#if you’re wondering what’s going on with the doodles my friends wanted me to draw things for them

[sneakywingeddude]

I couldn’t decide what color the bg should be.

[waitingonher]

because i love you — [hoo boys headcanons]

summary: your "thing" with the hoo boys!

author's note: in honor of the pjo series coming out today,,have this rlly rlly short draft from earlier this year! xoxo

percy jackson — doodling on him

“give me your hand.”

“yes ma’am.”

minutes pass as you doodle gods know what onto percy’s hand. you always resort to this whenever the camp head counselor's meeting begins late—which seems to be every meeting—and giving percy "tattoos" certainly kills time. last meeting, you drew a can of beans and the time before that, was a bouquet of tulips. so honestly his guess being a pair of socks this time isn’t too far of a reach.

“okay, done,” you release his hand, a proud smile gracing your features, “cute right?”

he quirks a brow upon seeing the drawing, “is that…” percy turns his head to the side, gaining better perspective, “is that a flying fish?” 

“wow, you’re good,” you say, giving him a nod of approval, “although, last time you did say that my can of beans looked like a roll of toilet paper…” 

your boyfriend throws his hands in the air, “in my defense, you used a shitty pen so it was hard to tell.” 

“whatever.” 

jason grace — sewing your initials on his clothes

“hi love,” jason says, plopping down beside you on the couch. you give him a bright smile as he places a gentle kiss on your head, “almost done?” 

nodding proudly, you hold up his pair of jeans to show him your work: your initials sewn onto a corner of his back pocket, “yup, just finished actually! what do you think of the color? i think you bought the thread for me on our second date. but i totally forgot i had it until i went digging in my supply box.” 

a grin plasters itself on jason’s face as he nods his head in realization, “i knew the color seemed familiar. i remember wondering why a tiny spool of thread was so expensive. but it’s perfect, i love it,” he kisses your cheek, “all my friends are gonna be so jealous that they don’t have their girlfriends’ initials sewn onto their clothes.” 

you laugh as you imagine jason vehemently bragging about his jeans to all his friends, “tell them i’m charging $50 if they want me to do theirs,” you wink. 

“we’d make more than the stolls’ and their smuggling business if we did that,” he laughs, admiring your work once more. who knew that having your initials on his pants would have such an affect on him, “also, can you do my sweaters and my other jeans?"

you raise a brow, "i might have to start charging you at this point."

leo valdez — impromptu fashion shows

“wow!” you clap enthusiastically, “your outfit even puts paris fashion week outfits to shame!” yes, because a rainbow checkered crop top with a humongous green tutu and a pink boa paired with insanely skinny stilettos beats any and all high fashion runway outfits, “now, leo valdez, can you give us a few words about your new clothing line? and possibly a bit about what it’s like to be so amazingly talented?” you inquire, raising an invisible microphone to his mouth. 

leo oh-so humbly bows and rises with a proud grin, “thank you, thank you, but i honestly must give all credit towards my beautiful muse, y/n, she’s the inspiration behind my new line. and about being so talented, it really is such hard work to be this naturally gifted.”

“ooh, do tell about this ‘y/n.’ i’ve never heard of her but she does sound absolutely gorgeous!” you exclaim, keeping up with the act. 

your boyfriend nods firmly, “oh yes, she’s very, very, very beautiful,” adding a playful wink, “but i must say, she has the worst morning breath i’ve ever encountered!” 

your smile drops and you squint your eyes, “i’m going to choke you with that stupid ugly boa if you don’t take that back right now.” 

“uh ma’am,” leo backs up nervously, clutching his boa, “i’m going to have to call security if you threaten me again.” 

"i'm seriously going to kill you."

[scoutswritingcorner]

Can I request Hazbin Hotel characters reacting to an artist!reader that draws a lot but never shows anyone their work but one day accidentally left it out and their partner finds it and sees several sketches and finished drawings of them? Sorry if it’s an odd ask, I’m an artist and I thought it would be a cute idea I don’t see nearly enough, it’s okay if you can’t. Thank you either way!!!

Artist Rendition

Hazbin Gang x GN!Reader

TW:A little flirty with Angel’s reaction. Other than that none!

A/N: Not an odd request at all, Friend! For Angel’s part I did write for a male Reader and Fem Reader for Vaggie! KINDA SHORT I APOLOGIZE FRIEND!

-🦌Alastor🦌-

-🦌 Alastor was very curious to see you carry a sketchbook around all the time. He wanted to pry so badly.

-🦌 But he didn’t, he simply ignored the book and only ever asked about it if you were near him. You always get flustered and hide the book even further. Oh now he’s wondering what kind of dark secrets you have in there~

-🦌 But to his surprise when he finds it open and on a page, he sees drawings of him, he carefully flips the page and sees a half down sketch of him sitting in front of the fireplace.

-🦌 Oh boy you just made his ego inflate and his undead heart soar to new heights. His tail starts wagging and that’s the only way someone can catch how happy he is.

-🦌 Now? He’s going to poke a little fun at you, “My Dear, if you had to pick anyone in the hotel to be your muse who would it be?” 

-🦌 Silly deer man loves you and your abilities, he often tells you that your work needs to be displayed in a museum.

-🍎Lucifer🍎-

-🍎 Oh boy- when he finds out you can draw? Oh he gets super excited and asks if you can draw him a duck- even if it’s a little doodle! He doesn’t care!

-He doesn’t really ask or pry into your hobby much but he will admit he does want to see what you draw.

-When he does see that you drew him of all people he gets all flustered and he’s prideful cause his partner?? His darling little angel drew him?!?

-He will volunteer to pose for you, he’s used to sitting still for hours on end! 

-He will even pose naked if you want him to! Just say the word and he’ll drop his clothes right there.

-🎰Husk🎰-

-🎰 He watched you sit at the bar and draw to your heart's content and never really commented on it.

-🎰 When he does peek into your sketchbook it’s to pull behind the bar into a safe place so nothing ruins your work.

-🎰That’s when he notices the drawings and doodles of him and his tail curls happily. The way you captured him doing menial tasks sends his heart into overdrive.

-🎰 You were too good for him, damn it. The next time you find it? It has a little sticky note on the cover of your sketchbook and it has a little drawing of you with a small message, “Had to go out with Alastor. Love you, Dollface.” 

-🕷️ Angel Dust 🩷-

-🕷️ Oh this man- he loves it! You’re an artist and he’s also like an artist! But of a very very different genre.

-🩷 He also doesn’t pry much as he understands privacy. He wants to give you that as much as he can since he doesn’t get much of it.

-🕷️ Once he finds out you draw him? He’s over the fucking moon cause his man? His precious boyfriend draws him! 

-🩷Expect him to start flirting more and more but with art related flirts. “Come on, Suga’~ Draw me like one of your french girls~” im sorry. He’s very supportive!

-👑Charlie👑-

-👑 oh this baby girl..she’s been so busy lately that if she did notice it completely slipped her mind!

-👑 But when she finds your sketchbook? She gets super excited cause you draw this good?? She’s so proud that she immediately goes to find you!

-👑 She is another who fully supports you! You need anything, don't hesitate to ask!

-👑 Will try to convince you to start painting for the hotel! You can say no it won’t offend her.

-🎀Vaggie🎀-

-🎀 Much like Husk she won’t point it out or comment on it.

-🎀Will find out you draw her when she sees it when cleaning up and gets all blushy cause this is how you see her?

-🎀 Comes clean immediately about seeing your drawings and tells you how amazing they are.

-🎀 Shyly asks if she can pose for you next time, how could you say no to her?

[capquinn]

My Quinn daydreams are of him visiting me at work with lunch 😌 I teach third grade and seeing this man while dealing with a bunch of children would make my day 🫶

Your classroom hums with the quiet energy of twenty-five third graders finishing up their morning writing assignment. You’re making your way between desks, glancing at pages filled with sprawling words and doodles in the margins, offering quiet encouragement as the lunch bell inches closer. Most of the kids are already sneaking peeks at the clock, visibly itching to break free, but they’re holding their excitement in check — the way only third graders can when they know food is just around the corner.

You’re halfway back to the whiteboard, ready to announce it’s time to tidy up, when a soft knock on the door catches everyone’s attention. You’ve barely turned around when the door opens, and in steps Quinn, a familiar brown paper bag in his hand and a visitor’s lanyard around his neck, looking mildly sheepish.

He’s a little earlier than you expected, and he knows it, too, by the way he stops just inside the door, caught in the stares of your wide-eyed students.

“Hi, uh…” he starts, a shy smile breaking through as he glances around, taking in the rows of little faces all pointed his way as he realises he’s walked into a full classroom. He immediately backtracks, his voice low and apologetic. “Sorry — I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he says, looking from you to the curious faces of your third-graders, a hint of pink already creeping up his neck. “I, uh, can wait outside if that’s better?”

You laugh, waving his apology off. “No, you’re fine, really. Lunch is just a few minutes away.”

As you turn back to face your class, you find twenty-something pairs of eyes locked onto Quinn, wide with excitement, and a wave of whispers sweeps through the room. Of course, they recognise him — he’s the captain of their city’s beloved hockey team, after all, a real-life hero in their midst.

Owen, who sits right in the front, breaks the silence first, bouncing a little in his seat. He’s an avid Canucks fan. “That’s Captain Quinn! What’s he doing here?” he blurts out, looking up at you with barely contained excitement.

Before you can answer, Sophie, one of the quieter kids, leans forward with a look of pure wonder. “Miss, how do you know the captain of the Canucks?” she asks.

You glance at Quinn, who’s now shifting his weight from one foot to the other, clearly unsure where to direct his attention with all the eager little faces looking up at him.

“Well,” you say, feeling warmth bloom in your chest, “Quinn is actually my friend,” you answer, but before you can finish, Owen’s eyes light up with a mischievous glint.

“You mean your boyfriend,” he sings, drawing out the word with a cheeky grin, and your class erupts, laughter and a chorus of teasing “oooooh!”s filling the room. Voices start piling on top of each other with eager questions:

“Do you go to all his games?”

“Does he score all those goals just for you?”

“Can you go into the locker room?”

You can’t help but laugh, holding up your hands to calm the wave of excitement. “Alright, alright,” you say, giving them a playful smile. “Let’s take a breath, everyone.” The kids quiet down a little, though their faces are still lit with excitement.

Glancing over at Quinn, his expression caught between embarrassment and amusement, you feel a warmth settle in your chest. The sight of him surrounded by the wide-eyed wonder of your students is unexpectedly sweet, and you’re not quite sure who looks more bashful — him or you.

“Listen,” you say, redirecting your attention to the class, “Quinn can only stay for a few minutes, and you’re asking me questions?” You raise an eyebrow, the corner of your mouth twitching up. “If you want to make the most of his visit, I’d stick to questions just for our hockey superstar.”

The kids burst into giggles, and a few of the little hockey fans immediately take your advice. Owen, of course, can’t wait another second. “How many pucks can you juggle on your stick?”

You give Quinn a nod, letting him know he’s free to chat to them.

Quinn scratches the back of his head, clearly feeling a little out of place in this setting, but he offers a small grin. “Probably four or five, on a good day,” he answers, which makes Owen’s eyes go wide with awe. “What about you? You play hockey?”

Owen’s face lights up at Quinn’s question, and he nods so hard you’re sure he’ll hurt his neck. “Yeah! I play for the junior league! My coach says I’ve got a wicked slapshot.”

Quinn grins, clearly warming to the moment. “A wicked slapshot, huh? That’s awesome, keep it up,” he says, giving Owen an encouraging nod.

You can see Owen practically glowing from the praise, his chest puffed up with pride.

Another boy leans forward, eyes bright with curiosity. “What’s it like being captain?” he asks, his small voice filled with genuine wonder.

Quinn looks over, visibly surprised by the depth of the question from an eight year old, and his gaze softens as he focuses on him. “What’s your name, buddy?” he asks, stepping further into the classroom with a friendly smile.

“Tyler,” the boy replies, sitting up a little straighter.

“That’s a really great question, Tyler,” Quinn says, nodding thoughtfully.

You watch him shift, almost like he’s searching for words that’ll make sense to a roomful of eight-year-olds, a tenderness in his expression that makes your heart swell.

Quinn glances around the room, a thoughtful expression settling in as he finds the words. “Well… being captain means I get to look out for my team, kind of like how you all look out for your friends here,” he says, keeping his tone easy and open, trying to connect with his young audience. “I make sure everyone’s doing okay, and I try to encourage them to keep going, especially on the hard days.”

Your students are hanging onto every word, captivated by the way he’s sharing a glimpse of what it means to carry that kind of responsibility. “Some days, it’s tough,” he admits, glancing over at you with a soft, almost sheepish smile. “Sometimes I have to make decisions or give a little extra, even if I’m tired. But knowing my teammates trust me to lead them feels pretty special.”

You feel a warmth in your chest as he speaks, watching how he’s simplifying his experience for them without losing any of its meaning. It’s a sweet, genuine moment that makes you realise just how much you love this side of him — someone who truly cares about the people around him.

Tyler’s eyes go wide, and you notice a few of the other students nodding along, clearly trying to picture what that responsibility must feel like. Quinn glances back at you, a little bashfully, but you give him an encouraging nod, biting back a smile as he continues.

“You play hockey, too?” Quinn asks. As Tyler nods with admiration, Quinn grins and adds, “Who knows, maybe you’ll be a captain one day, Tyler.”

Your classroom is a sea of smiles, little faces alight with awe and excitement, and as you watch Quinn, your Quinn, surrounded by your students, patiently answering each question with that quiet, genuine charm, your heart swells. It’s a glimpse of him fitting perfectly into your world, and the sight fills you with a deep gratitude, a reminder of just how lucky you are to share your life with him in every way that matters.

Owen, still beaming from their exchange, can’t resist one last question. “Do you think you’ll win the Cup this year?” he blurts out.

Quinn chuckles, glancing at you as if for encouragement before leaning down slightly, meeting the kids’ enthusiasm head-on. “We’re sure gonna try,” he says, his tone earnest. “But we’ll need all of you cheering us on.”

And with that, the lunch bell rings, and your students start gathering their things, excitedly chattering among themselves as they scurry toward the front of the classroom.

Quinn suddenly finds himself surrounded by little hands eagerly holding out scraps of paper, notebooks, and even a few sticky notes. He laughs, balancing the pastry bag in one hand as he bends down to scrawl his name in messy, enthusiastic loops.

You watch as he gently tousles Owen’s hair after signing his notebook and offers Sophie a smile when she shyly holds out a piece of paper. There’s a tenderness in his every gesture, a soft warmth in his smile that makes your chest ache in the best way. Seeing him like this — so genuine, so at ease with the small hands reaching out to him — makes you fall for him all over again.

As the last few students file out, still buzzing with excitement and chatter about “the best lesson ever,” you finally find yourself alone with Quinn. He looks up at you, cheeks faintly pink, a soft chuckle escaping as he shakes his head.

“Didn’t mean to cause a scene,” he murmurs, holding out the bag with a gentle grin that’s all yours.

You take it, brushing your fingers against his, feeling warmth settle between you. “Pretty sure they loved it,” you say, unable to hide your own smile. “And so did I.”

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

requests are open - let’s daydream!

[randomsufff]

HEHAHBFKI More South Park doodles I think I’m going insane.

Actually this is kind of the product of me being liking South Park way back in high school but was too embarrassed to draw them when I was bored in class and now it’s all kinda flooding back 💀

Read below if you want to know more about my New Kid and my thoughts behind some of the doodles cause this turned out longer then I though 💀

Anyways- introducing my New Kid. No name cause I literally have no idea. Whatever the cannon name is ig- though I’d think it’d be funny if she was referred to New Kid by literally everyone like in game. I like the idea that a lot of people have with their New Kids that they liked the makeover section with the girls during the Stick of Truth a little too much. I also like it cause… uh… I didn’t play Stick of Truth. (The combat system is not my cup of tea) So it’s not until the start of TFBW does she know shes really a girl.

To give context to the top right drawing- I couldn’t remember the dialogue Wendy says in the alleyway if you say you’re a trans girl- but I do know what she says if your a cis girl (I always knew you were a girl) cause I did a second play through as a cis girl. And I don’t know if there’s supposed to be a huge time jump between the end of Stick of Truth and TFBW but I think it would be funny if it was just the next day- so combine these two fact to get “Wendy always clocked New Kid as a girl but NK just found out yesterday 💀”

Anyways- she’s such a cutie, I love her and her cool superhero outfit I gave her. Outside of the game- I’d like to think of her basically exactly how she acts in game. Mostly non-verbal, with the occasional zingy one liner, and just kinda goes along with the crazy shit the happens in South Park un phased. Like if she was in a episode- the plot would happen and she would be on screen, but wouldn’t say anything, and anytime another character would address her, they’d respond however as if she spoke lmao. Aroace, just like me, so she’s just friends with everyone (except Cartman) and vibes with everyone.

The mini Style comic I though of cause 1) I wondered if Kyle had the same elf ears as the other elfs did in game (again, never played and it’s been a while since I saw gameplay so whoops if it’s confirmed or whatever) and 2) I thought it would be funny if Stan was caught lacking and tried to /rp his way out of it (I wanted to add an extra bit where Kyle would be like “Oh, are our characters gay for each other??? (ARE YOU /SRS OR /J STAN)” and Stan would have to just “yes, and” his way out.)

The last three images were kinda of a stream of consciousness put on paper and made neat lol. I really like showing that all the costumes the kids wear are homemade and stuff- either stuff taken from their parents or visibly taped together etc- cause I think it’s charming. Anyways- I though Kyle’s little robe could be like one of his parents bath robe- and it would be a little too long for him to run without eating shit so he’d have to hike it up like a skirt/dress. Which lead to me thinking that Cartman would say some shit about that and how Kyle, who has a literal Golf Club, would smack his ass up. Which then lead to me thinking about how since Kyle’s the Elf King and Stan’s basically his right hand how he might lift it up wedding dress style if needed (/RP GUYS, RIGHT?RIGHT???) and how Cartman would react, which lead to that one JoJo meme cause thats literally how they’d retaliate.

Always- I’ll probably have at least one more post about South Park I swear. There was a period of time before I stopped watching (I gotta pick it up again) where I would doodle a bit of whatever was happening in the episode, each episode. Crazy I know, but not only did it improve my drawing skills but it helped me remember what actually happened in episodes cause I have shit memory and definitely don’t remember some of the episodes I watched. So I might redraw some of those- see if anyone can tell what episode they’re from.

[gummydummy19]

Month six: Army nurse (October)

Summary: Sy is too grumpy and proud to ask for help, so you do what needs to be done.

Content Warnings: fluff, grumpy sy, bad writing idk lol APOLOGIES

Word Count: 2900+

(this is part six to my series: A year in apartment 6B)

October 4th:

“Can I doodle on your cast?”

It was Sunday. The most sacred day of the week. The weather had been getting gloomier recently, but you didn’t mind in the slightest. Fall was your favourite season by far.

You and Sy were hanging on the couch, 4 hours into the Harry Potter marathon you finally convinced him to partake in.

“Hmm?” He groaned sleepily

“Can I draw something on your cast?” You repeated your earlier request

“Like what?”

“I don’t knoooww…I’m bored” you whined

“You’re kidding right? You nagged my damn ear off about these movies and now you’re bored?”

“Well not bored bored just, I need something else to do while we’re watching.”

Sy huffed as he ran his palm over his face and down his beard, clearly debating you request.

“Oh pretty pretty please with a cherry on top?” You begged

“Fine! But I better not catch you drawing a dick or some shit” he grumbled, making you chuckle as you jumped up to get your markers.

October 10th:

'Syverson, I swear to god if you don't pipe down and eat your damn veggies Im gonna tie you down and make you.'

The man was stubborn as a damn bull, but so were you damnit.

“Is that a promise, darling?” he replied with that damn smirk of his, making you roll your eyes as you tried to hide the inevitable blush creeping up your cheeks.

“Can it and eat” you rushed out, pointing your fork at him.

You wanted to help him. That’s what good friends do. Sure, some days you debated to either push him down the stairs or kiss him silly. But neither of those seemed very friendly of you, so you settled for just helping him.

It didn’t seem to bad at first, but the longer that damn cast stayed on, the grumpier he got.

You understood he was a man of pride, you really did, but there really wasn’t any shame in allowing you to help him from time to time, at least that’s how you saw it, but try explaining that to captain grumpy…

October 17th:

“I said I was fine didn’t I?” Sy grumbled, trying to manoeuvre himself through the kitchen on his crutches.

'Would you stop acting like a damn child?' You yelled

'Then stop treating me like a damn child!'

“Im not! I’m just trying to help!”

“I don’t need your damn help! I’m a grown man and I was doing just fine before you came along”

Okay, that stung.

'Fine!' Have it your way!' you huffed, 'Aika, c'mere girl' you called out, allowing Aika to walk past you and out the door before you slammed it angrily behind you.

You walked through the chilly, orange tinted streets with Aika trotting proudly beside you, glancing up at you every few seconds.

'He such an ass...' you grumbled, hugging yourself tighter as the cold fall breeze huffed passed you, helping you cool off.

Part of you had hoped having Sy back in the apartment would ease your ‘crush’ or whatever it was you had going on. You spent months trying to convince yourself you were just horny and alone. Fantasising about your hot roommate while he was away was just a way of coping. Right?

Except that since Sy came home your feelings had been all over the place. You worried about him like crazy. Which kinda scared you. You were nobody to him, so why did it matter to you wether or not he ate his damn vegetables?

Every time he made a flirty comment, you thought maybe he felt it too, but then when you offered to help him, he’d get all grumpy and cold. Sometimes you just felt ridiculous for even trying.

Your internal rant got interrupted when you felt Aika’s leash tug on your arm, bringing you to a rather abrupt halt.

“Wha- Aika come on.” You called, looking back at where she was currently sitting.

For a second you wondered why she had stopped, but then you noticed something.

She was sitting right next to some run down costume store. Nothing special at first glance, but then you noticed something in the window. For $29.99 including fake stethoscope and the promise of at least 4 jaws on the floor per room you walk into; a mildly sexist, hot nurse outfit.

“What do you think, Aika?” You looked down at your furry companion and you swore she nodded in agreement.

You've never bought something so fast in your entire life.

October 21th:

“what...what are you doing? Is that one of my chopsticks?!' You shrieked as you entered the living room, only mildly horrified by what you were currently looking at.

Syverson was sitting on the couch, well, sitting wasn't exactly the proper term for it. He was damn near folded in half. His big, muscly body bend over his stretched leg with one of your chopsticks in his hand, trying to poke around his cast.

“My foot itches,” he grumbled “Can you please just help?”

The past couple of days you tried avoiding Sy. He hadn’t apologised, neither had you. You figured it was one of those things you best ignored, but as he sat there whining for your help, you couldn’t help but make a snarky comment.

'Oh so, now you need my help?' you commented, rolling your eyes as you stepped closer, Aika still by your side.

You took the chopstick from him and carefully prodded around inside his cast. Sy fell back on the couch, groaning in relief.

'Little lower...just a little-Ah! Right there, sugar! Fucking hell...'

His words alone made your cheeks glow bright red, let alone the damn sounds he was making...You desperatly searched for a change of topic, when a certain scent hit your nostrils.

'Hey uh...Sy? When did u last shower?' You asked, retreating the chopstick and giving his big toe a poke. Sy propped himself up to look at you, raising his eyebrow at your comment.

“A proper shower? Must have been months.” He replied, chuckling at your grossed out face

'I've washed the important bits, don't you worry, sugar.' He winked

“Judging by this smell, I seriously doubt it.' you replied, trying to ignore yet another one of his flirty comments. Sometimes it felt like he knew what went on in your brain. Every dream, every fantasy. It felt like he saw right through you.

“It ain’t that bad.” He said, just when Aika stuck her nose near his foot, quickly retreating once she smelled his cast.

“See that? Even our dog won’t go near it!”

Normally, Sy would have been quick with a response, but he was busy trying to ignore the way his chest fluttered when you said ‘our dog’.

'You smell ripe, old man. This could be used as a fucking nuclear weapon. One whiff of this and the entire middle east would wave a white flag in a second.' you stated

'Hey, watch your mouth young lady!' Sy shot back with a raised finger.

'I could help you, if you want.' you carefully suggested

'Help me with what?' He grinned, knowing exactly what you were saying.

'Help you wash...'

'My important bits?' he teased

'Oh forget it' you groaned, turning away making Sy laugh

Before you could get too far, Sy got ahold of your wrist and tugged you back, making you sit down next to him.

“If you really wanted to see my dick that bad, you could’a just asked, sugar”

'I'm just worried your dick is growing a second dick"

That actually made him chuckle. The sound made your heart soar a little and you tried to ignore it.

“Well both of my dicks are fine, thank you very much”

He sat up, his face mere centimeters from yours. His fingers danced along your face, brushing some stray hairs out of his way. His voice got real low and quiet when he said,

'Besides, I'm not allowed to get this cast wet.'

Your eyes grew wide, as they gazed into his devilish ones.

He was doing this on purpose. He knew how he made you feel, the effect he had on you, he knew.

It took ever fibre in your body to shake yourself out of it.

“Okay, first of all, I meant when the cast comes off and second of all you’d be wearing underwear you moron” you stated, “and you damn well knew I meant that.”

Sy tried to hide his grin as he looked down and gave Aika a pet on her head.

“Why do you insist on helping me so much?” He asked, rather serious all of a sudden

“Because, well…I don’t know, we’re roommates” you mumbled,

“Doesn’t mean anything” he said dryly

That pissed you off a bit.

“Well, it does to me.” You replied, “Your family lives far away, and I know for a fact you’re far too proud to actually ask anyone else to come and help you.”

Sy didn’t interrupt you, so you continued, getting a little more riled up as you spoke.

“I live here now, wether you like it or not. It might not mean shit to you, but it means something to me. I’m a good roommate and an even better friend. Im not gonna let you rot away. I wanna help you because I’m a decent fucking person and it’s the bare minimum I can do.” You rambled before adding, “Oh and truth be told, Sy, I figured you’d do the same for me if the roles were reversed, but I’m strongly debating that right now.”

You don’t know when exactly you got upset, but suddenly you wanted to be anywhere but here.

“I’m gonna take Aika for her walk now if you-”

“Could you please drive me to the hospital on Monday?” Sy interrupted you

“What?”

“My cast comes off on Monday, I’d appreciate it if you could drive me.” He stated again

“I uh, yeah sure. I can get a day off from work.”

“Thanks” he muttered, scratching the back of his head

And just like that, Sy had finally apologised to you.

October 23rd:

“My colleagues are throwing a halloween party next week, you should come. Get out the house, socialise, that sorta thing?”

You were driving Sy back from the hospital, where he had finally gotten his cast removed. The doctor said he needed at least 4 weeks of physio-therapy, but he should be fine, which was a huge relief.

“Not really a big fan of parties, sugar.” He replied “plus, I aint got no custume.”

“You have your army clothes, don’t you? I could splatter some ketchup on you if you want.” You joked, making him crack a smile, showing off his fangs in the process.

“Or a vampire…” you mumbled, staring at his pearly whites.

“What?”

“Uh, n-nothing!” You replied, focussing back on the road, “So what do you say, huh? I think a party would do you good, Captain grumpy.”

“Hmm…what are you going as?” He asked, brow raised as per usual.

“Ill tell you if you let me cut your hair.” You suggested

“Like hell! You ain’t touching my hair, woman!”

“What if you just let me wash it then?”

“You really wanna get me naked, don’t you?” He joked, making you role your eyes

“I meant over the sink but whatever, dumbass”

“Fine, ill let you wash my hair if you tell me what you’re going as.”

“And let me cut it?!”

“Okay fine! And Ill let you cut it! Just tell me already.”

You smirked at your small victory before saying, “I’m going as a nurse”.

Sy’s eyes twinkled at the thought of you in a nurse outfit

“Ill go with you if you wear it while washing my hair” he smirked

“You’re an actual dog, Syverson.”

October 28th:

“Are you sure you know what your doing?” Sy asked unsure

He was propped on one of your high chairs over the sink at the kitchen island. You had a pair of scissors and a bunch of hair products scattered all over the marble top.

“Sure, can’t be that hard, can it?” You smiled, “now just relax”

You checked the temperature of the water on your hand before gentle running the tap over Sy’s dark head of hair. Your free hand softly wove through his locks, nails massing into his scalp.

“Oh fuck…” he muttered under his breath

“Too hot?” You asked

“N-no no, s’perfect sugar. Feels nice.”

His eyes were closed and you could see the tension seep out of his body as you rinsed out his hair.

A proud smile tugged at your lips with every appreciative hum that came from him.

You studied his face carefully as you took your time washing and conditioning his hair. Not a lot was said, but you didn’t mind. The silence allowed you to look at his beautiful face. Every scar, every spot, every hair. He was so gorgeous it almost hurt your eyes. Peace was a good look on him.

When his hair was all rinsed out, you gently towel-dried it, before draping the towel over his shoulders and grabbing the scissors.

Your fingers tangled through his locks as you studies his hair carefully, trying to figure out a starting point.

“Alright so, I’ll just trim up the sides a little and just shorten the general length. Sound good?”

“Whatever you say, Sugar…” Sy hummed, making you grin.

You were enjoying his compliant behaviour until you accidentally closed your first a bit too tight, pulling the root of his hair so hard his head yanked back a little, making Sy groan in what you presumed was pain.

“Oh shit, sorry!” You rushed out, soothing his scalp gently over the sore spot.

Sy let out a yelp that turned into half a groan before it became a couch as he jumped up and faced away from you.

“I-uh…gotta go to the bathroom real quick, I’ll be right back.” He mumbled before walking off, pulling the towel off his shoulders and holding it against his crotch…

…hmm…weird?

October 31rd:

“I just don’t wanna go alone, Sy, come on! I don’t know a bunch of people there”

You yelled from down the hall. Sy was sitting on the couch in the living room, the same spot he’d been sitting all day.

His leg had been killing him all day. You just knew it.

Ofcourse he would never tell you because first of all, he can’t stand it when you’re right and second of all he didn’t wanna ruin her night. If he told her, she’ll stay home and miss the party, and he didn’t want that.

“You’ve been sitting on the couch all day! It’s gonna do you good to get out of the house” you spoke, standing closer to him now.

He finally looked up from the tv to see you standing in your nurse costume, stethoscope hanging over your shoulders, knee high socks hugging your thighs, heels just the right height…

It’s a shame you’re not a real nurse because Sy’s was definitely experiencing some shortness of breath…

“Nah, sorry Sugar, but you go have fun” he said, trying his best not to sound like he was in excruciating pain “I’m gonna go take a shower”

“A cold one”, he silently added.

“Fine, I’ll see you later then.” You watched as he made his way to the bathroom

It was clear from the way he was walking that he wasn’t doing good.

You heard him turn on the water as your rummaged through your purse, double checking if you had everything you needed.

After doing a final mirror check, you were about to walk out the door but you were stopped by a loud thud and a yell coming from the bathroom.

“Sy?!” You yelled out a little panicked, but you didn’t get any response

Before you could stop yourself you rushed to the bathroom and barged in, seeing Sy laying on the bathroom floor in nothing but his boxers. (A pair that looked a little familiar to you for some reason, but that’s besides the point)

“Sy, what the hell?! Are you okay??” You rushed to his side, quickly checking him for injuries

“Damn leg won’t do what I want it to” he groaned out

“How many painkillers have you taken today?”

“Took my last one this morning…m’all out…” he mumbled

“Sy you should have told me, I could have stopped by the pharmacy!”

“I’m a grown ma-”

“Yeah yeah you’re a grown man, I’ve heard it!” You interrupted “a grown man would have made sure he had enough pain meds!”

“I have some extra’s in the cupboard for emergencies.” You said, “I’m gonna get you some and then I’m gonna run you a bath and you’re gonna let me help you for once.”

“You don’t have to, really…”

“Oh relax, you can keep your boxers on but I’m not letting you shower by yourself when you can barely stand”

“What about your party?” He asked

“What about it?” You replied calmly as you walked out the room to get his meds.

A good 20 minutes later the smell of pumpkin spice and cinnamon filled the room along with the calming sounds of the water.

At first he had whined about not needing a bath bomb but you just knew he secretly enjoyed being pampered as much as you loved pampering him.

You were sitting next to the tub, absentmindedly running your loofah over his muscular back when suddenly, amidst the silence, you couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“What’s so funny, Sugar?” He asked, raising his brow as he stared at you.

“You finally got me to give you a bath in the stupid costume…”

A/N: AAAAAAAAA ITS FINALLY POSTED IM SO SORRY PLS DONT HATE ME IM SORRY IF ITS BAD ALSO JDHHDUZFZSFXFC Im currently on vacation and I swear I wrote like 95 procent of this on my phone at the pool and Im now finally posted this from my moms laptop so HAVE MERCY ON ME PLSSSS xoxo as always comments and reblogs are very highly appreciated!

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[parrythisucasual]

What About Me? Ch. 2

Pairing: Jax x Reader (Romantic)

Sub-pairing: Gangle x Reader (Platonic) / Ragatha x Reader (Platonic)

TW: Bullying / Implied depression

Content: You get settled into your room and make a new friend.

Your bedroom was rather plain. A desk, a bed with white sheets, and a tacky poster of a kitten hanging from a tree. “Is this… supposed to mock me?” you ask with a raised brow. “Erm… not sure, exactly? Everyone’s room starts like this. You could always ask Caine to personalize it, or get the paint and do it yourself. Gangle is wonderful at drawing- she could make a poster or two if you asked,” Ragatha explained. 

You step into your room, running your fingers over the smooth wood of the desk, thinking, “I have a few ideas… for one, the blankets should be (F/C), not this boring white. I’ll need some desk ornaments, and a few posters too.” You envisioned the perfect room as you listed it. Ragatha smiled, “Well, I can run and tell Caine, if you’d like, you just get settled in,” she waved as she headed back up the hall, “if you need me, holler!”

You turn, settling onto the bed and taking a deep breath. This was crazy, impossible, even, but you were going to get through it. You could take it. You’ve been through worse. At least it’s better than a trip to the emergency room for a broken bone, right? No pain. And it isn’t as if your life before was something spectacular, in fact, it was the opposite. Weren't you now living about a million people’s dream right now? A new, fantastical place with new, interesting people?

“How’s it feelin’, whiney?” your head shot up. Jax was leaning against the doorway, his already typical smug grin plastered across his face. You roll your eyes, “Pretty good, actually, this is gonna be better than my life back home.” Your statement seemed to surprise him, his smile faltering a moment, before he retook the jerk persona, “Oh, yeah? If you’re sooo sure about that,” he shrugged and invited himself into your room, glazing around with disinterest, “I’m betting you won’t last a month. The tough ones crack first.”

Your lips twitch as you resist snapping at him, “Mm, well if you say so,” and lay back against your bed. You were determined to ignore his rather desperate cries for attention. You ran your fingers over the soft white quilt and sighed, relaxing yourself. 

Jax, on the other hand, was staring at you, eyebrow raised and a rather irked expression painted on his face. He narrowed his eyes, huffed, and left the room. This made you snort, he was acting like a toddler who was told “no.” Once he was out of earshot, you began to giggle out loud. His reaction was priceless. You were definitely going to ignore him like that permanently.

“Um… Ragatha told me you wanted a few p-posters?” a shy voice peeped. You glanced up, surprised that someone else appeared so quickly. You glanced up, seeing the ribbon-and-mask girl, then smiled a bit, “Oh, yeah. Gangle, right?” She nods and steps closer hesitantly, sniffing. Her ribbons were wrapped around a small stack of papers and ink liners.

“Oh, do you draw manga?” you ask without thinking. The ink liners were the kind you saw anime artists using all over the internet. Gangle nods, setting the stack of papers on your desk, “I don’t anymore, not really… Jax just makes fun of me for it. You frown, that familiar annoyance tingling in your gut, “Hey, just ignore him okay? He’s just a @#$%*,” your rather unpleasant name being censored by a cartoony boink. 

She nodded a bit, then lifted a sketching pencil, “Um… what did you want me to draw?” You think a moment, then smile, feeling a twinge of sibling-like love for the sorrowful girl, “How about you just draw? I’d like your art on my walls either way.” Gangle perked up a bit, “Anything?” “Anything.” She nodded and shyly began to sketch. You watched her doodle for a moment, then realized something.

“Weren’t you a comedy mask when I got here?” you inquire, wondering if it changed depending on her mood. “Oh… yeah, I was but… Jax took in in the hall…” she blinked and her tears fell, but new ones immediately formed, “I don’t know where he went with it…” So her mood depended on her mask, not the other way around.

You made a small growl, “I’ll go get it back,” you gently pat where her shoulder would have been, “just stay here, enjoy yourself, okay? Don’t worry.” She nods, and you walk out the door, “And Gangle?” you add on your way out, “if he tries to mess with you, just tell him you don’t care, okay? He wants a rise out of you.” And off you went, in search of the annoying purple rabbit. Oh boy, was he about to get an earful.

TAGGING TIME: @lostsoullover (my bestieeee) @dai-tsukki-desu

[mouwrites]

Heyy:)) I love you’re writing soo muchhh

Could u do a Lloyd x fem reader so basically he’s madly in love with her but he’s mean to her in school and then they meet as ninjas and he tells her about that wonderful girl in his school and she gives him advice and the next day at school he does exactly what she said and she wants to meet him alone and talks to him and then they both know they’re indantiny

Thank you for your kind words! I hope this is okay ^^

Word count: 1k

Ninjago - Giving the Green Ninja Advice to Ask His Crush (You) Out

“Well, look at Miss Smarty-Pants over here,” Lloyd teased, leaning over your desk to stare at your math test. You had gotten a good score, but suddenly you were wishing you hadn’t.

Glancing at Lloyd’s paper, your frown deepened. He had gotten a lower score than you; that’s probably why he was antagonizing you. You just shoved the paper into your backpack, slouching in your chair and staring at your lap self-consciously. Only Lloyd could ruin good news like that. You weren’t sure why, but the boy seemed dead set on making you miserable every time you interacted.

You gritted your teeth at the memory. You were grateful to be able to channel your frustrations from school into a good cause: being a ninja. Jumping from the rooftops, chasing down criminals, engaging in combat—all fantastic ways to let out a little anger.

You had just finished preventing a robbery when you decided to take a little break. You found a perch atop a tall apartment complex overlooking the city, and you plopped down gratefully on the edge. It wasn’t long until a familiar green figure found you, taking a seat beside you.

“Hey,” you greeted cheerfully. You were feeling much better already, but the appearance of your friend was really the cherry on the sundae.

“Hi,” he wheezed. Apparently, he was also taking a break from crime-fighting.

You giggled. “Rough night?”

He took a moment to catch his breath before responding. “Rougher day at school.”

“Oh, really? What happened?”

“The girl I like did not respond well to my flirting.”

“Ooh,” you cooed, kicking your dangling feet excitedly. “The Green Ninja has a crush!”

You couldn’t see his cheeks, but you were certain they were red. “Yeah, heh. She’s really awesome. We have a few classes together at school.”

“You should ask her out,” you ventured boldly.

“Funny you should bring that up—I was going to ask for your advice anyway.”

You clapped your hands together giddily. “Okay, tell me what you know about her.”

“Well, I know she likes (favorite drink).”

“Okay, so definitely buy her a bottle of that. And… hmm… can you draw?”

“Sort of. Only cartoons, though.”

“That’s fine. Draw a little cute caricature of her on a card that says something like ‘I like you, please go out with me’ or whatever.”

Your advice session was cut short when you heard a shriek in the alleyway below. Sharing a quick look of apprehension, you both sprang to your feet and rushed into action.

The next day, you were doodling absentmindedly in your notebook while you waited for first period to begin. You jumped as an object slammed onto your desk. It was a fresh bottle of (favorite drink) with a little card tied to the cap. You looked up just in time to see Lloyd hurrying away.

You sighed. The card probably said something rude, you guessed, but you opened it anyway. To your surprise, it actually contained a rather cute cartoonish drawing that looked strikingly similar to your own cantenance. Below it was written: “I like you. Please go out with me.”

You stared at the card for a second. A strange sense of familiarity overpowered your confusion at something like this coming from Lloyd. You just couldn’t shake the feeling that this was something you’d seen (or maybe talked about?) before. Then it hit you. With a completely dumbfounded expression you looked between Lloyd and the card, back and forth a couple times before clapping the card shut and turning to face Lloyd in the seat next to you.

“Well? What do you thin—”

“Meet me after school. Out by the dumpsters.”

Lloyd blinked at you. His lips curved in a slight smile, and he opened his mouth to speak, but he was silenced by the bell.

The day couldn’t have gone by slower for either of you, but finally you found yourselves face to face behind the school.

You held up the card. “Who told you to do this?”

Lloyd’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Um, a friend gave me some advice.”

You looked around, making sure you were alone, before leaning in to whisper: “Was this ‘friend’ a ninja?”

“Wh… how did you know that?”

“Because that was me! I’m the f/c ninja!”

“You?!”

You stared at each other with wide eyes for a few seconds, tension growing thick in the silence. Then, without warning, you burst into laughter.

“Wait—wait,” you gasped between laughs. “So when you said the girl didn’t respond well to your ‘flirting’, you meant that stupid rude remark you made about my test?”

Lloyd’s brow cocked innocently. “Was that not flirting?”

“No!” You erupted into another fit of giggles.

“Huh. Well, I’m glad I came to you for advice, then. I’m clearly a lost cause when it comes to romancing.”

You nodded, smiling sheepishly. “I totally thought you hated me.”

“I could never hate you. I don’t hate you as Y/n, and I don’t hate you as the f/c ninja. Though I suppose maybe you prefer me as the Green Ninja.”

You chewed your cheek thoughtfully. “Well, I’d certainly appreciate it if you could treat me as nicely as he does.”

“Of course I will. I’m sorry I was so mean before. I guess it was my backward way of flirting.”

“All is forgiven.” You never expected you’d be saying that to Lloyd, but knowing that he was also the Green Ninja, your companion of the night, the words spilled almost automatically from your mouth. It was strange; knowing what you knew now, your hatred for the boy had evaporated at once.

“So, uh… what do you say? Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Yes!”

Lloyd threw his arms around your middle, lifting you up and spinning you around while laughing gleefully. When he put you down, he pulled out his vibrating phone from his pocket.

“Oh, I’ve gotta get home.”

“Okay,” you breathed, cheeks flushed from giggling while he twirled you. “See you tonight?”

As he turned to walk away, he shot you a smirk. “Yeah. See you tonight, f/c-ninja-slash-Y/n.”

Thanks for your request! And thank you for reading, take care of yourselves precious gems <33

(divider by saradika)

[pastriibunz]

A GIRL, A GHOST, AND A GENERAL - EPISODE THREE: LESSONS IN BEING HUMAN

McNamara and Max, with their combined years of experience, try to teach Kai how to be human (a concept that, apparently, Kai doesn’t believe in).

Kai was a confusing creature.

She spoke more formally than any 17 year old McNamara and Max ever knew.

She was smart, clearly. A bright kid.

But she was clueless.

“So, wait, you guys willingly get into metal death traps, with other metal death traps speeding down what’s practically a lawless barren landscape?!” Kai questioned, terrified.

McNamara nodded. “That’s driving.”

“It’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be.” Max said.

“HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?!” Kai shouted.

Max laughed. “You have no clue how life works, huh?”

Kai shakes her head. McNamara sighs. “I’ve tried to explain life as one of us to her on multiple occasions, but…it doesn’t go well.”

Max shrugged. “Well, why not try again! I mean, I’m here, I’m like, updated course material.”

McNamara blinks, considering it. Kai perks up. “Ooh, are we gonna play school?”

Max looks towards McNamara. “I dunno, are we?”

McNamara thinks for a moment more before nodding. “Why not, sure.”

Kai squeals excitedly and Max cheers, as McNamara wonders how good of an idea this was.

“Welcome to your lesson on how to be a functioning human being!” Max said with a grin as he scribbled ���How 2 b human’ onto the chalkboard in the middle of the room. 

Kai grins and claps. “I can’t read that!”

“Your handwriting is completely illegible.” McNamara says.

Max shrugs. “Eh, doesn’t matter. My name is Professor Maxwell-”

“You’re having too much fun with this.” McNamara interjects.

Max shushes McNamara. “Sh-sh-sh-shaddup. It’s keeping her engaged and not yapping about how humans aren’t real.”

Kai nods. “It is!”

McNamara sighs. “Carry on then.”

Max grins. “So, the first thing on the chopping block is our social lives.”

“Uwaoooh!” Kai says in awe.

Max doodles a crappy image of a traditional three person family. “So, in a traditional human family, there’s a mom-”

Kai corrects him. “Mama.”

Max nods. “Mama, and a dad-”

Kai corrects him again. “Papa.”

“Papa. A mama, a papa, and a kid.” Max finishes. “But, the cool thing is that every mama and papa started out as a kid with their own mama and papa!”

“But, as far as I know, my papas just spawned in.” Kai says.

“That’s because your family is weird.” Max says matter of factly.

“Oh okay.” Kai shrugs it off quickly.

“Anyways, there’s also other family dynamics, like sometimes there’s multiple kids, only one mama or papa, or maybe two mamas, or two papas.” Max says, drawing out the different dynamics.

“If there can be two papas, why can’t I have four- or five- papas and sometimes one mama?” Kai asks.

“‘Cause your family is weird. One, one of your papas changes between mama and papa almost daily, two, all your papas are brothers, three, it’s just weird.” Max says.

Kai nods. “Gotcha.” 

“And then there’s friends.” Max drew out himself and two other boys. “Back in Hatchetfield, I had two friends: Kyle and Jason. They’re cool. Anyways, friendship looks different for everyone. Sometimes it’s being assholes to each other, sometimes it’s talking for a long time, or sometimes it’s sitting quietly together.”

Kai raises her hand and shakes it around. “Can it be giving big ol’ hugs and maybe a smooch every so often?”

“You’re so weird, man.” Max says, chuckling. “But, yeah, if you really want that. Don’t do that to me, though.”

Kai nods. Max continues. “Also, there’s these things called social cues. You clearly have no idea what they are-”

“Uncle Mac! He’s bullying me!” Kai whines. 

McNamara shrugs. “It’s true, though.”

“I know! I’m offended because he’s right!” Kai says.

Max cackles. “Anyways, they’re things that almost every person understands.”

Max starts to doodle out certain social situations as he talks. “Like, don’t touch people without permission, give people personal space, don’t talk over people, don’t talk for too long, wipe your face, chew with your mouth closed, don’t say things that could hurt people’s feelings, sit up straight-”

“Too many!” Kai shouts.

“That’s just surface level stuff!” Max says.

She groans, flopping onto her back. “You guys are confusing. I don’t wanna be a human.”

McNamara sits down next to her. “Most of us don’t. Most of us are confused by ourselves.”

“And then there are people like me who totally get it and make fun of the people who don’t.” Max said with a shit eating grin. 

Kai glares. “You’re an asshole.”

Max burst out laughing, and McNamara immediately covered Kai’s mouth. “Don’t say that around your papas.”

Max roared with laughter as Kai looked confused. “Why?”

“It’s not a nice word.” McNamara said.

“KAI, SAY ‘FUCK’!!!” Max said in between cackles.

Kai starts. “Fu-!” McNamara clamps a hand over Kai’s mouth.

“Max, you ought to stop teaching her swear words.”

“Why?! It’s hilarious!”

“It’s gonna get you killed. Again.”

“Eh, worth it.”

Kai giggles and pulls McNamara’s hand off her mouth. “You guys are confusing. But I like it.”

“I like you guys.” She says with a smile.

Max smiles back and hooks an arm around McNamara’s shoulder. “We like you too, Kai.”

[elisysd]

58. Hold on and hope that we'll find our way back in the end

Masterlist - Previously - Next

Chapter soundtrack: About You - The 1975

“Last time we talked about Ethan, I asked you to come with something which symbolized your relationship.” Doctor Francis said as Julia was rummaging through her bag to pull out her sketchbooks which she gave to the therapist.

“It’s not really something that symbolizes us, but at some point in our relationship, I started to draw him. His eyes mostly. And I was cleaning up my stuff lately and I found some very old sketchbooks in boxes… looking through them I noticed that drawing Ethan, or at least things that reminded me of him, wasn’t new. I have little doodles of his karts, cars and even helmets here and there… It started when I was around seven and I used to go with my dad on karting tracks where Ethan was racing because my dad and his dad had a karting team together and Ethan was part of it. The more the years went by, the more I found drawings related to him. I guess I’ve never noticed before that I was drawing a lot of little doodles about everything and I never paid attention.”

“Why do you think it happened?”

“The drawings? I don’t know… that’s what I want to understand.” she replied.

“You know… our mind works in wonderful ways. Most of the time, the words we don’t want to say find another way to come out. You share a lot of history with Ethan. He had always been around you, you grew up together. He has been a huge part of your life.”

“But we couldn’t see eye to eye back then.”

“They’re still strong feelings that you never really got to say out loud, that you kept buried inside. Which isn’t surprising, you had a lot of things going on at the time. Are you able to find in your memories a time when Ethan made you feel nice? That you didn’t consider him as an enemy? Before you guys had to date.”

Julia leaned in her chair, thinking, until a very precise memory striked her.

“I think we were fourteen or fifteen at the time… our dads had the idea of doing Le Mans together, so naturally we went with them. It was a big family trip at the time and quite a huge thing for the media. I mean two world champions, rivals on tracks at the time, united in an attempt to win this prestigious race, you bet we had the media behind us at every move. It was wild and even more since Ethan was starting to grow a reputation in junior racing categories. It was also when school was tough on me. I spent my day trying to avoid the cameras and the journalists, hiding where I could. But at some point, I wanted to enjoy the atmosphere so I left the hospitality and soon I started to get surrounded by journalists asking questions about my dad and things like that. It became too much to the point I felt like I was about to faint until I felt Ethan arriving and brutally asking the journalists to leave me alone. I don’t remember much of what happened exactly but he stayed with me the whole day, not leaving my side and checking up on me. We didn’t talk, I think we were both too stubborn to acknowledge that maybe our rivalry was stupid. We never talked about it after. I’m not even sure he remembers, anyway.”

“How does it make you feel now? Thinking about it?”

“Like we were both very stupid at the time. We could have been friends. We had the same issues, we were very alike. But instead, we chose to fight. In a way, it had always pushed me to try to be the best but at the same time, we would have had each other to lean on. But it’s the past. I don’t want to dread it.” she said.

“Understanding your past is one of the most important things. Because if you don’t, you will inevitably fall back into your bad habits and you will let your worst fears hold you back. I want to talk about your feelings for Ethan. Especially since you’re going to see him and from what you’ve told me you’re ready for a relationship. I’m glad to hear it, by the way. I can’t wait, I’m sure we will have a lot to talk about in the future.”

“Glad to see you have this much faith in me, doctor. I won’t screw up this time. I’m sure of what I want.”

“I’m not saying you’re not. I’m just telling you that it will be a big change for you and that I’ll help you navigate through it.”

She nodded, a little relieved to know that she had someone to talk to if things were getting rough.

She came back right on time to watch the press conference. They were all in New-York for the very first Grand Prix hold there. Julia wasn’t very enthusiastic about it, finding the track design a bit boring but as usual, she didn’t like to judge before seeing what it would be like. On the other hand, Ethan was not so prompt to keep his judgment for himself and when a journalist asked him what his thoughts were, he didn’t hesitate very long.

“Obviously, it’s a new track for everyone so the only way to drive around it was through simulation. I didn’t enjoy it one bit. I think it will be boring to watch and boring to drive. I can’t wait for it to be over.”

She saw Ludwig almost laughing but quickly regaining his composure to say more or less the same thing in a more diplomatic way. Truth be told, she barely watched the race that weekend, busy crafting a little something for Ethan. She had put in a lot of time and effort. It was a personal gift, something she hoped held enough meaning for him to be able to trust her a little bit. As Etha had said, nothing interesting happened besides a third place for Romy, a redemption for the German driver.

Her week before Vegas was full. She had started putting up documentations for the Team Principals as well as for the drivers that she intended to give to Kyle. A few back and forth texts between them had her confirmed that he was onboard and ready to help her. She had never doubted it but she also knew how of an impact he could have and she was grateful for it. Finally, it was time for her to leave. She finished packing her bags, carefully wrapping a gift for Ethan, one she was as excited as she was terrified to give him.

She landed in Vegas on Friday afternoon, dreaming of a shower and a few hours of sleep. Her flight had been eventful and she was exhausted. She had to meet her dad for dinner in a few hours and she really wanted to not totally look half-dead. Once settled in her room and her suitcase unpacked, she was delighted to notice a bath in her bathroom. She let the water run and enjoyed her newly found peace and quiet to the point she fell asleep in her bath and when finally opened her eyes, the water was cold. She quickly got out and checked her phone, charging on the counter. She was about to be late. She got dressed and ran to the lobby where she encountered Martin, talking to Chloe. Laughing, even. Since when were they close? She thought. The redhead was the one to notice her and smiled.

“Julia, good to see you! I didn’t know you would be here today!”

“Hey… I landed a few hours ago.” she explained.

Martin was looking at her from the corner of his eye and she felt him tensing next to her.

“Ethan will be so happy to see you, he complained a lot about the last races. He has been a bit insufferable. I think he missed you but didn’t want to say it out loud.” Chloe laughed, unaware of Martin’s sudden attitude’s shift.

“I’m happy to see everyone. Martin, can I talk to you?” she asked, turning to him as she saw him shrug.

He promised Chloe they would catch up later and followed Julia in a corner of the lobby.

“What do you want?” he asked, laconically.

“To make amends. I have a lot of ‘I’m sorrys’ to say. To a lot of people and you’re pretty high on the list.”

“I’m listening.”

“Well, first I’m sorry I led you on. I’m sorry I used your feelings to make me feel better. I used you as a bandaid, knowing that you had feelings for me and it wasn’t fair. I’m sorry I let you believe that I could fall in love with you. You deserve better than what I could have ever given you.”

“I’m sorry too. Truth is, I didn’t grieve as well as I thought. Holding on to you, knowing that I was seeing so much of Cecile in you wasn’t fair as well. We both used each other. Maybe, a part of us needed it. But I don’t regret it. It made me understand that I had my own issues to fix as well. I just hope that, maybe not tomorrow but, in the future we will be able to be friends.” he smiled sadly.

“You’re a good guy. Any girl would be lucky to have you and I hope you'll find the right girl soon. Because you’re truly amazing and…”

“I found the right girl once and lost her. Found you and thought that life was giving me a second chance at happiness and only got disappointed. Excuse me, but I think I will give up on love for the future. Maybe I’m just not made to be happy.” he sighed leaving her there.

She looked at his figure disappearing outside as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She smiled recognizing her dad. They left the hotel for the restaurant, sat at their table and started to catch up. Julia explained to him her project in detail and with passion as he listened to her, giving her advice and pointing out the potential struggles she would be facing.

“I have a meeting with Seb after qualifying tomorrow to talk him through it.”

“Good. He will be happy to help you. Have you thought about a name for your association?”

“I did… Somnis. Dreams in latin. I like it because it sounds serious and it’s the purpose of charity. For those kids to believe in their dreams, for them to know they have the right to dream. And it doesn’t give away that I’m the one behind it.” she explained.

“In the span of a few weeks you’ve grown so much. You’re less fidgety, more peaceful.”

“I don’t know if it’s growing up. Letting go of all the lies and starting therapy was what I needed. It’s helping me a lot. The guilt and all the lies were eating me away. I feel free, I have a clear mind and new goals. I’m doing okay, I’m doing better.” she nodded.

They came back to the hotel as the night was starting to fall. She had one last thing to do before calling it a day. Thanks to Chloe who had texted her Ethan’s room number a little while ago, she knew where to find him. On her way to the hotel she had stopped to a florist to buy a gigantic bouquet of white and blue flowers. Bouquet that was resting in her room in a huge vase she had bought at the same time. Maybe it was incredibly cheesy, but she wanted to be. She wanted to surprise him, to see him laugh and tease her.

She reapplied a little bit of lipstick, smudged after her meal and gave herself a few words of encouragement before taking the flowers and going to his room. She took a deep breath, hoped he was there and knocked. She then proceeded to hide behind the bouquet that she had asked gigantic enough to hide her head. She heard the door unlocking before recognizing his voice.

“ What is it for…. oh gosh.”

“Special delivery, for a special driver.” she said, trying to lower her voice.

“And can I ask who this special delivery is from?”

“A very cute girl who approximately flew twelve hours to see you.”

“A cute girl, right? It will have to be a little more precise, I have a few names coming up in my mind.”

She put down the bouquet, revealing herself to Ethan’s smug smile. He was leaning against the doorframe in a white tee-shirt and gray sweatpants, his blonde hair damped after his shower.

“Surprise!” she exclaimed, holding the flowers in front of his face.

“Are they for me?” he asked, taking the flowers in his hands and inviting her to follow him inside. He put them on the coffee table before sitting on an armchair.

“I hope they bring you luck.” she whispered, suddenly shy.

“If I’m lucky, I’m sure it won’t be because of the flowers.”

“How are you doing?” she asked, a little more seriously.

“Honestly? Tired. I can’t wait for the season to be over. I need a break, I need to spend time with my family and friends, I need my bed, I need peace and quiet. And Vegas isn’t the most quiet race. I’m thinking of a trip… Kyle said Bali was amazing and he showed me so many pictures that now, I really want to go. But I’m not sure I want to go alone…”

“Are you asking me to join you?”

“Not yet. I’m waiting to see if you deserve it.” he nudged her shoulder.

“And I’m ready to prove to you that I do.” she let her head fall on his shoulder, jet lag finally catching up to her.

“You’re tired.” Ethan whispered, lips pressed to her forehead.

She nodded, snuggling a little more into his side.

“You’re warm. And you smell nice. I missed it.”

“And whose fault is that?” he asked.

She was surprised to not hear resentment in his voice. Instead, it was playful. His left arm was casually resting around her shoulders as his hand was drawing small patterns on her skin, calming her down and making her fall asleep.

“I should go… You’re a nice pillow but I should let you rest.” she stated, slowly straightening up.

“Don’t.” he pulled her back against him. “Stay.”

“I thought you didn’t want to complicate things.”

“Fuck complicated, Joolsie. You are comfortable, I am too. I don’t want to see you leave, you can barely keep your eyes open. Let’s pretend we are doing good, at least for tonight.”

“It won’t blur the lines, right?”

“I don’t care about the lines tonight.”

“Good, because I don’t care about them either.” she mumbled, letting him take her in his arms to lay her down on the bed.

“We need to get you out of these clothes, miss.”

“Eager to see me naked, Eth?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Joolsie.” he laughed.

He gave her one of his sweaters so she could change and took a few pillows out of the wardrobe so Julia could feel comfortable.

She had missed his scent, she had missed how his clothes looked on her, she had missed the sheer feeling of anticipation, knowing he was in the same room as her, she had missed his affectionate voice talking to her. She had missed him. She would never let him go. Not again. Not when all that he did made her feel so full of hope for the future, so alive, so happy, so calm, so grounded. How could she have ever thought that it was something she should be running away from? He wasn’t perfect, far from it. She wasn’t either but somehow, they fitted. In a weird and almost twisted way. He was understanding her when she was not understanding herself, he was seeing her. He was seeing everything she was and everything she wanted to hide. And he wasn’t judging her, he wasn’t saying that she was unworthy of his attention. He had decided to stay and she wanted to show him she was doing the same. He was loving her when she was learning how to love herself. She felt a tear on her cheek. A happy one. She was in love.

When she came back he was already in bed, eyes closed. She carefully approached him, slipping under the cover and snuggled against him. He didn’t move, only let out a sigh of content before playing with her hair.

“The nice thing with late races is that I can oversleep a little tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to disturb your sleep schedule, though. You need to be ready for tomorrow.”

“I’ll be fine. How is your therapy going? If I can ask.”

“It’s going well. I learn a lot of stuff about myself. Did I tell you I went skydiving with my dad? To learn how to let go. I thought it was a stupid idea at first but it worked surprisingly well. I would love to do that again. With you this time.”

“I would love to.”

“Well, I can add that to my bucket list, then.” she said.

“Oh, you have a bucket list?”

“Yes. It’s called Julia’s happiness. Another idea from my therapist. He asked me to make a list of all the things I would like to do that could make me happy.”

“And what is on this list?” he asked.

“Spending more time with the people I love, drawing more, reading more, going on hikes, doing more things out of my comfort zone… and you.” she confessed.

“Me? Interesting.”

“Stop pretending like you don’t know.”

“I just hope that I’m not the only reason why you are happy.”

“Not anymore. Not since I’ve found a purpose in my life. Someone once told me that I needed to find a reason to be happy on my own. And I think I’ve found it. It took me a while to get there but… better late than never. Now I can focus on being even happier.”

“One step at a time, Joolsie.”

“You’re right. But, really… therapy is helping me a lot. It’s going to be a long one but now that he knows every single thing that is wrong with me, we can work on them.”

“I’m proud of you. I haven’t told you.”

“I’m proud of you too.” she smiled, burying her face in his chest.

When she woke up the next day, she was alone. Still, Ethan had taken the time to leave her a note, under one of the white roses of his bouquet.

My little sleepyhead,

I don’t know when you’ll wake up but I had to leave for the track and you were very deep asleep. You can find a paddock pass on the coffee table. It is for quali, I wasn’t able to get you one for the race but I’m sure someone else got you covered. I hope you can make it. See you there.

PS: You’re cute when you’re sleeping even if you drool.

She got to the paddock forty-five minutes before the start of qualifying. She had tried to see Ethan or even Chloe to wish them luck but they were respectively training with their physiotherapist and she didn’t want to bother them. Her dad was already on the pitwall, getting ready. She waved at him but he didn’t see her. She briefly saw Kyle, getting ready. He smiled at her as she mouthed him good luck. She stopped by Audi’s garage where Seb was talking to Romy. As soon as the German girl saw her best friend, she ran to her to take her in her arms.

“Oh gosh, I’m so happy to see you. I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too.”

“I have so many things to tell you!”

“I know Romy. But now, you have to focus. You have a pole to get.”

“Where are you watching?”

“Ethan’s given me a pass for today but tomorrow, I’m staying close to you and you will be able to tell me everything.”

“Ethan? Girl, you and I have to talk. And yeah, I have to tell you all about how Kyle’s mom is a wicked witch. I can’t wait. I know you’ll get me.”

Romy hugged her one last time before running to her race engineer, leaving Julia with Seb.

“Lewis told me about the meeting with the FIA. He told me what your project is and I’m one hundred percent behind you. Audi will be.”

“It means a lot to know that I have you onboard Seb. You’ve always been an example for people in this sport. I’m not only talking about drivers but for everyone. What you stand for, your values, they are rare in this world.”

“Have you thought about a chart? Something for the team to sign if they are committed to join you?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, here in Audi, all our workforce, whether it’s at the factory or here in the paddock, has to sign a chart where a few principles are written. It’s about what we stand for, what we represent as a brand and as individuals. It’s not much but it means that we are all held accountable. I can send you a copy so you have an idea of what it means.”

She thanked the German team principal before he had to leave. She quickly got into the Maserati garage, in the zone meant for the drivers’ guests. She crossed paths with Chloe who smiled bright at her before giving her a quick hug.

“Ethan is going to be so happy to have you here! He hasn’t shut up about you!” winked the Belgian leaving Julia speechless.

She also saw Sofia, alone in a corner, completely unbothered. Julia gulped. She had not had the occasion to talk to her after assuming that she was Ethan’s new girlfriend. She blushed from awkwardness before approaching her.

“Julia.” the woman greeted her with a tight smile.

“You know who I am?”

“I think I know you inside and out, yeah. Ethan talked a lot about you. You’re one of the reasons why he seeked my help.”

“Yeah… well… I think we didn’t start off on the right foot. I wanted to properly introduce myself and.. I wanted to say sorry. For assuming stuff without properly asking.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind. You couldn’t know. Let’s move past that, especially since I think we will see each other quite a lot in the near future.”

“I guess, yeah. I hope so. Not that I want to see you, I mean… Don’t take it personally but…”

“It’s okay, Julia. I know what you mean.”

She was grateful when silence was asked to be made as qualifying was about to start. Ethan struggled during the first part, barely managing to make it through as Chloe was flying. Julia felt anxious and hoped that going to see him the day before, and spending the night with him hadn’t made him lose focus, she would feel extremely bad. Thankfully, it got slightly better during the Q2 managing to take the P5 after a last lap where he gave his all. Biting her nails, she hoped for a good place for him. He needed it after two bad weekends, nowhere near his usual performances. She was so anxious that she could’n watch, preferring closing her eyes until she heard cries of joy. She felt a hand on her shoulder as Sofia showed her the broadcast. Pole position. His third one. Chloe was also P3 which was amazing for her. Romy was P2.

She saw the two Maserati’s drivers celebrating after benign rushed to the interviews and Julia felt like a lifetime had been spent when she finally managed to see him. He rushed to her, taking her in his arms.

“I’m so happy. You have no idea. So proud of you.” she mumbled in his neck.

“You brought me luck.” he smiled, kissing the side of her head as he threw an arm around her waist to guide her away from prying eyes.

“You don’t need luck.”

“I’m so gutted you won’t be able to watch the race here! I would have loved to have you in the garage.” he complained.

“No matter where I am tomorrow, I’m rooting for you. Always. And this time, I promise, when you’ll win, I’ll wait for you on the other side of the finish line.” she smiled.

Author's note: Slowly, but very surely we are getting to the moment you're all waiting for... Three chapters left before the end....

What do you think will happen next? Let me know your theories, I love to read them.

Don't hesitate to leave a comment or an ask, as well as reblogging and leaving a like. Besides the fact that I absolutely love to read you, it helps a lot for the story to find its audience. I also have a taglist for this story, so if you want to be added so you never miss a chapter, let me know.

Taglist:

@herondalism @aundercover @musingsbyshreya @karmabyfernando @reengard @mycenterfold @smoooothoperator

[archandshri]

12 April ‘24 - [arch] Making a Comic in a Week, Disability and Burnout (all unrelated, of course!)

Hey Shri and folks!! LOVED seeing part three of the Lionheart Brothers cover. Stunning!! And awesome to see your process. Also cool to see what you’ve been looking at lately - I’ve just finished a rewatch of Firefly and the characters are still living in my brain a bit. 

Life is a bit relentless, huh. I’ve spent a lot of time and energy working on disability stuff - meal prepping, sorting silly government forms, all that sort of thing. Exhausting and super easy to burn out on - but also sets me up for the future in my personal life and for illustration! I want to discuss the balance of pushing and burnout this week with an excellent example - I tried foreshadowing to make a comic in a week. 

When I was in uni, it was easy to create cool stuff regularly - you’re constantly receiving prompts, doing activities, getting feedback etc. I still have access to these things, especially through my shared studio community, but it’s not as easy as it used to be. I miss creating finished books, in particular, so frequently. So! I challenged myself to make a comic in time for Something’s Fishy Zine Fair in Plymouth tomorrow, which was just over a week from when I started.

I had come up with the concept for the comic while travelling, written the script and done a couple of sketches. I often come up with concepts while travelling - I just don’t often follow through :P Here’s a couple of sketches I did on the journey.

I’ve been chatting to lots of people about what they enjoy about art - I’ve noticed that I tend to crave the end of the project and having the physical thing with high expectations of myself, which doesn’t lead to a very enjoyable process. Many people I’ve spoken to enjoy the ‘zone’, the focus of the project where you’re just figuring stuff out and not thinking about anything else. Bearing this in mind, I wanted to make the process as fun as possible - this comic is for fun and not for the purpose of having the thing at the end. 

I started with a few development sketches of the characters and the vibe. I used ink and my funky kakimori dip pen, plus some brushes. These mediums are hard to control, which makes them good for development for me - they don’t have to be good, this time is for gestural drawings and ideas generation. Some continued doodles in my sketchbook from some downtime :) Fish wouldn't leave my brain.

After a bit of character development, I began by adapting my script into pages - I read the script and try to feel the vibes on how I want to pace the comic, considering:

How much dialogue and plot do I want to put on one page?

Do I want it to be more text or image-heavy?

Do I want it to feel fast and snappy, or slow and dreamy?

Which parts of dialogue feel like a page-turner?

Are there any twists that should be separated from the rest of the scene by a page-turn?

Are there any moments that should sit next to each other on spreads?

You can see me changing some dialogue around, writing as I draw a bit. Also playing around with some weird looking fish?? With noses???

I got a bit stuck at this stage. I was scared my script wasn’t good enough. And worried about if I could even draw fish. After a couple of chats with art friends, and some rambling in my slides, I reminded myself that the lesson this time is fun!! Have fun goddamn it!! No point doing it if you’re not having fun. (it’s not like we make any money from riso printed zines anyway)

Screenshots from my slides - these things are wonderful for gathering inspiration and venting when you run into a problem with the project.

So I decided to just go for it. Not even thumbnail, but just take a scene and draw it. I asked a studio friend to choose a number, and I drew that scene.

Because of the chatty style of the comic, and how much dialogue there was gonna be, I knew there would have to be a LOT of panels. I decided to make it A4, and use a 8x6 grid. I’ll draw the images at A3, and than scale them down to A4 when it comes to printing.

left: A3 grid on the lightbox, for tracing over || Right: A4 grid with boxes of different sizes for me to reference while choosing the layout - this way I can see the final print size

First drafts of a couple of random pages from Moon Noodles.

The first day I drew several pages that I was really happy with! It gave me a lot more confidence in my script - seeing it come to life with the characters on the page - some pages even got some laughs which was nice. I would look at the page plan, script, and spend a few minutes thinking about the pacing and how I wanted the dialogue on the page, and the go straight in with the dip pen - with the awareness that it might be wrong. This process taught me an important lesson - you have to just do it. The thing is, if you do it and it’s bad, you just do it again but different. Repeat. Staring at that script thinking it wasn’t good enough wasn’t actually going to get anything done, be fun OR make nice stuff. You have to do the thing. Then you make it better.

The other thing I learnt from this process was to give it space. There was a day where I did one page, hated it and thought the pacing was off, and spent the next day trying to translate it into two pages. It didn’t work. I came back the next day and realised the first page I’d done was fine and just needed a couple of tweaks. Do the thing. Let it be.

Here’s a little picture of my setup.

(Sorry all of Printhaus for hoarding the light box and getting ink all over it :( love u)

Useful stuff!!!!

Finished pages to refer to, plus more A3 paper underneath for future pages

Laptop with script

Dip pen, ink and water for keeping that little guy clean!

development sketches for relevant scenes

Page plan (you can see I have shortened it considerably since last time - now it's 20-24 pages and noted on scraps of paper so I can move them around if there's any changes of plan)

A4 sheet with boxes to show the sizes of the final print

also scissors??? i don't remember why they're here

But then monday morning came. I realised that if I wanted to get it all printed by friday, I needed to:

Plan and 12 pages on Monday, and 12 on tuesday

Get the final files for every one of the 24 pages by Thursday 

Print friday morning

Travel down to devon Friday afternoon

Fair Saturday

Not only is that basically impossible, but it would be very bad for my health, make for a rushed comic, and most importantly, not be fun. The thing is, I’ve made whole comics in a couple days before. I figured I could still do it. But that’s not actually a good thing - my skills and taste have increased, I'm aiming for bigger, more ambitious projects and yet I expect the timelines to stay the same? It doesn’t exactly work like that now, does it?

But I kept going anyway. 

Tuesday morning, I decide to get the cover put together so I can get the preorder post-out. I get pulled into an unexpected meeting, and then spend the rest of the day inking this thing and getting the files sorted. At this point, I know for sure It’s not possible to get this done. Thankfully my two Printhaus besties were in. They helped me drop it. I love this comic, it feels fun and joyous and I’ve enjoyed working on it - lets not rush it and end up with a bad product that will bother me. Let’s take time, explore it and really enjoy the process!!!

All is not lost for Something’s Fishy Zine Fair, though! Originally, I had planned to do a print of the Moon Noodles Cover for preorders only, but why not print that for Something’s Fishy?? Anyone who buys the print will also get a discount code for the pre-order :D (also here’s the pre-order link)

So here’s a few images of the Moon Noodles cover print and the process!! I hope to see some of you at Something’s Fishy. It’s a joy to visit Plym again :D

Sketch printed out at A3, and 2 of the layers. I scanned these in and edited them on photoshop to get the files ready to print.

Coming to terms with the fact that 1) I don’t have illustration superpowers even if my expectations are that high and 2) I’m disabled (yes it’s been years and it’s still hard to face) is really hard!! I need to spend most of my time when I’m well preparing for when I’m not AND fight the urge to work until I burn out, which I always lean towards because it’s nice escapism. 

The thing is that living, and not being too exhausted to move is much more important than a comic. And if I am gonna spend my functioning time making comics, they’re gonna have to be enjoyable to make. Otherwise your life slips away from you and you haven’t been really living it.

Hope that hasn’t got too deep for you. I think that stuff is important to face, especially since the creative life is so incredibly busy.

Thank you for reading this goddamn essay, I hope that it helped in some way! As usual, feel free to drop an ask if you have any questions. 

Chat soon :D Archie <3

[artsy-hobbitses]

Hi! Really big fan of your art. Really love the dynamism (I don't know if that's a word? Sorry ^^;) of your Humanformers and how their designs are all so different!

I'm trying to get back into drawing (I used to draw so much as a kid, really fell off the wagon when I went into college), and I was wondering... how do you deal with the frustration of pieces not turning out the way you picture them? I get so discouraged sometimes when my skills just aren't quite up to snuff for what my brain wants to do. How do you stay motivated to keep at it?

Hello hello and thank you very much for your kind words!

Honestly you’ve got to find a way to love the process, to just see something come to life in your hands even though it’s imperfect. Embrace that imperfection as a reflection of who you are and your development as an artist at that point—a lot of old art before you get to a point where you’re happy does mirror a part of you and your influences at that period, like a little time-back machine.

Keep drawing even though you’re not ‘there yet’. Give your art a little story and narrative so the technical aspects of it are not all you have to go on. I know a lot of local artist friends who just draw things without a story or narrative, and when they cannot get it ‘right’, it inevitably feels harsher because the critic in you will see it as ‘hollow’.

You not being able to 100% put the things in your head on paper is actually a good thing—you’re already able to visualise, your body naturally needs to play catch-up with your head.

So asides giving it a little story or narrative, look to people and IP which inspire you for reference. I keep telling people this—if you’re not at a point where you can freely draw without reference, use a reference—hell, trace if you have to (practice only) to build muscle memory.

Finding a core group of art friends who mutually support each other is also invaluable. I started out a 14-year-old with shitty but determined and lovingly-made MSPaint and Mouse Neopet doodles, I can’t imagine how my progress would have been if I didn’t have a little group on the site who were genuinely charmed at what I managed to accomplish with the roughest of tools and kept cheering me on (I was entering those damn Beauty Contests and I did not care that other pieces were prettier the mine).

Last of all, remember the audience you’re drawing for first and foremost—you. Draw what you love, draw self-indulgent shit, because the best way to motivate yourself is “I WANT IT THAT WAY” and actually clawing to get it that way. There’s a running joke that so many fan artists get good at anatomy because “I NEED to see X and Y DOING THIS THING”, it’s that simple/silly and that’s the energy you need to embrace.

My first year college lecturer told students about my portfolio project something along the lines of “She’s not technically sound, but you can see that she LOVES what she’s doing, and that’s the kind of passion you need”.

So keep drawing to build muscle memory and storytelling to give even rough art a soul, and embrace that imperfection as just a snapshot in time. Of course you can do better, everyone can, but use that as a motivator, more of a “HELL YES IM GONNA DO THAT” instead of a “Why can’t I do that”. It’s a matter of perspective too!

[dizzyiscrocodile]

Hi every1! Late night posting here, but I’m just here because I never post so I’m deciding to share some studies.

Let me be clear, this study was on @runningwithscizzorz ‘s art and is supposed to reflect their style so I might absorb some of their artistic prowess. I don’t claim this as # wow look at my amazing original art, that’s not how studies work. Also, some of their art and tutorials, witch can be found on their page if you scroll down, are low opacity or just in the background of these studies. I also wanted to go over the process in witch I actually do studies. Usually, there’s multiple artists strung together from Pinterest and tumblr I’m trying to eat the style of, but today, it’s just Runnin’s art because I’m fascinated with their expressions.

I wanted to learn faces and expressions and squishy little guys from them, so I started with some silly little guys . I actually didn’t add details and turn them into limo characters until afterwards, I just was looking at them all proud and went “hm these are good! I wonder if they’ll clean up nicely” and so I added a little more to them and zoo wee mama no they didn’t. BUT I WORK ON THAT! Later! Sorta.

Big goal was to see what I learned so I did this little thing where i (before having started the study) doodled my favorite little guy (red son), and then again trying to confirm to the head shapes I’ve learned from the quick study, and then again trying with some of my prior knowledge to make a comfortable middle ground with myself with knowledge I could actually use to frequently draw. Yum. That’s how this turned out.

I’m gonna come back to this because I got distracted and completely forgor what I was supposed to be doing (squishing n playing around with faces) but what I DID do was learn how to do the head thingy and actually clean it up well. I consider that a win! I think this method of drawing face shapes will go into my little artistic bank account . I did a few more of these I can’t show because I asked my friends to do the faces for me. Sorryyyyyyyyyhhh

Last but not least I just drew over a scull after taking heavy notes on how sizzorz drew over a scull and unsurprisingly it came out stunnin

I fooled around with a few other thingamabobs here and messed with more just drawing over side profiles, but that might come in a part two. Nobody asked for this post, and nobody’s going to ask for the update reblogs, but here they are gosh darn it. I will get the … the thing. I will actually grasp the concepts I went into this study to grasp. Maybe not YET, but I’ll get there.

Sizzorz if you’re reading this you have inspired me, maybe not my artstyle directly up until recently, but more just artistically— to create and have fun with what I want to do with my art. Thanks for that.

I did some anatomy stuff, but it sucks and I want to come back to it and actually learn from their composition with more than just Lisley references … that’s a story for another day. I’m passing out.

[merriclo]

hey clo? do you have any tips for high school? starting in a week n a half and oh god am i unprepared

-🪱

oh shit yeah absolutely!! i’m a senior currently so i’ve got a few tips n tricks n such. i wrote a lot lmao my bad. have a good year worm it’s not as scary as it seems, it’s just middle school in a new font

if you have a teacher you fucking despise, pretend like you’re watching a demented puppet show, or a nature documentary, or whatever else. if you switch your mindset and start seeing it as watching the court jester fool around, it all becomes fucking hilarious instead of infuriating.

if you’re struggling literally just ask the teacher. if you’re too nervous to do so in class, ask before or after. i’ve even asked in the morning just before school started. no, it won’t make you look dumb. if anything they’ll appreciate your dedication to understanding the material

smile at teachers in the hall, tell em to have a good day when you leave, etc. you’ll be shocked how far simple niceties go when it comes to teachers

don’t worry about eating alone at lunch. literally no one is gonna look at you and go “ew what a lonely loser” they literally do not care. so many people just chill by themselves and it’s fine. i’ve eaten alone for at least one of my lunch periods every single year and it’s kind of a blast. use it to read, watch something, do homework, play a game, study, draw, whatever tf you’d like. your school also might have a thing where you can sign up to eat in the library, which is wonderful.

ok idk if this is just where i live but don’t do drugs, there’s a chance it’s laced with something lethal. also just stay away from drugs in general.

also also if you’re gonna drink, do it responsibly. don’t drink if you’re not 100% sure you’re somewhere safe (aka not a party, especially for the first time)

you don’t need that many folders. honestly i’ve had the same two since freshman year and i’ve been fine, and the classes i take give a shit ton of notes

speaking of notes, if they’re not in a notebook keep them in chronological order!!!!! it’ll make it so much easier to reference later on (especially for math and history). i recommend getting a three ring binder for this

not to sound like a hoarder but don’t throw worksheets or notes away, even after the school year is done. the amount of times i’ve looked back on previous notes or given those notes to my underclassmen friends is insane

if you’re approached romantically by anyone who’s a junior or a senior while you’re a freshman run for the hills. there’s a reason no one in their grade wants to date them, and you don’t want to figure that reason out

wear both backpack straps please. it’s so much better for your back.

if you like to doodle get a pack of index cards. you won’t draw on your notes or worksheets (as much) and you can easily hide it by slipping it under the paper, plus then all of your drawings will be kept together !!

if you’re gonna get into a fight don’t do it on school property

compliment people. people started talking significantly less shit about me when i kept telling them that they were pretty

if you look engaged in the lesson teachers will LOVE you (and will be more likely to write a banging recommendation letter, if you need it)

when in the halls, KEEP WALKING. don’t stop in the middle of the hallways pls i beg of you. and, if you’re able to, walk sort of fast. there’s places to be, thing to do.

even if you don’t use them, keep a few pads or tampons in your bag

don’t skip or be intentionally late, it’s not fun or cool or whatever you’re just gonna end up tanking your own grade or getting in trouble

while you’re getting used to your schedule, get an index card or something and write out the classes in order of your first period to your last period (with the room number!!) and keep it in your pocket to quickly look at while switching classes

you remember the “hot cheeto girl” trend from a while ago?? yeah those girls are always the nicest motherfuckers on the planet. be nice to them, compliment them, give them a pencil when they need it or something, and they will defend you until they die. once i fixed a girl’s necklace and she ripped a guy a new one for insulting me

basically just be friendly and it’ll pay off lmao

saying this as someone who was bullied: some people are bullied for a reason!! this might just be bc my school has mostly black students, but if they’re outcasted from everyone (including other odd, alternative, or bullied kids) it’s because they’re a bigot or something

don’t go around ignoring every shy kid tho often times they’re very very sweet

if your school has vending machines bring some change. there’s no thirst like middle of the school day thirst, and i wouldn’t trust the water fountains

bring a snack !! teachers see me munching on granola bars before school starts all the time and don’t say shit

dress how ya want, it’ll attract the people you want to be friends with

you can ask for due date extensions. more often than not they’ll appreciate you caring enough to ask

popularity doesn’t exist lmao

you’re not gonna be able to avoid drama, it’s high school. just stick to your morals, don’t let bitches push you around, and remember it’s probably not gonna be that deep in a few years.

if you ever feel like life sucks: yeah. because you’re like 15 years old and in high school. you’re gonna have a weird fucking time and it’s gonna exhausting but you’ll make it out the other side still breathing. everyone around you is just as miserable and doesn’t want to be there, you’re not alone in feeling like shit. because, again, it’s high school.

JACKETS. WEAR THEM. ITS CHILLY.

bring deodorant. i don’t care if you put in on in the morning, you’re gonna be in a small classroom with 20-30 other kids for pretty much the entire day. sometimes you’re gonna need to reapply and it’ll be fine. no one’s gonna judge you for putting it on. make sure you smell fine.

dances ain’t that cool it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get asked out to one. if you want to go to one just go with friends.

clubs are cool!! they’re a way to get out there and actually meet people with common interests

lots of worksheets are online

it really ain’t that scary don’t worry hun

if you wear makeup, use it as a conversation starter i’m being fr. i met my best friend by complimenting their lipstick and saying i can never find one that doesn’t crease super badly, and we ended up talking abt makeup n shit for like fifteen minutes. if you don’t wear makeup, this can probably be applied for most other things

khan academy, organic chemistry teacher, cararra, flipping physics, the princeton review, crash course, and heimler’s history are good tools to use!!!

wifi is often dogshit, bring a book or something to do when you have free time so you’re not sitting there staring off into the distance. sometimes they have an internet block thing on the school wifi, so having a VPN could come in handy

if you have a free period or a study hall or whatever i find most teachers don’t give a flying fuck if you bring a DS or something. in fact several of mine have gotten excited when they see me playing old zelda games after class

overall it’s gonna be fine. high school is fucked but it’s also home to some of the funniest things you’ll ever witness. don’t be nervous you’ll do great

[magicstormfrostfire]

Hey previous anon here, and I just wanted to say I adore your work, no matter the pairing. Equinox actually made me like the Scourge/Silver pairing. I personally just really enjoy your writing style, and the stories you make have always enraptured me.

I hope things get better soon, both in terms of your mental health and your financial situation. You’re a really awesome person and an amazing writer. My friends and I talk about your fics all the time, heck I actually tried to recommend Rose Drops to one of them and they had already read the whole thing. So, regardless of what you decide to do going forward, thank you for giving us these wonderful stories.

I sat on this ask for a while because there were a lot of good things I wanted to say, but it ended up being way too long. I couldn't find any proper words that conveyed exactly how much it means to me.

But what I can say, is this. Sonic is my friend. I dont think I'll ever leave the fandom forever. My stories either. I love them too much for that. I plan to come back to the fandom at some point when I get myself, my art, my world, and my feelings sorted out enough to handle it. But for now its gonna be little doodles and ocassional OC drawings to feel good, as I try to navigate...everything.

And thank you, I really appreciate it. I'm glad that you and your friends like my stories. Someday I'll finish them and make more.❤

[eoieopda]

Hihi, Jade! Hope you’ve been well and are doing good hehe

I started learning the pre-chorus + chorus to Like Crazy and when I tell you it’s groovy as shit. Like damn. Though, if this doesn’t improve my hip-control, I genuinely have no idea what will 🤡

On another note, I’m meeting up with one of my friends on Monday! We’re going out for coffee and window shopping and I’m pretty excited because I haven’t seen her since the beginning of February of this year, and I’m excited to talk to her face to face (hah see what I did there ;))

I also did a little brainstorming for a story I’ve wanted to write since August of 2020, and I’m hoping it’s gonna help with my immense writers block concerning the idea itself lmfao

I was also wondering, but do you bake? I know it’s a pretty random question but a lot of my friends bake, and I’ve only ever baked once with one of said friends. We made chocolate muffins and, despite them being relatively messy, they actually tasted pretty good! I’m a bit sad we didn’t have chocolate chips though, I would’ve loved to take the famous(?) “you measure that shit with your heart” post as inspiration to make a mostly choc-chip choco muffin hehe.

Do you draw at all, either? I don’t draw much, and when I do I almost always draw exclusively doodles, but I’ve had a couple which came out pretty well. I drew this really tiny dragon a while ago (probably a few years back) which I thought came out pretty well hehet.

By the way, on a less random and softer note, I’ve been meaning to tell you but kept getting shy and insecure about how to say it, but I really appreciate you, you know? I know we don’t know each other super personally and everything, but our exchanges have been a consistent highlight to my everyday life since I’ve become your mutual.

Like, I can’t even begin to say how big of an impact you’ve had on me as a person just with a couple of our (admittedly short) interactions. Your posts brighten up my day, and I really love how full of love you are, and how you’re so unapologetically yourself. It’s really pushed me to become more comfortable in my own skin, which I couldn’t thank you enough for.

I know that probably went from zero (0) to one-hundred (100) real quick, lol, but I thought it was about time, you know? Sorry for putting something like this in an ask, I probably should’ve sent it in a PM but I thought, “I’m here, I might as well do it while I have the courage” 🥹

Anyway, sorry for all the blabbering xd.

I hope you have a wonderful day (or night, I’m not 100% what time of day you’re at rn)!

I hope this isn’t coming off as creepy as it’s starting to sound in my head 🥹 I admire you a lot is all; sorry if this makes you uncomfortable if it does lemme know pls. Okay bye ily 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

this is quite possibly the sweetest thing i anyone has told me in a very very very long time, and i am — OOF — misty in the damn eyeballs. like, i don’t even know how to thank you for that 😭🫠 i’m a whole mess omg. YOU ARE SO SPECIAL, LIL BABY HAN 😭💓💕💗🫶🏻

now i’m gonna stop wheezing and answer your actual questions and pretend i did not just fully tear up, lmao.

i do bake, but not as often as i used to? i kind of only do it when i’m home with my mom which is rare but will resume soon when i move back to my home state to be close again!! def prefer baking to cooking because there is some ridiculous disconnect in which i can do one fairly well but will burn the shit out of whatever meal i’m attempting and/or burn myself. i do not know why i am like this!!

i draw, but also not as often as i used to 🤪 like, i drew/designed all of my tattoos and used to be really into art, but my brain only lets me have 1-2 hobbies at a time, and this one fell by the wayside 🥲 rip art-phase jade.

and good luck with your wip!!! seriously, tag me in anything you post because i love FFF so much that i would surely love whatever else you write 💕🥹