#cross is the reason for me wanting to draw dynamic poses

[archerygun]

Guys I’m sorry. A single person asked me to elaborate. I’ve gotta elaborate now. I have permission from an internet stranger. Also, yes, I think I should be locked up and studied for science but exposing my insanity on the internet is the next best thing. @dye-it-rouge-et-noir this one is for you buddy.

This is a follow-up/part 2 post. If you’re seeing this post before part 1, part 1/the context is here = https://www.tumblr.com/archerygun/749484004313579520/alright-i-was-chatting-to-a-friend-about-james?source=share

(Splitting it up into sections because I want to try and contain myself from rambling nonstop for five straight minutes)

DESIGN EXPLANATION/BREAKDOWN

Sean Connery - A friend of mine did most of the design, I added the bottom half, the gun, the colours and a couple of motifs. I chose Thunderball as the film of focus because my friend mentioned his swimsuit was traumatising, and also because it’s the film with the jetpack in it. Generally focused on circular shapes and tear shapes because y’know… water. He’s orange because of the orange swimsuit that my friend called out lmao. And the flower on the neck bow is supposed to look like the one from the iconic white dinner suit that I tend to default to drawing Sean Connery Bond in because when he isn’t in dinner suits his dress sense is generally not as fun as I would like. The gun is based on the one from the James Bond image. You know the one.

I put simultaneously not enough thought and too much thought into this Jesus Christ. I think he’d have some sort of jetpack power-up or something. George Lazenby - He only did one film, so that did limit sources of inspiration. Fortunately, OHMSS is my favourite Bond film because everything about it is earnest and completely insane. I had to include his bowler hat from the intro because it was amazing and not enough Bonds wear hats, so he’d at least look distinctive. It’s set in an icy location for most of it, so that’s where most of the theming came from, the colour, etc; the diamond motif might have suited Sean Connery better all things considered but too late now. I took some costuming inspiration from his kilt outfit because it was strange and iconic and I think all Bonds should be made to wear it. He only really has one promo shot with a gun so I had to give the position of tiny gun guy to George Lazenby. He wields it well.

Roger Moore - I kinda just took the fact that he was the first Bond in space and ran with it. Used stars as a motif, etc. Particular inspiration was taken from this outfit:

And partial inspiration from his weird marine navy commander-style getup (for the shawl thing). It was legitimately way too hard to find a gun that wouldn’t accidentally cross over with a gun from another Bond so I picked the most Seventies gun I could possibly find for inspiration assuming that no other Bonds would ever use something similar. The upper body pose as usual is directly from the reference image. I felt like if I put all the Bonds in skirts, it’d get a bit repetitive and start looking bad, so I figured if any Bond was going to get trousers it would have to be the one that actually wore flares.

CHARACTER EXPLANATION/BREAKDOWN

Basically just how I’d pitch the three Bonds I’ve done so far if they were a group dynamic instead of solo iterations. Gonna do it in bullet points so it’s more comprehensible. (I don’t have any rhyme, reason or lore for this. It’s literally just me assigning three Bonds distinct personalities).

Sean Connery:

The group leader/group elder/tired old man

He can still be a slut if that’s what you want but minus the creepiness. Mutual engagement in passive flings? No problems with that.

Seen so much shit that he’s sorta nonchalant about everything and believes he’s overqualified for just about anything he’s asked to do.

✨War trauma✨

Suaveness and charm level 100. He’s a crabby old man most of the time but he’s so charming that the group let him get away with it.

He’s desensitised to like, literally everything. He will not hesitate to kill a man in cold blood if the situation demands it.

Pretty much believes that human beings are fundamentally bad, himself included.

Ultimately the one that’s willing to make the hard calls.

George Lazenby:

Like his actor before him he is the least qualified and probably lied to get into the secret service.

Optimistic, perceived as naive, ready to try and fight the narrative to change his fate.

The group child (and the youngest).

Quit the secret service after his new wife was assassinated on their wedding day and only comes back because shit has hit the fan (plot reasons. I don’t have a plot, I’m just speaking as if I’m pitching a TV show).

Doomed By The Narrative™️

Ridiculed or forgotten by everyone except the other Bonds

Sean Connery’s Bond respects him a great deal and secretly envies his more idealistic worldview, but won’t let him make the tough calls because he sees him as too naive and too unstable (willing to risk everything)

Roger Moore’s Bond HAS adopted him.

Roger Moore:

Literally feral

Master of British understatement (“Oh. That’s a bit of a shame.” as the world is literally ending around him)

He’s besties with Sean Connery’s Bond as the other sort of group elder

Despite how manic and wired he appears, he is terrifyingly competent and capable of being very serious

Team leader when Connery’s Bond is out of action

Dad figure. Not just to the other Bonds, but as a default personality. He will go parent mode on anyone he thinks he’s capable of saving.

Although if he doesn’t think you’re saveable he will not hesitate to shoot on sight if he runs out of options.

As far as ideas for the other three, Timothy Dalton is going to look evil and edgy but he’s just an enthusiastic dork and Daniel Craig is a stone cold killer with trust issues draped in bright pink bows. I haven’t seen any Pierce Brosnan movies so far so I might just have to vibe check him based on plot synopsis.

Closing thoughts? I want my brain removed and replaced with a better one. I’m sorry for everything you have witnessed today.

Also, these are based exclusively on the movies and not the books. I’m more digging into what makes each actor and era special and distinct.

If you sat through all that, well done, thank you, please don’t report me to the asylum and enjoy this image of Sean Connery.

[bibblelevi]

This is a random little blurb I wrote when I was thinking about Professor Ackerman, and I don’t know when I’ll get around to a full fic, so have this instead

Warnings for power dynamics (Reader is in grad school, Levi is a professor, teaching a separate subject), age difference, light degradation, condescending Levi, fem! Reader

You tuck your phone into your back pocket and huff, dropping your chin onto your folded fingers. Levi studies you from across the table, the sounds of conversations between friends and drunken wailing tapering off into background noise. He finds himself zeroing in on you, a table space away.

“What’s the huffing and puffing about?” He swirls his glass around.

You shrug. “You know. Boy drama.”

He hums with a lift of his brows, but otherwise appears uninterested. He takes a drink.

“Don’t you want to know about it?” You tilt your head, lowering your lids and quirking the corner of your mouth. “Professor?”

His eyes meet yours, and he isn’t stupid—he hears the shift in your tone. The way your pitch heightens and your drawl smooths over. You sound the way his liquor feels going down.

“Oh, I don’t care,” he says.

“Hm.” Your back meets the chair, your legs crossing. You move a piece of hair over your shoulder and draw attention to the angular slant of your jaw. Are you wearing lipstick today? The color suits you.

“Have you ever had a problem making a woman come, Professor?”

Levi nearly spits out his drink. He doesn’t expect such a crude, vulgar word to fly out from your mouth so easily, but he supposes he shouldn’t be surprised. It’s not like he has much of a filter himself. But you do—your prim and proper little self. Except for now, apparently. He can’t say he doesn’t like it. He can’t say he doesn’t like how you look, or how you sound when you speak, or how you bat your eyes at him and pretend you know more than you think you do.

“Can’t say that I have,” he recovers with ease, without any indication you caught him off guard to begin with. “Why?”

You sigh, rolling your head around your shoulders, anticipating the pop. “Eren can’t ever make me come.”

“Poor girl.”

Your gaze snaps on his. Your thighs squish together, reminding you of the ache that’s been prevalent since the other night.

You’ve never met a man who could turn you on just by looking at you, but Professor Ackerman is a diamond in the rough. And you love shiny things. Especially because you rarely own them.

His tone borders on condescending, mirroring the aloofness he already poses. You like it, too, for some reason. It makes you hot. It makes you want to hear him say more condescending things, but in a lower voice and straight into your ear.

“You want me to make you come?” he asks.

Now it’s your turn to choke. Suddenly, you’re losing all your gall, gaping under his piercing gaze. His eyes are blue-gray but look almost black in this lighting, and his fingers look so long and thick wrapped around his glass; you can’t help but imagine two—no three—of them stuffed inside you, beckoning you to climax. He stares dead on. He doesn’t use any tactics. He doesn’t need to. He’s the kind of man who can say whatever vile thing he’s thinking and be commended for it.

You blurt out, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” The rest of his liquor slides down his throat. He reaches into his wallet and pulls out a fifty dollar bill—more than enough for his drink, your drink, and the tip. He looks at you again. “Do you want me to make you come?”

Your eyes are round, and as the heat blooms across your cheeks and travels below your neckline, you give a small, apprehensive nod.

He folds his blazer over his forearm then takes a step towards you, his hipbone pressing into your knee. You can smell him—the expensive cologne and the whiff of aftershave still clinging to his neck. You want nothing more than to shove your nose right where he smells the strongest and taste him.

“Use your words,” he demands. “Do you want me to make you come?”

You swallow. “Y-yes.”

He gives a single shake of his head. “It’s not like you to crack under pressure like this.” His mouth comes closer to your ear, the space thinning until there’s nearly none left. “You’re a smart girl. You can speak in full sentences, can’t you? I know you write in them all the time—I’ve read them. And don’t forget your manners.”

You repress the urge to gnaw on your lip. Your chest dips with a shaky intake of breath. You can feel the heat of him so close, or maybe it’s emanating from what’s already pooling between your thighs. There’s an insatiable pounding—you have a feeling he’s the only one who can do anything about it.

So you stomp on your pride and you whisper, “I want you to make me come. Professor.”

He stares, waiting.

You clear your throat, your words feeling smaller, tighter. “Please, sir.”

He gives a satisfied hum. “‘Sir’?” he mutters to himself, but you don’t miss the way the corner of his mouth tweaks a bit. “Hm. Come on, now.”

You scramble up from your chair, your legs tingling like they fell asleep. You refuse to believe his effect on you is this jarring.

“Where are we going?”

“My place.”

Holy fuck—his place? You linger close behind him, careful not to accidentally knock his heels.

“Your… Your place?”

“Yes.” The draft from outside floods in as he opens the door, holding it long enough so you can scamper outside. Fresh snow crunches beneath your boots.

“You’re not like, taking me to your dungeon. Right?”

He stays close by your side while you walk through the parking lot, the keys in his hand jingling with each step. “I didn’t realize we were living in medieval times?”

“I meant a freaky sex dungeon.”

“Oh, right. That.” He glances at you then back ahead. “I’m revamping. The room’s off limits.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Of course not. Idiot.”

[woodsteingirl]

A case in suburbia, domestic dynamics, and a forever home. What could go wrong?

the moment i’ve been waiting for! chapter one is up now! read here or under the cut.

Cas and Dean were searching for a forever house. They had been pretty much since Cas got back from the empty. They were ready to distance themselves from hunting. Dean had always wanted a sort of suburban, white picket fence life, even if he didn’t admit it to anyone. And since he already admitted how he truly felt to Cas, why not throw his need for a domestic lifestyle into the mix. Cas was all for it. Ever since Jack had given up most of his powers to Amara, thus causing her to take his place as God and him almost human, Cas had been hoping for a place to raise him like a normal child. The bunker was great for hunting and a place for Cas, Dean, and Sam, but not so much for raising a 5-year-old kid.

House hunting had been a burden to bear, but they were making out alright. Up till this, they’d looked at about 3 other houses. They were all a no for different reasons. The first one Cas decided was in a school district that wouldn’t be good for Jack, the second didn’t have a big enough garage or backyard, and the third didn’t have enough bedrooms for all of their family to stay. With the whole credit card scam they’d been running for as long as they remember, budget wasn’t really a problem, but they didn’t want something extravagant.

There it was, 538 Chapel Street in Pine River Crossings. It wasn’t too far out of Lawrence, only a few hours' drive, and all the houses looked nice. Very cookie cutter, but that was sort of the appeal. They couldn’t guarantee that they would fit in with the traditional, upper middle-class people, but what the hell, if they could kill god they could take suburbia.

A few days passed, and they were set up to look at the home. They drove the hour and a half to the next medium-sized town with the belief in their minds that this was the one. It had all they needed, a two-car garage, a respectable school district, and two guest bedrooms. They were so caught up in this concept they made the mistake of not checking the news for the nearby areas. Once they arrived, a realtor who showed them around the dwelling greeted them. It was all they could ask for and more practically too good to be true, especially for people like them. The actual presentation of the house went over without too many problems. The person exhibiting the residence commented on how it had been on display for almost a month now, which was the first red flag. A house as nice as this, in a densely populated area, would usually not be on the market for that long in weeks unless there was some hidden con.

They signed on it not a day after seeing the house in person. It was all set up and they could officially start moving stuff in the next week. They officially shared the good news with everyone the day after they signed. Sam was beyond happy for them. Not only would he finally have a space to himself, he was proud of his brother for living the life he’d always wanted. Jack was thrilled that he would get to go to actual school and have friends that were his age and not cosmic entities. In the meantime, Cas did more research into the neighborhood. There was their hidden con. The newspaper Cas had pulled up on his phone said, “Local Couple Murdered in Own Home.”

“Dean, look at this.”

Okay, that was a setback. A murderer on the loose in the neighborhood they were moving into was not exactly what he had planned, but he had delt with worse. “Alright, that could be a problem.”

“I think it’s a little bigger than a problem,” Cas retorted.

“Is it our type of thing or just something local law enforcement could deal with?”

Cas read on in the article, “the couple was stabbed, there was no sign of forced entry, neighbors reported nothing amiss besides lights flickering before the murder. The weapon, as well as the perpetrator, was never found. No official suspects have been labeled, everyone has seemed to have an alibi.”

“It definitely sounds like our thing. Lights flickering, no breaking and entering, and all.”

They decided they could pose as residents, as it seemed perfectly normal for the newcomers to be concerned about the literal murderer on the loose. Since Cas was newly human, and Jack was, well, 5, Dean thought they might need outside help. Being out of practice to spend more time with your husband and child really had its fallbacks. Sam was off the table as backup. He was out of town and Dean didn't want to interrupt his first weekend without him in god knows how long. Plus, they needed someone who wouldn't draw too much attention to their family dynamic.

“Hey, Cas, what do you think about calling in Claire to help us with this one? You think she’d do it?”

“Calling her in for help is a good idea, whether or not shed actually do it is another question.”

“I’ll call and ask, and if she wants to help, and if not then I can think of something else.”

He kept his promise and called Claire not an hour later. He decided it might be best not to tell her it was undercover work, or that it was taking place in a white picket fence neighborhood, as that might turn her off from it almost immediately.

“Hey Claire, its been too long since we’ve talked,” he started.

“Hi Dean. what do you want, there’s no way you’re just calling to catch up if you’re starting with ‘its been too long.’”

“You got me there. I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me and Cas on a hunt. Its not too far from the bunker and we’d have you back home in a week.”

“Sure, that works. When do we start?” She hadnt seen Dean and Cas since they rescued Cas. That was over a month ago, she’d been meaning to visit, but she’d been so busy with hunting, and getting to know Kaia again now that she was finally back. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to reconnect and not miss out on anything too big back at home.

“If you could come down here by Wednesday, that’d be great.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.” She was tempted to sign off with an ‘I love you’ but she was never a lovey-dovey person in that way.

On tuesday she promised Jody she’d be extra careful and would be back in under a week. Kaia told her to make sure to call every day and update her on what was happening. Claire agreed, promising to keep in touch. She spent the rest of the day driving down to Kansas.

Back on Dean and Cas’s end, they were trying to get the house set up for 4 people when they had no furniture prior to this. Cas had always loved furniture shopping even before he had a use for it. When he worked at the Gas-and-Sip, he would browse the home improvement magazines in his spare time. Dean was pretty much the opposite. He had never had reason to care for it, so he didn't. Maybe his hatred for Swedish furniture was rooted in his deep-seated commitment issues. It didn't matter much why he hated it, he just left most of the choices up to Cas. there was then the issue of appliances and such you couldn't find in a furniture store. That was left up to him. Cas sent him out to Walmart to get things for the kitchen. That was something he could do. He picked out a mixer, some silverware, and a pioneer woman kitchenware set. It came with pots and pans, mixing bowls, and a few normal sized plates. That was enough for him to consider it an absolute steal. He brought his finds home to the bunker, setting them on the table designated for things that were to go in the new house. Jack was sitting on Cas’s lap, pointing at things on the computer.

“What’re you guys finding?” Dean asked, hovering behind Cas’s shoulder.

“Djungelskog!” Jack exclaimed, showing Dean a photo of a large stuffed brown bear.

“I thought you were looking for furniture?” Dean directed the question more at Cas, but he was still looking at Jack.

“We are. Jack just got us a bit sidetracked. We found the majority of what we need. Among other things not of as grave importance.”

Dean looked over the shopping cart and then gave the go ahead. Not before adding the stuffed bear to the cart, though.

The next day Claire arrived. Everyone was thrilled to see her. Jack ran up and threw himself around one of her legs and Cas gave her an awkward dad side hug. Dean wondered when he would tell her what the hunt would actually consist of, but he didn't want to interrupt the moment.

A few hours later, Dean fixed everyone a real dinner and had them sit down at the kitchen table. The realization dawned on him that this was going to be his last sit down meal officially living in the bunker. Everyone sort of just sat in silence for a beat. Perhaps reflecting on their own lasts of officially living there. “Claire, I sorta forgot to add this when I called you, but the case is a lot of undercover work. Also its in a suburban area.”

“And why didn't you tell me this sooner?”

“Well to speak freely, I wanted you on this case and I was worried it would make you not want to come.”

“It almost does, but i'm already here now, and i wouldn't want to waste a days driving on something i'm not actually going to do.” She guessed this would probably take longer than a week. “And i'm guessing this isn't just something you decided to do out of the goodness of your hearts?”

“We bought a house in the area, and we just wanted to make sure it was safe,” Cas explained.

“Hang on, you bought a house for real and you didnt even think to tell me? You didn't think that that was valuable information?”

“It didn't come up in our phone call,” Dean said.

“And? That’s no excuse to leave your daughter out of major life events!” The ‘daughter’ part just sort of came out without her noticing, but seconds after she said it she regretted it. God, how embarrassing.

“You’re right. We should’ve told you sooner. It was kind of a recent decision, though, so you haven’t been out of the loop for too long,” Cas said.

The next day was moving day. Dean loaded the appliances into the back of Claire’s car, since the back of the Impala was already full. Claire took her own car, while Dean, Cas, and Jack rode in Baby. Their real furniture was being delivered as they spoke. Cas offered to ride with Claire, but she assured him she’d be fine by herself. The drive wasn’t even that long, especially compared to the distance she drove yesterday.

Dean was silently nervous. He wouldn’t admit it out loud but it was written all over his face. His first real stable house, with the man he loved, and his two kids, he could only hope that he didn’t mess it up. Cas put a hand on his shoulder showing he saw how Dean was feeling.

They turned onto Chapel Street and pulled up into the driveway of the house. It somehow looked bigger and more daunting than it had during the walkthrough. Claire arrived almost ten minutes later. Everyone just sort of paused in front of the house for a minute, reveling in the stability most of them had never had.

[icedthoma]

anon who requested kuroo but the one prompt was take, i think 15i cld be cute🥺🥺

for future reference

Pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou x Reader

15i. Using the other as a drawing reference + “Stop stealing my clothes.”

You’ve always enjoyed watching Kuroo practice. You know he loves having you there, too, from the way he sends a grin your way every time he jumps a successful block or sends the ball ricocheting towards the ground on the other side of the net with a little more vigor than Yaku says is really necessary. 

The sound of shoes skidding across the gym floor as well as the occasional shout reaches your ears from where you’re quietly sitting to the side in a corner of the room, out of the way from any stray volleyballs. The pencil in your hand taps the blank page of your sketchbook repeatedly as you rack your brain for a sliver of inspiration to surface. It’s one of those days when you want to draw, but every idea that comes to your head is immediately rejected for some inexplicable reason. 

Why does art have to be so hard?

While you sit, thinking, your eyes instinctively wander from the empty paper over to the court, once again seeking out that familiar rooster head you’ve come to love. Kuroo’s back is to you as he leans forward, arms stretched behind him before he springs up, almost hovering in the air for a moment in a perfect spiking position before the arm coiled behind him snaps forward and connects with the ball Kenma set. He lands with a laugh and smug smirk at Lev’s frustrated yell. 

“Argh!”

“Better luck next time.”

The image of Kuroo right before he spiked is still ingrained in your head. He may not be the ace, but his spikes are still really impressive. It’s then that you realize that maybe the inspiration you had been seeking was right in front of you the whole time. 

You work quickly, starting with his head and sketching the guidelines for the rest of his body. A small smile tugs at the corners of your mouth as you work, slowly but surely recreating the figure of your favorite person onto your paper.

When practice finally ends and the rest of the team begins to clean up the gym, you look over your sketchbook critically at the results of the past hour or so you spent drawing.

Kuroo spiking.

Kuroo bent over cackling after Lev clumsily trips over his own feet.

Kuroo high-fiving Kenma and Yamamoto after a victorious three on three match.

There’s more, but a sudden weight around your shoulders snaps you out of the semi-daydream state you’re in. You immediately close your sketchbook and look up to see Kuroo himself standing to your left, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. They must have finished cleaning up earlier than you had thought.

“You really need to stop stealing my clothes,” he teases, his eyes glittering mischievously as you realize the weight around you is in fact, his Nekoma jersey.

“You need to stop enabling me,” you shoot back with a laugh, sliding your arms through the sleeves so you’re wearing it properly.

“Well, I have your attention now, don’t I?” He chuckles and slides down so he’s sitting next to you despite your protests that he was sweaty from practice (he insists he’s fully cooled off and not gross at all). “You were pretty focused on your book, by the way. I don’t even think you realized you were shivering.”

It’s now dark outside, though you remember there still being sunlight around the time you started drawing. You shrug, zipping up his jacket all the way up to your chin and ducking your nose into the fabric. “I’m not anymore, though.”

“Can I see?”

You blink and feign ignorance. “See what?”

“You’re not slick, you know what I meant.“ Kuroo punctuates his sentence with a small poke to your shoulder. “What you were drawing, obviously.”

Sighing in resignation, you slide your sketchbook out from its hiding spot and flip to the newly filled pages detailing Kuroo during his practice session. “Fine.”

You study his side profile hard for his reaction, taking note of how the curve of his cheek connects to his jaw, how his narrowed eyes slightly widen as he traces your drawings of him with an awe-struck look on his face (for future reference, of course).

“Yo, Kuroo. We’re heading out,” a voice calls from the entrance to the gym. He nods at his fellow teammates before turning fully to you.

“You were drawing me the whole time?”

“Don’t get big-headed about it!” you stammer, your face flooding with warmth. “You’re a good dynamic pose reference.”

His playful demeanor softens for a moment as he stands up, handing your book back to you. “But seriously, these look really good! And I’m not saying that just because you drew me, and I’m naturally this awesome.”

“Right,” you scoff, accepting his offered hand and hoisting yourself upright. “Not at all.”

“One question, though.”

“What?”

“How come I didn’t have hands in that one drawing on the side?”

“Well, what if I didn’t feel like drawing hands, Tetsurou—”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I’ll always be happy to pose for you whenever you need some more inspiration, you know.” Kuroo squeezes your hand (still interlocked in his) just a little bit tighter, leaning forward to press his lips against your cheek as the two of you collect your things and make to leave the gym so he can walk you home.

You’ll definitely keep that in mind.

2k event masterlist

[hubbytaeil]

hello! can u please do angst #6 from your prompt list for johnny?? maybe some enemies or fake dating ?! thanks <3

Johnny + #6 It’s a real shame nobody asked for your opinion

genre: kind of angst, reneissanse!au 

synopsis: an alternative universe in which reader is a Medici and Johnny is a Pazzi in 15th Century Florence. In case you didn’t know, Giovanni is the equivalent of John 

tw: mentions of blood and death

word count: 3k+ 

a/n: there i go again putting together two of my favourite things together aka Johnny and Italy so really this is pure self-indulgence. On top of that, this will be the last post I make. I’ve been thinking a lot, I’ve put two and two together and I understood that I’m about to enter the busiest period/year of my life, but that’s adulting right? Either way, it was fun to be here while it lasted, thank you for your support but I feel like I need to concentrate on getting my life together now. Remember to take care of yourself, nenétte says goodnight <3

It was a perfect night for a celebration; it seemed as though the whole city of Florence had gathered in the presence of the Corsini in their great villa. Music played gayly and the atmosphere was filled with laughter and joy. You knew very well this was all your friend Matilde’s doing, her social gatherings were known to be the most entertaining throughout the republic. The reason of the celebration was unknown but the guests were having a splendid time. When you finally questioned Matilde about it, she just shrugged her shoulders.

“Must a lady always have an excuse for her to wish for good company and a good laugh?” she whispered in your ear so that she would not be heard by her older sisters.

“Oh, most certainly not. Yet, I am still rather perplexed on why the lady in question has to invite the entire city in her home to simply have a laugh.” you responded, holding her hand in a teasing manner.  

“We should enjoy ourselves for as long as we can, y/n. Just like your brothers always say, don’t they?” you nodded at Matilde’s statement, glancing over at your brother Lorenzo engaged in what seemed a heated conversation with one of the guests. You always regarded yourself to have had such a lucky disposition, having been born in one the most influential families of the peninsula. Yet, your true luck laid in the wonderful family members you had been blessed with. A young lady such as yourself could not have hoped for a better environment to grow up in, surrounded by illustrated artists who would always come in and out of your household, the toms of the library of your beloved father, God rest his soul, and, of course, the presence of your ever so outstanding siblings. Lorenzo noticed your gaze towards him and he saw how must’ve been lost inside your numerous thoughts. He shook his head slightly. Divertiti. Have fun, he mouthed. You smiled enthusiastically, remembering what such beautiful lines of wisdom you had found lying on his desk along the piles of scattered papers. You felt the need to share them with Matilde.

“As my dear brother would say, del domani non c’è certezza. Of tomorrow there’s no certainty.”

“And would your other dear brother say, sorella?” Giuliano intruded in your conversation but Matilde was not at all displeased. Giuliano had that effect on every lady (or lord), with his astonishing complexion and rather captivating character that at times could be considered rather bellicose.  

“Well in your case, you would just simply sneak away with the fairest lady here present and leave your younger siblings to watch out for themselves.” you affirmed, of course he couldn’t help but smirk at truthfulness of your words.

“Not this time, y/n. Tonight I’m very determined to protect you from the rapacious gazes of Florentine society. Mother’s orders.” Said Giuliano sternly, locking his arm with yours, leading you to dance and separating you from Matilde.  

“Is that so, Giuliano? Is any of the gentlemen here present organising some sort of coup against my character?” you implied, trying to veil your cheeky smile. As the music initiated, you let your brother guide you in the sea of people, hoping not to get the wrong steps and end up on someone’s feet, just like what happened last time with one of the Albizzi boys.  

“Not that I know of, no. But who knows what are these pompous bastards’ ways to smear our family.” your brother hissed when he got the chance to be close to your ear as he made you turn.

“You’d know better not to utter such profanities, messere.” you muttered, mocking your childhood governess which made Giuliano laugh silently as he positioned you both in line. You continued on dancing and you could feel your brother glaring at every gentleman whose turn was it to dance with you. Much to your determined protector’s surprise, you had never cared much for the company of men, therefore you were sure you could defend yourself in case of uncomfortable or inconvenient situations. You limited yourself to exchange the bare minimum of pleasantries, enough for you to be polite but not enough for them to justify any sort of pursuing. An equilibrium soon to be disrupted by a young man, all dressed in black, who you had never seen before, not at any of Matilde’s parties or in church or even in one your brothers’ company. The gentleman, who most definitely stood out for his imposing height, took your hand and led you forward. You had never felt intimidation in the presence of the opposite sex, as opposed to what all decent ladies are taught, and yet there was something about him that made you both fear and admire him, with his hair long and dark and his serious gaze.  

“Are you enjoying yourself, my lady?” his raucous voice filled your ears as he made you sway past him and back at his side. You tried to compose yourself.

“Most definitely, my lord. I reckon you are as well.”

“I am certainly, though it is rather unfortunate that no other lady can dance as well as you.” whispered the puzzling man, in the corner of your eye you saw a smirk. That must have been the dreaded coup Giuliano was worrying about. You were ashamed to admit that being charmed wasn’t as unpleasant as you had expected. You could’ve even get used to it if it meant looking into the stranger’s beautiful eyes and how they glowed under the candle lights. They irradiated a particular light, making anyone believe that they held some type of knowledge a common person could not aspire to.  

“It is the mere product of practice. Truth to be told, I find books more entertaining at times.” you took a step forward together, hand in hand.

“Is that so? And in what readings have you most interest?” you smirked at his question, holding in a chuckle, resulting in him frowning as he waited for your respond. He pulled you in and then you spun around him.

“I’m afraid if I told you, messere, you wouldn’t want to pay me such honouring compliments anymore.” You showed him your most endearing smile and he gladly reciprocated, staring at you attentively as you draw a circle around him.  

You were doleful to let go of his hand just to give it to another gentleman. Faster than you expected, the dance came to an end you were already anticipating to resume the conversation with your newest acquaintance. You felt silly in not having asked for his name. You spotted his eyes again the crowd and he was svelte to start making his way to you. But before he could reach you, you observed how his eyes shifted from you to something that was behind. His expression had darkened. You turned around to realise how that something was no other than a rather crossed Giuliano. The young man froze where he stood, meanwhile Giuliano was quick to grab you gently by the arm.  

“I most definitely have oppositions about your taste in men, y/n.” your brother grumbled, not taking his flaming eyes off the gentleman dressed in black.  

“I actually found him to be the most agreeable gentleman to dance with me tonight. What could your oppositions be, brother?” you glanced over at him once again, wearing a pleased smile. This time he didn’t even flinch, he had reassumed the initial austere expression. It set off a bitter taste in your mouth.  

“Do you really wish to know the reason of my oppositions?” Giuliano’s tone was strange. You knew he was hiding something from you. You nodded impatiently, only wanting to find out the dynamics of this sudden change of mood.  

Giuliano let your hand rest on his as he made his way to the unknown man with you at his side. Your heart sank in your chest once you were face to face yet again with the handsome stranger. What was your brother trying to do?

“Giuliano de’ Medici.” spoke the tall man. You were not surprised at him knowing who your brother was, but it didn’t explain at all why this was your first time seeing him.

“Giovanni de’ Pazzi.” responded Giuliano. Your throat ran dry at the sound of that name and your head was suddenly heavier.  

It couldn’t be. He was a Pazzi, but how was this possible? You had never seen him around any other person who carried such dreadful surname. All good dispositions towards the man changed in the blink of an eye. And all it took was a bloody name.

“Tell me Giovanni, how was England? It was quite a lengthy stay, wasn’t it?” Giuliano posed his question, but the usual tone of mockery was not trying to be hidden by any means.  

“It was indeed, lengthy enough for me to start calling myself John, like the locals did. But I have missed Florence very much.” John’s tone on the other hand was firm and poised, hard to believe he was a Pazzi if one didn’t notice the deadly spark in his dark eyes, the same spark you had mistaken for a sign of a respectable man.  

“May I present to you my sister, y/n de’ Medici?” the reveal of both of your identities had banished any sort of possible affection between you and John. There you stood face to face, a pernicious look in both of your eyes. You bowed never letting your gaze leave him, not interested in being polite, not to him or any member of his family.

“It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, madonna. I certainly look forward on having more conversations regarding our favourite lectures.” his devious smirk didn’t look as charming anymore, not when it reminded you of the odious man who was head of his family.

“I certainly do, messer Pazzi.” you responded with not even a drop of sincerity, you made sure the message was clear. You heard an unpleasant voice calling out John’s name. It was Francesco de’ Pazzi.

“If you’ll excuse me, my brother requires my presence.” John bowed elegantly and was swift to leave you and Giuliano alone. You squeezed your brother’s hand as tight as you could after John was far away enough.

“Say, what would you do without me, sorella?” Giuliano was glad in having succeeded in your mother’s plan but you felt deceived and most importantly, you felt uneasy having been so close to someone who despised your family so deeply. Though you were relieved in having been saved from stepping into the lion’s den.

“They should hang these Pazzis’ portraits around town so that decent young ladies don’t make the grave mistake of dancing with them.” you whispered bitterly.  

“You seemed quite glad in the moment; I’ve never seen you look at a man like that.” Giuliano teased you.  

“Do shut your mouth, and don’t mention this to anyone.” you warned him, your voice shaking thinking about John’s hand touching yours, about his eyes piercing through you like an arrow.

“Whatever for? Lorenzo always speaks of ending this rivalry once and for all. Perhaps, he’ll be happy to acquire a Pazzi as a brother-in-law.” Giuliano spoke with poison in his voice, since he clearly didn’t agree with his oldest sibling. Not to mention just weeks prior Francesco de’ Pazzi and Giuliano had been involved in a fight around the market place. Giuliano had a tumultuous character and it didn’t help the devilish rumours the Pazzi would spread about your family. You clang at Giuliano’s arm like you did when you were child.

“I shall never speak to a Pazzi ever again, let alone marry one. Just the mere thought makes my skin crawl.” had you and Giuliano been alone, you would’ve spat on the ground.

“Well, you’re in luck, I’d never let you commit such treason against our family, but must importantly, against me.” you both chuckled softly, hoping not be observed by anyone who would report what you were saying to the people involved.  

“I know you two are up to no good, whatever is going on?” Lorenzo approached you, assuming a concerned look.  

“Absolutely nothing, brother. I was just mentioning how all eyes seem to be on y/n this evening.” confidently answered Giuliano, tapping on the palm of your hand.  

-

The evening was far from being over. Though, unlike your brothers, you required fresh air from time to time during crowded banquets such as these. You asked Matilde to join you on one of the balconies but she kindly refused after Giuliano finally asked her to dance. Therefore, you made your way alone. You rested your palms on the reeling, breathing in and out, looking up at the sky and following the trail of stars.  

“You know, my uncle always says you Medici spend so much time looking up at the clouds that you forget what really matters.” a familiar voice sent a chill through your spine, making you shiver in result. You turned around to see John standing in between the pillars with a smug look on his face. Perhaps he thought he had conducted you into some trap. You pitied him.

“And my dear brother Lorenzo always say that you Pazzi waste all your great potential in going after what is out of your reach.” you replied severely, your back as straight as it could be. John snickered at your comeback. He looked rather dangerous with his face beaconed by the torches hanging on the wall, almost like Lucifer after having fallen from heaven. You had to admit, there was a hint of fear inside of you but shut it out as fast as you could.

“Have you been sent here to antagonise me?” you asked him since he hadn’t spoken.  

“You are a Medici indeed.” John affirmed almost to himself, observing your every feature. “But no, I hadn’t such intentions. Though I could, if you were inclined.” said John, taking a step towards you.

“You’d be wise not to antagonise the wrong person, messere. One may even get hurt.” you warned him, looking at him dead in the eye. You were not used to stepping down to anyone, you were proud and not ashamed of it. Thought you two seemed to share this particular trait. It was a silent quarrel.  

“Well, if that isn’t an inviting prospect.” John grinned, not taking your fervour seriously.

“So, you have come to antagonise me. I guess it runs in the family.” you raised your eyebrows in false surprise. “Did your uncle have to bring you back here all the way from England for this sole purpose?” you laughed in his face but his expression didn’t mutate. Yet his body seemed to tense up.  

“The reasons of my return certainly do not concern you, my lady. Furthermore, I gathered you were enjoying yourself mingling with a Pazzi. Now, that’s not a behaviour worth of a Medici, is it?” John scolded you and rage created a stinging sensation that spread throughout your body. You tightened your fists, to the point where they hurt, anything not to let wrath cloud your judgment.  

“I do not believe you are to be the best individual to judge what is worth of a Medici or not.” you stated as you commenced to circle around him.

“You have just returned to Florence and you are probably following your brother’s orders to please him. In that case, I wouldn’t blame you for your foolish provocative attempts.” you completed the circle as you said this.  

“but I would blame you if such behaviour had been deliberate. Oh, it would’ve been so unfair to me, messer Pazzi.” you affirmed, sarcastically raising the pitch of your voice. You stood once again face to face, far away from the brief moment of propensity that you two had shared hours prior. You weren’t sure if his lively eyes regarded you as a prey or as his equal. John contemplated you, his opponent, before breaking into a smile.  

“And what a pain it would be, y/n” You saw him move his hand preparing to reach for yours until he refrained himself “for you to know that I’ve been unfair to you.” John knew how to play this game very well indeed, whether he had learnt from his brother or anyone else in the family. Did he stop himself because in him there was enough decency left that didn’t make him want to compromise a young lady? Or perhaps did he want to prolong the fun he was having?  

“Your perseverance is admirable, Giovanni” you saw him wince at his real name being pronounced. “though too much of it could lead to dangerous outcomes.” your venomous threat didn’t make John retreat but you could see that he was impressed by it.  

“I certainly hope this fierceness of yours doesn’t get you into trouble, my lady.” he whispered.

“And it is a real shame no one has asked for your opinion in regard of my character, my lord.” you stared into each other's eyes like sword blades colliding. It was a tie.

“Y/n.” you heard Lorenzo calling your name, though it resounded like white noise in your ears. He informed you that it was time to leave. You looked over John’s shoulder and saw him looking rather preoccupied. You were glad that it wasn’t Giuliano or else he would’ve challenged John straight away after seeing you alone with him. You didn’t even bother bowing to John and you simply took heavy steps towards your brother.  

“Are you alright, y/n?” Lorenzo questioned, rubbing one of your shoulders.

“I’m feeling splendid, do not worry about me.” you reassured him. You glanced back at John whose expression was cryptic. You worried if that expression was going to haunt your dreams that night.

“Have a good night, madonna. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of other occasions to talk about Ovid.” John hinted at the conversation you had during the dance and it made you fume with both rage and humiliation. You saw your brother’s expression darken at John’s words but he remained calm, even if the grip he had on you said otherwise. You, on the other hand, were seeing red. It was beyond unfairness; it was absolutely evil. You pushed aside the fear of John spreading vicious rumours about you being promiscuous or loose solely based on that conversation.  

“There’ll be no need.” you affirmed, succeeding in keeping your voice stable. “I believe we have nothing more to say to each other. Have a good night.” and like that you stormed out alongside your brother, utterly infuriated at the state of wrath John had put you in.  

“You and Giuliano are going to be the death of me, you know that?” Lorenzo muttered in your ear after you two had reached the carriage.  

“I’m so sorry, brother.” you lowered your gaze.

“I believe you have done nothing to be sorry or ashamed for.” he made your raise your head and look in his eyes. “Furthermore, at your age I was way more reckless than you are right now.” he made you chuckle which slightly lifted your spirits. It didn’t shake off the feeling that you had made a terrible enemy that night. John eventually came to visit you in the first nightmare you had in years. One in which he was standing victorious over Giuliano’s lifeless body who laid on the altar of the Duomo, the holy cloth covered in his blood.

[lavalampelfchild]

Lava’s Art Masterpost

Hey, all!  Welcome to my art masterpost!  I have no idea if this is a thing that is done typically for art, but oh well, I like organizing things, so here we are!  What you’ll find here is mostly Dragon Age, with a few non-DA pieces in there, and there’s a range of styles I like to use, depending on my mood.  But a lot of what you’ll see will most likely combine lineart with some other form of coloring/shading.

Feel free to browse at your leisure, and I hope anyone who stumbles upon this enjoys what they find! :D And thank you to anyone who sees this and likes, or reblogs, or even just stops by to peruse a bit!  

All that said, away we go!

Digital Portraits:

1. Portrait of Nameless Woman, 2020 - This one is just an experiment with a watercolor brush that I did.  It’s not anatomically perfect, but I enjoyed playing around with shading.

2. Sketch of Aja Amell, 2020 - This one is basically sketch practice with my Amell~  Not really the most expressive pictures, but it’s a start toward drawing her more expressively.  Full disclosure: Aja is one of those OCs of mine that I have had trouble with deciding on a definitive appearance for several pictures, and I really want to work on upping my level of consistency when drawing her.

3. Long-Haired Fenris, 2020 - Exactly what it sounds like; this was for practice drawing Fenris’s features (I love how distinct they are), but with long hair because I am weak for it.  This one was a fun piece to shade, and mixing the stylized lineart that I normally use with a greyscale shading spectrum was really enjoyable.

4. Portrait of Ilorin Lavellan, 2016 - This is an oldie.  Basically practicing expressions, and it is technically a WIP, but I’m still very happy with how the shading turned out, especially because this is actually (aside from the unfinished hair) one of the more minimal pieces I’ve done in terms of lineart  It’s still there, and it still shapes the flow of the picture in some ways, but it also ends up flowing with the shading instead of standing out next to it, which I like.  (Both styles are good, though, and I love seeing other artists try both too.)

5. Old Portrait of Aja Amell, 2016 - Much older picture I did of Aja; she... honestly looks very little like the newer one, I think, and that consistency is something I’m still working on, but this one was the first picture of Aja with that particular hairstyle I drew.  What I like about this picture is how young she looks; it fits with her image as a fresh and sheltered Circle mage who’s only about 20 years old at the time of DAO.

6. Old Portrait of Trilyn, 2016 - They very first piece of art I posted to tumblr~ It’s not exactly how I envision Trilyn anymore, but it was still very fun to draw, and helped me get a feel for drawing him in the future. 

Dynamic Movement Pictures/”Moment’s in Time”:

1. Tabris in Arl’s Estate, 2020 - TW: blood.  I am super proud of this one.  My ultimate goal is to draw all of my Warden DAO OCs, and I could not believe I’ve never drawn my Tabris, and so here she is.  This was, in large part, practicing expressions because I absolutely love art that depicts characters in motion, or capturing some kind of expression.

2. Velyn in the Rain, 2017 - This one was actually based on some art that I saw in a Teen Wolf fic!  It was an experiment with a more expressive style (and one of the first pieces I did without lineart left in the finished version) and it was a huge step out of my comfort zone.  But overall, I am extremely happy with how it turned out.

3. Jem Nocking an Arrow, 2016 - And here is the lineart version.  This was entirely an excuse to draw my DAI baby, Jem, and to do a cool archer pose because archers are my fav, and I love characters in motion.

4. Solas Teaching Trilyn Fade Magic, 2016 - This one was a painterly picture that was also (like the Velyn picture) something which I tried to keep lineart out of.  Overall, I am proud of a lot of parts of the pic, but I think I would definitely go back over it and change a few things now if I had the patience.

5. Trilyn Closeup WIP, 2016 - TW: injury, blood, mention of abuse in the author’s note.  A lot of early pictures I have are of my OC, Trilyn, and this is one of my absolute favorites.  His entire upper body is technically in the picture, but I hadn’t finished rendering it yet, so this was what I posted.  And it was an experiment with a cross-hatching style with the pencil tool for some texture, with air brush shading and a blurring tool.  It’s a style I had fun playing around with!

6. Trilyn Blood Ritual, 2016 - TW: blood, injury (the slight cut used to supply the ritual with blood).  This one was definitely a sort of “captured moment” from a backstory I gave Trilyn, and I think what I was really going for was an atmospheric piece that could fit with any potential fic I wanted to write for Trilyn.  And then it ended up being practice for extreme lighting/shading techniques, and drawing the blood and the gross mass of demon ichor (or whatever the heck that is) turned out to be highlights of making the piece for me.

Art + Text:

1. Freedom and Control, 2020 - TW: scars, but very difficult to see.  This one was ambitious for me!  It started originally just as Solas and my Tal-Vashoth OC, Saara, facing each other, because I love the dynamic I’ve built for them in my head, but then it turned into an attempt at a tarot-esque background, and just sorta grew from there... Overall, I’m happy with how it turned out, especially with how Solas and Saara themselves turned out.  The version you can actually see a larger view is here.  

2. Marianna and Delia Codex and Art, Pt. 1, 2020 - I love writing my own codex entries, first off, and I love combining art with text to create a (hopefully) seamless work.  This work was an attempt to flesh out these OCs of mine with both art (because unique facial structures are hard for me to get down, but so important regardless) and text (because writing~).  I think it turned out well overall, but there are elements of the portraits that I might at some point touch up a bit.

3. Marianna and Delia Codex and Art, Pt. 2, 2020 - Part 2, with what I refer to as a “DAI Outfit Change” because I have always loved seeing fans show their own OCs as they look in DAO, DA2, and then finally DAI.  So I absolutely wanted to jump on that bandwagon myself.  The skin tones are a little off (and I’m sorry about that!) because I was playing with the watercolor brush at that point, and it dilutes the colors I use.  Still working to figure that out, but I was very happy with the overall lineart and structures of the faces.

4. Alistair/Aja Amell Picture with a Blurb, 2017 - Ooooold, old, old, old, OLD!  I still love the art, and I’m soooo happy with how the interaction between Alistair and Aja turned out (drawing kisses is extremely difficult for me; I always end up creating a distorted weird lip-creature, instead of realistically puckered lips...).  I’m not as happy with the blurb that went with it?  At that point, I was still very much figuring out my own DAO worldstate, and the characterization for everyone, so, eh.  Take it with a grain of salt!

Unfinished Costume Designs:

1. Ancient Elvhen Armor with Dwarven Influence, 2018 - People who do costume design work are amazing and mystical beings, and I wish I could do what they do.  This was an attempt at merging the Keeper robes from DAI with a more dwarven armor aesthetic, solely because I created an ancient elvhen character, Ceda, who was taken in by the Cad’halash dwarves mentioned in the Witch Hunt dlc, and I wanted this character to have a mix of the elven style of armor and the dwarven style.  I’m overall decently happy with it, but there’s still that persistent level of self-criticism present.

2. Herald of Andraste Outfit WIP, 2016 - This was a very old picture, not one I showed around a lot, but the idea for this was entirely born of my intense interest in how fashion and outfit designs could be used to create a symbolic image for the Herald of Andraste.  In general, I love the combination of ceremonial armor with long and flowing cloth, so that was what I went for here.  I’m still actually very proud of how this came out, and headcanon something similar for my Herald in my canon DAI worldstate.

Pencil Sketches:

1. Quick Saara Sketch, 2019 - TW: saarebas mouth scars.  Exactly what it says; very quick sketch of Saara I did in a small notebook I carry around with me.  This was basically a test for myself to see if I could manage to draw Saara with the features and facial structure I envisioned for her without needing to use a lot of references.

2. Mass Effect Character Sketch; Jesse, 2018 - Similar reason for drawing this one as the above Saara sketch!  With these characters, I love sometimes the way they can turn out with the specific character creator used for them, and when I draw them, I enjoy trying to create a definitive look for them using what I get from the CC, and my own knowledge of Hooman Faces.

3. Saara Sketch, 2017 - TW: saarebas mouth scars.  A more detailed sketch of Saara than the one above, and one I definitely put more time into overall.  It’s currently the profile picture I’m using for ao3, and is the definitive go-to reference picture I use whenever imagining Saara in a fic, or for other Saara pics I make.  I am extremely proud of this picture, and feel like I should work in graphite more often.  It’s such fun, and the texture is so nice to look at.

4. Sketch of Nameless Alamarri Woman, 2017 - This was a sketch I did of what I envisioned some Alamarri tribes to look like; I used artistic depictions of Gaul tribes and hairstyles for inspiration, and have used this as a go-to reference for my version of Alamarri tribes.  Nothing super notable about this one, but I really liked the way the shape of her face turned out.

Events and Gifts:

1. Another Scar, 2020 - TW: blood, injuries, gore.  The most recent piece of art on the list, and a gift for @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold; featuring sisterly love between Rica and fem!Brosca, which was her requested prompt.  This was a tough piece for me because of the difficulty with the lighting I dealt with.  For some reason, that one particular element of it gave me so much trouble.  Overall, I’m very happy with how it turned out, though, especially the skin tones of the sisters; Brosca I always sort of like as having this greyish, more gaunt look to her, while Rica I like seeing with a darker, richer, and warmer tone to her.  

2. A Very Cousland Christmas!, 2019 - This was for a holiday exchange for a server, and I drew a friend’s Cousland (Elissa, the girl on the left) with my Cousland (Gazza, the girl on the right).  I love kid-fic, and I love kid-art, and so I decided... baby Cousland art!  Drawing kid proportions was the toughest part, I recall, and I thiiiink it turned out well, and I’m still quite proud of it overall.  Elissa’s design came entirely from my friend, but I added the holly~

3. Exchange Gift with Dis Brosca and Mabari, 2018 - This was an exchange gift for @fanfoolishness, using her lovely Dis Brosca, and was my first real attempt at backgrounds... I struggled with the coherence of the foreground and background a bit, but I’m still very proud of how it turned out, especially with the colors I had to work with.  What I also really enjoyed working with was the lighting and the expression on Dis’s face.  Backlit subjects are always fun to play around with!

4. Inktober Picture, “Deep”, 2017 - TW: scars, injury, mentions of abuse in the author’s note/attached dialogue snippets.  This was for an Inktober prompt (the only one I’ve ever done, sadly... because I am bad with deadlines...), and again features Trilyn.  Trilyn’s backstory has him a former slave in Tevinter, and a lot of the early works I do for him are sort of deep-dives into his life there.  It’s all meant to be an exploration of the things he endures, and then those moments when he overcomes it all and takes back his own autonomy and self.  This art is definitely provocative, and I can understand if not everyone likes it, but to me, I just wanted to show just what he faces (without glorifying it) before showing the moment of his own triumph.

5. Christmas Holiday Picture with my Brosca and a Friend’s Amell, 2017 - This was a piece of art drawn first by a friend of mine, @nanahuatli~  She drew the Amell, the background, the mistletoe, etc.  All I did was add my Brosca to the mix to finish the image.  It was a lot of fun to do, 1) because it was fun trying to match her style so that the picture looked cohesive, 2) because I love doing collabs with friends, and 3) because it was just such a fun thing to imagine my surly short Brosca, looking at this weird plant/fungus/thing dangling over some puckering human!  It was an absolute joy to do this collab with her!  

6. OC Kiss Week Pic of Jem and Saara, 2017 - TW: saarebas mouth scars.  A spur-of-the-moment thing meant to demonstrate just what kind of dynamic my OC, Jem, has with my other OC, Saara (both of whom are members of Leliana’s network in DAI).  This was a very quick picture (deadlines...) and was mostly just to have fun drawing these two characters interacting, and to see if I could make them look like themselves.  I think I did a decent job with it overall, especially with Jem’s kissy-face!  (Again... drawing kisses are the bane of my existence, although hands and feet take a close second.)

[birdyisanightingale]

THT S4 Predictions: Brazil Trailer

Back by popular demand, I’m going to be doing a comprehensive set of predictions based on the Brazilian S4 trailer which has additional footage to the main one. If you want to watch it, here’s the link: https://www.handmaidsbrasil.com/2020/12/exclusivo-assista-ao-novo-teaser-legendado-da-quarta-temporada-de-tht.html

SPOILER ALERT!! Please be aware that if you keep reading there will be major S3 spoilers and potentially some S4 ones too!!

First up, we appear to have some sort of scene where June has been captured by eyes (or someone posing as the eyes - I’ll come back to this) . I think this must be at least an episode or so in because she seems to be walking fine and she doesn’t have any obvious injuries (she was basically dead at the end of S3). Another good sign is that she appears to be alone, so if she has indeed been taken by the eyes, they haven’t managed to capture all of the ‘magnificent seven’ (this is the new term being given to the fugitive handmaids from the end of the S3 Finale). 

However, considering the remote location, it looks likely that this scene may be an attempted execution of June. I know what you’re thinking, this is Gilead - if they want to kill you they won’t bother making it private, they’ll make an example out of you and leave you hanging on a wall until you rot. But think about it - at this point, killing June will not be an example, the resistance in all its different forms has gotten too big for that. If they kill June now, they will only be creating a martyr, and the only way to avoid that is to kill her secretly and get rid of all the evidence so no one knows if she’s dead or missing or maybe even escaped to Canada without telling anyone - a great way to crack a resistance is to take away the element of trust! Anyway that’s why they’d make her execution a quiet affair.

But here’s why I think it was only made to look like the yes have taken her. Judging from the location and costumes (although admittedly costume variety is particularly limited in this show), while this is later in the trailer, it looks like a continuation of the same scene. It looks almost like Nick knew that June was in a situation where either he intervened or she was captured (or worse) for real. He obviously still has to make it look somewhat legit because he’s a commander now and he needs to keep good standing to be able to help June and Mayday (not to mention, staying off the wall). 

I think this element of Nick being an asset to Mayday will be explored quite a lot this season, and beyond. Nick’s character development is particularly interesting because we’ve almost had a different Nick every season, but the writers are still finding new ways to surprise us with new dimensions to his character. In S1 we had ‘Nick the Eye’ who was battling this sense of duty and obligation that he had never bothered to question whether he agreed with his orders or not, with finally finding a reason to question those orders - June. Then in S2 when he’d finally gotten to a point where he’d chosen June over duty, we saw ‘Nick the husband’. We know from his flashbacks that he had a religious background before Gilead so he’s had ‘the sanctity of marriage’ instilled in him from a young age. So he’s somehow trying to reconcile his new role as a husband with his love for another woman who’s carrying his baby. And then we get the (admittedly infrequent) S3 ‘Nick the Soldier’ who we know absolutely nothing about, and how dominate that side of him is. Not dominant enough and Nick won’t have enough influence to be useful to Mayday, too dominant and he could potentially betray Mayday... we’ll have to wait and see...

“You can’t save her; some women don’t want to be saved.” Oof, literal chills. I’m really looking forward to this character dynamic. Both are commanders, both helped to create Gilead and regret it, and both have a connection to June. I know this is scene is talking about Nick wanting to save June and probably get her to Canada, but I can’t help thinking that the writers specifically wrote this line to have an underlying tone about Eleanor as her death will still be very fresh for Lawrence. 

This isn’t a prediction so much as a musing but I really hope there gets to be some sort of interaction between June and Lawrence about the circumstances of her suicide. Every time I watch the funeral scene where June and Lawrence just look at each other, I get more and more sure that Lawrence knows that something else happened that she’s not saying - he’s a smart man, after all.

Maybe this scene is a continuation of the ‘secluded forest/potential eyes’ scene. He could have asked her to stop “playing handmaid commander” (I believe this was a direct quote from S2, tell me if I’m wrong) and go with him to Canada and she refuses, hence why he goes to see Lawrence. That would fit the potential timeline as Lawrence would have to have been released from the interrogation scenes we saw in the main trailer, and we’ve established that the forest seven must be at least a few episodes in.

Speaking of rebel handmaid shenanigans, this looks fun! June is heard saying “Where we’re going isn’t safe.” and Mrs. Keyes (Mckenna Grace) replies “It’s not safe anywhere!”. I mean, straight off the bat, it looks like we’re going to get one hell of a performance from Mckenna Grace who seems insanely talented for 14! We’ve had it teased to us by different producers and show runners that Mrs. Keyes will be the confident teenage wife of a commander, who helps to facilitate the resistance. And, I mean being a child bride is horrifying so I can understand why she’s willing to help!

As where they’re actually going, I’m thinking that it’s got to be another ‘attack’ by Mayday. What that will look like is hard to say - another Lillie Fuller style bomb seems unlikely since the bomb-maker was moved and it doesn’t really seem like June’s style anyway (she’d rather go for the targeted kill without Handmaid/Martha casualties), and all remaining kids in Gilead will be under heavy security after the S3 Finale. My money would be on a plan to get out Handmaids/Marthas - in the originally trailer we hear June saying “These women deserve to be helped” which supports that theory. I think her efforts will particularly focus on handmaids since a lot of the kids they got out were kids of handmaids before Gilead so she’ll want them to be reunited where it’s safe to do so.

Right - my guess is that this scene must be following whatever Mayday attempted (successful or not...). Remember in S2 when June was looking at all the Marthas who had been hanged and she said that they had been hanged for being heretics and not for being part of resistance because officially there was no resistance because there was nothing to resist? I think what we’re seeing is June has been caught and she’s being given one of the hanging bags with the symbols on to say why they were hung, pre-execution (which I assume June will somehow survive - my guess would be Nick gets her out before the execution). June’s bag has a cross because she’ll be hung for being a heretic, because officially there is no resistance - although this seems like a bit of a stretch of a story even for Gilead considering what Mayday just pulled off. It’ll be interesting to see the story that Gilead do use to explain what happened.

Another thing I just want to quickly touch on is the costume - mustard yellow with a red strip. It’s a bit out there but I’m putting my money on ‘death row uniform’ - here’s why: the colours of the uniforms all have biblical connotations e.g. the wives where blue because it symbolises the purity of the Virgin Mary, handmaids wear read to symbolise Mary Magdalene who is a redeemed sinner etc. In Revelation (final book of the bible that talks of the end of the world and second coming etc.) the four horsemen (bringers of the end of the world) are described as being yellow as sulphur and red as fire. So the colours yellow and red would symbolise ‘the end’ i.e. a salvaging/execution. This is purely speculation so make sure to comment your thoughts!

Now the opinion you’re probably all here for - Hannah. In the shots shown in the trailer, she can be seen in some sort of glass prison with a doll, and she draws an eye in the dust. There’s been a lot of speculation about the context of this scene with the overriding theory being that this scene is a dream. In some ways this makes sense: June is in the yellow costume but she doesn’t have the same injuries shown in the other footage where she’s wearing this costume (although this could just be that this scene is slightly before that scene), the idea of a glass prison doesn’t really make sense in relation to what all the other cells look like that we’ve seen, the eye that Hannah draws is just way too precise for a drawing done with dust let alone a drawing done by a child, the idea of Hannah drawing an eye is also a strange drawing for a child whereas June would dream that because of the connotations to Gilead spies and ‘under his eye’. Not to mention it makes sense that June would be dreaming about Hannah being trapped as she’s been spending time with Mrs. Keyes who is a child bride close to Hannah’s age.

In all honesty, I don’t really know what I believe. I think that placing Hannah in a glass prison and allowing June to see her and be centimetres away but not be able to get to her is a very Gilead style power trip. Gilead officials know that the only reason that she’s still in Gilead is because of Hannah so it makes sense for them to hold her in a place that is blatantly obvious to June so she can be used as leverage in stopping an on-coming attack. Gilead pretend to be all about protecting children but we all know they’re not above cutting off a limb or two - as long as she still has a working uterus. So if this isn’t a dream and Hannah is being used as leverage, this puts a spanner in the works on my death row theory because you only keep leverage on someone if you need them for something and they won’t kill her if they still need her for something. There’s a number of things that could be - stopping an on-coming attack, intel on Mayday and the Martha network, maybe they’re blackmailing her to tell Luke to stand down on trying to get Fred and Serena convicted?

Anyway.... that was A LOT. Please reply to this post with any ideas you have or to prove me wrong - this is all we have till S4 drops!

Blessed be the fruit loops, bitches x

[artificialqueens]

Nostalgia, Part 3 (Rujubee) - Dartmouth420

nostalgia is a series that follows the re-ignition of raven/jujubee’s friendship (with benefits) while jujubee competes on all stars five and raven is working on set. there will be one chapter for every episode of AS5 where jujubee appears. drag names used with male pronouns.

summary: Jujubee’s coming off the thrill of the challenge win and the lip-sync battle. But jealousy is a double-edged sword… and bad habits are hard to break.

tw: smut, dom/sub dynamics, mild degrading language, mild jealousy

a/n: i’m enjoying the heck out of AS5 and i hope y'all are too.

Jujubee was very pleased with his performance in the challenge. Designing and presenting the hotel room had been surprisingly fun and despite his early misgivings, India and Alexis had been great to work with. Jujubee was confident, he’d been funny, coherent, and had delivered exactly as he’d intended. One hundred percent pure Laotian gold sheets indeed.

Raven hadn’t been around much and Jujubee hadn’t sought him out.

“Girl,” said Mariah, in that patient, knowing drawl of his as they painted their faces in the mirror in preparation for the runway and the judging, “I know what you’re doing.”

“Do you now?” responded Jujubee, carefully covering his mild panic. Not that there was anything to panic about but he had technically broken an important rule…

“Don’t you look at me like that, I ain’t a snitch!” laughed Mariah, “But I noticed that hickie. Maybe next time I’m feeling the stress of the competition I’ll go see for myself if darling Raven is around. I’ve got good memories of that mouth.”

“Since when?” responded Jujubee. He hadn’t realized the two of them had ever been involved, though hook-ups were certainly common among the community.

“We’ve both been around for a while,” said Mariah, with a knowing shrug, “We’ve both been getting around for a while.”

“Damn, who hasn’t he let fuck him?” joked Jujubee lightly, but slight jealousy was twisting in his stomach. He couldn’t deny Raven’s reputation. Though Jujubee had vaguely hoped he had the other man to himself, at least if their on-set shenanigans were going to continue.

“Out of the old generation? That list is short. From what I’ve heard he and Raja are working through the younger ones, too… just ask baby Naomi.”

Jujubee chuckled and he and Mariah returned to the task at hand. 

-

Jujubee won the fucking challenge! 

He couldn’t help letting a few tears escape his eyes as the pride and relief overflowed. It was a lot. And then the damn Untucked was a lot, too. Connecting with Mayhem and Blair was great, but emotional as hell. Nerves and anticipation were creeping up for what was to come next.

He spoke with everyone, changed into his leopard-print catsuit, picked out his damn lipstick and then before Jujubee knew it he was standing on the runway, and Ru was shouting “Ru-veal yourself!”

Jujubee turned, heart in his throat as he stared at the screen and the assassin contained behind it. Jujubee’s prediction from the other week in the bathroom with Raven returned to him, and his heart pounded in anticipation. Was it Raven behind that screen? Production would never be able to wrangle it, there was no way, but-

The screen rolled up and Jujubee saw soft orange velvet ankle-boots and while they were lovely shoes Raven would never wear something like that in a million years. As the screen rose Jujubee forced Raven to leave his mind as he focused on the task at hand, which was going to be beating Monét-motherfucking-X-Change in a lip-sync battle, to a Lizzo song.

All Stars Five was hard, damn it.

Monét gave an amazing performance, and Jujubee did his best but the emotion of the day left him a bit thrown off. Jujubee was disappointed with the loss, he could admit that. Somewhere in back of his mind he knew if he had been lip-syncing against Raven he could have beaten him, and felt ever-so-slightly cheated that his prediction hadn’t come true. Oh well, it was water under the bridge. 

Then there was the matter of sending Mariah home which was way more fucking tragic than anyone including Jujubee had been ready for. 

“Good luck, girl,” whispered Mariah in Jujubee’s ear as they hugged and he left the runway, “And have fun.”

-

When Jujubee finally, finally got back to the hotel after a very long day, he walked down the hall to his room and noticed a figure leaning against the wall next to his door, one arm tucked under the opposite elbow, eyes down on his phone.

It was of course, Raven, looking like a tall drink of… chaotic whore. But what else was new? Jujubee approached, quiet, waiting for Raven to notice him. 

“Hey bitch!” said Raven when he looked up, a grin his face, “I heard a rumour that you won the challenge today.”

“Mm-hmm,” replied Jujubee, self-satisfied, sliding his hotel key into the slot and then opening the door. The day had been an emotional roller coaster, full of highs and lows. He was dead tired on his feet. 

Raven followed him inside without needing to be asked and said, “Congratulations.”

“Thanks, fuck I needed a win.”

“I know, you deserve it. It’s been a long time coming.”

Jujubee tossed his day bag onto the chair, and laughed, “I thought it was gonna be you behind that screen. Bitch I was like ooh shit we just talked about it last week and now I’ve won? Hope he’s ready… ”

Raven put his phone down on the table, “I wasn’t lying to you when I said I’m not an assassin-”

“Jury’s still out on that, I can’t trust anyone.”

Raven laughed, and Jujubee gave him a suspicious side-eye that was mostly for show. Mostly.

“Monét destroyed you.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘destroyed’,” replied Jujubee, mildly insulted. He thought he’d held his own pretty well in the lip-sync, but the disappointment that it wasn’t Raven had thrown him off… 

“Kicked your ass, cut you to pieces, sliced and diced,” continued Raven, stepping closer to him.

“Shut up.”

“No, I live to give you a hard time,” said Raven, passing by Jujubee and making his way over to stand next to the end of the bed, “One more bitch down, huh?”

Jujubee took a moment. Raven was posed awkwardly, looking down at the bed with his arms crossed, avoiding eye contact. Jujubee cocked his head to one side, and considered his response. He was pretty damn tired tonight but elation and pride were still tingling under his skin. He had just won, after all. And curiosity was pulling at him.

“Did you get a chance to say goodbye to Mariah?” asked Jujubee, casually, reaching for the water bottle he’d left out on the table.

“Yeah, I saw him afterwards. You know how emotional the eliminations are. We, uh, talked,” said Raven quickly. Jujubee recalled his earlier conversation with Mariah, noted Raven’s avoidance of eye contact and presumed something must have happened. But it seemed odd that Raven wouldn’t brag about it.

“Did he say anything interesting?” asked Jujubee.

“Interesting?”

Jujubee shrugged and took a drink of water. All he could picture was Raven’s mouth around his cock the first week in the supply closet, how good it had felt and whether Raven had done the same thing for Mariah. Jujubee was certain that he had, but there was no rational reason to feel jealous. Both he and Raven were in serious, if open, relationships and fucked all kinds of people on tour and in the ins and outs of their lives. This wasn’t anything special. 

“Anyway,” said Jujubee, putting his water bottle down. He decided to be straightforward. “It’s been a long day girl, what do you want from me?

“Oh, well,” Raven practically purred, an absolutely salacious expression appearing on his face that caused a tight thrill to swoop in Jujubee’s stomach, “You won today. I’m here so you can claim your reward.”

Ah, of course. I’ll let you fuck me if you win. Jujubee had assumed Raven meant the crown, not just a main challenge. Perhaps Raven was using it as an excuse, and he was more interested in keeping this thing going between them than Jujubee had realized. What exactly were they to each other?

“I don’t have the energy to top you tonight, I’m exhausted,” said Jujubee, crossing his arms.

Raven’s mouth fell open for a second, and then he closed it, and he shifted, still standing by the bed.

“Okay, but like, I prepped and everything-”

“Wow. Someone’s entitled.”

“Fuck off.”

“I don’t think I will bitch, this is my room.”

Raven let out an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes. Jujubee felt a kind of calculating power, because there was something so fun about fucking with Raven. It was easy. It was almost as much fun as actually fucking him.

“Sit down,” ordered Jujubee and there was an instant change in the air, and to Raven’s expression. But Raven didn’t obey immediately, he waited, drawing out the moment. And then Raven sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Jujubee expectantly.

Jujubee approached him. There it was, the thrill of the power exchange that occurred so smoothly between them every time. 

“Keep your mouth shut,” said Jujubee. “I don’t want to hear your whining.”

Raven bit his lip and nodded.

“Take your pants off.”

Raven unbuckled his belt and undid his fly and lifted his hips, sliding his jeans to his ankles and taking them off his feet. Jujubee just stood and watched, and then brought his hand up and examined his nails, performing indifference. Raven huffed and removed his underwear as well. He was already hard. Well that was certainly fun, considered Jujubee, allowing an approving smile to appear on his face.

He approached, closing the distance between them and took Raven’s face in his hands. Tilting his head back and kissing him. Raven responded, hands going to Jujubee’s back. Jujubee broke the kiss and stepped back out of his reach. “Don’t touch." 

Raven looked disappointed but he didn’t say anything, doing as he was told. A jolt of excitement shot down Jujubee’s spine.

Jujubee decided he might as well cut to the chase.

"Open your legs.”

Raven obeyed. Jujubee stepped froward and dropped to his knees, hands on Raven’s overly-tanned thighs and regarded his cock for a moment. Raven was still, practically holding his breath.

Jujubee dipped his head and took Raven’s cock in his mouth and felt the other man practically shudder at the sensation. Jujubee went to work with his hand and his mouth, and while he didn’t fall over himself to suck cock at any given moment the way Raven did, he’d been doing this a pretty damn long time and he was pretty damn good at it too.

“Mm, fuck… ” murmured Raven.

Jujubee pulled back instantly, digging his nails into Raven’s inner thigh. Raven hissed at the pain, and Jujubee grabbed him by the chin with his opposite hand. 

“Did I say you could talk?”

Raven shook his head, a smirk growing on his face. Jujubee held eye contact until Raven looked away and pressed his lips together, pouting, submissive.

“Keep your mouth shut you little slut, and maybe I’ll let you finish.”

Jujubee wasn’t entirely sure where that had come from, because he really hadn’t been planning for things to get this intense. But Raven inhaled sharply, and his cock twitched and he obediently remained silent, so Jujubee returned to his task. 

They really shouldn’t let this become a habit, considered Jujubee as he sucked on the head of Raven’s cock and Raven let out a heavy breath. Warm nostalgia rose in Jujubee’s chest.

During All Stars One there had been part of the Untucked that had remained unaired, during the heavily staged Fuck, Marry, Kill conversation. Raven had just infamously and hungrily told Manila, “I would actually fuck you.” But what Raven had said next, in response to Jujubee’s name coming up had been to simply give him a wink and say, “Been there, done that. Marry.”

They hadn’t done anything yet, of course. Raven had been holding off on him since Season Two. It had only made the tension between them higher, much to Jujubee’s frustration. Jujubee’s response to Raven’s name had been, of course, “Fuck. Baby, I’ll make sure you can’t walk the next day.”

And he had.

Jujubee snapped back to the present, because it seemed like Raven was going to come soon. Raven had fallen back to his elbows, his breath shallow, and a flush was beginning to creep up his neck to his face. They really weren’t supposed to be doing this. The stakes were too high and Jujubee wasn’t exactly sure where Raven would fall under the ‘no conjugal visits’ rule, should anyone find out.

But anyway, Raven finished, staying obediently silent and keeping his hands off Jujubee as ordered. There was a certain satisfaction to it. Jujubee efficiently spat into a tissue and tossed it into the wastebasket in one swift movement. Raven lay back on the bed with a lazy hum, rolling onto his side. 

Jujubee didn’t have anything better to do so he flopped down next to him, propping himself up on his elbow. 

“You can talk now,” said Jujubee dryly.

“Mmm, permission received.”

There was silence for a moment. Jujubee considered whether he wanted to go to the effort of having Raven give him a handjob or something and then decided against it. He was dead tired. Sleep was looking attractive.

“You know you could be getting laid plenty this season, if you want it,” said Raven, seemingly out of the blue.

“What makes you say that?” asked Jujubee.

“That short bitch Cracker wants you, it’s obvious,” stated Raven with feigned nonchalance, rolling onto his back, tucking his arm under his head, “You going to fuck him?”

“Perhaps,” replied Jujubee, delicately touching his collarbone, giving Raven a smirk, “Are you jealous, bitch?”

“No,” said Raven, rolling his eyes, “You can do what and who you want, obviously.”

But Jujubee knew him well enough to read his body language, to see the set of Raven’s jaw and the tension in his shoulders. Raven was such a brat, and he was clearly feeling insecure about being left behind for someone younger and more fun. Oh, sweetie. 

“Well, now that I know such a great place to fuck people on set-” began Jujubee.

“Hey, no, that’s my spot!”

“Who else are you possibly fucking at work?” joked Jujubee, a vision of Mariah flashing before him.

“Eh, there was this twink PA I liked but he’s working somewhere else now, so-”

How intriguing. Ah, Jujubee could certainly pursue Cracker if he wanted to, the man wasn’t unattractive, but playing with Raven’s ridiculous emotions would probably be more fun. It wasn’t that Jujubee wanted to actually hurt him by any means, but Raven could be so dramatic and self-centred that there was a certain satisfaction to winding him up.

“So it’s just me?” teased Jujubee, pushing his luck.

“Do you think you’ll fuck Cracker?” responded Raven, dodging the question.

“Hmmm… I could.”

“But will you-”

“I don’t know yet, bitch!” laughed Jujubee, “I need to focus on winning. We probably shouldn’t even be doing this, it’s a distraction.”

“No it isn’t,” said Raven, a sly smile growing across his face, “This is what they call emotional support." 

The two of them laughed and Jujubee rolled his eyes, "You’re so stupid.”

“You like it.”

“To a point.”

Raven shrugged and then yawned, “Well I better go, I have to drive home.” He looked down at himself, amused, “Ha. I’m still naked.”

Jujubee admired Raven’s ass as he got up and pulled his underwear and jeans back on, heaving a deep sigh.

“Bye bitch,” called Jujubee, as Raven got his phone and left with a casual wave of his hand. The door shut behind him, and Jujubee blinked, the exhaustion of the day crashing back down on him. He got up and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. 

Tomorrow would be another challenge, and in all likelihood another twist. But whatever, Jujubee was ready. Bring it on, All Stars Five. 

[iron--spider]

sunset pictures (whumptober - tear-stained)

Peter was worried the ground would be wet because of all the rain earlier, and he spreads out the orange blanket, directly in front of the tombstone. The blanket is big, the one he and May usually use for picnics, and he folds it over a couple times until it almost feels like the comforter on his bed in the compound. Plushy. None of the wetness clinging to the grass seeps through.

 He sits down, and Tony sits beside him.

 This is only the second time they’ve visited Ben together. The first time was before the snap, before the dusting, before the subsequent insanity that put everything back together again. This visit seems like it holds more weight, since they’ve gone through all that. Because there was a time when Peter was gone too, when May and Tony were thinking about putting a tombstone with his name on it right next to Ben’s, and beside his parents’. Because there was a time when Tony came here alone, something he only admitted recently, months after everything ended and began again. He came here begging, pleading for answers from one of the people that knew Peter best. Of course, he didn’t get any. There were no answers for anyone that lost someone in the snap. Only dust in the wind. But nothing ever holds Tony up for long. Especially when he sets his mind to it.

 Now Peter’s here, he’s here and alive, and Tony is too, despite what he had to go through to get Peter back.

 Peter remembers what May said, when he reunited with her after everything, while Tony was still laid up. Ben would like Tony. Especially now. Especially after what he did to bring you back to me. Peter had been used to vitriol, directed at Tony from May, so that—that felt good to hear. It hasn’t been sunshine and kittens between them since, but it’s closer than Peter ever expected. 

 “Ben,” Tony says, before Peter can find his own words. “Your kid is a maniac.”

 Peter snorts. “Don’t tell him that.”

 “He already knows that,” Tony says, picking at his nail. He’s still wearing sunglasses, even though the sun is setting. “I mean, who runs into a bank whilst it’s being robbed? We were gonna take them down when they got in their escape vehicle, but Spider-Man—”

 “Spider-Man saved a cool couple million,” Peter asserts, holding his chin high, no idea of the actual numbers. “Dudes are in custody. I have no idea why you’re judging me.”

 “No judgement. You just have to be the most dramatic at every possible moment,” Tony says, looking at him like he’s proud of that fact.

 “Yeah, I wonder where I got that?” Peter says, eyeing him.

 “May,” Tony says, resolutely. “One hundred percent May Parker.”

 Peter snorts, shaking his head. He shifts a little bit, sitting criss cross applesauce, and he knows that’s what most school teachers call it, but he got that phrase from Ben. He remembers him calling it out every time they’d situate themselves in front of the TV on Saturday mornings, and Ben would tickle him if he got there first. 

 Ben’s favorite cartoon was He-Man. Peter’s was DuckTales. They’d eat Froot Loops with too much milk, and that’s when Ben started Peter working on his posture. Straight up and down.

 Peter thinks about birthdays after someone is gone. Where that energy goes. What it’s supposed to mean, now that they aren’t alive anymore. But the day still means something, it still carries some weight—they’re here, at the cemetery, and it’s Ben’s birthday. It’s like they’re with him, in a way. 

 All of it is really weird. Peter doesn’t like thinking about death, despite how much it’s touched his life. He’ll never be able to make proper sense of it.

 “He always liked picnics,” Peter says, picking at the edge of the blanket.

 “This is your picnic blanket, isn’t it?” Tony asks. “I remember, from that time by Belvedere Castle—”

 Peter snorts, remembering himself soaked and wet, and Tony’s broken phone. “Yeah, it is.” 

 “Was he a frisbee man?” Tony asks, tilting his head to really look at Peter. He takes off his sunglasses, folding them up and hanging them on his shirt. “I can’t exactly picture you catching a football, as that little—glasses-clad child—”

 “We used to catch M&M’s in our mouths,” Peter says. He can almost taste the chocolate, even now. Can almost hear Ben’s laughter, May warding against drawing ants with the ones that didn’t make it to their destinations.

 “Now that I can see,” Tony says. “Always M&M’s? Anything else? Cheeseballs for a cheeseball?”

 Peter smiles to himself. “We tried Skittles once but for some reason it wasn’t as fun.”

 “Completely different dynamics,” Tony says. “Totally get it.” 

 “He always liked to do dinner picnics so we’d be outside for the sunset,” Peter says. “About like, this time of day, really. He liked to take pictures, he had like, a million pictures of May and me posing with the sunset in the background. It’s like he was trying to capture every sunset he ever saw.” 

 Peter looks around, the pinks and brush strokes of purple, a few stars peeking out through the clouds. He looks at Tony, finds him smiling. Peter feels like he would have been nervous, to talk to him like this when they first met, but now he wants to tell him everything. He knows he actually cares. Genuinely wants to know. 

 “New York’s got a particular quality to it, especially right now,” Tony says. “You guys ever travel? Somewhere without so much—activity? Damn buildings blot out half the sky.” He clicks his tongue, looking up. “Could get a real good sunset picture somewhere quieter. I can’t remember what May said, were you guys—planning a trip way back, or—”

 “We were talking about the Grand Canyon, a long time ago, but uh, things happened, got too expensive, and then, uh—” Tony knows the end of that story. Peter doesn’t need to say it. 

 “I’ll take you two,” Tony says, fast. “Well, uh. If you want. I mean, I don’t wanna step on any toes. But the invitation is there.” He clears his throat, steals a quick glance at the tombstone that Peter almost doesn’t see.

 “That would be awesome,” Peter says, his heart beating a little faster just thinking about it. “May would totally freak out.”

 “Good, that’s my favorite,” Tony says. “Like I don’t see enough of her freaking out.”

 “But this would be the good kind of freaking out,” Peter says.

 “Yeah, I’ve only seen that a couple times,” Tony says. 

 Peter smiles to himself, looking at the tombstone again. He doesn’t really like looking at the dates, like a span of time can really properly explain the extent of Ben Parker’s life. Like what he gave to Peter isn’t still running through his veins, like his love for May isn’t still carried in her heart and her hands every day. Peter feels a slight pull in his chest, and sometimes he feels guilty. Guilty, that he’s happy. Guilty, that he’s found another father figure in Tony. Guilty that he doesn’t cry anymore when he comes here. He does other times, when it hits him the wrong way, when he falls too deeply into his own head. But not here, not anymore, and he wonders why. He should, shouldn’t he? Here, of all places? Like there’s a heavenly spotlight on his head, when he’s in front of this tombstone. His voice and thoughts amplified for Ben to hear.

 He cracks his jaw. 

 “I’d say what’s wrong,” Tony starts. “But, uh, I get it, bud. No matter how many years pass, the birthdays and the death days never feel real. It’s like they stand out among the rest of the days and every move you make doesn’t feel right. Like you’re sort of...ghosting through. Trying to honor them.”

 “Yeah,” Peter croaks. “May and I went to Dumpling Galaxy earlier because it was his favorite, we always do.”

 “Man had good taste,” Tony says. 

 Peter smiles again. “I, uh, was just thinking, I don’t know if I—should feel guilty, or...or wrong, or something, because I don’t cry when I come here anymore. I used to, like, really bad, and it was embarrassing, and I felt like I was disrupting other people’s mourning or something, but lately, uh—since I got back, and like, a little bit before I came back, I was—I wasn’t crying here anymore.”

 Tony stares at him for what feels like a long while. Then he clears his throat. “Pete, he—he’d be glad,” Tony says. Peter looks at him, and Tony tilts his head again, smiling softly. He reaches out and takes Peter by the shoulder. “He’d be happy you’re happy. I feel like I know a lot about him, from what you and May have said, from—just knowing the two of you, and he was a lighthearted guy. He loved life and he loved you and your happiness was the thing he wanted most, and nobody we love wants us to sit around being sad because of them. He wouldn’t want you to cry, here or anywhere else—he’d be glad you’re—it isn’t moving on, it’s...it’s healing.”

 Peter nods, blowing out a wavering breath. “I wish you two could have met,” he says. “I think about it all the time.”

 “Me too,” Tony says, genuinely. “I mean, I feel like he was the one who...how do you say, condoned the Peter antics—”

 Peter snorts, grinning. “Uh, yeah.”

 “That’d be fun,” Tony says. “I know I would have liked him. I mean, look at what he did with you. He was obviously a master at kid crafting, along with May.”

 Peter smiles, and he can’t help it, shifting over and leaning on Tony’s shoulder. Tony wraps his arm around him and hugs him close, squeezing his far shoulder. 

 “I’m real proud of you, Pete,” Tony says. “I know he would be too. He is.”

 Warmth blooms in Peter’s chest and he nods, hoping he’s right.

 They sit there for another twenty minutes or so, talking about Ben’s favorite movie (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), and that time he took an entire steak from a buffet because the servers were being too stingy with their cuts. Peter laughs and Tony does too, in appreciation of someone that is very much still present, despite being gone.

 “Okay,” Tony says, pushing himself to his feet. “Lemme get one of those sunset pictures before the sky goes dark. This one’s for Ben, specifically, looks like he’s had a real hand in it.”

 Peter looks up as Tony moves, and sees what he’s talking about—it really does look like a watercolor, shining and drying in the sun. He looks back at Tony, and thinks this is the most Dad he’s ever looked—holding his phone out in front of him, aiming, eyes narrowed in concentration. 

 “God, what did I say?” Tony asks, taking tiny steps to the side, obviously trying to get a better angle. “Goddamn buildings in the way—apologies to all the religious ghosts for cursing—”

 He takes one step backwards, and falls, disappearing with a wide-eyed look on his face and a little, surprised yelp.

 Peter is almost sure he hallucinated it, but Tony doesn’t reappear.

 “Oh my God,” Peter gasps, scrambling to his feet. “Tony! Tony!” He rushes over, kicking up wet clumps of dirt, and he sees that—Tony fell into a hole. Tony fell into an open grave. He’s just—standing there, in the hole, his hands on his hips, a horrified, confused look on his face.

 He glances up at Peter, his lip drawn up in consternation, and Peter can see mud on his pants, caking the long sleeves of his shirt, a smack of it on his cheek like he slammed into the wall of the hole on his way down.

 Peter busts out laughing, covering his mouth so he doesn’t spit. “Oh my God,” he says, against his palm. He can’t stop laughing. He can’t stop laughing. His body is racked with it.

 “Yeah, nice,” Tony says, pointing up at him. “Glad you’re liking it.”

 Peter closes his eyes shut tight, his sides hurting, and he can’t stop he can’t stop. “Are you—are you okay?” Peter asks, the last word drawn out in the middle of a delighted wail, and Tony glares up at him. 

 “Don’t ask that as if you care at all,” Tony says, wiping his hands on his pants, but only spreading more mud. 

 “No, I care—” Peter stutters, but he cuts himself off by cracking up again, and he falls over into the mud himself, in stitches. “Oh my God, everything hurts.”

 “Yup, yeah, just keep—”

 “You just disappeared,” Peter laughs, tears racing down his cheeks. “You just—you just dropped, and your face—”

 “Alright, alright, alright,” Tony says. “Get me outta here, c’mon, if you’d be so kind. Pretty sure I broke my phone again. Apparently that’s a theme for my outings with you.”

 Peter tries to stop laughing. He’s muddy now too, and he bends down, leaning into the hole and grabbing Tony’s hand. He hauls him up, still giggling, and once Tony’s out of the hole Peter nearly roars with laughter, watching him stand back up. Peter clutches at his stomach, wheezing.

 “Get up, you maniac,” Tony says, and he’s smiling now too. He holds out his hand and Peter takes it, and the two of them stumble away from the hole, which really has no business being there at all. Or maybe, like, a sign should be up to warn people. Or some cones. 

 “I’m sorry,” Peter says, hiccupping, reaching up and wiping at his eyes, trying not to get mud all over his face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, that was just—”

 “Yeah, yeah,” Tony says, chuckling a little bit. “I can imagine. You and only you get a pass on laughing at me, let’s just hope falling into what looks like an open grave isn’t some kind of bad omen.”

 “No,” Peter says, still laughing, trying to stop, trying really hard to stop. “No, no. No way. It’s not. It’s not.”

 “Hey, check it out,” Tony says, grinning at him. He reaches up, smearing mud across Peter’s face. 

 “Ugh,” Peter groans, swatting him away. 

 “I’m absolutely sure those are the only tears Ben would ever want you to cry,” Tony says. “Tears of joy. At watching me make an ass of myself.”

 “Yeah,” Peter grins, wishing Ben was here, but knowing he’s watching. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

[mobius-prime]

228. Sonic the Hedgehog #160

Birthday Bash! (Part One): Giving and Receiving

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Jason Jensen

Welcome to the beginning of Ian Flynn's reign, everyone! As many of you will know, Ian is a fan favorite amongst readers of the comics, and for good reason. Objectively, I'd say he has a much better sense than any previous writer of how to construct dynamic and interesting stories, as well as a great head for writing dialogue. Every character has their own unique voice when speaking, and as someone who takes a particular interest in dialogue in her own writing, it's something I admire a lot, especially given how stilted and unnaturally formal a lot of dialogue by Karl and especially Kenders often sounded, regardless of who was speaking. That said, I think that it took a good year or so for him to fully come into his own as head writer for the series, so some earlier issues are a bit strange and not up to par with a lot of his later work. Some of this, to be fair, is due to him essentially playing clean-up for this first year, untangling a lot of the bizarre leftover plot threads that Karl and Kenders left behind, and generally trying to make the world of the comics conform a little better to that of the games. All that aside, anyone reading the comics will likely notice an immediate and apparent improvement in the overall quality of the work starting with this issue. This is helped along, in addition, by none other than the very talented artist Tracy Yardley! who always (well, almost always) introduces himself in the story credits with an exclamation mark. It's kind of his calling card. Tracy took a while to really improve his art as well, so while his earliest issues sometimes have some strange proportions and poses, later on his style became easily one of the most visually attractive and recognizable ones in the series, simplifying a lot of the inconsistencies that many character designs had as well as doing away with the strange pseudo-human proportions that some artists tended to favor, particularly with the female characters. All this said, I will say that Ian isn't going to be immune to my criticism, as while I do recognize his skill as a writer and the good things he brought to the table, there are definitely some problems I have with the way he handled certain things. We'll cross those bridges when we come to them, however, so for now, let's dive into the new world he's creating and see how he does!

Elias and Sonic are walking on the outskirts of Knothole as Elias explains why his father approved the Metal Sonic troopers from last issue. We don't even really get to hear the explanation, but to be fair, we hardly need one, as the idea was so insane to begin with that the only true explanation is that Kenders needed a plot device. Sonic tries to make Elias promise that "you royals" won't hit him with any more weird surprises, and Elias says they only have one more, leading him to a building next to where the Great Oak Slide into the village ends.

I mean, canonically he's supposed to be turning seventeen here, even though realistically he should be turning eighteen, because remember, for him to have turned sixteen in StH#68, had the Robians be deroboticized in early June in StH#123, and still have managed to spend close to a year in space before turning seventeen, literally everything in between the two aforementioned issues would have had to take place in the span of a few weeks - yes, that's counting the month-and-a-half time span that Sonic was confined to Knothole, as well as major events like Eggman's return and the entire Green Knuckles saga. You can see why this huge discrepancy still bothers me, right? Hmph. Anyway, no sooner has the party begun than an explosion destroys the door, and two new players enter the scene - Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar Bear from Sonic the Fighters! Nack's been part of the comic for long enough now, so it's cool to see these two make their first appearance. Bark is totally silent - as far as I remember, he never says a single word during the entirety of the comic - but Bean, in the absence of an obvious personality to draw from in the game, has subsequently been given the personality trait of "criminally insane" in the comics.. He's erratic, he talks to himself, he cracks jokes where jokes really shouldn't be cracked, and most importantly of all, he loves his goddamn bombs. Bean starts chucking said bombs left and right at the various Freedom Fighters in the base, while Sonic tangles with Bark. He seems to think these guys are only after him due to something Evil Sonic did in his place, something which he has by now apparently finally explained to all the women of Knothole, and manages to break away from Bark to stop Bean's bombing spree by pinning him to a wall and asking about Evil Sonic. However, Bean happily insists there's been no mistake and he wasn't even aware of Sonic having an evil twin, nor does he particularly care. Oh, speaking of Evil Sonic…

Huh, it seems that Evil Sonic has actually explained his true identity to Rouge in between their previous failed attempt and now. I'm surprised she hasn't outright abandoned him by now due to Rouge not exactly being evil-aligned to begin with, but I guess the pull of the shiny is just too strong for her to resist. And as it turns out, Bean suffers from a similar insatiable need! Fiona pulls out a ring of keys and shakes them around, completely distracting Bean from his current activity of bashing Sonic's head in, and throws them out the hole he made in the wall, prompting him to immediately abandon everything to chase after them. Fiona then advances on Bark, who by now has gotten himself cornered by every Freedom Fighter in the room, and convinces him to stand down as he's outnumbered. Outside, Bean plays with the keys and talks to them, seemingly convinced that they're a beautiful woman with an "adorable accent" who wants his number, when a suspiciously-Shadow-shaped shadow converges on him, prompting him to try to invite him into smashing Sonic as well. Good luck there, buddy, I don't think Shadow usually runs with crazy…

Geez, Sally, cut Fiona some slack. Not everyone had a squeaky-clean record - hell, just look at Shadow! Back in the Chaos Chamber, Rouge and Evil Sonic begin to battle Locke, who tosses Evil Sonic to the side as he perceives Rouge to be the bigger threat. However, that turns out to be a bit of a bad idea, as with Rouge tied up in the fight, Evil Sonic takes his chance to go after the Master Emerald without her, obviously recognizing it as more than just a shiny trinket.

Back in Knothole, Shadow explains that he's only here to thank Sonic for saving Hope, as he knows he wouldn't have been able to do it on his own, and reminds him that as soon as he leaves this building they're back to being enemies, as Shadow's still aligned with Eggman for now. Sonic, to his credit, seems to recognize that Shadow is only allied with Eggman because he doesn't yet know better, and cheerfully invites him to come back here whenever he cuts out on that deal in the future. It's at this point that everyone realizes Bean has quietly snuck into the brain trust's comms room to casually let Eggman know that he and Bark failed to take Sonic down, and when Fiona ushers him back out of the room, Eggman is only too happy to let Sonic know personally that he wishes him a happy birthday and he's sending him a new, more metallic present. Within seconds a thud outside alerts them to the arrival of this present, and everyone rushes out to see a strange figure emerging from an egg pod - a figure which resolves itself into the combined forms of Crocbot and Octobot, now merged into the singular entity of… Croctobot! (Don't worry, Ian knows just how silly this is and even acknowledges it next issue.) But what of Evil Sonic and Rouge? How is their fight faring against Locke after the former got knocked aside? Well, Evil Sonic takes his chance to dramatically emerge from behind the emerald as the other two get ready to continue their fight…

Plot twist! How many people actually didn't know by now that Evil Sonic and Scourge were the same person? I'm guessing there had to be at least a few of you. You can actually already see Ian's new plans being put into action - it's very telling of his intentions when the very first issue he ever pens immediately makes a point of distinguishing a rather tired and boring character into a new and improved version of himself, with a unique name and new, visually distinct look. Apparently Kenders, who if you recall is the original creator of Evil Sonic, never liked this and continued to insist on referring to him as Evil Sonic, but screw that, Scourge is a much more interesting character and this was a change that sorely needed to be made.

Sonic Rush (Part One of Two)

Writer/Pencils: Tania Del Rio Colors: Ben Hunzeker

So unfortunately, Sonic Adventure 2 isn't the only case in the preboot of a partial adaption of a game being included without any actual ending. Sonic Rush, the game, introduces Blaze, a cat from an alternate dimension that is controlled by the Sol Emeralds rather than the Chaos Emeralds, and most of the plot revolves around the Sol Emeralds ending up in Sonic's dimension and her trying to recollect them to bring back to her own world. However, things are a bit different in the comics universe. In this story, Blaze comes to Sonic's dimension because, apparently, she's been having nonstop dreams about him, dreams which show her visions of Eggman threatening the Sol Emeralds and Sonic helping her protect them. She's frustrated that she would have to rely on anyone else to help her protect the emeralds at all, believing them to be her sole responsibility, but nonetheless she's tracked Sonic to Knothole. However, while deliberating her next move, a squad of swatbots - yes, ordinary ones, it's been a while since we've seen them rather than shadow-bots - happen upon her and decide that they should take her in for interrogation.

Yeah, I guess Blaze doesn't understand the dangers present in this universe yet, does she? An hour or so later, Rotor sends for Sonic, informing him that they caught the aftermath of Blaze's capture on their video surveillance. Neither of them know who she is, but they decide she can't be from their village, since she left several disabled swatbots behind, while most people in Knothole are noncombatants and those that aren't are accounted for elsewhere. Sonic rushes out to find their trail and tracks them to a nearby facility set up amidst the trees, and while he begins fighting his way in, the scientific robots in the building go about studying their new specimen.

Sorry, but why the hell would Eggman be looking to add some random Mobian to his team? He only likes robots anyway, and tends to either betray or enslave every living being that comes to him. Blaze suddenly awakens and becomes furious - not that she's been captured, mind you, but that they took off her coat while studying her. She must be really goddamn attached to her coat, because she starts absolutely trashing the place, exploding into flames and screaming so loudly that Sonic becomes genuinely worried about her wellbeing, rushing to where he last heard her. The door of the lab she's in is completely blasted off its hinges by the force of Blaze's explosions, but thankfully after this she seems to have found her coat, because the blasts subside and she appears in the doorway wearing it once again, staring down at an utterly shocked Sonic with a look of fiery fury (the literal flames coating her entire body probably help with the "fiery" bit). Uh… good luck dealing with that, buddy boy!

[laine-o]

who are some artists u take inspiration from / are some of ur inspirations? love ur art btw :)

Wow I’m so sorry it took me awhile to get back to you anon! This was a hard one. I haven’t thought of my inspirations lately since they have changed a bit. I tried to keep these relevant more to my anime art since that’s what I’m more known for, but some are influences on more of my original art that I hope someday I’ll feel brave enough to share with you all.

From left to right, top to bottom.

CLAMP (Magic Knight Rayearth) - they were the reason I started drawing manga/anime artwork at all back in early 2000′s for me. The only “shoujo” artists on this list, I was really taken by the eyes they drew at the time and it still can be seen a little bit today, though I’ve really tried to steer myself away from the large pointed eyes with thick lashes and elongated bodies that plagued my art for a long time. I’ll always love their compositions, use of color and just how they use marker.

Yusuke Murata (Street Fighter fan art) - known for Eyeshield21 and One Punch-Man. This man can draw anything. His sense of anatomy, foreshortening and movement is breathtaking. I love the lighting and rendering as well. He also has a knack for creating really original faces and he doesn’t have the “same-face” syndrome problem. Just top-notch. I don’t aim to be as shonen in style as him, but I hope to start being able to add more dynamic poses into my work.

Kyohiko Azuma (Yotsubato!) - known for Azumanga Daioh and Yotsubato! I really love the comedy and slice of life genres lately. I love softer styles and I really adore the more simplistic approach he has to his character design that really allows the slice of life genre to shine through his art. Despite the simplicity, it still is very anatomically technical. It’s simple, but warm and effective and very soft. His skill in backgrounds as well is phenomenal. I think it’s a whole atmosphere he creates and the story he tells in his illustrations that I would love to apply to my own work if I can. I also related a lot to an interview where he stated he struggles blending little Yotsuba into the world he created because she’s so different stylistically from all the characters, so it’s a lot of fun and helpful to see how he accomplishes this throughout the manga and the panels.

Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto) - of course one of my biggest influences due to all the SasuSaku I draw. I think his style is very effective. It’s also I think more on the simpler side actually (if you compare it to CLAMP and Murata’s). But it’s so dynamic and full of strong composition and memorable character designs. I really appreciate how by his influence, I never really stopped drawing thanks to the characters, Sasuke and Sakura, that he created that had such an impact on me.

Xia Da (Song of the Long March AKA Choukakou) - This one is a manhua artist. Her inking and watercolor artwork is absolutely phenomenal. Definitely someone I look up to when I’m inking my own pieces, I would love to be at her level of skill someday. Primarily an inspo for inking.

Kamome Shirahama (Atelier of Witch Hat) - another artist with phenomenal inking skills that I really admire. She’s also really good at drawing children! But I definitely believe she can draw anything, the fact that she has crossed the barrier to illustrate comic covers for both DC and Marvel is just incredible to me and a testament to how much skill she possesses. Primarily an inspo for inking.

Kozue Amano (Aria) - Known for Aqua, Aria, and Amanchu (lots of A’s!). Her ability to design precious soft characters, gorgeous scenery, and write a beautiful and gentle slice of life fantasy tale has always made her one of my absolute favorites. I absolutely love how she colors her works.

Adachitoka (Noragami) - this is a team who does characters and background art. It’s not a secret that I love watercolor. I also love the movement and action and fighting scenes from this manga. The fact that this team is female and broke through with a popular shonen series is simply amazing. I hope to be as good as they are in drawing figures and in watercolor someday.

James Gurney (Dinotopia) - the master of creating fantasy worlds and making it look like it EXISTS with his painting skills. His “Color and Light” book is an absolute staple (I have it always ready as reference) and it’s a must if you want to give your lighting that more realistic feel. I think my love of lighting really came from growing up with the Dinotopia series. He is always constantly sharing his wisdom as well on his website and twitter and just an amazing and inspiring person for generations of artists.

Makoto Shinkai (Kimi no Na Wa) - This movie’s aesthetics (especially the lush backgrounds), surrealism, and existentialism really spoke to me. I adore the starry skies and heavens and clouds. Screencaps of his movies fill my phone as a quick reference whenever I’m rendering some complex lighting or trying to create some sort of composition with the sky.

Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki (Kiki’s Delivery Service) - nothing really needs to be said especially given my love for the details in all the movies, the fantastic scenes involving flying in the sky, the gorgeous backgrounds, and the delicious food. Always a good choice to use as a reference for anything with nature or even cluttered cozy houses and rooms and greenhouses. It’s still a desire to delve more into world building for me and I’ll be using these movies for reference. I also keep tons of their artwork in my phone as reference.

Satoru Takizawa (Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild) - Known for his work with Twilight Princess and Breath of the wild. You know where I’m going with this - he is the MASTER of ambient lighting. I love his rough and loose painting style that I wish I could achieve someday, but I still have a tendency to over-render. A great resource for learning how to world-build and for concept art.

Andrew Loomis - anatomy and figure drawing master. At the end of this list, but not the least important by a long shot. His book I think is not the most beginner friendly in terms of seeing basic shapes and breaking down the form (I think his construction is still more on the complex side), but it’s a good place to start and keep grinding until it “makes sense.” It took me years, but once it started clicking, I have him to thank for it because my anatomy was an absolute mess because of my background of starting from CLAMP’s art style. Buy his book and make it your bible. Attend figure drawing classes. If you want to illustrate people no matter how simple, you must make studying anatomy a part of your process.

Lastly - some original artists to check out who I like the inking, watercolor skills, and concepts of that closely align with my interests for my own original art.

meyoco - twitter, instagram

maruti_bitamin - twitter, instagram, tumblr

Qinniart - twitter, instagram

Some mangaka honorable mentions -

Takeshi Obata (Death Note, Bakuman)

Kaoru Mori (Emma, Otoyomegatari)

Satsuki Yoshino (Barakamon)

This was super long, I apologize, but it’s something I’m passionate about. I love art to pieces. I think a lot of what I admire is very technical - anatomy and lighting. I think my influences also reflect my aim to be more proficient at watercolor and inking. And lastly, world-building, fantasy/cosmos, and background art. I think a lot of what I really love though, is color and lighting and that’s found within any of these artists. :)

Thanks for the question anon! You allowed me to geek out on art for about an hour while I wrote this out.

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of Marvel: Week of January 1st, 2019

Best of this Week: Thor #1 - Donny Cates, Nic Klein, Matt Wilson and Joe Sabino

What a Thunderous way to begin the New Year! What better way to celebrate than with a glorious new #1 for the new King of Asgard helmed by the ever amazing Donny Cates, Nic Klein and Matt Wilson with awesome letters by Joe Sabino! This book hit so many good notes and lets me breathe knowing that one of Marvel’s most storied characters is continuing to be in good hands, especially after such an epic run by the awesome Jason Aaron.

The book begins with an amazing splash page of Mjolnir flying through space and then crossing into each of the Ten Realms as someone narrates Thor’s rise as the new King. It’s a beautiful sequence that alludes to the millennia of war between the realms, culminating in Malekith’s Invasion of them all very recently. Klein and Wilson treat the reader to a variety of landscapes from the bright pinks of Alfheim to the cold blues of Jotunheim. The pair do an amazing job characterizing these locales through visuals alone.

Of course, the reasoning behind the monologue and the throw itself is a show of force. Under Odin, the Realms fought each other as they pleased. Asgard was left in ruins because the All-Father was too stubborn to try and rally his people during Malekith’s Invasions. Under Thor, that would not be the case. As Mjolnir cracks through each Realm, without any of them hearing his words, they know to listen and fear him because of his power. This epic opening climaxes with Mjolnir crashing through the head of some monster the Avengers were fighting before Thor calls it back with a smirk from Asgard.

It is at this point that we finally see Thor, months after the War of the Realms. He is gruff, his hair and beard have grown out again and we learn through Tony Stark sharpie-ing a message on Mjolnir that Thor has retired. Sif the All-Seeing reiterates this as she informs the reader that Thor’s smiting days are over and that he must go and be King. 

This is...saddening in all honesty. Thor has spent many a lifetime fighting, drinking and avoiding his destiny for so long. He has always wanted to be king, but even as he walks down the Rainbow Bridge back to New Asgard, he looks as if there’s nothing but melancholy about him. The way that Klein frames this panel makes it seem as if there’s a wide divide between Thor and Asgard. The Realm flourishes now that life has been brought to it under Yggdrasil, but Thor is bored.

As he takes a seat on his new throne, we’re shown just how different he is to Odin. Instead of a shimmering palace, Odin’s hall is made of wood and stone because of the World tree with a rune etched just above his seat: Thurisaz, a symbol of defense and destruction (as the book describes) and perfectly fitting of the warrior king. He ushers his court out of his presence and sighs as he prepares to speak to his people and Loki appears from the shadows.

The brothers relationship here is far more confrontational than I would have expected. Granted, I didn’t read the Loki mini-series, so I don’t know if the Trickster did something to draw his brother’s ire. Thor is very terse with the King of Jotunheim and even throws Mjolnir in slight fury after Loki notes that Thor had to grunt when he lifted the hammer, something he’s never done before and a black portent for Thor’s future. Loki didn’t come out with any of his normal witticisms which was unexpected, but Cates does hint that there a potentially big things in store for the brothers through some narration.

Thor had been meant to speak to his people following the restoration of Asgard, but just as he’s about to regale his people of the new era of peace, his nervous butterflies turn to abject horror as a one armed Galactus crashes into Asgard, right on top of the Asgardians. Nic Klein and Matt Wilson spare no expense in making this one of the most epic double page spreads imaginable.

Galactus face of pain and sends a shiver down the spine as one wonders what could possibly have sent him crashing in the way that he did. The debris, people and smoke fly around the edges of the pages as Galactus’ impact and the snow that follows him creates a sense of unease. Klein makes sure that the reader can feel the weight of the crash and Sabino accentuates it with his EXCELLENT “KRAKOOOMM” sound effect. Wilson excellently blends Galactus varying purple tones to the fire just behind his head to create a sense of extreme heat. Klein creates a grand sense of scale as Thor appears miniscule to both Galactus and the incoming threat.

Not knowing what the hell had just occurred, Thor leaps a Galactus with every intention of sending him to Hel herself until the Eater of Worlds pleads with him to stop, warning him of something called “The Great Black Winter.” Part of said Winter had followed Galactus and caused the skies of Asgard to be cursed with rain and The World Tree began to turn black and die. Thor then calls previous Heralds of Galactus to see what is going on. At the table sits Firelord, Cosmic Ghost Rider and others until the Silver Surfer arrives, still black and intangible (See Silver Surfer: Black).

Thor is angry and demands answers which the Surfer is able to provide. We learn that The Great Black Winter was the event that destroyed the Universe before the one we know today and that the Surfer had hidden away powerful planets for Galactus to consume precisely for this occasion. Cates has done an amazing job in building a new lore and power scale for the Silver Surfer in particular as normally he’d have no secrets from his master.

As Thor dons his vestments of war, he thinks back to Sif and Loki’s words of his bygone days as a warrior. It’s a powerful set of panels as Thor seemed ready to enjoy his days of peaceful boredom. He grunts like an older man only snapping his cape on, but that doesn’t stop his kingly heart as when he approaches Galactus, he commands the World Eater to kneel to him. As The Surfer fills Galactus in on his plan, Galactus tells all about what lies in the void of the Great Black Winter; The form of ones own true death. Galactus reveals that he had gazed into it twice. First he saw the void because he couldn’t father the future things that he would see and next… he saw Thor.

The revelation comes as a shock to everyone as Galactus then blasts Thor with an immense amount of energy. Kein and Wilson make sure to shower the pages with bright light, intense lines and posing until revealing Thor: Herald of Thunder, similar to the cover of the book with Thurisaz as the new symbol of his chest. 

Donny Cates has a particular style when he writes. He scripts grand moments interlaced with shorter ones that build character. It worked when we got into the psyche of the Silver Surfer as he explored the primordial state of being and Thanos as he watched a future where he had killed all of life. Cates has an affinity for the cosmic characters and it shows as he’s taken the reigns of Thor and reminds us of why he and his lore have been able to capture our imaginations for so long. 

Thor has the ability to transverse the Ten Realms, the entire universe if he wishes, but even he suffers the melancholy of duty and boredom. He is a warrior at heart and he needs a great battle to fight in or he loses a part of himself that kept him motivated. With that in mind, Cates is looking to take Thor on a grand adventure in the stars with a buffed powerset that hopefully will expand on his greater strength in the Old King Thor future.

Nic Klein and Matt Wilson make all of this possible however with their amazing art. Klein is easily able to get into the groove of drawing these vast environments, amazingly dynamic poses and heavily expressive faces. Wilson brings it all to life with beautiful and vibrant colors that make you feel as though you’re in there, interacting with the characters. Without them, this wouldn’t feel as epic as it does.

This was a very explosive issue and I’m absolutely excited for the future of this series as I have been with all of Cates’ other work up to this point. It’s definitely a high recommend from me for a promising story and absolutely fantastic art!

[westphotolukedas]

Production Journal - The X-Files

251019

The X-Files is an American science fiction television programme that was influential on my development as a creative. The original pilot aired in 1993 and ran for nine seasons with 202 subsequent episodes. It had a cult following during my adolescence and my peers and I would discuss each episode in depth. During a hiatus in programming, two feature films were released - The X-Files (1998) and The X-Files - I Want to Believe (2008). A tenth season was aired in 2016 and an eleventh in 2018, this is suggestive that the fan base still exists and has remained loyal for decades.

The series leads are Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who both gained celebrity status from these characters. They are Special Agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and solve cases involving paranormal activity. The dynamic between the duo is the main draw of the programme. Mulder is a believer in extra-terrestrial life following the abduction of his sister as a child. His unorthodox theories align with The X-Files - a department dedicated to unsolved cases. Scully is the objective voice that counters Mulder. She is a medical doctor who is placed at the department to challenge her partner’s zeal. The interplay between a believer and sceptic allows individual story arcs to unfold, usually around a monster of the week.

John Bartley (Born 1947) was Director of Photography for The X-Files from 1993-1996 and the second feature film. I will draw from his techniques during the production of my staged tableau. He received a nomination in 1994 for Outstanding Artistic Achievement from the American Society of Cinematographers and an Emmy. He has continued to develop the cinematography for television series with similar premises such as Roswell (1999-2002), Lost (2004-2010) and Bates Motel (2013-2017).

Bartley developed the visual identity of the television programme, which was based around many practical effects. For example, in the pilot when an arsonist torches a motel room to destroy evidence, the flames were actually real. To Barley, darkness was a character on The X-Files and the interplay between light and shadow was critical. Mulder and Scully probed the unknown with their xenon flashlights in conjunction with lighting equipment that included HMIs, Dedolights, KinoFlos and MiniFlos. Light was implemented as a counterpoint to the darkness to emphasise aspects of the frame that the audience could not see. Beams of coloured back and sidelight were used to accentuate foreground shadows and slow moving steam added to the eerie feel of each scene. During an interview, Bartley commented, ‘We actually blend light and dark. Some things the audience can see, and other things they’re not sure if they saw them or not. It adds to the aura of mystery. I don’t use much fill. I started that on a series called Booker. With today’s films I’ve been five stops underexposed and have still recorded details in the highlights and shadow areas. I like to use the full latitude of the stock.’

The X-Files was conservative with colour during its first season. The nature of the content did not lend itself to vibrancy. For the second season, Bartley was more adventurous with the low-key lighting that he had established as a foundation. There was greater contrast and harder lighting than he had previously employed in addition with super-blue fluorescent tubes. ‘These tubes are so blue, you can’t even read them on a colour meter. Then I added just a little tungsten on their faces and a very hard top light overhead. It doesn’t have to look real or match anything. That makes things more interesting. I think it’s what makes The X-Files different,’ he explained. (Bartley, 1995)

Shane Harvey, Unit Stills, 2018

Fox Network, Dana Scully, 2018

Summary

It was encouraging to research the lighting design that Bartley established in television and draw commonalities with Crewdson and Starkey in stills photography. There is a great deal of overlap. Promotional material for season eleven was also worth my consideration and here are my summary intentions for the shoot.

The final photograph will be low-key with significant proportions of the frame depicting total darkness. All sources of light will be hard and appear to be the ambient illumination from an alien abduction. Gels will be clipped to barn doors for this to be achieved. The colour choices of purple for the key light and blue for the back light reference Bartley and Crewdson. Preferentially, these are my colours of choice for aesthetic reasons. They should complement each other and work independently in the composition. Finally, I found it fitting that season eleven features these hues as a recurring theme. The absence of a fill light means that dramatic shadows will form, which is another homage to Bartley’s lighting technique.

Bartley and Crewdson both favour practical effects and this is a challenge given my budget. I will position blinds held by a cross bar and stand in front of the key light. This will cast a shadow from the slats and light from the key light simultaneously onto my subject. In reference to Starkey, it should suggest that the setting of the photograph is in doors. A supernatural moody effect will be added with a smoke machine. Many scenes from The X-Files featured background smoke and it has become a trope associated with the series.

Actor Tashi Bullman is fully committed to depicting the character Dana Scully and I will do a test shoot with one of my classmates. A lone female subject is another parallel to Starkey’s work. Tashi has sourced a suit jacket and blouse that are in keeping with Scully’s wardrobe. If possible, a flashlight and FBI badge should feature too. These will pose a challenge due to being another source of light and a reflective surface respectively. The posturing and expressions of the character will be decided jointly between Tashi and myself on the day.

Production Notes

My classmate Gyorgy Englert was a phenomenal actor during my initial lighting experiments and for this test shoot. My lighting design was efficacious and there will be little modification needed for the final shoot. The equipment was set up as shown in the lighting diagram and the flash heads functioned as I imagined. I noted 5.0 stops for the key light and 4.0 stops for the back light. The camera was set to f/11, 1/125 and ISO 100. This aperture was needed to achieve a broad depth of field and this shutter speed is appropriate for the flash sync speed. Setting my digital camera to 100 ISO should give me some indication of the results that will be achieved with film of the same sensitivity. The shadows from the slats were only visible when Gyorgy was within inches of the blinds. A flashlight appears in my example shot; however, its constant light was obliterated by the power of the flash heads. I will remove it for the final shoot. The FBI badge was also sourced from an online fancy dress store and it does not look passable enough close up. I will have to come up with a solution for this when Tashi wears it. The final noteworthy point was that the smoke machine was temperamental. It needed minutes to heat up and then each burst varied in intensity. My timing was also crucial to obtain a photograph with the smoke engulfing the sitter and it was better to position it in front of the blinds.

Bibliography

Bartley, J. (1995). John Bartley Shoots The X-Files On The Edge Of Darkness. Eat The Corn. Available from www.eatthecorn.com/?itw=in-camera [Accessed 12/12/2019]

Lighting Diagram

Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

Test Shot, f/11, 1/125, ISO 100

[sageofmagic-squeaks]

To start, 2D animators and 3D animators are both animators and are both skilled in their crafts. 2D is not inheritably better and this is on par with the traditional vs digital artist debate with people thinking the technology does all the work for you. 

For background on me, I’ve animated both ways. I did animations on paper, 2D digital animations in photoshop and clip, 3D animation in maya, and mocap with a program I forgot the name of. Each has their own benefits and all are valid ways to animate. They also each have their own feel and also can cross into each other as we’re seeing now with 3D models trying to take from 2D effects.

2D animation (referring to pen on paper methods or the digital equivalent without puppetry/computer tweens) is great for exaggeration and a very clearly human touch. You can go absolutely wild and your limit is your skill, time, and imagination. When I say skill, this varies WILDLY. Not every 2D animator is gifted with the perspective knowledge of gods. There is a good reason animators lose their collective minds over James Baxter. Understanding how fake objects move through fake space and making it seem REAL and consistent is a challenge.

Speaking of consistent...that’s a problem in itself because no two artists draw alike. Remember all the complaints for Steven Universe because the style would vary so much between episodes depending on the artist?

Yeah this is just a very common thing but it’s usually a lot more subtle. In fairness to SU, this was intentional and imo endearing to the show. But usual practice is for all artists to follow the singular model sheet as close as possible so that the average viewer can’t distinguish who did what and it all looks consistent. This is much easier said than done, especially when your character has to do dramatic movements or get into odd perspectives that the model sheet won’t cover.

Another problem with 2D is complicated design and actions. Ever wonder why 90% of anime is standing and talking with only specific episodes dedicated to sakuga fanfare? Ever wonder why Disney can have such silky smooth movements but tv animation can sometimes look stiff and jank? Combo of time, money, and how much you want to make an animator cry. 

All that being said though, 2D animation is absolutely LOVELY and has incredible room for stylization. 

3D animation solves a lot of problems mentioned with 2D while introducing a lot more...teeeechnical know how. 

Lets Start With Positives 

Your model is always consistent because everyone gets the same one to move around

You don’t have to draw every single frame between key poses which leaves room for more polish as well as much faster edits. Don’t like how that arm moved? No need to redraw, you can simply grab the arm and readjust on the fly.

The model and environment exist in front of you, making it easier to understand the space you have to work with. Also you can go hog wild on camera and angled shots. This means dynamic fight scenes like this are much more achievable and can really emphasize the action. 

I want to make it clear on that last statement that when I say more achievable I do not mean this is ‘easy’. There is MAJOR skill at play, but instead of the animator in question having to focus on how the body warps with perspective, where details on clothes go, keeping facial structure looking good, etc they can put all their energy into the motion itself. And have energy for more than one big shot! 

Cons

The 3D program hates your existence and wants nothing more than to watch you and your entire studio burn

The 3D program will do everything in its power to do the stupidest things you cannot predict. Why is every single model suddenly 2 feet off the ground when you opened the file? Who freakin knows.

The model and objects will break and you will not know why.

There’s a lot of set up to make this work. Hence why there’s concept artists, modelers, riggers, technical artists, animators, lighting team, rendering etc. It’s also not one and done. When I was asked to animate, the model was still being tweaked, the rig would break and I’d have to report it so it could be adjusted. It’s a constant communication to make sure it works together smoothly. 

The model has limitations. Think of a old school Barbie Doll versus a Ball Jointed Doll. One has much more mobility than the other and that’s the same with 3D. The model starts as just a stiff doll doing a T or A pose 

If you want something that can do fluid animation like 2D, you need to spend a lot of extra time telling the computer HOW this thing should move and making sure this doll won’t break on you. 

Eugene’s faces here are a work of art. 

Also despite having the 3D model in the 3D environment, there is absolutely no collision. Ever play a game and run through something you shouldn’t have like a tree or rock? Or see a videogame that picks up a cup and it looks hilariously dumb? That’s everything. If you want the character to pick up an object you need to rely on technical means and wizardry else it will phase through their hand. When I last had a character pick up a pen, I needed to specify what frame the object would attach to the ‘wrist’ and then spent the whole scene making sure said pen didn’t pierce through anything. 

So after all the negatives, why work in 3D? Despite the heavy initial set up, it really does save so much time and money. Plus once you get past that initial learning curve the ability to pose and fix quickly is extremely valuable. 

I personally prefer to work in 3D as someone with ADHD. My goal as an animator isn’t really about showing off technical prowess as the camera sweeps around my drawing. My enjoyment comes from character acting and the mechanical motion itself. So by working in 3D, instead of starting at point blank I’m given something already to focus on and a very clear directive. Plus it’s not like my entire identity as an animator is stripped this way either. Everyone has their own approach to acting. Also I just really REALLY like studying how animals move.

(Not animated sadly, but making this dog run back in college was a highlight for me)

And while I’m here...mocap. Mocap is still animation and still takes a hell of a good eye to make it work. When I did it, I was handling the whole thing start to finish. I made a sheet for the actions needed, had to suit up the actor, had to make sure the cameras and programs were working in sync and reading the actor, then had to take the data from that, clean it up, and attach it to the model it was intended for. 

Mocap is great for when you need a HUGE batch of animations for something or want to get that specific actor’s approach to a scene. In my case I was doing videogame animations. Suit up knowledge requires knowing where the tracking orbs go and how it applies to different body types. Trust me when I say not everyone works in the suit. Some people have THE PERFECT skeleton to read off of and others the camera just doesn’t like them for some reason or another. You really don’t know until you got your actor on stage. Those orbs will fall off too if you’re not careful so you need to be aware. 

Setting up cameras was pretty routine once you know it. Then comes the acting which...is a huge mileage may vary situation. I actually had my best luck pulling fellow animators into the suit because when I asked them to exaggerate motions for the camera they knew exactly how to deliver. Subtle acting for mocap isn’t the best unless you have a whole lot of tracking on them. Never got to suit up a pro stuntman for anything which is a shame. Anyways, the animation part comes from taking all this data and cleaning it. You have the core motion which speeds the process along, but it is far from perfect. The feet are not on the ground and constantly wiggle in place. Tracking orbs will get blocked by limbs and the program will get needlessly confused. I had an actor bend over to pick something up and the program decided to switch the tracking of the toe and neck so the model looked like a pretzel.

And you’re not done after clean up. Again this is just the base. From there, the animator can tweak things to be more exaggerated or emphasize any acting that was lost. 

Man, this got long winded. But the point is that 2D? 3D? Mocap? Hybrid? We’re experiencing an age where there’s a lot of new tech. We saw the ugly baby start of 3D and its rise into what I feel is an exciting new exploration period. And we sure as hell haven’t forgotten our roots with 2D. One isn’t better than the other and animators are animators no matter which they prefer to work in. 

Dunno about you all, but I’m pretty excited about what we’re coming up with these days.

[fanartfunart]

Poses and Posing!

Hey, look at me! I’m back at it at some tutorials! How fun!

Since I did Character Design & Faces (1 & 2) last, I might as well do poses.

SO, how does one pose?

Any artist’s best friends are references.^ And the best kind of references are many of the same type of pose. I don’t use just one reference for one pose. I use maybe 3-6 depending on the complexity (although I usually only use references for the more complex poses nowadays anyway.) 

So, after gathering references, it’s a matter of breaking things down.

I start with the head and a line of action. I usually use the head as the reference point to how the rest of the body will work out.

(my goodness looking at this without the rest of it all attached looks horrifying...I’m sorry for subjecting you to this eldritch horror.)

After that I sketch out where the chest and pelvis will be, using the line of action as a center-point.

Then I use that line of action (I usually have to extend it because I don’t make the line very long....), and use it to place the most dynamic/active limb.

using the references and your personal preference/imagination, sketch out the rest of your limbs! Be messy! Make mistakes & figure out the best placement! this is the sketchy place to do it!  (btw if you’re using paper, make this sketch the lightest you can make it. it’ll save you an eternity of erasing later.)

Then just draw over the sketch, using your references as a guide for details like musculature. (digitally, I do this on another layer and lower the opacity of the sketch layer so it’s easier to see the difference)

Then you can look back over it and figure out what feels too short/long and make some edits:

This isn’t always how things happen though. Certain poses tend to have certain elements that you know and other elements you need to work towards.

Sometimes you’ve got the head & shoulders:

Other times, the legs are what you know:

A lot of posing is fiddling with it until it looks good. The most interesting and dynamic poses are exaggerated. Which is why cross-referencing is very helpful! It gives you some wiggle room to pick and choose and adjust.

Practice makes perfect!

And even busts need a line of action to direct the eye to where you want to go.

One thing I’ve really found useful in posing was the shadow-technique to get more interesting, dynamic and clear posing.

The reason this pose works-

is because when it’s in a shadow-

you can still figure out the general action and tone.

Here’s some more examples too:

Notice how I drew through the parts of the body that were covered by others, and put the chest, shoulders, upper and lower arms, palm, fingers, pelvis, upper and lower legs, and the ball and toes of the feet all in separate, interconnected/overlapping sections.  Drawing-through will make it easier to maintain proportions and avoid ‘strechy limb’ (or better yet: “OH MY GOD MY ARMS DISLOCATED???”)  syndrome.

WELP, hope that’s helpful!! However, it’s always gonna be down to a whole ton of practice and exploration. The whole world is your reference!! When you watch football/soccer or hockey or American football or ballet or whatever, sketch all the actions that jump out at you. When you’re sitting around and there’s people out and about, go ahead and draw people as they pass by or sit around. Draw your pets, draw yourself. Get out there and have fun!

Want to see more tutorials? Tell me what you’d like to see me cover. This confuse you or you’re stuck on something? Tell me and maybe show me what you’re working on and I can help to the best of my ability!

[equalstrashflavoredtrash]

Left to the Wolves

a/n: So i fininally finished this story which i’ve been working on all summer... it’s my first foray into the genre of a/b/o au so i hope you guys enjoy.  This chap is Hvits centric but there’s suggestion of Ubbe x reader and if this gets enough positive feed back, i will continue with a chap abt him!

warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, a bit of heavy handed persuasion but overall consented sexy times, like this is mostly smut cus im a perv like that... oral (fem receiving) and vaginal penetration, also a healthy competition between brothers. 

FF.net // Ao3 // Masterlist

Hvitserk X Reader // Vikings

word count: 2,445

As relaxing as the bath felt, it did nothing to relieve the sticky layer of perspiration that coated your skin. The sweat was provoked by a heat that came from within rather than the sun, a heat you had been trying to deny you were due for. Pulling the simple linen night dress over your head, you grabbed the hem to tap at your brow, hoping to dry it some but effectively doing nothing. No matter how much you tried to cool yourself, the moment your hands were idle your mind immediately snapped back to your hosts, Ragnar’s sons and your internal body temperature would spike.

You knew they had noticed, it was blatant they had caught a whiff of your budding heat when you spent that afternoon watching them train. Earlier in the week you had merely sat at the sidelines, spectating as they practiced, but today each of the brothers insisted on vying to hold your attention personally.

Hvitserk offered to teach you how to shoot a bow and arrow, something you’d never cared to learn before. He quickly took advantage of the situation, crowding in behind you to rest his hands on your hips under the guise of adjusting your stance. Rearing your elbow back, you pulled the string taut as his breath fanned the nape of your neck—sending a shiver down your spine—when a movement from across the field caught your eye.

Casually, you turned your head thinking it was just the others wrestling when you noticed Ubbe tugging to remove his tunic. He discarded the garment somewhere to the side as he strode back towards the makeshift ring where Sigurd waited. He met your gaze and flashed a wink, smirking before slapping his chest and settling into a starting pose. You watched the way he bent over, hands at the ready to deflect his brother’s attacks when your grip went completely lax, launching the arrow absently into the dirt.

Hvitserk’s laugh tickled at your ear, bringing you back to your present position, his hands still firm on your hips, holding you in place pressed against his chest. “You need to remember to keep your eyes on the prize, Princess,” he teased in a low voice only you could hear.

For the rest of the day you could think of nothing besides the warmth of Hvitserk behind you, his strong hands keeping you still. At the same time you found your mind wandering to his older brother, Ubbe, and to the way the sun radiated off his skin, highlighting the lean muscles he’d cultivated since your last visit when you were still a child.

That night you followed your mother and Queen Aslaug to dinner, finding all of the princes already seated at the table. Your approach caught their attention and both Hvitserk and Ubbe stood, abruptly sliding their chairs away to greet you as their younger brothers remained sitting. Aslaug and your mother took their respective seats at the head of the table and across from your intended destination. It had been a few days now that you’d occupied the spot situated between Ubbe and Hvitserk at every meal, but there was a light in both their eyes tonight that you couldn’t ignore as they ushered you into your chair.

The dinner was pleasant enough despite Ivar’s unsolicited and spiteful comments. In fact, you barely noticed the bitterness of the youngest and third Alpha in the family, having no idea that his sour mood was inspired by the same scent that brought his older brothers to battle for your attention.

Ubbe and Hvitserk were both eager to offer you more bread or mead, each  making sure your plate was full before you could even reply. You were utterly overwhelmed by their hospitality, unsure of how to properly respond while also fawning at the onslaught of affection. You could barely eat under the watchful gaze of the two brothers. They were much more obvious about the competition then they had been earlier that afternoon. Throughout the meal they strove to outdo the other—whether it be through tales or kind acts.

Once you had finished eating, you were quick to excuse yourself, providing the need for a bath as the reason. As you rested in the warm water, you attempted to relieve some of the tension with your own hand, a tactic you often used before. Though before you’d never been in heat around so many Alphas, and it seemed the more time you spent with them, the more painful it was to resist. You wanted to fling yourself into their willing arms without hesitation and let them do as they pleased, marking you as theirs forever.

Unable to find release alone, you let out a frustrated snarl and gave the surface of the water a slap as if it was the bath’s fault you felt worse than before. You ultimately climbed out of the water before your fingers became too wrinkled, drying yourself and dressing for bed.

With a sigh you dropped the hem of your nightshirt back over your body when something behind you creaked. You spun on your heel, finding the door ajar and Hvitserk standing on the other side, his hand holding the latch as a smirk grew on his face.

“How long have you been there?” You exclaimed, hands flying to protectively cover your chest, forgetting you were already dressed.

“Long enough,” he shrugged as he crossed the threshold to your room, making sure to shut the door tightly behind him, clicking the lock closed.

“You shouldn’t be here,” you stated in what you hoped was a strong voice, but even you couldn’t deny the waiver at the end. “If-if my mother knew, she’d—,”

Hvitserk’s smile cut you off. “You see, I’ve been thinking about that,” Hvitserk began, slowly moving closer as you tried to match his steps in reverse, backing away until your thighs butted up against the edge of the table where you ate breakfast. “If your mother cares so much, why did she bring you to Kattegat—where she knew there were young alphas—when you would be in heat? Why are you in a room by yourself, with such a large bed, if you weren’t meant to share it?” His jovial expressing and tone seemed kind enough, but you could sense the edge to it. You could see his scheme but something in you found it logical—maybe it was the part of you that wanted him so—but suddenly it seemed to make since why your mother kept dismissing you, telling you to spend time with the Ragnarssons while she and Aslaug did needle work.

His hand found your waist again, squeezing your curves harder than he had while teaching you to shoot. Leaning to the side, Hvitserk dropped his head, nuzzling into the crook of you neck, inhaling your scent with a groan. Your fingers squeezed his shoulders, making a futile effort to resist as you melted into his touch.

“I’m not supposed too—,” your voice trailed into a moan as his lips made contact with your skin.

“Stop fighting,” Hvitserk hissed, finally crashing his mouth against yours. You tongues wrestled as his left hand dropped to cup your thigh, lifting your knee to curl around his waist as he lifted you to sit on the table. You leaned back, resting on your elbows to take in the way he loomed over you, his large palm slowly traveling up your side from your leg until he came to engulf you breast.

With a tilt of his head, he studied the rapid rise and fall of your chest and the way the linen of your nightshirt clung to the sticky sweat on your skin. Reveling in the softness of your flesh under his his grasp, he unconsciously jutted his hips into yours, letting his hard length prod at your inner thigh.

Hvitserk mumbled something before lifting his head to repeat himself, “I want you.” His green eyes held yours as he stilled on top of you. “I need you. Please say you want me.”

You responded without words, snaking your fingers across the nape of his neck, pulling him forward. He easily took the hint, shifting to press against you before he suddenly went stiff. Drawing away, he looked over his shoulder just as there was a knock on the door.

“Go away Ubbe,” Hvitserk barked with a sly grin. You laid frozen beneath him, slowly processing what was happening as he chuckled, “You’re too late.”

There was a still moment of silence as the pair of you waited for an angry retort but as the minutes grew it was obvious Ubbe had left—for now. Hvitserk could barely resist himself, anxiously inching his hands under your bottom. He tensed his fingers, squeezing as he began to pull back. Stepping away, Hvitserk grabbed your hand, leading you away from your perch on the table.

He backed you to the mattress, crowding against you as his palm came to hold your cheek. “It would be a shame if this big bed went to waste,” he teased as he lead you to lay flat atop the furs. You were like putty in his hands, allowing him to maneuver you limbs to the right place as he pleased, settling so your arms were pinned above your head.

Pawing at the hem of your skirt with his free hand, he drew the fabric higher, revealing the apex of your thighs. The deep groan he released at the sight of your sopping mound resonated in your bones. Silently, you longed for contact, jutting your hips towards his, begging for some kind of stimuli.

Slowly he dipped his fingers between your lips, easily finding your bud of nerves. With a brazen swipe, he rolled the nub under his touch, eliciting a moan from you lips with each rock. Grinning to himself Hvitserk watched the way you fell apart under him, knowing that every sound that crossed your lips came without hesitation. You bucked into his grasp, urging his hand to slide lower. He swirled his digits, skimming just around where you wanted him most before he began to shift. Inching his knees back, Hvitserk dove forward, burying his face between your thighs. His tongue and lips took over where his fingers had been as he laved at your hole, giving you everything but what you needed for release.

“Stop, stop,” you panted, tugging at his braids to pull his face away, overwhelmed by the presence of his tongue. Your cunt ached for him and his mouth only increased the want til it was unbearable. “Please,” your voice came out breathy and eager as you begged. “Please, I need your cock inside me.”  

The look in his eye only stoked the fire within your gut, leading you to whine for his touch. Kneeling back he wrestled with his tunic as your fingers tugged at the lancing of his pants, too impatient to wait for him to finish. Kicking off his boots he slid his trousers down his lean legs, discarding them aimlessly before turning back to you. His prick stood proud and ready, bobbing slightly as he moved—the tip an angry purple.

You mouth watered at the sight before you, a fresh pang of desire flooding your senses. Lacing your fingers into the roots of his hair, you pulled him forward as you laid back, letting your knees fall open. Hvitserk pumped himself while lining the head with your entrance. In a single hard thrust, he sank into you easily.

Clenching around him you reveled in everything you wanted but had been denying yourself. He drew back before slamming against you, the sound of skin slapping against skin mixing in the air with your moans as he kept up a brutal pace. Hvitserk wrapped his arms around your ribs, holding you tight as you clutched at his shoulder blades, your nails leaving red lines as they dug in to his skin.

Maneuvering his legs, he pushed himself to roll onto his back, dragging you to straddle his waist. Sitting up you rested your hands flat on his chest, bracing yourself as you reared back, pushing your ass backwards to swallow the entirety of his prick, swollen knot included. You could feel Hvitserk’s grip tighten as your hips came to touch his, pausing for a moment to adjust to the way his knot stretched your walls so deliciously.

A stuttered moan leaked from Hvitserk’s mouth as you began to roll your hips, grinding so that your clit hit his pelvic bone with every pass. You were so distracted by the feeling of his cock inside you, you hadn’t even realized the filth that he had been cooing to you.

“You like that don’t you?” he chided as you raised your eyes to meet his. “You feel fucking perfect, I can barely hold back.”

“Then don’t—,” you whined in response, blushing at the dark grin that slid across his face.

“You want me to ruin you, huh?” He began, digging his fingers into your ass, spreading your cheeks as his lifted you. “You want me to come inside you, to fill you with pups?” Grounding his heals into the bed he began to thrust upwards at a steady but teasing pace. “Tell me. Tell me how bad you want it and I’ll give you everything.”

“Yes, I want it. I want your cum so bad, please fill me,” you begged without thought or hesitation in a high pitched, wanton voice that nearly threw him over the edge. Hvitserk grabbed at your hair, wrenching your head back to expose your neck to his teeth as he pounded into you in an unyielding rhythm. Your soft flesh bounced as he nipped along your throat. He could feel the moment your body let go, the walls of your cunt spasming around him as your limbs shook, overwhelmed by the liquid ecstasy that flowed so freely through you.

Hvitserk followed soon after, his own body tensing as he fulfilled his promise to release his seed deep within you. Finally giving up on using your arms for support, you collapse to his chest—still trying you gather you conscious thoughts.

Shifting, you move to roll off from on top Hvitserk, but he was quick to keep you in place the moment he felt the slightest tug on his over inflated knot. “Not so fast,” he chuckles, drawing his arms tighter around your ribs. “You think I’m letting you go this soon after getting you? I'm not done here tonight.” Your response was a content purr, accepting your fate for the evening as you nuzzled your nose into the crook of his neck.

Hope you enjoyed! please tell me what you thought!

@beautifulramblingbrains @ariwolf14 @titty-teetee @whenimaunicorn @sweetvengeancee @ivarinleatherpants @tiyetiye @romanchronicles @oddsnendsfanfic @murmelinchen @buckybarnesisalittleshit @laketaj24 @ivarslittlebadgirl @readsalot73 @imgoldielikehawn @ivarsshieldmadien @ceridwenofwales​ @grungyblonde​ @honestsycrets @lisinfleur [[if you want to be tagged for vikings stuff in the future, leave a reply]]