This has been in my drafts for a while. For now I decided I don't want to finish Edgerunners. I watched until ep6 and stopped. It's boring, very average, and disappointing, considering all the hype. I'm posting it just so I remember this. The best thing about this show was all 5 seconds of Rogue. My queen. The game is way better.

1x01.

I understand where that is coming from, but damn.

Overall, quite in character for the universe, I think. While in the gave we've been stripped of everything, Jackie helps us. And by the time we get to play, we already have *some* chrome and abilities. Personally, I like to loot everything I see and then sell. Then upgrade my characters, start crafting, money come with gigs.

This dude? Still a kid, had nothing, everyone wants to rip him off, even his fixer is a piece of shit (while V has Viktor whose an absolute sweetheart, and Johnny had his own fixer that would fix Johnny no matter how bad Johnny was willing to fuck his body (read: new liver getting installed without being asked bc the older one was completely destroyed.))

The music was very nice! All the sounds of calls, the stylization, the apartment, the city. Goons shooting you bc they're chasing other goons. Just yesterday I encountered cops in the game that were chasing some goons and shooting them & they pushed V aside with their car. When I helped the cops but got too close, they were ready to attack me, too. While other cops in another situation exhale in relief and thank me. What a wild universe.

I'm sad the series has anime style, I'd prefer something out of Arcane, but for the lack of anything else, I'll have to take this.

1x02.

Ahhh!!! This would've been SO good in realism. I still haven't tried those arms btw. So used to non-lethal.

I hope his ripperdoc get DESTROYED. Vik would beat the shit out of him & rightfully so.

She's like Judy or something? Or a mix of Evelyn and Judy? The ending though... HUH???

1x03.

The quick hacking <3 This is soooo !!!

Baby girl. Baby.

I recognize that beat without even seeing the scenery. Then the bouncer, the green lighting. <333

Where is my queen?? Where is my beloved???

What a cutie pie.

I see you, references to the game. I see you.

It's LITERALLY the first real mission with Jackie in the game (unless you're a nomad, of course, then it's the iguana).

Aww.

THERE IS MY QUEEN!!!!! It's so fucking nice to see her laughing and smiling and—

Johnny you were a FOOL for fucking other women when Rogue was right there. She would've let you do anything if only you were honest with her.

Gosh I am so in love with her. Well, maybe not in love but I have a crush on her either way. She. Her.

Netrunners <3 Honestly, it's such a bliss to be able to destroy an enemy without even unholstering your weapon. Your netrunning skills ARE your weapon.

Ooh? Moxxes, huh? I wonder if Tyger Claws already took over (and where's Judy at).

Reusing moments from the game. :') I wonder if they're gonna politely and gently and kindly nod to Johnny.

I don't understand why David keeps coming back to his shitty ripper that doesn't even give him any kind of pain numbing, especially now that he has eddies. And there's so much blood. C'mon, where's Viktor? Honestly, any decent ripper?

Now I kinda feel like Lucy's gonna die or something like that. Kid, it's time for you to go to bed. Stop with this childish nonsense.

This hetero romance was seen from miles away and I find it so boring? Honestly, an older terrorist in your head is so much more fun than... this. Unless she's real wild, I don't dig it. And I think I'd like to be more gay or something.

Really good music is playing, though, when they kiss.

1x05.

1x06 is so boring. Fast forwarded just like that. What was all the fuss about? This anime is so average, boring, and disappointing. The game is SO much better.

Awesome ninjago dream time!

I had a dream like, 10 minutes ago and hell it was cool. It had Echo, Zane as a focus but included the rest of the ninja too which surprised me. Except for Jay, he just wasn’t in the dream,,, I don’t know why--

From what I remember, Kai, Cole and Zane were separated from the rest, and were in this tower lookin’ place, think Donnie’s lab from RotTMNT, but darker.

The center of the room was just brimming with blue and white electricity, and as they walk in, someone walks out from behind the column of static. It’s Echo, but he’s not copper or gold, he’s a purple-ish grey silver (the sides of his head and hair was darker than his face and his eyes were gold, straight gold, they stood out against the blues and blacks). Ngl, looked kinda like Ultron.

He comes out and I remember Kai and Cole look to Zane and Zane just looks conflicted, scared, confused, concerned. Echo says something, probably about knowing Zane or how they’re totally related, and it makes Kai and Cole real mad, and the two of them start to fight Echo. Zane is not fighting and instead stands back as he watches, what looks like, himself fighting his friends. The battle continues and Nya and Lloyd (without Jay?? Jay just wasn’t in this dream) join in just as Echo pushes some button, directing the lightning to Kai and Cole, and they disappear.

They do not die, and in fact are teleported to a jungle island(?). They get thrown out of what looks like a wormhole, and immediately assume they were banished to another realm (understandably) and Kai of all people begins having an unexpected panic attack to which Cole comforts him and they choose to wander along the edge of the beach to map out their surroundings (my dream gave me a reason for them leaving, thanks brain).

I think it would be fun to mention that this dream all happens in a stylized animated way, that’s generally how my dreams look, but with Kai and Cole’s “scenes” it looks like the minifigs, and I would love to point out that Cole has a bandanna and man bun and tore his black trousers to resemble shorts, while Kai ends up tearing his gi to look like a crop vest with no arms and has light brown trousers instead of red... It was a cool design honestly, I’m proud of my brain.

Back to Lloyd, Nya and Zane. Echo ends up beating Lloyd and Nya pretty badly and directs his attention to Zane, still having a mini freak-out, and tells him all about how Zane was the one that was loved, Zane wad the son Julien wanted, Zane got cool powers and made friends. While Echo was a copy of that, Julien didn’t want echo, he wanted his real son, Echo didn’t get powers, Echo didn’t get friends of love, he didn’t even get his brother. So now he was gong to take that all away, so Zane could know exactly what Echo felt.

It strikes then that Echo is his brother. And tries desperately to talk to Echo, while Echo is continuously attacking Zane. Eventually , Zane places himself on an Ice podium to escape Echo’s barrage of attacks and Echo takes this as an opportunity to play with Zanes head. He begins to talk about how he’s always been above the rest, pointing to Nya and Lloyd, and how he’s the one that gets the attention since he’s “oh so special”. Zane uses logic to negate everything Echo throws at him, throwing in his line “I am built to protect those who cannot protect themselves” and it is that sentence that throws Echo off the edge.

Echo is yelling, screaming at him, throwing all his emotions into one big pile and telling Zane everything he’s felt and done because he just wanted what Zane had. Echo doesn’t know that through this, he’s crying and Zane’s lowered himself from his podium to stand in front of Echo. Echo looks up to see Zane also has tears in his eyes. And in an unspoken attempt to make things up, Zane hugs Echo, tight, and hold him close, Echo is tense at first but softens into the hug. Echo’s sobs are drowned by the cracking and popping of the machine and the two just sit on the floor together in a brotherly embrace.

My dreams don’t end happy though and it all goes wrong! Sirens emitting from the computers and warnings cover the screens. Echo pulls from the hug instantly and looks around frantically, landing his eyes on Zane and Zane looks in confusion. Echo dashes off to one of the computers close to the previously mentioned button. Lloyd and Nya, with their weapons still drawn but not prepared, move up to the brothers. Lloys asks what’s wrong and Echo states that the machine technically isn’t ready and that first blast actually could've destroyed them all. Echo did not equate for the recharge, and throughout their squabble the machine was just getting more and more charged.

Echo states the best way not to die, would be to teleport them all to the same location, since there would be no time to escape the blast radius. Lloyd and Nya are adamant that they could make it and just when they are about to leave the tower (which i’m realizing at this point is probably the lighthouse prison), when Zane puts his hand on Echo’s shoulder and says “I trust him”. Promoting a disbelieving and hopeful look from Echo and a hesitant glare from Nya to Lloyd, who states “If Zane trusts him, so do I”.

Nya is still hesitant but believes the same. The four stand together as Echo slams down on the same button, sending them all to the same location through the wormhole. Just as they do this, the Lighthouse combusts in a striking explosion of blues and purples. The lighthouse is no more.

When the four get thrown out, they appear at the same beach. Nya is okay with the location because there’s water. Lloyd is asking Echo all sorts of questions. “Why are you evil? Are you still evil? What was your main goal? Where are we right now? Are you honestly Zane’s brother? Are you even listen--” He’s not listening, and instead is looking away from them, ashamed. 

Zane comes over, while Lloyd is still asking questions, to comfort him again. They have a conversation about how Echo thought this was the only way to get his attention and the only way to make him understand how he felt and Zane tells him that it’s okay to feel however he feels, what’s upsetting is the way he went about those emotions. Echo remarks that being a nindroid doesn’t help all to much and Zane laughs in understanding, saying “You will understand when you are older”. 

Nya pulls Lloyd aside to point out two pairs of footprints in the sand. Lloyd calls Zane over who confirms that that is Cole and Kai’s shoe sizes, and Echo confirms that this is the location he intended to strand Zane on, realizing how bad that sounds out loud he looks away. Lloyd recommends they follow the prints to see where the two went and see if they can catch up. 

This is where we go back to Kai and Cole, who are still traveling through the jungle, the beach cornered off into a cliff and Cole didn’t want to disturb any potential threats, so they continue inwards. (I’m writing this whole bit out exactly as I saw it, Cole getting upset)

Kai is cutting away at the leaves and sticks while ranting about how “When I get off this island, I’m gonna pin that little squirt to the ground and make him wish he was never built!”.

Cole reminds him that “If that ‘Little squirt’ really is Zane’s brother like he says, Zane probably wouldn’t be to thrilled with you smashing him into scrap.”

“Zane wouldn’t care! That twerp is clearly evil, did you see the way he zapped us?” Looking back at his friend.

Cole raises an eyebrow at him “...Evilly?”

“Exactly! Wait- yeah, evilly.” and Cole sighs “Besides, Zane knows better then to get friendly with villains, we’ve seen enough of how well that tuned out with-” He cuts himself off.

“You know Zane doesn’t like ‘that’ being mentioned, even when when he’s not here.” Cole reminds him calmly.

Kai paused “I-I know, I’m just--Mad! How can someone, supposedly your family, turn on you like that! It’s-”

“You did the same thing,” Cole interrupted. Kai stopped mid-swing and stared wide eyed at Cole, anger clearly starting to build. “What?” He prompted Cole to continue, carefully.

“You’ve fallen for the same trick as both of them, dude. Lloyd says you were persuaded by Chen’s staff just the same as Zane was by that Vex guy and the scroll,” He moved from following behind Kai to standing beside him.

“You also attacked your parents, thinking they were traitors, according to Nya. Of all of us, you should be able to see both sides clearer than the rest,” He takes one of Kai’s swords from it’s sheath on his back and begins to cut more bushes in his way.

“I guess that just makes you more blind to it then us instead.” He looks back, only to continue on his way. Kai is stood still for a few more moments, his arm frozen in the air like a game on pause. Soon though, before he loses sight of the Earth master in the brush, he jogs up to him, putting his own sword in it’s sheath allowing Cole to lead on. His words do sting and bore into his head. Recollection of both those events hurt by themselves, but with this new context, Kai couldn’t help but feel like Cole was right. Maybe he is more blind to how the “brothers” felt that he should be, or was that just him denying his own emotions?

AND THAT WAS IT--

That was my dream, and now there will be nothing done with it because LEGO are already doing a jungle adventure. My dreams are wild man, it’s like my brain is showing me a movie, it’s so cool--

I do like this concept, I love it in fact. But unless I want to change the entire vibe, I don’t think I would be able to make it a fan season. If season 14 wasn’t a jungle season-- I WOULD.

atissi

replied to your post

“it kinda makes me sad when artists giving out tutorials on character...”

oh could you talk more about this? :o

ABSOLUTELY thank u for enabling me to go off about designs i love this shit this may get a bit long so its going under a readmore (sorry if ur on mobile i hope it works)

gonna start this off with im no expert Nor have i taken any sort of official art class this is me just analyzing characters from what i found that makes them memorable to ppl (most of these examples are going to be from games sorry i got them on my mind)

ok so basically making a memorable revolves around personality and appearance now theres different ways to go about showing these things and i think from consuming media you like will help narrow down how you wanna go about it, basically thinking about your character inside and out!

SO shapes and hyperstylization is a good way to get a fun appearance across in a cartoon esp media and is often what a lot of artists stress on an example of using shapes and a good silhouette to make a memorable character is sonic!(specifically comic sonic)

(had to google idw sonic for a non...u know image)

but not only do they use lots of triangles for this hedgehog they also made him blue! you’d be more likely to remember a blue headgehog over a realistically colored one!(also almost all of the sonic characters have a combination of fun shape + unusual color to help you remember them! the designs werent afraid to use color to make a bold statement)(he’s also segas mascot so of course they put a lot of work in his design)

now sonics appearance is not the only reason why people like him or remember him so much he’s also got personality! he’s cocky, fast, always getting into trouble, “you’re too slow!”, accompanied by shitty butt rock and a cool guy persona ie he’s got personality! and they weren’t afraid to give him some weird interests(see the butt rock) and he’s not perfect( see arrogance) if youve ever played a sonic game you have almost always remembered the crush 40 theme that went with it

all in all to go with his unusual appearance he’s got some unusual traits! it helps make him believable! admittedly he’s not the most embarrassing of the sonic crew (see knuckles or shadow) but he’s definitely rounded and not boring from an objective standpoint(you can not like sonic or his games i dont care)

(another example of something that requires good shapes is pokemon altho they arent really like very depthy since there are 600+ and some only have like a pokedex entry worth of info but still they have good and memorable designs)

NOW something that doesnt have the most “good shapes” design off the top of my head is link

now in the most recent zelda game his most memoriable physical attribute is that he’s on the androgynous side w his longer hair and smaller build but in his older designs he looked something like this

(art for a loz:link to the past)

not really that much of a striking silhouette, but what do we look at and kinda leaves an impression on us? his hair and hat! its very silly to see someone in such a big green hat with that big of bangs/mullet, the hat at least became so ridiculous of a look that in botw nintendo didnt include his hat in links main outfit bc it was too hard to make look good, its silly! thats good! its fine to have a normal human looking characters because sometimes stories are about humans, but if you want us to remember them include something that will strike us as strange for them

also probably a good thing to note is the noises link makes when he swings his sword, jumps, pushes something, ie any action they have always been something that has stuck with me

(another example similar to this is in mgs solid snake in mgs is this cool super spy but is rocking a full on mullet which is considered a joke hairstyle. this leaves an impression on us. a spy with a mullet! how ridiculous! another example is raiden who was specifically made bc a woman wrote that she didnt want to play as an “old man” so the protagonist of the super spy game is a longer haired pretty boy (with a huge ass))

now ive explained a little on a character with good shapes and personality and a character with a more “boring” shape design that makes up for it with almost quirky design choices but i feel like theres another series thats what originally got me thinking about how even a memorable silhouette doesnt need hyperstylization

ace attorney! (which is out on switch now if u havent played it i would def recommend it)

if you dont know the protagonist is the guy in the blue suit(phoenix), which well he looks like just a guy...with ridiculously spikey hair enough so that in his silhouette you can recognize him but also his posture (the pointing) makes for a sticking recognizable image bc if you’ve played the games you can practically hear objection just from looking at phoenix’s silhouette

which is another thing id like to talk about! not only are a good shape a way to have a good silhouette but posture is also important! how the character holds themselves can say alot about them just from a glance! such as meekness, arrogance, confidence, sadness, anger, happiness its a very important too especially when you arent relying on stylization

now onto the characters of ace attorney ive gone over phoenix's design a bit but theres a few others id like to look at with some Weird style choices that make us remember them(just going to glance over them since this post is so long)

now, this woman, franziska von karma, she dresses kind of strange for a prosecutor but her outfit is not too out there and her silhouette is not striking

but you see that whip? remember how i said she was a prosecutor? yeah she will strike people in court for getting off topic and will even hit phoenix when he starts breaking down her witnesses testimonies, which what literally strikes up about her

another prosecutor, godot, now his hair could provide a somewhat memorable shape but what we first notice is the strange mask on his face which is weird, but not the Same weird as franziska bringing a whip to court thus having both of these prosecutors being Weirdly memorable for different things (another note is his liking of coffee that he does not give up even in court ha ha)

now onto the other protag for the aa games

apollo! who also has weirdly spikey hair, but even if you put a silhouette of him next to phoenix you could tell there some was a difference between the two! its showing a pattern with the protags while also keeping them distinct enough to be able to tell who is who! although you cant say the pointy haired guy from ace attorney and not get just One answer unlike saying the prosecutor who has a whip but still they are distinct to people who have little experience with the series

sorry i dont have any sort of conclusion on this this was just sort of me rambling on about character design, but my main point is if you are discouraged bc all your characters dont have wildly different silhouettes thats ok! there are other ways to establish a good memorable character! dont be afraid to make them a little weird! give your character pink hair in a medieval setting, have them be ridiculously in love with tigers they have a striped shirt and pants, let them love childrens tv shows and have them never miss an episode, give them wacky hair or an extreme love of gum, show us some personality!! but dont forget about how they act and their values and dont forget that posture can go a long way for establishing a first impression

there are also many other methods to making a good character! like colors and dress!

silly is the way to go! have fun with it!!

there isnt just one way to make a good character!! theres plenty of more series that have good character design that i didnt mention pay attention to why you like the characters you like! also watch this video bc its really good

So uhhhh I drew a lot of RWBY this year... only two of these are non RWBY and tbh I could have just as easily put something RWBY for June Template

Retrospective under the cut bc it’s LONG 

RETROSPECTIVE January: First piece of the year! I still like this piece and I think it shows how much I improved from the original version of it. Also I just like looking at it bc it's soft content of my rare pair. I do think I made the rose look photorealistic which looks... bad esp with all the other more stylized flowers, and I got lazy with the bleeding hearts by just drawing one set and flipping them. Emerald's hair also could look better. February:  I made this around GNG week, which was a fun, good time, long before the server imploded on itself. I got really lazy with the backgrounds, obviously, but I do like the poses in this one, tho it helped that I based it off of screenshots from Young Justice. I also just really like how Merc looks in this one. March: March wasn't a very prolific month for art, I don't think I produced much besides this and one comic piece for GNG week. I'm not sure why exactly, I can't find any specific reason why I would be unproductive that month. I'm gonna just assume I was drained from work all the time and didn't have the energy to put out good art, and also I was getting into a slump bc all my art was starting to look same-y. This piece isn't very good, but I chose it because I did it without a reference, and at this point that was going out of my comfort zone. It's obviously not super dynamic, but at the very least you can tell I intended there to be motion to it. April: This also wasn't a very prolific month for art, not as bad as March, but for the same reasons. I was also really starting to feel burnout from the RWBY fandom, specifically wasps and conflict within the GNG server. This was also when the Art vs the Artist meme was popular, and I realized I didn't want to do that meme because my art was too similar and boring, which also brought me down a peg. Though I put out a few good chibis in April, I chose my Mercury redesign bc I was really proud of it. I could never get the Emerald redesign to mesh quite right, but I can say I'm really proud of how Mercury's came out. May: May had me bounce out of my art slump and in full force trying to expand my skills! Specifically exploring painting. Although May was about as prolific as April, what I did create I put a lot into. It was difficult to pick between this and my app of Edison, because I'm really proud of both, but in the end I went with this commission of Mercury because I pushed myself to try and use an interesting perspective for the piece instead of my usual stand still and face the camera pose. Because I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, this was one of the best things I made all year, and may be my favorite piece of the year. June: TIME TO STRESS OUT ABOUT CONNECTICON! So if you follow me on twitter, you might have noticed I made a lot of posts at the beginning of the year low key throwing shade at myself for drawing my oc's instead of more "important" art. Well, that important art that I was procrastinating was con merch, and con was the second week of July, so I really had to get my ass in gear to finish merch on time (spoiler, I didn't finish a lot of it on time). This piece and July's piece are both posters I made for Connecticon, and while I like July's much better, that doesn't mean I find this piece bad. I really should have known that no one at con would realize it was a goonies reference tho -_-; I also lost a lot of love for this piece after season 6 of Voltron, which I watched while I was about 60% of the way through this piece, so I had to force myself to finish it. July: I love this piece!!!! Don't get me wrong, I know it has flaws, but look at it! The lines are so crisp, the colors look good, Roman and Merc's expressions are mwuah chefs kiss, and I just love all of them!!! ... except for Neo. I really didn't do her justice in this piece, her hair is too fluffy, her head is way to oversized to the point that she looks like a bobblehead, and her eyes are too close together. Really if you take out Neo's head that whole problem goes away. I also love all the tiny details I put in this one, from emerald's chaps to roman's rose to Neo's lace parasol. You can tell I was way more passionate about this piece than I was about the Voltron piece.  August:  pretty sure this is when I quit my job cashiering, and thank god bc customers suck. If I was going off of sheer popularity, Chibi Pyrrha would have taken this slot no contest, and while I love chibi Pyrrha, I don't think it was the best of the month. I chose this little princess and the pauper au doodle because I tried a year ago to draw these two dancing, and it looked like dog shit. It was flat and ugly. But this has motion to it, and even looking at it now makes me feel warm and happy inside. It's just a good cute drawing of my otp. September: My piece for the RWBY tarot project! I have a lot of mixed emotions about this one. on the one hand, I love how mercury looks, his expression, the lighting, the visceral gore from his legs (ESPECIALLY THE VISCERAL GORE ON HIS LEGS) and the hands of the undead, all look stunning and I don't think I could be more happy with how they turned out. And then we get to the background. The caduceus isn't the worst thing ever, but it's severely lacking in quality compared to the rendering on mercury in front of it, and a lot of it is clearly pixellated from me trying to stretch and squash it just right. And the fire is a hot (no pun intended) mess. It's flat, incoherent, and doesn't lead the eye anywhere. It's a shame too because I wanted to do more with it, but I a) didn't have enough time or patience to figure out what I needed to do to fix it and b) didn't want to go outside of my comfort level, so I gave up and decided to be satisfied with what I had. October: October was another good month for art, I made a turnaround sheet for Moss, painted a full body (and slightly lewd) Rudy, and made a decent attempt at inktober. Ok, so I got like 2 days in, but I improved a lot on inking from last year! Fun fact! this piece was originally going to be fan art of Lindsay Jones, but after I did some thumbnails to figure out a pose, I thought it would suit White Diamond better, and I could also sell it as merch. I love this piece. I think I captured the sinister mood well, and conveyed the story I wanted to without any dialogue (at least the notes on Tumblr make me assume I did a decent job, lotta people really wigged out lol) I really worked hard to get the lighting right on this one, and I think it shows. My absolutely favorite thing about this piece funnily enough, is Amethyst. I think I just did a great job drawing her and I'm proud of myself ok. Stevens bubble and my trouble figuring out how to get WD's leg just right are the only things that I dislike about this piece, but I might go back and fix those. November: IM SO PROUD OF THIS COMMISSION!!!!!! I worked so god damn hard on this chef's kiss poifect,  and it really shows. I started using a new brush at this point, the Ojing series on Clip Studio Paint, which I recommend and have been using a lot since. I've also been using this shading technique since drawing this. I love how it sort of fades out but it's still really crisp. I also love all the little details that give this piece character, like her shoes and the stripes on her jacket. This piece really takes a lot of the stuff I learned over the year and combines it into one piece, and I could not be prouder of it. I have absolutely no problems with this one, though I do find the weapon a bit plain, but it's what the client described. December: AND NOW IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!!! I had been working on this piece since August, going back to it every now and then and getting frustrated. I'm really glad I came back to it and finally finished it, since I love this pair and I put a lot of effort into it back in August. However, I'm also really glad I completely overhauled a lot of it, specifically the flowers. Though I'm not 100% happy with the mums in this one, they look a thousand times better than the mums I had originally sketched back in August, and were part of the reason I had such a hard time finishing this for months. I also thought it would be nice to end the year on the same note it started; with a flower couple. I've definitely learned a lot since January, and I hope to continue growing in 2019! 2019 GOALS!

Work on backgrounds for the love of god

Draw more stuff that isn't RWBY

Perspective

Make more speed paints and post more to youtube in general

Rick’s Texas Chick: Chapter 16

She meets Harley.

This was originally posted on AO3 at:https://archiveofourown.org/works/15183545/chapters/35512488

She arrived home from an early shift, happy now that she was at the start of a scheduled five day break from work.  Rick was sprawled on her couch, watching tv, as usual, holding what looked like a tumbler full of whiskey on the rocks.  She plopped herself down next to him.  He handed his drink to her, grinning.  “Drink some of that, then get changed.  We’re going out.”

She took the glass and drank a few sips.  She was getting used to his abrupt travel plans, especially now that she knew more of the whys and hows.  She knew he was making shady deals and black market-type trades with other species on other planets, and that’s how he always had sufficient money to pay for all the set-up in the Smith’s garage, or for taking her out --- something he didn’t do nearly enough of, she thought on more than one occasion.  So, she wasn’t going to pass on this opportunity tonight.

“Great. What do I wear?”

He shrugged.  He was a man, what did he know or care about what a woman chose to wear to go out.  “It’s just a (urp) bar.  Any-anything will do…  Not your damn scrubs,” he added hastily.  Even though she no longer did bedside nursing care, she still wore surgical scrubs to work at the hospital.  “We’re going to meet some friends of mine.  Get drunk, play some (urp) play some pool.”  He sounded like he was half in the bag already.

She didn’t take too long to decide, Rick had never been very patient.  In the end she went with a stylized buttoned turquois top blouse, leaving the top buttons undone and showing a good amount of her cleavage; she wore a pair of hip hugging jeans and western-style boots.  They didn’t have much of a heel, she knew her feet weren’t up to wearing heels after standing all day, but these would still give her some height.  A little.

She came back downstairs and sat down next to him on the couch; his eyes smoldered when he stared down her blouse.

“Hmmm.  Or, maybe we could just stay here together, babe…” He pulled her towards him and nuzzled his face down into her cleavage, making obscene noises.

She giggled, pushing him away.  “Cut it out.  Let’s go.”

---

They stepped through the portal onto a quiet city street outside a bar.  He opened the door and ushered her inside the dimly lit tavern-style pub.  She stood for a moment, allowing her eyes to adjust.

It was long and narrow with a dark-stained oak bar along one side; a few booths and pub tables with stools ran down the other side. In the back were two pool tables with billiard lights hanging low over each of them, creating additional shadows which concealed a few bar tables nearby.  Otherwise, neon beer signs provided most of the light.  A blues guitar song with a heavy bass rhythm emanated from an unseen music player.

The place was fairly crowded and smoky.  Mostly human or humanoid type people, nothing squiggly or tentacled.  Just based on the seating set-up, it looked like it probably didn’t cater to many different types of aliens other than humanoid.  In the back she saw two men in the middle of a game at one of the pool tables.  The other pool table was empty.

Rick ordered two long neck dark beers for her and a double whiskey on the rocks for himself.  He handed one of the beers to her.  “Drink that.”  She took a few sips.  “Finish it.”

“What do you want me to do, belch all night?”

“Yeah---urp.  You’ll fit right in,” he burped loudly, grinning.

She finished off the first beer and he handed her the second.

“Let’s go.”  He gave her a gentle little nudge in the small of her back, then protectively left his hand there as he steered her to join the two men at the pool tables in the rear of the pub.  As they approached, she realized…she realized it was a couple of Ricks…

One was wearing a pair of worn blue jeans that fit snuggly to his lean frame; she couldn’t help but notice the significant bulge in his crotch.  He wore a tight-fitting black t-shirt that was roughly tucked into his jeans.  It showed off his pecs, and on each arm she could see the hint of a tattoo peeking below the snugly fitting sleeve which covered each well-defined bicep.  His blue-gray hair was wavy and longish and he sported a pair of dark sunglasses atop his head.  When he turned to look at them approaching she noted how his face was tanned and weathered by years of open road riding, with fine wrinkles at the corners of his piercing blue eyes.  He sported several days’ growth of beard stubble.

Watching them approach, he parked himself half onto a chair style barstool, one boot resting comfortably on the ground, the other hooked by the heel over the rung.  Picking up his beer and taking a sip, he placed one arm along the backrest of the chair and rested the other on the table, holding his beer.  Even in the dim light his eyes bored into hers and she felt an instant…connection, desire, need…Her breath hitched at the sight of him.

The other Rick was in the middle of making a shot on the pool table.  He bent over his stick and eyed the cue ball with a squint before hitting his shot with the sharp crack of colliding balls, sending his ricocheting just off the side of the pocket and back out into the middle of the poor table.  “Shit,” he cursed quietly.  Retrieving his beer from the other table he took a huge swig, then turning to follow the other Rick’s gaze, he saw Rick and her approaching.

“Hey-hey!  Loo-(urp)-ook who finally decided to make it!” he called out as they walked up.

“Eh,” grumbled Rick and pointed his head down at her, “Somebody was having trouble finding—she was having wardrobe issues.”  They stopped at the tall pub table with the other two Ricks.  Rick put a hand on her shoulder and introduced them to her as Rick and Rick.

The Rick who’d been making the shot stepped forward, placing a large hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you’re a real breath of fresh air around here.  Been getting sick and tired of just seeing this one’s old sour puss.” He bent down and kissed her affectionately on the cheek, “Call me Polo.”  Unlike the other Rick, Polo was clean-shaven and his hair was trimmed shorter.  He had a strong jaw with the hint of a cleft in his chin.  He was dressed in a pair of freshly ironed dark jeans with a dark brown leather belt and a deep blue polo-style shirt (of course, she thought to herself) that was tucked in.  He wore a pair of brown casual-style loafers.

His manner was outgoing and light, much different from her more gruffly-spoken and taciturn Rick.  She grinned at him and spontaneously gave him a hug hello.  He was gorgeous.  He looked like he could be a model for GQ; in fact, even though she couldn’t have known it, that’s what Rick liked to sometimes call him as a joke.  “Hi, Polo, it’s nice to meet you.”  As it usually did when she’d been drinking, her drawl had become a tad more prominent.

“And that’s Harley,” said Polo, indicating the other Rick sitting at the bar table.

“Hey, doll,” he nodded at her, but remained by his beer.

“We’re not quite finished with our game…Rick, it’s your shot.”  Polo moved away from the pool table and parked himself on a stool next to her, taking a swig from his beer while he waited.

Harley drained his beer before easing off his stool, then collected his pool stick from where it was leaning nearby against the wall.

“Watch this, angel, he’s one of the best,” Polo leaned down and whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

Quickly and without hesitation, Harley ran the table, driving his remaining balls into pockets, then called the last shot and sent the eight-ball home.

“And that, my friend, is why (urp) I don’t play you for money,” said Polo, tipping his beer towards Harley in friendly acknowledgement before draining his beer.  He set the empty bottle down on the table with a pronounced thump.

“All right!  What’s the next game?  Are we teaming up?”

“Nah.  Think I’ll just watch,” said her Rick.  “Harley, take her, she could probably benefit from your experience and tutelage.  You two play against Polo.”  She looked at him sharply.  There was a hint of hidden meaning in his voice, but his eyes betrayed nothing.

“But wait!”  She exclaimed.  “I totally suck at pool!  I mean, I love to play, but it’s been awhile…” Like, over ten years, she thought.  She didn’t fancy embarrassing herself in front of everyone.

“No worries, doll.  Come here.  You know how to break?”  Harley set the rack down on the table and was placing the balls inside. “Come here, I’ll show you how to rack up the balls.”

Lifting his whiskey up to his mouth, Rick snorted unexpectedly into the glass before taking a drink.

“You gonna let her rack the balls and break?” asked Polo in mock annoyance.

“Shut up, asshole, she’s learning.  Now, doll, come here…”  Taking her elbow, Harley pulled her around to stand in front of him and pressed her slightly up against the pool table.  Then, leaning into her and looking over her shoulder, he reached around on either side of her and took her hands in his, guiding her to pick up the balls and position them in the rack.

“The eight-ball goes in the middle, the one-ball at the top, then you alternate stripes and solids everywhere else…”

She could hardly focus on what he was saying.  The heat coming off his arms and his hands wherever he touched her skin was electrifying, and the pressure of his cock against her butt made her weak at the knees.  She wanted to swoon against him.  Maybe he noticed because he shifted subtly so that he pressed against her just a little more closely, either to hold her up or tease her further with his bulge against her back.  When he finished, almost as a coup de grâce, his forearms just brushed against her breasts before he stepped away.  Next, he led her around to the other side of the table to show her how to break, picking up his cue stick along the way.

“You think she should use your stick?  It’s kind of big for her…” called out her Rick, not so helpfully.

Polo laughed loudly at that, and went off to buy another round of beer and whiskey.  Rick had identified the players early tonight; for this evening, at least, Polo could only sit back and be a bystander.

“Don’t pay attention to those assholes,” said Harley, his voice gruff but gentle.  “Come here, doll.”  He helped her pick out a pool cue from the selection on the wall, one that was more suited to her height, then showed her how to make sure that the tip wasn’t damaged.  Then, using the empty pool table, he showed her how to roll it to judge it for straightness.  Taking the cue ball from their table, he had her make a few practice shots on the empty one.  Standing beside her, he reached his arms around her to show her how to hold the stick, then bent her down over the table to line up the shot.  She could barely hold the stick properly, and was glad she didn’t scratch a groove in the felt.

Her Rick watched them from his seat on the bar stool with an amused smile.  The bemused expression on her face was one of half lust and half drunkenness.  He enjoyed seeing her look of discomfiture at Harley’s closeness and her inability to fight her growing attraction.  He could read her like a book, as always.

“Christ, aren’t you two done with your little private lesson, yet?”  Polo returned with a bucket full of ice with a half-dozen longnecks sticking out of the top and another double whiskey for Rick.

“Come on, doll.  Let’s put him out of his misery.”  Harley led her back around to the other table and positioned her for the breaking shot, then stepped away.  “Go for it.”  He reached into the bucket and pulled out a beer, using his bare hand to crack the bottlecap with a hiss.

She bent over the table and focused on the cue ball, not realizing that she was giving all three men a clear shot down her blouse and full view of her cleavage.  Taking a deep, steadying breath and desperately aware that they were all watching her closely, she closed one eye and took the shot, breaking at an angle.  The balls exploded apart and scattered across the table, the six-ball sinking into a corner pocket.

She stood up in amazement.  “Fuck, yeah!” then clapped her hand over her mouth.  The three Ricks burst out laughing.  Her next shot required her to bend over the table, facing away from the Ricks and giving them a fine view, and healthy appreciation for, her round ass.  Sitting further back in the shadows, Harley adjusted himself, grunting under his breath.

She missed the next shot and parked herself on a barstool and drank another beer while watching Polo and Harley take their turns.  Polo tried to claim that he should go twice, since he was playing against the two of them, but Harley wouldn’t let him get away with it.  The three Ricks taunted each other, gave each other unnecessary tips for the next shot.  Restless, she drank another beer as something to do, which was her usual mistake at times like these.

When it was her turn again, only one ball from each team and the eight-ball remained on the table.  She slid off the tall barstool and felt the world tilt slightly.  Her Rick noticed this and signaled for the waitress, speaking quietly to her.  She left for the bar.

She stood uncertainly by the table staring down at the balls, trying to line up her shot in her mind.  Harley came up behind her.  “Here, doll.”  He positioned her, then keeping his hands over hers on the stick, he bent over her to help her make the shot, sinking the ball.  Next, he called out the final shot to Polo then helped her to send the eight-ball home, finishing the game.

“Nice,” she said, standing up and turning around to look up at him.  “I couldn’t have done it better my- (hic!) self.”  She paused, feeling herself getting lost in his ice blue eyes.

Polo was a good sport and congratulated them from his position on a bar stool by the beer bucket.  He knew he’d lost more than just the game.  On this night, at least.

The waitress reappeared by her side at that moment, carrying a tall glass of ice water with a large lemon wedge inside.  “Here, honey, your boyfriend ordered this for you.”  She took it then paused, looking across at her Rick at hearing him described as her boyfriend…He winked at her, then called Harley over.

She drank half the glass in one go.  Across the pool table from her, she watched Rick talking to Harley quietly.  Harley looked over at her, nodding slightly as he listened.  He picked up his beer and drained it, setting the bottle down with a thump, then reached down and picked up an old black leather jacket that had been hanging on a barstool nearby.  He walked up to her and took her hand.

“Come on, doll, let’s get you some fresh air.”

She got off a questioning look towards her Rick, who nodded at her reassuringly and winked before Harley led her away to the front of the pub.  She hastily set her glass down as they passed by the bar.

tbc

Spoil You (Prompto x Reader)

Character: Prompto Argentum

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV

Categories: Reader Insert, GenderNeutral!Reader, Fluff

Title: Spoil You

Requested by anon:

could you do an imagine where Prompto's s/o just loves spoiling and cuddling him telling him how great & cute he is?

  I couldn’t contain my excitement as I knocked on the door, fidgeting in the spot as I waited for him to answer.

Soon enough, the door opened to reveal Prompto, who observed me in a daze

“Hi!” I greeted him, holding up the small cake I had bought for him and flashing him my brightest smile.

“Y/N! What are you doing here?” His blue eyes grew wide with surprise.

“Wanted to come by and spend some time with you”

“But… I haven’t done my hair, and I’m in my pijamas!”

Indeed, his blond hair was flat and not stylized as usual and he wore a lose t-shirt and comfortable pants. He wasn’t even wearing shoes, he was barefoot.

“It’s okay” I reassured him, chuckling a little.

“No it’s not! You’re here and I look like this? I’m a mess, and you-“ I shut him up with a kiss on the lips, which made him sigh in content and calm down.

“You look adorable, Prompto” I assured him as I came in, giving him the cake.

My boyfriend absently closed the door as he stuttered and tried to complain.

As Prompto stood there, holding the cake in his hands and pouting as he turned to watch me, I simply sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to mine.

“What are you really doing here, Y/N?” He asked me, placing the cake in the table as he obliged and sat down.

“Well, you’ve been working really hard and stressing a lot lately with the Crownsguard stuff and all” I said as I moved to sit in his lap instead, giving him a loving Eskimo kiss. “So I’m here to spoil you and make sure you relax and have a break”

“Aw, Y/N” His hands casually rested on my hips as he tried to hide the fact that he was blushing because of all the attention. “You didn’t have to!”

“But I want to” I placed my arms around his neck and observed him smugly. “I mean, I’ll leave if I’m bothering you”

“Nah, you... you can stay” Prompto coolly shrugged one shoulder. “It’s okay”

“You don’t seem too eager” I started to stand up from his lap. “So maybe I’ll just leave”

“Okay, I really really want you to stay” Urgently, his arms wrapped around my frame to keep me in place.

I grinned when I obtained the desire response and hugged him tight to celebrate.

Then I stood up and grabbed the cake again, trying to entice him with it.

“But a cake, Y/N?” He complained, even if his eyes seemed hungry as they stared at it.

“It’s not even chocolate cake!” I defended myself. “It’s strawberry!”

“It’s strawberry cheesecake” He whined in a childish tone, pouting as well. “So much sugar!”

“No, strawberry is a fruit!”

“Just because it’s strawberry flavored-“

“You can break the diet just this one time, c’mon!”

“You know what?” My boyfriend smirked, slightly standing up to get ahold of me again. “I prefer you instead”

“Wooo!” I squeaked as he dragged me back into his lap, flashing me a bright and innocent smile.

“Tell me, why are you here again?” It was obviously flirting, judging by the playful sexy tone he used, yet I turned my answer around to fluster him a bit.

“Because you are a cutiepie and I love you and because you deserve a break and to be spoiled by me” I booped his nose cutely to accompany my words.

I grinned widely when I noticed he started to blush.

“Aw, Y/N!” It was halfway between a complaint and a praise.

“You look adorable when you blush, Prom” I playfully insisted, wrapping my arms around his neck again.

“Stop it!” He hid his face on my shoulder, even though his hands were pulling me closer to him.

“What?” I chuckled, unable to keep a straight face. “It’s true! You’re too cute!”

“I’m warning you!”

“What are you gonna do to me, sweetie? Kiss me?”

“I might! Or, or!” He exclaimed, making a self-proclaimed important face. “I won’t kiss you! How ‘bout that?”

I tilted my head and stared at him with a smug expression. He held my glance, defiant as well, even though his confident exterior soon broke.

He pouted when he realized what I tried to convey with my face. His punishment would also affect him, and there was no way he would refrain from kissing me. Prompto loved smooches and cuddles even more than I did.

“Fine, I cannot not kiss you” My boyfriend gave in in the end.

Grinning widely in triumphant, I held his face in place and kissed him in the cheek. Prompto blushed vividly in response.

“So what do you wanna do today, handsome?”

If that was possible, he blushed even more at my flirtatious words. Gods, Prompto was always so damn adorable and precious!

Showing me that unique wide bright grin of his, he turned his face to me. There were still remnants of red in his cheeks under his freckles.

“Cuddles and videogames?” I guessed, tenderly smiling at him.

“Cuddles and videogames!” Prompto threw his arms up in the air in celebration.

I fondly watched him as he carefully sat me on the couch and nimbly stood up to prepared the console, giving me one of the controllers as he happily plopped down next to me again.

It had been a way since I had seen him so relaxed and so genuinely excited. He deserved a break from all the stress, and to feel how much I loved him.

*

The silence had established in the living room, yet we were so comfortable that we didn’t need to say anything.

Prompto and I had finished eating a few pieces of the delicious cake and were currently cuddling and watching TV –after we stopped playing, since Prompto was far too experienced and he kept winning, and losing over and over again was boring for me –even if we weren’t paying too much attention to it but to each other instead.

I was sitting in his lap again, comfortably resting my side against his chest as his arms calmly wrapped around my form. My face was pressed to his neck, even though I would look up to him every now and then, to which he reciprocated the glance lovingly and with a heartfelt and smitten smile.

I chuckled to myself when I realized the silly goose had accidentally stained his chin with cake. Prompto didn’t realize, he was too busy playing with his phone and glancing at the TV occasionally.

Finding this amusing and cute, I started giggling under my breath, resting over his shoulder as I tried to suffocate the laughter.

“What are you little rascal laughing about?” It seemed like I hadn’t done a good job at hiding my amusement, because he noticed. “You up to something?”

Prompto looked down to me, suspicious yet smiley.

“You have cake on your chin, you dork” I rested an elbow on his shoulder and hoisted myself up so I wasn’t slouched against him.

“Aw, you’re looking after me!” He mumbled as I rubbed a thumb over the residue of cake to clean it off him.

As I was almost done, I noticed a flash of light that made me turn my head. Just to see Prompto pointing his phone at us and probably documenting the moment.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re adorable, I’m taking a picture!”

“Selfie time?”

“Selfie time”

I moved to sit next to him and got as close to him as I could, posing to the camera on his phone as he prepared to take another photo.

Our heads brushed against each other as we were so close, and Prompto put his free arm around my shoulders. I gladly allowed him and posed by sticking my tongue out and making a goofy face.

Excitedly bouncing up in the seat, Prompto turned the phone around to see the result of the selfie.

“Don’t do silly faces, Y/N! I want a normal photo, just smiling” He whined, pouting at me. “Pretty pleeeease?”

“That’s boring!” I was just teasing him a bit, feeling extremely playful.

“C’mon, just one! A nice cute normal photo” His arm slid down my shoulders and around my waist, where he gently dug his fingers in my side to nudge me. “Pretty please, with sugar on top?”

“Fine” I said with a big grin, wondering how he didn’t see through the fake innocent gesture.

When he cheerfully prepared to take another selfie with me, I winked an eye and made another ugly and silly face, trying not to laugh.

I, however, started laughing out loud when the photo was taken and my boyfriend was about to see the screen to check out the new photo we had just taken.

“Stop it!” As soon as he did, Prompto bumped his shoulder against mine as he prepared the camera on his phone to take more photos.

“What if I don’t want to?” I challenged him, lifting an eyebrow in that way that he always said was so cool and attractive.

He pursed his lips together at the sight and frowned with determination.

Very slowly, he put his phone back on his pocket, always keeping eye contact. It was how I knew he was definitely up to something.

“Prom…?” I asked, putting my hands before me in a defense mechanism.

Next, his mouth elaborated a very wide and mischievous grin that confirmed my suspicions. The following second, he was lunging at me so we both lied down on the couch and mercilessly digging his fingers in my ribs, my sides and my stomach to tickle me.

Prompto had found out I was extremely ticklish soon after we started dating, and he always used it to his advantage. Especially because, according to him, it was adorable and hilarious to see me laughing at the top of my lungs and squirming under him because of something as simple as it was tickling me.

“I surrender!” I begged, trying to push him off me. “Have mercy on me!”

What Prompto didn’t know but definitely was noticing, was that I always ended up out of breath and a complete mess until I recovered.

“That’s what I thought” He chuckled, taking the opportunity to give me a chaste kiss on the lips. “Now let’s take that cute selfie”

���Give me a moment… to catch my breath” I clumsily combed my hair, as it had become messy due to rolling around in the couch trying to escape his tickling.

“It’s not like you ran a marathon or anything” Prompto giggled, lying down on top of me yet resting his body weight in his arms as they rested in the seat.

I lied there on the couch, watching him from that position, until his eyes shone with a happy glint and a smile appeared on his lips. That beautiful bright smile that made my heart flutter.

Then, very slowly, he inched closer to me. Another kiss arrived to my lips, and I happily reciprocated.

When we broke away, I noticed Prompto was lovingly staring at me. That much attention and the utmost love and adoration reflected in his eyes flustered me.

“What are you staring at me like that for?”

“You’re just so beautiful” He replied, completely smitten.

“Gods, Prompto” Embarrassed, I covered my face with my hands.

“What? It’s true!” Giggling, his kind hands gently moved mine to reveal my face.

As soon as he had access to it, he planted a small kiss to my nose and made me giggle in giddiness.

“I’m supposed to be spoiling you, not the other way around!”

Taking advantage that he was leaning his hands on the seat I was lying in not to squash me with his weight, I shoved one of his arms so he tucked under his own weight.

He squeaked at the sudden movement as he tried his best not to heavily land on me still. A smile was plastered on his lips nonetheless as he rested over his side.

“Go ahead then” Prompto encouraged me, playfully smirking at me.

I turned to lie on my side as well and shook my head. He laughed as the both of us snuggled closer to each other and shared the small space of the couch.

“You’re all shy and flustered!” His hand rested in my back as he mischievously pushed me against him, also teasing me.

I resigned to linger on my silence as I hid my face on his chest, sulking in compliance. However, that posture was extremely comfortable and cozy.

Our bodies glued to each other, our legs intertwined and fingers laced against each other. I timidly looked up at him and we locked eyes in silent awe.

“You know what, Prom? You’re adorable” I piped up, sweetly smiling at him. “You’re kind and caring, not to mention fun and innocent and warm and-“

“Okay, I get it” To shut me up, Prompto lovingly pecked my lips. “Call it a truce”

“You got it, sugar” I knew by his expression that he was adoring all those nicknames.

For the rest of the day, we kept on cuddling and goofing around. Perhaps Prompto appreciated the fact that I had gone out of my way to provide him with affection and attention and spoil him, but it had actually been one of the best days ever for me too.

·         [ BLACKWATCH WEEK DAY 1 ] MISSIONS / WEAPONS

Stakeouts, Genji decided, were the worst kind of mission. Anything else, he felt like he was at least accomplishing something. Whether it be infiltration, sabotage, espionage, reconnaissance, or the one time Commander Reyes and himself had gone on a mission alone for a quiet assassination, Genji was at least up and moving and doing something. But stakeouts were…boring.

They were set up outside a little ramen shop in Shinjuku, the tiny shop almost swallowed up by the skyscrapers around them as they watched for their target. Intelligence had reported that the Shimada Clan was negotiating new deals with their drug trafficking sometime this week, so they needed to watch the entrance to one particular office building and wait for the Shimada representative to show up. Genji was an obvious choice to send, as he knew who and what to watch for when it came to the Shimada Clan. He had been ready to set out alone, but Reyes had sent McCree along with him, insisting that a solo stakeout was a pain in the ass at best, dangerous at worst, and doomed to fail either way.

“I’m grabbing a bite for lunch. You want anything, darlin?”

They were only a day into the stakeout, and Genji’s tolerance of McCree was already wearing thin.

“No,” he replied sharply. “And do not call me that.”

“Alright, sugar. Suit yourself.” McCree got up from the table and wandered into the little ramen shop.

Truthfully, Genji really had grown hungry over the course of the morning, but wasn’t comfortable taking his face plate off in public, for fear of drawing attention to himself. He was already hiding his cybernetics under a pair of long sweats and a hoodie, which, with it being July in Tokyo, was hot, humid, and miserable. The soft sound of exhaust fans hummed under his clothing, trying to keep his cybernetics cool. He wondered if he could overheat like a laptop left in the sun, if he could just suddenly hit the wrong temperature and shut down. Would just the cybernetic part of his body shut down? Or would he pass out? Would it be treated like heat stroke, or would McCree need to drag him somewhere cooler and “reboot” him? The more he thought about it, the more his gnawing hunger turned to nausea. There was still a lot he didn’t understand about his new body, and he had blown off Dr. Zeigler the last few times she’d tried to talk to him about it.

As the blonde doctor wandered into his thoughts, he scowled behind his faceplate and quickly tried to push the thoughts away. He still didn’t know how to feel about her. She was nice enough, sure, but she was the woman who saved him from the brink of death and trapped him inside a machine. Half of him was grateful she had saved his life, the other half furious that she hadn’t just let him die in peace, and the result left him upset and conflicted. It was much easier to avoid her altogether.

This was the other problem with stakeouts, Genji decided. It left him with too much time to think.

“I just got the one bowl, but you can have a bite if y’change your mind,” McCree wandered back and took his seat, a bowl of noodles, egg, and vegetables in hand.

Genji ignored him, arms folded, keeping one eye on the door they were watching while passively watching the rest of the busy street.

“Aw, hell,” McCree grumbled, starting to get back up. “I gotta go back in there and ask for a fork. What’s ‘fork’ in Japanese?”

“Don’t,” Genji barked, a little harsher than he intended, and McCree stopped halfway out of his chair. “You will only make a fool of yourself. In Japan, we eat with chopsticks.”

“I know what chopsticks are, I’m not an idiot,” McCree replied, sounding more than a little irritated. “I just can’t use ‘em, is all. I’m gonna see if that guy’s got a fork I can use.”

“Sit down,” Genji finally turned to give him a hard look. “They’re not even going to have one.”

Reluctantly, McCree sat back down and adjusted his stupid hat that he had insisted on wearing. “To keep the sun out of his eyes,” he had claimed, and on a hot day like today, Genji couldn’t blame him.

“You’re really going to eat ramen? In this heat?”

“Oh, please,” McCree scoffed. “It’s not even 90. I’ve had summers in New Mexico where you could have fried an egg on a sidewalk and we’d still be drinking hot coffee. …Humidity is a bit much, though. Feel like I’m gonna drown just breathing.” He frowned down at his ramen. “Not that it matters much at all, as I can’t actually eat this.”

Genji sighed. “Did you get chopsticks?”

McCree opened his palm, holding a pair of disposable chopsticks that had been handed to him. “Yeah.”

“Good. You’re getting a crash course in how to not be an embarrassment to me, starting with how to use a pair of chopsticks.”

McCree gave him a sideways look that Genji couldn’t quite read. “…Yeah, okay. What do I do?”

“Well, first break the chopsticks apart.”

McCree’s thick fingers fumbled a little as he pulled the bamboo chopsticks out of the paper sleeve and split them apart.

“Ah. Oh. Shoot. Didn’t quite get it all the way.” McCree held up his asymmetrical set of chopsticks and gave Genji a half-grin.

Genji sighed. “This is going so well already.”

“Just tell me what to do.”

“Take one of them – no, just one – and hold it like a pencil…Really? That’s how you hold a pencil? No wonder your handwriting is terrible.” Genji tutted under his breath and reached over, adjusting McCree’s grip.

“You’re one to talk,” McCree griped, trying to move his hand the way Genji was urging him to. “Have you tried to read your own reports?”

“My handwriting is stylized, not terrible.”

“Don’t make a difference if no one can read it.”

“Maybe the same people who taught you how to hold a pencil taught you to read, and the problem is still on your end.”

“Haha. Very funny.”

“Now take the second chopstick and hold it like this. No. No. Lower your finger to—no, wrong finger. Here…” Genji helped adjust the second chopstick in his grip. “Now move your pointer finger to-… No, your thumb should hold still and act as a fulcrum. The movement is actually very minimal. It should only be your first finger that actually moves. No. No, not… No. Hold your thumb still. …Better.”

After a few more moments of scolding and adjusting, he’d gotten McCree to the point where his fellow agent could at least use the chopsticks enough to successfully pick up the pieces of meat and half-shovel the noodles into his mouth. He slurped with every bite.

“Thanks, Genji! This is much better!”

Genji sighed and turned his attention back to the doors of the office building. He had six more days of this?

Stakeouts really were the worst kind of mission.

The things I’ve learned from art school: part 1/?

I’m a second year illustration student, and I’m here to share with you pearls of wisdom from what I’ve experienced and learned in college (so far), from the actual drawing process to attitudes about art/drawing. Most of these things I’ve learned the hard way, and some are from things I’ve seen others struggle with. 

The most work you should be doing in your drawing process is thumbnails/sketching stage.

“There’s no point in finishing a drawing if it’s flawed from the beginning”. That’s what my Composition & Transparent Media professor constantly told us. During our first piece of the semester, he had us stay on the sketching and redrawing stage for a little over a month in order to perfect them. He wanted to make sure the perspective was right, composition was pushed to its fullest, details were added to make every space interesting, the whole shebang. Obviously you’re probably not going to spend a whole month redrawing a piece over and over every time you draw, especially if it’s a time-sensitive project or just a personal piece you’re doing for funsies. However, the sketching stage is where most of the creativity happens. You have to decide on composition, scale, design elements, characters and how they’re positioned in the space, environment, and so much more. And I’d be willing to bet that you won’t get it right the first time.

Give yourself projects when you aren’t in school.

It helps with artist block. The summer between freshman and sophomore year of school I could probably count the number of drawings I did on one hand. To be fair, I was working two jobs 6 days a week so i didn’t exactly have a lot of time, but I found that once I got out of school I had zero drive or ideas. Without assignments from class to draw for, I had nothing to draw, and when I got back to school for sophomore year I had a lot of trouble getting inspired again. It made the beginning of the year really hard for me. Find something, ANYTHING, to draw while you’re out of school, even if you draw fanart for one thing all summer, at least you’re still drawing. 

If a character in your drawing is reminiscent of another character/too generic, think about altering it- especially if it’s a work that focuses on said character.

This really only applies for artists who’s focus/career is character design, but it’s still relevant to others. As painful as it is to hear, it means you might not be pushing your concepts enough. I took a class on Concept Art, and the first assignment was character design. A few of mine were deemed too generic looking, and one was too reminiscent of an existing character. It really hurt to hear, especially since I pride myself on character design and they were for a story I’ve had in development for over 6 years. It really made me feel like shit and made me not want to develop the characters further. But I needed to hear it, and I had to continue developing them for the class, so I ended up overhauling and redesigning the characters until they didn’t seem like the same ones anymore in order to make them more interesting. I hated it, but it’s what I had to do. 

That being said, things like this really make you think about distinguishing your characters and art from others out there. It’s essentially impossible to be 100% original, but that doesn’t mean you cant try your damnedest to make your ideas as close to original as they can get without getting overcomplicated.

When designing characters, mix up the body shape and facial features.

This one is kind of specific, but still important since character design is an important element of illustration. If you don’t vary things up you’re cruisin’ for a bruisin’ from your professors and peers. And frankly, its boring as hell when someone’s characters all look the same. This is something I see a lot, and I can never get attached to an individual character cause they all looked the same! I found that it happens a lot with male characters, they all have defined abs to some degree and perfectly toned arms and honestly, it gets boring when all of someone’s male characters have the same body type. As for face, there is literally no excuse. There are SO MANY KINDS OF FACES MAN. Round, rectangular, circular, heart-shaped, squared. People can have hooked noses, upturned noses, tiny cute noses. Even eyebrows- arched, flat, thick, waxed, faint, or bold. You’re allowed to have preferences for what kind of bodies you like to draw, but don’t be afraid to branch out!

Develop your own style.

As an artist, you need your own style. Imitating other artist’s styles isn’t going to get you far in school or the real world, and chances are, your peers will call you out if your style looks too much like another established artist’s. In order to make a living and gain clients you need a style that you make unique, taking inspirations and aspects from other styles and squishing them together to make one amazing art style baby. Your art style will probably be the deciding factor in whether or not your client hires you! 

Tracing references is OK when appropriate.

As long as it isn’t for a published or commissioned piece, there is absolutely no harm in tracing references. In your down time take some pictures of yourself or find some online and go ahead and trace ‘em. Really pay attention to how the body actually is, how the perspective on legs work, how that hand is foreshortened. Do this enough and you’ll find yourself thinking about all that when you’re drawing normally!

There will always be students better than you, you just gotta accept it.

It’s just a fact of life, unfortunately. When you’re a freshman, you’re in classes with only freshman for your foundation year. You and your peers are all on the relatively same level. What had affected me starting my second year (and I didn’t realize it until much later) was that now that I was in classes with upperclassmen, who had a year or two’s worth of experience on me, I felt as id my art was not up to par. It’s easy to forget your classmates are not just from your grade anymore, especially in electives. All of the electives I took had mostly Juniors and a few Sophomores, and my work always didn’t quite have that polish and finesse to it yet that the upperclassmen’s did have. It’s just a fact of life that you’ll always be up against artists who are more skilled than you , but thats because they have more or different experiences. You have to keep in mind that you can’t compare yourself to them, since it isn’t fair to you that you’re comparing yourself to someone who may have 3+ years on you. 

Learn realism to some extent- figures, animals, everything.

You don’t have to like it, but you can always tell when an artist never learned it because their figures are always off. There is a difference between stylizing and not knowing, and it’s almost always evident. You can see it in the way hands are drawn, noses are rendered, and how they shape and place breasts. Do pages of body studies focusing on hands, feet, leg muscles, back arches, faces, all kinds of stuff. You’ll thank yourself later. 

Your professors and peers will know when you don’t put in your best effort.

They’ll know when you aren’t pushing yourself because you’ll make fundamental mistakes. Slightly imperfect coloring, wiggly linework that wasn’t done quite carefully enough, not bothering to fix those damn feet in the finish. They always know, somehow...even if you’re careful with your laziness.

Buying expensive materials is usually worth it.

It may cost more but your work will benefit from it, and they last so, so much longer. I had to buy 3 brushes when my techniques class was doing watercolor, and in total they costed over $100. I found as I used them that since they were hair brushes and not synthetic, they held so much more pigment and water, and I could get a much finer tip. I was incredibly lucky that my professor provided the paint, which could go up to $20 a tube for some colors with the brand he had. Paper is also something worth splurging on, because let me tell you I have had disastrous effects when using shitty (coughCANSONcough) watercolor paper. The 9x12 paper block I bought for class was $30, and it was the best paper i’ve ever worked on. Absolutely worth the money and I will be buying that brand for projects from now on. And the best thing about all these is that they’ll last forever! 

You NEED to find ways to get excited about a project you hate, because you’re gonna have to do a lot of them.

If you don’t find ways to get excited about projects you’re not too thrilled to do, you’ll never succeed. I learned this in my freshman year very fast, because man oh man were there some projects I couldn’t have cared less about. If you can, gear the project towards one of your interests without compromising the purpose or assigned subject. 

I hope this advice can help some folks! Art school is a lot of tough love, and a lot of stepping 300 yards out of your comfort zone (sometimes by force). But they key is to not be afraid of trying new things! You’ll find things you absolutely hate doing, and will never want to do ever again if you can help it, and you’ll find things that you’ll love to do. It’s all about keeping an open mind!

Keep drawing, keep learning, keep creating.