#is that the spider-man white-eyes design is so fucking cool actually

[moinsbienquekaworu]

Calling it a night and I'm going to try and fall asleep before 2 in the morning

[izaacs-notdeadyet]

OHHH MY GOD THE WAY MY ASS FORGOT TO POST ABT THIS

Meet Spider-Mortis

(He/Him)

He used to be just a regular Spider-Man before his doc ock fucked up ans bombed the damn world. In the wreckage of the ruins he rose up to become a kind of Robin Hood figure, stealing from the rich in their bunkers hoarding resources to give to the survivors.

For his design I wanted to take a more apocalyptic fashion statement with the classic Spider-Man suit color and design, but also make it feel more mature, like he is going through an actual apocalypse. His color pallet consists of blues, reds, and desaturated greens for his clothes

I gave him two different logos, one a skull with spider legs coming out from it, and the other a radioactive symbol with the spider legs aswell. I decided to put the skull ver on his suit, and use the radioactive one for clothing accents (and also on his bag, not currently drawn)

I also gave him a gas mask because it’s just.. cool (and I like making everything harder for myself)

(⚠️slight gore both written and drawn ahead⚠️)

Now for his villains,

the ones I’ve already drawn are his doc ock and also vulture.

First, Doc Ock

Doc Ock was actually what inspired me to make this, after watching Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man I had a realization about how actually terrifying it could be if the chip thingy failed. Imagine if he ended up just being a corpse piloted by a bunch of robotic arms. That, is exactly what this doc ock is.

Because of his proximity to the blast, he pretty much died instantly, layers of flesh being the only thing left behind other then his robotic arms, who quickly gained control of his body afterwards. I’m not exactly sure how I want this character to act, whether it’ll just be a slight nuisance, or an actual villain I’m not quite sure.

I quite like my idea for his Vulture.

(She/They)

I Imagine her being some kind of anti-villain. They want the complete abolishment of the upper class, and could careless if all the humans left died as long as the rich died along with them. They tend to leave behind most the supplies they come across unless they really need them, the only thing she takes is the lives in the area.

I had a lot of fun with her character design. One of the things I had fun figuring out is how I could keep that aspect of femininity while also keeping it realistic for the apocalyptic environment. I went through a lot of different versions, experimenting with corsets for bust support, and different kinds of skirts etc before coming to my final design (possibly not final design)

I gave them a more lighter color pallet, using brighter greens and browns. I have a bit of an obsession with camo patterns and I thought it would fit with her character perfectly so i gave them camo pants. I also took the boot design straight from Pinterest. (Guilty as charged.)

I added beige leg warmers to match with her top, which I’m not exactly sure how I’d explain it. Kinda like a wrap top? With a strap over stop of it. I gave them this kind of leather cape hood combo, and put it overtop of the bird skull mask (based off a vulture) I gave her. Underneath that she has a white, button up shirt, with the sleeves tucked into gloves, which I modeled after bird handling gloves.

Now here comes the part I love the most. I spend a lot of time researching vultures, and I am in love with the idea that she has a flock of vultures that just follow her where she goes. The idea that they leave behind enough bodies to where the vultures know if they follow them they’ll get food is fucking badass.

Like seriously. Imagine accidentally stumbling upon her camp and you look up and there’s just a kettle (the name of a group of vultures) of vultures watching your every move looking at you like they want to pluck your eyes out.

I also have a few ideas for some other villains

Deadpool (I think it would be quite funny in a setting where everyone is heavily dressed to avoid radiation and injury he’s just in the most revealing slutty outfit known to man)

Kraven, which I could possibly pair up with Vulture for an arc

The lizard, which could quite literally just be a radiated alligator

I’ve considered adding a black cat

Maybe some spin on vemon?

Let me know if you have any ideas I fucking love imput

[magicalgirlmascot]

Alright more old human!Bonkles designs Hordika edition

So if memory serves, the idea was that they were stuck in their Toa forms and couldn't transform back until they got un-Hordika'd, which is why they all have their Toa hair and eye colour, as well as uniforms. The green marks on all their faces was I think supposed to be like...Visorak bite marks? Or something? I don't remember, just that the Rahaga didn't have them because they weren't mutated by Hordika venom. Anyway.

Of course Vakama was the edgy wolf boy. I mean. It was 2012 and also look at him. Honestly though what else would he be lol wolf fits

Matau, being the one most upset by the change and wanting to be human So Bad, generally tried to keep his tail around his waist like a belt (YES like in Dragon Ball Z) and wore gloves to hide his hands.

ALRIGHT DON'T JUDGE THE POSE she's supposed to be stretching out like a cat. I was 18 be nice. Anyway of course Nokama was a catgirl we needed to have a catgirl. I think it's very funny that for KNPS we've made Onewa the catgirl instead. He deserves it.

I'll be honest I'm pretty sure the main reason I made Onewa a croc was because Pokemon Black and White had just come out a couple years ago and I was obsessed with the Sandile line, so I associated crocodiles with the desert. Idk. I guess it fits him. He'll bite your legs off.

Really have no idea where this one came from if I'm being honest. I think the thought process was "big=ox?" I'm not sure.

Nuju was a bat because Ice Bats! Honestly I'm not sure why he's the only one allowed to wear jeans. I had a weird little heteronormative crush on him in college, maybe I just wanted him to be sexy, idk. He's got his belly out and everything, put that away, you're going to freeze to death and/or give Whenua a complex!

I'm not gonna lie I actually do still like the concept for this one? Something about the half-scales just speaks to me. I mean it doesn't make sense because he was definitely supposed to be some kind of gecko but it looks cool. The Rahaga's animals were all based on what kinds of animals they were meant to be good at tracking. Norik I really tried to make look like someone's friendly dad.

And then for Iruini I didn't even fucking try lmao. Yes I know his name is misspelled. He's a spider, apparently, and he does not want to fucking be here let this man go home

MILF

Coming to the distressing realization that my design choices for all the Black characters in this are just "big and beefy" which is. Not great. Pouks also doesn't want to be here. At least Onewa hadn't decided to completely forego pants and run off into the woods to bang a cryptid in this universe, so Pouks has that going for him.

Like Norik, I do like a lot of aspects to Bomonga's design here. I don't know if I like them for Bomonga specifically but I like the overall design, I think it's alright.

Honestly of all of them I think Kualus is still my favourite. He just looks good idk what to say. Also am I insane did he ever get referred to as having a scarf in canon or did I accidentally predict that by like 10 years

[meteor752]

Oh lawd they been through some shit

So, I’ve done their designs when their parents were still alive on DL. I’ve done their designs of when they joined Empires. I’ve done their designs for when they visited Hermitcraft. I gave them lil Christmas outfits. I showed what they would look like in the future. I even made them as gosh darn villains

But there’s one period of their lives, that I haven’t shown you. I’ve talked about it plenty, even wrote a fic about it, but you’ve never been shown it visually

Double life when their parents had died

Twenty years, of just starving to death repeatedly for the babs

Let’s show it

Oh and btw tw for like, some minor body horror, gauntness and starvation, blood, injuries, and all that jazz. Will be properly tagged

(Also, I cannot express how fun these designs were to make. I spent hours on every single one and it was just such a delight to make them)

Liana

I think I’ve stated this before, but Liana took some heavy damage to her left eye during this time, resulting in her needing a monocle to see properly, thus the eyepatch. Dirty and ripped clothes (those will be very common across every design), and fresh scars that can still be seen in her later designs, just more faded. The missing shoe is also intentional, as that is the foot she later looses to frostbite. It had very little protection against the elements. Her wings being their normal bright colors is also a fun little thing, as even during her most horrid distress, Liana found the time to preen. Idk what’s going on with the pose, but I’m assuming broken ribs. It just looked fun

Wes

The famished look actually the most unnatural for him, because he’s usually so bulky and large. Moss coat fresh and clean, most important thing for him. Newly broken horn, probably a month or so into the development. I actually have very little to say about Wes’ design here compared to everyone else’s, cause like it’s the one I’m probably the most dissatisfied with. It still looks fine and such, but it’s just a bit basic I guess. Idk. I still like the hair, especially the dyed part

Gertrude

Could have gone with the same kinda vibe for her as everyone else, but I realized that I actually haven’t shows Weretrude. This right here isn’t full on Weretrude, more like halfway through transformation, cause I still wanted her to like, look like her ya know. But yeah girl is fully out of it. This is probably not too long after the end of dl, before the game mechanics stopped. When the passing of time kinda stopped, as did the monthly full moons because it never became night. So yeah, the one advantage to their miserable situation

Johnny

The first design, and the reason I did all of these. Johnny was always the one closest to his parents, so their death tore him up the most, to the point where he never left their grave. Moss and vines started to grow on him eventually, and animals and bugs found home in his hair and wounds. So yeah, bad time for lil country bumpkin boy.

Jassy

Ngl, Jassy looks cool as fuck. The sunken in eyes paired with the startling green of her irises, her dirty white hair and mask covering most of her face, her clothes, the fucking contrast in her skin between the light and the dark sunken in parts. I didn’t even intend for that but I just loved it so much that I kept it. Also since this is before she started to form her own identity, she still has the classic Kakashi mask.

Jekiv

Mans looks…honestly pretty normal. Like when everyone is just skin and bones, the actual zombie doesn’t look that zombie like. His skin and hair is a little dirtier, his pastel clothes are a lot dirtier, but yeah he faired pretty alright during this time. Since the first fic I ever wrote for the kids was Jekiv’s logbook, I felt it would only be fitting that he was writing in it for his pose. The quill is also made from one of Liana’s feathers, hence the quality condition. As mentioned in the logbook as well, Jekiv lost his hooded cloak a few years in to a spider, so his hair is on full display here. He hates it.

Novo

Absolutely obsessed with him actually. All of the kids have their own unique weapons (Liana her bow, Wes his war hammers, Gertrude her mace, Johnny his whip, Jassy her double daggers, Jekiv his scythe) except Novo, so I thought it would be only fitting for him to have something as well. And what’s better for him than a barbed bat? He probably still has it in the future, but it’s mostly being kept in his inventory. Difficult being a friendly bard if you keep a murder weapon on you at all times. Also, his cloak? It’s one of Pearl’s old dogs. Not Tilly of course (She was cremated), but one of her pups. Morbid? Yes absolutely. Fitting for my favorite weirdo? Yes absolutely.

[hellonpluto]

Spider-Man (2002) during-the-movie-notes below the cut (super funny shit incoming)

-intro thing is super cool. A bunch of webs n blsck backgrounf n cgi spiderman

-"who am i??? Sure u wanna know?" Girl yes why do u think im here

-he's not like other guys

-"that girl. The girl next door. The woman i loved even before i like girls." (so he's now a bisexual)

-ohhhhh he's cringy nerd boy

-grown man playing a teenager

-mary jane's relationship seems quite predatory

-mary jane's face irks me(good)

-who the fuck is HARRY???

-"pete." "Hiya harry!" (Almost holds hands. Homo stopped by old man)

-norman osborn 🤨

-rlly hoping peter looks better un-nerded

-32,000 species of SPIDER????

-mart jane relationship is DEF nonconsensual

-phobo ... ogroahy ...

-SPIDER SENSE 8 MIN IN WOOOOOOO

-wawawa WIG

-peter's glasses are sooooo fake

-peter so cringe

-PIDER NOIIIOOOOOOOOO

-OSIDEE !!!!!!

-thats actually a real fucked up lookin spider. What the hell

-obsessed with the spiderbite shot

-like i drew it already

-WHY IS HE HALF NAKEY. WHAT

-big bump on jand ....

-get spider'd loser

-another man is half naked. What

-ew

-"hng.. its cold" DOUBLE WHAT

-get green goop'd bitch

-IS HE GONNA WALK OUT BUFF???

-get that insane man a shirt

-and get peter a shirt

-THE MEME

-omg he dont need glasses no mo

-peter's buff???

-peter?? You alright??

-"yeah, uhh..." *checks selfcout* "im fine .."

-"okie!!!"

-school bags dont exist. Cool.

-nvm where'd those come from

-sticky hands??? Pause.

-ive seen that lunchroom

-SPIDEY SENSE!!!!!!!!!!

-blue eyes white dragon

-ayo??? String??

-THEY THOUGHT IT WAS COM??????

-"i dont wanna fight you flash." "I dont wanna fight me either" proceeds to square uo with his whole face visible n very ounchable

-Sick flip!!!

-bro is sticking it out on the wall

-was just gonna say hes a wall climber but they gave a full on ass shot

-mj wanna be an actress. Hooplah!!!

-i feel funny. I think im sick

-"for you? Youre gonna light up broadway."

-cooking scene (suit design)

-DR EPPPER HELLLLLLL YEAH

-UNCLE BEN SAID TBE LINEEEEE

-"the human spider.." "damn that name sucks."

-"THE AMAZINGGG SPIDER-MAN!!!!!!!"

-WHY IS HE SO CAKED UP

-the other dude is caked up too. What

-SPIDER-MAN!!!!!!!!!

-nonconsensual relationsjip OVERRRR

-ur friendly neighborhood spiderman :]

-guy with eight hands. Sounds hot

-daily bugle 💪💪💪

-autistic man struggles in neurotypical society

-the spider made his autism more powerful

-Spidey sense againnnn

-STAN LEE CAMEOOOOOO

-gink gokbliin ...

-sick Flippppp

-peter can not sit like a normal person(positive)

-i lowkey feel bad for osborn

-holy shit so much just happened

-green goblin does NOT condone litter. Including cigars

-love how the newspaper guy doesnt out peter as the photographer.

-the newspaper guy sounds like omni-man. Like alot liek him

-"hey kiddo. Let mom n dad talk for a minute, will ya?"

-green goblin n spider-man bridal carry

-why his knees so bendy

-*slaps head* "here's the truth."

-"i could squash you like a bug right now...." most romantic quote in this movie

-bro almost kisses that boy. Almost catches a case

-peter so downbad

-"aw this man is soooo boyfail"

-get mj a proper shirt. Please.

-OMG OMG OMG THE SCENEEEE

-ermm.... what the flip nvm

-i thought it was a cute oeck on the lips. Ew.

-and mj just cheated on her bf

-with spider-man. But still

-get YOINKED BITCH

-kablooey

-"I have a father. His name was Ben Parker."

[showtoonzfan]

Hazbin Hotel: Angel Dust Redesign Reveal (Review and Critique)

Welp everyone, looks like the “sexy” spider is finally here, with his look for the actual show, and it’s............something. Not good, not bad, just.....something.

https://twitter.com/hazbinhotel/status/1520100707814182912?s=21&t=ROgAPulvM6_E7271qljovA

So........yeah okay, this is what we’re going for. Cool beans. 😐

Yeah I’ll say it now, my blood ain’t boiling like the last two redesigns. Charlie and Alastor were worth my anger because Viv just made Charlie worse, making her completely red when she was honestly fine the way she was before, and with Al she didn’t do shit, a character who’s problems you could see just by LOOKING at him. With Angel though.....he had issues but I wasn’t expecting her to do much, and what do you know, she didn’t. Nothing creative to make him pop out, no experiments with different colors, no variety, no new features, at this point I’m used to being heavily disappointed. I’m just looking at him and going........“oh....yeah okay.” Like I feel so drained from disappointment than I am angry LMAO, but enough of me yacking, let’s talk about it!

So I guess I’ll start with the background like I always do. It looks nice, I’m honestly glad to know that most of Angel’s room palette will be purple, it’ll be a nice break of all the damn reds in the hotel. Now, of course the background doesn’t contrast with the character, but I think it’s because they wanted to show the FLAT colors without composition so I don’t care, let’s move on to Angel himself.

So let me just say that I’m glad that there’s actual CHANGES here, and not just a white line like a certain character. HOWEVER....the changes are........not so good in my opinion. Now before I get to that, it’s obvious to note the changes made that make it easier for animators. There are less spots on Angel’s head, he doesn’t have a big row of teeth like before, and he has less stripes on his suit so I do appreciate that, but again, the changes made and the lack of unique variety get to me, so let’s talk about it. Firstly, he has no black pupil over his....other pupil and I honestly don’t like that, it looked better before and I thought it fit with the whole “two eyes” thing, it made you drawn to his eye and now it just looks the same, you could even say it’s a little off putting. They could have maybe made it a different color, along with his yellow sclera because it’s just pink and yellow, again....the colors Viv is obsessed with. I miss his grey sclera. Anyway, another change is that his right eye, bow tie, and suit flaps are all black now. Which......is boring. I mean...I’m glad his suit flaps aren’t hot pink anymore but it seems like whenever Viv needs to change a color that wasn’t necessary to the design (so all the pinks and reds) she’ll just make it black because she’s still stuck in her comfort zone and can’t use other colors or the world will end. If you seen some of my blog, you’ll know that the reason I don’t like black on viv’s characters is because it’s another color she overuses, when she’s not using reds, pinks, yellows, and whites, it’ll be black and I just think it’s a boring and a lazy color to chose when you’re trying to make the character look appealing. It can work SOMETIMES but with Viv I’m just.......ehhh, though you can disagree with me.

Moving on, I also noticed how his bow tie doesn’t look like a butterfly now, and I’m honestly glad, I never liked the way Viv drew bow ties, but I still think THAT along with the choker is unnecessary, they should have gotten rid of one of them because it just looks weird. Man, Viv really likes chokers huh?? But enough about that, let’s get to his actual suit because DEAR lord it’s the worst part. Now I’m going to be honest, the first time I saw this as a whole I just went “what the fuck is he wearing??” Because it looked like a freaking suit/nightgown LMAO. I’m obviously talking about his second pair of arms, as it seems like he’s sleeveless. Turns out he actually IS wearing a pair of gloves there, they’re just white (Viv confirmed on Twitter) so.....ONE, looks like Viv forgot to convey that in the drawing, and TWO.......yeah the choice to have him wear two different pairs of gloves in each set of arms is ridiculous. Like.....I don’t get it. Why? Is it to make him stand out? Because it doesn’t, it just makes him look distracting and wonky to look at, ESPECIALLY in animation. If I saw him moving around a lot, I’d just wouldn’t know where to look, the two gloves make him look busy, it was a stupid decision I’m sorry. Moving on, instead of his suit being white with pink stripes, it’s pink with white stripes. I’m just like.....o-okay?? I mean I’m happy his entire suit doesn’t look like his fur like before but I’m just meh about this. Again his whole suit in general is just....boring, I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but I don’t like how Viv draws suits, they all look the same and are all DRAWN the same and half of the time they honestly don’t even LOOK like suits, so at this point I don’t care about the switching of the white to pink. Oh, and I guess those small white markings on his first set of gloves are to make him stand out as well. Ugh.....it’s the COLORS that are the issue. For HIS case, I don’t mind white and pink being his main palette but I still wanted other colors OTHER than black. Again, purple would have been nice but.....we’re clearly not getting that. Viv just needs to start using more color variety, and the fact that Angel’s colors are all the same bore me.

So yeah, that wraps it up for Angel’s redesign. I can’t call it awful, it’s certainly not as bad as Charlie with her red, but it’s still bad. Not only is it boring and more busy with the stupid set of different gloves, but it’s just uninspiring. I don’t understand why he couldn’t have a suit with lines, or a buttoned suit, and it still disappoints me that he doesn’t have his mobster hat or even a TAD features that point to him being a mobster in life. I saw a REALLY good redesign on Twitter for him, and I’ll share that in another post, but for now, this Angel Dust is..........a downgrade, that’s all I can say. 😔

[oodlyenough]

@firstofoctober dedicatedly does this fandom meme at the end of every year ever since back in lj days and i am bored so here we go

even just calling this a "meme" is so dated now. love it

1. Your main fandom of the year: It was probably Borderlands by definition for a majority of the year, although in that sort of waning way where different things monthly would catch my eye. Ah the slow end of an era...

2. Your favorite film this year: Oh my god wtf movies did I watch this year. I think basically by default it's No Way Home because it's the only film I can remember watching from 2021 flkhghlg... it was certainly the movie I was most anticipating, by which I mean also the only movie I was anticipating and the only one I braved a movie theatre for in the past two years.

3. Your favorite book this year: Much like the above, I only read a few books, and right now I'm hard-pressed to remember what I read, when. The pandemic's a blur. But I am certain How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa was 2021, and I did enjoy it. I like short story anthologies. The other one I've been working through is a Shirley Jackson collection.

4. Your favorite album or song this year: According to Spotify wrapped it was Red lmfao. I also got into Sour like, six months after everyone else.

5. Your favorite TV show this year: Arcane apparently?! Sneaking in just below the deadline.

6. Your favorite Tumblr game this year: I'm using creative liberty since a) no fave tumblr?? and b) this meme is not designed for Gamers and I played way more games than I watched movies or read books. Anyway Psychonauts 2 was my GOTY! I absolutely loved it, what a gem. Fun to play, great script, incredible level design, unique look and feel. I played a lot of good games this year, but Psychonauts 2 takes top slot.

7. Your best new fandom discovery of the year: I guess I have to give it to Arcane despite only being around for like, two weeks, it's the first time in years something sort of wholly took over my thought process after finishing and made me want to write fic, etc. Runner-up mention will go to Spider-Man just because god I consumed so much Spider-Man this year lmao... two Insomniac games and their DLC, every movie including Spiderverse and all the MCU ensemble clips. It didn't really give me the same level of intense emotional investment, but it sure did give me something to, like, academically study lol.

8. Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year: Man I actually... can't think of anything that really stunned me? I guess I was lowkey disappointed we didn't get Harley Quinn s3 but that's not really the same. Also the Harley Quinn TV show comics sucked ass, so maybe that.

9. Your TV boyfriend of the year: Viktor Arcane, the latest in my long line of beloved white men with sad puppy eyes. I am nothing if not consistent.

10. Your TV gamer girlfriend of the year: I'll give this one to Alex Chen. I really wanted to like True Colours, of course, but I was still surprised by HOW MUCH I liked True Colours, and particularly Alex herself. What a wonderful, nuanced character. The whole game rests on her lovely empathetic shoulders.

11. Your biggest squee moment of the year: "Squee moment". This meme is so old. God bless. I'm actually not sure? I can't think of any big announcement or ship development that made me lose it this year, lol. Maybe seeing No Way Home just because it was cool to be in such an excited, cheering theatre, especially after two years of pandemic. And now I am back in covid 2: christmas boogaloo lockdown anyway, so it was kind of a last hurrah lmfao.

WAIT NEVER MIND it was the announcement RTD is coming back to Doctor Who?!?! !?? What the fuck!! Return of the king... Roll on 2023

12. Your most missed old fandom: Don't have one. I do have an old fandom I wish I could stop hearing about forever because mention if it brings only pain and bitterness due to a creator's radicalization. No points for guessing.

13. Your fandom you haven’t tried yet, but want to? None comes to mind.

14. Your biggest anticipation of the New Year: Lots of video games lol... LIS Remastered, Oxenfree 2, Horizon Forbidden West. Killing Eve's final season. Harley Quinn... hopefully...

[awxward]

A3! Boys + My Stuffed Animals

Spring Troupe:

Sakuya

Gabriel

Gabriel is a small elephant with big ears that constantly make him fall over. He has a pink bowtie that says 'I Love You'

Makes Saku feel safe and Gabriel is a reminder to himself that he's loved and appreciated by everyone at Mankai.

Named after a friend from theatre class :)

Masumi

George Washington

George Washington is a tiger. He is small, but his arms are like those slap bracelets so you can wear him on your wrist (or let him hang on the side of shelf like I do).

So I got Georgy-Boy for easter 2020. i asked my friends for name ideas. They sent me stuff like 'Stripes'. I went offline for a few minutes and when I came back online I told my friends his name was George Washington.

//////////

Me: tiger has a name now

Friend: which name did you choose?

Me: his name is George Washington.

Friend: what the fuck. how'd you get George Washington?

//////////

Pretty sure he got the name bc I was listening to the Hamilton soundtrack.

Citron

Daniel

Daniel is mostly pink but has other pastel colors that look like watercolors. He's a unicorn. And a ketchain. And he's one of those dream lites, so he lights up. (He's supposed too anyway, but he's never lit up since i got him like 7 years ago at a yard sale).

Named after Daniel Howell (formerly danisnotonfire) [YouTube]

Tsuzuru

Lucifer

Lucifer is a small panda pillow pet. Very easy to travel with bc he fits in most backpacks.

My mom told me she wanted me to have a stuffed animal with a biblical name, i picked him up, looked her in the eye and said "His name is Lucifer." My mom tried to protest. "You said a biblical name, Mom. Lucifer is in the bible."

Itaru

Pao(???)

Pao is a panda. They are also a phone holder thingy. Like it'll hold your phone if you're watching movies or whatever.

Like 5-ish years old. Got them from a friend. They have a tag with their name on it, but I read it once and then just called them "the panda" for some reason instead of their actual name and now the tag is too faded to read the name, but i am 38% sure it says Pao or something close to that.

Chikage

Tsuki

Tsuki is a dinosaur. Tsuki is a sparkly dino. He's green rn, but if you brush your hand over him, the sparkles turn over and he becomes orange. I like green tho bc his tummy and the bottom of his feet are orange and so are his eyes.

Named after Tsukishima Kei (Haikyuu)

Summer Troupe:

Tenma

Hinata

Hinata is a narwhal. A bright orange narwhal. Infact he is the same color as Tenma's hair.

Named after Hinata Shoyo (Haikyuu) [bc its the same color as his hair. there is a theme with this narwhal and the anime boys i associate with them]

Yuki

Steve

Steve is a regular teddy bear, except he has a shirt that has pikachu on it. (the shirt was originally Tsuki's bc i got tsuki at a friends build a bear bday party, but it fits Steve better)

I just think Yuki would try new designs/color schemes/styles by making clothes for Steve to see how they look.

I got Steve from a claw machine (my bf at time won him for me just before we watched Endgame together.)

Named after Steve Rogers (Marvel)

Muku

Eeyore

Muku most definitely loves the Winnie the Pooh movies and I will fite for this hc. He gets my Eeyore. You know how Eeyore's tail is always going missing or falling off??? Eeyore's tail comes off (velcro) but its attached to his actual body with a string so it cant be misplaced.

Eeyore has a patch that says "official disney store" but i got him for $3 at a thrift store.

Misumi

Sherlock

Sherlock is a polar bear. Sherlock is very huggable. He makes Misumi feel safe. He has a hat and scarf (that don't come off. they are sewn on him)

the hat has a pom pom on top and the scarf has a pom pom on each end. the hat and scarf and the bottom of his feet have a blue/white plaid pattern.

Kazunari

Victor

Victor is a puppy and the first big stuffed animal of mine on the list! He's all tan and abt maybe 3-4 ft long. Victor lays pretty flat so he's comfy to lay/sit on. I think Kazu would like sitting or laying on him when drawing. Probably has him on his bed so he's like a giant pillow.

Victor is from Toys R Us. I got him last August-ish from my Aunt and Uncle who found him at a thrift store and thought I'd like him.

Named after Victor Nikiforov (Yuri On Ice)

Kumon

PJ

PJ is a small white tiger. He is also a ball. He can fit in one hand. When Kumon is thinking or stressed or bored (etc) he just lays on his back and tosses PJ up into the air.

When Kumon is laying on the floor tossing PJ, Misumi sits on the bed closest to where PJ is and tries to grab him (but only if Kumon is in a good mood and okay with it) It's a fun little game they made up they like to play.

Pretty sure he was named after KickthePJ (YouTube)

liber pls give us a pic with all of autumn i am begging

Autumn Troupe:

Banri

Sammy

Sammy is another one of my large stuffed animals. He is also a puppy, but unlike Victor he is sitting instead of laying. He's abt 2-3 ft tall. His fur is the same color as Banri's hair. Great to squeeze at anytime, but very therapeutic when you're in a bad mood. Has a heart on his ear.

i got him abt 7 years ago. I had just finished spn season 2 and was upset abt the finale and had no way to start season 3.

Named after Sam Winchester

Juza

Tiggs

Tiggs is a beanie baby tiger. Tiggs is a little larger than PJ (and not a ball). He's a regular orange tiger instead of a white tiger like PJ. He'd buy Kumon PJ so they could have matching stuffed animals. Small and very comforting to just hold/hug.

Omi

Benedict (Ben)

Benedict, also known as Ben, is a small koala. Just a little bigger than Tiggs. He has a heart on one of his feet (i think the right one). very soft. very fluffy.

Named after Benedict Cumberbatch (Actor)

Taichi

Dean

Dean is my largest stuffed animal. He is a dark brown teddy bear that's abt 4-ish ft tall. He can be put in a corner and used as like a bean bag chair, or he can lay down flat and be a good pillow like Victor can.

It's very fun to just wrap around him and squeeze as tight as you can. Especially in when your in a bad mood. Very comforting to cry into.

I got him a couple years ago at a thrift store.

Named after Dean Winchester (Supernatural)

Sakyo

Lev

Lev is a lion abt the size of a regular teddy bear (maybe slightly larger). I got him a thrift store so he's slightly worn out from age. He's mostly a pastel dark yellow-ish tan and his mane is dark brown. very huggable.

He's the stuffed animal I sleep with. Smells nice all the time, like the fabric softener.

Named after Lev Haiba (Haikyuu)

Sakoda

Emotional Support Iron Man

So Iron Man is small and he sparkles. He will hurt you/someone if thrown hard enough. Sakoda likes heroes bc they remind him of Sakyo they look cool. I'd hc that he got Iron Man from Sakyo when he was younger and its one of his most valued possessions and goes everywhere with him (or stays with Azamo or Sakyo at the dorm. Maybe Izumi or a couple others are on the list of who can watch over Iron Man.) Very protective of it.

Got the emotional support part of his name from a friend.

She saw Eddie Redmayne on a movie cover (think it was The Danish Girl) and started freaking out bc she loved him. I handed her the Iron Man and the next day she thanked me and said he was an Emotional Support Iron Man and the name stayed.

Azami

[Emotional Support] Spooder-Mon

Sakoda knew Azami as a kid. He most definitely got him the Spider-Man so they could have matching plushies.

Spider-Man is square and has little blob hands doing the web thingy. The tag said travel pillow, but he probably just chills by Azami's bed. When needed, Iron Man will be placed next to him if Sakoda can't take Iron Man with him.

I brought him to school one day and we had a bio test and all the people sitting around me passed him around and gave him a pat for good luck. We all got good grades and then he was dubbed as Emotional Support Spooder-Mon, but the Emotional Support title isnt part of his name (unlike the Iron Man).

i wanted guy in the pic, but i also wanted tsumu and hiso in the pic so you get 2 pics for winter

Winter Troupe:

Tsumugi

Phil

Phil is a zebra. He is a pillow pet zebra. Like Lucifer, Phil is also easy travel size. The bottom half of Phil is pink, so I refer to him as my pink zebra.

I just think it'd be cute to have Tsumugi with a pillow pet ok. I also thought he'd probably have has Phil for many years (since he was a kid) and Tasuku most definitely brings up things from when they were kids and shit.

//////////

Tasuku: you chose the pink zebra, and for what???

Tsumugi: its a very aesthetically pleasing pastel pink.

Tasuku: THERE WAS A DOG PILLOW PET RIGHT THERE AND IT WAS CUTER

Tsumugi: dont talk bad abt Phil.

the rest of mankai: ????????

//////////

I got phil before I got Lucifer many years ago. He was old when i got him and he is very old now. I love him so much.

Named after Phil Lester (AmazingPhil) [YouTube]

Tasuku

Cap

Cap is a husky. He was won from a claw machine with Steve.

There's just something abt the grey and white that gave me Tasuku vibes. Also, Cap's eyes are abt the same shade of blue as Tsumugi's and Tasuku knows this bc they are in love. Very squishy when hugged and with the way he sits, you could make it look like he's guarding something.

Named after Captain America (Marvel)

Homare

Ushijima (Ushi)

Ushijima, also called Ushi, is the last of my giant stuffed animals. He is abt 2-3 ft tall (like Sammy) and has a tail abt the same length.

Ushi is a raccoon thats mostly hot pink. Ushi's eyes are also pink and just abt the same shade as Homare's hair, although Ushi's fur is brighter by a few shades.

Ushi hurts when thrown/swung hard enough. Very fun to hug bc he's filled with beans (like beanie babies) so unlike all my other giant animals, he doesn't have to be fixed/adjusted after everytime you squeeze him. The tail has cotton tho and makes a good pillow.

Homare would definitely just see a 3 ft tall hot pink raccoon and claim it with no explanation.

Named after Ushijima Wakatoshi (Haikyuu)

Hisoka

Vladmir Dracula the 3rd (Vlad, Drac)

Vladmir Dracula the 3rd, who has many other names but usually goes by Vlad or Drac, is a vampire (surprise).

Vlad is a squishmallow thingy, and their tags say something abt them being able to be used as pillows, and thats why Hisoka gets Vlad.

Vlad is triangular in shape, with triangle ears, and triangle fangs, so I thought abt Misumi, but i figured Hisoka bc it's a pillow.

He's like the perfect travel size and he has a cape and a bowtie.

Named after Vlad the Impaler, the real life inspiration behind Dracula (my brother thought he was named after Vladmir Putin and I wanted to punch him for that but I was too busy laughing.)

Also named after Dracula, who was a vampire.

Idk where 'the 3rd' came from, but it's part of his name for forever.

Azuma

Sebastian

Sebastian is a dinosaur thats blue with a white tummy.

He's also a squishmallow, but he's bigger than Vlad by abt 2× as wide, so he'd be harder to carry around, which is why Hisoka got Vlad instead. Being a squishmallow means he looks more blob than dinosaur and i love it.

His tag said his name was Dominic or something, but I named him Sebastian before I actually checked the tag, so he's Sebastian.

Named after Sebastian (Black Butler) and Sebastian Stan (Actor)

Guy

Moriarty

Moriarty is my other polar bear. I got him with Sherlock and named him Moriarty bc Moriarty is Sherlock's nemesis.

He's just a plain white bear thats very huggable and adorable. I usually have a bowtie on him bc it makes him look fancy.

Guy would like him bc he's plain white and very fluffy.

[iwrestlenow]

Sexy Poison, Sultry Venom (Part 1 of This Is Not How You Flirt)

TITLE: Sexy Poison, Sultry Venom (Part 1 of This Is Not How You Flirt)

FANDOM: Sanders Sides (Necromancer AU)

SUMMARY: Poison and venomous spiders are apparently hot.

They're not, but try telling Virgil and Remus that.

SHIPS: Dukexiety (Remus/Virgil)

WARNINGS: explicit sexual content, violence, death, spiders--it’s Remus and Virgil so proceed accordingly. Mostly for this one it’s explicit imagery and a whole lotta spiders with mentions of death & violence thrown in.

Too many of you liked this on my Tumblr, so it's gonna be a frickin' series. XD

These flirty vignettes will take place throughout the stories coming after the events of MANY MORE TO DIE--you get cool points if you can spot references to them throughout the other stories? :P

One more warning for the fact that Remus is Remus and Virgil is Virgil, this whole series is gonna be explicit, slightly disturbing, and fluffy when it SHOULD NOT BE. XD

Per usual, unbeta’d self indulgent drivel, all mistakes are mine. ONWARD TO SHIPPYTOWN!

Also located at AO3 over here.

“Gonna hit the showers—meet you in the mess?”

“I'm right behind you, Terrence!”

Virgil was sweaty, grinning, and for the first time in a long time, he was happy. He'd never wanted to be a soldier, not even an attendant for the Black Dogs. He joined the guard for Logan, to save him...

Now it was something he actually loved. His anxiety made him more alert, more cautious, the exertion helped with some of his panic attacks—and he was good at it. Fighting, surviving, and now fighting for things he believed in and cared about.

And, thanks to Roman, others of his tribe could be fighting by his side—like Terrence, his best friend since childhood.

Virgil was so caught up in euphoria and nostalgia he nearly missed the box and note on his pillow when he reached his bunk to get his toiletries.

He opened the box first, and nearly had a heart attack.

Then he opened the note, and suddenly everything made sense.

Sweets for the sweet!

-R

...Sacred Souls be damned, Virgil was gonna fucking kill him. He was going to be the one to kill royalty, because he was gonna strangle the crown prince of the Kingdoms.

So...why was he taking the lethal fucking weapon he'd just found on his pillow and putting it in his pocket? Because he'd lost his mind, that's why.

“Private Storm!”

Crumpling the note hastily, Virgil shoved it into his pocket after the box and spun to face his commander.

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Lord Janus wants a word after chow.”

“Understood, sir!”

As the officer continued past Virgil's bunk, Virgil relaxed and reached into his pocket to pull the note out again—and the gift.

The gift was a small box—a jewely box, really. In it sat a tiny vial of clear liquid with a barely there shimmer to it, along with a tasteful yet somehow ostentatious ring. It was silver and beautifully wrought, deceptively delicate with its slim band and dazzling emerald set in the center.

Except the emerald was actually dyed iron crystal, and had been discreetly honed to a point that, if the ring were turned inward, was just sharp enough to scratch skin. That was all the accompanying poison needed to do its work.

A Sugar Kiss, designed to be delivered intimately and discreetly. The administration was tidy, but death by a Sugar Kiss was...

Well, it was terrible. Virgil knew—part of basic training for the royal guard included learning poisons and how they worked. Mostly by being poisoned.

This is not sexy. This is not charming. This is messed up and disturbing and I hate it.

His heart didn't feel too big for his chest, and his belly wasn't clenching with a pang of longing, imagining being close enough to him to curl a hand against his nape to strike...to pull him in and seal their mouths together, feel an answering dig of nails into the skin of his own nape as he took his mouth the way Virgil imagined he'd take his body...

Nope. Nope. None of that was currently happening.

Virgil pocketed the small box again...but stopped to try and smooth out the crumpled up note so he could fold and stash it in his pillowcase before he dashed off to see whatever it was that Janus wanted.

********** He had Virgil pinned to the wall, mouth open and slack under his as Remus fucked it with his tongue. It was glorious—Virgil was glorious as he tunneled his fingers into Remus's hair, the point of the Sugar Kiss scraping his scalp while Virgil's hips finally began to move, shamelessly grinding on Remus's thigh with high, breathless noises he swallowed greedily--

“Remus, can you OH SHADOW'S SWEATY TAINT CHEESE!!!”

...Remus. Was going. To kill him.

Opening his eyes, the fantasy ruined and his hard on already flagging, Remus dragged himself out of the bath and dried off, soft by the time he finally stomped out in the his main bedchamber, only to find...

...oh.

In the middle of the room, Roman stood with a hand over his mouth, features waxy looking as he stared at the massive spider sitting on his pillow, one roughly the size of a full grown house cat.

Remus couldn't quite breathe right as he walked over to the bed and knelt, his heart doing funny, glorious little flips in his chest, where his lungs ought to be—those were crammed into his heart space, too tightly packed to work properly.

“It's a violet star.” he sighed, admiring the namesake purple of the creature's glittering eyes and sleek-haired pedipalps. “Their venom can kill a man, erode the corpse, and dissolve bone in less than a day.”

“THEN WHY ARE YOU PETTING IT?!?”

Remus giggled, continuing to stroke one fuzzy leg. The spider seemed to enjoy it, hissing quietly as it lifted the limb into the touch, then raised its pedipalp in the air, as if waiting. Remus raised his hand, palm out, touching the center to the fuzzy limb, making the spider hiss and start dancing gleefully in place.

“Because they're also the smartest of the metaphysical arachnids—some brave mages defang them and keep them as pets. Cruel, if you ask me, like declawing a cat...”

Remus trailed off, looking over his shoulder at Roman—who was still white as a sheet and swaying visibly on his feet.

“...oh, relax, Ro Bro! They only produce venom four times a year, and only if you let 'em.” Remus huffed, turning back to the spider with a blissful coo he couldn't quite stifle.

The spider flinched, then suddenly scuttled away to the pillow again. It started digging at something with its pedipalps, the soft sound of paper crinkling alerting Remus to the fact that she was trying to show him that there was a note.

“Thanks, sweet girl.” Remus crooned while Roman continued muttering in terror from his spot frozen in the middle of the room. Grabbing the note, he unfolded it—and promptly melted.

Something to cuddle while I'm not there.

~V

A cuddly, lethal spider—one that only produced venom after mating.

Cute and hot...damn it, why did that sexy little creep have to be a soldier?...

“REMUS!”

“Calm down, Roman.” Remus huffed as he lifted the spider into his arms, cuddling her against his chest and cooing some more as her soft little pedipalps began pressing gently against his skin, then relaxing—not all that different from a content kitten kneading.

Whatever fresh surge of lust came from the mental image of his own little spider, biting his shoulder as Remus fucked him hard, releasing his own poison with the scrape of the Sugar Kiss melted into something softer, sweeter as the spider tried to skitter higher on his chest to get closer still to him.

“I think I'll call her Amethyst.”

“Remus, you're cuddling a deadly spider.” Roman reminded him tensely.

“And?...”

“And, you're bare-assed naked.”

Remus looked down at himself, fresh out of the bath—and in his birthday suit.

“She's a spider, what does she care?” he mused, shrugging. “And it's not like we don't have the same junk, twins and all--”

“REMUS!”

“All right, all right, I'm getting dressed...”

[snakebites-22]

Heylo! I saw that you were asking for requests, and I have one if you want to write it! What if the reader is always drawing on the boards after school, and students don’t know who does it, and one day Peter catches her drawing? Idk, I kinda liked the idea! I love your writing hun!!🥰💕❤️

Peter Parker and The Dry Erase Board Artist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: And here it is! Almost a whole month after I said I would have it done! I am so so so sorry for how long this took and also sorry for how shitty it also is. I hope you enjoy this trash fire that I just spent almost 4 hours on and finished at 1 am. Oh, I also made this gender neutral using they/them pronouns. 

Warnings: uh language, slight death threat?, stupid teachers, numbers, fluff ig, idrk 

Word Count: 2279

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: There’s a new mystery in Midtown, and it’s the creator of the dry erase board drawings. Peter is desperate to find out who it is even if it means losing sleep and missing assignments. What will it take to find out who this secret artist is?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter knew all about mysteries. He used to stay up too late reading those mystery novels by flashlight when he should have been sleeping. He grew up loving them. The amount of times May would walk into the living room to see him once again binge watching Scooby Doo was uncountable. Even now, he prided himself on being one of the biggest mysteries in New York: Spider-Man. He had to hold back a grin whenever he heard people discuss who the masked hero could possibly be. The craziest one so far was that Spider-Man was actually an alien being used by the government. He wasn’t sure who came up with that one, but props to them for their creativity.

He just absolutely loved mysteries of all shapes and sizes, and now, he had a new one to solve: the drawings. He called it Operation Dry Erase Board, and yes, the name did need improvement. Both MJ and Ned made sure to tell him that every single time he brought it up. Ned had suggested The Search for the Hidden Artist, which MJ just said sounded even worse. 

It had started a couple weeks ago. He had walked into his first period calculus class to see everyone whispering and taking pictures of the board. His first reaction was panic － his teacher was prone to surprise pop quizzes － but it soon turned to awe as he stared at the array of color across the board. It was a beautifully detailed portrait of the sea. He gazed upon the scene of manta rays and fish and even the silhouette of a shark. There was coral and shells of every color, and the lines and swirls of blue captivated him.There was no signature. Nobody knew who had done it. 

At first, Peter just tried to brush it off. There was somebody in the school who was skilled with dry erase board markers and was very artistically gifted. Not the biggest deal, but good for them. It became a bigger deal when the next day a gorgeous rendition of Starry Night was covering the board of the biology classroom. Once again, no signature. That’s when Peter started to become invested. 

He questioned MJ first. She was one of the only artists he knew, but she just scoffed. “I’m good, but dry erase markers are shit for me to work with.” 

He started paying more attention in art class, looking for anyone with a similar style. Nothing. Everyone was your typical high school artist who was just there for the credits, meaning people like him. Don’t ask about how designing the first spidey suit went.

 The drawings just kept coming. He soon saw space, dinosaurs, a jungle, The Mona Lisa, even each of the Avengers all spread across the dry erase boards. Each one of these was so beautiful and so alluring that it made his eyes sting and shouts of protest to erupt from the students when the teachers had to erase them. Even if they didn’t erase them, they were gone the next day. Whether it was the Hidden Artist or the janitor, Peter didn’t know. It was just another part in the mystery.

A lot of the drawings weren’t done in any classrooms that Peter had, meaning he would have to take field trips during his lunch period to go and find them. Most of the time he already knew where he was going. There was now a whole Instagram page dedicated to the art. It was run by Daphne, who was in both Yearbook and the Art Club. He had asked her if it was her, but she had just giggled and said she was a fan. Honestly, Peter was too. 

He would stare at the art for as long as he could each time he saw it, and he stared at the pictures he took of them even longer. He was consumed by the art, by his love for it. He needed to find out who the artist was, but unfortunately for him it would have to wait. He was so preoccupied with being Spider-Man and now also being a shitty detective that he was falling behind on both his work and his sleep. He had now fallen asleep a total of five times over the course of a week and a half, and he was close to failing both AP Government and Spanish, simply because he wasn’t catching up on his workload. 

Now, he was passed out in AP Lang, the one class that everyone knew not to fall asleep in. He couldn’t help it. He was running on a total of 4 hours for the week, and it was a Thursday. Not even his spidey sense could have prepared him for the crash of a ruler against a metal trash can right next to his ear. After nearly falling out of his chair and almost decking his teacher, Peter was given two weeks’ worth of detentions. 

“Hopefully that’ll teach young Mr. Parker here to pay attention instead of dozing off in the middle of class. Maybe he’ll catch up on his missing assignments, too. Speaking of, would you like to tell the class which rhetorical devices you’ll be utilizing in your essay, Mr. Parker?” All Peter could do is stare back at his teacher, horror written over his face. 

————————

It was 3:30 on a Wednesday, and Peter was losing his mind. Each of his detentions were an hour and a half long, lasting from 3:15 to 4:45. He had managed to catch himself up on his work and raise his grades a bit, but that didn’t change his predicament. He couldn’t go home or skip detention, meaning he was stuck at school for another hour and fifteen minutes. When he asked if he could do something, he was told he could go help the janitor. With a sigh, he got up and went in search of the janitor’s closet. 

During the time spanning over his punishment, he had nearly forgotten about his obsession with the Hidden Artist. Of course he still saw and heard about the drawings and he would still stare when he saw them, but now with the need to focus on his assignments being drilled into his brain every day on top of trying to stop bad guys each night, he was forced to move on. He didn’t want to. God, if he had the chance he’d stare at those drawings for hours on end, but he didn’t have that chance. It fucking sucked. 

After a couple minutes of searching, he finally found the closet. He grabbed a broom and looked around, and to his left, there was a classroom with the door slightly open. With a heavy sigh, he walked towards the room and pushed the door open, only to stop dead. There, across the room, was a brand new drawing, and it was a drawing of him. Not him him, of course, but a drawing of Spider-Man. It was a drawing of an event he recognized from yesterday when he had walked a lost kid back to their parents. The drawing showed him crouched down in front of the kid who was crying, and he had his hand out as an offer for the child to take it. 

Upon closer inspection, the drawing seemed incomplete. There were too many white spaces which wasn’t the artist's style. As he stepped closer to it, he heard the door creak and a gasp behind him. He spun around, nearly falling over in the process, and looked up wildly. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw Y/n L/n, a student in his grade. They stared back at him with wide eyes. 

“Did...did you do this?” Peter asked slowly. Y/n hesitantly nodded. 

“If you tell anyone about this, Parker, you’re dead.” 

He was slightly taken aback by this. Not the death threat, necessarily, he got those all the time, but it was a bit of a surprise coming from Y/n.

“I won’t. I promise,” he said softly. 

Y/n nodded slightly before striding towards the board and taking out a marker, beginning to fill in all of the white spaces Peter had noticed earlier. 

After a moment, Peter asked, “How do you do it?”

Y/n turned towards him, black marker clutched in their hand. “What?”

“The drawings. They’re so beautiful...I didn’t even know you could draw like that.”

“Everyone has their secrets, Parker. I’m sure you have yours.” 

Peter almost laughed at that, because yeah, he did, and Y/n was drawing it across the Physics dry erase board. But he didn’t laugh. He just smiled a little and kept watching, forgetting all about the broom that was now leaning against a desk.

“So...Spider-Man huh?” 

Y/n sighed and turned to him. “Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be sweeping or something?” 

Peter shrugged. “Or something. Look, this is probably gonna sound super weird, but I’ve been trying to figure out who you were for weeks. Your art is super amazing and cool and I just wanted to know so badly who was talented enough to pull it off. And now I know.”

“Are you disappointed?” It wasn’t a question out of fear, but more out of curiosity. Y/n sat themselves on a desk and waited for the answer. 

“I don’t think so,” Peter said. “This was just unexpected, I guess. I didn’t even consider you for a suspect.” Y/n chuckled at this. 

“Nobody suspects me. That’s the fun part of all of this, actually. Did you know people actually thought that it was Ms. Rosemary for a while?”

“The crazy teacher’s aid?”

“Yup. The theory, I think, was that she was so crazy that art became like her therapy or escape or whatever. I mean, it can be like therapy, but I think Rosemary needs a little more than some doodles in order to help her.”

“These aren’t just ‘some doodles,’ Y/n. They’re-”

“Beautiful. Yeah, you’ve said.” They shrugged. “It’s just scribbles on a board, Parker. Scribbles that, for whatever reason, make our brains happy.”

Peter didn’t really have a response to that, so instead he just watched as Y/n went back to work. 

————————

That was how he would spend his detentions. He would offer to go help the janitor, and then he would run around the school trying to find Y/n. Eventually, on the days where the drawings took less time to create, Y/n started to try to teach him how to draw. Basic things at first, like flowers or trying to break things down into their simpler shapes. He could barely do either of those things, but he enjoyed trying anyways. On other days, Peter would just sit and watch in silence as they drew. It was mesmerizing, and only he got to witness it. 

It became their thing. Even after detentions ended, Peter would stay after school for an hour or so just to go hang out with Y/n. They would have snacks and play music and have a good time. Peter learned that Y/n stayed after school since their parents were never home until the late evenings, so they stayed back just for the hell of it. He also learned that they were good friends with the janitor and that his name was Roger. He was the reason that they were even able to stay for as long as they did. It was pretty cool. 

It was a Friday, and Peter was spinning around in the teacher’s chair while Y/n drew a forest scene. Peter watched them for a while, a small smile on his face. They were also so concentrated when they worked, their eyes narrowing and jaw tightening as they drew the different lines and curves that made up the masterpiece. Unbeknownst to Y/n, Peter had a surprise for them. 

“Hey, N/n?” Peter asked. All he got was a hum in response. He rolled his eyes. “Come here.”

Y/n sighed and got off of the stool that they had been sitting on. “What do you want, Pete?” they asked as they strolled over, leaning over the desk when they got close enough. In response, Peter held up a small, wrapped up bundle. Y/n’s eyebrows furrowed as they picked it up. 

“What-”

“Shhhh!” Peter said with a soft giggle. “Just open it.”

Y/n narrowed their eyes at him before slowly tearing the paper away. They smiled softly as they stared at the multipack of dry erase markers, enough colors to make practically any drawing that happened to cross their mind. 

“Why?”

“A simple thank you would have sufficed. It’s an appreciation gift for all of your art. I figured by now you’ve probably killed most of the markers in the school, so I got you some new ones.”

Y/n chuckled a little and looked at him. “Thank you.”

“Of course. You deserve it.”

“I literally just make colored lines one a board.”

“And I appreciate those colored lines! They give me serotonin as do you.”

“I give you serotonin?”

“Yes.”

Y/n blinked in surprise. “Alright then...you also give me serotonin.”

“Really? Awesome.”

They both laughed for a moment, Y/n glancing back down at the markers as Peter continued to look at them.  

“Hey, Pete?” Y/n asked as they looked back up at him. “What?”

“Would you...would you like to continue to provide me with serotonin and go out with me?”

Peter’s eyes widened in surprise, but soon it was his smile that was widening instead. 

“Absolutely.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tagging:  @tommysparker @bebbeb @stixnstripesworld @orowit @dreamerinthesun @ididntseeurbag @bruhelpimgay @yikes-n-bikes @becausewhatiam-iswhatimnot @thespydersargon @in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh @th0ttie4tommy

[axemetaphor]

Hey, I'm that guy from ao3. I was wondering, do you have a specific place you get inspo for monsters in Auckland? I'm making a DnD campain in the J&D world, aaand I kinda need help haha. Yours are like perfect <3 (Also, if you wanna join us, you can, we haven't even had our zero session and we're not playing actual DnD, I don't know how to play that, so it's ok if you don't know that, it's super easy and fun i swear, you can get a link to our discord, love you)

:0 oh shit hi !! a jdate DnD game sounds cool as fuck! im really bad at games like that tho so im gonna politely pass on that one but wish y'all the best of luck!!! 

as for making monsters my inspo is Kind Of Weird? i mean i look at a lotta horror art for sure (my favourite artist atm is Trevor Henderson aka slimyswampghost on most medias, u may know him as That Guy Who Made Sirenhead but he has a lot of other fantastic art as well!), but since i dont wanna feel like im rippin other people off i actually Dont often use that as inspo! aaaand heres where its gonna get a bit weird

aside from the times i pluck a creature from my nightmares (and boy, do i have a lotta material to work with there), i usually either look into folklore (bein mindful of closed cultures like, i believe most Native American monsters are off-limits for non-Natives to write; im white as hell so i try to stick to british/irish/more recent american shit) or... i look to this one game i played Obsessively when i was in elementary/middle school: Spore (which you can find on Steam i think or their hilariously hasn't-been-updated-in-a-WHILE website). I literally played it so much I can just kind of... imagine the whole creature-creator process. I think it’s a curse. I think Todd Howard cursed me for the crime of Having No Friends.

Now, if you dont wanna download a probably-poorly-aged EA game from 2007 (i dont even know if it’d run anymore if you Just Now bought it, i remember the security measures that thing had damn near broke the game before i could even play it, thanks EA) and play through the first two stages (theyre Long) to unlock the creature creator and all the Bits for it, you can either watch people play that shit on YouTube (Monster Factory is a favourite of mine, they did I Think a 3-video run of Spore) or, 

You can also do somethin that I once did as an assignment for Character Design class: go to a random animal generator, let it spit out 2-3 animals (or as many as you like, i guess, but i find 2-3 to be a Manageable number) and mash those motherfuckers together! Hell, you can even start to mix in stuff like objects/minerals/whatever the fuck too. Make something that’s a dog, hammerhead shark, and the concept of entropy. Go nuts! Here’s an example, some shit I made for that class (which mayyyyyy appear in Auckland...... perhaps. if i feel like it) :

They can range from “cute” to “nightmarish” as you please! Fun fact, that spider/shark/scorpion is meant to be the size of a house. I honestly come up with a lot of messed up shit by just asking myself "What's the worst thing I can think of right now?" and then I just Go For It with whatever my brain's thrown at me. I did that with Nightmare E.T. and the fucked-up ostriches. 'Scary' is often a sort of personal thing for people, like phobias and shit, you know? Lookin inward can be pretty helpful there. Not like you have to make something of your phobias, just maybe run with something that disturbs you a little. If you press yourself for why it bothers you sometimes you can find something deeper and maybe more universal in it. I'm not talking about unearthing trauma or anything tho that likely Wouldn't Be Healthy just like... if you think spiders are creepy, ask yourself Why: is it the eyes? the legs? the venom? the way they just kinda creep up on you, like, you dont notice em til you see them? etc.

As for the monsters in Auckland while most of them aren’t gonna be references (maybe a few more in future chapters...) I will admit the “morning wood monster” is a reference to the Pokémon Trevenant; the "most fucked-up dog [Dave had] ever seen" was a creature from The Moomins just described as horribly as possible--I can't find it on the wiki anymore??? it was from the 2d animated one, though; the Shitsucker is a regular ol’ Wraith (following a specific mythos where they aren’t just Random Ghosts but beings that feed off negative emotional energy, I can't re-find which one I'm sorry lmao); and the haunted ship thing at the beginning is a vague reference to the Buzzfeed Unsolved episode on that big ass boat. Isn't directly tied to it (obviously, 'cause Buzzfeed Unsolved never has much Actual Ghost Activity, let alone one Throwin Shit At Em jhgfds), more just inspired by it.

Maybe when the thing is done, I’ll sort them all into one of three categories--references to stuff/folklore, things i had nightmares about, and things i just kind of thought up. Make a post on here about it, idk

wow! this was fuckin long. i hope at least some of that is helpful!! also im adding this here cause i just remembered some people use Spore to sculpt like?? beautiful monsters and shit?? like i Know i watched a “speedrun” of someone creating a beautiful ass dragon in it. there’s probably a whole community of people out there making epic and/or fucked up shit and you could watch them build it or just scroll through thumbnails for inspo, but i do feel like Building Stuff Yourself is best, cause it just kind of Feels Nice to make something yourself and go “hey man, look how fucked up this is ! scary, right?” and get that Success Feeling when the other guy recoils and goes "yeah man what the fuck though"

[frankendykes-monster]

So probably the best way to start this is to mention the obvious and say that Joker (2019) has pretty much all of nothing to do with...The Joker.  I had mention to someone else a week or two back, but for as much as The Joker can work in a wide variety of stories, the character is inherently limited, my go-to phrase being “one dimensional.”  The Joker’s ongoing motivation is that he wants to defeat Batman, nothing more, nothing less.  “Killing Batman” is only a single part of it, “it” being proving that Batman is fallible and has some weakness.  There are characters like The Riddler that zero in on a single aspect of that such as, surely there are some problems that can be created that even The World’s Greatest Detective cannot solve, but The Joker is a convenient character in that he can be applied to any aspect of Batman’s character, which is why you get stories like Batman and The Joker getting into a surfing contest, because it all goes back to that theme of if there’s something that Batman is not the best at, Batman is ultimately doomed to fail (with regards to suspension of disbelief that is needed for superheroes to work, both creators and the audience have to commit to the concept that superheroes existing 100% makes the world around them a better place, and a major incoming failure on Batman’s part makes for greatest suspense in that it threatens that concept.)

But then, there lies the issue.  Joker does not actually have any driving motivation for WHY he wants to defeat Batman, he simply is.  It’s my theory on why no origin story has ever permanently stuck, because you can’t ever really make sense of that.  This compounds itself into Batman and Joker’s relationship and can never really evolve, it’ll play out in the same way every time just with new set dressing.  What you can do is raise the stakes, but with the back to back publishing of “The Killing Joke” and “A Death in The Family” in 1988, raising the stakes meant making The Joker a sadistic serial killer at the cost of everything else about the character, creating a Joker where everyone questions why he deserves to be alive to appear in another comic three to six months down the pipeline.  There have been some instances of trying to make The Joker more nuanced, like Grant Morrison introducing the concept of “super sanity” in their Batman work and addressing how The Joker reinvents his personality on the fly, but it’s ultimately set dressing that doesn’t alter anything.

So, that begs the question of why Joker, the film, calls itself “Joker” in the first place or why it takes place in Gotham instead of New York and blah blah blah the short answer is if they didn’t, Warner Bros wouldn’t have been able to rake in a billion dollars.  It’s on par with Sony deciding to make Venom (2018) and never addressing why Venom has those large white eye covers if his design isn’t based on Spider-Man, I’ll give Joker (2019) the compliment that it’s more interesting than that film at least.  I really did not want to bring up all this Batman shit while watching this but then they started addressing Thomas Wayne and I began mentally groaning.  I don’t want to dive into the concept of how or if the Batman mythos is impacted if you make Thomas (and Martha Wayne, who like in most Batman stories is more of a cameo than an actual character here) a shitty person, but then again I wouldn’t have to bring that up if the film didn’t cram it in in the first place.  I am...SO...SO THANKFUL I did not see any memes or theories or head canons surrounding “B-B_BUH JOCKER IS BEETMANS HALF BROTHER?????/???” which...whatever. Come to think I didn't see anyone bitch that he doesnt become The Joker until 90 minutes in either.  I think the majority of my goodwill (what turned it from, oh you know the good outweighs the bad enough for me to be able to tell someone this is watchable, to, oh you can skip this) was destroyed at the Waynes getting shot scene with, WHOOPS, The Joker was responsible (indirectly!)  That gave me BAD Batman (1989) flashbacks, and when you remind me of Batman (1989), you kind of do get on my bad side.  Fuck that movie.

SO.  In the midst of ALLL of this.  Let’s talk about the “““real source material”““ for Joker (2019): Taxi Driver (1976) and The King of Comedy (1982).

I don’t think I’m ruffling any feathers by saying that that is the case and that both of those films are wayyy better than Joker (2019).  I mean, there’s a reason why Robert De Niro was not only cast in this film, but he’s second billed right under Joaquin Phoenix.  Those are two fairly different films but they’re, at their core, stories of men who are ticking time bombs of violence ready for someone to light the fuse.  It’s another point against Joker (2019), not only for reminding me of much better films, but forcing me to ask why another pastiche of this story needed to be told.  Martin Scorsese kind of made his career with a monopoly on men losing their shit and everyone around them being caught in the tornado.  Joker (2019) admittedly plays the material much differently, in that all the way through we are supposed to sympathize with Arthur Fleck and stand alongside him every step of this of his downward spiral, and even with where he ends up, I’ll admit I don’t have an issue with that, but the film struggles with making me care half the time.  Like, yes, when Arthur is alone at home trying not to go awol, yeah, I get that, but at other times there’s stuff like how Arthur’s relationship with Sophie is never developed in any meaningful capacity, like why is enamored with him, why is she not as disturbed by him as most other people seem to be?  When we discover she’s not real, that explains it from a logical perspective I guess, but it isn’t a shock or a gut punch.

Can I be real for a second?  There are a lot of moments in this film where it made me embarrased as a neurodivergent person.  The number of people who definitely saw this, because, once again, it made a billion dollars, and came away thinking oh so that’s what mentally ill people are like, even if they’re sympathetic about it, it makes me sigh.

Even though the crux of this film is Arthur’s descent, it desperately wants to be important.  I know I’m not the first person to make this observation, but it does read like, oh, what’s popular now?  Incels?  Better make part of Arthur’s character arc that he can’t hit up any actual real women so he has to entertain himself with fantasies.  Antifa?  Better make it so Arthur accidentally inspires a movement of nebulous anti-rich people who all wear masks.  And so on and so on with no actual commentary while simultaneously it’s not really world-building either because it’s so front and center to the plot. I gotta say, if the film is about people in general not putting up with things anymore after being shat on nonstop, why oh why is there a joke aimed at a little person pretty early on, even through some meta lense where “oh the person telling the joke is an asshat who dies later so it’s cool”?

Now I’m not sure what to say next about the film itself so I guess now would be a good time to discuss the film’s ~impact~ as it were.  If it weren’t for Parasite (2019) I’d have no problem saying this was the biggest film of 2019 in the grand scheme of things, like EVERYONE came in with every possible perspective on this thing long before it came out.  I remember how back in like, late-2017/early-2018?  A bunch of people were shitting on the announcement of this film and Warner Bros had to do damage control by releasing some on-set photos of the second subway scene two days later.  It’s surreal more than anything actually watching this film now and seeing, wait, this is what everyone was memeing about nonstop?  This is a mainstream film?  With the directions it goes in?  With the topics it brings up?  Well I’ll be damned.  This is probably the first time since Les Miserables (2013) and Man of Steel (2013) where a movie comes out and no two people have the exact same opinion on it, so I’m curious as to how Joker is going to age in like, a decade.  So fucking weird that this is called a “superhero film” in retrospect just because it shares a name with a comic book character owned by the same company that developed and distributed this.

I wouldn’t be talking about this film if it wasn’t called “Joker” but then again hey nobody else would either.  I don’t hate this film despite how I’ve said nothing positive about and I was pretty prepared to call it “barely good” before the finale, so I don’t regret watching it, I don’t know what the fuck to say anymore.  Gang Weed memes are pretty funny if you haven’t actually seen any in the wild.  1940: “Let’s throw him into chemicals.”  2019: “Let’s throw him into society.”

[italian-pastry]

Rambling about the Family Tree

Here’s the Family Tree!

And under the cut is all my rambling about designs or whatever! (this ended up not being about designs too much. Hm)

OK WE NEED TO BE ORGANIZED HERE I’ll be going generation by generation, from left to right. Everyone will be here, just for organization sake. Of course, some people are more important than others, so be warned for long rambles (in generation 2 especially) OK LET’S GO

Generation 1: Iida Parents: Idk man. They don’t even have designs. They’re probably cool Enji: He doesn’t deserve to be drawn well :) That and he doesn’t deserve to meet his grandkids :)) Rei: She deserves to be pretty and be a cool grandma. Her grandkids adore her. Hisashi: This mans is kinda wildin’ in my universe. Whatever he’s up to, it’s not being Inko’s husband. Inko: Soft grandma!!!!! We love her and she loves her grandkids and husband. Toshinori: He deserves to retire and settle down and be happy with his family and be adored by his gandkids. Emiko’s Father: He and Yukie got married (and Yukie got pregnant with Emiko) almost right out of highschool. He expected Yukie to give up her career to care for Emiko, but that didn’t gel with Yukie, so she divorced him when Emiko was little. Idk where he is now. Yukie: We love her. I love her. She’s super sweet and super cool and super short and that’s all you need to know. She also looks a lot like Eijirou (or, at least I tried to make them look similar) Crimson Riot: I subscribe to the Dad-Crimson theory, so here we are. After Emiko started elementary school, Yukie tried to get her career back together, but after meeting and having a thing with Crimson Riot and getting pregnant with Eijirou, she gave it up to be able to care for her kids. Nadie: An American journalist who moved to Japan for work! She and Yukie met and got married when Eijirou was 9-10. She has 3 kids from her previous marriage (that ended in disaster). Christopher Skyline: (Yes, THE Christopher “Captain Celebrity” Skyline. We’re just ignoring the Vigilantes canon over here.) Nadie’s ex-husband and the father of Hanae, Etsuko, and Suzume. He was a serial cheater, and the kids was a desperate attempt made by Nadie to try to make him stick around. Sperm Donor: Just a sperm donor. Mitsuki: Still looks SUPER young. She doesn’t like it when her grandkids call her “Grandma” or anything like that because it makes her feel old. Masaru: Loves being called “Grandpa” or whatever by his grandkids. He loves them, and likes to visit them a lot. Mika: Still quiet and chill. We love her. Kyotoku: Still loud and fun. He’s a cool dude, and he got them smile lines Beru: Her head is weird. I’m sorry queen, but it freaked me out. Ganma: He freaked me out even more. He was my least favorite to draw. Sorry bro. Uraraka’s Parents: Her dad reminds me of my dad (vaguely). They don’t have names, but they’re cool. Also, Ochako was able to get them a nice house, so good for them. Shouta: Just go look at @nartothelar‘s Silver Fox AU that was my main inspiration. He a grumpy old man who only likes his kids and grandkids and family. Hizashi: Same thing as Shouto. I like to think that all of his hair has grayed, so his hair is like Platinum Blond now.

Ok! Gen 1 done, and it was mostly me rambling about Eijirou’s parents. Maybe one day I’ll dedicate a post to them.

Generation 2: Tenya: I had him grow his hair out because 1.) I thought it was cute and 2.) it represents him loosening up a lil’ after school. He wears contacts during Hero Work, but wears his glasses casually. Tensei: Literally just the same dude. He’s Tensei and he’s chill and he’s cool. Dabi: I gave him an eyebrow piercing and a fun new cut. (Fun fact: That’s his Fantasy AU fairstyle) Fuyumi: I hope her hair looks very Teacher-y and Motherly. I think she looks super cute. Natsuo: A simple dude. He finds a cut that works and sticks with it. Although I did give him sideburns and a lil’ touch of beard. Shouta: Instead of shaving his red side, he combs the white side over it. Also, I hc that in his left eye, he’s half blind. Izuku: Yikes. He got the wound early in his hero career. He went blind in his right eye, so he and Shouta together are like 1 and 1/4 blind. Emiko: Eijirou’s older half sister. I would say she’s Girlboss and Natsuo is Malewife, and I think that’s accurate - even if only a little. She’s a social service worker, and met Natsuo in college. I had an old design before, but I like this one A LOT more Eijirou: I am a simp for long hair Eijirou, so here we are. ALSO freckles!!!! I love freckley eijirou. Also stubly beard and cool new scar. He is very dad. Hanae: The chill little sister. Probably a lawyer or professor or something smart like that. Etsuko: The crazy sister. She works in the hero field! If as hero support or as an actual pro, idk yet! Suzume: The ex-crybaby sister. She’s prolly doing something fun and artsy. Also, HUGE demigirl vibes Kane: The energetic little brother! He has most certainly gone pro, since he’s like very early 20s now. Fun Fact!: He was 6 when Mieko was born, so a lot of people thought they were siblings. It only got worse when Akio rolled around. Katsuki: hehe Undercut Bakugou. Also, hearing aids! I put his eyebrow scar there so he and his hubby are matchy matchy. Actually, both of their scars are pretty matchy matchy.... huh. Also, I’m totally not saying he was invloved in the fight that gave Izuku his scar, definitely not. Mashirao: STOP SAYING HE’S PLAIN AND ORDINARY. HE’S BEAUTIFUL DAMMIT. Every time I draw him I think about how darn pretty he is and that he could be like a KPop star or smth Tooru: It’s tooru! Super fun lil’ lady. What a queen. Mina: Look at that kick-ass scar I gave her. It’s what she deserves. Although, that eye may be a lil fucked up. Ah well, at least it looks cool. Yuuga: LOOK AT HIS HAIR. I am so happy with how it turned out! He so pretty. He and Mina are DEFINATELY Girlboss and Malewife. Hado: Also a simple lady. Prolly also needed to stick to her brand of long hair. She still super pretty tho. Lowkey disappointed I didn’t give her the stereotypical Anime-Protag’s-Mom hairstyle Haya: Completely shaved her head, and got more piercings! Like, 100% more Punk Rock. Itsuka: FRECKLES FRECKLES FRECKLES. And short hair!!!!!! Sigh, I love her. Tetsutetsu: I tried to make him look like Ejirou, even if just the face structure. I like how his hair and scar turned out tho. What a lad. Mezo: What a cool dude! Got a sick nasty scar, but covers it with his hair. I think, even with a majority of his face covered, he is still very handsome Miya: She has a name now!!!!!! What an icon. She’s a Hero Costume Designer, and she has a spider mutation. Wolf Spider, specifically (I think). She is so adorable and spunky I love her. Momo: Short hair!!!!!!1!1!1!11! God, what a goddess. We love her so so so much. Also, she gets to have a cool scar, too Kyouka: While she’s in UA, she straightens her hair, but after she graduates, she doesn’t care abt it. Momo rlly likes it curly. She also has that thing going on where you shave all of ur head except for ur bangs (and the side thingies). Oh! And eyebrow piercing! Satsuki: Pretty! Also, I made sure that all the girls who would’ve been 6-7 during the current time all had ponytails now (Satsuki, Etsuko, and Eri) Samidare: He’s super cool, and I decided to give him long hair to make him cooler. Also, Demiboy vibes, anyone? Tsuyu: A queen!!!!!! I love her so much!!!!!!! When her hair is down, it reaches to her shoulder blades. Ochako: SHE LOOKS SO BADASS I AM SO HAPPY. Look at her, with those cool scars, and that cool hair! What a queen! Mirio: Classic Mirio! Tbh, idk if I’ll give Mirio his quirk back. Like a lot of the stuff in the recent arc I’ve ignored, soooo......... Tamaki: He has SO MUCH HAIR. It ridiculous. Since growing it out, he uses it to hide behind if it’s left down. So Mirio likes to do stuff with his hair and make it look cute. Nikko helps, too! Eri: A queen!!!!!!!!!! Idk if she’ll be a Pro Hero or doctor that specializes with pro heroes, but I want her to be happy and help people! Hitoshi: Hanta and Denki weaves flowers into his hair a la Rapunzel all the time. The braid is really loose and shitty a lot of the time tho. Ah well. Denki: Because I moved his black stripe to down the center of his hair, my little sister keeps calling Denki and Race Car. And I agree. He got those scars because he was able to train himself to really not fry his brain anymore, but that means if he overloads, his electricity escapes some other way, so through his ears and into his face. Hanta: That scar was very strategically places because I am a firm believe that Sero will uncannily resemble Shouta when he gets older. I hadn’t done a really good job at that tho....... hm.

Gen 2 is done!!!!!! It was my fave generation to draw UwU. I’m not sure what to say with Gen 3, since I’ve already talked about them a lot. Jeez, idk. I’ll think about something to ramble about later.

@questionableholidayreally Tozen rlly said “I am literally just vibing ;)”

[stellar-alley]

Of Scales and Sea Glass

•Chapter 3•

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

(Summary: Eddie and his merman’s relationship evolves with the mer’s new found voice.)

Also shout out to @ambitiousskychild on tumblr for being my beta!

~

Eddie’s eyes went as wide as the full moon, his eyebrows had practically sky rocketed and his jaw hit the floor. 

When he finally gathered up the energy to speak, he couldn’t help the tone of his voice, it wasn't really angry…. It was just loud, “What the fuck! You kiss me and now you can speak?”

“Of course I can speak! Everyone can,” he shot back, his own voice growing louder to match Eddie’s. 

“But you had to kiss me to do it?” 

“Uh- yeah, I need saliva for the spell to work,” the merman said in a ‘well duh’ tone. 

“SPELL!?” Eddie’s stomach dropped. 

“Yeah! How do you think I just magically learned human-” But before the merman could continue, Eddie got to his feet. 

“I-I, I can’t do this,” he stammered. He could barely look at the fish in his tub, he rushed out of the bathroom, practically tripping as he tried to stand. 

“Oh come on cute ass!” He called after Eddie. 

Eddie hesitated as he stood at the top of the stairs, without missing a beat he flipped the fish off and left the house. He needed to get as far away from that thing as he could. 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUck. fuCK. FUCK!

The only coherent thought he could create inside his head. 

It was a little ironic that he ended up standing on the beach when he wanted to escape his- the merman. 

His knees wobbled from beneath him, causing him to take a seat on the warm sand. 

He kissed me. 

Eddie couldn’t deny that he did kinda enjoy it. The way their lips moved, it was as if they were on the same wavelength, two jigsaw pieces finally clicked together. And Eddie hated it. 

He hated how much he enjoyed the kiss, he hated how much he’s grown used to his trashmouth, he hated how cute he was. What he hated most was that one day he’d have to go back into the ocean, to his home. The idea made Eddie sick to his stomach, and he knew why. As much as he hated to admit it, he had developed a crush on the scaly creature. It was just something about the way that Eddie was able to be himself when he was with the mer, how they made eachother laugh and smile. Even if it couldn’t talk! Eddie always felt at home when they were together, even if they were just sitting in silence. There was nowhere else he’d rather be.

After his realization struck, that’s when he noticed the hot tears that had begun to stream down his face. And it was all because he was crushing on a creature of the sea…

~

It took him a while, maybe even hours, to fully compose himself, but he did. When he did he tried so hard to think of things on the brighter side. 

“Okay… So it- he can talk. That’s great! We kissed, that’s great. Sure it felt like literal heaven on earth but that’s fine. It’s all fine. Fuck, well at least I can fianlly find out his goddamn name,” Eddie chuckled at that last bit. 

He still sat on the beach when his eyes finally returned to their normal look, after crying. His hands had found their place in the sand by his side, mindlessly digging and tossing the sand. He stopped when he felt something hard in his grasp. He glanced to the side and saw something sticking out of the sand where his hand had just been. Eddie picked it up and held it up. The sun shined down on the small piece of sea glass Eddie held. 

The stone brought a smile to his face and a memory to mind. He remembered the mer’s glasses, how their lenses were made out of some sort of sea glass, how eager the mer was to finally see the world, see Eddie.

“Scales and sea glass,” Eddie smiled and pocketed the stone, finally ready to go back inside. 

~

Eddie walked with his back straight and his chin high, he marched into his house and up the stairs into the bathroom. The merman stirred, turning to watch as the human stopped in front of the tub.

“Hi, I’m Eddie Kaspbrak.” He introduced himself and stuck his hand out. He mimicked the fish and made a little grabbing motion with his fingers. He smiled halfheartedly. “Give me your hand. It’s how us- humans introduce ourselves.”

The merman silently raised his hand out of the water and placed it inside Eddie’s. It was a little awkward with the webbed fingers and the claws, but it was still something. 

“I’m Richie. Richie Tozier.” The merman, Richie, smiled, glad to see his human didn’t look completely mortified like he did before. 

Eddie smiled, Richie Tozier, I like the sound of that. 

~

The next few days were interesting. Now everyday when Eddie walked into the bathroom he was greeted by his merman, Richie, who he learned had a love for talking, and had a trashmouth, of course. Constantly joking about fucking moms and doing crack (how did he know about cracK? Eddie will never know). Although they fell into a groove, that was their constant bickering, they also began subtle flirting with each other, something Eddie wasn't sure if Richie meant in a platonic way, or if he shared the same feelings that Eddie did. 

“Okay so you’re telling me that this kid- Peter?” Richie asks. 

“Peter,” Eddie confirmed, a ghost smile on his lips. 

“So Peter gets bits by a tiny tiny spider and suddenly he gets powers? How the hell does that work?” Richie had his chin resting on the edge of the tub, looking down at the comic book Eddie was reading for him. 

Eddie laughed, something he seems to be doing a lot of now that Richie can talk, “How the hell am I supposed to know? It’s like you and your powers-” Eddie ducked his head, raised his hand and flicked Richie’s forehead, “Aqua man,” he smirked. 

“Oh I am so not Aquaman. I’m more of a…. Batman, ya know? Cool and mysterious,” Richie smiled into the distance. 

Eddie laughed, like hard. 

“HEY! I can be mysterious! I was a myth to your kind for the longest fucking time,” Richie nodded his head proudly. 

“No, you jackass. You’re so not cool.” Eddie looked over at Richie, he blushed when he saw Richie was already staring at him. 

~

“Fuck I hate this stuff,” Eddie almost gagged as he shoved another mussel into his mouth. 

“Then why do you eat it?” Richie asked, mouth full of fish. Eddie grimaced slightly then swallowed the food in his mouth. 

“‘Cause I gotta start eating fish at one fucking point,” Eddie twirled another forkfull of pasta, shoving it in his mouth, then putting a couple mussels in there as well, at least if he mixed it up then he wouldn’t taste them as much. 

With Eddie buying so much fish for Richie (plus Richie gave him hell for not liking fish), he decided he might as well try to get accustomed to it as well. So he started off small, mixing seafood into his normal meals and such, tonight was pasta and mussels in a white wine sauce. Eddie had learned that he was actually a pretty good cook. 

“What even is that?” Richie gestured to the pasta with a clawed finger. 

Eddie twirled another forkful, added a mussel then held it out to Richie. The mer smiled at the gesture and opened his mouth. He chewed, swallowed and smiled. 

“Damn, Eds! That’s good!” Richie hollered.

“How many times do I have to tell you-” Eddie started. 

“Don’t call me Eds, I’m too cute for my own good… blah, blah, blah” Richie mimicked Eddie’s voice. The compliment sent a warm feeling through Eddie’s chest as he glanced away. 

“It’s spaghetti by the way,” Eddie said shyly. 

Richie cocked an eyebrow, “Spajetti?”. 

“Spa-get-ti” Eddie giggled as he over pronounced the word. 

“Spaghetti?” Richie asked. 

“Spaghetti.” Eddie confirmed, a small proud smile on his lips. 

“Eddie Spaghetti?” Richie inquired, eyebrows raised. 

Eddie’s eyes went wide, “No, no, no,noooo. Please don’t start calling me that,” Eddie begged, but there’s no sorrow in his voice, just pure amusement. 

“Whatever you say Spagheds,” Richie winked. 

“God I hate you,” Eddie laughed. 

Richie let out a little happy huff of air through his nose as his gaze fell on Eddie, “I hate you too”. 

~

Richie’s life changed drastically the day he got caught up in that storm and washed up inside of Eddie’s pool. Sure it was a big change from what he was usually used to, which was aimlessly floating around the ocean, but now he got to aimlessly spend his days inside of a cute boy’s bath tub. And he’s really cute. Cute, cute, cute…

The morning light came in through the bathroom window, directly onto Richie’s face. His eyes fluttered open, immediately scanning his blurry surroundings. 

Shit, glasses. 

Richie leaned over the side of the tub and aimlessly felt around for his glasses which he always took off before he fell asleep, in fear of them somehow breaking in his sleep. His fingers brushed over the glasses, so he flicked his fingers and got his claws out, which gave his fingers a little bit more length. With that, he was able to slide his glasses closer to him. He grabbed them and put them on. The world cleared around him. He let out a sigh as he moved his hands to rest behind his head with his elbows out. He watched the morning sunlight dance over his blue scales, the light reflected onto the ceiling, creating a trippy design on the bathroom ceiling. 

Richie’s head snapped to the side when he heard the door creak open, and in walked a very tired-looking Eddie. 

“Good morning, my dearest Eddie, and how’s thy doing on this fine morning?” Richie asked in a british accent. Eddie took a seat on the closet toilet.

“Morning Trashmouth,” Eddie smirked as he sat down beside him on the floor instead of the toilet (it was something Eddie had started to do more ad Richie loved it). Eddie glanced over at Richie, fatigue still glazed over his eyes, his hair all disheveled. “I barely got any sleep, again,” Eddie sighed and rubbed his temples. 

“Nightmares?” This was something Richie had grown used to, Eddie's nightmares usually revolved around his parents’ death, or the ocean.

Richie reached out (his claws retracted) and pushed a loose strand of golden brown hair behind Eddie’s ear. He left his hand cupping Eddie’s cheek. Eddie’s hand soon drifted up to rest upon the mer’s. He leaned into Richie’s touch. 

“Wanna talk about it?” Richie asked, comforting Eddie. 

“No… Rich, it's the same as always,” Eddie looked over at Richie, just the sight of his merman made Eddie's chest warm and his palms all sweaty. 

“What if, one day, we go out to the beach and I-I can try to help you swim?” Richie knew it was a crazy idea, he wasn't even sure how Eddie would get him there, but he knew one day he'd have to go back. He didn't like thinking about the day he'd have to leave Eddie. So he was determined to make every moment count. Richie also couldn't stand to see Eddie so terrified of the wafer, so he might as well try to help. 

Eddie’s eyes went wide for a second, “Me? In the water? Remember last time that happened?” The two recalled the first day they met, when Eddie fell into the pool, and Richie saved him. 

“We’ll take it slow,” Richie assured. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Eddie let out a little chuckle, he really liked how much Richie cared for him, it made him feel safe. “Well, until then, how does breakfast sound?” Eddie slowly pulled Richie’s hand off of his cheek, but kept holding on until he stood. 

“Sounds great,” Richie grinned and winked as Eddie left to go get the food. 

The two ate together and talked like usual. Eddie explained his plans for the day ahead. His friend Mike had something, called a cat? Richie wasn't sure what that was but apparently it had babies and Eddie and his group were going to see them. Richie wasn't too sure what was gonna happen, but Eddie seemed excited, so he was happy. 

The bell rang throughout the house, Eddie had told him how it meant someone was at his front door. “Shit, that’s Bill. I gotta go Rich, see you later?” He asked even though he knew the answer. He grabbed the plates and containers and stood to leave. 

“I won’t be going anywhere,” Richie smirked, he blew Eddie a kiss before the human left. 

The merman knew it was stupid to crush on a human. Everyone always told him how humans were sinister monsters who’d skin him and eat him, or rip off his tail and leave him to die. But everything changed when he met Eddie. His human was sweet and gentle, sure a little worrisome and asthmatic, but he cared for Richie, more than anyone ever has before. So of course it was easy to fall for him, especially since he was so cute. I mean, come on! Look at him, that little face. And his cute ass! 

When Eddie was gone, Richie tried his best to keep himself entertained. Sometimes he’d talk to Goldy, but that fish was pretty quiet and he found Richie annoying. He’d read the comics Eddie left him, well it was more Richie just admiring the pictures as he had yet to understand human writing. Eddie would also leave the little music player for Richie to use and tune to his pleasure, a radio was it? Whatever it was, Richie liked the music, and after a couple days he began to recognize the songs and then when he heard a song he knew he’d get all excited and try to sing along. After he’d usually fool around with his powers, play with the water and stuff without making too much of a mess. But the best part of any day was always when Eddie returned home to him. 

“Edwardo is that you?” Richie called out to Eddie. 

“No it’s a burglar! Yes of course it’s me!” Richie could hear the smile in Eddie’s voice as he bounded up the stairs. 

“Hey Eds,” Richie smiled, relieved to see him again. 

“Hey yourself, Trashmouth” Eddie entered the bathroom, ruffled Richie’s hair then took a seat on the floor beside him. 

“How were the tittens?” Richie asked excitedly. 

Eddie giggled. “You mean Kittens?”. 

“What now?” Richie’s brow furrowed. 

“Kittens, I went to go see baby cats today, here, look,” Eddie whipped out his phone and showed Richie some pics of the babies. 

“So you can take uh-” Richie waved his hand around, grasping for the right word, “Photos? Photos with that?” he asked. 

“Yeah, er-here” Eddie clicked a couple things then turned the phone to Richie. 

“Woah,” Richie gaped as he stared at himself in the selfie cam. “Take photos of me!” He begged happily. 

Eddie rolled his eyes playfully as Richie struck a pose. “You’re such a drama queen.” He giggled as he snapped a couple pics. Eddie took enough photos so just started a video. 

“I know right?” Richie smirked and magically flicked some water at Eddie. 

“Hey!” he giggled. Eddie turned the camera around so he could see himself as he sat back down beside Richie. “Say hi,” he suggested as Richie leaned forward.

“Hey guys, Richie Tozier here,” Richie announced in a TV announcer voice. “Here with me today is the adorable Edwardo Kaspbrak.” He pinched Eddie’s cheek. 

Eddie swatted his hand away, “That’s not my name dickwad,” he mused.

“I know but you love it so much,” Richie smirked. 

“I really don’t.”

“But I know what you do like,” Richie claimed and kissed Eddie’s cheek. 

The sudden show of affection nearly caused Eddie to drop his phone. His heart was racing and his stomach was full of butterflies. He ended the video and slid the phone back into his pocket. 

“Ew gross, fish germs.” He tried to hide his embarrassment as he wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. 

“Oh come on Eddie, you love me,” Richie dragged out the O. 

Eddie stood up and glanced out the door, quickly he changed the subject. “You hungry for some dinner? I can make you some pasta if you want?” he asked. 

“The only pasta I need is you, Spaghetti,” Richie smiled happily. 

“God, you’re such a sap,” Eddie sighed as he walked out of the room. 

“Ha! I don’t even know what sap means!” Richie called out after Eddie. 

Eddie made the same pasata he had from a couple nights ago. Though he wasn't the biggest fan of the mussels, he did enjoy the white sauce it was in. He made the pasta and put his on a plate, then added some more fish to Richie’s and put it in a bowl. 

They ate dinner together and joked around like usual. When the sky grew dark and the moon came out, Eddie let out a yawn. 

“Well, that’s my cue. I’m gonna go to bed,” Eddie said, stretching. 

“Okay,” Richie looked a little disappointed, even though he too was about to fall asleep. He never seemed to get enough time with Eddie. 

“Goodnight trashmouth,” Eddie leaned over and kissed Richie’s forehead. The gesture acted as a way of payback for the little stunt Richie pulled during that video. Eddie could visibly see Richie blush as he looked up at him with those big blue eyes. 

“Goodnight Eds.”

“That’s not my name!” Eddie smirked, turning to leave.

“Wait-Eds, I’ve been meaning to ask, what does that button do?” Richie pointed to a small red button above the main water controls of the tub. 

Eddie yawned and waved his hand around, “It doesn't matter, Rich. Just please don’t touch it…. Goodnight.”

Richie stared at the doorway as he watched Eddie leave. Well shit, now i’ve gotta test it out. Richie’s mind was slipping in and out of sleep as he poked the button with the tip of his tail fin. Sadly sleep took him away before he could see what it did.

Word Count: 3072

AH GUYS I ADORED THIS CHAPTER SO MUCH! Richie and Eddie are just so cute and chaotic. But damn y'all aren't even ready to see what happens next chapter OMG. On that note, I will see all of you next monday where you find out what the red button does. Until then... So Long and Goodnight

~

[Taglist]

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[angelic-holland]

Princess Party // pp x stark!reader

Word Count: 9.8k

Summary: Your dad is throwing a party and you want to invite the cute boy with the red and blue suit. 

A/N: just adorably awkward teenage crushes, set between Captain America Civil War and Spiderman: Homecoming; reader is Tony’s daughter; bold is text messages

Your dad was throwing a party, for what? You honestly had no idea. All you knew was that it was a costume party, and that he invited some of the Avengers to the compound, which prompted you to beg him to invite Peter. Very few people in the world knew of Spider-Man’s real identity, but when Tony was creating the specs for his suit, he had you help him. He didn’t need your help, he was a fucking genius after all but he wanted you to ‘learn the trade’ because ‘you never know bubs, the world might need a new iron man’. You would roll your eyes because your dad, Tony Stark, was practically invincible, nothing would happen to him.

When you helped make Spider-Man’s suit you saw that it was labeled “Peter Parker” in Tony’s system and you felt excited, because you knew someone, a kid, someone your age that was out saving the world with your dad. It didn’t make you jealous, because you never were the type of person to want to save the world, at least not in the same way that your dad did. 

But you wanted to get to know the boy who went and fought Captain America, the boy with powers similar to that of a spider. When your dad was going on and on about how smart Peter was, how he made his own webbing, your heart couldn’t help but beat a little faster, wondering what the boy looked like.

“Dad, can you invite Peter?”

“Hmm?” He asks, eyebrow raised as he continues his work, half listening while you sit at another table in his lab, working on your calculus homework.

“Peter Parker? Spiderman? To the party?”

Now why’d you want me to do that? You don’t even know who he is.”

For someone as smart as your dad, he could be a little oblivious, which right now was a hindrance to your plans.

“I know, but it would be nice to have another kid here, you know? I rarely get to hang out with kids my own age.”

“You’re way too smart to hang out with kids your own ag- wait a minute.”

“Yeah?” You ask, perking up and looking away from your homework to meet your dad’s wide eyes.

“Peter’s smart enough, not as smart as you, but he’d be able to hold a conversation with you. Jarvis? Go ahead and send an invite to Peter Parker.”

“Thank you!” You squeal, trying not to be too excited. 

You spent the rest of the week trying to figure out a costume, you all but gave up when you were out shopping with Pepper, eyes falling on a Belle costume in a Target.

“This?” She asks, hands running over the cheap material.

“The parties tomorrow and I’ve got nothing chosen,” you sigh, looking through the sizes.

“Are you trying to impress Peter?” She asks, eyes knowing, the woman you considered your mom, who was every bit of a mom to you in every sense of the word, knew everything about you. She knew that you secretly wanted to go to school with kids your age and hang out with kids your age. She knew you wanted to have normal conversations that didn’t revolve around technology and science. She also knew Tony, and that he showed how much he loved you through letting you into his lab, letting you help design stuff.

“He just, sounds like a cool guy, and I mean, even if I’m not attracted to him in that sense, maybe he could be a friend?” Your voice wavers with worry, scared Pepper would try to steer you clear of the idea.

“I understand that, just tread lightly, you know what Tony would say, you’re 15.”

“I know, I know.”

***

You’re in your room, hands shaking nervously as you finish curling your hair. Your makeup was done, dress on, ready for the first guests to show up. What you weren’t looking forward to was all the guests you’d have to mingle with and talk to.

Knock knock knock.

“Hey kid, can I come in?” You hear Tony ask and you sit up in your chair.

“Come in!”

He sits down on your bed, hand patting the spot next to him.

You sit next to him, your yellow dress taking up most of the space.

“Pepper told me about Peter and-,”

“Dad!” You whine, tossing your hands up in the air.

“Just, take it easy, don’t be too weird, I mean I’m sure he’s a weird kid too, but don’t try to use him as a science experiment or anything.”

“What?”

“Don’t put him on a table in a lab and run experiments on his blood.”

“I wouldn’t-,”

“You were definitely considering it. Come on, you’re my kid, of course you’ve thought about it.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” you laugh.

Sir, the first guest has arrived.

“Jarvis, please tell me who decided it was okay to be an entire hour early.”

Peter Parker sir.

“Go on kid, I’ve gotta get into costume,” Tony says, lightly nudging your shoulder.

“Me? Does he even know who I am?!” You shriek, standing up and looking into your mirror.  

“I’ve said I’ve got a daughter-,”

“That doesn’t-, dad.”

“Go on, and if he’s wearing a Star Wars costume make sure to make fun of him enough for the both of us.”

You laugh and make your way out of your room through the large complex you called your home to the front door.

You couldn’t help but start laughing as you saw the boy, standing outside, in none other than a Star Wars costume. He was cute though, brown hair a mess on his head, brown eyes that widened as you got closer.

“Hi,” you say as you unlock and open the door. 

“Hi, are you, you’re Belle,” Peter squeaks out as he follows you down the hallway.

“Well I go by Y/N but you can call me Belle if you want,” and you’re glad that you’re not facing him because your face is definitely bright red right now.

“Wait, you’re, you’re Mr. Stark’s daughter?” His voice is a little higher pitched and he talks so fast you don’t think you’ll catch everything.

“Uh yes, the one and only,” you laugh, stopping in the kitchen and turning to him.

“I thought, I mean I just thought you’d be, like 5 or something, I mean you’re Ms. Potts daughter?”

“Biologically, nope, but she’s my mom, yeah.”

“Oh, cool, cool, cool,-,”

His eyes are moving all over the place, head tilted slightly as he looks at everything, everything but you. 

“It’s uh, just a kitchen,” you cut of his cools, because if you don’t you think he’ll drone on and on.

“Sorry, yeah, it is,” he says, looking back at you.

“You’re super early you know.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, if that’s, if that isn’t okay, I was just scared of being late, actually, so I sort of left really early and now I guess that was a little dumb, since it’s a party but-,”

“Peter, hey, it’s fine, I was joking,” you laugh, you were probably just as nervous as he was, but you did a better job at hiding it between quick jokes, ones that he didn’t seem to be picking up on.

“Oh, yeah, joking, haha,” he laughs weakly, fingers tapping along his leg.

“You know, on the invite it said no cheesy pop culture costumes, I think yours is a little out of dress code.”

His eyes widen and he looks down at the brown robe and white shirt and pants he’s wearing, stammering before you throw him a line. 

“I’m kidding, again. Sorry if that wasn’t obvious.”

“Oh I mean it was, I just am a little nervous is all.”

“Why would you be nervous?” You ask sitting on a chair next to the granite countertops.

“I fought in Germany with your dad, with Mr. Stark and uh I guess I’m just waiting for the next bad thing to happen, so I can help. I mean I’m not wishing for a bad thing to happen, obviously. So when I got the letter in the mail from Mr. Stark I thought it was a little old fashioned, sure but I thought it would be for some sort of covert mission. I just, sorry you probably don’t wanna hear it from me.”

“It’s okay, I mean, it’s not like you’ve got anyone else to talk to, so let’s hear it.”

“Ok,” Peter sighs, sitting next to you at the counter, his elbows resting on the counter, head resting in his hands.

“So you obviously don’t want something bad to happen, which is good, that means you’re a good kid.”

“Yeah I mean I know that but I guess, I guess that I just feel on edge, all the time, you know? I can't really have fun because I’m scared I won’t be ready when the next big bad comes around.”

“You know, take one outta my dad’s book, you should enjoy the here and now, you know? Be content in what’s happening now and the next time a big villain comes along, that’s your focus point. It’s easier said than done, I know he struggled a lot when he first started doing all this superhero stuff.”

“Whatcha talking about?” Your dad scared the shit out of both of you, sneaking up from behind in one of his Marks.

“Is that really your costume dad? Pretty lame,” you roll your eyes, of course he wouldn’t actually dress up for his own costume party.

“Not as lame as Parker’s,” Tony says back and Peter sulks.

“He knows I’m kidding right? Pete, gotta learn how to take a joke if you’re going to be spending time here.”

‘What, I mean, why would I-,”

“No reason, one foot!” Tony shouts as he leaves, leaving both you and Peter a little confused.

“What was that all about?” Peter asks and you shrug.

“Tony’s a little weird.”

“Why do you call your dad by his first name?”

“The apple doesn’t fall from the tree,” you say, standing up.

“What’re you doing?”

“Guests will be here soon, I’ll needa mingle,” you sigh, picking at one of the pieces of your dress that was already fraying.

“You don’t sound too excited about that.”

“Well, it’s just one night, then back to radio silence.”

“Huh? Where do you go to school?”

“Here.”

“You don’t go to like a real school? Awesome!”

“No, not really awesome,” you sigh as you lead Peter to the huge open space that is normally meant for training but was now full of decorations and had tables full of food and drinks as people started wandering in.

“Why’s that?”

“I’ll, we can talk later okay? I should-,” you’re cut off by one of Tony’s friends, another billionaire in the tech industry and his wife greet you.

“Y/N! Looking as beautiful as ever, you’re getting so old, I remember when you were running around as a toddler,” the woman laughs and you force a smile and play along, you can’t for the life of you remember their names.

Out of the corner of your eye you see Peter and he looks a little disappointed but walks away, leaving you to mingle.

After what seems like hours of talking to different people, eyes constantly searching for the mess of brown hair wearing a brown robe you found him, walking around like a lost puppy.

“Peter, hey, Peter!” You shout over the music that was currently blasting.

“Y/N, bedtime, curfew’s soon,” Tony says, still in his Iron Man suit, definitely a little tipsy, he points to his wrist like he would a watch.

“You’re seriously going to give me a curfew when you’re throwing a party?”

“Midnight, that’s lax, and hey,” He says, stopping you before you can run off again, “you’re not Cinderella, no missing it.”

You roll your eyes at his lame joke but nod, running off to find Peter, who was standing by one of the tables in the corner of the room.

“Hey, long time no see,” he says, voice raised slightly so you could hear him over the music.

“That was the most exhausting few hours of my life, come on, let’s dance.”

“I’m not very-,” Peter starts as you drag him into the middle of the room in between groups of people dancing. You can’t help but notice that his palm is cold and clammy in your own.

“I’m not that good of a dancer either, it’s okay,” Your hands rest lightly on his shoulders.

“Oh yeah, okay, we can, you know, just sway,” he says, hands nervously moving to sit on your waist.

You feel a nervous excitement bubble up inside of you at the idea and you know you’re probably blushing.

“Swaying is good,” you nod. 

So you and Pete sway to the music, an awkward distance apart from each other, mildly hindered by your dress, the rest of the space between you was just purely being weird teenagers, you’ve never been friends with a boy, let alone danced with one, and you had no idea what Peter’s story was, but you wanted to know more about the mystery boy who was bitten by a radioactive spider.

“You look really pretty,” he says over the music, it’s hard to hear still so you tilt your head.

Half of you was wondering if he said what you thought he said, half of you wanted to hear him say it again.

“I said, I uh, I- I really like your costume.”

“Oh,” you sigh, a little disappointed. 

“It’s really pretty.”

“Thanks.”

You continue to sway, feeling waves of embarrassment rush over you.

“One foot!” You hear Tony shout from across the dance floor, a path cleared between you and Peter and Tony’s line of sight. You sigh loudly, resting your head against Peter’s shoulder as you move.

“That’s what one foot means,” Peter nods in realization. 

“I’ve got an idea, come here,” you say, stopping mid-sway as you pull him to one of the tables. Your eyes roam the expensive bottles of alcohol, you’ve never had it before and you look over at Peter, who’s face is pale and he shakes his head.

“I like soda better anyways,” you agree, fingers intertwining with his as you walk down the hallway to the kitchen, seeing fewer and fewer people until you were met with a nice silence, the sound barriers you helped design blocking the music from the party.  

You grabbed a can of ginger ale from the fridge, “for you?”

“Ginger ale is fine.”

“Good this is the only soda we have,” you laugh.

“So what are we doing?”

“Getting out of this place, I don’t think I can smile and pretend to know anyone else.”

“That’s fair,” He says, following behind you as you climbed the stairs, “sneakers?” He catches a glimpse of your shoes beneath your dress.

“Wouldn’t be caught dead in heels, besides these are way more comfortable anyways.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I would enjoy wearing heels either?” Peter says and his face pales when you stop in front of your room.

“I’m just gonna, I’m changing outta this horribly uncomfortable thing then I’m going to show you someplace nice, away from the hustle and bustle,” you manage to get out, blushing as you look away from Peter.

He nods and gulps, awkwardly standing outside your door when you close it.

You take a quick picture in the mirror, wanting to remember the evening one way or another.

“Breath, get it together,” you try to hype yourself up as you pull the hair pins out of your hair, grabbing makeup wipes and getting rid of the makeup that painted your face. 

You slipped out of your dress and tossed on a T-shirt and sweatpants, you really didn’t care what you looked like right now, and you doubted Peter cared either. 

You took one last look in the mirror, taking a deep breath before opening your door. 

Peter was pacing back and forth in front of the door, talking to himself.

He stops in his tracks when he sees you, pointing at your shirt. You look down, it’s just a funny graphic tee “find x, I found it’, “what?”

“I’ve got that shirt,” he says and you laugh.

“I love these things,” you say as you walk down the hallway, Peter falling in step next to you.

“So where are we going?” He asks as you take him down the stairs and to a different exit.

“There’s some trees, at the property line, absolutely beautiful, we can hang out there.”

“Oh cool.”

“Until curfew.”

“Curfew?” Peter raises his eyebrows, he probably figured, just as you had, that a curfew on a night like tonight was a little ridiculous. 

“Tony’s a little paranoid,” you sigh as you slip out the back door, your fingers threading comfortably with Peter’s as you walked across the grass to the treeline.

You walked in a sort of awkward, sort of comfortable silence as both of you have so much you want to say, but don’t even know where to begin. You get to the trees and you’re about to sit down at the bottom of one when he stops you, hand letting go of yours and pointing to the tree. 

You’re taken by surprise when webs shoot out from his web shooter, apparently underneath his costume this entire time. He shoots them from one tree to the next, creating what looks like a hammock.

“Wanna join me?” He asks, hand slipping back into yours. 

“Up there? You sure it’s safe?”

“Designed the webs myself, so yeah, they’re pretty safe,” he says with a smirk and you’re surprised there’s more to the nervous, jittery boy next to you.

“Alright, can’t argue with that,” you laugh. 

“Give it a second to dry a little,” he comments and you nod, enjoying the darkness of the night sky while out of the corner of your eye you see him staring at you. It’s not a creepy stare, but an innocent, bright-eyed, I want to know every mystery about you stare. 

The next thing you know he hoists you into the webbed hammock, hands holding your waist as your legs meet the weird substance and you tumble into it, laying down and stretching your arms above your head.

Peter jumps up and lands next to you, side up against your own. His arm goes to rest below your head but he ends up elbowing you, “oh god, I’m so sorry I did that, are you okay?” 

You sit up with a laugh, “it’s fine, I’m good.”

“Okay, maybe we can try this again?” He says and you nod, letting his arm rest behind you, laying down again. His hand rests against your shoulder and his head is next to yours.

“So, how do you like your new suit?” You ask, “it’s one hell of an upgrade from your onesie.”

“It’s not a onesie! Your dad called it that too, it’s not a onesie.”

“Sure, keep telling yourself that.”

“I think the suits really nice. I uh, at night I patrol around Queens, make sure everyone’s behaving, no crime going on, that sort of stuff.”

“How do you like the reconnaissance drone?” You ask excitedly, the part of the suit that you added, thought it was a nice touch.

“The what?” He asks, voice raises on confusion.

“Oh, maybe, maybe my dad didn’t show you everything the suit can do yet.”

“What do you mean everything it can do?”

“I probably shouldn’t, Tony would want to show you himself.”

“There’s added tech to the suit?”

“Please don’t tell him I said anything, I don’t think you’re supposed to know until he thinks you’re ready or something.”

“I am ready though.”

“I know I’m sure you think you are but-,”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I- I didn’t mean it like that.”

“What do you mean it like then?” He says, body tense against yours and you want to smack yourself.

“I just, I’ve only ever heard about you from Tony, and he just, says you’re too young. I don’t think he doubts your abilities, nothing like that, you’re clearly very smart, strong, all that. I just think that he’s scared of seeing something bad happen to you.”

“But he brought me to fight captain America! Clearly he thinks I’m ready!”

“No, I don’t, it’s not that. He, he probably sees someone his daughter’s age, and freaks out a little, I mean, look where I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just mean, I used to go to school, until he became Iron Man. I mean he’s always had money and people were always upset with him for one reason or another. But after he became Iron Man, he got threats, horrible threats, not just towards him but towards me as well. He was pretty paranoid the first time someone said they were going to kidnap me from school, I was nine. So since then I’ve been home schooled, by Tony, by Pepper, Jarvis, Happy sometimes. Which sort of is nice, since I’m pretty ahead in school, I can graduate this year, and I will. Just don’t know how college is going to work yet. Still working on that. But Tony’s protective of the people he loves, and he might’ve just met you but he wants to take care of you, he cares about you at least a little bit, even if it’s in his own self interest.”

“Does he, are you allowed off the compound?”

“Yes of course! Of course I am! But I just can’t go to school and any friends that I happen to make have to go through his security checks before I can give them my phone number or they can come over.”

 “Have I gone through that, the rigorous security?”

“Why? Wanna be my friend?” You tease, sort of hoping he’d say yes.

“Yeah,” He says breathlessly.

Your turn your so your cheek rests against his shoulder, “I think I’d like that.”

“Y/N STARK, Y/N STARK,” a loud electronic voice starts to go off, a red light beeping on your phone.

“Fuck,” you mutter sitting up.

“What’s wrong?” He asks as you attempt to slip down from the hammock.

“It’s definitely past curfew, so my phone is flipping out at me and oh shit,” you’re tumbling out of the hammock, a short scream, stopped by Peter’s webs grabbing your hand and slowly helping you down to the ground as he slips down too.

“Sorry about that,” he says, ripping the webbing off your wrist.

“No, thanks for helping me down,” you laugh, “you should come by the lab sometime, show me what you use in your webbing.”

“Y/N STARK, Y/N STARK.”

“Alright! Alright I’m coming!” You shout up at the sky.

“Should I, I should probably go,” Peter says as you both start walking back to the compound.

“Oh, I, yeah, it was nice to meet you?” You say, voice rising, the question wasn’t for him, it was more for you, because you were hoping this wasn’t just the only time you’d meet and hang out with him. And you’d probably have to be the one to take the step to invite him over. 

“I mean, if your dad, if Mr. Stark is okay with it, do you, uh want my phone number or something? So the next time we hang out we can make sure we both aren’t wearing the same graphic tee?”

You laugh, head tilted up and eyes crinkling and Peter swore you looked more beautiful here, in the pale moonlight, fresh face and just enjoying your evening than you did in the costume with your hair and makeup done, mingling and doing things you clearly didn’t enjoy.

You giggle at the statement, a funny but smooth way to get your phone number.

“Yeah, here, put your number in my phone,” you toss your phone to him and he catches it with ease, you guessed his reflexes were enhanced from the spiderbite.

He quickly types in his phone number and sends a text to himself so he has your number, he wasn’t going to let you slip through his fingers, as you get to the back entrance of the compound, the party still in full swing at the other side. You stood at the door, watching as he shifted from one foot to the other.

“It was nice to meet you,” you gulp, sticking your hand out to say goodbye, “ow.”

You hand collides with his stomach as he apparently moved in for a hug to challenge your handshake.

“Oh shit, sorry,” he says, stepping back with those wide eyes and hands held up to the side.

“You got a bulletproof vest under there or something?” You laugh, thinking part of his costume is what hit your hand.

“No, uh, nothing, just, j-just me,” he stutters out and your eyes match his in widening at the implication of his words.

Of course he’s ripped he’s Spiderman, you remind yourself.  

“Well, uh, goodnight,” you nod and quickly leave him to lessen any further embarrassment on both of your parts.

You run up the stairs to your room, slamming it shut as you see several voice memos from Tony on your phone. 

“Oh darling daughter of mine,” his voice is a little slurred, “fifteen minutes past curfew.”

“Okay not sure where you and Parker have disappeared to but you need to be back in your room in 10 minutes.”

“Without Parker, he needs to go home”

You sigh, sitting on the edge of your bed and sending Tony a quick message, letting him know you were back in the safety of your room and Peter was on his way home.

You see the text Peter sent himself from your phone, a simple “hi” and you shake away the smile on your face. 

You open up your photo from earlier, you looked pretty, cheeks a little flushed from dancing and being with a boy you thought was pretty. Remembering the night made your heart flutter lightly in your chest as you crawled up to the top of the bed, laying your head on the pillow as you open your Instagram.

It was private, the only people who followed it were Pepper, Tony, and a few friends you made when Tony let you help run and organize his expo for teenagers. You tapped the button to post a new photo, adding a filter before your fingers hovered over the keyboard on your phone. You laid in bed thinking of a caption for a while, a semi decent one would do.

Y/N_Stark: nobody came to my princess party :/

You posted it and saw the small notification symbol on the side of your profile to show someone requested to follow you.

Peterbparkerr requested to follow you

You click on his profile, the profile picture a goofy close up picture of his face, a wide smile, eyes crinkled and you couldn’t help but smile.

You scrolled through some of his pictures, mostly completed Star Wars lego sets. You came across a picture of him with a sign in the doorway of his apartment.

The sign said “1st day of sophomore year” and his eyebrows were furrowed, finger pointing down at the sign as who you assumed was his Aunt May smiling proudly behind him with her thumbs up. 

There was a picture about a year before that with the same sign, this time he had a big teethy grin as he held the sign, this time saying “1st day of freshman year” and you wondered if it was a tradition he’s been doing. You sort of wondered what it would be like to sign up for classes at a high school or college, make friends that way, go to the same school as Peter. You were getting way ahead of yourself however, for now, you could just accept his follow request.

You opened up your text messages again and open the messages to Peter.

You: you know, finding me on instagram right after we meet for the first time is kind of stalkerish

You: to clarify that was a joke

Peter: haha I get it

You: oh thank god for that

Peter: i saw your instagram photo and i

You: ???

Peter: sorry that sent before i could finish, i think you looked really pretty tonight, i just wanted to tell you that

You: thank you, you know your star wars costume wasn’t as bad as tony or i made it seem

Peter: oh thanks

As you contemplated sending a message asking him if he wanted to see the lab, partially afraid of a rejection, but also afraid of what you would do if he said yes another message from Peter came in.

Peter: was hoping I might be able to get into your lab at some point

You: just gonna use me for my dads cool tech?

Peter: maybe

Peter: to clarify that was a joke

You: oh shush 

Peter: I also want to see you again

You: cool

Peter: cool?

You: aka I want to see again too

Peter: :) I’m glad

Peter: goodnight princess 

Peter: I’m sorry if that was weird

You: it’s kinda weird but I dig it

***

Taglist: @tom-hollands-blog @spider-babes @unicornsyy @practicallylivesonline @tom-hollands-wife @quinjetboi @rageyoudamnednerd @sunnydays0803 @jackiehollanderr @khhbby @fancyxholland @thomasthetankson @lousimusician @amyalpha @musiclover1263 @peterbxrnes @relise-thefury @thewinterslut @starsholland @fandomdarlings @peteunderoos @saysomethingspiderman @therealcap @yamyam515 @dylanrauhl @mobbinholland @desir-ae @cvrecem @pumpkinsinnerpie @i-guess-n0t

[codedredalert]

paint the flag and fly it high

gen, oneshot | Law & Heart Pirates, Law & Donquixote brothers | 4,138 words

Law had a statement to make, and every warning needed a recipient. (Or, how they got the Heart Pirates name, symbol and submarine.)

Tags: cute heart pirates interactions, trust and friendship, law angst, nightmares, mild body horror, mention of canonical genocide, mention of canonical character death, canon compliant, the law novels have no power over me

(Read on Ao3.)

@mothersea-zine collab with @smarties-art​ whose lovely art can be found here. 

===/\===

.

“Boss,” said Shachi with a tone of great importance. “We need a flag.”

Law turned to look at him, leaving only one hand on the helm of their little stolen fishing boat.

“We have a flag,” replied Law, puzzled. The fishing boat was flying the Spider Miles flag. Shachi knew this, as did Penguin and Bepo. Law had specifically told them to hijack a Spider Miles vessel because Law remembered just enough of the port registry and rules to make a convincing bluff if he had to.

Shachi floundered and waved his hands.

“No, like. A flag to show we’re pirates!” he explained.

Ah, Shachi meant a Jolly Roger. Law had already been considering it, but Shachi was fun to tease.

“If you really want everyone to know we’re pirates,” started Law very seriously and Shachi leaned forward, nodding. “Go take the Spider Miles flag down.”

Penguin started snickering and Shachi scowled. Bepo looked up from his maps and between the three humans.

“Um, I don't get it,” said Bepo. "Sorry, can someone explain?"

"Stateless ships are presumed pirates by the marines. It was one of the anti-pirate measures implemented after Gol D Rogers’ execution," supplied Law.

"Ohhhhh." Bepo’s mouth formed an ‘o’, or as close to one that a polar bear’s long snout was able to manage.

"Wait," said Shachi. He squinted at Penguin, who tried to stifle his laughter and look back innocently from where he was standing beside the depth reader and other gauges. "There's no way you knew that."

"I didn't," admitted Penguin, through badly contained giggles. He flashed the peace sign. "I was laughing at your face."

Shachi half-stood to reach across the table to swat Penguin, who stepped away quickly, laughing. The boat rocked violently and something in the locked cupboards fell with a loud thud.

"Guys!" shouted Law.

Bepo grabbed Shachi with one paw on the chest and one on the back and held him in place. The boat rocking steadied.

"Better sit down, Shachi," whispered Bepo loudly. Shachi sat with a small grumble.

"Sorry, Boss," he said.

"Captain," reminded Bepo.

"Ah, sorry, Captain."

"Yeah, sorry, Captain," echoed Penguin.

Law gave a small nod and turned back to helming. There was a shuffle of papers behind him, Bepo moving maps on the table.

"I thought Shachi was talking about the skull flag,” Bepo started conversationally. He yelped suddenly and Law turned to see Shachi clasping one of Bepo's paws in both hands.

"Bepo," Shachi said dramatically. "You're the only one who gets me. I'm done with these guys. Let's run away together and make our own pirate flag.”

"Umm…" Bepo edged away from Shachi as Penguin cracked up again.

"Good riddance," gasped Penguin as he caught a breath while laughing. Shachi smiled and flipped him the middle finger.

"A Jolly Roger," said Law, turning his eyes back onto the waters. “Jokes aside, we can’t put up a Jolly Roger anyway.”

"What!" cried Shachi. "Why not? C'mon, Captain. It'd be so cool."

Law gestured at the engine gauges and throttle, already maxed out.

“I know it'd be cool. But cool or not, this is our top speed. We’d be sitting ducks for the marines if we actually confirm that we're pirates. And then what?”

Shachi slumped facedown on the table in disappointment. Penguin and Bepo had matching thoughtful frowns on their faces.

"Could we steal a faster boat?" suggested Bepo. Shachi perked up hopefully.

"And cannons," added Penguin.

The three of them turned to Law expectantly. Law felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

"I'll think about it," he said, and his crew cheered.

.

.

.

Law was bad at sleeping.

Maybe that was a strange way to put it, but Law had been that way even as a kid. His parents had sometimes teased that he was a difficult baby because he'd only sleep for an hour at a time.

Law wasn’t sure why he had been so restless as a kid, but he knew why he dreaded sleep now.

The frequency of patients in his parents' clinic had increased slowly, slowly, then all at once. Tell-tale hard white patches of toxic Amber Lead bloomed like mould on the skin of all his city's people. In his nightmares, Law tried to shout, to warn everyone of the government's treachery, but they carried on, unfazed ghosts of people who would be dead the coming day. Amber Lead would overtake his throat and Law would watch voiceless as fire befell the White City.

Law would run, because he always ran. That was all he was ever good at–running away and finding himself alone, ashes of the dead on his tongue and forehead, stolen weapons in his childish hands.

Then, he was Doflamingo's and he had been stupid enough to think that was better. Forty-hour wake cycles, passing out exhausted, and chasing fucking Doflamingo's approval had been better.

(And for a while… it sort of had been. It was being seen, being held up to judgment and being found worthy, being found more than enough by someone who had made it and knew what it took. That validation had been headier than drugs in a world of despair and death.)

And then, there was Cora-san. God, there was Cora-san.

Cora-san, who returned Law's knife in his back with protection from Doflamingo. Cora-san, who gave up his secrets to Law freely and in faith just to have Law hold it over him and gloat. Cora-san, who fought his way through every hospital in the North Blue chasing a nonexistent cure for Amber Lead Syndrome when any sane person would have given up.

Cora-san, who died so Law could live.

(It ended badly. Of course, it ended badly. Law wasn't allowed to have good things, and Cora-san was indisputably Good.)

When Law dreamed of Cora-san's death, it always started with Law screaming his throat raw but never making a sound. There was only stuffy, maddening darkness and Cora-san's ragged breathing. A weakening heartbeat, its faintness amplified by the wooden shell of the treasure chest. Doflamingo’s growling bass voice, tone so derisive Law could almost see the man's expression.

Gunshots.

.

.

.

Law sat up in the interior of the stolen fishing boat, breathing hard and feeling sick. 

It took a moment for him to orient himself and take in his surroundings. All the lights were off as per Law's orders, so they were less likely to be spotted. The only light was the moonlight flooding in through the windows where the helmsman could see out of the cabin, and the faint orange and white glow of the various dials and gauges set into the captain's table. Bepo and Shachi were snoring peacefully on the benches along the walls. In the background, the engine hummed softly and Penguin was at the helm, his silhouette backlit against the windows.

Law took a moment to regulate his breathing, letting it return to normal before he got up and went over to Penguin.

"How's the fuel?" asked Law in a low voice. Penguin glanced at him, but wasn't surprised that he was up. Law's crew was long accustomed to seeing him awake at all hours of the night.

“Half-tank last I checked. Hang on." Penguin fumbled for a switch in the dark, and the glowing needles on the gauges dropped just a bit lower. "Yeah, fuel's alright. ‘Specially since we’re going slow and quiet now.”

Penguin flicked the switch back and looked at Law with eyebrows raised in a mix of concern and pointedness. Law sighed.

“I’m fine. It’s just the usual,” Law told him. Penguin nodded.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“No.” Law never did, but Penguin always offered anyway. He knew when to back off too, which Law appreciated.

“... All–” Penguin broke off into a yawn. “Alright,” he started again. “Let’s talk about something else then, I’m falling asleep on my feet over here. How’s the Jolly Roger coming along?”

Law leaned against the wall, resting his head against the edge of the window as he looked out over the dark waters.

"Can't decide whether to go traditional or not," admitted Law.

Penguin chuckled.

"If you end up going with ye olde skull and crossbones, I'll eat my hat."

Law inclined his head and shared a brief smile.

"You're right, I won't use that for the design. But I was thinking about the traditional function of the flag as a warning," said Law. "A Jolly Roger serves more as a marker of identity now, but just thirty years ago, they were warnings to the ships about to be captured–the most common message was surrender or be killed."

Penguin shrugged, taking one hand off the wheel to gesture, palm up.

"How about both meanings?" he asked. "Warning! We're young, dangerous, and incredibly handsome. Give us all your stuff and fall in love with us! Something like that."

Law snickered.

"Something like that," Law agreed. He ran his knuckles over the window, the glass cold against his skin. "For the identity part, I'd like something to do with medicine."

"Yeah," said Penguin. "Sounds good. Maybe that snake sign thing. Or that symbol you showed us last time. Radioactive? Uh, wait no. Biohazard? I don't remember the name but it was cool."

Law contemplated this with a thoughtful frown.

"Mm. Maybe." He shifted his weight off the wall. "I should go sketch a few ideas."

"You should go sleep," corrected Penguin.

Law waved a hand in dismissive acknowledgment and headed back to the table. He turned to a fresh page of the captain’s log and drew the circular prongs of the biohazard sign by feel rather than sight.

Biohazard. Something about that didn’t sit right with Law. It harkened too much to the days where people had treated Law as a disease rather than a person. No, Law hadn’t clawed his way back from the jaws of death so many times to label himself like this. Cora-san hadn’t raged like a lion at every misinformed medical practitioner for Law to take this symbol.

Cora-san. Law really owed him everything. And–Law’s pen dug into the page–Doflamingo had murdered him. Familiar hatred gripped Law’s shoulders, a sour, burning poison, the seductive whisper of vengeance. Over the roar of his thoughts and his heartbeat in his ears, he distantly heard paper tearing as he dragged the pen across the pages of the logbook.

Doflamingo was one man. Law could take him. Law knew the way he thought, and his tricks. Law just had to be smart and careful and lucky. (Too bad that Law’s particular brand of luck meant that only he would survive and absolutely no one else he cared about would.)

Well, Law had a statement to make, and every warning needed a recipient.

 I’m not dead.

 You tried to make me like you. You failed.

 I’m going to use everything you taught me to destroy you.

.

.

.

“.......ptain? Captain.”

Law startled awake, arm sweeping a wide arc at the shadow leaning over him. The shadow lurched back, swearing. Law blinked and saw Shachi with a hand over his own ribs, grimacing. Outside the window, the sky had lightened but the sun still hadn't come up.

"That looked like it hurt," commented Bepo.

Law pinched the bridge of his own nose and swept his hand up, pushing his hair back from his face.

"Sorry." He apologised to Shachi, who made a small wave with his hand.

"It's fine. What were you working on anyway?"

Law looked down at the paper before him and circled one of the designs.

"The pirate flag you asked for." Law tore out the page and held it up. Shachi and Bepo grabbed it eagerly.

"Nice," said Shachi while Bepo nodded in approval.

"Lemme see." Penguin stretched out a hand for the paper and Shachi passed it to him. Penguin tipped his hat back and squinted at it.

"Looks good," said Penguin, handing the paper back. "So you went with the radioactive sun idea after all."

Law's face scrunched in confusion. He looked at Shachi and Bepo, who had similar expressions.

"That's just a face," said Shachi. "Right, Captain?"

"Isn't it a lion?" asked Bepo.

"It's meant to be a virus," muttered Law. "Because we're going to use Doflamingo's machinations against him, and spread our influence."

Law took a fresh sheet of paper and drew it again. The Donquixote smiley face without the slash through it, surrounded by stylised glycoproteins. This time, Law exaggerated the lines at the ends of the radiating spikes round the smiley face. Shachi and Bepo leaned forward to watch.

"Mm, I see, I see," said Bepo, nodding supportively. Shachi made an affirmative sound.

"Now all we need is a name," announced Shachi. "Something badass! Like, um-"

Law shook his head and his crew fell silent, looking at him expectantly.

A name was easy. Law had been wanting to pay tribute to Cora-san. When Law had drawn a line in the sand and asked if his crew would follow him, he had bluntly stated that his primary goal was to avenge Cora-san. It only seemed fitting to name a group for its goal.

There were four Donquixote executives, named after the playing card suits in the language of Dressrosa. Corazón, when translated, meant–

"Heart," said Law. "We're the Heart Pirates."

.

===/\===

.

Their new submarine ran hot with its engine working at full power. The humans were all sweating buckets and Bepo was dangerously close to overheating.

Law leaned over Penguin's shoulder to look at the complex panel of screens, dials, gauges, and switches.

"Anything on sonar or radar?" he asked.

"Not for the last half hour," replied Penguin.

"Can we please surface, Captain?" pleaded Bepo from where he had given up and just stretched out on the floor.

"Not yet." Law was sympathetic, but half an hour wasn't comfortable enough to risk surfacing and the marines renewing their pursuit. He looked over the instruments, consulted the hefty manual for the submarine's controls, and double checked the map which Bepo had surrendered.

"Shachi, switch our course to the second eternal log pose from the left and lower speed by half."

"Got it," replied Shachi from the helm.

Law walked over and crouched by Bepo to pat him on the head.

"We'll enter winter island waters soon, and easing up on the engine should bring the temperature down too. We'll surface once we get there," Law told him. "Bear with it 'til then, Bepo."

The polar bear mink groaned into the metal grating of the floor but gave a weak thumbs up. From the helm, Shachi groaned loudly too.

"I can't believe you're making bear puns right after we literally stole a submarine from a marine base in the most badass heist ever," he complained. "Bear puns."

"The heat's gone to his brain," Penguin chipped in from where he was monitoring all the instruments. Penguin gestured above his own head, splaying his fingers. "Poof! He's gone and lost it under that fluffy hat of his."

Law hadn't intended to make a pun, but if it distracted his crew from the heat…

"You're all just bear-eft of good taste," said Law with a perfectly straight face. His crew groaned unanimously.

"Captainnnnn."

"Penguin, make him stoppppp."

"Captain, I'll give you fifty beri if you promise to never pun in front of me ever again."

"I'm not that cheap," Law shot back and Penguin laughed.

"True, true. Did you hear what that scientist guy said to that officer? This is the most costly marine ship ever developed. You got that expensive taste, Captain."

"Y'know what's expensive?" interjected Shachi, grinning. "Expensive is how we blew up all their other ships." He raised a fist. "Boom! Man, we really lit them up. With their own explosives too! Hahahaha!"

Penguin gave a supportive whoop and Bepo rolled over onto his back and cheered from the floor. Law laughed. They'd even managed to grab the blueprints, which would help with any future repairs. If any plan could ever go perfectly, this one had.

.

.

.

They surfaced in a rocky bay and opened the door to the summer of a winter island, the sun warm and the air chillingly crisp. Law shivered as the cold air rushed in the door.

"Fresh air!" Bepo ran out and skidded on the wet deck, crashing face-first into the railings. Shachi and Penguin made a collective sound of alarm, and Law started half-jogging over to Bepo in concern. Bepo raised a paw while using the other to hide his face.

"I'm okay," Bepo called with a notable embarrassed waver in his voice. "Don't look at me."

Law slowed to stand in the middle of the deck.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Law. Bepo nodded vigorously so Law looked away, taking in the scenery. The small island they had anchored at seemed deserted. The shore was all dark rocks and sparse wild vegetation.

"Okay, then." Law backed off a couple of steps, and looked back at Bepo. The polar bear mink peeped back from behind his paws. "Keep watch and cool down. Yell if there's anything we need to know."

Bepo nodded some more in acknowledgement, and Law made his way back to Penguin and Shachi.

"Is he okay?" asked Penguin. Law nodded, and Penguin and Shachi relaxed.

"He's just embarrassed," Law told them. "I've asked him to be lookout so he can cool down out here. If you two feel alright, the three of us will explore and take stock of what we have."

Penguin and Shachi looked at each other. Penguin crossed his arms and motioned for Shachi to speak. Shachi scratched the back of his head under his hat.

"Man, why you gotta say it like that, Cap'. Makes us sound like slackers," he complained. "Of course we'll help out. Can't make you do everything, right?"

.

.

.

One exploration and stock-take later, the Heart Pirates stared down at the cans of paint which Shachi found.

"I'm doing it," declared Shachi. "I'm painting our symbol over the marines' mark. I found the paint and it was my idea–"

"No way," interrupted Penguin. "You'll drip paint everywhere, and I don't want to have paint on me. Captain, don't let him."

"My painting would have style though!"

"We don't need so much style that some people think it's just a smiley face with some hair again!"

"I'll do it," said Law, but he was cut off instantly. Shachi, Penguin, and even Bepo, who had been watching the exchange quietly, rounded on him.

"No way," said Penguin.

"Captain, you can't come," said Bepo very seriously. "You might fall into the water when we aren't looking."

"Yeah. Anyway someone's gotta stay on the boat." Shachi realised he misspoke and hastily corrected himself. "I mean, the submarine. For like. Safety reasons. Didn't some people drown recently because they couldn't get back on their boat?"

Law looked at the three of them, who stared back very sternly.

"Alright," said Law, not wanting to argue. It was less work for him. "Penguin's neater, so he'll paint. Shachi is stronger so he can give Penguin a boost. Bepo is tallest, he should hold the paint can."

Shachi grumbled a little, but went along with Law's decision. They lowered the dinghy to the water. With the pulley system, it was lighter than expected, and lighter still with all four of them pulling. The dinghy hit the water with a little splash.

"Are you still going to sit on Shachi's shoulders?" asked Law, watching the waves rock the small boat.

"Yeah," sighed Penguin, looking at the dinghy too. "It shouldn't be too different from picking apples, right?"

"You're going to fall," predicted Law with deadpan certainty. "Just try not to hit your head when you do."

Shachi overheard and grabbed them both round the shoulders, shaking his head and waving one hand as if to ward off a fly.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't curse us like that, Captain! Have a little faith, right, Peng?" Shachi clapped Penguin on the back, lighthearted.

"If you drop me, I'll kick your ass," Penguin promised, tying the orange paint to a rope for Bepo to lower to the dinghy.

"You'd try," corrected Shachi before he grinned and did a flip over the side of the railing. He caught the side of the rope ladder and slid down, pretending to blow kisses like some swashbuckling hero. He landed in the dinghy just in time to catch the paint can Bepo sent down.

Bepo applauded. Penguin caught Law's eye.

"Show-off," complained Penguin loudly in fond exasperation. He passed Bepo a can of black paint to lower and he made his way down the rope ladder normally. Bepo followed soon after and Law was left alone on the deck. He took up a spot by the railing, where he could look down and watch as Shachi hoisted Penguin up on his shoulders.

"Make it big enough to see from marine headquarters!" Law shouted down at them. They looked up at him and grinned as Bepo cracked open the orange paint can.

"Yes, Captain!" all three shouted back, and they started painting.

.

.

.

There was something to be said about afternoons like that on the ocean. The bright yellow railing Law leaned against was warmed by the sun, and the salt breeze was cool against his skin. The voices of his crew calling 'left', 'a little higher', 'pass the paint' were muffled by the wind and the rhythmic waves against the hull of their new submarine. The shore rose picturesque from the crystal blue waters.

As expected, the wind picked up a couple of hours into the painting work and drove bigger and bigger waves into the bay where they were anchored. Penguin was just starting to draw the beginning of a wonky black circle before the little dinghy rocked violently and Shachi lost his balance. Law instinctively reached out.

"Room!" he called, and there was a rush of blue, a sphere appearing in his palm and expanding outwards steadily, too slowly. Law gritted his teeth, and willed his power to move faster, but to no avail.

With a yelp, Shachi and Penguin tipped into the water. The boat almost capsized, and Bepo landed face first in the boat, spilling a good half of the black paint. The blue sphere marking the domain of Law's powers spread over the dinghy a moment later.

"Gah!" exclaimed Shachi as he and Penguin surfaced, spluttering. "Cold!"

"Cold," agreed Penguin through his chattering teeth. He swam over to the side of the dinghy and made an attempt to climb up. He couldn't quite manage and ended up in the water again.

Law glared at his own hand. Too slow. Forget having a chance of beating Doflamingo in a fight, he would just get laughed at if he appeared before his ex-captain at this level. He needed practice badly.

Law grasped the air. The paintbrush that Penguin had dropped started floating.

"Pack up and come aboard before you catch a cold," Law called. "I'll handle it from here." He directed the brush with a flick of his fingers. It started making a slow and precise black line on the hull.

There was a long moment of stunned silence as Penguin and Shachi clung to the side of the dinghy, and Bepo sat up, rubbing the side of his head. Law finished the black circle and started on the eyes of the smiley face.

"You're so cool, Captain!" Bepo commented. His fur was blotched with black paint, on his ears and paws. He looked like a panda. The thought made Law smile as he finished both eyes and started on the mouth of the smiley face.

"What the hell, Captain!" Shachi burst out suddenly. "Say that you can use your powers like that before we end up in an ice bath next time!"

"Yeah, helping a little sooner would be appreciated next time!" yelled Penguin. He swam to the rope ladder. "If you didn't sink like a rock, I'd throw you in the water to see how you like it."

"I did offer to do the painting," Law reminded them. He finished the mouth and started on the radiating spikes of the glycoproteins. "But all of you insisted that I just watch you from here for my safety, right?"

"See if I ever look out for your safety again," grumbled Penguin as he made his way up the ladder. He reached the top and swung a leg over the railing. "Can't believe you watched us struggle like a bunch of fools for three whole hours when you could have done this from the start."

"It's more entertaining this way." Law grinned. It felt right too, that all of them contributed to painting their symbol in some way.

With a few motions of his hand, Law completed the mark on their new home.

.

 ===/END\===

(Read on Ao3.)