#if this was a side view I'd mainly be nose

[codecicle]

hi ash, could i utilise your mega autism for a moment? would it be possible for you to provide me with some good reference images for drawing Charlie's face ie front and side profiles ect? plus any tips on details you think are important? No pressure ofc! Just thought this might be something you had a lot of thoughts about anyway, if not then please don't go out of your way I am indeed capable of using google, it just takes longer and is less fun than talking to a cool guy XD

YES. YES ALWAYS AND FOREVER. GLADLY. ABSOLUTELY. Here's references + notes under the cut!

First of all, go -> here <- for a guide by razberypuck, which is perfect and explains everything better than I ever could.

Second of all, he has some pretty distinct features of both his face and his body that are important to keep in mind, which is mainly what I'll be talking about :-)

Third of all, not all these features need to be kept, especially when you consider styles and the tendency to drop certain parts of the body or face once you've learned the rules enough to break them. Im just listing them all so people know what features work well with their style and what features don't ^_^

His hair is very messy and fluffy, kinda like cowlicks for his entire head. His front hair typically comes down into bangs that curve towards the right, while the rest goes in every direction possible. (This is also true going back years ago. He just combed it a certain way, so you'd only see the fluffy cowlicks in the back of his head)

Another thing I wanna point out is his Adam's apple, which is very prominent ! I kept ted in the photo to show the difference ^_^

Also! No matter what era you're drawing from, his eyebrows shape a LOT of his face. They're really thick!

3/4ths views to show it more clearly, his jawline is relatively soft! And his old frames are clunky. He has a really pretty hooked nose which curves down towards the tip of it. Otherwise, it's pretty much a triangle! If you're drawing him from the side, keeping the little triangle dip on the side of his nose can help you find the general shape easier.

Also! The above images are really good examples of his mouth. I don't have many notes on this, but if you're going for anything 1 to 1 of him, I'd recommend keeping the curve of his cheeks downward when his mouth is closed, and the curve upward when he's smiling. He has visible cheekbones that make the area around his mouth appear very round

^ this is a great reference that shows everything I've been talking about. 1: triangle on the side of his nose to show the curve from the front 2: thick eyebrows 3: visible cheekbones and small curves around his mouth 4: cowlick hair

Also, he's very buff! Chulked out 2 the max. Some of these images came from me being a major hater over art of him, before remembering people can do whatever they want forever. But I can use it now! Charlie has wide shoulders, natural tummy, and gigantic tits.

He's visibly wider than Tommy and Ranboo, with a frame closer to Sneeg and James in build. He's strong!! He's really really strong!! I feel like people forget Just How Strong This Guy Is.

Also heres an image from and older post of mine, which I designed while trying to explain why he doesn't look That Different without the glasses (2 me). It's pretty much everything I said above, but summarized in a photo!

source: bro trust me and also source: the final 2 images i could fit on mobile which are 2 random face studies I have of him nearby. I have better one's but i can't find them right now so take these okay bye bye

+ I'm so sorry if this made 0 sense I'm very tired ^_^

[yumenoyousei]

Since I finished posting Awaking in Gotham, here are a lot of notes I have for this universe

(It's like really long)

 I refuse (for now) to write in Jason’s POV in this universe because I would have to quote books and that means doing research and reading even more old books I haven't read in forever and I just went nope. So instead here are a few facts about him in this universe:

He was always kind of interested in Shay but just didn’t want to mix a civilian to vigilante/crime lord drama. But when he came back as Jason Todd and saw her Jason Todd video (and with Dick’s meddling) started to think that he could date her and that she'd get it (get him). Got really smitten during her vigilante speech at the gala but was still reluctant because again, vigilante life. He fell a bit more at the cookout and was disappointed not to kiss her in the car (Shay is right, it was totally her fault.)

At the gala, Jason is seen smoking and then doesn’t do it for the rest of the story. That’s because he only smokes when anxious and/or when feeling nostalgic. I wanted to make Shay ask about it but never could find a scene that fitted.

I absolutely love the headcanon about Jason being Mexican and when I first wrote the story I was going to go with it but then I started having ideas about Catherine being Mexican-American (like born in the US from Mexican parents) but Willis being white. So Jason would’ve grown up with a lot of Mexican culture and thought he was half-Mexican. So he would have this guilt towards his Mexican heritage that isn’t really his when discovering that Catherine wasn't his bio mom. I have in my head this whole side story about Maria helping him get back to it and ease his guilt towards it. (I have this scene in my head of Jason and Shay dancing to a classic Latino song and Jason having a moment, remembering Catherine but again, it'd have to be in Jason's POV and 🫠)

Talking about Maria, she was like a big sister to Jason when he was little. Like Shay mentioned, she wanted to adopt him when people at the center realized Catherine had died but she was only 17 at the time. It was always one of her regrets that she hadn't been able to help Jason more.

I keep mentioning Maria and Diego's kids in the story but never took the time to introduce them lol. Mainly because I couldn't decide on names. All I know is that they have twin boys around 7 and a little girl around 5. 

As mentioned in the story, Diego is working for the Red Hood, the one Shay asked to pass on the letter. Diego is mostly an informant and doesn’t get his hands dirty (but he will if necessary.) He absolutely adores Shay and Deena and is very protective of them, but mostly Shay because she doesn’t have direct family in Gotham anymore. He’s also super scared she’d put her nose in business she has no matter in and gets stuck.

Diego absolutely knows that Jason is the Red Hood. I had this prequel story where Jason had gotten hurt and Diego helped him and saw a glimpse of him but they both never talked about it, so Jason knows that Diego knows but he trust him. (He did vet him + he was happy to see Maria had gotten married to a good man). Like mentioned in the story, Diego is the reason Jason heard a lot about Shay.

When Shay started crushing on Jason, Diego was a tad worried. When they started to date, Diego did an undirected shovel talk to the Red Hood. Lmao

(Also makes that scene in the cookout when Shay introduce them to one another very funny to me lol)

We don’t see it as much as I'd like because Shay is an absolute unreliable narrator but she is a social butterfly. She’s the type that an event will be stopped at every corner to talk with people (to Jason’s annoyance). She doesn’t view herself as social because she rarely goes to people unless she knows them compared to Deena, who can converse with anyone. By the end of ‘Awaking in Gotham’ she is often asked for selfies and always chats with her fans.

Characters I haven't written about but really wanted to:

The Hoes (affectionate)

They are the group of people in the center who are known to sleep around. Monica is the one who started it all and name them. Very fun to hang around, party with or have a deep convo about love and sex. They always have tea to spill. People come and go but the core has been there for a few years. Deena used to be a more active member. They call Shay an honorary member (because Shay refused to sleep around with the people of the community)

I only mentioned them in my nsfw fic "All For You" but I do plan to mention one member in a oneshot Epilogue I wrote. I have a bunch of little scenes with them in my head and I love them so much! The fact I haven't written a full scene of Shay interacting with them is a real crime.

Anyway, the core members:

the "leader" Monica - pansexual. used to be a stripper and sex worker. enjoyed her job. is very sex open and likes to educate the young about it. sometime after "Awaking in Gotham", release a luxury line of sex toys. One line is based on (of age) Heroes and Villains of Gotham, to the Batfam's horror (people have done it before but hers are so good that it gets very popular, I have an fic idea on this that im not sure Im gonna write)

Renee - bisexual but heteroromantic. is a stripper but never sold sex. also very sexually open. had an on/off relationship with Zee. Used to be way closer to Shay (even if Shay judged her for dating her brother) until Zee died and both got too much into their grief. Are still good friends but it'll never be the same.

* if Zee had stayed alive, they would've eventually gotten together (most likely in an open relationship) and would've had a kid.

Carla - a helpless romantic who has the flair to date the worst man. she's a hoe in spite of herself. Makes terrible decisions. you wanna root for her but she a dumpster fire when it comes to relationships (she'll learn... hopefully). Absolutely terrible at school but very good with people so she works in retail and enjoys it

Julie - bisexual disaster. will sleep with anyone. always managed to get into fights for sleeping with committed people. Used to fight with Renee when she tried (and succeeded) sleeping with Zee. a grad student. Shay lowkey cannot stand her.

Luka -  so gay. is a hoe mostly because he is scared of commitment. Becomes great friends with  Alex. Admires Jess so much. will absolutely destroy you if you dressed like trash next to him. Undergrad in marketing because of his parents but wants to study fashion

Nick - stripper. Sometimes sell sex. Also bisexual disaster. Was reluctant to join the hoes until he slept with Julie. Had the biggest crush on Deena until she turned him down cause she saw him as a brother. A lot of self-esteem issues. Super smart but bad at school which is why he’s not in college even if he wants to. 

Last but not least (because omg this is so long) here a note I wrote at work trying to decide everyone's age lol:

(Shay was on another (way more chaotic) memo but she's the same age as Jason)

If you made it here, thank you so much for reading my rambling!!❤️

[moodymisty]

So I've been working on the Wrecker fic for a bit now, and I'm gonna start revising the chapters now. Should be out before or on Valentines Day for you all to enjoy <3

But I figured I'd give people a snippet, just for fun. It'll probably end up changing, but we'll see <3 Enjoy!!

---------------

"Hey, you guys just get back?"

Hunter looks up, having been rested his eyes while leaning against the side of the ship with his arms crossed.

"Yeah; We landed only a few standard hours ago."

After nodding to him you look around and notice that Wrecker isn't among them, nor do you hear him close by. When you ask, Tech pulls his nose from his datapad for a moment just long enough to speak, before looking right back down.

“He is currently resting in the ship as per his instructions; He was hit with a high explosive during our mission."

You almost choke on air, eyes darting around at them all before suddenly Hunter butts into view and waives his hands up and down.

"He's fine he's fine, just a little banged up." As much as his sentence might be attempting to soothe you, it really doesn't do much in the end. His hands still held outward away from his body, Hunter turns Tech and gives the crate he's sitting on while doing maintenance work a good kick. It's enough to scoot the crate, and make Tech sport a sour, displeased expression to boot.

"Tech! You couldn't have worded that in a way that wouldn't give her a heart attack?!" Tech appears unphased by all the eyes on him, and simply looks up from his datapad again for only a moment to speak.

"I thought I had 'worded' it sufficiently."

He doesn’t really have much time to reword it however, as you quickly race up the gangplank and turn left, seeing Wrecker slinging is legs off the side of his bunk and looking over at you. He’s currently only clad in his lower body armor, the top has been completely removed showing his bare chest. He’s covered in a moderate amount of bandages and bacta patches, though the actual damage appears to mainly be on his right side.

"Hey! What're you doing here?"

You come close to the side of the bed, and try to avoid being obvious of the way you're checking him over for damage.

He has all of his limbs, which is a good start.

"I could say the same thing about you, Wreck. What happened?" In an attempt to distract from that fact that he is shirtless, you look right at his face and notice a tiny little cut on the right side of his chin.

"Tried to make an explosive out of somethin’ that, wasn't really the best idea, heh." When he sees the worry still all over your face, he quickly leans up more, his boots clanking against the metal floor of the ship.

Sure, it's probably not the worst injury he's had before; His eye is a testament to that, but seeing someone you know hurt right in front of you is far more intense than hearing about it as a fond retelling.

"I uh, heard Tech gave ya’ a bit of a scare," His hand rubs against the back of his neck, the smile he's wearing favoring one side. "It’s not nearly as bad as he made it sound, they didn't even have to dunk me. A little explosion ain’t gonna hurt someone like me." You don’t doubt in the slightest that it would take an incredible feat to down someone like Wrecker, but you hope this serves as a reminder that he isn’t indestructible. He may be close, though.

"You better be thankful they didn’t have to, I don’t know what I would’ve done if I'd found out you were stuck in a bacta tank." You make an angry little face at him, before letting out a nervous, breathy laugh. “I probably would’ve cried, then waited till you woke up to beat you senseless.”

Wrecker laughs; His same deep chested laugh that always warms your heart.

"Don't you even consider cryin’ over me, none of this even hurts." Probably because he has a fair bit of medication in his system, but the sentence serves to soothe you at least a little.

"It better not, or I'll hurt you even worse for being such a blockhead." Wrecker laughs at your spunky sentence, noticing the way you're still attempting to be somewhat serious with him.

"But please Wrecker," Though his face does soften when he notices you're not joking around as much this time, rubbing the side of your own arm.

"Be more careful?" The bandage that wraps just at the crook of his neck moves when he leans his head to one side, giving in on your concern. "I will, I will; Promise. Just for you." That's good enough for you. You just hope before he does something that gormless and bombastic again, he thinks of his own safety first.

"Besides, wouldn't want you to get in an accident and damage that handsome mug of yours."

Wrecker suddenly sits up noticeably straighter, smile dropping into a face much more akin to genuine surprise. You however, quickly go ramrod straight.

Shit! Shit shit shit- I seriously didn't just say that! My big stupid mouth!

"Uh... Well I'll-" You turn around, already halfway out of the Marauder. “See you later!”

[aollosjustlurking]

you know the deal by now, "folklore" by taylor swift is an amazing retelling of virgil leaving the dark sides dripping in past anxceit. today's addition is focussed on "illicit affairs". this one is very focused on an anxceit breakup btw.

TW: unsympathetic deceit? it's from virgil's point of view so it's not very complimentary of janus, but it's also not that accusetory or anything. just kinda calls him a liar, which is sort of on the nose i'd say.

Make sure nobody sees you leave Hood over your head, keep your eyes down Tell your friends you're out for a run You'll be flushed when you return Take the road less traveled by Tell yourself you can always stop What started in beautiful rooms Ends with meetings in parking lots

hood mention everybody! hood mention! this song tells a story of virgil trying to maintain a relationship with janus while simultaneously trying to become closer with the light sides (i see this as just before his acceptance but you could see it as a little bit after as well). whether this secrecy is because virgil thinks it's necessary or because janus thinks it's necessary is up to interpretation.

And that's the thing about illicit affairs And clandestine meetings and longing stares

despite virgil and janus' relationship not being one of adultry, it is still "illicit" due to how the others view them. It's born from just one single glance But it dies, and it dies, and it dies A million little times

the ending of their relationship was a long time coming I think. they are in their very nature not incredibly well suited for each other, i mean lies literally make virgil more anxious, so their relationship had to be a messy one. the idea that it would die a million times before they truly cut it off is fitting.

Leave the perfume on the shelf That you picked out just for him So you leave no trace behind Like you don't even exist

if we stick with the timeline of this being just before virgil's acceptance, it makes sense for virgil to not feel as though he exists in this moment. he's drifting away from the dark sides, notably janus, but also is not accepted by the light sides yet.

Take the words for what they are A dwindling, mercurial high A drug that only worked The first few hundred times

virgil knows he cannot trust the lofty claims janus makes about their relationship because he knows janus. he might've believed more in the beginning, but not anymore.

And that's the thing about illicit affairs And clandestine meetings and stolen stares They show their truth one single time But they lie, and they lie, and they lie A million little times

this would be why virgil believed in this relationship at the start. one moment of vulnerability and truth from janus that gave virgil hope, only to be followed by millions of lies.

And you wanna scream Don't call me "kid" Don't call me "baby"

we've seen through interactions between virgil and patton that virgil does not appreciate being patronized or being treated as a small little thing. additionally i would argue that he has felt this behavior from janus. we know janus has the capability because of how he talked down to virgil in the courtroom episode and how he's treated roman as of late. Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me You showed me colors You know I can't see with anyone else

the dark sides actually seem pretty close. virgil sort of references this when he tell thomas that he should've known how to deal with remus. i feel as though that because the dark sides are outcasted the way that they are, they are able to behave more freely around each other because they understand each other better. the light sides hide things from each other all of the time, mainly emotions and thoughts. what virgil is referencing is the freedom he felt with janus to a certain degree that he no longer has.

Don't call me "kid" Don't call me "baby" Look at this idiotic fool that you made me You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else

additional to the last point, you could tie this to that theory on the dark sides all having a way to communicate directly to thomas without the others interrupting. janus can silence others, remus can draw everyone's attention directly to him, and virgil has that distorted voice we see in "moving on". this could be a "secret language" that virgil can no longer utilize because he is considered a light side now.

And you know damn well For you, I would ruin myself A million little times

despite leaving the dark sides being a major event for his character, virgil seems intenesly loyal. he has that sort of "ride or die" vibe about him. evidence of this could be that even now when he hates the dark sides, he still never refers to them as "dark sides", he always uses the term "others". he will not diminish them to "dark sides". you could argue that this is because he doesn't want thomas to view him as dark, but he has been using the alternative name for years, even before he told thomas his history. this proves that a bit of him is still somewhat looking out for janus and the others, even if just a little.

[allofasudden00]

I’ve lost a fair bit of weight and I’ve gotten new clothing, these things have risen my confidence again. And since I am feeling myself I decided recently to draw up a portrait of myself. I posted it to Instagram... but I decided to rip the bandaid off because I quite like how it turned out. 

[its-an-obsession]

Comfort in the One's You Love

OBX Masterlist | Full Masterlist

A/N: Not really happy about how I wrote this, but I liked the idea so I just thought I'd role with it. Definitely not my favorite one I've written, but what the hell? Enjoy! 😊

Summary: You and Rafe have been dating for about a year, but over the course of two months you've noticed that he's been acting distant and more closed off than usual. When visiting the Cameron's, you can't help notice certain things that seem off. Of course it's more worse than you could ever imagine. When your friends - and the whole island - catch wind about what happened, JJ's there to make everything better.

Notes:

Y/N/N: Your Nickname

Y/L/N: Your Last Name

Y/H/C: Your Hair Color

Warnings (let me know if I missed any):

Language

Underage Drinking

Sexual Innuendos

JJ Maybank x-reader

The crisp wind brushed against me as I rode my skateboard on the concrete sidewalk. Cars flew past me, the driver's occasionally waving to me or shooting me a tender smile. My boyfriend's house came into view once I had pulled to the front. Our one year anniversary was today. Rafe and I had talked about spending the whole day together.

We planned on watching our favorite movies, well mainly his, and visiting the restaurant we went to for our first date. The only thing that seemed to seep it's way into my mind was the way Rafe had been acting. He seemed more hostile and reserved then he was at the beginning of our relationship. I've learned not to ask questions when he didn't want to answer.

I had spent over two weeks saving up money to get Rafe an anniversary gift, an expensive watch to be exact; one that he had been looking at on Chapel Hill. Fingers crossed that it works. I hopped off my board and picked up the nose as I stepped foot onto the driveway. A sport cars sat on the driveway, a bright yellow Porsche.

"Since when did Rafe get a new car?" I thought, carrying my board. A thick grey stripe was on the hood of the neon yellow Porsche which extended from the top to the emblem at the front. I knocked on the front door and waited for Rafe to open it. My foot tapped on the porch as I reached for the red velvet box from my backpack.

The front door opened up, revealing a disheveled looking Rafe Cameron. I could hear voices in the background. "Hey, what're you doing here?" he questioned. "I uh, I wanted to give you, your-" I started, but was cut off by a girls voice from behind my boyfriend.

Rafe turned to her and told her to go back to the room. He looked back to me with my brows furrowed. "Who was that?" I asked, peering over his shoulder slightly. "Oh, the maid," he answered. I nodded in response, not wanting to get any more information. Rafe watched me as I glanced back at the parked car in the circled driveway. "When did you get a new car?" I asked. He followed my glance, catching sight of the yellow Porsche.

He scratched the back of his neck with a hand still holding the door knob. Rafe cleared his throat and turned behind him then looked back at me. "Oh, that's uh-that's Sarah's. Dad gave her it as an early birthday present," he answered. An awkward silence settled between the two of us, something that didn't usually happen.

"Isn't her birthday, like three months away," I said, laughing but earned a raise of a brow from Rafe.

"Hey, now's not really a good time. Why don't you come by tomorrow?" he said. I opened my mouth to speak, but yet nothing came out. My brows furrowed again, my heart clenching at the sound of his statement. "Okay. Yeah, I'll uh see you tomorrow," I replied.

Rafe gave me an unconvincing smile and closed the front door with the girls voice from earlier erupting. I could hear giggling from the other side of the door. Without hesitation, I grabbed my phone and dialed Sarah's number. "Hey, love," she greeted, using her nickname for me.

I smiled as my spirits rose slightly but dropped once I remembered what was happening. "Hey. I'm at your house, giving Rafe his anniversary gift," I answered. Sarah shushed the boys with the help of Kiara of course.

She brought her attention back to me, telling me to continue speaking. I let out a sigh and set my skateboard onto the concrete driveway. "Listen, has Rafe had anyone over since this morning?" I asked. It went quiet on the other end of the call with Sarah trying to figure out what to say next.

I stood on my board, preparing to ride away from the house once my friend replied. "I mean he had someone come over, but I left before I knew who it was," Sarah answered. I nodded as if she could see me respond. "Okay, thanks," I stated.

"Everything alright?" Sarah asked before I could hang up the phone. I quickly told her I was fine then ended the call. This wasn't the first time that Rafe had canceled our date.

Just last month Rafe had told me, he needed to cancel our movie date because something came up with his dad. Of course, I said it was alright; already knowing that if I asked anymore questions, Rafe would get all secretive and push me away just like he always did. I ignored my inner thoughts while I strolled towards the side of the house.

"Can't believe I'm about to do this," I muttered. My back pressed against the brick wall of the Cameron's household. I stopped walking, peering into the window beside me. There Rafe Cameron and the girl from earlier stood in the frame of his bedroom.

His hand rested on the side of her face, his free hand resting on her bare shoulder. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. I quickly whipped my head back and bolted away from the brick wall, carefully that the two wouldn't see me.

The front door tore open with Rafe calling my name. He must've noticed me from the window. My so-called boyfriend roughly grabbed me by the shoulder and turned me around to look at him. A small tear slid down my tanned face I looked at him. "What the fuck, Rafe?" I said.

His hookup - or whatever - stood at the front door, leaning up against the frame with her arms crossed. Rafe ran a hand across his jaw as he looked at me. "Y/N/N, it was nothing, okay?" he said.

"Really? Rafe, she's wearing your clothes. There are literal hickeys on your neck, and I sure as hell know those aren't from me," I argued, "Your hair is all over the place. There's a brand new car in the driveway, which is not Sarah's might I add."

Rafe's jaw was clenched while he looked everywhere but me. I could sense he was searching his head to try and figure out some sort of explanation that would soothe the situation. A long awkward silent settled between my cheating boyfriend and I. "You could've just told me. We could've just settled this earlier," I spoke, breaking the pause.

He remained silent after my response. Rafe didn't try to stop me when I hopped on my board, heading straight home. I felt my throat grow sore as I tried to withhold my tears, not wanting to cry in front of people that passed me. I wasn't prepared to explain to some random person what just happened.

They were sure to figure it out soon enough. I already knew that I was going to be bombarded with questions once I got to the chateau. Rafe and I were supposed to visit The Shore for a late lunch, but of course that wasn't happening anymore. When I arrived home JJ was sitting on my front porch, flipping through his phone.

My best friend looked up from his cell phone, greeting me with a large grin. He got up from the rocking chair. "Hey, what're you doing here?" I asked, walking up the front steps. He leaned against the pillar and slipped his phone into the pocket of his swim shorts.

"Why didn't you just use the key I gave you?" I inquired, pulling my own keys out to unlock the front door. He chuckled and ran a hand down the back of his neck. "Forgot it at John B's," JJ answered. His smile got bigger when I softly chuckled, trying to do my best at convincing him that I was alright.

JJ Maybank always seemed to figure out what I was thinking. It was a blessing and a curse. Guess that's what happens when you've been friends since third grade. "You alright? You seem quiet," JJ mentioned as I opened the front door. I nodded in response and set my purse on the kitchen counter.

He didn't push even more, realizing that I didn't want to answer truthfully. JJ knew that I would open up when I was ready. "I'm gonna get changed then we can head to John B's," I stated, walking towards the steps. My childhood best friend sent me a wink and plopped on the living room couch.

I felt my cheeks rise to a light shade of pink at the sudden action. I ignored the feeling and stepped into my room to get changed. It had been - what felt like - a long day, and all I wanted to do was to change into some clothes and hangout with my friends. I found my favorite pair of jean shorts and a black tank top.

The charm bracelet Rafe had gifted me for my birthday stayed around my wrist. It didn't take long until I unclasped it, dropping it into the bottom drawer of the jewelry box. JJ was still sprawled out on the sofa when I walked out. "Ready to go?" I asked, taking my bag from the granite counter.

JJ jumped up from the patterned couch with two thumbs up. I laughed and followed him out to his truck. The two of us sat in comfortable silence, watching the houses and thick trees fly past the truck. JJ tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as his favorite song played on the radio.

He happened to glance down at my arm that rested on the seats rest. JJ furrowed his brows at the missing sight of the bracelet. "You aren't wearing Rafe's gift," he commented. I hummed in response and looked up at him. JJ motioned towards my arm once he was stopped at a red light.

"Oh! It broke while I was at work," I answered, "I'll get it fixed."

All JJ did was nod in response. I just hope he didn't ask any further questions. However, I should know by now that JJ doesn't take no for an answer. "Thought you were gonna go to that Kooklandia restaurant," he thought, glancing at me then to the road ahead of us.

I shrugged and looked out of the window to find a family of three playing in the front yard of their unique house. JJ sighed and ran a hand through his messy blonde hair. "Rafe was preoccupied with something, so we had to cancel the reservations," I answered.

"On your anniversary?" JJ said.

"On our anniversary," I repeated, nodding along. He scoffed and shook his head. JJ's hair tossed slightly when he shook his head. JJ pulled the truck down John B's street, meaning we had exactly four minutes until the others would ask me more questions. "You'd tell me if something was going on, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course," I replied. JJ smiled and pulled into the pebbled driveway of the chateau. Pope and John B stood across from one another, passing a football back and forth while Kiara and Sarah sat on the hammock with drinks in their hands.

My four friends looked away from what they were doing and smiled when JJ and I arrived. I opened the passenger door with JJ following pursuit. Sarah and Kiara moved over so I could sit in the middle of the two of them. "I'll go get you a drink," John B said, giving me a fist bump.

Pope picked up the football and went to help JJ grab some stuff from the truck. "Hey, did Rafe tell you whose Porsche that was?" Sarah asked, taking the last sip of her drink. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded my head. "Whose was it?" Kiara inquired, sitting back so she could face me.

I looked up from the ground and huffed, despite my lip beginning to quiver. Pope and JJ each grabbed a bag of groceries and walked into the chateau which left the two girls and I outside. "Um, Rafe and I broke up," I shakily spoke. Both of them sat up straight and looked at me with raised brows.

"That Porsche belonged to some random girl. It looked like he had been cheating on me for awhile," I continued speaking. Sarah threw her arm around my shoulders and brought me to her side. Kiara rubbed my back in a soothing motion. Sarah waved her hand when John B stepped out of the screened in porch with my drink.

It felt like forever until I pulled away from Sarah with my cheeks puffy from tears. Kiara set her drink as well as Sarah's onto the ground below the hammock. "Something tells me I should've seen it coming," I added, earning a kind smile from the two of them.

Kiara set a sisterly kiss on my forehead. Sarah fixed the strap of my shirt that had dropped from my shoulder. "Don't say that. Sure Rafe's an asshole, but - Y/N you always see the best in people. Rafe just isn't someone who is good?" Sarah said, trying her best to make me feel better.

"Thanks?" I spoke. Kiara chuckled and swung her legs over the hammock. She stood up and knelt in front of me, taking my hands into hers. "What Sarah's trying to say, is you shouldn't blame yourself for something that you can't control, alright? This isn't your fault, got that?" Kiara said, "Rafe is stupid to pass a chance on the Y/N train."

Her smile got bigger when I laughed at her cheesy statement. Sarah tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, setting a hand on my lower back. "Now, John B's throwing a kegger tonight, and I don't know about you, but I could really use a drink," Kiara said, bringing me up from the hammock.

_______

(Time Skip: Four hours later - Third Person View)

The sun had set and the moon hung loose in the dark sky. Teenagers spread across the boneyard, dancing with their friends or their significant others. Y/N felt so much better then she did about four hours ago. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, but she wasn't complaining.

Her arms swayed above her head to the music coming from some Tourons speaker. Sarah and Kiara had stayed by her side the whole night, keeping a close eye on their friend just incase something bad were to happen. Luckily, neither of them had caught sight of Rafe and his posse. JJ, Pope and John B stood near a small bonfire, teasing the Kooks and Tourons that passed by.

As usual, JJ's attention was always on the new Tourons that were attending the keggers; but now since JJ had heard that Y/N and Rafe had broken up, his attention was only on the Y/H/C haired girl. "Dude, you awake over there?" John B asked, nudging his best friend's shoulder. JJ stumbled a bit and looked at JB with raised brows.

"You've been staring at Y/N like she's going to poof out of existence," John B said.

JJ rolled his eyes and glanced back at the girl to find her stumbling over to the keg. He cursed underneath his breath, telling the two boys that he'd be right back. JJ grabbed Y/N's cup before she could get more. "Yo, pretty boy!" she exclaimed, "Give it!" JJ set the red Solo cup onto the ground and held Y/N up straight.

"Oh! JJ! How you doin'?" Y/N slurred, smiling.

"I think you're done for the night," JJ said, ignoring her drunk glare. He motioned to his friends that he was taking Y/N back to the chateau. He wrapped an arm around her to help her walk, but she still managed to stumble over pebbles.

Within about ten minutes, JJ had successfully gotten to the chateau. He withheld his laugh as Y/N began humming the tune to her favorite song. JJ's grip on her tightened as he pushed open the side door of the chateau. Y/N felt a gurgling sensation at the bottom of my stomach.

JJ Maybank didn't hesitate to lead his best friend over to the bathroom. JJ let go of Y/N just as she leaned over the toilet, practically puking her guts out. JJ rushed over to her to hold her hair back. Y/N coughed and laughed, pressing her back against the coolness of the bathtub. “Never, ever let me drink again,” Y/N muttered.

Her best friend couldn't help but snicker in response to Y/N's statement. JJ reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, making sure it wouldn't fly in her face. She girl covered her mouth and hovered over the toilet once more.

“Damn, thought you liked me Y/L/N,” JJ said, laughing.

Y/N responded with a flip of her finger, giving her best friend the bird. She leaned back with her arms resting on her bare knees. The two of them fell into a comfortable silence. Y/N glanced down at her wrist, her mind wandering over to the missing charm bracelet.

The corners of her mouth lowered into a frown. Her finger ran down the side of her wrist where the bracelet once was. Y/N felt a single tear slide down her face. "R-Rafe and I broke up," she mumbled - stuttering - but JJ could still hear. He sighed and moved forward to join Y/N's side. He looked at her with a sympathetic smile.

"I'm not asking for pity. I'm just stating the fact that it-it actually happened," Y/N spoke, voice cracking slightly. JJ took her hand into his and lightly kissed the top, making sure he didn't make her uncomfortable. Y/N swallowed the lump in her throat and wiped her tears away. "Is there anything I can-" JJ started.

"Just be here for me, please," Y/N interrupted. He nodded and lightly kissed the top of her head, putting an arm around her shoulders as he continued to hold her hand. The two sat on the cold tiled flooring in each other's arms until Y/N was ready to stand up and go to bed.

Taglist: @kasidy709 @soflties @elliecool123 @ramaalkayyali

[kaydeeartworks]

Pre-Project: Monsters Of The Deep

Overview

For our first little task, we were asked to design an aquatic monster to do with the ocean, with not much else on what we'd have to asides from it being a costume to be worn made of cardboard. We had free reign otherwise - mythos, non-fiction, otherwise.

Inspiration Gathering

We had travelled down to the Maritime Museum in Falmouth in order to drum up some ideas. It's obviously dedicated mainly to sealife and boats, so it was pretty easy to start getting ideas running through my head from the second we walked in.

We had come across a lot of boats, especially right when we entered, documenting all sorts of boats, one of which that stood out to me the most was a small boat to be the smallest to ever cross the ocean.

Another common theme within the museum was a lot of aquatic life as well as old gear and objects scavenged from the seas. Our group had taken a shining towards the lobster in specifics and with a mentioning of hermit crabs, we were curious about fitting in a monster into a bell at first, though the ships from earlier had soon become the central idea.

Process & Creation

I had originally thought of using the sawfish nose as a sort of hand-blade, as well as having the bow be like a spiky shell for it to use. Then we had moved onto discussing having the bow flipped upside down to fit like a tail, or even giving it the possibility of a mouth. This was when we started to think of using it as a reverse hermit crab shell - donning it on the front rather than the back.

I offered the idea of building the eyes into the hull itself, using a malformed plank as an eyebrow, however we had ultimately rested on the idea of giving them some sort of octopus-like eyes, as well as having the lobster arms come out of the ship with a lobster tail at the back to obscure the actor's body.

We had first started by taking a bunch of cardboard and cutting out a large portion in order to make the walls for the ship. We wanted to focus on the front half first as it was the absolute main-stay of the whole piece as well as the easiest to really complete. We ended up with a very roughly cornered bow, one we weren't able to make the bowsprit for it in time due to trying to get the more general shape down as well as more iconic features.

We had soon fashioned a helmet with a cross-shape to the underside of the ship to work as a helm for Luke to wear. Near the point, Mal and I had cut out a little mouth at the bottom for some intimidation factor and I had turned long rectangles into fangs, where I had left room to use glue tape to stick them to the inside but cut into them so I could bend the teeth to give it a more rounded shape without bending the whole thing in order to keep it stuck together.

I had also cut into the back (see below) to make it seem a lot more cut-up and butchered, like the hull itself was putting up a fight before the lobster had broken into it. The guarding we also tried to give some wear-and-tear to, and after fitting the eyes on, had added some barnacles to give it a more aged look. It honestly reminded me a lot of a Scooby Doo monster, which might not be as terrifying or imposing, but I thought was still really charming.

Mal had worked on stringing the arms together which was way too complex for me to even fathom, but had set up a tether-pull system fed through the sides of the ship where you would grab and yank at them in order to raise the arms.

The last major touch was the tail, which Mal had managed to shape by rolling cardboard and layering it, which I had helped out with by helping to tie up the whole thing so it sat a little lazily so it would be able to handle suspension and the bouncing of someone's back.

Final Thoughts & Reflection

Our project had turned out fairly alright in the end - the asymmetric detail really helped keep it an interesting view despite its very simplistic design, such as the misshapen guardrails or the broken pieces of ship hull. I'd really want to add the bowsprit at some point, though. The motion turned out fairly well thanks to Luke, who had worn the costume on the day to save Mal and I some embarrassment. It required a bit too much pull on the arms I thought, but he made it work. In general, the whole process turned out a lot better than all of us had initially expected.

I will say, though, if I were to tackle this again - I would want to make the ship more detailed. We were very inexperienced with sculpting so it had started very bland and basic, but I feel with more preparation and teamwork we definitely could have made a more complex sculpture.