#i TRIED to imitate the styles as best i could but idk how well it actually worked

[stardustcleaningguy]

did some quick screenshot/panel drawovers explaining my vash visual hcs so ill post them here too i guess

[khaleesiofalicante]

OK I’M HERE! I READ IT! I’M LATE BUT IT DID IT! SERIOUSLY REGRETTING NOT READING IT EARLIER! FUCK SLEEP WHO NEEDS SLEEP!

I LOVE THE TWINS SO MUCH SHCDUJUHKFDUISVFDHYDEBCSJ

LEXI TELLING EVERYONE THAT SHE CAN TALK TO RAZIEL BESTIE YOU DOING GREAT!!!

“Lying is wrong!” Selena had told her sister.

“Yes, but cookies are delicious,” Lexi had pointed out, munching on them.

“Daddy!” Selena had said. “Tell her it’s wrong.”

“Lying is wrong!” Daddy had said, but she had barely heard a word since his mouth had been stuffed with cookies too.

LYING IS OKAY IF YOU GET COOKIES

She did not care much for jewellery, especially expensive ones. But Magnus had given this to her – and she didn’t want to take it off.

She combed her long hair and tied it into a high ponytail. If she was going shopping with Magnus, she had to look her best.

It was fine. There were worse ways to spend your tenth birthday. She got to spend it with Magnus. She was not going to complain about it.

AWWW SHE’S LITERALLY MAGNUS’ NO.1 FAN UHSDUCSDUYSDCFUYKSVCD

“Oh!” Selena had beamed. “Like Magnus! He always looks so magnificent!”

“Sure,” David had said, his ears pink in the cold. “That’s who I was thinking about.”

I don’t know much but I do know that his ears were not pink because of the cold and he was not thinking about Magnus.

Selena remembered wishing she caught the fever so Magnus could take care of her too.

Same- I MEAN WOULDN’T WE ALL??

ALSO, MAX STAYING WITH DAVID WHEN HE WAS SICK DWHYDYGUFEYUKGFYEUGFEWUYG

Oh, Jocelyn died.

Rip I guess?

OOOO THEY INVITED THE COHORT TO TALK ABOUT THIS STUFF BECAUSE SHADOWHUNTERS ARE DYING OF MUNDANE ILLNESSES

I say we kill them.

Selena had never felt anger like that before. She had wanted to drown that awful man in the lake she floated around in her dreams.

BESTIE SAME

“Lettuce?”

“Yes?”

“No screaming when I show you the gift,” Daddy said. “We have visitors at the institute.”

“Is it a sword?” Lexi asked.

“No,” Daddy replied.

“Then I won’t scream,” her twin shrugged at him.

AHUEDCHGUHFEWUIFUIRUI SHE’S SUCH A HERONDALE I LOVE-

PUPPY OH MY GOD IT’S A PUPPY!!!!!!!!

“IT’S A PUPPY! IT’S A PUPPY! OH MY GOD, IT’S A PUPPY! DAVID GOT US A PUPPY!”

Her twin had jumped – no, leaped – off the counter and dashed towards their father, who was holding a small grey puppy in his arms.

“I AM SO SORRY I TOLD YOU I DON’T WANT YOU, LITTLE FRIEND. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. I WILL PROTECT YOU WITH MY TWENTY TOY SWORDS!”

“Lexi, stop screaming!” Mommy said. “You will wake everyone up.”

“EVERYONE WAKE UP AND COME MEET MY PUPPY!” Lexi screamed even louder.

I LOVE HER SO MUCH DHJBSDCHJBFSJSFEDSF

She drew the unlock rune on the door the way her daddy did on his office door and sneaked into the Consul’s office.

I’m not even surprised anymore-

AWW, SELENA GOING THERE TO LOOK AT THE MURAL OF IDRIS. YOU’LL GO THERE ONE DAY BESTIE I PROMISE

ANJALI IS HERE Y’ALL!!!!!!!

Anjali walked over to her father’s desk, sat down on the chair, and put her feet on the table.

The Inquisitor’s table.

Only she could get away with something like that.

THERE’S MY FAVORITE PERSON EVER Y’ALL

EVEN ALEC IS WARY OF HER UHJSDVCUHSVDUUHSVUHSUIVGRVSR

Selena loved Idris with all her heart. But she knew Idris was not a perfect place.

Any place that was mean to Magnus could never be perfect.

EXACTLY

“Well, it turned out well for me,” Anjali winked. “Now when he gives me shit for my ‘bad judgement’ I just throw his dating history in his face. Dated Zara Dearborn? Broke up with Cristina Rosales? Yikes. Could not be me.”

BESTIE YES! HOW CAN DIEGO JUDGE PEOPLE’S JUDGEMENT WHEN HIS DATING HISTORY LOOKS LIKE THAT???

“Just because he looks like a movie star, it doesn’t mean everything should be handed to him,” Anjali answered, rolling her eyes. “Entitled piece of shit.”

You know I kinda ship them-

“Dang, girl. No practice swords for you, huh. You just straight up went for the mortal sword. I like your style.”

“Uncle Kit!” Selena yelled and ran towards him.

KIT KIT KIT KIT KIT KIT KIT KIT HISDUIDEUYKFSFUS7IKKIYGVFSDLY7TKGVFEDYTGFECYGU

ASH OMG ASH IS HERE TOO!!!!

"some man called Anus" BYE-

PARABATAI KIT AND ASH OMG

The whole pre-meeting prep is kinda giving me pre-wedding vibes idk how to explain but the whole rush and organizing that day and making calls and stuff.

“Ash was very beautiful. After Magnus of course” “She liked Aunt Izzy best. After Magnus of course,” GIRL HAS HER PRIORITIES STRAIGHT

"How bad can the cohort be?" well you see-

“Is that the cohort?” Selena asked, her voice a whisper.

“No, that’s a bitch.”

Yup. that’s accurate

“Is he here?”

“Whom?” Daddy asked.

“Alec Lightwood,” the woman asked.

“You mean the Consul?” Daddy asked.

“I meant Alec.”

“The Consul?”

“Alec!”

“Who also happens to be the Consul?”

“Fine, yes, the Consul!” the woman sounded impatient. “Is he here yet?”

It’s Lightwood-Bane bitch

AWWW SELENA DESCRIBING ALEC AS REGAL THAT’S SO CUTE

And accurate-

IT’S THE SAME BLUE AGAIN

Selena noticed her father was looking very emotional. She couldn’t blame him.

“My liege,” Daddy bowed deeply.

“Cut it out,” the Consul smacked him. “What’s the status?”

Yup, that’s them. Also same Jace.Same.

“I always expected the offspring of these two to be like…”

“Like what?” Daddy demanded.

At that moment, Lexi ran past the hall, yelling and screaming as she carried a toy sword in one hand and Dorian Gray in another.

“MAKE WAY FOR ALEXANDRA THE GREAT AND HER LOYAL COMPANION DORIAN GRAY! CHRISTOPHER! BRING ME MY OTHER NINETEEN SWORDS! WE MUST SET FIRE TO THE EVIL EMPEROR AND SAVE THE PRINCESS!”

“Like that,” Magnus chuckled.

Will in the afterlife, wiping tears: A true Herondale.

“I hope so too, Magnus,” Selena said shyly.

The Consul frowned at that. “It’s Uncle Magnus to you.”

Selena ignored that. The Consul was not the boss of her.

Well, technically he was the boss of everyone. But still!

UHNJCSDUHUSDHSVUDVUD SELENA

Do not remind me. I would like to remain blissfully unaware that not all of them are mortal :D

The Consul grumbled and turned to Mommy. “You were right to name her Fairchild. She is going to be a pain in my ass.”

“Hey!” Daddy covered Selena's ears again. “It’s like you guys didn't get my monthly newsletter on language modification!”

“No one here reads your newsletter, Jace,” Aunt Izzy rolled her eyes.

"I do," the Consul put up his hand.

Of course, you do Alec. I can totally see the LBAF gang defying Alec left and right UHKGXUYCSUYGCSYCFSED

“Izzy, how many times!” the Consul grumbled. “No placing bets on the children. Besides, everyone knows it’s going to be Alexandra.”

“Hey!” her parents said at the same time.

“What are y’all doing here?” Lexi came running then, cause her superpower was to magically appear whenever someone was talking about her. “We have shit to do! Come on!”

“Not helping, Lettuce!” Daddy shook his head. “Clary, take the lead.”

Of course, it’s gonna be Lexi.

FHUJCSDUHSDUHJ SELENA NOT UNDERSTANDING THE INNUENDO MAGNUS MADE LMAO NOT IN FRONT OF THE KIDS

“My name is Alexander Lightwood-Bane. I’m the Consul of the Clave. You will talk to me with respect.”

Selena saw Zara flinch at that. It was satisfying to watch.

Zara, I will gladly feed you to sharks stfu

“You sound a little jealous,” Zara grinned. “If you want to come back, we can arrange that. You could leave that good for nothing husband of yours and-”

“Zara, I swear by the angel,” Aunt Izzy said through gritted teeth. “Insult my husband again and see what happens.”

ISABELLE YES! I NEED MORE SIZZY WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OF THESE TWO

SHE DID NOT JUST INSULT MAX AND RAFE FUCK YOU BITCH

OH, NOW SHE INSULTED THE TWINS. I WILL DROWN YOU DO NOT TEST ME

“They called me a freak too,” her mother spoke. “Insult our children again and I will show you what freaks can do.”

YES CLARY

Max and David were really close. Like Daddy and Uncle Alec.

Maybe even closer. Like Uncle Alec and Magnus - cause one of them was a warlock! And they always gave each other dopey looks.

HJBASYUGJCESDYUTGVCSDUTVSDT6U7VSDC THIS! (I think they get together because of the snippet but if they don’t-)

The moment Magnus left, Max snatched the credit card and whistled. “Y’all, Christmas came early.”

“We can’t just buy anything, Max,” Rafe rolled his eyes. “Dad will be pissed when he finds out.”

“Maybe we should buy little things we can hide,” Max winked. “Little…but expensive things.”

“Oh, like diamond rings?” Lexi gleamed.

“What would you even do with diamond rings?” Selena demanded.

“Sell them in the black market in exchange for cash,” Lexi replied.

“By the angel, Lex,” Rafe chuckled. “I'm gonna keep both my eyes on you.”

LEXI YES OMG YES YES YES YES

“Your demands are unacceptable,” Rafe said, imitating his father. “How about ice-cream?”

“I accept your counter proposal,” Lexi nodded, imitating Daddy. “Let’s unleash hell in Baskin-Robbins.”

BASKIN ROBBINS BOUTA BE RAIDED BY 4 CHAOTIC CHILDREN LET’S GO

Holy fuck she has children. Who’s the poor father?

“These are my sisters Saraquel and Remiel and Michael,” the boy pointed at the girls, completely ignoring Rafe’s comment. “Our parents named us after the archangels.”

“And they called us angel freaks?” Lexi muttered incredulously.

“I know, Lexi. Fancy names indeed,” Max nodded. “But kinda hard to pronounce to be honest.”

A very genuine what the fuck

“My name is Alexandra James Herondale,” Lexi said, her voice steady. “And I am named after the greatest Consul and dopest archer of all time. He is a better man than any of your dumb archangels.”

YES LEXI YOU GO, GIRL

“Idris is lame,” Max snorted now. “You don’t even have internet.”

Lexi shuddered at that.

The reason I would never want to live in Idris

THE WAY SELENA WAS READY TO BEAT THE GUY UP WHEN HE INSULTED MAGNUS AND HOW MAX GOT ANGRY WHEN HE INSULTED DAVID

SELENA’S 10 BITCH FUCK YOU

“Holy shit!” one of the girls said. “That was kinda cool. Is that a twin thing?”

“It’s a common sense thing,” Lexi rolled her eyes. “Duck!”

People are idiots

But Selena tried not to think about the other girl. It didn’t matter whose daughter Michael was – it only mattered whose daughter Selena was.

And she was the daughter of Clary Fairchild and Jace Herondale.

She was not going to run.

GIRL YES

Y’ALL DON'T GET KILLED

AYY MAGNUS IS HERE THEY’RE ALL GONNA BE OK NOW

“It’s warlock magic,” the boy whispered – but not too quietly. “It’s demonic.”

Some of the ichor from the demons fell right on the boy’s head.

“Oops,” Magnus said. “Warlock magic is also a little clumsy.”

HVBCDSHJCSDYCDYJGCD THE BOY DESERVED IT!!!!!

“Manuel has an important meeting,” Zara rolled her eyes. “I’m stuck babysitting them.”

“It’s not babysitting when you do it!” Daddy said incredulously. “You’re their mother. It’s called parenting.”

GODDAMIT WOMAN DON'T HAVE CHILDREN IF YOU CAN’T TAKE CARE OF THEM

“He called David a bastard,” Lexi said.

“He did what?” her mother demanded.

“And he called Max a freak,” Selena said.

“He did what?” the Consul demanded.

“And he flirted with Selena,” Rafe made a face.

“HE DID WHAT?” Daddy looked murderous.

NAH BECAUSE WE’RE ALL DOWNRIGHT READY TO KILL THIS BITCH

ALSO, SELENA WAS SO RIGHT TO BREAK THE BOY’S NOSE.

“Look at them! Cahooting in demonic languages,” Zara sniffed.

“It’s Spanish,” Aunt Izzy said incredulously. “Your husband speaks it too!”

Zara you dumb shit-

That part where Magnus was checking up on all of them and seeing if they’re ok and the kids looked like they had never seen anything like that-

They deserve better. GODDAMN IT JULIAN BLACKTHORN MANAGED TO BE A BETTER PARENT 12

Her father held Selena’s hand in his. “You better raise your son to respect women, Zara – Because I’m raising my daughters to break noses.”

YES YES YES YES

He knelt down next to her and put a strand of hair behind her ear. “Can I tell you a secret, cupcake?”

Selena nodded. She loved secrets.

“People call me a freak too,” Magnus winked.

“You?” Selena gasped.

“Yes,” he nodded. “If people call you a freak, it means you are doing something different. Something bold. Something small minds will never be able to think of. So, it’s not an insult. Don’t forget that.”

YES THIS

AWWW THE LITTLE GIRL GAVE SELENA HER NECKLACE.

“Some people don’t like women in power.”

“Why not?”

“Because women get shit done.”

Selena giggled at that. “You said a bad word.”

“It’s not bad. Say it with me, Selena,” her mother said gently. “Women get shit done.”

YES WE GET SHIT DONE

“Are you saying I shouldn’t be afraid?” Selena asked. “I should be strong?”

“I'm saying you should be anything you want to be,” her mother kissed her head. “You can be brave like Izzy. You can be fearless like Emma. You can be kind like Cristina. You can be cool like Dru. You can be sensible like Maia. You can be confident like Lily. You can be smart like Tessa. You can be fierce like Diana. You can be geeky like me.”

Her mother held her face closely. “You get to decide what kind of woman you want to be. I want you to remember that - because there is no wrong way to be a woman.”

THIS! WE NEED TO HEAR THIS MORE OFTEN!

“The next time someone points fingers at you because you are a woman, go ahead and break them.”

DO IT

This was her mother.

Clary Fairchild. One of the most powerful shadowhunters.

Selena sometimes forgot that. Sometimes you forget your mom is so much more than your mom.

There is a person underneath that – someone full of dreams and hopes and talents you could never imagine.

SHE’S LITERALLY SO POWERFUL AND AMAZING IF I SEE ONE MORE PERSON HATE ON HER I'M GONNA KILL THEM

THE IDRIS VISION EDYUGYFEUGYUKGFEWUYTGFEWUTFEW7FE

Rafe was going to be their leader. He would be Selena’s Consul. She knew it.

Gigi was going to be just like Aunt Izzy. An amazing inventor. A chaos to be reckoned with.

Lexi was going to be the best fighter in the whole world. She would fly above everyone and everything.

And David and Max…Well, they seemed very happy with each other. Selena supposed that was enough. Like Uncle Alec and Magnus. To find something you can be happy with no matter what. Because sometimes there was no greater purpose than love.

And Selena….She knew exactly what she was going to do.

She was going to lead all of them back to Idris.

Explain why I'm crying reading this. I love them all so much. They mean so much to me already. SELENA ONE DAY YOU’RE GONNA LEAD THEM ALL BACK TO IDRIS I KNOW YOU WILL

This chapter was beautiful. I'm gonna be in a corner crying in case someone needs me. See ya on Friday!! (well technically it’ll be Saturday for me since for me the updates come after midnight)

THIS GAVE ME LIFE. LIFE, YA HEAR ME?

Also my favorite comment (which I might print on something) - GODDAMIT WOMAN DON'T HAVE CHILDREN IF YOU CAN’T TAKE CARE OF THEM

Also this made me laugh out loud so hard >> - GODDAMN IT JULIAN BLACKTHORN MANAGED TO BE A BETTER PARENT 12

[balkanballad]

esc 2021 fashion review. category: either basic or interesting

hello again. the previous categories were 🥀 and everything that sparkles isn’t necessarily a great outfit. today I am looking into the basic and the interesting looks:

Spain

an absolute prime example for the basic outfit. I like this silky blouse, though I had the thought that maybe the shirt could have been a little bit tighter and the pants a bit looser, other than that, it’s a normal outfit. the moon gets the time to shine in his performance while he wears this simple outfit.

Finland

simply black basic outfits to me. I am not an expert with this genre though, so idk what else I would have done or if I would have done something differently. no thoughts about it really. 

Azerbaijan

basic girls group outfits, except it’s not a girl group. it looks a bit like the Hurricane look, just maybe a bit less ‘got hit by a hurricane’ and a bit more polished. previously I criticised that some of the dancers and the singer didn’t match, but here it’s maybe too matchy matchy. if you zoom a little more out of the picture, they all look the same. 

Slovenia

it’s a jumpsuit in white, it fits her well, it fits the song (has a bit of silver glitter on it for some reason), so it is nothing too outstanding but also not bad. I do hear the NO CAPES! voice from Edna in my head though.

Georgia

another look that doesn’t bother me. it’s a simple look. it’s a bit like when it’s karaoke night at the bar down the street and for some reason the bar manager decided to also sing that night. I really don’t have much to say about this one. I maybe would have tucked in the shirt a bit better without wrinkles.

Poland

these glasses... this whole performance looks like one of those parody performances when someone tries to imitate an ironic cool look, except I don’t think this is supposed to be a parody, but it’s actually them trying to make it look cool(tm). despite the glasses, the knuckle gloves, the lights being held and swung around by the dancers, I don’t think it’s cool. it’s not the worst look ever and the colour theme for all of them together is alright, you can tell who the main performer and who the dancers are, so it falls into my basic category.

Israel

the hair was not my favourite thing, I see how it can fit in with the second look after the reveal, that we saw coming. the first outfit before the reveal matches nicely with the dancers as well. they also could have had some sort of reveal, but definitely should not have put on those key chains on the pants. I didn’t know where to put this look, the least favourite would have been fitting too because I don’t like a lot of things about it, but some things are theoretically alright, so it’s here in this category.

The Netherlands

there is a theme here and all four of them together are matching. I am not the biggest fan of the end result of that theme, but technically I like when there is one. they have a bit superhero, we are saving the world vibes and I like that. I also like the colour of the blue suit and the top part, but the pattern on the pants for example and the chains are too much for me. I think that is the main thing about these outfits - I like the ideas but not everything about the execution. I think these looks stood out, but I personally would have made some other choices.

Denmark

they are interesting to me. I think the looks fit the style of the song and they also stood out. I appreciate that. yes, the white top did remind me of my grandpa a bit and I don’t love that the background singers were wearing earth tones, I would have liked to see some brighter colours for them as well, but, overall, I think this was not a bad choice and interesting.

Ukraine

see! interesting can be done without sparkles. I have seen a lot of art pieces on here about them and I understand why: this is art. I love how the white of the background dancers goes with the trees, but it also has black that fits her look. the green is a cool touch that makes it memorable and the halos are so cool for a symbolic picture. this look would also fit my favourite category, but it is the best example for interesting here I think.

[renaerys]

PPG One-Shot: Six Degrees Chiller (Brick/Blossom)

A new cute one-shot in honor of @carriedreamerx birthday! In the same high school AU as part 1, part 2, and part 3, but can totally stand-alone. Also posted on my AO3. Tune in for some laughs and some Reds cuteness!

Summary: Brick goes deodorant shopping. It doesn't end well. (Or does it??)

xxx

Brick squinted at the nine-foot shelf packed with a full color wheel of deodorants and antiperspirants. The sheer surfeit of brands and scents was as daunting to behold as it was absolutely batshit insane—how many ways did people need to not smell like a dirty gym sock?

He picked a random stick and scowled at the label as if it had offended him and all his future progeny. Who the fuck would want to smell like mango lassi?

The squeak of a shopping cart rolling down the aisle sent Brick into a febrile panic for a hot second, and he shoved the saccharine deodorant stick back onto the shelf. A geriatric woman with a hunched back, a bright head scarf, and eyes so folded over with wrinkles it was a miracle she could see anything at all wheeled her cart slowly past Brick, who froze where he stood. She smiled politely at him, and he nodded out of sheer self-preservation instinct. The moment she passed him, he yanked the bill of his red cap lower over his eyes.

“Get a grip,” he grumbled. He was an eighteen-year-old guy buying deodorant, not stool softener. He was totally casual and had absolutely no reason to be so fucking paranoid. Nobody who might recognize him was coming to Cooper’s Market at 8 a.m. on a Sunday.

Brick wiped his clammy palms on his jeans and searched the shelves for what he’d come for so he could hurry up and leave. There it was, fifth shelf in a sea of sleek black and edgy, neon letters: Axe Ice Chill.

“Okay, do you consider yourself more of a music lover, sports star, gaming guru, or style icon?” Boomer had asked as he sat cross-legged on the sofa with his laptop open to the Axe “Find Your Magic” test a few months ago.

“Sports star,” Butch had said on his left, and poked the screen that wasn’t a touch-screen.

“That’s you, moron,” Brick had said, totally above this stupid test. “Pick style icon.”

Boomer grinned. “Oh yeah, your hoodies are so stylin’.” He clicked the next question. “Signature scent? Huh, maybe warm and aromatic?”

“Sounds like one of those Yankee holiday candles,” Butch had said.

Unfortunately, he had a point.

“Well, you're not exactly woody and earthy, and you’re definitely not fruity and sweet—”

“Just go to the next one.” Brick clicked on “fresh and cool” and waited for the screen to load. “Smellin’ good!” the loading page flashed at him. Jesus fucking Christ.

When the quiz presented a true or false statement, Butch moved like he had a bug up his ass and slammed the touchpad before Brick or Boomer could do anything about it.

Boomer tried not to laugh. “Dude, come on.”

“Please, he’s a punk-ass dweeb who’d never make the first move in a fight, let alone on a girl—” Butch had taunted.

Brick punched him in the throat with his Super speed and smiled at the sound of his asshat brother gagging. “Choke and die, motherfucker.”

Butch wheezed as he laughed through the pain, and Brick and Boomer breezed through the more generic age and appearance questions: under 18, long hair (“Mane Man!” the quiz gushed, and Brick almost melted Boomer’s laptop right there), and natural look. After an artificially anticipatory loading screen, a picture of a dude with a clown nose crowd surfing in a sepia Instagram filter appeared on the screen with the generic “Be your best self!” encouragement in blocky letters superimposed upon it, and finally the expert, personalized recommendation for Brick’s body spray needs.

“Because you’re hotter when you’re chill.” Brick had cringed when he read that idiotic tagline the first time, and he cringed reading it again now in the deserted personal hygiene aisle where he prayed no one would find him buying this cry-for-help vanity spritz.

However.

He sprayed a bit of mist in the air and reveled in that cool, icy scent that wasn’t a scent so much as a feeling. Six degrees chiller in a bottle. The first time he’d tried it (under great duress), he’d griped and bitched and slammed his bedroom door to get away from his howling brothers. Settled on his bed with a frown, he had to admit it did cool him off. It was almost pleasant. The smell wasn’t overwhelming like that tiger piss Butch bathed in on the daily. But it wasn’t out of this world compared to the generic shit he’d been using before.

It wasn’t until Blossom sneezed on their way out of AP Lit that her ice breath—and understanding—hit him with the force of a cold snap to the balls.

“Sorry, did I get you?” she’d said, abashed as she covered her mouth with one hand and fished out a bottle of Purell from her messenger bag with the other. Her ice splatter fast melted on his shoulder as his too-warm body absorbed the cold with a bizarre, but extremely pleasant, shiver down his spine.

Son of a bitch, but he had a kink.

Which, of course, spiraled way the hell out of control when he found himself here months later with a recycled shopping bag he’d brought so he could carry the three bottles of Axe Ice Chill he planned to purchase home, because Brick planned ahead and liked to keep his bathroom well-stocked.

Which also, of course, was why at that very moment, fate decided to punch him in the dick.

“Bubbles, you have, like, fourteen bottles of shampoo at home! You don’t need another one,” Buttercup groused at 8 in the goddamned morning on a Sunday.

“Those are all different products, not just shampoo. Honestly, Buttercup.” Bubbles zipped into the aisle with Buttercup on her tail just at the moment Brick had his second panic attack in the span of five minutes and completely lost his shit.

He launched the bottle of Axe Ice Chill so hard into the ceiling that it lodged in there tighter than a prairie-dogging turd.

“Brick?” Blossom’s hand on his shoulder nearly sent him yeeting after his abused body spray, if the sheer mortification didn’t rob him of further motor function and exactly one hundred percent of his brain cells.

Like her sisters, she wore a jacket over her pajama pants. They must have just popped over for some last-minute breakfast staples and a side of peer humiliation. But even in those criminally hideous Ugg boots and five boxes of pancake mix in her shopping basket at 8 on a fucking Sunday morning, her smile glowed.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he returned lamely, because that was all she was getting from him until his neurological functions rebooted.

“Hi, Brick,” Buttercup said, suspicious like usual and searching for some excuse to bust his balls for a laugh. “What’re you doing here?”

The Super sisters had cornered him in front of the Teen Spirit, which came in an absolutely frightful eighteen scents because there was nothing pubescent teenagers needed more than eighteen reassurances that their social survival depended on smelling like a potpourri candy bar.

“Shopping, obviously,” Bubbles said. “Ooh, Brick, you have straight hair. What do you think?” She held up two bottles of brightly colored free-range, organic hair shit.

“I think I was just leaving,” he managed.

“Empty-handed?” Buttercup peered at him like he might transform into a literal dick with ears if she only managed not to blink for long enough. He could smell the threat of a joke on her.

“They didn’t have the brand I wanted.”

“Oh, that sucks,” Bubbles said, genuinely stricken.

“Girls, let’s get going. I really want those pancakes,” Blossom said.

“We better grab more syrup. Buttercup finished it all,” Bubbles said, already moving away. She dropped both hair products in Blossom’s basket, not bothering to choose between them.

“Oh please, everybody knows you and the Professor are the syrup fiends in this house.” Buttercup floated after her and waved to Brick. “Hey, tell that shithead to answer my texts. He owes me $20.”

“Uh-huh,” Brick said, fully intending not to mention anything about this conversation to Butch at all.

“Sorry about your favorite brand being sold out,” Blossom said.

It’s fine, he would have said had she not caught his cheek in her hand and pressed a frosty kiss to the corner of his lips before he could do anything about it. Frozen fernlings crept over his cheek and chin, down his neck, and slowly absorbed through his now flushed skin, and he shivered. Without even thinking about it, he reached for her, but she was already walking away to catch up with her sisters.

When she got to the end of the aisle, she shot him a cheeky grin over her shoulder and had the nerve to wink at him. “Stay cool, Brick.”

Red in the face and high on her, Brick just stood there like an idiot gawking at his kind of unofficial girlfriend and the singular dominating object of his fantasies, be they sexual or otherwise. What was dignity when she smiled at him like that? What was a paltry imitation in a bottle when she kissed him like that?

The paltry imitation fell from its hole in the ceiling and exploded on the tiled floor at Brick’s feet with a winter ferocity that, in that moment at least, rivaled Blossom’s in the heat of battle.

When Brick got home later that morning and Boomer asked him why he smelled like a snowman’s asshole, Brick burned the clothes on his back and spent the next half hour in the shower thinking about how he was going to convince Blossom to make the first move and finally make them official.

xxx

Y’all better appreciate the research that went into this fic. That Axe quiz is real and I took it pretending to be Brick, and it literally does spit out a photo of a dude wearing a clown nose in a club. If that’s not a sign from the Daddy that I’ve chosen the righteous path, then idk what is. Sacrifices to my Chrome search history were made for this fic in the name of celebrating Carrie, ergo, worth it.

[vyvesvi]

i don't mean to annoy by being in your inbox every time ytsn breathes but any thoughts on we are young and super a warning ahead?

omg i’m never annoyed by this stuff, esp bc i usually don’t get to talk about them much!

let’s see... (warning: i tried to stay positive but failed. also this got long afff no pressure to read all of it lmfao)

we are young - controversial opinion: this is their best concept (to me in this moment, i could decide something else tomorrow lmao). the choreo isn’t bad and the song is catchy, even though the production quality of the studio version leaves a bit to be desired (it sounds tinny and not super full to me?). my main disappointment is with the live stage (...this is becoming a trend) where they messed up...kinda a lot. i feel like mistakes are normal but the ones they made were just incredibly noticeable and it’s telling to me that the camera angles couldn’t really hide them. the styling was awful for the most part but the concept was cute and i feel like zy is a lot more comfortable with long hair tbh.

super a warning ahead - i actually really enjoy the song! i think the way that they draw out some of the lines sounds a bit odd but the production and everything is much better than we are young. the reason why i put we are young above this one is because of the concept idea is general. like this song...doesn’t really go anywhere? like its...sweet? but not really interesting. the styling is sooooo much better, but the choreo is pretty boring, very give and take. I don’t mind a simple point dance because they have the potential to be iconic, memorable, and easily imitated, but the rest of the dance could’ve been a lot more interesting. but then again, they weren’t in sync in the dance performance video so like...idk. i feel like live performances are one thing, but prerecorded content should theoretically be better because they can do it in multiple takes? i don’t want to judge them *too* much but that is one are where i think they have been struggling (and i didn’t really expect it at all?)

so nothing that’s gonna make me unstan but it’s clear to me that their preparations were rushed. i wish they would like. take a month or two to regroup. i don’t want them gone for that long but if these are the performances that we’re getting on their current preparations i think it’d be for the best.

i also don’t think they’re making use of their strong vocalists (xilin, wyj, znx, and czx). like 4/7 are main vocal material and they could be doing a lot more with that. of course the issue is that the remaining members aren’t really comfortable with rapping and are (comparatively) weak singers, but they don’t make use of xiening or yifan’s dance abilities well either. i’ve said this before (and i’ll try not to hammer it in too much because it’s a pretty biased opinion) but watching zy do dance breaks with or after xiening is like...tragic. like idky they’re setting her up so bad but they need to stop TTTT

as a group they also kinda lack stage presence together. like individually most of them have pretty solid presence but idk what happens when they’re together bc they don’t really sync up?

//edit: okay at this point i decided that i was maybe being too harsh so i started analyzing the debut stages and mvs for rocket girls/hjsn and the9. it didn’t help and ended up being a ramble so feel free to skip lmfao

ytsn & hjsn: bc hjsn debuted with 8 members (minus already debuted meiqi and xuanyi & main vocal zining) and not their full 11 they’re kinda comparable to ytsn as they are now. while ytsn’s styling is somehow better, hjsn’s sync and energy, even taking into account their members who aren’t great dancers, is kind of on a different level (partially biased though, despite that fact that i’m not fully a stan they’re my number one pick for most balanced gg of all time). i’m going to guess that even though they’re produced by the same company that their teams and company philosophy regarding management is completely different. the choreo quality is quite different and ytsn seems to favor debut rank a lot more. of course, meiqi and xuanyi were featured very prominently when they came back but the formations weren’t as stagnant as ytsn’s seem as of now? both groups are similar in that their main dancers (mengjie and xiening) ranked relatively low and therefore didn’t get to show their full ability very often. also an important difference between hjsn and ytsn is that hjsn’s main rapper is kind of legendary and was well known for her ability before the show so. there’s not really a comparison there (for the record though, i like curely’s rapping i just think 1.) it’s a waste given her vocal ability and 2.) she hasn’t been given really long verses because while she has talent she’s not “a rapper” in the typical way).

the9 & hjsn: idk if u watched qcyn2 but i decided to watch a bit of it since i thought it was kinda interesting that the two final groups would be debuting at the same time. to compare the two...ytsn’s vocals are stronger and i think that’s generally accepted as fact. like yuyan is really good but they put so much pressure on her (personally i think anqi and shaking could share the burden but idk). other than that everyone else is a subvocal and/or rapper, so by default the9 wins the rap category. oddly enough, because there are so many rappers they can’t have those longer satisfying verses because they have to share the lines, which impacts their....impact for lack of a better word. there’s kinda no other way to do it without everything being super uneven so i get it though. that leaves dance and stage presence. i think that individually anqi and xiening eat everyone else alive, but comparing group to group...the9 wins for their sync alone, but notably ytsn has performed more and have one more song with choreo. i don’t know i would say that they’re super uneven in presence, but i do feel that because of the number of members with previous stage experience in the9, they are more comfortable performing. 

for fun i once took the 16 members of the9 and ytsn and redistributed them into more balanced lineups of 8

team one:

yuxin - vocal, lead dancer 2, sub rapper 1

anqi - lead vocal, main dancer

yuyan - main vocal 2

keyin - main rapper

keran - lead rapper

curley - main vocal 1

yifan - vocal, lead dancer 1

zhaoyue - vocal, lead dancer 3, sub rappper 2

team two:

yijin - main vocal 2

zhuoxuan - main vocal 1

xiening - main dancer, sub vocal 2

nene - lead vocal 1

xueer - sub rapper, lead dancer 1

esther - sub vocal 1

jiaqi - main rapper, lead dancer 2

xiaotang - lead rapper

i lowkey stacked the first team with both centers, anqi, and keyin but whatever

anyways based on how i feel about the other debuts i kinda think im being mostly fair to ytsn? especially because i think they’ll grow a lot as a group over the next two years. i’d be a lot more concerned about their vocals if that was the problem because that’d be the hardest thing to fix but they don’t have to worry about that!

anyways i’m gonna cut myself off here because this has turned into...a lot but if you have thoughts definitely share them, i’d love to hear!!!

[morallygreyprompts]

Vampire Continuation #2 (and finale)

First part here

Did I deliberately hold this back a few days for Halloween? Um… Well... You have no proof. 

There is a keep reading because this beastie is 3.3K words- that’s right I spoiled you lot and finished the whole story. If that isn’t dedication, idk what is ^^’ I made up some of the vampire things, mainly sealing the wound, but like, what I say makes sense.

Enjoy your spooky day, kids. Bop to Spooky Scary Skeletons, do the time warp, and don’t forget to brush your teeth an extra time- oh, and eat your pumpkins, please don’t waste food. There are loads of recipes and ideas online, (except my friend who is allergic. You’re excused ^^’) Use fruits your more likely to eat- like watermelons that you can cut in half, carve all the red out and just use the skin. Anything like that and animals like to eat the pumpkin guts, but you’d have to read up on that. Point is, don’t just leave it to rot.

I will also say now the dreaded November 1st is here, I have my queue readyish and I’m not posting anything extra on this page, and I won’t be doing submissions because I have the memory of a sieve that’s missing its mesh and I’ll forget.

Sidekick followed Hero and the Vampire for as long as they could, mainly focusing on the direction they were headed, thinking about what sort of hideaways were in that area. There were a few, but there was one place in particular that seemed especially likely, and that was dilapidated lighthouse, rumoured to have a tangles mass on tunnels beneath it. Tunnels that a vampire would no doubt thrive in and have plenty of space to keep their living meals. It was as good a place as any to start, but Sidekick didn't know how long they had until Hero was turned, or killed. 

They also knew they couldn't go after them without getting ready. They needed weapons, and one can of aerosol just wasn't enough. They had no idea what they were going up against.

Sidekick, still panting from their previous run, took off back toward their base to get ready. They just hoped they had enough time. They read up as much as they could on weaknesses, and tied to collect everything in the base that they could. Garlic crosses, silver, knotted ropes, a second aerosol, and they spent at least half an hour sawing at a broom, quartering it and then sharpening one edge to make a stake. It took longer than they would have liked, but it was the best weapon they felt they could get and now they had four of them. There was another thing they needed, but they could get that from a church on the way to the lighthouse.

Sidekick caught themselves and decided to telephone Vigilante, but after the second attempt, there was no answer. They couldn't wait any longer. They set off toward the church, using Hero's bicycle to make the journey faster. Sidekick was able to get to the church quickly, and they managed to salvage two bottles of water, but that was all. They would have liked more, but there wasn't exactly the time to wait for the next service. It was getting late into the night. Every second that went by might have been too late.

Sidekick had only just pocketed the two bottles when they heard a screech. They looked up overhead to see three vampires coming at them.

"Oh, crud." This meant trouble. If three had been sent after them, then how many other ones were they?!"

Sidekick snarled and started running toward the church. If they could get there, they'd be safe. Only one of the Vampires grabbed them and lifted them high into the air, holding them by their ankle. Sidekick cried out in terror at being so high, so droppable, getting further and further away from the safety of the church. They weren't even going in the direction of the lighthouse. Sidekick snarled and scrambled for a stake. With a battle cry, they forced themselves to sit up and plunged the stake into the vampire's chest.

A deafening shriek pierced through the air, forcing Sidekick to cover their ears. As the vampire began to turn to ash and descend to the ground beneath them, they dropped Sidekick. They hit the ground hard, face first, but thankfully they were low enough for nothing to be broken, although that didn't remove the pain. Sidekick would have laid still for a moment, assessed what parts of their body they could still feel but they didn't have time for that. There were still two other vampires to deal with.

The first was easy, all things considered, as it flew toward them, Sidekick took out a stake, ducked, but swung their arm out, hitting the vampire in the chest again. What they didn't realise was that as the vampire turned to ash, so did the stake. Now they only had two left. They didn't want to use them on this third vampire- not that they had the chance to. The vampire grabbed them by the shirt, dragged them closer, and exposed their neck. Sidekick punched them in the head, and wearing a silver ring made it far more effective. 

The vampire recoiled, holding its face in pain. Sidekick didn't have the time to feel sorry for it. Anger took over and the creature dived at them. A bang sounded, and the vampire dropped from the air like a shot bird. It took Sidekick a moment to realise that was exactly what had happened. They sat down for a moment, panting for breath, wincing at the pain and rubbing their chest.

"This week on 'what trouble are [Hero] and [Sidekick] hip-deep in time'?'" Vigilante said in a commentator-style voice. "In this episode, [Sidekick] tries to take on three vampires at once and almost very epically fails if it weren't for me having one last silver bullet."

"Lay off," Sidekick grumbled. "You saw my missed call?"

"Yeah, and from there I just followed the sound of you imitating a screaming little girl. Wasn't so hard. I'd say what's up, but I feel like those freaks are kinda self-explanatory."

"They took [Hero]. [Villain] is one of them, and they've bitten them," Sidekick answered.

"So... they're turned?" they asked, using their index fingers to imitate sharp canines.

"No. To start turning you also have to drink vampire's blood. To become a full vampire, they have to drink a few times. Some say it's when they have their first feed that there's no going back. I'm starting to think it's just that every vampire is different."

"Lovely," Vigilante grimaced. "Signing a contract or shaking hands not edgy enough for these guys?"

"[Vigilante], this is serious! Come on, we have to kill [Villain] before [Hero] turns. I don't know if we have days, hours, or even minutes."

"How long have you known there to be vampires here?" Vigilante asked.

"I've suspected it for a while. [Hero] wouldn't believe me."

"Ooh! Are they getting the biggest 'I told you so' in the history of I told you so's."

"Yeah, if they live that long. Here."

Sidekick rummaged through their things, giving them a bottle of water, the madly knotted rope, and a stake.

"Um... rope?"

Sidekick shrugged. "Vampires have compulsions. Counting things like seeds is one of them, the other is unpicking knots. It'll buy you some time and they're pretty defenceless when they're working."

"Interesting..." Vigilante furrowed their brow as Sidekick gave them some garlic as well.

"Well, my uniform's gonna stink."

"[Vigilante]!"

“Alright, alright. We should wait 'til daytime and attack."

"I would but we really don’t have time. If they’re underneath the lighthouse, there’s no sunlight to keep them at bay."

Vigilante sighed and let their shoulders sag. "Okay. Let’s do this, but don't expect me to be a Van Helsing all of a sudden cos you gave me a knot, a bottle of water, and a stick."

Sidekick rolled their eyes. "Well, at least I'm not doing this by myself."

The lighthouse reeked with the smell of death, which seemed like a good sign that the undead were camping out there. There was no sign of movement, not a soul. Sidekick kept a lookout for any sinister animals, bats, wolves, snakes maybe... But the air was still and crisp. Sidekick was sure if there was a mouse nestled in a tuft of grass, they'd have been able to hear its little breaths, its silent patter of its heartbeat. They could go as far as calling the place dead. 

Sidekick gestured for Vigilante to be quiet as they crept down the overgrown paths, the bristle of the dry grass seemed deafening to them. No matter how carefully Sidekick tread, there was no way to keep the noise down any further. They decided to try for speed rather than stealth in this circumstance. They had to get inside.

The two carefully opened the broken door of the lighthouse, the wooden plank that had sealed it looked torn away. They were close. Vigilante took out their bottle of holy water and took off the lid, pressing the rim of the bottle on their neck and tipping it. None spilt out, but it wet the skin. They did the same with their wrists. Sidekick looked at them with confusion, but Vigilante only shrugged. "I'd do the same." Sidekick rolled their eyes, took out their water and poured a little bit along the doorway, maybe it would stop them coming in. They looked at Vigilante's expectant expression and decided to do as they had done. It was only a few drops, and if it worked, then it was worth it.

It was quite easy to find the loose slab that led to the underground tunnels, there were hand marks, where someone had tried to resist being dragged down, followed by a thin trail of blood.

"At least they sealed the wound," Sidekick mumbled.

"How?" Vigilante whispered.

"Real blood-drinking bats have a chemical that stops wounds closing till they've drunk their fill. Vampires have the opposite since people bleed so heavily."

Vigilante mouthed 'oh'. They hadn't heard of that before but really, if a vampire was going to feed off the same person three or so times, then there had to be a way to stop the bleeding. Puncturing an artery would kill someone in less than a minute. It made sense.

The two carefully made their way down the tunnel. One thing they hadn't brought was a torch, but Sidekick used the lighter just to give a slight sense of which direction they needed to go in. The tunnel smelt worse than outside, with next to no ventilation, it was suffocating, and the odour of rotten blood and corpses was nauseating. Sidekick was just glad not to have come across any victims yet. Sidekick doubted they could stomach such a thing. Locked away in the long dark, Sidekick could hear only the faint dripping of liquid, they hoped it was water. As they walked, they kicked over tiny stalagmites. Sidekick shuddered. They looked back at Vigilante to receive a reassuring nod, and that gave them enough to keep walking.

Eventually, they came to a better-lit clearing, full of at least thirty or so vampires. Sidekick gulped and ducked into cover, Vigilante followed suit. They were far too close to the creatures to speak, but with some thin lighting from lamps scattered around the place, Sidekick knew Vigilante was hoping for some sort of idea on what to do. Sidekick reached in their pocket for the seeds. Vigilante peeked their head above the stone and gave a thumbs up. They pointed at Sidekick and then used two fingers to imitate walking, then pointed to the exit on the other side of the clearing. Sidekick took that as a 'you go on ahead'.

Sidekick grabbed a handful of poppy seeds and launched them into the air. "Hey, count those!" they exclaimed. The vampires turned and snarled, some tried to resist, but soon they all slinked over to the seeds, struggling to even see them let alone count them. Sidekick had grabbed some sunflower seeds form the kitchen too, and they threw them just to be sure they were thoroughly distracted. This was up to Vigilante to deal with, who was assessing the situation to decide how was best to kill so many vampires that studied the ground like a flock of chickens.

Sidekick tried to run across the clearing, only for a wolf to block their path. It seemed not all vampires were drawn to the impulse of seeds. Sidekick grabbed their aerosol and sent a blast of fire towards the wolf, only the wolf dived at them from an angle, only just avoiding the flame. Its claws caught on Sidekick's arm, drawing long deep wounds. They yelped in pain, and with the wolf stood squarely on Sidekick's shoulders, their thumb slipped off the lighter and the wolf bit the can, piercing the thin metal and making it useless.

The wolf tried to bite them, but Sidekick threw their head to the side and reached in their pocket. They used the hand with the ring on to try to keep the wolf back, and the other leapt into their pocket. Their fingers locked onto a clove of garlic. They shoved in the wolf's open mouth and it screeched. Scampering back, using its paw to bash the garlic out of its mouth. It took off running, whimpering and squealing. Sidekick heard them transform, and the growls and whines turned into screaming and moans.

"Go!" Vigilante exclaimed. "Here!" They tossed them the knotted rope Sidekick had given them earlier. Sidekick caught it and took off running down the passageway, clutching their injured arm. The tunnel was still barely lit but Sidekick couldn't worry about that now. Some noise had been made, and that meant the others all knew that intruders were here. There was a good chance that Villain would kill Hero just to spite them, just to make this rescue attempt an utter failure.

Sidekick kept going down the rocky passage, groping their way down, hoping they didn't bump into anything they weren't meant to. They held onto the crucifix, holding it out in front of them, just in case anything tried to get the drop on them. Their thoughts were becoming blurry, their only focus was on the unnatural threats around them, the need to stay alive, to save Hero. The idea that those things could be anywhere was making their heart rattle against their ribcage, trying to escape and run far away from it all.

When there was light coming up ahead, they knew that that was where Villain would be hiding. With a deep breath, Sidekick went closer, crucifix in one hand, and they took out the holy water for the other, pulling the cap off with their teeth. As the room came into sight, Sidekick froze. Hero crouched on the floor, alive, but looking sticky and sickly, with dried blood down their chin. They hoped with everything that had that they weren't too late.

"[Hero]?" they mumbled.

Their head shot up toward Sidekick, but their eyes were blank. "B.blood... need..."

Without warning, Hero leapt at them, and Sidekick barely managed to swat them away with the crucifix. "Hey! [Hero], focus, it's me! It's [Sidekick]. Come on, stay with me!"

Hero tried again to jump at them, and Sidekick knew they were running out of options. They held the crucifix up, using it to drive Hero into a corner. Hero hissed, pressing themselves against the walls. Sidekick poured the water on the floor, circling them, and it did seem to act as a barrier.

"I'm not going to kill you."

Sidekick heard the slightest noise behind them, and they turned just in time to see Villain lashing out at them. They hit Sidekick's arm, tossing the crucifix from their hand. Sidekick felt around desperately for what they had left. Aside from the rope, the ring and the stake, they had nothing. Nothing at all.

"Your friend hasn't fed just yet. I think it would be fitting however, for it to be your blood they feast upon."

Villain licked their fingers, where a few drops of Sidekick's blood had touched their hand. The scratch was painful, but Sidekick could work with it. They'd had far worse before, that didn't mean it was going to be easy to fight vampire that was so much stronger and faster than them.

Sidekick tossed the knot to Hero, just to make sure they stayed focused on that and not Sidekick. They snatched up the rope, trying to pick at the incredibly tight knots Sidekick had made in it. It would last long enough for the fight. Only one of them would survive, and the winner got Hero.

This was a fight they just couldn't lose.

Villain sprang at them, lashing out with their long nails, letting their teeth shine in the dim light. Sidekick punched them with their ring hand and caught Villain above the eye. The vampire hissed as blood began to drip down, a wound unable to heal due to the silver that had cut it.

"I'm warning you," Sidekick seethed.

"Oh I'm terrified," Villain said smugly. "You think you can just come in here and kill me? Destroy my empire? Ha! Mortals really are stupid."

Sidekick had an idea. A stupid, life-threatening, terrible idea, but it was an idea all the same. They needed Villain to get close. That was there only chance of being able to hit them with the stake, but if they got bitten there was every chance they'd die. They just had to get close.

Villain leapt up, clinging to the ceiling. Sidekick focused on keeping their feet as Villain crawled toward them. They took out the stake ready.

"Any more surprises?" Sidekick exclaimed. "Come on!"

Villain grinned and let themselves drop. Sidekick wasn't far enough out of range and they fell back. The stake fell out of their hands from the painful impact. Villain pounced before Sidekick could pick it back up. They held onto Sidekick's clothes as they climbed toward Sidekick's neck. Sidekick punched them but met only air. 

Villain seized hold of Sidekick's arms by below the elbows, forcing them well out the way of their neck.

"No!" Sidekick cried. "[Vigilante]!" They knew help would not come soon enough. They kicked and writhed, but Villain was too strong. 

"You tried," Villain said smugly. "You did well, but nothing comes between me and my prey."

Villain buried their face against Sidekick's neck, jaws open wide, but they let out a scree noise.

"It. it burns! How?!"

It took Sidekick a moment to be able to answer the question. The holy water they'd put on.

"Y.you like my perfume?" Sidekick said.

Villain growled and had to let go of their arms, yanking their shirt down, leaving nothing between Sidekick's pounding heart and their teeth bit a thin layer of skin.

"There's more than one place to bite someone, dearie."

Sidekick acted quickly. They reached for the stake, at first it was only their fingertip brushing against it. That became two... three- they had it!

With a scream, Sidekick plunged the stake into the vampire's heart. Villain recoiled in shock, clawing at their own chest. "N.no! No! What have you done?!"

Sidekick stood up and took a shaky breath. "Given you what you deserve. Mortals might be stupid, but we're very good at surviving."

Villain screamed as blood poured out of the wound. The fell to the floor, slowly turning to ash. Sidekick had to look away from the gruesome death. They looked at Hero, finding them unconscious in their little corner. They didn't look so weak and drained now. Sidekick covered their eyes as the scream reached an unbearable note. They dropped to their knees and waited for the noise to stop.

With a gurgle, the air became silent again. Sidekick shook where they knelt. A lot had happened that night. Too much for them to think about all at once. They hissed in pain at their arm. Something felt deeply wrong with it. Their world spun, and they collapsed on the ground. They'd won.

They opened their eyes to find Hero cradling them, and an ungodly pain in their arm. They screamed and tried to get away but Hero and Vigilante held on tight as Vigilante poured the holy water over their arm. It was a searing pain that brought tears to their eyes and snatched their breath away. That felt worse than cleaning a wound with pure alcohol.

"You're okay, buddy," Hero soothed.

"Had to clean it out. I don't know what attacked you, but that wound went a colour I really don't think it was meant to," Vigilante said. "Maybe a werewolf..."

"God, I hope not," Sidekick winced. They lay still, catching their breath.

Hero cleared their throat nervously. "Go on then... say it."

"You're an idiot," Sidekick said without missing a beat.

"And?"

"I told you so."

Vigilante clapped. "Those are the words I love to hear!"

Hero helped Sidekick to their feet, and the two had to support each other somewhat, though Sidekick felt worse off.

"So," Vigilante grinned, "anyone else in the mood for garlic bread?"

Like my stuff and want to support what I do? Then maybe consider buying me a Kofi? Ko-fi.com/morallygrey

Happy Halloween and Good Luck with NaNoWriMo!

[emkayoh]

Okay, let’s get into it! Rather than a tutorial (because I don’t know how to do a tutorial about finding your style) this is just gonna be a really long text post. This happens to be something I have a lot of opinions on, so let’s do it.

First things first, and I strongly believe this:

If you’re actively trying to find a style, you’re thinking too much.

Seriously. I see a LOT of artists concerned about “finding a style” and I’ve never gotten it. I think trying to find a style is like trying to figure out what you look like. Just look in a mirror. It’s already there. What you’re actually looking for is different. Idk if I just started drawing before the “you must have a distinct style” craze or I just totally missed the memo, but from the beginning I never gave a shit about having my own style. Do I have a style now? Yeah, I think probably. I never think about it as my “signature,” rather it’s how my drawings always inevitably look just because that’s how I learned to draw things. And here’s how it happened:

I said this in my previous ask, but I first seriously got into art in middle school after being introduced to Avatar: The Last Airbender. I loved that show to bits and it’s what made me want to be an artist and make my own cartoons. And so when I started out, I just wanted to draw like Avatar. My mom bought me a “How to Draw Avatar” book and it was like my Bible. I would follow the steps in that book like it was the law. That’s where I learned about guidelines. I almost exclusively drew the Avatar characters at this point, and mostly in school notebooks until I started getting sketchbooks (but still a lot in school notebooks because, let’s face it, I was a serial doodler in class). So my very first “style” was just… me trying my very best to imitate the Avatar style to a T.

Then Avatar inevitably introduced me to anime, and like every other preteen, I loved the way they drew ginormous eyes. I also really liked the hair. So I started changing my style a bit to draw things the way whatever my favorite anime at the time was. But I already had the lessons instilled in me from Avatar, so it usually looked like Avatar proportions with anime eyes and hair. This is also when I discovered deviantART and began having online artists that I strongly admired. I would try to copy their work as well.

It’s important to note that during these initial years of my art career, I traced A LOT. I think tracing is seen as such a taboo thing now, but when you’re just starting out, I think it’s crucial to get an understanding of how shape and form work. I printed out countless screenshots of Avatar, other cartoons I liked, and art from my favorite online artists and just put a piece of paper over them and traced them. Then sometimes I would just use them as reference and try to draw it as closely identical as I could without tracing. And I think that taught me a lot. It gave me a better understanding of how form works. And honestly, I think most artists would be honored that you admire their work enough to want to imitate it. As long as you’re not, like, claiming something as your own, if you post a redraw and give credit, the person is gonna be psyched. Hell, that’s pretty much what “draw in your style” is!!! It doesn’t have to be wildly different at first if you don’t have that skill yet. If someone posted a referenced or traced work of mine, as long as they gave credit and acknowledge that it was for learning purposes, I would be so thrilled. Artists like to feel like they inspire others! Or you can just do it for yourself and not post it. I honestly feel like the best way to learn is through imitation.

After Avatar and anime, I decided I really liked Disney. So I tried copying the Disney style. I was a little more skilled at this point, so I tried to see how I could translate the CGI styles into illustration. Again, I copied artists. I redrew sooooo many Glen Keane drawings and tried to make them look exactly like his. Then I started really liking the “lineless” look of a lot of popular online artists and trying to imitate that. There are specific artists who’s art I tried to “copy” but it would always end up looking more like mine than theirs, because I’m not them. And that’s my “style.” Your style ends up being what fails to translate exactly from other people’s art. And now that I’m 24, my style is a hodge podge of all the influences I’ve ever had. In my opinion, you can still see the Avatar. You can still see the anime. You can see the Disney, and I can still see the influence from all the online artists I’ve admired. It looks like them to me. It looks like a mix of all the people I ever tried to rip off, and that’s become my “style.”

So really, I think trying to develop something uniquely you without building up years of just copying others isn’t going to work. You need that base. Style comes naturally through, ironically, your shortcomings to exactly imitate someone else.

[wildwesternwoman]

hey! if your requests aren’t open just ignore this lol but if not, what about a little drabble where the reader is sick with like a bad fever or something? idk but they’re not sure if she’s going to make it thru the night and the whole gang is worried about her. thank u so much!

This is so old, holy shit. I just saw this! Sorry, friend! But here you go! I hope you’re still interested, and that you like this! If there is anybody that I did not include in this that someone wants to see, let me know! 

This ended up being a gender-neutral drabble, as well! 

Slow Burn (You’re Sick with a Fever) 

The fever had been coming on for about a week now. You had tried to manage, continuing your chores, but not pushing yourself. You’d seen how quick and easy these things took people, and even though your life in an outlaw gang was constantly on the verge of ending, this ain’t how you wanted to go. 

You thought you’d just about kicked it, so you rode out with Charles on a hunting trip. When you lined up a shot on a deer, though, you realized you were not better. You were quite certain there had only been one deer there a moment, before, but now there were two, or maybe three.

“Y/N? Are you alright? You don’t look so good?” Charles called. 

You hadn’t realized you were swaying back and forth. Turning your head to look at him brought on the dizziness. The few seconds after that were a blur as your world started to turn at lightning speed, and then tilt. You had fallen, you soon realized. And Charles had caught you before you hit the ground, thank God. 

You could vaguely make out his face above you, his lips moving, but you couldn’t hear him. 

And then everything went black. 

Charles tried to stay calm, but he was incredibly worried about Y/N. He knew you had been sick the previous week, but he had no idea how bad it had gotten or he would have never let you come out with him. He lifted you gently onto his horse, mounting behind you and holding you up. 

“It’s gonna be ok, Y/N. Just hang on.” 

He wasn’t sure he’d ever rode so fast back to camp. 

Javier and John were on guard duty and even on different edges of camp, they heard the quick hoof beats as Charles rode up. Javier pointed his gun, unsure of who would be coming in that fast if there wasn’t trouble. 

“Who's there?” He called. 

“It's me, I need help! Y/N passed out!” 

Javier lifted you gently from Charles’ horse and carried you bridal style on into camp. He’d never felt anyone so on fire with a fever before. John met him at the edge of camp, uttering a simple “Oh shit,” just at the site of you.

“Dutch!” He yelled. 

“Get Miss Grimshaw!” Charles added. 

You, on the other hand, witnessed none of this. None of the flurry of people passing you around, none of Miss Grimshaw and Abigail forcing the others out while they undressed you to only your undergarments and pressed cool rags to your head and chest as they attempted to cool you. 

In your head, you were in a meadow, surrounded by wildflowers, a cool breeze floating across your skin. It was so nice, it was so peaceful. 

After cooling you down slightly, Grimshaw sent Sean to town to get something, anything, that might help. He was nervous pacing, making everyone else that much more nervous, as well. John and Jack rode along with him. If... If something bad happened, well, Jack didn’t need to be around for that. 

Miss Grimshaw wrapped you tightly in a blanket. 

“We’ve cooled Y/N off a bit, now it's just best if they sweat it out.” 

The gang each took turns sitting with you. Karen filled you in on all the town gossip that she hadn’t been able to tell you, Mary-Beth made up a love story - your love story that you had to live to see - she did it right there on the spot. Abigail just quietly hummed the bars of your favorite song. 

You were still in the meadow. Staring at the bright blue sky. Enjoying the feeling of not being on the run anymore, it’s been a long time since you felt so safe. 

Dutch and Hosea each read to you, from different books that they thought you might like. Hosea gently kissed your forehead before he left. Charles told you that he went back for the deer that you had your sites on, but he didn’t kill it. He knew how proud you were of your hunting skills and you would be proud to tell everyone how you tracked it down and got it again, once you got better. 

You sat up and looked around, taking in the meadow. It was so beautiful. So warm and inviting. You could just stay here forever. But something, something didn’t feel right here. 

When Sean returned, he took his turn sitting with you, also. Telling you jokes and stories of his da’, he knew how you loved to hear them. Javier sang to you and reminded you that you had promised him you would see Mexico one day, you couldn’t leave before you saw Mexico. Tilly quietly sat next to you, sewing. She enjoyed just being around you, doing chores in close, quiet proximity to each other. She, like Hosea, kissed your forehead before leaving. 

The skies at the edges of the meadow began to darken. The wind began to feel more... violent. Not like a cool summer breeze, more like the makings of a tornado. You shivered. 

Lenny sat with you for a time, as well, but couldn’t bear to see you like that. You were like an older sibling, always there with kind, but firm guidance. Always there to grab a drink or just take a walk. What would he do if you left? Sure, he had the gang, but... It wouldn’t be the same without you. These sentiments were echoed by Sadie. It wouldn’t be the same around here without you. You were quick with a pistol when needed, but calm and wise, wise beyond your years, as well. She felt safer with you around. John did, too, though he’d never tell you that. He loved watching you with Jack, the way you were kind and loving with the boy, he’d been trying to imitate you, to do better. He needed you around to teach him. To help him. To be his friend. 

Rain began to fall lightly in your meadow. A summer shower, you enjoyed those. But it seemed like the water only rose. It didn’t seep into the ground and water the flowers and the Earth, it just got higher. 

Even Micah and Bill took their turn sitting with you. Bill played cards and talked. Just talked about everything. His thoughts and feelings, it was nice to just talk, knowing you wouldn’t remember anything he said. He wondered if he could talk to you like this if you pulled through? Would you listen without judging? Micah just stared at you. So this is how easy it can happen, huh? Be fine and dandy one minute, then nearly gone the next. Life was a bitch. 

The rain covered the flowers now and dark clouds hung low overhead. It was up to your knees and you could barely wade your way through it. Is this it? Is this the end? 

Kieran sat with you for a while, under Bill’s watchful eye. Kieran held your hand and promised that he’d take care of your horse until you got better and that you would definitely get better. Y/H/N would miss you too much if you didn’t, and so would he. Arthur took his turn sitting with you in the early hours of the morning. He wasn’t sure what to say or do, so he sketched while you rested. Tried to draw you, alive, healthy, happy. Nothing like what you looked like right now. But his memory didn’t do you justice. Your kindness and love didn’t radiate off the page like it did in person. So he held your hand silently prayed to every God he could think of that you wouldn’t leave them just yet. 

The water was up to your neck now as you floated in a sea of emptiness. You weren’t sure how much longer you could keep yourself afloat, but you had to right? You had to stay alive, this is not how Y/N Y/L/N was going to die. But you just couldn’t, you were too tired, this was too hard. 

As a loud clap of thunder sounded overhead, you gasped awake, nearly scaring poor Arthur out of his chair.

[dunkshotdreaming]

blogger!A.C.E headcanon/au:

If the A.C.E members were active on tumblr, what kind of blog would they each run?

A/N: Oh boy, this is gonna be a fun one to answer. 😂 Side note I put “au” bc I kinda wrote this based off their personalities but not focused on themas idols..so could count as a non-idol au I guess?? Also, I apologize ahead of time if my headcanons don’t live up to anyone else’s, but this is all just speculation anyway right?~

Jun: I picture Jun with one of those blogs that has a lot of pretty pictures of nature and maybe some dog pics, tons of inspirational quotes and he’d share some dance videos and probably vlog about how to self care or do some guided meditation posts. (I just see him as a caring person, so I feel like he’d like to help others as well?? Best bet his sideblogs would be a mess though lmfao) Might be into sharing pretty gifsets and odd street fashion he finds endearing. Probably uses lots of emoticons when answering asks and stuff.

Donghun: I feel like Donghun would share a lot more sappy stuff, in a way? He’d either be hyping up his online friends or be venting about his day OR roast the shit out of anyone who tries to troll him. Might share pretty pics and photos/gifd of people cuddling (bc he’s always clinging onto someone). Might also post ootds or share fashion posts in general as well. See him as the type to maybe just share whatever he likes/is on his mind at the moment; shares weekly singing covers and sometimes takes follower requests.

Wow: Hm, as for Sehyoon… I think he would have more of an artsy style blog? He’d share his art and reblog others he likes as well. Might dabble into fashion or diy, might also share some workout or dance stuff, might shitpost every so often as well, who knows? I do see him sharing cool choreographies he comes across and such. Would probably post pics of his sweaters and be like “I miss you buddy” bc Eunseo (his sister) stole his clothes again lol. The type to show off his “secret” soft side on his blog, especially late night thoughts or outfits he made (perhaps sometimes matching sets with his sister too uwu,,).

Byeongkwan: Idk why but I get the feeling that Byeongkwan would have like a gamer/anime kind of blog. Shares his profiles and streams, or shares stuff he’s created in-game or his best records. Would share like “top 10 anime betrayals” lists but it would actually just be stuff his friends have done to him he’s still salty y about pfftt. Might be another one to rb pics of hand holding or something bc he’s another clingy lil bud. He’ll have his nights where he’s drank too much and starts typing/streaming while absolutely smashed and everyone can’t help but laugh bc he’s all over the place. Might share videos of freestyle dancing or choreos he’s worked on and then you’re watching just like….whoa, is this the same dude? (…my nerd/dancer ass had way too much fun writing that one, I apologize,,)

Chan: I see Yuchan with a sort of comfy modern yet hipster aesthetic kind of blog. He’ll post his favorite music/artists/musicals, talks to his followers like old time friends, probably sound like a tour guide trying to sell you on a trip with how much he gushes about his homeland (Jeju). Dumb selfies with friends and fanboying over favorite artists’ new music, tons of memes, imitating famous pics or characters, shitposter half the time, very friendly/bubbly and probably has a lot of mutuals (also real crackhead hours whenever he’s hyper). Shares some clips of new music he’s been working on or covers of songs he’s really into. His blog space is just a homey/crackhead vibe overall.

[fandomsonrequests]

:::dance:::

Fandom: Stranger Things

Character: Dustin Henderson; OC: Liwayway “Lili” Sloan

Reader: None, sorry guys

Summary: Liwayway does something about the fact that every girl had turned Dustin down at the Snow Ball.

A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH I AM TRASH. I WROTE IT. I JUST- WHO DOENST LOVE DUSTIN. HE DESERVED A DANCE!! And I’m SUPER glad Nancy gave him a dance but Idk, i just wanted to give him some love too. heheh..

Notes: Fluff, Character x OC

“T’was an honor dear sister to have thee walk thou over to thy entrance of the gymnasium.” Lili said haughtily at the entrance of the gym.

“But of course, milady.” Amaya, her older sister, said with a low bow. “Go crazy in there- not too crazy though, okay?”

Lili stuck her tongue out and gave her a hug before heading inside, greeting her teacher with a small curtsey.

You see, tonight was the night majority, if not all, of the middle schoolers of Hawkins, Indiana was looking forward to: The Snow Ball. The said event was held at the school’s gym. Inside, blue and white streamers and balloons were seen. A few students and parents milled about at the entrance, signing in or just chatting up each other.

Lili was looking her best that night: her long jet black hair done in curls that fell over her shoulder while a couple of joint braids held the rest away from her face. A light layer of foundation and lipstick were the only make-up on the girl’s face. To top it all off, she wore a simple lavender dress that reached her knees accompanied by a white petticoat.

“Good evening, good sir.” The Filipina greeted her teacher.

“Good evening milady.” Mr. Clarke responded with a smile. “Looking graceful tonight.”

“Thank you, milord.” She smiled sweetly and patted down her dress.

With a final curtsey, she turned towards the doors to the Snow Ball, taking in a deep breath and pushing the doors open. Her eyes sparkled like the shiny streamers hung about the room as well as the silver glitters sprinkled all over the place.

A smile crossed her lips as she scanned the area. A few kids were milling about, chatting or drinking the punch that Nancy was serving. She turned to see Jonathan snapping photos of the kids who lined up for the traditional prom picture-taking. Finally, her gaze landed on her group of friends who sat by the tables across the room.

Making a beeline towards the direction, Lili announced her presence by imitating a trumpet sound. “Hey guys!”

The groups responded with a chorus of ‘heys’ and ‘hellos’.

“You look great guys.” She patted Max’s shoulder. “Braids suit you, Max.”

The ginger haired girl smiled softly, absentmindedly running her fingers along the grooves of her braid. “Thanks.”

After a while of messing around, mostly teasing Mike about how cranky he is for El not being there, the said boy looked up, his eyes widening.

“Holy shit what happened to you?”

The rest turned their eyes to find Dustin strolling towards them, donned in a snazzy suit and his hair done up in a familiar style. He gave a small huff but continued to walk towards them. Lili’s lip trembled as she suppressed herself from smiling too much.

Damn did he look good.

A slow song started to play. The students scattered to find a dance partner, gathering towards the center of the dance floor and wrapping their arms around each other, slowly (and awkwardly) swaying to the music.

Lucas turned to Max and tried to deliver a line to get her to dance which ended up not so well.

“Are you asking me to dance, Stalker?” Max asked with a smug grin. She pulled him to the dance floor and placed her arms upon his shoulders as he laid his hands on her waist.

“Hey Zombie-Boy.” A brunette came up, totally ignoring the fact that the others were there she went up to Will. “Wanna dance?”

Will stammered out an answer and ended up disappearing into the sea of middle schoolers. Dustin turned to Mike and Lili, straightening out his jacket and holding his head up high.

“Well, wish me luck.” He strode over to a group of popular girls with Stacy in the middle.

Mike just rolled his eye in annoyance and trudged over to a chair to sit down and mope. Lili approached him and gave a sigh. “Want a drink?”

“Nope.” He answered brusquely.

The girl gave another exasperated sigh and went over to the punch bowl, avoiding stray individuals along the sidelines of the dance floor. As she went up to the punch bowl, she thought she had heard Nancy say to a kid that the punch was ‘pure fuel.’ Lili laughed as the kid left and skipped up to her.

“Pure fuel??”

“Yup.” Nancy said with a wink. “A sugar-filled drink like this could keep you up all night.”

“All night?”

“Depends on how much you drink.”

They shared a laugh. Just as Nancy moved to pour her a cup, Lili glanced over her shoulder to see Dustin looking around helplessly, his shoulders sagged and a devastated look upon his usually cheery face.

She jumped when she felt Nancy tap her shoulder, seeing a sympathetic smile on her face. “Why don’t you go dance with him?” She asked.

“Those girls are missing out on the night of their life.” Lili shook her head. “Thanks, Nance.” She grinned.

“No problem. Tell your sister I said hi.”

“Will do.”

The girl turned on her heel and went over to Dustin, slowing down her steps when she neared him. She noticed that his shoulders shook and a few broken gasps came from him. Even with his back turned to her, those signs told her that he was crying.

“Hi…” She called out gently as she leaned forward.

The boy stood up quickly, bringing his hands up to his face to wipe away his tears. He sniffed as he pulled his jacket straight, turning to her with a nonchalant look. “What?”

Lili’s heart practically broke at his state: his eyes were red and puffy from crying and his nose was the same color. A small frowned etched onto her features but she quickly shook it off and curtsied lowly that she practically touched the ground.

“Will milord Dustin Henderson have a dance with thee?”

Dustin blinked in surprise and shook his head, his curls bouncing. He gave a laugh and urged her to stand. A bright fuchsia dusted his cheeks as he played along with her.

“Yes of course, milady. Just, stand up already.” He took her hand in his and helped her up, prompting her grin to grow.

She tugged him over to the dance floor, moving to rest her arms on his shoulders while his went around her waist. The two smiled at each other as they swayed to the song. Lili’s gaze went from Dustin to the girls that had turned him down earlier, seeing them scoff at the two. She smirked to herself and looked back to her partner.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered.

Dustin raised a brow, confused. “For what?”

“I’m sorry that those girls didn’t get the chance to dance with the greatest guy in the room.”

The boy chuckled along with her. “I’m sorry that the guys here didn’t ask you out to the dance. But I guess that makes me the luckiest one here.”

She giggled, pink rising to her cheeks. “But I’m serious here Dusty.” The Filipina said all of a sudden with a different tone. “Those girls- they’re jerks for turning you down. They obviously don’t realize how awesome you are. If they pick those guys who change to impress them, it just proves how superficial they are.

“They couldn’t see the real, dorky you that does things out of pure genuine intentions and from the good of your heart.” She laughed a little. “And they missed the chance of seeing that cute smile of yours.”

Dustin’s lips quivered from the happiness that had bloomed in his chest. He let her words sink in and he realized that maybe she was right... and that she was always there to support him. At that moment, his gratitude for his friend grew.

“R-really?”

“Yeah! I like how you do that purring thing.” She said, prompting him to do so. She chuckled and shook her head. “Don’t go too crazy though, tiger.”

“Yeah, right sorry.”

The song continued to play. A few people had managed to end up being closer in all senses; a few were already hugging. As the song neared to an end, Lili spoke up.

“Hey Dusty…?”

“Yeah?”

Dustin froze in place as he felt a warm pair of lips land gently on his cheek. He looked down to see Lili with a bashful look complete with a face as bright as a tomato. “Thanks for having this dance with me.”