#right is an oc crossing meme i found

[sweeterthanmydreams]

Back of page shots from my sketchbook. I like how the marker shows through the back so clearly but doesn't bleed ink on the next page; I can see the art while ignore how wonky Somebody(tm)'s jaw is. u-u

My clowns still need more color but I might post them later. (I normally try not to post design work but I'll be using them sooner rather than later.) Still wanting to draw more DeviantArt memes (tm) so suggestions/telling me about your faves is neat. I might do photo album meme but I'm not sure who yet. The options are endless...

[rissararity]

Wrote a little fic inspired by this meme. Art is not mine!

Astarion/Half succubus bard oc. Cat calling, references to SA, comfort, friends to lovers, partners in crime, protective Astarion

Might eventually become a more put together fic, if it does it would be a slow burn friends to lovers

“Do we have any other takers? Any more bets? How about you, sir? Betting man?” the gorgeous bard beamed while she played a melody to raise anticipation on her lute.

“You know what? Sure.” The man tossed a couple gold into the pot.

The crowd cheered while Astarion gave a close lipped smile, eye fucking a couple of the women in the group.

A few more coins trickled in, clinking against the others.

“Now watch and be amazed as I throw this dagger, up to the second floor, it bounces handle side down off that, that then that,” he pointed to a couple of things, “and into the center of that barrel.” He announced with a flourish, parading around dramatically.

While he distracted the crowd, the bard cast a little spell to ensure he’d succeed. Astarion felt the power and confidence surge as her spell took effect, making a big show out of throwing the dagger.

While it flew through the air, Liv took the opportunity to pick a few pockets then make her way to the front before the trick shot was over.

As the blade hit home, the crowd was a mix of cheers and jeers.

“Aww better luck next time, friends!” She offered a supportive smile that hid the inward smirk she felt.  She validated a few peoples feelings and casually got each of them to walk away.

The bard scooped up the gold while the rogue retrieved the dagger. They smiled at each other for a moment before quickly and discreetly leaving the area.

To an outsider they’d look like lovers exchanging a look. But they knew they were shit eating grins of victory, and they were in fact not lovers, but 200 gold richer.

Each.

As they reached the end of the alley, they waved to Gale, who stood with his arms crossed. “Again? Really?” he glared, falling into step on Liv’s other side.

“Oh relax, you benefit from the spoils too. Most of this ends up going to potions and gifts for you.” The half elf snickered, purposely hip bumping him.

The wizard’s glare softened and he ducked his head. “I suppose that’s true. But if you two get caught, you’re on your own.”

The elves smirked at each other, “Somehow I think we’ll manage.” Astarion turned his ruby gaze to Gale who rolled his own.

The men grew uneasy while the trio walked by a group of men who began to whisper after them, staring at Liv in particular. The vampire could have torn their heads off with his bare hands for the disgusting way they spoke about her.

Gale glared back at them, putting an arm around her shoulders protectively. “Honestly, Liv, we can’t take you anywhere civilized.”

“I’d hardly call this place…much less those meat sacks civilized.” Astarion agreed, now wishing he’d been the one to grab her first.

“I’m not doing anything on purpose.” She muttered, dropping her chin.

“Boo hoo, it must be so hard being effortlessly gorgeous.”  The vampire rolled his eyes.

“When I cant go anywhere alone without being hassled, propositioned or having wives threaten me for stealing their husband’s eyes-“ “And hearts.” Gale added.

“Right. A few of them did say that.” She pouted, “I know I can more than take care of myself but I get so…” she crossed her arms over her ample chest and shivered with a frown.

The group had noticed fairly early on she seemed fairly oblivious to the leers she got everywhere she went, and that  when she no longer was, the attention made her extremely uncomfortable.

She could flirt her way out of trouble no problem but was easily flustered and nervous if a man just started commenting on her body. It made a pit form in her stomach that stayed until someone else from her party found her.

Even Shadowheart had played the role to make the men think they had no chance.

She sighed, “And Astarion,” he looked at her. “You sound jealous when you say stuff like that. You’re too pretty to be jealous.”

Gale smirked as the vampire’s jaw dropped for a moment, blinking in surprise “I…er..um..you’re absolutely right.” He pushed his hair from his face and shook out his shoulders, “You passed the test.”

Liv rolled her eyes while the wizard shook his head, a small smile on his lips.

Red eyes grew annoyed as he saw this, prompting him to cross his arms and pout, “I’ll meet you back at camp.” He strode of into the masses of people on the street.

The pair laughed, keeping their leisurely pace.

“He adores you,  you know.”  Gale told her once their laughs became little giggles.

Her cheeks grew dark, “No, he would have made a move by now if he did. We’re just good friends.”

He arched an eyebrow, “Is that so?”

She mimicked him, raising her own and dropping her voice, “Yes, that is so.”

The wizard made a face, “You’re too good at that.”

Wind whipped her long blonde hair around while carrying her laugh.  “What can I say? I give a performance like no other.”

Liv yelped as a hand seized her elbow. “I bet you do, babe. Why don’t you come with me and give a private show?”

Her entire body froze as ice set in, eyes wide with fear as her legs stopped moving.

“I’m going to give you one chance to let go of the lady and be on your way.” Gale’s voice dripped with venom in a way she’d only ever heard in situations like this.

The barbarian sized him up then laughed, yanking her arm confidently, causing her to stumble closer. “Fuck off, mate. If you can’t defend your woman, don’t bring her outside.”

They couldnt go throwing magic in the middle of town, the creep knew that.

What he didn’t expect,  was Gale to cast a hold person spell, locking him into place.

He then gently unfurled the man’s fingers from Liv’s arm and put a protective arm around her waist. “You need to learn some manners. Best hope we don’t ever meet in a battlefield.”

The man’s eyes burned with rage as Gale pressed a kiss to the still shocked bard’s temple and led them back into the crowd.

She pressed herself into her companion’s side all the way back to camp, trying to match his breathing the entire way.

No one knew what caused this reaction in her, but they had an idea. None dared broach the subject and figured talk if and when she wanted.

Normally in battle, she was fearless and thoughtful. But when confronted with someone like that barbarian she locked up.

When they returned to camp, Astarion had already thought up a snappy quip-the perfect amount of sting and sass.

Unfortunately,  it died in his throat as soon as he looked over at them. One look and he knew.

Gale was softly rubbing her forearm, reassuring her while he led her to his tent.

The vampire frowned and exchanged a look with the wizard on the way.  He immediately regretted his hasty exit earlier. He noticed pursuers were more easily deterred when she was with more than one man.

Astarion silently crept over to listen, able to hear their magic friend leading her through breathing exercises. When she’d calmed down, Gale finally left the tent to get some dinner.

He was about to stand only for Shadowheart to beat him to it, heading toward Gale’s tent to comfort the half elf.

 Annoyed as he was, he knew for Liv’s sake that only one person could be with her at a time.

Much to his dismay, she stayed for an entire hour and a half.

He started to head over only to stop in his tracks when the tent door moved and Liv emerged, looking tired but otherwise okay other than her red cheeks and the fact that she used a spell to change her appearance to the one she preferred-the one that more clearly showed her half-drow ancestry.

Her skin kept its pink hue but her hair shortened to a pixie cut, blonde at the root morphing into silver tips that sat perfectly in place. Her blue eyes shifted to one bright blue and one silver. A ring sat in her septum above her lips that wore a coat of black paint, matching her winged eyeliner and eyeshadow.

Her pointed ears were dotted with two in her cartilage on both sides, and a silver ring on the lobe. She bore tattoos of solid black up her throat with flame-like tendrils licking at her jaw, a small flame adorning her forhead.

This was who she preferred to be. Who she felt the strongest,  and most confident as. It was also her defense.

The others knew not to be surprised or comment on what she decided to look like that day. The long blonde look was always used for public performances; it had even earned her the title “The Angel” by word of mouth.

Astarion thought she was perfect both ways, but he knew the other men liked The Angel, while Shadowheart and Karlach shared his adoration of who he dubbed the demoness, the little devil, and simply the drow.

She hadn’t noticed him,  and headed for her bedroll by the fire.

Astarion’s chest tightened as he realized he was too late to comfort her. If he hadn’t ditched her this probably wouldn’t have happened. They’d be sitting around the fire while she played her lute and told them legends and stories.

He should have stayed. This was his fault.

He should have stayed.

Jaw clenched,  he thought, I’ll never abandon you again, my angel. You have my word I will remain close at hand.

What he couldn’t see, was her small smile as their tadpoles relayed the message in his voice.

In fact, he'd been so distracted that all his thoughts of guilt and protectiveness were made privy to the blonde.

He didn’t know it, but they grew closer that night without him ever speaking a word.

--

The following morning when they returned to the little town of Hodge to continue their search for information. Gale noticed Liv go out of her way to insure they passed by the same intersection from last night.

It was fairly early and the roads were fairly clear,  blue sky above them.

As they neared it, Gale stepped forward and took her hand. To everyone’s surprise, she turned her blue and silver gaze to Astarion and held her other hand out to him.

Shadowheart pouted as the visibly confused vampire somewhat hesitantly took her hand and walked on her other side.

Liv squeezed both of their hands as they strode down the road like they owned it. When they got to the next street, she pressed a kiss to the back of Astarion’s hand and gave him a grateful look before letting go and repeating the gesture with Gale.

The vampire blinked in surprise as an odd fluttering feeling danced in his stomach, Gale’s cheeks darkened a little as he returned her smile.

He followed her blindly like they were magnetized, eyes wide as he tried to make heads or tails of this feeling.

Her still short hair shined like silver in the sun, contrasting the warm, sunny light from the blonde near her scalp. Even painted with dark makeup, she was breath taking-silver septum ring glinting back at him a top her confident smile.

Especially when she was exuding confidence like she now was, leading them through the streets to their first contact.

Her rapier carefully tucked into her overcoat, lute strapped to her back, she walked through intersection exuding joy once again.

Astarion’s maroon eyes stayed locked on her profile while he continued to remain at her side. Gale went to talk to Karlach, leaving the two side by side leading the group.

The vampire's eyes flicked down to her hand, yearning to hold it again; to feel her soft, dainty hands in his calloused but well manicured ones.

The butterflies in his stomach hadn’t quite settled down yet-he’d heard some young women gossiping recently and learned that’s what it was called.

Though if it meant what they insinuated it did he refused to believe that was what was happening to him.  

He supposed Liv was pretty enough…oh who was he kidding?  They didn’t call her The Angel  for nothing. She was beauty incarnate, in both of her forms. Her movements were naturally elegant and graceful, her acrobatics during battle were unreal.

Everywhere she went an air of lavender and vanilla followed. You couldn’t be in a bad mood when she was around-he would know. He tried.

She was exactly what Cazador would have sent him after.

At that, he looked away from her shamefully. He didn’t deserve to walk beside her, figuratively or literally. His steps slowed so he could merge with the others but this stopped when her hand brushed the back of his – making his breath catch for a moment as sparks shot up his arm.

She caught his eye and winked, a small smile on her soft lips.  “Walk with me, Astar.”

He was about to scold her for the nickname but for some reason from her he didn’t mind it.

“Gale holds your arm through town.” He murmured quietly as they walked.

Her cheeks darkened, “So he does.”

“It’s only fair-rr- I mean….proper.” He collected himself. “It’s only proper that a lady gets escorted.” He raised his chin, keeping his eyes ahead.

“Of course.”

“After all, you tend to get sidetracked and lost.”

“Sounds like me.”

“Hells forbid you see a cat!”

A  little annoyed now, she glared, “Are you gonna do it or what?”

“Of course I am, don’t be stupid!” Came his rushed reply just before he almost aggressively looped arms with her like Gale often did.

Behind them, the entire team silently laughed. Gale crossed his arms over his chest, batting away Shadowheart to pretended to try and loop arms with him. He turned away from her and glared playfully before pushing her into Karlach who caught her then gave her arm a reassuring pat before going back to minding her business.

Astarion glared venomously at any one that looked at them too long, thankfully only a few people due to her still being in little demon form. He felt like her bodyguard, and as such had to be the scary dog that made outsiders keep their distance.

And unlike most bodyguards,  he actually HAD bite.

Meanwhile, Liv was blissfully unaware of the mission he’d given himself, waltzing down the street casually.

When they arrived at their agreed upon meeting place, Liv wanted to go in alone but the entire group was quick to shut that down.

“Just in and out-it’ll be quick. Everyone leaves happy, no big deal.”

Astarion’s lips quirked up in a grin while he held his laughter, little sounds sneaking out. Karlach immediately began to belly laugh, drawing the attention of a few townspeople. Gale sighed and shook his head while the bard looked at him oddly.

“Sweet summer child.” He pressed a patronly kiss to her temple and hugged her cheek to his chest for a moment.

With knit brows, she let him hold her for a moment. “Anyway, any alternative plans then?”

“Well, you aren’t allowed to go anywhere alone so write that down.” The vampire rolled his eyes, missing her little smile.

“Our best bet here is to not arouse suspicion, and to appear as normal as possible to blend in. I think Liv and I should go in together,  since we look the most like the locals." The wizard spoke up.

“Human, you mean?” Shadowheart asked, crossing her arms at the other half-elf.

“And not head to toe in armor. Not exactly common garb in these parts.”

She relented, “Liv and I could go. Two women won’t look odd and I’m sure she has an outfit I can borrow.”

Gale gave a snappy retort, angering the Cleric. They bickered over who was going in with Liv until Karlach  physically turned their heads to show them Astarion had already whisked her away and toward little café, both in all their silver headed glory.

After casting an apologetic look over her shoulder, she spoke “You didn’t ask me to put on the angel.”

He paused, “I’ll never ask you  to change, darling. However you feel best is how I want you.”

She squeezed his arm, smiling up at him while he avoided her gaze.

Luckily everything went according to plan for once and they got another lead.

Before they returned to their team, waiting in the distance in the town square, they decided to slip out the back door  to see if they could make a few extra coins.

Liv put on the angel to aid in the con on her own accord, excitement in her stomach as she and Astarion approached a small group of people already with a game in progress.

---

“Where is she? I need to see her.” Astarion pushed past Shadowheart and headed toward Wyll’s tent.

“She’s going to live. Don’t interrupt her healing session. It’s…private.” She trailed after him, wishing Wyll hadn’t taken some personal time away so he could cast a hold spell.

Ordinarily  Shadowheart was stronger than Astarion, but now he was in a protective rage, eyes blazing like a wildfire as he sought his little devil.

This fueled him to overpower her, tugging free of her grip and delivering a sharp shove that sent her on her ass, blinking in shock.

He entered the bubble of silence cast around Gale’s tent and froze as he recognized the sounds of lust and sex, as well as the all to familiar scents that went along with it.

His blood ran cold as he hid and peaked in. He knew what to expect but was still aghast when he saw Gale on top of Liv.

Liv’s nude body was dotted with scrapes and bruises from their last fight, her head lulled to the side, eyes half open. She didn’t react much to the wizards deliberate, confident thrusts, her breasts bounced in recoil to punctuate each one.

Gale bit his lip, brows knit as he began to speed up. Liv's shallow breaths along with a few gasps softly joined the other sounds.

Astarion felt rage like never before and had the biggest urge to reach straight through Gale’s back and pull out his still beating heart.

But he knew that was a bad idea.

Liv’s head turned to the other side and she accidently met the vampire’s eyes, her own going from half lidded to wide, cheeks ablaze.

Feeling much like a scorned lover,  though not sure why, he silently sneered at her and left.

--

The following morning, the air was tense between the two troublemakers-Astarion and Liv.

Gale hadn’t noticed him, and she hadn’t told him.

She avoided her rogue as much as possible without drawing attention, seeking a distraction.

Otherwise back to her normal self, she pulled her violin from her bag of holding  and began to play an upbeat jig, a smile on her face as she watched Karlach and Wyll prepare breakfast.

Gale and Shadowheart clapped in time with the music, smiling and enjoying the morning.

His eyes narrowed at Gale as he approached, considering how he could catch the wizard’s robe on fire, stopping short to watch the end of the song.

Liv hesitated a bit upon seeing him, but being the professional she is, she didn’t let it hiccup the song. Gale noticed the jovial mood in her eyes dulled, and used his tadpole to connect to the vampire -immediately realizing what had happened.

The bard finished the song with a flourish of her bow then bowed for the applause  that came from everyone that didn’t drink blood.

Gale connected to Liv for a moment to see if she knew, appreciating that she told him the truth and didn’t make him search her memory.

I think it’s time to tell him, Angel. He’s the only one that doesn’t know and he’s clearly upset.

She sighed, I have to, now. We can’t keep going like this.

He gave a short nod, then made an excuse about wanting to show Liv how to feel the weave so they could both go into the woods together.

They were correct in assuming Astarion’s jealousy would have him tailing them.

Once they were away from camp, his body froze mid-step as Gale cast a hold person spell on him.

The pair turned around and headed over to him, ignoring the slew of curse words falling from his fangs.

“What in the hells do you think you’re doing?!” He growled at last.

“We need to talk- and by that I mean you need to listen. We can’t have you attacking Gale or running off before we explain.”

He glared at her, inwardly annoyed that the passing breeze carried over her lavender scent.

“I’m not sure what I saw other than the two of you acting like a couple of randy teenagers.”

Liv crossed her arms, nodding, “That’s exactly why you’re stuck right now.”

Gale’s lip quirked up for a moment at her flat tone before he spoke, “That’s all you saw? Are you absolutely sure there was nothing else of note?”

“Gale, darling, I’m not going to comment on the size of your staff if that’s what you’re fishing for.”

The wizard blinked in shock, blushing,  “No! No that’s not what I meant.”

Standing slightly behind him, Liv giggled, cutting herself off when Astarian glared at her again.

“Think back. Really think-I’ll even help you.” She cast a focus spell on him while he huffed and closed his eyes.

His mind’s eye took him back Gale’s tent, his eyes glued to the scene before him. Liv looked exhausted from their last battle. Her body was scraped and bruised here and there and bags sat under her eyes.

Her baby blues lacked the spark they usually held.

The vampire knit his brows, growling at the other man. “Did you do something to her?”

Gale’s jaw dropped, Liv spoke up and vehemently denied it.

“It’s not like that either. I look right as rain today, right?” she gestured to her face- bright and clear as always.

He nodded.

“You know I’m a half elf, right?”

“Of course. Drow-correct?”

Liv smiled, happy he remembered that given her normal, warm and sunny appearance. “Right. Well…it turns out…the other half wasn’t human.”

“I’m sure you’ve noticed Liv is much more adept at magic than a normal bard…hells I’ve been trying to convince her to let me train her as a spellcaster…”

She rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, the other half…my father…was an incubus. So…I’m half elf half-“

“Succubus.” Astarion sneered, “It all makes sense now. The power you hold over others with the simple toss of your hair.”

They waited to see what he would say next, giving him a moment to think.

“That’s why you look so much better than you did…last night.”

She nodded, “I seem to have an odd mix of traits and abilities. My little demon appearance can’t be washed away by any manor of magic because it’s still real. When I take after my father, I become the angel. But my mother was the drow.”

“It doesn’t trigger my detect magic ability either.” Gale added, “Because of her half succubus nature, every week or so she needs to be…reset, or she gets sickly and weak.”

“That’s why she’s gotten so much stronger since the began traveling together.”

Liv blushed and shuffled her feet, “Look, I’m really not as smooth as I pretend to be-its an act.”

The vampire was quiet for a long while, “So when you say you cant sleep alone-“

The half elf gasped, “Not every night! God’s Astarion I’m not an animal! Gale told you…once a week. I try to hold out for as long as I can though…” she looked down, “I know it’s a big ask. More often than not I just need to cuddle.”

Gale patted her shoulder, a kind smile on his lips. “I assure you it’s no toil for us. I admit it can be difficult when you’re…in rough shape but knowing it’s the best way we can help you-“

“Mmmhm nothing to do with the fact that you get to have sex with her, I’m sure.” The vampire cut him off, winking when he was done.

The wizard’s warm brown eyes widened, cheeks darkening-it was certainly not a chore, but an honor.

Liv quirked an eyebrow at him, stifling a laugh and trying to force the corner of her mouth down.

Astarion relaxed as he watched her reaction to this. His jealousy faded as he realized for Gale, and hopefully Wyll, this was a friends with benefits situation, not a romantic relationship.

“Oh do let me go now. I’m listening.”

After a nod from Liv, Gale released the hold spell.

Astarion straightened himself and pushed his hair back, shaking off the stiffness. “The girls were already aware, I’m assuming?”

Liv nodded. “Unfortunately, my succubus healing only seems to kick in with men. I guess I need a…bridge to transfer.”

“You had sex with Shadowheart?”

Gale raised an eyebrow, “You tried to.”

“Well yes, but for a different reason. It’s not the same.”

“If anything, my reason is better than yours.” Liv glared.

He tilted his head, “Is it? Who’s to say? Besides, it only makes sense to gather as many…potential healers as possible and keep one on hand at all times. It was smart of you to try, since the two of you normally pair up when we split.”

Silence for a beat.

"Though I must tell you, I thought we were closer than this, little angel.” He turned to her. “Why was I the only one left unaware of your…condition? Did you not want my…” he gestured to his body, “help.”

Gale turned to her, too, curious.

The bard blushed, keeping her eyes on the ground. “We've always been great friends and I didn’t want to risk making it weird.”

“So you didn’t think it weird to proposition your companions weekly to steal their energy when they orgasm?”

Silence.

“It's really not bad. One sip of a health potion and you're back to rights.” Gale defended her.

“Alright, well,” he approached Liv, who shyly looked up. “This doesn’t change anything between us, darling, not if you don’t want it to.” He tilted her chin with one finger. “But if you decide you do, I assure you I’m more than capable of not treating you any differently if we slept together; dearest friend of mine.”

Her cheeks blazed, lips parting in shock. Gale rolled his eyes and looked away while the two had a moment.

He knew his friendship with Liv was clearly different than whatever it was she had with Astarion, so hearing her admit that hadn’t stung like one might expect. It was no secret the two had more in common, more laughs and a knack for getting in and out of trouble.

Gale, as well as Wyll, knew what this was.

Giving the half elf a wink, Astarion turned around and headed back toward camp.

She didn't ask for his help yet, but he hoped she would.

And when she did he would be whatever she wanted him to be; a simple friend with benefits due to a caring heart and sense of obligation or...maybe...

Well he wasn't sure but he was looking forward to her helping him find that out.

[cryingpariah]

Introducing and Explaining My One Piece Oc with this meme and also just the power of Yap! No pictures yet. I cannot draw, I haven’t found the right picrew/dress up games for her style and my spine, backbone and brain aren’t rotted enough to use AI :p

Allow me to introduce to Jackie! She works for Big News Morgan and is his personal assistant at the WEJ and also Heiress Apparent to the Underworld.

Her job boils down to being a hired gossip. She’ll go from pirate ship to pirate ship to schmooze and get/swap information, all with a friendly smile and a silly demeanour! She delivers packages too heavy for the News Coos and gives special secret editions of their magazines to their highest level pirate clients (think really interesting pirates that are sure to generate BIG NEWS and of course the Yonkos! They get the most preferential treatment). She’ll be buddy-buddy with the Marines too but that’s more for practicality and preemptive damage control for when Morgan inevitably pisses them off. She occasionally works her magic on civilians to get them better deals on paper and ink.

Devil Fruit: around the age of 5, Jackie stumble across an oddly red looking pear with an incredibly unnatural swirl that wrapped around the whole fruit, only ending where it point out a the stem. It later turned out she ate the Arrow-Arrow fruit and became a Direction Woman! She can create Arrows (the symbol to be clear) and while she shoot them out at people, the real power is how it changed her sense of direction. She always knows how to get to where she wants to go and can make arrows that she can stand or sit on to take her there! For example if she wants to head back to the WE NEWS, she just has to think of Morgan and feel this pull wanting to take her there. It’s also useful for fighting! Place an arrow point up under someone’s chin and it can hit as hard as an uppercut! She can send anything and anyone up down left right or spinning in a circle all from a safe distance, as long as she can see it, she can move it.

Appearance: Medium black skin with mid-back length curly light brown hair that fades into a gray ish blonde. Has a slightly crooked nose from a fight that wasn’t reset before it healed so she wears a white bandage overtop of the bridge. Has a tooth gap. Gun metal grey round eyes, she rarely blinks honestly. Attire-wise she dresses as a cross between standard Newsies cosplay and classic aviator uniform. Her uniform is generally a frilly collared sleeveless button up with a ribbon delicately tied around the collar, a pair of dark pinstriped pants that are tucked into shin high lace up boots, finished off with some gloves that are definitely one size too big, a pinstriped paper boy hat and an aviator jacket with multiple patches from around the world covering the back and sleeves.

Personality: She’s incredibly two faced. In front of potential customers and coworkers she’s sweet as sugar but put her in a room with just the higher ups of the Underworld and all that positive energy and charm disappears. On the clock she’s very loud, comedically dramatic, and very forthcoming. The only time she’s really in off the clock mode is when she’s completely alone, where she has no one to perform for. The only person that’s ever seen both sides to her (and doesn’t hate her for it) is Big News Morgan and she…appreciates it way more than she’s willing to admit. And it’s not like the nice work side of her doesn’t truly exist, it does! It’s just so carefully folded and tucked into a corner of her heart that she refuses to acknowledge.

1. Her birthday is October 12th (International Newspaper Carrier Day).

2. 15 pre-timeskip and 17 post-timeskip.

3. Generally yes, it’s her uniform after all but she’ll change it up for a special occasion like a party or if it’s a day off.

4. British (boo 🍅🍅).

5. Lucky number 7! BNM is resolute that she’s the World Economic Journal's good luck charm! Jackie however doesn’t believe in luck of any kind and they get into debates about it all the time.

6. Wind/Outside. If you were to sniff more you’d find hints of ink and that warm paper smell.

7. A soft grey.

8. Soups and Sandwiches! She likes how they can be made out of basically anything plus it’s super easy to carry around in her thermos and lunchbox and great for on the go!

9. Heavy, creamy foods like Mac and Cheese or Chowders. They make her feel all sleepy and lazy.

10. Work mostly which means all the people around the seas all the time.

11. Often, her job is just being outside a lot and a good public image can’t be maintained if their most outgoing employee looks and smells like shit.

12. A universal donor (which I have decided to dub OX+ for the sake of simplicity.) She makes it a point to donate every couple of months.

13. Does it occasionally but everyone onboard hates it and begs her to stop.

14. If Devil Fruits are allowed? She’s winning easy. If they’re not? She’d still take like 3rd or 4th place.

15. Tomato soup! She can whip it up super easily and it’s pretty tasty if she’d say so herself!

16. Whenever she can. Her hours are incredibly spontaneous and she pretty much always on the go. Her sleep hours are precious to her and she has 4 different intricate locks on her bedroom door to prove it.

17. Comedic relief middle child who no one actually takes seriously.

18. A pigeon: half because of the whole carrier pigeon thing and half because they’re both everywhere and nowhere all the time.

19. 5’7 pre-time skip and 5’9 post time skip. A little underweight honestly, which deeply concerns her coworkers considering how young she is.

20. Y'know I’ve never actually thought of her bust size before but like…a B ig idk??

21. A simple big capital J.

22. Not super different honestly. At most she changes her uniform color palette from all whites and beiges and adds a dark magenta element (her pants and bow)

[romanarose]

Leather and Lace: Chapter 8

Santiago "Pope" Garcia X Fem!OC

Fic Masterlist

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Chapter summary: Santi makes his round of apologies. Later, Frankie has an emergency and Santi has to take Laci to Will's, where they go on their own adventure, and a new person is introduced.

A/N: I feel like the last chapter had everyone like that Micheal Scott meme "why are you the way that you are" so here, hope I fixed it. Not a whole lot of Santi Laci but next chapter will, promento. Not proof read bc this was LONG AS FUCK and if I look at it one more second I'm going to SCREAM!!!!!!

shout out to @welcometostayingawake ask and you shall recieve, here is Laci in Santi's shirt.

WARNINGS: Mentions of drug use, mentions of addiction and alcohalism, general fic related references to sex trafficking but nothing super bad.

**********

Santiago Garcia was woken up that morning to a cup of water being splashed on his face.

“Jesus Christ!” He sputtered awake, a wave of nausea over taking him before he could process who was in his house. Santi found a trash can at his feet, which he promptly threw up in. When he looked up, he found Will standing above him, arms crossed. “Jesus, Will, what the actual fuck.”

“Get up.” The older Miller stated simply. 

“Why are you here?” Santi groaned out, head throbbing from his hangover.

“I have a key and your home security info for a reason.” Will practically pulled Santi’s smaller body up, pulling him to the bathroom.

“Yeah, for emergencies. What are you doing?”

Will dragged him to the bathroom, turning on he shower. “You’re trying to ruin the one good thing in your life, that’s enough of an emergency for me” He pushed Pope, fully clothed, into the shower.

“What the fuck!” He shouted as the water drenched his clothes for the second time in the last 24 hours.

Will walked out of the bathroom, calling to his friend. “You have 15 minutes. Get showered, get dressed, sober up, then we’re going to Ben’s, and you're going to make this shit right.”

Santi pouted the entire ride over. “How much did Ben tell you?”

Scoffing, Will couldn’t help smile a bit despite his irritation. “It’s Benny, he can’t keep a secret to save his life.” But he turned to Pope with a frown. “He told me the shit you said.”

He groaned. “Which time.”

“Well,” Will started sardonically. “There's the fact Laci had the courage to not only talk to you but to call you out, and you shut her down in possibly the cruelest way I can imagine, and I can imagine a lot”

A pang of guilt and shame shot through him. “Yeah. Yeah there's that.” Santi remembered the strangled smile that fell from her face when he said that to her. He had been so happy, thrilled even, with how freely she had been speaking that day, and the words he chose were almost certainly going to undo every piece of progress they made, and possibly fuck up whatever it is they had forever. He would understand if she never wanted to talk to him again.

“And then,” Will didn’t stop. “Then there’s the shit you said to Benny.”

Santiago flopped his head back to the headrest of Will’s truck. “Will, I’m sorry-”

“Don’t say to me, say sorry to Ben.”

A pause. “You’re not going to beat me up?” Santi joked wryly.

Will laughed back, pulling into Benny’s driveway. “No, I’m not going to beat you up. But,” He turned off the roaring engine, giving him a serious look. “You need to make this right. Listen. Maybe we’re done in the field, maybe our days as a team are done and everyone is moving on with our lives.”

“Will-”

“But I need us to stay connected. You and Frankie don’t have family, Ben and I just got our mom and piece of shit dad left, and y’all know how bad that bastard fucked up Ben.”

Santi did know. The Miller’s dad was alcoholic fucker who beat the shit out of their mom and the boys. Santi knew that Benjamin’s drinking and fighting started long before the shit he’d seen in the military. But he also knew what Will refused to acknowledge, that Will took the brunt of the beatings to protect Benny and Mrs. Miller. He knew that Will held a lot of guilt for all the times he couldn’t deflect his dad’s anger away from his baby brother. Will would never admit to any of that.

Will continued. “We are what we got. And I have… I have a hope that in the future, we’re still all together, still friends, even if our paths go separately. And I’m hoping Laci will be a part of that.”

Santi nodded. “I’ll make this right, I promise” They knocked on the door, Ben answered. Santi had expected him to slam the door on him, curse him out, maybe swing on him. But Ben greeted him and his brother with a smile. “C’mon in.” he turned to Will. “Grab a beer, I’ll meet you in the yard” then back to Santi. “Listen, she’s ready to talk, I wouldn’t let you in here if she wasn’t.” Benny nodded towards where the top of Laci’s blonde head over the couch on the other side of the house, out of earshot but actually aware of him. “I’m not gonna tell you how to live your life, but that girl is in love with you, and I’ve seen the way you look at her. We all have. Just… she could make you happy, if you let her.”

Santi shuffled, hand rubbing the scruff of his neck. “I know. I’m worried about hurting her-”

“Oh, I call bullshit. You’re worried you’ll get hurt the way me, Will, Fish and Tom have. You’re the only one who has avoided it this far. But if you let that girl walk away, I’m willing to bet it’s gonna hurt just as bad. There’s no avoiding it now., which maybe isn't what you want to hear, but it's the truth."

Santi nodded, patting Ben’s back as he walked past Ben to get to her. Before he took more than a few steps, he turned back to his friend. “I’ll talk to you in a bit, okay?”

Benny surprised him with a bright smile. “After last night, I sure hope so.”

Again, Santi nodded and made his way to her. When he rounded the corner of the couch, she was shitting with her arms crossed, legs tucked between her and the cushion. Laci avoided his eyes, a sadness on her face he hadn’t seen since they were alone in the jungle.

“Hey Lace.” He greeted tentatively, standing in front of her with his hands in his pockets to avoid wringing them in nervousness.

She continued looking at the tv, but motioned for him to sit. Santi practically scrambled to the other end of the couch.

Turning to face him, her feet on the couch pointed to him with her arms crossed, but nevertheless meeting his eyes. A pregnant silence surrounded them, Santiago trying to figure out where to start. Laci raised her eyebrows, waving her hand at him. ‘Well, go on then.’ Santiago thought back to the previous day, how easily she talked to him, and now she was closed off again, relying once more on reading her face and body language.

“Lace I’m so sorry” He burst out in one breath.

Her face softened a bit, but prompted him to go on. “I don’t really have a good reason, but I panicked. I’ve never been in a serious relationship, never been in love.”

She rolled her eyes.

His foot began tapping on the floor. “I know it’s a cliche, but it’s true. And I was worried, I don’t want to fuck you up, I couldn’t forgive myself if I hurt you.

She gave him a dry laugh.

“Well, hurt you more. Not after everything you’ve been through.”

Laci pointed to herself and shook her head, then motioned like she was rocking a baby. ‘I am not a child’

Santi sat back against the couch. “I know. I’m sorry for treating you like one. I was trying to be careful but I think, and I can’t believe I’m saying this.” The smallest smile quipping up on his lips. “But Benny was right. I should be supporting you, not keeping you locked up”

Santi watched her face, for a moment there was no reaction. Then, thankfully, she let out a snicker.

Pope’s smile broadened. “Don’t tell him I said that.”

Out of nowhere she spoke again with a light smile, much to Santi’s relief. “After the shit you said, I’m definitely telling him.”

Santi dodged her eyes, but nodded.

She continued. “He’s just my friend, Santi. I love you.”

Quickly looking back at her with wide eyes, he barely whispered out, so quiet and nervous Laci almost didn’t hear him. “Still?”

Her shoulders and face fell at that. Crawling along the couch, she sat again facing him and taking his hands in hers. “I told you I love you, that doesn’t change after one fight… right?” Her voice trailed off, face faltering a bit as she looked at him with concern.

“No” Santi breathed out, sitting up and taking her face in his as as he moved to kiss her, waiting until he saw the smile on her face return to close the gap. His lips on hers, he couldn’t help but think how right it felt, how this was what he wanted. Out in the open, where Will or Ben or anyone could see them, away from the cover of midnight. As much as he cherished the nights they spent together, there was something different about it being open. Santi was well aware there wasn’t much of a secret with them between the guys, he had admitted his feelings to them before. But now, he no longer had to lie to them, to her, to himself.

When she pulled away, Laci touched her forehead to his. “Santi…”

A quick kiss on the lips. “Yes, Munequi- uh” He stopped himself, calling her little doll felt wrong after Benny’s comments and the accusation of her infantizing her.

She returned the quick kiss and laughed a bit, returning her forehead to his, still holding his hand. “You can call me Munequita, baby, I like that.”

“Okay” he grinned at her, unable to take his eyes off her.

“You need to apologize to Benny.”

Santi couldn’t help the small sigh that escaped him. “Yeah, I know. I will. I promise to do better, whatever you need, even if it's space, you can tell me. I want what you want."

When he found Ben and Will outside, he nodded at Will, letting him know things were right between him and Laci. Will walked inside to join Laci, doing the ‘I’m watching you’ motion, leaving Benny and Santi outside.

Santi started. “I’m sorry, Ben. I was an asshole-”

“Tu eres pendejo” Benny said with a cocked eyebrow and a slight smile. He didn’t hold a grudge.

Santi laughed back. “Frankie teach you that?”

Benny took a drink of his beer. “Hey, I can speak some Spanish. I learned the important parts.” A pause. “And it’s okay, we don’t have to talk about it more. An apology is more than I think anyone but her has gotten from you. You two good?” He nodded through the plexiglass to where they could see Will beguiling Laci with some story.

Santi turned back, smiling. “Yeah, yeah we’re great.”

Benny grinned at that. “Oh thank god. I think if you guys broke up, we’d all just give up on love forever, it would be more devastating than Taylor Swift and Harry Styles.”

Santi blushed, looking away but grabbing Ben’s beer from his hand and taking a drink.

After a pause, Benny added. “There’s not, and there never was anything with us, just friends.”

“I know-”

“I’m talking to someone” Ben spit out, body buzzing from not being able to keep the secret.

Santi’s ears perked up at this. Benny had a lot of people he fucked, very few people he ever talked to outside of a little flirting before hooking up. “Oh? Who is she? Or he! Or… they… or…”

Ben burst out laughing at Santiago’s awkwardness. “I appreciate you trying."

Santi threw up his hands. “I’m sorry! After what I said, I don’t want you to think I’m-”

“I don’t.” Ben reassured with a smile. “And it’s a she. She’s a she. Don’t tell Will, I’m not sure where this is going yet.” 

Nodding, Santi finished the beer and motioned Will and Santi to come outside. “I won’t”

That night, they went to bed separately, Santi not wanting to rush or push her. As much as Pope was beyond thrilled that they were together (is he supposed to ask to make it official? Is he her boyfriend? Maybe he should take her on a proper date now…) the fact of the matter is that she was a victim of sex trafficking and had eluded to other problems in her past, he would wait as long as he needed to in order for their first time to be to her complete comfort and enjoyment. 

When Laci gasped awake in the middle of the night to Santi turning her bedroom flights on. Santi never entered her room unless it was an emergency. Oh shit. “What’s wrong?” She cleared and focused her eyes to see Santi on the phone, face panicked.

“Laci, we gotta-” he stopped, glancing at her. “Are you… is that my shirt?”

Laci looked down, heart pounding in a panic. She had on Santi’s green long sleeve that he gave her their first night in the jungle. He never had asked for it back and she just… held onto it. “Yeah, sometimes I wear it when… if I’m nervous. Sorry.” she began to take it off.

Despite the anxiety flowing through his veins, he still felt his heart flutter. He never had gotten butterflies before her. “No, no” A slight smile spread on his face. “Keep it.” His smile faded. “We do need to go. I’m taking you to Will’s”

A range of negative emotions flooded Laci’s face. “What’s wrong? What’s happening?”

��Is she going to be okay? I know she’s only ever been alone with you or Benny’ Jana, Frankies’s babymomma, asked on the phone.

“She’ll be okay” He looked to Laci. “You’ll be okay with Will, right?”

Laci frowned deeply as she crawled out of bed, but nodded, trying to put on a brave face, but Santi could read her like a book. 

“I’m sorry, Lace, there’s an emergency and I can’t take you with me.” Jesus christ, she was in her underwear, straps of the tank top peeking out from the collar of his shirt that practically swallowed her tiny frame up. Santi wondered if she was always underweight, if she had high metabolism or if she had eating problems way before she was starved. His eyes followed her as she went to her drawer to pull on pants, but looked away when she bent over and he caught a peak of her pink underwear.

“Can’t I come?” She always came with him. Where he went, she followed.

“Not this time, munequita.” Santi was apologetic. Jana had called Santi. Her and Rosie were on a trip to her parents, but Frankie had gone on a bender, showing up on her front porch. They weren’t home, but Jana got the alert on her phone from the home security that Frankie, ironically, insisted on getting for her and paying for. 

“Benny?” She and Santi walked out to the foyette where she put on her shoes and Santi grabbed his keys.

Santi talked into the phone again. “What’s he doing?” 

‘He’s still just on the porch, yelling’ Jana and Frankie were together for years, but after Columbia his drug use got much, much worse, and Jana ended things, taking Rosa. 

“I’ll be there soon, please don’t hang up” Santi was pretty sure they had never fallen out of love, and held out hope that If Frankie could get sober, they’d get back together. He liked Jana, he missed her. She was there for him after Fatima’s death, even agreeing to name her and Santi’s daughter after her. She fit in well with them. But right now his focus was on Frankie, who was high as shit and would only end this night hurting himself in some way or getting arrested.

‘I won’t, I promise’

Back to Laci. “I’m sorry, I tried calling Ben but he didn’t answer, Will says he probably went out tonight” and was probably halfway to blacking out or getting in a fist fight by now. 

‘You can tell her, she deserves to know what’s happening’

They climbed into Santi’s truck and immediately drove to Will’s house which was a 5 minute drive. “Listen, I can’t tell you everything right now, but Frankie is in trouble, I need to help him.” Santi’s hands and voice were shaking. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry I have to leave you and I’m sorry if I scared you-”

Laci scooted over, placing his hand on Santi’s knee reassuringly. “It’s okay. I trust you and I trust Will. You need to help Frankie.” Laci didn’t ask what was wrong; Frankie never pushed her for answers. He deserved his privacy. Santi visibly calmed to her touch.

When they arrived, Will was waiting on the porch in the warm Florida early summer night, and jogged up to her door. Santi squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry, but I’m on a time crunch. I’ll text you later but please try and sleep”

Laci had no idea how she was supposed to sleep after this.

Will opened her door.

Laci gave Santi a quick peck on the cheek. “Be safe” and left Santi to do what he had to as Will coaxed her inside. When they stepped in the living room, he was noticeably nervous. “Hey, I’m sorry, I know this isn’t exactly ideal”

“Is Benny okay?” Laci stood with arms crossed, despite it being plenty warm inside.

Will laughed at that, blue eyes bright despite his clear irritation. “Damned if I know. I didn’t even know he went out tonight, but I shouldn’t be surprised. 50/50 chance I’ll get a call from him asking me to bail him out of jail. Again.” He walked her over to his spare bedroom. “You can stay in here. It’s a bit of a mess, Ben usually stays there and you know how he is.”

“Can I… stay on the couch? I’m not going to sleep much tonight so I might just watch tv, at least until I fall asleep.”

He squinted his eyes a bit. “The bedroom door locks, I can’t lock my room from the outside.”

Laci paused for a moment, confused. “Oh! No, I don’t need to lock the door, Will, I trust you.” She realized what he was getting at. He wanted her to feel safe and he didn’t think she felt safe around him.

Now that was enough to melt the 6’1 giant of a man’s heart. ”Okay, then yeah, tv is fine.”

She sat down. “Does Ben get arrested a lot?” Will rounded the couch to sit at the opposite end as Laci pulled up Archer. 

Will couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Yeah, about every other weekend. Sometimes weekdays. Isuslly me or Santi go with him but… yeah”

A crease appeared between her eye brows and her lips pressed into a pout. Santi didn’t go with him because he was stuck with her. “How is he not in prison?”

“Miss, ‘round here, if you get in a bar fight they just lock you up for the night and let you lose with the world’s worst hangover when you’re sober enough to walk home.”

Another pause. “Why does he get into so many fights? He’s so nice. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone easier to get along with”

Will’s playful mood faded out. “That’s sober Benny. Drunk Benny is a bit more combative. He’s not mean, but he’ll look for a reason to fight.”

Surprisingly, Laci kept going. “Why does he drink like that?”

“Sweetheart.” Will sighed. “We all got our shit that gets us through the day. After all the shit we’ve seen, everyone needs something, a way to cope. You’re in therapy, you’re doing it right. Benny has the drinking and fighting, Fish has the coke.” Laci’s eyes widened at that. Ah, so she didn’t know that about Frankie.

“That’s where Santi is, right? Did Frankie overdose?!” 

The panic was evident in her voice, but even without that, he could tell by the rapid rise of her chest- wait, wasn’t that Santi’s shirt? “No! No, sweetheart he’s fine. He’s just having an episode, Santi needed to be with him to keep him safe.” A knot twisted in Will’s stomach. It was understood that Frankie was Santi’s, Ben was his. It wasn’t often that he had to think about Frankie’s addiction, but tonight was different, tonight the problem was clear an evident; there would be no other reason for Santi to drop his precious… girlfriend? Are they actually dating now? His precious girlfriend who was always so nervous about everything, drop her off with him, of all people. It had been months since Will had been a dick to her, but Will didn’t forget, Laci wouldn’t forget, and he knew a small part of Santi would never forgive.

Laci relaxed a bit. “Do you know where Benny is it?”

Nodding, Will pulled out his phone. “He shares his location with me.”

“Can we… can we get him? Before he gets in a fight?”

Will gave a short chuckle. “I think Santi would kill me if she left the house.”

Laci shot him a pointed look, but with a smile. “I’m not his little captive, Will, I can go where I want.”

A hearty laugh escaped him, slapping his knees before standing up. “You’re right sweetheart, you’re not. C’mon, let’s go rescue that dumbass”

Laci lightly smacked his arm, but they headed out. 15 minutes later, they were walking in the bar. Will had tried to get her to stay in the car, but she insisted she felt safer with Will.

“OH MY GOD! LACI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!” Benny was practically screaming as he hugged Laci, spinning her around.

Will spoke first. “We’re here to bring you back so I don’t gotta pick you up at 6 am.”

“UUUGGHHH” Ben rolled his head as me groaned. “I’m fine, William” Ben emphasized his brother's full name, much to Will's chagrin.

“Benny” Laci put his hand on his arm. “Can we go home so I don’t have to worry about you?”

Ben looked down at his friend, her wide blue eyes compelling him. He was a foot taller than her at least, and she really knew how to work that pretty, innocent thing she had going on. Even without the sexual or romantic attraction, Benny would do just about anything for her if she gave him that look. “You’re gonna have me whipped just like Santi” he grumbled, throwing money at the bartender.

Laci smiled, taking his hand and the three of them began walking out. 

Until Laci passed a man sitting at the barstool, facing out. Her body lurched, hand squeezing him tight enough to break a bone.

“What was that?” Benny asked, but Laci was frozen, eyes wide with terror

“Laci?” Will asked, trying to get her attention. He looked at the man, then back to her. “He touch you?” 

Laci, despite everything, gave a small nod, then tugged at Ben’s hand. She wanted to leave.

But before Will could stop him, Benny had flung towards the man. “You fucker!” he shouted, landing an aggressive punch that knocked him off his seat. The fight that ensued was a mess, Will could hardly keep track of what was happening. Laci clung to him, and he wrapped his arms around her. He wanted to step in, wanted to break up the fight the way he usually did, but he couldn’t leave her.

But she, apparently, could leave him.

Beny was getting his fucking shit rocked. The man had folded him, bringing him to the floor and climbing on top, laying punch after punch after punch on Benny’s blood covered face, Ben kicking and flailing. 

Laci couldn’t sit there and watch it. Despite what everyone around her seemed to think, she wasn’t innocent, she wasn’t pathetic, and this was not the first fight she’d witnessed. She charged at the man, his unprepared frame falling over in exhaustion at the force. Benny, however, didn’t register any of this, as was still in fight mode. Eyes closed, he sent a punch to where he thought the man still was, punching Laci with a pathetic weakness in the nose.

“FUCK!” she fell back, holding her nose.

“BEN WHAT THE SHIT!” Will ran over to her. “Let me see.” He brought her hands down, revealing the blood lightly dripping from her nose. It wasn’t a much, looked worse than it was.

The bartender threw two ice packs at Will. “Get him out of here, now, or I’m calling the police.” He turned to Benny, who was still getting his bearings. “You’re 86’d, asshole. I’m sick of you.”

“But he groped her!” Benny defended himself.

“And you punched a 5 foot girl who weighs 100 pounds.”

“On accident!”

“OUT!”

Will held Laci up, handing her ice, and yanked Benny up “Ben, now”

The walk back to the truck was a long one, a litany of apologies spilling from Benny’s lips as Laci ignored him, storming away. When they got in the truck, Benny moaned in the back. “Pope’s gonna murder me!”

Laci sighed, taking mercy on the man who had become her best friend and pushing back the anger once again “No he won’t, we won’t tell him.”

Benny perked up immediately. “Really?”

“Yes, Ben” She smiled at him in the backseat. “You got beat up trying to defend me, let’s call it even” Will muttered about not encouraging him, but it was only half hearted.

If Laci wasn’t sitting, she would have been knocked over by the force of Benny’s hug.

Upon Laci’s insistence, Will took Ben to the ER.

“Oh hey Loralei!” Ben called drunkenly to the ER nurse he recognized.

Laci trained behind the Miller’s, having cleaned up her face. Will half carried a drunk and beat up Benny.

The dark haired nurse looked up from the chart she was holding, giving Benny an almost motherly look. “Benjamin Miller. Again.”

Benny shrugged with a cheeky grin. Will didn’t recognize her, but it seemed Benny was frequent enough of a ER flyer to know the nurses.

“What is it this time?” she asked.

Will took over. “This dumbass got into a fight and we need to make sure he isn’t concussed." Will’s free hand smacked Benny.

“Hey!” The nurse snapped at him. “Don’t hit my patients.” She ordered, voice firm but calm as she motioned for a wheelchair

“It’s okay” he chuckled out. “He’s my brother.”

“I didn’t ask. He’s my patient, this is my hospital, behave or leave.”

Will raised his hands in defeat. “Yes ma’am” There was no playfulness or condescension in his tone, just respect.

She nodded, then turned to the other nurse. “Get him a scan, make sure he somehow avoided traumatic brain injury again.”

Benny looked up at the new nurse as she wheeled him away. “Hey Amy, how’s the baby”

Will called after him. “Ben no flirting with the nurses!” Then looked over to see the nurse glaring at him for yelling. “Oh sorry.” He extended his hand. “William Miller” 

She gave a quick shake. “Lorelei” Then walked to Laci. “What happened to you?”

There was still some blood around Laci’s nose. Laci felt the familiar sense of things folding in, her mouth unable to form the words she needed. 

Loralei continued, motioning her thumb back towards where Benny went. “You guys get in a fight? “

Will leaned in. “Actually, she got in the middle of another fight-”

She simply held a hand up to him. “I wasn’t asking you.” Her intense gaze was focused on Laci, her tone was soft. She reminded him of Santi in a way. 

Laci shook her head.

Will tried again. “She has-”

With the wild eyes of a nurse who's seen it all and the intensity of a woman tired of men not listening, she turned to him. “William, I’m going to need you to step back, please.” 

Will opened his mouth to argue, but closed it when he decided better. He turned to Laci. “Use your notes app, I’ll be over here.” With a soft smile to Laci and a nod to Lorelei, he walked away.

Lorelei turned back to Laci. “Hey honey, everything okay?” The irony of it wasn't lost on Laci, she was safer with the Millers, Frankie and Santi than she had been with anyone since her brothers death.

Laci took a moment to type. ‘I have trouble talking sometimes. Ben and Will are my friends.’

Lorelei nodded, but continued. “Did one of them hit you?”

Laci considered lying, but opted for the truth. ‘Kinda. Benny got in a fight and I tried to stop him, he accidentally hit me. That’s it.’

Lorelei scanned Laci’s face for a lie, but found none. She nodded, beckoning Will back over. “Wait out here, fill out these forms, he’ll be done soon” She began to walk away.

Will cleared his throat. When Lorelei turned back to him, she was greeted with a cheeky smile. “Yes?” She asked.

Will raised an eyebrow at her. “Well?”

She smiled back, but put her hands on her hips, challenging him. “Well what?”

At that, Will scoffed, still keeping his smile despite his mock offense. “Well?! You basically accused me of hitting her, and I didn’t.”

Lorelei's smile was a challenge, ‘keep going’ it said ‘I’m not backing down’ “I won’t apologize for seeing clues and being suspicious. You work in my line of work for one week, you’d do the same. I’ll talk to you when your brother is discharged.” She walked off.

Will couldn’t help hoping she’d come back. 

Him and Laci sat down in the waiting room in silence until a ding it Laci’s phone. It was Santi.

Santiago: Frankie is okay, we’re at his place, he's sleeping, but I can’t leave him. I hope you’re asleep, but I know you probably aren’t.”

Lacina: I’m glad he’s okay. I’m fine here, stay with Frankie. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

Santiago: I love you, Lace. I’m lucky to have you.

Lacina: I love you too, Santi. Stay safe.

It dawned on Laci that Santi had her location, as she did his. He had no reason to doubt where she was, but he hoped she wouldn’t look. Benny and Santi just made up after weeks of tension, she didn’t need Santi acting up because Benny accidentally hit her Laci knew the irony of telling him to stay safe considering she got decked. She relayed the message to Will, then rested against his shoulder. “Hey Will?”

“What’s up.”

“You said you all have ways you manage things. Ben had drinking and Frankie has coke.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s your thing?”

Will huffed out a laugh. “You’ve seen part of it.” She looked up at him confused. He continued. “I was a complete ass to you. Made you feel like shit when you did nothing wrong. I tend to have outbursts like that. I ever tell you I was engaged?” Laci shook her head. “Yeah, years ago. It ended because I went ape shit on a guy in a grocery store. I have a few vices. Drinking, being an ass, fights, the list goes on. Jack of all trades I supposed. I’m not any better than Benny or Frankie.” Why was she asking this?

“And… Santi?” 

There it was. What Will did not want was to get in the middle of them, and he especially didn’t want to inadvertently mess up what they had. “Projects. It’s always something. Work, house renovations, drug lord bust. He always needs something to focus on until the next thing comes along. And alcohol. We all drink a bit too much.”

Things were quiet for a moment before Laci replied. “Am I his project?”

Will sat up, forcing Laci to sit up as she was resting on him. “No! Oh my god, no. You are…” He shook his head. “You are, wow, I’ve never seen him like this with anyone before. He loves you.”

Laci laid back down, but she wasn’t convinced.

‘He always needs something to focus on until the next thing comes along’

If she was a project, how long until the next thing comes?

Benny was fine, but under strict order to drink water and to ‘stop fucking around, before you find out’ according to the nurse. Will took them both home, putting Benny in his usual bed as Laci insisted she wasn’t going to sleep. That morning, Santi let himself into Will’s house. He found the house quiet, and Laci, predictably, asleep on the couch. He knelt down beside her, taking a minute or two to watch her. It was rare he could see her like this; calm, peaceful, in the daylight. He hoped, as they progressed, he could wake up to this sight every morning for the rest of his life.

 She was incredible. The light shone on her face, a light flush of pink on her face and her under-eyes ever so slightly dark from lack of sleep. Wisps of her long bangs covered her face, and he brushed them back, revealing the scar on her forehead. Laci stirred, waking up. “Hey Munequita.”

Without even opening her eyes, she smiled at the sound of his voice. “Hey baby.”

Baby. He could get used to that. “You alright? Everything go okay?”

She was… so tired. Laci reached out for him as she nodded. “Yeah. Can you lay with me? I don’t wanna get up yet.”

He smiled at her in adoration. “Yeah, scoot over honey.”

With a satisfied grin, she scooted back. “C’mere, I wanna hold you. I get to be the big spoon.”

Santi laughed out loud, but then realized she was serious. “Really?”

“Yeah, wanna hold you. You had a long night, wanna make sure you’re okay.”

Santi was in no position to deny her. He was exhausted, he was sad, he was hurt. He had never seen Frankie that bad before, it worried him. The idea of being held was appealing. Santi laid down, back against her chest as she wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her face into his hair and neck. “Good night Santi” She spoke, despite the bright morning sun shining in. 

“Good night, Lace.” With her arms around him, he felt comfortable, warm and safe with her.

When Will woke up an hour later, he found his friend on his couch with a tiny blonde clutched to his back like a backpack.

“Not a word” Santi muttered.

***********

I HOPE YA'LL LIKED IT!!!!

A lil announcement for those who didn't see my post, after leather and lace ends (chapter 12 is the last!) the universe will continue in the form of a Will Miller fic! Although Santi and Laci's story will be on the back end, Laci will make appearances throughout Will's fic and we'll get to see how Laci grows! Hope y'all tune in for Piece by Piece!

Also, come back out Seattle, my Marc Spector story!

Love y'all! Please remember to reblog if you are so inclined, and comments mean the world to me, i literally reread them all the time. I'm so glad everyone has come to love Laci as much as I have, and I really hope this chapter showcases more of her personality now that she talks more! Also, I hope you like Lorelei, bc she maaaaaaayy or may not show up in this universe again

@littlenosoul @bensolosbluesaber @milkymoon2483 @gogh-with-the-flow @itspdameronthings @trinkets01 @p0edameronswife @welcometostayingawake @spxctorsslxt @username21mk @lucianadraven32

[sussoro]

hello!! please tell me more about your detective for M who’s gonna freak out when they say ily because that reaction and the aftermath is going to be so so good 💆🏻‍♀️💆🏻‍♀️💆🏻‍♀️

hello to you too! hope you're doing well 💕 i'm really sorry it took me so long to reply, but i needed to sort through my very confusing thoughts to give them some sort of consistency, sjksjks. if you guys ever find yourselves curious about any of my ocs (which you can easily find here) please, do not hesitate to ask! i just love talking aimlessly about them and receiving these types of questions makes my heart all fuzzy and warm, so thank you for taking an interest in one of my wayhaven detectives!

okay, you didn't ask for my stupid rambles (and i swear one day i'll stop — *insert the 'today is not that day' meme*) so here are some facts:

RUE PARKER

‘the wayhaven chronicles’ canon

personality stats: sarcastic, easygoing & charming (also: not really a stickler for the rules and authority in general);

professional skills: deduction, science & combat — no matter what she's doing or how many times she's done it, the results will always be perfect and spot on;

rebecca → relationship status: not overly bad. honestly? could be better, but it could be much, much worse (personal note #1: rebecca is not my favourite character in the series and i'd probably be happier if she had died already — fingers crossed for book 5, sorry-not-sorry, becky — or, at least, if the narrative/characters would stop forcing the readers/mc to forgive her);

tina & verda → relationship status: best pals. her ride-or-die squad;

felix → relationship status: best friend. she found a mischievous kindred soul to relate with and if you ever encounter them together... run (there's this scene at the beginning of book 3, where adam/ava asks why the werewolves attacked them and rue answered with: "i may have made one teeny sarcastic comment", causing adam's/ava's soul to leave their body, lol);

bobby → relationship status: ex-boyfriend (personal note #2: i've always hated that the mc's gender/sexuality is what determines the ros' and bobby's gender) — she's not bothered by him at all, but since her responses are very sarcastic, well... rest in peace, robert marks;

mason → relationship status: a big, bright question mark;

personal canon

if i have to choose a few words to describe her, i'd say: naturally talented, wild card & big dick energy;

hyperactive little kid — couldn't stay still at all. always exploring the world around her, climbing up some tree/furniture or hiding somewhere in the house/backyard to play (the sitters tasked with keeping an eye on her went batshit crazy all. the. time);

as i said here, rue is extremely smart, often prone to boredom if something is not mentally challenging/stimulating enough (which can also be applied to her romantic relationships);

if you ever need someone to cut out some tension (or spike it up even more), she is the right gal for you. unfortunately, 99% of the time, the saying 'taking things seriously' is not part of her vocabulary (e.g. in book 3, when finding out about the trappers' bounty, she says: "how much am i worth?"). what can i say, she really likes to have a good time;

sarcasm is her default mode, plus she always downplays her feelings/emotions by either ignoring them or making badly-timed jokes;

rarely bothered by anything (e.g. in book 3, during the 'fight' with mason/morgan at the bakery, rue replies with: "me being naked is way more important to you") plus, not a jealous person ever (alima included, when she'll make her appearance);

was in an on-again/off-again relationship with bobby. after a while, though, she got exceedingly bored by the monogamous lifestyle and decided to dump his ass;

never had serious relationships/fell in love before — this is partly because: a) she's a free-spirited person & b) she's scared shitless of commitment (mostly caused by rook's death and seeing what that did to rebecca). in a sense, she and mason are quite similar;

just thinking about the word 'love' has her panicking really bad (i.e. after the 'date' at the antique shop), so when mason will inevitably confess his feelings to her... the only way i can see this going is with rue assuming it's all some kind of prank but, once her huge brain will catch on the fact that mason is not exactly the joking type, she will get cold feet and blearily say: "uhh, thank you, i guess?". after realizing what she has said/done, she will skedaddle so fast that the only thing people are going to see is an indistinctive, blurry form (later, she will definitely wish for an asteroid to hit her);

likes to sing everywhere: in the shower, at her workplace, inside the car, you name it (and she's also very good at hitting those high notes too — while she was attending the police academy, 'the karaoke incident' happened and no one beside her and tina knows the truth about it. verda is still trying to unsuccessfully bribe them to know what took place);

excellent chef — loves to cook/bake when she has some free time (she just thinks the entire process is pretty neat, starting with a few ingredients to achieve a full-on meal);

[p0v2snsitive4thintnet]

Visual Analysis / Interpretation

Forensic Visual Description

White background, shows an animated, read as female figure with white long hair in a white dress with white flowers printed on it. They seem to be wearing white thighs or stockings. Their eyes are dark and surrounded with long lashes. Their bangs are short and frame their face. The figure is lying on their stomach on no subsurface, just on white, empty space. Their feet are crossed and held up in the air. Over the figure is a layer of black cursive text in a handwritten kind of font. It says “Too sensitive for the internet”. The text isn’t centred in the picture but consists of 3, centre-aligned lines, edging the left margin of the image. 

On the Platform Pinterest. 27 comments, 490 hearts. By the user “esther sweetheart” - the comments are mostly affirming the statement the meme makes. Comments are partly made with reaction memes. 

https://at.pinterest.com/pin/239183430202433621/

REFLECTIONS

This describes perfectly how I feel as a girl online. It’s hard to describe why though. It’s probably linked to mental health issues being linked to online / social media interaction, which can be cruel often times. I feel not resilient enough to experience the deepest, darkest spheres the internet has to offer. Hell I have never felt comfortable on 4chan - ever. Still I am going on that site from time to time to expose myself to the hate and bullying there. Why would I do that? Like the girl in the picture - I can sense that I am actually loosing more than I am gaining from this experiences, but I also know that I can’t stop doing it. That would mean exclusion. No edginess, no laughs and not being “that one girl” who browses on the infamous internet’s hells. It would also mean that all content I get could be described by Bo Burnhams song “white woman’s instagram” and that sounds even more like hell tbh. At least it would be boring a.f.

FEELINGS

This is where I start with this project. It is a meme I encountered while researching for my last project and it stuck with me ever since. I view it as a piece of media that ignited a lot of the thoughts and questions I am looking into right now. How are girls viewed on the internet? How are their reactions/ their creations/ their contributions to the online discourse differ from other content? How does “The girl online” present and perform herself?  

QUESTIONS

Where else can the phenomenon of not feeling save on the internet as a girl be perceived? In which types of media? On which platforms? Does this relate only to GIRLs online? Why do I have this feeling? 

Intertextuality

Their mouth is closed. Which makes them non-speaking in this picture. This brings up the question if the text of the meme is layered over them because it is referring to them and is attributed to the figure by an external source. Or if they are presenting themselves as being “too sensitive for the internet”. 

I think this question is important to ask oneself when trying to understand the intertextual layers of this meme. 

"Lolly" teenage girl lying on tummy position

The above picture of summer from OC California was the first thing that came to my mind when thinking about the pose of the figure in the image. A teenager, relaxing in their bed. 

This pose is very familiar to me. I think I did it as a girl / young woman as part of gender performance and to cater to the male gaze. 

Examples of this are also often found in anime. Especially in the “lolly” genre. 

Combined with the white clothing, the normative, western interpretation for this motive would be, to hint at the characters innocence, naivety and categorise them as a lolita-esce type. White is often associated with purity.

Angelic Girlbloggers

I was also thinking about relations to Angels, Fairies and other ethereal creatures. Girlbloggers often like to associate themselves with these kind of fictional characters, just like the one from the meme I am looking at right now.

How can/does this relate to my project? 

What are the aspects of this image that I want to transport within my own art? 

Can I view this meme as a 

[creative-time]

A proper fair well

Well… here we are, I’m actually leaving

I just want to be clear, I love dhmis. The original series, and the pilot, will always have a special place in my heart. I’m still a fan, just not so much of a fan that I would spend like 75% of my life dedicated to a tumblr blog about it anymore.

Maybe it’s just burnout, or the fact that I was so disappointed in the tv series that it finally broke me, or the fact that I started this blog when I was 14 at the beginning of 2016.

I started running this blog when I was 14, and I’m 21 now. For nearly 7 years now. We had some good laughs, I met some people that would change my life, for better or worse. And I could have never imagined that I would gather so many people together like this.

And I really hate to sound ungrateful, but, it still kinda makes me a little sad when people say I’m the dhmis news guy, because this blog was always supposed to be more than that. It was supposed to be ALL of the dhmis fandom. All the art, all the memes, all the conversations. This blog was about you guys! The people who made this fandom even possible! The people who built it from nothing, for everyone now to enjoy. I loved sharing news, but I loved sharing your, and my, creations even more…

I guess being considered the “dhmis news guy” just kinda made me think that I was easily replaceable in the fandom, like… if one day I stopped, someone else would just fill the hole that I was in super easily and no one would really notice I was gone.

I think a lot of people forget that… I’m a person… Creative-Time IS a person… I was a person this whole time… making sure this blog didn’t turn to dust and constantly being ridiculed, mocked, or straight up harassed and sent death threats to the point were I would sometimes cry myself to sleep. But I realized that all that just wasn’t worth the energy, this wasn’t worth the energy.

There’s probably so much more I could say here… I just wouldn’t know where to start. And maybe I’m saying all this super wrong and someone is gonna look through it with a fine-tooth comb and tell everyone that I hate them and tell everyone I’m a horrible person, which perhaps I deserve.

I would like to thank all the people that have actually tried to get to know me, I’m sure you know who you are. You all made running this blog a little bit more happier for me, and I hope you all are happy too, even if we never cross paths again.

I think the only thing that could ever get me back into the fandom and this blog is if there is more dhmis that is actually good, or the pilot get released in HD in some shape or form. Other than that, I think I’m done here…

I won’t be deleting this blog, but I would request no new followers or dms unless it’s the pilot in full hd.

If anyone really wants to ask any follow up questions, please send them to the ask box on my main @cosmicxd but I would like to remind you all, I’m an adult, my friends and mutuals are adults, so if your under the age of 18 I would suggest not following my main because me and my friends are… UNHINGED and we have a whopping ZERO filters. I really don’t want to block any of you but if I know you are a minor and you follow my main anyway, I will not hesitate to block you, so just don’t. thanks I’m advance.

Now, a few things that I should wrap up in a bow.

Here’s what might be the final piece of artwork I do for TeVi and Purple Girl, I will try to make a series to put them in in the future but I want to work on another original series right now so it might not be for a while. So there are not really consider dhmis ocs anymore I guess. Just puppet ocs now

Also, a final update for Mini Mean Steve: Finally found some model magic and Mod Podge glad to say he is finally complete! He will be my most treasured possessions

Thank you for reading all the way through this, and for one final thing

Here a sketch of me kissing icehell Tony and Paige. (Because if im going out, I’m going out with a hell-freezing, earth-shattering BANG!!!)

Thank you all once again, and I’ll see you on the flip side!

-Creative Time

[atomiqueen]

this is an INDEPENDENT, SELECTIVE, and PRIVATE rp blog for LUCY MACLEAN of amazon prime's FALLOUT tv show. written by bean. mainly show & headcanon based, as i slowly familiarize myself with the lore. oc & dupe friendly! NOT SPOILER FREE.

A STUDY IN: being neutral good in a chaotic neutral world; a variety of tv tropes (the pollyanna, action girl, martial pacifist, the golden rule, took a level in badass, the conscience, break the cutie)

✑ CARRD » ABOUT » HEADCANONS » MEMES

beta editor + xkit rewritten only! rules under the cut; everything else on carrd.

wandering the wasteland with: @radiaking

blogroll: @atomiqueen. @heartsdefine. @rooksgambits. @thiefscant.

✒ RULES & GUIDELINES;

GENERAL: SELECTIVE AND PRIVATE. this means i’m particular about who i follow and i will only write with mutuals. my blog is semi-iconless (depending on the muse/if i feel like making icons or not). NOT SPOILER FREE. NO GODMODDING, metagaming, etc. EXCLUSIVITY IS RARE but not unheard of so you can find my mains/exclusives list here

WRITING: I USE PRIMARILY THIRD PERSON PAST OR PRESENT TENSE. i'm not entirely comfortable roleplaying in first or second person (yet). when it comes to verb tense, i'll often check to see what my partner is most comfortable using and go with that. i can do one-liners or multipara threads, but longer things will likely take a bit more time.

SHIPPING: I SHIP CHEMISTRY, and i do not force ships because i’m not a monster. i definitely enjoy a good romance, but platonic and queerplatonic dynamics, rivalries, etc. are just as interesting to explore!

FOLLOWING/UNFOLLOWING: IF I FOLLOW YOU, IT MEANS I LIKE WHAT YOU HAVE GOIN' ON AND WOULD LOVE TO INTERACT. it doesn't have to happen immediately, just down the line! i'll give most folks at least a week to follow back (thus indicating mutual interest in writing together at some point) before unfollowing. but if i really enjoy your blog/portrayal, i may stick around as a passive follower so long as i am welcome!

BLOCKING: I PREFER TO BE HARDBLOCKED IF YOU NO LONGER WISH FOR ME TO FOLLOW YOU for any reason. this is so i don't assume tumblr unfollowed you for me and refollow, inadvertently crossing your boundaries. if i suspect someone has softblocked me, i will likely hardblock them myself to avoid refollowing in the future. (i am generally quite liberal with the block button, as i'm serious about curating my online space.)

PLEASE DO: BREAK YOUR REPLIES FOR ME UP INTO SMALLER PARAGRAPHS if we write together, as my adhd makes hugelong paragraphs difficult to read; ASK ME TO TAG YOUR TRIGGERS if i’ve neglected to do so (whether i’m following you back or not); like my starter calls, SEND ME MEMES, turn my meme replies into threads (if we are mutuals); SHOWER ME IN PLOT IDEAS and ooc chatter; HAVE PATIENCE with me on all of the above; FEEL FREE TO UNFOLLOW ME at any time for any reason, as i will be reserving the right to do so myself 

PLEASE DO NOT: USE SUBSMALL TEXT or multiple spaces between words in our threads as i find both difficult to read; UNFOLLOW/REFOLLOW to get my attention (it won’t be the kind of attention you’re hoping for); EXPECT ANY KIND OF IMMEDIACY FROM ME IC OR OOC. i love making friends via roleplay, but i’m one smol nerd just trying to have a good time and i won’t stress myself out by trying to keep up with everything at once. just know it’s not personal, and i’ll get back to you as soon as i have the energy.

I WILL GLADLY: TAG NSFW AND TRIGGERS appropriately and accommodate those who ask to the best of my abilities; WELCOME LGBTQIA+ HEADCANONS; USE MY SHITPOST TAG (#blacklist for less soft nonsense.) on most of my inane ooc content so feel free to block it, that’s why it’s there

I WILL TRY: TO REMEMBER IF YOU DON’T LIKE TO BE REBLOGGED FROM, but please note that I have ADHD and may forget. Often and repeatedly. (A bit more info about this can be found here.) If being reblogged from on the reblogging website really bothers you, please feel free to soft/block me as needed. Relatedly, I don’t really care if you reblog things from me that aren’t in-character roleplay posts and/or headcanons. I do think it’s polite to reblog a meme from the source if you don’t send one in, but I don’t personally consider it a blockable offense.

I WILL NOT: FOLLOW BLOGS THAT DON’T HAVE ANY RULES OR GUIDELINES set up; exceptions to this are reserved for muns i already know aka those whose boundaries i’m already familiar with; FOLLOW VERY MANY BLOGS THAT INCLUDE CHARACTERS from game of thrones and/or house of the dragon, as i’m just not comfortable having a lot of ASOIAF content on my dash; exceptions to this are typically reserved for people i already know and/or multimuse blogs that include other fandoms/muses i’m interested in 

MUNDANE: MY NAME IS BEAN/BEE. they/she. nonbinary lesbian. i’m 32, neurodivergent, and a full-time grad student with two jobs. I’M WHITE. in the event that i fuck up and/or swerve out of my lane, i invite my friends and followers of color (or fellow white folks who are wiser than me) to let me know. i can and will do better.

CREDITS: banner, promo, psd

[justkeepwalkingnothinghere]

It’s finally time everyone heard what today is! It’s going to seem a bit silly, but that’s just how I like it! To get it over with…

TODAY MARKS ONE YEAR SIMCE I WATCHED A LYING WITCH AND A WARDEN FOR THE FIRST TIME!! A YEAR OF WATCHING OWL HOUSE AND HAVING MY BRAIN ALTERED FOREVER!! 🎉

That’s right! On this day one year ago, I sat down with my Lunchable and selected the first episode on Disney+. I had come in for Luz and Lumity, but by the end of it, I knew this was going to be one hell of an adventure and that I was going to love the hell out of it! Little did I know how much of an understatement that was. 365 days later, my life has changed. The way I feel, the way I think, my phone storage is bursting with screenshots, fanart and memes, I’ve found a wonderful community in the subreddit, on Discord, and here on Tumblr, have found incredible friend groups also here and on Discord, discovered and promptly got addicted to Owl House Abridged (the recent title drop WAS SO FUCKING COOL!), I plan on getting tons of Owl House stuff on Etsy at some point, and life has been better with all of this in it! This past year has been possibly the best of my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I genuinely cannot express how astonishing all of this has been for me. I didn’t expect any of this when I started watching. Right from the start, I knew the show was something special. I knew I was going to love it. But to the point that it would quite literally invade my entire life, an event that I have welcomed with open arms? That never crossed my mind! It surpassed SpongeBob for favorite animated show, for Titan’s sake! SpongeBob! A show that held the crown for ten years and was a massive part of my childhood! That is not an easy feat! I’ve made an OC and am in the process of writing and planning out an entire AU, I plan to watch Amphibia soon, the show has inspired me to become a voice actor even more than before, and possibly some other things that I can’t even think of right now!

I haven’t felt the same since that fateful day a year ago, and it means so much to me to have had all of you here with me during what I can only describe as the best journey I’ve ever experienced! Here’s to another year of Owl House mania!

[ifuckingloveryoshu]

Hi I saw ur tags on my posts lol 🔥😭😭 thank you so much for liking my ryoshu and oc arts, but can I ask where did the name of yuzuki for ryoshu's daughter came from? I don't think hell screen mentioned her name?

Thank you for helping me get up this morning. Very short tldr but vauge answer: Hell Screen has been translated and adapted enough you could have read the a translation that keeps called Yoshihide's daughter, "Yoshihide's daughter"

If you read the Little Penguins Books Publishing, they did not use Yuzuki as the name from what I can see, but Yuzuki exist somewhere.

Lazily doing a half-baked investigation under read more.

I will never claim to know anything about translation and I had too little sleep to do things today. I'm also broke so I can't go cross refrence evey translation and adaptation of Hell Screen. I hope someone better than I can could look into this or help out. Ill come back to this maybe

This is absolutly not how you do research or go off of things but Penguin Publishing version reviews don't use the Yuzuki name so I'm thinking they don't use her name there. The Jay Rubin Translation doesn't use Yuzuki. I say that because I'm re-listening to this while cross refrencing a pdf I found. Im guessing their one in the same.

This archeologist/writer named matthewrettino uses Yuzuki when talking about Hell Screen

Haunted Places Ghost Stories did a reading on this and unrelated but they pronounce Monkehide how an american would so its, "MONKEY HIDE." But anyway, they use it. They just spell it liker Uzuki

Portrait of Hell or Jingokuhen make Yoshihide Korean, apparently. I wanted to put that here, it''s not really important, just an example of an adaptation changing something. You have a story for so long and things get changed.

It's part of human history and how we tell stories, we like adapting things and giving thigs new meaning just like Ryoshu. She's not named Yoshihide but we're all thinking, "Yeah, she's Yoshihide, she likes art, she has fire, shes sadistic, that's Yoshihide." But she's not an old man, Yoshihide never spoke in acronyms, Yoshihide's not a woman. Jesus Christ was never white. He was born in Jerusulm in a dessert, it would be strange if he was white. Most people living in the middle east and closer to the sun normally have darker skin because they have more melanin in their skin to protect from the sun. The image has been passed around so much that, at least in our Eurocentric culture, I can't find the word for it, Jesus is commonly depicted as white. Yuzuki could have never had the name in the original language, or the inverse, she could have had a name but time let it go through the skin of its fingers and it was lost to oblivion. We just need to rediscover where it's orgin came from.

Meme - A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another

The name Yuzuki might as well be a meme. If it wasn't in the orginal version of Hell Screen, it just exist now. That's why people are like, "Yuzuki, that's the name of Yoshihide's daughter. That sounds right!" Because idea's spread from text, imagry, music notes, whatever you have come to life like a spark of flame from a lighter and drift off from its starting point. The co2 particles relase into the air and up to the clouds, and when enough people emmit co2 at a rate thats unsustantable for our planet, big things happen. Really big things happen. Or you just scream so loud that no one hears you and much like the effects of smoking, damage your lungs.

I hope it doesn't feel like I'm pulling stuff out of my ass. I'll come back to this and when I have a solid answer, i'll tell you or reblog this. No worries.

[whlskr]

ASK MEME TIME! Bunnie: 12, 14, 22 Naomi: 4, 8, 27 Kadin: 2, 16, 32 Brook: 1, 18, 35 AND FOR YOU B, C, D about all of them >:D

Bunnie, 12, 14, & 22

12: How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

I feel like Bunnie would definitely bother Naomi until she helped. If they were not together, she'd simply be like a bear and scratch against a wall.

14: What animal do they fear most?

They have live-cams on the surface that the residents of the Undursa watch like Old Time Discovery Channel. I'd say they have some sort of unofficial deadliest animal poll going around base that Naomi and Bunnie watch with joy. Bunnie would be all about watching the animals on the surface but for sure has a mental list of one's she would not fuck around with.

I don't have names for a lot of the Cauterized wildlife but the guy on the cover is everyone's least(most?) favorite sharp friend on the surface. Huge green monster that prowls around deep wooded areas. Different residents call her different things but Naomi calls it the Jabberwocky based on a song from her childhood.

22: How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)? 

Bunnie is for sure a 'I simply won't leave your side' kind of jealous. :) No one else can get too close without also having to deal with her. Possessive, but in a 'I'm taking care of you' way. Having an unrequited crush for 20yrs will do that to you.

She'd never actually get in the way, but she's definitely be making sure you deserve her person and that you're treating them right. And she'd be quick to let you know if you crossed those generally reasonable lines. She totally would not fight you over Naom

B) What inspired you to create them?

Naomi needed a foil and had been one of my characters for years. I was evaluating the team and decided that it needed someone softer to bring it together. This was born Bunnie! And her sister. :) Brook is a more firm character that offsets Bunnie's non-serious demeanor. With Kadin, it created a well rounded team that could play off each other's strengths.

C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story?

Bunnie was created to fill in a gap, so it felt like the story always was missing her once I added her in. She brings them together in a way I love and appreciate. Bunnie is the glue to the team, irreplaceable 🙃

D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look?

Bunnie went through several rapid design changes. She was loosely based off an old webcomic character of mine named Lo. The blonde hair spilt off to the side comes from that design. When I showed her official design to my brother-in-law, he immediately said she looked like me with blonde hair/no glasses. I sat on that comment and decided to redesign most of my characters to reflect their voice actors. :)

Naomi: 4, 8, & 27

4: How easy is it to earn their trust?

Naomi isn't a particularly trusting person, though she just keeps herself at arms length from others. She has a small group of people she lives and trusts. If one of those people trusted someone, she'd follow suit however.

8: What were they told to stop/start doing most often as a child

Naomi was definitely a 'I will not shut up about my special interests' kind of kid and I can imagine her being told to be quiet often. She was a pretty extroverted child before everything happened to her. I imagine being repeatedly told to hold her joy closer to her chest created an adult version of herself that doesn't talk much about what makes them happy.

27: What causes them to feel dread? 

The smell of smoke and the sound of fire both make Naomi's stomach drop. It makes her scars burn. She avoids fire at all costs, which is thankfully generally easy in an underwater base.

B) What inspired you to create them?

Naomi was actually originally a waterbender ATLA OC. This was VERY short lived because I immediately fell in love with the concept of her character. She's for sure a vehicle for my own daddy issues, though she's got it much worse than I do. Naomi really is a character for working through my own issues at age 19. She's not nearly the self-insert she used to be. I've grown a lot in the last 7 years. Naomi's kinda like the scared kid I used to be. I love her very much, like she's a younger version of myself.

C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story?

Nope. The story was designed for Naomi. She's the main character, even if it's mostly told by Bunnie. Everything in Cauterized revolves around Naomi ❤️‍🔥

There was a period where I couldn't make sense of her team as a whole and couldn't figure out how they'd make it on the outside. The team was originally just Kadin and Naomi, after all.

D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look?

Naomi's appearance has changed a lot. I think I've changed her skin tone more than anything. Where she was an ATLA OC, her race was originally really ambiguous. When I cast you as her, I decided to rebuild her around your favorite parts of yourself, as you know :') Now, I think she feels like the character she should be. Her core character has never changed, but her outside appearance has gradually shifted.

Kadin: 2, 16, & 32

2: How easy is it for your character to laugh?

I like to think Kadin has a good sense of humor and laughs easily. I just think it's only around the right people. Kadin's good friends with the engineer Henry Gertsen. Their actors are good friends IRL. They probably get along really well and cut up together.

16: What makes their stomach turn?

Kadin has a sense of justice and seeing someone hurt really makes his stomach turn. He's not always the best at acting on that feeling, but always takes metal note of the underdog. He keeps watch over them for an opportunity to step in. Cruelty makes him sick, though he can be caught in inaction for fear of retaliation from command.

32:  Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke? 

Kadin, unlike Naomi, actively makes jokes about his burn. "Gotta hand it to him, he had one hell of a grip" type jokes.

B) What inspired you to create them?

Kadin is a really cool character that's hard for me to go into detail about without revealing too many spoilers. He was created to be someone Naomi could rely on. Originally, he was her love interest, though now he's like a complicated almost friend, more co-worker type friendship.

Naomi's kinda scared to interact much with him personally because she wrongly thinks he has some sort of negative feelings towards her over their shared burn origins.

C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story?

Kadin was one of the two original main characters, yet I've always kind of struggled with his deeper character. He's got a somewhat cold outer shell, calculating, though he's really a warm person who cares a lot. He's just very cautious and plans or ever move he makes.

Originally he was Naomi's guide on the outside and that's really not changed, he's just not her trainer any more. Funny enough, now Naomi's more his trainer over the bio-raptors at least.

D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look?

They were several years younger in the original. Kadin was 23 or something like that. He's 28 now. Naomi was 19, she's 27 now. Honestly, they've swapped skin tones. Kadin got an overhaul when I cast Mitul as him to match him a little(I'm planning on doing a little more, though).

Kadin was also originally trans and in a sense, that's not changed, but he's not trans in a traditional sense. I'd say he's more he/they/it which is as close to spoilers as I can get.

Brook: 1, 18, 35

1: What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

Brook is a never sits kind of person. Being forced to be still would probably be torture. She could sit through a lecture or a concert but she'd be totally bouncing her leg the entire time. She'd die after anything longer.

18: What embarrasses them?

Brook would be embarrassed by crushes or by a public slip up during the trials she runs with the bio-raptors. Those, I think, would be hey only two blush buttons.

35:  How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive? 

Brook is a very good big sister. She's very protective of Bunnie and looks out for her all the time. Their parents are both scientists in another lab and we're always pretty busy. As the oldest, Brook took it upon herself to fill in wherever needed.

This isn't always a good thing, however. She's not a very big fan of Naomi and could've been a better support to her. She thinks Naomi derailed Bunnie's life. Otherwise, Brook almost can't help taking control of a situation and fixing it. She's over all very supportive.

B) What inspired you to create them?

Bunnie was added for Naomi. In a sense, Brook was added for Kadin. She's a rival, a bright mirror, a foil. I wanted a firm, strong character that would step in when no one else would. She's a very important character to the team.

C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story?

She was designed to fill in a gap much the same way Bunnie was. It was pretty easy to let her full the hole in the story she was made for. She's the strong, supportive big sister of the team who's not scared to lay down her truth.

D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look?

Brook took a long time for me to settle on a design for. She's the newest character to the show. She's still in her original design as the one painting in doing is the only one I've made so far.

Apart from her place in the team, she's a very self-indulgent 'what I think an attractive woman looks like' + features from my best friend Jess who plays her. I realized after doing most of her character painting that she really just looks like a female version of my husband + a little of my best friend.

Thank you so much for the questions, Izze!!!

[archive-of-the-guild]

@rubbcrhose asked: MEME; For Roako (Aptitude) 1, 4 (External Personality) 1, 5

ABCs of your OCs

A1. what are your oc’s natural abilities, things they’ve been doing since young?

Roako has been, and always will be, a natural-born warrior. In his D&D Verse he and his mother were exiled because of the experiments she was doing. When he finally ran away from her and found his former home destroyed, Roako crossed through some of the most dangerous areas trying to get to some semblance of decent civilization. The experience and hardship was essentially a trial-by-fire and turning him into a capable fighter.

For his HH/HB Verse, his parents raised him to be a warrior from the time he could talk! At first it was just training but soon enough he was on the battlefield right along with them and loving every minute of it!

A4. what things are they bad at?

Honestly? Social interaction. Roako understands three things above all others. Fighting, eating, and sex. Oftentimes when he meets someone new, his personality takes a bit to get used to. Mostly because he either goes straight to flirting or is partially antagonistic. If you can get past that, he's an ok guy but for most it's a bit much and can break quite a few friendships before they even start.

E1. does the way they do things portray their internal personality? E5. do they portray their personality intentionally or let people figure it out on their own?

These two i'm combining for the HH/HB Verse and the answer is.... It's situational? For the most part, yes. Roako is a very heart-on-his-sleave type of person and doesn't hide anything. HOWEVER while he doesn't hide his personality, if he considers you to be weaker or lesser, there will be times he will not treat you with the same respect that he would treat someone else. Especially if you are in a relationship with him. If you submit to him romantically, or more likely sexually, he will consider you to be more of a pet (in both the bedroom roleplay sense and as a being lesser than him). When he does this, it's not really all that noticeable at first because of how he treats those in that position. He cares for you, adores you, listens to you, lets you do as you please, and does everything in his power to make you WANT to stay with him. But if it's something that's in direct opposition to what he wants or how he acts, he will completely disregard anything you say.

The best example i could think of is with @the-blackened-dove with Roako's relationship with Roxxy. Roxxy loves him and he treats her with respect. Until Roxxy's mother comes into play. For Roako, this is simply another beautiful woman that he wants to spend some quality time with. For Roxxy, it's rude and disrespectful to her because it's her mother. Because Roako considers Roxxy to be in a lower position of respect to him, he's going to push back on it and cause her disrespect.

The best way to get him to see you as his equal or even as his superior, would be to kick his ass and put him in his new place in the relationship. This can be a double-edged sword though. If you put up a good fight and fight him to a standstill, he will treat you as an equal and you will be partners. Beating him means he will be more subservient, as in an almost 180 in terms of how he treats you. He'll be more quiet, more respectful, it would definitely be noticeable and he wouldn't seem the same as before.

His D&D and Modern Verses are just as transparent but treat others as equals so it's definitely verse-dependent. Still be his pet but with more actual respect lmao.

[jafanadis]

While surfing through Deviantart, I found a Voice Actor Meme Template which was created by AleximusPrime.

I know, I know that this meme may seem a little bit childish and immature, but I thought this template would be a fun little experiment for me to try with my OC’s and what I feel they should sound like. I have always had a fascination for the voices of animated characters, as well as voice actors in general and I decided I had to give this a shot.

As you can see, I only used pictures of fictional characters, I only included the actors’ names without their photographs, because I believe that using real people’s photographs without their permission would be kind of creepy. As mentioned in the template, the actors I chose are not the actors that I want my characters to be voiced by, I selected the characters they played who I felt my characters would sound like.

Well, here we go.

Russell's voice comparison for the longest time was Ryan Akagi from Infinity Train. I felt his pitch of voice was not too high, and not too deep. I never pictured Russell having a timid, high-pitched voice. Russell can be timid at times, but when the time calls for it he takes action. But over time, I began to feel that this wasn't a good choice, after many months of thinking I was at my wit's end. That was until I saw the trailer for Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space, Complex Dream which featured characters from one of my favorite games as a kid, Chrono Cross. I happened to hear the voice of Serge, the main character of that game speak for the first time, and upon hearing Serge's voice, I believe I found Russell's voice once and for all. It just really clicked. A couple of things I would probably change with the voice is that Russell would sound more serious and he would speak with a Saskatchewan Accent as he was raised in the capital of Regina.

I had to do a little bit of searching for Ash's voice. My first choice was Hunter from Owl House or Vanitas from the English Dub of Vanitas No Carte, both voiced by Zeno Robinson. However, over time I began to believe that these were not good choices for Ash and I began to look toward other characters. I recently re-watched the first Aladdin movie on Disney+ and upon hearing Aladdin's voice, I did select him for the Ash's voice comparison but over time I realized it just did not match. Ash has a dynamic sounding voice, something which Ryan Akagi from Infinity Train, the original vocal comparison for Russell was. So I decided to switch Ryan as from Russell's voice comparison to Ash's voice comparison and this time it seemed right.

Zia's voice was pretty easy as well. Nubia Gross from The Proud Family original series was an absolute yes. I definitely picture Zia sounding like a kinder, more supportive version of Nubia. I know the character and voice actress are American, but I believe this voice comparison was perfect for Zia. One thing though, she would need to speak with a Nova Scotian Accent as Zia was born and raised in Halifax and had moved to Regina in her last year of high school.

Derrick's voice was also pretty easy, I definitely chose Toma Kamijou from the English Dub of A Certain Magical Index at first. In the English Dub, Toma just has a very "big-brotherly" tone of voice which I totally hear Derrick speaking with. But then I decided to trade that for Best Jeanist from My Hero Acadamia's English Dub, also voiced by Micah Solusod. In addition, Derrick was born and raised in Hawaii, and the actor who voiced Toma in the English Dub, Micah Solusod is from Hawaii as well. Best choice.

For the longest time, I assigned Louis from the English Dub of Beastars as the vocal comparison of Chatan, because at first I pictured Chatan being strict and no nonsense, but this eventually changed, he started to become much more lighthearted and I figured that Louis' voice would no longer be a good match for him. So I switched it for Natsusa Yuzuki from the English Dub of Number24 who was voiced by Griffin Puatu who also voiced Louis from Beastars, but in the end it just didn't match him. I then transitioned his voice from Natsusa to Ganke Lee in Marvel's Spider Man who was also voiced by Griffin Puatu, but it just didn't seem quite right either. This was around the time when I decided that Hunter's voice wouldn't be a good fit for Ash, so I decided to see if Hunter or Vanitas's voice would fit, it was close but no cigar. I looked into other roles Zeno Robinson played and when I heard Hawks (AKA Keigo Takami) in My Hero Academia, I settled for this voice for Chatan. Which is absolutely shocking because I don’t care that much for My Hero Academia. But over time, I began to think that this voice wasn't a good fit after all, so I decided to find a new one. I watched a movie recently called "Trolls World Tour" and I heard the voice of Branch, and I thought perhaps this voice would work for Chatan once and for all.

Another voice to choose which was a journey was Vai's. I was battling for a long time whether or not I should choose a soft or deep voice for them. I assigned Ryonousuke Akutagawa from the English Dub of Bungou Stray Dogs which for a long time sounded perfect, but my vision for Vai changed and Akutagawa's voice, I felt, would have made Vai sound like a Californian skater dude. So that was off the table. Rewatching Steven Universe, I heard Emerald from the episode, Lars of the Stars and settled on that. But Vai would need to sound a bit more pretentious, whiny, their pitch would need to be slightly higher, and they would have to speak with an accent that sounds like the Upper Class British English accent.

Miri's voice was pretty easy, she's supposed to have a high pitched, almost annoying kind of voice, Disgust from Inside Out was the perfect choice. Miri would have to sound a bit more cheerful and then at times a bit more spoiled and commanding given the fact she’s a know-it-all spoiled brat and a queen bee.

I knew that Jheron had to have a deep voice but I couldn't decide which character should voice him. At first I chose Gundham Tanaka from the English Dub of the Danganronpa 2 Video Game, but it just didn't seem right to me. Then I went with Bayek from Assassin's Creed Origins but it made him seem far too serious. I was at my wit's end. If there was one person I wanted to voice Jheron, it would've been Markiplier. There is just something about his voice I just felt was a good match for Jheron, his voice was deep, but not too deep. But, I couldn't find any characters voiced by Markiplier and I was almost compelled to give up. But luckily, I found that Markiplier played a version of himself in the 2015 video game, PewDiePie: The Legend of Bro-Fist and I shouted for joy, because technically this was an animated character that I could feature on this meme. One thing I would change is that Jheron would speak with an accent similar to the Rhode Island English Accent as he was raised in Akrya.

Suri's voice was pretty easy, I was attracted to the androgynous/boyish sounding voice of the voice actress Kimlinh Tran, and I figured a vocal pitch like that would be perfect for Suri and I decided to look for characters voiced by Tran, but it was difficult. Tran voiced Mikasa Ackerman in the English Dub of Attack On Titan, but she sounded too serious for Suri. Eventually I came across Nadia Fortune from the video game Skullgirls: Second Encore and that was a definite match for Suri. Suri also speaks with an accent similar to the Singaporean English Accent as she was raised in Prathe.

Another character which was easy to pick a voice for was Haerile, The Beast from Beauty and The Beast was it. Haerile is a very no-nonsense, easily agitated person just like the Beast. Haerile speaks with an accent similar to German as he was raised in the Jithran Senate.

Tai's voice went on a little bit of a journey, at first I chose the good version of Spinel's voice from Steven Universe, but over time I came to realize it wasn't a good match, then I transitioned it to DeeDee from Dexter's Lab, but her voice sounded too deep. After weeks of searching, I finally settled with Charmy the Bee from the English Dub of Sonic Heroes, one of my favorite games as a child. The spunky voice that Emily Corkery gave him with the perfect pitch for Tai, my little rambunctious monkey girl.

Rahkar's first voice was actually Patrick from SpongeBob but I decided that wouldn't be a good choice because I felt it would make him seem dimwitted and childish. I had a hard time looking for other voices. I am a big fan of Game Grumps and I came to realize that Arin Hanson's voice would be perfect for Rahkar. I knew Arin was a voice actor and I began looking for characters he voiced, Gateaux from Mighty Magiswords was the first choice but his voice was much deeper and he didn't say much and I wanted to find a character that spoke as much with Arin's natural voice as possible. It was difficult, but I settled on Krakov, who only appeared in one episode of Mighty Magiswords; The Cave of Gelatinous Doom! I felt this character spoke with as much of Arin's natural voice as possible.

Qishya's voice was a little bit difficult, at the start of my journey, I assigned Tiana from the Princess and the Frog as the voice comparison with Qishya, but her voice sounded too deep. Then I switched it for Ashley Williams from the Mass Effect series. That didn’t work either. Eventually I came across the character, Leah, from the 2001 movie, Osmosis Jones, who was voiced by singer Brandy Norwood. She has been the only animated character to be voiced by Brandy, but there was just something about the airy, sultry tone in Leah's voice that just fit with Qishya.

My first choice for Lellain was Cuphead from the Cuphead show, but I came to the realization that this voice was much too masculine and comedic sounding for Lellain. I also didn't think it would be appropriate to assign this character as the voice comparison for Lellain. I thought that this character voice would make Lellain seem...like a slapstick character. Lellain is a jokester, but he isn't like Cuphead at all, there are times he can be serious. Playing the game, Marvel's Spiderman, I assigned Miles Morales, voiced by Nadji Jeter, temporarily as the voice comparison for Lellain. After searching and searching I finally decided to assign Max Mittelman's portrayal of Ryuji Sakamoto from Persona 5 as Lellain's voice. Lellain however does speak with an accent similar the Hiberno-English (Irish English) Accent because he was raised in the Golar Sodality.

Kasai was pretty difficult. The most difficult of all my OC's to find a voice for. I combed through many actors and characters but none of them quite fit, until I heard the Netflix Dub of Neon Genesis Evangelion and I heard Shinji Ikari's voice. Though that voice seemed a bit too timid and high-pitched for Kasai, something clicked and I just had to look-up the actor, Casey Mongillo and what other characters they voiced, hoping I could find a possible voice comparison for my green child. I looked through other characters they voiced without much success until I came across Emporio Alnino from the English Dub of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures and it I thought it was the perfect match for a while. But over time I began to realize that this voice would be too high-pitched for Kasai. I wanted to find a nonbinary actor to voice Kasai, unfortunately none of them had the vocal tone I would imagine Kasai to have. Greg Cipes' portrayal of Beast Boy from Young Justice was one of my first choices, and I decided to reassign this voice to Kasai.

I originally chose Bismuth from Steven Universe as the voice comparison for Itzapa, but Bismuth sounded very jovial and laid-back, something which Itzapa is not. So, I needed to find another character for her voice comparison, and I needed to find a character with a voice that wasn't too deep. It took a while, but then I came across a Canadian cartoon called Shadow Raiders, which I vaguely remembered as a kid. When I heard the voice of the character, Jade, voiced by Enuka Okuma, I decided this would be Itzapa's voice comparison. Jade is a tough woman ready for battle, just like Itzapa. I do picture the voice being a little bit deeper.

So this is what my OC’s voices would sound like. If you have any better ideas for the OC’s voices, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. And I just want to make this clear, I only selected the characters these actors/actresses voiced that I felt closely matched my OC’s not the actual actor/actress themselves.

Otacaia, and all of it's characters © Jafan Adis, 2022-2023. All Rights Reserved.

[stickersgeorg]

HI I HAVE SO MANY

Here's my list so far of artists whose stickers I've bought from Etsy, Redbubble, their own sites/shops, etc (also a lot of these have pokemon themed stickers because I love pokemon)

More detailed lists

Artists on tumblr:

tumblr url - themes - website/store/where to get their stickers

@pikaole - cute animals, lots of marine animals - Patreon / Redbubble

@theshitpostcalligrapher - meme-y(?) and Canada/hockey - Etsy

@chick-it-out - chickens - Etsy

@spicymochi - cute animals, soft - Etsy

@daftpatience - animals, pokemon, gacha for other fandoms, OC - Bigcartel

@mamath - mythical creatures, pokemon, dragons - shop / Etsy

@afternoonfika - soft, cute animals - Shop

@wanderingmaskdragons - dragons, literally so many kinds of dragons!! - Redbubble

@cosmopoliturtle - pokemon redesigned, OC, fantasy - Redbubble

@shinonart - space/galaxy/cosmic, animals, pokemon - Etsy

@ariamisus - pokemon (lotad!! wooper family!! and more!!), chibi - Etsy

@zuccnini - pokemon, OC - Etsy

@fubinicrafts - bunnies - Etsy

@nyatche - cute!! animals, various fandoms (pokemon, animal crossing, anime, sanrio) - Etsy

@mahoukarp-official - sharks, chibi, pokemon - Shop

@lompyart - pokemon - Shop / Ko-Fi

@alcorchannel - pokemon - Bigcartel

@magentasnail - autism/adhd/anxiety creatures - Redbubble

@requinoesis - sharks, fantasy - Redbubble

Etsy (may have their own sites/shops but I found them on Etsy first)

KyariKreations - cute, animals, pokemon

TeamRocketWolf - pokemon, gaming

NickleyArt - cats

porterillustration - pokemon (quagsire!!)

fleacircusetsy - Poe the Pigeon (shop's mascot), animals, miscellaneous

PorofulDesigns - pokemon, cute, miscellaneous

TheSamSamShop - pokemon

RachelBardArt - the tiniest most scrunkly cats you've ever seen, animals

Shopkitschykawaii - miscellaneous cute things and animals

CommanderMittensCo - pokemon, final fantasy

HowlinWolfArt - various fandoms (final fantasy, MLP, Bluey, more), animals (my faves are SHORKS and sea animals as bread 🥺)

CookieDoves - SO many birds

HeathyDraws - pokemon, miscellaneous

Cremechii - cute, soft

BeneShopArt - meme-y, some pokemon

MarshmallowCafe - doodle pokemon

thousandskies - animals, I really like the colors they use in their art

mochamochicake - chibi and soft, various fandoms, lots of cute OC

emberdoodles - cats, Kpop

SugarDriftArt - animals, various fandoms (transformers, miku, full metal alchemist, more)

kamiaristudio - fantasy woodland animals

SketchMoose - assorted, planner-style stickers

HousecatArts - animals (my favorites are the yarn cats)

GellyRoise - pastel, pokemon, animals/food (like little animals with boba tea)

JunesGraphix - miscellaneous (I liked the Magikarp sticker they had)

sillyfriends - pokemon, food, miscellaneous

unicorneclipse - sparkly, journal-y aesthetic, I REALLY like the colors and all the kinds of stationery they have

MonaMauve - memes, like all the meme cats

teletelo - pokemon

starsalts - pokemon, everything is so VIBRANT and colorful, very busy designs

artbymandymeow - miscellaneous animals

smudgeandfrank - animals as foods (sea pancakes!!!)

TheKimchiBunny - animals with foods, planner style

paoriina - whimsical, glimmery, fantasy creatures

Redbubble

littlemandyart - chibis of so many animals

Digisprite - they're the company that made one of my favorite board games (Adventure Mart) and I think the art from it is cute in its own right, like little dnd/adventure-fantasy animals

KiraKiraDoodles - like an Adventure Time kind of style where things got the little dot eyes and that kind of cartoon look?

Other! (Artists I followed on other sites than tumblr and I don't think they have Etsy/Redbubble but rather shops of their own)

BirdieTamArt - animals! - shop

Stickii - this one isn't a single artist, it's a company, BUT they collab(?) with a bunch of different artists for monthly themes/bundles, so if you find a sticker or sheet that you like, you can look up that artist and usually find they have their own shops with more stuff - link

I've been so giddy, that ive been stopping in between making pieces lately. just giggling and kicking my feet excitedly (just bought myself a new Samsung tablet for casual drawing and it should be in by next monday o v o ) ive been saving up for it for a while and i've heard very good things about it, and it'll be a step up to one that i already have.

[jurijurijurious]

Writerly ephemera meme

I was tagged by @thisbluespirit in this rather intriguing meme!

Find five bits of yourself that you gave to your fiction (memories and places and phrases and things into our stories), post and tag five or more writers to share as well.

Now I know I do write bits of myself and my experiences into my stories, one way or another, I think everyone does, but it doesn’t half put you on the spot when you have to try to remember where you’ve done it!

1) I know that recently I wrote Walsingham passing out at the end of a scene in “Mea Culpa”. The entire description is based on personal experience. I went through a scary few years as a young teen where I would pass out for little to no reason, usually at school where there were lots of people watching to cause me huge embarrassment, which then almost gave me a form of PTSD. I was constantly anxious about fainting, it was not good, and we never found out why it happened. But that’s another story... I still occasionally pass out but it’s usually for a reason, after having a vaccine or blood taken or something, but the whole process of fainting, though horrible, is like an old nemesis to me, uncomfortably familiar. I generally feel intense sickness in my stomach, my vision is puckered increasingly with white dots, my entire body comes out in a sweat, and I hear a high pitched whistle-type noise as I lose consciousness. And so since that is my experience, it became Wals’s too:

His palms sweated, his pulse raced...  He shuddered and emitted another strangled breath, fingers white where he clutched the window sill, body trembling.  He needed rest.  Ursula's voice was becoming distant, the room was swaying like the deck of a ship caught in a storm.  He felt a sudden nausea in his stomach, could hear a high pitched sound in his ears, a siren's wail beckoning him into the abyss.

“I am sorry.  So very sorry,” he whispered, though he knew not exactly who he was addressing.  His own voice now sounded as if it was coming from underwater, far away; he was drowning and could resist no more, slipped where he stood and descended into the open arms of oblivion.

2) This is another Walsibeth example I’m afraid because I haven’t written anything else for about a decade! So... Though the pandemic and my lack of funds has put a temporary hold to my hobby of horse riding, I am a half-capable rider and love tearing across country if opportunity allows on horseback. I can thus write people riding horses (English style, anyway) with a degree of accuracy. So in my smutty one-shot fic “In perpetuum et unum diem” (the one which is mostly a pastiche of the raunchy finale of “The Tudors” season 1, and also an excuse for me to write shameless sex), I began the ficlet with a bit of a horse-race between Bess and Wals to get the blood up (a scene that in itself mirrors Elizabeth’s racing with Raleigh in TGA, I later realised). Though I personally haven’t raced a person on horseback per se, I have done beach rides and also ridden on a horseback safari in Africa where you gallop as a group, and “giving your horse its head” is the order of the day! So a lot of this passage is me:

She turned her head back over her shoulder and caught Francis’ eyes.  His lip quirked slightly at the corner but otherwise there was no change to his countenance.  But that was enough.  Her smile deepend as if to invite him to race her and she turned her head back around, gave her dappled grey mare its head and pressed her calves to its flanks.  And the beast responded, driving its legs harder, faster, into a gallop and flew like a falcon through the trees.

...

As the wind flew in Elizabeth’s face, making her eyes water, a great whoop of exhilaration escaped her.  There was nothing but her and the horse, and the knowledge that her blackguard of a lover galloped behind her.  This was what it should feel like to live, even in tragically brief snippets; to feel the blood in your veins, the air in your chest, and the sun on your face, wild and free.

They then jump a tree trunk which I’d love to say I’d do, and I might, but most of my falls have been from jumping so I’d probably wimp out and go the long way around... ;)

3) Annnd another one from my Walsibeth fic “Mea Culpa”, just because it’s fresh in my mind. When I was driving to work last winter, there was one Sunday morning which had a jaw-droppingly beautiful sunrise. I tried to take a photo of it but could not do it justice. I did find a photo of Lincoln Cathedral on instagram from the same morning though which captured the sky perfectly. It literally looked like the sky was on fire, or something, and I immediately worked this memory into my story! I felt that a sky like that would make the perfect backdrop for a single, forlorn, broken bastard riding his horse in a clear, freezing morning:

There was a strange light in the sky as the sun began to make its ascent.  It turned a deep crimson then lifted to shades of rich amber and gold; this combined with the few grey clouds passing overhead gave it the illusion of a huge fire, as if a great furnace now filled the heavens.  Some might have called it beautiful, others would see a grim omen.

4) I had a look in my dreaded old fic archive, so full of cringe, and I found this from the end of my Doctor Who fic “Choices”, which I reckon I wrote between 2005-2006, possibly finishing it later than that. This scene right at the end (told from the perspective of Rose and the ninth Doctor’s daughter, Hope) is literally my old senior school - the class length, the finish time, the uniform was what I wore, and my history teacher was Mrs. Gaskin, and my mum would be waiting in her car to pick me and my sisters up:

By a quarter-to-three in the afternoon, she was in another History lesson with Mrs. Gaskin, and was spending another forty-five minutes hearing about the Black Death, the plague doctors, and the red crosses that were painted on people’s doors. It was fascinating, but Hope’s concentration wasn’t there. She kept looking out of the window at the school yard, noticing the little details that other days she would take for granted - like the way the trees swayed in the wind, the way a crisp-packet rolled across the concrete, and the pure azure-blue colour of the cloudless sky. Something was afoot but she had no idea what it was, or why she was feeling this way.

The bell rang finally at the end of the lesson, as the clock read three-thirty, and the class disappeared swiftly out of the door. It was home time! The voices of myriads of children echoed and shrilled down the corridors, and desperate feet, eager to get home, pounded down the stairs, making for the exits. White shirts were un-tucked from trouser and skirt hems, blue-and-red ties were loosened from about shirt collars, and black blazers were thrown off and carried over shoulders as the mass of pupils took flight.

Hope, however, took things slowly, almost as if she might never see them again, picking up on every smile, every individual laugh, and every joke pulled on every unsuspecting victim. She waved goodbye to friends, hitched her backpack over her shoulder, and made her way out of the school gates toward the spot where her mum or Uncle Jack would usually be waiting to pick her up. As she turned the corner onto Petunia Grove, though, she stopped and sighed. The car - either her mum’s or Jack’s - was not there.

Hope pursed her lips and shrugged, taking another good look around just to make sure that she hadn’t missed it, but there wasn’t a familiar car in sight. She thus let her bag slip off her shoulder, and she perched her backside on the street sign, swinging one of her feet back and forth as she waited for the arrival of her escort.

In the meantime, she couldn’t help but let her mind wander again, as it had been doing often throughout the day, and looked around the street. There was a blue tit on the hedge over the road, stood near a couple of sparrows and a robin. The front door of house number five was a brilliant shade of red, something which she had never really noticed before, and there was some graffiti on the road sign on the opposite side of the street. It read ‘Bad’ something or other, but she couldn’t read the other word since it was blocked off by the blue box.

Hope blinked and slowly rose to her feet. It couldn’t be…

5) And for number five, this is a short extract from the an unpublished Star Wars fic I wrote around 2010, where I tried for what must have been the third time to re-write the Star Wars nonsense I wrote as a teenager, all starring my very Mary Sue OC, Nadia, who became Vader’s apprentice and was mentored by Veers. I have here again worked my experiences of passing out into the story - a psychologist would have a field day with me. Nadia’s thoughts about showing weakness were also real fears of mine - I never liked to be weak, to be ill, to be a burden, and my character was the mouthpiece for my own self-disgust. It’s written in the first person with Nadia narrating in this scene where she accompanies General (Maximilian) Veers to the Kaminoan’s cloning facility to review further batches of troops and is taken ill by the experience of seeing the thousands of farmed foetuses:

Max nodded whilst I remained breathless and shaky in his shadow. I could not get those tiny, wriggling foetuses out of many head - they floated upon my consciousness, their inhuman eyes glaring into my face and their tiny hands reaching out toward me. I tried to rid myself of these infantile phantoms, but I could not, and I suddenly felt quite ill.

“We shall need many more in our next delivery,” Max told the creature, who began to babble on about the problems of this request, but was halted mid-sentence when Maximilian wheeled about and grabbed me, saying my name over and over. He disappeared amidst the snowstorm of white dots that littered my vision, however, and I collapsed upon the floor.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a bright, white room. The walls dazzled me for a moment and it took my eyes and my mind time to adjust and to recognise reality. I looked slowly at the plain walls, finding myself alone upon a bed with my hands by my sides and a drip feeding liquid into my arm. This seemed quite surreal - I knew I was not ill enough to warrant this - but I resolved to stay put until someone came to me. I felt extremely tired and I thought that I may as well take advantage of the rest.

I fell back to sleep again and, when I next woke, I saw Max sat in a chair beside me. I glanced about the room - we were alone. I looked at him uncertainly, my visage undoubtedly betraying the signs of my mortification, for he first said: “Do not worry, Nadia, I am not angry with you. It cannot always be helped.”

...

I wanted to defy him, to be strong, but no, I just showed him weakness and insecurity. What indignity was this?

Thanks for the tag, that was fun! I can’t think of 5 writers to tag but off the top of my head: @feuillesmortes, @robins-treasure and @captainofthegreenpeas? Have a go if you fancy.

[vennilavee]

The Countdown

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: you and bucky have a small fight before a mission during the holidays and you’re both irked at each other.

Warnings: cursing, alcohol

Word Count: 2791

A/N: inspired by s1e14 of the oc titled ‘the countdown’. i only watched the first season, but i always thought the new year’s kiss moment was beautiful. i listened to dice by finley quaye a lot while writing this (also found this song on the same episode of the oc)

_______________________________________________________________________

“You were supposed to be home for the holidays! And for the new year!” You say, irritation stewing in your belly. You cross your arms and shift your weight to your right side.

“I was home for Christmas! Doesn’t that count for something?” Bucky retorts.

“Neither of us even celebrate Christmas like that…”

“So? I was still here!”

“We were supposed to ring in the new decade together!”

“So what would you have me do? Tell the world to pause just because you want a New Year’s kiss?”

“Well, excuse me for wanting to start the new year and the new decade with my boyfriend! I guess I’m asking for too much from you, huh?”

“I guess you are!”

You roll your eyes so far to the back of your head that you are certain you can see the whites of your skull. You look away from him, so he can’t see the hurt in your chest. Why is he so nonchalant about it? Doesn’t it mean as much to him as it does to you?

Evidently not.

“Whatever. Have fun. Be safe I guess. Don’t get too injured. I won’t help you with anything more than bruised knuckles.”

I love you, you stupid idiot.

Bucky lets out a chuckle despite himself. He’s already dressed in his tactical suit, buckles and velcro done and all. You knew he had to go, but damn, would it kill him to look a little sad about leaving you for over a week and missing New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with you?

You can hear Sam calling for him out in the kitchen of your apartment.

“Well, I guess you’ve gotta go,” You shrug, “Have fun on your trip. You guys are going to Bali, right?”

“Don’t be like that,” Bucky murmurs, a faint cloud forming in his normally clear eyes.

“Enjoy your beers and your Mai-Tais, Samuel,” You call out, narrowing your eyes at Bucky.

“Leave me outta it, baby girl,” Sam replies.

You hand Bucky his black duffel, trying to thrust it at him and failing because of how heavy it was. He quirks his lips in amusement but falters when you send him a searing glare.

“I’ll see ya when I see ya,” Bucky says. You’re about ready to bite his head off. Why can’t he see it? Why can’t he feel it the way you do?

“Yeah. See ya when I see ya,” You echo, trying to swallow the lump in your throat.

***

“‘See ya when I see ya?’ That was the saddest string of words in the English language I’ve ever heard,” Sam says, thumping Bucky on the back of his head. 

“Oh really? Thanks for your opinion,” Bucky snarks, “She knew I had to go!”

“So? She’s allowed to not be happy about it.”

Bucky silences him with a glare and Sam rolls his eyes.

“Y’all are both some idiots.”

***

Bucky hadn’t even kissed you goodbye or told you he was going to miss you. The thought that he wouldn’t miss you leaves you motionless and in tears.

Does he still love you? Does he even like you? How could he look at you like that, like you were annoying him? As if he didn’t love you more than life itself, as if he didn’t spend every night falling asleep to your soft, rhythmic breaths? As if his crevices didn’t match yours, as if his stormy blue didn’t seek your brown warmth?

Had he even looked at you like that? As if you were an annoyance to quell? 

He hadn’t kissed you. He hadn’t said goodbye to you.

You can’t help but wonder- is he thinking about you?

***

You haven’t sent Bucky a single text, emoji, meme or photo. It’s been four days since Bucky said ‘he’d see ya when he sees ya’, and the words (or lack thereof) rattle in his mind mercilessly.

They could replace Hydra’s trigger words, he thinks darkly.

But you hadn’t even kissed him goodbye or told him you would miss him. He can’t get your sad, brown eyes out of his mind or the way you had folded in on yourself with your arms twisted together like vines after you had handed him your duffle bag.

He’s half expecting you to dump his stuff out in front of your apartment, indicating that you’re through with him and the darkness and the missions and the waiting and just… all of it.

You deserve better, he tells Sam grimly as they are staking out a Hydra base in the middle of Mount Batur in Bali. Bucky can’t help but think that Hydra is incredibly stupid for building a new base in such a heavy tourist location. But maybe they needed a change in scenery.

Sam had sent Bucky a glare, as if to say ‘is this really the best time?’

Bucky sighs, “Why was that so dramatic? ‘I’ll see you when I see you? Seriously? God, I want to electrocute myself every time I remember that I said that.”

“Tell Zemo that. He’ll be more than happy to fulfill that wish of yours,” Sam snorts.

“I miss her,” Bucky whines, “I’m so stupid, Sam.”

“So tell her,” Sam says simply with a small smile, “Including that last part. Multiple times.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t even kiss her or say goodbye. I’m the worst. But I wouldn’t blame her. If she wanted to go, I mean. I feel like I’m too much and not enough at the same time,” Bucky confesses softly, anxiety filling his voice.

“Sounds like you both need to sit down and talk. But before that, just call her-”

Bucky’s already calling you, eyes automatically searching for your name and the star emoji next to it. International fees be damned.

“I didn’t mean right now!”

***

You’re absent-mindedly scrolling on your phone, the blue light from the screen keeping your mind stimulated despite the fatigue behind your eyes. It’s 3:12 AM, you’re sleeping on Bucky’s side of the bed and you miss him. You wonder what he’s doing- is he safe? Is Sam safe? Is he protected? Does he know that you love him?

You can’t believe you let him go without saying goodbye, without a kiss, without telling him you loved him. You just said ‘you’d see him when you see him’. Well, in your defense, he said it first.

Hovering over his name, you contemplate calling him. Nah. He’s probably busy.

But he always told you he’d never be too busy for you. And that was true- you had called him a few times in the middle of anxiety attacks, or during a bout of insomnia- just to name a few instances. Despite the fact that he had been in the crux of a mission, fighting people off, dodging bullets left and right… He had tucked his cell phone in the crook of his neck and ear to calm you down in his low, comforting voice. You had been able to hear the rhythmic beats of his footsteps, with the occasional yell as he told you about his day, told you to follow his breaths, and listed the things he liked and loved about you. His voice was your favorite melody, a melody that fills you up with warmth and familiarity. 

You sigh and stare at the ceiling before feeling the buzz of a phone call in the palm of your hand.

Bucky’s name with a yellow heart emoji, along with a photo of both of you pops up on your phone and you accept the call quickly, butterflies strumming in your belly.

“Hi,” You say breathlessly.

“Hi,” Bucky says, sounding equally as breathless. You can hear Sam yelling at him for being distracted, you can hear commotion, glass breaking and doors slamming. But it’s all background noise.

“Are you okay?” You ask, “It’s like… 8 AM over there. Early morning Hydra base break in?” 

“Yeah. I haven’t even had a coffee yet, can you believe it?”

“Those Hydra guys won’t know what hit ‘em,” You chuckle.

There’s a beat of silence between both of you. 

“Hey… I’m sorry I left things so weird before I left. I’ll see ya when I see ya? Who the fuck says that,” Bucky mutters and smiles when you laugh, “I miss you, I’m sorry I won’t be there to start the new year with you, sweetheart. I’m such an idiot. And I’m sorry I made you feel so small.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye to you,” You whisper, “I miss you, I always do.”

“I know, honey. I always do, too,” Bucky murmurs, closely evading a punch to the stomach and a kick to the shins, “Save a kiss for me, will ya?” 

Bucky groans when he gets punched in the nose and you wince at the cracking sound.

“Ouch, that didn’t sound so good,” You remark, “Come back to me in one piece, will ya?” 

“I will,” Bucky promises, “I gotta bring you out here someday. You’d love it.”

“I think I would, too. Bali looks beautiful. We’d both get nice and tan on those pretty beaches.”

“You’re already tan,” Bucky snorts, “You’d get that nice, bronzed glow.”

“And don’t you forget it,” You yawn widely.

“Get some rest, honey,” Bucky murmurs. You hear a muffled explosion in the background and somehow you still yawn.

“Be careful out there, sweetheart,” You reply mildly and then after a second, “I’ll see ya when I see ya.”

“Stop making fun of me,” Bucky whines and you laugh.

“Goodnight, honey.”

***

Specks of gold sit on the walls of your friend’s apartment, glittering at every turn of your head. It’s simple, paired with a large balloon of a bottle of Moet champagne, with smaller balloons coming out of the opening of the bottle. Strings of pale yellow fairy lights line the ceilings of the apartment, casting a slight glow on everyone in attendance.

Your friends have outdone themselves this year. They had asked for your recommendations on decorations, which had been your duty. So truly, you had outdone yourself this year. There is a station for champagne bottles chilling in buckets of ice and champagne flutes. And another station of liquor, mixers and solo cups to drink out of, as well as finger foods and snacks. It had been a potluck style party and everyone brought different entrees to have for dinner.

You had objected to the red solo cups- “We can afford to drink out of something nicer than red solo cups!”

And the subsequent retort- “And who’s going to wash all the glasses, huh?”

So the red solo cups stayed and you tried your best to not think about how out of place they looked with all of the gold and glitter. Everyone was wearing a mix of black, silver, gold or burgundy. And you? You were wearing a silk, olive green camisole, black pants and a black blazer with a glittery finish to it. Golden teardrops hang on your earlobes, swishing with every turn of your head and a necklace that Bucky had bought you sits along on the column of your throat. You had left your chunky heels at the door- of course you wanted to show off your New Year’s manicure and pedicure to your friends.

Several rounds of games go by- Cards Against Humanity, What do you Meme, and of course, beer pong and flip cup and then more food and drink. It’s about thirty minutes to midnight and you haven’t heard from Bucky in a few hours. You had sent him photos of yourself getting ready, selfies with your friends and of the decorations. All of the texts say that they’ve been delivered. But maybe he’s busy.

You’re starting to feel the sting a little bit when couples start to get cozy with one another, some cuddling subtly and some cuddling not so subtly. You check your phone once more, wondering where in the world Bucky could be. At least you have the solace that he’s safe- he had told you that everything was okay, they had gotten the information they needed. Him and Sam were safe.

Sticking your phone in the back pocket of your pants and fixing yourself a mixed drink, you rally everyone together for toasts to end the decade off. With Bucky burning brightly in the back of your mind.

***

You call Bucky at 11:56 PM. You’re not sure where he is, if he’ll even have cell reception, but you do it anyway. He doesn’t answer and you go straight to voicemail. It’s 11:58 PM by the time you decide to leave him a voicemail.

“Hi,” You begin, “Um… It’s probably already next year where you are, right? Happy new year, honey. To many more new years, new adventures and new… everything. I’ll text you in the morning, miss you, love you.”

With your heart feeling a little lighter, you join your friends in the living room to watch the countdown live. You don’t notice that one of your friends has disappeared and another one has a sly look on her face when she glances over to you.

***

Bucky is sweating bullets. He’s been running around the city for the last hour, from one edge to another. Sam and Bucky had finished up their mission late on the day before New Year’s Eve and Bucky thought it would be cute to surprise you before midnight on New Year’s day.

But of course, their quinjet had had a few technical difficulties, they had run into some trouble, and it had taken them behind schedule a few hours. 

So now, Bucky is currently sprinting to Williamsburg from the subway station because the subway car going to Brooklyn is currently out of service for the next forty-five minutes.

Just his luck. This is the most stressed Bucky has probably ever been.

***

It’s 11:56 PM when Bucky feels his phone vibrating. He quickly checks who it is, silencing it when he sees that it’s you calling. Bucky is currently running up twelve flights of stairs to get to your friend’s apartment building. The elevator was taking far too long, and Bucky was far too impatient to wait.

To the twelfth floor he goes.

Bucky hears his phone buzzing again, but just for a second. It’s a voicemail and he’s certain it’s from you. His heart sputters for a moment at the thought of you missing him. As it always does.

Just two more floors to go. Sam would mock him for how long it’s taking him to get to the twelfth floor.

With wide eyes and his chest heaving, he sprints down the corridor to apartment number 12-303. He has to make it, he has to get to you before…

Ten!

Apartment 12-295 is on his right.

Nine!

Apartment 12-299…

Eight!

Apartment 12-301…

Much to his relief, the door to apartment 12-303 is unlocked. He had texted your friends hours ago, asking them to please leave the door unlocked. At least that had gone according to plan.

Your friends peek over to see him at the doorway and each give him a smug smile. Your back is facing away from him as you’re watching the countdown on the television screen. You turn your head a fraction, looking over your shoulder to call out for everyone to come watch the countdown, and then you see him.

You gasp loudly, hands over your mouth in complete surprise. Your heart is singing for him, begging you to to join him. You’re tethered to him, feet moving of their own accord.  Time stops for a moment, the faint sounds of the seconds counting down were nothing but static in your ears. All you can see is Bucky. Bucky who had done who knows what to make this special for you.

Bucky’s right in front of you with a small smile. He pulls you to him, not wasting a second before pressing his lips to yours just as the raucous cheers of happy new year go off around them. It’s just Bucky and you standing there with his hands cupping your cheeks and your hands light on his wrists. Glitter and confetti gently falls on his shoulders and your dark hair, giving you a crown of sparkles. Your soul is aflame, and you’re unable to keep yourself from smiling into the kiss.

He pulls away with bitten lips and rests his forehead against yours. He pulls a speck of confetti from your nose and kisses you once more.

“Happy new year’s, honey,” Bucky murmurs.

“Happy new year’s, baby,” You say, kissing his chin, “Thank you for doin’ this for me.”

“I told ya,” Bucky grins, lopsided and your favorite, “Told ya I’d see ya when I see ya.”

***

tags: @coal000 @hootyhoobuckaroo @buckyforbreakfast @lesqui @amethyst-dreams-and-candy-canes @sergeantbarnescaptainrogers @whothehellisbucky