#this is a scheduled post i'm not here right now lmao

[velkia]

you have some of the coolest ocs ive ever seen! can you please share their jobs/combat styles (if they have any)?

-cracks their fingers-

Thanks for this question, it's been ages since I got to talk about my characters, and I'm so happy to see there's still interest in my babies! ;w;

Just a heads up, I'll be using some older drawings (pre-2023) and comic pages in french to illustrate things, if you notice a difference in style, that's totally normal!

My characters go through a lot of phases, but I'll just summarize two of the main ones: the time when they were traveling together and the time when they’ve settled into adulthood.

Click here to read this on a more suitable interface, if you are on a computer!

From left to right: Axel, Uvia, Veron and Tellos

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Nowadays, Axel's just your average journalist, living life without much magic, except for the occasional use to rev up his motorcycle or light his pipe.

Back in the day when he was an adventurer, though, things were different. If he found himself in a scrap, he had a mechanical flying broom, crafted by Tellos, at his service, along with a trusty rope to tie up his foes. He could also conjure shields of cascading fire.

If things got really intense, he would unleash a massive fire laser to clear his path, but only in the most extreme situations (he's not a violent boy).

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Nowadays, Veron's a simple office worker clocking in 9 to 5. But he's also a priest, so his schedule is packed with community events like soup kitchens, masses, and charity activities.

Back in the day, he was an exorcist on a mission to heal the many cursed gods that inhabit their world. His powers were tied to electricity and magnetism, which he used to fly, deflect enemy attacks and connect his exorcism amulet to the targeted god. Plus, he wielded a katana and could manipulate any metal weapon from a distance.

In a pinch, he could disarm his foes and, if things got really out of hand, he could zap them with a jolt of electricity (but same as Axel, he's a good boy so it's not his cup of tea to turn the enemy into a roastie).

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Nowadays, Uvia, Axel's twin, is a harbor innkeeper just trying to navigate the chaos of motherhood with her hellish kid, Nikolaj. Her powers allow her to play with ice and manipulate the temperature in her cocktails.

Back in her youth, that same ice was a formidable weapon. She could conjure swords, sabers, and shields to defend herself, and she had a blast shaping the terrain to trap her enemies or slide in for a quick attack. Outside of combat, she could use her abilities to cool down injured areas, acting as a makeshift anesthetic.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

These days, Tellos is a plumbing engineer who sometimes picks up extra work doing repairs in people's homes. He’s also the adoptive father of Nikolaj, and he's doing his best to keep the little hellion out of trouble. His powers are great for maintaining his vegetable garden.

Back in his adventurous days, he relied heavily on his mechanical backpack, which was like a Swiss army knife for combat: it had propellers, thrusters, giant hands, blades, and even a small squadron of machine-gun robots. His plant-related powers came in handy too, allowing him to create fuel for his gadgets and potentially trap enemies. Outside of battle, he used those same powers to whip up powerful ointments whenever needed.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Speaking of my other OCs (this post is getting pretty long lmao), Kohana used to be a spy on the run, wielding daggers and setting traps.

Now, she’s made a name for herself as a legitimate political figure who genuinely listens to her constituents.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Then there’s Rhoda, Veron’s little sister. She shares his powers but focuses on precision, using her abilities to electrify her projectiles and target enemies effectively. Today, she’s a close colleague and valued friend of Kohana.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

As for Elombe and Yasmine, I don’t have a visual for their current designs, sorry! Just picture Elombe as a barely-teen elf, while Yasmine was already an adult when the others were still on their adventures so she didn't change much.

Elombe is still a schoolboy, he loves to dress up as the god of rain and show off the shapes he can create with his powers. He can even make water clones, which can be quite the hell for enemies who hate kids~

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Yasmine, on the other hand, is a priestess in a women’s parish dedicated to the god of wind. Her powers allow her to soar through the skies to visit her deity and send her enemies flying, though that doesn’t happen too often.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Thanks for your patience while I rambled about my characters! qvq

It’s always a joy to share their journeys and transformations. If you have any more questions or want to dive deeper into any specific character, feel free to ask! I’m always here to chat about my OCs and their adventures. Until next time, thanks for joining me on this little trip down memory lane~

[riddlerosehearts]

happy martin luther king jr. day, and happy twisted wonderland EN anniversary, and happy anniversary to the release of high school musical, aaand happy birthday to the late ken page, who voiced oogie boogie in the nightmare before christmas 💖 i think that's everything important that's going on today!

[deoidesign]

Hello! I just discovered your blog and I immediately became captivated by your webcomic, but I'm unsure where to read all of it. I know it's on Webtoons, but I can see it hasn't been updated for a while, and you still post about it.

Are your physical novels just prints of the webcomic? Are they a continuation? Is the story complete? Thanks in advance!

Hi there!

Glad you found me and are enjoying my comic!

It's only on webtoons, and the story is not complete yet! We're 2/3 of the way through right now. It's currently on hiatus, and it's scheduled to come back in about 2 months!

I'll explain why it's been so long if you're curious, but also for my followers who might also be wondering about it under the cut. Sorry, it's pretty much just me complaining haha

I took a month off I took 2 months to get the books printed I took a month to prepare my next comic and I took 2 months to write the rest of the series (I knew the character arcs I wanted, but not the time periods or mysteries!!!) I've been working on actual episodes since then

I had to take some time off because of some pretty extreme burnout due to the sheer amount of work it was to draw over 800 pages and write 6 complete stories in a year and a half... I was getting sick almost weekly due to the overwork, it was really really bad honestly. I was having to work 60+ hours every week just to keep up...

The nature of the comic itself is also difficult... Each of the arcs is a complete, self contained story which can be read (ideally) without context, and my arcs need to be about 10-13 episodes each... And since I have an exact number of episodes to work with, it's even harder.

It takes a ton of planning and a ton of refinement, and working week to week with no breaks I was forced to put out second or even first drafts, so I just wasn't happy with the work I was doing... And to do that for the rest of the series? I wouldn't be proud of the work I did.

Plus... To be entirely honest, webtoon has treated me quite badly IN MY OPINION... They deprioritized me before I launched (I had to beg for more promotion, I'm not exaggerating), they outright denied me the opportunity to even ask for a raise, I don't make any money on fast pass and they pay me less than my partner makes working at trader joes. My first editor left me completely hanging, my second editor (who I loved) was fired... And they told me I wouldn't get a third season before my first season even finished. So it was just repeatedly completely demoralizing.

I'm sorry it has taken so long, it'll have been 10 months by the time I come back. But I realized... I won't get promotion either way. I won't get more episodes either way. I won't get more money either way. So to finish everything, to make it feel good, to make it something I'm proud of, I chose to take longer to make it better.

I am fully aware I will lose a significant amount of my readership for this and it might genuinely affect my career moving forward. But it's what I had to do! So I'm sticking to my guns on it, and I'm confident long term it'll be worth it. It never could have been this good if I didn't take this much time.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

I think the reader's response to this post is probably going to either be "That's incredibly minor" or "Holy shit YES I'M ALSO PROUD", depending on people's personal experiences with academia, but:

Today I am incredibly proud of one of my students.

In the interests of disguising identities, let's call them Ceri. Ceri is one of my third year undergrads (meaning their final year, for anyone unfamiliar with UK uni systems.) They transferred to us last year, and within two weeks I was giving them the contact info to get to Student Services and get themself screened for ADHD; they have some mental health struggles, but I clocked pretty quickly that they STRUGGLE with procrastination, and punctuality, and attending 9am lectures in particular. Naturally, as is the way of my people, it took them a further four months to remember to go to the screening. Lol. Lmao. Rofl, in fact.

But, they did it eventually! Their screening lit up like a Christmas tree at the ADHD section, and they got a free laptop and optional one week extensions and a study support worker named Claire. This has helped tremendously, and although mental health + until-then-unsupported ADHD meant their academic profile had slid sideways somewhat, with the new tools available and a couple of resits they passed the year and hit this year running.

Until, that is, the last fortnight.

Now, I take them for a Habitat Management module that has two assessments: an academic poster presentation before Christmas, and a site-specific management plan in May. Naturally this means we are at that happy point in the year for the poster presentations. I give out the briefs at the start of the year, so they've had them since October; I've also been periodically checking in with them all for weeks, to make sure they don't have any major burning questions. The poster presentation was to pick a species reintroduction project, pull the habitat feasibility study out of it, and then critique that study; Ceri chose to look at the hen harrier reintroductions proposed for the southern UK. All good.

Which brings us nicely to today! Ceri's presentation is scheduled for 2.30. At 11am-1pm, I am lecturing the first years on Biodiversity, while Ceri is learning about environmental impact assessment with a colleague I shall call Aeron. This means we are separately occupied during those same hours.

Nevertheless, Aeron messages me at about 12.

"I think Ceri needs to see you after your lecture," he writes. "They're panicking, I genuinely think they might cry. I'm worried. Are you free at 1?"

I say I am. At 1, I get lunch and sit in the common area; Ceri comes to see me. To my personal shame, imagine all of the following takes place while I stuff my face with potato.

Now: this part is going to be uncomfortably familiar to anyone who has ever tried higher education with ADHD, especially unmedicated. It certainly was for me. All I can say is, I never had the courage to take the step here that Ceri did.

"I have to confess," they said quietly, and Aeron was right, they were fighting back tears. "My mental health has been so, so bad for the last fortnight. I've left it way, way too late. I don't have anything to present."

"Nothing at all?" I asked.

"I've been researching," they said helplessly. "I found loads on the decline of the hen harrier. But it wasn't until last night that I finally found a habitat feasibility study to critique. Generally... I've been burying my head about it, and it just got later and later. I thought I should come in for Aeron's lecture, and I should at least tell you."

This part is a minor thing, right? But honestly, I remember being in the grip of that particular shame spiral. I never did manage to tell my lecturers to their faces. I just avoided. I honestly can't imagine having the courage it took them to come in and tell me this, rather than just staying home and avoiding me.

"I think..." they said hesitantly, "I know I can submit up to a week late, for a capped mark. I think I need to do that, and apply for extenuating circumstances. But then I'll have both Aeron's assignment and yours due at the same time."

Which meant they would crumble under the pressure and likely struggle to pass both; so me, being as noble and heroic as I unarguably am, stopped eating potato and said, "Let's make that plan B."

(It was good potato. I am a hero.)

So, we made plan A: I moved their timeslot to 4.30, giving them three and a half hours. The shining piece of luck in this whole thing was that this was the crunch time assignment - if it had been Aeron's, they'd have had to try and write a 3000 report in that time. But for me, all they had to write was an academic poster, and those things are light on words by design. We found them a Canva template, and then we quickly sketched out a recommended structure based on the brief: if it's habitat feasibility, look at food availability, nesting site availability, and mortality risks in the target release site. Bullet point each. Bullet point how well the study assessed each. Write a quick intro and conclusion. Take notes as you go, and present the poster itself at 4.30.

"You think I should try?" they asked doubtfully, looking like I'd just asked them to go mano-a-mano with a feral badger.

"If you run out of time, so be it," I said. "But your brain is trying to protect you from a non-existent tiger. That's why you've procrastinated - it's been horrible, and you've been shame spiralling, and your brain is trying to shield you from the negative experience; but it's the wrong type of help for this situation! So while you're sitting there working on it, hating life, every time your brain goes 'This is hopeless, I can't do it', you think right back 'Yes I can, it just sucks.' And you carry on. Good?"

"Good," they said. "I'm going to mainline coffee and hole up in the library. Enjoy your potato."

And then, of course, I had to go and watch the other students' presentations, so that was the end of me being any help at all. I spent all afternoon wondering if they were going to manage it, or if I would be getting a message at 4.25 telling me they'd failed, and would have to submit late and hope for an EC.

And Tumblrs

Tumblrs

Let me FUCKING tell you

They turned up at 4.15, fifteen minutes early, wearing a mask of grim, harrowed determination and fuelled by spite and coffee, and they pulled up that poster and started presenting and yes, okay, I'll admit their actual delivery was dramatically unpolished and yes, they forgot to include the taxanomic name for the hen harrier on the poster and yes, fine, I admit that there were more than a few awkward moments where they lost their place in their hastily scribbled notebook but LET ME FUCKING TELL YOU -

They smashed it. It was well-critiqued, it had a map, it had full citations, it had a section on the hen harrier's specific ecology and role in the ecosystem, it had notes on their specific conservation measures. They described case studies they'd read about elsewhere. They answered the questions we threw at them with competence and depth. There was analysis. All that background research they'd done came right to the fore. They were even within the time limit by 15 seconds.

You would never have known they'd produced it in three hours, from a quivering and terrified mess fighting the bodily urge to dehydrate via tear ducts. After they left, the second marker and I looked at each other and went "So that was a 2:1, right?"

I caught up with Aeron downstairs and he was beaming. Apparently Ceri had seen him on their way out, and had gone over to talk to him. Aeron said the difference between the Ceri of this morning and the Ceri of then was like two different people; in four hours, they'd gone from their voice literally breaking as they admitted the problem, ashamed and broken, to being relaxed and happy and smiling.

"I reckon I've passed," they apparently told Aeron, pleased. "Maybe even a 2:2. There's things I wish I'd had the time to do better, but I'll be happy if I passed."

They won't know until late January what they got, because we're not allowed to release marks until 20 term days after hand-in, and the Christmas holidays are about to hit. But I'm really hoping I can be there when they're released.

But mostly, I'm just... insanely proud of them. I cannot tell you how happy I am. And I know, I know, obviously this is not a practice I would want to see them do regularly, or indeed ever again, and it only worked because they were fucking lucky with the assignment format, but like... when life is just punching you in the face, and you hit a breaking point... isn't it nice? That just this once, you pull off a miracle, and it's fixed? The disaster you thought was about to ruin you is gone? To get that relief?

Anyway. Super super proud today.

[kyxhiin]

Shazam Family confusing the JL and immortal Billy combo post! (The Shazam fam will only include Freddy, Mary, and Billy. Sorry guys)

The Shazam Family confuses the JL by alot. And by alot it means "Cap' what the hell, what do you mean she's still alive??? HALF OF HER BODY IS GONE!" kind of way. For instance

The JL are on a mission, fighting some alien made robots that can "harm" the shazam fam so they had to be extra careful with this one. Mary Marvel was punching down these robots easily with Captain, until one of them got her from behind and.. BLASTED HER UPPER HALF OFF??? Marvel held her half limp lower half body, but despite all the blood was hollow?

Captain Marvel: Oh.. That can not be good. *In a super calm voice that can only be compared to adding too much water when cooking instant noodles.*

All the JL if not most stopped what they were doing and looked at cap and now the completely if not all with a solemn expression with a tinge of disgust. Flash approaching him first because, he's the fastest.

Flash: Hey man.. Are you alright? *He said, knowing no medical care could save her. CAUSE HER UPPER HALF IS GONE!*

Captain Marvel getting up, throwing Mary Marvel on his shoulder his smile returning but not as big as before: Upsy daisy! Sorry flash didn't meant to worry you all, let me just get her fixed up and she'll be ready to go. I'll be taking the rest of the day off.

And just like that he speeds off into the distance, holding the body parts of what once was Mary Marvel. Everybody's expressing their condolences from the day before for Captain Marvel, all dressed in black (except batman, he's always dressed in black.) with condolences gifts like letters, money (wait does he even need money?), food, flowers, and other sorry gifts.

...

Wait.. Is that Cap? AND IS THAT MISS MARVEL???? WHAT THE #!$!#!@#!?

They all aprouch Cap and Mary and start talking. Why aren't they mentioning the day before? Why are they both acting like everything's okay! And just like that nobody talks about it ever again.

(Does this count as immortal Billy? Lol, if not I'll re-do it. But now to the Freddy part.)

Captain and Jr have been arguing, arguing alot because SOMEBODY ate somebody else's banana bread muffins. And here's a thing, Cap's nice and happy go lucky to everybody, literally everybody including the villains all the time except for.. his children (That's what the JL assumes, lmao.)

Captain with his hands doing the sock puppet thing while Jr was talking to him: Nananana, that's what you sound like right now. Just admit you ate my muffins!

Green Lantern approaching Captain cause he overheard some of the stuff they were saying to eachother. Nudging Marvel to get his attention: Dude, hey. I don't think you can say that to your son-

Jr immediately cutting in cause he heard what Hal said cause he refuses to be called in any shape or form being younger than Marvel (it's the only thing he has against that tractor of a man when he's in his Marvel form, let him have this): Hey! I'm his OLDER brother thank you very much!

He said, loud enough so everybody can hear it. And the JL just stop their conversations and what they were doing, Just to look at Cap and Jr.

.

Hi hi, hope you enjoyed this even though this is not my regular posting schedule!!.

[glamourscat]

Omg I love that last Tim annon so bad I saw the exact post that they were talking abt and though I love the writer the Tim flanderization is so wild like have u looked at how he’s drawn in the comics??? Like he’s not Jason level ripped but u can’t tell me that he’s not even a little jacked 😭😭 + it honestly rly upsets me that ppl ran w the whole coffee addict thing like like my boy enjoy his zetsi in peace ☹️ ALSO ANOTHER THING ik that Tim having an awful sleep schedule is a thing in cannon but ppl make it seem like he doesn’t sleep at all when like he literally takes power naps all the time like bro deadass fell asleep on a roller coaster once and also this is lowkey unrelated but I don’t feel like ppl don’t make much use of the fact that bro is literally a master of disguise and has multiple disguises in fics like it would be so cute

But anyway that post awoke SMT within me sry for the yap I just love him so bad 😞🙏🏽🙏🏽

it's funny considering in canon he is drawn like this ->

lean, sure. But with a bit of muscles. Like, bro has been training since he was 14. And, i'm pretty sure we all do not care what DC says, they are all over the places with ages (like girl Jason is DEFINETLY NOT 19. He is pushing 25 lmao) but Tim is 22, period.

Anyway, i agree with everything you said! The last bit of your post inspired me to write something short, so here it is :) ⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ “Tim, are you ready?” you shouted from his private bathroom, where you were finishing the last touch up of makeup before heading out to this secret mission you two had. 

It was supposed to be an easy thing really. Nothing too difficult. Yet, when you walked out, after not getting a response back, you were expecting everything but not what you saw. Why is your boyfriend dressed up as a woman? Is that a wing? And.. a pair of silicone breasts? What in the world– And why does he look so good? 

“Well, i can’t say i mind the view” you chuckle softly going behind him, wrapping your arms around his waist. Your head on his shoulder, gently leaving a kiss on it. The long hair from the blonde wig he was wearing tickling your neck.

“I know right? I look hot” he says grinning in the mirror as he finishes applying the lipstick so expertly on his plump, pink lips. 

“Is just.. Funny how you did not even react” he continued amused, finishing his look with a touch of perfume. 

Damn he looks so hot. Even more than usual. 

“I mean, it’s you. I am used to it now. Still, I suppose it’s for tonight’s mission, correct?” 

“Yeah” he hummed, looking at himself in the mirror one last time, pulling his black dress slightly down, before putting his heels on.

Since when does he know how to walk on heels? but, most importantly, since when does he own a pair of heels?

“Alright, let's go. We are going to be late” he said, opening and closing his hand extending it towards you. A sign that he wanted you to hold his hand.

“Yes, ma'am” you grinned, giving him a subtle– or maybe not so subtle– squeeze on his rear before moving to hold his hand as you two go out. 

This is going to be a long night indeed. 

[lovelybarnes]

dog tags- b. barnes

pairings: bucky barnes x reader warnings: language? umm crimes about: rewrite!! wanted to get back into writing and i thought rewriting some of my favorite prompts would be fun, PF12 “committing crimes” + DH8 “how dumb can you be?” a/n: hello! i meant to post this like. five days ago LMAO but i started school and should be doing work right now and i came up with a false memory claiming i did, in fact post, when i, in fact, did not. anyway. here it is. i don't know how much better it is than the original but i had fun writing it, though, surprise! i still suck at endings. ummm i am thinking or rewriting more to get back into the groove and i am writing an actual new request. this got long okay thank you

"We're going to get caught."

You shoot Bucky a look, nose wrinkled. "You are so negative," you say, legs kicking as you climb over a fence. "We are not going to get caught." You watch as he leaps from the ground, metal hand grasping the top of the fence and launching his body over it cleanly. He lands crouched and stable, watching you slowly turn your body over the ledge and subsequently topple onto the ground.

"We're gonna go to jail," he sighs, bending over to hoist you onto your feet by your armpits. Your hair has leaves in it.

"Oh my god." You stumble, hands wrapping around his arms from the speed. "How the fuck do you—"

You shriek when Bucky spins you around to press your back against his chest and clamps a palm over your mouth, gentle even through the fingers keeping your lips shut. Your eyes widen cartoonishly, flailing as he manhandles you behind a shrub. You're still complaining to the best of your ability when he shushes you, directing your attention to the woman walking out of the house.

You quiet down and stare, brows furrowed. She's not supposed to be there.

It's like Bucky can read your mind, glancing at you with a sigh. You try your best to give him a look back before looking at the woman again. She has a phone pressed against her ear, lips moving angrily. Her voice upticks sharply with the end of each word she says.

You relax when you realize there isn't a chance of you getting caught, kind of wishing you had popcorn to watch her nearly trip over her heels and become even more furious, kicking at the grass. Bucky's silent enough for you to seriously doubt you'd know he was there had he not been tightly wrapped around you. You squeak at the fact, impressed. Bucky pinches your side unhelpfully.

She unlocks her car, keys tinkling harshly with her movements. Bucky finally abates when she throws her door open and sinks inside her white Jaguar, the slamming door narrowly missing her pin-straight blonde hair.

You gag, pushing his hand away. "When was the last time you washed your fucking hands? That's disgus-"

"I thought the house was empty," he interrupts, head cocked.

"I thought it was, too," you defend lamely. "She's off schedule. Maybe that's why she was so pissed. Late to her HOES meeting or whatever."

"What the hell is HOES?"

"I don't know!" you cry. "The one with the lawns."

"Are you trying to say the HOA?"

You quirk an eyebrow. "James Buchanan showing his face?"

"This is not-" He sighs your name, "I swear, if any more of your information isn't right, I'm leaving."

You make an incredulous look. "Is that supposed to be a threat? You were not invited."

"I wanted to make sure you didn't die or get sued or go to jail. Which, hey, really likely in a neighborhood that has 'HOES' meetings."

"I'm not gonna 'die' or go to 'jail,'" you insist, finger quotes up and perplexing Bucky. "I don't need your help, anyway, I'm a very capable person with a very capable plan. You just followed me. You're some guy's little brother."

"What?"

"You know. Annoying."

Bucky breathes in slow, watching you creep around the bush for a better angle of the house. He closes his eyes and counts to three, and when he opens them, you're at the porch, tiptoeing like a fuckin' cartoon character into the house and leaving the door open. Spectacular.

He sprints inside inconspicuously, head darting both ways just in case before he closes the door. When he turns, there's an alarm system set up that lazily blinks green. No disturbances. Huh. He glances at you, impressed for a very quick second when he sees you snooping in a cabinet, clueless to the huge dog growling behind you.

He stills immediately, breath slowing. He stares at you and tries his best to make you feel it, but it either goes wrong or he fails entirely when you drop a file, groaning loudly at the injustice of it. The dog twitches. Bucky's heart jumps into his throat.

You're halfway into an inelegant bend when you spot him, face breaking into a smile. Fuck, he thinks. You're pretty even when you're going insane. "Hey! You're finally here. Look at—"

He shoots you a warning look, moving his lips as little as he can. "There's a dog." He glances between it and you, thinking every move ahead to avoid a nasty bite and the failure of your stupid mission.

"Oh my god, Brutus?" You spin too fast, startling the dog both from with your movements and apparent knowledge of his name. 'Brutus' makes a noise between a growl and a whine. You gasp, a palm pressing against your lips. "Brutus, I thought they retired you!"

You drop down to your knees, opening your arms wide. Brutus stares at you for a second, inching closer to sniff you apprehensively. Then, his ears tuck and he whimpers, tail tucked and wagging gently as he walks closer to you.

"You... know the dog."

"Yes, I know the dog," you start, voice careening into a higher, softer pitch as you rub the pads of your fingers behind Brutus' ears. "Brutus has been the guard dog here for two years. I fostered her for a little while until she was adopted but I kept in touch." Brutus licks your cheek, making you squeal. "Her name was originally Poppy but they wanted a scary name." You roll your eyes.

Bucky shoots you a look.

"I sort of spied on them for a few months to make sure she was doing well," you rub her ear, "and she was, yes she was," you baby-talk. "Her owners have shit values but they really spoil their dogs."

"Wow. Okay. One question—the people we are stealing from know you?"

"Yeah, they have my number."

Bucky pinches the skin between his brows.

"Good girl, Poppy, protecting the house from evil intruders," you coo.

Bucky looks at the clock and then you, slowly lowering yourself further to pet Brutus-Poppy. He nudges you with his foot. Poppy growls at him. "Hey. Fellow evil intruder. She's gonna be back at some point."

"Not for another hour at least. Nat's in charge of the distraction." Still, you press a loud kiss to Poppy's head and stand.

"I'm an overachiever. Let's leave ample time."

"Fine," you say loudly, arms swinging petulantly at your side. "I'll make it quick. You're such a bore."

"Yeah, yeah. What are we looking for anyway?"

You use a pencil to look between books and couch cushions, humming distractedly. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, Buck." You wink.

Bucky's cheeks pink against his will, shaking it off as quickly as he can as he watches you look around. You pause in the middle of the room, do a full spin, and sigh. "Not here."

Bucky frowns but trails after you into another room, Poppy close behind. You open the door grandiosely to a giant room. "Wow."

"Okay, I know what you said, but you kind of need to tell me so I can help you find it," he says. You ignore him, striding toward a desk and pulling open a drawer. He says your name exasperatedly. You observe a notebook, shaking it vigorously before tossing it over your shoulder. Other items follow in quick succession, which he catches amidst his frustration. "What are you—you're going to break something—" He catches a crystal ball.

"I'm not, I know what I'm doing," you insist. "You are so pessimistic. Have faith." You dig in a little further before grumbling, rising to your feet and kicking a chair down. "I'm going to look in another room," you say and take off, leaving Bucky with an armful of miscellaneous objects to put back. He screws his eyes shut and counts to three.

You walk down the hallway quickly, peeking into the rooms until you find what you're looking for. Three doors in, you stop, scanning the walls until you find a hideous painting hung up next to a dusty bookshelf. You make a triumphant noise and stride toward it, running your fingers along the frame until you find the indentations of a security panel.

"Aha! And, if I remember correctly..." You enter 1234 and the painting swings open to reveal a safe. "Losers."

You count silently as you unlock the safe, laughing in triumph when you beat Natasha's record. Keeping the door open with an outstretched finger, you contort to find a pen, holding the cap between your teeth as you scrawl your time on the inside of your wrist, giggling in the anticipation of letting her know.

You turn your attention back to the safe after you've written a few wobbly exclamation points, rifling around until you find what you're looking for. Your fingers dig through a dark box filled with stolen valuables, a grin on your face when your fingers get tangled in the one you're looking for, eyebrows jumping in satisfaction as you tuck it safely into your pocket. You stick your head in the safe again, searching for something shiny to throw in Sam's face when Bucky bursts in.

"Oh, hey, do you think Sam would—"

"They're here."

Cursing, you shove everything into place, closing the safe and carefully moving the picture back. You step back and grimace. "God, that's ugly."

He says your name urgently, wrapping his hand around your wrist and dragging you away, throwing you over his shoulder when you keep lagging behind. You squeak, clamping your mouth shut when Bucky squeezes your thigh in warning.

He dumps you out of an open window and into a bush, rolling himself out onto cropped grass. "Okay, I think that was unnecessary," you mumble, crawling out next to him. There are lines of bubbling red all over your skin from what was apparently a rose bush.

"We have to hurry before the gate closes," he huffs, lifting the both of you up with ease and hurrying to the slimming entrance. You squeeze out unseen and stop at the beginning of the blind spot you came in through. Bucky's huffing when he puts you down.

"What's wrong? I thought you had super high stamina or something," you tease, poking at his shoulder. Bucky glares at you. You laugh and reach for his hand, beckoning him enticingly with your fingers. He appeases you suspiciously, capturing your hand in his. He squeezes and rubs a soft line up and down near your thumb.

"Let's go home," you say.

Bucky blinks. "What?"

"Let's go home. I'm hungry. And I kind of want to take a nap. Can we stop by and pick up some ramen?" You tug at his arm gently, beginning the trek to Bucky's bike down the path without surveillance. "Breaking and entering really wears me out," you say to his furrowed brows.

"Don't forget robbery," he muses.

"Right. Breaking, entering, and robbery really wears me out," you say with a laugh. You turn to him and grin, eyes sparkling.

Bucky stops, staying in place when you pull at him and whine. "What was it?"

You cock your head.

"What did you want to steal so badly?"

You chew on the inside of your cheek, looking at him thoughtfully. "I'll tell you if you give me a piggyback ride," you proffer, wagging your brows.

Bucky rolls his eyes but crouches down, holding onto your index finger as you climb onto his back.

He readjusts you as he stands to full height, wrists twisting under your knees and holding your calves tight but kindly. You hum, one arm falling over his chest and the other dipping into your pocket, unzipping it and taking out the chain. You wrap it around your fingers delicately and rest your chin on his head, looking at it dangling from your hands.

Bucky begins to walk. "So?"

Your thumb draws wonky hearts on Bucky's chest, tracing the letters on the tags with your other one. "Do you remember how disappointed you were when you came back and your dog tags had been auctioned off? It was the one thing you couldn't get back because it wasn't in that museum." You feel Bucky nod. "Well, I've been looking for them," you confess, pursing your lips. "I didn't want to tell you because you'd tell me to stop and that it didn't matter but I know it did—I know it does.

"A few months ago, I found out who bought them and I tried to buy them back, but these assholes wouldn't budge no matter how much I offered—or anyone, I impersonated a lot of people. I think they just wanted to keep them because other people wanted them. And the things they said about you..." You shake your head, feeling yourself going hot with anger.

Bucky squeezes your leg, muttering your name.

You stop yourself, letting your face slant so your cheek rests on his hair. He smells sweet like your shampoo. Fucker. "So, anyway, I did the obvious thing: I tracked them down and broke into their house to get it back. It's not like the tags are theirs, anyway."

Bucky stops abruptly, jolting you. You yelp, complaining as he puts you down and stares at you.

"You did—this was to get my dog tags?"

You look back at him. "Yes? I didn't—"

He cuts you off, pulling you into a hug so tight, you cough. Your arms hang limply in surprise for a second before they come up to reciprocate, a dazed but still eager arm rubbing the line of his shoulder blade. Bucky hugs you a little tighter. "Thank you," he murmurs. "I don't think anyone... I don't know many people that would do that for me."

"Oh," you say, blinking fast. "I—of course I would. I love you, Bucky, you... I would do anything for you."

"Fuck," he says wetly, pulling away to hold your face in both hands. He smiles at you. One of those real ones that crinkle his eyes. "You're—fuck—"

You laugh, his hands falling away to your shoulders.

"I'm sorry you didn't get them back after you went through all that trouble."

You tilt your head. "What do you mean? You think I didn't get them?" You raise your hand to his view, dog tags dangling. "Your faith in me is shocking."

Bucky grabs the tags and you let them go easily, watching his hands turning them around slowly, index running along his name. JAMES B. BARNES. Then, two lines down, R. BARNES. "I can't believe you did this for me," he says softly.

You smile. "Well, believe it, baby," you tell him, gently teasing. Your wring your hands together. "Of course I did," you say, quieter.

When he looks back up at you, his eyes are shiny. "Thank you." He glances down at them once more and splits the chain with a finger to pull it on your neck. "Hold on to them for me?"

You pause. "Bucky..."

"Just until we get to the compound. You'll keep it safe for me."

You keep it safe for much longer than that.

[serqphites]

VICTORIA NEUMAN X ASSISTANT!READER

format: blurb

warnings: nsfw content at the end

word count: 700+

not proofread! y/n used!

- the second you came in for your interview she pretty much decided she was hiring you LMAO

- now i’m not saying she only hired you because of her crush, because your resume genuinely caught her eye, but i’m also not saying it had nothing to do with it 🤷‍♀️

- she definitely asks you to do things she could easily do just as an excuse to see you

- “y/n! can you come here please?”

- “can you pick up this pen i dropped please? i’ve got suchhh a bad back” she’s so dramatic i love her

- you honestly think she’s just being a bitch and she’s messing with you

- that is until one day she comes to you in the morning, saying today she only has one task for you

- “will you eat lunch with me?” and she has the dorkiest smile of all time on her face

- lunch together becomes a regular thing, going from talking about your favourite tv shows to her telling you about her daughter zoe

- she’s so sad when you eventually tell her you thought she was just like every person you’ve ever worked for, just messing with you for the fun of it

- “no no never! i could never do that, especially not to you” OOOOOO it’s blush city for you both

- things are going great! you love your job. that is until something changes, and victoria randomly stops asking you to do things for her

- i mean you’re her assistant, shouldn’t you be getting her coffee? shouldn’t you be organising her files? shouldn’t you be having lunch with her and not hughie?

- to say this has you down is an understatement, you can’t seem to understand why she has randomly shut you out

- it’s not like she’s not speaking to you, she’s still asking you to do things but they’re all tasks that require you to be away from her. you haven’t even been in her office for nearly two weeks now

- after your hurt builds and builds, you can’t hold it in anymore. you storm into her office demanding to know why she’s avoiding you

- she plays it dumb at first but she knows what she’s been doing so she fesses up

- “fuck… i’m sorry, so sorry. it’s not you i promise, it’s me. i- i like you, okay? like a lot and i know it sounds stupid and i know it’s sooo inappropriate because you’re my assist-“ SILENCED BY A KISS WOOOO

- you’re discrete about it at first, sneaking around and making out in the bathroom stalls like you’re high schoolers

- her bringing you lunch everyday<3

- she so leaves post-it notes on her desk with cute lil messages whenever she has to leave for meetings because it’s where she tells you to just relax

- you don’t bother asking why you’re not allowed to meetings that involve voughts CEO, it’s probably just a confidentiality thing right?

- a bit random but whenever you’re standing talking to somebody i feel like she’d just squeeze your butt?

- canon she’s a butt squeezer

- you don’t fight much but oh boy is your schedule full when you do

- she gives you the stupidest tasks she can think of LMAO

- “can you walk someone’s dog please?” “someone’s dog?” “yeah, just go around asking who has a dog that needs walking” “are you being serious, vic?” “yes i most definitely am, it would help me soooo much you have no idea!”

- I LOVE HER SO MUCHHH

- dating your boss can be annoying at times, but you wouldn’t trade it for the world <3

NSFW TIMEEEE

- officesex!officesex!officesex!

- this honestly deserves its own blurb if i'm being honest

- i feel like she's already dominant in bed anyways but because she’s your boss it’s elevated TO THE MAX.

- “i have one really special task for you today, so listen closely”

- you can barely stay stood up with how weak your knees go (real)

- “i need you to be a good girl for me, how does that sound? you think you can do that for me?” in her husky voice im DECEASED

- one time she cleared her desk by pushing everything on the floor, she immediately regretted it when she realised she had broken almost everything

- “i always see people do it in movies and this doesn’t happen” she’s so upset while she’s picking up a broken picture of you both on the beach

- she’s so silly

- she definitely buys you lingerie to wear underneath your work clothes 🤭

- the amount of flirty texts she sends you during the day just to watch you blush uncontrollably is concerning (when is it my turn)

a/n: requests are always open, hope you enjoyed :)

[sen-ya]

Life After Info Post

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

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

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

Relationships: Luffy x Law

Update Schedule: New page every Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Page Count: [37 posted | 55 drawn]

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

OLD UPDATES:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[norris-lando]

it's time to go / social media au

max verstappen x singer!reader

summary: in which rumors spread about max cheating on you but thankfully, there's a knight in a shining red armor waiting for you

faceclaim: sabrina carpenter

author's note: this is my first time doing a social media au, so please go easy on me 😭 nevertheless, i hope you guys enjoy! also, i'm going to doing more parts to this :)

part 1 · part 2

—

f1updates: Max Verstappen and singer-songwriter Y/N Y/L/N have called it quits after almost 2 years of dating. Sources close to the couple have commented the breakup saying, 'apparently there was some sort of infidelity involved.' The couple have yet to confirm these rumours, but what do you guys think? Check the link in our bio for more information regarding the situation.

liked by user12, user13, user14 and 586 others

user1: noooo mom and dad 😭

user2: i'm denial, ain't no way one of them cheated wtf

user3: say sike right now ☺️

user4: it's okay guys mom and dad are just being silly 🥰🥰🥰 it's fine 🥰🥰

user5: i mean if the cheating thing is true, i'm sure we all know who cheated on who

—load more comments—

y/n.insta: how long will it be cute, all this crying in my room 🎼

liked by charles_leclerc, user6, user7 and 321 278 others

user1: mother noooo 😭

user2: it's okay max ☺️ i just wanna talk ☺️🔪

user3: i didn't wanna believe it but looks like the streets were right this time 😪

user4: i'm so lost, what happened??

user3: apparently m*x cheated on y/n

user4: wtf nooo they were my endgame 😭

user5: charles what are you doing here

user3: lmaoo chill they're friends

user6: it's okay bby i can go vroom vroom in circles too and i promise i won't cheat

— load more comments —

y/n.insta: they say write about what you know so i wrote about heartbreak. it's time to go out now on all streaming platforms!

btw, had a BLAST in LA this last weekend. thank you so much for all the support, i love you guys 💖 next stop ➡️ miami

liked by charles_leclerc, user16, user17 and 987 532 others

user1: can't wait to see you in miami!! ♥️

user3: 15 years 😭 15 million tears 😭 begging till my knees bled 😭 i gave it my all 😭 he gave me nothing 😭 at 😭 all 😭 tHEN WONDERED WHY I LEFT 😭

user2: @/maxverstappen1 been awfully quiet since the queen dropped it's time to go 🤔

user1: not the tag lmaoooo 🤣

user6: okay can we pls talk about the fact that cHARLES is back in y/n's likes???

user5: i admire to be this delulu

user8: still feels so weird not the see max in the likes and comments

user11: i know right?? we get it, it was a good joke hahaha i'm laughing now pls can we stop this

user9: i think you dropped this 👑

— load more comments —

maxverstappen1: Simply... Lovely. What a great weekend again 🏆 Miami, thank you!

liked by redbullracing, user18 and 886 379 others

user19: it's time to go to apologize to y/n now ☺️🔪

user5: so proud of you, great job again!!

user17: imagine being in miami at the same time as the girl you CHEATED ON

user2: facts, i feel so bad for y/n cause i remember seeing a video of her saying she scheduled a show in miami at the same as the gp so her and max could spend some time together

user3: lmao at least Charles had a fun night at y/n's concert last night

user17: what?? how do you know that???

user3: he posted on instagram last night that he was there!!

— load more comments —

charles_leclerc: Good day yesterday, on and off track. Thank you, Miami! And special thank you to @/yn.insta for having me at the show ♥️ It was phenomenal and can't wait to see you again soon.

liked by @/yn.insta, carlossainz55, user13 and 687 931 others

yn.insta: Thank you so much for coming! I'm glad you had a good time ♥️ Can't wait to see you soon!

user6: the red hearts!!! and y'all called me delulu

user8: okay but the hearts don't necessarily mean anything?? i mean y/n just got out of a relationship

— load more comments —

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Major Blog Update: Inbox Cleared, Life Updates, a big thank you and More!

First of all the big one:

The deed is done...The Inbox is dead.

Long live the inbox.

To get a fresh start, I've deleted the current inbox of all my asks.

The inbox memes, the nightmares...they're finally over...

ANYWAYS, feel free to send in any request you may have as per usual, just figured I clear that damn thing finally out considering I've had asks that are three years old in there.

Right now I'm really getting into Honkai: Star Rail since Natlan kinda killed my enjoyment of Genshin, but those gals I will still love and write for (I mean, I'm sure as heck not changing the blog url) so don't feel discouraged if you came to this blog because of my Genshin content. And of course my other fandoms are still good to rock and roll!

One last thing before the cut:

I want to thank EVERY ONE of you for following this blog and sticking around with my goofy ah for so long.

I genuinely get excited to read any message or request you put under my posts or inbox, whether it be feedback or joking around! And I know we have the memes going on about me being drowned, please know I do genuinely take the time to look at every single one that comes in everyday, even if I didn't say anything or respond. And it means the world to me that ya'll like my writing enough to continue asking of me.

You all are the reason I even put the effort I do in this blog for so many years, from my newer followers to those who have followed me since my first blog. I could not ask for a better group than ya'll.

From the bottom of my heart, thanks, and let's have a great year together!

ANYWHO: For those who care enough, this is what's been going on with me for the last few months.

Work:

As for why I've been absent for a while: simply put because I work a retail job. Thankfully nothing too bad, it's just normal scheduling and it IS work I very much enjoy and get paid relatively well. My love for writing is still very strong as is my simping, so no worries, I don't plan on going anywhere.

I DO greatly apologize for making everyone wait for literally ANYTHING, doubly so if you had an ask I didn't get to yet. I wanted to honestly save everything into my drafts, but alas I could only choose some select ones.

You're more than welcome to send it back in, and since things have calmed down I SHOULD be getting to them a lot faster.

Genshin:

In regards to what I said earlier about Genshin: Natlan kind of killed any enjoyment I had playing, characters were REALLY unappealing to me, it made my friends stop playing so therefore I stopped as well as that was the major reason I still had it installed. I don't really plan on adding anyone from Natlan or anyone else from that game in the future, so apologies if you were looking forward to that from me specifically.

Star Rail has been filling the hole in my heart and honestly? I have a lot more writing freedom writing the gals from there, but again, don't feel afraid to send me any genshin request! I still simp for my Mondstadt women after all.

Other things I've been doing/Ideas for the blog:

I've also been playing games (and getting distracted) with my irl friends and trying to catch up on my hobbies to prevent myself from burning out, Minecraft has been a big thing lately for me again: specifically Pixelmon LMAO.

For 2025 though, I plan to at least post an imagine once a week starting next week since things are still settling down and I have to get my work schedule.

I might also start posting (Eventually) my personal writing projects here to get feedback and possibly go to AO3 to post my crossover series since Tumblr isn't really the place to be doing so (Chief among them my FE3H AU: House Isekai), or if demand is high enough I'll post it here.

Oh, and with this major update I have once again updated my banner, not that it's really important, just that I put a good amount of effort in it, more than you'd think for how simple it is. I also want to see if anyone even gets my reference LMAO

Once this post goes live, I plan to add a few new characters, starting with the Commander from Girls' Frontline but we'll see how it goes.

I think that's all I got for right now, so see ya soon guys!

- Chris

[rafyki]

Goth! Nico/ Surfer! Percy AU Part 9!

I'm back!! I hope you missed me as much as I missed posting lmao This chapter wasn't planned honestly, I wanted to write directly their beach 'date', but then this happened and I decided it's gonna be one more chapter before the date - sorry xD I bet y'all are tired of this slow burn, but i promise they're gonna get together soon!

(I hope the texting format is easy to read here on tumblr, but otherwise you can read it on AO3)

Enjoy~

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

You can also read it on AO3!!

~~~

Percy: Ehi, Nico! You have the afternoon shift tomorrow, right? Let’s hang out at the beach again after it?

Me: Percy, hi!

Me: So you really do know all my shift hours, huh?

Percy:  What can i say, Im a great obsever

Me: Huh, are you?

Percy: For important things at least

Percy: so is that a yes?

Me: of course

Me: No need to tell you what time I finish, I guess

Percy: nope 

Percy: 20ish right?

Me: yeah

Me:  see you tomorrow?

Percy: yep

Percy: see you tmorrow! 

Nico had been rereading the conversation for the best part of the previous night, and the first thing he had done after waking up had been checking his phone once again to make sure he hadn’t just made it up in his dreams. He knew the short exchange by heart now, yet he kept staring at it, reading it over and over again. Part of himself was afraid it would disappear if he so much as locked his phone and looked away for a second too long.

Their chance meeting at the beach three days prior still felt like a waking dream, like he had hoped so much for something like that to happen that he had started hallucinating. He wondered if hallucinations always felt so real, if they would let you to feel the water splashing against your legs, the warmth of the setting sun on your skin, or the pressure of a hand holding yours, the touch soft and warm, everything and more Nico had let himself dreaming about for the past months. The way Percy had smiled at him had been so beautiful that Nico’s mind probably wouldn’t have been able to conjure something like it if it hadn’t been real.

Still, it didn’t feel real.

Leo and Jason would have probably blamed the feeling on Nico’s self sabotaging tendencies. You’re allowed to have nice things, Nico, they would tell him.

Was he? Could he let himself hope that he could really have this? His heart was going berserk in his chest at the sole thought.

Percy had stopped to talk to him at the beach, Percy had taken his hand and held it while walking in the water, Percy had memorized his schedule and asked for his phone number; Percy had texted him first and asked him to hang out again.

For important things at least.

Percy had said that. Important. Nico wanted to scream.

His phone's sudden ringing almost made him jump out of his skin. It was Jason’s number, but it was Leoìs voice that greeted him from the other end of the line.

“Hi there, goth boy, so how ya feeling for your date today?”

“Not a date, Leo, shut up- and why are you calling me with Jason’s phone?”

Of course, Nico’s traitor heart stumbled on the word date. It wasn’t, and he couldn’t simply assume otherwise, it would make things awkward, wouldn’t it? And so far nothing had ever been too awkward with Percy - Nico surely wouldn’t be the one to make everything between them crumbling down for expecting too much.

“Not important-”

“He lost his phone”, came Jason’s voice. “Again. By the way, hi Nico”.

Nico rolled his eyes at their antics. “Hi Jason”.

“Anyway!”, Leo jumped in. “How are you feeling for your ‘not date’ then?”

“I hate you, Valdez”, Nico groaned, letting himself fall backward on his bed. His heart didn’t seem willing to stop running like crazy anytime soon, his hands were sweating from anticipation and tension.

“You’re freaking out, aren’t you?”

He put his phone on speaker just so he could set it aside, take a pillow, and scream into it.

Apparently, his suffering was extremely funny to Leo, because his obnoxious laugh came as a reply. “I’ll take it as a yes”, he said.

“Nico, I’m sure everything’s gonna be great”, Jason said. “You’ll have fun, get to know him better, and then-”

“Then you’ll finally date, hopefully”, Leo finished.

Once again, Nico’s heart skipped a beat and did a little dance in his chest. He threw the pillow aside. “What if I make a fool of myself though?”

“Well, your boy has made a fool of himself plenty of times already, hasn’t he? I mean, he knows your schedule by heart”, Leo replied. “So I’m sure you’ll be fine”.

Jason laughed at that, and after a moment Nico joined him.

~~~

Nico expected his shift at the kiosk to last an eternity, stretching on and on to keep him apart from finally seeing Percy in the evening. And, truth be told, the first couple of hours were just like that, long and boring and way too slow.

It changed when his phone notified him of a new text.

Percy: i got work today so im coming to teh beach latr 

Percy: ill meet you at the kiosk!

Nico’s heart was starting to become extremely good at doing somersaults in his chest. There were no customers at that moment, so he had time to reply, his fingers shaking just slightly as he wrote back.

Me: alright, I’ll meet you here then

Me: What time do you finish at work?

Percy: What, you wana learn my scdheule too?

Me: It's only fair, isn’t it?

And so, they ended up texting back and forth for a while and, after that, the time seemed to move faster, the day shining brighter, and Nico’s customers’ smile felt just that tiny bit more honest.

Nico’s internal list of the things he knew about Percy kept growing longer by the minute; he liked to text and wasn’t afraid to double text, his spelling mistakes were so atrocious they left Nico smiling and feeling so endeared it was almost ridiculous.

Nico’s nerves eased with every new text, his heart now beating out of excitement and anticipation more than fear and anxiety. The evening couldn’t come fast enough.

Me: Why are you spending so much time texting me instead of working

Percy: Why, arent you enjoying it :( 

Me: not what I said!

Me: i wouldn’t be replying if i weren’t enjoying it

Percy: :D 

Percy: im on break anyay

Percy:  what abot you, youre also on your phone instead of workin

Me: there aren’t many customers today

Me: no one to buy the same old blue drink

Nico put the phone aside for a moment, hiding his smile behind his hand and hoping that no one would think he was a creepy psycho smiling for no reason. He had every reason to smile. Flirting was easier through text, even if he kept spending minutes on end before forcing himself to press send. The downside of it was that it was way more difficult to avoid it when Percy flirted back.

Percy: aww you miss me?

He wrote and then deleted a reply a few times. He was lucky Jason and Leo weren’t there today to see him being like this or they would have made fun of him for the rest of their lives. 

It was strange. Nico was feeling embarrassed, but in an easy lighthearted way, and that made him feel just that little bit braver. Maybe it was because Percy was willingly spending his break texting him instead of whatever else he usually did; maybe it was the fact that he had the feeling Percy was feeling just like him.

He wrote a reply, looked at it for a few seconds and pressed send before he could overthink it too much.

Me: Maybe

Just then, before having the time to send a second text for damage control, a customer came and Nico had to put his phone down to serve them. His heart kept hammering in his chest the whole time, and his eyes kept stealing glances at the phone, hoping to see it ring. It was taking a little longer than usual for Percy to reply, and Nico didn’t know if it was because he had scared him away or flustered him too much.

When it did notify him of a new series of texts, he was still busy with new customers, and it took him all of his willpower not to make them wait while he checked his phone.

Finally, he thanked and said goodbye to the last customer of the queue, he moved so fast he almost stumbled on his own feet; and when he read what Percy had written, his heart was ready to jump out of his chest and start dancing on the counter.

Percy: me too

Percy: maybe

Percy: goot thign were seeing each other in a couple huors

Percy: cant wait

He read the words, reread it again and then again, once again feeling like they were nothing but a pipe dream. He blinked, and they were still there when he opened his eyes again. 

Maybe he really could let himself hope this time.

Me: me too

Time definitely couldn’t pass fast enough. 

[somepsychopomp]

Okay I cannot get it out of my head now. How does eldritch Athena interact with Anticlea, Laertes (maybe Ctimene)/ and how freaked out are they in a scale from one to ten. Sorry lmao I just love creepy Athena with all my soul

I'm sick so please bear with me

on a scale of 1-10, the entire family including Ody are at 11

In this AU, the gods are more distant forces that people still pray to, but you really don't want an up-close encounter with the divine. They're much crueler and colder creatures, who are just as inclined to view humans as prey as well as worshippers. And yeah, they are creatures- the gods don't really have 100% human forms. They can take on human aspects like speech, but in this AU they're all much more monstrous

And maybe I'll post more about it in greater detail, but right after meeting Odysseus, Athena kidnapped him and kept him sequestered in a cave at the highest point in Ithaca's mountains for like a week. She genuinely thought she was doing the right thing by carrying him off.

To Athena, a healthy baby (ie an owlet) should be a fat, round puff ball that's constantly being fed. So Odysseus being so "skinny" (AKA a healthy weight for a human child) must mean that he's being neglected at home. Perhaps, she reasons to herself, Odysseus is the runt of his clutch and therefore, is not being fed as often by his parents.

Which is a shame that the boy's mother and father don't see the potential in him that Athena does. So she decides to take this little one as her own, and give him a far better chance at life than he'd get with his human parents. She humors Ody's desire to make a small fire to cook his food over, but at night, she sleeps with her back to the cave entrance and her owlet tucked between her body and her wing, where Ody should be nice and safe and extra warm. (Athena is nocturnal but is willing to switch her sleep schedule until her little one is grown)

One day, she goes out hunting for food to bring back to the nest, and Odysseus takes his chance to escape. He makes it all the way back to the castle and throws himself into his mother and father's arms, sobbing since he's so happy to be back.

Laertes and Anticlea take in the sight of their lost son- he's dressed in ragged, bloodstained clothes, with cuts along his scalp (Athena's first few attempts at preening weren't quite as gentle as they should've been)- and they wonder where he's been. Did their poor boy get lost in the woods? But where? They sent out search parties day and night, putting nearly every able-bodied man on the island to task.

Through his tears, Odysseus tries to tell them that it was Athena who spirited him away... only for Athena herself to burst through the palace's front doors, flapping her wings and hissing with fury. She crushes the nearest guard underneath her talons before swallowing him whole, and says she will devour the entire palace unless her owlet is returned to her.

Laertes tries to hide Odysseus behind him, but it's no use. Athena knows that Odysseus is here. But the king cannot bear to part with his child by sending him off to an unknown fate at the mercy of a goddess. Anticlea bursts into tears and begs Athena to let them keep their son. Her heart would break without Odysseus and she would surely die of sadness.

Athena accuses them of underfeeding and neglecting Odysseus, to which the two human parents swear to feed Ody "properly" and to "cease their neglect" at once. Odysseus clutches his mother's hand in a way that Athena finds vexing; why would he so love his ignorant, uncaring mother?

Maybe Athena pokes around their house, trying to search for enough deficiencies that would give her good reason to simply snatch Odysseus and carry him somewhere far away. Interestingly, she finds no other offspring save for a plump toddler. Ctimene cries at the sight of Athena, but she pays the little girl no mind. Mostly, she's confused. If there are no competing offspring from Odysseus' clutch... then did she make a miscalculation?

Though it frustrates her and wounds her pride, Athena will allow Laertes and Anticlea to continue housing and feeding Odysseus. But she shall be his tutor in all things scholarly and physical. They shall build her a suitable roosting spot as well, since Athena still wants to take some of the responsibility for sheltering Ody.

In their dreams though, both the king and queen are haunted by a dark shadow stalking them wherever they go. They hear the clicking of Athena's beak as she warns them: should they disappoint her, she shall tear their house asunder, devour them whole, and make off with their son to be raised as her own.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

"Sometimes it's better to be alone."

I was so hype to write these!! Family dramas are my favorite flavor of angst :3c They should attend group therapy together, I think it would be beneficial to everyone—

I would recommend reading this interaction beforehand, as that previous post leads into Rollo first meeting Ortho and gives more context for how these headcanons start off.

A Big Ignihyde Welcome to Rollo!

Unlike the other dorm leaders thus far, Idia has yet to extend Rollo an invitation to Ignihyde. It leaves Rollo with no choice but to confront the boy himself. (The sooner he gets these courtesy calls over with, the sooner he can be on his way out of this hellhole.)

Tracking Idia down proves to be a more difficult task than Rollo initially thought it would be. Idia’s rarely seen in public, nor does he allow others into his room. On those few occasions where Rollo makes a beeline for his floating tablet, Idia automatically mutes him and directs the tablet to retreat!!

It’s only through a chance encounter with Ortho that Rollo learns of loopholes in Idia’s schedule: he’s always physically present on exam days and Board Game Club meetings. This leads to Rollo insisting that he will join Ortho to “pick up” his brother from that day’s meeting. His real goal? To chew Idia out for all the trouble he has caused both him and his innocent little brother!

When Rollo shows up at the Board Game Club’s base, Idia stands up so abruptly that he sends a board and its pieces scattering across the floor. Thrusting a pale, shaking finger at the doorway, he manages to stutter out, "R-R-ROLLO-SHI?!?! Wh-What are you doing here?!"

"He told me he was looking forward to speaking with you, Nii-san! I brought him with me so you two could spend some quality time together," Ortho reports cheerily. He glances at their guest with a smile. "Hehe, so that’s your name?"

Their guest stiffens for a second--and Idia braces himself, expecting a tirade--but to his shock, Rollo instead gives a small smile. "That is correct. As you can see, your brother and I are already... acquainted with one another." Idia's eyes bulge, his jaw dropping. "Wh-Who are you and what have you done with the real Rollo-shi?! He’s way too introverted and rage-filled to want to associate with…”

Before Idia can finish his statement, Rollo yanks him (“Excuse us,” to Ortho) into an isolated corner of the emptying classroom. With a harsh glare, he launches into a lecture about “how dare he leave his brother unsupervised” and “isn’t he aware of the sorts of hooligans that run rampant around campus” and “what if he were to be hurt due to your negligence”.

Idia shrinks further and further into himself as Rollo'a anger builds. He passes a helpless look at Ortho in the doorway, who just smiles and waves back. W-Why is Ortho endorsing this?! Idia's gaze flickers back to Rollo, whose face is contorting as he continues to chide him. Ortho, Rollo, Ortho, Rollo...

A realization sinks in, and a grin slowly forms on Idia's mouth. His confidence returns to him. “Hihihihi! I get it now. You’re big mad and flying off the handle 'cuz you can with me. You can't do the same with Ortho. You don't want to show this side of yourself to him. That's it, isn't it? He reminds you of..."

Rollo's eyes are dark and filled with a silent sorrow. It mixes with his anger, creating a far deadlier concoction. "You have no right to speak of him!!" he hisses.

"Heh. I'm right," Idia says smugly. "... Don't blow a fuse. I don't care about your family affairs or your past or whatever. Just don't butt into mine. And if this is about doxxing you to Ortho, I haven't." Rollo's eyes narrow in skepticism. "LMAO, not for your sake," Idia clarifies, jerking his chin at Ortho. "For his. He'd never stop worrying about me if I dropped the bomb about your inner chunnibyou.”

"You're lucky you even still have a brother to…" Rollo's words catch in his throat, and he forces them back down. "You have no clue how lucky you truly are, Shroud-kun."

"Weird, cuz I don't feel very lucky with you breathing down my neck. What'd I do to earn your ire, huh?"

“Stop!” Ortho declares, suddenly popping up between the two older boys. He glances eagerly between Idia and Rollo. “Did you two have fun catching up? We should head back to Ignihyde to hang-out now~"

"Huh?!" The third years are not happy with this arrangement—but with Ortho grinning at them like that, shooting off all kinds of ideas for what they can do together, neither of them can say "no" either.

Entering Ignihyde, Rollo is automatically put off by the cold, sterile environment of it. Lights and screens blip everywhere, everything is straight and geometric, metal and circuits. They’ve embraced the technology of the modern era, he laments. No respect for tradition whatsoever.

They stop by Ortho’s room first upon his insistence (he wanted to pick up a game or two to bring along to his big bro’s place!). The young boy flings the doors open, revealing pristine living quarters. Rollo is very impressed, even going so far as to give Ortho a stiff pat on the head for his efforts at staying meticulous.

E-Eh? I’m not dreaming this, am I? Idia’s heads practically bulge out of his skull. Rollo-shi seriously smiled and showed some sort of affection to someone else?! What’s with this absurd gap moe? C-Could it be that… n-not even Rollo-shi can withstand Ortho’s cutness…? W2G Ortho!! Your power levels are unrivaled!!!

Out of the corner of his eye, Rollo spots a few wooden figurines lined up on a shelf. There’s no mistaking it; those are the souvenirs Idia brought back for Ortho from the City of Flowers. For some reason, seeing them makes his heart palpitate uncomfortably.

Even stranger, there are odd tubes and wires in plain sight. Rollo wonders what they’re for—and his thoughts go to Ortho and his strangely metallic body, the lights on him that flash. His strange way of talking, the inhuman nature of him. Why does he appear this way? Rollo wants to know, but he thinks it rude to ask directly of the boy, so he has to default to pouncing in a moment alone with Idia.

Ortho retrieves a copy of the game he wanted (though he hides it from Rollo’s view). Off to Idia’s room they go!! (Idia nervously bites his nails at the prospect of allowing Rollo inside his mancave; Rollo snippily reminds Idia to trim his nails like a normal person would.)

Idia nervously pushes the door to his room open (every second of it seems to drag on, only prolonging his suffering). Rollo stares at what unfolds before him: cardboard boxes with games spilling out, an unmade bed, books and cables littering the floor… His expression crumples as if to say, Damn, bitch. You live like this? but Rollo (generously) only presses his mouth into a thin line.

He instantly tries to go about cleaning Idia’s mess (while simultaneously chewing him out for it). Idia trails after Rollo while wailing about the disruption of his “organized chaos”. (“Noooo, not my mint condition signed copy of the Sled Over Heels manga anthology!!” and, “Don’t touch that!! It’s a super exclusive one-of-a-kind Premo! T-shirt I pulled in a lotto…!”)

Rollo finds a pair of headphones with… cat ears… on them. “What is the purpose of this?” he asks of Idia, who looks absolutely mortified. (“I-It’s for the kawaii aesthetic! You wouldn’t get it…” ) “I don’t see the point of it. Felines are vermin all the same.” Well, that sets Idia off. They get into an argument about the pros and cons of cats.

Idia rushes to grab his most obscene materials snd hurriedly shoves them under his bed. Rollo obviously notices, but makes no effort to tear them away from Idia (in case poor Ortho is exposed to a glimpse of those lascivious materials). Instead he settles for chastising Idia again for his “impure” tastes.

Once everything has been (sort of) tidied up, Idia is nudged to offer their guest food! … But all that’s available are candies, Doritos chips, Mountain Dew soda, and energy drinks. (There’s also instant ramen, but they’d have to boil water for it.) Rollo wrinkles his nose and starts to criticize Idia’s diet. “L-Like yours is any better!” Idia retorts. “All you do is inhale croissants and grapes like a madman! That’s hardly a balanced build!”

Rollo sits by kneeling on the floor, which makes Idia’s skin crawl. “It feels like you’re going to start praying for the power of God and anime to be on your side,” he grumbles.

They attempt to play various card and tabletop games, with Ortho as their audience (if he were to play, he says, it would be unfair to them both). As Idia keeps sweeping Rollo and (loudly) gloating about his wins, the tension in the room builds. Rollo doesn’t care about wins or losses, but Idia’s attitude is most certainly rubbing him the wrong way. Ortho cheers both of them on regardless!

Ortho pulls put the game he had retrieved from his room: it’s a copy of Star Rogue! “It’s a classic. Nii-san and I used to play it all the time. I think you’ll like it too.” He pops it in and hands the controller to Rollo, then the other to his brother. Enter the second round of Rollo being obliterated 💀

… Rollo begrudgingly finds that it feels therapeutic to button mash to shoot down the final boss. (He pictures it as his mortal enemy, Malleus Draconia, and relishes in its fiery end as the boss disappears into a starry void.)

When the games become old, Ortho suggests a movie! He happily shares about his experiences in the Film Research Club—how he provided the special effects for their last production, and how he played the part of the villain in the one before that. It’s been a great help with understanding the full scope of human emotion, so maybe watching a film together can help them all come together as friends!

There’s a bit of squabbling over what they’ll watch. Idia wants to check out the live action adaptation of Two Piece, a swashbuckling high-seas adventure based on a popular manga series—and if Rollo has to choose something to watch with Idia, it would be a documentary to hopefully instill some sense of culture in the heathen.

In the end, they let Ortho make the decision (since it’s clear they can’t agree to anything). He picks out a horror movie—because, according to him, his data says that humans easily confuse high adrenaline feelings with like fear and intimacy! It’s the most effective way to get his big bro and Rollo to be besties!

Idia tries to enjoy the movie but it keeps being undercut every five minutes with Rollo griping about how “unrealistic” certain details are or complaining about how they probably used magic (ick) to achieve some special effects. “You’re ruining the suspension of disbelief!!” Idia hisses at him.

Whenever there’s a terrifying moment, Idia has a habit of screaming and clinging to whatever’s closest to him. That, unfortunately, is Rollo today. He tries to counter by shoving Idia off, but the nerd’s grip is surprisingly iron clad when reinforced by fear.

When the movie is over with, Ortho excitedly asks what their thoughts on it were. (He loves leading the film analysis talks in Film Research Club!) Idia starts to mumble something, but Rollo speaks over him to express that he thinks it was “an affront to nature” for the mad scientist in the movie to have robbed graves to reanimate his son. “He just couldn’t let the dead rest in peace, could he…? No, he went and selfishly desecrated the memories of a boy long since passed. How despicable!!”

Idia falls suspiciously silent at the comment. “… M-Maybe… he just really missed him,” Idia tries. “and that’s the scientist’s way of grieving and coping with the circumstances. He did what he could to bring his son back.”

“He trifled with something he could not understand. A man so arrogant as to play God,” Rollo spat. “His son is dead. Gone forever. To attempt to revive him, to try and turn back the clock…! It is utterly futile, and it has resulted in an abomination walking upon the earth, trapped between life and death with no end in sight!”

“Th-That’s not…! Who are YOU to act all high and mighty? Missing a loved one so much you’d do anything in your power to bring them back… I-It’s no different than pulling some end-of-the-world level bullcrap in their name!”

“EXCUSE ME?! You take back those words this instant!!” (“Make me!!”) Both boys are shouting now, each fiercely defending their own stance. Neither of them even pay attention to Ortho, who’s trying desperately to calm them both down. Their feelings are far too hot, too frenzied.

Rollo has never seen Idia show this much gall—not since that night atop the bell tower, not since Idia had spouted off all those accusations, lamenting that they were one and the same. It’s almost as though…

“Say whatever you want about me, but leave Ortho out of this!!”

At Idia’s exclamation, everything clicks into place. A deceased younger brother, the sorrow Idia had shed, the claim of their similarities, Ortho’s robotic form… Oh, god. Horror seizes Rollo’s heart, and he feels sick to his stomach. “You…!! What have you done…?”

Hot anger erupts like a plume of lava. Rollo, shaking like a madman and his expression grave, clutches onto Idia’s shoulders and vigorously shakes him. If looks could kill, Idia would already be a corpse by now. He’s frozen with fear and terror, unable to so much as summon any magic to fend Rollo off. The other boy is shouting in his face, spit flecking Idia. “What have you done, Shroud-kun?!”

BZZZT!! A strange sound suddenly fires off, and the air is warm and filled with the smell of smoke. Rollo and Idia slowly turn their heads—there’s Ortho, looking none too pleased. In the wall just a little above both third years’ heads is a hole, courtesy of a certain robot’s laser beam.

“… That was a warning shot,” Ortho says, glaring intensely at their guest. The scornful look breaks Rollo’s heart—the look of a betrayed brother. The accusatory words Idia uttered to him on that fateful night resound like haunting bells in his kind: “Do you think your brother would want this? Do you think he would be happy knowing you’ve done all of this in his name?”

Rollo releases Idia, who scrambles over to his younger sibling with a squeak of relief. “O-Ortho, you’re my savior!!” he happily sobs. But the robot isn’t looking at Idia.

“Rollo Flamme-san,” Ortho says in a resolute tone, “I definitely won’t forgive you if you hurt my brother!”

“Your brother?” Rollo can’t help but scoff. “That man? Don’t make me laugh. He’s nothing of the sort. He is a usurper, having dredged you up from the Underworld and stuffed your soul into an unrecognizable body…!!”

“He is my brother, and I’m his brother. We know each other. We care for each other. That’s enough for us.” Rollo’s brow furrows at the response given to him, spoken as if it were so easily the truth. His will cracks, his shoulders slump. Again, he has lost to a NRC student. Again, he’s defeated. Again, he has nothing left.

A new heat rises up, this time to his eyes. He hangs his head, furiously swiping away at his traitorous sockets. How dare they—how dare they decide to have a moment of weakness now! “Rollo-shi…” Idia awkwardly starts, but Rollo snaps at him. “Shut up, shut up! I don’t want your pity!!” (Idia was actually going to say something trolly and insensitive, so maybe it was for the best that he didn’t continue.)

An uncomfortable silence falls upon the room. Silent tears dribble down Rollo’s face. He wipes them away, but new leaks spring up to replace them. So many emotions be has repressed are coming out in full force. He’s lost control of himself, bringing on a new wave of shame.

Rollo composes himself as best he can (which isn’t a lot) and forces out something resembling calm. “… I will see myself out now. I apologize for exposing you to my unseemly display.” He isn’t even able to take a single step before he is stopped.

“Rollo Flamme-san!” Ortho calls out. Rollo looks back at the boy who is no longer mad. “I think… I understand what you must be feeling. You’re scared and angry and full of guilt. I know because nii-san and I have felt the same before. We wanted to tear the world down and rebuild it into a new, shiny utopia. That was your dream too, wasn’t it? For us, a world where we can be heroes. For you, a world where you and your brother can be at peace. Grief can drive mourners to do unbelievable things. That’s why I exist—and that’s why it’s not too late for you to restart. I think your brother would agree with me.”

Rollo looks entirely taken aback by the young boy’s speech. Even Idia is flabbergasted by what he’s saying. “O-Ortho?! What are you saying… How do you know about all of that?!”

“Huh? I didn’t tell you? I heard about it from Deuce Spade-san, Epel Felmier-san, and Sebek Zigvolt-san!” (Of course it was from the blabbermouth first year normies! Idia cringes.) As it turns out, Ortho knew all along but made the conscious choice to not let on until now.

“But then why keep up the charade?” Rollo demands, confused. To that, Ortho replies, “I thought it would be more difficult to forgive and to give you a second chance if that information was at the forefront of my memory banks.”

“Second chance…? You would grant that to a person who has knowingly attempted to backstab your beloved brother multiple times? Feh, you’re naive, Ortho-kun. Far too naive. Your ‘brother’ should have built you with more skepticism in your programming. Some nasty misfit might come along and commit an atrocity right under your nose, then take advantage of your innocence to get away with the crime.”

The boy shakes his head. “… That’s not true. I’ve run the numbers. There is a non-zero chance that you can change, Rollo Flamme-san. Nii-san could turn his 0.01% to 100%. He returned from the brink of despair. I know you could too.”

Ortho’s words strike him. It’s as though Rollo himself is the body of a great bell, and Ortho, the clapper rattling against him, producing a great, full-bodied sound resonating within him. Hope chases away the darkness clouding his heart, drying his tears.

Idia, Rollo realizes, truly is very lucky to have someone like Ortho by his side. Rollo lets out a bitter chuckle. “… Hmph, what childish, comforting sentiments. It must be nice to see the world in such a way.”

He feels like he should be mad. He wants to be mad. But he can’t be, not at Ortho. Ortho, who now looks at Rollo with such sad eyes, so big and shiny they almost seem wet with tears—how can a robot have such a heart, such a very human soul?

“Shroud-kun!!” Rollo barks, making Idia jump. “You had better appreciate and cherish him. Do you understand me? The instant I catch wind of you mistreating Ortho-kun… There will be dire consequences in store for you.”

“H-Huh?! Where’s this protectiveness for Ortho suddenly coming from?! He’s MY little brother, so back off! Find your own party members!!”

“It only makes sense to remove a child in a toxic environment and replace them in a far better one. I’ve witnessed the perverse content and entertainment you consume. It’s no sort of example to be setting for the youth.”

“Dude, are you seriously shaming me for my interests? I won’t stand for it!! Hell hath no wrath like an otaku scorned! I’m so gonna defend my waifus to the bitter end!!”

“Hehe!l Ortho giggles to himself. “It looks like Rollo Flamme-san and nii-san are getting along after all.”

“WE ARE NOT!!”

[kiisuuumii]

finally restarting the queue ! :^)

+ a personal update (and queue schedule) if anyone's interested

as many of you know, i've been tapering down my use of tumblr these past few weeks, and i've decided now that i'd like to get myself to stop checking it as often as i do lmao so the queue will be running to make my absence feel a little less like an absence lol

i just want to sorta cut out, as much as i can, social media from my day-to-day, and i'd like to manage to spend less time on my phone and more time present in my physical reality this year. pretty much this update is to say that i'm just taking my original break up a notch to help me focus more on myself and the things i have in front of me right now :0 !!

so as far as the queue schedule goes, it'll post snippets from my readings twice a day at i think 6:20 pm and 6:40 pm pt/pst and will go until about mid march !

and as far as how often i'll be on here, i'll probably log in to check that nothing has gone horribly wrong >_> every maybe week or so ? maybe every two weeks ? idk we'll see lol but ideally the longer between checking the better

regardless, i hope that you're all taking care of yourselves and the people around you, friend and stranger alike. i hope you're showing yourselves grace and treating yourselves with firm kindness. be sure to stay safe and healthy, and to make sure others are safe and healthy !! and !! never deny yourself a nice big or small treat !! you only have this one life, why waste it denying yourself something good !!

i love you all very much. you all deserve to feel safe, to feel happy, to feel loved. i carry you all in my heart always (and i'm always giving you a smooch on the head with consent <333)

[genericpuff]

1. Have you read Circe by Madeline Miller + Song of Achilles ~ if you have what are your thoughts

2. In the original what was your favorite male character drawn out (mine was Hermes only bc I found him hot😓)

3. How long do you think it’ll take you to ‘finish’ your story, like do you have a set date: 2026,2027, even 2030🙈🙈

4. What’s your backstory on tattooing and art, was this your initial plan

5. Fave girl character, (mine is Minthe only bc she reminds me of my younger self since I seemed to only choose realtionships where I get here)

thank youuu

ahaha so many questions! I'll answer them as concisely as I can :>

1.) Song of Achilles is on my shelf, I've been meaning to read it all but I haven't been able to make time for it, I might try and do so before the new year! I've definitely heard great things :>

2.) Hephaestus! He gives me such older brother vibes, he just seems like a really chill and snuggly guy LOL Only complaint about his character design is the fact that he's constantly using running blades (sure they look cool but they're not practical for casual wear, you're supposed to use them for, y'know... running lmao) but that's really it, I think his arc with Aphrodite in S3 was poorly written tbh especially with how rushed it was, but overall not the worst treatment out of the cast.

3.) Definitely don't want it to take until 2030 LMAO It's gonna depend on a few variables, including update schedule (I'd really like to get back to posting once a week again like I used to but I don't think it's gonna be possible for a little while u.u""") and how long the final scripts come out to be. Ideally though I'd like it to be wrapped up within another year or two. This definitely isn't one of those "work on it indefinitely" type projects, I have an end goal in mind and I don't want it to take over half a decade like my last comic project did LOL

4.) Never expected to wind up making Rekindled or in tattooing. I'm kind of a "fall into it" type person, I do what feels right in the moment even if it's not what I initially planned for (within reason, of course! I've learned to sit on new ideas and plans for a bit before pursuing them to ensure I'm actually into them before diving in lol it helps me avoid the impulsive ADHD-fueled decisions 😆). I sort of had a plan for myself back in primary and high school - I wanted to become a video game concept artist, but over time as I got into making comics and after I graduated college, it just never really happened. It's never too late, of course, but right now I'm having a lot of fun tattooing and making comics in my free time ! I think I'd still be making comics even if I ended up in game dev, it satisfies my storytelling side haha

5.) If you mean specifically LO, yeah, Minthe here too. Which is wild because I remember when I was still a huge fan of the comic and was on the "fuck Minthe!" train. Now that I've explored the comic with a more critical eye, I sympathize with her way more and I really hope she had gotten a more satisfying conclusion. Still, she got away from Hades and Persephone's nonsense so that's better than nothing LMAO but I definitely want to explore her side more in Rekindled as the story unfolds, I have some fun plans for her <3