#this game is also gonna make me learn how to draw facial hair

[warlordfelwinter]

trying to scribble my way out of artblock by not committing to anything

this game is going to make me learn how to draw dragons

[storytellering]

if it's okay, would you mind sharing your art process? your style is SO gorgeous dude. keep it up spardacest nation!!!

Thank you so much anon, and of course! I kinda posted about it on twitter a while ago, but for anyone not also on there, here's a paraphrasing of what I said there! (under a cut bc it's gonna get a bit long)

(speedpaint video from procreate mostly bc like I also said in that post, it's one of the few pieces I've done entirely on procreate and thus entirely recorded kdfjhdk I usually don't do the sketching + painting parts on there but every now and then I get lazy and want to get it all done quick in one program lol! It's not as good as it would look if I were using krita to render (which is what I normally use) but it gets the idea across decently of what it is that I do)

The short version of my process is: sketch, clean up sketch for lineart, then flat colors, then paint over the flats (i make the flats my shadows and paint on the light), then a multiply layer for skin details (like lips, eyebags, etc), then an overlay layer for skin transparency details (red over the ears/nose/fingertips etc), then i do hair over the lineart, then a multiply layer with the contact shadows in a light beige/grey/neutral tone on top of everything else, and then i unify layers, paint over the details, and color correct the HELL out of it The longer version is: SO, first of all, I will say, my entire process for a finished/fully redered piece is pretty scattered and uses a lot of different apps, because after many years of trying out different drawing apps I found that I just worked better when I could incorporate the parts I liked best from each individual one rather than having to adapt to another app entirely! In total, what I use is: autodesk sketchbook and procreate for the first half I do on my ipad, then krita and photoshop on my computer when I'm actually rendering (but any photo editing app instead of ps will do, I'm just used to photoshop bc that's what I learned as my first drawing app WAAAY back in the day lol), and then meitu on my phone for color filters (also any phone editing app with filters in it will do), AND also optional just for references: blender and daz3d on computer + magicposer on my phone The actual step by step of what I do: First of all, if I want to do a detailed, well rendered piece I will start by getting my references ready. That means either just grabbing a screenshot from the game if it's like, a simple portrait, or a photo reference, taking a picture of myself in the right pose/lighting, and if it's something more complex I will recreate the scene in Daz3D to simulate a realistic lighting, OR even just blender (i have the game models for the dmc characters downloaded, so I can just pop them in, pose them and change the lighting to get a realistic idea of what shadows their faces will cast in that specific angle/lighting.) Note: references are pretty essential to me, and there's nothing to be ashamed about for using them! Personally I don't struggle a lot with the drawing/sketching part of art, but my tiny little pea brain cannot fathom how to make an object 3D in my mind, and how to visualize shadows realistically... thus the reliance on 3D programs to do that for me, and then all I have to do is draw what I'm seeing lol. My art improved significantly ever since I started making 3D refs so I could get /exactly/ what I needed - there's still a lot of leeway you need to learn though, because as realistic as the lighting will be in a rendering program, you'll never really get a fully natural looking image, as far as stuff like the body stretching/squishing/pulling when it's in movement, facial expressions, folds in clothing/fabric, etc... so really it's more a guide than something meant to be followed 1:1.

Then, once I'm confident I know exactly what I'm gonna draw/have the idea in my head, I start sketching it in sketchbook. Not really getting very in depth, just blocking out rough shapes - I like sketchbook and to be on my ipad for that because it feels very reminiscent of traditional sketching on paper to me, which while I'm not super confident on my traditional art abilities, I do get the most natural/fluid/non-stiff figures out that way. Then when I think I have the general idea ready, I export the sketch layer as a png and import it into procreate - which is where I kinda start picking at the sketch and polishing it like i'm carving it out haha. Lots of liquify tool, flipping the canvas to check if it's even, blending out some of the lineart to help out with the rendering later, and then polishing up what was once the sketch into serviceable lineart. I usually reimport it back into sketchbook at this stage - while I like procreate for drawing I don't love the brushes I can use for lineart there, and so I usually only draw the "base" naked figure in there - when I'm in sketchbook I use a hard pencil to refine the details, then on a separate layer add all the things "on top" like hair, clothing, etc - usually I can get it pretty easily in one go, and once I'm satisfied I erase the naked body under the clothes and unify the lineart layers. Then I will just do the flats with a hard brush, turning the lineart layer into an overlay layer and coloring things in with the shadow colors. At this point, I export the file as a psd and import it on my computer - I give it a once over in photoshop first to see if there needs to be any adjusting (like whether any layer that has an effect needs to have a different effect, if all the colors look right since the ipad screen isn't the most faithful, if i wanna change the background color, etc), and once I think it's ready enough, I open it up in krita, where I do the actual bulk of the painting/rendering (as to why specifically krita: it's because I've gotten very comfortable with the brush/painting brush dynamics there and cannot seem to get as good results anywhere else, it's just the goldilocks spot of a brush for me haha.) If anyone's curious, here's the brushes I usually use for painting:

The one in the middle is my go to painting brush, left one for tinier/more refined details, right one for blending out soft shadows (though I learned the hard way to not overuse it, or it will look like I went ham with an airbrush tool lol). (I don't change any of the settings on these brushes, so if you wanna try out the exact ones I use! Just fresh off how they come out the app haha) I paint on the lights on top of the shadows, and just focus on that for the time being - once I'm done with the basic painting, I'll make a separate multiply layer for details like lip color, eye waterlines, makeup if there is any, eyebags, etc, and then adjust the opacity until it feels right - then I'll make an overlay layer with skin translucency details (like, when you hold your hands in front of a light and see the tips of your fingers become bright orange - many parts of your body are always a bit translucent to the blood underneath, specifically parts where the skin is thin like noses, cheeks, joints, knuckles, etc, and I found it makes the character look a lot more alive to add that subtle coloring in) - then usually I do hair on a separate layer on top of the lineart (because that way I can add small flyaways, more details, etc, and just use the lineart as a guide) After that, I'll usually make a multiply layer on top of everything where I'll add contact shadows in a neutral color (usually pretty pale, it'll be darker anyway since it's multiply), and once I feel like I've rendered everything out properly, I save the psd and re-open it on photoshop.

In photoshop, I'll mess around with the layers a little bit more (changing hue/saturation, opacity, etc), fuck around with the background to make it look pleasing, and once I'm happy with it, I'll unify the layers and start color correcting - usually by duplicating the unified layer and messing with the curve/hsl of the image and then changing the opacity of that edited layer until it's as strong or muted as I want it to be - then I also edit the RGB curves individually and adjust the opacity of that also (because I just really like how it ends up looking if I give a bit of a red/warm tint to the shadows lol), and at that point often I will reimport the finished image into procreate for some finalizing touches! Like, blending out shadows that came out too harshly, painting over anything that came out not the way I wanted it, redefining the lineart if it got messy during painting, and adding any extra small detail that might have gotten lost like catchlights, hair shines, hair flyaways, tears, etc. I also do one last round of flipping the canvas and liquify if needed! At this point, I export the finished image both to my computer and my phone - on my phone I open it up on the photo editing app, and add a bunch of different color filters - I don't hesitate from going completely balls to the walls here, and just kinda applying as many filters as will make an image look pleasing to my eye. Once I think it looks good, I'll export the edited image to my computer - and then open both the version without filters and the one with them on photoshop, and use the filtered version as an opacity layer, and adjust it until it doesn't look as crazy anymore lol. One last step I recently started incorporating was also changing the image to grayscale after I'm done, and doing one last round of curves in greyscale to make sure the values look right, and nothing is getting too lost because the values are too similar (because i know i get a bit swept up in getting repulsed by harsh contrasting lighting and can end up washing out all of rendering if I don't check myself kjdfgk) AND that's it! Yes it's a pretty long and chaotic process, but it's coming from years of trial and error and realizing I can just let myself fo whatever makes me happier with the results, and I don't have to stay constrained to one program if I don't like every tool it has to offer/don't have to accept the final image fresh off the painting app as the "finished" image with no adjustments allowed after, lol. I don't find it takes a lot more time than if I didn't do it this way, but YMMV. Hope this was helpful and sorry for taking so long to explain! I just wanted to give a thorough explanation dfhdkhkx

[mysteriawrites]

Your idol matchups look like fun. I'm gonna ask for one and see what you cook up, if that's ok.

Appearance-wise I am a 165 cm tall, average build, Bangladeshi woman (She/her but also cool with they/them). I have wavy black hair that just reaches below my shoulders and I usually dress in South Asian attire, usually salwar-kameez plus a hijab. I also wear glasses. I don't really feel comfortable going out without them 😅

My MBTI and enneagram: INTJ 5w4

Star sign: Sagittarius sun, Virgo moon and rising (I act more like a Virgo, allegedly)

Sexuality: demiromantic asexual (demisexual?)

Personality traits: Calm, collected, polite, quiet, shy (but that can easily be mistaken for being aloof or done with everyone's shit (they aren't entirely wrong about the latter)) (someone told me I radiate black cat energy), not very facially expressive (I'm the most emotional emotionless person I know. I do feel things more deeply than people give me credit for), a good listener, hardworking (I often bite off more than I can chew and end up burnt out), intelligent (especially with numbers. RIP impostor syndrome + gifted kid burnout syndrome. As much as I love my major, electrical engineering is kicking my ass). I am also the oldest of three sisters, so I'm good at handling kids (I'm also expected to be the perfect daughter, so... yea). Someone also told me I'm wise, but all that wisdom came from all the books I read + watching Avatar: The Last Airbender lmao. The same person also said my presence was therapeutic (paraphrasing, of course. Also, this is alleged). Cats and dogs seem to love me also. Dogs like to come up to me and say hello, and cats just seem to feel at ease around me.

Hobbies: Making art, making jewelry, reading, writing, animating (I'm relatively new to animation. I don't know what I'm doing most of the time, but I'm still having fun), basically anything creative. I especially like to draw and paint things that radiate a sense of comfort, nostalgia, and serenity. Someone also told me that my artworks also hold a sort of innocence in the composition of the shapes, colours, and overall vibe of what I draw/paint. I also make jewelry from time to time

Likes: Classical music, lofi hip-hop, indie rpgs (Yume Nikki and Off have me in a chokehold), visual novel games (coughs in Obey Me, Court of Darkness, Twisted Wonderland, Arcana Twilight, Ikemen Prince, and ofc, Tokyo Debunker), tea, books, creative outlets. I also like to learn psychology

Dislikes: Cruelty, anyone who would dare to threaten my family or friends, loud noises, red meat (The texture is too much for me to handle), bright lights. I also dislike strong smelling things and being in crowded, noisy and bright environments for prolonged periods of time

Favourite colours: Purple, blue, black

Favourite Aesthetic: academia

Favourite animal: Cat

One random fact about me: I made a Hetalia comic that was originally supposed to be a silly little volunteer project for my library, but it was showed on a display on flag day (It was about how Canada's flag came to be)

Hello thx for the request srry i didnt get to it as quickly as the first 3 hope you enjoy

Idol Name: Ithseem

Idol franchise: Aikatsu

Idol Type: Sexy (note: in idol anime sexy doesn’t necessarily mean sexual or revealing or explicit but just generally means mature and elegant)

How you became an idol: youve always been a creative person and into multiple art forms. The only one you had yet to really try was preforming arts. You were told it was frivolous and a waste of time. However when you saw your first aikatsu performance you know that the stage was you wanted to be. Using your skills you wrote your own songs and designed your own outfits. You applied to preform in the local square and blew away the crowd. You got offended a spot at a prestigious idol academy abroad. Everyone who had ever doubted you couldn’t help but be proud. Your friends, family, and rapidly growing fanbase sent you off on your new adventure with a heartfelt farewell.

Your brand: Bejeweled Heart (self made)

Your Choords:

Your songs:

An: im a hijabi wearer as well so this was so much fun choosing beautiful dresses for you.

P.s. im p sure u did a matchup for me before so u get some extra songs :)

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Hey! Here for the matchup trade for Tokyo Debunker :)

Appearance-wise I am a 165 cm tall, average build, Bangladeshi woman (She/her but also cool with they/them). I have wavy black hair that just reaches below my shoulders and I usually dress in South Asian attire, usually salwar-kameez plus a hijab. I also wear glasses. I don't really feel comfortable going out without them 😅

My MBTI and enneagram: INTJ 5w4

Star sign: Sagittarius sun, Virgo moon and rising (I act more like a Virgo, allegedly)

Sexuality: demiromantic asexual (demisexual?)

Personality traits: Calm, collected, polite, quiet, shy (but that can easily be mistaken for being aloof or done with everyone's shit (they aren't entirely wrong about the latter)) (someone told me I radiate black cat energy), not very facially expressive (I'm the most emotional emotionless person I know. I do feel things more deeply than people give me credit for), a good listener, hardworking (I often bite off more than I can chew and end up burnt out), intelligent (especially with numbers. RIP impostor syndrome + gifted kid burnout syndrome. As much as I love my major, electrical engineering is kicking my ass). I am also the oldest of three sisters, so I'm good at handling kids (I'm also expected to be the perfect daughter, so... yea). Someone also told me I'm wise, but all that wisdom came from all the books I read + watching Avatar: The Last Airbender lmao. The same person also said my presence was therapeutic (paraphrasing, of course. Also, this is alleged). Cats and dogs seem to love me also. Dogs like to come up to me and say hello, and cats just seem to feel at ease around me.

Hobbies: Making art, making jewelry, reading, writing, animating (I'm relatively new to animation. I don't know what I'm doing most of the time, but I'm still having fun), basically anything creative. I especially like to draw and paint things that radiate a sense of comfort, nostalgia, and serenity. Someone also told me that my artworks also hold a sort of innocence in the composition of the shapes, colours, and overall vibe of what I draw/paint. I also make jewelry from time to time

Likes: Classical music, lofi hip-hop, indie rpgs (Yume Nikki and Off have me in a chokehold), visual novel games (coughs in Obey Me, Court of Darkness, Twisted Wonderland, Arcana Twilight, Ikemen Prince, and ofc, Tokyo Debunker), tea, books, creative outlets. I also like to learn psychology

Dislikes: Cruelty, anyone who would dare to threaten my family or friends, loud noises, red meat (The texture is too much for me to handle), bright lights. I also dislike strong smelling things and being in crowded, noisy and bright environments for prolonged periods of time

What qualities do you look for in a partner? It may not look like it on the surface, but I'm a huge softie, I'd like anyone who I can feel safe talking to. They don't need to be perfect, I just need them to put effort into helping me with my emotional needs. I already do that a lot with others, so I'd like it if they turn the tables on me. I also would not tolerate it if my partner belittles me or if they're just mean or rude for no apparent reason.

My love languages include making art for them and spending quality time. Also acts of service.

How do you want to receive affection? As I stated before, I would like them to put effort into helping me with my emotional needs. I already do that a lot with others, so I'd like it if they turn the tables on me. I would also like physical touch and words of affirmation, but I can't guarantee I'll know how to react to that at first 🥲. It's gonna take some time for me to get used to it

I hope this is enough information. Thanks in advance

Hi! Thank you for proposing a matchup exchange, especially for Tokyo Debunker! It's great being able to write for such a new fandom. I hope you like your matchup!

In Tokyo Debunker, I match you with...

Without a doubt, Haru is your perfect matchup. He’s kind and is definitely someone who makes people feel like they’re in a safe space.

He’ll also put in all of his effort into helping with your emotional needs. I feel like he’s looking for someone who will do the same too so hopefully you can help him out there in your own unique way.

You’re both hardworking people who tend to get burnt out and that probably won’t change even when you’re together. But when you do both get burnt out, you can spend a day together resting and enjoying some quality time.

Please make art for him! Haru definitely gives off the vibes of someone who would hang his kid’s drawing on the fridge and it’s no different with you. Whether it’s a painting, a drawing, or a piece of jewellery, he’s going to display it somewhere everyone can see.

Haru will also be really good at giving you physical affection. He knows it’s going to take you a while to get used to it so he’ll start with small touches and only build up when he can see you’re feeling comfortable.

[erigold13261]

Anon who can’t draw here. Why do you think NSR and Psyconauts characters all look so queer(affectionate) and attractive? (Attractive as in top tier character design) i would like an opinion of an artist

Love you!

Well it all depends on the person looking I would say. Someone who is a bigot and likes these games would deny that any of them look queer. Others might say a character is horribly drawn if they aren't sexualized. And then some people sees a "bad" character design (one that seems to be universally hated) and still love it to bits.

However, I do think that a large portion of the eccentric-ism of each game, in both design form and storytelling form, is a huge factor of why "less normal" people like these games (so people who aren't cishet or neurotypical). Both games really play with shapes and colors along with darker topics (even if it's just implied). So already there will be a disproportionate amount of "not normal" people already in these fandom spaces.

That alone counts for a large portion of people seeing these characters as queer, which can affect the media as a whole as people who look up fanart/fic of these games are now seeing more queer headcanons or art that shows off things they didn't realize were subtly implied or referenced to in the game.

But also, with in-game reasons, I would say Psychonauts having a canonically gay couple does help make other characters look queer, or at least accepting of queerness (which helps people see those characters as some flavor of queer even if it's not fully implied or something). Then there's the fact that those games talk about mental illness, healing, getting support from your family, love, all things that a lot of queer and neurodivergent people want in media without it being made a joke or villainized. (Plus the added angst is something that really helps people connect and possibly project onto characters).

Similar reasons for NSR, where the game kinda promotes shipping in the sense of Sayu talking about love and May with 1010 (and all the retweets and shares from Metronomik being cool with ships) so already there will be people who ship queer relationships, which then get promoted by the game company, leading people to see this as a soft canon. And even though I think Eve is the only confirmed queer person (She's demisexual, but correct me if i'm wrong about the others being or not confirmed) there are still a lot of queer coding in these characters (one being Neon afraid to dance/not liking his body and wanting to make 1010 look more masculine, which can be seen as trans-coded, at least to me).

The story itself of NSR is also something that resonates with queer and neurodivergent people. It is about overcoming an oppressor, making amends with friends and family, learning how to communicate, dealing with mental illness as well. The story itself is a big factor of people liking this game, since gameplay can be lacking at times. The characters have depth but also allow for a LOT of manipulation in their story and behavior as they are not as fleshed out compared to like Psychonaut characters.

I am starting to lose focus. I probably have more to say about NSR but I'm gonna go into the design/visuals for now.

Design wise, the characters are unique. Psychonauts plays around with shapes really well, especially when constructing hair and facial proportions. And NSR, though a bit standard in how it presents bodies, still has unique silhouettes and character designs (especially with DJ and Mama), not to mention the colors are vibrant and not natural (psychonauts tries to stick in a more "realistic" color palette at least in the real world but still plays around with their colors).

So like, the attractiveness/top teir character design, comes from strong and unique proportions along with cohesive color design. Shape theory is also a really good thing that goes into character design. Like my favorite thing about NSR is how physically different Eve is, even though she is a human (supposedly) she is built differently to show how she feels like an outcast. And then you have characters like Helmut who, even though still fits in with the rest of the cast, is extremely big but still shows off how soft he can be instead of being intimidating with his size (also love the fact that he's probably the biggest extrovert and still has anxiety/panic attacks).

Even just the color of the characters is important. 1010 have super bright and saturated colors to them, but only one color each and black and white covers most of their body to give breathing room to their designs. As Sayu's phases progress, more and more colors appear, but all the colors are complimenting each other instead of fighting for dominance.

Looking just at Helmut, both mental world and character design. Lots of colors and shapes are being used, but nothing is fighting for dominance a lot of the time. You are still able to see where you need to go most of the time in the game, and Helmut's design has a breathing room for the eyes to rest on (such as the black of his coat and his face area).

So yeah, the combination of character design (visual and vocal) and the story really are the main contributing factors for a lot of these characters being well liked and either queer-coded or canonically queer. Hopefully this made sense, I basically just woke up so yeah lol.

[ummmmandy]

🌟answerin asks under the cut🌟

Gotten asked about adding facial hair to the picrew before, would try to make that happen. Would not add body types to any meiker retroactively, I'd rather make games with their own body types that fit all the clothing pieces, or things like Weekend at the Overlook that have clothes that can work for diff body shapes. Idk about adding any additional body types to the picrew, idk if it even has enough item slots available for me to do that, if it does it'd probably be something I'd look into

Uhhh yeah that sounds ok! I'm slightly hesitant to give an overarching "ok" to any edits but that doesn't sound like a big deal, and I appreciate that you asked

Maybe?? I have plans for the next 2-3 games so it'd be a bit further down the line, but that's something i'd consider!

Sure? I have a vague idea of what that is lol, but I mean, as long as you credit me/don't claim the art as ur own

Idk about making one, but I might add masculine options if/when I update it. atm I am way more into the idea of making a boy meiker instead of picrew

Ahh yeah, I think its just diff hairs have different sections that count as the front section and the back of section, so not all of them layer the same way. Didn't really think of earrings while drawing the hairs, but u live n learn lol, maybe I will look into getting those all to behave better later :P

Not skinny forever, gonna do other body types, thats the goal for the next thing I'm workin on 👍

Not a silly question! & yeah I think that one does have a real life reference, went and dug through my picrew stuff and found it, its "Alyssa Miller jacket for Understated Leather, $715 at Free People", if you wanted to track it down. That's an expensive jacket….you may have to actually kill for it. (also if this isn't the same jacket u were talking about send another ask and let me know, I just remembered the one with smile pockets and maybe you were talking about that one!)

I definitely have stuff like that! but I always just save things directly to my computer just cause I find that easier to organize and work with, BUT I have thought about making a pinterest board for each game and just throwing it all in there for people who wanna get into all that lol, Just have to set aside time to do it, and learn how to make pinterest boards 👀

[jt-artsandfics]

First time making an ask like this and I'm nervous... Could I get a bad batch match up?

I'm about 5ft6, female, bi, old enough to drink but I usually drink on weekends or on special occasions and always something sweet, hair is at bottom shoulder blade length, flat but after being out in the rain it's a curly mess, dirty blood (knowing my family's genetics it'll likely be brown in my mid twenties) grey blue eyes, round/soft facial features, best way I could describe my body is that it fits ancient Greek beauty standards.

I'm a certified huntress on small wild life, I prefer cold over warm weather any day, know my way around a gun like shotguns and rifles to be exact, love meat but also food in general and can make pretty alright food (still learning) I've learned how to sew, I draw and write when I'm listening to music, any music works for me although I'm really into Celtic and french pop, not a big fan of kids in general but if they are raised well I can vibe with that.

I'm a very physically affectionate person (yes covid has be driving my mad these past two years) not great with small talk, minor trust issues, nervous on doing new things, I can be a bit blunt at times when talking to someone, if you are going to ask my something I'm gonna be honest... Sometimes brutally, will call someone out on their bull shit in less than a heartbeat, will throw hands in a verbal debate, love cracking shitty puns, only person you should trust with a map (no I'm very much serious about that because I've yet to meet someone else who can actually navigate) if I got the money I will buy stuff for my loved ones, from my friends they say I'm loyal and caring but over protective at times.

I got 0 idea if this is enough or to much to work with for the match up but hopefully it's not.

Also hope you have a fantastic summer and keep up the good work!

You Celtic is awesome! Mind you I have alot of Irish family and alot go Celtic and Gaelic heritage, hunting is awesome! I wish I was able to do it but not much to hunt here other then wild dogs and occasional feral Pig.

We are still in winter atm but it's almost spring which is gonna kill me because allergies and

MAGPIE SEASON!!

I need to start feeding them again so I don't lose an eye or get swooped.

I match you with.... Crosshair

What's draws him to you is watching you shoot. It's no secret he has a bit of a crush on anyone who knows how to use a rifle.

Will even offer to go on hunts with you becuase it's his way of wanting to spend time with you.

Let's face it your still shorter then him and he uses it to his advantage every chance he gets. Resting his chin on your head, using you as an arm rest.

Of all the bad batch he's the biggest tease, and do not put it past him to play petty games. He likes winning doenst matter what it's at.

As much as he put up the hard ass persona he is actually quite a sweet guy when he wants to be, he just doesn't like showing it to much around his brothers.

He likes your brutal Honeslty and understands not liking small talk. Most of the time his way of showing affection is thought present and physical touch but only after he has been aroudn you for long enough.

Please call him out when he's being an asshole he will listen to you. He will grumble under his breath but he's not as grumpy or short tempted as he used to be.

He will roll his eyes at your jokes but inside he loves them and thinks they are smart and witty jokes and comments.

He's basically a grumpy cat who only lets you touch him. He's touch staved but isn't willing to say anything so he more so just nudges himself agaisnt you until you give him attention.

Learning to pick up the little signs from crosshair took a while but now it was easier to understand what he wanted. When he brushes his hand agaisnt yours, it means he wants you to be close or just in his view so he knows your safe.

A small tilt of his head towards an area means he wants you to follow him. And when he kisses you like no tomorrow it means he is content where he is. With you wrapped in his arms, his eyes focused only on you. It's the late night kisses and small interactions with him that make it all worth it. Curled up agaisnt each other laying in a hammock on a forest planet.

"We need to do this more often, find a random planet and just camp out. You look so at ease tonight" you whisper and press a soft kiss to his lips which make him let out a small huff. "I enjoy being close to you, but I wouldn't complain about doing this more often." He says lightly eyes now looking up towards the sky.

You smile lightly tracing your fingers down the side of his face, the soft star light reflect in his eyes before they block back to you. " What are you thinking about Cross?" You ask him moving to now lay agaisnt his chest with your elbows crossed as you rest agaisnt him.

"Thinking about what happens after the war, if we get our freedom to make our own lives. I'd settle down on a planet like this. A small farm with local fauna and make a big veritable garden" he says wirh a small smile crossing his lips as he explains where everything would be.

The smile on your face never seem to end as you watch him. "Id like that Cross, you would look good as a farmer" you say teasingly only for him to roll his eyes at you and pull you closer. " And you look amazing with a rifle in hand" he states before he presses another kiss to your lips.

"Alright sweet talker, let's get some sleep otherwise your gonna be unbearable tomorrow" you state and poke his nose wirh your finger. "Ruin the moment will you" he grumbles and pulls you into his side.

[narrators-journal]

The most dangerous game

I know I’ve been hella dead, but I return with my usual! Stano smut! I dunno why I adore writing these two so much, but I guess I’m attached, so yeah. Ya’ll get content.

CW: Predator/prey vibes, Xeno gets chased but there’s no real big acknowledgement of it.

It was likely because Xeno had developed a persistently wonky sleep schedule that he got so many night time jobs. That, he supposed, was why he was once again out at night hunting another Vampire, despite having told his boss of his run-in with a particularly pretty vampire. However, at the moment, Xeno somewhat wished he was dealing with Stan instead. At least with him he could rely on his need to flirt and toy with him to give him away. But no, the scientist wasn't hunting Stanley, but instead a completely different vampire who was proving his dislike for hunting the blood sucking monsters. Taking advantage of how dark the night was, the human's weaker vision, and whatever ninja techniques he had learned from the internet, the young vampire had hidden annoyingly well in the thick blanket of shadows and clutter on the streets. So, the white-haired college graduate was poking around at every rock and thicket of grass or bushes along the sidewalk before the boiling irritation in his veins got to be too much and he let out a mix of a groan and a scream like a tea pot. Stomping over to one of the few flickering street lights on the road, the hunter stood in the light and dug out his knife, then used it to slash at his stomach to fill the air with the alluring scent of fresh blood. With a pained hiss and the new wet feeling of blood dripping sluggishly down his pale skin, the trap was set, and all the hunter had to do was wait for the shallow cut to work its magic. Which, didn't take long. All Xeno had time to do was get one of his metal stakes from his pocket and extend it, then he was set upon by the vampiric ninja-wannabe. However, despite his skill at stealth, the vampire was young in both a human and vampire sense. Freshly turned at a young age, he'd become a problem because he had yet to grow out of his pubescent hormones quite yet, and giving him a predatory draw and increased strength had only encouraged him to turn hard into the bad boy persona. Sadly, being a new vampire wasn't all improvements. It also meant an increased hunger and little control of your newfound strength. Which is what had led the young man to be targetted by the monster hunter association, and swiftly wiped out by a stake through the throat via Xeno Wingfield. With a grunt, the monster hunter threw the freshly dead young man to the sidewalk, wincing at the burning and itching sting bending down to yank the stake from his throat brought to his stomach. For a moment or so, he felt bad for the creature. He'd been young, and he'd let his newfound powers obviously go to his head after a lifetime diet of anime and movies, the silver haired hunter could understand his over excitement, but he also had little to no patience for dumbasses who couldn't register that they weren't in Naruto. So, his sympathy was brief, and he was soon just dragging the young creature's corpse into some bushes and calling the cleaning crew to come collect him. Then. He spoke.           "God damn, Doll. You're quite attractive when you're being lethal." Stan hummed, hopping down from his hiding spot in a nearby tree and giving the hunter a charming smile that he refused to admit brought a little heat to his face.         "Oh, so you're just gonna become a full blown stalker now? Did you follow me from my house, or was this another 'coincidental' run-in." Xeno's words dripped with sarcasm and venom, but the vampire simply rolled his glacial blue eyes,          "Actually, I'm here because I smelled fresh blood," At the mention of fresh blood, the scientist glanced down at his work shirt, spotting the tiny stain of blood his cut had left,          "Oh." He inwardly winced at how disappointed he sounded, but tried to recover with a sniff, "I had trouble luring the bastard out. It was quite the shock for me to find out that not every vampire would want to chase me down and prowl around my house for the entire fucking night." Stan simply snorted, fishing out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one before he spoke again,          "Nah, that's just my thing, doll,"         "Quit calling me doll! You have my name now, fucking quit." The vampire put his hands up in mock surrender, though his smirk didn't falter under the scientist's withering glare. For a moment, they simply stood in the cool night's darkness, the hunter with his arms crossed and dark eyes narrowed, and the vampire returning his malicious look with his own nonchalant, half-lidded one while he breathed whispy smoke from his dark mouth. Both men seemed to dare the other to say something or do anything, each looking for an excuse to make some sort of contact until the smaller male spoke again,           "Are you expecting me to run away? Because I told you the first time we met, I'm not likely to do that," He huffed, but Stan simply shrugged,           "I'm just messing with ya, doesn't matter to me if you run or not." He grinned more at the lightning fast moment of irritation on Xeno's face, but the hunter schooled his facial features back into their usual disdain-filled glare, only broiling with frustration on the inside. He hated this man's relaxed demeanor. He was a monster hunter, the tall, hypnotically pretty predator should be avoiding him at all costs. Yet here he was, needling at him as if he couldn't end him just as quickly as he had the younger blood sucker. Okay, well, not as quickly. Stanley had a good four inches on the monster hunter at least, and had a body that had been frozen at the prime of his life, toned and pruned like an artfully shaped shrub through the years into a gorgeous, powerful example of why humans were the apex predators of the world. Or, well, they were, but with his change into the more monstrous his status as the perfect predator had only increased. Stan was perfectly built to hunt humans. Not only did he have a supernatural magnetic beauty to him, but he'd been human, so he knew how humans behave first hand. He was a nightmarish wet dream. Xeno gave his head a good shake to banish those thoughts from his mind when he realized he was looking the vampire over with the hunger of a sugar baby sizing up their next piggy bank.           "Hey, Xeno," Stan hummed, but the hunter refused to look back at the man, which he simply took as a greenlight to continue, "you wanna play our little game tonight?" The hunter snorted in response, staring off into the darkness while his cheeks cooled,           "I thought you were only here to bother me, not play a game of fucked up tag," He said calmly, only looked back at the man when he heard him walking closer, only stopping when he was about two feet away, maybe within reach, a grin on his pretty face,           "Well, I thought it'd be a bit more polite to offer that rather than just asking if I could drink your blood outright." he reasoned, amused at the edge of poutiness that he seemed to sniff out through the veil of aloof indifference the hunter spoke with.            "No thanks to either offer, I don't want to be chased tonight." Xeno sniffed in response, simply adding a thicker layer of ill temper to cover how excited he was at the thought of being pursued a second time. The first time had, admittedly, given him a thrill, but he wasn't ready to voice such to the annoying vampire in front of him. However, Stan seemed to have picked up on his kryptonite from that first round,              "But aren't you curious to see what happens when you add the scent of blood to the mix?" The purr in the man's voice annoyed Xeno immensely, but the thought of maybe learning just how sensitive vampire instincts were, and how quickly one would succumb to them. Obviously young vampires are more prone to being controlled by their need to feed, but Stanley isn't a new vampire, that curious voice mused, already setting Xeno on a very likely stupid and dangerous path, It'd be immensely helpful to know just how easy it is to bring out those base urges in him. If he's going to follow you around it's best to know what to avoid so he doesn't go feral. It further encouraged, stoking the flames of the scientist's natural curiosity until he hummed,              "I suppose it would be useful for the association to know exactly what triggers a vampire to go into a frenzy of some sort. Fine." The vampire grinned at that,             "You do know that I can't promise my feeding instinct is the only one that'll come to the surface," he pointed out, making Xeno blink and raise an eyebrow at him,             "What? Why would any other instinct come into play?" turning red as Stan laughed,               "Well, in simple terms, I find you too attractive to promise that when I catch you I'd only want to drink your blood~" Xeno's face warmed up more at that, getting huffy and tripping over his words in his rush to snap at him.               "You can have a five minute head start, just like last time," he simply assured, "Just need a bit of blood, because your original scratch has closed," He laughed more when Xeno pulled up his shirt to see that his shallow cut from earlier had in fact begun to heal, no longer bleeding and instead beginning to scab over. The hunter only responded with a glare at that point as he plucked his knife from the sidewalk where he'd dropped it and wiped it off before leaving another cut along his stomach, this one a bit deeper than the first, but not enough to linger for more than a day or two. With that, Stan gave him a charming smile that showed his extending fangs, his blue eyes already getting a hungry gleam to them. So, without further conversation, Xeno took off down the street. The cuts on his stomach stung and itched more from his running, but he pressed on. His main concern was regulating his breathing and energy so that he could get as far away from the vampire as he could in his small window of time. Naturally, his plan wasn't to just run in a straight line and wait to be caught, not only would that likely be dangerous, as a vampire in a feeding frenzy was much more violent, but was less likely to fulfill the goal of bringing those deadly instincts to the surface at all. So, instead, he sought out other people, a crowded area, maybe a shop, that way it wasn't as easy for the predator to catch up to him. This is insanely stupid, that voice of reason finally spoke up, not only am I playing with fire by instigating an instinctual reaction, but I am woefully under prepared to run from Stan. He realized, filling his veins with icy terror when the weight of his situation fully sunk in, The first time we did this I barely survive on pure panic and him toying with me. If he really loses his shit and goes into a frenzy, I can't outrun him. The reality of the thought hurt, but it was sorely true. Despite all of his training as a monster hunter, Xeno had never been one for good cardio, namely in the stamina category. He relied on his wits and pure speed, not his ability to maintain those speedy response times or pace for long periods. but it's too late now, he reminded himself, thinking back to the way the vampire's fangs had extended so soon after he'd given him a fresh source of scent. Nope, he couldn't chicken out now. He had no choice but to stick to his plan and push the panic and fear aside. Instead, he simply focused on the route ahead of him and locked onto the light of a store further down the street, which he headed for instantly. The bright, artificial light blinded the pale scientist for a moment when he stumbled into the store, but he was swift to regain his barrings and dash down the aisles and through the crowds of night owls and whatnot that were still up at this hour. He knew that his five minutes had ended a minute or so before. Meaning he didn't have long before the vampire would be on his ass. So, thinking quickly, he swiped his hand over his wounds, then smeared the blood on his palm onto the tile flooring in an aisle. Once he had that down, Xeno ran off deeper into the store. He had very few places to hide. The bathroom was basically a dead end with no windows and only one door, he couldn't climb up the shelves or to the rafters in a timely manner, so he forwent that plan. Instead, he did the next best thing. leaving as distracting a trail as possible before bolting out one of the fire exits.            "Shit," he wheezed when the fire exit triggered a screaming alarm through out the store. If Stan was in there, he'd definitely know he got out now, but that only meant the scientist had less time to think of such things. He had to focus on running. So, Xeno ignored the way his legs throbbed, and his lungs ached from gulping down the cold night air. He focused entirely on getting home, or at least to a more residential area. He could feel his limbs getting heavier, threatening more and more to give out with each step, but his grit his teeth and bared it until the threat became reality and the asphalt bit into his skin. And there he laid for a few seconds, gasping for air and scraping up as much energy as he could to push himself to his feet. As he did, he glanced back down the street, and sure enough. Stanley was coming out of the alley Xeno'd run out of, his glowing blue eyes locking onto the scientist in an instant. With another curse spat out through gritted teeth, Xeno took off again. His legs still screamed from exhaustion, and now his hands stung viciously from the fall, but he kept going. He could hear Stan closing in on him, which gave him a final burst of frantic energy that carried him to at least the park near his home before the vampire finally tackled him to the grass. The scientist could only wheeze in response, letting the vampire crush against him and push his face into his pale neck with a growl. That seemed to snap him out of the exhaustion cloud, and in an instant, Xeno was squirming and forcing himself up once again. The only way he managed it was because the vampire was taken by surprise, so he was able to slip from his grasp and scramble up, but he only got a few more steps before he had to lean against a tree for support so that his legs didn't crumble a third time. Then, just as quickly as he'd gotten away, Xeno was back in Stan's luke-warm arms, trapped against his needlessly heaving chest with his fangs hovering over his jugular once more. However, he didn't bite down. To the contrary, the feral vampire seemed to hesitate for a moment, seemingly weighing his options of what to do with the hunter before settling on a choice and swiftly switching to almost slamming him against the nearest tree.           "S-Stanley!" The hunter wheezed, more surprised then anything, pushing back so that his face at least wasn't forced into the course bark and he could look back to try and see the blonde behind him. Said blonde was keeping him in place with a hand on one of his shoulders, looking Xeno in the eye and almost relishing the dawning realization that painted his pale cheeks before he used his free hand to hook into his pants and tug them down pretty roughly. Then, he was back at the man's neck, but this time he bit with his blunter teeth, sucking at the skin until Xeno's mewls and hums were pulled out and he was satisfied with the hickey he'd left. The scientist, meanwhile was a bit ashamed of how quickly he accepted the turn of events. He tried to save some face by muffling the noises bubbling in his throat, but Stan's mouth at his neck, paired with the way he ground his groin into his now-bear rear drug a few noises out. Though, it also bat back the fog of hormones and lust long enough for the hunter to realize that he was very likely to get hurt if he didn't intervene. So, he whined and reached up to tangle his fingers in Stan's messy hair, tugging at it until he finally relinquished his throat from the second hickey he was dedicated on leaving. Carefully, Xeno turned himself around with what little room he was permitted between the vampire's muscular chest and the much-less-forgiving tree. Once they were face to face though, the college graduate's brain no longer seemed to work, so, the two simply stood there, panting a bit from the chase, before he finally gave up on using words and instead simply sunk down to his knees. Keeping his eyes glued to the glowing blue pair above him as he went. Luckily enough for him, his actions at least intrigued the vampire, because he was allowed to tug his bottoms down just enough for his member to spring free, which earned him a noise somewhere between a growl and a hum. With Stan's pants down and his member now standing erect in front of him, Xeno hesitated. Should it matter if I'm any good at this sort of shit? I just need some sort of lubrication, and he shouldn't really care about anything beyond...mating, so surely he won't give a shit, right? He asked himself, puzzling over the predicament before Stan reached down to grab onto his shirt, reminding the scientist of his lack of patience. So, Xeno threw his insecurities to the wind and grabbed onto the base of the shaft so he could slip Stan's impatient member into his mouth. The vampire moaned in response, and Xeno took that as a sign that he'd bought a bit more time for himself. So, he slowed down, bobbing his head at a medium sort of pace to work himself up to taking as much of the length as he could, which, thankfully for him, was almost all of it thanks to years of speed-drinking coffee and energy drinks and eating at record speeds in college. He also found that once he actually got to moving, the embarrassment of his lack of skills faded away, and part of him simply enjoyed the groans he got out of Stan while he moved his lips up and down him at a steady pace. He simply continued to work him as much as he could until the vampire let out a little hiss and gripped onto the scientist's shirt until he pulled away and let his throbbing member go with a coy 'pop'. Suddenly, Xeno was yanked back to his feet and whirled around again to be slammed back into the tree. His pants were tugged down once more and his feet were kicked apart in rapid succession so the monster hunter only got a moment's break before Stan pushed into him. And while it hurt still, the white-haired man found that he didn't mind as much. As the vampire began thrusting into him, one hand clawing into his hip, the other on his shoulder, Xeno moaned out curses and did his best to grab onto the tree or Stan's neck to keep steady under the merciless thrusts of the blonde. It was shameful how hot his body got, but with how Stan was hitting that sweetspot within Xeno, his face back to being buried in his neck for more marks, Xeno couldn't care less.        "Mmmm, fuck! ah, r-right there, please!" he plead, tangling his fingers back into Stan's hair as he moaned, giving another lewd noise when his pursuer did as he asked, swiftly learning that doing so got more needy noises from the hormone-addled hunter. With that, Xeno lost all coherency as euphoria further fogged his mind, and soon brought him to his peak with a whine of the vampire's name. Though, Stan didn't stop when Xeno came, he just kept thrusting into him, still flooding his pale body with more and more pleasure while his hot puffs of breath tickled his hickey-littered neck. The continued rough treatment was beginning to sting, but the edge of pain only seemed to bolster Xeno's pleasure back to its peak, pushing a second orgasm from him before Stan finally grew sloppy with his thrusts and soon gave one final movement before emptying himself into the hunter. After that, the monster hunter let himself melt against the tree, relying on Stanley to hold him up because he was on the verge of passing out after that night's activities. The last thing Xeno remembered was giving a thumbs up to what he assumed was the question 'are you okay'. Then, he let his exhaustion take him into dreamland.

[loth-wolffe]

Hi! I wanted to get in on that follower ship if that’s okay? I’d like to be shipped with someone from the Bad Batch (but not Hunter idk I’m just not attracted to him) if I don’t match with any then I’ll be okay with any clone, it’s just tbb are my faves rn

So I’m 5 ft tall, with dark brown eyes and shoulder length brown hair thats wavy but also floofy and looks like a lion mane if brushed. I really enjoy learning about new stuff, drawing, playing video games and swimming. I can get anxious/depressed but I try to handle it on my own. Definitely deflect my own issues by taking care of others lol. A fun fact about me is that if someone insults me I contain my anger well, but if someone I care about gets insulted I kinda lose my shit. Oh! And I’m really bad at controlling my facial expressions. Like, I’ve had people come up to tell me they knew I wanted to beat someone even though I was being polite just from my facial expressions.

Thank you thank you so much if you’re able to do mine! If not that’s okay!💜

celebrate with me<3

hiiii<3 of coursee! thank you so much for asking

u know you went and said "not hunter" and as I kept reading I totally thought aboUT MATCHING YOU WITH HUNTER IM SO SORRY LOVE I'm laughing so hard I just- but anyways if it's not hunter then maybe

✨ Echo my sweet boy ✨

also you gave me so many amazing things I could totally work with so I'm gonna go and give you a few hcs and a little something as well.

so, you and echo right. *wiggles eyebrows*

so, your hair is beautiful I'm sure, and echo thinks so as well. i think he'd always find a way to touch your hair, either cuddling or just sitting beside each other, he likes to feel how fluffy and nice it feels under his rough hands, and he def learned how to Bride Your Hair just to have an excuse to feel it under his fingers.

Echo loves to brush/when you brush your hair and he thinks you look tHE CUTEST when it's all lion-mane like don't @ me.

He'll caught up in your deflective thing or when you're anxious/depressed and he'll do anything. ANYTHING. to make you feel better. sometimes you get annoyed bc it's fine echo, I'm alright, but my boy is very stubborn and he will and must do whatever is in his power to help you feel a little less bad.

KSHSJS so. i can't take this picture off my head of tech saying something mean to echo bc that b*tch is always saying mean things and like, you snapping and are about to throw fists at tech, obvs nothing happens bc echo stops you, and I'm not saying that he's is into that but to say you get a messy make out ses ticket right after is an understatement.

you'd be always making faces at each other, it'd be SO funny bc tech'd say something annoying and you two look at each other like 🙄🙄 and hunter always tries to hide a smile when he sees you making the sAME FACE bc u two are really meant to be.

echo adores to watch you swimming, he doesn't usually join you bc Self Conscious but he really adores watching you go in that lake you two stumbled upon a few hours ago, and his heart flutters when you laugh. you ask him to join you but he shakes his head saying it's fine. you look ethereal, he always thinks, under the sun light and in that crystalline water.

He enjoys teaching you stuff, or when you teach hIM stuff. but his favorite times are when you two try to learn something together, when you read him this book you just found out, or improving your mando'a together, laughing loudly at your bad pronunciation, kissing softly as a reward for a job well done.

he loves the most when you're drawing, though, you look so focused, determinated yet so... soft, he thinks, sometimes chewing your lip, and sometimes you find him staring, the smile appearing on your lips appears in his too, before you go back to what you're working on.

sometimes you draw him, too.

echo was sitting in the grass, cross-legged, pulling some grass out as you two waited for the others to arrive, little flowers of all colors surrounded him, the sun above was hitting him just right, half of his face seeming like glowing and you had been drawing him for the past minutes.

"what are you drawing, baby?" he asks, not looking up from the green under him, brows frowned because of the sun shining above.

it's something so casual, because lately you've been drawing a bit more than usual, you hide your little smile with your sketch book.

"oh, nothing, you know." you shrug, even if he doesn't see you, "just pretty things."

echo looks up to you, finding a glint of something in your eyes he can't quite place what it is.

"can you show me?"

"it's not done yet." he hums, going back to pulling grass between his closed fists, a warm breeze passes and he looks around to see if he catches a glimpse of hunter or any other. "wait," you start when he moves to stand, "don't move."

echo's puzzled look lasts only a second before he sees how you pick up a pace with your drawing, your eyes flickering quickly between him and whatever you're drawing.

"thought you said pretty things." his voice is like confused amusement, and you chuckle lightly.

"and I meant it."

the grin he gives you is bashful, cheeks painting in the lightest of pinks, and he's glad you can't hear how hard his heart is beating.

[florbelles]

all of G & Y for the queen of new vegas, baby 😈🔥

thank you legend!!

— G. GORGEOUS.

i. what is their most attractive external feature?

it’s not something joss has given a lot of thought; she always understood that she was considered beautiful, and that usually meant she was bait for unsuspecting travelers who would stay at her father’s shack of an inn. the appeal is all in the facial composition, though — she didn’t have clean hair or skin or pre-war clothes, then.

ii. what is the most attractive part of their personality?

she learned early on how to manipulate people by saying the right thing, asking the right questions. dispensing the appropriate amount of approval at the opportune moment, withholding it just long enough to make it feel earned. to someone intimately familiar with how she operates, it’s not necessarily a charming attribute, but it’s what gets her what she needs and what draws people in to begin with

she’s also funny as hell, if your tastes run to the morbid or at the expense of others.

iii. what benefits come with being their friend?

she will not put out a hit on you!

full benefits of all her connections. an act if you want it. resources if you need them. the run of the strip and goodwill in freeside. exemption from getting kicked out of the tops if you’re winning too much ( swank hates this one ).

iv. what parts of them do they like and dislike?

well, she thinks she’s hilarious, thanks. she likes that she’s ruthless and cutthroat; it doesn’t really occur to her that she shouldn’t have to be, she just appreciates that it serves her, that it’s how she survived this long. she likes the way she looks; she’s not vain, but she likes the advantage it gives her. she’s proud of the fact that almost everything she knows is self-taught.

she dislikes that she’s so embittered, that she can’t let anything go. she didn’t really think about it when it was driving her — she’s going to get away from her father, she’s going to find her sisters, she’s going to ( from her perspective ) free new vegas — but when she’s left as a rebel without a cause she just has to sit with it, and she hates that. not enough to talk about it or do anything with it, even with her closest confidants she’ll never feel free to show what she perceives as weakness or vulnerability that way, but still. she wishes it were different, sometimes ( which, perhaps ironically, leaves her even more embittered and usually drives her out of vegas to go wander the wastes before she misdirects it more than she already has; she already slaughtered the strip once, she can’t do it again, it didn’t rid her of her anger last time ).

v. what parts of others do they envy?

relatedly, she envies anyone who is ( comparatively ) without baggage, insofar as that exists in the wastes, less in the sense of what’s happened to them but how they’ve coped with it and processed it. people who can be satisfied with what they have, who don’t have an anger or restlessness that consumes them. she thinks sometimes she would have been happier roaming the wastes all her life, and she envies those who do, to an extent, but that’s a thought she has the luxury to have when she actually has security & companionship for the first time in her life ( which she does not, in fact, walk away from despite technically having the option, so the insincerity of that envy is apparent even to her, if she’s being honest with herself ). is the appeal of the idea partly that benny absolutely abhors it to the point of bumping off others for harboring these potentially dangerous sentiments? yes. almost entirely.

— Y. YOU.

i. how old were you when you created them?

twenty-one. she was older than i was at the time. i now understand she is a fetus.

ii. what inspired you to create them?

unlike some of my other characters, joss was originally purely the result of in-game choices and mechanics. i just wanted a real bitch of a courier, not initially from the perspective of a fleshed out character but in the sense that she would take every chaotic asshole option available. lose to ringo at caravan? shoot him. end up shooting the whole entire bar and being the butcher of goodsprings. get villified by the ncr before even reaching primm. boone won’t speak to her because of this. break into his hotel room. shoot him. kill jeannie anyway because she found the receipts. shoot that guy who won the legion lottery because she thinks it’s an actual lottery and he’s gonna have cash. nope. just open fire on vulpes & company.

i started to develop a loose moral code for her by the time i reached freeside and adjusted my gameplay accordingly, but that is, in fact, her tragic origin story.

iii. were they different when they were first created?

honestly, given the above writeup, not as much as you’d think. obviously she’s different in the sense that character/developmental/background reasons now exist for her behaviors and choices, and a few things have been tweaked accordingly, but those were more additions than revisions to the extremely vague concept that already existed. she’s the same old very evil karma bitch she ever was.

iv. do you enjoy writing them more than other characters?

i don’t know if i would say more, but she’s one of my favorites ( there are obviously other characters i write more frequently now, especially in terms of what actually gets posted to tumblr dot com, but i originally wrote for her a good deal ). in terms of gameplay and early-stage development, yes, by an absolute landslide. her first playthrough is probably to this day the most fun i’ve had in my first runthrough of a game.

v. what’s your favorite thing about them?

exactly her aforementioned origins, actually! she’s a loose canon in every sense, just a real liability, but she is, horrifyingly, running this shit now. she also lets me play with a lot of my favorite tropes ( the femme fatale, the dark messiah, god save us from the queen ).

[andsotheuniverseended]

cephas my beloved

so i don't know if what you meant here was "answer all thirty of the dnd meme questions for cephas" but that is how i'm interpreting it so i'mma go ahead and put it under a cut

(also for those not in the know, Cephas (they/she/him/any pronoun you like) is my stone construct witch. yes those are both homebrew things I found online. i use this witch and just recently updated them to the 3.0 version and i'm very excited about it)

1. if one of their friends was jumping on a bed and asked your character to join them, would they?

Yes, absolutely, of course. The bed would then immediately break because Cephas is a couple tons of solid rock, but that's on their friends for not thinking it through. Or maybe that was the plan. Either way, Cephas is on board.

2. would your character carry around a tiny bath and body works hand sanitizer? if yes, would it have a specific scent?

I mean, Ceph does carry around smelling salts enchanted to smell like whatever would make someone feel better in the moment? Which is kind of the same thing? But anyways the real answer is Probably Not unless it was a gift, because Cephas has no sense of smell and has no need to sanitize.

3. does your character paint their nails? do they wait for them to dry fully afterwards?

Technically he doesn't have nails but Cephas will happily allow themselves to be painted over any part of their body, and will stay completely still until it's dry. I know because the party his done this to them before.

4. if you cut open your character’s heart and there was something inside, what would it be? why?

Hm. I mean. Literally speaking, no heart, you just find stone in there. Figuratively speaking... a jade earring. representative of their first steps towards freedom.

5. do/would your character carry lots of hair ties on their wrist?

Nah, not unless one of the other party members asked.

6. what parts of your character’s voice/manner of speaking are distinct, if any?

Hm. Mostly just that their voice is pretty rough and low. Otherwise I think they talk pretty normal??

7. what’s the first thing your character’s eyes are drawn to on a map?

New places. To all the parts of the world they haven't seen yet, and want to.

8. how did your character feel when they left home for the first time?

Okay I'm going to go with the definition of home that means Cephas has to feel like it's home, which would mean the place where they lived with their BFF Effie. And I think the first time they left there, with an intent to go out and adventure, they felt really excited, happy, and like they were finally doing what they were meant to be doing. They'd been feeling very restless up until that point, so it's kind of like scratching an itch. Very satisfying.

9. where does your character look when they’re the only one walking down a road?

All around. She likes to see everything and doesn't get particularly worried about other people or robbers or things like that, so there's a lot of being generally distracted by whatever scenery they're passing through. Sometimes he'll just stop and pretend to be a statue on the side of the road and people watch for a while, if there's time for it.

10. does your character have tattoos? were they alone the first time they got one?

Being made of stone, my darling Cephas can't get tattoos. If they had actual flesh I do think they'd wanna get some.

11. if a button came loose from your character’s shirt, would they make sure the replacement matched?

Cephas doesn't wear clothes, and if they did 'matching' would not be the thing they cared about, so for sure No.

12. how loudly do they cry?

Gods I feel like a lot of these answers are just "Cephas is a stone construct and therefore cannot/does not do the thing" but like Cephas is a stone construct and cannot cry. There have been a lot of times where they wished they could, but their body wasn't built for it. Typically if they're sad, they're quiet about it, reserved.

13. does your character like holding hands? do they do it often?

Yes! But he doesn't do it very often at all. Stone isn't comfortable for other people to hold, and they have to be careful not to hurt people when touching them, so it's generally more dangerous for whoever they're holding hands with than its worth.

14. is your character more likely to wear a necktie, a bowtie, or a bolo tie? (if any at all)

Again, no clothes. But I think Cephas would enjoy a good bolo tie.

15. have you ever said something as your character that stuck with you for a while after? what was it?

Oh lord. Uhhh... hm, well there was this one thing but it is very dependent on the context of the moment. Which is that they were talking with another character who was frustrated about not knowing things, and talking about how in order to be people you have to ask questions even if you don't get answers, you have to keep asking questions. And then they discovered something that was a step in a mystery they'd been trying to deal with and Cephas said "and sometimes you do get answers" and I don't know why but that one did stick with me.

16. what does getting flustered look like for your character?

Stuttering. Awkward hand movements. Maybe reverting to the old "I am but a simple construct with no consciousness" trick if they're really feeling out of sorts.

17. does your character have to glance at their hands to remember left and right?

Ha, no. Cephas knows what they're doing, unlike me.

18. does your character have stuffed animals? would they if they could? what kind?

Hm, no, xe doesn't. But I think they would if they ever settled down and stopped traveling. Even if Cephas can't really feel the softness, they would like it. And they'd be very careful with them too. As for the kind... I'm thinking those, like, huge round ones? Fuck there was a name for them. Squishables?? I think???

19. does your character walk or run down stairs?

Walk, typically. Running could damage things lol

20. if your character saw a turtle stuck on its back, would they flip it over?

Oh yes 100%. And also try and talk to the turtle and see if it needed any further assistance.

21. has your character ever climbed out of a window? would they do it again?

I don't have a moment in mind specifically, but there's no way Cephas hasn't, and they would absolutely do it again.

22. what’s your character’s ideal way to wake up? what usually wakes them up?

Cephas doesn't so much sleep as... go into Obedient Construct mode for four hours, which is to say they will obey any order given to them. Ideal way to wake up from that is in some weird/compromising position because it means his friends were messing with them and they love that. And they can't be woken up unnaturally, so its just that after Four Hours something in their head goes Ding and they're back.

23. what’s the pettiest thing your character’s ever done?

Dyed a nobleman's hair bright pink because he was kind of rude to them when they were pretending to be a normal construct.

24. what made your character the angriest they’ve ever been?

Cephas... doesn't really do anger, generally. But! There was a man who pretended to be a prophet of a god, and collected a small group of true believers. And then he took over a town, and made the townsfolk slaves. And that really got to Cephas, in a very personal way. (They did take care of the man and they still have mixed feelings about doing it.)

25. how does you character smile?

With great effort. Cephas wasn't built to emote, so any facial expressions are subtle and take a lot of concentration and effort to make happen. Over time they've gotten more practiced at this and can do it almost without thought, but it's still the smallest movements for a great amount of toil.

26. does your know the names of their constellations? how did they learn them?

I think, some of them? Cephas lived with her best friend's family for a long time and I think they would've learned some of them there. But then they also definitely made a game out of making up constellations and naming them whatever they wanted, so it's a toss up whether what they know is a real constellation or one they made up and then forgot they made up.

27. do/would your character draw or write on themself?

Oh yeah, for sure.

28. would your character race someone to the top of a tall tree for bragging rights?

Not for bragging rights, but absolutely yes Cephas would race someone. And they would lose because they are big and heavy and not made for climbing, but its more about the fun of it than the winning or the losing for them.

29. is there an artist whose style you associate with your character? (visual or otherwise; poets and musicians, etc. count)

Hmm... not really?? I don't really associate artists with my characters. My friend drew Cephas once, so I think that's the closest I'm gonna get to that. Maybe Delta Rae? I feel like Delta Rae has got those witchy vibes, and that makes me think Cephas.

30. how has your character’s first impressions of their party members changed since they met them? have they stayed the same?

Oh this is delightful because when Ceph first met the party, they were pretending to be a normal construct, so the DM was 'playing' them. Which meant I got to sit there and watch, and so I wrote down what Cephas was thinking. They only met the first three members of the party that day, but I literally have it written down that it was three "good first impressions" because one of them stole a book, another one turned invisible to draw a face on a trash can, and the third called Cephas 'interesting'. Overall impression? A group of messes who just went through something tough and are not dealing with it super well.

Current impression? A surprisingly competent group of messes who are working through some stuff, and very much don't like talking about their feelings. Also, I'm invested.

Seriously though it started out as Cephas thinking they seemed fun and wanting a distraction, and now Cephas is like actually really invested in all of them and their growth and wants to help them as much as they can.

[bluerene]

a study of separation anxiety

Discord musings result in a sudden spark of inspiration! @dar-draws knows how to make a bearded Dick Grayson that is simply *chefs kiss* divine.

Warning: baby cuteness, mentions of bearded!Dadwing, and a persuasive Tamaranian momma. 

a study of separation anxiety 

In all his life, Richard John Grayson had found he possessed only four weaknesses. The first was his father and brothers, who were put together because he managed his feelings for them about the same. And Alfred, though truthfully, Dick sometimes felt Alfred was the most important of them all. The second was his team, the people he had grown up with. The third was his wife, whose glimmering eyes never failed to capture his when she walked into a room. And the fourth was his daughter, the light of his life and the greatest source of his joy.

The very same daughter who was unashamedly squirming in his arms and punching him with her tiny fists while he tried to put her to bed.

“Ease up there, starshine,” he muttered, wincing as another blow made contact with his shoulder. He rubbed her back gently, pacing back and forth beside her crib. “Some help would be nice, Kory.”

His pajama-clad wife, who had been standing idly near the bedroom door, stepped into the room and shrugged.

“It is your fault for choosing to go back to work.”

Yeah, she wasn’t going to make it any easier either.

Dick groaned and moved to lay Mar’i down in the crib.

“I would not do that,” Kory warned, a smug smile crossing her face when their daughter began to wail.

“Well, what would you do then?” 

Kory rolled her eyes and stepped closer, adjusting his arms so that he cradled Mar’i close to his chest. Miraculously, the wailing stopped, and he looked down to see her tiny fists curling up against his shirt, her head snuggled into his warmth.

“Wow,” Dick said quietly, a slow smile spreading across his face, “nine months and I still haven’t learned a thing.”

His wife sighed and rested her chin on his shoulder, studying the line of his jaw and the dark stubble he had taken to wearing since Mar’i was born. 

“It will not get any easier when you go,” she said. 

“C’mon, Kory, we talked about this. I took an extended paternity leave. Those don’t come around too often. I need to get back on the force.”

“You did not take a break from being Nightwing,” she shot back, “you have been working this entire time, Richard, you are spreading yourself too thin. It will not be easy for Mar’i. X’hal, it will not be easy for me.” 

“We need to get back into a steady routine. I need to go to work. I need to start shaving so I don’t look homeless -”

“You would not dare,” Kory gasped, sounding horrified.

“ - need to get used to me being away for work because we want her to grow up with a somewhat normal life. I can’t keep taking vacations, and I’m not going to quit my job.”

He felt a hand slide up to his shoulder and along his collarbone, coming to touch the stubble at his neck.

“So,” Kory said softly, “what you are saying is, if you went on the paternity leave once again, you would stay home and be with us?”

“As much as I love the practice, I can’t keep getting you pregnant so I can get out of work, Star,” Dick said in amusement, catching her fingers with his hand and bringing them to his lips. 

She frowned and drew her hand away, “I do not see why not. And I do not see why you must shave your beard.”

“Because it’s unprofessional.”

“But the chief has a beard, as does your head detective.”

“And that’s their style, not mine. I have a beard for two reasons. One is sleeping in my arms, soundly, for the first time in weeks. And the other is to entertain your weird beard fetish.”

“It is not a fetish,” Kory said heatedly, “you are simply incomparably attractive to me when you wear your facial hair.”

Dick grinned. 

“I love you, babe. But the beard is gonna go.”

“Mar’i will not recognize you without it.”

“Yes, she will.”

“Fine. Then I will not recognize you without it.”

“Oh really?” Dick asked, leaning in to kiss her cheek, “wouldn’t you recognize this?”

“I would never allow a stranger to get so close to me,” she replied haughtily, crossing her arms.

He rubbed his jaw teasingly against the side of her face, smirking when he felt her body rumble in response. 

“Even if they can make you purr like I do?”

Kory blushed and shook her head, dropping her gaze to the sleeping child nestled in her husband’s arms.

“You are certain I cannot convince you to stay on the paternity leave?” she asked mournfully, changing the subject before he could tempt her further. The dim glow of the stars they had covered Mar’i’s bedroom with lit up the lines of his face marvelously, drawing her into his warm blue eyes. 

“Not unless you can have a baby in the next few hours.”

“We can make one,” she tried, widening her eyes pleadingly, “have you not enjoyed these last few months with us?”

Dick sighed and stepped away from her to settle Mar’i into her crib, pleased to see his daughter sleeping soundly. 

“Come here, Star,” he said softly, bringing his arms around her waist and holding her in a standing snuggle, “I have loved every minute of being with you two. But we both knew it wasn’t going to last forever. One of us needs to work to keep up with all the shopping you do with Donna and Babs,” he added cheekily.

“But -”

“I won’t be going back full-time for at least a month. Half-days and case breaks only. And when Mar’i is a little older, I’ll ease into a more regular schedule. It’ll be gradual. And we’ll be able to get back into our regular patrols in no time.”

Kory sniffled and buried her face in the curve of his neck, breathing deeply.

“I am sorry,” she said sadly, “I am being unreasonable, and I know that. I just...I will miss you. And I will miss your perfect beard. And I will miss seeing you hold her at all hours of the day. I hate it when we are apart, I am always worried something will happen to you. I never know when to say goodbye.”

Dick sighed and tightened his grasp on her, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. 

“We knew what we were getting into when we signed up to be heroes, Star. That much hasn’t changed. And I know it’s scary to wonder, but we can’t be in this bubble forever. That’s not who we are. And that’s not the kind of example we want to set for Mar’i.” 

Kory pressed her lips against his jaw, cupping his face with both hands.

“I love you so much,” she said fiercely, “and I will do my best to make this easier for you if you would only just -”

“I’m not keeping the beard, Kory.”

She pouted and unwound herself from him.

“Clorbag.”

“I love you too, dearest,” Dick said drily, “it seems your separation anxiety was quick to disappear.”

“The only separation you need to be concerned for is that between you and all of your razors,” she said mischievously, darting into the hallway to beat him to the bathroom, “and every other sharp object I can hide will be hidden.”

“Don’t touch my shurikens!” Dick yelped, groaning when a sudden cry sounded from behind him.

“Fucking hell,” he mumbled, bending over to pick up his daughter and cuddle her into his chest, “Kory and her hormones, you and your...well, you’re a baby, so it’s not really your fault. I mean, of course, you’ll miss me. We spend all day together.”

Mar’i looked up at him with wide, curious eyes, as if encouraging him to go on.

“You let me talk about pretty much anything. Your mom does it too, but sometimes she falls asleep or gets bored and she’s not terrific at hiding it when she’s not interested. You also threw up on your Uncle Jason the first time he held you, which was pretty cool.”

She babbled something in baby and gripped his shirt, pulling herself into an easy float above his arms.

“You seem to like my music more than anyone else’s. And you fall asleep on top of me when we’re watching the game,” he continued, bringing his fingers up to tickle her tummy. 

Mar’i giggled and lost her balance, falling back into his hands.

“Let’s see...you’re definitely the cutest baby the world has ever seen. You behave perfectly with all your uncles and aunts. Even when Damian tried to kill you. You just zapped him with a little starbolt and laughed.”

Dick stared into her perfect green eyes and couldn’t help but feel a wave of sadness come over him. Nine months did feel too soon, in some ways. Mar’i had only just started walking. And her babbling was becoming increasingly more frequent. How long would it be before she said her first words? Would he even be there when she did?

“I’m going to miss being home, just so you know. A lot. But I definitely have to go. So you and your mom can’t try anything funny, okay?”

Shit. Were his eyes wet? Was he crying?

“I won’t be gone for too long tomorrow. Just in the morning. And then we can spend the rest of the day together.”

Mar’i raised a palm and rubbed it against his beard, showing him a gummy smile that was punctuated with two tiny baby teeth. 

He was definitely crying. 

“Anyway, I’m going to put you to bed now and stop your mom from destroying all the sharp things in the house, because I’m going to have to shave in the morning and that’s just a reality she’ll have to face -” 

He pulled Mar’i away from him slowly, lowering her back into the crib, retracting her immediately after the shrieking began.

“It’s bedtime, starshine, please, please go to sleep.”

But Mar’i, with a stubborn sense of persistence rivaling that of her father and mother, continued to scream and cry until Dick was snuggling her close to his chest, her fingers curled up in the cotton of his t-shirt.

Which is exactly how Kory found them thirty minutes later, having thrown out every razor-like thing she could possibly think of. Dick was still standing there in the center of the room, in the glow of the stars they had painted together, staring down at his daughter with tired, watery eyes. 

“Ah,” Kory said smugly, “I believe I am not the only one with a case of separation anxiety.”

Her husband looked over at her, something unreadable in his expression.

“How serious were you about making another one?”

Kory smiled wickedly. 

“I am always ready for you, my love.”

[skiesoftwilight]

Strange Feelings (Vergil)

This is my very first piece writing for Vergil and in general, the DMC fandom. This idea was something I was toying around with as I tried to get an accurate read on the characters before I actually wrote it; i’m actually happy how it turned out. I based the portrayals off of the newest game: DMC5, just so you guys can go by that. I hope you guys enjoy!

Word Count: 1619

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“Alright, we're here.” 

Nico’s boisterous voice was immediately met with a collection of aggressive shushes from the back of the van. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she flicked the extinguished cigarette butt in between her fingers out the driver’s window before rolling it up and killing the engine to the van. Turning to get out of the driver’s seat, she joined the rest of the Devil May Cry crew in the back.

“Did you guys just—” It happened again. She shut her mouth and finally let her eyes take in the scene that seemed to be more important than letting her announce their arrival back at the office. 

Everyone was sitting in dead silence staring at the couch with a mixture of expressions. Dante’s was the most eye-catching as his eyes were narrowed with confusion and his mouth was slightly agape with a shit-eating grin tugging on the corners of his lips. Nero sat beside Dante at the table, wearing a small smile, while Lady and Trish had curious gazes. Nico confused by her friend’s expressions; she didn’t understand what had made them that way until she looked in the same direction they did.

A soft gasp fell from her lips. She saw Vergil sitting on one end of the couch, his hand cradling the left side of her face with his eyes closed while his other arm rested on the back of the couch. Seeing Vergil sitting on the couch sleeping had already confused her, but the minute she spotted your sleeping form sprawled out on the rest of the couch with your head laying on Vergil’s lap, she about lost her mind.

Leaning down to speak to Nero, she whispered in his ear, “Uh, you’re seein’ what I’m seein’, right?”

“Everyone is seeing what you’re seeing,” Dante answered for the young demon hunter, not even bothering to turn his head away from the strange scene in front of him to address her directly, “This… this is definitely something that I’m gonna bring up tomorrow.”

Lady shoved Dante’s shoulder as he playfully swatted her hand away. Nico nodded her head as if she understood exactly what she was seeing, but she really didn’t; Dante and Nero had told her about Vergil before he joined the crew. They told her about his struggle for power and control and how he wasn’t really in touch with his human side and was learning to embrace it after escaping the Underworld with Dante a couple of months back but… the scene before her showed a completely different side that they didn’t tell her about; it also appeared that they have never seen this side of him either but their expressions.

“What do we do?” Nico asked in a hushed voice.

“We leave these two in here for the night,” Dante shrugged his shoulders, “They obviously look comfortable and it would be rude to wake them.”

Trish rolled her eyes while stretching her arms out in front of her, “A real gentleman you are, Dante.”

“Oh, no, he’s the real gentleman here,” Dante tilted his head in his older brother’s direction with a grin plain on his face.

“I’m still tryin’ to figure out how she was able to get her head on his lap,” Nico spoke, pointing at you while she looked to the others.

“That’s easy,” Dante said, crossing his arms, “He let her.”

Every once did their best to stifle their shocked gasp while Dante turned to them and told them to lowered their voices by lowering his hands, “He’s definitely has a soft spot for her, if he didn’t, she would’ve been laying on this dirty-ass carpet.”

Nico glared at him while he shrugged his shoulders once more. No one spoke for a long time as they took the scene before all deciding that they should leave the van and get some rest on some of the beds in the office. While Nico made her way to the door, the floor creaked beneath her worn boots and the sound of a sharp intake of breath stopped everyone in their tracks.

“What’s going on? Where are you all going?”

Vergil’s icy eyes narrowed on the group trying to step out of the van; they all had wide eyes and closed mouths as the looked at the older Sparda brother. He tried to rise from his seat but was stopped by the weight of your head in his lap. His confusion and irritation deepened when he saw you sleeping on him; he looked to his brother and his friends to help explain what exactly was going on.

“We were just heading out the door into the office,“ Dante hitched a thumb over his shoulder as he looked at his brother with a sly smile, “You can come in with us if you want to—oh wait, you can’t.”

“Dante,” Vergil stared down his brother, his hand already forming a fist, “Move her off of me, right now.”

“Why don’t you wake her yourself?” Dante questioned his brother, his shit-eating grin coming to back to his lips, “That’s if you really want to go inside and sleep alone and break her sleep as well…”

“Dante, don’t be cruel to the man,” Nico looked over at the legendary demon hunter, “He won’t do it because he has a heart.” 

Everyone snickered, looking at Vergil with half smiles while behind their eyes they were a bit fearful of making fun of him when he was known to be ruthless to go up against in a challenge. Vergil looked down at you once again, taking in how peaceful you looked; one side of him urged himself to wake you so he could end this conversation, but the other side told him to leave you be, that with you laying there, it was strange, yet comforting.

“Alright, alright,” Dante sighed, “I’ll be back to help you with her.”

“Dante.”

“I promise.” Dante placed a hand on Nero’s shoulder, squeezing it to make him start walking out the door. Every one whispered bye to Vergil as they left, even Dante. Once they left, Vergil was left alone in the dimly lit van with only his thoughts to keep him company.

Observing your sleeping form on the couch, he took in how the gentle moonlight that crept in through the break in the shades highlighted your facial features. The warmth that your body gave off, struck a strange feeling throughout his body that gave him goosebumps across his skin. The sweet smell of your hair surrounded him with a delightful scent that he had never smelt before. The feelings and things that he experienced around you gave him a strange feeling that he had never felt before, but it brought him comfort.

Dante came back to the van holding a pillow and a blanket under his arm with that same shit-eating grin on his tired face. He handed his brother the pillow while he tossed the blanket across your body, causing you to cuddle closer towards Vergil.

“What is this? What are you doing?” He asked Dante, “I thought you were coming back to help me with her?”

“I did,” Dante shifted on his feet, “I brought a blanket because no matter if it’s forty or a hundred degrees, she always sleeps with a blanket and the pillow is for you, you know, to rest your head on and sleep.” 

Vergil gave a death glare to Dante and just as he was about to threaten him, you stirred, lifting your head up for a brief moment before laying it back down on his lap; his anger dissipated with you simply coming into his mind. Dante shook his head as he stifled another chuckle.

“Dante, don’t you dare—”

“Get some rest, brother,” Dante spoke softly with a certain kindness behind his words, “Oh and by the way, Nico said don’t get too wild in here if she does wake up,” He laughed to himself, “Actually that’s from me but I’m sure she would say the same…Oh and just a side note though, not that I’m trying to hint at anything but, you surprisingly made a good kid, Nero… I’m sure the others might come out the same way, you know, minus the whole orphaning them and whatnot—”

“That’s enough.” Vergil gritted his teeth and waved his hand towards his younger brother to dismiss him; Dante did his best to contain his childish laughter until he closed the van door. Vergil groaned as he heard and saw Dante dying of laughter as he made his way back into the office.

With a heavy sigh, Vergil looked down at you once more before looking to his arm that was draped across the back of the couch. He didn’t want to disturb you but his arm was beginning to hurt, he made the choice to drape it over your waist; he told himself that it was for his own benefit and he could care less about yours, but deep down in his human side, he was relishing in the thought that he finally been able to draw strength from what he used to perceive as a weakness.

Knowing that he couldn’t do anything with sleeping with you still laying on his lap, he let his gaze settle on you as he was lulled back to sleep by the endless thoughts surrounding you in his mind. He knew of your connection with his human counterpart, V, and he still felt it when they merged and he set eyes on you afterward; who knew that after those long months in hell with his brother and you on his mind would strengthing the human in him and bring him to where he was now?

[chaelight]

i was tagged by @pansynight​. thank you, ezra!

i’ll tag @leftandright, @nctyz, @theyoungflexer, and @kihyunsgf, but only if you want to!!

rules: answer these questions and tag 5 mutuals

1. Flowers or chocolates?

uh…i only really like dark chocolate, so flowers i guess

2. Between day and night I prefer:

night

3. My favorite drink:

iced coffee ;;

4. Between sunrise and sunset, I prefer:

sunset 

5. Between dogs and cats, I prefer:

dogs. cats are cute, but i’m allergic hgfds

6. The vegetable I hate the most:

i Do Not vibe with squash or eggplant

7. My favorite sound:

i like the sound of storms…also laughter? 

8. The first thing I notice about people:

height, i think

9. Would you prefer horror or fantasy?

fantasy. horror’s too noisy gfdsa

10. I’d want to be stuck in a lift with:

uh, it doesn’t really matter i don’t talk to people in elevators 

11. What city or town you’d like to live in?

i’d like to live in a smaller city. not anything crazy like nyc or atlanta, but something a bit busier than where i live right now

12. What I value most in life:

every day magic…things like the way the stars look at night or the sky after it storms…the feeling you get when you hear your favorite song, the sound of people laughing…that kind of stuff

13. If I could learn any skill, it’d be:

DRAWING god i’m so bad at it

14. Between the beach and the mountains, I prefer:

i’ve never really been to the mountains, so the beach

15. I’d love to get married in:

a court house. marriage isn’t really something i care about, but if i must, i don’t want a ceremony or anything like that

16. My hidden talent:

i am painfully mediocre at most things

17. If I could bring anyone back to life, I’d bring back:

i don’t have an answer for that

18. Why?

it’s just. uncomfy

19. Rainy or sunny day?

rainy. sunny days usually mean it’s gonna be humid as hell outside, and i hate that

20. Who’s the real model of your life?

uh i dunno

21. How I relax after a hard day:

giffing or playing botw. if you see me posting multiple sets in a short period of time, it’s probably because i’m ✨ stressed ��

22. I like the way I look:

i’m okay enough

23. My most favorite facial features of myself is:

i have a freckle on my right eye that i think is cute

24. My most favorite part of my body is:

don’t have one

25. If I could change anything about my body:

i know this is talking about physical appearance, but my eyes lmao

26. If yes, what’s it:

i’m extremely near-sighted and i have high astigmatism so

27. If I could change something from my past:

uh…pretty much everything since my sophomore year of high school

28. How many piercing I have:

one in each ear

29. I like makeup?

i think it’s pretty

30. I wear make up everyday:

i don’t wear makeup bc i don’t have the vision or hand-eye coordination for that

31. My skin type is:

combination

32. My skin tone:

tan? i’m half-filipino so

33. My hair color:

it’s still red-black from when i dyed it to match minhyuk and changkyun

34. My height:

5′4″ maybe

35. My age:

21

36. My birthday:

june 3

37. My best friend:

two girls i went to high school with

38. I have a pet or more:

i have a dog !!

39. If I don’t, I’d like to adopt:

nah 

40. Video games or social media:

i use social media more, but i like video games

41. I’ve visited outside my country:

lol no i’ve been to like…four states and that’s it

42. I have an innocent/dirty mind:

this is an odd question both i guess 

43. Someone proposed to me or asked me out?

yes

44. If yes, then I liked it and accepted or the opposite:

it was kind of terrible. the date lasted for eight hours because the boy wouldn’t take me home, and i panicked when he tried to put his arm around me so

45. Do you follow some celebrities’ fashion:

no, i don’t understand fashion

46. What do you think about your fashion sense:

i like overalls and sweaters w leggings it’s okay

47. You found someone copying your fashion:

most people wear sweaters and leggings it’s nbd

48. Can you do your makeup properly:

i don’t know how to use makeup

49. You go or used to go with makeup to school:

no

50. What color suits you best?

i think red is cute on me

51. Finally, how is quarantine going?

i mean i didn’t love it, but it was better than me being forced out of quarantine because my uni decided that we should come back even though there are asshole college students breathing into each other’s mouths and making bets on who can get covid first.

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of Marvel: Week of January 22nd, 2020

Best of this Week: Amazing Spider-Man #38 (Legacy #839) - Nick Spencer, Iban Coello, Brian Reber and Joe Caramagna

I can read the headline now: Spider-Man vs. Fake News.

At least that's what it seems like this next Spider-Man arc will be about as the titular hero has to deal with his "biggest supporter," J. Jonah Jameson, and his new job as a clickbait hound in the age of modern online journalism. Who knows what hijinks will ensue?

This issue exemplified the kind of humor that Nick Spencer excels at: the hilarity of hypocrisy when it comes to some of Spider-Man’s supporting cast. This was best shown in Spencer’s hilarious Superior Foes of Spider-Man (2013) as Boomerang did everything in his power to create a new Sinister Six while selling them out at every turn and not learning from his actions as everyone in his sphere suffered the consequences of his betrayals. Spencer channels that same energy as Jameson has to face the fruits of his journalistic practices in the form of Norah Winters and the new Threats and Menaces blog office.

After Jonah launches into a (Boomer) rant about today's journalists, calling them soft, self-obsessed and lacking the edge that made him what he is, Norah tells her team to sound off about the stories they’re working on. Without missing a beat and with faces of malice, thanks to Coello, they tout their intentionally misleading headlines.

Norah explains that in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, they need to get those clicks by any means necessary and that Jameson was the inspiration for this because of his past headlines calling Spider-Man a menace usually without real evidence. She expects villains to repost it to their audiences and heroes to quote it with malice, giving them more clicks.

Everyone likes to take the piss of millennial journalists and can often come off as cringy, but somehow Spencer, Iban Coello and Brian Reber manage to really capture the essence of modern open architecture office spaces filled with young kids and their kooky hair colors. Coello draws a really good shot of this with the addition of a space for video games, two bright green vending machines and tables full of people either on desktops without dividing walls or on personal laptops. Of course, all of this comes after Jonah is nearly hit by a douchebag riding an electric scooter.

Reber colors everything in contrast to Jameson who wears a professional brown suit. The office itself is brightly lit, all of the freelancers and employees are given brighter clothes with striking reds, pinks, blues and purples. Even the basic Threats and Menaces banner is a bright red, kinda signalling how bad this company might be. It’s really fun to see how out of his element Jonah is among these kids and how much more awful they are in comparison to him… aside from creating supervillains.

As all of this is going on, Spider-Man is robbing a bank. One can see how this might be a problem as Jonah is doing his best to defend Spider-Man to Winters who wants him to write a smearing headline about the crime. Coello and Reber introduce us to the act with an amazingly dynamic splash page of Spidey zipping into the sky carrying bags of cash. The webs are slung so hard that they blur, laser gun blasts almost fly off the pages with vibrant red and orange colors and Spider-Man’s posing makes him look like he’s avoiding danger with ease.

We get a sidestory with Silver Sable trying to regain her strength with the help of (former?) Spider-Man villain, Foreigner, as the two are now lovers. After helping her, Foreigner goes to a secret casino where the use of superpowers is encouraged and there’s betting on the battles between superheroes, villains and everything in between.

Foreigner still maintains his supervillain connections, but he seems to be using it towards helping Sable. Minor supervillain and assassin, Chance, has set up the robbery and casino in order to place bets on Spidey's performance and potential property damage. Of course, he also rigs it so that surprise drones appear to make things harder. As things begin to get hectic, lo and behold we get the best shot in the entire book: J. Jonah Jameson riding in to save Spider-Man on an electric scooter.

Coello and Reber make Jonah look like an absolute mad lad as he rushes into danger without a second thought to save Spider-Man. Fiery explosions ring out behind him, his pose makes him look like he came straight out of a Tony Hawk game and Spider-Man is absolutely shocked at all of this. Legitimately, it’s a really badass panel and one that should go down as one of the best out of context shots in comic history. 

Spider-Man reacts as we would expect, chastising Jonah for putting himself in danger. Jonah retorts that he and Spider-Man were supposed to be a team after Jonah owned up to his some of his worst actions after a gang of supervillains confronted him and Spider-Man earlier in the series. Though he was supposed to keep it secret at the request of his sister, Teresa Parker, Spider-Man reveals to Jonah that the bank he robbed was a front for a criminal organization and that he needed to run because there were too many bad guys. As Jonah flees, he vows to Spider-Man that he’ll make his life easier one way or another.

Soon after, we get an amazing double page spread of Spider-Man taking down these nameless villains as Chance counts down. He thwips, kicks and smashes these clowns over the head with his signature Spidey style before Chance announces that the house wins after Spider-Man takes them all down.

As far as art showcasing goes, Coello, Reber and Joe Caramagna smash it out of the park here. The panels flow as the action moves between Spider-an acrobatic antics and Chance’s excited facial expressions. Colors are rich and switch between explosive oranges to dynamic blue skies. The lettering is truly amazing as every sound effect is emphasized and given proper placement for effect.

Spider-Man wins, but soon gets a call from Teresa, asking him if he knows what Top Secret means. He questions what’s going on and then sees the headline from J. Jonah Jameson exposing the plot and why Spider-Man is a hero for it, accompanied by Jonah raising his arms into the air with childlike excitement. This is gonna be a wacky adventure.

This book was a lot of fun and I’m glad Nick Spencer is writing it. He’s able to bring the funny and really works with his artists to give each issue and story its own identity. None of them feel exactly the same and that’s commendable. With much thanks to Chip Zdarsky, Nick Spencer continues to build on the relationships established in the Spectacular Spider-Man series with Jameson doing his best to repay Peter for all the times he’s called him a menace after revealing his identity to his former biggest antagonist. At the same time, it’s nice that Peter’s also keeping in contact with his sister Teresa, a character that absolutely has a lot more going on that people might expect.

Iban Coello is an amazing artist and makes every page look so dynamic and fun, combined with Brian Reber’s coloring, this is an awesome looking Spider-Man book. Joe Caramagna as always does a stellar job by placing each balloon so that the dialogue is easy to follow without cluttering up the pages, emphasizing words to give every character a unique voice and placing sound effects so that one can almost hear the pages as they turn. I enjoyed all of this immensely.

If there's any criticism I could level at this book, it would be the drawing out of the eventual conflict between Spider-Man and Kindred. I know Nick Spencer is playing the long game and he's very good at it, making me anticipate it with every issue the creepy villain appears in, but there has to be substantial storytelling in the mean time. Hunted was an amazing story from start to finish, but the 2099 crossover left a lot to be desired.

In between, there hasn't been much to rave about. Even the Absolute Carnage crossover and the Sinister Syndicate storyline have been on the lower levels of Spencer's stories during his time on Spider-Man. Sure they were fun, but unlike the absolute hilarity that is the storyline with Boomerang, they feel a bit disjointed from the rest of the stellar story that Spencer is telling. I get a similar feeling from this issue despite how fun it was.

But don’t let my impatience stop you from buying this book!

[purplesurveys]

714

Do you have anyone you fully trust? Yeah, mostly my friends. I wouldn’t befriend them if I knew from the get-go they couldn’t keep a secret or be reliable. What kind of pants did you wear today? I usually wear shorts to keep myself comfortable during the warm April days. How old is your television? Our TVs in the living and dining rooms have been around since we moved in so that’s 12 years. My parents’ TV is around 8-9 years old, I’m not very sure. I don’t have my own TV in my room – I used to, but it got moved to my brother’s room when we realized he’d use it more since he has a PS3/PS4. That one is around 6 years old. Do you have a laptop or desktop? Laptop.  When did you last talk on the phone with someone? Not so sure. I think it was a couple of nights ago.

Are you currently sleepy? A little bit, which is why I have a cup of coffee beside me right now. ;) Have you ever deleted Facebook friends for a significant other? No, that’s so childish and obviously possessive eugh. I don’t like some of Gab’s friends but at the end of the day they’re still her friends, so I never feel the need to tell her to delete them. Have you ever had bad trust issues with someone? Yep. That’s why to make things easier for me I just stop talking to them entirely. What accent do you think is the most attractive? There’s a certain kind of British accent that I find very pleasurable to listen to... think the cast of Love Actually and how everyone there talked, haha. Do you own any television series box sets? I have an unofficial box set to the 1980s show Perfect Strangers that my dad bought for me. Other than that, no – I do have copies of some of my favorite shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, but they’re all kept in a hard drive.

Have you ever been in a fight with your best friend? I’ve been in numerous fights with Gab. My last fight with Angela was back in the 5th grade probs. Do you have high standards? Eh, for certain things but not everything. I have high standards for group projects and papers – my groupmates don’t just get away with writing in whatever style they wish or designing our Powerpoint however way they want if they’re grouped with me; I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to that. Which for me is an ok trait to have since more often than not I WILL see a grammar error or a haphazardly-made slide in a Powerpoint.

When it comes to food and vacations I also tend to be a bit uppity since both my parents have worked in the hotel industry for almost 30 years, so over time I’ve learned to identify which accommodations are good and which aren’t. When did you last receive a hug and who was it from? I haven’t received a hug in more than a month. I’m rottinggggggg. Do you take any advanced classes? No. I don’t think we can do that here, or if we even have that concept. What is your lucky number? I don’t have one. Do you own a book bag? If so, what color is it? No I don’t, I only have large backpacks since I tend to carry a lot of stuff for school. Was the last movie you watched a horror film? I didn’t watch it in full, but yeah The Shining is very much a horror flick. Do you own a lot of tee shirts? Yeah, both for outside and for home wear. They’re just comfortable and convenient to have lol. Do you plan your outfits ahead of time? Not always. I plan my outfits mostly if I’m going to be seeing my girlfriend the next day since I always want to look nice for her, and to look cute if we’re gonna go to the mall hahaha. Have you ever spent the night in jail? I have not. I’ve read Chris Jericho’s account of having to stay the night in a cell for a DUI and it sounds like a nightmare, though. Would you say you're a bad influence on others? No. If I do act like a bad influence it’ll always be jokingly - like telling my friends to cut class so we can have lunch together - but in the end I’ll tell them to go to their class, or at least to make their own decision. Describe your favorite jacket? It’s a UP-themed varsity jacket, and it’s maroon and has the name of the school in big letters at the back. Are you a colorful person or quite bland? I always try to be colorful, of course. I would hate to have to describe myself as bland. List one word to describe your significant other? Right now, annoying. In general, she’s understanding. Do you handle pain well? It’s one of the few things that I don’t. I can’t handle pricks to the skin, gashes, paper cuts, etc. Have you ever been so nervous you threw up? No, I find myself feeling barf-y only if I have a bad headache or, more predictably, if I’ve had too much to drink. Where is your favorite place to go when you're depressed? I like going to Skywalk because I can always count on the fact that at least one orgmate will be there at any time of the day, and my orgmates are my family and make me forget about my problems instantly. If Skywalk doesn’t help, I go to my car and cry as much as I need to.

If I’m not at the university I like going to our couch in the living room, because my bedroom only makes me more depressed and I have had particularly bad episodes when I had willingly stayed there in the past. Do you remember the first survey you took? I’ve always recorded my surveys on Tumblr so the first one is on my first survey blog, the one I got locked out of last 2016 haha. How many friends do you have on Facebook? I don’t feel like checking exactly how many but it’s in the 660s or 670s. Have you ever watched fight videos for amusement? No thanks, any video involving any kind of conflict stresses me out. In high school, were you in trouble a lot? Nah. My friend group were mild troublemakers but we all performed well in school, had good grades, and respected teachers at the end of the day so they didn’t really have a reason to penalize us. Do you enjoy your hairstyle? I like it a lot better than my boring straight hair, but with the lockdown making all salons close for the meantime, I have no idea what to do with my bangs that are growing too long now D:

Do you have long hair or short hair? It’s a lot shorter than before. How much make up do you wear on a daily basis? Zero. I only wear makeup for parties or formal events. What is your favorite television show? Breaking Bad and Friends. Do you have a leather jacket? No. I don’t really need that here either... I can’t imagine how hot I’d feel wearing that. Do you think anyone dislikes you for no reason? Sure. Don’t most people have one person they feel this way towards lmaoooo Do you have any children? Nope. Have you ever been interviewed on television before? Nah but we’ve had media crews visit our school before to look for interviewees for segments in news programs. I’ve always just said no and watched my friends from behind the camera. Do you have weak upper body strength? A little but it’s improved a whole lot from my fitness class last sem. What is the worst insult someone can call you? A failure.  Do you write on your hands a lot? Only back in high school. I have no idea what made me stop as soon as I started college but thank fuck I did because it was such a poor habit to have. Are you good at sketching? I’m no good at any kind of drawing or creating images. Do you think hugs are awkward? If it’s not with the right person or if I hugged someone who wasn’t a hugger then yeah, they can be awkward. Do you think facial hair is gross? No unless it’s neglected and has like gunk or food bits in it. But I don’t mind hair in general. Would you ever dye your hair an unnatural color? Sure. What color was the last cup you drank from? My coffee mug :) It has a black decor on the outside that turns bright blue when the liquid inside is hot, so that I know to be careful with it. Ever play Angry Birds? I did play it back in 2010 but I was already pretty old then (at least for those kinds of games) so I didn’t really enjoy it. We had it on the family iPad for a while though because my brother, who was 6-7 at the time, liked the game. Did you think it was annoying, like I did? The sounds were a bit annoying, sure. Have you ever been to the zoo before? No, but close. My old school has its own eco-park that we used to visit every now and then. What instruments do you know how to play? Just the recorder, which really shouldn’t count lol. How late did you stay up last night? Till 4 AM, I think. How late do you plan on staying up tonight? I have no idea. Definitely not now, though.