#I gotta figure out how to speed up my comic process. or maybe I’m just rusty
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If there’s one thing to fear in any galaxy…
#chiligerart#comic#Star Wars#the clone wars#selva company#la chancla#commander carlos#bella tehpe#arc trooper peck#marlu epuna#star wars oc#clone trooper oc#original character#peck isn’t an arc yet at this point but shhhh the tag is still accurate#fear the chancla. whomever wields it is gifted with incredible aim and strength#I gotta figure out how to speed up my comic process. or maybe I’m just rusty#idk either way I maybe spent longer than I would have liked on these pages
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a different kind of workout | k.sy
w.c: 2k
request: yes
genre: smut
pairing: soonyoung x female!reader
contains: semi-public sex, dirty talk (mans gotta filthy mouth), slight nipple play, marking, oral (f.receiving), this is also very unedited i apologise
a/n: this is just a pile of filth and i blame it all on kwon soonyoung and this video
When you agreed to go and do a workout at the gym with Soonyoung, you figured he would go nice and easy on you, and make you sweat maybe a little. You figured that it would be a breeze and he would show you the ropes, maybe even do some spotting for each other with the weights and just enjoy each others presence while hyping each other up in the process.
You were wrong. You were so, so very wrong.
With the time of night you both attended the gym, which was quite late in the evening after most had already gone to bed, there were no other signs of life present in the building, not even at the front desk where you signed in. As you walked behind your boyfriend, you took the time to admire his back muscles that were rippling slightly from his movements. His singlet shirt obstructed any more of your view of his delectable body, but you knew that getting to see him workout would highlight those areas you loved even more, and had your mouth watering at the thought.
You headed into the gym room, with all the equipment set up neatly and the room smelling faintly of sweat and metal. You heaved a sigh as you looked around at all of the equipment, your mind wandering off to how some of this equipment even worked. Soonyoung had already found what he was going to be doing, and made a beeline towards his favourite pieces of equipment.
What you didn't expect, however, was when he had stopped in front of the equipment, his shirt had come off and tossed into his duffel bag, ultimately exposing his entire upper body to you and causing your eyes to almost bulge out of your skull, almost comically. He had been working on his upper body quite a lot recently when he came to the gym, which was evident in his toned abs and biceps that were growing bigger by the week.
Your gawking didn't go amiss by Soonyoung, who only merely smirked at you with no words spoken and headed straight to the weights table. He picked up a 10kg dumbbell in each hand and began moving them up and down in a steady pace. As you continued to watch his arms move fluidly, you ogled the bulge on his arm, noting a large vein that ran through the muscle. You admired him from afar, slowly setting your own duffel bag down and heading towards the elliptical machine.
His eyes followed you as you set yourself up on the gym apparatus, his cock twitching when you bent down and he got a nice view of the curve of your ass. As you began to move on the elliptical slowly, a smirk fell upon his lips when he noticed how your boobs bounced inside of your cropped shirt. “That top looks good on you, sweetheart, but maybe you should take it off. We don't want it to get sweaty or anything,” he spoke nonchalantly, moving his hand down so that the weights were now back on the table.
You all but stumbled over your own feet at his sudden comment, your face burning with embarrassment. Luckily he didn't seem to notice, as he had now turned his back to you and moved over towards the pull up bar. Your eyes deceived you however, as they drifted further down on his body, landing directly on his sharp v-line that didn't seem to end. You bit your lip as you watched him stretch out, his muscles contorting and you let out a small moan. God he was so hot.
Your movements on the elliptical machine slowed significantly as he jumped and let his body dangle from the bar, his back muscles even more prominent even though he was hardly doing anything. You kept your eyes trained on his back as he began to push himself up and over the bar, his muscles contracting and moving so deliciously under his skin. The lighting in the gym didn't do you any favours either, only enhancing how beautifully toned he was.
You felt your tongue swipe out across your lips, and it was only then that Soonyoung noticed you in the mirror, and he chuckled. Your trance was broken at his laugh, and it was only then you realized how wet you were, and you couldn't help but to squeeze your thighs together to alleviate some of the pressure that was beginning to build up inside of you.
He continued to notice your movements, mainly the way you were shuffling around and moving to lean against the elliptical which had now been long forgotten in your eyes. He did a few more reps on the pull up bar, before he let go and planted his feet on the ground. He whipped around quickly and took fast steps to where you were still leaning against the elliptical, with a large smirk painted on his face.
“You like what you see huh? You haven't been able to take your eyes off of me the entire time we’ve been here,” he commented, his eyes becoming lidded they grazed hungrily over your body, clad with only your crop top and some active shorts. You could hardly find the words to reply to him, your mind becoming clouded with lustful thoughts of your boyfriend.
You were snapped back to reality with Soonyoung’s fingers being pressed firmly against your jaw, and his dark eyes boring into your own. “I expect you to answer me, sweetheart, or are you too busy thinking about me fucking you right here and now?” His voice was saccharine sweet in comparison to his filthy words, and only made you clench your thighs tighter.
All you could do was nod your head and whimper a little as his grip tightened once more on your jaw, a dark chuckle falling from his lips. “Such a needy girl you are, huh? Don’t you worry, I’m going to take care of you,” he muttered softly into your skin. Before you could say a word to him, his hands had made quick work of your crop top, pulling it over your head and throwing it on top of the elliptical machine. His hands were immediately on your breasts, fondling and caressing your nipples and the skin surrounding it.
“Soonyoung...” you finally whined out, your hands flying up to his hair and tugging on it softly. A soft hiss left his lips at the tugging, and he slammed his lips into yours, his kiss hungry and wanting. He pulled himself away from your lips seconds later, a small string of saliva connecting the two of you as he moved. When he was fully standing, he pulled your hand up so that you would stand also, his body flush against yours. He wasted no time pulling your shorts down your legs, exposing your wetness and throbbing pussy to the air and his eyes.
He groaned at the sight of your pussy, which made him immediately bend down so that he was situated on his knees and spread your thighs apart, his tongue darting out to lick at his lips. “So beautiful, i cant wait to fuck you, but first, I need a taste of this sweet pussy of yours” he spoke against your skin, leaving light kisses on the tops of your thighs. You pushed your hand further into his hair, a louder whine escaping your lips from his teasing.
“Stop...teasing...” you whispered, your eyes scrunching shut as you felt his tongue sweep across your inner thighs, collecting the juices that had been spread across them. Without warning, his tongue poked out and licked a flat stripe up your folds, an appreciative hum coming from his mouth while a broken moan escaped yours.
“M-more please!” You managed to squeak out between his quick tongue movements, making Soonyoung chuckle and spread your legs even further apart, and he began a steady pace alternating between licking and sucking on your folds, and loving how your legs were beginning to shake from his tongue alone.
You couldn't help but open your eyes to peek at your boyfriend between your legs, his platinum blond mop of hair the only thing you could see until he looked up at you briefly with a cheeky grin. His chin was covered in your juices, and you felt your face burn up out of sheer embarrassment, before you were shoving his head back down between your thighs so that you could reach your high.
“You taste so fucking good, sweetheart, maybe you taste even sweeter because we might get caught here?” He spoke briefly, his tongue dipping to poke at your entrance. You yelped at his action, and a lewd moan left your lips when he repeated the action over and over, the familiar tension in your abdomen from your incoming orgasm building up inside of you.
He chuckled at how needy you had become in such a short span of time, before he was removing his tongue from you and wiping his hand over his lips, sucking up the excess juices. You whined in annoyance and felt your entrance clenching around nothing, but you didn't have time to complain to him when you felt his erection prod at your entrance.
“You’re such a needy little slut, only want my cock huh? You can’t even go a few hours without it, we’re having sex in a fucking gym because you can't stop ogling at my body,” he spoke through gritted teeth, pushing himself inside of your tight entrance. Your fingers clawed at his lean shoulders, a lascivious moan escaping your lips at the feeling.
His filthy words bounced around in your mind constantly, alongside his quick thrusts that made your eyes roll back in your head. The adrenaline was pumping through both of you in high amounts, at the thought of possibly being caught and how you were doing it in such a public and open space. Soonyoung’s thrusts began to pick up speed once more, his moans becoming louder the closer he got to his orgasm.
Your mind was so clouded with lustful thoughts and of Soonyoung fucking you in a gym, that you didn't even register him leaning down and sucking on your neck, leaving light bruises to bloom on your skin. When he was satisfied with his work, he chuckled and ran a hand through your hair, tugging at your roots so that you would make eye contact with him.
“God you’re so fucking tight, and you keep clenching around me and sucking me in...your pussy is made for me, fuck, I’m gonna cum,” he moaned, his hips beginning to stutter. You could feel the tension in your abdomen about to snap, and your whines grew higher in pitch and drove Soonyoung to his brink, his cum beginning to spill inside of you.
As he painted your walls white with his cum, he moved one of his shaky hands down to your clit and rubbed it quickly and roughly, sending you into a mind-blowing orgasm that made your back arch and your eyes roll. Soonyoung’s chest swelled with pride at the sight of you all fucked out on his cock, your breathing heavy and skin glistening with sweat.
Once you had come back from your high, you noticed Soonyoung had already redressed himself and was bringing out a towel from his bag, walking back over to you and wiping the towel over your skin gently. “Well, that was a different kind of workout wasn't it?”
You could only grin at him as you began to redress, pulling your top over your head and smoothing out your shorts. “You could say that, but were you really complaining? You got to fuck me in a gym,” you countered, his cheeks glowing pink at your statement and turning away from you.
“It was very fun, I’ll admit that, I just hope that no-one has to look at the cctv cameras unless they really want to enjoy a show,” Soonyoung chuckled, wrapping an arm around your shoulders as you walked out into the cool night breeze.
#seventeen#seventeen scenario#seventeen smut#seventeen soonyoung#seventeen hoshi#seventeen imagines#kwon soonyoung#soonyoung#hoshi#hoshi smut#soonyoung smut#svt#svt smut#svt imagine#kpop#kpop smut#kpop imagine#kpop scenario
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Always You
(Peter Parker/Spider-Man x Stark!Reader)
Chapter 01
A/N: this is set during Homecoming (and eventually FFH) in a universe where Tony isn’t ☠️ bc we don’t acknowledge that trauma here 🙂 also, there are elements from the comics and the older movies, but it’s still in the MCU
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I never meant to find it.
And I wasn’t being nosy either. It was my dads fault, really. Okay so yes, I wasn’t supposed to be in his workshop. But is it my fault he just leaves important things lying around? Mom’s told him to keep it tidy enough times you think it’d be engrained in his brain.
Anyway, the how isn’t important. Not even the why matters. It’s everything that came after.
It was the day my world began falling apart.
The moment I lost all trust—all respect—for the two men closest to my heart.
Now that I know their secret, I don’t see how I’ll be able to look them in the eye. But I’m going to do it. I’m going to keep my head up, act as normal as possible...
And see how long it takes for them to tell me themselves.
———————————————————————
Three Months Earlier
“I’m here on the corner of fifth and main, just a street away from the reported sighting of a flying man causing panic among the locals.”
Y/N adjusted her fingers around the smooth base of the microphone, her skin slipping against the hard plastic. It wasn’t nerves causing the dampness on her palms, but excitement. Her eyes flickered from the camera lens pointed in her direction to her best friend standing behind it before easily finding their mark again.
“The large, mechanically winged man has been wrecking havoc in New York’s beloved neighborhood of Queens for the last—”
The ground suddenly shifted beneath her feet with a loud boom, jolting her forward and stopping her report mid-sentence. She twirled around, eyes instantly landing on the sandwich shop across the street.
Or, rather, on the man looming ominously from its roof.
She could only assume it was a man. She’d never seen his face—or any part of his body for that matter—not that his skintight suit left anything to the imagination. But the media affectionately called him “Spider-Man”, so they pretty much filled in the blanks on that one.
She watched as he seemingly surveyed the area. It was always so hard to tell what was going on behind that mask, but every time she saw him she liked to imagine a picture perfect heroic expression etched into handsome features.
It made her disdain for the local superstar a little easier to swallow down.
His head swiveled back and forth a few times, fists clenching at his sides, before he shot one of his webs and disappeared on the other side of the building. She immediately turned back toward her camerawoman, lips pulled into an excited grin.
“This is perfect. Come on.” She wasted no time in scooping up some of the equipment laying at her feet, but stopped short when she noticed the apprehensive expression staring back at her.
“I don’t think I’m really in the mood to run toward danger today.” Her best friend’s bored voice didn’t match the concern she knew was brewing just below the surface.
“MJ,” Y/N all but whined. “We need this story.”
“We need to get ready for next week’s debate.” She muttered, mild annoyance seeping through. “We need to be home in twenty minutes so your dad doesn’t kill us. We need—”
“Okay, okay, I get it.” Y/N huffed, tossing the last of the camera supplies into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder.
She turned on her heel, pulling her phone from her back pocket as she moved toward the last crash that sounded a few blocks away. She was getting this story, whether she had to go alone or not. Screw her father’s arbitrary curfew. He was in India for the next few days, anyway.
“You’re serious?” MJ’s incredulous voice echoed from behind her. “What about Liz’s party?”
Y/N’s attention only wavered from the small screen in her hands once she was finished temporarily disabling the tracking feature her dad had not so subtly installed before giving it to her. He didn’t need to know she almost immediately figured out it was there, just like she didn’t need to know that he got a notification every time she hacked into the system.
Her eyes found MJ’s, wide with shock and following something in the sky above. Y/N’s head snapped upward, gaze locking on the flying man who was twisting and turning aggressively in an attempt to kick Spider-Man off his right wing.
“Yes. Very serious.” She huffed, pulse jumping with excitement. “If FRIDAY calls just, please, try to be convincing.”
With that, she spun around one last time before jogging toward the action. She knew MJ’s hesitation was coming from a good place. They’d been inseparable since middle school because they were on opposing ends of the same strong-willed base.
Where MJ was methodical and calculated, Y/N was rash and unpredictable. They were both the type to end up involved in sketchy situations, just at varying speeds and levels of grandeur. Y/N had her father to thank for that.
The iconic Tony Stark was not a pretender. He was who he was, loud and proud. He’d never apologized for it before—not even when he should’ve—and he probably never would. Y/N, on the other hand, had been pretending to be something she wasn’t for more than a decade.
He’d given her a choice when she was old enough for kindergarten. They talked about it, mapped out the pros and cons, and she made a decision. Soon after, she entered the outside world as Y/N Smith. It was the best thing her five year old brain could think of. Plus, she didn’t want her place on the alphabetical rosters to change.
She went to public schools—something Tony never missed an opportunity to mention he hated—and started paving her own way. Right now, that meant she was chasing a super-powered fight through the streets of Queens.
Since landing a highly sought after internship at The Daily Bugle, Y/N’s main priority had been impressing her overbearing bosses. That came with varying levels of complexity, depending on the superhero shenanigans of the month.
She rounded a corner into an alleyway, instantly ducking down when a blindingly bright object whizzed by her head. Her arms shot up in a protective motion as she leaned against the cool brick wall at her side. She remained there, frozen in place with a racing heart, for several seconds.
Something thumped to the concrete only a foot away from her crumpled frame, nearly making her jump out of her skin. She peeked through her arms, still crossed over her head, eyes widening as they landed on a pile of red and black fabric.
The lump groaned and slowly unraveled to reveal Queens’ favorite masked hero. He shook his head, the mechanical eyes of his suit twitching as if malfunctioning. Y/N was stuck in her spot, wide eyes hungrily drinking in every detail they could. Despite following his activity for months now, she’d never gotten this close to the mystery man.
His suit was tighter than she thought possible. It hugged his body in a way that left nothing to the imagination. The rippling muscles lining his torso were clearly visible beneath the thick material. She watched as he sat back on his heels and rubbed the side of his head, shoulders tensing as he seemed to finally realize that she was there.
“Whoa, hey.” Came his breathy, surprisingly high-pitched greeting. He cleared his throat before continuing, a steady hand extending her way. “Are you okay, miss?”
Y/N’s brow furrowed in curiosity, not missing the way his demeanor changed the moment he noticed her. It was like a flip switched. He’d turned on his superhero persona, a process she was unfortunately all too familiar with.
“I’m fine.” The words came out more forcefully than she’d intended, but she was all business now, too.
There was no way she was letting him out of her sight without getting some information. She wasn’t even worried about all the ways her bosses would kill her, she’d beat herself up enough for the missed opportunity. She ignored his hand, dusting her jeans off and hobbling to her feet before reaching for her phone to launch the recording app.
“Can I ask you a few questions, Spider-Man?” She jutted the phone out in front of her, and he took a step back as if the device would somehow hurt him.
The eyes on his mask widened, something she didn’t know was possible. “Oh. I...uh—”
Just then, the ground shook with a massive impact that couldn’t have been more than a block away. It would’ve knocked Y/N right off her feet if it weren’t for the gloved hand that shot out to stabilize her.
“Gotta go!”
By the time his hasty goodbye met her ears, he was gone. It took about ten seconds for Y/N to process what just happened before she took off running in the same direction he’d swung in. She was too far in to give up now. At this point, she’d settle for some shaky footage of the fight. It’d be enough to satisfy her editors for a few days.
She ran out in the street, stopping abruptly as a stampede of people swarmed her. Elbows and shoulders rammed into her sides as she tried fighting her way through the panic.
“Oh, come on people! Chill the fuck out!” She found herself shouting to deaf ears.
Maybe it was because she grew up immersed in the superhero way of life, or her bordering on unhealthy need to get some kind of story tonight, but either way she was aggravated by the public reaction more than anything.
She was rarely scared anymore, even when faced with imminent danger. Admittedly, she didn’t have a good gauge for when she might be getting herself into trouble. Another thing she blamed her father for.
Her eyes remained trained on the sky, watching the fight unfold in mid-air. She cringed as Spider-Man nearly fell off the homemade-looking flying suit. He quickly regained his balance, shooting a web into one of the back engines. It immediately started sputtering as the metal clanked and caught in the sticky substance.
They were going down, and fast. She knew this was probably her last chance to get any kind of discernable footage of the event, so she reached into her back pocket for her phone. It was at this moment that someone decided to shove into her so hard that she lost her footing and tumbled to the ground.
A rush of air left her lungs as she hit the asphalt, hard. She couldn’t help but wince as pain shot up both of her arms. There would definitely be bruises she’d need to hide later. Thankfully, at least she ended up near the curb so she wasn’t instantly trampled to death by the screaming crowd.
She pushed herself up into a sitting position and huffed, wiping away the tiny rocks that were now embedded into her palms. She was about to hobble to her feet and call tonight a wash when her eyes landed on a blueish-purple glow coming from a nearby alley.
Maybe she wouldn’t get any useable footage tonight, but a souvenir would lift her spirits and, hopefully, her credibility in the office. Without wasting anymore time, she stumbled to her feet and ducked into the darkness of the cramped space.
She followed the pulsating light, stopping only when her eyes landed on a small, metallic object. It had a thin silver cage protecting what looked like a gem or rock of some kind. Nothing too crazy, aside from the whole glowing thing. Her brows furrowed with curiosity as she crouched down to get a better view.
She had absolutely no idea what it was, and she’d seen a lot of weird things in her dads workshop. The only thing she could compare it to was some of the alien technology that’d been leftover from the Battle of New York. She’d run a few stories about that herself, plus saw her dad tinkering with some things since Thor took Loki back to Asgard.
Figuring she could show it to him at the very least, she pulled the end of her sleeve over her hand and grabbed it. She let her bag slip off of her shoulder and quickly unzipped it before sliding the object inside.
Just then, the sound of screeching metal filled her ears at a deafening volume. She managed to close her bag before covering her ears and ducking against the brick alley wall. The crowd still surrounding the area screamed in horror.
She watched with wide eyes as the huge bird-man landed on the rooftop just a few feet away from her crouched form. It was the closest she’d been to the masked—villain? She wasn’t sure—and he was far more intimidating than she’d first assumed.
His glowing beady green eyes didn’t so much as glance in her direction as he slung Spider-Man over the edge of the building, the tip of one of his wings wrapped around his throat.
An involuntary gasp tore through her chest.
It wasn’t that she was worried about the hero. For one, she knew he was more than capable of fending for himself. It wasn’t even that she cared if he got hurt. He was mostly an annoyance to her, his illusive nature making her job way harder than usual.
But if she knew one thing in this moment, it was that the bird-man was the bad guy, and she couldn’t let him win.
So, she did something really stupid.
She found the closest thing that she thought might actually do any kind of damage—which was, unfortunately, an old bike helmet next to the dumpster—and chucked it at the pair.
It hit one of the metal wings with a pathetic clink and all three of them froze.
Y/N held her breath as the man’s head turned in her direction slowly. Way too slowly. Like ‘I’m going to really enjoy killing you’ slowly.
After that, everything happened impossibly fast.
“Hey! Watch out!”
She barely had time to recognize the panicked voice before she was flying. Her stomach flipped and she couldn’t even scream, overcome with sudden vertigo. She pinched her eyes shut the second she saw the top of a building and clutched onto whatever was carrying her away.
If it was the weird bird guy, she accepted whatever evil plan he had. But, if it was Spider-Man, she was going to kill him.
It must’ve only been seconds before her feet touched solid ground, but it felt like an eternity to her. The moment she felt the stability beneath her, she began fighting against her captor.
“Let me go! Oh my god. If you don’t put me down right now—”
“What the hell—ow!”
Once she was free, she staggered away from him with a huff. She cleared the hair out of her eyes and bent over, resting her hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding wildly and her stomach was still doing summer-salts.
She raised her eyes to send a withering glare toward the masked man. “Never do that shit again.”
He stared at her—at least she assumed—for a long moment before taking a step forward.
“What the hell was that? You could’ve gotten yourself hurt.” He gestured wildly with his hands, clearly agitated.
“That’s one way to thank me for saving your life.” Y/N ground out, sounding way more bitter than she would’ve liked.
“Saving my—” The eyes on his mask narrowed incredulously. “You did not save my life. All you did was distract me and put like ten other people in danger.”
She couldn’t help but scoff. “Please. Spare me the morality speech, Spider-Man. We both know you don’t bother worrying about people like me.”
Y/N was all too familiar with how superheroes think. When they’re in the middle of a fight, all they care about is winning. They usually have a bigger mission to accomplish. One that doesn’t concern itself with the lives left behind.
“People like you are all I worry about, trust me.”
With that harsh declaration, a heavy silence fell between them. Y/N clenched her jaw tightly, biting her tongue to prevent the floodgates from opening. Spider-Man wasn’t the only one who deserved her hostility toward superheroes, he just happened to be the one in front of her now.
Instead of speaking her mind, she turned on her heel and stalked away from him. At this point, it was late. The sun had set and her dad surely knew she wasn’t home when she promised. She had to accept that today just wasn’t her day and head back for some damage control.
Peter, feeling his chest tighten with regret for the way he’d snapped, followed closely behind her quick steps.
“Wait!” She actually stopped, something he wasn’t expecting, so he rammed right into her back. His hands quickly wrapped around her biceps as she spun around. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I, uh...”
He didn’t know what to say. This was the second time in one night he’d run into her, but he was still dumbstruck. The circumstances weren’t ideal. He thought he’d lost her earlier, but then she had to go and put herself in danger.
He took a step away from her, dropping his hands and rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. He had to remind himself that she had no idea who he was. Even if he did embarrass himself—like he usually did around her—she wouldn’t know it was him when they saw each other in the halls come Monday.
“At least let me get you home.” He insisted, feeling bad that he’d indirectly kept her out so late.
Y/N pursed her lips, immediately wanting to accept his offer but trying not to give too much away. Truthfully, she was exhausted. She just wanted to get home and deal with the fallout disobeying her curfew would bring so she could get some sleep.
“Alright.” She sighed, pulling anxiously at the straps of her bag. She knew this meant she’d have to swing through the streets again, something she wasn’t nearly ready to do.
Nevertheless, she allowed Spider-Man to walk toward her. She averted her eyes as he wrapped an arm around her back and tried not to let her breath catch when his gloved fingers skimmed the exposed skin of her lower back where her shirt had ridden up.
Warmth enveloped her as his proximity settled in. Under his mask, Peter’s face was burning. This was by far the closest he’d been to his classmate. Or any girl, actually. Not wanting to think about it for a second longer, he shot a web toward a nearby building and followed the directions Y/N yelled out.
Within minutes, they landed on the helipad outside her front door.
Peter felt his stomach drop with realization once he let his eyes wander around the outside of the huge building.
“Oh my god. Is this seriously where you live?” He cleared his throat after squeaking out the question, not necessarily wanting to give away his shock.
“What?” Y/N scoffed teasingly. “Don’t I look like a spoiled rich girl?”
“That’s not—I wasn’t—” He didn’t know what he was trying to say, honestly. There were endless questions flitting through us mind at warp speed.
If she lived here, at the Avengers Tower, did that mean she was one of them? And he just hadn’t met her yet? Or did she work for Mr. Stark? But she was so young. He guessed she could be an assistant or something. Maybe she worked for Pepper? Or Happy? Or, she could—
Y/N rolled her eyes, deciding to spare him the embarrassment of sputtering any more. “My dad is famous...like helped form the Avengers famous.”
Peter’s mind went blank. He wasn’t expecting that.
“Cap?” It was the first name to spill out of his mouth. “Wait, can he even have kids?”
Y/N couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her at his assumption. “He totally can, but no.”
“Oh.” The gears of his brain started turning again and realization slowly dawned on him. He felt his throat run dry as his eyes widened behind his mask. “Oh.”
Shit. This was way worse. He couldn’t believe he had no idea who she really was. Sure, she used a different last name at school, but he should’ve seen the resemblance sooner.
“Look, I know you two have worked together.” Y/N sighed, thinking back to all those weeks her dad was gone fighting Steve and the rest of his friends for no real reason. “Can you just...not tell him about this?”
Peter’s brows furrowed in confusion. Why wouldn’t she want Mr. Stark knowing that she’d been with him?
Either way, he agreed, since he had a favor to ask of his own. “Only if you won’t.”
She gave him this dumbfounded look, and he knew he had to elaborate.
“He made me this suit before the whole thing with Captain America, so I thought he would keep giving me missions, but now it’s been months and he won’t return my calls. I’m lucky if I get through to Happy. He doesn’t want me getting involved in this stuff, so...”
It struck Y/N then how weird it was to hear a superhero talk about her family so casually. It didn’t seem possible that the two of them were in the same circles. Sure, she’d practically grown up with a few of the world’s most famous heroes, but somehow Spider-Man was different.
He was local. And elusive. A pure mystery to her.
“What exactly is this stuff?” She thought back to the weird glowing object in her bag, having almost forgotten it was there.
“I don’t know.” Peter shook his head, seemingly defeated. “I thought it was just neighborhood stuff, but those guns...I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Alien tech.” Y/N said without hesitation, although she wasn’t actually positive that’s what it was. “My dad has some in his workshop. It was leftover from the Battle of New York.”
“How does it work?” Peter found himself asking excitedly, easily pushing all the other revelations from this conversation to the back of his mind.
“I don’t know.” She admitted, looking away from him as her chest tightened with emotion. “I’ve never gotten close enough to any of it to see. He likes to keep me out of things too...”
It was at that moment, as a breath of silence settled between them, that they realized she was still in his arms. Y/N’s face erupted with heat and she quickly pushed herself away from him. Once her feet were back on the ground, they both stepped backward to create some much needed distance.
“I, ah...better get back...”
“Yeah, yeah. I have to go too...”
They looked at each other for a few long moments. It was at if neither of them truly wanted to separate, but knew they had to. It was clear, though, that they’d just formed some kind of connection.
Y/N felt something strange—and wildly inappropriate—brewing in her chest. A certain kind of attraction toward the masked hero she’d never considered before. It appalled her, honestly. It wasn’t like she hated the guy, but she certainly didn’t like him. And she had no idea who he was. He could be eight years old, for all she knew.
With that realization, she turned on her heel and stalked down the narrow entrance to the Avengers Tower, her face still burning. She heard the thwip of Spider-Man’s webbing and knew he’d be gone if she looked back. So she didn’t.
She pressed her hand against the touchpad outside the front door and quickly slipped inside once it recognized her prints. She sighed heavily and let herself fall back against the door, the comfort of home enveloping her.
The peace was short lived, however, as she caught sight of her mother waiting expectantly behind the bar to her left. With a glass of red wine in hand, her knowing gaze shifted from the helipad outside to Y/N’s stiff frame.
She took a slow sip, eyes narrowing over the rim of the glass.
“You’re so grounded.”
———————————————————————
let me know what you think!! should I continue this series??
#peter parker imagine#peter parker smut#peter parker#tony stark#mcufam#original character#marvel#the avengers#tom holland#tom holland imagine#tom holland smut#peter parker series#mcu series#tom holland series#stark reader
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For the dialogue prompt -- how's about 42?? :]
HOLY SHIT OK IT TOOK ME A MONTH BUT I'VE DONE IT. FINALLY. Life was just happening everywhere, thanks for waiting me out. 🙏
TW: descriptions and references to racist police violence.
The prompt was "I'm only here to establish an alibi." I was totally stuck--what could be blamed on Frank that he wouldn't have actually done? Canonically to the comics (though I commend the show for not giving a flying fuck about whether Frank went after glorified DHS cops who were dirty) the only things Frank won't touch are bystanders, cops, and active duty military.
And then I had it. Because 2020 has been A Year and I'm still processing some shit. So, here we go.
-Stellar
************************************
The door rattles under a succinct knock at 2:45 am—just when Karen had been so close to falling asleep, caught in that limbo of vague consciousness and wandering thoughts just on the cusp of falling into dreams. So, it’s with more irritation than concern that she drags herself out of bed after the second round of door-bludgeoning. It being post-closing time on a Friday—well, Saturday now—she's fairly confident what she’ll find through the peephole will be a drunk neighbor with the wrong apartment. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor, probably, the last.
A cautious look through the peephole does not reveal one of her gregarious bar-hopping neighbors though, but a still figure; hood pulled close around his face to shadow shifting eyes that look black as ink in the low, shit light of the apartment hallway. Frank has a lovely mouth, but it’s set now in a tense line. Karen’s heart picks up speed, a fullness in her chest and a pressure in her veins—middle of the night, tense Frank is never a good sign. Though he doesn’t seem to be bleeding from anywhere, which is more than can be said for some of his other visits.
She undoes the door chain, and she’s quietly but earnestly asking “what’s going on?” before she even has the door open wide enough for him to see her face.
“Nothing.” He says, voice rough and low, but calm. “I just need someone to know it’s nothing.”
He looks askance, looks at her. She allows herself a sigh.
“What does that even mean, Frank?”
He shifts his weight and looks at her from under the shadow of his hood.
“I’m only here to establish an alibi.”
“Because you didn’t do something, or because you did?”
“Didn’t,” he says, and she believes him. She always does. It’s one piece of why he’s so dear to her: Frank never lies to her, and she never lies to him.
“This should be interesting,” she says, and opens the door far enough for him to step through. When she’s closed it behind him she asks if he’d like a drink. He answers without looking her in the eye, mind working on something else far away from her little apartment—he asks for his usual, of course. Only Frank would suggest coffee this near to 3:00 am.
“Not sleeping tonight?” she asks. He shrugs one shoulder.
“Guess not.”
“Uh-huh. So you didn’t do anything, but you’re pulling an all-nighter in my apartment? I’m going to need an explanation here soon, Frank.”
He hovers beside the hutch that acts as her kitchen island without looking any more settled than he had out in the hall. His jaw works for a moment before he answers.
“I don’t know how much you want to know. Let's just say I ran into someone with a mission about like mine and I’m giving her space to work.”
“Oh. God. A Punisher copycat? Jesus, Frank. The law turns a blind eye to one of you, I doubt you’ll get away with two.”
“Nah,” he says, “nothing like that. I’m it. This is a one-time thing—lady's got some things to get out of her system. I only found out because she was after the same supply chain I was.”
“Supply chain?”
“Ammo,” he says flatly. Karen holds her next blink a little too hard and a little too long. But he is what he is—she accepts that again every time she opens her door to him—and she doesn’t comment except to ask:
“Who is this person after that you aren’t?”
“It’s probably better you don't ask. If someone comes sniffing after me about it you should be able to say you didn’t know anything.”
“So if one of your Homeland ‘friends' shows up to see if you’re testing their good graces what do I tell them, then? That you just showed up at three in the morning for a chat? No one is going to buy that.”
He shifts, not quite shrugging, looking off into space with the raised eyebrows of feigned innocence.
“Just say I saw your light on, came to say hi.”
“Right. And you were walking around Hell’s Kitchen to see my light on in the first place because . . .?”
“Couldn’t sleep. Hoping maybe if I tried my luck with a walk I’d find you up.”
Karen sighs, turning away to pour his coffee. She’s made it thick as hot asphalt for him, in part because she knows he likes that, in part because she’s so damn tired she’d lost track of how many grounds she was piling into the coffeemaker. Frank takes the mug she offers him with a low “thank you.” And sure enough, after a sip, he smiles.
“You always make my kind of coffee,” he says.
“It’s an easy recipe,” she says, leaning over the counter opposite him, “just make it so no sane person would drink it.”
He laughs, a very short, low sound that rumbles in his chest and rasps in his throat.
“Dare I ask what you were actually in the neighborhood for?” She asks. “If insomnia is your alibi?”
“Probably shouldn't. Let’s just say I had a meeting.”
Karen quirks an eyebrow, conveying as much skepticism with the look as she can.
“Meeting as in you’re probably accessory to whatever it is this friend of yours is doing?”
“Something like that, yeah.”
Karen fixes him with her best piercing journalist stare. He drinks his coffee. They stalemate that way in silence for a minute or so before he meets her eyes and speaks.
“There are some things I don’t touch,” he says. “People doing their jobs, following shit orders and shit training and fucking up in the process—shit I’ve done, Afghanistan . . . I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. Would be a hypocrite. It’s not my place. And I guess you could call it self-preservation, too. Doesn’t mean I don’t think about it, though.”
“Think about…?”
He takes a long drink, eyeing her over the top of the mug, making some calculation she can’t guess at.
“You know any Latin?” he says finally. “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes mean anything to you?”
It does, and for a moment, she’s sure her heart has stopped.
“Oh, no,” she says. “Who watches the watchmen. Tell me this is what I think it is.”
“I’m not telling you anything, don’t worry.”
“Frank,” she hisses. She doesn’t need his sarcasm right now. She thinks she knows what it could be that he won’t touch and still endorse: with Frank it’s always either war or justice, and every headline for the last month has been about the absence of justice on a battlefield where he could never hope to win. Cops in the city conveniently overlook Frank. He gets the ones they can’t, they have no vested interest in handing him over so long as he doesn’t mess with them. It’s an unspoken arrangement that lets Frank do what he does—and what he does lets him stand to live. Karen knows that. They’ve been over it enough. The police let Frank slip through their fingers and he doesn’t pick a fight in exchange.
But it’s been a long summer, and every day of it has been a fight with police for the thousands of protesters gathering over and over throughout the city. In early June a beat cop—White, of course—used a kind of handheld Taser repeatedly on an unarmed Black man “resisting arrest" for a crime he didn’t commit. Cell phone footage from witnesses made it online despite the NYPD's best efforts, and all anyone saw when watching it wasn’t a criminal resisting, but a victim on his knees, clutching his chest, begging please, please, I have a heart condition, I have a pacemaker, before the cop shocked him again. And again. Until he wasn’t on his knees but prone on the ground, gone still and silent.
The officer was reinstated after a paid leave six days ago. The DA declined to prosecute.
And yesterday, the innocent man, having spent weeks in a coma induced by heart failure, was declared dead.
Frank looks Karen hard in the eye, an unflinching stare that says he knows she understands. She puts her face in her hands.
“There’s shitstorm coming, isn’t there?” she says.
“Probably.”
She shakes her head, drops it into her hands again. She can feel him watching her. A minute ticks by. Maybe two.
“Karen.”
She lifts her eyes just enough to meet his.
“You feel you gotta do something with this?” he asks. It neither a judgement nor a threat. She worries her lip for a moment before answering.
“This person you know of,” she says slowly, “they won’t implicate you?”
“No.”
“And do you know enough of their plan that you could stop them? Tip someone off?”
He takes a long drink, holding her with those deep inkdark eyes, and for the first time, he lies to her.
“No. Nothing.”
She knows it’s a lie. She knows he wants her to know. She could call him on it and he wouldn’t deny it. But she doesn’t.
All she says is “then I guess there’s nothing we could do,” holding his eyes while she speaks, making sure he understands what’s happening here.
Frank nods. It’s enough.
Karen looks away, stares at her hands folded in front of her, tracing the patterns of veins under pale skin.
After a moment she asks, “would you like anything stronger?”
Frank looks at her with cool appraisal that says what he won’t out loud—that somehow, on some level, he helped with what’s to come. And he knows she’s letting him get away with it.
“No thanks,” he says. “But you go ahead.”
And she does. She falls asleep beside him on the couch, drunk with her head resting on his shoulder, sometime after 4:30, an economy bottle of wine that started full and is now half gone still out on the coffee table.
On Monday, Ellison will ask her to look into the story of a body found charred beyond recognition in an NYPD patrol car.
She’ll tell him there was nothing she could dig up, and never mention it again.
#kastle#kastle fic#BLM motherfuckers#queensfic#someday someone at Marvel will have the guts to put Frank up against a precinct of horrible cops#and on that day my only request is they let Garth Ennis write it
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Paint Me How You See Me
A/N: Okay, you have no idea how excited I was to see that I had permission to write this. I literally am so happy I could scream. Will I? Not out loud. This actually made me so excited that I got up and started walking around my room and smiling holy shit. Alright. Enough of that. I was inspired to write this story by a comic made by the fantastic @venadorosas and I just am so damn excited to write this! I am not an art student myself, but I will do my best to replicate it with what I know. I hope I do the comic justice! Just a few more things before this thing starts: I'm gonna do myself and make this a Quirkless AU as well as make Yuuei a university instead of a high school. This is unedited, so if there are sentences or misspellings, that is why, and I apologize. Anyway, let's get rolling!
Kirishima's POV
One stroke after the other.
Small, swift.
One stroke makes a world of a difference.
So don't… mess… up.
I only have one canvas left after this one, but I'm saving it for something important. Something special. Just need to figure out what.
I mean, yeah, I have others on back order, and Mr. Miyoshi is usually pretty cool with giving me some, but I still need to think about what to do with the 106 cm by 106 cm canvas.
A canvas that big needs something worth being put on there.
"Psst, Kiri--" "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhut," I hissed out through clenched teeth.
"You nee--" "I said shut,"
"B--" "No. Shut. Lemme finish,"
The person who proceeded to pester me, even after I told him to be quiet, was none other than Hanta Sero.
He was an art student, along with myself and several others I know by name.
One of which was Katsuki Bakugou.
And damn, was he confusing.
He was this aloof dude who talked to maybe two people by his own volition.
Some random girl who I see him talk to ever now and again. I think we've spoken twice? All I remember is she told me to call her Tsu.
And then me.
Sure, he'd talk to the professors and people like that, but if he didn't have to speak, he wouldn't.
Yet, he spoke to me.
Not only did he barely talk to people, but he also is probably one of the best looking people on campus.
I kid you not, the first time I saw this dude, I was totally sure I'd met Adonis in human form.
His ash blond hair was styled into a fluffy undercut that I would pay money for to be able to run my hands through, even once. His gauges and helix piercings gave him a bit of an edge, but that's what made him more alluring. He came into class one day, wearing a wife beater, which put a tattoo on full display, resting on his right shoulder.
It isn't just his looks that are attractive either. The way he holds himself, presents himself, just his whole aura is indescribable, to keep it brief.
And he was the person I was painting this for.
This wasn't his first commission. Not by a long shot. And this one was fairly simple as well. Still, I poured my heart and soul into it, just like every piece.
But with his commissions, I feel the need to work that much harder. To push myself that much farther. To make it perfect, in a word.
Now, I know that perfection is impossible, but I still want to achieve it.
I mean, if Bakugou could, I could too, right?
"Kirishima, I've been talking to you for the past couple of seconds and you haven't shushed me. Don't zone out on me right now, man,"
Sero's voice managed to pull me out of this trance, but only a bit.
The ash blond with the scarlet glare was still in the back of my mind.
"What?"
"You need lunch, man," Sero said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Listen, I thank you for your concern, but I had a protein shake maybe six hours ago. I'm dandy," I mumbled, doing a few more soft strokes before standing up. "Plus, I'm not even hungry,"
"Dunno what kind of protein shake you're drinking, but you still need sustenance. C'mon," Sero attempted to persuade me as I walked to the sink to clean the small brush.
"I'm cool, dude. I have a granola bar or two in my bag. I'll eat when I'm hungry," I chuckled lightly, turning on the water and cleaning the brush.
Sero sighed in defeat, as this marked the second week in a row where I substituted breakfast with a protein drink and lunch with a granola bar.
"Alright, fine. Make sure you eat dinner tonight, or Mr. Miyoshi is gonna kick you out again," Sero said, beginning to walk to the door.
"I know, I know,"
"I'll be off, then,"
"Peace out, dude,"
I heard the door to the studio shut, and it was just me in here.
Just me and the paint.
"Hey, Siri,"
My phone lit up, hearing its name.
"Play Rex Orange County on Spotify,"
As I began to finish up some touches on the snow covered forests surrounding a bright red cardinal, the song Uno filled my ears.
The song had no real relevance, but I love that song so much. I dunno if its just because it sounds so simple and sweet, but I just think the song's pretty great.
I'd say after maybe forty-five minutes of doing seemingly pointless touch-ups, I stood back, admiring my work.
Not much needed to be done, but I needed this to be phenomenal.
"I'll just use a simple varnish once everything is dry, then I can move it into the back," I muttered to myself, as if someone was there and I had to be quiet. "Can I finish it today? I could tell him where it is, and wait for the money to come in, I guess,"
A few seconds pause later, and I continued.
"Wow, great job, Eijirou. You sound like a dickwad who just wants money,"
A short sigh, a granola bar and maybe a half an hour or so later, everything seemed dry.
"Let's varnish this motherfucker, and I'll text him when that's done," I mumbled, going into the cabinets, looking for the varnish.
No other assignments at the moment… okay! Cool! I can probably head back to my dorm, chill there, and text Bakugou when it's done!
When I finally found it, I got to work on the varnish.
***
"And sent," I whispered as I approached the dormitories.
I just sent Bakugou a short text, telling him where to find it, how to send me the money (although he probably knows the process by heart at this point) and all that jazz.
My dorm building was in sight when my phone buzzed once.
It was a different buzzing pattern than all the others.
"Oh, Bakugou responded this quickly?" I thought aloud.
Opening my phone, I checked the message.
Sent the ¥321.7K
My eyes widened at the number.
"I sure as hell didn't tell him to send me that much, what the hell?"
What!? The commission was only ¥48.2K?!
His response was immediate.
Left a tip.
Get yourself something nice.
"Whoa," I murmured.
Now, I knew Bakugou was on the higher end of the economic spectrum, but hot damn!
He did usually give me more money than I told him to, but that fact that he gave me that much more this time just seemed to solidify the thought of him being rich.
So manly.
Heading into my dorm building, I looked to the elevators, only to see an out of order sign on them both.
"Are you kidding me?" I whispered. "Fine, guess I'm just gonna take the damn stairs,"
I got a notification, seeing the ¥321.7K was successfully put into my account, and I knew this commission was over.
But at this point, I knew what to expect from Bakugou. Next time I see him, he's gonna ask me about another one.
Not that I mind, not one damn bit. I'm cool with any excuse to talk to him, and I'm happy to please him with my art.
I just gotta brace myself for the next time I see him.
Trudging up the stairs, I began pondering what he would want next.
He seems to really like requesting animals, mainly birds such as crows and cardinals, but will he do something different? Ooh, maybe a peacock! Or maybe he'd want some other winged creature… like maybe an insect? Or possibly he'll switch it up on me.
As I ended up on the next staircase, I heard someone else's footsteps approaching.
Looking up, my eyes were met with a familiar scarlet pair of eyes.
"Oh, hey, Bakugou!" I said with a wave.
"Hey," he replied with a simple nod.
Fuck, he was just as gorgeous as always.
A grey turtleneck hugged his torso, with a black and white pinstripe button up on over it. The shirt was tucked into a pair of black jeans, a wallet chain dangling on his right side. A pair of black converse and a dog tag finished his look, alongside my composure.
"Thanks again for the great work," he said, his husky voice hypnotizing me further.
"You haven't already picked it up, have you?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. "I don't think I saw you walk past me to get to the parking lot,"
"Nah, but I know it's gonna look good," his compliment was accompanied by a smirk.
Short-lived, yes. But a smirk nonetheless.
"Aw, thanks dude! Always happy to make something for my best customer!" I felt myself beam at him.
"See you around, Red," he said, continuing down the stairs.
"Bye," I waved with a small smile on my face as he disappeared down the stairs.
I quickly hauled ass up to my floor, speed walked to my door and slammed the keys in.
Gay panic in private, dude.
Opening the door, I pulled my key out and shut the door.
"I'm back, Omi!" I shouted into the apartment to see if my roommate was here.
"Hey," my roommate responded from his bed.
"Is it cool if I hop in the shower real quick?" I asked, jerking a thumb toward the bathroom.
"Sure thing. Keep it brief," Omi said, making me roll my eyes.
"Okay, dad," I sighed, but I gave a smile to show it was all in jest.
After locking myself in the bathroom and stripping myself down to absolutely nothing, I got in the shower and had a gay crisis.
Because that's the only place you can have those, y'know?
But a good ol' Panic! In The Shower was enough to calm my nerves.
As I stepped out of the bathroom to grab clothing, I heard Omi laughing.
"What?"
"That Bakugou guy really messes you up, huh?" his laughter was thrown in between words, but I knew exactly what he was referencing.
"If I'm being too loud, just knock on the door, dude! Tell me to shut it, I don't care," I flushed, looking at the ground, my hand tightening around the towel that hung on my waist.
Omi just kept laughing at me as I grabbed my clothes; a simple crimson riot shirt, boxers, black shorts and my wave socks.
It isn't like I'm going anywhere tonight, right?
…
Is what I originally thought until I was dressed and realized I left my motherfucking cardigan at the studio.
"Ugh, fuck," I groaned, rubbing a towel on my head.
"Left your cardigan again?"
"Perhaps,"
"You might as well just wrap it around your waist," Omi suggested.
"And risk getting paint on it?" I looked at Omi like he was a motherfucking psychopath. "Hell no. The cardigan was my grandmother's, so I ain't doing shit to it,"
"Clearly, if you're leaving it in the studio again," Omi mumbled.
"Shush!" I whined, grabbing my keys and slipping on my red sneakers. "I'll be back,"
"Okay,"
Leaving my dorm, I began going down the stairs when I ran into someone.
It was Bakugou, again.
And just when I thought my gay panic was over for the day.
"Oh, hey," I said as casually as possible.
Which probably sounded forces as fuck, because it felt like my heart was just about ready to implode.
"Red," Bakugou was looking me up and down.
I don't think I've ever felt more self-conscious about my appearance in my life.
"I've got another request, if it isn't too much,"
"O-oh, okay!"
Why did I stutter?! That was so unmanly!
"So, what is it?"
I looked into his gorgeous eyes, trying to see further into him, but I was only met with his right hand slamming into the wall next to my head.
Oh shit, oh fuck. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna collapse, right here. Right now. I can't handle this.
"Uh, dude? You--" "Paint me how you see me, Kirishima,"
Uh, what?
I was stuck between saying "Got it," and "What?" so my dumbass just responded with this:
"Gweh?"
We sat there, in silence, staring at each other.
My face was flushing bright red, and I wanted to look away, but I didn't. I couldn't. His eyes just drew me in.
He moved his arm to his side, and began to head up the stairs.
Quick, say something coherent!
"O-on it!"
I swear, I saw him smile a bit before he was completely gone.
What was I doing again?
***
It's been around three weeks.
It's been three weeks of planning, sketching, and small, swift strokes.
And plenty of panic, but that's irrelevant. There was a bit of disco, so it balances out anyway.
Mr. Miyoshi did end up setting a curfew on me, to make sure I didn't pass out at the studio, but it wasn't set until it had already happened.
But, since I wanted to work on it after the curfew, I brought it to the dorm, keeping it on newspaper and buying the paint I needed.
I had the picture in my mind, which I did my best to replicate without him genuinely modelling for me.
It was a ¾ shot of his shirtless back, with him looking over his right shoulder, giving a perfect view of his side profile. I also made sure I replicated his tattoo to the best of my abilities, and I think it came out okay.
But that isn't all!
Monarch butterflies lined his back, as a fiery looking echo was placed slightly to the left.
Those warm colors contrasted like hell, compared to the blues and navy of the background.
Just to fuck around with more color, flecks of brighter colors adorned the background, giving it sort of galaxy look.
I thought it looked gorgeous.
And not just because it's Bakugou.
You know how when you make something, and you worked so damn hard on it, and when it's done, you're just filled with pride?
This is one of those works for me.
"Omi!" I yelled about before cringing.
It's 01:35.
"Yeah?"
Why the fuck does he sound like he's been awake?
"First of all, have you been awake this whole time? Second of all, could you grab me my phone?" I said a little quieter.
"It's done?" Omi asked, coming over with my phone.
"I'm happy with it," I said with a huge grin.
"Looks fantastic," Omi pat my shoulder before walking off.
Using my nose, I unlocked my phone and took a picture before putting my phone down.
I just looked at the painting, with Bakugou's slight pout catching my eyes.
I have absolutely zero clue what came over me, but I lifted my forefinger to my mouth, and pressed a small peck to it.
My forefinger rested against the painting's lips, and I just felt warm.
And that was probably the best feeling ever.
I gotta give this to him in person. It's about time I told him.
***
What floor are you on again?
Number two. Room 204.
Okay, I'm coming over.
I let out a shuddery breath, looking at the canvas, which I covered with a blanket.
I need to tell him.
It's time.
I kept opening my phone, making sure I had the song ready to play at the click of a button.
He needs to know.
A loud knock landed on my door, and I jumped.
I walked over to the door, playing the song as I opened it.
"Hey, Bakugou! Come in!"
The ash blond entered, wearing a button up and jeans again, just no turtleneck this time.
"So, I wanted to give this one to you in person… because I…" I was stumbling over my words.
Calm down, Eijirou. You got this.
"Because this could very well be the last commission you want from me,"
This made Bakugou's usual deadpan change ever so slightly. His left brow rose up as his head tilted to the side.
"And why might that be?"
"I…"
Fucking say it.
Spit it out.
"I like you," I barely got out before throwing my gaze at the ground. "I like you a lot. You're just so cool and collected, and from what I know about you, I like it. And I want to know more. I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but I just had to get that out,"
Before I even looked at him, I walked over to the painting, still looking at the ground, and pulled the blanket off.
Everything was silent, except for the music in the background. But even the song was at a quieter part than the rest of it.
I felt Bakugou's eyes on me and not the painting, which terrified me to no end.
Should I have even said anything?
"You don't have to pay if you don't want to or if you don't like it. And…" I took in a shaky breath, looking at the ground, lazily gesturing to the painting and then myself. "If you don't want to be friends anymore, if you even thought of us as friends, then you can ignore me,"
His footsteps were soft, but I knew they were coming. So when his black converse appeared in my vision, I looked off to the side as my vision blurred with tears that threatened to spill.
A finger went under my chin, turning my face to him.
His eyes met mine, and he was smiling.
"You really are oblivious, huh?"
"Gweh?"
Fucking, again?
Bakugou laughed before leaning in a bit, his head turning to the left.
"Can I kiss you as a tip?"
My whole brain has short-circuited, but I turned my head to the right and leaned in closer.
My eyes slowly closed, and when his lips met mine, I was immediately thrown into a state of euphoria.
Holy shit, this is happening.
This is actually happening!
I couldn't help the smile that bloomed on my face as I draped my arms over his shoulders, and I couldn't stop laughing either.
It was so fucking amazing.
Small blazes of tears made tracks down my cheeks, but I didn't care. Unless my nose starts running, I'm not gonna let some tears mess up this kiss.
But, all good things must come to an end, as Bakugou pulled back.
His eyes were on mine, and for once, they were soft. A small grin was pasted on his features, his hands on my face.
"Why are you crying?" he asked as his thumb rubbed at my dampened cheek.
I just felt myself giggle in response.
"Well, I was originally gonna cry because I thought you wouldn't be cool with my confession, but these tears quickly turned sweet," I just couldn't stop laughing. "Shit, I'm so happy,"
We just stood there for a few moments of content silence before Bakugou spoke up.
"So, how the hell am I supposed to bring this painting to my dorm?"
"I can help you bring it up there!" I offered.
"I get to bring two masterpieces to my dorm? Great!" Bakugou oozed confidence as he said that.
"Dear christ," I began giggling again, since that was unexpected.
We grabbed the painting, and I made sure Bakugou was careful with it, but was also holding it properly.
"Hey, Omi! Could you get the door?"
"Sure,"
"Your roommate was here?" Bakugou asked.
"Well, it's his dorm too." I pointed out as Omi got the door for me. "Plus, it isn't like I wasn't so obviously crushing on you,"
"It really wasn't," Omi said, patting my back carefully. "But congratulations to the both of you,"
"Thanks, Omi,"
Bakugou just gave a small murmur to thank Omi.
"Alright, Bakugou, you go through the door first, then we can keep walking," I said, turning us so Bakugou could walk out the door properly.
"Okay,"
After a quick minute of maneuvering, we managed to get the painting up the stairs without damaging it.
"So you're which dorm?"
"302," Bakugou said as we got to his door.
"Coolio!" I grinned.
"Dork," Bakugou snickered at me. "How d'you want this to be put down?"
"We can just rest it against the wall," I said, propping the painting up on the wall.
"Give me a quick sec," Bakugou mumbled, unlocking the door.
He swung the door open and made sure it stayed open.
"Alright,"
"At this point, I'm gonna follow you. You know where you wanna put this?" I asked him.
"Uhm… I think Misumi wouldn't mind if I placed this on his side of the room until I know exactly where to hang it," Bakugou said as we walked into the room.
***
My paintings were all on the wall. The snow surrounded cardinal, the murder of crows, all of them.
Except one.
The other paintings sort of made a frame, with a 106 cm x 106 cm square in the middle.
"Hey, honey?" I called out.
"What's up, Rourou?" Katsuki asked from the other room.
"Could you grab me the step ladder?"
"Shorty," I heard Katsuki laugh.
"I heard that, Katsu! You aren't as quiet as you think!"
"Says you, of all people!" Katsuki chuckled, coming on with the step ladder.
"Thank you, baby," I said, pecking his cheek.
"Of course. Putting up the last one?" He asked.
"Yep!" I said, grabbing the painting I made all those years back.
The monarch butterflies dotting his spine, his scarlet glare, gorgeous fluffy hair, all of it brought together, and hung up on our wall.
I got off the step ladder, and looked at the paintings. Every single one of them.
A hand snaked around my waist and pulled me in close.
"I love you so much, baby," Katsuki whispered, kissing my forehead.
"I love you too,"
His hand rubbed against my waist, but I could feel one thing that was inconsistent with the feeling of the rest of his hand.
A golden band sat on his left ring finger, practically identical to the one that sat on my left ring finger.
A/N: And that's all! Honestly, I'm very pleased with this, and think this came out well! I hope that those of you who see this like it too! I want to thank @venadorosas for allowing me to write a story based off of their comic and for making such fantastic art. If you like my writing, I'm also on Wattpad, so check me out there, if you're up for it. Same username and profile picture. I do believe that this is it! I apologize for the ending, as it feels a little odd to me, I just don't have any idea how to end it properly. I sincerely hope that I did the comic justice. Love y'all! Stay safe and healthy! - Septic
#kiribaku#bakushima#eijirou kirishima#katsuki bakugou#fluff#fanficition#seriously when i saw i could do this i was so excited#holy shit#okay#inspired by a comic#gay#college au#art student au#i also threw in references to the game a3!#because why the fuck not#septic#unedited#so it's messy and i apologize for any misspellings
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Tea Time II (Loki x Reader)
Part One
After eons, I’ve finally completed my second part of this! Thank you all for your past support!
Loki comes to visit the reader late at night to follow up on a certain promise (Gender Neutral Reader)
Nights became lonely in your small New York abode. At this point, you were not just expecting Loki’s fluctuating company, but you eagerly were waiting for his arrival after you had managed to follow through with what he had asked long ago.
Yes, it might have been stupid and a tad artless, but you took heavy consideration into creating a melody of chamomile, raspberry, vanilla and other carefully crafted flavors for the one Prince of Asgard. After many trials and failed taste tests, you achieved in concocting a flavorful drink to easily soothe the soul. You knew damn well Loki would criticize it to no end, commenting on how ‘bland’ it must taste. However, simply having him keep you company was a reward in itself.
You mentally smacked yourself. Pathetic. You were acting like a high schooler, overflowed with hormones and stricken with puppy love. You cursed at Loki from the beyond as well. His unexpected and prolonged absence caused you to grow wistful and yearning for his presence. In all honesty, it was only a few weeks. Yet, for the first time in a long time, you noticed how lonely you had actually been when he wasn’t around. With Loki there, exchanging banter and demeaning your ‘mortality’, at least you had some type of company.
You mentally smacked yourself again. Stop. Get a damn dog and get over it.
You figured he must have been sent on some assignment or mission. Or have traveled to another realm or planet. Probably far and long away from New York.
It couldn’t be helped.
---
No one should be woken up this way at 4:00 am.
A loud thundering crackle, loud enough to shake all of the homes and buildings in your block, jolted you awake, heart heavily pounding in fear. Bright, rainbow colored lights flashed from right outside your window, sending a loud ringing in your ears. You immediately covered them with the palm of your hands, eyes dashing back and forth in utter panic.
What in the world-
The sudden halt of the otherworldly phenomena stopped with an lingering echo, and you swore you heard a faint thud right outside your door. Then, silence.
You could only hear your shallow breaths as you awaited for something.
A doorbell ring.
You remained seated in your bed, analyzing whether you were in the middle of a bad dream or if in fact, someone had just rung door bell in the dead of night.
The doorbell rang again, repeatedly, with much frustration in each ring. A strange feeling hit you. There was an insanely high hunch towards who was right at your front door, and your lips began to twitch at the notion.
You sprang and scurried over to your door, as hastily as someone who had just been woken up could. As you unlocked and opened your door, a familiar sight presented itself. Indeed, this must have been some dream.
“Good morning!”
There before you stood the infamous Asgardian prince, unrealistically chipper, waving his hand swiftly to offer a brief greeting.
A million thoughts ran in your head, mostly trying to process whether Loki was actually standing in front of you or whether you were still having an extremely lucid dream. You stood, mouth agape, unable to fully put together a sentence.
“What? Surprised to see me dear?” He said, smirk plastered on his face.
“Loki?” Loki!” Your eyes became large and wide, as if reality hit you just this split second. “Are you kidding me? You wanna wake up the whole damn neighborhood?”
“Ah, travel through the Bifrost is always a tad loud. Didn’t think it would cause that much ruckus.” He feigned innocence, probably knowing damn well it would cause you to be on your toes.
“What do you want? It’s very late.” You asked while rubbing your eyes.
“Why are you always so rude, aren’t you going to invite me in?” His arms were crossed while he tapped his foot irksomely.
“Oh, pardon me, I usually don’t have multidimensional teleportation bullshit things wake me up at 4 AM!” You whispered loudly.
“Well, aren’t you glad I woke you up early then?” His smug tugged at you gruesomely. Loki nonchalantly made his way into your doorway, taking in the scowl on your face with much satisfaction.
“What can I possibly do for you at this time of the night?” You retorted sardonically, locking your door behind you.
“Ah, just thought I’d had a quick stop to wind down before I have to return to report to that fool Stark. As much as it is assuring these Avengers aren’t going to throw me prison, its a bore having to be around them.”
Loki comically flopped himself onto your couch, kicking his legs up onto your coffee table in total comfort. Who’s being rude again?
“How tragic.” The sarcasm was deep in your response. “So instead of following through with your community service you wanna play hooky with a half-awake human.”
He wagged his finger towards you. “Not just that. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your little promise to me.”
Of course you knew exactly what he was insinuating, but you weren’t willing to admit you had waited day after day once you had completed your stupid little tea project.
“What are you on about?” You feigned.
“Don’t jest with me (Y/N), I know you’ve prepared something for me.”
This was something new to you. In the number of times Loki had come to invade your privacy he never displayed this level of playfulness. His voice was sugary sweet and it traveled through the air and into your heart. Magic perhaps, or maybe he was just messing with you.
You sighed. “Give me a bit so I can boil some water. But after that, you need to let me sleep.”
“Oh, and some pastries or sweets would be nice as well.” He hummed, leaning on your sofa and placing his hands behind his head.
You felt your eyebrow twitch. “You want me to rub your feet as well?”
“That won’t be necessary at all dear. Perhaps till next time.”
You rubbed your temples, again, attempting to piece everything together and understanding just what the God demands of you. Firstly, because you were beyond irritated at his bold assumption you’d be waiting hand and foot for his arrival even in the dead of night. Secondly, because he assumed right.
“You literally traveled at light speed just to bother me I bet.” You muttered, making your way into your kitchen to just do exactly what he had expected.
---
You meticulously placed a small spoonful of the mixture of dry leaves in a strainer, plopping it accordingly in a teacup of steaming water. For a minute, you lost yourself watching the flavors seep out into the water, stuck on the thought of how Loki had literally just returned from outer space, possibly from another planet or realm.
And his first stop was here, your home.
You understood how vulnerable Earth had become, and how other worldly threat could literally happen at any point. You supposed part of the ‘responsibility’ Loki had on Earth was to ensure it, along with the other realms, were in balance and safe from harm. The details would still perplex you, but it was better to leave that to the actual super heroes.
However, the thought of Loki traveling far, far away to face danger and risk his life bummed you out completely. It sucked, but he had managed to become at least a little something to look forward to during these past months. The loneliness was becoming incredibly overrated, and a part of you felt Loki was just as lonely too.
“Someone in your thoughts?”
You slightly jumped as Loki intruded on your thought process.
“Uh, no. I’m just still half-asleep. No thanks to you.”
“Ah, I was actually thinking you had fallen asleep over here in your kitchen. You were taking a while.” He said as a matter of fact, seating himself in one of your kitchen chairs.
“You know after this, let’s just make a house rule to have no visits anytime after 10pm, hows that?” You grumbled, knowing your irritation only fueled him even further.
He chuckled. “Very well, you have my word.”
You set the tea steaming cup on your small serving tray, along with some expired graham crackers you managed to dig out from the back of your cupboard.
“M’lord.” You bowed absurdly, kneeling in front of the prince and offering him his second rate tea and stale crackers.
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t appreciate the satire here. But thank you my loyal servant.”
The moment of truth. You sat across the table from him, watching closely, ready to expect the absolute worse to happen. You were actually a little proud of what you had developed for him, and it would have made your entire day (morning?) if he ended up enjoying it.
You twiddled your fingers under the table, watching the God take a gently sip of the warm drink. You inched in even closer, your eyesight focusing on any notable sign of disapproval on his face, maybe on his eyebrows or on his lips. You felt your heart beat slightly increase, the adrenaline waking you up. What was this feeling? Anxiety. Dread. The worst of the worst would absolutely happen.
He looked up at you and almost spat out his tea. Not because it tasted horrible, in fact, it was quite good, but because you looked like a lunatic with your eyes wide open and hair frizzed up, and a look of extreme concentration even he couldn’t match. You looked ridiculous. It was hilarious, indeed.
He coughed, holding back his laughter. He could have almost choked and died, but was able to swallow before any other damage could be done.
“(Y/N), you can’t look at me like that.”
You pouted, all the energy dropping from your face. “If you don’t like it you don’t gotta be mean about it.” You swore you were about to cry.
“No, no. It’s not that.” He said hesitantly, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. “It’s just you...look absolutely deranged watching my every move.”
You furrowed your eyebrows. “Oh, pardon me. I usually spruce up before I’m scared awake at 4 in the fucking morning.”
He wagged his finger at you. “No need to use that foul language. But yes, sprucing up would be nice.”
The mischievous and quick witted nature would always best you in some way.
“Whatever.”
Loki took another sip while you mused over the efficacy of having him around. “The tea is delicious, I give you that. Nothing compared to that dreadful stuff you gave me last time.”
You felt your insides start to burn up. There was an immense weight lifted from your shoulders, and you felt a great sensation of what was...happiness. This is what had unfortunately created a longing for Loki.
It wasn’t just about filling a void or filling a space so you wouldn’t feel lonely anymore. Plenty of others had presented themselves to you with prospects to start a relationship or something along those lines, but none like him. There was genuineness in these moments, in his voice, and in these conversations. Sure, he was the God of Mischief and Lies, and this should have given you a sense of wariness with him, but you weren’t completely stupid about it. Loki was as interesting and as real as you would have wanted someone to be. Something like this, sharing tea at 4 in the morning in your sleeping gear, was a moment to cherish.
And he was unbelievably handsome as well.
You both spend a couple of minutes talking about tea flavors and such, comparing your favorite against his favorite and continuing to berate him for intruding in your home at an ungodly hour after spending weeks away without any sort of notice. Loki assured you there was not much to ponder about his travels across space and dimensions. He described it as a dull experience since he had to restrain himself from parting away with ‘protocols’ and such. However, he did go off on a tangent about Tony Stark and his hate for being referred to as ‘reindeer games.’ You admitted he looked quite adorable when he was visibly irked.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you, now that you’‘re here.” You began. You assumed the feel of the room wouldn’t indicate anything more suggestive, but you were curious about it for a while.
“Hmm?” He arched an eyebrow, taking another quick sip of his cup.
“Seeing as you stop by at my home unwarranted for, a couple of times now, am I like, under surveillance by the Avengers or something now?”
This was actually an issue you wanted to avoid. Under no circumstances was it ever a good thing to have the Avengers interrogate you or put you in a witness protection program.
“Oh dear.” He muttered, a crooked smile forming on his face. “Is this of concern to you? I could stop if you wanted me to.”
“Oh jeez! Am I in trouble?” You asked, genuinely concerned. The last thing you needed was Tony Stark and company on your butt.
Loki rolled his eyes. “No, they don’t have you under surveillance. I don’t believe they know you exist at this point, unless I were to say something on the matter.”
“That’s a relief.” You reply. “To be honest, that’s the only thing that has me on edge. I wouldn’t like to have to confront any of them.”
“Believe me, aside from the amazing super human abilities, there’s nothing particularly interesting about them. I only tolerate and put on a facade for my brother, but its quite a chore.”
“Well that ruins the expectations, huh?” You mused, and he shrugged. You both remained quiet for a minute or so, an unnerving question tugging at you until you budged. “Well, now that I got you here, why do you keep coming here?”
He looked up at you once again, his face expressionless and unnerving. You instantly regretted asking.
“I like coming here.” He stated simply. The look on your face suggested you were unconvinced however, and he continued. “Not a lot of people particularly enjoy my company. This much should be obvious to you.” He replied, some seriousness in his voice.
“Hmm. Well, believe or not, I actually happen to enjoy your company despite the stress you put me through.”
This was true. You shamelessly admitted to yourself a long time ago. You’d never blatantly voice this out to him, but you realized Loki wasn’t stupid, and he probably knew very well you were attracted to him. What he thought of this however? You were terrified to even think about it.
Still, for him to keep showing up to simply drink your makeshift tea? There was a speck of hope within you that, he too, actually enjoyed your company as well.
“Is that so?” He asked devilishly. “Truly a mistake on your part then.”
You shrugged casually. “Maybe so, still haven’t been proven wrong either.”
Loki leaned his back towards the back of the chair, his arms crossed over his chest, and wicked smile cast over his lips.
“You might want to hold onto those words, human. Not wise on your part to act so comfortably around the God of Mischief.”
“Hmm. Maybe so.” You replied playfully. “Not wise on your part then to be hanging with a human.”
You weren’t exactly sure what you meant by this, but you wanted to beat him at his own wits somehow. He was right despite everything thought. It wasn’t wise on your part to be spending time with him in such an intimate setting.
Right?
“This is true. Yet, I happen to like you unlike most humans.”
Okay. This was an answer you we’re not expecting. Literal record scratch. And to your displeasure and Loki’s ego, you showed it naturally on your face. Cheeks bright red and lips quivering.
Loki’s eyes widened with a suggestive sparkle, teeth bared widely at the anticipation. You knew you had royally fucked up now.
“Oh! Now I see! Does this human perhaps have a fancy to me?”
Oh god. Oh fuck.
Oh dear lord.
You groaned loudly, burying your face into your hands knowing you weren’t capable of looking at him straight in his face anymore. Everything had been spread out openly.
“You need to stop, and leave right now. This isn’t fun anymore.” You muttered through your fingers.
Your ears caught a low chuckle coming from his chest. He had caught you, and there was very little chance of survival now.
“Oh, but it is very, very fun for me. I am just thrilled at the possibilities now, my dear (Y/N).”
You swore there must have been some type of spell he had cast on you. The mention of your name, with the enhancement of dear before it, simply dripped with some type of cruel teasing and seduction. And being a human as such, it felt horribly irresistible.
It made you feel like an absolute fool.
“Why would you even say something like that to me?” You whispered softly, a hint of resentment in your voice. You cursed at your heart for beginning to spasm out of control.
You continued to hide your face in your hands, shutting your eyes tightly, wishing this was all still a very distressing dream. You heard shifting, the scraping sound of a chair moving across the linoleum, and the padding of footsteps coming towards you.
You felt long, slender fingers circle around your fists and then grip them softly. Loki’s hands felt cold, but welcoming at the same time. He tugged at them, urging you to pull your hands away from your sheepish face. You wanted to pull against him, hide in your shame forever, have him leave and never return from outer space. This was the best case scenario, but there wasn’t a way for you to avoid this in its entirety. You gave in however, and allowed his hands to pull yours away.
“Human, look at me.”
You opened your eyes, squinting at the brightness in your kitchen, and then fully focusing on him. He was there, his face only inches away from your own, close enough to feel the heat coming from yours. His deep eyes looked rightly into yours, and for the first time you noticed his eyes were in fact not blue, but a beautiful emerald green.
For a moment, you imagined your lips on his.
“Something tells me you’ve been battling with yourself about this matter.” His voice was low and soft.
Your eyes veered off to the side, refraining from looking at him again and resisting the temptation to say something foolish. “Maybe. Don’t flatter yourself.”
"Hmm?” He hummed quizzically. “I am quite flattered however. Usually it’s my brother who woos most of the Midgardian horde. Finally, someone has a more refined taste in men.”
“I can’t believe this is what you’re getting out of this.” You chuckled, slowly pulling your hands away from his. You figured you couldn’t continue hiding it for any longer, so might as well tread through it boldly.
“This can’t continue being unaddressed however. So naturally, I need to take care of this matter.” He mentioned, rubbing his chin in deep contemplation.
“Say what-”
“Ah. Wait.” He interrupted, putting a finger on your mouth to shush you. “Hmm. Bare with me, this is new territory I’m stepping in. I don’t want to, uh, how do you say, ruin the moment?”
You smacked his hand away. “Hey seriously, don’t play this game with me if you’re taking it as a joke. That’s just cruel.”
You didn’t need this, for Loki to take this so non-nonchalantly and play you for an idiot. What a terrible way to take advantage of your vulnerable position.
He furrowed his eyebrows at you. “Why would I take this as a joke? You know just because I am mischievous like the texts say, doesn’t mean I can’t comprehend matters like this.”
“Because.” You paused, holding back the wave of dread hitting you. “I know...there’s like...no chance.”
There it was. The cruel reality.
Loki, prince of Asgard was a God. He has lived for over a thousand years, traveled a myriad of realms and worlds, encountered incredible foes and adversaries. Loki, master of magic and combat, trickster and genius. Loki, no men were like him. And no human could ever reach towards him.
“What in the Nine Realms are you on about?”
You sighed. “You know what I mean. And for real this time, I think you should leave.” And never ever come back.
You heard a disapproving tsk come from him, but you knew yourself better than to continue hoping for the unimaginable. It wasn’t you being a mope or giving up easily, but just being realistic and safe in the manner. Maybe you could continue as friends in some way, which would give you enough time to bury away any unwarranted feelings. Loki was trouble, and in a whole other playing field.
“I’ll walk you to the door.” You began to pull yourself upwards from the chair, oblivious to the large, gold and horned helm flying straight down on your head.
THUNK
You jolted back down, almost losing balance from the chair. You turned immediately upwards, and your arms and hands jolted up to feel the object now placed on your head. It was heavy, made of metal,cold, and there were two very familiar protruding horns coming out the front side. This was unmistakably...
“Jesus Chri- what is this!” You screeched.
Loki crossed his arms, a very amused look appearing all over his face. “My helm of course. You are borrowing it.”
You shot him a rather nasty look. “Come again?”
“You heard me. Since you want me to leave, I will. But since you’re borrowing this, just know I’ll need to come back for it.”
You took a moment yet again to put all the words together and process what came out of his mouth. Your head wobbled however, the weight of the helm preventing you from forming a concise thought pattern.
“Uh...fine.”
You took off the golden helm, placed it on the table and guided him towards the door. You averted your gaze as much as you could, holding against any little temptation to say or do something completely thoughtless and stupid. The thought remained in the air despite this, and there wasn’t anything definitive answer about what had been discovered. Loki knew you really liked him now, and he would more than likely milk it as much as he could. Was this reciprocated however? Who knew.
“Thank you again for the hospitality. Please do take care of my helm for me, it holds some sentimentality.” He placed his hand over his chest, causing you to roll your eyes far into your head.
“I can’t promise anything.” You retorted, opening your door and motioned outwards. “Now, please leave so I can wallow in misery alone.”
“It wasn’t all that bad, don’t be dramatic.”
“Easy for you to say, your feelings weren’t entirely exposed today.” There was bitterness in your voice. Not towards him, but towards yourself. There must have been a better way to have handled this, and yet, this was bound to end with a sour taste in your mouth.
Stupid, stupid, stupi-
The same slender, cold hands holding your wrists earlier now cupped your face tenderly, and they pulled you upwards and close towards the pair of pale and thin lips you had been admiring from afar the entirety of the time. Desperately, you pushed against Loki, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him even closer to you. Your lips were severely hungry and they became too excited, asking for more. You both exchanged exasperated kisses back and forth for what seemed like eternity, until he halted and hesitantly pulled away.
“Not so eagerly yet.” He said lowly in huffs. His eyes were glued to yours, which had become watery and hazy. “Savor it for a bit more. I promise it’ll be worth it.”
A whine escaped your mouth. “Don’t stop.”
He chuckled and savored the moment for himself. “If I don’t stop, I won’t be able to control myself. Like I said, I don’t want to ruin it.”
You bit your lip, wanting to give in fully into the experience, but you listened instead. He was right. You both would be moving too quickly without looking at the situation from afar. You slowly released your grasp around him, edging backwards to ensure you wouldn’t jump all over him involuntarily. Maybe it would have been better if he had never kissed you at all.
“What now?” You asked.
“You’ll wait until I return, and perhaps we’ll talk about this to clarify some things.” He placed his hand on your cheek, squeezing it gently. He felt you lean into it and slowly pulled his hand back, leaving you wanting even more.
“You’re going to be away for weeks again.” You complained.
He smirked. “Did you miss me?”
“I’m not gonna give you the satisfaction of answering that.”
He flicked your forehead. “Stupid human. I won’t be gone for too long, I promise.”
And for the first time throughout the whole night, you beamed. A smile formed over your face, as authentic as Loki could ever imagine it to be. One could have argued you both complicated things even further by taking it to this extent. There would always be some negative implications with forming a relationship with a super, or in this case, a being from another world. But this was shoved far into the back of your head, and Loki’s as well. For now, it was all about enjoying the present and whatever time you both could forge together. You felt happy with Loki, and he began to feel a new sense purpose within him.
#loki#loki of asgard#loki x reader#loki x (y/n)#loki odinson#loki x you#loki (mcu)#loki fanfiction#loki fanfic#loki imagine
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What medium best expresses Sonic’s character?
Right, so this is a bit of a detour from the typical Hazbin Hotel posts I’ve been making, but I really did a heck-ton of work to come up with this. Then again, I type overly long paragraphs as a hobby, so jokes on anyone who thinks I don’t do this for fun... but then again... jokes on me for making the time to type Hamilton-esque essays on fictional characters ._.
Okay enough with tangents, this is an essay dedicated to answering what medium -- songs, scenes, cartoons, maybe even a comic issue -- best encompasses Sonic’s character. Take in mind, throughout the 29-almost-30 years of Sonic, there have been many iterations and takes on the character that either differentiate on a minor level, or to the point that some Sonics when compared seem to be starkly different characters altogether, so this is purely what I feel is the best take on Sonic’s character.
For my sake, I’ve sworn off including material that require a long-winding read through some mediocre storylines -- nothing personal, Archie Comics. I won’t be covering Archie Comics because I’ve yet to finish reading all 200+ comic issues because that’s not humanly possible for me. If I ever manage to though, I might make a post about Archie Comics in some way. For now, here’s my personal essay on “What medium best expresses Sonic’s character”
Starting off with shows...
Sonic SatAM (1993) and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) are products of their time, and I never got to watch them when I was young, so I hold no sentimental nostalgia. Sonic SatAM seems in-line with Archie Comics, with the Freedom Fighters plotline and the infamous Sonic mohawk with lasted for a significant amount of issues. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog was pretty comical and lighthearted in comparison. Both were voiced by Jaleel White, had the same artstyle, and established Sonic’s character in vastly different tones. It’s rather outdated as Sonic has lived past the 90s for 20 years, where he got revised and reinvented to suit the decades. So both characterizations are simply inapplicable to Sonic’s character.
2003′s Sonic X worked off of the newly reinvented Sonic and paved way for Sonic’s personality for the following years, but I do have critique over the show, and their execution of Sonic’s character.
Though they did provide Sonic's "constant desire to run", he lacked soul and the over-the- top nature of his character. Sonic throughout this show displayed a rather hollow connection with his relationships, was as distant and aloof as Knuckles for seemingly no reason, lacked much depth and barely developed, and was overall, very poor with communicating his thoughts and actions -- which ultimately led to a number of plot lines where his friends and/or authorities saw his intentions as malicious or even evil.
Sonic is hyperactive and free-spirited -- something this show doesn't fail to display -- but Sonic lacked his heart. Where was that desire to hang out with his friends? Where was the underlying love and compassion he'd constantly display in and out of battle? Where were his cheesy yet well-meaning impromptu speeches? These aspects of Sonic were sorely lacking and missed when I watched through this series which is why I believe this anime didn’t really express Sonic's character.
Sonic Boom...
...is a lighthearted, slapstick sitcom-based comedy. Very episodic, which is aight, but the the show’s execution as a whole was mediocre-borderline-bad. It doesn't have much elements inherently Sonic-esque -- it's a product of the Modern era, which at this point, doesn’t seem to have good connotations. No worthwhile soundtrack, stunted animation and movement, embarrassingly heavy reliance on overused archetypes/stereotypes at the expense of the characters, repetitive plots that get the THICC layer of frosted sarcasm and self-awareness. Sonic had attitude sure, there was a clear level of disinterest and cynicism to this portrayal -- it was as though protecting people felt like a burden and chore to him. It doesn’t help that this feeling is justified as Eggman’s been reduced to a pathetic Saturday Morning villain with lesser competency in being a world threat, and much rather a constant nuisance to Sonic’s town than anything else. Subjectively speaking, this show's clearly not for me -- even when I was in the supposed age range at the time. Objectively, this Saturday morning cartoon should've been branded as it is, rather than a Sonic cartoon because the identity of Sonic the Hedgehog definitely got skewed and misconstrued by the eyes of newcomers whose first exposure to Sonic the Hedgehog character was this. Ironically, due to this show, I subsequently furthered my distance from the franchise at that age, and got into it much, much later in life.
Now moving onto the songs...
Initially, I considered “Escape from the City”, “Live and Learn", "His World" and "Fist Bump" as good contenders in defining who Sonic is. But through some vigorous looping of those songs, I've pinpointed what they've to offer in showing Sonic's character, and due to my consistent nature of typing overly long arguments about anything I find interesting, I'll be putting each song into its own paragraph -- picking out any significant verses, and explaining why I think each song subconsciously contributed to my thought process that they would be the best take on his character. Afterwards, I’ll finish with my conclusion. (I personally suggest you go listen to each song as you read each paragraph)
"Escape from the City" is a timeless bop, and I will play it in the car whenever I'm actively escaping from authorities in my city. What this song does is use rhythmic beats and repetitive bass line to emulate the constant adrenaline and excitement Sonic feels when he's moving around, it embodies his carefree nature and spontaneity to a T. It succeeds in portraying the energetic, upbeat aspect of his personality as the song itself contrasts the very dangerous implication of being chased down by the government for a crime you didn't commit. Sonic doesn't get enough credit for the amount of cheerful optimism he has -- always moving with a spring in his step, or steps considering the speed part. He brushes off the most life-threatening dangers he has to face and takes it all in with that well known Sonic™ grin. It also shares a constant message of "Live and Learn" (which the song of the same title) -- this is a rather succinct version of Sonic's mantra. The song is very Sonic, but only manages to show his surface level personality. Kinda like Sonic X's theme song "Gotta Go Fast" but it's much less in your face about Sonic's whole shtick. Another thing to note is the element of "escape" is a constant in both "Escape from the City" and "Endless Possibility", which I'll get further into later.
Given that this song was more focused on the primary objective of ‘City Escape’ the game level rather than exploring Sonic’s fundamental character, it's very cool how it just so happened to tie in well with him...
"Live and Learn" was more of a Sonic and Shadow song, so I already kinda figured it wouldn't manage to explore Sonic's character much. The first verse and chorus offers as much for Sonic's character as Shadow's oh-so few lines of verse 2 does. Again, the song only manages to provide Sonic's surface level personality. Reason it came up in my mind was because of the words 'Live and Learn'.
It's a very motivational and inspiring line -- what got me thinking about Sonic’s character in the first place. It's an unspoken rule for him to take life headfirst and live in the moment, and legit the second issue of the IDW's comics reiterates this by Amy expressing that this free-spirited approach to life is what essentially makes her love him.
"Fist Bump" was like my first exposure to Sonic main theme songs -- and I'm still into listening to the song. I realize the lyrics are pretty generic, but it does reflect the general focus of Sonic character very well -- which may further explain why Modern Sonic is much less... developed, to say the least. What the lyrics essentially hone in on are Sonic's loyalty to his friends and his.... unyielding determination?
Honestly, a very generic take for a main theme, and it reflects on the quality of the game if even the music lacked much personality compared to any heroic video game character theme song. Sonic had more personality to offer in his silent protagonist games, compared to this. This issue with Sonic's character barrels down to Modern Sonic retaining his previous counterpart's cheesy insistence to spout improvised speeches and embrace the power of friendship -- though it's definitely gotten out of hand in this case. We need balance.
Making Sonic more family-friendly ≠ Dumbing down what nuance or individuality there was to his character and making him every other generic hero protagonist who quips for 90% of his dialogues.
Finally, "His World", but I'll do Crush 40 and Zebrahead's separately, sort of.
Crush 40 explicitly tells Sonic's character how it is -- his strict moral code, good intuition, confidence in himself, "seize the day" mentality, straightforward disposition, stubborn determination, love for his friends, and fearless risk-taking -- it's pretty lengthy but it does a good job as Sonic's theme and manages to state what it's like in his world. However, the song faces eerily similar issues to "Fist Bump" with it's lack of creative interpretation with its lyrics, and compared to "Escape from the City", it seems more formal and serious in tone which is reflective of their portrayal of Sonic.
I interpret Sonic as a multifaceted character, but when listing out all those traits in the verses and chorus in the song’s tone and format melody-and-lyric-wise, the song makes it appear as though Sonic is strictly a pillar of justice and represents the strong, untouchable hero persona -- which I find to be a detrimental writing aspect for his character. It writes off his personality as second priority to the reputation that would have receded him through the years of defeating Eggman and saving the world -- and subsequently, paints his character in a rather dulled and overly no-nonsense light.
Not saying I don't want Sonic to be serious at certain points, but I think with this song, and this game as a whole, there was some truth to the issue of Sonic '06 being a little too serious. While these characters were well-written in this game e̶x̶c̶e̶p̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶r̶d̶ ̶p̶o̶i̶n̶t, I've had personal issues tied to em:
Shadow coming back was quite risky and foolhardy for his character journey and I believe if it weren't for the great execution for his storyline in '06, his appearance would've been viewed as fanservice -- which is what he's sadly been reduced to now
Silver's character concept as a whole was pretty dark and serious, which again isn’t a bad thing, but with the plot resulting in him seeing Sonic as the Iblis Trigger, it limited Sonic's ability to play up his easy-going, carefree nature since he couldn’t just brush off that accusation with offhanded remarks as that would’ve risked Sonic coming off as insensitive and unsympathetic at that moment. Which is not what the writers want their characters to go.
Elise. There, I said it.
On top of it all, "His World" is pretty slow-going for Sonic’s theme, which I could try justifying by saying it might’ve been a representation of significant growth to Sonic's character -- perhaps the journey managed to shape him into a man (hedgehog) who could spare a bit of time to contemplate his next course of action -- as this game definitely explored a major deviation from typical Sonic game story lines. But, even with that, I still really prefer Zebrahead's version.
Zebrahead's is vastly the same when telling Sonic's character how it is, but the instrumentals, pacing and speed is increased significantly that it definitely sounds more reminiscent of Sonic's musical style -- fast-paced rock and roll. But, I’ve yet to figure out the significance of the lyrics:
Especially when it follows right after "Never fear the fall" -- so you take the leap of faith, but also don't let yourself fall in the process? Pretty weird flow of words there, but maybe I’m just not getting it at all. Point is, what both songs hone in on is Sonic's intuitive sense of justice and a bit of his carefree nature -- since the lyrics from Zebrahead's specifically highlight on Sonic's "leap before looking" nature. What Zebrahead further hones in on is his adventurous and hyperactive qualities as verse 1 and the bridge show. It's a timeless song of anticipation and build-up with good execution, but it doesn't cover the main essentials in what makes Sonic Sonic.
Finally, reaching the song I've found best covers the basics and essentials to Sonic's character is...
Believe it or not, “Gotta go fast” encompasses the defining characteristics of a well-written Sonic -- the title itself is a testament to the his motto and is all things Sonic stands for.
While this refers directly to the plot of the show itself, it manages to familiarize us with the speed and urgency crucial to Sonic’s character and--
Okay, clown time’s over, here’s the real winner.
Unleashed's main theme: "Endless Possibility"
From the get-go, intro already separates itself from the other songs by being freeing and exciting, without being too carefree like "Escape from the City", too orchestral or urgent like "His World", and definitely more compelling lyric-wise compared to "Fist Bump". This tone is a constant throughout the song, and makes it seem like Sonic's the one directly singing -- the singer nailed it with the level of obnoxious and genuine tone to his voice.
This song, like the rest of the other main themes, reflect the game itself. Unleashed is a race against time for Sonic to fight Dark Gaia before the Earth gets torn apart. But similar to the gameplay and form of story, the music is very fast-paced yet unburdening, with hints of inner contemplation, and darkness (or how I like to put it, edge).
The first verse already succeeds in getting into the bare bones of Sonic's character -- he runs, he can never stay still out because he knows that's not who he is, he's free-spirited and will run around the world out of his own volition, it's a form of escape and liberty to him -- and this is what ties into "Escape from the City”. This verse sums up the essential traits to Sonic better than any of the previous songs without letting one attribute overpower it. It refers to his three fundamental traits: that he's fast, adventurous and carefree.
The pre-chorus further expands from verse 1's establishments, by showing the deeper, inner turmoil that pass through Sonic's mind -- “How will I know when I get there? And how will I know when to leave?” -- these are the rare instances where Sonic is found in inner conflict with himself which came out of his simplistic philosophy rather than an external conflict or influence, and it's more of unspoken and nuanced as Sonic never usually calls himself into question for the way he lives.
This showcases that he's capable of processing the long-term effects of living and moving around aimlessly -- constant adventure and freedom might eventually feel mundane, so he might eventually find the destination his heart feels is right for him, so what will he do when that period of his life unfolds, and will this period end the days of adventure and freedom? The possibilities are never-ending, so as always, he'll take everything in stride, and prepare for whatever hits him.
This is what the song's main theme is. Endless possibility. Potential and growth -- which reflects back to Sonic: mentally, physically and emotionally. Mentally, he's acknowledged that he's always growing and developing throughout his adventures -- as there's one thing that no one, not even Sonic can outrun, and that's change. "Endless Possibility" opens us up to the concept of ever-changing development for Sonic, and the possibility that he might eventually reach his unknown destination and end this long-running journey, while also implying that every journey that he goes through and ends -- whether it directly ties into the games or off-screen adventures -- will always lead with a new one. Unleashed encompasses this youthful feeling of change and vigor. Sonic is in his element and is going through a personal journey to save the world once again, but as always, he'll do it with enthusiasm and unbridled drive.
Interestingly, Unleashed feels reminiscent of Sonic X's Sonic but done right. Both have the character mostly isolated from his friends for the majority of their respective stories, but where Sonic X forces Sonic to clean up on Isle Eggbot each episode, Unleashed puts him through a singular adventure that requires he takes care of the major issue at stake while the others are doing their respective jobs or living their own lives. Unleashed's Sonic even has a temporary companion which he clearly warms up to and befriends throughout the whole journey, whereas Sonic X shows Sonic actively dismissing his previous friends to sleep, travel, and adventure for the heck of it -- while they spent a majority of the first season trying to find the chaos emeralds without him.
Sonic being isolated is usually due to situational happenstance rather than conscious preference. Sonic isn't inherently solitary or aloof, it's just due to his ability to move from place to place with ease that he subsequently has to leave his friends behind to confront the source of the problem. It's not a part of his character that he plays lone wolf like those archetypal "cool characters", the nature of what he does and excels at leads him to fight front and center, even if it means doing it alone. Despite this, he still is the sentimental, over-the-top dork that believes in the power of friendship and will go to the ends of the Earth to protect his friends. Which is exactly what he does in Unleashed.
The bridge provides the hints of edge where Eggman and Sonic exchange dialogue in the song, very much referring to the events of Unleashed's intro battle between the two. Eggman essentially tells Sonic to give up as he's actually beaten him -- which Sonic replies that it's not over, that this is just another start to another journey. The lyrics aren't very subtle about what they're saying, but it does a good job in encompassing two key traits when Sonic responds to any threats -- his cheerful optimism and unyielding determination. He doesn't respond to danger with simply quips, he responds to it with a campy but genuine declaration of strength and courage. The cheesiness in his words are very prominent, but he says them with a straight face like he's announcing his battle cry and promise to do what it takes to save the world and protect the ones he love.
In short, "Endless Possibilty" manages to fully encompass the best iteration of Sonic, and humanizes him to the point that I can only really see this as the current best sum up of his character without any needed dialogue, animation, or prior context. This song could just be tied directly to Sonic's overall character outside of the game's plot, and I'd be fine.
#my posts#sonic the hedgehog#sonic#sonic character essay#my character essays#small spoilers for idw#another session of overly long essays from yours truly
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BnHA Chapter 248: Internships II: THE MENTORING
Previously on BnHA: Endeavor asked Deku and Kacchan to give him the rundown on their character arcs, and Izuku said that he was trying to master his new definitely-not-a-second-quirk quirk, while Katsuki explained that he was trying to find “what he lacks” because he is going for 100% completion in his redemption arc and will accept nothing less! Gotta finish all those sidequests! Anyway so Endeavor was surprisingly into the whole mentoring thing for both of them, but then his own son was all “dad I’ve got something to say too” and Endeavor was like “oh shit” and Shouto was like “I still don’t like you as a person or a father and I only came here to learn flashfire from you!” and fandom was like “HOLY SHIT RIP THAT MAN HAD A FAMILY” and Shouto was like “YEAH I KNOW THAT’S THE WHOLE PROBLEM.” Anyways then they went on a walk, and Endeavor told the boys to try and take down a villain faster than him before the end of the winter break.
Today on BnHA: Endeavor and the Rowdyruff Boys take to the streets and fight some crime. Endeavor spends a lot of time giving the youths advice about how not to be so fucking slow, and even though he’s a bit of an ass about it, he makes some strong points about how a split second can mean the difference between life and death in a hero’s line of work. Anyway so he tells Shouto and Kacchan to work on storing up their power and releasing it all at once, and he tells Deku to work on making his Air Force as automatic as his Full Cowl is. They all sit around and munch on some bread, Deku does a bit of monologuing, and then we cut to ONE WEEK LATER and FUYUMI WANTS TO INVITE ALL THREE OF THE BOYS TO A FAMILY DINNER!? Motherfucker why does the last fucking panel have more exciting content than the rest of the chapter combined. Well anyways, at least we’ve got that to look forward to.
(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)
YESSSS IT’S MY GIRLS
is this a new dragon form for Ryuukyuu? it seems like something in between her big ol’ Smaug form and her human form? or maybe this is just forced perspective making her seem smaller than she actually is here. anyways she kicks ass as always and still want to see her breathe some fire
I just realized everyone on this team can fly? except maybe Hadou? but I seem to recall her hovering over some bad guys when using her powers a while back though. I really don’t remember much about her quirk; I’m glad the anime will be getting up to that soon, because actually seeing it in motion will probably help it to stick more in my memory
(ETA: she can release her shockwaves from her feet to levitate! everyone on this team can fly confirmed! well Tsuyu can’t, but her quirk is basically an offshoot Spider-Man brand so it’s close enough.)
moving on! looks like we’re getting some DEKU INNER MONOLOGUE
okay, several things that I like about this before we continue:
look how fucking comic-booky this is. the main character parkouring through the city streets, thinking Deep Thoughts in square boxes? pretty sure this is the first page of every single comic book ever made and I LOVE IT
that metaphor about learning to walk when everyone else was already focused on where they were going to run. god I love me a good metaphor. though Deku, you were technically 15 when All Might actually gave you the quirk. that’s not on you though, that’s on Horikoshi who I’m sure has already realized the error by this point and is probably kicking himself and will write a 10,000 word apology in the volume omake
the fact that SIXQUIRKS!! IS FINALLY BEING ACKNOWLEDGED AS A THING AGAIN OMG. I’ve only waited like 5 million years for more of this, so pardon me if I lose my fucking shit depending on where this is all headed. omg. this stupid manga
anyway!
they seem to have stumbled upon a game of Mario Kart in progress. at least I’m pretty sure this is a Mario Kart character. actually it might be Knuckles from Sonic the Hedgehog
so now Endeavor is MERCILESSLY CUTTING OFF HIS PATH WITH A WALL OF FLAME forcing him to abandon his bike if he doesn’t want to die a fiery death!
Endeavor truly does not give a fuck! not that All Might was any better, punching huge dents in the hoods of cars and shit. the moral of this story is, don’t be a villain. just don’t. because the number one heroes will fuck you uuuuuuup
now Endeavor is yawning and looking over his shoulder at Kacchan and Deku all, “oh you guys were there too?” but not really but basically though
(ETA: oh my god I just noticed the “hit-and-runner” part. have the people in this town never heard of brakes? do they know that red means stop?? also does Endeavor really spend the majority of his day just flying around dealing with traffic violations. I guess technically it’s still New Year’s, so it’s probably a slow day and also everyone is probably drunk.)
god you kids are so slow. it’s because you’re on that social media all the time! and watching all that MTV. kids these days don’t play outside in the fresh air anymore! back in my day!! anyways tough luck you young whippersnappers
Kacchan is grumping that he’s at a disadvantage because of the temperature. I forgot all about that
hey Kacchan I think your best friend has something he wants to tell you there
loool
OF COURSE HE REALIZED but uh, go ahead and spill it anyway if you want. but he definitely did realize. whatever it is that you’re about to tell him
so Shouto says that Endeavor is propelling himself by shooting flames from his feet, and that it’s probably a compressed version of the “jet burn” technique he used in Kyushu. you know, the one he used to fly, and Hawks was all “Endeavor you can fly!?” and Endeavor was all “this isn’t flying, this is falling with style” and we all rolled our eyes
anyway guys. if this is the beginning of Shouto finally learning to fly as well, I will get up and do some kind of happy dance, I don’t even know. do you even know how long I’ve wanted this. PLEASE
lol so Kacchan is all “okay I actually did know that, are you telling me you only just figured that out now” aaaaand yeah. I wasn’t gonna say it, but. Shouto how many times did you sit there and watch Endeavor blast off before you finally said “oh my GOD he’s BLASTING OFF!” sob. IT’S ALL THAT MTV AND AVOCADO TOAST! that noise isn’t even real music! get off your phone and have an actual conversation!
Shouto is so handsome and so good at accepting criticism. what an all-star. please start flying around soon my little Canadian flag
so now Endeavor is blasting off again and sassily hinting at which direction he’s flying off to next. “there’s a major street in that direction”
so now they’re taking off after him
that’s an interesting way of saying that he’s setting the whole town on fire. how do the people in Endeavor’s territory all manage with their daily commute? “almost there boss be there in five... oh hold up... Main Street’s blocked off by a raging inferno, I’ll call you back”
Endeavor says that heroes must be able to do “anything and everything” on their own, which is a curious thing to say in this manga which has time and time again made a point of demonstrating how teamwork gets the job done! I’m not sure I agree with this, Endeavor!
though I guess he just means they need to be able to handle it all if necessary. but I mean, sometimes that’s just not possible. using his own example of Kyushu, there’s no way he would have been able to handle the Hijinks Noumu while protecting all the citizens and fighting off all the other cannon fodder noumus all at the same time. I’m not even sure All Might would have been able to do that. maybe this is an example of how Endeavor still doesn’t have all of this hero stuff figured out yet
lol oh my god
Endeavor that was like four chapters ago, why are you only now bringing this up. act your age
OH SNAP GUYS HE’S MENTORING BAKUGOU. AND BY MENTORING I MEAN PICKING A FIGHT OH MY GOD
DON’T MIND ME I’M JUST WATCHING THIS OLD GRUMP TEACH THIS NEW YOUNG UPSTART JUST LIKE TOMMY LEE JONES IN MEN IN BLACK OMGGGG
so Kacchan is again saying that he needs more time in the winter, but like. Kacchan that’s not like you to make excuses. are you just going to hibernate for three months out of every year and only save people when it’s warm out?? or what
and Endeavor’s saying the same thing
oh shit y’all he’s getting real with them now
oh shit
by the way how fucking dangerous is this town, jesus. supposing that Endeavor wasn’t out here on patrol, what would be the daily casualty rate? first we had that glass guy rampaging downtown earlier, then that motorcyle guy who probably hit a dozen people, and now Tommy and Gina here nearly get run over by a speeding truck. what is this, Gotham City
anyway now Endeavor is saying TodoBaku rights so I’ll shut up
BECAUSE SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME KACCHAN THAT’S WHY! now hush!!
Shouto’s asking if this is related to him learning flashfire, because lest we forget, he’s here for ONE REASON and ONE REASON ONLY lol
so Endeavor says the two of them have to learn how to store up their energy and release it, and how to “condense” their power
you guys I am super hyped about this. not only because BEST FRIENDS PART TWO: THE FRIENDENING!!, but also because this will be the first time Kacchan has gotten a physical power-up in like, ever. (well, AP Shot I guess, but shh.) if he and Shouto are not both flying by the end of this arc then what even is the point!
anyway so Endeavor’s telling them all this technical shit about what to do, blah blah blah, but the short version is they need to be able to go from zero to sixty instantaneously, and release all the stored-up firepower focused into one single point, and to practice doing that until it’s second nature to them
omfg Deku’s so excited
BECAUSE HE HEARTS YOU KACCHAN lol this isn’t anything new, don’t be so shocked. ACCEPT HIS LOVE
though come to think, that really is impressive even for Deku that he knows about that particular technique, because Kacchan created AP Shot back when Deku was supposed to be developing his own ENTIRELY NEW FIGHTING STYLE, which you would think wouldn’t have left him with much time to spare to also keep tabs on his rival and write down his every move. so is his Big Hero Brain just that good, or is this chapter also promoting BakuDeku rights in addition to TodoBaku rights? you decide! but you already know which one I think it is lol
so now Endeavor is giving some bonus mentoring to Shouto
(ETA: why is Kacchan the only one who actually eats his lunch sitting down. these weirdos.)
you guys I love Shouto so much but does he really need it broken down for him to this degree? “son, you know all the things you do to control your right side? try doing those things to control your left.” Shouto: “!!!!” all those video games and participation trophies have fried his brain! too much Instagram! this new generation is going to the dogs
now Endeavor is turning his attention to Deku! but I’m more focused on the fact that they’re eating lunch, because my priorities are just like that
like lol, check out this panel of Deku talking with his mouth full
whole chapter was worth it just for this. boy you’re gonna get crumbs all over your super suit
Endeavor’s asking if Deku can raise his power level subconsciously, and he says he can for Full Cowl, but not for Air Force
so he says the first thing Deku should do is learn to control Air Force subconsciously, and forget about the Bloop for now
and Deku is all “what about parallel thinking” but more importantly, LOOK AT THIS
CAN I JUST GET A WHOLE CHAPTER OF EVERYONE EATING BREAD. LOOK AT THOSE CHUBBY CHEEKS. THIS IS AMAZING
Endeavor says a big part of parallel thinking is being able to do it without consciously thinking about it, and damn he’s right
IT’S ALL ABOUT THAT INSTINCT! also how does he know the man is yawning? you can see him from up there?? DOES HE JUST KNOW EVERYTHING
and he says that once Deku can do two things at once subconsciously, he just needs to add one more thing. damn, he really managed to break it down so that even this chronic overanalyzer can understand the concept
practice, practice, practice until it’s second nature. solid fucking advice
hey everyone Kacchan is still eating. just a PSA
that’s one for the family album. my handsome boy
okay like. it’s a nice speech, but we get it already dude. you can stop talking now and we can move on to something new
so then there’s some more Deku monologuing, pretty much the same stuff he was saying at the start of the chapter, and then Endeavor hits us with this little bait and switch gem
like, the first part sounded almost comforting, and then PSYCH!!!! but I guess he’s just trying to get them all fired up
(ETA: and like, just a few chapters ago we established how the success of these three kids is actually CRITICAL TO THE FATE OF THE ENTIRE WORLD, APPARENTLY. so yeah this is a total bluff. deep down he’s actually sweating and thinking “holy shit they better not fail.”)
and Deku’s finishing up his monologue by saying his maximum speed is doing things one by one. well that’s fine. so now will there finally be a segue?
YAYYYY
OH SHIT YOU GUYS!!!
are we gonna finally get into that TODODRAMA I have my popcorn ready to go!
lmao “and he’s even got friends with him, right?!” ah Fuyu you are the best. she’s so happy Shouto has finally found himself some good pals
OH MY GODDDDDD
HEY WHAT THE FUCK!!!
YOU SON OF A BITCH!! TWO THIRTEEN PAGE CHAPTERS IN A ROW, AND YOU FUCKING END WITH “NEXT TIME, IT’S A TODOBAKUDEKU DINNER AT THE HOUSE OF DRAMA!” AND THEN YOU HIT US WITH THIS. NEXT TIME I’LL JUST HAND YOU A KNIFE AND YOU CAN JUST STAB ME DIRECTLY IN THE CHEST TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU, YOU BASTARD. WHAT AM I GONNA DO FOR THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS WHILE I WAIT FOR THIS CHAPTER OF EVERYONE SITTING AROUND AND EATING BREAD WHILE FUYU PRESUMABLY TELLS THEM THE STORY OF “THERE ACTUALLY USED TO BE A FOURTH KID BUT WE DON’T TALK ABOUT HIM ANYMORE BUT WE WILL NOW!” BECAUSE THEY GODDAMN BETTER
sob. this chapter was basically just a thirteen page trailer for the real meat of this arc. some nice mentoring did occur, I’ll give them that, and I very much enjoyed it. but I’m tired of feeling like we’re just treading water waiting to get to the next big thing! surely all of the set-up is finally done now, right? everyone has their goals established now, we’ve had a mini-time-jump and school is about to start again, and we’ve done our preliminary testing of all of the TodoBakuDeku dynamics and confirmed that all components are firing on all cylinders. basically what I’m saying is we are good to go! ready to get off of this bench! GO AHEAD AND PUT US IN, COACH
anyway guys so here’s a list of what I want to happen at this dinner:
Shouto being all “this is my sister Fuyumi” and Kacchan and Deku being all “COME AGAIN?” because they legitimately thought he was an only child
Fuyu chuckling about how Kacchan reminds her of her dad, and both Kacchan and Endeavor being grossly offended by this
Deku and Kacchan spotting a family photo on the mantel, and Shouto explaining “yeah, that’s my mom, and my brother Natsuo... AND... MY OTHER BROTHER, TOUYA” and then the camera rapid-fire pans to Fuyu and Endeavor and Shouto’s SUPER AWKWARD EXPRESSIONS, before ZOOMING IN ON THE PHOTO OF TOUYA, AND BOY DOES HE LOOK FAMILIAR OH MY GOODNESS
Deku and Kacchan eyeing each other all “holy shit wtf did we get ourselves into” as it begins to dawn on them that they wouldn’t have enough time to unpack all of this even if they had an entire crew of movers on the job. not even Marie Kondo could clean all this shit up. GOOD FUCKING LUCK BOYS
so yeah! lots to look forward to! so I’ll try and be patient. at least we’ve got the anime to keep us all occupied. who’d’ve thought the Basement arc would one day be our salvation. life sure is funny
#bnha#boku no hero academia#endeavor#midoriya izuku#bakugou katsuki#todoroki shouto#todoroki fuyumi#bnha spoilers#mha spoilers#makeste reads bnha#and it says a lot that one of the reasons I'm so sure it's finally going to be That Time#is because out of all of the remaining unresolved plot threads#the todoroki 'our dead brother who isn't actually that dead and has now turned evil' plot#is actually the *least* effed up of the remaining plots#so like assuming that we're going to keep escalating from here#this is actually the natural place to start#and from there we can move on to the child experimentation and afo theory reveals and the end of the world#lol we sure are in for some good times#bnha 248
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Idiots in a Tiny Kitchen
A scene I wrote forever ago about an ogre character inspired by the World of Darkness setting. Under the cut for the sake of the Dashboard.
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Someone was in his apartment. Brock bit back the urge to growl, and focused on keeping his breath even. Let them think he was still asleep. Whoever it was, they were in the kitchen, opening cabinets and making no effort to keep quiet. Did they even know he was there? Granted, he probably just looked like an abnormally large pile of discarded sheets on the bare mattress in the corner of his tiny 'living room', but shouldn't a burglar be more thorough in scoping out an area before getting to business? Maybe it was an amateur?
Carefully twisting out of the sheets, Brock slunk across the carpet, hiding under the kitchen bar. Every footstep and rustle of cloth seemed deafening to him - stealth wasn't his area of expertise, after all. But the intruder didn't seem to notice, obliviously waking the dead as they shuffled through pots, cans, and boxes of pasta.
Brock entertained the idea of turning off his Mask. That would be fun. Stupid, but fun. He'd have to kill whoever saw him before rumors could spread, of course. Most humans didn't pay attention to urban legends and lunatics, but hunters did... Hiding the body, or rather the bones, would be a chore. In a pinch, human flesh was a treat, and money was tight enough to pinch pretty hard lately. Waste not, and all that... Serves 'em right for wandering into an ogre's lair.
But he rolled his eyes as his more rational side spoke up. He'd already eaten two overconfident hunters since his return from Arcadia. If he ate this burglar, that would make three in three years. Not the best habit to form in a human-dominant territory. Someone would notice a pattern sooner or later. The Courts probably wouldn't care much, but it was something of a faux pas, and the Spring Court might hound him for it. Their whole point was to find ways to adjust to human life and to appreciate the finer things. It was a difficult philosophy to reconcile when one considered human flesh to be one of the finer things... Spring also put a lot of emphasis on aesthetics, and for Brock, that was dangerous. Like most ogres, Brock was a sucker for pretty people. But people were also delicious. He hoped this burglar wasn't attractive. That would be weird. He could just picture the unlucky individual partially tied to a chair while they both awkwardly shared a pot of coffee and sorted out this little mishap. Brock would be up all morning arguing with himself over whether to eat them or try to get their number. Decisions, decisions...
Spring had a strong point, though. Most changelings he'd met were human once, including himself. This burglar wasn't doing him any real harm, and Brock was more sentimental than he cared to admit. He decided to let this one off with a warning.
That's when he heard the telltale crinkle of a bag of chips, and the crinkling continued as the intruder began to rummage in earnest. They found his stash and most likely understood what it really was. His apartment was otherwise stark and unappealing to any enterprising thief. They knew what they found.
Time for a big breakfast.
Wisps of Brock's human visage peeled away in dark, airy tendrils and faded into nothing. His clothes, baggy even on his large frame, tightened to conform to his real size as he gained an extra couple feet in height. To anyone who could normally see through his Mask to what he really was, the change in size was all they'd notice. To anyone who couldn't, it was far more dramatic. Tendrils of illusion floated off him, revealing red hide and gold eyes; one in his left socket, and one in the center of his forehead. In his right socket was nothing but a shadow. A pair of horns flanked either side of the third eye, and rows of sharp white fangs peeked from behind his lips. Brock resisted the temptation to sigh and stretch. Taking the Mask off always felt like being freed from shackles, climbing out of a small box, and taking the first breath of fresh air he'd had in ages.
He lunged into the kitchen, dominating what little space there was, and seized the intruder from behind, intending to crush the back of their neck in his jaws. But several things occurred to him at once, and he paused as he processed what he was seeing.
This person was tiny. Granted, most people were tiny compared to him, but this one couldn't have been over four feet in height. They had been standing on the counter, and now their feet dangled in the air as his huge hands wrapped around their arms and torso. They were completely covered in clothes that were too big for them, save for a sparkling pink Hello Kitty jacket that seemed too tight. Their hood was up, and their sneakers were so comically massive it was a wonder they didn't slip off. Cold horror stabbed Brock in the gut. Was this a kid? Had he almost killed a kid? It was kind of awful, the look of his monstrous, claw-tipped hands juxtaposed with the innocent jacket. Brock never suffered any anxiety or shame over being an ogre, but realizing what he almost did made him queasy.
"Close your eyes. Don't move unless I tell you to," Brock warned, his tone authoritative, belying the panic he felt. His Mask took hours to recharge, and now that he turned it off, how was he going to get the kid out of his apartment without being seen for what he really was? Someone might even try to check on him if the kid screamed at the sight of his face.
"Ah, shove it," replied a nasally voice. A goblin glared at him from under the little pink hood, his gigantic ears folded within it, and his bushy mustache quivering with nervous outrage. "This is yer own damn fault," he scolded, waving a bag of chips as much as he could with one of his restrained arms. "Hoardin' like this. It's cheatin'."
Brock dropped Cornchips the Whiner and staggered back, sagging against the fridge with a mix of irritation and profound relief. "Dammit, Chips! One of these days, I'm gonna eat you! You keep pulling stunts like this, and I can't guarantee it won't be an accident."
The goblin dusted himself off and pushed back the hood, his gigantic, pointed ears regaining their natural shape once they had room. "Great. Perfect!" He folded his arms and eyed Brock reproachfully. "On top a' everythin' else, my big, dumbass chump partner tries t' kill me. I should've expected it. Everythin' looks breakable or edible t' yeh ogre types. I coulda kicked yeh awake, but I decided to be thoughtful and let yeh sleep while I cleaned up yer mess! And here's the thanks I get! Now what's the meanin' a' this?" He pointed a little claw up at the cabinet full of chip bags.
Brock rolled his eyes. "Kinda hard to get a hold of you in an emergency, Chips. Sometimes that vending machine ritual takes too damn long. So I figure, why not have it prepped? All I gotta do now is this..." Brock snatched the bag of chips out of the goblin's hand, recited the sacred phrase "Shut up and help me, sir," and popped the bag open.
Cornchips vanished with a fart, leaving nothing, and in the next instant, furious grumbling could be heard from inside the bag.
"Speed-dial summoning," Brock explained smugly, looking into the bag. "Genius, eh?"
"Yeh can't do that, yeh butt-wart!" Cornchips jumped out of the bag, defying physics by not ripping it open despite his size, and landing lightly on his huge feet. "That spell's not a damn toy! Every time you delay it, I get this itch! And you got bleedin' near seventeen a' them spells in that cabinet ready to go at any second! Everyone thinks I have fleas now! Yeh can't get a date when yeh got fleas! No one understands how hard my life is!"
Brock's claw-tipped hands were too big, so he held the bag up and shook a few chips into his mouth, crunching on them as he listened. "So it didn't work out with that spider-girl, huh?"
Cornchips groaned. "Esther's good wit' her hands, up until she slaps yeh. Wit' all of 'em. I never did anythin' to deserve it. She thought I was chattin' up some pixie, but I swear I was jus' askin' for directions."
Brock grimaced. "You can't patronize me, either. It's your job to know your way around."
"An' it's your job to make my job easier!" Cornchips pointed at the cabinet he couldn't reach. "Now get rid a' them things before I burn the place down, an' listen up! I didn' jus' come here t' set yeh straight. Yeh got a big job ahead. Orders from Naomi herself."
The silence that followed weighed on Brock. He was grateful he didn't do something embarrassing like choke, but he still had trouble deciding how to take this news. "Herself? She didn't send no one?"
"Did I stucking futter?" Cornchips demanded, fists on his hips. "Yeah! I'm important enough t' talk to!"
Brock frowned. "What does she want us to do? Steal the Queen's purse?"
"Naw..." How Cornchips managed to look so smug with that mustache, Brock could only guess. "Babysittin', more like."
When he didn't elaborate, Brock's chest rumbled in an uncomfortable growl. "Out with it."
"Let me savor this. I like watchin' yeh suffer."
Brock dropped the bag and grabbed Chips by the front of his pink jacket, pulling him face to murderous face.
"Okay, okay!" the goblin flailed. "Naomi rescued another one from Arcadia, alright? She can't trust the Courts wit' this - she's got too many enemies, even there. You gotta play mentor and bodyguard for this kid - jus' fer a while."
"What makes her think they'll be safe with me?" Brock asked, gesturing with his free hand to the whole apartment. "You broke in without me noticing."
"I'm the only other one who knows about this," Cornchips swore. "An' yer a lowly grunt, Brock. No one'll think t' connect you with someone as important as Naomi's own kid."
Brock released Cornchips with nerveless fingers as a new, uncomfortable facet of the Universe fell into place in his mind.
Landing on his feet seemed to help Cornchips recollect his composure, and his posture exuded a kind of sadistic delight. "Don't worry, buddy," the goblin grinned. "Naomi's one a' Winter's top assassins, after all. If yeh fuck this up, yeh won't have t' regret it fer long."
#ogre#goblin#changeling#smuggling partners irritating each other in the wee hours of the morning#modern setting#summoning rituals involving vending machines#Cornchips and his stupid disguises#Brock sweating over whether he's more hungry or lonely#defective Mask#mentions of eating people
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April 4th-April 10th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive
The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from April 4th, 2020 to April 10th, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:
What is something you’ve improved with in regards to writing or comic creation thanks to working on your story?
carcarchu
Oh this one i can answer definitively. it's 100% lineart. forcing myself to have to do lineart for hours everyday is definitely a way to force yourself to get better at it while i still don't like it it's something that i can do now without being scared about it
shadowhood (SunnyxRain)
Colouring. I had to get really creative in expressing emotion and hinting plot devices with colour. Also got much better with drawing gesture drawings due to looking at a lot of references!
Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)
Either writing dialogue or drawing/painting backgrounds... I used to be particularly awful at writing dialogue. It was too stiff and formal, and sounded a lot like old prose. Now, because of writing a comic and going through several scripts, the dialogue is a lot more natural, and the pacing is more realistic to actual conversations. And the other: backgrounds. I really used to not even draw them at all, and doing a comic forced me to have to think about environments in scenes. So I went from drawing floating characters to having to consider where they are and how it affects the story/mood.(edited)
Feather J. Fern
Paneling! That was my main focus to figure out how to do good paneling to have clearer pages
Deo101 [Millennium]
Honestly? Everything. It's all gotten better and I've learned so much. I would say my biggest improvement is probably in my time management, and art wise is probably composition and layouts. But it's hard to pick because I've grown so much in every aspect!
chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]
Biggest thing I learned was to keep the story small and focused - and that the smaller, more human struggles are much better in creating tension than the whole default "the world's gonna end!" thing. Mind you, I still love a good "world's ending" story, but you gotta make people CARE about the people in that world first!
Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS
ohohohoooo I have done more drawing in photoshop in this short time I have worked on Wayfinders, than the rest of my life! That has given me some skills for sure! Coloring is another one, and generally just efficiency and flow in a comic
Nutty (Court of Roses)
For me it's been my use of color, and getting more confident in experimenting with it to really drive home a scene's mood!
LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)
The clearest improvement I always notice is my layouts - I’ve gotten more adventurous with panel shapes and placement as time has gone on, experimenting with more interesting designs for the whole page. Some of those experiments haven’t been totally successful but it always feels like a worthwhile try. I’ve gotten some really, REALLY cool layouts out of these experiments, and I love seeing how dynamic the panels have become compared to my first chapter. Also speed. I’m so much faster now. Thank gooooooodness (edited)
Eightfish (Puppeteer)
@LadyLazuli (Phantomarine) I've definitely noticed the experimental panel layouts! They're really cool.
AntiBunny
Planning. Book 2 is when I started using sketchbook thumbnails to plan ahead. The luxury of that first draft meant I could rethink panel layouts and how to best express the events happening if I first had an idea of what was happening laid out.
Also digital art by necessity since I switched to digital during the current arc. I was decent at lineart already, but other aspects have really challenged me to grow as an artist. I had to totally rethink the way I create backgrounds for instance. During this time the background quality actually declined a little while I got used to a new method, but experience has improved my skills greatly as I force myself into new methods.
DanitheCarutor
Hmmm maybe paneling, speechbubbles and backgrounds? My current project is my second real attempt at doing a comic, but I have learned a lot of stuff from the community and general art and story tutorials. Backgrounds and bubbles were the worst for me when first starting out, I only read manga before starting so the speechbubble shapes did not fit with how English is written. Plus I've only drawn wooded fantasy settings before making my comic, so using a ruler, figuring out perspective points and drawing buildings was very new to me. I still hate drawing cities and such, but I've gotten a lot better at it and it is easier to do now. Since I mostly stuck with B&W before my current project, coloring also kind of improved? Depending on who's looking at it. Lmao If I were to think about story/characters/dialogue, I have no idea if I've improved. Honestly, I don't pay much attention to the quality. Also my brain kinda says it's all bad regardless of what I make.(edited)
Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]
For my Improvements: I'm getting better at my comic panels, as I adjust to the vertical style. Before I've always drawn the standard format. It's more than just boxes, I try to keep a variety of sizes. I'm picking up roughly how much 'gutter space' I need per 2-3 panels.etc I'm also improving on choosing colors that fits my love of detailed linework.(edited)
OH! I'm also learning about Clip studio shortcuts, how to use the assets they provide which makes the process, abit easier on me. Things I need to change, is I want to get a good speedy coloring style, without referring to my usual coloring.(edited)
Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)
the more I worked on the comic, the more I feel ambitious in making different angles and perspective. So it's really hitting me out of my comfort zone which is good! lol Though I'm trying to keep in mind of my speed, what I feel like I've improved a bit is trying to keep in mind of paneling and dialogue.
FeatherNotes(Krispy)
Process! Space and i have definitely figured out the most productive way to produce content at the rate and quality that also provides us with time for our own projects. Comics are a useful tool that helps you discover ways to better organize your creative workflow for sure!
sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)
I think probably scenery. I used to dread drawing inanimate objects but now I feel more confident in filling in a scene & even look forward to it sometimes. Maybe also page composition and paneling but I still have a lot to learn there
eli [a winged tale]
One of the reasons I embarked on the webcomic journey is to push myself to improve not only storytelling but also utilizing art to create a reader experience that would be difficult to replicate with just words. I’d like to think that 9 months into making A Winged Tale, I’ve improved on deciding when is a good opportunity to invest more into backgrounds vs character dynamics and when should be focused more on sequences of panels and composition. While the comic is written in a four panel format, more and more I’m finding areas where the story could be told by breaking those rules (attached pic). It’s a balance and I hope going forward I will improve more in pushing the limits of panels and find ways to express the story in fun and interesting ways.(edited)
Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]
Wow that's a very good description @eli [a winged tale] I look forward to reading more of your story journey
eli [a winged tale]
Thanks so much Joichi! I’m eager to keep learning~
Capitania do Azar
I'm gonna go with planning and actually getting it done. I'm so much faster because now the process is much more streamlined to me
kayotics
My whole comic was started s an exercise to just get better at comics generally so I’d probably say every part I’ve improved at? The biggest things are probably colors and the upfront planning process
Phin (Heirs of the Veil)
Ooof hard question. I think my main improvement lies with page and speechballoon layouts and writing natural feeling dialouge. I'd say maybe also character acting?
Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]
I'm slowly learning how to create more engaging comic narrative. I read and research in the polished prem webcomics to see what makes them engaging? Like I'm going to challenge myself by creating a series of short stories with a reoccurring set of characters. Every new comic series I create is an experience, trial and error. Sometimes I skip the writeup and just go in blind, trust my own instincts. I'm glad to reach out and talk about it than in my own head. I hope by this year, I'll have at least 2 chapters of Hybrid Dolls out.(edited)
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
I've definitely gotten better at planning/ outlining multiple chapters ahead of time. I did not even do this when I was doing the first 10 something chapters. (I did attempt an outline before I began the comic, but the story changed significantly from the outline by the time I started the comic, and I did not try to do it again for a long while.) I can't remember when I started, but I do recall having a lot of trouble the first time I tried to do it. It's gotten a little easier each time, though. In fact, I just spent the past few days outlining the next few very important chapters, de-tangling some big tangles. I'm really glad my outlining (and overall writing) skills had leveled up, because HOO boy, I don't think my 2014-2015 self could have done this!
I also became friends with enviros. I had already become somewhat comfortable drawing perspective when HoK started, but I had a sort of mechanical approach to it, like "oh I need some enviro for these establishing shots, guess I'll draw them." But now I LOVE drawing enviros! (some types anyway...) It's my comfort activity, something I treat myself to after a long day! In the thumbnails for my next few pages, there's a few enviro-heavy panels that I have to remove, because I drew too many of them (and the pacing got too slow as a result). I have to stop myself from drawing too many of these.
My biggest improvement is probably I've come to understand my characters and my themes much better, but that's more of a "I got better at making HoK" than a "I got better at making comics." There's definitely a difference between the two.
Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]
@keii’ii (Heart of Keol) ah I totally understand I tried the outline method before I start but my story changed alot after I drew it. So it start to feel like a waste of time for me, but I'll still write an outline to make sure to plan where my story heads(edited)
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
Yeah! I needed to draw those first few chapters to understand the direction of my own story.
The drawing part is an essential part of self-reflection, to try to understand what it is that I want out of the story. The answer has always been there in my heart, but I'm not able to see it clearly from the get-go.
Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]
I end up breaking scenes and put them in for future episodes, since I want to get a certain flow in the story.
It could be tricky to see what it is you want out of the story until you are in at least 3 chapters in?
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
I needed way more than 3 chapters -- though granted, my chapters are short, so that could be a part of it
Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]
I see the early first script as testing the water. like a test to figure out the characters personalities. Unless you are bringing in old characters which you knew before?(edited)
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
Even if the characters have been with you for a while, unless I have made a comic with them, there is a big chance that the characters will completely change, too.
DanitheCarutor
You know, I was thinking about about this, mostly about how I wouldn't have been happy if I was able to finish my comic the day I started. Then I realized I'm happy that I didn't. The first chapter wasn't the best, I was just learning how to coloring a comic, still fleshing out my characters and was still brainstorming small kinks in the story. I also still didn't have as much of an understanding of perspective, or panel and bubble layout. Even though I still have a lot I need to work on, I've gotten a lot better in all those aspects. Even though my use of color is weird, I've definitely gotten much more confident in it, enough so that I experiment and take a lot more risks with style. Even though my panelling can be boring, I have a much better understanding of how I want a page to look. I've improved a lot with my planning as well, like even though my thumbnailing/storyboarding only takes maybe 30, I've learned to step away for a bit if I don't like a layout, or analyzing why I don't like it and brainstorming ways to make it better. If I had magically finished the comic all at once, it would look really bad and may have been less readable.
Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]
That is inspiring to hear about your improvement @DanitheCarutor
Natsu-no-Hikari
Chiming in! Just this week, Miko (my co-creator) and I were discussing how far we've come from when we started our first comic (https://liarsgotoparadise.com/) vs. where we are now. I think there have been a lot of learn experiences, such as art, dialogue, general editing - but especially with pacing and character interaction. We regret that we didn't stop to focus more on that interaction, as we wanted to move ahead in the story...and now we can't change that, except to start now and not allow ourselves to grow impatient. Take our time and enjoy the journey - that's our new motto. There's a time to rush ahead in perilous moments, but there's also definitely a time to catch our breaths and let the characters mingle and speak. It's an improvement that will become more noticeable going forward in Liars and our second comic as well.
#ctarchive#comic#webcomics#indie comics#comic chat#comic discussion#creator interview#comic creator interview#creator babble#comic tea party#ctp
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BDRPWriMo Task #6:
Write ten short stories of no more than a paragraph long (can star one or multiple characters)
Sally gets a vision.... sort of.
It came in a flash, a myriad of pictures speeding before her eyes to tell a story, numerous stories. It made Sally suddenly stop at her tracks right in the small space of Hatter’s cafe, her pupils (unknown to her) going fully white. Just as fast, she was back, eyes blinking. Her surroundings became aware to her, the normal hum drum of people in a cafe. There were a pair of employees arguing heavily behind the counter. A woman just entered about to pass Sally. Sally touched her gently by the shoulder knowing the figure. “I would step slightly to the left.”
Rhea throws a tantrum.
Raksha simply wanted a coffee that was all, but nothing came simple with an almost one year old in arms. That one year old was in a mood today constantly moving and making angry mumble jumble. She was squirming uncontrollably, the brunette giving her daughter a stern look. “Calm down! My river, now.” It was not working and at this point Rhea began to scream in tears. She felt the hand on her shoulder quickly turning. It was the red head from the Underworld, Raksha knew better than to not listen. She moved and that was when the coffee was thrown barely missing both her and her daughter.
Dash becomes a hero.
Class was done for the day and Dash had a shit load of homework to do once he reached home, so he did the most logical thing one could do: delay it. There he was entering Hatter’s ready for a good fucking pastry, when he saw a coffee cup flying through the air about to directly hit some girl. With his flash-like speed he was able to catch it before it made a direct hit. Fuck yeah! Except, that while stopping it from hitting the girl (for which he was dead in front of now) the coffee’s content had now spilled all over his arms and that shit burned! “Fuck, fuck, fuck!!” He yelled. “What was in this?!”
Minnie uses her nursing skills.
It was one of those odd days where Minnie was preparing herself to do an evening shift rather than a night shift. No better way to prepare than a nice big cup of coffee! So, the nurse was in her favorite spot for such a coffee: Hatter’s. It looks as though her coffee had end up flying past the counter instead and was getting ready to land right on her when it was caught by some blonde boy. “Someone grab me a cold cloth! Several of those!” She turned to the boy. “I would sit... the coffee could have been hot enough to cause some burns. I’m a nurse though. Thanks for that catch.”
Georgette is very unamused.
Meanwhile, Georgette was seated, laptop open and going over several important documents concerning her make-up line with Gary on the phone. All of this ruckus and noise was making it very difficult to hear her friend/manager. She was about to take a step outside, when some of the contents of that coffee that had been flying landed right on her laptop. “Shit, are you fucking kidding me?!” She shrieked to her phone. “I just bought this laptop!” From having broken her previous one. “Gary, I’m going to have to call you back.”
Isabel becomes a good Samaritan.
The moment that request was given to the cafe, Isa had immediately ran to retrieve some cold cloths, napkins, whatever cold was in sight to give to the nurse who was currently assessing the boy’s arm with extreme detail. She handed the brunette some cold wash clothes her eyes falling straight over Dash’s arm. “Ouch! It looks like at least a first degree burn for sure. It’s already inflaming and I can see some blisters forming. Maybe even a second degree. I can tell by the way—” A blonde suddenly came into view.
Webby has no sense of personal space.
Webby popped up from behind looking directly over Isabel’s shoulder in total disregard that she was closer than most people would be to a stranger. But, she was FASCINATED by what she was seeing!! “LOOK it’s already HEALING!!!” She pointed excitingly to Dash’s arm watching as the swelling began to decrease, the blisters growing smaller, the redness basically disappearing. She poked at his arm. “I’ve never seen a recovery process work so FAST!!! Do your cells normally replicate this fast?! How is your molecular metabolism structure?! How often do your cells enter a mitosis cycle?! OH MY GOSH ARE YOU CURSED?!” EEE she hoped he was!!!!
Dash is left stunned
Woah!! He knew his metabolism was fast and all that shit but damn he didn’t know it could work as quick as it has. Not that he was complaining, less pain was always a good thing. There was a blonde chick now up close and personal to his face and all over excited talking about being.... cursed? The fuck? It left Dash blinking and speechless. “Uhh... nah not cursed, umm... sorry?” He looked at the nurse. “I gotta go though! Thanks for the help and no problem on the coffee!” With that he zoomed right off realizing he had another class to go to. Fuck, he was about to be late.
Daniel finds some comical relief
Daniel watched the sequence of events unfold from when Sally’s eyes had gone all white to the blonde boy speeding off at unnatural speed and if he knew Sally as well as he did, he knew she had seen this all happen. Who would have thought one argument could spawn such a domino affect? The spectre turned to look at Sally with an amused grin and low chuckle. And I suppose you saw this all? Didn’t want to stop it?
Sally realizes her magic is up to some new tricks.
Sally blinked turning to look at Daniel almost lost. “I did, I stopped the baby from getting hurt. I... saw different possibilities, this one... was the better one. Dash ends up fine.” Well... that was certainly something Sally has never done before, and she certainly didn’t know the blonde boy to now suddenly know his name. She realized... she knew the name of all the participants, as well as personal facts about them.... The redhead rubbed the bridge of her nose letting out a deep sigh. “I’m going to need that pumpkin spice. I have a feeling this will be a long day.”
#bdrpwrimokiara#bdrpwrimo2018#bdrpwrimo#this is what I've been working on all night sigghh#the first 7 paragraphs are done in the order#I picked up each of my characters XDD#say hello to Sally's magic evolving again xD#bdrptask#selfpara
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Lonely Hour {OC One shot}
OCs featured: (Henry x Nexus)
Editor's note: I usually don't write as much, I honestly prefer comics. I wrote this weeks ago and I kinda want feedback. Please enjoy... maybe I'll post the rest later (it got cut off).
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The amount of body's grinding against each other in such close proximity made Henry claustrophobic, viewing how so many people were from their school.
All their movements were jagged, loose, and awkward, some people putting in actual effort to dance while the others shimmied the songs. The lights were dimmed with some strobe neons swiping the walls, and there was one main speaker blaring popular hits from the decade.
The volume was astronomical, and quite surprisingly, no one called the authorities to shut down the party.
Hanging by the wall, Henry and his close friend, Shade, stayed near each other in hopes to not get lost in the crowd.
It was difficult to hear anyone, not even themselves, talk or even shout.
The vibrations of the sounds resulted in Henry to become nauseous.
Shade held their red cup tight, watching their purple haired friend crumple to the ground in boredom.
Guilt struck them, as they realized that Henry wasn't the type to enjoy massive crowds like this; or really any sort of crowd. He had spaced out when Shade kneels in front of him, mouthing something like,
"Do you wanna go someplace quiet?"
Though he couldn't hear them, Henry nodded, only to rise from the floor and follow them out of there.
Apparently, many of the kids at school were invited to this spring break party by a small group who rented a large enough airbnb for the majority of the people who came. There was a pool, and the lot had enough space for the party to carry on outside. Of course, there were a few college students, just in case the cops raided, so that they could pull it off as being a frat house party (which would most definitely backfire anyways).
Upon entering outside, the warm, humid evening air hit their faces. It was ten-ish, and most of people's curfews were way past that time… but it's not like they cared.
Henry and Shade take a load off from being inside, and take a seat wherever there was a space available. Most of the outdoor seating was taken up by some participants, who were smoking and hanging out. So, the duo sat on the first few steps of the patio, watching everyone have a good time.
A different song played, with a mixture of ambience from the partiers in the pool, and crickets. The smell of weed hits Henry's nostrils as they sit in silence…
Shade takes a dab from their vape pen, exhaling it out momentarily.
"Do you think Fikod's having a good time?" Henry murmurs, loud enough for Shade to hear. Fikod and Shade were siblings and usually they were both always next to each other, due to them being fraternal twins.
"I bet my ass he is," They snort, some leftover vapor excretes from their mouth, "He's probably getting stoned right now."
Henry chuckles with Shade, imagining his friend getting high with a group of other stoners.
Despite what everyone else was doing, Henry didn't want to get involved with it. If anything, he'd probably have one or two beers and that would be enough for him to get mildly tipsy…
This made Henry feel kind of left out, even though he's making the best decision, and it caused him to feel bad for holding Shade back from their fun.
He couldn't handle the amplified music, the large crowd, the drugs- nothing.
He began to wonder why he was even invited or brought along by them- knowing that he didn't like partying.
A part of him wanted to get out of the house, away from Zhila, his aunt. He would've done something else entirely if he didn't want to attend this party.
"Shade," Henry turns to his bright ginger-haired friend, "do you wanna go out there?"
With a swing of their head, they stare at Henry with widened eyes, "What? Me?"
Shade processes what he said, before answering solemnly, "Well, I do. I wanna try to hook up and smoke."
Then, they pause, tapping their pen against their knee… "But I don't wanna leave you sitting here."
Henry scoffs, rolling his grey eyes, "Don't worry about me so much?"
I don't wanna be alone.
"You're just saying that, man," Shade scoffs back at him, more playfully.
"I'm being serious," Henry perks up, meeting them at eye level…
"I don't mind."
God damn, I just wanna leave this place.
Shade's eyes avert away from Henry's for a second, thinking. A reluctant smile grows on their lips, their freckles creasing as they do…
"Alright then," they utter, boosting themselves from the step. As they turn to go back into the home, Shade says very sternly, "If you need anything, please come find me. Okay?"
Henry raises his phone, as if to gesture to them that he'll call if he needs help.
Plodding up the patio steps, Shade's feminine figure eventually squeezes by a group of people by the entryway of the home, disappearing from Henry's sight.
For the next few minutes, he sat on the stairs, in his own thoughts… watching everyone else have fun.
The siren girls splash each other and pool other people into the water as a joke. A few groups of guys are recording and vlogging their experiences. A small mixture of girls and boys are doing a choreographed dance for tiktok…
Gross.
Henry fiddles with his phone, pretending that he was messaging someone on his phone, while in reality, he was scrolling through his social media.
Various posts and snaps of people from the party, posing with their friends, videos of them doing shots and other crazy shit.
The soft tapping of Henry's shoe was increasing in speed as he scrolled deeper into his feed.
Just threads and threads of everyone posting their point of view and having fun.
He saw a few people he knew, like Rain… who was only there for the aesthetic and the weed (most people were anyways).
Brit and his current girlfriend, Briana, both had taken "couple" selfies… like everyone else.
And Nexus, who was posed in a very dominating stand, carefully taken by one of his posse, as if it were a photoshoot.
Envy courses through Henry, and it made it feel like he could easily break his phone with a single clench of his fist.
Henry knew he could just walk home from the party and call his own driver, but… something was holding back.
This is a heinous night, he thought to himself glumly.
Around this point, it was eleven, and it seemed as if the party was just going through its second wave. Eventually, Henry got up and headed back into the airbnb, nearly bumping into a few people.
"Fuck you too, jackass!" Someone shouted to him, as he ambled through the thick patch of bodies.
Unsure why he even went back inside, Henry aimlessly strolled through the crowd, seeing how gross everyone's dancing was… it was a lot worse than homecoming dances, and those are cringey.
Someone's hoof stepped on his foot, causing him to stumble over himself in pain. Limping through the rest of the way, Henry made his way to where the kitchen would be, and from there it stunk of various aromas.
The kitchen wasn't crowded, but there were still people hovering around with drinks and chatting. Just annoying people in the way. He told himself that he wouldn't drink this time, though he found his hand digging through the melted cooler for a beer.
It was room temperature beer, but it didn't matter, he needed something to distract and loosen him up for a bit.
Straight from the can, Henry takes a lousy swig, seeing how no one was there to drink beside him. It tasted like crap, but he's tasted worse.
For the next half hour, Henry lingered in the kitchen, when he finished off two cans so far… fortunately, he ate something before he downed those two beers; unfortunately, it was almost three hours ago.
Yet, his stomach clenched and his throat was parched, and the dizziness set in.
Resting his eyes, Henry leaned against the sink of the kitchen, preparing for the worst of the storm. I don't like to think I'm a lightweight, but this fucking sucks… it's only two cans.
Trying to soothe himself, he grips him thumb in hopes to reduce the urge of wanting to vomit anytime soon. The music thumping sent the same vibrations to his head, worsening the effects.
He heard a familiar voice enter the kitchen, though it was drowned out by the party's ambience. Clenching his eyes, Henry's brain ran laps around his skull, not able to sit still.
"I'm telling you, it's just not fair," says a harsh voice, "I can't even spend time with him because he's with his 'girl'. I'm his best friend, damnit!"
That voice.
Henry squinted his eyes, blurry figures were mobile blobs to him until he blinked a few times to refocus his vision. He saw similar ginger hair, and thought that it was Shade. Without any hesitation, Henry lumbers over and wraps his arms around the figure, words that manage to crumple from his mouth,
"Shade~ you were gone for such a long time!" Henry whines, having a good hold of the figure..
"Henry, get the hell off me!" A male voice barks out in confusion.
Tripping backwards, Henry's eyes refocus, fully recognizing the voice. Upon a clearer picture, he mistakes Nexus for Shade.
The orange cat held his ground and glared at him with a contorted stare… his other acquaintance hung beside him.
"Oh God-" Henry gapes, attempting to blubber out, "Nexus, I'm so sorry, I thought you were Shade."
Instead Nexus grimaces, as if disgusted, only to murmur, "Whatever, dude. Just watch where you're going."
Henry lowers his gaze, his face hot with embarrassment… or from the intoxication.
Nexus' ear twitches, "Are you drunk or something?" His vibrant lime green eyes peer into Henry's soul.
It took Henry a second to properly respond, his mouth visibly stammering, but that gave Nexus his answer already.
"Hey, Nex, I gotta go…" The other kid next to Nexus frowns, gesturing over his shoulder, sending Nexus into a mild frenzy.
"Bro, really?" Nexus grumbles, angry.
The other guy hurries out, leaving just Henry and Nexus hanging about.
With an aggressive flick of his tail, Nexus sighs… going on to leave the room kitchen.
"W-Wait, Nex," Henry slurs, resulting in Nexus to whip around with an annoyed expression.
"What?" He hisses.
He's so hostile…
"Can I hang with you? Just-Just for a little while…?" Henry pleads, barely able to stand up straight, as he leaned against the counter. Nexus peers at him with a disdained glare, studying him up and down...
"You're not gonna throw up, are you?" Nexus muses, unrelated to Henry's question.
"I dunno," Henry chortled, shrugging.
Idling in the archway, Nexus finally contemplated his thoughts before turning to his drunken companion.
"Okay, you can chill with me," Nexus exhales, approaching him, "but don't do anything weird again."
This takes Henry back for a moment, as if he was jabbed with a pencil. Just as Henry was about to say something, Nexus waltzes back into the party area…
With an uneasy step, Henry follows after him into the crowd.
For however long they were on the dancing grounds, Nexus bopped with a few people he knew while Henry tried his best to fit in… though the pound of the music made him more queasy. His coordination when it came to dancing was awkward and trying at times, while Nexus and his other companions were "moving".
Dancing at this point was just simply jumping and swaying, but even Henry wasn't able to do it due to how the room was beginning to spin.
Everything was so loud.
His own thoughts were drowned by the blasting Post Malone song…
it made his head hurt, and his mouth began to gather up saliva.
The nausea had set in finally.
Henry started to sweat as he realized what was about to occur, but instead of drawing attention to himself, he bit his thumb in order to stop himself from potentially vomiting…
Nexus hadn't noticed Henry's ill expression, as he was trying to keep his mind in a different place. It was when the female he was dancing with taps him and inaudibly gestures to Henry, who had gained a headstart out of the crowd and exiting the room.
Irritation drenches Nexus' face, as he dismisses it, glancing over to see Henry's figure disappearing from sight.
I have my own problems to deal with right now, Nexus scowls internally.
That's when it hit Nexus, like a wet sock.
He probably made Henry feel uncomfortable, and this caused him to leave. For a while, Nexus swayed on the thought of it…
He's a big boy, he shouldn't have his feelings hurt.
The tense presence of guilt hovers over Nexus, despite trying to brush it off, but once the current song was over, he had swam through the heavy crowd of sweaty bodies.
Entering a corridor that connected to the living space, there were hazy clouds of various odors and smells, while couples made out on the side of the hallway.
Nexus knew where the nearest bathroom was, seeing there was a short line… not seeing Henry anywhere, Nexus just cuts to the front and pounds on the door with his hand.
"Henry, are you in there?" Nexus calls through the door, hearing muffled coughing from within.
The people waiting give Nexus dirty looks, as Nexus continues pounding, getting antsy himself.
"Dude, please come out. A-Are you throwing up?" Nexus ignores the glares and just rests his ear on the door.
"Someone's been in there for almost like ten minutes already…" said one of the people who waited in line.
With a nervous flick of his tail, Nexus grips the door knob to see if it were locked; it rotated fully. Holding his breath, Nexus pokes his head into the dimly lit bathroom and sees Henry sitting by the toilet, his head hung low.
"Ah shit," Nexus spats, hurrying over to the slumped figure of his friend. Is he that drunk? Nexus goes to check on him
"Henry!" He places a palm on his shoulder, resulting in Henry's muscles and body to contort in response, as he sat up in a frenzy.
Immediately, Nexus goes to settle down his dazed friend, seeing the genuine panic in his grey eyes; his face is red and puffy as if he were crying.
"Fuck, man," Henry groans, squeezing his temples, only for Nexus to stand up beside him and offer to help him to his feet.
Well, it didn't smell like vomit, Nexus though in relief, but he must've left just in case he did.
Slumping over Nexus' shoulder, Henry staggers on to his feet, leaving his supporting weight directly on Nexus; causing it to be rather difficult to even carry him.
With a hard grunt, Nexus manages to remain standing and soon help his drunk companion out of the bathroom. Not even bothering to look at the people waiting, they both head off to someplace a lot more quiet.
The side of the house where some of the bedrooms remained occupied for "various" reasons, but there was an area for the den…
People were going in and out, though for the most part, no one was there.
Nexus let Henry go, allowing him to plop onto the sofa, where he stayed silent.
Going to sit next to him, Nexus spreads out, a few feet from where Henry rested.
A heavy sigh slips from Nexus' nose, allowing himself to sink into the softness of the sofa.
There wasn't that much of an odor, other than cotton candy from a vape, but it was one of the calmest places of the airbnb.
Maybe they weren't allowed in here, but oh well, there wasn't a sign.
The house still shook from the music being played obnoxiously loud, only there being a certain amount of time until someone filed a noise complaint.
Peering over, Nexus notices Henry's face in a serene state… still clenching his thumb as if his life depended on it.
Filling the silence, Nexus starts by saying,
"How much did you drink tonight?"
There was a delayed reply, when Henry lets out a bleak mumble, "One… tw-two? Probably."
Nexus examines him, seeing how Henry could pull off being sober, but now noticing how lifted off he was, it didn't seem possible.
"Do you always get drunk?" Nexus was making conversation, not sure how he was going to respond.
Henry bobs his head side to side, rubbing the side of his face.
"I don't like drinking…" He stifles slowly, his tongue twists over itself, "but I was feeling pretty…"
He doesn't finish his sentence as if he stopped himself…
Nexus starts anticipating,
"Feeling pretty what?"
Resting his head back, he gestures dismissively, "Forget- forget what I said… don't listen to me."
There was a forced chuckle from him, as he placed his palms over his face…
Nexus was invested, seeing how strange he was acting.
Henry's thoughts weren't his own, it felt like they could say something completely different. His thoughts were doing relay races, passing each of his emotions around like a baton…
"I dunno where my friends are," Henry whimpers aloud, spilling out nonsense, "I wish I didn't come here."
Nexus' ears twitch with intrigue, only for him to voice genuine concern,
"You didn't come alone?" Nexus questions, hoping he would comprehend what he said.
"I didn't wanna say no," He pouts.
He's really off the rails, Nexus grimaces, I should help him calm down.
Nexus remembered the two people Henry hung around with constantly, Shade and Fikod… from what he gathered, they brought him along against his will?
Or so Nexus thought, at least.
He's barely able to say complete sentences, Nexus thought, or hold a conversation. I don't think I'll get anything out of him.
"Do you wanna go home?" Nexus asks simply, waiting for a response.
Instead of a straight answer, there were sniffles.
Never in all the years Nexus had known him, he'd never seen Henry so distraught… or really cry.
"Why do I feel so lonely here?" Henry croaks out through sniffles, taking his hands off his eyes.
This struck a nerve in Nexus.
No, he thought, you aren't alone. You're surrounded by so many people… how can you be alone?
Without thinking, Nexus tugs on Henry's hoodie to bring him down to earth.
"Are you hearing yourself?" He spoke sternly, almost snatching Henry's attention.
"What's going on in that head of yours, bud?" Nexus stares him dead in his eyes…
Henry's head sways, as his eyes met Nexus'.
"I told youu," Henry whines, "not to worry about it…"
"You're so annoying!" Nexus lashes out, nearly yanking on his hoodie strings. "What the hell is going on with you? I get that you're drunk, but you keep saying these things and it's fucking annoying. What are these subliminal messages? Are you trying to get under my skin? Make me feel bad, is that it?"
Having shaken him up, Henry's eyes were opened enough to see his pupils dilating, as Nexus fumes with agitation, his nose flares, and his brows furrowed in the dark.
The bitter words Nexus spat was the product of pent up frustration from throughout the evening…
Brit had ditched Nexus to be with his girlfriend for the whole time, almost involving him as the third wheel. Seeing how much time Brit spends with her, Nexus felt casted aside, nearly a second thought as he was gradually losing his best friend over a girl.
Maybe it wasn't justified, or quite possibly childish for Nexus to have a fit, but he was just so angry over the treatment…
Brit and him had been through thick and thin for the longest time, but now it was tainted by Briana- "the love of my life" according to Brit.
Releasing his frustration on Henry was a mistake, seeing how it definitely shook him to his core. Nexus' chest had puffed up from the outburst, still having a tight grip around Henry's hood strings.
"N-Nexus, I…"
"Shut up."
The hold of his hoodie strings loosened, Nexus' hand sank to his lap… as if he was overwhelmed by defeat.
The ginger cat's tail curls up, and his ears lower, leaving his expression solemn.
The way his own words left a sour taste in Nexus' mouth causes him to show regret.
There was silence that hovered over them, intensifying into something far more tense.
They had broken eye contact after the burst, but somehow faced each other… Nexus rested his eyes, closing them or a moment.
Why did I say that? Since when did I become so harsh, Nexus scolds himself.
I'm just so done with everything that's happened tonight, I just want this to be over and done with now.
Even through the vibrant bass of the music that played, Nexus sensed an increased heartbeat… jumping up in anxiety.
Why is Henry so antsy all of a sudden? Nexus opens his eyes.
Henry had begun to pull in close towards his face, abruptly sending Nexus into surprise, only for his face to land on the crook of Nexus' shoulder; making it seem like he chickened out from something.
"What was that about?" Nexus croaks out, feeling sudden heat down his body. Henry shook his head, burying his face deeper into the side of Nexus' neck.
"I couldn't do it, I couldn't do it, I couldn't do it…" Henry murmurs under his breath, which Nexus clearly heard.
Instead of acknowledging it, Nexus just sat there with Henry slumped into his shoulder, with many thoughts facing through his brain.
Conflicted emotions, similar to the way he felt about Brit…
He weirdly enjoyed Henry's comfort, Nexus had a feeling that there was something more. A pair of Henry's arms had made its way around Nexus' waist, alerting chills up his spine.
What is this feeling? Nexus muses, the heat progresses to his face.
"First, you were crying," Nexus comments, "now you're being clingy?"
The way Henry's breathing brought up the feeling again made Nexus wanna squirm, yet continue along with this...
#ocs#original characters#original work#writing#one shot#oc oneshot#oc fluff#HenryxNexus#lgbt#mlm fic#fluff
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I saw this headcannon and was really hoping you'd write a fic? simon gets hit with a curse that makes everyone fall in love with him except for jace, simon thinks its because jace’s disregard for him is so strong not even MAGIC can effect it but really its because jace’s regular life involves him keeping his feelings for simon under control so this is just another day for him.
based off of @neonlightwood‘s hc!! thank you anon for taking my waffling desire to write one of those ideas and pretty much motivating me to DO IT
love by any other name || jace/simon, 4k+, love spell au || read on ao3
“I see Jace wasn’t hit.” Magnus says, his tone light even as he waves a hand and freezes Clary in mid-lunge towards Simon. He waves a hand over Alec and Izzy and they become similarly frozen; Simon nearly cries in relief.
“Yeah, no.” Jace says, curiously moving to poke at Alec’s outstretched, still hand, and then pouting as Simon slaps his hand away. “It hit me too, but since I - “ He freezes mid-pout, his eyes going comically wide, and then he turns away, facing Magnus and running a hand through his hair. “I just wasn’t affected.” He finishes, his voice curiously blank.
What? How could Jace not have been affected if he was directly hit by it? It’s a love spell, it should automatically make everyone fall in love with Simon, unless -
The first thing Simonnotices when he gets back to the Institute after being stuck in a meeting withthe Pennsylvania vampires is the unnaturally strong smell of flowers. He pausesby the front doors as his senses are suddenly overwhelmed with - rose, it seemslike. Did someone spill cologne or something?
He gets his answerwhen he walks into his room and sees that it’s covered in roses. In fact, there’s no room towalk except a tiny path from the door to his bed, the rest of the placeengulfed by roses of every shape, size, and color. Simon’s seen a lot of weirdshit over the past few months as a Daylighter, but this is absolutelyridiculous.
He doesn’t even like roses, what the fuck.
He backs slowly out of his room and shuts thedoor, counts to ten, and opens it again. Nope, the roses are still there. He’sbeginning to panic.
“Clary!” He hisses, spinning on his heel withthe intention of tracking her down so she can help him figure out what’s goingon. Instead, he runs headfirst into Izzy, who smiles broadly at him.
“Well hello, Simon.” She purrs. She sashays forward - there’s really noother word for it - and pouts prettily at him. “Didn’t you see mysurprise?”
“Hey, Izzy,” Simonsays, laughing nervously, “I, uh, yeah, I saw the roses! Haha, good…joke…”He trails off weakly as she runs a perfectly manicured nail down his arm, hertouch light and very alarmingly sensual.
“Did you like it?” Izzyasks, her eyes darkening as she licks her lips and presses forward evencloser. “I just want to make you happy, you know.”
And no. Simon can write off most of the other stuffas a joke, but the soft sincerity in Izzy’s voice is usually only reserved forher girlfriend,who is - who is stomping down the hallway right now, her eyes glittering withanger. Simon gulps and uses his speed to put some distance between himself andIzzy.
“Listen, Clary,” hebegins, his hands held up in surrender as Clary draws closer, “I’m not tryingto - “
“I cannot believe you!” She screams angrily - at Izzy.Simon frowns uncomfortable. “Simon is mine!”
What.
“No he isn’t.” Izzyhisses back, her hands on her hips as she glares Clary down. Claryactually shoves Izzy at that,and Simon’s immediately between the two of them, pushing them apart.
“OKAY.” He announces loudly. “Let’s calmdown and think about this.”
“There’s nothing to think about.” Clarydeclares, still glaring at Izzy. “I’m in love with you, and she’ssabotaging our relationship.”
“Our what.” Simon says flatly, even as Izzy snapsback, “He’s been there, done that. He wants me now, because I love him better.” Simonhas barely any time toprocess both these horrifying revelations before he hears the sound of someoneelse coming down the hallway, and he looks up to see Alec striding up towardsthem.
“Oh thank God.” Heslumps in relief, letting go of the girls and taking a stepforward. “Alec, I never thought I’d say this but I am so glad to see you.”
“Really?” Alec asks as he draws near, hisvoice quiet and - off. Something about it is definitely off. Simon stops and staresas, slowly, ever so slowly -
Alec smiles at him.
It’s slow, and shy,but definitely aimed at Simon, and oh God, what is happening here? Alec doesn’t smileat him. Alec tosses out things that are borderline hateful, and barelytolerates Simon most of the time; they work okay when they’re on patrol, butpersonality-wise Alec genuinely finds Simon exhausting. (And not the kind ofexhausting Jace seems to find Simon, the kind where Jace half-smiles ateverything Simon says and keeps coming back to hang out with him.)
“I’m glad to see you too.” Alec continues, hiseyes earnest as he stares at Simon. Simon backs away before he remembers thatClary and Izzy are behind him, and he lets out an embarrassing whimper as hespins in a slow circle, trapped by three people smiling at him with varyinglevels of intensity.
“Oh please,” Izzy snorts, “Alec’s hardlydeserving of you. You need someone who loves you for you.”
“Yeah.” Clary says.“Which is why you should be with me, because I’ve loved you since we were six.”
“He need someone who understands him.” Alecargues in response.
At some other time, maybe, this would befunny, but it’s starting to genuinely freak Simon out. Seeing his friends actcompletely unlike themselves is messing with his mind and making him feeltrapped here, the walls closing in as everything familiar is pulled out fromunder him. He desperately tries to edge out of the tiny circle they’ve created,but the three of them are clamoring for his attention.
“I gotta go,” he says, physically flinchingwhen Alec reaches out, presumably to touch him, “no, please, don’t- “
“Simon?” a voice callsout, strong and steady, and Simon almost whimpers with relief as he turns tothe source. Jace. Jace, who is comingdown the hallway with his usual half-smug look firmly in place, his eyescurious as he takes in the scene. Simon ducks under Alec’s arm and races down the hall, ignoring the poundingfeet as the other three follow him, skidding to a stop in front of Jace anddesperately shaking him.
“Quick!” Simon says. “Are you suddenly inlove with me?”
“No.” Jace spits out, his eyes wide, the answercoming so fast it sends a tiny pang of hurt through Simon’s chest. It’s -he’s accepted the fact thatJace doesn’t like him that way, but still. Every once in a while he’s remindedof the fact again and it hurts all over again, a quiet, thick layer ofheartbreak that never quite goes away.
Whatever. Now isn’t the time to dwell onit.
“Great.” Simon says,manhandling a bemused Jace in front of him as a human shield as Clary, Izzy,and Alec push and shove at each other. “Because they are, and generally I’d think something likethat was funny but it’s scary as fuck and I really just want everything to goback to normal it’s freaking me out Jace - “
“Slow down.” Jace sayslowly, one hand going to the knife strapped to his thigh holster and the otherheld out in front of Simon, an extra barrier between Simon and his crazedfriends. Simon nearly cries in relief - Jace has immediately dropped intoserious Shadowhunter mode, Jace is taking him seriously and has his eyes trained on the otherthree. He’s subtly shifted so his body’s shielding Simon even further, anddespite everything - Simon feels safe, with Jace there.
“I don’t know how thisstarted.” Simon confesses, a sudden tremor in his voice as he takes in the uglylook on Alec’s face as he glares at Jace. It’s wrong.
“I think I do.” Jace says slowly. “Ishould have figured. We were going through Central Park and there was a warlockwho was practicing his spells. He was young, and he didn’t have amentor.”
“All of you?” Simon asks, reaching out a handand tangling his fingers in the back of Jace’s shirt as something to anchorhimself with as he keeps eyes trained in front too. Alec doesn’t have his bow,but Izzy’s drawing a blade out of her boot and Clary’s removing her stele fromher pocket. He’s not sure what’s happening, but he’s pretty sure that it’s notgoing to be good. The arguing hasn’t stopped - Izzy and Clary are still tradingbarbs - but Alec’s eyeing them sharply, his stance predatory. It’s easy toforget that Alec’s head of the Institute not only because of his diplomaticskills, but because he’s second only to Jace in his skills.
“All four of us.” Jace confirms. “Hefreaked out and put a little too much power into a spell he lobbed atus.”
“Okay.” Simon says, slowly sliding his handdown Jace’s back. “Don’t freak out, I’m getting your phone.” He addsquietly as Jace’s body stiffens at the contact. In any other situation, Simonwould never have been so forward, but he needs Jace’s phone since he left hisin his room.
“I’m not freaking out.” Jace mutter sullenly,and Simon smiles slightly at that, at the normalcy of Jace being grumpy. “I’ve beenpressing against my parabatai bond with Alec. It feels like something’scovering it, stifling it, but - I think I can get through long enough to gethim to back off.”
“I’m going to call Magnus.” Simon says softly,his fingers creeping across the waistband of Jace’s jeans until he feels thesolid outline of a phone and pulls it out. At the same moment, Alec leapsforward, slamming into Jace and sending SImon scrambling back.
Jace grunts with the force of the shove andstaggers sideways, his expression unsure as he clenches his hands and ducks outof the way of Alec’s swings. Clary and Izzy seem content to continue circling,slowly pacing forward, and Simon scrambles to unlock Jace’s phone.
“Passcode!” Simon hisses, and Jace sighsminutely.
“011216!” He callsout, catching Alec’s punch and pushing him back with the force ofit. “Alec, stop, rememberyour boyfriend.”Alec doesn’t respond, and instead snarls, a terrifying expression, and Simon gulps as he holdsthe phone up to his ear.
“Jace, be careful!” He cries out as Izzy takes her own stabat him, her blade whistling sharply through the air. Jace twists and steps intoher throw, deftly maneuvering her blade out of her hand and sending it thuddinginto the wall with a flick of his wrist. “Oh God - Magnus!” He shouts with relief,hovering uncertainly at the edge of Jace’s fight as the dial tone cuts off andthe line connects.
“You’re…not Jace.” Magnus’ says, surprised,and Simon groans.
“It’s Simon, lovespell, everyone’s under it, even Alec.” He fires off rapidly, his eyes trackingJace’s movements, the way the blonde Shadowhunter has his teeth gritted, a beadof sweat rolling down his temple. He looks strained, fighting through theparabatai bond while still holding his own in the fight. “Come quickly, Jace is the only one who’s sane - “
“I’ll be there.” Magnus says briskly, and theline cuts. Simon shouts as Izzy’s heel nearly slams into Jace’s skull, and hestumbles forward into the fight, putting himself between Jace and the others.
“Nope, nope, nope, no murder today!” Simonsays, panicking as Jace slumps forward and rests his forehead againstSimon’s.
“The bond - it’s so - feels like slamming myhead against a brick wall.” Jace mutters against Simon’s back. They’re in astrange role reversal from just five minutes ago, with Simon standing as ahuman shield in front of Jace.
“Simon, come on.” Clary cajoles. “It’llbe just us, Simon and Clary, like always - “
“What can Fray give you that I can’t?” Alec demandsbrusquely, and Simon blinks.
“How you wooed Magnus, I’ll never understand.”He whispers under his breath, and despite the severity of the situation hehears Jace snort from behind him, finally straightening up. They hear theunmistakable noise of a portal then, and turn to see Magnus step out nearthe end of the hallway and stop, his mouth half-open.
“What on earth?” He exclaims, and then snapshis fingers, blinking when nothing happens. “Hm. Powerful warlock spell,but nothing we can’t solve.”
“He’s mine,” Izzy snarls at Magnus, “so backoff.”
“Rest assured,” Magnus says dryly, “he isnowhere near who I want.”
“Great, okay, let’ssolve this now.” Simon bemoans, andMagnus glances over at the two of them, a curious expression crossing hisface.
“I see Jace wasn’t hit.” He says, his tonelight even as he waves a hand and freezes Clary in mid-lunge towards Simon. He wavesa hand over Alec and Izzy and they become similarly frozen; Simon nearly criesin relief.
“Yeah, no.” Jace says, curiously moving topoke at Alec’s outstretched, still hand, and then pouting as Simon slaps hishand away. “It hit me too, but since I - “ He freezes mid-pout, hiseyes going comically wide, and then he turns away, facing Magnus and running ahand through his hair. “I just wasn’t affected.” He finishes, his voicecuriously blank.
What? How couldJace not havebeen affected if he was directly hit by it? It’s a love spell, it shouldautomatically make everyone fall in love with Simon, unless -
Unless, of course, there’s a feeling thatoutweighs even the love. Hate. Jace hates him, more than he apparently letson.
Simon reels back,feeling like he’s been slapped, his heart shattering into pieces on the floor.He thought he and Jace were friends, at least; he’d long since accepted that Jacewould never look twice at him in the way he’d like to be looked at but friendship, he would have taken the friendship, because it’s one of the most preciousfucking things in his life, but no - of course Simon Lewis doesn’t get thateither, of course he’s fucked that up too, of course he’s managed to drive away yet anotherperson he cares about with his obnoxious personality, an endless cycle ofloving and losing -
“Simon?” Jace asks, his voice concerned asSimon goes eerily, supernaturally still, his mind falling apart and reformingin true Simon Lewis fashion. He can go on. He can do this. He’s done it before,and he’ll do it again.
“Fine.” Simon says shortly, hating the wayJace’s eyes are worried as he takes in Simon’s blank expression. Jace doesn’thave any right to pretend he’s worried about anything other than his siblingsunder some spell.
“Right.” Magnus says, staring between the twoof them. “Lovely. I’m going to portal us all to my loft, if you don’tmind.” Simon nods his assent, and Jace grunts in affirmation, his eyes stilllocked on Simon’s with a burning unfamiliarity. Simon averts his eyes, insteadwatching Magnus create a portal and send the still frozen bodies of Clary,Izzy, and Alec through, then stepping through and waving a hand at Simon andJace to follow.
They step through, andSimon’s struck for a second with the familiar nausea, something’s he’s still not gotten used to. He staggers forwardas he lands in the loft, his stomach dry-heaving and a brief flash of paingoing through his body; Jace, who landed much more smoothly, catches him in hisarms.
Simon blinks as Jacehauls him upright, caught in a cage between Jace’s impressive biceps. Muscles! his brain helpfully screams at him, while hisheart is stuck somewhere between swooning over Jace’s eyes and Jace’shalf-smile as he takes in Simon.
Hates me, Simon remindshimself forcefully, stepping out of Jace’s arms and biting his lip.
“Thanks.” He sayssoftly, and for a second he swears it’s just them as Jace smiles for real,genuine and soft. Simon hates it, hates how much he loves that smile and craves it, even with definitive proof that Jacedoesn’t like him. At all.
“Still haven’t gottenthe hang of it, Lewis?” Jace asks, and Simon huffs out a laugh. This is familiar. This he can deal with.
“Still haven’t learned how to drive?” Simonshoots back, and Jace grimaces.
“Fair.” He allows as Magnus reappears, hishands uncorking a bottle of green powder.
“This should help.” He says cheerfully, wavinghis hand over the others and unfreezing them. They immediately spin in acircle, taking in their change of surroundings with a confused expression ontheir face.
“This is different.” Clary says, even as Simonducks behind Magnus’ kitchen counter. He glares at Jace, who is still in hisline of sight and snickering at Simon’s desperate attempt tohide. “Where’s Simon?” She continues.
“I’ve composed a poem for him.” Izzyannounces. It seems like they only turn to violence when Simon is actuallythere, and he sighs in relief and makes himself comfortable on the floor.“Where is he? Poetry is another one of those things, like cooking, that I’mgood at - “
“No.” Jace says delightedly. “Pleaseshare, Iz.”
“No. And that is my cue to stop this.” Magnus hastilysays. There’s a muted green hue that covers the apartment then, and the sharp,smoky smell of magic, and then silence. Simon holds his breath, hoping -
“Oh no.” Alec groans. “Please tell me I’mdreaming.”
“I’m afraid not,darling.” Magnus says apologetically, and Simon lets out a whoop and popsup from behind the counter, taking in his restored, sane friends.
“Finally!” He crows, and Clary looks over athim, her expression bemused, arching an eyebrow.
“Did I…seriously attack you, Izzy?” Sheasks, and Izzy grimaces, looking at Jace.
“We all attacked Jace.” She says, staring ather brother. “I’m so sorry - “
“It’s fine.” Jace says, waving her apologiesoff. “You were all under a spell.”
“I’ve never felt anything like that.” Alecsays, his expression bewildered. “That’s not what being in love feels like. Itwas so…desperate, and bittersweet.”
“I felt as though I had already lost Simon,”Clary agrees, frowning, “which doesn’t make sense because I was still trying towin him over.” Simon frowns as he leans against the counter, looking at all ofthem.
“Maybe the warlock just didn’t know what lovewas.” He offers, and Jace shrugs.
“Or it was just a poorly executed spell, withonly raw power.” He points out, looking at SImon, and Simon nods.
“Oh, no.” Magnus says, making his way to hisarmchair and reclining lazily in it. “Far from it. It was perfectly executed.”His voice is dramatic, and Alec groans.
“Mags, really?” He asks, his voice coloring indisbelief. “You’re up to something.”
“Alexander, I cannot believe you’d accuse meof such a thing.” Magnus says with as much dignity as he can muster as, hislips twitching despite his efforts. He snaps his fingers and summons himself amartini, looking in turn at all of them, like he’s gearing up to tell astory.
“Well don’t keep us in suspense.” Izzy says,amused, as she perches on the ottoman. “Share with the class, Magnus.”
“It wasn’t a love spell.” Magnus announces, lazily stirring themartini with the tip of his pinky, sparks dancing along the rim for addedflair. “It was an amplification spell. The warlock took what someonealready felt for Simon, and directly poured all that emotion into all of you.Emotions are meant to grow, and change; you adapt with them. Getting all ofthem dumped on you all at once - “
“ - can lead to catastrophic decisions likebuying out a rose shop.” Izzy finishes, laughing. Clary snorts.
“Who feels so stronglyabout Simon?” she muses, then looks at Simon quickly. “No offense - not ina rude way - but we all love you in a normal way, I think. The emotions I felt - that wassad. Pining, even, like - “She cuts herself off and inhales sharply, understanding settling over herfeatures. “Oh”
“Oh what?” Izzy asks.
“Jace,” Clary says slowly, “why weren’tyou affected?” Jace stiffens, his face going blank, and Simon looks on inconfusion.
“It just didn’t.” He says, and Simonshrugs.
“Jace doesn’t like me,like, at all.” He tries to saylightly, his voice coming out choked up instead. “It’s hard to emulatestrong feelings when there’s like stronger feeling of annoyance covering it, Ithink - “
“What?” Jace askssharply, swinging around to face him, and Simon blinks in the face of the angerin Jace’s voice. “That’s whatyou think? That I wasn’t affected because I don’t like you?”
“I - “ Simon begins, unsure of what tosay, but Jace cuts him off with a bitter, dark laugh.
“Fuck, no.” He says,shaking his head and continuing to laugh brokenly. “I don’t like you, I’m in love with you. That - that pathetic, bittersweet pining everyonefelt was mine becauseI’ve been in love with you for so long I don’t remember how not to be.”
For the second time that day, Simon’s heart shatters- but this time it’s into something hopeful and unbelievable, a little flutterof possibility Simon had thought he’d lost long ago suddenly resurfacing andhitting him with a wave of emotion. An unfamiliar nervousness takes upresidence in his stomach, his mind slowly catching up to his heart as heprocesses what’s happening.
But Jace turns and leaves before Simoncan do anything, frozen as he is. Simon watches him stride away, his mouthparting in surprise, before Alec stomps over and socks him in the shoulder asthe door shuts behind Jace.
“What are you still standing here for?” Alecgrowls, and Simon stares at him, uncomprehending.
“Is this happening?” He mutters, mostly tohimself, but it’s Magnus that answers, leaning forward and lookingserious.
“That boy is so used to being in love with youthat the spell couldn’t change a single thing about his emotions. He wasalready too deep.” Magnus says, holding Simon’s gaze. “I’m guessing youknow the feeling.”
And how can Simonargue with that? Because he knows. He does. He always has, when it comes toJace Wayland.
“Okay,” Simon croaks out, nodding andstraightening up, “okay.”
“Good luck!” Izzy calls out to him, and henods distractedly, using his speed to run out of the loft and down the stairs,bursting out of the front doors into the cool night air - and running straightinto Jace at the base of the front steps, sending them both tumbling to theground.
“Fuck!” Jace grunts, landing on the ground andbearing the brunt of the fall. “Simon?”
Simon looks down athim, really looking.He takes in Jace’s blond hair, fanning out around him like a blonde halo; histired blue-brown eyes, an indescribable sadness in them that’s been there sinceSimon met him - probably for longer than that - and his absurdly long lashes;the firm press of muscles under Simon’s body, his thighs thick between Simon’sown legs; the graze of stubble against the tips of Simon fingers where he’sclutching Jace’s collar, staring down at him in a daze -
“You need to shave,” Simonblurts out, his heart in his throat as Jace’s brow furrows inconfusion, “and also, I love you. Like, I’m in love with you, the whole nine yards, I -am so gone for you, honestly.”
“I.” Jace looksshocked, his mouth opening and closing, his gaze vulnerable and a littledisbelieving. “I shaved yesterday?”
“Okay.” Simon says,his head still spinning. “You – yeah. Okay.”
“Okay.” Jace agrees,his hands moving to cradle Simon’s face, and suddenly they’re kissing, stillsprawled on the ground. Jace surges up against him and Simon presses down, lipssliding together urgently as something unlocks in both of them; there’s a moanlost in the kiss, a breathless whimper swallowed down, tongues slipping in andmapping mouths. Simon doesn’t know where he ends and where Jace begins and hedoesn’t want to find out – the kiss is desperate and thick with pent-upemotion, a promise to make up for lost time and a plea to make the most of thetime they do have. Because it’s anuncertain future for both of them, so while he can he’s going to clutch at Jace’swarm skin like a lifeline and memorize the feeling of Jace’s body under his.
Maybe not on thesidewalk, though. That part is getting a little inconvenient – until Jaceslowly manouevers them upright, not breaking the kiss as Simon leans back, nowstraddling Jace. Then, in a move straightout of every harlequin romance novel he’s ever seen in bookstores, Jace’shands slip down to grip his thighs and he hoists Simon up, pushing himself offof the balls of his feet and smoothly getting them both upright.
“I could get used tothis.” Simon says, grinning in delight as Jace effortlessly carries him to thestaircase railing and perches him on it.
“Mm, well, don’t.” Jace smirks, ducking down andnuzzling Simon’s nose. “You’re theone with the vampire strength, you can pick me up next time.”
“This is something you’reinto?” Simon asks interestedly as a light flush creeps over Jace’s cheeks.
“Shut up.” Jacegrumbles, and Simon rolls his eyes and presses a kiss to the underside of Jace’sjaw, instead. He’s about to kiss him properly, his hands tugging at Jace’shair, when –
“Ah. Lovely, but noton my front steps.” Magnus says, opening the door. Simon makes a surprisednoise and jerks backward, forgetting that he’s perched precariously on the thinrailing, and nearly falls over. Jace’s arms tighten around him and haul himback up, and he’s laughing even as Simon balances himself and then socks Jace’sshoulder. “I see nothing has changed.” Magnus continues, dryly.
“Wonderful.” Alec’svoice sounds from behind Magnus. “I mean, I only had to go through the most embarrassingmoments of my life to get there, but it’s all great.”
“Hey.” Jace frowns. “You went through an entire marriage beforekissing Magnus, give me a break.”
“Clearly,” Izzy says,making her way past Magnus and Alec with Clary in tow, “we both got togetherwith far less drama, proving once again that lesbians really do it better inevery way.”
“I love girls.” Claryagrees, sighing dreamily, and Simon grins.
“Gay.” He mockwhispers to Clary as he hops off the railing and tugs on Jace’s hand. “Come on,let’s leave Alec to stew in the horror of being madly, desperately in lovewith me and go back and figure out what to do with all the roses.”
“The roses.” Izzygroans, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’m definitely broke from that, youguys.” Clary hums thoughtfully and begins listing suggestions for the flowers,but Simon doesn’t hear her because Jace nudges Simon’s shoulder.
“Simon.” Jace saysquietly, leaning in. “For the record. Being in love with you, it’s – pretty great.”
“Being madly, desperately, in love with me?” Simon whispers back, snickering, buthe’s surprised by Jace’s soft smile as he squeezes Simon’s hand.
“Being madly,desperately in love with you, yeah.” He confirms, and Simon is suddenly hitwith the feeling that this, this iswhat they mean by a love worth fighting for.
(Izzy and Clary end uppressing all one hundred roses, and they show up as decorations for Simon andJace’s wedding, four years later.)
#y'all i am exhausted so i hope this is written correctly#and not GARBAGE#jimon#jace wayland#simon lewis#shadowhunters#sh fics#i write sometimes
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Hannah Watches LOSH - Man of Tomorrow
This is my start on what will be a one episode-per-post re-watch and review/analysis of Legion of Superheroes. I am going to go through all the episodes of both seasons, and when I finish the show, I will also go into the comics afterward. I will try to aim for once a week at minimum, but that depends on school. The reviews will be made while I’m watching, with much pausing and commentary being made and screenshots being shown, and a final word at the end on both the episode overall and the characters.
I will also be comparing my view when I first saw the episode vs now. Also please keep in mind I did not start with the first episode when it aired. And these will all have my opinion alone, and if you have any feedback/comments you want to give, go ahead ^^
So, let’s start of with the first episode.
Man of Tomorrow
So we first get the preview of the Legion fighting the Fatal Five before cutting to Clark Kent during his last night in Smallville before going to Metropolis.
Watching this again, it struck me that Clark probably didn’t get the best support from his parents on the super power part.
What do I mean? Ma Kent said “Just please be careful. Remember Clark, your not like the rest of us.” Which he replies with “I know.” Now in the animated show most people are familiar with, the superpowers came into being around high school. But his parents seemed to have handled it rather well, as does Clark in the end, and he is given a device that has a message from his birth parents to give him an explanation. But here that’s not the case. I think it’s more likely that the parents were less ready to deal with superpowers, and god, given Clark didn’t know squat about Krypton as evident in the comics that tied into the show – will go into that eventually, who knows how well Clark was dealing with the powers when they first came up. Probably much worse than in the Superman animated series.
Speaking of parents, noticed that Pa was not in the episode. Where is he? Is he dead in this version? Ho geeze, adds to the stress the poor guy must be under.
And then we get our time bubble trio aka TBT: Brainiac 5, Saturn Girl, and Bouncing Boy. I wonder what the decision process was behind them. Which will be discussed in a bit.
Cutting back to the fair, we get more evidence of Clark not dealing the best way with his powers after a Jock taunts him and his physical abilities. He is getting ready to toss the ball, recalls Ma’s words. And god, the facial expressions now have the ability to pick apart my heart now.
Just. Ow.
And then comes the trope-tastic faulty Ferris wheel. I bet Grunkle Stan branched out to this fair.
And then we get back to the TBT. What do you mean food on a stick is not normal?! WHAT DO YOU DO FOR POPCICLES?! COTTON CANDY?! CANDY APPLES?!
Wait, how did he get that food? Was it samples? Or did the trio steal it?
I couldn’t help but snicker at Brainy’s and Saturn Girl’s expression at Bouncing Boy. Imma have to go with “stealing”
Also, what performance would the TBT be part of? I mean, I understand cosplay at a convention, but they look a little off the mark at the fair for me. But I would totally pay money to see that performance.
And it happens.
The beginning of what was one of the many triggers in many for shipping a gay ship.
When I first watched this show, I was in elementary. I was having some curiosity towards gay ships – I was in a very heavy weeabo state, and especially into CLAMP’s manga, which is filled with LGBT characters. I was also going through a bit of a religious phase, and my parents aren’t the most accepting people, especially back then. So I was scared by possibly shipping anything that wasn’t deemed right. I wouldn’t go bashing in public, but I wouldn’t confide with others. I wouldn’t really support the LGBT community until high school.
But now, I can fully appreciate the show and what it tried to do. The storyboards probably have more representation for the LGBT community by far, but still, I will take what I can get with this show… THAT’S A LIE I WANT THOSE STORYBOARDS.
Gotta appreciate the dramatic music that comes with the scene as well.
Look at those two concerned guardians.
Now back to Clark.
Given my earlier talk with him and his powers… THIS BOY MUST HAVE HAD A HEART ATTACK WHEN BOUNCING BOY SPOKE TO HIM. HE WAS CAUGHT. YET HE GOES “EVERYTHING IS FINE HERE,” AND PROCEEDS TO SWOOP IN WHEN THE THING STARTS TO FALL APART. KUDOS TO MY BOY IN HOLDING HIMSELF TOGETHER.
GRUNKLE STAN YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING ON THE STATE OF THAT FERRIS WHEEL.
Saturn Girl, I don’t think now is the time for intros.
Pfft, BB is confused by this as well, to the point where his animation is a wee bit off.
And then he proceeds to walk behind Clark and… what’s the best word for this…
WHAT A PRECIOUS FACE THAT FOLLOWS THAT SILLY BOING NOISE. AND THE WAY HE SAYS “help?” AFTERWARDS IS SO CUTE. EXPRESSIONS IN THIS EPISODE ARE SO GOOD.
I never realized how big Bouncing Boy could get.
Clark starts to nope out, and Saturn Girl said she did the same thing when she saw Bouncing Boy to do that as well.
And cue more internal panicking for Clark.
So, did Saturn Girl like did the whole fair a mind wipe, or just the guys who were witnesses?
More gayness, both sides.
And Clark has a gay panic.
Which will eventually turn into “I’m not Straight” in the future. I’ve been through that phase my boy.
Saturn Girl looks like a mom here, telling the kids to stop flirting atm.
Oh man, Clark asking them not to tell anyone about the super power thing. What a heart breaker.
“It’s okay. We know all about you.”
Wow, great conversation starter B5, totally not sounding like a stalker.
BRAINY WHY DID YOU CUT OFF BOUNCY?! JEALOUSY?! LOOK AT THESE GOSHDARN EXPRESSIONS.
Good job B5, weirded out your crush.
At least Saturn Girl knows saying “Coming to the future” sounds crazy.
“Clark!”
“Wait!”
Oof. My heart at his voice.
And Cool Mom has to step in.
He looks like a kicked dog at this frame.
Let us appreciate how immediately when Saturn Girl says “Let’s just give him some time,” the episodes is edited so that they show up in the kitchen at his house.
So Saturn Girl has a coffee mug, Bouncing Boy has pie, and nothing for the green child. Oh, and embarrassment for Clark.
Well, okay, B5 kinda looks like an angry kid who’s upset their BF is an hour late to the date.
And the introduction the do at the home seems to be much smoother at the fair. Think they did rehearsals waiting for Clark to get home? Did they switch out constantly? And how far did B5 take his crush with the rehearsals?
But Clark defiantly has a lot of self-doubt at the idea of him being a super hero. He uses his powers for good, but he definitely lacks the confidence that he’s good enough for it. He laughs it off at first, then seems a little angry and scared at how much they knew about his powers. Reminds me now of Yuuri Katsuri. And given how little confidence I have had in the last few years about myself, I can further appreciate him now than what I did back then.
Clark was very tempted in coming at “Come with us and you won’t have to hide them anymore.” It’s like getting a safe place to come out, finally, after years of being told that it’s safer to hide himself. Further more appreciative with time for me.
Wow, B5 looks so demanding here.
(Where did they keep that time bubble tho?? It just appeared out of nowhere?)
I kinda laughed at the part where Ma goes “Take a sweater!” then comes down stairs, confused at what he said. “Future?”
I like the atmosphere of New Metropolis in this show. Good use of complementary colors in this shot.
AND THANK ****ING GOD LOOK AT TRIPLICATE GIRL IN HD HER SKIN IS DARKER
I CRY BLOOD AT THE FACT THAT THE FACT SHE WAS SUPPOSE TO BE MUCH DARKER AND THEN SHE CAME OUT SO PALE IN SD QUALITY THANK GOD FOR HD
Granted the concept art of her gave her darker skin but SHE’S SO BEAUTIFUL WITH DARK SKIN
And here we have Queen Sinnamon Roll and Lighting Trash Baby, who PG proceeds to sass out with an eye roll and reality, and then has Trips back her up. Positive female friendships, that’s an instant gold star.
What a jealous baby, getting phased through and shoved aside. Thinking back to the jock we saw earlier, I find it interesting that Lightning Lad was made to fit that image on the first episode. Interesting move. Perhaps it was to show the character development as we went along?
The girls look so disappointed that the skinny Superman came out instead of some muscular guy. Personally, I prefer the skinny Superman design. Muscular guys just don’t seem as attractive to me as often. Might have something to do with that I find myself attracted to girls more often. But I love all girls, and buff girls are on the list of those I am weak for, so I’m just further confused. Maybe I just need another 10 years to figure this one out.
And when Lightning Lad proceeds to poke fun at B5 and Clark…
Brainy looks like a cat who is planning his demise. I had cats for a little over ten years. I know this look. Brainy is giving him the look that says he will murder him in his sleep. Painfully.
And then Lightning Lad proceeds to be a jerk, doing the last thing Clark needs: degrading him on his powers. After everything I talked about earlier, this hurts me in the hard. Trash Baby will be sent to the garbage pit as required.
We cut to the Superman museum, where Saturn Girl brings Clark to speed what’s going on, explaining who the Fatal Five are.
While watching this episode, I realized how much emotional support and guidance Saturn Girl provided for those in need – particularly B5 and Clark in this one. And she doesn’t seem to need to read their minds to figure out what they are feeling. So really, that is really thought provoking. Maybe she studied psychology or hosts therapy groups. In any case, it makes her far more interesting as a person.
I’m kind of interested to see what the military forces were like in this show’s universe, given that they were deemed not available for help against the Fatal Five. How restricted are they? Is there restrictions based on international laws? And as for the Science Police… well, I’m going to discuss that in a future episode.
Okay so tallying up the other legionnaires who were mentioned when the code red was sent out. Shrinking Violet was undercover, Colossal Boy is on Rawl (did I spell that right?), while Cosmic Boy, the leader, is at the outpost, where it is commented he won’t make it on time. Good god, they were spread thin. Just how much shit is going on elsewhere?! Just leave less than ten people at the HQ where one of the biggest problems will find them. NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL.
So the Fatal Five show up, and at least the police try to do something, but still get their asses kicked. A for effort.
And what does Clark do when confronted with his first Comic Villain fight? At first he seems like he’s running away. Leaving the Legion to get their butts kicked. But instead he’s getting the costume, and tries to fly. He’s taking a step forward to define himself as someone who can help. He’s becoming Superman.
But how did that costume just suddenly adjust to the tinier frame? Krypton Science?
And what about his hair? It changed too! It just popped out that signature curl!
Regarding the fight, there are several things I noticed: Triplicate Girl can be forcibly merged back into one singular being, and all three of her can carry Persuader and PG with the ax. Validus chased Bouncing Boy like a dog, which was kind of funny. Lightning Lad abandons his original opponent during fight to go help his teammates, and manages to resist for a while. And then he gave Superman tips in fighting. Saturn Girl is the first to break out of the control, and uses her powers to free the others. B5 has strong robot muscles (what’s the mechanical equivalent?)
Also, I think I should thank this episode for giving the idea of the ax for a weapon in the SU AU i work with, since she got to hold it several times in the episode.
Now regarding the villains, honestly the only one who I find of any interest is Emerald Empress. She was just so causal to Superman when she sees him in costume, and sounded disappointed at the small number of the people who came to confront her team, which gives her some character. Also, I heard somewhere that she is a lesbian. If anyone has a source that can confirm, I would appreciate it so much, cuz I need more queer ladies in my life.
Post fight, Lighting Lad says he knew Superman could do it, only to get the look from everyone. Karma much?
And we see sad Brainy when he says Superman has to go home.
But then Superman is the one who proposes he stays.
And as one last boot to the episode, Superman steals what Lightning Lad’s spot during flight with Brainy’s help. Continuing Karma on the trash baby.
So final thoughts on the episode overall.
It’s a good start the first season, definitely. But I feel there could be better execution. Like the first bit can get people to think that the fight happened before the Legion went to fetch Superman. Like only some of them managed to get away from the Fatal Five, and realize they need help in rescuing the rest of the Legion. That would be more interesting for a first episode, to me anyway.
Villains could have used more development.
Maybe seeing a bit more of the life back at Smallville would have been nice as well.
And how did that decision for the Time Bubble Trio/TBT go? I know B5 probably demanded to go, justifying he was the one who built the device. And wanted to see Superman first. But why Saturn Girl and Bouncing Boy? Did they draw stick, or was it based on the idea that they are probably the most responsible of the group? TELL ME~
But given what we got, I love it. The members of the legion are fun to watch, and it’s a good take on the younger Superman, and the interpretation I got out of the episode was so much deeper than what I got when I was younger.
And kudos out to the staff in trying to squeeze that gay stuff in.
Characters in this episode:
I really like Superman/Clark’s personality here. I can relate to it now better than how I did when I was younger. And now the experience seems like a parallel to finding a safe place to come out. Gold. Star.
Brainiac 5 was nice to see, crushing on Superman. We discover more of him personality wise later on, but it’s so good to see the gay game getting on this early.
Saturn Girl – god I love how she’s so emotionally aware of others in parts of this episode. This girl is definitely someone I would talk to during a hard time.
Lightning Lad… thank god for later character development. He’s a lovable brat here, but needs that character development stat.
Bouncing Boy is a delight. Such goodness in a person. An early-version of Hunk from Voltron. Good emotional support as well.
Seeing the sass that just oozes from Phantom Girl is a joy. My beautiful daughter.
And Triplicate Girl… THANK GOD YOU ARE NOT AS PALE HERE IN HD AS YOU WERE IN SD. I feel that we could have seen more of her and PG, but I really love how they got along in the HQ before the TBT got back.
The villains. Not much to say other than what I said about Empress earlier and that they needed development overall. Sorry.
Well, that’s all for this episode! Hope this was a good read for you all! lemme know if i should put any under a Read More bar.
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