#erm as seen in the art i did make

[bunnieswithknives]

Thanks.

Prev

[milkteabinniechan]

bath water | hwang hyunjin

pairing: virgin! Hyunjin x afab reader // ☕ | m.list

summary: your friend Hyunjin wants to paint on a new canvas: you. And while you are supportive, you didn't think it would feel so good...

warnings: body worship, fingering (f. receiving) smut

part two here

“Well, I actually want to paint on you.” his voice lingered over the receiver. The pause weighed heavy between the two of you.

“You want me paint me?” you held your phone away from your ear, almost about to drop it. Hyunjin was an amazing artist. His pieces could be in museums, in art galleries. Why would he want to paint-

“Huh?” you chimed in finally. 

Hyunjin went on to explain some videos he had seen recently demonstrating what they called a human canvas. Artists would paint on the person’s back, or legs, or arms, or… Hyunjin’s voice became softer until the heavy pause appeared again. 

You agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to meet at his apartment the following weekend. He told you to wear comfortable clothes. As you paced your way up to his front door, all you could think about was his concentrated face as he paints, now that face would be on you.

Hyunjin answered the door in a loose-fitting white t-shirt and black sweatpants. His hair was messy and he looked exhausted.

“Hey, come on in,” he stepped back and made room for you to walk past him, “I was just getting set up. I put some plastic sheets on the floor and picked out all the colors I would need.”

You turned toward his living room to see a corner of the room with a few small plastic squares laid carefully on the hardwood floors. Pastel colors each in their individual cups and palettes. Paint brushes in various sizes splayed out around the floor as well. He really was full prepared. You chuckled to yourself, you weren’t surprised. When it came to his art, Hyunjin put everything he had into it. 

“Alright, so…” hyunjin entered the room after you, “are you ready to get started?” His face was already turning red, as was yours. You could feel your cheeks getting warmer. You cleared your throat and nodded your head.

“Yeah. Let’s do this!” you shouted, fist in the air. Your sudden enthusiasm startling Hyunjin. He burst out laughing and playfully pushed your shoulder.

“You goof.” He smiled.

You smiled back. You had always found a way to make him laugh, and he had always found a way to put you at ease. Then you tugged at your shirt, remembering the whole reason you came over here. Your smile started to fade.

“Did you want to paint my arms? Or my back? Or my-”

“Your back.” Hyunjin cut you off. “I figured it would give me the most space to erm, work with.”

“Sounds good.” your enthusiastic voice now draining by the second. 

You tugged at the hem of your shirt and began to pull it up over your head. Hyunjin quickly turned his back to you, awkwardly staring at the wall in front of him. He instructed you to turn away from him once you were ready and he would get started.

“Ready.” you signaled softly, your bare back now facing him. You held your breasts with both hands, a chill rising up over your entire body. Hyunjin worked in silence as you heard the sound of paint brushes dipping in water, then in what you assume was the paint. 

The first stroke of his paintbrush was cold, very cold. You jumped at the feeling. The soft bristles trailing down your skin, leaving a damp, cool sensation behind. 

“Is it okay?” Hyunjin spoke gently. 

You weakly murmured a yes. Your eyes closed, focused intensely on the swirling motions and shapes that he was creating on your skin. You could picture his face, tightly squeezing and scrunching. Suddenly, he stopped painting.

“All done.” He spoke finally. Your eyes fluttered open. Had you fallen asleep? It all happened so fast. 

“Already?” you tried to turn your head around, attempting to catch a glimpse of his work.

“I was point for two hours, goof. You must have zoned out.” Hyunjin stood up and stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders.

Two hours? You thought. Painting felt amazing. You were almost sad it was over. You didn’t want it to be over. You wanted more. The feeling of the paint brush across your skin. Wet paint dripping down your body. Wait. You thought, This was turning you on. You selfishly had an idea, but you had no notion if Hyunjin would even agree to it. You didn’t even know if he had seen a woman naked before. You didn’t want to overstep, but unholy thoughts were consuming you.

“Y-you know,” you started, “you could paint my front too, Hyunjin.” You turned your body toward him, his body still towering over yours. Your hands were still cupped over your breasts, but it’s where Hyunjin’s eyes were glued.

For a moment, he didn’t speak, neither of you did. You both just stared at each other, unsure what to say next. Eventually, you spoke again.

“Only if you have more to paint, of course. More ideas.” You waited again for a response. Hyunjin’s eyes were wide. His mouth tightened to a thin line across his face. You could feel your face growing hot again. Regretting every moment of the last five minutes.

“I-I don’t think that would be such a g-good idea.” Hyunjin said under his breath, avoiding eyes contact now. He rubbed the back of his nack and stared at the floor next to you.

You felt your heart fall into your stomach. Your throat dried up to dust and the air was pressed instantly from your lungs. Tears pricked the corners of your eyes as you broke eye contact with Hyunjin. You turned your face away quickly so he wouldn’t see how red it was. 

“I’m going to go wash up, then.” was all you could think to say. 

You stood fast and made your way to his bathroom. After you took a few minutes to catch your breath in front of the mirror,  you turned on the bathtub. The hot water filling the tub, inviting you in to wash away this incredibly uncomfortable experience. You slide off your pants and underwear, setting them in a pile with your shirt to dress when you were done. You let yourself slide into the clear water. Just your head poking and bobbing out.

Suddenly, dread filled your entire body. You couldn’t wash all this paint off yourself, it was on your back. There was no loofa or sponge to wash with. And now you just made an idiot of yourself in front of your friend. You could feel tears welling up in your eyes again.

“Can I help?” Hyunjin spoke from the other side of the door. 

“No, no. I’ve got it!” you lied.

“Please, let me help you.” Hyunjin’s sincerity was palpable, even through the closed door. 

You begrudgingly allowed him inside, adding the small caveat that you were completely nude in his bathtub. Suprisingly, he came in anyway. He walked in with eyes closed. Blindly feeling around to get his barrings again. At last, he stood in front of the tub, eyes still shut tight.

“I’m sorry.” Hyunjin whispered. “I just-I’ve never…” his pleading eyes finally meeting yours. You searched his face to try to decipher what he was trying to say. You tried your best to use your hands to cover yourself, to allude to some sort of modesty. But you were hesitant if it was working at all. 

“I’m a virgi-” Hyunjin had lost his train of thought. He had lost everything that was ever on his mind when he saw you laying in the bathtub. The paint from his human canvas has started to dissolve and disperse into the clear water around you. The colors swirling and dancing together to form new color combinations. Reds and purples, and blues and yellows were seeking and chasing new paths around the curves of your naked body. You were magnificent. 

You watched Hyunjin’s eyes trace your exposed body from top to bottom, like he was memorizing every detail. On instinct, you slowly moved your hands away from your breasts and your soft slit. The sight of your hard nipples poking in and out of the swiriling, colorful water made Hyunjin fall to his knees in front of the bathtub. His eyes never leaving your body. You inspected his face to try to see what he wanted, when instantaneously, his hand appeared in the water with you. His long fingers dipped into the warm bath water, lightly grazing your outer thigh. You cautiously lifted your leg, the sound of the water trickling off of your skin. He froze, unsure of what to do next. 

You grasp your hand around his fingers and pull them down toward your slit. Slowly you and Hyunjin inch closer, careful to notice any hesitation, but soon it is his hand leading yours. It is his fingers that are pulling closer towards your enterance. One finger gracefully strokes the outside of your cunt. Starting at the top and sliding down between your lips, then back up again. He was completely entranced, utterly hypnorized. You let out a ragged breath as you watched his index and middle finger, little by little, message your soft lips until your clit began to swell. His middle finger felt it first, welcoming the invitation on sliding in deeper. 

His hand completely moving on instinct now. Rubbing around the clit, small circles at first. He wanted to learn what you liked, how your body reacted. It was like painting again, combining different colors to see what new would come of it. He felt your legs twitch when he applied more pressure, your hips would buck ever so slightly when his rubbed faster. He wanted to see what else he could make your body do. You were his best art project. His human canvas.

[fallstaticexit]

The Art of Being Seen - a Nancy Landgraab story

୧‿̩͙ ˖︵ ꕀ⠀ ♱⠀ ꕀ ︵˖ ‿̩͙୨

𝔓𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔗𝔥𝔯𝔢𝔢- 𝔚𝔦𝔣𝔢

Prev / Next / Beginning / Pillowfort

Part III - Wife - Nancy recalls her life as a wife, mother, and businesswoman (we begin at the year 1998 and then time skip to 2007 and again to 2015). Nancy has chosen to put her past behind her and is working hard to continue elevating her family's business while raising two rambunctious boys with her husband and business partner, but is it all truly enough to keep her past and her desires at bay? Can she continue playing the perfect wife and mother when temptation shows up at her front door?

Trigger Warnings: infidelity, drug use, sex and nudity.

Transcript under the cut

Nancy Narrates: [Geoffrey proposed our junior year of university. I said yes]

Nancy Narrates: [Not a minute after graduation, I was walking down the aisle. I was ready to become a wife]

Nancy Narrates: [Ready for my parents to look at me with pride in their eyes]

Nancy Narrates: [I was going to be great]

Nancy Narrates: [On that day, I made a vow to my best friend]

Nancy Narrates: [A promise to stand by his side, in sickness and in health]

Nancy Narrates: [To be true and faithful to him]

Nancy Narrates: [So help me God]

Nancy Narrates: [I decided to pack away my past and leave it all behind me. This was the life I chose. I chose to be good. Normal. I chose him, and all that came with it]

Geoffrey: Goinggg uuup!

Nancy: [laughs]

Nancy: [whispers] Hey, you’re not asleep, are you?

Geoffrey: [grumbles] M’sorry. Too drunk for more, I think.

Nancy: [chuckles] It’s fine. You can sleep.

Geoffrey: [sighs] Hey. I wanna have a buncha babies.

Nancy: Oh, so you’re really drunk then.

Geoffrey: M’serious. Want 4 boys, 4 girls. All name Geoffrey Jr. and Nancy Jr. At least one’s named is Zachary.

Nancy: Hey, listen here, lover boy. Let’s just enjoy this. Just you and me and us trying not to drown in the work my parents give us.

Geoffrey: And then babies?

Nancy: [hums] Maybe babies. Give me a year to think about it, ok?

Geoffrey: [sighs happily] I love you. My wife.

Nancy: I love you too.

Nancy Narrates: [I was elated. I was a woman who was capable of loving a man. I was a woman who was capable of making love. I’ve never felt more hopeful. My future never felt so bright-]

Nancy Narrates: [And just like that, the high was over]

Geoffrey: Hey, Nance? Are you missing work again today? Your mom has been really... erm, Queenie-ish the past week with you being out. I’m scared she’s going to actually bite me. [chuckles nervously]

Nancy: Damn you, Geoffrey! What happened to a year? It’s barely been 90 days!

Geoffrey: Wha-

Nancy: I should have known, you can barely pull out of the driveway properly!

Geoffrey: Wait, you’re pregnant?

Nancy: [scoffs] You don’t sound very sorry about it!

Geoffrey: You’re pregnant! I’m going to be a dad?!

Geoffrey: [sings] I’m your baby’s daaadddy!

Nancy: [sniffles, laughs] I can’t believe you did this. I could strangle you.

Geoffrey: Hey, we did this. Me and you.

Nancy: God, what are we going to do with a baby? I don’t even think I’ve ever met a baby.

Geoffrey: We got this, Nancy. It’s us, we’re talking about. We’ll be great!

Nancy Narrates: [Who would have thought; a wife and soon a mother. This was the life I chose]

-

Queenie: You should head home, Nancy. I’ve scheduled you a prenatal massage to your residence for this evening. I’ll have my intern take over your projects for the time being.

Nancy: Oh. Thank you, mother. That’s very kind of you.

Queenie: It’s the least I could do. You are carrying my grandson, after all.

Queenie: [murmurs] My lucky girl.

Nancy Narrates: [A wife, a mother, the perfect daughter]

-

Nancy: [howls]

Doctor: We’re going to give one big push, ok mom? You’re doing great! Ok, now push, Mrs. Landgraab!

Geoffrey: You are doing great, Nancy! Wow! You’re amazing! That’s it, just keep breathing. In and out. In and out-

Nancy: Aughhhh! Geoffrey, shut the fuck up!

Geoffrey: Okay!

Doctor: And push!

[infant wails]

Doctor: Congratulations mom and dad! A boy!

Nancy Narrates: [This was the life I chose]

[bug-slappy]

sharing my opinion here about serizawas design inconsistencies over time (spoilers for mp100 ending) i feel like in each new rendition of serizawa weve seen in official art ever since the start of S3 something feels off in a different way with every new merch release

lets start here ⬇ serizawa looks like,, himself. accurate to how hes drawn since his first anime appearance

⬇⬇⬇ and then slowly,,, things start to look off. his jawline is slowly getting slimmer, his eyes look wider (same with mobs too)

AND DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THESE. especially the one on the right my god. who is that

every new promo art that comes out just feels very careless. I think you could say so for all the characters (mobs giant eyes, reigens waist getting skinnier/pointier features. the PROMO art of dimple that was literally FULLY TRACED OFF OF A TEMU PIRATE HALLOWEEN COSTUME. they all look bad here)

it just feels a little depressing how little they seem to care anymore, like theyre just trying to pump out merch without bothering to use a character reference.

i notice the changes the most with serizawa. every promo art looks like theyre playing a game of telephone. each version of him is based on the last, instead of his initial design (shown below)

at the end of S2, when reigen cuts serizawas hair, he still looks like himself. they did a great job of showing "how serizawa would look underneath his moustache and big hair". In S3 it feels like they've lost that mentality completely. like he's no longer based off of his original design, but an entirely new reference of his salary man look. some comparisons between S3 vs S2 and OVA down below

I find that the line weight in S3 is much heavier and unfocused. but what bothers me most of all is that... Serizawa looks different in nearly every scene... as if they're undecided on what he should look like. the shape of his nose and jaw, his hair all change depending on the episode entirely.

The art style change for S3 was meant to be "more accurate to the manga", but I find that it had the opposite effect. especially how serizawas and ritsus eye shapes changed. ritsus large pupils and serizawas more almond shaped eyes were more reflective of their manga designs there are plenty of inconsistences in S1 and 2, but they're clearly done with purpose to reflect on ONEs art style (my beloved). I feel like the thinner lines allow more room for detail and extreme facial expressions that truly hold a candle to ONEs insane talent for capturing emotions.

these ^^^ compared to..

erm.. this.. ⬇

just felt very underwhelming... and serizawa certainly does mellow out once he starts working at S&S, but that doesn't mean that there's less opportunity for detailed expressions !!

the yokai fight scene was beautifully made i have no qualms.. but the amount of serizawa lore and dialogue in the manga that got cut from the anime just made him look like a cardboard cut out standing behind everyone. lots of funny and interesting moments cut to make room for the moefication of serizawa katsuya..

I feel like there's a lot of important moments that were cut, (reigen "i hope i can become a partner like that" arataka, serizawa "ive had a similar experience myself" katsuya )

or sad, intense scenes that were made lighthearted (the body improvement club trying to help mob, mob and ??? dialogue being cut, reigen removing his shoes in the final arc made to be meant for better grip rather than... his passively suicidal tendencies )

i think the people at bones are very talented dont get me wrong, i just felt like S3 could have been adapted better. this keeps me up at night its like 1am :) anywhosies thank you for listening to my ted talk i love you

[cllightning81]

Muse

Summary : Paul starts to get a little jealous that you're not drawing him but you didn't want to intrude on his personal space. He becomes your muse

Pairing/s: Paul Aron x Reader

Word Count : 1k

Masterlist Driver Masterlist Want to be included in my tag list? Click HERE - My tag list has been updated now, including new drivers! Please fill it out again so I can keep up to date on your preferences

You’d always been into crafts from painting to crocheting to photography. Any kind of crafts had drawn you in. When you met Paul you were going through your drawing and painting phase again. 

You’d wanted to draw Paul of course you did but you didn’t ask because you didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable. Instead, you subtly included things about Paul in your art. From using only his colours to hiding his number in them as well. You thought he had noticed until one night when you were sitting on the couch sketching your little pup.

Paul was silent for a while almost as if someone had stolen his golden retriever energy and now he was sitting with a little pout on his face watching the TV. You were so engrossed in your sketch of your pup that you didn’t notice.

“Alright” He huffed pausing the TV causing you to look over at him 

“You okay baby?” You asked tilting your head a little to look at him. Paul let out a breath turning his body to look at you a little more as he fiddled with his fingers. You’d never seen him look so nervous. Not when he was racing at such high speeds or when he was doing something else that could be classified as dangerously stupid

“What’s wrong?” You questioned with a frown moving one of your hands to hold his own 

“You know that I love your art don’t you?” He started to which you nodded 

“Of course I do. You get so excited with every piece I finish or start to be honest” You replied to which he nodded looking down at your hands 

“I erm. I guess you could say I’m a little jealous of our pup” You frowned moving closer to him 

“You want a little more affection? You know I’m always up for a cuddle or sex or literally anything to do with touch” You hummed wrapping your arms around his torso. Paul nodded with a smile 

“I know you’re always up for affection however that’s not exactly what I meant. You’re always drawing our pup or flowers or actually anything really cute and you make it look even cuter because you’re drawing it” He explained and you smiled 

“Baby? Would you like me to draw you?” You asked and he nodded shyly lifting his head to look at you “I never asked because I never wanted to make you feel uncomfortable. I wanted to give you that little bit of space away from those kinds of things” You explained and he squeezed your hand 

“I’d always love to be your muse even if it includes more photography or drawing but because it’s from you I think I can handle it” He smiled 

“You know all my drawings and paintings have a little bit of you hidden in them” You smiled and he frowned sitting up slightly as you grabbed your notebook 

“Yeah?” He asked and you nodded flipping through the sketchbook. Pointing out each of his team colours throughout his career, his number hidden within drawings or drawings based around his number 

“I can’t believe I never noticed these” He frowned and you smiled 

“I thought you had noticed them. It was my way of having you as my muse without wanting you to feel uncomfortable” You clarified and he smiled 

“Armastus (Love) I love them even more now!” He exclaimed taking your sketchbook and placing it on the table to turn you around so that you were underneath him. His hands were on either side of your head as he leaned down and pressed kisses to your lips. You hummed into the kisses chasing his lips once he pulled away. 

“Please never be scared to ask to be my muse again” You hummed and he nodded with a smile 

“I think your first picture of me should be me shirtless” He joked with a laugh and you smiled placing your hands on his shoulders and pushing him up as you sat up. Paul leaned down pressing his lips to your own again. 

“Hey wait a moment I was enjoying this” He whined a little with a pout and you chuckled 

“But you’ve inspired me” You pouted and he shrugged getting up and picking you up 

“You’ve got plenty of shirtless pictures of me. You’ve got a whole album! You can use one of them!” He exclaimed walking to the bedroom. 

When Paul finally fell asleep you snuck out of bed and walked towards the spare bedroom that you’d turned into a little art studio considering no one ever stayed with you both and there was no need for it to be another bedroom. 

Plugging your phone into your charger and setting it up on the tripod before opening up a new canvas and ensuring it is prepared for your drawing. You took your favourite picture of Paul – He was standing on the edge of a boat on a day trip looking away from you – and set it up so that you were able to copy it onto your canvas. 

You weren’t sure how long you had been sitting on your stool drawing Paul before moving on to painting him. 

“Armastus” Paul whispered groggily his voice horse from sleep as he walked over wrapping his arms around your waist his head resting between your jaw and shoulder. A hand moved to rest on his head running your fingers through his hair. “Come back to bed. Please” He whispered and you nodded setting everything back to where it lived 

“Come on then baby. Let’s get you some sleep” You smiled and he nodded standing back up to allow you to get up and walk back to the bedroom with him. You cuddled into him his head resting between your shoulder and jaw. His arms wrapped around your torso as you played with his hair. 

From that day on most of your art became Paul. Whether it was pictures of Paul or drawings of his car. Anything to do with Paul you drew and he loved it. Posing more often so you could take pictures and in the end draw them. 

Tag List

@myloverjk @tpwkstlies @formula1-motogpfan @geniusalpaca @mynameisangeloflife @widow-cevans @morganalatina21

[that-damn-fouth-chaosemerald]

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐇 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 "𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲" 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦?

See my other Welcome Home work here!

×A/N×

Hey!! Yes, I know, I have some few inbox that I should answer, and don't worry, I will, just let me do a quick post here- -w-

So I'm back with the promised WH headcanons! And I hope you will like them :D

(And yes, it has a short plot now. I did it. I wrote it. ✨

×❢ About my work ❢×

Fluff fluff, all is fluff! No pronouns used for the reader, but good boy/girl mentioned, even if it's expected, there's no smut. Although Howdy is a bit teasing, but it's not r rated so •-•

Fandom: Welcome Home horror project by Clown

Character(s): Wally Darling, Howdy Pillar, Barnaby B. Beagle, Frank Frankly, Eddie Dear, The Reader|You| (Y/N) |Neighbour

Ship(s): The Characters / The Reader|You| (Y/N) |Neighbour

Form: Headcanons

𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈: LoveGame by Lady Gaga

('cause that is next on my playlist •_•)

“Let's play a lovegame, play a lovegame

Do you want love or do you want fame?

Are you in the game?”

(All illustration belongs to Clown!)

Wally Darling

It was quiet in his house, even Home didn't let out a single crack until this moment. There was just one problem. You haven't seen your dearest puppet oh so long ago. The plan was that you two will have a cuddle time together, but he was nowhere. 

You got up from the couch and carefully looked around in the house. You cautiously called out his name, but no one responded. 

You walked around in the house a little bit, hoping to find him. 

He had his own painting room where he could make his own fantasy alive with the brush. 

You walked closer carefully, not to scare him. Even so, he could actually clearly hear you sneaking up behind him, but he was more focused on the picture. 

You peaked through his shoulders to see what he was up to. 

Oh. My. Gosh. Your heart skipped a beat. He was painting a picture of you. How cute! Wally was a very talented artist and you were very amazed in this moment. He always did such a great job. 

"This looks so great, Wally! You are such a good boy!" you said quietly, while you gently placed your head on his shoulder. 

• it comes off to him like compliment

• and it's from you

• his sweetest neighbour

• of course, he is happy! ♡

• "Thank you, Neighbour!"

• he smiles at you happily, hoping that you like his work

• "Do you like it, Neighbour?" 

• omg ofc you like it! How could you not?! 

• He is so happy about the compliment and about that you're liking his work. 

• he just stares at you happily with open mouth, listening your cheerful voice while you commenting of him and his art

Eddie Dear 

Eddie came home and you could tell, he was clearly exhausted. Poor boy, running back and forth all day, and do this job all alone, it must be tiring. 

He got down next to you, just quietly lied down on his back and put his head on your lap. 

"Hey." you said softly, curling his hair gently with your fingers. 

"Hey, love!" he looked at you with his tired eyes, but his lips still curled up into a kind smile. 

You were resting quietly in the warm room, just hearing each other's calm breathing was enough relaxing. 

"It must be hard for you to do this job all alone, Eddie." you said quietly, no to destroy this calm moment that you have been in for awhile. "You're such a good boy!" you chuckled. 

��� he slowly opens his eyes, looks straight up at you

• look, idk if they can blush, but now he does it okay? 

• like his face is completely red

• he always gets so flushed when you complimenting him

• he's so flattered 

• and so damn cute ♡

• he's speechless, he can't think of what he could say

• so he just simply says

• "Oh... Erm... Thanks, (Y/N)!" 

• he will definitely give a kiss to your hands in return

• Your compliments mean too much for him ♡

(a.n: btw I love Edddie, he is such a sweetheart 🥺 ♡

He is definitely my favourite character beside Barnaby! ★) 

Barnaby. B. Beagle

 He knew that work is tiring for you and you had a long day. He wanted to do something pleasant for you. He couldn't cook, it was too difficult for him and he didn't wanna blow up the kitchen with his tryings. So instead of cooking, he cleaned out. It was not as perfect like you would did it, but it was acceptable. He was already finished when you were standing in front of the red and blue colored door. It was easy to recognize it. It had similar colors as Barnaby and it was the biggest door in the neighbourhood. 

He opened the door with a happiest smile on his face. He was clearly missing you. He let you in and you immediately took a seat on the comfy couch. 

Just a few minutes after you had some chance to look around. The house wasn't perfectly clean, like you could still something in the conner, but it was enough to make you feel happy and greatful about Barnaby. 

"What a good boy!"

• omg i can imagine how his tail starts wagging

• I mean he's like a dog, but different, but still a dog, so what did you expect?

• he definitely loves it when you call him a good boy

• he just listens your soft and lovely voice while you caressing and rubbing his fluffy head

• he especially likes rubs behind his big ears

• will rest his head on your lap and just melt in and let you to pet and praise him

• probably will bite you carefully in an affection way

• or slobber on you occasionally

• he wants you to say it more times, so he'll try to make you proud as often as he can

• he absolutely loves it ♡

"Thank you, Barnaby!" 

Frank Frankly

You wanted to see your partner's reaction too much to lose this idea. You leaned forward in the chair to get a better look at Frank, then you called him. 

"You are such a good boy, Frank!" 

• he looks up at you strangely and confused

• you can't help, but giggle a little bit cause the frustration

• "Well... Thank you, (Y/N)..." 

• then he goes back to his job

• probably he has to do something with those colorful bugs what are around him

• seems like he found a better company than you :") 

• you stood up and got over to him, tried not to hurt his garden and the bugs

• "But seriously, hon, I do think that you're doing an amazing job!" you said it softly as you hugged him from behind.

"Thank you, Darling." he smiles at you adorably

• he still adores you dw ♡

• but he definitely likes dear, hon, love or even darling more :D

• (btw I think it would make him uncomfortable- not sure, but I feel like- lol)

Howdy Pillar

You rested your arm on the counter as Howdy checked your items. You watched his movements. Slowly tracing your eyes from his face down to his hands, paying attention to details as well.

"Y'know, you do so much work in this place, Howdy. Like a good boy." You added jokingly the last sentence, didn't think of it too much, though.

He stopped moving for and looked up on you. You look directly in his eyes, getting red of embarassment.

"I mean-" You looked away sheepishly. "Not like that, just... You're doing such a good job here, y'know? It must be hard to keep this place alright by yourself." you chuckled awkardly, trying to change the awkard mood that you accidently did.

Howdy was still looking at you, but he didn't seem nervous or weird out about this. He just stared at you and then suddenly his lips curled into a kind, but a teasing smile.

"Yeah, it is." he answered.

He already put in a bag the last item you have bought of him, then he gently gave the bag to you with his third hand.

"You wanna drink a quick Dark Roast with me? Or if you prefer it more, you can have orange juice, or tea." he leaned closer to you on the counter.

"Sure." you said.

He walked away from the counter as one of his hands started to lead you beside him.

He glanced at you with a smile and said

"You still have to pay, though. Don't think that I'll forgot."

• omg-

• i don't think he'll mind it y'know

• but he prefers call you a good pet/boy/girl

• he may get teasy about it

• beside that, he will treat it as a compliment (cause he really deserves it)

• call him often, he won't mind

• just please don't call him like that in public :>

• he's cool with it :D

[my-castles-crumbling]

Of Romance and Play Practice

@wolfstarbingo2024 - square: nerdy Remus - rating: G - no warnings - word count: 974 - based on @probs-reading's HC - AO3 link

To this day, Remus still couldn't figure out how they all were friends. They took up vastly different social circles. Like a smaller version of the Breakfast Club, he, Sirius, James, and Peter were as opposite as could be. James was the school basketball star, cheerleaders constantly hanging off his elbows (much to his boyfriend, Regulus's, disgust). Peter ran the yearbook, and was never seen without a notebook and a camera. Remus, of course, was the textbook definition of a nerd: he was the president of Chess Club, and took more AP classes than all of his friend combined. And Sirius....Sirius was perfect.

Sirius was the star of the theater program, having finally figured out how to put his dramatics to good use. He lived for the stage, and the audience ate him up no matter what his role. Of course, Remus ate him up, too. Or at least, he wanted to.

They'd all been friends since elementary school. Perhaps that was why they were able to stay close, no matter their differences. But Remus's crush on Sirius had developed quite recently, and for some reason, he couldn't shake it.

Perhaps it was the way Sirius oozed confidence. His smile was absolutely contagious and it made Remus literally weak at the knees, often times he had to sit down after Sirius grinned at him. Maybe it was the way he felt safe with Sirius. Though they loved to tease each other, Sirius never judged him when it mattered, and they'd been friends for so long, they knew each other as well as they knew themselves.

Of course, it helped that Sirius was fit as fuck.

But that wasn't it. It was...Remus couldn't help but feel warm when he looked at him. It was a bit disgusting, really.

But one night, when Sirius asked him to help run lines for the new play he was a part of, Remus agreed, because he wanted to help. He figured eventually, this crush would go away, so he should just continue spending time with Sirius like normal, acting like nothing was different. But when he read the name of the play, he froze.

"Erm...Romeo and Juliet?" he asked Sirius, who was sat on his bed, shucking his leather jacket and making himself comfortable.

"Mmm," he hummed noncommittally. "Good thing McKinnon's as flaming as I am, or I'd be dreading the kiss," he grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

And of course. Of course, Sirius needed him to practice running lines for the most romantic play in the fucking universe. What else?

"Alright," he murmured, sitting nervously on the edge of his own bed, as far from Sirius as possible. "Erm, what scene?"

"Let's start..." Sirius flipped through the script, stopping at a page and pointing. "There. I'm having trouble with the emotion, to be honest. If you could just read for McKinnon, that'd be amazing."

But Remus's stomach flipped as he looked over the script, recognizing the scene. The fucking balcony scene?

"Erm, alright," he nodded, trying to pull himself together. "How camest thou hither- er - tell me, and wherefore? Erm, the orchard walls are high and hard to climb, and the place death, considering who thou art, of any of my, erm, kinsmen find thee here," he recited disjointedly.

Sirius chuckled and responded fluidly, "With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls. For stony limits cannot hold love out." His eyes were wide, genuine, and Remus became entranced as he listened. "And what love can do, that dares love attempt. Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me."

It took Remus a second to realize he was done. That it was his turn to respond. Because hearing Sirius speak of love like this, it was doing things to him. "Oh!" he nearly yelled as Sirius gave him an expectant look, jumping a bit. "Erm. If- if they to see thee, they will murder thee. Fuck, this is intense, huh?" he commented, scanning over the script.

Sirius laughed and ignored his comment, going on, "Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye than twenty of their swords. Look though but sweet, and I am proof against their enmity." He said those words with a small smile, eyes on Remus's.

"I...I would not for the world they saw thee here," Remus nearly-whispered, looking at the paper and back at Sirius, who was still watching him with a strange look in his eyes.

"I have night's clock to hide me from their eyes," he whispered, moving closer to Remus- and when had he gotten so close, they were side-by-side, now!- grabbing his hand lightly. "And, but thou love me, let them find me here. My life were better ended by their hate than death prorogued, wanting of thy love."

Remus swallowed, drowning in the look Sirius was giving him, squeezing his hand and allowing the heat and tension to wrap around their bodies. He wasn't imagining it, was he? Was Sirius feeling it, too? The way the very air was pulsating, urging him to move forward, to bring their lips together?

He hoped so.

"Sirius," he murmured, his head hazy, hardly bothering to look at the book, too distracted by the moment.

But Sirius seemed to be contemplating something. "Move not while my prayer's effect I take," he murmured, causing Remus to wrinkle his nose in confusion, before Sirius leaned forward, hand grazing over Remus's jaw and pulling their lips together.

And it was like fireworks. Hearing Sirius talk about love with the words of a poet had just made Remus's crush bloom into something more, and he couldn't resist grabbing for him, wrapping his arms around the other boy, pulling him closer until they were completely entangled in each other, their lips and teeth fighting for control of the best kiss Remus had ever had in his life.

[lulublack90]

Prompt 28 - Silver

@jegulus-microfic October 28, Word count 806

Previous part First part

James had never seen Sirius so mad before. James watched the already nervous Regulus cower into himself as Sirius glared at him. How could he not have put two and two together? Regulus had the same grey eyes as Sirius, the same nose and mouth, and even their hair was the same colour. No wonder he’d been intrigued by him. Regulus was little Reggie Black.

“H-h-hi Sirius,” Regulus stuttered, his eyes flicking up every few seconds to his brother's thunderous face. 

“What are you doing here,” James caught the flinch Regulus tried to hide, and before he knew it, he was standing between them.

“Back off Sirius. He’s here because I asked him. I want him here, please, will you calm down a bit?” James’s tone was soothing but with a commanding presence behind them. Sirius let out a ragged breath and nodded. James grinned at him. “Tea?” He asked as he pushed Sirius over to the armchair. 

“Yeah, go on then. Remus is going to be another couple of hours yet,” Sirius told him. James quickly made another cup of tea. He came back through and put it down on the coffee table, near enough for Sirius to be able to grab it. 

“Oh, Regulus, you were going to show me your drawing,” James reminded him, trying to include him. 

Regulus had been frozen since James had intervened. He turned startled eyes on James as he clutched the black book to his chest. 

“You draw?” Sirius interrupted. Regulus’s head spun to face Sirius. He was so tense. James wished he knew what to do. 

“I-I-I…” Regulus stammered, unable to get past the first few words. 

“You’re an art student aren’t you?” James prompted. Regulus nodded. 

“Yeah,” He gave James a tiny smile of thanks. James winked at him in return. 

“That’s how we met, actually. He was doing something with clay and I guess something went wrong?” He looked at Regulus for confirmation. 

“I couldn’t get it to look right,” He answered quietly, not taking his eyes off James. 

“Then I walked in to see what was going on and spotted a fruit bowl. It was just lying there, so of course I grabbed a banana.” 

“Mate, you do know that was probably a still life, right? The class will have been drawing it,” Sirius said, snorting as he leaned over and snagged a chocolate hobnob. 

“Well, I did after Regulus told me off. He made me pose for him and that’s why we were meeting in the first place, so he could show it to me. Can I see it?” He asked, turning his attention back to Regulus, who’d started picking at the corners of his sketchbook. 

“Erm—” Regulus clutched it tighter. 

“Please,” James begged, and Regulus relented. He flipped his book open and, after flicking through a few previous drawings, settled on one page, folding the cover over so he could pass the whole pad over to James.

James’s eyes widened as he took in the detail of the silver pencil lines that made up the most beautiful drawing he’d ever seen. “Wow, Reg, just wow,” He didn’t have words for how much he loved it. 

“Let’s have a look,” Sirius demanded, holding out his hand. James watched as Regulus’s jaw tensed. 

“You can say no,” James whispered gently, but Regulus shook his head. 

“No, it’s okay. You can show him,” he kept his head low as James passed the drawing over to Sirius, peeking up at his brother from under long lashes, waiting for Sirius’s opinion. Sirius burst into peels of laughter. 

“Ha! Did you really make him stand like that? This is the best thing I’ve ever seen! I need copies of it! Reggie, please tell me I can have copies of this! I already have so many plans!” Sirius looked at his brother, and Regulus didn’t seem to know how to react. James reached over, his little finger brushing against Regulus’s. The other boy suddenly breathed in. 

“Yes, of course, you can, as many as you like,” Regulus spoke quickly, his hand pushing into James’s so he’d hold it. James was more than happy to give him that support. 

Sirius flipped back through the sketchbook, looking at Regulus’s other works, commenting on each. Regulus kept squeezing his hand every now and again as he spoke to Sirius about his art, getting more confident with every second. By the time Sirius had gone through the whole book, Regulus was a lot calmer and had relaxed again, but he didn’t let go of James’s hand. James was over the moon that his picture had helped begin to smooth out the shoddy start the brothers had had, to their surprise reunion. He really didn’t want Sirius scaring Regulus off because, honestly, he could see himself very easily falling for this sweet, nervous artist.

Next part

[dr-spectre]

The Corruption In Splatoon.

Hypno Callie - Sanitized Agent 3 - Marina Agitando Analyzed.

(Note: this post may get edited over time if i need to fix grammar errors, get new information or anyone corrects me in a fair way. I'm not gonna listen to those who say "erm you're wrong actually." There will also be sources at the bottom.)

One of the biggest issues I've seen in the Splatoon community are the misconceptions and misinformation that spread around so quickly and i see it a lot when it comes to the corruption arcs found in Callie, Agent 3 and Marina. People throw around the words "hypnotized, mind controlled, brainwashed" interchangeably between the three, and it kind of damages the stories the developers wanted to tell. I see people say that Marina was hypnotized, which isn't the case at all, and same with Agent 3.

So in this long post I'm gonna go into a deep dive and analyze these characters, go into their personalities while under their corruption, distinguish between their "afflictions" and how they got to that point. There is a lot of depth to this and most people (not all ofc) overlook it which is a shame and i wanna change that.

We will first start off with a character i feel very strongly towards, the one i feel gets the most amount of misinformation in the community and is overlooked the most. A character, suffering from mental distress and isolation, the loser of the final Splatfest in Splatoon 1. An antagonist born out of her own volition and free will despite what many say about her.

Hypno/Octo Callie

Hypno/Octo Callie is where most people tend to slip up and only look at the surface level info the game presents, and that information barely scratches the surface into what happened to Callie and what Callie is like under the influence of the shades.

First off, how did Callie end up like this? She was isolated, got kidnapped by Octavio and then brainwashed right? WRONG! Although this is what Splatoon 2 suggests, it's entirely wrong and paints a pretty gross picture if you think about it for more than five seconds. Implying that Octavio is some freak and monster who waited for the perfect moment to snatch up Callie and then brainwash her against her consent, forcing her into things she didn't want to do, like wear that revealing outfit, brand her with that tattoo, and join the Octarians as a mind controlled slave for their goals. Yeahhhhh... you can see why i have an issue with this implication and the interpretations this created in the fandom...

It's really disgusting and I'm honestly quite shocked that people wanna paint that picture of Octavio and leave Callie as a victim with trauma from those events. Callie in her dialogue never EVER mentions being kidnapped, and only Marie says that because from her perspective, she's gonna think that's what happened cause she worries about Callie all the damn time. They only say "kidnapped" in outside media to make Octavio more of a cartoony evil villain and to simplify things which makes me kind of frustrated. If Callie truly suffered from trauma and had resentment for the Octarians, it would display in her dialogue. She would say shit like, "If i see another Octarian... oh, I'm gonna SPLAT them to pieces!" or "I'm gonna get those Octarians for what they put me through..." It also explains why she even thought about putting the shades back on because if she truly suffered from trauma, she wouldn't DARE put those shades back on. The "plenty!" Line she says in Splatoon 3 when Shiver asks what's wrong with them is a joke line and most likely references her putting the shades on again and again, but the canon on the rematches is unclear but I'm gonna treat them as canon.

However I've seen people bring up this concept art to dismiss these arguments where Callie is seen putting on the Hypnoshades without her knowledge and then is "turned evil ooooo!!"

This is just a SINGLE piece of concept art that the developers MIGHT have used to explain the rematch of the final boss. This art is disproven from Callie's dialogue in the rematch across various different languages as if Marie asked her why she put the shades back on, she would likely have a different response if the shades were put on her in that way.

There is also other concept art showing Callie being alone and comforted by Octarians which also disproves that single piece of concept art that suggests the weird gross narrative online that people push about Octavio.

Now that we've cleared up the misconceptions, how did Callie end up wearing those shades? Well, as shown with the Sunken Scrolls, Callie falls apart when she's alone, she overthinks and gets stressed out.

Callie is a person who seeks companionship and always looks on the bright side, even if it's a detriment on her mental health and causes her to bottle up her emotions to an unhealthy degree. Waking up extremely early and working all day, being surrounded by paparazzi, damaged her mental health, and Marie wasn't there for her as she had a different schedule. Their relationship slowly broke apart and the Splatfest probably didn't help with that either. There might have been some resentment that Callie hid.

At some point Callie must have met up with Octavio after she stormed off in the Squid Sister Stories on chapter 7, and Octavio, being the master manipulator that he his, probably convinced Callie to join the Octarians and appealed to her sense of isolation and pressure from being a star. He didn't force her into anything as shown with Callie's dialogue not showing any hints towards this, Octavio just pulled the right strings and Callie willingly joined to escape her life as said by her line in the official relationship chart "OK, fine, I'll hear you out."

If Octavio tried to grab her or put the shades on her by force, he would get absolutely eviscerated. Remember, Callie is not some weak little girl, she's a trained agent who's a roller main, a weapon that requires a ton of physical strength to wield. Inklings and Octolings do not have bones and are carried purely by their muscles, and because Octavio is way older than Callie and can't even walk properly due to him being stuck in his octopus form, Callie would be able to physically overpower him and turn him into a cooked octopus with rice on the side by the time she is done with him.

Callie finds the Octarians cute and Octavio knows that if he could get her on his side, he could help his troops and save his race from destruction. Octavio uses music to motivate his troops to battle and Callie's help in this would help him a lot. And that's where the shades come in....

The Hypnoshades are very vague and we're not fully sure on the effects, however judging from their name we can guarantee that they involve hypnosis in some form. Either it's because of the animated parts at the front which Callie can see or some other sci fi bullshit that is not explained. They are not "brainwashing shades" that turn a person evil. If that's the case then they wouldn't be called HYPNO shades.

Now let's dive into hypnosis and explain what it is. Hypnosis is being described as being put into a deeply relaxing state where your mind is more prone to suggestions. It's not like in popular media where some dude swings a watch around and goes, "You are getting very sleepy oooo," and then they become a puppet and are mind controlled. No, that's not what happens. Yes, you are more prone to listening to suggestions and taking them to heart, HOWEVER! ONLY IF ITS ACCEPTABLE TO THE HYPNOTIZED PERSON! THE SUGGESTION CANNOT GO AGAINST A PERSON'S MORALS AND IF IT DOES THEY WON'T LISTEN!

If the person who is getting hypnotized doesn't wanna follow through with the suggestion by the person behind the hypnosis, they won't listen to the suggestion. If Callie didn't wanna wear that outfit, she wouldn't. If Callie didn't wanna decorate Octo Canyon, then she wouldn't, but she does because she loves art. You can't make a hypnotized person wanna murder their friends and families unless they secretly want to.... you cannot get a guy on stage to get nude in front of an audience as shown with those stage hypnosis acts, it is most likely faked or the person was in a really good mood and wanted to have fun.

Callie, while under the shades acts more like her normal self than not. She is still energetic and even decorated Octo Canyon as she is a fan of art. Her chaotic nature is still intact however she is more violent and harsh which was teased in her Splatfest dialogue in Splatoon 1. If she was brainwashed then she would be more like a mindless robot that follows Octavio no matter what, like a specialized sleeper agent. However, she snaps back at him multiple times when Agent 4 attacks the Octobot King II and doesn't even wanna kill Marie but instead get her away from her because of their broken relationship. But she tries to kill Agent 4 because she doesn't know who that is and has no personal attachment to them.

The shades do NOT control Callie and do NOT force Octarian ideals into her head. The shades are there to further manipulate Callie, and Callie heard out the suggestions by her own free will. If Callie's mental health and life were better she would probably not listen to Octavio and turn him into a paste on the road with her roller.

Hypnosis is also incredibly relaxing and helps with disorders like anxiety. Maybe it's why she kept putting on the shades again and escaping with Octavio. She might be addicted to it, as shown by her rematch dialogue. However, they don't go into any depth with it unfortunately.

I know people tend to bring up Octavio's line, "i remixed Callie's brain!" to disprove my points, however,

1. Its probably bad translation as the English localization team makes mistakes often as shown with Octo Expansion with Commander Tartar's and Marina's dialogue, and Side Order as well. The line is also different in other languages and some of those languages mention hypnosis, we also don't have a retranslation of the Japanese script for Splatoon 2 so I'm give the English script a HUGE grain of salt on the dialogue.

2. Octavio is a DJ. He says musical terms to describe things. the "remixing" of Callie's brain is to show that Octavio has got Callie on his side via manipulation and not direct brain "washing" if you get what I'm trying to say here. He didn't literally warp her brain with some bullshit evil shades. He just pulled the right strings and pointed her in his direction without directly or forcefully doing it.

There is also Marie's line, "Why would you put those stupid brainwashing sunglasses back on?" In the rematch. However, this is only in the English translation of the original Japanese script, and in other languages, Marie just calls them the Hypnoshades or glasses. The localization team of Splatoon is known to make mistakes, like I've stated previously.

I also wanna go over the design for a little bit, it's honestly really well done and aside from the weird icky implications people just love to make about it, it does a good job at being an "Evil Callie" look. The colors are really appealing to the eyes, the way the design flows together is nice to look at, the octopus tattoo is striking and has become iconic in the fandom, with some believing Callie kept the tattoo as a popular headcanon. The glittery leggings and spikes on the waist and neck are a nice addition. Flipping the grilled squid pattern and placing it on her chest. And the shades are just the cherry on top with their hypnotic patterns, giving you the feeling that a person you knew is different... and off... They took the child like and joyful design of Callie and made her into a more mature and intimidating presence.

Now i wanna quickly go over when the shades get shot off of her as some people say that Callie lost her memories when the shades were put on her and removing them brought back her memories.

When it comes to being put into a hypnotic state, it's very dream like and incredibly relaxing, its essentially similar to a flow state when you're deeply concentrated on a task. So imagine a god damn ink bullet flying at your face at incredible speed, flinging you out of that state quickly and seeping ink into your eye. Yeah, it would hurt like hell and leave you completely dazed, right?

Some people who go under hypnosis can experience headaches, dizziness, nausea, and if you look at Callie when the shades are removed, guess what, she's holding her head in pain and is completely dazed, unable to properly speak and is left to only sing and dance as it comes natural to her cause she's an Idol.

What i think is happening here is that Callie, after being removed from the hypnotic state, starts thinking more rationally for a moment and realizes that Marie does care for her and has come to get her. She remembers all the good memories they had together from hearing the Calamari Inkantation, the song doesn't free people from brainwashing or mind control as some people tend to believe, it's just an insanely catchy song that motivates those who hear it. It probably gave her mind a positive boost and she remembers all the wonderful memories she had with Marie, getting rid of the negativity and darkness in Callie's head that flooded her rational thinking and made her more emotional and impulsive. People who experience mental illness have foggy minds and you can ask someone who has or had anxiety or depression on what it's like. Trust me, it's not fun.

After Callie returns to the outpost, she shows regret and tells Agent 4 that she's sorry for trying to kill them and promises that she's on the "up and up! Promise!" If Callie was truly kidnapped and then brainwashed against her consent she would be putting all the blame on Octavio and would show some amount of anger towards him, but she doesn't. I wonder why huh? Hmm. Maybe that popular narrative online is far from what actually happened huh?

With that information laid out, it makes the Bomb Rush Blush remix, Tidal Rush and Spicy Calamari Inkantation work way more as emotional tracks. The Bomb Rush Blush remix still having it's cheery sounding elements but mixed with more sinister and dark undertones, even including the Onward! jingle to show how far Callie has descended into villainy. Tidal Rush being an emotional and powerful song where Marie reaches out to her cousin in a very sad sounding way as her voice sounds broken and desperate. Callie trying her hardest not to listen to Marie and shutting her down as she wants nothing to do with her anymore after their relationship has been damaged.

Spicy Calamari Inkantation sounds more triumphant and joyful if you take all the context into account, Callie finally breaking free from the darkness clouding her mind and singing alongside her cousin in a much more expanded version of Calamari Inkantation that sounds more full and complete, including new sections by Callie and Marie and the melody of City of Color spliced in there for good measure.

With that LONG explanation of Hypno/Octo Callie, it's now time to move on the next character, and this where things somehow get more weird than a pair of hypnotic shades...

Sanitized Agent 3

Now this is where things get really tricky because the whole concept of sanitization is quite unclear until Side Order and it's basically boiled down to "zombie mind control goop" created by Commander Tartar in order to remove "life's energies" and effectively have lifeless zombies under it's control. However Agent 3 was only partially sanitized so it's unclear on what is exactly going on here. But before we can get to that, we need to discuss how they got to that state.

Before Agent 8 and Cap'n Cuttlefish turned into a nice strawberry smoothie, Agent 3 came to save them after receiving a distress signal from Marina. Agent 3 slammed themselves into the blender, rendering them unconscious which becomes important later on.

After some time Agent 3 gets taken away off screen and then gets partially sanitized and ties up Cap'n Cuttlefish.

So what is happening here? Is Agent 3 brainwashed here? Well not exactly, what i think is going on is that Commander Tartar put that sanitized ink on Agent 3's head to have a direct connection to them to take control over their body and use them as a vessel, to protect it and stop Agent 8 from destroying it's plans. Agent 3 while partially sanitized acts more cold and aggressive, even disabling their special limiter as told by Marina.

An important line of dialogue from Cap'n Cuttlefish states that Agent 3's mind was "hijacked" meaning that Commander Tartar has taken over their body and is using them like a puppet to stop Agent 8. While i don't like to base all of my evidence on the English dialogue, from my knowledge there is no retranslated dialogue of the fight online, if there is let me know so i can have a look at it.

Agent 3 was most likely completely unaware of this as they were knocked out and only woke up at the end of Octo Expansion after the NILS Statue was destroyed. They had no idea on what happened and were probably told about it after it was all over.

Agent 3 was also NOT hypnotized as sanitization has no hypnosis element to it. People who say they were are flat out wrong. They were not necessarily brainwashed either as they were completely unconscious and could not have had their ideals and morals warped by Commander Tartar. You can't really pressure an unconscious body to follow your ideals you know?

We don't get a lot of screentime with Sanitized Agent 3 but from the small moment we did get, it definitely left a strong impression and the amazing Splattack remix helped as well. Taking the once iconic song and mixing it and blending into a distorted chaotic track with elements from the DnB genre such as fast drum beats and loud wailing sirens, showing the danger of Agent 3. It really shows that Agent 3, our player character from Splatoon 1 has been morphed and twisted into a sanitized monster that's trying to murder you. It's like a virus has invaded the song and is taking control, much like what happened to Agent 3, unconscious and put to sleep as their body is being used by Commander Tartar to carry out it's goals.

Now it's time to move to the final character, the loser of the Final Fest, The Administrator of Order...

Marina Agitando

Now much like Agent 3, its sort of vague in terms of how exactly Marina ended up this way as we don't see it play out on screen. What we know is that during the development of the Memverse, Marina created an ai that would be the overseer of the Spire of Order. However due to unknown circumstances it went rogue and got into Marina's mind according to her, either she meant it literally and Overlorder possessed her, or it brainwashed her and took advantage of Marina's deep desire to yearn for a world of order and stability and warped her mind to accomplish that goal.

But, from the hints we do have as well as an interview from the developers after Side Order released, Marina was not brainwashed or hypnotized, but instead was knocked unconscious and then possessed by Overlorder. You can hear it's voice during Marina Agitando's dialogue under Marina's, heck the dialogue she says is more robotic and static, much like Overlorder's. She speaks like a robot in this form which is vastly different from how Callie speaks when under the shades where she's chaotic and loud like her original self times but on another level.

Marina being unconscious and not remembering what happened is also supported in the Side Order Famitsu interview released a while after the DLC came out which states that Marina doesn't remember making her solo song "Unconscience." When she is rescued and freed from the Controller VM, she appears like she's woken up from a bad nap.

Marina as Marina Agitando acts very robotic and cold, her movements are jittery and mechanical as Overlorder uses her body like a giant meat puppet. Her attacks are in time with the music and she shakes all about when firing attacks. It's pretty gross to see the once cheerful and adorable Marina in a state where she's this giant woman entangled in a giant pulsating tentacle that beats and restricts her. It's both sad and pretty damn scary.

She doesn't even recognize Pearl and Agent 8 unlike Callie who still recognizes Marie while under the shades. Marina just calls them "intruders" and is immediately hostile towards them.

Aside from that, there really isn't that much to talk about when it comes to Marina Agitando because she has arguably the shortest amount of screentime out of the three. But i will say that the design is excellent, using the Order outfit as a base and adding body horror elements to it, with her being trapped in a giant tentacles and weird metal pipes coming from the sides that pump out this weird red energy, like veins. Her constant smiling during the battle, the little DJ poses she does but they've become so lifeless and robotic, much like the ai possessing her. The sweet and funky girl is gone, replaced with a machine hell bent on order and will kill anything that gets in it's way.

The song too "Unconscience" is an absolute bop and is a stark contrast from Marina's usual music. It's an ear worm of a song that will get stuck in your head, and if they designed it like that way on purpose than bravo on the music team for Splatoon.

Conclusion.

Why did i make this? Why spend the time and effort to make something like this? Well, as a fan of these characters, i wanna see them well represented and their stories shared properly in the community. Seeing people use the incorrect terms when describing Hypno Callie and Marina Agitando despite the two literally being so vastly different in personality and "affliction." Making Callie's situation way worse by saying she was snatched up randomly, then brainwashed while struggling and losing her memories, treating her as some victim of abuse when the story the writers wanted to tell was a story about the broken relationship between Callie and Marie, and them finally coming together for each other and maturing, it's literally shown in the songs Tidal Rush and Fresh Start for god sake. I find it incredibly frustrating when i see people put in the effort to make these giant timeline videos, translate interviews and then they drop the fucking ball for Callie in Splatoon 2 for some god damn reason. Every. Single. Time.

While i don't feel as strongly for Agent 3 and Marina Agitando, Hypno Callie was the catalyst for me to look deeper into these corruption arcs and find all the interesting details and tidbits about these forms. Marina Agitando was such a hype moment for me when i first played Side Order and it took something we all expected to happen but gave us a little twist on it by making her the very first boss of the dlc.

Seeing Agent 3 again and the Splatoon devs wanting to look back on the past in an interesting way was so exciting to see. It paved the way for the series to reflect on itself and celebrate earlier entries.

Because of the misconceptions online about what truly happened to Callie, i felt this pain in my chest, i was unable to enjoy the concept of an evil Callie, i was unable to listen to the Splatoon 2 hero mode level music without feeling some sort of uncomfortable pain. It literally impacted my day to day living because my brain became SO attached to this squid woman. I couldn't accept the false narrative online, the abusive and disgusting view on my comfort character. A character i find joy and love in. Twisted and turned into something that brings me genuine discomfort.

Splatoon 2's story was handled poorly and caused literally EVERYONE to think that Callie is some abused victim that got kidnapped and turned evil by force by a creepy old ass octopus, when its SOOO far from the case.

There's probably people out there who feel the same way towards Marina Agitando and Sanitized Agent 3. No one likes to see their comfort character misrepresented and i hope you feel heard and that your views matter too. It's okay to look deeper into these characters, it's okay to not wanna accept the common narrative and find and present your own findings to everyone. If it makes you feel better and that chest in your pain subsides afterwards, then go for it. Please.

Thank you so much for reading this, I'm sure there's gonna be some people who disagree and share their own evidence and that is okay. As long as you don't try to push your views onto me or others then you have a right to have your own perspectives about these 3.

Seriously, thank you for spending the time to read this and hearing me out. I hope you have an awesome day : )

Sources:

[michellemisfit]

✨Weekly Tag Wednesday ✨

Thanks for creating the game and for the tag @jrooc thanks for the tag @vintagelacerosette

Today we’re talking fandom. Come play!

Name and A03 handle: Michelle, michellemisfit

Current Location: Living room, surrounded by feathers, as I’m currently fletching some arrows

Favourite picrew: This one is pretty fucking spot on. Or at least it was at the time. Hair is very different now. But then, hair is always different… lol

Also this one is spiritually VERY me

What's one thing you want in a picrew? Ability to add coloured streaks! And a wide selection of scars, or alternatively the ability to move them around the screen. Either is fine. But mostly the hair thing. My hair is generally 4 different colours. Don’t try and limit me to one!!

Favourite thing you’ve created (or seen created) for the fandom? Erm… 3 way tie between Mexico Gallacrafts, Fimo Gallavich, and Cookie Gallavich? Maybe? Argh. Turns out, looking back at my art tag… I’ve created some pretty cool stuff. Huh. Yay me.

Why is it your favourite? I don’t really do photography, and I’m really proud of the idea behind and the execution of that photo. And while I LOVE drawing more than anything, I don’t think I’m exceptional or anything. But I’m damn creative when it comes to silly 3D craft projects, so both Fimo Gallavich and Cookie Gallavich make me happy and feel like something not just anyone could do… I dunno.

Did it come easily or was it hard to create? It was LONG to create. Both cookie and Fimo Gallavich took several days in total. And I think that’s the other thing I like about myself. I am willing to put in the work, and it usually pays off.

Last ao3 fic you commented on? Hah! You’ll be able to corroborate this, I’m not just sucking up!! LOL I’m currently reading Camp is a Battlefield by @blue-disco-lights, @jrooc, and @mybrainismelted, with artwork by @creepkinginc, so that’s the last one I commented on :)

Biggest WIP heartache you’ve ever experienced? I mean… every single WIP I have ever started reading, only to realise that maybe there won’t be any more of it… 😱 Every. Single. One. They’re all special, and they all hurt in their own special ways. And I will remain subscribed to all of them FOREVER, because you never know!!

Also? Comment on WIPs. Tell authors how much joy the story brought you, how much space it’s occupying in your brain, how much you would love to see it continue but how happy you are to have read as much of the story as there is because it’s changed your brain chemistry… do NOT comment saying ‘next chapter when?’, cause that makes you a dick bag.

Favourite trope or head cannon you like included in a fanfic? I’m a sucker for fake dating, only one bed, and a soulmate AU 🤷🏽‍♂️

Least favourite? …not a huge fan of kid fic, but hey, all it takes is a great author to make it work.

Secret or surprising kink or trope? Again, do not kink shame, because you’re only ever one good fanfic away from discovering something about yourself you did NOT see coming…

Describe how you feel after you’ve created something new? Exhausted and antsy. Is it good enough? Are people gonna like it? Should I even bother anyone with this? Why don’t I just go and hide under a rock forever?? I felt okay about this when I finished it, why is it suddenly the worst thing to have ever been created??? …I wish there was a sense of calm and accomplishment. There is not. Brains suck!

Top hype man you have that always helps you get across the finish line: @deedala - I so appreciate how we’re on a similar wave length when it comes to art as well as ‘everybody wants to hunt me for sport’ vibes. I know I can always count on you for kind but honest words, and that’s so important!!

It's been a bad day, you turn to the fandom and you _____? Read comfort fic. Probably Like Real People Do or None the Wiser.

Edit: Also? Go and read comments and tags on old art posts. That’s a sure fire way to cheer me up!

This was fun, and made the 15 minute wait between fletching each feather pass much faster. Thanks!!

If you are currently making your own arrows and need something to occupy your wait time with… how about completing a tag game? lol

@heymrspatel @loftec @creepkinginc @deedala @too-schoolforcool @darlingian @iandarling @iansw0rld @ian-galagher @mybrainismelted @palepinkgoat @crossmydna @mikhailoisbaby @sickness-health-all-that-shit @rereadanon @rutherinahobbit @energievie @junemermaid @francesrose3 @deathclassic @faejilly @rutherinahobbit @gallawitchxx @look-i-love-u @jessij1997 @callivich @celestialmickey @wehangout @doshiart @lynne-monstr @the-rat-wins @blue-disco-lights @suzy-queued @sleepyfacetoughguy @spookygingerr @burninface @gallapiech

[shakespearean-dream]

i would adore ur ted ideas he is so interesting 2 me!!!!!!

ask and you shall receive!!!!

ted. teddigan. theodoreigan my boy. i have so many mixed feelings about u💔

this drawing was a pain in the ASS to make for some reason?? my first go at him was way too close to canon for my liking so i threw myself out there n got to a place i liked thankfully, plus halfway through i forgot how to draw hands and almost cried (joking) cause i thought i had them down at this point!!!!— but trust me, even if you have 9 years of art experience (like me unfortunately. someone take me out i’ve had a good life) ur gonna forget the basics sometimes. warm yourself up and try again cause i did and i eventually remembered 😭😭😭

doing these character studies and drawings have seriously improved my way and process of drawing faces which is so nice 🥲 i think i just need to start looking at the bigger picture again so i don’t forget how to draw everything else. like hands. or full bodies. foreshadowing ;)

i wanted my ted to look just a wee bit unsettling because my general consensus of him is that he is totally fucked in the head, lmfao. born a nepotism baby who ended up scamming people more for fun than for actual cash, horribly sexist but dependent on women to validate him, paranoid as all get out, selfish and self centered as all get out, just his canon personality’s all in one and turned up a notch. 🥲

i don’t think he’s totally beyond redemption, especially because he’s been cooped up with ellen, who is a highly decorated in the engineering field black woman, benny who’s gay and gorr “FREEDOM FIGHTIN’ LIBERAL🇺🇸🦅🦅🔥🔥” ister for 109 years. in that time he’s definitely slipped up and they’ve definitely corrected him (along with nimdok too LOL). i think with some intensive therapy, a shower and a trip to the tolerance museum (south park reference) he’ll be a little better.

i’m a mild ted/AM shipper (as seen in the bottom right hand corner) but more in the “ooohehheh they’re flirting!!… oh no. oh this is not going to end well. this is definitely a toxic relationship” way and less the “awh cute maybe they can have mutual redemption arcs!!!” way because i love seeing gay men suffer romantically (don’t cancel me i am a bisexual man suffering romantically i swear😭)

i’m not too partial to any other ships honestly, ted/ellen makes me nauseous (just cause of the way ted talks about/treats her in the franchise, no hate to my tellen shippers i promise) and i can only see gorrister with his wife 🥲 with benny and nimdok i have no clue if either of them rlly have romantic interests but im not a fan of them with anybody so erm… i do love the whole groups found family vibes though :”””] they’re all cute together and the mutual suffering but all the while growth is comforting to me

i think that’s about all my thoughts!!! another thank you for the support on this blog recently i love yall sm. i’ll eventually post on my transformers blog but i am STILL SCARED because robots are hard to draw. stay tuned for it though. 💀

thank you for reading if you did!!! let me know which of the guys yall want me to do next; benny, AM and nimdok are left on the chopping block. ❤️

[nervousladytraveler]

"Where There's Smoke"

As a treat/birthday present for myself I bought a Ward Lock edition of Ross Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall and am loving all the extra Cornish texture. The little ficbit below is inspired by something Jud blathers on about to Jim (p. 62): "Now me, I says, I'm a respectable married man...Prudie was wild. Oh she was wild. Ever seen Prudie in a pore, 'ave you? No, well, tis a sight to make a God-fearin' man take to 'is bed. Take heed never to cross' er, boy. Ye might think only to look at 'er that she wouldn't harm a fly. But not. Oh no..."

I think this is a chapter from We Don't Reach Back, a Like Someone sequel I haven't written yet.

——

“Tesn’t really my story to tell,” Bets said and took a long drag on her smoke.

Well, that was rich from a woman for whom gossiping was an art. No, more like a raison d'être. Any and all neighborhood tales–the juicy, the commonplace, the far fetched–could forensically be traced to the Triggs’ two-up, two-down terraced house in Mellin. 

At least that’s where Prudie always got her intel, and then she’d pass it along, faithfully fulfilling her part in the bucket brigade of specious news.

Demelza would have laughed had she not instead begun to cough. The cloud of smoke Bets now exhaled served as a sort of punctuation mark. 

Bets seemed to have no regard for her guest’s condition and probably wouldn't think twice about offering her a G & T, had it not been so early in the day. Once it was clear she couldn't do without her smoke–or more precisely she wouldn't talk without it–she’d reluctantly agreed to sit in the garden, which was really just a cracked concrete pad, surrounded by weeds and piles of old household junk.

There was an assortment of vape devices on the battered Ikea table (that wasn’t really suited for outdoors) but today Bets chose a cigarillo. If she’d thought it was less offensive than a full sized cigar or that she’d appear classier sucking on its white tip than something else, she was mistaken. Short, slim, sickeningly pungent–it was a bit like the woman herself. 

Still, it was nice that she’d asked Demelza to come by, even if her motives were not yet clear. Demelza leaned back in her plastic chair and tried to stay up wind. 

Demelza had always known the woman as Aunt Betsy Triggs, though her only kin, a nephew  Joe, had been dead for decades. “Aunt Betsy” was how Prudie had first introduced her when Demelza was still a girl. At some point Aunt Betsy refashioned herself as Bette and later even tried Libby, but neither took. These days she was “Bets”, having dropped the last syllable to make her name less dated or at least more aerodynamic.

“Okay, Betsy…erm, Bets, I appreciate your consideration of Prudie’s privacy here,” Demelza said, trying not to gag on her own cheap diplomacy. “But after what I heard yesterday, it seems like most folks do know somethin’ ‘bout Prudie’s criminal record…”

“Suspended sentence!” Bets interjected without fully opening her mouth. Demelza was rather sure that just like with a cigar, one wasn’t supposed to inhale a cigarillo, but the woman seemed to be doing just that.

“Yes, yes. Suspended.” Demelza tried to remain steady as she spoke. It had been months since she’d experienced the unpredictable throws of morning sickness, but now she worried she might be sick. “Everyone knows,��� she repeated, “That is, everyone but me. And I do understand, it was many years ago…”

“More ‘an thirty! Digory Jelbert be gone now, Ned Spargo too. You wouldn’t know the Jelberts. Jeptha an’ the boys d’live over to Illogan still.”

It wasn't worth reminding the woman that Demelza was, in fact, also originally from Illogan.

“Still, Prudie and I did grow close, mind, and while it wasn’t quite thirty years, it was o’er many–almost twenty,” Demelza began. “I just want to understand what happened…”

“I bla’ yer better askin’ yer ‘usband,” Bets said. “Ask Mester Ross.”

“Ross?” Demelza asked but in her incredulity it sounded flat, like a statement. “Ross knows?”

“Ayes! ‘E was there! Really no more than a tacker, ‘e was, an’ magistrates called ‘im fer a witness! Course ‘is fathur wouldn’t allow that. Only time we ever knew Mester Joshua to ask Charles for interference.” Bets shook her head then shivered and carefully stubbed out her smoke, leaving it for another time. “Tes perishin’! Drink up then. Yer tea’ll be that cold.”

Demelza could feel her own mouth hanging open in stupid astonishment. Quickly, she did as she was told, and drank a gulp of her less-than-tepid tea. It gave her a moment to think. 

She just couldn’t believe it, the rumours were true. And Ross knew. Ross had been there, in fact. 

Why had he never told her?

[killerzys]

Should probably post this on my venting account..oh well

[DO NOT ATTACK ANYONE THAT WAS MENTIONED]

Tw mentioning of cutting, say kill yourself, and F1zzyst4r

Please don't center me around this drama I'm not the one who needs the support Wenni is they have been a victim of F1zzyst4r for a year now I just want to simply explain.. how this has affected me.. but please show some support to Wenni and not me

More in the undercut

So there has been a lot on my mind been gone a few days so it feels a little bit more clearer

I do not want to meet the situation about me since I'm not the one who's being harassed Wenni has and I don't want to make the situation about me even though I am also being affected by it. Just not the way Wenni has been, that's why I have been scared to talk about how I'm feeling about Skittles.. and everything but uhh just because I don't want to make it about me I'm not the let's say main victim.. yes I have been harassed I don't know if was one of skittle's friends that told me this in my ask box but someone recently told me to kill myself and it threw me off

And for a while I felt forced to be friends with him (Skittles) I texted him before I blocked him that hey I felt forced to be your friend and it's making me uncomfortable.. I didn't say this part but the tracing also made me uncomfortable.. especially when it was clear that you copied someone else's design and is tracing someone else's art without credit or say oh yeah I make expired by this person inspiration, and now don't come attack me and say oh there's a few times that you didn't credit someone but as soon as someone say hey by the way maybe credit the person that gives you inspiration you @ them and I have I go back and edit pic or post and @ the person there is just sometimes where I get so excited that I forget but Skittles even after being called out and you're saying hey dude by the way maybe just give credit to the person that you take inspiration from Skittles is like erm actually they're tracing me!!

That's my point of view of how I see it and those other parts but I don't want to make this really long and boring to read

But I just mainly wanted to say how I've been infected by everything, after becoming friends with Skittles I thought they were kind and sweet they were to me but that's before I knew the full drama I did follow wenni on Pinterest for a while and seen little glimpse here and there last time I seen before I became friends with Skittles is that Wenni and Skittles were on good terms.. so I thought it was all right to be his friend, this whole friendship started because I made my old reference sheet of nighty, based off of on of wenni's old ref.. Skittles was like hey by the way maybe not copy me and I simply told them that I took inspiration from someone else that I didn't even know they were on the board, we became friends on Tumblr and talked, then I started getting targeted not targeted that's not the right word to say involved in drama that simply I was just watching from behind.. never had any attention to get involved with any of the drama but with my luck I somehow got into it because I was friends with Skittles.. I'm no longer friends with him and I feel free I feel safer now but I keep seeing the excuse of like his friends in my inbox "he made art for you and everything, he thought you guys were friends" just because you simply made art for me doesn't really mean anything I'm sorry? Like I make art for a lot of people doesn't mean I'm their friend I just think whatever OC or design I did was really neat and I wanted to draw it myself.. in the friend part I did see each other as friends but we never really communicated like we were friends.. we would talk to each other about the drama and I remember at some point I said whoever is tracing needs to own up to it now so this drama could be over and no one can get hurt or go through more mental health problems... But it seems that he didn't take that advice but oh well but other than talking about the drama and stuff we vented it to each other, there were a few funny moments but it's wasn't really friends? It was like that one buddy you see crossing the hall and you talk for a minute before going back to your class and then you don't see them for the rest of the year that's how it felt and before everything that happened I will admit I had a tad of a crush on Skittles but over time it started affecting me not in the greatest way... And I just lost all feelings when I got with my partner... And then at some point he would call me dear or something ? And sweetheart saying I'm sorry I think someone hacked my account acting all flirty with me which made me uncomfortable...

But besides that uhh he has now decided to text my mutuals or get his friends to do it I believe he's doing it because they are all anonymous and him or he got his friend to send something one of my mutuals inbox say hi by the way uhh river faked being friends with Skittles like a few times something something quite frankly I don't think you should be mutuals with them no more

Ok ok Skittles I see I see going to my mutuals telling them, that they should stop being friends with me because I stopped being friends with you because you're traced someone's art and copied many people's designs and when I tell you that I felt forced to be your friend and felt so uncomfortable and I unfollowed you which is a valid reason saying that I was uncomfortable and blocking you you're going to resort to going to my mutuals and basically harass them saying you should stop being friends with River, river is a bad friend you shouldn't be friends with them

Okay buddy like what? I've been trying to stay serious but the more I text this sentence the more I'm getting mad and the more I'm realizing the red flags that I should have realized from before... Honestly Skittles I hope you get help I hope you get therapy or something I'm not going to wish upon your death because honestly that's against what I believe which is nothing but like I don't believe in telling people they should kill themselves just because of certain actions I feel like they should get help now let's say if you were a pedophile now I would say kill yourself but does drama could have been resolved a long time ago if you just figured out your own art style who you are and stop copying someone to the point of copying that Wenni saying you have anger issues and trust issues ?

Wet Skittles I do wish that you get some therapy help mental help hell go to a mental asylum I don't care get help...

Now onto more stuff that like other things I've been thinking about

So basically going to my friends and harassing them

Having people go in my inbox harassing me saying like why did you stop being friends with Skittle kill yourself

It feels like you're using the fact that I used to have a crush on you against me and saying that we were friends because sometimes we made art for each other?

That's really it? Uh yeah I don't know this entire situation has just had me stressed about everything.. to the point where I'm having a hard time even drawing.. communicating with people talking and everything...it's really unbearable.. a few days ago I lost my streak .. because of this. The stress got so much that I took it out on myself I was almost 2-3 month clean..

[denaliwrites]

An Art to Life's Distractions

Alec Hardy x GN!Reader

Summary: Alec finds your secret stash while helping you move and has a word with you about what he's seen.

Soundtrack: Someone New by Hozier

Requests: Open!

Warnings: Alec has Silly Guy Syndrome, again.

Moving into a new home had maybe not been your best idea, but it had ultimately been rather necessary -- neither your previous place nor Alec's really had the space for three people, and although Daisy didn't live with her father full time, it was still important for her to have a room of her own. So, the two of you had decided on a nice little four-bedroom cottage on the outskirts of Broadchurch.

Alec and Daisy had been the first to move their things in, mostly because Daisy was out of school for the summer and had nothing better to do (well, besides hang with friends). Alec did what he could in the little free time he had. You, too, worked a full-time job, making it hard to set aside time to pack and take things over to the new place.

Eventually, though, it was your turn to gather your boxes up and get them to your new home. Alec, thankfully, had a weekend off and offered to help you move your things. You accepted gratefully, and for the most part, everything went rather smoothly.

That was until it came to the unpacking bit.

You'd left Alec alone in the room that you'd designated as the office, and you didn't think anything of it as you grabbed a bottle of water and a sandwich you'd had the blessed foresight to pack ahead of time. You continued not to think anything of it as you went back upstairs, and as you turned into the office.

You only thought something of it -- and something bad, at that -- as you realized mid-bite that Alec was holding a handful of extremely old, battered crime novels.

Mouth suddenly dry, you swallowed your bite of sandwich with difficulty and rushed to grab the books from him.

He jerked his hands out of your reach, looking up at your blushing face with a bemused expression.

"Crime novels? Really?" he asked.

You blinked with owlishly wide eyes before giving a slight nod. "Th-they, erm..."

"Ye?"

"They... they're fun, okay?" you whined, expression falling into a pout. "I like them..."

"Oh, darlin'," he said with a chuckle, pushing forward to plant a kiss to your lips. "Ye could just ask me to tell ye about some of my cases."

"I don't want real stakes," you said, motioning to the books he held, and the books still in the box. "No real people get hurt, no real evil people get away with horrible crimes. Even when the story doesn't go the way you want or expect, it's... it's not real, so it doesn't matter. It's just a fun read in the end. Harmless."

His expression softened, seemed even to be understanding, and when he kissed you again it was much gentler. "I see," was all he said at first.

The two of you fell into silence, with him putting your books up onto one of the shelves and you finishing your lunch.

When he finally spoke again, he looked thoughtful. "Y'ken, maybe I should read some of these."

"Why would you do that?" you asked, looking up at him with a blink.

"Well, maybe I'll be a better cop for it," he said with a smile.

You couldn't help but laugh delightedly. "What, and give up your title of Britain's Worst Cop?"

"Hey, now, I didn't say they'd fix me!"

[63n3437]

Too Busy Sunday!

“Live outside the state-of-the-art Duckliar Foundation, awaiting the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Duckliar Enterprise, Mr. Solomon Hecks.”

“Wait, Duckliar? Isn’t he the genius who disappeared years ago? Fifteen years, to be exact,” Huey piped up, looking over his handbook.

“Ohhh! Did he make cool things like nanobots or laser guns? Maybe a super flying jet?!” Dewey’s hands flew everywhere in the excitement nearly hitting Louie in the face. Louie swatted the offending hand in annoyance, looked up from his phone, and snorted dismissively.

“Eh,” he shrugged. “Looks like another start-up.”

“Start-up!” Webby exploded from behind the couch, startling the triplets as she squished herself between Dewey and Huey. “No way. They were the most mysterious and probably one of the richest families in the world! Of course, it is nothing compared to your–erm–our family, but I have a separate board just for them.”

Scrooged harrumphed from his armchair, “The man’s no genius, reappearing just to disappear, leaving everything behind. Just looked at what happened to the tower. Gone!”

“You mean the Duckliar Tower?” Della entered the room carrying stacks of chips and sweets in her arms. Penumbra trailing behind, carrying liters of soda. “I was surprised it was replaced by a park. Does Everett still own the land? The last time I visited the area was under the administration of SVA….MP?”

“The Society for the Valorization of Duckburg Monuments manages sites that have historical significance, similar to the program from New Quackmore.” Huey said, closing his handbook with a snap, “If the tower had historical value, we sure don’t know how it could happen.”

“Duckliar Enterprise has been making its presence known after the disastrous moon-vasion. Despite the damage of the unexpected alien attack, which halted some of its operations, they were able to resume as soon as possible to build the Ducklair Foundation.”

Louie scooted next to Dewey to make space for Della and Penumbra. Della snatched one of the popcorn bowls and passed the rest of the snacks around. “Well, it’s another mystery of the Duckliar clan.”

Webby squirmed in her seat. “Oh my gosh! New lore!” She exclaimed with a hushed voice forcing herself not to run off to her room and start updating her board.

“Excuse guys, movie night?” Louie sensing that they would go off the rails again, gestured towards the screen. “Anyone?”

“Yeah – enough about Ducklair, it’s movie night! We need to show Penumbra how to have fun while sitting –”

“Which I doubt.”

“And why is it so much better than exploring the secret of an Incan treasury,” Dewey nodded seriously, though the slight downturn of his mouth hinted otherwise.

“Oh, lad. You should’ve seen the map in the study. If we fly to Peru today, we’ll stumble upon the entrance to the temple effortlessly.”

“When you say treasury?” Louie baited with a smirk. Webby let out a ‘woohoo!’ in the background, yelling, “Secret Inca temple!”

“Wait! Guys–we promised Uncle Donald no adventuring every Sunday,” Huey reminded full-stop, which prompted a series of groans.

“The new CEO of the company was a mystery until three months ago when new information emerged from a one-on-one interview with veteran journalist Ms. Layla Lay. Although the interview answered the common question, questions about his relation to the owner, Everette Duckliar, remained unknown.”

“That’s boring! No offense to Uncle Donald but adventuring is in our blood,” Dewey relayed dramatically.

Della sighed, deciding to stop the brothers from escalating the situation. After all, she owed his brother some peace, even if she wanted to explore just as badly. “Dewey, we did promise your uncle to rest for one day every week. He’s not stopping us from adventuring, and if any of our trips somehow extend until Sunday, no one’s preventing us.”

“I’m sure Uncle Scrooge agreed to this, right, Uncle?” Scrooge scowled in irritation choosing to watch the TV rather than answer his niece.

Scrooge was about to make a sharp remark when he saw the car pulling up on the screen, he focused his attention to observe the unknown head of the company. The upstart has been requesting to meet up with him to consolidate Everette’s investments and liquidated properties under McDuck Enterprises. Scrooge was pleasantly surprised when he reviewed the proposal. He usually let Bradford handle anything remotely business-related, but he couldn't hand off this responsibility, knowing he was dealing with a Duckliar. Though they didn't meet face to face and only made a video conference, once, he knew not to underestimate the younger duck.

“Is that Uncle Donald?” Dewey wondered, it was hard to recognize him without his usual white hat and black sailor outfit.

“Hmm, yeah,” Louie said distractedly, frowning at his phone. “He said he was hired as a driver for a billionaire. I thought it was Uncle Scrooge since the rest were enemies of Uncle Scrooge. It’s an easy mistake to make.”

“Good for him,” Della smiled in fondness. “I… should probably find a job, too.”

“Mom, it’s fine. You just came back from the moon. There’s no need to rush things.”

Della gave a quick smile to Huey, going back to the TV where she saw her brother opening the back seat of the car. A woman with long blond hair, pinned in multiple buns, was the first to step out. She mouthed a quick thank you to him before gathering the security detail. Next to her stepped a man towering over the woman and his brother. He has strawberry blond hair with thick sideburns with a face that means business. He gave a sharp nod to his brother who solemnly nodded back. There was a moment's pause between them, a silent conversation amid chaos before his brother jumped back into the driver's seat and drove off.

It was a bizarre exchange, however, it wasn't notable enough to be remembered. She felt Penumbra nudging her sides, raising an eyebrow, and looked pointedly at the screen.

Della clapped her hands twice and then abruptly announced, “Come on, let’s start the movie! Even if Donald's not here, we need to keep our promise. Capiche?”

“Dibs on ‘Eternal Moonlight’.”

“What? That’s–no. Really, Huey?”

“It fits the theme! I researched the best moon-themed movie we could watch. It is also the highest-rated movie this season. At least I try to be accommodating, Louie. Unlike some people.”

Louie sputtered indignantly, “On what earth do you think Penu–”

Dewey cut him off rudely, “What about ‘Darkwing Duck the Movie? It was released recently.” Louie growled at the interruption.

“Dewey, you already chose the movie last week. It’s not fair if you pick the movie again.” Dewey sent a scathing glare to his red-clad brother before ranting how ‘uninteresting’ his suggestions were. Louie, momentarily distracted, nodded in agreement and declared that he should pick the movie, which was quickly denied by both older brothers. If Huey’s recommendation was dull, Louie’s was downright atrocious.

Unnoticed by the bickering brothers except for the adults, Webby crawled out of her sibling-sandwich, snatched the remote to change the channel to one of the available streaming services, and typed in ‘The Betelgeuse War’.

Della smirked in astonishment and shared a look with Penumbra, who was instantly enamored by the screen.

“Webby!” the triplets collectively shout.

“What? It’s informative, it’s not boring, and the character has depth. It has three sequels, all amazing–as impossible as it is–and it is about space. And the moon. Penumbra will love it and we will geek over the characters. Now, shove off!”

“Atta, lassie,” Scrooge chuckled.

The lights slowly dimmed. Della glanced back by the door and saw Mrs. Beakly adjusting the light switch. She grinned in thanks before settling on the couch. It has been years since she last watched ‘The Betelgeuse War’. If Webby was right, then she’ll enjoy the rest of the series and her honorary niece will certainly be asked to join the exclusive club of the Betelgeuse she founded with his brother.

Penumbra was, always, a nice addition.

————————————————————————

Something was bubbling under the surface.

“Hey, Gandra, grabbing lunch?” Granda put down her soldering iron and removed her goggles. She looked toward the door where Dr. Dendron was standing.

“Is it noon already?” Gandra grabbed her phone from the pedestal and grinned as a series of messages popped up on her notification. She was about to open one when she caught the time. “Woah, time sure flies by.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to disturb you with your work. I am also absorbed in mine, which is almost complete. I thought that we could eat lunch in the pantry,” Dr. Dendron smiled hopefully.

Gandra blinked, pleasantly surprised by the invitation. She gave a jerky nod and said, “Sure, I haven't had my breakfast… or lunch, for that matter.”

“Same here,” Dr. Dendron’s frame relaxed considerably. “Work just sucked you in. Next thing you know, it’s dark out, and you’re only halfway through your task.”

Gandra hummed as she gathered her equipment, placing all the dangerous items in their proper places. She secured the cabinets of confidential experiments before leaving her lab.

As she approached the door, she could hear sections of the lab shutting down. Once she reached the threshold, she pressed her biometrics, and the door closed firmly.

“I still think it’s quite excessive,” Dr. Dendron noted.

“I think it's nice,” Gandra smirked as they walked down the corridor to the department lobby. “None of the other labs I’ve been to is as secure as this one. You would think they’re hiding something sinister.”

Dr. Dendron giggled. “It certainly looks like that. It’s confidential, yes, but anything we do in R&D can be discussed between us, scientists and researchers.”

Gandra challenged. “Such as?”

“I can imagine all of our works are going to converge at one point,” Dr. Dendron explained. “I am working with an Evronian spore and Dr. Einmug is polishing his research on atoms. Sparky is working with Dr. Zibaldo on enhancing security and creating technologies related to clean energy.”

“What the hell is an Evronian spore? And isn’t Dr. Einmug a recluse? How did they manage to convince him to work here?” Gandra asked incredulously. “Dr. Zibaldo’s nice, just a bit overzealous. Sparky…it’s strange having a rat as your co-worker. No offense.”

“Rodents of his species developing intelligence and cognitive abilities are quite rare,” Dr. Dendron grimaced. “Achieving such a feat…”

“It’s not pleasant,” Gandra’s eyes widened as a memory resurfaced, and felt her conscience pang between her gritted teeth.

Dr. Dendron bobbed her head in agreement. “We can continue with the questions after lunch,” she said, tapping her badge.

Gandra willed herself to calm down as she followed Dr. Dendron into the busy hallway. “So I can ask anything under the sun about our work but only within the R&D?”

“Now you're getting it,” Dr. Dendron smiled playfully.

Gandra and Dr. Dendron strolled in comfortable silence as they made their way through the throng of employees getting a quick lunch. When they arrived at the pantry, Gandra told her fellow scientists to line up at the buffet.

“I need to warm up my lunch.”

“Do you want me to get you something?” Dr. Dendron asked, picking up a tray.

“A plate of waffles, if you can, please” and then Gandra waved her hand in appreciation, marching to the refrigerator where she stored her homemade lunch. When she opened the fridge, she saw the note sticking out of her lunchbox, which she had forgotten to remove (and put on a special case with similar notes). Written messily on it was, ‘Go get them, Gadget Girl’.

She couldn't help but grin warmly. She fumbled in her pocket for her phone and sent a short message to ‘Suit’ with a picture of her blue lunchbox.

‘Suit’ replied quickly, ‘I made your favorite, empanadas and guacamole :).’

(Oh, he’s so nice.)

After heating the empanadas, she made her way to the tables when her eyes fell upon an unexpected figure. She knew some sparing information about him. Most striking was that he was the triplet’s uncle and Mr. Scrooge’s nephew.

“Oh, Donald’s here,” Dr. Dendron spoke behind her. “I wonder why –” then her eyes followed where Mr. Duck was staring, “– I see. I forgot the press conference is today.”

Gandra caught the TV and she could see Mr. Hecks sitting on a long table under an onslaught of questions.

“–the company's focus has shifted from weapons manufacturing and engineering to clean energy. How will you ensure the company's financial stability during this period of change?”

“That is an excellent question, Ms. Roxanne. Duckliar Enterprise isn’t always reliant on weapons production. While it has been the previous CEO’s primary focus, being an inventor himself, he understood it is not the sole path for the company’s long-term success.”

Gandra felt a crippling chill running down her spine, and a sudden heaviness clung onto her shoulders. There was a gaze observing her in hindsight. Her eyes returned to where Donald was sitting and felt a surge of trepidation. The consensus is that Donald Duck of the McDuck clan was the polar opposite of his adventurous uncle, Scrooge McDuck. He was averse to adventure and quick to anger, but a great uncle to his nephew, according to some sources–okay, mostly from Huey.

Donald’s eyes flickered like a blade, slowly dissecting each layer of her carefully crafted facade. Leaving her exposed and flayed, like a wound itching to be closed. With a blink, he shifted from a terrifying force to a deceptively weary man.

“You know each other?” Gandra asked Dr. Dendron instead of keeping on staring at Donald.

“You don't?” Dr. Dendron asked, taken aback, though Gandra could hear concern lacing her tone. “We can use another table if you want?”

“No need, I'm curious to know what his deal is.”

“Good to know that you have a sense of humor Mr. Hecks. Unlike your predecessor who again disappeared years ago after a bit of a scandal. Whatever happened to Mr. Duckliar? Any idea of his whereabouts?”

“Thank you for asking, I understand that you are curious and concerned about Mr. Everett. I am placed in confidence to steer the wheel of the Enterprise and Mr. Everett has always valued his privacy which I will be obliged to continue.”

“That doesn't answer my question–”

“Hey, Mr. Duck,” Gandra plopped on one of the fluffy seats a distance away from Donald. Dr. Dendron hesitated for a second before sitting beside Gandra. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Same to you,” Donald raised his eyebrow, then looked at Dr. Dendron with a faint smile. “Hey, Dr. Rhonda. Good to see you, how have you been? Did you manage to find an apartment downtown?”

“Good! About the apartment… I decided to stay in St. Canard. I still like my city, despite the traffic. Also, thank you for shipping the Drosera occidendum’s seed.”

“I have no idea what you need from that plant but–er–you’re welcome?”

“No need to be bashful, it was a rare specimen. Knowing that your family managed to defeat it was amazing.”

Donald beamed like a mini sun, “It’s the kids who figured out that blasted plant.”

“Not surprising,” Gandra nodded, taking a bite of her empanada. “They’re very…inquisitive. Alarmingly so.”

“Oh, you’re just bitter that they foiled your spy career.” Donald's lips curled in amusement, although his eyes held a sharp edge.

“Speaking from experience?” Dr. Dendron, Caesar salad bunched on her fork, piqued in interest.

“Corporate espionage,” they both said at the same time.

“You were selected to work on nanobots?” Donald spoke out of the blue, startling both Gandra and Dr. Dendron. However, Gandra could tell that the other scientist was surprised for a different reason.

“NDA, Mr. Duck. My lips are sealed”

“Just call me Donald,” Donald rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Mr. Duck was my father. If you take my sister’s sons into account, that’s too many Mr. Ducks around.”

“What a nightmare it’ll be,” Gandra deadpanned, piercing the waffles.

“So nanobots… that's your forte, right?” Donald pushed on. “I remembered Huey telling a story about a ‘highly musculature Mark Beaks’ and how you helped win against him. No, I don’t want to imagine ‘Macho Beaks’. Yes, Huey shared his findings about nanobots enthusiastically and without reservation.”

‘I know who you are and what you did,’ was left unsaid.

When Donald spoke, Gandra could hear the resignation in his next statement. “I think you’ll do great with the project.”

“How did you know about it?” Gandra was eager to know because this guy was an enigma wrapped in a cipher. He was not supposed to be here, he was not on her radar of potentially dangerous people but goddamn, anyone who knew about her work with Mr. Hecks was.

“Here I thought that any scientific discussion can only be discussed by fellows and should be discussed inside R&D,” she said, voice drilling in sarcasm.

Donald shook his head, offering no explanation, eyes turning to watch the last thread of the conference. As Mr. Hecks plastered a polite smile, waving goodbye to the press, Donald’s phone rang.

“Hey, Belinda. Yeah, I’ll be there.” He paused. “Will do, thanks. Yeah. Bye.”

“Sorry, I need to go,” Donald, with a sigh, pulled up from the chair. “See you later, enjoy your lunch, Dr. Rhonda, Gandra.” He made his way out of the pantry, not without grabbing a freshly made waffle bag in a take-out bag from the pastry station.

“You know something,” Gandra faced Dr. Dendron in the eye.

“No, not really,” uncertainty seeping on her body. “I am as blind as you are.”

“Why have lunch with me?”

“Is it hard to believe I wanted to know you, or maybe become your friend?” Dr. Dendron's lips turned into a sad frown. “What you’re hiding is not my business but if it, in some ways, affects our work and reputation…” she trailed off, the unspoken implication hanging between them.

Gandra chuckled at the implied threat, “I didn’t think you had it in you, Dr. Dendron.”

Dr. Dendron relaxed and joined her laughter and said, “Oh, please, call me Rhonda.”

————————————————————————

Something was bubbling under the surface. Like lava slowly spilling at the edge of the crater.

“Hey, Layla,” said a duck holding an HDTV camera in one hand and balancing a tray of three coffees in the other. Layla readily helped get the tray out of the older duck’s hand.

“Alright, here’s your frap,” Layla chirped. “And a latte for me.”

The duck glanced at the remaining coffee, a plain black one, placed at the back of the van. “Donald’s will be here?”

“Yep,” Layla replied, popping the ‘p’, and taking a sip of her coffee. “He is Mr. Hecks’ driver.”

The duck hummed, “You’re suspicious about Mr. Hecks. Is he involved with… him?”

Layla took a moment to answer, “You can say. It’s complicated, Donald was more reserved about sharing information, after the moon.”

They dwelled in comfortable silence, finishing their drinks. Layla bit the bottom of her lips and asked, “Stefan, was I a bad friend?”

“I cannot give you a response to that,” Stefan said, slurping his frap.

“Why, weren't we friends in past years?” Layla quirked her eyebrow.

Stefan countered, “Were you?” He set the camera next to the coffee and sat beside it. “Your heart has always been in the right place. It took me a long time to understand that. Donald, we’re not friends, but I always felt a kinship with him due to our… affliction.”

Layla blinked in silence. It was rare for Stefan to speak this long. He continued, “I chanced upon him, months after he lost his sister to the moon. I was investigating the peculiarities of the Duckliar family. We did not talk; the situation was too heavy. And I suspect he lost more than just his sister that day.”

“I – Donald’s been keeping this?”

“It’s not my business, but I thought it might help you.”

“You’re right,” Layla took a deep breath. “I was not there when he needed me. I was so excited; I’ve always wanted to experience the world without restraint. In the process, I left the person who helped me achieve that.”

“Talk to him, once you both have the time,” Stefan stiffly patted Layla’s shoulder, taking the empty paper cup to the nearest trash can. “Come on, they should be here anytime soon.”

Layla exhaled and gathered all her materials ensuring her makeup was all good. She grabbed her coffee; taking one long sip, before closing the van door, pacing beside Stefan.

“Hey, Stefan?” Layla softly called out. “Thank you. And don’t ever doubt that you're my friend.” Stefan's eyes widened, revealing a timid smile.

They secured a good spot in the park where they had a clear shot of the podium. As soon as they saw a glimpse of Hecks’ car, Stefan started rolling the camera.

With a smile, Layla started with, “Channel ‘00, live in Duckliar Park…”

————————————————————————

Something was bubbling under the surface. Like lava slowly spilling over the edge of the crater. It rumbled hotter than the core of any mass in the universe.

Mary Ann Flagstarr was tired. She was running on six cups of coffee, a box of donuts, and a bowl of Garden salad because she wanted something healthy, alright? It wasn't even past three in the afternoon, and she was already flagging under the weight of paperwork and the lingering effect of a jailbreak. And that was many months ago.

If she had known that her first task as a captain of PBI would be tidying up the joint jailbreak of Dr. Fairfax and former Lieutenant McCoy, she wouldn't have taken the position. She’d probably be sleeping in a moldy hotel under a disguise but, at least, she wasn't slaving away to finish this administrative burden and locating escaped criminals in every part of the globe.

Mary Ann rubbed her forehead in frustration. She received help from personnel from Area 51, but despite their combined efforts, they couldn't find where Fairfax and McCoy were hiding. During her first month in her position, she instinctively dialed the Duck Avengers’ number only to remember that no one had seen the hero in decades.

Usually, his AI partner, Uno, would send her an email or fax with crucial information on any issue that may threaten the country before she could bang her head on her desk. It was convenient and very helpful; they’d saved her multiple times. She was grateful, yet a brush of jealous resentment lurked in the periphery of her mind.

The captain sighed sharply. It was all in the past. She would prefer to handle the situation under her own leadership. However, Dr. Fairfax was a dangerous individual, with a spy like McCoy, the danger they posed would affect not just Duckburg and its surrounding area but also target other countries.

She thought of enlisting help from superheroes, like Gizmoduck, or spies from S.H.U.S.H., or the Agency. She dismissed asking for Gizmoduck; he was too green when it came to international conflict. She had reached out to S.H.U.S.H., but they were indisposed without Ludwig. The Agency…their reputation had tanked when Double Duck resigned.

Her last option was to contact the Duck siblings. She did not want to consider it since their family was one of the reasons for her headaches, especially after the Moonlander invasion or the magical disruption two years ago. Therefore, when Mary Ann said they were the last option, it meant she wouldn't contact them under any circumstances unless she was really in-depth.

She needed to contact them, ASAP.

Fairfax and McCoy had been missing for one year and six months. No leads, no clues, no witnesses that may point her in their direction. Mary Ann was uncertain if they were even together. She had a terrible feeling in her guts that their plans would soon implode and everything they swore revenge on would go down badly.

She tried contacting the mansion, but the lines weren't connecting. She found out the telephone lines were blocked due to magical interference. It was a good thing they had a magical expert in the department, and they created a workaround.

But when she called the number and someone answered the phone, the housekeeper (certainly not an ordinary housekeeper) would inform her that the family was off on an adventure.

Then she sent emails to McDuck Enterprise because their digital security system was such a hardass PBI couldn’t retrieve any personal emails, but no reply. Della didn’t have any digital presence since she had just returned from the moon (how crazy was that?). Donald's contact information was easily found in various resumes; curiously, all numbers and emails became disconnected after he left his previous employers.

The captain had tried every avenue but received no luck until today.

Mary Ann paced anxiously in her office, the telephone line ringing once, twice, thrice. She stopped when it continued to ring for the fourth time, head on her hands, and took a deep steady breath.

“Deeeewey express! How can I help you with this fine evening?”

(Oh shit.)

“Good afternoon, my name is Mary Ann Flagstare, captain of PBI. I would like to speak to Dumbella Duck for urgent business.”

“Mom knows someone from the Secret Service?” Mary Ann bit back a groan, she had caught the kid’s wonder over the phone, it was like talking to Ziggy in his teens. Oh right, this kid is a teen. What a joy.

“It appears so. If you could pass the phone to her, I would appreciate it.”

“Why do you need Mom? Ohhh, are you going to send her on a mission? That’s awesome, but we are on a strict no-adventure Sunday, you can call tomorrow, and we can hash out the mission without any issues.” Dewey informed cheerfully, she could register the tell-tale sign of dismissal.

She hurried over to the phone, almost knocking herself on the lamp next to her table, and cried out, “Wait! I am not sending her on any mission. If you can tell her that–” She didn’t want to share the news with an unauthorized person, worst of all, a kid. Desperate times called for desperate measures. “–Dr. Fairfax and McCoy were on the loose, it’s a matter of national emergency. She can contact me through this number, preferably soon.”

“Sure,” Dewey stretched, “I’ll pass it on.”

Mary Ann sighed in relief, “Thank you.”

“Dewey, come on. The third movie is starting!”

“Webby, pause it!” Dewey shouted, muffled. “I have to go, Ms. Captain. Bye!”

The click of the disconnected call echoed in her office, pulsing in her head, syncing with her oncoming migraine. She braced her arms on her large desk; paperwork stewed like a hurricane went past. She can wait, hopefully, before the insanity stirs.

Mary Ann waited and completed her paperwork. Waited, and took a very quick break. Waited and visited a department in crisis which provided a mental breather from all the waiting. Waited until it was almost midnight and resigned herself to another failure.

She was tidying her desk of today’s paperwork and preparing the ones she needed to complete tomorrow when the phone rang.

She shot up like a bullet and swiftly put the receiver to her ear. She could scarcely believe it was Della’s voice on the phone.

“You, speak now.”

————————————————————————

Something was bubbling under the surface. Like lava slowly spilling over the edge of the crater. It rumbled hotter than the core of any mass in the universe. How it melts off the feathers and skin, burning everything inside out.

That is how Donald met his demise, ripped from the Earth’s atmosphere after his ill-fated venture on the moon.

He has, after all, been afflicted with terrible, horrible luck.

[ikeromantic]

Ikevamp Boys React to Tattooed MC pt 2

Theo, Vincent, and Mozart!

Theo

Theo grabs your arm as you set down a frame in the small gallery where the next art show will be hosted. His grip is firm and insistent.

"What?" You raise an eyebrow, more curious than annoyed.

His other hand tips your chin to the left so that he can examine the side of your head and that's when you realize. He's noticed your tattoo. "Hondje, what did you do?" His voice is lethally soft, ungentle and demanding.

"I've had that since before I met you." You pull from his grip. "Anyway, it's none of your business."

"Everything about you is my business." He catches your hand in his and pulls you close. "Tell me."

You sigh. "Fine. I wanted a tattoo when I decided to go straight to work instead of college. Something to show I trusted myself. So . . . I got that star. Because I am my own guide and I choose things for myself."

Theo's severe expression doesn't shift as he tucks your hair back to get a better look at it. His breath tickles your skin. "Mmm. Fits you. Stubborn girl. Never listen to anybody."

"Hey!" You smack his shoulder. "I do when the advice is worth my time."

He laughs. "Is that so?"

"It is! Hey! Why are you still laughing?"

"Give me a kiss, then, Hondje." He points to his lips, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

Vincent

You disrobe, preparing to model for Vincent. It's the first time you've sat for him without being fully clothed, and you're a bit nervous. The vining flowers on your leg are not discreet and this will be the first time he's seen your whole leg without the cover of skirt and hose.

Vincent's eyes are immediately drawn to the colorful tattoo. His eyes go wide and before you can take a breath to say anything, he's kneeling beside you, fingers tracing the delicate lines and curls of ink.

"Ummm. Vincent?" You look down at him, feeling a bit flustered. His smile is angelic but the way he touches you is . . . not. And you aren't sure what to think.

"This is gorgeous. The colors. How did they get this shade? Here?" He is so close to your calf now that you can almost feel the motion of his lips, the flutter of his lashes.

"I - I don't know. You'd have to ask the shop." You give a self-conscious laugh. "Is it going to be a problem? I understand if you don't want -"

He looks up at you, his big, blue eyes as wide and endless as the open sky. "It's beautiful. You are beautiful. But I am going to have to figure out how to mix that color before we start." His smile is full of anticipation and excitement. "Do you have any more of these?"

Vincent reaches to push aside the modest robe you are wearing.

"N-no!" Your face is completely flushed now and your heart is racing.

He drops his hands, his expression going still and flat. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

You feel immediately terrible for disappointing an angel. "It's ok. I just didn't expect you to be so interested."

His smile returns, tentative and shy. "I am interested in everything about you." He presses his cheek to your tattooed skin. The gesture feels intimate, precious. When he lets go to mix his paints, you can still feel the ghost of his touch.

Mozart

You notice Mozart giving you an odd look. Something between bafflement and horror. "Do I have something on my face?" You self-consciously wipe across your nose and cheeks.

He shakes his head and stands, lips pressed together in a pale line. His hand goes to your arm, drawing a line up from your wrist to your bared shoulder. "This, fraulein. What is it?"

That's when you realize, you've never shown him your bare shoulder, where your colorful little tattoo is etched. The rose and thorns are easy to cover, though you don't mind showing them off. "It's a tattoo. Surely you've seen one before?"

Mozart opens his mouth and then closes it again. It takes him several breaths to get there. "You let someone put needles beneath your skin? Someone who touched you? Who marked you?"

"Erm, yes? I mean, that's how you make a tattoo."

He crosses his arms and walks to the window, chin jutting out.

"What's wrong?" You go to stand beside him, but he won't make eye contact with you. He's grinding his teeth and just staring out at the garden as if he wanted to see it burn. "Do you . . . hate it so much?"

You didn't want him to hate the tattoo. It was part of you, and seeing him like this was making your heart ache.

"No," he grumbled finally. "It's . . . it's very beautiful. I just . . ." He let out a long, slow breath.

"You what?" You prompt him to speak after several silent minutes pass.

"I don't like the idea of someone else touching you like that. On your bare skin. Holding you." He frowns.

You wrap an arm around him and lean your head on his shoulder. "Wolf, you are adorable when you're jealous. You know that?"

"I'm not - I mean, I -" He huffs, trying to excuse himself without admitting the truth. Then he sighs. "It's fine. I'll just mark you in my own way." He turns his head and you can see a dangerous, hungry smile on those delicate lips.