#but then i ended up rendering the whole thing 💀

[mochiiniko]

burning up in your mad iq

[tonydaddingham]

am i missing something in kinda comparing the entire maggie and nina situation to paris? 'cause there was no need to get them to fall in love. a&c might not be able to make people actually feel it, but they seem to have mind control down pat without much effort (or any moral quandaries). they could have waited for an angel to show up and just faked it- easy, certain way out. it's not like the idea of working together like that is even weird, not after the gabriel miracle.

so. either they missed it, which is plausible, and uhhh, renders this whole ask pointless, or *would* have moral issues with it (also plausible💀), or they're being completely ridiculous again, and would rather plan balls than actually make an effort to get themselves out of Mortal Fucking Peril (not that aziraphale necessarily knows it is). i think it would fit the pattern, honestly- when not having huge blowouts over *problems of their own making* (hey aziraphale kill this kid it'll be fine, aziraphale why won't you ditch earth with me, crowley why won't you come to heaven with me), the ineffables always seem to be constantly, aggressively orbiting eachother, making heart eyes and goofing off (cough end of the resurrectionists "not kind" cough) with 0 regard for safety except for the (very very sadly i can't find the -ennial word for every other century) occasional heart attack, and then just skipping right back down the aisle.

(hope this is coherent, i've been editing things a little too long to tell)

hello @aq-uatic my darling!!!💕

(bby im so sorry!!! i thought i had posted this ages ago and i went rooting around in the drafts to continue something else and realised i hadn't!!! im an idiot sorry!!!)

i think there is some context behind aziraphale's actions in particular with this scene:

we know that aziraphale has a fondness for maggie, that i'd argue goes slightly beyond the fondness he has for humans in general (and even then that's questionable at times), and he seems genuinely put out that he's not in a position to help her - to wiggle his fingers about, and make it happen for her (horrifying implications, aziraphale, but we move). so, whilst aziraphale obviously is prompted into the whole 'lets-make-these-two-humans-fall-in-love-bc-that's-totally-normal-and-okay' by holding the everyday record back in the bookshop, i think there is an element of aziraphale genuinely wanting to help her, and coming up with the ball is his interpretation of an organic way to do that (💀). but it doesn't justify the whole thing one little bit; despite the possibility of that being his intention, it's completely batshit - nina certainly didnt know, let alone consent, to anything, and maggie didn't either; they're not dolls for either of them to play around with.

essentially though, i agree - any logical, coherent, sensible thinking would have probably just helped them arrive at a solution that didn't involve warping reality and bringing a whole room of people under a horrifying amount of hypnosis. but you have two supernatural creatures who, in a fairly major way by the time of 2023 at least, have their sense of existing amongst humanity influenced by not only the clandestine, dramatic nature of their own story, but by their tendencies towards damsel-but-not-wholly-in-distress-ing and anti-hero-at-best-ing respectively. we have to barely scratch the surface to see the intertextuality between these traits of theirs, and where they might stem from stories told in certain books and movies (emma by jane austen, and james bond spring to mind).

they constantly talk in riddles to each other, in code and in double meanings - they may somewhat understand the general sense of what the other is saying, but it's not categorical and leaves too much room for error or misinterpretation (which, ultimately, it does). it's a constant dance circling each other, ebbing and flowing, pulling in and drawing back, but never coming together properly; it's a quadrille vs. a waltz.

it makes sense that they are so used to finding the most roundabout and convoluted ways to do things, and this continues into s2, because not only is it how it tends to go down in fiction, but also because that's literally how they've had to exist - not only so their closeness isn't detected, or so their true natures aren't suspected by their respective head offices, but also by nature of being literal supernatural creatures living amongst humans - sleeper agents, of a kind - and constantly having to exist without detection.

none of this makes it right, of course not - but i actually don't think they see any other way of going about things. they're so good at it, so well practiced, that (as just two examples) they run verbal rings around gabriel/metatron (book) and beelzebub chattering about the great vs. ineffable plans at the airfield, and they dance around the most straightforward solution to the maggie/nina problem. as for themselves and their relationship, they dont speak plainly to each other until the bandstand or final fifteen... and even then, i feel like its aziraphale that is maybe the first to break and speak plainly? idk:

i think it's clear that crowley is the more scared, and therefore the more cautious, in this regard. for all his objections attempting to distance himself as an angel compared to crowley's being a demon, aziraphale feels to me that he is the more inclined to throw caution to the wind. i think its because crowley understands the danger in blowing their cover a little more than aziraphale does - aziraphale on multiple occasions slips in nearly admitting their closeness (1800, end of 1827 as you pointed out, and when meeting with the archangels in heaven in s1) - and is still stuck in the safety that dancing around what should be plainly said affords them. they both - as you wonderfully put it - aggressively orbit each other, and breaking the holding pattern comes a little too late.

so no, i think your drawing the parallel between the Weird-Ass dynamic in 1793, how they handle the maggie/nina storyline, and then how they behave with each other, is very apt! but its, at this time, arguably all that they've known - acting in this way - and breaking the cycle is starting to happen, but won't pay its dividends until s3✨

[tarobii]

@askpocketsans hi sorry this took so long I didn't know where to start lmao

so first off, here's a speedpaint of the initial drawing

(also a little peek into the design process of dream!)

(and yes, this big piece did come before the proper ref lmao)

now to itemize what the heck just happened:

the initial sketch!

a test rendering of the sketch (to work out colors and lighting)

coloring the sketch according to what I want to make move (there's no rhyme or reason to the colors--just don't let the same color touch if they're on different parts)

rendering each piece individually (as you can see I did lineart first and then coloring)

rendering the background

and done!

here's a clearer look at the separation sketch thing

(the colors don't have the most contrast but it gets the point across lmao)

also! it's not necessary to draw every piece separately; you can just finish the initial thing and then separate it after the fact, I just prefer to separate it from the get go so I don't have to do any cleanup work haha

once that's done I merge each body part/piece so each layer is a body part/piece

and that ends with this:

(man I even popped out the layer tab and there's still not enough space to show every layer 💀)

so like

one layer looks like this

once I'm done merging the pieces, I export the whole thing as a .psd (Very Important!!!)

now for rigging!

I boot up dragonbones and go to "New Project" > "Create Animation" > "Armature Template" > "Finish"

that will bring up the main workspace

from there, I go to "File" > "Import Assets to Stage" > select the .psd file > "Open" > "Import"

that leaves me with this

(note: right click empty space to deselect)

(also, if the background doesn't import you may have to go back to the psd and cut it up into smaller pieces)

from there, I check the canvas option and set the size

(yeah I know I use really big canvasses)

now for rigging!

when I rig I like to hide everything except for the specific things I'm rigging

it makes things less cluttered

now, select the "Create Bone" tool (or just press "E") and then click and drag where the bones should be

that leaves us with something like this:

in this case, the bones should automatically be attached (if you move the upper arm the rest of the arm will move with it) but in cases where that is not the case, you can manually set the parent bone by right clicking it > "Set Parent" (or press "P") > then clicking the bone you want to attach it to

now to make ik constraints (controllers) for the bones

I'll be showing you both types of controller--the type you want to use depends on how you want it to move

click on the bone you want to move, then go to the "IK Constraint" section on the left sidebar

(ctrl + click to select multiple bones)

for the arm I like to use "Create IK Constraint at End of the Bone" and "Create IK by Pick" for the hand

(don't forget to rename the controllers!)

this makes it so that you can move the bones like so

(don't mind how crunchy that gif is lmao)

since I have the upper and forearm bound to the same ik constraint, they move in tandem, and said ik constraint is bound to the end of the forearm bone

the hand (bone) will always point toward it's respective constraint (the little red dot in the gif)

and then rinse and repeat for every moving part heres the fully rigged skeleton (heh):

(also make sure to lock all the bones and assets after you make the controllers so you can only move the controllers)

now to animate!

go to the animation workspace in the top left

(Ctrl + B to hide the bones)

you set the loop here (in frames)

C: current frame S: start of loop E: end of loop

I set the initial and last keyframes of the loop here by selecting every controller (Ctrl + click) and clicking the flags

(that way the first and last frames are the same, making for a smooth loop)

now to actually start animating

I prefer to have this option selected:

it auto keyframes, so if I move a controller it's automatically saved to the timeline

(from here I genuinely don't know how to explain so bear with me here lmao)

those diamonds are all keyframes: aka poses that the animation *will* hit at the point in time

to make it actually move you need to go to a point between the start and end of the loop and move the pieces to wherever, then set it as a keyframe (or just move it if you have auto keyframe on)

once that keyframe is set, if you press space/play, it should automatically move between those two keyframes, smoothly

you can change how smoothly it moves with the curve editor

I don't really use the curve editor unless I think something needs to be eased in/out (like dreams arms in the original idol post)

(I don't really know how to explain further the animation is really a hand-on thing to me 💀)

here's what my timeline looks like when everything is done and animated

(I prefer to just pick a few points in time and animate everything to those points but you can keyframe at any point)

now to export the thing!

go to "File" > "Export" > pick whatever if you get the "This Texture is oversize" popup, I usually choose "Multiple Textures" (nothing really changes) > "Image"

and now we're here

things to make sure of:

Type: Sequence

Format: PNG

Animations: Current

FPS: whatever fps you were working in

Image Contains: Canvas area

Export to: wherever you want it to (you can see I have it going to the project folder with the rest of the idol stuff) (I suggest making a subfolder specifically for the frames bc they can stack up *real* fast

and then "Finish"

and then you wait for a bajillion years for it to export :)

finally, time to make it a video!

I use blender to turn the PNG sequence into an mp4, so here we go!

to the video editing workspace!

"Add" > "Image/Sequence"

navigate to the folder with the frames

press "A" to select all

set "End Frame" to the number of frames you have

set "Fit Method" to "Scale to Fit"

then hit "Add Image Strip"

that leaves us with this

(make sure to set "End" at the bottom right to the number of frames you have)

now for settings

go to format and change the resolution and frame rate

next, go to output

set the file destination

File Format: FFmpeg

open Encoding menu

open Video menu

Video Codec: H.264

Output Quality: Perceptually Lossless

open Color Management

View: Standard

Look: None

finally, hit "Render" > "Render Animation" in the top bar and sit tight while it exports

now, that was probably confusing so here are some videos I used myself (bc this was the first time I touched dragonbones in like a year lmao) [vid 1] [vid 2]

and also bonus video that I had on loop while I was making this hehe

[compacflt]

pre-publishing notes for slider (actually i meant to poast this yesterday i just forgor 💀), just to put them out there

as per usual i peddle an extreme amount of mis- and straight up disinformation about the aerospace & defense industries in this one. as a general rule of thumb if it sounds like i researched it poorly and/or made it up, that’s because i researched it poorly and/or made it up. like every scene i was like ‘that wouldn’t happen :D’ and wrote it anyway

this one-shot renders my third one-shot (about ice & hangman) entirely obsolete, as if the rooster one-shot didn’t already do that. so just ignore the hangman one. (i only wrote that one cause i felt bad about tagging my fics hangster when they’re barely in it.) Also, this one-shot kind of directly contradicts the end scene of “debriefing” in pretty much every way. i don’t really care, because this is a much stronger ending, but just throwing that out there—this one-shot doesn’t really jive with my other writing for plot/character arc reasons & im too lazy/sick and tired of my other writing to go back and retcon any of it

i only research things i am mandated to by school/a job/journalistic code of ethics, or that i think are interesting, or that i know will not depress me. divorce depresses me so i did not research divorce. Also im pretty sure marriage doesn’t work the way i described it “sign the papers & that’s it” but idgaf . shrug. im having fun

something i Didn’t make up, though: the thesis that iraq/afghanistan went so poorly in the long term partly because our armed services & especially that generation of commanding officers were prepared for total warfare with a near-peer (like the ussr) instead of counterinsurgency tactics against mountain-based guerrilla warfare-stratted forces (like Al-q*eda etc). that’s a very real thesis that ive read in multiple mil history books (“the generals,” ricks; “mil history for the modern strategist,” ohanlon) & co-opted because it’s kind of, in a fucked up way, a good metaphor for ice’s whole deal—he’d been expecting a traditional officer’s life with a woman etc (aka traditional warfare against the ussr, the us’ sworn enemy) and instead found happiness in the weirdest of places, another dude (aka guerrilla warfare) and no one taught him the right strategy for dealing with that; so, pigheadedly, like some US commands in the Middle East for a decade, he just dug in his heels & refused to budge/change his "total traditional war/heteronormative"-based strategy even if it obviously wasn’t working.

In a similar vein just so i can beat the allegations that im strategically dumb, the “strategies” against the ussr the boys are playing with in the usna section are intentionally the most dogshit strategies on earth. do not invade russia in a land war. especially not when nukes are on the table. the point is they’re ALL bad at strategy (strat as a metaphor for interpersonal communication).

i get the words “moderate” and “modulate” confused a lot. there’s a couple times in this one when I use moderate and mean modulate. Now it’s too late to edit it. by which i mean i am too lazy. editing anything on ao3 is a Sisyphean task. not worth it.

there's a lot to be said about my ice & maverick's respectability, which is to say, as slider points out, their life together is incredibly normie and boring and regular, except that they're two guys. like there's nothing super subversive going on here. "in the grand scheme of things is this really so bad?" is the question. politically this is a little funky. for metatextual character-arc reasons ice has to agree to an official marriage to prove that by the end he's not afraid to legally legitimize their relationship, but the heteroflexible/straight-passing/socially conservative ice & mav that I have written also probably aren't the kind of guys to acknowledge the struggle & strife & subversiveness of the queer community before them that fought for them to have that right. to quote from an essay by Lauren berlant & Michael Warner ("Sex in public"): "Respectable gays [ice & mav, distancing themselves from other gays] like to think that they owe nothing to the sexual subculture they think of as sleazy. But their success, their way of living, their political rights, and their very identities would never have been possible but for the existence of the public [visibly queer] sexual culture they now despise." just throwing that out there as something that is weighing on my mind having now finished writing this. I think that issue (ice & mav's relationship with/debt to the lgbt community) could be explored with a character like rooster, who might be much more a part of that struggle (especially pre-dadt-repeal)...but idk where or how I would write about it. just something to chew on. I keep finding different ways to politically interpret what I myself have already written which then keeps leading to more fucking one-shots. This slider one for instance was a reinterpretation from the 1980s Cold War politics lens of nuclear doomsday & how that affected a generation of men making shitty/suicidal decisions about their lives. an endless cycle for me. "just one more interpretation...i swear just one more..."

[lilliths-not-just-httyd-blog]

Watching Dragons: Rescue Riders so you don't have to: Episode 3

Hehehe cooped up inside going crazy over a snowstorm where have I seen this plot before?

Still fucking love Aggro sm

SOBBING i talk about the animation in this show being good and then THAT RIVER OMG 😭😭😭

like the water physics are great but that fucking texture 😭

"burple, of course she got freed" "no i didn't" 💀💀💀

leyla is short people mood

Leyla & Dak backstory?? fuck yeah

YO WE GOT PIRATES IN THIS SHOW FUCK YEAH!!!!!

"H2Oh-No-You-Didn't" 💀💀💀

the whole dragonese thing was a really interesting choice and im glad they went with that tbh

I vibe so hard with Summer i love her so much

cutter pretending not to be interested in leylas story and then shedding tears at the end wow i felt that

THAT SNOW LOOKED SO FLUFFY OH MY GODS THIS SHOW HAS SUCH GOOD TEXTURING/ANIMATION/RENDERING WTF

so i really enjoyed this episode. the constant story interruptions were a bit jarring when they kept fucking happening but otherwise i thought it was good!

favourite character: i think summer took the cake for me in this episode since it was her spotlight episode and i love her personality so much (tho aggro is still best girl)

least favourite character: burple, surprisingly. there was this running gag in this episode where he and dak and winger kept being annoying and interrupting the story. and like dak and winger were intentionally written to be annoying and egotistical and shit. and burple was just being a doofus which is like his whole character. but the thing is dak and wingers interruptions didn't take me out of the story? hard to explain but they didnt and they weren't horrible and it worked. vs burples interruptions which around the third act especially became actually overwhelming and distracting which was an error on the writers part. like it genuinely became hard to watch at times which obviously wasn't what the writers intended. i was gonna say dak and winger were my lesst favourites this time because their egotism annoyed me but the way burple was written actively made the quality of the episode worse, so. but don't get me wrong this episode is otherwise pretty good

[clochanamarch]

💀 back at you for leo :)

send in a 💀 to see how aisling would respond to the news of your muse's death.

there are people in the world who are protected. he knows with certainty that he's one of this rare and lucky group. they have the protection of bribed judges, blackmailed politicians, well-financed security guards. they have wealth and influence and connections, a trifecta of ironclad defence systems that renders them nigh-invincible. bullet-proof vehicles, whole platoons of trained and deadly people willing to do unthinkable things to guarantee their safety.

but he's being ridiculous. right? there's no way that she could get past all the guards downstairs. the cameras would capture the wings of a mosquito in the car park. the glass is treated to the extent that it's practically stronger than metal. it's virtually impossible for anyone to get past that. right? right. he's being stupid. since being transported to his office, every last measure has been utilized. all that's left is the security shutters. they even kept the lights off, dim moonlight giving him some view of the left side of the office. still he paces. still he watches his shoes leave frantic marks in the cashmere rug. finally, he lunges for the remote on the desk, just to shut up that goddamn anxiety that screams in every beat of his heart, when his hand strikes a vacant glass space where the remote had been just moments before.

click.

the shutters drop soundlessly, melting into a seamless steel wall over his glass prison cell. the remote is placed back on the desk, and the chair turns slightly to reveal a messed tangle of dark curls over a jarringly resigned face.

" that's not going to help. "

" jesus fuck-- "

" neither is that. though, i understand. you're upset. the family's in witness protection, right? i had to. i know, your family is your strength, i do, believe me. but they need new identities. ones removed from the legacy of their father. it was an act of mercy, i assure you. "

he wonders if she somehow laced the table with a chemical to make his legs feel so weak. he's trying to move to the door, but terror has him moving erratically, and he ends up tripping on the edge of the rug. she doesn't move from the chair.

" i do understand. and so would leo. " there. that fucking name. that goddamn curse of a man who haunts him still. "vincent" feels a bubble of a sob escape him, and scrambles forward for the door, but she interrupts his desperation with a slightly pained sigh. " it's locked, keith. "

" what do you WANT?! "

" bribery's not going to help, either. let me save you the distress of the unknown, keith. you made a choice. nothing leo could've done would change the outcome. i made a choice. and now there's nothing you can do that can change the outcome, too. "

" i have a fa-- "

" had. " now she stands. he shoves himself off the floor, overshoots, and ends up on his back, propped up by his elbows as he tries to scuttle away from her. " you had a family. so do a lot of people, keith. so did leo. "

" they'll look for me! "

" who? oh. no. they made that quite clear. it was the only question they asked. your former wife actually hugged me when i told her that they were never going to see you again. except, of course, the obituary photos. though maybe we can substitute a flower, spare the poor readers the hardship of seeing you on the page amongst their loved ones. " she stops by his side, and lowers a hand to him.

" i'll do anything-- "

" have some dignity, keith. stand up. " he doesn't. she sighs again, sharply this time, and grips his shoulder, illuminating his whole body with an eerie light. it feels like someone's turned him into a puppet. he disconnects from his body, watches his limbs smoothly rearrange until he's upright, crouched down to accommodate her stature. when the light fades, she nods, then lifts her hand to his temple, pressing her thumb against it. " you deprived him of this. dignity. cowardice is like a disease, and you infected everyone with it. see... leo was a lot of things. a complicated man. but not a damn soul, living nor dead, could accuse him of being a gutless coward. and you took that from him. then you took him from me. "

keith finds himself unable to do anything but stand there and weep.

" he was a good man. people figure you need to be good 24/7, but that's not possible. he did his best. even when he lost against doctor apocalypse. you know how many would've just fled? hid? begged for mercy? not him. he lost. but he fucking fought. he wasn't perfect. but he let me have my imperfections too. i loved him. and he's gone now. "

" please-- "

" that's not going to help. "

he's dead before he hits the ground.

[mallaacht]

💀+ Rikas dad

The Divine Punishment of Rika's Father

(@monterraverde specifically because we talked about this~!)

It was not meant to be personal, it must never be personal. They were the King of Kings and must render verdicts without passion or bias.

But sometimes...

...you can only love the sinner so much before you snap.

It did not take long for them to track the man down to some dirty old dive of a place in a whole other region. They did not mind it at all, able to teleport from place to place at will if they had been there before. And they walked so many places in this world, it was almost a curse on its own to be able to be everywhere as needed with a single thought (the cries of injustice were everywhere after all).

For someone like Mallacht, they stood out too easily. They were a man out of time and it showed; despite choosing to wear a modern suit and tie instead of their normal regalia, the way they moved, walked and mingled among the masses they would always be seen apart from the rest of them.

It was a lonesome existence, but that was the fate of a deity, especially one like them.

Rika had told them that her father resembled her and she had not been kidding. While there were obvious differences, that familiar shade of green caught their eye and they almost thought they brought themselves to the wrong location. Having their target, they approached the drunkard (the man was swaying and slurring, while imbibing even more by the second; such greed, such disgusting gluttony) and dragged him out of the establishment into the nearby alleyway. Nobody stopped them. Such scenes were routine in such a seedy bar in the middle of the slums. Even when they would start hearing screams, nobody would lift a finger, such was the environment they were in.

Mallacht had slammed the man into the ground and before he could get up, slammed his foot onto his back, hearing a satisfying crack and a scream of anguish, and pitiful sobbing. They checked where they had connected and was actually disappointed, because they missed his spine. His pelvis and tailbone definitely took the brunt of things. Ah, no poetic justice of him losing the ability to walk, it seemed. They could aim another devastating kick (fueled by divine strength and a healthy dose of anger), but there were other things to do.

He won't be living for long.

On a normal day, they would have allowed Zanoir to have him. Quickly ended this man's life, so as to not let him suffer. Poor humans, unable to get away from their natures, how could they blame them for just being human?

But there had to be limits. Rarely did their ire rise -- atrocities happened all over the world ranging from rampant racism to genocides of a whole people and even then, they would be gentle and merciful, ushering the sinful to their speedy ends.

But not this one. He did not deserve their mercy.

Because it was personal this time and like in old, ancient myths, one should never anger a god.

Mallacht crouched, pressing a knee into the man's back to keep him pinned. They broke bones earlier, but humans were incredibly resilient and surprisingly wily. They had no fear of harm, but they did not want to be inconvenienced more than necessary for this act.

"Know that this is your penance for the harm you have cause," they stated simply, grabbing an arm and twisting it back. "In my age, if one struck a prostitute, your hand would be cut off. Now, can you imagine the penalty for striking a woman in general? Or a child? You don't have enough limbs for me to take away, but I shall give you a taste of their pain."

Taking his hand, they snapped a finger right off, immediately getting a chorus of howls, screams and profanities. The man bucked underneath them, but it was useless. Mallacht had him stuck to the ground.

"That was for hurting your wife." Snap, crunch. "That one was for ruining the innocent lives of children." Rip, tear, snap. "For this, for taking away a girl's beautiful dream...."

On and on it continued until both sets of hands were a mangled, twisted mess. Were he to live, there would be no living life normally for him anymore. Of course not every finger was missing, some simply broken and left at odd, agonizing angles no human hand should be at; it was much crueler to leave a hand disfigured rather than completely devoid of fingers. Being crippled such would have people pity him, were he to live past this moment. However, leaving behind a few fingers? They would be seen as a freak by those with less merciful hearts (and the man certainly surrounded himself with those of that ilk).

They rose up carefully from the man, who writhed on the ground now, calling them all sorts of names, promising vengeance.

Mallacht had to laugh at that, the sound so hollow and empty that it was liable to drag things into it, like a blackhole. Such was the depth of its emptiness.

"If that is all you have to say to me, you disgusting waste of flesh, then this is where we part ways. I have been away from your daughter long enough."

Every other moment, Mallacht would have granted oblivion. Being eaten by Zanoir did that. Loss of everything. No sense of self. No existence. Only the sin remained as part of the massive that grew every day. But this time, they simply decided to do things the 'old fashioned' way, summoning a spectral blade.

"I was told that years after my exile and curse that royalty were punished by beheading. Aren't you lucky, good sir, to go the way of royalty? You must feel so special."

Without further preamble, they brought down the blade in a swift, devastating motion, severing the man's head from the rest of his body. The deed was done. He would not hurt anyone anymore. Just another death amongst many in the slums, Mallacht mused, as they turned away and returned 'home'. News of this man's death would be hitting local news eventually.

They wondered what Rika would like for dinner, now that they had done the chore of taking out the trash...

[tarobii]

ok so I'm not gonna mince my words so I might come off as rude and I apologize for that 💀

I am also in no way a professional (self taught) but I like to think I've picked up a thing or two

but here's my take:

My main thing here is your lineart. I know that sketchy-ness is a style but I think you would benefit from practicing longer, more confident strokes. An example here would be the third/top right picture. The left part of Ink's scarf is very disjointed, and having it be one whole continuous line would help it feel smoother.

You could also practice doing clean lineart. Even if you don't end up doing that for your actual pieces, practicing clean sketches/lineart will help with the clarity/readability of your lines.

Also pertaining to lineart, maybe turn off line thickness w/ pen pressure. Either that or practice more intentional line width variation. Bringing up the third/top right picture again, the lines for the two halves of Ink's scarf are two different sizes, which is. Not good.

The fact that the lineart is pure black doesn't help to hide the inconsistent line weight. Perhaps experiment with coloring the lines or lowering the opacity.

I would say coloring inside the lines is also something to practice but. like. With the sketchiness of the lines, that's a bit of a moot point. Maybe try painting over the lines so you can clean up the sketch and render in one go.

Finally, anatomy and fabric and stuff in that field. References are your friend. Look 'em up--practice hands and feet. Look at fabric folds and implement that into your art. Again with Ink's scarf. Fabric doesn't really move like that. If you added some fabric folds, though, it's totally possible.

TLDR: practice confident lineart, anatomy, and fabric folds

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CRITICISM FOR MY ART RAAAYAHAGSGAHH

HERES SOME EXAMPLES I WANNA IMPROVE BUT LIKE. SKSAJANSJAJ

[shotorozu]

hiii so i was tormenting myself by watching cute tiktok videos about couples and i came across a challenge (dk if i can call it that) but its where the gf asks the bf whether or not she still gives him butterflies and i immediately zoomed here and asked for a request (hc format, pls?) with shoto, katsuki and hawks/amajiki? hehe you can pick but my bois shoto and katsuki stay (im typing this on laptop so its kinda messy but ily and take care!)

“do i still give you butterflies?”

(based off a tiktok)

character(s) : todoroki shouto, bakugou katsuki, amajiki tamaki, takami keigo “hawks” (bnha)

legend : [Y/N = your name] quirk not mentioned, gender neutral

headcanon type : fluff, crack (x reader)

note(s) : anon, your request wasn’t messy at all so don’t worry about it :)) i’m sorry for the lack of content lately, school has been a bitch 😐 i did all four because i was feeling spontaneous today 🤩 also, there’s not that many nuances, i just wanted to jump into it 💀

»»————-　♡　————-««

todoroki shouto

you came across a tiktok of someone asking their s/o if they still gave them butterflies— and you were amazed

but this also sparked your own interest, and you started wondering— wondering about shouto’s answer

you and shouto have been dating nearly a year now— your year anniversary being next week.

shouto would usually be watching tiktoks with you, but the heterochromatic haired man’s currently across your room, helping you round off candidates for your upcoming anniversary outfit

feeling intrigued at the idea of asking him the burning question no pun intended 💀 you swipe to the camera, hitting the record button— and you’re just about to ask him the question ™️

until you’re hit with a sudden pang of hesitation

you almost forgot, but you’ve suddenly remembered the fact that shouto’s insanely blunt— purposefully or not

and though you’re confident that shouto doesn’t have the desire to hurt you in any way, shape or form

if he bluntly says “no” to your question, your ego is going to take a blow, and it’s not going to be pretty 😨‼️

so, that raises the intimidation factor by thousands.

shouto halts his wardrobe inspection, and turns to you, noticing your sudden lack of words. not to mention the lack of tiktoks playing in the background

“what are you thinking right now, lovely?” he asks, the patient look on his face luring you into a false sense of security

you just blurted the question out, “do i still give you butterflies?”

shouto’s rendered speechless for a moment— the second long confusion diffusing into thin air, when he realizes what you’re actually talking about

and yes, he thought you were being literal for a second 💀 but thanks to his time together with you, and the constant scoldings from a certain blond— he understood what you meant by ‘butterflies’

he shakes his head, “usually, no.”

and you’re just like 😃➡️ fuck 😨‼️‼️— this backfired like you’ve originally assumed, and of course he wasn’t going to lie to you

you end the tiktok, feeling defeated— but it doesn’t engulf you whole, as shouto’s quick to add onto his statement “but, i don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

shouto then explains that during the earlier days of him having a crush on you, he did have butterflies— like he was genuinely sick with a stomach condition🗿

the amount of times he sent himself to recovery girl, because your hand accidentally grazed against his, is just absolutely astounding 😨

“i wasn’t so sure why they went away one day, so i looked the symptoms up online,” you snicker at the usage of ‘symptoms’— and shouto only smiles at that reaction

“it says that you’re not supposed to have them in the first place, because it’d be your body’s way of telling you that something’s wrong. and— that sounds,, correct. when i’m with you, i feel calm. different, but comfortable.” he subconsciously holds your hands in his own, “is that okay?”

so, he didn’t get butterflies because he wasn’t interested— but rather, he felt safe in your presence, to the point his body responded accordingly.

“yes. of course, shou.” you press a kiss against his cheek, which already felt warm to begin with, “also, you said ‘usually’. so, when’s that rare occasion that you do get butterflies?”

he averts his gaze, cheeks tinting at the idea of just saying what he’s thinking, “when,, you call me handsome, and pretty.”

“but shou, you are! so does that mean you get butterflies when other people call you handsome or pretty?”

he deadpans, and you laugh— patting him on the shoulder “i’m kidding!”

“it’s only for you.”

“i know, shou. now, let’s get back to outfit picking— i’m still pretty undecided about what to wear.”

you add onto the unfinished tiktok when shouto leaves momentarily for some water, typing down what exactly happened after you stopped filming.

“false alarm ‼️he didn’t lose feelings 🤩 he’s just comfortable around me 💃✨ i am still taken.”

you upload the tiktok, and it blows up because of the expression you made when he told you “no.” 💀 and everyone was either laughing at your face, or celebrating the fact that you’re still together

bakugou katsuki

you were by yourself when you came across a tiktok of someone asking their s/o if they still gave them butterflies— and of course, this made you curious of your own boyfriend

dating katsuki is something, alright— and though you’ve been together for some time now, you were also still figuring out each other’s ways as you guys should be

and there wasn’t a so-called honeymoon stage between you two— as he always treated you nicer than the rest of his classmates

so this sparks a question in your mind— and you want his answer.

except maybe not anymore, considering that you literally cannot find him, at all.

usually it’s you that’s missing in action, and it’s honestly never on purpose— still surprising nonetheless

you go to the dorm’s kitchen— wondering why you didn’t go there first, considering katsuki’s interest in making his own meals and yours but thats besides the point

you take a peak at the kitchen, and of course he was in there by himself— cooking up his dinner, with an concentrated look on his face.

you’re about to step into the kitchen, and call for his attention, when you jerk back— thinking it would be wrong for you to be entering the kitchen, while he’s cooking

though he didn’t explicitly say it, you know how he feels about people entering the kitchen for unrelated reasons he hates it basically

you pace back and forth, thinking carefully about the reactions he could possibly create, and if entering the kitchen would be good idea on your part.

you think you’re should be more intimidated and cautious about the idea of asking him this question in particular— but you can’t really find it in you 🗿

because katsuki’s usually in a constant state of anger. it’s different compared to someone like shouto whs’s calm on most days but scary when mad

you’re stopped in your tracks when you’re eye to eye with katsuki— and he was just there just watching you run in circles not that far off from the kitchen🧍‍♂️🤨❓❓

when he saw you, he was going to pull you into the kitchen with him, until he was you literally be like ↪️↩️🔃🔁🔄

“why the hell were you running in circles? you looked like a headless chicken.”

you laugh, “i was looking for you like— everywhere. turns out you were just here 😌”

“did i not tell you that i was making us dinner 🤨” he rolls his in false annoyance, “i know you have a question. you’ve never forgotten something like this. so, just a—”

“do i still give you butterflies?”

red irises blink upon hearing the question— he was honestly expecting a bizarre question, but he wasn’t expecting that in particular

he cleans up his work station, gathering his food in a small container— undoing the apron tied around him

katsuki chucks the apron onto a chair, and he stares at you— handing you the container of food, which is meant for your consumption and his consumption but he cooked it with the intent of sharing it with you

“this is another tiktok thing, isn’t it?”

“no, i’m like,,, genuinely curious. does bakugou katsuki get butterflies” you ponder 🤔❓ “i’m curious!”

“do YOU still get butterflies from me 🤨❓”

“OF COURSE. though it’s not every second of the day, you’re just too fine 😩😍‼️— now, answer the question.”

katsuki huffs, knowing that you’re genuinely curious this time, and that you’re not going to clown him, by posting a tiktok about his answer later

with a hand running through his hair, he admits— “yeah. same answer as yours. sometimes, i guess.”

you’re like 😃❓ “sometimes?”

“yeah. sometimes,” he clicks his tongue, tip of the ears turning red “like— fuckin’ hell! you just randomly say and do the weirdest things sometimes. i can’t help it.”

“but there are moments where i don’t get those,, shitty butterflies.” he can’t find himself elaborating his thoughts— that he feels safe, and it doesn’t feel like he’s shoved on a pedestal around you

he’s just simply katsuki around you. and as much as he likes being called king explosion murderer— he also needs to breathe air and you are the air he needs

plus— you guys are in the kitchen 💀 someone could just walk right in and see katsuki bakugou explain why he DOESN’T get butterflies around his s/o

you smile at that, and the idea of your bakugou katsuki actually having stomach butterflies, because of the things you say and do

“like what exactly?”

“oh, fuck off”

“aw, love you too.” his mouth twitches like he’s trying to hold back a big fat smile from showing

katsuki decided to combat this with a glare 💀

“you know what i mean. just eat the fucking food i gave you.” he turns around to conceal the rising heat on his cheeks, “i can’t believe you were actually worried about that.”

“it’s a valid question!”

“whatever, just follow me.”

you comply 🤩

amajiki tamaki

the two of you were comfortable, scrolling on your fyp— when you come across a tiktok of someone asking their s/o if they still gave them butterflies

seeing the tiktok, you were intrigued— and also amazed by their answer. you didn’t know the person, their answer seemed fitting

however, watching this tiktok spurred your own curiosity— and you turn to ask the exact same question to your boyfriend

but you’re met with a very red tamaki— his cheeks are very similar to this 🔴🔴

he’s kind of like an open book 💀 it’s cute, but you still want a verbal answer from him.

“tama,”

he just KNOWS you’re about to ask him the same question, he can feel it “y-yeah?”

you smile, deciding to tease him a little bit, by pretending that you’re not going to ask him that question

even though you’re going to ask anyway

“should i turn on the air conditioner?”

he exhaled, the redness draining from his face.

tamaki’s relieved that you weren’t going to ask him if he still got butterflies from you because trust me, he still does

don’t get me wrong— it’s not like he’s avoiding the question because of any harsh truth,

but it’s because he knows he’s not going to be able to answer it without blushing or stuttering

and on top of that— he’s read somewhere that getting butterflies is basically your body’s way of signaling danger, and he feels anything but danger around you

and again, he’s like a open book in this situation

you scroll down to the next tiktok, and that’s when you ask the burning question “do i still give you butterflies?”

he chokes upon hearing that, and color immediately rushes back to his face. he should’ve known that you were just messing with him

tamaki looks for a temporary escape, gaze sent downwards— burning holes into the floor with his eyes

you don’t let him, choosing to pry further “so?”

he fumbles in answering— something he expected from the get-go 💀 “hmn.. not very often, s-surprisingly.”

“oh?” this answer has successfully surprised you, “why? do you—”

“b-but!” he’s quick to defend, “it’s not because i lost feelings, or anything like that.”

“i don’t know. i got them a lot, i still do sometimes— and they’re usually not in my control. i never liked how being everything but confident was second nature, and i wished i had more emotion control.”

“but compared to everything else, i feel at peace. l-like i don’t know.. that i’m not me for once—.”

“tamaki, don’t say that.”

“i know, and i’m sorry!” he defends, “but i mean.. with you, i’m never in a constant state of worry, that i’d make mistakes. however, this doesn’t mean everything you do isn’t..”

heart fluttering he’s so whipped, and in the end, he always has a reaction for everything you do

satisfied, and deciding that you’ve had enough of your teasing, you tear his hands anyway from his face, moving to brush his bangs back, “i understand. don’t feel so pressured with your answer, love— this isn’t life or death.”

“i-i know!” he replies, practically melting in your touch, “‘just don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“oh, i’d never” you coo, “if you’re also wondering, i’m practically the same as you! so, don’t worry that pretty head of yours.”

he flushes at the nickname— but nonetheless, he feels glad knowing that he’s not the only one that still gets butterflies in this stage of your relationship

“okay, i’m gonna stop teasing you now.” you conclude, immediately going back to your scrolling and for real this time

hawks — takami keigo

you were supposed to be sleeping when you found the tiktok

you’d usually be tucked in your winged boyfriend’s arms, lulled into a much needed and peaceful sleep

but instead, you’re scooted over to the very corner of the bed— scrolling on your fyp

during your time scrolling on the app, you had to stifle and bite back laughter and reactions— but this time, you’re rendered curious

in the tiktok, the original uploader asked their s/o if they still had butterflies because of him

nevermind their s/o’s answer— because this tiktok caused some curiosity to bubble in your stomach, and on any normal occasion, you’d ask keigo

but it’s also 1 in the morning— and keigo finally got the sleep he’s been wanting and needing for a week now.

you don’t want to wake him up, now that he looks super peaceful.

you’ve concluded that you just needed to shake off the curiosity, or better yet— just drop the question overall.

anyway, it’s not like you’d be angry at his answer, considering that he’s been dating you for a year and a half now— you wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t get butterflies

though it’d be a real shame on your part since you still get butterflies because of him

you slowly sit up from your curled up position, setting aside the blankets— wanting to retrieve a remedy for your suddenly parched throat

and you’re about to step out of the bed, when keigo suddenly plops his head, face first, onto your lap— golden eyes piercing, despite the lack of light

“jesus christ keigo!” you exclaim, and he laughs at your reaction, “i thought my heart fell out of my ass for a second!”

“sorry, sorry.” he laughs with that gravely voice of his, and he caresses your back in comfort, “i didn’t feel you in my arms.”

“sorry, kei.”

“there’s no need for that. anyways, why’re you even awake? it’s.. late.”

you’re hesitant, not only because of the time, but because of his answer too, “it’s not important. you can answer it in the morning. you don’t get to sleep a lot, thanks to your job.”

“that’s true, but, consider me curious. whatever it is— i’m sure it’s important.” he insists, “c’mon! curiosity’s gonna kill the bird!”

you roll your eyes at that awful punchline, but you give in anyway, “do you.. still get butterflies from me?”

honestly, i was debating if hawks would— and i feel like he wouldn’t.

just realized everyone in this list said no 💀whoops

and yes, he had crushes, definitely. but, he didn’t date a lot when he was younger.

nevertheless, if he was in a relationship, he’d take it seriously. man’s always doing some form of work. so, if you actually got him in a relationship, you have him wrapped around your finger.

because the only people he actually got permanent butterflies from, were just people he was infatuated with 💀 not the same as love

keigo props himself up on his elbows, his lips turning up into a small smile, “hm.. i can’t say butterflies is the right term.”

“oh, why?”

“i don’t know— imagine a 23 year old, actually using the term ‘butterflies’? oh my. haven’t used that word since i was 17.” you snort, “hey! it’s true.”

“where was i.. right,” keigo goes back on track, “like every other crush, i did get butterflies. i’d accidentally brush my fingers against yours? butterflies. eye contact? butterflies. heck— even when i’d fly across the city, just to see you, i’d get them. and that’s in my control!”

“then suddenly, things were different.” keigo doesn’t voice this out, but he remembers the time you suddenly weren’t just like any other crush he had, “i’m not complaining though.”

“besides, constantly getting butterflies is also the body’s way of signaling danger, what i feel is different.” you tilt your head in confusion,

“heart fluttering is much more fitting!” he plants himself face first onto your lap, “can’t help that part. jeez— endeavor and miruko would laugh at me for using butterflies for the first time in 6 years.”

“ugh, this is where i go to sleep. why’d you have to mention endeavor??”

“i’m serious! i mean it. and not just that, i meant every single thing i said.”

“you better.” you get comfortable, allowing him to plop down on you— encasing you in his arms, “goodnight. thanks.. for answering.”

“of course. anytime, dove.”

likes and reblogs are appreciated, thanks for reading!

i do not own bnha/mha and it’s characters. boku no hero academia/my hero academia belongs to horikoshi kohei, i only own the writing and i do not profit off of my hobby

do not plagiarize, reupload, translate, or use my works for audio readings without permission :))

TAGLIST (bold couldn’t be tagged😔) : @baku6o @angelicsano @anactualfuckingnerd @kitsuji @tamewkii @astridismissing @sweethcnvy @why-couldnt-it-be @kioyoki @t0ra-kazu @givingeraserhead @uxavity @snowymaltese @escapenightmare @taurus852 @han-the-fanboy @crack-squirrels @keisukeist @vdoesthings @gravity-gacha @blxck-hxney @electricpainterwobblergoop @nopenotallie @mhasimp666 @shelteredheart @lovingshoto @lxislxis @luluwiie @avengs @uravichii

[sajdd]

man i hate the peer pressure excuse sm. it literally doesnt matter. peer pressure or not murder is murder. a canon life is a canon life, especially when the whole situation was avoidable.

tubbo didn't have to die that day. it didnt take one rocket. it took two. the first one did damage on schlatt and quackity. very easily could've gotten tubbo broken out in the moment where everyone was stunned with particles. before then. he talks about not being able to 1v20 people. half the people werent in armor at all. the few who did he could've easily fought. he was one of only like 3 people with a trident. thats why he was showing it off to everyone. he could've literally just ran.

but THEN cc techno criticizing tommy and wilbur for not helping. he supposedly watched their vods. if he DID he would've seen they genuinely had almost no armor or weapons on them. they hardly had any blocks or tools either.

but it doesnt matter. peer pressure. sure go with that. its still murder. he still murdered a then 16 year old in front of people. and he would proceed to make sure he could never take the blame for it via the pit scene. because for some reason settling it with tommy means he never had to apologize to tubbo. even when he saw tubbo literal minutes after he killed him. there was never even an 'im sorry tubbo i killed you i just couldnt think i didnt know what to do' like he claims or whatever man.

i get angry about this with phil too because he didnt have to murder wilbur when he did, but he did and pretends as if it wasnt a big deal.

but then you have people like tommy who kills dream, an actual serial killer who was torturing people and wanted to torture the server and do countless other awful things, who actively struggles with whether killing him was the right thing to do and spent so long questioning whether he should take his third life or not. like he at least questioned it.

techno never did there was never a moment of should i do this in that moment, or even later on should i have done that. its dumb. ctechno frustrates me to no end.

LITERALLYYYYYY. also the "i couldnt 1v20 them" excuse is immediately rendered useless by the fact he then immediately proceeded to kill half the server 💀 he accidentally killed c!schlatt and c!quackity when he executed c!tubbo, turned around, and STARTED SHOOTING AT THE AUDIENCE. SO WHAT WAS THE ISSUE THEN HUH????? not to mention that very same stream he then abandoned tommy when he had jumped in to fight to help them. idk seems quite hypocritical

also yeah the c!phil and c!wilbur situation is the same. no fucking excuse or sympathy.

both of them do shit things then blame it on everyone else and act like the victims or the hero. c!Phil crying about how he "had" to stab c!wilbur because he was a "terrorist" and it was "because of the government" but then teaming up with c!techno who did the exact same thing wilbur did but out of revenge. ok lol

[thesecrimsonstrings-if]

I had an idea! What if you played as the leader of crows and the story takes place shortly after Alina's powers is discovered and she's taken to the Little Palace, and then it follows the crows' plot line kind of trying to get Alina kinda heist-style. We get a little summary of what happened to Alina from word of mouth throughout the story, so that she doesn't take that much off the story. The whole Mattias-Nina storyline in the show could have happened off screen and now they are in hiding from the Grisha after Nina busts Mattias out of jail, so we can have the crows looking for them and finding them in their hiding place and recruiting them before going on their heist since they'll need a heart render and well matthias can come along because he's just there and extra muscle can't hurt lol. As for Mal we can have him encounter the crows at the Little Palace or perhaps somewhere in the story during their journey, your MC can decide whether to tell him the whole story or not and Mal tells you kind of what happens and that he's looking for Alina. Instead of having him gone to the Palace straight away he could have tried to sneak in and have the darling's mother warn him of the Darkling so now he's hiding in some place (maybe where the crows take shelter idk and has a knife to Kaz's throat asking wtf they're doing there and shit) and so you recruit him in your heist since you have more or less the same goals hence he becoming an RO. As for Nikolai, we can scrap the whole doctor Betrayal bullshit that went on the show and have Nikolai be the guide instead, they don't know that he's a Prince but they know he's a pirate with a ship, and he asks them for a favour in return which he won't tell them about until the time comes (help him take the throne, which can be told in thr later books if there are ones). As for the Darkling perhaps he could be an RO in the second book, he pretends to be dead but takes on the appearance of Wylan and pretend to be him and join the crows, it could be a Betrayal kinda thing and have him as an RO all the while. As for Alina you could make her an RO if you succeed in kidnapping her you could flirt with her and maybe have her be a fling during your journey back or perhaps have her be a secret romance Options in later books. As for Genya she could be added as an RO in the second book after she betrays Alina she runs away and joins Nikolai's crew. Nikolai and the crows form some sort of pact that if die times comes and interests align they'll help each other out if you prove your worth as a leader and useful asset to him. This is so long, I saw the other ask and couldn't help myself lol.

you basically wrote the whole story for me, dear bonnie 💀 not that i'm complaining since it helped out a ton about how i should probably handle some storylines. also, goddamn! that's a lot of romance options! i have no clue how i'm gonna add them all since so far i only had an idea about my version of the crows as LIs. the darkling disguised as wylan would be a plot twist that leigh bardugo could only dream of and i hope i can give him a redemption arc because him in the books were not it, ugh why does he have to be so hot though.

i ship genya with david so much that it will hurt to make her an RO but changing her name and character (slightly) will get rid of the remaining guilt. also nikolai, i am on my knees for cocky blonde characters puh-lease 🧎🏻 even better when he's the future king of ravka with a demon inside him 😍 also i will not be adding the heartbreaking part which happened at the end of crooked kingdom because i can only take so much in my lifetime.

you've got me even more fired up about this, i'll work on the prologue in-between periods of writing TCS's update. it's not 100% decided which setting it will be based on or if it will be the mixture of SoC and SaB like in the netflix adaptation but the former is winning by a large margin in the polls 👀

[sparklingpax]

The Art of Cooking, or...Not Knowing How

A/N:

-Based on my HC that Ginrai can't cook, has no experience since he never had the time to learn, and every time he tries it goes very wrong. On the other side, Hawk is a great cook, and usually ends up cooking for the base when no one else can. Shush, I like this headcanon ok--

-by this point theyre pretty much a couple :3 or at least, openly physically affectionate towards one another ^^

-oo yes also, set in canon, (hence the tags) but tbh, many of my HCs for canon versions of the characters carry into my Reverie stuff so...this exact thing could definitely happen in that universe loll ✨

-shoutout to anyone who has listened to me ramble about this exact scenario before because not only did you endure that bs but now you get a whole elaborate fanfic about it so....holy shit im so sorry jsdjsiskjsd 💀😳

-omg dont hate cloudburst btw I didn't know how to write this to make him look less bad but I swear hes not a bad person and none of the others are either they just. are used to letting Hawk do most of their paperwork for them & also the other three pretenders (not Hawk) have sort of, day jobs? So they are pretty busy....

-literally y'all I'm so sorry this exists, I blame the early morning hours of yesterday and a single cup of coffee this morning getting me from start to finish of this thing in record time. and my own inability to cook fueling this idea in the first place lmaooo I hope it's at least...somewhat enjoyable....so without further ado, here I go again with self-indulgent ginhawk content o///o''

-bruh it's been an actual age since I've written & finished a real fic-type thing...😳😳 again like, I'm praying I didn't miss anything in my grammar/typo checking 😅

-i sincerely hope you enjoy :]

///

“But—but I can cook!”

“You…can cook?”

“Yeah!”

“You can…cook?” Hawk repeated, as if this was impossible to believe.

“I—yeah? Well, I'm not all good at it, but it's food, right? It's edible…” Hawk raised an eyebrow at this as Ginrai pursed his lips and looked away, flushing slightly.

Suddenly, the kitchen seemed to fill again with the distinctive smell of burning chicken.

The image of large, misshapen chunks of it rather…creatively charred to ashy black and stuck to a Teflon pan.

Ginrai waving the smoke frantically, and then grabbing his cup of drinking water splashing it over the smoky meat, rendering it more inedible than it had already been….it was an amusing, yet depressing sight.

Hawk also recalled the price of the new pan he’d gone and ordered online an hour after.

He wasn’t joking when he told me it was dangerous to leave him alone in the kitchen. Was he aware it was burning before the smoke started up?

“Ok, ok…so I’m no world-famous chef...” Ginrai admitted hotly. He started to play with a stray fork from the newly-cleaned load.

Hawk stifled laughter and shook his head wordlessly.  Ducking below the counter to organize the lids of pots and pans, his lips played at a smile.  

“Yeah, that poor pan might have to agree with you—”

“But I would....like to…try again. Maybe, with some guidance this time,” he added more quietly.

“So that you don’t burn the food?”

“Pretty much,” Ginrai agreed, watching Hawk turn on the sink, continuing to unload the dishwasher.

Absentmindedly, he let his eyes follow the trail of water as it ran from the faucet next to him, freely touching on the items piled in the sink. From the upside-down bowl, down the slim, blue plates, pooling in another bowl, or heading further down to fill an empty red container….

“And…would you be aiming for somewhat of an edible meal this time around?” Hawk asked innocently.

“'Somewhat'—”

A sparkle flashed in the trucker’s gaze, and he reached forward to flick the running water at Hawk, who ducked to the side.  The water hit him anyway, but he didn’t mind.

Meanwhile, Ginrai attempted to defend himself.

Hawk began loading the dishes now.

“In my defense, I’ve only made chicken twice in my life, and that fiasco last week doesn’t count!!”

“Well, neither do the other two times, since those were microwaveable chicken dinners—”

“Shut up!”

But they were both laughing.

Hawk got to thinking all the same.

As it was, there weren’t many people left in HQ at the moment, and fewer who could actually cook. Ordering out was not an option since their budget for the month declared they were already $126 over that spending limit.

So, all that considered, the duty of cooking fell upon Hawk once again.

Well…I have paperwork to start on, but as long as nothing else comes up, cooking shouldn't be a problem.

A quick knock on the side of the kitchen’s entrance grabbed the attention of the pair, and they looked up to see Cloudburst standing on the wooden threshold, holding some papers.

Ginrai had no idea what they were, but from the look on Hawk’s face, one could guess he did.

“Oh—hey, Clouds,” Ginrai waved, grinning.

The man waved back a little sheepishly. It didn’t look like he was here to hang around for fun.

He quickly looked to Hawk, and before he could say anything, the Pretender commander straightened and closed the dishwasher, entering the settings for the load.  

“You…need those investigative patrol reports done, I presume?” He asked, not looking up. As the machine whirred into action, he moved to the sink and started to clean it.

The silence that followed seemed to suffice for an answer. 

And suddenly, Ginrai noticed, Hawk looked tired. Very tired.

After all, Ginrai remembered, it was Hawk who ended up doing most of the paperwork associated with their team. He was supposed to review them, too…

“I take it you forgot to do these, and they’re part of what’s due tomorrow?”

Cloudburst was beginning to look a little embarrassed, and he started to play with the edges of the papers for a moment before stepping into the kitchen and setting them down on the marbled counter.

Finally, he spoke.

“I—well, yes. And I was going to do them tonight, but my office called and, um, they’ve sort of—they’ve got a lot of guys out. Naturally, there need to be people at the desks doing stuff, but also someone to sit watch on the communications station, and I don’t know if my boss would be too happy to have me call in to let him know I can’t…go either…”

Cloudburst broke off abruptly as he watched Hawk slipped his apron off and turned to face him, a polite look tying his features to a mild, calm expression. He leaned over and rifled through the papers for a moment, then spoke again.

“Don’t worry about it, go and do your job.”  

“R-really? And…you’re ok with it?”

Hawk nodded. “This kind of thing can’t be helped.”

Ginrai made a slight face. He wasn't so sure about that one.

“I’m just glad you told me now rather than five hours from now. Remember to let me know immediately if anything important comes through the communications room tonight.”

Cloudburst smiled, saluted. “Yes, sir!”

He then gave a ‘goodbye’ nod to Ginrai, and quickly left the room.

Just a little curious, Ginrai leaned over the counter to take a look at the papers himself, then winced at the sight of nearly-illegible text scrawled in different places on the page, in different shapes, shorthand—

So….this is what they look like before they’re done. This is what he’s got to work with.

The young Autobot commander started to feel bad about the fact that clearly, he’d never even done the record-keeping part of reports, let alone the actual filing of them. In his opinion, they were a little pointless, but that didn’t mean someone wouldn’t get stuck with them anyway.

Yes, it technically wasn’t his duty as the leader of the team, but…he still felt guilty.

It looked like a lot of work, after all.

Hawk really did a lot for the team, Ginrai was always fully aware, just…he wondered if anyone else seemed to realize that. Like, really realize.

If they did, maybe they’d be more careful about their own paperwork stuff, instead of dumping it on Hawk all the time, who’s too nice to say no.

Next to him, Hawk was already starting to read the papers over. Ginrai vaguely recalled the list of projects the man was already swamped with, and came to a new resolve.

Ok, next team meeting, I’ll ask them all to start doing their own reports. I am their leader now, I can do that sort of thing.

Feeling good about this, he put an arm around Hawk, leaning over and giving him a soft kiss on his head. With a soft exhale, Hawk seemed to accept the gesture, letting his weight fall more limply on Ginrai. The smile on his features was a tired one, but it read of soft gratitude.

Neither said a word for a few heartbeats, letting the silence embrace them. No one needed to say anything, no one wanted to.

Outside, the autumn sky had begun to darken, making it seem much further into the night than it likely was. It was as if there was not a living soul in that base save for them.

Then, Hawk shifted and Ginrai stepped to the side to let him stretch.

“Do you need me to do anything?” He offered. The grin from earlier seemed to return.

“Well, Supreme Commander,” Hawk said, giving him a decidedly more sultry look.

“Well, my lovely subordinate?” Ginrai prompted, blushing lightly. 

“I’m going to need some help getting dinner done if I want to have time to file those reports before the deadline…”

Ginrai’s eyes sparkled. He knew where this was going.

“…you said you wanted to try cooking again?”

“Hell yeah!”

///

“Alright, now that we have our water…” Hawk motioned to the pot sitting in the sink, then the stove. “It’s got to heat up.”

Ginrai nodded, still rubbing his newly bandaged hand.

Minutes ago, the two had thought to prepare the vegetables going into the pasta before starting on anything else, just to get it out of the way.

Hawk had begun cutting things up while Ginrai watched, then after a few minutes, handed Ginrai the knife to give him a go at it.

Not a minute went by before the man decided to speed up the cutting pace, drop the knife, and well…the band-aid could speak for itself.

It was quickly decided that Hawk would handle all the other parts of this dish, and Ginrai would be on the pasta, and only the pasta.

What could go wrong there, after all?

“Um…you wanted the fire on high?”

“Yes.”

“So, I turn the knob this way?”

“Other way.”

“Oh, yes, right.”

“Alright."

Hawk quickly added, a little nervously, “And please, try not to burn yourself.”

Ginrai gave a thumbs up, then moved to operate the stove. He frowned at its lack of fire after turning the knob. After a moment or two of trying, he looked to Hawk again. He’d forgotten to push the knob inwards to get the fire going, but clearly wasn’t aware of that.

“Is…is this thing on?”

Hawk fought the urge to start laughing. It would be light-hearted, but he didn’t want to hurt Ginrai’s feelings, so he bit his tongue instead.

He must not be joking when he says everything he eats is store-bought and microwaved. 

What made this especially funny was how he did this wearing an apron Hawk remembered receiving as a Christmas gift from Waverider.

The front side read “Master Chef, Move Along” in English, written with big, red letters.

The irony of it was almost too much for Hawk. However, he composed himself and walked over to the stove.

“Push it first, hold,” as he did this, a rhythmic crackling noise sprang from the stove, “and then, you’ve got a fire. So now, turn it where you need.” He stepped back and watched as Ginrai tentatively held the knob, then nodded to himself.

“Alright, fire on high, here we come,” he murmured.  And with a gentle twist, the fire popped up under the smoky grates at what seemed to be the ‘high’ setting.

At last, they were getting somewhere!

A half hour had gone by, but perhaps the next one would make up for the lost time. And, thankfully, Ginrai hadn’t burnt himself on anything—or burnt anything—yet. The pot was carefully placed atop the fire with no troubles.

Now, it was time to for Hawk to focus on finishing the rest of the meal. Dumping the tomatoes into the bowl and beginning to crush them, Hawk called to Ginrai to add the pasta to the water if it seemed to be boiling.

“And…how do I tell it’s boiling?”

“Bubbles,” Hawk responded more quietly, seeming very focused on smashing the tomatoes in his bowl.  

“Got it!”

The trucker glanced at the pot and saw a couple bubbles. Two, he counted, probably from when he’d filled the pot with water.

Did he mean a lot of bubbles or a little?

Guess there was only one way to know.

He then looked to the unopened box of pasta lying near the edge of the counter. Quickly, Ginrai opened it and plopped it into the water, jumping back as it splashed out a little.

From where he was standing, Hawk called out to him.

“Could you grab the two bowls near the window? The water will need some salt, and this paste will need some flavoring.”

“Roger!”

Hawk thought about going to check the bowls, but his present task seemed to have all his concentration. He only hoped Ginrai knew the difference between the two ingredients.

And once again, Ginrai proved he could not be left to do anything alone in the kitchen.

He played a short game of eeny, meeny, miny, moe to decide on which bowl was going to the pasta, and which was going to Hawk. Then, feeling satisfied with his decision, he flipped one of the small bowls upside down, dumping the entirety of its contents into the pasta.

No, he had no idea which was salt, and which was the flavoring. He'd instead opted to hope it was salt he’d just added to the pasta.

As the water started to bubble more vigorously, the trucker stood and stared at it, thinking.

Huh. I didn’t know you put that much salt in pasta. Maybe that’s why they say it’s bad for your cholesterol or…something.

“Hey, before you bring the flavoring here, you might want to make sure the pasta fits the pot! It’ll be easier to work with if its been cut down to fit.” Hawk called over again, seeming to still be working on the tomato paste.

Ohh…well, that makes sense. How do I get that out of the pot to cut it, though?

Ginrai tapped his chin in thought, still staring at the murky, white water as it bubbled—viciously, now—and the pasta as it started to bounce and move.

I wonder if—

He reached in to pick up the pasta with his bare hands, then snapped back, hissing in quiet pain.

Obviously, it was hot by this point, and so it had burned him. But what really hurt was when the heat felt like it had seared through his band-aid and touched his cut from earlier.

Was cooking supposed to be this painful?

Calm down, you're just resizing it.

He exhaled slowly and carefully putting the pasta back in the pot so he could contemplate plan B.

Which was…well........those scissors near the knives looked pretty good.

Because maybe, he didn’t even need to take the pasta out of the pot?

Shaking out a hand to get rid of the burning sensation, he reached over with the other to take the scissors, and without a second thought, began to cut the tops of the noodles so they didn’t stick out so much.

“When you’re ready, I need that flavoring!”

Ginrai nodded and dropped the scissors on the counter, grabbing the unused bowl and heading to where Hawk was working.

He didn’t quite notice all the extra pieces of cut pasta had rolled all over the floor, the counter, and…into the grates below the pot. Right next to the fire.

“Here you are,” Ginrai said, grinning, brandishing the bowl and getting ready to pour it in. Hawk looked up to thank him, and was glad he did.

“Oh, that’s the salt, what I need for this should be in the blue one. Though, you can add some salt if we need it.”

Ginrai felt the heat rise to his face.

Oh no.

Hawk tilted his head at him, looking a little concerned.

“Did you put the flavoring in the pasta?”

Meekly, Ginrai nodded. He was sure his face was red by now. But Hawk just smiled.

“That’s alright. Pasta can have flavoring of its own,” he resumed stirring the tomatoes as he continued. “But I’ll need both for this, then. Just add as much of the salt in here as what you put in the pot over there, okay? Hold on, I need something from the fridge.”

It’s…okay. Alright. Ok.

As Hawk put the bowl down and headed for the fridge, Ginrai swallowed, staring at the salt sitting on the counter.

He was no cook, but…he wasn’t sure there should be that much salt added to tomato sauce?

But Hawk is a cook, maybe he has his own reasons. He said same as with the pot.

So, Ginrai lifted the bowl, and turned it upside down, same as before. Then, seeing nothing else to do, he started to mix.

Meanwhile, Hawk returned, but didn’t say anything for a moment as he noticed the empty bowl of salt. For a moment, he stood there, visibly piecing together a couple things.

Then it seemed to hit him all at once as he slowly looked from the bowl to Ginrai, eyes wide.

“Um. When I said 'the same as the pot'…”

“…yes?” Ginrai slowly stopped mixing and put the bowl down. He heard the slight uneasiness in Hawk's voice.

“Exactly...how much did you put in the pot?”

“Er….all of it?” He answered slowly.

“I see…so, I assume…there’s no more of the flavoring?”

“Um...and…no more salt, either,” Ginrai finished his train of thought for him.

"I...see...."

Ginrai touched the back of his head awkwardly, feeling the heat return to his cheeks.

Hawk stared at the bowl again, trying to figure out how to salvage this.

Perhaps if we start over, and I handle the pasta. He could crush up the tomatoes.

“Um, Hawk.”

But first there would have to be—

"Hawk."

Ginrai poked him timidly. Finally, he looked up, then followed his gaze to the other side of the kitchen. And promptly regretted taking those extra seconds of thought.

Oh, Primus, please tell me I’m hallucinating.

The deity seemed to answer through the pasta itself.

From under the grate, there was a violent crackling noise and a pop of light. And just as suddenly, smoke started to rise from the floor, the counter, under the grate.

All the while, the milky-white water in the pot seethed with bubbly rage, beginning to overflow and spill over, jostling the uneven pieces of pasta sticking out with such force that a few fell to the floor.

“It's burning!” Ginrai exclaimed, audibly starting to panic. Hawk blinked at it, somewhat amazed at the spectacle.

Yes, it was. It was definitely burning.

“Is—is it supposed to do that?”

No, it wasn’t.

Without responding, Hawk darted towards the stove and reached out to turn it off, but pulled back sharply with an utterance of pain.

The fire had burned him.

Judging by the pieces of pasta everywhere, he must have…literally cut the pasta off to resize it.

After a second try, he was able to switch the stove's fire off, and the two of them quickly stamped out the little flames started on all the pieces of burning pasta.

Then, Hawk ran over to the pantry to get the oven mitts, so he could get the pot into the sink.

But the smoke hazing their visions wasn’t hanging around for decoration. And Hawk realized that a little too late.

He looked over from the sink to see Ginrai carrying the bowl of tomato paste to the garbage and called to him.

“Um—Ginrai, my hands are full, could you open the window so the smoke doesn’t set off the—”

Before he could finish, the piercing, high-pitched sound of their fire alarm went off, startling Ginrai enough that he dropped the bowl he was holding. With yet another loud noise, the ceramic shattered, and the tomato paste went all over the floor.

But, rather than worry about that, he knew Hawk had been trying to ask him for something.

“The what?!”

“The window! Please!” He repeated, his voice rising.

"Open it?"

"Yes!!!"

The window was opened. And thankfully, the noise stopped after a couple beats.

Quietly, the two watched as smoke drifted out of the kitchen and into the night air. Then, they began to clean in silence.

Hawk began to think.

Pasta had been, in his opinion, the easiest option for a guided intro to cooking next to a literal salad, but at this point, he wasn’t even sure if that salad would have been a good idea.

“Hey, um…"

Ginrai’s tentative tone caused Hawk to stop what he was doing and he turned to see the 19-year-old fiddling with the cleaning rag, standing by the counter.

“I feel like an apology isn’t gonna cut it here, but…I wanted to apologize anyway…” he continued, looking to the floor, ashamed.

He was still wearing the apron with words that created such irony to the whole situation that Hawk couldn’t help but smile a little.

“I’m really, really—”

“It’s alright, Ginrai,” Hawk responded, setting the clumps of rubbery pasta back down in the pot and walking over to him.

He looked quite surprised, so Hawk elaborated. “We’re good at different things, and you tried here tonight. Plus, with practice, you’ll get it right someday.”

He then placed a hand on Ginrai’s arm, and squeezed lightly.

The young commander gave a flustered smile and blushed again.

"Well....at the very least, I'm glad we got to spend some time together, you know?" he murmured, still smiling.

“Absolutely. I’ve got a long night of paperwork ahead of me, which I’m dreading, so this was nice. As chaotic as it was, you know I’m glad for the time we spend like this…not fighting battles with Decepticons, not sitting through conferences for battle plans and upgrades…I’m...really happy right now, Ginrai…”

He hugged Ginrai suddenly, trailing off. And after a moment, Ginrai smiled and hugged him back.

“I’ll ask more questions next time,” he murmured.

“I’ll be clearer as well. I was at fault here, too.”

"No way..."

"I was. So don't be too harsh on yourself for it."

“I love you,” Ginrai whispered finally, squeezing Hawk lightly.

“I love you, too…”

And I’m glad both of us come away with only mild cuts and burns, nothing more.

After a period of silent affection, Hawk drew back gently and gave a slight smirk.

“I’ll always love you,” he repeated, “even if you can’t cook to save your life.”

And they started laughing again.

Standing in a messy kitchen with the window open and wearing aprons that read silly things in English. Hawk, with a small burn on his hand, and Ginrai with bandages on his.

The pair laughed about the whole fiasco.

Sure, they’d go into something like $200 over their “ordering food” spending limit after tonight. If there was nothing left to eat from their cooking attempt, then ordering was their only Plan B.

But…tonight was a night to remember, like many others.

And, Hawk would be going into yet another paperwork session feeling less stressed than before.

For that, he was also glad.           

Who knew the good that could be accomplished by, well, setting pasta on fire?

///