back at her.

Just as he did, the chatter died down once again. The family seemed to have run out of things to say for now, and ate in silence for a couple of minutes until Agustin chimed in. "So, it looks like Bruno's not coming for breakfast this morning"

The first month Bruno was back, the family would always wait politely for him before starting to eat; sometimes going as far as sending someone upstairs to knock on his door and ask if he was going to come down to eat with the family. That is, until he thanked them for the gesture but insisted it's not necessary they wait for him. Since then, they lowered their expectations and allowed him the freedom to come down when he feels like it.

Alma glanced up at Bruno's door on the second floor "No, but it's okay. We need to give him time, he'll come to us when he's ready" She nodded, partially trying to reassure herself too. It was always hard for her to see Bruno so isolated. Him returning home and going straight back to his old habits brought back her old concerns for her son.

Another minute of silence.

"Mamá, speaking of Bruno" Pepa spoke up suddenly, making everyone's heads turn towards her. "Julieta and I washed his red chair yesterday. It was a lot of work." She sighed

"He kept saying 'no, no, that's okay Pepa' but we couldn't just leave it like that!" Pepa imitated her brother's tone and expression. "The thing was falling apart. You should've seen it!"

"Might as well have sent it off to the dump and bought a new one. Saved you the trouble" Felix cackled and Dolores and Camilo chuckled.

"Ay Felix no digas eso!" Pepa shoved his arm playfully and spoke in a warning tone. "You know what he told us?" She pointed with her fork, looking around at the other relatives to engage them in the conversation.

"He said that chair was the first piece of furniture he managed to get for the hideout" Felix choked on his juice and started coughing, and all of the kids burst out laughing at his apologetic expression.

"Right, Julieta? Didn't he?" Pepa nodded at Julieta, asking her to back her up.

Julieta nodded. "We tried to tell him we could get a new one, but he just wasn't having it" Julieta explained to the family. "Said it had sentimental value" She sighed.

Something clicked for Mirabel and she spoke up "I know what we should do! We should take him out in the village and help him pick out new furniture for his room, new clothes. It will be fun!"

Julieta tensed up and exchanged a knowing look with an equally tense Pepa "Uy, mija... You know what your tio is like. It's hard enough to get him to come downstairs; let alone convince him to leave the house" Agustín placed a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"But maybe if we try to-" Mirabel started.

"It's not like we didn't try. Mamá woud knock on his door every day, beg him to come outside but he wouldn't listen!" Pepa interrupted. "It was no use" Felix nodded knowingly, while abuela just sat in silence staring off into the distance, not wishing to discuss the subject.

"But what if it's different this time?" Mirabel argued.

"The point is, Mira... I don't think he's ready yet. It's too soon." Julieta finished with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry"

Mirabel, now frustrated, dropped the subject and picked up her fork. Her distracted gaze rested on the plate as, in her mind, she stubbornly gave the final word: "We'll never know if we don't try"

---

The family finished their breakfast mostly in silence and slowly started leaving the table to go about their day. Pepa, Julieta and Abuela picked up the dishes and took them to the kitchen. Camilo was the next to leave, presumably to lazily lounge in one of the hammocks like he usually does after having a big meal. Felix took Antonio upstairs. Agustín headed towards the living room.

As Luisa and Isabela, each on one side of Mirabel, were getting up; Mira knocked her leg against theirs under the table to get their attention. When they looked at her quizzically she cocked her head towards the table, signalling they should sit back down.

Dolores, ever vigilant with her curious eyes and her sharp ears, was now onto them. She dragged her chair closer and leaned forward as if by doing so she could hear them better. As if she needed it. Nevertheless, Isabela and Luisa did the same so now the four girls were all sat very close around the table.

"Do we agree that just because they said no, it doesn't mean we shouldn't try?" Mirabel whispered injusticed.

"What are you talking about?" Luisa said, confused.

"The Bruno thing!" Dolores hissed, evidently wanting to get to the point.

[it cuts off cause I never finished this dialogue]

Part 2:

Bruno Madrigal sat relaxed in his hammock. His legs crossed, a book in his lap. One hand flipping the pages every minute, the other dangling lazily from the hammock to caress his rat companions, occasionally scraping the sandy floor.

His pets had been much more well-fed and groomed these days. The same could be said about him. In fact, a lot had changed in the weeks that had passed since la Casita was finally finished.

Reading was always one of Bruno's favourite pastimes, especially fiction stories that fueled his already vivid imagination; transporting him to happier worlds and serving as inspiration whenever he came up with his own narratives. This time around though, he wasn't reading in his little hideout in the walls like he had done every day for the last 10 years. He was doing it in his room.

The space has transformed considerably from before the house crumbled and continues to change every day, following its owner's feelings like every room in la Casita. The steps of the massive stone stairs seemed to be decreasing exponentially, and the mounds of sand parted to reveal green tiles with elaborate patterns underneath. The walls are no longer cold and grey but specked with pieces of emerald stones, decorated with areas of intricate carvings depicting Bruno's rituals and powers... And a few pencil portraits of his beloved pet rats here and there. He even had all his furniture moved from his hideout to the room, where the family managed to create a cozy little area for him. Overall, it looks more inviting and lived in.

Increasingly similar to what it looked like before everything started changing all those years ago. Still, it felt a little strange to him, being here. Sure, being back was a dream come true. Everything had worked out in the end: Mirabel is okay. The family is more connected than ever. The house was rebuilt. The miracle is still going strong. But his issues wouldn't be solved so easily.

He sometimes felt like crawling back into his hideout, where he's been living for so long. He was sure casita could conjure it up for him again if he asked, and the thought tempted him whenever he faced a challenge. Hiding is good. It's familiar. He knew every nook and cranny of the spaces between the walls that had been his home, and he was protected there. But he was vulnerable here, where anyone could reach him. He often thought it felt better to be invisible than rejected.

The room changed so much every week, and though it might be for better; it still takes some getting used to. It wasn't his home yet. But he knew it would feel like it again one day. Seeing the room's pleasant changes gave him hope, knowing it mirrors his deeper thoughts and feelings.

Just as he noticed he had zoned out and not registered a word of the last three pages, a knock came from the glowing door, startling him and making him jump up, still not used to visitors. His rat friends scurried away.

"Knock knock knock! Tío? Soy yo, Mirabel" Mira called enthusiastically.

A couple of muffled voices retorted from behind the door.

"...And sisters" She added.

Another muffled voice complained.

"...And prima! Ay!" Mirabel sighed, exasperated. "Can we come in? We brought you breakfast"

"Sí, Mira. Come in" he answered, getting up and putting his book away. The sandfall parted to let him through as he straightened his ruana, dusting off any rogue particles of sand.

He walked to the door, holding it open as Mirabel, Luisa, Isabela and Dolores came in, each greeting their uncle as they passed him.

Once they were all in the room, Isabela held out a small cactus in an argyle pot, smiling shyly. "Tío, this is for you"

His gaze shifted between the plant and his niece, absorbing the information. He reached for it and gently took it, surprised. A gift for him?!

"I planted it!" She exclaimed loudly, all giddy. A small crooked smile grew on his face upon her barely contained excitement.

Isabela had been one of the members of the family who had changed the most in the last few months. She experimented with her gift in a way she'd never felt free to, and the authenticity empowered her. She grew herbs for her mother. She grew vegetables and fruit trees around the village - although those were quite taxing on her. But Isa had also learned to appreciate growing plants the regular way, making gardening into a hobby. She brought botanical books home and took the time to learn about the plants she had been growing all her life. It was a way to feel more grounded and connected to herself. She now often wore her hair out of the way, up in a messy bun, an apron tied around her waist, and didn't mind getting a little dirt under her fingernails; much to her abuela's discomfort.

He turned the pot around in his hands, checking the details of the plant. As he did so, he noticed a pink flower growing on top on the other side.

The vision of the prickly plant growing the delicate flower reminded him of the duality in his and Isabela's gift. His, branded inherently negative for decades, eventually became the family and the miracle's saving grace. Hers, labeled only ever perfectly pleasant, now unleashed and used to explore her full potential, thorns and all. This represented them quite well.

"Isa... Gracias. I love it" he looked her in the eyes, feeling touched at her thoughtfulness. She smiled wider. "Plus this room could use a little decor too, ya know?" he gestured around the empty entrance, rolling his eyes and pulling a bored face. The girls chuckled, and he did too. Making them laugh felt nice. His sobrinos were his favourite people in the world. Talking to them felt easy.

If only the same could be said about the adults...

"Why don't you come in? I was just doing some reading but having my sobrinas around for a visit is much better, I think!" he chatted enthusiastically as he lead them through the parted sandfall towards his living area. The girls followed him, dusting themselves off and looking all around the ample space. Each family member had come to visit a few times since Casita was rebuilt, but the room's changes were always a surprise.

He pulled out a few cushions, fluffing them and laying them on the floor for them. "Sorry girls, these are all I've got for now" he laughed nervously, crossing his arms. "No couch, you see?" Bruno shrugged.

"This is perfect" Mirabel reassured kindly.

"Yeah. Thanks, tío" Luisa said, taking a seat along with Isabela.

Dolores, distracted by the amplification and echoing of their voices in the vast cave, was the last one of the girls to sit down, next to Mirabel; looking up at the high stone ceiling with such marvel she nearly missed the cushion.

Bruno sat in his old - now properly washed and cleaned by his sisters - red armchair. He set the cactus Isabella have him on a rickety table next to his chair.

A few of Bruno's rats came out of hiding to sit under his ruana. Some went to Mirabel instead, who chuckled and promptly started to pet and caress them. She had grown rather fond of them, having visited so often. She even knew their names by now. The other girls didn't quite share the same feeling for the little critters yet and preferred to keep their distance, as evidenced by Dolores slowly inching her cushion away from Mirabel.

A comfortable silence took over as Mirabel and Bruno played with the animals and the other girls took in the... interesting decor, for lack of a better word.

"Nice drawings" Dolores quietly pointed out the art around the hammock depicting the rodents in a variety of styles of clothing, some even enacting dramatic scenes. Everyone's heads turned to where she was pointing.

"Oh, those?" Bruno put down his animal friend, following Dolores' gaze to the pictures behind him. "Yeah, I've always liked drawing, and for the last few years these little guys were pretty much the only models I had" He gestured to his art, his eyes traveling over the mural of portraits before shifting back to Dolores

"Gotta work with what you got, you know?" He shrugged.

Mirabel, who had been working with what she'd gotten for a long time, especially agreed.

She saw a lot of her uncle in her personality. For one, they both loved their families so deeply they would put themselves last to help them, without batting an eye. Secondly, they were both artists. It was no secret Mirabel loved to cover all of her garments in colorful embroidery. But she could also sew, play the accordion fairly well and even tried her hand at writing every now and again.

After the reconciliation, Julieta fondly told her daughters all about how Bruno used to play the guitar and sing to the family when he was younger. She told funny stories about the times when he would make the village children laugh with his silly voices and imitations, and his mischievous, quick-witted sense of humour.

Sadly, Mirabel didn't have any memories of her tío being cheerful and joyous. The one memory she has of him is from the worst, most chaotic day of her life: when she didn't get her gift. From just before he vanished to protect her.

"Wow those are like, really good!" Luisa exclaimed, pointing out a few particularly realistic drawings to an equally impressed Isabela.

All this sudden attention was making Bruno feel a little flustered. "Well, I had a lot of time to practice, so..." He played with a loose thread of the fabric on one of the armrests, averting their gaze.

The girls sensed his discomfort with where the conversation was headed, albeit they couldn't help but wonder what it was like to live in isolation all those years.

The family had had several questions about what Bruno's daily routine and habits had been like in that period, but usually filed those away in respect for his desire to forget (which didn't mean they couldn't theorise amongst themselves).

They sat in an uncomfortable silence.

Luisa suddenly reached out and gently took his hand. "What... What was the hardest part?' She broke the silence. Her genuine tone and gentle expression as she looked him in the eyes conveyed that she wasn't just asking out of mere curiosity, but wish to connect.

Bruno blinked and stared off into the distance, searching for the right words.

"Definitely being away from you, my sobrinos..." He squeezed Luisa's hand with a little apologetic smile and she let go, encouraging him to go on.

"Don't get me wrong, I missed everyone; of course! But I had an entire life with mis hermanas, mamá... I had so little time with you all." He looked at each of them now, bearing a defeated expression. They listened closely to his every word, as it was rare for him to open up like this.

"I only had five years with you, Mira and even less with Camilo. And I wasn't even around that much then. All I could think about was how I should've spent more time with you. With all of you. And how foolish I was to let meaningless things get in the way of what we could've had. And then Antonio came along and I couldn't even meet him or hold him... It killed me."

He shook his head and hung his head low, as if rejecting all of those painful memories.

The girls sat in complete silence waiting for him to go on. Sensing their expectation, he finished with a warm smile:

"Maybe that's why it's so much easier for me to be around you than everyone else."

The girls looked at him in wonder, touched by what they had heard.

Mirabel was struck by the realization that, although she could barely remember Bruno's presence during her childhood as he was so isolated, he'd loved her so much he had sacrificed everything to make sure nobody would find the vision and she'd never have to feel the way he did.

"Tío, listen..." Mirabel started "the reason we came here, other than to bring your breakfast, was because... Because..." She stuttered. Her mother's warnings playing in her mind, making her unsure of whether she should go on.

He leaned forward in expectation.

Sensing Mirabel's struggle and barely containing her excitement, Isabela finished her sentence.

"We wanted to take you out into the village today!" She nearly squealed.

Bruno tensed up. He opened and closed his mouth several times, as if searching for something to say. Just as he was about to speak, Mirabel interrupted urgently with her hands up "I know what you're about to say! You're gonna say you're not ready, maybe some other day and all that; but tío, it's gonna be great, trust me!" She spoke very fast, and a little too loudly.

"We're all gonna be there with you and we can do lots of fun things in the village and have the best day ever and I know you're worried about the neighbors staring or being rude to you but we'll escort you everywhere and make sure that doesn't happen; plus what better bodyguard is there than Luisa?" She finished her frantic monologue by gesturing to her sister, evidently believing she'd finished with the best point.

"Can't argue with that!" Luisa shrugged, smiling proudly.

"Mamá and tía Pepa were talking over breakfast about the day you moved back into your room and we realised you still haven't done any shopping since then. We thought we could go out together and get you everything you need" Isabela explained rationally. "We could get stuff for your room, new clothes for you, and anything else you might like. And don't worry, we'll do the talking!"

"Plus... We have so much catching up to do, like you said" Dolores pointed out softly.

"Right?! We'll have the whole day to ourselves!" Mirabel finished excitedly.

They all grinned at him expectantly.

He thought it all over. Talking to his family still wasn't easy, but even the mere thought of going out in the village frankly made his stomach turn with anxiety and his hands go cold. In a second, he thought of all the ways in which this could possibly go wrong. They all involved neighbors cussing him out over negative visions he'd had decades ago, angry mobs chasing after him with pitchforks and torches, the works - his active imagination was perhaps being a tad overdramatic.

But as he imagined his sobrinas by his side and all of their loving encouragement, his heart swelled with joy and some of the fear melted away. His nieces are such good people that he knows even if the neighbors hated him, they would never do anything against him if it meant they could upset the girls. He'd have their good name to fall back on. With them, he was free.

The image became clearer and clearer: they would spend all day together. The girls would show him around the Encanto and tell him what's changed in the last ten years. He would, in turn, open up more and share stories about his childhood and the family. He'd learn more about his nieces. They could eat out for dinner at the end of the evening. They'd laugh together and have a memorable day. He'd be able to make up for some of their lost time!

As the anxiety turned into excitement, the picture in his imagination became so clear that it started to take on a powerful green glow and solidify in his mind's eye; and as he felt the familiar warm sensation behind his eyelids, he quickly shielded his face with his hand and turned away burying his face into the armchair's back rest so his nieces wouldn't see. Mirabel had seen him like this, but he wasn't ready to show the other girls yet. He was afraid of what they might think.

"Tío! Are you okay?!" Luisa lept from her cushion with her hands out, ready to help him. Isabela jumped and Dolores squeaked, spooked by his unexpected reaction.

Mirabel, now on her feet, softly pulled Luisa back by the arm. "It's okay, it's just a vision!" She reassured.

As Luisa stepped back and relaxed, Mirabel kneeled in front of Bruno as he blinked back into his normal state and faced her.

"What did you see?"

"You were right. It's a great day" he smiled.

Part 3:

As they opened the door of his room and stepped onto the landing, Bruno pulled the hood of his ruana over his head in order to avert the neighbors' stared. Isabela and Dolores slinked their arms around his, each on one side as they made their way down the stairs. Mirabel and Luisa followed behind.

"Oh, this is great! You're in such good hands with us, Dolores and I are always shopping and we know the best places in town with the cutest clothes" Isabela gushed and clapped excitedly.

"Hey, hey, hey, hold on!" Camilo, who'd been walking toward the kitchen, suddenly placed himself between the group and the door, hands up signaling them to stop. "Where do y'all think you're going without telling me?" He put his hands on his hips defensively

"We're just taking tío out shopping. Wanna come?" Luisa offered politely.

Camilo's expression changed from defensive to incredulous as his jaw dropped. "I just can't believe you guys were going on a family outing without me. I thought we had something special!" He pouted theatrically.

Bruno chuckled quietly, entertained by his sobrino's act.

Isabela crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "Oh, okay! So why don't you tell us where *you* were sneaking off to, then?" She pushed his chest with an inquisitive finger, slightly throwing him off balance. She knew from the look on his face he was about to sneak food from the kitchen again.

"Ow! Excuse me, but that's my business" He massaged the spot where she had poked him.

"Oh, so let me see if I understand. Where you go is your business, but where we go is public information?" She put her hands on her hips.

"I have my own life, you know?" Camilo crossed his arms, shrugging matter-of-factly. Isabela scoffed at his nerve.

...Aaaand bickering ensued, as usual.

Luisa blinked confused at how the conversation had escalated in seconds. Beside her, Bruno was standing there awkwardly shifting on his feet watching it unfold, not sure whether to intervene as the adult figure in the group (he felt he didn't have the authority to); while Dolores was covering her ears, her eyes shifting between Isa and her brother as they argued, not wanting to lose any of the free entertainment.

Isa let Camilo's teasing get to her so often, at this point Mirabel was starting to believe she just enjoyed bickering with him. It was just their way of socialising with each other, she supposed. They'd always been like this, after all.

Mira sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ay, Isa! Por favor, cálmate!" She pulled her sister back by the arm, breaking the conflict. "He's just teasing you, you know what he's like."

Camilo's smirk only grew as he counted himself the winner. Isa scoffed, pouted and narrowed her eyes dangerously at him as she stepped back, standing behind her sisters and taking a few deep breaths to steady herself.

"Okay, that's better I guess!" Mira said optimistically trying to lift the mood, pretending she couldn't feel Isabela glaring at Camilo from behind her.

"Guys c'mon, we've got something a little more important to be doing now than this!" Luisa tried to shift the group's focus back into the task. "Camilo, are you coming or not?" Her tone demanded a proper answer.

Camilo pretended to carefully ponder the question, then shrugged "Yeah, okay." He walked over to the group. Luisa, Isabela and Mirabel now lead the way, just wanting to get the pointless discussion over with quickly.

As they all stepped outside, Bruno patted Camilo on the back and offered him a warm smile, pleased he was coming along. The more sobrinos, the merrier.

He felt like he was being escorted by the toughest bodyguards, having his sobrinos' excellent reputations to fall back on for the day. Nobody could give him a hard time or make him feel alienated today. He knew they wouldn't allow it.

"Oh, hola tío." Camilo lifted a hand in acknowledgement just as he felt Dolores nudge him.

When he turned to her she was glancing at him from the corner of her eyes, with a subtle smile to let him know she thought the whole ordeal had been quite funny. He grinned back but noticed Dolores was now biting her lip hard to hold back from laughing.

Seeing her trying so bad was hilarious, and he covered his mouth with his hand to stifle the snorts threatening to let loose. Camilo started going red in the face, which in turn made his sister's body start shaking with barely controlled humor. Dolores' eyes started watering from containing herself, and Camilo squeezed his eyes shut to try and gain some self-control.

Isabela rolled her eyes, but the siblings didn't see it.

They sniggered and snorted back and forth like this until Bruno caught the pair by surprise by slinking his arm over Camilo's shoulder and pulling him closer, abruptly pulling the siblings apart in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

For some reason this was what made them finally burst out laughing and gasping for air, earning a glare from Isabela and confused looks from Mirabel and Luisa.

Even Bruno couldn't help but chuckle a bit too, albeit feeling a little guilty. Their loud, high-pitched roars were simply too contageous to resist; and the more the villagers stared bewildered and bemused at the racket, the harder it was to fight back. Eventually even Luisa, Mirabel and Isabela lightened up a little, too.