#sorry this is not like a regular comic at all

[psymachine]

insider info

[mossypidder]

Finally got around to painting this concept I’ve had floating around for a few months. This is Enya’s mom, Briony. (Above the water is her human form, below the water is her true form) Honestly really happy with how it turned out, especially since I haven’t properly water colored in about a million years, but yeah. Here she is.

Also, here’s where you can find her playlist and moodboard (just really like her playlist and everything I’ve scrounged up for it)

[kirisclangen]

Zelda

She/her, 65 moons, cis molly

[llumimoon]

quick doodle of regular <3

[therealtsk]

Destiny's Lore, and Why It Didn't Need The Witness

So, I know most of you follow me for Worm or DC stuff, so here's an admission of my tragic past: I used to be a big Destiny fan! I know, I know, i'm losing followers by the letter, but in my defense, I dropped out years ago, around Shadowkeep. I briefly checked the game out again during the Witch Queen but never actually finished the campaign since I didn't have any friends to play it with at the time and so I couldn't force myself back into it's goddawful grind. To be clear, I've never played Destiny for the gameplay. I'm one of those weirdos who actually really, really liked the setting's lore and world building. It was one of the most unique things I'd ever seen, this really engaging mix of high fantasy and sci-fi all at once. And you know what? Some of Destiny's lore books are honestly incredible! The writing is emotional, the prose evocative, so many alien perspectives expertly captured. The Books of Sorrow, Thorn, Truth to Power, Book of Unveiling, The Ahamkara gear...goddamn, they're so good. But I got caught up on Destiny lore a little bit ago, and...wow. Bungie did it. They killed the last thing I still loved about Destiny. And they killed it with the Witness.

Let's talk about the Witness for a bit. The Witness has taken the slot of the new Big Bad for the Destiny universe, previously held by The Darkness. Their backstory is that they used to be individuals of a race that was the first to be blessed by The Traveler, Destiny's slated Big Good. This race proceeded to have a golden age that lasted for eons, with them eventually running out of things to do, and thus asked the Traveler to tell them what their purpose is. Obviously, the Traveler didn't answer, and their entire civilization had a collective existential crisis so hard that they decided that if the universe didn't come pre-built with a purpose, they'd just kill everyone and reboot the universe so that it did. To accomplish this, they tracked down the Traveler's never-before mentioned Dark counterpart and all fused into a single being, seen here. And on the topic of the Witness's appearance, I'm sorry, but the visual design here is just...bad. It's just bad. It's almost painfully generic. They have a geometrically rippling long black coat with no defining features, a pale human-ish face, and their brain appears to be leaking other faces in a smokecloud constantly, which i think looked far cooler on paper then it did in a render. Compare this to Savathûn or even Oryx's visual designs and they don't hold a candle. Speaking of comparisons to the Hive Gods, this is where my rant truly begins, so buckle up.

The fact that the Witness has all but replaced the Darkness- newly released lore suggesting every time we thought a character was interacting with the Darkness itself, it was really them talking to this character- that the Darkness is now stated to be completely apathetic and unintelligent, nothing more then a power source to draw upon- not only runs directly counter to some of my favorite lore in the franchise but cheapens every other Darkness-affiliated plot line and character. Not only does the Witness not speak at all like The Darkness has in the past, making the claim of them being one and the same dubious to me, but it also results in all of the Witness' Disciples (their right-hand men) being shoehorned into storylines in ways that feel almost painfully lazy. Case in point: The Lore of the Hive. As mentioned above, The Books of Sorrow is some of my favorite sci-fantasy with fantastic horror elements and incredibly evocative bits of prose. It's a gripping narrative how in the face of utter annihilation, a group of siblings make a desperate bargain with unknowable creatures once kept buried beneath the earth...and how their once noble efforts to save their people from death turns into a bloody conquest across the stars. It's an excellent tale, showing us how the truest test of character is who you are when times are hard- will you let those hard times twist you into a foul shape, or will you endure in spite of them? It establishes the cosmology of Destiny, with the Hive and Worm Gods being established as some of the most powerful and important beings in the story, powerful disciples of The Deep. With the new retcons, Rhulk (a Disciple of the Wintess) shows up, basically tells the Worms to shut up and listen cause he's the real Disciple of the Darkness, not them, and they're going to fall in line now. Because now, instead of the syzygy being a real threat that did devastate the planet the Krill lived on, Bungie's saying that the entire thing was a lie created by the Witness and the Worm Gods. Which takes the aspect of "sometimes bad things just happen but it's up to us to choose how we will let those things change us" that's key to the narrative and completely removes it- which is so backwards from how this all works! Evil lives in all of us, waiting for when we're weak to tempt us into doing what's wrong in the name of survival or pleasure or whatever virtue it disguises itself as- it doesn't stroll up out of nowhere and create a twelve-step-point-plan to ensure that we become evil too! Putting aside that, as I admit it's a subjective criticism based on my own perspective on the nature of morality, I think it greatly cheapens multiple other stories. Now that the Darkness is completely amoral as a force and it's just the Witness who is corruptive, I guess Dredgen Yor, Jana-14 and all of the other guardians we've seen fall were all getting brain blasted by this one dude, instead of their falls being a result of being seduced by power they should have known better then to touch blindly. Now, I can already hear people saying "But what about Stasis!" And yeah, I have Thoughts on Stasis too. I don't entirely dislike it, but I do dislike how it's been executed. Sword Logic works- or worked- by basically asserting yourself above physical reality. "I am the strongest thing alive, and I prove it thus." You defeat a powerful enemy and take their strength for your own. That's something you can work as being doable without inherently corrupting you. After all, it's not considered evil to fight for your own survival or for the protection of others. It just so happens that constantly introducing your brain to the idea that killing other things will make you objectively better then them is bad for you even if those powers weren't sourced from a primordial consciousness that has and will try to influence you for it's own ends.

To use a metaphor, Sword Logic is akin to something like nuclear power- sure, it's got one hell of a kick, but if you let your guard down around it, not only will it fuck you up but it'll contaminate everything around you with the fallout. But now to say that "nope, the darkness is totally fine and not even alive and aware it's just the same thing as the light but different colors and this whole time it's just been this one guy who's been ruining it for everyone else" is so...god, it's so much less interesting. And I think ultimately, that's my problem with the Witness. As a whole, they are just so much less interesting then what we had before! I loved the Books of Sorrow and Unveiling so much because it was such a fascinating display of completely alien thought and genuine nuance. The Darkness doesn't do what it does because of any tired trope of "evil nihilist" or just might makes right, it's a living embodiment of a cosmic philosophy in a war with another, both of them arguing for how all of creation should work. Whether or not the only things in life that matter are the things that live, and that to live is to suffer so ergo only that which cannot break should live, so you must break everything until only the absolute strongest shapes remain- or if it is possible for creativity and diversity and soft things to exist and create a life that is worth living in spite of the inevitable pain we all go through. That is so much more interesting then a bunch of dudes who are ultimately just mad about the fact that there's no easy to find and read manual for our purpose in life! It's such a basic, not to mention human motivation in comparison to what The Darkness had when it was a character in it's own right. And so...yeah.

[askthekirbysquad]

"Meta Kniiiiight!!!" Kirby whined, batting at the older puffball with his fists as he leaned against him. "Just let me wiiiiiiiin!"

Meta Knight raised an eyebrow, unbothered by the other's 'attacks'. "And allow you to split yet another one of my masks in half?" He chuckled. "I'm afraid not, Kirby."

The swordsman had already learned that lesson twice by now, after going a little easier on his student and paying the price for it. At this point, with his stash of spare masks dwindling in order to truly challenge Kirby's abilities, he had no intentions of going anything less than all-out.

"You will not get any stronger if you only ever fight against weak foes."

"But it's haaaaard!" Kirby pouted, sinking to the floor. Though he may have been Dream Land's hero and had saved both it and the wider universe on several occasions, Kirby was still a child, and clearly, not one who appreciated losing several times over. "This dumb samurai stuff is different from our usual training!! I can fight really good when it's a normal battle. But this is just waiting... And waiting... And more waiting..." He yawned. Even just talking about all the waiting he had to do was making him tired. "And then when I can actually fight without getting in trouble, I've gotta be really really fast, because I lose if you hit me even once! I don't like it."

"What if you someday face a foe capable of defeating you in one blow?" Given the exceedingly powerful threats Kirby had faced in recent times, such an opponent was not entirely out of the question. So, it was important that, as his mentor, Meta Knight prepared him for the situation before it could arise. "It may be more wise to dodge rather than strike first in such a scenario, that is true, but the point of this exercise is to train your reaction time. Being able to react quickly and intelligently to anything your opponent may throw at you in the heat of battle is a vital skill to learn."

Kirby merely grumbled in response, absentmindedly wondering if there was any copy ability he could use to melt further into the ground. Maybe Meta Knight's lecture made just a teensy tiny little bit of sense, but it didn't make him any less frustrated by the new training regimen.

Meta Knight sighed at the young puff's antics, and produced the Maxim Tomato he had kept safely tucked within his cape. They had been training for a while now, he supposed, and it was good to have small rests every now and then between sessions. ...Even if that was something he himself was notoriously bad at incorporating into his own training. Luckily for the swordsman, Kirby immediately perked up upon seeing his favourite food.

"You will get better with practice, I am sure." Meta Knight said. "You are already quite skilled at spooking Dedede with that party popper, I must say." Handing Kirby the tomato, he added, "Take a break for now, however, and let me know when you are prepared to resume our training."

"Mm-hm! Thank you, Meta Knight!" Kirby gleefully responded, his sour mood forgotten as he held the precious Maxim Tomato in his hands. Good food made everything better! The new type of training was still dumb, in his opinion, and it was gonna be hard to beat Meta Knight with all those extra rules in place, but thanks to his snack, he had a feeling that he could do it!!

...Meanwhile, in the distance and out of sight of the unsuspecting duo, Magolor snickered to himself as he prepared his legion of mini Scarcutter attacks. It was wonderful to see his friends enjoying the theme park he created, and while he did have some Park Manager work to attend to... Well, who's to say he couldn't have his own fun in Merry Magoland's attractions?

[nonbinarygamzee]

just found a post i made last year upon dipping my toes back into the hs waters where an anon asked if i still liked gamkar and my response was a noncommittal not really. egg materializing on my face as i write this.

[sygneth]

I have had a lot of thoughts on the original story after listening to the Sherlock&Co "Gloria Scott" and a new headcanon just dropped.

Chapter 1: part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5 - part 6

Masterpost (Index)

AO3

thoughts, if you're curious:

As far as gay Victor Trevor absolutely got me, I don't think there was anything serious between him and Holmes. This all comes down to my reading of Holmes, who is (to me) too aroace-spec to get involved in a regular relationship (althouuuughh about Holmes, his sexual and romantic orientation and him discovering it I have had so many thoughts I could write a whole essay). He likes to have a default person though, someone who will take him as he is, and maybe even admire a little - now that's Watson, earlier it was Trevor.

And yea I think Victor got a crush straight away after their first meeting, maybe they even talked about this at some point. Maybe Holmes said that he won't be able to reciprocate this affection but if Victor is fine with keeping things as they are, then he is too. I like to think they stayed pen friends even after Trevor's leave.

I feel like I should emphasize this? My intention in the comic was to make Trevor visibly flustered because he didn't expect a young attractive boy (he's hopeless in my head), while Holmes simply didn't expect to see someone his age and so sincerely sorry.

[martinsorbit]

medical malpractice is not allowed in the daycare ig

I have a serious case of The Artblock so all I have to offer rn is this half-baked comic, sorry; So I made this because the fact that there's just a hammer and a bow saw in the first aid/medical attention level fucking BAFFLES ME

like theres probably a medical use to them, but idk, Fazco barely having the care to explain how to properly/correctly use these tools and what they are for and making you use the "relaxation" mask cuz u fucked up just makes my head explode. ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE FUCKING RELAXATION MASK. I dont think regular staff is qualified to do this but idk man im an artist not a doctor

[neiptune]

it’s valentine’s day, you clown

cw: 1.2k wc, blank blogs don't interact, something something your volleyball superstar boyfriend tooru flies home to surprise you only to pass out on your bed, this is my first ever hq fic and it's a complete coincidence that it's about him please be nice and don't make any assumptions

thank you @moondust-lore for reading this 🤍

His breathing stays regular and quiet as you crawl onto the mattress. Your bed is still somehow comically small and far from ideal to accomodate that unique ensemble of long limbs, sturdy muscles and swooping brown hair. Yet his sleep is serene, features relaxed that fill your chest with warmth that almost prompts your fingers to run through smooth locks. How have they not been rendered thicker or dry by the sea salt yet?

You’re careful as you snuggle closer to his broad back, not really wanting to wake him up. A small smile creeps onto your lips at the thought of how tired he must’ve been, couldn’t even bother to properly slip underneath the covers, knocked out in seconds. Flying all the way to Japan, travelling for almost 24 full hours to surprise someone must do that to a person.

The shock has worn out, the sensation of your heart being one second from bursting and exploding into a million golden confetti has dimmed. Now your head feels clear enough for your mind to be focusing on the important stuff, the mundane thoughts you didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on for months are a messy but colorful vortex. Would he like the usual for dinner? Does the uniform or any shirts need some ironing? Yes, yes, Tooru favors dry cleaners because they’re practical and he’s rich but you desperately want to contribute. You want proof that he’s home, actually home. With his big designer suitcases and wrinkled shirts and ridiculously expensive glasses and a smile that still shifts your world’s axis.

You allow yourself to scoot closer, until your nose brushes against his shoulder. He radiates a comforting  warmth and smells nice as always. Of sunscreen, beaches, the cologne you have bought for his birthday. As you shut your eyes, memories from the previous night start slowly blurring the edges of your consciousness and lull you to sleep.

“Shit! Fuck!” you jolt awake at the unexpected profanities, the last thing you remember dreaming about including tanned skin and a much more peaceful scenery made of rolling waves and golden, powdery sand.

“What… what’s wrong?!”

Oikawa Tooru is looking at your with what could be only defined as a glare. Eyes squinted, accusatory worry lines and all.

“You let me sleep? Why were you sleeping too instead of waking me up? It’s late!” his pitch gets higher with each word and by the end of the fully formed sentence you’re grimacing. The awfully old digital alarm clock on your nighstand flashes a red 11:05 PM.

“I’m sorry!” you panic “I didn’t mean to fall asleep! I know it’s late but I can probably put something together for dinner anyway? Are you that hungry? Wait, actually, let me get something delivered and…”

Now he’s staring with an openly outraged look on his pretty face, which makes you think finishing the thought probably isn’t the smartest idea.

“You… don’t want me to order in? I mean, fine, you can pick any local restaurant or takeaway, I don’t really ca-”

“Are you stupid?”

Ok, well. That feels unfair.

“I already apologized for falling asleep, no need to be a jerk” now you’re squinting your eyes at him. One eye. The other is being relentlessly rubbed.

“You’re right” he sighs and his massive shoulders slump, head hanging low like a wounded animal “it’s not your fault. I’m the dumb one. Couldn’t even set an alarm”

“I think you’re blowing this out of proportion, we can still eat something. If you’re worrying about your sleep schedule, I’m sure I can find some sleeping pills or…”

Oikawa looks at you, exasperated.

“That’s definitely not what I’m worried about”

“What the hell are you worried about, then?”

“It’s valentine’s day, you clown”

You blink back your surprise, his fond eye roll not easing the heat that takes over your face as realization finally dawns on you. “That’s… that’s why you flew here?”

Tooru leans forward to lightly flick your forehead. A car passes down the street, the light bleeding through your shades brightens the room for a moment and you catch the sincere amusement in his eyes.

“Yes, darling dearest. That’s exactly why I flew here. I was also supposed to make plans, take you out on a proper date, rob a flower shop from the inside out instead of passing out and drooling on your favorite duvet”

You stare back at his comical frown for a few seconds more before falling back into your pillows with a chuckle.

“Glad you think this is funny and not irredeemably gross. Stop giggling, let me think. I’m gonna go buy the most expensive champagne bottle and pick dandelions along the fucking sidewalk if I have to, and then-”

“Tooru”

“What?” he’s already swinging one leg over the edge of the bed “I’ll be quick”

“You’re here”

Oikawa snorts.

“Yes, I’m still here. Now, if you could kindly let go of my shirt…”

“I don’t want any of those things. You know I don’t want them”

He huffs and air comes out of his nose. “Yeah, I know. But I wanted it to be special” his tone is petulant but you recognize the real thing vibrating underneath, the genuine disappointment.

“It’s already special because you’re here. The only thing that could make it extra special is you filling this cold, empty spot next to me” you pat the covers with a lenient smile and Oikawa allows himself three seconds, three entire seconds to sulk and flash you those big, wet, sopping eyes with a pout that makes him less of a volleyball superstar and more of a kicked labrador puppy.

You welcome his painfully heavy body on top of yours, sharp angles and hard muscles that somehow melt perfectly in your embrace. He’s holding you so tight, head buried in the crook of your neck, soft hair tickling your cheek.

“I’m sorry” Tooru murmurs the apology quietly and seals it into your skin. You know he truly is, devastated as he always gets when something doesn’t go according to the plan. Always one for grandiose gestures and loud displays of affection, chasing whatever it takes to validate how he feels just in case the other person needs proof, always additional proof heaven forbid they feel neglected or get bored. His confidence wavering, his mind always running 100 miles an hour. Am I doing enough? Am I still enough?

“I love you” you reply for good measure and his arms tighten around your body.

But do I deserve it?

“Thank you for flying across the planet to get to me” you smile into his hair before kissing the side of his head “I missed you”

“I’d fly across the solar system to get to you” he’s smiling too, it’s in his voice.

“Corny” with a grin, you pinch his cheek until he looks up with an exaggerated, pained groan. But before he has the chance to protest, you take his disgustingly pretty face in your hands. 

“Wherever you fly from, I’ll be there to welcome you home”

Tooru smiles into the kiss, chases your lips when you relax back into the pillows.

And I’ll spend my life trying to deserve it.

Good thing he has at least five different Havanna Alfajores variety boxes somewhere in one of those suitcases. And two tickets to fly back to Argentina.

[somerandomdudelmao]

so I often think about the concept of good and evil, and how it’s so human. How it fits the majority’s mentality and morality. And I just think it fits so well with Ecliptica and the other aliens on their ship (forgive me I forgot what their alien name). Cause the thing is, they aren’t human. They’re aliens from another planet. For all we know they might have different organs and stuff too. Who’s to say their morals are the same as ours? I feel like Oscar kind of figured this out in his own weird way, kind of just a quick “uh oh” moment for him. But the concept of good and evil is a human construct. Not alien. It’s obvious and shows just beautifully in your comic. the lack of empathy towards other races, the toying with their prey and feeling just because they can? They don’t see that as a problem. They don’t see that as bad. They see that as another day on the ship, they see that as having a fun hunting trip. They see that as a regular boring day where they do what they usually do. They don’t think they’re the bad guys and it shows. They are creatures with a big ego, deciding they are a superior race, and they think that’s all a good thing. And god it’s so cool. in fact, I bet they have their own versions of good and bad, which is actually so cool because what is their society really like?? What are common things they do? How many planets have they devistated without a single care?

anyway your comic is literally so cool and uh. Sorry for the rant lol

Oh my gosh, I absolutely love this ask. Thank you mcnfjfj. I have a little separate plot planned about the Marmor culture and their idea of right and wrong, evil and good. A little episode about their home planet and society.

[aleksiej]

does rottmnt donnie dislike touch?

i have rewatched all of rottmnt and am ending this debacle once and for all (at least for me lol)

based on the two seasons, the movie and the comics (tho the comics don't really bring anything to this conversation) i think i have the answer to one of the more controversial topics in this fandom

(no, it's not the yuichi vs usagi debate, usagi obviously wins that no sweat)

so, does donnie dislike touch?

in the series, he is shown being fairly touchy with his siblings throughout the series, with some exceptions i will try to list now, tho not with proper episode names as i am not looking them up, sorry not sorry:

pilot episode, captured by draxum in a cacoon with mikey he's visibly uncomfortable and tries to get away

mikey's solo mission, he doesn't look at any of the and in response to a hug he pats mikey's head with a metal arm from his battle shell.

glued together, he's showing visible discomfort at being forced into close (touching) proximity of his brothers, tho that discomfort is somewhat elevated when they do a second go-round after the sticky foam ball got crushed

that time splinter caught everyone in a trap hanging in the lair (i think it's the forest survival episode?), he's, again, uncomfortable and the first to find a solution to their entrapment, be it on his phone

there's probably more, but that's what i remember from the series and spread out on about 60 episodes it's noticeable, but not a deciding factor, especially since donnie's also seen being fine with touch. now, the movie offers us even more of a look into donnie's relationship with touch. this list will include every instance presented i can think of, in no particular order.

during leo and raph's fight after they lost the key, donnie jumps on raph's back in an attempt to stop him from advancing in the fight, as mikey tries to shield leo. it's a very quick decision and doesn't seem to particularly trouble donnie.

after the kraang come through the portal and the turtles escape-pod out, mikey's panicking and grabbing cj, also causing him distress. donnie grabs mikey under his arms like a plushie and is shown to carry him until leo gets back with a panic attack and news of raph, upon which leo starts at cj with a fight in mind and donnie and mikey keep him away. again, no distress is coming off of donnie, no more than the regular situation call for (although he gets more logic-minded and quiet as the movie goes on with only small donnie moments breaking it up, which seems to be how he reacts to stress, but that'll be in another fever post)

he's touching mikey sometimes during the subway battle, but it's most likely he either didn't notice or didn't care, considering everything else happening in that fight (ps the kraang train is my favorite villainous entity in the franchise, give me more of the kraang train and i will give you my soul)

he's shown very visibly having sensory issues (very relatable) throughout the whole movie because of the kraang. not necessarily to do with touch, oh except for the part when he had to get EATEN BY THE TECHNODROME THROUGH HIS BARELY TOUCHED AT ALL SOFT SHELL which is shown to be a sensory nightmare and awful to touch and yes, i had night terrors if that, thank you very much.

at the very end, they all hug with no visible problems except for the fact that they are on staten island. that is to say, there's one important scene still, it happens before the end, but i wanted to have space to gush about it so here we go.

the famous scene of raph grabbing donnie and mikey flying through the air, yelling "don't worry donnie, it's not a hug, it's a rescue". probably the most important thing said in accordance to donnie's relationship with touch.

in my personal opinion, donnie doesn't mask (i mean look at his behavior) or if he does, he does it, rarely in public and even rarer with just his brothers. so every one of the hamato clan knows at least the most important of donnie's boundaries, especially related to the autism, as it's handled well within their family structure (both donnie's and mikey's autism is) . so, if raph calls out to him to warn about the hug he's giving donnie and treats it like a potential bad thing, there are really only two conclusions we can get to.

one, donnie doesn't like/hates physical contact. disputed by just about everything else in the show, except for the listed above exceptions.

two, donnie being open to touch or not is conditional. and considering the mentioned exceptions and raph's rescue from the movie, there's one similarity we can notice between them.

the touch affecting donnie is happening without his consent and without a form of escape.

(except for when donnie's hugged by mikey in his solo mission episode, but considering he's already kind of detached, i'm assuming he's just not up to it and so he uses his robotic extra arms to give comfort instead of ignoring his little brother which aww)

that's the uncomfortable part, the unpredictability and lack of a way to detach himself. aka, donnie's just like me for real. lmao.

donnie probably doesn't mind touch and welcomes it, but needs to be in control of the process and be able to leave if he gets overwhelmed. and his family knows that, hence raph's words in the movie that led so many people astray...

this might just be another evidence of how well donnie is written as an autistic character, both with his low empathy not being demonized and not preventing him from creating bonds (tho sometimes making it difficult) and the fact that the most common opinion of autistic people (that they hate touch, which is something a psychiatrist brought up as evidence of me not being autistic) doesn't apply to everyone.

as a summary, rottmnt donnie is probably the best version of donnie right now and he doesn't hate touching, he just has to touch on his own terms. extremely valid, extremely relatable.

[night-daily]

Third time's a charm | Peter Maximoff x fem! reader

summary: Two times where Peter tries to kiss you and one time when it finally happens.

warnings: not proof read, im sorry:(

a/n: i think i need a peter in my life

The first time, you and Peter were in the living room of Xavier's school, watching a movie. It was your regular movie night, you would sit together on the couch and eat popcorn and candy's that Peter stole it grabbed for you, “I…I wasn’t sure if you’d like this, so I just took all the flavours they had there” that was he said to you when it was your first movie night, he was pretty nervous because you asked him, of all the people in the mansion, you wanted to spend your free time with him. So that night he arrived with two bags full of candy's and since then it became a tradition.

The movie was playing on the tv in front of you but your focus wasn't in the movie, was on the guy sitting next to you. It wasn't a secret for anyone in the mansion that you were in love with Peter, except for him, of course. Sometimes it was hard for your friends to watch how hard you tried to flirt with him but he was so oblivious to your moves.

At night the mansion was cooler and you're already regretting you didn't bring your sweater with you cause now you're shaking like a chihuahua and you're pretty sure Peter had noticed.

Suddenly you felt a rush of air around you, did someone leave a window open?

But when you're about to stand up and check the windows, you've a blanket on you and Peter is looking at you with a frown on his face. “Next time tell me when you're cold 'cause I'm not the professor to read your mind” You feel your cheeks hot, embarrassed, “I just don't want you to get sick...” He mumbles, avoiding your eyes and missing the way your heart is beating faster at his words.

And feeling bold, you put your legs on top of his, this was very normal between you so he didn't flinch, but he did it when he felt your head on his shoulder, it felt... intimate. Your hair was brushing his neck and he wanted so bad to run his fingers through it.

But he was a little uncomfortable in this position, his arms were glued to his body, feeling the half of your body on one of his arms, it wasn't heavy but it wasn't comfortable either. So the only solution he came with, was to put his arm around you, resting it on your waist, sending chills on your spine.

Now it was comfortable, it was perfect. The way your bodies fitted so well made him think, why the hell we didn't this before?

“Peter” The way his name comes out of your mouth, it makes him go crazy, it's a feeling he'll never get tired of. Only if you knew you've him wrapped around your finger, you'll be together by now.

“Hmm?” He can't find his voice due your presence. You lifted your head a little to match his eyes. You're very close, so close that if he leans down his head like he's doing right now and if you stretch your neck like your doing now your lips would finally connect, he's getting closer and you can't wait any longer, you can feel it in the air, he want's this too, he wants you and—

“What are we watching?” Scott fucking Summers jumps from behind the couch sitting between you and Peter.

You sighs defeated, this was your karma for laughing at the kid who tripped in the fountain at the mall earlier?

“We're gonna watch the tape of your death” Scott frowned confused, “I've never heard of that movie before” The bowl of popcorn was stole it from your hands and he was ignoring Peter's angry glare.

“You're about to presence it” Scott dropped the bowl and ran off the stairs, running away from Peter who was chasing him without using his powers, the two of them running like childs, so yeah, this was your karma after all.

The second time

You're in Peter's room waiting for him, reading one of the comics he had lent you when you heard the door opens, finally, you thought.

“Hey you waited too much for me?” And there he was, his sweet smile that always seemed reserved just for you. Sweating was covering his face and a few scratches here and there. He was in a short mission and by the look in his face it wasn't that easy but nothing he couldn't handle. Peter had told you before “if i don't get some bruises, i'm a real hero?” of course you prefer it when he didn't hurted himself but you've had already that discussion with him about what makes you a hero and what doesn't but neither of you backed down so it was a tie, for now.

“I would wait for you all my life” It was cheesy but it was also true.

Making him blush wasn't easy but when it happens oh, you enjoyed the view. Before you can make fun of him, he speaks, “I'm gonna take a quick shower and then we can go to play games so get ready 'cause i'm gonna kick your ass” He stepped into the bathroom while you're standing outside so he can hear you.

You chuckled “Just like the last time when we played Ms pac-man and i broke your record? That's how you kick asses? No wonder why you suck at self defense”

“HEY” Even if you didn't seen him you're sure he was smiling just like you.

You waited a few minutes and he's done. He walks out of the bathroom with his new clothes on, the towel around his neck and a very wet hair.

“Why you never dry your hair?” And before he had the chance to respond, you took the towel around his neck, your arms stretching to his hair since he was a few centimeters taller than you.

Your moves were gently, soft and relaxing, no one has take care of him like you do. All of you were close to him, your body, your face, your lips.

“Stop moving Peter” If it wasn't for your warning, he wouldn't notice he has leaned into your arms thanks to the comfort you offer him, that's the effect you have on him and you don't seem to realize it.

He was staring at you, intensely, like memorizing every part of your face and you could feel it, his gaze was like fire and you could feel the burn on your cheeks. “So uhmm... can i wear one of your jackets? I could wear one of mines but yours are cozier” His eyes widened. His thoughts immediately picturing you with his jacket, and his heart jumps excitedly, a shy smile crossing his face.

But imagining you with his clothes, how they would look bigger in you, how his clothes would smell like you and how everybody would know you are his, fuck, fuck, fuck, why his pants suddenly feel tighter?

“Pete? Are you okay?” Your voice brings him back, realizing you're still holding the towel around his head, fuck fuck fuck, you're gonna find out about... his situation.

Thinking fast he took the towel from your hands and throw it at your face, not giving you a chance to ask him what's going on, he ran out of the mansion like his life depends on it.

“Isn't enough that she owns my heart but now she owns my.. head too?”

And when it finally happens

The next day after Peter throw you the towel, which wasn't very nice of him but it wasn't new coming from him, you had the strange feeling he was ignoring you.

Every time you walked at the same room as him, he would say some lame excuse and would be off before you can even blink. Also, he wasn't answering your calls or texts.

So you made your mission to trap Peter and asked him why the hell he was ignoring you.

“Oh no Scott, you ruined Peter's comic” Faking Jean voice wasn't so hard. Peter didn't come to the kitchen as you expected, so you tried one more time, “Oh my god, it was a limited edition—”

“You better run for your—” As soon as you heard his voice, you closed the door, using your body as a wall so he would need to face you to walk off.

“Gotcha”

Both of you knew he could easily ran and you wouldn't notice, but you got the feeling he wouldn't do it, again.

Peter's face was pale and surprised for falling so easily at your trap.

“Care to explain why you've been ignoring me?” He stayed silent and still, thinking in a way to get out.

“Did i say or did something to bother you?” Peter wasn't listening you, you sighed, “If you don't want me in your life anymore, at least have to guts to say it to my face” Your voice cracked, even when you tried to act though.

At the mention of you not being in his life, he finally looked at you, your fragile figure breaking his heart, he couldn't bare the thought of a life without you, what if you don't feel the same?

but what if she does?

“Goodbye, Peter” His head snapped. It was or never.

“I like you! That's why I've been acting weird, cause i don't wanna lose you” Your eyes widened, what did he say? “I know you might not feel the same but i can't hide it anymore” Shit, did he say he likes you? “B-But I understand if you don't want be friends after this and—”

Now you surprised him with how quickly you were standing in front of him. Grabbing him by his jacket, you pulled him close to you. “I can't believe you don't know i like your stupid, oblivious ass” You tiptoe to finally feel his lips against yours, “Are we about to kiss right now?” You groaned but a smile made his way on your face, “You're not serious” And before he can say something to ruin the moment, you cut him off with a kiss. A kiss full of sincere love, full of hope for a future where you are together and hopefully, he can feel how much you like him.

Unfortunately, none of you have some kind of breath power, so you have to break the kiss.

“So does this mean you feel the same or...?” “Oh my god”

[relaxxattack]

you are so very homestuck knowledgeable. when you have the time and should inspiration strike, please tell all your headcanons about oliveblood trolls.

ooo what a great question! for this one i think first we'd need to break down current stereotypes about olivebloods. there's actually not much that we're given about them tbh

according to the homestuck wiki, which is based on info from both the comic and more dubiously canon things like friendsim and hiveswap, the olive caste's two singular traits seem to be "wild animal" and "romance liker". both of these, obviously, are traits pulled from our wonderful main girl nepeta, who was the singular representation of the olive caste for a long time; alongside her dancestors. which is quite cute, who doesn't love nepeta?

the thing is though that i am one of those nitpicky people who likes to say, "well, hey now, nepeta isn't actually representative of her caste at ALL." in fact, none of the beta trolls are. i honestly feel like it should be assumed that just like the beta kids, the beta trolls are weirdos, and not really the 'norm' in their society.

nepeta lives out in the wilderness very specifically away from society in a way that is remarked on as being unusual even for someone of her color; and she does not even understand what role her caste would have given her in normal society. and i mean... considering aradia tavros and sollux are LOWER than nepeta, it doesn't really make sense for them all to have nicer houses than her unless she's unusual in her situation.

^ nepeta is in fact NOT a good representation of olivebloods.

which means... no, i don't think all olive trolls are romance obsessed wilderness girls, actually, sorry, hiveswap friendsim, i have to shelve you from my alternia analysis for now.

luckily, there ARE other olivebloods in the series!

first of all, the other leijons. unfortunately, none of them are really "good" examples either. meulin is from an entirely different planet, and disciple is from an ancient history perhaps even less representative of "normal" life than nepeta is. all we really get from them is stuff we already knew from nepeta-- the wildness, the relationship interest. with an added fact that both meulins seem to be somewhat bookish.

and so who does that bring us to? the final canonical oliveblood.

that's right.

troll will smith.

troll will smith is canonically an oliveblood. not only that, but he's a famous actor, which means he is basically a "model" for society- for what it looks like once you "have it all made". i would imagine this goes even more for alternia, supposedly a very movie-geared society.

the two troll will smith features that canonically exist on alternia are Fresh Prince and Hitch. in both of these films, will smith plays a character that is self-made and clever, a regular guy who is just skilled. it should also be noted that while a "threshecutioner" is a job with a heavy blueblood populous, greenbloods can also be one, and it's common enough that a show about it wasn't cut by the alternian dictatorship.

so therefore, what traits can we pull that all of these olivebloods (and equius lol) display to us?

olive trolls are lower class, but they're capable of working up through their connections

likely due to this, olive trolls are often clever and self made. they're likely quick-witted and sharp

they're good at their jobs! most olive trolls that are seen in the comic are very good with their respective practices (be it drawing, writing, bookkeeping, or melee fighting)

it's possible that olive trolls have a good intuition, and are fairly in touch with their own instincts. this would explain why some of them seem to fare better in the wild or in fights, and also why they are stereotyped as having a natural inclination for relationships. i think this is also a good transition ground between the impressive physical psionics of the castes lower than olive, and the emotional/mental psionics of the highbloods above them.

so, there we go. these are my olive headcanons! they're not comfortably well off or anything, but they're not wild animals either-- they're hard workers and skilled at what they put their minds to. probably usually working a nine to five and doing their best in life hoping to move up with a good quadrant or promotion. at least, in my headcanon anyway- no need to take this as fact!

[sen-ya]

Life After Info Post

[Click here to access the Life After Digital Comic Book]

Summary: Two years ago, a viral outbreak rose the dead. Considering how his life had gone up to this point, surgeon Trafalgar Law figured this might as well happen too. When a supply run into the nearby city gets intercepted by a seemingly reckless and impulsive former patient, the dependable routine Law had settled into in this new life shatters. He finds himself exposed — his body out in the infected landscape, his conscious clawing to define what he believes is right, his heart begrudgingly deciding to find a new home on his sleeve. Maybe there’s more than a virus roaming the new world that can bring a dead man back to life.

Content Warnings: Canon typical violence, zombies/body horror (but lbr I am not good at making scary things look scary)

Relationships: Luffy x Law

Update Schedule: New page every Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Page Count: [37 posted | 55 drawn]

Latest Update: [7/21/24] WOWEE did I get myself carried away this morning. I just spent 5 hours organizing my comics and creating the digital comic book pages. I could have spent that time drawing or idk not doing what I do for my job, but I cannot be stopped. Anyway I blocked out 30 pages of this comic last week and they include the most intense action sequence I've ever done in my gotdang life. Wish me luck because I am nervous about tying down all my drawings lmao.

OLD UPDATES:

[6/29/24] HULLO! I'm doing so bad at keeping my masterposts updated lately I am sorry. All pages of life after are tagged life after if you're ever looking between masterpost updates! Also exciting update, I finally have figured out all the different plot points i'm gonna be hitting (yay!). I got hung up on something for awhile that made me not wanna work on this project, but I'm back at it. I think we'll end up with 6-7 parts! I have probably another 80-100 pages to draw lol. Also i got the app Magic Poser and it's AWESOME and I immediately used it to block out sets cuz MAN I hate backgrounds.

[6/10/24] HELLO. I'm sorry I've been shit at updating my masterposts lately. It's easiest to do from my computer, which I rarely use, and life has been happening. I also can't believe I bungled the queue and posted pg19 before pg18 i am very sorry 🤦 Eventually I'll have to turn this into an airtable base I'm sure, but until that day comes where I have like 100 pages of this comic we're stickin to the regular post lmao

[5/26/23] I got real caught up in doing summer of lawlu comics this week and this is the first week since the first week of April I haven't drawn new Life After pages and it feels weird 🙊

[5/19/24] More Luffy backstory comin' this week! :^)

[5/12/24] Updating now so get myself on schedule to update on Sundays like I had been with my other comic master post!

[5/8/24] Thank you to everyone who's liked/reblogged/comment on the first few pages!! It means the world to me that anyone's reading my silly little comics.

[4/28/24] HULLO. It’s happeninnng. I’ve spent the last few weeks working on this comic, and I gotta make this post so I can start queuing pages & link this in them! This is the most like….legit? Comic endeavor I’ve undertaken perhaps….ever. I’m very nervous about committing to how long it will need to be lol. This story is dear to my heart — zombie content is kind of my very favorite. I’ve always found it to be a great backdrop for exploring themes like grief, coping with change, community, and learning to live again. It’ll be a long haul but I hope you’ll ride it out with me!! Tomorrow I’ll be posting the first two pages. After that a page will post every Monday/Wednesday/Friday. As of this post I’ve completed over 20 pages so that I have a good lead on what’s posting and continuing to write, so I’m hopeful that’s a cadence I’ll be able to maintain. I’ll update this post weekly to include the most recent pages the way I do with my main comics master post. All pages will be tagged 'Life After' and I'll tag any pages with zombies in them with 'zombie' for blacklisting etc.

[woso-dreamzzz]

Nena

Barcelona Femení x Child!Reader

Summary: Your sister takes you to work

"They are cool, si?"

You stomped your foot, watching as the bottom of your shoe lit up. You nodded. "Si." You stomped your foot again. "Cool."

Mapi beamed at you. She thought you looked super cool in your new light-up shoes and Barcelona jersey. A toy cat that looked suspiciously like Bagheera was clutched in your hand and you sucked in the ear almost absentmindedly.

"Hey," Came a soft voice from the bedroom," I thought we agreed on your normal shoes, elskling?"

"Pretty shoes." You pointed at the new light-up ones Mapi had given you, stamping for a third time to show Ingrid what you were talking about.

She gave Mapi a pointed look. "I told you not to buy those for her."

Mapi didn't even try to look apologetic. "They were cute. She is cute. It made sense."

"They're not broken in," Ingrid replied, busying herself with zipping up your jacket and sorting out the lopsided ponytail that Mapi had pulled your hair into. "Her feet will hurt later."

"She can take them off. We're on the pitch for most of the day. It's no big deal."

Ingrid rolled her eyes before lightly pinching your cheek. "Come on, elskling." She placed some comically large sunglasses on your face. "Let's get going."

●～●～●～●～

It hadn't exactly been planned - your long-term visit to Barcelona - but your parents had somehow won a cruise for two people that was non-refundable.

They had anguished over it for hours, looking to see if anyone could look after you but all your immediate family were too busy or unsuited to look after such a young child.

The answer came, however, in the form of your older sister - who routinely phoned home every other day and listened to your mother complaining about there being no one to watch you.

Ingrid had agreed instantly.

She didn't see you often - with her being in Spain all the time - and you were at the age that everything she did or said was exciting and interesting.

So, she flew out to Norway to get you and flew back out to Spain hours later.

Your first day in Spain was fun. Ingrid's girlfriend took you out shopping and to eat nice food and she even got you your special new light-up shoes.

"Elskling," Ingrid warned when she felt you kick the back of her seat again," Stop it."

"Makin' 'em pretty," You protested but she fixed you a stern look and passed over some goldfish crackers to keep you occupied on the drive to her work.

Ingrid's Mapi shoved a cap onto your head, moving it to cover your eyes before you were hoisted up into her arms.

You giggled. "Mapi!"

"Huh? What?" She teased," Did something happen?" She pushed your cap down again.

More laughter bubbled out of you. "Mapi!"

She laughed with you, enjoying the way you rested easily into her as Ingrid followed closely behind, digging through your backpack for sunscreen.

When you all finally make it into the locker room, it was mostly empty save for a few people who are talking amongst themselves.

Ingrid snatched you from Mapi's arms and smothered your face in sunscreen.

You puffed out your cheeks in annoyance but Ingrid continued rubbing in the icky cream. "Ingrid!" You squealed when she poked your cheek before laying kisses upon it in apology.

"Sorry, elskling but mamma won't be happy with me if you come home all burnt," Ingrid said as you tried to wipe it away.

You huffed in annoyance and tried to peer around her to have a look at this new room. She blocked your eyeline with her body though, changing into her training top before pulling you out of the child-sized Maria Leon jersey Mapi had scrounged up the moment she heard you were visiting.

A more appropriate t-shirt was thrown over your head as Ingrid sat you down in her cubby. "Are you sure you don't want to wear your normal shoes, elskling?" She asked, waving your regular pair in front of your face.

You shook your head stubbornly when you noticed Mapi making faces at you from behind Ingrid's back. "Want these."

Ingrid sighed but let you keep them on.

"Who's this?"

Two girls appeared over Ingrid's shoulder with Mapi, who grinned excitedly and patted your head proudly.

"y/n," She said," She's Ingrid's hermanita. y/n, this is Lucy and Keira, they are from England."

"Hi," You chirped.

The taller girl grinned at you, crouching to your level. "Hi, y/n. It's nice to meet you. How old are you?"

You held up the right amount of fingers on your hand as you smiled back at her.

"Wow," Lucy said," That's so old. You're a big girl, huh? Kei, I didn't know we were going to be in the presence of such a big girl. Did you?"

"No idea," Keira replied. She smiled at you, seemingly more reserved than her counterpart as she waved before being caught in a conversation with someone nearby.

Lucy entertained you for several more minutes, asking you simple questions that you could recognise in English. She seemed just as excited about your light-up shoes as you and Mapi.

"Alright, elskling," Your sister said as she returned to your side," Let's get going."

She offered you her hand to take but you ignored it, wiggling your way between Mapi and Keira, taking the Englishwoman's hand - much to her shock.

Keira reminded you a little of your sister just like how Lucy reminded you of Mapi. You swung your joined hands together with a wide grin as Keira walked you out to where she and the others were working.

You didn't fully understand Ingrid's job like you understood everyone else's in your family. You knew Mamma and Papa did stuff with their computers and paper that was so important you weren't allowed to touch them but all Ingrid seemed to do was run around with her friends and her Mapi.

Regardless, you much preferred going to work with Ingrid than going to work with Mamma and Papa.

Lots of other girls were on the field that Keira led you onto and you tucked yourself into her side firmly as Ingrid's hand came to hold onto your shoulder.

"Thank you, Keira," She said," But I've got her."

Keira released your hand and you were up on Ingrid's hip a moment later. Mamma and Papa had stopped picking you up like this a while ago but Ingrid had refused, citing that you would always be little enough for her to do this to you.

You flopped into Ingrid's shoulder as she brought you over to the rest of the group. She had placed those silly sunglasses on your face again so none of these new people could see the way your eyes darted nervously from side to side as you took them all in.

They were all trying to make their looks subtle but even at your age, you could tell what they were doing.

An official-looking man was talking so you took the time to inspect everyone. You vaguely recognised them, from when Mamma and Papa watched Ingrid work on the tv but you didn't really know many of their names.

But the two people that you did recognise both gave you a smile.

Ingrid carted you away to a shady area just off the pitch and set you up with a colouring book and some crayons. She pressed a kiss to your crown, smoothing down your flyaways before telling you to come and get her if you needed to.

You weren't alone for long though because Caro and Frido joined you almost as soon as Ingrid disappeared. You smiled at both of them.

Frido was Ingrid's best friend and often times came home with your sister. Whenever she visited, she made sure to take you to get ice cream and crepes.

You knew Caroline too. She played with Norway with Ingrid when they weren't playing in Spain. You had met her several years ago now, when you were much littler and Ingrid had decided that she would show her baby sister off to anyone who would stick around to listen.

"Hi, y/n," Caro said softly.

You looked up from your colouring sheet, beaming. "Hi!" You got to your feet and hugged her legs.

"What?" Frido said in faux annoyance," No hug for me? For shame, y/n."

You giggled. "Silly, Frido," You said," You get hugs too."

She looked delighted when you finally hugged her, picking you up and shaking you around for a moment before you were placed back onto the ground with your colouring page again.

"Caro, Frido," A girl approached," Jona told you to get a move on. You can see the nena later." Her English didn't sound like yours, Ingrid and Caro's or even like Frido's. She sounded a lot more like Mapi.

You tilted your head to the side, trying to place her face with the one that you had seen on the tv before.

"This is not any nena, Marta," Frido chastised with a smile," This is Ingrid's little sister. Get used to her face. She'll be playing for Barca when she's older, I'm sure of it."

The new girl - Marta - laughed and exchanged a look with Caro, who nodded seriously. She crouched down to greet you like Lucy did earlier. She reached out a hand that you took - Papa had always told you that a good, strong handshake was how you made a good impression.

"Well, then," She said in her Mapi-accented English," I suppose I should greet my future teammate. I am Marta Torrejón. And You?"

"y/n Engen," You replied because Mamma had also told you to always introduce yourself.

Marta smiled at you. "It's nice to meet you. I'll be sure to get to know you later, if you're going to play for Barca like your sister."

She dragged Frido and Caro with her back to where the rest of the girls were playing around with balls and cones.

You turned back to your colouring page - a cat that you scrawled black all over to look like Bagheera. When you were satisfied, you pulled out another page and started colouring again.

Sometimes, you would look up to see if Ingrid and Mapi were okay (being around so many people was overwhelming sometimes and you needed to be sure they were coping alright) and you would see a new girl hovering nearby.

None of them ever approached - bar Frido and Caro who would come over on orders from Ingrid to remind you to drink - but you could tell they were hovering.

Your tummy grumbled after a while and you huffed in annoyance. You were in the middle of colouring another kitten picture, this one to mimic the kitty you had back home.

Ingrid, of course, had thought ahead and another packet of goldfish crackers had been tucked into the pocket of your backpack.

You dug it out with a vengeance but couldn't quite get the package open. You looked to each side. Your sister and her girlfriend were on the opposite side of the pitch, very far away and you couldn't see Frido or Caro nearby either.

Three sets of girls in the same tops as Ingrid and Mapi were near though, taking a water break.

You rose to your feet, your special new shoes lighting up as you took nervous steps towards the girls. You tugged on the closest one's shorts.

She looked like she had jumped out of her skin when she noticed you, mouth hanging open in shock.

You presented her with your dilemma. "Please."

She took the packet from you but didn't move to open it, instead looking over at the other two girls in wild confusion. She then looked at you like you were one of those dangerous exploding bombs you had seen on one of Papa's tv shows.

"Er..."

"Please," You said again, staring up at her with wide eyes.

She stared down at you with similarly wide eyes.

Both of the older women laughed and one of them took the packet from the younger girl. "She wants you to open them, Esmee," She said," My Mateo does the same thing."

She passed you the now open package and smiled. "You are Ingrid's hermanita, si?"

"Si." You replied with a nod, cramming as many goldfish into your mouth as you could.

The other woman laughed. "Careful, nena," She warned," Slow down or you will choke."

"Will not," You insisted but did slow down your eating.

The first older woman kneeled down to you level and adjusted your hat. "You're a bit older than my Mateo. How old are you, nena?"

You held up the same number of fingers as you did with Lucy and all three girls suitably cooed over you - although the younger girl, Esmee, still seemed a little wary.

Mateo's Mamma, Irene, made sure your hat blocked the sun properly without covering your eyes while her friend, Sandra, let you drink from her bottle when you told them you had run out.

"Come with me," She said," It's cooler where I am. Esmee, grab her stuff and let Ingrid or Mapi know that the nena is with me."

She led you over to where she and the other keepers were working. Sandra was right, it was shadier where she was working and her friends Cata and Gemma suitably oohed and awwed over your colouring pages enough that you made all three of them pictures to take home with them.

●～●～●～●～

Ingrid came to collect you from Sandra a little while later. She put the back of her hand to your forehead and hummed. "We will get you out of the sun, elskling," She declared," It is lunchtime. Are you hungry?"

"Ja."

She laughed at your determined expression and passed your bag off to Mapi, who had tried to grab you.

Lunch was buffet style, Mapi told you. You weren't quite sure what that meant but your sister explained that it was like when you had barbeques at home and you just took what you wanted and left what you didn't.

You remained on Ingrid's hip for the trip to the food line when she put you down and made you hold her hand.

A lot of people were in the same room so you were glad that your sister didn't make you let go of her.

"When Mapi told me your sister was in town, I pictured someone older," A girl who had been playing with Ingrid earlier said," Not a nena this young."

You smiled up at her. "I'm a mistake," You said proudly.

Ingrid sighed loudly as the new girl - who introduced herself as Mariona, along with the girl behind her, Salma - laughed. "Sorry," Ingrid said, shuffling you closer into her legs," Our aunt teased our Momma about it once and we didn't realise she was eavesdropping until she started repeating."

The other girl, Salma, laughed as well. She held her fist out for a fist bump that you gladly gave. "I was an accident too," She said before taking your plate from Ingrid.

Between her and Mariona, your plate was stacked high with the tastiest things that Ingrid complained about.

She dragged you away from them when they tried to convince you that tying Mapi's laces together would be the height of comedy.

You were quickly sat between your sister and her girlfriend at a full table. Spanish chatter surrounded you but you were focused on devouring your meal.

"That is a lot of food."

Ingrid groaned at the words. "Salma and Mariona wouldn't stop. Elskling, wouldn't let me choose for her."

"She won't be able to eat all of that."

"You're welcome to take some if she lets you."

The person your sister was talking to gently tapped your hand for your attention.

"Elskling," Your sister said," This is Asisat. She had a question for you."

You tilted your head to the side. "Hi."

"Hello, y/n. Do you mind if I have some of your food, please? I'm just so hungry."

You studied her for a moment before you pushed your plate towards her. "Okay," You said," Because you said please. Papa says manners are important."

A collective group of squeals rang out from the other side of the table at your words so you fixed the group with a confused look.

"Your sister is cute, Ingrid," One of them said, waving at you.

"Elskling, Ona said you were cute," Ingrid said in Norwegian," What do you say?"

"Thank you," You replied dutifully which only led to the other two girls squealing again.

"You speak good English," Another said - Jana, you would come to know.

"Thank you."

"And your hat suits you," Bruna said next.

"Thank you."

"Ah!" Mapi chastised, swatting the three of them in turn," She's not a performing monkey. Leave her alone."

The three of them wilted and you frowned. They looked a little sad and you didn't like that.

"Ingrid's Mapi got me new shoes," You said suddenly when there was a lull in your sister and Asisat's conversation," They light up when I stamp. It's cool." To prove your point, you ducked under the table and reappeared between Ona and Bruna's seats, stamping your shoes to make the colours light up. "It is so cool, yes?"

"So cool."

●～●～●～●～

Frido stole you from Ingrid with little fanfare when you followed your sister to her gym session.

"Take the bag, Frido!" Ingrid called after her.

Frido ignored her as you rode on her shoulders into the gym. "I should use you as my weights today," She joked, poking your tummy when your top rose up.

"No!" You laughed.

"No?" She teased," Are you sure? I think you'll make a great weight for me."

"No!" You said again as she tickled you. "Nei, Frido! Nei!"

"Alright." She placed you on your feet again and ruffled your hair.

"Frido," A new voice said," Ingrid told me to give you this, for the nena."

Frido took your backpack with an exaggerated groan that had you in peals of laughter. "y/n, this is Aitana. She's a friend of your sister's."

You looked up at Aitana. She looked cool in a different way to Mapi's coolness but she was still pretty cool in your humble opinion. "Hi."

She smiled at you. "Hi, y/n. I have heard a lot about you from Ingrid and Mapi. It's nice to meet you finally."

"Hi," You said again because you weren't entirely sure what to say to that. You thought for a moment before you decided to test her coolness. "I have light-up shoes...from Ingrid's Mapi." You stamped your feet like you did at lunch.

"Wow," Aitana said in awe, cementing herself in your cool list," Those are so cool. I wish I had light-up shoes."

You nodded sagely. "They are the best."

"Light-up shoes?" Another voice said, a girl you knew to be Patri," I should have worn my light-up shoes today. We could have matched."

Mapi had told you about Patri before - how she was almost as cool as Mapi but not quite. With this knowledge, you patted Patri's leg almost patronisingly.

"It's okay. I can wear my light-up shoes tomorrow so you can wear yours too. So we can match."

Patri felt oddly touched at your words. "Thank you, nena."

You beamed. "I match with Ingrid when she comes home too. We have the same t-shirt and the same trousers. Mamma says Ingrid is silly to match with me because I'm so little but Ingrid doesn't care because she's super cool."

"Ingrid is super cool," Another voice said. Your head swivelled between the little group that amassed around you. This girl was shorter than the others but she had tattoos so was automatically super cool in your head because some of your most favourite people had tattoos as well.

"She is!" You got a bit excited at that. Not many people understand how super cool your older sister was so you were happy that someone other than you said it aloud.

"I like you," You declared firmly, holding out a hand for her to shake," Let's be friends. I'm y/n."

The girl shook your hand gladly. "I'm Claudia."

An exaggerated gasp sounded from behind you. "Are you replacing me with Pina, nena? Is she your new best friend?"

You escaped your little group and ran into the newcomer's arms immediately.

"Don't be silly," You said, patting her on the cheek," You're Tia Alexia, my most favourite."

"Very good, nena," She praised, laying a kiss to your crown.

"I was wondering when you would steal her," Mapi said as she approached," I'm surprised it took you so long."

Alexia flashed her a smile. "I though I would let everyone get to know my favourite nena before stealing her away. Want to hang out with me, y/n?"

"Ja!"

You spent the rest of the day, firmly attached to Alexia's side.

You met her the second to last time Mamma and Papa took you to visit Ingrid. They had gone out for the day to do touristy things while you stayed in with Ingrid, Mapi and Bagheera. Alexia had stopped by in a rush of busy activity and ended up staying well into the evening - helping you play all of Ingrid's board games and even putting together a puzzle before your bedtime.

The last time you visited Ingrid, she was there again and appeared almost every day of your stay until you finally relented to calling her Tia when she asked.

"No," Alexia said when the day was over and Ingrid came to collect you," This is my y/n. I'm taking her home with me." She bounced you up and down. "Wouldn't that be fun, nena? You come home with me and we'll have a sleepover!"

"With chicken nuggets?" You asked hopefully.

"Si! Of course!"

"Ale," Ingrid said with an eye roll," Come on, hand her over. Elskling, you can't sleep over at Alexia's house. You don't have any clothes to take."

You frowned at that. Ingrid was right - she usually was - but you were excellent at coming up with solutions to problems.

"Tia Alexia can come to our house!" You said," Because she can wear your clothes and she can sleep in my bed with me in the guest room!"

"Excellent plan!" Alexia complimented with a grin," She's right, Ingrid. Don't separate me from my nena so soon."

Ingrid rolled her eyes, already knowing she was fighting a losing battle when she saw Mapi giggling in the corner. "She's here all summer. You'll see her plenty. Besides, haven't you got to go home and feed Nala?"

Helpful as ever, you spoke up," We can go to Alexia's house to feed Nala and then come home for the sleepover. Please, Ingrid? Please, please, please?"

You batted your eyelashes at her and she sighed.

"You have to promise that you'll eat all your dinner," Ingrid said before winking," And that you'll make sure your Tia Alexia gives you big cuddles at bedtime."

Your eyes lit up with joy. "I can do that!"