#it’s been a while since I’ve mapped colors

[in-a-closet]

A concept sketch 🐞 🐈‍⬛

[emmyrosee]

“How come you get to ride in the cart?” He says, a pout in his voice but a smirk curling at his lips. Your hip cocks up as your arms cross over your chest, more than willing to duke this out with him in the entrance of the store.

“Uh, because I’m adorable?” Your words only make his grin spread even more, he knows he’s supposed to make an argument against that but he can’t bring himself to; it’s true, you’re perfect in every trace of the word.

But who was he to go down without a fight?

“But baaaaabe,” he whines further, folding his torso into the cart. “I’m so sore from practice and ‘Samu hit me with the ball and I’ve been walking funny since, and I just want my perfect, stunning, and oh, so smart-“

“Oh my god, fine, just get in the cart!” You snort, the giggles bubbling from your lips. He merely grins victoriously before scrambling himself up and into the cart, other shoppers watching in annoyance and amusement as you watch his knees fold up to his chest.

“Comfy?” You snort, to which he nods over enthusiastically. You roll your eyes before folding yourself over the front of the cart to plant a kiss on his head.

“What do you even need, anyways?” He hums, his head turning back and forth in the superstore, sharp eyes glazing over the shelves. You lean on the handles of the cart, looking around and making a beeline straight to the snacks, giving him a dramatic sigh as you do so.

“Well,” you hum. “I know you wanted m&m’s and popcorn, but I also wanted to grab a few bags of Doritos and since the fuckface I decided to let spoon me at night ate the last of my cookies,” your eyes glare dead at him, only to be met with a wide, toothy grin. “I need to buy more.”

“The guy who spoons you at night sounds hot.”

“The guy who spoons me at night sounds like I’m going to smother him with a pillow.” With that, you two make your way to the snack aisle, your eyes glazing over the contents of the shelves hungrily. “You want any drinks or anything?”

“Nah, I’ll just take whatever you buy.”

You glare at him, “that’s kinda the reason we’re in here in the first place, you clown.”

He snorts at the nickname before hooking his chin over the side of the cart, his sharp eyes flicking over the colored bottles and cans. “Toss me a grape soda.”

“Grape?”

“Yeah.”

“Mid,” you scoff, grabbing him a can to put in the cart. He blinks unamused at you, but ultimately keeps his mouth shut while you make your choice.

“Oh, but my choice is mid,” he teases as you plop a can of lemon lime in his lap.

“This flavor has been worshipped all over the world- you just like the taste of cough medicine or something.”

“My mom only buys the bubblegum flavored cough medicine.”

“Feral.”

The little back and forth you share passes the time as you turn the cart to the chips and Candy, and without sparing a second, you grab the Doritos and toss them carelessly into the cart, smirking as you hear them crunch against his head and body.

“You know, I may annoy you, but I am still in the cart,” he says, shielding himself from another bag of chips that you swat in the cart. When he turns his head up to glare at you, he sees the goofy smile spread over your cheeks, and he’ll happily get beat up by your snacks if it meant he could see it forever.

It’s simple. It’s comfortable, annoying each other throughout the aisles and laughing when the other makes a stupid jab, but Rintaro knows that this is all he’s worked up for. A domesticity that had to be crafted carefully, and he’s honored that you decided to map it with your love.

It’s nothing all like he’d expected love to be like- and now, it’s love he’d never change for anything.

“Get your cookies and lets get the hell out of here.”

“Why? Afraid we’ll miss another episode that we’ve seen forty-eight thousand times?” You jeer, steering the cart to the back wall, where all the cookies are tucked away. He decides to say nothing, merely letting your own joke make you chuckle.

He says you're easy to sedate like that. Really, he does it because the way you get the last word makes you happy.

He watches your lips pull back into an almost relieved smile, grabbing the box of cookies and nodding happily, all before turning back to him in the cart.

“Now be careful,” you warn, clutching the sweet to your chest protectively. “Suna, I’m trusting you with the most precious cargo in the cart. Do not blow it.”

“God, no need to bring out the government name, just give me the damned cookies,” he scoffs, making grabby hands and rolling his eyes when you hesitate. “And for the record, I’m the most precious cargo in the cart. Don’t even start with me.”

“You’re like. Fifth, on the tier list.”

“I’m going to fart on your pillow. Give me the cookies.”

You do, with another small smirk. "You want anything else, baby?" You ask, though you proceed to the checkout.

"Nah, I think I'm good, booger."

You hum and steer him to the self checkout, letting you bag the snacks while he passes them to you, citing you both as the "dream team"- which briefly collapses when you refuse to take his card to pay for everything and chuckling as he scrambles for the wallet tucked in his back pocket.

"You're annoying," he grumbles at your lack of acceptance for his chivalry.

"And you're squishing my snacks- you trying to sleep on the couch?"

Regardless, you push him out of the store and into the night air, and even if he'd rather chew on glass than admit it, the way your face relaxes at the feeling of fresh air makes him melt, and he smiles dopily until you jerk the cart.

"Okay. Get out."

"Huh?"

For a moment, just a moment, it's possible that Suna Rintaro forgot he's in the cart.

"Get out. I'm not wheeling you home, babe."

He sends you a playful glare before using massive hands to grip the side of the cart for leverage. He tries to push back, but his legs can't extend much farther out.

At this point, you're just watching, one brow cocked in amusement and tongue licking the corner of your mouth victoriously. If you didn't look so hot, Rintaro would be furious.

“Babe?”

“What's up, player?"

There’s a silence between you both. You're the absolute worst in this situation by barely even acknowledging his struggle. his lanky frame, still in the wired shopping cart, looks so cramped, and maybe, just maybe, if one of the Gods loved him, they would smite him down from the face of the earth right now.

You smirk, “problems?"

"I'm gonna cheat on you with Kita-San."

"Like he'll he's gonna want you when you're stuck in a cart you begged to be in."

He gnaws at his lip in focus, trying to will his knees to unbuckle from their position and out of the cart.

But they refuse.

He whimpers in his throat while you point and finally cackle at him, loudly, rudely, being absolutely no help in this scenario, and he finally hides his face in his bent knees in embarrassment.

“I’m stuck in the cart.”

[ruthytwoshakes]

after 30 hours we’re done!!!

I love little pootis so much, a fantastic series. If you haven’t seen it yet I really recommend it!! I bought one of the plushies for my little siblings for Christmas hehe.

I’ve been wanted to make some fanart for it for a while, but I wanted it to be special! Since it means too much to me and my family :3 so I tried my hand at digital painting again! Here’s my process:

First I started out with the sketch and putting in the values, (that image is the scene I was referencing.) and since I have absolutely no idea how perspective works I just guessed and went “eh good enough.” I also used my radical composition skills to give the whole thing some life! (Golden ratio my beloved.) I should have gotten some reference images, first mistake, but I was way too excited lol.

Then I duplicated the layer and started painting over my sketch using some painting and blending brushes. Unfortunately I forgot to capture any in-betweens of this process so it makes it a little hard to explain. But once I got my values down and my painting rendered to point I wanted it to be, we started coloring!

And oh god! This is why the painting took 30 hours! This was my first time painting using this method, so I was so not ready for the coloring part. I’m in a love-hate relationship with gradient maps so the coloring was mostly done with blending modes, I think I used the linear light mode?

After watching a stupid amount of videos by Marc Brunet I finally got it! Used just one overlay layer and adjusted my colors and values as needed for this one. Used a couple gradients and other techniques to get the snow and the water looking how I wanted, and we’re almost done!

My favorite step! Adding a bunch of textures and sparkly stuff! It’s not for everyone but I really like it. And congratulations we finished our first painting yippee! Thanks for reading :3

little pootis by @quazies

[dailyhatsune]

hi! not exactly a request but i do wanna ask, whats your process when you're rendering more paint like art? (if that makes sense, English isnt my first language so apologies hdskhsjdbd) i really love how you use the colors and im curious how you do it :0

i’ve been meaning to answer this one for a while so here’s how i painted miku in today’s post (put under the read more because yeah prepare for a long post

i’d also like to preface this by saying that i never follow a set way of doing things, so in terms of what my personal process is like, these are only broad strokes of what i do! sometimes i’ll combine or skip parts entirely, depending on how i feel. also, this is not a tutorial, just how i do things, so please don’t treat it like one :’D this will read like the ‘how to draw an owl’ picture if you do

first, like every artist, i sketch. more specifically, i’m getting an idea of what i want to paint later on. this could be how a scene is set up or in this case, how a character is posed. here i’m not concerned about details or getting everything perfectly, i’m only planning how the thing will be composed. maybe a lot of canvas size changing, or adjusting what miku’s doing (note how busted miku’s right hand looks from all the transforming!) however, i still have to be concerned with how clear the sketch will be to future me, because the sketch won’t be any good if i can’t read what miku’s doing

after that, i lay down a flat gray under the sketch, mainly focusing on giving miku a clear silhouette. this is also a good time to make adjustments to the composition on the fly if i suddenly feel like something can be improved upon, like shortening miku’s left arm from the sketch!

after painting a flat silhouette, i start shading in grayscale, focusing only on lighting. i usually do it in two passes, one for the lightest and darkest tones i’ll use (not black and white) and then a second for midtones to blend them better with the base gray but i forgot to screenshot the result of the first pass 🗿 nevertheless, here is where i can start adding some amount of details. i’m not including any extra accessories yet, just focusing on the base design of the outfit and the character herself (for anyone wanting to draw characters from That Gacha Game, this is how i personally make the process more bearable for myself.) i still use the dark gray to separate where certain details (like the facial features and fingers) begin and end, mainly to make colouring more bearable later.

now here’s where i get the Good Colours. it’s a cheat lol. i put a gradient map layer over the grayscale painting so that there’s a little bit of color to start. some gradient maps can be applied as is, some need the layer settings adjusted to make it look good. this one, for example, is a (free) gradient map set from the csp assets store that needs you to set the layer opacity to 20% and to set the blending mode to color to achieve this result. in general, i tend to pick which gradient map i want to use based on vibes, or basically whether i want the work to be warmer or cooler, colour-wise. but this does do quite a bit of lifting for the colors in my stuff.

and then, finally, i add the colours. i add flat base colours in an overlay layer. at this stage, i’ve made the character silhouette clear enough that i don’t need to refer to the sketch anymore for what miku looks like. also, the gradient map layer does its magic by making the shading a bit more vibrant than it would’ve been without it. after that i paint over with a new layer to add details like the lace.

and then i put some extra shading on top. basically this is where the ‘better lighting’ happens. again, this isn’t a tutorial, so i’m not here to say what each part of the lighting is, but i’ve labeled which layers do which job. in other works where the lighting within a scene is more defined (from a window, from a small crack in the walls, etc) the glow dodge layer may be more opaque and sharper, but since this isn’t a work with that, the lighting was applied using an airbrush. the linear burn layer is also there to make the whole thing darker so the glow dodge doesn’t end up oversaturating miku. i also usually match the lights to the vibe i want, and use a complementary color for the shadows. so here you can see i have warm colors on the glow dodge layer, but light purple on both the linear burn and multiply layer.

and that’s it for the character—here’s a gif showing how each layer adds to miku! (sorry it’s so toasty)

as for the background, depending on the complexity, it may go through a similar process, or if i can settle with flat image backgrounds, i just go for that. it’s ok to use external image materials. i didn’t have a background in mind for this miku in specific, so i got some default csp materials and threw together something

and that’s about a rough overview of what my process for more finished works looks like! again, art is a fluid process so i never specifically stick to certain steps all the time, and you shouldn’t either. i can probably answer why i’d pick this colour over another in one particular work, but it’s something that kinda has to be learned on a grander scale. i think everyone can already feel what colors work with what atmosphere or what setting, even if they can’t immediately explain why. colors and composition do take some level of experimentation to find what works best!

[moonlight0934]

Crocodile Tears

Damian punches the last goon in the face before turning back to his brothers. Tim and Dick are both done dealing with their goons too which means the only target left is Joker himself, and Bruce went after him a while ago. Tim drops his staff, causing Dick and Damian to just stare at him.

“Sorry, my hand seized up,” Tim says, his face red.

Damian laughs.

“That’s ridiculous. You’re a vigilante, and you just dropped your weapon?”

Tim grumbles something as he grabs his staff.

“Shut up.”

Damian huffs, and turns away.

“We should go give Batman backup,” he says after a quiet second.

“You know that he doesn’t want us going after Joker,” Dick says.

“So what? He’s not that much better. He could die,” Damian replies, folding his arms.

“As much as I want to trust him, he doesn’t have the best track record,” Tim says.

“Fine, let’s go find him.”

Damian nods.

“He turned his tracker off when he went to find Joker. So, we should split up and look for him,” Tim says, pulling up a map of the city. “Nightwing, you take this area, while Robin can take the other one. I’ll go over to the harbor.”

“Are you alright with that?” Dick asks.

Damian nods again.

“That sounds acceptable. I will radio if I find anything.”

They disperse, and Damian heads to his area of the city. There’s an abandoned apartment building that has a few lights on. At first, Damian thinks he’s found the fight between Batman and Joker. However, as he gets closer, he realizes that there’s no way. It’s far too quiet, and there isn’t much noticeable movement from inside. Damian still walks into the building, and he takes the stairs since he doesn’t know for sure that anything is happening.

Damian slips into the apartment with the lights on, and sees the weirdest scene in front of him. Jason, who hadn’t been responding to their attempts at communication since Joker started attacking, is sitting across the table from Scarecrow. Damian immediately holds his breath as they both turn to look at him. Damian slips his filtered mask on his face as Jason smiles.

“Hey Baby Bat, what are you doing here?”

“Hood what are you doing?”

Damian types out an SOS message on his communicator. It explains that he’s with Scarecrow, and he doesn’t know the situation.

That should warn them to wear a mask. Who knows what I’ve already been exposed to. It might be in the whole building.

“What do you mean? I’m talking with one of the people that lost their homes in the recent arson cases. I’m going to help him if I have the opportunity.”

Damian narrows his eyes.

“No, you’re not. That’s Scarecrow.”

Scarecrow smiles at Damian.

“Well, it seems that you didn’t breathe in the gas that’s coating this room. That was very smart of you. I guess I’m just going to have to give you a shot of it so you can tell whatever backup you have that it was a false alarm.”

“What?” Jason asks, his eyes slightly glassed over.

“Can you give this to him?” Scarecrow asks, holding a syringe out to Jason. “It’s a vaccine for something that’s been going around this area. You wouldn’t want your brother to catch it, would you?”

Jason takes it, shaking his head.

“Come here.”

Damian shakes his head.

“Hood, snap out of it.”

Jason continues walking towards him. Damian takes a step back, his eyes trained on Scarecrow.

“Come on, it’s not that bad. It’s just a shot. You’ve never thrown a tantrum about a shot before.”

“I don’t throw tantrums!” Damian cries, obviously offended.

Jason grabs his arm, but Damian kneecaps him. He twists his arm away from Jason, and storms over to Scarecrow. Damian grabs Scarecrow’s collar, but Jason tackles him before he can do anything.

“What is wrong with you? Attacking a civilian?” Jason demands, anger coloring his tone.

“Shut up, and get off of me!” Damian cries, trying to push Jason off of him.

Jason is about to stick the needle into his arm when the door slams open. Dick comes in, and stares at both of them.

“Get off of him!” Dick says, his tone hard. Dick’s eyes start to glass over slightly.

“Put your mask on,” Damian demands, then drives his knee into Jason’s stomach.

Jason stumbles, leaning against the wall, and Damian climbs out from underneath him.

“Why would I need a mask? You and Hood need to stop fighting, and get along.”

“Because of Scarecrow!”

“Scarecrow isn’t here, Da-”

Damian is across the room in an instant, and he presses his hand against Dick’s mouth.

“Were you just about to say my name in costume?” Damian hisses, his eyes dark.

“Calm down. It’s just us, Hood, and some civilian. I’m sure he won’t say anything.”

“That’s not a random civilian, that’s Scarecrow. Either way, you shouldn’t be saying my name in front of civilians.”

“Did you hit your head?”

Jason climbs to his feet, but he looks confused.

“What was I doing?”

“You were just about to sedate Robin because he attacked me,” Scarecrow says, putting on his best scared voice. He sniffles, and a single tear rolls down his face.

“Can you just put the burlap sack back on your head, because you are the ugliest crier I’ve ever seen,” Damian snaps before turning back to Dick.

“Robin, you can’t talk to people like that. Is that true, Hood? Did Robin attack him, and were you trying to sedate him?”

Jason looks down at the syringe in his hand, and then nods. Scarecrow continues fake crying in the background.

They’re both really high by now, so I have to figure out how to restrain both of them, and not let Scarecrow get away. This is going to be difficult, but I have to figure something out before someone else shows up without a mask.

Dick grabs Damian by the shoulders.

“You have to calm down, Robin.”

Damian glares at him, then slams his elbow into Dick’s face as hard as he can. Dick stumbles back into the wall while Jason rushes forward to grab Damian. Damian ducks, throwing a batarang at Scarecrow, who is trying to move closer to the window. It doesn’t seem like he’s actively trying to sneak away, just trying to make it easier to do if Damian does get the upper hand. The batarang hits him square in the jaw, knocking him off of his feet.

Jason goes crazy at that, and grabs Damian like he’s a rag doll. Damian almost snaps his neck, but then remembers exactly who he’s fighting. Jason slams him against the wall hard enough to crack a few of his ribs. Damian gasps.

“You just assaulted a civilian!” Jason forces Damian’s face up to lock eyes with him. “Do you understand how serious this is? I thought we were past this? You can’t keep acting like that!”

Damian blinks, all of the rational thoughts leaving his brain. Scarecrow is getting up now, wiping the tear tracks off of his face. Damian bites his lip.

“Yeah, you should be upset. You’re acting just like your grandfather.”

Jason drops Damian, and hits the floor a second later. Tim is standing behind him, a mask in place. Dick is also unconscious exactly where Damian left him. Tim knocks Scarecrow out too before turning back to Damian.

“Hey, are you ok? Did he hurt you?”

Damian shakes his head even though his ribs and back are screaming.

“Ok, well we need to get them out of here. Batman had Joker handled already. I assume that Scarecrow was trying to use the distraction to get a hold of Hood. What he planned to do after that, I’m not sure. For now though, we just need to get them home. Can you help me get Nightwing to the car?”

Damian nods again, almost mechanically at this point. Tim looks concerned, but doesn’t say anything. Once they get Jason and Dick to the infirmary, Damian doesn’t wait to hear if they’re ok, or if Bruce found out what Scarecrow wanted. He just changes, and goes straight to his room. He locks the door behind himself, and throws himself into bed. He ends up crying alone until he falls asleep, unable to get his brother’s words out of his head.

Tim drops into a chair, his whole body aching. 

“Do you know what’s going on with Damian?” Bruce asks as he checks both Jason and Dick’s IVs. 

“No, I got there right as Jason was pushing Damian against a wall. I have no idea what happened before that. I’m worried about him though, because he completely shut down earlier. I know something happened, but I’m not sure what it was.” 

“Ok, well, can you stay with them while I go check on him? There probably wasn’t any surveillance in the area, so all we can do is see if we can get him to talk.” 

Tim nods, turning his attention to his other two brothers. Bruce walks up the stairs, leaving the cave in complete silence. Bruce is gone for almost fifteen minutes, and he doesn’t look happy when he walks back in. 

“How’d it go?” 

“He was asleep when I went in there. Of course I accidentally woke him up, but he kept insisting that everything was fine. That it was just a long day, and that he was tired. I asked if he was sure that he wasn’t exposed to anything, and he said yes. That was when he kicked me out. He wasn’t standing weird, or wincing, so it probably wasn’t an injury that he’s hiding. I’ll see if I can talk him into an X-ray later, just to be sure.” 

Tim nods, his gaze distant. “What do you think happened?” he asks after Bruce is settled in between Jason Dick’s beds. 

“I don’t know. They were under the influence of Scarecrow’s newest concoction, so it could be anything. That’s more what I’m worried about. There’s no way we’re going to guess what it was, and I’m not sure exactly where to start.” 

“Well, you are the greatest detective, so I’m sure between the two of us we can figure it out,” Tim offers, trying to be uplifting. 

“Yeah, I’m just so tired. I know that we should figure this out now, but I’m so exhausted I can barely think.” 

“That makes sense. You just fought Joker by yourself, then immediately got a call saying that something had happened with three of your sons. That definitely makes for a stressful evening.” 

Bruce hums, but his eyes are still sad. “How do you think he got Jason there in the first place?” 

“Probably some kind of bait, or trap. Maybe he set up a meeting, then gassed the whole place? I’m not sure, but it definitely could be that.” 

Bruce nods. “That makes sense. We’ll talk to him later, and see what he remembers.” 

Tim forces himself to his feet, aching muscles protesting immediately. 

“Alright, well, I’m heading to bed. Let me know when they wake up.” 

He walks up the stairs, stopping by Damian’s door for a second, but ultimately deciding against knocking. He changes before flopping into bed to get some sleep. 

Damian wakes up to his ribs burning. The pain has extended from his back to his hip, and he winces as he shifts. 

I’m getting weak. I was barely able to hide my pain from Father when he came in here earlier. I can’t let myself get complacent. 

He starts stretching lightly, and the pain in his back and hip doesn’t get any better. It’s still dark outside, but that doesn’t really mean anything, so he checks his phone for the time. It’s almost seven a.m., so he gently climbs back into bed. His ribs shift with the movement, and he has to bite his lip to keep himself quiet. Damian reaches out to grab his phone, then dials Jon’s number. 

He answers on the last ring, “Hey, Damian. It’s kind of early for you to be calling me on a Sunday. Is everything ok?” 

“Yes, everything is fine. I just needed someone to speak to. I know you’re busy though, so it’s ok if you don’t have time to talk.” 

“You’re just like your grandfather. You can’t keep acting like this.” 

“No, don’t worry about it. I’m not busy at all. What did you want to talk about?” 

“Anything. Can you just tell me what you’ve been up to?” 

“Yeah, but, Damian, are you sure you’re ok? I know that whatever happened, you don’t want to talk about it, but you sound like you’re in pain.” 

“It’s just a few broken ribs. It’s not a big deal.” 

“I guess there isn’t much you can do for broken ribs. Anyway, you want to know what I’ve been up to… I’ve been working with the cows. One of them kicked me the other day, and I crashed into a wall. I was fine though. It was wild. How are your friends?” 

“They’re fine. Titus is sitting outside of my door right now begging to be let in.” 

“Aw, poor guy.” 

“Yeah, but he doesn’t understand the concept of broken ribs, and he’s too big for me to trust him not to hurt me.” 

“Oh, yeah. You should definitely keep him out then. I didn’t even think about that.” Jon keeps chattering, and Damian lets his head drop back. He listens to what Jon is saying even though he’s barely processing it. He’s starting to fall asleep by the time Jon says, “Hey, I gotta go. Mom is heading up the stairs to tell me that it’s time to get ready for church. Do you want me to call you back afterwards?” 

“No, that’s alright. I’m going to get some more sleep, and then check on my family. We had an incident with Joker and Scarecrow yesterday.” 

“Is that how you got hurt?” 

“I thought we were past this?” 

“Yeah, that’s exactly what happened. I got hurt during a run in with Scarecrow. Anyway, thank you for talking with me.” 

“Yeah, anytime. Just take it easy until you’re feeling better.” 

“I will, goodbye Jonathan.” 

“Bye, Damian.” 

Damian hangs up, then shifts as slowly as he can onto his side to take pressure off of his back. He falls asleep again quickly after changing positions. He doesn’t wake up again until light is streaming into his room, which is only a couple of hours later. It’s ten by then, so Damian forces himself out of bed. He walks into the bathroom with clothes so he can get a shower. His back is purple, and his chest has a thick black line across it from Jason’s arm slamming into him. Damian winces at it, but continues what he’s doing. Once he finishes his shower, he heads down the stairs to find Tim curled up on the couch. 

“Hey, Baby Bat. Come sit with me?” 

“I was going to check on Grayson and Todd.” 

“Jason already left. He was angry and confused about yesterday. Apparently one of his people betrayed him, and he went to deal with it as soon as he woke up. You actually just missed Dick. He’s heading to the store with Bruce. I think Bruce just wanted an excuse to talk to him about something, but that just leaves us. So, come sit with me. You can talk to Dick when he gets back.” 

Damian walks over, and sits down besides Tim. Tim pulls Damian a little closer, and Damian bites his cheek to stop himself from crying out. 

“Are you alright?” he says softly. 

“Yes, I’m fine.” 

“What happened yesterday before I got there? Jason and Dick don’t remember anything after being put under the influence of that drug.” 

Damian huffs, looking away. “Was it Scarecrow? Did he do something? Was it one of the other two? I didn’t see most of it, but it did not look like Jason was being too gentle with you.” 

“He wasn’t, but I’m not a baby. I don’t need someone to coddle me, because Todd was a little aggressive. I can handle some bruises, especially since it wasn’t his fault.” The words sound hollow even to Damian’s ears. Especially the last comment, but he lets the silence continue instead of trying harder with the situation. 

“It’s ok if something did happen, buddy. You’re safe here, and you can be honest with us.” 

“I know that I can be honest with you, Timothy.” 

You’re not the problem. I could still be the same person I was when I got here, and you’d still love me. I can’t ruin whatever Todd and Father have right now. I know that they probably won’t ever kick me out, but I don’t want to ruin anything else, especially since I’m a bad person. 

“You have your thinking face on. Whatcha thinking about?” Tim asks, putting his cheek on top of Damian’s head. 

Damian lets himself relax against Tim. “Nothing. There’s a lot of thoughts running through my head, but not a lot of coherence. Can we watch something?” 

“Of course. What do you want to watch?” 

He’s letting it go for now, but I know that he’s just trying to let me come to him. What do I do now? I’m going to pretend like nothing ever happened. 

“We can just turn on whatever anime you’re currently watching.” 

Tim smirks. “Yeah, I’m sure you want to do that.” 

He grabs the remote, and turns on one of Damian’s documentaries before settling back down against the couch. He keeps an arm around Damian’s shoulders, but it’s loose now. Damian finds himself falling asleep again even as he tries to force his eyes open. Tim laughs as he runs a hand through Damian’s hair. 

“You’re doing this on purpose,” Damian complains, scrunching up his nose. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I think you just seem like you need some sleep. It was a very long day yesterday.” 

Damian rolls his eyes, but lets them drop closed after that. The door opens, startling Damian awake. He sits up, pulling away from Tim. Tim stands up, stretching. 

“That’s probably Bruce and Dick.” 

He walks to the doorway, and Dick hugs him. 

“Hey, Timmy. How’s Damian? Was he hurt last night?” 

Damian stands up as Tim answers, “No, he’s fine. He’s right behind me by the couch.” 

Dick turns away from Tim to Damian. He walks over, and wraps his arms around Damian. 

“I am so sorry about yesterday.” 

Pain flares through Damian’s body, and he has to disguise it with a frown. He doesn’t move to hug Dick back, because the thought of moving his arms feels like torture. 

“What are you referring to?” 

“When you sent out that message last night. I don’t know what was wrong with my communicator, but it didn’t give me any words. I was told that you added a message to your SOS, but I didn’t get it. That’s why I came without a mask on. I had no way of knowing that it was Scarecrow specifically.” 

“Things happen. It’s not like you broke your communicator on purpose, or something. Either way, it’s fine. This actually makes a lot more sense than you just showing up unprepared.” 

Dick smiles. “Yeah, I try not to do that. I didn’t know. I just got an SOS, and pulled up your tracker to see where you were. You’re sure that you’re alright?” 

“I will be.” 

Dick frowns, obviously a little confused. 

“I’m heading down to the cave. I have some reports to write, and it’s quiet down there.” 

He walks past them even as Bruce follows him. “Damian, can we talk?” 

“Why?” Damian asks quietly as he sits down in front of the computer. 

“You know that you can talk to me about anything, right?” 

“Hm.” 

“That’s not an answer. I need you to know that I’m here for you Damian.” 

Damian’s eyes are burning now, because even if he is, Damian will never be as important as the sons he picked. The ones that are good for things other than killing, and that were raised for better things. 

“Yeah, whatever,” Damian bitterly replies, knowing how badly that he would get punished for that if he were anywhere else. 

Bruce doesn’t scold him though, he just leaves him to work. He ends up staying down there for the rest of the day avoiding his family, which means he’s exhausted by the time Tim and Bruce come down the stairs for patrol. 

“Are you heading out?” Damian asks, keeping his eyes on the floor. 

“Yeah, but you don’t have to come. You can just rest tonight,” Bruce says, then kisses Damian on the top of the head.

“I’m going to be staying here and working comms tonight. If you need anything at all, just let me know,” Tim says, giving Damian a thin smile. 

Damian returns it, then stands up. “I think I’m going to head to bed now. I have school in the morning, and would like to be adequately rested.” 

He heads up the stairs, but he can hear Bruce say, “He’s not actually going to sleep at nine thirty, is he?” 

“Probably not. He’s probably going to read, draw, or find something else to do,” Tim replies. 

Damian doesn’t stick around for the rest of the conversation, too tired to really care. He goes up the stairs in a haze, not really paying attention to what he’s doing. Alfred is the only one in the manor right now anyway, and he’s cleaning in the living room. He still can’t completely relax, his training kicking in. However, he’s tired enough that he isn’t hyper aware of everything around him. Damian opens his door, and steps inside. He goes to take another step, but Alfred the cat walks directly underneath his foot. He pulls back fast enough not to step on him, but he also loses his balance. Something in his chest shifts again when he hits the ground, and pain overcomes all of his senses before he can even make a sound. 

Tim shifts, an uncomfortable feeling spiking his anxiety. It’s only ten, and Bruce isn’t due back for another three hours at least. Also, he’s been checking in every fifteen minutes, just like he’s supposed to. So, it can’t be him, and Tim can hear Alfred upstairs. He’s gotten quieter, but he’s obviously doing something in the kitchen. 

I really shouldn’t have expected to hear from Damian. He’s only been upstairs for half an hour, and he’s probably unwinding. I’m sure something happened, and pushing him isn’t going to make him tell me. However, I don’t normally feel like this, and this really doesn’t feel right. Something is wrong, and checking on him isn’t bad, right? I’m not going to be pushing too hard? I won’t even ask anything, I’ll just make sure that he’s ok. 

Tim stands up. “B, I’ll be right back. I’m going to check on something, and then I’ll be back.” 

“Alright.” 

He walks up the stairs, poking his head into the kitchen. Alfred is making tea. 

“Hello.” 

“Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I was just making sure that Damian wasn’t in here with you.” 

He heads up to Damian’s room, pausing at the top of the stairs. There’s an odd sound drawing his attention. It sounds kind of like a mix between gasping and gurgling. Tim jogs to Damian’s room. His door is open, and he’s on the floor. There’s blood on the floor too, a lot of it. Tim kneels down, his mind racing. 

Damian doesn’t have any obvious injuries, but there’s blood covering Damian’s face. It takes Tim a few seconds longer than it normally would to figure out what’s going on. Damian has gone quiet by then, and Tim gently picks him up. He can’t tell if Damian’s chest is rising and falling anymore. He races back down the stairs, barely pausing by the kitchen to ask Alfred to come down to the cave with him. He puts Damian down on a bed before racing over to flip off all the comms. Alfred is standing beside the bed when Tim gets back over there. 

“Call Leslie,” he says, grabbing something from a table nearby. 

Tim doesn’t look at it, think about what it is, or wait around to see what Alfred does with it. He walks back over to the computer to call Leslie. She gets there less than ten minutes after they get off the phone, and Tim is left alone in the main area of the cave. 

“Red? Are you still there?” Bruce asks, sounding confused and concerned. 

Tim reaches over to flip the comms back on from his end. “Yeah, I’m still here. You need to come home.” 

“Why, what happened?” 

“I’m not sure. I found Damian passed out upstairs. He was choking on blood, but I have no idea what actually happened.” 

“Is he alright?” Bruce asks, sounding slightly panicked. 

Tim sighs. He knows that Bruce doesn’t mean alright, he’s asking if Damian is going to be alright. 

“I don’t know. Just come back please.” 

“I’m on my way back right now,” Bruce says, and Tim drops into his chair. “Can you call Dick? He should still be in town, and he’ll want to know what’s going on,” Bruce says as Tim hears his car roar to life. 

“Yeah, I can do that. I’ll see you when you get here.” 

He flips the comms back off, switching off the noise from Bruce’s end too. He has to take a minute to compose himself before he can call Dick. Surprisingly, Bruce and Dick get there around the same time, and it’s only fifteen minutes later. 

“Where’s Damian?” Dick asks as they both jog over. 

“He’s with Leslie and Alfred. I haven’t heard anything since they left with him earlier.” 

“Do we know what happened?” 

“No, we don’t,” Bruce says, putting a hand on Dick’s shoulder. “It’ll be ok, but we have to stay calm. We have to figure out what could have happened. Was there any sign of a break in?” 

“No, there wasn’t, and I think we all know what happened. He had to have gotten hurt yesterday during the fight with Scarecrow. He’s been lethargic, and slept most of today. He also hasn’t gone anywhere since then,” Tim says, folding his arms. 

“He would have said something,” Dick argues. 

“Not if something else happened while he was there. Speaking of which, I figured out how we can see what happened. Do you guys remember the cameras in the dominos? I was thinking that we could access that. I checked, and Damian keeps his on almost all the time, just like he was told to. It’s surprising, but we can watch what was happening through his mask camera,” Tim says, motioning to the computer where he had already pulled up the footage. 

Bruce nods, and the three of them walk over. Tim starts the footage, and it begins with the end of the fight against Joker’s goons. So, Tim fast forwards until Damian walks into the apartment building. They’re quiet as they watch Damian enter the apartment to find Jason and Scarecrow sitting together. They watch all the way until Jason slams Damian into the wall. They see Damian’s right hand go for Jason’s neck only to pull back at the last second. Then they hear a crack when he actually hits the wall, and Jason starts yelling at Damian. Damian doesn’t do anything to get away from Jason, and then Tim shows up. Tim pauses the video at that point, pinching his nose hard. 

“I’m going to call Jason. He needs to get down here.” 

He walks away as Dick says something softly. He can’t hear what it is, nor does he care. He calls Jason, putting the phone up to his ear. 

“What do you want, Tim?” 

“You need to come back to the cave. Now, before you protest, or argue, I’m going to remind you what I am capable of. I can make your life a living hell, starting with posting all of the pictures from my blackmail file on every social media platform around. Now, I don’t want to hear any questions, or arguments. You’re going to come here, and I’ll explain when you get here, ok?” 

Jason is quiet for a few seconds before saying, “I don’t like you threatening me, but yeah. I can be there in half an hour.” 

“Good.” 

Tim hangs up, leaning heavily against the wall. He stays there for a while, letting Dick and Bruce talk. He waits until Jason gets there to head back to the computer. 

“Jay,” Dick says, his eyes red. 

“What’s he crying about?” 

“We found Damian passed out from a punctured lung. We haven’t gotten any word on that yet, but we did find this,” Tim says, pulling up the footage again. 

He lets it play from the beginning until the end again, keeping his eyes trained on the screen instead of letting them drift towards Jason. 

“Shit, I hit the kid pretty hard, didn’t I? That was really rough of me to say. Do you think he…” 

“Took it seriously? Yeah, he did. We need to do something about this. Have some kind of conversation about this.” 

“Damn, I know that I was drugged, but I can’t believe I said that. Like, who am I to talk? He’s trying, and I think he’s trying too hard.” 

“Yes, but he’s been trying that hard to get away from his heritage. You didn’t have anything to prove, and he’s always felt like he does. I think he was quiet about his ribs because he thought it would be fine, and he was scared of what would happen between you and Bruce,” Tim says, leaning against the computer. 

Jason scrubs a hand across his face. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” 

The room gets quiet after that, and no one talks for a long while. Eventually Alfred comes back in. He looks tired. 

“How is Damian?” Bruce asks softly as Alfred approaches them. 

“He’ll be alright. He won’t wake up for a few hours though. He has seven broken ribs, and a fractured spine.” 

Damian wakes up in significantly less pain than he passed out in. He barely remembers tripping over his cat, but he can tell that he’s in the infirmary now. There’s machines recording his vitals, and an IV in his hand. Tim is sitting next to him, his head resting in his palm. Damian can hear people talking outside of the room, but he can’t tell what they’re saying. Tim blinks slowly, his eyes coming back into focus. 

“Dames, hey. How are you feeling?” 

“I’m… I’m fine, I think. What happened?” 

“Your ribs punctured your lung. I found you upstairs. The others are talking outside about what happened with Scarecrow. You had your mask camera on, so we were able to look back at everything.” 

Damian feels his face start to burn, and he looks away. 

“I’m sorry, Timothy. I failed badly.” 

Tim leans forward, putting his face into his hands. 

“No, I’m sorry. We have failed you so badly, Damian. We love you so much, and we all know that you’ve… I won’t even say changed, because it’s not accurate. You are sweet, kind, helpful, and empathetic. All of those bad habits weren’t your fault at all. The murder, anger, and violence were choices made for you. The choices you’ve made since being given any options are so different. You’re vegetarian, you rescue animals, you volunteer at multiple spots in town, and you help people every night. 

You are one of the kindest children that I’ve ever met, and people have hurt you more than any of us can understand. I know that Jason didn’t mean a word that came out of his mouth, and you need to know that too. We all have seen who you are, and we love you for it.” 

Damian sniffles, his eyes filling with tears. “Timothy.” 

“No, I need to know that you’re hearing me.” Tim grabs Damian’s hand, and Damian squeezes his eyes closed. 

“I do, but…” 

The door opens before he can continue, and Jason, Dick, and Bruce all come in. Bruce’s eyes soften upon seeing Damian. 

“Hey, we heard you talking. Good thing you woke up,” Jason says, clutching the edges of his jacket hard enough for his knuckles to turn white. 

“Todd, Grayson… Father.” 

Damian’s eyes drift back to his lap. Dick elbows Jason and he grunts. 

“Damian, I’m sorry. I know what I said, and it was completely ridiculous. I know how much our opinions mean to you, and how scared you are of turning out like your grandfather. I know that sometimes it feels like we’re stuck on a train hurtling towards something that we want to get away from so desperately. That there’s no stopping what we’ve been told we’re going to turn into, but that’s not the case.” 

“You’ve decided who you’re going to be, Damian, and I am incredibly proud of that person. I’m incredibly proud of you,” Bruce says, putting a hand on Damian’s knee. 

That’s enough to draw Damian’s gaze. “Really?” he asks, close to tears again. 

“Yes, really. I’m so proud of you, and I love you so much. You’re my child, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.” 

“But you didn’t want-” 

Bruce flinches. “I do want you. I was shocked when you first showed up, but I do want you. I’m not always the best at telling you how I feel, but you are extremely important to me.” 

“You’re important to all of us. Which is why you need to tell us if something happens in the future. You could have died, Damian. You can’t hide injuries just because you think it’s going to get someone in trouble. Also, Jason wasn’t in control of himself. He’s not going to get in trouble for something he can’t help. He’s going to beat himself up about it for the rest of eternity, but no one else will,” Dick says, and Jason elbows him this time. 

“He’s right though. Not just when you get injured, but you can’t hide any of it. You need to tell us when you’re not feeling good,” Bruce says seriously. 

Damian nods. “I understand. I know I shouldn’t have lied, but I don’t want to be a problem anymore.” 

“You are not a problem, and you never have been. You’re a child who needs the love and support of his family. That’s what we’re here for.” 

Damian turns to Tim, who gives him a supportive smile. 

“Ok, I won’t hide anything anymore. Thank you.” He doesn’t look at anyone when he says it, but his eyes soften. 

“Also, I’m sorry that I laid hands on you. I know that what I said was the more important part, but those were some pretty nasty injuries you got,” Jason says, frowning deeply. 

“Stop moping, you’re annoying me. It wasn’t your fault anyway. I’m glad that neither you nor Grayson had any long term effects from the drugs.” 

Jason smirks. “Of course that was what you were worried about.” 

Damian also smiles. Recovery is going to be a long road, but maybe it won’t be as hard as Damian thought it was going to be.

[angelgoeslewd]

these hands of mine. (too shaky to hold.)

🔮 summary: solomon gets you back.

⚠️ warnings: SPOILERS FOR LESSON 13, 18+ content, minors DNI, comfort fucking, PIV sex, AFAB reader.

“hng-…. S- Sol.”

his colored eyes lift to meet yours, but his tongue doesn’t let up at your call — tracing the curve of your puffy pussy up, continuing to abuse your overly sensitive clit by licking his name into you over and over and over.

“Sol,” you whisper, hurriedly, “Please! Pleasepleaseplease—….”

“I’ve missed you so much, Starlight,” he whispers back, from in between your thighs. his ministrations haven’t stopped, you noticed, but you just can’t seem to figure out in your hazy mind when he replaced his tongue with his fingers, dipping into your honeypot, gathering slick from you and pushing it back in, his thumb always barely brushing your clit every time he pushes into you. “—can’t even imagine.”

“H- Huh?”

you bring forth a laugh from his grinning face, a soft rumbling that is almost like a purr. even the slight vibrations from his chest pushing against your thighs has you throwing your head back and moaning, making him laugh more. it’s not fair! it’s not your fault! he’s been at this for hours since you’ve gotten back to Cocytus hall, refusing to let you leave your shared bed, his mouth pressing against every piece of skin he could find — your breasts, stomach, thighs �� all while his mouth overflowed with words of love, spilling onto your bed like the white wine you share during your late night stargazing, leaving behind nothing, not a trace it was ever there.

but Solomon is more determined than ever, it seems, to carve his devotion into you, a pact of his own, overlapping any of your previous ones, mapping out your new future with him — his hands are picking up pace now — making you grip the bed sheets, fisting them with all your strength — he’s telling you to cum on his fingers, on his tongue, to let him taste you, let him memorize it, and —

you cum with a shout of his name on your lips, letting thoughts crystallizing in the atmosphere as you lie there, trying to catch your breath.

(‘you know he’s hurting. you can tell by his grin, how much it wavers, how his eyes get glossy when they rest on you too long, he was scared. he thought he lost you when he’s only just gotten you. he refuses to grab your hand, lest you feel how much it shakes, but you notice it regardless. why does he feel like he has to always be strong and collected for you? doesn’t he realize that you can be strong for him too?’)

“Starlight,” he whispers, shattering your thoughts into shards. his hands rest on your thighs, the man himself still crouching between them, half your body sidled off the bed, presented to him like a plate at Diavolo’s dinners. his hands don’t move from your body as he stands to lean over you, choosing instead to caress your sides, your stomach, the curves of your breasts, his tender touch meeting your soft skin all the way up to your face. you’re both silent for a moment as you gaze at each other, him looking you over for a moment, you captivated by the way he rivals the moon in its glow. another beat, and then he presses a soft kiss to your mouth.

“Starlight,” he repeats, helplessly, desperately, as if trying to convey every single second he felt guilty, every moment he thought of you in that single word.

“Solomon.” Your answering word is firm, a call for his attention, and he gives it so willingly. Your hands ghost over the small of his clothed back, finally, finally, allowed to touch him. You echo his loving touches, hands making their way to rest over his on the side of your face. “I need you… Please… I…”

he gives you a smile that is softer then it ever has been.

your hand squeezes his.

his finally stops trembling.

your shared room is emptied of its silence once more.

moans chase after each other, bumping their way through pants and groans, wet smacks of kisses parting them every so often.

Solomon presses his warmth into you, fucking you like it’s the only thing he knows how to do. you’re blissed out on his cock, so much pleasure coursing through you that you wonder if you actually woke up.

his hands hold you down as he rocks into you, gripping you with a desperation that can only be akin to a man hopelessly in love.

“Starlight,” he gasps, his forehead sparkling with unshed sweat, “I love you. IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou.” You reach up and pull him down into a kiss as he cums in you, and in that moment, every second he thought of you, every ounce of guilt he felt courses through you, connecting the two of you with something greater than any pact could. you hold him tighter as he buries his head into your neck. there is no sound, no way you can tell that he’s crying, other than the tears that wet your neck.

“Please,” he whispers, with an emotion so strong it can only come from a man who’s seen empires rise and fall. “Don’t leave me.”

[tmntxthings]

how would they behave if turtles and the reader had a kid?

well, let’s see…

immediately when I think of Raphael, I’m reminded of all the episodes where he’s telling his brothers not to do something because it’s dangerous or just him being super overbearing with Mikey cause he’s the youngest, now that’s just his brothers! Imagine this turtle with kids?! Raph is the kind of Dad who’s constantly checking in, all throughout your pregnancy he’s making sure you feel no pain, and he’s carrying you if he sees the slightest swelling from your ankles!

Once the baby is born, oh my goodness, he hasn’t left their side! Swaddled in blankets and cradled in the crook of his arm. He is most definitely falling asleep in that position too. As the kid gets older he’s constantly in their room, checking in! All of his favorite stuffed animals are no longer his own. They belong to baby! When that child finally learns how to walk, then to run!Raph is not ready!!! He’s worried, constantly there catching them when they fall. Raising his voice with concern, “Slow down!!” “No running!” “Watch out for the corner—!!!!” And if somehow, someway Raph isn’t there to protect them from the inevitable. If he’s in another room or whatever the case and hears his little ball of happiness crying, he’s there in the next second. Comforting and cooing, wiping away tears and kissing booboos all better! “Don’t worry I’m here, Dada’s here!” He’s the most attentive parent, but also the equivalent of a helicopter parent. Just the constant hovering, it’ll be cute until those teenage years when they start to rebel and do some questionable stuff!! Raph will have plenty of heart attacks but he will learn just like he did with Mikey that sometimes you gotta let the babies spread their wings!

…Just not too far away! ❤️❤️❤️

Leonardo is the epitome of cool dad. It comes naturally to him. Of course! When your pregnant he’s soooo excited, wants the gender to be a surprise! Loves them wholeheartedly no matter what they are! While Raph is super duper careful, Leo is way more laidback. Leo is actually the one chasing after his tot once they learn how to walk/run. He turns back into a child because of them, playing silly games, running around the house and jumping on furniture! Definitely knocking things over and getting plenty of bruises. Both him and tiny tot! “Uh oh did that hurt? Oh no no, it’s okayyyy! Look look Daddy got a bruise too. Ouchie! But it’s okay, we’re okay!” Now I have no clue what a safe age to start portal-ing but yeah, many a-portal-pranks! The type of dad to do jump scares for fun! This little kid will grow up a rascal through and through! Daddy Leo taught them well. But make no mistake, just because he’s more laidback than Raph does not mean that Leo won’t go berserk if he finds out someone is messing with his little tot!

Protective when needed! 💙💙💙

Donatello with kids. Where do I begin? I’ll keep going with this ‘how overbearing would they be’ scenario since that’s the theme I’ve stuck with for the first two. Donnie is a planner. He’s a problem solver. So I imagine he’s been preparing ever since the two of you starting trying for kids…maybe even before that… but most definitely mapping things out once he knows your pregnant. And when those nine months come to a close he’s got everything. Everything. I’m not a parent so I don’t know the essentials but like Donnie would have a whole room (color coded to light purple obviously), meal preps, and carefully crafted toys for whenever they reach certain ages! All very stimulating and made for educational purposes because this baby shall be the smartest baby ever! I’m sure they will be a little genius by the time they can talk in Donnie’s careful hands. Because that baby will have seen some high caliber tech when being held by their dear Papa. And where Donnie once would talk to himself about his own creations he now had a little listener…who couldn’t talk back yet, but was surely listening with big, round eyes! So cute!!!! (Also I didn’t mention this previously but each baby is definitely getting a shade of their father’s color. Like they had no chance in that department!!) So yeah Donnie is more on the unhinged side of protective parenting like Raph. Very adamant about knowing exactly where his little bundle of joy is at all times!

Tracker? Most definitely 💜💜💜

Michelangelo is a cool dad like Leo, but more understanding. It should come as no surprise since he’s a very empathetic turtle! But in this sense he knows how it feels to be young and to always be watched/babied/doubted! Now make no mistake that baby will be by Mikey’s side 24/7 until they can vocalize the need for space! Boundaries shall then be set and Mikey most likely will never cross them unless for a serious/good reason! I also think that there is a good chance Mikey’s kid will become an iPad kid. Not because he won’t be around or isn’t entertaining! But because I think Mikey is a iPad kid as well, so they will both be watching YouTube or playing Minecraft together! And there is a good chance all of the turtle’s kids will turn out this way. I think the only one who may not would be Raph and that’s a questionable maybe! I think we all know how Mikey felt when his favorite place (pizza place) in the world was destroyed for no reason at all! If his child was to ever get hurt, or made to cry by malicious intent, then you can assume he will have a similar, aggressive reaction to the person who hurt his little tot so badly! But of course he is civil, who will ask questions and try to get apologies before it gets out of hand. So Karen/?Chad’s? beware! Coloring and cooking are the go to bonding activities at the appropriate age! “Alright chef, what’s on the menu tonight?! Cookies?? Well, okay okay that can be dessert, but what about the main course? …Brownies… hmmm..”

“How about pizza?!” 🧡🧡🧡

[delphinus-dancer]

A deep dive into a swan lake and flipping the (metaphorical, sadly) bird:

A Mihaly-centric view of JD 2024 story mode

(because they’re my favorite and I’ve thought about this way too much over the past few days weeks) Spoilers for JD 24 in the almost-essay under the cut, including some images!

Starting off with Mihaly’s first appearance in the story mode in Canned Heat, it seems like not too much time has passed since the end of jd23- Sara seems to be at the same party, Jack still at the tower, etc. (how Brezziana got to the beach that fast and had a workout class is something I’m going to guess was preplanned before everything went down).

We can assume this would be the first time Mihaly’s come back to their room since then (which makes the idea of Wanderlust FaceTiming everyone like 5 minutes after they left even funnier). Of course there’s the shot of Mihaly ripping the poster off the wall, which probably puts their feelings into words better than anything else within an E10 rating. <Side note: I don’t know much on lore but does the setting mean there’s a chance they’re from Eternyx? Both maps started in dark crowd/nighttime so wasn’t sure if confirmed or not>

While Sara has the spot pretty much clinched for a Night Swan’s foil, Mihaly is a really close second. This shot literally puts it into perspective- Mihaly’s color scheme has as many color elements of Master Panda’s (shirt/jacket/foot wraps) as it does Night Swan’s (hair-that-perfectly-matches-the-poster/ gold of headphones and glasses/pants). Their dance style also overlaps moreso with hers than the other dancers, with the precision and technique of their moves, from the footwork and leaps of Rather Be to the dramatic powerful motions of their Swan Lake part. It’s pretty obvious who the song is directed to, and what makes the song so interesting compared to their last story mode one is how loose it feels. This is unlike their usual technical style because of the connection to Night Swan with the control demanded of certain moves that they’ve presumably mastered- maybe they were fueled by a desire to achieve her success. Regardless, the song and emotion fueled, less ‘perfect’ dance lets Mihaly basically flip the bird at Night Swan’s corrupted idea of perfection. Either way, it culminates in them achieving a new high in their training with channeling their ‘true’ inspiration of the (master) panda. Although they retain most of their same costume after sort of becoming a furry?, a noticeable change is that the black leggings are understandably switched to something looser- but to the navy color of master panda instead of Mihaly’s black.

What’s also interesting is that the specific point Night Swan interrupts Mihaly’s song isn’t at the beginning like Brezziana/Sara/Jack’s or the very end like Wanderlust, but at the climax of their journey for the song. Not only does this imply that she may have been watching the entire time but choose to interfere later, but she is also the only character to see the Panda form before Swan Lake.

As Night Swan basically invades Mihaly’s //mind/headspace/flowspace?/no idea on the lore// they initially try to fight her off, but unlike Brezziana in her map, don’t fight until the end. Although Mihaly themselves wasn’t being corrupted like the background coaches in Brezziana’s map, they still let themselves, in a sense, lose a more internal battle to Night Swan as they leave the metaphorical and literal height of their understanding and power in the Flow and come back to the real world.

This then takes us straight into Swan Lake, which is really interesting for the Night Swan/Mihaly interactions and how they compare to the other dancers. Although from a format standpoint it makes sense for the movements in the bridge to be different, there are more differences too.

A big one that I only realized once I watched Majesty again is how the other swan soldiers/minions were turned back- and that was mainly by doing the same moves to ultimately come together and bring the dancers back. Here it’s the opposite for effectiveness- what causes Wanderlust and Brezziana to fail is that they think that’s how to stop Sara. Sara matches the moves in a way that <well> matches, if not surpasses the power that they put in. As a result of meeting them head on and assuming control, Sarah actively corrupts the two of them. She makes motions to bring in the smoke, and both of them also are stationary/surrendering as their color drains.

When it gets to Mihaly, the dynamic with Sara changes completely. While Sara starts off watching with the same expression as when the others challenged her, it shifts as she realizes she can’t emulate what Mihaly does, with the movements almost like Night Swan’s-dramatic and slower. It comes to a head when Mihaly channels the panda again and visibly knocks Sara back, so she’s unable to push any of the smoke towards them.

Sara’s expression also becomes noticeably softer for the rest of Mihaly’s part, and she doesn’t reassert that dominance/control she had earlier- with dancing or the smoke. See how she looks almost pensive in the photos above/below, especially compared to the earlier parts.

Speaking of the smoke, this is the key part about Night Swan seeing the panda earlier. She knows it exists and how to force it off after the earlier song, and as Sara is incapacitated/distracted, she presumably sends down the smoke that starts attacking Mihaly in Panda form.

This attack is why despite having a chance to get through to Sara, Mihaly still ends up failing as they return to normal. However, they are the only character to be so dynamic in their active corruption. Not only does Mihaly manage to send a signal out to Jack, which was a display of power never seen from them previously, but they also do it as they are actively losing their color and control. Unlike the other dances, Mihaly still moves as they lose control, possibly having the strength to continue to fight had they not realized that Night Swan was attacking alongside Sara.

Although the signal is in the shape of a pawprint, its underlying meaning is more than just a plot device to send Jack on a wild goose chase (pun intended that I couldn’t pass up). With the way it opens to form a window into the location from such a distance, it almost seems to be a step away from a full fledged portal. With the sudden appearance of a new power, it’s also an interesting parallel to Night Swan, who here uses powers to create a unique form of control that wasn’t seen in the previous game and who regularly uses portals with her magic.

Another note is the lights that appear for each of the dancers in the upper left corner during the song as they take on Sara. While Brezziana and Wanderlust’s fade out a few moves before they fall, Mihaly’s still goes strong even as they completely turn grey, as seen the the photos above. This could be a possible indication to them having a more stable power than the other dancers, or a form of magic more comparable/competitive with Night Swan’s. Also to note about the lights: looking on the floor during the song, the diamonds flash 3 colors: hot pink (Night Swan), a deep green (Sara, especially while corrupted- her original outfit but darker), and a teal (the exact same color as Mihaly’s flow energy). Like everything else, this is a stretch, but it could possibly mean that Night Swan’s control and magic background could have stemmed from a pure form of flow like Mihaly practices.

This could also be a factor in why they retain the most of their original outfit in the corrupted design- possibly a form of resistance like they displayed during swan lake or general flow magic? Notice that while they have significant changes to their robe/face/accessories, their feather motifs are much less pronounced than the others, simply appearing as marks on the robe that can be mistaken for stripes, rather than overt feathers like Wanderlust/Sara or Sara/Brezziana’s feather tights. Unlike the others, Mihaly keeps their leggings exactly the same (which were notably lost in the panda form, as mentioned earlier), and interestingly enough, their wraps. I initially thought that Night Swan would have changed that to something like ballet slippers with ribbons, so I think it’s really interesting that they are the only dancer who had any details remain exactly the same, especially one that had unique opportunities to be changed.

Going off of that, since they were the last to turn and have (some?) control over their outfit and (some?) magic that may be similar to Night Swan, I could see them being the first/easiest coach for Jack or someone else to turn back when he (hopefully) takes on the coaches.

One last note is the number of maps per story mode coach at this point. Counting Stronger /Survivor, and Treasure/Lose Yourself (hopefully coming soon after that ending!), that seems to be setting a trend for the other coaches to potentially have an additional map as well. If so, maybe that would be one where Mihaly could individually be freed, or a chance for them to further explore their rapidly developing powers (maybe in a confrontation with Night Swan?? a girl can dream).

And there y’all have it! Thank you for somehow reading to the end!! Happy dancing!!

this took forever oh my god

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hello!

I am currently writing a novel that takes place in a traveling circus. Since all the primary characters are performers, their acts are, of course, a very important part of the story/who they are. Therefore, I'm wondering if you have any advice on how to go about describing the performance acts (i.e., contortion, trick-riding, clown acts, etc.) in the book? I fear the descriptions will end up sounding boring, being confusing, or seeming convoluted. I've primarily worked on screenplays for films, so this has been a great struggle for me. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!

Describing Circus Acts

1 - Map Out Your Need - Before you do anything else, it will help to map out the specific moments in the story where these performances will occur. What specific feat, trick, or sketch is being performed and by which character? Is it a performance, audition, or practice? Who else is watching? Who is the POV character? Does anything unusual need to happen with the performance?

2 - Research the Details - Once you have the specific moments mapped out, it will be much easier to research the details, and having a grasp on the details is essential to good description. You can create a much more authentic image if you know the names of different contortion poses or different trick riding moves, for example. Since you mapped out the need in step one, you should have a good idea of how much of the performance will need to be described to the reader, too.

3 - Consider Sensory and Emotional Details - Another part of creating an authentic and impactful description is remembering to consider the sensory and emotional details. What can the POV character see? What can they hear? What can they smell? What can they taste? What can they feel, both physically (touch, internal cues) and emotionally? See: colorful costumes, props, the joyful faces of the audience. Hear: prop noises, music, audience laughter. Smells: popcorn, circus animals, people smells from the crowd. Taste: circus food, bile rising in throat from nervous anticipation. Feel: warmth of the crowd, numb butt from hard seats, butterflies of anticipation, sense of thrill and joy.

4 - Resist the Urge to Overdo it - Even if these performances play a big role in the characters' lives, if the reader wanted eleven hours worth of circus performances, they'd probably just watch eleven hours worth of circus performances on YouTube. The performances themselves should play only a very small role in the actual action... like Katniss Everdeen's bow skills, Luke Skywalker's piloting prowess, and Arya Stark's Faceless Man shapeshifting abilities. They're shown only when they add something to the story, and never just for the sake of showing them.

5 - Some Telling is Just Fine - Obviously in fiction we want to rely on showing as much as possible, but there are certainly times when "telling" makes more sense, and telling is a great way to make sure these performances feel like the important part of the characters' lives they are without feeling every scene has to highlight such a performance. For example, once you've shown a couple of contortionist performances, you might instead have the contortionist doing something else in a scene... helping another performer, making repairs on a costume, or doing whatever they do in their spare time, and maybe have them talk about an earlier performance or something they're going to do in a performance that night. You and even have other characters refer to other characters' performances. For example, "I don't know where Ribena went. She was monkeying around with her horse's saddle while Lian was doing their Double Marinelli bend finale, and I haven't seen her since."

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[happyely2]

Pairing: Portuguese D. Ace x Fem!Reader

Rating: 18+ | The rating will be red this time, so if you are a minor skip this reading or highlight your age in your bio.| sex scenes, cuddles, and much more very explicit.

Summary: 31 prompts for 31 days of October. Life on Moby Dick is always hectic and has become more so since Ace boarded this ship and became part of the family.

✒️Prompts taken from the contest (even if I don't participate) organized by the Italian Fanwriter page. I only translated the prompts into English, I hope you like it.✒️

🌊Writober PumpSea🌊 #day 6 - Saltiness

The island you found was desolate.

A desolate paradise just for you.

It took a couple of days of sailing with the medium of Ace and so much coffee to keep him awake, but in the end you managed to get to the island where you would have spent a couple of days just for you. You only talked to WhiteBeard about it, showing him that you had come into possession of a Loge Pose and a map during one of your last raids on an opposing ship.

And the old man gave you permission to go and explore the island in question, and he also told you to call every once in a while so that everyone would not worry.

So you left, backpacks and supplies for the journey and at dawn you were already at sea.

"Ace look at that crystal clear water!" You said by taking off your sandals and dipping them in the water while the Strider slowed down, you had found a natural inlet that created a sort of open-air cave and a small white sandy beach waiting for you.

According to the map that was the only point through which you could access the island or you had to climb a rocky wall and walk around the rocks.

"We gotta anchor the Strider, be careful, all right?" Ace said stroking your hair and then taking a top to throw on the rocks next to it to tow it to shore.

You nodded, you took off your clothes, and you stayed in your bathing suit, you took Ace’s dagger, and then you dived into the water, it was pretty deep, and the bottom was full of corals and fish that you didn’t seem to mind.

You went deeper to catch some fish and start exploring the surroundings to understand the map directions.

You stayed underwater until the Strider’s shadow disappeared, and only then did you decide to surface with the small loot you had procured.

"So what?" Ace was on the beach, had already set a fire and with fallen trees he had created benches on which to sit and had begun to prepare the tent.

"Look, I caught a lot of fish!" you said by showing him your loot and he laughed and left a kiss on your cheek.

"I’ll start cooking them, it’ll take a while if you want to take another bath you can." He said as a snap of his fingers lit the fire. You nodded and went back into the water, using the rocks to dive in and start looking for other useful information. The bottom was full of sand, with rocks and corals at least five meters high, swimming in it was quite easy and even the passages themselves were very easy. There didn’t seem to be any dangerous predators.

A good yellowfin fish walked by and started following them.

It was better to stock them up because you had travelled light.

You went out a couple of hours later from the water, Ace had dedicated himself to cleaning the fish and had him cooking on the fire, he had also been so careful to take off the bone.

You hung the rest of your loot on a branch so as not to put it on the ground and you lay down on the tablecloth that one guy had prepared for you to dry in the sun.

A hand on your back made you smile, Ace had sat next to you, with food ready, two giant bowls of rice and fish in hand.

You tied your wet hair and sat next to Ace to enjoy the shade and the light sea breeze that he had taken to blow.

"How was the water?"

"Beautiful, you don’t know how many corals I’ve seen of different colors." You responded by leaning on him and eating your meal: "No predators, no small sharks, no moray eels, or they’re somewhere else or I don’t know." You said biting your meal.

Ace laughed and after a while he took the map you brought.

"At least that makes things easier for us. The treasure should be here, sorry to make you do all the work." He said Ace by finishing his meal and placing the bowl on a rock near you and carefully observing the designs and directions that were present on the parchment.

"Don’t worry Honey, sometimes it’s right that I do something too, usually you do everything." You kissed him on the shoulder and Ace grinned and lay down with you in the afternoon sun to get some rest.

You have fallen asleep close to each other with the background noise of the sea.

Until the Lumacofano started playing insistently and made you wake up suddenly, Ace took him and the calm and calm voice of Marco interrupted the silence that had been created.

"We’re fine, we were resting." Ace said with his voice still sleepy. The sun was still high in the sky, you hadn’t slept too much.

"Better yet, do you have any news?"

"We found the spot indicated by the map, but as we suspected there are no caves on the surface, they will be underground, it will take a while to catch the treasure." You said while you stretched your legs and arms.

Before you started and before you podevate enjoy your short vacation.

"All right, let us know if you need anything, I should be able to find it in a short time and I recommend that you hear." He reiterated Marco closing the conversation.

"Still with this story they know very well that if we don’t call everything is fine." He said Ace putting the Slug back in his place and then taking his hat from the rock in which he had laid it.

"Do you want to start seeing where the treasure is?" He asked you as he saw you were tying a waterproof bag to your waist.

"Yes, I want to use the light before the sun goes down." You answered by turning to him and smiling at him.

Ace nodded and handed you his knife, just in case it was always better to be prepared he told you, despite the absence of predators did not trust to let you swim not without protection.

"You see that rock there in the middle, it swims immediately in that direction and you notice something strange, I’ll come and get you right away." Ace said by snapping a loud kiss on your cheek.

You nodded and went into the water.

Your exploration lasted literally until sunset and was really very profitable. The currents were not strong and the crystal clear water had allowed you to find the chest immediately, along with everything that was on the bottom.

It was a great haul. Ace helped you get him out of the water by exploiting the rocks that emerged from the sea and before the sun went down you had almost everything.

"Tomorrow we will organize the space on the Strider for tonight we can rest." He said taking your life and taking you for a ride in mid-air.

You laughed happy, for once a mission proceeded smoothly. It was too good to be true.

The camp was ready, dinner was ready, and the inventory of what you found had already been made by Ace as you brought something back to the gala.

You wore a perforated sundress and you enjoyed the evening with Ace, he asked you every detail of the bottom, the fish you saw and many other things.

Ace a little envied you, having eaten a fruit of the devil could not stay with you in salt water.

It was a shame because he would have liked to take long swims with you to explore the seabed.

"Ace... will you help me get the salt out of my body?" You whispered in his ear resting for a moment your lips on the lobe and then withdrawing almost immediately and melting the sundress that you had put on your self.

Ace envied you a little bit, but he always liked it when you asked him to help you get rid of salt in your body.

"With pleasure my love." said your man approaching you and holding you close to him. Ace wasted no time searching for your lips, he bitten them urgently and licked them immediately after.

She took advantage when you hatched her to better deepen the kiss, Ace made you taste the salt that was deposited on your body.

You scratched his hips and Ace sighed inside your kiss when you started tinkering with his belt.

But first he had to get the salt out of your body.

Ace has abandoned your lips, descending down your neck and savoring every inch with his burning tongue. You have arched your back to feel it closer to Ace has harpooned your butt with his warm hands to pick you up and lift you and brought you near a rock to make you sit.

A thrill descended down your spine in contact with the cold rock, but Ace’s warm tongue warmed you up right away. Your top piece had flown away and now it lay on the white sand as Ace’s mouth moved greedily over your breast.

Ace was licking, biting, sucking hard, and nippling you, making you scream with pleasure, and you were alone and you could afford it.

"What a hungry sailor." You whispered to him, clutching his hair and pulling a little when Ace bit his nipple hard.

"Ahhh..." You groaned your legs, looking for some satisfaction.

"Yes I am a very hungry sailor." He told you by licking the other nipple and taking them both together, starting to caress them and bite them with his teeth.

You screamed again for pleasure and Ace enjoyed every single groan that came out of your lips.

He loved taking you to the edge.

He continued his descent of kisses on your belly, biting and scratching the skin near your navel and then quickly removed the piece from under your costume, noting with pleasure the stain that had formed on it.

"Someone here needs to be properly controlled." He said as he knelt on the sand and used the height of the rock to be able to admire you better.

"Acee..." You tried calling him, but your voice died in your throat when his tongue crept in. You arched your back again as Ace’s hand came back to tighten your nipple and the other one held your leg still.

"Shhh Love, let me take this salt off you." He whispered to you, got back inside you and made you scream at too much stimulation.

Her fingers had penetrated you, middle and index fingers, as her tongue made circles around your clitoris and tapped it just enough to make you wince and moan loudly. You had tears in your eyes from how much it was stimulating you.

And you felt like you were reaching the limit.

You tried to stop him, to get up, but his hands stopped you, he tightened your thighs tighter and intensified your tongue movements.

"Aceee... I.... I come..." You said arching your back and seeing for a moment the stars closest to you. And Ace didn’t walk away, but he ate all of you.

"So good just for me." He told you by kissing your lower belly and slowly going up to your lips and then catching them in a needy kiss

You held it to yourself, making your breast adhere to her chest and feeling the thrill of her cool red pearls in contact with your warm skin.

You heard a rustle of clothes, Ace’s boots flying somewhere and then his presence pounding on your lower abdomen.

You have moved the hips of instinct and you have widened a little more the legs and Ace entered inside your pussy with one and only push, going to hit your sensitive point.

"I found a treasure." He whispered in your ear, made you blush and started pumping inside you.

"Perhaps I’d have a bigger reward if you behave yourself sailor." You answered him kissing him again urgently. And Ace went crazy and started pushing harder into you.

One thrust, two spines, three thrusts and you screamed with pleasure when Ace hit that spot again, it didn’t give you time to recover that it kept pumping all its length inside you.

You could feel your walls tightening tightly to his cock and getting wetter and wetter as he kept hitting incessantly and nonstop.

"Love..." A whisper, a poorly restrained groan and a silent request.

You nodded and kissed him again and allowed him to pour into you.

You both came, collapsing on the cold rock and panting, but happy.

Ace picked you up once he got out of you and brought you by the fire. You curled up on him and listened to his heartbeat.

"We should do this more often." he said while playing with your locks of hair.

"What?" you asked leaving a kiss on his chest.

"Look for underwater treasures." He responded by rekindling the fire with his power.

"Maybe next time you could be the sailor who stole the mermaid’s tail." You said already imagining the situation.

"Ohhh... and what would this mermaid do to get her tail back." Ace bit your neck, and you sighed at his hand, and it was creeping back into you.

"Ahhh... I think he could do anything Love." You kissed him back.

"It took you three whole days to recover all this stuff?" Satch looked at you puzzled. I mean, it was a nice haul, but generally it would have taken less.

"How much sun did you take?" asked Marco noting your tanned skin and the fact that there was no sign of the costume.

Izo laughed, or if he laughed relishing the scene of your interrogation. Marco and Satch didn’t want to admit the evidence, and White Beard also laughed with him.

"Three days? What did you do?"

You turned red to remember the days you spent sunbathing and making love to Ace on the beach.

"Come on, Satch, any self-respecting pirate is very careful to make sure he’s got all the treasure." Ace’s hand had rested on your back, even though it was next to you you could feel the grin that had appeared on his face perfectly.

Oh he took all the treasure.

"What’s wrong with our little sister?" Izo approached you, seeing you red as a pepper: "Too strong a heat stroke?" He winked at you while you took his cheeks to pinch him and Ace laughed.

"These two will drive us crazy Marco." Satch enjoyed the scene alongside Marco and the Fenice nodded.

You really were the worst generation, you and Ace.

[loonybun]

making a whumptroduction post because it seems appropriate to do for my first post :3

Blog/Whump Introduction

hello! my name is crep/loony and I use any pronouns!! i started this blog because i’ve been really interested in the whump community for some time (since like maybe October?). It pretty much has all my favorite elements of stuff all put into one genre loll. I don’t have any plans to start a long-term story as of now, but that could change in the future! I have a ton of characters, but I mainly just use them for roleplaying (if you are interested in roleplaying with me i’m totally down to try it out and see how we mesh together!!!)

some fun facts about me: my favorite color is pink, i’ve been roleplaying for around 7 years (online for closer to 5), i love coming up with new characters and intertwining them with other people’s characters!!! it’s really fun to see how they interact with each other for me. it’s like how you played w barbie’s as a kid but infinitely better. for roleplaying i can use tumblr dms or discord. i am autistic, and my primary special interest is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll!!!

ONGOING STORIES:

- Aisling CYOA story

(more under cut)

Favorite whump tropes: kidnapping/captivity, doll whump, tiny whump, lab whump, medical whump, inhuman whumper, inhuman whumpee, immortal whumpee, fae whump, cult whump, religious theming, heavy/detailed gore, body modification, drugging, display whump, academia whump (so hard to find but so so good), carewhumpers, defiant whumpees.

Things I may interact with but will probably not post: generally suggestive stuff 👍

Squicks/things i will not interact with: almost all nsfwhump (i am a minor and do not feel comfortable reblogging smut on my page), anything related to S/A, pedophelia, r*pe, or sexual grooming, and slave historical whump. If your blog is centered around any of those, I ask that you do not interact with my blog.

DNI conservatives, anti-lgbtq, acephobes, biphobes, transphobes, racists, antisemites, islamophobes, xenophobes, terfs, general bigotry, dark/proshippers (dunno which term to use but i mean this as in people who ship incest, r*pe, and pedophelia. while i believe that it’s okay to write about these things, a lot of pro/darkshippers seem to glorify/romanticize these dynamics and that’s what i have an issue with. i want to specify that while i personally feel uncomfortable with such, i do not agree with witch-hunting or harassing people. i just will not interact and i ask you to do the same.), straight up nsfw blogs whump or not, pro-zoophiles, pro-maps, etc…

thank you all for reading!!! looking forward to being a part of this community!!

[immortal-raine]

NEW OP CHARACTER (OC)

Out of the 7 years I’ve been consuming OP I haven’t made made an Oc until now hehe

She’s still in daft so bear with me, tbh she doesn’t have a name yet maybe Mylo? Nova?Lmao idk

Gonna have to zoom in, to really soak in the plot jk jk I’m info dumping here: (but if you don’t wanna read a lot, the images is a recap more or less)

- Born In Water 7, This Kid Worked as a Apprentice Shipwright at Galley-La Co.

- Got Caught in a Annual Aqua Laguna

- Ended Up Stranded On a Random Island, Built a Boat to Get Back Home; Without a Log Pose, Map, Or Navigation Skills, She Just Ended Up Drifting From Place to Place. Kinda Became A Adventure on It’s Own

- Found and Ate A Devil Fruit called smth like…

[ Sheep Sheep Fruit Model: Komahitsuji]?

- Now Can’t Swim, She Decided to Stay on Island And Just Live as a Sheep, Eat, Sleep, Shit and Repeat living the dream y’know

- Months Pass And A Ship With A handful Of Pirates Show Up, Izo Being Apart This. Believing A Sheep Native to Wano Somehow Got Out Of Country, Decided to Bring it Along. Izo Using Snack Sack To Get it Aboard The Ship, And Her Being Have Sleep And Delirious, She Follows.

- Not Fully Aware During The Trip Back To The Main Ship, She Wakes Up in Front of Whitebeard Confused, But Keeps up The Sheep Act really what do you expect, they make awesome food, she can chill all day, and be on the sea without worry, it’s a solid deal

- After Week She Just Decides To stop The Act, Playing With Stephan Was Fun But Getting Treated Like Them, Not So Much

- Huge Shock For Everyone But They Got Over it, Got Adopted By Whitebeard, And Became a Official Member Of Whitebeard Pirates

- Starts Working as a Apprentice Shipwright Again, Under 6th Division Blamenco!

- Working in The 6th Division Means She’s Not Always On The Main Ship, But When She is She’s Following Izo around, Izo Being The one Who Brought Her is Kinda Responsible of Making Sure She’s Alright

- Besides Izo, She’s Learning a Few Things From Haruta, Ranting to Namur, Listening to Stories from Whitebeard, Gushing about UTA to Thatch, and Bothering Marco because everyone likes to do that once in a while

- Getting Away From Work Is Where Whitey Bay Comes In, Jump Ship With Her and Be MIA until She’s Found Out and Called Back

Ace Joining (Kidnapped) 5 years after her:

(Gonna have to zoom in man)

- Met 2 Months into his assassination attempts they met randomly, when Whitey Bay dropped her off.

Ace and Her Was Cool After The Assassination Attempts, They Would Talk When She’d Get Back From Where She Working

After The Paramount War:

- Not Able To Participate In The War, She Was Left To morn Whitebeard and Her Brother’s Lives

- She Decided To Work For The Revs

- Learned Protocols And Tactics For a Year

- There She Loved Meeting Ivankov because who wouldn’t? And Learning under Inazuma Was Fun Reminded Her of Learning Things From Haruta

- Met Sabo and Talked about Ace and Moments She Spent With Him

- After Being Deployed In A Mission With Sabo, Koala, Hack, And a Handful Of Revs, She Both Respected And Feared Sabo

- Koala Unintentionally Saved Her From Talking With Sabo Once And Became Her Saving Grace Ever Since

- She Was Deployed Under Morgans as a Spy to Keep Tabs On Him and Anything Else Note Worthy

- Shockingly Met Deuce, Told Him The Truth because she’s conditioned to tell her older bothers the truth He Didn’t Care Much, So He Became A Silent Accomplice

- Another Year Pass And Strawhat Pirates Make Their Debut Into The New World, While Working For The Revs She also Helps Deuce Write Reports On The StrawHats Newest Exploits

Now That that’s Over With, Here’s All Her Art (Still Drafting)

Sketches:

With Color:

Thanks for coming to my rant fest, or just looking at the art, I appreciate it, okay bye :D

[soft-bellied-tannies]

Chubtober Day 2!

Today's prompt is a combination of two from older Chubtober prompt lists - Fall Fair and Bellyaches & Binges. Enjoy Jungkook eating way too much at the fair!

Read here or on AO3!

---

Jimin had not stopped talking about visiting the fall fair since he found out about it. He always thought it looked so fun filled with bright lights, cute games, and most importantly, delicious food. Jungkook couldn’t possibly say no when Jimin asked if they could spend their entire Saturday at the grand opening of the two-week fair. 

As they stepped onto the fairgrounds, the aroma of warm sugar and freshly popped popcorn filled the air. "Where should we start?" Jimin asked, his eyes scanning the booths of games and food lining both sides of the walkway.

“Well, I’ve always wanted to try a funnel cake and that could pass as a sweet breakfast, right?” Jungkook replied, immediately realizing that Jimin’s desire to visit the fair was actually an amazing idea considering the smells surrounding him. His stomach had started to rumble as soon as they arrived.

Their first stop was at a booth adorned with colorful signs advertising deep-fried delights. They ordered a large funnel cake topped with powdered sugar and strawberries. "Mmm, this is so good," Jimin sighed as he took a few bites. 

As he should have expected, Jimin handed the plate to Jungkook after barely making a dent, saying he wanted to save room for more food. While Jimin had a small appetite, Jungkook knew he could finish off the funnel cake and have more than enough room to continue on their day of taste testing the fair. 

Next, they wandered over to the barbecue stand, enticed by the savory scent of grilled meats. Jungkook couldn't resist ordering multiple sides on top of the pulled pork sandwich Jimin picked out. 

"I think I'm already getting full," Jimin chuckled as he wiped barbecue sauce from his chin, only managing two bites of the sandwich. Jungkook just laughed and accepted the container his boyfriend handed over, encouraging Jimin to try a few bites of the coleslaw and mac and cheese.

Jimin figured they should probably try a game or a ride before buying more food. He knew Jungkook could keep eating well into the day, but he wanted to pace himself to make sure he got to try everything he wanted.

After a few spins around the Ferris wheel and Jungkook taking a few attempts to win Jimin a stuffed bunny at the ring toss game, they made their way back over to the various food booths. Jungkook managed to find the main tent after looking over their map and the food options seemed endless.

The full food stand was offering everything from huge trays of nachos to giant turkey legs to massive ice cream sundaes. Each vendor seemed to outdo the last in terms of portion size and creativity. Jimin couldn't resist buying a bucket of chocolate chip cookies, while Jungkook ordered a jumbo-sized pretzel, a footlong corn dog, a turkey leg, cheese fries loaded with toppings, and a giant deep-fried pickle with a tray full of assorted sauces for everything.

As Jungkook arranged his food on an open picnic table, Jimin returned with an overflowing bucket of cookies, a milkshake, and two sodas. He slid the milkshake toward Jungkook and said he couldn’t resist because it looked so good. 

Jungkook looked at it with a mix of surprise and amusement. "Are you trying to fatten me up?"

“Don’t be silly! I wanted to try it,” Jimin cut back, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend. 

“Min, we both know you never have more than a few sips of any milkshake, especially considering how much we’ve been eating today.”

“But I have you! I get to try everything I want and nothing goes to waste,” Jimin said as he waved his hand toward Jungkook’s full belly.

Jungkook rolled his eyes and tried to hold back his smile. “I’m not a garbage disposal, baby. I’m getting full too.” 

Jimin giggled but nodded in agreement. "Okay, that is fair. Consider it a challenge then," he teased, winking at his boyfriend knowing Jungkook can’t resist any sort of competition. “Also, how could you ask me that looking at all this you ordered for yourself?” 

“Hey! I ordered this for both of us. You love pretzels and you said you wanted to try a turkey leg,” Jungkook replied, defending himself for ordering with his eyes instead of his already full stomach. 

Jimin just kissed his cheek in thanks and sat down, holding back from continuing to tease his sweet boyfriend. It was a date after all and Jungkook was actually doing a great job of making their fair date everything Jimin wanted it to be. 

As Jungkook and Jimin slowly made their way through their spread of fair food, the full weight of their indulgent day settled upon Jungkook. Jimin had five bites at most of any single item, pushing the rest off onto his boyfriend to finish. Jungkook's discomfort became more palpable as he felt his pants fitting less and less comfortably as he ate, his hand subtly adjusting the waistband of his jeans every few minutes.

"You okay, Gguk?" Jimin asked, noticing Jungkook's discomfort.

Jungkook let out a soft groan. "I think I might have overdone it," he admitted sheepishly, leaning back and letting out a deep sigh as he rubbed the top of his full belly. He felt his face warming up a bit, flushed with a wave of self-consciousness once he realized just how much he’d eaten since they arrived at the fair.

"Maybe I shouldn't have eaten that entire turkey leg," Jungkook mused, his voice tinged with amusement in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

As much as Jimin wanted to laugh, he actually had to agree. He hadn’t eaten maybe a quarter of what Jungkook had, yet he was feeling just as full. "I think I've eaten enough to last me a week. I wish I could unbutton my pants," Jimin groaned, pushing the containers toward the center of the table.

Jungkook laughed, thinking that his boyfriend had no room to talk considering his own waistband felt like it would permanently mark his skin with how tight it was at the moment. Somehow though, all things considered, Jungkook was staring at the containers with remnants of food left thinking he shouldn’t let it go to waste. 

Jimin assumed they were done and ready to walk a bit to digest before heading home, but to his surprise, Jungkook actually reached for the last few cookies at the bottom of the bucket. 

“I don’t even know how you are still eating, Jungkookie. You just said you overdid it,” Jimin joked, hoping Jungkook didn’t end up sick from his day full of eating but appreciating how much Jungkook was clearly enjoying their day out.

“Well, like you said, this stuff shouldn’t go to waste. We’ve spent so much money today, might as well get our money's worth,” Jungkook replied before eating one of the cookies in a single bite.

Jimin simply hummed in agreement, reaching across the table to wipe some chocolate from Jungkook’s lip. Then as he started cleaning up the table, Jimin held up any morsel of food left to his boyfriend and watched as Jungkook continued to somehow find room to finish off everything they ordered.

Jungkook let out another deep sigh as he polished off the last cookie, feeling like he was actually at risk of losing the button on his jeans. He could not remember a time he had been so full even with his massive appetite. Jimin took care of him well and always encouraged him to eat as much as he wanted, but his boyfriend had outdone himself that day. 

The walk to the car felt more like a waddle for Jungkook, almost feeling winded as he was still digesting an absurd amount of food. Jimin seemed full himself, but he was moving and talking like normal, going on about how he was so happy that they came to the fair which made Jungkook feel like stuffing himself full of fried food and sugar was worth it, especially seeing Jimin’s bright smile.

Back at home, Jungkook stood in front of the bathroom mirror, examining his reflection with a mixture of amusement and concern. He poked at his now protruding belly, full and round enough to overhang the waistband of his sweatpants and feeling every bite of their big fair food day.

"You know," he said loud enough for Jimin to hear from the bedroom, "I think I might have gained a few pounds today."

Jimin, who made his way to the bathroom, chuckled softly. "Honestly, it’s possible. You really put your appetite to work today," he admitted, joining him in front of the mirror. "But it was worth it, right? I had a great time. I’ve always wanted to go to the fair."

Jungkook nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Definitely worth it, best date we’ve had in a while, but maybe we should lay off the deep-fried everything for a while."

Jimin laughed, gently reaching over to poke at Jungkook’s taut belly. "I promise not to order so much next time.”

They both chuckled at the image of Jimin piling food onto Jungkook's plate throughout the day. Despite his teasing, Jungkook couldn't deny that he felt a twinge of regret over his lack of restraint. "I think I need to hit the gym this week," he said, mostly to himself.

“Or we could go back to the fair. You know, get our steps in and play more games this time. It’s only in town for two weeks. We should make the most of it!”

“Yeah, I guess we should, but I’m definitely hitting the gym after.”

“Of course, babe, whatever you say.”

[miastjames]

❀ you’re not from around here , are you? i figured because you totally just missed { AMELIA "MIA" ST. JAMES } walking by. don’t tell me you don’t know who { SHE } is/are ? they kind of look like { HANNAH DODD } and i could be wrong but i think that they might be { TWENTY EIGHT } years old right now. they’ve been living in palmview for the last { TWENTY EIGHT YEARS }. and i don’t know if anyone has ever told them this before but they kind of remind me of { MIA THERMOPOLIS } from { THE PRINCESS DIARIES }. if you stick around the town long enough you might catch them in action working at { FREELANCE } as a { AUTHOR }. you see this town isn’t really that big of a place, some folks like to call them the { THE LOVABLE ROGUE } of palmview! they took a liking to the name too after a while, go figure. oh crap, they must have heard me yapping. they’re coming this way. i got to warn you though, rumor has it they can pretty { KLUTZY} at times. i wouldn’t take it too seriously though, from the times i’ve spoken to them they seemed pretty { PASSIONATE } to me. we see each other all the time since they live in that { 1 ROOM LOFT } apartment beside me over in { MANGO BAY }. i better leave you to it. it was nice meeting you! 

►GENERAL INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Amelia Cosette St. James Beaumont Daventry NICKNAME(S): Mia, Milly LABEL: The Lovable Rogue AGE: 28 DATE OF BIRTH: September 25, 1996 ZODIAC: Libra Sun, Virgo Rising, Pisces Moon GENDER & PRONOUNS: Female; She/Her HERITAGE: English, Gharandrian SPOKEN LANGUAGE(S): English OCCUPATION: Author SEXUALITY & ROMANCE: Bisexual; Biromantic PET(S): Siamese cat named Caesar

► APPEARANCE

FACE CLAIM: Hannah Dodd HEIGHT: 5'6" WEIGHT: 110 lbs. DOMINANT HAND: Right HAIR COLOR: Auburn EYE COLOR: Brown SCARS: None notable. TATTOOS: None.

►PERSONALITY

POSITIVE TRAITS: Authentic, Adaptable, Passionate, Romantic. NEGATIVE TRAITS: Self-critical, Clumsy, Introverted, Naive. LIKES: Writing, hanging out with friends, trying new things/learning something new, sunshine rain, dancing. DISLIKES: Liars, people who put others down.

►MENTALITY

PHOBIAS: None. DISORDERS: Anxiety ALLERGIES: Seasonal (Pollen)

►BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: Palview Grove, FL CURRENT RESIDENCE: Palmview Grove, FL EDUCATION LEVEL: MA in Art History FAMILIAL CONNECTIONS: - Poppy St. James - 55, Mother, In Contact - Sylvester Beaumont Daventry - 54, Father, Deceased

►FAVORITES

FOOD: Egg rolls / Chinese Food DRINK: English Breakfast Tea MOVIE: Serendipity TV SHOW: The Great British Bake Off, Bridgerton BAND/ARTIST: Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams SONG: Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift

► EXTRA INFORMATION

JUNG TYPE: INFP ENNEAGRAM: The Advisor (9w8) TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good SIN: Pride VIRTUE: Charity ELEMENT: Water CHARACTER PLAYLIST

► BIOGRAPHY

TW; Death mention, Bullying mention

Gharandy is a small country nestled in the corner of France and Italy. The country is mostly English speaking with French and Italian also being notable languages spoken amongst the people. They usually don’t even make the map because of how small they are. At least, that’s what Sylvester told Poppy. Did she believe him? The answer changes every time the whirlwind summer romance story is told. The product of such a thing? None other than Amelia Cosette St. James Beaumont Daventry. The Beaumont Daventry portion of Mia’s name was always dropped as she grew up. Never being able to know her dad due to his death, and no one else around them knew he was the supposed next king of a European country - Mia’s mother thought this made Mia safe. More importantly, this meant Mia could live a normal life. And a normal life Mia, in fact, did lead. She was the awkward kid who always reminded the teachers about homework. Her head was always in a book, her head in the clouds. She got bullied, but who didn’t besides those doing the bullying? Never good at sports, Mia was always picked last in gym class. It wasn’t until her paternal grandmother came to visit, that Mia’s world was flipped upside down. “Me? A princess? Shut up!” She remembers so clearly standing there in the hallway, her mother halfway down the stairs looking on. There was a face of guilt there, and Mia couldn’t take it. She went up to her room and shut everyone else out. That was, until school the next day when she was bombarded with cameras. Now aware of her royal status, Mia is still in Palmview Grove. Why? Well, the land of Gharandy isn’t safe and hasn’t been safe for her since her birth. With people wanting nothing more than the crown, her grandmother advised her to stay in Palmview until further notice. Mia is indifferent to it. She doesn’t mind not having the responsibilities she knows she one day will have to step up to. On the other hand, she finds herself coming up with plans to aid the orphanages and school programs from her balcony window.

► PERSONALITY (DEEP DIVE)

Mia is always rebelling against her princess title, ever since it was bestowed upon her. She used to be very reluctant as a kid, but now she loves to go out and get into a little trouble to try to disconnect herself from her title. She's a romantic at heart, which is probably why her journalling turned into a romance series for all to read. Though, she isn't lucky in love. Usually, people just attempt to use her for their own selfish gain - whether that's fame or fortune for having their faces splashed across magazine articles with her. She loves art and some of her fondest moments are when her mother and her would throw paint-filled water balloons at huge canvases in her mother's studio. It was her mother that influenced Mia to get an Art History degree. To this day, she still loves to wander and get lost in art museums. Kind to a default, Mia tends to give people numerous chances - even if they don't deserve it. It's a great fault of hers and makes her come off as naive to some. You can usually catch her at home attempting to bake a new recipe she finds online, or at the local book store. She loves hanging out with friends, but also values her alone time. Mia stumbles over her words very easily. She mostly gets stuck in her head and gets caught up on not ruining moments, but then ruins them cause she's so caught up on it. In the end, she's a very clumsy but lovable person who means well - she just doesn't agree with the cards she was dealt.

► HEADCANONS

Mia has a locket that was given to her by her father before he passed away. It's a heart with a cursive 'G' on it (for Gharandy). It is also a key for her journal that was given to her by her paternal grandmother.

When super anxious, Mia plays with her hair. It's a habit her grandmother doesn't approve of, but she just can't help it.

She collects snow-globes. She just loves how beautiful they are, and keeps all hers in a china cabinet.

Mia is the ultimate double-texter. It makes her want to run and hide sometimes, but she can't help but to text multiple times in a row.

[heyheydidjaknow]

Hii I hope you day/night is going lovely and that your doing great. Also can I request something please like what if misa made L go out with them and the drink a little bit and we have to watch him for the rest of the night? I’ve been looking for someone who writes L not like a uwu fem boy but actually keeps his cannon characteristics and you do that <<<<333

Thank you for the request. I am just getting over a nonspecific illness. Not sure about the ending but hopefully this was something similar to what you were looking for.

“But, see,” he droned on, head laid upon the table, “the whole thing— the whole communist regime, I mean— it all deconstructed in regards to the actual soul of the movement with the death of Lenin.”

There were things that friends did not do to one another. Friends did not leave friends’ drinks unattended. Friends did not sleep with other friends’ partners or ex partners. Friends did not let friends be left with dangerous men. You were surprised to learn that there was, in fact, another thing to add to the list: friends do not leave friends with history professors.

Your “friend”, Misa Amane, had called you at one in the morning to babysit a guy. You did not know how she knew said guy. You had never met him, never heard of him. The name Ryuzaki was only vaguely familiar, a name you may have heard once in passing. But you came, because she was your friend, and friends do help friends get laid (though by your best estimation her boyfriend was about as interested in making love to her as you were in the inner workings of the Bolshevik party), only to be given a hotel room number and address, a charming smile, and a big fuck you to your sleep schedule. While you were thankful you had not been left with a dangerous drunk man, you were starting to question whether that would have been preferable to— you checked your phone— two hours worth of a lecture on a topic of which you had no knowledge.

“—but the only reason that happened—“

“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt,” you smiled, voice betraying your obvious exhaustion, “but what does any of this have to do with where you’re from?”

He blinked. “Pardon?”

“I asked you about your accent.” You opened your phone again, absently rereading a past message. “All I asked was where you were from.”

“Oh.” He sat up, taking another sip out of an extraordinarily bright cocktail through an equally colorful straw. “Europe.”

“Which part?”

He shrugged. “If you threw a dart at a map of Europe you’d know. Did the whole circuit.”

You considered ordering a drink. You reminded yourself that you were the designated driver. “What circuit?”

“It’s not an official circuit.” He took another sip. “But I have lived all across the continent. Well,” he amended, “not lived, but I’ve been.”

You nodded. “You’re not Japanese, then.”

“Not legally, no.” He furrowed his brow. “Have I been talking strangely for long?”

“Since I got here.”

He nodded slowly. “And where has Amane gone?”

“Oh, somewhere.” You gestured vaguely towards the door. “Trying to seduce her boyfriend again.”

He snorted.

“Exactly.” You crossed your arms. “You’ve met him, I take it.”

He smiled. “I have.”

“Thoughts?”

He considered it. “He is a very intelligent, ambitious man who understands how to utilize his assets.” He stirred his drink, precariously perched on his bar stool. “However, to say that he is disinterested in anything beyond his narrow scope of interest would be an understatement.”

“Tell me about it.” You let your head fall onto the counter. “He’s so pretentious; I’m not really sure what Misa sees in him.”

“Have you known her for long?”

“Since high school.”

He looked down at you, clouded eyes slowly clearing and sharpening to a fine point. His words were still slow and sloppily spoken with that same odd tone, but it was becoming clear, even now, that this was all to do with the alcohol. “Do you remember when she met Yagami?”

You shifted away from him, slightly intimidated. “I don’t.” You sat back up, going back to fiddling with your phone to avoid looking at him. “I know that she started talking about him in late May or early June but I don’t know when exactly.” You started typing an SOS to another friend. “I bet she met him earlier than that, though.”

“What makes you say that?”

You paused. “I mean,” you sighed, “I’d never heard her talk about moving to Tokyo before mid March.” You shrugged. “And I guess I get it– with what happened to her folks it makes sense to want to move away– but she didn’t even start talking about it until two weeks before she left, and then she just met a highschooler? She just met Light ‘Golden Boy’ Yagami? It’s so weird!”

He nodded slowly, still stirring the drink. “That certainly is an unlikely coincidence.”

‘It is!” You closed the phone. “And, like, I get that she’s not that much older than him, but who just meets a high schooler?” You rested your hands between your legs. “So I bet she met him online or whatever, convinced herself that she was in love with him, and jumped on it.”

“That would make sense.”

“It would.” You looked around the bar, leaning back to read the time on the wall. “Do I need to get you home?”

“It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea.” He climbed off his stool with an unusual amount of grace only to eat shit as soon as he tried to stand.

You had to practically carry him out of the bar, his arms wrapped tightly around you to keep himself steady as the two of you made your way to the train. Fortunately, where he was staying was not unreasonably far from the station. Unfortunately, he was surprisingly heavy; you almost toppled over with him on numerous occasions. As the two of you stood on the train, closer than you would like, he leaned his head against your shoulder, keeping quiet despite the fact you two were the only ones in the car. “May I use your phone?”

You obliged. “What for?”

“Calling myself a ride.” After a bit of fiddling, he handed it back to you. “He should be at the station by the time we arrive.”

You rolled your eyes. “If you could get someone to pick you up, why’d we take the train?”

“Because.” He sighed, closing his eyes and relaxing into you. “Forgot.”

You looked up at the ceiling, wishing death upon Misa and/or the drunk man hanging off of you.

Sure enough, a car– an expensive looking one at that– was waiting for him. With a wave and a stumble, he fell into it, calling a “merci beaucoup” to you as he drove away.

You got back on the train. You made it home. Your location was logged, and as you fell asleep that night, thoroughly exhausted, your messages and calls were scanned, analyzed, and filed away for future reference. These messages would help L Lawliet establish a timeline within which Misa Amane would have been able to find and use a Death Note. They would never make it into a courtroom.

[tqngerine]

stay in the middle — 16. coolbeans

SYNOPSIS: Huening Kai would do anything for his best friend Taehyun, and this one small favor is no exception. It appears that Kai’s fellow campus journalist Y/N has caught his attention, and Taehyun needs help connecting to them. Befriending someone outside of his small social circle wasn’t something Kai did often, but he comes to find that it’s easy to get close to Y/N—maybe even getting a little too close.

word count: 1.6k

“This place isn’t as suffocating as I remembered.” Y/N couldn’t help but hum, gazing around the small cafe. Now that they weren’t overwhelmed with worries about social interaction anymore, they could properly appreciate the array of wooden decor lined up at the top of the cream walls. Plates, large utensils, framed coffee beans, the items were appropriate but quaint in its display. Y/N was quite charmed.

Sitting opposite to them, Kai made the practical decision of scanning the menu for their dinner selection. “My best friend and I often meet here in the early morning to charge up before our classes.“

“The same best friend that helped you with your report outline for earlier?”

Kai gave a nod.

“With the amount of times you’ve mentioned him, I’m wondering why I haven’t met him yet.” Y/N laughed.

A penguin pout graced his lips. “Ah, he’s especially busy these days because he’s in the volleyball team, training and all. But I promise you I’ll introduce him to you eventually.” He crossed his arms over the table. “Likewise, I want to meet your friends too.”

Y/N scrunched their face. “I fear they’re not as cute and into Sanrio as I am.”

“Not even Soobin?”

“He’s only cute. That’s the only thing he’s got going on for him.”

Kai giggled—or rather cackled with incredibly more power than necessary, earning him a few stares from the neighboring customers. After realizing his volume, he immediately turned to bow in silent apology to each table, looking like a docking ostrich in the process.

“We should probably take our orders now.” Y/N said, trying to hold back a laugh.

“Good idea.”

Y/N requested for a plate of carbonara while Kai went for a traditional caesar salad, along with two glasses of blue lemonade.

Once the waiter had left, the two were met with comfortable silence. They had just finished observing the swim team for almost three hours, it had already been a long day for them.

Although they have definitely grown much closer since the last time they were here (the longest and most awkward 30 minutes of their life, as Y/N remembered it), they found that they didn’t need to be constantly speaking to enjoy each other’s presence. Both naturally leaned more toward being the quiet type anyway.

The same panicky boy that made a mess out of Y/N’s papers almost a month ago wore a much calmer countenance today, his ebony curls more neatly kept and eyes crinkling into creases. He was fiddling with the corners of the paper placemat beneath him, creating a pile of paper crumbs that had been softly ripped apart.

“You’re not gonna have a placemat by the time the food arrives if you keep at it.” Y/N teased, pointing at the pile.

The tips of Kai’s ears colored. “Oops, habit of mine. My hands get restless so I often fidget without thinking.”

“No need to justify yourself, I promise. How about you help me with something instead to keep you busy.” Y/N then turned to their backpack to fish out a pastel pink notebook. They slid it in front of Kai to reveal the numerous Hello Kitty stickers decorating the front cover.

“That’s a lot of glitter on those stickers.” Kai’s own eyes sparkled at the sight.

“I always say it’s never enough.” Y/N smirked before flipping to the last filled page. Scribbled all over it was a mind map of words like moon, aliens, and galaxy, drawn arrows pointing them toward each other. “See, before I got in The Hybe Times, I used to submit self-written stories to the local student magazine. I’ve been thinking of submitting another one for the first time in so long, but I can’t quite stick to one idea.”

Kai took in Y/N’s explanation while examining the seemingly nonsensical writings on the page. “I’m gathering that your story is space themed?”

“Yep. The upcoming issue will commemorate the anniversary of the moon landing, so outer space was given as the prompt.” Y/N leaned backward, heaving a sigh. “But space is such a broad topic—kind of literally, too. So much could be talked about, how do I condense it into one short story?”

Kai’s eyes remained focus on trying to follow the words on the page, eyebrows scrunched thoughtfully. “Hm, do you know what all these arrows remind me of? Constellations. Metaphorical lines that connect different bodies together to form a bigger picture.”

Y/N blinked at his interpretation, caught pleasantly surprised. “That’s… I like that.”

“You do?”

“Constellations as lines that connect and create a bigger picture…” Y/N flipped the notebook back to face them and started furiously inking down the sparks in their mind. From their peripheral, they saw Kai watch in awe, his mouth slightly agape. Y/N only let a select few people witness their “light bulb” moments like these so they were admittedly a bit flustered under his gaze.

They finally looked up, corners of their lips stretched wide. “I don’t know how you did it but you just helped me plot out a full beginning, middle, and end of a short story.”

“That fast?” Kai gawked. “I’m impressed.”

“The mind works in mysterious ways.” Y/N reached forward to tap Kai’s temple with their finger. “Yours so much more so than mine.”

At that moment, Y/N’s eyes caught something from behind Kai’s head. Two figures had entered the packed cafe—two familiar figures.

Y/N quickly docked their head and tucked their notebook beneath the table, startling Kai. “I-is something wrong?”

Y/N’s voice lowered. “Don’t turn around, but Jungwon and Jay just entered the cafe.” They buried their face in their hands. Of course they’d come here; Jungwon was their field partner, and the swimming compound was right beside this cafe. It’d make sense for him to seek dinner here after fieldwork too.

Kai’s mouth rounded into a silent “oh”, nodding slowly and trying his best to remain calm for Y/N’s sake.

Unfortunately for Y/N, they made the mistake of peaking up again, accidentally making eye contact with Jungwon. At the sight of his co-journalists, he gave a big enthusiastic wave before dragging his friend along to their table.

“Kai hyung, Y/N! Thank goodness you’re here.” Jungwon greeted, grin wide. “The waiter just told us there were no more seats available. Do you mind if we sat with you instead?”

Jay stood rigid beside Jungwon, arms linked with each other. He gave the two a polite smile in greeting. Other than that, his face was practically unreadable—Y/N was hoping they’d figure out how he feels about getting a minor role alongside them, but maybe some answers are not this easily attainable. Still, his unreadability didn’t dismiss the way his hair was parted to the side so neatly, nor the way his slick leather jacket hugged his figure handsomely. Wait, how does an article of clothing hug one’s figure handsomely?

Y/N felt Kai’s expectant eyes on them, waiting for their call. (They were hoping his stare was not because they were noticeably blushing furiously at the moment.)

“Uh… sure! Come take a seat.”

Jungwon clapped gratefully. Right before any movements occurred, Kai swiftly switched to take the space beside Y/N, allowing the newly arrived duo to sit opposite them. It was as if he had read their mind begging for him to block any chance of Jay sitting close to Y/N.

“What did you guys order?” Jay asked diplomatically.

“Kai ordered a salad for two. Perhaps you’d like to take his other half?” Y/N promptly replied, to which Kai raised an eyebrow. They weren’t wrong, but Kai had the appetite for two servings; he very well meant to finish the salad on his own.

“I promise I’ll get you a big bowl of ice cream after to compensate. I just don’t want to have to wait for their orders too.” Y/N rapidly said below a whisper, ensuring that the other two didn’t hear them. Kai gave a thumbs up of content.

“Oh, I do love salad. That’d be nice, thank you.”

“Jay can pay for the entire bill, too.” Jungwon smirked, earning him an eye roll from his hyung. “What about me, though?”

“You can share Y/N’s carbonara! Also made for two.” Kai offered quickly. He lowered back down to Y/N to whisper, “I’ll make up for that with another big bowl of ice cream for you too.”

Y/N could feel their heart thumping in their ears out of nervousness.

“I’m more of a spaghetti person myself but I won’t complain since I’m hungry.”

As if on cue, a waiter arrived with their orders. The group then dined without chatter, busy enjoying their meals (and trying to stay calm in front of their crush, in Y/N’s case).

“Did you receive Yunjin’s message in the group chat?” Jay finally spoke up, breaking the silence.

Y/N nearly choked on their bacon. “O-oh. I haven’t been on my phone for the past hour. What did she say?”

“She already wrote specifications about our characters on the script. We’ll be rehearsing alongside the main cast tomorrow.”

“That’s great! I’ll read through the script later.”

“You guys have the same roles?” Jungwon asked.

“Uh, you could say that.” Jay simply replied, taking a sip from the service water. How on earth did he manage to make that something to swoon over.

Y/N had to slap Kai’s lap to bring them out of their trance, much to his poor surprise. “How are you enjoying the salad, Jay?” Kai spoke out of panic.

“It’s all right. My dad knows how to prepare an even better one though.” It should have sounded like a brag, but it came out more lighthearted. “I can pack extra to rehearsals one day for you to try, Y/N.”

“Coolbeans! I’d be honored to try.”

Jay lips pressed into a smile. “Hang on, I need to use the restroom.” He excused himself from the table, and the moment he was completely out of sight, Kai stifled a laugh.

“Coolbeans?”

Y/N plopped their head on Kai’s shoulder, groaning in embarrassment. “Why does time always seem to slow down whenever I’m in this cafe.”

A cough broke, causing Kai to turn to the scrutinizing gaze of Jungwon. “There’s something going on that I don’t know about.”

Y/N continued to grumble incoherently, forehead still stuck to Kai’s shoulder.

“Do you not care to tell me?”

“None of your business, Yang!”

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a/n: kai and y/n can’t just be depicted as chronically online moots-ies forever so i decided to make a written chapter for them 😔🤞 lmk what you think of their dynamic so far 😙

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@kaisdefender @fairysh4mpoo @0rangemilk @beomsbeanie @hanjisungsgirl @luvsoobs @goldennika @spagettae @solarsolarity @hy2ka-i @aestheticsluut @sophie-writingtime @quitbeingawhore @destinylightlove42 @softpia