#i still have this lyric comic idea for it LMAO

[smolskye]

thought about blue sky again. over 10 years since i read it and it's still so good. it's influenced my writing a lot but not enough because i'm not nearly at that level. the way it made me feel SO MUCH in just a few chapters. one of if not my number one favorite redemption arc where someone known for their selfishness and cowardice realizes the value in doing the right thing even at the cost of his life, where he does so out of love for someone even though he doesn't expect her forgiveness. also a REALLY interesting way of putting a robot in a "human" body (and then a real human body later). i read a lot of other portal fics back in the day and this is one of like.....2 or 3 that i go back to. maybe one day i'll be able to make something that causes as many emotions and sticks to me as much as blue sky did

[sylhea-raemi]

songs i think would be nice akian covers

[talktolwt]

I would like to focus on the music chosen for Hob Gadling's 80s sequence.

I'm extremely late to the world of The Sandman (finally binged it two weeks ago after my mother had been begging me to watch it with her and now I'm more obsessed than her) Bottom line: I'm unbelievably glad I finally watched this beautiful piece of television.

I have yet to read the comics but as for the first season, I have to say, without a doubt, my favorite episode is Chapter 6: The Sound of Her Wings. Death's 20-min segment is a beauty unto itself, but I'll be focusing on Hob's segment today. Specifically, his 80s scenes.

Considering I'm so late to this fandom and exploring all of its wondrous details and themes, excuse me if this has already been noted. I've been thinking about these details over and over but I need to get it out there in the Sandman world and hear everyone else's thoughts.

*Also excuse the terrible photos - Netflix doesn't let you screenshot and I was too lazy to get another app to let me bypass it. Please bear with my photos of my laptop screen.*

There are three songs that play throughout this sequence.

#1 - "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals

I accidentally deleted half my post mid-writing this but here I go again.

As we can see, after the breakup scene, we open up on Hob Gadling (he looks amazing in his 80s look, by the way) and this song plays.

Here are the lyrics:

I mean - where do I even start LMAO.

*Let me just give another note - regardless if you ship Dreamling romantically or not, I will be merely analyzing these lyrics as they are and how they convey Hob's feelings for Dream in general. But, I mean, the songs are THERE, the text is THERE. So do with that what you will.*

This will go for the following two songs as well, but these songs are placed with meaningful intention. Each of these offer a unique lens and dive into Hob's feelings.

I won't be annoying and over-explain anything, but the lyrics are clear I feel:

"She drives me crazy" - cough

"Things you do don't seem real" - in Hob's view, Dream literally is an enigma. Hob has no idea the capacities, the limits, and even the name of this being he meets every century.

"This waiting 'round's killing me" - well.

"Everything you say is lies" - now I wouldn't say particularly lies, but Dream does keep and omit things from Hob. Understandably, Hob would find himself in a confused limbo with Dream.

Here's the kicker:

"I won't make it on my own/No one likes to be alone." - HELLO. I mean, if this isn't the core message and pinnacle of Dream and Hob's lesson to immortality.

As Death mentions earlier in the episode, around 18:10, "Most of us will be glad for the company of a friend."

I feel I could go on forever and ever about the beauty of this episode and how well The Sound of Her Wings and Men of Good Fortune intertwine. They beautifully complement each other as stories lamenting the dichotomy of life and death, and the joys of humanity.

But essentially, Death reteaches Dream how beautiful humans can truly be, and in this pivotal moment, she says this zinger of a line. The camera was initially on Death but for THIS line, it cuts to Dream.

BECAUSE - poor Dream is definitely in need a friend.

Which is then shown to the audience by the 30-min long Hob Gadling sequence that ensues, and we see Dream's aversion to needing someone, to needing a friend.

But I digress - back to the song, and that one line about not wanting to be alone.

That is such a poignant line, because as much as Dream felt alone and needed company, so does Hob? An immortal, constantly seeing the death of others around him, his companions and family long gone, he needs someone.

Considering this 80s sequence ruminates so heavily on post-breakup feelings, Hob is missing Dream dearly. His constant in life.

I'm rambling too much, onto the next one!

#2 - "Shattered Dreams" by Johnny Hates Jazz

Time skip to perhaps a few hours later, who knows. We see Hob still waiting for Dream, alone in the pub.

Hm.

Literally what else could I say. I'm being slapped in the face with pining and angst and longing.

Here are the lyrics:

Some noteworthy lyrics:

"So much for your promises/They died the day you let me go" - this breakup man

"Caught up in a web of lies" - another lie motif

"I thought it was you/Who would stand by my side" - the theme of Dream and Hob being constants in each other's lives

"Shattered dreams" - I could scream. The title of the song. SHATTERED. DREAMS. giggling rn.

"Woke up to reality" - I think that's a very interesting line toeing between the constant references of the Waking and the Dreaming

Basically, I've been noting these evident similarities within the songs to align themselves to Dream and Hob's situation, and it's clear that the director/writers chose these songs with intent of it paralleling Dreamling.

So that makes it even more insane when lines like "From this empty heart" are meant to parallel Hob. Like.

Okay, last song.

#3 - "Keep On Moving" by Soul II Soul

This song plays as the night progresses. It's late, it's clear Dream isn't showing up, and Hob is feeling pretty final about that, and perhaps he's accepted it at this point. Dream isn't coming.

So this is where he speaks to the bartender and that scene ensues.

Here are the lyrics:

The themes of time and clocks are super prevalent within this song, and again it's once more clear how heavily this reflects and represents Hob.

Noteworthy lyrics:

"Why do people choose to live their lives this way?" - I think this also uniquely touches on the general aspect of humanity and one's reason to live/love life. Dream battles with his confusion/slight disappointment for humanity at the beginning, as he asks Death, "Why would any sensible creature crave an eternity of this?" And then Hob helps Dream realize why there's so much to live for. (24:30)

"I know the time will come today/The time will come one day"

"Walking alone in my own way" - Again this idea of walking alone and needing company.

"You'll be in my life, my life always" - Dream and Hob being constants again.

This all goes to say - Hob cares. He cares for Dream.

And I just think that's very beautiful. The magnitude with which Dream's absence means to him and how much their friendship/companionship both means to each of them. I just think their connection is a beautiful thing that I love seeing and rewatching. Wonderfully, these songs give the audience even more layered insight into this connection.

This was super long, and I apologize if I went on some tangents. But I also just couldn't help it, The Sandman is so incredibly rich in its storytelling and its connections and dynamics that I had to write this all down. I also just very much appreciate the amount of care and detail that goes into every aspect of television, and needle drops such as these three songs are no exception.

Thank you for sticking with me through this! Can't wait for season 2!

[venjamyra]

Lyrics – Same Shade as Concrete by Circle Takes the Square

WOLFWOOD WEDNESDAY (～￣▽￣)～

feels a little funny to be making fanart of a manga that started before I was born with music that came out when i wasn’t even one year old yet…

lineart and various inane ramblings (manga spoilers ahead) about this comic that haunts my mind below the cut (its a lot…)

Okay, here’s the line art for anyone who wanted to see it without spoiler talk:

wow, so cool. Sometimes I like the lineart better in some ways and the colored version in other, different ways… I wonder how to find a good middle ground…… such are the mysteries of life

Onto the brain rot!!!

Okay, so this whole piece is kind of showing Wolfwood’s journey toward ‘accepting’ that he is an assassin. He has killed people. And his belief that he is irredeemable, this is just who he is now, stained with blood.

I’m gonna talk about panels 1,2,3, and 4. Those are just in order from top to bottom, so panel 1 is him firing the gun, and panel 4 is him in the river of blood.

So panel 1 is establishing that this is teenage Wolfwood, and he’s killing someone. YES I used that one painting as a reference (The Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabanel). I don’t know anything about it, but it looks cool and I like the idea of an apparently evil character crying dramatically. Throw a gun in the mix and you have me curled up in a ball crying about Wolfwood. Wolfwood isn’t crying here, but I hope the reference shows the implication that he’s crying internally.

Panel 2 is directly contrasting with panel 4 with the volume of blood. I chose the blood to just barely cover his hands on purpose, NOT just so that I didn’t have to draw more hands lmao. Lots of blood on his hands symbolism throughout, because he has his whole thing about it. Anyway, this is like, the specific amount of blood where Wolfwood finally feels too far gone. It’s reached his hands, he can’t come back from this.

shout out to the people who helped me find this panel earlier 😅 @markcampbells @grymmdark

The crosses are there to establish his being surrounded by the Eye of Michael, trapped into this pool of blood. I know with the three crosses there’s some heavy crucifixion symbolism going on. It was honestly unintentional, but if I had to come up with something for it, I’d say in Wolfwood’s mind in this moment, he is the one crucifying people (Jesus, whomever). Again with that ‘too far gone’ stuff. He ‘knows’ who he is now, and it is not a savior. I’m not Christian as an adult and the only thing I did in Sunday school was question the adults or quietly judge them for their logical fallacies so idk if this makes sense in Bible-lore 😭 lol sorry.

Panel 3 hits home on the bloody hands thing, big motif. And then the gun pokes through the panel to give us this connection to the final panel, where we see a second drop of blood, coming from Wolfwood’s own hand, presumably filling the river he’s in. So the entire river is made specifically of blood from his hands, not just blood he spilled.

Panel 4. The big one. Okay, I heard that willow trees represent peace. I don’t know if this is bullshit, but I guess they can mean whatever I want ✨. Wolfwood is not fighting the flood here, just floating along, basically. He’s not relaxed, he hates this. But he’s come to some kind of acceptance. He feels (false) peace that this is just who he is. If he doesn’t get to control who he is or what he does, at least he knows that. This is not the time or place that I’d like to talk about themes of control and bodily autonomy in Trigun--we’d be here forever lol--but its totally that stuff. The willow trees contrast with the crosses here. It is no longer the Eye of Michael holding him in, trapping him in this pool of blood. Now, the willow trees (peace, acceptance) that are grown from his own mind/coping methods are what keep him trapped. I like to imagine the crosses are still beyond the trees, causing the trees to serve as both a wall keeping Wolfwood in and a wall keeping the antagonism of the Eye of Michael out. This is also visual because willow trees look much nicer than mysterious creepy crosses.

The comic basically ends where Wolfwood begins in Trigun. Yeah, he’s got his silly moments, but on a deeper, less superficial (sub-superficial…ficial…?) level, he really believes himself to be stuck in life, unable to change. In the last panel, he’s naked because he’s vulnerable; this isn’t the suit and a charming smile, this is him as he sees himself.

This idea of Wolfwood feeling acceptance with his shitty life drives me insane. In volume 8, after he kinda does his normal assassin work again, he is so fucking sad and angry. I think he tries to tap back into that idea of acceptance, but he can’t. He’s been through so much and seen so much with Vash that he just can’t accept it anymore. Like with the song lyrics as they’re used in this comic, is someone (Eye of Michael, Chapel) goading him into standing in this pool of blood and staying there even as it rises. And then here, he gets a little taste of freedom and just fucking pulls himself out!!! If I feel inspired I could make a part 2 one day where he’s pulling himself out of the blood river or something idk.

All manga panels are courtesy of Trigun Manga Overhaul!

Oh and some fun drawing things before I go. Important disclaimer: I do not claim to know what I’m doing.

The first pic has the guidelines I used to create shape and draw attention. I saw someone say that using simple shapes helps with composition so I’ve been trying that? It seems cool, I like it. And the second one has my lines to remember where my light source is. I kind of shade based on vibes, which I want to work on, but for now is fine. But the idea is that even though each of these panels has days/weeks to years between them, they all have one light source that extends across the comic. It comes across as a ‘lower’ source relative to Wolfwood in the first panel, which feels dramatic. By the time we get to the last panel, it comes across as the sun, high in the sky. I did this because it felt cool.

okay love and peace and go listen to the emo music my older brother showed me yippee!!!

[aardvaark]

Leverage character asks: 1,3,17,45 (your choice on character)

thank you for the ask & for fueling my leverage obsession lol <3

1. Canon I outright reject

honestly i love the character development on leverage, even when it means the character has some negative traits or weaknesses or something. hmm… i think one thing i disliked was hardison being a super bad tipper (some ep in s5). he doesn’t care about workers? particularly after five years of leverage? idk.

i also wish eliot didn’t seem to like cops so much, but thats more of a gripe with the show’s/showrunners’ attitudes towards police.

3. Obscure headcanon

sophie: that she’s trans! love that hc. shout out to @transsophiedevereaux. also that sophie had a drunken one night stand with maggie, which is actually (word of god) canon rather than a head canon, but seems to be rarely mentioned.

nate: nate x sophie x sterling… it’s happened at least once.

parker: so many!! but the one i’ll share is that. uh. she’s probably killed someone. pre-leverage, she’s known to be dangerous for a reason, and she’s been in a lot of awful situations unfortunately. she would probably have done so out of necessity, it might even have been self defense, but yk. it’s still killing someone. and no, i don’t mean the pilot flashback - according to word of god (ie john rogers) she probably didn’t kill her foster parents when exploding their house. anyway, i’ve seen some cool fics about this idea and discussed this topic w @laser-tripwires and i think it’s really interesting for a variety of reasons, but i won’t list them here bc this is already getting so long lol.

hardison: that he still secretly adds to nana’s income somehow (he canonically paid off her medical bills), that he plays D&D, that he likes [insert media beloved by geeks that i don’t really know much about, but i love that people hc him as enjoying the things they enjoy so much].

eliot: my own silly hc that many of his scars are actually from kitchen accidents rather than fights lol

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

gonna answer this one for sophie only, cause i have quite a few answers just for her!

1) i saw a gif set of sophie once with the lyrics of "thief" by imagine dragons, and it was a really gorgeous gif set and the lyrics fit very well.

2) yk the fable "the scorpion and the frog"? at the end of s1, she seems to excuse her actions (conning the team) like the scorpion - that it’s just in her nature, lying is who she is, she’s a thief and this is what thieves do, etc. additionally, it’s what sterling says about her, that her behaviour was predictable because it’s "who she is".

3) the gambler by kenny rogers. bc the chorus is canonically her life philosophy lmao (according to the last dam job).

45. Their favorite celebrity

sophie: canonically, db cooper. she idolises him in the db cooper job lol. poster above her bed as a teenager etc etc.

nate: man, his would be oddly specific im sure. like he reads war strategy books, maybe sun tzu. or perhaps a chess grandmaster, like bobby fischer. i don’t know much about war strategists nor chess players, so if anyone does, then maybe you can suggest a more specific person.

hardison: i know he loves star trek, doctor who, star wars - im simply not pop culture savvy enough to know who his fave actors from those shows might be. BUT. i think it would be funny if his fave celebrity was wil wheaton (who was in star trek, and who, of course, played cha0s in leverage). also, wil wheaton is famously into D&D, video games, comics, and other "geek" stuff that hardison proudly enjoys too. hardison does not see the resemblance btwn wheaton and his nemesis, no idea what you’re taking about.

eliot: i think he would have people he looks up to or thinks are incredible, who are celebrities but only in a very specific field. like a renowned chef, but not a "celebrity chef" as in one who’s on tv. i mean like a chef who is famous among chefs, for being one of the most talented in the world.

parker: i feel her definition of celebrity would be somewhat different to most people’s. plus, her knowledge of the world is deep but narrow - she knows everything possible about thievery and anything even tangentially related (probably a decent amount of physics, for example), but pop culture? not so much. she later gets into stuff like dr who via hardison though, so perhaps the actor of the current doctor, ncuti gatwa. now, there’s also famous thieves, BUT they’re generally only famous because they eventually got caught. parker does not get caught. she would not idolise someone who ended up caught. maybe the thief of an unsolved heist. honestly, parker is famous in the leverage crime world. so. herself? not that she enjoys being a celebrity lol.

[absolutely-normal-about-x]

Okay so yall really like mah X and Sticks post so I have a pitch idea for a hypothetical Rewrite of Worlds Unite. Just a rough concept lmao

Basically Fiona and Cake but with more action and stakes (Maybe a bit cartoony-)

The premise is…a semi multiverse travel story following X and Sticks as they travel across the multiverse to find a way to return to their respective homes soon they discover that there's more going on that they thought now they must stop the Villains plans!! Will they work together to save the multiverse or let everything they know and love fall apart right in front of their eyes?

The Sonic and Megaman stuff would still happen of course but with the removal of the Archie characters (sorry yall). Instead taking place in their comics it be just like worlds collide in their own games. So unite takes place post Sonic frontiers and megaman 11. So both Sonic and Megaman kinda remember eachother so that’s neat! Plus it makes the sequel thing more believable in a way.

Since I’m cutting off some of the Archie characters stuff it allows the X and Boom characters (I will not forgive Xander being the one that ended sigma cause come one X deserves to take out sigma not him-) to shine a bit more that also leads into another fun spin to include….Lyric!

Since Lyric is kinda there for the Sonic boom games I thought it could be the best way to introduce him as one of the main baddies along with dear old Sigma ba- . So Eggman and Wily are terrified of both of them! Fun times :3

(Also I can see Bass, Treble, Sage and Metal Sonic trying to rescue them from their claws, but it’s not gonna be easy and might have to reluctantly join up the heroes)

Plus we can have fun interactions between the X and Boom characters working together to get their friends back and then running into Sonic and megaman’s pals along the way. We been ROBBED OF THE BOOM AND SONIC CAST MEETING EACHOTHER OKAY!?

So yeah X and Sticks having adventures across the Sega Capcom worlds helping folks out, learning about the unity engines, unraveling the Villains schemes along the way!! It would make the whole recruitment montage make sense since the worlds that the heroes go through are the ones that X and sticks helped out so they would be familiar with the genesis portals. Plus it can be a pay off (Or not it depends haha)

An idea would be that the events of World’s collide actually have consequences of the use of the Genesis wave that affected other worlds (X and Boom worlds maybe more). That created more Genesis portals, that’s how Sigma and Lyric find out and team up (Capturing Eggman and Wily) but also how X and Sticks got tangled up in this mess, it would be accidental of course they have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on. Knowing Sticks she might put together what’s really going on (It’s sticks come on) and then X would understandably be confused, serious and just wants to go home but at same time is determined to help sticks and the others before the grand reveal of who’s behind this mess.

Plus I would absolutely Kill to see X having an existential crisis whenever or not he’s gonna harm humans cause it would be interesting and hilarious. But also him properly meeting the light family leaving all sorts of angst and drama (Zero is trying to hold himself together to not Murk wily right now)

Also Golden Armor X (Or an original armor design for it) fighting alongside Sonic and megaman by using the Chaos Crystals. That’s be be so much fun to add.

Of course it’s incredibly ambitious but it does set up things to make things more smoother (if any y’all have more ideas aldjslsj)

[softpine]

→ oc questions tag ←

tagged by @subtlefires thank you!! i haven't seen this tag before, so this was really fun 💖

i decided to do casper to make up for all the times i've chosen coco

→ 5 words to physically describe your OC (do you have a drawing? even better!) (since we already know what he looks like, i chose general descriptions and stole your moodboard idea hehe)

energetic, reliable, persistent, lacks confidence, sweet

→ Who inspired your OC?

at first, nobody. casper was meant to be the... not comic relief exactly, but a break from the heavy ghost/death/trauma stuff in the main story. but as he got older, i started putting so much more of myself into his character. without going into detail, i've learned things about my own family that makes me relate to casper's situation more than i thought i would when i came up with it. i never planned to go more in-depth about his biological father & half sisters because i thought, well, he has 2 loving parents and siblings he grew up with, why would he lose sleep over these people he's never met and is only connected to by blood? it was one of those things where i thought i knew how i would feel in that situation, but i never really knew until i knew. i wish i could say this is the only part of my life i've imparted on casper, but it's not 😅 casper is also the first character we've seen in college since beth, and my college experience was SO much closer to casper's than beth's. so like. it's me, i inspired casper fjksdjs

→ Give me a song to define your OC

soda by nothing but thieves // lyrics:

i once had a thought, but don't know where it went 'cause i've been living off soda and cheap cigarettes maybe when i was a kid i was dropped on my head yeah, that would make some sense

i don't want to be myself it's making me so unwell

→ If I met your OC on the street how would they greet me?

he doesn't make it a habit to greet strangers aside from a polite nod, but if he already knows someone he would loudly call out to them even if they're far away and it's embarrassing for everyone involved – that is, if he remembers them. he's really bad with names!

→ Can your OC be your best friend? Why?

oh yeah for sure. not so much now, but i was friends with so many jock types in high school. i think it's because once those guys find out i'm a lesbian they just treat me like a bro 😌 but they would tell me things they didn't think they could talk about with anyone else. i love being the friend everyone comes to with their problems because i'm telling people what they already knew but didn't want to admit, and making them feel like they came up with a solution all on their own. that's exactly what casper wishes he had in a friendship right now. also i want him to be my personal trainer!

→ 1 adjective and 1 noun to describe your OC

neurotic // i know this word is outdated, but i still use it for myself and i can't think of a better word to describe the way that he manages to be anxious about anything and everything. so much of his personality / habits / lifestyle were formed in response to anxiety (like, he was afraid of staying the same so he changed everything about himself all at once. he did so many sports and he exercises all the time because it keeps him busy. etc.) and the important thing is that most of his fears are totally irrational and not the more common worries people have, even other people with anxiety. it's not like "are my friends secretly mad at me?" it's "i'm going to walk to class today because i'm afraid i'll run someone over with my car" and things of that nature; things he knows are irrational, but that doesn't make them feel less real. but we'll get more into that later

toaster // LMAO... it's a ubiquitous household object you take for granted will always be there. you don't really know how it works on the inside, you just count on the fact that it will. you don't even take notice of it unless something is really wrong with it. but it's a tried and true part of a daily routine and you'd be really bummed if you lost it! tell your toaster you love them today sdjksjd

→ tagging: feels weird tagging anyone after i got so personal here lmao so if you see this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged!

[leenfiend]

I thought the Two Slow Dancers comic would be a fun opportunity to break down my process a lil bit cause this was a lot of undoing and redoing and adding so for any ppl curious it will be under the cut!!

So to start off I actually only thumbnailed what is now page five and six, the original image in my mind was them reaching out to each other in different seasons clothing, I considered just making an animated version of that but then I connected it to the two slow dancers scene I had imagined in my head a month or so back and wanted to make it part of a small narrative:

(I actually did page six first - u can tell by the way my writing is nearly incomprehensible that this idea came to me like a vision in the night)

But then looking at that i said - well surely that doesn’t tell the story enough. I need more. And then I played two slow dancers on repeat for probably an hour while I thumbnailed a surrounding narrative for those two pages and ended up with this mess:

And from there I actually started working on the lineart two pages at a time - I like working on freakishly large two page spreads because to me it helps the flow feel more cohesive, I don’t look at them as isolated pages until I get to the shading part of the process.

But once I sent it to some ppl for feedback and reread it myself a million times I felt like the story still wasn’t reading the way I wanted it to - two out of six pages were “flashbacks/memories” pages and that ratio didn’t really allow for the other four pages to read as a cohesive story in my opinion so I kept trying to workshop two more pages for the front and I went through a few iterations:

I thought at first I would show the outside of the garrison, give the audience more of a setting, and then show the flyer so we know Keith is getting ready for this celebration. But it was too literal for me (even though what I ended up doing was still pretty literal lmao). So then I started with the phone/text messages as a story telling device:

Also this is an example of how I almost always draw the comic panels before I decide what goes in them haha, unless I’m really sure what images I plan on focusing in on the panels almost always end up informing what goes inside if that makes sense. But I finally ended up here when I decided “that’s good enough”

I even did most of the lineart for this composition before I decided the imagery of the jacket was just too repetitive, like we don’t need THREE PAGES of keith putting on a jacket.

So i kind of just moved the left page over to the right, and left the right page blank for most of the rest of the comic process. I finished most of the lineart on the rest of it before I finally circled back and decided to go with a tweak of what I originally thought was a lame idea (I had this image in my head of the lions silhouette against the glow of the Earth for the first page, but with the lyrics “the ground has been slowly pulling us back down” I thought it was just too cheesy, especially because that’s not what the lyrics mean either in the song or in the context of this comic and I didn’t want them to be perceived as so literal)

So this is the thumbnail I landed on for that which eventually turned into the actual final page.

Once I had all of the thumbnailing done the rest was pretty fun work! Just lots of going back in and detailing out the scribbles I had first put down. Now in terms of color, I actually have a secret. Most times I don’t color much at all? It depends on the piece but for most of my comics what I do is this -

I flat greyscale color everything and then use a color curve adjuster inside of procreate to pick a color pallet:

color adjusters are ur friend for picking color pallets i'm TELLING YOU!! I used to have a lot of trouble with cohesive color comps but it's a lot easier for me even without using this method now. Anyway I usually leave it here, in my other comics I don't have any shading or background elements outside of the panels but I figured since I was working so much on this comic anyway, I might as well light it a bit. So I basically just scribbled over the whole composition with a purple marker set on a multiply layer and then erased out the places I wanted light to hit, and then added a soft light layer with colored lights to give it more of a party look:

The only hang up I had during the coloring process of all this was how to color the "memory" pages. I originally just wanted them to be more pastel/blue, I thought that would make them look distinct enough. So I painted/shaded this whole page before looking at it within the rest of the composition and deciding it didn't read well at all and ended up sliding the saturation down to zero and calling it a day:

But I'm happy with that decision because it allowed for the "coming into color" moment with the other memory page and I think it connects better to the rest of the comic visually that way. And that was the whole process! There were tons of other little adjustments I made along the way and other composition things I tried out but I do tend to erase instead of iterate in layers so this is the process I have to show you! As a little bonus behind the scenes, here's the time lapse replay of that initial thumbnail for all eight pages! (it is sideways just because it's so large so if you're on a phone/tablet/laptop just turn ur screen sideways otherwise I'm so sorry lmao)

[arcaneglitch]

fic writer ask game: 5, 14, 15, 17?

5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write?

The DSMP Speed Racer AU (I think I told you about this one). I like the idea but I don't plan to take it any further than in my brain

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick?

Lmao ok. This one's funny to me because I was considering trying to adapt my stories into comics, but ultimately scrapped the idea bc I'm way out of my depth. I can draw and I can write, but I haven't practiced enough with comics as a medium (although who knows? it may happen in the future)

If I had to pick one fic to adapt, I think it'd have to be Requiem for the Departed. I think the story and pacing would work for a film, specifically one with a longer runtime

Tbh I might have to make another post about this going into more detail

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters?

It varies. Sometimes, I'll use songs/lyrics. You'd see that most with my DSMP fics. I believe only one of my Destiny fics has a song title, though more songs probably appear in chapter titles

If I'm not using a song, I'll try to come up with something that I feel encapsulates the subject or feeling of the fic. Sometimes I'll have an idea right away, but sometimes I'll have a whole list of scrapped titles before I get to the one I like

16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles?

It depends on the fic, but usually quite late. Titles are usually one of the last things I think about because I have to write the story before I can find a title that works for it if that makes sense

My first two Destiny fics are still in my google docs as "The Story" and "The Sequel" lmao. I didn't title them until I got to the title field on Ao3

On the other hand, I had the title for And A Song picked out before I was halfway through, and I knew what I was going to call some of the Per Audacia fics before I even started writing. So there's definitely a spectrum for me when it comes to titles

Thanks for the ask :3

fic writer ask game

[bugsinshoes]

here !!! have some angst-filled laurie doodles. for the soul !!

(more under the cut !! i just dont wanna clog anyones dashes lmao)

OKAY SOOOO these two here are concepts i had for the laurie mindscape thingy !!!

dipper, mabel and ford enter laurie's mindscape (FOR SOME REASON IDK YET) and they explore a bit. ford ends up walking deep into her subconscious, entering her repressed memories. he finds a picture frame that catches his eye and that he feels weirdly compelled to, and enters the memory, only to find laurie on her bathroom floor, shaking, crying, with blood dripping out of her right eye. ford is extremely concerned and he's all: "... laurie?" but laurie SHOOTS UP and instantly PANICS !! shes extremely confused and afraid, as she's got no idea whats going on. she tries to get AWAY from ford, but the bathtub is behind her so she can't MOVE, and so she tries to stand up and grips the shower curtain for support, but the force she was pulling at dismantles the pole from the wall and the shower curtain comes CRASHING DOWN and that scares her even MORE and its all too overwhelming and all she can do is just sit on the floor, staring with wide, petrified eyes at ford, her breath coming out in short gasps.

the worst part is she THINKS ford is trying to hurt her because she doesn't realize this is a MEMORY and shes so paranoid and afraid I CANNNTTTT

also laurie had more frequent nightmares after weirdmageddon. she was finally healing after 27 years, but the apocalypse rolls around and it completely DESTROYS all her progress. she tries to calm down by telling herself that bill is gone and that hes dead and that he cant hurt her anymore. alsooo shes got more experience with handling nightmares and stuff now, so that does really help

this is based on the lyrics from the song "shakin' all over" by the guess who !!! (theyre a great canadian band i thought fit laurie well !)

AAANNND a mini comic idea thingy !! this is when lau and jossy are still together and jocelyn is mega concerned for her gf because she isnt acting like herself anymore and things are different and i just dkjfhsjfhurih

my girl is Going Through It :(

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #165

Kissing someone with facial hair, do you mind? I've never kissed someone who had a whole lot of facial hair (at the time we were dating), but I doubt it would really bug me.

Would you ever enter any kind of pageant? Hell fucking no, I'm barely able to attend my niece's when Ashley decides she's doing one.

Do you have sympathy for hobos? ????????? DOES ANYBODY?????????????????? NOT???????????????????????????????

When holding hands, do you intertwine fingers? Girt and I do, yeah.

What's your opinion on Johnny Depp? I think he's a legendary actor more than anything, extremely talented, and I also think he's pretty damn attractive and also seems like a really good person.

If you write, isn't writer's block the most horrible thing? Yes, especially when you really want to write but words are a fuck

How old were you when you met your first love? I was 15.

Did you get ice cream from the ice cream truck when you were little? Do they still have an ice cream truck where you live? We did sometimes! Not often, but my sisters and I were always so excited when Mom was okay with it (like a good parent she was physically there with us, she didn't just hand us money). I have no idea if they're still a thing...

Your last ex finds out you’ve fallen in love with another person? She knew that already before I even cut ties with her.

Who was the last friend you added on Facebook? I want to say it was a former best friend's mom.

Have you ever encountered a black widow? Yes, I know I've seen a few in dark, cool corners and stuff. They're beautiful, but of course I never bothered them.

What letter does your surname begin with? "D."

Have you ever used a muscle stimulator before? Did it hurt? Yes, but only as an actual testing procedure on my legs. It was to see if the problem was actually nerve-related, but it wasn't, and it was a bit painful, primarily on the interior of my knee, THAT was unpleasant.

How many times have you dated the person you’re with now? This is the second time, the first time was only four-ish months and I know I just wasn't ready to date again yet so it never got very serious, I was really apprehensive to let myself love a guy again.

Do you know anyone who has gotten pregnant despite using contraception? Yes.

Would your mom care if she found condoms in your room? No, she's mentioned it gives her the "oh god my daughter's an adult" crisis for a moment lol, but it doesn't make her mad or genuinely upset or anything.

Would you ever get band artwork tattooed on you? I plan on getting some lyrics, however I will never incorporate band imagery (like a logo) with it; the lyrics can still be important to me even if some drastic thing happens that makes me dislike the band as people. I never want another tattoo that equates to love or idolship of a living person; I say "living" because I want a "crikey!" comic pop-up style tattoo in memory of Steve Irwin, but I mean he's dead, he's not gonna get canceled tomorrow lmao. In memorium tattoos are very different.

Do you think the last person you kissed has ever lied to you? I don't know, I doubt it, but given that we've known each other over a decade, it's possible.

Would you ever pick up a hitchhiker? No, I am waaaay too paranoid for that.

Do you think it’s important for children to have a father figure in their life as they grow up? This is very heteronormative, no. Regardless of the parents' genders and how many guardian figures are involved, I firmly believe a child needs AT LEAST one dedicated parent figure, and not any that aren't truly invested in the child's life, because that can normalize dysfunctional relationships.

If you could have one more pet, what? A western hognose snake morph, probably a snow or high-expression lavender individual.

Something you want to buy real bad? A new, good quality phone.

Could you wait until marriage for sex? Yes, it's the reason I remained a virgin through high school despite being in a long-term, intimate relationship; I was religious then and abstinent. I dropped that whole mentality multiple years ago, though, but if my partner wanted to wait, yeah, that's fine.

Do you know anyone who writes huge essays when they message you? Yeah, but I totally don't mind that so long as you're not writing a novel in basically every message. I really really like when someone shows clear interest in talking, it's very reassuring to me as someone who constantly believes I'm a nuisance that is a chore to communicate with.

Do you think your first love still loves you? No, I'm sure he doesn't. I don't love him either though, so fair's fair, y'know.

Were you ever a flower girl or ring bearer in anyone’s wedding when you were little? No.

Has your father met the person you currently love? Yes, it's wild when I remember that this guy's known my dad since my parents were still even together.

[TW: SUICIDE] Have you ever written or received a suicide note? I've written one, regrettably.

Do women breastfeeding in public make you feel uncomfortable? Why or why not? No, and for anyone who's disturbed by breasts being used for what they're properly for, please do the entire world a favor and blast yourself into deep space, please.

What band would you most like to meet? guess i know it's really hard it's not like i'm annoyingly enthused by a band or anything

Do you think you have to be skinny in order to be beautiful? That mentality literally only applies to myself, and not because I believe it, but it's pure societal expectations. I know how bigger people are seen by a large percentage of the population, and it's made ME very ashamed of my weight, while I would never think that for another person. I'm always meanest to myself.

What’s the most disturbing thing you’ve ever been through? A wildly severe obsession with an ex-partner. Now that I'm over that, I can realize how so many things I did were just creepy and alarming.

Are you into PETA and all that? They are way too extreme for my liking, and also way too spiteful towards those that disagree with them. They promote some things I support, but they're just straight feral.

Does your family have a secret? Not a major one, but I suppose there is one among my immediate family: my niece Aubree's dad isn't Nick (sister's husband), she was born before they got together from a VERY shitty relationship. Her biological father has exactly zero to do with her, I think he met her like once as a literal infant. He's a pure fucking garbage human being, and luckily because of how young Aubree was, she has no memories where Nick wasn't "Dad." He legally adopted her as well so that there was never last name confusion. Ashley absolutely plans on telling her at some age; Nick doesn't want to, but too fucking bad, Ashley knows Aubree has the right to know, but I don't know exactly when she's gonna talk to her about it. We all know very, very well that Aubree is going to handle it EXTREMELY poorly, like there's basically no question about it, just knowing how her mind ordinarily works.

Any current family issues? My older sister likes to act like our mom doesn't exist any day but Fridays (she babysits), VERY conspicuously, and whenever confronted about it, she brushes it off with some bullshit excuse. This is probably the main source of stress and upset in my mom's life, like she has cried oceans about how Ashley's treated her since Nick and his family got involved. I can't fucking stand it.

Have you ever picked wild flowers? Oh yeah, plenty growing up.

Which mythological deity or creature is your favorite? Dragons, easy. I have a VERY prominent tendency to be drawn to media relating to dragons.

What’s the biggest spider you’ve come across? Besides the pet store tarantula, proooobably orb weavers?

Have you ever been bitten by anything venomous? No.

Who was the last person you were with that smelled REALLY good? Girt lol, he generally takes a shower immediately before coming here and for some reason I could just really tell the last time he was here.

What movie coming out are you most excited to see? Why? Barbie, it looks super fun.

If you have one, do you and your significant other have a similar taste in music? Yep.

Do you know anyone who has changed their first name? Yep, primarily in trans situations.

Have you ever dated someone who posted a ton of selfies on social media? No, but does that matter...? I'd have no problem with my partner being confident with how they look and wanna document their life???? Coincidentally though the majority of people I've dated just about never took pictures.

Are you on good or bad terms with your most recent ex? Bad.

What’s your favorite YouTube channel? I don't actually watch him anymore really, but as an individual, Markiplier; I look up to him very much and see him as a great person who puts their success to pretty good use. These days, I probably get the most actual entertainment out of Game Grumps.

What’s the highest you can count in a different language? To like a million in German.

Where would you like to be buried? I want to be cremated with my ashes probably spread in Yellowstone, ideally wherever I lay Teddy's, should I ever get permission for it.

Which of the following areas is going best for you right now: finances, work, love life, social life or education? Why do you say this? lol love life, 'cuz the other areas are on fire rn

Do you know any illegal immigrants? I knew at least one, but he got deported after getting involved with crime. He's still in Mexico, I recently learned. Supposedly he's straightened up a lot, but I don't know exactly how much I believe that, just knowing him.

Can you sit for long periods of time? It VERY much depends on what I'm sitting on; if it's cushioned in some way, usually I'm fine, but if it's just a shitty wooden chair, I REALLY can't; I'm so convinced that that cyst removal surgery caused a sensitive nerve or some shit, because ever since that time sitting for an extended period (and "extended period" isn't even that long in the big picture) has been able to reach a point where I am literally in physical pain, like I have to get up slowly or else it's agonizing to stand. I've got no other explanation but a sensitive nerve, because something changed.

Do you have any cavities? Yes, a last one in my bottom left wisdom tooth that's getting pulled out later this month.

Who was the last person to flirt with you, other than your lover? Uh, I don't think anyone else has while dating Girt, so I guess Sara?

Have you ever read a book about a character in a psych ward? No, I feel like that would be really triggering for me.

Have you ever been in a mental hospital as a patient? ^ well yeah, like around six times. I stopped keeping track at like four.

Whose place did you last chill at and with who? Girt's, with him, his mom, his mom's best friend, Girt's sister, nephew, and sister's boyfriend, and my mom came as well.

Do you plan on having both your parents at your wedding? Yes.

Would you prefer cherry Cola or vanilla Cola? Definitely cherry, I remember not liking vanilla very much.

Have you ever tried to draw an anime version of yourself? No, anime has never been my drawing style.

At what point were your parents most disappointed in you? I don't know and don't think I want to.

If you could have a neon light sign that said anything you wanted, or looked like anything you wanted, what would it be? I literally DO want a replica of the woman figure with "paradise" written with it that is featured in Silent Hill 2, in the Heaven's Night club. I'd love to have a room in my house that's dedicated to game stuff (more so for Girt than me haha), and it'd be so cool to have that in there.

Will you cry at your wedding? Oh I basically fucking know I will, my makeup's gonna be fucked lmao

If your last ex said they hate you, you say? I know.

What do you get cravings for the most? Soda.

Where was your senior prom held? The local community college.

What was the theme of your senior prom? I actually don't remember whatsoever.

Do you know what you want the theme of your wedding to be? If so, what would it be? It'd be REALLY fucking cool to make the kintsugi ideology be carried throughout various decor, especially because I want the theme to be black and gold. I think it'd be super fucking pretty and also cute and very factual that we make each other into something even better than we are naturally. I very much want gothic themes, too.

What color Christmas lights do you like best on your tree? I prefer all the colors. <3

At what age did you start puberty? Idk, I just know it was a normal time to start. I remember just how much I hated it and how self-conscious it made me.

Have you ever passed out? Once, I know I almost did at least twice more, but I feel like even a time or two more than that. Only one of those I can explain.

How old is the last person you kissed? He's 29 and convinced he's like, 93.

Where does your best friend live? About 30 minutes away from me by car; he's very close to our former high school, in the middle of shitfucknowhere, you get an amazing view there.

How many people have you truly fallen IN love with? Two. Once upon a time I would've included Sara, but when I compare what I felt then to how I felt/feel with Jason and Girt, they are NOOOOOTHING alike. I do believe I loved her, though. Just not IN love, it's absolutely different.

Has anybody ever called you a tease? lol more than once

Have you ever seen your siblings naked? Well yeah, we grew up together.

What are you doing this weekend? I might actually be going down to meet Girt's grandmother; she's not well whatsoever and has cancer now that can't be treated with how weak she is, so it definitely sounds like she's not going to be around much longer and I really, really don't want to regret not meeting her if I have the chance; almost positive she's the last grandparent Girt has and I want to know her. We're just not 100% yet on what day they're going, and I also want Girt to ask his family if they're all even good with me coming; I can't imagine a world where they would care at all, his mom's probably gonna get on me for even checking lol, but the fact is that right now I am just Girt's girlfriend and I don't want to be overstepping into territory that would make anyone uncomfortable, especially since like, what if this is the last time they see her? I just want to know no one's bothered by me coming along. I know Sunday Girt and I will definitely be hanging out.

What’s your favorite hair color for girls? Probably pastel dyed colors, like gentle pinks, purples, oranges, etc. That's especially what I want on myself, but I really just liked colorful dyed hair in general, on anybody.

Does your first crush know you liked him/her? I never told him, so there's no way he absolutely knows. He mighta suspected it, I dunno.

Has anyone ever taken your clothes off of you before? Yeah.

What was the last seriously painful thing that happened to you? I recently stubbed my toe real fuckin hard.

Do you believe in Judgment Day? Sure don't.

Do you have a picture of you kissing someone? Yes.

If you had $100 dollars, how would you spend it? Save it towards getting a new, good-quality phone. I'm kinda thinking of offering human photoshoots again just because I wanna work towards this before Christmas...

You were given the opportunity to get a new cellular device, what do you choose? ... oh lol, I actually am not sure. I'd have to research and ask others.

Ever physically fought with a member of the opposite sex? No, only gentle playfighting with a partner that by no means was even remotely genuine "fighting."

What was the last thing you tried for the first time? A fruit smoothie this morning, I'm officially into those as breakfast. Today's I didn't like though, we didn't have nearly enough peaches so it mostly tasted like banana and cinnamon and I wasn't into it.

When was the last time someone admitted to having somewhat of an attraction to you? Well Girt.

Do you prefer to have more or less in common with your significant other? More.

[decadentrot]

Spy X Family but its Bittersweet

I kinda just had a small idea on the lyrics "Woke up to Horrible. Pitiful. Fictional." But then it spiraled out of control. Okay get ready for this long plot au thingy:

Anya knows her family is a little more than dysfunctional, but nevertheless, they make it work, especially since Anya knows deep down, they do have real feelings for each other. In fact, as she lays with her parents, she thinks about her past and how those 'real' families that adopted her never felt as real as Loid and Yor. And then we get the montage of the Forger family getting together and having heartfelt moments until (and this is where i stray a bit from canon lmao) Anya is staring at the fireworks with Loid and reality comes back reminding her of the mission that is miraculously holding this family together. And I'd imagine its kinda daunting for a child to have that much pressure 'to save the world' despite Anya's happy go lucky view on it. However, Anya keeps on going to school and tries complete her part of the mission. But then she sees how much Damian's father does not care about him and it makes operation strix even harder on her, but she has to do it for world peace. Eventually Loid does meet up with Donovon and the mission is completed and he has to make he has to leave/fake his death. (I tried to imply this but basically Yor tries to be a single mother to Anya but having her well liked and successful husband leave her makes the neighbors sus and they end up accusing Yor of being a traitor causing her to leave Anya to once again be orphaned. Also side note, I love Yor, I think she's the glue to the Forger Family :D)

Best girl Becky basically forces her family to adopt Anya so now they're sisters and Anya can keep attending Eden. Anya eventually grows up and becomes imperial scholars with Becky, even becoming actual friends with Damian, Emile, and Ewen. Cue montage of them hanging out and bullying Damian with love. While out studying though, they steal some of Damian's hw and as they are making their great escape, she sees Eden is having a family picture thingy and hears the thoughts of a very familiar man. and Dun Dun Dun, its Loid in disguise with a new fake family for another mission.

Obviously Anya's heartbroken but then Damian comes to the rescue! In his mind, he sees the family picture day and thinks Anya is sad b/c of her lack of a family, but then he reminds her (that he also got a fucked up family lmao) and that they can create their own found family from their friend group. Nevertheless, Anya is cheered up and is finally coming to terms that she spent so long clinging to her vision of a perfect family and instead, she should appreciate the bonds that she makes as they come and go. No family is perfect afterall. And even though the Forger family is disbanded, she can still look back on those memories with fondness. As she sees Loid recognize Anya too, she tries to subtly give him closure so he knows his little girl is doing good and he can keep going making sure other little girls are saved and living the good life too.

And who knows, maybe in another life, Loid, Yor and Anya can actually spend the good life with each other.

Edit: I decided to make a sequel comic:

Pt 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4, Pt 5 ( Index)

[nonbinarygerard]

sorry for my gerard and grant morrison autism rant but i need to talk about them. so the theme of gender through out gerard’s lyrics it really reminds me of grant morrison’s comics specifically doom patrol and the invisibles, some of my favorite pieces of art ever.

if you haven't read doom patrol its about a group of outsiders who are superheros and as grant said in their forward (im kind of paraphrasing but this is the vibe) this comic is for all the weird kids who relate more to robot men and people in bandages than actual people. so the autistics lmao. if you ever read doom patrol they just all read as autistic (soz but they do) and either trans coded or explicitly non cis or trans like rebis, essentially nonbinary (both male and female) god like superhero or danny the street a trans gay sentient street. im so obsessed. it has a lot of representation of the gay and transfem community. grant puts so much of themselves into their work they said if they haven't experienced they wont write about it and also gerard writes metaphorical stories but you know they are about real shit they went through. but i dont think they both realised, or maybe they did, how much their art is about not only the abstract idea of gender but their gender and using it as a space to experiment. but its not like doom patrol is about overtly the gender struggle or being nonbinary, (grant is out as nonbinary if you dont know) its about this superhero squad right but reading in 2022 god its quite obvious it is. like revenge is about a man who makes a deal with the devil to get make his female lover, but obviously its so much more about than just that.

when grant wrote a transfem character, lord fanny, into the invisibles they were like well i have to do drag now to know what its like! and the way gerard said they used their persona on stage to explore and express their femininity, perhaps not to full extent they wanted until the cheerleader outfit though i assume they would like to do more. but i just love thinking about how their art both gave them a space to explore who they were and their gender in a way they never thought they could really do in their lives before.

imagine gerard reading doom patrol and the invisibles as the issues were coming out and how much it must have meant to them as mcr means to us. i want to emphases how explicit the lgbt representation is and how its such a massive element of the comics you cant just make the characters cis and you wouldnt notice, you cant just make the gays straight by changing their pronouns. many characters are plots are about the lgbt experience, so may different experiences. i feel like no one recognizes them for the amazing lgbt fiction they are, and despite some of the language being a bit of date, the exploration of the queer themes still hold up today and honestly is better than a lot of mainstream representation we get (sorry but im kind of right).

i just have so many grant and gerard thoughts sorry i yet again could write so many essays about them i love them both so much.

[spacerockband]

Rewatching your animations and animatics is certainly inspiring. It's making me wnat to make my one stuff. But I must ask, what is your general animation process?

you sent this so long ago and i completely forgot to answer it im so sorry!!!

uhh my animation 'process' is actually a nightmare fueled by me working on random pieces that i get inspiration for in random orders hours and then dropping them and ignoring projects for weeks or months at a time. if you want actual specifics, though, i use clip studio paint for animation and stills and export those to adobe premiere to edit the videos as a whole! (probably going to have to find another vid program eventually because my college gives us access to the adobe suite and i really don't want to pay that subscription, though)

(also have used photoshop and autodesk paint for animating in the past both of which suck in their own special ways. autodesk does have a “flipbook” type style which was helpful to start animating on though, i just don’t like other parts of the program. clip studio ive found is the best program once you get over the extremely non-intuitive format and finally watch a how-to video, as i refused to do for a while)

for animatics specifically i often use not a whole lot of actual frame-by-frame animating, and often use more storyboard style still frames that i cut in premiere to get timing right- but as ive gotten better at animating i find i do this less and use more frames. this... obviously takes longer though

usually for animatics i fluctuate anywhere between 6-12fps, most often settling on 8 even though this is NOT the standard and im going to have to reteach myself a lot of timing stuff probably when i go back to 12. in my defense animating a bunch of long stuff by yourself is hard though and the cheap clip studio only lets you animate 2 seconds at a time. which is. ugh.

ummm oh also i often do really quick thumbnails in my sketchbook with the general expression/lyric or audio/pose and angle layed out so i have a reference point. it's very important to give yourself a little map to follow especially if you leave a project unfinished for months and forget everything you were going to do with it.

as for the animating itself lots of timing stuff i end up re-doing once or twice to make sure it fits the audio or music im timing it to (which i do a lot while im also teaching myself), and then go in and clean it up (or,, not, i probably should clean things up more than i do, though)

honestly animatics mostly was me jumping from doing comics to doing comics with audio, and then gradually working in animation skills as i figured them out lmao. (and taking an animation class, but i didn't start that way and neither do a Lot of animators)

OH! and learning about film was actually really really helpful for me in starting animatics- knowing about shots, timing, film theory stuff- and of course scott mccloud's making comics is a graphic novel ill never stop heralding.

i have no idea if this helps but i tried to cover as much as i could!! 

[melancholia-cressa]

Weakness

So, one random morning, I was listening to a certain song for the first time. Once the lyrics sunk in, I just had this idea for a Dio and female reader-insert fic. Hope you enjoy it, even if I do hate the guy lmao.

warning: angst, implied child abandonment, mentions of blood and death, swearing, and minor spoilers for those who have not finished Part 1

Addendum: I actually forgot to mention that I based my interpretation of Dio's personality and thought process mostly from the Over Heaven light novel. It's a good read and it helps you understand his character better, so I say give it a shot

                         •:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

"How many times has it been this week?"

Dio grunted, turning his cheek away from the girl in front of him. Your arms were crossed over your chest with a brow quirked in a silent question. He felt the bruise on his cheek sting and smart by the slightest brush of the wind. If anything, the painful sensation was intensified by your glare. His tongue flicked over the cut on his lip in a fruitless attempt to wipe off the blood. Your exasperated sigh reached his ears; nothing more than a whisper in the breeze.

"Come here, you stubborn mule." Before Dio knew it, you had grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the bustling streets of urban London. Passersby didn't spare a glance for the two teenagers dressed in soiled commoner clothes.

Dio, hoping to spare himself from the embarrassment of allowing a girl to drag him around, watched the crowd go about their mundane activities. Women gossiped with each other, hands covering their mouths to stifle scandalized gasps, while men languidly talked about adult matters—business and what other dull subjects they had in mind. His gaze drifted to the hollowed junction between a clothing shop frequented by aristocrats and an apothecary that had seen better days. The blond already sensed the death and neglect in the air before the sight made his skin crawl. He caught a glimpse of a man in tattered rags whose back hunched over, shoulders sagging from the weight of his head tucked towards his chest. His hand loosely held the neck of a bottle of booze, empty and hidden in the shadows. The hairs on the nape of Dio's neck stood on end, but a harsh tug from you brought him back to reality.

"We're almost there," you told him. You looked at him from the corner of your eye before focusing on the road ahead. Your hand, small and thin with a bony wrist, squeezed his arm before abruptly jostling through the crowd. The throng of people parted, cleaving a path towards the outskirts of the city. Dio scowled, directing his attention to the cobblestone path and ignoring the pain blossoming in the palm of his clenched fist. Murmurs from the socialites rang as clear as the church bells, but you paid no mind to it. Something about your indifference made his indignation and annoyance worsen; his blood dangerously close to boiling over what little patience he had. Another squeeze of his arm and a quick glance from you told him this was a losing battle, one he had never won before. With a scoff, Dio grudgingly remained silent and continued to let you drag him.

From how long Dio knew you and vice versa, he wouldn't be surprised if you somehow noticed his apprehension and discomfort. He never understood why you went out of your way to help him. The first time he met you, Dio had slapped your hand away when you tried to help him off the ground. He expected you to either cry or throw a tantrum, like all the other girls he observed from his time in the slums, but you didn't. Instead, you looked him in the eye with a glimmer of emotion Dio couldn't describe.

"Sod off. I'm helping you, and that's that." The look in your eyes remained even when you roughly pulled him up and dragged him back to your home to tend to his bruises and cuts. Now, here he was again, being dragged by you and your insufferable pity suffocating him. Its spindly fingers ghosted over his neck, which uncomfortably tickled his skin; sharp nails poking the soft flesh that one squeeze could puncture it. Every time your eyes met his, Dio could see the swirl of indiscernible feelings in your gaze, forlorn and soft, just like his deceased mother's. The one who died thinking about others on her deathbed and wishing his son to do the same. The woman who lost her life in return for compassion and kindness. You resembled his mother—the gentle grasp on his arm, the feather-light brush of fingers tucking a lock of his hair behind his ear, the small smile that crinkles the corners of her eyes, the warmth in them—to the point where he found it disgusting and wretched.

He hated it, everything about you, but why did he still keep you around?

The cold, trickling sensation that dripped down his cheek made him jump in his seat. A cough echoed in his ears, followed by a faint snort that told him someone refrained from laughing at him. The corners of your eyes wrinkled in mirth while you held a cold, wet rag to his bruised cheek. He must have looked comically bewildered because you stuffed a fist over your mouth to keep in your giggles. A frown tugged the corners of Dio’s lips as his brows furrowed.

“What are you laughing about?”

“Oh, nothing,” you hummed. Your free hand grabbed his to replace the other one holding the cold rag, “Hold still while I get some more ice from the ice box.”

With that, you left with your skirt swishing from the rush towards the kitchen. A grunt rang in the living space, courtesy of the blond begrudgingly holding the cool cloth to his bruise. Upon looking around, he noted that nothing much had changed from the last time he was here (which was around a week). Moth-eaten curtains hid the windows, most likely coated in dust and grime, and the floorboards creaked at every step you took. The wooden chair he sat on felt cold and sturdy, indicating how you rarely sat on it due to your apprenticeship in the city, while the table across him bore scratches hidden under a doily you embroidered. A basket with a few apples and grapes tempted him, but he didn’t act on it. The house, smaller than his own, is located on the outskirts of the city, and he still couldn’t understand how you lived here by yourself like this. Knowing that women can’t own property of their own, Dio had asked you a question: how did you keep the house to yourself?

“I lie about father sending me on errands,” was your simple reply despite the fact that your parents were long gone. One morning, Dio had found you dragging your feet in the streets and, when you had suddenly leaned into him, the quiet sniffles told him everything. He had taken you home that night—damn his father, he never even cared where he went as long as he brought back a bottle of alcohol—and stayed upon your request. The moment he led you to your room, glimpses from an open door showed him emptied drawers and a barren wardrobe. A drawer box was left hanging from its cabinet, as if it was pulled out in haste. The candle was barely touched. Its wick remained spotless and barely any wax dripped down the candle holder atop the cabinet. He didn’t need to see the rest of the room to know what happened.

His ten-year-old mind didn’t know why he stayed, much less took you back to a cold, lifeless house. Yet, he did all that and more—he kept you by his side without a single, logical reason. You didn’t follow him around like a lost puppy would. If anything, he seemed to be the one drifting anywhere near you. He would wander the slums and traipse through the bars for scraps, mostly booze for his deadbeat father, then his gaze would land on you. You were there every single time, whether it was for apprentice work in that dress shop or buying bread in the bakery, and it drove him mad. Dio, the one who survived alone in this shitty reality of his, subconsciously seeking your company like a besotted fool. The very thought makes him scoff and laugh. Every time he asked himself about these coincidences, he came up blank. His mind conjured nothing but the image of your tear-stained face and the devastation that set itself in place of your usual smile.

Dio didn’t know why, but he’d rather not see you in that condition again. Never.

The creaking floorboards announced your arrival. With a sweeping flourish, you switched the warming rag with a new one wrapped around ice and firmly pressed it to his cheek. Dio hissed, throwing you a venomous glare at the amused smirk on your face. You shrugged, the damning smirk remained, and only laughed when he ripped your hand off the rag to grasp it on his own.

“Stop acting like a child,” you tutted, mocking him as if he was the child in the situation. Heat crept up his neck and ears, skin flushing a slight red. Whether it was from embarrassment or indignation, he didn’t know. All he knew was the annoyance fluttering in his stomach and the twitch of his fingers, ready to smack your hand away should it be necessary. Another laugh came from you, and the fluttering feeling increased tenfold.

“We are children. Speak for yourself,” Dio snarled, but this only earned him another smile from you. The soft, small one that always resembled his mother’s.

He hated it, how you sorely reminded him of his mother, but why won’t he leave?

                         •:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

“Oh, aren’t you…”

Your wide eyes shifted into crescents, a smile gracing your lips, as you told Jonathan your name. The blue-haired aristocrat gently took your hand and kissed its knuckles, which caught you by surprise. The slight flush of your cheeks said it all. Dio could feel his eye twitch at the predicament unfolding in front of him.

Is this what it felt like when God has forsaken you? Not that Dio believed in the supernatural, but it best captured his feelings at the moment.

He coughed into his fist, diverting your attention away from his stepbrother, and asked as nonchalantly as he could, “I thought you’d be working in the dress shop today? You told me you couldn’t come to the rugby game.”

“Oh, w-well…” You trailed off, fiddling with your thumbs and looking away from the blond. You gnawed your bottom lip, a tic Dio associated with nerves, as your eyes flitted between him and Jonathan. Somehow, this irked him more than it should. Jonathan watched the scene in curiosity, only recognizing you from the time he had seen twelve-year-old Dio walk after you in the city once. The oblivious boy asked about you, and Dio immediately glared at him until he was cowed into silence. Dio was about to demand an answer—childish, really, but his patience was being tested—until you finally answered him.

“Mrs. Smith allowed me to leave early—” once she knew you were playing, was what you thought but chose not to divulge that information—“so here I am.”

Dio let out an amused huff, the swell of relief almost choking him, “Well, what did you think of the game then?”

You hummed, placing a hand on your cheek with a mock thoughtful expression. Dio subconsciously tapped his shoe on the grass as he awaited your response. The raucous beating of his heart dulled his senses the longer you mused, which wasn’t that long in all honesty. It only took a mere three seconds before you spoke.

“I think you and Jonathan were amazing. I would have never expected him to pass the ball to you, then you taking the winning score.”

Dio would have basked in your compliment, which was a rare occurrence unfortunately, if it weren’t for the fact that Jonathan was included in it. Regardless, he sported a triumphant grin and clapped you on the shoulder with a hearty laugh. Your eyes widened in surprise, but this had gone unnoticed by Jonathan, who knew nothing of your relationship with Dio, and the man himself. The confusion swarming your mind remained even when Jonathan bashfully grinned and expressed his gratitude.

“Oh! Well, thank you, but this victory is all because of Dio,” he told you. You sighed, knowing that would stroke Dio’s ego, but the latter felt his heart stutter at the sight of your smile. If he didn’t despise Jonathan and plotted to take the Joestar fortune for himself, then he would have been grateful to Jonathan at the moment. That was not the case, but he took the compliment in stride with a boastful grin.

Unfortunately, his heart dropped when you dismissed it with a wave. “Nonsense! You deserve the recognition as much as he does!”

It felt wrong seeing you smile at Jonathan; the one that always reminded him of his mother. His blood simmered under his skin as his jaw clenched, teeth painfully grinding together. His heart hammered in his chest; mind screaming and urging him to lead you away from the spoiled, ignorant Joestar. He didn’t like this: how you and Jonathan are in the same space and breathing the same air. He felt those ghostly fingers grip his throat and prick his skin, the phantom sensation of nails scratching the sensitive area. Yet, he kept the polite smile and the pretense that he’s friends with his stepbrother. Dio Brando will get everything he wants soon. He can’t afford to ruin his carefully sculpted plan all because of a girl.

You are not worth the repercussions.

                         •:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

“How many times has it been this week?” You smiled, but the disgust and spite associated with the expression disappeared in a sharp inhale from Dio.

Blood stained your dress, splattered over your skirt and apron, as your fingers clutched at the arm embedded in your torso. Drops of blood found their way to your boots, the worn leather speckled with scarlet dots. A cough sent a spurt of blood to dribble down the corner of your lips as a terrified cry of your name echoed in the hall. Jonathan—it was Jonathan’s voice, followed by the voices of his companions Dio didn’t even bother to acknowledge. The muted horror of what he had done registered in his mind, and the blond vampire immediately ripped his arm away from you. The force propelled your body forward, falling towards the stone floor of the castle, but an arm hooked itself around your waist.

“You bloody idiot,” Dio hissed, dropping to his knees from the momentum of capturing you. One of his hands cradled your head, fingers buried into your hair, while the other held your body flush against his chest. “You bloody fucking idiot.”

“How many times have you taken lives this week?” Your voice warbled, hints of melancholy in your teasing tone. Dio briefly barked orders for the zombies to attack Jonathan and his comrades before he returned his attention to you. His heart clenched, cracks starting to form at the unsightly hole in your stomach, but his rage at what you have done made his mouth run.

“Why?” One of his arms supported your back, gripping you closer in a futile attempt at clinging to your life. He had no warmth—no comfort to spare for your dying body. It was the first and only time Dio cursed the consequences of his immortality, but he couldn’t dwell on that now. Not when you, the girl he had known since childhood and the one he shared a strange bond with, were waning between the realm of life and death. You looked at him, and Dio’s rage grew at the soft smile still on your face. It spoke of promises and hope, the things Dio had forsaken ever since his mother died and his father began to further drive a stake into his future.

They were empty and meaningless, but not with you.

“Why?!” He demanded, visibly trembling at your silence. Dio didn’t need to elaborate. You knew what he wanted to know. He wanted to know why you jumped in front of Jonathan to take the hit. The light in your eyes began to dim, but you shakily placed a hand on his cheek. The same bruised cheek you had tended to before his father died and he had been adopted by the Joestars. The memory made Dio shudder and he moved to evade your touch, but you stubbornly clasped his cheek with the remaining strength your fragile, bleeding body had.

“Should there be a reason?” You rasped, chuckling a little. The gesture resulted in another harsh cough and more blood to spill from your mouth. The red coated your lips akin to the lipstick of those aristocrat beauties Dio observed during the parties George Joestar hosted. The color mocked him, taunting him for his dependence on the wretched substance. The vampire’s eyes widened, then narrowed into slits. The rage festering inside him threatened to break through his cool façade. He was about to snap at you for your foolish remark when your thumb ghosted over the skin under his eye.

"This is a first," you whispered, chest heaving and eyes flickering between dark and light. "I thought I'd never see the day you'd cry."

"Save your breath," Dio fumed, cursing once more for the obvious tremor in his voice. "Just save your strength. I can save you—just—"

"Silly boy," your smile grew as you looked into Dio's eyes, finding semblances of the bruised boy you had bumped into when you first met. "I wish you wouldn't look at me like that, or I might regret my decision."

Before Dio could say anything, scream at you for your audacity in your last moments, your lips brushed against his cheek. His breath hitched and his hold on you slackened the tiniest bit. He felt your lashes flutter over his pale skin, the receding warmth of your body, and the dainty caress of your hands on his cheeks. Faintly, in the back of his mind, he yearned for more. Dio yearned for more time with you—to relive the days when you two were nothing but gullible children in a world dominated by greed and power-hungry beasts lurking beneath beautiful masks.

The moment shattered when your body sagged against him; your head lolled to the side and unceremoniously bumped against his shoulder. The blood from your lips marred his skin, but he paid no mind to it. His hands scrambled to hold you—keep you close to him—as his breath came in short, panicked bursts. Dio didn't care if he looked like an idiot in front of his army. He didn't care if Jonathan and his parade of fools saw him in his moment of weakness.

He only cared about you.

He lifted a hand, shoulders shaking a bit, to take a look at your face. The soft smile you always adorned, one that lit your expression, now painted itself on your pallid complexion. Your eyes remained close, and you looked nothing but peaceful the moment you died in his arms. The blood on your clothes and the hole he created didn't deter nor ruin your blissful image. He hated it. He always hated that smile.

It was the same smile his mother gave him before she died.

The ghostly, spindly appendages found their way around his neck. They ruptured his skin and crushed his throat as the back of his eyes stung. A lone tear dripped down his cheek and landed on your own, devoid of the flush it once had when you were still alive. A silent, choked sob slipped past his lips and he brought you closer; his nails digging into your arm from how tight he gripped your corpse. He brought your face into the crook of his neck. Dio couldn't bring himself to look at you, knowing what you meant by your last words.

You wanted to die as a human. This thought made him curl his body over yours, shielding the ghastly sight of your corpse from the others, if only to provide him some sense of comfort that you didn't shun him. You never did, not when you saw him discard his humanity and not even when you decided to join Jonathan to search for him. Dio never understood why you'd follow him to the ends of the earth. He never understood why you didn't leave him when he chose to become immortal. He never found the answers to these questions. Although, he understood why he never left you—he saw himself in you, a girl abandoned by her family and scorned by society. Dio couldn't find it in himself to leave you; his pride prevented him from stooping to their level. There was another reason, but the crushing weight of this revelation only served to choke him in his guilt-ridden wrath.

He loves you.

[bronwiebear-brad]

Giiiiirl! Listen this I know u only write about Bradleyboy but I see that u fancy the holland boys and haz 😏😏 (who doesn't right?) so pleaseeeee write something with them, pleaaaaaaaaase 🥺love you writing so much it would mean the world for me 💛

A/N: You all know that I cannot resist my sweet anon’s requests, so consider this an early christmas gift. Lmao. I hope your staying healthy. Btw I’ve choosen the most soft boy ever aka Harry Holland because that boy is lovely af - also this is my first time writing about the boys so pls be gentle 💛

Warnings: nothing much just a few curse words.

Spending quarentine and 24/7 trapped inside a house with the most loud, messy, cheeky boys ever wasn’t actually in your dream plans. Everyone got a part of their day busy, either was college, work, cooking, drinking, boys silly videogames challenges, boardgames and a lot of pranks. But apart from all that quarentine was making you guys build strong bonds.

You all tried to be active, productive and keep the days busy. But let me tell you this: that boys were always up to no good.

You were siting in the living room with your laptop in the coffee table and paying extreme attention to your zoom class. Harrison was in his, writing a few emails and you both were enjoying the quietness of the room while your teacher rambled about something important.

You totally missed Harry cheekily giggling and running into the living room, disappearing right after into the backyard. But little boy Tom definitely not gone unnoticed when he came shouting and shirtless, trying to catch his brother, making a quick appearence into your lecture since you had your camera and mic on the moment he passed behind you.

“HARRY! YOU’RE GONNA GET IT, YOU DICKHEAD!” Tom disapeared into the backyard door and Harrison looked at you trying his best not to laugh. You were looking at your classmates, with your face pale and widen eyes as you were noticing some of them laughing, freaking out and most importantly, your teacher had this serious unread expression on his face.

“That's it, I'm completely done”. You thought to yourself while smiling awkardly to the camera and thinking about million ways to murder Thomas freaking Holland.

"Wait, wasn't that dude, Spiderman?" Your teacher asked making Harrison and the rest of the class brust in laughter, meanwhile you grew red.

Apart from ruining zoom lectures, spending quality time with your bestfriends was the best thing. But most important, spending quality time with your very special friend Harry. Of course he didn’t knew he had a special place in you heart - and you meant to keep that way - but you two were very close and as the days went by it was more dificult to pretend that he didn’t make your stomach funny every morning when he came down and kissed your cheek, smelling heavenly with his sleepy eyes and messy curls.

Harrison was the mainly reason you've met Harry and the rest of the boys. It was during a summer break where you joined an workshop to learn more about the process of making movies and writing scripts. You didn't want to persue that professionally, but you needed exciting things to do on your summer break from high school so why not join a class to discuss movies?

You two got along right away after the teacher set you together to recreate a new ending for Titanic. You both did a comic approach, making everyone in the group laugh and even the teacher said that you were really a good duo. You had the writing skills and he had the acting. You were pretty unaware of Harrison’s truly intentions tho. But the minute he noticed your general interests about certain genres and cinema in general, the way you discuss the photography, scripts and plots even tho you didn’t understand very well about it and just by the way you stood in the theaters reading all the credits after a movie just ended. All of that simple things, reminded him of something. Or to be more precised, someone. That someone was nothing less than Harry Holland.

So he knew that he had to settle up you two, that you two would get along very well but Harrison wasn't going to force it, it had to happen naturally. That's why you started to hang out more with him. Going out to lunch or drink coffee, study sessions in the library, parties or movie sessions in his house and that eventually, gave you Tom.

Tom usually came with Harrison to the study sessions, studying his scrips and even joined the workshop at one point. Sadly he got off when he started working on the first big challenge in his career and all the Spiderman thing.

You three grew together and everyone started to getting in the right way of their lifes. Of course Tom knew his best friend's intentions from the start and decided to join the team of cupids.

It was needed one night at the pub, where you three were drinking and having a good time, to steping the plan to a whole another level.

"Guys, I'm going to quit the workshop." You said camly making Tom frown and Harrison almost spit his drink.

No no no, his plan didn't even started yet!! He thought.

"What? Why?!" Tom whined. After he had to quit it because his filming career, he was truly excited about his two best friends doing something similar to his job. He like the heated arguments and opinions about the films on movie nights, like you all had some sorta of film club.

"Did you got a boyfriend, is that it?" Harrison talked curious. "He doesn't let you hang with us?" He leaned on the tabled talking low as if he was saying a secret password.

"No Harrison, I'm still single. What the hell?" You chuckled and rolled your eyes.

This man and his obsession with my lofe life. You thought.

“I'm starting college and thats a big deal. I'm not going to have time to commit there, I only joined it as a hobby and it's been two years, guys." You smiled at them noticing their attention on you. "Also, I'm searching for a flat here, downtown before it all starts and I'm not finding anything." You simple explain frowning and taking a long sip on your drink and Tom's eyes lit up. He was proud of his flash thinking. Even if sometimes he wished he could just shut up and don’t say stupid things as his brothers would say to him.

"Move in with us, there's enough room there!" He let out excited. His eyes moved to Harrison and the blonde boy raised an eyebrow thinking further and understanding his best friend cheeky expression.

"Yeah, you could join us, darling. Real estate is a mess these days" Harrison smiled widely and your jaw dropped.

Are they serious right now?

"As if you knew about real estate." Tom rolled his eyes and Harrison playfully smacked his head.

"Uh-I-I don't know... You don't live there alone, what about the other guys? I don’t want to change the frat crazy house of yours.." You weren't sure if it was a good idea to move to a house without asking the other people who lived there.

"Oh you mean my brother Harry?" You nod after whatching Tom carefully. "He is super excited to met you, we’ve talk a lot about you". He simply let out making Harrison widen his blue eyes.Tom and his big mouth.

"Wait what?!" You asked being caught in surprise.

Three years later and there you were, standing in the kitchen, after Tom cooked dinner - by cooking you mean ordering - since it was your and Harry's turn to wash the dishes. As you washed the plates, he dried them with a white towel and was humming a song that was playing from his playlist. - swear that boy had a playlist for everything.

"Did you and Tom got your script thing sorted out yet?" You asked while passing a plate under the water. He stopped singing and listened to you carefully.

"Yeah, we are pretty far ahead. Moving to find a good plot. It's pretty hard" He answer grabbing the plate from your hands and noticing your eyes on his face, blushing slightly. "Don't tell Tom but I can give you the abstracts if you want to have a read? I know how much you love to read." He smiled and looked at your face properly. You were smiling widely and his heart softened finding your dimple extremely cute.

"Really?!" You sound so excited that he chuckled nodding.

"Of course. You're running out of books to read, I was planing on giving you one for Christmas but-" he continued driyng the plates but got caught in surprised when you kissed his cheek and said thanks. Seconds later he was right back in the kitchen after a short trip to the moon. "How's the online classes going?" He smiled, still blushing from your previous interaction, and looked at your face.

"It's going good." You stopped for a few seconds just admiring his face and the way his curls fell into his face lazily. He looked extremely cute in that green sweater. "I think my teacher fancies me more now. After the litle acident and knowing I share roof with spiderman, the dude." You said with a funny expression and you both laughed.

"Glad I could contribute on such achievements, miss." He bumped his shoulder into yours playfully. And you laughed even more. Your giggles filling the kitchen and besides the music playing on his playlist, Harry swore it was the most beautiful melodies he ever heard.

You two returned your attention to the sink and as you were doing it you got caugh in a Arctic Monkeys music playing and trying to remember the lyrics.

Click.

Your attention was brought back after hearing a camera and seeing a flash. Harry was still looking at you thru the lense with a lovely smile.

"Harry? Oh my god, no!" You blushed at his bold moves. "I'm looking horrible right now. Why did you take a picture?"

"Nonsense. You look so cute while doing the dishes." He turned the camera, showing you the picture and you blushed even more.

"Eww. Please, delete it." You warned and he chuckled putting the camera straps above his neck and resting the camera on his chest.

"I'm not going to delete it, love." He kept his task as you. "Sorry not sorry." He laughed maliciously and you rolled your eyes.

"You're going to delete it." You looked at him and he clicked his tongue.

"Uh-uh." He hummed moving his head negatively and his curls balanced up and down. That was a good sight.

"Oh yeah?" You raised and eyebrow asking one more time and didn't even gave him the time to turn your direction. Your hands already throwing him foam and he stepped back, foam hitting his hoodie and his chest.

He smirked but his hands went to his camera, inspection it.

"Oh shit, the camera." Your mouth making a "o" shape. "Im sorry H, I didn't thought about it." You pouted giving him the most apologetic smile and he pulled a poker face at you for a few minutes.

You were starting to believe that you actually broke the device but then he started to laugh hard.

"It's water proof, dummy." He showed you his tongue and hit you smoothly with the towel in your face.

"You absolute arse!" You thrown him more foam and after a peace threaten by his hands up, he finally stopped laughing. "Im serious now, delete the picture, carrot." You warned and he laughed at the nickname.

"I think I'm going to set it as my wallpaper." His words rolled out of his tongue so easily as he concentrate on drying the plates again and you didn't even moved from your spot, getting caught by his words.

"What?" You asked finally, studying his face and his eyes opened widely. "Harry why use my picture as your background?" You dried your hands.

Did I said that out loud? Damn it, Harry you fucking dick. He thought.

"Hmm..." He swallowed. "It's a really nice picture. You look rather pretty.... And I-uh kinda like you, I guess." His hands scratching his head and his blood stopping running thru his body. Well there wasn't no intention of hidden it now.

"Oh I'm so enjoying this." Tom said to Harrison, as they were siting across the room in the couch watching the whole scene in silence. You two didn't even noticed them spying.

"It's a romcom and we were the directors of it." Harrison joked and Tom chuckled.

"Thanks." You smiled and went to hug Harry. "You look rather pretty too." You said into his shoulder and earned a kind smile from him "Look." You were closer to him and your head moved back to look into his eyes properly, his hand traveled to your back and laid way to high for your liking. But it was Harry, and he was always so respectful that he didn't want to be sneaky or ruin the moment by placing his hands too down. You found that gesture so cute.

"I think I kinda like you, too." Your face got closer to his and his eyes closed feeling your hot breath hit his face. You stand there admiring his freckles for minutes.

"Do we have to move their heads too?" Harrison asked whispering. The duo was watching the scene unfold ahead of them with frowning expressions.

"Why aren't they kissing?" Tom dramatically pulled a face as if their plan came out totally wrong after all those years of dedication.

Harry started to dance slowly, his lashes clicked a few times and he opened his eyes. And you followed him. You both had silly smiles on your faces and after a long time of slowly dancing in his arms. He lean in, kissing you passionately. And you returned the kiss, like you meant to tell him that you loved him all along.

Continuously gags and whistles followed by an loud “FINALLY” from Harrison could be heard from the kitchen making Harry and you pull back from the kiss and stare at the boys. You both smiled and kissed again.

"Oh get a room you two!" Tuwaine shouted after entering the kitchen surprisingly and seeing you.

Despite that, you two didn't pulled back and Harry gave them the middle finger, covering your faces and the kiss with his hand, from the sneaky bastards across the room.

"We've created monsters" Tom's statement made everyone laugh.