#dont blame me okay i enjoy drawing blood

[stiffyck]

if my brain would focus on something actually normal thatd be appreciated

[reyeslonestar]

I can’t face the world without you

Available on Ao3

a little (long) follow up to this fic. I hope you enjoy

TK x Carlos, Angst with a Happy Ending (yay), Coma, Proposal

tw, mention of a panic attack and cardiac arrest

1.9k words

TK sits in the uncomfortable hospital chair that he’s claimed as his own for the past week, tapping his fingers absently against the velvet box he’s holding in his hands. It’s the ring box that came out of Carlos’ uniform pocket when they’d had to cut the blood stained clothing off on the operating table - the final straw that broke the camel’s back of TK’s emotional capacity on the day that Carlos was shot. There's another box in his pocket - the ring inside the one that TK bought a few weeks ago. The one that he was going to offer to Carlos that Friday night after they'd crawled into bed, holding each other close as they revelled in the wonder of each other’s company.

They should be fiancés by now.

Instead, he’s watching the unnaturally silent stillness of the man he loves most in the world; the slow rhythm of the heart rate monitor a soundtrack to the fear in his head that he might never get the chance to ask that question, or to ever hear it returned.

Because Carlos has been in a coma for 8 days. And while the doctors are hopeful, TK knows there’s no certainty that he will wake up.

TK nearly had a panic attack when they told him Carlos went into cardiac arrest on the operating table, the fluids Tommy gave him in the ambulance not quite enough to counter the amount of blood he lost in the field. He was in a critical condition for some time, but the surgeons managed to pull him through the surgery and he was moved onto a ward in an induced coma. They eased off the anaesthetic the next morning, and from then it’s just been a waiting game.

TK refused to leave the hospital for the first three days, sleeping fitfully on the unforgiving plastic chair pulled up against the side of Carlos’ bed, his head pillowed against his boyfriend’s side - the side without all the bandages and the stitches that are holding Carlos’ organs and tissue in place.

On the fourth night Owen was adamant for TK to go home, have a shower, and sleep in a proper bed, and it was a testament to TK’s exhaustion that he couldn’t bring himself to argue. However, after waking in a cold sweat at 3am from the horror of having to helplessly watch Carlos bleed out in front of him over and over, this time without Tommy and Nancy and the ambulance supplies there to save him, TK had ordered an uber and snuck back through the hospital corridors in the early hours, trembling with relief to see Carlos alive and breathing, even if only thanks to various plastic tubes criss crossing his body, and even though the sight of him so unnervingly motionless burnt a sour taste down the back of TK’s throat.

Carlos’ parents have been here every day, too, coming by the room to sit quietly on the other side of Carlos’ bed, and each time the nurses wheeled Carlos away for scans and tests, Andrea and TK would sit together in silence, gripping tightly onto each other’s hands for support. There were a lot of tests in the first couple days, and scans to try and gauge his brain activity, to know when he’d wake up and what kind of state he’d be in. Apparently the results were hopeful, indicating everything looked to be normal for the circumstances, and that Carlos would be back with them soon.

But Carlos still hasn’t woken up. And TK is losing the fight against imagining the worst.

Grace and Judd had stopped by the night before - the whole 126 have been in and out of the hospital over the last week to visit and lend their support. Carlos became part of their family when he became part of TK’s and TK knows they’re missing him just as he is. Judd had pulled him into a tight hug, whispering that Carlos was strong, that he’d pull through, before planting a kiss on the top of his head, ruffling his hair as they’d parted. Grace’s hug had been softer, but no less loving, and they’d both sat by Carlos’ side for a time while Judd took Andrea and Gabriel to get some more coffee from the hospital cafe.

He’d felt her eyes on the way he’d been fiddling with the ring box, the same way he has been ever since he found it.

“You know I wanted to propose that night?” he’d said suddenly, voice scratching with the first words he'd willingly volunteered in days. “Nothing extravagant, just- in a way that was us,” he’d added, volume diminished to a hushed whisper on the last word.

Grace had squeezed his arm gently. “So did he,” she’d said quietly, and TK had just stared at her, unable to put anything into words. She’d shrugged slightly. “He was going to make you dinner that night and propose then. He wanted it to be special, but like you say, in a way that was you.”

Tk has felt too numb with fear to cry since he broke down on that first night, but he’d been pretty damn close then.

“I can’t lose him,” he’d whispered, barely loud enough to hear himself, but Grace had heard him anyway.

“I know, honey, I know,” she’d told him. “The same way I know he’s fighting to come right back to you.”

As much as TK wants to believe her words, as the hours creep late into Carlos’ ninth night in this bed, he’s wondering if maybe Carlos has fought all he can. Maybe his strength finally gave out and the beeping machines next to him is the only thing keeping that chest steadily rising and falling.

Tucking his chair as close to the bed as he can, TK draws Carlos’ hand to his lips as he rests his head against the bedcovers, settling in for another night of interrupted sleep.

“I need you back, Carlos,” he whispers, holding back the tears that threaten to spill down his cheeks. “I dont- I can’t face the world without you.”

-

Tk wakes to the feeling of a gentle hand stroking through his hair with slow movements. He blinks slowly and looks up to see warm brown eyes smiling at him.

“Hi,” Carlos whispers, his voice a hoarse and grating sound from a week's disuse.

It’s the most wonderful sound TK has ever heard.

He cries Carlos’ name brokenly, launching himself at Carlos' neck to hold him close. He can feel Carlos chuckling slightly under his chest even as he pulls TK closer and he closes his eyes to soak in this feeling.

“I missed you,” he mumbles into Carlos’ neck and Carlos holds him even tighter.

“I’m sorry,” he hears Carlos whisper, and he pulls back abruptly.

“No,” he says firmly, wiping away the tears that have slipped down his face. “No, you have nothing to apologise for.” He stands up, shifting into action. “Let me get you some water and then we need to get your doctor, get you checked out-”

Carlos’ hand tugging on his interrupts him. “I love you,” Carlos says, voice still scratchy and rough, but he’s smiling at TK, who sits heavily back into his chair.

“I love you too,” he says, squeezing Carlos’ hand painfully. “I love you so much and I thought I was going to lose you and-” he stops and takes a breath, halting the runaway train of his fear in its tracks. “I’m just so happy to see you again,” he finishes with a whisper.

“I’m here,” Carlos says. “And I’m not going anywhere without you.”

-

TK hovers by Carlos’ bed for the next few hours, only stepping far enough away to allow the doctors and nurses to check Carlos over, run tests and eventually remove the various apparatus that have helped keep him alive. Gabriel and Andrea are a teary mess when they see their son sitting up, breathing, talking, alive, and TK can’t blame them. He feels like he’s been holding his body up through sheer stress and worry, and now he knows Carlos is going to be okay, he’s ready to collapse with relief.

At long last, though, the hospital staff retreat and Carlos’ parents head to the cafe to leave Carlos and TK alone once more and TK doesn’t miss the way Carlos sighs with relief.

“Are you okay?” he asks. “Do you need something? I can get you something to eat, or drink, or if you need to sleep-”

“I just want you,” Carlos interrupts gently. “I want to ask you something.”

There's something in his voice that makes TK sit up straighter and he frowns slightly. “What’s up?”

“When I woke up- you were holding a box,” Carlos starts, and TK, realising what he’s referring to, pulls the two ring boxes from his pocket and holds up the one from Carlos’ uniform so Carlos can see it. He nods, taking it from TK’s fingers and studying it as he carries on, “I had a whole dinner planned, you know? I was going to cook for us, lay the table out on the terrace and then after we’d eaten I was going to get down on one knee, and ask you. I definitely didn’t plan for this to happen but-” He opens the box carefully, turning it so the ring faces TK and takes a deep breath.

“I love you, TK. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to wake up every morning and know that the love of my life is lying next to me. I want to have a family with you, and make every house we live in into our home. I want to make you dinner whenever we feel like it and spend half our day off in bed even though one in the afternoon is outrageously late for a lie in.” TK chuckles slightly at the dig at his unwillingness to get up in the mornings and Carlos smiles, so bright and warm.

“I didn’t know I could love anyone like this until I met you.” Carlos continues, “You’ve filled my life with so much happiness and I want to try and make you as happy as I can for as long as I can, so - Tyler Kennedy Strand, will you marry me?”

TK smiles tearfully as he ruefully holds up his own box, laughing slightly as he sees realisation dawn on Carlos’ face. “Beat me to it, didn’t you?” he jokes, opening the box to look at the simple platinum band set with diamonds inside. “I’m afraid I didn't plan a dinner, or a big speech. All I knew was that I wanted to ask you, because I want all those things, too. You’re my family and you’re also my home. You’re the best thing in my life- Carlos, you nearly died and I-” he pauses, swallowing back the shadow of choking fear that threatens to mute him. “I don’t know what I would do without you. You’re everything to me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I don’t want to go another day without asking you to marry me. So yes, Carlos Reyes, I will marry you, but only if you marry me first.”

Carlos laughs through the tears welling in his eyes, pulling TK in by the wrist to kiss him, whispering “I love you” against his lips. When they pull back, he gently threads the ring onto TK’s left hand, his own hand trembling when TK returns the gesture. TK brings Carlos’ hand up to his lips in a mirror of the last night of Carlos’ coma and kisses the ring, warm lips against cool metal.

“I love you,” TK says quietly. “And I can’t wait to love you for the rest of our lives.”

[just-my-fandom]

Blame (Tony Stark x Daughter! Reader x Carol Danvers)

Request; Sorry if it's a weird request but can I have a lil Tony Stark x daughter!reader oneshot where Carol was the one to wield the Infinity stones (she survived), killed Thanos and all that, and Tony lived but R sacrificed herself to get the soul stone? And while he’s talking with Carol he can't stop thinking about it, experiencing survivor's guilt all over again and also thinking about the whole "there's only 1 reality in which we win" thing. So he finds Strange and confronts him about it, and in the end Tony gets him to confess that there were actually 2 outcomes in which they won but he lied for whatever reason Tony doesn't listens to and starts to get real angry at him, acting out of grief and pain because his daughter is gone and that could've been prevented. Sorry if it's too specific, I wanted to write it myself but I don't have the skills. Love u bye.

A/N; Didn’t know if you wanted a romantic pairing so I included a small Carol x reader so I hope you enjoy and that this doesn’t suck too much rip

I hate to inform that there is a shit tone of time skips in this oops. This is super long too, but I didn’t include the part with Carol and the stones

Warnings; Age gap between Carol and reader?? Reader is 19 during Infinity War

“Don’t you think you should go home with Pepper?”

You look up at a deep voice, eyes catching Steve leaning up against the doorway of the small office in the compound,

“And do what? Sit around and pretend that none of this happened?” You shrug your shoulders, attempting to ease the ache in your muscles, “That my father might be dead and Carol is probably dust too?”

“I’m sure Carols just fine,” Steve heaves a soft breath, your eyes glossing over as you shake your head,

“Then why hasn’t she tried to contact me?” You look up at the man you called your uncle, Steve frowning, “Why hasn’t she come down to Earth to check up?”

Steve moves forward, turning around at a rumble in the ground, catching Natasha running past him in the halls, “Dont let Pepper leave,” She calls, Steve shortly looking at you then following the blonde woman,

You shove away from your desk, feet slowly picking up speed so you ran past Steve, jumping over the steps outside the compounds door and slowing to a stop next to Natasha, eyes trailing up at the large ship,

“Carol!” You catch the blonde moving from under the ship, running up to her so she could pull you against her, hand at your hair,

“Hey baby,” She murmurs tiredly, thumb caressing your cheek and lips pressing to yours slowly, eyes shutting, “What happened while I was gone?”

“Thanos,” You reveal, the tears from minutes ago slipping into her hand, “Almost everyone’s gone, vanished. I thought you were too-,” Your eyes move past her shoulder, catching Steve and Pepper helping someone stand as they were too weak to do so on their own,

“Dad?” Carol allows you to slip away from her, Tony’s head lifting to meet your gaze,

“You’re okay,” He croaks out, pulling his arm away from Steve to reach out to you, Pepper holding his sides so he didn’t collapse when he throws both arms around you, “Oh thank God,”

“I thought you vanished,” You whisper, Tony shaking his head and blinking away sudden tears,

“I couldn’t leave my two favorite girls,” Tony cracks a smile, glancing at Pepper next to him,

“Let’s get you inside,” Pepper murmurs, “Get you a shower and clean clothes, food too,”

“Wait wait,” It’s an hour later. Rhodey and Thor had been called, told of Tony’s finding, and now you and your super family had gathered in the main area of the compound, “If you’re all super and powerful, where the hell were you during this whole attack with Thanos?”

Your eyes stare at your uncle, Rhodey, his gaze sharp on Carol next to you.

“There are many other planets than just Earth,” Carol reminds, flicking an eyebrow to the man and glancing at you when you put a hand on her arm,

“Who’s all gone?” You ask Tony, his gaze leaving the table to look up at his only child,

“The guardians. Strange. Peter,” Tony swallows, your hand tightening at Carols arm at the mention off your brother figure,

Carol protectively slides her hand into yours, squeezing tightly to assure you,

“What about here?” Tony questions quietly, rubbing his face out of exhaustion,

“The Wakandian siblings,” You start, voice wavering, “Wanda, Sam, Buck. Visions gone for good, I saw Thanos pull the stone out of him,”

You shut your eyes at the memory, Carol inhaling deeply and looking at your father,

“Point is, what do we do now?”

“There is nothing we can do,” Tony lifts a shoulder, sitting back down in his chair, “The stones and Thanos disappeared after he snapped. We just have to...move on,”

5 Years Later (Reader has moved out of the Stark home and moved in with her Aunt, Natasha, where they stay at the compound)

“Any luck on Banner?”

You lean into the table behind you, eyes scanning across the four holograms in front of you,

“Negative,” Rhodey answers, shifting in his spot of the hologram, “I’m going to try Europe, but that’s the best I can do,”

You nod once, tapping your fingers against the desk nervously, “Carol, are we still seeing you next month?”

“Not likely,” Carol moves her eyes to meet yours, now short hair blowing in her face, “You might not see me for a good while,”

“Figured,” You murmur, lowering your head and sighing. Rhodey looks between you and the superhero beside Rocket and Nebula, then clears his throat,

“I’ll let you know of any updates on Banner from here,” He steps back, his hologram vanishing from its device. You raise your head, watching Nebula and a Rocket along with a Wakandian solider leave their hologram frames,

“I’ll come as soon as I can,” Carol exhales, eyes staring at you and catching sudden tears, “Y/N, look at me,”

You do so, allowing your eyes to meet hers, forcing yourself to swallow down a sob in your throat,

“I’ll be home soon,” She promises, “Then we’ll get our own apartment together and no more superhero stuff for a while,”

“It’s just lonely,” You whisper, “Natasha is still upset about Bruce and Steve barely does anything anymore. My dad and Pepper are all worried about Morgan to bother with me,”

“They still love you,” Carol smiles, “I have to go now, promise to be safe,”

Your lips tug upwards, hand raising to hover over her hands hologram, “I promise,”

Carol smiles, hologram hand brushing your cheek, before she steps back and she disappears from your line of sight,

You drop your hand, bringing the back to your eye to wipe away a tear that had fallen,

. . .

“Dad, we both know what has to be done,”

Father-daughter fight. All parents fight with their kids, but not like this. Your arm holds its laser at your father feet away, rumble cracking underneath your foot at the edge,

“Exactly. You get away from that ledge and get the stone,” Tony snarls, your hand pressing the side of your helmet so it lifted and revealed your face, eyes blood shot from tears,

“I have to jump!” You exhale, “Pepper and Morgan need you, more than they need me,”

“And Danvers doesn’t need you?” Tony shoots, watching your hand slightly falter at the mention of the female captain, “She cares about you, just like I do with Pepper. You can’t just leave her like that, you promised her you’d be safe,”

“I can’t keep every God damn promise Dad!” You clutch your fist, free hand powering up, “I have to do this! It’s the only way to bring them back!”

You grunt out of irritation, shooting at Tonys leg so he had to move to the side to dodge, eyes looking forward and finding your figure vanished,

“Y/N?” Tony moves forward, eyes looking down at the cliff below, “Y/N!”

Stone glowing brightly in one hand, Tony forces his suit to fly downwards, stumbling on his feet and landing next to you, lifting your fragile body with trembling arms,

“Y/N, no,” Tony draws a hand over your cheek, choking on a rough sob that broke through his chest. Tony looks down, cursing at the timer on his watch and forcing himself away from you, disappearing into dust and leaving you in your own blood,

Present Time. Thanos has been defeated and the Avengers gather at the Stark home for the readers funeral

“Is it on?”

Carol thought she’d never see you again. But just after your funeral, Tony had asked for everyone to group into the living room of his home, announcing he had something from you,

Your blue hologram stood on the carpet, eyes looking off to the distant to your father off camera,

“Yeah, go ahead,”

Your eyes look forward, landing on Pepper and Morgan on the couch next to Tony and Peter,

“This is recorded the day before we go back in time,” You start, shifting in your spot and clearing your throat, “Um, I wanted to record this in case, I don’t know, anything happened,”

Carol tightens her crossed arms, eyes leaving your hologram to shut and blink away tears,

“First thing I wanted to say is for Carol,” The blonde opens her eyes at her name, glancing to your hologram as you shove your hands into your hoodies pockets, “I know we won’t be able to see each other for a while. You’re out doing God knows what to save other planets. I respect that. I just want you home so I know you’re safe,”

You tap your socked foot, rolling your shoulders, “This is harder than I thought,” You sigh, and glance over when Tony’s past self speaks up again,

“Want to try again later?”

You shake your head, looking back at the camera in front of you, “No. Carol, I don’t know what’s going to happen. It could be good, we’ll defeat Thanos and get that apartment we wanted, or something bad could happen,”

“But if something does, I want Dad to show this to you, hence the reason we’re recording this in the first place,”

“Ah,” You stop to cough, “I love you Carol. I hope you come home soon,” You shift again, then sink down into the chair behind you, “Pepper, Morgan...”

Tony stands up from his spot at the couch, blinking away his thoughts when he walks up to Stephen, who kept against the wall of living room,

“Can I talk to you?” Tony asks quietly, Stephen nodding shortly and moving around Bruce, following Tony onto the porch of his home,

“How else could this have all ended?” Tony asks blunty, Stephen looking out to the lake in the yard, your holograms voice heard inside,

“Bad or good?” Stephen looks at Tony, watching the mans face conjure with realization,

“What do you mean by good?” Tony snarls, eyes searching the wizards, “What other ways could we have won?”

“It happens almost the exact same way,” Stephen starts, voice calm, “Danvers gets the stones and snaps, everyone’s brought back,”

“Then what changed?” Tony’s hand grips at the porch railing, chest tightening, “Did my daughter survive?”

“Yes,” Stephen swallows, thickly, “Somehow she was able to get the stone with both of you remaining alive,”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?!” Tony’s booming voice has Carol glancing over, staring at the two men just outside the door,

“I was dust!” Stephen exclaims, “Y/N just didn’t think of it and took her own path,”

“So it’s her fault?” Tony scoffs, “Without her dying you wouldn’t be standing here,”

“I know that,” Stephen sighs, eyes shutting,

“Then act grateful for it,” Tony pushes away from the rail, “Because my daughter is dead. And frantically, I would send you back for her,”

Stephen silently watches Tony enter the house again. He understood Tony’s anger- a father losing his child is a nightmare for every father.

“Tony? What happened?” Pepper stands up, the group around watching Tony brush her hand off his shoulder, disappearing up the stairs,

Their eyes move to Stephen, his eyes closing again as he leans into the rails, heaving a sigh,

Pepper moves her gaze to the wizard, eyes glossing over before following her husband with quick steps,

“Tony,” Pepper calls shortly, catching the door Tony attempted to close and moving into their shared bedroom, “Tony, what did Stephen tell you?”

“There was another way,” Tony gasps, eyes blurring over so his wives form was a blob of color, “Y/N lived. But we didn’t go that way,”

“Tony,” Pepper murmurs, hands sliding to his face and moving his gaze down to her, “I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be. But Y/N’s gone, she wouldn’t want you so upset,”

“She’s gone,” Tony repeats, body breaking down into Pepper so her arms would wrap around his shoulders. A loud sob escapes Tony’s lips, hands clutching at Peppers black dress in hopes to ease the pain in his chest,

Your laugh brings Tony to open his eyes, the voice of your hologram easing the tension in his shoulders, “Morgan, make sure you keep dad safe for me Okay?”

“I don’t need to be protected,” Tony’s hologram snorts, Pepper subconsciously smiling and leaning back to look at Tony,

“Yes you do,” She whispers softly, “You need to be protected from this hurt. She wouldn’t want you hurting Tony,”

“I know,” Tony croaks out, eyes shutting tiredly, “But she’s my baby, Pep. Imagine losing Morgan,”

“But we didn’t,” Pepper smiles, “And I’m nearly a hundred percent sure Y/N’s happy that Morgan still has her dad even though she couldn’t,”

Tony nods, sliding away from Pepper to run a hand down his face and inhale,

“Do you want to go finish watching the video?”

Pepper smiles, taking Tony’s hand and following him downstairs to watch your hologram coincidentally meet Tony’s gaze, waving to him with a bright smile,

“I love you 3000 Dad. I mean it,”

A/N: EW that ended so baddd But PLEASE SEND ME CAROL REQUESTSSS

[yyh-revival]

Alot of people draw parallels between Kurama and Kurapika, Hiei and Killua, Yusuke and Gon, Kuwabara and Leorio But no one comments on how Karasu is this weird hybrid of Ilumi and Hisoka. ( Also Sensui and Chrollo)

Wish I could help you there, but I only saw I think two seasons? Maybe one season. *shrugs* I could never get into Hunter x Hunter. I have a few theories for why, I think, but it’s all super subjective. One of my friends is the exact opposite, obsessed with HxH and unable to enjoy Yu Yu Hakusho.

If you are a fan of HxH, I strongly advise you don’t read this. These are my personal opinions on why I cannot stand the show, not a detailed analysis of the show itself or objective view of its merit. Will be under cut.

Also I am sleep deprived and potentially tipsy so this will likely not be coherent. *finger guns*

Anyway, for me, HxH always felt… too on the nose? Too Naruto-like, in a way? Here, meet Gon, he’s a super nice and friendly dude, but oh no, he has a tragic past because his dad is missing… And now he wants to be just like his dad, who is missing, so why is he emulating a dude he doesn’t know? And here, meet Killua, he’s a psychopath and he’s like 10. Instead of getting this kid a therapist the older characters around him are going to encourage him to go kill people. Oh yes, these children are also murderers. Meet Kurapika, the Kurama of the group, who is also a bishie, is low-key scary, intelligent, caring, and also has a tragic past! Yay… And Leorio… I confess I don’t know shit about him. But he probably has a tragic past.

Okay, I am probably being too harsh on this show. I know it’s beloved by many people. But the constant pushing of “tragic!! So sad!!” and “child murder! Yay!” Is just not my cup of tea. 

YYH did this way better, in my opinion. The tragedy is there, but it’s layered on slowly. Hiei, who arguably has one of the most tragic childhoods a shonen character ever experienced, doesn’t actually tell us what happened to him until the show is almost over. We get to learn who he is, what makes him tick, we get to love him, ponder about his past, get invested. Then we are given the sad. But HxH is like Naruto in the fact that it just shoves it into our face, as if to say, “hey, this character had a bad childhood, you should feel sorry for them and love them.” I just hate that. 

And Gon… that friendly optimism is just… weird? He feels 2-d to me, not like a real child. Whereas the imperfect Yusuke acts exactly as you’d expect a child in his position to act. He has daddy issues because he never had a father. He has issues with authority because his mother was awful and he never felt safe or comforted by the adults around him. He gravitates towards male role models and at the same time rejects them. He respects only one authority, Genkai, because she is the first adult who taught him what he found useful. His kindness, his empathy, all that is earned. When Yusuke tells Genkai he cares about her, when he cries over her death, we believe it and we feel it, because we saw what he was like when he didn’t care, when he didn’t have an adult to turn to. It’s like a child that had been neglected all his life who was suddenly thrust into a foster home or an orphanage where one cranky lady is done with life, so she’s honest and raw and doesn’t throw platitudes into his face, and he respects that. He gravitates to it the same way 9th grade students do to the teacher who uses swear words in class and isn’t afraid to show the Romeo and Juliet movie that has the *gasp* boobie in it. His relationship with Genkai is realistic and earned, and genuine like crazy, and when he mourns her, the first and only adult he respected, loved, and felt safe with, we all mourn with him…

But Gon? I don’t know. He just put me off from the start. He doesn’t seem to have a reason for being so damn friendly. He doesn’t seem to act like a normal human being at all. He’s just this weird 2-d cartoon that tries to kill with kindness and be just like his missing dad instead of, ya know, doing the realistic thing and having a complicated relationship with him. Like, Yusuke doesn’t hate Atsuko. But he sure does blame her for lots of things. I can interject my own childhood here, because my feelings toward family are also complicated. I know the “missing parent” thing really well because my parents lived in a different county for half of my childhood, and I can tell you, while I understood why they did it, and loved them, and appreciated with all my heart the sacrifices they made… I still did, and still do, blame them for robbing me of a normal childhood. Of robbing me of a relationship with them. Of robbing me of that mother-daughter best friend dynamic, of being able to tell them all my secrets and feel like they’re part of my life and not just distant parental figures I respect and love the way the religious love and respect their gods. And Yusuke is the same. His relationships with all the adults in his life, even some of the other kids, are complicated and layered and realistic. He knows his mother had a raw dealing having him at what, 15? But he also blames her for not doing more… Hiei, how does he feel, knowing that his mother died, instead of leaving the Glacier Village during her pregnancy or right after birth to go look for him? How does he feel knowing she stayed there, and died there? It wasn’t her fault. She was heartbroken, she was exhausted from giving birth, and she was weak and scared and alone… it’s even implied she committed suicide. And if she did, don’t you think Hiei might still feel complicated about it? Don’t you think he might feel like she should have been stronger, for him, for this small child that didn’t deserve his fate? She should have lived and left the village and searched for him! She should have looked even if she knew he was dead, if nothing else then to bury him! That’s the sort of thoughts I bet once ran through his mind…

But Gon? Nothing. Just… love for mom and idealizing dad. It’s boring, unrealistic, and I hate it.

Killua, my friend’s favorite shonen character (if not favorite anime character) of all time is literally one of my least favorite, and the only character I might have liked, Kurapika, was clearly ripping off of Kurama, whip and all included. So I just could never finish the show.

As for the Karasu question, technically, he came first, so those other characters are based on him. But from what I did actually see of Hisoka… he’s like an evil pedo (right?? I heard something like that??) clown. That’s what he is. How is he threatening? This isn’t even a rhetorical question. Creepy, maybe. But I’d just feel slightly uneased by him and then call the police if he came near me. If Karasu had his eyes on me like he did on Kurama, I’d probably shit my pants, let’s be real. 

Karasu was a sadist. He was thrilled by the “intimacy between murderer and victim.” And the scariest shit of all? You can sorta understand him. When you murder someone, you are the only person in the world to see what happens to them. You have complete control over that person. You are their god, deciding if they are worthy of life or death. It’s an urge you can theorize about, can talk about, can even understand to a degree. But Hisoka? He uh, wears clown clothes and chases Gon? Or something? He makes scary faces? Karasu doesn’t have to even show his face to be terrifying. He just has to talk about his hobbies and his beliefs. Hell, the moment she shows up you feel something is up. I saw Hisoka like, at least 10 times and I still don’t know shit bout him. Karasu had like, 3-4 speaking scenes and they all made him fucking scarier with each one. I felt like each scene with Hisoka added absolutely zero to the show. Not to mention how fucking slow it was…

I feel like having a character target your young protagonist and make creepy faces at them is just lazy. Dude is, and I know Naruto came after, but that’s the show I saw first and actually know a thing or two about (till whenever shippuden started). So dude is just like Orochimaru. Now I was never scared of that guy, I just thought he was a total creeper. To me, there were way scarier moments. Hell, even Gaara’s brother, when he like, trapped a guy inside a puppet and then blood dripped out? Was that him? Anyway, that moment was way freakier than anything Orochimaru did. Karasu’s like 3 scenes were way more psychologically scary than all of Orochimaru’s scenes put together. And I got the same vibe from Hisoka as Orochimaru. The, he’s creepy and these kids should definitely find an adult asap, and not “holy fuck that’s a mass kidnapper/rapist/torturer/murderer and holy hell I am fascinated and also terrified and holy shit Kurama run run run!” 

*shrugs* Karasu is honestly probably the scariest villain in YYH, too. Only because he enjoys torture and murder, and he explains why. And the explanation makes fucking sense and its so terrifying that I can’t

and he also doesn’t look like a clown. That’s a major plus. I’m not and never will be scared of clowns. Like… its a clown. Its colorful and does weird shit. How is that scary? No, demonic looking motherfuckers with long ass ink black hair and eyes that glow purple with glee at the thought of ripping blood curling screams out of someone in front of a giant ass audience, and lamenting that they wish they could fucking keep him and I dont know fucking fuck his corpse is that what he meant cause holy fuck!??! 

Anyway, Karasu gives me nightmares and I love him and I don’t care for HxH and I need sleep and love you all very much please don’t hate me for disliking this show I really did give it like, three separate chances. *shrugs*

- Mod Lola

[dothewrite]

anonymous asked:

so a scenario with akaashi, kyoutani (if you do him) and iwaizumi where its like a GANGAU kinda thing and their s/o becomes a target for their rival gang and they kidnap her nd once the guys find her and stuff afterwards they treat her wounds and cuddles everywhere and fluffiness (unless they dont find her??? o.0) up to you but extra points for fluffyness at the enddd <333

Last installment! Thanks for the wait, and may your evenings be warm with Iwaizumi’s arms around you and his cheek pressed into your hair. I hope you enjoy!

Akaashi. Kyoutani.

Being in a coma is nothing like they show you in movies. You don’t know if you’re breathing shallowly, or if a squad of surgeons are surrounding you, or if your room is filled with visitors or if you’re just alone. The thing is, all you remember was being punched, repeatedly, in the gut, and someone was kicking you from the back. It had been a while since you had been able to see out of your left eye from how swollen it was, and what kept you alive was the small mercy that they hadn’t touched you like that yet. Just for that, you took at least fifteen more blows with a faint smile. Then, someone came. The voice of someone you recognized burst into the room like a vuvuzela, and blood. Lots of blood. Theirs? Yours? Or maybe it was the rain of bodies around you, the sea spray of red highlighting the tips of your cheekbones, tinting your lips with a luscious red, and copper. The coppery, metallic drops sliding into your mouth no matter which way you faced in the darkness, and you lost consciousness before you heard your name being shouted out in the darkness.

It’s barely two minutes to you in the comfortable warmth of unconsciousness, but your eyes, glued shut with sleep and reluctance to have to function again, pry themselves open to the glaring light of the room you’re laid down in. It’s strangely quiet, and there’s no mistaking where you are despite the grogginess in your head- you’ve been in rooms like these, inhaled their fumes and borrowed their disinfectant enough to know that this is a hospital room- and gods, you must have had it worse than you thought. Well, it’s difficult to tell how much damage you’re taking once the hits post-twenty start blurring together into this endless loop of pain.

You reach for the remote that controls your bedpan angle and press up.

“For some reason,” a disembodied voice comes from behind the curtain on your right, “I had a hunch that’d be the first thing you’d play with once you woke up.”

You drop the control remote almost like a child caught red handed with cookies before dinner, and you blush up to your roots as much as you can with your bloodloss.

“I didn’t hear you coming.” You admit with a slight tinge of petulance.

The voice, Iwaizumi- you’d recognize it even in your grave- brushes open the drapes surrounding your bed and makes himself comfortable in a soft, plush loveseat you didn’t notice either to your right. You know better than to question why there’s a sofa in the middle of a hospital room, so you choose to fiddle nervously with your fingers instead, waiting for the silence to break because he’s never this quiet without a good build up towards something.

“Want some water?” He offers you a cup of something clear and you stare. “It’s got electrolytes in it so it might taste different.”

“I…” you stumble, “...thanks.”

“No problem.”

He hasn’t looked into your eyes once, and this is possibly the most stressful water-sipping you’ve ever experienced in your life. He definitely sounds normal, although a little tired and perhaps tense, but that’s nothing you’re not used to already, knowing his line of work. The line of work that possibly got you into this mess in the first place, but you sure as hell aren’t going to bring that up right now. Not when this feels like a taut rubber band about to snap.

You sneak a glance at him again, and he’s staring fixedly at the clock on the bedside table. He turns his head slightly towards you, almost like he can feel your gaze, and you quickly snap your focus back onto that bland, white cup you’re holding.

How can time pass so slowly?

“How long have you been here for?” You venture, tentatively, nervously. Goddamn stressfully.

“A while.”

“...Have you showered?”

Iwaizumi’s unimpressed stare meets your own and in it tells you exactly how much he doesn’t want to answer your questions. But he does, because he is who he is, and you are who you are to him. “Not yet.”

You can feel it, if nothing else, his urge to both cradle your face in his hands and give you a brutal scolding at the same time. He can’t, though, as much as he wants to, and you know why.

“It wasn’t your fault, Hajime.”

His lips press even tighter until they’re a thin, pale coloured line on his conflicted expression. He reaches a hand out to cover yours, and they’re endlessly warm compared to the thinness of your hospital sheets, as calloused and worn as they are around your own. His rough thumb strokes over the back of your hand, pressing deep circles into the dips of your bones and each touch feels like a confession.

Iwaizumi doesn’t believe you when you say that, and there’s nothing more you want in this moment than for him to take your word for it. “It was kind of terrible,” you try again, a different approach in hopes of reaching him somehow, “and I can’t say I’m not… not going to have nightmares about it, probably, but I didn’t blame you. Not for a second.”

“I was going to tell you off, you know,” he finally grumbles, so reluctantly that it draws a warm smile onto your face, “you’re not the one who should be doing the talking.”

“You were too quiet,” you giggle softly, “it was really awkward drinking water with you all moody.” Laughing is a bad idea though, because you can’t hide the wince that escapes from your mouth when a shake of your ribs shoots a flash of pain up your spine like lightning. Iwaizmi’s eyes miss nothing, and his arms immediately grab hold of your shoulders and commandeer you back down onto your bed.

He’s absolutely torn between comforting you and geting pissed off, so you grin at him shamelessly until he caves. The fingers never leave their firm press around your shoulder blades, and he leans in closer to you to make his point clearer. “Stay still. Don’t run off like that at night again, okay? I…,” ‘it’s my fault, I’m sorry’ dances across his face once and vanishes, “...I’ll keep better tabs on you so you don’t have to be trapped at home all the time.”

“I’m not-”

He levels you with a stare and you lose your argument. Your eyes fall to your hands in your lap instead, your words all jumbled up and slow to form. “I don’t mind.” Your tongue wraps around those words as carefully as it can. “You’re always here to take care of me, and I’d rather have a curfew and you around than have a whole night alone.”

When you glance back up, Iwaizumi looks like he’s furious at the wetness pooling in his eyes. Your heart is pounding with something that feels so far from fear, and your bandaged arms wrap around his neck as gently as they can to pull him closer to you. His hands copy you in an almost trance-like dance, and you nuzzle your face into his ragged palm, feeling his affection wash over you in the turbulence of a solar storm.

He’s not the type to ask himself why you chose him. Iwaizumi knows exactly what he loves about you, and what you love about him, and why the two of you seem to have so much more when you’re together than when you’re apart. Those nights with leftover pizza and terrible chick flicks weren’t just movie night, and those evenings spent wrapped around each other in his bed too large for the two of you were more than time passing with someone else. The two of you are multiplication, in every form, and the words aren’t nearly enough for it all when he lets them go.

“Please stay safe,” he cracks. “I need you safe. Home. With your shitty cooking and no bruises.”

“No more bruises,” you promise, “and food so shitty that you’re stuck on the toilet for days.”

“Sounds great,” Iwaizumi laughs.

It’s okay, those fingers seem to write on your cheek in soft swirls, you’re back, you’re safe, and he loves you.

[comicteaparty]

November 9th, 2017 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on November 9th, 2017, from 5PM - 7PM PST.  The chat focused on Infected Blood by Infected Blood.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning. Today we are discussing Infected Blood by Infected Blood~! (https://infectedbloodcomics.com/) For those new to CTP, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer so pay them no mind if you wish~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! Each chat a top comment will be picked and featured on an ad for this chat, so let’s have a great discussion~!

With that said, let us begin with this first question~!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Draco Plato

I liked the introductionary pages the best so far, they really allude to the importance of the story about to come

snuffysam

I wouldn't exactly say I "liked" it, but Karen

's death was a big one

really sets the tone of the story

RebelVampire

i really enjoyed how unceremoniously the death occurs too, assuming it is definitely a death. idk how much i trust the pulse checking here. but either way i like how sort of undramatic it was. just a really quick thing which is often how accidental death occurs.

the intro pages were definitely told in an intriguing way

for me im taking the opposite position and putting my chips on the group hanging out together outside. i liked having a dose of happiness

MathTans the Pun Prince

Hiyo. I rather liked when Alex realized that she'd kinda dissed her girlfriend and told the others to stop it and apologized and all.

RebelVampire

yeah although im still torn on how heartfelt i felt the apology was

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, I tend to give the benefit of the doubt.

Infected Blood

hello and thanks for the opportunity to hear your honest opinions on my comic

MathTans the Pun Prince

I'm pretty sure the death was an actual death btw. It would explain the 'Murderer' thing from the prologue, possibly.

Hello author!

snuffysam

There haven't exactly been many scenes so far, but we've gotten a lot of good stuff in that space.

Hi!

MathTans the Pun Prince

Slash artist! (I tend to forget that.)

Infected Blood

Hello Math, snuffy, Rebel

I was planning on having over 30 pages for you by the time this chat would happen, but I had to take an unexpected hiatus, alas

MathTans the Pun Prince

Happens to the best of us. I'm on hiatus too.

Draco Plato

no worries~

snuffysam

It's all good, no worries

Infected Blood

the next couple of pages are really something - spoiler alter We get to see Stephanie's reaction to what's happening

*alert

RebelVampire

i dont think thats too spoilery. more like an enticement.

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, things escalated real quickly.

Infected Blood

Good, then

@MathTans the Pun Prince I don't like beating around the bush. I'm always trying to compress as much as possible in as few pages as possible, but also doing my best to avoid rushing

MathTans the Pun Prince

Nope, that's fine, stuff like that does escalate quickly. Just that's why it takes time to process all the reactions.

Infected Blood

That's true

snuffysam

Yeah, the events after Karen got hit really felt like they were happening in real-time as I read those pages.

Infected Blood

Thanks, @snuffysam That's what I was hoping to convey

MathTans the Pun Prince

Regarding the classroom stuff, speaking as a teacher, I feel like the prof and the priest were portrayed well to start. Like, I didn't get a sense they were evil or anything (despite what I saw some commenters say) until the stress aspect came up. The priest has severe racism issues and rose coloured glasses, while the teacher, uh, needs a lesson in conflict de-escalation.

They seemed like regular folks until push came to shove is what I'm saying.

(Is that good or bad? I dunno, it's an observation.)

Infected Blood

Awesome! Thank you. I taught myself, so I have a it of experience. Maybe that helped

I agree with you, things escalated because of a combination of the teacher's and the priest's personal issues. Neither one was really looking to hurt anyone in the first place

MathTans the Pun Prince

Hah. That's neat. (I'm Canadian too.)

Infected Blood

Oh Canada!

MathTans the Pun Prince

I think at the heart of it is this crazy fear of the AIMS. Be interesting to see how that plays out in the broader society.

Infected Blood

You are very much correct, Math

RebelVampire

so far ive felt that the pacing is just dandy. cause when things go bad, they go bad very quickly

Infected Blood

Rebel, they're going to go even faster and worse

MathTans the Pun Prince

She loses her girlfriend too?

Infected Blood

Well, I can answer that, if people are okay with spoilers

MathTans the Pun Prince

(Don't feel you have to answer direct quesitons btw)

Infected Blood

you will see that exactly in the next page

MathTans the Pun Prince

Remember these get archived and put on the web, so might be better to keep quiet about some things.

Infected Blood

that's fine, my next page goes live on Monday

I don't think I can avoid spoilers much, anyway, since the comic doesn't have these many pages up, yet. It may help stimulate the convo here

MathTans the Pun Prince

I dunno, I read some of the info page stuff too. Also some of the earlier comic.

snuffysam

you'd be surprised...

Infected Blood

Okay, I will keep quiet, then

If you read some of The Green-Eyed Sniper, then you'll know about Sekhmet. That comic was just a pilot for Infected Blood

My way to practice drawing a comic, since it was my very first comic ever

MathTans the Pun Prince

nods Yeah, so part of me being quiet is not being sure if I want to speculate based on what I saw from that.

Infected Blood

And to practice my writing

RebelVampire

spoilers are up to you. weve had chats that are ridden with them, and some creators just hold their tongues on everything. so self choice on that one but as math said these chats do get archived and the chat history is available too so anybody can come by and read it.

Infected Blood

Well, you

Oops, my finger slipped

Thanks, Rebel

You saw Sekhmet carving MURDERER on her chest in the prologue - Karen's death is not why she did it

snuffysam

So is Infected Blood a direct prequel to Green-Eyed Sniper?

Infected Blood

After all, she's completely innocent. She didn't killed Karen, she just dodged the reverend's hit... which hit Karen

MathTans the Pun Prince

She is innocent, yes, but I thought maybe it was a penance that she'd been forced into doing. For her freedom or something.

Infected Blood

No, @snuffysam , it's the other way around

snuffysam

Ah, ok. I didn't read GES, so I didn't get that

MathTans the Pun Prince

I thought "Infected Blood" came first time-wise? Alex is younger.

Infected Blood

@MathTans the Pun Prince It will be about something she actually did and which is much worse

Yes, Alex is 16 at the beginning of Infected Blood and in her early 30's in GES

MathTans the Pun Prince

Feels like one of those things where "If everybody's going to blame me for doing 'X' whether I did it or not, I might as well just do 'X'."

So "IB" is the prequel then... ne?

snuffysam

I imagine this current scene in school is a flashback, no?

MathTans the Pun Prince

Ohhh, maybe.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. The prologue of the comic shows a scene that occurs 5 years after the events happening in the first chapter. In this prologue, there are a number of uniformed people, and it ends with Alex carving “Murderer” into her chest. How do you think this future comes about given current events? What do you think will happen that causes Alex to do such a thing?

snuffysam

^ ^ ^

Infected Blood

It's more like IB is the main comic to a story that I have told only in a tiny little part

Ha. Nice question... @MathTans the Pun Prince already suggested an answer

MathTans the Pun Prince

Well, as I said, I thought Alex was given some sort of penance, like she had to do that to go free. Like a Scarlet Letter kind of deal. (But on the other hand, everyone already seems to know she's an AIMS so... dunno.)

snuffysam

uhh i suppose she kills someone. But it'd have to be someone she feels guilty about (so, not the priest or her teacher). Possibly her girlfriend? Or one of her other friends?

accidentally, i imagine

MathTans the Pun Prince

She kills her favourite potted plant. (j/k)

Infected Blood

Hahaha @MathTans the Pun Prince You never know!

RebelVampire

or maybe she just kills a lot of people and has remorse over it later

Infected Blood

Well, hint hint, she's a soldier and she just got a promotion...

MathTans the Pun Prince

"Congrats on your genocide, have a new rank." "I suck."

Infected Blood

It is said in GES that she's a military officer on the run, wanted for war crimes

That's pretty close to the truth, @MathTans the Pun Prince

MathTans the Pun Prince

I was more reading for the romance in GES.

Infected Blood

There will be romance in IB, too

snuffysam

Alex is already in a relationship, after all.

MathTans the Pun Prince

So, the new hypotheticals are (1) how's she get into the military in the first place, given where she's at now and (2) what group of people does she end up killing.

RebelVampire

im gonna take a theory stab in the dark that is partly influenced by GES knowledge but maybe for this karen incident shes forced to join the military as "punishment" and thats what starts her on her path

MathTans the Pun Prince

I'm guessing (1) might come from being sent to military school or something, away from her friends.

Infected Blood

@snuffysam She is, even if she forgot about it at the very beginning of chapter 1

MathTans the Pun Prince

Oh, I like Rebel's thought too.

Draco Plato

yeah that's a good theory

Infected Blood

Awesome theory, yes!

MathTans the Pun Prince

We know from the priest that she doesn't get along with her parents, but they might not factor into the decision at all.

Infected Blood

We're definitely going to see her parents, too.

snuffysam

Also, she doesn't necessarily have to kill a group of people to get that promotion. It could just be one very important person.

RebelVampire

to be fair, alex is a tough gal so seems like good military recruit material

MathTans the Pun Prince

Maybe there's an AIMS unit to boot.

I wonder how many admit to being of that heritage.

Infected Blood

@snuffysam True, although her country is in perennial war and promotions tend to come for very special performance of duty

@RebelVampire @MathTans the Pun Prince If you read between the lines, Reverend Jones says that AIMS were created as soldiers

snuffysam

How easy is it typically to tell AIMS apart from humans? Are they all as big as Alex?

Infected Blood

And @MathTans the Pun Prince you hit the nail in the head - they have a hard time admitting to being AIMS

RebelVampire

the only thing i read between the lines was the reverend saying plz punch me i am a jerk

Infected Blood

@snuffysam They tend to be rather big, yes. They look like humans, though

MathTans the Pun Prince

Though Jones also said that the records were lost due to politics (a nice touch btw) so the guy could be talking through his hat based on rumour.(edited)

Rebel: Hah. yes.

Infected Blood

@snuffysam But they have an AIMS form that hasn't been revealed fully, yet. The only thing you can see (from GES) is that their eyes become black while their pupils remain the same color

And they get circuits surfacing on their skin

snuffysam

Right, yeah, but they can turn that on and off at will, correct? So that shouldn't affect them trying to hide as humans.

MathTans the Pun Prince

They've got advanced reflexes either way. Alex sensed the attack coming before it reached her. That might make it harder to hide.

Infected Blood

@MathTans the Pun Prince Jones is referring to a political decision that saved AIMS from being sent to war with no option to opt out

Correct, @snuffysam

MathTans the Pun Prince

Wait, wait, so politicians made a humane decision?! Must be an alternate reality.

Infected Blood

I left hints here and there about AIMS... For example, one cop calls Alex a "good kitten" Big hint about why they have such great relfexes

@MathTans the Pun Prince It was more AIMS who convinced politicians to do so

MathTans the Pun Prince

Now I just want to see her cosplay with cat ears.

snuffysam

Wait, @MathTans the Pun Prince , are you suggesting a if-she-floats-on-water-shes-a-witch test would be used? Shoot a gun at a suspect, and if they die, they weren't an AIMS?

Infected Blood

hahaha

So, another spoiler: AIMS' DNA is impossible to map

MathTans the Pun Prince

Snuffy: If the shoe fits! ... Actually, I wasn't entirely suggesting that. But if they're at SpiderMan-Catching-Mary-Jane's-Lunch levels of reflex, I'd be suspicious.

Infected Blood

if you want to make sure a woman is an AIMS, just try to take some tissue from her and analyze her DNA - it will turn into a blob

MathTans the Pun Prince

What about a man?

snuffysam

AIMS are only female tho

Infected Blood

AIMS are an all-female species only

yep

MathTans the Pun Prince

That's just what they WANT you to think. It's all propaganda!

snuffysam

i mean that would be one way to go about it. disguise yourself as a man. trip up anyone looking for you for a bit.

MathTans the Pun Prince

(Yes, I am silly sometimes.)

RebelVampire

ya know now im really curious if anyone ever tried that, disguising themselves as a man

MathTans the Pun Prince

Huh, interesting point, snuffy. I guess hormone treatments wouldn't work on DNA-Blobbishness though.

RebelVampire

in the story that is

MathTans the Pun Prince

You'd need a cloak and hat.

Infected Blood

There are reasons why AIMS are only females, but that's too many spoilers

MathTans the Pun Prince

Because lesbian power. ^.^

Infected Blood

@MathTans the Pun Prince That, too, I personally want to have stories with believable lesbian characters

snuffysam

nah, i'm not talking hormone treatments or anything. good old fashioned suit and false mustache.

Infected Blood

So, I tend to prefer to portray them to other characters

@RebelVampire Not in my stories, no

RebelVampire

darn, no fake mustaches :"D

Infected Blood

@snuffysam No mustaches

They only try to pass as humans, which is hard to do

Because humans are very suspicious of any large woman

MathTans the Pun Prince

They have a hard time being racist enough, like Jones.

Infected Blood

So, in Kemet-Ra, any group of big gals is seen as something bad

Even smaller women, by extension

snuffysam

does this world not have a WNBA?

Infected Blood

There are so many rumors around AIMS... the gist of it is that women have a hard time gathering in groups

@snuffysam Yes, and all athletes are tested to prove they're humans

MathTans the Pun Prince

Makes orgies difficult. (I can say that right? The comic is rated mature?)

(Nevermind that I'm immature?)

Infected Blood

Orgies are good

There will be orgies in my comic. No porn, but clear enough

snuffysam

that's a good question though. hey, @RebelVampire , what are the rules for saying mature stuff in these chats? if the comic is rated mature by you, are we good?(edited)

MathTans the Pun Prince

Uhm, we'll fix it in post?

Infected Blood

Hahaha

RebelVampire

nah you can say much mature stuff. im not that heavy on policing language. just uh dont write a full on porn scene in the chat. but you can mention sex and all that jazz.

snuffysam

ok cool

Infected Blood

There, @MathTans the Pun Prince , you won't have to do any editing. And neither will I!

MathTans the Pun Prince

sings songs from "Chicago"

RebelVampire

no thats too mature math. youve gone too far now. XD

MathTans the Pun Prince

Should we all guess at what AIMS stands for next?

snuffysam

i bet that's the 9:00 question

Infected Blood

Anyway, my comic is rated mature not so much because of sex scenes, but because it's supposed to make people feel uncomfortable and, you know, think a bit deeper below the surface(edited)

RebelVampire

Artificial Interesting Mysterious Stuff

snuffysam

also, all the blood

MathTans the Pun Prince

Autonomic Inhuman Matriarch Specialist

Infected Blood

Nice one, @RebelVampire !

Hahaha

RebelVampire

i might have given up after artificial O_O

Infected Blood

I can't reveal what the acronym means, but these are cool guesses

snuffysam

Artificial Its Mbig Sperson

Infected Blood

@snuffysam The blood is definitely not infected!

No matter what humans claim

MathTans the Pun Prince

Amphibious Intergalactic Mystery Superhuman.

Or not.

Infected Blood

Spoiler spoiler spoiler... AIMS have nothing in common with humans. Zero

RebelVampire

Artificially Infused Master Soldier

Infected Blood

Except for looking like them

MathTans the Pun Prince

Oooh, I like that Rebel

Infected Blood

@RebelVampire Infused with what?

RebelVampire

i have no idea XD

MathTans the Pun Prince

Artificial Sweetener.

RebelVampire

thats the only I word that came ot mind XD

Infected Blood

hahaha

snuffysam

I feel like, from the information we know, they're sort of cat-robots? That look like people?

Infected Blood

I need to set up an extra page to tell the history of AIMS

snuffysam

Not sure what the acronym has to do with that though

Infected Blood

@snuffysam Very close, congrats!

RebelVampire

A cat robot I aM Surely

there we go

MathTans the Pun Prince

Anthropomorphic Identities Meowing Sometimes.

RebelVampire

made it work

Infected Blood

@RebelVampire

Mat

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Insofar, the story has dealt with very heavy themes of speciesism. In the most recent page, it’s shown the title itself alludes to the inherent prejudice against AIMS. Where do you think this hatred for AIMS comes from? Was it started by someone with malicious intent? Was it a misunderstanding that spiraled out of control? Or, do you think it was something else entirely? Are there any other related theories you have about this theme or AIMS in general?

Infected Blood

gets popcorn

snuffysam

I feel like AIMS were created as artificial supersoldiers... and people got scared because there are giant supersoldiers walking around? kind of ruins the themes though, because thats not how bigotry irl works

Infected Blood

@snuffysam Right, it didn't work that way

MathTans the Pun Prince

Well... not to make this politicial, but there's a lot of hate for particular backgrounds by some individuals out there even in the present. I feel like it could come from some of that, a misguided feeling that AIMS were taking jobs when they were no longer being used for war, or maybe a couple of them went rogue into terrorism and so all of them are bearing the brunt of it.

Infected Blood

@MathTans the Pun Prince Closer(edited)

MathTans the Pun Prince

Aha, gotcha.(edited)

No need to confirm or deny, of course.

Infected Blood

Minor spoiler: Jones's religion sees AIMS as abominations (he calls Alex that, too)

snuffysam

or maybe the thought that because AIMS are artificial, they don't deserve to integrate into society at all? like, sort of the "it's unnatural" crowd starting that up?(edited)

yeah that

MathTans the Pun Prince

They might have just been politicized for the gain of an election or something.

Oh maybe.

RebelVampire

id assume it was a complicated combo of everything. AIMS being super soldiers (thus fear), AIMS taking jobs or something, AIMS being artificial

MathTans the Pun Prince

That whole thing with attacking the Pope because of acting out a Dan Brown novel, as you do.

Infected Blood

Let's say there are a lot pf politics in the mix

RebelVampire

although i assume regardless of origin the prejudice is perpetuated by rumors as fuel

Infected Blood

@RebelVampire Close

MathTans the Pun Prince

I wonder what the percentage of them in the population is.

Might be less than people believe.

Infected Blood

That is a great question, @MathTans the Pun Prince The number is currently unknown

Which makes for even more fear

RebelVampire

are there AIMS who are prejudice against humans?

MathTans the Pun Prince

I would imagine some get driven into it.

What are their goals? Or put another way, what are their AIMS?

Infected Blood

@RebelVampire Yes! Alex is actually pretty good toward humans, but there will be another AIMS (can't spoiler) who really hates them

Infected Blood

@MathTans the Pun Prince

Their goals is to simply have a regular life

snuffysam

something interesting regarding the priest's bigotry- all the stereotypes were pretty much true when applied to Alex. but... it would also work if Alex's personality was completely different. he'd just use different stereotypes. e.g. "you're super docile- that proves AIMS were meant to be obedient servants" that's the thing about bigotry, i suppose. bigots will say whatever it takes to justify themselves.

RebelVampire

math i get the impression you feel the need to earn your pun prince title every chat O_O

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, good point snuffy. They pick whatever truths they need to fit their narrative.

Rebel: It just comes out naturally, I swear.

Infected Blood

@snuffysam Alex is not exactly a good person. She's emotionally oblivious, as you could see with Stephanie

MathTans the Pun Prince

(I'm not even sure who gave me the title...)

Infected Blood

But yes, her personality is just what it is. The real issue is that... everyone knows she's an AIMS, which is rare

Since AIMS tend to live in hiding

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, that was an interesting risk btw. Going with a protagonist who's rough around the edges. (I've tried it myself, it can be a turnoff for some.) I think it was good that she backpedalled a bit with her girlfriend, so she still could get some sympathy points.

Infected Blood

I can't spoiler why everyone knows she's an AIMS - you will find out later in the comic

@MathTans the Pun Prince Thanks, that's going to be a challenge, indeed

MathTans the Pun Prince

Huh. I figured it was an inherited thing.

Like, either her parents were carriers, or did it deliberately or something.

snuffysam

wait, carrier of what?

MathTans the Pun Prince

Of DNA Mushiness.

Infected Blood

Can't spoiler, sorry

snuffysam

i... can a human have an AIMS child? their species isn't similar at all

MathTans the Pun Prince

Not by accident I would imagine.

Infected Blood

They can't, @snuffysam

MathTans the Pun Prince

But yeah, I dunno.

(Word of God has spoken.)

Infected Blood

Yikes, I need to rein in more spoilers

MathTans the Pun Prince

So how do they have parents?

Adoption?

Infected Blood

takes her hands off the keyboard

You will find out in a few pages, that's all I can say

snuffysam

i mean sure, her parents probably adopted her, but Alex physically had to come from somewhere

MathTans the Pun Prince

The hands off the keyboard thing didn't last too long there...

That's why the "I" in AIMS stands for "Interstellar". Alex was fighting in an Alien War.

Infected Blood

At least they came back without spoilers (edited)

hahaha No aliens, sorry

MathTans the Pun Prince

She's actually from Venus. Hence the girl love.

Infected Blood

Her species was created in a cold lab in Kemet-Ra!

But she was born at a regular hospital

MathTans the Pun Prince

(For a moment I read "Kermit Ra" and thought she was a muppet...)

Infected Blood

hahaha

Kemet is the original (Middle) Egyptian word for "Egypt"

Ra is the Egyptian Sun God

MathTans the Pun Prince

That reminds me, interesting having the hyroglyph words in there. Adds an, I don't know, futuristic sort of feel. Like slang terms that don't exist yet.

snuffysam

are there any straight AIMS? or are they all lesbians?

Infected Blood

Thanks! I studied Middle Egyptian for a couple of years, so they actually mean something

There are straight AIMS.

MathTans the Pun Prince

Oooh, when learning languages comes in handy.

Infected Blood

Most of them are

@MathTans the Pun Prince Yep!

MathTans the Pun Prince

They're not playing gayAIMS.

Toranekohybrid

with your heart

Infected Blood

@RebelVampire and anyone else who've read GES - So far, do you have a preference over one comic or the other?

Hello @Toranekohybrid

Am I even allowed to ask questions?

Toranekohybrid

Hai, sorry, I couldn't help but finish the song lyric I saw in that statement. |D

MathTans the Pun Prince

You can totes ask questions!

Infected Blood

Thanks, @MathTans the Pun Prince

snuffysam

what was that? i couldn't read that sentence after you said hello to toranekohybrid

jk

RebelVampire

you can ask questions, thats fine

omg LOL

man

that joke almost went over my head cause ive had less than an hour of sleep

Infected Blood

Yikes

snuffysam

lol ok

MathTans the Pun Prince

For me, it's a little tough to choose, because they're rather different. IB has more of an ensemble cast and is buiding to something. GES (from what I read) is more of an intimate thing with more of a mercenary thing to boot.

I caught it.

RebelVampire

anyway question......ummm rn GES but if only because GES has more story to it and is done. i think Infected Blood will overtake that long term

Infected Blood

Thanks @MathTans the Pun Prince I realize IB is much shorter and... well, it will last years, as you an probably tell

MathTans the Pun Prince

I like the more intimiate nature, because that's the sort of personality I have. But I also like the broader world building of IB.

Infected Blood

@RebelVampire I won't abandon GES! I will just catch up to it

@MathTans the Pun Prince There will be a lot of intimate stuff in IB, I promise

snuffysam

so GES is still going to be canon within IB?

Infected Blood

Only up to a point, @snuffysam

MathTans the Pun Prince

I won't lie, the suicidal nature thing kind of speaks to me too. For reasons. It'll be interesting to see how that comes about in IB, but also interesting to see how it plays out with GES.

Infected Blood

@MathTans the Pun Prince I can relate to that

MathTans the Pun Prince

Take care of yourself. ^.^

Infected Blood

Oh, I'm a very happy person, now

Thanks!

MathTans the Pun Prince

That's good. The hiatus occurred to me was all.

Infected Blood

That's also why I can write this stuff without drowning in it

Take good care of yourself, too, @MathTans the Pun Prince

MathTans the Pun Prince

Working on it, thanks.

Superjustin of Time and Space

Oh snap we doing a CTP?

MathTans the Pun Prince

SJB, your time and space is out of alignment again. ^.^

Infected Blood

Hello @Superjustin of Time and Space

Superjustin of Time and Space

Hi there Infected!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. The comic has presented numerous conflicts that involve other characters, from Alex and Stephanie’s relationship to Karen’s potential death. Do you think these conflicts will be addressed in the future? If so, how do you think they’ll be resolved? Are there any characters you’d like to see more? What other predictions or desires do you have for the story at large?

Infected Blood

You missed all the spoilers! And we edited all of them, so now they're gone

Superjustin of Time and Space

lolol

Infected Blood

grabs more popcorn

Superjustin of Time and Space

My bad for hopping in so late

MathTans the Pun Prince

Pretty sure the relationship thing will need to be dealt with. I have the suspicion that we won't see much of this particular classroom setting for long, if nothing else because the teacher doesn't seem like he'll be calm enough to ever have Alex back in his class.

snuffysam

gee i sure hope those conflicts will be addressed. it would really suck if this flashback that's happening abruptly ended here and was never brought up again.

RebelVampire

nah thats ok SJB, never too late to join (edited)

Infected Blood

While you're getting into conspiracy theories, let me just say that I am sorry I had to pull IB out of StartFaire, but I'm overwhelmed with my regular job, so I couldn't keep up. I'd go back, if I could. If I could pass the selection, that is

MathTans the Pun Prince

It could be that Stephanie leaves Alex once she hears about Karen. That could be dealt with without even having her there.

Infected Blood

And if I had time to catch up

Not to worry... I don't leave conflicts hanging

RebelVampire

@Infected Blood nah thats cool we totally get it. sometimes real life gets in the way and you gotta prioritize.

MathTans the Pun Prince

I almost want to see more of Jones. Just so that he's kicked around a bit more, the jerk. (They're in the future, his back could be healed for all we know.)

RebelVampire

i feel like stephanie would leave just because i remember them mentioning her father was a speciesist or something

Infected Blood

Jones is one of those characters you love to hate - so said a reader

Superjustin of Time and Space

lol

Infected Blood

@RebelVampire Steph's family will definitely have an influence on her decisions

Superjustin of Time and Space

Sorry if I don't contribute anything meaningfull to the chat, kinda don't bother really to binge-read the comics announced for CTP ^^;

MathTans the Pun Prince

Actually, one thing I'd kind of like to see is a sympathetic adult character. Like maybe a principal who wants to help but his hands are tied or something. Could just be my profession talking, so far the education system has looked terrible.

Superjustin of Time and Space

(I will say though this comic has an intresting art style and plot direction at first glance)

MathTans the Pun Prince

Could just be the school.

Infected Blood

@MathTans the Pun Prince Understandable! there will be someone of that sort. But the school system and the entire country are plain awful

MathTans the Pun Prince

The art is unique. It's got that sort of realism look going for it.

Superjustin of Time and Space

Like a half realistic half american comic vibe?

Infected Blood

Thanks, @Superjustin of Time and Space It's less than 30 pages, if you feel like binge-reading

MathTans the Pun Prince

I mean, Alex had to get into the school somehow, there must be someone on her side. Maybe.

Superjustin of Time and Space

lol thanks

MathTans the Pun Prince

I guess? I don't know comics as well as I do writing.

Infected Blood

@MathTans the Pun Prince My art is unique, because I have no training!

MathTans the Pun Prince

Heh, me neither.

Infected Blood

Took like 4 courses, most of them in how to do comics

MathTans the Pun Prince

I noticed you said you transitioned to doing it on computer.

Infected Blood

I didn't feel like dealing with an artist, so I decided to draw my own comics

Yes, just last week

MathTans the Pun Prince

Kudos. Easier for you that way?

(I hand draw all my stuff, so curious.)

Infected Blood

I used to do everything traditionally, except for coloring

Superjustin of Time and Space

I mostly do everything digital now

though I know this doesn't pretain to me so

Infected Blood

It's easier just because I got a Cintiq, so I can draw directly on it, without looking at a separate screen

So, I'm definitely going fully digital, now. Saves time and, in the long run, money

Superjustin of Time and Space

yeah

It definitely saved me a lot

as well

Infected Blood

Anyway, I hope you want to see more AIMS, because Alex is not the only one There will be another AIMS character coming in in the next chapter

MathTans the Pun Prince

Back on the predictions side of things... yeah, it'll be good to see more.

Superjustin of Time and Space

I'd be scared to see how much money you'd be using if you illustrated th ebook using copic markers

Infected Blood

She's going to be... very controversial

MathTans the Pun Prince

I wonder if there's a secret society.

Infected Blood

Let's say not everyone hates AIMS @MathTans the Pun Prince

MathTans the Pun Prince

Here's a random thought. Do AIMS menstruate?

Infected Blood

Sure thing they do

RebelVampire

yeah i definitely want to see more AIMS if partly cause i feel its needed to flesh out the world more anyway ;3; im interested to see more of the world in general but thats just personal preference cause im very into world building

Infected Blood

@RebelVampire You'll see plenty of world building! That's just a tiny fraction, so far

MathTans the Pun Prince

So does that mean they can get pregnant? But only to have another AIMS I suppose... unless it would be a half breed?

Superjustin of Time and Space

World building is always good~

Infected Blood

@MathTans the Pun Prince I asked a biologist friend of mine for help defining AIMS' biology. I wanted something realistic, even if sci-fi

MathTans the Pun Prince

Oh, hey, much kudos on the research there then.

Infected Blood

They can get pregnant, yes, but not like the Asari

snuffysam

Alex was apparently born in a hospital. AKA someone gave birth to her.

RebelVampire

you mean therell be no embracing of eternity O_O what

Infected Blood

Thanks, @MathTans the Pun Prince

hahaha @RebelVampire

Correct, @snuffysam !

MathTans the Pun Prince

So they don't turn blue.

Infected Blood

Nope

The AIMS page will be long!...

So many details

MathTans the Pun Prince

It would be hard to blend in as a smurf.

Infected Blood

I like reference pages. They help avoid giving too many details in the comic about world building

snuffysam

now, there are a few more specifics that aren't yet covered. Like, Alex's mother was definitely an AIMS. Does she have a second mother? Do AIMS reproduce asexually? Or is she a cross-breed (with an entirely different species that has no genetic similarities to AIMS)

Infected Blood

They're too big, @MathTans the Pun Prince

MathTans the Pun Prince

You might want an index page, by the way. So it's easier to jump to Page 11 or something if you want to.

(It could exist, and I'm not observant.)(edited)

Infected Blood

@MathTans the Pun Prince I am in the process of redoing my website. Hard to do, in a way, because WordPress.com has limitations, but I will do that

I had it for GES, it's not hard to do, just takes time

@snuffysam Now, THOSE are very good questions!

MathTans the Pun Prince

True that.

Infected Blood

All I can say, @snuffysam , is that there are cross-breeds inside AIMS

MathTans the Pun Prince

Now I'm picturing AIMS breeding with cats.

Infected Blood

But not outside

That's not going to happen, @Math

MathTans the Pun Prince

The orgies will be normal orgies, okay.

Infected Blood

All will be revealed soon... in the next few pages

MathTans the Pun Prince

...when the clothes come off...

Infected Blood

The orgies will be between humans and AIMS, for sure

RebelVampire

i feel like cross-breeding opens up quite a few social issues. like how ppl generally view them and such.

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, maybe there's even other breeds out there aside from humans and AIMS? Ones that were less successful, or maybe better hidden?

Infected Blood

@RebelVampire AIMS' creators did not want cross-breeding

MathTans the Pun Prince

Breeding with a cross is painful.

Infected Blood

Every newborn stays inside each species

I'm sure it is, just look at... stops there

MathTans the Pun Prince

Just ask Jones.

Infected Blood

Jones is actually enjoying his injury, in a way

MathTans the Pun Prince

The stick up his ass?

Infected Blood

I can spoiler that: he will use it as a godly weapon(edited)

His back is broken

MathTans the Pun Prince

That too.

Infected Blood

But his back being broken brings him closer to god...

MathTans the Pun Prince

So, I wonder what kind of weapons there are in this future? Tasers don't seem to work too well, have they developed other things?

(Flying cars?)

(Those might be an interesting weapon if you drop one on somebody.)

Infected Blood

Sure. Regular guns are still used, but there are other weapons that are gaining popularity, especially among criminals. Like lasers

The military has the most interesting weapons, but spoilers, so...

All I can say is that this story is set in the future, but not so much ahead of our time(edited)

MathTans the Pun Prince

"Where's the stun setting?" "...stun?"

Also, with the Egyptian, is that the region of the world where it takes place?

Infected Blood

Space has been colonized at a very minimum, for instance

@MathTans the Pun Prince Kemet-Ra is a country in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean

MathTans the Pun Prince

(I knew there were Aliens.)

Doesn't sound like a great tourist destination.

Infected Blood

It's like a very large platform, floating there, moving to avoid hurricanes, for example

MathTans the Pun Prince

Interesting though.

Infected Blood

Or invasions... or even immigrants. There is virtually no immigration, there

MathTans the Pun Prince

That makes it even harder to hide out. I wonder how Alex ended up there.

Infected Blood

She was born there, @MathTans the Pun Prince

RebelVampire

hmm makes me wonder how large their population is tho in general

MathTans the Pun Prince

Huh. And she hasn't tried to leave? (I suppose you need funds for that.)

Infected Blood

It's about 30 million people, @RebelVampire

MathTans the Pun Prince

VERY large platform. It's own country.

Infected Blood

Where would she go to? It's war everywhere else, except for a small number of countries

Yes, huge one, @MathTans the Pun Prince

MathTans the Pun Prince

Space? ^.^

RebelVampire

dang thats a lot of ppl. that must be one huge platform

Infected Blood

It's not common to go to space, @MathTans the Pun Prince

MathTans the Pun Prince

Canada?

Infected Blood

Hahaha @MathTans the Pun Prince

Yes, it's enormous, @RebelVampire

And it has interesting quirks...

MathTans the Pun Prince

Well, here's hoping Alex doesn't get too beaten up over things that aren't her fault.

Infected Blood

For example, when a hurricane comes and it's not too dangerous, Kemet-Ra raises a barrier so that people can see the hurricane passing over their heads without incident(edited)

RebelVampire

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party is now complete~! Thank you everyone so much for joining this week’s chat~! That being said, if you would like to continue discussing the comic, we encourage you to do so~! We want to give a big thank you to Infected Blood, as well, for volunteering Infected Blood for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Infected Blood’s efforts. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about CTP, please feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at RebelVampire@startfaire.com.

With that said, next week’s Comic Tea Party will focus on Ovum by Fervorcraft (“The Schilderich” and “Vanja Bajohr”). Also, please note that this comic is on the more mature side. Please use this week to read as much of the comic as you would like. Hope to see you next Thursday (November 16th) from 5PM to 7PM PST~! Until then~! Comic: https://tapas.io/series/Ovum