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#I’m pretty sure this was my first attempt at drawing them lol
evilfloralfoolery · 16 days
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Along Came Fire - Avery/Blair, Pt. 2
A lot more snz and misery in this lol. Avery showing her true colors. Blair being unbearably into it. Both of them wondering about the other. Plz enjoy my hasty edit! :)
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By the time the heaters in the stadium get the memo, the set is over and Blair has had just about enough of this frigid bullshit.  
He’d managed to fend off whatever fuckery his sinuses were concocting during the performance, but now, it’s gotten to the point where no amount of shallow breathing and nose rubbing will do the trick. His body has just had enough of him.
And the feeling is fucking mutual. 
Blair cringes against his knuckled fingers with a flash of teeth. "HhhRISSCH! –RIIHHHSSCHuh! EKTSSCH! UhhhCHHSSSH!" He pauses, breath a hitching, ragged heave. "Hhh–RIISSSCCHHiiiuuhh!"
"What, you're not going to try for an even six?”
He stops with the miserable, wet sniffling and glances over his shoulder.
It's her. Just standing there with a laminate around her neck, like she belongs there. No idea where she’d gotten the pass, but he’s not going to ask questions, especially not with the way she’s looking at him right now.  Kind of like how the Blond Wonder looked at him, but with a more curious sort of concern rather than outright, overly empathetic gawking.
Hard not to stare back at that mane of hers with all the red, orange, and yellow competing for space, a vibrant cascade of fire that has the nerve to call itself “hair.”
“Hey.”  She waves a hand in front of his face with a bit of a laugh. “Are you okay in there?”
He offers her a slow blink in tandem with the realization that he has said nothing to indicate an answer.
“I am,” he says.  “Just too damn cold.” One eyebrow arches high.  “Are you?”
She tilts her head. “Cold?” 
“Okay,” he clarifies. 
“Oh! Yeah, I’m fine.” She combs her hair away from her face with one hand and laughs. "I’m pretty sure I left puncture wounds on that idiot, so there’s that."
Probably.  He hadn't missed how aggressive she'd been. Kind of a firecracker for such a slender chick.
Hot.
"Yeah, well. Guys are assholes." He offers her a smirk.  "But I'm a bigger asshole." 
"Good quality, if you ask me." Her smile is a sly mirror of his own.
“Damn straight.”  He tugs at the knot on his bandana out of habit.  “Avery, right?” 
“Yep.” She pokes him in the chest with one finger.  “You didn’t tell me you were the bass player.”
Cue the smartass eyebrow arch. “You didn’t ask.”
“I don't usually introduce myself and then be like, ‘so, do you play the bass?’ ”
“Why not. Good conversation starter.” 
She flicks a piece of his hair with a pop of her fingers. “You're weird.”
He’ll take that.
But what he’s not going to take is any more shit from his sinuses.  Sort of.  Goddamn it.
She does the curious, cocked head thing again at his abrupt change of energy and asks the obvious question.  “Something wrong?”
“Nothing. It’ssss uuhhh-hhhheh!” He holds up a hand to politely silence furthering questioning, breath catching in his throat with a choppy attempt to draw in enough air. "Heeh-hh. . . Hh'RISSSCHU! Hkg–CHISSSHUHH! Fuck."  He rubs at his nose with a sniffle. "Hhngh, sorry. The cold fucks me up."
"I can tell," she says as he sneezes again with twice the force and less control. 
Goddamn it. 
"God bless," she says in this voice that's somewhere between concerned and a bit. . . something else. 
Interesting . . . 
"Stick around and you'll get sick of saying that real fast," he says. 
She laughs, but doesn't refute him. She does, however, close the distance between them unexpectedly.  "Hold on." A hand reaches up to adjust the apparently lopsided bandana tied around his head. "You're about to sneeze this off." 
"Heh, thanks."  He fiddles with the knot on the thing and tightens it. "Wouldn't be the first time." He regards her with a slow, assessing tilt of his head.  “Feel like sticking around?”
Her eyes are the lightest shade of honey gold he’s ever seen.  And to think she asked him about contacts.
“Sure,” she says. “You might need someone to fix that bandana again.”  A faint hint of super white and slightly pointed teeth peek from behind her lips,  which is so absurdly attractive to him, he shoves a hand in his pocket to keep it to himself. 
But that still leaves him with one.  Which he holds out to her.
It only takes her a second to decide to fork over her fingers, which slide into the width of his palm like something delicate and precious.  Compared to Blair, most people are on the smaller side, but while Avery is tall, she's particularly slender of frame, a fact that is emphasized by the tight black pants and matching bodysuit with strategically placed fabric slashes she’d chosen for the gig. It highlighted the fuck out of her multi-colored hair.  Like autumn leaves in a jeweled pit fire. 
“Hungry?” he asks as he leads her down the rowdy expanse of the corridor where musicians and techs alike are loudly congratulating themselves over the success of the show.
“I could eat something,” she says.
So could he. 
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The booth is a semicircle, not one of those across the table deals. And she sits close to him, so close that her leg presses against his thigh. 
He's not sure what he's done to elicit that kind of contact, but he wants more. So, he does the cheesy movie thing and drapes an arm across her shoulders, casually at first, but when she willingly curls closer against his side, he ups his game with an upper arm squeeze. 
Damn, she smells good. Like spring rain and oleander. 
"Are you still cold?"
He nuzzles her thick hair. "Not as much." 
Mainly because she's a fucking furnace, like a personal space heater. No complaints from him. 
Well, except for the goddamn prickling the "defrost" is causing in his sinuses. No, dammit. He's not unwinding his arm from her lithe body. 
He unrolls the napkin-wrapped silverware and snaps the thing open, but doesn't quite make it. 
"HhhRISSCH! ISSCCHUH!"  His lip curls away from his teeth in a snarl of irritation and he clamps the napkin over his mouth and nose. "AahhRISSCHuh! IKGSSSH-U!"  He sniffles and dabs at his nose with a hint of a smirk. "Hnnnh, sorry I'm so goddamn sexy." 
She laughs in a high, almost tittering way that is reminiscent of something he can't quite place, but he likes it. 
"I think I can handle you." She hooks a piece of his hair that escaped his bandana behind one ear. "God bless." 
Her breath tickles his ear and coaxes the hair on his arms to stark attention. 
"Hmn, thanks." His voice drops to a lower, darker version of itself. "You want a steak?"
"Sure," she says. "Purrs" is a better word. "I like meat." 
The way she says that is hotter than it has any right to be.
"Yeah?" He rubs at his nose with the back of his hand. "How do you like your meat?"
Her lips brush the line of his jaw with scantist touch. "Extra rare." 
Okay, fuck it. 
He shifts his body just enough to slide a hand into her hair and leans in close, pausing just shy of capturing that mischievous mouth of hers. Makes her wait for it. Teases her with a faint exchange of breath.  But when the tip of her tongue darts out to just barely flick his lower lip, he’s over it.  
And damn, can she kiss.  It’s electricity and fire, the slow, smoldering promise of something far more urgent, but deftly restrained. His body finally gets the message and switches on the heat until his skin is feverishly hot.  Sharp nails dig into his shoulders just enough to make temporary, pointed crescents in the flesh and he sits back against the vinyl seat as the kiss recedes, the faintest wisp of smoke curling from his lips. 
“Goddamn.” His eyes flutter shut for a moment and he exhales a breath from the depths of his chest, as if he’d been holding it for hours. 
Nails drag down his forearm in a light, affectionate scratch.  “Been a while?”
“Oh yeah,” he says.
A long fucking while. 
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The seated dinner had turned into “fuck an hour wait, room service is better” and man, had he made the right choice.  
The idiots in the kitchen had forgotten the steak knives and rather than ask some underpaid kid to go seventeen floors down to get a couple, Blair and his “date” had opted for the more barbaric option. 
Just pick the shit up and eat it. 
Now, watching Avery snack on that rare slab of meat was hotter than any porno could ever be.  There is something primal about the way she takes small, but efficient bites of the steak, the way she sort of tears off a chunk and licks her fingers afterwards.  And when he doesn't eat the entirety of his own steak, she finishes it for him. 
Where the hell had she put it all?  The woman is a slender wisp of a person.
If that’s what she actually is. 
It's the same thing with Caspian.  A flash of something wild. That “otherness.”  He’s seen it before. Plenty of times. 
“I don’t usually do this, you know,” she is saying as she licks the last of the blood and juices from between her fingers. 
“And what’s that?”
She flashes him her super pearly whites.  “Eat meat with strange men.” 
He chuckles and it morphs into a bit of a cough, reminding him that the surge of heat between them earlier hadn’t been enough of a catalyst to jumpstart his body into actually doing anything about his damn "illness."
Her expression morphs from playful to concerned and she sets the plate on the nightstand.  “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah.”  He wipes at the edges of his nose with a clean napkin and winces.  “Still too goddamn cold, I guess.”  
That fucking nose ring.  Not like he could just take the bastard out without some pliers.  Special ones. 
Avery moves closer, but he holds up a hand to stop her progress, his breath hitching in ragged, uneven catches.  
“Hhheh—!  RISSSCCH–UHH! ISSCCHHU!  Mother. Fucker.”  He growls to himself and drops the napkin in favor of the box of tissues that she’s now offering him.  
Fuck it, he’s taking the whole box.  
“Thanks,” he says in a tone that is way more grumbling grouchiness than he means it to be.  
But she’s obviously not put off by that because she’s suddenly right beside him, her hand on his thigh, even though he’s gross as hell whilst taking care of his dripping sinuses. 
“Sorry,” he says with a sigh.  “Was hoping this shit would just let up or fuck off.” 
“Stop apologizing.”  She rolls her eyes a little and he’s reminded of the same exasperation Caspian uses for Miami, which is more than a touch amusing. “I’m not worried about your cold or whatever it is.”  She tosses all of that flaming hair over one shoulder.  “I like a guy that can be a hot mess and own it.” 
Blair laughs.  “Jackpot, then.” 
“You can lie down, you know.”  She pats the top of his free hand.  “It won’t hurt my feelings if you’re tired.” 
After tossing the tissues into the trash, he slips her fingers into his palm and scratches his thumbnails over her knuckle.  “Mmn, I’m not that tired.” 
She leans in for a kiss and he affords her the opportunity with eager reception. Doesn't stop her when she presses herself against him again.  In fact, he pretty much pulls her into his lap and she’s happy to be there, given the way she’s kicked off her boots and settled in.
“I’m not contagious,” he says.  
Her hands slide over his chest and clutch the fabric of his shirt.  “Wouldn’t care if you were.” 
“Want me to take this off?” He tugs at the edge of his shirt.
“No,” she says.  “I want to take it off.” 
If his eyebrow arched any higher, it would disappear into his hairline.  “Okay.”  He leans back against the bed frame and lets go of her hips.  “All yours.” 
(TBC...)
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autumn-may · 10 months
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Please tell me about the data boys AU I love the data boys so much and you draw them so CUTE AAAAA
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(Im gonna @ the people who asked about the fic: @dergshadow @mosttsundereofplants @bloody-holly)
(It’s more of a fix-it fic than a au but lol)
Ask and ye shall receive ig 
The short of it is I force data sora and data riku back into the story while flipping nomura off for the re:coded ending ft. Riku and data-riku being friends, data-soriku being fun, and minor 358/2 references. I’ve been calling the au Re:Boot! 
Full concept under cut: (it’s pretty long)
edit:I’m writing it
The long of it is during re:mind the data battles crash, and the Final Fantasy group+Riku theorize that it might have something to do with Jiminys Journal (seeing as the data battles are made with data from the journal) Riku goes to Disney castle and it turns out yeah that’s probably what’s happening! The Disney castle computer displays the words ‘there are new hurts to be undone’. Riku is sent into the datascape in order to help with said hurts. 
   The long of it is  Riku enters to a really bugged up version of the data destiny islands, and is told by the Disney gang from the outside to find a way to get deeper into the datascape and help out. (System sectors). Riku finds it and enters. 
  First and second levels of the sector go pretty standard, fight the buggy heartless and all that however one of the bugs for the second level has a similar silhouette to sora, which is a little unnerving to say the least. The third level looks like rikus data(from when he got bugs in him) and the Disney gang loses contact with riku at this point. 
(YES the three stages getting more buggy the deeper you go is a reference to the boss stages in re:coded. If you even care) 
Riku looks around for a bit and D!riku (that’s what I’m calling data-riku rn) notices him from somewhere in the datascape, and teleports or something to him. After the initial ‘we’re the same guy’ convo D!riku tells him about the bugs, and how he believes that they are caused by D!soras amnesia, as he gained a heart, which is currently sleeping due to the reset (hearts can be destroyed and all that yk the deal). Since the datascape is sorta centered on d!sora, if something’s wrong with his code it might affect the datascape. D!riku tells him that since the reset, he’s been working to attempt to find soras heart, but he hasn’t been able to make much headway (maybe because a heart is separate from data, and isn’t as easily manipulated) 
(That’s my idea for why he wasn’t really there in the post reset stuff on soras side at least ) 
Well where is D!sora you ask? Well let’s go see! They teleport away and oh frick is that the memory pod. (Things are getting uncomfortably familiar for riku) D!riku has him in there as he works to find and wake soras sleeping heart, (instead of having to like, chase him around the datascape with a computer or something, sleeping heart doesn’t necessarily equal sleeping guy in this situation so we just put him in a coma). D!riku opens the way to D!soras data, and in they go.
They search for a bit, and when D!riku gets frustrated at the lack of progress, the bugs slightly worsen (riku notes this). Riku asks a bit about d!rikus relationship with d!sora, saying his drive to protect him is something they have in common. D!riku actually somewhat denies this, reminding riku about how the datascape is centered on sora, d!riku—to some level— is the datascape. it’s just a part of his programming, the journal correcting a glitch in the system through him. Besides, d!soras the one with a heart, d!rikus just a really good AI and also kinda a clone. Riku is so skeptical of this.
Riku says that he doesn’t believe that, d!riku fights to protect d!sora because he just cares about d!sora. Surely d!rikus noticed the bugs grow stronger the worse d!riku feels, if the data scape affects him, surely he affects the datascape as well. And a system as advanced as the data scape wouldn’t be programmed to destroy itself. By going to such lengths, d!riku proves he’s more than his programming, he’s more than the datascape, he has a heart, and he cares about d!sora in a way a line of code couldn’t. 
Well that revelation kinda broke d!riku but that’s fine. The bugs lessen however, so that’s a good sign also the final boss dark side shows up. The rikus prepare for  a fight, and d!riku recognizes this as d!soras heartless. (Bond between d!soriku manifested in the datascape bringing their hearts together)  They win the fight, and recover d!soras heart, which is still sleeping. Riku uses the power of waking, tracing the bond between him and d!riku, and d!riku and d!sora. Rikus able to wake up d!soras heart, restoring his memories, and the rikus leave his data. 
D!riku thanks riku for the help, and releases d!sora from the memory pod. D!sora and d!Riku reunite (i fight the urge to reverse the kh2 scene yk the one) riku feels comforted in his search for sora (idk he sees the bond between data!soriku as able to physically manifest into bringing them together so I mean why not real soriku?)  
The trio go back to the surface of the datascape, Disney gang gets to reunite with the data-gang and they apologize for not being able to help more (“gee well, if we knew you were hurting, we would of sent someone way sooner” “We can’t just leave our friends behind!” Or something idk) and riku comes back to the real world.
Riku talks to the data boys through the computer, d!sora asks about sora which is just a little bit of a punch in the gut (reminder this takes place during re:mind) but anywayyyy d!sora wonders if there’s a way they could enter the real world, since riku was able to come to the datascape. (They probably couldn’t :( they never had physical bodies, they have data bodies) Riku thinks about it and realizes hey wait a minute isnt Evens whole job making bodies for hearts that need them they totally could come to the real world. 
So riku calls up Even who’s intrigued by the idea of hearts that existed only in data, and how they would manifest in the real world. So needless to say, he gets to work. A while later d!rikus separated from the journal, and the dynamic data duo is brought to the real world yippee!! 
(If you’ve ever seen my redesigns of the two data’s they would get their new outfits right here) 
And that’s the main idea! I’ve had it for like,,,a couple months? But it’s been stuck in my brain for a while and i like it a lot, just got a Ao3 account so maybe I’ll write it but no promises 
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ozwuv · 3 months
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I love your art! So, I was wondering if you have any drawing tips you could give?
Hiii thank you so much for the kind words, I am really glad you like it!!! :’3
As far as tips, this is kind of a broad question that I think it varies widely in terms of how you want your art to look. Personally, my main priorities are fluidity and character interaction, so that’s what I focus on even though it means I don’t really draw elaborate backgrounds and such. I’m sure I could become better at other things if I tried, but I’m not a professional nor am I trying to be, so I just focus on what’s fun to me.
Putting the rest of this under a cut bc it's gonna be long
As for actual advice, I have three big rules which I think have helped me continue to enjoy drawing as long as I have, which is the most important thing to me. I started drawing as soon as I could hold a pencil, and it's been my main outlet for good and bad times throughout my whole life (I am 26 now). Other people liking what I draw is a treat, but as long as I have fun, that’s ultimately what matters to me. That said, please keep in mind I am speaking solely for myself here since everyone draws for different reasons and in different ways.
The first thing is avoiding perfectionism at all costs when drawing, because it sucks the fun out of the process and ruins the visual fluidity in whatever I’m working on. An example of this is that I don’t like to go back and revise lines I’ve already placed, because the more I try to polish them, the stiffer they look. Even in digital art I try to roll with mistakes instead of erasing, or just completely undo the line I placed and try again. 
The other thing is something I actually picked up from dog training which is arguably my biggest passion in life. There’s a common saying amongst dog trainers: No “one more time” — which essentially means that when find yourself thinking “one more time,” you need switch gears immediately and do something else because you have hit your frustration threshold and every attempt from then on will be frustrating & counterproductive for both you and the dog. 
This applies to pretty much every aspect of life for me, but it made a huuuge difference when I started to consider it within the context of drawing. If I just stop whatever I’m frustrated with and go back to it later, 99% of the time I can pinpoint exactly what bothered me and how I could have fixed it. I’m typically not the type to work on something over various sittings, so even if I don’t finish the picture I was working on after coming back to it, being able to pinpoint what went wrong about it is a lesson I can apply to whatever I work on next.
The third rule ties into the last one, which is just not pushing myself. If I’m not having fun with a drawing anymore, I’m not going to force it. If it’s not coming out the way I want it to, I’m not gonna push it. Any time I've pushed through frustration to finish something, I wound up disliking how it came out. This isn’t really realistic for someone who is a professional (or aiming to be), but for me who just likes drawing anime characters for fun, it’s perfect. Because of this, I haven’t dealt with constant art blocks like I used to. I definitely still have them, but they're usually brief and not distressing to me. I feel like I’ve kind of stagnated the past several years, but at the end of the day I have a blast when I draw and that’s all that matters to me!
There's a common sentiment that everybody hates/is embarrassed of the things they drew in the past or even right after finishing and/or posting them. But it doesn't have to be like that, and imo it shouldn't. I think that just means there are some things about one's process and mindset that need to be reflected on.
Hopefully that helps somewhat, but YMMV if your priorities are more in the vein of constant improvement and/or being a professional :] I know this was kind of an abstract response, so if anyone has specific questions feel free to ask lol
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go-to-the-mirror · 1 year
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i dont want to talk about scrutiny
WHATEVER, FINE, OKAY, WE'RE DOING SCRUTINY, OR SOMETHING, FINE, WHATEVER, WHAT EVER
i love scrutiny, i do, but in the way that i love threshold, and nothing beside remains, and seeing it through, and a guest for mr spider. meaning I really do, but I also hate it with vitriol. Not really? It's complicated. I have Some Feelings Towards it. Yep. Look this podcast makes me feel happiness and sadness and anger at the same bloody time, but it's all confused because it's overridden by being Very ADHD about it, so like, they're all rattling around in there. I hate it (affectionate), I love it (derogatory), you get it?
Anyway, y'all know how I feel about Jon already, and if you don't, it's love and only love, so uhm, yeah, let's just get on with it already, rambling and mostly rambling, attempts to set aside my undying love for the Jarchivist for like a day, etc.
@a-mag-a-day
Firstly, I'd like to draw attention to the posts I made on my instagram story about this when I was first listening to TMA, because I was Not Alright.
The first was highlighting the description of the episode: "Statement of an unknown bystander, regarding an encounter with The Archivist." "The Archivist." Not "Jonathan Sims," not "Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London," not even "Jonathan Sims, The Archivist."
Just... The Archivist.
The second was regarding the first, saying that I knew it was deserved but he should be allowed to eat a few fears. As a treat.
I didn't say anything to my partner (who you should follow by the way, they're scarandjoelenthusiast), cause I think I was still attempting to be spoiler free for vex at that point, lol. And I had no other... friends. At all. Um. Yeah.
So, onto the relisten! Oh boy.
MARTIN Ah, alright, did he... did he look like he hadn't slept in about a week?
I absolutely love that Jon's descriptors are looking like shit, and looking like Jesus. That's just amazing.
Also uh,,, why did Martin immediately go to Jon? Hm..
Everything, every bit of light or sound or, or anything that changed, that said time was passing. There was nothing. Before that I never really thought about time, you know? But now… Yeah.
that must have been terrifying
So, it, it took a long time to get over that. I mean, that’s not weird, right? I me— It was a bad time. You know, it, it stays with you. Was signed off, what, I think about six months with the injuries. Had pretty bad, uh, nightmares, claustrophobia, I mean, obviously, right? But, uh, but, but I did my physio, and, you know, talked, talked with the counsellor they gave me. Look, I did everything I was supposed to and, and yeah, I… I guess I was fine. You know, once the bruises were gone I— Well, it’s easy to blame memory, right? You know, ha-hallucination, coincidence, all the classic shite you tell yourself. Life went back to normal. I— I was fine. Until about two weeks ago.
Jesus fucking christ, Jon. She was fine, trying to get over it, Floyd was fine and that's just it, because they think they're safe, and-
She was fine, she was okay, and he took that from her, he took that from her, he made it so she couldn't be fine anymore, he made it so every god. damn. night she'd experience that again, the bastard.
There’s this creep in, in the corner. Your guy. He just… keeps staring at me, like, like properly staring. Like, it is super intense and, and real weird. Like he knows me, but I sure as hell do not know him. I— I try to ignore him, look, I just, I just read my book, and every time I look up there he is, watching me.
Girls when they realise oh yes, he's an avatar.
So… Look, I’m packing up, all done and, and I just, I just sorta turn, you know, just, just to check if he’s still there and he is standing right behind— Like, like a few inches from my face. Look, it’s messed up!
That's??? Terrifying?? I mean, look, like, my sisters jump whenever I quietly stand behind them and stare intently, and they're my sisters, they know me, they know I only joke about stabbing them with a knife, Jon, that's freaky, stop being freaky, you have trauma at home. Go eat a stale trauma for gods sake.
Like, okay Mr. "I don't think it's me doing it." Who sat at a bloody coffee shop for an hour.
I. Understand. That there is a certain. Need. To cause and feed on fear. As an Avatar/Monster/Whatever. And I mean like it's pretty hard. To admit you're in the wrong for something. Even if you think you're in the wrong for other things. But like. None of this matters to Jess, to Floyd, to the three other people whose lives he ruined. He can try be better, he can never do it again, but he can't go back and fix it.
And I start to ask him, you know, what the hell, man, you know? Like— But he just starts talking. Slowly. But real intense. He says, he works here, at the, the Magnus Institute, and I say, what even is that and he says, he wants my story. He says he needs to hear what happened to me. And I— I want to tell him to jj-just go away. I want to, to, to kick him and run. But I— (long sigh) I sit down. And I start to tell him everything. About the job, about the collapse, a-about the hand. More than I told you, even, and, and as I do— it’s like I’m there again. Like I can feel it grab my ankle, th-th-that cold, dead hand and I just… I just can’t stop talking. I cannot shut up.
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[ID: A blurry photo of CC!GoodTimesWithScar with his head in his hands. /End ID]
And then it was over. And he looked— He looked at me like he’d just eaten, like a perfectly cooked steak. You know what he said? He said, “Thank you.” “Thank you.” Just like that. Like, like reliving the worst parts of my whole life were just a bit of a… a favour that I’d done him. And then he left and I— I just sat there and cried for a while.
i don't know what to say im just sitting here with my head in my hands.
And he’s there the whole time, just… watching me. Watching me scream and thrash and… He’s all eyes. He’s all eyes.
I kinda want to punch him right about now, because how dare he do that to her, how dare he ruin her life just because he wanted to. Whatever, avatar, feed your god or it'll feed on you, I don't care, that's his business, not hers. She wasn't involved, she didn't have to be involved, she was fine and he took that from her, the bastard!
How dare he sit there talking about choice, how dare he feel all guilty for ruining her life, how dare he! He doesn't deserve to feel bad about it. Christ, Jon, what the fuck.
But I feel like I’m seeing him when I’m awake as well. I’ve been… I’ve been having a lot of problems since he talked to me. Since I talked to him. Since I told my... story. The, the claustrophobia, it’s back, worse than it ever was and I can’t do my job. I have these, these screaming panic attacks every time I try and— What am I supposed to do? Like, feels like, like every time I’m even slightly underground I— Can’t even go into a shop basement more without feeling that… (sniffs) hand. Every time I do, every time I get that panic just rising up my throat, I see him. He’s there. Not when I look properly, but just at the edge. The corner of my eye. Then he’s gone.
(MAG 142 - Scrutiny)
Since then, she said she’d been seeing that woman everywhere she went.
(MAG 6 - Worm Sex Episode Squirm)
✨ becoming what you hated ✨
No, but I have a lot of feelings on becoming a fear entity Avatar and the cycle of violence. Of how Avatars often only became Avatars because of previous trauma, because they had no other options. Of how they often don't see themselves as victims, for example Annabelle Cane describing herself as manipulative, even as she was a child trying to cope in an abusive household. And I think that Jon being like Jane Prentiss, following his victims like her, starting to understand her... that ties into those themes. I love this podcast <3.
MARTIN No, no, it’s— Thank you. I just— [Agitated clatter] For god’s sake, can he not just stay safe for like, like ten minutes?! DAISY I don’t think that’s an option for him anymore. MARTIN Yeah, I mean, sure. But he just… he doesn’t think! He always just immediately charges straight off into danger with whatever, whatever half-arsed plan occurs to him at the time! I don’t get it! DAISY What’s to get? MARTIN What? DAISY I, I mean, it’s pretty standard stuff. MARTIN What? DAISY Used to see it all the time back in the force, especially with the sectioned. Not like there’s ‘normal’ trauma, you know, but it’s pretty common. The most important thing becomes control, engaging on your own terms. Even when it’s stupid or dangerous. Anything to not feel helpless. MARTIN Oh god… DAISY And of course for Jon’s there’s survivor’s guilt in there too. He thinks he’s not human. Makes him very… self-destructive.
PODDED CAST!!
Thank you, Jonny.
Like hgnhhrnhhnr <3 yep. mhhnm there's another post that talks about the meaning of putting that in with scrutiny, I'll tag a mag a day in that.
Like! Aa! Thank you. Don't really have much to add, I mean I said a bunch in other episodes rambles, specifically the MAG 131, 132, and 136 ones.
I mean you know, the whole spider thing, a bit of his self-blame about... the end of season 4... could come from... if he's not to blame, then he didn't have any control, then all of this was out of his control. If he couldn't stop it, if Jimmy Magma's plan was that good then... well, then he was helpless, and there's nothing worse than being helpless.
in conclusion, disregard the above Jon did nothing wrong- no, he's... he doesn't get to be forgiven by Jess, by Floyd, by the others, not unless they choose to forgive him. But he can work on doing better, you know? He's allowed to not wallow in guilt the whole time, he's not irredeemable, he just did bad things -- bad things he can't fix -- but he can work on never doing those bad things again, on mitigating the damage as much as he can. He's not a bad person, just a person who did bad things.
I dunno, I'm more interested in the metaphysics side of philosophy. You know there's a branch of philosophy called metametaphysics? I think it's so funny.
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olderthannetfic · 1 year
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I was in the fandom the cookie needle incident occurred in! It was Undertale. TLDR we still don’t know why the artist got a needle cookie because the culprit was never caught. The reason it got tied into antis and shipping stuff was because someone on Tumblr took the opportunity to go “it wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t drawn my rival ship minor/adult!”
r/Hobbydrama has a write-up, but unfortunately the OP spends most of it going “lol Undertale fans and shippers” and right when shipping would actually be relevant it gets completely ignored. The actual incident is shoehorned in with unfounded assumptions, and OP finishes with “maybe don’t ship adults with minors”. So I’m gonna attempt my own write up from what I remember. I urge your followers to correct me if I get things wrong!
Once again: The culprit was never caught so we have no idea why they did what they did. Keep this in mind.
A popular Taiwanese fanartist called Avimedes was at a convention in 2017. She got some gifts there, among them a cookie. When she took a bite her tongue was pierced by a needle. I think it was bad enough she had to go to the hospital? Either way she posted a picture of the bloodied cookie and needlea on her plurk, stating she had no idea who did it. A screenshot of it was posted and spread on Tumblr. The first reblogs were of people reacting with horror.
Then someone reblogged with (paraphrased) “Sure it was wrong, but it probably wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t drawn Frisk/Sans.”
Context: Frisk is the protagonist of the game, implied to be a child but very open for headcanons and self-inserts. Sans is THE most popular character in Undertale and thus the most shipped one. He interacts a lot with Frisk, so while it was never the fandom OTP for him it was pretty popular. People got around the age thing by simply drawing Frisk as a teenager/adult. Avimedes was one of them.
Not that the reblogger, who just so happened to ship Sans in the fandom OTP Soriel, cared. They might’ve been a BNF? Either way now legions of Soriel shippers were reblogging that version of the post, either as is or with additions about how minor/adult is wrong, Frisk is a child, [insert typical ship and anti arguments here], until people were outright defending the culprit.
The incident got posted only a day later to r/Undertale, but by them rumors were already flying about ships being the cause. Reddit OP made it clear the culprit hadn’t been caught and that these were just rumors, but they still took the time to denounce the culprit and people defending them for those reasons.
One game of telephone later and we have today’s “artist got feed needle cookie by an anti!”
Because of this there’s an now forgotten incident that happened few months to a year later. People started talking about how the culprit had been caught, and it turned out they had been one of Avimedes’ fans! I can’t remember if a reason was ever stated? Either way this got spread for a while until people got suspicious and looked up the source.
The source was a Soriel shipper going “Trust me guys! Also this totally had nothing to do with ships!” See, while it was (still is) the fandom OTP… turns out people will side-eye its shippers if it seems like they’re fine with people being seriously injured if they’re rival shippers. Once it was clear it was damage control people stopped spreading those claims.
So while anon is right in that we can’t say it was because of a ship because we don’t know, people were damn quick to defend the culprit because of their shipping bias so it IS still tied into anti-stuff and fandom purity. Kinda side-eyeing anon for trying to down-play it, because it certainly had an effect on Undertale fandom and ships.
After some research I’m also gonna side-eye anon for bringing up the claims about animal abuse and scams. The only sources I can are from 2021, from a few people going “source: trust me guys”, several years after the fact.
Even if they’re true, and even if that’s why the culprit did it?
People still thought it was fine an artist got needles in her cookies because she created content for their rival ship.
Thank you OTNF for letting me rant late at night, and apologies because this'll probably start another round of discourse.
--
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johaerys-writes · 1 year
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Get to know me
I was tagged by @baejax-the-great, thank you so much pal! 
Share your wallpaper: My phone background for the past six months or so has been the same Patrochilles art that I'm actually not sure if I should post here without permission from the artist lol. But I can confirm that it's the cutest, most loveliest drawing of them, and Achilles looks so baby in it and I love staring at it every time I open up my phone :')
The last song you listened to: Unbound by Asgeir
Currently Reading:  Ten Days That Shook The World by John Reed (don't ask why or how, but my autistic Special Interest of choice for the past 2-3 weeks has been the political intrigue surrounding WWI and how it fuelled the October Revolution so I've been reading any book/watching any documentary I can get my hands on about it), and I've also been listening to The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath while doing chores and stuff
Last Movie: Everything Everywhere All at Once with @baejax-the-great
Craving: Travel :|
What are you wearing right now: My fluffiest house robe and my fluffy slippers and super comfy and soft socks, and yes I'm still in pyjamas 
How tall are you: 167 cm, no idea how that translates in feet and inches lol don't make me google it
Piercings: I have one piercing in each ear, I've often thought about getting more but needles be scary 
Tattoos: 6, and planning to finish my half sleeve by the end of the year
Glasses? Contacts?: Glasses, and I do sometimes wear contacts as well
Last drink: I am currently drinking some lukewarm coffee with oat milk :3
Last show: In the past couple years I've become so bad with starting shows and actually sticking with them lol, but I did do a rewatch of Neon Genesis Evangelion fairly recently..... OH and I watched Interview with the Vampire with @baejax-the-great a little while back which was super fun!! (because apparently I can't watch something unless I can shit talk or go feral over it with Bae LOL)
Last thing you ate: Toast with peanut butter and an apple
Favourite colour: Oooh that's such a hard question to answer!! The first colour that comes to mind is blue -- I always gravitate towards some version of blue, and currently it's deep navy blue, but I also own a lot of powder blue stuff. It's either that or baby pink or cream tbh, but I also own a good amount of gold/mustard things as well. Yellow makes me happy. I find jewel green incredibly pretty though I weirdly don't own anything of that colour (which reminds me I should perhaps make that a priority)
Current obsession: I'm guessing this is a fandom related question, so I'm going to be predictable and say that I'm, as usual, obsessed with Patrochilles and most of the other pairings I am currently writing, even though anxiety over real life stuff hasn't let me engage with them as much as I want lately. I do think about them a lot and have lots of ideas for new stories, and I'm also working my way back into catching up with fics I love, which I haven't been able to do in a while despite the joy it normally gives me. Brains can be very uncooperative at times, but what can you do about it lol. 
Unrelated Obsession: As I mentioned earlier I have been obsessed with Russian and generally European politics of the early 20th century for some weird ass reason lmao, but I've also been reading an in-depth analysis of Aeschylus' life and work I found in some corner of my library, which led me to looking up some academic papers about it, which led me to signing up for an online course about Athenian tragedy, so um?? I don't know what it is with me and going down those endless rabbit holes lately ahah. 
Any pets: I have a cat, aka a baby and a bastard and a devil spawn all wrapped in one (he is currently sleeping like an angel after attempting to tear down the curtains)
Do you have a crush on anyone: Um. Like, on a real life person? A fictional person? I do have crushes on several of my mutuals so if y'all are reading it I'm kissing you on the forehead MWAH
Favourite fictional character: I can't choose, don't make me choose!!!!!!! I can't choose between my children. But if I had to choose then maybe.... Patroclus? But also, Achilles? But also, my OC Tristan Trevelyan and Dorian Pavus from DA? But also Shiro and Keith from VLD? But also -- SEE, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO CHOOSE
The last place you traveled: It feels like it's been SO long since I've traveled anywhere. I went to Aegina island last summer but since then I haven't been outside the city for even a DAY and it's been driving me crazy. I just need to see some green and blue and listen to nothing but birds or waves or the wind (at this point I'll even take the rooster that woke me up EVERY DAMN MORNING when I was in Aegina lmao). I'm planning on going on a day trip to Mycenae soon though so I'm very excited about that 😄
Tagging forth to @in-arlathan, @mogwaei, @tessa1972, @aymayzing, @inquisitoracorn, @tevivinter, @elveny, @pikapeppa, @petrowriting @peggy-sue-reads-a-book @juliafied, @vimlos, @gloriesunsung, @figsandphiltatos, @gwensparlour, @glimmerofgold, @sabino-sea, and so many more of my mutuals that I'm actually too shy to tag here. But seriously if you're reading this and it looks fun please do it and tag me, I'm nosy and I want to know everything about you LOL  
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j-ellyfish · 9 months
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on the topic of hetalia outside of the actual show/manga, can you attest to feeling ostracized for liking it? i’ve liked it for well over a decade, and any attempts to bring it up with friends and i just get laughed at or told it’s problematic. i have actually never known anyone who has liked it either, and i really wish i did because i feel like it’d be so much more fun with others. but now it’s just this super cringe/shameful/problematic thing. well, it’s kind of always been thought of that way, and i’m not forgetting how some of the very early content was a bit tasteless, but the vast majority of hetalia is pretty tame.
i’m so glad for the fandom but i feel like i never hear about it outside of that. sorry this turned into a bit of a vent, but i feel so weird that i have to hide my interest in it so i’m not ridiculed for a lighthearted comic. i think a lot of other early 2010s fandoms get the same treatment ofc, it reminds people of their embarassing teen years. but i am too old to want to give a shit anymore lol.
are we just hiding in plain sight everywhere? kinda funny to think about
Yes, definitely. As a premise, I think I am in a bit of a weird position where I don't feel super at ease in manga/anime communities in the first place because it's actually very, very rare for me to like one. So I feel kinda like an imposter, haha. As a kid, I loved the anime they would air on TV and I especially loved the art styles, which is why I started to try and imitate them when I drew (I have drawings I made at 5-6 where some rudimental anime features were already visible, most notably inspired by the Pokémon anime). I am very easy to drop any anime or manga I try, so it really requires for all the stars and planets to align for me to actually stick to one and obsess over it :'D
For this reason, I don't really have any friend irl who shares this interest with me, and my 'nerd online presence' only rarely breaks out of the 'fandom enclosures' I live in. Though, especially in the past, I did venture more often out of my circles and had confrontations with, well, the average anime/manga fan.
I remember back when I first got into Hetalia, I saw this video some jerk took at a Con where he'd go around asking cosplayers/fans questions related to the anime/manga they liked to see if they were 'good fans' or not. I felt like the Hetalia cosplayers they found were treated the worst. First of all, they were asked history questions which is a bit tricky and unfair in the first place, because it's like going up to a Dragonball fan and ask him about Wu Cheng'en's Journey To The West rather than about Dragonball's actual content. The interviewers also had this lowkey sexist aura to them like those girls, being girls, had to prove themselves smart enough despite being basically 'hopeless fujoshis' (you know, in the original offensive and sexist meaning of 'rotten girls'). Even in the comments, those poor girls were definitely made fun of and criticized more than anyone else in the video, and it was clear as the sun that the reason was the underlying sexism that permeates the mind of many cishet male anime/manga fans when it comes to shows that have an important chunk of female audience, treating us as shallow and stupid for shipping characters or thirsting over a male character (yet they do at least twice as bad with the average big tittied dere). This was, I think 2011 or 2012, and sure those Hetalia cosplayers not answering correctly a very easy history question didn't make them look good but fuck, they were there to have a good time with their friends, they weren't at school and I can only imagine the anxiety they felt at being questioned about their history knowledge simply for deciding to go around at a con with a fake curl on their wig and wearing a cheap mockup military uniform.
The saddest thing, though, is that way too many girls also used to (probably still do) shit on it based on the fact that it has a predominantly male cast and homoerotic undertones (this kind of girl also tends to shit on BL as a genre and stuff a-la-Free! simply for being aimed at a female audience, and on the other hand they seem to only engage in series full of objectified girls. I don't understand them, it feels like internalized mysogyny or pick-me-girl mentality to me). I will show here (translated) some lines from a couple Italian negative reviews Hetalia got. These are all likely from 2009~2012 because I have looked at that page a lot since the beginning and those reviews were already there:
[Male User] [...] What's the point of making yaoi-worthy protagonists if the audience of this show will clearly be male? It's about world wars metaphors and nationalism, come on! I highly doubt the female audience for this thing is wide. [Female User] [...] You'll wonder: how come such a thing got so many fans? The answer is easy: fanservice! The sole goal of Hetalia is to create thousands of cheapish bishounen ready to be piled up and bred in the perverted fantasies of yaoi-thirsty fangirlies! That's the point. It's 50-something male characters with endless fanfiction-worthy distasteful ships, created merely to make money. [...] Do you get it, the reason behind this success is the minds of thousands mentally ill little girls who love YAOI and fantasize about it. [...]
When I initially switched fandom from Pokémon to Hetalia, I remember trying to talk about it to some online friends I had but some of them started treating me with a bit of a raised eyebrow and prejudice because I liked it. I think I also had some stranger invalidate my opinion a couple times because they recognized my Hetalia pfp and treated me like a shallow stupid fangirl whose opinon is garbage. Aaand I also remember there being some ant*-Hetalia circles where they made fun of or even actively harassed Hetalia fans online. And the reason was almost always linked to 'rotten girl' mentality, not for stuff anywhere close to what purity police and "new-gen ant*s" do today.
I absolutely get your feelings, I feel the same, I too wish I didn't feel so anxious and scared at the idea of saying that I like Hetalia, but even when I cross path irl with an anime/manga fan, I am too scared of them turning out to be one of those people to feel safe saying that Hetalia is basically the only anime/manga I love. If I ever found a Hetalia fan out in the wild I would surely reach out to them first though, haha :') (no I'm joking I still have social anxiety but I would definitely try).
Truth is, the world is still full of Hetalia fans but as you said, we tend to hide in plain sight because we're worried of crossing path with some jerk who will shame us for it for whether the classic mysogynistic reasons or the new reasons ant*s came up with.
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missingn000 · 1 year
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hi yes this is incredibly late b/c work is shit tm but better late than never amirite
anyway, something about this chapter that leapt out at me immediately was Maki’s “uh, we are kids.” because i’m pretty sure something similar was said a couple chapters back (i can’t remember the exact instance though) and it seems to be a recurring theme in tpg: people being put into roles they don’t quite fill, not through any fault of their own, but simply because they cannot. gojo’s deification by jujutsu society is one such example, but it wasn’t something he had a say in, while nobara by comparison appears to have voluntarily taken on the task of acting(!) like an adult. she does, thankfully, end up joining maki & gang on the playground, but her conversation with higuruma undoes some of that progress:
“You treat me like a kid!”
“You are a kid!”
“And that’s enough reason to shut me out?!”
oh, higuruma… your intentions are kind, but your lack of tact is almost cruel. i think nobara’s response, coupled with the next line (“…brought a cannon and she’s not afraid to swim”) are very telling of her true feelings: even though she hates the fact that higuruma’s a murderer excluding the fact that his boss is worse, she is aware that he’s her parental figure now, and seeks (as all children do, especially those who were denied of it) emotional validation from him. higuruma really tried to pull the “being a child is not a sin” card but nobara didn’t hear the ‘not’ part lol. i find it depressingly ironic that his attempt at shielding her from the ugly truth of humanity & the entire mess with the sheriff end up widening the rift between them—it’s not… a terrible idea, in theory, but their circumstances are unique: nobara’s trying to understand & rationalise why the person she’s stuck with as a father did what he did, but she can’t do that if she’s missing some of the puzzle pieces. more accurately, higuruma won’t give them to her because the picture they complete is bleak, but she doesn’t know that!!!!
“I don’t know, Nobara. You deserve better than this.”
“You’re right, I do! But you won’t even try!”
… yeah sure kugisaki “you’re not my dad” nobara. and then, as if on cue, her phone rings with a call from her actual dad. the way she has to fight the urge to answer the call is nothing short of heartbreaking. she has to quash her own hopes, before her dad does it for her.
AAANDD THEN THEY HUGGED. THANK YOU FOR THIS. the part where higuruma wonders whether he’s about to be socked in the face reminded me of toji and maki’s hug in ch4 (yes i remembered), cus toji thought the exact same question. is this intentional please say yes. nevermind your answer is irrelevant i’m gonna start drawing parallels anyway /lh. toji & higuruma both start out extremely rough around the edges and knowing fuck all about parenting; maki & nobara both grew up with parents that didn’t love them. at least maki & toji had something to bond over (beating the shit out of other people. uh, curses. i mean curses.) nobara and higuruma on the other hand…….. lol
Also I didn’t miss the way Nobara was saved from a curse!!!! again!!!!! but the group shrugs it off, you know, as kids who literally just exorcised a curse by themselves do, and nobara’s too preoccupied with her crush on maki to feel all that offended. okay all jokes aside i think it really helps that they’re her age + she’s already interacted with them prior to this; she’s in a much better mental state than when higuruma first found her. i think it’s really cool that nobara has even more people fighting for her, which is exactly what she wants; she just hasn’t realised it, and i hope she does someday. (on an unrelated note: gotta love how maki takes centre stage and cleaves the curse in half though… her using yuuji’s sword as a platform to power herself thru the air is just 👌)
Does Nobara have anyone like that?
Yes. Yes, she does. Chi you’re drawing so many parallels here and I’m gonna throttle you. please don’t pit higuruma against a special grade…unless it’s toji, that’d be funny. who lets their kid bring a sword to school anyway?? tbf, it’s Phantom Guardian; i adore the idea that yuki’s cursed energy is with her, at all times…
btw yuuji is my fave if the pfp wasn’t obvious enough, and i cherish every crumb of his characterisation i get. i love the way he’s able to de-escalate any social situation because of how emotionally perceptive he is. kinda want to put him in a room with yuuta and maki and see what happens lmfao 💀💀
okay that concludes my horrendously long ramble. thank you for making it this far if u did. cheers
HIII KAY OH MY GOD??? THIS ANALYSIS IS SOOOO i put it into a word counter out of curiosity and the website said the reading level was college graduate so. 100000/10 analytical skills the curtains were indeed not just blue
response below cut this got long as hell
you're totally right that "uh, we are kids" was said in an earlier chapter! maki says it to megumi when toji gives the kiddos the stuffed animals he got for them at the zoo, and maki suggests they play with them:
--
Megumi turns up his nose. “Playing with stuffed animals is for kids.”
Come on. Maki slants an eyebrow. “Uh, we are kids.”
--
megumi is another child who had to grow up way too fast before gojo took him in, and now has to make up for lost time that he doesn't know quite yet how to reclaim. it's so cool you noticed this parallel between them, because it's gonna be super important in the upcoming chapter!!
it's so true that all of the tpg kids (and initial teenagers that are now in their low twenties) had some aspect of childhood taken away from them. isolated from the villagers, nobara tried to shed her own childlike qualities because she thought she had no choice but to take care of herself, especially because of the yet-to-be-revealed circumstances of her parents' disappearance.
and god....yeah, higuruma really has no idea how to handle that. i've said it before and i'll say it again: it's so, so important to me that he's genuinely terrible at this. he's the pinnacle of right idea, wrong execution: he wants to fix the ills of society but does it in the worst possible way, and he wants to shield nobara from how dark and terrible the world is by telling her she's just incapable of understanding it altogether. he doesn't want her to know all the pointless cruelty in the world. he doesn't want her to know he killed the sheriff to free her from the countryside. higuruma shutting her out is his way of protecting her, but the way he carries out his protection almost does more harm than good. almost.
PLEASE THEIR HUG....you're not delusional to draw that parallel between nobara & higuruma and maki & toji!! nobara and maki are the two tpg kids that have the most on-screen clashes with their parents, yet despite their initial doubts towards their parental figures, they still crave that emotional validation. after a lifetime of being shunned, finally, someone cares about them -- only nobara is half-convinced higuruma doesn't. i think some part of her does know he cares, but it's a part she refuses to acknowledge because she doesn't want to be let down by her father. not again.
nobara's confrontation with the curse was so!!!!! i really wanted to follow up with yuuta telling maki that nobara cares more about actions than words, so maki demonstrates her sorcery abilities rather than just saying it. maki's words post-fight, however, do end up having an impact on nobara: she's able to correct any misconceptions before nobara even has the chance to draw them. this will also be important as nobara's character develops!!
maki carrying the phantom guardian with her stems a lot from toji's desire for her to be able to protect herself, even in his absence. especially after the kids meet mahito in shibuya back in ch12, both nanami and toji don't want their kiddos to be unarmed, hence why yuuji also has playful cloud stuffed into his backpack.
YUUJI MY CHILD. MY SON. his emotional intelligence + crumbs that he blames himself for his family's doom even though it hasn't even happened yet. the first yuuji angst moment of many, many, MANY more
as for higuruma vs some special grade where he'd have to hurt himself in order to protect nobara...huh. yeah. sure would be interesting if that happened someday
alright, i'll conclude my horrendously long reply here. also sorry for the sukuna rant in DMs last night i think i was on something else
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dailycaligura · 5 months
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Hiii, I'm the last anon and tbh, it's okay, my own attempt of a caligura playlist is quite messy too, but i was aiming for a dark swing/electroswing vibe for him for some reason??? Also, some lana del rey songs (it's oc x canon now that i think about it) but I'll definitely listen to it! Also, i would love to listen to some russian songs that are Caligura vibes because i like how russian sounds in songs tbh!!!
Sorry, I'm a big Caligura fan so I'm eating content and discussion about him like a full meal, hope you don't mind!
Hi hello, guess I should also say that at first damn!! Ok firsts of all love the idea of swing being his vibes, I’ve been listening to all these 40s swing playlists and these are cool damn, also suits the timeline his from, good one. And I’ve never heard of dark swing, sounds cool, I should check it out.
And lol I also have some Lana Del Rey song that are actually oc x canon! My friend is a fan of hers so once she showed me “Shades of Cool” and I was like that literally how my oc wanted to see hers relationships with Caligura haha. Maybe once I’d draw them and post it on main and never go online again because I’ll die from my own cringe….
Ok now to the songs, I’m pretty sure you will be able to find them on YouTube, so yeah at least you can listen to them, it’s just that I’m usually reading the lyrics and if they suits the character then it goes to playlist, it’s hard to find something with right lyrics and right sounding (‘:
But thanks God MM exists haha, ok ok now songs: Как сатурн пожирает своих детей - pyrokinesis, Разговор с отражением - АрктидА, Валашский князь - АрктидА.
Actually the last one is about Vlad Tsepesh but damn how fucking much it vibes him I can’t, there is fucking reasons he have nickname Count Dragul, and hope they are more than just him being cruel and looking undead duh.
And of course I don’t mind all of that, why would I create this blog if I wouldn’t be an absolute sucker for him haha. I mean I like draw but just my sick perfectionism don’t let me do some lazy sketches and I want to do at least some sort of full art every fucking day, that’s takes a lot of motivation must I say. But he absolutely worth my time 🥰
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plinkcat-gif · 2 years
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Hi kirpy!! Congrats on 300 followers!!!!!!!!!!!! I love your writing sm,, and im obsessed with ur newest kkobrin story. They make me sooo feral. I also want to mention I really like your taste in music.
So I do have a writing idea, if you are interested. It's basically just punk! kkobrin. I drew some art for this idea myself, but I can't write for shit. Itd be really cool to see you write a short drabble about them in this au being punks and fighting the problematic shinobi system. I dont rrally have any specific prompt about it tho so it might be too vague sorry. If u want to see the drawings and hcs I made for more info, theyre on my art blog @seoz-seoz. And if you don't like this concept, I totally understand!! No pressure. This may not be for everyone. Lol.
Either way, thanks and take care of yourself!!! Congrats again <3
HI SEOZ!!!!!! so i ended up having a lot of fun writing this even if it didn’t display their punk-ness very well, so i’ll just explain my vague ideas for them here AKDJAKDH
rin and minato are both very overthrow the system, but in a legal way. they want to pry power from under danzō’s feet like stripping paint off a wall. rin helps out in the hospital of course, but also plans a lot of educational activities for children of all ages, and underhandedly radicalizes them that way SKDKSK
obito is far more direct, and will attack root agents, destroy root hideouts, and in generally just more uh. violent. but he also participates in rin’s activities because he loves working with kids :3
kakashi just likes to go around vandalizing things with graffiti and yk. openly threatening root agents because he can. he also helps with rin’s stuff, and more often than obito. he also hosts his own art classes where he teaches older kids how to identify root hideouts and get away with vandalizing them SKDBSKDJSKDJ
all three of them only don’t get in more trouble because minato’s the hokage and he turns such a massive blind eye to their activities to piss danzō off dkdkskkd
ok here is the story i love them and i love ur art sm!!!!! <33333 also this isn’t 1k it’s 947 words which is. so annoying. but ik jack shit ab punk anything and couldn’t think of anything else to add :(
Rin let the door to the Hokage’s office slide shut behind her and took a seat on the couch next to, to her surprise, Obito. He glanced up at her, then grinned both in greeting and like the cat that’s caught the canary.
“Whatre you doing here?” she asked, noting the dirt on his clothes, like he’d been up to something. He probably had; Obito was like that.
“You first,” Obito responded, crossing his arms. Rin leaned back on the couch, realizing what Obito meant: he thought she was in trouble. Ah, then this would be news to him.
“Minato’s gonna help me plan an activity for the students where they can learn about the rivers and fish and stuff. Science-y stuff, you know.”
And if watching Obito deflate wasn’t the best thing she’d ever seen. Minato shuffled the papers on his desk, stifling a chuckle. “What’re you in for?” she added, because she wasn’t nice.
Obito slumped deep into his seat, sending the Hokage’s desk a burning glare. “I attacked a ROOT agent with a lead pipe,” he grumbled, and Rin reached over to grab his head and pull him into her chest.
“Awww, and Minato got you into trouble?” she cooed, petting his face as obnoxiously as possible. Obito groaned, long and loud, but made no attempts at escape.
“He broke their arm and leg,” Minato said, raising an unamused eyebrow at their antics. “They had to be hospitalized. According to them, Obito attacked unprovoked, too.”
“They were spying on me!” Obito retorted, spluttering and finally fighting his way free when Rin accidentally stuck a finger in his mouth. “I was only acting in defense of myself,” he added when he was sitting again, glaring at Rin.
“You were vandalizing a building.”
“It was abandoned!”
“I’m pretty sure trying to destroy a building is still illegal, Obito.”
“Well it was obviously a hideout for Danzō’s goons, so really, I was doing you a favor.”
Minato looked up from his paperwork, meeting Obito’s eyes with an icy glare. “Right. My former student wreaking havoc on an abandoned building looks great on my image as a Hokage.”
Obito opened his mouth to retort but Rin grabbed his ear and yanked on it lightly, scowling at him. “He’s very sorry,” she said, rolling her eyes when Obito didn’t take the initiative and instead snapped his mouth shut. She reached around him to grab his lips and, in a poor mockery of his voice, pinched and opened them and said, “I’m so sorry, Sensei, and I promise not to destroy any more buildings for at least a week. Or attack any more ROOT agents. Also you’re the greatest Hokage ever and I’m very thankful you’re going to let me off with only a slap on the wrist and a disapproving glare.”
Minato frowned at Rin’s antics, his disappointment changing none when he shifted his gaze from Obito to Rin, and she grinned in response. “You’re on Naruto duty for a week, too,” he finally said, looking back at his paperwork, and Obito groaned loudly.
Not that he didn’t like Naruto, but Rin understood. He was a handful without his parents around.
“Okay, both of you out please,” Minato said, waving them off, and Obito gladly stood and quickly made his way out.
“Ah, the field trip?” Rin asked, and Minato continued to wave her off.
“Whatever you have planned is fine, I’m sure. You have my permission to do whatever you want,” he said.
Well, not like she expected anything else. “Thanks Sensei!” she exclaimed, following Obito out with a wave to Minato.
It was getting close to dusk, which meant that they needed to find Kakashi because he was on dinner duty tonight. Sometimes it was easy, but other times Kakashi didn’t want to be found. Whether it be a bad mission or he was too involved in his current piece to be bothered, he would be hard to find.
Luckily, today was easy.
“That’s the building I was vandalizing!” Obito yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi, who was detailing some fur onto a wolf with electricity in its eyes and a bloody ROOT vest in its mouth.
“Subtle,” Rin called, following Obito.
Kakashi looked over at them, then very obviously grinned at Obito who was marching over angrily.
“So you can get away with threatening a ROOT agent in a permanent mural but the second I get caught attacking one, Minato’s about to flay me alive?”
“Maa, favorite’s privileges, I guess,” Kakashi responded, smoothly leaning away from Obito’s attempt to grab at his jacket collar.
Obito growled in frustration at his failed attack, but pushed it no further. “Tch, whatever,” he said, swiping a spray can from the ground. He walked over to the mural and sprayed a small red heart in the corner, before Kakashi could stop him.
“Ah, right over the water details,” he lamented, placing a delicate hand over his wounded heart. Rin grabbed a can and did the same right next to Obito’s, in pink. “You both wound me.”
“I think we should have fish for dinner,” Rin said, ignoring Kakashi’s whines, and beginning to help him pack up his supplies. Obito nodded in agreement, gathering Kakashi’s brushes into a pile. Kakashi worked on transferring his supplies back to his scroll, and then ended their familiar dance.
“Do you want grilled fish?” Kakashi asked, pocketing his scroll. “You guys keep telling me you regret not asking for it every time I make dinner.”
“Eh, I’m not really feeling it right now,” Obito said, and led them out of the alley. Rin snorted. They would absolutely regret not asking for grilled fish again.
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randomstarmuffin · 1 year
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Hm. What’s this? I seem to— drop something— oh! It’s the number 6. On a rug. Arug. Interesting :39
Spotify wrapped inbox prompt! Accepting (...but if anyone else is interested please do not expect it to be quite this long it very well could be but I am not capable of making length promises you really cannot trust me)
6. “Adhd” by Truslow (39. “Tonight You’re Perfect” by New Politics)
aw, geez, not on the-- i just had that steamed... now look what you’ve done, there’s a big ol 6 on the carpet. are you happy??? (actually though, i’m going to need to know how you somehow wrote 2 numbers -- I am counting the number you hid secretly in the emoticon -- of songs which are NOT on my arug playlist, but which DO completely fit. howd you do that huh??)
Sorry, there’s a clear reason I don’t post fics to tumblr usually lol. Behold, something that FAR exceeds drabble territory:
    “Stop!”
Doug drops back on his heels, instantly obeying. He already felt a bit winded, but now his lungs constrict in a terrible little squeeze that has nothing to do with running up a staircase and hiding in a tiny alcove under the hush of night sky where only the full moon can see them.
Maybe he’s stupid, especially compared to Arthur, but he’s pretty sure even he couldn’t have misread such an obvious sign. An obvious, bright and shining KISS ME, STUPID sign in the, like, atmosphere or whatever: the way Arthur had been looking at him, in how close together they’d been, in the way the conversation had naturally petered out and Arthur had glanced at his lips and leant in and closed his fucking eyes and–
And put up his hands to push Doug away by the shoulders not half a second later.
Which, fine. Doug can roll with it, and it’s not like it would really bother him if Arthur had actually changed his mind or just realized he wasn’t into it or wasn’t as comfortable as he’d thought at first or whatever.
But.
But.
The way he won’t meet Doug’s gaze anymore, and the way his posture straightened up—not just to stop bending down toward Doug, but also in that stupid way he gets when he’s feeling awkward or like he has something to prove. The way his expression is stabilizing into that level, flat, stupid mask he tries so hard to keep up all the time, and for what? His real smile—a little lopsided, a little crinkly in the nose in a way that makes his glasses ride up ever so slightly, if you’re watching for it—is a much nicer, more welcoming thing. It’s gone now, though, as surely fallen away and lost as tree leaves in winter.
The problem isn’t that Arthur’s drawing a line about the attempted kiss. The problem is that Doug can see in his eyes that he doesn’t feel differently; he’s feeling what Doug’s feeling, and he wants it as badly, and he fucking won’t go through with it.
That’s what hits Doug like a punch to the gut. He’s not worth trying.
Arthur’s arms drop back to his side, and then seemingly feeling that wasn’t enough to dispel the awkward tension (it wasn’t), he clasps them behind his back, too, for good measure. What, was he worried Doug would try to hold his hands?
“We… We can’t– We shouldn’t be doing this. I should…” he makes an aborted gesture indicating he means I should be going.
And, man. Fuck this.
Doug laughs humorlessly. “Why? I’m not on your list of pre-approved suitors, or whatever you do in your fancy ass castle? Can’t be seen ‘consorting’ with the hired help?”
Arthur flinches a little. Good.
“Doug–”
“No, Arthur, you listen up,” Doug interrupts, crowding into Arthur’s space despite his half-baked attempts to back away. He jabs a finger into his royal highness’s chest, hard enough that with any luck he’ll be feeling it far longer than only while it rests there. “Save that shit for your subjects, or whatever the hell. Don’t fucking tell me what I should or shouldn’t be doing. You don’t get to decide that for me. Sorry if that’s not what you’re accustomed to.”
“I’m not–” Arthur grits his teeth, just slightly, barely visible in the pale moonlight, a tick of irritation even he can’t mask completely. He takes an ever-so-slightly shaky breath. “I fail to see,” he amends carefully, sounding no more put off than he is delivering the upcoming week’s weather forecast (and all the more out of place because of it), “the need for you to– to be– like…this.”
He steps back again, and this time pushes Doug’s hand away as well. In its absence, he pointedly does not rub at the spot Doug’s finger had been, despite the fact that Doug’s 90% sure he accomplished his goal of making it bruise.
“Like what, Arthur?”
“Like– Just– Agh.” The little noise of aggravation he lets loose would be more gratifying if he weren’t literally turning away at the same time. “I should hardly think I’d need to tell you that.”
Doug crosses his arms and follows right along, keeping the same amount of distance between them. There isn’t much room up here on the observatory’s top deck for him to really go anywhere, after all.
“Oh? Don’t underestimate how stupid I can be. Try me.”
“You’re not–” Arthur takes a breath. “Do not put words into my mouth.”
“Ha!” Doug crows, triumphant. “So don’t put them in mine either, asshole.”
“I– Hff.” Arthur runs a hand up the bridge of his nose, under his glasses, knocking them askew. “Just– Forget it, okay. I… Please, Doug. Just forget about me, we can– We can just act like nothing ever happened.”
“Like nothing ever happened,” Doug repeats. Slowly.
“Yeah—Yes. I will just… We can avoid… That is, if I leave first, you can just wait here for a few minutes before following so Volcanon doesn–”
“Fucking hell, Arthur. Seriously?! First of all, you do realize that pretending we don’t fucking know each other is ten thousand fucking percent more suspicious in a town with a fucking population of twenty fucking people! Which we showed up to together, at the same fucking time? What do you want me to say, I tripped and fell over and—oopsie!—lost my memory, too? Fuck.”
Arthur frowns at him, and for as happy as Doug is to get some kind of reaction, a silent little frown is not going to cut it.
“Is that it, then?” Doug demands. “Or what, are you firing me? How much do you want me to pretend I have no godsdamned clue who you are, exactly? Should I re-introduce myself? My oh my, would you look at that, a real bona fide prince, how very exciting!”
Arthur’s frown pinches in the corner. “Do you want to be fired?” he asks, seeming to surprise even himself a little with the question. Doug would actually have really gotten a kick out of it, if only he’d asked several minutes ago when they were still laughing and the mood hadn’t gone to shit.
“Don’t change the fucking subject.”
“No,” Arthur says. “No, I want to know this. You keep bringing it up. If that’s what you want, I won’t stop you–”
“Do you remember that thing we just talked about, where you keep putting damn words in my mouth?”
“–as after all, it’s not like you really…” Arthur blinks at him, trailing off.
Doug rolls his eyes. “So that’s a no, you don’t.”
“I simply,” Arthur says, grimace very briefly twitching across his cheek, “do not see the point in keeping up the—let’s face it—ruse, if you will, when that is clearly not what you want.”
“Oh? Then, tell me. What is it I do want, huh?” Besides a single measly kiss.
(Which he’s clearly not going to get. And it’s so stupid, so stupid, because it’s not like he was even planning to act any differently, after. Nothing had to change—nothing would have changed—if Arthur had just let it happen to begin with. A kiss isn’t really a big deal, even if Doug’s skin is still crawling with the retracted potential of one. But now, well…)
“I believe I was recently informed how distasteful it is to speculate on behalf of other people,” Arthur replies, snippy and over-enunciated. Good. Doug wants snippy.
(It definitely doesn’t tickle that missed-potential itch.)
“Yeah? Well surely they also ‘informed’ you that it’s different when you have permission, right? Go on, lay it on me. Tell me how it is, oh imperial scholar, oh ye of infinite wisdom who always knows best. Hit me.”
It’s gratifying that Arthur, of all people, looks for half a moment as though he might have been considering taking him up on it, literally. Of course, he would never, but it’s the thought that counts. Especially with Arthur.
“Mmn. If I had to speculate. I would say what you want, what you have been expressly complaining about in no uncertain terms since we left the capital, no less, is for me to ‘get out of your hair,’ as I believe you once put it. I fail to see the problem with fulfilling those wishes now, is all.”
“Hah. Do you.”
As though that weren’t ages ago. As though everything hasn’t changed since then.
As though Arthur doesn’t know exactly how little Doug had been hoping Arthur would ‘get out of his hair’ moments ago, huddled in that alcove. As though he doesn’t have eyes and can’t see how little Doug wants that now, either, despite Arthur’s best efforts.
And, really. It’s insulting and he knows better. He’ll have to try much harder than this.
“I merely wish to be conscientious.”
Doug snorts. “Sure. Call it what you need, buddy.”
Arthur opens his mouth, but falters at the last second before he can say anything more.
And Doug could almost scream, because he realizes a half second before it happens that he’s lost. That he’s lost Arthur, lost him to himself, to his thoughts and worries about every godsdamned thing except the one thing he ought to be looking out for: himself.
And not what he thinks that should mean, not how people see him and what they think of him and how his actions will reflect. Him.
Doug watches Arthur slam the door on himself, not for the first time, and, for the first time, wonders if Arthur even knows what that means. If he even knows what he’s doing to himself.
Doug’s been playing this part for a while now, pretending to be the sort of stalwart companion they both know he obviously isn’t. He would even say he’s been doing a good job of it, that it’s worked out well for the both of them, all things considered. And, fine, he can admit it—he was trying. He didn’t have to put as much effort into it, not when they’d already left the capital and there wasn’t anyone else around who could have filled the role even if Arthur had wanted them to.
But Doug had tried. And that’s not easy to admit because it is quite clearly contrary to his cause, but– How could he help himself when he’d caught a glimpse of what he could find behind the façade?
And where exactly had that gotten him?
Whether Arthur can see Doug’s turmoil, he can’t be sure, but either way he is unmoved to change his mind and continue talking. He takes a breath and with naught more than a prim nod turns gracefully on his heel and resumes his approach of the exit, neither too hurried as to betray frustration or anger nor too slowly as to betray hesitance or remorse.
Unbidden and despite the fact he’d known to expect this as soon as he saw the shift in Arthur’s expression, Doug scoffs, a sound of disgust and scorn and deeply unpleasant surprise.
And maybe some unpleasant surprise at the unpleasant surprise, too. Like… It’s not really that important. Doug doesn’t care that much about this. About Arthur.
And really, even though he does, what had he been expecting all this time? Why let it get this far? He knows what has to happen. He’s always known! He’s worse than Arthur’s being right now, if he really deluded himself into thinking he could have this and achieve his goal at the same time and everything would stay all hunky-dory. If he thought he could get this close and expect there to be no consequences.
Because now, as Doug watches Arthur rebuild his walls twice as high and twice as thick, he realizes he can’t do this.
Sure, he shouldn’t do this, he’s always known that, deep down. He let himself do this for far too long, it’s true. But all this time, it’s been because he could do it, because there wasn’t anything to stop him, because he could keep idly poking and prodding and being rewarded with more pieces of the puzzle.
But he can’t. Not anymore.
It’s not that he thinks those walls are insurmountable. Frankly, given enough time just standing here staring him down, Doug thinks it would be pretty easy to bring them crumbling to dust again. Not like it’d be the first time, after all.
And it’s certainly not that he’s seen a side of Arthur he finds repelling—if anything, he’s seen more evidence tonight that Arthur is capable of fighting for himself than not, which is… Well, not worth examining further, right now, however it might make Doug feel about him.
He can’t do this because Arthur is capable of being this person Doug can see, so clearly, who has so obviously been dying to get free, all this time, but he keeps choosing not to be.
And Doug is too in l–
He. Is too…involved to keep watching him do it.
If Arthur wants to keep doing this to himself, then, hey, that’s great. It’s not like it has ever once been Doug’s place to tell him what to do with himself. (Not like he’d ever listen even if he tried.)
But it is Doug’s place to choose what he does, and he can’t let his choice be to watch someone take everything they have to offer and smother it, over and over and over and over.
He’s lost too much. He can’t keep losing Arthur, again and again.
(If his revenge consists of getting rid of the people responsible for his losses, paying them back, giving them as good as what was got, how could that possibly figure in this? Who is he supposed to be mad at, if it’s all one and the same? What is he supposed to do about it?)
Much better to just be done with it than stand around and let it happen.
So, Doug watches Arthur retreat, chin high and immoveable and untouchable, as he’s done several times before. And he knows it’s not enough. There’s no finality in it, there’s only Arthur’s expectation—whether Arthur is aware of it or not—that eventually Doug will, once again, follow his lead, no matter how plentiful or loud his grumblings about it will be. He’ll still be there anyways.
And for just one second, Doug allows himself to imagine that things are different. That he can and will do just that.
Maybe it wouldn’t have to be just a daydream, hidden in a secluded area under the moonlight.
Maybe it’d be something they could figure out in concert, in harmony, more than the first draft of a melody only they can hear, something real and open and true.
Maybe it’s something they could learn to do together.
“Maybe it’s time to just admit it,” Doug says coldly, freezing Arthur’s retreating back in place on the stairs. Like this, they’re about the same height, and Doug appreciates how it makes boring holes into the back of that stupid, entitled, idiotic blonde head easier.
“…Admit what?” Arthur asks slowly when Doug doesn’t elaborate. He doesn’t turn around.
“Admit that we’ve done all we can do for each other. We made it to Selphia, like you wanted—woulda been nice to have a head’s up there, by the way! And you already know I’m not really here because I cared about…attending to you, or honor, or whatever. So we’re good,” Doug replies dismissively.
Arthur still does not turn. “…We did achieve the first aim I intended to pursue, yes. And as I said, I will not stop you if you do not wish to retain your position. However, if you are under the impression I have accomplished everything I set out to do, you are mistaken.”
“No, you’re right,” Doug agrees.
Arthur is playing the specifics close to his chest, so Doug may not know everything, but he knows Arthur is clearly up to something when late into the night most nights, he can still be found pouring over records and receipts and maps and recovered journal entries by candlelight. Doug doesn’t really get where all of the documents even come from, but he knows there’s a kind of rhyme and reason to the haphazard way they end up in towering stacks on one side of Arthur’s desk, same as the so-called organization of his extensive collection of glasses.
What exactly Arthur’s secret agenda is isn’t important, though. The problem is and always has been Doug’s agenda. Selfishly, he hopes Arthur is clever enough to figure that out himself.
“But,” Doug continues, biting out the words, “as far as what you wanted—why bother pretending that it’s—that we’re—nothing when, clearly, it really was nothing. So. Later. It’s been real.”
Arthur turns around then, stricken. Doug has never seen such an expression on his face. Maybe he shouldn’t like the heady curl of pleasure he takes in having caused it, considering the circumstances, but oh, does he.
Maybe it’s not fair, when he’s decided to be this way not because he doesn’t care, but rather because he has all at once discovered he cares entirely too much. But that angry part of him—the part that wants to just grab Arthur by the scruff and wring him around until he realizes how stupid he’s being, the part that hates being so entirely consumed by something ultimately futile, the part that just wants to take all the things burning him up inside out on everyone, someone, anyone, around him if only so he isn’t the only one in flames—that part of him wants Arthur to hurt, too. Even if it isn’t fair. Even if he doesn’t figure as much to Arthur as Arthur does to him. (Even if, improbably, heinously, unforgivably—he does.) He should still have to feel something at Doug’s absence.
“No, no,” Doug says, deciding to screw it, to let that part of him take over, “Go on, now. Please, don’t stop on my behalf.”
Yet.
It’s petty, and it’s desperate.
But the other part of Doug?
It really, really hopes he does. Please.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arthur can’t stop.
Arthur would do a lot of things, ones he’d never really thought he’d have reason to, much less want to, on Doug’s behalf.
Just, not stop.
If he stops, he may never start again. If he stops, and admits that he—enjoys? Covets? Anticipates?
Desires, ardently?
—the time that he spends in Doug’s company, that he wants nothing more than to go back to that quiet, shining moment in the alcove across the observatory deck and freeze it and trap it in a jar and hold it close so he can live in it forevermore? If he admits that, he has to admit that there’s no purpose to what he’s seeking out, that finding it—finding her—won’t give him what he wants. That he’s spent all this time searching for something in the entirely wrong places.
That the thing he wishes for above all else wasn’t really anything special, that there wasn’t a deeper meaning behind it, that there wasn’t a reason he can point to. That it’s something one can just happen upon by accident. That there’s nothing to earn, nothing to prove, no epic quest required to win the right to glittering riches unimaginable.
That it’s incidental, and small, and plentiful, and common, and he’s spent so long chasing a dead end lead with such single-minded focus that he’d missed it every time it’s been right in front of him. Or if not it, then—the truth of it, which is something of equal, or perhaps even greater, import to him.
He can’t admit that. He knows it can’t be true. He has evidence, eyewitness testimony. It’s a pledge and it’s a duty and it’s a struggle and it cannot be easy or else how much time will he have wasted?
It’s difficult. Everyone says so. He knows it to be so.
But, says the errant little voice in his head, did you ever think to ask in which ways it should be?
Arthur can’t stop, and there’s a reason he’d had to beg Doug to do it earlier, to stop, instead of pulling away from that almost-kiss on his own.
Kiss. Had they really almost…?
Not that it means anything, necessarily. There are plenty of reasons to do something like that. Plenty of reasons that aren’t the only one Arthur can seem to conjure up, which is really more of a laughable non-reason than anything concrete or real.
He had simply wanted to.
They had been so close, and Doug had been right there, and that had been the only thing he could think—not even really think, truly. More like, he hadn’t been thinking, or couldn’t think, and had only possessed an impulse to do it, and… Well, and nothing else. Scarily, he doesn’t think he has a better justification to point to.
So, it’s– It’s good Doug had listened to him, that they’d avoided it. How unnecessarily complicated; how improperly had Arthur been willing to take advantage of someone he held a position of power over.
(…Technically. Sort of. Not that it means anything in practice. He thinks, if the mood were different, Doug would laugh himself to tears if he suggested this aloud, and say something about how Arthur wishes that were the case.)
Arthur doesn’t suggest it aloud. Instead, he meets Doug’s eyes, belatedly realizing they’re at height with his own, owing to his being on the steps. They catch on the moonlight and flash that fascinating striking silver; there’s steel in them, too, now, but also something else, molten and alive and demanding, all at once anvil and ingot and hammer alike.
If only Arthur could figure out which shape they’re being stricken into.
Something is different about this, as compared to every other time Doug has complained and threatened to leave Arthur’s “sorry ass” behind to be torn apart and eaten by palm cats on his own, that he has better things to do than babysit a “grown-ass” man all day.
(Are all of Doug’s insults ass-related, now that Arthur thinks about it? It’s not something to ponder on right now, but it’s hard not to consider all the same.)
Arthur really must be out of it, but either Doug doesn’t realize or doesn’t care that that’s the case, because he seems to take Arthur’s continued silence to be its own kind of answer. Something changes, a shift in his weight or a twitch in his expression, something Arthur can’t quite put his finger on but can’t help noticing all the same.
Doug blows an angry huff of air, and Arthur can tell he’s hesitated too long. He’d thought they could salvage this and just go back to how things had been, but he misstepped somewhere, and he just can’t figure out where.
He doesn’t exactly get a chance to mull it over, though.
Under his breath, almost like he doesn’t mean to say it out loud, but also sort of like part of him absolutely does, he says, “Figures you’d leave too. I guess that’s all you ever learned to do, huh?”
Arthur nearly doesn’t recognize the nasty voice lowly gutting him in an afterthought, pulling apart every single piece of his insides, sizzling as it cuts through him, but he doesn’t have time to dwell about the tone or the speaker when the words have seized him to the point of gasping for air.
It’s a swift, violent thing. For the way it dismantles every conscious thought and sensation in his body, if he had the slightest bit left of his propriety he’d almost say it was a mercy, such an expedient—such an accurate, precise—execution.
But he can’t breathe, doesn’t remember how, isn’t sure if he wants to, so how can he possibly be expected to respond?
But an assassin’s job isn’t to torture, is it? Get in, finish it, get out. Arthur still doesn’t know the whole story, but it may as well be the truth, too, for everything he does know about why Doug dropped himself onto his doorstep in the first place.
Regardless of how well-trained for it he is, Doug wraps this hit up quietly, short and to the point. And Arthur almost wants to thank him for it.
“Don’t worry,” Doug says, voice so close to Arthur’s ear and so very, very far away. “I’ll save you the trouble.”
And he shoulders past Arthur and just.
Leaves.
Arthur isn’t sure how long he stands there, feet on stairs at different heights, nearly-but-not-quite-by-a-step-or-two on the observation deck all alone, growing cold in night air. There’s a chill in it, absent of a breeze but rather of the type that merely sinks directly into your bones without any motion, the kind your body involuntary soaks up like a sponge. He doesn’t remember how Doug left, exactly, though he supposes, with no shortage of hysteria, that he must have used the stairs to do it.
(With no shortage of hysteria, he’s very briefly struck by the thought that he wouldn’t, technically, have had to do so, necessarily, but he shuts that off before he can picture how such an improvised exit would end. He can’t even think it.)
(Besides, how could he have done that when Arthur knows Doug had pushed past him on his way out?)
(He had. Surely, he had. Arthur can feel the phantom burn of his touch blistering his side. He hadn’t imagined that.)
(Right?)
Arthur is on the floor of the observatory deck, the Selphian observatory deck, and he isn’t quite sure how he got there, but all he can think is that this is what he wanted, this is what he asked for.
He’d been begging for this, to be alone, to have his legs collapsed out from under him (somehow, miracle of miracles, not on the stairs but on flat, solid deck, though he’s not sure when that happened, either). His knees, he realizes, sting from the impact of falling on them. He wanted… He wants–
He needs help.
It’s so simple. How he hadn’t realized before is impossible to know. He can’t do what he came here to do on his own.
But things had changed, hadn’t they. Without his noticing, without his permission, without his appreciation, Arthur had gained something he’d never once in all his 19 years had, and he hadn’t even realized it until it was gone. Someone who truly listened, and cared, and not because they were on a payroll, and not in spite of it. Someone who stuck around despite all-too-oft expressing frustrations about situations he’d put them in. Someone who hadn’t known him all his life, and hadn’t asked to hear about it, but had remembered anyway. A confidant.
A friend.
And maybe…
If Arthur hadn’t been so stupid, and blind, and senseless, maybe tonight he could have even been more. Maybe he already had been, and Arthur simply and foolishly had insisted he wasn’t. Hadn’t let him be.
Maybe, despite everything Arthur’s ever known telling him otherwise, maybe that fleeting moment, that moment-before-a-first-kiss, in which everything had felt perfect–
Maybe it really had been?
He struggles with it, but at least the air comes easier to breathe, now. Nothing that feels perfect ever really is. Arthur knows this. He’s always known.
Focusing on the basics always helps. Perfect is imaginary. It’s not real. By definition, it is untouchable and unquestionably impossible.
But.
But the stars shining in Doug’s silver eyes, iridescent in the moonlight. But the lingering echo of his muffled laughter, like a barrier holding out the rest of the world aside from just them two. But the gentle weight of his touch, branding Arthur’s forearm where he holds it.
Perfect is a fabrication, it is a standard to be upheld, it is expected.
Perfect is not something that knocks you so hard off your feet that you tear through the knees of your trousers, that catches you so unaware that you haven’t even realized you’ve fallen until you hit the floor.
Arthur knows this. He knows many things, and he knows this.
But.
Oh, but.
But he believes, for the first time in a long, long time—a startlingly, shockingly, quakingly long time—he believes tonight. He believes tonight had felt perfect.
Being nearly caught by Volkanon after assuming the head butler would have already been asleep, immediately after they’d stolen out of the castle with an assortment of documents even a visiting prince really shouldn’t have been privy to, which they’d filched from the castle basement and which had still been very much on Arthur’s person. Doug snatching his arm when he’d frozen stiff, quickly but discreetly dragging him away in the opposite direction. A near miss with Forte coming around the corner on patrol, Doug yanking Arthur back into the observatory stairwell just before the Dragon Knight could spot them.
Of course, it’s not like they’re fugitives. There would have been no reason for Forte to think anything amiss even if she had seen them, and as Doug himself has pointed out, it’s more suspicious to draw attention to the issue by pretending something obviously untrue. If they had just kept walking, no one would have stopped them from a pleasant if somewhat late night out strolling Selphia’s streets. Even Volkanon would have likely only had an exuberant greeting for them and asked how their night was going, none the wiser about what Arthur was concealing in his coat.
But had that mattered? Had it mattered that it had been unnecessary when Doug, face flushed with adrenaline, had started wheezing quiet giggles about the overreaction, had turned to Arthur, eyes bright, and said, “Race you to the top,” and taken off up the stairs before Arthur could stop him.
Had it mattered that they could have kept walking, when Arthur finally made it to the top (a bit more out of breath than he’d like to admit) and realized he couldn’t see Doug, and he’d wandered onto the deck apprehensively, halfway through quietly calling his name a second time when he’d been bodily tugged into an alcove he’d never once even noticed before. When he’d stumbled into Doug, who had been been right up against him, laugher still singing in his eyes and the crinkles in his face, and Arthur hadn’t been able to help himself from laughing too.
It hadn’t mattered. It hadn’t been anything noteworthy at all, in fact, not any part of the whole thing.
And it had been—wonderful. Exciting. Thrilling for no reason in particular, not due to any real danger, not for any reason Arthur could think to give. It had just been…unreal. Perfect.
And Doug—Doug had been perfect.
No, not just that—Doug had made Arthur feel perfect, too. And that’s nothing anyone’s done in… Since…
Has anyone ever?
Has he ever felt such a perfect, whole sense of belonging, such a perfect reason to just be, to screw all the other noise and nonsense and not worry about everything else around him and just be, there, in the moment, with someone else by his side? The way Doug, without even trying, had done tonight?
At least, before Arthur went and ruined it.
Ah.
Right.
What does it matter, what does it matter, for Arthur to realize any of this now? Doug already left. He isn’t there to help Arthur back on his feet. He isn’t there to tell Arthur if he should keep running, or if he should stand and fight, or anything else.
How unbearable, to only realize how far and fast and deep he’d fallen after he’d already absolutely screwed up his best chance to do something about it, tonight.
Arthur rearranges himself carefully, mindful of his scraped knees. Out of habit, he pats the pocket of his coat containing the documents that had gotten him into this situation in the first place. They’re still there, safe and sound. He sits leaning back against the observatory railing and tips his head to gaze at the stars above him.
Arthur sighs. What Doug had said—that last part, at least—that had hurt. And the irony of saying it and then leaving himself? With a clearer head, Arthur can now say that was far worse.
And isn’t that just something. People say these sorts of things about him, have said them since he was a child, and he’s never paid them much mind. Sometimes they sting a little, he can’t help that, but never any worse than a prick of the finger. But tonight? But when Doug was the one saying it?
The worst part is, Arthur isn’t sure if he was wrong—about any of it. About Arthur running away, about them having already done all they could do for each other? About Arthur putting words in his mouth and expecting things from him that he’d never promised?
And had he truly meant it, that there was nothing between them? It hadn’t felt that way. The fire in Doug’s eyes hadn’t made it seem so. But how can it possibly be, that someone as direct and shameless at Doug would lie so unflinchingly, now, after all this time?
Unless…all of it had been a lie?
Arthur knows that could be true. Hell, maybe it’s even likely, given what little he knows about Doug and how very much he doesn’t.
He just…doesn’t believe it.
The stars twinkle on, laughing at him, and the moon watches, still and silent and calm. The clear, cloudless sky itself offers no great insights—though it does remind him that there is supposed to be a storm blowing in sometime in the next few days.
Calm before the storm, indeed.
It’s a little silly, but Arthur doesn’t have any energy left to combat silly, so he mutters, “If you were going to send a sign, wish you would’ve been a little more clear about that,” at the sky.
Predictably, he does not receive an answer.
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randomyuu · 11 months
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An attempt at eyeballing.
Not a fanart of any fanfic, but Yuuji and Gojou are used as my sacrificial lambs for my amateurish attempt at muscle studying (which is just eyeballing). Sorry guys.
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Anyone who can draw muscles is absolutely amazing. Like, how in the world did you manage to wrap your head around this bizarre thing called muscles??? I swear, just looking at muscles I’ll be like “oh, that looks cool” or something.
Then I tried drawing it and am amazed and lowkey horrified at how many lines you can put to create the buff look. Like??? That is so cool? But also… weird? It just dawns on me. The human body can do this? The muscles can contract and elongate like this? Wtf???
This is what happens when you did not study the basics during the first stage of self-learning, I guess.
Here is the step-by-step process and images and my thoughts on it:
References
Here are the sources for Gojou's pose and Yuuji's pose.
I just… uh… I actually didn’t know what I am doing (and still don’t). But I want to start somewhere because I want to also be able to confidently draw muscles. So I just google searched “male muscle pose” with Gojou and Yuuji in mind. I’m in the mood to draw them, so yeah. Poor guys.
I don’t know what was on my mind when I was getting the pose for Yuuji, because his waist is not that thin. That would be Gojou’s lol. But this is eyeballing, not tracing. I get to decide what changes I want to make (and pray it won’t turn disastrous).
2. Rough sketch? Shapes?
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This is what I usually do when drawing. This helps me to roughly guess the size and position of the objects before I dedicate my time to sketching the details. No heads because uh... I forgot.
3. Sketch
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A really big jump from the rough shape, I know. And if you overlapped them, they just roughly matches.
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This is where I start to properly eyeball. I start from the middle—the shoulder, down to the waist. Create the centre of the body first. Then I continue with the arms and heads. I separate the head in another layer because sometimes I have problems with head size.
Then I realise I’m not really sure if Yuuji’s waist is thin or not, so off googling the anime pics I went. And uh… he has a thin-ish waist…? Kind of…? Not as thin as Gojou in the manga, that’s for sure. I was going through a dilemma here lmao. I want to be as accurate to the canon, but also I’m not that capable to make a perfect duplicate so what is the fine balance to keep?
And I give up and decide to give Yuuji a bit of a curve.
4. Final lining with details (aka Gojou's and Yuuji's heads)
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So uh… I actually didn’t plan to make the line this… clean? It was supposed to be a casual retracing with some sketchy lines but cleaner than the sketch. But midway my brain suggested playing with line weights and I just obeyed. The same also applied to the shading, it was unplanned.
Final thoughts:
Hm... considering this is my first time really, REALLY, dedicating my time to draw muscles and no other things along the way, it was... okay. I guess. Overall pretty happy. Definitely could be better.
Gojou looks better than Yuuji. My boy looks a bit off, I'm so sorry Yuuji :") It's because I have drawn characters' backs (clothed) before, so I'm quite familiar with it. But Yuuji's pose was a new one, so I guess that is to be expected.
So… that’s it. I hope this silly post informs/helps/entertains you in some way. If not, that’s okay, just ignore the post haha. I might be back next weekend with another drawing. Maybe. It’s a month of uncertainties for me. No promises.
Welp. Until then, see ya!
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bonesandthebees · 1 year
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Okay, so I have caught up on No Time Confounds Me. (yes I’ve been reading a lot lately, I’m sick and I don’t have classes so I don’t really have shot to catch up on and I was kinda ahead of work before I got sick so I’m fine)
Anyway, normally I don’t read vampire stuff, I tried reading Nocturnal Animals and I got 3 chapters in and it’s really cool but my brain just isn’t slotting on so I doubt I’ll finish it. (In my defence, I already know how it ends so *shrugs*) My point is, I really enjoy ntcm. I love the world-building and the niche little interests (or is it the aesthetic? Like the drawing on the shoes and the pins.)
You are once again doing and amazing job with foreshadowing. The new vampires at the blood bank are Phil, Techno, Quackity and Schlatt. Tommy knows a lot about vampire stuff because he is one. Running away because you allegedly accidentally stole someone’s Claim would be a good enough reason to down half a black coffee in 1 go. The constantly being watched but only when Tommy is there so maybe Schlatt already knew, he just needed Wilbur there too. The news Wilbur manages to catch is about Tommy turning Tubbo. Tommy Claiming Wilbur as his brother because he Claimed him. Tommy’s attempt to dye his hair brown to be less recognisable. (Though if you don’t want to be found, bright blue is a terrible choice, Tommy!)
Most of these are little things that might stand out but can be dismissed and then they suddenly slot into place. Like you have a long build-up but I’m sure if I were to read it again that everything would make sense. Like it’s that writing thing where everything you write has to have a purpose. Seemingly random scenes all have a goal or make more sense when you get more information and it’s so cool to see you do that!
Also, I say allegedly accidentally, but unless his parents died by gunshot, I’d say the chance is pretty high Tubbo did get shot. That’s why Tommy jumps in front of him whenever he hears one because if he had done that for Tubbo he would not be in this situation. + the trauma of watching your friend bleed out and being faced with their mortality would make Tommy worried about losing Wilbur.
Also also, I am terribly worried about Schlatt, but I assume that of he were to purposely turn Wilbur against his will in some way it would go back to being a violation of human law (and there would probably be a lot of witnesses).
Also also also, (last one, I promise) does eye colour define strength? Does that mean the Phil and Tommy are stronger than everyone else or is there some other meaning?
-🌲
HI SPRUCE i'm so glad to hear you're enjoying!! I'll get to your stars asks soon I promise, but I'm saving them for after I finish no time bc answering those will help me get back into the stars headspace lol
in the meantime though, I'm thrilled how much you like ntcf so far. the aesthetic is my favorite part ngl. I always loved the pacific northwest aesthetic vibes combined with a lowkey punk look (ie: wilbur's leather coat, combat boots, pins) so it's been a lot of fun for me to set up scenes with that imagery and all that. I also love including small details like wilbur drawing on tommy's shoes and stuff. it just makes the world feel more alive to me.
you picked up on all the foreshadowing!! yup you got that exactly right. I was trying to make the first chapter seem like a normal relaxed vibey slice of life type fic, but with something obviously wrong going on in the distance.
also fun fact actually if you're trying to disguise yourself it's sometimes better to stand out. the point of a disguise isn't to blend into a crowd, it's to look like someone else. (I learned this from watching a youtube video with the CIA's former Chief of Disguise lol). so yeah, tommy trying to dye his hair blue wasn't necessarily him trying to blend in, it was him trying to look like someone who wasn't Tommy. but as I'll probably mention offhandedly in the next chapter, vampire hair is a bit different from human hair molecule-wise so vampires need special hair dye to change their hair color. hence why tommy's dye attempts turned out so shit lol
the thing about the Good Samaritan Law regarding Turnings is that it's really a legal bullshit loophole. if there were no other witnesses around besides the vampire and the person being turned, no one can prove that it wasn't a life threatening situation. so almost every single time without fail a Turning will get excused by the good samaritan law. also, a vampire will very rarely turn a human unwillingly because again the newly turned person can just turn them in. so the issue isn't turning people unwillingly. the issue is that it's illegal to turn humans at all even if they consent. the only time it's legal is if the person is literally on their deathbed. since vampires are immortal, the government wants to limit their population growth for obvious reasons. but again, it's such a loose law that all you have to do is make sure there are no other humans around when a turning happens and boom you can claim they were dying.
no eye color doesn't define strength. the eye color thing is literally just based off what eye color you had as a human. phil and tommy both had blue eyes, so their eyes get lighter and turn a more silvery color. techno, quackity, and schlatt all had brown eyes, hence why their eyes turn gold. being a vampire just lightens your eyes and makes them kind of shimmery, so it's just dependent on what your original eye color was and nothing else.
ty again so glad you're enjoying!! I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. I wanted it done to post today but I only got halfway through it yesterday sooooo oops. I'll try to finish it as soon as i can.
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distortedataraxia · 2 years
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Hii! I hope your requests are still open, if they are I would like to request a matchup!. (By the way, if my English is a bit bad, it’s bcs its not my first language. So sorry!)
Im an INFP, cancer, bisexual woman. I’m 5’7 (i think lol, in meters I’m 1,69m), I have purple hair in a tomboyish sidetails hairstyle and I’m a bit chubby.
Usually I really try to talk to people when I first meet them, but it’s pretty hard for me because I tend to shut off in situations that I haven’t prepared myself for or where I’m not comfortable with. But when I like someone and want to be friends (or when I’m friends) with them, I’m really intense (ig I don’t know how to describe it), loud and happy (which at times can be a bit much for people, so I tend to try and not do that a lot). The place where I
I’d like to say I’m a warm person, I love to tell stories to people and I love being around the people I love. But I really like to be on my own too, after a day with talking to people I adore to just close myself off and to do something on my own.
I like people who give the same energy that you give them back. I’m pretty sensitive with like how people give their energy back (bdkabdks idk if this makes sense) and so if someone that I just met doesn’t look happy if I’m talking to them or if they don’t really pay attention I will get really nervous and I would be scared to talk to them.
My hobbies are: Gaming, drawing and swimming. I’m super interested in animals and space, and I rlly love watching documentaries about those things! I also really love true crime and supernatural things (although I don’t believe in the supernatural)
My dislikes are: Running, sweating (it’s so gross and you get like icky from it and euehgghhhhh) people that smile to your face and then shit about you behind your back. I hate the last one the absolute most, like if you hate me then at least show it and don’t pretend to like me.
Well,, that’s all!! I hope you have an amazing day/night and thank you in advance <333
Author note : Hi ! I'm really sorry for the long wait and I Hope you'll enjoy ★ ~ I hope you have a great day or night and take care !
Now Into the matchup ★ ~
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I pair you with...
Naomi !
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I hope you're comfortable with physical affection - because naomi is a whole physical affection machine and she can't seem to stop. But she loves you though so if you're uncomfortable she'll stop and just give twice the physical affection to her brother, aaah SiBLiNGs <3
She'll be nice, and she most likely will give the same energy back you give to her and she won't be uninterested.
With her , you're never too loud and happy so you don't need to limit yourself around her - besides she'll probably find you being all loud and all more adorable than too much.
She'll help you fit in and will try to help your or guide you with whatever you need !
I can see you both have a drink and telling each other stories - naomi will most likely tell stories about his brother and it'll be really fun and funny. She'll be really interested in your stories and might start talking about the stories her brother used to tell her to sleep, or the ones she read for her brother to sleep.
If you seem tired , for a long time or not, she'll want to stay at your appartment and make sure you sleep, be scared because she WON'T give up.
Of course, when you need some time to do things on your own, she'll let you have your alone time and she'll just adore you from afar.
She now won't only brag about her brother but she'll also brag about you.
You both might end up gaming together sometimes wich could end up in pillow fights or affection fights - now you kinda know what it's like to be her brother without being her brother.
When you draw she most likely will ask you to draw her and she'll also attempt to draw you.
When you go and swim she might wanna come and swim with you so that she can give you the splash of your life and maybe random hugs lol of course, only if you're comfortable.
I'm pretty sure she likes animals so, you both can take care of some together or just talk about the subject.
Whenever you talk about space - she'll proably say random stuff about like how she feels like she's in space whenever she's around you because she's really grateful to have you.
She'll probably get interested in the documentaries you watch, she will bring you food when you watch documentaries even if you didn't ask.
You both fluctuates between being a chill duo, a fun duo and a sweet/cute duo.
Naomi is really sweet and caring, you'll be happy with her.
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awsydawnarts · 1 year
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So I will definitely not be making more of these any time soon bcs school is kicking my ass, but I dug up this drawing from months ago that I kinda felt like sharing??? You get a gold star if you guess who they are without clicking for more lol
Contrary to what the stuff I reblog might lead you to believe, I really don’t inherently hate the concept of reboots, they just have to be *done right*. This is probably not an example of that lol, but I have a little au sitting in the back of my mind about the Magic School Bus characters aged up and attending college, and this is my first attempt at getting an idea of what the girls would look like (we’re going back to the og cast with my girl Phoebe obviously, Jyoti can have a cameo or something). I haven’t actually drawn the guys and I probably won’t any time soon bcs like I said, school’s kicking my ass, but I have Thoughts about them as well. I kind of want to save my full detailed thoughts for if I ever get around to making individual character sheets with outfits and stuff, but who am I kidding that’ll probably never happen so here’s a brief rundown:
Phoebe’s always been big on animal rights and whatnot, so I took that and ran with it. She’s this chill bi vegan chick who lives in an rv and has like five pets that she rescued. I’m not super sure what anyone’s studying just yet (except Keesha) but I’m thinking Phoebe’s somewhere on the environmental science side of things.
Speaking of Keesha, I kind of want them together 👀 Keesha’s getting her BFA in dance with an emphasis on ballet. One of the episodes has her mention a dance class and as a dancer myself that’s all I needed lol (just realized how hard I’m projecting here, since Phoebe was my favorite character growing up).
D.A.’s probably the most thought out of this group. She’s great at pretending she’s put together but she’s actually a huge mess. She’s a perfectionist about every aspect of her life, to the point where is starts taking a serious toll on her mental and physical health. Maybe she needs a certain former classmate to help her realize she doesn’t always have to take everything so seriously 👀 I don’t know what she’s studying yet but it’s some obscenely difficult thing lol, she’s probably trying to get her PhD in like five years or something
Wanda I’m thinking doesn’t have a major decided on just yet, not because I don’t know but because she doesn’t know (I could be convinced otherwise). I feel like she’d grow into a bit of an adrenaline junkie and get a motorcycle and shit. She’s pan(?) with a heavy preference towards women. I’m most sold on her hair but least sold on her face shape, so I guess we’ll see. I have her personal life worked out pretty well but that’s kind of spoilery and not just about her, so I’m probably not going to share unless I post more for this. Maybe knowing that I still have things to tell will keep me invested and creating for this lol.
That’s the girls!!! Maybe over spring break I’ll do the rest of the class? Maybe not. It’s a mystery to everyone.
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heckin-music-dork · 3 years
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Found and old doodle that I haven’t finished and probably never will, but I’ll post it anyway because why not 😂
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