#might draw this scene into a comic I had something more angsty in mind | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

iamthegaysmurf · 5 years

Note

Ok 3 and 28 is so soft and already so wayhaught but I think I am going to request 24, please.

03. forehead kisses28. forehead touches or nose nudging or any soft variation on the theme24. ‘just really needed a hug’ sort of a hug13. family

@darienplays6688, I wasn’t sure if you were asking for #24 instead of #3 and #28, or if you wanted that in addition to both of them. So… I went ahead and included a little bit of those for you, too. Just in case.

———-

Okay, so… Here’s the thing. I know these were all supposed to be “Super Soft And Fluffy” prompts, but… I think my brain overloaded on all of the fluff that wrote during the last three or four of these prompt fills. If I didn’t let out some of this bottled up angst, I’m pretty sure I was going to explode.

So, like… That’s not to say that this doesn’t have some really soft moments in it (and a happy ending, of course), but there’s definitely some angsty stuff along the way, and it’s not what I would call “fluffy” by any stretch of the imagination.

I’m really sorry, guys. But I just couldn’t do it. I hope you can still find a way to enjoy this fic that you’re getting instead. : /

———-

Set just a day or two after the end of 3x07, but before it picks up with any of the events of 3x08.

Also, the scenes are not in chronological order. It starts in the present, and then alternates between flashbacks and then back to the present again. Should hopefully be pretty easy to follow, but just wanted to give you a head’s up.

———-

“Hey, Babygirl. I think you might need to come down here.”

“What’s wrong? Is it Nicole? Is she hurt?”

“No, she’s okay. She’s just, uh… really quiet and kind of spacing out. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was stoned. But this is Nicole ‘I have a lawbook shoved up my ass’ Haught we’re talking about here, so…”

“Wynonna.”

“Yeah. Anyway. I think maybe the stuff from today just kind of got to her a little.”

“Oh, god. The little girl. Was she…?”

“No! No. The kid’s fine. Haught was a goddamn superhero today. But don’t you fucking dare ever tell her I said that.”

“Where are you guys? I’m packing up now.”

“You can meet us at the Shelterlands Forest Trailhead.”

“That’s where you guys are? Fudgenuggets. No wonder Nicole is spooked. I’ll be there in like thirty minutes.”

“Half an hour?!”

“I’m at the library, Wynonna. Unless one of you has figured out how to teleport yet, then it will take me thirty minutes to get all the way out there.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to do with your ginger poptart until then? I think she’s slightly burnt right now instead of lightly toasted.”

“I don’t know, Wynonna… Maybe try talking to her?”

“Come on, Waves. You know I’m fucked when it comes to all of that soft and gooey feelings bullshit.”

“That’s not entirely true.”

“Just… hurry. You gotta fix your girlfriend before I end up breaking her even worse.”

“You sure you’re okay, Waves?”

“I’m fine, Wynonna,” Waverly answers, shoving notebooks and tomes into her bag. “There’s nothing going on today. I’m just gonna do a deep-dive into some of this research. I’m tired of us always being two steps behind on everything.”

Wynonna understands the frustration. They’ve been behind the 8-ball on this thing from the very beginning, dating all the way back to Wyatt himself.

But she knows there’s more to Waverly’s mood, and it has everything to do with Mama skipping town again a couple of days ago. At least she’d left a letter this time, but that had done little to quell Waverly’s heartbreak. She doesn’t think Waverly had been completely caught off guard by the disappearance – it was less surprise, and more disappointed resignation – but that doesn’t mean she’s hurting any less.

Wynonna wishes there was more she could do to console Waverly, but to be completely honest, she still hasn’t quite recovered from the sting of it herself. And that’s not counting the fact that she’d discovered Doc’s betrayal not five minutes after reading the warning Mama had left her.

Welcome to the shitshow, population: me.

“If you’re gonna do research all day, why are you packing everything up?” Wynonna eventually asks, worried about what Waverly might really be planning. She’s not sure she has the energy, nor the mental capacity, to save her sister from some half-cocked mission she’s concocted to prove something to herself and everyone else in this godforsaken town.

“I’m just going to the library,” Waverly snaps, rolling her eyes. “Didn’t realize I needed your permission.”

“Whoa, now,” Wynonna says, dropping her feet from the table they’ve been propped up on. “Calm your tits there, girlie. I was just wondering why you aren’t going to use the BBD office since everything is already here.”

“Sorry,” Waverly sighs heavily, her shoulders sagging as she drops into the nearest chair. “It’s just… Jeremy’s doing one of his experiments and he’s gonna be back any minute and I just don’t think I have it in me today to listen to him ramble all day.” Shame causes her head to hang low, and she picks absentmindedly at one of the pockets on her bag. “Nicole’s gonna be out on patrols all day to try and get her visibility up right before the election, so I can’t even use the desk in her office, and I just… I just want to be alone with my books for a while. My mind needs some peace and quiet,” she mumbles at the end with a half-hearted shrug.

Wynonna hesitates for a minute before finally biting the bullet and reaching out to place her hand over Waverly’s on the table between them.

“Whatever you need, Babygirl,” she says quietly, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m here if you need anything.”

“I know,” Waverly says, eventually meeting Wynonna’s eye, but Wynonna can tell by the tremor in her voice that she doesn’t know. That Mama’s selfishness has proven to be a crippling setback for Waverly, erasing the year and a half of progress that Wynonna and Nicole have been making toward helping Waverly believe they’ll never leave her.

Her baby sister may as well be at the bottom of the well that Bobo recently vacated, for all the good the past couple of months have done toward her abandonment issues.

Wynonna continues to hold Waverly’s gaze for a few more seconds, saddened by the doubt she finds there. Squeezing her hand one last time, she finally leans over the table and kisses Waverly’s forehead. She could kill Mama for what she’s done to Waverly again, and she could kill Doc for being complicit in her getaway.

She grits her teeth as she pulls back and stands from her chair.

That’s a problem for another day.

“So, you said Tater Haught’s gonna be on patrol all day?” Wynonna asks as casually as she can.

“Yes…” Waverly looks Wynonna up and down. “Why…?”

Wynonna shrugs, playing with the fringe on her leather jacket.

“Thought maybe she’d like some company.”

“You are volunteering to ride around on patrol with Nicole?” Waverly hesitates,narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “What are you really up to…?”

“Nothing,” Wynonna huffs. “I’m just bored. The Revs are quiet. We have no new leads on Ball-Shart. You’re off to find your Fortress of Solitude, and that leaves me with Opti-mug Prime over there.”

And Waverly may be looking for some peace and quiet, but the last thing Wynonna wants right now is to be alone with her thoughts. There’s also that.

“You know what the Fortress of Solitude is?” Waverly asks and Wynonna immediately winces. “Wow, you really have been spending too much time with Jeremy.”

Waverly giggles, and despite Wynonna’s mortification, she’s glad to see the small spark of joy in her sister’s eyes, no matter how fleeting.

“Right?” Wynonna gasps, feigning disgust. “I’d much rather drive around with Haught Sauce and heckle the townsfolk than have to learn one more thing about a comic book character today.” She spins Peacemaker around her finger ominously, surprising even herself when she doesn’t fuck it up this time like she usually does.

“I doubt Nicole will let you get away with much heckling.” She watches Wynonna fumble with Peacemaker for a minute and then drops her hands to her hips. “Although…” she starts, her head cocking slightly. “Maybe a little ‘quality time’ would do you some good. Might even be better than the get-along-shirt I ought to make you two idiots wear after all of the trouble you caused the other day.”

Wynonna opens her mouth to launch some snarky retort, but Waverly holds a hand up to stop her and Wynonna’s mouth snaps shut on its own before she even realizes it.

“I’ve already heard every excuse under the sun from both of you. I’m not in the mood for reruns.” Wynonna grumbles and shoves Peacemaker back in her holster, but refrains from arguing. “Good. I’ll text Nicole to pick you up out front.”

With that, she finishes gathering up her things and breezes past Wynonna, pausing in the doorway only long enough to tell her to have a good time and to behave.

Wynonna stands alone in the BBD office, silently wondering when she became the child to Waverly’s mom friend instincts, but then she hears Jeremy’s cheerful chattering coming down the hall and she decides to hightail it before she gets cornered by another one of his science-fiction lectures.

Grabbing a donut from the box Waverly had left on the table earlier, she stuffs the entire thing in her mouth in one go and rushes out of the station.

Still brushing the litany of crumbs away from her shirt and jacket while standing on the front sidewalk, she doesn’t notice the cruiser pull up to the curb. When Nicole chirps the siren right behind her, Wynonna trips over her own feet, nearly doing a header right off the sidewalk and into the street.

She can hear Nicole’s laughter, even through the rolled-up windows of her patrol car. She flips Nicole off as she stumbles closer to the car, so Nicole proceeds to chirp the siren at her again.

“Fuck you, Haught!” Wynonna curses through her remaining mouthful of donut as she wrenches open the passenger door, drawing a smug sort of satisfaction from the appalled look on Nicole’s face when even more crumbs come flying out of her mouth to litter the front seat.

“Gross, Earp!” Nicole scolds, immediately scooping the crumbs into her hand and depositing them in the little trash compartment she keeps in her center console.

Wynonna completely ignores her, propping her feet up on the dash.

“Let’s roll, Haughtie.”

“Maybe try talking to her,” Wynonna mocks under her breath when Waverly ends the call.

Wynonna slips her phone back in her pocket and glances over at Nicole.

She hasn’t moved a muscle in at least five minutes, just staring blankly into the open trunk of her patrol car while the climbing harness still hangs from her hips. Wynonna may not always be the most observant person, but she’s not as oblivious as she likes to let everyone think she is. She can see the way Nicole’s entire body is trembling, the carabiners on her rigging jangling softly with the constant movement.

“Maybe try talking to her,” Wynonna mumbles again, kicking a rock and watching it skid off in the opposite direction. “What the fuck do I know about this kind of trauma,” she grumbles as she finally takes a step in Nicole’s direction.

A lot more than you might think.

Wynonna rolls her eyes at herself as she approaches Nicole.

Okay, that’s a fair point.

She hesitates briefly when Nicole doesn’t seem to notice her, then reaches out to lay a cautious hand on her shoulder. Nicole jumps and spins to face her, hand immediately falling to her sidearm, ready to draw if necessary. Wynonna stumbles back a step, eyes wide. She knew Nicole was a little zoned out, butshe wasn’t expecting that.

“Jesus, Wynonna,” Nicole croaks, trying to catch her breath. “I could have shot you.”

“You could have tried,” Wynonna returns, patting Peacemaker at her hip with a wink, opting for an off-color attempt at humor as she so often does in these situations. It doesn’t land, of course, and Nicole just continues to stare at her blankly. “Okay, okay. Geez. Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you like that.”

“Sorry,” Nicole says, her shoulders sagging a bit. “I was just… just…” She looks back into the trunk of her cruiser, then down at the climbing gear still dangling from her waist, then back up at Wynonna with a frown. “Fuck,” she sighs. “I don’t even know what I was doing. Sorry,” she mumbles again.

Wynonna wonders again how the person with the worst interpersonal skills ended up in this position.

Dolls. Dolls was always good at calming me down when I was freaking the fuck out. What would he do to help Nicole right now?

“Take a deep breath, Haughtstuff,” she tries, awkwardly patting her on the shoulder again. “Let’s start by getting you out of that harness.”

Nicole looks down at it again, but makes no move to start unbuckling it, her hands still hanging uselessly at her sides.

“That’s what she said… HA!” Wynonna holds out her hand for a high five,proud of her joke, but still gets no reaction, even after high-fiving herself.

Fuck. That was a terrible Dolls. Focus, Earp.

“Snap out of it, Haught,” Wynonna says more firmly, reaching out to place her hands on both of Nicole’s shoulders this time, looking her square in the eye. “You were a hero today.” She immediately winces. “Dammit… You weren’t supposed to hear me say that part,” she mutters, but straightens her back and raises her chin anyway. “A goddamn hero.”

Much better. Very Dolls-like.

“Now I know I must be losing it,” Nicole finally says, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly as she shakes her head.

“Ha, ha. Very funny,” Wynonna says dryly and punches Nicole in the arm, snorting when she grabs it and whines dramatically. “Seriously, though,” she continues, gesturing back at Nicole’s gear. “Finish taking that off so we can relax for a minute, Haughtpants.”

“Yeah…” Nicole turns back toward the trunk, staring into it again for a few more seconds before finally starting to unbuckle the harness. “Yeah, I should do that.”

Wynonna leans against the back bumper, watching Nicole step out of the harness and begin to pack away the rest of her climbing gear. She nods to herself, and for the briefest of moments, she could swear she sees Dolls smiling at her from over Nicole’s shoulder. But when she blinks, he’s gone again, and all that’s left is a strange whisper on the wind.

Proud of you, Earp.

“So this is what you do all day? Just drive around town and jiggle a bunch ofdoor handles?”

Nicole completely ignores Wynonna, not even taking her eyes off the road long enough to glance in her direction.

“Because I can think of some things that are a lot more fun to jiggle,” Wynonna says with a wicked smirk, leaning far enough over the console to nudge Nicole in the ribs. “We could always go and visit Pussy Willows again, like we did that one time. Maybe one of the girls could pull that rod out of your ass for you.”

Nicole’s hands tighten around the steering wheel, and Wynonna can see the muscles flexing in her jaw. She immediately wishes she could kick herself.

“Fuck. Sorry. I didn’t mean to–”

“It’s fine,” Nicole cuts her off, voice tight.

The massacre.

The massacre that had brought the Cult of Bulshar to the forefront of their investigation.

The massacre that dredged up traumatic memories Nicole had locked away for twenty years.

The massacre that, according to Waverly, had conjured nightmares that haunted Nicole nearly every night since.

That massacre.

Wynonna doesn’t even think Pussy Willows has re-opened in the two and a half months since it happened. But here she had gone and dragged it all up again, just for a cheap laugh.

God, I’m such a fuckhead sometimes. Looks like Doc’s assholery is contagious.

Doc.

There’s another subject she doesn’t want to touch with a ten-foot pole. She’s batting a thousand today, it would seem. Desperate for any change of subject she can come up with, Wynonna backtracks to the last relatively safe thing she said.

“So these door checks…” Wynonna mumbles, plucking nervously at a string that hangs from the frayed hole in the knee of her jeans. “You have to do the same ones over and over again?”

“It’s important work, Wynonna,” Nicole says defensively.

Wynonna recognizes the look on her face as the one she makes when she’s preparing herself to be made fun of. A pang of guilt stabs at Wynonna’s gut when she realizes just how often she must badmouth Nicole and the way she does her job. It’s not fair and she knows it, but sometimes she just can’t help herself. It’s like a compulsion.

“I know,” Wynonna agrees, still trying to smooth things over.

“You do?” Nicole obviously wasn’t expecting that kind of response. Wynonna glances up to find Nicole looking at her while they’re stopped at a stop sign, eyebrow raised as though she’s expecting there to be more to it than that.

“I mean… I think I know,” Wynonna falters. She frowns as she continues to pick at the string on her jeans. “Okay, actually I don’t know,” she finally admits. Nicole’s face falls, resigning herself to whatever jab is about to come next. “Butyou could explain it to me,” Wynonna continues. “Or whatever,” she adds at the end with a wave of her hand, still trying to play it cool like she always does.

Nicole is silent for a long moment, and Wynonna considers just climbing out of the car while it’s not moving and starting the long walk back to the station by herself. Surely she can’t fuck that up as much as she’s fucking this up right now.

“You’re really asking?” Nicole finally ventures, and the skepticism is etched deeply on her face, but Wynonna thinks she catches a glimpse of something else in her eyes.

“Nevermind,” Wynonna sighs, deflating a little. She’s not getting anything right today. “You don’t have t–”

“No, it’s okay.” Nicole reaches into the center console and withdraws a metalclipboard. “I don’t mind,” she says, handing it over to Wynonna before pulling away from the stop sign and turning at the intersection.

Excitement. That’s what Wynonna had seen rippling beneath Nicole’s skepticism. And maybe even a little hope.

God, she really does love this job.

“What’s this?” Wynonna asks, looking over the pages of checklists on the clipboard.

“That’s our Daily Patrol Log,” Nicole explains as she continues driving to the next location on the list. “I sat down with several of the local business owners last year when Nedley first started giving me more leeway and responsibilities. We worked out a schedule of rotating patrols for their establishments to help with the new visibility directive I was writing, and also to encourage better preventativepolicing.”

“So you really do just… drive around and jiggle their door handles every day?” Wynonna asks after staring at Nicole for a long moment with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s more than that, Wynonna.” Nicole rolls her eyes, but continues explaining, her tone much gentler now. “Increasing our visibility in these areas helps make both the owners and the customers feel safer. We do a rotating schedule during the day shifts, which mostly just consists of driving by, or checking the locks on the back doors and storage areas – jiggling the handles, as you put it – so that we don’t interrupt their normal business. People get used to seeing us around, even in the background, and that makes it less likely for a bunch of shitheads to show up and cause trouble.”

She glances over to see if Wynonna is actually paying attention or if she’s already being ignored. To her surprise, Wynonna is still watching her intently.

“And for the night shift, we check every business on every shift – so long as time allows; sometimes we’re too busy with active calls and have to just do spot checks when we can – but we still try to do them in different orders so that no one can pinpoint exactly when we’ll be there.” They pull into the back parking lot of the Crown Surplus, and Nicole shifts in her seat to face Wynonna. “The night checks are a little more involved. We get out and walk the perimeter. Check all of the doors and windows. Make sure the alarms are engaged. Clear out any jackholes that are drinking on the premises. Things like that.”

“And this…” Wynonna gestures first at the clipboard in her hand, and then out the window at the building they’re parked behind. “It actually works?”

“Some. It’s just…” She tilts her head to the side and Wynonna watches as she searches for the right words. “I mean, Purgatory is a dangerous place, evenwhen these people want to bury their heads in the sand about what’s going on. And if I… If I can get them to trust us, even just a little bit more than they used to, then at least they’re more likely to come to us – to me – if some weird shit starts happening. You know? Like if they have someone that they think might actually believe them instead of just telling them they’re crazy…”

Nicole sighs and turns to stare out the window, the sudden silence in the car covering them like a thick blanket until it’s almost smothering.

“I don’t know,” she finally says, still looking out the window. “Maybe it’s stupid. Just wishful thinking on my part.”

“It’s not,” Wynonna says immediately, reaching out to lay a hand on Nicole’s forearm. She turns back to look at Wynonna, clearly surprised by the gesture. “It’s not stupid.”

“It’s not?” Nicole doesn’t sound convinced.

“No. It’s important,” Wynonna says quietly, squeezing Nicole’s arm gently. “What you’re doing for these people. Whether they recognize it or not.”

It’s in that moment that Wynonna realizes she’s talking about herself, too, and clears her throat uncomfortably as she jerks her hand back away from Nicole’s arm.

“You came up with all of this on your own?” she asks, settling back into her seat and plucking at the string on her jeans again. She smirks to herself when she sees Nicole’s face immediately begin to flush.

Some things never change.

“Yeah, I uh…” Nicole mumbles, rubbing at the back of her neck. “I guess I did. I ran it all by Nedley after I’d written it up, before I met with the business owners. But, umm…” She gives a dismissive half-shrug. “I guess I just wanted to help any way I could.”

Wynonna doesn’t say anything, but she does give a slight nod that causes Nicole to duck her head shyly. They sit in an awkward silence for a long moment before Wynonna hands the clipboard back to Nicole.

“So I guess we gotta g–”

“Haught,” Ruthie’s voice interrupts as the radio crackles to life between them. “Got Ranger Jett on the line for you. Sounds urgent.”

“10-4, Ruthie,” Nicole answers after grabbing the console mic. “Go ahead and patch him through.”

“10-4”

There’s a short beep followed by a series of clicks before a new voice comes through, slightly staticky from the relayed connection.

“Hello? Sheriff Haught?”

“Hey, Robin. Not officially the Sheriff yet,” Nicole says with a slight grin, “but what’s up?”

“It’s a little girl, Sheriff,” he continues, ignoring Nicole’s playful comment. “She’smissing.”

“I can’t, Wynonna. I’m still on shift.”

“Technically, your shift ended two hours ago.” Nicole eyes her carefully, and Wynonna shrugs. “Just sayin’.” She gives the silver flask a jiggle where she’s still holding it out between them.

She had done her best to channel Dolls earlier when she’d needed to snap Nicole out of her stupor. But recognizing the haunted look in her eyes now, Wynonna decides it’s time for some good old-fashioned Earp tactics.

Whiskey.

It’s never let her down before.

Okay, maybe it has… but who’s counting? That’s not important at the moment. What’s important is that Nicole is warring with a darkness right now, and sometimes you just need a little fire in your belly to hold it at bay for a little whilelonger.

Or at least until Waverly can get here and fix things the right way.

She watches the gears turn in Nicole’s head, like she’s weighing a heavy decision, and is more than a little surprised when Nicole reaches out to take the flask from her. She raises an eyebrow, but Nicole levels a look at her that practically dares her to say something about it when she raises the flask to her lips and downs several large gulps without so much as flinching.

“Well, alright then.” Wynonna takes the flask when Nicole hands it back, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. It’s more than half empty. Wynonna gives Nicole an impressed look, raising the flask in a mock toast. “Cheers, Haughtshot,” she says before downing the rest of it.

No way she’s gonna let an Earp be outdone when it comes to drinking. Especially not by Five-O. Though, to be completely fair, Wynonna has always been impressed with Nicole’s constitution. It takes a lot to get her drunk, and even then, she still continues to hold her own. She’s proven that over and over again.

Drinking whiskey that night at the station a year and a half ago, back when times were simpler. Nicole had matched her swig for swig, but the minute they’d gotten sucked into an actual case down in the morgue, she’d sobered up instantly. That’s not easy to do, and Wynonna knows it.

Just a handful of months later, covering for Wynonna while staking out Jonas by drinking for both of them just to keep the baby safe. She’d definitely gotten drunker that time around, but no so much so that she couldn’t still shoot out a fuse box from across the room with a .380 Walther PPK she’d pulled out of her sock, and that’s saying something, given their long history of questionable accuracy.

And just a couple of days ago in that Revenant bar. Nicole had been drunk off her ass by the end of that disaster, but even though she would never admit it out loud, Wynonna knows that Nicole is the one that technically won that drinking contest fair and square. The Revenant had lost when he’d hurled everything back up. And Wynonna… Well, Wynonna had been cheating the entire time. And that leaves Nicole. Who matched Wynonna and the Rev drink for drink, kept all of it down, and then, even though she was unsteady on her feet, she still managed to help Wynonna kick some ass in the woods.

If there’s one thing Wynonna can respect, it’s the ability to hold your liquor. And Nicole keeps proving over and over that she can match pace with an Earp. So that’s pretty solid in Wynonna’s book.

She looks back at Nicole, whose cheeks are now flushed from the healthy dose of whiskey. Tucking the empty flask back into the inside pocket of her leather jacket, she climbs up onto the trunk of Nicole’s cruiser. Nicole starts to balk, but Wynonna ignores her, patting the space beside her.

“C’mon, Haught. We got a little time before your unicorn gets here. Take a load off.”

“Waverly’s coming?” That’s the first sign of hope she’s seen in Nicole since they originally got the call from Robin.

“She’s already on her way.”

Nicole lets out a weary sigh, but climbs up next to Wynonna without protest, leaning back on her hands as her feet find purchase on the bumper. She looks up at the moon, already visible in the dimming twilight, and Wynonna can see the deep worry lines etched across her brow and at her mouth. For a fleeting moment, she looks far older than her twenty-seven years would suggest.

Wynonna knows a little bit about that. She’s twenty-eight now, but sometimes she feels like she’s already been dragged through a hundred lifetimes full of griefand guilt and loss.

“Hey, it’s okay to relax for a minute.” She reaches over and pats Nicole’s knee. “Today was a win, Nicole.”

She’s quiet for a long moment, before whispering something so softly that Wynonna can barely make it out over the rustling leaves in the nearby trees.

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell in this town.”

Ain’t that the goddamn truth.

“We’ve been out here for hours, Nicole. Maybe we sho–”

“We’re not giving up, Wynonna!”

Nicole stomps off through the trees, and Wynonna lets her go.

It’s suspicious that another kid has already gone missing in the woods again, especially so soon after what they went through with the missing kids on Christmas just barely a week ago. She and Charlie had tracked them down andwiped out one of Bulshar’s evil beekeeper hives, rescuing Robin and severalothers in the process. Surely he hasn’t already rebuilt and started over again…

No, something about this one feels different, she thinks as she watches Nicole search for tracks in the underbrush up ahead, weighed down by far more than just the pack full of gear slung over her shoulders. Her phone buzzes in her pocket before she has time to think any more about that.

Angelpants: Are you still with Nicole? She’s not answering her phone.

Bacon Donut: we’re on a call

Angelpants: Everything okay?

Bacon Donut: little girl missing in the woods

Angelpants: Bulshar???

Bacon Donut: nah peacemaker isn’t giving me any tingly feelings in my pants

Angelpants: WYNONNA

Bacon Donut: i think she just got lost

Bacon Donut: mom lost track of her by the playground whilechasing after toddler

Angelpants: Is Nicole okay?

Bacon Donut: she’s in full sheriff mode right now

Angelpants: You guys need anything?

Bacon Donut: the whole cavalry is out here

Bacon Donut: i think we’re good

Bacon Donut: you just work on that research babygirl

Angelpants: Okay… But keep me posted?

Bacon Donut: 10-4

Angelpants: You really have been spending a lot of time with Nicole lately. lol

Bacon Donut: shut it shortstack

Angelpants: Be careful, okay?

Bacon Donut: you got it boss

Wynonna slides her phone back in her pocket and does her best to catch up to Nicole again. Nicole continues to ignore her, and Wynonna approaches cautiously.

“Hey…” She hesitates when Nicole freezes in place, but doesn’t turn around. “Charlie has the entire fire department out here, and Robin called in all of the other Park Rangers. I wasn’t suggesting that everyone give up, Haught. I was just wondering if we shouldn’t leave it to the Search & Rescue boys, since that’s what they do.”

“I’m Search & Rescue, Wynonna!” Nicole snaps as she finally spins to face Wynonna. She points at one of the patches on the pack she’s carrying. “I got certified in it at the Academy, because I never wanted another little girl to be stuck in the woods by herself with no one to come looking for her.”

Oh.

Wynonna suddenly understands everything.

That explains a lot.

She opens her mouth to say something – anything – but it seems her brain has forgotten how to string two words together right now.

“It’s going to be dark soon, Wynonna,” Nicole continues, much quieter this time. Her eyes are hollow and she’s white as a ghost. Even paler than usual. “It’s going to be dark, and she’ll be out here all alone, cold and scared, and… and…” Nicole swallows hard around the lump that Wynonna can hear is stuck inher throat. “What if it had been Waverly?” she pleads, desperate for Wynonna to stay out here with her.

“Okay,” Wynonna says, finally finding her words again. She reaches out and catches the trembling hand that Nicole’s been waving around. “Okay, Nicole. We’ll keep looking for her.”

They hear the muffled calls of the other groups echoing through the forest as they continue their search. Nicole was right: the sun is beginning to set, and the beautiful colors painted across the sky bring a sharper chill in the air with them. They’re running out of time.

Wynonna suddenly feels an odd weightless sensation, and then her stomach is in her throat as she starts to tumble forward. Before she connects with anything, though, she’s being yanked backward by her collar, until she’s lying on her back,staring up at the trees.

One red-headed tree in particular.

“You’ve gotta watch where you’re going, Earp,” Nicole says sternly, hands on her hips as she looks down at Wynonna. “I don’t have time to be saving your ass,too.”

“Thanks, Haught,” Wynonna manages to croak. “I didn’t even se–”

“Shhhhh…” Nicole whispers harshly. “Did you hear that?”

Wynonna frowns, straining her ears in the eerie silence of the forest around them. Just as she’s about to accuse Nicole of losing her mind, she hears it, too. It’s faint, almost as though they’d imagined it, but it’s there.

“Hello…? Is somebody there?”

Nicole trembles slightly as she pulls Wynonna up from the ground.

“This is the Sheriff’s Department!” she yells, loudly enough to make Wynonna wince. “Call out if you can hear me!”

They both wait, staring at each other with wide eyes.

“HELP! WE’RE DOWN HERE! HELP, PLEASE!”

“We?” they mouth in unison, still frozen in place for half a second longer.

“Don’t move! We’re on our way!” Nicole finally yells back as she turns and sprints in the direction of the voice, along the edge of the ridge that Wynonna had nearly tumbled over.

Wynonna does her best to keep up with Nicole in the waning light, struggling to stay upright in the wake of the sure-footed Sheriff. It’s painfully obvious that Nicole is far more comfortable in this terrain than Wynonna will ever be.

They finally begin to slow their approach when they start to hear barking mixed in with the small voice. That must be the ‘we’ the little girl was referring to.

“We’re almost there, Ashley!” Nicole calls out again as she begins looking around the new area. “Can you tell me where you are?”

“I fell,” the little girl cries in response. “I can’t move my leg!” Her answer is accompanied by another round of barks and frantic whines. “And Hugo’sdown here, too,” she adds.

Nicole drops to her belly in the dirt and the leaves and creeps closer to the stony ledge. Wynonna crouches and carefully peers over Nicole’s shoulder to find asheer rock face, wrought with stray branches and roots and moss-covered rockssticking out at odd angles. Wynonna knows from experience now just how easy it would be to miss a step if you weren’t looking and suddenly find yourself twenty feet below with nowhere to go.

There, in a muddy patch of snow and leaves tucked away in the shadows below the ledge, they can see a puffy pink coat with a matching set of snow boots – one leg sticking out at an odd angle – and a large dog wrapped around a shivering body.

“Hi, Ashley. I’m Officer Nicole.”

“Hi, Nicole,” Ashley answers weakly.

“Don’t move,” Nicole says again, gentler this time. “I’m coming down to get you, okay?”

“Okay,” the little girl sniffles. “Hurry. I’m sca– I mean, I think Hugo is scared.”

“Don’t be scared, Hugo,” Nicole says, nodding seriously at the dog. “Everything’s gonna be okay now.”

Hugo barks once – a muted sort of woof – and Ashley clutches a little tighter at his fur.

“He says he’ll try to be brave.”

“That’s very good, Ashley.” Nicole pushes up onto her hands and knees. “You and Hugo just need to be brave a little longer while I get my rope ready, and then I’ll be down to get you, okay?”

“Okay…”

“You can talk to my friend Wynonna here while I’m working.” Nicole nudges Wynonna a little closer to the edge, despite the what the fuck look she levels in Nicole’s direction. “Just talk to her, Wynonna,” Nicole says so that only Wynonna can hear her. “So she knows we’re still here and she’s not alone anymore.”

“Uh… hi,” Wynonna says awkwardly, sticking her head over the ledge and waving. She turns to see Nicole unpacking her gear, ratcheting one end of her rope to a nearby tree that looks sturdy enough to serve as an anchor. “I’m Wynonna…”

“Duh,” Ashley says, giggling a little in spite of herself. “Officer Nicole already said that.”

“Officer Nicole says a lot of things,” Wynonna grumbles loudly, sticking her tongue out dramatically at Nicole behind her back. Ashley giggles again, and Hugo thumps his tail against the leaves. “My little sister would love that pink coat of yours,” Wynonna adds after a moment, unsure of what else to say.

“You have a little sister?”

“Uh huh. Her name is Waverly.”

“Walervy?”

“Eh… Close enough, kid,” Wynonna snorts. “She loves pink stuff and rainbows and unicorns.”

“I have a unicorn!” There’s less sniffling in Ashley’s voice now, replaced by excitement instead.

“So does my sister!” Wynonna laughs, especially when hearing Nicole groan behind her.

“His name is Sparkle!”

“His name… is Sparkle…” Wynonna can barely contain herself. “That’s–”

“Wynonna,” Nicole hisses quietly. “Be nice.”

“–a great name!” Wynonna finishes.

“What did your sister name her unicorn?” Ashley calls up again after a moment.

“Officer Nicole,” Wynonna giggles, and then yelps when Nicole kicks her right in the ass with her muddy boot.

“What?” Ashley asks, confused.

“Ummm... I said Tootsie Roll!” Wynonna calls back a little louder this time, still trying to stifle a giggle.

“Like the candy?”

“Yep,” Wynonna answers, popping the p loudly. “Just like that.”

“That’s kinda weird…” Ashley says, thinking about it for a moment. “But I like it!”

“Yeah, that’s kind of what I thought, too,” Wynonna says, glancing back over her shoulder and catching the hint of a smile on Nicole’s face, just barely hidden behind the curtain of her hair.

“Okay, Ashley,” Nicole says, stepping back up to the ledge. “I’m coming down to get you now. All I need you to do is just stay still, okay? Don’t try to move until Iget there.”

“Okay,” Ashley answers, sounding nervous again.

“You need to hang on to this for me,” Nicole tells Wynonna, handing her a portion of the rope after making sure it’s secured through her climbing harness. “Getting down there shouldn’t be too difficult, but I’ll need your help when I’m climbing back up with her.”

“What?” Wynonna balks, trying to back away. “I don’t know anything about this shit. What if I fuck it up?” She can’t handle this kind of responsibility right now.

“Wynonna, focus,” Nicole says sharply, grabbing her by the shoulder. “Look.” She points over to the tree. “I’m rigged up to a pulley system. All I need you to do is keep this part tight. When I create slack from climbing, just keep pulling it tight, okay? It will keep me from falling backward if I lose my footing with her inmy arms.”

Wynonna doesn’t understand how any of this climbing shit works, but she thinks she can manage at least that much.

“Okay,” she finally says, still a little unsure. “Hey, wait…” she adds when Nicole starts to back up toward the ledge. “Do you have our coordinates or whatever? I was just gonna shoot of a quick text to Charlie with our location so he can send some of the EMS boys this way.”

Nicole pulls out her phone and frowns at the missed calls and texts from Waverly.

“It’s okay,” Wynonna says quickly when she sees Nicole’s face. “I texted her a while ago to let her know we were on a call.”

“Thanks…” Nicole says softly. “I didn’t mean to ignore her. I just…”

“Had a lot on your mind?”

“Yeah,” Nicole answers sheepishly, and then clears her throat a couple of times. “Here’s the coordinates,” she says, handing Wynonna her phone with the GPS app open.

“Okay, got it,” Wynonna says after typing a few things into a text message. “Now go and save the day, Sheriff,” she says, warmly and with no hint of sarcasm, as she hands Nicole’s phone back to her.

Nicole rappels down the rock face with ease, and Wynonna watches as she pulls out the emergency med kit from her pack and places a cervical collar around Ashley’s neck to stabilize her c-spine. It’s not ideal to be moving someone like this without a full backboard, but sometimes the circumstances of these search and rescue situations don’t always provide the best conditions. At least she’d been sitting up the entire time she’d been talking to them. That has to count for something. Hopefully.

After placing a makeshift splint on Ashley’s leg, Nicole begins to prepare her for transport. She carefully works another harness up over Ashley’s legs and hips, and then secures it to her own with another short section of rope and somecarabiners. Then she slips Ashley’s hands through a set of loops that almost look like handcuffs made of rope, explaining that they will help her hold on to Nicole while she’s climbing back up.

Ducking her head to put it through Ashley’s arms so they’re around her neck, Nicole scoops her up and holds her close as she moves back to the rocks and slowly begins her ascent. Wynonna is diligent in keeping the slack out of the rope, digging her heels into the soft earth to help her hold her ground. It’s much slower going, and they’re nearly out of light now, but soon enough, Nicole’s head pops up over the ledge and Wynonna kneels down to take Ashley from her and get her back on solid ground.

“Can you tell us what happened, Ashley?” Nicole asks as she takes off her jacket and drapes it around Ashley’s shoulders. Wynonna is immediately reminded of the photo she’d recently seen of a young Nicole wearing Nedley’s coat on the morning he’d found her downstream from the massacre.

“We were playing in the park with Mama and Matthew,” Ashley starts, sniffling again. “Matthew kept tryin’a run away, and Mama had to chase after him. But then Hugo saw a squirrel and tried to catch it and we just kept runnin’ and then we were in the woods and there were so many trees and we got lost and then I fell and… and…” Anything else she wanted to say gets lost in the heaving sob that wracks her entire body.

“Shhh… It’s okay,” Nicole soothes, wrapping her arms around the little girl. She tucks her face securely into Nicole’s shoulder, and Nicole strokes her hair gently. “It’s okay. You’re safe now. You’re safe.”

“What about Hugo,” Ashley eventually hiccups, once she’s caught her breath again. “You can’t just leave him down there!”

Wynonna and Nicole peer over the ledge, watching Hugo prance and pace along the edge of the rock face, whining and searching for his human.

“Okay,” Nicole says after a brief moment of deliberation. “You stay here with Wynonna, and I’ll go and get Hugo.”

“How in the fu– …the f–” Wynonna’s eyes slide over toward Ashley. “The eff are you gonna do that?”

“Ummm…” Nicole thinks for a moment, looking at everything that’s spread out in front of her. “I think I have an idea.” She dumps everything out of her pack, until it’s completely empty, and holds it up. She eyes it for a minute, and then shrugs at Wynonna. “Hopefully this will work…”

“Oh, my god,” Wynonna groans, resting her head in her hand. She knows exactly what Nicole is going to do.

Nicole slings the empty pack back over her shoulders and starts toward the ledge again, but pauses when Ashley reaches out and takes her face in her little hands.

“Officer Nicole,” she says very seriously. “You have to be very careful with him. Mama says he’s an old man now.”

“I’ll be very careful with him,” Nicole answers, her voice cracking a little. “I promise.”

Wynonna definitely doesn’t have a lump in her throat. Nope. Absolutely not.

They begin the process all over again, and Nicole sits with Hugo for a few minutes at the bottom so that he’ll calm down and hopefully trust her enough for what needs to happen next. After a bit of coaxing and a couple of false starts, she finally manages to get the aging German shepherd into her giant backpack, with just his head sticking out so that he can watch over her shoulder. He doesn’t seem particularly pleased about this development, but he lets her secure the zipper and lock it in place so he can’t fall out on the way back up. It will have to do.

She hoists the pack back up onto her shoulders and starts climbing the wall again, Wynonna dutifully working her end of the rope. It doesn’t take quite as long as it did when Nicole was bringing Ashley up since she has the use of both arms, but Wynonna can tell she’s feeling pretty exhausted by the time she reaches the top.

Thankfully, Charlie and the boys have arrived by then, already tending to Ashley while Nicole frees Hugo from his port-a-puppy status. He barks a few times and then runs in an impressive amount of circles before finally jumping up on the back of the ATV and settling in next to Ashley, refusing to leave her side again.

They all set out back toward the trailhead where Ashley’s family is waiting for them, leaving Wynonna and Nicole standing alone in the silence of the dusk-covered woods.

“That was some Haught shit back there, Officer Nicole,” Wynonna says after a few minutes. She pats Nicole on the back when she gets no response.

Nicole says nothing, merely swaying on her feet until she has to reach out and lean against one of the nearby trees for support.

Then she promptly doubles over and vomits all over her boots.

“Okay, even I didn’t see that coming…” Wynonna says, unsure of how to react.

Nicole still doesn’t say anything, heaving three more times before she’s apparently emptied her entire stomach out into the muddy snow. When she finally stands back up, Wynonna takes her by the elbow and starts leading her back the way they came.

“Alright, Red. Let’s get you back to the land of the living.”

“Maybe try talking to her.”

Waverly’s voice is still bouncing around in Wynonna’s head as she watches Nicole stare out into the darkness, shivering slightly despite having her jacket back after Charlie had replaced it with a proper blanket. She reaches out and places a hand on Nicole’s knee.

“I shouldn’t have called you ‘Deputy Dipshit’ the other day.” Nicole immediately stiffens beside Wynonna. That definitely touched a nerve. She curses herself and starts to change the subject, but she sees Waverly glaring at her with her arms crossed, telling her to talk to her about it, so instead, she pushes on. “I was only fucking with you,” she hastens to justify, “but I still shouldn’t have gonethere. It was a shitty thing to say, and you didn’t deserve it.”

“Maybe I did,” Nicole sighs, visibly deflating. “Seems like everyone has that opinion these days.”

“I don’t,” Wynonna says immediately. “Nedley doesn’t.”

“Right,” Nicole scoffs. “You drag my ass about my job every chance you get. And Bunny Loblaw…” Nicole swallows had and looks away again.

“Bunny Nut Cheerios can choke on her pearls, for all I care,” Wynonna seethes. “And me…” Wynonna starts, a little more sheepishly. “Well, since when do you listen to a word I say, anyway?”

Nicole just raises an eyebrow at her.

“Okay, look. You know I don’t have the best track record with cops. Even Nedley, from before I came back. But you’re…” Wynonna waves her hand around awkwardly. “…Different.”

“Different,” Nicole repeats in a deadpan voice.

“Yes. Different, okay?” Wynonna kicks her foot on the bumper of the cruiser while she tries to figure out what to say next. “Like. Even before you kneweverything, you still tried to look out for me and my sister. And then you took a bullet for her. And you believe me when I tell you something’s important, even if I can’t always explain it right then. And… and you didn’t just automatically assume I was crazy and needed to be locked up again.”

That last part comes out much quieter than the rest of it. Nicole turns to fully face Wynonna and opens her mouth to respond, but Wynonna holds up a hand to stop her.

“I’m not very good at this shit, but I’m trying to say something important here. Let me get it out.” Nicole just nods silently, and Wynonna continues. “And then my sister fell for you, and that scared me. Because I thought you were just going to take her away from me. But you didn’t, and you stayed, and she stayed, and… You tell me you love her, and then you told me you love me, too, and… and…” Wynonna sighs and buries her head in her hands. “Look, I’m just sayin’,” she says, popping her head back up again. “I know we made up and called a truce the other night back at the station, but I still shouldn’t have said that. You didn’t deserve it, okay?”

“Okay…”

There’s a lot to unpack there, but Nicole is apparently willing to just let it go for now. Thankfully.

“What if I can’t do this, Wynonna?” Nicole asks instead after a few moments of silence. “What if I’m not cut out to be the Sheriff?”

“No way,” Wynonna snorts. “That’s not possible.” Nicole shrugs a little helplessly at her. “Listen, Haughtdog. Nedley has been talking about you non-stop since you started working for him a year and a half ago. That man believes in you more than he believes in Willie Nelson. And I told him a month ago – before any of this other shit started happening – that you were ready to take his place whenever he was ready to let you. That you had the kind of fight in you that this town needs right now.”

“You… you did?” Nicole seems genuinely surprised by this.

“I did,” Wynonna nods. “And I know for a fact that you heard every word I said to ol’ Bun Bun after we finished saving her ass. Naughty Haughty and your eavesdropping.” Wynonna gives an approving waggle of her eyebrows and Nicole shoves her playfully in the shoulder. “But the truth is, Nicole… You’re the best goddamn cop this town has ever seen. Nedley is a good man, and he’s done the best he can with trying to balance the protection and the cover-up for the past thirty years. But you’re… Well, like I said. You’re different. You’ve got your eyes wide open going into this, and you’re everything this godforsaken town needs right now.”

Nicole stares down at her hands, suddenly very interested in the stitching on her gloves.

“I mean, look at how much of a difference you’ve already made just with something as simple as your handle-jiggling thingy. The people trust you. They’re glad to see you coming, and that’s important in a town like this.”

“Maybe so…” Nicole glances back up at Wynonna. “Thanks, Earp.”

“For what?” Wynonna asks pointedly. “If you ever tell a living soul I said any ofthat, I’ll deny it to my grave.”

Nicole snorts and shakes her head.

“Fair enough.”

“Now, uh…” Wynonna wipes the palms of her hands nervously on her jeans. Her head is screaming at her to just leave it at that, counting this conversation as a win. But her heart remembers the way Nicole had looked in the woods, and how haunted she’d been when they’d gotten back to the parking lot of theTrailhead. She feels Waverly coaxing her to continue. “Do you, uh… want to talk about what’s really bothering you?”

Nicole instantly shrinks back into herself, looking back up at the darkened sky. Wynonna could kick herself for being such a bull in the china closet, but she’s really trying here. That’s got to count for something.

“How much do you remember from that night?” she asks tentatively.

“Not a lot,” Nicole mumbles. “Just flashes. That asshole in black leather. Screams. Blood. Floating in the canoe. Freezing so badly I thought I was turning to ice.”

“That… sounds like a lot to me,” Wynonna says. “And the little girl today?”

“I knew how scared she would be. Alone. In the dark. In these woods…” A tear trickles down Nicole’s cheek. “It put me right back there again.” She wipes discreetly at her face, and Wynonna chooses not to say anything about it.

“Waverly said you’ve been having nightmares about it?”

“She told you about that?” Nicole tries to sound mad, but Wynonna recognizes the truth in her voice: embarrassment and shame.

“She tells me a lot of things,” Wynonna says gently. “Do you… want to talk about them?”

“What would you know about it?” Nicole huffs angrily, instantly starting to throw up a wall between them. Wynonna isn’t having any of it. Not this time.

“About what, Nicole?” She cuts in firmly. “About something so traumatic from your childhood that it still haunts you twenty years later? About darkness and death that twists you up so badly you end up in the loony bin for it? About closing your eyes and seeing every person that’s ever died because you failed them etched across your eyelids until you can’t tell what’s real in the moment and what’s only a memory in a dream?”

Nicole stares at Wynonna, wide-eyed and mouth gaping open. Wynonna just sits patiently, waiting for Nicole to process everything she just said.

It takes a minute.

“S-sorry…” Nicole eventually stutters. “I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t… I… S-sorry…”

“You don’t need to apologize, Nicole.” Wynonna reaches out and takes one of Nicole’s hands. “I was just trying to point out that maybe I get it a little more than you might think. If you ever… you know…” She lets go of Nicole’s hand and waves it awkwardly in the air. “…Needed someone. To talk to, I mean.”

“Waverly’s so good. She’s always there for me through the nightmares.” Nicole sighs, looking back down at her hands. “But sometimes I feel like I’mdrowning in it. Like I’m going to drown both of us, and I can’t even see what it is that’s dragging me under.” She wipes at her face again, more openly this time.

“Yeah, I get that,” Wynonna admits. “Why do you think I left for so long?”

“I’m not going to leave her, Wynonna!” Nicole says sharply, sitting up straight again with her brow furrowed.

“I know,” Wynonna defends, throwing her hands up between them. “I know. That’s not what I meant. It’s… I just… You’re a lot stronger than me, Haught. I was too weak. I had to leave because I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t handle it myself, and I sure as fuck couldn’t hand dragging Waverly down with me.”

“Am I?” Nicole asks quietly.

“Are you what?” Wynonna frowns, confused.

“Dragging her down? Would she be better off without my baggage?” Wynonna doesn’t think she’s ever seen Nicole look so broken before.

“No,” she says firmly. “God, no. You’re the one that’s given that girl wings,Nicole.”

“I don’t know about that,” Nicole sniffles, smiling slightly despite herself. “Seems like this Julian dude probably had more to do with that than me.”

Wynonna can’t help but snort.

“Can’t believe Mama bagged herself a fucking angel.” She barks out a laugh, but then her tone turns darker. “You deserve your angel far more than she ever did.”

This time it’s Nicole that reaches out and takes Wynonna’s hand.

“Hey.” She squeezes gently until Wynonna meets her eye. “We’ll figure this out together, okay? All of us.”

Wynonna searches Nicole’s eyes and finds nothing but genuine compassion there. She wants to say something – feels like she should – but she can’t seem to find the right words, so she just nods her acknowledgement.

Then, as if someone else is controlling her body, she reaches out and wraps her arms around Nicole, pulling her in close. Nicole feels stiff at first, like she’s notsure what’s happening, but then she relaxes into the embrace, reaching aroundto close her own arms around Wynonna’s shoulders.

They stay like that for several long moments, losing track of the number of heartbeats, before Wynonna pulls back again, looking a little flustered with herself.

“What, uh… What was that for?” Nicole asks through a lopsided smile.

Wynonna shrugs as casually as she can manage.

“You just looked like you really needed a hug.”

Just then, a pair of headlights comes sweeping into the parking lot, eventually coming to rest on the trunk of Nicole’s squad car, lighting both of them up in the sudden brightness. The engine cuts out and they’re left with visions of a red jeep swimming behind the sunspots now floating in their eyes.

“Speak of the devil…” Wynonna says, wiping the salty tracks from her own face now. “Or angel, I suppose,” she adds, nudging Nicole in her ribs with her elbow.

They both share a laugh as they hop down from the trunk, wiping their hands on their pants and feeling all of the joints in their body crack as they stretch out their weary limbs. Waverly approaches them slowly, eyebrow raised.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asks, her tone suspicious.

“Nope,” Wynonna hurries to say. “Not a thing, Babygirl. We’ve just been waiting on you.”

Waverly eyes Nicole, who just nods along innocently.

“Riiiight…”

Before she can say anymore, Nicole has closed the distance between them, sweeping Waverly into her arms. She kisses her deeply, far more than just a quick peck on the lips, before finally pulling back to nuzzle their noses together and eventually letting her forehead rest against Waverly’s.

Wynonna would normally clear her throat or make gagging noises or harass them in some other way, but instead, this time she quietly watches. Really watches.

Watches the way Nicole seems to draw strength from the simple fact that Waverly is near. Watches the way Waverly clutches at Nicole’s jacket, keeping her close and present in the moment and steady. Watches them whisper softly to each other and the way Nicole’s body instinctively relaxes at Waverly’s touch. Watches the way they both seem to be trying to protect each other at the same time.

She’d meant it before when she admitted to Nicole that she was scared when Waverly fell in love with her. Scared that Nicole would take her away. That Waverly would leave her. But as she watches them now, she doesn’t feel scared anymore. They were made for each other. They deserve each other. And there’s no way she can be jealous of that. She couldn’t ask for anyone betterto be taking care of her baby sister, and for all of the blustery sarcasm shethrows Nicole’s way, she’s also glad that she has someone like Waverly to takecare of her, too.

There’s been a lot of reevaluating lately. About what family truly means. Is it just about blood? Are they destined to be bound to those who are related to them simply because they share some common DNA? All Wynonna’s blood brings is a curse of failure and leaving and death. Generations of Earps had fallen to forces outside their control. Daddy and Willa had betrayed their family. Mama had bailed… twice. Is that really what Wynonna wants her family to be?

And what about the family you choose for yourself? She’s not doing much better in that department, either. She had to kill Shorty with her own two hands. Dollsleft her to all of this alone, even though it wasn’t the same way Mama had left. And Doc… Doc had chosen to betray her, to become the very thing they hunted, all because he couldn’t deal with a little manpain.

She has Alice, and will always love her. But god knows when the next time she’ll get to see her will be. If she ever gets to see her again at all. Just another piece of family that’s been ripped away from her.

Maybe some things just aren’t in the cards for the heir to a curse that she never asked for.

But then she looks over at Waverly and Nicole again. Remembers Waverly telling her that she loves her. Remembers Nicole telling her that she kind of loves her, too. Remembers Nicole telling her ‘I got you, Earp,’ and actually meaning it. Remembers Waverly telling her ‘I’m here for you, now and forever,’ and staying with her even though she could have run so many times.

Something clenches in Wynonna’s chest, and she nearly forgets how to breathe. She does have a family. And it’s right here in front of her. Just the three of them against the world. Her sister, and… her sister’s girlfriend? Her… Nicole? Her… best friend. The words feel foreign in her mind. She’s never had a best friend before. Not really. But she looks back over everything she and Nicole have been through, and she thinks maybe… maybe this is what that is supposed to feel like.

Besides. Something tells her that at some point, she’ll eventually have to start calling Nicole her sister, too.

She doesn’t think that would be such a bad thing.

“You okay?” she hears Waverly asking, and she realizes that both Waverly and Nicole staring at her with raised eyebrows.

Fuck. Get your shit together, Earp.

“Uh, yeah…” She clears her throat a couple of times and gives her patented thumbs up. “All good. You guys ready to get out of here?” she asks, hoping to distract them.

“Please,” Nicole answers wearily.

“Grab your bag and toss me your keys, Babygirl. I’ll drive your Jeep home so you can ride with Haughtstuff.”

“You sure?” Waverly asks, her eyes lighting up.

“Of course. Go take care of your girl,” she says, walking over to kiss the side of Waverly’s head as she takes the keys out of her hand.

“Nicole said she’s starving. We were gonna stop by Mama Lou’s.” Waverly’s voice is muffled as she digs through the cab of the Jeep for her bag and her purse. “You wanna join us before you head home?” she asks when her head pops back out again.

Wynonna glances over at Nicole, not wanting to intrude on their time together, but Nicole nods at her with a warm smile.

“Sounds good,” she admits. “I could murder a stack of pancakes.”

“We’ll follow you there,” Nicole says as she watches Waverly settle into the passenger seat of her squad car.

Wynonna nods and turns to climb into the Jeep, but stops when she feels a hand on her arm.

“Wynonna…” Nicole’s mouth opens and closes a couple of times like a fish out of water as she tries to find the words to say. “Thanks,” she finally settles on. “I, uh… I don’t think I could have made it through today without you.”

Wynonna smiles genuinely, no trace of sarcasm or teasing. Then she shrugs like it’s the easiest thing in the world to say.

“You’re family, Nicole.”

#prompt fill #my fiction #wayhaught #wynaught brotp #wynonna earp #ask and answer #darienplays6688 #anon #writer asks #writing #mine

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scifigeneration · 5 years

Text

Like many Marvel characters, Stan Lee was a flawed hero

by Christopher Murray

Stan Lee (1922-2018). Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA

Stan Lee was the voice of my childhood. As I sat transfixed by Spider-Man cartoons on Saturday mornings, his energetic narration welcomed me into the story; made me feel part of the gang. Never mind that the animation wasn’t up to much; it looked like a comic, had a great theme tune, and Stan “The Man” Lee, my buddy, was giving it his personal seal of approval.

Famously, Lee originally honed this warm persona in print. The words “Stan Lee Presents” in the Marvel comics I was also feverishly devouring – black and white British reprints of the American originals – were a guarantee of quality. When he signed off a letters page or editorial with his trademark “Excelsior!” I never failed to smile. I was, and remain in many respects, a “True Believer”, as Lee called all dedicated Marvel readers. As we shall see, however, the man’s performance masked some uncomfortable truths.

Lee, born Stanley Martin Lieber, had been working in comics since 1939. He was first an office assistant for Timely, the company that went on to become Marvel, before becoming an editor and writer. He would eventually rise to editor-in-chief, chairman and publisher, but it was his work as a writer in the early 1960s that changed comics forever.

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At the time, superheroes had fallen out of favour, following the heyday of Superman and Batman in the 1930s and 1940s. Marvel now helped turn that around, with angsty rebellious heroes like The Fantastic Four (launched 1961), Spider-Man (1962), The Hulk (1962), The X-Men (1963) and so many more.

A huge part of the success was the fantastic artwork and storytelling of two other comics geniuses, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. But nobody wrote like Stan. Having written many romance and horror comics in the 1950s, his tone was over-the-top, bombastic and mock-Shakespearean – but always warm and inviting.

The mythos that Lee created also extended to the gang behind the scenes. In regular features “Bullpen Bulletins” and “Stan’s Soapbox”, he wove tales of the Marvel Bullpen, the lively creative hub at the centre of the studio’s success, with characters like Jack “King” Kirby and “Sturdy” Steve Ditko. This human touch was Lee’s gift. He made these comics creators seem like friends, and made the readers feel like part of a gang or club.

Bullpen blues

When I learned about the history of Marvel Comics later in life, I realised that things were not always as they seemed. The angst in those Spider-Man and Hulk comics wasn’t all on the page; like any business, there were tensions and rivalries behind the scenes. Many of the artists who worked with Lee harboured deep resentments.

In the 1960s, Lee and the artists developed what became known as the “Marvel method” of creating comics. At rival DC Comics, home of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, the editor was king, and kept a firm grip on the factory-line production process of creating a comic. But at Marvel, Lee would come up with a story idea and pass it to the artist as a kind of pitch or brief.

This allowed for huge creative freedom and sped up the production process considerably – a real benefit for a small company with big ambitions. But the artists’ work was not always fully recognised. They were being credited purely for the art when they were often creating the characters and story, too – before Lee layered the dialogue and captions on top.

Jack Kirby in 1992. Wikimedia

Lee compounded this recognition problem in interviews and in books like Origins of Marvel Comics (1974), where he talked enthusiastically about how he had created all the stories and characters. The artists knew different. Frustrated by creative differences, Ditko left in 1965 and Kirby went five years later.

To make matters worse, their original artwork often wasn’t returned to them – at a time when a community of comic collectors was coming together and a market was emerging for this artwork. Marvel made millions exploiting the rights to the characters and stories while the artists received very little.

Having risen to a position of power in the company, Lee could have shared more of the profits – and the limelight. But he was a showman, an impresario, and a businessman. He took the credit and protected the company he had worked so hard to build. As a salaried company man, he was not always as loyal to his collaborators – many of whom were freelancers.

Later in the 1970s and early 1980s, when young comics creators like Frank Millar were championing creator rights and lobbying for the return of artwork to Kirby and his family, Lee was sometimes cast as the villain. I am sure he wasn’t. But like the best Marvel heroes, he was certainly flawed. He could have been at the forefront of creator rights and made the “Marvel method” stand for something more. Instead, Marvel ended up echoing practices at DC Comics, where artists like Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, creators of Superman, were made to wait decades, often in crushing poverty, for a small share of the profits.

Citizen Stan. Kathy Hutchins

The consequences of Lee’s silence were considerable, not just for those in the Bullpen but for following generations of comics creators. Even now, the relationship between publishers and creators over rights and profit-sharing has been rocky to say the least. Lee was courageous in other ways – his comics battled racism, for instance, and he wrote a landmark essay on the subject in 1968. It also goes without saying that he helped create characters who continue to inspire millions. But had he taken a stand on creators’ rights, the industry and comics historians might not be so divided on his legacy today.

Postscript: Stan’s last act

Stan Lee’s later years seemed tumultuous. He would make appearances at huge comic cons looking tired, and taking photos with huge numbers of fans who paid for the privilege of meeting him. This prompted suspicions that those in charge of Lee’s business affairs didn’t always have his best interests at heart. Earlier this year, his lawyer brought a suit against his handlers accusing them of elder abuse.

A couple of years back, I had a chance to meet my hero at a New York Comic Con. I watched as others had their photos taken with this frail old man, and wondered how I’d condense all I wanted to say, about what he meant to me, what he’d contributed to the world. And to ask about his proudest moments, his deepest regrets. But all that was on offer were a few seconds of The Man’s time, and a weak smile.

So I decided not to get my photo with him. I don’t know if I made the right decision, but on hearing of Lee’s death I asked an artist friend, Elliot Balson, to draw a picture of me meeting him (below). I know it’s self-indulgent, but I’m finally meeting this man who gave me so much, where I’ve always met him – in the comics.

‘Chris meets Stan’. Elliot Balson

About The Author:

Christopher Murray is a Professor of Comics Studies at the University of Dundee

This article is republished from our content partners at The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

#comics #RIP Stan Lee #Marvel Comics #Stan Lee #Jack Kirby #Steve Ditko #American industry #scifi #DC Comics

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kinixuki · 6 years

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Answers for the “Questions about creating your ocs” thing, as a read more because it got REALLY LONG. There’s some AU rambling too because why not. The first time a character gets mentioned their name should be a link to their tumblr tag, just to keep track of who’s who because there’s a lot of them :v

1. What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

Kal – Kal came from a dream I had, he was an angry guy with muscles and 0 chill (this never really changed), I think the first conscious thing I did myself was trying to make a small backstory for the dream because I felt pretty strongly about it. I tried to get the look down at the same time but my drawing skills were terrible at that time, so the backstory got more attention. And then it turned into Fisher along with some other dreams I had!

Umbrella – Umbrella is originally from a dream as well, a different one but it had Kal in it too, so it tried to fit it into the story.

Shetla – she happened when I started writing shamans (which had no plan at all at first), I needed someone who would talk with Kwiri so I made her

Oqooto – Oqooto was born as random fish kid for a small comic, so they got a bit of backstory and appearance for the comic. I liked what came out of it and kept thinking about them :>

2. Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

Moru – I want to say Ishke, but other than trying to not have them look too similar not really. Maybe Yixi the bird, Moru used to have a hood with a nest, now she has falconry equipment.

3. How did you choose their name?

Kal – playing with random letters, after he was nameless for a year or two. I think I first wrote it down into a German textbook when I was bored during a class :v His name is also one of the Czech words for mud, which I didn’t realize for a while, but it fits sort of.

Umbrella – in the dream he came from he was basically a ghost that came out of an umbrella, so he got to keep it, both as an object and as a name, because it sounded silly and he’s weird. It’s more of a nickname in the actual story, he so old that no one remembers his name and telling people would spoil the fun for him, and because he always carries the umbrella with him it’s how a lot of people refer to him.

Teeku – playing with random letters again. I think his name just popped into my head when I was writing and was like “hey, this shaman guy needs a name”. I wish this happened more often, I’m terrible with making names :l

Bronze – I had hard time understanding how naming characters with actual words one can understand works, so I tried it myself with Bronze. I don’t remember why I picked that anymore, but it had something to do with him being Fisher and Narya being gold in my head.

Oqooto – I think I saw something close to that in random word generator? It looked super weird, but also felt like an instant fit after like a year of not knowing what name I want.

4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

Oqooto – it’s mostly based on the comic idea I had – a kid living in marshes that goes fishing, then I expanded from that. It’s technically part of Ishke’s world, but I haven’t really connected those two yet. There’s a lot of spirits in that world though, so after a bit Oqooto turned into something that’s closer to a shaman/medium than just a fish kid.

5. Is there any significance behind their hair color?

Narya – for a long time there wasn‘t, other than me thinking it’s nice, but now it’s an ethnicity thing along with the ashy skin color. I’ve been playing with the idea of that being the sign of a pureblood Fisher, but it makes some story mess with how easily they would be identifiable in the city. So it might be more general group of people, but still with them being known for their Fishers being crazy good. Bronze is another of those people, but not really directly related to Narya, despite the appearance. Most of them live in the forests outside of the city.

9. Are they based off of you, in some way?

Kwiri – ummmm yes a bit…. I started writing his story as an angsty teen with zero friends, and having a character dealing with similar problems felt nice because hey, finally a friend. It wasn’t really a conscious thing like “it’s me, but in another world”, just a character I wanted to understand and write well. After a while of writing I was probably more based off him than the other way around to be honest. For some reason Kwiri is also pretty close to how I look irl though, which wasn’t intentional at all xD

10. If they have an LI, how much of their character is tailored to be compatible to that person?

Moru – I wanted her and Ishke to have fun together, so they’re both kinda rebellious, but Moru is still there to explain all the human and social stuff to Ishke. She doesn’t understand much either, but almost anything is better at it than Ishke. And she gets to learn about spirits/forest from him!

12. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

Kal – other than waiting few years for a name he’s tricky to draw for me, first he was the muscle guy when I didn’t know how to draw muscles at all, now it’s drawing him properly during fights and all the cool action scenes. He’s surprisingly easy to write to though.

Umbrella –having him not turn the entire plot upside down. I changed the entire thing at least three times because of him, he’s always been one of the major characters but having him fit into the story in a way that worked well was hard. He’s hard to write as well, it’s easy to get carried away and turn him into the carefully planning villain stereotype because most of his role in the story is watching from behind the scenes, but he’s supposed to be super chaotic. Well thought out plans are literally the last thing he would do.

Moru – I am. Really bad. With female characters. Guys? Cool. Nbs? Super cool. Girls??? Seriously I made her to have a girl character I would be comfortable with, it’s still not 100% it and I still don’t know what to do with her, so probably that. She needed over 5 years for a name too.

13. How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

Shamans – I wrote down a short story about how some late story events turned out differently and keep thinking about a lot of what ifs. Then I have a lot of things from when Teeku was younger figured out, some of them are important, some of them are just fun to think about, most of them don’t get enough space in the actual story though.

Then there’s several AUs, including one where Teeku is a grumpy farmer with an old smelly tractor and a straw hat. Kirta hates him there because of the hat, he’s a rich farm guy and has been looking for The Perfect Straw Hat™ for months. When he finally saw it across the street and fell in love, Teeku came and bought the first straw hat he saw, which was this one. There’s also a modern AU where Teeku owns a tearoom and his visitors are my and Sari’s characters from the other stories. There’s a lot of fun stuff happening there and it has quite a bit of stuff thought out, I wanted to draw some of it during the summer but didn’t get to it D:

Bronze – I have a ton of stuff from when Bronze was younger and didn’t live in the city, but that’s deep in the spoiler territory. In the tearoom AU he lives in Umbrella’s flat and works in his sushi restaurant, but kind of wishes he didn’t, especially when Umbrella (who despite owning the flat doesn’t really live there) decides to visit, eat every single thing in the fridge and then talk about all sorts of vaguely illegal stuff Bronze doesn’t really want to hear about before leaving again.

14. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

Isidor (the grandmaster of the Order who has no tag atm) – he’s elegant as heck, and his behavior is kinda human but also not really, he’s young for what he is but he doesn’t age/die naturally and is already older than normal humans get, so he’s pretty detached.

15. What is something about your OC can make you laugh?

Siva – okay so. At one point a friend asked what kind of food they eat in the Fisher universe. Part of the reply was that they also probably have some of the food we have here, like schnitzel. And the friend asked something like “so there’s gonna be someone coming to Siva and asking ‘Hey Siva, do you want some more schnitzel?’”. It’s Siva’s fave food now, because he’s a super srs person and this totally doesn’t sound super silly.

ALSO THE TEAROOM AU, Siva is a head doctor of a local hospital and Narya is a student with training there and Siva overseeing it. They don’t really like each other, it’s the same as the canon story. They both visit Teeku’s tearoom though, Narya because he either has a part time job there few days a month or just uses that as a study place, and Siva because he’s a tea connoisseur and Teeku’s tearoom is the best tearoom in the city when it comes to tea quality, but there aren’t many visitors because Teeku is super grumpy.

So Narya and Siva sometimes meet there. Siva comes in a pretty bad mood, because “this one student was supposed to do all this work at night and he didn’t and just kept talking back, I need some good tea to drink”. 5 mins later, Narya comes late for his shift, because “this one idiot doctor wanted me to do all this stuff at night, can you even believe it what a jerk, I didn’t even sleep”, and he gets to make Siva’s tea without knowing who is it for and then he brings it to him and they’re both like “YOUUUU”

Minghe – the main idea of his story is that he got stuck with exactly that one person he can’t stand at all (Sheon) and is forced to cooperate. It’s the sad kind of funny.

16. What is something about your OC can make you cry?

Siva – @sariannearies saying bad things about him and wishing terrible things to happen to him >:

Minghe – the fact that I still don’t have a single colored artwork with him except one speedpaint. He’s one of my faves D:

17. Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

Kwiri – I’ve been rewriting his story for years and deleting thing I didn’t like, so not really?

19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?

Kal – he really really REALLY hates Siva, the doctor. It’s mutual, but Siva is way better at hiding it, though he sometimes “accidentally” forgets to give Kal painkillers and so on. Sometimes Kal regrets that he wasn’t successful with what he tried to do at the end of Roommates.

Bronze – he’s super obsessed with being independent, but because of that he ended up as the opposite and it took him forever to realize. With no real way out \o/

Moru – she likes birds. That was unexpected, right?

#REALLY REALLY LONG #i need to draw more things so i can write more things #oc talk is my fave thing #oc ask meme #should i tag the chars here

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velkynkarma · 6 years

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Oooh for the ask meme how about all for Routine Maintenance??

All? Right, then. *cracks knuckles* Routine Maintenance it is! There’s a lot of questions, so most answers will be under the cut. Got a question about a fic? Ask!

1. What inspired this fic?I had just gotten into the Voltron fandom the month before and spent most of that time greedily digging through the archive for anything gen (there wasn’t a lot of it). I found some good gems, but the one thing I really wanted to see and hadn’t was a story about Shiro dealing with his prosthetic arm. There were plenty that covered the “mind control” style story-line, or dug into the angsty flashbacks of how he got it in the first place, but none of them went into ongoing day-to-day life of just...having an alien prosthetic forcibly attached to you. You know what they say--if it doesn’t exist, make it yourself! So that’s what I did.

2. Where did the title come from?It came specifically from Hunk’s part of the story (which was first), all about literally maintaining Shiro’s arm and teaching him routines for it. It’s also a phrase. And it seemed to fit!3. What part was most difficult?Probably any emotional moment in the fic (most notably in chapter 6). I can do medical research, I can write action, but bringing in feelings is just hard.4. What are you most proud of?A lot of little things, really. I like the painterly descriptions of Lance’s chapter. I like how I managed to convey phantom pains in Pidge’s chapter. That entire last chapter was just a behemoth to organize but I think it came out really well. 5. What do you like best about this fic?I like the overall concept. Even as far back as S1 we knew Shiro was a character with a disability, who lives with it but doesn’t let it stop him, but nobody ever really explored it. I’ve had people thank me since writing it because they had something to relate to, and I’m glad I was able to do the theme justice.

6. What do you like least about this fic?That it’s still the one I’m known for the most. Routine Maintenance was my first foray into the fandom and was written almost 2 years ago now. I’ve learned a lot since about both the characters and about writing, and on a reread there are parts of it that feel weak. I have much stronger fics that have much better defined themes since, but Routine Maintenance is still usually they one I’m known for.7. What’s a reference you’ve made that no one has picked up on yet?Honestly, I don’t think there are any, if we’re talking non-Voltron media references. I tend to avoid things like calling out movies, books, comics, etc when writing fanfiction, since it can sometimes alienate viewers who haven’t engaged with that other material. 8. What’s a bit that sums up your take on a character?From the last chapter of Routine Maintenance:

He’s never been more proud of any of them. And he’s not going to let them down, not now. As frayed and on edge and exhausted and in pain as he is for all the same reasons, they’re looking to him now more than ever for stability and support. Their entire world has just been violently smashed into the ground and thrown upside down like the shipwreck that had taken them there, and Shiro is just about the only thing they have left to cling to so they can try and stay standing. He’ll hold on for their sakes until they’ve regained their own footing. He owes them that much. So he stands guard over them, in a very literal sense. What’s left of his right arm his throbbing, his ribs protest, his head hurts, and his whole body aches with soreness and fatigue, but he refuses to sit, not even when Hunk begs him to take a break. He stands guard over his fallen crew members, ever vigilant, keeping an eye on the odd colored trees and the Galra wreckage. If an enemy comes he is their only real line of defense, and he does not intend to let anything hurt his crew further than they’ve already been hurt. Most important of all, no matter how scared he is for all of them, he maintains his outwardly calm and controlled appearance. He talks as normally as possible to Hunk and Lance, repeatedly reassuring them every time they start to look more nervous or afraid. He checks on Keith and Pidge regularly, and despite his growing concerns when neither wakes, and when Keith grows steadily paler, he keeps his expression neutral. And inwardly, the entire time, he begs, please let them live. Please let them all make it out of here okay. Please don’t let me lose one of them again.

Honestly, I feel this sums up Shiro in a nutshell, even now several seasons later. Shiro’s exactly the type to hold himself together and project outward confidence and control no matter how badly he’s falling apart inside. Most of the actual fic is about him getting caught in this and the others helping him, but when they need that support, he’s going to give it. 9. Favorite line(s) of dialogue? Two years later I’m still stupidly pleased with the pun I slipped into the middle of a dramatic situation in the last chapter:

Lance shudders at the words, and his hand tightens on Shiro’s. “But if…if it isn’t—I can’t—I can’t be a paladin without—I can’t even go home like this—““Shhh. Lance, calm down. Listen, even if it does come to that, and I’m not saying it has, it’s going to be okay. There’s no way in hell any of us would leave the leg of Voltron without a leg to stand on, okay?”Lance’s lips actually twitch slightly at the wordplay that he might have enjoyed more in any other circumstance. Shiro suspects it’s a shock-fueled, scared smile more than anything else. “R…right.”

Honestly it’s always the first line I think of, even if I know there’s more serious conversations and good dialogue elsewhere in the fic. I still just think of Shiro making a dumb joke to calm Lance down about the horrible thought that he may have just lost a leg.10. Favorite line(s) of prose?Lance wins out on this one too. My favorite descriptions happen in chapter 2:

But the bitter end’s getting closer. It’s already dark and difficult to see, and his eyes are still stinging in the mineral-crusted water, but he can tell his vision is starting to get blurrier and grayer around the edges. His body tries to force him to breathe again, and he chokes slightly with the effort of not. His right arm is starting to throb at the port from the tugging strain the prosthetic puts on the connection point of his flesh. Spots start to dance in front of his vision, bright streaks that seem to bob through the gloom as they get steadily bigger before his eyes…No, he realizes after a moment. It’s getting harder to think, harder to focus, due to the lack of air, but he comes to the baffling realization that those spots aren’t actually spots at all. It’s not his vision failing due to a lack of oxygen; there’s really something moving through the water, coming towards him from above, trailing teal streaks through the gloom. At first his thoughts conjure hazy visions of phosphorescent fish he’s seen in documentaries and aquariums, and it takes his weakening mind a precious long time to remember he’s not on Earth anymore, and he doesn’t remember seeing any wildlife like that so far. It takes him even longer to make out the white patches through the murky darkness of the ocean, dulled to a more grayish color in the near lightless water, but after a moment he’s able to make the connection—teal light strips and white patches. Paladin armor. It takes him longer to make out the color, because the blue melds so well into the ocean. Lance is only a few feet away before Shiro recognizes him, largely in part due to the way the helmet’s mask lights up his face just slightly in the darkness.

I honestly just loved the entire description of Lance just appearing out of the gloom of the dark water and Shiro taking a while to realize what he’s seeing because he’s so close to passing out. This entire scene had a very painterly feel in my head and I loved trying to transition that to prose. 11. Where there any points where you were trying to do something specific with sound, vocabulary, or rhythm? I’m basically always doing this--that’s my writing style. I did have fun with vocab/rhythm in Pidge’s chapter, though, specifically with the phantom pains. Shiro describes trying to clench and unclench his hand a lot, but I deliberately kept from making it clear it’s due to phantom pains at first. I wanted to make it confusing on purpose, since by all accounts it’s confusing in real life, so I didn’t want to draw a distinct line between Shiro recognizing his metal hand was different than the phantom hand that’s all in his head. The reader should end up understanding what’s really happening at the same time that Pidge does as a result, even though the story is from Shiro’s PoV. The same thing later too, when trying to describe the sensation of fixing the problem.12. Imagery that is important to the fic, either while composing or in the fic itself? Again, imagery is always big for my writing style, and there’s too much in the fic to go into the details. How about we talk imagery themes instead? Several readers have noticed that Shiro rescues everyone in chapter 6 in the same order they help him in chapters 1-5. What less people notice is how each of the ways they help Shiro are also reflected in counter-point in the way he saves them:

Hunk helps him with a non-functional arm that was full of sand and grit while Shiro can barely move it. Shiro later frees Hunk with an arm that is still able to function despite having been impaled, while Hunk himself can’t move.

Lance reaches out to Shiro in an unreachable location and the first way Shiro recognizes him is by the lights on his armor. Shiro later finds Lance by the same lights, and reaches him in an unreachable location in turn. The arm that dragged him down is now the only thing that can lift up the weights now dragging Lance down.

Pidge helps Shiro with his phantom pains, by providing a solution that’s so simple and so close, and yet so far away. Later on, Shiro has the same problem rescuing her: she’s just out of reach, and just beyond his range of senses to be able to tell if she’s alive or not. He even tries to use a different arm (in this case, directing Lance’s) to solve the problem, to no avail.

Pidge actually has a second subtler one too: during her chapter Shiro recognizes he can’t actually feel or register his Galra arm as ‘his’ and tends to think of it as an object. At the time, it’s disappointing. During the very start of chapter 6, Shiro’s Galra arm is impaled, but he finds it doesn’t really bother him (or hurt him), since it’s just an object, it’s not really his.

Shiro tries to warm both himself and Keith with his Galra arm and warns Keith not to touch it as it will burn him badly, although this doesn’t work. Keith has to help keep him from freezing to death. Shiro later rescues him by using that exact thing he warned Keith about to save him, and it’s an exact parallel from freezing to burning.

13. How many drafts did the work go through?It’s hard to say. I don’t really have separate drafts in the traditional sense. I reworked the outline at least 1-2 times because that’s standard for me, and I probably spent a week editing the final results. But for the most part nothing too much changed. 14. Where you listening to anything while writing the fic? If so, what?Hah, I was listening to the Voltron soundtrack, actually. On repeat. 15. What were you most worried about during the composition? If I was handling disabilities right, and if chapter 6 in particular was a little too bloody for the fandom. With the former, I did plenty of research of course. But since I’m not an amputee nor do I have PTSD, there was always that little voice in the back of my head muttering, “You better hope you’re doing this right.” With the latter....it’s always hard to tell when going into new fandoms how well they’ll handle extreme injuries or wounds. Some fandoms eat it up, and in others it will get your fic basically ignored. I wasn’t really sure where Voltron fell, and chapter 6 does get pretty brutal, between Lance and Pidge being crushed, Lance’s compound fractures, and Keith needing to be cauterized. Keith’s scene in particular I wrote and re-wrote half a dozen times and I was extremely picky about the vocabulary used, because it was a very tricky line to write it in such a way that I was conveying Keith was suffering, but that Shiro wasn’t torturing him and wasn’t happy with the situation either. That meant adding some more emotional comfort aspects, which I am bad at. The whole thing was just a difficult mess and I basically wasn’t sure about it right up until the point I actually got comments talking about those scenes specifically. 16. If you used a beta, what did you agree or disagree on?I don’t use a beta, so nothing!17. Did anything surprise you during the writing?It got a lot longer than I initially planned on. Especially that last chapter. This really shouldn’t have come as a surprise though.18. Were there any alternate versions of this fic?Not really alternate, but Parasite Knight was a scrapped concept for the +1 part of the 5+1 idea (originally, with the whole team helping Shiro). But it didn’t seem to fit the theme of the 5+1, since the +1 tends to turn the theme on its head, so I went with the current version and recycled the idea of a soul-eating arm for another fic. Turns out that was a good idea since Parasite Knight turned into a beast of a fic in its own right lol. I did also shuffle a few characters around from their original plans. Before I’d decided a chapter about sinking due to Shiro’s heavy arm was going to be a thing, Lance was actually slated to be the one helping Shiro with frostbite (since his Lion has the whole water/ice connection). But Lance fit better for a drowning theme, and Keith ended up taking over the frostbite theme instead. That never actually started to get written, though.19. Were any parts written under the influence?I don’t drink or do any kind of drugs, so nope. 20. What did you learn from writing this fic?No real writing technicalities. I was able to verify I was handling disabilities well, based on readers’ feedback (something I’m always cautious about if I don’t have any background in the disability in question--I like to treat these situations as respectfully as possible, but sometimes it’s just hard to know if you really are without any scope of understanding). Honestly what I learned the most was that there was a niche in this fandom that I was actually welcome in. Many times I’ll write 1-2 fics in a fandom and that scratches the personal itch. But there’s never really any response from the fandom itself, so I move on to the next interesting thing. But Routine Maintenance had such overwhelming feedback, in a couple cases from some big names in the gen corner of the fandom, that it was encouraging enough to actually make me stick around. And in sticking around, THAT’S where I really learned more technical writing skills. So I guess RM didn’t teach me anything specifically, but it made sure I stuck around enough to learn things anyway. PHEW! That’s a lot of questions! Got a question about a fic? Ask!

#Velkynkarma answers #Velkynkarma memes #Routine Maintenance #Voltron #noisypaintersong

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castielartandcomics · 6 years

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OKAY. THE TIME HAS COME FOR THIS POST TO BE MADE. Even if it will be just a bunch of projects and me talking about them, it’s something I’ve been willing to do since a lot of time, mostly for a bit of self-esteem and to let you know that I’m actually working on stuff.

Since this will be a long post with some pictures, everything is under the cut! >:3

Honestly, I could start with a list of all the reasons why I haven’t been posting much, but the main reasons are low self-esteem and little to no time to do my stuff. School has been killing me slowly in the latest times, so the main reason why I post so little it’s actually academic work, nothing more and nothing less. ... this being said, let’s begin from what is REALLY interesting. >:3c

Gastertale

First of all, YES, I’m still working on Gastertale! And I’m extremly sorry for the long gap between the pages: the next page IS done, I just need to add dialogues, but I still haven’t for the simple reason that I don’t want to publish it only to make you wait other three months for another page. Hopefully soon I’ll return to have a bit of time, and at this point I’ll make pages more often and way better. I’ve improved a lot in this months, and despite there will probably be a little gap of style too between one page and another, I think I’ll be able to give you something more! My objective when I’ll restart to post it is to make at least one page a week and give a bit of a regular schedule, but about regularity it’s something that we’ll have to see (again, academic work). But hey, at least I’ll try to make you wait less than three months for the next page! </3

Plus, to confirm that something IS actually done:

preview, WOHOO!!

Sonic Humanitymorph & Sonic Battle Remastered

Basically. I want to draw more Sonic, and I want to draw him with a purpose. It’s... kind of a long story, but I’ll make it short for you because I don’t want to annoy you with melancholic and dramatic stuff (?). In a few words, I want to build new memories with Sonic and company, since my first memories are... kind of lost. I literally grew up with him, yet I remember little to nothing about his stories and about me in that period, and it’s something that makes me suffer a bit. SO! I’d really love to build new memories and honour a hero I’m really fond to, and I’d love to make this with you all! Since I also noticed that you really like my human!Sonic characters, so-! /)u(\

So, basically, the ideas are: MORE human characters. I still have your suggestions, I simply didn’t have the time to think about them, but I will surely do it! I’d love to make a lot more of the characters, if not all of them! And together with it, also another thing inspired by @slightly-gay-pogohammer‘s adaptation of Rayman “I’m Only Human”, which consist in adaptations of some of my favourite Sonic’s games, but in human form. And with some basic differences of course. I’m already working on it - my idea is of comics (as you could imagine, since I’m writing this on my art blog) but with a “much faster” style that will let me publish pages with a pretty fast rate (gotta go fast). Basically, sketches, and my sketches are very clean so the result should be pretty good. I’m working on Sonic Battle (which name will be Sonic Battle Remastered), which... SOMEHOW is still one of my favourite games of ALL TIMES, but in the list there’s also Sonic Riders Zero Gravity. And for the otheeerrrssss... well. I’m open to suggestions? :3

Rick and Morty: Kattebel

Remember him?

Rick I-T2B2, my personal interpretation of Rick Sanchez. WELP, I made him with a story in mind - and I actually thought of this verse’s versions of Morty, Summer, Jerry and Beth, even if I still haven’t drwan them because, again, freaking academic work. I’m tired, guys. What I have in mind with them is telling the story via comics, but in a slightly different way. I have little images with them, nothing that can be considered a full episode “worth” of a classic comic adaptation, that I think would be pretty cool if done in the simplest way, like a series of images without the need of making a full page. ... I’m not sure if I explained myself correctly, but in two word: SIMPLER STUFF. I’d love to make them, mostly because it’s a little and fun way of exploring this verse and its dinamics more than with just drawings of the characters. After all, I do want to tell you stories, and I should start to actually do it FOR GOOD, even in the simplest of ways! ... despite... yes, I actually have a more complex comic with Rick I-T2B2, about the “origin” of the condition of him and Morty (and by reflection of the whole family). So I think you can expect something bigger here too, despite it will be a MUCH shorter comic!

DEPONIA LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW

[FINGERGUNS] LET’S TALK ABOUT DEPONIA. First objective: actually finish the games. I have them since... a lot, and I still haven’t finished them for-- well, you know by now. An objective is surely to finally play the last two chapters and cry my eyes out, but we’re here for art, so here’s my project with Deponia:

first, drawing it more. Like... a lot more. I have many little ideas for illustrations and many others for little sequences that I think are pretty funny that I’d LOVE to do. I just need to DO THEM. Also, I have a whole lyricstuck in my mind with the Deponia series, and I’d love to make it! Or at least try, I’m not used to lyricstuck. But they’re so good,, Then, I have two projects comic related: one is... little stories. Pretty much it. Something probably of no more than five-ten pages long per story, little missing moments that might be interesting. And angsty, maybe, probably, I’m not sure. The other is... adaptation. Yes, at this point you might have noticed that I love adaptations. It’s just a little idea, but I’ve always found (probably because I’m a comic artist tbh) that the Deponia games would be... really good in comic format. And mostly for training I thought, “hey, I might try some!”. An idea would be of making the whole series as a comic, but I’m not really sure I can do it - but I’m pretty sure I can make little parts of it! It’s a project I had in mind for quite some months by now, and I remembered about it some days ago since I was looking in my folders and...

a WIP was found. Ten points and a biscuit to whoever guesses the scene. This will probably be mostly training, unless things change or something very cool happens. I lowkey dream sometimes that they’ll hire me, but. It’s just a dream. On the other hand, I might open suggestions for scenes to adapt in the games! uvu ... when I’ll finish the games.

Left 4 Dead 2

Am I late?... naaah. You don’t even have idea of how many ideas I have for this fandom, and all in comic form, just to make my life easier. I have no idea of when I might make these, but will probably be sketchy, pencil stuff, and I will enjoy every moment of them. Boy, I love these characters. I want to tell stories with them,

Oxygen Not Included

I HAVE. A STORY IN MIND. And it will be long, angsty, harsh and tragic probably. I don’t have any WIP nor I can tell many details at the moment because,, I guess it would be spoiler? But, it will be an experiment and something that it’ll be interesting for me to try! All that is needed to understand is,, when I’ll be able to make it, honestly-

And for something less comic-y: references

Because I realized I often post sketches, but not actual references of my OCs. I mean fullbodies fully coloured, with palettes and objects and STUFF. It will be a pretty funny thing for me to do, because the versions I’ll give you of my OCs will be slightly different from the “final” version I’ll show you when I’ll be able to tell you their story - because YUP, I’m working on those too, but for now it’s still a very big work in progress, so I’m still not ready to show you stuff. ;3c But basically, an objective of mine is references. Make those darn characters references with nice palettes and cool stuff, so that you’ll actually have,, at least some more infos than a black and white sketch. ... and a good reference in case you want to draw them? I don’t know just,, dreaming a little bit,, I’ll make the references for the OCs I’ve published (so most probably the ones I’ve put and will put more on @mcmentics, because I’ll surely add someone else in there soon), and after making Leda’s reference sheet (because Gio requested him to be the first >:3c) I might put it “to the vote” to decide in which order make all the others. <3 ... or simply go and make them all with the order I want. I don’t know. Let’s see what the future will offer us. <3

And those other projects?

SECRETS (?) But actually, I have told you just the main projects I have. Some (many, actually) I’ll keep as a secret for now, some are just too vague to make a post about it. But, another project is surely to livestream more! Again, I’ll need to see when I’ll have some time, but as for now I’m starting to have some free moments for myself, and I’d love to share them with you! >:3

AAAAND okay, this post got really really long. </3 Sorry, I thought I would have been much faster, but I had so much to say, haha- I’m sorry if something isn’t explained very good, I’m a bit tired after waking up at 5am for academy (and it’s 10.30pm now so,,), but in case something interests you and you wish more infos, my inbox is always open!! <3

Have a wonderful day/afternoon/evening for now, and hopefully,, I’ll start to make something BIG soon! :D Thank you for reading! <3

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franeridart · 7 years

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I'm so glad Kirishima is getting so much spotlight, he really deserves it!!!! And it looks like hes gonna get more, since hes in the main group along with Deku, Uraraka and Tsuyu. I;m so hyped!!!

Honestly!!!!!!!!!!! That’s one interesting group tbh, Kirishima and Tsuyu’s interactions are always incredibly adorable to watch and seeing Kirishima interact for so long with pure and good people is gonna be hard on my heart (I mean, you know I’m 100% a bakusquad fan but they’re all at least in part assholes and Kiri fits with them just right, he can be just like Sero and Kaminari and I love it, but then his interactions with Amajiki have been so pure can you imagine an arc filled with that I’m already crying)

I just hope my other faves won’t completely disappear through this arc haha sigh

Anon said: So which Kacchan quote do you like best "Die your bacteria fucks, dieee!" or "BRING YOUR DAMN TRASH TO ME"?

LMAO SORRY ANON BUT MY FAVE GOTTA BE

WHAT A GODDAMN DISASTER THIS BOY IS

Anon said:there's a terushima week. thought i might tell you bc i miss you drawing him ;3; might wanna join? :3

Anon said:Terushima week is this next week! (@terushimaweek) Might we maaaybe see some cute lil bokuroterus sometime soon? ;)

As I’ve already said, sadly I’ve found out about this too late to be part of it - I’m not completely ruling out the possibility of doodling something one of the days, but I didn’t have the time to plan anything and I’m still in the middle of working things through with the bakushima week and bakugou’s birthday so I don’t know - they 19th is Teru’s birthday so maybe I’ll draw something for it, but it’s also a super busy day for me so it really depends on how soon I’ll be able to finish everything else I’m working on orz I’m sorry guys I seriously had no clue about this till, like, five days ago o

Anon said: What are your thoughts on KiriDeku b/c I'm not even that into it but as soon as I saw art I was like "OMFG I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING SO PURE CHOULD EVER EXIST!!!" My following thought was that'd you may have something interesting to say (as you always do, I luv it), so here I am 😁 Also, I love the blog, your amazing art, and you!! I truly appreciate all you do ❤️❤️

Awwww thank you!!! And I dunno, as things are now my opinion on a possible ship might change soon enough because it looks like their interactions amount is about to skyrocket, so anything I say right now is just a temporary answer? But generally I find their friendship incredibly adorable, though as of now I don’t think I can see anything romantic between the two... mostly because even though I’ve seen them being friendly and supportive of each other I don’t think I’ve ever seen them actually connect over anything that wasn’t Bakugou?? Being friendly and supportive is just how they both are with everyone, before I can say I ship them I’m gonna need something more singular to their relationship

I might be totally biased here considering where my main shipping lies, though haha

Anon said:HOSHIHINA!!!! YESSSSS!!!! PLEASE!!!!!! I think this is like.... my new OTP or well... a new OTP that I will gratefully put on the shelf next to all my other children in love!! oh yeah and THANK YOU for introducing me to both BNHA and d grey man! I'M IN LOVE!!! oH and YOUR ART IS AMAZING!!! KEEP IT UP!! I WILL GRATEFULLY SWALLOW UP ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU POST IT'S AMAZING!!! YOUR OC'S TOO!!! Have a nice day!!

So much!!! HYPE in this ask!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!! Oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for EVERYTHING anon I hope you’ll have the best day!!!!!! *O* And I’m SUPER GLAD you gave dgm and bnha a try!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Aww the kiss. I know you posted it the other day, but it wouldn't load on my tablet. They're so cute, those two. 💜✌

*lays down forever* they are aren’t they those pure idiots !!!!

Anon said:I'm laughing so hard. Literally everyone that read the new chapter was like expectation vs reality. I love my idiots. Also yas to HoshiHina

HoshiHina is an A+ ship with A+ potential and I think I’m being slowly but surely swallowed by it - then again, what Hinata ship don’t I ship even ??? the mysteries

Anon said:To answer you question on what cheese sticks are, they're this disgusting processed cheese stick, also known as string cheese, and it's p much what it is, cheese in the form of a small stick that you can pull apart into strings and eat like that! (as you may have noticed, I'm not a fan hah) ((I don't know if you know the artist mookie, but she made a comic about bokuto eating a cheesestick whole before)

Anon said: cheese sticks = string cheese? D: they are delicious i promise

I’m seeing conflicting reports here (lol) but yes this might be a problem for me only because as I said I’m Italian but what I’m failing to see here is what kind of cheese are these things supposed to be ???

Anon said:Are you into Kuroken?

Only as very good friends, I don’t ship it romantically at all

Anon said:I love your bakushimas, SO SO SO MUCH. God, and with the latest chapter, I just can't wait for more interactions with them. God, seeing as I think Kirishima was filmed by the people that were there, I want to see Bakugou's reaction to his new move.

This took me long enough to answer that we now know Baku’s reaction was total and utter envy at how popular Kiri is LMAO - but yeah I still think Baku already knew about Kiri’s new move! After all he most probably came up with it as they trained for the license exam and I can’t believe he wouldn’t test it against Bakugou to make sure he actually turns unbreakable? Also proud-of-himself Kiri yelling at the squad to check out his new move is too much of a good image I can’t let that one go hahaha

Anon said:I started following you for Haikyuu but started boku no hero academia in order to understand what your other drawings were so I thank you (and blame you) for getting me hooked on another anime and manga :)

I’m!!!!!! HAPPY you ended up liking it???!!!! *O*

Anon said:I just wanted to tell you that you're my most fave artist here in tumblr istg i go to your page everyday just to go back at the fanart you drew if you didn't have any new, but when u have, my heart just swells and i fuss over it. God bless you because you opened my eyes for bakushimanari when i was just kiribaku back then.. God i love denki sfm right now bc of you, im sad bkk week is over though ahh and laven. Jfc i love your laven pls draw them more if u can 😘 i hope you'll have a great day!!

Don’t!!!! worry anon Laven has been my #1 otp since I was sixteen at this point it’s just not gonna leave me ever, I’ll definitely draw more of it in the future! And thank you??? so much?????? Oh man!!!!!

Anon said:Everyone in class 1-A: *trains as if they're gonna be in a battle royal and need to (literally) slaughter the competition* Competition: OBSTACLE RACE YAY

Well, the anime did change the training scenes a lot lol but LMAO anon they’re highschoolers what were you expecting hahahahaha it’s already savage enough as it is, I assure you lol

Anon said:Hi hello yes are you up for some angsty stuff because my brain turns even the sweetest moment to that, like what if kaminari saw bakushima's first kiss and he becomes so sad b/c he crushes on them both but he pretends not to and starts teasing 'em like a true bro while hiding his feelings and idk it's only if you want but yeah, how's your day been?

..........I would lie if I said I didn’t think about this while drawing that kiss R I P my multishipper heart is gonna kill me BUT IT’S OKAY I’m not one for unhappy endings so consider this - Denki sees them kiss, since he’s best bro and both Kirishima and Bakugou tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves he already knew this was gonna happen so he’s like, sad but resigned it hurts and he wishes he didn’t have to see it but he loves them both so much that he can’t help but being happy for how happy they are at the same time too (sure, being part of that happiness would be a dream coming true, but he’s used to never coming first he can deal with this hahahahaha r i p)

Meanwhile a bit after the kiss once Kiri is a hundred per cent sure Bakugou isn’t going to explode his head off if he mentions his very huge crush on Kaminari he does and Bakugou’s like, shit, it’s not like he’d mind it because Kaminari is, well, he’s Kaminari and Bakugou isn’t sure why but he’s comfortable to be around and easy to talk to and he’s stupidly pretty and like, yeah, okay, he might be into him too, maybe, he isn’t admitting anything here (not like he needs to, as stated already he’s pretty easy to read), but Kaminari’s also the no homo type of het so it’s not like they can do much about this threeway crush or whatever, and Kirishima’s like sure, I know, I just wanted to be open about this to avoid trouble, which is very sensible and will cut us on a lot of miscommunication angst this is getting out of hand let’s skip ahead I always forget how much fun I have writing this kind of bullshit

For however much Kaminari swore he could deal with it and how much he’s actually managing to deal with it he’s also the same brand of open book Baku and Kiri are and while it was easy to act like friends with no romantic feelings when everyone was doing the same, trying to hide from Bakugou and Kirishima while they’re openly in a relationship turns out to be more or less impossible, mostly because he can’t seem to avoid the longing stares and sad smiles and the I have to go I just remembered I have a thing to do bye’s when it becomes too much, and Kirishima might not be the brightest but he’s perfectly in tune with everyone’s feelings and Bakugou might stomp on people’s feelings more often than not but he is the brightest which means they notice and they’re like god fucking damn it - Bakugou in nature isn’t one to talk about problems until they burst out in fits of anger, but thank god he’s got Kirishima right there and they might not be 100% sure they got the reason for Kaminari’s weirdness right but they’re exasperated and they at least want their friend to stop being weird and avoiding them, they miss him (and Kaminari seriously misses them too he feels so stupid for how big of a deal he’s turning this into) SO they corner him and talk it out cause I’m a slut for open and honest communication and Kaminari straight out starts crying from happiness and relief before they’re even done talking and Kirishima starts crying right after him because sympathetic crier supreme and Bakugou’s like you know what I changed my mind fuck both of you emotional disasters I’m out

(spoiler he isn’t really)

#fran answers #SO MANY WORDS IN THIS ONE R I P #i got carried away on that last one s o r r y #instead of working on the fills gdi fran stop procrastinating #anonymous

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comicteaparty · 5 years

Text

February 28th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on February 28th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PST. The chat focused on Zenchav by Draco Plato.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Zenchav by Draco Plato~! (http://khyatix.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Draco Plato

hmmmm

flips through chapters quickly

RebelVampire

just say all the scenes cause as the creator its the one time you can get away with it XD

Draco Plato

I'm sure I have a favorite

shiz everything exists on a neutral plan of emotion

RebelVampire

for my favorite scene im gonna pick that time everyone was pursued by spiky chia pets and oziel and ara argued to the point damian snapped his finger at them and told them to focus.

Draco Plato

I was leaning towards that myself too

RebelVampire

damian did what we all wanted to do deep down in that moment

Draco Plato

yeeeeeah

I love the finger snap

I always enjoy drawing the damon and lyall scenes the most

I like chapter 14 but I think it was a bit hurried seeming overall.

I picked up the pace for webcomic time but I think I should have slowed it down a bit there

that was my favorite chapter to draw recently tho cause damon and lyall

Kabocha

I think... My favorite scene is a toss up. I really liked Nadia and Damon's meeting -- Damon's priorities are basically mine: "OOO SPARKLY" http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume1/ZenchavVolume1#p=98 But I also really liked how crushed Damon was when he burnt up Liberty's body. http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=157 Can't do anything else? Well, at least I can make sure nobody asks too many questions right~?

Draco Plato

aaaaaaaaaaaaah

I have so many mixed feelings about damon burning his daughter's body

like was that a GOOD decision? it's so morbid

I always get a laugh out of that

Kabocha

It felt pretty emotional

and yessss

I really like the first volume a lot, to be honest. The art in it has a lot of character which helps the black and white pop

Draco Plato

yeah I agree! Whenever I re-read it I think the early chapters actually have a lot of charm to them

I used to be really bothered by the flaws but that doesn't really bother me now

Kabocha

Yeah They're cute! And... Damon was... very angsty in volume 2's start

Draco Plato

hahah his brief gangster look

RebelVampire

it was nice to see damon grow up from an innocent boy into angst rage machine into hi everyone im stay at home dad who makes jam

Kabocha

it is pretty fun when you get very... uh... ...I don't know the term but when you pull the expressions pretty far and make them somewhat more cartoony

Draco Plato

yeah! I agree. I think I pushed limits a bit more in the earlier chapters. Honestly I think my disdain for drawing shines through too much now

I mean, it all looks great, lmao

Kabocha

"Oh, I like it when you touch me" -- Sayeth Lyall, volume 2, page 12

Draco Plato

Aaaaaaaaaaah, I feel so awkward about those early scenes

where lyall's feelings start shining through

Kabocha

Lyall honestly just needs anyone's affection

RebelVampire

another scene i like is http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=42 where damon and lyall are flirting sort of and rex just shows hes watching and hes very bored. i think it was a great way to bring rex back in while also paying off on all that tension buildup of him coming back.

Draco Plato

he just needs damon's affection

Kabocha

...Damon's hair is also kinda kelpie-ish, so I meaaaaaaaan

Draco Plato

yeah I liked that scene too!! and that's true, I hadn't thought he looked a bit like kelpie there

I'm kinda with what Dark said about wtf is going on with his hair in chapter 5

like yep, that's why it lasted a very short time that look

oh i remember my fave scene now

Kabocha

What did Dark say?

Draco Plato

i need to find it

she wasn't a fan of the chapter 5 damon hair, which I agree with since I'm not a fan of it either

Kabocha

I don't dislike it, he just seems very... ...high stress right now

RebelVampire

i like to think damon's early life is characterized by phases. you got the angst phase, the emo phase, the cute kid phase, the weird flirt with your uncle phase

Kabocha

all business, no play

Draco Plato

there it is, the scene that always haunts me in re reads

oh that's true Rebel, it very much is

Kabocha

cough There's inappropriate jokes that one could make about coming in handy

But I'm not going to make them tonight

Draco Plato

I just...that line in retrospect is so BAD

Kabocha

But it's Lyall~

Draco Plato

i think that's the only time he really had pedo bear vibes

maybe not the only but the biggest

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume2/ZenchavVolume2#p=38 This page, Lyall's like... "This woman's going to kill me, Damon, and everyone in this neighborhood"

Draco Plato

there's also that time

Kabocha

What does Nadia do, anyway? Is she actually a mob boss? I know she's gonna be different in the upcoming video, but... >:D

Draco Plato

Lyall thinking she's a homewrecker there ruining his chance at future happiness as Damon's husbando

Yeah she's the head of her mafia

her backstory is actually the same as the animated version but without the interference

https://youtu.be/gGdGFtwCNBE

that's my song for lyall in chapter five

Kabocha

"I feel like I've known her" -- "Oh, yeah, last time around, she tried to kill you a buncha times, and I heard she's gonna do it again."

Draco Plato

wheeeeezes

Kabocha

"Also, she's your sister. Or will be. Different lives and all."

Draco Plato

It just gets worse

#TrueLove

Kabocha

I wonder what their entanglements were like in previous lives >:D

RebelVampire

you know what other scene i like? this scene http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume2/ZenchavVolume2#p=48 where lyall tells damon he didnt love liberty. partly cause it was cute seeing damon be this angsty adult and get hit with the reality stick in such a way hes still little boy shocked that this is a thing that could happen. and it was also nice cause lyall revealed something in an angry outburst and thus one more truth was added to the truth pile

Draco Plato

i really should have made a chart for Nadia's lives, the main one I know that has her and Damon together before that life is when she was Lili's sister

Oh Oh I like that scene too!!

Kabocha

I would be interested in seeing Lili's sister

and aaaaaaaaaaaaa, yes. Lyall: Truth teller in bad situations

Draco Plato

I can always feel a mini heart attack when Lyall says he didn't love her

cause I know how much that hurts damon

Kabocha

"you made my mother a whore and you didn't even CARE?"

Draco Plato

Lili's sister doesn't have much to her, she married Muir at the same time as Lili but ended up leaving and letting Lili and Muir be alone

Damon was too pure then, lol(edited)

he was really hung up on the sleeping with his mom thing for a long time

Kabocha

I can't blame him, especially if he thought it was gonna damn Liberty to hell

but nope, just ends up with her coming back one day as a cute smol girl

Also... Lyall has no last name. JUST TAKE DAMON'S! nau

Where did the nickname Sha come from by the way?

Draco Plato

actually why didn't he take Liberty's last name

Oh!!! Lol nobody has ever asked before

She wanted to call him a shark but he lacks the bite so she dropped the k

looking back on this nickname it doesn't make much sense lmao

I think it originates from an earlier version that made more sense

RebelVampire

i like to think that lyall not taking a last name was his way of rejecting the permanence of their situation. but also not having a last name sounds helpful when in the mob. "Hey Joe you gonna kill that Lyall fellow we were ordered to kill?" "Which Lyall?" "I don't know man. Let's just pick one."

Draco Plato

truuuuue

altho how common a name is Lyall

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

"but joe theres like 20 other lyalls" "just kill them all"

Draco Plato

LOL

omg XD

Kabocha

It soon became the great Lyall purge of 1930

Draco Plato

Lyall: I don't have a last name because I'm waiting to marry you and take yours

Kabocha

Lyall probably used that pickup line a few times

"I don't have a last name, but why don't I borrow yours for the night~?"

Draco Plato

ffffft

sadly i don't think that's one he'd use since it's rather personal to him

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

also i'm not sure what y favorite scene is theres a lot of them lol

Draco Plato

it's okay, my mind went blank too

and I should know all the scenes

Kabocha

pick a volume, flip through, find your favorite

Draco Plato

i know cali's fave

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

which one

LMAO

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. As shown in the comic, Apus has been going on quite a recruiting spree. How do you think Damian will adjust to his new life situation, especially after what happened? How will Damian deal with Damon joining the Demon Council? What do you think the story is with Firosofi and Euripides? Will they adjust to their life there and will the others adjust to them? Will recruiting Draco go smoothly, or will matters be complicated because of Draco’s situation with B.I.T.E.? What do you think is up with Earth suddenly recruiting so many demons and non-humans all at once? Lastly, do you think Amai will learn to do field work, and how might it change her?

Draco Plato

i'mma delete that one for gore tho

Kabocha

Damian's going to angst a lot when he finds out his dad's on the Demon council. And then be like "MY FATHER BETRAYED US" And worry a lot. And continue to be grumpy until he becomes older Damian.

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i feel like damian will go crazy and become numb to all the weirdness

and then take wizard drugs

become damon

Kabocha

But also they're just gonna ship him off to the future to hang out with his dad, soooo

Draco Plato

i feel like these questions would have been good for me to ponder before writing

OoO spoils Damian's immediate future, lolol

Kabocha

Ooop, Damian, you're gonna sleep with that hot bird-brained nurse~

Draco Plato

why is the Earth recruiting all these people, I just figured apus was understaffed

aaaaaah that spoiler!!!

their romance took a flight

Kabocha

It definitely did... You could say their hearts fluttered like little wings

Draco Plato

Vivi was born from a little egg

not that it's relevant but it's cute

RebelVampire

i like to think Earth just felt like it. was bored and said "you know what would be funny? is if i put all these demons at apus and force the people i 'hired' to get along with them. this sounds like a fun social experiment."

Draco Plato

I mean I feel that's about as hard as she thought about it

but now I feel I should think of a good reason and make it seem like I had something deep behind it

Kabocha

Vivi was born from an egg, eh? :3

I'm kind of curious now

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

plot twist, apus is just earth's ant farm but with people and demons

Draco Plato

yuuuuuus

omg XD

anytime someone mentions an antfarm I remember the one my bro had, where all the ants came dead except one and that one ant worked hard to bury all the other ants(edited)

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

rip ant

burying it's brethren

Draco Plato

antfarms are SAD

just burying all your dead kin

symbolically damon will be the ant

and we'll pretend this was a metaphor

Kabocha

Apus as an ant farm? I guess The Earth hasn't changed. She's just gonna try to burn it next time Damon shows up

Draco Plato

nah tho, Apus is meant to protect the earth

probably

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

maybe

we just dont know

Draco Plato

but she allows the demon council too

and is an aid to rex

so the earth plays both teams

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

news reporter interviews the earth "Miss earth? why did you create apus?" "lol idk i just wanted to"

RebelVampire

ya know consider earth talks to both sides, its more like these are her little play soldiers and she got more from the store so she could have an epic battle.

Kabocha

Cadence got her planet in the end

Draco Plato

baaaasically

her being the earth is totally karma for having made a planet

and not being it's planet seed

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i just imagined like a fight going on and someone jumping at someone

but in realityits just earth throwing one of her play soldiers at another one

Kabocha

She doesn't seem to hate it at least. She's probably like, "heh, I'll show you whose Karma fucked them up"

Draco Plato

muahahaha

I think the rational was that she wanted to see which side would win out

the planet itself is neither good nor evil, a neutral party

if a planet becomes totally good or totally evil it will end

because it must exist within duality

so that makes me think her ultimate goal would be to make it either totally good or totally evil so that it can die

since that would be freedom in a sense for her soul

Yes, beautiful, perfect earth

she don't care which time wins, just so long as someone does

Kabocha

YEP

she finally got it

a shame Samantha couldn't think big tho

Draco Plato

so much of Soul Hymn is still in the air tbh, especially with Sam

Kabocha

unless she's working with Decebal...

Draco Plato

cause I thought it'd be fun to make her more of an important baddie

Kabocha

"Yeah, I'll let you be the planet seed if you help me out*

Draco Plato

fffffft, being a planet seed is the last thing she wants

Kabocha

Sam wasn't really listening, she heard "You get a planet"

Draco Plato

it may be fun if sam is an antagonist to both erik and decebal

since if she regains her powers she'd be quite a formidable foe

RebelVampire

maybe lets bring the topic back to zenchav at this point XD

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

"you get a planet and you get a planet"

Draco Plato

Decebal becomes Oprah

Damian will not be pleased Damon joined the DC

nope

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

but hey he gets to spend time with his daddy

i guess

Draco Plato

I actually don't know if they'll ever meet face to face during that time tho

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

O_O

damon and rex i mean

lmao

Draco Plato

LOL

Damon is so happy about that, yeeeeah

RebelVampire

my question implied damian adjusts at all. which i would argue damian doesnt adjust to anything. just sits in eternal grump land.

hey

damon got new clothes already

id say thats a great dad

Draco Plato

LOL you make an excellent point Rebel

but they're not blue see, they have to be blue, so he's sad

Kabocha

Question: Will we get to see Mr. Philosophy get a sword

Draco Plato

Yes!

Kabocha

YES

Draco Plato

Firo has two swords

RebelVampire

i think Amai will be fine with field work cause firo can do all the heavy lifting metaphorically speaking. or ya know he could sip tea and wave at her from afar

Draco Plato

Firo actually can't kill anyone because it would be too kind a death for them

Kabocha

Then he gets to be mad at Dakin and Amai all the time :3

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

one to put jam on his toast and the other to poke things

Draco Plato

this is true, firo will do way more heavy lifting than Amai

buuuuut Amai will probably have plant powers like Dakin

which wasn't in the story originally so tentatively she'll be a bit more bad ass when she awakens to that

firo doesn't get mad

RebelVampire

by that implication amai doesnt know she has the plant powers?

Draco Plato

if firo gets mad that's gotta be something really really bad

nah Amai thinks she has no powers atm

she's been very sheltered

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

would he get mad if someone cut him off on the freeway

Kabocha

bwahahahaha

Draco Plato

No O_O

Kabocha

WHAT

he is inhuman!

Draco Plato

He got mad once as a kid tho

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

say if it isnt so

Draco Plato

kid cut off his ponytail

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

off with his head

Draco Plato

yus O_O you don't touch Firo's hair

but he probably wouldn't get mad at that now

but there is a time when he will get mad

maybe more than one

Kabocha

He didn't even get mad when his life was threatened, so

I mean

he's a pretty chill dude

RebelVampire

will it be at damon for damon being a little rex puppet murderer?

Kabocha

I almost wrote "Chill dad" and then I was like

"naaaaaaaaaah"

Draco Plato

oh firo having his life threatened was like a tuesday, no biggie

nah he won't get mad at damon

EveryoneLovesDamon

RebelVampire

Firo: I'm not mad at you, Damon. Just disappointed.

Draco Plato

YES!

that'll happen

Damon: But I looooove him father

/shot

RebelVampire

damon goes home and rex tells him the same thing, that hes not mad, just disappointed. only then rex kills some kid or something.

Draco Plato

Rex just makes Damon's wounds heal slower

when he's mad at him

RebelVampire

you know

thats a lot more tame then i realistically expected

good on rex

Kabocha

sorry, I got distracted reading OoO again

Poor Damian

Draco Plato

yeah, damon is the fave

RebelVampire

slightly less of a jackass than he couldve been

Draco Plato

ffffft, that's a good reason to get distracted, lol

Rex to damon's other siblings is pretty swift to kill

so they have to tip toe a lot more

I think Damian is pretty lucky

got to go to school in the future, meet all those kooky people

damian at apus is interesting tho since there's more reasons than just damon at the DC he's sour about

RebelVampire

on the otherhand, he got to go to school and meet all those kooky people and deal with a huge jump in technology and his dad being a wizard. it may perhaps contribute to the grump.

you mean like liberty being dead O_O

Draco Plato

nervous laughter

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

shes fine

its just jam

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. In recent events, Damon has been forced by his father to join the Demon Council. What activities do you think Damon will be doing for the Demon Council? Will Damon manage to fit in there, or will he stick out too much? Will he at least be able to get along with his new sister Theia? As time passes, do you think Damon will come to agree with Rex’s ideals? Or, do you think he’ll stay steadfast in his own beliefs? Do you think Damon will find out Damian is alive and with Apus? How might this change his actions in the future? Also, how might his relationship with Lyall change him? Do you think Rex will keep his promise of not hurting Lyall? Finally, will Damon reconnect with Purusha’s life to escape the darkness?

Kabocha

wait, I'm mis-remembering things... Who is Dakin's dad XD

Draco Plato

Firosofi

Amai is his mom

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

firosofi more like

Draco Plato

sorta

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

firosofty

Draco Plato

it's complicated

wheeps

was so surprised when there was a Firo in Baccano

https://tenor.com/view/firo-playing-baccano-gif-11864371

RebelVampire

#spoilers

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i think rex will make damon think hes gonna make him do really bad stuff, but he just makes him sit down and play chess all day

Draco Plato

Rex: Damon, I want you to be the greatest chess master to ever live. Damon: Father....I hate to break it to you but that's never going to happen, I'm an idiot.

damon can probably play chess

RebelVampire

maybe damon will get super good at chess cause chess is half just about remembering the patterns and knowing the best move for each pattern.

and damon can make little dresses for the chess pieces

Draco Plato

ffffft

Kabocha

Lyall would make very pretty chess pieces

Draco Plato

Lyall is very good at chess

Kabocha

Damon would make them regal clothing, befitting their stations in life

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

rex walks in sees his chess set all mangled with pretty dresses

Draco Plato

damon says plz he's not that much of a loser

weeps

I think Damon's ideals already died long ago

he mostly just wants to not die and not have Lyall die

probably

Kabocha

he'll get better one day

Draco Plato

when he goes insane

What will damon be doing at the DC ponders

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

eat donuts

Draco Plato

a mystery

RebelVampire

hes gonna make up for lost time. go on fishing trips with rex. fight over a stuffed animal with theia, etc. etc.

Draco Plato

Damon can't taste donuts tho

€heshire777

Nggh, I missed it

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

plot twist DC means donut council

Draco Plato

omg XD

€heshire777

Oops

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

yer right on time cheshire

Draco Plato

oh yeah, him and Theia will wrestle all right

RebelVampire

we still have an hour left to go

€heshire777

Too bad I didn't read all of it...

Draco Plato

that's okay~!

it is 400 something pages

€heshire777

I usally do tho

Ah well

Draco Plato

no worries~

Kabocha

Well, that's fine Cheshire! You can chime in about what you did read

or are you just here to talk about how much you didn't?

€heshire777

I'll talk! I confess!

Kabocha

https://giphy.com/gifs/the-simpsons-excellent-mr-burns-8fen5LSZcHQ5O

So, I think it'll be interesting going forward, to see what happens more with Firo and his buddies -- mostly because I read the original draft once upon a time, and Amai is very dear to me. XD I wanna see her do more stuff! Yell at her mom! Ask Pavonis why he's such a stick in the mud

RebelVampire

its also fine to just live read and comment your feelings as you read, @€heshire777 ~!

Draco Plato

awwww, I'll make sure to put her in more knowing that ;3;

Kabocha

So uh, is Pavo's original... backstory... still valid

Draco Plato

yus I think so

Kabocha

wherein he was so in love with Earth and...

cackle

RebelVampire

you cant just ask pavo why he's a stick in the mud. mostly because i expect itll wind up like that time he tried to explain apus to damian and damian was just like "whaaaaat"

Draco Plato

he lived in ancient greece sometime

LOL

Pavonis: You know what, you're clearly not going to get this, go see the nurse

Kabocha

Pavonis has no middle ground either. Either he's with Earth and Apus, or he's a demon, helping Rex commit atrocities.

Draco Plato

pavonis has a really really thin line between good and evil

pavonis would be evil for the earth

he wouldn't second guess it

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Specials/ZenchavSpecials#p=64 I see you, Sotiris (http://khyatix.com/world <- see the dark reddish brown-life)

Draco Plato

loooooool

i really like that special

and it's plot based too

but sotiris looks like a freakin chef there

I keep wanting to do more with Minos, now that they're at the DC I'm hoping I can have him show up

RebelVampire

i do think thats the best of the specials. just cause it was nice to see lyall before he became a bitter old house wife who was jilted by rex.

yes

do that

cause with this special in mind i want to see minos and lyall interact

Kabocha

Yeah! I wanna see what's happened to Minos -- Rex didn't kill him for that but I do wonder what he'd have done to him

RebelVampire

cause for lyall its been eons, for minos probably not that many eons

Draco Plato

yeah!! it actually hasn't been that long for Minos since lyall was pregnant with rex's kids

before then Lyall and Minos used to whore around together

Kabocha

Rex disappears for a few minutes, comes back with Lyall and an extremely scarred Damon

Draco Plato

i mean they never slept with each other but they'd pick up women together

YEP

It's actually probably been a few years since Theia got there

but between rex dropping lyall off and picking damon up that's probably a few days at the DC

if Rex bothered to wait, which I think he did cause he changed his clothes

but in one of my stories that may just be an hour later

Kabocha

Rex goes to get some tea

remembers, "Oh yeah, I should pick up Lyall."

Draco Plato

and change my clothes while I'm at it :>

/shot

that's just damon tho

probably

altho rex is pretty fashionable

Kabocha

Hehehe

So anyway, there's reincarnations, time travel shenanigans, and lots and lots of suffering for Damon.

RebelVampire

the changing clothes is just part of their genes. encoded on their dna.

Kabocha

And we're just getting started

Draco Plato

Lyall can do that

he often makes clothes with his powers

since he can make any organic material so he makes it soft like fabric

RebelVampire

maybe its a rule in the DC. no outfit is allowed to be worn for over 3 hours.

Draco Plato

nah, that's the rule in OoO

7 times damon?!?

if it's a joke nobody will blame the creator for clothing ADD

RebelVampire

i wonder if therell be a love triangle between damon, lyall, and minos.

Kabocha

Oh my

Draco Plato

Oh nooooooo

minos is an asshole so probably not

amongst other reasons

but alternatively will sotiris and theia ever have a thing

Kabocha

https://giphy.com/gifs/jaw-drop-oooooh-6FymBmqKeBrl6

Draco Plato

I honestly don't know atm

RebelVampire

well theyd at least be a sexy pairing

and lyall could make "hey stop touching my daughter maybe" faces

Kabocha

Having read Out of Order, I kind of can't wait to find out about how Damon and Claire meet in this life. I've heard rumors that it is ... bordering on "not good"

Draco Plato

oooooooh, it's fun!

I really like randolph and claire at apus

they were actually with each other longer than they were with damon

not as a couple of course

and Damian is older than both of them, lolol

well maybe not randolph, i dunno, it's a toss up

RebelVampire

one day after many people die, damian will sit there going "wait a second im the older person here"

Kabocha

Randolph and Claire were a duo?

Draco Plato

oh gawd no

but they both worked at Apus together

Claire was raised there from age 13 and Randolph took care of security

Randolph had his own room that he stayed in almost exclusively but people have to visit him cause he's the techno master

uh room being where all his security systems are

claire was a field worker though

so basically claire and damian would visit him and bicker

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. An ominous tone seems to be setting in on the future. What do you think Pavonis meant in saying that Firosofi’s arrival signaled “certain things were set into motion?” Does it have something to do with the declaration of war that Oziel claimed recruiting Damian would be? Is it something else entirely that has more to do with Firosofi, Damon, or someone else? Of the characters we’ve met, who in Apus and who in the Demon Council do you think will clash first? What do you think will happen? Overall, do you think the conflicts between Apus and the Demon Council will ever be solved? As a last bonus, what time periods do you think we’ll see in the comic considering it involves time travel?

Kabocha

Firosofi's going to take over the story soon, and we're gonna see him go face down his destiny... And reclaim his last name...

..................No?

RebelVampire

wait wait

this is why lyall didnt have a last name

theyre going on the quest together

Kabocha

Firosofi X and Lyall WHY

Draco Plato

fffffffffft

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

and something Z

Draco Plato

will they ever even meet

who knows

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

o wait zenchav

Draco Plato

muahahah

what time periods would people want to see

Kabocha

There we go. The mysteries of the plot, explained.

Draco Plato

i have some up in the air atm

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

cavemen

Draco Plato

LOL

dies

Kabocha

I'd honestly like to see some mid-2000s Damon. Baggy jeans, Anime hair... Debating who's better: Trunks or Vegeta

Draco Plato

That we will see!!

already in there

Kabocha

(It's totally Trunks, by the way.)

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

damon: ugga ugg lyall: ugga ugga damon: ugh >_>

€heshire777

Steampunk Damon

Draco Plato

I do love trunks but i love vegeta too

steampunk would be pretty awesome

I think I can do that

Kabocha

Damon WOULD go for a Steampunk aesthetic

Draco Plato

he totally would

He's going to have a hell of a motorcycle collection, lol

Kabocha

Next world they go to in OoO will be a steampunk world, totally

Draco Plato

Claire's original clothing aesthetic was supposed to be steampunk too

but it looked too out of place

that'd be good for OoO tho, i'll think about it for that

cause I have it kind of wide open atm for where it's going

oh I know where i can fit steampunk into Zen

muahahah

€heshire777

Goth

RebelVampire

i cant think of a good time period so im just gonna go with ancient egypt. where someone can sneak into a tomb and write a message in the hopes it confuses the heck out of future archaeologists

Draco Plato

goth will be in the animated version!

ancient egypt would be interesting, I hadn't considered that

i remember an older version I had them live in ancient persia for awhile

Kabocha

YES

Ancient Persia would be awesome!

€heshire777

Chinese?

Kabocha

Some of the clothing they have in pseudo-historical Bollywood films... it's so pretty

Draco Plato

Chinese would be good too!! I was just appreciating their clothing the other day

true!!!

Damon will go to india at one point

Kabocha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7K4vGYL9zI Allow me to share this song with you

Draco Plato

!!!! I LOVE THAT SONG

that actor does such a good job in that movie too

RebelVampire

thats good damon gets to go to india. i think it will suit him ;3;

€heshire777

Caveman?

Kabocha

It also fits the overall reincarnation theme, too, I think

Draco Plato

cavemen would be so weird XD

€heshire777

I like weird

RebelVampire

if lyall went with him, cavemen would murder him cause thats 0 tech zone

Draco Plato

oh yeah, that's right Firo is from India too

Lyall says that sounds like where Rex would send him

€heshire777

Ok, and lost you again...

Kabocha

Firosofi's one of the recently introduced characters -- he's more clearly introduced here: http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=63

€heshire777

That's just about where I'm at

Draco Plato

oh yeah~!

he's also Haranasa

€heshire777

If you say so...

Kabocha

Well, Draco would be the one to say so... as the creator

RebelVampire

are we going to get to see oziel more? i need more oziel spunk in my life.

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=80

Draco Plato

coughs I'm honestly not sure what Oziel's future is in the story atm

but I can add him more if you want

I know some other people liked him too

ah both names at once there, lolol

€heshire777

Who was that again? (edited)

RebelVampire

more i just think theres potential between him and damian. cause of the whole ya know, you got my sister murdered

Draco Plato

that fellow is oziel

€heshire777

He's cool

Draco Plato

yeah I agree Rebel, I've been thinking that should be explored more too

I always like Oziel's hair

Kabocha

I like Ara better

Draco Plato

fun fact he was in a wheelchair for a portion of his life

Kabocha

and I wanna know what the fuck Ara did to get his future lives the way he did XD

Draco Plato

LOL

Kabocha

(But this... is not... in Zenchav yet... I'm speaking partly about stuff that I know that is... spoilers...)

OK Draco, Draco

Draco Plato

Ara ara ara, ahahah

Kabocha

if you could pick one character that's not Damon to make super sparkly

who would you choose

Draco Plato

Firo~

€heshire777

Atlantis would be cool

Draco Plato

Firo was originally the main

Atlantis is a great idea

yeah I can use atlantis

Kabocha

atlantis would be cool

€heshire777

I'll just keep suggesting stuff as long as you'll let me

Moon base

Draco Plato

loooooool, would be too sailor moon

Kabocha

DRACO I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE SO MUCH COOL STUFF

Draco Plato

awwwwww ;3;

I really want more firo now

I never get to draw him

but i'll be in the most recent chapter

€heshire777

Norse?

Viking era?

Draco Plato

That's a good idea too, I could do that

I used to love Norse mythology

altho marvel kinda eeeeehed me a bit to it

even tho i like marvel

€heshire777

Yeah. same

Marvel nut

Draco Plato

me too

well....I haven't read all the comics

cause there's ALOT

€heshire777

Oop, cell service

Bye

RebelVampire

i was just about say draco, youre gonna be stuck drawing firo for quite a while now in this upcoming arc.

Draco Plato

laters, Cheshire :3

Not as much as I'd like cause he mostly stands in the BG

which means I'll cut him out of panels a lot for drawing time

buuuut I think the chapter after he really stands out

and tbf shading his hair sucks so much

RebelVampire

this almost sounds creepy. draco and amai talking in the forefront, firo just in the background of the shot smiling at the reader all the time, as if to say i see you.

Draco Plato

that'd be so in character for Firo XD

this is why he can't be the MC

actually I think most of it is Draco talking to his peeps tho

buuuuuut

I dunno maybe I'll add in more firo

cause him just standing there in the BG of chapter 13 was kinda lame too

RebelVampire

maybe he and draco can at least share a warm hug

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i wanna see them hug

Draco Plato

>w> well that will probably happen

draco can leap onto him in a bear hug

Kabocha

Hugs for everyone!

RebelVampire

i cannot picture this bear hug. although i can picture euri and amai being like wtf

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END! Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Draco Plato, as well, for making Zenchav. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Draco Plato’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read the Comic: http://khyatix.com/

Draco Plato’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/khyatix

Draco Plato’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/KhyatiX

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #zenchav #draco plato #dracoplato #khyatix

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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

Text

What I Thought About “Together Again” from Adventure Time: Distant Lands

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

When Cartoon Network/HBOmax announced Adventure Time: Distant Lands, there were only two of the four specials that got my attention. There was "Obsidian" for the undeniable factor of sweet, sweet Bubbline content and "Together Again," which marks the return of Finn and Jake. And honestly, it was hard to tell which one had me the most excited.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for seeing two gals being much more than pals, but there has always been something about Finn and Jake that I just adore. Their brotherly dynamic is as endearing as it was realistic, and I couldn't help but smile whenever I saw them goofing around in the original series. So, seeing one last adventure between the two of them is an idea that I'm all for. After watching it a second time...yeah, it was everything I could have ever hoped for and much, much more.

Unfortunately, to explain why means that I'll have to go into spoilers. So, this is your last chance to watch "Together Again" if you haven't already. It is a heartbreaking yet funny special that requires an in-depth look to suitably explain why "Together Again" is the perfect send-off for Adventure Time: Distant Lands, as well as a much better end to Adventure Time as a whole...Yeah, I know it's not actually the end. But it's so clearly meant to be the end, and I will treat it as such because of it.

So shut your pieholes.

WHAT I LIKE

Return of the original intro: This makes sense for a story and for an ending (shut your pieholes).

Narratively speaking, it adds to making it clear that it's Finn and Jake's adventure. They're the only two characters mentioned in the theme song, and they're also the ones who prominently take the spotlight in the special. It makes sense to play this theme song one last time.

This also makes sense for why it works for a finale (shut your pieholes). If this really was meant to be the end of Adventure Time as a whole, why wouldn't they play the theme song one last time? Dozens of fans everywhere have memorized every frame of that intro, and I feel like they would feel cheated if they don't watch it play out for the final episode (shut your pieholes). And, c'mon. You had to admit that your poor, little nostalgic heart didn't feel something when seeing it again. It's a sweet moment that adds to the episode while still appealing to fans in the most subtle ways.

Finn and “Jake’s” little adventure: This was a ton of fun to watch. As I said, it's endearing to see Finn and Jake act as the bestest of bros, and it just felt nice seeing a classic F and J adventure again, even if the real Jake isn't present. Although, on the one hand, a part of me wishes it wasn't too obvious that it was just Finn going through an illusion and played more into the idea that it's a flashback with only subtle hints that it isn't. Because the second they showed Gumbald as a snow golem, it is clear from the getgo that this wasn't one of their past adventures. But, on the other hand, we still get some solid foreshadowing with the fifty-flavor ice cream, on top of really stellar performances from John DiMaggio and Jeremy Shada as Finn is forced to see Jake die a second time. Seriously, that hit HARD as it not only sets the tone of the special but also perfectly explains Finn's motivation. Speaking of Finn...

Finn: The first thing I want to get out of the way is that Finn is, like, eighty or something years old in this special. It's easy to forget, given how he looks like his young (or rather, identifiable) self throughout most of the whole thing, but it's true. The Finn we see is one from the far off future of the series. And I'm gonna level with you, it is all kinds of pleasant to know that he hasn't changed a bit with old age.

The second he believes to be trapped in a dungeon, he wastes no time trying to get out while also saving those he thinks are trapped with him. When he realizes he's actually dead, Finn almost instantly looks at the bright side with the fact that he gets to see Jake again. Then after finding out the afterlife is being run by some buttface, Finn takes a break from finding Jake to kick New Death's a new one. And even once finding out how bad things are, Finn does everything he can to teach New Death a lesson. It's that last part that gets to me the most because it's the idea that even in death, Finn still finds a way to serve justice. Which makes way too much sense.

Plus, going back to what I said earlier, Finn's motivation is set in stone from that fake adventure he went on. Even if his actions come across as selfish, you understand why. Look at how devastated Finn was after thinking he saw Jake die again. It's clear that his brother's death heavily affected our boy, and I can't blame him. Especially with how well Jeremy Shada does at voicing some heavy scenes (Seriously, the guy's come a long way). The amount of raw emotion and identifiable motive help elevate Finn into one of the best things about "Together Again" while also making the special one of his better stories. More so in the fact that he has no hang ups over a lady ONCE in forty-five minutes (which is impressive in itself).

“Cause of Death?”/”Who gives a toot?!”: Agreed. I don't need to know how Finn died. Knowing him, it's either employing a heroic sacrifice, or he just kept adventuring until his body couldn't take it anymore. The reason doesn't matter. Besides, it leaves room for all the angsty fan-fics from writers who want to play around with how exactly Finn bit the dust, cashed in his chips and bought the farm. So, you know, there's that.

Adventure Time’s version of the afterlife: I'm actually into the notion that Adventure Time doesn't subscribe to a single idea of the afterlife and instead combines several concepts made by different beliefs. The thoughts are still the same: You act like a good person, you spend eternity in peace. You act like a dillhole, and you spend eternity in torture. Speaking of which, it's a pretty cool callback that the inhabitants of Dead World #1 are past villains. And it's also funny that Tree Trunks share the same Dead World with all of her lovers, except for Wyatt. Which I would feel bad about...if it wasn't Wyatt.

And, to any conservative people who believe the show is disrespecting your religion, here’s what I have to say: Nobody knows for sure what's going to happen when any of us die until we...well, die. The knowledge we have comes from a collective belief and no farther. Besides, Adventure Time is a work of fiction. Therefore, its version of the afterlife is also fiction. Meaning that complaining about something that is definitely fake is nothing short of a waste of time. Seriously, I'm Lutheran, and I even take a moment to appreciate that the writers created an excellent and easy-to-understand explanation for what happens to these characters after they kick the bucket.

Return of Mr. Fox: I'm actually cool with this. Mr. Fox has always been a chill character and might just be the most normal person in the entire series...ironic, given the fact that he's a talking fox...and now the living embodiment of Death. But hey, it's still nice to see him again on top of it being sweet to see him get some semblance of a win.

(Even if the sick, twisted bastard in me can't help but chuckle at the idea of Mr. Fox icing souls by smothering them with a pillow.)

All the callbacks: "Together Again" might just have the most callbacks out of all the Adventure Time: Distant Lands specials so far. Whether it's through brief cameos of classic characters, the swift return of Shoko, the Waving Snail making a comeback, and some tiny tidbits like Finn doing that clapping thing that Jake randomly came up with within some episode. It all makes being a fan rewarding as you get the inside jokes while incredibly fitting seeing how it's the end of Adventure Time (SHUT! Your pieholes).

Tiffany: Finally, we get some official closure with this character. I had no problems with Tiffany in the past, but I find it weird how we never got a solid ending to his character/arc aside from this half-a-second-long glimpse of him being a cyborg in a wasteland. Here, not only does he have some form of redemption, but Tiffany's story feels like it has concluded. Technically, you could say that it did in "Preboot" when he sacrificed his life to save Finn and Jake. But at least this time, he gets a much happier ending.

Also, tell me a better secondary antagonist that would work best against Finn's journey to find Jake. Go ahead. I'll wait. Until then, let's move on.

New Death: This might just be one of the best one-off villains that Adventure Time has ever had. Sure, his goals and motivations are pretty standard. But except for a select few, the series never had complex and thought-provoking villains. Adventure Time was one of those shows that knew personality, and sometimes even cool designs are enough to make a baddie work. That is certainly the case with New Death. His dude-bro persona never failed to be entertaining, principally when you remember it's the living embodiment of death itself.

And his design. Goodness gracious, his design! You know that a show is doing something right when the first thing that comes to mind when looking at a character is, "Well, they look awesome." Which he does! New Death looks like the most over-the-top, heavy metal-esque thing that the character artists have ever come up with for the series, making a villain look about as epic and ridiculous as he acts. He might not be as tragic as Ice King or as terrifying as The Lich (I know, and I'll get to that), but he's certainly entertaining. And sometimes, that's good enough for me.

“So, y’all are...eating each other. Ok.”: ...There are some people on the literal Hell we call the internet who would love to go to that Dead World...and those people are sick.

Joshua and Margaret: Gonna level with you: I love these two so much. Their love for each other is quick to understand, just as much as it is easy to see how Finn and Jake turned out how they are. Joshua taught them to be brave, strong and always remember to have fun. Whereas Margaret taught them to be practical, kind, and always remember to be prepared for anything. You see that just through their personalities, which are just so charming to watch. So I'm glad that they have a more significant role in "Together Again" other than a brief cameo, and much like Tiffany, get a more official end to their story other than just dying off-screen. Because I adore them and wouldn't mind at least one more story with these two if it was possible.

“Right. Right. I’m just messing with you fern.”/”...Are you still messing with me?! *cries*”: You call it a sick joke. I call it kind of funny.

(It's also the most subtle of callbacks in the entire special. RIP Fern.)

Jake: As much as it is unsurprising to know that Finn still finds a way to kick butt even in death, it is just as easy to believe that Jake found nirvana after passing on. He was always this relaxed and wise character, even if he did come across as greedy, selfish, and lazy at times. Look back at what he said about having a chip stuck between his teeth: "To live life you need problems. If you get everything you want the minute you want it then what's the point of living?" Jake might not get everything right, but he definitely understands how the world works better than most characters in Adventure Time.

Also, while it's great to see Jake has achieved ultimate peace, it's downright heartwarming to know that all it took to snap him out of it is to see Finn get hurt. Seeing Jake immediately destroy anything that harms his boy has always been delightful, and it proves he also hasn't changed with age either. Just like Finn, this the best story Jake has ever had, as the writers kept what we liked and ditched the rest.

(Thank goodness too, because Lazy Jake is easily the worst Jake).

Princess Peppermint Butler: ...I'm choosing to believe that Bubblegum left Pep Butt in charge while she and Marceline ran off to clone gay babies together in a cave that's shaped like home somewhere. Because I want those two to be happy, and I refuse to accept any possibility that Bonnie's dead and that statue is memorializing her instead of reminding people who their best princess is. So, ZIP IT!

But in all seriousness, I'm glad to see Peppermint Butler make a return. There's no one else from the living world that Finn and Jake could have contacted that's better than him, and with his quick appearance, he gets the second funniest moment in the special (I'll talk about number one later). Peppermint Butler asking for Finn's bones is the right amount of creepy/weird to make it funny, and it reminds me so much of how hilarious this character became after the writers leaned into his surprising expertise with magic and demons. He also acts as a solid expectation subversion. We usually associate P.B. with Princess Bubblegum, and not many people expect that Finn and Jake meant Peppermint Butler. The result is a pleasant surprise that may offer more questions than answers, but it's still a blast nonetheless.

Life: Life is a pretty neat addition to the special. Her design references how two snakes intertwined symbolizes fertility and regeneration, which shows how keen the cast and crew of Adventure Time really are. There's also this fantastic attention to detail of how plants grow wherever she walks, being something that can't have been easy to keep track of. And I just love how she immediately loses it after finding out that New Death is cutting off reincarnation. Hell really does hath no fury like a mother scorned, does it?

Speaking of which, I adore the fact that Life fell in love with Death. Not only is the irony just *chef kiss*, but it's another callback to the original series. Not many fans know this, but this short called "The Gift That Reaps" was about how Death tried to win Life. "Together Again" shows how things lasted well for them, even if it inadvertently resulted in Old Death's demise. It might be one thing to reference past episodes and characters, but a short that some people might not have watched shows how much the writers genuinely care about the canon. Adventure Time might have had its fair share of retcons and redirects, but stuff like this shows that not everything has to be forgotten.

Finn and Jake just whacking New Death with a stick: This is the funniest moment in the special. It's a battle against the living embodiment of a state of being, and it's decided by two idiots taking turns twatting him around with a stick. If you didn't lose your s**t to that, there's either something very wrong with you or very wrong with me. And because this is my Tumblr, I'm deciding that it’s you who’s a part of the problem.

The Lich returns: ...You know what, sure. Why not?

Some people might take issue with this as the Lich isn't all that necessary of an addition, especially with New Death doing a great job as a solitary antagonist. But, the Lich is still as terrifying as ever, and I won't lie when I say that I got goosebumps when he still referred to Finn as a child, despite how our boy is a grown man now. It shows how the Lich acknowledges Finn as an opponent but not more dangerous than himself. And while it makes too much sense to know Finn and Jake are still kicking butt in the afterlife, the same can be said with the fact that the Lich is still trying to conquer everything even after his...is it fifth death?

The point is, while he might not be essential, he is still just as well-written as ever.

Finn and Jake fighting over who becomes New New Death: This showcases how selfless Finn and Jake are, on top of how strong their bond as brothers is. The two of them literally fighting over who takes the reigns of being the New New Death isn't done out of how "cool" the job might be. Instead, they realize that being Death is not only a curse but a curse that neither wants anybody to go through, especially each other. And even when their motivations are the same, their reasoning is just slightly different. Jake is willing to be New New Death for the sake of Finn getting the best life, whereas Finn wants the job knowing that it won't matter unless Jake's not by his side. It proves that while they're both true-blooded heroes, they're still two different characters. It's the little details like this that make me appreciate this strong writing all the more.

Finn and Jake getting reincarnated together: ...Gosh dangit, I'm gonna miss these two :'[

Yeah, like everyone else, I got a little emotional during this moment. I didn’t full-on bawl my eyes out like others, but a few tears did manage to leak out. Which is the most Adventure Time has done to me since "I Remember You." Still, seeing Finn and Jake getting reincarnated together, sharing one last fistbump as they do, is a potent moment that can make new and old fans' hearts break in all the right ways. It's just the perfect emotional conclusion that "Together Again" requires, and I couldn't have pictured a better ending to Adventure Time as a whole...Too bad it isn't the end of Adventure Time.

WHAT I DISLIKE

It should have been the last special: I know, I know. It's petty, it's pointless...BUT IT'S HOW I FEEL DAMNIT!

Finn and Jake are the main characters of the entire series, with "Together Again" being their last adventure. So having it be the last special in Adventure Time: Distant Lands would have been perfect! Because after "Wizard City," that's it. No more of this series until some idiot decides to reboot the whole thing (which I believe no one wants). To be honest, I feel like this decision will really hurt "Wizard City" in the long run. It might be fun, but having it come off the heels of "Together Again" will result in dozens of people saying it's weaker in comparison. Hell, people are already saying they're not going to watch it because of how perfect an ending "Together Again" was. And I can't blame them. I mean, the end of Adventure Time as a franchise is going to ride on Peppermint Butler? Peppermint Butler? Over the main characters?!

...Yeah, someone f**ked up. I don't know who specifically f**ked up, but someone f**ked up.

But to be fair, this has nothing to do with the special itself. It has everything to do with network meddling, given how the network decides when which episodes come out. And given how my only complaint of "Together Again" isn't an issue with the actual special, you know that's a good thing.

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"Together Again" is easily an A+ in my book. The characters and story are solid and endearing, the comedy is hilarious, and the callbacks make up a pretty fitting finale, even if it isn't actually a finale. Because while the fun has yet to come to an end, this is still one of the best stories of Adventure Time.

#adventure time #adventure time distant lands #finn the human #jake the dog #what i thought about

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