#her hair would b a bit longer as u can see in the art

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I know I just sent an ask regarding the Miss Raven relationship post, but I saw the scrapped Yuus one and I wanted to ask smth related (⁠⇀⁠‸⁠↼⁠‶⁠) sorry if two asks in a row are too much in this regard too!

first of all I LOVE YOUR STYLE 😭 it's so cute, I always get excited when you post art. and it's so interesting to get to see a part of your creative process in making characters, even if they didn't end up existing. ( THE ONEE-SAN YUU... Miss Raven was saved from falling for another charming smile... and so were the rest of us )

in regard to ocs, I wanted to ask... do you have any other twst ocs? I think I read some old posts about some RSA ocs, but I wanted to ask specifically if there's another "big" one in terms of story/being as fleshed out as Miss Raven 🧐 or if you ever plan to make another Big Oc™️ in terms of lore like u did for her

also... I wanted to ask... now that you finished her main story, is there any other long form (?) stories you want to explore with her? I know you're hosting the future!au event rn, and you've written more side stories (?) about her in similar events... but I mean as in- again, a longer sort of story. I'm just genuinely curious, since I really like your work + her specifically and I'm curious about whatever you have planned for her 👀 but ofc it's totally okay if you have other plans orrr if you'd prefer to let the heavy Raven lore rest for a bit!!

[Referencing this post and this blog event; the asker’s Miss Raven relationships ask is here.]

adskjblfabfqyovf OTL Thanks??? I get anxious about posting my art because its usually hand drawn, non-committal sketches 💦 I personally really like reading about other people's creative processes so I tend to scribble notes all over my drawings, and then they get all messy and cluttered... I'm glad you like them regardless though.

I like drawing Onee-san!Yuu’s art eyes and hair… She is very dainty and cute! Her personality is fun to toy with too, since how she acts and how she’s truly feeling are so starkly different. I’ve thought about her so many times, it’s almost like she’s psychically reaching out to me in an attempt to have me formally implement her 😂 Again though, not sure if I’ll ever settle on a Yuu because the concept of a Yuu does not really interest me.

Aaaah, my RSA OCs were back from like 2020-2021. I never did manage to flesh them out and I think I’ve lost the fire to. I have several NRC OCs that I haven’t shared because they aren’t that fleshed out either. Of those, I think my favorite is my twisted!Iago (who is in part also inspired by my own pet)… He’s just a punk ass (first year Scarabia) kid and Jamil’s self-proclaimed minion (Jamil has no idea who he is).

Ironically, I think the most detailed NRC OCs I have at the moment are the three based on mob students:

Even then, I don’t think they’re super deep… Pome A can be summarized as "ex-delinquent who now has the goal of becoming 'a gentleman'" (similar to Deuce, who wants to be an honors student). Scarab B is basically a Jamil fan boy (though he's less angry/pushy about it than Sebek is; he has more eager puppy energy). The most detailed one of the bunch is Octa A, who is very anxious (Idia-sh) due to being sorted into Octavinelle, where his dorm members are constant sources of stress. Outside of that, he's a very... homely "boy next door" type. I picture him coming from a tightly knit island town and helping out his family at a community center where they help people find jobs that best suit them. (If you couldn't tell, a lot of Octa A's backstory is inspired by the Lilo and Stitch animated series.) The mob student OCs were conceived because I thought it would be funny to sometimes write from the perspective of unrelated onlookers watching all of the crazy stuff that happens on NRC campus and just going, "What, AGAIN????" They feel more like unserious gag characters, if anything.

I have actually considered writing a sequel to the Tale of the Cursed Raven for the longest time! If you've read the original tale, Vil, Azul, and Idia play prominent roles throughout it. The second saga would theoretically give the other dorm leaders (Malleus, Leona, Kalim, and Riddle) importance. Note that 3 out of 4 of the dorm leaders in the latter group are nobles or have noble relatives. That's because the (potential) sequel would involve themes of social status and who gets to shape the future. A-And hey, maybe it could focus on Raven's relationship with L*ona instead of J word this time-- The synopsis is as follows: Having finally broken her curse, Raven Crowley is now free to live as she wishes in a happily ever after of her own making... or is she? One day, a strange invitation arrives from an unknown sender, beckoning her to Briar Valley. Amid whispers of Malleus Draconia's ascension to the throne and a grand ball to decide the dragon's bride-to-be, the timing is certainly strange. "This is far too suspicious," she thinks. "I simply won't go." Then a sparkling carriage pulls up to the gates of Night Raven College, claiming to be looking for a princess in black feathers. Accompanying that carriage are two men cloaked in white and a woman that shines like starlight.

"Who are you?" Raven asks, feeling as though they've met before in some distant past. "Why, I'm your Fairy Godmother. I'm here to make all of your dreams come true."

Perhaps this meeting was always meant to be.

(I WANT TO BE CLEAR: despite how the synopsis sounds, it is NOT meant to be Raven x Malleus. I would appreciate it if readers refrained from discussing this topic, please and thank you.)

As you can probably tell by that 💦 the story sounds very ambitious... and unfortunately, I don't feel comfortable writing it because we're still missing so much from the canon main story. I'd like the OB Malleus and Grim arcs to complete so I understand the full scope of the story and how the loose ends are tied up (particularly Malleus's reaction post-OB and how, if at all, he embraces change). More lore on dragon fae would be helpful as well. I'd also ideally like a Briar Valley hometown event so I can see what the culture, traditions, people, politics, etc. are like before I attempt to depict it in my writing.

In this sequel, there would be many OCs introduced--at least 4 of them! I've been cooking a lot behind the scenes ^^ One of these OCs you've actually met in the original tale; it would be the Enchantress (Estella) that originally cursed the Storyteller. 2 of the other OCs are what I would describe as Estella's helpers, who are meant to be her equivalent to Silver and Sebek. One is inspired by the concept of the “messenger dove + dove with the olive branch” and the other is inspired by Swan Lake. The 4th and final OC is basically all but confirmed would be a foil character to Malleus, an ambitious nobleman twisted from Nerissa (the villain from Enchanted).

Here’s some doodles I have of the 4 OCs I mentioned! The first two are “the dove” and “the swan”, respectively. The bottom two are concepts for twisted!Nerissa and Estella.

This sequel would expand more on Estella's motives and background (something I mentioned in my afterthoughts), as well as tie in history and political intrigue as Raven’s forced to navigate those circles. It would most likely be set a year or so in the future, and the events that take place would inform Raven’s internship decision in her fourth year. (She would be a scribe in Briar Valley!) I’d like part II to feel like a story event that supplements or follows up on the development in part I/the main story.

xbjsbsjsjsb Anyway 🤡 That’s all I feel okay with revealing for now. I want to be clear and reiterate that this is all just a theoretical sequel and I’m not sure if I’ll actually get around to writing it. It’s definitely been fun to conceptualize though ^^

I’ll leave you with this concept art:

[courier-sux]

“NPC” OC Meme

Tagged by: @its-sixxers​​ [art from amiiraux’s picrew] 

Tagging: @benny-gecko-official​​ cause I was brainstorming this with her, but also anyone else who wants to do it (as usual lol).

When I did the companion meme for Jackal, I kept her amnesia and grudge against Benny because it’s what made her ‘Jackal’ rather than someone else. For this, I’m going to write it as her avoiding Benny completely. No brain damage here, just REGRET!

Biographical

1. Would their name remain the same?

Nope! Jackal’s real name is Jade Maria (haha like the gun) Black. After waking up with no memory of who she was, one of her only possessions was an old revolver with her name carved into it. The grip was so weathered that she could only make out the letters JA__CK. She went by “Jack” until she met Vulpes in Nipton. Not wanting to give him her ‘real’ name, she said “Jackal”, as she’d heard of him going by “Mr. Fox”. The name stuck (that’s right, you have Vulpes to thank for it... gross). 

2. What about their family?

Her parents would both still be dead as they’d passed away years earlier, but her twin brother, Jace, would still be alive and wishing she’d write him a damn letter.

3. Where would they come from?

Jade grew up on a ranch in rural southern California, but she left home when she was 19 and has been on the move ever since. She’s traveled just about everywhere this side of the Colorado. A majority of her courier jobs still come from NCR territory, so that’s likely where she’s coming from.

4. Do they look any different?

No scar in the center of her forehead, and none of the surgical scars from the Big Empty. Jackal also has four playing cards tattooed on the back of her left shoulder that she gets throughout her journey as Courier Six — if that never happened, she would only have the first one (the ace of spades).

Occupation

1. Are their skills the same?

Jade was always a good shot, and most of her skills were learned from her parents, so it would almost be the same. The only difference is that she wouldn’t be good at sniping (Boone) or have as much experience fixing things (Raul and Veronica). 

2. What do they do?

She’d still be a courier. If deliveries fell through due to the state of the Mojave, she’d likely turn to other odd jobs like she had in the past. Caravan guard, bounty hunter, bandit, conman, mercenary — if it paid well enough and wasn’t too morally repugnant, Jade would take it.

3. Are they in the same area of expertise as they are in canon?

This would actually be pretty similar. Jade has always been good at bluffing, smooth-talking, and reading other people. If she had the free time, she’d probably end up doing pretty well at the Strip’s casinos. Rather than trying to broker any grand diplomatic deals, however, she’d probably just be trying to get a good deal on ammunition.

4. Are their achievements similar?

Absolutely not. Jade isn’t a hero, and has no intention of being one. Helping large groups of people or performing impossible feats isn’t in the cards. She’s just a drifter trying to survive, though that doesn’t mean she has a problem with putting a few bullets into any legionaries or raiders who cross her path.

Personal

1. a)  Would they meet or befriend/fall in love with the people they do in your canon?

It’s tough to say for sure. The only way she’d cross paths with most of her companions was if she had a delivery for that location, or she had some free time to hang around.

She’d almost certainly end up fixing ED-E when she visited the Mojave Express in Primm. It’s likely that she’d run into Cass, Veronica, and Arcade on her trip, but she probably wouldn’t stick around long enough to befriend them.

Jade is nosy and persistent enough that if the stars aligned for her to visit Novac, she probably would end up befriending and falling in love with Boone, but the chances are pretty damn slim. Which is a bummer :( (queue back to the future sequence where her and Boone’s future kids have to go back in time and make sure their parents meet lol).

b) If the answer is no, what do you think happens to those people in a world without your OC in their canon role?

Honestly, for everyone except Boone, their lives would probably be better off without Jackal in it, at least in terms of how often they almost died while traveling with her.

The Courier certainly has a big say in it. How Cass handles her caravan, whether Veronica leaves the Brotherhood, etc. — it’s up to them. But even if they helped Boone reconcile with himself, it’s doubtful that he’d be as happy as he is when he ends up with Jackal. Not that she erases all his problems... but she helps.

2. Would they be happier? Is life easier, or harder?

Amnesia is a blessing and a curse. The Goodsprings incident left Jackal with migraines, nightmares, and a struggle to figure out who she is/was. But she also forgot about a lot of things that she’d been carrying around for years. Things that weighed her down with regret. They catch up with her eventually, amnesia or not, but it bothers her less than it did before she was shot.

Jade’s past is the story of her running out on every good thing she’s ever had; her mom, her brother, and her lover, all of whom she believes would’ve been better off if she’d just stayed (even though at the time, she thought the opposite). Because she remembers her parents so well, she also feels as if she is dishonoring them by being such an amoral person. It’s also unlikely that she’d meet Boone, have a family of her own, or ever find a place where she felt she could truly stay.

TL;DR: Jackal has migraines, nightmares, and a crippling sense of loneliness. Jade has a lot of regret, guilt, and would probably never meet Boone. Both struggle with feeling the urge to run away even when things are good.

Jade’s life would certainly be easier, though she wouldn’t end up as happy in the long run. She’d be content enough — nothing more, nothing less.

3. What would they think of the person who has their role as player character? Depends on the choices that Courier Six made. Jade really wouldn’t have a problem with them unless they sided with the Legion, though she would certainly prefer that they made New Vegas independent. She doesn’t care for House, but she tolerates the NCR more than she normally does out of respect for her father.

Independent: Respects, maybe even admires them. Would buy them a drink. Might even offer a hand, if they’re lucky (or unlucky, depending on who you ask).

House: Thinks they’re unable to think for themselves, but would assume that the job paid well, which is motivation enough. Finds them boring more than anything else. There is nothing exciting about maintaining the status quo.

NCR: Mixed feelings. Understands the appeal of the order that the NCR brings and respects that they’re at least keeping the Legion away. Would probably call them a bootlicker behind their back, though.

Legion: Hates their guts. Would shoot them on sight if she recognized them but also wouldn’t go out of her way to track them down; she knows when she’s outmatched.

[cloudywriter]

promposals

rowaelin month - september 1st

prompt: i just realized i’m desperately in love with you 

hey guys!! it’s finally rowaelin month and i’m literally so excited you have no idea. sadly, i don’t have time to do every day but i’ll do as many as i can. i can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with. happy writing/reading! (this is just some straight fluff) 

masterlist, AO3

~~~

The school was abuzz, anticipation hung thick in the hallways during each passing period. It had been that way for a week or so now with prom on the horizon. Everyone was constantly on high alert for the next promposal, most desperately hoping it would be their own. Girls hung around their lockers inconspicuously for far longer than necessary and boys tried to play it cool while secretly fretting over who to ask and how to do it.

Rowan was over it pretty quickly, but he’d likely have to suffer through the next month of promposal after promposal. Today was no different, there was an asking in the parking lot before school, one in his first-period English class, another in the hallway after. He couldn’t escape it. 

Thankfully, Rowan wasn’t quite as grumpy as he used to be due to a certain blonde worming into his life a few years ago but he was still Rowan. Sullen and reserved as ever. That fateful blonde being the only one to draw him from his shell. 

Rowan sighed, aimlessly scrolling around on his phone. It was the passing period before his 3rd-period class, AP Biology, and Rowan was leaning against Aelin’s locker.

Aelin always stopped by her locker after her photography class to put her camera away and then they’d head to class together. It was their routine, the same every day. Not yet broken during their entire senior year which was quickly coming to a close. That was a subject Rowan didn’t want to broach though.

He cleared his head of those unsavory thoughts. Rowan could tell yet another proposal was gearing up, Ilias came around the corner holding a poster board in one hand and a bouquet of assorted flowers in the other. At that moment too, Aelin turned the corner, giving Rowan a small smile as she hurried towards him. 

Rowan’s cold resting face tugged into a smirk as she approached her already open locker. Rowan always took it upon himself to open it for her in advance, Aelin tended to fumble with the locks that required a specific number combination and artful twisting. 

As Aelin stored away her camera and shut her locker door with a thud, a gasp down the hallway had them both turning around. 

Ansel was there, her hand cupping her mouth, clearly unsuspecting of Ilias and his proposal. They both watched as Ansel excitedly agreed to prom with Ilias and took the flowers from his outstretched hand, pulling him into a hug. 

Aelin turned her attention away from the happy couple and began to walk towards their next class, Rowan following suit. They progressed for a bit in silence until Aelin spoke up. 

“I hope Chaol asks me to prom soon,” she confessed. 

Rowan almost choked, that single sentence baffling him. “Chaol?” He asked incredulously. 

“Or Dorian,” Aelin shrugged, crossing her arms in front of her. Rowan was suddenly feeling very panicked, like a fish that had accidentally discovered land, flopping around in search of water in a frenzy. To say he felt confused was an understatement. Rowan hadn’t given prom much of his brainpower. He hadn’t even considered asking anyone. He’d just assumed he’d go with Aelin. Why would he have thought otherwise? They did everything together; he’d expected prom would be no different.

When they sat down at their blacktop table in biology Rowan silently floundered as he tried to think over this revelation. Why would Aelin want to go with someone else? Usually, before class started, he and Aelin would joke around until the teacher told them it was time to reel it in but today Rowan stared ahead, picking at the skin of his thumb. A nervous tick he’d developed throughout high school. 

Should he ask someone else then? He couldn’t even think of anyone else he tolerated enough to spend the night with. Maybe Lyria? She was nice enough, always sharing her notes with him in English when he was too busy with lacrosse to do the reading. She was quiet, soft-spoken. Absolutely nothing like the girl sat next to him. That thought made him frown. Remelle? No, he could barely stand Remelle, but he knew she liked him so at least she’d definitely say yes. 

Rowan was pretty much out of luck. Aelin and his friend group were to whom his time was devoted to, he didn’t branch out much beyond them. 

He thought of Aelin all dressed up, maybe in a golden gown that catered to her love of theatrics. Possibly in a deep green that complemented her bright eyes and skin tone. He imagined her with her hair loosely curled and flowing down her back. The delicate, golden Kingsflame silhouette necklace he’d gotten her for her 18th birthday clasped around her neck. It was easy for Rowan to conjure up that image but he couldn’t picture her looking like that and holding onto Chaol’s arm. It felt so intensely wrong to even consider it. 

It was always him. He always imagined her with him. They were a package deal in Rowan’s mind, but apparently not in Aelin’s. 

Aelin seemed to be catching onto Rowan’s internal dilemma. Throughout the duration of the class, he could feel her watching him out of the corner of her peripheral, trying to gauge what could be wrong. She stayed quiet though and dutifully continued her notes that mostly consisted of a collection of small doodles. Rowan couldn’t help but watch and wonder how she truly felt about him.

For the rest of the school day, Rowan pretty much blew Aelin off. He sat between Lorcan and Fenrys at lunch instead of the 2 seats on the right side of the circular table that always housed Aelin and himself. He told her not to wait up in the stands during his lacrosse practice and to head home on her own instead. He could tell she was confused maybe even a little hurt but Rowan couldn’t bring himself to push aside his mass of feelings that had him acting strange. 

He wasn’t even completely sure what was wrong with himself. The thought of Aelin accompanying another guy to prom shouldn’t affect him like it was; they were only best friends nothing more. She had free reign to go with whoever she wanted and she could get whoever, Aelin was a beautiful girl he wasn’t blind to that. He’d just thought it’d be him. 

All throughout lacrosse practice, Rowan was distracted, missing the ball or the goal when he had it, a stark difference from his usual skill. His coach had already pulled him aside once and asked if he was feeling okay only to be given a grunted yeah before putting him back in. He only grew more upset with Aelin as he pondered the day’s events instead of keeping his head in the game. Some part of him knew it was irrational but he couldn’t help it. Why wouldn’t she want to share one of their last big moments of high school together?  

And that’s how he continued to feel as he made the short drive home with his hefty lacrosse bag weighing down his shoulder and his school bag heavy on his back. When he finally entered the home he sighed, the scent of his mother’s cooking filling his nostrils. Honestly, he’d rather stay up in his room and stew than sit through family dinner right now but he knew it’d only prompt more questions from his parents. So he dropped his things by the door much to his mother’s chagrin and collapsed into one of the dining table’s chairs. 

“Feeling alright, son?” His father’s silver brow rose, already catching on to his foul mood. 

“Yeah, just tired,” Rowan confirmed, taking a sip of water. 

His mother entered then, a dish of pasta cupped between her oven mitts that she placed in the center of the table. “How was practice?” She asked sweetly, stripping her hands of their cover and sitting down. 

“It was fine.”

Rowan’s mother and father exchanged a look between themselves. He was normally much more talkative, always giving them updates on school, on plays they’d done during practice, on Aelin. Rowan chose to ignore their concerned expressions and instead served himself a helping of dinner silently. 

His phone buzzed then from inside the pocket of his shorts. Rowan pulled it out to check the message and frowned at the screen. 

fire-breathing b queen👑 : r u okay? 

He stuck his phone back into his pocket instead of typing a reply and forced himself to eat the rest of his dinner. He only half-listened to his parents’ conversation about their days and what was going on in his dad’s office. Rowan knew he was stewing again, falling into a spiral of uncertainty. 

“Rowan, honey, are you sure you’re okay?” His mother pressed, worry lining her brow. 

Rowan’s lips formed a thin line. No, he wasn’t okay. 

In a split-second decision, Rowan decided he was done dancing around whatever was going on between him and Aelin. “I need to go,” Rowan said suddenly, standing up from his chair that loudly scraped across the floor. His parents looked surprised by his outburst but didn’t stop him as he grabbed his keys from the little table by the front entrance and left. 

Rowan didn’t even need to look at the road to know the way to Aelin’s house. The route was in his bones now and within a few minutes he was pulling up in front of her large white house. He hopped out of his truck, not even bothering to lock the doors before he pounded on her green-painted front door. 

The door opened with a squeak and he saw Aelin standing there in one of her nightgowns that drove Rowan absolutely mad. 

“You’re not going to prom with Chaol,” he rasped, pushing the hair falling on his forehead back with his hand. 

“Huh?” Aelin was clearly confused as to why Rowan had come knocking at her door without preamble. 

“You’re not going with him,” Rowan once again declared, standing his ground, ready to get everything off his chest before he lost the courage. 

“Ro, I don’t get what you’re going on about. He hasn’t even asked me and if he doesn’t ask me I don’t know who’d I go with,” she admitted, her hand still holding the door open and her mouth in a serious line. 

Rowan surges forward at that, gripping both of Aelin’s hands in his own. “You’d go with me, Aelin. I want you to go with me,” he pleaded with her, lifting her hands up to his chest. “Aelin,” he continued, “I don’t want to go with anyone else but you. I want to do everything with you, go everywhere with you. Gods, Aelin, you’re like my reason to breathe, to get up in the morning.”

“Row-” Aelin tried to interrupt, her blue eyes going wide. 

“No, just let me finish, I- I know that sounds crazy and I know it’s so out of the blue and you didn’t expect me to show up outside your door like this and start professing my feelings,” Rowan was rambling now he knew. Everything he wanted to say to her was running through his mind like a freight train so much so he struggled to express it. The words were jumbled in his mind as if they were a bowl of alphabet soup in a blender. He just needed her to know how he felt. 

“I- I just, I thought about you going to prom with Chaol or some other guy all damn day and I hated it. Gods, I couldn’t figure out why I hated it so much, it just it- it felt so wrong. Fireheart, I want you to be with me. Gods, I think I’m so desperately in love with you I’m going to combust or something.” Rowan was getting flustered now, he knew his face was burning and he was sweating, maybe from the humidity or maybe from the sheer weight of what he was confessing to his best friend.  “Rowan,” Aelin started once again, her face contorted in pure shock. 

“I know you might not feel the same Aelin, I knew I came here risking that, and if you don’t feel the same-”

“Rowan!” Aelin said with more force, bringing her hands to cup his face. “Listen to me,” she pleaded. 

Rowan stopped trying to fight her and looked at her. He felt as though his stomach might fall out. His nerves were so intense as he stared into Aelin’s golden-ringed eyes. 

“You’re just so fucking stupid,” Aelin breathed. 

Rowan’s brow furrowed, he certainly hadn’t expected her to say that. “Wha-” he began. 

He couldn’t even finish his thought before Aelin’s lips descended upon his own. She cradled his face in her hands as her soft lips moved against his in a slow rhythm. Rowan’s brain stalled and struggled to catch up with what the hell was happening. 

He just knew this felt right, this felt so gods-damn right. 

His hands were loosely wrapped around her wrists and they traveled lightly over her arms and moved to rest on her back and pull her into him. 

Her body molded against his own. It felt like the final bit of a 50,000 piece puzzle had finally fallen into place after years of pouring over it. Rowan kissed Aelin back with just as much fever, desperate to keep her lips on his own. He brushed his tongue along the seam of her lips and she pulled back. 

They both stood there, gulping down air as they stared at each other trying to navigate this unimaginable revelation. 

“You’re- you’re not going to prom with Chaol, right?” Rowan finally managed to ask. 

“No,” Aelin breathed. “I’ll go with you, I’ll always go with you.” 

Their lips met once again.

~~~

day one down. stay tuned and have a wonderful day, xoxo

[twiceinadream]

“Trust me.”

Requested: Yup

Request: Dahyun and reader have been best friends for as long as the both of them can remember. When Valentine's Day is nearing but Dahyun's date bails on her at the last minute, reader offers to be the one spending Valentine's Day with Dahyun instead(maybe because there was already so much planned/prepared or something, also to cheer Dahyun up). At the end of the day, Dahyun admits that she'd much rather spend any and every day with reader than with a guy, and in the heat of the moment, reader confesses that she's been in love with Dahyun for forever

a/u: Hey, guys! So I’m back and I hope you enjoy the first fic of my Valentine’s Day prompts along with my first Dahyun fic. I had a lot of fun writing this so I hope you all like it too. I love you guys!

Background: “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” (In Japanese, is a way of saying “I love you” or expressing your love) and you respond with, “I can die happy.” (If this is wrong, I’m sorry in advance I learned everything off Google)

Category: Fluff

Word Count: 3.1k

The cool spring breeze blew the scent of fresh flowers and fried food throughout the market as you and Dahyun walked by the various stalls. And by the look of all the roses and pink hearts you could definitely sense the love in the air since Valentine’s Day was tomorrow after all and just like before, you would be spending it alone. However your best friend wouldn’t be joining you this year like in the past when the both of you would watch cheesy rom-coms and gorge on overpriced chocolates. She had been asked on a date and you were equal parts excited and annoyed.

You loved Dahyun and wished her nothing but happiness, but the thought of really spending the “day of love” alone in your apartment stung a bit. That’s when you felt a poke at your shoulder before turning to face the brunette, “What's wrong?”

You raised an eyebrow to feign confusion, “What do you mean?”

She frowned, looking you in the eyes as she looked you over, “Don’t play stupid with me Y/N, I know you too well for that.” You shrugged as you turned away from her, not wanting to answer her question when you felt her grab your sleeve; stopping you in your tracks.

“It’s nothing really, so please drop it.” You gave her the best smile you could muster as you felt your heart seize in your chest, looking at the way she wanted to help you but you continued pushing her away. Clearing your throat to change the subject as you continued walking, “So...what do you and your date have planned for tomorrow?” At the question you could instantly see the way your best friend’s mood perked up as a wide smile spread over her lips as you felt your heart drop in your stomach, ‘And I thought I was the only one who could make her smile like that.’

But you quickly steeled your emotions as you tilted your head towards the brunette to talk, “We’re gonna go to an art museum, then go check out a traditional Japanese garden, then go to dinner at some fancy restaurant they really like.” At the list of activities she had planned with her date you couldn’t help but wonder if she was more excited about the date itself or the fact she wouldn’t be single for Valentine’s, because for the entirety of the lifetime you had known Dahyun she didn’t really like any of those things.

You pursed your lips as you looked up to the sky, “Sounds fun, Dahyunnie.” A cool breeze blew across your face as you inhaled deeply, trying to ignore the pounding in your head as you tried to calculate how much ice cream could mend your breaking heart, “I hope you have fun with them.”

—

-The Next Morning-

It was a nearly perfect spring morning, the sun was barely peeking over the tops of the buildings as the sky remained a beautiful blue, free of any stray clouds. It seemed just a little too perfect.

But, that was none of your concern as you cuddled into your comforter, content on just staying in bed till the afternoon before moving to your living room to binge on every rom-com Hollywood had ever produced along with a tub of ice cream and takeout for dinner.

You face-planted into your pillow as you groaned at your own plan, “God, I'm single.” But your small pity-party didn’t last for much longer as your phone suddenly began ringing, you reached blindly onto your nightstand not even bothering to see who was calling as you answered, “Hello?”

The sound of crying met your ears as your eyebrows knitted in confusion pulling your phone away from your ear to look at the caller ID. Your eyes immediately widen at the name, “Dahyun?”

“Y/N?” Her voice sounded broken and shaky - you could tell she’s been crying and it broke your heart that she hadn’t called you sooner - she sniffed hard, “They canceled, they said they found another girl to go out with. I saw the text this morning.”

You gritted your teeth, not wanting any creative insults to slip from your mouth as you were already getting out of bed, “That bastard, I’ll be over in fifteen.” Dahyun hummed into the phone as you hung up. Standing in front of your closet as you grabbed a comfortable pair of jeans and a soft sweatshirt Dahyun had given to you for your birthday that you knew she loved to borrow - steal - from you. Before moving to the bathroom to brush your teeth and touch up on your appearance before heading to the door to slip on a pair of sensible shoes before walking out of your apartment and locking the door. Dead set on giving your best friend the best Valentine’s Day of her life.

—

-Dahyun’s Place-

True to your word you had arrived at your best friend’s apartment in a little under fifteen minutes as you used the spare key she had given you to enter the home. Quickly kicking off your shoes by the door as you made your way down the hall to her bedroom, sighing as you lifted a fist to knock. Immediately after your knuckles hit the wood Dahyun was already beckoning you inside, “Come in!”

You could tell she was still crying by the crack her voice made when she yelled, a sad smile painting your features as you entered the room. Noticing how the brunette looked smaller than usual swaddled in blankets and a sweatshirt, stray tissues littering her bed as you could see that her eyes were red and puffy. You quickly sat on the bed beside her and waited for Dahyun to either climb into your arms or not, not wanting to force any physical affection on her. To your slight relief she quickly made her way into your arms, sitting between your legs as she leaned into your hold. Both of you sitting in silence as you rocked the two of you slightly, her tears eventually subsiding as she let out a deep breath. “Th..thanks for coming.”

She pulled away from your grasp to look at you directly as you smiled at her crookedly, “Of course. I would rather spend my morning comforting my best friend than going to jail for manslaughter, I always have time for that later.” Dahyun laughed wetly as she hit your shoulder, you grabbed it in mock pain as you pouted, “Wow, Dahyun-ah, I come here to make you feel better and you wound me.”

The brunette rolled her eyes as she turned around to tackle you to the bed, “Crybaby.” You raised an eyebrow as you rolled the two of you over.

“You’re one to talk.” Dahyun stuck her tongue out and for a second you almost kissed her, almost. You noticed your staring had gone for a little too long as you released her from beneath, clearing your throat as you sat back against her headboard. “So, any plans for the rest of the day?”

Your best friend deadpanned, “I just got dumped Y/N. What do you think?” You held up your hands in surrender.

“Sorry, sorry. Token single person here, but is there anything in particular you were thinking of doing?” Dahyun shrugged as she played with the corner of her pillow.

“I don’t know, I was really excited to go out today. I even bought a new outfit for the occasion, but I guess we just stay in and watch movies.” You could hear the dejection in her voice as you stood from the bed, looking from her to the outfit hanging by the bathroom.

“I have an idea, but I need you to get ready.” Dahyun looked at you questioningly.

“Why?” You smiled brightly as you pulled out your phone.

“Because. I’m gonna give you the best Valentine’s date of your life.” The brunette seemed unconvinced as you moved to physically drag her out of bed and shove her towards the bathroom, “Trust me.”

Dahyun shrugged, as she began closing the bathroom door. Shaking her head to herself, “Why not, I’ve got nothing to lose.”

A grin broke out across your face as you left the room, doing a small victory dance in the hallway as you let out a giddy laugh, ‘Yes!’ You cheered to yourself as you settled down on the couch to research a place to end the night, smiling as you read that there was going to be fireworks later and you had a perfect place in mind to watch them.

—

It took Dahyun an additional half hour before she was finally ready and you were starting to think she had climbed out her bathroom window to ditch you. But the sound of her bedroom door opening quelled your fears as you stood from the sofa, smoothing down your outfit as she rounded the corner. Your jaw dropping as you saw her.

Her hair was done up in a bun, she wore a brown cable knit sweater, and a flowy beige skirt. She laughed at your reaction as a light blush dusted your cheeks as she twirled, the skirt lifting around her ankles as she smiled at you, “How do I look?”

You were at a loss for words as you opened and closed your mouth like a goldfish before finally being able to form a coherent word, “Stunning.”

Dahyun laughed lightly as she walked past you to the door, “Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to give me the ‘best Valentine’s date of your life’?”

You quickly followed after her as she threw you words back in your face, leaving the apartment as you both stepped out onto the street, “You bet I am.”

—

The two of you sat in comfortable silence as you drove, the radio playing quietly as the new song by 3Mix played in the background. You couldn’t help but smile as you kept stealing glances of Dahyun beside you, your long time crush and best friend looked beautiful and you just couldn’t help but keep looking as you pulled up to a market. It was busier than it normally was with most people spending the day out with their significant other, leaving the place more packed as you opened the passenger for Dahyun to get out.

A teasing smile on her lips as she slung her bag back over her shoulder as you both entered the street market. Couples walking all around you as Dahyun threaded her arm through yours, holding onto you as you weaved through the crowd to her favorite tteokbokki stall, it was farther back in the market leaving it less busy than the ones near the front as you both went up to the counter to order. The old man working the stall immediately recognized the both of you as he smiled, “Same as always?” You both nodded as he scooped the rice cakes and sauce onto a plate, noticing Dahyun’s arms wrapped around yours, “I didn’t know you were two dating.” He said fondly as you handed him the money, shaking your head.

“Oh um, we’re just friends.” You said shyly as he apologized immediately.

“I’m so sorry, you two just look good together.” You and Dahyun just blushed as you thanked him before moving to sit.

The brunette dug in immediately as you watched her eat, “Do we really look like a couple?”

Dahyun looked up from her plate, “I mean, it’s Valentine’s and we’re out together Y/N, of course we look like a couple.”

The amount of sarcasm in her voice made you roll your eyes playfully, “Seems like Cupid got his arrow stuck somewhere other than your heart.”

Your best friend let out a scandalized gasp as she reached over the table to hit your head, “L/N Y/N!” You cackled loudly as you avoided her attempts to hit you, as you stuck your tongue out.

From behind the counter the old man watched the two of you from the corner of his eye, ‘And they’re so convinced they’re ‘not dating’.”

—

When the two of you finished you thanked the man one more time as you returned the plates, before walking to the main portion of the market that seemed busier than when you had arrived. Neither of you wanted to enter the fray until you got a whiff of the smell of freshly made hotteok hitting your nose. Did you grab hold of Dahyun’s hand and rush in the direction of the smell.

Smiling like a little kid as you located the stall and quickly got into line behind a few couples, waiting for a few minutes before you and Dahyun made it to the front. A lady in her mid-40s greeted the two of you as you placed your order, “Hi, can I get two honey hotteok please.” You gave the woman a small smile as Dahyun leaned her head against your shoulder, watching as the lady began making the fried pancakes on a griddle beside her.

It didn’t take long for the batter to cook as she wrapped in paper and handed it to the both of you, “That’ll be ₩2,000 please. And I have to say, you two make a very cute couple.”

Before you could open your mouth, Dahyun was already handing her the money, “Thank you, have a nice evening.” You looked at the brunette in confusion as she shrugged, handing you your pancake.

“It’s easier to just say, ‘thank you’. They stop asking questions or looking at us like we’re weird.” You shrugged as the two of you made it back to your car, noticing the setting sun as the sky was a mix of yellow and orange.

“Hey,” You looked over to Dahyun to catch her attention, “I have one more place I want to go if you don’t mind.”

The brunette shook her head, “Of course I don’t mind, you’re the one planning the date after all. I’m just enjoying the ride.” She added a wink at the end that made your heart flutter as you pulled out onto the street.

“You should probably nap, it’s a bit of a drive.”

—

Getting through the city during rush hour was a nightmare and a half that you had forgotten to account for as it took an additional hour to finally make it out towards the mountains that surrounded Seoul. The road up was filled with soft curves that eventually woke Dahyun as she noticed that the two of you had left the city and were heading up, the sky was beginning to darken as the moon began making its presence known.

You continued driving past the usual lookouts till you turned onto a dirt path, a questioning look on the brunette’s face, “Where are we going?”

It was now your turn to deadpan Dahyun, “Just trust me, okay?” Your best friend shrugged as she sat back in her seat, looking out the window till you stopped the car. “We need to hike a bit.”

The unkempt grass brushed against yours and Dahyun’s ankles as you navigate your way through the overgrown foliage. Along the way the brunette’s hand found yours as you helped her down the steep path till you came to an open cliff that gave a perfect outlook to the skyline of Seoul. Night had blanked the sky as stars glittered against the dark, a look of awe on the Korean girl’s face as she couldn’t believe her eyes. She had lived her entire life here and she had never seen the city as beautiful as it looked now.

You couldn’t help but smirk as you noticed the lost look in your crush’s eyes, “Beautiful isn’t it.”

Dahyun nodded as she tore her eyes away from the lights to look at you, “I didn’t even know this place existed, thank you for taking me here.” The brunette’s eyes softened as she felt something in her change as she looked at you, a feeling she never felt before. “But I have to ask, why are we…”

Before she could ask, the sound of an explosion sounded as you both turned to see the remains of fireworks. Her eyes widened as more lit up the sky, the sound of the explosions barely reaching your ears as she watched the show. Vibrant colors danced across the night sky as she continued to stare, “Beautiful.”

Your eyes had left the sky long ago as your gaze was focused solely on Dahyun, a wistful look on your face, “More than.”

It didn’t take the brunette long to have the feeling she was being stared at as she looked away from the fireworks. She quirked an eyebrow as she took in your expression, “You okay, Y/N-ah?” You shook your head as you blinked, clearing your throat as you quickly turned to look back to the sky, looking at the moon as you remembered a saying yours and Dahyun’s friend Sana had once said, “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” At the sudden Japanese leaving your mouth it Dahyun took a moment to decipher what you had just said, when the saying clicked as you looked back at her.

A small smile forming on her lips as she understood what you were telling her before she answered you back in Japanese, “I can die happy.”

In that moment it felt as though the whole world was silent, the sound of your heartbeat in your ears was the only noise that seemed to exist as you and Dahyun stared at each other. A mutual feeling seemed to pass between the both of you as you moved in closer, her hand reaching out to cup your cheek ever so gently as you leaned in slowly. Your hands finding her hips as you pulled her forward slightly as she met you halfway, your lips meeting hers in a soft kiss as your eyes fluttered close. Your heart did a somersault in your chest as the world seemed to resume around you again as the sound of the grand finale of the firework show exploded behind the two of you.

A light laugh leaving your lips as you pulled away to breathe, your foreheads resting against each other as you held your girlfriend(?) closer. A cocky smile on your face as you rubbed your thumb along her cheek, “So. Was this the best Valentine’s date of your life?”

The Korean girl couldn’t help but laugh at your question as she shrugged, “Eh, it was okay.” You felt your smile quickly fade as the brunette giggled at the look on your face, “Maybe you’ll do better for me next year...Jagiya.”

[legendsoffodlan]

The Unwritten Supports: Bernadetta and Ignatz

Anonymous requested:  Bernadetta should have had supports with the other house archers Ashe and Ignatz change my mind (C-A) and hopefully paired ending

So, here’s Bernie and Ignatz

-

C - Support

Location: Outskirt Ruins

OST: Funny Footsteps

*Bernadetta is tucked away in a little corner of the ruins with her paints and canvas.*

Bernadetta: Ah, alone at last! Just Bernie, her paints, and the sun.

*Bernadetta hears something moving around*

Bernadetta: Huh?! What? W-who’s there.

*She hears a familiar voice murmuring to themself*

Bernadetta: Huh? Is that... Ignatz?

*Bernadetta moves through the brush to see Ignatz at his own canvas*

Ignatz, to himself: Hmm, I think blue would create a better contrast... but the again green would create a better overal tone...

Bernadetta: Is he painting? Wow, that’s gorgeous!

Ignatz: But Aquamarine might overshadow the foreground by making the background pop too much...

Bernadetta: No! Use Saphire! It would be perfect.

Ignatz: Of course! Saphi- BERNADETTA!?

Bernadetta: WAAGH! *she falls out of her hiding place*

Ignatz: B-Bernadetta?! What are you doing out here?1

Bernadetta:I’MSOSORRYIWASN’TTRYINGTOBERUDEIJUSTSAYYOUPAINTINGAND-

Ignatz: Bernadetta, calm down. Take deep breaths

Bernadetta: *deep inhale* *deep exhale*

Ignatz: Look, Bernadetta, you can’t tell anyone about this, I’m beginning you!

Bernadetta: Y-you’re th-threa-threatening me?!

Ignatz: N-no! I’m not-

Bernadetta: AAGH! I KNEW IT! AWAY FROM ME FIED! AAAAAHH! *she runs off*

Ignatz: ... ... ...I think I handled that poorly.

-

B - Support

Location: Bernadetta’s Room

OST: A Gentle Breeze 

*Ignatz knocks on Bernadetta’s door*

Ignatz: Bernadetta? Are you in there?

Bernadetta, hiding under the bed: Oh Goddess, he’s here! He’s going to kill me and use my blood to make the perfect shade of red!

Ignatz: Look, Bernadetta, I wanted to apologize for scaring you earlier.

Bernadetta: Pretending to apologize to lure me out?! A tactic worthy of a demon!

Ignatz: N-no! Bernadetta- I-I’m not very good at this. I- sigh* I’m sorry I shouted at you. It’s just, I was- you kind of scared me.

Bernadetta: ... *pokes her head out from under the bed* Scared... of me?

Ignatz: I’m not supposed to be painting, and I thought you’d come to tell on me.

Bernadetta: Not supposed to be painting? But he’s so good at it!

Ignatz: I know I scared you in turn. I didn’t want to. I-I’ll leave you alone from now on.

Bernadetta, fully emerging from under the bed but not opening the door: W-wait!

Ignatz: Huh?

Bernadetta: I- I’m sorry I was spying on you too. A-andIthinkyou’repaintingisreallygood!

Ignatz: Oh. Uh, thank you Bernadetta. I- I’d like to see one of your one day! *he walks away*

Bernadetta: He- he wants to see one of mine?! One of Bernie’s?! Oh no. OH NOOOOOO! *dives back under the bed*

-

 B+ - Support

Location: Outskirt Ruins

OST: Respite and Sunlight

*Ignatz is at his sketchbook, murmuring to himself as he goes*

Ignatz: No no... too much on the eyes... her hair is wilder than that...

*Bernadetta pokes her head out from behind a rock*

Bernadetta: Okay Bernie, there he is! Just go over and say hi! Easy as can be!

Ignatz: Hmm, is someone there?

Bernadetta: AACK! NO ONE HERE BUT US ROCKS!

Ignatz: Bernadetta? Oh, I’m sorry. Did I scare you again?!

Bernadetta, falling out from behind the rock: NO! *stands up and brushes herself off* I- I’m n-n-not scared. I- I just came t-to say hi!

Ignatz: Oh, well, hello Bernadetta.

Bernadetta: A-and u-u-uh- w-what are you.... *gasp* drawing?

Ignatz, suddenly self-concious: N-nothing. just sketches of ideas right now.

Bernadetta: Oh, um, well, I-I j-just wanted to say Th-that... you’re really good at painting. You- you should do it!

Ignatz: Oh, uh, well thank you Bernadetta, but painting is only a hobby for me. I have to focus on being a knight. It’s what’s best for my family. My father says so.

Bernadetta: Oh... well getting married rich is what my father says is best for my family.

Ignatz: Wha- but you should get married because you love someone!

Bernadetta: And you- you should keep painting!

*There’s an awkward silence before Ignatz speaks again*

Ignatz: You know what, Bernadetta? Okay. but, on one condition.

Bernadetta: Wh- what is it! NO YOU CANNOT HAVE MY HAIR YOU SICK DEVIANT!

Ignatz: Wha- NO! N-no. Nothing like that.

Bernadetta: Oh. Uh, then what is it?

Ignatz: I- uh- I want you to use these. *he hands her her paints and canvas back*

Bernadetta: O-oh! I dropped these on my run away from here.

Ignatz: Y-yeah. I wanted to return them, but you never left your room. So- uh... I want you to use these to paint something. Something you want to. And then, at the end of the year, we’ll show each other our paintings.

Bernadetta: Y- really? O-okay! Let’s do it!

-

A - Support (Only available Post-Timeskip)

Location: Chapel

OST: Somewhere to Belong

*Ignatz is standing before the ruined front of the chapel when Bernadetta comes up behind him*

Bernadetta: Ignatz?

Ignatz, turning to face her: Oh, hey Bernie!

Bernadetta: We- uh haven’t had a whole lot of chances to chat. What with the war and everything.

Ignatz, laughing: Yeah, that does tend to put a damper on one’s social life.

Bernadetta: And, uh, since we didn’t get the chance at graduation, we oughta exchange paintings now!

Ignatz: You... you remebered?

Bernadetta: Y-yup! A-and we’ve had five years to work on it!

Ignatz: Heh, I hope you like mine... I’m not sure how good it is.

*he hands it to her*

Bernadetta: ...Ignatz... is- is this me?

Ignatz: I’m sorry! It’s awful. I wanted to show you what I saw when I looked at you- and I’ve overdone it and-

Bernadetta, crying: It’s... it’s beautiful Ignatz...

Ignatz: I- you think so?

Bernadetta: This- this is how you see me? All- all bright and happy?!

Ignatz: I- I see a flower, blooming against all odds. I see someone who’s brave even when they’re terrified. I- I wanted to show you that.

Bernadetta: Oh, Ignatz. H-here’s mine. It’s a little embarrasing now and I

Ignatz: You- you painted me?!

Bernadetta: I’M SORRY! I just- I just wanted to thank you for being my friend. And- and this was the only way I could think of doing it!

Ignatz: Bernadetta, this is the best painting I’ve ever seen.

Bernadetta: Oh. Oh... Ignatz...

-

Paired Ending: The Eternal Loner and the Worldly Artist

Ignatz and Bernadetta, together, created a new renaissance of artistic innovation in Fodlan, a movement that grew even greater after their marriage. Together, they converted Varley Manor into an art school where they could nurture young minds and ease them gently into the world. Bernadetta came, bit by bit, out of her shell and by the time she bore her first child she had little fear of the outside world any longer. Ignatz, for his part, started a new order of Knight, the Order of the Stained Brush, who went into the world to learn new art forms and spread beauty to the masses. But besides all that, they were happy together, until their dying days.

[comicaurora]

aaaa this is not technically a question, but I love how you draw fight scenes/action in both the comic and in all the legends/myths summarized videos!! It's so goodddd even tho you like to say how much you get tired of the process of choreographing fight scenes i think you really pull them off spectacularly!! do u perhaps have any tips... besides the usual looking at a bunch of refs and such- do you take inspo from action movies maybe? id love to know because like ur just so skilled red how

!!!! this is such a sweet question!

I’m so glad the choreography works! It’s difficult for me to gauge how engaging they are to read - I’m usually just focusing on making sure the movement makes sense from panel to panel. I’ve read a lot of manga where the fight scenes are beautifully drawn but frankly incomprehensible, because I have no idea how the characters are supposed to be moving in relation to each other. Because of this, when I choreograph a fight, I try and make sure the movement is clear from one panel to the next.

When drawing fight scenes for videos, I tend to exaggerate the movements a bit more than I might in a comic, since I’m usually trying to communicate the entirety of a fight scene in only one or two frames. Especially in the Journey to the West videos, I tend to give the characters very stretched poses - legs bent all the way up to the chest or stretched all the way back, arms completely extended, etc. In real life, overextending a limb is a very bad idea in a fight, but in the wonderful world of visual art, it usually looks a lot better than the more safe and realistic partially-bent option. I try to make sure the poses are all plausible, but for me, that stretch component is very important. It gives the illusion of effort - you can almost feel how the character would feel.

This frame demonstrates the stretch factor with Monkey’s entire pose, but it also demonstrates another important factor - flow. Anywhere there’s movement, I want there to be something flowing to show it. Monkey’s tail and sash and Tripitaka’s robes are very useful for this, and having a lot of characters with long hair or flowing capes also makes my job a lot easier.

Stretch makes the poses feel lively and full of movement. Flow makes it clear to the audience how the characters in this still image are supposed to be moving. Between those two factors, it becomes pretty intuitive to communicate a lot of energy in any given panel.

Of course, chaining panels together to make sure the movement is actually coherent is a different skillset altogether, and one I’m still working on. In my experience, the easiest way to make that work is coherent direction of movement.

This post is getting long, so I’m gonna try putting in a “read more”:

Using that fight scene as an example, the direction of movement shifts at the top of the page when Kendal rounds the tree. In the first panel, movement is from right to left. He pivots in panel 2, and then in panel 3, he’s abruptly attacked in a sudden burst of left-to-right movement. This is a new action; it’s fine that it’s moving in a new, opposed direction.

Kendal catches himself as he falls forward - this is still a left-to-right movement, because he’s still falling from the events of panel 3, so continuity of movement is to be expected. But the middle panel shifts focus again, because something new and unexpected is happening - his attacker is about to get kicked in the face.

In that center panel, the direction is no longer left-to-right - it’s out-to-in. We’re essentially zooming along the movement to accentuate its suddenness. Even if you can’t quite make out the detail of the boot, the movement is still pretty clear. The next panel brings us back to our familiar arrangement from panel 3, but this time, the movement has been reversed and is moving right-to-left again, as Kendal kicks back and gains the upper hand.

Finally, in the last panel of the page, the movement becomes a bit more directionless. His attacker is still moving right-to-left, continuing the flow from the impact, but the focus has shifted. The movement and overall flow is unclear, which reflects the fact that, at this point, the fight has become a stalemate.

Chaining movement together like this is tricky, as is representing clear movement in a single panel. You know it’s tricky because a lot of otherwise good media kinda sucks at it. For instance, I quite like My Hero Academia, but I’ve been keeping up with the manga for months and I have literally no idea what’s happening in these protracted superhero fights.

This next bit is going to contain spoilers from the most recent chapter, but it demonstrates my issue way too well for me to leave out:

This image has a clear direction of movement, but I have literally no idea what’s happening, except that someone might be about to get punched. (The next set of panels is not someone getting punched. It’s a flashback that lasts eight and a half pages.) The next panel that continues this action is this one:

It follows through on the clear right-to-left direction of movement established from the earlier panel, but it’s (a) still totally unclear what just actually happened, and (b) interrupted by eight and a half pages of other stuff. The panels individually look phenomenal (if a little speed-line-heavy for me) but it’s hard to know what’s actually happening. All we know is that movement happened; we can’t actually tell what happened in that movement.

In contrast, for a comic that does movement INCREDIBLY well, I recommend Usagi Yojimbo. It’s a comic about a wandering samurai who happens to be a rabbit, and all the Kurosawa-esque antics he gets into in his wanderings through ancient funny-animal Japan.

Uh oh! A setup for a fight scene! And that’s a lot of left-to-right movement I’m seeing! Even the swords in shot are all pointing that specific direction!

Oh, never mind. He’s fine. See all that right-to-left movement our hero is doing? See how the bad guys are suddenly pointing in all different directions and their movement has become chaotic and uncertain? That’s how you know the fight’s literally going our hero’s way.

This is a random encounter from a random issue of the comic. Fights happen frequently, and most of them follow the same structure - right down to the direction of movement. Bad guys move in from the left, good guy fights back from the right.

And when the fight proper starts, the background usually vanishes into a vague white void so the characters can take center stage - no visual cluttering, not even any speed lines.

These fights aren’t important. These random background mooks aren’t plot-relevant except as temporary roadblocks. As such, most of these fights play out roughly the same - no background, page-wide panels, minimal dialogue. But the serious fights? Those look pretty different.

Environmental shots! Close-ups! Banter! Backgrounds! The direction of movement is even reversed from the norm! This immediately sets the fight apart from the standard. Characters move around each other, the environment come into play, and each panel is a very clear beat in the progress of the fight.

Usagi Yojimbo is probably my favorite comic ever. But it’s also not the only very useful resource when you’re looking for media that does well-choreographed fights. Comics are good (even if a lot of them are just good bad examples), but animated media is built on a lot of the same principles as comic art. While they have an easier time showing movement (since they involve actual movement, rather than static images) they still need to chain shots together in a way that’s coherent and gives the audience enough information to understand the movement and progression of the situation. Movies and tv won’t help you much with drawing individual static images that communicate dynamic poses, but they can help a lot if you’re figuring out how one phrase of the fight should chain into the next.

While I’ve seen plenty of media that does this well, rather than making you analyze this stuff from the ground up, allow me to recommend a youtube channel that can do the analysis for you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mACKHGfdLlo&ab_channel=JillBearup

Jill Bearup has a wonderful channel with a criminally small subscriber base. I only found her within the last month and I think she’s amazing. Everyone should watch her videos about fight choreography.

This answer got much longer than I expected, but I hope it was helpful!

[for-ests]

Hey, not sure if you do smut but I think this request can work without a lot if you’d prefer😁 reader’s an art student and needs to sculpt a full body nude sculpture and Tom offers but gets a bit cheeky

thanks for the request dear! this was fun to write :-) i literally know nothing about art so if I get something wrong just ignore! i hope you enjoy!! i went a diff +route but I still think it fits! [ mlist ] 

Word count: 3, 273

Warnings: slight nsfw,, nudity 

Pairing: Tom Holland x art student reader!

“The issue is… I have no idea who to ask.” You sighed deeply, embarrassment washing over you as you talked to your best friends about your upcoming project. 

Everyone knew you were a talented sculptor. That wasn’t the issue. The issue was that your professional sculpting internship at (your school) was currently learning about Ancient Greece. One of the requirements to pass the semester was to recreate a modern sculpture of someone you knew, and to make it as realistic as possible. Nakedness and all, which was a huge distinction of Greek statues.

There was a big problem though. You were incredibly shy, and you didn’t know who to ask to model for you.

Nudging you with a laugh, your friend flashed you a mischievous smile. “You know a lot of cute guys, why don’t you ask one of them?”

“Cute guys?” You scrunched your nose. “I know like three guys and I would cry if I had to see them naked.”

She sighed. “Fair. Does it have to be a guy?”

*-You nodded regretfully. “It has to be the opposite sex. It’s annoying but I u

erstand why. It’s important to be familiar with both sexes.”

Your best friend air quoted ‘familiar’ with a ridiculous smirk.

“Shut up.” You huffed, trying not to laugh at how dramatic she had become.

“I think I know a guy, he’s an aspiring actor and model.” Your best friend added casually.

Groaning, you shot her a glare. “Why didn’t you say that right away?”

She shrugged. “I like listening to you talk about your art.”

Her compliment almost worked, but you already knew that was partly the reason she was teasing you so hard. The other reason was because she had been trying to set you up with multiple friends for months. According to her, you had been single for far too long.

Her offer made you ponder deeper about your situation. You were slightly awkward when it came to getting to know someone, but you couldn’t imagine asking someone to strip right away so you could sculpt every curve your eyes grazed over. Whoever it ended up being had to be incredibly confident. Shallow yes, but that’s why you were hoping to find someone insanely attractive. Attractive people were usually confident, and responsibly so. “Maybe a stranger would be worse than someone I know.”

Snorting through her nose, your best friend stared at you like you were crazy. “Definitely not. If it’s awkward you never have to see him again. And if it’s not, well you can get cozy with a cutie.”

Taking a deep breath, you rolled your eyes. “I hate you sometimes.” You mumbled under your breath. You knew she was right, but you would never inflate her already enormous ego like that.

“You love me.” She sang sweetly.

“I do, now give him my number and tell him it’s of the utmost importance.”

❀∙∘✿∘∙❀

Days later, that conversation was on your mind as you nervously organized your sculpting tools. Trying to relieve some tension, you slapped a pound of clay against the table, and it echoed throughout the workshop.

Reality was the fact that this so called model boy was on his way to your studio. His name was Tom, and from the pictures you saw–he was incredibly handsome.

You couldn’t believe you had agreed to this, but alas, you needed this experience to pass your class. You just hoped and prayed that Tom was a lot more outgoing than you, and could keep the conversation flowing as you stared intently as his erect… penis.

Your cheeks flared up at the thought. How the hell were you going to do this?

Y/N: help (Y/B/F/N) I cant do this!!! im freaking out

Y/B/F: is he even there yet? lmfao

Y/N: noooooo :((

Y/B/F: if it makes you feel any better, he’s excited and thinks ur pretty

Y/N: why didn’t you tell me that before??!

Y/B/F: do u feel better now tho?

Y/N: no

Y/B/F: ik ur smiling ;) u aint slick

Giggling like a schoolgirl to relieve some of your anxiety, you set your cell phone on the table. Truthfully, your best friend had made you feel better. If anything bad happened, it would surely be a wonderful story to tell everyone in the future.

Your eyes naturally glanced across the room to the clock on the wall. 7:00pm. Tom would be here any minute as scheduled.

You took a deep breath and studied your surroundings. All your tools were in place, and the entire studio was tidied up as if you hadn’t worked the space in weeks. Next, you walked to the wall and glanced at your reflection in the mirror.

With your hair in a bun and your shabby working clothes, you looked suitable at best. You did have a little bit of makeup on to help yourself feel more confident. If you felt good, you could make your client feel good in return.

At least it looked like you didn’t try too hard. You didn’t want this man to get the wrong idea.

Then, snapping you out of your trance, there was a knock on the door.

You straightened out your shirt one last time, and tucked your baby hairs back behind your ears. Scoffing immediately after, you shook your head. Why were you trying to look cute? Who cares!

You rushed to grab the front door, afraid that you were making him wait too long. You flung it open, eyes locking with his right away.

You froze.

He was even more dashing in person.

“Judging by your cute outfit, I think I’m at the right place. Y/N right?”

And a British accent?

“Y-yes!” You flashed a smile to mask your obvious hesitation. You could easily play it off by opening the door and keeping your gaze averted. You were the master of smoothness.

“Thank you for coming, it’s about time I got this project done…” You tittered, locking the door behind him for privacy purposes. “You can set your things on the couch over there.” You pointed, eyes meeting his again when he glanced to the couch and then back to you.

“Awesome.” He nodded, holding your gaze for a moment longer than necessary.

“Do you want anything to eat or drink?” You offered, nodding your head back to the small kitchen in the back of the studio. You wished the studio apartment was yours alone, but you shared it with multiple other college students in your program.

“Water… or beer if you have any?”

You threw your head back in laughter, causing Tom to smile at your genuine reaction.

“Yeah, I can get you one.”

“In the meantime, should I just strip?” He smirked, not trying to be sly with his flirtations. Though your cheeks were dusting with pink, you were able to match his energy. Your best friend definitely set you up with someone she knew you’d like.

“Do whatever you want, love.” You mimicked his British accent. “You’re the guest after all.”

Walking past him, you gave him one last look when he was fully-clothed. Tom was certainly the player type, practically the perfect embodiment of the muse you had in mind. This wouldn’t be awkward for you, and it would be even better for him. Men like him thrived off of cheeky discomfort in their female counterparts.

Yet, truthfully, you were enjoying it as well. It felt nice to be complimented so soon into an introduction.

As you cracked open a can of beer for Tom and yourself, you could hear him shuffling around with his items. The sound of his buckle falling against the floor made you suddenly nervous to turn around.

Inhaling sharply, and gulping down a few more sips of beer, you finally gained the courage to walk back to the studio setup, where Tom had already wandered over to, completely naked.

“You seem to be in your element.” You noted, trying to keep your eyes leveled with his. Now that you were thinking about it, remaining calm and professional was excruciating in front of such an attractive man. And it certainly wasn’t helping that he was enjoying your embarrassment.

And least this was exciting.

Thanking you, Tom took the beer and pressed his lips against the cold aluminum. “I would definitely feel a lot more comfortable if you were naked too, darling.”

“Hey now,” You nose scrunched in a form of mock distaste. The man caught on immediately, holding your gaze with a sort of amusement that was masking desire. “I might think about it if you sit nice and pretty for me for more than five minutes so I can sketch you.”

“Your wish is my command.”

Shaking your head in disbelief, you walked over to your crafting desk. You decided you were going to start with the hardest part, the part which your grade depended heavily on- from the waist down.

But first, you quickly sketched Tom posing in multiple poses until you were satisfied with one. You had him mimic a sculpture you couldn’t recall, where one hand was pointed forward and the other was rested casually on his hip.

“Can I see what one you want to do?” He asked curiously from the stand you had him propped up on for a better view.

“Sure.” You flashed him your finished sketch. The lines darted all over the page, making it hard for him to picture what was going on in your head. The picture you had drawn would not make sense to anyone else but the artist. But apparently you were talented, so he would trust the process.

You were also trusting the process. The situation you were in could only be awkward if you allowed it to be. And so far it was moving along smoothly. You had your favorite music playing softly in the background to fill the silence, and Tom seemed to be relaxed and unbothered by how quietly you worked.

“That’s cool.” Tom whispered, his eyes narrowing in confusion.

Giggling from his sudden proximity, you tried to tease him. “It’s fine to not understand it.”

“I definitely don’t know what’s going on but it’s still interesting.” He admitted.

You set the paper back down on the table, and decided to attempt and sculpt the base. Moving past a still naked Tom, you tried to immerse yourself in your work, or at least make it seem like you were focused. “This takes hours you know, weeks and months- it won’t make sense for a long time.”

“Perfect.” He grinned. “I’ll get plenty of time to know you better.”

Laughing through your nose, you kept your attention on the clay you had dropped on the floor. “You can put your clothes back on.”

“Oh!” He chuckled. “Yeah.”

As you carefully trimmed the base clay with a heavy frame, you lifted your head to find Tom slipping a robe back on. He definitely came prepared. Had he done this before?

“Come here.” You gestured. “I need you to set your feet down on the clay.”

“I didn’t think this would get dirty so fast.”

“Shut up.” You huffed, grabbing his foot and pressing it down hard until the clay took shape to the size.

“Cold.” Tom commented in discomfort.

“I know.” You released your grip on his calf, looking up at him with a sheepish smile. “All part of the process, but good news for you- you’re done for the night.”

“Really?” Tom raised his eyebrows. “That’s it?”

You nodded, standing back up to normal height. “I’m experienced enough to sculpt the feet and legs tonight.”

“When should I come back?” He sounded a tad too eager, but it caused your smile to reappear.

“Tomorrow night if you’re available.”

“And maybe next time you can bring your own alcohol?” You gestured to the multiple beer cans poking out of the recycling bin.

The man flashed you a smile. “Sounds like a date.”

“It’s definitely not.”

Despite your rejection to his amusing advances, Tom’s expressions and mannerisms remained hopeful. Was it possible he was truly enjoying himself?

“I’ll leave my robe here. I’ll see you tomorrow at the same time?”

“Same time.” You confirmed, nodding him off. It was about time you started to really focus. Attractive man or not, you always got the most and best work done alone.

Because after the first night, the dynamics between you and Tom changed. He became incredibly invested in your process, asking you questions left and right, asking if there was any way he could help, and practically just lounging next to you hours after he would have been free to go.

“What do your sculptures usually look like?”

“Since this isn’t my own studio, I don’t have any of my pieces here. But I can show you a picture when I get my hands wiped off.”

“What do you build your sculptures with? It’s hard to imagine that a replica of me can come out of that much clay.”

“My sculptures are built with water-based clay and are fired in a gas kiln to cone 4, about 2150 degrees Fahrenheit… “ You nodded towards the back wall that had an installed kiln for you and everyone to share. “Trust me, there will be a lot more clay. Hundreds of pounds worth.”

“Can I help?”

“No.”

There was no lying that you enjoyed his presence. Whether he was talking your ear off or napping to the peaceful beat of your jazz music, there was never a dull moment when Tom was in your studio.

Weeks passed, and so did the process. Your sculpture of Tom had progressed to week three, and that’s when you started to grow nervous. When you finished, which you were almost done, would you ever see him again?

You had barreled through the awkwardness of replicating his genitals and chiseling his six pack perfectly into the hardening clay- but you still felt like something was missing. You knew even when you finished chiseling away his jaw line and chocolate brown eyes, there would still be something missing. Him. His presence.

Maybe it would have been better if you partnered up with a man that had zero personality.

Since it was just you and Tom for hours on end, your conversations gradually grew deeper, they stretched into new lengths, so much so that you eventually felt like you had known him for years.

When Tom claimed he wasn’t looking for a relationship, you felt your heart fall. That’s when you realized you were developing stronger feelings for your model. You hardly had time to think about trivial things like that, but you couldn’t deny your disappointment.

And you were sure he saw the brief tears glossing over your eyes when you turned away. Yet, he didn’t make light of it.

That’s when you knew it was useless.

It seemed useless until the sixth week, when you finally finished the head. You were too afraid to attach it. Tom had spent the last couple hours with you in the studio. His legs kicked back and occasional whistles streaming from his lips. He had practically memorized your playlist to the extent you had.

“Tom.” You called. “Your face is done.”

He cheered excitedly, pushing himself off the sofa and racing towards you. Tom had learned to give you your space while you worked, but in moments where you summoned him, he barely stood inches from you. The man would constantly touch you in ways you couldn’t deny sent shivers down your spine.

Like he did as he rounded the tabletop, planting himself by your side and placing his hand on the low of your back. As if it was natural.

“Wow,” He breathed. “Y/N,” Your name upon his lips sounded as blissful as the music. “It’s.. it’s wonderful. It looks just like me... wow that’s scary.”

“I’m happy you like it.” You bit your lip, wishing you felt more satisfied with your project. You wanted to impress him, but you didn’t want him to go.

“All I have to do is attach the head, and fire it up in the furnace one more time. Then it should be good to go.”

You moved to do so, wanting to remove yourself from his grip. It hurt your heart to know the bond you had formed with him would come to an end. Why did you even let yourself get to this point? Was it because he was good at flirting?

“Wait-” His sentence faltered when you whipped around to face him- looking somewhat hopeful.

“What?”

Tom paused, his throat tightening with the words he never thought he would admit. But he couldn’t leave tonight with at least trying. He needed to know how you felt. Because he could either leave with you in his arms, or he could leave never having to see you again.

He had been thinking of confessing to you for days now, but now that the time came, his mind was blank. “You really are beautiful, you know that right?”

“Why do you feel the need to flatter me?” You blurted, still unable to decipher the truth behind his words. You didn’t know how to accept such a compliment. Tom had claimed you were beautiful before, but this time it felt different.

His eyes spoke volumes. The beauty his eyes held was something you would never be able to replicate in a statue. It was a sight you found yourself never growing sick of.

Averting your eyes, you tried to move again. Yet this time, Tom gripped onto both of your arms.

“Look at me.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I won’t let you play me.”

“I was never playing you, darling.” The tenderheartedness intertwined with his words caused you to slowly turn your head back. Your lip quivered, and suddenly you felt like a schoolgirl all over again. You felt childish and unprepared for the intensity of your emotions.

“I don’t want to leave tonight without knowing if you feel the same.”

You blinked, hand reaching out to grip onto his. “And that is?” 

“I don’t know if it’s love, but it could be.” 

“That’s all I needed to hear.” You said, incredibly softly. 

Tom released your arms. And before either of you could process what to do next, your lips interlocked. 

You gripped onto him tightly, balling his white t shirt into a fist to keep him from leaving your side again. 

“Tom-” You breathed. 

The kiss you shared was laced with a fervent need, one that you had never experienced before, and one that you craved again and again. 

After the passion you felt, the skin prickling desire, there would be no turning back. 

“Fuck, you’re everything”’ He mumbled against your lips. 

You pulled back slightly to gaze at his expression. He had looked so afraid before, but now he was smiling from ear to ear. Much like he did the day he arrived with a teasing attitude, ready to get under your skin and provide entertainment. 

“How long have you felt like this?” 

“Since the first day.” He kissed you again, his hands cupping your cheeks. 

You whimpered against his muscular frame, trying to ignore the fluttering in your core, fluttering that begged and craved for more. 

“How did you wait so long?” 

“I wanted you to finish.” 

You chuckled, cheesing at his straightforward, simple reply. 

You were positive from that moment moving on, that Tom was not what you had thought at first glance. This entire time he had put you and your project first, letting his own desires sit and warm on the back-burner. That was something you would hold close to your heart, something you would cherish. 

He cared for you in the same way you cared for him. 

“Stay with me tonight, Tom.” 

“I would love nothing more.” 

[nekophiliaff]

how they move (a personal reference)

I said I was going to do a Twitter thread for my headcanons on how the characters dance in my GenIno socmed au When You Move (I’m Moved). But there was just so much to unpack. 

So my self-indulgent ass wrote a whole LONG ASS post instead!!

Most of these are just for the benefit of the the story (Sakura being unable to look alluring when dancing to sexy choreos lmao) but some of these I believe would be true outside of the story (Hinata having ballet experience, Shikamaru is a tutting machine). 

Genma Shiranui

Big Daddy G mainly dances hiphop but he is not master of one style/technique (whereas kks is god of popping and isolation, obi is a b-boy). BUT.

HE IS AMAZING AT CHOREOGRAPHY N FREESTYLE. THIS MAN. PUT ON ANY SONG. HE WILL DANCE. BEAUTIFULLY. JAZZ. HOUSE. SALSA. ANYTHING. You best believe this sexy motherfucker memorized TaeYang's Wedding Dress choreo in high school and decided from then on that he was going to be a dancer.

Ino Yamanaka

Ex-cheerleader (position: dancer and backup flyer). Used to be stiff but loosened up after time away from cheering. Mostly hiphop n absolute beast with sexy dance (but ALSO contemporary bc she is flexible ((but not as flexible as hinata)) n not afraid to fall. Oops.).

Think BP's Lisa. She takes choreo. ELEVATES IT. Sets the blueprint. Shows you what it's supposed to look like. Every choreographer's dream. Plus, she knows to communicate with the audience while performing. She is trained NOT to get too carried away or too lost in the moment.

Obito “Veto” Uchiha 

Obito loves breakdancing. He's not as fast or powerful as Gai and Lee but he knows how to work the floor. His moves are cleaner, more cohesive than the capoeira duo. When it comes to choreography, this man is GOOD but tends to FORGET STEPS bc he's TOO INTO THE MOVEMENT.

ALSO: "Naruto, Kiba, look! The parking lot is empty, let's do tUMBLES!!!!" Does stunts with Naruto, Kiba, Sasuke, Lee, and Neji.

Rin Nohara

Not originally a dancer. It will show when she's dancing with everyone else. BUT. The experience also comes across because she will never look out of place. She will execute choreo AS IT IS INTENDED.

Think how BoA dances in "Only One" or Kahi in Wall to Wall. It LOOKS EASY and SIMPLE when in reality, it's actually very difficult and requires understanding of how your body will move and look like (because if someone who isn't aware of their own body tried the Only One dance, it would most likely look AWKWARD.)

Kakashi “Kash” Hatake 

This man. Is GOD of classic locking, popping, and isolation. Will never give more power than is required of the choreo. His movements are smooth. Clean. Precise. He has full understanding and control of his body. Good in freestyle. Revels in minute movements.

Weakness? Do NOT expect him to CHOREOGRAPH a whole routine. He cannot. For the life of him. Create a routine.

Sakura Haruno

She. Is an absolute BEAST. This woman will stand beside Naruto and Chouji. and KRUMP. Total opposite of Kakashi's precision. She can pop like kks but hers is not as clean bc she puts more power in releasing her muscles. If they danced together, it would prolly look like this (skip to 0:38).

Sakura cannot EVER look alluring in a sexy choreo. She's got too much power (and swag). She can dance it. But it doesn't look sexy on her. It comes across more as attitude.

Tenten

Took martial arts as a kid (arnis). Transferred all that athleticism into dance. Will get doWN ON THE FLOOR WITH THE B-BOYS MAN (it's why she always got her hair tied) and just SPIN.

Also: Freestyle! When outside of a dance circle (a “cypher”), Tenten will make use of the surroundings to dance. practicing in the park?? ok lemme just juMP ON THAT LAMP POST and DANCE. parking lot??? OMG it’s veto’s car lemme just kick on it a lil bit on Rin’s behalf. 

Hinata Hyuuga

Took ballet as a kid. HATED the control. HATED being too restricted. Taught herself contemporary and eventually hip hop (oh how the Hyuuga clan GASPED). Helps Genma choreograph contemporary numbers for S-Rank but mostly dances them with Sasuke.

As for hip hop, Hinata SERVES!!! Sakura’s POWER is overwhelming but Hina will hold her own just fine and will KILL YOU with the attitude in her EYES ok. Hinata working sexy routines with Rin is also a must-see.

Sasuke Uchiha*

Took ballet as a kid. Go-to guy for contemporary numbers. Only trusts Hinata to choreograph (and dance with) for contemp bc she's the only one WHO UNDERSTANDS the forms and techniques.

In hip hop, like Rin, he does the choreo AS INTENDED. He is also used for stunts sometimes because he jumps high n come on twinkle toes let's use that ballet experience to good use.

Shikamaru “Bullshik” Nara

No words for the TUTTING GENIUS. Clean angles. Fast hands. Can create scENERIES USING A WHOLE TEAM'S FINGERS, HANDS, ARMS, ELBOWS with his choreography. Ya know, like this but faSTER. 

Like Kakashi, he is also a master of popping and isolation. Not so much locking. Locking needs a lil more energy to pull off. He's too tired for that.

Shino Aburame

ROBOTIC. That's it. Jk. Also a master of popping, locking, and isolation but he has a specific style he sticks to whereas Kakashi is mostly just freestylin it n feeling the groove. Kash actually likes dancing with Shino and Shikamaru (my lovely funky trio). But Shino is mostly focused on his own thing. 

The one time Shino choreographed, Kakashi danced with him n it looked like this (it mellow af man).

Chouji “Ciao” Akimichi

S-Rank's very own KRUMP KING. Chouji is POWER incarnate. And only Sakura and Naruto can stand next to him, dance next to him when he's doing his thing. He may not be as FAST and AGILE as his teammates but. He will CRUSH choreo if u tell him to let loose. 

Break a leg? Chouji will BREAK THE FUCKIGN FLOOR with this routine!!!! 

Naruto Uzumaki

Almost a male version of Sakura only he isn’t afraid of stunts (yea she can’t even cartwheel). Takes ur Tiktok choreos and gives it the ENERGY it deserves!!!!! But, like Obito, he tends to FORGET CHOREO esp when he's feelin the music.

Also the glorified HYPE MAN of S-Rank. Someone else dancing in the circle? “YEEEAAAAA WORK IT!!!!!” Dancing WITH the team during training or on stage? “AYE AYE AYE LETS GOOOOO” his energy is CONTAGIOUS. 

Kiba Inuzuka

This man. An absolute SLUT FOR STUNTS. He rly prefers doing stunts than the dancing, tbh. Always pulling Naruto so they can practice whatever NEW THING he came up with!!!! (he mostly likes stunts bc the more impressive, the more the crowd cheers and he is a whore for cheers) he'd totally come up with smth like this with naruto, genma, and obito!

He is also good at creating choreo. But Kiba, pls STOP with the pelvic thrusts. Not all the routines need a pelvic thrust, u horndog. 

Neji “NJ” Hyuuga 

You mean ALL 3 JUNIOR members (and Gai) have martial arts experience?!??? Neji has a black belt in Taekwondo but that doesn’t matter. he is mostly just here for choreography. BUT this man is precise af. Never misses a beat. Is all about hitting those complimentary beats in between counts and listens for other instruments in the song.

Rock Lee (and Maito Gai*) 

Lee and Gai (both have some training in capoeira). Two peas in a pod. Both super into old school hiphop and breakdancing!!!!! Before Gai's injury, he and Gai were the ULTIMATE B-BOY duo. 

*Sasuke and Gai (along with Kurenai and Asuma) are no longer part of S-Rank, sadly. 

Ending note: I might make another post with just links to choreos and who I feel they belong to lmao bc this was way too fun to conceptualize. I didn’t include choreos to GenIno bc I don’t wanna spoil some of the other stuff lmao.

[purplesurveys]

1111

Something a little bit random and silly for my 1111th, just because.

survey by joybucket

List three things you love that start with each letter.

A: Art and most forms of it; anchovies, in most cases; and Angela.

B: Burgers, Beyoncé, and buffets.

E: Escargot, the name Eloise, and elephants.

F: FISH, Friends, and some folk indie.

S: Sleeping, signing off work at the end of my shift, and all kinds of seafood.

T: I’m obsessed with tteokbokki; trying out new food; and table tennis.

Q: I like the quiet time I occasionally give myself; quail eggs, especially in the form of kwek-kwek; and quattro formaggi pizza.

R: Rainbows, the rain, and riding planes.

O: Old movies, the ocean, and Okinawa milk tea.

List a phrase including an adjective, noun, and verb for each letter. Examples: "angry artist anticipating", "rude rascals running", "dirty dogs dancing", or "empty elephants eloping." Have fun!

A: Adorable animals appearing.

F: Fabulous fingers frolicking.

C; Chummy classmates cooking.

S: Suspicious self salivating.

R: Rambunctious raccoon running.

T: Tired turnip tumbling.

Q; Questioning quail quipping.

J: Joyful joggers jamming.

I: Inquisitive igloos imagining.

L: Luxurious lemonade luminescing.

Z: Zesty zebras zoning out.

E: Ethereal eagles embracing.

List three different occupations starting with each letter.

O: Orthodontist, oceanographer, opthalmologist.

E: Engineer, equestrienne, elementary school teacher.

F: Firefighter, flight attendant, farmer.

S: Scientist, singer, seamstress.

T: Talent agent, tricycle driver, tennis player.

I: Illustrator, inspector, IT technician.

E: Economist, editor, electrician.

L: Lawyer, librarian, lifeguard.

A: Accountant, actor, architect.

Y: Yoga instructor, youth pastor, yogurt maker?? if that counts, lol. Otherwise I got nothing else.

List three adjectives that begin with each letter.

A: Affable, abrupt, adequate.

B: Broken, blunt, bleary.

C: Crazy, clear, clingy.

D: Daunting, delirious, dark.

E: Existential, enraged, exemplary.

F: Fantastic, far-flung, flavorful.

G: Ghastly, gentle, gigantic.

H: Harrowing, healthy, hopeful.

I: Intelligent, identical, impervious.

J: Jovial, jaded, joyous.

List three nouns that being with each letter.

K: Kangaroo, keychain, kiwi.

L: Lemonade the album, lemon the fruit, and Liz Lemon.

M: Mall, maple syrup, and mop.

N: Nightingale, nest, napkin.

O: Ogre, olive, orange.

P: Piano, panini, and pizza.

Q: Queen, quill, quilt.

List three verbs that begin with each letter.

R: Running, raking, reliving.

S: Singing, sailing, surfing.

T: Tricking, tossing, teeming.

U: Understanding, urging, unwrapping.

V: Villifying, venerating, vaccinating - get vaccinated, folks.

W: Wandering, washing, wriggling.

X: I don’t know if there are any and I can’t bother to look it up.

Y: Yawning, yelling, yearning.

Z: Zipping, ziplining, zapping.

List three...

girl's names you love: Olivia, Mia, Emma.

boy’s names you love: Mason, Jacob, Lucas.

girl’s names you dislike: Karen, and our local versions of Karen, Marites and Marivic.

boy’s names you dislike: Chad, times three.

things you hate about summer things you hate about winter things you hate about spring things you hate about fall things you love about spring things you love about winter things you love about fall things you love about summer Crossing these out because my Southeast Asian ass can’t relate, but if you do decide to take this survey feel free to un-strikethrough them!

things you miss from your past: Having more freedom to make mistakes; not having to worry about the future; and friends I’ve since lost.

people who have really hurt you in the past: Gabie, my mom, Marielle.

names of people you have had crushes on: Gabie, Andi from 5th grade...and that’s it, really.

names of people you have gone on a date with: Only Gabie. And I guess maybe Mike? Since he asked me to go with him to his ball as his date.

places you've been and would love to go again: Sagada, Jeju, Bali.

places you want to visit before you die: Morocco, Spain, Thailand.

items on your bucket list: See Times Square, live in a condo, plan a solo trip.

health conditions you have: Scoliosis, lactose intolerance, and very possible depression.

health conditions you've had in the past but don't anymore: Dehydration, UTI, and some kind of weird low-platelet-count thing that was just that, and never diagnosed as anything.

things you are allergic to: Possibly some types of grass, and maybe face masks. Idk how to confirm it really; I just know my skin gets irritated around them sometimes.

youtube channels you love to watch: Good Mythical Morning; the KBS YouTube channel mainly for clips of Return of Superman and 2 Days 1 Night; and Binging With Babish.

favorite drinks: Water, coffee, Long Island Iced Tea.

favorite foods: Sushi, chicken wings, pizza.

favorite desserts: Cheesecake, MACARONS, cupcakes.

favorite holidays: The only one I care for and get super excited about is my birthday, if that counts. Christmas is fine, but I only get the excitement for it on the actual day itself.

favorite colors: Pastel pink, white, maroon.

people you would like to meet: Ysa and Bea, my teammates at work. I’ve met them only once before, and I wish we can be allowed to report to the workplace physically soon so that I get to see them more often and strengthen my relationship (both working and personal) with them. I’d also love to be able to chat and chill with Hayley Williams even for just 30 seconds.

people you want to meet in Heaven: I don’t believe in that, but I’d love to have met my great-grandfather on my maternal grandfather’s side. Also, Audrey Hepburn and Princess Diana.

good names for a dog or cat: Depends on their personality.

reasons why you get up each morning and keep on living: Because I’ve been able to see myself get better, and why stop all the progress?; because I’d want to be able see if the future will get better; and because I’m afraid of what will happen to/who will look out for my dogs if I’m suddenly gone.

For each name, think of three people you know with that name, and list their occupations.

Amanda: I only know one Amanda, and she’s a friend of my ex’s younger sister. She’s only in senior year of high school. I know an Amandine which is close enough I suppose?? and she’s a dentistry student.

Sarah: She’s a media contact and I’m constantly in touch with; she’s the editor-in-chief of a local magazine. I think she’s the only Sarah I know.

Ashley: Also a media contact. I’m not sure about her title, though.

Beth: @bionic-beth is a teacher! :) But I don’t know any Beths in real life, I think.

Katie: Well I know Kate, and I’ll sometimes playfully call her Katie. She works in a government agency and she’s one of their PR people. The HR person who recruited me to come work at my current employer is a Kate, but I have never and have no plans to call her Katie.

Matt: That’s too foreign-sounding a name where I live.

Emily: Don’t know any Emilys, either.

Chris: Media contacts. They run blogs or news sites of their own.

Mike/Michael: The one Mike I know is currently a med student. Not sure if he’s working on the side - I think he is, since I saw him post about a job update on his Facebook a few months ago; but I can no longer remember what he does, or if he’s still doing it.

Jessica: I went to high school with a girl named Jessica but I don’t follow her on social media, so I have no clue what she’s up to now.

Becca/Bekah: Rita’s sister is a Becca. I think she is currently a grad student.

For each name, think of three people you know, and list one adjective to describe each person. (Skip if you don't know anyone with that name.)

Laura

Michelle: Hilarious.

Victoria: Strong.

Tessa: Friendly.

John

Claire: Influential; motherly.

Briana/Brianna: Bitch.

Vanessa

Brittany/Britney, etc.

Allison/Allie/Ally, etc: Kind. 

Olivia

Jordan

Jo/Joe: Ambitious; pretty.

Corey/Kori

Sophie: Sweet; quiet.

Mitch/Mitchell: Tall.

Madison/Maddie/Maddi

Out of all the people you know or have met, list three...

redheads: Yeah, you’re not going to find them in most of Asia. West Asia and some parts of East Asia, probably, but definitely not for the rest.

tall people: Jo, Chesca, and Shaun.

people with really curly hair: I know Kleo has naturally curly hair from her Aeta roots, but it’s been straightened for a very long time now. I think Chesca also has curly hair, albeit slightly. There is also Liana.

sets of twins: My sister had two sets of twins in her high school batch, but I can no longer remember their names. I also had an English class with a pair of twins named Ardy and Thirdy.

of the cutest babies you've seen on social media: My workmate’s baby. My friend Jar has a super squishy niece/nephew pair of twins as well.

people you miss: Angela, Kate, my grandpa.

people with beautiful eyes: I can only think of my ex.

people with nice hair: God I have not been around people for so long, I can barely think of anyone for this.

people who are the same height as you: Aya, Hannah, Tina.

own one of the same clothing items as you: Angela since we went to the same high school and have several of the same school shirts; Laurice since we share a college org and we have our own trademark polo shirt; and my brother and I have our own pairs of Nike Cortez shoes.

make you laugh: Andi, Hans, and this girl I had a couple of history classes with, Rose.

List three celebrities who...

are the same height as you: Lady Gaga and AJ Lee are the only ones who are coming to mind. I wouldn’t call AJ a celebrity though.

have the same hair color as you: Mila Kunis, Kelly Rowland, Dita Von Teese.

look like you: Only based on comments I’ve gotten in the past and not because I necessarily claim these for myself, Lucy Hale, Anna Akana, and Kakie.

List three....

adjectives to describe you: Timid, stubborn, sensitive.

academic courses you enjoyed: Philippine social history, international relations, anthropology.

words you always forget how to spell: Rhythm, committee, accommodate.

things you wish you were better at: Singing, dancing, drawing.

things you are really good at: Writing, reading people, and knowing the best things to order at most restaurants hahahah.

jobs you'd like to have: Ideally, a lawyer or doctor. But realistically, I’d love to have a leadership position in the PR sphere.

jobs you've considered having: ^ Again, lawyer and doctor. Also a journalist or news anchor, back when I still thought I was passionate about journalism.

jobs you'd hate: Journalist, an LTO clerk, an assistant to an asshole celebrity.

things you miss: Being a student, many parts of the past, and deceased family members.

names your mom considered when naming you: Ariel, Kathleen, Katrina.

things people call you: Robyn, Byn, Bynbyn.

*Bonus*: what is your name? (first and middle)? I always feel like just sharing Robyn.

[novaviis]

Snaibsel Renaissance Fair AU

Read Part One

Part Two

So the next day Artemis arrives at the fair before opening, just as all the other employees are shuffling in for the day. She’s not the only newbie, thank fuck, so she doesn’t feel completely out of place, but she is the only new Knight, so there’s that. There’s a set of tents and temporary structures at the very back of the fairgrounds, shielded off from the main fair, where the employees can change and take breaks and generally be “out of character”. She heads back there to get into her costume for the first time.

There’s a tunic, a pair of tights, and leather boots and belts that she’d given to wear for most of the day. A little heavy but not too bad. They even give her a side bag to hide her radio and a flask for water. These people have thought of everything. She’s already sweating at that point, just standing in the tent and pulling her hair back off her neck – but then she’s given her armour. Actually fucking armour. It’s not a full suit or anything, but it’s chainmail, a gorget, greaves, plated armguards and gloves, and a helmet. By the time she’s helped into it, she can barely move let alone ride a horse, and suddenly she’s thinking twice about this whole thing.

Artemis is given a while to get used to it, try walking around, but not long after she’s been dragged off to the stable with the other Knights to set up. She’s told she’ll be shadowing some asshole called the Grey Knight at first, just until she’s learned how everything works and gets some practice in on the tournaments. She only gets a brief glimpse of the guy, already in full armour and practicing sword work on a straw dummy. No big, she figures. Once she gets used to the armour, she’ll have this in the bag. She didn’t go through years of fencing and martial arts to look like an idiot around a bunch of renaissance nerds.

She spends the morning getting used to riding her horse, a gorgeous paint named Alice. After a bit of practice, she gets a little more comfortable, and no longer feels like one turn on her steed is going to send her toppling off. She even manages to knick the hoops set up on the training course with her lance – though it falls out of her hand every time. That Grey Knight jackass laughs from the sidelines every time, but at least he’s offering advice (most of which Artemis pretends to ignore with a heated glare). Still, by the time she’s finished for the morning and is allowed to take a break from the armour, she’s completely soaked with sweat and every step feels too light, like she’s been wearing weight all day – which, of course, she has.

So, she’s getting use to how things work around here. Great. She’s sent off to explore and get familiar with the grounds. The place is basically set up on an obscenely large plot of land surrounded by forest with a small lake in the middle. Marquis tents, large wooden buildings, and a mildly convincing Castle have all been set up around the perimeter, the other laneways patches of greenery winding through. Artemis hadn’t gotten a very good look at it the day before, but it really did look like a full medieval village. They had a marketplace surrounding a wide square, and the stables and tournament area across a small field where visitors were setting up picnics.

This wasn’t exactly her scene. Artemis hadn’t applied for the job because she loved this kind of thing. She wasn’t a history buff, definitely wasn’t into LARPing, and had no other interest in the renaissance. To be honest, she hadn’t really applied for the job at all. Artemis had been in and out of Juvie as a teenager, and likely would have ended up in Prison by now had it not been for things taking a different course. Her mother won custody of her at 17, and although it hadn’t changed things overnight, she had definitely turned out better than she would have with her father. After a few more brushes with the law, she was given a choice, back to Juvie, where her sentence would have been long enough to transfer her to an adult facility, or she could take a shorter sentence and then be sent to a correction and therapy program. Naturally, she took the latter option.

The facility had been a ranch, where she’d learned some hard truths and got her ass kicked by reality more than a few times. She was all the better for it, though. Artemis still remembered the night she’d left, her mother holding her hands in her lap with tears in her eyes, begging her to give this a chance before she ended up like her older sister. Jade was already in Prison, having left her newborn daughter with her Ex. Artemis had vowed then and there that she was going to put the work in to turn her life around. It hadn’t been easy, and she’d wanted to give up more than a few times, but she was nothing if not stubborn. She made it through the program, took online classes to finish school, and had been working to catch up ever since.

One of the driving influences through all of this, aside from her mother, was oddly enough her Parole Officer. Even once she’d been released from the program, Artemis had been on a strict probation. She couldn’t so much as jay-walk without landing her ass back in jail. Dinah Lance had assigned to her even before Artemis had moved in with her mom, and had been calm and understanding while taking absolutely none of her attitude. She’d been the first woman Artemis had really looked up to.

Dinah and her husband Oliver were actually old school Renaissance Fair veterans themselves. They came every summer as volunteers, as a sort of Robin Hood/Lady Marion duo that was always a hit with the crowd. When Dinah had learned that Artemis was looking for a job for the summer, and with her obvious qualifications in fighting and horseback riding, she’d suggested her to the head of the Fair committee.

So, now here she is. Artemis knows that this isn’t just Dinah trying to keep an eye on her, waiting for her to mess up, but she has enough trust issues that the doubt is a lingering voice in the back of her mind. She’s determined not to fuck it up this time, though. She’s not a stupid teenager anymore, she’s a young woman in her 20’s and she’s got something to prove.

Artemis takes her time, wandering around the fairgrounds before heading to the stalls for lunch. She passes through a shaded lane just off the marketplace, and passes a shack that smells so strongly of herbs and incense that it immediately draws her attention.

The fair’s esteemed Sorceress, as she understood from orientation, runs a little shop during the week where she sells “spells”, herbal teas, and other “magical” novelties. She also does tarot, palm, and tealeaf readings, and entertained with magic tricks. From what Artemis had heard, she’s a pretty popular attraction, but the shop doesn’t look busy and – fuck it, she’s still curious. So, she walks in.

Zatanna is just wrapping up with a customer when Artemis walks in, placing some crystals in a small bag and handing it to a little girl who’s there with her dad. The whole vibe of the place seems to be leaning far into all that new-agey bullshit, but she gets points for having an actual cauldron in the room (holding what appears to be spiced lemonade).

The moment Artemis walks in, Zatanna smiles and points her out to the little girl. “Well, look who’s come to visit! It’s our newest, bravest night, Dame Artemis!”

As the little girl turns around to see Artemis, just in her tunic, tights, and chainmail, she completely lights up. Artemis is a little awkward, but she’s plenty used to being around kids like her niece, so she gives her a wave but doesn’t quite play along as enthusiastically as Artemis. The girl’s dad eventually coaxes her out of the shop, leaving Artemis and Zatanna alone.

Artemis reaches into her side pouch, and hands Zatanna the Queen of Swords card. “Figured you might want this back.”

“Keep it,” Zatanna smiles as she rounds the other side of her little counter. “Consider it payment for me dragging you out into my show last night. I didn’t embarrass you too much, did I?”

“Nah, not at all,” Artemis lies. She pauses for a second, slipping the card back into her pouch before crossing her arms. “So, how’d you do it?”

Zatanna mirrors her and crosses her arm, leaning back against her counter. “Really? You’re gonna go with that question? Have you never heard of a Magician before?”

Artemis narrows her eyes. “You had someone plant it while I was at orientation.”

Zatanna shrugs. “In your sock? Not unless you’re that unobservant, and you don’t strike me as oblivious.”

“Sleight of hand while I was walking on stage.”

“You saw my hands the entire time.”

“So, what was it?”

Zatanna grins and leans in, cupping her hand around Artemis’ ear. “It was real magic.”

Artemis pulls back and rolls her eyes. “Yeah,” she says sarcastically, “okay.”

“How about this,” Zatanna laughs. “I might tell you how I did it if…” she pauses, looking somewhere over Artemis’ shoulder, before her smile widens. “If you defeat the Grey Knight in the tournament by the end of the summer.”

“What,” Artemis scoffs, “that douchebag who never takes off his helmet?”

Zatanna snickers. “No, the douchebag standing right behind you.”

By the time Artemis spins around, nearly knocking over a jar of Mugwort in the process, the Grey Knight himself is clamouring into the shack. Artemis steadies the jar, already glaring at Zatanna for laughing, before turning back to the other Knight. She tries to stammer out an excuse, or to play it off like she hadn’t said anything, but before she can say a word, the Knight cuts in.

“In my defense,” the Knight begins as he reaches up to his helmet. “I was only doing it today to fuck with you.” He takes off the helmet, and standing before her is a model of a man. Anyone despite their preferences, can agree that this guy looks like he was taken straight out of a Vogue cover. Thick, dark hair, stunning blue eyes, chiselled jawline. Artemis isn’t even attracted to him and she’s attracted to him. However, there’s something unmistakably familiar about him that she can’t quite place until he smiles at her…

“Holy shi- Grayson?!”

She went to middle school with this kid. He’s a year younger than her and had been such a little dweeb. Puberty had obviously been kind to him.

Dick bursts into obnoxious laughter, with Zatanna echoing him behind her. He sets his helmet down on a nearby table and slips his gloves off so he can shake his hair out. “Long time no see, Arty.”

“Arty here,” Zatanna places her hands on Artemis’ shoulders from behind, resting her chin on her knuckles, “was just telling me how she’s going to completely obliterate you in the tournaments.”

“That so?” Dick raises a brow.

Now, Artemis could deny it. She could be honest and say she’d never agreed to that – but fuck it. “Please,” she scoffs. “I used to take your lunch money. I could still hand you your ass.”

Dick grins. “Looking forward to it, then. But, since you mentioned it, I think you owe me a Turkey leg.”

“…Fair enough.”

[invaderdoom78]

SFW Alphabet: Vincturi

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?) Considering the two live in completely different continents Peter and Aro are very affectionate with each other when they are alone together and spend as much time as they can, getting as much physical contact they can from the other, though Peter tends to act like this isn’t what he’s doing.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?) I can’t really see these two developing any type of relationship outside of a romantic one and if by some miracle they do it would be a strictly platonic business type one.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?) Being an orphan Peter is a bit touch starved and desperate for any type of physical contact and despite the fact that he’ll never ask for them aloud Aro has gotten very good at reading his human so, even without touching him, he can tell whenever Peter wants to cuddle and finds a way to subtly, or not, pull his human into his embrace.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?) Peter is kind of a slob and tends to leave his house a mess, but it’s nothing too major. Aro on the other hand, while not exactly a neat freak, likes to keep things tidy so there will be some times that he cleans up a bit for Peter while he’s asleep.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?) I can’t see these two permanently ending their relationship, I can, however, see them going through spans of time were they separate but always end back up together. During these times though Peter would be determined to get as drunk as he possibly could and continue his alcohol binge until he no longer has any access to it as he attempted to keep himself from breaking down completely. Aro also tends to shut down in a way as well but, his change is more subtle as he spends a lot of time not exactly moping around but he definitely does spend more time staring into space than he normally would until they make up.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?) The thing about Peter is that he wants to be in a serious long-term relationship but because of what happened with his parents he has trouble and, to a degree, is afraid to let anyone in. So it’s a good thing that Aro has a lot of patience when it comes to his human because he also wants the same thing and is better able to visualize the end game.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?) Aro is very gentle with Peter, despite how hostile the hunter can be towards him, because he knows the emotional and mental turmoil he’s going through as he comes to terms with the fact that he’s falling in love with the same type of creature that was responsible for murdering his parents.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?) Hugs are just like cuddling where Peter wants them but Aro has to be the one to initiate them, most of the time.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?) Peter might say if he’s drunk but both him and Aro prefer to take more of a show don’t tell approach with this subject.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?) They can both be jealous little babies sometimes, Peter over the fact that Aro is technically married and even though Aro has assured him multiple times that they are no longer together she still lives in the Volturi's castle with him and Aro gets jealous when someone else appears to be showing interest in his human or, you know, he sees Peter kissing Charlie regardless of its context.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?) Ironically enough, Peter really loves kissing along his partners necks, enjoying leaving behind as many marks as his partner will allow, despite the fact that Aro’s skin doesn’t mark up. While Aro prefers placing kisses on Peters forehead, cheek, and the tip of his nose.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?) Peter isn’t great with kids, especially young ones, but because Aro is basically Jane and Alec's adoptive father he has learned how to interact with children around their age. When it comes to the twins Alec has no problem admitting that Peter is basically his human dad while Jane, even though she really likes Peter, won’t admit it out loud, even though the two seem to have the closest bond. Peter feels the same about them and if it gets to the point he sees them as his children then maybe, just maybe, it’ll be enough to get him to tip over the edge of agreeing to be turned since he knows how hard it is to lose a parent.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?) Peter is nowhere near being a morning person and normally doesn’t wake up until roughly noon each day and even though the sunlight doesn’t have that same effect that it does for other vampires Aro also doesn’t care much for being up and about in the early hours; prefering to either lounge around in bed with Peter or stay planted in whatever item of furniture he’d settled himself into to read in.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?) Peter is a night owl plain and simple, if he could stay up until the sun rose the next morning he would (this habit having partially been created by his fear that the vampire who killed his parents would come back for him) and Aro generally doesn’t have a problem with it, enjoying the extra time with his human, until he tries to stay up past three in the morning. Then Aro forces him to go to bed.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?) Aro is the first one to open up since Peter has spent so many years building walls around himself.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?) Normally Aro doesn’t have much patience to spare for most humans, but he always manages to find more than enough when if comes to Peter because he knows that he’s lost a lot in his life and just needs some time.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?) Peter is actually pretty good at remembering things Aro has told him, like if he’s out and sees a piece of art or something that Aro has mentioned liking he’ll buy it, if he knows there’s room for it in his house, but won’t mention it to the vampire and Aro won’t say a word about it, just savors the joy he feels upon seeing the small things Peter does to make him happy.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?) Peters favorite memory is the first time he had a nightmare around Aro. He’d fully expected the vampire to see his almost panic attack as a sign of weakness and would be disgusted by it and leave, but he didn’t; Aro stuck around to comfort him and help him through it where he’d normally be left dealing with it for the rest of the night and maybe even for the next few days. Aro’s favorite is the first time he saw Peters smile, his truly genuine smile that rarely ever sees the light of day.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?) Both Peter and Aro are very protective of each other and because of that there have been a handful of times where Peter has gotten hurt in his reckless attempts to be the ‘hero’; forcing Aro to have no choice but to call Carlisle for advice on how to treat an injury.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?) Peter tends to put a lot of effort into their dates but he makes sure to make it look like he just threw something together last minute, while Aro wants to do everything he can to make Peter feel like he’s loved after he lived so many years feeling like he wasn’t.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?) Peters is obviously his drinking and swearing and Aro is the passive aggressive approach he takes when he’s upset with his human.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?) While Aro does put a good amount of effort into his appearance and likes to be well groomed. With Peter it depends on where he and Aro are in their relationship, if they’re taking a break he lets himself go a bit, not shaving, not bathing as frequently as normal but doesn’t let it get to the point that he looks and smells gross. When they aren’t on a break he still doesn’t care much about his appearance but he does make sure that he’s clean and well shaven, but he keeps his hair a bit messy, just like Aro likes.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?) Neither one would feel whole if they were to lose the other as the vampire gives Peter the feeling of stability that he’s been missing for most of his life and Aro would have a large empty spot in his life that his human had once filled.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.) Ok, so, I kept forgetting that Aro is married and therefore that Sulpicia existed so when I saw a picture that someone had drawn of Davina giving Aro kisses that’s the only way I can picture her looking now. Because of that I can’t help but picture her as being their number one supporter regardless of the fact that she and Aro are technically married. So, if Peter ever does get turned, either by his own will or, most likely, of someone else's design, she’d be the one helping him acclimate, maybe even mothering him a bit, if Aro happened to be unavailable for any amount of time.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?) Aro wishes Peter wouldn’t drink as much alcohol as he does and Peter wishes Aro didn’t have to feed on human blood in order to survive.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?) Depending on how Aro is feeling he could spend the night doing a couple different things while Peter is sleeping but most nights he’s sitting in bed next to his human reading but there are some nights where he’s up and moving about the house, probably tidying up, or holding Peter as he sleeps.

[kumeko]

Title: umeboshi

A/N: For @pinkthespianlesbian, for the Fruits Basket SS held by @lgbtfurubanet. I don’t think I managed to fit all of your prompts together (and Momiji realizes she’s trans in this fic a bit earlier than your headcanon because I missed that line about 3rd year. XD), but I hope you enjoy this anyways!

…

…

…

…

i.

 “It’s a romantic story,” Momiji chirped, leaning back on the school steps. It was a cloudless, warm spring day and she was happy they were finally in their summer uniforms. Kicking her feet in front of her, Momiji leaned back and stared at the bright blue sky. “My parents met in Germany, when they were students.”

 “Oh.” Tohru clapped her hands excitedly. On another person, this would seem sarcastic, but every action she did was always painfully earnest. Her eyes were bright as she leaned eagerly toward Momiji, already knowing how the story will go and still wanting to hear about it. “Was it love at first sight?”

 “Da!” Tohru was infectious and Momiji’s smile grew even wider. She leaned closer to Tohru, until their shoulders bumped. There was something thrilling about being this close to Tohru, about this casual nearness that she could have that almost none of the other zodiacs could have. She felt a brief pang of pity for Kyo and Yuki.

“Oooohhh!” Tohru’s hand pressed against the steps as she steadied herself, her hand overlapping Momiji’s slightly.

 A jolt of electricity ran through Momiji and she swallowed. It was a very brief pang of pity for her rivals. As they said, all’s fair in love and war. Gathering herself, Momiji continued, using the story as an excuse to hold Tohru’s hand entirely. “The second their hands touched, writing appeared on their arms like vines! They were soulmates! They didn’t let go of each other once, not even when they ate.”

 Tohru stared at their clasped hands and squealed. “Awww, that’s so cute!”

 Momiji would practically see the hearts flying off her. She nodded sagely. “It gets better! They used the words as their wedding vows.”

 “Awwwwwww.” Tohru hummed, almost bouncing as she thought about it all. She didn’t let go, her hand radiating warmth that shot straight to Momiji’s core. “That’s such a cute story. Mom never found her soulmate but she and Dad were very happy anyways. Actually, right after they got married, Mom dragged Dad to the tattoo parlor and forced him to tattoo her name on his wrist.” She chuckled. “They got their own versions of the soulmate words.”

 “Really?” Momiji blinked. She liked that idea. Liked it a lot. The control it gave, the ability to chose, she liked everything about it. Breaking into laughter, she reached around with her other arm and hugged Tohru, careful not to let go of their clasped hands. “That sounds just like her.”

 “That’s what Uo-chan and Hana-chan said too,” Tohru said proudly, wrapping an arm around Momiji. “Though Mom told me the tattoos hurt more than expected and they both spent the week crying.”

 Momiji snorted. “Somehow, that also sounds like her.”

    ii.

A less romantic story, one that Momiji was reluctant to tell Tohru, was how her mother rejected her at a hug. How her mother had gone mad until the only solution was erasing her memories and erasing Momiji’s place in them.

 It was funny, now, that her mother’s touch would no longer transform her. That it was her father instead who turned her into a rabbit. Would her mother have kept her memories if she’d known this would happen? Or would she have seen that as another failure, another mark against her monster of a child?

 Not that it mattered either way. Her mother would never know. Instead, Momiji would wear her dresses and pad her chest and grow out her hair, each change making her look more and more like her mother. It was hard to hide it now; her father wouldn’t let her hang out at the company anymore.

 All that she had left was her name, Momiji, the only link to a family that no longer existed. Maybe she should change. She wasn’t sure she wanted to.

    iii.

The school was brimming with life, the school fair bringing students and visitors through each of the classrooms and hallways. It was a dangerous time for a Sohma and Kyo was already hiding on the roof, both scared and angry with the horde that invaded his home. Not that it helped much, considering the mob of cats that swarmed the roof, catching everyone’s eyes.

 At least that made things a little easier for the others. Yuki didn’t have to hide in the back of every classroom even and Haru didn’t have to destroy everyone he bumped shoulders with and Momiji…

 Well, Momiji got to enjoy a date with Tohru. A kinda one-sided date, for now, but a date nonetheless. She bounced forward as she and Tohru strolled through the halls, taking in the other class’s events. “What do you want to see first?”

 “I don’t know.” Tohru smiled happily, her eyes jumping from one door to the next. There was a haunted house, a café, an art gallery—the possibilities were endless. And overwhelming. “They all look so fun! What do you want to do?”

 “Me?” Momiji slowed down her pace till she was walking side by side with Tohru. Her arms hung at her side, her hands barely brushing Tohru’s as they walked. A jolt of electricity ran through her at each touch and she swallowed. “Maybe we could do the haunted house first?”

 “T-t-the h-h-haunted h-h-house?” Tohru stuttered, her expression freezing. Stiffly, she squared her shoulders and marched toward it. “S-s-sure.”

 It was cute. Too cute. Momiji tried not to laugh too much and offered, “If you’re too scared, we can do something else.”

 “N-n-no, I’m f-f-f-fine.” Tohru smiled once more but it came out more a grimace than anything else. She looked like a robot as she moved, her knees and elbows locked into position. “L-let’s g-go.”

 Well, if Tohru was going to be so brave, Momiji couldn’t slack off either. Nodding, she reached out and grabbed Tohru’s hand. No more of that brushing nonsense. Her skin felt like it was on fire and Momiji was certain her ears were turning several different shades of red, but she’d done it.

 She’d grabbed Tohru��s hand. And if Tohru didn’t pull away, was still smiling at her brightly, she could take that as a victory, right?

    iv.

 Momiji washed her hands, letting the cool water soak into her skin. They still burned, even now, hours after Tohru let go, hours after they’d parted.

 Ok, it was about time she’d admitted it. To herself, at least, if to no one else.

 This wasn’t just a crush anymore. No, this was love. Momiji was in love with Tohru.

 She sighed softly, leaning forward to rest her forehead on the bathroom mirror. After all those months of teasing Yuki and Kyo for being dense, this all felt highly ironic. Momiji wasn’t even sure if she was going to confess to Tohru (sorry for calling you a coward, Kyo) and even worse, there was Akito to deal with.

 Maybe Akito wouldn’t care as much. He’d hated it when Momiji had started transitioning but then it’d became a new cage for him to keep her in, a new barrage of insults to hurt her with. Suddenly, she’d realized just how much harder it was for Kisa and Rin.

 How much harder it would be for her, going forward.

 The cool glass didn’t make it any easier to think and Momiji’s hands were still burning like they’d been seared. Like Tohru was imprinted on them. Maybe she was. Lifting her hands, she stared at them blankly, taking in the small ridges on her knuckles, and the growing thickness of her fingers. The lines on her palm that turned into words, wrapping around her wrist—

 Words.

 Momiji blinked. There were words tattooed on her wrist. Her soulmate marks. She rolled back her sleeves frantically, trying to read the characters engraved on her skin. How had she missed this earlier? Had she bumped into someone at the fair? U-m-e-b-o-s-h-I, it said.

 Umeboshi.

  There was only one person that could mean, only one person whose soulmate words could be that.

“Tohru,” she murmured to her skin, kissing the mark softly. Momiji’s heart leapt to her mouth and she felt a tear slide down her cheek. Her soulmate was Tohru.

 She could fight Akito, if it was for Tohru.

 She could fight anyone, if it was Tohru.

 They were soulmates and Momiji would one day tell their adopted kids, It was a romantic story, a story about two people who stayed together and never forgot anything, even the bad things.

    v.

Or it would have been a romantic tale, if not for Tohru’s extremely puzzled look as Momiji asked her if she’d gotten her soulmate writing. She’d waited as long as she could, waited for class to end, for her bodyguards to go home (Kyo was harder to force away than Yuki), waited for them to finally be alone and sitting at their usual spot on the school step, before asking.

 All in vain, it seemed.

 “My soulmate marks?” Tohru blinked, confused. She glanced around as though to make sure no one else was around. “Me?”

 She’d almost forgotten how dense Tohru was. “Yes.” Momiji nodded eagerly, taking Tohru’s hands into her own. Rubbing her thumb against Tohru’s wrists, she was slightly disappointed the marks hadn’t appeared in the same place, but that was fine. It was rare enough to find one’s soulmate, let alone to find one with an identical mark. Her parents had been lucky. Quieting her mind, Momiji peered up at Tohru’s eyes and asked again, “Have you found any words on you?”

 Tohru frowned, thinking heavily on it. She twisted her lips, her expression growing sterner and sterner with each moment that passed. The moment she turned into a hardboiled detective, she sighed and shook her head. “Not one.”

 “Really?” Momiji’s heart plummeted to her shoes and she almost dropped Tohru’s hands in surprise. Was it possible to have a one-sided soulmate?

 “Yes.” Tohru nodded solemnly. “It would be wonderful to have a soulmate but I’m not sure I have one.” She chuckled sadly. “It might be too wonderful for me to have.”

 And maybe Tohru didn’t have the mark and maybe the umeboshi meant some other kind do-gooder or some guy with an obsession with pickles, but that didn’t matter. Momiji was used to life not going her way. Was used to having to choose her own path.

 Kyoko had made her own soulmate.

 Momiji could do the same.

 “You have a soulmate, Tohru,” Momiji answered softly, leaning closer.

 “I do?” Tohru’s eyes widened in surprise. “Who?”

 “Me.”

 She’d make sure to not tell their kids how awkward their first kiss was, how they’d bumped noses and laughed about it after.

    vi.

“And that’s how your grandmas fell in love,” Mitsuru murmured, ruffling the hair of her son. “It’s a romantic story, isn’t it?”

 Aki bit his cheek, taking it all in. He swayed side to side as he came up with his question. Because there was always a question with him; at four, there was still too many things he didn’t know. Mitsuru knew that, knew that she’d done the same to Momiji and Torhu when she was little, but that didn’t make it any easier.

 After a few minutes, he finally asked, “Granny didn’t have a mark?”

 “Actually…” Mitsuru laughed awkwardly. Leaning closer, she stage-whispered to her son, “It turned out, Grandma Tohru did have a mark.”

 “She did?” His mouth fell open in surprise.

 “Her face looked just like yours when she found out.” Mitsuru nodded. Reaching around, she patted her son on the middle of his back. “Right there. Just where the umeboshi in a onigiri is, that was where her mark was. So of course she didn’t see it herself—Grandma Momiji was the one who spotted it and told her.”

 “Umeboshi?” Aki jumped up and down. “Just like in her stories!”

 Mitsuru nodded. “Yeah, just like in her stories.”

 There was something fitting about that, when all was said and done.

[viktcrr-alt]

MAXENCE DANET FAUVAL / NONBINARY — don’t look now, but is that viktor samuels i see? the 24 year old visual arts student is in their senior year and he/they are a rochester alum. i hear they can be observant, ingenious, reticent and dependent, so maybe keep that in mind. i bet he/they will make a name for themselves living in garcia row. ( james. 20. est. she/they. )

LAST INTRO WOOOO !! u know what to mf DO !!

TW DEATH, HEAVY GRIEF, OVERDOSE / DRUG ADDICTION, HOSPITALIZATION, HYPERSEXUALITY, RELIGION MENTIONS, MENTAL ILLNESS

a e s t h e t i c s

old tvs and their static, worn tapes, horror movie screams, spilled ink, a sculptor’s hands, clay-stained, chicken scratch handwriting, messy notes, messy hair, scoffs and eye-rolls, bruised knuckles, sore throats, funeral homes and a crying preacher, shattered ceramics, knife fights, high ledges, vertically-striped pants, red lights, the moon shrouded in clouds, cigarette butts.

general info !!

full name: viktor phillip samuels

nickname(s): icky vicky :/

b.o.d. - jan 2nd

label(s): the black hole, the crepehanger, the impious, the opaque, the tempest, etc.

height: 6′0″

hometown: rochester, new york

sexuality: uuuhhh god … probably pan tbh

pinterest

stats

biography !!

okay so … born and raised in rochester, new york to the well known samuels family. preacher father, a mother, a twin sister born 15 minutes before him - aka tatiana samuels, who died back in january.

kinda … grew up as a really awkward, quiet kid? like … just didn’t really interact with other kids super well, preferred being alone and like … digging up bugs in the dirt. only friend was like … his own sister.

grew out of this as they got older, instead sort of … becoming a bit of a dick? to compensate for years of awkwardness? will bite the hand that feeds him. was a full on nuisance by middle school. tatiana was not, at least, noticeably.

has always been a fan of darker materials, y’know - grim and creepy, morbid shit. big fan of tim burton ever since he was a kid, which isn’t … a good look for a preacher’s son, but he’s never really felt ~in~ with the rest of his family, anyway.

drew disturbing pictures as a kid probably tbh that prompted one or two or five phone calls home 2 assure everything was fine.

has always been really … good at art, in general - from drawing to painting to playing with clay, that’s always been viktor’s Thing.

aNyWaYs. being tatiana’s twin brother was kinda hard sometimes. tatiana and him were near opposites besides their same mean-spirited trait. she was better in the public than he was, but viktor was arguably more talented than tatiana. they both loved each other deeply and found each other as competition for their parents’ attention - a rivalry, of sorts.

high school is when viktor really started to act out - started extreme, like losing his virginity in their church and vandalism around the neighborhoods. faked being possessed in the middle of sunday service. almost had an exorcism performed on him, probably.

the only redeemable trait was like … his sheer talent with art. was in a 3d art AP course, specialized in sculpting - could pretty much create anything he wanted with enough dedication.

because his parents would be focused on disciplining him for his antics, tatiana could sneak away and get away with stuff easier. so like, y’know, that’s on the bright-side of things.

never been particularly motivated to do much - wasn’t planning on attending lockwood but his parents kinda … did and sent in his application for him b/c they were Not on board with him Wasting Away (wanted him out of the house asap)

actually pretty smart !! just doesn’t like … want to apply himself ever. double majoring in english and visual arts because they’re like … two of his only interests :/ plus he wants to write and illustrate his own series of children books with a style similar to tim burton’s

he’d been experimenting since high school but college is where he really started to like … crack down on himself and figure himself out. was out as pan & nonbinary by his sophomore year of college, just … not to his family, necessarily. thinks tatiana always knew, but didn’t … really use it against him, blessedly enough

always felt like the whole twin - connection thing was … both wack and also not-wack? sometimes it felt believable but sometimes he had no idea what was going on in tatiana’s head. but he felt oddly transparent to her, always - like he was predictable to no one but her.

( TW DEATH, GRIEF, OVERDOSE / HOSPITALIZATION BEYOND THIS POINT )

but when tatiana disappeared - it was like, like viktor knew. the moment she had been kidnapped - felt something deeply wrong in his gut. and when tatiana died - viktor felt something cut so severely in him. he knew, he always knew exactly when. he couldn’t put his finger on how - but he knew. even when everybody else held out hope for her to be found - he knew.

went on a bender around the same time, had always struggled w/ drug addiction but it got worse the longer tatiana went without being found.

( also struggled heavily with his mental health, too ?? has manic and depressive episodes. will fixate on a sculpting project for six months and then purposely knock it off the table and destroy it in the matter of seconds once it’s finished for. no fucking reason. impulse spends A Lot. )

when her body was found, viktor went off the rails. ended up overdosing and being hospitalized where he spent the next like … however long months … until they deemed him better.

has been back since the beginning of fall semester in an attempt to finish his senior year - mostly out of his parents’ insistence that he did, because he very much did not want to. 

is still dealing with a lot of trauma & grief, which was only amplified with dean lockwood’s death - causing him to spiral and be unpredictable with his mental health. some days are good, and some days are very bad.

personality !!

the human embodiment of a gremlin, fed after midnight. a goblin, if u will. one of those cats with a narrow head and big ass ears. that’s him.

b i g horror & halloween enthusiast. loves the old campy horror movies. probably has an abundance of masks from different movies. dresses like a grimy millennial beetlejuice more than he should. love those vertically striped pants!

fashion alternates between e-boy (would b tik tok famous if he were like … 17), millennial beetlejuice, and like … goth in a crop top and sweatpants. big fan of crop tops. big fan of sweatpants.

he can be fucking mean. petty, aggressive, instigator. will literally spit in ur face or no reason. kind of person who’ll stick his gum into other ppl’s hair. other than that he’s like … pretty okay. he’s not always mean, he’s just a dick like … 70% of the time lmao

i mean yeah okay he’ll call someone a stinky bitch for no reason except He Feels Like It And Believes It. it’s fine he’s fine, we’re fine.

despite the fact tht he’s probably getting into fights whenever - considers himself 2 be a lover n not a fighter but that’s just because he Fucks a lot. kind of uses it like a coping mechanism, like he’s this big fancy carnival show that’s like ‘come one, come all! fuck the dead girl’s twin brother!’ may have a problem w/ hypersexuality but it’s nothing he’s fully. aware of.

the preacher’s whore son, basically

like i said he’s pan & nb, switches between he and they pronouns but like … he has such a fragile grip on his identity that u could call him ‘dog-faced bitch’ and he’d turn like hey wassup :)

vastly impulsive, like i’ve mentioned … destroys his own creations 4 the fun of it, spends all his money on useless shit, will cheat on someone bc he feels like it. screams into the night sky frequently, like a cat in heat.

i mean he also creates useless shit for no reason too. spent six months sculpting a hollowed out tree the size of him and then took a sledgehammer to it.

dramatic fuck. used to play the organ at the church like … when no one was looking after him and service was about to start. just these creepy as melodies. would do the same thing at home on his keyboard w/ the organ setting whenever he got grounded until his parents took away his keyboard sadjfkg

won’t talk about his time away b/c it’s not rly anybody’s business but ofc nothing is sacred to the watershed app, y’know, nothing’s private.

still like - he absolutely refuses to talk about tatiana’s death and like, his mental health or his addiction (he’s fallen back into it tbh but it hasn’t gotten bad again … yet) or like … anything involving his own emotions

will literally just change the topic! abruptly, no warning, asks about the jonas brothers instead.

that being said he’s obsessed with tatiana’s death. tatiana was very much a rock for him, kinda dependent on her in a way? just … being there, y’know, kept him grounded.

so he obv became a shepherd bc he wants to know Everything there is abt the app, wants to be deep inside it, wanted to know Who Exactly Killed Tatiana and like … not saying he wants 2 commit murder but :/ yknow. he’s very upset.

emotionally unavailable while also like crying twice a day.

will tell you straight up what he wants from you, no bullshit, no beating around the bush - just blunt. if he wants to just fuck, nothing else, then that’s that. if he feels deviation he’ll ghost in like. less than a second. kinda awful like that! feels no shame.

but like … also is emotional ?? as shit ?? it’s confusing. he’ll cry on a whim and then flip u off if u try to console him or like. ask him anything. will bite you.

he goes to therapy but he generally fucks around and wastes most of the time until the therapist threatens to like … idk what therapists r allowed to threaten. to send him off to another therapist? idk.

likes being intimidating but like … not with his body or nothing ‘cos he’s a TWIG, but like … uses his love for horror n creepy shit to his advantage. has an abundance of fake blood. has channeled the energy of jack nicholson and used it on tatiana’s boyfriends before.

( also a big fan of sfx makeup, has dabbled in it)

probably chases kids with a chainsaw (w/o the like … chain … or w/e … so it’s not actually Dangerous) around halloween

he’s generally never doing good, both mental health wise and morally.

would probably steal candy from a baby for the fun of it.

i don’t know if there’s a good to him, deep down, and i don’t know if he sees any issues with himself either !! nothing really breaks through to him anymore, the only person who ever really made him stop and Think about his actions was tatiana.

kinda introverted, recluse type who doesn’t rly like most people or going out, but he’ll go to parties if it means he’ll be high as shit.

pretty observant. likes to analyze people even though he’s probably not … fully right.

wanted connections !!

he lives alone currently but like … ex - roommates where viktor was just. a nightmare to live with.

feel like a lot of enemies is also a possibility !! viktor’s messy.

people that like … knew tatiana. dated tatiana, even, and viktor would pretty much try to intimidate / scare them at any given chance :/

close friends of tatiana too

people who hated tatiana but liked viktor. people who hated viktor but liked tatiana

people who take pity on him and he Hates it viciously and vocally.

a band of hooligan gremlin kids who do drugs and fuck shit up around town like they’re edgy teenagers even though they’re all early to mid 20s.

the girl he lost his virginity 2 in high school lmao … a distant memory

fellow rochester locals, from church or school or whatever

exes from the past !! good terms and bad terms, but i love bad terms a whole lot mainly b/c viktor’s a jackass.

don’t know if he’s soft towards anybody but we can try. we can Try.

friends, old friends, new friends, bad friends, good friends, close friends, frenemies, etc. etc. all of it

hookups !! so many hookups. fwbs, one night stands, whatever.

uuhhhh god. i don’t know. im so sleepy rn. people in the same major or similar majors.

maybe a ride or die.

people he’s a bad influence on / an enabler towards / all around toxic for them / each other.

people he’s fought !! people who’ve seen him get into random fights and were like ‘uh wtf’

fellow shepherds !!

literally anything im not picky.

[junk-and-clutter]

Akatsuki Deidara x Katara / Mon. May 25. 2020

x Katara x Katara ached for sleep to come tonight but, as usual of late moving to the HIdden Leaf Village, her mulling mind prevented it.  There is a cause for the clutter that has risen in these late hours.  In too short for time, hour after restless hour, she’s battling matters in her vulnerable state.  Being a few hours before sunrise && craved sleep so badly, but it has betrayed her once again.  At this point, any sleep is an impossible prayer.  Lying hollowly under familiar sheets, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, inhaling scents, && sounds that hover.  She couldn’t lie here any longer, everything her past / old life will seep through her mind && into her heart.  && she wasn’t ready for that.  Replacing the threat of remembering by DOING.  Tussling the tangled sheets loose being as quiet as a mouse getting dressed fully armed.  Pausing a moment to look && listen for movement.  Confident she sneaked out through her bedroom window on the 2nd floor.  Weary body loathing her mind’s resolve to escape her thoughts in the only way she’s found that worked ――― r u n n i n g.  Not being able to spend another second bottled up in her thoughts, fretting over the unknown she could not predict ――― alter ――― or what role to play.  The atmosphere is calm but swathed in the stench of Village.  

Nostrils flare with each inhalation tracking the only scent she knew.  Running easily through the moonlit streets hunting for a natural water source catching onto the aroma  but all she ended up finding was water towers attached to facilities, backed up water gutters she took the time to unclog quietly && rain barrels.  Paralyzing pulses radiate through each disappointment.  She used to feel the WATER / w a v e s like a part of the tidal rhythm in her own body but coming here fringed creating an invisible barrier.  Lifelessly sinking to some pit / quicksand bottom that was impossible to escape.  Dumping the contents out of the rain barrel staring at the sludge water staining the ground in mild disgust && anger.  Not staying in one place for too long the sound of splashing water was easy to hear by the trained ear.  Searching for something that felt non existent.  Scaling the tallest wall easily accomplishing the climb safely slinking on top of the roof.  She slumped down so exhausted, bone-shaken with washed out frustration, && sharp breathless expression trying to catch her breath back.  Deflated blue eyes staring out seeing the wide contours of Konohagakure  ――― Village Hidden in the Leaves && inhabitants soaking it all in.

Atasuki Deidara

--- Deidara! That was his name, wasn't it? If he his memories served him, it was. But it sounded like it was shouted through water; distorted and barely made out syllables. He had died, hadn't he? Of course he had. b o o m; art. Art killed him. The finest displays one could ever hope to see, to dream. And yet, why did he feel as though he still lived, still felt the subtle cool grass between fingers. Unless-- Wait. Grass? He could feel the chill of their blades, rough like a cat's tongue. Maybe wherever he had ended up had grass. Maybe there were flowers; an endless field of fragrant flowers. He hoped that the peace he found would last forever. He did what he had felt was necessary, right? There wasn't much more in it than wanting to express himself in his art. That's the goal of every artist-- Were those birds? He could hear birds. Their alluring, soft calls just as soothing as the sounds of the wind brushing neatly through the tree

s; faint rustling that stimulated his brain in a positive manner. Perhaps he had found where it was they'd all ended up at in the end. Would he see them? See any of them? It was at this moment, sensations started to return to his extremities; cool ground, a bit damp.. hey, wait, was it raining? How long had that been going on? Can it rain after death? Pinpricks of cool water splash across his features, dampening his clothes and hair. It was at this moment that his eyes snapped open. There was no waiting sun to blind him, no waiting glow of some ethereal caregiver. No, it was just.. trees? and more trees. Wh-- Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion, like he was stuck in a vat of molasses and glue, unable to really move much more than a bit at a time. Truly an odd feeling, so leaden and rooted to the spot. It didn't dawn on him, until a deep breath had been taken, that his lungs burned with the lack of air up until that moment - pinpricks of acute pain

and discomfort began to flood the entirety of his form. Sensations spread across the entirety of his form, filling him with such intense anxiety that he shot straight upward, sitting up with a wild look in his gaze. Where the hell was he?! Confusion, anxiety, anger -- it was all too much for him. Throwing himself over on to his hands and knees, colorless bile-filled vomitus rose out of his mouth and splashed onto the ground. Blargh! You don't throw up in the afterlife, right? Staring at the puddle a moment before his eyes rolled up into his head, forcing him to fall back over, on to his back, once more. This wasn't supposed to be how it was, right? He didn't know what was going on anymore and there was little in his head or around him to properly convey the information he needed. Everything swam behind a thin layer of unshed tears as he felt another welling within the depths of his stomach, violently wrenching himself over again to let it go. Trembling from th

e efforts, he finally could start pulling himself away from the mess made and attempt to find his legs and arms. Those still worked, right? His patchwork arms and body were on display, with little in the way of modesty. Finding a tree, he forced himself upward, weakly, and draped himself on lower level situated branches. How long was he out for? A long time? Some time? Forever? His eyes were sunken in, skin taut over emaciated form. He didn't look good, but he wasn't subjected to the assault that would surely diminish his self-esteem and self-worth. At this point, the rain had picked up its war upon the earth and all exposed, including himself. Before he knew it, his hair was plastered about his wet and exposed skin. He looked paler as a result too; almost callow and withdrawn. Like a corpse.. It was hard to assess the level of damage properly right now. However, he knew that he wasn't quite himself anymore, there were pieces missing and mysteries unanswered.

x Katara x Deflated blue eyes staring out seeing the wide contours of Konohagakure  ―――  Village Hidden in the Leaves && inhabitants soaking it all in for a couple of hours.  Until she could smell the scent of a new source of tainted water.  Resulting  in a potent stench that was easily detected from long distances.  But it passed the comforts && safety of the Village. . . within the ancient forest that loomed && towered.  She’d get in a lot of trouble if she got lost. . . but the feeling of curiosity && tension within herself battled.  Bracing herself doing something stupid.  Very stupid.  Like a moth to a flame she wandered towards the lining trees.  Gazing straight in front, between the old giant trees && what's lurking within.  Curiosity was stronger than fear of the forest.  Jogging into the old woods all alone && prepared to face unspeakable terrors. Adrenaline began filtering through her veins tracking the vile aroma within the sea of trees taking higher ground jumping from branch to branch weaved between trees, with a gentle mist-drizzled coating the air.  Where she should feel excitement it was dread pooling deep in her stomach as she’d lose the vile water scent if she didn’t hurry.  Finding the source!  Only she tightened her jaw && shook her head.  She tracked. . . threw up. .  that's new but gross.  So gross.  Didn’t think that was even possible.  

Keeping that alllll to herself.  Since that’s not something to brag about.  Squinting at the silhouette figure laying on the forest ground.  She shot them a curious, almost sad look, plunging her hands into her leg holster pulling a vial out twisting the top as there was a sound of taking something out.  Like a puppet losing its strings she collapsed onto her knees upon the forest floor above their head tilting her head gazing down at an unknown face. Not like that was very new, she was always staring at too many faces but none she knew.  But not sure if she was staring at someone DEAD or a l i v e as much as she couldn’t tell if they were a BOY or g i r l.  Though she had noticed that their hair was longer than she thought, && damp, darker blond, as water film reflected the glowing sheen of a lovely glittering hue.  | Stop looking at them |, she thought, && closing her eyes, the way little kids do thinking it’s going to make herself invisible.  But unfortunately when she peaked a second later, they were still there.  Parting her lips to suck in some air to prepare herself, she choked ungracefully instead. . .Coughing into her sleeve, nervous. Not very sure what to do if its . . . well dead?   Now the moment of truth were they DEAD or a l i v e she cracked an CINNAMON b a r k over there nose searching for an reaction out of them

Atasuki Deidara

Deidara was about as useful as a wet, plastic bag hanging on a tree branch. In the wake of his .. resurrection? Revival? Rewakening? -- He just didn't know how to process his surroundings. It was hard to look passed the film of disbelief and mild horror. As far has he had come to know, he was dead. The rain was soaking everything around it, making him soppy and wet as a result. His hair seemed to weigh so much as he stared through it, blankly. Some of the rain had slowly crept itself down across his features and into his eyes, which forced a blink out of him. But otherwise, he just couldn't be assed to move. To be honest, the intense pins and needles sensation was starting to ebb, allowing him to actually feel that he still had all of his limbs. At first, he had thought his arm gone, but there it was. He slowly started to move when he noticed movement, then heard a cough. Brows knit. He wasn't the

only one here? Ugh. And they'd see him like this? A barely dressed pancake, struggling to move his soppy wet form. How embarrassing. Then again, did he really care? Deidara was still staring out of a 'break' in his long, leaden blonde - someone was there, but he couldn't make out details or anything in particular. They were approaching. Despite the intense numbness, he stiffened up in reaction. He didn't think he could actually react quick enough to cause harm, but he wasn't going to simply go down again without a fight. As soon as she got close, he made an inhuman sound of alarm and jerked away from her. It wasn't long before he was dragging himself backward, his brain slow to process what might be benign in nature. The Missing-Nin simply couldn't let someone so close without good cause! But, the suddenness and the anxiety of it all only served to cause him more discomfort; his head shaken furiously. Still, h

e couldn't speak. If he could, he'd drink the water form the sky at this point. Who the fuck was this? His processing speeds weren't up to snuff unfortunately. But, he was trying to place her, still trying to maintain a fair bit of distance, even if he had to actively drag his ass everytime she attempted to close the gap. It should be noted that he looked a bit beaten up, a bit charred, and without his iconic cloak. In fact he was just in his fishnets, simple over shirt and beaten-to-shit pants; none of which were in good condition. Both of his arms showed signs of stitching and a portion of his right arm looked to be .. different altogether. His back was eventually flush against a tree trunk and, after some serious effort on his part, he spoke; "Stay.. away." Harsh, hoarse and almost lost in the hushed murmur of the rain that started to gain momentum, further washing the world of its latest sins.

x Katara x To Katara’s racing pulse hearing an inhuman sound of alarm coming out of them was beautiful to the ears.  Blood hammered in her ears.  Relief filled Katara knowing they were alive, but once they were beyond the illusion, doubts rose.  She worried leaving her nervous && added to the strain. Who was this person, though?  && how did they get here looking so beaten up && charred?   Not knowing their name,  their story.  Nor what they’ve done, nor what they’ve been through by the options they had to choose from.  Not judging his story by the chapter she’s walked in on.  Even as a bystander, the one-sided exchange was painful.  Gaze trailing their actions holding her breath watching them drag themselves backward, head shaken furiously.  Only releasing her breath when they were eventually flushed against a tree trunk.  Shutting her eyes && clenching her hands tightly until her knuckles turned white with half moons imprinted into calloused palms, resisting the urge to approach them  ――― help them ――― she had to try, doing anything was better than doing nothing.  But how do you help someone who won’t let her get near them.  The conversation died for now && the only sound was there breathing && the rain.  Welcoming the pelting rain upon herself, trickling down against her, shivering in delight.  But this delightful && joyous reunion was tainted.  The silence between them left her in what she had been avoiding && running from all along.  What's kept her up night after night.  

P a i n.  Pain in every muscle.  Pain && rage in every crease of her heart.  Her heart skipping a beat while it ached wishing the pain in her chest would quiet down.  Thoughts swallowed her.  Her thoughts like her heart felt something much like a dying departed breath.  Feeling the cold shock following the observance settle into her bones. These thoughts felt like pieces of a chain.  Hooked && linked together, growing into a long chain that started to present like truth. How many fragments can a heart be broken into before it turned to a dust that could never be mended?   She knew she wanted to continue this way of life && join in the ranks.  Hand reaching for the headband feeling the outline miserably hidden underneath her clothes writhing in guilt because she didn’t want to trade it for another but she’s utterly powerless in the struggle.  She didn’t want to face the chunnin selection exams to see her friends && team she was forced to leave behind && who’s replaced her.  The burning image of her old sensei on the other side while she stood beside another.  For all that she's lost && to the future that she’ll have to endure.  Taking the first step to that f u t u r e by helping the person across from her.  Clenching her eyes shut.  Her mind raced through the possibilities as she tried to approach a different angle.  She tried to fill the silence with conversation.  “You display yourself like you’re not ready to descend ―― deep into the arms of what will destroy you if we stay like this. . .  So . . let me help you.  Let me at least try.  What do you have to lose?”  

[roxybefab]

The Ink Artist

The art classroom was quiet, the only sound heard was Riley’s even breathing and the sound of the ink covered pen she held.

Her animation was almost complete and many basic sketches of the two main characters littered the table she sat at. She was currently working on an idea for her next episode.

Her wavy chocolate brown locks were in a loose side braid.

She was about average height but still wore heeled brown boots to make her look a bit taller. Her body was what she considered ‘fluffy’, an excuse for her slightly chubby body.

She wore a baggy hooded plaid shirt, red and black, and black leggings underneath.

Her eyes, hazel and huge, were protected by a pair of big round glasses and her cheeks were rosy.

Her skin was beige (although it was hard to tell by the ink that covered her hands), similar to most hispanic people, and her lips, plump, were a gorgeous shade of pink.

The door opens and in comes Amanda Mary Drew, Riley’s best (and only) friend.

Mandy was a pretty and kind girl.

Like Riley, she was ‘fluffy’ and sported rosy cheeks.

Her skin was a bit lighter and she wore some fake glasses, which she claimed were repelling blue light, that made her look good and smart at the same time.

“H..Hey, Muh-muh...Mands!” the brunette’s face turned a light pink in embarrassment as she struggled to speak. She sighs and looks down to keep working on the outline.

Mandy smiles at her, a quiet ‘hey’ leaving her lips as she sat down beside her.

“So, you’re still working on these two goofs, huh?” Mandy picks up the paper, the two main characters from before on the paper.

Riley smiles and nods.

The names Candy and Charlie were in big letters and two children were on the page. Both looked to be made of candy, marshmallows, and sported crowns on their heads. The girl, Candy, and the boy, Charlie, both siblings. Mandy smiles back and puts the drawing back down.

“Hey, did you hear? Jeff killed someone else.” Riley perks up at the familiar name, her attention turning to the smaller female as she opens her bag and pulls out a newspaper. The words, ‘JEFF STRIKES AGAIN’ on the front. It showed a picture of a woman, crying, holding her child. The little boy had a grin cut into his face and you could see that he was stabbed multiple times. Riley smirks to herself, opening the paper and reading,

Jeff the Killer strikes again, murdering a twelve year old boy by the name of Allen. He was found in his bed, stabbed about twenty times and a smile carved into his face. Police haven’t found him quite yet and it is very obvious that they are getting frustrated with how this killer keeps escaping from them—

She sighs, handing it back to Mandy who takes it and shoves it in her bag.

“Hey, wanna g-go out and get suh-suh-something? Lunch starts i-i-in thirty muh-muh-minutes and I really whu-whu-want some Mcdonalds.” Riley suddenly asks, putting down her pen and getting up to stretch. She heard Mandy let out an ‘Okay.’ as she begins putting away her supplies.

“I’m home!” Riley groans in annoyance, turning up the volume of the tv. A cartoon was playing, Spongebob is what the brunette remembered it was called, and Riley couldn’t help but ignore her mother’s boyfriend when he walked in the room with a bag of chinese takeout.

“Hey, dude!” he exclaims once he sees her, a smile on his face as he sits next to her. She smiles at him, “Hey, Duh-Duh-Dylan” leaving her lips before she goes back to her drawing. She hears the crinkling of the plastic bag , the smell of orange chicken and chow mein hitting her as soon as she looks up at him with a questioning look on her face.

He was young, 34 from what Riley remembered, with dark fluffy hair and an average body. He was always around, more than Riley’s mom, and Riley couldn’t help but feel like he was her father. He smiles his huge, white smile at her as he started to put food on a plate.

“Your mom is gonna work late,” he hands her the plate, “So I decided we could hang out.”

“Yeah, t-th-that sounds c-cool.” she smiles, putting her sketchbook down as she starts to dig in.

“So, you still drawing in ink only?” he asks before taking a bite of his food. Riley nods, glancing down at the inked sketch from before.

“Maybe t-t-tomorrow I’ll c-c-color it?” Dylan laughs, making the teen lift a brow.

“What’s s-so fuh-funny?” She asks, slightly glaring at him.

“Kid, you always say that! Last week you said you’d color in the last one but you ended up not doing it.”

“Yeah, but that d-d-doesn’t mean I-I-I won’t th-th-this time!”

Riley remembered how she only colored her art when her dad was around. When he died she stopped adding color in anything. She remembered her dad, a tall and cheerful man who loved his family more than anything.

But things change.

An hour passed, it was now 10:30 of the night and Villainous was now playing on the tv.

Riley yawns, drawing in ink like always and glancing at her soon to be step father. He was watching the spanish cartoon intently, chuckling whenever Dr. Flug did something goofy.

The front door opens, footsteps sounding as they made their way to the living room.

“Oh, hey, love!” Her mother says, walking in and heading straight to Dylan to give him a kiss.

“Hey, Lori!” He chuckles when she grins at him before she glances at her daughter and sneers at her.

She still doesn’t forgive me..

Riley sighs, looking away from her mother and to the tv. Black Hat was advertising some kind of villain summer getaway.

Lori Lawrence hated her daughter. She didn’t hate her for no reason, no, she hated her because Riley’s father had died two years earlier in search of a perfect birthday gift for their wonderful talented daughter. They had gotten a phone call at 1 in the morning and apparently some guy hit him with his car after looking down at his phone. Lori had fallen into depression, not eating or sleeping. Whenever Riley went near her she’d scream and yell at her, telling her that it was her fault. That if she didn’t exist then he wouldn’t have left the house and he wouldn’t have gotten ran over.

And as she got better, she started to be gone. Longer than the day before. She had left, once, for a month. She never answered the phone when it was her daughter. Luckily for Riley, Dylan soon came into the picture. He had added some happiness in her life as well as Mandy.

“I’m going to b-bed.” she mutters, standing up and making her way to her room with her sketchbook in hand.

It wasn’t her fault that her dad wanted to make her happy.

But it still hurt the sixteen year old that her mom blamed her for her dad’s death.

That night Riley lay awake in her twin bed. This wasn’t the first time, she’s had insomnia since that fateful night. But she always ended up asleep by midnight.

She glances at her phone, the screen illuminating the room for a couple seconds as she reads the time. 3:13 it read, before turning off.

The sound of footsteps in the hall got her attention, shuffling and breathing passing her room. She knew it wasn’t her mother or Dylan, they were out at some bar getting drunk. With a shaky sigh, Riley pulled the duvet off of her and sat up, stretching a bit before making her way to her door.

The shuffling stopped as soon as she opened the door but she heard glass drop in the kitchen, and the ‘crunch’ of walking over the glass.

Taking in a deep breath, Riley quietly makes her way to the kitchen. There was part of a glass plate lying on the wooden floor, the other half smashed into bits all over the floor. No one was in the kitchen but once the young teen looked out the window her heart sped up and she felt the color drain from her face.

There was a tall man under a lamp post, all other light on the street gone other than the one that hit him. He wore a suit, and he wouldn’t have freaked Riley out much if she hadn’t noticed that he had no face. Tentacles came out of his back and he was ‘staring’ at Riley.

He tilted his head when she quickly clutched her chest, her heart beating fast and her throat closing from the fear.

The light quickly turns off, darkness taking over the street and he was gone.

Riley was too busy trying to control her breathing to realizes that she fell to her knees on top of the glass shards, her vision was getting blurry and she only heard static before she passed out.

“What’s w-wrong with y-you?”

Mandy jumps, the fluffy haired girl visibly deflating in relief when she sees the ink artist. Riley noticed her tear filled eyes and quickly hugs Mandy.

“What’s w-wrong?” Riley asks again, more quietly this time.

“My parents.. They.. Kicked me out..” Mandy burst into tears in her friend’s arms.

“You c-c-can stay w-w-with me i-i-if you’d like.” Riley said.

Mandy had really strict parents who usually made her do what they want. They had disowned one of Mandy’s older brothers just because he was bisexual so Riley didn’t really question why they would kick out Mandy.

“Are you sure? What about your mom and Dylan?” Mandy looked up at the brunette, “I don’t want to be a burden.” Riley smiles at her.

“Don’t worry about it, Mands. They’re buh-both guh-guh-gonna be gone f-fo-for a month to Hawaii. T-to make u-up the h-honeymoon the-they never had.” Riley rolls her eyes, slowly letting go of the shorter female, “My mom c-can’t s-say anything a-about it, she’s ne-never home anyways.”

“Okay, thank you so much,” Mandy smiles, her eyes were now puffy, “If it’s okay, can you drive me to your place then? My parents didn’t let me get any of my things..”

“Y-y-yeah! I’ll text you whu-what my car looks like.”

“What do you have after lunch again?” Mandy asks, putting her backpack on.

“I-I-I have a-a-art, dummy!” Riley giggled as Mandy facepalms.

“I’ll see you later then, Riles.” Mandy says, walking out the door.

“Hey, R-R-Riley!” Devin, the school douche says as she passes by her, shoving her to the side as he made his way to his seat. The art teacher walked in shortly after and started taking role. Then he began speaking about drawing something christmas themed because the finals were coming up.

She’s been drawing the creature she’s been seeing.

Tall man with no facial features, just a pale white face, and tentacles coming out of him.

She hasn’t stopped seeing him.

Three times now.

That’s how many times she’s seen the creature in the past two months.

The second time he had been standing on her front porch and she had noticed him through a window.

The third was at school, she was busy trying to finish her Lit Writ homework outside of class and had looked up to see him a couple yards away.

They always ended with her passing out.

And slowly Riley noticed some other things appearing.

Jeff the Killer had shown up in her room the night before.

But he didn’t kill her, no, he just stood at the foot of her bed and stared down at her. He had slowly made his way to stand next to her before he whispered the words, ‘Go to sleep’, gently tracing a smile on the younger girl’s lips and up to her cheeks before she passed out.

Riley looks down at her sketchbook, opening it up and adding more ink to the newest drawing.

She was drawing Jeff this time, just in ink, her emotions going through her and onto the page.

She sighed, glancing down at her hands that were covered in ink. The sticky dark substance was covering her arm, all the way up to her elbows.

Strange.. She thinks, staring at her arms before going back to the sketchbook.

“He said something christmas themed, you stuttering freak!” Mandy’s boyfriend slams his hand on her sketchbook, laughing at his own comment before he quickly throws her pens and sketchbook to the floor.

It’s going to be a long day.. Riley thinks, glaring at the male before picking up her supplies.

Two hours later, Riley and Mandy were in her home eating leftovers from the night before.

“Hey, why are your arms covered in ink?” Mandy asked the quiet girl, watching her inking a drawing that she recognized as Jeff the Killer.

“I-I don’t know. It won’t co-come off. I b-blame Devin and his fuh-fuh-friends. I have spanish with th-them and tha-that class always ha-ha-has me asleep by the e-end so..”

Mandy nods, watching Riley get up and walk to the living room.

It was lunch again, Riley was in the art room eating and drawing. The art teacher told her to try and get the project done so she decided to just do it at lunch. It’s been a month, the ink on her arms has only spread up her body, her legs and arms were dripping ink everywhere and she often spit out ink. She sighs, tugging the sleeves of her plaid shirt down more. Her mom had arrived two nights ago but left in the morning. Riley stares at the drawing, wanting to color it but deciding against it.

A yell made her whip her head up, her bangs covering an eye as she stared at the door. After a couple seconds and hearing another yell followed by laughter, she quickly got up and walked to the door.

Was that Mandy? Her only thought. Her heart beat sped up and she felt the ink dripping faster.

Taking a long and deep breath, Riley quietly opened the metal door. The sight made her angry, the sight of her best friend in pain making her hate Devin more than ever.

Her blood boiled at the sight of Devin lifting his hand to smack Mandy again, tears were streaming down her cheeks and Riley could see the red outlining of a handprint on Mandy’s cheek.

Devin’s friends were surrounding them, two turning to see who opened a door.

Riley felt the ink fall to the floor, but instead of hearing the drip drop of liquid, she heard a ‘clang’.

The kind that metal hitting the floor makes.

Riley looked down, noticing that it was a knife; a long bladed knife with a dark handle and it looked like the thing was melting.

It didn’t take long for Riley to notice that it was made of ink and that’s why it was dripping.

A ‘smack’ was heard, followed by laughter again and Riley picked up the knife, looking up and glaring at Devin and his friends.

“Let her go.”

Devin looked startled and looked over at Riley for a second. Mandy stood next to him, tears rolling down her face and a trembling lip.

The sight made Riley even angrier than before.

Devin rolled his eyes and nodded his head at the tallest kid in his ‘gang’.

Riley recognizes him as Julio, the douche who’s been making fun of her stutter all year. Anger burned through Riley’s veins and she felt like she was melting because of it.

“What the fuck is happening to your face?” Devin gaped as Riley tilted her head in slight confusion, “it’s melting!” Devin took a step back. Julio made a disgusted sound but didn’t back down, just stood in front of the ‘melting’ girl.

Julio took a step back, making Riley whip her head in his direction before a feeling started to form inside Riley. She knew what the feeling was, knowing it was not a feeling but an urge. Something that she really craved. A low growl sounded, coming past her lips made Julio take a step back one again. Riley then launched forward, stabbing and punching the teenage boy in front of her.

Nothing could stop her from hurting him, her anger only growing as she sliced at his body, the crimson blood oozing out of the cuts and onto the floor.

Riley felt something in her brain snap, wondering if it was her sanity before a huge grin starts to take place on her face.

The teenagers in front of her stared in terror, not knowing how to react to what they were seeing.

Riley’s irises had changed to cut pies, similar to the old Pac-Man, and her mouth was stretched up to her ears in a Cheshire cat like grin. Her teeth had sharpened. Ink oozed down her face, coving an eye as she shoved the tall teen against a wall, her knife long forgotten. Something flowed down Riley’s forehead, covering her eyes till the only thing she saw was the dark oozing color of ink

Her arm starts taking a different form, the ink crawling up and forming a long spiked spear. The boy she had against the wall sobbing. Riley felt her grin widen even more at the sounds he was making, inky drool slowly falling to the ground as she lifted her arm up and stabbed him in the abdomen. She didn’t stop there though, no, Riley couldn’t stop the anger she felt.

Angry because her mother hasn’t texted her.

Angry because Mandy wouldn’t defend herself from her boyfriend.

Angry because Devin was running away, phone in hand and calling the cops.

Angry because the boy under her was surprisingly still alive.

So she did what only her biggest role model did.

She turned to where she had abandoned her knife earlier, her arm lifting up and shooting a strand of ink at it and yanking it towards her.

That was just like spiderman! She turned back to the kid who was still clinging on to life, her giant grin turning to a huge sharp toothed sneer as she started stabbing him repeatedly in anger and madness. The only thing that stopped her murderous rage was when the police arrived. They found her sitting next to the body, that Cheshire grin once again on her face as she watched her masterpiece.

Julio Henderson had fifty three stab wounds, thirty in his abdomen and the rest either on his chest or throat. His face had dark bruises on it from Riley’s punches and he had deep claw marks on his arms and cheek. The cops stared at Riley, hunched over and giggling as she talked to something that wasn’t there.

It was hard for the cops to get the girl into their car but once they did she was driven down to the police station. Once she had arrived they had dragged her to a room and sat her down.

“Full name?”

“Riley Diana L-Law-Lawrence.”

“Age?”

“Si-si-sixteen.”

“Family?”

“Lori Lawrence, m-m-mother, Dylan Greene, h-h-her boyfriend.”

“Lori Lawrence? The lawyer?” The man stared at Riley with wide brown eyes. He was an average man with combed back hair and a frown. Riley nods.

“We didn’t know she had a daughter.”

“S-she doesn’t s-speak of m-me muh-much..” he makes a face, something that looks like a ‘I can see why’ look.

“Motive for attacking?”

“Devin ha-has b-been abusing m-my best friend. His fuh-fuh-friend had th-the nerve to do it a-as well and I snapped.”

He nods, writing something down before getting up. Riley started giggling to herself, looking down at her cuffed hands before bursting into laughter. The sound of her joy echoing through the halls.

When the man returned, all he found was a couple of drops of ink and the cuffs laying on the chair, the echo of Riley’s laughter sounding through the room as the man ran out in a panic.

NEW KILLER ON THE LOOSE

There’s a new killer on the loose, many know her as Riley D. Lawrence, the daughter of Lori Lawrence, the lawyer. Lori is devastated at the thought of her daughter going insane and is retiring from her job in hopes of waiting for her daughter to come home. No one knows where Riley is but we do know that she is near. Last night a boy by the name of Justin was murdered by Riley, his organs were hanging from the chandelier and his upper body was outside of his home. The words ‘The Artist’ were written on his room’s wall multiple times. It appears that she won’t be leaving anytime soon.

A scoff rang through the kitchen, the sound of a fork scraping a plate heard. Lori glared at the paper, glancing down at her phone that marked the time.

11:22

In half an hour she would be leaving on a date with Dylan.

“She just wants attention..” she muttered, standing up and turning to go to the living room.

A giant puddle of ink stopped her.

Lori stared at it in confusion, that had not been there when she walked into the kitchen. The ink was bubbling, dark huge bubbles of ink and after a couple seconds a giant bubble appeared and popped.

Lori stared in terror at the sight. It was a girl, with long wavy chocolate brown locks and hazel eyes. But her irises were cut pies, like the old Pac-Man or Mickey Mouse and she sported a Cheshire cat like grin that went up to her ears.

The Artist glared at her mother, her grin ever present as her mother took two steps back in fear.

“Hi, muh-mommy.” she whispered, ominously.

There was another figure standing in the shadows, shaggy burnt hair and white leathery skin making Lori scream as she realized her daughter had a partnership with Jeff the Killer.

Riley wasted no time in stabbing her mother, a cackle leaving her lips as she stabbed her repeatedly.

Lori Lawrence was dead.

And The Artist was ready to go after many other people who had ruined her life.

[quitethepirategal]

Alphabet Headcanons!

List a headcanon that correlates with each letter of the English Alphabet. Can you list that many? It’s harder than it looks! Any tidbit of information counts, from the simplest fun fact to the lengthiest lore!

A - Red Jessica is an Aries. Her moon sign is Taurus and her rising is Leo. She’s also a cusp baby, giving her Pisces leanings.

B - She has quite a few books in her massive library, but her favorites are The Art of War, Anthony and Cleopatra, On the Origin of Species, The Prince, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Frankenstein, and Treasure Island. She reads more textbooks than anything else tho. She really wants to like Jane Austin but she just... can’t.  ( unrelated, I was trying to figure which Shakespeare play would be Jess’s fav and found this. Y’all I screamed. )

C - Cats are her favorite animal. Any kind of cat. The grace, the lore, the silliness, the toe beans; they’re majestic little idiots and she loves them. She has two of her own. Sasha and Rosie. Jessica’s loved cats since she first made friends with one as a very little girl and she remembers every cat she’s ever had or been friends with.  Her first cat was an alley cat that followed her around that she uncreatively named Katjie

D - Dutch Afrikaans and English are her native languages, she grew up speaking both. However, she hasn’t really needed to speak Afrikaans since her mother died, and is no longer fluent as a result. Her first word was “Ahoy” but her second word was “geld.”

E - Red Jessica has some ridiculous eating antics, as a result of living in starvation from birth to late childhood and living as a pirate from then on.  She can bite directly into onions and garlic cloves as if they were apples, will eat ( or save ) the bones and fat of any meaty meal, can eat an entire apple- core included, loves to eat or chew on citrus peels and raw herb leaves, has a somewhat high tolerance for both spicy things and alcohol, and, like all pirates, has learned to tolerate most rotten/stale/moldy/expired food.  On top of that, her pursuit in studying biology and botany crowns her as probably the ONLY person in all of the Neversea who knows what nutrition is and how it works. Also eating avocados make her ears itch.

F - One of Jessica’s signature mannerisms is putting her fists up by her face. When excited or overjoyed she’ll shake them and when shes shy she’ll kind of hide her smile with them. She rests her chin on her fists, holds them still by her jaw when waiting in suspense, and its immediately where her fists fly to when startled or snuck up on ( with the exception of when shes armed, to which her hands fly to her hilt or holster ).  This mannerism makes complete and total sense considering shes a trained kick boxer.

G - Gardening is her absolute favorite stress reliever and you can pry it from her cold dead hands. Just bury your problems in the dirt my dude.

H - Her curly ginger hair is certainly one of the first things you notice about her and she takes very good care of it; a wash every two days, plenty of oils, vinegar once a week for dandruff. Her curl type is 3a.

I - Red Jessica is a closeted artist and frequently engages in illustration, and while this mostly comes in handy for taking illustrative botanical notes, her other favorite subject is the human figure. Specifically, the human figure of people she finds attractive or has a crush on.  And if you ask she’d be happy to try and draw you! Though she isn’t what you would call amazing she is somewhat talented- with her drawings having very technical, anatomical, and minimalist influences. She also like to sketch pastoral scenes when out in her fields.

J - Jessica was a name her father picked out, naming her after his first love.

K - She remembers her first kill. At 13 she was involved in a skirmish and lunged at a man out from under a table with a rapier. She remembers the exact look on his face, and recalls it with pride. First kill is a right of passage to pirates.

L - Jessica’s love language is all over the place, but can be narrowed down to gifts, words, and quality time. Arrogant suitors, take note because Jess will literally never shut up about you; she will brag about you, remind you of your achievements, praise you for your talents, be proud of you, will show you off, insist to EVERYBODY that you’re the best, and in some cases, spoil you.  This goes for friends too, of course but this all goes especially for whoever she has a crush on or is courting her. She JUST!! LOVES STROKING PEOPLE’S EGOS!! Speaking of spoiling, she’s a total gift giver.  No reason or occasion needed whatsoever; she is the QUEEN of  “ I was thinking of you so I got you a little something.”

M - Jessica is really really weird when it comes to materialism.  At a first glance, shes as avaricious as they come. She hoards beauty in the form of an art collection that graces her fine chateau’s halls and eminence gardens of gorgeous flowers.  She is a little crazy about treasure too, never missing an opportunity to treasure hunt, and has been known to loan-shark a time or two.  But in actuality, as made apparent through getting to know her, she isn’t really greedy or possessive at all.  Yes she loves pretty things and yes she is great at making money but believe me when I say that she is in the treasure hunt for the hunt more so than for the treasure.  Were she somehow to loose it all, money, island, treasure, everything, she’d be more concerned that whoever took her priceless art won’t take care of it.  In the best laid plans of mice and men, Jess is totally a mouse.  She’s lived the majority of her life owning nothing but the clothes she had on so, she’d just cut her losses and start over… come to think of it being wealthy is a bit boring…

N - Jessica has never been to Neverland. In my canon, only one pirate ( Hook ) was brave enough to ever set foot on that cursed island. Red Jessica, like the rest of the neverpirates, are too afraid. Most heard tales of an unbeatable foe and that the island itself is watching you, and that’s enough to keep Jessica away.

O - Oranges are her all time favorite food. She’ll eat anything with orange in it. Second favorite is crab or lobster. Third is pineapple chili sauce.

P - Her Myers-Briggs personality type is ESTP- a, the Entrepreneur.

Q - Jessica was Dread Pirate Grace O’Malley’s quartermaster. There are 9 Dread Pirates in the Neversea, each one being a legendary pirate of old, and they have the power to grant only the most talented pirates among them recognized captainship.

R - Red Jessica is is short for Red Handed Jessica for no reason other than I am Peter Pan ( 2003 ) trash.

S - Red Jessica’s crew is a sisterhood of sorts. While she is authoritarian and a captain to be feared, Jessica is friends with everybody in her crew and trusts them with her life. Her ship, The Rose, is practically a floating sorority; complete with weird traditions, gossip, gag rivalries, inside jokes, hazing, and the occasional prank. She even aids in getting them dates ( pro wingman right here ) and babysits some of their kids. Granted, they haven’t done much sailing or piracy in some time. But they all live comfortable lives on Crimson Isle, and they’ll be ready to sail should the need arise.

T - Jessica tends to trust people a tad too quickly and “give too much away” so to speak. It’s gotten her into trouble and even gotten her heart broken a time or two; but for some reason she never learns. She’d like to think she’s great at keeping secrets and to a degree, she is… but I wouldn’t trust her with any of mine- that I will say.

U - Oppenheimer, a pirate in the crew of the Flying Frigate ( in the movie the Pirate Fairy ) is her uncle.

V - Jess finds that she spends most of her days in her vineyard. She’s perfected the growing of grapes and timely shipments of wine, but now shes tinkering with how different aspects of growth effect flavor.

W - Jessica, whether she’s aware or not, is capable of being attracted to women. But she’s never really had any female partners. She’s not homophobic and wasn’t raised in an environment that was homophobic ( pirates pretty much love and sleep with whoever they want to ) it’s just ...never occurred to her to date women. Most of the reasons as to why are subconscious maternal issues but in short, Jess already has difficulty separating different kinds of love. Friendship and romantic love kinda... feel the same. She really only knows how to love one way and she can never tell if a woman is being friendly or flirty, much less if SHE’S being friendly or flirty. For this reason I’ve always labeled her as a questioning bisexual or a heteroflexible...

X - Her most recent botanical experiments revolve around xenogamy, also known as cross pollination. And just to flex, she’s also a huge xenophile for both Spanish and Chinese culture.

Y - Yellow is her second favorite color after red. Pink is her third and emerald green is her forth.

Z - In Jake and the Neverland Pirates, we see a type of rose called a Zebra Rose. While no such flower exists in actuality, I’d like to believe this is a result of some of Jess’s experiments - the medicinal purpose being to combat itching and irritation. 

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