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tabdabble · 2 years

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Here's my take on The Lamb from Cult of the Lamb :D

More headcanons under the cut!

I hope you like it! Feel free to ask questions :D

[Image ID: a comic set in the video game Cult of the Lamb, followed by a portrait of the Lamb.

Panel 1: A follower runs towards the Lamb with their hand raised in a hail. In the background is lightly drawn some tents and the lamb’s worship statue. The follower is in the style of the game, with large eyes and chibi proportions. They have a crab for a head and are wearing a red dress with inverted triangular symbols on it. They seem very excited as they yell “Leader! Leader!” In the corner the Lamb is very close to the viewer and mostly out of frame, with its very realistic and detailed eye prominent as it looks at behind it at the follower. It answers “Yes?”

Panel 2: the crab follower holds it’s fists against it’s cheeks, fingers inward, and its shoulders raised as it excitedly says “Do the thing!”

Panel 3: The lamb, now facing the viewer, looks down at the crab follower whose back is now to the viewer. The lamb is much taller, and eerily realistic in style and proportion, with front-facing eyes and oblong pupils, ears set low on it’s head, and a little smile. It’s wearing a collar with a round golden bell, and a red cape that parts down the front to show a fluffy chest. The dark, two-pronged crown floating above its head has the same style of eye with yellow sclera and red pupil, also looking down at the follower. The lamb replies “Of course!”

Panel 4: a collection of four consecutive images containing the lamb and follower. First, the lamb’s eyes roll back as a “crunch” sounds from the base of its neck. The crown’s eye has a black sclera and a cat’s yellow iris and slit pupil now. It’s wide as if surprised. The follower’s silhouette in the foreground is obviously shocked and confused, its crab claws and legs along its head all bent inward. Second, the lamb’s head begins to pivot to its right-our left with a “ssssslitchhhhhhh”, leaving the collar and the crown still facing forward. The lamb’s eyes are still rolled back, and its smile unchanged. Blood starts to seep from the border of the collar and the rotating head. The crown is now looking down at the lamb with a furrowed brow, as if confused and/or annoyed. The follower’s silhouette is now leaning away from the lamb, it’s claws and legs sticking straight out, and it’s shoulders bristling in terror. Third, the lamb’s head is three-fourths of the way around, with only a part of its unchanged expression visible. The current sound from its neck is “GRxlchshhh”, and the blood is continuing to seep and beginning to soak into the lamb’s cloak. The crown looks at the viewer with a furrowed brow and half-lidded eye, as if annoyed or bored. The follower’s silhouette has sunk almost completely out of frame, the visible claw and legs hanging limply. Fourth and finally, with a “scheschkkhkk”, the lamb’s head is now back facing forward and the follower is no longer in frame at all. The lamb’s eyes are starting to roll forward and it’s now looking into the middle distance as if mildly disoriented. One of its ears twitches as the rotation completes and it’s still smiling calmly. The blood has soaked quite badly into both the cloak and now the wool of its neck. The crown is now looking with a lack of any clear expression towards where the follower disappeared.

Panel 6: The scene is viewed from farther away and slightly above and in a noticeably simpler style. The lamb raises its cloven hooves straight up in an apparent gesture of ‘Ta-da!’, its face jutted forward between its arms, and its long tail raised and curled happily. A “Jingle” sounds from its bell collar at the sudden motion. Its eyes are joyful, and its mouth is in an open smile. The follower is lying on its back on the ground before the lamb, apparently unnoticed, with it’s limbs contorted as if cringing. The follower’s eyes are crossed out and its tongue sticks out as a simply-drawn ghost with a neutral, minimalistic face escapes its gaping mouth. From the lamb’s left, Ratau (a giant, realistic rat), approaches while looking at the follower with his singular right eye. He seems concerned with one brow raised and one lowered. “Err … Lamb?” He begins.

Panel 7: Ratau has placed a left hand on the lamb’s right shoulder and is talking to him turned away from where the follower is lying. Ratau appears similarly realistic to the lamb, looking like a large, dark rat with a bulbous eye and many whiskers. His hands are lighter than the rest of his body, and his nose is darker. As he talks his long front teeth are slightly visible. He is wearing his tri-pronged paper hat with the red inverted triangle inscribed on it, as well as the same red triangle painted on his forehead. He is leaning on a twig-like staff with two small branches at the top, two small leaves, and a spiderweb stretched between the branches. He is wearing a dark scarf with perpendicupar, thin lines running across it, and a light shirt with no sleeves and long lines of large stitches holding it together. Ratau has his hand on the lamb’s shoulder and is looking up at the taller creature as they talk. His large eye has a lighly dark sclera, bright yellow iris, and a dark pupil. “Mayhaps they were asking for your blessing … ” he says gently. “Ah.” The lamb replies, obviously sheepish and maybe slightly disappointed as he averts his eyes away from Ratau, his lips pursed in a light frown. The crown is looking at nothing in particular with half-lidded eye, seemingly bored. At this point the blood from the lamb’s neck has seeped far into the wool and cloak and is almost covering the whole collar. In a softer volume, Ratau adds “That was cool though!” End of comic.

Panel 8: Fullbody portrait of the lamb. The lamb’s body is facing forward and to our right, with his face fully forward. It wears the cursed crown, which resembles a splayed cloven hoof shape from the front, which has an eye in the center- dark sclera, bright yellow iris, and vertically slit pupil. The crown stares foward with an alert intensity. The lamb is also staring at the viewer, with front-facing human-shaped eyes with bright yellow scera and dark oblong pupils. Its ears are perked at a slight upward angle, its mouth is curled in a calm smile, and it is not drawn with the small horns it possesses in the game. Behind the lamb’s head and crown is a circular halo of solid yellow and it’s raising its left hand with its thumb and first two fingers pointing up in a religious gesture. It has cloven hooves with small pointier hoofs on its hocks, and it also has human hands. There is a tail long enough to drag on the ground, covered in wool but still slender enough to be similar to be only about a hand’s width. Hooves, hands, face and ears are shaded darker and seemingly free of wool. The wool is bright white, and is drawn in smooth lines describing poofy colume. Around its neck and shouders are the bell collar and capelet, which is a darker red with a white stripe, and edges angled into sharp points. It’s holding a sword from the game in its right hand, which uses a poison effect perk. The sword is long with a wide and curved tip, its form jagged and gashed as if roughly hewn. Its grip is wrapped in cloth, and the butt is a diamondlike shape. The sword’s end is flowing into a smoky substance that flows to connect with the crown, seemingly mid-transformation. An eye in the center of the sword hilt is rolled back, as if losing consciousness as it discorporates.

End of ID.]

I wanted to make it as cursed as possible so I based them off the painting Adoration of the Lamb by Jan Van Eyck in the Ghent Altarpiece. It's so Wrong and that's why it's perfect :D

I think the more the Lamb wears the crown, the more its consciousness starts to bleed into it- it's shape starts to resemble a cloven hoof, and when The One Who Waits isn't directly paying close attention, the crown's eye starts to resemble the lamb's as well.

I think it's hilarious that a side effect of the crown could just be Real. The lamb looked like the follower before its death and resurrection (and corruption at the hands of the crown). This is also why Ratau looks like that.

I didn't include the lamb's little horns since I wanted it to more resemble the altarpiece, and it suits lamb's apparent harmlessness better. (plus it crowded the crown)

I also gave it one of those creepy long dangly tails that lambs still have before they're cropped. Inspired specifically by the animation Baaa by cyriak on YT

Also the lamb can have hooves or hands and walk upright or on all fours depending on what's funny at the time.

Credit to @mossyflowers, @birbhouse-doodles, and @rabiesram for their various ideas that the lamb is in one way or another still decapitated, hence my comic. (links to specific posts in reblog)

Please reblog to help support me! :D I’d really appreciate it and I read every tag!

#cult of the lamb #tw blood #tw gore #my art #fanart #image id

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ginsoakedgirl80 · 4 months

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Costume Cdramas I watched in 2023

My 2nd year with Chinese dramas as my love for costume drama continues.

The title links to where you can watch it (tried to find free legal watches where available)

The Blood of Youth (40 x 45min, filming started in Oct 2021, released Dec 2022) fun action drama with a good dose of comedy, not for people who want lots of romance because they are too busy (and the canon couples don't have enough chemistry, there I said it) to be making out. Good for bromance, ghost ships and/or ace character head canons. Xiao Se's fur collar wins fur collar of the year, Tang Lian is my blorbo of early 2023.

My Uncanny Destiny (24 x 30min, filmed in autumn 2021, released Jan 2023) My favorite comedy of the year. Don't get turned off by the toilet jokes, it's a gem that spoofs drama tropes, gives you a coherent plot, silliness, fun side characters, a ML that is not afraid of being silly and a FL that plays capable and silly well. This might be a low budget production but they put that money to work. Politics, cross-dressing, found family, sisterhood, enemies to lovers, third wheel bisexual who reminds me of Wen Kexing, over the top villain, himbo villain who works out shirtless all the time, it got it all.

Wulin Heroes (22 x 45min, filming started Nov 2020, released Jan 2023) I watched this for Li Hongyi and he is incredibly beautiful in this so props to his stylist and cinematographer. BUT it is a badly written and edited low budget romp. If you are not watching for any actor then do not bother. FL is bearable once you realize she is very much of a lets see where this goes kind of character. 2nd ML is a suffering captive prince turned whiny regent played by Zhu Zanjin. So if you want to see Jin GuangYao suffer, you might like his scenes?? It can totally be read as a throuple especially with the New Tales of Wulin Heroes mini series add on. The choppiness might also be a result of the dangai ban??

No Doubt in us (24 x 14min, 2021, donghua) saw this on netflix and it roped me in with the body switch trope. It's sufficiently entertaining. Though I didn't enjoy the animation style apart from the chibi scenes.)

Heaven Official's Blessing (season 1, 11 x 26min, 2020, Donghua) It's THAT story and the art style is so pretty. I haven't read the books yet but still got what was going on most of the time. Liked it a lot. Haven't watched the 2nd season yet)

The Journey of Chong Zi (40 x 45min, filming started in June 2021, released Feb 2023) This xianxia is a mess! But it gave Scorpion King Li Daikun another memorable role with being the FL's protector. Watching Wang Zhoucheng having a ball with his role was fun. Immortal turned demon Wan Jie is so handsome and tragic. It did draw me in but the main couple is just ick so every time they were apart it immediately got better. ML's refusal to take the antidote to ease his obsession was lmao, FL is naive but charming and her demon styling rocks (do not get the hate on the actress, she is selfmade and there are many bad pretty face actresses around but I guess antis attract antis). Oh and there is a bromance between two of Chong Zi's harem members

Till the End of the Moon (40 x 55min, started filming in Nov 2021, released April 2023) aka my brain rot drama of the year. Drawn in from episode 1 on. Bai Li and Luo Yunxi <3 Pian Ran, Ye Qingyu, Nian Baiyu and Si Ying. <3 I was spamming tumblr with my screenshots, it was a jolly good time to watch this epic tale of love and suffering and saving the world dilemma with a great cast, characters, costumes, sets and soundtrack with the cdrama ppl of tumblr. If this weren't too complicated for cdrama newbies I'd recommend it to all my friends. Do not skip the dream arc (I ended up liking it) or later stuff will make less sense. I'm still annoyed that we didn't get a good extra episode that wraps up some lose ends for the main side characters and that reunion of the main characters but Youku really went nah we better play it safe with censors not liking happy ends for morally grey characters.

My Queen (24 x 45min, filmed in 2020, released Jul 2021) An FL enters a romance adventure VR game drama that I watched because I needed some fluff between TtEotM episodes. Why pick this among any other sufficiently entertaining dramas that are probably better written and not as forgetable? Because I wanted to watch Hu Wei (rich nepo baby in The Blood of Youth) in another comedy role >_> and ridiculous overacting he did deliver

The Trust (30 x 45min, filmed early 2021, released Apr 2023) The life action adaptation of the manhua No doubt in us is based on. I dunno why I finished this, I guess I'm not a quitter and needed silly stuff to balance TtEotM angst. For some reason the director thought it would be a good idea to film this like a donghua and it is causing 2nd hand embarrassment. The ML cannot pull off being a woman in a man's body, not even a martial arts nerd like Xu Yu. Like Wulin Heroes it was filmed before the dangai ban but that didn't stop them from having at least two bromances.

Wanru's Journey (24 x 35min, filming started in Jun 2021, released May 2023) A mess. So IQIYI released this simply to ride on the wave of Ao Ruipeng's The Blood of Youth popularity. Because this got so chopped down because of the dangai ban and it probably wasn't good to begin with. Basically an actress transmigrates into a dangai screenplay and gets between the leads while also making money by writing fic about them (ok this is my reading but she DID release fic and drawings of them). Of course it takes an unnecessarily dramatic turn, instead of staying on the comedy side, cannot remember more of the plot, oops.

King is not Easy (20ep x 30min, released Aug 2017) I watched this for the body switch trope and Bai Lu. Nice to see her actual face before the fair skin filter got her, entertaining enough, badly written silly comedy with mind mindbogglingly contrived final 4 episodes. It's Bai Lu's drama debut so it's nice to see how far she got

Destined (40ep x 45min, filming started in Jun 2022, released June 2023) Highly enjoyable. Fell in love with Bai Jingting. What's not to love about a playboy getting put on his path by his wife and them becoming friends, sworn siblings and then lovers in the process? No this is actually about FL finding her thing (trade) and being wildly successful at it, then it's also political, revenge and more. The leads are extremely charming and have great chemistry (the drama suffers every time they are apart lbr) and the writing is good, though people are too perfect and I wasn't into the whole palace stuff.

My Journey to You (24 ep x 60min, filming started Dec 2022, released Sep 2023) Had me from episode 1 on. Made me buy IQIYI VIP so I can watch it in good quality. Fell in love with Zhang Linghe. Yu Shuxin needs to do all the wuxia while she is still fit. Why waste being able to do the splits on some modern drama? The director sent her mud wrestling and she went for it. Everyone knows she is pretty no need for her to be beautifully put together on screen 24/7. Love the style, the character introductions, the characters, the cast, the chemistry, the story, the way you expect something and something else is going on. While it started out gloomy and remained so for the most part, it surprised me with throwing in more comedy than I expected. The good old idle manchild gets thrown into a position of power story but it's a murderous martial arts clan against another murderous martial arts clan. It's giving you some information but often just enough for getting what's going on just to play with your expectations later, FUN! And I didn't even mention all the other characters because surprise! this is actually an ensemble drama with several intriguing characters. Do not expect for the two leads to be on screen all the time.

Hilarious Family (24ep x 45min, started filming in June 2022 (?), released Sept 2023) A fun ensemble comedy I watched for Jackie Li. A widow moves to another city to marry off her 4 daughters (a silly man-crazy one, a homely one, a scholar one and a tomboy one). No it's not Pride and Prejudice but yes of course this is a romcom and all women have a love interest. It kind of drops off later on tbh, but still good for the characters and side characters. The success of this in China hopefully means that Jackie Li will get to be getting more comedies to work in after the Queen Lau disaster and people having a problem with her artist alias in 2022.

Hello There (20ep x 30min, released Jan 2023) I stumbled on this on IQIYI while looking for a light fast watch that will let my brain relax. The ML's best acting moment is when he plays a wooden robot. FL is fun. There are some questionable scenes, standard low budget action comedy fare.

An Ancient Love Song (14ep x 30 min, released June 2023) A wonderfully written and executed grown up time traveling story, that shows once again that you don't need a big budget to tell a story that draws you in. Ended my palace politics blockade. All this time traveling and no reincarnation in sight. ;_;

Story of Kunning Palace (38ep x 45min, filming started in May 2022, released Nov 2023) Tieing 2nd with My Journey to You for brainrot drama of the year. The cinematography is questionable, the story is not for teaching perfect courting behavior but those two are just such a good cp in their awkward messy way. Their friends/sidekicks are fun too and bring some comedy to that story though crazy in love ML is serving some comedy too. Props to ZLH for actually trying to grasp the basics of playing qin and not just waving over the strings like other dramas deem it sufficient. Bai Lu is Bai Lu-ing, gathering her harem. Coming into this right after An Ancient Love Song the idea to defeat destiny this time around seemed hopeless to me but this is one of those they are good at making plans and they turn out mostly alright dramas. I hope those two's material for the next years is as good as the two dramas with them I watched in 2023, fingers crossed!

Currently watching: A Journey to Love and Taoism Grandmaster as well as 2/3 through a LbFaD rewatch that I started in summer.

I also watched a handful of modern dramas (made in Korea and Japan) and some mini-dramas, but that is for another post.

And yes my most watched actors are probably those uncles stuck in Hengdian, might look that up another day.

If I got the time to blog about a drama I usually do it with screenshots so my tag for those posts is excuse my bad quality screenshots. In other cases I just reblog and put my thoughts in the tags.

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rose-bookblood · 1 year

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rose! i desperately need to know how you make moodboards so beautiful??? like the ones from the intros of bbts??? my favs are Evelyn's, Travis', Anabelle's and Serena's oh my god

oh my god

(also would you be willing to have a badly drawn picture of some of them?? in like chibi style or sth idk... just wondering. stressing on the badly part btw)

i love them ;-;

@ink-fireplace-coffee

Yesterday I was too tired to answer, but now I'm here!

I always thought my moodboards were ugly??? I can't believe you like them??

What I do is I spend an embarrassing amount of time looking for pictures through Pinterest and Unsplash, download all the ones that could prove useful (the download folder on my phone has more than 700 photos), choose the ones that fit best and assemble them in PicsArt. I gave myself some guidelines, like, for example, you'll notice that the center image is the element each character possesses, since that's essential in BBtS. Or, because I use the 9-pictures grid, 5 of the images are photos that represent the character either the character's looks, personality or interests, while the other 4 are quotes (or... something in text) that fit them.

I was heavily inspired by this author on Instagram:

(I'd recommend her books, but they're in Italian RIP)

As you can see, she also uses a 9 images in her moodboards and the grid's width is the same.

I still can't believe you like my moodboards?? Every time I look at them I find something I'd change lol. But, anyway, I hope this was helpful!

And regarding the second part... (besides the fact that I suck at drawing so bad, so everything seems beautiful to me) if you made art of my characters, even if it were just a bunch of stick men, I'd legit cry on the spot!! I can't believe you like my characters so much you'd draw them?? I love you so much <3

#friend: carmen ☕

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boopasnoops · 1 year

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Alright, so the FA drama

FA is a site which bans Cub Art, ie, art of child-like characters. Fair enough, right? They recently changed the policy to expand dramatically following what is claimed to be a push by the community. Now, you cannot post anything which can be misconstrued as a child, basically. Eevees, Pichus, Gatomons, etc, will be considered child-like "By default" and if you have drawn them, you can get banned. Animesque, chibi, toony designs, and several others are out as well.

This happens to include HUGE amounts of the fandom. The perception was that the existing rules were fine, and this now brands a bunch of entirely unrelated expression as cub art for no adequately explained reason. Not only that, but the owner of the site has an Eeeveesona and Digimonsona, and people noticed. People are fleeing the website, in fear that their drawing is going to attract some random person who things their head is a little too large for their body and report them, deleting their account and everything in their gallery.

Adding to the danger of this, the rules were not, and have not, been defined properly. It's essentially "If it has the wrong vibes, it's banned." This means that literally any drawing you post, if it is misconstrued badly enough, can have your account vapourized. Following criticism of this - which largely focused on "It's fine if the site bans cub art, but this policy as written is unclear and can be easily abused by bad actors and will threaten many existing artists" - the FA admins have done much in their power to ignore and contain this. In doing so, they have given off a perception that they absolutely do not understand the criticism. The admin and owner of the Discord Server (Luffy) in particular as attracted ire, as they has dismissed several arguments outright, banned several people for mild concerns, and continually treated the dissenters as a problem. FA has released continuous clarifications, none of which have addressed the core issues people have raised Then comes Chapter 2, where - in one of these clarifications - FA has highlighted the fact that the site still allows "SFW fetish art" (their words) of minor characters, and allows it to be marked as PG or even G rated. Examples given include vore and pregnancy.

So, for the people watching from the sidelines who did not take the concerns seriously and were just like "Oh, people are just mad they can't draw their lolis" were suddenly also antagonized, as they realized that, in fact, this will do nothing to ban anything actually unsavoury which they do not want. So they campaigned to try and close that, in a second wave FA responded by banning art of pregnant minors. Just pregnant minors.

So they didn't roll back the Pokemon Ban, but you can still draw a 14 year old in bondage being eaten by a snake. They have since closed the FA discord's feedback channel and are banning people who still talk about it. There is a "Feedback" trouble ticket you can use, but there is a rumor that someone got banned for using it to ask for clarification. I still recommend people send feedback through it, though

#man what the fuck #like. what the fuck #ask #anon

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sleepyivoryrose · 1 year

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creative break is over!

yeah...sometimes I don’t have any energy to work on creative stuff...but now I’m back baby! And I got soo many ideas for videogames! Sadly, I’m bad at programming. But hey, nothing a good tutorial can’t fix, right? With...exceptions - looking suspiciously at Blender -

Seriously, it’s so difficult to get into that...I tried doing step by step what the tutorial said and it still somehow didn’t work...anyways, I’ll try my luck with 2D Unity! Maybe, if I can get better at hand-drawn animations, I won’t need a 3D tool!

One of the ideas is a .hack//- pokemon crossover game in the style of Gold and Silver. With Pokemon Essentials, because I can’t mod a romhack to save my life. I think the trainer sprites will be the most difficult to create, since i am not used to pixel such small pictures with so little detail...the map itself could prove a challenge, because I have to resize the tiles small and then big again.

________

To change the subject, I watched again a Let’s Play from 13 Sentinels and GOD I LOVE HIJIYAMA x OKINO QAQ They’re so cute together, I just can’t! fhsdiofhd

So I tried also drawing Hijiyama from 2188, but it proves more difficult than I thought. I just don’t have good observation skills, and I’m not sure if you can learn that...I drew him six or seven times, but I guess that’s not enough. I won’t give up though. On the fun side, I created a Hijiyama Chibi that looks like a muppet which I thought looked weird. In a good way.

He’s so fun to lampshade.

________

On the other hand, I got the feeling I am very mopy these last months. A real downer. Which isn’t good, because my close friend is also very sad and I don’t want to burden her with my own sadness, yknow? I should be cheering her up! But I suppose sometimes you can’t just up and decide how you want to feel today. I want to snap out of it so badly though. It doesn’t help me in any way to be down in the dumps, and it doesn’t help others either. It’s just stupid.

My therapist claims though that it’s important to feel your feelings, no matter how bad they are, because else you train your body to feel nothing which leads to emotional outbursts, which sucks even more. I can’t win, huh?

__________

Oh! I started to watch Oshi no Ko, even though I told myself I wouldn’t, because of its dark themes. I mean, I was spoiled, so it wasn’t as bad as going in completely blind, but the first episodes ending was still a tearjerker. What can I say? I can’t resist a colorful premise. It doesn’t help that one of the protagonists is really cute too. It’s Madoka Magica all over again.

_________

I gotta go now though. Nothing necessarily special happened while I was gone, I just bingewatched 13 Sentinels and drowned a little bit in feels. I don’t want to sound creepy, but, that’s why I love fiction. Because it makes you feel things. My reality doesn’t quite manage that. Maybe I just got too high standards. Maybe Oshi no Ko is right, and love is made out of lies. Who knows.

__________

Anyways, taking off!

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splendidly-secret-sick-fics · 3 years

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Ooo! What about Kuroo feeling really unwell during training camp while training with Bokuto, Akaashi, Tsukki, Hinata and Lev? He's probably felt bad for a while, but just suffered through. So when everything becomes too much, a panicking Hinata runs to get Kenma... and you can decide the rest.

Only if you're comfortable with writing it though! Have a nice day!

Leaders Don’t Cry: a Kuroo sickfic

Pairing: sick Kuroo, caretakers Kenma, Tsukki, Bokuto, Akaashi, kinda Hinata & Lev

Word Count: 4,266

Warnings: vomit, swearing, slight emetophobia, and sad Kuroo :(

———————————————————

Thanks for the request friend :) I’ve only ever written Kuroo & Kenma as side characters, so this was kinda fun!!

I’m not super super happy with the overall product, but that’s alright. I do feel like maybe it’s not super cohesive? Idk. Let me know!! I look forward to improving my characterization of Kuroo and Kenma.

———————————————————-

Kuroo was a Leader. He was someone that others looked up to. Someone you could depend on.

Leaders were extroverts though, and Kuroo had to admit he did his best Recharging alone in his room or the quiet company of the Kenma. That’s an Introvert Thing, apparently. Even when he was young, too many people or too much social interaction drained him. Another Introvert Thing.

When he met Kenma and started playing volleyball, it seemed he naturally outgrew his Introvert Model, shedding his shy, intimidated outer-self. It was easily replaced with the Extrovert Model.

Now, Kuroo liked being surrounded by his team and his friends and he liked meeting new people. That’s an Extrovert Thing. So Kuroo was an Extrovert.

(“That makes you an Introverted Extrovert, Kuro,” Kenma told him one day. Kuroo didn’t understand how that could possibly be a thing.)

As an Extrovert, it was only natural that he became the captain of his volleyball team his third year. It was only natural that he was the Bridge between Karasuno and the Tokyo powerhouse schools.

(Kenma claimed, when the two of them were alone at least, that it was really his friendship with Chibi-Chan and their coaches that did that. Kuroo refused to concede this point.)

As the Leader and Bridge, it was again only natural that not only his team, but also other teams’ players were drawn to his wisdom and sparkling personality.

(“You forced yourself on them,” Kenma sighed.)

And that’s how he, Kuroo Tetsuro, Certified Extroverted Leader, came to be in Gym Three, long after their main practice ended with two of Karasuno’s first years, Bokuto, Akaashi, and Lev.

And that’s also how he ended up in the Worst Possible Situation.

It went down like this.

They were at another training camp with the Fukurodani Group and Regular Guests, Karasuno High. It was a short one, thrown together quickly because of the long weekend.

After much convincing (read: coercion) from him and Bokuto, Tsukishima Kei agreed to join them again for blocking practice. They pushed because Kuroo couldn’t stand to watch this kid’s talent waste away and Bokuto was personally offended that Tsukki still didn’t seem to enjoy volleyball.

It should have come as no surprise that Karasuno’s Hinata Shoyo joined in again, determined to redeem himself from his previous loss at the last camp.

And then because Haiba Lev decided that Chibi-chan and him were rivals, he joined in too.

(Akaashi claimed he had no choice but to join. It was either endless practice or endless Dejected Bokuto. Kuroo thinks he’s just masochistic.)

Their first night was awesome. He saw a fire ignited in Tsukki and got to smash Bokuto’s spikes back in his face. Plus, his ego was boosted because the three first years were all wowed by his skill.

Tonight, however, was not great. If he was honest with himself, things were bad from the second he woke up, and promptly wanted to curl back into his futon.

His head hurt and his body ached. The sounds of his team waking up and getting ready for the day set his nerves on edge the second he heard them. He felt overcrowded and overstimulated and he wasn’t even out of bed yet.

It had all the signs of a Recharge Alone Day, but it was the last full day of a training camp in which he was supposed to be a Leader. So, he pushed that all aside and got up to go lead.

As the day progressed, Kuroo gave more and more thought to Kenma’s “Introverted Extrovert” theory. He still loved his team and wanted to be around them. He did want to participate in the games and hang out with the other teams.

He also so so very badly wanted to sit in the dark for the next several hours.

Kuroo’s headache only grew more insistent as the day went on, likely due to the sounds of squeaking shoes, bouncing volleyballs, and the too warm summer heat. He got increasingly more fidgety and nervous all day and it made him uncomfortable in his own skin. That, added to the already ever-present soreness of his limbs only served to make him more miserable.

But he was the Captain, so he shoved those feelings down, ignored his headache, and tried to act as normal as possible. For the most part, his plan worked and no one bothered him about what might be wrong. Kenma was the only one that eyed him suspiciously every time his Extrovert facade slipped a little. At the end of the regular practice, his best friend approached him slowly.

“Hey,” he said, his voice quiet as usual.

“Kenma! What’s up, dude?” Kuroo forced, trying to maintain his usual Extrovert Mode.

“Cut the crap, Kuro,” Kenma sighed, blunt and exhausted as usual.

“Kenma, what are you—“

“Are you sick?”

The question caught Kuroo off guard. Was he sick? He thought it was just an Introvert Day that he had to push through. Maybe Kenma had a point though? It wasn’t like he normally felt this drained during a training camp. That usually came after the camp ended.

“No,” he eventually replied and waved his hand, “nah. Just tired. I think practicing with the guys at night took more of my energy than usual.” That must be it. He didn’t usually have to put out that much energy after practice. Lev, Hinata, and Bokuto were all True Extroverts, after all. Unlike Kuroo, who just molded himself into one. It made sense.

Kenma studied him with wide eyes before relenting and saying “Don’t push yourself, Kuro.”

“I won’t, don’t worry. I am a little tired though so maybe I’ll forgo evening prac—“

“Kuroo-san!” Hinata ran up to them, “are we practicing again today?? I want you to show me that cool wha-BAM block again!!” He jumped up and slammed his hands down, most likely trying to imitate exactly what he was trying to convey. All the loud explanation did was call attention back to his headache.

“Shoyo, Kuro was actually just saying that he was—“

“On my way to look for you Chib-chan!” Kuroo interrupted. Kenma narrowed his eyes at him, but Kuroo couldn’t deny the little red headed twerp.

“Let’s go grab something to eat and then we’ll round up the others.”

Hinata looked at him with those stupid starry eyes and nodded before running off to pester Tsukishima. Kuroo deflated some.

“Kuro. It’s okay to take breaks. I know you think that this is what you should be doing as Captain, but it’s alright to say no sometimes,” Kenma said.

“I know, Kenma,” Kuroo smiled gently, ignoring the uneasy feeling in his gut, “Thank you for looking out, but I’m fine! It’s only one more day. Tomorrow afternoon once everyone’s gone, I’ll just hang out in my room. You can come over if you want and play that new game I bought.”

Kenma studied him again before letting out a long-suffering exhale.

“Sure. Sounds good.”

After they ate, the six of them met up in Gym Three for another three on three. On the outside, things were going well. On the inside, Kuroo’s head was quickly descending into chaos.

He pretended that Bokuto, Lev and Hinata weren’t too loud. He pretended that he had enough energy to show them the same move seven times. He pretended he was enjoying this.

All the while, his headache slowly transitioned into a migraine, his limbs got heavier, and his dinner swirled in his stomach nauseatingly. It took maximum effort to stay awake, let alone play a three on three with three of the most energetic people he’d ever met before.

It all came to a head when his feet slammed down after blocking one of Bokuto’s cross shots. The power behind those normally made him stumble upon landing, but this time it sent a sharp pain shooting through his head and stars dance in his vision. He couldn’t regain his footing, and he stumbled onto his ass.

“Kuroo-san?” Akaashi asked when he didn’t get back up. He couldn’t get back up. The stars were still there and he couldn’t really find his feet.

“Y-yeah?” he stuttered.

“Hey, hey, hey, Kuroo, you alright my man?” Bokuto’s voice boomed and he winced before he could stop himself.

“Kuroo-san? What’s wrong?” Akaashi was kneeling beside him now. He could tell by the proximity of his voice.

“Just a a little...dizzy,” he forced a laugh, trying to play it off. He squeezed his eyes shut and brought a hand up to squeeze at his temples. What the hell was happening?

“Kuroo-san! Do you want some water?” Hinata’s voice rang and clanged in his head. He groaned.

“Kuroo-san, don’t die!!” Lev’s voice pounded. He grimaced.

“Would you idiots keep it down?” Tsukishima, beautiful, quiet Tsukishima commanded.

“Hey, Stupid we’re just trying to help!” Hinata screeched.

“And clearly he’s got a headache, you massive dolt. Keep your volume down,” Tsukki snapped back. Kuroo would thank him if the room would stop spinning.

Suddenly, a hand was on his forehead.

“You’ve got a fever,” Akaashi stated.

Oh. Well, Kenma was right after all. He was sick. The confirmation snapped something into place and all of his emotions, his control, whooshed out of him in one fell swoop. All the symptoms he ignored all day came to the very front of his mind and all he could think about was how miserable he felt.

“Oh,” he choked around the abrupt knot in his throat. He blinked his eyes open and turned to look at Akaashi. The setter was serious as ever, but there was a small frown on his lips and tiny furrow to his brows.

“Bokuto-san, can you bring me your warm up jacket?”

Bokuto nodded and quickly, but thankfully quietly, brought their jackets over and Akaashi draped it around Kuroo’s shoulders.

“Kuroo-san, do you want to lie down?” he soothed.

“Akaashi, I don’t feel good,” he muttered. There was a burning in his eyes and a quiver to his lips that he really wished would go away.

“I know. We’ll get you to your room, but first, I need you to get yourself together some.”

“I don’t...I don’t feel good,” he said, an all too evident shake in his voice. This is not what Leaders do. But he felt so terrible, there was nothing he could do to prevent this sudden onslaught of emotions. Before he knew it, warm tears rolled down his flushed cheeks.

“Kuroo-san!” Hinata screeched. Tsukishima smacked him upside the head. He glared and rubbed the back of his head.

“Kuroo-san,” he tried again, quieter this time, “don’t cry, please. It’s okay!”

Kuroo couldn’t help it. He appreciated Hinata’s attempts at comfort, but he was so drained and he was so sick and he couldn’t help it.

“Kuroo, what can we do to help, man?” Bokuto asked gently, much to his and Akaashi’s (flustered and very evident) surprise. He sat down by Kuroo and rubbed a hand soothingly up and down his back. It helped for a second, but then it just made his skin crawl and his stomach turn.

“I I don’t...I don’t know,” he whimpered pitifully, “I don’t feel good.” He exhaled and dropped his chin to his chest. The downward spiral of both his physical and mental condition brought him further and further into his own self-incurred misery. He needed someone else to be the leader. Anyone.

“Ahhhh, Kuroo-san.” Hinata flailed.

“What about Kenma?” Lev whisper-yelled. Hinata’s spine straightened sharply.

“Good idea, Lev! I know where he is. I’ll go get him!” Hinata proclaimed and ran out.

“Kuroo, what doesn’t feel good?” Bokuto asked.

Kuroo inhaled shakily.

“Head.. my head hurts. And I’m sore and uh and my st-stomach,” he responded through panting breaths.

“There’s a stomach bug that just hit a couple of the player’s on Shinzen’s team,” Tsukishima supplied helpfully.

“Sounds like you might’ve picked that up, Kuroo-san.” Akaashi clicked his tongue.

This was news to him. It must’ve just happened because usually the captains kept each other up to date on those kinds of things as soon as they could. If that was true, that would explain why it came on so quickly. He was fine yesterday. Even just a few hours ago, he was nothing but a little groggy. Now it felt like he got hit by a bus.

If it was a stomach bug, that meant….

“No, no,” he panicked, “no I don’t want that.” He wrapped his hands around his swirling stomach.

“Kuroo, calm down. It’s alright. You’re gonna make it worse,” Bokuto said. Kuroo shook his aching head.

“No I hate throwing up, Bo,” he whimpered and dropped his head to look at his shaking hands.

“Oh…” Akaashi breathed, “do you feel like you might?”

“I don’t know,” he said again. Because he didn’t want to. He absolutely did not want to puke. Not in front of these first years. That might ruin all of his credibility as an upperclassmen, let alone the Captain of a powerhouse school.

Geez, what a pitiful and pathetic display he was putting on. He was supposed to be someone these kids looked up to, and now they were helping him.

“Here,” Tsukishima said, handing Akaashi and Bokuto a bucket from the supply room. Kuroo eyed it distastefully.

“It’s just in case, Kuroo-san!” Lev tried. But the more Kuroo got worked up in spite of himself, the more he realized that wasn’t true. His current emotional state wreaked havoc on his head, which in turn twisted his gut.

Several minutes passed and Kuroo took the time to collect himself so that he could get it together enough to go to his room. At least there he could be miserable and pathetic alone.

While he was able to get himself to stop crying, the come down from the sudden rush of emotions only made his other symptoms that much more prevalent.

Kuroo groaned miserably, “where’s Kenma?”

“Hinata-kun has gone to get him. He’ll be back soon hopefully.”

“Akaashi, I don’t feel good,” he whined and curled tighter in on himself.

“I know,” Akaashi said.

“Feels… bad…” he swallowed thickly.

“Kuroo…” Tsukishima warned. He shook his head.

“‘M sorry,” he mumbled. Something heaved in his stomach and he pulled his shoulders up to his ears and brought the back of his hand to his mouth.

“Y’guys should go,” he said around the pool of saliva in his mouth and the heaviness of his jaw. Who he was talking to at this point, he wasn’t sure. He just knew that being around him right now was only asking to catch this. He also knew he was about to puke and he really wanted to try and maintain some of his dignity.

“Too late for that, numbskull. We’ve been around you for days. If we’re gonna catch it, we’re gonna catch it. Might as well make sure you don’t die,” Tsukishima said. Kuroo, behind his mounting nausea and hazy brain, was touched by his salty kouhai’s attempt at comfort.

“I think he meant he doesn’t want you to see him spew, Tsukkidude,” Bokuto murmured. His hand was still on Kuroo’s back and while it was more comforting than bothersome now, it also served to swirl things around in his stomach and brain. He nodded lethargically.

“Kuroo-san, if you could, uh— please, just, um...wait...for Kenma-san, I think it would make you feel, uh, better. To have him here, that is. Instead of...uh...me,” Akaashi stammered. Kuroo heard the nervousness in his voice and felt bad. There wasn’t much he could do to stave off the inevitable though.

“You squeamish, ‘Kaashi?” Bokuto asked.

“Uhhhh,” Akaashi hesitated, high pitched, “maybe a little.”

“Bo,” Kuroo panted, punctuated by a sick hiccup.

“I gotcha, buddy. Bucket’s right here,” Bokuto reassured and placed the bucket in his lap. “You can leave guys, I got this.” He said to the other three.

“Yeah...I’m gonna take you up on that,” Lev said uneasily. “Sorry Kuroo-san.” He bowed and then sprinted out of the gym. Tsukishima looked more hesitant, but ultimately bowed and left as well.

“Akaashi?” Bokuto said right as Kuroo spit into the bucket. The sounds of their conversation faded in and out with the rest of Kuroo’s surroundings. All he could fully register was the lump of something nasty moving up his chest. All he could see was the blinding red color of the bucket.

A few airy burps that grated his throat passed through his parted lips. He whimpered.

“It’s alright, Kuroo,” Bokuto’s voice filtered through the haze. He gagged.

It hurt. It hurt so badly. Each heave, gag and hiccup that plagued him for the next several moments.

Where was Kenma?

Kuroo coughed, hiccupped, and a small stream of vomit trailed out of his mouth. It wasn’t enough. It still hurt. He wheezed.

“Hey, Kuroo-san, try to take deep breaths,” Akaashi’s shaky voice commanded.

“Can’t,” he gasped, coughing up more bile.

Fuck he wanted this to be over.

Cough, gasp, puke. The painful, horrific cycle repeated for several tense minutes. It didn’t relieve any of his discomfort.

Bokuto patted his back and tried to offer comforting words. Akaashi wouldn’t look at Kuroo, but he was there, another steady presence to offer some grounding to Kuroo.

“Kuroo- san! I found Kenma!” Hinata’s voice cut through his misery. “He was in the shower. I’m sorry it took so long!”

“Kuro,” Kenma said, voice calm, blunt, comforting. He took Akaashi’s place at his side, his Snorlax slippers and ratty sweatpants taking up Kuroo’s peripheral.

“I don’ feel good,” Kuroo told him around the bile coating his mouth. Kenma put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

“I gathered that,” he said with amusement, “it’s okay. Just relax.”

Kuroo shook his head. Relaxing meant letting this happen. He did not want it to happen.

“Tetsu, don’t be an ass,” Kenma sighed, exasperated.

“Kenma,” he whimpered. The hand on his shoulder squeezed again.

“How long has he been like this?” Kenma directed at someone else in the room.

“About 15 minutes,” Akaashi’s shaky voice answered.

“Shit, Tetsuro, why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Kenma asked. Kuroo shook his head slowly.

“Didn’ re’lize,” he slurred. His stomach cramped and his inhaled sharply through his teeth and gripped tightly at his shirt. As soon as the cramp passed, he gagged, his body jolting forward.

“Uh, I’m gonna—I’m gonna go,” Hinata stuttered out and then Kuroo heard his tiny feet run from the gym.

“Can you two go get Nobuyuki and Yaku from the Nekoma quarters? I’m sure Lev is looking for them, but he’s an idiot,” Kenma demanded of Akaashi and Bokuto, the inflection behind his voice commanding and unwavering. It comforted Kuroo in ways he didn’t understand.

Despite how it appeared to onlookers, Kenma was alway the one taking care of Kuroo. More than Kuroo took care of him, anyway. The setter always knew exactly what Kuroo needed before he even said anything. He was passive most of the time, content to let things be, but stubborn and steadfast when he needed to be. Which was something that Kuroo was grateful for, too prone to letting his emotions take over. Kenma was a sturdy support for Kuroo when he was at his weakest.

“They’re gone, Testsu. Relax and let it happen. It’s just you and me,” Kenma told him. He put his forehead on the top of Kuroo’s matted, sweaty hair. The parts of Kenma’s hair that touched Kuroo were wet and cold. It felt nice.

The uncharacteristic gentle action from Kenma made something in Kuroo’s chest twinge and he whimpered, fresh tears dropping into the bucket.

Kuroo could be himself with Kenma. He didn’t need to be the Captain or a Leader or an Extrovert or even an Introverted Extrovert. He could just be Kuroo.

“Just us, Tetsu,” Kenma said and pulled his head back.

Kuroo inhaled slowly, deeply and exhaled, trying to relax his shoulders and back. It didn’t take much more for his stomach to finally find relief.

A gurgling hiccup brought up a small stream of bile and he coughed. Another hiccup brought a little more. Then finally, he belched, wet and heady, and heaved, a much stronger torrent of disgusting vomit moving up his chest and out of his mouth.

“There ya go,” Kenma sighed. He moved Kuroo’s unruly hair, made more disgusting by the sheen of sweat covering his forehead, back and away from his face. Kuroo lurched forward with a gag, bringing up more of his dinner.

“Holy shit, Kuro, that’s some fever. I’m sorry you’ve felt so bad all day,” Kenma whispered. Kuroo shook his head, spitting out the nasty taste in his mouth, trying to find his breath before the next round.

He didn’t get much of a chance before he heaved again.

“God,” he slurred between wretches.

“It’s alright. Calm down,” Kenma instructed.

He puked twice more before his stomach settled for the time being.

“Kenma...please…” he whispered, gesturing for him to move the bucket away.

“Here,” Kenma handed him a water, “drink this first. Rinse out your mouth.” Kuroo did as he was told and spit into the bucket. Kenma took it away after that and Kuroo thanked him quietly. He inhaled, bringing his head up and looking at Kenma for the first time since the setter got there.

Kenma’s eyebrows were furrowed ever so slightly, a subtle pout on his lips. He brushed Kuroo’s bangs back again.

“Thanks, Kenma,” he smiled weakly. Kenma clicked his tongue.

“You’re an idiot,” he sighed. It lacked any of its usual blunt edge.

“Kuroo!!” Kai called out, running into the gym. They were both wearing medical masks, a couple more in their hands.

“Hey,” he said sheepishly, a hand on the back of his neck.

“I knew something was wrong. You really are such a dumbass,” Yaku said, a hand on his hip and an eyebrow raised. He was as blunt as usual.

“Thanks, Yaku. You’re as gentle as ever.”

“Yeah, well. Can’t help it when you decide to push yourself to this point,” he said, turning his face away. “Idiot,” he added as an afterthought. Kuroo couldn’t see his cheeks behind his mask, but his ears were red.

“You alright Kenma? Here,” Kai asked and handed Kenma a mask. Kenma shook his head.

“Too late for that,” he sighed.

“Yeah, but several of Shinzen and Fukurodani’s players have gone down with the same thing as our fearless leader here. We’re trying to contain it so it doesn’t spread more,” Kai explained.

“Yeah. Exactly. You wear one too, Kuroo,” Yaku insisted. Kuroo didn’t like the idea of having his mouth covered, but he also didn’t like the idea of spreading this wretched fate to others.

Kenma and Kuroo took the masks and then Yaku pulled some meds out of the bag on his shoulder and handed them to him. Kuroo’s lip curled, but Kenma pinched his elbow and he relented. They hit his stomach with a hollow thud.

Kai held a hand out to help Kuroo up. As soon as he stood, his knees buckled and black spots danced in his vision. Kai quickly caught him around his waist and threw Kuroo’s arm around his shoulder.

“Try not to pass out until we get back to the quarantine room. It’d make things difficult,” Yaku said. Kuroo would’ve rolled his eyes if he had the energy.

Together, they made it back to the classrooms (repurposed as sleeping quarters for the camp). There was a room for people who already puked and one for anyone experiencing symptoms. Kuroo was shocked to find Akaashi there, leaning over a trash can, Bokuto rubbing his back, as well as several Shinzen players, a couple Ubugawa players, and the setter from Karasuno.

Hinata was there as well, sitting beside Kageyama with his arms crossed and a disgruntled look on his face.

Yaku set up a new futon for Kuroo and Kai helped him settle into it. He immediately curled up on his side, exhaling in relief.

They asked if he needed anything, promised to bring him a change of clothes, and left. Kenma saw them out but then came back and plopped himself down beside Kuroo.

“You can go, Kenma,” he said, looking up at him with one eye open. Kenma shrugged.

“I wouldn’t leave you,” he said plainly. Like it wasn’t embarrassing at all. Kuroo smiled to himself.

“What’s with Chibi-Chan?” He asked in lieu of a response. Kenma snickered.

“His team sent him here when Kageyama came down with the bug. Apparently their “secret relationship” isn’t so secret.”

Kuroo chuckled. That was probably why Akaashi and Bokuto were both here as well.

“You know,” Kenma said.

“Hmm,” Kuroo replied sleepily.

“No one thinks you’re less of a Leader just because you’re sick. It happens to everyone. Doesn’t mean you’re not still someone other people look up to,” Kenma said quietly, matter-of-fact.

“Mmm.. you’re right,” he muttered back. He was. Kuroo knew that. He appreciated the reminder though.

“Go to sleep, Tetsu,” Kenma said and stretched his legs out beside Kuroo. He ran his fingers through Kuroo’s hair. Sleep called to him and his eyes slowly closed.

He woke up several times before the next morning, because of other people puking, because he needed to puke and once when Kenma puked, swearing Kuroo out for getting him sick.

He apologized profusely and pulled Kenma’s hair back with the hair tie he kept on his wrist.

Kuroo was a Leader. Someone other people liked and looked up to.

Sometimes Leaders needed someone to lean on too, he supposed. Thank goodness he had Kenma.

#haikyuu sickfic #my fics #sick kuroo #caretaker kenma #caretaker Akaashi #caretaker Bokuto #caretaker Tsukishima #caretaker Hinata #caretaker Lev #kinda sorta #they tried okay?#tw vomit #haikyuu #kuroo tetsurō #kenma kozume #emeto warning #emeto #fever

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dreamerwitches · 3 years

Text

Manga reviews!

I’ve read quite a few of the Madoka Magica manga, mostly to find witches.... So I thought I’d do a little review of the ones I’ve read! Enjoy! (also, they’re my own opinions and it’s meant to be a little funny so I exaggerate a little... so please don’t get angry!! Also kinda spoiler-y)

Madoka Magica (og manga)

Just a really compressed version of the anime. Has some changes but not often good... I only have the first one in physical and I think it’s the only one I’ll get cause it’s the most interesting part. 0/10 cause they completely removed Gisela... Also not too fond of the art style, some things are drawn really badly.. Though I’ve fallen in love with manga Gertrud. Not too fond of it but I like having the manga on my shelf. 4/10 watch the anime instead

Madoka Magica Rebellion

Will be biased cause I love rebellion. A really lovely manga, better than the og manga cause it doesn’t compress the story and even expands it. Suits three volumes better than the original. Treats familiars really well, we get bonus bartels, dora and polina~~! Doesn’t have all the fun of the movie cause it obviously doesn’t have the amazing soundtrack but it’s a really nice manga anyway. Bebe is drawn really well but the Clara Dolls aren’t. 9/10 almost as good as the movie

Kazumi Magica

Plot: seven magical girls trying to do good stuff and Kazumi, the protag, has amnesia I was surprised how much I loved this manga... I enjoyed it so much and got attached to almost all the characters. Though, spoilers, all my favourites either died or turned out to be evil... Lots of plot twists. LOTS. A wonderful lack of kyubey too... I found the story to be so intriguing. It took a spin on the original series far better than - imo - Oriko did. Really ace witches too. Only downside was sometimes the art. Too many ass shots thanks. Also a lot of the magi outfits were a tad distasteful (and some distasteful jokes too). 8/10 pretty darn good

Oriko Magica

Plot: two girls want to kill Madoka cause they know about Homu’s shenanigans. Has a pretty out there story, gets quite serious at the end. First time reading I didn’t care about it but I’ve grown fond of some of the main characters like Oriko, Kirika and Yuma. I found Kirika annoying and op first time reading. The addition of the original Madoka characters feels weird even though they are in the same universe. Original characters are also sometimes unrecognisable because of the art style. I almost never recognised Kyoko... The bonus stories are really fun, I liked them a lot. They’re short but nice. New and interesting witches too! I probably preferred Extra and Sadness prayer to the original story (Sadness prayer is like, basically a retelling of the og Oriko story but better) 6/10 for main story (feels a bit like babies first fanfic), side stories are probably a 7/10 (writer probs had more experience)

The Different Story

Plot: Mami and Kyoko backstory plus a spin on the original story. A really fun and interesting read, especially if you like Mami or Kyoko a lot. I loved the expansion of the original characters, it’s really great. I got a bit lost at the end but I was kinda scanning through... Art is by the same artist as the original manga but it’s certainly improved. Really amazing witches too~! Read it again when I got volume 1 for Chrimbo and its far sadder than I remembered... hm. Lovely art though, and very powerful scenes 7 or 8/10. I’d need to read it in full again to give a better judgement

Suzune Magica

Plot: Very edgy, lots of die. Never got attached to Suzune like I did with the Oriko characters. Some costume designs are also gross and pervy. Didn’t find it memorable and didn’t care much about the characters. Nice witches though. 3/10

Haven’t read Tart magica and don’t have any opinions on it yet. Hate the artist so I don’t think I will ever read it. (witches also look like afterthoughts... boooo)

Wraith Arc

Gave it a scan aaannndd.... didn’t enjoy it...... found it so boring. Wraiths are so boring as the enemy. Bland and have no character or inu curry flair. I feel you’d really enjoy it if you adored Homura and Madoka. I don’t so... I don’t think my opinion would be justified for this one.

Homura’s Revenge

Plot: Homura, Madoka and Kyubey go back in time before Madoka turns God. I. HATED. This one. Sigh.. It was the most frustrating manga I’ve ever read. Kyubey just gets in the way and not in a funny or clever way. Kills off Mami too early too. The witch designs are also crap like the artist don’t care about them. Illustrated by the same artist as Tart Magica and they’re a creep so it’s an automatic ‘euch’. Homura just resets in the end anyway. Just like Wraith Arc, I feel you’d like it more if you really liked Homura and Madoka 1/10 I liked the part with Elly and that’s it

The Veranda of Madoka

Plot: All five girls are living in the same house as sisters. Spoilers, this is my favourite manga... it’s so so cute and lovely! It’s a 4Koma (four square panels for a joke/story but sometimes has longer stories) manga with cute humour and fun stories. You really care about the girls and want them to be happy together. I’ve only read volume 1 cause it’s the only one translated but I really wanna read the rest cause it seems to add Nagisa. Only downsides are it has some tasteless jokes like breast sizes and Homura’s sometimes kinda pervy towards Madoka (remember, they are sisters in this one) but those things are rare in the long run. Has lesbian Hitomi which increases the score tenfold. The art style is also adorable, I prefer it to PAPA’s current style honestly. 9.5/10 would be 10 if it didn’t have some questionable jokes sometimes

Mitakihara Anti Materials

Plot: Homura accidentally winds up living with Mami. I thought I was gonna hate this one. Turns out I love this one. If you ship Homura and Mami, it’s the best, but it also works well for a platonic friendship. It’s a lovely slice of life with lots of fluffy bits with Homu and Mami but also the other girls. Sayaka also for some reason has the super hots for Mami (I mean, who wouldn’t). Sadly, has some tasteless jokes like Veranda which bring it down. Taking pictures of people against their will and body-swapping, I just wasn’t into it... Art is pretty generic but works just fine. 8/10

Mami Tomoe’s everyday life

Plot: The girls are older. Excuse me while I vomit. Read a few pages and quickly ran. CLEARLY written by a perverted old man. The girls are all married and only talk about husbands and their weight and things men think women talk about. Also. Homura is married to Tatsuya, excuse me while I hurl again. Just look at the covers and you can tell the artist is a porn artist. -10/10 kill it

Welcome to Cafe Grief Seed

Plot: The girls work at a cake cafe. I um, love this one, it’s so soft and wonderful. The art style is so adorable, I’ve shamelessly stolen it for some of my art cause I love it that much. It’s a sweet mix of Sailor Moon and Ghibli. The pages are laid out like 4Koma but like Veranda, they often have longer stories. The take on the witches are really fun and imaginative too (they’re simply problematic customers). A really nice and harmless read (no pervy jokes, thanks). 9/10 wish it was longer and the artist seems to have not done anything else...

Pomu Magi

Plot: Homura is tiny and chibi for some reason. Reeeaalllyy didn’t gel with this one. Seems kinda like someone’s fetish... Just felt weird, I stopped reading quickly. Not disgusting like Everyday Life but made me feel uncomfortable. 0/10

Mahou Shoujobu

Plot: the girls make a magical girl club in a school shared with witches. Although it apparently involved witches it barely included them. LIES. Disappointed, Homura was also really weird too. 1/10 got to see witches but they weren’t portrayed well

Homura Tamura

Plot: take a look at lots of different timelines. I liked this one but damn it was all over the place. Every chapter is a different wacky timeline, and I mean wacky. A world where Mami rules and everyone wears hair drills, a world where Sayaka drives an Oktavia mech. Wacky. Kinda hard to follow first time through. But funny and quite charming. Made me laugh out loud sometimes. On a re-read for images I enjoyed it just as much as the first time, even more. 8/10 good if you like humour and silly jokes

#madoka magica manga #madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #manga #kazumi magica #puella magi kazumi magica #oriko magica #puella magi oriko magica #tart magica #puella magi tart magica #puella magi suzune magica #suzune magica

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maddiethebull · 4 years

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Victor (MLQC) - Prompt #18 - “Here, like this.”

It was my birthday when I started writing this, so I thought it’d be fun to have it be the MC’s bday too! I included my great-grandfather Batuyong’s recipe for what Victor is cooking throughout the fic because I really like cooking and it’s what me and my mom made for my birthday dinner since we couldn’t go out this year, it was so fun making it that I thought I’d share it with anyone who’d like to try it :)

Thank you for making a request <3 Hope you enjoy it! Victor prompt #1 will be coming also.

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Light from the rising sun shone through the slats in your window shades, waking you up once that golden light reached your peacefully closed eyes. You rubbed your eyes and stretched, releasing one of those weird noises that people make when they stretch in the morning. You sat up in your bed, excited to start the day because it was your birthday! You had plans with a certain stubborn CEO and as soon as you thought of him a smile crept up to your lips. Victor decided to treat you to a home cooked meal that night, and after a lot of begging, he even agreed to let you help him this time. You were so excited to see that hot CEO/chef at work and be able to help him prepare dinner for the two of you to share. You had a wide grin slapped on your face, it was practically cemented into your facial features for the entire morning. You assumed it would take place at Souvenir just like your last birthday, but that morning you got a text from Victor that read,

“You’ll be coming to my house around 3, don’t forget an apron.”

Hmm?? You texted back,

“Your house?”

Within the minute Victor replied,

“I don’t need you damaging the kitchen at Souvenir. Happy Bday, dummy.”

You rolled your eyes, of course he’d say something like that.

After sending a thank you message you got ready for the day. It went by quick, you had breakfast and worked for an hour or two at your desk. You then had lunch with Anna, Minor, and Kiki, receiving some odd presents like the choker that matched Minor’s… a “best friend’s necklace” he told you. You had laughs and talked about your plans for later in the evening, Anna definitely hinting that you should make a move. Overall, a wonderful start and middle to the day which added to your excitement to see how the end of the day would go.

When you got home, you rummaged through your closet,

“Should I wear something fancy? But it's his house not a restaurant… Casual?” You said to yourself as you held some leggings up, “Hmm. That’s too casual. What do you even wear in a situation like this?” After pondering the etiquette of dinner parties and the casualty of one on one dinners at home, you decided on a good middle ground. You checked your phone and it was already 2:45.

“Oh shit!” You hurriedly shoved the things you needed into a bag and perhaps took longer than you should’ve deciding what shoes to wear. You rushed out the door then right back in. You’d forgotten an apron! You grabbed the first apron you saw hanging and ran out the door yet again and flagged down a cab with more intensity than needed. Luckily, you made it just in time, only five minutes late. But to Victor, five minutes late meant a headache for you. Images of an angry little chibi Victor flashed in your mind as you walked up the pathway to his house, bringing a smile to your face. ‘That’s exactly what he’s gonna look like when he answers,’ you thought. You rang the doorbell to his intimidatingly fancy house and waited. And waited a little more? After two minutes passed you got sort of worried, Victor is Mr. Punctual afterall, even texting he answers back within the minute. After another minute passed by, you decided to ring the doorbell again but as soon as your finger pressed the button, the door swung open to reveal Victor, the black long sleeve button up he always wore had two buttons undone at the top and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was a bit messy and the plain apron he wore had some stains on it as well as a bit of torn wrapping paper stuck to the string.

“Sorry I’m a little late, I-”

“You get a pass today. But don’t think that’ll ever happen again.”

“Sassy as ever, Mr. Victor,” you said grinning at him.

“A dummy as always,” he retorted at you, mirroring your grin “happy birthday,” he added on at the end. He showed you in and as you were putting your things on the couch he went to his room to retrieve a little something he wanted you to have. In his room, he finished wrapping a present that sat in a small box, hoping that you’d like it. He remembered that last year’s present didn’t go down as well as he thought it would, I mean, who wouldn’t like a fancy necklace? ‘You, I guess,’ he thought. In his defense, Victor grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, and living in the business world for so long, he ended up equating the meaningfulness of presents to their dollar value. He never thought once that you’d have a problem with it, but now he knew better, you showed him better and he was thankful for it, though he was sure he’d die before saying such a cheesy line out loud. He quickly placed a bow on top and smiled at the gift he held before bringing it out to you.

He presented you with the box and it was wrapped horrendously! You could see one corner of a box poking out, the paper was crumpled to hell and the bow was a stick on bow that was stuck slightly to the left. ‘Well, he can’t be good at everything, now can he?’

“Here, I got this for you.”

“Aw, thank you, Victor. I told you that you didn’t have to get me anything, though,” you said as you took the present from his outstretched hands.

“I wanted to. So now it's yours and you can’t give it back like you tried to last year.”

“Well yeah that's because you got me a necklace that cost like a million dollars!”

“It was NOT a million dollars… it was only a thousand.”

“Victor!”

“Just open your gift,” he said as a laugh rolled off his tongue, you were far too cute when you acted like this. He watched eagerly, only a hint of it showing on his face, as usual, but eagerly nonetheless. You tore the paper from the box and as soon as you read the brand on the small box, you gasped.

“I figured you’d like something tacky such as that,” the harshness of the comment diminished by the happy tone in his voice and the smug grin brightening his dark features.

It was a small cup with a picture of the both of you printed on it. It had dog ears drawn on you and cat ears and whiskers on Victor. Was it kind of lame? Yes, but you couldn’t care less. And did he ban you from taking it out of your house after you took it to his office the next day as he got blushed in the face? Most definitely.

With the goofiest grin, you thanked him again.

“It’s nothing,” he said back, but you both knew that it wasn’t. Though, you couldn’t care less if Victor said it out loud because the tender tone in his voice told you it all.

“You know, you’re rather handsome in this picture,” you told him while pointing to the cup, you added, “you should try cat ears more often,” as you let out a laugh.

With a chuckle, “I’ll get Goldman on that,” he replied as turned away and felt a blush rise to his cheeks and ears,

“We should get to the cooking now, I already began prior to your arrival.”

As the two of you walked to the kitchen you asked what was on the menu for tonight,

“Filet mignon,” he told you as you instantly smelled the most delicious aroma, your tongue tingled just thinking about how good it would taste.

You let out an involuntary “Mmmmm,” as you looked at the food around you with excitement in your eyes and a smug grin on the CEO’s lips.

“Let’s get started, shall we? Where’s your apron?” he asked.

“Oh, I forgot to grab it from the living room, I’ll go do that and you can start cooking again.”

“Hurry up, you’re the one who wanted to cook so badly.”

You went to grab your apron and when you picked it up, you realized you’d grabbed one that had ‘kiss the cook’ written on it in bold red letters. You mentally prepared yourself for some kind of sarcastic comment from Victor as you put it on and went towards the kitchen.

You donned your “kiss the cook” apron and as soon as Victor saw it he began laughing, his baritone voice echoing through the kitchen.

“How very forward of you,” he said, not being able to stifle his laugh, and a sly look in his dark black eyes.

“It’s the only one I had!”

With a chuckle he looked away and to the food,

“Okay, if you say so.”

You playfully hit him on the shoulder and he began to talk about what to do.

You watched as he prepared the food and helped him do various things along the way, mostly, though, you washed and chopped vegetables and fixed your gaze on the man beside you. Oh lord, was he attractive when he was focused. He was all tall and dark haired with those steely eyes and-

“Focus, don’t hurt yourself.”

Immediately pulled out of your daydreams by Mr. Punctual himself. You sighed and kept up chopping and helping him season and thensome.

When Victor put the filet in the oven to bake for a while, he decided to open some wine. The both of you sipped and sipped till your glasses were empty and the scent of the cooking steak filled your senses. After about half an hour he took the tenderloin out and moved it to a chopping board, slicing into those familiar filet mignon steaks. You couldn’t help but get closer, it looked so delicious that your mouth was clearly watering. You poked your head by his bicep and he paused.

“Do you want to try?”

His deep voice took you back to reality.

“Of course I do!” you said as you eagerly took the knife from him and lined yourself up with the cutting board. You sliced one, well, half of one before he had already stopped you,

“Here, like this,” he said as he approached you from behind, the cedarwood scent of his cologne enveloping you along with the warmth from his body. He stood much taller than you as he put your hands into his, showing you how to hold the knife in a way you wouldn’t knick yourself by letting it slip. His hands were warm and soft as his slender fingers removed your pointer finger from the top of the knife’s handle and moved it to the side, leaving his hand on top of yours in that position. You could barely focus on the instructions he was giving you, not with the butterflies in your stomach making flight to crowd your mind. You couldn’t tell if it was the heat from the oven that had filled the room or heat from a blush that warmed your cheeks in that moment. He began cutting the meat, pressing his hand firmly into yours as he leaned his head beside your own so he could properly see what he was doing. You couldn’t help but take a peek at this incredibly handsome man whose face was now only inches from your own with his body pressed behind you. His black hair stuck to the light sweat forming on his temples and a small grin took place on his lips, he looked to you and in a light tone he asked,

“Do you plan on looking at me the whole time?”

Flustered, you immediately took your eyes off him and continued slicing. With his opal eyes fixed on you there was only one thought on his mind, he was, in fact, rather very close to his rather, very attractive dummy. With his chest pressed against your back, you could feel his heartbeat speed up just before he backed away, saying,

“Looks like you’ve got it now. I’ll get the pan ready next.”

He walked toward the cabinets and took out a frying pan. After he panfried it and took the sides from their pots, he plated it to look all perfect and beautiful like you were in a Michelin star restaurant, finally, it was ready to eat!

He poured some wine all handsomely and gentlemanly and finally sat down and you two began eating, you were excited and took a bite.

“How is it?” he asked as his dark eyes focused on you.

You know how some people say that the right food tastes like home? That’s exactly what you tasted, it was only a bite of steak but it flooded your mind with memories of Victor, the times he’d cooked for you at Souvenir, the times that you saw him take lingering glances your way, the times that he made your heart flutter like a teenage girl’s; they all flashed in your mind, the times that had established such a feeling of home but not in a house, instead those feelings manifesting in the man who sat in front of you. Maybe it was the candlelight reflecting like a setting sun onto the table or perhaps you’d drunk more wine before dinner than you should’ve, but something filled your emotions to a tipping point and tears formed in the corners of your eyes.

His face contorted to pure shock,

“IS IT THAT BAD????”

Laughter fell off your lips to resonate off the walls in the dining room,

“No, it's positively the best food I’ve ever had.”

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Hope you liked it! There’s more to come!

Recipe: Filet Mignon! (you can also just use the marinade for a cheaper cut of meat and make a different steak)

Ingredients Needed

What Kind of Meat: A tenderloin is the cut for filet mignon, its expensive no matter what but buying it at a general ask the butcher if they can put the butcher’s twine on the meat for you (Butcher’s twine is so that the long cut of meat can cook evenly if cooked in the oven.) and if they can trim the fat for you if you don’t know how or you just don’t want to lol.

Marinade:

1 & ½ cups of olive oil

1 cup of soy sauce (I recommend the kikkoman brand.)

1 cup of Worcester sauce

1 head of thinly sliced garlic garlic

1 tablespoon of ground black pepper

1 tablespoon of oregano

1 tablespoon of basil (Full leaves are okay but it’s much easier to measure when it's crushed.)

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Let’s Cook! (if you’re inexperienced or younger, then please have an adult who is fit to help’s supervision, we don’t want anyone getting hurt afterall!)

*NOTE: Leave the butcher’s twine on until the tenderloin is fully cooked to your taste and out of the oven and has cooled down (please don’t burn yourselves!!)*

Mix the liquid Marinade ingredients into a bowl or pan large enough to fit the cut of tenderloin.

Season the tenderloin with the non liquid ingredients (i.e. the basil and stuff, you can adjust the seasonings to your taste as well as the size of the cut of meat.)

Place the meat into the marinade and put in the fridge to let it marinate for at least 3-4 hours.

After marinating, preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

Place the meat into a metal baking pan large enough to fit it without the edges of the meat touching the sides of the pan. Remember, that butcher’s twine should still be on the meat.

Place it in the oven (while wearing oven mitts) and cook until it fits your tastes. (The oven’s rack should be on the middle or one lower than the middle rung.)

For a small cut that’s about 2-3 pounds: 35 to 40 minutes in the oven should get it to medium rare, and 45 to 50 minutes to get it to medium.

For a larger cut that’s about 4-5 pounds: 50 to 60 minutes in the oven should get it to medium rare, and 60 to 70 minutes to get it to medium.

When your tenderloin is done cooking, turn the oven off and carefully take it out of the oven (Again, with oven mitts please don't get burned.) and place the pan on a heat safe surface (I always just put it on top of the oven.) and CAREFULLY put foil to cover the pan while the tenderloin cools down. Use your oven mitt to do this to ensure you don’t get burned. This step is to ensure a juicy steak, it traps the steam in the pan and thus doesn't let the meat dry out.

Finally, when the meat has sufficiently cooled down, you can remove it from the pan and place onto a chopping board.

Cut (with an adult who is fit to help, if you’re younger) the tenderloin with a large kitchen knife, into however many pieces you want, though cutting it into too thick pieces would make more of a building shape on your plate lol, we want to avoid that.

At the end it should be circular cuts of steak.

The Last Step:

To finish cooking the tops and bottoms of those circular cuts, get a cooking pan and turn on one of the stovetop burners to low.

Pour canola oil in the pan immediately (about enough to cover the bottom of the pan) and turn the heat to medium. When small bubbles form in the oil, then you’re ready to put the meat in.

*NOTE: if the stove is too hot, the oil will start to burn, make sure that the oil is not excessively steaming because if it is, you’re burning it.*

Place each slice of the meat into your pan with tongs and sear it for around a minute or until it has browned to about the same color as the sides, then CAREFULLY flip the piece with your tongs and repeat on the other side until done. When each piece you cook is done, make sure to take it out of the pan and place it on a heat safe plate.

If you have many pieces, you might have to add more oil in the pan. When you add more oil, make sure that A) there isn’t any meat in the pan and B) that you’ve turned the heat down in order to assure you don’t get splattered with hot oil. Pour the oil in when the pan is cooled down a little and then turn the heat back up and wait for the bubbles in the oil. Once the oil looks ready again, you can continue cooking.

After you’re finished searing the pieces of meat, turn the stove top off and plate the steak with tongs and add whatever side dishes you like.

And voila! You have your fanfic filet mignon! You can thank my Great-Grandpa Batuyong and Grandma Batuyong as well as my Momma for the recipe. :)

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abybweisse · 4 years

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Do you think the queen is involved on Vincent Murder? I think, someone they know was involved, because when fake Ciel find Tanaka, he says, "Is too cruel for you" before someone took him and Tanaka was stabbed...

Once I read that maybe Francis or his husband are involved but... I don't know...

A big part of Mother3 theory is that Queen Victoria (and John Brown) are behind the attack and fire at Phantomhive Manor. Even if she didn’t directly order the attack (though I suspect she did), she condoned it. And, when the estate was relinquished to the crown, she might have funneled money and manpower into her Tower Bridge project. It would not just be about the bridge, though. Vincent knew something she wanted to keep secret. And she might have wrongly accused Vincent and/or the Phantomhive family of any number of things. Or rightly accused him/his family. King Porky has the houses of “rebels” burned to the ground, and Queen Victoria might do the same.

I think Tanaka was just trying to warn our earl that the attackers had captured real Ciel. However, he is oddly sus. He was badly injured but not killed. He didn’t die in the fire, either. Somehow, the ledger of servants and a recipe book survived a fire that turned Vincent’s body into ashes, too. I’m reminded that s1 has Tanaka saying Vincent knew what was going to happen (but could not stop it), and Tanaka was entrusted with things, like Vincent’s journal. I’m also reminded of the joke OVA, “the Making of Black Butler II”, in which... at one point... Tanaka gets into a giant mech with Queen Victoria and Lord Randall. 🤨 But even just looking at the manga is confusing, when it comes to Tanaka. Truthfully, I think he will ultimately be loyal to our earl. In Mother3 theory, Tanaka is the parallel to Leder. Sticks out in a crowd (Leder is extremely tall, while Tanaka is the only Japanese character, so far, and was drawn in a deformed or chibi way for many of the early chapters), only talks when he thinks it’s necessary/important, has been entrusted with very important secrets, and is deeply loyal. Tanaka doesn’t say much unless it’s important, and he’s already the one who has explained about the twins. I expect Tanaka to hold more secrets... and to also prove himself loyal to our earl, eventually.

I have seen a theory about Frances and/or Alexis Midford being behind the attack, but the evidence is too weak for me to give it much thought. They don’t need the money, land, inhabitants, or title. He’s the head knight, right? Loyal to his queen, sure. And he seems pretty absent for someone entrusted to care for the returned young earl. But I don’t think he has it in him to be knowingly involved. And Frances might doubt her brother’s seriousness, but she seems to care about her brother and his family, so I don’t think she was trying to become watchdog or anything like that. What I see is a couple who know the watchdog role is dangerous... but they don’t realize the queen herself might be the biggest threat... or that supernatural forces are so deeply at work in all of this.

However, I do think that the attackers could be Aristocrats of Evil/Evil Nobles or thugs employed by them. Let’s not forget how the Trancy family in s2 is another secret agency working for Queen Victoria. I don’t expect to see the Trancy family become manga canon, but I doubt the Phantomhive family is the only secret agency doing the queen’s bidding.

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mahou-furbies · 4 years

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Magical Girl Raising Project Limited - character design ranking

Captain Grace

An alright pirate design with enough little details that keep it from being forgettable (I especially like the anchor buckle on her belt, and the earrings and hooks on her hair). The spikes on the coat are what stands out most to me; makes me think of a Mario enemy or something. However I’m not sure how much of a Magical Girl design it is. Like pirates and frills already go together, so the well tested formula (put a miniskirt and frills on it and it’s a magical girl look!) doesn’t really do much. Maybe it’d be better if she had some cutesy detail in there somewhere? Also is that an tail again or what, or some kind of blunt hook? What is it with these unnecessary tails in Magipro designs. 6/10.

Funny Trick

I’ve always liked Funny Trick’s look, and it’s probably because of the pleasant colour palette, unique eyes and two-tone hair (I’m easy to please with two-tone hair). The nail polish and colourful glitter on her fur are also good little details. But apart from that I guess this is only barely strange enough to be any kind of “magical” look rather than just an anime stage magician, but at least that’s pretty close to magical girls already. Also is that a frigging tail again?? At least it goes well with the hair I guess... 8/10.

Kuru-Kuru Hime

It’s a cute design, but when I think of a ribbon magical girl I somehow expected more ribbons? Like this feels like an the higher end of an average magical girl amount of ribbons? Or maybe it’s totally over the top and my perspective is just skewed since I love ribbons and want them everywhere. Either way I like her outfit from neck down, but I’m not that into the headgear, the combo of the bonnet thingy and the weird crown just sitting on top if it looks strange to me. Nice hair tho even if it could use more ribbons. 6/10.

Weddin

I absolutely love Weddin’s design. The muted and light colour palette is very appealing to me, and the dark chains break up the mostly monochrome design so it doesn’t look dull and faded and also give the otherwise super frilly appearance quite a lot of edge. There’s repeating elements (braids in her hair and veil, the same kind of flowers everywhere, flower yellow also appearing in her eye makeup) so it doesn’t get too complicated, and all of them go well with the wedding theme too. The flame... is a bit of an odd touch and I’d rather associate it with a birthday party or Christmas than a Wedding but I guess you can have candles at weddings too, and I don’t find it too distracting.

I’m not a huge fan of the lingerie like look though, but at least visible garters go with the wedding theme and she’s so covered in veils and frills that it doesn’t look so bad. Also the back train looks kind of lazy. But overall still one of my favourite Magipro designs. 10/10.

Rain Pow

A tail again! However this time I actually like it, since she has that rainbow hoop behind her it looks good to stick something through it, and at least it somewhat resembles her twintails.

As for the rest of the design, it has zero frills and ribbons and looks more like some kind of scifi spacesuit than a typical magical girl design, but somehow I still really like it. I think the weird heart hair is just enough to pull it into magical girl territory for me so my impressions are more on the “an unique take on an mg look” rather than “not mg enough” side. Then all the rings keep the look consistent (I absolutely love the rainbow halo) and the suit itself looks alright enough. I also find it interesting how muted the suit colours are for a rainbow magical girl and even the rainbow is pretty pastel, but I figure this is a better choice than all the expected seven colours in all their eye-strainy glory. 9/10.

Postarie

Please put on some pants, that is a shirt and not a dress.

Not too interested in this one, but I find it a commendable effort on making a design on the idea of “postal delivery girl”. Still lots of repeating elements so that’s a plus, especially the back epaulette is such an absurd idea but somehow it works and its wings and the wing hairstyle add the required fantasy touch. Bonus points for the cute birds. 7/10.

Tepsekemei

An inoffensive genie design but I struggle to really have emotions towards it. Butt flower is silly and I have no idea what the things hanging from it are, but at least they’re consistent with her head decoration. Don’t care for the shoulder spikes in an otherwise soft looking design. Huge earrings and multicoloured nails are a nice touch. 6/10.

7753

Also one of my favourite Magipro looks. It feels like the design philosophy here was “gakuran jacket and some frills, and then some hearts. And more hearts! More! Even more!” and I think it’s a great way to go with when designing a magical girl. Using just hearts everywhere makes the outfit cohesive, but since they’re all implemented in different ways it doesn’t get boring. I especially like the little hearts on her hands and under the eye, and the one in her pocket.

Two-tone hair in twintails is also one of the best design elements out there and the hairstyle is quite memorable (and also manages to incorporate the heart motif) and I’m always a fan of caps too. The green eyes and the little bit of green nail polish which you unfortunately can’t see here go well with the otherwise reddish look. Maybe the hair looks a bit too clunky (I only just realised it appears to be tied in a hoop behind her) but I won’t let it bother me. 10/10.

Mana

A solid witch design, I especially love the dimensional cape and hat. I also like the huge collar with the lace detail, but I’m not sure if it works with the hat brim. Not a big fan of the hair, I think it clutters the design. The snake leg accessory feels weird and a bit out of place but I do appreciate the asymmetry and also having something dark to break up the otherwise plain bottom part of the design.. 7/10.

Gekokujou Hana

I tend not to be a huge fan of kimono-based clothes, but this one is an exception I guess. The great colours must play a part in it, and the bottom part is fun. Then the dangly decorations add the correct amount of strangeness so it’s not just a bunny girl in a mini kimono Also, another tail, but this time it’s almost a requirement and I love how ridiculously huge it is (and also repeats elsewhere in her outfit). But really I can’t think of anything to dislike about this, must be the colours and the tail. 10/10.

Archfiend Pam

I believe this is the record on how little clothing you can wear in this franchise... At least she has the personality to pull that off. But that is not a top! At least it’s something new...? The wings fit the description in the story, but I don’t think these blank rectangles look very aesthetically pleasing. I like the tail best, the fur edge makes it a lot more interesting than just the usual demon tail. I don’t know, if the theme is a sexy demon girl this design definitely accomplishes it in a unique way, but also I don’t care for this fanservicey designs. Also not a fan of the hair. 4/10.

Pythie Frederica

Before drawing her for the chibi series I thought she had some kind of a helmet but upon closer inspection of course it’s a veil. But what are the horns?

Upon closer inspection this one is also very fanservicey, in that her “dress” is actually see-through and the only thing covering the critical areas look like thin belt-thingies. At least she doesn’t look like she’s ten... But a major issue I have is the bottom part of her outfit, like how is it supposed to work? Is it one big piece of cloth, or multiple thin ones? What is the “fire” behind her? Is the dark part her hair, or the clothing, and is it supposed to be black or just shading? I do like the stars; otherwise the design gives a more mature “sexy” air, but the little stars everywhere adds a cute element. The colour palette is pleasing, but as much as I like multicoloured hair it doesn’t grant points this time, because the wiggly stray strands look very out of place here and the colour change makes them even more noticeable. 2/10.

Tot Pop

This one really isn’t my aesthetic, I very much prefer the cutesy style and there isn’t really anything ‘magical girl’ about this design. And it doesn’t really evoke the supposed image of ‘pop star’ to me either, like if you remove the guitar I’d think her theme was a prisoner or halloween. Though I don’t really know what a ‘pop star’ should look like anyway, like can’t they wear anything they want, I know Lady Gaga had a meat dress or something. But as of this design, I don’t think there’s anything specifically wrong with it, the colours are pleasing, the details are consistent and it’s not bland or boring either, but it just doesn’t do much for me because of the theme. I like the blood-stained hair and the spiky hair accessory, the long hanging part makes for a nice silhouette. Meanwhile the skulls on her shoulders feel somewhat tacked on, and in general I don’t care for piercings in anywhere else than ears. 5/10.

Pukin

And it’s a tail again. What is it with the stupid tacked on tails on every other design in this franchise? Sometimes it’s not so badly out of place, like if you have an youthful cutesy design, a fluffy animal tail can still add to the cute effect even if it’s otherwise out of place. But Pukin is supposed to be this dangerous and majestic authority figure and a cutesy tail very much doesn’t fit that image. And while we’re on the topic of animal features, the story describes that she has a feather decoration in her hair, but the way it’s drawn as a tiny feather jutting directly up in the middle of her head gives me more the impression of a character whose theme is a baby bird rather than a fantasy prince.

Now that we’ve dealt with the tail let’s get the biggest issue out of the way: I’m aware that there was a time in history when people used to wear these kind of giant ruffled collars but I really don’t care if there’s some kind of history based reasoning. It looks like your head is on a plate and it’s something I can’t ignore. I don’t feel even clowns can pull that off. There is no way getting around this.

When I first read Limited I thought Pukin’s appearance was an absolute mess and an instant 1/10, but upon closer inspection there is stuff I like about it too. She has a good colour palette, great shoes and gloves, and as a friend of multicoloured hair I welcome the yellow hair tips. The big heavy cape balances the small top and pants, and I really like the fur. Earrings go well with the pants too. The theme is a bit confused, or at least I don’t know of any fairy tales about pumpkin prince, but it’s not like I would complain about pineapple or cauliflower princess so that’s not really a problem. 3/10.

Sonia Bean

And we end Limited with yet another excellent design. I like how this manages to look kind of tattered and messy without actually being gross and dirty with the patchwork dress, dustball-like thingies, newspaper clippings and asymmetry. Even her hair looks disheveled. The headgear gives the design an old-fashioned vibe which suits her well since she’s so old. The light palette, soft design elements and ribbons give the look a cute feel, but at the same time she feels suspiciously pale, and the manic expression screams danger, like you can’t reason with this girl. She’s like a ghost of a Victorian era child who wants to play with you but you know you definitely should not follow her.

The design only works if I don’t think too much about it though, like dust is gross and newspaper paper is crinkly and not soft at all, but since we’re magical girls here I can ignore that and enjoy the image the clothing evokes. 10/10.

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Limited average: 6,9.

#magical girl raising project #mahou shoujo ikusei keikaku #mahoiku #my stuff #ranking #ranking: magical girl raising project

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fire-emblem-supports · 4 years

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CYL4 Predictions & Hopes

hi i know this account is 99% dead but I’ve done one of these for the last two years and it felt weird not to do one this year

First things first: obviously all four of the characters will be in their timeskip designs (since those got the most votes), and I’m fairly confident Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude will have their New Game+ hair. It’s also safe to assume the lords will not just have their normal timeskip outfits because of Legendary Edelgard; I doubt we’ll get Legendary Lysithea, but we may get a different timeskip alt of her, and regardless I don’t suspect they would shaft her design that badly.

Also! Spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned.

That aside, let’s get into specifics:

Edelgard: Empress in the Dark

“These robes were gifted to me by my uncle. I don’t support his actions, but the magic he taught he is invaluable.”

I predict Edelgard will be an Armored Colorless Tome unit, wearing an outfit inspired by Those Who Slither in the Dark. This ties into her familial relationship to Thales as well as her hidden talent in dark magic. Her weapon could be a variant of Hades (since it’s already on normal Lysithea) or something unique; either way, I think its ability will be inspired by the Agarthan Technology skill (dropping nearby foes’ attack). Her unique skill will probably be Twin Crests; it could either be a powercrept (or just alternative) version of Raging Storm, or perhaps a Legendary Leif-esque Super Galeforce special.

As for art, I think she’ll likely be drawn by Chinatsu Kurahana. I’m sure she’ll be brought in for one of them (we’ve never had multiple brave heroes drawn by the same artist, though, so I doubt she’ll do any others) and the safest bet seems like Edelgard or Dimitri. If Kurahana does draw Dimitri instead, I’d like to see Edelgard done by Kita Senri, Miyajima Haru, or Yamada Kotaro.

Dimitri: Brave King

“I wear this armor in honor of my father, a far worthier king than I.”

I think Dimitri will end up as an Infantry/Cavalry Axe unit, wearing an outfit based on Lambert’s. His weapon could be either the Axe of Zoltan (which would conveniently grant him armor effectiveness...) or some other, new axe like Eliwood’s lance. His skill’s a little harder to predict since all he has is Atrocity, which will definitely be on his legendary form. He could get a powercrept version of that (oh that’s a terrifying sentence), which would be weird since Legendary Dimitri isn’t even out yet, or he could get something new. Maybe a damage-reduction skill based on Commander (but named King of Faerghus or something like that?)

Again, I think it’s possible he’ll be drawn by Chinatsu Kurahana, though I’m leaning towards her for Edelgard. If not, I’d like to see him drawn by Daisuke Izuka, AKIRA, Wada Sachiko, or Soeda Ippei.

Claude: Wayward Hero

“This is traditional garb in my home of Almyra. You like it?”

Claude I could see as a Flying/Cavalry Lance unit. His outfit would be similar to Nader, but in general just based on traditional Almyran garb. His weapon would be something to the effect of “Almyran Lance” and could have a beast-slaying effect as well as built-in Poison Strike or Savage Blow.

I think Claude would be fantastic in Kozaki Yusuke’s style, but Meka, Might O, and sachie are also great options.

Lysithea: Brave Prodigy

“What are you staring at? No, this sword is NOT too big for me! Some people...”

And lastly, i think Lysithea will be a Flying Sword unit. Her outfit is harder to predict since she has less to work with in her own story and no notable family, but I suspect it will be a variation on the Gremory or Mortal Savant outfits. Her weapon will probably be a powercrept Thunderbrand (which, again, is kind of sad since Catherine isn’t even in the game yet), functioning as a legendary brave weapon with some form of Foudroyant Strike built in.

My top pick for Lysithea’s art is Tobi, but I think Yoneyama Mai, kiyu, or Maiponpon could also do really well.

Overall, I’m not too terribly concerned for how any of these units will turn out. Edelgard is the only one I particularly care for and I can’t see them screwing her over, but I also can’t think of anything they could do badly for Dimitri, Claude, or Lysithea, either. Lysithea is probably the most in danger just because of how often the sword and mage metas shift (which are basically the only two classes she stands any chance at having), but considering the current state of both, I think she’ll be fine. I am a little concerned that her art will be disgustingly chibi, but again, I don’t care that much about the character, so I’ll be fine regardless lol.

#not a support #nutty theories #choose your legends #cyl4 #fe16 spoilers

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jyou-no-sonoko19 · 4 years

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I want to do another Lilith/Missy crossover piece so badly, you don’t even know...

but I also want to do cute chibi art, like that Korean artist I posted does (only my own type of chibi, which I have not drawn in aeons).

But. Tablet is on the fritz. And my hand inking is ugly af.

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your-modern-shakespeare · 4 years

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Just Like You (24)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23

Summary: You are an experiment, the first of its kind. One day you escape and are living a normal life when you run into a perfect stranger or was he?

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 5365

A/N: Well...it’s my birthday today so I decided to post a birthday chapter. I originally wanted to post this on March 10th but realized right as I was about to post, the first half of the chapter had already been posted so...I’m dumb. But it’s up for today even thought being quarantined has sucked the life out of me and will do the same for me today. I hope someone enjoys this but I don’t know. Enjoy.

Warnings: angst, non-cannon info (?), kissing, some fluff, google translate, flashback, POV switching, a little bit of a cliff hanger

Tags: @thisisthelilith, @thesalsafic, @fangirl1802, @lust-for-pan, @iamwarrenspeace, @the-red-world-of-jess-chibi, @ssweet-empowerment

BUCKY’S POV

1 Month Later

I walked into the hospital room and sat down on the bed next to her, like I did every day since we got here. She was still asleep, no surprise there.

So I pulled out the next letter, an identical match to the other ones I had written to her every day since we got here, and sat on the bed beside her. I looked over at the ever growing stack of them, sitting beside her bed, all 207 of them, and opened the newest one. I grabbed her hand, moved real close to her, and began the next letter.

Dear Y/N,

It’s been 6 months, 3 weeks, and 6 days since everything was normal. But it’s also been, officially, 1 year since we left Bucharest. Happy 116th Birthday.

Steve wanted to come in and throw some kind of party for my 100th birthday but it feels wrong to celebrate today without you. I thought we would both make it to this day and even though you’re physically here, it’s not the same. I wanted to take you out to dinner and I wanted to bake you cupcakes and everything else I had planned for us last year. I want to do these things because you’re here and you deserve it, I don’t want to do anything without you.

Bruce and Tony have been working really hard to figure this out and everyone else has been looking for new HYDRA information everytime they go out on a mission. They said that they had an idea, they’ve been working on it for a while though so I don’t know if it’ll work. They came to your room a couple of days ago to explain this idea and I want to say that I understood everything they said but I would be lying…

I wanted to wait until I understood everything to write it down but maybe when you’re reading these it’ll make sense to you. They couldn’t stop talking about trying to control the serum, that they thought that there was a harmless way to move the serum from all over your body to just a part of your body. The serum would be concentrated enough for you to control but they couldn’t tell me what the after effects would be to do something like this. Would you be in pain as the serum moved? Would you feel the serum once it was concentrated? What would move it and what would make it stay once it was moved?

Unfortunately I didn’t get those answers and probably because I am being hard on them. I hate to admit it but the things I’ve learned about what HYDRA did to you, about all the things you’ve endured, it’s made it hard for me to accept these experiments. I don’t want you to go through any more pain, I don’t want you to have to deal with this. God if there was a way I could take away your pain, I would in a heartbeat. But it doesn't work that way.

So instead I’m just waiting for some kind of miracle to happen and maybe next year we’ll get to celebrate our birthdays together.

Love,

STEVE’S POV

The three of us stood outside of the hospital room, looking in through the glass window, watching as bucky sat there reading another letter to a sleeping Y/N. The last six months have been nothing but a huge search for answers. If we weren’t in Wakanda sleeping or resting from a mission, we were on a mission. It kept us busy but it also didn’t yield many results which was the most frustrating part of it all. That and the fact that we still had you in a coma.

I had wanted so badly to have you awake for Bucky’s birthday...and yours too I guess. Which is why I was hoping to anyone listening that Tony was right in this experiment.

“Tony, how sure are you about this?”

“I’m at like...98%?”

“Well I need you to be at 198%. We didn’t tell Bucky we were doing this so it has to work.”

“Look...I know that everyone wants answers to whatever is happening but I don’t know them, I act like I have them but I don’t. What I do know 100%, is that Y/N will know something that we don’t know. She knows a lot more about everything, HYDRA or otherwise. My goal isn’t to fix her right now, I just need to plug the hole so that I can wake her up. We have to stabilize her and I think that pushing as much of the serum as possible away from her brain and her arm would give her the control that she needs to wake up and give us some of the answers we’re looking for.”

“And what about these robots?”

“Well, when we x-rayed Bucky we noticed a strange reaction happening in the shoulder joint near his arm. Because his arm was amputated and healed before putting the arm on, there’s no real connection between the flesh of his shoulder and the vibranium of the arm, that we can see anyway. And yet the serum is still drawn to the vibranium, it’s why we think the arm was used as an additional way of controlling him. We think that when Bucky is activated the combination of the serum and mind control is what makes him obedient to whoever controls him and the metal would essentially behave in the same manner because not only is it attached to him but it can mimic the same reaction as the serum.” Bruce said.

“Mimic?”

“There’s some kind of connection between the two that we don’t understand. We did tests on the serum and the vibranium and the results were always the exact same. Ther serum was made with basic chemistry, there’s not much in there that we couldn’t find in labs today but vibranium...there’s a reason it’s locked up here in Wakanda. They know how powerful it is, they know the strength behind their technology that uses it. HYDRA found out what it could do and they connected the two together and somehow it works. So we wanted to use the same methods against them, to save her.” Tony said

“The vibranium microbots that we injected into her IV a couple of days ago, will essentially connect with the serum and will slowly push the serum down to her legs. This will give us the time that we need to wake her up and figure out how to fix this for good.” Bruce finished.

“I really hope so.” I said.

BUCKY’S POV

I was sitting in the chair, feet propped up on the side of her bed, holding her hand and watching some TV show that I couldn't understand. I was going in and out of consciousness pretty frequently, but it wasn’t sticking and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because every time I opened my eyes I was waiting for some kind of birthday miracle. I just wanted to see her eyes again maybe even her smile, but I could settle for one.

I must have finally given up because the next time I woke up the sun was starting to set and Steve was now sitting in the room.

“How’s it going?” He asked.

“The same as it has been for the last 200 days.”

“Well I know that you didn’t want to do anything for your birthday but I thought it would be nice to do a little something to hopefully bring up your spirits.” He pulled out a box and opened the lid, pulling out one of two cupcakes. He reached out to hand me one of them and I couldn’t help but think about the moment that we met two years ago.

Bucharest, Romania

March 10, 2015

BUCKY’S POV

Keep your eyes on the ground, hat pulled down low, don’t look suspicious. Be aware but don’t look paranoid. Don’t give anyone a reason to believe that you don’t belong there.

I kept these thoughts as a constant reminder, kept them right at the forefront of my mind. I escaped. I escaped and I’m okay.

I just had to keep moving, I had to find somewhere safe to live, somewhere where no one could find me. Was Bucharest far enough away from them? Could they find me here or do I need to keep moving?

I’m so tired of running. I’m tired. And hungry.

Just keep moving.

Just keep moving...right into someone.

I ran right into someone, the only downside to keeping your head down was that sometimes you couldn’t see who was right in front of you, especially if they’re not looking either. She had been holding something in her hands, a cupcake, I think, and it was now smothered between the two of us.

“Imi pare foarte rau.” (I’m really sorry.) She says first.

“Este bine.” (It’s good.) I didn’t want to make too much of a fuss about it but I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel bad about ruining her pastry. I looked up at her to apologize as well, but couldn’t get the words out when I saw her face. She was beautiful, simple as that, easily someone that I would have dated back when I was normal. And yet at the same time she was somehow familiar which was strange and I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I didn’t want to perceive her as a threat but I could have taken her down if needed. I really didn’t want to though...

“Apartamentul meu e chiar acolo, dacă doriți să curețe.” (My apartment is right there if you want to clean up.) The gesture was nice and under different circumstances I wouldn’t hesitate to take her up on her offer, not only because I was covered in frosting, but because I felt like I wanted to spend more time with her.

When I looked at her, I saw flashes of my past. They weren’t of her, obviously given my age and the fact that she couldn’t be over 25, but she reminded me of that time. How easy it was back then to be attracted to someone, to want to pursue a relationship, to be normal...

“Da te rog.” (Yes please) She shyly smiled back at me and let me follow her back to her apartment. I watched her as we walked and the strange thing I noticed was that she walked exactly the same as I did, eyes to the ground, head down low, trying to make herself as small and as unnoticeable as possible.

I followed her into this building that wasn’t the nicest place in the city but was much nicer than anything I had been staying in since I left them. We walked up flight after flight of stairs, still paying close attention to her and finding it strange that she wasn’t winded at all by the distance we had gone up. Maybe she was used to it? Maybe I’m overthinking everything?

I pushed the thought aside and she unlocked her door letting me into the apartment first. The place was much nicer than the building, she didn't have much but what she did have went together. There were no pictures of anything and no real decorations, just a simple layout, like she hadn’t been there long. I’m overthinking again.

“Do you speak English?” She asked amongst my inspection of her apartment. Her english sounded okay, but the Russian accent was heavy and more alarming than I would have liked.

“Yes.” I replied.

“That’s great. The bathroom is just down the hall, on the right.” She pointed to the hallway to the left of the door where I was standing,

“Thank you.” I quickly disappeared into the restroom, removed my backpack and grabbed a clean shirt to put on. I tried my best to rinse out the dirty shirt and dry it before putting it back in my bag, but it was just going to have to be a little wet. I was about to head out when I looked in the mirror one last time. I took in a deep breath and just reminded myself to remain calm. There was no way that she was HYDRA, they didn’t know where I was. There was no way for them to know.

Eventually I calmed down enough to step outside the restroom and right as I opened the door I saw her coming out of her room, in a new shirt and a bottle of water in her hands, but she seemed a little more nervous now...which made me nervous.

“So, I’m really sorry about the cupcake. The baker down the street had given it to me as a birthday gift.” She said, once again apologizing. She also seemed a lot more shy, having not looked me in the eye since we got into her apartment.

“It’s your birthday?” I asked, surprised.

“Yep.”

“Mine too.” When I said that she finally looked up at me.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“So birthday boy, do you have a name?” She smiled at me but immediately tried to hide it. I just looked at her and I hesitated because I was paranoid and because I wasn’t sure if I wanted her to know my name, but then again HYDRA never called me by my name let alone my nickname.

“Bucky.”

“Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you.” I tried to come off a little less tense but I think she could definitely tell that I was.

“Nice to meet you too. Can I get you anything? Water, food?”

“A water would be nice.” I was starving but I really didn’t want to impose, especially if she was an innocent bystander like I was trying to convince myself she was.

She made her way over to the kitchen and I absentmindedly followed her, just watching her move again. She was so graceful, there was just this sort of ease about the way she moved, almost mesmerizing. She looked back at me briefly to hand me the bottle of water and then grabbed a plum from a bowl on the counter.

She took a big bite of the fruit, trying her hardest not to look at me as she thought real hard about something, wrinkles forming on her forehead from the effort. I watched her lips move, the act itself being more mesmerizing than her movements; It was such a strange action from me. Keep my eyes on the ground, head down low, easy steps to follow and yet I couldn’t help but look at her.

I had to distract myself so I opened the bottle of water and nearly chugged the whole thing.

“Can I ask you something?” She said, cutting the thick tension in the room as if she had a knife in her hands.

“Sure.”

“Have we met before? I know it’s a weird question and I don’t want to freak you out, but sometimes I have problems with my memory and I just feel like I have seen you before.”

“I don’t think we have but I’m kind of in the same boat as you. My memory is not in the best shape.”

“Then can I ask something else?”

“Okay.” Now she was making me very nervous. She hesitated before asking her next question, obviously just as nervous to ask.

“Do you know what HYDRA is?” I automatically took a few steps back, wanting to get as far away as I could.

“Who are you?” I asked, every single nerve on high alert and telling me to get away as fast as possible.

“So you do?” She seemed...scared. We couldn’t tear our eyes away from each other, watching each other intently.

“Yes.”

“Can I explain myself?”

“If you try anything, you'll be dead before you know it.”

“I’m a soldier, the very first. I was born on March 10, 1901. My father was in charge of the HYDRA Siberian Facility and he willingly gave me over to be experimented on. I don’t remember much after that, the only thing that keeps running through my head, the only thing that I have never forgotten was putting a bullet in his head. It was August 17, 1963.” She looked upset and I couldn’t help but relax a little at her words. She was like me, she was running from them. And for the first time in a long time I began to trust again.

“You’re a soldier?”

“Yes.”

“I am too. James Buchanan Barnes. I was born March 10, 1917. I fought in World War II with my best friend. I fell off a train and lost my arm. HYDRA found me and made me an arm of metal and then they made me their soldier.”

“I guess we really are in the same boat.” She relaxed too. The tension that had spiked as soon as she mentioned them was gone again and the thing that remained was that feeling from before, the attraction.

“It would appear that way.”

“So why are you in Bucharest?”

“About a year ago I had been on a mission. They sent me after the Avengers and I tried to kill my friend. I don’t want to hurt anyone and I don’t want HYDRA to find me. Anywhere I have gone just didn’t feel right and I was too nervous. Romania is what I thought of, something easy, familiar almost. I just got here but I want to start over really.”

“You can stay here if you want. I know it’s not ideal but I have a pull out couch and you wouldn’t have to pay for anything, at least until you get on your feet. And I’m sure we could help each other.”

“You want to be around someone like me?”

“We’re in the same boat remember?” She smiled at me and I couldn’t help but smile back, relief washing over both of us in waves. We would be okay.

God...her smile. It had had a way of lighting up a room.

I just stared at the cupcake...thinking about her smile.

Steve had left the room to find a lighter for the candle and I just held the pastry in my hand.

A vanilla cupcake with white frosting and blue sprinkles.

Her favorite.

I laughed, how it was her favorite, I didn’t know. It was the only flavor she had ever tried.

I don’t know what I was expecting the cupcake to do, but I stared and stared at it hoping it would...do nothing I guess. It’s a cupcake. It wasn’t meant to do anything.

It made her smile though, so that was something.

But not now. There was no smile now. Just a cupcake.

I leaned over, elbows propped up on the side of her bed, my left hand holding up my head and the right holding the cupcake. I stared at the little cake decoration, declaring that it was my 100th birthday. Yippee for me.

“You better not drop that on me.” I heard, whispered to me. It took me a second to realize what just happened.

Now...some people would call me crazy for assuming first that it was the cupcake that had said that. Then again lets remember that the only other person who had been in the room had just been in a coma for 6 months and would be unstable and possibly kill us all if awoken from said coma. Also I probably could have allowed myself to leave the hospital every now and then so I wouldn’t go insane but that was a whole other issue.

But no...it was definitely her who had said it. I don’t know how but she was awake.

I genuinely smiled for the first time since we put her in a coma, placed the cupcake on the table beside the bed and grabbed her hand in mine.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

STEVE’S POV

I was really hoping that Tony’s plan worked. I told Bucky that I was leaving the room to get a lighter but I was kind of hoping that Y/N would be awake by now.

Tony said that these robots were in the right place and from what he could tell, she would be safe enough to wake up. So that’s what we did.

We waned her off the coma medication and with the serum burning off most medications quickly, we thought she would be awake already. It took a little longer than we thought though.

That was this morning, while Bucky was sleeping, and I had bought two cupcakes in the hope that she would be awake already but I guess we just had to give her more time.

To make Bucky less suspicious of me, I walked back into the room within a reasonable amount of time and looked over at him. He was on the bed with Y/N, arms wrapped around her, his head resting on her chest and she was awake. She was so calm, just running her fingers through his hair.

“Y/N?” I asked.

“Hey Steve.”

“You’re awake.”

“Yeah. I’m not really sure about what happened, but he’s not really in the mood to tell me anything. He seems kind of angry.” She pointed at Bucky who had his eyes closed and had a scowl on his face.

“Come on Bucky...you should be happy right now.” He sat up and glared at me.

“I should be happy? I was happy and then realized that there was no natural way for her to be awake right now. All three of you perfectly explained that in order to wake her up we had to do some robot thing and something about moving the serum around. I know for a fact that I didn’t approve of that so then she should be asleep right? Not unless all of you lied to me and did it anyway. So I should be happy? I’ll be happy when you tell me that you didn’t do anything stupid, like expirementing on the one person I told you not to!”

“Bucky—”

“No! I had one request in all of this. I said no experiments! No guessing, no trials and errors! Nothing but answers!”

“We didn’t have the answers! It’s been six months and we couldn’t keep doing this. There’s only so much failure we can handle before it’s time to try something else. I let Tony do this because you needed her to be awake and frankly, so did we.”

“Okay...I’m thoroughly confused now.” We both looked at Y/N, who was just taking in everything we said.

So we stopped the argument for the meantime and took some time to catch her up on the last six months. She read all of his letters and Bucky seemed to calm down some, which was good. And while we explained everything it gave Tony and Bruce enough time to come to the room and explain the more scientific things, everything about the robots and the serum.

She seemed to be following okay but I could see that she seemed a little overwhelmed by everything.

“Why don’t we give the two of you a moment?” I said when the room was quiet. I ushered Tony and Bruce out of the room and we waited to see what Y/N wanted to do next. Everything was up to her at this point.

BUCKY’S POV

I was now sitting in the chair beside her bed and staring at the wall because I didn’t want Y/N to think I was mad at her.

“Bucky…”

“Yeah?”

“Look at me.” I took a deep breath and tried to soften my gaze before looking at her.

Even after being in a coma for six months, she was the most beautiful woman in the whole world. Seeing her smile, even though it wasn’t a full one, made me soften up; I felt my shoulders relax and my face unscrunched from its glare.

“Hi.” She said.

“Hey doll.”

“There he is.”

“I really missed you.” I felt my eyes start to tear up.

“Come here.” I climbed back on the bed, sitting right beside her as close as possible, and she grabbed my hands, holding them in hers. I just sat there, looking at her hands, feeling her touch again, but not really having anything to say and yet having so much I should say. “Why are you so upset?”

“I just...I didn’t want them to do anything that could hurt you. And they went ahead and just did this experiment anyway, knowing that I had already said no and was not okay with trying this on you without more research to back it up. God knows, you’ve been experimented on enough and they couldn’t tell me if this was going to work or what the side effects were going to be and I didn’t want you to be in any pain.” I was like a fountain, just spewing everything I was feeling. I needed her to know everything. I needed her to know how badly I had messed up.

“But I’m not in any pain.”

“But you were...and everything was so bad and I didn’t know how to help you.”

“Bucky…”

“I hurt you. I had to hurt you to stop you. I had to break your arm so the whole building wouldn’t collapse on us. And then they had to put you under and you were gone...you were gone for six months!” I was sobbing by this point. I had pushed everything so far down that I didn’t realize just how hard I was beating myself up over everything that had happened. “They kept talking about the serum and how they didn’t know how it worked, they didn’t know anything other than what HYDRA had written down about the formula. And they said that they thought the best thing would be to activate you. To just straight up activate you and hope that the serum would burn away like it did the first time and yet they couldn’t even confirm that that would happen. So what, then you just do a quick little mission and all is fine? No! They don’t understand what we went through, they don’t understand what those words do to us or what we have to go through afterwards. I couldn’t put you through that, not after everything you’ve been through! All I ever wanted was for everything to be okay. I wanted you to be awake and I wanted us to move here so that everything could be like it was in Bucharest. I wanted you to be happy.” She just stared at me, knowing that I wasn’t done lifting the weight from my shoulders. “There was so much I couldn’t do. I couldn’t save you, I couldn’t stop Antonoff, I couldn’t find the answers to wake you up and I obviously couldn’t keep them from injecting some weird robots into you. I couldn’t do anything to help you.”

“First of all...all of that is untrue.” She reached out and started to wipe my tears away. “You have helped me more than anyone ever could. You helped bring back all of my memories, you protected me when we left Bucharest, you fought for me when I was activated, but most of all you love me like no one ever has before. There are things that are just out of our control. Antonoff was never going to back down and even though we all knew he outnumbered us you still fought him. With the serum...there’s a lot to still understand and there are reasons that HYDRA never shared or even wrote down the things that were most important to them. And the robots, well I’m not exactly sure about those yet but it sounds like Tony, Bruce and Steve had the right idea. They were thinking of you, thinking about how they were going to get me back to you. So yes we’ve been through a lot, probably more than any one person should ever deserve to go through, but I’m not upset with you or with Steve or Bruce or Tony. What matters to me is that I’m here with you and I’m okay. We can still have that life that we always dreamed of and we’ll figure out a way to permanently fix this serum problem of mine. We just need to take each day a step at a time and we’ll get through this just like we always do.”

“There’s just—”

“Nope.”

“But I—”

“No.”

“Y/N—”

She pulled me to her and kissed me the way I should have kissed her when I saw that she was awake.

“This is all I want right now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.”

“I just—you were gone for so long. And I didn’t know what would be the best thing or the worst thing to do. I didn't want to hurt you and I didn’t want to make it worse. I just got so...scared.”

“You don’t have to shoulder this alone anymore. And you definitely don’t need to be scared, when are you going to learn that I’m always going to come back to you?”

“Maybe you should remind me.”

“You just want me to kiss you again.”

“Can you blame me?”

This time I kissed her, moving on the bed to lay down beside her so that I could feel as much of her as I could.

I pushed everything out of my head and just allowed myself to feel normal again, to love the woman that I loved more than anything in the world. It had been six months since I had kissed her, since I had held her, since I had done anything with her resembling the life we once had. It was this moment where the haze had cleared and for the first time in half a year that everything was okay.

Y/N’S POV

We kissed like two people starved. It was a mixture of, for me, not wanting him to feel bad about everything that had happened to me, for him, not having any real connection to me in six months, and genuine need to be close to one another.

We heard the door open and were cut off when Tony, who had his eyes covered, interrupted us.

“Person coming in! I don’t want to see any body parts that are normally hidden!”

“Tony.” Steve said, slapping his arm and making him look at him who wasn’t hiding his eyes.

“We just wanted to make sure everything was okay now.” Bruce said.

“Yeah everything’s good.” Bucky said to me with a smile on his lips.

“Good, we’re very happy that you’re awake Y/N.” Steve said, smiling at me.

“I am too. But I actually would be a lot happier if I could get some coffee.”

“You and your coffee.” Bucky mocked.

“You’re the one who got me hooked on it.”

“I know.”

“Do you mind?”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you.”

He climbed off the bed and put his shoes back on. I grabbed his hand before he was able to get too far and pulled him back to me one more time, giving him a quick kiss.

“Happy Birthday Bucky.”

“Happy Birthday Y/N.”

He gave me one more kiss before leaving me with the other three guys in the room.

“So I just have a couple of questions to ask before Bucky gets back.”

“Yeah?” Tony asked.

“What are the side effects of using these robot things? Or I guess having the serum so concentrated?”

“We actually don’t know, we weren’t able to test this outside of the lab.” Bruce confirmed my worry.

“I was just asking because...I can’t feel my legs.”

They just looked at me with horror in their eyes and fear that maybe they hadn’t been right in doing this experiment so soon.

And yet the most feared question, the one that was most likely in all of our minds:

What was I going to tell Bucky?

Let me know what you think here

PART TWENTY-FIVE

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