#played it blind without redos and got normal end or whatever it was called

[femvaylin]

I’m feeling normal. Not at all throwing up about the unfairness of it all

[meltingheartsandcores]

This is a wangxian Yoi au, or it was going to be, I wrote the first chapter. Then realized I don’t know how to write skating, I don’t know anything about figure skating, and I feel like I should not be flying blind in this. Also, creativity got fried. Which sucks.

But, I figured you might enjoy reading the first chapter, and idk if it's because i wrote it but I find it's fine to read on it's own.

Story under the cut, I do hope you enjoy. 

“Huaisang, why are you calling me at midnight?”

“Excuse you, it’s one am. And you didn’t respond to my text. Check your messages and watch the link I sent you.”

“Fuck no.” Despite Wei Wuxian’s words, he grabs his computer off his bedside table and sits up, “What’s the video called?” Wei Wuxian asks as he pulls up youtube.

”Uhhh,” there was some tapping, ”okay, english is Lan Wangji attempts Wei Wuxian’s Confusion.”

The name made Wei Wuxian perk up as he quickly types and searchs for the video. “Why didn’t you just tell me it was Lan Zhan?” He wouldn’t have grumbled.

”Just watch!” Wei Wuxian rolls his eyes at Nie Huaisang’s excitement but plays the video, muted because Jiang Cheng will kill him for waking him up at midnight. Wei Wei Wuxian was pleasantly surprised throughout the whole video, and also curious as to when Lan Zhan learnt it so completely. It had been his freestyle at Worlds two nights before, the one that earned him gold, again. He had changed it to work with his current condition and still earn him gold, but that just meant it was more complicated stepping he had perfected and a bunch of quads- not nearly as much as he normally did but, enough. Lan Zhan had changed his quads to triples.

Wei Wuxian could only point out one mistake. He rewatches it to see if there are any others. They’re aren’t.

“He fucked up one of the salchows.” Wei Wuxian states, watching the video for a third time. That was generous, he wobbled a bit too much on the landing. Madam Yu would’ve called it a complete fuckup and made him redo the entire program. For a practice it wasn’t bad, especially since Lan Zhan seemed distracted still.

Nie Huaisang groans on the phone, ”That’s all you have to say?”

“Hey. He’s the one who didn’t call me.”

”And now he’s dancing your stupid love letter!”

“It was not-“ Wei Wuxian is stopped by a pillow hitting his face, falling back onto his bed. “I have to go, I woke Jiang Cheng.”

Nie Huaisang giggles and hangs up with a singsong, “Good Luck!”

Wei Wuxian sits back up, chucking the pillow back onto Jiang Cheng’s bed. The lump that is his brother doesn’t move. Just an angry grumbled, “Get the fuck out of the room if you’re going to be awake.”

Wei Wuxian could go back to sleep, but he’s more interested in Lan Zhan right now. So he shuts his laptop, pulls on a jacket, and leaves the room with his phone in his pocket and his laptop under his arm in his fluffy bunny slippers. He goes down to the airport and sits at his gate, opening hs laptop back up to watch the video again. They were flying out to Italy in five hours. Well. wei Wuxian and Uncle Jiang were, Jiejie and Jiang Cheng were flying back to Canada in ten. Jiang Cheng had made their room decisions because if Wei Wuxian and Uncle Jiang shared they would’ve left without saying goodbye. In Wei Wuxian’s opinion, it’d be better to say goodbye before they went to sleep instead of waking everyone up at six in the morning, but he was promptly told to shut up.

Wei Wuxian calls Nie Huaisang back as the video plays, it’s impressive. And Wei Wuxian has always loved Lan Zhan’s skating. It made the Grand Prix all the more odd.

”It’s a love letter.” Nie Huaisang says in lieu of a greeting.

“It was not a love letter.” Nie Huaisang made a doubtful sound. “It was a letter of why the fuck did you never call me? I gave you my personal number and whitelisted you. Why did you never contact me?”

“So… an unrequited loveletter.”

“Why am I friends with you?”

”Because I helped you shave off Lan Qiren’s awful goatee.”

Wei Wuxian chuckles at the memory, Teacher Lan had been so pissed. “Hey… do you think he has any relation to Lan Zhan?”

���I do blackmail, not familial relations. If I did, you wouldn’t have spent five years calling Xiao Xingchen Jiujiu as a joke only to find out it was very appropriate.”

Ah, yes, the most awkward celebratory dinner in Wei Wuxian’s life with his uncle and grandmother.

“You and I both know I called him Jiujiu because I forgot his name and it was the first thing that came to mind.” Nie Huaisang cackles, fully aware that when Wei Wuxian forgot peoples names, if he didn’t hate them, he immediately went to familial relations.

It’s how Nie Huaisang’s older brother is forever Da-ge to Wei Wuxian. And how half his competitors are variations of cousin and uncle. Those that don’t speak chinese are typically confused but assume it’s a nickname until someone (Jiang Cheng typically) tells them they are now the son of Wei Wuxian’s father’s brother. Or something of the like. Those that speak chinese typically return the favour. For example, Xingchen called him Wai Sheng as often as Wei Wuxian would call him Jiujiu.

”Yup. And then you finally met your grandmother. Hands down, best World Champions I’ve ever been to.”

“Oh fuck you. Are you going to Italy?”

”Already here. I convinced Da Ge to fly me out right after the World Champs. I have been shopping for days. I love Italy.”

“You love that you can logic your way into drinking wine with every meal.”

”Mmhmm. You don’t normally participate in the Egna Spring Trophy. Why are you coming this year?”

“I like to shock people.” ’I don’t want my season to be over just yet. I don’t want to stop skating.’ “Can you keep a secret?”

”Of course. Did you put shaving cream in Jiang Cheng’s suitcase again?”

“No. He doesn’t let me anywhere near it anymore. I…”Wei Wuxian chickens out. He can’t say it. Not now. “Actually it might be better to say in person. Do you think the video’s a message?”

”What? Oh! Lan Wangji’s? Maybe? What message might he be sending?”

“That he still wants me to coach him next season?”

”You can’t coach someone and participate.” Nie Huaisang remarks. Wei Wuxian stays silent, normally his response would be ‘watch me’, but he can’t. Nie Huaisang gasps at Wei Wuxian’s extended silence. ”You can’t”.

“I’ll talk to you about it in Italy.”

”Have you told Coach Jiang?”

“No. Not Jiang Cheng or Shijie either. Don’t say anything. I’m still…”

”Yup. Got it. Lips are sealed.” Wei Wuxian sighs in relief, he’s not sure what he was worried about, but he’s grateful Nie Huaisang isn’t telling anyone. Not until Wei Wuxian says it himself. ”And, I guess the video could be a message. Maybe he lost your number? And it’s not like you told him you whitelisted him. Maybe he thought you were joking and didn’t want to risk rejection? I’ve asked Da ge but he told me to shut up and not bother him so…”

Oh right. Wei Wuxian forgot Da Ge was friends with Lan Zhan’s brother. “Meanie. But you know where he is right?”

“Yup. But Da Ge told me not to tell you. Didn’t want you bothering the Lan brothers or something.”

Wei Wuxian hums, “What a shame.” Nie Huaisang couldn’t tell him where Lan Zhan was. But, he could tell Wei Wuxian about Lan Zhan’s home.

”Mmhmm. There’s a wonderful hot spring in Gusu. As well as a cold spring that’s supposed to promote healing. I always find that afterwards, I’m too busy warming up to really care about any injuries.”

Wei Wuxian chuckles, Gusu huh? “Never heard of it.”

“No? It’s a rather small city. Not very well known. The hot spring I go to is called Hanshi.”

“...Frost Room?” Odd name for a hot spring.

”Mmhmm. I think it’s ironic or something? You know, a hot spring frost room? Who knows? We both know I didn’t ask.”

Wei Wuxian nods, “Mm. Maybe after Triglav I’ll pop over.”

”Making this season count I see.”

“I just want as many gold medals as possible. I’ll let you get some sleep. I am going to get started on coaching notes.”

”I’ll send you whatever videos I have of Lan Wangji. See you soon.”

“Mm.” Wei Wuxian hangs up and pulls up his note-app to start taking notes as he watches Lan Zhan’s video again. Noting places where Lan Zhan could do with improvement. There weren’t many, but Lan Zhan hadn’t focused his training in the same areas Wei Wuxian did. In some areas he was actually better at Wei Wuxian’s program than he was. Particularly with the stepping. More precise and fine-tuned than Wei Wuxian’s own. If Wei Wuxian had given Confusion to Lan Zhan he probably would’ve netted a higher score than Wei Wuxian. If he could land the quads at least.

_-3 weeks later-_

“Gusu is so nice. So warm. So not Canada.” Wuxan says to Nie Huaisang over the phone as he waits for the cab he arranged to pick him up from the airport.

Nie Huaisang’s laugh titters over the phone, “You’re not in Gusu yet. Gusu is a mountain city.”

“Ah, so the temperature will be back to normal. Good.”

”Tell Xichen-ge hi. I did not warn them you were coming, so, have a fun surprise!”

Wei Wuxian laughs, “I will. How’s Da ge?”

”Very annoyed that I told you where they live. And not accepting the fact that I didn’t tell you where they lived. I told you of a wonderful hot spring in Gusu and upon research you found it was owned by Lan Wangji’s brother. How can I be blamed?” Nie Huaisang actually seemed offended.

Wei Wuxian laughs at his friend. “Well, at least he’s not making you do hockey.” Nie Huaisang screeches, making Wei Wuxian laugh harder.

”He would never.”

“Didn’t he initially put you in hockey? Who’s to say he won’t put you back in?” It’s a joke, but Nie Huaisang is silent on the other end. And then Wei Wuxian can hear him running through his house.

”DAGE!” Wei Wuxian pulls his phone away at the yell, but puts it back once the yell is over to hear whatever else Nie Huaisang says. There’s some muttering that Wei Wuxian assumes belongs to Da ge.”You wouldn’t put me in hockey, right? Even if I fail Ice Dance?” There’s complete silence on the other end. But Da ge must’ve said something, or made a certain expression because Nie Huaisang screeches, offended and scared, “Da Ge!” Wei Wuxian laughs at his friends' misery and offence. He always feels a little bad for Da ge at events since he’s typically the only hockey player there and very few figure skaters bother to hide their dislike of hockey players. Typically it’s vice versa too, but when Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang go to Da ge’s games they tend to keep away from that subject. As much as possible. Except that one year one of Da ge’s teammates called Figure Skater’s prissy princesses and Wei Wuxian attacked him and had to be pulled off by Da ge.

He was fourteen. Nie Huaisang took a video.

Wei Wuxian stops laughing enough to notice his cab and met the driver, putting his phone in his pocket to drown out Nie Huaisang’s crying. After a quick chat, his luggage was put in the trunk and got in. He pulls out his phone and puts it back to his ear just as Nie Huaisang starts calling Da ge mean.

”How could you scare me like that?” Da ge was laughing in the background.

“Older brothers. It’s what we do best.”

”Meanie.” Was hissed at Wei Wuxian. More mumbling Wei Wuxian couldn’t make heads or tails of before Nie Huaisang speaks again, ” Da Ge wants to talk to you.”

“He’s not putting me in hockey is he?”

”Uhhh, da ge? Are you putting Wei-xiong in hockey?”

Da Ge was close enough to the phone Wei Wuxian could hear his reply, “Can I? He’d do damn good.”

“Don’t joke! I’m too fragile for hockey!” Wei Wuxian protests with a pout. “What did Da ge want to talk about?”

”Don’t harass Xichen and Wangji. If they tell you to go. Go. I don’t care what Wangji said at the Prix banquet, leave him alone if he wants to be left alone.” Da ge orders.

“Roger roger.”

“Wuxian.”

“I got it. I won’t bother them if they don’t want to be bothered. If he says no I’ll book a flight tomorrow and head home. Or to your place. Or to Xingchen’s. Bottom line I’ll leave if they want me to.” He won’t overstay his welcome.

”Good. Good luck.” With that, Da ge hangs up.

_-Gusu-_

“How was lessons?” Lan Xichen asks as Lan Wangji returns from the rink with Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi in tow. The five year olds loved skating. So when Lan Wangji returned from his complete failure at the Grand Prix, he had taken over their skating lessons at Cloud Recess at their insistence.

“They improved. How was business?” Lan Wangji asks as both kids run upstairs.

“Adequate. We have one guest currently. Actually, he asked for you by name.”

Oh. Great. “Did he say why?”

Lan Xichen shakes his head, he probably didn’t ask. “Just said to tell you. He also said if you don’t want to talk to him he’ll leave.”

Lan Wangji shakes his head, “No. I’ll talk to him.” He hopes it’s not a fan. Or one of Coach Zhong’s students come to ask him back in place of Coach. Lan  Wangji just wanted to take care of his rabbits and ignore the world until his failure is forgotten. Lan Xichen smiles, probably remembering that just last month Lan Wangji told him he didn’t want to talk to anyone.

“Good. I’m going to make sure the tykes are not causing havoc upstairs, watch the front for me?” Lan Wangji nods at Lan Xichen’s request, allowing his brother to rush up the stairs.

Lan Wangji had just sat down at one of the tables, intent to get some work done. He was working with the library in Cloud Recess with translations, it didn’t pay well, but he enjoyed it and could do it in between helping Lan Xichen out at the Hanshi.

But before he could pull his laptop out, a guest came into the main room. Lan Wangji looks up to greet them but the words die on his tongue, eyes widening a fraction as he took in Wei Wuxian, half naked, with his hair in a towel. Well, he had a jacket on that wasn’t shut, so he wasn’t technically breaking the rule about being undressed outside the springs, but his incredibly toned chest was still on full display. Lan Wangji could feel his ears burning, and was very thankful he rarely blushes on his face.

A smile split across Wei Wuxian’s lips, “Lan Zhan.” ’What?’ “I wanted to talk to you.” Wei Wuxian falls to his knees on the opposite side of the table than Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji nods, although he was still stuck on ’Why is Wei Wuxian calling me by my given name? How does he even know it?’ Somehow Wei Wuxian’s smile got brighter. Which Lan Wangji felt was just unfair and rude. He’s trying not to panic here. “I want to coach you for next season.”

What.

Fuck trying not to panic.

What?

“Why?”

“I saw your video. Your stepping is very impressive. But you need to work on your jumps. Although you seem to learn quickly since you were able to learn Confusion in just a few days.” Lan Wangji would like this conversation to stop and rewind. What video?! He only danced Confusion once! And- oh fuck. Lan Jingyi is corrupting his perfect child. Wei Wuxian was still talking. Lan Wangji missed a portion. “-so I figured I’d come down to offer my services as coach.”

“Are you not competing next season?”

Wei Wuxian looks surprised, “Ah, I guess you don’t get much news out here.” Lan Wangji has been avoiding most skating news. He only watched the Worlds because Lan Jingyi and Lan Sizhui demanded it. “I’m taking a break. I’m twenty-three and have won every single competition I’ve been in for five years, got bored. And then I saw your video and decided I wanted to help you win the Grand Prix.”

What.

“What’s your current work out regime? I have some ideas but I don’t want to overwork you. Also, where’s the rink and can we schedule private time to practice?”

“Wei Wuxian-“

He cuts Lan Wangji off, waving his hand, “Call me Wei Ying.”

Okay.

“Wei Ying. You cannot take a break just to coach me.”

“Yes I can. But I didn’t. I was going to be taking a break this season anyways. If I hadn’t seen your video I might’ve let Da ge talk me into hockey.” Wei Ying shudders theatrically, “I’m too delicate for hockey.” Lan Wangji would disagree. Lan Xichen showed him the video of Wei Ying beating up a hockey player nearly twice his size. “If you don’t want me to coach you, I’ll leave. But if you do… I already have plans for your programs. And areas to improve.”

It was tempting. To accept the offer. Last year's Grand Prix had been Lan Wangji’s first venture into international competitions. He was used to national and local competitions. But after the complete failure of last years Grand Prix he wasn’t sure about returning to the international stage. However, Wei Ying had a lot of experience in the international stage. He’d been competing in International Competitions since he was thirteen. An entire decade.

Lan Wangji nods, “I accept.”

Wei Ying’s smile gets impossible bright. “Perfect.”

[letsbenditlikebennett]

Cheeseburger in Paradise || Ariana & Ricky

TIMING: A couple weeks ago PARTIES: @ricky-corderbro & @letsbenditlikebennett SUMMARY: Ariana responds to Ricky’s online invite for dinner company, but only if its cheeseburgers. Chatting and bonding ensues. 

As far as Ariana was concerned, anyone that was good in Winston’s book had to be good people. She’d talked to Ricky briefly in the past and had brought some venison by when he’d been in the hospital, but she was looking forward to actually hanging out with him. It’d only been a few days since they’d left their house behind and Ariana was already desperately missing her full closet. After talking about aesthetics, she kind of wanted to wear her favorite crop top which was still at their now abandoned house. Second favorite crop top would have to do the trick. This one had sunflowers which were her favorite because she could see them true to color and she loved that one Post Malone song. She happened to be humming that very song as she walked into Dell’s. She was quick to spot Ricky standing near one of the benches in place by the front door. “Hey,” she said with a smile, “Glad we’re actually getting to hang out. How are you feeling?” 

Ricky was sure he was going to start going insane if he stayed inside his house any longer. He’d done all he could about converting his studio to a bedroom for Rio, and after having reorganized his cookbooks and spice rack for the third time he was sure the walls were starting to talk to him. Which is why he’d been glad when Ariana had taken him up on his plea for some dinner company. Though she was a bit younger than he was, all the interactions he’d had with her so far (including trying her amazing cooking) had convinced him she was anything but a vapid daft teenager. He stood from the bench he’d been perched on, tapping out a text to Winston and Rio about grocery requests, and offered his fist for a pound, “Same shit different day. Everything hurts and I”m dying. But… I will say… everything hurts a little less every day. Thanks for taking pity on a broken old man and having dinner with me. Which is on me… by the way… as a thank you for the venison.” He held the door open and gestured inside, holding up two fingers to the hostess as she gathered up some menus for them, “How are you enjoying having the sun back?”

Ariana welcomed the fist bump with a smile and returned the gesture. Maybe going out to dinner with a friend wasn’t exactly laying low, but if she just spent her time holed up in Ulf’s house she’d probably lose her mind. She was sure Ricky felt the same with having to take it easy to recover from his injuries. She could hardly imagine having to play soccer or run for that long. Dinner was likely a welcome distraction to both of them. She laughed when Ricky called himself an old man. “Old man, right. I think you got a few more years before you can call yourself that. Glad it’s starting to hurt less though. You’ll be fully out and about again before you know it… and thanks. Wasn’t expecting that, but it’s appreciated.” She smiled as she walked through the open door and the hostess brought them over to their table. The fact it was a booth somewhat in the back was comforting. That had to be a little more low profile than up and center right? She focused back on the question at hand. Her head tilted slightly as she nodded and said, “Oh yeah, I’m actually able to sleep at night and don’t think I need a nap at like 10 in the morning anymore. You happy to have it back, too?” While the prospect of a 24-hour full moon had sounded nice, logistically it was probably better to be in wolf form less time. She looked over the different burger options on the menu, pretty sure she was going to go with the classic hangover option. She turned her attention back to Ricky and asked, “So, how did you and Winston meet? Did you guys know each other before you were roommates?” 

Following the waitress to the booth that she directed them to Ricky gingerly lowered himself into the seat, grabbing the laminated menu and fiddling with it, “I feel like I can hear my ribs grinding when I laugh or cough too much, I definitely feel like an old man now.” He placed his drink order and set the menu down, taking turns between glancing at it and focusing on what Ariana was saying. “Incredibly. It’s like you said, my whole rhythm and schedule was just…. Off balance. Like when you load the washer wrong and it spins off balance. That’s what it felt like. I’m happy to have the sun around to at least reinforce my schedule. You don’t realize how much you depend on that schedule for a feeling of normalcy until you aren’t able to follow it anymore.” When the waitress came around again he ordered his normal go to; mushroom and swiss burger, extra bacon, no bun, fries with a side of hot sauce, before passing off the menu to her and looking back at his new friend, “Winston?” He laughed a little, regathering curls that had started to escape the confines of his topknot and redoing them, “No. We didn’t. We actually met at a party like… a week and a half before they moved in. I went outside for a smoke and a bit of quiet on the porch and there was this dude there and we just started talking. Hit it off pretty immediately and then they mentioned that they were looking for a place and like hey, I’ve got a decent sized house so I had them over for a tour and we figured out pretty quick that we’d work real well as roommates. That was like five months ago and I’ve never looked back. Like, having Winston in the house has upped my level of general wellbeing and happiness like 300%. I fucking love them. What about you? How did you guys meet?” 

It sucked to see that Ricky was still in pain from his injuries. Ariana did her best to offer a sympathetic smile. Hopefully, he’d heal up pretty quickly and could be back to life as normal. “If it helps, you don’t look like an old man,” she said with a laugh. When the waitress came back by, Ariana asked for an iced tea and turned her attention back to Ricky. The never-ending night thing had been confusing. She’d never had any concept of what time it was and then it had to end right before the full moon. “It’s crazy how much a lack of sunshine can change your whole rhythm up. I kept going for runs in the middle of the night because I’d feel weirdly energetic at like midnight. My sister was not a fan of that.” The hangover burger had won out and she ordered it medium rare with fries. Though she’d never had a hangover, she fully supported sunny side eggs and bacon being added to a cheeseburger. She let her elbows rest down on the table and relaxed as Ricky told her about how he met Winston. That was super cool that they hit it off right away like that and living together was going well. From what she was able to gather based on their few conversations, Ricky seemed to balance out Winston nicely. It’s no wonder they worked so well together as roommates. “That’s awesome,” she said with a wide grin on her face, “To meet and just click like that. I know you’re super important to them and it seems like the timing on that was perfect. It’s like you two were meant to be best friends. Which sounds cheesy as hell, but whatever.” She grabbed a sip of her iced tea before answering his question, “Winston originally offered to help me with math, but I’d already found a tutor. I was still new to town though so I was like hey, I could still use friends if you wanna hit up that farmer’s market with me. So we went to the farmer’s market and accidentally bought vampire watermelons. Turns out having to smash carnivorous fruit really brings people together. They even dyed my hair for me when I was having a little bit of a meltdown.” She gave her freshly blonde hair a flip and added, “I think they did a pretty good job, but I’m colorblind, so if it looks awful, just lie to me.” 

“I’m an old man on the inside, which is where it matters I think. On the inside it’s just me shaking a cane at children and telling them to stay off my lawn. One advantage to living where I do, I guess. No kids are fucking up my landscaping.” Nodding energetically Ricky chewed on the end of his straw, “I totally feel that. Everything was so out of whack. I’d be like, wide awake and ready to do things at 3 in the morning and then in the middle of the afternoon my body would be begging for bed. It made running errands an absolute shitshow but somehow we all powered through it. By the seat of our pants sure, but we ultimately did.” He couldn’t help but smile when Ariana detailed exactly how she’d gotten entangled in Winston’s life, seemingly as randomly and serendipitously as he had. “I think it’s just something about them. They make it so easy to become friends with them that you feel like you’ve been friends for ages. I never thought I’d invite someone to live with me after only meeting them at a party but I was just so fucking convinced that we’d get along perfectly; and five months later I have absolutely zero regrets about it all.” His eyebrow did raise at the mention of vampiric fruit, “Why am I both surprised and not surprised that there are vampire watermelons. What a fucking disaster of a fruit waiting to happen. I’m glad you both survived though, I would have been so sad if my best friend got turned into a blood sucking fruit.” As their food arrived Ricky chewed thoughtfully on a french fry, “Well it looks fine to me, but I’m also color blind so it could look like a fucking mess and I’d never know.” He briefly wondered if this was indicative of Ariana being something inhuman, but quickly reminded himself that perfectly normal humans were colorblind without it meaning anything. “So you’re a senior, right? Any big plans since high school is coming abruptly to an end?” 

The image of Ricky shaking his cane and yelling at children to get out of his yard was pretty amusing. As much made Ariana laugh as he spoke. Somehow, it was hard to imagine him being too grumpy, but she’d only just met him. “Glad to hear the landscape is safe,” she said grinning widely, “Thankfully we made it and things are back to normal… Well, I guess as normal as it gets here anyway. No one can say it’s boring here, that’s for damn sure.” She leaned into the back of the booth and felt happy to know that Winston had people who clearly adored them in their life. They deserved nothing less. In the short time they’d been friends, Winston had been nothing short of supportive and found ways to make her laugh when she was upset. “I think they’re just such a good person. It makes it easy to get along with and trust them. Sometimes when you meet people you just know, huh? Sounds like it worked out perfectly with you, too.” It was easy to laugh over the vampire watermelons now that she replaced her combat boots. She had been a little salty about that part at first. “Probably because it’s White Crest and nothing is too far-fetched. But yeah, I smashed the one that destroyed my fave combat boots and they blew one up. It was a bonding experience. Worth the loss of my shoes because we got to be upfront with each other about things we probably would’ve kept a secret.” Ariana had been picking at her fries when Ricky mentioned being colorblind. She instantly perked up and tried to subtly sniff to pick up on his scent. It definitely wasn’t wolfy, she would have noticed as much right away. He smelled more like the ocean. “Wait…,” she whispered, taking a look around them, “Colorblind? You don’t smell like a wolf. You smell more like the ocean. Are you…” She had trailed off before she realized that was probably way too blunt, “Ah, crap, sorry. I got a little weird there. I’m colorblind, too.” She tried to play it off and nervously tucked her hair behind her ear, shifting back to what he had asked her. “But yeah, senior year. I just started up a carpentry apprenticeship so that’ll be post-graduation life for me. Don’t really feel into the whole college thing. What about you? Do you go to UMWC with Winston?” 

Ariana talked a million miles an hour and it was honestly somewhat comforting. Ricky enjoyed listening to the stories about her misadventures with Winston and vampire watermelons and the mishap that led to the destruction of her favorite pair of combat boots. It was something of a twist though, when she mentioned that Winston had blown one of them up and the twist got even twistier when she made a comment about the way he smelled. The first twist could have been, maybe, explained away. Winston was after all an at least tangential member of the Police Department. Blowing things up could have been in reference to some explosives they’d procured and not their innate magical ability. But the comments about his smell, particularly when coupled with her comment about how he didn’t smell wolfy, made him set his fork down and wipe burger off of his face, “Holy shit did I collect another werewolf friend?” His mouth quirked into half a smile as he leaned across the table, “Are there just a million of you around town?” He idly chewed a french fry and looked at the young woman across the table. “It’s funny. All of the rest of you I’ve met have said the same thing. That I smell like the ocean. Which makes sense I guess… it’s where I was born.” He resumed his burger, cutting off a piece and making sure it was properly laden with mushrooms and swiss cheese. “Carpentry apprenticeship though, that’s dope af. I’m a woodworker by trade. Who’re you apprenticing with? Maybe you can do an independent study with me. It’d be boring…. But…. I’d cook you a good lunch as part of it.” The burger disappeared rapidly, and then all Ricky was left with was a small mountain of fries, which he liberally covered in hot sauce. “Me? I’m about two months from graduating with my MFA, which was an entirely unnecessary degree, but then I’ll be done there. And to be perfectly honest with you; a lot of people look down their noses at apprenticeships and trade schools but there’s always going to be a need for skilled manual labor; and a lot of times those jobs pay a lot better than anything a Bachelor’s in Science is going to get you. If you know carpentry is something you’re into I fully support not pouring thousands upon thousands of dollars into a broken educational system and just doing an apprenticeship. People are always going to need carpenters.” 

Prior to mentioning it, there had been no doubt in Ariana’s mind that he’d known about the supernatural. After all, Winston had mentioned giant crabs that had a name she couldn’t remember destroying their living room, but it was still a relief that Ricky caught on to her drift quickly, albeit without answering all of her questions, but they’d get there. The fact he had multiple werewolf friends did pique her interest. She knew Ulfric, Lucas, and Simon. Plus, she knew of Miles. Still, it’d be nice to have some friends like her who were closer to her in age range. Her head tilted as she looked at him and said in a hushed tone, “Looks like you did! Wait,  you know other werewolves? I’ve only met a few in town so far.” She let out a hushed laugh before shoving a few more fries in her mouth. Her eyes were still kind of wide when she quietly added, “Must be true then. Goes with the whole beach bro aesthetic. You were born on the beach? Do you… I’m sorry if this is kind of blunt, but are you able to shift, too?” How she didn’t pick up on the subtle difference in his scent sooner was driving her crazy. Maybe her manners weren’t entirely intact, but her curiosity often got the better of her. As she polished off her burger, Ricky was talking about how he was a woodworker. It was official, Ricky was fucking awesome. “Wait, seriously? That’s so cool. How long have you been doing that? My apprenticeship is at Trusty Wood, but yeah, an independent study sounds great. I doubt I’d be bored. I find working with my hands to actually be kind of relaxing. Plus, the promise of a good lunch is hard to turn down,” she finished with a smirk. She wasn’t sure if it was a wolf thing or an athlete thing, but she was nearly always hungry. She picked at the rest of her french fries as he spoke about school. It was kind of nice to hear someone validate her choice to skip out on college, even if they went themselves. “That’s awesome. I guess it’s a bit early for a congratulations, but I’m gonna throw it out there anyway. A degree is a good thing to have so more power to you. The money thing is a factor, but honestly, I just really can’t imagine going through more school. I’m dyslexic and colorblind so schoolwork kind of makes my brain feel like it’s a melted pile of goo. I’d just rather dive right into something I know I actually enjoy. I will miss soccer though.” 

“You’re now the third one I’ve met. So I guess I don’t know a million of them. But; now more than a couple. Now I’ve got a neat little three of a kind in my social acquaintances.” It was always nice to meet another shifter; particularly as he’d found the werewolves he did know in town to all be excellent friends. “Not on the beach. In the ocean.” He chewed thoughtfully on another french fry as Ariana asked her question, shooting her a smile, “I am. Different than you. I’m an at will shifter, I don’t need the moon. I just need to have my true skin and I can change back into my true form. I’m a selkie. A seal shifter. We’re a little more rare in these parts than you and your kind are; most of the big clans are still over on the British Isles, but, I can shift indeed… and to simplify the every fucking complicated dance of not telling people things they shouldn’t know I”ll let you know right off the bat that Winston knows what I am. There was an awkward moment after we moved in together when he came home unexpectedly, I didn’t have my fake teeth in, and he caught sight of my fangs. Our teeth are always seal teeth even in our human bodies.” The conversation shifted tack yet again to her impending apprenticeship, “Well if you ever wanna hang out in the workshop for a day or two just clear it with your new boss and I’ll be happy to have you tag along and see the kind of work I do. I know at least for me personally as an artist I always love watching people work because I always learn at least one thing that I had no idea about before.” He shrugged broadly, “It’s fine. It’s definitely not something I needed. But I’ve got it now so it’s there to hang on the wall in my studio and look smug about or something. And that’s fair. I was lucky enough to get a whole heap of scholarships; but really I did not excel in college. I’m not that booksmart, as much as Winston likes to lecture me about various types of intelligences, and it was a fucking struggle. I’m certainly not graduating on the dean’s list. But i bet there’s a community soccer team you could be involved in. Or you could start one.” 

“Huh, that’s about how many I’ve met so far, too. I can definitely smell that there’s more. Which hopefully doesn’t sound totally creepy,” Ariana responded with a laugh. Navigating the world through smell seemed a lot less weird once someone knew you were a werewolf. After all, that’s how wolves in the wild worked. As Ricky explained what he was, Ariana stared at him completely fascinated. She’d never met a selkie before. She was pretty sure she’d heard them mentioned in one of Celeste’s books, but meeting one in person was totally different. She instinctively leaned forward on her elbows, taking in every word. “Wow,” she said completely in awe, “That’s pretty fucking cool. You’re the first selkie I’ve met. That must be pretty cool to have control of when you shift. I love the full moon. That’s actually where the venison I made came from. Apparently with practice, I can learn to shift outside the full moon, but haven’t really tried as much yet. Probably wouldn’t be the best idea right now anyway. Thanks for skipping that whole dance. Winston also knows what I am. They’re definitely really understanding for still being new to all of this.” She nodded along as Ricky explained about her being able to come watch him in his workshop. Learning new ways of doing things and see how he worked could definitely be helpful for her learning the trade and making it her own. “Totally,” she responded, “I’ll check with Shiloh and see if that’d be okay. I’d definitely love to see your work and how you do it.” It felt a little better to know school was tough for him, too. Everyone around her always seemed to have a much easier time with things, where as she needed an army of math tutors just to pass Algebra. “Even if it was tough, you still did it, so that’s amazing. Glad it’s not just me who struggles with the book learning thing. Winston’s right though, we’ve all got our things. You’re right, I’ll have to look into it more. I may be working a soccer camp for elementary school kids this summer.It’s not a full time thing and I figured it could help me stick with that hobby.”

“I mean I don’t know how much of this is fact and how much of this is me still drooling over the cast of Teen Wolf years later but don’t you guys have packs? Like we have clans? Makes sense that where there’s one there’d be more than a handful unless they’re taking the whole ‘lone wolf’ thing real seriously.” He polished off the last of his french fries and looked forlornly down at the empty plate before ordering another basket of them when the waitress came by the table to refill their drinks. “We’re not super common. But yeah. I’ve got to do it like once a week otherwise I’ll start to get sick, but, I can pretty much pick and choose when I do it. Downsides are I’m every vampire’s favorite treat. Oh! Since we’re no longer pretending to be human! It wasn’t a car accident that fucked me up like this. Winston and I got attacked by an asanbosam. Fugly ass West African tree vampire. Nasty fucking piece of work that one. It’s dead though, so, no worries.” The fries came and he pushed them to the center of the table so they could both snack on them, “Once I’m healed up and graduated I’ll pretty much be in there full time. But yeah. If Shiloh says it’s chill swing by the house and see me. You me and Winston can have lunch and we’ll get you hands on with some carpentry stuff the way I do it.” Listening carefully as she talked he couldn’t help but remember his own high school experience. It sounded remarkably similar to what Ariana had gone through “Maybe it’s a shifter thing” He laughed quietly, “We’re bad at school but good with our hands. But soccer camp sounds amazing. You could even look into like helping coach kids’ teams during the school year. I’m sure they need help year round wrangling a bunch of hopped-up-on-juice-and-sugar kids. There’re definitely a bunch of ways to keep you involved in the soccer after high school, you just gotta search them out a bit.” 

“Weirdly enough, I’ve never watched that show so I couldn’t tell you how true to form it is. Wolves do form packs though. I was really young when my parents died so I didn’t grow up around other wolves. Slowly starting to find a pack here so to speak. I think it’s more a matter of us finding each other than anything else. Which the nose helps with that one a lot. That’s cool you guys have clans. Sticking together is always smart,” Ariana responded in a low voice, still being sure to not attract any unwanted attention. Thankfully, the restaurant wasn’t too busy and they were off towards the back. Last thing they needed was to tip some asshole hunter off. When he mentioned they weren’t common, it made sense she’d never met one previously. She had finished off her own plate and pushed it toward the side of the table with all her napkins and silverware stacked on it to make it a little easier for the server. “Well, it’s pretty fucking cool to meet a selkie. That kinda makes sense though, having to shift to avoid feeling sick. Cool to be able to pick and choose when. Oh jeez, that’s not the kind of snack you want to be. I remember Winston mentioning the tree vampire thing. That was how they got hurt, too, right? Hopefully there aren’t more of those roaming around because hard pass on all of that. Glad you survived that though.” The prospect of learning from Ricky was exciting and she hoped Shiloh would be cool with it. She wasn’t sure why she wouldn’t be. It’d only make her better at her job. Plus, Ricky was cool as hell and she really wanted to see him in action. “Yeah, I hope the healing thing happens for you sooner rather than later. I know not being able to get out as much can suck. There’s only so much entertainment streaming services can provide. I’m sure she’ll be cool with it though. That sounds like a great day to me.” She nodded along as he spoke and finished off her iced tea. When Ricky mentioned the shifter thing, she found herself laughing too. “It must be. Makes me feel a little better about the number of tutors I needed to pass Algebra. I’m pretty excited about the soccer camp. I’ve never really done anything like that before, but I love kids and soccer, so I think it’ll be a good time. That’s a really good idea though, I’ll have to look into that. I know you mentioned the Swim Team before, I imagine you have to keep up with swimming all things considered. Where here is actually safe to swim is what I’d like to know.”

“I hope it’s not really true to form because it makes packs seems like a weirdly queerbaity incestuous mess. But. Tyler Posey is hot and so I watched the whole thing. Don’t judge.” He smiled as they finished off the food and leaned back in the booth, crossing his arms carefully over his very sore chest, “I think they killed the only one. We’d be finding literal piles of human skin under trees if there were more lurking around and I haven’t heard anything about that so hopefully they’re gone for good. Because they’re some gross ass bitches.” It was nice to just sit and have a meal with someone without any expectation. They just sat and talked and it was the most relaxed Ricky had honestly felt since the whole asanbosam incident. “Doesn’t matter how many tutors it took. Just matters that you stuck with it long enough to actually pass. That’s the important thing. It was tough and it was hard but you weren’t a little bitch about it. That’s that good good character building shit right there.” It wasn’t any stretch of the imagination to think that Ariana would be a great soccer coach. Between her personable manner and her readily-apparent love of the game she’d probably crush it. “Fuck yeah. Go for it. There’s no reason you have to stop doing what you love because you’re graduating. You just turn it into an adult hobby and start charging people. Bing bang boom you’ve got some income and you’re a civic-minded resident of the town!” He couldn’t help but snort at her question about safe swimming, “An indoor pool. Don’t ever go swimming in Dark Score lake. You will die. Pretty immediately. The ocean is full of borderline upsetting shit too.” He pulled up the side of his shirt to show the very large bite mark on the side of his stomach, “Mermaids. You don’t wanna fuck with those bitches. They are mean.” 

“A little less like that. Given all the other wolves I know are men that are a fair deal older than me. I mean, I’m bi, but still don’t think it’s quite like that,” Ariana laughed as she mused on the similarities between some teen show and actual life as a werewolf. Somehow she had the feeling none of the shows were really spot on. It was good to hear that there was likely only one tree vampire in White Crest and it was dead. “Thank god, I’m tough, but I really didn’t want to run into one of those things. They sound vicious af and no thanks,” she leaned back a bit into the booth and added, “But like, totally glad you both live to tell the tale. Still, fuck that thing.” Her smile was wide as she listened to him basically pep her up. Getting to hang out with Ricky was pretty cool, not that she doubted Winston’s taste in friends, but he was just an all around good dude. Just the kind of positivity she needed in her life right about now. “Thanks, definitely wasn’t totally a little bitch about. Doesn’t mean there wasn’t some complaining though,” she said with a laugh, “But I do appreciate the hype.” As the waitress came back by and asked if they wanted dessert, she shook her head no and thanked her as she left the check. Turning back to Ricky, she found she was still as cheerful as ever. Man, he really was a super sweet person. His profile description of being thicc of heart and ass had been spot on. “You right, you right. I can still do something I love as a hobby and make some money off it. Plus, contributing to the community and working with kids is always a good time.” She crossed her arms and pouted slightly at the swimming advisory. White Crest was her kind of place, but she’d rather not become giant monster fish food, so she guessed she’d have to skip the swimming. “Well, damn, okay White Crest. Guess I gotta find a gym with an indoor pool then.” Her mouth dropped at the mark on the side of his stomach, “Jeez, a mermaid did that? So I’m guessing The Little Mermaid really isn’t accurate then.” 

Sliding his card across the table onto the bill that the waitress had left Ricky shot her a gleaming smile as she took the card and left, “I’m glad that actual pack dynamics aren’t the same as that show. That’d be….. Highly dysfunctional.” He couldn’t help but laugh a little as she talked about The Little Mermaid, “No. They’re more like….. Horrific nightmare angler fish. They have a lure that looks super convincingly like a human. They then use it to trick people into thinking someone’s drowning and then when they swim out to rescue them… boom. Eaten by a gross ass mermaid. I know the Rec Center out on Birch Lane has a pretty decent pool. If you’re fine with the sound of children screaming and some truly impressive levels of chlorine.” His card was returned and he signed the bottom of the receipt, leaving a large tip and ignoring the phone number scrawled at the bottom next to a smiley face, “If you need someone to sketch you uniform designs for your new kids’ soccer team I’m totally available for that. I can do some adorable fuckin’ cartoon designs that’ll make your team the envy of the surrounding area.” Gingerly sliding himself out of the booth he held an arm out to Ariana, “This was definitely the most fun I’ve had having cheeseburgers in a long time. Plus… I made another shifter friend! Best dinner date ever.”  

With a smile, Ariana thanked Ricky for dinner. Making a new friend, especially someone else who was a shifter, had been a great time. Though the description of mermaids was mildly terrifying. Ariel sounded way more fun to hang out with. “Big yikes,” she remarked, “That is definitely not what I imagined at all. I will keep my swimming to the Rec Center or out of White Crest entirely. Thankfully, I’m more of a runner than a swimmer. Not that there’s not things in the woods that would probably want to eat me, but I’m pretty scrappy.” She relaxed in the booth as Ricky signed the receipt and mentioned his drawing skills. “You’re just a man of many talents, huh? I’ll totally let you know if I need to design anything like that. I have a meeting soon with like, the full details on that.” She smiled easily getting up from the booth and taking Ricky’s arm. “Same here,” she said happily as they walked out, “Can’t beat cheeseburgers and new shifter friends. We’re definitely doing this again soon.”   

[mysticsparklewings]

I will be with You

When you go, just know that I will remember you If living was the hardest part, we'll then one day be together And in the end we'll fall apart, just as the leaves change in color And then I will be with you, I will be there one last time now --My Chemical Romance, "It's Not a Fashion Statement, it's a Deathwish" ____ It's rare that I'm this proud of an artwork I've created. ^_^ Usually, there's some glaring issue or just an assortment of small things I'd still change if I had the patience and/or artistic ability to do it. Or even just some things that I feel like could've been done better, even if I know it did the best I could. This time? No. Not right now, shortly after it's been completed, anyway. I'm sure years down the line from now I'll look back and feel at least slightly different. But as it stands now, while I'm sure it has its faults, I am truly happy and truly proud of what I've created here and whatever faults are there aren't bothering me at all. So what then is this, exactly? This my dear Sparklers is a visual love letter to the band I discovered just a little too late but was still there for me when no one else was all the same. Earlier this month, I uploaded a different piece of art to celebrate the announcement of My Chemical Romance's Return, but even when I uploaded that one I was already thinking of doing another one, this time something that was more obviously fan art. But not just fan art as I've done for them in the past (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and Exhibit C), but something extra-special and fun. I really did go into creating this wanting it to be as I described it above; a visual love letter to this band that I love so much and could not be happier that they're back. As such, I've squeezed in as many references as I could: 1. The female figure is molded after Helena from the album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge 2. The male/skeleton figure is supposed to be Pepe (that's what Google said his name was, anyway), the icon and seemingly marching band conductor from The Black Parade album 3. On Pepe's hat, I replaced the usual symbol with the Candle symbol that's been featured in the band's Return artwork 4. They fade into leaves based on the line from It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Deathwish (a song from Three Cheers) that I quoted at the top of the description 5. behind them is Party Poison's mask, as featured in the Danger Days music videos 6. on the mask, I replaced one of the black triangle shapes with the hanging man silhouette from I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love 7. The rest of the background is inspired by the covers for the Conventional Weapons releases (which in my mind I count as essentially an unofficial fifth album) (Debatable) 8. Their touching hands could be an indirect reference to the line "And as we're touching hands, and as we're falling down" from Demolition Lovers, a song from Bullets. That's at least one reference each (Three Cheers technically got two) for each of the main releases, plus one directly related to this new era we don't know much about yet. It's not an exhaustive "spot the reference" game, but I'm glad I was able to incorporate as many as I did. Now that I've explained them, maybe I can talk about my process without having to stop to re-explain each reference as they come up.   After some brainstorming, I got this image in my head of Helena and Pepe in this pose (inspired at least partially by this pre-existing fanart I've seen many times before) , which to me is a "renaissance dancing" pose but I'm sure there's some other better way to describe it I haven't thought of. I tried for a very long time to find a reference image of this exact pose to help me get the proportions and general anatomy right within my own stylization, but for the life of me, I couldn't find anything close enough to suit me and I really didn't want to have to settle for something else. As such, I'm sure the proportions and anatomy are off, but even so, I think I did pretty good considering. The main issues I ran into during sketching were mainly balancing the energy between the two characters--which I do think I managed in the end--Helena's skirt, as she's supposed to be holding onto it with that hand you can't see, and Pepe's torso. Originally, I was planning on doing this piece traditionally, but once the sketch was finished it almost immediately clicked into place that I'd be better served to do it digitally, considering what I wanted to do with the mask in the background already, as well as the leaf-fade. (The Conventional Weapons reference hadn't been planned yet, and it was technically only made possible later on by this piece being digital.) Luckily, doing things digitally meant that Pepe's torso was fixed pretty easily. It was too thin in the sketch, but all I had to do was select the right lines and move them out a bit in Photoshop. He's still a bit thin and not super buff, but personally I'm letting that go because...I mean, he's at least part if not all skeleton. If anyone's going to be too thin, wouldn't it make sense that it's him? Helena's skirt I did end up happy within the sketch but...we'll come back to the skirt in a moment. Pepe's...face? looked a bit odd in the sketch, but other than that, once I was happy with that foundation, I scanned it in and got to work on digitizing everything. I went over my lines for Helena and Pepe the way I normally would for something like this if a little intentionally messy instead of trying to get them super clean--as I thought that might be appropriate here--and then I paused with them to work on the mask behind them. The mask admittedly came out very poorly in the sketch, just because I bothered to look up no references for it whatsoever once I decided I was going to make this digital and I knew I could just draw half of it and flip it over. And I'm glad I didn't start trying to follow my sketch lines for it at all because looking up actual references showed me that would've been way off. While I had my reference up, I ended up going in and basically full-coloring and detailing the mask right then. That's the beauty of digital work; a lot of steps can be done basically out of order from how you'd have to do them traditionally and it doesn't matter because you can just move layers around and adjust effects later. I went with this pseudo-soft shading based on the colors and shadows I was seeing in my references, even though I wasn't sure yet exactly how I was going to shade Helena and Pepe. I figured that even if I used a different method for them that I could either go back and adjust the mask as necessary or that it wouldn't matter since the mask was part of the background anyway. Once that was done, I went back to ponder my two figures and the leaf effect that I wanted to do with them. And again, I went a little out of order here, as I ended up filling in the silhouette of Helena and Pepe with a blanket layer of gray so I could see how them blocking the mask was going to look (and I figured based on past experiences I might need the blanket layer in white later). From there, I went into working on the fading-to-leaves effect. My logic was that I'd need mostly the silhouettes of the leaves and then I'd get what I wanted after playing with layer effects or something. This assumption ended up being correct, but we're not there yet. As I worked, I kept looking at my "finished" messy lines. Something just didn't feel right. Honestly, I couldn't tell you where the idea to do this lineless look came from, but it got in my head as I was working and I kept looking at the lines I had and not being happy to just color those in as I normally would, shade it, and call it a day. I tried. I tried really hard to ignore the urge to at least try it and carry on as I was. I'd already come this far, and I'd be done so much faster if I stuck to the plan...But!! Clearly I lost that argument with myself. You know what though? I'm glad I did! I don't think I've ever done lineless art like this before, not counting my watercolor work where that's just part of the process to me. But digital? Certainly not. Human figures? Also no. I've come close in the sense that I've shaded my art before, turned off the line layers before, and thought, "oh hey that almost works without the lines because of the shading,"  but not much farther than that. Naturally, I wasn't even sure how or where to begin, so I went with what came naturally to me. I started by just filling in the lines as I normally would have, and then I went back layer by layer and went back and forth between having the line layer (with the opacity brought down somewhat already so I could sort of see what I was doing) on and off to try and balance the shapes between what they looked like with and without the lines. It's weird because if you ever try this, it's a little like having to figure out a bunch of individual silhouettes that make one whole one, except you need them to be a little more defined if you want them to make visual sense. That step and the next one, the shading, are tied in my mind for which one took me the longest. For the shading, I really just went in blind, using hard-edge cell shading, though originally I planning to come back with some soft shading in certain areas later. The soft shading ended up not happening partly because I liked it much better than I thought I would without it, and I thought the hard-edge shading made the figures pop a little more compared to the background. The thing about this was the same issue I run into with my lines nowadays; to get smooth shapes I spend a while going back and forth between putting color down and erasing it, and sometimes undoing and redoing the same line a dozen times to get it right in one stroke. But that's really my own fault for being stubborn and trying to work solely within Photoshop and not use other programs, as I know good and well I'd have less of that issue if I'd hop into Paint Tool Sai and use the linework layers in there. What can I say? I live up to my Capricorn sign by being as stubborn as a goat. Anyway. The biggest challenge to figure out the shading for was Helena's skirt. I think I would've still had issues with that though even if I colored and shaded my normal way, with the lines and everything. It's just the position it's in that complicates things. I actually did a good amount of shading in reverse here, where I'd make the base layer the shadow color and then the layer on top would be the regular color, as in some cases it just seemed easier to do that than the other way around. The part of Helena's dress around the top, for example. Or Pepe's pants (what little you can see of them). Additionally, I ended up leaving the feather attached to Pepe's hat alone and not really smoothing it out, as I thought the roughness and inconsistencies worked really well to make it seem more feathery. With enough patience and persistence and much back and forth among the various layers, I made it through all of that. I was a little concerned at first about some of my color choices and if the shading was too harsh in some places or not, but I mellowed out as I worked and ended up not making make adjustments after the fact. For instance, originally I thought I'd go back and make Pepe's...skin? closer to a true white and this fleshy off-white color was more of a placeholder, but the longer I worked with it, the more I didn't want to change it. It actually makes sense, given that his hands are normal (as they are presented in official artwork and other fan art not made by me) and that bones usually are naturally more of an off-white color. And I also think it just looks really good next to Helena's pale skin. The hands were a special challenge in regards to both shading and coloring, as hands like to be the more complicated part of a drawing more often than not, but even that I managed to get through with a lot more ease than I would've bet on. The other thing about that is that I was surprised once I got through the steps at how much better Pepe's face looked in comparison to the rest of the drawing. As I mentioned before, it looked odd in the sketch. But one I had most of the colors for him and Helena filled in digitally, the contrast or something just made it look infinitely better. (Combined with a hefty dose of earlier back-and-forth making adjustments to his jawbone area.) Originally, I thought I might use the same cell shading for Helena's eyeshadow. However, while I was still thinking of adding some selective soft shading, I added it using one of the brushes I'd used on the mask earlier. It looked so good to me that even after I tried added the soft shading with it like I planned and decided I didn't want/need it anywhere else, I kept it. And for the record, Helena's hair is kind of the wrong texture (it's officially more straight than this) and she's missing this little netted veil thing she's supposed to have, but I had a very specific vision in mind, so those were the two creative liberties I took with her design. I say it's fair game since I took a liberty with Pepe's hat to get the Return reference in. And besides, those two details being off doesn't make her totally unrecognizable if you know who Helena is in the first place. Once they were done, I spent longer than I bothered to document playing with the leaf layer I'd made earlier to try and figure out how to get the effect I wanted. Sparing you the boring details of my trial error, as I'm sure this description will be long enough without them, I eventually determined the best thing to do was to have one layer of the leaves on top set as an "overlay" layer, and another behind/beneath Helena and Pepe. Then I went back and extended my color and shading layers to extend down over the leaves, and I arranged and clipped the layers accordingly. Technically, the overlay layer wasn't necessary, but it added a little extra dimension that I really liked. By that point, it was my second day of working digitally and getting late, but I had to do one more thing before I could go to bed with my mind at ease that night. With Helena and Pepe done, I turned the mask back on (I'd turned it off so I could focus on them without it distracting me or otherwise getting in the way) and I felt like they weren't standing out enough against it. The bright yellow color was competing too much for my eyes' attention. So, after trying the "stroke" blending option in white and that looking God-awful, I added a new layer between them and the mask and manually gave them a white outline. It wasn't a perfect solution, and I knew that even then, but it was enough that I could sleep soundly knowing how far I'd gotten with the artwork. The next day I had to take a break from working on this to bust out a painting for the challenge I decided to take on this month, but I went back to this as soon as I could after that was taken care of. When I came back to it, I acknowledged that I technically could've left it as it was and call it finished. But I still didn't like how obnoxious the mask seemed for a background piece and it felt...I don't know. Almost hollow, in a way. It was a cool graphic, sure, but I wanting something more than that. Again, I'll spare you most of the nitty-gritty details. But long story short, I played around with layer effects and filters for a while until I had blurred the mask out just enough that it wasn't so obnoxious but also so looking at it directly didn't make me nauseous, and the edges were softened so it felt more like a true background piece and not just an accessory that had been plastered carelessly back there. It was only after I started saving off versions with different backgrounds--one with no background, one with white, one with black--that I realized I was missing a golden (semi pun intended) opportunity to incorporate a Conventional Weapons reference/allusion. Which was exciting because I'd previously been disappointed that I couldn't think of a good way to do that. I went back and forth on layer styles and adding texture with brushes and things for a while on that too, but you can see what I ultimately settled on. It's not a 1:1 to the CW covers, but I'm really pleased with it anyway. I did end up adding a bit more to the white outline in a few places and adding a drop shadow to Helena and Pepe so they'd pop a bit more (it almost makes them look like paper cutouts to me!), but really the only other thing I had to do after that was add my watermark. It took roughly 3 days of work from start to finish, but I was honestly surprised by how fairly smooth the process went. Especially considering the new things I'd tried along the way. I can only assume it's because of just how much my heart was really into making this piece. As I said before, I am truly proud of how this piece turned out. I love it. I love it, and I love the band that inspired its creation. Even the title says a lot here, I think. I picked this line that's repeated at the end of It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Deathwish, as it was a leading inspiration with the leaves and everything, and after looking at the lyrics I realized how fitting that line is for this. I discovered My Chemical Romance two years too late, two years after they broke up in 2013, but I've stuck by them ever since, and I will continue to do so, with whatever the unwritten future holds. They've changed, as anyone would over the course of six years, but they came back anyway. Even if it's just for a few shows and they're gone again. Or if it's going to be so much more than that. They. Came. Back. And that's not an easy thing to do a lot of the time. And so, I show my solidarity. I will be with you, MCR, no matter what comes next. You were there for me, and now it's my turn to be there for you, even if it as just another fan among the crowd. And that's really all I have to say on the matter. ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

[kelownahq]

WELCOME TO KELOWNA, MATÍAS BELMONTE

Age: 38

Gender: Genderfluid

Pronouns: He & Him

Sexual & Romantic orientation: Aromantic & Bisexual

Occupation: Painter

Hometown: Guatemala City, Kelowna since the age of 8

Triggers in bio or character: Criminal (older brother), parental death (adopted child), abuse (adopted child)

BIOGRAPHY: 

The Belmonte family started off with Félicia and Antonio in Guatemala, a local medium and a private detective, who proceeded to have two children named David and Matías – both showing off talent and grave intelligence from an early stage in their lives. Much like his father, David was sharp and driven, known to bargain with his supposed classmates during recess and gain control over certain areas around the school yard in which the other children had to pay a fee or a favor to pass through. No matter what the parents did, or teachers, David found loopholes to climb through and continued to hold a reign.

Matías was thrown aside quite often due to David’s behaviors, being two years younger than his brother he merely kept to the sidelines as his focus laid on his imagination and play on colors – however there were some choices of his that struck his parents as odd. Instead of a child’s typical grass and sunlight Matías seemed to have shifted around the colors of the grass and the sky, being the opposite of one another, as well as have coated the sun in a bright violet shade. When asked about it, the child held no clear answers besides “that was what it looked like to him”; and it would take Matías another five years before he was properly diagnosed with tritanopia, also known as a form of color blindness, and had teachers scold him for trying to break normal patterns.

When David was ten and Matías eight, the family was prompted to move to Canada for a brief time as Antonio’s work reached far beyond what their country had to offer, and he was not keen on leaving the three on their lonesome. A case that would leave Antonio hospitalized for three weeks and for him, and Félicia, to fall in love with a nurse named Miguel. The trio were soon spotted sneaking around behind the children, as they began to explore the possibilities of a third lover in their lives. Five months later the parents explained to David and Matías that Miguel was to move in with them and that they were to stay in Canada, an addition to their family that would lead to a third child one year later that gained the name Rosalie.

Now stuck in the invisible middle between a controlling older brother and an infant, Matías did his best to cope and the one he found himself leaning against more than anyone happened to be Miguel – who had adapted the name of “uncle” as to not cast any bright lights on the on-going relationship. Miguel was the first one to notice sharp changes in Matías mood and behaviors as he moved closer to his teenage years, developing strange patterns he was unable to break free from that tossed him into temper tantrums and anxious breakdowns whenever people tried to rush him through them. He had to put on the left shoe before the right one and tie his laces twice before feeling settled and ready to move, only to redo it five minutes later. The books he packed for school had to land in alphabetical order and be removed as such before and after class; or be stuck with the compulsive need to sharpen his pencil ten times – no more or less – otherwise the pen was deemed unusable and he had to throw it away for another.

Miguel talked the other parents into an investigation that lead Matías to be diagnosed with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and moved into a form of cognitive therapy to rework his mind. Today most of the compulsive needs have vanished and been reworked, but he still finds himself fixated with the way he paints and handles his brushes before he can sit down and breathe – making his development of the canvas slow and tactical. However, it was during his time at therapy Matías began to fully develop his voice in terms of art as to cope with the changes. He had formerly kept to mainly sketches in black and white to avoid using mismatching colors but found himself going back to his childhood roots to play around with the idea of abstract and the nonsensical, as some would call it.

Matías thus began to reach out with his ideas, attempting to sell a few pieces around the city as a mere seventeen-year old boy. It would take him until the age of twenty-four to find a channel to voice himself through, and it came in the shape of his brother David. No one truly knew what David was up to or meddled with since moving out of home, the Belmonte family simply knew he was married and had a daughter of three-years, but for some reason David reached out to Matías with ideas of how to properly sell his art. Matías never fully questioned his brother’s intentions, wanting to believe in the better of him, and thus began to produce art pieces that David swept out of his hands and somehow managed to sell off.

Matías gained a small profit out of this and used some to start exhibits under the guidance of his brother, but now also with the full support of their half-sister Rosalie who found joy in her brothers’ business. It would take him another four years of meddling until Rosalie overheard David speak one day about “how he was swindling his dumb brother who basically put money into his hands”, and as she brought this to Matías attention they went through their father to snoop out the facts behind David and his “heart of gold” as it showed the brother had kept the majority of the profits to himself, offering Matías scraps for his hard work and that, he in fact, claimed to be the artist behind the work.

Matías cut David off in every way and sense, reclaiming what he owned and ventured forward on his path to success. It, thankfully, wouldn’t take him long to find his clients that soon came to know him as the colorblind artist, a gimmick he still uses to boost his profits and work his way up the ladder of cultural fame. His life was far from the stage of calm, or past his brother’s mistakes, as would come to show when David ended up in jail for another round of fraud exposed – leaving his wife and daughter to mend for themselves. Without any money ,and the child in need of medication for her epilepsy, the mother reached out to Matías (whom had recently bought himself a house) to please take on his niece whilst she found herself a stable job; although she felt guilty for her husband’s actions towards her brother-in-law.

The niece, Natalie, became the first of four to move into the house with Matías and to become adopted under his name, as her mother never reached the full potential to care for her daughter’s wellbeing. The second one showed up two years later named Lillian, after her father passed away in an accident and left her standing alone; the third was a transgender boy (who has named himself Pollux) that got taken away from his parents due to a harsh environment; and the last (and youngest) is a rather new addition named Xander, and the only one to have come to his family through an orphanage. So, these days Matías paints just as much for his own interest as he does to keep his children fed and happy – viewing himself as a proud parent and artist. What other challenges life has in store is left to see, as he says with a light-hearted wave of his hand, willing to take on whatever gets in the way of his happiness.

PERSONALITY: 

Matías is a man of his words, working by the actions that people should be seen and heard due to his own childhood of half neglect. He knows his parents meant no harm and that they care about it, but it has still put a damp on his self-conscious and has developed a fear of disappearing and being forgotten. Most would describe him as humble with a sense of dark humor weaved into his speech, willing to learn and adapt to his situations and has through Pollux begun to explore genders and gender identities. However, one of his biggest fights as an established aromantic is to make society (especially people around him) understand that neither he nor the children crave “a mother” in their lives to be complete. He will never shoo away people who mean well and wish to help him out in terms of family trips or babysitting, but the second they try to give him or his family any type of pitiful look they’re out of his house.

He is working towards progress and is also known to learn skills and hobbies just for the sake of being able to, this tend to be his own coping mechanism of sorts and something to break through his head whenever the brush between his fingers refuse to move. Whether he's good or not is a different question, which something therapy has helped him move by, recognizing not everything has to happen a certain way or in this particual pattern as long as he gets there at all. By the end of the day he does things for fun, to be able to tell himself he tried and he'll happily welcome anyone who has something new to put on his plate.

MATÍAS reminds me of OSCAR ISAAC and is written by SARA

[haikyuu-imagines-and-others]

Can I please request a NSFW (& angsty fluff If possible) Friends with Benefits to (poly)relationship scenario for Bokuto/Kuroo/reader? Maybe where someone realizes that they want more from their current relationship but is afraid that no one else does only to find out in the end that's what they all want and they live happily ever after or something hahaha. Thanks so much!!

Heyoooo I am not dead! I have not been able to get this request out of my head! I love it so much! And if you haven’t read Chemicals Collide by Barkly…. Then I don’t know what to tell you other than you are missing out on some Grade A smut and feels, my friend… Thanks for requesting! - Admin Satori

Bokuto/Kuroo/S/O Poly:

It was never a plan, the three of you. It’d never been decided by one or the other, or the other. It just happened. One moment the three of you were hanging out, watching some cheesy movies, playing some terrible games…

… Then the next you’re squeezed between two hard bodies, their names falling from your lips, both their hips ramming against your much forgiving skin.

Afterward, the three of you, laying side by side, staring up at the ceiling of your bedroom - wondering how you’d gotten there, how’d they’d gotten there.

Kuroo wanted to blame the alcohol, saying the three of you were impaired.

But none of you had had anything to drink.

Bokuto wanted to point fingers at his libido, Kuroo’s libido, saying they were far too horny to be around someone as gorgeous and beautiful as you at such a late hour.

But you’d been the one to kiss them.

You knew what it was. Just friends gaining the benefit of a sexual relationship. Nothing too bad. You reasoned that a lot of people had this feeling about their friends. You were sure you’d had this feeling about some of you girl friends and boy friends while still in high school, wondering what it’d be like to just have them for a night. That’s what had happened between you, Bokuto, and Kuroo. Just a single night. Nothing more.

Only, it bloomed into something more.

Soon enough, ‘hump days’ became a thing of your life…. Their lives… Almost every Wednesday were you on top of one with the other behind, under one with the other under you, pressed between both of them, or even off to the side and enjoying them touching each other.

They never stayed long afterwards. You didn’t really want them to, either. It was awkward enough dozing in the afterglow of group sex without them trying to excuse their behavior or explain why they were rough or why they’d done the actions they had. Bokuto usually stayed a little longer than Kuroo. His large figure taking up the entirety of your fridge while he looked for something to eat - something to fill the fuel he’d just expended on you and his best friend. It was odd - having Bokuto around without Kuroo. Sometimes Kuroo would insist he stay a little longer than Bokuto, he’d put in a movie and ask you to watch it with him. His long legs stretched out over the coffee table in front of the couch.

You were grateful whenever the door closed on the last one out. Needing your peace, you wanted to be able to think through what you’d just done with your close friends. What they’d done with you. Instead of feeling grossed out by your actions, instead of feeling as if you probably needed therapy for what you’d done….

It felt right.

And while your Wednesday nights, and sometimes the weekend, were filled with their insatiable lust for you, for each other, your days were relatively normal. With them. Walking around Tokyo, window shopping for things you’d need for your apartment. Things they wanted for their apartments. It was normal. As if the three of you weren’t sweating over the other during the night. As if the three of you were absolutely nothing more than friends.

“I’ve been feeling kind of funny.”

Bokuto had been the one to pipe up about his feelings. It wasn’t anything new. Bokuto was always first to relate things to his heart. “You always feel funny, Bo… You look it, too.” Kuroo was quick to his draw, smirking over at Bokuto when the broad man let out a whine to rival a school girl.

The subject was dropped, quickly morphed into something of teasing and joking around - who looked funnier than the other. You joined in the amusement, though your mind was riddled with confusion over Bokuto’s words. ‘Feeling funny’ wasn’t far off from what you’d been feeling. Though, you chose to ignore what was happening in your chest in favor of what was happening to your body - what they would physically make you feel; Euphoria.

That night, Kuroo left a little more reluctantly, glancing at you and Bokuto from the corner of his eye, as if he were waiting for one of you to beg him back to bed. Ask him to spend the night. Bokuto had fallen asleep almost right afterwards, his head resting comfortably on your chest, his breath fanning across and tickling your now cooling skin. You weren’t used to having one of them spend the night. And you didn’t call out to Kuroo to have him come back to you.

You let him walk out of the apartment, choosing to stay silent for Bokuto’s benefit.

“So are we allowed to spend the night now?” Kuroo had brought up two days later, while the two of you were studying in the library for a Chemistry exam coming around the corner. The shock of the question had caused you to drop your pen onto the table, the light tap of it’s connection being the only noise emitted from your stillness. The lanky man raised an eyebrow at you, a small smirk pulling his lips, “You let Bokuto spend the night, right? When’s my turn?”

Clearing your throat, “Kuroo-“

“_______…” First name. That was different. His smirk remained, “We’ve slept together…. Just call me Tetsurou…. Or Tetsu.” A wink, and a soft blush was warming your cheeks.

Now you sighed, giving him a warning of a look, “Tetsurou…” The name felt odd - you weren’t used to saying his first name… but it felt right. It resonated with your heart, making it pick up speed and making your blush just a tad darker on your cheeks. Kuroo liked the color on you. “Boku-…” You cleared your throat again, “Koutarou didn’t spend the whole night. He woke up a couple of hours after you left, got his stuff, and left.”

He knew. Bokuto had told him. Had gone into great detail of how soft your chest was, how warm you felt against his body, your fingers stroking through his hair and leaving goosebumps on his back wherever you touched. Kuroo hadn’t thought anything of spending the night until after Bokuto’s retelling of the bliss he’d felt. Then Kuroo had grown jealous. Why had Bokuto been able to get some rest with you while he was out in the cold of Tokyo, on his way to an empty apartment? “Why aren’t we allowed to spend the night, then?”

You rolled your eyes, “Quit being a baby, Tetsurou… This was just for fun. It’s not a relationship.”

Kuroo chuckled, “It doesn’t have to be for friends to have sleepovers.”

After much bickering from your side, you were powerless. They’d won.

And now here you were, your arms wrapped around Bokuto’s bare shoulders while he rested his head on your chest, his arms squeezing your waist. He was lightly snoring. His eyes flickering behind his lids, black eyelashes casting shadows against the tops of his cheeks. Bokuto looked peaceful. As if he’d never had a more restful night before this. It gave you a soft warmth of pride, knowing you could give the ever trying ace of your university some sort of reprieve for his hardships. You felt a pressure around your shoulders, feeling Bokuto hum against your shoulder from the pressure against his back pressing him further into you, and you turned your head upward to see Kuroo fast asleep, his right arm under the pillow pushing it against his face, giving his hair an odd press. His other arm was thrown out around you and Bokuto, his hand pressing against Bokuto’s back to pull you two closer to his chest. He didn’t snore, thankfully, but he talked in his sleep. Mumbling your name. Bokuto’s name. And other things that you couldn’t quite make out.

But you couldn’t sleep. You lay there in the darkness of your room, having seen the lights of the early moon fade away behind your blinds, throwing your room into a deep darkness you’d never seen before. But you weren’t scared. Nor were you worried. Or concerned.

You felt… a peace. As if this predicament, this posture, this position between your two friends, your lovers, was completely natural. As natural as breathing. As natural as your heart beating twenty times faster whenever Bokuto laughed or when Kuroo genuinely smiled. And while you felt at peace, your eyes couldn’t stop the tears filling them to the brim, couldn’t stop them from rolling down your cheeks and into the pillow under your head.

You were scared. Of the future. Of what this kind of feeling meant for the three of you. For you. For Kuroo. For Bokuto.  Suddenly you were reminded of Bokuto’s uneasy feelings the other day, and now you could relate to his voicing of those feelings. It wasn’t a ‘funny’ kind of feeling, as he’d put it, but for you it was more… conflicted. Worrisome.

What would you do come morning light? Hold your lovers ever closer, not wanting them to get out of bed, propose the idea of the three of you forming a relationship?

Or would you push them away? Figure out your feelings, understand why you were feeling what you were, and ultimately put a stop to whatever forming bond the three of you had started that one night many months ago?

okay…. This isn’t as NSFW as requested…. My bad…. Please let me know if you want me to redo it or add a few more details or even just write the NSFW part of this request! I’ll make it a twofer lol