#if you seen me post the sketch of this earlier

[thefandomsfervent]

Viktor x Reader Personal Pigments (Part 15) - Rich Gold

This is a jayvik x reader fic now but it'll still be labeled as a Vik Fic until it's fully implemented. Ft. a visit from Mel! Find my imagine that inspired it here. Previous and next chapter will be linked at the bottom.

Planning on writing as much as I can this weekend to post in bulk before Christmas week, I'll be traveling a distance away and can't bring my laptop with me.

stay tuned and Thank you for reading <3

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The two men had been working over there for the last hour. The last thirty minutes of which they had spent muttering too quietly to discern. When you cast a look their way, curious about the whispering, you are presented with something very interesting. Jayce was standing by Viktor’s chair, his hand tracing a pattern you couldn’t make out on the lithe man’s back. That usually would not be cause for concern, it wasn’t something you had really seen before but nothing that risqué. The fact that Jayce was bent down by Viktor’s face whispering something that made his pale skin glow red? That was new. And intimate. And something you probably shouldn’t be seeing. 

It stirs a warmth deep in your stomach that you furiously try to tamp down. Whatever was happening over there was not your concern. The sketch you were working on was. When you had shown Viktor and Jayce your sketchbook they both lingered at the same spot. Answer enough. You had several iterations of it sketched out, that should have been a sign. You’ve had this happen before though. Where your subconscious had fully decided on something, and pushed it to you again and again, and it took something else to make you realize that you already knew what you wanted. So you tear your gaze away from whatever flirtations the two were engaging in to go back to your sketch. 

General composition confirmed. Now you need to decide on little details. Foxgloves for ambition. Or Hollyhock? The former also could represent ambition for another person, not just your own glory. Fitting for their commitment to each other and their Hextech dream. Golden Rod for encouragement and Grapes for charity. King Cup for yellow to go with the Golden Rod, and to represent their wish for it to prosper. Purple or yellow for the Carnations to show pride? So many options. The petals of all of these flowers and more were sketched out in front of you. Changing their colors, layering, placement. Part of your panic in selecting a final composition earlier was knowing that Mel would be visiting today. 

She had come in a few days ago looking for Jayce. Something about their next council meeting, What to and not to say. Who to kiss up to. Who to placate. Versing him, and Viktor by association, on the proper etiquette. Viktor had told you once that Jayce already knew everything he really needed to know from his patrons the Kirramans. Yet he listened to her with rapt attention. When she was done with them she floated by your station, ever graceful steps on the tile. Her jewelry clinked softly with each movement, like a quiet chorus of bells and crystals. Something about her presence was anxiety inducing and enchanting all at the same time. She thrummed with something otherworldly. 

Mel had set a date and time for her to visit with you, something that you considered a luxury. A councilor taking interest in your art was one thing. The idea had crossed your mind when you had applied for this project, part of why you had considered it in the first place. Not to climb any ladders, but to make sure you could stay here in Piltover. Now you were teetering on an edge of potential friendship or securing stability. You felt that you were not one whose words were graceful enough to secure, well, anything. Felt that your skills laid in your hands. Hands that you were doing your best to keep moving despite the appointment you had set grew closer and closer to the present. 

You were finally hitting a groove when there was a familiar sound pulling you away from the sketchpad. A scraping sound. The lab door is opening and Mel’s gentle footsteps clack against the tile floor. Smooth and swift movements to cross over the lab. She held a box in one hand. This time she didn’t immediately stop at Jayce’s or Viktor’s station. Direct line of motion to you. You stand and brush your hands against your slacks. When you glance in the men’s direction, they had separated and turned to the both of you. You realized that you did not know if Mel was aware of how deep their partnership ran. A blush on both their faces. It was cute and you try not to smile at the sight. You instead shift your gaze to Mel and offer her your smile instead.

“Forgive the intrusion,” her voice like honey, “are you ready?” 

“Yes! Just a moment.” You’re grabbing a pouch and sketchbook. Today was going to be more of a walk-and-talk situation, you doubted you’d have the time to really draw anything. Still, you wanted to be prepared. As you’re gathering your supplies you hear Mel talking with Viktor and Jayce. 

“Councilor Hoskel sends his regards.” You turn to see Jayce opening the box, the largest bottle of wine you had ever seen and two glasses inside. Piltover’s iconic gold filigree crawling up the bases, stems, and swirling around the bottom of the bowls. Expensive. 

“Whatever for?” Viktor’s holding one of the glasses now, turning it in the light of the lab. Watching as it glitters, it seems that there may be small jewels set into the whorls and swirls. Very expensive. 

“Truth be told, it’s a set he gave me. I thought that it would be better enjoyed here. I know that these meetings are growing repetitive. Consider it an incentive to continue your hard work.” Usually Viktor would scoff and mutter some reply about how they did not need incentives, but he’s eyeing the bottle of wine. It’s Jayce who stutters out their thanks and puts the box on the table behind him. 

Mel just nods, pristine and simple before turning to you. “Shall we?” You give Viktor and Jayce a nod of your own and trail behind her when she starts walking towards the door. The two of you make your way to the hallway. 

“Thank you for making time for this Counc-,” Her head tilts with her raised brow. “Mel.”

“Despite the finery and brilliance here in Piltover it is hard to find minds worth talking to.” Your cheeks heat. That was a compliment right? “If those two let you stay with them, then you must be intriguing.”

“I’m just painting.” It’s hard to keep the doubt out of your voice. Doubt that she thinks you are worth spending her little free time with. Doubt that Jayce and Viktor find you intriguing.

“You have grown close with them. I'm glad. The two are so busy I worry that they forgot how to make friends.” When she notices you falling behind she slows her pace. Having you at her side like you were equals. 

“You're a friend too aren't you?” A genuine question. Jayce had a crush yes, but her frequent visits didn’t imply to you that she returned the sentiment. Her energy was so kind, warm like the sun. It was hard for you to believe that she didn’t want companionship. 

“Mmm. Perhaps. I'm not sure both of them would agree with that." You both give faint laughs at that. She continues. “I would like to be a friend to you though. We will need to find time to paint together soon.” The statement settles around your shoulders, the air around your ears buzzing.

“Yes, I’d like that too.” This time it’s your chest heating, swelling at the thought of being friends with Mel Medarda. “Those two could probably use a solo lab day.”

 “You know with your skills, you could help promote them.” Your steps falter for a moment.

“What do you mean?” Promote them how? Why? Questions she is reading on your face.

“Job security after your painting is done. They'll need someone who can help them advertise, especially once Hextech goes public.” She says it like it’s the only logical conclusion. Finality in her belief alone.

You hadn't thought about that. Well, you had. When you first met them you had brought it up as an idea for someone else to do. Not yourself, you hadn’t assumed it would be you.  And the look on her face tells you she knew that. Like she knows everything. Not in a patronizing way, but in a calming one.

“I’m not sure how they’d feel about that.” They both didn't like the amount of schmoozing they were having to do now. If you helped with anything it could be selecting designs but you weren’t a designer or typographer. And if the other advertisements you’d seen plastered around Piltover spoke for what she would want you to make, it would be their faces. Having their faces plastered around everything is not something you thought they'd like either. This city is all about claiming credit for things that went well and sweeping things under the rug if they didn’t. 

“They are fond of you. I’m sure they would agree to it.” You give a friendly scoff at that word. Fond of you? The word makes your heart warm more than it has already. And your face. The upturn of Mel’s lips doesn’t help either. Nor does the hand she places on your shoulder. “Consider it for a friend?” 

You’re looking at her hand, her arm. Eyes meeting hers. Such genuine eyes. Green and glittering with the gold in her hair, on the freckles speckling her face. You raise a hand slowly to place on hers. “For a friend.”  

“Good!” She pulls her hand away and motions for you to walk with her. “Enough talk of those boys.” You join her side again as you travel around the halls of the Academy. You talk about art, about the pleasant memories you had of Zaun and she lets very little slip of her childhood in Noxus. She shares artists you recognize the names of, some you don’t. You shared that you make your own paint as a hobby. Leading the two of you to the topic of what paints you each preferred. It was nice. Talking to someone about things you truly did understand. Viktor and Jayce would explain their work to you, and you would listen. But finally talking to someone that was just as knowledgeable about art as you were was a breath of fresh air. You were explaining the process of tempera paints, and why you liked making them, not using them when someone calls for Mel. 

A woman holding folders approaches, giving you a onceover before closing the distance. 

“Elora. Is it that time already?” 

“Yes, it seems that-”, she pauses before looking at you again. When Mel nods she resumes. “That there’s been a development on those trade routes we discussed earlier.” 

“Hmm, it’s always something isn’t it.” She turns to you. “Thank you for our time today, a nice escape.” Mel places her hand on your shoulder again. “I do hope you’ll keep our talk in mind.” 

“Ofcourse.” With that she leaves, Elora following behind her. When they round a corner you can hear their voices talking in a hushed tone. Imports and merchants being discussed as their voices and footsteps trail away. You’re left standing in the hallway. Realizing that with the couple hours that have passed you and Mel had traversed to a part of the Academy you were not familiar with. 

A groan leaves you as you turn to where you had come from. So if you had taken a right here, then you should see a vase on your left… 

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------------‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊ ♡ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙· Master Fic List *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ♡ ‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊--------------

[secretthegriffin]

Self indulgence lead to an impulsive crosshair sketch 🥴

[NSFW WARNING ⚠ ] <MINORS BEGONE>

Full pic below the cut

Im not sorry <3

I shall see my way to hell for such a sinful sketch 👉

Edited <3 :

[archersgoon]

assassin son or spy daughter

[catiuskaa]

charcoal, paint, post-its and tape.

SUMMARY: seeing your boyfriend’s messy art studio, you couldn’t help but want to try and surprise him with a painting of the most gorgeous piece of art you knew: him.

REQUESTED! here by my pookie wookie @4ln-stay8, and honey, this was a beautiful idea! i love writing about art and hyunjin and hyunjin and art (and hyunjin) lol, hope you like! <3

CW: hurt/comfort, mentions of anxiety, reader is really hard on herself as a perfectionist (which sadly i can relate), crying and cursing, lots of fluffy comfort in the end!

WC: 1.6k

[☆🌷🖼️🌷☆]

You hate it.

Your hand feels cramped, your head hurts and you’re close to breaking the paper if you keep on erasing the same lines over and over again.

But it’s hideous.

It’s a sad excuse of an attempt in art and you hate it.

You were tempted to kick the sketchbook away, but knowing that it belonged to your boyfriend, to hyunjin, who could actually do art, made you refrain from doing so, opting to just harshly shove it away from your lap.

It wasn’t fair. You’d seen tutorials. You had practiced beforehand. You went as far as to use his anatomy books to study it, wanting to be able to do justice to his ethereal, beautiful self by at least getting proportions right.

But no. Art wasn’t accepting your preposterous attempt to join into it.

Hyunjin entered your shared apartment as he hummed a random melody, happy to come back a bit earlier than usual, his head drifting off to how he could surprise you and what kind of activity the both of you could do with the newly-founded time.

But he froze after he kicked his shoes off at the entrance.

“Angel?” He called, and you cursed, but barely had any time to put anything back into place as he followed the sound of your gentle sobs.

“Hyun…” you started.

“My love.” He crouched down next to you, looking at you as if you held the stars and the moon just for him. “Want to tell me what’s wrong? Mhh?” He hummed shortly, his hands traveling to your face and stroking it sweetly.

You stared at him, your heart troubled, so the only coherent response you could come up was throwing yourself to his arms.

The long-haired artist hugged you tightly in response, a part of him appreciating having the type of trust that allowed you to break before him and let him watch you reasemble with a little helping hand.

You sniffed, then shook your head sideways.

“Are we doing the nod and shake?” He smiled in efforts of making you join him, which you did shortly, and he allowed himself to take that as a win. “We can do that, pretty. Nod if you want to.” He snickered.

But you shook your head, staring down at the forgotten sketchbook.

“I-it’s just th-a-at I… I w-wanted… wanted to surprise you… b-because I-I wa-s trying to paint…”

Hyunjin’s face shined upon your confesion.

“My pretty girl was painting?” He chimed back with a gleeful joy. “But you’re not having fun. What happened?”

You just shrugged, sinking your head in your hands. “It’s horrible.”

“Can I see it?”

Watching you nod, it was only then when Hyunjin separated himself from you just enough to grab the sketch, then sprung back to your side.

A silence only broken by your unsteady breathing clouded the house as he viewed the canvas.

“Do you want my opinion, my advice, or my shoulder to keep crying?” He offered soothingly, and you rolled your eyes at his last mention. “What? My shoulders are very comfortable. I don’t even charge if you leave tears on my shirt, you know.” Hyunjin teased with a smile that you were quick to match. Another win for him.

“I just… I don’t know…” you sighed, melting against him. “It’s… ugh.”

He stared at your piece in silence, which you didn’t, only zoned out, playing with your hands as the silence crept up your spine.

What if he hated it too?

“It’s just like how you do with your post-its.”

He interrupted your spiral of thoughts, and you blinked at him, so Hyunjin repeated himself with a gentle smile. You then sniffed, a small chuckle fighting to get out in the midst of frustated tears. “What are you on about?”

“You have your cute organizing board filled with post it notes, don’t you, lovely?”

You nodded, but scoffed, still submerged in the depth of the painting —or rather lack thereof. “What’s that got to do with anyth-“

You trailed off when his hands, still a bit colder from the weather outside, cradled your face, forcing you to look at him, a beautiful sight you didn’t notice you were evading.

“Listen to me for a second. Please?” He pleaded, eyes soft, and giggled sweetly when you pouted, a petty way of letting him know you were listening. You blushed when he kissed you.

“So. Your post it notes.” Hyunjin smiled. “You stick them on the board, but often, they slip down, right?” He asked, to which you nodded. “And when that happens, I noticed your little trick, brains.” He booped your nose, and you couldn’t help but smile coyly. “Tell me, beauty. What do you do when they don’t stick?”

“I… I put a small piece of tape on the back.” “And it works like magic,” he grinned, beaming in a kind of proudness you had never seen on anyone, not when it came from others aside from themselves. And it mended your frustrated heart to see him like this, his now warmer hands stroking your cheeks.

He took one of your hands, and with a strained groan, reached to his pencil cade, grabbed a piece of charcoal and stained your hand with it, kissing your palm sweetly

“These are now the hands of an artist. And artists, just like you and me, can be quite like those little post it notes of yours. We bend right after taking us out of the package.” He chuckled, and you followed along, letting the sound of his voice lift your spirit. “It won’t matter how, there can always be a crease, or the glue won’t stick right, or the color is too blinding, maybe too dull, perhaps the paper got stained with paint or ink.” He stared at you, deeply so, allowing you to see through him, allowing you to understand.

This wasn’t about post it notes. Not anymore.

He continued. “But, just as your post its, sometimes…” he smiled. “Sometimes all we need is a bit of tape to stick in place.”

He kissed your tears away one by one, allowing your breathing to even out, matching and following his as you relaxed against him.

“Let me help you stick back on the board.” He looked at your lips in a flash, then bashfully went back to your eyes. “Let me be your tape.”

He hugged you tightly, and he showed you the sketch.

“To me it looks fine, beauty.” He started. “It’s a really nice attempt. Would I redo some things? Probably, if I wanted to be really perfectionist, because it doesn’t look bad at all. Or maybe I’d let the color do its magic.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “The thing about drawing is that we cannot let it control us, hoping to achieve perfection. That can’t be achieved, my love.” Hyunjin laughed. “Even what we see sometimes doesn’t look right in real life. There are references and references, and if a drawing’s sketch isn’t quite what we’re looking, sometimes we may need another one.”

You stared at him softly, comforted in his honest commentary.

“I can help you. You know were to find me.” He smiled sweetly.

“I…” you sniffed, staring at your charcoal-stained hand.

“I just want a coffee right now.”

You both giggled as you stood back up, and he engulfed you in a bear hug, picking you up and carrying you to the kitchen, determined to make you the best coffe in the whole year.

It wasn’t until the next morning that you found him puting your first sketch next to his. Only this time, instead of his usual messy tape lines, yours han bits of tape glued to the back.

Little by little, charcoal and paint helped post-its and tape, but even with the smallest things, it could certainly be the other way around.

And Hyunjin loved it any kind of way— Hyunjin loved you, post-its, charcoal stains and all.

[☆🌷🖼️🌷☆]

catiuskaa, may 2024 ©

~kats, who will now go to bed with my own cup of hot milk (not coffee lol, and sadly not made by hyunjin either)

[felassan]

Brian J. Audette: "As promised, what follows is an unofficial behind the scenes/director’s commentary thread for the “Isle of the Gods” mission in Dragon Age: The Veilguard for Dragon Age Day. Some Veilguard spoilers will follow, so Beware." [source thread]

Rest of post is under a cut due to spoilers and length.

Brian J. Audette: "First off, who am I? I'm Brian Audette. I was the level designer on Isle of the Gods and the level design lead for the critical path (and other scattered missions) on Veilguard for the last 3.5 years or so. While some levels changed hands between people over time, Isle of the Gods was mine from the beginning. And speaking of the beginning, what a great place to start. Usually when a level designer starts work on a crit path mission, the main dialogue and narrative is already written. In this case the writer was Bioware veteran Sylvia Feketekuty whose fingerprints are all over the game, but who you can primarily thank for Emmrich. While this initial narrative work gives us a general idea of what the mission needs to be, the gameplay is only a suggestion at this point. As the level designer, the first thing I do is flesh out the gameplay implied by the narrative and then design the steps that will connect those moments. This is all done “on paper” in a concept doc. I’m a very visual thinker and while not a requirement of this process, I used a free online fantasy map making tool to mock up a sketch of what I thought the level could be in order to help me wrap my head around it."

"Once that’s reviewed and approved, the more physical work on level design begins: blockout. Essentially this is where the level designer uses simple geometry to craft a skeletal version of the level in order to test gameplay, pacing, flow, etc. In the case of Isle of the Gods, the initial blockout and the final version of the level look very different, but the major beats, how they connect, and even most of the pacing and timing is the same. The major difference is that originally the island was more condensed, with a moat-like river around a central rise, but when level art initially started working on it, they “unraveled” it into a crescent shape that ultimately proved much better both visually and for the gameplay."

"One thing that barely changed from blockout to the final level, was the very start of the mission, but especially this rocky arch. I added it early in blockout in order to sell the idea that we were landing on a rocky, secluded cove."

"The initial beach area changed several times during development. It started big, got smaller, and got bigger again for various reasons. At one point there was some light deep stalker combat here, but the pacing felt better without it in the end. Another thing that barely changed from the original blockout was the gods’ ritual site and how it’s seen in the distance. My initial inspiration for how this should look was the Castlevania games, where Dracula’s lair is always at the pinnacle of the castle and juts precariously out into the air."

"Unraveling the level to be more of a crescent allowed both for more views of the ritual site as we climb and an earlier view of the Antaam presence across the inner bay than what was originally intended. I think this helped better sell the bigger combat that follows the first small encounter. I cannot claim full credit for the mortars combat beat. At one point we had a group focused on interesting combat moments and this was their idea, that I ultimately refined as what’s in game now. I think it’s more fun than just fighting a bunch more enemies alone."

"As we approach the entrance to the gods’ stronghold from the beaches, we get this moment where we see explosions in the distance as evidence of the rest of the team's (those not with Rook) efforts to distract the Antaam. This was another view helped greatly by art’s unraveling of the level."

"If you head down to the beach just after seeing the explosions, you can find some goodies and one of our visual Easter eggs … an homage to Planet of the Apes. This was initially setup by the level artist Meggie Rock and I decided to place a chest right where one could get the best view of the statue"

"Incidentally, this makes me want to hear Gareth David-Lloyd deliver the “You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you! Damn you all to hell” line from Planet of the Apes, but as Solas. The next bit of the level proceeds more or less as it was originally blocked out, though the area with the deep stalkers at the top of the first elevator was an addition that had to be made after level art decided to blow out the traversal in that area to a greater degree than I initially intended. The overlook where you fight some mercenary mages has one of my favorite notes. Sylvia and I wanted to press the idea that a larger Antaam presence here had been drawn away by the explosion at the camp below and It was my idea to have a note from a bored Antaam lookout, counting floating rocks."

"One thing that changed even before I was done with the blockout, was Elgar’nan’s speech as you make your way through the ruins and up to the second elevator. Originally we had wanted his face in the sky like Ghilan’nain at Weisshaupt, but decided to trade it for the Archdemon flyby we used instead. At the top of the zip line just before the Archdemon flyby is one of my favorite views: the gods’ ritual site silhouetted against the eclipse. The initial description of this shot was used almost like a mission statement for this level in the original concept."

"Here’s a fun bit of trivia for you: The second elevator in Isle of the Gods is the longest elevator ride in the game. Also … elevators used to be slower and I’m pretty sure this ride contributed to speeding them up everywhere. The fight while waiting for your companions to open the gate after the second elevator was always intended to be big. Originally I had designed an arena with lots of cover and elevation changes, but when we decided to use a couple Reavers for the fight, things got a lot flatter."

"This waterfall area after leaving the gatehouse was never in the original blockout, but it’s something the level’s original artist put in and that we liked so much, we tried to find use for it as a nice side path for loot and a note."

"My original blockout for the area after the gatehouse (now known as the Elven Ruins) was much different. The pacing and the beats were the same, but I envisioned it as taking place at the tops of ruined towers rising high above a caldera or pit below. Ultimately these blighted ruins work better imo. The presence of fade tears and the fact that we call them out several times in the level originally had a larger narrative purpose that we moved away from. Exploding fade tears didn’t actually exist in game until I created them for this mission and they were ultimately elsewhere to good effect. The blight destruction before entering the gods’ inner sanctum was a beat that went through several iterations early on. We knew we wanted to halt the player at a door like we did at the gatehouse, but didn’t want to use the same idea of fighting until the door opens again. At one point I had some over complicated ideas about using fade tears to blow up blight boils, but with level art’s help we settled on something less about combat and more about traversal."

"Now we’re getting close to the end. When you open the door to the gods’ inner sanctum, right before it fades into the cinematic, you can see your companions who have gone ahead, waiting for you in the room. Most will miss it, but I wanted that attention to detail. While the general structure of the final section of the level didn’t change much from the original blockout, the gameplay certainly did. Everything after that last elevator ride in cinematic was overhauled to create an experience that was much more about this looming confrontation with Ghilan’nain. “A master class in blight boils” was how we had originally approached the two sections before the boss fight here and I originally had some really cool and puzzle-like blight destruction utilizing boils that would regrow."

"Ultimately we removed that puzzle aspect however as we wanted a lot of combat and in play testing it, it just felt too busy. We could either have a big puzzle or a big combat, but both was too much, so we decided on combat as it was more in keeping with the pacing of the end of the mission. The fight against Ghilan’nain was a collaboration between myself and several other designers. We knew we didn’t want to attack her directly (that’s Lucanis’ job) and we knew we wanted to strip away your companions at least initially. Once again, we decided to use the blight. If you think this fight is chaotic now, imagine it with blight boils that regrow! Like the previous section, we decided to ditch this idea as it detracted from the rest of the fight. Incidentally, you can beat this fight without killing a single enemy. My best time is somewhere just under 2 minutes. And that brings us to the end of Isle of the Gods. I hope you enjoyed the mission and I hope you enjoyed this look behind the curtain. And remember "Whatever it takes!""

[source thread]

[jenchan-writingmultis]

Hi, darling! Sorry for the bother, first and foremost. I've seen a similar post of yours before so I would like to see ur take on Cruella!Reader x Vil if it interests you enough. Their duo would really be smthng, especially w/ such distinct & contrasting personalities. I would love to see it platonic. Have fun & thanks!

Add a Little more Flair

‿︵‿︵‿୨ ୧‿︵‿︵‿

A/n: ackk you’re so sweet Anonnie, I didn’t expect being called a darling (๑>◡<๑) and the fic you might be talking about is Beauty in Chaos! Genre: Fluff Pairing: None (Platonic Vil & Gn Reader) Credits: The design was made by me in Canva and the art that was used is all from the Official Twisted Wonderland Cards. The line breakers are from Kaomoji dividers! Masterlist

‿︵‿︵‿୨ ୧‿︵‿︵‿

If there was a dormitory you were most suited for, it was Pomefiore, you just felt at home in the luxurious vibe of it, while in your world before, you were someone who got by and was financially stable enough to buy the latest fashion trends of outfits, in this world you had a tiny bit of problem with that.

With no income to take out from, the thaumarks you’re given could only be used for necessities that could sustain you and Grim, any extras would be used to renovate Ramshackle. You were fine with it of course; however, you knew your worth and hoped that the extra overtime you had to put in due to Crowley’s incompetence would soon be recognized and rewarded. He was fortunate you hadn't filed a complaint.

When you first met Vil, you didn’t expect him to look this divine at all, he was the epitome of beauty! However, you knew that he could use a bit of glitz in his taste in fashion, you would expect someone like him to choose colors that truly highlighted his features, rather than the bland shades that made him blend in with all the "Potatoes."

“You know,” You spoke, breaking the tension that was marinating in the living room of Pomefiore, the reason you were there was because Epel decided to invite you to play cards with him, Ace and Deuce, using some new game cards from his hometown that his grandmother gave him, but didn’t expect that Vil would be around and not doing any housewarden duties outside.

“What is it?” Vil glanced down, surprised by your sheer audacity to stop him from scolding Epel for inviting you and the others without his permission. “You’re gorgeous” you blurt out as you touch the helm of his sleeve “But would it hurt you to add a little more flair to your outfits?” you let his sleeves go. Vil’s eyes narrowed “What do you mean by that?” he questioned further, crossing his arms as his eyebrows furrowed, not expecting you to give constructive criticism on his outfit, especially since all he’s wearing is his dormitory’s robe, what’s wrong with it? , but he’ll bite, he’s curious about what you have to say.

“There’s no rule against adding a personal touch to your uniform,” you said, your hand gently clasping his wrist as you pulled him closer, your eyes fixated on the luxurious silk fabric. “You could incorporate some elegant jewelry,” you suggested, your voice trailing off as you imagined the possibilities. “And how about a stylish fur coat? Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“What exactly are you suggesting?” He was growing increasingly confused by your mixed-up words. Did you want him to add jewelry? Wouldn’t that overshadow his face if he wore fancy jewelry or a fur coat? Who are you? Crewel?

“If you’d let me, I’d be thrilled to sketch a design to make Pomefiore’s uniform more lavish!” you exclaim, your earlier composure giving way to enthusiastic fangirl excitement.

“Hey- dude- I don’t think” Epel was going to grab your shoulder, but you ducked down on your bag, opening it and pulling out a sketchbook. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Epel!” you said, eyes twinkling, “Pomefiore is one of the most eye-catching dormitories I’ve seen out of all the dormitories, it'll be nice if I could find a way to make all of your designs more outstanding”

Hearing that made Vil huff almost proudly, “Well, with a compliment like that” he drawls out, eyes closing as he presses his hand on his head, “If you could present to me a “lavishing” design of an outfit, then you’re free to do so,”

Epel stares at you out of shock, along with your two other friends, even Grim is surprised. “I didn’t expect you to have such a …” Epel tried to find the right word while looking shocked, But Rook popped out of nowhere and finished his sentence. “passionné for beauty?”

“Gah!” Epel squeaks out, while you are busy sketching a quick sketch of your inspiration. “Bonjour” he greets, eyes scanning everyone as he goes beside Vil, who is intently watching. “My, the sketch on the other side shows experience in their work” he compliments you, as his eyes tear off from your book to Vil, “If the outfit they sketch fancies you” he says, as he backs away, creating a bit of distance to fully admire Vil, who glanced at him “Would you consider changing the design of our fair uniforms? Roi du Poison?”

“That’ll depend” he sighs, while he was intrigued that you immediately went to work in front of him, he has an inkling of suspicion that you were related to Crewel in some way, one of the professors that helps him with the creations of designs.

“Here” You shoved the sketch into his hand, and he grabbed it, scanning the piece of work you created, he’s impressed, this looked rather beautiful he’ll give you that, but with how big you made the fur that was wrapped around the host’s shoulder, (which he thinks might be him due to the hairstyle)  you made him look like some kind of beast, which irked him, remembering how Leona is. Overall, the colors that were added were solely complimenting and making the individual dorm robes prettier.

“While I certainly think that the… furs are lovely” he says, looking at you while you look back at him with sparkling eyes, as if you’re waiting for his approval, for some reason, he couldn’t say what he’s about to say to your face, sighing in defeat, he hands you back your notebook. “How about you give me a physical design of this?”

“Really?” you nearly jump as you grab your notebook, closing it swiftly, but freezing up as you stare at him, a nervous smile etched to your face “I… don’t have the materials”

“I know,” Vil said, extending his hand expectantly. A student promptly placed Vil’s wallet into his palm. “That’s why I’ll be sponsoring you for the silk and equipment you’ll need,”

Rook watched the entire exchange with a gentle smile, pleasantly surprised that Vil hadn't rejected the idea outright. Vil was known for his discerning standards and rarely entertained notions he deemed absurd. As Rook tapped his chin thoughtfully and gazed intently at Vil, he wondered if Vil genuinely desired a fur scarf, or if it was a test of your sincerity in your admiration for the Pomefiore Dormitory. New designs were always welcome in Pomefiore, but the housewarden had high expectations for anything that adorned his dorm. As long as they met his exacting standards and were deemed beautiful in his eyes, they had a chance.

“Are you sure about this?” You felt guilty as Vil showed you a credit card, was he going to let you run around with it? It’s a black card too!

Seemingly reading your mind, Vil scoffed. “You’re mistaken if you think I’ll just hand this over to you,” he said, seeing your hand twitch toward the scarf only for it to be pulled away and slipped back into the dark purple wallet. “I’ll be accompanying you to the mall,” he declared. Epel, wide-eyed, gasped, “What?” and quickly went besides you instead of staying behind.

“I doubt you’d know what fabric our dormitory use,” he remarks before shushing you when you were about to speak, knowing that you were about to say the exact fabric that it uses “And even if you do, you don’t have any expenses to create one”

“But-“ he glares at you, effectively shutting you up, he knows you were planning to appeal to him that you can buy the fabric on your own, and while that was what you were planning to do, it wasn’t to max out the credit card, but it’s to avoid burdening Vil.

“I will come with you, no questions asked,” he finishes, turning away, “Also please find an appropriate attire for that, we’ll leave in Friday “As he leaves you stood there dumbfounded, you turned your head to Epel, who looked as shock as you.

“…. I don’t have an appropriate attire to wear for Friday”

“That’s what you’re worried about!?”

The day you were anticipating with Vil wracked your nerves either way, your wardrobe wasn’t exactly befitting you, especially with your will to look as impressive as you are currently, which isn’t as impressive as one thinks.

You only had a few shirts, and some pants that Crowley bought you during his time of vacation the blinding color of bright orange and light blue made your eyes sore, and that design…

You gulp, grabbing it, your uniform’s pants were already dirty, and you would either suck it up and go like this or smell bad, a “pick your poison” type of choice.

“What in the world are you wearing.” Is what Vil said the moment he knocked on your door, expecting a decent outfit instead of whatever monstrosity you decided to assault his eyes with.

“It’s not that bad” you jab, not wanting to look down at all as you tried your best to at least make the colors work but it became a rainbow of disaster instead.

“You’re not going to go out with me in that outfit” he pushes you back in,  as a flurry of protest came out, Grim was currently out with Ace and Deuce, talking about going on a hangout without you as revenge for going to the mall with Vil only. The moment Vil reached your bedroom, you sat down on your bed with a huff, “Surely you’re just creating a mockery of me with how horrendous that outfit is” he said, glaring at the wardrobe as he opened it, only to reveal… nothing. His eyes widen at the sad aura the inside was letting out, it almost looks depressing. “You weren’t just making it up” he droops a bit as you stand up, “my uniform is in the laundry I haven’t cleaned it up” You sigh, feeling embarrassed by the lack of finesse. Vil sighs exasperatedly, offering his hand as he pinches the bridge of his nose “I have spare clothing that would look better on you” he extends his hand for you to take easier, which you do, not wanting Vil to come dragging you out.

Strolling back to Pomefiore with his hand on yours, he immediately goes to his bedroom, opening his own wardrobe, which has its own room.

Vil checked on the plastered tags on each outfit, these were what he had worn long ago, surely there was one that would fit your vibe and whole aesthetic, as you watched from behind him, Vil’s attention diverted to a black outfit that would fit your figure, he promptly takes it out, giving it to you. “Here”

Your eyes fixated on the black outfit that Vil pulled out, feeling a magnetic pull on it as you grabbed the outfit, “I’ll try it on” you declared before Vil could even say anything, a faint smile was now plastered on his face as he chuckles “Very well” he liked people who didn’t question his taste, and much more if they understood that what he picked was simple phenomenal, it fits you.  He couldn’t stop his heart from fluttering since this time you didn’t question or debate him with his taste.

Which made him wonder if he wanted your approval?

The moment he walks out of the wardrobe room, you start to dress up, pushing the fabric down, to smoothening the wrinkles off your outfit. To others the outfit might be extreme considering you’re not going to a fancy party, just going to the mall to go on a shopping spree. However, to you and Vil, looking your best no matter what situation it was crucial.

You stared at the huge mirror in front of you, humming while you thought it looked great however something was missing, more specifically… you look around hand touching each fabric as you feel something soft, eyes widening out of mirth as you grab it out of the hanger, your expression beams as you wrap it around yourself.

“A scarf! Perfect!” You squealed out as you looked at yourself, now you look fantastic!

Vil on the other hand was sitting down, fixing his face with light makeup, the fabric had a subtle sheen, catching the light with every movement, and the jacket's sharp lines accentuated his impeccable taste. Complementing the suit was a silk tie in a deeper shade of violet, perfectly knotted and adding a touch of luxury to his ensemble. It fits him, hopefully your unique taste made your body and face stand out as well as his does.

Although, in his mind, when it comes to elegance, both the body, face, and the attire they’d be wearing speak volumes of what kind of person one truly is.

“I’m done” his thoughts were cut briefly as his eyes darted to where you were, he blinked in surprise at how you looked. The outfit you were wearing was perfect, it made you look elegant, as well as the fur scarf that was draped on your shoulders, he didn’t even think that he had one hiding in his wardrobe, and is that…

“Are those some of my jewels?” he chuckles, standing up and walking over to you. As he pushes your hair back, admiring the intricate design of the earrings you picked out. You’ve outdone even his expectations.

You earned his respect, unaware of his admiration for your taste you sheepishly grin, “You don’t mind right?” you asked, fiddling with your fingers as Vil shook his head. “Nope, I trusted my judgment to let you pick your own clothing after giving you that outfit”

He pats your head before stopping himself, not wanting to ruin the hairstyle you picked out for yourself, “I didn’t expect us to both be wearing something extravagant just to go on a shopping spree” You laughed, nudging his arm “Please, the employees might think we’re millionaires” you joked, making Vil laugh with you. “I am a worldwide known model, they’ll know that, for you though,” he hums, thinking about the possible scandal, which he prepared thoroughly for, as he walks over to his phone, grabbing it. “I decided to go to the mall my father frequents,” he adds, tapping his phone as he texts his driver. “My reputation won’t be scandalized with that mall, since it is often frequented by businessmen and ambassadors”

You nod in acknowledgment, excited to go to a mall with such high profiled people around. “Alright, I’m fine with that” You tap the heels of your feet, trying to fit the shoes that you picked out better, you’re pleasantly surprised that Vil almost had all the sizes, man or woman, which is great.

The moment you went out of Night Raven, Epel went to meet up to you, he looked a bit flustered seeing you in such an outfit that it looked almost natural. He was going to check If Vil was going to drag you but didn’t realize that you wanted to do this in the first place, the bracelet you were wearing, the lipstick and light make up you placed on your face fluctuated your prettiness, making Epel look pale in comparison to you. Rook on the other hand, spouted compliment after compliment to you and Vil, how you two looked like partners in crime, Vil’s nose crinkled as he sighs.

“Enough with the pointless compliments Rook, I appreciate it” he stops Rook, who obediently went silent, a small smile on his lips plastered on his face.  “We’re running late, take care of the dormitory in the meantime”

“Oh, Roi du Poison, I apologize for keeping you,” he says as he walks closer, touching Vil’s hand and placing a kiss on it. “Have fun on your trip, I’ll make sure to keep Pomefiore in flawless shape once you’re back”

Vil nods as he opens the door to the back seat, letting you go in first before he does. The driver greets both of you with a good morning before Vil instructs him to drive.

You had a mirror with you as you reapplied a bit of your chipped makeup because Epel hugged you tightly to the point some of your makeup stained his uniform, hopefully, the foundation you used was easy to take off, worried for your friend’s outfit.

During the whole ride to the mall, you and Vil were silent, both busy with your own thing, the driver who thought you might be Vil’s lover started to feel uneasy that he might have gotten it wrong, happy that he didn’t decide to pry into Vil’s life.

After the ride, you and Vil managed to arrive at the mall safely, your eyes once again sparkling as your heels tap on the pristine floor, the whole vibe of the mall screams luxury, with well-known brands from all over the world spreading out. Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Prada are on the first floor already. “Wow” you gasp out while Vil smiles, no matter how many times he has gone here already, the architectural designs of the building never fail to impress him either way, the mix of nature and intricate designs, it made him feel at home sometimes.

Too bad you’re only around here to buy fabrics for the creation of the uniform you desire. “Where should we go from here?” you asked, eyes tearing away from admiring and back to Vil’s face.

Vil hums as he walks forward, not looking behind since he knows you’ll follow, like a chick to a mother hen. “Since we’re already here” he trails, “might as well buy something for you”

“What?” your eyes widen, buying, here? Sure, you could do that in your world before, but currently, you don’t have a cent to your name as Vil only gave you a dismissive wave. “Think of it as repayment for helping me snap out of my Overblot” he says, hoping that this adventure of yours wouldn’t look like he’s always going to give out charity.

“Also” he adds, staring down at you realizing the stark contrast of your horrendous outfit to the one he recommended you in, “I rather see you in decent outfits than that monstrous combination you had due to your limited wardrobe” “Fair” you said, nodding at that outfit you had to force yourself to wear.

Half of the day was spent with you and Vil idly picking dresses, outfits that would fit you, ranging from what you can wear for outside, inside, formal and others. Vil seemed to have said less about your unique taste, realizing how much you love synthetic fur, similar to Crewel.

“Are you related to Crewel?” he asked since you two recently just finished a shopping spree, with him carrying your bags since he could never let you carry Them, you carried a few bags, but most of it was carried by him, you, who was munching on the parfait you ordered. “No” you flat out said, if you were related to him, he would have given you plenty of outfits instead of leaving you with one uniform and a few other uniforms such as PE pants and shirt.

“Your taste in outfit reminded me of his” Vil hums out, taking a bite of the banana cue desert. “Oh please, if he was truly related to me,” you add, pointing the spoon at Vil, “You think I would have to wear that blinding orange, blue pants with matching maroon colored shirt?”

Vil laughed pushing the spoon down with his spoon “Seriously” he chuckled, hiding his lap using his hand. “You’re hopeless with that outfit, I’m glad I dragged you here”

You smile softly, liking the way that he relaxed around you. You and Vil were like two peas in a pod. After taking a quick break, you grabbed the sketchbook you had out, looking at the fabric you needed and how much you needed. Vil stared at the sketchbook before guiding you up to the last floor, where they sell fabric. “Is this where the fabric for Pomefiore was bought?” you asked, curious if that’s how expensive it would be if that was true, imagining the expenses already made you dizzy.

“Of course, not” he flat out said, making you droop “Then what’s our trip for here?” you complained, unsure if you want to use any other type of fabric if you’re truly set out in changing the form of their attires.

“Fret not” he says rather confidently, “The fabric here is more top-notch than ours,” he says “If you manage to create a fascinating example of your sketch, then I’ll try contributing extra money to have the headmaster let us handle the major changes,” he says, causing you to think about it more deeply. If you could do a good job in this, then your desired outfit will come true!

Nodding to Vil, you went ahead and went inside the store to get the necessary things you need. It only took you about an hour to pick as the employee is ecstatic to see the Vil Schoenheit buy from them. After finishing, Vil was already having trouble carrying the plethora of bags, so you two decided to sit down for a second, as he calls for the driver.

The driver immediately went to aid both of you, sweat dropping when he saw how many bags you and Vil had, is that even going to fit the trunk?

Miraculously the driver managed to get it all in, with minimal struggling, he should get a raise for his hard work as he smiles proudly at Vil, who gives him a tip for his work. “Good job, my father compensates you fairly, yes?” he asked as he went in, the driver pocketing the money as he nodded. “Yes sir, thank you for trusting me in your endeavor,” he said, as he started the car, quite happy that Vil was like his father, nice and sweet.

The moment they reached the Night Raven College’s parking lot, Vil already had a few students called out, specifically Rook and Epel, who was surprised by the number of bags. “Some of them shall be distributed to the Pomefiore students” he states, Epel is surprised remaining as he received an article of clothing, this is… a clothing from Prada?!

You who went out looking pretty as ever went to hug Epel who hugged back, but he just showed you the contents of the bag. “What is this?!” he asked, hoping that it wasn’t your money or you who coerced Vil to buy such expensive clothing.

“I didn’t! that’s all your housewarden’s doing” you teased, ruffling Epel’s hair. While Vil went to speak with the other students, handing them distinctive clothing that he put a lot of thought into buying, the driver went to give you the fabric and designs you had bought.  Carrying it, you walk to Vil. “Vil” you called out, catching Vil’s attention almost immediately, you seemed to struggle carrying the heavy bag so he advised Rook to carry it, which he did without complaining. “Thank you” You were starting to take off the gold jewelry you were wearing since you are planning to go back to your Ramshackle, thinking about how you left it locked all day, plus you wanted to start working on designing.

Vil stops you as he sighs “Just keep it, wear it whenever we go out” he adds before touching your cheek and giving it a pinch “It suits you, get some rest, I’ll be taking my rest as well” he advises, making you smile. “Sure, Good night Vil,” you said as you took off your heels, feeling the sole of your feet throb from all that walking. “Rook, you don’t mind escorting them back right?” Vil said, as Rook nodded, “Of course Roi du Poison” he looked down at you “You don’t mind me right Trickster?” he said softly, you laughed slightly“Of course not,” you said, as you were going to rest for awhile at first, but Epel seemed to have noticed that your legs were starting to hurt, he goes to take his shoes off, giving it to you. “Here, your feet looked bad” he mutters, as you watch him kneel down, grabbing your leg. “Oh!” you jolt at the sudden gentlemanly behavior of your friend, who seemed flustered having to do this. “Thank you, Epel,” you said, after he finished you ruffled his hair making him whine “Hey!” As you bid farewell to the Pomefiore students and the housewarden, Rook was silent throughout the way back to Ramshackle, he stood there, as you checked to see if the door was still unlocked, and to your surprise, It was unlocked, upon opening it you see Grim who was playing cards with Ace and Deuce. “Took you long enough!” Ace glared at you, clearly disdained at the idea that you had to be gone the whole day. “Grim was crying the whole time you were gone” Deuce teased as he placed the +4 uno card down, making both your friends whine and throw the Uno cards down. “I quit!” Ace huffs, clearly annoyed that Deuce was kind of good with this. You chuckle as Rook goes inside, “Bonjour” he greets them once again with a smile, seeing the heavy bag, the trio went to clean the table in order to make way for the bag.

“Merci” Rook says softly, as he lets the bag go. Grim already went to look inside, expecting tuna but all he saw was fabric. “What is this?” he whined as you sigh, sitting down on the couch, and planting your head on the soft pillow. “You were there when I asked Vil to let me design the robes right?” “Yeah” Ace nods, scratching the back of his neck, “I thought you were joking?” he admitted, making you laugh. “That’s ridiculous,” you said, as Rook smiled. “I admire your resilience Trickster” he turns around “I hope to see the fruits of your labor soon” he adds as he waves goodbye, to you and your friends, not wanting to intrude further. You sigh, realizing that you showed your project to Vil way too early, not thinking about the amount of hard labor you’ll have to do, while you’re happy with the outfits he bought you aren’t exactly sure if the payment matches the labor you’ll be doing.

Realizing your little problem as if he’s a mind reader, Ace sighs “We can help you if you want” he offers, making you glance at him, Deuce didn’t seem to be bothered by the idea. “I agree,” he adds “It’ll be payment for helping us on the overblot last time”

Grim who huffed, crossing his arms while he flops his ears “I guess it’s fine by me too”

“You guys…” you smile, jumping on them as you hug them tightly, “Thank you so much” you said, happy that they were friends you could rely on.

So, in a few weeks, you had help, making the workload much easier, the design had to be tweaked and you went to Pomefiore just to measure Vil’s width, height, and length, taking an extra robe for reference too.

You truly made your friends go ragged, Ace looked like he’s on death’s door with how he’s been cutting fabric, and measuring it, while Deuce helped you with knitting, and Grim, whose tiny paws were starting to get tired of holding your sketchbook.

After a whole month of nonstop grinding, you were happy that schoolwork was lenient as well, with the professors busy preparing for other events, and guiding each individual club.

The moment your past sleepless nights finally paid off as the design you created came to life, your eyes sparkled, falling down on the floor, making Ace catch you. “Hey! Careful!” he scolds you, but you just laugh. ‘It’s done” you said, feeling exhaustion creeping into your system, “Hey… Call Vil I’m going to…” before you can even finish the sentence, your vision goes black.

The only things you felt were being carried, placed on something soft, as you drift into sleep.

After a few hours, you heard talking, making you stir up from your sleep. “… the fabric is nice..” you heard as you regained your senses, with Vil already tracing his fingers on your finest creation. You jolt awake, and the sudden sit up made your head ache. “Don’t move” Vil said, noticing you’re finally awake as he walks towards you, giving you water. “You…” he glares at you, eyebrows knitting in frustration. “I never set a deadline” he said apprehensively, “So why in the sevens did you have to push yourself that hard?”

You scratch your cheek sheepishly “Sorry, I thought that if I don’t finish it within a month you would forget” you admit, knowing that Vil’s expectations were high you truly didn’t want to disappoint him.

Vil sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose once again when he felt a migraine coming. “You did a great job,” he says, making you jolt cause that compliment was out of nowhere “But if you created the outfit with moderation” he adds, standing up from kneeling to go to your eye level, “I wouldn’t feel guilty for having high expectations for you.

“Wait, do you mean?” you frown, your hard work would go to waste if he disregarded it. “The outfit is fascinating, however, I cannot just implement such a complicated design”

You were close to crying, all that work just for nothing. “However” Vil added with haste “I could wear this in occasion” he said, “Like foundation day, I’ll keep this” It was rare for Vil to stumble over his words, placing a hand on your head, “So, don’t cry, you did great, splendid even” Feeling relief wash over you, you lean to the pat, “Thank you”

[djarindroid]

Against All Odds

Pairing: Eric (AQPDO) x Reader

Summary: After meeting Eric and slowly growing closer to one another will you be able to get back to each other in this new silent world?

Word Count: 5,876

Warnings: Descriptions of violence, death and blood

Comments: I dunno why but I'm more nervous to post this than I have been about anything else I've written. Hope you enjoy!

The nights spent working at the NYU Law School library were peaceful. Where dimly lit aisles provided a sanctuary to any student burning the midnight oil. Your job was easy enough, re-shelve a few books and help the occasional student find something. Whilst night shifts weren’t ideal it was a sure way for you to save up to achieve your dream; going to art school. Besides, it gave you plenty of time to work on your sketches.

It was nearing 2am when someone burst through the doors, looking up from the returned books you were sorting though you saw a disheveled young man anxiously scanning the room until his eyes landed on you. Rushing over he blurted out, ‘Excuse me, I need a book on constitutional law. I have a paper due and my laptops just crashed on me.’ 

You smiled, hoping to ease his panicked state. ‘You’re gonna need to go up a floor to aisle 23, there should be some constitutional law books on the 2nd and 3rd shelf.’

‘Okay, perfect, aisle 23,’ he repeated as he began to walk away. ‘Thank you so much!’ 

You watched him go, slightly chuckling to yourself as he went to go downstairs instead of up, clearly too distracted to remember everything you said.

‘Hey,’ you softly called out. He halted, and turned to you. ‘Upstairs,’ you pointed up to emphasise where he went wrong.

‘Oh right, yeah of course, you said that. Thanks again,’ he stammered out as he quickly corrected himself, bounding up the stairs two at a time. You couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped you as you watched him go. Shaking your head you returned to sorting the books.

The next few hours passed uneventfully, a couple of other students came in and out but no one needed anything from you. As the clock ticked closer to dawn you decided to take a walk around the library, to check if any books had been left out.

As you made your way upstairs you wondered if the guy from earlier had found what he needed. Turning the corner at the top of the stairs you spotted him, working diligently in a sea of open books. The desk light bathed him a soft glow as he ran his hand through his already tousled hair. You don’t know what possessed you to go over to him, you only ever spoke to the students if they came up to you at the front desk, but you found yourself drawn over to him.

‘Hey,’ you said quietly, not wanting to break the serenity the library provided, ‘did you find what you were looking for?’

His deep brown eyes met yours with a hint of gratitude as they flicked up from his notes. Despite his frazzled appearance he had an undeniable charm. His slightly stubbled jaw line may have been tense with the stress he was under but there was a softness to his features that drew you in.

‘Oh hi, yeah I found everything,’ he gestured to the scattered books around him. ‘Thank you again for pointing me in the right direction, this place is still a bit of a maze to me.’

‘Not a problem, late night book adventures are all a part of the job,’ you joked, earning you a small chuckle from him.

‘I’m Eric, by the way,’ he said as his gaze lingered on you, causing a warmth to spread inside you. You hoped you weren’t blushing as you managed to reply with your own name.

He repeated it, his English accent making each syllable sound deliberate and thought out. ‘Thanks again. I should probably get back to it before the caffeine completely wears off.’

Understanding his situation, you nodded. ‘Good luck, if you need anything else let me know,’ with that you made your way back to the front desk. You tried to work on some of your sketches but your thoughts kept wandering back to Eric. You’d seen your fair share of late night students, but none had captured your attention quite like him.

Hours slipped by, the library remained quiet with only the occasional rustle or soft footsteps echoing in the stillness. Each sound drew your attention to the stairs, hoping to see Eric walking down.

But soon enough the first rays of sunlight began to filter through the windows, signalling the end of your shift. You packed your stuff, glancing over your shoulder every few seconds in the hope of seeing Eric one last time before you left. Feeling a bit foolish for lingering over a brief encounter you sighed and stepped outside.

The next night came around quickly and before you knew it you were back in the library, among a new shipment of books, in need of scanning and logging onto the system. The smell of fresh pages and the rhythmic beeping of the scanner offered a welcome distraction from the lingering thoughts about Eric. You’d scolded yourself for fixating on a man you’d only had a few interactions with, deciding you needed to get out more.

You settled into a steady rhythm of logging the books but time still seemed to drag. Just as you were about to take a break the main door creaked open. A smile unconsciously spread across your lips at the site of who walked in. Eric seemed calmer today but he still had a determined glint in his eye.

He spotted you and matched your smile. His steps towards you were more confident than the previous night, your heartbeat picked up the closer he got. ‘Hey Eric, need help finding something?’ you greeted him first.

His smile widened as he reached the desk ‘no not quite. I actually wanted to come back and thank you properly, you really saved me last night.’ He leant on your desk, resting on his forearms as he looked down at where you sat.

‘Oh you didn’t have to come back just for that,’ you flushed. Had he really just made the trip here in the middle of the night to thank you again? Maybe you’d affected him as much as he had you, you tried not to dwell on the thought.

‘Yeah I was actually planning on bringing you coffee but I wasn’t sure what you liked,’ he scratched the back of his head nervously. ‘Didn’t want to bring you the wrong thing you know? And a lot of people don’t like to drink caffeine at night so I didn’t know if you’d want it at all, and it might be a bit weird for me to just turn up with it…’

He was anxiously rambling and boy did you find it endearing. ‘I like coffee,’ you gently interrupted, once again hoping to put him at ease. ‘I usually stop on my way here for a latte.’ You nodded towards the empty takeaway cup you’d thrown out earlier.

His shoulders visibly relax, ‘good to know.’ His smile returned as he spoke, somehow warmer this time.

The subtle implication that he was remembering that information didn’t go amiss, filling you with pleasant anticipation. A comfortable silence fell over the two of you, you wanted to continue the conversation but had no idea what to say. 

‘Well I guess I should leave you to it,’ he said as he straightened up again, tapping the desk as he did. You couldn’t stop the small pang of disappointment at him leaving so soon. Why had you expected more? After all, you barely knew each other.

Despite the urge to ask him to stay, you were technically working and were unsure of how appropriate that would actually be. You found yourself saying ‘okay, have a good night.’

You could’ve sworn you saw a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. He gave you a small nod and said ‘well, until next time.’ He flashed you one final smile before he turned and left as quickly as he’d arrived.

Watching him go, the echo of the closing door filled you with a mix of regret and anticipation. You wished you’d had the courage to ask him to stay but the moment had passed.

Sighing you got back to scanning the new books. You spent the remainder of your shift internally debating yourself. You’d only just met Eric, you felt crazy thinking about him so often but there was just something about him that lingered in your thoughts. And his parting words ‘until next time’ left you wondering if perhaps you weren’t crazy at all. 

It was rare for you to speak to any of the other people that worked at the library, due to being on the night shift you always worked alone, offering polite hellos and goodbyes to the people you swapped shifts with. That's why it was odd that Jennifer, the girl you were taking over for, approached you as you arrived at work a few days later.

‘Hey, someone came in here looking for you about an hour ago,’ she began whilst rummaging through her bag for her keys. ‘Cute guy, kinda had a lost puppy vibe. Anyways I told him you started at 10.’ Without waiting for your response she triumphantly lifted her keys from her bag, said goodbye and all but skipped out of the building.

She had to be talking about Eric, right? You’d been doing your best not to think about him the past couple of days. He hadn’t been back in since his second visit and you figured he was probably just being polite. You took a seat and began trying to sort through the returned books you’d need to re-shelve but you couldn’t stop glancing at the doors knowing Eric could walk in at any moment.

Why were you so nervous? You attempted to distract yourself by focusing on the task at hand but your mind kept wandering. What if he didn’t show up? What if he did? Your stomach churned at the thought of both possibilities. The familiar quiet comfort of the library did nothing to calm you tonight. 

You couldn’t help but over analyse every fleeting interaction you’d had with Eric. Was he really interested or were you reading too much into it? Maybe he wasn’t planning to come back after he’d left earlier. You told yourself it didn’t matter, that you didn’t care if you saw him today. But you did care, more than you wanted to admit and the uncertainty gnawed at you.

Just before you had the chance to truly spiral the door swung open and there he was, the man who had been occupying your mind, holding two coffee cups. Relief seemed to wash over him as he spotted you, a shy smile making its way onto his face. 

‘Hi,’ he greeted, making his way over to you. ‘Hope I’m not bothering you.’

‘Not at all,’ you replied, your heart fluttering. 

He placed one of the takeaway cups down in front of you, ‘one latte, like you mentioned.’ 

‘Thank you so much, you really didn’t need to,’ you flushed as you reached for the drink. Your fingers briefly brushing against his sending a tingling sensation to shoot up your arm. 

His smile was calm and warm as he looked at you. ‘So… is working the night shift at a law library as glamorous as it seems?’ He joked as he took a swig from his own drink.

You laughed, ‘it’s not so bad, yeah it’s messed up my sleep schedule but it’s a pretty easy gig.’ Not taking the risk of him leaving again you continued the conversation, ‘what about you? Is being a law student as hectic as you made it seem?’ 

His laughter filled the air, a sound you could definitely get used to hearing. ‘Probably more stressful than I made it seem.’ he admitted before continuing, ‘so I take it you aren’t a student here then?’’

‘Oh, no. Law definitely isn’t for me,’ you replied, noticing his raised eyebrows prompting you to carry on. ‘I needed a job and it just so happens that not many people are rushing at the chance to work the night shifts here. I’m actually trying to save up to go to art school.’

His eyes lit up with interest, ‘art school? That’s amazing, are you planning to go to one here in the city?’

‘That’s the plan,’ you grinned up to him. 

A slight tension buzzed between you both as silence fell. Neither of you were eager for the conversation to end but both nervous to take the next step. Eric finished his drink and attempted to throw the cup in the bin, missing spectacularly. 

‘Oh shit,’ he scrambled to pick it up, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment. You couldn’t hold back the laugh at the failed attempt. In a playful gesture you picked up a crumpled piece of paper from your desk. Throwing it with a flick of your wrist you got it on the first try.

‘Oh I see how it is,’ Eric said, rounding the desk and pulling up a seat next to you. His arm brushed across your shoulder, the contact sending a shiver down your spine, as he reached around you to grab another piece of paper. ‘It’s on,’ he concentrated with mock seriousness, his tongue peaked out between his teeth. With one eye squinted he dramatically tossed the paper, landing it perfectly.

He threw his arms in the air and in a faux commentator voice exclaimed ‘And Eric makes the epic shot with only seconds left to spare! The crowd is going wild!’ 

You both dissolved into laughter, the moment completely breaking the ice between you. Any lingering awkwardness dissipated and you settled into a rhythm of throwing paper into the bin and sharing stories about your lives. It was easy, and the quiet of the library was the perfect backdrop to your flourishing connection. 

After hours of uninterrupted conversation Eric glanced at the clock. ‘Woah I didn’t realise it had gotten so late,’ he stretched into a yawn as if to emphasise his point.

‘Yeah, I guess I’m just used to it at this point,’ you replied, trying to stop your eyes from drifting down to where his top had risen during the stretch.

‘As much as I would like to stay, I have an 8am class,’ he murmured, another yawn escaping him. He looked over to you, not yet making a move to stand up. ‘Maybe I could come back and see you sometime? If that’d be okay?’ 

His eyes locked with yours and your pulse quickened, his words were confirmation that you weren’t reading too into this connection. 

‘I’d like that,’ you replied softly, feeling a light blush spread across your cheeks.

Eric’s smile widened, the tiredness in his eyes briefly fading. ‘Good, that’s great,’ he couldn’t hide his happiness at your reply. Standing up he added, ‘I’ll see you soon.’ 

‘See you soon Eric,’ your smile didn’t fade as you watched him leave. 

Just as he reached the door he paused to turn back to you, ‘goodnight.’

‘Goodnight,’ you echoed with a small wave. He returned the gesture as he stepped out into the night, leaving you looking forward to your next shift with a warm feeling in your chest.

Over the following weeks Eric became a constant part of your life. He frequently turned up during your shifts, always bringing you a drink and staying with you to talk. What started as nervous small talk soon blossomed into something more. You found yourselves sharing stories, your dreams and even just being able to rant about your daily lives to one another. You’d even swapped numbers, occasionally sending each other random texts throughout the day.

So why had neither of you taken the step to suggest meeting up elsewhere? You wanted to, you really did, but the fact he hadn’t suggested it yet made you hesitate. Was he content with the way things were, or was he just as unsure as you about taking things further? 

You found yourself lost in thought one evening, internally debating whether you should just take the next step and ask him out or keep things the way they are. A rubber band hitting your arm drew your attention back to the present, and the man sat in his now usual spot across from you.

‘Hey,’ he gently called. His eyes, soft as they met yours, showed genuine concern. ‘You were in your own little world over there, are you ok?’

‘Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about some stuff,’ you deflected, hoping he wouldn’t pry any further.

‘Hmm,’ Eric hummed as he raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. ‘Were you thinking about finally letting me see your sketchbook?’

Heat flooded your face, but you couldn’t suppress a smile. ‘Definitely not,’ you replied, placing a protective hand over the book.

‘Oh come on,’ he persisted. ‘I’ve seen you drawing for weeks now. They can’t be that bad!’

You shook your head, ‘they’re not bad, it's just… personal.’ If you were being completely honest you’d never show anyone your sketchbook and the thought of sharing yourself like that felt almost too intimate. 

He offered you an exaggerated pout and his best puppy dog eyes, you’d be lying to yourself if you said it wasn’t working. ‘You wound me,’ he clutched his chest dramatically. 

‘Wound you?’ you laughed ‘I’m sure you’ll survive if you don’t see my drawings.’

Eric let out a theatrical sigh ‘You never know, I might wither away from curiosity.’ He chuckled as he cast you a playful glance.

‘You’re so dramatic,’ you teased, rolling your eyes in an attempt to hide your amusement.

He leaned forward, ‘Dramatic? I’m just expressing my unfulfilled wish to see your artistic genius.’

You laughed at that, shaking your head. ‘Artistic genius? Now you’re just trying to butter me up.’

‘Is it working?’ he asked with a hopeful grin, his eyes sparkling as he leaned even closer.

Your heart almost skipped a beat at the way he was looking at you. You stuttered, trying to put a cohesive thought together. ‘Not a chance,’ you managed to say.

He laughed, leaning back in his chair ‘Okay, I’ll drop it,’ he turned back to his work. ‘For now.’

A comfortable silence fell over the two of you, the kind of silence that only comes when two people are genuinely at ease with each other. You were content, happy to spend your time in this little bubble the two of you had created. Eric apparently had other ideas as he broke the quiet after a few moments.

‘So, I’ve been thinking,’ he began, his tone had shifted to something more sincere. You turned to see him looking nervous, his eyes downcast.  ‘I’ve, urm, I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you,’ your heart jumped up your throat, what was he about to say? ‘I was thinking we could, if you wanted, we could go out sometime. To dinner?’

His eyes finally met yours, showing his vulnerability. For a moment you froze, the weight of what he was asking sinking in. A smile spread across your face, ‘I’d love that.’

His face lit up as the words left your lips, relief evident in his eyes. ‘Great! How about this Friday? There’s a new Italian place I’d love to take you to.’

‘Perfect,’ you agreed, feeling a flutter of anticipation. Friday couldn’t come soon enough.

Friday arrived quickly and you could hardly contain your excitement. You spent the morning out running errands. You found yourself in the grocery store, mind buzzing with thoughts of your upcoming date. Whilst reaching for a carton of milk your phone buzzed in your pocket. Seeing Eric’s name made you smile like a schoolgirl that just found out her crush likes her back.

‘Can’t wait for tonight, see you later :)’ 

You felt a rush of warmth and quickly typed back a response,  ‘Me too, see you soon!’

Before you could fully revel in the anticipation an ear splitting crash shook the world around you. The store windows shattered, sending shards flying causing you to duck down instinctively. All around you chaos broke out, people were screaming, car alarms blaring outside and another sound you couldn’t quite pinpoint.

Heart pounding, you stood and assessed the situation. Everything was in disarray, broken glass covered the floor and random produce was everywhere. Dust and debris clouded the air, obstructing your view of the outside. What the hell was happening? 

Screams were still ringing out and you could hear car wheels screeching. Adrenaline surged through you and before you knew it you were rushing outside. You couldn’t believe the chaotic scene that unfolded before you the moment you stepped onto the street. Rubble rained from the sky, people ran in all directions, and a bus was flipped on its side in front of you. 

Panic surged but you forced yourself to move. Moving where though, you had no idea. Would your home be safe? Should you even try to get there? Your legs began to push forward of their own accord, taking you away from whatever was going on here.

A screeching sound rang out and you whipped your head in the direction of the sound. A large shape rushed by the corner of your eye, its speed too high to fully comprehend what you had seen. Adrenaline took over again and you began running in the opposite direction. 

An army truck roared into view, a speaker on the roof blaring out a message- ‘STAY INSIDE! TAKE COVER!’ Suddenly the truck was violently flipped into a nearby building. You skidded to the floor and looked to where the truck had previously been. Your mouth fell agape at the scene before you, a giant monster stood in the centre of the road. 

You froze, taking in the unbelievable sight before you, as a woman ran past you shouting for help. The monster's head snapped towards her and it lunged, smashing her into the ground with one swift swipe. 

A scream stuck in your throat and you scrambled backwards. What the hell just happened? What the hell was going on? You had to be dreaming, this was some manic nightmare and you prayed you’d wake up soon. 

You continued to crawl backwards, your hands scraping against the rough ground. Whatever was left of the woman’s body laid a few feet away from you. The creature's head turned, snapping towards any sound that rang out. You held your breath, every instinct in you told you to stay silent. 

A siren sounded out nearby and the creature bounded off towards it, Seizing the moment you scrambled to your feet and sprinted down a small alley. Hoping that the narrow passage would provide some sort of cover. You crouched low behind a bin, curling yourself into a ball and covering your head. You could still hear the sounds of the absolute havoc going on around you. 

Tears began to stream down your face, you wrapped your shaking hand around your mouth to stifle any sobs that threatened to escape. You were, understandably, terrified. Nothing could prepare a person for this situation. Your body shook uncontrollably and your mind raced, trying to grasp at any logical explanation. 

You shifted slightly and felt your phone digging into you from your back pocket. Your mind instantly fell to Eric, was he okay? You grabbed your phone, without thinking you tried to call him but the line was completely dead. You prayed he was okay, that he’d found a safe place to hide. You knew you couldn’t stay here forever, maybe you should make your way to where he was and try to find him. 

A crashing sound echoed in the alleyway and you looked up just in time to see one of the creatures jumping from one roof to the other. Debris cascaded down and the last thing you remembered was raising your arms to shield yourself from some falling bricks before the world went black. 

You regained consciousness hours later, it was dark and the chaos from before had fallen eerily quiet. Dust completely covered you and your head throbbed. You tried to focus and come up with a plan but the pain was making it difficult to think clearly.

You brought a shaky hand up to your forehead to try and alleviate some of the pressure. Your fingers met something warm and sticky, pulling your hand away you were sickened to see your fingers covered in blood. A groan threatened to escape but you quickly remembered the situation, remembering how quickly the monster had reacted to sound. 

Despite the pain you knew you couldn’t stay here much longer. Deciding it would be safest to move once it was daylight you huddled closer into the small space you found yourself in. 

The silence pressed down on you, making every breath you took sound far too loud. You put your hand in front of your mouth to dull the sound of your laboured breaths. Images of the creature's viscous attack flashed across your mind. As the hours drew on, the terrifying thought that there were probably more of them gnawed at your mind. The city was far too quiet for there to just be one.

As you hugged your knees to your chest, praying for time to move faster, your thoughts circled back to Eric. Had he managed to find safety? You didn’t let yourself think of the alternative. You hoped with every ounce of strength you had left that he was somewhere safe, and that you’d be able to see him again.  

As a dim light began to rise, a rhythmic thumping noise began to grow louder and louder. As it drew closer you realised it was a helicopter and from it a message was blaring out.

‘BOAT EVACUATIONS ARE BEGINNING NOW AT SOUTH STREET SEAPORT. TRAVEL SOUTH WITH EXTREME CAUTION.’

You forced yourself to stand, taking small careful steps forward as you focused on the remainder of the message.

‘THIS IS A MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER. WE REMAIN UNDER ATTACK, SEEK SHELTER ON WATER, THE ATTACKERS CANNOT SWIM.’

Hope. If you could make it to the boats you stood a chance of escaping this living nightmare. You made your way to the alley's exit and tried to figure out the best way to go. The street that you would usually expect to see filled with people and cars was silent. The paths were now littered with rubble, cars were abandoned haphazardly, smoke billowed from a few of the buildings and people’s belongings were scattered everywhere you looked. 

The once vibrant and bustling city had been turned into a war zone. You began to make your way south, walking as quickly as you dared to go. Every small sound had you on edge, terrified that one of those things was going to appear at any moment. Your head still throbbed though the blood covering your forehead seemed to have dried.

As you continued through the city, more people began to come into view. As everyone silently walked in the same direction you couldn’t help but look to the other faces around you, hoping to find a familiar one in the ever growing crowd. Dread filled every step you took, the more people that joined the silent march the more you lost hope. How would you find Eric in all of this? 

You clenched your fists, determined to not let thoughts like that overwhelm you. Eric was okay, he had to be. 

Before long at least a hundred people, maybe even more, had joined the crowd you were in. No matter how quiet everyone was trying to be a group that large couldn’t help but give off noise. You carefully made your way to the edge, thinking it would probably be best to find another way to get to the seaport, away from the bustling of the large group. 

Just as you made it to the edge, loud screams tore through the air sending a chill down your spine. The monsters had found you all. Panic instantly erupted in the crowd, people tried to run, desperate to escape from the terror that had arrived. 

Your heart raced as you dived into what had been a clothing shop. You ran to the back and crouched behind an overturned display, trying to steady your breathing. Peeking through a crack in the counter you could see the creature's terrifying forms moving wildly through the crowd. 

You waited with bated breath, until the world had fallen silent again to emerge from your safe spot. Your whole body shook but the seaport was still your only chance to get out so you forced yourself to move. Slipping back onto the street you found it almost empty, a few survivors darted away, smoke billowed from buildings, more rubble had fallen and in the middle of it all stood a black and white cat.

The cat seemed to be looking at you. You tentatively took a step towards it, but it scampered off. Your eyes followed it, watching as it playfully chased a rat down the middle of the road, before it ran towards a subway entrance out of your eye line. For that brief moment, amidst the devastation the sight of the cat felt strangely grounding.

You let out a breath you didn’t realise you had been holding and turned away, refocusing yourself. You didn’t think you had too far to go now, though the imminent threat had you treading carefully, staying vigilant to not draw any attention to yourself.

As you continued the sun began to slowly set once again, how had a day passed already? And to make your journey even harder, it began to rain. Deciding it would be too dangerous to continue at night in the rain you opted to find shelter. 

You found a small abandoned cafe nearby and slipped inside, grateful to be taking shelter from the hard rain. You tried to make yourself comfortable behind the main counter. The hours dragged on as you stayed hidden, listening to the thunder rolling overhead. Exhaustion tugged at your eyelids, though you fought to stay awake, fearful of what could happen if you let your guard down. 

You found a small abandoned shop nearby and slipped inside, grateful to be taking shelter from the hard rain. You tried to make yourself comfortable behind the main counter. The hours dragged on as you stayed hidden, listening to the thunder rolling overhead. Exhaustion tugged at your eyelids, you fought to stay awake, fearful of what could happen if you let your guard down. 

Dawn broke and thankfully the rain had stopped. You cautiously stepped out, determined to reach the seaport as fast as possible. You kept to the shadows, moving as swiftly as you dared. It wasn’t long before the faint sound of water lapping the docks reached your ears. Turning the corner you spotted a crowd waiting at the edge of the water, silently filling onto a boat. The sight spurred you on, safety was so close. 

You stumbled onto the deck, your trembling legs almost giving out beneath you as relief flooded over you. A shuddering breath escaped you as you looked back to the city, now a desolate landscape. You found a spot near the back of the boat, watching as others boarded too, their faces a mix of exhaustion and desperation. 

As you looked over the people boarding, a tousled head of brown hair caught your eye. You stood up on your tiptoes, your heart beating faster. Could it be him? It was like a scene from a movie, the crowd began to part, you held your breath as the man's face face was slowly revealed to you. Though your heart dropped as more of his face came into view. It wasn’t Eric. You felt foolish, believing that out of everyone in the city you’d actually make it onto the same boat as him.

Taking a seat you wrapped your arms around yourself. It all felt surreal, being caught between two worlds. The chaos you had escaped and your uncertain future that lay ahead. The boat pushed away from the city, finally putting the hell behind you. All that was left for you to do was to wait, and hope that everything would turn out ok. 

‘Stop the boat…STOP THE BOAT!’ shouting jolted you from your thoughts. The urgency in the voice made everyone turn back to look at the city. Standing you followed the gazes of everyone on board and spotted a lone figure sprinting towards the water’s edge. The sight of the monsters chasing them made your blood run cold. 

The entire boat seemed to hold its breath as the person ran with everything they had, the monsters closing in on them fast. Without hesitation they leapt into the water, narrowly escaping the creature's outstretched arms. People rushed to the side of the boat, lowering ropes as they shouted encouragement. You noticed a discarded blanket on the deck, and grabbed it, knowing they would need it.

As you pushed through the crowd you caught sight of a drenched cat being lifted from the man's hands. And then your breath caught in your throat. The man’s eyes met yours and time seemed to stop. It was Eric. 

The shock hit you like a wave and before you could fully process what was happening you lunged forward, reaching out for him. ‘Eric!’ His name escaped your lips, a mixture of disbelief and overwhelming relief.

He looked equally as stunned as he whispered your name, his voice full of emotion. You fell to your knees in front of him and wrapped your arms around him tightly, afraid he might vanish if you let go. ‘You’re here,’ you heard him murmur as his arms closed around you. Tears welled in your eyes, blurring your vision as you held onto him. ‘I thought…I didn’t know if...’

You pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, not giving him a chance to finish that thought. ‘I’m here,’ you reached up and cupped his face gently. ‘We made it.’ You looked into his beautiful soft eyes, his tears mirroring your own. You wiped away a stray tear and smiled as he leaned into your touch.

And then, without another word, seeming more determined than you’d ever seen him, Eric closed the distance between you, capturing your lips in a desperate but tender kiss. The warmth of his touch grounded you in a way that nothing else could, washing away the horrors of the past few days.

Eric’s hand came up to cradle the back of your head, deepening the kiss as if he was pouring all his unspoken words into it. When you finally pulled away, breathless, his forehead rested against your own. ‘We made it,’ he echoed your words, his voice barely above a whisper as his lips brushed against yours.    

Against all odds you’d found each other. The world around you seemed to fade away as you sat there, holding on to one another. The boat rocked gently beneath you as it resumed its journey away from the city. Despite everything that happened, despite the chaos of this new world, you were together, and for now, that was enough. 

[ranticore]

selected pages from Shapeshifter Problems, a small exploration of old old concept art & thoughts on shapeshifter tropes (specifically the question of the 'true form') i posted to patreon earlier this year. there's a bunch more haha. here's some OLD art and bg process for writing said the black horse. I don't like my old art but looking back at it I'm really happy how I've developed since, I used to make everything too sharp, straight-sided, or skinny. I had to make a conscious effort to change that and now it's so much better.

image transcriptions under the cut (just the text sorry)

Image 1: "These are more of those older designs - the horns were a deliberate play into devil imagery on Puck's part while giving Félix this form (all to cause more torment of course) but again I couldn't vibe with it. Such clear statements of intent didn't work for me.

The scars remain canon but not quite so stark, more a difference in texture (again, moving away from visual details). His forehead scar is ALWAYS there."

Image 2: "Félix. These are really old - from 2019-2020. They're the first attempts at Félix's horse form. At the time I was leaning into some goat-like attributes. I liked the idea of something that looked like an emaciated amalgam of many familiar creatures but if you look closer, it actually doesn't look like any animal at all. The original body shape and proportions were inspired by moose. I didn't know how to draw convincing horse shapes which is why he had these hands and claws for so long. I still draw the little flower wheel pattern on his sides sometimes... a secret just for me. His belly fur, squared off ear shape, and beard are still defining characteristics"

Image 3: "More old art from 2020. Bottom left is my first ever painting on my iPad using Procreate. I still prefer SAI for creature drawings, or at least the original sketches underpinning a lot of my art. Below on the bottom was my attempt at a scarier form for the character but I ultimately decided that it ran contrary to the atmosphere I was trying to create. Top left is my first 'real' horse painting and it includes the tail shape which has not ever changed, and feathers, which I nixed because I wanted to learn how to draw the feet and legs properly and not rely on covering them up with flowing hair (my favourite thing to draw)"

Image 4: "Like the black horse designs, these humanoid designs for Félix (circa 2019 - OLD art!) started very complex and simplified over time. I decided to avoid visual complexity, but made the mistake of solidifying specific 'rules' for how the Púca servants' bodies work, and I deeply regret this. Because I wrote Said the Black Horse in 2021, I was still operating under the old mindset and that caused it to become somewhat established canon.

In his original iteration his tattoos represented magical contracts between him and various faeries, so they were supposed to be always visible as a reminder of that contract.

<- a really early furry version, I was playing with the eye on the neck as a design feature. Ultimately I feel that although it looks cool, the medium he exists in is proser. So I needed to move away from visually complex designs and towards designs which were interesting to different senses instead."

Image 5: "As time went on the design simplified. I enjoyed making fun textures using procreate brushes. These designs lack his forehead scar but do include his impalement scar. If you've seen my Hanged Man card you'll know how he got that one. But when I made the charts like this about how his body 'worked' in 2020, again I ran into the same issue I always do when writing about faeries... the more I explain it, the most 'logic' and 'science' goes into it, the less it feels like a faery story to me. Overexplaining is anathema to the faeries of Inver. so even though I like these design notes they just don't fit in this setting."

[winxwannabe]

Winx Season 9/Reboot Leaks

Okay here's the tea: earlier today a twitter user by the name of Cataclysm_Power started posting a video they claimed was from the new Winx season/reboot. When pressed for further information, they linked to a telegram chat with what appeared to be assets from Rainbow (17 screenshots/2 videos). After some C-grade internet sleuthing, I am here to give my (worthless and possibly wrong) opinion on which ones I think are real and fake.

A note before we jump in: I'm not posting full images on my blog, because again I do think some of these are real and if the leaker is to be believed, they hacked Rainbow to get them. You can look yourself through the telegram link, or others who've posted them on the Winx Club tag. I also think the leaker themselves is scammy because they've tried charging for Miraculous leaks before. Do NOT give them any money if they ask.

Real: Bloom, Stella, and Icy's asset sheets, Bloom Full Body Pose

A lot of these leaks are 3d modelling assets, and these 3 are the ones I'm totally convinced are real.

The biggest clue of their validity is the bottom banner. All 3 sheets have them, along with the same episode code and notes in Italian. They're all also linked to the same person: Pasqualino Masciulli is Rainbow's 3D modelling supervisor, and has been with the company for at least 9 years. He's done videos on Rainbow's youtube channel as well, using his shortened first name Lino. My main point is that's way too niche for someone to fake just to make some convincing leaks, and it would make sense for the assets to be tied to him.

Likewise, there's a full-body frame post of Bloom with fucking ugliest denim leg warmers credited to a g.riccobono. This is likely Giulio Riccobono, who is listed on Linkedin Italy as a Rainbow employee.

Probably Real: Tecna's asset sheet, Bloom's detailed asset sheet

Both of these are likely real but have weird things about them that make me pause. Bloom's more detailed asset sheet is missing the name, date and episode reference on it, and the notes are in English. Tecna's is missing the bottom banner entirely, and there's some weird cutting around her head that makes it look like someone hastily made a png and stuck it on there.

Unsure: Computer File Tab, MD Concept Photos, Videos

There's a screenshot of a folder with both 2D and 3D assets of all the girls. in the files. I'm not sure if this is from a computer at Rainbow or the hacker's personal folder, so it goes in unsure. I do think most of the assets in it are real - it's low res but the eyes on the 2D sketches are so similar to the ones on Rainbow's newer images of the girls I think they have to be connected.

There are also some full body concept photos for Bloom, Aisha, and Stella. They all look pretty legit (as they're updated version of images we've already seen) but Stella's has other images for 'possible pallets' included. She's the only one with it and the images look like they came from a flash dress-up game, and it gives me pause.

Lastly, the teaser videos of Bloom are probably real based on the outfit, animation and that stupid fucking Bloom shelf being in the background, but I'm placing it in 'unsure' because of the bandicam.com logo burned into the top. If it really came from Rainbow and everything else was downloaded, there was no reason for the hacker to not get the raw file. I think it's real, but I don't know if it came from Rainbow.

Something Ain't Right: Group Shot

What gives me pause in the fully-rendered group shot (even though its shown in the computer file tab) is it shows transformation we haven't seen teased and has a 'Lorem Ipsum' placeholder text. Aisha's hair also looks like it was done with AI - the back of her wings clip through the hair, and parts of it look copy-pasted. I'm stupid, it's the end of her braids. The 'Lorem Ipsum' thing still stands, but I'm re-filing this under 'unsure.'

Probably Fake: Darcy and Damien's asset sheets

I'm showing things from here on out because I'm so convinced it's fake please let me be right. Unlike the other character sheets, the ones for Darcy and 'new character' Damien have no bottom banner, are marked as 'Winx Club Season 9' with an outdated Winx logo, and have notes written completely in English. Darcy's has a bit of 3D modelling, but it's too different from Icy's. Maybe they're super early concepts for Darcy, but Damien...go home, buddy.

You're in the Wrong Place: Rainbow Pants Girl

I'm convinced this girl is from a different show and was saved to the 'Winx Club' folder by accident. Different clothing, hair, and shading. May you end up somewhere better than this reboot, Mystery Girl.

[pointdotiozao]

⭐️Wait list open! Slots available for November and December⭐️

You can see more of my art in my tags #myart and #art2024

DM me if you’re interested! Rbs are appreciated!

More info under the cut ↓

Process and general info

DM or email me (rose_captain@hotmail.com)* your inquiry so we can discuss the quotes and book you a slot if none are available at the moment. *I might take I little longer to reply emails.

Payments are made via PayPal invoices, I’ll need your PayPal email.

All prices are USD.

I start working after receiving half the payment upfront.

IMPORTANT: Give me a heads up if you change your url after getting a slot with me, so that later I can still find you!!

It’s alright if you need to reschedule your comm for another time, or even just cancel it, just let me know. No cancellations once I have started working though, and no refunds.

References are appreciated but not required, and well detailed descriptions work just fine, but please try to have all information necessary for the commission ready. (References and/or descriptions for the characters appearances, facial expressions, clothes, poses; background, if any; lighting/type of coloring.)

I won’t charge for tattoos of which you provide transparent pngs.

Additionally:

My wait list is just a rough estimation, the possibility I will be a bit late or a bit earlier than expected exists.

I reserve the right to refuse a commission.

I reserve the right to post my artwork and use it on my portfolio, but I’ll keep a commission private if so requested.

The commissions are for personal use only.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

Will Do

OCs, fanart, ship art;

NSFW and fetish art;

Gore and body horror;

Humanoids and furries.

I’ll give almost anything a confident try! 👍

Won’t Do

Mecha;

Hateful imagery;

IRL shipping (doesn’t apply to actors interpreting characters);

Create new designs (characters, clothes, etc.);

And I will no longer be accepting irl face claims for painting style commissions (this doesn’t apply to realistic looking video-game characters).

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

The styles:

Sketch- just the early stage of the drawing, rough forms and somewhat messy lines. May include 1 rough color for emphasis;

Lineart- clean lineart with the brush of your choice (I have 3);

Flat colors- includes lineart and simple coloring, no shadows/source of light;

Shaded- includes lineart, more detailed coloring compared to flat colors, simple lighting/one source of light;

Painting- either pieces with no lineart (regardless of type of lighting), or those which have lineart + complex lighting/two or more sources of light.

〃く⁠コ⁠:⁠彡 ₊ ˚ ⊹ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

And finally, seen below are my other contact info. Most of these accounts are still empty and I honestly don’t plan on leaving tumblr, after all the real “tumblr is shutting down” is the friends we made along the way yadda yadda, but seriously my heart can’t take it anymore. I’ll rather be safe than sorry.

[possumdrawsstuff]

THAT SCAR REF SHEET I WAS TALKING ABT FOR JIM!

all of these r based off stuff that happened in canon, if you think I’ve missed any cool opportunities then feel free to point them out! I add them because I believe that while they probably couldn’t have been included in the show for the pg rating and some of the ways he would’ve gained them being somewhat violent (even for trollhunters). I feel they add to his character and in how they would grow over time show how he would gain more and more experience as a trollhunter, yet also gaining more and more pressure and experiences that are probably not the best on jim mentally.

(Ps. I have no lightning scars In my design because lichtenberg scars, while cool looking, don’t usually last)

(Ps ps, the model I used to plan them out is from sketch fab somewhere but as I had originally not made this to post I didn’t save it, if anybody knows the creator, or is the creator, feel free to hit me up and I’ll credit you in the post.

ANYWAY MOVING ON TO THE SCARS AND MY SILLY LITTLE REASONS FOR THEM BEING THEREEE!

This is prolly gonna be angsty but I have an angsty ao3 background (to whoever read my Peter Parker nwh fic yall know ,and I am sorry I haven’t updated lol)

face/ eyebrow scar: I love that they gave him a scar in the movie, however, I didn’t like how it looked very much, especially with how he got it. I mean ARRRGHHH! Literally punched him so hard (love him Frfr but bro was not messing around even w Jim) that stone on stone had enough force to scratch some off of his face, this is why I usually make it look messier and more like scratchy scars rather than the clean cut from wizards/the unspeakable movie

2. GOBLIN/GENERAL SCARS: ok y’all I haven’t seen many other people do these but they are ver important to me 😌. Just scars from sparring could be all of these, the heroes forge has literal flying axes like ?? and in earlier seasons he didn’t always have his armor on or have a helmet at his disposal so I think he would to have had to have been nicked pretty good at least once or twice. Then there’s the goblin scars, In my version they told Barbara that it was racoons that got him , but the idea is that for Jim to have landed in the hospital he must have been hurt pretty badly that night, so, I would imagine that even while facing nomura Jim was fighting against the effects of blood loss also.

3.Angor rot: if you couldn’t tell by the photo it doesn’t show up in this! HOWEVER in my silly little side project (I’m sure some of you can probably guess what it is and if you can’t, idk look at some of my reblogs and you’ll probably find it, BUT! because it takes place after canon (yes including the movie) but also has some crunchy plot twisting In the background, the angry rot man face thing (I cant remember the name of it right now for the life of me please) will show up whenever he comes near to Jim, even if time is messed up, angor rot is back and technically hasn’t died yet so yes Jim gets the spoopy glowy thing.

4.amulet scar: idk if anybody remembers but when the arcane order took Jim’s amulet, he got scars from it right? It can be seen on his beast design is all of the tendrils leeching out from the indent of the amulet, my thinking is if his human form also got scarred by ARRGHHH! Why didn’t this scar translate too? Then again it could’ve but Jim is obviously a big fan of blue jacket*tm* so we will never know, I think he did but idk 🤷‍♀️

5.Bellroc- HEY SO ANYBODY REMEMBER WHEN BELLROC LITERALLY IMPALES JIM ON HER FLAMING STAFF!?! AND HE JUST KEPT GOING AFTER GETTING THE ARMOR!?! LIKE HE DIDNT JUST GET IMPALED? (This is partly why I think he gets like an adrenaline rush magic thingy as seen in some fic i read at some point PLEASE TELL ME IF ITS YOUR FIC I LOST IT PLEASE) YA that’s gonna leave a mark! the wound I’m guessing instantly cauterized so while yes it would hurt really bad I take that as why he was just running around after the armor.

6.burnt hand, another thing that happened in the movie but didn’t really get wrapped up in the end, Jim burnt his left hand on the gaggletac (idk how to spell it) and it just stayed bandaged for the rest of the movie, so it is also included on this list

7.back scars from bular: this one is probably the stretchiest one in this list but I think that it would have been an AMAZING addition to the plot character development wise. In one scene we see bular literally crushing and sliding Jim up the bridges interior wall and Jim is literally like silently screaming in this scene (thank you Guillermo /im sad for my son) and I like to think that after rushing over and doing Romeo and Juliet, Jim got off stage, practically ran over some people trying to get home because he can feel it, the whole play. This gives him some insight on the dangers of troll hunting. Yes I know this was a lesson beforehand but this is in the arc along with the goblins where Jim is learning he’s going to have to make personal sacrifices to keep up this troll hunting thing, including his mental health probably , it will serve as a very physical reminder of the constant danger he is now and will probably forever be in (in case y’all couldn’t tell that I’ve watched Spider-Man nwh like 8 times I’m out for blood on this one)

8.face scar from morgana: slinging the mood back around and also calling back to the “scars gained while Jim is a troll also get applied to his human form”, in like one of the last episodes maybe 2nd to last or the very last one in the final battle with morgana, she scratches Jim’s cheek with a throwing dagger and from what I can remember I thought it actually stayed on his face throughout the end of the series, I could be deluxe but I still like to add it for some reminder of the OG final battle.

not mentioned here- little pit in the amulet indention from the dark shard, and various scars from the dark lands.

if you read that entire rant I’m sorry , enjoy!

[neverpathia]

Your Smittunist short fic really inspired me!!! I hope I got all the details right. Took some creative liberties with Smitten's back 😅

holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit couldn't reply earlier because I was at a school concert and now I am back and now I am looking at this and HO-LY-FUCKING-SHIT.

DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE. AND ONE LAST DUUUUUUUUDDDDDEEEE FOR GOOD MEASURE. BECAUSE GOD DAMN!

SO THE SKETCH YOU POSTED THAT TIME WAS ABOUT THESE SILLIES? YOOOOOOOOOOOO THIS IS SO COOL I LOVE IT

guys, please follow @phospolipid-bilayer. they're underrated as hell and their designs are great AND their AU is one of the most interesting I've ever seen so far in this fandom! go check them out. I am pushing you guys towards their account. forcing you to barrel at terminal velocity in their direction. you guys are canonballing hurtling smashing into the follow button COME ON

heavy nevvey rambling under the cut

where are the fucking lines from. because whether you quoted it or came up with that or anything it is SO FITTING HOLY SHIT

AND CAN I JUST SAY, THE WAY YOU ACTUALLY ENDED UP DRAWING THEM. THE DETAILS ARE PERFECT DUDE DUDE DUDE I CAN'T WITH THE ATTENTION TO EACH LITTLE FEATURE LIKE HOO-LYYYY-SHIT.

I absolutely adore how you took Smitten's wing shape and little feather patterns and swoop at the end into account. like. I put quite a bit of thought into figuring out how that was gonna look like so it is SO DAMNED NICE seeing him in action like this.

CAN I JUST TALK ABOUT THE POSE??????? I STRUGGLE SO BAD WITH DRAWING POSES AND SIDE PROFILES AND HERE THEY ARE??????????? HOLY FUCKING CRAP HOLY SHIT DAMN CRAP UPON MY BOLLOCKS UPON EVERYTHING UP ABOVE HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT AM I SO FUCKING GRATEFUL.

(with all the swearing going on here: nevvey = cheated confirmed)

THEY ARE SO GAY TENSION THEY ARE SO TOXIC YAOI. YOU HAVE PERFECTLY, IMMACULATELY, ENCAPSULATED ALL THIS. THEY ARE IN LOVE. THEY ARE IN HATE. THEY REMAIN AT ODDS, BUT SOMETHING WITHIN THEM YEARNS FOR PEACE. oppy looking all smug. smitty looking absolutely exasperated. I love their expressions, fuck, I kinda love them in general here. dude dude dude dude DUDE I am SCREAMING I am HOLLERING I am LOSING EVERYTHING THAT I COULD EVER DEIGNED TO HAVE NOMINATED MY SHIT. amazing.

still can't believe how you managed to keep them so on model. even I stray from my own design choices far too frequently.

once. again, go drop phos a follow request because this is immaculate.

now I have got to draw something in exchange but I have like way too many WIPs in store already.,, please wait another century or two

[suzy-queued]

Art Tag

Thank you @deathclassic and @doshiart for tagging me!

How did you start drawing? What year was it that you become more seriously and consciously interested in it?

I always drew, and didn't think too hard about it. I chose art electives whenever I could in middle and high school. I specifically chose to NOT major in art in college because "I need a real career." Joke's on me ... I ended college with a degree in fine arts/illustration.

When you felt the urge to share your art with other people? When did you start posting your drawings on social media?

I shared art with friends pre-internet. We'd pass images around at slumber parties and draw art as gifts. I posted online for the first time in the late 90s, illustrations for horror stories that I drew.

Your first/earliest drawing. What were your impressions of it back then and what are your feelings now?

I was always meant to be an illustrator rather than a straight-up artist. Here is a book I created in 1981. I loved it! My spelling wasn't bad for being 6 years old.

Your first fanart ever 1986. This image from Poltergeist II. I flipped to the back page of my sketch book and drew it in secret.

Your first gallavich fanart Kinktober 2021. Charcoal and spray paint.

When you had bad days and things didn't work out, what inspired you to keep trying? I think it was the confidence instilled in me by a supportive family. I never felt like a bad day meant doom and gloom; it just meant things weren't working that day. I don't have qualms about throwing out a piece that isn't working and starting over.

Show your old piece that you strongly dislike and tell why. I don't hang on to pieces that I dislike. They've vanished in time.

Show your old piece that you very like and tell why. What's the difference with the previous? I drew this with colored pencils in 1988. I was proud of how closely it matched the album cover.

Show your old piece that you were very proud of back then. This is one of my first horror story illustrations, for "That Hell-Bound Train" by Robert Bloch.

Do you do any practice sketches or warm-ups before you draw something big? Sure! Here are a few.

Sketch vs Final. Show your process. This is from the Big Bang 2021, for Lem's story!

Your most recent drawing. (Everyone has seen this already -- LOL)

Give yourself some praise! Look at what improved in your art! Do I have to? I don't like to compliment myself because I'm still learning, even after all these years. I can draw more photographically now, but I was looser/freer in the past. Who's to say which is better?

Any advice you'd give to your earlier self? Never stop taking figure drawing classes!

Set a goal for yourself for the coming year. To not let the doubt creep in and keep pushing boundaries. To develop more of a personal style.

Tagging some of my favorite artists ... @deedala @michellemisfit (thinking of you babe!) @vintagelacerosette @darthvaders-wife @heymrspatel

@gallawitchxx @filorux @crossmydna

[yourlocalartsonist]

MONTHLY MFIP UPDATE✨✨

9/24 | Month 2 | Next Month | Month 1

Hey folks 🦐 I finally got the chance to make this month’s MFIP Update cuz god damn life was kicking my ass. College is fine for the most part tbh, just a lot of reading and writing cuz of the specific classes I chose. HOWEVER I have 💥FUCKING PMDD💥 so um skill issue on my part but it’s why I’ve been kinda exhausted as shit this week and was late with the update so my bad folks! (Also for more info on PMDD, click here! I don’t wanna spend this post yapping about it but wanted to leave a resource to spread awareness just in case :3). Also, Imma be tagging some of y'all who have been reading/supporting MFIP consistently just for this post, so yk you guys actually know these updates exist. I was gonna do that for the first ever update but as with many things, I forgor, so I'm doing it now! They’re supposed to come out on the 18th of every month, but yk sometimes life happens and I’m a lil late. It won’t be any earlier than the 18th tho so look out for these once it hits that date! Anywho, cheers to this month’s update!

Alrighty folks we be starting with the Art~!

Alrighty so obvious new thing, WE GOT RAPH’S REF SHEEEEEEEET TEEHEEEEEEE

BRO IM SO HYPE ABOUT IT! It turned out so genuinely amazing and I’m ridiculously proud of it! Especially cuz I honestly thought Raph was gonna be a harder design to figure out yk? I’m not used to drawing his body type, I wasn’t as familiar with his outfit, and even tho I’ve sketched him a few times before, I was just a bit nervous with Raph. Funfact, he’s also been the hardest to figure out how to write back when I was first starting MFIP. I genuinely don’t know why, but I got there eventually (I actually really love writing him now—) and same thing happened with his design!

Since MFIP’s taking place a few months after the Krang invasion, i’m able to take creative liberties and update the boys’ designs more! For some clarification btw, in my story’s lore, the invasion took place in September 2020, and MFIP starts on March 2021. Anywhizzle, my ideas for the boys’ designs is to combine their movie look with their show look, cuz while I do LOVE the black on them, it doesn’t feel right to me to not make them still unique in their own ways. These guys are all about authenticity, so why make their gear exactly the same, ya get me? I basically recolored his show gear to be black and red (and added a lil asymmetry on his legs) cuz I think it makes Raph feel older and more sure about himself, just feels right for him! I also just think the red fade on the black is hella cool! Fun lil color theory i think application, the black is more of a really dark, inky blue, so it makes the red pop out even more! I decided to make a bow out of his mask tails, too! I don’t wanna spoil the entire lore reasoning for it yet (it’ll pop up in the story), but I can indeed say it’s intentional that it looks a little like a lunamoth with damaged tails :3 I also took a BUNCH of creative liberties with his sais’ handles, since we haven’t really seen it much so like idk gaslight yourselves into thinking it’s always been this epic✨✨

Also I gave him his shorts back because FUCK YOU I LIKED THE RED TRIMMMM—

OH I ALMOST FORGOT yes he has longer eyelashes! I saw he grows to have really pretty eyelashes in the future cuz of his turtle species, and I wanted to lean into that by showing they’re starting to grow now :3

Bullshit Gag Because Yes‼️‼️

There ain’t shit to say about this, I just pulled a silly. I saw the fact Donnie was supposed to have a “Doctor Donatello” persona in the deleted episode where Dale turns into a werewolf. I’m really heavily on the train of Leo being the team medic and into medicine in general. I don’t think it makes sense for Donnie to be the medic judging by his sensory issues and this mf being as much of a germaphobe as my mom, and in my opinion it felt too stereotypical anyway to have Donnie be the medic. Ofc, to each their own, and this is just my interpretation of it, but I thought it’d be funny if Donnie still had this persona and was passionate about it, but was like horrifically bad at being a doctor. I made this dumbass sketch that I’ll finish sometime in the future (it’s gonna be a chapter in Arc 3 probably) and I just wanted to share it with yall~

THEY’RE HUMAN NOW⁉️

My ass wanted to show off cuz I’m sketching out some ideas of what my human designs for the boys culd be. I already did Leo’s like ages ago so he’s not on here but I’m realizing as I’m typing this my dumbass forgor to post it so um my bad I will do that in a few days—

But I wanted to design (or more accurately, redesign cuz I did draw em once a while back but I’m not satisfied with them) and I think I ate so far so uh yea. There isn’t any logic to sharing this, I just thought it was cool😭

And actually, imma share them here too just so y’all can see my boy ;w;

(A lil outdated cuz I didn’t give him lips at the time)

Okay there we go~

As you can see, I want all the boys to look kinda etherial and like they'd turn heads, and I think I am SUCCEEDING SO HARD SO FAR CUZ DAMNNNN THEY'RE ALL PRETTY AS SHIIIIIIIT TEEHEE✨ Also am tryna make sure they actually look Blasian since that's what the canon of my story says they are. I'll talk about them more another time when I have all of them on here~

But yea that's all for art this time folks :> ONTO THE NEXT THINGGG

Chapter Progress Time Whoop Whoooop‼️‼️

I didn’t make much progress on anything this month due to college—again, it’s fine, but there’s a shit ton of time management going on in my part to just manage everything and make sure I’m on track—BUT I am indeed still working on chapter 10. We’re up to 20 pages now which is only two more pages written from last month, but it’s kinda cool writing Donnie and I feel like I’m getting a better understanding of him! One thing I’ve been tryna do is understand autism better as a condition cuz I do wanna acknowledge and show bro’s autism instead of just ignoring it due to a lack of understanding. Donnie ain’t Donnie without it, ya know? I don’t know everything and tbh I would say I still have A LOT to learn on the subject matter, but I’m tryna expand my knowledge every opportunity I get and experimenting with how to better show it! This is to say tho, I’M NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, NOR AN EXPERT ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM. This is what I’m finding and comprehending via my own research, and can tbh end up being wrong so please don’t quote me as a reliable source, I’m still learning ;v;

I remember one of the things I kept hearing about was autism leading people to struggle with empathy. The best way I heard it being described was someone bringing the example of when their friend was upset. That person can’t truly feel their friend’s emotions because they’re not the one experiencing it, so can’t properly understand how it’s making their friend feel. But they can see that their friend is communicating their sadness, and they still try to comfort them and make sure their friend knows they’re there for support. I understood it as bringing logic to emotions in a sense; collecting data and figuring out how to handle the situation based on the data rather than using intuition alone.

I’ve been using that to figure out how Donnie might handle more emotionally subtle situations, where he might try to rationally work through what’s happening and kinda substitute it in place of natural empathy. Like the little tidbit I gave above! Instead of just automatically being able to get vibes that the other person is upset, I felt maybe Donnie would instead notice the fact their tone is kinda different from before; it’s basically a data point. With that data point in mind, he could connect it to past experiences where a tone change could indicate a mood change, and as a result he might conclude that Salena’s tone change means she’s upset. I comprehend it as manually working through empathy rather than it being second nature, if that makes sense. Obviously and thankfully Donnie isn’t gonna spend the entire chapter playing a guessing game or anything with Salena’s emotions, it’s just one lil moment that I thought was cool challenge to myself with when writing him! I really love putting myself in the characters’ shoes when I’m writing them or their dialogue. I highly recommend it as a tool too, since it's helped me a lot with staying in character!

Last Lil Segment Y'all

Aight so, I wanted to try doing something cool if y'all are up for it. I really love rambling about my story and lore and characters blah blah blah, but I don't really know how to do so tbh. I'm not that familiar with how social medias work cuz I just never took it seriously, and I don't wanna just keep being like HEYYYYY ASK BOX IS OPENNNNN like I'm screaming from the top of the hill either. Sooooo insteaddddd

I think it'd be fun to do Q&As here! Or at least something similar. I'll open my ask box again and feel free to send any questions you want; it can be about the story, past lore, design questions, getting to know the characters, absolutely anything! Then when I'm gonna do my update for the month, I'll compile all y'all's asks, (prolly will have to tag to make sure you guys know I answered it, or if you ask anon then uh idk look out for the monthly update) and then answer them during the monthly update as the last section! I think it'll be a cool way to make this feel more interactive, and gives me an excuse to ramble. Don't be afraid to ask potentially spoilery questions either! If it's something I can't spoil yet or even give hints or vague answers about, I'll just say so in the update!

Anywhizzle, That's All Folks~!

I'm glad there was so much to talk about this month! I actually deadass thought it would be short but I should know better with my yapping' ass💀✨ But yeah, thanks for reading everyone! I hope y'all enjoy the rest of your days, and I shall see you next month~ Bye :D

Tageroonies:

@yosajaeofficial @chaoticspeedrun @ramblehour @randomcerealbrand @goldanrabbit @m1sf0rtun3 @foundthethief @ackalice @jellyfishheartsss @dollyrin @harukonene @iieieiw @mwantstossleep @zipzaizen @hypocriticaltypwriter @lordfreg @rainbowpr1sm @idioticsky @oleander-nin @cheeselord-official @skittlesqueen101

By the way, if you guys think you’d like to be tagged whenever an MFIP chapter is posted, lmk in a reblog or comment (no asks or dms plz, too inconvenient) and I’ll be sure to tag so it’s more reliable than tumblr notifs :3🫶

ROTTMNT: Moths Fly In Packs

[rajaions]

Unused and scrapped content in Radiant Dawn

(Unused logo for Radiant Dawn)

Earlier today, I was looking for one of the background illustrations used in Radiant Dawn for one of my future posts. My research eventually led me to this topic on serenes forest.

I downloaded the folder and as I looked through all the pictures, I found a lot of things I have never seen nor heard of before.

I felt like this topic might interest some people so I'll share my discoveries here!

Ⅰ - Unused CGs

The CG of Ena holding a sending stone was probably going to be used in the final chapter of part 3 or the prologue of part 4.

Sephiran and Sanaki waving at the people of Begnion from a balcony is mentioned by Lekain in Endgame, but the illustration is not used in the game.

Lekain: "Even in the face of overtly unreasonable legislation, the two of you would stand on the balcony… A smile and a wave later, the people would cheer and go on with their happy lives."

Ⅱ - Scrapped CGs?

I found a lot of pictures with the following format:

We have no context on what these pictures are, my theory is that these were illustration ideas but I have no way to confirm it so take everything say with a grain of salt!

I will use google and my limited knowledge in Japanese for the translations, I apologize any inaccuracies.

(Note: The A B and C on the "473" pictures were added by me to make things easier)

109 - Return of the shrine maiden

301 - Rafiel and Begnion

315 - Micahia's tears

404 - The apostle and all the vassals (I don't know who the vassals are supposed to be)

405 - Serenes forest Hetzel

473 (A) - Misaha and Lillia

473 (B) - Cursed blood

473 (C) - Black dragons tribe

474 - Lehran and the mobs

In his base conversation with Yune, Stefan says branded people have cursed blood so it could be related to that.

If my theory is true, the fact that Misaha and Lillia could have gotten official designs will keep me up at night

The black dragons specifically were supposed to get something too.

I have not much to say about the others, each of them can be associated to certain plot points.

Ⅲ - Other

There's very rough sketch for this CG

Ⅳ - Last but not least

Dummy

[jeaanmoreau]

vampire!andreil drabble: tell me what i look like

arti attempts to write aftg fanfiction part 3. this time courtesy of this post which was the cutest thing i've seen this week and immediately made me think of andreil 📚 read on ao3

"Well, your eyes are blue, but clearly you knew that since you went through all the trouble of wearing brown contacts for a while there."

Neil merely stared back at Andrew unapologetically, ankle tucked under himself on the couch they shared, curiosity having got the better of them not for the first time. Because it had bothered Andrew that Neil didn't know what he looked like; apparently to the point where he'd decided to sub in for the mirrors he couldn't look into.

So now here they were, cards on the table and trying to put words to the faces they saw in front of them. Neil did not think himself a wordsmith, and Andrew was not a poet, but maybe it would be enough.

"But maybe you don't know exactly how blue," Andrew continued, and he leaned in closer with that gaze that rooted Neil to the spot. "They're like a lake when it's been frozen over in mid-winter. Or the colour of moonlight through mist at night." He paused, considering. "Piercing."

Piercing. Neil did not think of himself as piercing. He didn't like being looked at, regularly, but something about the way Andrew did it made it feel right. Serene and grounding. He could not stop thinking about what words he would use to describe Andrew's eyes. They kept rattling around in his brain: golden. earthy. amber. copper. honey. sun-kissed.

Renee had lent them art supplies, much to Andrew's chagrin, and they rested on the coffee table next to them. Neil reached for the watercolours and started mixing them around. Yellow, brown, green, a touch of black, white. When he was satisfied enough with a colour, he painted two splotches onto a blank sheet of paper, then turned it around so Andrew could see. "Yours."

Andrew's eyebrows flicked up somewhat as he turned his gaze to it. "My eyes?" he asked, deadpan, looking back at Neil, who nodded. "Draw the rest of me, then."

It wasn't really a question.

So they grabbed more colours, more pens, started sketching on their own canvases in silence, knees touching between them in wordless companionship until Andrew sat up and wiped some watercolour from the back of his hand.

Neil was covered in orange. When he finished, he turned his paper over so Andrew could see and took Andrew's drawing for himself.

It was a surprisingly skilled portrait and there were more details to his face than he'd thought. Freckles. A slight edge to his nose. Andrew had drawn and redrawn the exact angle of his jaw a few times, and he noted that, too. His hair he frequently saw bits of when it grew over his eyes, but to see it on a person, with eyes that were the frostiest blue, exactly like he'd been describing earlier, was another thing altogether. Neil didn't know what to do with the fact he was seeing himself through Andrew's eyes for the first time.

"You drew me in full gear," Andrew said as Neil looked up. "You've drawn the stitching around my racket but forgot to give me eyebrows."

Neil frowned as he peered over at the offending drawing. "Obviously you have eyebrows," he stated in defense. His wasn't a good drawing. It kind of looked like a ten year old had done it, and Andrew looked more like a school arts & crafts project than a human next to what he acknowledged was an immacculate representation of his Exy racket. Eventually, he drew a breath and let it out through his nose in frustration. "I'm not good at this."

"No," Andrew agreed, and Neil thought he heard a mixture of fondness and amusement in his tone as he set the drawing aside and leaned back into his space, reaching over for the watercolor-stained skin of his icy wrists. "Good thing I have an identical twin brother and I've always known exactly what I look like."