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#i had a lot of fun with it though cause I just love bendy
indigo-villin · 2 years
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I watched someone play the whole game of bendy and the dark revival. I absolutely love it!!!
Bendy is amazing.
Audrey is a great protagonist.
The new artstyle is gorgeous.
~Spoilers~
Porter is hilarious I wish we saw him more.
Heidi is a BEAN and no one will harm her under my watch.
Betty is adorable and ditzy and I love her.
I hate the keepers.
I despise Wilson.
Nathan arch was a bad father, but that doesn't mean Wilson had the right to do that.
Seeing Henry was SUPER cool, as was seeing Sammy.
Hearing demon bendy speak was...interesting (this is an sfw account)
Carley is terrifying, like jeez...
Also I just want to say, I saw the story of subnautica below zero recently and I thought bendy and Audrey would end up very similarly... I don't think they did, but I'm not sure...
Also I just want to say I was RIGHT, I knew bendy would be the demon around around the halfway markish, so I'm kinda proud of myself for figuring that out.
I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate the real Joey Drew for what he did to get Audrey... it answers the end of the first game's questions, but I hate what that doesn't answer and I don't want to know the answers.
I headcannon Heidi as being a previous "Audrey". After all she's very childlike. Canonical only adults are in the studio, so the only way childlike characters would show up, is if they were put there from the real world....to suffer...
Yes I'm an age regressor, and headcanoning her as being one as well is applicable, but I feel she's more stunted at being a child rather than being regressed...
Also the game has a lot of talk about OCs and I'm not sure how to take it... like are they complaining about OCs? I will admit I have a lot of ocs, so I can't talk a lot on the subject in certain respects... but Carley was a character all other characters hated, yet she's an optional enemy with her own form... We have a small quest to collect some guy's oc drawings and he has an entire page long issue with whether he should share his art with the world or not. Audrey is an OC daughter for Joey Drew who went through many physical retcons. And at the end we have Wilson's colored OC that he believes could stop bendy... I feel like the creators are either making jokes about "how dumb OC arguments are"...or they're making fun of people who have OCs that they try to protect their rights over...
Do the bendy creators remember the characters in their game franchise are their OCs? Like literally, even the Meatly himself (specifically the puppet) is an OC...
The oc thing is honestly my only complaint, like Wilson using his colored character, that part is fine as a scene. The idea of a properly fully colored character in the bendy world just feels wrong on its own anyways, so him pitching the idea at all feels wrong enough to justify the oc thing too.
My last note, I hate seeing so much color in the world. Like the weird electricity using color was fine, it was minimal and didn't feel all that bothersome, it was a Wilson based thing and felt like something he'd do or cause. Seeing color on the walls, on Wilson posters, on the floors, it just felt soo off-putting... I hate that Wilson made color a thing in the world somehow...like HOW??? I also didn't mind bendy with a red bowtie at the end, both because normal world AND the fact it was an accent piece. He was still monochrome, he just now had a colored bowtie.
Honestly I just hate Wilson... which is good with him being the antagonist, I feel no remorse and was viscerally BEGGING Audrey to push him into his stupid plan thing to kill her. I was shaking and swinging my t-rex arms around just wanting her to do it. Yes I was stimming, badlyy.
I wish Wilson would get a worse fate than Joey put fake Henry though. Take the yellowing paper color of the world away and leave him there to go through what ink Henry initially went though (ya know, without Aliison around, or any kind to him character).
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jaydonsjam · 2 years
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My initial reason why I wanted to read early Doctor Strange comics from Strange Tales #110 was to explore the early mystical/supernatural/horror side of the Marvel universe. I had made a list of characters: Blade, Ghost Rider, Daimon Hellstrom, Werewolf By Night etc. and I felt like I couldn’t fully explore the mystical side of Marvel without including Doctor Strange so I did. One of the characters that I wanted to read more of was Morbius the Living Vampire so I started with his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #101. Before I read these two issues (TASM #101-102) my only experience with Michael Morbius was some appearances he had made in the 90’s and 00’s Spidey comics but my main experience with him was the 90’s Spider-Man: The Animated Series (no I haven’t seen Morbius and I probably won’t).
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So let’s get to his origin. I loved these two issues. I mean, yes they are full of cheesy, campy dialogue but these are 70’s comics so I can look past that kind of stuff. Btw, am I the only one who hears Christopher Daniel Barnes’ voice when they read Spidey comics? For some reason (maybe it’s nostalgia) I still hear his voice over anyone else. I found no problems just jumping in on #101 which I did have reservations about since I hadn’t been actively reading #1-100 before this one. It’s interesting that they brought in Morbius to cure Peter’s six-arm problem because it was shown that when Morbius bit Lizard, he made Connors shift in and out of his transformation with varying degrees of control. I love the way Roy Thomas wrote Spidey in these issues, and the constant dialogue within his head or out loud just works for this era of Peter.
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I’m a sucker for a tragic villain and Morbius is the poster child for that. I love the choice to show him in the midst of being hunted by the other people on the ship and I like the fact that when his origin is revealed in #102 we get the whole picture. Michael initially tried to just drown himself but the monstrous urge to feed on people took control and led him out of the water to go and feed on people. It shows that Michael doesn’t want to be a monster and hurt people but the hunger inside of him often takes control of him and he has no way to fight it. It’s a tragedy. He even killed his best friend who’s trying to help him cure himself of this blood disease. It’s the classic I-tried-to-cure-myself-but-instead-changed-myself-into-a-monster-thing. Which actually works really well and parallel to The Lizard who also pops up in these issues trying to help Peter cure his six arm problem.
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I loved the appearance of Doc Connors and it led to a great fight between Lizard/Morbius/Spidey. The art done by Gil Kane great. I really love the way he draws Spidey and Peter. The one thing I will say is that Peter never looks like he’s a teenager to me. He looks like he’s at least in his twenties and that’s a common problem that I’ve noticed with a lot of Spidey comics (Ultimate Spider-Man by Bendis and Bagley is a good exception). There’s great action throughout and I love seeing the struggle/team-up between Lizard and Spidey. Overall, I think the cure that Morbius’ blood provides for Peter Parker is the example for a “comic bookey” moment but it works for me. I could see it not working for others though. Marvel was already releasing a Dracula book so I don’t see why they had to create Morbius? But hey, I’m glad they did cause he’s a great tragic character and I can’t wait to read more about him. It’s not as enjoyable as the Doctor Strange run but that’s like 70 issues that I’ve read so it’s not really a fair comparison. Anyways! This was a really fun read regardless of my nitpicking! Thanks if you read this whole thing!
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The Amazing Spider-Man #101-102 written by Roy Thomas art by Gil Kane with inking by Frank Giacoia
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robboyblunder · 5 years
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~Please click and/or open in new tab for better view! I had to combine all of these very large images due to the photo limit in posts and not wanting to make several posts >:/
Anyways, I’m finally done with what I've been working on for the past couple of weeks! Based on the posters from a previous drawing I did a while back I wanted to take the posters I had used for the background and make them actual posters! Each one also has a freeze frame from their cartoon correlating with the poster! 
I’ll put little descriptions for each one under a readmore if you’re interested; I hope you guys like these, they were fun to make but oh man my hand hurts lmao. Feel free to use to posters (not the cartoon frames) as long as you give credit! :) 
(please don’t repost or use specified parts without permission, and leave my description; thanks!)
1.       Tales of Trails
   Deciding to see what’s at the top of ‘Mount Doom’, Bendy decides he’s not scared of the challenge; but he quickly finds that hiking isn’t as easy as it seems, especially with a mountain named appropriately!
2.       Curtain Call
      Finding himself on the wrong stage in a place he certainly doesn’t belong, Bendy has to carefully perform for an audience of angels! One wrong move and he could be facing holy wrath; it’s a good think Alice is there to help guide him!
3.       Flower Fever
     To Bendy, spring fever has a whole different meaning; it’s time to grow and prune some monster plants that are sure to cause chaos in an already buzzing season!
4.       Killer Coaster
    Bendy and friends take a trip to an amusement park in Hell, only to learn there’s a reason nobody’s entering willingly; as the coaster tries to torment them, will they make it to the end in one piece?
5.       Runaway Roadie
     Based on the episode of nightmare run, Bendy stiffs a certain cab of their well-earned pay; as a result, he has to run for his life as the sentient taxi tries to get him to pay the tab… with his life!
6.       Western Wild Ride
   Everybody loves a good cowboy adventure in the wild west, but when it comes to being partnered with a bad spirited stallion, Bendy has to learn how to survive both the harsh desert and his harsh companion!
7.       Star Struck
      When a shooting star falls from the heavens, it really hurts! Hit by a falling star, Bendy soon finds strange things are happening to him because of its magic; if he could make a wish, it’d be for less of a concussion next time!
8.       Spotlight Envy
     Hogging all the attention, Bendy doesn’t realize he’s taking away Alice’s love of being her own star. As the two push a feud for who gets to perform, tensions rise in a battle of talent!
9.       Hell on Highwater
     The dastardly butcher gang are up to no good this time as a pirate crew who have kidnapped the lovely siren Alice and are using her as a mast piece. The daring buccaneer Bendy comes to save his friend and set her free, all to the frustration of Captain Charley and crew!
10.   Angel Wings
      Every angel has their story as Alice recounts her fall from the heavens; she longs for her wings to fly again but doesn’t mind her new life too much. Still, it’s hard to walk on land when you’ve touched the sky!
11.   Bar Bender
    Getting a part time job at the bar to sneak in some mayhem, Bendy torments patrons by purposefully mixing demonic tonics that cause all kinds of weird side effects! The butcher gang are no exception in Bendy’s list of victims!
12.   Miracle Maker
     Sometimes, being a famous demon with an infamous reputation gets you more than you asked for. Bendy soon learns that the cult following he’s gained is more work than luxury when having to repeatedly perform miracles for them!
13.   Museum of Mystery
      Having snuck into an exhibit after hours, Bendy longs to snatch a rumored prize diamond from its security. However, the diamond has powers nobody was prepared for, and certainly not the little devil either!
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2. twisted
The cartoon that came out of the machine was pretty as a picture, perfect in almost every detail, and had a bubbly, positive personality. But she was not what Joey had wanted Susie to become. (Set in an AU where Joey gets perfect toons from his freshly killed employees and STILL isn’t happy, the unpleasable bitch…)
“Progress report to GENT home office, Client; Joey Drew Studios.
With the addition of the new ink recipe to use in the machine, we have made an unbelievable leap in progress and have almost met our client’s expectations. What had started as a machine to mold life sized figures out of ink has now done things that border on being supernatural.
Although Mr. Drew seems unimpressed, even frustrated with the results at times, in spite of the fact that the models have come out identical to their cartoon counterparts.
The process of running the cartoon film through the machine for the figures to imprint on has been successful, but it looks like that unless someone goes through the trouble of making a short that only has ONE character in it, the machine picks what character it makes at seemingly random. That is our client’s complaint; that instead of being user chosen, the machine picks out which living, breathing, thinking ink models it makes at random. Upon working on this, if I were to be in the client’s shoes, I’d have several valid complaints regarding the machine and the models it created, but our client’s complaint… Is that the machine that doesn’t have a system that allows the user to pick and choose which model it makes yet creates a physically flawless model every single time, does not allow the user to pick and choose which model it makes. He never ceases to infuriate me.
On a sour note, there was an incident with the figure in the likeness of a character called ‘The Brute’. Upon its creation, it immediately went and broke our client’s leg in a very… well, brutal fashion too. But fortunately, it has not physically attacked anyone since The Cameraman figure was made as we have threatened to separate them if it keeps up that behavior. It still likes to insult people, and it still does things that unnerve me though. We’re hoping that the rest of the figures will be less violent and or creepy.”
Thomas clicked off the recording and sighed as he looked at the newly made report, there was no way he could submit this to his boss without someone sending in someone to make sure he wasn’t huffing in ink fumes and whatever the Studio workers smoked to consider any of this to be normal.
“Hey Tommy! I think I figured out the issue with the machine! Or rather, its fuel.”
The mechanic grit his teeth and turned to face his client.
“What? I wasn’t aware that there was a problem with it.”
“Why, Tommy, how could you forget? I’m talking about the figure deposit problem of course! Why did we get The Brute when we wanted to get Boris? Why did we get Cameraman when we wanted Bendy? The answer was so simple, why, it was even staring at us the entire time!”
“Uh huh…” Thomas did not look convinced. “And what was this issue?”
“The ingredients, the Ink of course! You simply can’t put blueberry pancake batter in an oven and be surprised when you get blueberry pancakes instead of blueberry muffins, We got those two knuckleheads before we got the real stars of the show because the souls used to make them weren’t fit to make those two, but the machine still did what it does best: made living cartoons.”
Tom had an uneasy feeling in his gut as Joey grabbed his arm and led him to the Ink Machine’s room. He felt like a sheep being led to the slaughterhouse, he KNEW what went down in there! He knew the other ingredients, not well, per say, but for long enough to judge them and their characters.
He didn’t shed a single tear when Sammy was used in it, in fact, he was rather pleased with the results before it started acting out like that. He and the music director were almost always at each other’s throats for one reason or another. If you asked him, the ex-musician was strange, rude, clearly mentally unstable, and sometimes even cruel. And even if he wasn’t, his physical health had declined so much over his time at the studio that it was obvious that he would die regardless of whether or not he was put in the machine. Feeding Sammy to that machine was an act of mercy, really, and even if it wasn’t, it served him right to become a- err, The Brute and have him put the former musician in his place- put his villainous ways to a decent cause. Now if only someone could ensure for a fact that The Brute would behave...
Now the other ingredient, Norman Polk, was a different story. The man was old, weird and kinda creepy. On the surface, the man was an ideal candidate. Like Sammy, he would die anyway and nobody would miss him when he did. But on the contrary, he seemed like he still had some good years left in him. And while he was weird and creepy, he had been those things in an oddly endearing way that most of the studio had either liked or tolerated enough to not be bugged by it. The mechanic didn’t know how to explain it, that man reminded Tom of a mysterious, mostly-estranged relative that shows up out of nowhere and was always there for you even if you don’t always see him. So when the man snooped too much for his own good and had to be silenced… Tom could never look the resulting toon in the eye, or in his case, the lens.
But the mechanic couldn’t deny that it needed to be done, after all, the former projectionist was far too nosy for anyone’s sake. Nobody who knows the secret of the Ink Machine (or rather, it’s unconventional secret ingredient needed for its ink) should be free to wander the studio and spill the beans.
And a feeling in his gut was beginning to tell him that that was why he was the next on the chopping block.
He had built it, he learned what it would take to make it work, he had done what it took to make it work, and it was working now; No more models that would only move a tiny bit before collapsing into puddles! No more off model models! No more issues aside from x, y, z… -No more reasons for Joey to keep him alive when it was now too dangerous to his business… 
A tiny voice at the back of his head told him it served him right. The creator of this unholy torture device would now be consumed by it, just like how the maker of the Brazen Bull was the first victim it claimed.
At this point, he was almost morbidly curious on who or what the machine would make him; would it poke fun at his past and make him that territorial junkyard guard, Canoodle? Would it ironically punish him for his greed by making him The Fat Cat of the show, Boswell Lotsobucks? Would it acknowledge that although he was a villain to the bitter end, he still tried to go clean only for demons to drag him back down his dark paths and make him into Charley? Thinking about it, any butcher gang member would be a good enough fit really.
He was a mix of relieved, disappointed, and horrified when he was brought into the room and saw the unconscious voice actress of Alice Angel strapped to a mobile operating table. Joey seemed to ignore his reaction as he proudly showed her off and began to monologue.
“Like Boris, Sammy was a musician, simple-minded, and was very loyal to those he considered friends until the bitter end. But what made Sammy more like the Brute then Boris- Aside from body type, obviously, was that Sammy had quite the short temper on him, one that got messed with often, and a tendency to hold onto a grudge that can’t be swayed away with a good meal or a bad joke… Just like our friend; the Brute.”
Tom stayed speechless as Joey continued his seemingly prepared and rehearsed speech.
“As for Bendy and Norman, well, it’s obvious that those too simply weren’t compatible in the slightest! Sure, they both have their mischievous sides, but that alone doesn’t make a man into a good imp… However, do you know who DOES have more in common with Mr. Polk? That’s right! A certain smart alec-someone who knows a thing or two about anyone, everyone, and everything whether he wants to or not. Someone with a darker, more jaded sense of humor than our little devil, someone who can lurk in the shadows, or in his case, ‘backstage’ for safety or to gather Intel, but be happy and proud to take the front stage when the need arises! ...Alright, I can see that Norman’s soul may have influenced the personality of our Cameraman, but at least he did it in ways that make sense to the character.”
The mechanic continued to stay silent as Joey continued.
“But the main point is: we know what to do to fix this little issue. If we want a main character, we need someone who embodies the soul of that character. And Ms. Campbell here said it herself; Alice is a part of her!”
“Joey…”
“Why, she’d be thanking us if she knew what was coming! This is a dream come true for her! She always seemed to be the happiest when she was singing our angel darling’s songs…”
As if he was snapped out of a trance, the mechanic pulled Joey to his face, gripping the animator’s arms tightly and shaking him up a bit.
“Joey! We can’t do this! Susie isn’t like Norman or Sammy. She’s young, healthy, and still has a lot to live for. Nobody would buy that she passed on from something out of the blue, or that she moved away without warning or telling anyone. Everyone in the studio loves her and talks to her frequently! If we do this, especially so soon, they will make the connection, and they will find out about this. It was bad enough when Norman went, imagine if someone as well loved as her went too!”
Joey just laughed and slapped Tom’s shoulder.
“Oh Tommy, all we need to tell them is that Susie got her big break and is Bringing Alice to life in ways never before seen! And to sell the illusion, also tell them ‘you know how those folks in Hollywood are with their schedules, always a bunch of busy bees.’ They’ll bite, you just have to trust me.”
“What if they don’t?” the mechanic argued. “What if they start snooping around and start to piece together what really happened to her?”
Joey’s smile wavered a bit, but remained steadfast.
“Well, we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we reach it. And when we do, we’ll have our answer!”
“Nnnnggghhh…”
Both of them shuddered when they heard the voice actress start to stir awake.
“I swore I used stronger stuff in her drink…”
“...Jo...Joey..? ..Mr. Conner..?” The voice actress’s real eye widened in horror as she looked around, and her voice wavered as she grew more and more frantic. “WHat’s going on?! Where am I- Why am I tied up?!”
“S-Susie! Everything’s perfectly fine my dear, you just need to calm down a bit and I’ll explain everything…” He subtly jabbed Thomas in the ribs with his elbow. “Tommy!” He hissed “Throw her in the machine already!”
The frightened voice actress began to struggle against her restraints while Tom hesitated. Joey shot him a glare as he strolled up behind Susie and put a ‘reassuring’ hand on the weeping angel’s shoulder.
“Joey, please… let me go… Don’t do this to me!” Tears were running down the woman’s face, her voice was soft and breaking from her stress. “Just let me go and I promise I won’t tell anyone…”
“Now, now, Susie, there’s nothing to worry about, yes I know this looks unsettling from your position… But you and Alice are going places, new, big places that most people only dream of seeing! You’re going to bring her to life in ways that will touch the hearts of generations!”
A flash of realization crossed her face.
“Joey… answer me this: when Sammy ‘died from untreated lung cancer’ did he actually die from lung cancer? And when Norman ‘died from a workplace injury’ did he really…?” her voice trailed off a bit with uncertainty before asking her third question. “Did their deaths have anything to do with those two toons that showed up?!”
Her questions were not answered by words, but with actions as the two men stuffed her into the machine. When it turned on, her screams echoed throughout the mostly empty studio, chilling all who heard them to the very bone.
When they finally stopped, the machine whirred and roared to life and Joey rubbed his hands together in glee as he watched the machine work its magic.
Thomas, on the other hand, stood in silence while staring at his hands as dread and guilt sank in his gut.
The former man’s smile fell into a look of confusion when he saw a pair of gloves with ‘X’ marks on them come out, followed by arms that connected to them. That look of confusion fell deeper into a frown when he saw the arms stretch, curl, and twist when the gloves reached the floor as if they were streams of ice cream coming out of the machine at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Alice didn’t have arms that curled and stretched, but Joey knew a certain demoness toon who did; Miss Twisted. He was cursing under his breath, of course it would complete their little trio before giving him what he wanted! Now he wasted his one shot at getting Alice!
The rest of the toon didn’t even get out of the damn machine, it was like she was taunting him by continuing to stretch her arms and let them continue to coil in piles on the floor instead of showing him the finished product.
Furious, he marched over and grabbed the toon demoness’s arms and yanked her out of the damn machine.
“Stop messing around!” He scolded before pausing and reapplying his signature smile. “Your friends Brute and Cameraman have been worried sick about you ever since their creation! You wouldn’t want to keep them waiting for you any longer than they’ve already been, right?”
He could’ve been imagining it, but he swore that she had a look of pure terror on her face before she put on a fake smile of her own. And was it just him, or was this Miss Twisted’s left eye slightly discolored, glassy looking, if that made sense for someone with pitch black pie-cut eyes. The grayer eye she had reminded him of Susie Campbell’s fake eye.
“Y-yeah! You’re right!” She pushed Joey out of her face, clearly uncomfortable by his staring but pretending to be perfectly fine. “I can’t keep my boys waiting for too long, who knows what they’ll do?” She chuckled nervously. “So… where are you keeping them? where are they hiding?”
“Tommy here will be happy to show you, just follow him and-”
“Thanks!”
The demoness chipperly chirped and swiftly yanked Thomas out of the room at a speed that almost insulted the man.
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entityupdates · 3 years
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This is a supplementary post for my Rook Gets The Omnitrix AU fic. This post explains which aliens he has and why I choose them.
I love the original ten aliens and I think they’re an amazingly balanced set but for this fic, I wanted to have some underused aliens and just do something different to keep it fun without making OCs. A balanced team generally has water (Ripjaws), fire (Heatblast), energy/ electric/ tech (Upgrade), flight (Stinkfly), smart (Grey Matter), speed (XLR8), building/ versatility/ resistant (Diamondhead), Sensory (Wildmutt), and some kind of unique power (Ghostfreak). Plant manipulation, duplication, and sound are also core powers, I think. Sticking to this formula, here are the aliens I went with for this story:
1. Tidetail Wave
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One of the creators confirmed that the Omnitrix has DNA of other Earth species, including the dolphin and white lab mouse. I knew I wanted to use one so I went with the dolphin. There is no canonical name for this transformation so I’m calling it Tidetail Wave.
Since this is an animal we have in real life, I wanted to keep Tidetail’s powers realistic and I’m not taking any creative liberties with this guy. Dolphins powers include swimming, echolocation, sharp vision, electroreception, mud rings/ mud nets, agility, intelligence, enhanced healing and ability to produce natural painkillers, holding their breath for a long time, and incredible speed in the water.
I originally picked Tidetail because he covers the water part of the team but he also covers sensory. Dolphins can use echolocation, meaning they can emit sound and listen to the way it bounces off objects to mentally map their surroundings, and they can also use electroreception, meaning they can sense the electrical impulses that living things give off and use them to find them if their sense of sight is restricted. 
The power I was most interested in was the mud rings/ mud nets dolphins make. In shallow water, they can kick up the sand below to create these rings to trap and disorient prey. I feel like it would be pretty cool to see this in combat.
The Omnitrix usually scans the “ideal” form of a species (as shown in the second Omniverse video game) so Tidetail would be stronger than the average dolphin. Dolphins are already pretty strong and can have pretty wicked teeth designed for latching into things. They’re naturally pretty resistant, have a healing ability several times as strong as humans, and can continue on with injury which would be useful in combat.
2. Archfiend
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This is another alien that has been implied to exist by Derrick J. Wyatt but has not been confirmed. We can assume Archfiend’s DNA is in the Codon Stream though and we have seen Benzarro use a version of this alien called Archfiendzarro.
This alien has enhanced strength and durability and hellfire powers but I imagine that any kind of advanced fire techniques are something this alien must learn and just has regular fire powers by default. 
As you can assume, Archfiend would fill the fire slot on this set of aliens. There aren’t a lot of options when it comes to fire aliens. I decided not to go with Heatblast since I wanted to limit the number of original aliens that we see and I didn’t go for Swampfire because he seems a bit too powerful for a beginner Omnitrix wielder to have. I felt like Archfiend was different and unique so I wanted to try him. Plus, I eventually wanted Rook to visit Anur Transyl and I felt like Archfiend would be a good alien to use there.
3. Antigravitesla
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Antigravitesla is one of the aliens made for the Latin American commercials but never seen in the show. Antigravitesla has control over gravity but he has trouble controlling his powers. The commercial is only a few seconds so we don’t see much of him but he seems to be very powerful, maybe too powerful for a beginner but I think the inability to control Antigravitesla’s powers balances it out. Since he cannot be easily controlled, he cannot be used as much or very well and it also presents a challenge to the Omnitrix bearer.
I wanted to take some creative liberties with this alien and give him some electrical powers as well since he is named after the man who designed the modern alternating current electricity supply system, thus allowing him to take the place of energy alien on the set. I did consider going for Upgrade or Brainstorm on this one but Antigravitesla is my favorite commercial alien and I wanted to take on the challenge of writing an alien like this.
4. Terrorsaur
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Terrorsaur is one of the Tom Perkins aliens that he made for fun and was not based on anything in the show, though he did intend for this guy to be a Ben 10K alien. Terrorsaur is a flying alien with the ability to cause terrifying hallucinations. I choose him to cover Stinkfly’s flying ability and some of Ghostfreak’s spookiness.
Like with Antigravitesla’s powers, I think the hallucinations may be a bit overpowered but, the Omnitrix bearer can’t always use all of an aliens powers right off the bat. I think that at first, Rook would only be able to use Terrorsaur for flight and master the rest of Terrorsaur’s powers later on.
A lot of the Omnitrix aliens can fly but Stinkyfly is pretty much the only one good for riding. I didn’t want to use Stinkfly though and it wasn’t that difficult to settle on Terrorsaur. I really like this alien and I think his scary appearance would be fun to write.
5. Four Arms
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I think we all know who Four Arms is. He’s got super strength, thick skin, and not much else which makes him an excellent beginner alien. When it comes to strength, I didn’t want to pick someone too overpowered and I also wanted to have a balance of unique and recognizable aliens. Four Arms felt like a good choice. 
I did consider using an Acrosian (Fistina’s species) since supposedly the Omnitrix does have that DNA. I thought it may be funny but I already named Tidetail and I didn’t want to have too many forms without canonical names since that feels a bit like OC territory and I didn’t want to do that. I also considered Atomix or Humungasaur but I thought that would be too overpowered.
6. Juryrigg
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I had a hard time settling on who to pick for the smarts category. Grey Matter and Brainstorm are probably the best choices since their intelligence covers a lot. I also was leaning towards Gutrot for awhile, even if his knowledge is mostly surrounding chemistry, before I settled on Juryrigg. Juryrigg’s intelligence is surrounding machines which I think is a good supplement to Rook’s interest in cars. He needs to be used responsibly but his powers are good in and out of combat. Plus, he’s pretty fast and he’s got claws which is a good skill to have if he ever is separated from machinery. 
7. XLR8
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Like with fire, there aren’t a lot of options for speed. The main options are XLR8, Fasttrack, Skidmarx, and Jetray. I love Jetray but I already had flight, water, and energy covered. Jetray may be too overpowered for a beginner. I’m not too familiar with Fasttrack and I almost went with him for that reason. I really wanted to use Skidmarx but we don’t actually know his powers and from what little we do know, I thought he might be a bit overpowered.
Like Four Arms, I think XLR8 is a good strong but simple choice. They’re also fairly recognizable and I wanted to have a few aliens who characters would recognize. Plus I really like XLR8.
8. Bloxx
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I almost went with Diamondhead for this spot. Diamondhead is an amazing alien and one of my favorites. His crystal building can be used in many ways and he is very strong and durable. But, I decided to go with Bloxx which is basically just a weaker, more bendy version of Bloxx.
Bloxx gets a lot of hate and I think he was mostly used for comical reasons in Omniverse but I think he is a good beginner alien and he had potential if he is used right.
9. Kringl The Summoner
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Like Terrorsaur, Kringl is one of Tom Perkin’s designs that he made after the show and is technically noncanonical. I picked this guy to fill the miscellaneous slot but his powers are kind of similar to Ditto’s. Kringl has the power to summon energy constructs that resemble elves. I imagine he also has some kind of enhanced strength or durability and some kind of ice powers like Artiguna. I also feel like he would have some kind of mental link with his energy elves. Maybe he has weak senses and he relies on them to navigate? 
I’m not sure if Kringl is overpowered or underpowered but I wanted to use him. I feel like he’s a very unexpected alien who can be pretty useful. 
10. Wildvine
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Last but not least, Wildvine. Plant powers were not on the original squad but I think they’re a core ability. Swampfire is a bit too strong but Wildvine has a good set of powers. Plant manipulation, regeneration, stretchy limbs, digging, and seed bombs make a diverse skillset. Plus, Wildvine is a classic alien who was not part of the original set. He’s fun, he’s strong, and chances are his powers will be pretty useful on Revonnah.
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trashboatprince · 3 years
Text
Since I’m still in a sci-fi mood (along with, like, monsters and romance stuff too, but that’s always there), and I haven’t been able to really... make any new written content recently, I decided to rework an old one-shot I wrote for the space pirate au with how my Henry, Hugo, met Bendy in it.
I honestly don’t remember if I ever posted it here, I know I posted it on discord for my friends to read, but I’m posting up a better version here. Plus, rewriting an old drabble might help me get back into the swing of things when it comes to writing! Especially since I’ve got a zine entry to work on. 
As always, Hugo is a half human/half alien (Asterian), and he’s fourteen in this. Bendy is a being from another universe or dimension, it’s unclear where Bendy’s from, but he’s a demon.
Asterians are a race of aliens that have the ability to travel through the vacuum of space with no need to breathe and have bioluminescent skin, but because Hugo is part human, he can’t last as long in space as he should.
On with the fic!
--
Hugo had lost count of how long he had been left on this stupid hunk of space rock, but he knew that he would probably be dead in due time. 
He considered that he’s probably got about an hour or two left, and knowing the Butcher Gang, they’ll either show up last minute to watch him suffer before putting him back on the ship, or they’ll just let him perish. They’re real jackasses like that.
At least he took his sketchbook with him after they threw him off the ship for their own enjoyment, but still, not much to draw when all around him was just inky darkness and a weak light source from a distant star. 
He sighed, soundless, his skin gently flashing a neon green, starting from his face down to his fingertips.
“Dat’s a real fancy trick ya can do, kid.”
Hugo’s eyes widened and he turned, shocked to have heard a voice, when he normally couldn’t hear anything in the vacuum of space. He was surprised to see something moving in the darkness of space around him. Something shifted, specks of lights moving around in front of him, before something formed. It looked like a wide, cartoon-ish smile, and from there a whiteness started to spread, forming an odd shape. Then two black, nearly full ovals, with little cuts in them, appeared in the white. It was a face!
“Hiya!” The face greeted in a childish voice, though clearly accented. The shape got closer and as it stepped onto the rock with Hugo, the half-human saw a shape form.
The darkness of space took on legs, oddly shaped, along with a long tail, them a small body that was sorta shaped like a bean. Arms with clawed hands followed, and the face seemed to have more of a head shape to it, though clearly shaped like a strange crescent form. The blackness of the body was covered in what looked like stars, twinkling and flashing, a variety of colors.
“What?” The strange creature asked. “Ya not gonna greet me?”
Hugo frowned, gesturing to his throat and then opened his mouth before shaking his head, his skin flashing involuntarily.
“Ah, right,” The creature nodded, frowning, “ya guys in dis universe can’t talk in da vacuum of space. Hold on.” 
He snapped his fingers, the snap actually made a sound, and a bubble surrounded the whole rock. Hugo let out a surprised laugh, before slapping a hand over his mouth, blinking. “W-what?”
“Just a li’l trick, super easy to do!” A grin formed on the other’s face. “It’s made outta natural gases dat drift around us, can’t just make it all, ya know, willy-nilly, but it’s super simple! So, what’s yours dat mine’s Bendy!”
Hugo had to take a moment to register what this guy, Bendy, has said. “It’s, uh, it’s Hugo.” He replied, coughing, trying to sound deeper than he naturally was. 
“Hugo, huh?” Bendy grinned brightly. “Nice to meet’cha! So, whatcha doin’ out here in an asteroid belt? Not really a social spot fer ya... what are you?”
“I dunno.” Hugo shrugged. “Human and somethin’ else, I reckon. What exactly are you?”
“Demon!”
“Demon? You mean, like, those human monsters?”
Bendy snorted loudly at this. “Pah-lease! Nonononononono- weeeellll... yes? No? Maybe so! Hard to tell, I mean, demons an’ angels aren’t technically natural to dis dimension, but we exist! We’ve been to Earth! I’ve been there, a number of times, really nice, an’ kinda bad, but it’s got lots of fun stuff there! Ya ever been?”
Hugo shook his head. “No, never really been in that area of the galaxy. Been, uh, stuck in situations were I don’t get to pick where I go.”
The grin slipped on Bendy’s face, as if he was reading the situation and figured out what Hugo was referring to. “Ah, I getcha. Still, maybe you’ll get to see it! It’s pretty neat!” The grin returned and cosmic eyes glanced to the sketchbook resting next to Hugo. “Oh! Ya draw?”
There was a nod, and Bendy asked to see. Hugo let him and Bendy started to look at the sketches and drawings Hugo’s done over the past few months. He seemed rather excited and giddy about them, chatting and pointing out what he loved, or pointed out what was good but could use some improvement.
It was... kinda nice, Hugo thought as he sat there, listening to Bendy ramble on and on. He hadn’t really had anyone to talk to in ages, not since his escape from his previous life and being cabin boy on the Butcher Gang’s ship didn’t give him much respect from anyone onboard, so having a strange being this excited to talk to him was like a breath of fresh air.
“So, why are ya sittin’ on this floatin’ rock, Hugo?” Bendy asked after a while, when their conversation had turned into small talk and such.
“I got left behind for no good reason by the Butcher Gang, they’re the pirates I ‘work’ for.” Hugo stuck out his tongue, making a face. “They’re a bunch of lowlife bastards, is what they are! I bet I could be a better pirate than them any day!” 
“You wanna be a pirate?”
“Yeah!” Hugo got to his feet, grinning. “I wanted to be a ranger when I was a kid, but I think a pirate would be cooler! Better! I can make a name for myself, I can rule the skies in my own ship! One day, I’ll have my name known across the galaxy! People will fear the name Hugo, no more lookin’ down on me and thinkin’ I’m just some freak or useless mutt!”
Bendy stared at him for a moment, quietly, and Hugo suddenly felt self conscious, before Bendy’s grin grew even bigger than it had before, nearly face splitting. His eyes sparkled with stars, brightly, it was so strange. “That... SOUNDS AMAZIN’! Can I join!? Can I be part of yer crew, Hugo!?”
Hugo was a bit caught off-guard by this. “You... you wanna be part of my crew? Why?”
“Cause dat sounds like so much fun! Look, I’m a drifter, I explore wherever I drift to, but dat gets so borin’ after so long! An’ bein’ a space pirate sounds like a blast! I’ll help you escape, an’ you an’ I can go on a bajillion adventures together!”
Bendy shoved his hand out at Hugo, smiling. “I’ll make yer dreams come true, Hugo. If ya want mah help.”
“...” Hugo looked at the offered hand. “What do you get outta this? No offense, but from what I know about demons, they like to make deals.”
“None taken.” Bendy shrugged, casually. “I getcha, not easy to trust a demon, we do have a rep fer deals an’ da like, kinda ruins it fer the honest demons like me. But listen, all I want outta this is a fun life! An’ I think yer just da guy to make dat happen.” He winked and Hugo chuckled.
“Alright, you’ve got a deal, Bendy!” Hugo took the offered hand with manic glee.
--
“Wait, you just... took the deal? Just like that?” Harrison asked, raising an eyebrow. “Did you not consider that it could have been a trick?”
“Honestly?” Hugo shrugged. “I considered that, yeah, but Bendy sounded honest, and somethin’ about him screamed ‘he’ll be the most important friend you’ll ever have’. And I was right.”
Hugo chuckled, rubbing at his right palm, where black mark was in his skin, like a tattoo. It was Bendy’s mark, meant for protection and connection. Harrison had asked about it, had asked how Hugo had even met Bendy, and the pirate decided to tell him.
“Do you regret it?” Harrison asked as he looked at the mark.
“Nope, never have, never will. Bendy and I are friends till the end.”
“I see... wait, how the heck did you two become father and son then?”
“Oh, see, now that’s a really funny story! So, when I was fifteen...”
--
It had been a slip from Bendy, by the way, he has accidentally called Hugo ‘dad’ and then it sorta just stuck around. Hugo has embraced the role of dad with his whole being, especially since he can get away with dad jokes now.
But yeah, here’s how these two met in this au! 
Harrison is my friend inkspottie’s Henry, by the way. 
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septiembrre · 4 years
Note
Physical affection prompts! 21! 25!
Prompt: accidentally knocking your head into someone’s chin + playfully biting someone
Established relationship. Beth and Rio try couples yoga. An injury ensues.
Side note: This is the first time I’ve ever attempted writing from Rio’s POV. Augauahgah!!! I feel like all the straight Mexi-boys I know are mad sappy about the ladies in their lives so… this is Big!Soft. Don’t hate.
On Ao3
A Bit of a Stretch 
It goes like this. 
Three months ago, a yoga mat shows up in the car. It’s purple (her favorite color), and Elizabeth probably thought it inconspicuous, neatly rolled up and tucked away in the back. But Rio’s only gotten to where he is in life because he’s got a meticulous handle on the details. So he notices, and it makes him pause -- the reminder of who he is these days. 
And he likes to think he’s a smart guy, evolved and shit. But, he’s got to admit he likes the thought of it -- his girl, Aphrodite trapped in suburbia (or was it Athena?), rolling up in the Wagon to some bougie yoga studio. Elizabeth would swing ‘round the back to grab her mat, doing that walk she does when she’s feeling herself as the other PTA chicks’ jaws drop. He likes the security of his second pair of keys in her hands, on her keychain. 
What did it say about Elizabeth’s hold on him that he fuckin’ delights in this daydreaming? 
And it’s complicated -- ‘cause on one hand, when did he become this guy? Actually, he knows. Three years, eight months, and two days ago. He’s not overly-obsessed with his relationship or anything, but a counter runs in his mind -- how long he’s been with her. So much so that he’s been thinking of getting the date of when she robbed him (the first time) on the inside of his wrist, a complement to the bracelets she’d bestowed him, to drag out as A Move during sex or to embarrass her in front of her friends. 
And on the other hand, it’s like...  damn, it’s been too long since they fucked in the car. 
They cohabitate now -- them and all their kids. They still had an absurd amount of sex in public places (and shit, since when had that been his kink?). He still takes great delight in pushing all her buttons and getting her to unspool around his cock, on his mouth, and in his arms. 
But, they were a lil’ calmer now, less feral. They had partially domesticated what this was and had fun in doing so. They shared a bed now, were crate-trained as it were. 
She and hers are his family. 
But, fuck, he’d been a strict no-strings-attached, hit-it-and-quit-it type of dude for years -- all of his adult life. It was what came with his job. 
He had tried to do his best by Rhea when he had gotten her knocked up. But, looking back on it, the exercise had been doomed. When Marcus was born, Rio was in his late 20s rocketing to the top of the food chain. It had been a time when all he could do was keep his head down and do the work -- running in the streets, scheming, consolidating power, and ultimately, he had to make a choice. 
Was he going to be a boss, a father, or a husband? To be honest, he only had time for one, but he did his best to make fatherhood fit. 
It’s what it was all for in the end, right? 
And yet, somehow despite all and many odds, here he was toting Elizabeth’s yoga mat around in his car. Mick rolls his eyes when he sees it, and there’s the typical jokes about being pussy-whipped and what not. But, yeah -- he loves her. At this point, he can’t really deny it. So, he laughs along with Mick’s jokes, and then sends him to chauffeur their million kids around, just to make sure he knows what's what.
Anyway, after a few weeks, Rio comes home from the gym and finds her practicing alone in the house, the kids scattered to their other respective households. Elizabeth’s got a video going on her phone, and her back is arched in a way he’s only ever seen in bed and she has to realize is provocative. But, she eyes him, self-conscious and with old defensiveness, as she twists into a few shapes. 
He tries to keep it chill, knows about the residual feelings she carries about her body (and Christ, he can’t believe he’s only had the opportunity to shoot her ex-husband once, he should have taken his own advice and emptied the fucking clip). So he settles close to her with his battered copy of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology from highschool that he’s been trying to get back into, and steals glances at her over the pages. 
He skims the pages on Athena and then Aphrodite, and he likes the hyperbole of each but neither quite fit. 
He eventually comes back to Artemis. 
And, yeah, maybe.
He looks up at Elizabeth again and admires her form. He admires her strength -- that reedy cord of tenacity he’s admired for so long making itself more visible through the facade of soft as she finds new ways to hold herself up and get herself stronger.  Her hair keeps falling into her face and he itches to crawl on the mat with her and pull it out of her face. 
She’s fucking gorgeous.
As she continues, Elizabeth notices him watching, and she starts to get a little playful. Eventually, he lures her off the mat and onto his lap.
Yoga becomes part of her routine on the days she doesn’t feel like driving into the studio. And he gets it. He’s always turned to grounding himself in his body when he’s needed to work through things. His first love had been basketball, soccer while on family vacations (and only with his cousins from Tamaulipas). In high school, it was track, and he still loves running, but with Detroit winters he’s mostly moved on to boxing and tennis. Never yoga, though. 
And yeah, he has some reservations, and yeah, it makes him feel their differences. He’s a tad judgemental about the white-owned yoga studios gentrifying the fuck out of his city. Blocks he grew up running in Detroit-propper suddenly got white people eyein’ up his tats and clutching their wallets. And shit, when has yoga ever been for guys like him? 
But, life increasingly becomes more complicated. 
He can still like that E’s found something that’s for her and he likes the peace it brings her. He appreciates the way it unknots her shoulders, the particular vibe it gives their day afterward when she’s able to let go of some of that stress she carries. He tries to complement it by eating her out and that special type of really good sex that comes from whatever alchemy is between their bodies. And yeah, he likes the headspace it gets her in, how it shifts the way she approaches their work, and the new depth it adds to the way they touch each other when sex isn’t her only form of therapy. 
So when she gets a water bottle with the yoga studio’s branding, Rio teases her a bit but he encourages her to go for the membership. Naturally, E being E, it don’t take her long to make nice with the owners. And then Elizabeth comes home excited about how she had just committed to doing a run of the studio’s promotional swag at the store. He and Elizabeth end up with a postcard on their fridge, a color photo of the studio’s abstract mural. The other side has text that advertises an event line up at the studio that includes a fucking “gong-bath”. It takes him a week to let it go. 
Actually, he hasn’t. He still brings it up.
But, then a second yoga mat appears -- a green one -- tucked away in the spare bedroom, mostly hidden under some of her crafting materials. He finds it, wonders for a split second why she needs two and has an answering inkling of where this might be going. 
The next day, a lil’ custom print for a “partners” yoga event gets pinned next to the first postcard on the fridge. 
And like... he loves her and all. But, does it really go that deep?
Rio pauses in front of the fridge, sipping his tea and staring at the picture of a white dude balancing presumably his Black girlfriend in a pose above his head. His eyes track to where Elizabeth sits in the other room knitting and watching the latest episode of her British baking show (he has half the mind to submit her name to the American spin-off). Considering what she’s up to, she sits with her back a lil’ too straight (on edge one might say) clearly waiting for a comment or for him to show her some grace.
And…
Nope. He’s not going to make it that easy for her. 
To her credit, after her episode is done, Elizabeth FaceTimes Ruby and asks her first. Then, as if to make a point that she’s rounding out her bases, she calls her sister. And it’s true that Marks’ sisters’ relationship is as close as it's ever been -- their family criming has forced Elizabeth to trust her sister with her life. But, damn, if he knows she don’t trust Annie to do anything remotely acrobatic, much less cartwheel Elizabeth into the air. 
He settles at the island in their kitchen with his tea and his work. She’s got the call on speaker in the other room, when Annie asks, “And gang boo?” 
“What about him?” 
Rio scoffs loud enough to be heard in the other room.  
“Why doesn’t he go with you?” 
E pauses, probably fiddling with the strand of her knitting yarn on the couch behind him. “It just doesn’t really seem like his thing?”
Annie snorts. “Have you asked him?”
“No,” Elizabeth sighs into the phone, as if she isn’t a few paces away, having a very audible conversation. 
“Don’t people usually go with their SO’s to these things? I mean I appreciate that you think I have the upper body strength for this, but you have to know that I will never in my life be able to do a push-up.”
“It was just a thought--” 
Annie continues, stuck mid-rant, “And, like there’s no way I can be your counterweight. You have so much more body than me. We’re like completely different proportions. ” 
“Well, so are me and Christopher.” 
“Yeah, but Christopher actually has body strength. Lots of it. “ Annie retorts. “And he’s going to love you sweaty, and sticking your butt up into the air, bendy and wearing tight clothing--”
He bites at his bottom lip and supposes yeah, he could try it once. 
“Okay, fine! I’ll ask him.”
Rio waits for her to come to him as he tries to make headway on his accounting. But, E doesn’t show. 
Instead, it comes later -- when they’re in bed. She’s being extra-nice, extra-smiley, and charming, cracking jokes and making him laugh. He hates it except he also loves it -- when she thinks she can get the drop on him like her dumb ass ex-husband. Except, unfortunately for Rio, she really does know her target. 
She waits until right after she blows him to ask. 
Elizabeth crawls up his spent, panting body, and pins him with hers. She kisses him hotly with her mouth that tastes like his come and he fucking loves when she does that. Then, she retreats to bite playfully at his chin and asks if he’s seen the flyer on the refrigerator.
And he gives her a little shit about it but…
He admires the strategy
------
The couple's yoga class is on a Saturday morning.
It’s the middle of March, and he’s fucking over winter. Detroit, so far from Mexico and so close to being the fucking North Pole. 
The temperature means he’s got to get bundled up in sweats, put on his damn parka and snow boots, all to take it back off again when he gets there. Apparently, the studio is heated perennially at 90 degrees. He don’t know how Elizabeth handles it, she’s so bothered by heat. He complains to her, and she reminds him that this is just like when he goes to the gym on his own. Except this time, they’re doing something together. And she’s being all shy in a way she usually isn’t any more around him and she’s fuckin’ happy he’s coming with her. 
The night before she had presented the green mat to him. He had said “Thank you” como su mamá lo enseño, and committed to stepping outside of his comfort zone. 
“Show me how this goes, darlin’?” 
Elizabeth had swelled up with the thrill of explaining something to him, and launched into it, “Yoga’s basis is breathing…” 
She had given him the low-down and gotten him started in the basic poses. He liked her hands, soft, and prim and careful, pushing and pulling at him and adjusting his posture. He had ended up fucking her on the mat -- as a proper thank you and to give her a little something to think about in class tomorrow as they contort their bodies in a way she’s adamant is not meant to be sexual. 
And he’s not trying to be a dick or ruin the day for her, but he’s dragging his feet a little bit. He don’t really want to be spending his morning off, kid-less, in a room focusing on his breathing surrounded by crunchy, white gentrifiers. 
And he might be simmering a choice comment about how it’s ironic that she wants him to focus on his breathing after she was the one who fucking shot him in the lung that one time...
But, he knows she’s not thinking of it like that and he knows if he just told it to her she’d get it. But, he don’t want to make it all about him and the struggle... and he’s rich now ain’t he? And Elizabeth’s excited to have him with her while she does her thing, excited to show him off -- and that gives him enough energy to walk through the door, green mat under one arm, and her hand in his. 
Immediately, they’re ensconced in a wave of warmth as they step into the heated studio, and there’s an earthy smell hitting him strong. He zeroes in on the incense lit at the check-in counter and Rio’s nose wrinkles in distaste on its own accord. 
Elizabeth squeezes her hand, in a silent reprimand. Behave. Then, she moves around the counter to hug some of the people hanging out back there.
There’s a flurry of introductions, a Bridgid, a Cassandra, Bryce, Patsy, and Tiffany. Tiffany is Black and he thinks Cassandra could be Latina… He ain’t sure. They’re all revealed to be instructors or staff of some kind and E seems to be chummy with all of them. He knows Tiffany is her favorite and will move heaven and hell (and their fucking drop schedule) to make it to class with her. 
He isn’t sure exactly why so many of them are but apparently, they like to hang out here? His palms itch and he feels the sweat start to drip under his thick jacket. 
E starts to pull off her winter clothes, as she lingers in conversation with Tiffany, asking her about her husband and how Tiffany’s weight training is going. He blinks at his girl and the shit she can pull out of her repertoire.  
“I’m so glad you get to finally meet Christopher.” 
Tiffany turns to smile wide at him. “Beth has made so much progress in the past few months.” 
“It’s nice to meet you,” and she’s got a friendly vibe so he tries to dial up the charm. Smiling, and playing the proper beau, “She talks about y’all all the time.” 
Behind them, he clocks that instructor, Brad or Bryce, checking out Elizabeth’s ass when she ain’t looking. And sure he’s about Rio’s height and got some definition on his abs, but his jaw’s too square like it’s never taken a hit, his muscles never used in a fight. 
Rio snags the eyes of some chicks looking at him a little too eager. Damn, it’s Saturday morning and these people need to chill. 
And he rolls his eyes, tsking, then steps closer and loops a hand around Elizabeth’s waist, drops it down to her ass for a moment. He makes a show of leaving a kiss against her temple and then he bounds towards the cubbies, ready to shed some clothes. His jacket is about to kill him. 
As he peels off of the layers, he looks around, and okay -- it’s not as white as he worried it was. There’s other POC settling in for the class, at least one other interracial couple, too. And that Cassandra chick’s sweatshirt says “Chingona AF’ on the back. She’s the same shade of light brown as him, a mid-30s willowy mujer with a queer buzzcut.
He loosens up a bit and settles into the space. This heated shit is nice.
A few moments later, Elizabeth joins him and after they’re done tucking their stuff away, she draws him over to her favorite corner. They roll out their mats -- purple and green -- side-by-side. 
They settle on their respective mats and Rio takes the opportunity to give Elizabeth the same once over that asshole did. Her ass really does look great in those pants and she could fill out any shirt. Her eyes linger over him too, tracing his skin, the bar tattoos peeking out from under his t-shirt that she’s seen a million times and then her eyes meet his and she gives him that small, crooked lil’ smile. 
He’s not one for religion, but every so often he takes his mom to Spanish mass. All the viejitos and pious Catholic types think he’s a banger but his ma’s still excited to show him off. He sits with her in the pew and when the priest asks for the congregation to give thanks to God, he says a prayer for the riches that have come to him, the health and brilliance of his son, the vitality of the other little ones in his life now, and Elizabeth. And when he thinks of her in those moments, he sees her in his mind’s eye with this exact look on her face. 
And to top it all off, the 90-degree heat is already working some kind of magic on the knot he’s been trying to get out of his shoulder for the past two weeks. 
He smiles back at her. 
“This shit is dope.” 
“Yeah?” 
He shrugs, playful. “I like the heat.”
She scoffs, still smiling, “Of course, you do. I thought I was going to pass out the first time I came.” He laughs and tallies a point. He called it. E shakes her head, “I had never sweat so much in my life.”  
And it goes like that. 
Right as class starts, a white guy with dreads and his skinny, blond girlfriend settle in the space next to them. The white dude turns to nod in acknowledgment, but his eyes drop down to take the ink at Rio’s throat. He tries to be subtle about it but he and the girl scoot a few inches away. 
And he ain’t even seen all the old bullet wounds yet. 
Rio turns to look at Beth. She’s also staring at the couple, her mouth settled in a thin line. 
Then she meets his gaze. 
One of the instructors starts calling the group in, welcoming them to class, and Elizabeth takes the last opportunity to gently careen into his side, and kiss him deeply. 
Then she's back on her mat, listening attentively to the instructor like she didn’t just start some shit.  
And yeah-- he and Elizabeth are different. They move through space differently, and she has access to things he never will no matter all the gems, rubies and diamonds, Mercedes and stacks he adds to his hoard of wealth, And Rio has wondered, worried, if there will ever be a day when they look at each other and decide they don’t fit anymore. 
But, damn if she don’t make him feel alive like nothing else. 
So as the instructor has them sit back-to-back and leads them through an opening meditation. It’s corny as shit and formal meditation is not really his thing, always having relied on sports (and fights and hits) as a substitute in the past. 
But, he tries to settle here, in this room warm like a blanket, next to Elizabeth.
The class itself is pretty fun. The instructors are hands-on, demonstrating, and walking them through everything. It’s easy enough to pick up with them (and Elizabeth) giving him adjustments, and he likes the excuse to get his hands on her in a different kind of way. 
He helps Elizabeth through some inversions, smirking down at her with this particular view of her cleavage. She gets a few, sneaky passes at him, and he don’t know who she thinks she’s fooling surrounded by a room of people, and a whole team of instructors circling them. 
In one particularly nice sequence, Rio curls down into the mat in the child’s pose, Elizabeth had shown him as she stretches on top of him, her whole weight settling along him like a cocoon. 
Damn, he’s going to make them take another class like this ain’t he? 
The class eventually shifts into what the teachers call aerials.
He lays on his back and lofting E up into the air over him. It takes a little finagling to fully adjust to the distribution of her weight, she’s obviously top-heavy. He stares up at her -- her gorgeous, sweaty face smiling down at him -- and looks over the particular arc of her cleavage. And despite how much time he spends palming at Elizabeth’s tits, he underestimates how much they must hurt her back.
No wonder she needs this shit.  
‘Course that’s when Bryce or Blake comes over to “check on their form” and is this guy really going to try to check out his girl’s ass again? Right, the fuck now? 
Blake/Bryce pushes at Elizabeth’s shoulders trying to adjust her position and she maintains very apologetic eye contact with Rio. Huh. So, she’s aware. 
Then, It all happens real fast. Her balance shifts and her hand, sweaty with the heat, slips across his palm and out of his grasp. 
The realization hits him--  She’s gonna fall.
And for a brief, terrible moment, her face freezes above him skewed with panic and fear, and then, as if in slow motion, she floats closer, down to earth. 
And he knows better. He fucking knows better from all his fucking years of boxing, the previously-mentioned lifetime of playing sports. But he clenches his damn, fucking jaw just as the crown of her head collides with him.
And there’s a sharp, bolt of pain spearing through his chin.
And in this room, this heated blanket, incense-burning, crunchy, granola room… 
He’s knocked the fuck out.  
-----
Well, then it’s a fucking show. 
In the familiarity of Elizabeth walking into the studio, they hadn’t asked him to sign a liability waiver. Someone procures ice, and he cradles it to his chin as Bryce apologizes and asks if he can call an ambulance. 
For a concussion. 
And he’s pissed the fuck off but it’s still kind of funny? Because the only thing that had ever put him in a hospital had actually been this girl standing next to him (tal pesadilla when she put three slugs in his chest). But, he has to stop laughin’ because it hurts his jaw and they’re all looking at him like he’s nuts. 
Elizabeth grips his free hand like a vice, and he’s nursing a hell of a headache, as he has to swear a million times that he ain’t gonna sue anyone. Then, finally, blessedly, they’re allowed to walk out. 
Elizabeth insists on helping him into the car. Tiffany and Cassandra accompany them, helping Elizabeth carry all of their shit. 
They stand at the curb watching, concern etched on their faces as Elizabeth reverses out of the snowbank and drives off. And Elizabeth drives because he most definitely has a concussion. And she drives them straight to the fucking ER. 
They spend half an hour fighting parked in the lot outside. But, he knows concussions and he knows his limits. 
He convinces her to take him home.
----- 
The first twenty-four hours of the concussion are the most important. He’s not supposed to look at screens, not supposed to work. He knows his shit but Elizabeth reads at least ten internet articles on her phone as she lies in bed curled next to him. 
They spend the childless afternoon with the curtains drawn, lying in their bed, not fucking. 
But, the cuddling is good, too. 
Elizabeth strokes up and down his arm and talks to him about little nothings to keep him company. She periodically gets up to grab him glasses of water and more ice. And this sucks, but all things considered, this might be the nicest concussion he’s ever had. 
Eventually, they wander to the kitchen to figure out food. 
Elizabeth pauses staring vacantly at the fridge. Then her shoulders start to shake, and now he’s wondering if she’s okay. But, her hand raises to unpin the flyer from the fridge and he hears the first snicker.
She turns to him, laughter breaking across her face, pointing to that ridiculous picture. He knows enough now to recognize Tiffany lofted in that showy, stupid af aerial pose. 
He chuckles and then cringes as the pain at his chin flairs.
Elizabeth pouts but is still laughing to herself. She ambles over to him, wraps her arms loosely around his middle, and lays the softest kiss on his chin.
“I’m sorry, Christopher.” 
He shakes his head, just a smidge because movement fucking sucks right now. “It ain’t your fault.” 
“It was my idea.”
“It’s okay.” 
She curls into him, deflating, crumbling the flyer into her fist.  He gingerly rests his head on top of hers. 
“I liked it.” He admits. 
“You did?”
“Yeah.” The smell of her lavender-shampoo drifts into his orbit. “Liked you curled all around me. Liked touching you like that. Gave me some ideas.” 
She nods below him, pulling him tighter. “I liked it, too.” 
“You’ve gotten so strong now, Elizabeth.” He kisses her at her temple. “Maybe next time you should do all the lifting.” 
She pinches him at the ribs. Then, “Next time?”
“I’ll tell you what.” He shifts back to make eye contact with her. “We get to do a whole lot of private practice.” He gives her a look to make it clear exactly what he means -- sex. “Then, we’re gonna go back and make sure Bryce is really sorry, ‘kay? Make sure he knows I’m still around.”
And Elizabeth beams that crooked little smile at him. 
“Okay, but the next time you have to give me your hoodie or something.”
He nods, a smidge but still manages to imbue it with sage, territorial wisdom. “That would help.” 
“Well, I meant more for me to...” She looks at him, eyes darting. “Claim you.”  
I mean he is living for that but he frowns at her. “But, everyone there was a couple.”
Oh. Oh yes. Now he remembers. 
“That doesn’t mean anything.” Elizabeth rolls her eyes. “And I don’t share.” 
Her hand drifts low on his back, then lower to curl a firm grip on his ass in the privacy of this home that they share.
Unfortunately, despite all this time, Elizabeth still doesn’t know when to quit when she’s ahead. 
“Though, honestly, I don’t know why they kept staring at your butt.” She murmurs, sassing him while he’s down. “There’s nothing here.” 
Esta pinche mujer. She’s lucky he loves her. 
Fuckin’ adores her, really.
Damn.  
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nayialovecat · 3 years
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Hi :) Could you rank the characters of SATIM, from the one you like the most to the one you like the least and tell us why? I love lists :p
My first list! Yay!
Gosh... it's very hard question. I don't like telling kids that one of them is less liked than the other, lol. I'm not able to choose which of the two very liked characters I like more, but I can certainly group them all collectively into several groups with different levels of liking…
The order in these groups will be rather random…
I don't know what determinant should be to assign them... Because there is a difference between the characters I like and the characters that I consider successful making. I think I'll bet on the former, so don't be surprised what categories the characters I'm really proud of end up in.
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First category: Beloved characters!
Sammy is definitely here, I don't need to explain why? I omit the fact that his character is quite modeled on myself (and it is quite common that the creator secretly loves to adore himself). But seriously. I love almost every Sammy I meet. This love has no rational explanation, it just exists.
Jack will definitely be in this category too - I love this warm dumpling, his character and the way he combines his pacifist, introverted nature with being Sammy's friend.
I will surprise you, but I'll also assign Bertrum to this category. It's so much fun that when I first saw him in gameplay I had such a "wtf, what is it, what kind of bullshit, why they screwed up the game so much by adding some carousel with a human face". Currently, I cry when I have to go through Chapter 4 and fight him :c He's one of my favorite BATIM characters, along with Sammy - and that's why in the SATIM version he’s simply brilliant! You will love him! Unfortunately, he'll not appear until the second series...
Probably no one will be surprised that Jose Klondike will land my beloved characters - I love the guy, although you don't know why yet. But you'll find out. You'll find out quickly, ‘cause the number of strips with him grows and grows, so I'll be putting them here and there. I am proud of this OC - his history, his determination, his character and approach to life. As if I was in the Workshop as an inky being - I would like to be exactly that character...
Bernard - you don't know him, but he is high in my heart. It’s my way of showing that weaker doesn't always mean weak ;)
After much thought, I decided that Bendy also belongs to this category. I have too much weakness for tragic characters - and Bendy is even a model tragic character (as you will see at the beginning of the second series, when there will be a little more of his backstory).
Gosh, how could I forget to put my favorite three descendants of Sammy and Bendy in this category? This trio is delightful together and separately. I'm so crazy about them lately! Sammy Jr, Henry Jr and Bendy Jr are my favourites :)
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Second category: I like these guys very much!
Here will be most of my OC with Cleaner in the lead. It's amazing how the character that arose as an explanation for my laziness/lacks quickly evolved into one of the more liked by me (though still has, and likely will have, relatively little airtime).
Barman must also be here. This guy stole my heart - and it was at the design stage, which is why he got such a unique design (I spent a lot of time on him). I like a stereotypical barman - that's why I just had to throw such a character into SATIM as soon as it turned out that they had a bar there.
All Strikers also land in this category - as the only species of members of the Butcher Gang. Well, how can you not love this cutie? In the SATIM version, most Strikers are sensitive, polite, have a strong sense of justice and, above all, tend to be innocent despite being horrific, murderous abomination. And they are the most sociable of the three.
Movie Club as a whole will also be included in this category, although I don't like all of its members equally. However, as a group character - I like them a lot, my favourite is Sara (probably that's why she got the most time in drawn stripes so far) and Simon (you don't know him yet, that's the one that was dead on the previous strip with this group), also Wallace (first one you met in comic). I like them, although their early appearance upsets my plans for Bendy a bit... but whatever.
Surprisingly - Twisted Alice will also land here. I did not expect that the character I didn't like in game, which I reluctantly drew and who was supposed to be in the comic as little as possible, 'cause I didn't want her in my story - will turn out to be so interesting and quite... cool. I mean, she's a cold, murderous bitch, yes - but I like her backstory, present character and behavior so much (I'm talking about SATIM - in the game she is still an annoying, cold bitch that I hate).
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Third category: I just like these.
Here is Brody. Yes. Just here. He is my first OC and I'm really proud of him. Very, very proud. He’s the most polished, I like him - but at the same time (identifying with Sammy) I don’t approve of some of his behaviors and beliefs. Which does not allow me to like him as much as, for example, Barman.
John Dot will land here as well. I like this guy. For someone who was not meant to have any major role, he has grown to become Sammy's religious advisor and is generally quite a funny character.
Fisher, who is my least liked member of the Butcher Gang in the game, ends up in second place here - thanks to the past of one of them (the whole two-piece strip will be about that). The Fishers in SATIM are the "brains" of the Gang. They are the smartest, most cunning and insidious.
Wally Franks - he is and for a long time he will be one of the most enigmatic characters of this comic, but from these narrow premises and traces of its operation it can be seen that he is at least interesting. There will be more about him in the second series, and he will play a more important role at the turn of the third and fourth series. You'll see.
Tom ends up here instead of in the next category only because of his complicated relationship with Sammy, which I would describe in one word as "frenemies". And I really like the idea of ​​communicating with writing board like Wile E. Coyote.
I have a problem with Elena. When I came up with her, she seemed like a great character to me, with the passage of time (and the creation of other OCs) she began to seem a bit... dull. I think I'll have to think about her a bit and maybe change her - maybe not. She doesn't appear until the last series, so I have a lot of time. But I still like the way she speaks to people and her strange relationship with Sammy (she's sort of like his apprentice, only the object of fanaticism has a different one).
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Fourth category: Not liked, but not disliked.
Sorry, Henry. In my opinion, Henry is a well-written character, his nature fits so much to him, etc. But somehow I don't know how to liked him. In places it irritates me as much as Sammy. What I like the most about him is that he doesn't cause any problems with colouring and strips with more of him mean less work for me.
Boris - you don't know him yet (he has appeared in the background of one frame throughout the comic so far), so I have no way to relate, but let me put it this way... Boris is the perfect Boris, that super-copy Joey dreamed of. He is friendly, obliging, somewhat cowardly, but overall a great buddy. And like any ideal character - he's boring. Just boring. I prefer dramatic characters, with a past, with problems or at least an interesting, aggressive or funny character.
Allison lands here too. I don't like her in the game and maybe that's why in my comic she came out like this... I won't say that she lacks character or claw, but... not intriguing. This may change, but for the moment she is a character whose role is to be a "strong independent woman" and she has no other role. I think many people will like her because of that. Me not very much. I just don't like this type of character.
I almost forgot about poor Piper. This is a character that leaves me cold. In every Gang, he is more of a taunt object or a servant at everyone's beck and call (in Polish we say: "przynieś, podaj pozamiataj" - I think it should be translate as "bring, serve, sweep"). But for consolation I made Pipers the most various (different hairstyles, clothes, length of the wooden prosthesis).
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Fifth category: I hate this one.
Joey. I created a motherfucker that I hate. But I must admit, this motherfucker is well done, you will see...
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I guess I haven't overlooked anyone, and even included a few characters that have yet to appear. However, if I missed someone, please ask :)
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daugtherofgreed · 3 years
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It's time for a headcanon dump before I make me some lunch
Alright so as daughter of greed Mimi is very much powerful though there's some odd side effects to using her power, for example whenever she uses a lot of magic her hair grows insanely long and curly that she has to cut it afterwards. Why it does this every time she uses a lot of magic is a bit of a mystery.
Also her bendy and flexible nature? That is tripled in her true demon form to the point it's outright terrifying. Doesn't help she extra limbs sprouting out of her back and has doubled in height.
Mimi has ADHD, she has trouble focusing on certain tasks, sitting still, impulsivity, and a small albeit noticeable lack of social skills.
Despite her often perky, cheerful and sometimes childish nature quite a few tend to assume she's harmless or dumb, but any demon that's been with Mimi for more than twenty minutes or so know that though she can be a little naive, she is far from stupid and not to be underestimated. Also a major sadist when she wants to be, she had harmed, killed and eaten other demons simply for the hell of it.
She has quite the appetitive and loves to cook and bake, yet surprisingly doesn't have a good sense of taste. She's not picky about what she eats and has a strong stomach, but generally unless whatever she's eating has a strong taste she'll likely just compare it to something random. For example if you asked her to describe the taste of milk she'll compare it to kool aid cause other than the texture she probably couldn't tell the two a part.
For the reason above her favorite types of food are ones that are spicy, have lots of sugar, or are extremely bitter as she can actually taste those.
Though as far as Mimi is concerned she rather have fun and goof off but when it comes to serious situations, she gets serious. It's a little jarring as she'll quickly change from her goofball self to a stern, no nonsense, taking everything on with a business like mentality. It's rare to see her like this, let alone manage to trigger it but it does happen.
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bellakitse · 4 years
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“You always duck away when you smile.”
Meddle, meddle, meddle
Carlos is having a few drinks with his sisters when the conversation turns to his love life. When they dare him to pick up someone at the bar, Carlos knows exactly who to go for.
* “Fine,” he says, already standing up, he points at the man at the bar. “I’ll play your game, not only am I getting his number, I’m not coming back to the table, I’m going home with him.”
30 days of Tarlos - Day 20
Carlos Reyes reminds himself for the third time in the evening that he loves his three older sisters, and that he likes spending time with them.
It’s not always easy to sync up their schedules. He works long hours as a cop, Valentina seems to work even longer ones as an ER nurse. Lola’s art exhibits have her traveling a lot, and Sofía has her recently opened flower shop she’s trying to make successful on top of taking care of his niece Mari. Nights where they could all meet up for a drink at a dive bar, were few and far between. It’s probably why when they do have time to get together; his sisters like to spend the night drinking cheap beer and talking about his lack of love life like he’s not even at the table with them.
“I tried to get him to call that cardio resident I send you guys a picture of in the group chat,” Valentina tells Lola and Sofía as she shoots him a dry look. Carlos ignores her while taking a sip of his beer; he has a feeling he’s going to have to move on to something stronger now that he’s officially become the subject of conversation.
“Seriously, Carlos?” Lola groans loudly like the drama queen she is; she throws her head back and doesn’t seem to care that a few heads turn their way. It’s Wednesday night; the bar isn’t as full as it usually is, and she’s ridiculously loud.  “He was so hot, and we found his Instagram. He has a condo in Miami, and you can’t even give the guy a call?”
“Guess not,” is all he says and nothing else, smirking when it makes all his sisters glare at him. They hate when he gives them short answers.
“You’re the worst,” Lola scowls at him while Sofía calls him a mocoso under her breath.
“I’m not a brat,” he answers even as he returns Sofía’s obnoxious look. “You three are nosy busybodies, like Tia Lucy,” he tells them, biting down on his lip to keep from laughing when the three of them gasp in unison.
“Okay, that was just plain rude,” his oldest sister Valentina grumbles, pointing at him with her index finger. “Grosero.”
“You three have a group chat where you apparently exchange pictures of the guys you’re trying to set me up with, and I’m the rude one?” Carlos questions disbelieving as he raises an eyebrow at them.
“We just want you to have someone,” Sofía reasons while Lola and Valentina nod in agreement. As the second oldest, she’s less forceful then Valentina, but she doesn’t fool him for one second, she might be quieter than the other two, but she’s just as much a meddler.
“Why me?” he asks as he points at Lola. “She’s single too, and two years older than me, focus on getting her a partner.”
“I’m doing my agent,” Lola says with a wave of her hand, casual as can be.
Carlos stares at her for a moment, before shaking his head. “That sounds like a massively bad idea, Lo.”
Lola shrugs unconcern before giving him a dirty grin that makes him shudder. “She’s bendy.”
“Ew,” he makes a face, grossed out by the idea of his older sister having sex. “Ew.”
“At least I’m getting laid, when’s the last time you did?” Lola smirks at him in that annoying way of hers that drives him crazy.
Carlos doesn’t answer, but that doesn’t stop him from instantly thinking about TK and how he just woke up this morning wrapped in his arms a little sore from the fun they had the night before. He thinks about those pretty green eyes of his, shining with mischief and amusement as he slid down Carlos’ body and took him into his mouth, giving Carlos a smug ‘good morning’ after he sucked his brains through his dick.
He doesn’t know why he doesn’t tell his sisters about TK now – no, that’s not true; he does know why.
He and TK are just getting started. What they have is new, and only theirs at the moment, and he’s just not ready to share it yet, even if he doesn’t want to deal with his sisters’ continuous need to try to set him up.
“Oooh, you know what you should do?” Lola starts, looking at him with a wide smile before turning towards his sisters. “We should make him get someone’s number tonight!”
Valentina and Sofía light up at the suggestion while he shakes his head, watching them as they start to look around the bar for a possible victim. It doesn’t seem to matter to them that he hasn’t even agreed to their little game. Carlos throws back his beer, emptying the glass. He’s more than ready to head to the bar and order something stronger before he comes back to the table to dash his sisters’ hopes and dreams, when he sees a familiar body at the bar. A body he can’t seem to get enough of, and finds himself smiling as an idea comes to mind.
“Fine,” he says, already standing up, he points at the man at the bar. “I’ll play your game, not only am I getting his number, I’m not coming back to the table, I’m going home with him.”
“Yeah right,” Lola snorts as she looks at who he’s pointing. “He’s hot, though,” she says, looking the guy up and down, Valentina and Sofía nod in agreement. “But you don’t have the guts.”
Carlos lets out a laugh, smirking down at his sisters. “Watch me.”
He walks away from them, feeling their eyes on his back as he closes in on the bar. He shakes his head slightly when the man in question turns and starts to smile as their eyes find his.
“Pretend you don’t know me, and I’m introducing myself to you,” he says quickly, earning a small frown from TK as he slides into the space next to him. “Don’t look over, but I’m here with my sisters, they’re at the booth by the jukebox,” he explains. He can see that TK wants to look, the curiosity shining in his eyes, but he does as he asks.
“They were ragging on me because they think I don’t date,” he continues, the comment causes TK to give him a confused smile.
“We’re dating,” he reminds him, and now it’s Carlos’ turn to smile. A few weeks ago, TK would have shied away at that; now, he says it easily, grinning from the fact.
“They don’t know that,” he tells him. “They mean well, but they’re nosy, so they decided that I should try and pick someone up tonight, and that’s when I saw you.”
“Oh,” TK says, smirking, thankfully looking amused by what’s happening and not annoyed. “So what’s the plan then?” he asks, a mischievous look on his face telling him that he’s willing to play along.
“I told them that not only am I getting your number but that I’m also taking you home,” he says, biting down on his lip to keep from smiling at the dramatic gasp TK lets out.
“Am I that easy, or are you that good?” TK asks teasingly.
“If I were good at this, it wouldn’t have taken months to get you to agree to be with me,” he says dryly, causing TK to chuckle as he looks at him fondly. “As for easy, I think it’s fair to say we’re both very easy for each other.”
TK looks down at his shoes, but it doesn’t hide the way his mouth curves upward.
“You always duck away when you smile,” he says softly, reaching out to touch TK’s chin, tilting his head up. “It’s adorable.”
TK looks up at him; his doe eyes are mesmerizing as he slides his hand from his chin to the back of his head.
“Is this all for your sisters’ benefit?” TK questions softly, taking a step forward when Carlos tugs him gently towards him.
“Who even cares about that anymore,” he murmurs as he cups TK’s cheek with his other hand, his stomach clenching when TK digs his fingers into the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. “I haven’t seen you in over nine hours; I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” TK whispers. He shifts, pressing his pelvis against Carlos’, smirking when it makes him let out a low swear.
“You know if you kiss me now, you show your sisters that you don’t need any help in the dating department, and you show me just how much you missed me. Two birds, one stone,” TK grins, his green eyes dancing.
Carlos chuckles right before he does as TK asks. He brushes his lips over TK’s pouty ones, a light action he does three times before TK lets out a quiet whine at the teasing, and lets go of his shirt to take hold of his face as he takes control of the kiss.
Carlos gasps as TK bites down on his bottom lip before running his tongue over it. He moans, wrapping his arms around TK’s waist, lifting him to his toes as their tongues dance against each other. TK answers his moan with a sound of his own, and Carlos can feel him start to harden against him, going half-hard himself in response.
“Fuck,” he whispers, biting back a whimper as he takes in TK’s flushed face and dazed expression.
“We need to go,” TK tells him. Leaning in, he presses his mouth against Carlos’ cheek, laying kisses up his jaw to his ear. “I need you to fuck me into the mattress right now.”
Carlos shuts his eyes tight as TK’s words have the exact reaction his boyfriend wants; he goes from half-hard to hard as nails so fast it leaves him breathless.
“Fuck, baby,” he says, cursing again. “Are you trying to kill me?”
TK shakes his head, a teasing smile on his face, his usually bright green eyes a few shades darker with need. “I want you to take me back to your place; you told your sisters you would. I’m just making sure you’re keeping your promise.”
Carlos chuckles at the impish look on TK’s face and knows he can’t deny him. “Let's go then.”
TK looks over his shoulder. “Do you have to say goodbye?”
Carlos shakes his head. “I told them I wasn’t coming back to them after I picked you up.”
TK looks at him for a moment before he bursts out laughing. “You are a man of your word, Carlos Reyes.”
“Exactly,” he grins. “Let’s get out of here.”
TK smiles again, wrapping his arm around his waist, and Carlos takes a moment to look back at his sisters. He bites down on his lip to keep from laughing at the shocked looks on their faces. He gives them a jaunty wave that has TK snorting at his side.
“They’re going to kill you later,” he murmurs as they head to the door.
Carlos shrugs; he can feel his phone already buzzing with incoming texts, no doubt from all three of his sisters. He’ll deal with them later, right now he has a boyfriend to attend to.
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daresplaining · 4 years
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[ID: Excerpt from Bendis’s Daredevil run. Matt Murdock and Milla Donovan are alone in Matt’s office at Nelson & Murdock, talking.]
Milla: “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable. But I-- I just couldn’t think of any way to approach you other than this.”
Matt: “It’s just that you are mistaken about my being Daredevil. That story just isn’t--”
Milla: “I can’t stop thinking about what happened the other day. When you saved me from that truck-- it really... I mean, I know you are in situations like that... every day... but I am not. Nothing like that has ever-- This is hard to say out loud... The whole situation-- It-- it had an effect on me that I can’t describe. I can’t describe to you why I came down here. I have never done anything like this before and I certainly have never spoken to someone-- Someone I don’t know-- Like this before... In fact, even with you pretending that it wasn’t you as Daredevil who saved my life... this is as intimate a conversation I have had with a man since college. ...I just need to speak with you again. To-- Thank you for saving me. Hmm... This-- this is very embarrassing. I’m going to go.”
Matt: “What do you do, Milla?”
Milla: “What do I do?”
Matt: “For a living.”
Milla: “I work at the Hell’s Kitchen Housing Commission.”
Matt: “You find poor people a place to live...”
Milla: “And we do a lot of environmental testing. Lead and soil. You wouldn’t believe how some people have to live.”
Matt: “Milla... Do you see a logic in that even if, let’s say, I had been the one that [...] tossed you into that clothing store-- Do you see how I wouldn’t be able to tell you that? Do you see how admitting something like that would be very... dangerous for me and for you.”
Milla: “Do you eat food? [...] Would you like to... have dinner with me tonight?”
Matt: “Milla, I can’t take responsibility for you."
Milla: “I’m sorry?”
Matt: “This tabloid mess I’m in. With everyone thinking I’m Daredevil. It’s created a situation around me where no one is really, truly safe. Everyone who works in this office. Everyone in my life-- as long as there’s this feeling that I might be Daredevil... There are people-- vulgar people who could-- I just can’t take responsibility for you.” 
Milla: “Hmm, well... Are we still talking hypothetically?”
Matt: “Oh, yes.”
Milla: “Well, hypothetically, can you imagine a situation where a girl, like myself, might have known all about this before sucking up the courage to walk in here and approach someone, like you, like this? The way I see it-- a girl doing all that is clearly taking responsibility for herself. I don’t live in fear. It is funny how you immediately took my responsibility on yourself... But I guess that’s a topic we could talk about over dinner.”
Matt: “Can I think about it?”
Milla: “Sure. But just for the record... I never mentioned anything about a clothing store.”
Daredevil vol. 2 #43 by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, and Matt Hollingsworth
    I hesitated about posting this whole scene because it’s long, particularly when transcribed (Bendis really loves dialogue), but I decided that cutting it up or condensing it would be doing it too much of a disservice. It’s a great scene, and there’s a lot going on, and I wanted to include all of it. 
    Part of what I like so much about Milla is how ordinary she is. This is true of many other Daredevil side characters as well, but always only to a certain degree. Karen Page is a successful and glamorous actress for a while. Heather Glenn is a wealthy heiress. Glori O’Breen is a revolutionary. Dakota North is a supermodel-turned-private eye. Rosalind Sharpe is... Rosalind Sharpe. Kirsten McDuffie comes close, but there is still something polished about her-- her effortless snark, her ability to kick butt when needed. There’s nothing wrong with this-- I love it, in fact (see my thoughts on Glori’s character development in particular), but it is the nature of many non-superhero characters in superhero media to still feel slightly larger than life, and so it’s nice to find one who is more down-to-earth.  
    Another major factor in this is the use of perspective. Matt is the protagonist, and thus we see (“see”) most of his co-stars from his point-of-view. We are in his head, experiencing their behavior. This is particularly true of his romantic interests-- yes, we see scenes of them doing things on their own, but for the most part, the lens of Matt’s perspective and knowledge is always present. But Milla is engaging because-- while we do spend a good amount of time in Matt’s head when she is around-- there are some very hefty scenes in which we are made clearly aware of Milla’s perspective too. Her introductory scene takes place before she has even met Matt (thus, we know her better than he does), and their first meeting is much more from her point-of-view that it is from his. We watch her experience that encounter, and we see the effect it has on her even though Matt does not. This is followed up by a very candid scene of Milla awkwardly discussing her interest in Daredevil with a friend, who laughingly teases her about it. Again, we are getting to know Milla on her own, separate from Matt. Bendis excels at crafting characters who feel real-- partly through, yes, his dialogue, which breaks many of the dialogue-writing conventions but does so in a way that, when it works, makes his characters sound extra genuine. We see Milla’s infatuation, her discomfort, and that makes it very easy to feel for her and identify with her, because even if we haven’t all had a crush, or tried to ask a superhero out on a date, we have all had embarrassing interactions with people, and this leads us to root for her. 
    All of this carries over into the pivotal above scene, in which Milla insinuates herself into Matt’s office and asks him if he eats food out on a date. I love this scene for a whole list of reasons. 
1. It’s super awkward. I mean, it gets better, but a person walking up to someone they’ve never officially met and thanking them for saving their life while the other person repeatedly insists that they did no such thing is going to be awkward no matter what, and Bendis makes the excellent decision of leaning into that reality rather than trying to soften it. It says a lot about Milla’s personality that in spite of this awkwardness, she still goes through with this and says what she came to say, and I then love her extra-humanizing “Hmm... this is very embarrassing. I’m going to go” when Matt just wordlessly stands there. (I also love “What do you do?” “What do I do?” Bendis is a master of this style of conversational humor.) They are both super uncomfortable, which causes us to sympathize with them, places them on equal footing, and makes the rest of the scene-- when they manage to work through the awkwardness-- all the more satisfying. 
2. It undercuts Matt’s secret identity angst. We all (I assume) love Kirsten McDuffie’s playful handwaving of Matt’s insistence that he isn’t Daredevil, and this scene is the spiritual predecessor to all of that. Milla is convinced that Matt is Daredevil-- so convinced that she has put herself in this uncomfortable position to talk to him about it-- and so she has no interest in even acknowledging his denials. She just ignores them. And it’s really funny. It has been said before (on this blog, and elsewhere) that Milla exists in this arc as the anti-Daily Globe. She figures out his secret identity and the results are positive. Matt has spent issues denying, arguing, scrambling to defend himself against prying journalists eager to lay his secrets bare, and then in strolls Milla with “I know you’re Daredevil, and I’m taking you out to dinner.” And then she gets that smooth calling of his bluff on her way out the door, which is just... fantastic. 
3. “I don’t live in fear”. And of course, we get one of Milla’s biggest character-defining pieces of dialogue. In some ways, it’s fairly standard-- Milla has a backbone, she isn’t frightened by the idea of hanging out with a superhero, and “I don’t live in fear” is an obvious reference to Matt’s own “Man Without Fear” epithet. But it’s a great, empowering speech, and it feels important. It gives Milla control in this conversation, and more than that, it gives her control in the relationship. She has chosen to seek Matt out, she has chosen to ask him out, and she has done it with the knowledge that it might not be safe. As the story goes on, we get the sense that whatever understanding she might have thought she had wasn’t quite accurate-- that she has definitely gotten in over her head. But in this moment, in this scene, it’s a powerful statement of intent and a comment on her character-- as a civilian, as a blind woman, and as a Daredevil love interest who is stepping into a legacy that’s drenched in blood. And I appreciate the facial expressions that Maleev gives Matt. You can tell that he is completely smitten with her, and that this speech has floored him. It’s fun to see him in this position, and it builds a strong grounding for the rest of their relationship. 
    I could go on. The artistic choice of placing a flowy, sensual painting behind Milla versus a closed window behind Matt was clearly intentional. I love the implication in the last panel that Foggy and Jessica were listening through the door. “Do you eat food?” always makes me laugh. This is one of my favorite Milla scenes, and with this creative team there’s always more to dissect. 
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inkabelledesigns · 4 years
Audio
Poem 31: Thank You
A short poem from Alice and Poet, but a longer recording because I have my own two cents to add in as just me. I want to give a huge HUGE thank you to @halfusek for hosting Ink Demonth for the second year in a row. Thank you for all that you do to make the Bendy community as great as it is, you’re an absolute delight, your art is amazing, and you’re super sweet to all of us in the audience! This is the first month-long creative challenge of any kind that I’ve managed to see through to completion, and I’m happy with the result. I’ve learned a lot from it that I’m gonna continue to use for a long time. 
I also need to give another thank you to AJ and Steve ( @ahjones94 and https://twitter.com/HypeVoiceActing ) for all of their help with these audio pieces. You guys are awesome, and I’m proud to not only work with you, but call you my friends. <3 It wouldn’t be the same without you!
And now you get the full audio transcript below, not just the poem! Plus some project links to my friends, as promised.~
Steve (HyperVoiceActing): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgD1... 
Rouge's Denial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F3ic... 
 AJ (BigBlue VA): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnMB... 
Break Time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZYCh...
Sound Effects (Creative Commons 0): https://freesound.org/people/Aldebara... https://freesound.org/people/YourFrie... 
A Fond Farewell
By: Kat Alyst
Poet: Well dear listeners, 
It seems our time together has come to an end. 
I won’t pretend 
I didn’t enjoy it.
Because truly, I did.
You’ve been a delight to have around
Even though you’re not in our underground.
And it’s been a pleasure entertaining you
For the long month that it’s been. 
Twisted Alice: Really and truly, 
It’s been nice having you here. And seeing all your lovely compliments has made this angel feel heaven-sent. We may be stuck in this dingy old studio, but our stories will always live on out there, with you. 
Poet: Quite right dear angel! 
It’s really a shame, 
I wish I weren’t running out of tapes. 
I know, there are steaks, 
but it’d be nice to entertain again, you know? 
It’s been so long since our show. 
Surely we’re due for a comeback, yes?
Twisted Alice: Quite. Though it’d be a bit of a “dark revival,” all things considered. -chuckles- Either way, it’s been nice having an audience that doesn’t hate my guts. Thank you all for listening in.
Poet: Indeed. Dear viewers,
I hope you’ll consider looking back 
at all the lovely stories we shared together. 
And if you keep the tether, 
Consider listening again during stormy weather.
A good story is the best medicine 
When you’re having a cloudy day.
Until I can find more tapes to record on,
Here’s wishing you well out there.
Come back again soon! 
Your Poet is always ready with their monsoon of verses for you!
Kat: Wait, wait, don’t cut the tape just yet! 
Greetings everyone, my name is Kat Alyst, and I am the writer and voice behind the Poet, and all of these Ink Demonth poems. 
I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you so so much for all of your support throughout this month. This has been such a fun challenge for me, to test out my skills as a writer, a voice actor, and as an audio editor, and it feels so good to be in all of those things. 
I think the thing that surprised me the most is just the amount of people that stuck around to listen to all of these. 
Like I get it, poetry is not the first thing you think of when you hear “Bendy and the Ink Machine,” but it’s like, I’ve gotten to do so many fun things. I don’t think I’ve ever seen “fandom poetry” as a big thing that anybody’s explored, but there’s a lot of potential for it in a series like this.
I don’t know if I’ll ever do any Bendy poems again, but this was a really fun experiment, and I’m glad that I went through with it.
 Before I let you go, I feel it’s important that I give a huge, HUGE thank you to Steve and AJ for all the help that they’ve given me throughout this month. Like oh my god, you guys are superstars,  and I love you. Steve (HyperVoiceActing) was our voice actor for Joey Drew, Bendy, Boris, and Generic Toon #47. Yes, I’m sticking with that name and you can’t stop me. 
He’s also been my primary ‘sound board,’ just the person that I’ve been talking to the most with making sure that I’m doing a good job of all of this. ‘Cause I’m still very amateur when it comes to audio editing, and sometimes it really helps to have a second pair of ears. So Steve, thank you so much for everything you’ve done, you are phenomenal. 
AJ (BigBlue VA) was our voice of Henry in that one skit (27: Fight, he was also the Butcher Gang). AJ and I have been working together for a long time, and he is hysterical. So I was really looking forward to that as well. Just both of these guys have had some amazing performances throughout this whole thing, and I couldn’t do it without them. So thank you again.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with these two before, be it on projects with our other friends or projects that they’ve been doing, so if you’d like to hear some work we’ve done together, I’m gonna link a little bit in the description. HyperVoiceActing is the channel for Steve and BigBlue VA is the channel for AJ. So go show them some love, they’re amazing at what they do, and it would really mean a lot to me. 
So with all that said and done, thank you so much for tuning into the Ink Demonth. And comment down below, what was your favorite poem of the bunch? Well, technically most of them were poems, a few of them were audio skits, but I wanna know what you think. I wanna know what you think I could be doing in the future too, because I am totally open to doing more crazy projects, it’s always a great time to just go in there and have some fun. So thank you again so much for tuning in, and I hope you all have a great rest of the day. Don’t let the Ink Demon bite! Ta-ta! 
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mwolf0epsilon · 4 years
Note
Fic request: Miss Twisted trying desperately to woo Alice Angel and ends up both embarrassing herself and making herself seem endearing.
Summary: Romance is a lot harder than her radio dramas make it out to be, but Miss Twisted won't be deterred from wooing the girl of her dreams. Lucky for her, she has some outside intervention.
---
[[MORE]]
It was a little like how one of her dramas began. Though, hard as nails, femme fatale goes into a seedy bar with her buds to scope out the local birds. The three are losing the flirting battle because none of the dames think they're classy enough to get with them for a one night hookup, and then as if by miraculous coincidence an angel steps out into the stage. Literally.
Miss Twisted liked the concept behind a romantic relationship. It drove her absolutely giddy with delight when she kicked back to listen to her afternoon radio soaps. She was just never lucky enough to find the sort of gal that'd fly with her.
Sure, hooking up for some hanky panky filled night was fun and all, but it lacked the emotional depth of a romantic partner to get all sweet with and do all of those cute couple things she saw the folks of Bouillonburg doing to woo their significant others.
Brute and Cameraman were good company sure, but unless they started going around in drag she doubted she'd find either attractive. Also they were more like her brothers so, ew, no... And honestly the idea of Cam in a dress was gag worthy. Brute might make it work, he had the badonkadonks to fill the front of a dress very nicely.
Shaking her head, Missy winced.
"Shoulda started with a few virgins rather than straight up vodka..." She contemplated as she pushed away her last glass.
"Lightweight." Cam teased as he chugged straight out of a whiskey bottle... Somehow. She had no idea how he could drink without a mouth and watching him did little to provide an answer. "Bar's full of snobby wenches tonight. Not even a lady of my caliber in sight..."
"They host ugly nights on Thursdays." She stuck her tongue out at him and yelped when he pulled her stool back, nearly causing her to fall.
"It is Thursday. And just because you 'fleshies' don't think us object toons are pleasing to the eye, doesn't mean we're not beautiful." He seemed cross. "Don't need my own friends being a bunch of obnoxious racists..."
"You know I don't really mean it, you square." She signalled the barman for another round. "You're cute honestly, just not my type."
"Cute? I'm very handsome thank you very much! Back in my home town everyone thought I was quite the catch!" He huffed proudly before looking around. "Not much of your type around either... The ladies here only have eyes for the men."
"And the men only have eyes for the ladies. Poor Bubu, been a while since he's had some fun..." She glanced at the large burly wolf who was collecting olives from the martini glasses he'd been drinking. He looked resigned to a night of zero bedroom fun.
"Hasn't it been for all of us?" He downed the rest of his bottle and covered his faceplate as he belched. "Pardon me."
"You burp like a little girl." The demoness teased again as she picked up her new glass and turned to face the stage. The previous act had finally come to an end, and she was curious to see who else had signed up to entertain the local drunkards.
That's when she came into the stage... The most dazzling vision Miss Twisted did ever lay eyes upon. A beautiful curvy hourglass figure accentuated by a tight black dress, a round heart shaped face that fit plump lips and large doe-like soulfull eyes, ebony locks that framed her face nicely, a pair of stubby curved horns upon her head, and a brilliant halo that cast her in an ethereal glow...
Miss Twisted felt cupid's arrow pierce her heart as this wonderfully beau walked towards the microphone, an angel among sinners.
"Wow mama..." Color flooded her already flushed cheeks as the act began. Eyes glued on sensually swaying hips and kissable lips moving to form syllables... Oh and that voice! That splendurous voice! Like a siren's song to her ears.
Cameraman squinted as he turned to look.
"That little lady looks familiar..." He hummed.
"She's gorgeous..." Missy giggled as she practically drooled watching the angel on the stage. Cameraman looked at his friend and sighed, before turning to look at Brute who was also watching the little demoness with an inquisitive look. The object-headed toon shook his head and simply ordered another bottle. It took a lot to get him drunk, and alcohol was honestly such weak stuff... He sure wished more establishments in Bouillonburg served his kind of drinks.
The wolf shrugged his shoulders and asked for his own refill. Best not get in the way of his female friend's thirsting.
-
The angel was quite the gal indeed. And, it turns out, a close friend of Missy's old pal! Why, the naughty little Imp was even at the bar to watch his lady friend do her magic on this deplorable crowd of drunkards and bastards. That, the demoness found out when a pained yelp came from her right.
She glanced down and grinned.
"Trying to pickpocket Cameraman doesn't work too good, that belt of his is booby trapped~" she giggled menacingly as she stared down at none other than Bendy. Papa Pluto's most favourite little troublemaker.
"Oh, hey Misty. Didn't see ya there..." The little imp shook off the shock he'd just received, glancing up at the glare of the object-headed toon's lens. "This uh... This your friend?"
"Yep."
"Ah... He can keep his wallet then. Any more buds o' yours around?" He grinned sheepishly.
They both pointed at Brute who was definitely listening in, as he suddenly noticed the absence of weight on his back pocket.
The burly wolf growled at the imp, smirking when he quickly tossed him his wallet back.
"Sheesh... What a bruiser." Bendy turned to look back at Miss Twisted. "So what brings ya to these parts of our lovely little city?"
"Lust." Missy replied. "Gotta scratch that itch sometimes... Been pretty unlucky on that front tho."
"Yeah, the birds here ain't bein' easy... Poor Alice there is as cute as a button, and so far no one went and tried to woo her other than a bunch of slobberin' wolves... Err, not actual wolves mind ya. Just wolf-whistlers." He corrected himself, glancing at Brute very briefly.
"A friend of yours?" Missy asked.
"Yep! The dame on the stage, movin' her butt like there's no tomorrow. Got pipes made o' gold that one." He pointed to the angel, which made Missy gawk.
"You're friends with that gal?!" She stared at the object of her affections, then at the tiny round imp like she couldn't believe his words.
"Yeah we are pretty tight." He grinned wider. "Been tryin' to teach her to loosen up, Boris and I. That's my other bud... He's somewhere around here."
Cameraman and Brute both lost interest in the conversation and went back to drinking. They seemed to be ready to call it quits soon since they weren't going to get any action tonight.
"Bringing an angel to a dump like this sure seems like the way to loosen up..." The demoness remarked sarcastically.
"Hey she's havin' fun, ain't she?" Bendy defended as he motioned to Alice who did seem like she was enjoying herself. "And not many other bars in this town have birds on birds and brutes on brutes... Best place for her to meet a gal that'll want to have some fun with her."
"Oooh..." The demoness's arms coiled tightly with merriment as she took in those words. Available and her type? Lucky lucky day! "I'm down to mingle with your gal pal, if you know what I mean... She seems like more than a one night splendor."
"Hey hey hey!" Bendy hopped onto the stool to the left of her. "My gal Alice ain't some piece o' eye candy you get to slobber on and discard. She's like, a super fine wine. Good with age, refined, quality."
".... Bendz, I just said I wanted more than just some fun. I'm looking for a partner, not just a patty cake one night stand."
"Oh... Hm, still how do I know ya won't corrupt my pal? That's my job!" The imp crossed his arms, brow creased slightly.
"Because she's perfect! Duh?" She rolled her eyes. "I want a girl that I can sweep off her feet and whisper sweet nothings into her ear."
"Uh-huh... And?" Bendy was all ears it seemed, so she was definitely going to sell it. Brute and Cameraman glanced back with renewed interest. This ought to be good entertainment.
"If I dated her, I can guarantee your gal Alice would wake up knowing I'd be there to make her happy. To shower her in love, affection, and fantastic gifts. The next more grand than the very last one..." She carried on. "I'd take her to see the world, sail the seven seas on a cruise ship, traverse the skies in a hot hair balloon, ride across the country side on horseback, and scale the tallest mountains so she could see the stars and awe inspiring views..."
Bendy snickered slightly and Cameraman began to tap her on the shoulder. She swatted his hand away.
"Tell me more of how you'd go about wooing Alice." Bendy smirked.
"After all the grand adventures, I'd go back to do the small things. Wake up besides her, watching her rest before I roused her with more sweet nothings. I'd bring her breakfast in bed, lovingly prepared to her tastes. I'd massage her ankles after they ached from dancing to her heart's delight. I'd make her feel like the most special girl in the whole entire world if just so I could drink in her smile, hear her sweet voice call my name..."
"Aww, Bendy you didn't tell me your friend was so sweet..."
Miss Twisted clamped her mouth shut as she turned to stare at the reason Cameraman was trying to get her attention. The reason why Bendy looked so amused by her gushing... Why that little no good devil...
"I ah..." Face flushed more from embarrassment than the alcohol she'd drank, Missy did not know how to salvage this mess she'd just made, proclaiming an imagined future of romance with the angel that was standing there, smiling at her besides an awfully familiar looking gangly wolf.
"So... Any plans for when you get married?" Cameraman asked. "Need a wedding photographer?"
"Cam, so help me Pluto I will end you..." She hissed, hiding her face in her hands.
"Cameraman try to warn Missy that pretty angel coming over." Brute pointed out, laughing heartily at her misfortune.
"Eheheh! Well Alice, am I or am I not the greatest wingman in history?" Bendy grinned mischievously at his two pals.
"You uh... You didn't need to embarrass this poor lady, Bendy..." The wolf winced in sympathy, despite seeming nervous when looking at the trio. He especially avoided the object-headed toon's scrutiny, messing with the straps of his overalls when the other began to murmur about familiar looking faces.
"Still... All those things you said miss..." Alice smiled "They were very nice. I haven't really found that many other ladies who wanted to actually date. People these days are all about quick thrilling hookups rather than old school romance."
"Yeah, it's a real shame ain't it?" Missy gulped down her shame, smiling back at the beautiful angel. "I mean, just look at you! You deserve all that I said, and more! Who would just discard you like chewed up gum? A madwoman that's who!"
"Such a charmer... I like it." Alice giggled. "I think... I think I'd like to get to know you. I'm Alice. Alice Angel."
"Miss Twisted. I'd definitely like to get to know you."
Cameraman sighed.
"How sweet... At least one of us got something out of this dang bar..."
"Brute got many olives." The large wolf pointed out. Everyone stared at the little bag he'd filled with olives. That was... That sure was a lot.
"That you did big fella... That you did."
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starglossie · 3 years
Photo
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bokuto/ushijima - g - 4.7k - it’s the simple things
Bokuto asks, “You know Ushiwaka, right?”
“... I do.” Kiyoomi folds his arms. “Why?”
“Is he single?” Bokuto blurts out.
There’s silence for a few minutes and then all Bokuto hears is Atsumu howling, “Holy fucking shit, what?”
can be read here on ao3 and below under the cut
Bokuto likes to consider himself a simple fellow. This isn’t meant to be taken in a bad way either. Simplicity is not bad. What he takes it as, of course, is that it doesn’t take much for him to determine what he enjoys and what he can really do without.
For example, he loves volleyball. That is his blood and sweat and tears. It’s his first inhale when he wakes up and his last exhale before he sleeps. He loves Yakiniku. Beef is quite literally the best.
He loves words but spelling them is another matter. Well, he doesn’t dislike spelling. He thinks it’s rather fun to figure out what letters go where. To double check with someone—usually Akaashi because Akaashi was so brilliant that Bokuto was happy he could always turn to his best friend with questions and receive the answers he was looking for—about whether or not receive was spelled r-e-c-i-e-v-e or r-e-c-e-i-v-e.
He doesn’t get taxes. Though he figures that’s not something people usually get, they just do. He’d rather not do them, if he had it his way. Then again, being a good citizen also has its perks. Like no jail time.
And he doesn’t think he’d do too well in jail. Well, maybe at first.
To circle to the point of this! Because there’s a point. Do not think there was nothing to gain from this ramble. No, no. You see, when it comes to relationships—do not question the connection between taxes and meat and volleyball and relationships, because it’s there even if one cannot see it because Bokuto knows it’s there—Bokuto is pretty simple.
Again, simple isn’t meant to be a bad thing.
Simple in the way that Bokuto likes people for who they are and whatever it is they wish to be. Simple in the way that Bokuto doesn’t quite get romance, he can figure it out along the way as he normally does, but he knows when he wants someone. When he wants something. And whenever he’s wanted something, he’s always gone for it. Again, simple. If he wants it, why stop himself from having it? If he wanted someone, why stop himself from having them?
Of course, when things get complicated. He understands that. He realizes just because he wants something badly enough doesn’t mean it’ll always find a spot nestled in-between the love-lines of his palms. Doesn’t mean they’ll create a nest and nestle themselves within his ribcage, right by his heart, the birdhome for their fluttering rings to take rest.
But really, when things are simple. It doesn’t take much for Bokuto to find a reason to pursue someone.
/
It’s the warm up before their big game against the Adlers.
Bokuto’s been looking forward to this game all month because it’s basically one giant reunion! He gets to play with his prodigy, Shouyou. And he gets to show off his wicked spikes set from TsumTsum. And he gets to witness Omi-kun’s nasty southpaw spin.
Not only that but the Adlers have Kageyama and Hoshiumi and Ushiwaka! It’s a whole party as far as Bokuto’s concerned.
“AH YEAH!” Bokuto feels the beautiful sing of his spike ring across the volleyball court. The ball connects with a thunder clap on the other side. His arm feels good. That swing had the right power. And that set? “TsumTsum!” Bokuto flashes Atsumu with two, big thumbs up. “That was an amazing set! You gotta do that like, every time today okay?”
“Hey, you’ll like whatever set I give ya!” Atsumu’s grinning, though. Which means Bokuto delivered exactly how he was supposed to for Atsumu’s standards, and then some.
“Bokuto-san, that was soooo good!” Hinata shouts from behind. He’s stretching with Kiyoomi, who’s currently in the longest split Bokuto’s ever seen.
“Thank you, Shou! I’m gonna do that all game, so watch out!”
“Big talk,” Kiyoomi responds as he extends his body all the way to his right foot to stretch. God he’s so bendy. Like a bendy straw. Bokuto wonders if he had any bones or if he was just jelly and muscle and bendy stuff. “Our bet’s still on, Bokuto-san.”
“Hell yeah. I didn’t forget at all. I want beef! Lots of beef, Omi-kun!”
“You haven’t won yet.”
“I mean, for when I do.”
“Oi, enough chit chat.” Atsumu takes up another ball which means another set was coming. “We’re not done warming up.”
“Right right!” Bokuto gets ready for the set. He’s ready for it when a giant thunk resounds throughout the court.
Everyone’s heads turn just in time to catch no one other than Ushijima Wakatoshi receive a volleyball straight to the head. It was the most beautiful thing Bokuto’s ever been able to witness in his twenty-three years of life. Ushijima didn’t even stutter. He barely quivered. He took the ball to the head with so much grace and power.
Bokuto clutched his chest. Felt a horribly loud, wonderful ache. The way his blood would pump and his heartbeat would pulse whenever he was about to serve. Or whenever he got close enough to a dog to pet.
It was an enjoyment. It was a like.
“That was so hot…” Bokuto murmurs as he watches the Adlers coach rush over to check on Ushijima who, for all intents and purposes, seems to be okay…
Bokuto grins. Then turns his attention back to Atsumu who’s doubled over with laughter and tears in his eyes. It takes about three minutes for him to calm down but when he does, they don’t miss a beat with their sets and spikes.
The synergy of setter and spiker carries them through the game, and it’s enough to give them the win once it’s all said and done.
“You lost the bet,” Kiyoomi says in the locker room after their coach finished congratulating them on a game well played.
Bokuto wipes his face off with his towel, “Mmm. Yeah, I did.” It’s not a bad outcome. All he has to do is ask the mascot to borrow his Jackal suit for a video. And… find a bikini big enough to fit over the suit. But that’s not really important right now. Gold eyes flicker up to meet Kiyoomi, eager and full of wonder. Kiyoomi raises an eyebrow and Bokuto asks, “You know Ushiwaka, right?”
“... I do.” Kiyoomi folds his arms. “Why?”
“Is he single?” Bokuto blurts out.
There’s silence for a few minutes and then all Bokuto hears is Atsumu howling, “Holy fucking shit, what?”
-
Ushijima Wakatoshi is incredibly single.
This puts Bokuto in a stellar good mood as he makes a beeline for the Adlers locker room.
He gets a few hellos, a couple of questioning looks as he all but storms through. But that’s fine! Because he’s on a mission. A not so secret mission because now half his team knows that he’s interested in Ushiwaka and wants to take him out.
“Because he took a volleyball straight to the head?” Atsumu was on the floor, near death, from laughing so hard his spleen nearly exploded.
“No no that was really cool,” Hinata said on the bench, fists clenched in solidarity for his mentor. “I for sure thought he was gonna die!”
“He brings a new definition to the word hard headed…” Kiyoomi said though Bokuto couldn’t tell if it was said in a derogatory way or in a awe-wow-that’s-so-cool kinda way. So he decided it was both.
His teammates cheered him on to propose, well no. Proposition? Hm, no. Not the right word either. He was going to propel himself (yeah, that felt right) into the Adlers locker room and into Ushijima’s face and ask a very simple question.
“Ushiwaka!” Bokuto hollers as he finds the man in question step from around the corner. Fresh out the shower with his hair dripping wet and a towel hanging low on his hips.
Ushijima locks eyes with Bokuto and wow, he really was handsome up close. There’s even a red spot from when the volleyball had hit him on the head! Still there! God, that was so cool…
“Bokuto Koutarou,” Ushijima replies. And wow, he even made Bokuto’s name sound important and serious.
Bokuto shivers and takes a step forward. “Do you wanna go out with me?”
Kageyama, who was sitting on the bench at the end, spits out his sports drink.
Hoshiumi shoots up like a rocket, “No way! No waaaaaaaaay!”
Ushijima blinks, “Out where?”
“On a date, of course.” Bokuto’s never been shy. He’s never been fearful. Not really. There was nothing wrong with putting yourself out there. The worst thing Ushijima can say is no. Before, when he was younger, Bokuto would be utterly devastated from the rejection. Now though, if Ushijima were to say no he’d take it in stride and at least try for a friendship, if anything.
What he doesn’t expect, though it’s not a bad thing, is Ushijima’s second blink followed by, “Why?”
Bokuto shrugs, “I liked seeing you take that volleyball to the face. That was really cool and kinda hot. So I figured I’d ask ya out on a date! Cause I received a ball with my chest before and I know how that feels!”
Ushijima nods as if that makes sense (it does, because Bokuto knows Ushijima gets what he meant by that. The power and hunger to keep the ball in play no matter what had to be done to do so). He doesn’t say anything after that and for a minute Bokuto wonders if the rejection is coming now. But then Ushijima sticks out his hand in front of Bokuto and goes:
“Alright.”
And Bokuto gets utter chills as he grabs his hands and shakes it for all its worth.
“It’s a date! I’ll text ya the details—wait, I need your phone number. Then I’ll text you the details.”
“I have to tell Sachiro about this…” Hoshiumi makes a beeline for his phone.
Kageyama has some gatorade on the side of his mouth as he says, “Is… is nearly getting a concussion attractive?”
Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to, Kageyama.
/
Thanks to Akaashi, Bokuto’s dressed decently for his date.
“No, those colors don’t match.”
“But this is my favorite shirt and pants!”
“Okay but they can be worn separately, not together. Wear that green shirt. The one you bought for Konoha’s party.”
“Oh yeah! The green shirt! That one with these black pants?”
“That works.”
“Kaashi you’re the best!”
So now, he’s standing at the planned meeting spot for Ushijima to arrive. He’s about fifteen minutes early but that’s okay because then he got the joy of seeing Ushijima from the crowd, spotting him, and getting to wave him over and everything. Bokuto hums to himself as he waits. Excitement barely being able to describe the giddiness through his system. It’s equal parts nerves but not bad nerves. And equal parts serotonin from the spontaneity of it all.
After they exchanged numbers two weeks ago they texted everyday. Ushijima is a really good texter! Bokuto likes how thoughtful Ushijima is with responses. Bokuto knows he has a lot to say and he can take over a conversation pretty easily, sometimes without even realizing it. But Ushijima doesn’t make him feel bad for taking up space. For talking and talking, even when a million things hit his brain at once. Ushijima notices all the million of things and responds to them in earnest.
It’s nice. It’s a warm feeling. A fuzzy sun in the solar plexus of Bokuto’s chest that stretches out it’s lazy sun rays all across Bokuto’s body.
When he spots Ushijima in the crowd, he doesn’t hold back his yell.
“USHIWAKA! HERE!”
Ushijima looks left and right before his gaze lands on Bokuto and Bokuto feels a zap.
The crowd looks as Ushijima strides over to him. Not wearing a cap or anything. A few people notice him and ask him to take a picture or try to say hi. He stops. Freezes. Makes eye contact with Bokuto and Bokuto makes a move.
“Hey everyone! Yes, it’s Ushijima but it’s also me, Bokuto! We’re about to hang out and we have lunch reservations. Can we quickly take pictures and maybe another time we can chat and talk?” He smiles, the one smile Akaashi said could charm a mass murderer to put down their weapon. Which was kind of a cool superpower now that Bokuto thought about it but he would rather take a mass murderer out with his fists than his smile…
That appeases the crowd. They take a few pictures. Sign a kid’s volleyball (which Ushijima was happy to do, Bokuto peeps from the side as Ushijima goes “You like volleyball?” and the kid responds, “Yeah! Watching you made me love it!” and it’s the tiniest smile Bokuto’s seen but gosh the warmth it creates in his chest. Atsumu would say he’s ‘down bad’ and perhaps he is! But it’s not so bad to be so… down? He’ll work that out later) and then, after both of them got lost on the way to their destination, finally reached their destination.
“So this cafe is cool cause it’s run by one of my buddies I met once when I was on a run.” Bokuto explains ripping apart his chopsticks so he can dig into his bowl of ramen. “Right ok so I was running and I was super hungry because I forgot to eat before my run and this guy goes ‘Oh you’re hungry? You like ramen?’ And I said ‘Literally ramen is one of my fifty favorite bowls of things to eat that comes in a bowl’ and he goes ‘Well you’re in for a good bowl then’ and bam,” Bokuto takes a long slurp of thick, soaked noodles. They’re just as warm and delicious and soothing as they were the first time he tried this place’s ramen, “I’m here like almost once a week now.”
Ushijima takes his chopsticks apart slowly. He is much more, hm, not delicate? More… controlled? Yeah! Controlled! With his movements. While Bokuto is all in, engines raring, full steam ahead with devouring, Ushijima takes his time. He savors his noodles. And Bokuto leans forward, eyes wide, blinking owlishly as he waits for his reaction.
Ushijima swallows his noodles and stares back at Bokuto for several seconds.
“Is it good?” Bokuto asks because he hates silences.
Ushijima nods, “It’s good.”
Bokuto fist pumps the air, “Yes! Ah, I’m so glad you like it! Cause if you didn’t, I’d be sad.”
“Why would you be sad?”
“Cause, ya know,” he takes another round of noodles and slurps it for good measure. “When you’re showing the person you like something you like, you want them to like it too. Or you hope that they like it. So they can experience the same joy you feel about that thing. And then it’s kinda like we’re connected now. Like this noodle connects us,” Bokuto holds up a lone noodle in between his chopsticks and then slooooooooops it into his mouth.
Ushijima looks like he’s taking apart all of Bokuto’s words. Carefully considering their meaning, their methods, and their madness. Finally, he goes. “You like me.”
It’s not a question.
Bokuto grins, “I do!”
“We’ve barely spoken.”
“Yeah that’s what Omi-kun said too when I asked if you were single.” He catches the way Ushijima’s eyes rise slightly at that. And he keeps going because Bokuto Koutarou has never had anything to lose before, and he certainly wouldn’t have it today. “But I mean, like I said. You received that ball with your forehead Ushiwaka.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“I know!” Bokuto laughs and he says, “Wait. Sorry. I’m not laughing at you.”
Ushijima’s eyebrows grow this adorable wrinkle between them. “You didn’t have to clarify.”
“I know but like, I also just wanted to let you know my laugh isn’t making fun of you because I feel like giving the situation, it may come off that way! So I wanted to make sure you knew. Because I would like that.” Now he’s rambling, and he knows that. But he hopes Ushijima understands what he’s trying to say. It’s such a small thing, but Bokuto’s known the cruelty of seemingly innocent gestures that were more devilish than angelic.
After a while, Ushijima’s crinkle goes away. He nods, slowly, and he says. “I appreciate the consideration.”
Bokuto’s lips pull into a smile, bright and a little crooked.
“So yes, I like you.” Bokuto continues. “Even though we’ve barely spoken. And even though it all came from me seeing you receive that ball to your head. But I also decided we should go on a date, cause I’m interested in you. And I wanna get to know ya more.”
“I’m not interesting.”
“That’s not true!” Bokuto leans forward. “You were the number one ace in Miyagi Prefecture and ranked among the country's top three aces! That’s so epic!” Bokuto leans forward, folding his arms across his chest. “I used to be up there too with ya’ll but I was really inconsistent so I couldn’t stay there permanently.”
Ushijima nods, “I remember watching a few of your games. Your emotions get the better of you.”
“That they did! Or well, they still do.” Ushijima’s bluntness does not add salt to wounds. Rather, it’s refreshing. Bokuto enjoys the bluntness. Because it’s not wrong. Bokuto’s emotions had gotten the better of him when he was younger. He was better at managing them now. At learning how to let himself feel but not get overwhelmed. What was the word for it… coping! “But not so much anymore. Cause I realized I’m just an ace, ya know?”
“Just an ace,” Ushijima repeats. Bokuto waits to see if he’ll get that too. If he’ll understand what Bokuto means because not many people can understand it. “You’ll deliver no matter what.” It's a sweet sigh of relief, the feeling of a cold shower after a hot day, and Bokuto nods vigorously.
“Yeah! Yeah! Exactly!”
They eat some more and Bokuto asks about California a bit more. Ushijima mentions how California was surprising. He ran into Iwaizumi Hajime and he got to meet with his father. How California was a weird place, but not in a bad way.
“Did you get to play volleyball a lot?”
“Yes.”
“That’s awesome. I’ve always wanted to go to the states. Would you go back?”
“I would.”
“Oh, maybe we could go together! Ah, wait.” Bokuto raises a hand. “That’s forward. I’m sorry. This is literally just our first date.”
“We can go.”
Bokuto’s jaw drops, “What? Really? Wait,” Bokuto feels like he needs to connect some dots. “Ushiwaka, can I ask a question?”
Ushijima frowns, “You never stopped to ask a question before. Why ask now?”
“Cause I just wanna clarify! You know, when I say I like ya—it’s cause I wanna like, date ya. Or see if you’d be down for dating. Or like, you know. Potentially being boyfriends?”
“I see.”
“Oh thank God. Wait, you see what?”
“I was under the impression you wanted to hang out.”
“I mean, yes! But also, not just hang out. Like, we would be hanging out but maybe sometimes hold hands?”
“How are you sure that after this you would want to hang out with me more? Or at all. I’m not…” Ushijima pauses, as if to consider what to say next, “like you.”
“Duh,” Bokuto says. “I don’t want you to be. The dates are so we can get to know each other. Cause we don’t. And that’s why I ask ya a bunch of questions! Cause I’m interested in ya. I can also be more blunt if you’d like.”
“Blunt would be good.”
“Okay well I think you’re incredibly handsome. Like, when I saw you today my heart raced cause you looked really good. The red varsity jacket over the green v-neck?” Bokuto nods towards Ushijima’s outfit and grins, “it’s a really good look. You’re really cute.”
Bokuto waits for Ushijima’s reaction. To see if he’s said too much or just enough. He watches as Ushijima’s cheeks color red and his ears catch on fire. He coughs, and covers his mouth with his hand. Eyes darting to the side, before coming back to meet Bokuto. He coughs again. He lowers his hand.
“Thank you,” he says. “I’m not sure how else to respond.” Another moment, “You’re bluntness is. Yes.”
“Thanks,” Bokuto feels incredibly pleased with himself. He happily finishes his bowl of ramen and then asks for the drink menu so they can figure out what they'd want. “Do you drink?” He asks as the waiter comes by with their menus.
“Occasionally.”
“Awesome. Show me what you like to drink! We can order that.”
“I’m not really particular.”
“That’s okay. You can choose whichever one speaks to you. I’ll enjoy anything you get us.”
Ushijima fixes Bokuto with a look, “Bokuto Koutarou.”
“That’s me.”
“You’re very strange.”
Bokuto’s smile ticks at the ends, “So I’ve been told.”
“I’m sorry. That’s. Not in a bad way. In a good way. Like your bluntness.”
“Thank you,” and the solar flare in his chest grows a little warmer as the waiter comes back and they put in their drink orders.
It’s a good night after that.
/
“You really went on a date with him?”
Bokuto finishes his last rep with an exhale. Sweat’s on his brow as he stares at Kiyoomi in front of him. They’re at the gym on their day off. Conditioning and working out so they could be ready for practice tomorrow.
Bokuto gets up so Kiyoomi can take his spot and says, “Yup. I know you’re dying to hear the details.”
“I’d rather be dead than hear the details.”
“Oh Omi-kun! That was a good way with my words!” Bokuto claps and Kiyoomi rolls his eyes so far back into his skull Bokuto’s afraid they’ll get stuck there. “I mean, I don’t have to share if you don’t wanna hear but…” Bokuto sighs, pretending to be forlorn. Looking off towards the distance as if he’s waiting for his lover to come back home. “I haven’t gotten the chance to tell Kaashi about it cause he’s been busy with work and I really would like to talk about it…”
Kiyoomi looks like he’d rather eat a rotten onigiri ball than hear about Bokuto’s love life but then, because underneath all his grouch Kiyoomi’s a really nice dude (or well, maybe nice is too strong a word… let’s say he’s capable of human decency on a good day) Kiyoomi goes, “You have until I finish my reps to talk about it.”
Bokuto takes the bone like a dog, “Okay so the date was great!” He starts and then he goes on about how Ushijima is really cool and thoughtful and their conversation was never boring or had an awkward tilt and that he feels like they had a really good first date.
“Do you wanna know if we kissed?” Bokuto waggles his eyebrow.
Kiyoomi grunts as he goes through a rep, “No.”
“Well that’s good ‘cause we didn’t! But,” Bokuto looks at the palm of his right hand as if it’s a rare jewel. “We did hold hands. I’m a shy guy you know, Omi-kun. I can’t just kiss on the first date… and I don’t think Ushiwaka woulda been comfy with that either!”
Kiyoomi grunts again, “Such a gentleman you are.”
Bokuto chuckles, “I know. I’m great. Anyways!” He knows he’s got only about less than a minute to finish his story before Kiyoomi tunes him out. “We’re going on a second date next week. The Adlers have a few away games and that’s gonna make him busy but we’re gonna text and call and stuff while he’s away! And then do a virtual movie night which is fun cause we both have the same taste in movies!”
“What a surprise.”
“I know! That’s what I said!”
Kiyoomi finishes his set and that signals Bokuto about his time running out. Which was fine and good because he said all he wanted to say. Kiyoomi pants, catching his breath and running a hand through his hair. He fixes Bokuto with a look that Bokuto assumes is to figure out whether or not he’ll say something grouchy or something moderately decent.
“You know. I didn’t think you two would get on so well. I’m glad it seems to be working better than anticipated.”
“... Omi-kun,” Bokuto sniffles, feeling tears in his eyes. Kiyoomi twists his face up in disgust and bolts upright from the machine.
“No. No tears.” He starts power walking through the gym and Bokuto is right on his heels with happy tears down his face and his arms out wide.
“Omi-kun, you’re the best!! Omi-kun!”
“GO AWAY BOKUTO-SAN!”
/
“... And then I told Kaashi he should ask out Osamu because I’ve seen Osamu checking out Kaashi when he thinks it’s not noticeable but jokes on him, I totally see it.”
“You have a good eye.”
“I do! And then Kaashi was like super worried. And when he worries he likes to overthink the craziest scenarios like: ‘What if I ask out Miya-san and a meteorite falls onto the shop’?”
“I don’t think meteorites eat rice balls.”
Bokuto throws his head back with laughter, rolling onto his back on the bed with his phone held high above so he could see Ushijima. He laughs so hard he’s sure his neighbors can hear. But he doesn’t care. Because Ushijima was so fucking funny.
He wipes the tears from his eyes, staring at Ushijima’s confused look at the screen. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing at ya. I was laughing because you’re right, meteorites wouldn’t like rice balls a bit I think.”
“So he has nothing to worry about,” is Ushijima’s sound conclusion.
“Exactly! I’ll let Kaashi know you think so too and tell him to go for it.” Bokuto turns onto his side, so he can hold the phone a little closer. So he can feel like he’s tucked into bed with Ushijima by his side. “Hey, Ushiwaka,” he says with a yawn.
“Are you getting tired?” Ushijima asks, concern laced at the ends of his words. “It’s late. We can call again tomorrow.”
“Nuh uh. Not yet,” Bokuto shakes his head. “Just wanted to say it’s nice talking to you and stuff… getting to know ya… and stuff. Are you also enjoying this? What we’re doing?”
“Does it look like I’m not?” Ushijima’s brows wrinkle in the way Bokuto was learning meant Ushijima was worried something he said or did had come across negatively. He’s quick to reassure, because he gets that fear. He understands that worry. And he hates having to deal with it himself. He’d never want anyone else to have to feel that way because of him, especially Ushijima.
“No no, not at all. I just wanted to know how you were feeling as all! And I wanna hear if you’re liking this too.” For purely selfish reasons. Because while Bokuto is a simple creature, he also craves the satisfaction of reciprocation. Of knowing this is worth it, and that he is not alone in this feeling of a crater being scraped in his heart that’s shaped like Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Ushijima’s crinkle disappears. There’s some shuffling and Bokuto smiles as he sees Ushijima is also laying on his side, facing Bokuto. It feels like they’re both in the same bed, facing one another. So close their knees touch. So close their breaths could intermingle. Close enough to feel right.
“Yes,” comes Ushijima’s quiet confessions. “I’m enjoying this as well. Thank you for asking.”
“Thank you for answering, Ushiwaka,” and the solar flare grows. It’s such a simple answer. It’s such a simple response. But Bokuto’s a simple man. Pleased by the simplicity of Ushijima’s earnestness and the sincerity of his words. He yawns again, “Alright. I think with that, I can sleep soundly tonight! We’ll talk tomorrow, yeah?”
“Yes,” Ushijima says, and then he goes, “I’m looking forward to it.”
Bokuto’s near tears, “Yes! Same! Same!” He squeezes his phone so tight it might burst. If his heart doesn’t do so first. “Okay. Okay that was so cute. You are so cute. Good night, Ushiwaka! Talk to you tomorrow!”
“Goodnight, Bokuto Koutarou.”
The call ends and Bokuto’s in darkness. He brings his phone to his lips and he feels the heat on his cheeks. The rush under his skin.
He’s a simple man. But that’s not such a bad thing—not at all.
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~hello~ !! For the meta asks!: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, and 25 :))
Hello!! Thank you for sending these; I was really excited to see that ask game and I was hoping somebody would send some in. It still took me a while to actually answer them though, and for that I apologise. But without further ado! Some meta answers (under the cut because they ended up being fairly long, whoops):
3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (Consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway.)
I thought of a few examples, but they could basically be grouped together under a common theme: whumpy/angsty scenes that were self-indulgent as all heck. The whole self-indulgent aspect often required the characters to be just the teeniest, tiniest bit OOC and/or necessitated rather unrealistic plot circumstances. So it was simply easier to keep such scenes as maladaptive daydreams, rather than trying to think of explanations for the character/plot issues…or exposing myself to judgement for them LOL.
Receiving permission to write/share one such scene anyway is an opportunity I can’t let slip by though. It might be because I’m writing this while running on zero (0) hours of sleep—let’s hear it for insomnia, y’all!—but I suddenly couldn’t remember any of my newer ideas under this category. However, I did recall a one-shot I had started writing a couple of months ago that sort of counts? “Sort of” because I could actually be arsed to write it since I was, ya know, writing it. Only got about six hundred words down though.
…should I share those six hundred words…?
………nahhh. I don’t think I’m quite ready for that yet.
But here’s the gist of it: Coulson and May (because of course it’s Philinda) were married for quite some time before the Attack on New York. But then Coulson DiedTM and then got ResurrectedTM. But gasp of horror, he had to lose his memories of his romantic relationship with May because reasons. (I actually did have some ideas for those reasons but sshhhh this is about me yeeting context and setup.)
The first half of S1 still happens as normal (except MayWard doesn’t happen because??? Vows) and it’s now post-E20 “Nothing Personal”. The morning after (or a morning soon after, whatever) the T.A.H.I.T.I. reveal! May’s mom—who doesn’t know about GH.325 and whom May fed a cover story about Coulson divorcing her or something equally as oof, IDK—shows up at the hotel and starts ripping into Coulson for breaking her daughter’s heart, then dragging her back into the field with her ex-husband (him), then accusing her of terrible things and forcing her away again.
Poor guy’s confused as heck, and so is the team, and soon enough so is Lian. The only one who understands what’s going on is May, and she’s freaking dying off to the side like why is this happening to me and eventually everybody’s like! Explain??? (Was thinking about including something from Coulson like, “Are you still keeping things from me?” Just for that extra smidge of angst, yay!)
So yeah then May gives a, like, two-sentence debriefing that elicits more questions than answers. Coulson decides to take May aside and they have a heart-to-heart. Lots of feelings and angst and hurt/comfort and at some point plenty of kissing too. Just! May hiding her feelings for Coulson’s sake but really magnified, plus some actual apologies and consideration of the grief May’s been through on Coulson’s part.
And uhh yeah that’s basically it I dunno hdsjncjshd. I warned y’all it’s OOC, plot-bendy, and very self-indulgent!
6. What character do you have the most fun writing?
I don’t think I could name a single character for this. I get different things out of taking on different voices, you know? I guess recently I’ve found myself gravitating towards more taciturn and introspective points of view, like JQ from my original novel Rosewood or M. Yisbon from my…other original novel Temple.
Generally, however, I like tackling stories from an outsider’s perspective. That’s why I so rarely write my more “substantial” (serious? demanding? for lack of better words?) projects from the PoV of my “preferred” character. This usually means writing from their love interest’s perspective, but not always. With shorter fanfic, using a more removed/unconventional/niche PoV can be really fun. Like, I once wrote a canon compliant ficlet purely(-ish) about Philinda from Tony Stark’s perspective. That isn’t always sustainable with stories that demand more character development or closer character studies, however, which is why it’s a good thing I like writing drabbles!
9. Are you more of a drabble or a longfic kind of writer? Pantser or plotter? Do you wish you were the other?
My word counts tend to run long, but I usually only write one-shots for fanfic. If I’m even inspired with a novella- or novel-length story idea for a fandom, you already know I’m in deep with them. And if I actually find the motivation to plan and execute that idea? Dangg. That’s only ever happened…twice, maybe thrice, and I’m in a lot of fandoms.
At times, I wish I could go for more of a middle ground ’cause, like, you know what I love to see? An AO3 dashboard with several completed novellas for my ship/character of choice. I mean yes, I hecking love >90k fics, but sometimes I’m in the mood for quick reads…and what am I supposed to do when I burn through all the drabbles and 2k one-shots? (Besides despair and/or reread my faves desperately.) Novellas are basically always safe for me LOL, and I’d hope to be able to give as much as I take.
Ultimately though, I think I’m okay with where I am with regards to that. I wish I could write more in general, but I’d be okay with “writing more” just meaning “writing more one-shots”, ya know? More than okay, really. I have mad respect for fic writers who have, like, a hundred or more one-shots under their belt for this one ship. The fandom ecosystem would be incomplete without them (as well as every other type of writer, but sshhh that’s the type of writer I’m closest to being right now).
I’m definitely a plotter, and I definitely prefer it that way. It’s cool having such a detailed record of my process. I like feeling like a frazzled genius on the brink of a major discovery with all of my different outlines and colour coding and many drafts and various websites.
12. Do you want your writing to be famous?
Not exactly. It might be cool if my original works were recognisable in the world, but I don’t think I’d want to be recognisable. As for fanfic, I’d low-key enjoy gaining a place in that fandom’s community as a fic writer. Like someone who gave and got fic gifts from fic writer friends, who participated in challenges and GCs, who received writing prompts on Tumblr, whose name was known for doing a certain trope/genre a bunch of times… Ya know what I mean?
Unlikely to happen when I’m so hecking hesitant to publicly (i.e., outside of AO3) claim credit for my writing, but fjnskfsjhfjs. A writer can dream, right?
15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)?
Of those three, tags are the easiest for me, for I have a reliable system for figuring out those.
Next easiest would probably be titles. For fanfiction, I like to use titles that are a quote from the source material. You should have seen all of my old Hamilton fanfic… I was really proud of some of those titles. And I don’t mean, like, whole lines—usually only two to five words. It’s a unique type of wordplay that I just love dabbling in.
And lastly, summaries. Sometimes inspiration strikes me and a snappy and intriguing synopsis just jumps out—one that I’m quietly pleased with—but most of the time I’ll spend way too long trying to think of such a synopsis and eventually just go with whatever I’d come up with so far. And live with my quiet dissatisfaction for the rest of time.
18. Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (Plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations...?) Tell us about them!
Typically, no. If I have deleted scenes, I save and publish them separately, but that’s about it. I sometimes think of AUs for my own work and might talk about them in my author’s notes—might even talk about writing them—but I never really do anything with them.
Although…
It’s not uncommon for me to decide a plotline isn’t working for a certain story or to think of an interesting but undoable arc for a certain character, but what I’ll do is make a whole new story for those ideas. Once I’m done developing the original idea and the branched-off one, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell they grew from the same roots. Does that count?
21. What other medium do you think your story would work well as (film, webcomic, animated series, etc.)?
That depends on the story. I’ve actually written stories in other mediums—movie screenplay, musical stageplay, poetry, TV show scripts, play scripts, roleplay—but the novel does tend to be my comfort zone. Sometimes, if I have an idea that I think could work, or would even work better, as another medium, I’ll label it as such in my folder of ideas and decide not to write it as a novel.
Most of the time, my non-book projects are collaborations. I’m working with five different people on six different story ideas: two webcomics, one stage musical, one anime, and two animated TV shows. Little concrete progress has been made in any of those, mind you, but they’re still fun to discuss!
24. Would you say your writing has changed over time?
Absolutely. But I’ve been writing stories since I was five years old, so we would hope so, huh?
I wouldn’t say my writing’s changed completely, though maybe that’s just my insider’s perspective.
25. What part of writing is the most fun?
Oh gosh, I can’t believe you’d make me choose. Writing is just such a wonderful experience for me; I love just about everything to do with it. Admittedly, not all the time, but. Since that barely qualifies as an answer, however, I’ll give you this—
The endings. Not only that intense feeling of rightness when you wrap up that last sentence, but also the moments before. The adrenaline of knowing you’re almost there but you gotta push just a bit more to actually get there. And also the part right after—the real wrap-up, honestly: the revision and the editing. Heavens, I love revising and editing my work.
Which is not to say I don’t like writing it out for the first time, too—there’s nothing quite like seeing your cursor scroll to the next page, like going from a blank expanse to a Oh man, how many more lines are even going to fit on this page?, like watching that page counter tick up another number. However, there’s something cathartic about finally ironing out those problems I had to force myself to stop worrying about earlier because “just finish the first draft dangit”.
I guess that’s not really the end of the writing process, but whatever. Close enough (as fic writers are wont to say).
Another thank-you for these asks, and feel free to come back with more at any time! ;P
Send in fun meta asks for your friendly neighbourhood writer!
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queenofcats17 · 4 years
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A user on AO3 called Shortpotato_Henry  said this: Hiya! I was wanting to ask if you could make a chapter of Hell's Studio Drabbles where Sammy becomes Sammy Angel again? I was also wondering if the reason behind it could maybe be Sammy falling/ending up in the ink machine somehow? Pretty please?
Sure!
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It had happened again. Sammy Angel had resurfaced. Although, the reason for this latest transformation had been a particularly interesting one. 
Sammy had been supervising Joey and Wally while they worked on the Ink Machine since Tom was out sick that day. There was some sort of clog in the machine and so Wally and Joey were going in to see what was wrong.
“I don’t know why I have to do this,” Sammy grumbled, holding the panel open so that Joey and Wally could climb into the central chamber and tinker around. They were wearing full-body rubber suits so that they didn’t get affected by the ink. 
“You’re the only one free right now,” Joey replied, smiling brightly. “Thank you again, by the way.”
“D’ya think I should just go under and feel around in the nozzle?” Wally asked, crouching near that area of the machine.
“No, I do not think you should do that,” Joey said quickly, dragging Wally away from the nozzle. “These suits aren’t completely ink-proof and I’d rather not have another toon incident.”
Sammy snorted, a grin spreading across his features. It was honestly pretty funny how commonplace this sort of thing had become. His hand slipped a bit in his laughter, causing him to scramble to right himself. 
“Careful,” Joey warned, glancing at Sammy. “Wouldn’t want you to fall in.”
“Yeah,” Sammy agreed, adjusting to make sure he didn’t fall in.
In the end, though, he did end up falling into the ink. Because if it could go wrong, it would go wrong. It was just the rule of the studio. Sammy’s hand slipped and he was unable to right himself, plunging straight into the ink. Wally shrieked and stumbled away, his back hitting the wall of the machine’s inner chamber. 
“Oh, dear.” Joey inhaled through his teeth.
He and Wally fished Sammy out of the ink, but it was already too late. He’d been transformed into a toon. Specifically, the character that Joey had been secretly referring to as Sammy Angel.
“Not again!” Sammy groaned when he woke up.
“Well, at least we know how to fix it,” Susie said, patting his back gently.
“There is...one problem,” Joey said. 
Sammy and Susie both turned to look at him. He was sitting at his desk, flipping through his various books.
“What’s the problem?” Susie asked. She and Sammy instinctively tensed. 
“Well, since he was exposed to so much ink all at once, the magic of the transformation is stronger than it usually is,” Joey explained. “So we have to wait for the magic to fade a bit.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” Susie relaxed a bit.
“Speak for yourself,” Sammy grumbled, hunching down with his arms folded and wings curled protectively around himself. He didn’t want to be stuck like this for an extended period of time. Still, he was glad he was still able to work. 
“And, uh, there is one other thing.” As he said this, Joey avoided looking at them, fidgeting with the pages of his book.
“...What is it?” Susie asked slowly, narrowing her eyes.
“I...May have planned an episode today featuring the character of Sammy Angel?” Joey smiled sheepishly. 
There was a long and tense moment of silence. 
“Excuse me?!” Sammy screeched, the feathers on his wings puffing up.
“I just wanted to test out the dynamic and see if the character would work with the others!” Joey put his hands up in defense. “I thought he’d make a good love interest for Alice since you two already have a relationship!”
“I...” Sammy’s fire faded a bit. 
“He has a point,” Susie agreed, gently pulling Sammy down to sit once more. “We already have chemistry. It would make sense that the characters we voice would have chemistry.”
“So you want me to do lines like this?” Sammy asked, gesturing to himself. 
“Not exactly...” Joey said.
Half an hour later, Sammy and Susie were on a soundstage with Alice, Boris, Norman, and Bendy. As it turned out, Joey’s idea had been to film an actual episode with the physical toons, just to see how it would look. Which meant Sammy had to literally act out the episode.
“I can’t believe this,” Sammy said.
“It’s not going to be so bad,” Alice tried to reassure him. 
“And you get to curse at me,” Bendy added. “That’s something.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Sammy sighed.
Norman had been mostly silent, but everyone could see the huge grin on his face. He was keeping quiet since he didn’t want to make Sammy or Susie upset. They were having a hard time and he knew it. Still, it was rather funny to see Sammy considerably smaller and with a halo and little wings. 
“Alright! Is everyone ready to do this?” Joey asked, walking in with a clipboard and a big smile. 
“Ready as we’ll ever be,” Alice replied.
.
Filming actually went rather well and Sammy ended up having a lot of fun, not that he’d admit it. He’d never understood the appeal of acting before, but he had to admit that there was something freeing about pretending to be someone he wasn’t. Especially when it meant he got to indirectly flirt with Susie.
He was, of course, turned back to normal as soon as the magic had lessened enough for Joey to deem it safe. 
“You can keep the character,” he told Joey when he was back to normal.
“Really?” Joey’s eyes widened. He’d fully expected Sammy to hate the character even more after this experience.
“Yeah.” Sammy nodded. “I don’t mind voicing him later.” Then he left.
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