#excuse the WIP but this is the only colored drawing I have of him with his new staff design

[floofyhobbit]

Alright I was asked to talk about my OCS :3

Anyways this is the little bastard I’ve been writing for 2 years? He started as a WW1 era character actually but I decided I wanted to make a fantasy character again so here he is. The fantasy world he lives in is most similar to 50’s America with tech, but the fashion is more modern. Though I dress him like a traditional fantasy character. He’s supposed to be a sort of wood elf but I don’t have a name for the fantasy races yet (I need to worldbuild). He looks serious af here but do not let that fool you he is a silly little man most the time. Whenever he’s doing mage duties he tries to be serious. He’s a mage for hire, so if someone has a problem (usually magical) he gets paid to take care of it. The ribbon he wears is kinda like a uniform. Other mages for hire don’t really wear them anymore but he does when he’s on quests so he can look professional.

Also was raised by fae for most of his childhood, and I’m probably gonna write about that in a wholesome little prequel comic. He first starts using magic at 9 or so but it’s super weak, once he’s a teenager to cast better spells.

He left at 17 or 18 so he could become a certified mage and see the world. Before the main story starts he looses his eye but I haven’t decided where or when. It always happens in every draft, the idea stuck with me I guess. I guess the “magical character that doesn’t rely on their vision” trope spoke to me. Uhh what else

he has a bunch of familiars, but the main one that follows him around most the time is his crow named Basil, who’s the son of the crow he befriended as a child. His main magic is nature/Druid? Magic, basically he’s like Bulbasaur. Also talks to animals, and can summon his familiars. He can also shapeshift into animals but only a select few (right now he can only shapeshift into a kestrel, rat, wolf).

I made him into a glass cannon pretty much. Worlds most eepy magic guy. I didn’t want to make him super powerful because I found magic characters like that kinda boring. But it’s also fun to give characters cool powers 👀.

Though he is trying to learn a spell from each type of mage magic. Jack of all trades stuff.

Also his staff is kinda inspired by Sakura’s staff in Cardcaptor Sakura, idk something about wing motiffs…

He’s trans also! I kinda based that aspect on me haha… he was a pretty tomboyish child so when he realized he was trans he was like “oh I see now” and his family was like alright :D. Perks of being raised in the woods by fae, gender roles are kinda non existent ig. He named himself after a character from his favorite childhood book. Also gay aspec (me when I project).

Other stuff! He’s a pretty good dancer and likes fashion which are traits I took from when he was a historical OC.

Basically uhh I just wanted to write a little goober who went through a lot of shit but still looks at life positively and wants to help people. A friend. A little goober even.

I’ll try to get a good drawing of his boyfriend Oswald who is a bard and also a silly goober. Also hopefully Isaac’s familiars and his family members.

uh idk what else to say

[kiwipineappleparasol]

Sonic WIPs and Scribbles from 2023 (Notes Below)

Gave Chaos the Angel Chao ... "Ears" ? So that All Forms (Neutral/Dark/Hero) have some form of Representation. (The two split ... Hair? Things? In the back already resemble the Devil Chao, since the Light Chao only has one.)

Solaris Exists! ... Crazy. I recall this redesign being bit tricky because it was just so hard to see what the fucking thing looked like Originally, but I did my best. Tried to show the Bird/Eagle Theming, and to simplify the design so People like Me could understand it. I wanted this design to look like a counterpart to Chaos -- because in this AU, Solaris is from, you'll never guess...the Sol Dimension!

Gave Team Dark a sort of... cohesive color scheme with eachother, so they really look like a Unit. Plus, Rouge wearing Red just... Makes sense, considering her name, even if I enjoy the Purple color scheme as well.

Similar color scheme thing here with the Babylon Rogues -- They all share Red/White/Yellow -- I took the darker colors out of these designs to not be so similar to Team Dark haha. The amount of points on each of their...Chest...Fluffs?? matches the amount of feathers they have on their head Respectively . Changed Storm the most -- I wanted to make his "Hair" Silhouette more Unique from Wave's, and really just wanted an excuse to give a character a Cool Jacket . The Shoes ... I phoned those in a bit, I'll probably change them Later...

Sharddddddd. Throughout my Scribbles (including some here) You might've seen me struggle to decide what Quill Style to give him -- his OG style? Or the Metal Sonic style? Eventually, I decided I didn't need to choose -- I could do both. It's not demonstrated that well in these, but it's basically the same style the Bits have in Sonic Universe: The Silver Age -- just thinner and more Pointy .

Ahhh Faceless Jumpscare! This is what they look like when I'm trying to work on Poses and Colors but don't want to Commit to a Face yet, haha . Nicole, I'm always changing her design it seems -- don't be surprised if it happens again! But I based her handheld off various devices Tails uses -- I wanted it to be compact while being more Modern than the Nokia Flip Phone. Changed her hologram form slightly to resemble her handheld -- her ears are the antenna, and the rings are on her feet like how the ring is plugged in at the bottom. Made her vest longer too! So it looks more like her Reboot Outfit . Just a little.

And that's mostly it! I've been on a quest to draw Every Character in my Sonic Au -- I've sketched about... 35 so far? Here's a Screenshot of a bit of the Madness on that canvas haha.

[seirei-bh]

Kal and Tarah need more love and content.

I always find very cute that during their flashback scene in Oathbringer (ch. 112), the first thing she does to greet him is hug him affectionately from behind. Also, yeah, Kaladin is shirtless there~

Some extras:

Close up

Sketch version and wips here

Some extra thoughts:

I adore to draw scenes in sunset, the lighting effects and warm pallet color are always fun to paint. Besides this scene was a perfect excuse to draw Kaladin's shirtless XD I love a lot this scene, how comfortable looks Kaladin around her, kissing her on the check, holding her hand, both jocking about how some young soldiers get nervious around her, talking about weapons, about how much Tarah's father hates Kal (I'd like to know the reason behind it, haha), and then their farewell was heartbreaking and bitersweet. Despite of we barely see her, just for the way Kaladin remembers her Tarah seems to be a caring, compassionate and confident person, and I'd have liked to know more about her. Besides it was sweet (and surprising) to see -for once- Kaladin sharing intimance with someone in a romantic way. I understand perfectly why there is a lot lack of content of Tarah in the fandom, and why even a lot of people doesn't even remember her lol, she was only mentioned six times, and there is only one flashback about her, but somehow she stayed in my heart since the first time she was mentioned in WoK. Perhaps it was just because Kaladin is my fave character and the fact she was the first person who comforted him after Tien died was a detail that really touched me. /SPOILER/ Brandon Sanderson already said there is going to be (probably) an interlude about her in SA5, so I'm really looking forward to read it, even if Kal and her never get back together, at least to know what happened with her and her father after she left Amaram's army.

[electricskelecomics]

Draw The Squad: Irratino Edition

Beach days: love 'em or hate 'em, they're definitely a unique time.

Around three weeks ago (give or take) I started working on a love letter to the Murdle fandom. I grabbed as many Irratino designs as I could (one per creator) and threw them all in a Draw-the-Squad template. Today, I am finally done.

This was my first time doing a Draw-the-Squad, so hopefully I did it right! I also wanted to challenge myself to represent the styles of everyone I put in there: that includes line color and shading. I think it adds to just how creative everyone here is: all of our designs look so different from one another, even though we have the same info to go off of.

If you didn't see your design, then I'm sorry. Eleven characters is a lot to work with, and I really tried to include everyone I could.

My sources are under the read more, along with a little blurb for each one:

@itzr4v3n. This is a mix of her Gacha design and non-Gacha design. It was too hard to choose!

@coconutvoid. I really hope I did the red outfit justice. I love this design's facial expressions.

@dreaming-mushroom. Super sweet person: when I showed the first WIP to the fan discord they helped me out with the colors.

KitKat (Discord). Pigeon Irratino! I went with Kat's Vol. 2 design: I'm a sucker for scars.

@snozzlefrog: specifically her mermaid AU. A lot of the memes I found early on in my Murdle hyperfixation can be traced back to Snozzlefrog, so I knew I had to put one of her designs in here.

Me! My three-eyed, triangle-headed guy.

@marble-running. The only art of him I could find was on paper, so I decided to emulate that. I think it looks great.

@ruburnz. This is such a unique style, and any excuse I get to pull out the opacity brushes I will eat right up.

@berrypass-de-murdler. I think a goat is a really fun spin on things, and everyone I know just adores the design.

@puffydove. I was told Dove's design has a glitter phone case, and who doesn't love that?

@greenunless. I have this one listed in my file as "Fun Glasses." I LOVE this design.

Draw the Squad Source/Base by @copperyy: https://copperyy.tumblr.com/post/142089297465/happy-april-fools-day-heres-a-draw-the-squad

I really cannot emphasize enough how much I LOVE all of your designs/work. If I did we'd be here all day!

[l0nesome-dreams]

Some more Voorpret lore art. (I may or may not have started tearing up drawing this) This scene takes place during V batches first assignment/mission when separatist forces attacked the base and caused a large explosion. Voorpret, Vance, Voss, Vapor, and Vaheed were all caught in the direct explosion, along with a few other brothers. Voorpret, Vance, and Voss were the only three to survive the incident. Lil snippet from the fic(WIP so excuse my grammar):

(flashback)

Voorpret climbed into his bunk, yawing heavily from the long days worth of lessons and training. It was lights out in his sector, all of the younger cadets were expected to have plenty of sleep in order to mature properly. Like anyone cared. Out of nowhere Vapor climbed up into Voorpret’s bunk settling down in front of him.

“Hey V! How are you going to stand out?” The young clone asked, grinning at his batchmate prodding him in the chest lightly.

Voorpret looked at him for a moment, blinking at his younger brother in confusion. Realizing he was inquiring about his appearance, he answered quietly.

“Tattoo’s maybe,” Voorpret shrugged, unsure of his response, “I haven’t really thought about it much. How about you vod’ika?”  Vapor’s eyes lit up, and his grin widened if possible.

“I was thinking of dyeing my hair and having some cool tattoos on my face!” Vapor said, running his small hands through his hair. 

Voorpret giggled. 

“That sounds like an awesome idea vod’ika.” 

“V!” Vapor whined, “you know I hate it when you call me that.” He huffed.

Voorpret chucked.

“You’ll always be vod’ika to me.”

Voorpret blinked.

His ears were still ringing, he faintly heard the alarms blaring. He sat up onto his elbows wincing, putting pressure onto his lacerated abdomen. Whipping blood from his eyes he looked around, coughing from all of the smoke and fire. A few yards away Voorpret was able to make out the body of one of his brothers. Tears began welling in his eyes. He tried to stand but his leg was of no use to him, he had broken it in the explosion and his blood was visible on his white plastoid armor. He drug himself over to his brother collapsing onto him coughing again. It was his beloved vod’ika. His kind hearted, gentle, caring vod’ika. Voorpret let out a broken sob, frantically grasping at the limp form of his brother.

“Vapor!” He sat up best he could, pulling his brother into his lap cradling him, “Vod’ika please wake up.” He removed Vapor’s helmet and shook him lightly.

Voorpret’s tears finally flowed down his face combining with his blood as he held Vapor’s bloodied body in his arms. His handsome face was bruised and bloodied, his purple hair caked with blood. Voorpret assessed his little brother wounds, putting pressure on his abdomen where the largest gash lay.

Even as Vapor died, he grinned at his brother, his caramel colored eyes crinkling at the corners. He studied his brother's face, chuckling a bit which turned into a coughing fit. Blood trickled from his mouth and down his chin.

“Looks like you’re finally going to stand out V.” He said, motioning towards Voorpret’s wounds.

Vapor choked up blood, his body slowly going still.

“Hey now-“ Voorpret sobbed, shaking his brother. “Please no. NO! Don’t leave me like this vod’ika. PLEASE!” He pleaded with his brother.

Even in death his grin remained on his face. Voorpret sat there hugging his brother’s motionless form tightly to him, cradling his head against his shoulder. His lavender colored hair contrasted with his tan and bloodied hands. This was his first brother he’d lost, his best friend. They were going to fight alongside each other and win the war together. Now that dream was lost. He knew this war would take sacrifice, but it was much too soon for this. Much too soon.

“Over here!” A voice called from within the smoke.

Voorpret hugged his brother tightly to him as they approached, not wanting to let him go. He was grabbed quite forcefully by the shoulder yanking him away from Vapor.

“NO DON’T TAKE HIM PLEASE NO!” Voorpret screamed at them. 

He looked wild as he tried to fight them off, but he was too overpowered. He was ripped away from his brother, tears still streaming down his face. It stung, but he paid no mind, they were taking his little brother. 

“Stun him now!” One of the officers said to one of the troopers accompanying him. 

(to be continued)

tag: @whiskygoldwings

(If you wanted to read ^^”)

[frostbitebakery]

Fic Writer 20 Questions

I got tagged by the lovely @thejediandthemandalorian thank you 💜💜💜

1.) How many works do you have on ao3

15

2.) What's your ao3 word count?

147,444 words

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

"Writing" is such a strong word. Codywan is the one that inspires me the most at the moment to the point I want to add little backstories.

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

I Got My Head Checked

Outtakes of IGMHC

Art for IGMHC

black

Codywan Art and Hubris

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to!! When someone is kind enough to leave a reaction, I should thank them at the very least! Excuse Number 1: I get overwhelmed easily. Excuse Number 2: Especially with long or thoughtful comments, when I answer those I feel like that's the end of that interaction and I don't want that to end

6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

It's gotta be one of the Mood Color Panties that ended with an emotional cliffhanger...

7.) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Uhhhhh in terms of happy ending to fic setting ratio? Probably the MCU/Snowpiercer crossover that ends somewhat like the movie wherein they discover that not everything on the outside world is dead and gone.

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet? *crosses fingers*

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I have written smut. With BDSM and lingerie. But I don't feel the smut groove anymore. Once in a while I do like to dabble in erotica when drawing though

10.) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I've officially written one (1) crossover of MCU/Snowpiercer. Unofficially, I've chucked words at friends about The Covenant/Fantastic Four where Johnny Storm and Chase Collins are roommates for whatever reason and Chase is trying to close a portal to Hell and fighting off demons while Johnny is oblivious to it all until his Lucky Charms are gone.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. Plenty of art got stolen though.

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yus! A smutty stucky one-shot got translated into Russian

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Does The Unlucky Ones count??? I just wanted spoopy Cody but I can't not do backstory for AUs, so my mind is churning out the lore. Then @adiduck was like, “hey, I have some ideas for TUO, how about--“ and then I buried her in the sandbox. The only bits I wrote (with Adi's blessing) are the snippets on the artworks. She is writing the fic while we both excitedly yell at each other.

14.) What's your all time favorite ship?

Just one???? All of them have a special place

15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I don't have any fic WIPs atm

16.) What are your writing strengths?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh quite a lot of people pointed out that my pacing is good, and some people like my humor! Thank you <3

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm too rushed. And like, a whole lot of technical stuff I don't know.

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I like it. It can add a lot of things to the characters, plot, or setting. What I personally don't like if the words in another language are in italics.

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

Weiß Kreuz. It's in German and the forum it was posted on is long gone. There's an FMA fic on ff.net still. You won't find that one either.

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

I Got My Head Checked :D It started as a naive "lolol what would I want Sithywan to look like? just the once", grew to "But listen, Glimmer, it would be so funny if Sithywan is like "I need a week" as his estimation for how long he needs for Cody to spill every secret ever to him, and it ends with Sithywan just getting up in the cell like he's never been injured/tortured at all and going like "Thank you, that's all I need" like some method acting Black Widow type, but internally starting his journey of “omfg I want him carnally and emotionally””, and then it spiraled into 75k words with more catharsis for me as a person than should be possible. And a greenhouse. More IGMHC trivia!!

Oban Ouaine, Qui-Gon's Cody's Venator, is Gaelic for little green bay. I wanted a connection of Qui-Gon and his fandom plants. And I thought Oban Ouaine sounds a little bit like Obi-Wan

the original plan was that the whole Venator is like a jungle with plants everywhere. @elwenyere brought up "they have a greenhouse?" and I ran with that instead, not knowing it would turn into a central stage for hope and healing for the characters

TAG YOU'RE IT: @adiduck @elwenyere @ifonlyweknewwhatiwasdoing @meebles @merlyn-bane @wrennette @lttrsfrmlnrrgby and anyone who wants to bc this was fun!

[darkpoisonouslove]

For the fic ask!

🤩a WIP snippet about or with dialogue from Valtor

😔published lines or a section of a fic that was super sad, angsty, or difficult to write?

🤩a WIP snippet about or with dialogue from Valtor

Well, I swore I'd never post this and now here I am. *sigh* This WiP has given me perpetual brainrot and I am weak.

Betrayal. It was all that was left in her world. One after another, her life had turned into a series of betrayals. Her crown had betrayed her with the promise of power it did not hold. Her husband had betrayed her for another woman. Her own dignity and self-control had betrayed her to a sight she’d confidently refused to dread.

“And to think the only thing I had to do to make my wife enjoy herself was sit her in a chair where she could watch me fuck the woman I love,” Valtor’s voice made it through all the raw sexual energy suffocating the room.

There was that word again. Love. That was what Valtor had told her. His commitment to her meant nothing all because the royal librarian had stolen his heart. Amongst other things. He might have given Samara a ring and a crown but he’d given his love to Griffin. Amongst other things.

“Excuse me?” Her nails dug in the expensive silk of her dress.

It was no matter. He’d buy her another one if she tore it to shreds. He’d buy her anything – fabrics and jewels finer than the librarian had ever seen in her life. Not that she needed clothes or trinkets when she had his lust and his heart.

Samara didn’t need replacements either. A tasteless affair would never leave visible traces on her appearance.

“Your thighs are squeezed together, your breath hitches just barely and your pupils are dilated enough for me to make it out all the way from the bed,” Valtor's words slapped her in the face harder than he was clutching at his toy. She couldn’t draw enough air to dispute his insanity even if her decorum allowed her. “You’re aroused. Tell her, Griffin,” his hand tugged on the purple hair to direct his mistress’ gaze to her.

Griffin moaned like her life depended on it. She barely looked at Samara, as usual. She kept her eyes to herself – not out of humility or decency. If that were the case, she’d stifle her voice too. The entire palace could hear her making obvious the disrespect she and Valtor held for Samara. One more reason for Samara to hate her and stagger when the feeling wasn’t there.

😔published lines or a section of a fic that was super sad, angsty, or difficult to write?

They're shorter so I'll give you two, both from Smolder:

"She hadn’t had the will to leave the prison she’d called home before Oritel’s warmth had overwhelmed that of her inner flames. She hadn’t had the power to protect Oritel from the dark magic twisting his own until it’d frozen in his veins and killed him. She hadn’t had the heart to leave Daphne’s side and incinerate his murderer lest her daughter figured out that her presence didn’t amount to much more than her absence did. Her mother had seized the opportunity to take over Daphne’s schedule and life when Marion hadn’t had the presence of mind to care for her own child. She didn’t even have the voice to speak up and reassert herself as the only parent Daphne had left."

This was hard to write both emotionally and from a technical aspect. I think you can tell why it was so heartbreaking to put it together but, honestly, wording this almost killed me. For one simple reason - I don't have a name yet picked out for Marion's mother and I didn't want to bother with it but that left me maneuvering with the words "mother" and "daughter". It's still a little messy for my liking but I think it's comprehensive, at least.

And the other snippet:

"The liquid inside the chalice was blue – the color of a flame burning too hot, ready to reduce her insides to cinders. The light coming from the cresset glimmered on the surface like a flickering sun blinding Marion. She couldn’t tell if her fingers would brush cold metal or colder magic but running away was not an option. She had to pass this test, had to come out on the other side despite feeling like a small speck of ash drowning into the sea of a potion held up against her."

Again, wrestling this into words was a struggle. Especially the last sentence. I don't know, I don't think I really had a very good idea of what I was trying to accomplish with this at first and that led to getting tangled into several different threads that I could follow with it. At the same time, I somehow had a very specific vision of it (the part with the liquid reflecting light mostly) and that added to the hardships because I had to mold my stray thoughts into a particular shape. I am more satisfied with how this one turned out, though!

[cmdonovann]

happy homestuck day!! ive been meaning to do quantum break homestuck au art for... literally over a year, lol. so here's their godtiers!

jack is a knight of time, paul is a seer of light, beth is a rogue of void, and will is an heir of doom. don't ask me to explain because i will never shut up (please god ask me to explain i want an excuse to talk about this au)

more info about this au under the cut!!

i actually have a whole document about this au because ive been thinking about it since like, mid 2021, lol. but here's all the info about their sburb session:

CLASSPECTS jack - knight of time will - heir of doom beth - rogue of void paul - seer of light

LUNAR SWAYS jack - prospit will - prospit beth - derse paul - derse

CHUMHANDLES jack - chronoCrash will - timeTraveler beth - graffitiGoddess (or if you wanna goof, totoAfrica) paul - alliedAntagonist

TEXT COLORS jack - #006666 will - #00FF99 beth - #990000 paul - #FFCC00

SYLLADEX FETCH MODUS(ES? MODI?) jack - shuffle (like an ipod shuffle, it picks at random and you have to just skip through until you find what you want) will - something extremely mathematical idk beth - the one where you draw what you want from your sylladex (like jade has) paul - literally just queuestack like john has lol hes basic about his sylladex. maybe he would upgrade it to like, a dewey decimal system type fetch modus later on tho

STRIFE SPECIBUS(ES? SPECIBI? IDK) jack - gunbladekind (it is a foam cosplay weapon lol) will - canekind (his grandfather's fancy old cane) beth - batkind (baseball bat) paul - butterflykind (he has a butterfly knife, it was a gift from jack)

LANDS jack - land of steel and storms will - land of fractals and dice beth - land of bricks and graffiti paul - land of butterflies and glass

GUARDIANS jack - emily joyce (formerly pope) - mother will - casper darling - grandfather beth - dylan faden - "uncle" paul - jesse serene (formerly faden) - mother

POST-SCRATCH SESSION emily pope - maid of mind, prospit casper darling - thief of hope, prospit dylan faden - bard of heart, derse jesse faden - prince of space, derse

yeah, because they dont have a space player in the QB session it is technically unwinnable, so jack would have to scratch the session. the post-scratch session is control characters bc Why Not tbh, i think it makes sense. polaris is like a first guardian in this au (so she's like the becquerel to jesse's jade, if you catch my drift, including eventually prototyping herself, then self-prototyping with jesse's dreamself so that when jesse godtiers, polaris becomes a part of her. i just love that concept so much lol)

anyway back to the qb characters tho!! in this au, they all know each other cuz they play d&d together online. will is their dm. will and jack dont live together anymore (will went to study abroad and is staying with his & jack's grandfather, who is a scientist) hence why they play online. this is how they end up playing sburb together.

jack is the first to enter the game, followed by paul, then beth, then will last (he does NOT like jack being his server player, lol).

as far as who reaches godtier first... i have thought about this a lot actually and i think paul, being a seer of light, is the first to figure out how to godtier, but is not the first to do it because he is afraid to die. in the end, jack probably makes it to godtier first, entirely by accident (he probably does something stupid and gets horrendously injured, and someone-- maybe paul?-- carries him to his quest bed). after jack has reached godtier, paul asks his help with it, and gets jack to kill him >:3c because of course jack is the only one he would trust to do that >>>;3c

asdhjklhgfdsdfghjk ANYWAY. i am... probably not going to write this au anytime soon, as i have several other WIPs on my plate right now, but i like rotating it in my mind like a rotisserie chicken sometimes regardless. you know how it is.

[biowhore]

Also for WIP Wednesday - I'm working on some original fiction. It's smutty, it's introspective, it's mostly for me, but if you wanna follow along I hope to be posting the first chapter, session #0, soon.

Shoshana seeks out Adam, a grossly attractive sex worker, to help her see herself in a new light. She's never felt helped by conventional therapy, doesn't have friends, and her family couldn't care less about her. Alone in the world, she grasps frantically for any thread to tether herself to, and Adam not only throws her a lifeline, he sets her back on dry land. A story of letting go of societal expectations, mourning the person you thought you should be, and welcoming the person who is.

*this is still pretty rough, please excuse any typos and meandering prose

---

Shoshana tasted blood in her mouth. 

She had bitten her lip so many times since she sat down she was certain the man sitting across from her could see the color seep between her teeth. Yet still she worried the flesh while her eyes traced the wood grain on the lounge door. It was a cozy room: plush, oversized couch, soft fabrics, low warm lighting. She could easily drift among the warm tones of the room, watching the sunrays track across the walls through the blinds on the window, drawing her into safety from the current moment.  

It was too curated, though. Cozy, but obviously designed to be that way, to lure occupants to feel safe. To feel comfortable. To let their guard down. It reminded her of a therapist’s office, complete with ulterior motive. Was Shoshana safe here? Physically, yes. Emotionally, well… that remained to be seen. 

“Shoshana?” the man said gently, coaxingly, patiently. He was practically sunk into his oversized loveseat across from her, one ankle propped atop his knee, one arm resting casually across his middle as the other swirled a glass of water.  

Her eyes flicked up to him momentarily but she couldn’t bring herself to keep them there. They wandered back to the main door behind him, then tracked to another on her left. Through there must be where they would… 

The man, Adam, leaned forward, propping his forearms on his knees and lacing his fingers together, “It’s ok to be nervous,” he said, again in that infuriatingly soft tone. It made her want to relax. It made her want to look at him. 

Why was she doing this again?  

She took a deep breath and braced herself. She had to make this work.  

“I guess I am nervous… Could we go over it again?” She spoke quietly, betraying just how anxious she was. The corduroy fabric of the couch beneath her was starting to feel less soft and inviting, and more stinging and stifling.  

“Of course,” Adam said with a mild smile, leaning back into his seat. He was too pretty, which is what made him perfect for this. His demeanor, his infuriating softness, was probably going to kill her. 

Adam was the sort of man Shoshana saw in a club and immediately dismissed as out of her league. Men like Adam didn’t look at women like her, didn’t talk to women like her, didn’t really even acknowledge their existence. In her experience, they knew what they looked like, and what those looks could get them. Shoshana didn’t factor into that at all, and never would. 

He was tanned, blonde, lean, and had dimples when he smiled. His hair was wavy and a longer cut that gave him the look of a romance novel love interest. He wore casual jeans that fit him as if they were tailored, and a forest green wool sweater. He had glasses perched on top of his head, for reading, which may just be his only flaw. A man like this didn’t talk to women like her, and when they did, they were overbearing. But Adam… Adam spoke to her like he knew everything about her already. Like he saw right through her. Maybe he did – she hoped he did. Otherwise this contract may not work out.  

“We’ll meet once a week, but there’s no pressure to keep to the schedule. If you need to cancel or move things up, just contact me and we’ll work it out.” 

Shoshana’s attention snapped back to him, her brown eyes meeting his grey as he spoke, trapping her in his lulling cadence.  

He brought his glasses back down to his nose briefly as he skimmed through a few notes on the small table beside him, “I’ve got your negative STI screenings here, confirmation of contraceptives, and our signed agreements to keep up both during our time together.” He looked back to her, “And you have copies of these and my own information?” 

“Yes,” Shoshana breathed. His negative screenings, their agreements, and all the other necessary but impersonal paperwork.  

“Good,” Adam smiled softly at her again, the word sparking a little something in her chest as he said it. “At this stage we should go over boundaries and anything you know you’d like included. Basically a yes/no/maybe list.” 

“I…” Shoshana trailed off, her anxious energy growing despite his soothing voice. Her tongue darted out to lick her dry lips, the sting from her bites grounding her only fractionally. Her eyes left Adam’s again, falling to the beige carpet where her feet shuffled restlessly. She felt untethered to her body, as if she would float away any second. 

Adam leaned forward again, bending down to catch her eye, “Shoshana… May I take your hand?”  

She nodded numbly, struggling to bring herself out of this spiral, letting their eye contact entrance her. She felt Adam’s warm, long fingers take hers away from her lap, holding them gently between them as he spoke again, “I know you really want to do this, Shoshana, but you can always change your mind. At any time. Do you want to continue?” 

Shoshana nodded, squeezing her eyes shut, “Y-yes.” 

“All right, take a deep breath for me.” 

Her ribs and abdomen expanded with a shaky inhale. She focused on the movement of her sinews as they moved to accommodate the air, letting it out with control. She could do this, she wanted this. Adam was going to help her in a way no one else could. She just needed to conquer this damned anxiety.  

“Good,” Adam praised softly, a small smile gracing his full lips. There was that little spark again – she couldn’t examine that right now, was a little afraid to honestly. 

Shoshana opened her eyes, giving Adam eye contact now, noticing that he still held her fingers loosely between them. “S-sorry. Let’s keep going.” 

“You never have to apologize for anything that happens here with me, ok? I’m here to help.” 

She nodded shyly, “Ok. Um… the list?” 

Adam released her fingers and settled into the loveseat again. “Yes,” he said with a short nod, “So to cover the basics, we’ve consented to sex together. I will reaffirm consent each time we begin, and may check in during. By check in, I mean asking in clear words if you want to stop or change anything. As I said before, you can change your mind at any time. I am guiding you, not holding power over you. Does that make sense?” 

Her lip screamed at her as she began gnawing on it again, but she kept looking at Adam, determined to take control of her nerves. “Yes, I understand.”  

Adam smiled approvingly, “Great. That being said, however, I have my own boundaries and limits. We talked before, but just to be clear, I don’t explore themes of assault or abuse. I have colleages I can put you in touch with if you think that’s something you might want to do later.” Adam took a sip of his water, the crystal refracting the warm light in the room and distracting Shoshana momentarily. She watched his throat work when he swallowed, a flash of guilt flaming her cheeks as she caught herself ogling.  

Get it together, Shoshi. 

“Now, I’d like to discuss your boundaries.” Adam said as he placed his glass back on the side table, his jeans rustling as he crossed his ankle over his knee.  

“Um… similar to yours, for sure.” She said quietly, “U-uh… beyond that… I-I’m not really sure.” Her eyes returned to the carpet, her fingers picking at her nail beds in her renewed intense nervousness.  

Adam chuckled very lightly, leaning forward again and taking her fingers, stopping them in their assault on her skin. She looked up, caught by his unsettling gaze. “I’m worried you’re going to bite a hole in your lip, Shoshana. I have many skills, but stiches aren’t one of them.” Adam said, one side of his mouth quirking up.  

She immediately released her lip, still tasting a bit of blood, and ducked her head sheepishly.  

“It’s ok not to know. We can try things together. I’ll always check in with you about it, and you are free to suggest things to me.” He paused, thinking. “Would seeing the room together help?” 

She thought for a moment. It might, she conceded. Seeing the room they would be together in before their first real session might take some of the mystery out of it. Her eyes lifted back to his, and she nodded silently. He smiled at her, nodding in turn, and helped her up from the couch by tugging on her fingers in his hand. He led her to the door on her left, letting go of her hand to open it and step aside. 

The room was dark as Shoshana stepped inside, shifting just to the right of the frame to let Adam inside. He flicked the switch behind her, the overhead light coming on to bathe the room in a clinical white light.  

“I’ll use lamps and candles when we are in session; it won’t look this stark. I thought seeing it like this might take off some pressure.” 

She gave him a little anxious smile over her shoulder in appreciation. It did help, being able to see everything without the suggestive warmth of ambient lighting. The bed was large and simply dressed, practical but comfortable with its many pillows, short poster frame, and simple soft blankets. A picture window let natural light in on the far wall, but it had been expertly frosted to obstruct the view. Heavy curtains with a neutral geometric pattern were ready to close off the room to the outside entirely. There was a skinny table next to the window with a water pitcher and glasses. I didn’t think about needing water, good lord. A dressing table with a mirror sat just to her right, off center enough so that the mirror wouldn’t show what was happening on the bed. Unless you wanted to see, she supposed.

[superfallingstars]

end of year goals for this account that i’m posting to hold myself accountable (heh):

post all of my character playlists by the end of the year (they’re nearly all completed so no excuses!!). was going to do a fun little “12 days of playlists” thing but i have more than 12 so idk. top 12 playlists and then post the rest later? just post all of them with no fun winter theme? idk

do some end of year art memes (what i drew each month, color wheel of my art, put all my colored art in one giant photoshop document. i do these every year so again should not be a problem)

similarly, compile every drawing of snape’s face that i’ve done into a single image because i need to see it. also if i have enough angles i want to make a gif of him because that would be cool

answer my fucking asks omg. if only because i want to do more ask games and i can’t allow myself to participate when i still haven’t answered stuff from a month (months?) ago

post some wips. i keep deciding against posting things because they’re not done/perfect or i want them to be part of a larger project but the end result of that is that i’m not posting anything lol

i need to make a giant list of things i could post and then decide on what to actually post vs what to table and finish later. good plan ok thanks bye

[tortoisesandcrystals]

I don't think I've posted him yet! This is a WIP of my WOF OC, Puff! He's a rainwing x seawing hybrid that lives on the coast of the rainforest and likes to hunt in the shallows! His lights change color depending on his mood like a cuttlefish, thanks to his rainwing heritage! His scales can change color too, but only in shades of purple. He prefers to express himself through his lights! He is an animus as well, thanks to his seawing heritage, and his soul is protected by his jewelry!

Is this an excuse to make Puff the Magic Dragon and OC? Yes. Do I have a whole winglet of hybrid OCs that I will be drawing soon? Also yes.

Coming soon is Aurora (nightwing x rainwing x seawing), Jasper (sandwing x mudwing x icewing), Magpie (skywing x rainwing), and the twins, Barracuda and Bullshark (seawing x sandwing x nightwing, Bull is deaf)

[mama-we-all-go-to-huesos]

 it’s 2:30 am does that excuse the shit quality? this blog is full of wips and here i am still embarrassed  Anyways! Prime Leo! The big bad Krang didn’t have a name that i could find but I heard someone somewhere call the leader “Kraang prime” and so here we go Prime!Leo  The only explanation I have for you is that Kraang Prime was able to see into people’s memories and y’know what if he could scramble, rewrite and imprint memories too? Why not? In this Au, if it hasn’t been done better somewhere else, Leo was trapped for a weeee bit longer than the, what, five minutes in canon? Anyways he’s trapped in the prison dimension long enough for Prime to get bored of playing tether ball with this poor poor child and decides psychological tortue it is! Lets put in all Prime’s memories, goals and personality into this little guy and lets see if that makes him a more interesting opponent y’know like bored super villains do Anyways i’m babbling but end goal is just a more violent, sadistic turtle that cracks jokes about his newfound god complex Now I ain’t no story teller so how it is he’s gonna get away with not drawing attention to having a purple colored eye before he starts babbling about mutant turtles being the greatest race and how y’know “maybe we should free Prime’s sister just for the funsies am I right bros?” ultimately gives it away is for someone who can actually tell stories to figure out In the meantime I’m just gonna have fun with this uh thanks for reading my TedTalk Anyways uh..if anyone’s interested in more my art muse is fueled by validation so drop a question or idea and I’d be genuinely honored to chat and doodle for ya <3

[writeblrfantasy]

excerpt from brandr wip: the painter

no one's going to see this until the morning, but i was too excited to wait to post! this is a cameo for my bestie @magic-is-something-we-create, who so graciously agreed to let me put a cameo of him in the book <3

i took this and Ran with it, and it quickly turned into an excuse to compliment ur art, ur energy, and ur inherent genius. took a bit of inspo from ur creatures of ehl drawings for the paintings themselves, the frames were inspired by the stunning borders you've been doing, and of course a trans flag for the shop! (was all of that a little too similar? just lmk and i'll change it <3) up to you to imagine what the painting njord would have liked was eye emoji

also i dont know if youve ever liked working with physical paints but you would absolutely have perpetually stained hands with the paint if you did it's just ur chaotic gremlin energy

i had SO much fun writing this and pax, i really hope u like it!! ily!

They stroll into a shop painted brightly in white, blue, and pink, with flowerboxes lining the windows. Brandr is reminded of what Cerrick said Holbeck was like, all little quaint houses painted just as brightly as the people’s moods. Nilia really drew the short straw.

They walk in and admire the array of paintings hung around the walls, stunning shocks of color that make up a variety of creatures. Some Brandr recognizes, like the creatures of the Gryting deep to scare Cerrick and Edlyn with, with their sharp teeth and long tails and red eyes. Others he doesn’t recognize at all, and surmises that they must be made up. The frames for all of them are intricately carved wood, painted gold or pink or something else bright.

There’s such an array of creativity, originality among the pieces that Brandr has to stand back and take them all in for a minute. He could stand here for hours, he’s sure, and still miss certain details in each of the pieces.

The shop has a calming, gentle aura about it, a stillness that Brandr takes respite in after the difficult travel and the busy first few days here. Even the smile the shopkeeper and presumably the painter offers them, as he adjusts his glasses and long brown hair, is one of peace and ease. But as Brandr takes in the paint staining the painter’s wrists, the unorganized piles of supplies he spies through a gap in the curtain leading to the back of the shop, he guesses there’s sometimes chaos replacing the serenity.

Whatever the case, he gratefully takes the chance to unwind and simply breathe in this shop lightly scented of orange. The silence remains uninterrupted other than the occasional scratch of a pencil sketch from the counter or a murmur from Ivan of, “Njord would like this,” pointing to a painting for Brandr to study.

The lines on all of the paintings are stark and clear, colors only bleeding into each other when there are shadows or a blending of lights, blurred hands here and there. It’s all so pristine, so clean, dripping with talent crafted with an infuriating ease. Saints, how does he do that? How does anyone do that? Brandr has never had an eye for art before, but even this sticks out to him as incredible.

They don’t end up getting anything, knowing they have a ton more shopping to do over the course of their stay here. But Brandr’s thoughts linger on that bright little shop long after they’ve left, the painter’s distant gaze as genius is stormed up behind his eyes.

orderverse taglist (lmk to be added/removed) @willowiswriting @ninazeniks @magic-is-something-we-create @myhusbandsasemni @ren-c-leyn @justwriteyoudummy @47crayons @yejidoesthings @ettawritesnstudies @faithfire @a-forgotten-dusk @talesfromaurea @ashen-crest @thelaughingstag @nicola-writes

[tundrainafrica]

Title: Copycat

Summary:  

""Shitty four eyes and clean freak? Would you know what those words mean?" The teacher asked.

Hange and Levi exchanged knowing glances. A parent teacher conference wasn't at all the right place to explain nicknames. Really though, when would it ever be the appropriate time to explain them?"

Levi and Hange learn the hard way that children like to imitate.

Link: AO3

Notes: This has been on my WIPs for a while and I have a few other prompts for domestic verse pieces so will probably focus on them first hehe. Anyway, feedback is very much appreciated!

“Levi Ackerman and Hange Zoe…”

The teacher was looking through what could have been the class list. No, it definitely was a class list. They were in a parent teacher meeting, what else could it be.

With the way she was holding it though, it was difficult for Levi to sneak a peek at its contents. Eventually, he gave up and let his mind wander, his eyes soon followed. He spared a glance at Hange to see she had cocked her head just a little bit to the side. She was definitely as curious if not more curious about the contents of the piles of paper.

The teacher, Ms. Wilde had a smile on her face and it had been that way since Luke had started school. Her expression then wasn't too far from her usual smile but her eyes were too wide, her mouth too flat of a line especially when she bit her lips. And when she ran her eyes over documents, she seemed…. Stiff.

Uncomfortable? DIsturbed maybe? Levi was expecting the worst.

“Commander Hange Zoe and Retired Captain Levi Ackerman…” Ms. Wilde corrected, clearing her throat.

“No need for any formalities. I mean you have been taking care of our son…” Hange held one hand out for a hand shake, obviously trying to ease the tension in the room.

“Yes, he’s a pleasant kid,” Ms. Wilde added, nodding her head. The discomfort on her face still did not waver.

He is a pleasant kid. Levi was with that kid 24/7. He brought the kid to school and back home, he cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner and he taught him all chores possible at the ripe age of two. Levi was almost certain that along with it, he had taught the kid basic manners.

Levi had to admit though, he himself wasn’t the most diplomatic either. The kid though was glaringly much nicer than Levi was and on top of that, he had picked up some of his other quirks from Hange. The boy didn’t have to be exceptional though. At the least, Luke should have been a functioning member of the kindergarten.

Not enough to make a teacher squirm as she spoke about him. Right?

Most days… And as Levi reflected on it, he started to dig deeper into the past few years, the almost negligible cracks in between their routine. Was there anything he failed to teach Luke? Hange could have been asking the same thing, she looked at Levi questioningly.

Ms. Wilde cleared her throat and in her own way, she had broken some of the residual tension. “Apologies… I’ve been stalling.” She turned to Hange. “Commander Zoe…”

“Retired… Commander Zoe,” Hange corrected.

Was Hange stalling? Or just deliberately looking for a way to alleviate whatever tension had blanketed the room. Hange’s own corrections though were only delaying the inevitable, stretching the tension for longer than necessary.

“I wanted to talk to you about your son," Ms. Wilde started.

No shit. “Go on….” Levi said softly, not loud enough for her maybe. He subtly moved his hands in some signal to continue, as if that could have been communication enough.

Ms. Wilde stared for a bit longer and when Levi squinted, focusing on the paper underneath, he could tell it was a drawing, the crayon ink, visible from just behind the paper. She then put that same crayon art on the top of that stack of papers. “Shitty four eyes… and Clean freak?”

The words sounded strange from anybody else’s mouth, particularly a teacher who had attempted to say it with so professional of a tone and with emphasis on syllables and on words which made it sound unintelligible to anyone less familiar.

“Excuse me?” Hange asked. She had said those words a little too fast. With Levi thinking the same thing though, it had sounded clear enough.

Ms. Wilde flipped the paper open and down on the table.

There were two stick drawings, one with glasses and brown hair, definitely Hange and one with an apron and a bandana over his head and an unimpressed look on his face. That second one was definitely Levi.

Just below it, a caption which Levi had to squint twice to read

Shut tea for ice clean freek. It was straight out gibberish.

Ms. Wilde preempted it. “Would you know what this means?” She looked back up at them expectantly. “Your son… he tried to explain it to me and he said, you two would say… Shut tea for ice and clean freek.” She had said it with unexpected emphasis on some syllables and it was starting to sound like a glaringly familiar cluster of phrases.

Enough for Levi to freeze in his seat and start to dig for some sense in his speculations.

“Don’t get me wrong… Your child being able to spell at this age… It’s admirable, remarkable really,” Ms. Wilde continued. Was she consoling them or admiring them? With that soft and gentle of a voice, it was difficult to tell.

If Levi hadn’t been too busy trying to make sense of that last phrase maybe he would have at least attempted to read through her body language. The teacher had already presented a problem though and naturally, he found himself attempting to get to the bottom of that initial issue.

Luke had Hange’s brain. With Levi on top of that child most of the day, he was perfectly aware of what Luke would usually be playing with. He had gifted Luke letter tiles and had played with him multiple times, at Hange's suggestion of 'something more educational.'

He could have sworn the other times Hange had gotten off work and had played with those tiles with him before dinner, she had been teaching him herself. Although, some words were strange and unfamiliar, she never thought him any of those words. Never.

Levi looked back up at the teacher, forcing himself to meet her eyes. What was the best thing to say?

These are our nicknames. Nope. Should they be divulging something so personal in a professional meeting?

Maybe he could break that awkwardness by complimenting Luke’s work. For a three year old, Luke did a good job with the coloring. Or maybe Levi was just hyperaware about his dad status and somehow everything their little human made seemed almost surreal, almost beautiful even if it was just a bunch of stick figures.

Hange held the drawing between her fingers, her eyes wide with what looked to be the same wonder Levi was holding in. “We’ve been teaching him how to read,” Hange said. “Read and write.”

“But, would you know what ‘shut tea for ice’ means?” The teacher asked.

“Levi here… He really likes tea,” Hange said calmly. “And he likes it with ice.”

“What about clean freak?”

“He cleans with me a lot…” Levi said.

The teacher sighed. “Apologies for the misunderstanding but those words…” She leaned over, cupping her mouth, to soften to a whisper just for the three of them. “It sounds pretty vulgar to me. If you could talk to your son about it, so he could stop calling the other kids names… That would be very much appreciated.”

“Wait, our son, he’s calling people names?”

The teacher shrugged. “I heard him talking to one of the kids just recently… He kept calling her ‘shut tea for eyes.’ and just the other day, when we were cleaning up the locker… then he called her a cleen freek.” She sighed. “It might be just my imagination but it sounds to me like bullying if you know what I mean?”

“Bullying? How?” Hange asked. The knowing look in her face betrayed such a question.

“Well you see, Sarah wears glasses and she likes keeping her cubbyhole neat so… I can’t help but think he might actually be saying….”

“Shitty four eyes?” Levi repeated it again, with a familiar manner, all the emphasis on the right tones. He could almost taste the sweet venom that laced it every other time he said it before.

“And clean freak?” Hange repeated.

The teacher put her hands up in defense. “But that might just be my wild imagination. If ‘shut tea for ice’ is really code in your family, maybe you could spend some time explaining to your son what it actually sounds like?”

***

Shut tea for ice.

Levi could have been in denial. The first plan of action as soon as he got home was to open and close the cupboard a few times over and stare at the box of tea bags every single time. He was deep in thought, still trying to come up with any other reason for those words to roll so easily out of his son’s mouth.

“You want me to make dinner?” Hange called out from the living room.

Levi instinctively turned behind him and towards the voice, craning his neck to look past the kitchen counter. Hange was sitting cross legged on the floor, a toddler Luke right next to her.

The letter tiles Hange had scattered on the floor were an eye sore.

An eyesore which Levi tolerated. After all, Hange had done amazingly at making Luke one of the smarter toddlers in his class.

Experiment… Titan… Omnivore...Carnivore… Whether the child needed to know how to spell those words at that young of an age, Levi wasn’t too certain. At least if ever the classes shifted to topics on history or science, Luke would have the upper hand.

Or so, that was what Levi consoled himself with as he looked back at the cupboard, trying to erase that picture of a mess in the living room. His own experiences with playing with those blocks had been teaching Luke words like clean, broom, breakfast, lunch, dinner. For a second, he wondered which Luke enjoyed more.

“I’ll make it,” Levi said. “You’re at work most days. I’d rather you spent your free time bonding with Luke.”

Hange didn’t respond and the next few minutes passed with the clacking of the wooden letter tiles on the floor. And then an exchange which Levi felt almost compelled to insert himself in.

“When the creature eats both vegetables and meat…” Hange started.

“Omnivore,” Luke answered.

“And meat only?”

“Carnivore.” He had learned to repeat those words clearly very quickly. Levi had to note as he tipped the tea, Luke had always learned to pronounce the more complex words within a few repeats.

The inquisitiveness and the natural genius came from Hange for sure. And Hange was only nurturing them. Soon, the conversation shifted to animals, and then to titans and why the fuck was she talking about her goddamn experiments?

Even when half listening, Levi never understood what the hell that one experiment after capturing the titan and burning through its hair actually did but Hange was suddenly talking about follicles, roots and some catalytic reaction.

Would Luke know what a catalytic reaction is? Levi attempted to answer it for himself by first asking, what the hell a catalytic reaction was. Whatever slate that had appeared in his mind remained blank and he asked another question. Should a child really be learning those words?

“And you know what a dinosaur looks like?” Hange asked.

“Dinosaur!”

A rustle of papers. Hange muttered something about a pencil.

Found one! Then the sound of scribbling on paper.

Levi was only starting to boil the soup, when whatever conversation on whether dinosaurs were omnivores or carnivores slipped one ear and out the other.

The padding of socks on the carpeted floor, Hange’s hums and just Luke’s high pitched voice lisping at some words, saying lines which could have started with Rs or Ws were faint and Levi found himself passing the time just listening to them as he stirred the soup.

He bent over, pulling out the tray of baked chicken from the oven. “Hange,” he called out.

Hange took a second longer than necessary to respond. “Hm?”

“Set the table,” Levi said. “It’s almost dinner time.”

No response. No clicking of plates, no slamming of utensils on the table.

“Hange?” Levi asked.

“Wait, just this last page,’ Hange said louder.

Levi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Hange was murmuring, words Levi couldn’t make sense of. And the lisping words, the mispronounced Rs and Ws and garbled syllables were telling. Luke was reading something out loud.

“That’s right! So, the plants eat through photosynthesis," Hange said.

“Hange, set the table,” Levi said.

Hange sighed in response. There were footsteps then the clack of plates.

Levi soon confirmed for himself that Hange had stood up, tiptoed and pulled a serving plate and a bowl from the upper cupboard. He transferred the roast chicken and the soup onto the plates. While it cooled, he took the bread basket and dropped it on the table, raising one eye at the view in front of him.

“Hange,” Levi said, louder this time.

Hange was back in the living room, cross legged once again, an open picture book in front of her. Luke had shifted to half lying down position, stomach down on the floor, propped up by the elbows.

“Are dinosaurs real?” Lukei asked.

Hange nodded. “They were alive a long time ago,” she said.

“Hey, you two. I said, let’s eat.” Levi found himself looking away as he noticed Luke’s mouth twist into a pout.

Hange sighed in disappointment. “Alright Luke, let’s stand up.” She carefully pulled her son up and guided him back to the table. She moved sluggishly towards the dining room table and it looked very much like Levi had virtually twisted her arm just to get her up.

To make things clear though, he didn’t. There were more pressing things at that moment than making sure the food he worked so hard on was eaten. Levi stared at them then back at the scattered letter tiles on the floor. Then back at Hange again.

The years might have just made it easier for Hange to pick up the silent question just with a few glances. “We’re gonna go back after we eat,” she answered,

“And you’re fine leaving a mess like that there,” Levi said. “What if someone trips on that?”

“Well, we won’t. Luke and I know that it’s there and you can just watch where you’re going right?”

“It’s still a hazard,” Levi argued.

“A negligible hazard.”

“Can’t you just clean it up then bring it out again later?”

“It takes time,” Hange answered nonchalantly as she walked past Levi.

For a retired commander with a full-time job rebuilding Paradis, time felt like a luxury more than disposable income did and Levi had only ever silently acknowledged that. The moment he looked back, he realized there wasn’t much he could have argued about. Hange guided Luke to his chair, and she started to pour the soup into his bowl.

Levi sat next to Hange and served Hange first then himself, a pressing distraction, long enough for Levi to need not look back at the mess on the floor.

“Luke, chickens look a little bit like dinosaurs,” Hange said.

Levi rolled his eyes. Most of their meals usually ended up as a science lesson.

Luke seemed to be enjoying it though. He clapped his hands excitedly. “We’re eating dinosaurs?”

In response to that, Levi shoveled more of the soup into his mouth, enough to give any excuse not to speak up. That wasn’t his conversation. It was Hange’s and Luke’s.

“Technically yes,” Hange said.

What the fuck is she researching this time? Hange did too many jobs at once that Levi never could catch up to her theory or vernacular wise.

“Like the book! The dinosaur looked like the book!” Luke said excitedly.

“Yes! You remember!” Hange mirrored that same excitement.

“Are dinosaurs like titans?”

“Technically no… They can be the same size... “

“Are titans omnivores?”

Hange hummed. She dropped her spoon and put one finger to her chin, a very climactic sequence of motions that could have meant she had something interesting to say. To the disappointment of everyone in the family, she returned the question with one word. “Maybe.”

They don’t eat. Levi added to himself silently.

“Do titans poo?” Luke pressed.

Hange opened her mouth to speak. “They don’t…”

And Levi only had a split second to note the glimmer in her eyes, then the wonder that could have come from reminiscing nights worth of experiments. Then the familiar excitement and passion he had seen so many times before in the barracks over tea.

Oh no. He looked back at the soup, a mixture of beans and tomatoes, the green of the vegetables sticking out at very strategic places.

What the fuck.

And Hange’s tirade only continued, and naturally Levi’s mind made sense of the words having had too many direct experiences with titans to last a lifetime. If he looked at his own soup from the right angle, with the right vegetable bits in the right places and the right lighting from just above them, he realized it looked just like vomit.

He was in a frustrating position, hungry but with no more appetite. He pushed himself up. “You two just keep talking. I’m gonna clean up.”

Hange stood up. “Wait, Levi where you going?”

Everything was just suddenly pissing Levi off at that moment. “I’m cleaning up your fucking mess.”

“That’s not a mess!” Hange retorted, an incredulous look on her face.

“I told you, just bring it out after if you wanna play again!” Levi bent over, and started to mix the blocks amongst one another. Words like carnivore, omnivore, photosynthesis, follicle suddenly mixed among one another. The tiles were suddenly gibberish, letter soup. And the more he mixed, the worse it became.

It became easier to put them into the basket.

“We were planning to go back to it after dinner. You didn’t have to clean it up,” Hange chided.

��Well, you two might step on it,” Levi said.

“Really?” Hange raised one eyebrow. “You can’t watch where you’re going?”

“Listen Hange, I’m the one who cleans this house ninety percent--- hell, a hundred percent of the time. I decide what messes we can leave around.”

“Well, it takes a kid a while to pick up the words, we were supposed to practice reading.”

“Hange a three year old does not need to know what photosynthesis means.”

“Three and a half,” Hange clarified. “A child his age does not need to live in an immaculate environment.” Clean. Hange definitely meant clean. The way she had said the word ‘immaculate,' the fact that she had chosen such a heavenly word, an almost self righteous sounding word felt almost mocking. “Why do you have to be such a clean freak about this?”

“Why do you have to be such a nerd about this. He’ll learn how to read big words at his own fucking time,” Levi said. He noted the way Hange had put one hand to her chest, seeming scandalized at whatever insinuation Levi had brought up.

When he was dealing with the someone who couldn’t bat an eye at hygiene and clutter, who suddenly thought the pursuit of knowledge was a must have for a poor four year old, Levi wasn’t feeling too guilty at offending her, at least not too much. He opened his mouth, only intending to let it out as a release born from quiet anger. And during moments of heightened emotions, sometimes he lost a little control, and sometimes, he’d fall back to very familiar habits.

Shitty four eyes.

Hange could have heard it, but they had said it so many times before, that she didn’t open her mouth to speak. He couldn’t be too sure either that he had said it out loud.

“Daddy? You want tea with ice?”

Levi only realized then, when the silence broke and a young Luke went in between them a mug in hand.

No hot water, no tea bag. A look of confusion on Luke’s face. ‘Daddy, shut tea for ice?” The words were stilted, the syllables garbled against one another.

Levi and Hange had both looked at Luke with the same surprised look, surprised but very very understanding of the current situation.

***

Shitty four eyes.

Luke didn’t have a potty mouth. Or at least, he wasn’t supposed to.

Levi was with Luke the most among everyone. The heavy responsibility of 'main provider' on his back, he found himself thinking back to every single ‘alone time,’ the two of them had since Luke had been old enough to talk. It had been a year at least since Luke had started to seem more like a companion than a responsibility. When Levi looked back at it though, he thought the moments to be countless and consequently, he had found it difficult to point out the exact point in time where Luke had thought it a good idea to blurt out the words ‘shitty four eyes.’

Coming up with no conclusion, he desperately grasped for a glimmer of an explanation. “Luke’s a nice kid, he wouldn’t call people names,”

“I don’t doubt that,” Hange responded, seeming not at all bothered by the chain of events.

“Hey, we’re still gonna have to explain that to Luke?”

“You tried a while ago, right?” Hange asked “What did Luke say?”

“He just kept repeating it… Shut tea for ice. Shut tea for ice.” Levi whispered in response, letting it get softer and softer on his tongue. It had been just an hour before they had put their son to bed. The conference, the incident just a while ago suddenly had self conscious about how loud they were talking and how close the bedroom door was to the living room. He turned to the sofa and sat a few more feet away from the door, as if that could have done anything to make their conversation more private.

“So Levi, what do you think that means?” Hange asked. She had moved next to him, as if she understood Levi’s intention with switching seats.

“He didn’t seem hostile,” Levi said.

“So he doesn’t think what he’s saying is bad right?”

“He called you shitty four eyes too.” Levi turned to Hange.

“And shitty four eyes has never been an insult to me. You’ve been calling him that since before,” Hange said.

“So what do you suggest?” Levi asked.

Hange was in deep thought for a second, one hand to her chin. She turned to the phone on the kitchen counter. “Calling someone more experienced maybe.”

***

Historia had a child, a good few years past the terrible twos and threes. Naturally, she seemed almost nonchalant about that problem.

“Imitation,” Hange said so confidently, yet so abruptly that morning as she sipped her coffee. She turned to Levi and grinned in the same exact way she would have dropped a research-backed theory many years ago when she was still a titan researcher.

“Titans used to imitate right?” Levi said. Mentioning the magic word ‘titans’ could be enough to pull any good ideas out of her.

“Yes, I know,” Hange said matter-of-factly. “And titans and humans are a little different… It would be easier to have a peaceful conversation with titans. Luke understands me almost perfectly. And you too. I think we can talk to him first about why using nicknames is bad.”

“You think a three year old can understand a convoluted explanation by Hange Zoe?”

“Three and a half,” Hange clarified again. If he can tell omnivores and carnivores apart, I’m sure he can tell the difference between calling people names and respecting people right?” She propped her mug on the dining room table and looked expectantly at Levi.

Levi averted his gaze. “Hange, do you think a three and a half year old will get it?” He dropped the tea bag into the mug and watched as the darker liquid consumed the water, touching the rims of the mug. He walked back to the dining table, settling himself on the chair right in front of Hange.

Hange chuckled. “Worth a try right?”

“Daddy! Shoes!” Luke was painfully demanding. And of all moments, it had been then that Levi noticed that Luke had picked up some of their attitude.

Right. Although Luke could easily get ready for school himself, tying shoes was still something Levi had been in the process of teaching him. “I’ll just help him tie his shoes first.”

“I’ll go ahead.” Hange gulped the last few drops of coffee. “Gonna be late for work. You think you can handle this?”

“Talk to Luke right?” Levi asked. “About the importance of respect?” He had put emphasis on those last three words, as if to hint to Hange that introducing such an abstract idea to a three year old seemed like not so good of an idea.

“Worth a try right?” Hange responded as she stood up and slung her back over her shoulder.

“And if it doesn’t work?” Levi pressed.

By then, Hange was already closer to the door than the dining table, far from hearing range of Levi’s naturally soft voice. Levi felt it pointless to say it louder, especially since by then, Hange had already slammed the door behind her.

And he had bigger fish to deal with, like a frustrated son, who had knotted the laces of his shoes enough times that Levi struggled to find the tips. “Luke… Why… Did you do it like this?” Levi had to resist the sweet temptation of inserting a ‘fuck’ somewhere on that question. After all, it wasn’t Luke’s fault he was just a three year old who was still learning the ropes.

The process of unknotting a very tight knot though was painful, frustrating enough for Levi to sit down crosslegged in front of his son. It was taking longer than a few seconds, enough to have a conversation.

“Luke… The school told me about ‘shut tea for ice’”Levi started and when he started to pull at the top most knot, he felt some sort of release with it, some extra reserves of patience he could easily tap at.

“Shitty four eyes! Clean Freak!” Luke responded happily.

When Levi looked up and met his son’s eyes, he couldn’t help but be somewhat bothered by the knowing and confident look. “You shouldn’t call people names Luke.” He put one finger right in front of Luke’s face.

Was that how to tell a kid off? Levi had been working with Luke long enough though to know, Luke didn’t understand what he was saying. Or maybe he didn’t understand what Levi meant.

What would Hange say? When Levi reflected on that though, the only thing he could salvage were her rants on photosynthesis and titan experiments. If their son understood those, he should understand a lecture on respect right?

“No.” One word Levi had learned as a parent. “No calling people names,” he added, his voice softer that time.

Luke pouted.

Levi had a soft spot for his son’s pout and consequently, he did what any sane parent would have done in that situation. He stared at the clock. Fifteen minutes before class starts. He stood up and took his son by the hand. “Come on Luke, let’s go to school.”

On the way to school, he allowed himself another session for self reflection. Imitation huh? Levi thought to himself. He had to admit, he may have called Hange ‘shitty four eyes’ more often than not and in return, he may have brushed off a few ‘clean freaks’ from Hange as well.

They could try to wean Luke out of it right or at least find out why Luke had been using it at school? He could leave that to Hange though, and maybe consult a bit with their teacher.

Levi took a deep breath, a loud one, particularly when they passed through one of the less saturated parts of town on the way to school. He was sure he had enough reserves at his already scarce social battery to deal with asking advice from teachers.

***

Same advice as Historia.

Children were master imitators. And whether a three year old (or a three and a half year old according to Hange) would understand such an abstract concept as respect, that was one thing they weren’t sure of.

So when dealing with a toddler, play with their imitator side, not this belief that they might actually understand an abstract concept.

Levi had repeated those same words to Hange. By that evening though, he had forgotten half of it, and he had hoped that was the message she got.

“So, we should change how we talk to each other then…” Hange leaned back on the sofa. “But when do you think Luke heard us say it?”

Levi shrugged. “When do you say it?”

In return, Hange shrugged and let out a short laugh. “To be honest, I don’t remember calling you a clean freak either.”

“When we fight?” Levi suggested.

“Or when we don’t?” Hange put her hands up. “Anyway, the important thing is, he hears us say it. That kid won’t get shitty four eyes or clean freak out of anywhere. So we watch ourselves okay? No using bad words in front of our son.”

“That’s easy.” Levi narrowed his eyes at Hange and sat back on the sofa. “I’ve been doing that ever since Luke was born.”

***

With a little more self-introspection and blatant awareness of his surroundings, Levi started to realize it wasn’t as easy as he had expected it to be. He had stopped himself enough times that his throat had been sore from the many times he concealed his own penchant for vulgarity with a dry cough.

“Luke, make sure to put your bag back in the room,” Levi said from the kitchen as he pulled an apple from the fruit basket. It was just like every other day before, pick Luke up, prepare an afternoon snack. Very routine, very predictable and the only thing that made it a challenge had been the heavy awareness that Levi did curse on a regular basis.

Or maybe just the fact that he had to watch himself, had him very very heavy, as if every move had to be cold and calculated.H e was a little more careful than usual with cutting the apple. And he was terribly terribly slow. By the time, he turned back to the kitchen counter, sliced apples arranged neatly on the plate, Luke had already settled on the seat in front of him, looking expectantly at the plate on Levi’s hands.

How long he had been there? Levi didn’t want to ask. “Are you hungry?” he asked instead.

Luke nodded. It was a stupid question, but at least his son was too young to judge his ineloquence.

He dropped the pile of apples in front of him and made himself comfortable on the seat next to his son. “After this, you wanna play with the tiles?” Levi offered.

But never freak. Levi told himself as even the prospect of teaching his kid was starting to weigh on him.

“Let’s play with the tiles!” Luke clapped one hand on the table, and he shoved one of the apples into his mouth.

“Okay, I’ll bring it out later,” Levi said. He took one apple from the plate and started to munch on it, only interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing a few seconds later.

Most days, the phone ringing was a nuisance, peppered with conversations with salesmen, customer service. Having grown up with a place with no phone, but too many scams, it was only natural that Levi would detect the opportunity for scams in that new fangled piece of technology.

There was one voice which always made the process of using the phone though, bearable, if not pleasurable.

“Levi! What’s for dinner tonight?”

“Four eyes, you’re out from work early.”

There was a pause, a pregnant and awkward pause. Then Hange spoke up. “Is Luke with you?”

The silence and that one question spoke for him. Levi spun around to see Luke, staring right at him. “Four eyes… Shitty...Four eyes?” The young boy repeated. It sounded rehearsed the first time around, then confident the second time.

There was a lot he had to teach the kid.

“Just take out food for dinner. Luke and I will have a long talk,” Levi said.

***

Levi’s mind was a blank slate. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing though.

Whatever he was supposed to say to lecture Luke on proper respect lasted at the most, a few seconds in his muddled brain. It went into one ear and quickly out the other.

Somewhere along the way, Levi had given up. He had mentioned words like ‘respect,’ ‘not nice.’ When he didn’t even believe half of what he had spewing out of his mouth, he ended up unable to blame Luke for wearing such a blank expression.

Would Hange have done a better job at teaching Luke? Maybe.

Levi had never been the most diplomatic person, having sat at the sidelines every time Hange had been negotiating trade contracts and war treaties. Besides, he didn’t believe it completely necessary either to teach children not to curse.

There were bigger fish to fry, like rebuilding a war torn country, eradicating poverty and starvation, income inequality and terrorism.

Having lived like a soldier his whole life, dealing with something so mundane as a teacher’s request to teach his child not to curse, seemed almost mundanely unnecessary.

When his son was insulting other children, when a teacher was telling his son off for it, Levi didn’t necessarily find it horrifying. School rules were school rules though and their new society made compliance for three year olds a big issue. Maybe he could leave that educating to Hange though, and just focus maybe on teaching the young boy how to read.

He rearranged the letters and a few times, he gave free rein to his son to form words himself.

There were easy words like ‘dog,’ ‘cat,’ and ‘cow.’ Although Levi had been surprised that Luke had independently put together more complex words like ‘broom’ and ‘clean,’ he started to accept anyway, that it was only natural that the young boy would know them. After all, Hange had been teaching him more complex words like ‘photosynthesis,’ ‘omnivore’ and ‘carnivore.’

Luke had been spelling all those words on his own while Levi watched silently. And when Levi started to scramble the pieces again, just to watch what his son would create, he started to notice some pattern.

Shut

“Shut!” Luke screamed. He didn’t completely open his mouth though, and it started to sound more like another cursed word. Levi wasn’t going to mention that though.

“Shut…” Levi explained. Like ‘Shut up.’ ‘Shut up’ wasn’t the most diplomatic expression and it was probably better not to teach his son that at such a young age. “Like shut the door,” Levi added a second later. He mimed the act of slamming a door closed, suddenly self conscious of how rude it probably would be to slam a door. Was Luke going to start slamming doors if he made his movements too forceful?

Ice

“Ice!” Luke read aloud.

“Ice…” Levi paused for a second, racking his brain for the best way to explain it without having to go for the refrigerator and risk making a mess on their matted living room floor. “The cold thing…”

Four

“Four!”

“The number,” Technically there were two words ‘four’ and ‘for.’ What do you call those filler words? How do you define the word for? Levi realized then, there were only too many ways he could explain what words like ‘for,’ ‘to,’ were used for. He could just leave that to the school to explain.

Tea

“Tea!”

“Te---”

“Daddy likes tea!” Luke started. His face fell. “Right?”

In shock, Levi didn’t even notice he had frozen still, his hand dropping the tile. He nodded. “Yeah I like tea.” He allowed himself a tight lipped grin as he adjusted the letters just to make his son’s final product a little neater. “I really like tea.”

“Shitty four eyes?” His son said again, his excitable tone from a while ago unwavering.

That’s a bad word. Levi wanted to say. That’s disrespectful. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything else though. After all, his son was a bundle of innocence, a bundle of excitement. Did Luke even know what the hell he had been saying?

Levi was pathetic. He was weakshit. And he couldn’t even bring himself to disciplining his child on something he personally didn’t even believe in. He continued to reflect on it as he rearranged the letters again. Then he further wallowed in whatever guilt settled in him as he stood up and walked towards the kitchen. As he prepared dinner, then washed the dishes.

When Hange came home, he at least had been ready enough to speak. “I think he’s too young to understand,” Levi said.

“Well a three and a half year old would have a hard time understanding abstract ideas right?”

“Says the parent who’s teaching a three year old science.”

Hange pouted. “Science is not an abstract concept.”

“That’s not the point,” Levi said firmly. He knew if he didn’t interrupt Hange there, she probably would have gone on another tirade. “Do you have any ideas? On how to deal with this?”

“I have one,” Hange said. “I was talking to Historia just today, and some other parents…” She propped her chin on the palm of her hand. “Have you considered… Aside from just laying off, the shitty four eyes first? And I’ll lay off the clean freak? I mean, the kids apparently, at this age, they like to imitate and if we just be more careful about what we’re saying and try to say something nicer, more positive as nicknames. He should stop right?”

“We’ve been calling each other for years,” Levi commented.

“But, not in public right?” Hange said. “You never really said it during meetings.”

“Well those were meetings.”

“Think of this as a meeting, except this time, our son is probably listening to us every single time.” She frowned, wrinkled her nose and looked behind her. Just on the other side of the wall was Luke’s bedroom. It was late at night and he probably was asleep.

But with their conversations and Luke's tendency to pick things up, it only proved that the walls may have been too thin and their son may have been very observant.

Levi raised his eyebrows. “So you’re saying…”

Hange nodded. No clean freak. No shitty four eyes. AT ALL. She spelled out those nicknames slowly and carefully, just so their son wouldn't’ pick the words up, taking in the small possibility that he was awake.

Levi sighed. “Fine.” He wasn’t fine. Their home was supposed to be their private space. Luke would be a sponge for information but a stranger to logic and abstract concepts for the next two years.

Letting go of such an intimate habit born through years in the survey corps just to please the teachers and to make it easier for their son fit in, seemed almost unfair. He sought solace at least in Hange’s forced grin. She didn’t want to do it either.

We suffer together. Levi thought to himself. With a quick glance at her, Levi was sure Hange understood. Making it an issue of pride and misery made it all together a more bearable challenge.

***

It was bearable at least. And it took a little more careful introspection to pick up those few moments he had called Hange 'shitty four eyes' or ‘four eyes’ and he started to realize, it had been more difficult to point out than his own abrasive choice of words and his own vulgarity.

Shitty four eyes after all, never seemed like a string of curse words or insults. It was a pet name, so invisibly embedded in conversations that Levi felt strangely incomplete not peppering his dialogue with it.

Hange seemed to struggle as well. Clean freak. She used to say. She had started to replace it with something more diplomatic. “You really like cleaning huh?” A few syllables longer but it felt terribly, terribly unnatural. And Hange always accompanied it with the widest and most cringe inducing grin.

Every single time, Levi would look away, to stop himself from laughing or grimacing, one of those. Hange must have been doing the same though.

Shitty four eyes.

He had replaced ‘shitty four eyes’ with the closest thing he could come up with. It had taken some strict observation from other couples to pick up the best one. “Yes honey, I really love cleaning,” Levi admitted. He put enough emphasis on the pet name, hoping that would at least teach their child about proper pet naming conventions, the importance of ‘not cursing’ and just conventional diplomacy.

Hange was only making it harder to take the challenge seriously, a sardonic grin constantly plastered on her face. Every single time, he had called her honey, she looked away and cleared her throat, or let out a wracked cough, a good disguise for what he guessed had been a laugh.

A shoddy disguise but somehow, it seemed to work. Luke would watch them every time, his stare far from blank. He had on the same face he made every single time he would form those words with the blocks. Luke was deep in thought. “Shitty four eyes! Clean freak!” He said a second later.

Luke would then repeat that many few times over dinner or breakfast.

Imitation. Levi would tell himself, will himself to ignore Luke’s words. As painfully uncharacteristic as it was. Levi would trod on with his mission. “Honey, you want more bread?” Levi tried to make that one word seem as sweet as it sounded. He never got the practice though, so he wondered if he ever had the innate ability to make any words sound sweet.

“Thank you honey,” Hange responded, her grin much wider. A split second later, she looked away, seeming ashamed with herself.

Levi couldn’t blame Hange. It was a painful rendition, her tone seemed very much rehearsed. And when it was common knowledge between them that she was naturally more eloquent than he was, Levi found himself wondering how bad he sounded.

As long as Luke learns. Levi willed himself to swallow whatever embarrassment and stifling sensation came with the slow and excruciating weaning process from very intimate habits.

Luke eventually picked it up. “Ho...ney?” he repeated as his eyes darted between his two parents.

Yes. Honey. Levi nodded.

Luke’s face fell, his expression shifted from something curious, then something confused. Ending with something that could have been a hint of crestfallenness.

Levi couldn’t be too sure though. The boy looked down at his food and Levi couldn’t bring himself to crane his neck and sneak a glance to confirm it. The drooping shoulders of his son was enough to get his stomach turning though.

How long would it take for him to get used to it? Three weeks? Months? Eventually Luke should get used to it… Right?

It was one of those rare days where Hange had decided to work from home. Her piles of paperwork took up more than half their dining table and food would seem more like a hazard than a necessity.

When Hange was only present during weekends, Levi at the least, tolerated it.

On one condition, he was allowed to straighten out the almost two foot tall pile everytime he passed by the dining room in between household chores. When Hange was deep into hundreds of pages worth of reports though, she didn’t look like she minded Levi’s silent interruptions.

“What time are you picking Luke up from school?” Hange asked.

Levi looked at the clock. “He gets out of school at two today,” he answered. It was eleven, and half his mind was already looking into planning lunch.

“Okay,” Hange said, her focus fell back to the paperwork.

It wasn’t anything new, even on weekends or any other day Hange was home, Levi did most of the cooking and cleaning. Hange’s presence did manage to take some of the load off household management off of his shoulders.

Answering the phone was no exception.

Most days, Levi was capable of doing it on his own. When the vegetables were boiling on a pot, the pasta heating in the oven just below it, Hange offered to answer the phone.

“Zoe residence… Speaking…” Hange had always been better at answering the phone anyway. “Luke?”

Levi’s ears perked up at that. He lowered the heat of the stove, as if that would have done anything to make the conversation clear.

“What? Why? No… We’re not.” Hange’s voice was racked with surprise. “....You’re right. We’ll get there soon… We can leave now… We’re not too busy….”

Hange? Not busy? Levi had turned off the stove. Lunch never was the most urgent thing. “You’re going to school?”

“It’s about Luke.”

No shit. “I can tell that much from the conversation,” Levi said. “What happened?”

“He just started crying apparently…” Hange said.

Levi sensed the urgency in the speed at which she pulled her coat over her and retied her hair. “Crying over?” Levi pressed. Luke rarely cried and just that thought had Levi’s heart pounding.

“When the teachers were explaining… Luke was crying about… his parents… About us?”

“Your son said, you two ‘’didn’t love each other anymore’” the headmaster explained. It had been just them in the office but with the way the headmaster had explained it, it looked like she could have been quoting Luke word per word.

Levi surreptitiously flashed Hange a look of confusion, a glance just to see if she knew anything.

She seemed as lost as he was. “Can we talk to our son?” Hange asked.

“Before that, I just wanted to discuss the family situation first… See if we could do anything to support Luke through this?”

“Through what?”

“Through your ‘separation?’”

Levi turned to Hange, his eyes wide. We’re separating?

Hange furrowed her brows at him, an incredulous look. She turned abruptly back at the principal. “Who told you we’re separating?”

“Your son said you two have been fighting a lot. And he seemed very affected...”

“Fighting?” Levi asked. Are we?

No we aren’t. Hange’s expression said it all. “If there’s any misunderstanding, we can explain it to Luke ourselves.”

“You have to understand. We have our students welfare in mind. If we believe that your son is being raised in an unsuitable environment…”

“Excuse me?” Hange put one hand to her chest. Her tone was slipping to something with more emotion than any attempt at compromise.

“Just let us talk to our son,” Levi said. The echo of his own voice sounded unfamiliar in that small voice, especially since Hange had done the talking the whole time.

“We’ve been hearing as well about the vulgarities your son has been spouting...” the headmaster said.

“Yes, we’ve been working on it,” Levi said firmly, with every intention to interrupt the old lady.

“I’d like first some verbal commitment from both of you at least to work on this? We treat every child here like part of the family. With the case on Luke’s word usage and his suddenly bursting into tears in school… It looks like his home environment might not be ideal.”

“Can you let us talk to our son please?” Levi said. He turned to Hange. The brunette had fallen silent yet she seemed very much deep in thought.

“Could you please explain though from your end the debacle about the ‘shitty four eyes’ and the ‘clean freak?”

“We’re working on it,” Levi repeated. Somehow, it was getting harder and harder to sit still.

The condescending look in the woman’s face, the accusing glare wasn’t making it any easier. “But have you been working hard on it? Can I ask what is causing you to employ such vulgarity in your own home, in an environment for children?”

Since when did schools in Paradis get this vigilant about children’s home lives? It was a welcome change at least but Levi was in no mood to ponder the benefits of such an arrangement. “With all due respect ma’am, that’s none of your goddamn business.”

Levi could have just made it worse. And Hange said so herself, in between a stifled grin and a stifled chuckle.

If his own treatment of the very snobby principal could have done anything to convince the whole school that they were shitty parents. He was confident at least, Luke would defend them.

I mean a three year old should be capable of defending their parents right?

A three and a half year old. Hange’s words echoed in his head. If the ‘half year’ of living did anything to make Luke anymore aware of what exactly was going on, he prayed it did work.

Whether it was because he was three and a half or he was merely three, he seemed to have understood. A flash of recognition as they locked eyes along the hallways, Luke still let go of the Ms. Wilde's hand and ran towards them.

By some instinctive need to prove something maybe, Levi clutched Hange’s hand. She gripped back.

Luke seemed to have noticed it. “No fighting?”

“Fighting? Who said we’re fighting?” Hange bent down and patted her son on the head with her free hand.

A wide grin on his face, Luke turned to Hange. “Shitty four eyes.” Then to Levi. “Clean freak.”

Levi bent down, right next to Hange. “Yes, this is my shitty four eyes,” Levi said as he put one hand on Hange’s head, pulling her close.

“And this is my clean freak,” Hange pointed a finger to her left, towards Levi.

Something felt natural and intimate and something tasted sweeter than honey when he was saying those words again, words he had kept nill for months.

The grin in Luke’s face only made the release all the sweeter. “Shitty four eyes and clean freak!” Soon, he was running back to the teacher that had called out to him. He still had a few more hours of school.

“I guess we’ve been pretty careless about the nicknames huh?” Hange whispered wryly. “He’s probably just too young to understand what ‘shitty’ or what ‘freak’ could imply in any other situation.”

Levi stared ahead, at the young boy who was talking to the teacher in whatever childish babble the three year old could manage. “You know, the nicknames never felt like an insult to me.”

“I mean, we have been using them since we’ve met right? It just slips off our tongue every now and then,” Hange said as she let out a soft chuckle.

Every now and then. No a lot more often, than every now and then. To the point that Levi never felt it when it happened. Yet the absence of such words were painfully glaring.

“What are we going to do now about Luke’s language?” Levi averted his gaze, perfectly aware that if Luke had learned anything, it had probably been from his father.

“Have you ever taught him what the words ‘shitty’ or ‘freak’ meant?”

“Never,” Levi said.

“Then maybe we don’t have to think too much about it?” Hange suggested.

But it continued to nag. After all, the teachers continued to stare, probably whispering. Levi and Hange spent the last few hours before school ended just sitting by the courtyard of the school and they had more than enough evidence by then to be sure, teachers were talking.

When the bell rang, they found themselves attempting to brush away whispers and glares from the teacher, instead focusing on the hallways which were starting to fill with toddlers and kids.

And eventually, they found Luke, next to him a young girl in pig tails, with glasses. She wore a blouse and a skirt without a single crease on them. “This is my shitty four eyes… And my Clean freak!” Luke said. The girl next to him waved her hand, a wide grin on her face, not at all fazed by the words ‘shitty’ or ‘freak.’

Levi exchanged a knowing glance with Hange. No other words were shared between them but somehow they both understood. Maybe adults were just overthinking that very simple thing called language.

[motleystitches]

Old fandom WIPs: LOTR- Holmes AU

I found old draft today in my files in which Holmes was investigating the theft of black horses in Rohan while Theoden's in decline.

In this fragment, he met Faramir for the first time and I realised how...pre-BBC Sherlock (and probably pre-tumblr) this fic was....

For a while, Faramir did not answer as he studied the man in front of him. The ground was not level, but he could see that the man was tall, perhaps even taller than him. His hair was dark, not the inky black sometime seen in Gondor, but dark enough to make him distinctive among the tow headed Rohirrim, and then there were the eyes, the gray so light hey were almost silver in the sunlight. The piercing gaze, beneath the severe brow, too, was unsettling. If not for Holmes’ livery, he might easily have been mistaken for a ranger himself. Faramir could see how Anborn could’ve been mistaken, though it did not excuse him.

“Some call you a wizard,” he said instead. It was, after all, the reason why the Steward had commanded the meeting, though he perhaps little guessed the time and location. Regardless of what the Rohirrirm thought, even far from the city, few doings of Gondor’s soldiers were out of the Steward’s influence. The order had been brief, but the intentions clear; not only did Denethor wish to know what Holmes knew, he wished to how he knew and if all Rohan might spare such a man for Gondor’s use. It was the last instruction that caught Faramir unawares and made him to take such a careful measure.

Denethor knew that the turns of Faramir’s mind worked similar at his and perhaps, in the end, that was what kept Faramir from bitterness despite obvious favors bestowed upon his brother, no matter how beloved.

“An application of thought and reason belong to the realm of men, not wizards,” Holmes replied, “though those who gave less thought might think otherwise.”

Faramir raised an eyebrow. It was an impertinence, but then, there was no reason why Holmes would feel deferential to the son of the steward.

“But if your own lord fail to heed your counsel. What hope did you have of me?” It was a test, one as he had seen his father often used. He did not expect the flash of anger that crossed Holmes’ face. It passed swiftly as a cloud.

“All hope, Captain Faramir, for you have the defense of Ithilien and if the Enemy strikes, it would be toward Ithilien. It would not be in Gondor’s interest to let its borders fall to ruin or to allow the thefts to continue. The enemy would not come out of the north, as we expected, but strike from the south.”

The words, calmly delivered, nonetheless had the root of the matter. With some difficulty, Faramir directed his question in another direction: “You have some knowledge of herbs and plants.”

“Enough to know that they deaths were not natural. It was poison. Further, poison refined from distant lands. I would not wonder that it was from Harad.”

It was what the herbmaster had told the Steward at the last council.

“Holmes, do you have kin in Gondor?” That would be one way to draw Holmes services, at least. The corner of Holmes’ mouth curled. Another man might have even called it a smile. It must not be the first time the question had been put to him. He wondered who else asked.

“None,” Holmes said, then, “Though you might consider me to have kinship across the sea. I am of your coloring.”

Faramir frowned. Whatever his own shortcomings as soldier according to his father, he could at least spot a lie and Holmes, he thought, knew it, which made it all the more surprising. He wondered at the motive. “Rohan is far from the sea,” He answered.

“But it is familiar enough that one might call it home.” Holmes’ eyes took that distant look again and Faramir was wary enough that he did not pry. Perhaps it was merely a living example of how the houses of the Edain were once one, if people of Gondor and Rohan were not even closer kinship, but Faramir kept the musing to himself. What was taught in Gondor’s schoolrooms concerning the people now inhabited Rohan were not always welcomed by the people themselves, as recent events had proved.

Afterwards, he thought that particular exchange never took place, so different it was from the other matters they spoke.

[nsfwsportsanimebabes]

S/O with the best vibes headcanons

Description: can I request kuroo, and the Miya twins w a fem s/o or crush (whichever u want:3) who’s room has just like the most chill vibes, like they have a record player, lots of plants, books, fairy lights, and a cute colour theme that they just adore. Maybe like their first time coming to visit & staying till 2am cause it’s just so welcoming and calm?

Requested: YESSSS OF COURSEEEE🥺🥺🥺 this is so pure and I’m excited to get these hashed out for you🥺🥺🥺 honestly both your admins HARDCORE relate to these vibes. Like we both have these things scattered between our apartments. So you’re really pulling on some great vibes here. I’ll try not to go too overboard 😉☺️

A/N: soooo uhhh. I’m not dead.. lolol. Just kinda reallyyyyy lost any motivation to write for not only this blog, but any writing in general honestly. BUT this blog is still kicking, we do still take requests in, and love seeing them. I plan on doing a few more requests and/or WIPS that motivation comes for. 

Also..I apologize if Osamu’s isn’t the greatest, I did his first and this is the first scenario type post I have done in a longgggggggg time. But regardless hope you all enjoy! ~Admin Crow 💚

Miya Osamu

“and if you push this button on the remote you can totally change the colors to the lights too. Pretty neat right?”

To be honest, Osamu didn’t hear much of your explanation of all the things in your room. Mostly because he was overwhelmed by the pure vibes coming from your room. He was a little surprised that you had invited him over to study. You two hadn’t been dating for very long, so inviting him over to study, in your bedroom no less, had taken him by surprise. But of course curiosity got the best of Samu, so he wasn’t about to turn down this opportunity. Looking around, he noticed the way your lights were set up to give off whatever color you wanted to hit every corner of the room. And how your cute little starter plants overtook your dresser. Candles of specific colors adorned your bookshelf where you had organized them by color to match an obvious theme you were going for. Osamu especially enjoyed the record player that had music softly playing; the record turning slowly to match the music coming out of it. He’d have to investigate your books and records later when you showed him your favorite ones. 

He took in the way your lights had pictures hanging from them, most of them were pictures you had taken with your friends. But he noticed the corner by your bed had ones the two of you had taken together. For some reason Osamu found that really sweet. 

“Samu? Did you here me? Hello, earth to Osamu.” you called out, trying to gain the attention of your boyfriend, who had been staring at your fairy lights after taking in your room for a solid 3 minutes without looking or acknowledging you comments. You were nervous about what his response to your room would be. The way you decorated your room was in a way that really showed who you were, and you didn’t want to just share that with anyone. 

Osamu finally realized you were calling him and turned to look at you with a lazy smile noticing your slightly guarded look and could tell you were waiting for a response. “Come here F/n, there’s no reason to be anxious, I totally think your set up is amazing. Show me more?” 

Miya Atsumu

 “You have so many books F/N! How the hell do you afford all of these!?” Atsumu had never seen so many books outside of a library in his life. The fact that you had two full size, five shelf book shelves in your room side by side. Each bookshelf adorned with rows and stacks of books taking up every possible space that you could cram a book into. 

You rubbed the back of your head blushing slightly “well....I found most of them at bookstores, thrift stores, sales, friends and family who gave them as gifts...” you rambled, not sure what his response would be. 

Atsumu ran to another corner of your room immediately starting to flip through your almost equally impressive stack of records. When you had invited Atsumu over to work on a school paper together, you didn’t know what his thoughts of your room would be. Even though you two had been best friends since you were 6, he had yet to been inside your room. Although your locker at school had a lot of similar vibes as your room, a few mini plants you had snuck into school were on the top shelf, pictures adorning your locker door, and other things gave Atsumu an idea of your inner vibes. 

It was something he really loved about you. He would be lying if he didn’t admit that he was dying to see what your room looked like. Any chance to get closer to you was really his end goal. I mean, he’s been trying to go over to your place for years to be shot down every time. But the opportunity had finally arrived and you had caved, finally allowing him the opportunity into your private life. 

“Hey F/N, got any secret journals hidden amongst all of these books full of secrets you haven’t shared with me?” he teased going back to the books scattered over your desk. 

Sighing, you sunk into your corner of comfy, plushy bean bag pillows and called for him to join you “Knock it off Tsumu, get over here and sit down so we can work on this paper please?” 

Atsumu took one look at the comfy looking pile before taking three long strides and plopping down onto the one next to you, jostling you and your laptop in the process. “I could really get used to hanging out here F/N. I say we start having movie nights at your place. In fact, let’s just do everything over here from now on.”

“Don’t push your luck there Tsumu.”

Kuroo Tetsurou

“can I choose the next record F/N?” 

Looking up from your sketchbook, you noticed your boyfriend looking over at you with a lazy look. To be honest, he looked completely at home, fitting in with the glow of the fairy lights that you had dimmed just enough to allow you guys to see what you were doing. 

Kuroo had been surprised when you suggested doing homework together at your house, since his room was the usual hang out spot, unless you chose to be outside in nice weather. It’s not that he didn’t think you didn’t want him in your room, he was just usually the first to suggest studying over at his place. 

But seeing the way your room just gave off vibes that were purely, you, had Kuroo ready to study and hang out here all the time. He found your room a chill environment, but still productive enough that he wasn’t wasting his time studying. He had particularly enjoyed flipping through your pile of records, and naming off fun facts of all the cute plants you had scattered in perfect places in your room to capture the sunlight. 

You nodded at Kuroo’s question, returning to your sketchbook, immediately getting lost in the drawing you were working on for class again. A few minutes later you recognized the soft melody of your and Kuroo’s favorite song coming from the record player. Suddenly two strong, volleyball and chemistry note taking worn, hands gently took your pencil and sketchbook from you. Setting them down next to you before pulling you to your feet and into your dorky boyfriend’s arms. 

“Tetsu you cannot dance for your life. What are we doing?” you laughed, letting him pull you close and swaying with him. 

“I can’t dance?! Excuse me have you not seen the grace and beauty that I have on the volleyball court? What makes you think I can’t use that to dance with my beautiful girlfriend?” he defended, although you both knew you were right. 

Laughing you took control, despite the obvious difference in sizes between you two, and spun under his arm, enjoying the quick way he caught himself from tripping. Whether the two of you could dance or not, it didn’t matter. Spending this time with Kuroo was like the world had stopped moving around you. If you could spend forever here in his arms in your room forever you certainly would. 

Although it wouldn’t be spent dancing as Kuroo ruined that moment by throwing you over his shoulder and flopping down on your bed deciding it was time for cuddles while enjoying the rest of your album playing your favorite songs. The two of you laughing and sharing special secret moments that would stay inside your four bedroom walls for eternity.