#this drawing took 46 minutes

[sansthepacifist-art]

[undercoverpigeon413]

First art commission finished! They're the characters the order-er[?] and their friend are playing in a campaign I'm running :] [Currently in a fun little enchanted forest that move and warp around them just bc they're silly like that]

[a-trans-transfomersfan]

Some yummy art for yall

enjoy or something I dunno.

+Speed paint, yall can watch the terrible process

[cautotelic]

Chapter 2: Friend or Foe?

Ambessa Medarda x Reader

Synopsis: When you get taken away from your home land and thrown into the palace of the infamous warlord, will things be as bad as they first seemed?

TWs: past abuse, blood, violence

A/N: this is definitely longer then the last chapter but I love my war crimes committing, questionably older wife:))

“Again,” I instruct the warriors. They go to the drill again, doing one on one with the techniques that I taught them. I walk amongst the pairs on the training mats, stopping to critique when needed before moving on to the next. After a few minutes of letting them spar I bring them to a stop.

“Okay, you’ve proven to be able to handle yourself in combat with each other. Now lets see how you manage against a legionnaire,” I announce with a quirked up eyebrow.

I look over to the guard overseeing my training hours. With a look of urgency he takes off running down the corridor. I click the timer on my watch. “New guy, huh?” I say motioning towards where he just took off running. “Well I don’t have all day people, who wants to go?”

“I will,” a voice says from behind me. I turn around and see it’s one of the female warriors. Nodding her way in acknowledgment, she tips her head to me.

Before I know it she’s surging forward quickly, but I’m quicker. I easily turn out of her path and she goes stumbling on the mat where my body once was. I bring my staff to the floor and lean on it slightly. “Is that all you’ve got? I expected more from someone under the Generals command,” I mock yawn.

That riles her up and she’s back on her feet. Again she comes at me head on but this time drawing her twin battle blades. With the possibility of injury on the line, I focus more on the fight. I deflect her attacks using my staff being both agile and quick. I go to block one of her overhead attacks and fail to notice her other arm coming down to take a low blow. A stinging sensation blooms just under my rib cage and I hiss. Looking down at my watch. 2:45, 2:46, 2:47. I only have a little while longer.

I grab the arm that sliced me and I tug her close before twisting our bodies so that we fall. Her back hits the mat and I’m on her. Using my staff I press it down onto her throat. I feel cool steel against my neck and freeze. I look the girl in the eyes and know that neither of us will be conceding anytime soon.

“Exactly what is going on here?” A familiar voice booms. The warriors part way for Ambessa to walk through, Rictus not too far behind. I get off of my sparring partner and help her to her feet.

“General,” the woman lowers her head in respect. “I can explain this I-“

“I thought I made myself very clear when saying no one is to lay hands on her,” she interrupts as she begins to stalk over to the warrior.

I get in between the two and shove Ambessa in the shoulder with my staff. “Hey, if you want to punish someone, punish me. I’m the one who told them to fight with me.”

I watch Ambessa roll her shoulders back and press her tongue on the inside of her cheek before looking down at me. “This doesn’t concern you, get out of my way,” she orders as she tries to push past me, but I hold my ground. She looks down at me clearly irritated.

“Well I guess you're just going to have to make me because I’m not letting her get punished,” I say as I point to the warrior. “For something I did.” I take a second to look around and see that all of her warriors have backed up and are now watching this whole interaction.

Ambessa looks behind me at the female warrior with a glare. “Everyone, out,” she orders and the sound of shuffling footsteps fills the room. Once everyone is cleared out she stalks up to me. “‘Make you’, huh?” She says in a condescending tone.

I crane my neck slightly to look up at her. “Yes, ‘make me’ because god knows how many times I’ve been punished because of someone elses faults,” I state as I jab my finger into her chest. “So… if you want to punish someone, punish me. Right here, right now.” I say as I take a few steps away from her, holding my staff at the ready.

Ambessa looks at me and I can’t tell if she wants to kill me or…. well kill me. She looks me up and down. “Your bleeding,” she points out as she motions to my stomach.

“Scared of blood, General?” I ask.

She huffs as she goes to grab her weapon of choice from the weapons rack. Twin daggers, great. “Hardly. Although you might be considering you don’t even have a real weapon,” she insults.

“I refuse to draw blood in a sparring match but,” circling me she goes out of my frame of view. “I see that isn’t the case here.”

I sink down to the floor as I watch her arm swing where my head was a second ago. I extend my leg out and swing it behind me, hoping to knock her off her feet. I hear a solid thud behind me and I’m immediately on her. Climbing on top of her I straddle her waist as I pick up her daggers and throw them across the room. While I was too busy focusing on the dagger, Ambessa took the opportunity to wrap her hands around both of my arms. I struggle in her hold as she pulls me down to look at her.

“You will not win this fight- stop fucking moving,” she demands coldly as she glares up at me. “For over a month you have been a thorn in my side and I expect nothing but obedience from you of all people.”

“Sorry to disappoint, General. But I’m not gonna be one of your obedient bitches you keep on a tight rein.”

That pisses her OFF.

She pulls me down to her chest and twists me around so that my back is to her front. Her arm comes around and wraps around my neck and she starts squeezing. I claw at her arm as I gasp for air to no avail.

“Let this be a lesson. Don’t let it happen again,” she murmurs in my ear before releasing me. My hand goes to my neck as I cough, inhaling deep breaths. I watch as Ambessa walks out of the training arena, disappearing into the hallway.

•••

The sun has just set on the horizon. I watch as the guards make their rounds outside as I sit perched in the window seat. Deciding I’m hungry, I pad over to the door of the room, opening it slowly. The hallway outside is eerily quiet. With a furrow in my brows I summon a newt and release it to let it creep down the hall silently. A few minutes go by in silence before it returns to me, scurrying down the hall. It climbs its way up my body until it reaches my shoulder where it perches itself.

“Well? What is it?” I ask calmly. The newt makes a quiet chirp sound before biting down on my hair and tugging. “Okay, okay I’ll go check it out…. Sheesh.”

I walk down the hallway and round the corner. All the lanterns in the hallway are out which is unusual because they are always on. Being cautious I continue down the hallway when all of a sudden I’m grabbed by someone. I go to let out a scream but a thick hand comes to cover my mouth. I struggle in my captor's arms but they are too strong.

Out of nowhere another person, wearing a mask that covers the lower part of their face, comes and binds my hands together. With my mouth covered by tape, the two intruders hog carry me through the halls and out of the palace into the gardens. I rub my mouth against my arm and am able to remove the tape from my mouth.

“Help!” I yell as loud as I can. The people quickly drop me and climb on top of me trying to put the piece of tape back.

“Shut her up,” the bigger one hissed as he looked around anxiously.

“Get off of me,” I say as I try to kick my feet out from under the smaller guy who’s on top of me.

The dudes attempt to put the tape back are halted. When he goes still I look up at him quizzical before he slumps on top of me, dead with an arrow sticking out of his back. I look in the direction of where it came from and almost sigh in relief. Ambessa.

She has a cross bow and steps out into the snow, it crunching beneath her feet. “Why didn’t you stay put, child?” She asks, running a hand down her face. The other intruder I watch from the corner of my eyes starts to slowly back away from us. Ambessa without looking raises her crossbow and shoots him, her eyes never straying from mine.

I shrug. “Free will.” She helps me stand up and takes out a knife to cut through the ropes on my hands. As she does I look out towards the edge of the palace property where the clean cut land turns to overgrowing forests. I turn my attention back to Ambessa but I can’t stop glancing back at it with a bad feeling in my stomach.

“Someone’s out there,” I say quietly just loud enough for her to hear me.

“Hm? What are you talking about?”

“There's someone, a lot of someone’s, past the tree line,” I repeat. When I say that it’s like a stampede as 15 or 20 people come running out of the trees armed at the ready. Out of nowhere, some of Ambessa’s soldiers come charging towards them. The two groups clash and fighting ensues.

The intruders start dropping like flies but the warriors are severely outnumbered. Ambessa joins in the fighting and I’m left to watch. I watch as more and more of the warriors start to fall and realize why. The opponent is using sorcery. I take off running towards the fight and quickly turn into a shadow myself. I move swiftly and silently through the masses of people, returning back to my physical form to kill the intruders before shadowing and moving on to the next.

In less than 2 minutes I’ve decimated all of them. I return back to my physical form, covered from head to toe in blood. I look down at my watch and stop the timer with a shaky hand.

I went over my time limit, completely exerting myself.

I watch as the Noxian soldiers dust themselves off and as Ambessa finishes off her last intruder. She looks over at me with both shock and intrigue. What she doesn’t notice is the lone straggler aiming a spear at her back. Using all that’s left of my energy, I throw my arm up and erect a wall behind her.

The spear deflects off of it, clattering to the ground. I sway on my feet and feel myself falling, my body going limp. My breathing is shallow. I watch as Ambessa breaks someone’s neck. I blink and she’s kneeling beside me. I blink and suddenly I’m being carried inside. When I close my eyes I don’t open them again.

••• The smell of eucalyptus and a rubbing sensation of my arm brings me to. Slowly opening my eyes the first thing I notice is that I’m in a bathtub. Second, I’m not alone. I go to sit up.

“Don’t even think about it, you’ve done enough today,” I hear Ambessa say from behind me.

Looking down I see that my bindings and my underwear are still on. I also note the murkiness of the water. Despite how much I want to get away from her, I can’t bring myself to get up because of how much my body aches.

I go to move and groan. Ambessa sighs and gently readjusts me into a more comfortable position. “Oh how stubborn you are,” she mutters as she runs the washcloth over the back of my neck.

I don’t say anything and neither does she. We sit in silence. As she cleans me her touch is tender but firm. For the first time in years, I’m being taken care of instead of being left to lick my own wounds. Why? What does she want from me? Everyone always has ulterior motives for stuff like this, right?

“Your tense,” she notes as her hands run over my shoulders.

“Why are you doing this, Ambessa?” I question, my voice coming out raspy.

I can tell this takes her aback as her movements on my body halt. “What do you mean, child?”

I huff. “I mean,” I say as I once again try to sit up from laying back on her and I hiss. “Why are you sitting in dirty bath water cleaning blood off me?”

Ambessa’s brows furrowed together and her eyes softened at my pain. “Is it so hard to believe I care for you to some degree?” She states calmly.

I chuckle. “Kind of. I mean I guess not, I’m surprised you haven’t killed me yet with how much I’ve been a pain.”

Her laugh reverberates in her chest and my body feels warm. “Trust me, I think about doing it more than you’d think.” I know she’s talking about killing me but the way she said it, makes my mind go back to our encounter in the kitchen. “Do you do that often?”

“Do what?”

“The turning into a shadow thing,”

“Growing up I never really had a choice,” I admit as I try to relax in Ambessa’s hold. “I didn’t like doing it though. I end up like this and…never exactly had anyone to do this for me. So thank you.”

“Anytime.” We both stay silent as she finishes cleaning me up. When she’s finished she gets herself out of the tub and I sneak glances as she wraps herself in a towel. I can’t tell if I’m sad or relieved that she was also wearing some kind of covering.

She comes over to me, moves my arm to wrap around her neck, and lifts me out of the tub. The movement causes me to whimper. “Forgive me, little one. I have to put you down to dry you off, can you stand?”

I nod. She places me down on my feet and I wobble slightly, her arm is there to steady me. Holding eye contact with me, she lowers herself down to my level, places my hands on her shoulders and starts drying me off. “I can dry myself off. You don’t need to-“

“No you can’t and you're right, I don’t need to do this, but I want to. So stand still.”

For once I listen to her.

She dries me off making sure every inch of my body is dry. Leaving me to lean against the bathroom counter for a moment she goes and gets me some clothes, before leaving me to get dressed. I change my underwear and take off my bindings before dressing in the clothes she brought me: a loose fitted top and lounge pants.

Once I’m dressed I use the wall to keep myself up as I make my way to the door. When I open it I’m startled at Ambessa standing right there. “I see the clothes fit.”

I hum in acknowledgment. “Can you take me to my room now?” I ask anxiously, not trusting myself in such close proximity to her.

She appears to be mulling it over for a second. “No.”

“Why?”

“Seeing as you can’t even walk without being supported, you're staying in here.” She says with finality in her voice.

I look at her dumbfounded. “I don’t want to stay here.”

She leans in close to my face. “Frankly, I don’t care what you want,” she admits as she scoops me into her arms.

“Ambessa, put me down,” I protested.

“Stop squirming, you’re going to hurt yourself more,” she states as she places me down on what I assume is her bed.

I roll my eyes. “I don’t even sleep so being in here is pointless.”

Ambessa ignores me as she goes to sit at her desk in the corner of the room and begin writing on some papers. Now that I’m sitting on it, this bed is very comfortable. The pillows and blankets make it seem even more inviting. After the events of today, I am exhausted so I lay down covering myself with the comforter.

•••

Unbeknownst to you, Ambessa quietly watches you drift off to sleep. She would never admit to it, but having you against her chest in the bathroom had her heart pounding. Ever since you’d arrived she couldn’t keep you out of her mind. Suddenly filled with the urge to take care of and provide for you. Every time she was reminded of you father and what you’d been through, she was filled with rage that made her want to break their agreement and go to war. Never would she think of putting her own children through harm so… why would he?

She’s brought out of her thoughts when she hears you groan. At first she thinks it’s your body aches and that you're probably just moving in your sleep. But when she looks at you, you're not moving. In fact you haven't moved from that position in the hour that you’ve been asleep.

Standing up from her desk she makes her way over to you, concern written on her face. She takes a knee beside the bed taking note of your labored breathing despite being asleep and the furrow in your brows. Her hand comes up and gently caresses your cheek, her other hand rubs at the tension between your brows. Slowly your face relaxes and your breathing evens out.

Even though you're fine now Ambessa sits and stares at you for a moment before getting up and going to the other side of the bed, laying on top of the covers.

[k0libra]

Phew, this one was not easy to draw! I am satisfied with the final result though. Procreate says that the piece took me 9 hours 46 minutes and 7840 strokes haha.

Hope you like it too! :> he's just chilling

The picture was referenced from one of the virtual photos that @singularity-ps4 posted on their twitter

[jomunson]

50 ed headcanons i been thinking about

1. washes his hair with bar soap

2. doesn't like coffee

3. his father is in jail and his mother passed when he was 11

4. secretly gets really scared when it storms

5. says "hubba bubba"

6. gets super miserable in the summer, he burns super easily

7. swims with goggles and a snorkel

8. wears his hair in a towel when he gets out of the shower

9. super good and confident with flirting with men but really awkward and flustered with flirting with women

10. will say "is this guy bothering you, babe?" if you ever run into furniture

11. love language is words of affirmation, he wants to know you don't see him as a freak

12. sleeps with a garfield plush he's had since he was a boy

13. really bad at fishing, like he'll actually catch a boot when he goes on trips to the creek with wayne

14. burps the abc's

15. took his driving test drunk

16. when he gets home from school he's tired from being a tough guy, he reads a book and smokes before falling asleep

17. thinks people are pranking him when they ask him out

18. wears silly red and pink heart designed boxers

19. really sweet with the kids who live in the trailer park

20. will leave a handful of change as a tip

21. can only cook spaghetti. only spaghetti.

22. biggest fear is the koolaid man coming alive

23. minute man munson (iykyk)

24. will ask people to name 3 songs if their wearing a band tee

25. put lipstick on one time and felt pretty

26. prefers apple juice over orange juice

27. absolutely loves halloween

28. extremely competitive

29. hits people when he's excited/laughing

30. sits really close to the tv like an ipad kid

31. moans while getting beat up to make it awkward

32. extremely allergic to cats but loves them to death

33. birthday is april 19th 1966

34. has skinny dipped w his bros in lovers lake

35. fein for chocolate chip pancakes

36. eats skittles for lunch

37. tried to do a karate kick and ripped his pants once

38. calls his van his baby

39. lifts his leg when he farts and thinks it's peak humor

40. won a goldfish from the fair and fed it crushes doritos for 4 months and cried when it died

41. writes reminders on the palm of his hand and it gets smeared on his face

42. always cuts his face when he shaves on accident

43. when he draws and has to erase he does it so hard it rips holes in the paper

44. feels cool because he doesn't carry around a backpack at school

45. scared of moths

46. has lost pencils in his hair

47. flips his boxers inside out so he can wear them longer

48. has to be told to shower

49. tried to pierce his ears and sobbed and then they got infected

50. his nose gets the brightest red in the winter

[ingydar-phan]

Just joined tumblr, so it is indeed time to share my newest DNP art!! Shall i also upload the speed draw? This took me 3 hours 46 minutes, over the course of one very brainrotted week. Anywayz go vote for #goldenphil and pls perhaps reblog and comment on this? Maybe? Side note HOW ARE PEOPLE COMMENTING ON MY POSTS I DONT UNDERSTAND THIS APP AND WHG CANT MY REPLIES SEND

Edit: lmaooo i couldn’t comment because my email wasn’t verified. I can now. 💀 @serendipnpipity

[yorutsuki]

「 ✦ Isekaied Reversed Pt. 5 ✦ 」

↳ Your nutritions had slowly decreased overtime, thus you needed to head out for a grocery trip! Surprisingly, you ran into a cat and, unfortunately, as well as trouble.

Tags:

──────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──────

It's been approximately 46 days since Xiao made his arrival out of nowhere.

Over the course of the days—weeks, the two of you slowly bonded as time flowed, albeit it was rough the first few weeks, your relationship with him gradually blossomed.

Comparing since a few weeks ago, you've gotten to the point where he could be comfortable enough around you to let his guard down for a while—even better that he didn't draw out his spear with every corner he turned.

In all, you guys were mutuals at best—which was quite progress in your book.

.

"You have to be shitting me."

Xiao's eyes glanced over to you, his brow raised.

You sighed, closing the fridge. "We're out ingredients."

You walked over towards your bag, picking up your wallet which thankfully had money—around a rough $50. Unfortunately, that would mean you'd have to save up once again.

Xiao took notice if your downed mood, before squinting his eyes, trying to get a glimpse of the problem.

You felt a feeling of eyes watching you. Looking over towards the origin of the feeling, you saw Xiao looking towards you, well, the wallet. Seeing he got caught, he quickly averted his gaze like nothing happened.

You eternally chuckled at his shy actions, before your midn reminded you of your problem.

"Well, Xiao. Looks like we're running out of stuff." You huffed with a grimace before starting to put on your shoes. "I'll be back in uhh..20-30 minutes tops."

Xiao looked towards you before giving a slight nod.

Making your ways to the door, you grabbed your keys, phone, earbuds and wallet before turning the doorknob though swiftly turned around, "right! Do you need anything while i'm out?" You asked the yaksha who shook his head. "Don't spend your money on me, or unnecessary things in general." He sighed. You frowned.

You couldn't tell if that was worded weird or if he really did see himself as unnecessary. Nonetheless, you pushed those thoughts away before giving him a thumbs up but closing the door behind you.

You thought for a minute, looking between your wallet and the door.

'am I listening to that? Hell nah.' You grinned before heading towards your apartment elevator.

.....

Making your way down to Safeway, you yelped and tensed up as you felt something furry brush against your leg.

Quickly looking down, your muscles relaxed when finding out it was only a cat and quite a cute one too.

It was a Edgyptian Mau. It's fur was black with some gray and white spots around it's body. Though it's eyes were the most captivating—they looked like a vibrant sunset.

You were quite surprised that an Egyptian Mau was around this area but decided not to look to deep into it. It was probably someone's pet who ran off and ended up in this dump. Though, that wouldn't stop you from giving it a little pet.

"Aren't you a cutie~" You smiled with awe, kneeling down towards the cat to which the animal slightly staggered back. It calmed down though as you put your hand in front of you, letting it sniff it before melting into your hand as you lightly scratched it's jaw.

"Man, I wish I could take you home.." You whined lightly before sighing as you stood up, the cat letting out a needy call, looking up towards you for more scratches.

"Sorry buddy, I gotta get some things from the market." You cried internally as you looked down at the furry creature. Your heart breaking at seeing it's sad face.

Persevering, you looked away, a single tear falling down as you began to walk away, trying your best to ignore the meows of need.

....

"Tofu...tofu.." You mumbled, trying to recall what isle the food was. Unfortunately, while lost in your train of thought, you felt someone harshly bump into you, causing you to snap back to reality.

The person merely grunted with a harsh, 'watch where your standing' which received just as harsh of a glare from your end.

"Idiot." You muttered before going back to your task.

...

Finally after you payed, you left the store, two bags of groceries-one in each hand.

As you exited the store, you subconsciously scanned the 'lot for the black splotched cat.

Your slightly frowned upon not seeing it anywhere. 'Probably ran back to it's owner.' you shook your head, continuing your way home.

As you walked along the street, you heard small paws running a bit behind you along with desperate calls.

Turning around, you saw the cat once more, only it looked rougher—like it had just came out from a low-grade shelter.

You dropped your bags as it clawed onto your legs, meowing. You slightly hissed at the stinging sensation from the new marks as you picked it up—it trying to hide up onto your shoulder.

"Poor baby, what happene-" Your words were cut short when you suddenly heard shouting. "Give the damn cat back!"

Looking ahead, you saw the same man from the store, holding a...bat?

You had a feeling where this was going so, picking up your bags quickly, you made a run for it as the shouting behind you grew louder.

'fuck,fuck,fuck,fuck,fuck!' You screamed mentally, your legs and arms growing tired with each push but you didn't dare stop. That man seemed restless and merciless, plus, he was right behind your trail.

Unfortunately, you were hit in the shoulder by something hard. Your body giving up as you hit the hard concrete with a thud- the cat standing by you with it's hairs sticking up as it hissed with aggression and fear.

You saw the man try reaching for the cat, though you intervened, by grabbing his hand and biting as hard as you could. The man grunted loudly as you heard a crack and suddenly tasted metal in your mouth.

You grimaced at the metalic taste and gagged a bit.

"You bitch!" He shouted at you before kicking you in the ribs, in return you let out a winded yelp.

As the man saw your stunned state, he went for the black Mau, grabbing it by the back of the neck. Though fortunately, the cat retaliated by scratching the man's hand though led it to be thrown harshly aside. "Fuckin' creature, i'll deal with your shit later." He hissed before turning to you.

You tried getting up only to be hit back down with the same back that knocked you in the first place. "Thats!-" He hit your shoulder, "-for stealing what's mine!" He shouted before he went to strike you at your head, though thankfully you blocked it in time with your arms—feeling a pounding sensation within them.

Suddenly, you looked to the side, finding a very convienent brick. As the manw as distracted, you picked it up and rammed it into the side of the man's ankle.

He shouted curses of pain, giving you a brief break. Unfortunately, it didn't last long before he shouted, going for your head as well as taking a few breaks to kick you around.

Your eyes were teary, feeling bruises forming already. You felt weak and heavy-your body betraying your mind as you screamed it to get up—to do something than lie on the floor helplessly.

"Y'know this wouldn't happened if you just handed us the damn critter. The only person ya' can call for now, tis' God." He snicked, enjoying the sight in front of him.

But something clicked in your brain, and hopefully it worked.

"Xiao!"

The man watched in amusement as you called out a name. "Saying your final goodbyes?" He laughed huskly, but you only gave a grin, "Not quite." You smiled weakly. He stared confused at you but grinned, looking down at your pathetic form.

Suddenly, his view of you was blocked by something, well someone.

Looking up, he was met by a familiar yaksha, his spear centimeters away from his head. He only grinned with amusement once more. "What is this? Some type of costume party?" He laughed though it came to a brief halt and replaced with a winding grunt as he was kicked backwards a few feet on the street.

The man shouted slurs and insults towards the masked yaksha who only replied with silence.

The man's anger grew with each second as he stood from the ground, bat in hands before trying to strike the boy. Unfortunately for him, he was no match for a yaksha. All his strikes were dodged and returned with precision, sharp, powerful and agile blows from the back of the boy's polearm.

Ultimately, near in the end, the man ended on his rear, looking at the immortal in fear before he scurried to get away, embarrassingly. "Keep the damn cat then!"

The yaksha glared at the retreating figure before turning towards you, his mask disappearing onto his belt.

As he helped you get to your feet and wrapped your arm around his neck for support. You saw a glint of concern in his eyes, making your lips curl into a small smile. "Thanks for that back there." You grinned but faltered as you grunted, making Xiao's concern grow.

"Is anything broken?" He asked, his voice stern as ever.

You shook your head, "I don't believe so, just a few-" you were cut with a wave of pain electrocuting you. "-I take that back, a lot of bruising." You chuckled as the adeptus sighed.

Your brows furrowed in worry, glancing back to the animal on the ground. Xiao's gaze followed yours as his expression hardened.

He sighed, knowing where this was going.

.....

Over the course of a few days, you recovered quickly though on the second day, your whole body ached and you ultimately stayed in bed for 24 hours.

As for the cat, he recovered quite quickly as well—almost too quick. It was like a miracle with everything his body took. Though during the few days of resting and even after, it appeared that the cat took a major liking to the adeptus.

As the adeptus would bring you water or check up on you every once in a while, (though albeit when your not noticing cause he's like that 💀), the cat would be at his side, looking towards you then up to him in worry.

Sometimes he'd be laying next to you but ultimately stayed with Xiao most of thetime.

By day 4, you felt as good as new—a few bruises left but they were like small pebbles in the road.

....

You huffed in defeat as the cat curled up to Xiao's lap.

'wasn't I the one who risked my life for you?' You groaned in annoyance, but it quickly disappeared when seeing the calm expression Xiao carried. If you looked closely, you could see a very faint smile.

You smiled at the sight. "So...what do you think we should name him?"

Xiao snapped from his small trance, "why do we need to keep him?" He asked. Your brows furrowed, "I don't want him to be abandoned. I don't think he has a owner and..I don't want that guy to come after him again." You spoke softly, before smiling, "Plus, I think he really likes you."

Xiao's brows furrowed before he sighed, mumbling something.

You looked up to him, cocking a brow—curious to what he said. "What was that?"

"Qíji. His name." He muttered, looking away towards the ground.

You looked at the yaksha in slight surprise before mumbling the name. "Qíji.." You smiled before looking at the peacefully sleeping fur boy, "well then, welcome home Qíji."

Well look at that, looks like you did get Xiao something after all.

.

.

.

A/N: THAT WAS A LONG WRITE-, I tried making it as least as cliché as I could 😭. But yep, here's part 4, by what part do you guys think Xiao and Reader will end up together??? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Also, feel free to write comments! I love reading them and they keep me motivated! :D

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

For the Touches ask game:

Some combination of 46 from hand holding, 9 from hand holding and/or 50 from touching for Christopher Pike please and thank you 💕

Send me a touch prompt!

Of course Elen!! I hope you're having a lovely weekend :)

Prompts: holding hands across the table; secretly holding hands under the table ; putting a hand over the other’s mouth to shut them up Warnings: Power imbalance; early relationship dynamics; mostly fluff

“I’m sorry.” 

“What are you apologizing for?” You shook your head, expression washing with confusion as Christopher took hold of your hands across the small table. He smiled, shaking his head a little. 

“It shouldn’t have taken us so long to go out properly.”

You shook your head again, giving his hands a gentle squeeze. 

“That’s nothing to apologize for.” 

“Still—” 

“Should I apologize for you for not making the time in our off-hours?”

His brows furrowed, head shaking a bit as he offered, “No, of course not.” 

“Exactly. So why is the onus on you?” You tipped your head to the side a touch, watching as Christopher smiled bashfully, ducking his head. “We got here, that’s all that matters. It’s more difficult when we’re on duty. Shore leave is a convenient relief.” 

“I’ll say.”

“Captain!”

The call of Uhura’s voice made you yank your hands back from his on instinct. You shot him an apologetic look before you turned to give Uhura a wide smile. It faltered as you saw her trailing through the restaurant with Chapel and Ortegas in tow. 

“So much for a quiet afternoon,” Christopher muttered. 

“Maybe they’re just coming to say ‘hi’.” 

But your hypothesis was thwarted when the three of them began to pull up chairs. Erica began to tut about not being able to look out over the star’s landscape, and Christopher was quick to get up, taking up the empty seat beside you. 

“I don’t mind,” He insisted, settling in. You bit your cheek to fight back a smile as he took hold of your hand beneath the table, out of view of your crew mates. You thrilled at the hidden touch, intertwining your fingers as you fell into conversation with Chapel. It was only a few moments before Christopher fell into conversation with Uhura and Ortegas. 

“How did you find this place, anyway?” You heard, and before you could stop yourself, you yanked your hand out of Christopher’s, slapping your hand over his mouth. The entire table fell silent as you felt everyone turn to look at you. You forced a bright smile on your face, offering, “We should get appetizers!” 

-- 

“That was subtle.” 

The meal that you'd shared with your crew members was still heavy in your stomach as you and Christopher walked away from the restaurant together.

“What was?” You grumbled. You didn’t want to delve into it, even with Christopher’s fingers intertwined with yours. He tugged you to a stop, drawing you into an alley, out of view. 

“...I panicked,” You admitted softly, leaning back against the wall. He stepped closer, casting a wary glance around the corner before crowding closer. 

“I did a bit, too,” He reassured. 

“I’m sorry—”

“What are you apologizing for?”

“Chris,” You sighed softly, lowering your gaze to your feet. He stepped closer, gently nuzzling your temple. 

“I just mean that I understand,” He insisted softly. You nodded, sighting off the swelling nerves in your belly. 

“I know.” 

Christopher rested his forehead against yours, and you couldn’t help the swell of your smile at the feeling of him so close. 

“We should get back to the ship,” You murmured. 

“In a minute.” 

“And what’s going to happen in a minute?” 

“Well, I could show you—” 

“Or?” 

“Or I could tell you, but I think a practical explanation should be more efficient.” 

“Oh?” You raised your brows. “How practical?” 

“A little hands on, if you’ve no objection.” 

“None whatsoever.” 

[dalchiid]

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 46

A story of obsession, fear, and lust. You're a maid whose Masters forbid you in meeting their guests for the night but your luck runs dry when you run into them and catch the attention of Lord Hoseok himself. He's smitten from the beginning and thus, your fate has been decided.

Pairing: Yandere Vampire Hoseok x Fem/AFAB Reader

Word Count: 6,076

Warnings: 18+, Yandere, Obsession, Possessive, Angst, Fear, Blood, Biting, Dub-Con, Eventual smut

Will add or remove warnings based on what's in each chapter.

I do not condone the behavior being exhibited in my work. This is solely for entertainment purposes and I hope if any of you are ever in a situation like this that you have the chance and ability to run away from it. Take care out there.

DO NOT copy, edit, or repost my work anywhere.

Chapter 46 Warnings: Yandere, Possessive, Obsession, Self-deprecation, Mentions of feeling violated, Angst

Prev | Next

Your eyes hurt from crying so much. Just the reminder of why you're here talking to Yoongi makes your chest ache but you needed to talk. Maybe it was stupid of you because the vampire before you has his head cradled in his hands after he heard what you had to say but it's too late to take it back now.

Yoongi stays silent with his fingers halfway through his hair. He grips the strands tightly and loosens them after a second. The way he goes without answering makes you freak out a little making you rub your hands between each other.

"I'm sorry," you say. "I shouldn't-"

He cuts you off with a finger raised in your direction effectively silencing you. You swallow deeply and wait for him to sit up with a deep sigh. Licking his lips he looks towards the ceiling and just stares until he can finally find the right words to tell you.

"You know if Hoseok finds out about this that's it. You're never leaving his room ever again."

You ball up your hands into fists to stop the way they shake. "I know."

Yoongi turns to look at you. "And you're not joking, right? You actually did this?"

He won't say exactly what you told him. How you and Namjoon have been sneaking behind Hoseok's back to hook up. How just a couple of minutes ago you did just that. Right before Namjoon told you the truth. The way he took your heart and broke it apart so ruthlessly. The sound of his laughter still rings in your head.

You nod before looking down at your lap.

Yoongi releases another sigh but this time he sounds absolutely exhausted. As if hearing what you said is draining him dry. A thought strikes you then causing you to nervously look his way.

"Do you think he'll tell Hoseok?"

Yoongi shakes his head. "Namjoon is stupid but he's not that stupid. He knows that if he does say something Hoseok will never let him live it down. They may be brothers but that's a grudge I don't think Hoseok will ever let go of." He scratches his face. "Why though?"

Your brows draw together in confusion. He sees your reaction and elaborates further.

"Why did you tell me all of this?"

You shrug. "I hate being here but after what just happened it's also come to hurt. I don't want to be here anymore and if not Minjeong you can help me get out."

He purses his lips as he looks off towards the side.

You know you really hit him hard with bad news that's making him question your sanity you're sure. And you also know you put him in a precarious situation between two brothers with their own issues. You can't imagine how this is making him feel right now but you hope this plea of yours will be heard.

Turning his attention back towards you he hums. "I'm going to need some time. You know that, right? We need a time where some if not all my brothers are gone from the house and it cant be obvious that it's me who helped you escape. I was the only one home when Minjeong left. If the same happens with you people will start asking questions. And Seokjin's lapdogs are already hot on your heels. I'm actually surprised no one caught you and Namjoon while knowing that."

You hate it but you know he's right.

Yoongi sighs again and crosses his arms. "And you need money and a place to stay."

"I have money," you say.

"From where?"

"From my old job. I saved up a lot."

He quirks a brow up in interest. "Did you open the account yourself or did the Baeks do it?"

You frown a little. "They did it for me."

He sucks his teeth. "You need to take that money out if the account is still open. They could close it whenever they want. I'm actually surprised you still have access to it... You do, right?"

You nod your head but then you send a questioning look his way. "When would be the best time to take it all out? As you know I'm stuck with Hoseok most of the time."

Yoongi purses his lips while he thinks. "It's not your first time leaving the house without him. I can take you out in guise of just wanting to spend time with you. We'll take all your money out then."

"Okay," you softly say.

"All that's left is to find you a place."

"Maybe Minjeong can help with that?"

"I don't have her number."

"I do."

Both his eyebrows raise in interest but before he can ask you answer.

"The day at the mall when we ran into her, she managed to pass me a note with her number on it. I have her listed under a different name so that if Hoseok finds it he won't know it's her."

Yoongi slowly nods his head. "Alright. Maybe we can work something out with her." He continues to nod until something hits him then. "Wait."

You hum questioningly. "What?"

He sends a look your way you don't like.

"What are you going to do without my brother's saliva?"

Realization dawns upon you then. Fuck. He's right.

This always seems to be the topic of conversation when it comes to these vampires and the option to go to a rehab looms over you.

As if he knows where your mind is going Yoongi speaks up.

"If you go to a rehab it'll have to be far from here. Hoseok wouldn't hesitate to find you the minute he knows you're gone and I don't doubt one of the first places he'll look into are rehab centers."

You don't want to go to a rehab. You didn't want to back when you were with your former Masters and you don't want to now either, but you're left with little options.

"I doubt Minjeong would be willing to help with that," you say but Yoongi shakes his head.

"I don't know if Minjeong's saliva is anything like ours but even then don't think about it. I'd prefer you make it out of here with me knowing you'll get some help."

Your form visibly deflates but you know he's just trying to do things right. The high is the only good thing about Hoseok and you're going to miss that. Tremendously.

Yoongi takes a deep breath in and gives another sigh with it. "Talk to Minjeong when you can and whatever she says relay it back to me. I want us to be on the same page. For now though we'll have to act like nothing is up. You can't leave just yet."

You nod before you're hit with a thought. "What about Namjoon?"

Yoongi hums. "Hoseok can't know anything."

"I know but I really don't want to be in a room alone with him... Not after today."

He sees the way a wave of sadness falls over you and hesitantly places a hand on your shoulder.

"Stick with Hoseok as much as possible. If he offers for you to stay with Namjoon let him know you'd rather be with him. Don't be too obvious about wanting to avoid our brother though because he'll suspect something is up."

You nod along to his words.

"And if for some reason you end up alone with Namjoon ignore him. I know that's easier said than done by don't take whatever bait he throws your way. Even if he says he wants to apologize don't fall for it. It'll just be another lie of many more to come."

It hurts knowing that this is how things are going to be between you and Namjoon. You enjoyed being with him. Fell for his affection that you now know to be fake. You wonder maybe if you wouldn't have confessed to him would he still have pretended to be yours?

You don't want to think about it. The wound is too fresh right now.

"Hey."

You look at Yoongi who gives you a soft look. He squeezes your shoulder gently before releasing you.

"It'll be okay. You'll see."

You can only hum in response.

He stands up from his bed and walks over to his nightstand where his phone lies. Picking it up he checks for the time and looks at you.

"It's going to be a while before Hoseok comes back. You're welcome to stay here until he does."

You look down at your bare feet and the shoes that lie by your side. You could stay here but right now you feel gross. After having done what you did with Namjoon - back before now you would have glowed but now you just feel dirty and used.

"I want to wash up first." The words leave you softly.

Yoongi grabs the remote that was next to his phone and turns on the TV. "Well when you're done you know where to find me."

You give him one last look before you grab your shoes and stand.

To be honest you don't want to be alone and you're thankful Yoongi is giving you a place to stay until Hoseok gets back. For now though you need to hide and lick your wounds so you can begin to heal. Even if you never fully do you need to at least try.

When you leave his room you look around you. Two maids are heading down towards the stairs and don't notice you coming out. You look off towards the direction of Namjoon's room but you don't see him. You wonder if he's still in there or if he left but you're not about to stick around and find out.

You hurriedly make your way to Hoseok's room and slip in. Once the door is closed silence is all that joins you. It's deafening after everything and you can't stand it.

Sighing you make your way over to the closet and drop your shoes off where Hoseok keeps them. You find fresh new pajamas and toss the ones from before and the clothes you wear now into the hamper. More than anything you want Namjoon's scent off of you and you actually feel bad knowing Hoseok will be able to smell him if he passes by the hamper. Not because you feel for Hoseok but because it'll serve as a reminder that you were with his brother. It makes you remove them and pull out some of the clothes that way you can bury them deep within the basket. With that done you head towards the shower.

You turn the water on and set it for something warm. Warmer than usual. As that settles you look into the mirror and see how puffy your face looks from all the crying. The sight of it makes your brows draw together as you frown.

The urge to cry is still there. When you have your heart broken that will happen to you. You feel stupid and embarrassed. Were there any signs you should have looked out for? Maybe there were you were just too absorbed in your emotions to care.

Namjoon's laughter still rings in your ears and the sound of it makes another wave of embarrassment to come over you.

Gods you're so stupid. When will you learn not to trust people so easily?

Fresh tears pool out of your eyes. You can't bring yourself to continue staring at your reflection so you turn around and head to the shower.

When the water touches your skin you welcome the slight burn. You need to wash yourself off of Namjoon. You feel violated in so many ways.

"I should have gotten you to jerk me off before breaking the news."

A broken sob leaves you and you find yourself full on crying now. You have to sit on the seating in the shower and cover your face as you cry.

It hurts. So much. Why did things have to be this way? Why do you have to be in so much pain and all because Namjoon saw you as fresh game? You were nothing but entertainment for him. Entertainment that willingly gave themself up. How could you be so stupid? There's no other answer to that other than that's just how you are. Stupid. It honestly makes you laugh a little but in a self-deprecating manner.

After a while of crying you stand up to shower. You want him off of you and you use the somewhat hot water to do that. Use your soap to do that. Scrub away at your skin to do that. You even wash your hair. All to be rid of Namjoon.

When you're done you feel raw but clean. Physically speaking because inside your soul you're far from it. After doing your skincare routine you get dressed in your pajamas and take the time to dry your hair. You want to take care of yourself after the blow you took so you take your time. You don't know how long it's been since everything that happened so you check the time and see that it's late into the day. Only the gods know how long it's going to take before Hoseok comes back. You could stay in his room until then despite Yoongi's offer. You feel embarrassed but you decide that yeah, staying with Yoongi might be better. Staying alone with your thoughts doesn't sound appealing to you. At all. So you put on your slippers with phone in hand and make your way back over to the thoughtful vampire. You're sure to check the halls though as you head over. You really don't want to bump into Namjoon. No one is in sight though and so you quickly make your way back to Yoongi.

You knock on the door and hear a soft "Come in" from inside. When you open the door you see Yoongi sat on his chair with a keyboard sat before him and on a foldable table something with many colorful squares on it and a laptop. His headphones are resting around his neck as he takes the chance to look at you.

"Better," he asks.

You nod your head.

He brings up the left part of his headphones up to cup his ear and presses the keyboard. It's silent so you suspect he can hear it through the headphones.

"You're welcome to watch TV while I work here."

"Are you sure?" You frown. "I don't want to bother you."

"You won't be bothering me. I wouldn't have invited you to stay if I thought you would be a bother."

You give him a barely there smile but it's enough for him to see and smile back.

You look at the TV he's left on for you and see it's showing a movie. It's one you've seen before and liked so you leave it on to watch.

Sitting on his bed you're afraid to do more than just that. You sit on the edge of his bed and just stare at the TV.

"You can lay in bed, Y/N."

Your brows shoot up as you look at Yoongi. He isn't even looking at you as he continues to mess with his things. You don't question him though as you slip off your slippers and settle into the middle of his bed. It's unmade and so you take the chance to slip beneath the silky smooth sheets and settle them up to your waist as you sit up against the pillows.

Your time spent here is finishing the movie that was on when you came here and getting a little over the halfway mark of the second one when your brain tries to remind you about what happened. It dampens your mood causing you to sigh. You pick up your phone to check out the games you have on it - anything to keep you distracted. It's when you unlock it do you realize something. You can text Minjeong. You access your contacts and find the pseudonym you have for her. Yoongi said to contact her and tell him everything she had to say. You wonder if she's available now but you'll give it a shot and see.

You: Minjeong?

You purse your lips and place the phone down to watch the movie again. You're giving Minjeong time to get back to you but you have to admit you're a little nervous. What if everything falls through? You don't even have a plan yet but you're expecting the worse.

You should have a little more faith in Yoongi, you think. He's really going to go out of his way to try and help you. And you don't know Minjeong that well but it seems like she truly wants to help too. After everything she's been through with Hoseok she came all this way to see you to try and help anyway. Would you have gone that far for a stranger? You honestly don't know.

Your phone vibrates after a moment and you're quick to pick it up but when you check you frown when you see it's from Hoseok instead.

Hoseok: I'm sorry I'm not home yet baby but this stuff takes a while. We'll more than likely do some today and the rest another time but for now just hold on.

Hoseok: I hope Namjoon isn't boring you or anything lol

Your frown grows deeper at the mention of his brother.

What should you type back?

You: It's okay.

But is it? You quickly type out a response to follow your two words.

You: Things are fine.

They are because you're with Yoongi but you won't mention that. You don't want Hoseok asking questions right now so you keep quiet about it.

Immediately afterwards Hoseok sends two emojis your way. A ☺️ and 😘 stare back at you but you make no effort to write back.

You place the phone back down and after a minute it buzzes again and you pick it up with clenched teeth thinking it's Hoseok but you're surprised to see it's Minjeong instead.

Dawn: Who is this?

You're quick to type back in hopes of getting a positive response.

You: It's Y/N. This is Minjeong right?

You trap your bottom lip between your teeth as you stare at the screen.

Minjeong wouldn't have given you a fake number you're sure but you just needed to make sure it was her you were texting.

Dawn: Y/N! Yes it's me. How are you?

Distraught and embarrassed for starters but you won't say that - instead something else.

You: I'm okay I guess...

You: You were right. About Namjoon. He isn't who I thought he was.

When you press send you have to bite your lip harder to prevent the urge to cry.

The answer comes after a few seconds.

Dawn: I'm sorry Y/N. I don't know who you thought he was to you but now you see the truth. None of the brothers can be trusted. Only Yoongi.

You: I see that now..

You pause with a sniffle. No. You're not going to cry over Namjoon again. You won't let him have that power over you.

Minjeong doesn't text you back but you don't want to end it here. You have to start making a plan.

You: Yoongi admitted that he saved you. He's willing to help me get out too. Money isn't an issue but I need a place to stay.

You: He said I should go to a rehab but not near here. Do you maybe know any around you? How far do you live if that's okay to know?

It takes a while for a response. So much so that you figure she's either busy or hesitant to tell you where she lives. You wouldn't blame her then if that's the case. How can she trust that you won't say anything to Hoseok? She doesn't know you like that. But when you least expect it she answers you.

Dawn: I live around 7-8 hours away which is enough distance needed between you and Hoseok. I can look into rehab centers for you and I'll let you know what I find.

Dawn: How much money do you have? Unless you have health insurance you'll need to pay for your stay and once you're better we'll need to find you a home.

You know she's right. You don't know how much they'll charge you at the rehab and you don't plan on overstaying more than you need to. You saved enough money you believe so you tell her.

You: Trust me it's enough. I've been saving since I first started working and that's when I was 13.

Dawn: That sounds good. Even then I'll be willing to help with any expenses you might need so don't think you'll be alone in this.

That's kind of her. To be honest the whole idea of escaping has you nervous because of the what-ifs but having both Minjeong and Yoongi by your side makes you feel a little better.

You: Thank you. Honestly.

Dawn: It's no problem.

Dawn: After everything, if you feel comfortable to, we can set up a restraining order against Hoseok for you. I want to make sure he's out of your life for good.

She's making sure to let you know she'll go through thick and thin for you. It sounds almost too good to be true but she proved to you how far she'll go when she came all this way to see you at the mall.

7-8 hours. That's how far away she lives and yet she came anyway. Would you have ever gone that far for someone you don't know? Especially when it meant you'll run into your kidnapper again? Minjeong is selfless unlike you you believe because you don't think you ever could.

You: Thank you.

Dawn: Of course.

Dawn: I'll start looking into rehab centers nearby. I'll let you know what I find and what the best options are.

You: Okay. I'll let Yoongi know what's up. He wants to be informed as much as possible before any attempts to leave are made.

Dawn: That sounds good.

Dawn: He's a really good guy. Let's be thankful for him.

You are thankful for Yoongi. The only "normal" brother you've come to truly realize. Namjoon didn't lie about that at least.

You don't know what else to say so you leave it at that. Looking over to Yoongi you see that he's still working on his music. He's been very quiet as you watch TV and even now after your talk with Minjeong. You wonder when would be the best time to tell him about the texts but you don't want to bother him. He's so focused on his work. The more you stare at him the more your thoughts on Minjeong cloud your mind. You wonder how the chance to help her escape came about. We're they already talking about it between each other or was it a spontaneous decision on Yoongi's part? Minjeong was being drugged by Hoseok and so you wonder how he managed to get her out undetected by staff. You would ask Minjeong but would she remember correctly because of the drugs? What was Hoseok using on her anyway?

"You're staring at me."

You jump at the sound of Yoongi's voice.

He raises his head up to look at you before moving his headphones down around his neck. "Something on your mind?"

"Oh." You blink a few times. You weren't expecting to get caught. "Um I talked to Minjeong."

His brows raise a little. "What did she say?"

You cross your legs beneath the sheets as you sit up a little. "She said she's going to look up rehab centers for me around where she lives and that she'll help me out moneywise if need be."

Yoongi nods his head. "That's good. Anything else?"

"Just that if I'm comfortable with it that she'll help me get a restraining order on Hoseok."

His expression is carefully neutral but you can't imagine how he must feel.

"I'm sorry," you say. "This must be tough with Hoseok being your brother and all."

He shrugs. "I want the best for my brother but I can't help him when he's wrong."

Still but you won't push the subject.

Yoongi stretches in his seat with his arms reaching up above. You swear you hear his shoulders pop and it's only then does he sigh in relief.

"Are you hungry," he asks.

To be honest, after what you've been through no you're not but you know you need to eat.

You shrug in response but it's enough for Yoongi to pull out his phone and start searching for something.

"Is there anything you'd like to order?"

You shrug again but realize he can't see you as he continues to go through his phone.

"I'm fine with anything."

Yoongi hums. "Thai it is."

You can't help but to huff a laugh. Yoongi is oftentimes entertaining without meaning to be.

Taking off his headphones Yoongi lies them beside his laptop before standing up from his seat to head into his bathroom without a word. The man is so quiet but it doesn't make you feel uncomfortable. You have a lot of trust in him and for a moment you wonder if you really should. All of his brothers turned out to be problematic in their own ways. What made Yoongi any different from them? It's because of Minjeong why you believe in the best of him and you're holding on to hope that he won't turn his back on you. So far so good, right?

You nod to yourself before looking towards the TV. You'll continue to trust him until for whatever the reason may be you can't anymore.

Yoongi finishes up in the bathroom and comes out with a sigh. "Here," he says. He hands you his phone. "Get what you want. I'll handle the rest."

You grab his phone and check through the menu. He's nice enough to order food for you and you feel like you can't deny his want to help you out. He's done enough so far: listening to you when you needed to be heard, comforting you, letting you stay with him until Hoseok comes back. You appreciate him. Truly you do.

Once you find something you hand him back his phone and he's quick to order what he wants as well.

"It won't be long," he says. "The Thai place is close by."

You hum. "Thank you."

Yoongi looks at you with a brow raised.

"For everything. You don't have to do any of the things that you're doing but you are and I appreciate it."

He shrugs. "It's nothing."

"No really." Your fingers play with the edge of the blanket. "I know I'm asking for a lot - wanting to escape and all of that but you're being very selfless."

He comes over to sit next to you on the bed. "Continue. You're doing wonders for my ego."

You can't help but laugh and it makes him smile. A smile that shows his gums and looks absolutely endearing on him.

He grows a little serious then as he speaks. "I don't mind helping. I feel like I have to make up for my brothers' faults in some way."

"It's not your responsibility though," you say.

"I know but someone has to do something and we both know it's not going to be Hoseok or any of the others."

Before you thought it would have been Namjoon but now you know that's a lie. It's just you, Yoongi, and Minjeong now. You don't know if you should feel sad or not about that.

Yoongi seems to notice your thoughts are straying from something positive because he questions you on it.

"What are you thinking about?"

Your eyes drift over to him for a moment. "Do you honestly want to know?"

He nods.

Sighing you sit up a little straighter. When did you hunch over so much? Like the weight of your thoughts are too heavy to bare.

"Namjoon."

Yoongi purses his lips as he takes a slow and even breath in before releasing it with his words.

"It's going to be hard getting over it but over time you will."

Your shoulders sag. "I wish things would have been different between us."

"In what way?"

"I wish I never fell for him. That we should have stayed as friends. Maybe then his lies wouldn't have hurt as much as they did."

"Either way you shouldn't let those type of thoughts consume you." He leans his weight onto his hand. "The more you let the what-ifs and "I shouldn't have/I should haves" bother you you'll never be able to heal. All it's going to do is ruin you and let Namjoon win."

Let Namjoon win... You don't want that to happen of course but a part of you just wants to wallow in self-pity even though you know you shouldn't.

"Have you ever had your heart broken?"

Yoongi continues to stare at you. "No but I imagine it doesn't feel good."

"It doesn't." You sigh. "I know you're right I'm just - it hurts is all."

He hums. "We should find a distraction then. For now at least until it hurts a little less."

Your brow raises in interest. "What kind of distraction?"

He stands up from his bed and walks over to the area where his equipment is set up. "I normally don't let anyone listen to my unfinished work but I think I can make one exception. For now at least."

He unplugs his headphones to bring his laptop over to the bed. On the screen are a series of things you can't bring yourself to understand but you know they must be related to music. You watch as Yoongi brings up a window filled with files labeled by numbers and he clicks on one of them. When it opens music begins to play.

It starts of with a slow beat accompanied by a rap that picks up speed a few seconds in. The lyrics talk about the extreme choices between what are truth and lies and you find yourself bopping your head along to it.

Yoongi doesn't say a word as you listen to it until the beat continues without the rap. Here he brings the music to a stop and looks at you.

"I don't have the rest of the rap written so it just stops there. Once I figure out what else I want I'll take the time to finish it."

"It's really really good," you say. "And I'm not just saying that because you're in front of me."

A small smile dances on the edge of his lips as a warm blush coats his cheeks. "There are other stuff too."

He clicks on another one and lets it play. One after another. Finished ones as well as incomplete ones.

You learn that Yoongi can both rap and sing even Jungkook who helps his older brother fill in as samples for his incompleted work. That way when he hands off his song to someone else they know what is expected of them. You also learn that DJing is just a small portion of what he can do. He enjoys making music for others to listen to and has done a variety of genres since he was teenager. Whatever genre there is Yoongi has done already and he has a discography made up of many of them from almost all the years of his life. You're heavily impressed and express that to him to which his cheeks grow pinker and the more he talks.

You realize Yoongi loves to talk about the things that make him happy. His voice level raises a bit as he talks more. It's endearing to watch and hear him grow happier by the second because he's talking about his first love: music. You wish there was something in your life that made you this excited to talk about. Maybe someday but for now you'll live vicariously through Yoongi.

"I'm amazed honestly," you say. "You sing, you rap, you play the piano and the guitar. You're a skilled producer that learned everything on his own. That's really impressive, Yoongi."

He gives a shy laugh as he closes the container from the food he ordered you two earlier. While you guys listened to his music you ate happily.

"I'm being serious. I really like your work."

"Thank you," he says with a smile.

He looks so shy but he's glowing with your praise. It makes you smile.

Yoongi gathers his flash drives with his music on them. They're there not because you went through every song on them but because he would grab one here and there to have you listen to specific songs. You're glad the two of you could bond this way as he was the only brother you haven't spent some time with. He showed you a side to himself you've never seen and it warms your heart to know he felt comfortable enough with you to show this side. He even admitted that he doesn't like showing his unfinished work but he did with you. You know it was to distract you from your glaring problem with Namjoon but you appreciate he did that nonetheless.

"I have more work in my study but that can be for another time."

Another time. Yeah, you'd like that.

"Thank you, Yoongi."

He hums in question with both brows raised.

"Thank you for keeping me distracted and for sharing your music with me. You didn't have to but you did and I appreciate it."

A small smile graces his lips as he shrugs. "It's no problem."

You mimic his smile with one of your own.

You enjoyed your time with him and not just because of your issue with Namjoon. For being the most sweetest of the brothers the two of you haven't really gotten to know each other. While he showed you his music he asked for your favorites. The topic then went to movies as you both talked about movie soundtracks. His passion for music made you feel inspired and you expressed that to which he gave you one of his endearing smiles. You talked on and on about music until it felt like there was nothing left about it to talk about.

Your time together was fun and you hope to end this nightmare of a day/night on a positive note because of him.

As he puts his things away you gather your trash from the food you ate and place them into the bag it came in.

"You don't have to do that." Yoongi says. "I can handle it."

"No no it's fine. I made a mess just as much as you did so let me help out."

He doesn't fight you on it and so you continue to clean up.

The sound from the TV accompanies you as you two work around each other. You don't even know what movie is playing right now but it doesn't really have your attention. Your conversation with Yoongi was your main form of entertainment.

Speaking of who, he turns to you after a minute and stares at you with an unreadable expression. You look up at him and raise your brows in question.

"Everything okay," you ask.

He licks his lips and nods. "I just... I'm going to try my best to get you out of here."

Your features soften at his words and something akin to warmth floods your chest. Happiness you think it is. Peace. Gratefulness.

You smile. "Thank you."

He gives you that half smile he oftentimes gives and it makes your own stretch until you show your teeth.

You know you have to give him time. You don't want to wait anymore than what you truly have to but these things take time. You have to wait for Minjeong to get back to you with the list of rehabs around her area and then formulate a plan to get out of here and how to head to her. Things Iike this don't happen overnight and so you'll wait. At least you have Yoongi on your side in this house. He's the breath of fresh air you've been needing to survive here. Hopefully until the very end.

[ihave1braincell]

I can’t believe those who don’t banana all the time 😣

This is my first time drawing Soul in a more human form. I usually draw the HM and S as more conceptual figures…. Also… this took me longer than it should’ve because I went into obsessive detail with the highlights on the shadow part… it was supposed to take me 10 minutes and it took me 46 to complete the whole thing. Uh… I’m decent at art I swear!!

I don’t even know if it was Soul’s voice saying that in Banana Man but it sounded like it.

[scribeforchrist-blog]

Going Into the Cave

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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+ Psalm 46:5 God is within her; she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.”

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VERSE OF THE DAY 

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+ 1 King 19:9 There, he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

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SUBJECT: Going Into the Cave

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM STRONG

I AM DIFFERENT

I AM LOVING

I AM KIND

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THOUGHTS:

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     Some of us spend a lot of time buried in work, projects, and activities, and we hide under all these things, and these things sometimes can be a distraction; what is your cave? What do you spend the most time doing? Does it help you to emerge in the presence of God, or is it being captivated by something happening in your life? Sometimes, we don’t realize how much time we spend with something or doing something until the Holy Spirit brings us out of our cave and shows us this is what we are doing.

  Elijah went into the cave because he was tired and had enough of the pressure and fear. He allowed the cave to be something he could go into to stay, but some of us use our caves to feel safe. We can't feel completely safe doing what we want; just like Elijah, we must depend on God to be what we need. God wants to show some of us a better way of dealing with life.

  In the other half of this verse, the lord asks Elijah what are you doing here; the lord asks us today, what are you doing in this place that I took you from? What are you doing in this place you have let take over your life? We must let go of the idea that we know what's best for our lives when we don’t. We must seek God more than anything in this world, and a lot of us don’t because we have a full plate of things or we have built a place of comfort in our own life, and God wants us to be comfortable in our life, but he wants us to find comfort in him and not other things.

  The other night, I was playing on my Steam Deck at 8:30 p.m. It felt like a few minutes; it the next thing I know I heard the Holy Spirit say Lui it’s getting late I looked at the time and it was 10:30 pm, and I was so shocked that I had played that long because I usually don’t, and I had things to do. I had wasted so much time just playing a game, but sometimes, we allow what's in our life to distract us so that we don’t see that those things could take time away from God.

    We don’t see how those things could put us away from God because we allow the enemy to tell us it is okay. Don’t get me wrong, God wants us to enjoy life, but sometimes we let go too much that we lose time, and we lose those precious moments to come out of the cave and dwell with God, whatever is in your life that has you deep in a cave place it before God, Elijah told God exactly how he felt which was.

  Verse 4 while he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat under it, and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 

  He said I had enough of all this. I am no better than my ancestors; he let God know this is where I am and how I feel. Many of us are balling up much in our heads and hearts, and we think God doesn’t want to hear us complain or talk. He does; this is why he's calling us out of the caves, out of the busy life, into him because he wants to hear how we are feeling. However, you are feeling today, let God know so he can help you come out and eat the bread and drink the living water he has to offer us.

  Psalm 34:18: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit.”

   Often, we let situations run us into a hole, and it causes us to draw away from God into a cave that we feel is where we need to be. And God is calling us out; he’s near us, and he wants to save us from the broken, crushed spirit; he wants to save us from our hurt and doubt, but do you believe he wants to save you, do you believe he cares that deeply because he does. 

   2 Corinthians 4:8-9 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

   We might feel crushed, perplexed, despaired, persecuted, abandoned, and struck down, but we aren’t destroyed because we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us. That power is so strong that we don’t have to worry or be afraid of anything; all we must do is come out of our cave and dwell in the presence of God , in his presence is peace , in his presence is love ,but we must learn to pull away so we can be with him; we must learn to step forward and out in him, and when we do, we will have everything we need in him. 

  Psalm 138 3 When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me.”

   What does emboldened mean? To encourage us to be bold, God makes us bold to handle our situations and circumstances; we might feel we can handle things the way we want, but we must always see how God wants us to handle our life and things; a lot of times we get so stuck in what’s going then who can solve it all. Who can fix it all? Elijah knew God could help and defend him, but he was also tired. We all have gotten to where we are tired, but we allow things to drive us away; then, to drive us forward, we must allow God to direct us in everything. So, we can find our way back to him. 

    ***Today, our life is sometimes perplexing because we allow things to occur; when I was sitting there playing with my Steam Deck, I was just playing , and I lost track of time, but imagine if I did that every day, I lose track of time, and I lose track of what I needed to do. What happens if I let go so much that I don’t balance my time? When we don’t balance our time with him when we allow our cave to become our everything, we become lost and stuck, and we forget how God moves and forget how great he is, every day we must ask God could you help me get out of this mood, this rhythm ,this routine, could you help get me out of my head and intrusive thoughts.   

    As long as we are trying, he will be there. Elijah knew that God was this amazing God that could do anything; he knew he was all-powerful and knowing, but when fear sits in, we forget it, and we lose all sense of who we are in him. he was a great prophet. He was being used in mighty way through God, and he forgot all of it because of fear; some of us are allowing fear to control us and forget how powerful he is, and some of us are allowing activities to drive us away. Still, whatever it is, be it fear or activities, we can’t allow neither to stop us; we must stop and hear the whispers of God's voice. ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, wherever we are in life right now, we give you everything; we give you our situation and activities. We ask you right now to help us out of the things that are keeping us from you, whether it’s a game, a person, life, hurt, or anything else. We ask you to help us see you and thank you for everything. Lord, give us peace, help us be strong, and seek you. Lord, we love you, and we are so grateful for everything. In Jesus' name, Amen 

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REFERENCES 

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+ Micah 7:8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.”

 

+ 2 Timothy 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”

 

+ Nehemiah 8:10 Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.'”

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FURTHER READINGS 

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Proverbs 23 

Leviticus 7

Deuteronomy 7

Job 17

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[charliemxwll209]

Cringe culture is dead, let people have fun if it's not hurting anyone, just sayin' (:

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Artwork is made by me in ibis paint, with 4 year old phone and finger, the drawing took me two hours and 46 minutes

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Happy mother's day!

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A cookie run fan art again

They're all adopted

Winzard can do magik 🫸👍🏻✊👩‍🦳

Let the tags scare you I guess

[guerrerense]

876 At Oscawana por David Blazejewski Por Flickr: With a free weekend alone I finally took a trip long on my list and made the trek out to the Hudson Line to hunt Metro North heritage units and pay a visit to a few famous locations that I'd never before seen for myself. Tops on the list was Oscawana Island and the twin tunnels on the legendary former New York Central water level route mainline. The weather was less than ideal and far from comfortable with temps in the 90s, high humidity and thick haze making for poor shooting conditions, but I had fun nonetheless. In the short 90 minutes I spent here I shot eight trains and missed a few others before leaving as massive thunderstorms approached. Not many people shoot going away photos of trains and I'm sure this won't draw much interest. But I take a documentary approach to photography including the bad in with the good because someday once everything has changed, as it inevitably will, this will be an interesting scene for somebody. And I treat this as my trip journal and travelogue so try to include at least one shot of each train at each spot. This was the fifth of the eight trains I'd shoot, southbound Metro North train 876 the 4:31 PM departure from Poughkeepsie due at Grand Central 1 hr 46 min later. They are on Main 2 of Metro North's Hudson Line at MP 36.8 passing thru the 200 ft long west bore with P32AC-DM 226 (GE blt. Aug. 2001) shoving on the rear. This is the original New York Central Railroad mainline which opened between New York City and Albany in 1851 as the Hudson River Railroad, and the first tunnel here (the one out of sight to my left that Main 1 passes thru) dates from the line's construction through here in 1849 while the parallel one beneath my feet with Mains 2 and 4 dates from 1912 when four tracks were installed (the original tunnel had two). In 1864 the Hudson River Railroad was purchased by Cornelius Vanderbilt along with the New York and Harlem. Meanwhile in 1853 Erastus Corning had assembled a plethora of small local lines as the New York Central Railroad running from Albany to Buffalo and in 1867 Vanderbilt merged it with his road to create the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad and the rest as they say is history. By the 1950s as the railroad was showing signs of weakness but also modernizing under the leadership of A.E. Perlman. Around that era the four track mainline was equipped with CTC and reduced to three mains thru here. If anyone can fill me in the exact dates of the changes here I'd be most grateful. Hamlet of Crugers Cortlandt, New York Friday August 2, 2024

[lgwifey]

Homesick Part Two

“Good enough for London”

human!Fem!reader x platonic!EdwardCullen

summary : Y/n’s dad had been given a new job offer, meaning she had to drag herself half way across the world to a town that shame was positive rained more than London had.

Part One

Y/n woke up the next day at 6:30 am, determined to beat jet lag and also needing to prepare for waking up early again in a few days when the schools started up.

Today's jobs where a bit easier than yesterdays, having her little schedule wrote up that's she'd scribbled down and then rewrote out pretty on the plane. She was already ahead of yesterday, having only thought she would have enough time to make her bed. Luckily the flat pack furniture was a bit easier than she expected it to be.

She started the day by unpacking the parcels of bedding that she'd ordered to the house before they'd moved over. She'd opened the duvet, pillows and mattress topper last night and left them to air out overnight to save half the day today being wasted.

Her light pink, crushed velvet ottoman bed sat just slightly not on the wall, a small bedside table sat between in and the bedroom wall, a medium sized window starting at the end of the bed. Y/n would be the first to mention her lack of strength, which meant the first job of dragging the double mattress topper onto the bed took longer than it would've for most. She dragged on a black satin bedsheet before standing on the bed with the duvet and the dark red cover, using all her height to try and make the process easier.

Soon enough the teenager managed to wrangle the bed all together, folding the spare sets of bedding and dropping them to the corner of one of the ottoman draws.

Black satin pillows were thrown at the headboard of the bed, then the blood red duvet and then a bundle of cushions that Y/n usually ended up kicking off the bed before she slept anyway. The whole bed was pulled together with a leopard print throw blanket that matched her large leopard print fuzzy rug which her dad had  picked up from a store in Seattle for her before she arrived.

The only furniture left to put together was the eight-ball beanbags she'd bought.

Once she'd admitted defeat and accepted that she was being moved to Forks Washington whether she liked it or not, she'd decided she was going to go all out on her bedroom and outfits. Plus, her parents felt horrible for moving her so she'd managed to get a few bonuses.

Kicking the leather beanbags into a corner, Y/n moved into the cardboard boxes for her home in London. She'd been convinced to get rid of most of her possessions by her mother. The words "you can always just buy new things when we get there" were going to be burned into her brain for a very long time.

The two boxes were carefully wiped of dust and unsealed with the scissors she'd left on her desk from yesterday.

It was just a few nicknacks, she didn't hold attachments to many things so the little she kept from England were carefully placed on the empty bookshelf in the corner. A few rolled up posters, a few book collections that her grandmother had gave her before the move, a few ornaments that she'd had from a baby and a few she'd found in charity shops and her prized CD collection and player.

It was quite a quick job, well it would've been if she didn't get distracted by the ornamental bells that she was organising for a solid twenty minutes.

After leaving her landline, a dark red lip phone, on her desk as a reminder to get her father to set it up when he got back from work, Y/n realised that if she wanted to get into some public appropriate clothes and do her makeup to go food shopping, she'd need to start unpacking her suitcases.

She let out a huff before flipping backwards onto her bed, the fresh covers crumbling around her tired body.

Her LED digital clock sat on her wall beside her bed, reading a miserable 11:46. Her friends wouldn't even be awake for at least another 4 hours.

Once again, she pushed herself to the large, hot pink suitcases that had been left behind her door when she arrived.

☆

When Harriet Grey went to go and check on her daughter in the morning, well nearly afternoon, she expected to find her daughter dying from jet lag like her, face still buried in her pillows and room still looking uninhabited.

Instead she found the girl with her face passed out in a half unpack suitcase.

The pyjama clad woman slowly shuffled over to where Y/n was sprawled up. Most of her wardrobe had been hung on hangers and place in the small walk-in wardrobe built into the bedroom. Her vanity had been organised with all her makeup, some of the draws left opening for Harriet to peek into.

"Y/n? Sweetie?"

Harriet had started to think that Y/n had suffocated on the socks her face had landed on, starting to leave to call an ambulance when she caught the crack caused by her daughter stretching her hand.

☆

"You don't think it's all... too much ?"

Y/n looked up from the zips on her pointed, heeled boots to where her mother stood with a worried expression plastered on her features.

"If it was good enough for London then it's good enough for this crummy little town."

The younger girl scrunched her features up as she finished zipping the boots that finished just before her knees, pressing down the fabric of the black micro mini dress as she stood up from the step she was balancing on.

"Well, the populations quite a lot smaller than London here Y/n."

She was met with a blank expression from her daughter, the girl flicking her hair over her shoulders as she shifted the leather blazer over her shoulders, moving to check her mobile was in her cherry red purse before they left the house for the food shop they desperately needed.

"That means that people talk. A lot."

"Mother. If everyone was scared of people talking about them Vivienne Westwood wouldn't have made it out of Chelsea. Now let's go shopping, last nights pizza was the start of a health kick for me."

The girl gagged slightly, forgetting how awful she felt after the grease dish, forced an end to the conversation with a dramatic hand clap, leaving the large and empty house to the driveway where her mother's shiny new Mercedes sat.

Behind her followed her mother, a tut and an eye roll as the older woman locked the double doors to the large, white panelled house. A bright flash of the lights told Y/n that the car was unlocked, leaving her to pull the passenger side door open and slide into the immaculate interior.

The drive to the grocery shop was much longer than Y/n had expecting.

"Another reason we should've stayed in England, everything's less spread out."

"Everything's more compact in London, the distance between places here is just a bit refreshing. You've got some lovely views here, and less air pollution. I know you value that."

The teenager rolled her eyes, slouching back into the seat more. "I also value my shoes and if I were to walk this distance their soles would be completely worn out."

Harriet bit her lip, a nervous habit she'd developed since she had to start convincing her daughter that the move was a good idea a year ago. "Did you know you can learn how to drive earlier here ?"

"I already know how to drive, dad taught me so I could pass as soon as I turn 17."

"Well then you can sit it as soon as me and your father find a driving teacher ."

The pale blonde woman gave a tight lipped smile, turning her head to focus back on the empty stretch of road.

"Yeah dad's already done that. I've got a test on Sunday so I can pass before school starts, it's way easier than the UK one too."

"Gave much thought to what car you want ? It seems like everyone here has trucks."

Y/n held back a snort at her mother's face at the mention of the popular vehicle around here. It was quite obvious that she didn't want a big pick up sat outside her new home.

"I was actually thinking about the new Audi a4 convertibles. Kate's sister got a silver one last year but they're bringing a red one out."

Harriet caught the begging stare that the miniature self was giving her in the corner of her eye. A unnoticed breath left her at the relief of not having a box with wheels next to her prized Mercedes .

"I'm sure your father could manage that one."

Part Three

Masterlist

[secretsofdbz]

Kubota conference and live drawing in 10 minutes, I'll transcribe as much as I grabbed ;)

How did he start working in animation:

As a child he loved anime and manga and the Dragon Ball boom in general really took him (Kubota is 46, so he was 6 when it started publication and 8 when the anime started)

He drew Goku to be popular in school.

He wanted to do dragon ball, it was his ultimate goal, and become adult already to get closer to his goal.

In the magazines for animation, he applied to a staff position despite being in high school, but he wasn't hired ("obviously").

Despite failing his interview, he still trained and entered the Toei animation school after high school. There was so much demand for animation that he got a job while doing his studies, and stopped the studies after one year to start full time at Xebec.

Each studio had its own specificity and as such there was little or no competition.

The first animation with his name is Kidou Senkan Nadeshiko (1998), the movie not the series (which he didn't care about).

Love Hina and other anecdotes:

Amazing experience because it was a young company, and gave a shot to everyone regardless of experience. He expressed he felt very lucky to be in such environment.

He expresses a lot of sympathy to new animators because there's no tutoring anymore, they give you a scene or thing to do, it gets corrected, but you don't get feedback or help anymore. No growth.

"Back then they made mistakes and error was fine and could make to the final show, but now mistakes aren't allowed anymore, so youngsters don't get to make important scenes anymore". Lack of responsibilities and unforgiving ambiance.. and the fact that the correctors don't show the beginners what needed changing and why.

Digital tools create an immense gap between beginners (aka people who don't know much about it get left behind, and he expresses it's sad because they just aren't taught / mentored).

The switch to 1080-HD-4K made the anime fans less forgiving as well.

The fact that people stop every other frame to nitpick... but since he knows they're doing this for DBSSH and Daima, it's why he worked SUPER hard on the Z flashbacks so he wouldn't be flamed by otakus online lol

As illustration they showed the Mahoromatic ED

It was his first job as animation director (but from season 2 onwards, not for season 1)

Since then, he believes his art improved (2001). He realizes now he couldn't draw certain things at the time, but now he says he wasn't good at it then (aka he didn't know he wasn't good then)

Since each studio was a different ambiance and work culture, Mahoromatic came right after Eva and co, and everyone at Gainax was very familial and friendly and welcoming overall.

At the time, you could enter any studio as is, but now you have cards (badges..) and super serious work ambiance with ports and co. Especially for freelancers and outside workers...

(There's a rumor that at Toei they throw shit at each other because some freelance/outsider animators showed up to turn in their work but they were celebrating something with Kubota (a Setsubon) and there were peas thrown to chase away demons, you know traditional party kind of thing, so the poor guys who showed up during that...)

"Can't feel pressure when you're just working non stop without looking up" was his response when asked about whether he felt overwhelmed or overworked.

He was chosen for Meca animation director but he was anxious about it because it wasn't his thing at all compared to his colleague who was ALL about Meca (crazy glint in the eye foam in the mouth kind of guy when he drew Meca). It was surprising his boss gave him that job.

They showed the OP for Gurren Lagann and he pointed out which parts of the OP he did himself.

Difference between working in an OAV and something that's based off a manga:

The difference is of course having materials as a basis from the publisher, compared to not having anything from them for OAVs. The artistic freedom was appreciated (but also stressful).

With Gainax it was awesome to work on original work (OAVs or original IPs), because there were incredibly talented people in the studio.

Scaling in Gurren Lagann:

Gainax used to go with the "it looks super cool" for scaling purposes instead of taking actual people and pictures for accurate proportions. Gainax just winged it like "whatever" and it worked. Rule of cool (with talented people) wins.

They showed the trailer for The Girl who leaped through time, as one of the non Ghibli movies that came out in theaters (in France) for a different aspect of work flow.

He worked in it because he worked with Hosoda (the producer) since they shared common work projects and Hosoda asked him to work with him.

Hosoda and Kubota worked on the movie because they knew each other from Doremi and a few other projects as coworkers (One Piece was mentioned here too)

Hosoda "knew he wanted a girl heroine" and likes softer stories, so he wanted a female director animator as well, but she left... so Kubota was left as the sole one lol

Basically they did the movie with 3 animators (and the occasional external or genga artist giving a hand)

"A girl doing a cute character isn't the same as a boy doing a cute character" (feminine touch). Sadly the Girl Who Leaped doesn't have that feminine touch since it's "three dudes doing the thing" (roughly)

OPM: the love for the first season. Kubota really liked the manga. Originally the team for OPM is the same as the team who did Space Dandy (they just switched studios)

Space Dandy was super freeing because you could do whatever and was interesting to work on, with an amazing team that got along.

They (animators) all had strong and crazy personalities, energizing and everything, so Kubota really liked that ambiance.

They all got along very well so they all followed the animator director (Natsume) when he left. So when MadHouse called Natsume for OPM, they all came along as a full package

He was hired as character designer when Natsume and Kubota went to get ice cream and he handed him a paper with all the jobs and names filled except for "character designer".

"We're just missing your name here to start this project"

Kubota hesitated to take the job because he wasn't sure he could be that good to respect the Mangaka's work.

He only acceped because he saw the team and thought "yeah with these guys we can do it"

The change of studios for S2: his reaction was "eeeeh T_T" (that high pitched disappointed quiet cry)

DBSSH shenanigans with 3D stuff as being one of the first movies with that kind of techniques:

"It wasn't too hard at the time, because once you're working digital, all people around me were 3D specialists and they all understood I wasn't that good with the new vocabulary, so they taught me."

It was already decided there were going to be 3D at the time before they hired him, he wanted to refuse, but he thought "ok but they're going to hire someone who don't know DB as well as me so...."

By the end of the project, the finalized 3D scenes "didn't look half as bad" so he was pleasantly surprised despite not being fully on board initially and he's proud of it. "But fans want 2D so I did the first 2 minutes" (it's 5 minutes ish tho?)

"We added the intro 2D animation because we wanted to surprise spectators, who were expecting 3D only"

Question about freelance vs salary;

He chose to stay freelance instead of entering a studio because he didn't have a choice (studios wanted freelancers and not commit to full employees).

Nowadays with independent studios and projects (Netflix, prime..), animators can now get with better conditions as employees,

He's greedy and wants to still be able to change jobs and projects whenever he feels like it, this is why now he remains freelance and not employee. But he's happy employees can now get poached /hired with better conditions because the power isn't as unbalanced as it once was.

Day two!

day 2, live painting on iPad and questions ^_^

He uses CSP.

"Nothing like a table to do animation work" RIP NOOOOO Kubota my beloved

(He sat down on the floor because he prefers working on a table, the organizers went and fetched him a table because JFC)

He was asked who was his aspiration as an artist and he said Shisho at Gainax, his senpai. I think that's Honda Takeshi (Shisho - boss was his nickname)

His live drawing is actually a live animation of the con's mascot

He first draws the lines of what's not going to move.

Between Vegeta and Goku, he's team Vegeta.

He liked the dark aspect of Vegeta when he showed up because he followed DB as it was coming out in Japan.

The host asked if Vegeta was "Goku's sidekick" and he went "issh" (disagreement)

"Overtime he became Goku's sidekick..." (faire-valoir > the one that's there to make the MC look amazing)

After drawing the lines that won't move, he adds the parts that will move on different layers. Here the clothes / cape for the mascot that will get animated.

Kubota says he used to play video games in the 90s (he doesn't play as much anymore) and he said "now it's called retro" (with pain lol)

When asked about Nintendo or Sega, he said he's neither Nintendo nor Sega, but PlayStation (like a boss).

He did Storyboard work for Tales of Symphonia (when asked about whether he was approached by video game companies).

He uses different colors to show what's he's going to animate and then hides the layers of what's not moving to work easier

He sketches the animation segments first, before going in with final lines.

Animators still work with 24 images per second even if games have much higher frame rates. He explained briefly how it works with a line /wave

His advice to new animators is to draw all the time and train and practice and make animation scenes in full and not just the initial drafts. He also insist to draw by imitating a ton of other artists to be able to do any style.

He insists that "your own style won't be enough" (to go pro)

He's a huge fan of Ys, and would've loved to animate it!

To animate bangs he says one should animate each "strand" on its own to make it look more natural.

Initially he wanted to be a Mangaka but knew he'd need to come up with stories so he quickly gave up on that

Question about whether he has a say on OPs for the anime where he was animator director (OPs in his resume being bangers)

The answer: in general he has no influence on storyboard at all, but he has a say in animation and finishing touches (more impact here, etc)

He says he doesn't have a healthy working rhythm (too much work) and doesn't do much to fix it, sadly. He says it's also his colleagues and all animators in general.

He used to drink a lot of energy drinks. There was a competition of who drank the most of those caffeinated energy drinks to show who worked harder...

It's not the case anymore; he says "when he was young" (he's 46).

He's "complaining" about the mascot's cape lol

He uses an IPad since 2020.

He always worked digital for colors back at Xebec and Gainax.

He also says a lot of animators use CSP because it's cheap and very versatile, so it wasn't industry imposed buuut it's accepted / default now.

Until now which character was the most enjoyable to draw/animate?

He thinks about it for a while, and eventually says "can't answer this question, every single character has hard moments even Saitama so they're all hard... (suffering)"

Whenever he thinks of a character he worked on he only remembers the suffering involved with animating them (and for Saitama it seems the cape was his nemesis).

He uses a game controller in his left hand with shortcuts for erasers, etc to ease his work on the iPad. ~15€ for the controller.

He also said his company bought him the iPad (not himself)

Because the unmoving parts are hidden so sometimes animators hide little Easter eggs behind the moving layers 😆

He said it's his first time animating in public and he was very nervous about it, but we were all nice to him (regarder bien sagement) so he's grateful about it.

I went and got some autographs the two days and got to take a few pictures with him and his family (his son made a heart hand with me aaaaaa)

And I did the fusion dance with him! Bragging is maximum.

About GOHAN. Soooooo I was shown something I wasn't supposed to see ("you didn't see anything" lol) so I won't speak about it BUT. What I can say is the following: there was a translating error with the translator because he said Gohan was "hidden in the OP", but that's not the case: Kubota had prepared Gohan (in terms of design) but Toei requested a change.

So sadly Gohan doesn't seem to be much of thing in the story itself (which he can't comment because Kubota is only the animation director, not the script or decision maker).

Daima is peak. But if Kubota had had the artistic freedom from what I saw, we would've had the Everest.