#will still post art here when i do eventually make something coherent but

[witherfide]

uuh might not be as active for a bit

[seiya-starsniper]

26. creating art inspired by them <3

Altair you brilliant wonderful genius, you’ve given me the perfect way to ring in a fill for “Episode 6 continuation” for Dreamling week.  We shall ignore the fact that I have already have already completed an omegaverse fill that I will be posting tomorrow LMAO-

blossoming romance writing prompts

-------------

It is late in the evening of their reunion when Dream finally notices it. Along the back of the New Inn’s wall behind Hob Gadling, there are multiple works of art, framed lovingly, and displayed proudly. It is not the one directly behind Hob that catches his eye, but one to the left of it, and once Dream realizes what it is, he cannot stop looking at it. 

It is a portrait. A portrait of Dream himself. 

Dream recognizes the style of hair and dress to be from their aborted meeting in 1889, when Dream had stormed off into the night at the thought of being called a friend. The portrait should stir something negative in his gut, a sour reminder of how poorly Dream had acted that night, but it does none of these things.

Because in this portrait, Dream is smiling. It is subtle, but it is there, in the quirk of his lips, in the tilt of his eyebrows, in the way his eyes shine in a way Dream has not seen on himself in at least an eon. It is a portrait that makes him look kind instead of cold, warm instead of aloof. 

Was this how Hob Gadling saw Dream in his mind’s eye? Even after how cruelly Dream had treated him before?  

Hob pauses in the story he had been recounting, clearly noticing that something is amiss. He makes a questioning noise, but Dream cannot find it in himself to speak, too dumb struck to form any coherent thoughts or words. It is a rare thing indeed, for the Prince of Stories to be found wordless. And here Hob Gadling has managed to do it with a simple charcoal drawing.

Hob’s eyes eventually follow Dream’s line of sight, and he must realize what Dream is looking at, for he whips his head immediately to the portrait and inhales sharply. 

“Oh, uhm, that,” Hob says sheepishly, bringing a hand to rub at his neck. Dream tears his eyes away from the portrait in time to notice there is blush blooming along the immortal’s neck and face. Hob is still turned to the portrait, as if transfixed.

“You know,” Hob says, eventually turning back and meeting Dream’s eyes. “I’ve been drawing you for a long time,” he admits. “I’ve lost most of the sketchbooks and paintings, after…well, you know when. But that one in particular is special to me. I drew it after you missed our appointment in 1989.”

Hob’s smile is shaky, as if he expects Dream to get up once more and flee The New Inn, as he had in 1889. But leaving is the furthest thing from Dream’s mind. 

“You would draw me so kindly?” Dream asks, voice barely above a whisper. “After we parted so poorly that night?”

Hob’s smile becomes more confident. “That’s how you always looked to me,” he says warmly. “A kind stranger who’s given me the greatest of gifts, a long fulfilling life, a chance to learn and fix my past mistakes. A…” he pauses, then huffs a small laugh. 

“A friend,” Hob says definitively.  “My oldest friend.”

Dream lets out a choked sob. He hadn’t even known his eyes were watering but now tears are flowing freely down his cheeks. He is overcome with emotion at Hob’s devotion to him. And he does not know what to do with himself. 

“Shit!” Hob exclaims, palming at his jacket and jeans until he finds what he is looking for. He pulls out a handkerchief and makes an attempt to first offer the item to Dream, but then changes his mind and moves to wipe Dream’s tears himself. 

“Please no tears friend, this was supposed to be a happy reunion,” Hob pleads, pressing the cloth gently into Dream’s skin. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Dream shakes his head and places his hand over Hob’s, stilling the man’s ministrations. 

“There was no offense,” Dream says. “You just continue to surprise me, Hob Gadling. My friend.”

Hob’s returning smile is blinding. “I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing you say that. I would wait another 133 years for you just to hear it again.”

“You do not have to,” Dream replies. “I will call you thus for as long as you will let me. And…” Dream purses his lips, trying to form the correct words for what he will say next.

“Perhaps moving forward,” he continues, “we no longer need to only meet once a century. It is my understanding that friends meet more than that.”

“They do,” Hob replies. “And friends also invite one another into their homes to break bread and drink wine. As it so happens, my home is above this lovely establishment. Would you…would you like to come up?” 

Dream smiles and nods, before they stand and he follows Hob upstairs. 

[shakingparadigm]

I'm glad we have someone like you in the fandom and that you started a youtube channel too. It feels less lonely I guess! Everything you post (theories,art,informations,jokes) is in my opinion so interesting,creative and detailed. I don't really send asks but I really had to tell you that I appreciate all of this,not what you simply post,but create too! I believe after Alien Stage will end,I will miss your posts about it but I'll have a good time remembering the days before a round was dropped,where we all assembled there to scream in fear (AVENGERS... ASSEMBLE LOL) and I'm sure I'll continue visit even if you'll talk about something else,with Vivinos content here and there if qmeng and the team will post about it etc!

One thing that makes me more conscious about ''IvanTill tragedy'' is that... Ivan loved the idea,the meaning,he had of Till,because he never got to be seen by him,got to express himself and be something for Till,which means getting to really enter Till's world. So I think at some point he asked himself ''What do I love'',which led him to the circle of reasons we deduced from their backstories,reason of the words chosen in the official art,where he says ''shallow feelings''... but they weren't shallow at all... And I think this is so sad,that he could not feel the depth in it,or understand his emotions... It's so sad we don't have a glimpse of Till's pov... Thank you for reading this until the end,I'll silently return in my den :)

Sorry this turned into such a long and awkwardly sentimental post,,,, ;;

Thank you....!!!

I'm really happy that you think of me so nicely, even if my posts and speculations are off the mark... or if the things I make are truthfully not very good. Even if they're mediocre at best, I still put a lot of my heart into them. I've always had a lot of things to say, but I never really opened myself to speaking about them until earlier this year. It feels really nice and comforting to share everything and be responded to with the same level of enthusiasm. I keep repeating myself when giving my thanks, but it's just because I will always be grateful to everyone I've talked to so far. That will never change. Thank you for taking the time to send me an ask! It really means everything to me. Let's focus on enjoying ourselves and anticipating what's to come! Even though Alien Stage is bound to end, we're still only halfway there!

I genuinely would like to thank you for your support. I wouldn't hold it against you if eventually you lost interest in my blog later down the line, but the fact that you'd still want to visit even if I end up switching to other things is so kind. I can't put down everything I'd like to say in a way that sounds coherent, and I undoubtedly am making this a bigger deal than it has to be, but from the bottom of my heart I'd like to thank you and everyone who has been so so kind to me. Truthfully I'm still unsure about whether or not I even deserve it, but I want you to know that I appreciate everything. I remember everything, too. Right down to the first few people who shared their thoughts to me back when I first started this blog!

I'm sorry if I seem like a bit of a downer, or if I seem less active lately? Less present or something like that. There's a lot that I've been going through lately (to add on to that my damn house flooded. yikes. currently staying at a friend's right now), and it honestly worries me to think about a lot of things, not to mention all the asks that I haven't been able to answer yet... I'm so sorry. I'll get to them eventually, I promise! They mean a lot to me and I want to do them justice with an answer, but some days I just can't find it in me to put thoughts into words.... once again, I'm so sorry. I don't want to make it seem as though they're a burden or anything, though! It's genuinely the highlight of my day to receive one.

Your perspective on Ivan and Till is worded so wonderfully. It truly is tragic that Ivan views his feelings as shallow, especially when in reality they're so complex and all-encompassing. Someone who loves so fervently and desperately (obssessively) actively denies themselves something as simple as the validation of their own feelings. Ivan viewed so lowly of himself until the very end, believing that he was never able to mean anything to Till (You don't care about me is such a devastating line). Ivan's emotions are complicated on purpose, his character was designed with the intention to confuse. It's stated that only Ivan himself can truly know what he's feeling, but even then he is an unreliable narrator and is too deep in the throes of self-loathing to allow himself any mercy. Constantly at war with himself, even just moments before his demise.

Ivan is described to have the most flawed personality out of his peers ("twisted"). The fact that he hones in on this aspect of himself to the point where he cannot see himself as anything of worth to the people he cares about is so profoundly sad. A flaw within itself, the perfect recipe for self-sabotage.

Till's perspective on Ivan is desperately needed, even if it wouldn't make a difference to the present circumstances. When speaking of Ivan's feelings for Till, VIVINOS mentions that one cannot simply move on from such deep-seated and long lasting emotions in just a short time. Surely Till would share this sentiment, right? Constantly overwhelmed by his own heart, wouldn't Till mull over the feelings that drove Ivan to sacrifice? Wouldn't he dwell on the impact that Ivan has made on his person? What form does Ivan take in Till's memory? One cannot move on from feelings like this so easily, and although Till didn't feel for Ivan in the same way, it's undeniable that he at least felt something.

So far (iirc), the only official statement of Till's feelings towards Ivan is that Till found him strange (and vice-versa, but Ivan was fascinated and attracted to Till's "strangeness" while it seems that Till was... less so...). Although it makes sense that Till is so protective of his true feelings, it would be nice for his thoughts on Ivan to be expanded upon, just for some semblance of closure.

(Sorry if this went off-topic.... or if my answer ended up being off again haha but thank you genuinely for the ask. I appreciate it more than you could ever know).

[wasyago]

how did u get so good at composition:3 did u like to draw background all the time or it came to be after practice how long does one piece usually take:333

hehe well, thank you first of all. second of all... um both? practice yes, no one gets it on the first time. and just. i dont know? doing it over and over again and trying new things and experimenting, seeing what works, what doesn't, where the background is needed and not.

i remember i heard a lot of artists around me saying that they didn't like or couldn't draw backgrounds, and for some reason i decided that im not gonna be like other girls and learn to do it. and i uhhh.... just started? drawing backgrounds? i was trying, and watching tutorials on youtube, and seeing how other people did it and eventually it got easier? i can say that i definitely enjoyed figuring out how to do it, struggling to get the perspective and composition right. like, it was hard but i had a lot of fun doing it, so it felt natural and just like, normal art progression? it didn't feel like i was going out of my way to draw backgrounds, i just did it when i felt like it?

at some point i joined a character ask, you know, when people ask questions and you draw the character answering. and i decided that im gonna draw a background for each answer instead of it being a character on a blank background. and doing this, like, specifically trying to draw backgrounds and tell a story with them, and doing it regularly and coherently, it helped me progress a lot. like, i started with a character sitting on a couch in a room, and then it got better and better, multiple rooms, multiple angles of the same room, different locations and images. it helped me a ton. just, figuring out when you need a background, when its rather i did something simple for one frame and focused on the other instead, where the character needs to be positioned, etc.

i can say i didn't do a lot of proper studies, and if i did maybe it would've been helpful... i only drew things that were in my head, with characters that i liked, with imaginary locations and stuff. never really drew from photos... we did go on plein-airs, or whatever they're called, when i was in art school, so drawing backgrounds from real life probably also helped a little, but i can't remember anything about it so it didn't do as much.

i looked at a lot of art from cool artists and expanded my visual library, i analyzed their art trying to figure out why i like it and how to make my art have the same kind of feeling. and i still do! sometimes something just takes over me and i scroll pinterest for 3 hours looking at pretty art and going to artists' profiles and saving art and using it as inspiration later. and it helps! a lot!

i dont know where this post is going ummm. i guess if you want to learn to draw something, just like, start. scrap it if you don't like it and try again, have fun, don't get attached. and uhh, i felt a little nostalgic so here are some of my pieces that i did throughout the years. definitely feels like i got better at it recently, but there's still a lot of room for improvement

oh and for your second question. one piece takes about ummmm... more than a thousand episodes, thats 20 minutes times 1000 devided by 60 devided by 24... we're looking at about 14+ days of non stop watching?

no but for real. i dont really keep track of time when im drawing, uhh. plus depending on the complexity... my recent jrwi drawings are sketches, so they took maybe one or two hours max. something rendered uhhh, maybe 5 hours? if i don't finish it in one day the chances of this drawing ever getting done are super low, soo yeah

[quodekash]

OKAY it's now the morning so it's time for me to share all of my thoughts from this episode. prepare yourselves, its gonna be a lot. also a lot of it isnt gonna be very coherent. you have been warned.

tinn calling gun 'darling' over the phone 🥺

photjanee why must you be heteronormative and assume tinn likes a girl

istg pat calling yo 'bro' was the funniest thing ever (maybe i was just tired lmao)

look at this style gay man. this icon. this king. i love him with all my soul.

this man's face is one of the most precious things on this planet

i thought we were ten minutes in and already getting a soundwin moment, but then sound freaking rejected win's offered seat and sits at the front???

poor win is so confused

why was tiw getting in the bus van thing with the pool toy still around his waist

sir what are you doing

WE FINALLY GOT THE FREAKING BEACH SCENES OMG

THEY ALL LOOK SO HAPPY IN THAT GROUP PHOTO (por can you send me that group photo pls?)

YEAAAAAHHH WE FINALLY GOT THE TIWPOR PHOTO TAKING. AND ALONG WITH THAT WE GOT THEY SMILING AND LAUGHING TOGETHER, AND TIW TAKING A PHOTO OF POR WHILE HE POSED AND LOOKED CUTE AND THIS IS NOT STRAIGHT BEHAVIOUR

i deeply appreciate the tiwpor crumbs

i do not, however, appreciate being catfished bY A CUTE SOUNDWIN BEACH MOMENT

yay for cute tinngun beach scene tho

even if it is ruined multiple times by people

THE OISHII ICE TEA IS HERE, YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS

ITS TIME FOR A CUTE GAY MOMENT

(i cant explain how much i want this ice tea)

(i love ice tea)

why is tinn making out with the ice tea

and then gun made out with the ice tea so that they indirectly kissed and this is not at all what i was expecting from this product placement but honestly i love it

naturally yak had to destroy everyone's hope and happiness and freedom

he is, however, deeply iconic.

tinn: how did my honeymoon turn into a music practice camp? tiw: my situation is worse tiw:

tiw, i love you, but that's not worse.

TIW CHOKING ON HIS DRINK WHEN YAK ASKED THEM IF THEYRE CRUSHING ON HIS JUNIORS AND HE IS IN FACT SECRETLY DATING ONE OF THEM (well, hopefully. maybe. if hes not yet then he will be eventually. he has to be. i need canonical tiwpor in my life)

i understand the cover dancing. but why must you make music kids run and do squats and stuff. music kids dont want to exercise. leave the music kids alone. (i feel personally attacked from this. most of my friends are music kids. i dont want to be hanging out with them and relaxing on the beach and then suddenly forced to *terrified shudder* exercise)

yak telling por and pat and win and yo that theyre lacking something. idk about the others, but i know what win's lacking

he's lacking a boyfriend

i have the not-yet-disproven understanding that por has a magical gift in the art of somehow-becoming-gayer-every-single-time-he-comes-on-screen (ill make this its own individual post one day with evidence and stuff)

TIWPOR CRUMBS WHILE TIW IS TEACHING THEM TO DANCE

SOUND-TINN RIVALRY CRUMBS, YES, THEY BETTER FLIPPING EXPLAIN IT SOON. THEY DONT IN THIS EPISODE. BUT IF THEY DONT EXPLAIN IT BEFORE THE END OF THE SHOW IM GONNA PUNCH SOMEONE

"Dont you want to try a love song?" "Oh, please. A love song?" "i'm just saying. if youre not into it, thats okay." "its not that im not into it. but im more afraid our members wont be into it. look at them. none of them is romantic. none, none at all" "But there are many types of love. let's say puppy love or sweet love, im not into them either. i prefer the tough kind of love *he's smiling and thinking fondly now*" "right. i like that too. in the beginning, we just didnt stop fighting. in the end, i blushed for him without knowing it."

SOUND MAKES A FACE OF REALISATION

DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS

"Gun." GUN IS CONFUSED. HE LOOKS OVER. HE READS SOUND'S EXPRESSION. "hey!" "you just said… don't tell me…" "wait, no-"

"DID YOU KNOW I LIKE WIN?"

HE ADMITTED IT. HE SAID IT OUT LOUD. AND TO GUN OF ALL PEOPLE. GUN NOW KNOWS. HE KNOWS ABOUT SOUNDWIN.

"HUHH????? YOU LIKE WIN???" "keep it down! people can hear" "you like win?" "i do." "ah! youve been avoiding him lately because of this?" "…yes. when im close to him, i just dont know how to act. when im near him, i feel so freaking awkward." sound, babes, its okay. you're allowed to have feelings

"should i just tell him honestly?" UMM??? YES????? ABSOLUTELY YOU SHOULD, YES PLEASE

gun why are you changing the subject. sound is asking for advice. dont just leave.

TINN ALSO KNOWS NOW

i love the way they were hiding behind a rock and spying on sound omg

side note: tinngun's height difference may kill me one day

sound and gun are sitting on the side watching the dance that the others practiced, and sound cant stop looking up at win he's so whipped i love him

"something im really into?" *proceeds to stare directly at win for a number of seconds*

THOU POOR LITTLE PINING GAY OH HOW I PITY THEE AND WISH TO GIVETH THEE A BIG OL' HUG

3/4 THROUGH THE EPISODE, YK WHAT THAT MEANS? THE SOUNDWIN PART

WIN IS APPROACHING SOUND WHILE SOUND IS WRITING

I REPEAT, WIN IS APPROACHING SOUND WHILE HE'S WRITING, WE GOT A COTE RED, CODE RED EVERYONE

win is asking whats up with sound recently

sound is aggressively avoiding eye contact

"im on mars looking back at earth and can still see you're mad. what are you mad at me about?" sounds thoughts: for being so bloODY HOT WHY MUST YOU BE LIKE THIS

"i said nothing. you should go now. im continuing to write the song" SOUND BBY DONT PUSH HIM AWAY HES ALSO IN LOVE I JUST DONT THINK HES REALISED IT YET

WIN STOLE THE SONG BOOK THING, I REPEAT, WIN STOLE THE SONG BOOK THING

SOUND IS VERY TENTATIVE AND KINDA SCARED

"you said you would write a song about chasing a dream. why did it turn into a sweet love song?" "well- im- exploring different types." suuuuuuuurrreeee. nice cover up story there, sound. subtle. he'll never figure it out.

"...do you feel anything after reading that??" POOR BBY IS DESPERATE HE NEEDS A HUG (i volunteer as tribute to give sound a hug)

win looks down at it. reads it again. looks back up at sound.

"i do"

WE'RE GOING FERAL AT THIS POINT

THEYRE SMILING AT EACH OTHER

WE'RE TEARING OUT HOUSES TO SHREDS

BUT THEN--

"i feel like this doesnt suit you at all"

WIN.

HE WAS TALKING ABOUT FEELINGS.

LIKE THAT FLUTTERY THING YOU GET IN YOUR CHEST EVERY TIME YOU SEE HIM?

YOU KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT WIN

I KNOW YOU'VE FELT IT

"it gives me goosebumps" WIN THIS IS SO VAGUE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?? DO YOU MEAN GOOSEBUMPS WITH A NEGATIVE OR POSITIVE CONNOTATION?? IM NEURODIVERGENT AND SLEEP DEPRIVED I NEED TONE INDICATORS

"give it back. a dumba** like you will never understand" :[[[[

"what a waste of time" excuse me sir. the last time you said that you kissed him. now you're walking away.

(thats probably a thing i can analyse at some point. sound and his usage of 'what a waste of time' and an insight into his thoughts and his character. ill do that at some point)

FREAKING GO AFTER HIM, WIN. BLOODY EXPLAIN YOURSELF

sound is now sitting on the beach. he is sad. that makes us sad.

look at this sad boi, he nEEDS A FREAKING HUG

tinngun are approaching him to provide words of comfort

"i saw everything. its okay. if i were you, id be ticked off too. dam it. you wrote a song for him, and he badmouthed you back." and sound has this tiny sad smile on his face "actually, i wasnt that surprised. even if i told him directly, he wouldve turned me down anyway. you saw it. we're too different." HES TRYING NOT TO CRY DANG IT "it's good we ended it this way" SOUND- PLS- STOP- NO- WIN DIDNT KNOW WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, HE DIDNT REJECT YOU, HE LOVES YOU

"you can put your mind at ease now. no one is breaking the club rule." tinn is literally standing like three metres behind them. sound trusted gun enough to tell him that he likes win. i swear, if gun doesnt tell sound about tinn RIGHT NOW (or at least soon) IM GONNA TELEPORT INTO THE UNIVERSE AND SMACK HIM

"im sorry. im the first to break the club rule." YES. GOOD GOOD GOOD

"what??" "actually, im seeing tinn" G O O D. YOU SAID IT. WELL DONE.

sound is like rly confused and he looked behind at tinn and tinn kinda shrugged and nodded and sound says "how's that possible? when??" "my couple is no different than yours. tinn and i have nothing in common." YES YES YES YES BRING HIS HOPE BACK PLS TY GUN "but our dissimilarities got us to this point. just because you and win are so different, doesnt mean you two cant be together" YESSSSSSSSSS comforting hand on shoulder "trust me"

AND SOUND IS LOOKING AT THE SAND AND I THINK HES TRYING NOT TO SMILE BUT ALSO TRYING NOT TO CRY AT THE SAME TIME, HE NEEDS A HUG, ITS OKAY TO CRY, DONT WORRY SOUND

okie now hes smiling and nodding yayyyyyyyyyyyy

(btw im getting all this from constant commentary i messaged to my friend (who hasnt seen the show but basically has through my bad explanations and screenshots and screen recordings) and i started watching the episode as soon as it was out, and at this point through the episode id been watching for an hour and a half. i have too many thoughts and comments grbhbrhbrhb)

"i changed my mind. i will finish this song." YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

excuse me gun??

im sorry, i love you, but that position is TAKEN

by TIW

he smelt it before either of them even KNEW

gun can be, like. the guy that hoists the mainsail or something

this next scene killed me

win knows sound's favourite bread

win's apology is to give bread

that's so in character for reasons i cant explain

and he bought the gay-moment water

and win unscrews the lid and it's mirroring that scene from last time and my HEART

GRABBING HIS HAND AND THE DRINK AND STEPPING CLOSER?????

WHAT IS THIS

THIS IS SOME WEIRD FLIRTING

SOUND DRINKING WATER WHILE MAINTAINING EYE CONTACT

SOUND WHY DID YOU STEP EVEN CLOSER

WHAT ARE YOU DOING

E Y E T O L I P F L I C K E R

GUYS JUST KISS PLS

TINN IS ASKING IF HE CAN KISS GUN

I REPEAT

TINN IS ASKING GUN IF HE CAN KISS HIM

WE GOT A CODE BLUE, CODE BLUE

and gun didnt let him, but thankfully tinn is a walking green flag and isnt getting mad or forcing himself upon gun. i love these two so much.

Gim. please. rest. you dont need to work every hour of every day. you're over-exerting yourself

OMG TINN'S MUM AND GUN'S MUM SCENE?? YES PLEASE, SIGN ME UP. THEYRE BOTH QUEENS

many more of gim's little accidental clues and photjanee's gonna figure out who it is that tinn likes

gotta love that perfectly-timed phone call tho, dam

HOW IS POR STYLISH EVEN WHEN DOING WEIRD EXERCISES

HOW DOES HE DO IT???

also LOOK AT THE GENDER ON THIS MAN

I WANT IT

pat's shirt is the mood of the week

they all look so Normal™️

and then there's freaking por with his freaking rich-kid-twink-ness i love him

OHHHH THE DANCING PERFORMANCE IS WHERE THIS CLIP IS FROM (the one of pat doing the worm. i kept vaguely wondering what it was from. and now i know)

I CANT EVEN RN-- THIS IS SO FUNNY

IM LITERALLY CRYING FROM LAUGHTER

look at this little happy proud gay man

i know i probably shouldnt call him little cos he's 20cm (nearly 8 inches) taller than me, but idc, that's not the point

look at this little happy proud gay man

i know i probably shouldnt call him little cos he's 20cm (nearly 8 inches) taller than me, but idc, that's not the point

theyre gonna do so goooooood

also satang is probably grateful to the ends of the earth that he didnt have to do this dance lmao

omg he managed to un-twink for 0.5 seconds

my gender is win's poofy sleeves

also if you're familair with @ashedddaisy's red-yellow soundwin theory, win is wearing orange here. orange is literally the middle of red and yellow. he's getting there.

DON'T WORRY, TIW, THEY DID IN FACT SLAY IT (boys)

HE'S SO PROUD

IT'S SO FUNNY TO ME

the first to approach him was por. i repeat, tiwpor crumb alert, we got a code violet, code violet

AND NOW FOR THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR

SOUND PERFORMING HIS SONG. BY HIMSELF. ON STAGE. IN FRONT OF A LIVE AUDIENCE. AND THAT AUDIENCE HAPPENS TO CONTAIN WIN.

I PROMISE, I WILL CRY (again)

"im not much of a talked, so im using this song to represent my feelings for someone" you know, im surprised yak didn't pick up on that. youd think he'd like, try and stop that, cos that's a love-related distraction

AHA I KNEW IT

I FREAKING KNEW IT

I CALLED IT I CALLED IT I CALLED IT

THE FREAKING TRACK THAT KEEPS PLAYING BEHIND SOUNDWIN SCENES

IT'S FREAKING EVERYWHERE

IT'S THERE WHEN THEY BADMINTON

IT'S THERE WHEN THEY "KISS"

IT'S THERE WHEN WIN PUTS THE HELMET ON

IT'S THERE WHEN SOUND IS THINKING ABOUT 'what im really into'

IT'S THERE WHEN SOUND WALKS AWAY AFTER SAYING 'what a waste of time'

IT'S THERE WHEN SOUND DRINKS THE WATER

AND NOW SOUND PRESSES PLAY ON THE MUSIC

AND IT'S THAT FREAKING TRACK

AND I KNEW IT

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

i cant even describe my thoughts on the song

i made an earlier prediction that this would kill me

i was right. i might currently be dead. the song killed me.

SOUND WALKING ALONE AFTER THE SHOW THING AND WIN CALLING HIS NAME, PREPARE YOURSELVES FRIENDS

"why do i feel like you just yelled at me through that song" BECAUSE HE DID

"how do you know i wrote it for you?" "it's so obvious. i can see that from mars" MY FREAKING HEART-

"why did you ask then?" "seriously, since when?" "remember when we practiced badminton together?" and win has this tiny smile and sound has this tiny relaxed smile and theyre actually killing me

YOU'RE KIDDING

THERES AN ENTIRE SCENE AFTER THE BADMINTON AND WE'RE ONLY GETTING IT NOW AND WE WERE NEVER TOLD???

YOU'RE. FREAKING. KIDDING.

THIS SCENE IS THE DEATH OF ME

also the track is behind the umbrella scene too

THEYRE LITERALLY BOYFRIENDS

THEYRE DOING IT ON PURPOSE

THEY W A N T US TO GO INTO CARDIAC ARREST

i refuse to believe that win doesnt actually like sound yet

he just hasnt identified/confronted the feelings yet

and sound's reaction was the saddest thing ever, like i could smell the tears he was holding back when he said 'then we stay as friends'

BUT THEN WIN FREAKING SAYS "for something i dont know, im willing to try"

and if you're thinking 'WHAT DOES THAT MEAN????' then you would be correct

"c a n y o u c o a c h m e" i am dead

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

GUYS YOU'RE LITERALLY TWO CENTIMETRES FROM KISSING

AND THEN THE SCENE FREAKING ENDS

I HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER WEEK???

I CANT BE PATIENT

PATIENCE IS NOT IN MY BLOOD

AAAAAAAAAA

also side note: win is now wearing a yellow shirt under a yellowish-orange jacket thing. back to the red-yellow soundwin theory, he has feelings for sound, he's got the yellow shirt. and on the outside, he's still kind of hiding it, still trying to figure it out. the jacket is almost like it's been stained more and more yellow over time, and win wants sound to turn it pure yellow, he just cant figure out how to get there, which is why hes asking sound to coach him. over time, he'll wear colours that get closer and closer to sound's shade of yellow, to show him finally realising his feelings more and more. :]

"no pressure or anything, but our club's future is in your hands" jeez yak, that's a little intense dont you reckon???

omg gemini finally gets to do music-related things

i can see him jumping for joy in his mind

he gets to sing and play guitar

OMG WE GOT TWO NEW SONGS TODAY

probably cos last week we didnt get any songs

but WOW

"wow. did you write that?" "no. you wrote it. you wrote it in here *tinn points to his own heart* i just sang it out loud." WHEN I SAY THAT THESE TWO ARE LIFE GOALS, I FREAKING MEAN IT

and now tinngun are kissing with a notebook between them

WHY do they have to ALWAYS get SO FREAKING CLOSE and then DONT??????

theyre really cute tho so i cant rly get mad

OH MY GOSH FREAKING HOT WAVE IS NEXT WEEK???????

THE FINAL FREAKING COMPETITION IS N E X T W E E K

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FUNCTION FOR SEVEN DAYS WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE IN MY BRAIN

ALSO NEXT EP WE'RE GONNA GET SOME SOLID CONTENT OF SOUND ATTEMPTING TO FLIRT AND WIN FALLING FOR HIM SO YAY

it's not quite what i was hoping for, but they're definitely aiming towards getting soundwin together, so its okay, theyll get there eventually

final thought/conclusion: this is my new favourite episode cos its like 50% soundwin

[rontra]

Hiiiiiii, it's the annon that asked for Zatana recs and went feral for your art. 1) thank you for the recs, went and read all of them 2) I think you should be given creative control over all of DC (except the parts Neil Gaiman had a hand in, gotta respect a fellow tumblr resident) 3) do you have this AU written down anywhere/plan to write it down anywhere? I'm really loving the character interactions in your art and I wanna know if there's more

1 - zee rec night was SO much fun i loved going thru everything my inbox sent us 😭 thank u for prompting it all i'm glad you dove into the magician verse as well. here's my chart again to commemorate zee rec night / update everyone on my still-developing magician derangement (as you can see i'm still hard at work in DC's Content Maze)

2 - i can't be trusted with this because we would end up with the Batman Problem (where everything somehow becomes related to batman eventually) except the center of the spiral is like. power girl

3 - thank you!!! i still have NO IDEA what i'm doing with all of this LMFAO.......... maybe eventually i'll have made enough little comics to string together into a vague chronology 😭

it's just like ... me rolling around in the dirt behind DC offices / ranting and raving in discord / receiving visions from the universe and drawing the bits that catch my attention. i truly don't have a coherent presentation plan here

the only thing i do have is- i made like . an archive blog more or less? basically it just reblogs/organizes my CTDE posts and when I have a random post that i don't feel should go on my artblog i shoot it over there. but it also has a cast page and a premise blurb for each arc hahaha (…i dont think the cast page works on mobile though as a heads up)

idk if i would recommend Following it if you already follow me here since it MAINLY just reblogs my posts so you'd be doubling up. but if you wanna poke around in cast bios and whatnot its on there

the first posts in the chrono tags are semi-placeholders where i might put like. if i ever make something coherent for the AU i'll put links to them in there. more or less . im keeping my possibilities open but i truly... yeah i got nothin just all these visions from beyond

[rockturbot]

for the ask meme: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 22, 26, 29! (a lot, but i'm curious XD)

9 and 29 answered here.

4. Fav character/subject that’s a bitch to draw I love Manfred's suit jacket but man are the lapels annoying to draw. I've tried making custom brushes to save time but never got them to look right )x I'll have to keep drawing them manually.

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself I think I post maybe 5% of what I draw. Lots of stuff never makes it past the sketch stage, there's doodles for fandoms I don't think anyone here cares about, or just drawings where I get into some kind of perfectionist loop where when I improve one thing I think the rest of the drawing now looks super bad, so I improve those things, now the other things look bad ... etc. Some are also technically finished drawings I either just don't feel good enough about to post or that would need like 25 layers of headcanons explained to make sense.

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn’t supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it) Every time I rewatch the first two or three seasons of the Detective Conan anime I notice small things that make me go, oh, that's where I learned how to draw that?

8. What’s an old project idea that you’ve lost interest in I don't really lose interest in ideas like that. I just have a very long and continuously growing list of stuff I'd like to do, and which of these things feel the most urgent depends on what I'm obsessed with at the moment plus what skills I'd need to do the idea justice vs. what level my skills currently are.

I guess one thing I've postponed indefinitely because I think it's still going to take a while until my art is good enough is rewriting the episodes of The Professionals into one coherent plot and then drawing that as a comic, just for myself. That show is one of my special interests and every time I finish a rewatch I just feel so sad and empty because it just ends. There is no more! :( And I think maybe I'll feel a little less sad if I tell myself a version of the story that's ... well, an actual story, with an actual plot and emotional resolution and stuff where an ending actually makes sense to my brain, instead of episodes with no overarching plot that eventually just run out.

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn’t your thing Can't think of any. I mean, I admire creators because their work is my thing, so ...

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any None (':

26. What’s a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended There's a painting I made in 20...12? 2013? of a scene in an original story I was working on at the time. My mother, who knows nothing about the story except that it exists and that this painting is connected to it, is convinced one of the characters is supposed to be me and is trying to get me to admit it to this day. Her ironclad logic? The character is wearing green :) No matter how much I tell her that doesn't mean anything, she just. Won't believe me. Maybe she would if I showed her the story, but I don't think I'm going to do that. Her interpretation of what's even going on in the painting is already so wildly different from what's actually happening, I think revealing the truth would just be super awkward. She says she thinks it's a prayer circle of some kind or something. It's, uh. It's supposed to be a public execution. Whoops.

Ask meme

[jotun-philosopher]

More random Good Omens prompts/imaginings from the depths of my brain

First part here, third part here

As ever, if you'd like to use one or more of these points as inspiration for art or fic, feel free! Just tag me in the end result, 'cos I'd love to see it :D

(adding a read-more thingy b/c LOOOONG rambling post)

Aziraphale's puttering gently around the bookshop, and Crowley's slouching around, admiring him and smiling besottedly. Azzy eventually spots him and asks how long he's been doing that. "Quite a while," Crowley replies. "You're the most beautiful being in all creation." This catches Azzy right in the still-slightly-shaky self-esteem, and he has to bury his face in Crowley's shoulder for a bit. Once he's recovered, he realises that his faithful serpent seems to be working up to a Significant Question and fidgeting with something in his pocket, so he steps back to give Crowley space to ask. Besotted Snek stutters his way through fragments of a pre-planned speech that's mostly swan-dived out of his memory, before mentally going 'sod it' and saying words to the effect of, "We've more or less been emotionally married for millennia at this point." [holds out open ring box] "Want to formalise it?" Aziraphale: [loud excited squeals through which the word 'YES!!!!!!!!!' can be at least somewhat distinguished] Once the ring's on his finger, Azzy pulls a ring box out of his own pocket and proffers it to Crowley, conveying his own question via squeaks, eyebrow movements, hand gestures and full-body wiggles because he's so happy and excited that he's temporarily lost the capacity for coherent speech. When the ring's on Crowley's finger, they both have a bit of a 'holy crap, did we just get ENGAGED???? Are we FIANCES now????? :D' moment before smooching each other's faces off

Azzy and Crowley discussing wedding plans, deciding against a church ceremony (for many very obvious reasons) and a simple registry office thing (feels a bit...mundane), eventually going for a handfasting-type ceremony at Tadfield Manor (in the garden, because Azzy finds expansive indoor spaces with fluorescent lighting a bit triggering), with guests including the Shopkeepers' Association, Shadwell and Madame Tracy, Anathema and Newt, the Them, and Muriel <3 Speeches and toasts about 6000 years of slow burn love and "my angel, who makes eternity worthwhile" and "my demon -- my wily old serpent who led me to salvation", a first dance to A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, an eclectic playlist that ranges from Shostakovitch to Saint-Saens* and Queen (We Are The Champions, Somebody To Love etc) and Velvet Underground (Sunday Morning, I'll Be Your Mirror, Pale Blue Eyes etc) <3 General all-round romantic loveliness! *(I picked this 'cos Azzy's listening to Danse Macabre in S2E3 when he's talking to the Bentley about 'classical music that stays classical music')

The Ineffable Husbands are wandering around, hand in hand, being happy and adorable and completely in love, when they happen to walk past one of those loud obnoxious street preachers, who calls out to them with some religious remark that hits directly on a raw point. Aziraphale instantly drops from cheery bonhomie to steely, icy civility, coldly telling the preacher, "I have neither the time nor the patience to explain just how offensively wrong you are. Kindly leave. Now." No miracles required -- the preacher is so intimidated that they scurry off immediately, and Azzy is able to cheer back up after a few moments of staring at his wily, precious ol' serpent <3

Muriel nips into GMCOGMD for a soothing chamomile tea after an all-hands meeting in Heaven that was supposed to be about the Second Coming but didn't go quite according to plan >:D Nina points them towards Crowley, who's gloomily consuming mug after mug of the strongest espresso she can legally sell him. Muriel goes over and, after the initial couple beats of awkwardness, tells him, "I think we're going to need a new metaphor." C: "Huh?" M: "Because if a, um, murder hornet or something gets into a beehive..." [C. perks up a bit and deploys his Left Eyebrow] "...I don't think it'd spread absolute unbridled chaos..." [C. starts smirking affectionately] "...simply by being unrelentingly lovely to the worker drones!" [C. cackles delightedly, startling everyone in the coffee shop] C: "Ohohohoho, Aziraphale, you absolute BEAUTY!!! Hahahahaha!"

In an attempt to keep Aziraphale in line when his psychological break from Heaven becomes increasingly obvious, the Metatron has Sandalphon give Crowley's block of flats the Sodom-and-Gomorrah treatment with him inside it, while Azzy is forced to watch. Afterwards, Azzy starts wearing a black armband of mourning, and as a piece of stubborn, bloody-minded contrariness and rebellion, deliberately makes it larger and more elaborate whenever anyone comments on it (sometimes twice in a row, e.g. 'That armband...' *ka-elaborate!* '...Are you going to do that *every* time someone comments on it??' *Looks them dead in the eye and ka-elaborates again*) -- especially when he starts to suspect that Crowley survived. He did, of course, thanks to a Nice & Accurate letter from Anathema Device that gave him enough notice to be able to pack up his stuff *and* evacuate the other residents with all their possessions! By the time the Ineffable Husbands are reunited, Azzy's armband is so large and elaborate that it covers his entire upper left arm in an intricate braid of gilt-edged black and red leather with subtle snake designs everywhere -- it ends up hanging in pride of place on the living room wall of their South Downs cottage :D

Crowley fretting over a traumatised, just-escaped-from-Heaven Aziraphale -- cuddling him, wrapping him in blankets, cuddling him some more, stroking and nuzzling his face and hair, and so on... Someone (who Crowley's already a bit miffed at) incautiously ventures to ask why he's acting this way, to which Crowley calmly and coldly replies, "When I was crawling out of a lake of boiling sulphur after the Fall, I really needed hugs and comfort and soft blankets, but there was nothing. No-one was offering. I had to deal with that trauma alone. Aziraphale might not have Fallen, but he's lost a load-bearing part of his identity in a similarly traumatic way, and I am NOT going to make him go through that on his own. If you have anything so crass as an objection, the door's over there [points]. Don't let it hit you on your way out." [proceeds to glare until they back down]

Aziraphale just barely escaping Heaven, fleeing to the bookshop pretty much via homing instinct, and desperately scrubbing out the summoning circle before the trauma catches up to him and he keels over into Crowley's arms

During the course of preventing-the-Second-Coming planning, Crowley takes to wandering aimlessly around the bookshop, clutching Azzy's cuddly grey cardigan like a security blanket

The Ineffable Husbands accurately narrating each other's body language and facial expressions from opposite ends of a long-distance phone call because they just know each other THAT well <3 (audibly acrobatic Left Eyebrow!!! The Full-Body Wiggles!!!)

One of the Ineffables getting a bit morose about what'll happen if the Second Coming isn't stopped and sadly quoting, "Dies irae, dies illa..." and the other announcing their presence by completing the sentence with "...solvet saeclum in favila. But it won't come to that." [reassuring squeeze to the other's shoulder]

[usagifuyusummer]

Same lmao 🤝

I also, I guess, lack confidence in myself to create coherent fiction or Picasso level art.

I always doubt myself a lot when undergoing creative processes that it makes me abandon a lot of projects that I thought I could publish. It is also due to me still studying that I couldn't exactly fulfil my creative needs and projects to my full heart's content.

BUT, you gotta start from somewhere right? So, for now, just write something, anything, that you feel like sharing. And eventually, you'll learn from your mistakes and get better at posting these kinds of stuff.

I'm also kinda new at creating these AU stuff. I usually just do fanart, but sometimes not all of your ideas can go through visually. (That takes a lot of time. That's what I learned.)

So, now, I just post fanart/any kind of art whenever I can, even when I know it won't get much reception or views. Just think about these activities as practice rounds and maybe someday, one day, you'll be able to reach the heights that you dreamt of. So, start somewhere!

I'm also like you lol, just with less time to spend on my creative projects. I know practice is boring, but that's where most people who are as talentless as me get a start on.

Most importantly, for me at least, I've learned to never chase for online popularity/shares/likes when creating any form of art. If you only create art for that singular purpose, it gets exhausting and steadily you will lose the interest in the art of creation. (these are one of the reasons why i'm really inactive in the past, also uni stuff lol)

Don't get me wrong, it's still really gratifying to see that people appreciate your hard earned work, but not all of us get the lucky ticket that is to be recognized and loved by many. So, some of us just gotta live alone with obscurity for the rest of our short lives. (that's just my cynicism talking lol)

What I'm trying to say is I guess, you should do this because you love it. You care about it, and you want to share your love for this concept with others. I'm doing that currently, and so far, I can at least produce and share some artworks. Even if its not perfect.

It's okay. There's still time to learn. Success/Popularity doesn't come immediately for most people. I hope you get my points here regarding fanwork creations lol.

Besides that, on your horror FOP AU, it's essentially a video game AU? Am I understanding it wrong? Like those old creepypastas? Where maybe..., I'll give you an example;

One day, Timmy found an old game cartridge when visiting the game store for the new Crash Nebula game. He thought the cover looked plain and boring, it's just a cellophone tape plasted and on top of it where scribbled phrases made with marker written, "FAIRY FRENZY", scribbled below that, is a very unimpressive ominous description, "do not play this game it will haunt you". Timmy, suspecting that this is just someone's stupid attempt at a prank for some poor fellow in the past decided to just buy the old game cartridge. It's cheap and his parents don't really check up on what he buys anyway.

Skipping through...

After a while of playing the Fairy Frenzy game, Timmy found out that it was just a regular platforming game, kind of similar to the Mario Bros. ones. He actually finds the game to be fun, so he continued on indulging himself on playing the game to his heart's content.

Skipping through...

Timmy finds it weird that Cosmo, Wanda and Poof haven't returned from Fairy World though. Maybe this is one of their "a week leave" trips there. Still, he has been playing the game for quite awhile and found it peculiar why everything was so... quiet. He decided to go downstairs for a quick snack from the kitchen. When he stepped into the hallway outside of his room, suddenly all of the lights in the house went off. Then he hears..., a voice..., "Cosmo, Wanda... why did you leave me?...". Hearing that, Timmy called out to that voice, "Who's there?! Uh, if you guys are pranking me again, I will talk to the April Fools fairy for double payback!!!". The voice did not respond. Timmy then just decides to shake it off as some sort of hunger induced hallucination. He has been spending too much time in his room lately...

Like that? Tell me if I'm massively wrong lmao. I wrote all of those examples on a whim lol. Maybe it will be a future stupid ass fic hahaha.

Hm, I do think you need more work on your elaboration of the AU. Maybe make a separate post with the appropriate horror AU title? Take your time though. There's no need to rush these creative processes lol.

I'm more neutral on FOP's popularity standing on other social medias though. I have no desire for it to be as popular as maybe Danny Phantom? Still, I won't mind if it gets popular though.

(It's because I hate Twitter/X lmao, so sorry. I don't like how the fanarts or posts there are so difficult to find. There's no appropriate tagging system, even if its there, most people won't use it because yeah, I understand they want their privacy... Still, I would appreciate your art more if you tagged it properly on where I can find it.)

Hm, those are my thoughts on what we're discussing so far.

A scandalous episode for many, which in my opinion changes the general image of fairies (clearly not for the better)

Many people were shocked, to put it mildly, after watching this episode. And many were unhappy and even more frightened by the behavior of Cosmo and Wanda, which I can't help but agree with. However, I liked this episode on the contrary. It shows the darker evil nature of fairies and how crazy they can sometimes become if someone simply offends their child. And it doesn't matter that this is their godson. Because of this, it now really seems to me that fairies are not who they pretend to be and the creators sometimes directly show this. For example, this phase of fairies at 2 years old(terrible twosome) when they start to go crazy and rebel against everything. You will say that "it's just a phase." Really? And the fact that Poof almost destroyed the entire Earth in this episode is considered "just a phase"? The fact that fairies can destroy all life just because of this phase begins to worry. Like, what makes them do all these terrible things? A sudden change in behavior or ….. an inner voice inside that is their secret dark essence??And if you remember the anti-fairies who are the complete opposite of fairies, then I'm starting to seriously think that they are less dangerous than them. And this is not the only scandalous episode…

(Poor Timmy… What the heck??)

And going back to that scandalous episode, I had a thought: "what if all this was true?" Because Cosmo and Wanda were enjoying this suspiciously so much and it all looked extremely realistic.. And the fact that they really left Timmy with injuries and bruises made me think that this is true and they really turn into monsters after 8 hours. And you know what? This would be a great idea for more lore between fairies and anti fairies (they, as opposites in THIS way, would look incredibly cool). And it would also be a great idea for creating some kind of horror game (well, just a note)

*Redacted

+comments to this episode

This is really.. something….

[arr-jim-lad]

If you don't mind me asking, could you tell me about DIO and how he became your favourite? I'm curious!

you know what that's a really good question and i wish i had a clear answer but it kinda just happened lmfao. there was some process to it that i can easily narrow down though and i will gladly dive into it and try to explain it because you KNOW i'll take any chance to talk about god damned DIO lmao

im gonna try to make this as coherent as possible but please bear with me, i'm pulling an allnighter and am currently in the 24th hour of awakedness so lmao

ok first; initially kakyoin was actually my favourite for a while, and after a while i'd say i like them the same, but we all knew. we all knew i was a dirty little liar. i have 4 kakyoin figures. i have a DIO shrine. i wrote several analyses of DIO. my god damned phone background is DIO. idk who i was trying to fool lmao

the funny thing is that before i watched jojo i actually fucking hated DIO lmfao, there was a blog here that posted undertale quotes and i really enjoyed it, but then one day the blog decided to just start posting 'you expected x but it was me, dio' memes and it was extremely unfunny and annoying and i hated it and i hated him lmfao

then i watched jojo with my friend and i just thought DIO was funny in like a fucked up way, mind you i watched the dub which made him extra funny with the british accent

i "liked" him but more like as a joke. i did really enjoy just the sheer extent of how vile he was though, making a mom eat her own baby is still one of my favourite fucked up things i've ever seen a villain do. it's the way he had fun with being absolutely reprehensible that made him so much fun to watch. i love when villains are fun.

having seen him in parts 1 and 3 i still kinda liked him as a meme and eventually as like, "i hate that i like him lol"

but like, then i've seen the OVA, and DIO spoke with andrew chaikin's voice in the dub and i was just kinda uh 😳

because like andew chaikin's freaking DIO voice???? hi hello??

also just in general how DIO is in the ova... his design and animation are fucking stellar and he was just a freaking delight to watch, but his voice made him particularly comforting to me.

so yeah it was the ova. the ova is to blame for all of this.

i do feel a need to mention because this is something that would make me super uncomfortable if people misunderstood it, but as i am aro/ace, my love for DIO is not of a romantic or sexual nature at all. i'd describe it more as like.. adoration? i see him as a muse and a comfort character.

the reason i actually really started liking DIO so much and why i consider him a comfort character is because he turned out to be just.. amazingly, delightfully comfortable to draw. i enjoy drawing him so much. i've drawn him 128 times and plan to draw him many more times. i think my art has improved immensely just from how much i've drawn him, especially when it comes to more muscular bodies, which i really didn't enjoy drawing before.

he's so incredibly fun to draw because he combines this macho huge body with fashion and elegance and beauty, and drama and evil and danger and egypt and vampires. there's always something about him that's gonna inspire me to draw another piece of him. i haven't had an art block since i started drawing him (though worth noting is that my mascot Luv has also been a top notch fighter against art block; him and DIO are my main muses to always keep me drawing and experimenting and creating new approaches)

I also think DIO is a hugely interesting character, as it's apparent by how much i've written about him in the past. i think his motivation is so messed up and convoluted and interesting because yeah a fucked up vampire who's been isolated underwater for 100 years would probably not exactly be a stable and rational person lmao

to me as someone with social anxiety, the fact that his main goal is to achieve peace of mind is also really interesting. uh, spoiler for stone ocean here so im gonna cross it through so people won't accidentally catch a glimpse of it but, ok firstly i think DIO's plan was absolutely batshit and definitely not the right thing to do LMAO, but i love that he literally wants to change reality to know what's gonna happen next, because not knowing things in advance is preventing him from achieving his peace. like im not saying i relate to DIO because i really don't, but as someone who's been very familiar with anxiety, it's really interesting to see that as a villain's motivation (also might as well mention i don't think DIO has anxiety, i think it's more like frustration over lack of control with him, also he's a huge paranoic)

i want to also talk about his philosophy that i genuinely love so much, and that is the concept of gravity as he means it on that famous panel. DIO's idea of gravity is a very zen concept, it's the idea that fate will bring you where you need to be, fate will make you meet the people you need to meet, etc. as someone who struggles with anxiety, that is a really compelling idea to me, which helped me overcome stressful situations long before i got into jojo. of course i do understand that to some people the idea of a predetermined fate can be terrifying and tbh i totally get it, but for me, when it comes to anxiety-inducing situations, the idea of "gravity" has helped me be less stressed. it's a very interesting concept and i love that it's something that's so deeply ingrained in DIO's philosophy. (PS just so you know whenever i say DIO's plan was a good idea i am joking 100% of the time, i would not want to live in the world he wanted to create. however, it's funny to say DIO was thinking of us socially anxious folks so im gonna keep saying it lmao)

you know, it's also really funny that like.. DIO ended up being such a massive beloved comfort character of mine, because like up until him, i generally got attached to characters who were very Good and Wholesome lmao. tfw the two characters that served as the most important comfort characters for me in my life were DIO and......... Papyrus from Undertale LMAO

they are almost polar opposites, but what they both have in common is that they are both very confident, and i'd say that while characters who doubt themselves are generally those i personally relate to, characters who are confident are the ones i gravitate towards for "support". Papyrus has been a character who i honestly hold single-handedly responsible for helping me turn my life around and just.. had an amazing impact on my mental health. i dont want to know who i'd be today if i never got into undertale.

with DIO, i feel like part of the reason why im so joyous and loud about how much i love him and why im so open about how much fun im having enjoying his character so much is because if i were to meet this character back then, when i was in college or in high school, i would never allow myself to enjoy this. i think that to me, DIO being such a huge comfort character represents like... something? i can't quite put my finger on it, but i feel a certain kind of pride and freedom about it because i know i overcame something in these past few years, and that i am much better and happier for it in every aspect.

i am very much a person who gets deeply attached to things or characters that i associate with positive changes in my life. because i've been at such a low point once in my life, i cling to things that remind me of how far i've come.

im just like.. really happy to be here as i am and DIO somehow became a deeply ingrained part of that.

[shoichee]

hello! may i ask some tips about the instragram acccunts the GoM + kagami could have? like of sort of post, amount of followers, stuff like that THANK U and have a great day !!

THIS IS ACTUALLY HILARIOUS SINCE I BREATHE OFF OF INSTAGRAM LFMAO

[Headcanons]

Kuroko Tetsuya

HELP WHAT IF HE HAS NO PRESENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA TOO—

professional lurker

never comments on anything unless it’s to congratulate under a friend’s post or something like that

probably started using it because Ogiwara moved from letters and texts to just... instagram (technology advancements, jazz hands)

his account is on private, and he only lets people he knows follow him

all of his posts are pictures to commemorate something or just really wholesome group pictures

DEFINITELY has that picture of the GoMs at his birthday OVA

DEFINITELY also posted the big birthday picture taken at the end of the party

and also had typed very sappy BIG paragraph captions for both of these posts, talking about the journey and him being grateful… y’know, him being him

HIS ENTIRE COMMENT SECTIONS ARE JUST EVERYONE SOBBING AND KEYBOARD SPAMMING??? ONLY LIKE MIDORIMA AND AKASHI POST COHERENT RESPONSES UNDERNEATH

@kiseryouta: kuROKOCCHIIIII!!NEJWIEISK

@momoiowo: TETSUU (ʃƪ˘･ᴗ･˘) YOURE SO SWEET REEEE

@a_daikiii: i stg quit being so corny no one died yet🙄 and @momoiowo relax smh

@shin_chan77: I suppose I can express some form of gratitude for being in my life despite you being a blood type A. (insert a giant paragraph after this)

@4k4shi: This was very touching to read, Kuroko. I’m very glad that our… (insert him going down memory lane)

Murasakibara has no comment LMAO

his entire Seirin team are his hype men under his posts

his profile picture is literally the gray default blank head because he didn’t even set up a profile picture for himself

he has like 20 followers max or something?

8 posts? like, he only posts on special occasions or big events

his occasional stories are always comprised of Nigou and blurry Kagami pictures/videos running away from Nigou UH OH (courtesy of @dust-of-fandoms)

@tetsuya11 for his user handle

@dust-of-fandoms JUST MADE AN INSTAGRAM FOR HIM HERE!!

Kise Ryota

uses his instagram account as a portfolio for his modeling career

majority of his posts are actually pictures he managed to snag from his frequent model shoots

it looks SO professional… but then you look at his IGTVs and his reel videos

his reels are either short clips of mini vlog series he does whenever he visits the GoMs or when he’s recording his Kaijō teammates doing tricks and dunks

his IGTVs are either skincare tutorials, fashion advice… or just… unexplainable, out-of-context shitposts of Kise running away from what fans assumed “a green-haired man” or some “captain”

follower account?? 124k

who wouldn’t resist a hot model?

DEFINITELY HAS A TIKTOK I CAN FEEL IT

@kiseryouta with an official verification next to it

people either love him or hate him

posts a casual selfie from time to time, and people praise him for “being real” LMAODOA AND HE’S JUST STARING AT HIS PHONE LIKE “??? IMIG BUT I JUST FELT CUTE TODAY”

his captions feel fake LMAO like: “Wow! today’s so pretty today!” as he puts a selfie post OR “What’s your favorite game?✨” under a professionally-shot model picture that does not correlate with the caption???

has posted shitposts on his stories and his fans are utterly confused… only the GoMs get it LMAO

Midorima Shintarou

ONLY reason why he has social media is because Takao convinced him that he could let everyone know the daily lucky items for each signs for every post he makes

so for the first 2 months of having instagram he just casually posts a “daily horoscope” report(?) for the day

his content attracted in all the astrology fans and people who are devoted to tarots

and he’s CONFUSED.

… Takao may or may not have played a hand in messing with the algorithms to expose his account to bigger audiences

once Midorima finds out he’s MAD LMAO *insert Takao pain noises*

either goes down two paths: just casually continuing to post the daily Oha Asa predictions without interacting with anyone OR deleting his account and making a new PRIVATE one just for communication/lurking purposes

so he can honestly have 10k followers if he chooses to be a horoscope account or like 3 followers on his private, take it or leave it

maybe he has two accounts if he feels that having instagram has its merits

definitely has a shit ton of random stuff/posts in his saved collections

boomer energy, like… what’s a “reels” feature?? people talk to their phone camera and record that?? he’s squinting really hard and scratching his head

either has 356 horoscope posts on his “main” or like 19 posts on his private

has a rubber duck as a profile picture for BOTH ACCOUNTS HELP HIM

@oha_asa_ for his horoscope account or @shin_chan77 as his personal because he doesn’t know how to change his username (thanks, Takao LMAO)

Aomine Daiki

he doesn’t give a shit about instagram LOL

it’s MOMOI who handles his account because he doesn’t wanna bother with it LMAOO

she would tease him and try to “encourage” him to stop lazing around by taking pictures of him whenever he’s snoozing and posting it

but he’s so damn good-looking that his sleeping pictures got some traction with new fans

Aomine is still sleeping

his account also has pictures of him eating at Maji burger or at a café, and of course Momoi is the one snapping these photos of him

he started caring about it a little more once Momoi told him that he can post videos of himself doing trickshots and one-on-ones to potentially find worthy rivals over the internet and meet up

so now his account (videos, reels, IGTVs) are all riddled with basketball/small parkour footage shot by yours truly, Momoi

so his fanbase is split between thirsty people and people who genuinely admire him for his skills… but I mean there’s also people in both categories, anywho

he’d totally follow his favorite Japanese idols on IG if they had one

also would follow any NBA-related accounts/players he admires

has like 2.7k followers (but growing really fast) with like 176 posts of videos and random pictures of him

his profile picture is literally a picture of him sleeping by Momoi

@a_daikiii

Momoi Satsuki

LOTS OF REALLY cute, playful selfies, and a lot of them are used with cute filters from the Snow app

sometimes would post herself doing a really cute Tiktok dance while in her school uniform

she doesn’t post too much; she’s actually more into posting IG stories and making highlights out of them and then making highlight covers have a coordinating theme together

very aesthetic theme on her feed overall hehe

definitely uses her account to comment on other GoMs posts, often commenting something snarky on Aomine’s and Kise��s

actually has 1-2 IGTVs on the Vorpal Sword’s big game against the Jabberwocks

doesn’t have much of full-body shots/outfit pictures other than mirror selfies because Aomine refuses to take good pictures of her

only when she sees Kise or Kuroko is when she can ask either to be a photographer

she’s definitely gotten a few small collab offers from small businesses, but she usually ignores them because it’s not exactly her thing

her profile picture is just a selfie with a sketch-line cat ear filter

uses a bunch of emoticons on her bio, captions, comments, everything

⌒(ㅇㅅㅇ❀)⌒ or ☆⌒(＞。≪) or .₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑*̑˚̑*̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑*̑˚̑*̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑*̑˚̑*̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑*̑˚̑*̑˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇. you get the picture

967 followers… that looks way too specific, but it’s somewhere around there; a lot of them came from Aomine’s account after they saw who’s been taking his pictures, and they wanna learn more about her??

around 40 posts?

@momoiowo

Murasakibara Atsushi

Himuro showed him how to use the app, but Murasakibara doesn’t find ANY USE FOR THIS LMAOO

he’d probably only get on it to look at food on the explore page and drool about the cuisines

keeps tabs on local places/restaurants/shops on instagram; those are probably the only accounts he’d follow tbh

it’s probably like ONE post and it’s an old picture of a dango on a plate he ate like 2 years ago

I have this image in my head that he has a really cute bento art as his profile picture?? can you imagine a Rilakkuma-shaped rice as his PROFILE PICTURE?

his bio is definitely: “hungry”

and that’s it

27 followers, and it’s literally just his Yōsen teammates, the GoMs and probably some other classmates of his

his captions are literally empty or 1-2 words

@oomaib0

Akashi Seijuro

only uses instagram because it’ll be beneficial for his company and to expand social networks, plus getting those sweet business deals and engagement

he doesn’t mind seeing really wholesome videos on the explore page though

when he wants to relax, a cat video melts his stress away

laughs to himself while he reads all the shenanigans underneath the GoMs’ posts

DEFINITELY loses a few brain cells seeing trolls and idiots on the internet… especially on controversial or political ones LMAO

he at first had to REFRAIN himself and take deep breaths before he just scrolls on, but he eventually got used to them and can now easily ignore them as easy as he breathes air

he actually enjoys shitposts and meme videos?? like he may not completely understand the meme trends sometimes, but he’ll still find it amusing enough for a chuckle

he ends up being the one who uses instagram the most? like Kise posts a shit ton, yeah, but Kise doesn’t really sit down and just scroll endlessly; Kise releases out content, while Akashi consumes the content

he reasons with himself that it’s to study his current demographics for the company, and while that may be true, Akashi just enjoys social media, plain and simple LOL

he does get to study the behaviors of all the generations using the platform, young folks and old folks alike, and it does get him excited in using his analytical skills to try to figure out people BEHIND a screen rather than those in front of him

it makes a really good challenge for him when he wants a good mental exercise

he has a post or two about his horses, his manor, and a video or two on him playing his violin?? but most are business-related, them being advertisements or business contracts/offers… things like that

his highlights are all about Q&As regarding the company, his background, his skillsets, etc. like an actual resumé

actually links current world issue cards/petitions on top of his company website; he’s quite an advocate

he actually doesn’t post about basketball because that’s something very close to his heart since it reminds him of his late mother… having that mixed in with his company-related posts feels wrong to him

27k followers, most of them are business-related accounts AND some are some followers his father bought for him without Akashi’s input to inflate engagement, etc.

@4k4shi… oh he thinks he’s SO CLEVER FOR MAKING THIS USERNAME LOL with the 4 being his jersey number and the 4s looking like As… AKASHI PLEASE—

his profile pic is like a professionally taken picture, nothing less for our king

his grammar and syntax are impeccable on social media; after all, he’s still being judged for how he carries himself even on the media

Kagami Taiga

mukbang guy… DEFINITELY

hot guy eating nine plates of steaks

IGTVs are filled with mukbang videos because Kuroko said he could make a living off of his appetite

HE COULD MAKE MONEY OFF OF JUST EATING? SIGN HIM UP.

on his posts, he posts dishes he makes for the day/is proud of and talks about the dish and ingredients briefly in the caption

that, or he has pictures of his new basketball shoes LMAO

or all of his basketball merch

HE’S DEFINITELY POSTED PICTURES OF LANDMARKS AND OTHER ICONIC PLACES HE’S TRAVELED TO (*cough* in America)

has a generic Jordan brand logo against a dark background as a profile picture

doesn’t have his face anywhere unless it’s in a mukbang video

279 followers or something

why do I have a feeling that he’ll accidentally blow up when Alex takes his phone to do a quick selfie on it?—

@taiga10

[isa-ghost]

JSE Renaissance Week - Day 4

Day 4 (June 28th): Artist’s/Writer’s day. Do you have favorite pieces of fanart, an edit, or a fic that you or someone else has created? Reblog that sh*t with a comment saying how much you love it– it’ll probably make someone’s day! Bonus points if you create something for this. Extra bonus points if it’s a collaboration with another community member!

BOLD OF YOU ALL TO ASSUME I HAVE ANY EGO ART I’VE CREATED THAT I STILL FEEL OKAY POSTING. I’VE IMPROVED SINCE THEN AND IT IS NASTY. EGO ART COMING MAYBE EVENTUALLY.

YEAH THAT’S RIGHT I USED TO MAKE EGO ART. ONLY OG FOLLOWERS WILL REMEMBER THAT SHIT. PLEASE DON’T GO LOOKING FOR IT, I DON’T LIKE MY OLD ART.

Until then I scream like a moron about my favorite creators, some of which have actually moved on from the JSEC but I love them anyway so they can fight me in a dark alley for having the audacity to love them.

*BIG GAY INHALE*

@turquoisemagpie. YOU ABSOLUTE TRADITIONAL ART WIZARD. MY GOD. Your art style has me head over heels all over again with every piece you post. You’re where like- 14 year old me wanted her art to be. You are so insanely talented, your style is amazing, your range is mindblowing, and I cherish the commission of my infamous Bunker Trouble Trio SO MUCH. It was my laptop’s wallpaper for probably over a year. If I hear your commissions are open, I will be HEAVILY considering coming back. I could write an entire post just gushing about how much I love your art. Always keep creating, even what you might think is your worst or less than your usual quality would more than likely be something I’m still working my way up to. You are the DEFINITION of goals. <3

@septic-dr-schneep. WHERE DO I START. Hyperfixation or no hyperfixation, your work ethic is INSANE. I can’t BELIEVE how much you crank out in one hour let alone one day. Even if that’s slowed since before my little Tumblr break, you still blow my mind. I feel drained of creative juices just managing out one long piece for my OCs! Keeping track of a whole series of blurbs, defining canon and not within those, and coming up with a coherent story through each blurb, BASED OFF REQUEST PROMPTS FROM RANDOM PEOPLE? That’s AMAZING. I admire that passion you have so much, and even your breaks and burnouts don’t stop you. I LOVE that!

@lum1natriix. GOD where do I start with your gifs. JSE or other content, they are STUNNING. They’re such smoothly moving, high quality. You put so much work into them and it SHOWS, and I don’t even know where you would Start with making one, it’s always sounded like a Big Process, but your finished products look so awesome! No matter what you make gifs (or edits) of nowadays, I still adore your work. :)

@huffletrax. YOUR ART STYLE IS ADORABLE. It’s so squishy and fun and your coloring is IMMACULATE. And I love that despite your cute, round style, you still really pull off those angsty doodles you make occasionally. >:D You have a range and I’ve loved watching your improvement from the time I was new on Tumblr up to now. Keep going!!

@huffle-dork. I hope this doesn’t count as a mass post because BOY YOU DESERVE SOME APPRECIATION. You have crazy talent, both in your characters AND BACKGROUNDS. MY GOD DUDE, YOUR BACKGROUNDS. Even the ones that are just maybe a swoosh of colors look BEAUTIFUL. Dare I say they’re print worthy all on their own! I love the way you color things, and your style has such range too! Sometimes I can see similarities in my art to yours, and that’s been such a helpful way of keeping my motivation to keep improving up. I admire your art so much, and I love your Subnautica Egos series. <3

@d-structive. GOALS. JUST- GOALS. AGH. I love your style range so much! Your usual squareish stuff, your chibi stuff, your silly shitpost style (dare I callback to the buff ballerina Jameson,,,). All of it!! There’s just something so fun and fluid about it, yet its so square and neatly sharp at the same time! You balance those sorts of elements so well in your art, and I really love your ego designs too. <3 You probably have one of the most easily identifiable Marvin designs in the community, and he’s a little sneaky bastard man. >:D

@spunketpunk. BRUH DO I EVEN NEED TO SAY ANYTHING CAUSE LIKE. WOW. Your COLORING. Your art POPS and its so fucking cool. I love neon and saturated colors and its so rare to find artists who do (at least in my experience) and that’s something that seems like a huge part of your medium and I LOVE THAT. It makes your art insanely unique, and I love the aesthetic of those colors combined with your usually sketchy, messy lineart. Just- *chef’s kiss.* Your originality is fantastic, never lose that no matter what you explore. <3

@dumbthinmint. HEY WHAT’S UP LENGTHY SUPER DEVELOPED AU MAKER BUDDY?? LIKE HOLY SHIT DUDE. The lengths you go research and lore-wise for your AU? BRUUHHH. *slams hands on table* INSANE. And the way you make theory posts IN REFERENCE TO IT? That makes your theorizing stuff SO UNIQUE, I love it! Even when I feel like I can’t push my Ego AU lore with my friends too much further, you’re out here constantly dropping BOMBS of lore and honestly that makes my personal motivation with my own stuff soar right back up. I LOVE watching your AU unfold and progress, and your dedication to it is stunning. :D

There’s so many other artists, writers, editors & more I could tag but I don’t want this post getting 53826 miles long. :’D Just know that if any of you create things and I follow you, I think you’re doing great, I admire your stuff, and I hope you keep it up, no matter if its JSE related or not. <3

[gunterfan1992]

Season One of “Adventure Time”: Short Episode Reviews

At the start of 2021, I had this idea to write up a book wherein I reviewed every episode of Adventure Time, condensing my thoughts down into a few paragraphs. It seemed easy enough at the time —I could knock a season out in a week, no prob, I thought — but it turns out it was quite the challenge. Part of this was the difficulty of boiling everything down into a few coherent paragraphs that didn’t just repeat the ideas that “This episode is wacky. This episode is bad.” (I was also dealing with untreated ADHD, so that probably didn’t help.) Even though it was a hurdle, I still got through seasons 1-4, and I thought I’d post my reviews here. Maybe one day I’ll do something with ‘em, but for now, enjoy!

Season 1, Episode 1. “Slumber Party Panic” (692-009)

Airdate: April 5, 2010

Production Information: Elizabeth Ito and Adam Muto (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Synopsis: Princess Bubblegum accidentally resurrects a violent mob of candy zombies, which leads to Finn doing the unthinkable: He breaks a royal promise to Bubblegum.

Commentary: It is always a delight to remind people that Adventure Time—a show that would go on to win a slew of prestigious awards and be lauded by critics as one of the smartest kids show that has ever been made—begins with Princess Bubblegum “add[ing] three more drops of explosive diarrhea” to a scientific mixture with which she hopes to bring the dead back to life. This elision of a macabre topic like the resurrection of the dead with a poop joke is in many ways emblematic of the sort of humor upon which Adventure Time was built, and while “Slumber Party Panic” might not be the season’s best episode, it does a solid job introducing the odd, madcap energy that would allow the show to flourish in its youth.

The plot to “Slumber Party Panic”—storyboarded by future series director Elizabeth Ito as well as eventual showrunner Adam Muto—was hammered out well before the show’s mythology was set in stone, and so some of the more hyperbolic plot points from this episode (e.g., the dramatic revelation that candy citizens explode when scared, or the fact that the Gumball Guardians are also the nigh-omnipotent Guardians of the Royal Promise, who can stop and reverse time itself) had to be ignored in later seasons. Nevertheless, the main characters’ personalities are all firmly established, allowing them to play off one another in a way that does not feel forced or misguided; Jeremy Shada and John DiMaggio, in particular, have excellent chemistry, breathing whimsical life into Finn and Jake right off the bat. All things considered, “Slumber Party Panic” is a fun entry and a solid preview of the silliness that was to come. (3.5 stars)

Season 1, Episode 2. “Trouble in Lumpy Space” (692-015)

Airdate: April 5, 2010

Production Information: Elizabeth Ito and Adam Muto (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: “Trouble in Lumpy Space” is a Ito-Muto production that introduces us to Lumpy Space Princess, the loquacious and dramatic drama queen who was destined to become one of the show’s breakout stars. A sentient blob of “irradiated stardust,” Lumpy Space Princess is an alien valley girl parody voiced by none other than series creator Pendleton Ward himself, and this episode does a commendable job illustrating the character’s immaturity and her ridiculously inflated sense of self-importance. This makes for good entertainment in and of it itself, but what really bumps this episode up a peg is the vocal delivery of the cast. Adventure Time always excelled when it came to its voice acting, but in this episode it is obvious that in this episode Jeremy Shada, John DiMaggio, and Pendleton Ward had extra fun playing around with their ridiculous “lumpy space” accents.

Aesthetically, this episode is quite the sensory experience. Lumpy Space itself is a hauntingly beautiful alien dimension of dark magenta skies and purple, pillowy clouds; it is a right shame that the show very rarely made use of this unique environment, considering how pleasant it is to look at. The episode’s soundtrack is also deserving of recognition, with much of the background music—especially the vapid pop tune that plays while Finn, Jake, and Lumpy Space Princess hitch a ride in Melissa’s car—recalling the elastic hyperpop that electro-wizzes from PC Music produce. The tunes add an extra dimension to the whole experience, helping to sell the idea that Lumpy Space is a silly but alien otherworld. (3 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 3. “Prisoners of Love” (692-005)

Airdate: April 12, 2010

Production Information: Adam Muto and Pendleton Ward (storyboard artists); Craig Lewis and Adam Muto (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Ice King! Beginning the series as a cartoonishly incompetent antagonist, Ice King would grow into one of the show’s most well-developed characters. While “Prisoners of Love,” being the character’s debut episode, sees the Ice King still in his one-dimensional “wicked wizard” stage, there are hints even at this early juncture—like the character’s dramatic insistence to pluck out a yogurt chip from his trail mix, or his spasmodic attempts to play the drums—that the Ice King is more than just a textbook baddie. Is he evil? Judging by his actions, it often looks that way, but there is also a deep sadness to him that makes even his worst behavior somewhat pitiful.

But as pathetic as he may be, Ice King’s lecherous habit of kidnapping princesses is completely unacceptable (Princesses, Adventure Time would like to remind us, should never be married against their will), and by episode’s end, Ice King receives his just desserts—a feminist-fueled kick to the face, courtesy of Finn the Human. The moral of the story is clear: Poor old Ice King might just be lonely, but that does not excuse him for acting like a frost-bitten incel. (‰3.5 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 4. “Tree Trunks” (692-016)

Airdate: April 12, 2010

Production Information: Sean Jimenez and Bert Youn (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: “Tree Trunks” introduces the audience to the eponymous character, voiced by Polly Lou Livingston, an eccentric octogenarian with a pronounced southern drawl whom Pendleton Ward knew growing up in Texas. Despite Tree Trunks appearing as a sweet old pachyderm, much of her dialog is riddled with double entendres and subtle sex jokes that go over the heads of children, and as such, she is something of a divisive character in the Adventure Time fandom: While some viewers find her hilarious, others find her decidedly off-putting. In this episode, however, storyboard artists Sean Jimenez and Bert Youn strike a decent balance between the character’s funny and creepy sides (case in point: The scene wherein Tree Trunks, in the gawdiest of makeup, tries to seduce an evil monster with her “womanly charms and elephant prowess”). The major exception to this overall balance is the episode’s decidedly morbid conclusion, which features Tree Trunks exploding after tasting the crystal apple. This was perhaps the show’s first non sequitur ending, and almost certainly left an indelible imprint on the minds of viewers young and old alike. (3 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 5. “The Enchiridion!” (692-001)

Airdate: April 19, 2010

Production Information: Patrick McHale, Adam Muto, and Pendleton Ward (storyboard artists and story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: According to the annals of cartoon history, the initial storyboard for “The Enchiridion” was whipped up by Ward and his crew members to prove to Cartoon Network that Adventure Time could be developed into a full-fledged series. This was almost certainly a stressful task, which necessitated that Ward et al. dissect the pilot, determine what elements worked, and then infuse those elements into a new storyboard. As a result of this “open art transplant,” there are quite a few analogs between the pilot and “The Enchiridion!”—e.g., the wacky dancing, the dream sequences, the ridiculous language—but this episode does a solid job of emulating the style of the pilot without wholesale duplicating it.

In terms of plot, “The Enchiridion!” is a fairly predictable adventure story, but it is one with enough clever variations that prevent the whole affair from dragging or being too boring; standout scenes include Finn and Jake having to deal with granny-zapping gnomes, and the D&D-inspired reverie in which Finn is tempted to slay an “unaligned” ant. The episode is further buoyed by several fun guest stars (including Mark Hamill, Fred Tatasciore, and even Black Flag’s Henry Rollins) that sprinkle a little additional energy on top of the whole thing. Given the exuberant fun of the episode and the way it easily introduces us to supporting characters like Princess Bubblegum, it is intriguing why the producers did not choose “The Enchiridion!” as the series premiere. That question aside, “The Enchiridion!” is one of the season’s stronger episode and an excellent place to start if you want a crash course in what made early Adventure Time so unique. (4 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 6. “The Jiggler” (692-011)

Airdate: April 19, 2010

Production Information: Luther McLaurin and Armen Mirzaian (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: “The Jiggler” opens on a fun, hyperactive note, with Finn singing “Baby,” a catchy song coated in layer upon layer of sweet, crisp autotune. But soon after Finn and Jake discover and “adopt” the titular creature, the affair quickly devolves into a cartoonish snuff film of two dullards accidentally torturing a wild animal; the whole thing is made worse by the high volume of bodily fluids excreted by the Jiggler. Thankfully, Finn and Jake are able to return the Jiggler to its mother before it keels over, but this victory is undermined given that the whole situation was Finn and Jake’s fault to begin with. Perhaps it is best to view all of this as a cautionary tale: No matter how cute a wild animal may look, you probably should not take it home and make it dance for you. (2 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 7. “Ricardio the Heart Guy” (692-007)

Airdate: April 26, 2010

Production Information: Sean Jimenez and Bert Youn (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon, Adam Muto, and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: “Ricardio the Heart Guy” introduces the titular villain, the brainy-but-sleazy heart of the Ice King voiced to perfection by the sonorous George Takei. Given how arrogant the character acts even before his true intentions are revealed, it is not much of a shock that Ricardio is a rotten egg, and this lack of mystery drags the whole episode down to some degree. Nevertheless, Takei’s histronic performance injects into the episode a funny sort of melodrama, with is further reinforced by Casey James Basichis’s sparklingly dark score, which mixes in elements of opera alongside the usual chiptune blips and bloops to emphasize Ricardio’s pretentiousness. (3 stars‰)

  Season 1, Episode 8. “Business Time” (692-014)

Airdate: April 26, 2010

Production Information: Luther McLaurin and Armen Mirzaian (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: On the surface, “Business Time” is but a silly parody of corporate culture that sees Finn and Jake become the veritable CEOs of an adventuring firm. It is a silly little set up, and the show has good fun poking fun at business-speak and the deleterious effects of rampant corporatization. At the same time, by relegating Finn and Jake to the sidelines near the middle of the episode, “Business Time” does itself a disservice by focusing not on the wacky shenanigans of the business men, but rather on the mundanity of Finn and Jake’s “managerial life.” It all comes together in the end, when Finn and Jake are forced to jump into the fray and destroy the Business Men’s vacuum robot, but the noticeable lag there in the middle of everything throws the pacing of the episode off.

But while “Business Time” might not be the strongest first-season entry, it has gained respect in the fandom for being the first episode to underline that the Land of Ooo exists in the far future after some sort of nuclear holocaust. In an interview with USA Today, Ward explained that this was a natural development that he had never planned: “[When] we did [the] episode about businessmen rising up from an iceberg at the bottom of a lake … that made the world post-apocalyptic, and we just ran with it” (X). Considering how major the post-apocalyptic trappings would become to the show’s mythology, it is a bit startling to learn that it was added in on a whim. Regardless, it was an inspired choice that added a tinge of sadness to the story of Finn and Jake. They were not just frolicking in some fantasy world; they were frolicking in the ruins of our world, long after nuclear war had devasted the planet. Is it bleak? Absolutely! But this bleakness contrasts nicely with Adventure Time’s colorful surface, resulting in a deeply rich ambivalence. Not many shows—let alone children’s shows!—have managed to fuse such extremes into a workable whole. (3.5 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 9. “My Two Favorite People” (692-004)

Airdate: May 3, 2010

Production Information: Kent Osborne and Pendleton Ward (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: Almost all the first-season episodes that we have considered so far have placed a heavy emphasis on comedy. The point of these episodes is to make you laugh, and anything beyond that is gravy. “My Two Favorite People,” in contrast, may be the first that is grounded on a solidly emotional foundation, and while the episode is very funny, it is primarily interested in telling the poignant story of two brothers and a gal they both like. If anyone has ever found themselves caught up in a love triangle—whether real or, as in the case of this episode, imagined—Jake’s actions, although immature, will likely feel relatable. It is a cheesy cliché, but the story’s strength is that it all feels so real (which I recognize is a funny thing to say about a cartoon dog and his unicorn-rainbow beau).

“My Two Favorite People” is the first episode that really features Lady Rainicorn as a mover of the plot rather than just a fun side character, and it is a wonderful showcase for her. While a handful of later installments—namely season four’s “Lady & Peebles” and season eighth’s “Lady Raincorn of the Crystal Dimension”—would try to highlight Lady, “My Two Favorite People” is arguably the character’s funniest episodes, thanks in large part to her use of a universal translator, which allows the other characters to understand her. To some, a device such as this may seem like a cop-out, but storyboard artists Kent Osborne and Pendleton Ward cleverly preempt this criticism by making the device’s only useable setting one that gives Lady the voice of a great-great grandfather. Lady’s “old-man voice” is an episode highlight, and it makes many of the character’s lines (e.g., “Come on my darling! Wrap your legs around me!”) both hilarious and unsettling. (4 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 10. “Memories of Boom Boom Mountain” (692-010)

Airdate: May 3, 2010

Production Information: Sean Jimenez and Bert Youn (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: During the production of season one Ward exerted considerable effort trying to shepherd the show’s crew in a coherent direction, all the while responding to critiques levelled by dozens of Cartoon Network executives. Many of these critiques were contradictory, and in the process of creating something that he was proud of while also appeasing everyone around him, Ward very nearly went bananas. The experience provided the bedrock for “Memories of Boom Boom Mountain,” and to anyone who has been given the arduous task of pleasing a whole slew of prickly critics, the episode will be immediately relatable.

In terms of the show’s budding mythology, “Memories of Boom Boom Mountain” is notable because it firmly establishes that Finn was adopted as a baby by Jake’s canine parents, Joshua and Margaret. This plot point was likely guided less by worldbuilding and more by humor (perhaps playing on the whole “raised by wolves” idiom). Nevertheless, this decision would have major ramifications for the show’s overarching narrative. Finn’s nature as the only human in Ooo was no longer a silly afterthought—it was now a mystery. Just who is Finn the Human, and where did he come from? These questions would linger for seasons, finally culminating in season eight’s touching miniseries Islands. (4 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 11. “Wizard” (692-020)

Airdate: May 10, 2010

Production Information: Pete Browngardt, Adam Muto, and Bert Youn (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: “Wizard”—co-storyboarded by Pete Browngardt, an artist who storyboarded on Chowder and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack before creating the divisive Uncle Grandpa for Cartoon Network—is an absolute bonkers installment that throws logic out the window by giving Finn and Jake magical powers. It is a plot setup almost guaranteed to be fun, and you can tell that the writers likely a good time coming up with increasingly asinine magical powers (e.g., “endless mayonnaise”).

But underneath all the distraught dust motes and captivating new hairstyles, “Wizard” also has a degree of depth, reading like a biting commentary on higher education-industrial complex in the United States. It does not seem coincidental that the strategies employ by Bufo’s scam wizard school are strikingly similar to those used by predatory colleges, which offer students a worthless degree alongside thousands of dollars of debt. The parallels are made stronger when it is revealed that all those whom Bufo has tricked are reluctant to upset the oppressive status quo, because they believe “newfangled thinking will get [everyone] killed”; this eerily mirrors those who downplay the student loan crisis, arguing that “that’s just the system works.” Finn will have none of this, however, and by episode’s end, he—channeling his myriad wizard powers and the vigor of “youth culture”—proves that if a system is broke, it has got to go. Maybe we could learn a thing or two from that. (4 stars‰)

  Season 1, Episode 12. “Evicted!” (692-003)

Airdate: May 17, 2010

Production Information: Sean Jimenez and Bert Youn (storyboard artists); Adam Muto (story writer); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: “Evicted!” is considered a classic by most Adventure Time fans for one simple reason: It introduces the audience to Marceline the Vampire Queen. This iconic undead rocker chick managed to steal the spotlight whenever she appeared in an episode, and eventually she became one of the show’s more well-regarded characters. Given all this, there is some irony to the fact that in her debut, Marceline is the antagonist who steals our heroic duo’s beloved Tree Fort. Marceline is therefore similar to other season one baddies in that she tests Finn and Jake’s patience before engaging them in direct combat. But Marceline is set apart from other foes in how Finn and Jake defeat her—namely, that they do not. In fact, she pounds them into the ground almost effortlessly! Besting Finn and Jake is no easy task, meaning that while “Evicted!” might showcase Marceline’s nastier side, it nevertheless does an excellent job emphasizing how much of a badass she is; this goes a long way in explaining the character’s huge popularity.

But Marceline alone cannot an episode make. Luckily, “Evicted!” is further bolstered by several excellent design choices, including a bevy of fun background critters whipped up by character designer Tom Herpich, a slew of colorful background designs courtesy of Ghostshrimp and Santino Lascano, and a killer soundtrack. Regarding the latter, the stand-out tune is inarguably “House Hunting Song,” a comically overblown ballad detailing Finn and Jake’s arduous quest to find a new place to live. The song, sung mostly by Ward with a few lines delivered by Olson, is an emotion-laden earworm guaranteed to wiggle its way into your brain. (I mean, how can you not love a song that blames the murderous tendencies of vampires on simply being “burnt out on dealing with mortals”?) It very much is the blood-red cherry on top of everything, which helps to make “Evicted!” one of the season’s strongest episodes. (5 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 13. “City of Thieves” (692-012)

Airdate: May 24, 2010

Production Information: Sean Jimenez and Bert Youn (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: “City of Thieves” is a workable if somewhat forgettable mid-season entry. The episode’s main strength is its titular setting, a bizarro municipality where theft is the law of the land. Unfortunately, the city is nothing more than a silly plot device, and the episode itself never really rises above “fine.” (2.5 stars‰)

  Season 1, Episode 14. “The Witch’s Garden” (692-022)

Airdate: June 7, 2010

Production Information: Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, and Niki Yang (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: If you think the idea of Jake sassing Ooo’s cattiest witch is funny in and of itself, wait until you see this episode’s visuals. From Jake’s grotesque but silly “manbaby body” to the abject horror of Gary the Mermaid Queen, “The Witch’s Garden” is replete with several memorable character designs that make it a satisfying entry. (3 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 15. “What Is Life?” (692-017)

Airdate: June 14, 2010

Production Information: Luther McLaurin and Armen Mirzaian (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: Giving Finn and Ice King a son is not a move that I thought Adventure Time would ever make, let alone in the first season, but here we are. The bouncing baby boy in question is actually a clunky robot named NEPTR, voiced to sadsack perfection by comedian and musician Andy Milonakis. If you had told me prior to this episode that Milonakis could give a sentient microwave a sense of pathos, I would have never believed you, but in “What Is Life?” he does a commendable job conveying NEPTR’s pitiful nature. As for the episode itself, “What Is Life?” is a solid entry that introduces viewers to several recurring characters (one of whom being Gunter the penguin) while offering us a peek into the Ice King’s sad, lonely mind. (3 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 16. “Ocean of Fear” (692-025)

Airdate: June 21, 2010

Production Information: J. G. Quintel and Cole Sanchez (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: “Oceans of Fear”—storyboarded by Cole Sanchez and J. G. Quintel, the latter of whom would go on to create Regular Show for Cartoon Network—is in an interesting installment that establishes Finn’s fear of the ocean, reminding the viewer that even great heroes will be forced to deal with irrational phobias at some point in their life. The character designs in this episode are quite amusing (with the standout being Finn’s grotesque “fear of the Ocean” face), and Mark Hamill, as always, does a wonderful job, using his trademark “Joker voice” to give the Fear Feaster a delightful air of villainy. But as with “Business Time,” many of these elements are upstaged by the episodes’ post-apocalyptic trappings. In fact, when I watched the episode for the first time, I paused it in several places, asking to myself, “Is that a wrecked battleship? Is that a bombed-out tank? Why are there ruins of a city underwater?” It is an understatement to say that this episode is positively littered with rusted debris and centuries-old detritus that testifies to Ooo’s traumatic history. For eagle-eyed fans hoping to piece together Adventure Time’s mysterious mythology, this episode is an absolute hoot. (‰3.5 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 17. “When Wedding Bells Thaw” (692-013)

Airdate: June 28, 2010

Production Information: Kent Osborne and Niki Yang (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: One of the first episodes to team Ice King up with Finn and Jake, “When Wedding Bells Thaw” is a goofy lampooning of bachelor parties and the institution of marriage in general. Although the episode ends on a fairly predictive note (spoiler alert: Ice King tricked his fiancée into marriage), seeing Ice King get along with our heroes is charming, and in many ways it presages the Ice King’s future character growth. The episode’s strongest part is the short dialogue-free montage near the middle depicting Finn, Jake, and Ice King getting into all sorts of “manlorette party” shenanigans; this sequence is made all the stronger by Tim Kiefer’s chiptune score, which enlivens the party with a burst of synthesizers and electro-drums. (3 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 18. “Dungeon” (692-013)

Airdate: June 28, 2010

Production Information: Elizabeth Ito and Adam Muto (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: If there is one episode that feels like the entirety of Adventure Time’s first season distilled down into 11 minutes, then it would be “Dungeon.” An episode replete with outrageous monsters and wacky action, “Dungeon” is a high-energy installment that pays homage to the sprawling world of table-top gaming; indeed, it is not hard to imagine storyboard artists Elizabeth Ito and Adam Muto reaching for a D20 or a well-worn copy of the Monster Manual whenever it came time to block out a new scene. Stand-out moments from this episode include Finn’s encounter with the Demon Cat (famous for having “approximate knowledge of many things”), his visitation by a “guardian angel,” and the deus ex machina ending that see Princess Bubblegum swoop in to save the day. (“Get on my swan!”) And amidst all the silliness, “Dungeon” even manages to sneak in a sweet little message tucked snuggly in between all the wacky monsters about the importance of recognizing your weaknesses. (‰4.5 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 19. “The Duke” (692-023)

Airdate: July 12, 2010

Production Information: Elizabeth Ito and Adam Muto (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: For most of season one, the audience is presented a version of Princess Bubblegum that is bright, effervescent, and totally nonthreatening; the monarch, it seems, is as aggressive as a marshmallow. But in “The Duke,” this all changes, and we finally get to see the princess’s darker, authoritarian side. Unhinged Princess Bubblegum is quite a sight to behold (as is the sight of green-and-bald Bubblegum), but it adds another layer of to the saccharine sovereign, setting her up for substantial character development a few seasons down the road. (3 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 20. “Freak City” (692-008)

Airdate: July 26, 2010

Production Information: Tom Herpich and Pendleton Ward (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: “Freak City” introduces the audience to Magic Man, a deranged and flamboyant Martian wizard known for meaninglessly harassing the citizens of Ooo. Although the character’s backstory would be fleshed out in later seasons and eventually come to play a major part in the mythology of the series, this episode was storyboarded well before these developments were dreamed up, meaning that here, Magic Man functions as a simple (albeit funny) villain-of-the-week whose nihilistic tendencies clash wonderfully with Finn’s optimistic worldview. Finn is so used to dividing the world up into “good guys” and “evil guys,” but his run-in with Magic Man is proof that morality is far more confusing than he would like to believe. The main problem is that Magic Man is not really evil: He is clinically insane—a violent psychopath—who does not care about his actions impacting others. No climactic fight or eleventh-hour pep talk is enough to fix him.

On top of this rather weighty consideration of morality and mental instability, “Freak City” contains another, more straightforward message about the power of teamwork and how people should work as one to overcome common problems. Storyboard artists Pendleton Ward and Tom Herpich have quite a bit of fun taking the idiom literally by forcing Finn and the other denizens of Freak City pile on top of one another to function as a single, grotesque being that is capable of fighting Magic Man. While “Freak City” loses some points for espousing rhetoric that folks who are depressed can simply will themselves out of their funk, it makes up for these deficits elsewhere with its character designs—ranging from the inside-out bird to the two-headed monster that Finn groin-strikes—which are all bizarre in the best, most creative way possible. (3.5 stars‰)

  Season 1, Episode 21. “Donny” (692-018)

Airdate: August 9, 2010

Production Information: Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, and Niki Yang (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: A rather forgettable protagonist and only a smattering of memorable lines make “Donny” the season’s weakest link. The episode does get points for introducing us to “whywolves” (“Creatures possessed by the spirit of inquiry—and bloodlust!”), but they are not enough to completely save it from mediocrity. (2 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 22. “Henchman” (692-021)

Airdate: August 23, 2010

Production Information: Luther McLaurin and Cole Sanchez (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: While “Evicted!” depicted Marceline as an apathetic asshole, “Henchman” starts to soften the vampire queen by showing that her evil exterior is an elaborate facade, and that deep down she is really just a prank-loving trickster—or, as Finn puts it, “a radical dame who likes to play games.” This might seem nothing more than a subtle tweak, but it does wonders for Marceline’s characterization; by episode’s end, as Finn and his vampiric “master” chat quite cheerfully in a field of strawberries, it is clear that the writers are setting up Marceline to become a legitimate pal to Finn and Jake, rather than just an avatar of chaos who drops in every once in awhile to shake things up. This was a wise decision, as it provided Marceline with the chance to grow into a hero in her own right with whom the audience can happily cheer along.

Since “Henchman” is predicated on Marceline pranking Finn, storyboard artists Luther McLaurin and Cole Sanchez have a great deal of fun mocking up outrageous scenarios that seem evil at first glance, but are revealed to be quite benign. Perhaps the funniest of these situations is Marceline raising an army of undead skeletons only to throw them a concert, and the vampire queen’s demand that Finn kill a little dimple-plant, which looks like a cutie before it turns into an Audrey II-esque abomination from John Carpenter’s darkest nightmares. (4 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 23. “Rainy Day Daydream” (692-002)

Airdate: September 6, 2010

Production Information: Pendleton Ward (storyboard artist); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: “Rainy Day Daydream” is a beautiful representation of creativity in its purest form. Channeling his love of multilevel video games and Dungeons and Dragons, solo storyboard artist and series creator Pendleton Ward uses the pretext of Jake’s imagination affecting reality as an opportunity to bounce from one ridiculous plot point to another to great effect. The whole thing feels like an exercise in jovial spontaneity, and while “writing the story as you go” can sometime result in disjointed or sloppy final products, here Ward makes it work, using the approach to illustrate the almost limitless potential of imagination. Another strength of the episode is the way it throws dozens of ridiculous obstacles at Finn and Jake without the aid of equally ridiculous visuals; in fact, almost every hindrance in the episode is invisible to both Finn and the audience, and we only learn what is going on thanks to Jake’s narration. The fact that this approach works and is not boring is a testament to Ward’s skills as a storyteller and dialogue writer. (‰4.5 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 24. “What Have You Done?” (692-027)

Airdate: September 13, 2010

Production Information: Elizabeth Ito and Adam Muto (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: In addition to providing us with another glimpse of Bubblegum’s dark side, “What Have You Done?” also serves as an interesting meditation on morality and preemptive punishment. As earlier episodes have confirmed, the Ice King is a creepy little deviant, but is it right for Finn and Jake to imprison him without a cause? This is a real legal question, and the show handles it in a surprisingly sophisticated way, concluding more or less that the writ of habeas corpus must be preserved. Of course, this is all undermined to some degree when we learn that the Ice King actually is to blame, but thanks to some quick thinking on the part of Finn, our heroes are able to save the day without having to turn to the carceral powers of the state. (And people say Adventure Time is not sophisticated...) (3 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 25. “His Hero” (692-026)

Airdate: September 20, 2010

Production Information: Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, and Niki Yang (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: Who is the greatest hero ever? If you answered, “Finn!” it is obvious that you have yet to see “His Hero,” for the correct answer is Billy, of course! Lou Ferrigno guest stars in this episode as the aforementioned defender of Ooo, enlivening the character with his distinctive voice. As for the episode itself, storyboard artists Kent Osborne and Niki Yang—with an assist from the ever-dependable Adam Muto—produce some of their best work this season, filling each scene with witty dialogue and zany shenanigans. Arguably, the episode’s pièce de resistance is the short montage of Billy’s past achievements, which plays alongside a song, sung by Muto, extolling the hero’s greatness; energetic and wacky, the song in many ways typifies the “chaotic heroism” that defined the show’s first season.

Like many other first-season episodes, “His Hero” ends with a counterintuitive “anti-moral,” stressing that while a commitment to non-violence might seem subversive on the surface, it is actually an ineffective way to make the world a better place; instead, the episode argues that direct physical action—i.e., beating the snot out of monsters and bad guys—is necessary if heroes want to save people from oppression. This may all come across as contrarian silliness, but I would argue that it is profoundly radical, rejecting “common sense” ideals about peace that really only help those in positions of power. (Side note, if the kids who grew up watching Adventure Time turn into a bunch of revolutionaries, I think we will know the cause.) (4 stars)

  Season 1, Episode 26. “Gut Grinder” (692-024)

Airdate: September 27, 2010

Production Information: Ako Castuera and Bert Youn (storyboard artists); Tim McKeon and Merriwether Williams (story writers); Larry Leichliter (director), Patrick McHale (creative director), Nick Jennings (art director)

Commentary: Much like “Ricardio the Heart Guy,” this episode suffers due to a lack of a solid mystery; from the start, it seems obvious that Jake is not the one responsible for the robberies. Furthermore, the reveal that Sharon is the one behind the robberies comes with almost no dramatical weight, since we have no idea who she is. The whole thing is forgettable, which is a shame given that this is the season finale. (2 stars)

(Huge shout out to @sometipsygnostalgic​ for reading over these a few months ago and offering feedback. Also, I want to thank @j4gm​ for posting his “Slumber Party Panic” review, which made me remember these write-ups!)

[captaincravatthecapricious]

Can’t Get Up- Prompt Fill

See I told you I did both!  Cw dizziness, fainting, fever, head injuries, and canon typical being mean to Jon

Send me more prompts!  (Bingo card by @celosiaa​) The ones with stars are the ones I already have prompts for, the crossed out ones are the ones I have posted!  Send me a character, a prompt, and tell me if you want an art or a fic!!!!!!

This one makes a Lot more sense if you read Too Much by @janekfan​ first, but do as you will, I think it can also stand alone.  

The lingering fever left over from Jon’s (to Martin’s and Tim’s lack of information: mysterious and) hellish few days continued to do just that... linger.  

Burned and bruised.  Concussed and dizzy.   

The fever was never overly dangerous, but it sapped Jon’s already basically nonexistent reserve of energy.  And it just... lingered.  Lingers.  

It's better now that Tim and Jon had some sort of talk, but neither of them really know how they stand with the other.  

Well, it is better for Jon because he has two people who give a shit if he collapses in the hall now.  And better for Martin because one less person is going to actively try to hurt Jon.  And better for Tim because he’s missed his friend.  But it’s still awkward.  

Tim watches Jon drag himself from the cot another morning.  It was Tim that stayed with him last night, Martin's turn tonight.  Jon is scared and confused and shouldn't be left alone.  Not when he screams himself awake every couple hours.  Not when gets so dizzy that he loses track of what he is meant to be doing.  

Jon has been trying to push through.  Trying to work.  To make himself useful.  To help save the world.  To work himself into the ground so he doesn't think about how shitty everything has been for him.  

Tim watches him drag himself up, and crumple right back down again.  Tim managing to break his fall.  Again.  He should text Martin.  He does text Martin.  

Jon blinks up fuzzily at him after just a few seconds.  

"Sorry," Jon slurs.  

"Stop that," Tim says, not unkindly.  Still trying to remember how to be kind with this fragile little man.  

"I need... 'Sira need me to... I should get up."  Jon is still struggling for words, eyes slipping closed, making no move to push himself from Tim's chest, where Tim has been pillowing him.  

Jon might be asleep again.  It's hard to tell.  Tim presses a hand to Jon's forehead, confirming it still too warm, but not worse, and returns to his seemingly endless playing with Jon's hair.  

It is still a bit before hours, so he doesn't expect Martin to appear the next moment, more like in the next half hour, depending on the crowds and the tube.  But, when he hears footsteps approaching he feels relief, until he realizes those aren't Martin's footsteps.  Too sharp.  Still heavy, bit not heavy enough.  Jon did mention needing to get something to Basira.

No one has... talked to Tim about his ....calling it a change of heart sounds stupid.  He isn't going to call it that.  He didn't have a change of heart, per se.  He just realized he had his head up his ass and was honestly just as bad as Jon in some ways.  Not to mention, he couldn't keep blaming Jon when Jon was basically just an unlucky punching bag, now with the added flavor or concussed and feverish.  

"Right," says Basira, pushing open the door after a single, sharp knock.  Pulling Jon from his uneasy sleep. 

He scrambles upright.  Too fast, sending him into a swoon for the second time in just a few minutes.  

"Did you find those files?  I need them if we want to actually stop the circus, and not just have a slumber party."  There is clearly judgement in her eyes.  

Tim, who caught Jon for the second time this morning, has an arm around him protectively.  

Jon is coming around again.  "Mmm wh'?"  He forces his eyes open against the light Basira flipped on upon her entrance, eyes crossing as he tries to bring Basira into focus.  

"Jon, look.  We really don't have time for... whatever this is.  Just get up and do something useful or just leave.  And leave the rest of us to clean up this mess."  It isn't that she is outright mean.  Not like Daisy.  Not hostile like Melanie.  But cold.  Which.... Tim shouldn't begrudge her for, but he wants to.  Was she there when Jon was beaten?  Tim's seen those bruises.  Still dark and angry.  Jon still cries out when handled roughly, or when handled gently but not gently enough.  

Was she there?  Was she complicit in this mess?  And if she was... if she watched Jon get beaten by her partner.  If she was one of the faces that stood over Jon while he dug a grave... and just waltzed back in here demanding Jon to help.  Jon who can't even stay conscious...  Who has been feverish and incoherent... 

Who is she to do that?  

Footsteps.  

Martin.  

Good.  Tim doesn't know what to do.  His instinct is to protect.  To push away.  To fight.  But can he trust that instinct?  When that's what he accused Jon of doing?  What he, himself had done?

"Morning Basira, do you think I can get through?  Jon's been a bit poorly and I rather doubt you looming over him is going to help."  

Martin.  God bless Martin.  

She scowls but stands aside.  

Martin, studiously ignores her.  

Tim would rather like to kiss him.  

Jon is still having trouble following the conversation.  But he visibly brightens when Martin steps into view.  Martin checks his temperature with the inside of his wrist.  He tuts gently at Jon, who still seems too dizzy to sit up on his own.  

"So...?" Basira.  Reminding the three of them that she is, in fact there.  

"Sorry," mumbles Jon, still barely coherent, and certainly not aware of what he was apologizing for this time.  A reflex that makes Tim shudder.  

"I'll do it myself."  She turns on her heal and leaves.  Shutting the door a bit too hardly, and Jon flinches.  

"Hey, Jon.  How are you feeling?"  Tim scoots over as gently as he can so as not to jostle Jon too much.  He makes room for Martin next to them.  

Jon's eyes flicker closed again.  Tim isn't sure if he's lost consciousness again or if he's just closed his eyes against the dizziness.  

Martin watches with worry etched on is face.  "How's he doing?"

Tim pulls a face.  "Not worse, I don't think... but not better.  Still getting nightmares.  But he's passed out on me twice, though.  Not sure what to do about that.   Could be the vertigo, could be a panic response, could be the fever, hell it could be dehydration or hunger.  We haven't gotten much food in him."  Tim yawns.  It has been a painfully long few days.  And he's only gotten the chance to sleep every other night.  

"Maybe... one of us should take him home?"  Martin has lost some of that self confidence that he managed to put up around Basira.  Probably because Tim know's Martin's flat wouldn't be comfortable for two or three people.  Probably because Martin isn't sure just how far Tim is willing to be put out on Jon's behalf.  

Then again.  It is a bit too late not to be involved.  Because Jon cannot seem to get up without passing out and so Tim has just been cuddling him for hours.  

"I can take him to mine.  I have more space."  He offers a tired smile, sparing Martin the halting questions, and Tim the hurt of knowing he isn't fully trusted anymore.  Not that he blames Martin for that.  He made his bed, now he'll lay in it.  Shit, did he make his bed?  Well they are about to find out.  "You call a cab, I'll see if I can wake him?"

Martin nods, and makes to do that.  Exiting the room to spare Jon the extra volume.  

"Hey Jon?"  Tim runs his free hand through Jon's hair for a few moments.  Watching Jon's eyes slowly flicker open.  

"Mmmmm."  Jon's bandaged hands holding on to his shirt.  Too-warm forehead pressed against his chest.  

"Is it alright if I take you home?"

"What 'bout work?"  Jon's mouth barely able to form the words.  Can't see straight enough to read anything.  

"Bud, how exactly did you plan to do any work?"  

Jon tries to focus his eyes.  And his words.  He only manages to squint slightly.  

"We tried letting you work, but you aren't getting better, how about you take a couple days to get better, then you can come back and we can save the world?  Besides.  Shouldn't do work with a concussion.  Don't want brain damage, do you?"  Tim starts slowly easing Jon upright, only to have Jon's eyes roll back.  Again.  "Shit!"

"You both okay?"  Martin's back.  Good.  Tim doesn't know what to do.  

"Well I woke him up, but when I tried sitting him up, he fainted on me again."

Martin tuts again, and sits back next to them to check on Jon for himself.  "Maybe we should move him while he's out to spare him the trip.  The cab will be here soon."  

Tim shrugs and slowly gets to his feet.  Maneuvering Jon into a bridal carry as he does so.  "Now we just gotta make sure that the cabbie doesn't think we are kidnapping him."  

Matin flutters around, wanting to make sure the position will be comfortable enough for Jon when he eventually comes around.  "It'll be fine.  He should be conscious by then."

"Yeah and what do we say, our boss had a bit too much to drink at..."  He searches for the wall clock.  "9:30 in the morning."  

"We say we're from the Magnus Institute, and they will ignore everything about us, Tim."  

Tim... still needs to get used to this side of Martin.  He kind of loves it when the bitterness isn't aimed at him.  

Jon comes around again and they pass the others in the bullpen, clinging tightly to Tim's shirt until the sudden change of level of the stairs makes him dizzier and his head ache, if the small, fragile sounds he is making are any indication.  

Martin is right.  The cabbie doesn't a single question once he sees the building they are standing in front of.  

Martin makes tea.  Tim makes soup.  And Jon is tucked tightly in Tim's bed for the first time in over a year.  

[rhosyn-du]

Never make a mess when a total catastrophe will do - Chapter Five

Pairings: Jimon, past Clace, background Clizzy, a bunch of other minor background pairings Rating: Explicit Art: @cor321​ Beta: @all-thestories-aretrue​ Tags:  Alternate Universe - College/University, fake dating, oh my god they were roommates, friends with benefits, idiots to lovers, pining, miscommunication, holidays, drinking games, mistletoe, symbolically significant Oreos, domestic fluff, brief mention of past character death, Jace’s self-worth issues deserve their own tag Summary: What do you do when you find out your sister is not only dating your ex and love-of-your-high-school-life but is also bringing her home for Christmas? Bring your annoying, hot, annoyingly-hot roommate as your fake boyfriend to show them you're totally fine with it, obviously! There's no possible way this could backfire. Link: AO3 , Tumblr Master Post

Chapter Five

Jace worried that things would be weird when they got back home. He and Simon hadn’t spoken since New Year’s. He’d thought about texting, had in fact written and deleted at least a dozen texts over the next three days, but he never actually sent one. After all, Simon was the one who left without a word, and Jace wasn’t the kind of guy who chased after a hookup who wasn’t interested.

But when he finally got back to the apartment, it wasn’t weird at all.

He arrived home late afternoon the day before classes were due to start again to find Simon and Maia on the couch playing Overcooked. Simon glanced away from the game just long enough to tell Jace there was pizza in the kitchen if he wanted some, and that was it. The three of them spent the rest of the evening gaming, Simon acting like nothing at all had happened and Jace trying to convince himself that it didn’t bother him in the slightest. If Maia noticed anything, she didn’t let on.

The beginning of the new term was busy enough that they didn’t see each other much over the next few days, and Jace threw himself into his new classes with an enthusiasm he usually reserved for more hedonistic pursuits. Thursday night found him at his desk, deeply immersed in his world history reading. He was in the middle of a very dry passage on the Byzantine-Norman wars when he heard a light knock on his bedroom door.

“What is it?” he answered, not looking up from his book.

“Hey,” Simon said, opening the door. “I was just wondering what you were doing tonight.”

Jace looked up from his book only to have his brain come to a screeching halt. Simon was standing in his doorway, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. A small towel. It was disturbingly reminiscent of that first week living together, when Jace had realized exactly how hot Simon was. Except now he knew what it felt like to touch Simon, to kiss him, knew how he liked to have his dick stroked and the noises he made when he came.

With great effort, Jace snapped his eyes up to Simon’s face. Simon, who was still talking like nothing at all was off about him just strolling into Jace’s bedroom mostly naked.

“Because I don’t have any plans, and I was thinking maybe you might want to do something. You know, if you’re free.”

There were many things Jace wanted to do, all of which involved divesting Simon of that towel.

“Were you planning to put pants on?” Jace was proud of how level he managed to keep his voice.

The look Simon gave him was somewhere between flirtatious and challenging. “Do you want me to?”

He didn’t. He really didn’t, but he also didn’t know what the hell was going on, and while Jace would never say he didn’t knowingly walk headlong into bad choices on a regular basis, he tried not to make the same mistake twice. Three times, tops.

“Simon,” Jace said levelly, “what are you doing?”

“Seducing you?” Simon seemed to deflate a little. “Or, you know, failing to seduce you, apparently.”

“Not exactly failing,” Jace admitted, standing to move closer to Simon, who gave him a tiny, hopeful smile. “But I thought you said this was a mistake.”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it,” Simon said, “and maybe I was wrong.”

Hope rose like a cresting wave inside Jace’s chest, and he struggled to keep it from sweeping him away. “I had fun on New Year’s.”

“Me too,” Simon said, taking a tentative step closer. “Like, a lot. And I was thinking, you know, we’re obviously into each other, so maybe it wasn’t a mistake. Wouldn’t be a mistake.”

Jace found himself nodding. This could end in disaster, probably would end in disaster if his life thus far were any indication, but standing here with Simon so close, his smile so bright, Jace thought maybe it was worth the risk.

“I mean, as long as you’re not seeing anyone else,” Simon said quickly, and that rising swell of hope crashed like shattering glass. “Because I don’t really—”

“I get it,” Jace interrupted. He didn’t actually need a detailed explanation of why Simon was only interested in hooking up with him until someone better came along. It was all anyone ever wanted from him, and most of the time it was what he wanted, too. “We’re both hot and single, so as long as neither of us is seeing anyone, there’s no reason we can’t have fun together.”

Simon’s brows furrowed, and for a second Jace worried that he hadn’t managed to hide his disappointment, but then Simon was smiling at him again. “Yeah, of course. That’s exactly what I meant.”

“In that case,” Jace said, taking the last step that put him firmly inside Simon’s personal space, “my answer to your earlier question is no.” When Simon started to frown, he clarified, “I don’t want you to put your pants on.”

“Good,” Simon said, leaning in so that their lips just barely brushed as he spoke, “because I’d much rather take yours off.”

Their mouths met in a kiss that was surprisingly gentle, and Jace had to pull away after only a few seconds because of how much he wanted.

“Do you think we can make it to a bed this time?”

Simon glanced over at Jace’s bed, as though he were seriously contemplating the answer to that question. “I think we can probably manage.”

“Good,” Jace said, catching Simon’s gaze and holding it. “Because I really want to suck you, and you’re not going to be able to stay standing when I do.”

Simon kissed him, hard and fast. “If you keep talking like that, we definitely won’t make it to the bed.”

It took them far longer than it should have to make it across the room, mostly because Simon seemed intent on making sure Jace wasn’t wearing any more than he was by the time they got there, but Jace eventually felt the backs of his knees connect with the edge of the bed and pulled Simon with him as he tumbled into it. They landed in an awkward sprawl, half-laughing into the kiss they refused to break as Jace tugged at the towel that was somehow still knotted around Simon’s waist.

Simon made one of those soft, desperate noises that Jace was quickly becoming addicted to as the towel fell away, and Jace stroked a hand up Simon’s thigh, just high enough to tease. He left it there, unmoving, as he deepened their kiss, licking into Simon’s mouth with intent.

It didn’t take long until Simon’s hips were moving, trying to find friction for his rapidly hardening cock. It took only a few seconds longer for him to realize Jace was doing it on purpose.

“Should’ve known you’d be like this,” Simon said between kisses. “Just as much of a dick in bed as you are everywhere else.”

“Not much of an insult, considering that you like my dick,” Jace answered, finally moving his hand to trail lightly up the length of Simon’s cock, eliciting a shaky gasp. “Consider this payback for coming in here in nothing but a damn towel.”

“Oh, that’s how it’s going to be, huh?”

That was all the warning Jace got before he found himself on his back, hands pinned to the bed above his head, Simon straddling his thighs. He flexed his arms experimentally, determined he probably could get free with enough effort and also that he really didn’t want to.

He cocked an eyebrow at Simon. “What are you going to do with me now that you’ve got me?”

Simon swallowed hard. “So much,” he said seriously. “You said you want to suck me and that works out because I kind of really want your mouth, but first I’m going to show you what happens when you’re a tease.”

“You’re one to talk about teasing. Do you ever bother to take clothes into the bathroom with you when you shower?”

Anything else Jace might have said was lost in a startled gasp as Simon’s mouth closed over his left nipple, a swirl of tongue punctuated by a sharp nip of teeth. Simon repeated the treatment on the right, and it was enough for Jace’s hips to give a tiny, involuntary jerk. Against nothing at all, since Simon was sitting far enough back to keep him from getting any kind of friction.

Jace managed to bite back the frustrated whine that wanted to escape. He wouldn’t give Simon the satisfaction.

“I wasn’t sure you noticed,” Simon said, before returning his attention to Jace’s nipples, and it took Jace several seconds to remember what they were even talking about. When he finally did, he lost any hope he’d had of keeping quiet. Simon had thought about whether Jace was watching him, had maybe wanted Jace to watch him. And that was…that was a lot.

“Fuck,” Jace gasped. His hips were moving again, unable to keep still. “Fuck, Simon.”

“Hmm?” Simon asked innocently as he finally ceased his assault on Jace’s nipples. “Something I can do for you?”

“You could try not being such a—” His words were cut off, lost into the ether with any possibility of coherent thought as Simon’s teeth sank into the skin just beneath his clavicle, hard enough to leave behind a pleasant ache. He wondered if there would be any hint of a mark left by morning. He hoped there would be.

Jace let his head fall back against the bed, baring his neck in invitation. Simon’s hands weren’t pinning his to the bed anymore so much as holding them. Simon seemed happy to take him up on his invitation, worshiping Jace’s neck with tongue and teeth, and finally sucking a deliberate mark into his skin, just above his collarbone, where it wouldn’t be obvious unless he wanted it to be.

“Simon, please.”

“Please, what?” Simon asked, all amused faux-innocence. “I can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me what it is.”

“Want you,” Jace growled, finally breaking free from Simon’s grip to tangle a hand in his hair and drag him into an impatient kiss. Simon kissed back, just as desperate, and made absolutely no protest when Jace pulled their hips together to finally get some friction. The kiss slowed, no less wanting, but a little less frantic as they rocked together.

“You have me,” Simon murmured against his mouth, and Jace shuddered with the weight of those words, with how much he wanted them to mean so much more than Simon intended them. But he did have Simon now, and he was going to make the most of it. Which reminded him that he’d gone into this with a plan.

Simon made a noise of protest when Jace pulled away but quieted immediately as Jace moved down his body, tongue following the line of dark hair that led from his chest down to his belly button. He got distracted there for a minute, tracing the lines of Simon’s abs with his tongue, reveling in the way the skin tensed and relaxed under his mouth.

“What did I tell you about teasing?” Simon asked, breathless.

“Don’t remember,” Jace lied, sliding down so that his breath ghosted over Simon’s cock, making his hips jerk. “But you seem pretty into it.”

He didn’t give Simon the chance to respond, sliding his mouth over Simon’s cock and taking him down to the hilt in one smooth motion, swallowing around the head. It was almost too much, too quick, and Jace had to fight back his gag reflex, but it was totally worth it for Simon’s broken-sounding, “Holy shit.”

Jace backed off, tonguing at Simon’s slit and sucking at the head of his dick before sliding back down, then repeating the pattern. It wasn’t the first time he’d deep-throated a guy, but it wasn’t something he had a ton of practice with either, much as he enjoyed it, and he knew better than to rush himself. It got easier every time he took Simon into the back of his throat, spurred on as he was by Simon’s near-incoherent stream of curses and praise. He lost himself in the sound of Simon’s voice, the weight of him on his tongue, the taste of him as he leaked steadily into his mouth.

After a few minutes, Jace realized that Simon was holding back, thighs trembling with the effort of keeping his hips still, one hand fisted in the sheets beside Jace’s head. Jace pulled off Simon’s cock with an audible ‘pop,’ and Simon’s whole body jerked.

Jace met his eyes. “You don’t have to be gentle with me.”

Simon opened his mouth, closed it again, stunned into silence for once.

To illustrate his point, Jace took Simon’s hand from where it was tangled in the sheets and placed it on his head. “I don’t want you to be gentle.”

“Not gentle,” Simon repeated, eyes dark and steady as his hand tightened in Jace’s hair. “I can do that.”

Jace lowered his head back to Simon’s dick, never breaking eye contact, letting the head just rest against his parted lips. Simon gave a shallow, experimental thrust, and Jace moaned around him, relaxing his throat so he could take him deeper. Simon thrust again, and Jace let his eyes flutter closed as Simon began to fuck his mouth in earnest.

“Fuck,” Simon panted. “Do you even know…know what you look like right now? Like, you’re always hot, but this is just…fuck. Wish you could see yourself. Wish I could have you like this all the time, except…except I’m definitely not going to last that long, and you’re just. Fuck, Jace, you’re perfect.”

Jace would have been embarrassed by the noise he made at Simon’s words, except that Simon seemed very into it, thrusts picking up speed as he continued in a broken voice, “Oh god, you— So good. I can’t— Shit. Your mouth—”

With a half-voiced gasp that might have been Jace’s name, Simon thrust deep one last time and came in hot spurts down Jace’s throat. Jace swallowed it all, dizzy from arousal and lack of air. He didn’t think he’d ever been this turned on in his life.

And then Simon was tugging Jace up by his hair, kissing him hard and deep like he couldn’t get enough of the taste of himself in Jace’s mouth.

“Perfect,” Simon repeated as his hand closed around Jace’s cock, and all Jace could do was hold onto him and make desperate noises that he would absolutely deny later into Simon’s mouth as Simon expertly jerked him off. It would have been embarrassing how quickly he came, except that Jace was beyond embarrassment, beyond anything but the feel of Simon’s hand, his body, his mouth.

After, they lay together a while longer, exchanging lazy kisses until it became so much that Jace had to pull away. He couldn’t let himself get used to this.

Simon watched him, that tiny thoughtful furrow that Jace found so endearing forming between his brows. When he opened his mouth to speak, Jace cut him off.

“I was thinking, if we order Chinese now, we’ll have just enough time to wash up before it gets here. And after, I want to ride you until you can’t remember anything but my name.”

“I…” Simon blinked at him. “I think I am literally incapable of turning that down.”

“Cool.” Jace rolled off the bed, refusing to look back at Simon, all sex-tousled and sweaty in his bed. “I’ll grab the takeout menu.”

~~~

The Hunter’s Moon was busy for a Tuesday night. Not packed like it would be on the weekend, but definitely more than the usual crowd. Rock Solid Panda wasn’t a big enough name to draw a huge audience, but it was clear they were finally starting to make a name for themselves. It probably helped that they’d finally decided on and stuck with a name for more than two gigs.

Maia was working tonight, and Jace joined Lily and Bat at the bar so they could chat with her when she wasn’t too busy with other customers. It was the first time they’d all hung out together since they got back from break, and Jace had been both looking forward to and dreading the show. Looking forward to it because, despite anything he might say to the contrary, he’d actually kind of missed his friends. Dreading it because his friends knew him, knew Simon, and he really didn’t want to have the conversation he knew would happen if they figured out he and Simon were sleeping together. He wasn’t sure which would be worse, them making the same assumption they had in the coffee shop, that he and Simon were actually together, or them recognizing what was actually going on and knowing that Simon could so much better than Jace, realizing that Jace was willing to take whatever Simon would give him.

“You starting with beer or vodka tonight?” Maia asked as he slid onto a stool.

“Beer,” Jace answered. “I’ve got eight a.m. Latin this semester.”

“I don’t know what’s worse,” Lily told him, “that you insist on studying a dead language for fun, that you’re willing to be in class at eight in the morning to do it, or that you’re letting it keep you from getting properly drunk at your best friend’s show.”

“I took Latin in high school, and it just makes sense to stick with it for my language requirement, and Simon isn’t my best friend.”

“Oh, sorry,” Lily said, “your fake boyfriend’s show. Speaking of, seems like none of us has won that bet, yet. I’m impressed.” She looked up at Maia, who set a frothing pint in front of Jace. “Unless you’ve been holding out on us, Roberts.”

“Nope,” Maia said, shaking her head. “They both made it through the entire break without my assistance.”

“We’re proud of you, buddy,” Bat said, patting his shoulder.

“Oh, fuck off,” Jace said. “We were fine. Minimal family drama, and Simon charmed the hell out of my entire family.”

Maia’s eyebrows climbed almost to her hairline. “Even Maryse?” She’d never actually met Jace’s adoptive mother, but she’d heard more than her share of stories.

“Even Maryse,” Jace confirmed. “I think starting dating again has mellowed her out a little.”

At Lily’s prompting, Jace gave an abbreviated—and entirely sanitized—rundown of his visit home. Maia gave him an odd look when he mentioned Magnus’s party, but she didn’t say anything. Jace brushed it off, but it left him with an unsettled feeling.

“Hey, you,” Maia said to someone behind them just as Jace was finishing up his story.

“Hey,” Simon said. Jace could hear the smile in his voice even before he spun around to face him. “We just finished setting up and wanted to come say hi before we start our set. Becky says ‘hi back,’ by the way,” he told Maia.

“Did she say anything else?” Maia asked hopefully.

“Nope,” Simon said. “Well, she told me to stop being dumb when I suggested she, you know, actually talk to you. You guys know that’s an option, right? Talking to each other directly?”

Maia ignored him, turning to Maureen. “Excited about the big show?”

“Holy shit, you guys,” Maureen said, her own smile tempered by just a hint of panic, “there are so many people here.”

“Yeah, because you guys are awesome,” Maia said. “Seriously, you deserve this.”

“It’s true,” Lily said. “I don’t even like indie rock normally, but you guys are alright.”

“Ooh, ‘alright,’” Simon repeated archly. “High praise from the great Lily Chen.”

“And you better bask in it,” Lily told him. “It’s a shame you didn’t get here a little sooner. You just missed Jace telling us all about your New Year’s adventure.”

Simon’s eyebrows shot up. “Wh-what?” He threw a panicked look at Jace, who could only give a tiny head shake.

“Yeah,” Bat said. “We heard you got your ass kicked at Land Mines.”

“We lost by one shot!” Simon protested, visibly relaxing despite his scowl.

“Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” Jace told him, smirking.

“Really,” Simon said, turning to look at Jace with a calm intensity that Jace had gotten to know very well over the past several days, one that had his dick twitching with interest. “I’ll remember that.”

“Let me know if you need a reminder,” Jace said, leaning back against the bar. He saw Simon’s eyes flick to his collarbone, where the fading mark he’d left was just visible above the open collar of Jace’s shirt. It was light enough now that no one looking at it would know what it was at a glance, but Jace knew. And more importantly, Simon knew.

“I don’t think I’m the one who needs a reminder,” Simon said, and Jace had to actively suppress a shiver.

“Anyway,” Maureen said pointedly, giving them both a dubious look, “we should probably get back on stage. We’re on in five minutes.”

“Right,” Simon said, tearing his gaze away from Jace. “Playing music. That thing that we’re doing in front of, wow, so many people.” His grin was back as he looked at Maureen. “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit!” she agreed, pulling him toward the stage.

“I’d ask what that was about,” Lily said, “but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know.”

“No idea what you’re talking about,” Jace said, sipping his beer nonchalantly.

“Wow,” Bat said. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re kind of a shitty liar?”

“If Jace had to explain every time he did something weird, he’d never stop talking,” Maia said, and Jace wasn’t sure whether to be offended or grateful. He was saved from having to decide by Simon stepping up to the mic and introducing the band.

Rock Solid Panda’s set was mostly music Jace knew, mostly their early songs with a few covers thrown in. As they played, Jace found himself paying less attention to the music and more to the way Simon’s hands moved as he played, the way he lost himself in the music. It wasn’t the first time Jace had found himself watching Simon, but it was the first time he let himself keep doing it.

“So, this last song is new,” Simon said. Over the course of their set, the crowd had gone quiet. “I just finished writing it a few days ago, and we’ve only played it a couple times in practice, so it might be a little rough. But, um. Well, I hope you like it. This one’s called Random Afternoon.”

As Simon plucked out the opening notes, Jace recognized it as something he’d heard vague snippets of over the past couple weeks, just the guitar line as Simon worked through it in his room. This was the first time he’d heard any of the lyrics, though.

It was a love song. Melodic and melancholic, it spoke of a love that didn’t sweep you off your feet but bloomed in a thousand tiny, mundane moments. A love that started as the faintest flicker and grew to a consuming inferno before you realized you were in danger of getting burned. A love that was wholly unrequited, because those moments didn’t mean the same thing to them as they did to you.

Jace drained the last of his beer, trying to settle the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. It wasn’t jealousy. He didn’t get jealous. It was just a song, and he and Simon weren’t even together really, so even if Simon was harboring feelings for someone he couldn’t have, it wasn’t any of Jace’s business.

He turned to the bar, intending to ask for another drink—something stronger this time, maybe—only to find Maia already there, sliding a glass of water over to him. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Don’t be stupid,” she told him, shaking her head like she knew exactly what he was thinking. Maybe she did. She was the only person he’d ever talked to about…any of this. But at least last time she’d given him tequila.

He looked back to the stage, sipping his water and wishing he’d insisted on tequila.

~~~

“Thanks for staying and helping us get all the equipment loaded back in the van,” Simon said when they got back to the apartment several hours later. “You didn’t have to, and I know you’ve got early class tomorrow.”

“It was wholly self-serving,” Jace told him. He still felt unsettled and far too sober. “You would have woken me up when you got home, anyway, and it would have taken you longer without my help.”

“Well, whatever your reasons, I appreciate it,” Simon said. “I still can’t believe so many people showed up.”

“I can,” Jace said, shrugging out of his jacket and tossing it over the back of the couch. “You played a good show.”

“You really think so?” Simon looked genuinely surprised, and it only added to Jace’s feeling of disquiet.

“Yeah,” Jace said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It should have been. Maybe he wasn’t as effusive in his praise as Bat or Maia, but he’d been to basically all of Rock Solid Panda’s shows over the past two years. “You put a lot of yourself into your music.”

As soon as the words were out of Jace’s mouth, he was thinking of the new song Simon had played. Maybe he’d been thinking about it the whole time. From the way Simon froze, Jace knew he’d hit a nerve.

“Sometimes,” Simon said. “But not always,” he added quickly. “Sometimes, I write songs about, like, random thoughts that come into my head, or stuff that’s happened to other people, or, you know, Maureen and I even collaborate on writing sometimes, so some of the songs are hers.” Simon was babbling. He was kind of a terrible liar.

“It was a compliment,” Jace said with an amusement he didn’t feel. “You should learn how to take one.”

“Oh,” Simon said. “Right.” He forced a smile that almost looked genuine. “Thank you.”

Jace shook his head. “I give that a C-plus at best. Come on, you can do better than that.”

“You know what?” Simon said, raising his chin. “I take it back. I shouldn’t be thanking you, because Rock Solid Panda is awesome, and our music is awesome, and you should be complimenting us, like, all the time.”

“That’s more like it,” Jace said, grinning.

“No, now I just sound like you,” Simon said, shaking his head.

“Exactly.” Because I’m awesome and people should be complimenting me all the time.”

Simon gave him an unimpressed look. “Remind me why I’m friends with you again?”

“We literally just went over this,” Jace said, lounging against the wall. “Because I’m awesome and people should—”

“Oh my god, stop talking,” Simon said, but he was obviously fighting back a smile now. “Seriously.”

“You going to make me?” Jace challenged, and this was probably the kind of thing Maia meant when she told him not to be stupid, because he knew now that Simon was in love with someone else. Or hung up on someone, anyway. And Jace was at least honest enough with himself to know that he was just asking to get hurt if he kept having sex with a guy he was maybe into as more than just a friend with benefits who didn’t feel the same way about him.

He was also honest enough with himself to know he was going to do it, anyway.

Simon shook his head. “Nope. That’ll just encourage you.”

“See, you say that.” Jace stretched his arms above his head, very deliberately arching his back and making his shirt ride up to reveal a sliver of skin above the waistband of his jeans. “But this is totally doing it for you.”

“I really kind of hate you sometimes,” Simon said without heat before stalking over and pinning Jace’s still-raised wrists to the wall above his head.

“Oh yeah?” Jace said, rolling his hips shamelessly against Simon’s. “Why don’t you show me how much?”

The kiss was hard and bruising, Simon’s body pressing him into the wall like he was trying to erase every millimeter of space between them. Jace kissed back just as hard, exerting just enough pressure with his arms to make a show of protest, but not nearly enough to break Simon’s hold. Maybe he’d never be the kind of guy Simon wrote love songs about, but like this, he knew what Simon wanted, what he liked, and he planned to give it to him.

They were both breathing hard when Simon broke the kiss to say, “Bedroom, now.”

“Yeah,” Jace agreed, a little dazed.

“Mine, not yours,” Simon added seriously. “I want you in my bed.” He put just a little more pressure on Jace’s wrists before releasing them entirely.

Jace felt like all the air had been punched out of his lungs. They hadn’t actually done anything in Simon’s room. They mostly ended up in Jace’s room, or on the couch, and there had been that one time in the bathroom when they had decisively concluded their shower was not big enough for anything other than getting clean. But never in Simon’s room, and the idea that he wanted Jace there, in his bed, made something inside Jace tremble.

Simon didn’t give him time to dwell on it, kissing him again before turning to walk down the hall toward his room, expecting Jace to follow. Knowing Jace would, probably, because somewhere along the line Jace had apparently lost any ability he once had to say no to Simon.

As soon as he made it to the bedroom, Simon was kissing him again, deep and filthy and full of promise as he quickly and efficiently divested Jace of his shirt and pants.

“Eager,” Jace observed as he kicked free of the pants that had pooled around his ankles, leaving him in nothing but a pair of black boxer-briefs.

“You wanted me to show you how much I hate you,” Simon said. His smile and tone were teasing, but there was something else in his eyes that Jace couldn’t quite identify. “So that’s what I’m doing. Get on the bed.”

Jace made a show of stretching out on the bed, reveling in how Simon followed his every move with his eyes.

“You just planning to look?” he asked when Simon made no move to follow him.

“You kinda deserve it,” Simon said, pulling off his own shirt. “But no.” He kicked off his pants and crawled up the bed until they were face to face, his knees bracketing Jace’s hips. “Because you’re right. This totally does it for me.”

He leaned down to bring their mouths together, and it was slow and gentle in a way Jace wasn’t expecting, wasn’t prepared for, and he felt like he was being unraveled by it, all the loose threads that made up the tangled mess that was Jace being pulled apart by Simon’s lips and tongue and breath.

“Here’s how this is going to go,” Simon told him, mouthing along the skin of his jaw. He took one of Jace’s hands and wrapped his fingers around the slats of the headboard, then did the same with the other hand. “You’re going to keep your hands right here like this, and I’m going to fuck you, and you’re going to take it.”

As close as they were, there was no hiding Jace’s full-body shiver at Simon’s words, no hiding just how much he wanted, but he still put on a cocky smile and gave his best shot at seeming unaffected. “Bossy. What makes you think I’m just going to go along with it?”

“Because you like me bossy,” Simon said, running his hands up Jace’s arms from his shoulders to where his hands still gripped the headboard and grinning down at him. “This is totally doing it for you.”

Jace’s denial was cut off by Simon reaching a hand down to cup his cock through his underwear, thumb dragging across fabric wet with pre-come. Jace bucked up into the touch, gasping. His hands stayed where they were.

Simon’s grin was smug as he hooked his fingers in the waistband of Jace’s boxer-briefs and pulled them down and off in a single motion. Jace made a soft noise—half relief, half impatience—as his cock sprang free from its confines to lie hard and leaking against his abdomen.

Simon’s smugness turned to something almost like awe as he sat back on his heels and just looked, and Jace started to feel that unraveling sensation again even as his cock twitched under the weight of Simon’s appreciation.

Jace licked his lips. “If you want me to take it, you’re going to have to give it to me.”

“I’d tell you to be patient, but I know that’s a lost cause,” Simon said, reaching over to grab condoms and lube from his nightstand. This meant leaning over Jace, close enough that Jace could feel the heat of Simon’s body, but still not quite touching. Until Jace rocked his hips up, rutting against Simon’s hip for the few glorious seconds it took Simon to pull back.

Simon sat back on his heels once again, his free hand moving to Jace’s hip and pressing it firmly into the mattress as he gave him an unimpressed look.

Jace smirked back. “I wouldn’t need to be patient if you weren’t taking your damn time about it.”

“You say things like that,” Simon said, uncapping the lube, “but I don’t think you’ve really considered the full implications of what you’re asking for.” He poured some lube out into his palm, coating his hand, before moving the bottle to spill directly onto Jace’s dick.

“Fuck, fuck.” Jace arched off the bed from the unexpected cold, and before he could even find the words to tell Simon what an absolute asshole he was, the cold was replaced with the heat and delicious pressure of Simon’s hand.

“And anyway,” Simon said, continuing to stroke Jace’s cock with one hand while the lube-slick fingers of his other hands circled Jace’s hole, “this is supposed to be about how much I hate you.” He pressed one finger just inside, teasing Jace’s rim. “So I’m going to take exactly as long as I want to.”

Then that finger slid all the way in, and for a while Jace’s entire world narrowed down to the feel of Simon’s fingers—around him, inside him—and the sound of Simon’s voice, teasing and praising in turn.

“God, look at you.” Simon had three fingers inside him, and Jace had long since lost the ability to form coherent words. Or do anything, really, besides cling to the headboard and writhe under Simon’s touch.

“You’re so hot like this.” He curled his fingers, stroking over Jace’s prostate for what must have been the hundredth time. “And everyone thinks they know how hot you are, but they don’t because most of them haven’t seen you like this, and that’s almost a kind of tragedy except that I do get to see you like this.” He sounded almost as wrecked as Jace felt. “I get to make you like this.”

“Simon,” Jace gasped, and he wasn’t sure whether it was Simon’s words or the curl of his fingers that brought him there.

“Okay,” Simon breathed. “Okay, yeah.” And then Simon was taking his hands away and Jace let out a desperate whine because Simon going away was the last thing he wanted.

“Shh,” Simon soothed as he tugged off his own underwear and fumbled open the condom wrapper. “I’m not going anywhere.” He dropped a quick kiss on Jace’s knee, then leaned back again so he could roll the condom on and slick up his cock. “I promise.”

“Don’t want promises,” Jace said, managing to drag the words out from somewhere. “Just want you in me already.”

Simon let out a faint growl, and then he was hooking Jace’s knees over his shoulders, pinning Jace to the bed with his own body, pushing into him in a single, relentless stroke.

“This what you wanted?” Simon asked when his hips sat flush against Jace’s ass.

It was. God, it was.

“Want you to move,” Jace said.

Simon did, fucking Jace like he wanted to break him, kissing him like he wanted to own him. It was everything, and Jace took it. Because Simon told him to. Because he wanted to.

“Feels so good,” Simon panted. “God, Jace, I just—”

He reached a hand between them to wrap around Jace’s cock, stroking in time with his thrusts, and Jace keened.

“Come for me,” Simon said. “I want to feel you come for me, baby.”

Jace didn’t know whether it was the command or the endearment that pushed him over the edge, but he was shaking apart with Simon’s next upstroke, spilling between their bodies as Simon swallowed the desperate sounds of his release. Simon fucked him through it, not slowing until Jace was trembling on the edge of overstimulation.

“Don’t stop,” Jace told him. “I can take it.”

“Jace—” Simon’s voice was wary, but Jace could feel how much he wanted in the way his body trembled, the way his hips never quite stopped moving.

“Want you to come with your dick inside me,” Jace said, locking his ankles around Simon’s back. “Please.”

“Fuck,” Simon swore as he started moving in earnest again. “How are you even real?”

Jace wanted to respond with something pithy and clever, but he’d lost all capacity for words, for thought as Simon fucked into him, chasing his own pleasure. It teetered on the edge of too much, would be too much if Jace let it, and all he had it in him to do was hang on until finally Simon’s hips lost their rhythm and Jace felt his dick pulsing inside him as he whispered nonsensical words of affection into the skin of Jace’s shoulder.

They lay like that for what felt like an eternity, yet still not enough time at all, until Simon finally sighed and pulled his softening cock out to deal with the condom. He looked at Jace as he tied it off and tossed it in the trash.

“You can let go now,” Simon told him. When Jace just frowned in confusion, he leaned over and tapped Jace’s biceps, grinning.

Jace felt himself flush as he uncurled his fingers from the headboard and lowered his arms, rolling his shoulders to ease the faint ache. He’d forgotten he was even still holding on. He wracked his brain for something to say, anything that would save him from having to think about how easy it had been to do what Simon told him to do, how much he’d wanted to.

“So, you hate me that much, huh?”

Simon’s bark of laughter was incredulous. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, exactly that much.” There was that look in his eyes again, the one Jace couldn’t place, but Simon tore his gaze away before he could tease it out.

“You could stay in here tonight,” Simon said with deliberate casualness, and Jace felt his heart stutter in his chest. “You know, if you want.”

He wanted it so much it was almost a physical ache.

“I’ve got early class,” he said instead. He was keenly aware of all those loose threads Simon had inadvertently spent the last couple hours pulling apart, ready to unravel him completely with just the right tug. He rolled out of Simon’s bed. “I’m just going to take a quick shower and head to bed.”

“Sure,” Simon said. “Of course. That makes total sense. Um. Sleep well.”

“Yeah, you too,” Jace said, grabbing his clothes from the floor as an excuse not to look at Simon. He knew he wouldn’t be able to say no if Simon asked again.

Simon didn’t.

[monstersandmaw]

Male ooze (Tokis) x reader (sfw) - Part Two

Edit which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

I’m putting this up a little early because I felt like it. It’s still been up on Patreon since last Monday. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy some soft morning fluff with non-verbal ooze Tokis.

The person who got the 1k word 'thank you story' for filling out the Patreon feedback form chose Tokis, Part Two, and I know a number of people have been excited about it, so here it is!

Contents: Fluff, teeth, general ooze, Sign Language (unspecified), non-verbal character, morning sweetness, mention of dentistry the previous day... Words: 1389

Part One 

Waking with a heavy, solid weight on your chest, which also continued halfway down your body, was absolutely not a normal occurrence for you, and it took you a solid minute to blink yourself awake enough to work out what was going on. Memories of a sluggish and dazed Tokis, with his mouth all puffy and his hands tremulous and anxious at the dentist the previous day flooded back and you looked down at him as he lay now, fast asleep in your bed. On top of you.

The surprisingly warm ooze of Tokis’ utterly black body lay draped across your torso, completely without form.

During the night he’d lost his usual humanoid outline and had slithered out of the pyjamas you’d lent him as well. Wherever they were, they were nowhere in sight. A shaft of morning sunlight fell across one section of the ooze and you let yourself stare at it for a while; neither liquid nor solid, he was fascinatingly beautiful. You’d never seen Tokis quite like this before, despite having had sleepovers at each other’s houses since you were both pretty small. Sure, he’d slipped here and there, momentarily losing his preferred humanoid outline, but he’d never just… melted into a formless puddle. From what you knew of oozes and slimes like him, it was a sign of trust to exist in their simplest state, and it didn't get more trusting than this.

As you lay there beneath the gentle pressure of his body, you began to take stock of the way he had nudged himself against every contour of your chest and torso, firm and warm, yet malleable like very soft clay. It felt as though he were slowly trying to envelop you, folding and creeping across you like slow-flowing lava. You never wanted to move again, and you certainly didn’t want to wake him, but the temptation to touch him grew too much.

How many years had you ached for this? How many times when you'd gone to the park together and lain sprawled on the grass with your small group of friends had you wished to lay your head in his lap and feel him give softly beneath you, or have him spread his strange body out along yours and just luxuriate in the continuous contact?

As you replayed the way his hands had so vaguely and so tiredly shaped out the words ‘I love you’ the previous night, you let your own fingers sink against his smooth, gentle body and watched them disappear a little, as if he was subconsciously rising up to draw you down into him; like the tide answering the draw of the moon. He was particularly malleable like this, and you scooped up a handful of him as it rolled over your other hip and began to slide down onto the sheet like condensation on the outside of a glass. As ever, he was completely self-contained, the outer layer of his body protecting him from passively losing fluid, and as you cupped the weight of him in your hands, you worked it gently between your fingers and palm, as if it were a small ball of dough. He felt so right against you that it almost hurt.

At the touch, he seemed to stir, and his head began to reappear from the mass of self-contained ooze. He blinked his shiny, onyx eyes at you, and you smiled. “Hey.” Your voice was rough with sleep, and his gaze flickered momentarily to your mouth as you spoke.

Next second, his eyes crinkled a little at the edges into what you recognised as his smile. Your stomach flipped over at the sight of it and you stroked that stray part of him idly with your thumb. It was almost as if he’d stretched his arms across you to hug you.

Watching him reconstitute himself was interesting. He pulled back away from you, shyly withdrawing and elongating his body into its usual, if somewhat small, humanoid figure, and he signed something vaguely, his movements too drowsy for you to pick out clearly.

“Tok, my signing is good, but not that good,” you chuckled. “Give me a chance.”

Oddly enough, the first coherent thing he said to you was, “You really didn’t know I had a mouth until yesterday?”

At that, you laughed, shaking your head. “Nope. And all those gorgeous, pointed teeth too,” you added. “Does it hurt?””

“Feels a bit sore,” he admitted, the viscous ooze of his face shifting a bit around it before he began to open his mouth experimentally. His gaze kept darting up to your face, as though he constantly expected you to reel back from him in disgust. Slowly, those sharks’ teeth of his came into view, arranged in a double row above and below, an endearing little strand of slime still connecting his top and bottom lips in one place, and your heart leapt at the sight of him. Hesitantly, you brought your fingertip to his mouth and traced the edge of one of his teeth.

“You’re extraordinary,” you whispered.

Tokis melted again at that, completely losing his form and forming a large black puddle on the bed beside you. You had to laugh fondly; he’d always been shy, but this was just too adorable.

It took him a while to reform, and this time when he did, he was facing away from you. You ran your fingertips down his newly-formed shoulders, the black ooze gleaming like living glass beneath your touch. He shivered.

Continuing to touch him, you asked, “Tok, when you said you loved me yesterday… how did you mean it? Did you mean just as friends, or…”

He shook his head.

“More?”

Without turning to you, he nodded minutely.

You leaned forwards and hesitated, mere inches from his body. “Can I kiss you?” you asked, and received a second tiny nod, though he didn’t move. Leaving a chaste kiss on his shoulder, you stroked him once more and then you pressed yourself close to his warm body and hugged him.

With you as the big spoon, the two of you lay there for a lot longer, the morning dragging on late and neither of you wanting to break the strange, wonderful new spell that had woven itself between you since the previous day. It took him a while to move at all, but when he did, you felt the enticing ooze of his body sliding up around the fingers of the hand that was softly draped across his waist. He began to stroke and play with your hand, paying attention to your knuckles, apparently fascinated by the bones beneath.  At that, you nuzzled the back of his neck and he melted a little bit, his touch slipping off your hand altogether as his hand disappeared back inside him.

“I love that I can make you do that,” you chuckled against his neck, and he vanished into his amorphous lump again, refusing to come out, no matter how much you scooped him up and cuddled him.

Eventually you lay back and sighed happily, with one arm still outstretched on his pillow. “You want some breakfast?” you eventually asked. He didn’t need to eat, but he did enjoy tea. He didn’t drink it through his mouth, but rather usually trailed one finger in it and absorbed it that way. You wondered if, now that you knew of his mouth, he’d actually drink it.

He shuffled, his familiar form rearing up out of the shapeless ooze beside you and immediately began to sign something to you. You missed the beginning, but caught the gist of the sentence. “And thank you for letting me sleep here in your bed too,” he added after expressing his bashful gratitude at your taking care of him the previous day.

“If you’d like, you’re welcome to sleep here any time, Tok,” you smile.

As he rolled over to face you properly, he pulled his slime back off his teeth and gave you the widest and most playful grin you could ever have imagined from him. It was glorious, all fangs and dripping ooze and your heart swooped in your chest at the sight of it.

“Take that as a yes,” you chuckled, and he surged forwards and swamped you in a huge hug, still grinning.

—

I really hope you folks enjoyed this one! Don’t forget to let me know if you did enjoy it by leaving a like and/or reblogging it!

For all early releases, character art and bios, upcoming story info, and much, much more, join me over on Patreon!

You’ll have access to stories before anyone else, and you’ll get instant access Patreon-only content as well, including polls and an exclusive monthly story for those on the Pixies and Goblins tier or higher! Plus there’s extra, exclusive stories and some artwork from every Friday during May 2020 for Mermay!

__

| Masterlist | Patreon | Ko-fi | Writing Commissions |