#maybe someday I'll share em here

[sxilor-1010]

tfw I remember I have a danganronpa oc I used to ship with Nagito and no amount of old 2010's cringe can hold me back from doing it again–

[zepskies]

Ooooh I have a few questions for you to keep the ball rolling! 💚

Would reader and Beau from TMH ever get married? Have a kid?

How would BMD Ben react to their daughter (as a teen/young adult) dating a guy he sees right through as an asshole/maybe a bit like Ben used to be? Would Ben ever tell his kids who/how he used to be when they grew up?

Ooh thanks, Michelle!! 💚💚💚

These are great questions, wow...

Take Me Home (Beau Arlen x Reader):

Would the reader and Beau get married? Have kids?

Oh hell yeah, they definitely would get married! In Echoes, the last one-shot I've written for them, they've just moved in together. I think at that point, she and Beau would be thinking about marriage in the future, but maybe they wouldn't talk about it with each other right away. 😂

We know how Beau is about sharing his feelings, and the reader, being burned before on an engagement and the idea of marriage, knows she loves him but would be hesitant to make that leap...

Until Beau talks to Emily about it. His daughter is more and more becoming his sounding board, since she was so supportive of their relationship from the beginning. Emily would encourage him to get remarried if that makes him happy.

Emily: You're already living together. Doesn't that mean you want to be with her for the long haul?

Beau: Well...yeah. That's just about what it means.

Emily: Then what's the problem?

He can't exactly argue with that logic. 😂 I think he'd be so excited to propose, that he wouldn't even think about the "more kids" conversation until after they're engaged. The reader would think about it first, I think, wondering if he would ever want more kids someday. And if so, is that something she wants too?

Once they actually got around to sitting down and having that honest conversation, I think both of them would be open to it in a "if it happens, it happens" sort of way. Beau would have concerns about being an "older dad," 😂 but in comforting him and reassuring him that he'd do great, because he's already a great dad...it would make the reader realize that she does want kids, and she wants them with Beau. ❤️

(Hell, maybe I'll end up writing that in the future!)

Break Me Down (Soldier Boy x Reader):

How would BMD Ben react to their daughter (as a teen/young adult) dating a guy he sees right through as an asshole/maybe a bit like Ben used to be? Would Ben ever tell his kids who/how he used to be when they grew up?

Ooh, I have an ask that I plan to answer tomorrow that covers how Ben reacts to Lila having a boyfriend or girlfriend, but your question here is even more specific! Love it!

I think if he clocked the "asshole" in Lila's new boyfriend, Ben would call him out immediately. He would try to ban her from seeing him. And when that didn't work, he would 100% threaten the guy off without her knowing.

Ben would have to try to (badly) explain to her why he doesn't trust the guy, and why he's a skeevy little bastard.

Lila: Dad, you don't even know him!

Ben: Oh, I know him. Sweetheart, I know 'em all, better than the back of my goddamn hand. He's a fucking scumbag, and you're more than too good for him. Trust me.

Lila: What do you mean?

Ben would hesitate. He wouldn't want to explain to his daughter that he knows how that asshole's mind works because he used to be exactly like that, before he met her mother.

He probably wouldn't ever want to explain it to his daughter in his own words. Likely she'd have to piece it together from stories she hears about her dad from her mom, and/or her honorary aunts and uncles (like Butcher, Hughie, Loco, and Frenchie).

With his future son, Ben will probably have more "man-to-man" real talks about how he used to get women under the realm of "dad advice." 😅 When the boy got older, Ben would admit to him that he did use to fuck around. (Putting it mildly.)

Ben: I mean, if there was an Oscar for laying it the fuck down, I would’ve taken that shit year after year. Would’ve beat out Burt Reynolds by a fucking landslide.

Son: *grossed out but still confused* Who's Burt Reynolds?

Lmao. 😆

Thank you again for these questions, friend! 💕

[clzwn0]

I've never posted this edit and honestly that's such a shame, so I'm sharing it now:)

My rant, headcanons and list of changes under the cut

Okay so first of all I looooove Cater, and I'm gonna make a proper character sheet for him someday :p but for now take this edit:)

List of changes (with hc explanation where needed):

He's more tanned!!

Freckles, lots of 'em

Eyebags, though I made them subtle enough to convey how he covers them with makeup (bro doesn't get much beauty sleep thanks to his racing mind<3)

Aforementioned makeup: some blush, highlighter, lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, maybe even fake lashes sometimes! All in warm tones to compliment his skintone

Piercings!!! Tongue, nostrill, industrial and lots more in both ears. Also you can't see it here but belly button too :3

Longer, painted nails! I'm not really proud of how they came out here but that's okay

Constantly wounded cuticles, he bites them when he's anxious or spiralling (often)

Slight TW for this one (mentions of SH)

I added long sleeves for under his uniform to cover the cuts on his forearms, he wouldn't want anyone seeing them after all!! Usually he explains it as being cold, or a fashion trend, or whatever else. Of course I made an uncovered version but I decided it's not appropriate to post on here, though if you're interested you can DM me and I'll share there:)

Anyways, here's the original for comparison:

Ouhh they took his cuntiness away,,

[barblaz-arts]

Hello!! I'm a big fan of your artwork and you make just amazing ocs for Fandoms that exist and I wanted to know do you plan to make your original story and characters there. I would love to see it. I think you could make something that would go really popular!! (I don't know did anyone ask this before I couldn't find it😭) and also as a person I really get interested about artists real life so do you share anywhere it?

Thank you! I do in fact have some original stories and characters. I've never posted art of them online because I made them before I had social media when I was a teenager. Back then I'd always draw my original comics on sketchbooks that my classmates would pass around. I might revisit those stories and characters again someday, and now as an adult i for sure wanna make some adjustments. If ever I share those stories again I hope you guys like em too

I do have plans to maybe make something out of some recent-ish original characters I made. They were from a fanfic I posted sometime ago about my idea of a spin-off story for Cassandra from Tangled, but I might make it a story of their own without Cassandra. Since I restricted my AO3, I'll share their backstory under the cut

Summary from AO3:

To pay for a debt that Cassandra owed to Princess Liana of Verdania, she's tasked to find the princess's estranged sister born from the king's affair with a handmaiden. As Cassandra's journey lets her uncover the royal family's secrets, she comes to realize how closely these people's tales parallel her own

The cart rattles and bounces as the terrain becomes more and more uneven. They must not be in the capital city anymore. The little stowaway continues to watch in awe from the back of the cart, blue eyes taking in every thing they could from the flap's opening. All the fields and trees in this part of the kingdom... What a shame that she had to sneak out to finally see how beautiful her home is.

When the horses stop, the little girl jerks forward and almost falls out of the cart.

"Please wait here."

The girl's heart stops when she hears her mother's voice. For second, she thought she'd been caught. But her mother was only talking to Alan, the young guard she convinced to take her here.

She watches her mother get off the cart. To the little girl, it's so marvelously strange to see the usally regal woman clad in what commoners would usually wear. Her mother heads to the little house the cart parked in front of. She merely stands there at first, looking so uncharastically unsure of herself.

Eventually, her mother knocks. Someone opens the door, a woman with dark skin and thick curly hair tied back revealing herself.

This must be "Lucille", thinks the stowaway.

She can't hear them from where she's hiding, but it seems her mother is saying something. Lucille stares, shocked. Soon, her mother is let inside the house. The girl pouts at this development. She can't see what's happening if they're inside.

Luckily, the girl didn't have to wait long for something interesting to happen. The door swings open again. This time a girl slightly older than the stowaway comes out. She's a near splitting image of Lucille. The beat of her heart quickens.

It's her! It's her! she thinks.

She could barely contain her excitement as she jumps out of the stuffy cart. The older girl is skipping ahead of her and the stowaway watches in awe as she follows. She's humming a happy tune, her voice beautiful and light with innocent joy. She must live a happy life in that small but cozy-looking house.

Lucille's daughter arrives at a grassy field, descending down the inclined plain with a trail of gleeful giggles. The stowaway lets herself watch for another moment before following after her. But something like a rock catches the tip of her shoe, and the stowaway comes stumbling down the hill into a bruised - and humiliated - heap.

She pulls her face off the grass before it reddens when she sees that the older girl noticed and likely saw her fall.

"Are you okay?" Lucille's daughter says once she's crouched in front of her.

Now that she's so much closer, she can see her face. She can see that despite being oppsites in most of their physical appearance, they have something in common. Blue eyes, dark blue like the night sky. She feels a grin stretch her lips.

"Oh, well." Lucille's daughter giggles and picks out grass from her red hair. "If you can smile like that, then I guess you're okay." She holds out a hand. "I'm Stella. What's your name?"

"I'm Liana." She forgoes taking Stella's hand in favor of wrapping her arms arouns her neck. Breathlessly, she says, "I'm your sister." She laughs in sheer delight. There may be tears prickling her eyes. "I'm so happy. I finally met you!"

"Whoa. Wait a second. Sister?" Liana's smile melts away when Stella pulls herself out of the embrace. She looks confused, taking in Liana's pale skin and red hair. "Missy, we look nothing alike."

"We have the same father," Liana explains. With Stella's cautiousness, Liana's excitement has gone away, all that's left now is insecurity. "I overheard Mother arguing with Father the other week. She was really mad, so I couldn't help listening in. She got angry at Father because she found out he has a daughter with a woman named Lucille."

Stella's eyes widen as she takes all this information in. "Is your mother the woman in our house right now? Queen Eloise?"

Liana nods, eyes down at her folded lap. Stella doesn't look as happy at the discovery of having a sister. Now there really are tears in Liana's eyes. She stands, too humiliated to bother brushing off the grass and dirt that have clung to her dress.

"I'm sorry," Liana says, already turning to leave. "I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm going to --"

"Hey, wait," Stella softly calls after her.

A hand takes hold of Liana's wrist, and she lets herself get turned back to Stella. The older girl sympathetically looks at Liana's downtrodden face before gently wiping away the tear tracks on her cheeks.

Then, without warning, Stella pulls a face, eyes and nose scrunched up and tongue poking out of her mouth. Liana is so surprised that she gasps out her laughter.

"What are you doing?" Liana asks in between giggles.

Stella relaxes her face to a more natural grin. "Just wanted to make you smile, is all. What kind of sister would I be if I made you cry?"

Happiness blooms in Liana's chest. Before she knows it, fresh tears are leaking out of her eyes.

"Oh no, what's wrong?" Stella panics.

Liana shakes her head as she continues to sob. "I'm just really happy."

At this answer, Stella is back to her giggly self. "Aww..." she coos, continuing to rub at Liana's cheeks. "You're a bit of a crybaby, aren't you? Come here."

Stella takes Liana's hand in hers and pulls her to where the flowers are abundant.

"I was going to make a flower crown for the queen," Stella starts to say. "She looked really sad, you see..." Something somber flashes in Stella's eyes. "... but I guess I understand why now. Mama wanted me to play outside so she could talk to her alone, so I thought this could cheer her up a little bit." She takes a daisy off its stem to tuck it behind Liana's ear. "But it looks like you could use it, too. You want to make one with me?"

"I don't know how," Liana sheepishly admits.

"Not a problem! I'll teach you."

But Stella doesn't get to teach her. Lucille had come looking for her daughter, and she brought Queen Eloise with her.

"Liana! What are you doing here?" Eloise pulls Liana to her feet, away from the flowers and away from Stella.

"I wanted to see my sister," Liana says, already desperate to run back to Stella.

Eloise blinks. She takes deep breaths, fingers tightening the slightest bit around her daughter's wrist. When she's calmed down, she gives Lucille and Stella a meaningful look before telling Liana, "You'll have to say goodbye now. We're going home."

But their castle isn't a home. In the castle, her father doesn't like playing with her. Her mother is often so sad, Liana doesn't feel like she's there. But here, there are tall trees and fields of flowers and Stella ready to wipe away her tears.

Liana pries her wrist out of Eloise's grip and begs, "I don't want to leave."

Someone stands between them, and Liana stares at her sister's back. "Please stay a little longer," Stella pleads. "I want to talk to her more."

For one second, Eloise looks like she might give in. But Lucille finally speaks up.

"No, sweetie," Lucille says and pulls her daughter to her side. "They can't stay any longer. The king might look for them. And he can't..." Lucille trails off without finishing what she was about to say. She looks at Eloise. "Please, go."

For reasons that Liana can't yet understand, Eloise looks pained. She takes Liana's wrist again and hastily pulls her daughter to their cart.

"Princess Liana?" Alan says, bewildered. "Why are you here?"

"That's not important right now," Eloise says, voice tight. "Take us back to the castle. Quickly."

"Of course. As you wish, your highness."

This time, Eloise doesn't sit with Alan at the reins. She gets inside the cart with her daughter. Liana prepares herself for another lecture, but her ears pick up on someone else's voice.

"Liana! Hey! Sister!"

Liana scrambles to the back of the cart and lifts open the flap before Eloise could protest. Stella is running after them, panting and shouting her words at them as best she could.

"For the record! I'm really happy too! I'm happy to know! That I have such an adorable sister!"

Like Liana at the hill, something makes Stella trip and fall to the ground. Liana gasps, worried, but Stella pulls her face out of the dirt with a huge grin. Liana laughs despite herself, despite her tears.

She watches until Stella and Lucille are so far away that she can no longer see their faces. The tinier they become, the tighter Liana's chest becomes. She turns back to Eloise, surprised to see her mother look as sad as she feels.

"Mother?"

Eloise only wipes at the wetness in her eyes. Liana takes the flower in her ear, crawls back to Eloise, and tucks the flower into her mother's ear.

"Stella was going to teach me how to make a flower crown," Liana says. "She thought giving you one might cheer you up, because you looked really sad. But this is all I have right now."

Eloise's face softens. She takes her daughter into her arms and Liana buries her face in her mother's chest.

"I suppose..." Eloise says, "... we might have to go back so you can learn how to make one."

....

And that's it! I had their story all laid out. Liana and Stella are separated at some point in their teens. Liana eventually is required to be married off to another king, so she tries to get Stella to see her again before she's whisked away to another kingdom. On Stella's journey on her way back to her sister, she's supposed to discover that her mother's "affair" isn't what it seemed, and the two sisters help rekindle an old bond that their mothers had.

I'd like to have this drawn out. At least some of the key points and my favorite scenes. Or even just to show how they look like.

And yes, I know. If you've seen my Next Gen Nevermore stuff, you may notice that I used the name Eloise again. That was honestly a coincidence. Queen Eloise was the one I made first. Eloise Johnson was a name my brother chose because I was too lazy to think of one. I realized too late that I'd used the name twice 💀

[yourpalmickeymouse]

Hello Mickey! I’m back once more haha! (For a little while though 😅).

Just poppin’ by to ask, what’s your favourite hobby to do in your spare time? (When you are not in the department working on cases) I hear that you have a thing for planes (which I find fascinating! I would love to hear more if you are okay with it).

Anyway have a good day Mick! See you around!

-Sunny ☀️

(P.S my favourite hobby to do is. Well drawing! So I drew a pic of ya!) (sorry if it’s a little wonky hehe…😅)

🤯🤯🤯

Did you DRAW THAT!!! Oh Boy! That's Incredible!!! Thank you so much!!! I love it!!! Do you mind if I share it with all my friends? They would all love to see this! Can I take this home? I want to frame it on my wall...

Oh... Sorry 😅 I just got really excited. I wasn't expectin' to get a picture. I really appreciate it though!

Now for your question. I kinda have a ton of hobbies. I like to keep myself busy and learn new things.

You mentioned planes and yes I do very much love planes. I really love readin' up on 'em (as well as trains and boats). You could probably point to any plane in the world and I'll be able to tell you exactly what kind it is. When I was younger, my parents would take my to private airplane hangers and I would spend hours askin' the pilots about their planes. I actually met Colonel Doberman that way and we still keep in touch.

I also like to create little plane models in my free time too. Though I probably have way too many sets lying around my house. I kinda don't know where to put them all 😅 I dunno why I love planes so much. I guess I just always like the idea of bein' able to go anywhere in the world. The idea of having bein' able to see many amazin' things. I don't have my license, but I do want to get it someday.

Hm... I think some of my other favorite hobbies are the ones I do with friends. I love to fish, bowl, or play video games with Goofy or Donald if he visits. Minnie and I love to garden together. Sometimes Horace and I will work on fixer upper projects. Clarabelle and I will do some exercises and martial arts trainin'.

Oh! And someone on here recommended that I should spend some more time with Daisy and it turns out she's actually really into journalism, like I was. She currently runs her own online news site and we've been meeting up so that I could help her with the pictures. Her site's more focused on trends, fashion, and pop culture which normally isn't my thing, but has been fun to learn about. But she also covers important world events as well, which is more in my wheelhouse.

Also drawin' is a great hobby. Thank you again for the art. I also like to sketch things sometimes and even make comics, though I'm definitely not as good as you ha ha. Maybe I'll share them some day. But for now I'm happy with seein' all of the art you make 😊

- M.M.

[rbkzz]

...[*whispered*] wip wednesday?

(context under the cut)

(is this is too long?)

(i wrote a trixie/keris one-shot)

(it is my first written thing)

(i am so nervous!)

(trixie pov)

Penelope Bunce is once again whirling around our room like a frizzy haired tornado.  She has literally picked up and put down every single article of clothing, book, paper, or other object at least twice (except the box under my bed, thank goodness I spelled that).

She’s such a menace – their whole golden trio is.  People say I’m annoying because of my dust, short attention span, and possessive tendencies (well anyone who had to grow up in a lower faedom and pay a tithe to the aes sidhe of all your most precious belongings each year would end up being a possessive brat too! I just don't like to share if I can avoid it is all)... 

…but I think the ‘golden trio’ made up of Snowbuncebelove should get an actual award for being the most annoying, self-absorbed students at Watford.  Nobody else would stand a chance - they’d win that award category every year.

Recently on discord my alpha @noblecorgi was lamenting the lack of lesbian smut in the CO fandom... they then got into an interesting discussion with @roomwithanopenfire about pixies/other fae folk. There was aaaalso a recent conversation about Niamh and their perspective in AWTWB about how the leads of CO had been living in their own bubble at Watford (unreliable narrators the whole lot of 'em!!)

Even though I don't write I loved the ideas that were shared, so I decided to try to smoosh them all together into a Trixie/Keris one-shot lesbian smut fic.

I got really excited about writing and caught up in the experience of it - it was so much fun!! Now I know why people do it! @roomwithanopenfire even beta read for me for which I am soooo grateful ♡♡♡♡

......aaaand then the next day I embarked on an intense perfectionist shame spiral (iykyk) and decided I should hide myself and my ideas away forevermore 🥲

However...... my brain itself is an unreliable narrator 🫠 And my recent therapy homework is to regularly try new things, mess up publicly, and be imperfect in order to rewire my brain to understand that I am still okay even when I am bad at things. Sooo I am posting part of my first fic here as therapy homework and for accountability as well as to continue on my plight of becoming consistently and unabashedly imperfect. Maybe someday I'll find the courage to post it on ao3 😬

I don't know about tags because I'm still so confused and shy about putting myself out here on tumblr 🙊 but I doooo want to say THANK YOU for tags and hellos! I love to read what y'all are up to, even though I usually wait til fics are posted in completion before starting (I'm too impatient to wait for chapter updates 🤪). xoxo!

my first wip wednesday!

[ragnar0c]

7th dragon blorbos (Guild Arcangel)

Kohaku (Samurai): Or Kiri. A used to be fearsome samurai who lost her memories after the bloom put her in comatose for 3 years. Has to relearn her craft. Oddly bubbly even though she forgot everything. Usually I made her the main character... But compared to my first run I haven't really used her 😭

Momiji: Kiri's BATTLE partner. Initially her hired hand, now he stays out of obligation to return her to her former state. He's stoic, but super soft underneath that.

Tansy (Princess): A noblewoman from a tyrannic family. She's sick and twisted but wishes for redemption for her family. Hence why she became a hunter. Fable's younger sister. [When I draw her she 100% is going to have a darker skin tone]

Fable (Mage): Tansy's illegitimate older brother. Looks calm and collected but still has to shake off the cruel/ antisocial behavior his family inflicted on him. Wants redemption deeply. [When I draw HIM HE'S GONNA LOOK WAY DIFFERENT TBH. He'll be half lucier/ rushe and tanner. His hat hides his pointed ears.]

Overall, they work best. As in. After the take over they band together to take down king. I think I might have it so Tansy and Fable sought out Kohaku and Momiji, thinking they were the best in the land... only to find out that they downgraded severely and needed help.

Other members:

Rin (Fighter): A fan of Kiri in her heyday. Trained to become as strong as her and join Arcangel. She did... and she never expected she'd have to train Kiri someday.

Brandi (Rogue): Not sure yet... But she's definitely gonna feel some way about her guild being nobles/ super well-known and her being the one of the only commoners. Maybe she joined just to scam them lollll

Sade (Knight): An older noblewoman. First spotted the bloom and no one believed her. Has a secret about the bloom she won't share. Somehow, she can make it have less of an effect on the human body. She uses provoke, parry, and chivalry skills (Save the queen/ Knight fury). Got recruited bc Kohaku believed her.

Older than she looks here and I'll change her design to reflect that. Warns the guild and teaches them.

Athena (Healer): Her dream is to go to school in Pleroma. As a commoner this isn't an easy task. She eagerly accepted the mission to study bloom. Hasn't made much progress. But heard of Sade's dilemma and pesters her about how she can do it and about bloom to make her thesis.

Main party comps:

Provoke+ Ice veil+ Parry + Hide+ Royal order + Parry

Sade is doing numbers!!!

Sade is overbearing about Fable and Tansy and insists they should just "Get along". Leads to lots of bickering. Brandi doesn't care. (Tansy thinks she's cool for it.)

Status down+ ailments (maybe)

Rin is versatile and may swap between parties. I keep these guys around just for that.

Kohaku isn't what she once was and though Rin has skills that pair well with hers (element link) They don't work. They have to find new ways to fight together. And hrm... Maybe Athena gets inspired by momiji to get into poison hehehe

They are the perfect serious/ silly guild. Not GOOFY like I am used to... more angst. I'll try to draw them soon... Not sure if I'd write about em... but I do like their story beats and how they can mix.

[astercontrol]

it feels REALLY GOOD to help other people.

you know how for a lot of us, our dream is to have enough extra money that we can scroll through our friends' posts and donate to all the fundraisers for people's health and safety needs? and maybe, even, someday, buy a house and share it with a bunch of our friends who also need someplace to live, and have it paid off (or at least a reasonable enough mortgage) that we all feel some level of security about having a continued roof over our heads?

well.

since my dad died and my brother moved out of my parents' house, and my mom asked me to come back home and live in MN, and offered me a plentiful amount of financial support to get settled in here... I am finding myself in an extraordinarily lucky and privileged position where it looks like I'll actually be able to do those things.

House, later. Gonna have to do a bit of saving up for that. But I believe it will happen.

And in meantime, I have been having enough extra funds that I've just... gone slightly wild.

Not to the point of being unsustainable; I'm still keeping track of my bank account and making sure I still have enough for myself, now and to save for the future.

But I've sent money to friends needing healthcare, and people escaping from Gaza, and the Internet Archive and some reproductive rights funds and.... it feels amazing. Why does anyone with extra money not do this?

well. I know the answer. Most people who have a lot of extra money didn't get it by being generous.

But fuck 'em.

[nitpickrider]

Just curious if you had any though regarding the Grapplers. Me? Love 'em. Pro Wrestling Heels AND super villains? I just wanted one of them to cut a promo on Captain America or the Thing, maybe promise to fight them at the next PPV

This is entrapment. I'll answer the question just know that you brought the unhinged second half on yourself.

I think I've said this in public before but I am a MASSIVE Songbird fan. Melissa Gold is one of those characters I follow with very heavy interest, everything she does I am there to read it. As such my familiarity with Screaming Mimi is more as stories of Melissa's dumb college years. Like she ran off a got a stupid, unsightly piercing rather than spending several years doing actual CRIMES with the 3 most butch women I have ever seen. I've never read any real stories with them but I hope to run across them someday so I have some actual thoughts to share. That in mind, let's get down to what you all knew was going to happen here.

Poundcakes:

HSKKKFGGNNNASoOOMMMMAAMAAAAFFFFFUUUU

<3.<3<3.<3<3.<3<3.<3<3.<3<3.<3<3.<3<3.<3<3.<3<3.<3<3.<3<3.<3

Letha:

FUCK! I mean...ho baby FUCK! *pant pant pant* humminahummina

Merciful god nothing about that woman is either legal or godly sweet mary mother of- Titania:

HHNNNNNNN, ok, yep, that's it. Split my collection amongst yourselves because my wretched, sinful soul is floating away from this earth on a cloud of that woman's FUCKING BICEPS

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: This is another chapter I was looking forward to post! -Danny Words: 2,549 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Eight' -by Sleeping At Last

XXXI: I Would Fight Myself if I Could

Percy is on the steps to Cabin Ten waiting for me. Lily and Nico share a look and mumble something about the Big House before turning away. My brother stares at me, and a small smile shows up on his face.

"Purple's definitely your color."

I grin. "You really know how to cheer an Aphrodite up." I pause and reform my sentence. "Former Aphrodite."

He doesn't get up from the steps. "You know when we went to the sea of monsters? When Hermes gave me those gifts?"

"Yeah?"

"I tried to give 'em back at first because he wanted me to help Luke. I told him Luke was a lost cause, he hated the Olympians."

"Did he get angry?"

"He told me no one can quit their family, no matter if you hate each other."

"Bet you didn't believe that."

"He said I would someday. I thought he was trying to sound wise... but he was right."

Percy's looking so defeated even though he just won the war, that I feel like a terrible person. I'm the reason why my brother can't enjoy his victory.

"Do you hate me, brother?" I ask quietly.

He gets up. "I'm trying to say I'll always care for you even if you hate me."

"I don't hate you," I frown. "I've said mean things, but I don't hold them against you, I know you're scared. I'm scared for you too, that's why I did this."

He nods slowly, deep in thought. "I was willing to die for all of you, I can't lie and say I don't understand where you're coming from..."

"We're good," I state. "You know, sometimes I feel like we've been siblings our whole lives, maybe our souls are old friends," I walk past him. "But we're on different paths. Don't make me quit my free will and my family on the same day."

His face gets really serious. "Never. I'm here for you, Birdy."

I smile. "Would you help me, then? I can't stay in Cabin Ten now that I'm the Strategus."

He pauses. "But isn't it against the rules..."

I stare at him with a deadpan expression. "We're siblings, Percy."

"Right," he makes a face. "I need a nap."

After Frank explains that he's been hearing the Roman and Greek versions of his dad shouting inside his head, it makes sense that he was interested to hear more about the voices in her head.

"Maybe we can fix your problem and save Hazel while doing so," Ara's mind races through several ideas. "If you offer a deal to your mentally unstable father, maybe he'll get us a python for Trip's chariot. Ask them if they'd like that."

Frank looks at her begrudgingly, but he closes his eyes anyway. He grumbles and groans for a few seconds, then fixes his posture, still not opening his eyes. "Horatius... Fine. If that's what it takes, I'll prove I'm as good as Horatius. Uh... what did he do?" 

After a second, Frank's eyes open and he looks at her. 

"I hope you're in the mood for a Phorcy's 2.0"

Ara grins. "Always am."

"Get on one knee so I can crown you the Canadian lone ranger."

Ara ties a large shirt over Frank's nose and mouth to protect him from the cow-dogs's poison. She won't even try to call those monsters by their name, she knows she'll get it wrong.

"All set," Ara covers her nose and mouth as well. "Ready?"

"You look weirdly happy," Frank points out while pulling up tiles and searching for roots.

"That's because I'm absurd. It took Jason, Piper, and Leo a week to figure it out," Ara cuts pieces of the roots and stuffs her pockets with them. She's wearing safety gloves to protect her skin. "Sorry you have to put up with me."

"Percy's a lot like you, Greeks are generally crazier," he comments while Ara ties pieces of roots to the belt loops of his pants. "I'll survive."

"That's the first time someone says Percy's like me and not the other way around," she says bemusedly.

Frank chuckles, then shrugs. "So why are you happy?"

"Because we have a plan. I like it when solutions are found quickly, and even more when it's something I can do without help. Well, partially—I sort of need you."

"Thank you," he replies without much excitement. "Now let's hunt some smelly cows."

The monsters might look heavy, but these creatures can run. Ara turns Almighty into a spear and Frank turns into a lion, she climbs his back and holds onto his mane, stabbing the cow-dogs that dare to inch closer.

They run through narrow streets, taunting the creatures with the nasty smell of their roots. Her spear isn't killing them fast enough so she switches to something different: a BB gun. Ara has better aim with a gun than she ever had with a bow, but Michael never let her use guns in camp because he considered that too risky.

She wonders what he'd think, watching her ride a lion through Venice while shooting at an army of cow-dogs. He'd be torn between awe and horror no doubt. Ara thinks about what her younger self would think, and that image comes effortlessly: Little Ara would be whooping and screaming at her to aim between the eyes.

Frank stops near a canal and turns into a human. Ara jumps off his back and keeps shooting. "You want our poison roots?" He screams, slashing through the herd with Hazel's sword. "Come and get them!"

He grabs Ara by the waist and jumps to the canal, turning into a dolphin. The girl holds onto him, but even though she'd been expecting this part, the smelly water is warm and repulsive, and she squirms in disgust.

"This sucks!" She shoots at the monsters angrily. "Nico's in debt for life!"

It feels like an eternity of running and killing, Ara keeps changing Almighty into different weapons to test out its efficiency, and she keeps glowing different colors as well: White, silver, green, and teal (she grew tired after that one, pulled half a dozen cow-dogs to the canal). 

"There!" Frank points at an old wooden bridge.

"Looks weak!" Ara nods approvingly. "Let's go!"

Frank turns into an eagle to make sure all the monsters are still following them, and Ara focuses on shooting, slashing, stabbing, and exploding the monsters with the bombs she had in her Octopi. Frank joins her in human form, pulling her to the middle of the bridge.

He grabs the roots from her pockets and tosses them behind them along with his roots, then he draws out Hazel's spatha. "Come on! You want to know what Frank Zhang is worth? Come on!"

Ara's never used all of her blessings in a row, and it takes a lot from her. Her anger is keeping her standing, she's tired of having to guess whether they'll be wounded or helped—most of all, she's tired of pitying herself. 

Ara likes a good fight, and she enjoys killing monsters, but lately, all she thinks is that she's sending threats to Percy and Annabeth, thinning their chances of survival and getting in their way like she's always done. 

Her actions have consequences, in this world and the next, and the ones around her. All she can do is minimize the damage by not going apeshit. She focuses on achieving their goal even if it costs her a limb, she can't go back to the ship with Nico as a plant and no Hazel, so she'll do whatever Frank tells her to, twist herself into knots if she has to.

The girl calculates all of her moves and keeps an eye on Frank, who attacks the monsters in all the forms he can imagine, animal and human. He's a little frantic too, their strength and patience are running out. 

Eventually, a red light envelops them. There are no monsters left except for one, and Ara yanks Frank backward before he slays it. "You said we needed one!"

"Mars!" Frank yells, eyes wild and angry. "I've proven myself. Now I need a snake!"

The cow-dog jumps at them, and Frank moves Ara out of the way to cut it in half. The monster vanishes in a flash, and in its place, a python lands at their feet.

"Well done," says a voice.

Ara drops her sword. This is Mars, not Ares, she knows the difference because this version looks less stupid. She kneels before him, grateful. Percy would not approve of this, but the girl doesn't care. Ares has always kept her alive, like Clarisse did when they were little.

"On your feet, Strategus," he commands her. "A good leader knows when to hand over the reigns, and when to take control. You've earned my blessing."

Ara feels a lump in her throat but says nothing, she steps back so Frank can talk to his dad. "Father," the boy speaks hoarsely.

"It's natural to feel fear." Ara only heard him speak this warmly when Clarisse killed the drakon. "All great warriors are afraid. Only the stupid and the delusional are not. But you faced your fear, my son. You did what you had to do, like Horatius. This was your bridge, and you defended it."

"I—" Frank gulps. "I... I just needed a snake."

The god smirks. "Yes. And now you have one. Your bravery has united my forms, Greek and Roman, if only for a moment. Go. Save your friends. But hear me, Frank. Your greatest test is yet to come. When you face the armies of Gaea at Epirus, your leadership—" the god bends over, his form glitching from the Roman to the Greek. "Agony!" He moans. "Go! Hurry!"

"Get on my back," Frank tells her. 

Ara does and then he turns into an eagle, grabs the python with his claws, and flies away. 

"You found one!" Triptolemus says delightedly.

"Heal them," Frank drags the python into the room and then moves over to Hazel. "Now."

"How do I know the snake will work?"

Ara yanks the python closer to the chariot, tilts it sideways, and wraps the creature around the broken wheel. The chariot comes to life and starts circling the room.

"Fixed." Ara crosses her arms. "That'll be two healthy children of the Underworld, please."

Triptolemus tilts his head, toying with their worry. "Well, thank you for the snake, but I'm not sure I like your attitudes, demigods. Perhaps I'll turn you into—"

Frank jumps to his feet and pushes the god against a wall. It's only then that Ara notices his physical change. She glances down, her body looks different too.

"Think about your next words," Frank growls. "Or instead of beating my sword into a plowshare, I will beat it into your head."

"You know..." The god's eyes dart between him and Ara, who's glaring at him too. "I think I'll heal your friends." 

"Swear it on the River Styx," Frank presses.

"I swear it on the River Styx."

The boy steps back and Triptolemus stumbles away from him. "Just—just gathering herbs!"

Frank stands next to Ara, taller than before. Before they left Trip's house, Nico the potted plant was the same height as her, now it barely reaches her chin. Both demigods look at each other and Ara whistles.

"You look scary."

"You're small... but a different small," Frank frowns. "Like a bodybuilder that's just getting started. There's a child of Venus in New Rome—"

Hazel coughs and sits up. Triptolemus is next to her, his fingers full of crumbs and greenish matter.  "What—?"

Frank approaches and wraps his arms around her, he could suffocate the fourteen-year-old without even trying. "You're going to be fine. Everything is fine."

"But..." Hazel moves away and eyes him. "Frank, what happened to you?"

"To me?" He looks at himself. "I don't... Uh... I don't... Maybe I can fix it."

Hazel laughs. "Why? You look amazing!"

"I—I do?"

"I mean, you were handsome before! But you look older, and taller, and so distinguished—"

"Mars's blessing," Ara explains. "We both got it, I think."

"You think?" Triptolemus snorts. "Now, if we're done here..."

"We're not done," Frank points at the corn plant. "Heal Nico."

Nico turns back into a human and Ara steadies him before he falls on his face. "I—I had the weirdest nightmare about popcorn." He scowls at Ara, now as tall as him. "Why are we eye-to-eye?"

"You've been a corn plant for two years—"

"Knock it off, Birdy," Frank interrupts her. "Everything's fine. Triptolemus was about to tell us how to survive the House of Hades. Weren't you, Trip?"

"Fine," Trip makes a face. "When you arrive at Epirus, you will be offered a chalice to drink from."

"Offered by whom?" Nico questions.

"Doesn't matter. Just know that it is filled with deadly poison."

"So you're saying that we shouldn't drink it," Hazel says hesitantly.

"No! You must drink it, or you'll never be able to make it through the temple. The poison connects you to the world of the dead, lets you pass into the lower levels. The secret to surviving is... barley."

"Barley." Frank repeats.

"In the front room, take some of my special barley. Make it into little cakes. Eat these before you step into the House of Hades. The barley will absorb the worst of the poison, so it will affect you, but not kill you."

"That's it?" Nico frowns. "Hecate sent us halfway across Italy so you could tell us to eat barley?"

"Good luck!" Triptolemus gets on his chariot. "And, Frank Zhang, I forgive you for threatening me! You've got spunk. And you're brighter than you look, daughter of Olympus! I'd love to see you two get a degree in farming!"

"Not a chance, Trip!" Ara waves him off.

"Yeah," Frank makes a face. "Thanks."

"He's right, you know," Nico tells her. "You don't look smart. Ouch! You're stronger?!" He asks in outrage.

"Be quiet or I'll send you to camp in pieces," Ara warns him.

"Oh, to be mobile again!" Triptolemus exclaims as the garage doors open. "So many ignorant lands in need of my knowledge. I will teach them the glories of tilling, irrigation, fertilizing! Away, my serpents! Away!"

"I kind of regret fixing his ride," Ara mumbles. "We've released a nuance into the world."

"Can't be any worse than what's already out there," Frank sighs.

"That," Hazel says, "was very strange."

"The glories of fertilizing." Nico moves away from Ara and brushes off the corn hairs of his jacket. "Can we get out of here now?"

"Are you two okay, really?" Hazel places a hand on Frank's shoulder. "You bartered for our lives. What did Triptolemus make you do?"

Frank looks at his feet and takes a shaky breath. "Those cow monsters... the katoblepones that poisoned you... we had to destroy them."

"That was brave," Nico points out. "There must have been, what, six or seven left in that herd."

"No." Frank corrects him. "All of them. We killed all of them in the city."

Ara holds Frank's hand to absorb some of his torment. "I told Triptolemus I could fix his chariot, and Frank just did his best to help me."

"You put your life on the line just so we could heal Hazel," Frank squeezes her hand once and then lets go. "We helped each other. I know it's your job, but..."

"My job is to keep you from danger, not to put you in its way," Ara makes a face. "It won't happen again, I apologize."

"Look at that," Nico raises a brow. "That's the second time I hear a sincere apology from you. Maybe those blessings make you grow in more ways than one." 

She thinks about what Hercules said, her ambition feeding on her youth. "How fun..."

"Well," Nico moves toward the exit. "Does anyone know what barley looks like?"

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh

[unpredictable-probabilities]

Azul Ashengrotto of Royal Sword Academy || Chapter 19: Banters and Questions

Summary:

The impromptu sleepover has begun and it starts in the kitchens, where Azul fixes up a dinner for their little group.

In the midst of it, inquiries and curiosities begin to float among the group, one of which calls Jamil and Azul's friendship into question...

Word Count: 2,868

Jade leads them down the corridors to Octavinelle's kitchen, which was fortunately big enough to accommodate all of them without it being cramped.

"What do you usually eat for dinner?" Azul asks Jamil, rolling up his sleeves. He had hung his coat on one of the hooks by the door. "Is there any type of dish you'd like for tonight?"

"Hmm..." Jamil thinks about it.

Ace mutters, “Maybe he’d like to have you for dinner.”

Jamil shoves him aside while Azul’s back is turned.

"You've always wanted to run a catering business, right?” Jamil says. “Perhaps that means you have a signature dish you'd like to feature there. You can make that if it's possible."

"Oh, that reminds me!” Ruggie pipes up. “I heard y'all are planning on opening up a café sometime soon. If you got any job openings, I'm yer guy!"

"Wait, why would you ever need to work anymore? You're gonna get married to royalty someday," Ace asks, confused.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Jumping the gun a lil' here, don'cha think?" The hyena shook his head. "Datin's one thing but who knows what's gonna happen in the future? 'Sides, I ain't plannin' on becoming a meat sack like Leona!"

Jade chuckles, then turns to Azul. "The freezer is there, and the shelves containing the different seasonings and condiments are over there," he gestures around the room. "Feel free to use as much as you like. Meanwhile I'll be by the ovens baking some snacks for us."

Azul nods. "Thank you."

He heads to the freezer and opens it to look at the meats and vegetables inside, then he turns to Jamil. "How's your fever?"

Jamil takes a moment to assess himself, having forgotten how unwell he had been feeling. "Honestly, it seems like I'm all better. A little sluggish, but I think that's from sleeping all day today. What about you? Are you feeling okay enough to cook?"

“Yes,” Azul nods. “My muscles still feel sore but not as much as they were this morning.” He takes two frozen plastic bags from the freezer and puts them in a mixing bowl. “How do you feel about cauliflower?” he asks Jamil.

"Cauliflower? Other than its nutritional benefits and the fact that it looks like a pretty white flower, I think it's a good ingredient. Why?"

“Ruggie’s remark about how he still can’t get Leona to cook vegetables reminded me of a particular vegetable dish I know,” Azul says as he places the mixing bowl on the counter. “If Ruggie likes it, perhaps he can add it to his repertoire of vegetable dishes that he serves to his cubs.” He waves his Magic Pen and defrosts the two plastic bags. Jamil can see that one bag contains the said vegetables, and the other contains chicken. “Have you decided whether you’ll be a cook at Jade’s cafe?” Azul asks as he takes a chopping board and knife from the racks.

"I could," Jamil admits, playfully sidling up to him at the counter. "Do you think the management would like me?"

Azul smiles at him. “I think the management would like you very much. Do you have any specialties you’d like to share with the café?”

"If I have to say that there's a type of dish I specialize in, I suppose it'd be anything that dabbles in heavy spices. It's one of the things the Scalding Sands is most well-known for, after all. So whenever the Asims would have guests over, I'd cook with the professional chefs for 'em. And I like spicy food in general."

Azul perks up. “Oh, then you’ll like this one,” he says as he reaches for red peppers on the shelf and places them on the counter. “It’s a recipe I learned just this year when I was trying out various dishes for myself.”

He lays down the chicken on the chopping board and cuts it into thin slices.

Then Floyd’s laughter echoes in the kitchen. Azul looks up to see that Ace seems to be showing Rielle how to do disappearing card tricks even without using actual magic. Rielle is practicing how to do it, and he had successfully made a card ‘disappear’ and reappear behind Floyd’s ear.

Azul pauses with the slicing and smiles at them, but there’s a noticeable worry in his eyes.

Jamil quiets down to ask, "What's wrong? Worried about Rielle?"

Azul looks down again at the chopping board and continues his slicing. Then he nods. “It isn’t like him to stay out of RSA and then ask permission if he could do so. And I do like staying here myself, so I didn’t contradict him. But I worry that there’s another reason why he wants to stay away from RSA. I was unconscious for most of the time since we got back, and I don’t know how Headmage or the other professors have reacted to Rielle cutting his work short in the Coral Sea, but it’s entirely possible that they’re making him feel pressured again.”

"Ah, that'd certainly explain it." Jamil casts a glance at the others. "So he's essentially hiding away here?"

“It seems like it,” Azul says, putting the chicken aside and chopping some garlic and herbs. “And admittedly I’m not sure what to do. Do I tell him to face the issues at RSA even though he seems so happy here?” he shakes his head. “It feels hypocritical coming from me. I got out of RSA a lot too, during the Winter Ball preparations.”

"Hm... Considering he and Floyd organized all this, perhaps we can let him have his bliss for tonight, and then try and see if we can talk to him about his place within RSA tomorrow. Because for the time being, I think he really needs the rest, so why not indulge him for a little bit? And if you're worried about talking to him alone, I can be there with you." Jamil leans on the counter. "Speaking of, is there anything I can help with? I know you're making this for me, but I feel weird doing nothing while cooking duties are happening before my eyes."

Azul nods and seems to relax a little. “You’re right. He deserves to rest and have fun more than anything.” Then he smiles at Jamil. “Can you roast these peppers in the pan and mince them? I’ll see if I can find any cheese.”

"You got it, boss," Jamil humorously quips and starts to get to work.

"So what kinda game are we gonna play?" Ruggie asks from the counters. "And who, between the both of you, came up with it? This is important info." He looks suspiciously at Floyd and Rielle.

“Flame Tetra said board games, and I said Truth or Dare! It’s a classic!” Floyd says, holding cards in one hand and a 2 of clubs tucked behind his ear. “And it lets me pry information out of people or make ‘em do funny stuff without lifting a fin.”

Ruggie whistles, turning to help Jade load a tray of pastries into the oven. “Kinda wish I’d known that before I agreed to come to this thing. Though honestly I should have expected it when I knew you’re hosting it.”

“Exactly!” Floyd says cheerfully. “You got any juicy secrets I can pry out of you, lil’ Remora?”

"If I do, you're gonna have to pry it outta my cold dead hands," Ruggie sneers.

"Or through Truth or Dare!" Rielle chuckles.

"I'm fine with this," Ace grins. "I can already think of a few juicy questions and dares off the top of my head."

"Better be careful, Crabby, or yer gonna end up gettin' all the bad luck in this game." Floyd grins.

Ace scoffs. “No way! I’m not squeamish when it comes to dares, and I’m not even the one with the juiciest potential secrets here. Azul, Jamil, you’re playing, too, right?”

Azul distractedly looks up from making a mixture of herbs and cheese. “Hm? Of course,” he smiles politely.

"I'm gonna hold you to those dares, Ace," Jamil playfully warns, keeping his gaze onto his work.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Ruggie, the only one with an ounce of self-preservation, calls their attention. "Just so we're clear, how 'juicy' we talkin' about here? We got any boundaries we shouldn't cross, at least, oooor..?"

“Hmm, I don’t think we should dare anyone to do anything to another person,” Rielle says. “For example, I can’t dare you to punch Floyd. We shouldn’t involve the others in another person’s dare. As for when truth is chosen, if someone feels that a question is too personal, the group can discuss and collectively decide whether a different question should be asked. What do you think?” he addresses everyone.

"Awwww," Floyd playfully pouts.

"Whew! Thank the Sevens!" Ruggie mimics wiping the sweat off of his brow.

Ace seems a tad disappointed too, but he shrugs. "Eh. I guess that'd at least guarantee we all live to see another day."

"Indeed. Dead bodies here would be such a stain on Octavinelle's reputation," Jade reasons, though he too, is noticeably sorrowful.

A little more than an hour later, Azul had cooked two dishes: Cauliflower steaks with crunchy hazelnuts, browned butter sauce, and lemon zest, and roasted roll-ups of chicken and red peppers with herbs.

He had laid the plates on the counter, beside Jade’s chocolate chip cookies and vanilla-frosted cupcakes.

“I’m surprised you didn’t cook any mushrooms,” Floyd says to his brother.

Jade chuckles. “I wanted to do something different.”

“Shall we bring these up to the rooftop, or would you prefer to eat in the dining area?” Azul asks them.

"Rooftop!" Floyd immediately says, followed by cheering from Rielle and Ace.

Jade chuckles. "You are all like adorable little children."

"Here, lemme help carry all these up!" Ruggie volunteers. "Nice dish ideas you got here, Azul! Mind if I grab myself a sample?"

The hyena proceeds to take one without waiting for Azul to answer.

"It's certainly impressive," Jamil compliments. "And you came up with these from experimenting? It now makes me wonder how different culinary work must be like under the sea."

"Yeah, how'd you cook anything underwater?" Ace asks, getting ready to head out with everyone.

"Well, sometimes... not at all." Jade replies, giving the ginger a toothy grin that makes him shiver.

“Quite a significant amount of magic is involved,” Azul says, smiling in amusement at Jade’s response. “There are magical equipment like pans and stoves that even non-magical merfolk can use.”

“I definitely wanna see something like that someday,” Ruggie says in interest.

They reach the rooftop and arrange the food and plates on the large picnic blanket.

The rooftop is several stories above the water level, and they have the view of the sea spread out before them beneath the night sky.

They settle onto the blanket in a loose circle; Jade in front of the serving plates, to his left is Floyd, then Rielle, Ace, Ruggie, Jamil, and finally Azul to Jade’s right.

Throw pillows are scattered around, but Jamil realizes that there aren’t any blankets. It makes sense because Floyd and Rielle spontaneously prepared the set-up, possibly with Jade’s help. The merfolk probably didn’t feel cold at all and preparing blankets slipped their mind.

Jamil is feeling chilly, though. Especially because it’s nighttime and they’re very close to the sea. He tries to suppress a shiver, telling himself that he's used to cold nights since he gets them in Scarabia and the Scalding Sands.

But Octavinelle is already cold on a normal day. This? This is cold. It's not at the Coral Sea's level, but it's cutting it pretty close. He tries to shrink a little, wrapping his jacket even tighter around himself.

Meanwhile, Ruggie copes with the cold by popping one of the chicken pepper roll-ups into his mouth.

"... Do you think it'd be legal to start a campfire here?" Ace wonders out loud.

“Technically we’re allowed to, but I’m afraid we don’t have any firewood at the moment,” Jade says, then he stands up. “I shall get blankets for everyone. Apologies for not having them around in the first place,” he puts a hand on his chest then leaves to go back inside.

“Oh yeah, you land critters ain’t built for the cold,” Floyd says, leaning casually against Rielle.

“Sorry, I suppose we got so excited about the sleepover that we forgot to prepare some blankets,” Rielle smiles shyly.

Azul notices Jamil bundling himself up tighter in his jacket. “Oh, would you like to borrow my coat?” he asks, already shrugging it off his shoulders.

"H-Huh?" Jamil blinks with a start. "Oh, no you don't have t—"

His voice dies down when the coat and Azul's arms are placed upon his shoulders. He's not sure if it's the jacket or the butterflies in his stomach, but he sure is warming up now.

"Awww," Ruggie teases.

"Wow, I've never seen Jamil this docile," Ace whispers.

Floyd snickers and Rielle chuckles at the reddening of Jamil's face.

"Lookit that. It's doin' wonders already, Octy," Floyd informs Azul.

Azul clears his throat, the teasing of their friends has made his face a little red. “Well, you had only just recovered from your fever, we don’t want it coming back, do we? Besides, you let me borrow a spare dorm uniform when it was too hot for me in Scarabia, it’s only right that I return the favor however I can.”

The atmosphere is quiet for a moment.

"... So tell us straight-up: Are you guys dating or not?" Ace blurts out.

"We're not!" Jamil retorts, his voice returning.

"Why not???" Ace asks. "Does that mean if I or even Jade start hitting on either of you, you both would be okay with it?"

Jamil's expression grows dark, over Ace putting them on the spot and over the sheer imagery of someone asking Azul out before he could.

Azul laughs nervously. “Same some of that energy for the Truth and Dare later, Ace.”

“And why are you only asking them?” Ruggie asks through a mouthful of chicken and pepper. “I don’t see you asking Floyd and Rielle, and they look even cozier together.”

"Floyd's already saying they're dating!" Ace argues.

Floyd sagely nods his head as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Rielle, meanwhile, looks surprised. "Huh? We are?"

Floyd blinks. "Huh? We're not?"

Rielle’s face reddens. “D-Do you want us to?”

“Hell yeah!” Floyd says, getting up from leaning on Rielle to look at his face. “And you told your dad already that you like me, right? I thought you knew that I like you, too?” he tilts his head in confusion.

Rielle looks down and he chuckles shyly. “Then y-yes. We’re dating,” he meets Floyd’s eyes.

Floyd gasps dramatically and throws his arms up. “YAY~!” he wraps them around Rielle and pulls him close, planting a firm kiss on his cheek.

Rielle’s eyes widen and he blushes even more.

“Wow,” Ruggie says, his eyebrows raised in fascination.

“See?” Ace says and looks at the rest of them as if his point was just proven. “It’s that easy to admit it!”

As if I could confess just like that right when Rielle and Floyd just got together, Jamil tries to keep a neutral expression.

"Oh, let 'em be, Ace," Ruggie was the one to step up and knock the freshman down a peg. "The game hasn't started and you're already prying into people's love lives. What, you desperate for some 'cause you don't have any?"

"OHHHHHHH!" Floyd reacts.

"W-Wh..!?" Ace stammers. "I wasn't desperate, I was just asking why Azul and Jamil are dancing around the idea of getting together!"

"Why? You wanna get together with someone yourself?” Ruggie raises an eyebrow. “You talk about our relationships a suspicious ton but never once mentioned yours. Who ya eyein'? Is it Deuce? Is it Yuu?"

Floyd mockingly gasps. "What if it's Grim?"

Ruggie gasps along as Ace cringes.

"UGH! Gross! No DUH it's not Grim!"

"Then is it this Yuu or Deuce?" Rielle mutters.

Jamil sighs in relief now that the spotlight's left the both of them.

"I— Well—!" Ace tries to voice out.

"No!" Ruggie exclaims. "BOTH!?"

"AGH! SHUT IT, WILL YOU?!" Ace yells, standing up.

"My, you're already involving yourselves in the wonder that is friendly gossip?" Jade has returned with a pile of blankets in his arms. "Without me?"

“Floyd and Rielle got together just now!” Ace blurts out, pointing at the couple.

“Weren’t they already together?” Jade asks, placing down the blankets and sitting back down in his place.

“Did it really seem like that?” Rielle smiles shyly.

“Yep, totally,” Ruggie says casually before turning to Jade. “So how’s this game gonna work? Do we spin a bottle or something? Let’s start this and get you involved in the gossip,” he hands Jade a plate of cauliflower steak.

Ace pouts and quietly sits back down.

"We can spin a bottle, yes," Jade nods, taking a generous bite of the steak, before taking a bottle out and placing it on the floor. "I took this as I was taking the blankets. Get yourselves comfortable, everyone, we're about to begin."

<- Chapter 18

Chapter 20 ->

(Masterlist)

[the-himawari-otome]

[Shuuen no Virche]  La Saint-Valentin - Hugo

<Original post here>

･ﾟ･:,｡★ translation under the cut ★,｡･:･ﾟ

Oh, are these treats for the Corps members?

Sorry 'bout that. You have the share for all kids at the orphanage to take care of...

Plus our members always seem to be starvin'

There were times when we were green with envy when we saw the tasty-looking sweets that Adolphe got every year—Thanks, I'll make sure to savour them.

How'd we spend this day up 'til last year? ...We were totally annihilated. I think you can guess why.

In any case... I feel a bit nostalgic whenever I see you handing out sweets.

Ah, it's just, it reminds me of how every year around this time, my little sisters back home would just bluntly chuck their sweets at me.

Man, maybe I'll randomly bump into them at Chedis someday.

They're clumsy, and all the desserts they make end up burnt...

So I'm sure they'd be jealous of your cooking skills.

Hey, you should teach 'em if you feel up for it.

---

[DO NOT USE OR REPOST MY WORK W/O PERMISSION, THANK YOU]

[hinata-boke]

Would you ever post a speedpaint? I'm amazed by your art every. Single. Time. Like i almost can't believe its not machine printed! It's soooooo brilliant. How long have you been drawing? Are there other art styles you dabbled with or have you always drawn with the intention of the current clean lined manga style you post now? I saw in the tags of your other asks that you have been into furudate's style recently so I'm wondering how you have been influenced before that and the transition of your art styles. I have sooo many questions that I'll try to hold back so I don't absolutely badger overwhelm you but I'm extremely interested in hearing about your art journey! Your lines are so strong, clean and finite, it leaves the impression of bravery and courage. You seem to be very humble but I wanted to objectively say that you're an amazing artist! So many emotions can be conveyed through just looking at your art despite what the art itself is of. It's a very bold feeling, that kind of thing. There is sooooo much power behind your art that it gives the viewer energy and fills them with a quiet sort of awe. I hope you have an absolutely amazing day and thank you so much for sharing your art with us!!!! With much love 💞💞💞💞💞 -tabi

oh my god first of all thank you so much for this ask??? i smiled so much reading it!!!

that's an idea, i might try to do one someday! i know csp has a timelapse feature so maybe i'll start recording those and post em here and there for ones im proud of? (unfortunately i dont have them for ones i've already drawn 😢)

ADJSHASADS YOUR COMMENTS ARE SO NICE???? IM LIKE🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

i started doing digital art pretty early on, like elementary/middle school? (started out just drawing stuff like my little pony and warrior cats fanart hbds)

ive spent most of my time messing around w fanart for anime and western cartoons, so i would say that other fanart/official art for those styles have been my primary influence! although my style has changed it's pretty much always been stuff with solid colors and cel shading.

i also focused on animation (without doing 'regular' art) for a period of time, inspired by a lot of japanese animators! (it's something that i'd love to return to after i feel a bit more 'solid' with regular art, so maybe you'll see some haikyuu animations at some point!! maybe??? no promises though)

the manga influence has been pretty recent, i'd say just the past year or so, because it's just been something i've been paying more attention to when reading manga. furudate's influence is even more recent because i've actually only started reading the manga around the time i started doing these! (i'm so glad i did) i've become more comfortable with doing a kind of 'clean sketch' style, with quick, loose, kinda angular lines. i like it because i don't have to focus on getting each line 'perfect', and working in just black and white means i can draw things a bit quicker (i think lol)

AAA AGAIN THANK YOU SO MUCH I HOPE THIS ANSWERS A FEW OF YOUR QUESTIONS AT LEAST!

[hardcandycigarette]

Lady and The Scamp Part Two

Well, Harry is doing quite well working for Y/N, but he's got the hots for his boss. Uh-oh. A/U set in 1925.

Word Count- 2k

Warnings- Smut (masturbation)

It had been a good day, Harry reflected as he helped Y/N clean the restaurant after closing. In the afternoon there was no rush to open for customers, no sleep clouding his thoughts like first thing in the morning; just the two of them- tired but satisfied with another successful day. They shared laughs and stories. He couldn't help but feel a connection to her. He wanted to share more with her, to get to know her better. It was nice to have someone to talk to after the restaurant emptied. It made the dreaded end of the day easier to accept. It was his favorite part of any day. Y/N had an infectious laugh that echoed in his ears long after they went their separate ways.

He resigned himself to never having a chance with her. He had to be content with the moments they shared, and nothing more. He felt his heart sink at the thought. He walked across the dining room. He needed space between them. His leg hurt today, which always made his limp worse. He hoped she didn't notice. He knew that someone as beautiful and smart as Y/N would never be interested in a man like him. He was painfully aware of his shortcomings, and he was sure that she would never look twice at someone with a limp or a man who had nothing to offer but kind words.

"Say Harry," Y/N called from across the room.

"Yes."

"Can you come here for a moment?" Y/N asked.

Harry nodded and walked towards her. "How can I help?" he asked.

"I've been thinking. This place is getting busier. It's to the point I'm gonna need to bring in some more help. What do you think if I hired a gal to help?"

"Sure." Harry nodded. "Whatever you think is best. I trust yeh judgment."

The word had spread that Harry was one hell of a cook with delicious recipes, some new to patrons. He was proud of the impact he had made with his cooking and wanted to continue to make more people happy with his recipes. Maybe he'd found the kind of job he could do the rest of his life, maybe get a job at a fancy hotel someday.

"I could train her up in no time and she could help out with the lunch rush. Plus, it would free up some of my time so I can focus more on the kitchen side of things."

"Are you not pleased with the way I've been doin 'thin's in the kitchen?"

"Oh, heaven's no doll. In fact, it's because you've been so wonderful that I think you need an extra pair of hands in there. Nothing more." She took his face in her hand. "You're wonderful." Her gaze lasted longer than normal. "What do you say?"

He smiled at her, relieved. "Yes, I think that'd be great." And he certainly wasn't going to argue if it meant more time with Y/N.

She stepped back and nodded approvingly. "I'm glad you agree. I'll find someone who can come help out."

Harry agreed. "Sure. Yes."

"Okay, then that's settled."

Harry grabbed a broom and began sweeping. He hummed a tune as he worked. Harry once again in his own little world. He'd found life easier if he kept to himself.

"Say that's a pretty little song. Where did you hear it?"

Harry shrugged, shy at the thought that Y/N heard him. "Oh, just somethin' I made up in my head."

"Really? Well, it's really nice. Does it have words?"

"Yeah, yeah it does, but I don't sing 'em or anythin'."

"Why on earth not? If I say anything it's that people should share things they create."

"Haven' ever had anyone wanna listen." Harry walked back to the front of the restaurant, closer to Y/N.

"You should share it anyway," Y/N replied. "You never know who might be listening."

Harry smiled as leaned on the counter. "Thanks."

Y/N gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder and said, "You never know, it might be just the thing someone needs to hear today." She picked up some items from the counter and walked to the kitchen.

Harry nodded again and smiled.

"Go ahead. I'm listening," Y/N called over her shoulder.

Harry remained silent.

She returned to him and leaned on the counter before lighting a cigarette. He looked away from her, She exhaled a cloud of smoke, watching him carefully. He shifted uncomfortably, his gaze still averted. "Go on."

"Nah I couldn'."

"Harry, I want to hear the song. You don't have to sing the whole thing, just a few lines."

He cleared his throat and looked at the ground. "Okay ready?"

"Yes." Y/N smiled and nodded. "Go ahead, baby."

His heart skipped a beat when she said 'baby'.

He cleared his throat again. "Okay. Sunflower" His voice cracked. He looked away as he gripped the broom still in his hand.

Sunflower

My eyes, want you more than a melody

Let me inside

Wish I could get to know you

Sunflowers

Sometimes

Keep it sweet in your memory

I was just tongue-tied

He moved his fingers, playing with a ring his father had left him when he died. His eyes remained focused on the ground, his face growing hot. He remembered his father's words of encouragement, that he could do anything he set his mind to, always encouraging him. He wondered what advice he would give him about Y/N.

I don't wanna make you feel bad

But I've been trying hard not to talk to you

Sunflower (Sunflower, sunflower)

"That's really pretty. Who's the girl? The sunflower?"

"Dunno." He wasn't ready to say "You. You. Y/N."

"Oh, you know. You don't say words like to no one. Well, whoever she is she's really lucky. That's so romantic. My John wrote me a little poem one time and I thought he hung the moon, but a whole song? Well, that's a lucky girl"

"Thank you. Think I'm gonna go lie down. Legs bothering me," he said, then dropped the broom and dashed off.

"Oh okay. Well, rest well. See you in the morning." She watched him go, a little smile on her lips. She thought of the girl who had inspired him to write that song. Whoever she was, she was special indeed.

"Thanks." He hurried to the rear of the building and upstairs to his little place.

It was unlike him to hurry off before Y/N gave him the go-ahead, but she didn't question him. She sighed, wondering if she would ever have someone who felt that way about her deeply enough to write a song. She returned to her work, with her heart heavier than before.

Later that night

Harry sat down on the edge of the bed and grabbed his glasses. As the last moments of sunlight filtered through the curtains, he took a deep breath and smiled, grateful that he had a job, a comfortable place to sleep, and was making friends in addition to some money in the bank. He was content with his life and felt on the right path.

In the tiny apartment above the restaurant, electricity was not always reliable, especially at night, so he usually relied on candles and lanterns. But he never complained. He was grateful for what he had and determined to make the most of it. He was confident that his hard work and dedication would eventually lead to a better future.

With the lantern alight, he grabbed his book and read. He'd been excited since the librarian brought him a copy of A Passage To India. Despite not being particularly intellectual, Harry enjoyed reading and had heard some people, especially those with higher education levels, discuss the book. By page five, Harry had lost focus. His thoughts drifted to the other books he had. He placed the book on the nightstand and stood, then walked to his closet. On the top shelf, in a small leather satchel was reading material he shouldn't even own. He removed the worn pages and returned to his bed. He was soon lost in an entirely different world. It was full of filthy, pornographic words. Women with women, two women with one man at the same time. Cunts, cocks, and sex abounded on the pages. Things Harry could barely imagine happening were happening in this book. The craving was too overwhelming to deny. He quickly turned the page, wanting more of this forbidden world. His heart raced as he read the words, feeling a strange thrill as he imagined himself in the scenes he was reading. He quickly closed the book, realizing he had gone too far, but feeling strangely liberated by the experience.

He placed the book on the ground after the lantern was out, and he crawled under the covers. While praying for forgiveness for the sin he just committed, but he kept picturing the scenes in the book. As the words and images repeated in his head, the longing grew.

Harry touched the erection that was slowly growing in his cotton underwear. He felt a surge of excitement as his fingers massaged the throbbing length of his arousal. He had to move the garment down from his hips until his engorged cock was finally free. He gripped the base, then began to stroke himself, feeling the heat and stiffness beneath his smooth skin. After spitting into his hand, he returned to his needy, ever-growing erection. His hand wasn't wet enough to bring the pleasure a woman's soft, warm walls could, but for now, it was all he had. He closed his eyes and imagined what it would be like to be touched by someone else. In the past, his thoughts were always about a girl back home or a former lover. Now, his thoughts were focused on Y/N. She was beautiful, with her plump bottom, small waist, and beautifully full breasts. He could almost feel her sinking down on him, rocking slowly, using him as a mere tool until her cheeks were flushed and her breath quick and heavy as she brought herself to the heights of ecstasy. He tensed as desire radiated through his penis, hips, and through his legs down to his toes. He moved faster and harder bucking his hips at nothing. His heart raced as thoughts ran wild and his body moved to the rhythm of the visions in his head. He sighed as he got closer to the end. His breath escaped rapidly. With one final stroke, he moaned as he reached his climax. The thick warm liquid erupted from him.

As soon as the euphoria waned, and he returned to reality, he felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He knew he shouldn't have done this, but he couldn't help it. He scurried to put his undergarment back on, after wiping away the evidence with a small cloth. He felt embarrassed and ashamed. A virtuous Christian man would never think such dirty, disrespectful thoughts, much less touch himself in such a way. Over time though it seemed a woman's touch was no longer his to be had. He knew he couldn't let himself get carried away like that again. Y/N was his boss, and at most she was a friend. It was wrong to think of her in such a way. And she was more than just an object to his fantasies. Y/N was lovely, sweet and funny. He promised himself to stay in control from then on. He wouldn't get carried away with or distracted by his lustful thoughts.

*****

Several days later, Harry was again cleaning up after the lunch rush. Since they closed, Y/N had been working in the back, so he hadn't seen her. In the midst of carrying the last load of plates to the back, the door to the kitchen flew open.

"Ah there he is my right-hand man," Y/N said.

Harry's heart fluttered when he heard her. A smile spread across her face, which he could not help but return. As soon as he felt his cheeks flush, he turned away, returning to his duties. Harry looked back to her as it hadn't registered when he first saw Y/N. Immediately following her was a beautiful, petite girl. She had captured his attention so much that he couldn't concentrate, and he couldn't help but stare at her. There was something delicate about her, which her big brown eyes and short dark hair highlighted.

"'ello," he said.

Her small voice answered. "Hello."

"Harry, this is Jenny. She'll be helping out around here."

Harry couldn't believe how lovely she was and he was completely captivated.

[cosmignon]

11, 16, 23! :)

11. Favorite comment you’ve ever recieved on your work?

Oh that's such a hard question bc I've gotten a lot of sweet comments over the years! But one that sticks in my head from recently is one of my regulars for my commissions commented that he's appreciated seeing my art improve over the years thru the comms themselves and it made me really happy! Like aw shucks, you liked my art enough then and continue to enjoy it more as I improve and grow?! Golly! Wow!!

16. What’s the most daunting part of your process? Ex, planning, sketching, lineart, rendering etc

Planning and composition can be so hard esp if I need to rope everyone into a background!! Once I've gotten past the sketch I can usually get on with things smooth sailing but oh the planning... for comic pages it's hard to get the panel layouts to look good, I still struggle with that a lot too.

23. Do you listen to music or watch shows while you work? If so, what’s your favourite?

Definitely lotta music and youtube vids and podcasts! There's definitely too many to list favorites properly!! but I'll just go through a small sampling of the more recent go to's

Dice Funk! I love Dice Funk theyre wrapping up their current season Rezubian this Sunday and I highly recommend that one it's a good goofy scifi adventure for ppl who like something of a star trek/spelljammer type setting. Ya Like Ilithids? come get em.

I've had AJR's new Album Maybe Man on loop. and by the album I mean Inertia and a handful of the other songs, tho they're all good!

I also continuously compile playlists for all my projects, like Runaway Drakaina, my DnD comic I'm chipping away at, concepts I'd like to work on someday... the RD playlist is 6 hours long and rn the most recent addition is Gone by Morning by Madilyn Mei

I have been slowly (slowly...) watching hbomberguy's donkey kong nightmare stream after seeing him share his side channel, like on and off when I want something really in the background. no paying attention head empty just listening to a man struggle with an old game while raising bonkers $$$ for a good cause

I like watching speedpaints where the artists really go into their process, ABDIllustrates and GinjaNinjaOwO are two big favs in that department! they inspire me a lot esp when it comes to character creation!

BobbyBroccoli got me to engage in a feature length documentary abt Nortel when I don't particularly care for the history of like... tech companies. so glowing endorsement he makes great docs abt tech/science related scandals

I could go on and on but we would be here All Day

[doubleedgemode]

Lil art rambling, which I planned to be longer but I'm tired, super sleepy and my arm hurts (please heal soon I wanna draw more!!)

Usually, when an artist realizes that fanart of something in vogue will get them more attention than og stuff they feel bad and, I get why it's so frustrating but for me, for some reason, it tends to feel... Comforting?

Not taking into account when people laud more a shitpost piece than a blood and sweat one cause ik that's just bad, it makes me think that my art, the way I express me isn't bad (for the public), it's just I don't craft things that bring you 500000 notes. Weirdly comforting yeah. My wobbly, busy lines and amateur rendering of light reflections, weird ways of rendering anatomy... They don't disgust the public as a whole. If my say og stuff had the same popularity as say gg, then people would give it a chance! the reason they don't is not because the quality of my art but its relevancy/obscurity which, yeah feels pleasant to know! this is taking away peopel that wouldn't like it regardless, art is subjective and that's valid, no ill! I dont expect everyone to like my stuff, just want to find the people who do if i MAke sense??? (I'm running on 5 hrs of sleep...)

But today I was getting thoughts of jealousy of how even if we touch the same liked subjct, a more skilled, seasoned artist with a more appealing style will draw more eyes to them but... That's fine! It's unfair to compare different stuff. the way I express myself vs theirs. both sre as fair and ofc I think I need more practice and I love trying to improve every year!!

It just comes back to me sometimes hating my art, like any artist. I'm thankful o the one person who, in a poll I made time ago said they didnt mind my more polished pieces had messy lines. I've tried to make em clear and crisp for years but I cannot, and back in the earliest worst days of artschool they weren't well judged. tbf I was less skilled back then but, yknow even if its silly that stuck. I don't feel mmy messy lines are the pretty type. cause messy lines can be v pretty, but mine can be choppy and stuff but.... that's how my thoughts are sometimes. that's what I can naturally muster in my art. MY way of expressing me so step by step I'll try to love it.

anyways sorry for the rambliness, just wanted to share my thoughts. If I may ask, if any of you has any thoughts about my art I'd love if you shared. maybe here or an anon. I admit I'm not in the space to ask for negative critiques rn, maybe someday I'm looking stuff to improve! Just. My art in some regards is a piece of me and I'd like to know what you think about if you want. If u don't want to don't worry. I'm in the process of trying to understand and love my art.