#is he sketchy as heck?

[cocoabubbelle-newblog]

My personal opinion

Spoilers

Marvel Writers: Hank McCoy/Beast is irredeemable. He is a despicable villain. The version you will see in the upcoming comics is a clone of himself with only up to his mid-1980s memories/portrayal. If original Beast does come back, it will still be as a villain and he can never come back to the original team as a hero. He has no one to blame but himself.

[cheriboms]

doctober day 14: coffee

pshh who needs caffeine when u can just have a hallucinatory vision about ur teenager coming back from the future u just sent him to??

(psa the audio gets loud so do be warned)

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

Drew something similar to this, but I liked this sketch anyway-

Doodle of Seth for the funnies

[thedorfmirrin]

Get rekt mcdonald pizza man

[askatriangleandastar]

Some experiments with a new medium mix!

Marker for lines, bit of mixed ink on the ghost green and nail polish for the coloring- surprisingly fun!

[berryblu-soda]

fully enjoyed silly guy Kabru for a full 4 seconds before i realized his way of analyzing people is exactly like my dad ToT

[potofsoup]

i love your fourth of july comics every year but this years feels extremely optimistic about biden’s abilities in the face of him letting roe get overturned and funding a gen*cide at worst or letting it happen at best by taking the bare minimum of regulatory action… i mean can he really be trusted at all anymore to do the right thing or act in line with the people’s demands? and how do we know the people behind project 2025 won’t just rig the election again to get in under false pretenses?

Hihi! Thank you for reading and enjoying my July 4th comics every year! I am in a non-US airport en route to a month-long trip in a place with sketchy internet, so sorry in advance for sloppiness in my response (and potentially going radio silent).

But:

I don't think he "let" Roe get overturned, since that was the Supreme Court's overwhelming conservative majority, which really started with Mitch McConnell refusing to approve Obama's appointee and forcing it into a 2016 election issue. The fact that Trump got to appoint 3 Supreme Court Justices is what got us here.

Re: Biden and the Israel/Hamas war ... on the one hand, there's definitely more that he could have done, but on the other hand, they are a whole other country over there. It's Hamas that initiated the Oct 7 attacks and took the hostages. It's Netanyahu and his right-wing government who decided to retaliate to such extreme extent. Biden can talk about how he would really like Netanyahu to stop fighting and step down, but at the end of the day that's not his call, any more than he can stop the Sudan fighting that is near-genocidal either.

So, to come to your question #1: "Can he really be trusted at all anymore to do the right thing or act in line with the people’s demands"?

For me, it's a resounding YES. Guyz, he has passed so much good domestic policies. My spouse works in green energy and the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act halved his anxiety and gave him legitimate hope. The tumblr post I linked to in my comic has links to many of the other great things that Biden has done. Tbh I voted for him in 2020 because "a moldy onion is still better than Trump", and I've been pleasantly surprised. Like how he tried to cancel student loans, the Supreme Court overturned it, and then he came back 6 months later with a different way to do it that didn't lead to a court challenge.

Is he perfect? Hell no. There's tons of stuff that I wish he did more about, or he went further on, but also he's just one guy heading one branch of government who is heading into an election year. (Just like FDR promising not joining WWII, while behind the scenes doing all the Lend-Lease Act stuff). And "the people" have lots of demands, many of them conflicting.

I'd also like to push at the unspoken part of your question... "Can he really be trusted to do the right thing..." compared to whom? Because right now the answer is "compared to Trump." And compared to Trump... I don't even trust Trump to respect the results of a legitimate election. Heck, he might just take his favorite state secrets, sell them to the highest bidder (or just show them off to someone for funzies), and then claim Presidential immunity. A decent Democrat who got stuff done vs someone who probably wants to pardon himself and all his friends and do Project 2025 stuff is not even on the same level. (Do I wish that there was a viable Democratic alternative to Biden? Sure! But who?) Heck, at this point -- imagine if it's Kamala Harris vs. Trump. Who would you vote for?

As for your question #2: "How do we know the people behind project 2025 won’t just rig the election again to get in under false pretenses?"

We don't. But also what can we do besides showing up to vote?

Actually, I need bullet points for this:

The 2022 midterm elections brought in fewer-than-expected election-deniers into crucial electoral offices at the state level, which means that hopefully most state electoral boards will continue to have integrity

Yes, voting is harder but at least we can still vote. So it's about getting out there and getting your vote counted. For some states, it involves waiting in 8 hour lines. For some states, it involves bringing 2 forms of ID. Document. Track. Make sure it's dropped off in a real ballot box and not a fake one. Don't believe messaging that the voting is happening on a different day or location, etc.

A 50.1% majority is easily challenged. A 55% majority, less so. Which means getting people out to vote.

The more people know about and think about the reality of a second Trump term (versus being disappointed by a Biden term), the more they will be motivated to vote against Trump.

Finally, let's be real here: I'm braced for a 2nd Trump term. That said:

I'm still going to go and vote for Biden, because the only way to prevent a 2nd Trump term is to vote.

A Trump term where either the House or Senate is controlled by the Democrats will be *very* different from a clean Republican sweep.

Even with a clean Republican sweep on the federal level, States have so much more power now, and voting the state level stuff will help shore up Democratic goals for the future. States get to draw voting districts however they want. States get to decide on abortion policies. If you live in a deep Red state, there still might be things to vote for that make it easier to live in now, and turn it purple a few elections down the line.

So at the end of the day, it's "Vote AND". Vote and keep living your best life. Vote and tell others about Project 2025. Vote and have hope. Even if Trump wins, at least you'll have voted against him. Vote and stay to build up a progressive wave for the next election.

[muchmorethanmoney]

I think Rosie is a key factor to understanding Alastor's outlook on friendships.

The show all but spells out that Alastor sees attachments as a weakness, from the "Great Alastor, altruist, died from his friends" line to the hints about his failed friendship with Vox and to the way the narrative immediately punishes him when he admits to Niffty that "One could get accustomed". However something sets Rosie aside from all of this. With her, Alastor is open about scheming, he allows her to touch him and even seems to bleat like a fawn when she grabs him. Their friendship seems oddly healthy for a guy who seems to think that letting people even peek through the twenty meter wall he's built around himself is a fate worse than death. So what makes Rosie different? I think what sets her aside from other attachments that Alastor might view as dangerous (such as Vox, maybe?) is that no matter how close they might be, she still has her own world and he has his. There's a safety in knowing your life won't have to change and that you're free to take any risk, ruin any bond because you're not directly putting this person in danger. Rosie is Alastor's friend, not his responsibility. That's why she's not as affected by Alastor's disappearance and welcomes him back as if he had been gone for a week. Their lives are completely separated, but they choose to meet at the borders.

I think that someone like Vox doesn't do that. Vox lives with Velvette and Valentino, they share everything, success, plans, even a living space. Heck, Velvette can go to the Overlord meeting representing the other two because that trio can speak as one. When Vox asked Alastor to "join his team", he was basically asking Alastor to remodel his life to make space for him as well. If one of the Vees fucks up, all of them fuck up ("Our model is perfection"). Alastor has his own plans, his own messes and cannot by any means be tied down to someone else. Even if he did care for Vox, in order to really be on a team with him or anyone else, he would have to drop his creepy persona which keeps him safe, he couldn't just kill people and betray others however he wished, let alone make sketchy deals with much more powerful entities. His actions would impact the ones he kept close. Vox and Alastor couldn't join forces because they have fundamentally different goals and outlooks on attachment. Vox wants codependency, Alastor has conjured up indestructible walls just to survive.

So, tl;dr: Rosie and Alastor work as friends because they seemingly agree to keep their lives separate. Vox wanted to carve a niche for himself in Alastor's life just like he had done for him, but that's just not what Alastor wants nor is able to give.

[petratherrock]

The thing that kept tugging at my heartstring is how Jack is just genuinely a good and caring person. The show is writing him as a good person. A caring surgeon. It's great! His first appearance at the theater, he told the patient it's going to hurt a lot and he tried to make the patient feel better (unlike a certain other surgeon who even told his patient to shut up). He left the hospital worried about his own future predicament, saw his former patients and asked them if they're alright. He was still worried about the fate of his hands and asked the convict what was her baby's name, the one that she stole the clothes for. Fagin told him abt how he doesn't want to disturb the dead and he respected it. Old crook is sketchy as heck with a history of abandoning him in prison at 13 and he still was concerned about his health

So when he showed genuine concern for Belle, it didn't come from nowhere. It doesn't come from a place of 'oooh he's suddenly worried about a fellow person because he's attracted to her romantically!!' like yeah I can read the romance magnetism between them like the sappy shipper that I am but that's not all he is; he's just a genuinely caring and good person and surgeon !!!

[lunasdestiny]

WOOLY GET BEHIND ME!

spoilers

I really dont think he's the big bad or even evil. In fact I think he and Amanda are a like but in different ways.

Both even have demon forms as shown in the ending of the second game. Also there are moments when both act sketchy yet there seems to be a light in there somewhere.

While i dont think Wooly is a child I do think he had ties with hameln. I also like the Sam theory.

Another thing i noticed is that when you are asked who you trust and answer "wooly" Amanda says she used to trust him but cant anymore. Wooly looked visibly hurt by this. Whatever he did to make her not trust him anymore he seems remorseful.

While YES there are times he tries to get her to ignore what's happening and trying to push that "everything is ok" narrative I dont think its out of malice.

Plus i dont think he is a threat given the fact Amanda isn't afraid of him. Just annoyed which is fair lol (If you answer wooly when she asks you what you're afraid of she just goes "-_- seriously?" lol)

I want a third game to see what the heck is going on with these two tho!

[lightandfellowship]

I actually find the topic of "Nomura's evolving art style as he takes on more and more responsibility at Square (and subsequently has less time to Do Stuff)" really fascinating.

Like, If you compare his art from the KH1-DDD era to his current day art, I think there's a noticable difference to his approach: how many steps there are in his art process, how he chooses to finish a piece, and the shift from a clean digital style to a more organic traditional one.

He used to use very clean, black lineart; bold colors; and more instances of defined/hard shading for that digital, almost cell-shaded or vector kinda look. Nowadays he goes for a more sketchy + watercolor style with pencil lineart, broad washes of faded color, and color shading that's a bit more blended and simplified in places (relying more on the pencil shading to create distinct shadows), with the hard edges more often reserved for scattered, bright highlights. (He's made art like this in the past eras too, such as the KH main menu arts which all have a watercolor quality to them, but the lineart was a bit more defined then and less sketchy, and thus slightly different from his current stuff.)

I think the Dark Road key art is a very good example of his current art style. The sketchy, almost brown lineart. The watercolor quality that emerges where two colors meet and overlap. A little desaturated and earthy. Color shading that's very broad, soft, and loose, with sharp highlights here and there.

Both styles have their merits (I personally love this sketchy era of his), but I think it's pretty likely that he adopted this as his "main" art style in order to adapt to time crunch. He doesn't need to do time-consuming lineart and precise shading anymore; he can use the original sketch as the lineart instead. Heck, he can fill in a bunch of the shading via pencil during this sketching phase to save even more time, and then can paint in a more watercolor-y kind of way that allows him to color in quicker, broader strokes.

And then there's the occasional art mistake that has become a bit more frequent in recent years, by my estimation. Which I imagine, again, is due to running out of time to notice/fix those mistakes. Things like Ephemer's arms being a bit too long in this UX art, the Kingdom Key being slightly off-model in this anniversary art, or the ears on this Mickey Mouse symbol being two different sizes on this Utada album art.

(Which isn't to say that he hasn't made art mistakes in the previous eras, for example he initially got the colors of Riku's shirt mixed up in the Re:CoM cover art before fixing it, but I still think the mistakes were a bit less frequent back then.)

And like, hey. I draw, too. Amatuerishly, but I do. I don't blame Nomura for possibly needing to change his approach to making art in order to meet deadlines, nor do I blame him for these little art mistakes that ended up falling through the cracks. I imagine he simply doesn't have the time anymore now that his job has shifted from (primarily) being a character designer/illustrator to (primarily) being a director of multiple, simultaneous projects. Or maybe I'm totally wrong about this and his art evolution had nothing to do with time crunch, who knows. I think his current art style is gorgeous either way!

Anyway, I just think this is an interesting example of someone taking their art and adapting it to a difficult and highly limiting situation, experimenting with new things and finding the means to still make art even when you have less time to do. Also a great example that professionals are human and will make mistakes even in professional products, and it's not the end of the world, it just happens. If you ever obsess over a mistake in your art...maybe take solace in knowing that it happens to everyone. Even people who have been in their field for a very long time.

[rustychainsnorter]

Pardon my obsession with this legendary coocoo cuckoo, but does anyone else feel unsatisfied with the way he went out?

I don't know. I just feel like there was so much more going on with Rick Prime than what was actually shown to us. He's literally the root cause for this entire show. The primary antagonist. He's the reason that our Rick C-137 is the way that he is. For him to get taken out in just one, single episode seems a bit rushed and sketchy to me.

Here's some questions I want to know about Rick Prime.

-Why did he kill all of the Dianes?

-If he had the omega device that entire time, why not kill more people?

-If his sole intent was to hurt Rick C-137, then why not simply catch a Morty and extinguish the Mortys?

-Where was he all of those years that C-137 searched for him, and what was he doing?

-What were the Ricks' called that followed Rick Prime, and what was their purpose?

-Why does he look young?

-He seemed so powerful, why didn't he ever kill C-137 when he had the chance?

-Is he actually dead?

-What the heck was the deal with C-137 holding baby Morty? Was that a hostage situation to try and lure Rick Prime out?

In my opinion, Rick Prime is too mysterious and important a character to just snuff out and forget. This story has layers. Something personal caused Rick Prime to kill the Dianes. He has an entire seventy years worth of backstory, and I want to know what it is.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go obsess.

[youcantrewind]

First one is taking longer than expected. I meant to do fast sketchy doodles for these because I intend on doing a whole bunch, but for some reason I always stop and draw Tal more carefully and detailed, and then I have to go back and fix everyone else up more refined-like. 😅

Off for two weeks so my brain isn't regularly fried from work for the next little bit. Is it time to start fishing though all those oc prompts I've been stashing away for months? Maaaaybe?

[short-black-diamond]

hey could you do some headcanons plus a little drabble about being bonten!haitani brothers little sister who's in her 3rd year of high-school??

mayhe she drops by to bonten headquarters sometimes when no one is at home and itd be so funny if she was also a raging feminist and talking back to her brothers (and maybe even the other members) if they make any sketchy comments (probably abt the prostitutes in bonten)

Aw Heck yeah I'll do this!

BUT!!! Please keep in mind that I never really watched tokyo revengers, so please bear with me. Anyways I'll try my best!!!

The feminine Haitani Feminist

---

Scenario: You are Rika Haitani, the youngest sister of the Haitani, already in your third and hopeflully last year of high-school. Since you know of your two elder brothers daily activities, you visit them at their meeting with Bonten to scold them for not eating with you.

To say that you were angry was an understatement.

You were fuming at the sight of the dusty and dirty apartment you asked your brothers to clean up before leaving for school, but they never listened. Now, as you were heating up the soup you cooked the day prior to eat with your brothers, you called Ran.

"Hello, my sweet sister-" "Do you have any idea how fucking angry I am right now?! I told you guys to clean our home and you and Rindou just up and left!"

"Okay Rika, let's talk about that a little later-" "No, I'm coming over. I know that you two didn't eat shit the moment I left the house."

And after hanging up on him saying something mid-sentence, you turned off the stove and put the soup in metall containers and locking them securely.

It took you a while to get there but you could already make out the many familiar faces of the girls and women working there, and you greeted them all with a smile, but in your head you frowned.

They were doing a dirty job for even dirtier men.

As you knocked on one of the doors you frequented where your brothers were often in meetings, you opened the door after a silent "come in".

And as you were holding the two containers, you saw your two brothers, your frown deepening and Ran giving you uneasy smiles. Rindou frowned right back at you before looking back and forth between you and his older brother. "Rika, what brings you here?", the middle sibling asked dumbfounded, making you look at him.

It seemed like you didn't even aknowledge the other members' existence, because Mikey was looking at the scene unfolding him with a poker face and even though he might have gotten more depressed over the years, he didn't loose his love for drama, even if it was sibling bickering. It was something he couldn't have anymore. So he always watched with slight fondness and longing instead of interfering.

Haruchiyo Sanzu, Mikey's right hand man as he always dreamt, was looking at you with bewilderment, you interrupted his "king", after all. But seeing the man next to him look at you with something like...fondness? on his face, so Sanzu didn't dare to say anything, fearing that he'd get an angry Mikey like the time he beat up and shaved some Mikey-haters' hairs for Mikey's birthday.

"First off, I told you guys to clean up the apartment before I left for school, and second, you BOTH promised me that you'd eat lunch with me, so why didn't you guys hold your promise?!"

Kakucho was also looking at you, but with slight annoyance. 'Why was this little girl here again? And she just has to be the younger sister of the Haitani brothers, of all people'... Still, he was watching his mouth around Mikey.

"We're sorry Rika, we really didn't want to make you feel forgotten, it's just that-" "You guys were so busy talking about 'Bonten stuff' that you even forget to eat? Tell me, when was the last time you two ate something today?", you unterrupted, looking at your two elder brothers expectingly.

While the two brothers were looking in front of them in shame and you sighing in dissapointment while opening the still hot containers, Takeomi Akashi opened his mouth and letting his inferiority complex speak. "Jeez, letting yourself get belittled by your little sister sure is humiliating, huh? Why don't you tell her to shut her trap so that we can keep going with the meeting, Mikey?", his voice asked, smirking at you smugly while he stroked his ugly beard.

But, you were smiling. "Shutting my trap you say? And who are you to tell me that? Huh?", you asked, your voice bittersweet and your smile too forced. Mikey had a ghost of a smile on his lips, making Sanzu flinch and look at you in amazement.

The pink haired man didn't understand what you did to bring a smile to Mikey's lips, but he sure as hell wouldn't omplain about your sudden visits anymore.

Rindou and Ran were fuming in the meantime. "What did you just say?!", Ran asked, already standing up and Rindou was about to put on some gloves when you snickered and took one container.

"I'm just sayin', she just nags you guys around and brings you food, she might as well become a prostitute like the other women here."

Annndddd, that was the last straw.

As you walked over to him with the containers while staring at him menacingly, takeomi felt slight unease. Why was he feeling so nervous? Were you about to give him something to eat? But there is no spoon-

"AARHRGHRGRH SHIT, Fuck, You FUCKING BITCH!", he screamed as you flung the soup at him, giving him second degree burns, but your glare was ice cold.

There was a long moment off silence, when ignoring the tall man's cry of pain. Sanzu and Kakucho were glad they didn't open their mouths, and Kokonoi was looking at you with wonder in his eyes. Takeomi was at least a whole foot taller and at least ten times stronger than you, and still you had the guts to pour soup on him. You were a brave woman.

Mikey giggled and Sanzu wanted to call the ambulance upon hearing his leader laugh like a child. sanzu also might have gotten scared by your actions, unconsciously touching the scars on the corners of his mouth. Ran laughed his ass off and gasped for air while Rindou stared with an open mouth.

Meanwhile, you were putting the now empty container on the table the men were seated around at, and stepped closer to the guy who was now holding his face. "You know, I don't really like it when people talk about women like that. And do you wanna hear the fucking truth? There wouldn't be no prositutes if no man asked for it. And looking at you, talking about how I could become a prostitute -like the other women here- really makes my blood boil, y'know? Also, aren't you embarrassed for telling that a high-schooler? Let alone the younger sister of your collegues?"

Takeomi had trouble identifying you through the thick liquid threatening to also burn his eyes but when he opened on eye, he was met with a scary grimace of yours with your fist right next to it and in the next moment, he was out cold.

You sighed out before looking at Mikey and bowing in apology. "I'm sorry, Sano Manjiro, for my rude behaviour. I will take my leave now." "Stay. I hadn't had that much fun since I could last remember, Haitani. Please, make yourself comfortable."

And at that, you sat yourself down on Takeomi's stool and he got dragged away by some nameless underlings. Your brothers were giving you and their boss uneasy glances, not sure whether they should do or say something too. The other three conscious men, Kakucho, Kokonoi and Sanzu, were holding respective space from you, also swearing to not step too close to the women working in this facility.

"I'm craving Taiyaki...can someone order food?", Mikey chirped, making you giggle while you took out your phone. "Sure thing! And you two will eat too!", making your elder brothers nod eagerly.

Ran and Rindou didn't know that you could knock somebody like Takeomi out with a single punch, let alone fight.

They'd have to convince whoever was responsible for hiring women for their sinful needs should have a talk with them.

---

HEY HEY HEY!!! I hope that was what you were looking for... I tried to make the characters fit their personalities as well but also not too long, because then it'd would have to be a longer story, and yeah. I also wanted Mikey to have a laugh in a while, poor baby. It was actually fun looking up the Bonten characters to be honest!

I hope I'll get more requests like these!

Read you in the next post!!!

[princeson]

Won't You Shake A Poor Sinner's Hand?

I imagine Reigen and Serizawa were going for a lovely early morning stroll through London and on their way home Reigen offered they try taking a shortcut through a very suspicious foreboding looking alleyway and ended up running into this equally suspicious foreboding looking man, Dimple, who greeted them like the Shadow Man from Princess and The Frog and sang Friends From the Other Side -- or maybe he tried selling them sketchy multi-purpose tonics or used watches or whatever -- Anyway, Reigen's frantic rambling is not helping the situation AT ALL and Serizawa is just standing there nervously, eyes wildy darting back and forth between Reigen and Dimple until he starts silently and anxiously eyeing Reigen and shaking his head hoping Reigen would stop digging his own grave by interacting with this mysterious (and possibly dangerous?) man and, for the love of Mob, just get the heck outta of there lol

Dimple Friday #19

[arcaneauthor]

Tattoos Tell A Story part 2

Part 1 here, Part 3 here

Pairing: Simon “Ghost” Riley x F!Reader

Summary: You decide to give Ghost a taste of his own medicine

Warnings: None?, Some kissing??, FLUFF, Ghost being bby gurl

A/n: This was requested by @v1naco . I hope I did your wonderful idea justice! Also how the heck did this end up so long??

You would like to make one thing clear.

You love watching Simon get tattoos.

Not only is his deliciously huge arm on full display, but the way his muscles flex when the needle hit a particularly sensitive part of his arm?

Oh you were down bad.

Yes you know he’s technically in pain but come onnn-

He had wanted to get the date of one of his most recent victorious mission tattooed on the inside of his bicep.

What kind of mission was it? You weren’t sure, you know, with it being “classified” and all.

He told you in secret at home

Once told of his plans, you had immediately accepted to tag along and boy are you glad you did. Originally it was for the purpose of just spending as much time with your boyfriend as possible, but you didn’t realize it’d be such a sight.

“Enjoying the view there sweetheart?”

You startle slightly, flicking your eyes away from his arm to Ghost’s masked face. You know there’s a smirk hiding under there somewhere.

Cocky bastard

You clear your throat, repositioning in your seat slightly ,”Uh, no I-I was just….. admiring Jackson’s handiwork.” You claim.

Simon looks you up and down,“Mhm, whatever you say love.”

Jackson, the tattoo artist, just chuckles at the couples antics, eyes never leaving his work.

Ghost knew Jackson pretty well due to him having worked on most of his arm sleeve. He was the only artist in the area that would agree to the service of a scarily large man in a sketchy skull mask and hood, the others immediately declined as soon as he stepped through the door, some even reaching for their phone in a concealed panic. Not that they could really be blamed for their hesitance. He is pretty intimidating if you didn’t know him.

Your eyes now purposefully wander anywhere around the parlor except Simon. You would not be giving him the pleasure of catching you gawking again.

Your gaze skims over a variety of stencils hung on the walls. You never minded the idea of getting a tattoo yourself, you were just too indecisive to ever settle on one.

But maybe one of Jackson’s will stick out to me, you think as you exam the references pinned to the wall

Maybe a bird?

Or a moon?

Possibly a flower?

Oo, that bunny’s pretty cute.

Maybe a-

Wait

Is that-

You squint your eyes to see it clearer, before they quickly widen again

It is

You can’t help the slight maniacal smirk that overtakes your face

That one’s perfect

-+-

It had been about a week since the tattoo parlor and honestly? You had almost forgotten about the whole thing. Simon had still yet to notice your skins new…..addition. You’d think a military man would be more observant.

Although, in your boyfriends defense, it was so small and in such a hidden place that even you yourself had a hard time seeing it.

You and Ghost were in the kitchen together, him in charge of the noodles while you made the sauce. Normally y’all would just order some take-out, but you both decided to try something new. Neither you or him were five star chefs by any means, only able to follow along to a recipe. A very detailed recipe.

You were leaning over the stove just trying to stir the ingredients though your hair obviously did not get the memo. No matter what you did, tucking it behind your ear, blowing it back with your mouth, it just would not get out of your face.

You pull a strand in front of you, eyes almost crossing from it being so close, and glared at it as if it had personally offended you.

I swear to gosh, one day I’m just gonna freaking shave all of it off-

“Here,” comes a distinctly deep, British voice from behind. When had he gotten over here?,”Let me.”

You feel the strands of hair get pulled gently from your grasp as he gradually gathers it all into one extremely large hand. He gingerly rakes his fingers through your locks, eliminating any knots or lumps. Using the hair band from his wrist, where did he get that from?, he joins all of it into a ponytail.

You’re kinda sad to feel his fingers retreat from your scalp.

You run a hand over your head, examining his work. You’re fairly surprised to feel that there’s only a small hump or two.

“Hm, not bad for a man with sandpaper hands.” You jest with a smile.

You don’t get a response

The sound of breathing coming from behind tells you he hasn’t moved either.

“Simon?” You question, turning to look over your shoulder.

The man in question was standing stock still, you’d think he was a mannequin if not for his chest moving up and down. His gaze zeroed in on your ear.

You instinctively raise a hand to the spot in question, and that’s when it finally dawns on you.

He’s not looking at your ear.

No, he’s looking behind it.

You smile

So your little game of spot the difference was finally over.

“You like it?” You ask smugly

Simon doesn’t know what to say, just eye’s the nape of your neck in bewilderment. This was absolutely not here before. Where your skin was previously unblemished, now contains a tattoo about the size of his thumb.

A skull tattoo.

“When did you get this?” He asks instead, finger coming up to rub over it, almost as if he thinks it’s fake, thinks that the ink will smudge under his thumb.

“‘Bout a week ago.” You admit with a shrug, trying to be nonchalant about it.

His eyes finally shift to your face,”And you didn’t tell me?”

You shoot him an unimpressed look, grabbing his arm that contains the tattoo of your name and pushing it in his face,”Hypocritical much?”

He looks from his arm, to your tattoo, then to your face, as if he was putting together a puzzle.

“Is the tattoo an expression of love or a ploy of revenge?” He asks with suspicion.

You shrug, a smile gracing the corner of your mouth,”Can’t it be both?”

He eyes you for a moment, shaking his head in exasperation, but you could of swore his eyes lit in amusement.

Oh!

You about forgot something!

“Did you notice any details about it, a letter perhaps?” You question coyly.

No he hadn’t

He gently grips your chin to turn it to the side, dipping his head a little to get a closer look.

Oh.

He can see it now.

There’s a few cracks on the side of the skull and , if he looks close enough, he can see that they join to make a letter.

S

“Does tha-does that stand for-“

“Simon? Yeah, yeah it does.”

He stands there, just silently rubbing your tattoo again for a moment. You’re not complaining though, you’re just soaking in his touch. His fingers feel good.

You clear your throat, gently taking a hold of the hand rubbing your neck,”So? You like i-“

You’re cut off by him surging forward, capturing you in a kiss.

Definitely worth the pain of the needle.

-*-

You were both laying in bed after supper, your stomachs full. Full of take-out, not home cooked pasta because you may or may not have gotten distracted and singed the noodles and turned the toast to basically charcoal.

You were in a spooning position, his large arms wrapped around your waist, mask finally taken off in the darkness of your room.

“You know,” He breaks the silence,”I really do appreciate it, the tattoo.”

“Thought it was only fair. You know, with you getting one for me and all.” Your voices are soft, just whispers in the night.

“You know you didn’t have to do it, right? Not just cause I did.” Anyone that didn’t know Simon would judge from his gruff voice that he was bored or uninterested, maybe even irritated. But you did know him, which means you easily pick up on even the slightest hint of hesitation in his voice.

Your brows furrow,”That’s not the only reason I got it.”

When you receive only silence you look over your shoulder at him, “You know that, right?” You ask as if it was obvious. You thought it was.

Once again, you receive only silence. You really wish it wasn’t so dark so you could read his expressions.

You shift your body so that you’re fully facing him.

“Hey,” you reach for the hand around you’re waist and hold it to your chest,”You know I love you right?”

“Yeah?” You don’t like that he sounds so hesitant.

“Simon,” you make sure he knows you’re serious,”I love you. You’re the only person I ever want to love, and I don’t plan on letting you go anytime soon, and I sure as heck ain’t planning going anywhere anytime soon. So why wouldn’t I want evidence of you on my body?” You use your other hand to cup his cheek.

The breath he lets out sounds shaky, letting you know your little speech hit him right in the way you wanted it to. You can’t see anything but the outline of his figure, though you swear you can feel his gaze piercing you.

He brings the hand you’re not holding to rub the spot behind your ear where you know his initial lies.

“I love you too,” He confesses on a quivering exhale.

You slowly lean in for a kiss, not quite sure where his lips are in the dark but somehow hitting them almost perfectly the first try, almost as if it was second nature to you now. That’s something you never really felt before Simon. Sure you had locked lips with other guys but you never knew there could be such emotion in just a kiss. With him, it’s almost like your minds, as well as your lips, are closely connected for that moment. You can feel the love, the passion, the joy, all of it with just a touch of mouths.

Ghost is the one to break it first, breath fanning over your face as he speaks,”I just have one question.”

“Hm?” Your mind is still frazzled by that short intense make out session.

“Was it when I went to the bar with Johnny that Friday?”

Your mind slowly catches on to what he’s saying, letting out a small giggle. That’s confirmation enough for him.

“And you said you were just gonna have a lazy night in?” His fake anger makes your giggles worse.

“You went to the stinking parlor instead didn’t you?”

You don’t even know why this has tickled you so badly, but soon Simon’s own deep chuckles join yours.

He pulls you into his chest, “Sneaky girl.”

You two just laugh harder