#my favorite thing about these is that it looks like she’s copying the face on the pancakes

[redfeatheredreptile]

Here's my piece for @creatingblackcharacters' Black History Month Challenge! She's one of my sci-fi story's main OCs, Zola! (That's why she's Afro-Polaran, Polara 5 is her home planet) I had a ton of fun working on this, and I really learned a lot! But, of course, let me know if there's anything I can improve on with how I depicted her.

(copied from the replies)

Ice's question: What do you want to tell your Black viewers, through this character or the effort you put into her?

A: Thank you for asking! I’ve seen this come up repeatedly in my readings on Black women: the general stigma and disapproval around Black girls and women being feminine or girly, especially in a ‘loud’ way— without being sexualized. With Zola I really wanted to show that she loves who she is; fashionable, pink and cute things and all, while still enjoying her Blackness as well, which I tried to show with her hair and her accessories. I would love it if she inspires women (or anyone Black!) to express themselves the way that feels good, whether it’s girly or not.

More info under the cut!

I challenged myself to listen to only Black artists while working on this piece, and to read poems by Black women and find ones I think fit Zola. It's been good to broaden my music horizons. My 'Black Artists' playlist is still growing. Things I learned:

1) Don't blindly color-pick for skin tone, especially dark ones. The ones I got were suuper washed-out. I changed her skin colors maybe 4 or 5 times just to get it right =.=; I'm still learning, so I hope I didn't overcorrect and over-saturate her. I went back and re-read lessons 3 and 4 and that helped me figure out what shade I actually wanted for her. If I were to draw her again, I would change the lighting to something better, too. 2) Black hairstyles are FUN to draw! I've only drawn a few specific ones from reference so far but they really force me to think about the shape and texture of the hair, how light bounces off it, etc. I also like doing curvy lines, detail, and drawing hair in general, so it was a treat. I learned a lot from the lessons on Black hair types and styles, as soon as I learned about twists and looked at the different styles for them I knew it would be Zola's favorite. I need to draw her in a twist-out, next!

3) For writing them, reading Ice's lessons helped a lot too! She's still not had much time yet in the story (she gets introduced later) but it helped me develop what kind of character I actually want her to be. She got more of a sensitive side rather than a generic 'strong woman'TM. She's still very confident and self-assured, but I've planned moments in the story where she doesn't have to be and gets to be emotionally vulnerable. She's also got a larger role in the story that involves her backstory and her family, and not just helping the other members of the 'party'. Hope to flesh her out a lot more as I continue writing!

Misc: Her 'face claim' is technically Mirakela Love, but between making her fatter than the model and my cartoony style I don't think it ended up looking much like her. Still helped to have reference, though. The color scheme for her outfit is meant to evoke the Lesbian flag. She gay and proud. Zola's meant to be both girly and fashionable, but I'm not a super fashionable person, so I just did my best and combined some outfits I liked. Then I added Jinx-style boots for funsies. Do hoops go with the rest of it? I don't know!

[toyboxterror]

End Year, New Year

Pairing: Asakura Shin/Reader

Summary: Shin's plan to give you a New Year gift didn't go as well as he hoped.

Contains: Established relationship, mostly Shin's POV, reader is insecure about their looks, gender neutral reader, they/them pronouns used on reader, but only a couple times and doesn't affect the story.

Author's Note: This was supposed to be published during the anime debut but stuff happened. :P

Huge thanks to @jasminerva for giving her idea, which I used as inspiration! <3

Shin remembered the time when you were eyeing a necklace. You thought it was beautiful, and Shin agreed in his mind (although he had his eyes more on you when he thought of it). But he only saw negativity in your thoughts.

You traced your fingers slowly around the pendant, as if you didn't deserve to be touching it. It was a stunning necklace, but just imagining wearing it around your neck feels like you ruined its beauty, as if someone like you shouldn't wear such jewelry. But your boyfriend didn't think the same.

“You're not gonna buy it? I think it suits you.”

You laughed at him, as if he was telling you a joke. “Nah, I want to spend my money on something better–” You suddenly gasped when you saw something that caught your attention more. “Shin! Isn't that the vinyl of your favorite album!?”

You already pulled him away excitedly before he could tell you his honest thoughts. His eyes lingered at the ornament as you dragged him away.

He spend the rest of the year saving enough money to buy it. After the end of the year, he rushed to the store and let out a huge sigh in relief. He managed to get his hands on the last copy of the jewelry. He was determined to prove your thoughts wrong.

His plan was to invite you to his family's dinner, then surprise you with the gift when you arrive. He felt enthusiastic from imagining your happy face and thanked him with a kiss. It's really simple and not complicated, isn't it? Then Shin had nothing to worry about. Until something worrying happened.

“Yo, Shin. What are you doing?” Heisuke asked curiously as he took a bite from his warm pork bun. Some of the crumbs fell onto his jacket, and he casually brushed them off to the floor. He had been watching the blond man rummaging around for a while since he got back from buying gift wraps.

“Did you see any small brown box near the cash register? I think I misplaced it around here before I left this morning…” He asked as he picked up and looked into the small empty trash can near him, hoping to find what he's looking for with luck.

“I think I saw it earlier,” Lu, who was sweeping around the store and eavesdropping on the boys, spoke up. She tapped her chin with her finger as she tried to remember. “I thought it was one of the trash along with the empty cup noodles so I threw it away when I was cleaning the counter.”

“Pii.” The little bird perched on Heisuke's shoulder and let out a noise to confirm that he saw it happen.

“WHAT!?” Shin yelled in shock at the top of his voice. Lu and Heisuke were startled by the sudden outburst. The red haired girl almost dropped the broom from her hands.

“T-the box…” He kneeled on the ground and held his head with his hands in distress. “It's a present for [y/n]... They said they're coming over this evening…”

“WHAT!?” / “PII!?”

It was their turn to panic.

“M-maybe it was still in the back of the building. Let's check it out together, yo!” Heisuke pulled on Shin’s arm to make him get up from the floor with the help of Piisuke tugging on his strand of hair. He didn't budge. A thousand of horrifying imaginations already haunted him and made him freeze in place.

“I'll check the nearest dumpsite to see if anyone has already picked up our trash.” Lu said, grabbing her jacket before heading out and lightly kicked on Shin's butt in annoyance. “Stop moping around, it's not over yet! Why did you put that thing around here carelessly, damn it!”

Shin and Lu sat near the cash register with a dejected expression on their faces even though they're fresh out from a warm bath. The trio spend the whole day digging around the trash to look for the box whenever they're able to. They were covered in stink, so they decided to take turns in cleaning themselves up after closing the shop, with Heisuke being the last.

Shin heard a sniffle beside him. He looked over and jumped at the sight of Lu's tears already wetting almost her whole face with her snots dripping down from her nose. “Whoa! Lu!?”

“S-Shin…. Bwahhh….” She sobbed and looked at Shin with teary eyes. “It's all my fault…. I should have- *sobs* I should have checked what's in the inside…”

Shin watched her wiping her own tears with her sleeves and sighed. He brought his hand to the young girl's head and gave her comforting pats. Lu stopped her sobbings and looked up to him with tears still flowing down from her eyes.

“It's not your fault. It's mine to begin with,” Shin looked away and scratched the back of his neck nervously. “I should have paid more attention and care to my own things. Besides, inside of it is just a cheap cool notebook that I thought [y/n] would like, I can just buy it again next time,” he lied, he didn't want to make Lu feel more guilty. “So don't feel bad.”

He couldn't lie to himself, but he was devastated by the whole thing. He had been saving up for a long time to give you the gift and make you happy. He's not good with accessories, he wasn't sure if he could find another that would suit your taste. Maybe he should gave Yona[1] a call and asked for advice…

“Waah… Shin…” The man felt a sudden tug on his green apron. He glanced at Lu and watched her in terror as she brought the fabric to her face and blew her nose out on it.

“Gah! What the hell!? You could have at least asked for a handkerchief! Get off me!!!” He yelled as he tried to push Lu’s head away from him. But her grip and strength were too strong.

“... Guys?”

The pair of siblings didn't notice the doorbell rang and you already stood by the door. “Are you alright, Lu? Did you two fight again?” You let yourself in to check on Lu as you looked at her in concern.

Shin gave a final pat on Lu's head and smiled at her, signaling her that it's okay and wanted some privacy with you. Lu nodded at him before smiling at you, “It's alright! We just made up, you two have fun!” She winked at them and waved them goodbye as she headed upstairs, leaving the two of you alone in the empty store.

“Sorry about that. We're okay now,” Shin breathed out tiredly, carefully taking his apron so the snot didn't stain on the rest of his clothing and put it on the counter. He groaned, “And Lu dirtied my apron again. It's the usual stuff, don't worry.”

You chuckled. You find it cute at how they quarrel and get along sometimes, they really act and care about each other like siblings.

Ding!

“I heard that!” He glared at you and huffed, his cheeks were tinted with pink. He can admit that he cares for Lu, but sometimes it's a little embarrassing to show it or hear how others talk about it.

You only laughed at him in response and took a seat near him. “You said you want to give me something important before having dinner with your family together. What is it?” You asked giddily. You tried to hide it, but Shin could tell you're excited from how you bit your lip and your eyes lit up from anticipation alone.

“About that…” He tried to find an excuse, a lie, a cover up. He didn't want to disappoint you, but he didn't know how to answer you without letting you down.

No. He shouldn't hide anything from you. It's in the family rules. He took a deep breath, to muster up the courage to tell the truth to you.

“[y/n], I'm really sorry. I wanted to give you a gift for New Year. It took me longer to save up money for it, so it's a bit late. But–”

“[y/n]! [y/n]!”

A young, high pitched voice called out for you, making Shin's and your head turned to the source of the voice. Hana ran up and climbed up to your lap excitedly, clutching something in her hands. You hurriedly held her steadily so she wouldn't fall over. She gave you a tight hug, surprisingly strong for a little girl. “Hana missed you!”

You laughed at her and patted her head, “I missed you too, Hana.”

“Look, look!” She waved the thing in her hand to your face. Shin widened his eyes in disbelief. It was a necklace. The one that he bought for you specifically. “It's a gift for [y/n]! Shin bought it for you!”

Your eyes brightened at her words. “Really!? You planned this together with Hana, Shin? You guys are so sweet!”

“H-huh…?” Shin furrowed his brows in confusion.

Ding!

After tuning into her thoughts, he learned that Hana found the necklace on the counter, the place where he carelessly put it. Unknowing that it was a special gift for you, she used it to play dress up in her room for the whole day.

So that's where it went, and why none of us couldn't find it. Shin thought to himself and smiled, watching Hana happily handing the necklace to you. While he was mentally and physically exhausted from searching for it all over the place, he's relieved that it's safe and sound in his little sister's care this whole time.

You heard Aoi calling out for Hana, saying that her favorite show had already started on TV. She bid you and Shin “bye, bye!” before she eagerly left, leaving the two of you alone once more.

“I remember this necklace. I didn't expect you to buy it for me,” you chuckled lightly at the memory of seeing it for the first time as you admired the beautiful necklace. “I really do want to buy it myself, but I wasn't sure about it. I don't want it to end up not looking good on me and becoming another waste of huge money.”

When Shin felt self-deprecating thoughts and imageries slowly crept on to your mind again, he shook his head and took the necklace from your hands in a gentle manner.

“And I'm here to prove you wrong,” he said and bestowed you with the charming and kind smile that always makes your heart skip a beat. “Turn around. I'll help you put it on.”

You did what you were told. You felt his warm fingers against your skin as he tried to put the necklace around your neck and fumbled with the hook. His touches felt delicate and careful, as if you're fragile and he could break you from even the smallest wrong moves. It was kind of ticklish. You held yourself back from shivering.

“Done.” He said after clasping the hook.

You touched the pendant hanging on your neck. After dreaming about having it once in a while, it felt odd that you finally get to wear something as exquisite as this.

“Uh, there's no mirror around here but you look great!” He stammered, cautiously choosing his words to avoid hurting your feelings on accident. “It really matched your look… But you're more charming than the necklace, of course! Not that the necklace is ugly, but– You know–”

You chortled at him. You brought yourself closer to him and wrapped your arms around his neck, it surprised him that he shut himself up from making himself sound more awkward. Even though you two already dated for some time, he was still bashful when you got close and touched him like this. You watched his whole face turned bright red as his slightly shaky hands held your hips to keep the two of you steady.

“Thanks, handsome. I wish I bought something for you if I knew you got me a New Year present. But–” When you brought your face closer to him, Shin squeezed his eyes shut and puckered his lips a little too hard. He was still afraid to kiss you, as he wasn't used to it. He was scared of messing it up and ruining the moment for you. But you didn't mind. You find it kind of cute. You made a mental note to teach him how to kiss you properly when you have the time. (It made Shin feel more flustered when he read your thoughts.)

However, instead of getting kissed on the lips, he received one on his cheek.

It was a small kiss, but enough to make his head spin. He opened his eyes and stared at you like a deer stuck in headlights and about to explode from how red his face was.

You laughed at his reaction and patted his chest after you fixed the part of his clothing where you grabbed from the wrinkles, “I hope this will do it for now. I'll give you more after dinner.”

Right on that moment, Heisuke walked in and fresh out from the bath with a towel hanging around his neck. He saw you and his face brightened to see his friend. Completely unaware of the situation, despite seeing the two of you in each others’ arms, he called out to you, “Yo, [y/n]! Have you seen– Ack!”

Thankfully, Lu and Piisuke rushed after him and he was quickly yanked away by the back of his shirt with the bird pulling on his ear. He was shushed by Lu before you and Shin got the chance to spot him, leaving the love birds more time for each other.

Reference:

A small cameo / mention of Jasminerva‘s OC from cloud8 to show my appreciation for her as a friend.