#i edited this with too much efficiency. way more than anything.

[popponn]

i will build a thousand temples for you baby. edit: I SHOULD HAVE BEEN SMARTER AND SAY A THOUSAND FICS FOR YOU

[uriekukistan]

megumi character analysis, fearsome womb arc edition: establishing motivations

as im going through my re-read of jujutsu kaisen, i wanted to share some of my thoughts on characters and topics that im most passionate about, and of course megumi is one of those things. disclaimer, i am only going to be referring to things that occurred during the fearsome womb arc in this post, so the range of material im using to support my points is a bit limited.

my point in doing this is to draw attention to the misconceptions about megumi that lead to the large amount of hate he’s been receiving over the past year. if you keep up with the jjk fandom, you’ve no doubt seen the bumgumi allegations (eye twitches). honestly, i think a lot of this comes from a lack of understanding of megumi’s character, and what pushes him to act, or in some cases, not act. to me, this is absolutely wild, because megumi is one of the characters whose motivations and intentions are stated straight from the beginning, quite possibly some of the clearest stated motivations in the entire series.

i. he was never interested in being a sorcerer and has an established distaste for the system.

i would agree that sometimes megumi is a bit half-assed in his actions, but it’s important to understand why. he isn’t fond of his job. the reasoning behind this is not established until later on, but megumi’s stance is very clear. compared to nobara and yuuji, he’s very focused on getting his job done, rather than saving people.

being a sorcerer is not something he cares particularly about. it's just a task that he has to get done.

there’s also the way he talks about being a jujutsu sorcerer as being a “cog” in a system that he is personally disgusted with, due to the fact that it does nothing to help good people, like tsumiki for example.

sorcerers are one part of a system that completely disgusts him. his decision to save yuuji is another example of this.

his distaste for this system is clearly established early on in the story when he asks gojo to save yuuji because he can’t stand to see a good person like that die just because someone else somewhere said it was “right.” so it makes sense that he’s not going to put his all in all of the time, but it’s not because he’s lazy or a bum or a waste of potential. it’s because of his core sense of justice that has been a part of him and a central theme in jjk since the beginning.

ii. he is interested in saving good people.

i don’t want to spend too much time on this because it’s a pretty discussed and well-recognized aspect of megumi’s character, but this is a pretty fundamental principle behind his actions. for the most part, he is able to buckle down and do what he is “supposed” to do, regardless of if it’s what he personally believes is right, but there’s a visible difference in his effort level when there is someone he believes is good at stake.

when it’s the people he cares about at stake, he can and will push himself beyond his limits. after saving nobara, megumi is completely exhausted.

despite this, he still chooses to stay behind and wait for him, and puts forward the most effort he’d displayed thus far in the series, using his technique and his body more efficiently and more boldly than before, because yuuji is someone he believes is worth saving

he's also ready to let himself die to save yuuji.

in contrast, when fighting against todo, he shows an arguably much lower capacity of both his technique and his physical abilities compared to when he went against sukuna to save yuuji, because what's at stake is "only" himself, not someone he believes is "good," according to his own definition. he's not thinking about how to push his technique to be better or anything like that.

there's far better examples of this in other arcs, so i think i generally spoke about this and how it plays into the megumi hate better here, mostly because i’m restricting my materials for this analysis.

iii. he uses challenges as motivation to push himself beyond his limits.

in a somewhat different direction (aka not fully related to my overall point but i wanted to mention it anyway), megumi uses challenges to his abilities as an opportunity to grow. by challenges, i specifically mean verbal taunts. there’s not quite as many examples of this in just the fearsome womb arc, but probably the best example is when he figures out how to use shadows as an inventory for cursed tools, he remembers what sukuna said to him at the detention center, and it’s what motivates him to grow.

additionally, when he’s fighting against todo, he’s pushed to put more into the fight by todo taunting him and challenging his strength. if only inumaki hadn't stopped them, i would have loved to see what he pulled out...when megumi gets that crazy look, you know it's gonna be good.

this is interesting to me, because megumi is someone who carries a lot of self doubt, but the second someone else starts to doubt him, he pushes himself harder. he doesn’t want others to doubt him, despite constantly doubting himself.

anyway, i hope this was a useful look at why megumi acts the way he does. i think it’s very interesting how much he gets misinterpreted, despite how clearly his characteristics are laid out for the reader.

[infamous-if]

.2

I know, I know. It took 2 months to write the second drabble from the poll but...this is not even a drabble anymore. Instead, it's more of a collection of scenes mostly because if I do write how Orion found and began managing the band it would be an entire chapter. I will say that I condensed this due to that, but if I ever do write the whole thing it might look a *little* different. I had to cut corners and shorten scenes for the sake of length. Still, hope you like it! (This is 4, 363 words btw. what is wrong with me) I should probably find a more efficient way to share such long works but whatevs. As always, ignore any mistakes or typos or wordy sentences or sentences that probably make no sense upon reading it a second time. I don't edit drabbles and I always just publish the first drafts. haha.

“…Love me and hate me, I don’t mind as long as you take me—”

A low grumble rises in Orion’s throat when the song pauses, the car falling into an unfamiliar silence just as it slows in front of a red light. His large hands tighten their grip on the wheel, and his eyes glide to his co-worker, Marty, just as he’s pulling his hand away from the PAUSE button on the console. 

“Is there a reason you’re touching my stuff?” Orion asks, his voice carrying its usual calm that holds a level of ice that has even his superiors shuddering when they think he’s not looking. 

Marty licks his lips, his face twisting into its usual expression of guilt. Orion softens his face for his friend’s sake.

Orion Quinn knows the impact he has on people. The rumors that plague him have reached his ears on multiple occasions; he’s a shell of what he once was, never having gotten over the one who got away. He’s detached, the merciless worker that the boss goes to when he’s in need of someone who can do the firing.

 He’s the one people are afraid of crossing or talking casually to in fear of letting something slip. People fear him more than they fear the execs. 

It wasn’t always like this, sure. Once, Orion used to smile freely, used to talk openly and wear vulnerability like a favorite coat. But then the divorce happened and sides were taken. Suddenly, the armor he didn’t know he had was reinforced, dented and bruised from a battle he didn’t expect to fight, but reinforced nonetheless. 

Never date your co-workers. 

“The song is terrible, man.” Marty sighs, running a hand through his oily brown hair when he plops back in the seat. The same seat he pushed back at a 120-degree angle. Admittedly, it makes Orion’s nerves flare up. He says nothing;  he has enough self-awareness to know that complaining about his seat is a bit too much, even for him. “I was doing both our ears a favor.”

The light changes and Orion absently drums his fingers on the wheel as he drives on ahead, eyes gliding outside to soak in the densely populated street underneath the rising sun. “Yeah.” The word comes out in a resigned breath. “I was hoping it’d get better.” 

“We were on the bridge,” Marty throws back. “The only way it could get better is if it ended.” Orion’s lip twitches and of course, Marty can’t let it go. ”Oh! That was an almost-smile.” He leans forward to poke Orion’s rib. 

Orion lets out a laugh before his face quickly drops.

Marty grins, plopping his elbow on the ledge of the car door. “All I’m saying is you’ve been listening to demos nonstop this whole month. Not once have I seen you even mildly excited for any of them.”

Orion grits his teeth. “I haven’t had anything substantial to show the team in ages. Our last artist pulled out on signing with us last minute. Our established artists aren’t selling as well anymore. The industry is getting oversaturated—“

“—and we need to be ahead of the curve. Yadda, yadda.” Marty rolls his eyes. “Do you ever just relax? Damn. That stick up your ass is ten-feet lon—“

Marty chokes on his words when Orion’s eyes cut to his. “Say anything else and I’m kicking you out of my car.” 

Marty pouts but relents anyway, choosing to change the subject. “What about dating?”

Orion keeps his eyes on the road but quirks a brow. “What about it?”

“You know…” Marty starts, gesticulating vaguely as he searches for the right words. “Maybe putting yourself out there could help you relax. Or even inspire you—“ 

“No.”

“What? Okay, but—"

“Not interested.”

“You didn’t even know what I was going to sa—“

“Don’t have to.” 

Marty huffs and says nothing for a long moment. Neither of them rush to fill the silence; normal for Orion but unusual for his infinitely more talkative friend. It’s only when he pulls into Carolina Records’ parking lot that Marty speaks again and Orion realizes his silence was really just contemplation.

“I know the divorce was difficult,” he starts, delicate, “but—“

Orion’s jaw clenches.

“— that doesn’t mean you should give up.”

Orion sits there a moment, fingers clenching into fists. “It’s not giving up if I never tried in the first place.” He swings open the door and steps out, the car door slamming with a hint of finality.

. . .

Carolina Records boasts a twenty-floor skyscraper made up of floor-to-ceiling glass windows and sleek, dark marble floor. Orion has been here since he graduated college; going from a measly intern to an A&R representative responsible for finding two of the most promising artists in the company. 

That was a year ago. Since then, the well of new talent has dried up and Orion doesn’t know what to do.

Of course, he was offered higher positions, all of which he quickly denied. Orion always had a knack for numbers and trends, discovering what new genre is going to come to the forefront, seeing what kind of music the general public is listening to. Music: he understands it better than people. His understanding is almost clinical: while people listen to it for enjoyment, Orion seeks the patterns, the feelings that every beat and scale and vocal run they invoke. He takes it apart and puts it together like a surgeon does a patient. It just makes sense to him. 

He could do so much more, he knows that, but none of that interests him.

The music—that’s what he likes. 

Discovering new talent is what excites him. Which is why this odd dry spell has him walking with gritted teeth and tension between his shoulders-blades. He has to do something.

“Mr. Quinn.” 

Orion nods at a woman who passes by the hallway, ignoring the way Marty does a whole spin when he tracks her retreating frame down the hall.

Another one. This time a man from the marketing department. “Good Morning, Mr. Quinn.” 

“Morning.”

Marty scoffs when the man continues walking, not sparing him a glance. 

“Am I chopped liver or something?” Marty complains.

“Mr. Quinn, hey!”

“Hi.” Orion nods his head once and presses the elevator button. When his eyes land on a frowning Marty he says, “You’re just not sociable.”

“Huh?!” Marty then lets out an embarrassingly high-pitched sputter of a laugh. “And you are?”

Orion frowns. “Yes.”

Another laugh. “You’re smart, dude, you know it’s more because of that”— he gestures vaguely at him—“than your social skills.”

The elevator doors open with a cheerful bell and they step inside. “What?”

“You know.” Marty shrugs. “Your face. You look like you should be on a billboard advertising overpriced cologne with your shirt unbuttoned and your hand in your hair talking about your luxurious life or something.”

“That’s…specific.”

Marty shrugs. “I read a lot of GQ.” 

Orion wrinkles his nose when they spin to face the doors. “While it is true I would be considered objectively handsome by societal standards—“

“Oh, fuck off.”

“—I don’t think that’s the case.” This time Orion lets out a small smile. “Or maybe it is?” He quirks a brow at his co-worker. “Should I send a gift basket to my parents? A ‘thank-you-for-the-superior-DNA gift?’”

Marty shakes his head.  “You know, when you do try to be funny you still sound like an asshole.”

Orion hums, the joke tickling him enough for him to let out his first smile of the day. 

The elevator doors sing their arrival and they bid farewell once they part to go to their respective offices. Orion strides to his corner office where another one of his co-workers, Kass, is standing with a box in her hands.

“This week’s demos.” Orion is just putting his arms out when she plops the boxes on them. “You should really stop requesting unsolicited demos. It’s such an outdated way of doing things.”

Orion ignores her and unlocks his office door, turning the knob and pushing it open with his hip. His office is barren but spacious, with high windows overlooking the city. Marty told him once that people would kill to have his office, but really it’s just like any other space. What’s an office without a productive person to work in it? Orion hasn’t done anything of meaning in weeks.

Sighing, he drops the box on the table unceremoniously, picking up the first CD on the top of the pile. GROUNDED IN REALITY reads the title, and it’s so apt that he almost chucks the CD in the trash on that very fact alone. Still, he’s nothing if not fair. Another sigh escapes him and he gets to listening. 

. . .

Helpless.

That’s how he feels.

After hours of listening, the music has long since blurred together in a portrait of uninspired melodies and generic, radio-friendly lyrics. Nothing stood out, nothing made him want to dig into the song in search for more, nothing made him feel.

Is it me? Am I the problem?

Jaw clenched, Orion fishes out his phone, the usual flinch coming to him when he sees the background. He forgot to change it, and it’s always an (unwanted) surprise whenever he sees a picture of them together. 

One year ago. The beach. Happy.

Shaking his head, he sends a quick text to his mother telling her that he’ll have to raincheck on their dinner. He still has half a box of songs left. Looks like he’ll be staying late.

“Yo, Orion!” A knock. “Let’s go! I want to driiink.”

Or not.

Marty strides in without waiting for an invitation, a grin on his face. “Tab is on me.”

“Do you ever work?” Orion asks, eyes half-lidded in equal parts annoyance and indifference. 

His friend frowns. “This is work.”

“I don’t think getting drunk is in the job description.” Orion looks down, absently clicking on the button of his mouse in an effort to busy his hands. 

“Wah, wah. Don’t be a fucking party pooper.”

 “Too late.”

Marty shoots him a look. “A few artists are playing tonight. Call this recruitment.” He uses spirit fingers. “Maybe you’ll even loosen up for once.” When Orion looks at him, a brow raised, Marty drops his hands. “Yes, I do my job sometimes. Don’t look so surprised.”

“It’s not that,” Orion starts. He doesn’t immediately continue. Instead, they simply stare at each other. Marty wiggles his brows as Orion narrows his gaze. “When you say the tab is on you—“

Marty whips out a black card. “Company card, baby!”

Orion palms his face with a long groan as Marty begins to moonwalk across Orion’s office. “I was perfectly fine staying inside.” Even though he says this, a moment later he stands and grabs his trenchcoat from the back of the chair. “And you’re driving.”

“What!” Marty stomps his foot as he follows him out. “Nooooo.” 

. . .

The bar sits in a livelier part of the city, a part that Orion doesn’t often find himself in. It’s less about the scene and more about the memories associated with every damn corner of this place. Orion can pluck a memory from his mind like a petal from a rose garden: the diner they went to and fought for fifteen minutes over who would get to pay the bill, the park they spent their lunches at.

The shop where he bought the ring.

“This place is golden,” Marty says, breaking Orion out of the string of memories he wishes he could erase forever, “it’s like a real gritty, underground hole-in-the-wall vibe.”

“Sounds like fun,” comes out of Orion in a dour tone that has Marty rolling his eyes. 

They stride through the neon glow of the brick hall until it opens up to a dimly lit bar. The space is humble; the sparse crowd is compensated by the energy of the performers on the stage. 

“Stacy, do you remember when I mowed your lawn…?”

“Is the band really covering Fountains of Wayne?” Orion says through gritted teeth.

Marty bites his lower lip, his obvious attempt to stifle laughter only making Orion’s faux horror flare even more. “Maybe.” Marty spins around, shimmying his shoulder. “You don’t agree that Stacy’s Mom Has Got It Going on?” Marty then realizes something and laughs. “You know, I dated a Stacy once. Weirdly enough, her mom wasn’t that bad looking—“

Orion sighs and quickly moves to the bar. “I need a drink.”

Whatever hope Orion had of finding new talent is gone in the face of the line-up. It quickly becomes obvious that the performers are composed of people who aren’t taking the ‘gig’ seriously or patrons that are half-drunk and stumbling on the small stage.

Worse that the place is pathetically empty; it’s only them two and three other stragglers eating stale fries and bobbing their heads to the music, more out of obligatory politeness than anything else. Orion is suddenly regretting taking Marty up on his offer. 

Orion drinks his lager through periodic gulps, his desire to forget this night growing with every person that performs. The memories of this area coupled with his lack of work lately make him dizzy. He wants to escape. Quit. Scream. All of it.

“Get me another,” Orion says, much to Marty’s delight.

More and more people perform until Orion has lost any focus on the stage. Instead, he entertains himself by watching the game on the TV, having long given up on finding any new promising talent in a place like this. 

“Next up we have”—the bartender stops, her eyes narrowing as she tries to read something off an index card—“er, [band]. Yeah. Give them a round of applause.”

With how few people are in attendance, the applause is less applause and more awkward clapping that quickly dies after two. 

The people on stage are younger. Immediately, Orion notices that they’re equipped with actual instruments instead of relying on the karaoke machine in the corner. A decisive point in their favor, he decides.

“You said this was a gig…” He hears one of them say to what appears to be the lead singer. The boy wears a red hat, as well as an assortment of chains on his neck. Three other band members set up their instruments, trying not to look too disappointed by the turnout. Still, even with the lager creating a slight fog in his head, Orion knows that look. The moment when hope dies, burning like a napkin to a flame.

“No,” the lead singer says pointedly as they adjust their mic, “I said this was a favor.” In that moment, the singer nods their head at the bartender, who shoots them an appreciative thumbs-up. “A paid favor.”

The boy shakes his head but snorts. “I guess.” 

Once they’re set up, the singer looks ahead, gazing at the bar. Their eyes briefly settle on Orion as they gaze at the few faces in the room. “Hey!” they say, chirpy. “We’re [band]. Thanks for coming out!”

A chorus of muttering replies.

Marty taps on the bar. “Wanna head out?”

Orion, unable to look away, shakes his head. “No. I want to see this.”

The next few minutes feel like a dream. Orion is in a daze as the song plays, the beats piercing through him. The voice sends goosebumps up his arms, the instruments weave together in a perfect harmony that has Orion’s heart racing. When the song ends, it’s too soon. He wants it to keep going. He doesn’t want it to end. 

He wants more.

“Thanks!” The singer says to a smattering of slightly enthusiastic applause. This is the most energy everyone has had all night. They turn, grab their things, and disappear through the curtain. Orion bursts up….

…spilling his drink on the table.

“Oh!” the bartender squeaks as Marty hisses.

“Aw, fuck.” Orion curses, and then flinches. “Sorry. Uh….sorry.” He doesn’t know what his apology is for. Dropping the drink, cussing, or speeding away before he could help clean it up in order to catch the band backstage?

“Hey!” Marty calls. “Where are you going?”

Orion ignores him. He has a one-track mind right now, one focused on finding the band that just made him feel like he hit the jackpot. This. This is what he’s been looking for. 

The door swings open, and the band stop mid-conversation to look at Orion, who busted through the door without so much as a plan or script in place. Instead, he simply stands there. 

“Uh.” One girl, flaunting bright blue hair, says. “Yeah?”

Orion reveals his card, feeling a bit like a robot. He moves on automatic, working through the many thoughts in his head to utter the rest of his words. “Do you have a manager?”

. . . 

“You want to manage us?”

The din of the coffee shop sings with the sound of plates and aimless chatter. It’s been two days since he heard them perform back at the bar, and Orion has been running through his pitch the way one does before an interview. He’s never been this…nervous? Uncertain? In his life. 

“Yes,” is Orion’s only response. He sits on one side of the table while the band sits on the other; an invisible wall between them. He can see it, their apprehension. He is not one of them. 

Not yet, at least. 

“Wait.” The boy Orion learned is named Rowan leans forward, fingers on the table. “How do we know this isn’t a scam?”

“I’m not asking for money. All I ask is for you to show up to play for my boss. That’s it.” Auditions are a lost art. Nowadays artists are recruited through viral internet songs and connections. Two things that always exhausted Orion. It hasn’t been just about the music in a long time. 

Their eyes widen. They all exchange looks, equal parts excited and wary. 

“Why?” [MC], who he learned is the sole singer of the band, asks.

Because you made me feel something. Because listening to you is the first time I felt human in a long time.

He imagines himself waving off those words like mist. “Because you’re the first band that has caught my attention. And it’s not easy to catch my attention.”

The band member named Iris snorts. 

“I’m not trying to be arrogant,” he says blandly, leaning back in his chair to fold his arms over his chest. “It’s the truth.”

“Where do you work?” Another member, Devyn, asks. 

“Carolina Records.”

Multiple pairs of eyes widen.

“Holy shit.” Jazzy laughs. “The Carolina Records?”

Orion nods, used to this kind of reaction. Starry-eyed artists are pretty much the same when it comes to Carolina. “Yes.” He leans forward, his heart racing. “Just one audition. That’s all I ask.” 

He watches as they all exchange looks; a silent language only they share. After an agonizing moment, [MC] turns to him and nods. “When?”

. . . . 

Orion has been pacing for the last half hour.

He stands outside Carolina’s humble theater space, chewing on his nails as he waits for his boss, Jacob Hill, and a smattering of other executives and shareholders that will be the final word in whether Orion can work with [band]. He hasn’t asked for something this big in so long that Jacob Hill immediately said yes, more out of excitement and surprise than anything else. Orion did produce two of their most profitable artists in the company. 

The elevator doors open and Orion stops in place, head whipping up to see them walking through the hall in a wave of black suits and greased hair. Orion brushes down his shirt, trying to dampen his nerves. Jesus. Nerves? Get a grip, Orion. 

He doesn’t know how to stand as he waits for them to approach. Hands in pockets? Arms crossed? Orion is so indecisive he just resorts to standing straight, arms at his sides. 

“Mr. Hill.” Orion shakes his hand, clearing his throat. He makes his polite greetings to the rest of the team and says, “Thank you for making time for me.”

“Always, Orion.” Jacob slaps a large hand on his back. “You’re one of my best. You should ask me for favors more.”

Orion lets out a small, slightly nervous laugh. “Ah, you know. I like to—“

“—do things on your own,” Jacob finishes, a soft smile on his face. “I get it.”

He slowly looks up, meeting Jacob’s eyes. In them he can see the familiar pity he’s gotten since the divorce. 

It’s Orion’s fault, really. If he didn’t isolate himself and turn into what he is now, people wouldn’t look at him and assume he’s broken inside.

Would they be wrong in their assumption, though? Am I broken inside?

“Shall we?” another executive says, and Orion bobs his head in a nod, pushing away the image of Jacob’s face.

Inside is a small theater, the stage just big enough for one artist. The seats are plush leather, the lights dim but blue. Jacob always likes the spectacle, and he catered this space to feel like a real performance for possible signees. Orion decides against sitting, too nervous to do anything but stand in the back, giving them the signal he taught them in his pep talk before they came.

[MC] nods. “Um. Hi. We’re [band]. I’m [MC] and this is Iris, Rowan, Devyn, and Jazzy. And um…this is [song].”

Orion flinches at the lackluster introduction. Doesn’t matter, he thinks, unfamiliarly optimistic, the music will do the talking.

And it does.

But not in the way he thought.

All throughout the song, Orion peeks at Jacob and his team. He wants to celebrate when he sees them bobbing their heads, wants to curse when they get on their phones. Orion has never worried this much in his whole career. He’s never wanted something so bad. 

He’s never allowed himself to want. Not after the divorce. 

He didn’t think he was deserving of getting what he wanted. 

The song ends, and Orion lets out a breath. There’s muffled chatter between the men, and on stage the band crowd together, hopping in place as they let out their remaining nerves. 

Jacob stands, the rest following. Orion speeds ahead, wanting to see the thoughts on his face. Instead, Jacob simply regards him with thin lips.

“They were…good,” Jacob whispers, putting a hand on Orion’s shoulder and guiding him out of the room and to the empty hall, “but I think we’re going to go in another direction.”

Orion’s positivity leaks out of him like an open faucet. “What.”

Jacob inhales through his nose. “Look, the singer is talented. They all are. I understand why you like them but…” He shakes his head. “I don’t think the guys see it. And plus,” he shrugs, “they don’t have what we’re looking for.”

Orion’s brows furrow. His stomach drops in itself and his mouth dries. “They have another song. They could play it—“

“Orion.” Jacob gives him that pitying expression again. Fucking hell. He wants to smack that expression off his face. “I know you’ve been…off, since the divorce. You haven’t been on top of your game, and I’ve been giving you your space. It’s not easy, especially since you worked together—“

“I’m fine,” he says tightly.

“—but you can’t…fixate on something to get over it. You need to do it the healthy way. The old Orion would’ve brought me someone with pizzazz. With that unique Orion touch, you know?” Jacob pulls him close. Orion is reduced to a scolded child, unable to do anything but listen. “This isn’t the Orion I know. You usually bring me diamonds.” 

“I—“ Orion swallows. “I’m trying.” And it’s the most honest thing he’s said in ages. He’s trying. And it’s not working. He’s been trying the day he signed that fucking divorce paper and signed the only life he’s known away. 

“I know you are,” Jacob says, squeezing his shoulder. “Sometimes we miss, and that’s alright.”

The rest of the group filter out and both Jacob and Orion step back, trying to hide any sign of their tense conversation. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Orion nods slowly, the lump in his throat growing as he feels multiple eyes on him. His jaw is clenched, his eyes are downturned. He can hardly look at his boss.

He stands there, frozen, forced to listen to their careless chatter as they walk down the hall. The moment they stepped out of those doors, they forgot about the band. The same band that made him feel something, the first time since his divorce. The same band he can’t get out of his head. The same band that proved he is not broken. He can still feel.

And they don’t even fucking care.

“I quit,” Orion says, the words coming out of him before he could even think. Jacob and Co turn around, twin expressions of shock on their faces. Orion looks up, straightening, trying to look even an inch of the Old Him.

“What?” Jacob blurts. 

“I quit.” Orion swallows. “I’ll formally hand in my resignation tomorrow.” He bows, trying to muster up the little respect and professionalism he has in him. “I’m sorry.”

“Orion—“

He spins around, walking back inside. 

The band is still on stage, this time all packed up and ready to go. When the door closes, they all look up, their hopeful and wide eyes on Orion as he walks down to the stage.

He stops in front of it. He puts two palms on the stage, looking at the members of the band he will take to the top. He promised it to himself…two minutes ago.

“I’m going to ask again,” Orion says through his teeth, his heart racing with the adrenaline of his quitting. What the fuck is he doing? And why does it feel so good? “Do you still need a manager?”

When he looks up, the band stares at him in silence.  

He witnesses [MC] look behind him at the door, where Jacob and his team left. As if realizing something, they look back down. “Yeah. You okay with another artist in your roster?”

“Yes.” Orion nods. He’s okay with it. 

Because all he needs is one. 

[vhstown]

tender

— pavitr prabhakar x gn!reader

summary: It's the middle of summer, and Spider-Man caused a city-wide power outage; your friend Pavitr tries to make it up to you.

word count: 0.7k

warnings: fluff, mentions of food/drink

a/n: there's not enough pavitr in this world 💔 another 3am notes app to one-shot pipeline, somewhat edited

"Ugh..."

It was probably the hundredth time you groaned that morning. Your uniform was sticking to you, your notebook was less than efficient as a fan and you still had to come into class for the rest of the day. The Mumbattan sun was practically bleeding through the walls, and though you and Pavitr had found a shaded spot outside, it did little to stop the constant wave of sweat that trickled down your back.

"Probably the worst day for the power to go out, right?" Pavitr gave you a crooked smile. His shoulders flexing uncomfortably as he leaned forward, tilting his head to meet your squinting eyes.

"Yeah. Spider-Man really did us a service, huh?" From what you knew, Mumbattan's one and only "hero" with stupidly good hair had managed to disconnect the entire city's power last night. Alchemax was "working hard" to restore it (probably in their own building), but you didn't know how much longer you could survive without the academy's stellar, now out-of-service air conditioning.

"He's not so bad. He's probably suffering from the heat too; think about the suit!" Thinking about the suit only made you sweat more.

You met Pavitr's defense with a frown, shaking your head. "It's his problem. Well, it's everyone's problem now."

Pavitr returned your frown with his own, his eyes narrowed and trailing off in silence. You two talked about Spider-Man often; his hair was pretty compelling, but today he was more of a menace than anything, even if he was boiling under that suit too. Your notebook was practically clinging to your clammy hands, but Pavitr seemed fine for the most part, just one button of his shirt undone. Maybe the heat was the reason why you were looking at his bare collar so much.

Your head fell back as another flash of sweat went through you, and you were ready to let out another groan before Pavitr spoke up.

"You know what? I'll be right back. One sec... a minute — two minutes!" He gave you a wave and half a smile before getting up, the way his hand pushed off of the hot concrete making you cringe. The sun was hurting your eyes, so you gave up on trying to look out for him, sinking into the heat as you waited.

Around the corner, other students of Mubattan Visions were suffering a similar sizzling reality to you, the same complaints and frustrations dampened by the heat. It was an oven inside and a slow-cooker outside; you didn't know which you preferred — probably neither now your best friend was gone.

Thwip! Thwip! You barely registered the sound before you felt a hand on your shoulder, looking behind you only to have something cold put in your hands — a drink.

"Two minutes," he grinned, sitting next to you as he cracked open the lid of his own bottle. 100% Natural... "Tender" Coconut Water?

Your brows furrowed, trying not to crack a smile while taking a sip of the drink. It was cool, easing the breathless feeling you had from the heat as it went down your throat. "How'd you even get this?"

"I uh, had it in my backpack." His casual and slightly unsure look did nothing to convince you.

"Is your backpack a fridge or something?"

"Maybe. Guess I should be an engineer, huh?" It was finally cool enough to laugh, and you hesitated to drink again as the thought of Pavitr's refrigerator backpack cracked you up a bit.

"Yeah. Maybe. Nadeesh's got competition."

"The kid had it coming," he shrugged, rolling his eyes and smiling.

The two of you finally had something to talk about other than the heat. You chatted through the school morning, and it was a little easier to endure the heat even if the power was still out. You had no idea how Pavitr had managed to get cold drinks when almost all of Mumbattan was simmering alive, but you were thankful enough.

Pavitr set the empty bottle down, letting out a contented sigh as he crossed his arms, leaning his shoulder against yours. It was a little uncomfortable given the drying sweat pressing into your skin, but you decided it wasn't worth moving away because of a bit of extra warmth.

In fact, though the power would be out for a couple more hours, and Alchemax might've had a broken vending machine, this sort of warmth was something you could get used to; it was almost tender.

Maybe you'd have to get that coconut water more often.

🕸️🔭🪀

thank u for reading ! my boy pavitr is so real 🫶 also nadeesh = ned (silly headcanon for his universe...)

reblogs appreciated <3 catch my atsv masterlist here!

[genericpuff]

hello! i'm not sure if you remember me, a while ago i asked about digital art and if it's possible to do on an ipad or something similar. i was really grateful for your response and i got an ipad over christmas! i didn't realize how expensive the pencils were though and was only able to get one recently. now that i have all of that, i download the first art program i saw (ibispaint x, i don't know how good that is) and feel super overwhelmed by everything, all the tools and brushes and i have no idea where to begin. i know this is a super broad topic, but i don't know if you have any advice for a beginner hoping to become a digital artist? or know of any resources? thank you so much in advance and no worries if this topic is too broad to really get into properly!

Oh hey!! Congrats on getting an iPad! And yeah, shopping for the pens is a big pain in the butt, but I'm glad you finally got it all setup!

So most of the advice I'm gonna give you is very basic, starter advice that can apply to virtually any digital art software, as the vast majority of them are built with the exact same base tools, they just vary in their intended purposes which means they may differ in more advanced settings and what they offer beyond the basics (ex. Photoshop has more colors than Clip Studio because it's built for editing high quality photos whereas Clip Studio is meant to emulate comic art, but Clip Studio offers more in the way of comic-creating tools such as specialized rulers, 3D material support, built-in screentoning, etc. and all of the software available will tend to have different brush engines, meaning it doesn't always 'feel' the same to draw in one software as it does in another).

Your bestest friends:

Layers! This is the biggest pro to going digital, because now you can work with layers! So anything you draw on each layer is preserved and can't touch or affect whatever's on the other ones :3 You can find the layers tab in Ibis Paint X in the bottom right, don't be afraid to make a bunch of them and mess around with what you can do. Play around with the different blending mode settings (in Ibis Paint it's the menu that's labelled 'Normal' in the layers popup) especially Multiply, Color Dodge, and Overlay, as those three are the most commonly used to make coloring more efficient and give your art some extra pop.

Lasso/marquee/magic wand tools! These are basic selection tools that allow you to select an area within the layer you're working on, so that whatever you paint won't travel outside of that area. The Lasso is a free draw tool, the marquee tool is typically 4 sides by default (so squares/rectangles) and the magic wand detects and selects a closed area with one click! (just note that by default it's only on the layer you're on, so if you use it on a layer that has nothing, it will typically select the entire canvas).

Alpha locking! This is a simple button setting you can click to 'lock' the layer you're working on, which basically means that whatever you've drawn on that layer, anything you add can't travel outside of that drawing. So if you want to quickly shade something without going outside the lines, alpha locking is your solution!

Clipping groups/layers! This is a bit more advanced but is basically an even better version of alpha locking that you can use in conjunction with it. Clipping layers are basically additional layers that , when you click the 'clipping group' button, 'attaches' that new layer to the layer that's below it. It performs the same function as the alpha lock by preventing whatever you draw on that layer from travelling outside of it, HOWEVER it comes with the added benefit that it's on an entirely different layer, meaning you can erase and mess with whatever's on that new layer as much as you like and it won't hurt the base layer. It kinda follows the same logic as animation cels !

Masking! Y'know when you're doing a traditional painting, and you put down tape to cover the area so you can paint over it and later remove the tape and everything underneath is untouched? That's basically what masking is! Once you put down a layer mask, using the erase tool on it will 'erase' whatever the mask is applied to, and using the brush will make it magically return! This may sound silly at first, but I find masking is especially helpful if you want to erase something on the layer you're working on without it disappearing forever! It's also really helpful for comic work because you can mask whatever's outside of the panels and voila, nothing you draw will travel outside of those panels!

Stabilization! I don't know how extensive Ibis Paint X is with offering stabilization tools, but many digital art software comes with it and it's a LIFE SAVER for new digital artists adjusting to the feel of digital art. It essentially 'slows down' the output of the ink on the canvas which helps a lot with getting cleaner lines in fewer tries. It's not quite as big of a deal when drawing on iPads because obviously you have more control by default by drawing directly on the screen, but it can still be really helpful when you need to pace your hand ahead of the actual drawing tool to pull cleaner lines!

That's pretty much all I can think of for now! But here are some other commonly asked questions:

1.) There are so many brushes to choose from, which one do I use?

The round brush is small but mighty. Virtually anything can be painted with it, it's simple, but malleable, especially when you start messing around with the hardness and opacity settings. Don't get too lost in the sauce with the brushes that are available to you, it can be very easy to get overwhelmed by all the options and variety. Some artists still work purely with just round brushes, some artists have custom brushes they like to use to speed up their drawing process or achieve certain textures. Play around with them, but don't get too stressed about which one you use because there's no wrong answer, the right brush to use is the one that gets the job done ! <3

2.) What canvas size should I use?

It depends on a variety of factors such as whether or not you're planning to print, where you're going to be posting it, etc. By default I like to work on 8.5 x 11 inch canvases (standard printer paper size) at 350 dpi, which if you want to make that canvas in Ibis Paint X, means you just have to make a canvas with a pixel ratio of 2975 x 3850 pixels! Just note that the lower you go in either pixel count or dpi, the lower the resolution, so it's typically encouraged you work at a minimum of 300 dpi (but you usually don't have to go any higher than 600) to ensure you don't wind up with any blurry low res JPG's/PNG's.

3.) Should I export my final drawing as JPG or PNG?

This is usually just up to personal preference, but like the canvas size, it depends on what you're using the image for. You can always export as both, the biggest difference between them is that PNG is lossless meaning you won't experience image compression like you will with JPG, BUT you're also going to have much larger image sizes. JPG is often fine for any standard posting, PNG is typically recommended if you want to have a drawing with a transparent background for printing (as JPG can't do transparent backgrounds) or if you just want to have a really high res image file for sharing outside of social media sites (as social media sites like FB/IG/etc. will typically compress the hell out of your images anyways)

Here are some other super helpful resources as well if you need some visual and/or audio guides:

Sinix Design - How to Learn Digital Painting (Beginners)

Marc Brunet - The Beginner's Guide to Digital Art

Skynix Art - 50 Digital Art Tips in 5 Minutes

One thing I also like to do is watch speedpaints of digital artists as it can really help pull back the curtain on what they're doing (or at least, it can help you see what they start with which can help you better picture the process of turning a blank canvas into a finished work of art!) And though I don't do it as often, if there's an artist whose work I REALLY like, I'll try and find their actual work files (many bigger artists sell them on their crowdfunding sites/Gumroad/etc.) so that I can actually break the drawings apart layer by layer for the purpose of analysis. Of course, all that is something that you'll grasp better over time as you learn the tools and learn to recognize what artists are doing in their own workflow, so don't worry if you don't glean a whole lot of info from the "big guys" right away, you should always be referencing artists who are higher along the skill ceiling from you but not too high that they're using techniques and tools that are outside of your realm of understanding.

Other than that, just try to have fun, don't stress too much about it, and save often!!! Part of creating art is learning to be at peace with the process, so don't stress too much if it takes you a while to get adjusted to the layouts and tools - at the end of the day, digital art is another medium entirely, so it's not uncommon at all for traditional artists to need a lot of practice to 'switch' to digital, because they both utilize different tools and techniques. Be patient with yourself, always be on the hunt for new resources and guides and references, and don't be afraid to experiment and make mistakes (the best part about digital art? Mistakes don't cost you any paint or materials!)

Good luck!! And congrats again! 🥰

[2d-reality]

Study Buddy

characters: Satan, GN!MC content/warnings: Satan being a smarty-pants and helping you with Devildom Law. You also ponder about him... Fluff <3 word count: 2606 notes: Not only did I not edit this past halfway, the edibles kicked in towards the end. IF you can tell no you can't.

RAD was the single evilest thing Diavolo had ever done. High school, eternally. You weren’t a fan of high school (or high schoolers, for that matter) when you were in it, and the further you progressed past it, the more grateful you were that it was over. 

As if being chucked on your head into the Devildom wasn’t bad enough, on top of everything that had happened over the last year and a half, you were forced to endure the hell that was everything about traditional schooling. Getting up in the morning, making sure you hadn’t forgotten any assignments, navigating the cavernous, echoing halls of RAD, sitting through lectures on topics you still didn’t entirely grasp, making sure what the cafeteria served wouldn’t cause you a painful death, student council meetings, homework... the list went on. Even the student body behaved like high schoolers. Albeit they were magically adept, inhuman high schoolers who could float through the hallways or burn their desks to ashes, but they cliqued and gossiped just the same.

You were thankful, at least, that Lucifer had gone out of his way to ensure you were accompanied by one of his siblings at all times. Though your class roster changed every semester (Diavolo’s way of freshening up the classrooms, lest some of RAD’s less than amiable students get too unbearably annoyed with each other), you were seated beside one of your guardian demons in each lecture hall. 

You were particularly thankful for Satan being your seatmate in your Devildom Law course. The emerald-eyed fourth-born was smart as a whip, and the reputation surrounding his hair-trigger temper meant even those students around you who were not afraid of a lifetime detention sentence didn’t try anything untoward when the two of you were together. 

Home Ec, Art, and even Mathematics you could shoulder well enough, but the additional Devildom-centric courses had thrown you for a loop. Magical Potions was much like Chemistry, at times, and Seductive Speechcraft could arguably be studied just as easily by watching political debates or taking a mid level Psych class. Curses and Hexes had grown on you, the Anti-Lucifer league’s help notwithstanding, but Devildom Law had you absolutely, hopelessly lost. 

You weren’t keen on politics much back in the human realm, having never really grasped the contrived flannery of things that seemed really very simple-- betterment for the good of all, and what have you, but humans were just... prejudiced like that, you supposed. Demons were, pun not intended, a completely different breed. For one, they lacked any amount of urgency in their decision making. When one lives for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, one apparently doesn’t feel much need for speed and efficiency. It was a little difficult to have a research project ongoing for upwards of a hundred years when you hadn’t even been around for a blink of that time. Secondly was the caste system. Demons were sorted, it appeared, by very rigid standards-- their point of origin, be that parent or manifestation, age, their physical and magical power, and their scope of influence in both the Devildom and the human realm.

The longer you spent around the brothers, the more you realized just how powerful they were, and not just physically (that you were well aware of), but socially-- and politically. The student council ruled as pretty damn close to a governing body, even if it was dressed down with an innocuous name. Occasionally, you would be reminded that Levi was a Navy leader, that Lucifer was the very backbone of Devildom society, and Mammon made quick, intelligent financial decisions for RAD and the surrounding realm. 

And yet still, something that always negged at you, they were once angels. Stories would fall from them every now and again, quips at each other about their time in the Celestial Realm, and though they were no longer, there seemed to be some innate intricacies of demon behavior that they didn’t quite fully... get. Their divinity clung to them still, in little ways that weren’t always apparent.

Satan, on the other hand, had always been a demon. He had told you once, after a quiet, intimate night, that he sometimes felt out of place amongst his brothers. How he felt undeserving of his rank, how sure he was that the only reason he had been sorted in the middle and not on the tail end was because of just how much sheer power Lucifer bore even after his fall, and how the only reason Satan came to be was because the eldest brother had him violently ripped from his being. How he felt like an ugly, broken thing amongst the shining jewels of the heavens. 

But to you, Satan was a warm ray of sun in this realm of eternal darkness. In learning to quell the overwhelming anger inside himself, he learned how to douse it in others. He was, in your opinion, the most observant out of the seven of them, and the most receptive to your moods. Any time a comment was shot too loudly across the dinner table, or a designer purse was thrown at a target past your head, or someone sidled into your personal space on the couch in the common room, Satan’s eyes were on you, watching. Reading the tension in your shoulders, the change in your expression, the speed at which you switched between apps on your DDD or sighed. He would suggest you join him in clearing the dishes, or happen to remember there was a book he wanted to recommend to you, in his room, if you would, or remind one of his brothers they had things to be doing that didn’t involve buggering you. His presence proved to you that sometimes, things could be calm in this whirlwind.

Which is part of why you appreciated him being in this class with you. The other, sometimes seemingly larger part being the fact that his brain seemed to work twice as fast as yours. He could answer all of your questions without hardly a moment’s pause. You had joked with him once, that his head was a steel trap. 

“Provided something interests me,” he had replied, expression unreadable. You were pretty sure everything interested him.

Satan was the best tutor around for Devildom Law, aside from maybe Diavolo himself. Despite how carefully his acquaintances trod around him, Satan had hundreds of them, in every aspect of the realm you could think of. He was out of the house almost as much as Asmo, attending soirees, launch parties, company milestone celebrations, even somewhat regular dinner parties as a special guest. Satan had an air of familiarity about him to the residents of the Devildom, one that you thought you might recognize in your familiarity with Solomon. Where the other brothers had helped shape humanity, and were now demons, they weren’t human, and had known more than their sins, whereas you and Satan had never known anything more than what you were. You had a kinship with the other human exchange student in a way only two humans could, and Satan had it with other natural-born demons.

He knew designers, nobles in the upper echelons, executive chefs, newspaper editors, bus drivers, and every stray cat in a twenty-mile radius. Some of which you weren’t convinced were just cats. Demons came in all shapes and sizes, after all. 

Your plight for a Devildom Law tutor was helped by the fact that you had managed to endear yourself to the fourth born. Sometimes you could compare his investment into your tutoring sessions to that of a wildlife ecologist teaching an animal to perform simple tricks, but you were willing to take the help wherever you could get it. You had always been an adaptive person, and you would prove everyone in this infernal place that you-- frail, mortal little you-- could. You could handle anything they threw at you. 

Or, you thought as you stared into the print of your Law textbook, that’s what you wanted, at least. The words had long since gone blurry, and your pen had fallen from your hand as you had been lost in thought. Papers were scattered across your desk, some of the edges crinkled under open books, and smudged with highlighter. The screensaver on your laptop had switched on, and you swiped your fingers across the mousepad to wake it. 

The sudden, harsh light made you draw back, and both a shoulder joint and the middle of your back popped. Even with the tableside lamp on, you were getting drowsy. Your class was performing mock trials this semester, and had been split into pairs, with each pair taking on the role of defense or plaintiff for their own trial. Yours and Satan’s turn was later this week, and you felt like you were no closer to gathering your arguments than you were when the whole ordeal was assigned. Of course you weren’t given the exciting embezzlement or human sacrifice (!) cases-- you were stuck with a property dispute between two mid-level demons in the fourth circle. An avarice demon wished to add the property to his swollen scope of dominion, and a prodigality spirit with alleged ties to Dante himself wanted it for its quick-selling real estate tag. 

You were supposed to argue on the behalf of the prodigal Ar’gig. You felt like an unmoored buoy drowning in the reading material you had been given-- most of which you somehow had to translate from its native Infernal, which was another mountain to summit in itself-- and the longer you stared at the sea of papers before you, the more they swam in your vision and truly resembled crashing waves.

You sat back in your desk chair, stretching your creaking body. More joints protest, and your head spins for a moment with the rush of blood. Blinking to clear the spots, you cross your arms over your textbook and rest your head on your forearms. The sigh you heave smells like old paper and ink, and faintly of hopelessness.

Maybe just a few moments... if you closed your eyes, you could visualize better...

~

The book under your head being shifted woke you. You blinked, having not even realized you fell asleep. A flash of chartreuse caught your eye, and you turned your head to see Satan in a chair beside you. He regarded you fondly for a moment, and you realized Satan’s presence wasn’t all that was different. Your papers had been arranged, rescued from under your laptop and textbooks. The computer was sitting to Satan’s left, open programs layered neatly. In his hand was a pen, and the paper sitting in front of him was mostly his clean handwriting. Peering closer, you realized he had written in his own notes below the few scant lines you had started. The page was now nearly full. 

“I thought you said you’d never do my homework for me,” you teased. Satan lifted one shoulder in indifference. 

“Good morning to you, too. This is a group project. Besides, Lucifer said if you don’t do well on this midterm, you’ll not be allowed out of the House until you make up the grade, and I promised Nysrogh that you would be attending his next dinner party. I can’t have you making me look like a liar.”

His tone was clipped, bordering on apathetic, but you saw right through it. It was nothing for Satan to make up an excused absence, and he had always been staunch in his refusal to do any of the actual legwork for you-- something about experience being the best teacher. You didn’t press the matter.

“Clearly you understand this better than I do,” you settled on stating the obvious to steer the conversation in a productive direction. With Satan’s help, you felt like you could actually tread the waves. “Anything I should know? Aside from... all of it?”

Satan pinched his lips in the way he did when he was thinking. “This translation is wrong.” He pointed to a bit of text in the middle of your paltry paragraph of notes. “The original meaning has less to do with Melchom’s prior holdings and more to do with his reputation. It changes the argument slightly.” 

You scrubbed at your face, resting your palms over your eyes. “Infernal is so... infernal.” 

Satan chuckled, reaching out to smooth his cool touch over your hair. “Maybe we could squeeze some lessons in on weekends. I may know a simple speech incantation that could also help.” 

“Only if it’s over coffee,” you bargained, peering through your fingers. You were pleased to see a slight flush come to life on Satan’s nose, and he turned away from you to type something on your computer.

“Deal.” 

“Awesome,” you had meant to say, but instead, out of your mouth tumbled “I love you.” 

Satan’s fingers froze over your laptop. It took him a moment to respond, “I’m not -ahem- not helping you to bargain for your affection--” 

“I know.” You doubled down on the sudden confession, delighting in how flustered it made him, despite it being far from the first time you’d said it. “As if you have to bargain for it in the first place.” 

Satan cleared his throat again and shifted in his seat, but didn’t say anything further. You chewed on how best to express your next thoughts before speaking. 

“I appreciate the effort, nonetheless.” You rested your chin on the heels of your palms and tested the waters a little more. “I don’t think anyone else could help me understand this stuff... aside from Lucifer.”

You caught the flash of Satan’s eyes and bit down on a grin as he ground out, “As if that selfish, patronizing bastard would ever lower himself to tutoring. Nevermind that tutoring actually being of any help.” 

“All of you do more for me than anyone thought you had the capacity for.” You saw Satan’s jaw tick. “But you’re probably right. At any rate, he doesn’t have time to help expand my tiny human comprehension.”

“Your comprehension is perfectly adequate. I love your mind, anyways,” Satan grumbled just over his breath, almost as though he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. He slid your laptop across the desk to you, and placed the page of your combined notes atop the keyboard, as well, speaking with purpose this time. “Let’s test that comprehension. Hopefully I’ve laid this out in a way that’s easier for you to understand. The better you grasp the basics, the better you’ll actually be able to make headway on this project. I won’t have you dragging my grades down with you if we fail this, in addition to making me look like a liar.” 

“Hey,” you whined, crossing your arms over your chest. “What happened to being my hype man?” 

“When, MC, have I ever resembled anything close to a, quote, hype man? Or have you mistaken me for one of my brothers all of the sudden?” 

You chose not to respond to that, save for half-heartedly glowering at your demonic study buddy. “Never figured you would kill a romantic moment like that.” 

The flush returned, but Satan had already begun shifting to teacher mode. “Nysrogh’s dinner party will be plenty romantic. When you pass this. And you ruined it first when you mentioned Lucifer. Now, read, and tell me where we need to start.” 

You huffed, and let your arms fall dramatically to the desk. “Fine. boss. Meter’s running.”  

Satan offered one last charm, accompanied by a fond smile, before you began. “We’ll get you where you need to go.”

[your-local-hoemie]

ꕥ Genshin Impact ꕥ boyfriend headcanons, Inazuma edition~ part one.

This is a two part one cuz there’s a lot of characters and my brain only lets me write so many in one go >_<

I’m currently in the process of preparing to move in the next few months and hopefully starting a mortician apprenticeship so I’m exciteeddddd

Summary: Just head-canons about the Inazuma hotties :p

Warnings: Fluff, swearing, maybe a tiny bit suggestive, Gn!Reader, established relationship, not proof-read.

Characters: Heizou, Kazuha, Thoma.

Heizou~

Oh no. Suddenly I’m a criminal.

I sure hope no hot, flirty, pretty detectives come looking for me >:)

We all know how, um, Suggestive this man is.

He’s absolutely not subtle about his feelings towards you.

Always giving you little compliments followed by a wink.

He somehow manages to know exactly how to turn you into a giggling puddle within the first 20 minutes of hanging out.

Takes you on surprisingly? Very romantic dates!

His favourite is to bring you on a picnic under the Sakura’s or a quiet night with you both wrapped up in a blanket reading crime novels or cases he wants to share with you!

He doesn’t get jealous often.

Man has a EGO.

But on the rare occasion that he does, you can bet your ass that he’s going to be snarky as all fuck.

Not to you of course.

No no-

He’ll probably be overly clingy and flirty with you!

More than usual-

But the offending person will quickly get the idea that they’re on the receiving side of his wrath.

Might outright call them stupid hfkvjfod.

He’s into fishnets.

I’m sorry (I’m not) but he wears them too much for me to not believe this man would break the second he see’s you wearing them~

Also handcuffs ;)

I don’t think he’s the type to be overly protective of you.

Don’t get him wrong, he does worry!

He just know you’re capable of handling yourself in fights!

If you come back hurt, it’ll depend on the severity of how much he’ll worry.

If it’s just a few scrapes a bruises, he’ll likely patch you up while scolding you to be more careful!

“Man alive Y/N? *sigh* my occupation is ‘detective’ you know. Not doctor. Let’s try and keep it that way, hmm?”

But if it’s more serious then prepared to be babied hdhsjd

You won’t be allowed to do anything until he’s satisfied that you’ve recovered!

He’ll bring you the best food he can get his hands on in Inazuma along with cute plushies and will even work from your teapot instead of the office which makes him surprisingly more efficient-

If you ever get insecure about yourself then buckle up-

He’s prepared to give you his entire analysis on how he thinks you’re better than Celestia herself.

My guy has facts, evidence and probably a bulletin board to prove that to you!

He might be a little scared to say the special three words (aka “I love you”) at first but it doesn’t stay that way for long!

All it took was him seeing you, face first in a case file looking all disgruntled and frustrated with your nose scrunched up and his mouth spoke faster than what his brain could think.

He won’t say it all the time but he tells you at least once a day <333

He can’t bare the thought of you not knowing how much you mean to him, no matter how stubborn he is!

Kazuha~

I think I’ve made it obvious in my previous posts how pretty I think this boy is.

Like??????? Hello?????

God he would cHERISH YOU!!!

Definitely a little awkward at first but I head-canon that he’s actually really flirty!

He’s just super good at keeping it subtle enough that no one else notices shdufufuejjrifkAAAAAA

When he first started getting feelings for you Beidou referred to him as a literal love sick puppy.

He’s often sit on the end of the Crux (idk what ship parts are called) and write poems and haikus while looking up at the stars and blushing violently while thinking about you.

He definitely didn’t escape the crew’s teasing whenever he’d follow you around and seemed more giggly than usual!

Beidou was actually the one who got kinda tired of watching him run in circles so she set ya’ll up on a date without telling either of you-

Definitely said some cute poem when confessing!

“Like captured water, You hold me in your cupped hands. I flow on your palm.”

Haikus are confusing man wtf.

He definitely isn’t one for being kept in one place but it’s impossible not to notice how much longer he seems to stay around you!

And when feels the time is right for travelling again, he’ll often ask you to accompany him!

He’ll always bring you back a souvenir if you’re too busy to go with him!

Always tells you how it reminds him of you too!

Like he’ll bring back a red/pink sea shell and explain how the colour reminds him of when you blush or laugh so much your cheeks turn red.

He is protective of you but not overly.

He’ll voice his concerns about any dangerous commissions or quests you take on but if you’re insistent then instead of stopping you, he’ll accompany you!

He’s such a sweet, quiet boy so it comes to a big surprise the first time he protects you.

Actually raises his voice and shouts for you to get to safety (like when he shouted for that one dude to stop hiding)

Obviously he apologises after and explains he just wanted you to move so you didn’t get hurt :(

Completely random but I head-canon that he’s close to Yoimiya and every year for your birthday, he’ll bring you to Inazuma and take you to a really beautiful spot then set off fireworks that he planned with her!

And if you don’t like fireworks then he’ll still take you to a beautiful spot with a picnic and just watch the sunset with you~

Thoma~

Pretty boy, good boy.

House wife, even.

He doesn’t believe he deserves you :(

Reassure this boyo.

He fell head over heels from the very first moment!

Every time you talked he’d get so flustered and stutter on every other word hdjjddjd!

Ayaka obviously knew what was going on and you did as well!

The both of you made out a plan on how you would confess to him and when you did-

Oh boy-

He almost started crying ududieifjck

Hugged you so tight for like a solid 3 minutes!

Ever since then, he always picks a flower from the tea house where you both made it official and brings it home to you!!

He’s a good cook so you can bet your lucky ass that you’ll have breakfast in bed on his days off!!

He’d also help fix your clothes if they get ripped during fights!

Ayato would definitely find the situation amusing so don’t be surprised when thoma suddenly gets the day off~

He does get very easily flustered so pda would probably be kept to the minimum unless you want the poor boy melting into a blushing puddle.

He’s not overly protective of you but he does worry himself into a stupor!

Like he won’t stop you going out on commissions but the second he see’s a scratch or a bruise, it’s out with the first aid and a stern lesson on how to patch yourself up!

He’s even made a personal travel first aid bag for you!!

At night when you’re laying in bed, there’s absolutely nothing he loves more than telling you about his day or listen to your stories while you play with his hair!

You’ve both become somewhat unintentionally popular!

Not to mention the people who are just a tiiiiny bit jealous that you’re the lucky one and not them.

Which you totally don’t relish in, just a little~

He can’t help it!!

He just loves talking about you and how happy you make him! Obviously people are gonna talk about how cute y’all are :p

He’s banned you from playing the pot game.

No one really knows how but you managed to give everyone who played it a stomach ache for a solid week.

Boy also insisted on teaching you how to play chess!!

He totally hasn’t let you win a handful of times just because he couldn’t bare to see how sad you looked when you lost

he also just wanted the table to stay in one piece-

This man refuses to go to work or to bed without giving you a good morning or goodnight kiss!

He adores how cute you are when he reminds you that he loves you even if it’s in a simple gesture!!

Ya’ll, I haven’t slept for three days and the hat man is starting to morph into cyno.

Yes I’m totally fine :3

[thedelusionreaderbitch]

Jesper Fahey x gn! Reader - Efficiently spontaneous

A/n: Minors go away, read my other fics for your innocent eyes! (Also, this one has been sitting in my drafts for a while now, and I do remember editting it but I couldn’t be bothered to do it again. So I don’t know how proofread it really is!)

Summary: Jesper has too much energy before a job, you’re sent in to fix the problem

Warnings: MDNI, smut, begging, anal fingering, slight exhibition kink, dirty talk, slightly possessive reader, sub! jesper, dom! reader, edging, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, shitty aftercare, reader is neurodivergent and it written that way because I am neurodivergent, swearing, I think that’s it? You have been warned!

The Three P’s:

[Pronouns used: you/your] [Pov: 2nd person] [Pairings: (romantic!) jesper x reader, (mentions platonic!) crows x reader/jesper]

Jesper is babbling your name out like a baby as you fuck him ever so slowly with your fingers. You’ve managed to find that little glad not too long ago and it had him regretting the promise he made to you not to come. 

With your other hand you pulled his hair up as he moaned against the cold night. You were very thankful that Ketterdam had decided to rain today, sometimes Jesper could be shy, and you didn’t want him to be. Which for Jesper would’ve been weird if it weren’t for the fact you were in a shitty motel right now, on a job where anyone could hear you. 

Even for Jesper this was different, because sometimes he pretended like he still had dignity left to save. 

You were going to make him scream louder than the thunder. 

“Please, please, please!” He sobs as you press down on his prostate harder, before thrusting into it abruptly making him gasp. 

“I’m gonna-” 

You slapped his ass as he trembled on his hand and knees. “If you come Jesper, I won’t let you stop. I’ll make you come until you’re screaming at me to stop.” You lean down to nip at the cuff of his ear. “And then I’ll make you come some more.” 

Whimpering, Jesper shook his head, the dirty talk certainly not helping his situation. Then, at the same time you pressed against his prostate while gripping his cock. The moment you touched his dick he was gone, as he let out a low moan and his eyes rolled to the back of his head in ecstasy. You were sure he was seeing stars.  

Again, he’s left gasping as you rapidly rub at his cock and he falls to his elbows at the movement. 

It doesn’t take long for him to orgasm again, he was so sensitive after the first one. But then again, it doesn’t take long for him to orgasm another time after that too. 

When he’s gaining on four you know this might be his last, because right now he’s truly a blubbering, sobbing, moaning, mess. 

“Too much!” He screams, without uttering your safeword, as your fingers find his ass again. “I can’t-” He’s fucking sobbing at full volume as the rain starts to fall to a small drizzle. He’s too fucked out to care though, and it makes you grin coyly, the whole of Ketterdam was going to know who he belonged to. Jesper Fahey was yours, and you would never let anyone take him. 

“Tell me who you belong to.” You whispered in his ear, as tears ran down his cheeks. “Tell me!” You hissed with a harsh thrust of your fingers when he doesn’t say anything. 

Crying he bobs his head up and down as he screams. “I’m yours!” He screams, surely waking the people in the rooms around you. “Fuck- I’m yours, Y/n, I’m yours!” 

You a let out a sigh and run a hand down his cock, leaving him shivering at the contact. “Good boy.” You start to praise the man underneath you. “You’ve been so good, can you be even better? Can you cum for me one last time?” You question him, as you continue to spread him with your fingers, knuckle deep as your other hand is preoccupied with stroking him. 

He lets out a howl, before cumming all over himself and the bed sheets for the last time that night. In wonder you watch as all the pent up tension releases from his body, giving you time to admire every inch of Jesper. The sharpshooter never seemed to loose that glow, it clinged to him like sunlight to the moon. He was like a miracle, one you would never let go of. You were a criminal not a saint, you were going to steal every inch of Jesper until it was all yours. 

You wait for a few more moments, letting yourself gaze down at your lover for a few more minutes while he calms himself enough. When his breath finally even outs you let yourself speak. 

“I can I touch you?” 

Jesper only laughs, before replying with a quick yes, as you go to pull the man into your lap. 

“I’ll have to clean you up soon.” 

Jesper groaned, wrinkling his nose slightly at the mess the two of you, or well, mostly him, had made. Usually the both of you wouldn’t do anything without knowing you had the proper tools of cleaning everything up. You could be a clean freak, and didn’t like your routine to be broken. Even for sex, the one time Jesper tried to have sex with you spontaneously you had a nervous breakdown. Never again. 

Jesper lived spontaneously, jumping from one thing to the next, always acting so recklessly. Somehow the two of you fit together like missing puzzle pieces, sure, you still hated when your schedule was put off, and Jesper still had a bad habit of jumping too quickly, but the two of you together made it better.

“Ya, looks like we’re going to be having some limited options.” Jesper turns in your lap so he can raise an inquisitive eyebrow at you. “On that topic what brought all this on, you don’t usually like doing things on the go, so I’m very surprised.” 

You give a deadpan look towards your boyfriend. “Kaz knew you would have too much pent up energy before this job so he asked me to... deflate you. I’ve had this planned since last week.” 

“Kaz asked you to have sex with me!” Jesper shouted, as you rolled your eyes at him. 

“No, I just knew this would be this would be the most efficient way to see it through. Probably, Kaz wanted me to play a game of cards with you, but this is my revenge on him deciding I was bait last heist.” You shrugged your shoulders. “I also knew you had an exhibition kink, and I liked the idea of everyone knowing that you shout my name when you cum. So, I think I win.” 

Jesper blinked at you, once, twice, before letting laughter bubble out of him like an overflowing tub. 

“How do you give the worst, yet best aftercare? Saints, I love you.” He chuckles, while placing his head on your chest. 

“I love you too.” You respond, yet holding yourself back from finishing it with something even sappier. 

Don’t you ever forget it. 

Words 1074

-thedelusionreaderbitch

Grishaverse taglist: @kaqua @rika90 @thefandomplace @musical-theatre-obsessed-dumbass @gallysonegoodlung @navs-bhat @sumsebien @dontjudgeabookbythecover @brekker-zenik @alohastitch0626 @brekkers-desigirl @emmsamultifan06

(if smut’s not ur thing or if YOU ARE UNDERAGE please tell me to take you off the taglist and I can make two separate ones!)

[karniss-bg3]

Hi! I really like how thoughtfully you answer questions. I would like to know your opinion about the speed of Kar'niss. Is it possible to escape from the drider?) He climbed the tower quite easily, but how fast and hardy is he on the ground? As I remember, driders prefer ambushes. Does this mean that they are not too good at chasing? Or is it still useless to run from Kar'niss - it is just the way to die tired?) Thank you!

A great question! Let’s start by looking at Kar’niss’ stats.

He has fairly solid strength and dexterity. We know webbing doesn’t affect him in terms of rough terrain and he seems to maintain a solid pace alongside Tav and crew. His stats are the same as the drider monster sheet which helps in the regard of determining bonuses and the like. According to the drider sheet, they have a movement speed of 30ft and a climbing speed of 30ft. Kar’niss’ sheet says he has a movement speed of 0ft but I think this is a typo as he can clearly walk on the ground without trouble. The monster sheet says driders can walk on ceilings while the drider wiki says they are too heavy to do so. If I had to pick I’d say that it’d be unlikely they could traverse upside down because of their size.

Speaking of size, this is where Kar’niss would run at a disadvantage. He weighs 150kg (330lbs) and that is a lot of heft to move around, much less quickly. It is likely why driders prefer to ambush which falls in line with their spider counterparts. Running takes a lot of energy, it’s simply more efficient to let your prey come to you. That isn’t to say that Kar’niss couldn’t catch up if he really wanted to. I imagine he could sprint a short distance at a great speed but would tire swiftly there after. The terrain would also play a big part in how fast he could catch up to someone. If he was moving through a thick forest with a lot of obstacles he’d have trouble squeezing into tight spaces or navigating his large body around sharp turns. His legs do afford him longer strides to cover more ground at a faster pace and he can climb which may allow him to avoid something a regular humanoid couldn’t bypass. A clear field would be a dangerous ground to face him on as he’d have less things to get in his way if he was after someone.

Distance between an individual and himself would play a part as well. If he’s within fifteen to twenty feet of his target, he has the greatest chance to overpower and capture them without much trouble. Forty or more feet away would give the victim the best chance of escape. They can only hope that he tires out before he closes the distance, or they hide in a place he can’t access. Finding a way to disable his legs is also the way to go in an escape situation. Something like grease could do well to trip him up, some sort of bola or other restraints, an arrow in one of the joints, ect. His drow torso wouldn’t be strong enough to drag his body with any measure of speed so if he goes down it’s game over.

The last thing to consider is if he can jump and if so, how far. Just looking at his design his legs don’t look very muscular at all and in fact seem more hollow than anything else. He might be able to jump short distances but I’d say it’s not his strong suit and would require a great deal of his strength to pull off. Wide crevices and the like would hold off his direct pursuit but since he can climb he could get to the other side eventually, it’d just take longer than jumping over the opening. Edit: Turns out, Kar'niss has mad hops. Thanks to the helpful folks who gave me some awesome info! Terrifying to imagine a whole ass drider jumping right at you.

In conclusion, I think Kar’niss can be a deadly force on the ground but he’s at his best when ambushing or climbing. If it’s a straight chase where the victim isn’t surprised they would still have a fighting chance, they’d just have to be smart on how they used their surroundings to shake him. I do know one thing, much and all as I love Kar’niss, I’d piss my pants if a drider ever chased me. Not a scenario I’d ever want to find myself in. Thanks for the ask!

[keexshound]

not sure if this is gonna be a yapfest or not. most likely not since im not going too in depth with anything but here's my ramble on the second season 2 trailer.

so she is talking to joel in what seems to be a therapy session and not just an editing trick. i was confused at first on why joel isnt talking to tommy but then i remembered, maria is pregnant and this scene takes place before the 4 year timeskip. or is at least supposed to. and getting to the firefly hospital and then back to jackson probably took a couple months, so tommy is most likely having to pick up both marias work and patrols cause of the baby. that man is just too busy. (note: even if this scene does take place after the timeskip, maria still has a kid to take care of.) i hope the baby is cute like jj⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ‌‬‭⠀

they changed her shirt!!! not a complaint. i actually really like her shirt. i think it looks cute. it looks like we're in joels house and not ellies shed, or they just changed how the shed looks to make it feel more like a home but im going with we're in joels house because of how much it looks like his windowsill.

jackson.. im always astonished how good the scenery of the sets are in this show. hopefully, the seattle set we saw in a sneak peak isn't going to be the final product and the posters we saw are gonna be roughened up. i won't complain too much if they don't but since seattle is a huge chunk of the show im gonna be disappointed if im stuck seeing posters in perfect condition plastered around when we're about 24 years in a apocalypse

⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ‌‬‭⠀

tommy, maria, and what appears to be ellie and dina on the creek trail patrol. my guess is they're gonna make the huge infected patrol a lot more prominent in the first episode, most likely to show off the infected in a more efficient way since how they act in the game is very well. gameplay centric. i think it'd also install a lot more fear in hearing that joel and tommy didn't show up since it appears tommy is going on a patrol to clear all those infected out.

dina... oh dina. why do you look like a model while you're in an apocalypse. she's pretty don't get me wrong but damn. sad they took away her girl next door charm that she had in the game. im gonna wait till an actual episode that shows her acting and not just 5 second clips of her to rightfully judge but i dunno. i think judging an actor just for their looks is unfair but at least bella still had the vibe that she's in apocalypse. maybe isabels acting will make up for it, at least i hope so.

JESSE!!!!! OH MY GOD ITS JESSE!!!! ITS THE MAN HIMSELF!!! IM JUMPING UP AND DOWN ITS HIM!!!!! IDGAF ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE OH MY GOD ITS JESSE!!!!! this looks to be jackson but it certainly doesn't take place at the beginning of the game. maybe we're getting an episode that shows his relationship with ellie and joel more. possibly dina too. i really hope so, it'll make his presence in Seattle feel a little more impactful and really i think he deserved more. hes my 2nd favorite character so ill eat up literally anything with him in it.

abby... the girl herself. im surprised how much she actually looks like abby! look at her, it's a 5 second clip, and she's pulling it off perfectly already. that rage and grief in her face is spectacular. i pray we see ellie like that too and i have no doubts that Bella is more than capable of doing it.

not sure what this scene is.. im guessing it's an ellie scene cause it looks like her pocket knife. it doesn't add up to any scene in the game, hope she's alright.

Isaac... don't have much opinions on him but his actor pulls off exactly what i think a ruthless army leader would look like. at first i thought that scar was lev but he looks a little too old to be lev, lev is very tiny. Itty bitty thing (affectionate). have we actually even have an announcement on who his actor is yet. i thought such an important character would have their actor announced already but i haven't heard anything.

back on isaac, this seems to be the same place we saw him in the first teaser/trailer. is he pointing his gun in the first teaser at the same scar we see here or a particular someone else... hm...

[sleepy-aletheas]

Haikaveh and their connection to Nabu Malikata and Deshret

Finally managed to write something down for my beloved Sumeru disasters. It’s a mess written over the course of 4+ hours, I have no idea if I lost the plot or not. My brain just kept going, and I’m not sure anymore if I’m actually putting in more info and explanations, or it’s edited into the text in my mind, but not physically. I’m deciding that it’s not my problem anymore.

Enjoy this mess of a word salad. Freshly picked and all.

Alhaitham is a character driven to take care of himself first before expanding any energy for someone else, not because he couldn’t care less, but because his idealism really is just a more blunt way of establishing boundaries, where to be the most efficient is to take care of his needs first before trying to help others (it does feel like a disconnect between social expectation of ‘over-politeness = good moral citizen’, and ‘straightforward boundary setting = rude selfishness’. Again, different topic for another time). He goes out of his way to help others, even to the possible detriment of himself, because it's the right thing to do, and if anything, Alhaitham very much adheres to deeds that are morally good (he saved Sumeru to keep his peaceful life, sure, but to achieve that everyone needs to have that peace too; he went out of his way to be a bargaining chip in a hostage situation when he really didn’t have to do that; he gives books to Paimon and Isak for them to learn from, and even tries to help Collei with giving select reading material for her to have an easier time with choosing a darshan — those aren’t the actions of someone who couldn’t care less about others or feels contempt at their existence). It is something that he and Kaveh very much have in common, and it’s one of the foundational pieces they mirror — that doesn’t mean they’re opposites / antonyms to each other, but they’re complimentary approaches from two directions to the same problem that need balance to work.

(And I wanna establish something really quickly here. All the God-Kings had their own idea of what Wisdom was; they had their own ways of conducting it and dealing with knowledge. Even as Nahida says that despite Alhaitham having vast knowledge, pushing others away as lesser for not reaching some ideal of genius is limiting himself and making it harder to reach true Wisdom, I do think this is Nahida’s type of Wisdom, and Kaveh fits hers specifically. That doesn’t necessarily mean he would fit with Nabu Malikata or Deshret, but it is a fun thought to entertain while cleaning dishes, that’s for sure)

To me for the longest time, Alhaitham has more in common with Nabu Malikata than he had with Deshret. Not in a visual sense (for all we know; the only thing we’re made aware of is that she had horns and was beautiful like all Seelie were), but more in the way he goes about everything.

I think people tend to fall into the preconception that him being calm and deadpan means he doesn’t care for anyone or anything. Alhaitham is called lazy and cruel too flippantly by too many people, when in-game him is very much not that (but I suppose that is a different conversation to be had for another time again), which really pushes people away from making any connection between him and NM, because she was revered and perceived as tender and sweet.

The thing with Hoyo’s narrative foil characters in Genshin is that they’re not meant to be 1:1 perfect copies that deviate because of the Traveler. It’s not just for plot reasons, but also because it’s an in-game character study and a self-critique of characters and plot development. How much of it is intentional doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes the curtain is blue because the color is neat, other times we can fish out reasons and metaphors; unless we’re directly told what the intention is, we can make all the theories to soothe our love for what the game is giving us.

Nabu Malikata was a being holding immense wisdom, something she carried from her time in the Heavens when she was a Seelie and presumably an envoy. She has a lot of names under her belt, and a benevolent perception for her desire to help and give reprieve to the ones that needed it. Her ability of premonition pushed her to create Simurgh for when the Cataclysm came around (even thought she couldn’t see past her own death, so there must have been other ways she knew that would happen, but again, different topic). She tried to bestow wisdom on her companions so they could lead their people safely and not provoke Celestia, but she did very much take a liking to Deshret’s desire to rebel against the Heavens. She did die for more than to just give Deshret a way to gain the knowledge he needed, she also made sure it was a lesson for his ambition and outright recklessness he was willing to undergo for his desires (I do wonder if she knew that it would cause Deshret to lose his mind, maybe she wouldn’t have done it this way otherwise; or maybe this had to happen so that someone further down the line, when neither of them lived anymore, would take up where they left off and actually do it right — a necessary sacrifice, so to speak).

What is most likely NM’s quote in Amethyst Crown artifact, this excerpt is fun to think about: “But ‘eternity’ is ultimately a lie. Intoxication and love could only grind memories down to broken dreams.”

Alhaitham is a very much in-the-present type of character. Lingering on the past ceaselessly won’t make the future better, and neither is running up ahead make the past less prone for regrets. Him being a rational person doesn’t mean he doesn’t take into account either past or future, but he knows that chasing either won’t solve anything. He has a very hands-on approach for external problems, and a delicate slower untangling of his inner workings; he tries to better himself from his past mistakes, but he won’t limit himself for a future what-if. NM had a lot of longing for the past, but went head-first into helping Deshret once his ambition started to sound good to her.

If anything, Alhaitham is the narrative foil of the two God-Kings that shows their recklessness, their passion and desires, and human brashness. The game keeps showing us how human the gods are, and Alhaitham is a funny mirror to put up to them, cause he’s the storyline deviation, where he is curious, but knows his limits. He helps when needed, guides people for them to find their own truths, but he wants to be just Some Guy. He probably won’t become the next Deshret or another Nabu Malikata, because his goal is a peaceful life, and unless he’s helping others, he won’t go out of his way to chase shadows of ideas that are nebulous in nature.

Then again, it would be a tragic story (or at least a very angst filled plot point) if Alhaitham became the Nabu Malikata of Kaveh’s character arc. Because he does have a penchant for demonstration of his ideas, and he is nowhere above being petty to show his point. He has a soft spot for his loved ones, sure, that doesn’t mean he won’t be more direct on showing them wrong when he deems it needed. (Really, Alhaitham is more a narrative foil to Kaveh who is a narrative foil to Deshret and Nabu Malikata. It's kinda funny to me how this works.)

Hmm, the longer I’m putting this into words, the more obvious it seems to me that he is the narrative opposite of them. He shares similarities of visual motifs (Deshret), and the relatonship dynamic NM and Deshret had (it’s interesting how it’s reflected with him and Kaveh). There is just something about Nabu Malikata that reflects in Alhaitham a lot, be it their more passive approach of situations, or them being big supports (or emotional detriments) to their close companions. It’s hard for me to directly point between their similarities, because it feels too vague to me; I just know that they’re reflected, but I’m not sure how to properly explain it so others can see what I mean.

Now the foil part of Deshret is easier to point out. There are a lot of visual motifs that tie Alhaitham to him; from the unique eyes, his best artifact set being Gilded Dreams, the falcoln/hawk/bird of prey symbolisms tied in the design and constellation. Alhaitham is well versed in many types of knowledge circles outside his primary niche (number 1 nerd of all Sumeru fr), and it wouldn’t be a shock if he let his curiosity win and toss him into a lot of trouble (if not directly overstepping a cardinal sin, deliberately or not). He has reflections of Deshret hidden in him, but the longer I think about it, Alhaitham truly is Nabu Malikata coded.

Maybe it’s also because Alhaitham’s first story quest has him dismantle a hivemind, and think it’s stupid to do to begin with, you know, something that Deshret tried to do (and kinda succeeded, but probably not how he intended). It really shows that just because some characters rhyme in the story doesn’t mean they’re one and the same.

Now Kaveh on the other hand is very much Deshret coded, and it’s fascinating to me.

Visually Kaveh fits the Deshret-inspired look. From being a visually similar (Liloupar thought the Traveler physically looked a lot like Deshret, and Kaveh also has similarities to the Traveler, so I give myself this leeway, thanks), his earrings just being a miniature of deshretian architecture motifs and colors.

Kaveh’s fiery personality could easily fit in too. He has his calm times, his depth, his guilt and self-destructive tendencies to achieve his ideals, but it also is a contrast to his more boisterous and energetic moments, his compassion and passion. He feels for others and tries to help where he can, regardless if it causes more harm to him than not. He holds steadfast to what he believes and refuses to compromise on it, even if he loses everything else in life.

Deshret had a lot of compassion and tried to make people not need gods, elevate them to become independent of divine judgment and law, and be free. He lost his companions, he lost his mind. But he believed he was chasing a good cause, his ideal where no one had to suffer and be separated ever again. He also wasn’t willing to compromise on his ideals.

Both Kaveh and Deshret are connected with the sun — Kaveh being the Light of Kshahrewar, and Deshret literally likened to the sun — and both of them had a hand with mechanisms and architecture (Kaveh created Mehrak — his little light — from an old deshretian core, and his darshan is overall more into mechanisms and technology, not just architecture; and Deshret didn’t only create the Primal Constructs, but he did try to build his ideal utopia that wouldn’t have any “worry, schemes, or slavery”, letting little kingdoms and city-states raise up, so really architecture was also related to him in a way).

With all of this, Kaveh falling down a rabbit hole of trying to help others and get into Trouble wouldn’t be weird or out of character down the line. Even if he mellowed out a bit after Parade of Providence, he is a firm follower of his ideals, and no matter how bad of an idea it would be, he most likely would jump headfirst into problems if it meant helping solve another problem entirely.

His connection to Nabu Malikata is also pretty obvious. His best artifact set is Flower of Paradise Lost, and him being connected to art makes it easy to connect him to her in that regard too. Of course then there is his constellation, Paradisaea (who could thematically fit both Nabu and Deshret, but shh), especially his c6: Pairidaeza’s Dreams, which is a direct call back to Nabu Malikata and her Orchard of Pairidaeza. It really shows that even if Kaveh has a lot in common with Deshret, NM’s dreams are more in direct reflection with Kaveh’s, who tries to make a lasting memory of himself even when he’s long gone, and to keep beauty in the world (a reoccuring theme with Nabu Malikata is the flourishing and dying of flowers, their endless cycle of life and death and rebirth; in the artifact Wilting Feast that could be linked to Kaveh’s vision story: “Dreams will always dissolve, their landscapes fated to collapse — this is the true meaning of the blooming flowers. Only by suffering through the destruction of a god’s delusions can humanity learn to rise against divine will…”, it connects the rise and fall of something precious, knowing that there will come a new one after that).

Well, I’m losing the plot now.

I wanted to dabble into some gods that connect to them from irl (Amun-Ra, Osiris, Thoth, Ma’at..) and that became a mess even to conceptualize for this, especially since it made me slip into dissecting Sumeru as a whole, and that’s a lot. I love myself, I’m not gonna do that at 4.50am, thanks.

Could I’ve been more detailed and explore it better? Yes. But I struggle with my head lately, and I’m teetering on the edge of madness, I should stop while it still makes a lick of sense. I might eventually revisit this and expand when I have the mental space, because this is fun and can go more detailed (read: unhinged), the potential is all there.

[thatskindarough]

Oh it was only 3 actually, counting that one animatic on YouTube (that BTW i had no idea was yours! I was pleasantly surprised <3)

And I found it so funny that you have somewhat an idea of who I might be PFFF you can throw the guess, it would be funny if you get it right (don't have to say my name if you don't remember it, you can just go for something you remember NFKDSJ)

also time for an actual question since i'm already here, what program did you used for the animatic? I've always wanted to get into animating but most softwares cost money or are free but really bad so I could use some recommendations 👀

Good to hear there is no imposter lol. I should probably start using the false pfp so people know it’s me but I’m too lazy to change them all 💀 also my guess was right as to who you were but probably mainly because I put on my Aziraphale detective hat and you were the last notification before the ask inbox notification and your icon had a red beanie. We meet once again.

As for the animatic I used procreate for drawing and capecut for composting. Not the most efficient method but I liked it. I ended up segmenting off each camera angle into a different canvas and making any animation for the shot that way. I love capecut because the free version has every editing function you need for an animatic and the watermark only appears as a black screen at the end so it’s so easy to crop out. It’s probably the best free editing software I’ve found. (I also used a screen recording device to record the audio cause even if you buy a song it sometimes doesn’t allow you to put it in the program.)

I honestly recommend procreate if you have a device that supports it. I think it’s still only a 10 dollar onetime purchase. But if you don’t have a device that supports it, I have used things like flip a clip which is free, and the paid version is pretty cheap. I have also dabbled in an app called rough animate, also free (you don’t have to pay for the onion skins) which was also okay. I got frustrated cause of the lack of brush choice but other than that it’s not bad at all. If you can’t pay anything at all I’d recommend this because, unlike flip a clip, you don’t have to pay to unlock the a lot of the really helpful features. Ibis paint also added an animation feature I think so that’s an option. Idk if you need the paid version for it, but I remember only having to watch ads for a minute to unlock all the brushes so maybe it’s the same for the animation feature lol.

If you have a computer set up, I’ve also heard nice things about Krita for animation. It’s free and from what I remember it had a really good timeline set up. I actually tried to use it, but my computer at the time was old and slow and it lagged to much, and then I had a shitty no screen tablet and my hand eye coordination when it came to drawing and writing is quite bad, so it just wasn’t a good set up for me personally. But I know people make it work. I mean, people make this kinda shit in MS paint, if you’re dedicated enough you can technically do it in almost any program (though you may not be able to make it as polished as you’d like.)

Then there is Clip Studio Paint, which does cost money but is way less expensive than like, harmony or adobe. The EX version which gives you a second of free animation per project is a $5 monthly subscription for once device, PC MaC IOS, and the Pro version (which is more expensive) gives you unlimited animation animation access for I believe around 10 -15 dollars a month (still less than most streaming services lol). There’s also a one time purchase version that is $50 dollars, but it goes on sale A LOT for $25! Although I don’t think it gives you more than a second of animation. CSP also has a very long free trial period, for EX it was legit like 3 months. so if you try it out and like it, I’d definitely suggest finding a way to pay for it. It’s actually used in some professional studios in Japan, so if you have any professional aims for your work it’s a good starting platform to get into industry software. However a lot of the nice things CSP offers for animation are not needed in the story boarding/animatic stage, so if that’s as far as you wanna take your animations it maaaaaaay not be worth it unless you love it.

If anyone else has other cheap or free recommendations feel free to add on. I have attempted to make animatics on procreate, rough animate, and flip a clip; all of which I have uncompleted projects on. It just so happens that procreate is what I was using when I finally made an animatic I liked enough to see until completion. Whatever software you do use, just make sure you learn how to use it before attempting a big project. Do some smaller stuff before you try anything big.

Edit to check the comments! We got other good recommendations for computers!

[aris-has-a-paracosm]

For FinFault,

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

💜, WatcherAurora :) (also what do you mean my fics were part of what started to inspire you to write?! What? I'm so honored and flattered! *heart eyes*)

14. Although Finality's Fault is nowhere near done (36k words and not even close to a quarter of the way through. Oh wow this is gonna be a journey!), by far the biggest thing I'm wanting readers to get from the story I'm telling is this:

There will always always always be a reason to keep living, no matter what horrible things life throws at you. The world is better with you in it, and it's okay to hate your situation, but please keep living.

It's fitting for an au set in a dystopian/apocalyptic environment to be bleak at times, and the Ranchers are gonna end up going through a lot, but it's not all going to be constant doom and gloom, and I want that little flicker of hope to be evident throughout.

15. The biggest thing I've learned through this is how to let go of my first draft perfectionism. For my previous oc stories, I would spend hours on a single sentence sometimes. But with FinFault, I've discovered that I actually love editing even more than I love writing. So I'll write until a chapter has everything I want it to include (three or four days of off and on work for about 5k words), I let it sit for a few days, and then I come back and spend about the same amount of time editing it. And the whole process is so much more efficient, and I end up with something that I like way more than if I'd tried to get it perfect the first time.

And yes, Rora, you were indeed one of the reasons I started writing fic! I've been writing oc stories for almost a decade now (longest one was 88k), but as much as I loved reading fic, I was too scared to write it myself. I was terrified that I was going to mess up the characterization of someone else's character if I tried. I had ideas, but I'd never try them. But reading your Ice Walls au and Aquaquadrant's From Eden made it really click in my brain that there's multiple different ways to write a character and none of those ways are "wrong." The way you write Tango is very different from how Aqua writes Tango and both of those ways are different from how I write Tango, which are all different from how other writers write Tango. But they're all Tango. And they're all effectively a love letter to c!Tango, whom we were each inspired by to create art in different ways. And I love that. I love that so much, and I'm no longer scared to tell the stories I want to tell even if the characters I'm writing about aren't "mine" per se. So thank you for being part of the reason I've discovered my love for this art form! :D <3

[yae-energy]

sneakerhead

synopsis: yuji itadori’s top 5 go-to shoes

cw: mild cursing, converse slander

a/n: wanted to do a lil quick smth smth 😋

—

05 - converses : low tops

now, when i tell you yuji hates converses with a burning passion. i mean it.

. he hates how big they make his feet look (megumi calls him clown feet whenever he puts ‘em on LMAO)

. he hates how difficult they are to put on.

. and he hates, hates, hates, how constricting they feel on his feet.

like he dead hates them so much - and yet his closest is full of them because he just slips them on without a second thought. (cause he doesn’t put his feet in them all the way. mf treats em like slippers 💀)

not to mention they be havin some of the dopest designs sometimes. he saves his money to buy all the cool ones that come out but they’re mainly just for show and decoration.

overall score: 4.2/10

—

04 - slides

as convenient they are, he doesn’t like how he can’t just up and dip when need be.

slides are the type of shoes where he can only wear them if he isn’t expecting to be doing a whole lotta active movement. cause the second he starts to even jog them hoes will go flying off his feet LOLL, he isn’t sure if it’s a him problem or what.

all in all they’re comfy to him and he wears them as house shoes more than anything, he’d never wear them out though unless he knows he’s going right back inside.

overall score: 5.3/10

—

03 - crocs

BOYYYYYYYYYYY,,, this man loves him some crocs. so much so that it actually annoys everyone around him lmaoo

like nobara hates that he wears them so much - in public at that. she feels like those are the type of shoes you wear in private cause they’re ugly 😭 but he can’t (and won’t) stop wearing them.

he likes how comfy they are and how they feel roomy. they never feel too constricting and he can slip them on/off whenever and wherever.

PLUSS, he likes that you can decorate them and put all those little charms on them like he thinks its so cute.

he got gojo to custom make one of megumi’s dogs LMAO

overall score: 8.9/10

—

02 - vans: high & low tops (low top leaning)

yuji 👏🏽 values 👏🏽 efficiency 👏🏽

he needs to be able to put them on and get to wherever he needs to go, he’s not trynna sit there all day while he struggles to get his damn feet in the shoe (looking at you converse)

vans (low tops specifically) are ones he can easilyyy slip on and get to movin. and he doesn’t break his damn fingers trynna get the back of his foot in (again,, CONVERSE WE LOOKING AT YOU)

and they look good !!

he has almost all the limited edition ones,, and for his birthday gojo managed to find him the thrasher ones he wanted

overall score: 8.7/10

—

01 - dunks: high tops

you can’t go wrong with a pair of dunks man, they’re so simple but such a statement piece with how many colors and designs they come in.

mf has every pair of dunks known to man, like you name em and bro probably got them in his closet rn.

his personal favorites are the high-top panda dunks cause he’s had them for sooooo long, megumi and nobara have to beg him to stop because they’re quite literally falling off the bone 😭 shit’s starting to talk and everythingg, plus the laces are dirty and the shoe itself isn’t even white no more.

will wear them everywhere no matter the condition cause he just don’t gaf tbh. who gon check him about it?? (nobara will but that’s neither here nor there)

overall score: 9.3/10

—

production credits: thank you to @cosmiles for giving me this idea lwk !! mf got me thinking bout shoes and shit after them hc’s LMAOO

tags: @morosis-haze @jogeto @mypimpademia @miirene @planetlunaa @cosmiles @milesmolasses | taglist

[basuralindo]

You'll Have Me Rise ch.19 is up!

Content warnings for nongraphic discussion of animal death, relatively graphic arachnophobia, mentions of family death and funerals.

Editing by @kamikazequail

And as always, commentary under the cut

-Yeah Jamil just walked straight into that pickup line completely unaware… Jade's never gonna let him live it down, if anyone ever tells him.

-Jade hides his emotions as well as he wants to when he's prepared, but have you noticed he's totally transparent when caught off guard in canon? I think he'd be more obvious than expected if something he wasn't prepared for made him uncomfortable.

-Yugioh voice: "You've activated Jade's special interest! You must stand by and listen to nature facts for a full hour." 

-Yeah Jade totally picked blue for poison specifically because it's such a universally innocuous color

-Jade: "Yeah I got whosits and whatsits galore" *opens door to reveal a horde of roadkill and mold*. Rizz game like no other

-tbh I just love slime mold and wanted to bring up slime molds because they're so fucking cool <3

-Oh btw, another fun psychology thing: If someone has a lot of stressors that they can't control or afford to be afraid of, the repressed terror can manifest as really intense irrational fears to things that are safer to avoid. For example, Jamil can't do anything about his situation and the risks and pressure involved, but he can absolutely obliterate a bug with very little repercussion. I feel like that phenomenon explains the level of fear he has with bugs in canon tbh.

-I also just really love bugs and didn't want Jamil killing them for character accuracy, so I've inserted Jade as protection. 

-I might go into this more in some other post but like, I love the contrast of classic fishtail mermaids in their reef environments vs deep sea monster mermaids. There's just so much room to build on the potential cultures surrounding that.

-Did I need to go on a tangent about mermaid funerals? Will the details ever be plot relevant? Probably not. But hey, world building. (I'm considering Azul keeping a locket with his stepdad's teeth)

-!!! I've been waiting to drop more info about the tweels parents! Anyway, it's a personal headcanon that the twins' social issues developed in response to being involved in mob violence early on. Too much ugliness to handle as kids, and they both kinda broke in opposite ways. Also kinda ties into their unique magic imo: Floyd being expected to handle himself in a fight and needing a defense, and Jade needing a more efficient way to extract info from people. 

-I could go on a whole ramble about my ideas for the Leech parents, but the short of it is that I think Jade and Floyd each picked up some personality quirks from the parent they were around more, but mostly developed emotional responses to balance out each parent's behavior (ie: reserved, observant, and meticulous in response to unpredictable emotional outbursts, vs emotional instability and exaggerated emotional reactions in response to emotional neglect and under-reactivity), hence the two comparing each other to opposite parents last time it was brought up. It also resulted in them balancing out each other's dispositions, leading to the kinda codependent dynamic they have as adults. I think they'd both feel like they specifically came out wrong as a result too. Like, Floyd believing he should be more pragmatic and levelheaded like Jade (like his mom wanted), and Jade feeling like he's too far gone and distant to connect with other people the way Floyd does.

-Mind games can be a form of foreplay, if you're tedious enough.

-I think Jade and Jamil would have similar ways of showing insecurity, Jamil's just more flexible about it. Jade, meanwhile, has ensured a position where he doesn't have to relinquish control unless he chooses to

-Will these people ever make out with Jamil in a normal location? The world may never know.

[poisonheadcrabsalesman]

Quick prompt for a friend - Master Chief finds a tiny cat

-

The second mission to secure supplies from a civilian depot had gone much better than his first attempt. This time John had been prepared for the onslaught of sights and sounds, the sheer number of people around him while out of his armor, and for the staring.

He even had a team specifically picked for the endeavor; the most leveled headed marines he had worked with recently made up the team that loaded into the road-approved warthog for a "grocery run". They stuck to the plan, loaded the cart with Spartan-like efficiency, and were in and out in under half an hour.

Exiting the structure, he relaxes as he finishes his headcount and they make their way to the car unscathed. John won't chalk this one up to a success until they're back on base, but he's pleased at how well he navigated the trip so far.

Kelly's sitting at the wheel of the vehicle, head bobbing to the radio as she scans the parking lot and waits for them to load the supplies.

John was just about to climb in when he hears it. A strange high pitched whine, short and clipped, but repeating frequently enough he can locate the source in the hedges surrounding the store's eastern side. It was distinct, different from the whistling of projectiles or humming whirs of alien weapons.

A signal to Kelly informing her to hold position and he walks towards it - hand hovering near his concealed MK50 Sidekick.

The sound gets louder and more frantic at his approach until he kneels a few meters away, body at an angle to become a smaller target. Cocking his head he narrows in on the source.

A tiny fuzzy creature about the size of his fist and covered in dirt mews at him as it waddles closer, meowing and hissing in tandem. Its eyes are unfocused and blue. John doesn't know anything about cats but he's never seen one with blue eyes, not in any of the pictures that have been shared with him. In recent months he's found out he's the namesake of a lot of pets; cats, dogs, and even a very stubborn tortoise.

The tiny thing must be a young kitten, too young to survive on its own, especially in a busy parking lot.

The choice is easy. John doesn't leave anyone behind.

The kitten hisses as he cups it in gun-calloused hands, fingers gently supporting fragile bones and fur. Tentatively he pets it, scratching under its chin and it vibrates - purrs - shaking its tiny frame.

He walks back to the warthog and the look Kelly gives him is as smug as he's seen her. Her eyebrow's raised and she appears to be biting the inside of her mouth while she turns down the music.

The marines are less reserved and clamor to see what the Chief picked up. He silences them with a hand while the other one is occupied. Their newest addition mews and one marine can't help but "aww" at the kitten before he's elbowed by his seatmate.

Kelly, nonplussed and more pleased than she should be, side-eyes him as he slides into the passenger seat and the warthog suspension shifts. "What are you going to call it?"

"Naming it would look like we're keeping it." He says, petting the kitten and plucking debris from its fur. He turns and hands a marine the card preloaded with credits and nods from the kitten to the store, and three of them are out of the car nearly as fast as Kelly.

She huffs a breath into the steering wheel, content to wait a bit longer.

"Thinking about 'Frederic'." John replies after a moment. The kitten is falling asleep in his hands and he shifts to tuck it against his jacket.

"Oh he would hate that." Kelly doesn't hide her smile now, a slight upturn of her mouth with a bright spark in her eyes.

"I know." John allows himself to slouch in the seat and watch the small ball of fur nap against him.

-

Edit: This fic now has fanart by the lovely fablepatron - link here