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joaquinwhorres · 3 years

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doodles (Joaquin Torres x Reader, Soulmate!AU)

PAIRING ››››› Joaquín Torres x GN!Reader

REQUEST ››››› ya know the soulmate au alphabet? Could i request Torres + b and w from the alphabet?

b...ody art (doodles that a person draws on themselves appear on their soulmate’s skin). g...uardian (it is said that the person who saves you from a near-death experience is your soulmate—drowning, car crash, etc.)

WORD COUNT ››››› 1,255

WARNINGS ››››› none

A/N ››››› Sooo I kind of cheated by combining the two letters. Also the writing style is kinda different from my usual story work, but hopefully both risks pan out.

The first picture to ever blossom on his skin is a bird.

The other boys in class have flowers and suns and clouds and little stick figure girls and boys, but he has a bird. And while theirs are sketchy and smudged and disproportionate, his looks as if it's been plucked from a picture book with its steady lines and cartoonish detail.

He'd been surprised to find it, nestled into the crook of his elbow, only appearing when he raised his hand to answer a question. He's so used to seeing his friends with images that littered the backs of their hands and wrists and thighs, he’d never thought to check anywhere else.

A thought crosses his mind.

More than crosses.

It takes over.

He knows he isn't supposed to.

If his teacher catches him, he'll get into trouble. He's not even supposed to have a pen in class. The rule's supposed to help kids avoid the temptation of sending off doodles to their soulmates. Of course, like all school rules, kids find a way around it, keeping pens tucked away in pockets and backpacks and lunch bags.

He's never been one to break the rules, but this feels like he has to. His soulmate's out there somewhere, waiting for him. It only feels right to assure them that he's waiting for them too.

Joaquin pulls the pen he keeps tucked in his desk in hopes of just such an occasion and quietly uncaps it. Carefully and stealthily, he drags the pen tip across his skin, eyes darting up to track the teacher’s movements and make sure he doesn't get caught. As a result, the drawing isn't very good. The head's too big for the body and the feet too long. He’d attempted to draw the wing twice, leaving the lines thicker than the rest of the bird. But it's there, facing the first and chirping out a note, so they know he's alive and thinking of them in this moment. And that had to feel nice.

He sticks the pen back in his desk, looking up at the board and quickly copying down the problems he’s almost missed. It's not until he reaches forward to pass in his paper that he notices the addition to the doodle. Two eighth notes tweet out from the first bird.

He smiles.

It becomes increasingly clear that his soulmate’s an artist.

Most people don’t have doodles on their arms and palms anymore. Instead they have drawings sketched into places only they can see--secret notes passed between soulmates. But his body is littered with art.

Intricate patterns bloom across the back of his hand, and twist and twirl up his arm. His forearm becomes a comic strip. Constant commentary on their day or whatever social issues are on their mind. Sometimes they leave a panel open for him to finish. His drawing hasn’t improved much from the first bird.

He wishes he could send along words of praise or encouragement even though he knows words won’t go through.

He wishes that they would use this gift to pass along messages like just about everyone else his age does. But all attempts at starting a conversation like that have gone unanswered. Instead, he simply gets to witness their art and their life play out across his skin. And Joaquin has learned to be content with that.

Because while other kids are coordinating their futures around their soulmates and tailoring all plans to match the other’s, he gets to make his decisions free. He gets to sign up for the Air Force ROTC without a shred of guilt or pushback like some of the other cadets have to deal with.

Their doodles are what keeps him grounded. Throughout basic and his first deployment, their delicate designs and drawings keep him company in those moments when he feels absolutely alone. They make him feel human in moments where he’s asked to be inhuman.

Their art has saved his life more than once too. The obvious doodles keeping him from doomed missions and distracting him for just long enough to avoid disaster. But more than those obvious, blood running cold, vomiting from how close it was moments, the doodles save his life because they are a constant.

He’s not the only one who appreciates the art either. The others in his unit laugh at the comics his soulmate still draws on his arms. They marvel of the intricacy of his soulmate’s work. On how they’re able to create such a detailed band of wild flowers around their own tricep. They laugh as he attempts to draw a bird amongst the flowers. He wonders if his soulmate knows they’re a bit of a celebrity amongst the 547th.

He wonders if he’ll ever get to tell them.

That’s the thought that weighs heavily on him as he watches his friends on base turn to dust around him. As he watches planes fall from the sky and plummet to the ground. As he watches the gentle waves and roles of the ocean that cascade across his forearm disappear.

It's five years before another doodle appears on his skin. He almost cries when he sees it. A small cartoon bird wipes sweat off of its forehead as if relieved.

He lacks all creativity in terms of response and just surrounds the bird in a cloud of hearts.

And that's their reunion. After this, life continues on, and their established routine continues. While the rest of the world still feels like a mess, the familiar rhythm of waking up to a new comic, of finding a new illustration branded on his shoulder makes him feel whole again.

The art maintains its affects on others as well. Both Sam and Bucky like to tease him for the "garden on his arm" or tell him he's a "human gallery." But he notices the way they practice drawing on their arms, watches as the other eyes the spot it appears on their own skin and mercilessly roasts it. Bucky has asked Joaquin if he's willing to trade soulmates more than once.

Joaquin's not.

Ideally, Joaquin would have met his soulmate under calmer circumstances.

Maybe they could have met at a Starbucks when they accidentally reached for the same drink and noticed the matching patterns on each other's arms.

Maybe they could have met while his soulmate was taking a tour of the base, and he just so happened to stop and say hello to the guide and realized that he had the same three birds on his shoulder.

Maybe they could have just finally coordinated a time to see each other face to face.

Instead, he catches them as they're pushed from a stolen helicopter.

Later, they tell him that they wish he'd just walked into their tattoo shop. That his first impression of them wasn't screaming and crying and just about ready to vomit all over him. That they wouldn't have blamed him for keeping the connection a secret when the first thing they said to him after saving their life was "Ow! I think you broke my back." (Which, for the record, he didn't. It was just bruised.)

But when he sees the band of flowers encircling their tricep, he can't keep it in. He can't believe he's holding his soulmate in his arms. The person who's kept him company for almost two decades.

So he says something almost as idiotic as they do: "You're the bird."

And that pretty much solidifies the fact that they're meant to be.

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beevean · 3 years

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Opinion: How could Sonamy progress in IDW?

[note: the original article was written in Spanish by @latin-dr-robotnik]

Today we’re going to discuss a recurring topic on my blog, with a more complete perspective.

Today’s article was inspired by an ask I got a few days ago about my possible perspective on the future of IDW Sonamy. I thought it would be interesting to revisit and expand this topic, because it’s still something of great interest for thousands of fans all around the world, and because SEGA has recently adopted a very peculiar position on the couple and their dynamic. As I detailed on my article SEGA and its most recent Sonamy side – more canon than ever, the dynamic has been going through a shift that can be distinguished into two main parts: 1) the commercial potential of Sonamy as a merchandising and marketing icon; 2) the stability of the interactions in the comics, in the short monthly stories on Sonic Channel, and so on.

That being said, there’s no need to mention that we’re going to focus entirely and nothing more than on this ship. I usually suggest other articles for those who prefer to read on other subjects, but today I will recommend our Discord server [translator’s note: the server is mainly Spanish-speaking], where discussions about ships are limited on their own canal that is separated from other themes: general discussions, music, fangames and mods, fanfics, fanart and even gaming in general. As you know, if you want to bring something else to our community, or just avoid talking about Sonamy, you’re more than welcome to join. Now, back on track.

What’s going on with Sonamy in IDW?

To recap what’s happened in these last months: Sonic and his friends finally got through the nightmare that was the Metal Virus, he and Amy hugged a few times, and since very recently they’ve been involved in a short arc about Chao races in Twinkle Park Zone, with a sinister background. In these last months after the eradication of the virus, there have been much closer and warmer interactions between our two hedgehogs, and I suspect that part of this is what inspired that question in the first place: what’s going on?

As I commented in the article where I proposed that Sonamy is “more canon than ever” (I know that it’s an exaggeration, that was the point), SEGA is treading carefully and the main canon seems to be willing to negotiate a more open representation of the relationship between the two in their different continuities, from best friends to something more. What I did not expect to happen was reading an answer from Evan Stanley (artist and writer that replaces Ian Flynn) about their dynamic, summing it up with “they like each other”.

The redrawing of Sonic’s expression when Amy hugs him in a recent drawing of hers made people wonder if this was yet another example of SEGA’s “censoring” (comparison below), to which Evan answered that it was modified to keep Sonic in character: he’s a guy that does not show much emotional vulnerability or too many negative emotions, and this is why sometimes the artists have to adjust WIPs to keep in line with this official point of view. Evan assured that this is not any kind of confirmation that Sonic does not like Amy, and doubles down by highlighting that in the official material, in the wikis and on Sonic Channel they show that, and I quote: “They like each other, but Sonic just isn’t the kind of guy who is going to make goo-goo eyes at Amy or perform grand acts of romance. If you wanna see that, that’s what fan works are for.”

And Evan’s words are a great way to sum up what’s going on with IDW Sonic right now. When it comes to interactions, they’re working with two characters who deep down “like each other”, but both show it in their own way. Amy is much more proactive when it comes to express her feelings, while Sonic only sometimes shows a glimpse of his feelings, with a smile or a small gesture. But at the end of the day they’re still friends and, depending on the situation, the comic can focus more or less on these details.

Comparison between the first sketch showed by Evan and the final product. The modification of the expression was minimal: Sonic’s slight blush was changed into a smile, maybe being a little overwhelmed by the gesture of affection.

The “progression” of the dynamic in the future

A good part of the answer to this question is based on my idea that right now, when it comes to Sonamy, we reached some kind of comfortable plateau. What am I referring to? To the fact that there have been a lot of varied interactions in these last 3 years of the comic, and they’re everything I could have asked for and then some. When we talk about Sonamy in canon, as Evan said, we don’t tend to hope for great romantic gestures from Sonic, we barely even ask for a look that hints that they understand each other beyond what it seems at first glance, so the fact that the IDW continuity is betting so much on this ship is basically a dream come true. For this reason, I don’t think things will change much in the future.

If I have to make a prediction on Sonamy’s future in IDW, I believe that there are still a lot of possibilities that our known writers (and maybe new writers!) could explore more, to see what makes this dynamic work so well. Actually, about 10 years ago, Ian Flynn wrote that if they could take advantage of the abilities and similarities between the two characters as adventurous spirits and with a strong moral sense, they would be “like poetry in motion”. This largely happens in IDW Sonic if you look carefully, but there are always new stories to tell and opportunities for them to work together and explore a bit more their strong bond, stronger than other friendships that they share. When the next major arc comes (which seems to be getting closer), they could explore aspects of their dynamic that are slightly more experimental, like being separated for extended periods of time and under dangerous situations… as long as they don’t turn it into a painful experience like the Metal Virus arc.

What Ian Flynn wrote about Sonamy, what works and what doesn’t. This was written in 2011, when Archie Sonic was still the major comic continuity, and when, according to Ian, Sonic was still “tied” to Sally Acord, leaving little room to the writers’ opinions.

The reality is that I see a stable future for the dynamic in the IDW universe. Sonamy is not fit for a lot of drama (fights, breaking up, etc.) without feeling forced or completely out of place, and only fanfics and fanart could be capable of capitalizing on this kind of content. On the other hand, for reasons I detailed in past articles, SEGA would not dare to alter the established order of the dynamic, let alone new that they managed to recover and maintain control over the ways Sonamy is being portrayed everywhere. SEGA won’t pull a Dragon Prince, which ended up confirming the main ship and then they made them go through a crisis and break up in a heartwrenching way in the graphic novel that acts as a bridge between season 3 and 4.

In short

The future of IDW Sonamy is looking bright and stable. I don’t think there will be serious changes to what we’re experiencing right now, and this is why both Evan Stanley and Ian Flynn agree that the dynamic is practically in the perfect place, keeping in line to how SEGA wants them to be represented together. This means we won’t see more affectionate gestures than what we’re seeing now (I doubt we’ll ever see again Sonic offering Amy a rose like in Sonic X), but it also means that we have now a solid basis for our expectations. In the now old IDW Sonic #2, Sonic and Amy had the chance of seriously talking a bit about what they thought of each other, with Sonic being determined to keep living life his own way (although he wouldn’t mind Amy to accompany him… or even suggesting himself that she could come), and Amy being determined to respect his way of life, because that’s what she loves about him, and she doesn’t want him to change. Since then, all we have seen and we’ll keep seeing in the comic is a consequence of this key moment; the two philosophies that they have and they share, in a constant back-and-forth with some tense moments and some cute moments.

An interesting detail that wasn’t included in the ask and that makes me think is the possibility that all of this will feature in the games as well. This is a completely different matter for another day, but I like to think that there is the possibility that we’ll see SEGA being more interested in inserting more Sonamy in the games, even if in an indirect way like in Sonic Unleashed and its emotional support, especially if the rumors that we’re about to get a soft-reboot are true. Romance is not something Sonic games are famous for doing well… at all, but that doesn’t mean it would be a bad idea to add a little sprinkle of IDW Sonamy in the mix.

And finally, I think I’ve talked enough about this topic, As you know, we’re waiting for some news, and I hope we’ll see each other again here or on our Discord. We’ll see if on this 25th something interesting happens. In any case, see you next time!

The moment that shaped the present and future of their entire relationship, 3 years ago.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonamy #long post #translation #oh look just in time for that famous thursday 25th #keeping up the chronicles of sonamy's evolution #this was fun to translate lol #it's probably a little clunky in some places but it should be readable enough #anyway now i'm hyped lol

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citrus-cactus · 2 years

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Citrus' Art Summary 2021!

Here it is, my year in art! Overall, I did more digital art this year than any other year previous, managing about one major piece per month. Finally a year when I can fill in all those squares (and then some!)! That's a-bonkers-lot for me :O

Some more reflection 'neath the cut:

I set out with the goals this year of Doing Lots of Art Digitally for practice/learning purposes and also working with deadlines in mind, kinda maybe sorta... like a real professional might? Just to try it out?? Of the stuff I finished, two were for a zine (hmm, never did post those, though you can see most of the full-color piece in February!), three were paid work (blurred/not pictured, I don't really feel comfortable sharing those), one was a t-shirt design (not pictured), one was for an art giveaway (June), 10 were sketch requests (March-May), 7 were for Tumblr events (all digimon-related; July-October), 7 are for a personal project that I really won't be giving many details about (Nov), and 10 were index-card-sized pen-and-ink practices. Oh, and if we're counting ALL creative/fandom stuff, I wrote a fanfic and made a fanmix. Phew!!

I'd like to say I enjoyed every minute of it, but some of it was sort of stressful, actually ^^; I DO have a full-time job; my self-imposed artistic workflow made it feel like I was working two jobs sometimes, and that DEFINITELY took a toll on me (particularly since I was trying to meet all those deadlines!). I also tended to get wrapped around the axle being a perfectionist a lot of the time, which led to me to spending a LOT more time fiddling with not-actually-that-important stuff than I probably should have (this is a constant struggle for me!). TL;DR, there are still TONS of things I could afford to learn about being a more efficient/less neurotic artist, and, in hindsight, I think I was teetering on the verge of burnout several times throughout the year (oops).

One positive thing I did was upgrade from MangaStudio to ClipStudio this year, and while there there are things I miss about my old setup, I really like that you can download new brushes directly from Clip, as well as some new functionality I discovered that I had never figured out previously (or maybe it didn't exist?). I also realized I need to make major improvements to my posture, break-taking, and overall drawing setup. I tend to hunch over a lot and that has made my back and shoulders pretty unhappy a lot of the time, particularly when I'm in deep-focus and work-hard mode :P

I'd also like to... draw more for myself next year? Taking requests is a lot of fun (and I still have several in my inbox that I'd like to finish, WHOOOOPS), but sketching for myself used to be something I did to relax and unwind, and I realized it's not really relaxing if I'm drawing with the intent to post for an online audience. I also really want to make more progress on my Personal Project now that I've started it properly! So I'm anticipating my perceived art output will be a lot lower next year, for all these reasons, and that’s OK! Art goals for next year involve a) working on self-care and recovering from what-very-well-may-be burnout, b) jamming as much as I can on Personal Project and things I will probably never publish on the Internet, c) WORRYING LESS about small details & audience when I DO draw/post goofy fandom stuff, and d) remembering how to draw spontaneously and for fun. Fingers crossed these are achievable goals!

In terms of my personal favorites for the year... well, that's tough! I like them all for one reason or another. I REALLY liked how my December piece turned out; I think I nailed it (I really wish I could show it!!). And I'm also really proud of how the Daisuke Kaiser comic turned out. I got to play with some fun screentone brushes, and it's an ACTUAL (short) MANGA-STYLE COMIC that I finished, for once. Finally makin' comics!! Secretly, THAT'S THE DREAM!!! My teenage self would be so proud.

It'll be interesting to see what 2022 brings!

#the cactus speaks #my art #art summary #art summary 2021

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kingwuko · 3 years

Note

(Please note I haven't read the comics.) Hello, good morning (at least where I'm from!) Or good afternoon or evening, I have brought to you some more Wuko headcanons and they are, drum roll please:

-The outside of their fridge is stacked with papers. (The inside of their fridge has, like, two eggs and a cartoon of milk, they need to go shopping.) Papers from Lin about the police department, recipes from Pema for airbender food, recipes from Grandma Yin for what to do with all the halfway-decent fruit from Lu's cart in Ba Sing Se she sends once a month, a NutTuk magnet, a landscape drawing of Republic City drawn by Meelo that he insisted go on top of all the other papers, an 'airbending scroll' drawn by Ikki that Wu and Bolin both agree just look like stickmen dislocating their stickjoints, a colorless sketch of BumJu that Jinora said they could gave the final picture of once it's done. (Probably didn't give it to Uncle Bumi because he'd gasp in horror and say "This isn't BumJu! This is a fire ferret!" And she'd either end up taking that to heart or starting a lecture about spirits.) Also on the fridge is a list of emergency contacts with Asami at the top.

-Their apartment isn't really decorated besides for the fridge. The only thing they have hanging up is Mako's badges and various awards from the police academy, Probending awards, and pictures of Team Avatar and Co. Some pictures, like the one Mako took of an off guard Bolin playing Pai Sho with the champ Pabu, get smushed up against the spirit vines growing outside their apartment complex. (Mako couldn't decide whether or not being the farthest away or closest to the Republic City portal was good or not until Korra AND Jinora lectured him about spirits and humans living in harmony, good spirits and bad spirits coexist, he can't remember the rest.) They have a radio that plays quiet, jazzy tunes Wu will dance to and sweep Mako in, it's right next to a science experiment they did with Meelo and Ikki (hypothesis: do plants from other nations grow faster than others? with each plant with different soil from each nation.) It's a simple life and a lot less suffocating than that of the Earth Kingdom, but it also has the Avatar and her engineer girlfriend, a lavabender, a rebirth of a nation, and 💖Mako💖

-That's not to say they don't go on adventures. They'll often accompany Tenzin and Pema to find airbenders, sometimes Kya and Jinora will join and Kya will tell embarrassing stories. Tenzin will come back with how they didn't talk to each other for months over fighting over Lin. Kya will then reply "What do you know you're the youngest" (which is so freaking funny) and Tenzin will just clench his jaw and change the subject. Once when this happened, he suggested signing songs and decided to start off with an "airbender song Father thought me." It was Secret Tunnel. Wu immediately pointed it out because he had learned some songs from Chong when they were in the Earth Kingdom and that it was more Earth Kingdom (specifically Omashu) origin than anything else. And Kya just starts cracking up at that and points out "Not everything Dad taught you was a secret airbender thing!" Tenzin was grumpy and silent for the rest of the ride. Ever since then Wu will quietly sing Secret Tunnel and it just makes him break out into a grin because, oh my god, airbenders are hilarious. Mako just melts at his singing, no matter it may be, and his big grin.

-Since Wu can't bend and it's something he feels insecure about, he decided to take up weaponary. He heard Tenzin's Uncle Sokka was a master at weapons and even had a space sword but, sadly, there were no cool outer space rocks to make into swords in Republic City. It's ok because he didn't really like the way a sword felt almost like it was tipping him foward because he didn't have balance, bow and arrows caused blisters on his hands and he needed aim anyway (shitty eyesight Wu rights), and boomerangs came back fast and knocked him backwards when he did catch them. Finally, he tried throwing daggers and they're much easier and don't require aim, just general area. He has a set of two throwing daggers, a green orietnal set with an Earth Kingdom symbol and badgermoles on the handle, and a practice set that Mako got for him. It has a simple wood handle and blade that constantly needs sharpning. The handle has a heart and a "M+W" carved into the handle. He first tried throwing them on the spirit vines until Jinora got upset, then Mako got him a dart board and they'll play knife darts. They've both gotten really good at throwing.

-Mako didn't get back into Probending because of his arm and he feels weirdly jealous when he sees Bolin with a bruise the size of a pizza pan on his stomach and Korra with healed burn scars on her arms. He knows he why he's upset and that's because he misses Probending and the exhilaration of it, and knowing why he's upset makes him more upset and it's a cycle; so sometimes when Wu catches him listening to the match while clenching and unclenching his jaw, he'll softly turn off the radio, run a hand gently up his sccared arm, tracing the scars like it's the Bayan-grove tree roots, telling him it's ok, there is bravery in your scars, and pick his hand up to kiss his knuckles. When it's really bad, like when he wakes up at night feeling filled with electricity and lightning and the power Ozai praised Azula for having and shaming Zuko for not, he'll open the window and point his scarred arm outside. Nothing happens. Nothing ever does, but he feels a little relieved and will go into the bathroom to wrap his arm up tight before going to bed again. Wu notices and leaves the window open while they sleep, sometimes wrapping his arm for him.

-Sorry for the angst, but now, please consider: them babysitting BumJu and it's a mess because what do spirits eat? And Korra, BumJu went into the Spirit World agai, is that normal? And Jinora how do you play with spirits, do you just chase them around or throw a stick?

Anyway that's all I got, have a great day!!!! 💖💖💖💖💖

OP all this is beautiful and well thought out. I especially like Wu using throwing daggers.

#answered #wuko #mako #king wu #prince wu

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tomhollandstrash · 4 years

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Spiderman the Matchmaker

Please enjoy this classic friends to lovers trope!

Pairing: Peter Parker x Artist!Reader

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2k

You grinned at Peter as he danced around your room wearing the ridiculous meowing cat sweater one of your relatives gave you for your birthday. The way he wiggled his hips and kept squeezing the cat’s nose to make it meow made your shoulders shake in laughter. Moments like these with Peter were your favorite. The way he looked so worry free made your heart soar. This care-free version of Peter is one you often found yourself missing these days.

“Pete, stop I’m going to pee my pants if you keep doing that,” You said through your laughter, wiping away a tear that escaped the corner of your eye.

“I can’t, I’m enjoying this way too much,” Peter said, letting out a loud laugh as he set off the sweater’s obnoxious meowing again. “I just can’t believe they bought this for you,”

“It’s the thought that counts,” You said, feigning seriousness before breaking out into another fit of laughter. “Okay, okay I can’t even say that with a straight face. It is kind of a wild sweater choice,”

“You could say that,” Peter chuckled, out of breath from dancing.

He flopped down on the bed next to you and let out a sigh of contentment. You looked at him over your shoulder before looking back to the sketch in front of you, tilting your head as you examined it.

“What’re you working on?” Peter asked curiously as he sat up to look at your sketchbook over your shoulder.

You blushed slightly because of Peter’s close proximity. You would be lying if you said you weren’t at least a little attracted to Peter. Not only was he a fantastic friend, but he was more than easy on the eyes. The way his eyes would twinkle when he smiled and his messy brown curls made your heart beat a little faster every time you saw him.

“Oh, you know... It’s nothing much,” You said absentmindedly.

“Are you kidding? Y/N, you’re the best artist I know!” Peter gushed, pulling the sketchbook out of your hands despite your protests.

“Peter! I’m not done with that yet!” You tried to grab the book back from him to no avail. Peter was too good at blocking you. You bit your lip as you carefully watched him as he looked at the sketch.

“Well?” You asked tentatively, bringing Peter back to reality.

Lately, you’d been trying to practice more self-love. You decided to start by drawing a self-portrait. No better way to practice loving yourself than by drawing yourself.

“Y/N, it’s beautiful!” Peter said, looking at you with his heart stopping smile. “Can I have it?”

“What?” Your cheeks turned a deep crimson color as your eyes widened to an almost comical size.

Was Peter Parker calling you beautiful? You shook your head and looked everywhere except for at him, rubbing your arm shyly. He couldn’t have been meaning that he thought you were beautiful, he had to have just been talking about the drawing.

“Do you really want that?” You asked, looking at him holding the sketchbook.

He nodded enthusiastically, holding the sketch close to his chest. You could never quite figure out how to say no to him when he pulled out the puppy eyes. You sighed and nodded.

“Sure, you can have it,” You chuckled gently and put your hands out, gesturing for him to hand you your sketchbook.

“Will you sign it?” He handed you the book and crossed his legs. “I want to make sure I have it when you’re famous”

“Sure, Pete,” You smiled softly, taking your favorite teal pen out of your pencil bag. You opened the pen and put it to the paper, signing your name in the corner of the drawing. Tearing the sketch out of its place in the sketchbook, you turned to Peter. “Here ya go. One Y/N original,”

Peter took the sketch out of your hands, admiring the details of your face on the page.

“I love it. Thank you,” He smiled brightly.

It had been a few days since you’d seen Peter last. Something about him needing to help May out around the apartment, and needing to do some extra work for his internship. While you two would usually hang out after school and into the evening, you hadn’t been seeing each other as much lately. It wasn’t that Peter was pushing you away, it just seemed like he was busier than usual. You were happy that his internship was going well, and you always wanted to support him in everything that he did. He was your best friend, so you couldn’t help but miss him a little bit.

You wandered the winding path in the park before settling on a nice looking bench. A sigh left your lips as you let your bag drop into the spot next to you as you sat down. You pulled your sketchbook and pencils out of your bag. Shivering slightly as the cool autumn air brushed past you, you opened the book and started to draw. You weren’t sure at what point your brain decided to draw Peter, but when you looked down at the sketchpad, you blushed slightly. Were you really so hopelessly in love with Peter that now you were just drawing him without thinking about it? Apparently, so.

As the sky began to turn purple and the streetlights turned on, you packed up your things and began the walk home. You could have taken the subway, but you decided you could use the fresh air. Caught up in your thoughts, you yelped when someone tried to grab your bag from you.

“Hey! Let go!” You shouted, pulling on your bag with all your might.

You saw a flash of red and blue in the corner of your eye and suddenly, you found yourself on the ground with the contents of your bag strewn about the sidewalk.

“Ouch,” You pouted as you looked around. When you looked up you saw Spiderman.

“If I would’ve known they were going to let go like that, I would’ve tried to catch you,” Spiderman chuckled lightly and offered you his hand to help you off the ground.

“It’s okay,” You said and grabbed his hand, surprised at how effortlessly he helped you up. “Thanks for showing up, I’m not sure I would’ve made it out of here with my stuff if you hadn’t,”

“It’s my job,” He said. You swear you’ve heard his voice somewhere, but you weren’t sure where. It must’ve been on the news or something.

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence as he helped you pick up your things. You were about to grab your sketchbook when you noticed Spiderman looking at its pages.

“Oh! Um, I’ll take that, thanks for grabbing it,” You pushed a piece of hair behind your ear, and gently took the book from him.

“You’re really good, you know,” He complimented. “Who’s that guy you’re drawing?”

“That’s Peter,” You smiled as you pulled your bag over your shoulder.

“He’s good looking,” Spiderman chuckled.

“He is,” You nodded and smiled, trying not to give too much away.

“Can I walk you home?” He asked.

“Uh, sure! I’d appreciate that,” You said and began walking toward your apartment.

The two of you walked quietly together for a bit before Spiderman broke the silence.

“So are you two together?” He inquired, nodding toward the sketchbook in your hands.

“No, we’re not,” You blushed deeply, looking at the ground.

“Why not?” He pressed.

“I mean, he’s my best friend. And as far as I can tell, he’s not really interested in me like that,” You explained, glancing in Spiderman’s direction.

“I mean, you never know, he totally could be. Are you interested in him like that?”

You sighed and looked back at your feet, the ground suddenly the most interesting thing you’ve ever seen. Were you really about to confess your feelings for Peter to Spiderman? You weighed your options before deciding there was no harm in it. What were the odds that you’d see Spiderman again? Besides, it’s not like he would tell Peter how you felt.

“Yeah, I mean, Peter’s wonderful. He’s so sweet and fun to be around. Not to mention extremely cute,” You said, pausing for a moment. “I mean, I didn’t mean to fall for him. It’s kind of typical right? Falling for your best friend,”

Spiderman went silent for a moment, almost like he was thinking. You looked over to him, worried that perhaps you’d shared too much.

“Sorry, maybe that was too much,” You added.

“N-no! Not at all!” He said, sounding somewhat surprised. “I was just thinking. If I were Peter, I would want you to talk to me about it, and I’d honestly probably feel the same way,”

You were going to respond, but saw your apartment building coming into view.

“Thanks for walking me home!” You said before quickly slipping into your apartment building.

Spiderman had given you a lot to think about.

“Hey, y/n. What’s going on?” Peter said, slightly breathless.

In the past week, you couldn’t stop thinking about Spiderman’s words. You decided you would talk to Peter and you would tell him how you felt. Peter was one of your best friends, and you didn’t think he’d make it weird if he didn’t feel the same way. So, you called Peter and asked him to come over one afternoon, hoping he was free.

“Can we go to the roof?” You asked, pointing toward the fire escape.

“Sure!” He chirped, leading the way to the roof.

The whole way up your heart was pounding. You were nervous but feeling somewhat hopeful. Although you weren’t sure if he would feel the same way, you wanted to believe that he did.

You shoved your hands deep into your pockets and looked at Peter.

“So, I asked you to come over because I have to tell you something,” You began.

Peter’s ear perked up, his heart racing. He had to try to keep the smile that was forming. Peter had been thinking about the night he, well- Spiderman, walked you home. He’d been in love with you for the longest time. The way you lit up the room, your incredible skills as an artist, how kind you were to those around you, the list of things he loved about you could go on forever. You were everything to him, and he was just hoping that you would feel the same way too.

“I don’t know how to say it, so I guess I’ll just do it...” You took a deep breath and shut your eyes tightly. “IreallylikeyoualotIthinkyou’rereallywonderfulandIthinkImightbeinlovewithyou”

You opened one of your eyes to gage Peter’s reaction, shoulders relaxing when you saw him chuckling.

“Peter,” You whined, covering your face with both of your hands. “I shouldn’t have said anything,”

“Y/n,” Peter said, walking over to you and taking your hands away from your face. “I love you too,”

“You do?” You blinked a few times, finally having the courage to look him in the eyes.

“Yeah, I’ve been in love with you since the day you accidentally broke my bike,” He said, placing a warm hand on your cheek.

“Did I mention that I’m really sorry about that?” You chuckled, cringing at the memory.

“Yes,” He laughed, his eyes crinkling in the most adorable way.

The two of you stood there on the roof looking into each other’s eyes, feeling so much joy and love.

“Can I kiss you?” You asked, breaking the silence.

Peter didn’t say anything, instead pressing his lips against yours in a sweet kiss. You sighed happily into the kiss, happy that you decided to tell him how you felt. You could have never imagined that Peter felt the same way about you. When the two of you finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against yours, a smile on his lips.

“I love you,” He said again, grinning ear to ear.

“I love you too, Peter,” You said going in for another kiss.

The night went on sharing sweet kisses and warm embraces. You were so grateful for the night that Spiderman walked you home. You’d have to remember to thank him. Peter would eventually tell you that he was Spiderman, but that was a confession for another day.

#Peter Parker imagine #Peter Parker x Reader #Peter Parker reader insert #avengers imagine #avengers x reader #peter parker x y/n

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cosmiclatte28 · 3 years

Text

Was It A Dream? (Sungchan Yuta x reader ft doyoung, jaehyun)

A/N : hello again!! This is a light, and fun fanfiction. It’s intended to make you just imagine how fun and chaotic it is to live with two brothers like Jaehyun and Doyoung. You have your eyes on Sungchan and Yuta, until one day they notice you. Join the fun of bickering and expect some plot twist okay!

WARNING : none, it is not rated and Yuta is flirty here. Doyoung and Jaehyun are your brother, but they’re also finding their way to win their s/o’s heart.

HERE WE GOOOO!!!

"Drooling over those two soccer players again?" Your second brother snickers when he finds you sitting on the podium watching the school's soccer team practice. You don't take your eyes off the two young men who look super charming to you especially when they are playing soccer.

Without looking to your older brother you reply "So what? Like you're not eyeing that cheerleader boy too?" That hits him right on the spot, Jaehyun has no words to attack you back. Just when you thought you can gaze on the two princes of your life; your oldest brother surprises the two of you.

"Yak! Doyoung stop doing that! We can have heart attacks!" Jaehyun wipes his shoulder as if cleaning himself from his own brother's touch. You don't get surprised that much and still watch at the two man, the tall Korean guy from your math class Sungchan and the Japanese guy who shares writing class with you, Nakamoto Yuta. They were both older than you but you've fallen for their charms. Both are the aces of the team and you always stay after school on their training days to just watch them from afar.

"Let's go home! I can't believe my sister and brother are this creepy." Doyoung shudders when he sees how focused Jaehyun is in watching that cheer squad leader, Taeyong and his sister (y/n) is sending laser beams to Yuta and Sungchan. 2 men at the same time! Doyoung just shakes his head and notes his watch, it's time to go home. It's almost five and as a student on his last year, Doyoung has extra classes to attend and he was tired. He wants to just go home and sleep, unlike Jae and you who still have the energy to sit there and look like a creeper.

"Okay we're going home now." He stresses his words and pinches yours and jaehyun's shoulders before walking away to the parking lot. "Aish why Doie can't let us have our time?! He's just jealous he doesn't have anyone to look at." You complained Jaehyun reluctantly picks his bag and stands up "Come, I am not walking home." He reaches out his hand for you and you take it. He pulls you to stand and you reluctantly leave the stadium.

"Oh she's going home already?" Yuta asks to his friend when there's a slight break and he sees you being dragged by Jaehyun. The tall man looks to the area Yuta's watching and nods "Guess Jaehyun brought her home by force."

Yuta smiles "She's never taking her eyes off you." Says Yuta and playfully punches sungchan to tease him. Sungchan laughs "I thought she has her eyes on you! I swear she's always sending you that heart eyes when you're running on field."

Yuta smirks "Was she checking out on both of us at the same time?"

Sungchan shrugs his shoulder and finishes his last bottle "I don't know, shall we see who is she actually crazy for?"

Yuta ponders but curiosity takes over his mind "Actually I am curious of that! What do we do?" Sungchan whispers something to the Japanese guy's ear and his smile widens when he imagine how fun will this be. "That sounds interesting!"

---

"Hey (y/n)-" Sungchan taps your shoulder before you stand up from your chair to leave the class. You turn to look at the man tapping your shoulder

"Oh Sungchan-" you look a bit surprised. The tall guy smiles "I saw you yesterday on the podium, guess you like soccer huh?" Your mind wants to scream "no i'm just there to watch you and Yuta...." but you'll just creep him off so you nod your head "Um yeah I grew up with two brothers so I'm more into sports than drama." You lied. Your brothers don't watch soccer :")

"Cool I have a ticket for you so you can watch us. It's the VIP pass. You can come meet us when we're done." Sungchan hands you a ticket and you can't contain your happiness. Well the VIP ticket is expensive and hard to get, even if you have the money sometimes the tickets are sold out already so you're super happy when you get this.

"Woah thank you! I'll definitely come and watch you!" You keep the ticket and walk with Sungchan in the hallway. Your heart is not calm at all, you're going to burst any time soon if this guy did not stop talking to you. "What's your next class?" Sungchan asks you since he also has another class to attend. "Writing, I gotta go." You nervously squeeze your bag and Sungchan did the most unexpected thing. He nods and brings his hand to ruffle your hair "Okay then, guess I'll see you again on my training day." He winks and walks away leaving you speechless with his words and act.

Before your mind can work again someone else has already place a hand over your shoulder. "Hey writing starts in 5 minutes, if we don't rush there, we'll be late." Another deep voice greets your ears. You shake your head, trying to get rid of all ridiculous hallucinations you're having but when you feel your shoulder heavy and someone is breathing next to you.... your legs feel like giving up. "Yuta?" You stammer Great… Sungchan just left you after his heart fluttering actions and this flirty Japanese guy is here.

Well Yuta's known for his flirty side and his tsundere side looks like he is on his flirty side today. "Come (y/n) we need to rush." He squeezes your shoulder and drags you to walk with him to the class. You follow his large steps, your heart beating even faster when you feel his body sticking into yours. You made it on time to the class. The last chairs available are the one in the back and you're sitting next to Yuta for the first time. Yeah you never have the balls to sit beside him, you'll just get distracted and you don't need that right now. But here you are! Seating next to Nakamoto Yuta who's laid back on his chair, playing with his pen, and then focuses on scribbling something. You try to keep your eyes on the board but his hand movement you can see from the side of your eyes caught your attention more. In the end, like attracted to a magnetic field, you turn your head to find out what is making him super focused.

Yuta caught you staring into his paper, trying to figure out what he is scribbling and before you can look away, he holds your hand rips his notebook and places the paper on your hand. Then he pushes your hand to you, and you stare at the paper on your hands. There Yuta just drew a sketch of you holding a hand banner with his jersey number on it. On the bottom corner right, he added his signature and a small note "For my number 1 sweetheart fan

You want to gawk at him that no you're not his number one fan, or yes you are but your mouth can't say anything. "Wow this is nice. Thanks Yuta..." you look into the Japanese guy and wonder just how many more talents he had that you never know. You know Yuta's great in writing, especially since this class is about fictional writing, he aces this class. His plots and imaginations are wonderful and now his drawing skills can make him a successful comic writer if he did not want to be a soccer player! Really Japanese people are mostly great at arts eh?!

"You like that?" Yuta asks when he sees the glimmer in your eyes. You nod "I love it! Gosh Yuta you can be an illustrator and even make a comic out of your stories."

He chuckles "I know, but that's not what I want."

"So what do you want?" You curiously ask him and the man smirks "I want you to come with me this afternoon to a cafe I love."

Boom! Yuta just asked you out on a date. "Me? You're asking me?" You point yourself Yuta nods "Yes you, who else am I talking to?"

You stutter "I- I mean yes I'd love to." He closes his notebook and picks his pen "Okay then, see you at two on the union building."

He leaves after throwing a sweet smile to you and you're once again glued to your seat. You squeal secretly when there is no one and what did you dream of having two of your stars hitting on you. You meet Yuta that afternoon, he treats you on a coffee and both of you ramble on your favorite anime that he watched too. With his Japanese tone he can tease you with some of the male lead lines and you're really dying inside. "Yuta, thank you for the treat, it was great talking to you!" You bid farewell because he needs to attend his soccer club.

"No problem, you're going to watch me?" He asks while standing up and picking up his bag. "I want to, but I have essays to write." You frown.

Yuta ruffles your hair "Himnae! You can watch me in the real match this week. See you!" He waves when he sees your ride has arrived. Yes Jaehyun picks you up and you disappear behind the door.

“Pinch me! Hyung pinch me!!” you shake Jaehyun’s shoulder. He looks at you with an annoyed face and pinches you on your cheeks.

“Happy?” he mischievously grins and pulls your cheek harder. You wince at the pain and slap his hand away “Enough!”

“You ask for it!” he taunts, and you bring one hand to soothe the red cheeks, “I AM NOT DREAMING!”

Jaehyun just shakes his head at your antiques, he drives safely back home while you’re busy opening your bag to check the ticket Sungchan gave and Yuta’s drawing. When you find both of them in your possession, you kiss both papers and laugh happily. Jaehyun really looks at you like you’re being possessed, and he should slap you to reality, and he did that on the red light.

“WHAT?!” you yell when he slaps you hard enough.

“I thought you might be possessed.” He shudders

“I am not. Look, I got a VIP ticket for this week’s match and a nice portrait of me from Yuta!” you show your brother the papers and he pulls out an “Eeew you’re like a crazy in love teenagers.”

You taunt at him, “Admit it if you’re jealous. I don’t care what you say. I am not dreaming; today is not a dream and this week I’ll be seeing my men up close!”

Jaehyun laughs at you nevertheless, well he is happy as long as you’re happy and Doyoung? Guess he’ll just stay quiet until Doyoung watches you boast about the same thing to him too.

“For your information, you just got a ticket right?” Jaehyun suddenly asks you when both of you are taking the lift to the sixth floor.

You nod your head and Jaehyun just smirks, “I won Taeyong’s number already.”

If the lift door is not opened, you will already scream out loud “What?! When?”

But since the door is opened and other residence and your oldest brother comes in view you decided to stay quiet.

Doyoung notices the fishy look on Jaehyun’s face and your surprised face. He wonders what silliness he should deal with again today, but he won’t ask if no one is going to tell.

In the end, Doyoung figures out about your meeting with Sungchan and Yuta. He also hears Jaehyun boast around about his closeness to Taeyong now, and he’s tired watching the two of you bicker about being closer to have them in your hands.

“You two, actually (y/n) bet to me that Jae wouldn’t get Yong’s number but he did, so you owe me 20.” Doyoung suddenly smirks as he hands out his palm of hand and you roll your eyes as you stand up to get your wallet and pay him.

Doyoung then turns to Jaehyun, “And you, when did you win Taeyong’s number?”

Jaehyun thinks for a while, “Yesterday?”

Doyoung smirks, “I have gotten Jeno’s since last week. Pay up!”

You hang your mouth when you realize just how smart and tricky Doyoung is in making you lose and Jaehyun lose too.

Jaehyun felt cheated, but in the end he has to pay up too. Both you and Jaehyun look cross to Doyoung and together mutter,

“JUST WAIT AND SEE.”

end.

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homebody-nobody · 4 years

Text

you’re a part of me

(WHAT?? Jax wrote ANOTHER fic?? THREE FICS?? in TWO WEEKS?? I know, I’m shocked too. We’re gettin closer and closer to bein a Real Fic Writer lads.) How many juke first kiss fics will you write, Jax? all of them. as many as I want. I dunno. you're an adult obsessed with a tweeny-bopper show. shut up. who even has the patience for 5 +1s in this house it's 3 +1 and only barely bc I don't know how structured fic works so it's not even separate like it's supposed to be. anyway enjoy some dumb teenagers falling in love if the dialogue is cringe sorry lol I was trying to stay in the tone of the show and may have gone a little bit too disney channel (Also if you see typos/the same adjective used twice in one sentence/paragraph, no you didn't I don't edit it makes me nervous) ------------------------------- (ao3) ------------------------------ '... Luke has thrown out any semblance of personal space. He orbits around her just as closely as the others, no longer threatened by or hyper-aware of the consequences of his proximity. Basically, he’s getting entirely too comfortable.'

(3 times Julie and Luke almost kissed and 1 time they did) ------------------------------------ Luke is overly physical. Theoretically, Julie already knew this. She’s seen him with the boys, the way he lives in other people’s space, hanging off Reggie and lurking next to Alex, not caring where his lanky limbs or knees or elbows end up, even if it’s in other people’s ribs. He was never like that with her, too afraid of the crushing disappointment that came when she phased through his hands. But now, there isn’t the strange, tingles-up-her neck way-weird, way-wrong sensation that came when she accidentally brushed through him. So even though Julie’s used to keeping a respectful distance, Luke has thrown out any semblance of personal space. He orbits around her just as closely as the others, no longer threatened by or hyper-aware of the consequences of his proximity. Basically, he’s getting entirely too comfortable.

She notices it the first time during rehearsal, when they’re hashing out the particulars of a melody -- Luke wants it to go down, and Julie thinks it should go up. She plunks herself down at the grand piano to prove that her idea will sound better, fanning the half-finished sheet music out across the top, pointing out the measure they’re arguing over, smudged and crinkled from repeated erasings.

Luke narrows his eyes at her from across the room, his face set in his trademark (adorable) grumpy expression. “It just sounds better!” she argues. “Listen.” She puts her hands on the keys, left hand hitting the chord, right dancing over her proposed melody. “So please, keep chasing me…” she sings, building to the last word and sliding her voice over an intricate run ending in a step up. Looking up, she tilts her head, her wild hair piled into a tenuous bun, curly tendrils framing her face. Luke’s stomach does an interesting flip. “See?”

He stands up, swinging his guitar strap down across his chest before walking around her, putting his right hand over where hers had just been on the paper. He stands just behind her shoulder, sending goosebumps down her spine. “It should go down,” he insists. “It’ll flow better with the next line and then the break before the chorus makes more sense. Listen.” He puts his foot up on the bench and swings his guitar back up like it's an extension of him, playing a riff and singing the line they’re arguing about before dipping in to the next. “So please keep chasing me,” he sings, his voice gracefully stepping up and then back down, “Cause even though I’m runnin’, I know you’re the one I need.”

“You’re making it too simple!” she cries, slamming her hands down in her lap and turning to face him. She opens her mouth to continue the argument, but when she looks at him, she starts, finally realizing just how close he is. The toe of his sneaker brushes her leg, and he leans over the sheet music, closing her in against the piano. His dark eyebrows pull together, mouth slightly pinched as he concentrates, solid and strong and very much in her space. “Um --” she says.

He shrugs, shaking his head a little bit. “What,” he says, not understanding what she’s having a problem with. Julie’s eyes drop to his mouth, close and stupid kissable, and he notices the motion. The air crackles as both of them unconsciously draw closer, song forgotten, focused only on each other. Luke leans in, half an inch, and Julie’s breath hitches in her chest. This is stupid. She knows this is stupid. Luke is dead. Full ghost. Not real. Well, real, but not a viable option. He might have a physical presence now -- a very strong, very warm, very attractive physical presence -- but that doesn’t make him any more possible. And yet, here she is, pulled into him like he has his own gravitational field and she’s helpless to it. Luke licks his lips, and Julie tilts her chin up, fractional motion tiptoeing toward something irreversible and dangerous.

Just as she’s about to step over that uncrossable line, there’s an almighty crash. Both of their heads whip up in time to see Alex topple off his stool -- he’d fallen asleep as they were arguing. The noise wakes Reggie, whose head was lolling against his amp. “I didn’t do it!” he yells, flailing into sitting up straight.

Julie clears her throat and turns back to the keyboard, stretching her hands over the keys. “You’re, uh --” she says, glancing at Luke out of the corner of her eye to find him smirking in an infuriatingly adorable manner. “You’re right. It should go down.” He stands up straight, mildly surprised at his easy victory, and backs off from the piano to show Reggie the chords. They sketch out the verse and Alex adds a backing beat, the moment forgotten.

That is, until Carlos comes in to nag her to eat. Alex poofs out and Reggie dives behind his amp. Since the whole discovering-corporeality thing, they’re not totally sure if Julie’s the only one who can see them still, and they’d rather not have to explain to Julie’s dad what three teenage ‘holograms’ are doing living in his garage. Carlos delivers his message and then darts back inside, eager for dinner, and Julie stands up from the piano, gathering the half-finished song and tucking it into the folder she keeps her in-progress projects in.

Reggie emerges in a comic mess of limbs and grins at her, Alex poofing back on to his stool. “I’ll be back after dinner to finish this,” she says, hoping they don't notice the shake in her hands as she tucks the folder away. Luke pops his chin over the edge of the couch, behind which he’d taken cover.

“Hey Julie!” he calls, and she turns back to look at him. “Just remember; KISS.”

Her brain short-circuits, heart tripping over itself as she remembers his eyes on her, his shoulders and his hands and his stupid concentration face. “I, uh -- What are you --” she sputters.

A shit-eating grin spreads across Luke’s face as he puts his elbows on top of the couch and pushes himself up. “Keep it simple, stupid.”

Julie practically runs out of the garage. Alex raises an eyebrow, his gaze arcing from the door to land on Luke. “That was uh…” Luke schools his expression into one of false innocence. “Bold.” Luke rolls his eyes and brushes him off, but Reggie gives Alex a knowing look. Their friends are idiots.

It happens again one afternoon when Carlos has a baseball game and Julie has the house to herself. Or, so she thinks. She’s lazing around on the couch, avoiding her history homework spread out on the coffee table, Adventure Time babbling on the television. She’s slowly working her way through a bag of gummy bears and m&ms (her favorite candy combination), wearing an enormous hoodie that used to be her mom’s, home alone; life is fantastic. Until --

“Oh, sweet, cartoons!” Luke poofs into existence directly next to her on the couch, and she starts violently enough to shake candy into the couch cushions. Some of it lands on his chest, and he holds up a green gummy bear with a wistful expression. Julie just stares at him, still mildly in shock, definitely still annoyed, and really not in the mood to endure his moping about food when she was having a perfectly nice time by herself.

“Hey,” he says, either ignoring or unaware of what he’s just done to her heart rate and her peaceful afternoon. “You think now that I’m corporeal --” (he over-pronounces the word, having just learned it from Flynn days before) “I can eat like, regular human food?” It isn’t until he looks to her for an answer that he realizes what he’s just done. “Oh, sorry,” he says, that same stupid-ass grin settling on his face, not sorry even a little bit. “Did I spook ya?”

His glee at the pun, which he definitely stole from Reggie, sparkles in his gray-green eyes, and Julie’s heart, which had just started to recover from his sudden appearance, trips over itself one more time. Emerging from the shaken-up snowglobe of her brain, she blurts out her first thought. “You’re the worst,” she says, even while thinking the opposite.

He looks genuinely hurt for about half a second before turning the gummy bear towards her, too, and speaking for it. “You should be nice to Luke,” he says in an absurd voice. “He’s so handsome and talented!” He laughs at his own joke and pitches his voice up to continue with the bit, but she snatches the candy out of his hand and pops into her mouth, grinning. He feigns shock. “That bear could have had a family, Julie.”

“If they did, they’ll all be happy together in my stomach,” she says, eating another one to punctuate the statement. Luke laughs, and the sound has a heart-stopping melody of its own. It’s comfortable, the relationship that they’ve developed with each other. He always laughs at her jokes and is the first to offer her a compliment after rehearsal, and she loves his dorky sense of humor, even when she gives him a hard time about it. They write music and goof around, and even with the (very strong) undercurrent of romantic (she hopes) tension between them, a friendship sits comfortably on top. He’s only been in her life for a short time, but she can’t imagine it without him. Her feelings for him endanger that, so she does her best not to let it show. He asks her what she’s watching, and she explains the basic premise of the episode so that he can understand what’s going on.

She’s hyper-aware of him as they watch the show, and she envies the ease with which he occupies her space, his shoulder brushing hers, their knees occasionally bumping. He slouches all the way down on the couch, one foot kicked up on the table, turning the remote in his hands and messing with the battery cover, completely at home. (He’s always fiddling with something -- a pen, his necklace -- or bouncing his leg, or clicking a guitar pick between his teeth. It’s a habit that’s mostly adorable and only sometimes annoying.) If he notices her staring at him, he doesn’t say anything.

It takes a couple more episodes, but she finally relaxes, and the distance between them -- already spare -- vanishes, her shoulder tucked under his, her head angled toward him, their feet bumping on the table. Half her attention is on Finn and the land of Ooo, and half on the boy beside her, who doesn’t seem to give any indication that he’s thinking about this as much as she is. Luke has a way of pulling her in until she’s closer than she ever planned to be, like she can’t help but touch him. Ever since the night they played the Orpheum, he’s become magnetic, his presence a force she can’t resist. If she tilted her head down, just a fraction, it would be resting on his shoulder. What would he do? Would he shrug her off, or rest his head on hers? She watches his hands play with the remote, imagining what his strong, slender fingers would feel like laced with hers. She’s had crushes before, of course -- she liked Nick all the way from seventh grade up to this year -- but nothing so real and powerful as this.

“Don’t you think Finn sounds just like Reggie?” Luke asks, pulling her from her thoughts. She looks up at him, and he looks down at her, and -- oh.

He’s very close.

His eyes always remind her of an overcast sky, swirling with unknown depth, and they widen when they meet hers, filled with awe. Blood rushes in her ears, muting the TV, tuning out anything that isn’t him. Her heart is beating so hard and so fast she wonders peripherally if he can hear it, and then that thought fizzles out with the rest of any kind of logic when his gaze drops to her mouth. He’s going to kiss her. He’s going to kiss her!! Panic and elation and anticipation all scramble in her chest. She’s never kissed anyone before, and even though she’s never asked, she knows he probably has. What if she’s bad at it? She’s half freaking out and half telling herself to shut the hell up as he turns his entire body towards her, his hand reaching up to hold her face and --

The front door slams open, announcing Carlos and Ray. “Mija!!” her dad calls. Luke jerks back from her like he’s been burned, eyes filled with absolute terror, before he disappears.

“JULIEEEEE!!” Carlos hollers, launching himself across the living room at her and landing on her stomach, knocking the air out of her. Her arms come up around him automatically, despite all the sweat and the diamond dirt sticking to it. Feeling mildly shell shocked and like she’s been hit by a hell of a lot more than her little brother, she barely listens as Carlos and their dad babble over each other in an attempt at telling the story of Carlos’ game-winning home-base slide. She’ll be happy for him once her heart rate slows down.

Luke stays away for almost a full twenty-four hours after that particular mishap, long enough she almost asks Reggie and Alex if he talked to them about it. There’s about a thousand reasons not to, but mostly, she doesn’t know if she can even explain just what happened. She does tell Flynn, who launches into a very confusing monologue that starts with her admonishing Julie for thinking anything good can come from involving herself with a literal ghost and ends with her gushing about how many cute love songs they could write together, zero percent of which makes her feel better.

The only reason he doesn’t continue avoiding her is rehearsal, which, of course, he would never miss. She’s hoping to talk to him before they get started, but then the bus gets stuck in traffic and all of her boys are already set up with their instruments and having an impromptu jam session by the time she gets home. “What --” she hisses as she heaves the doors shut behind her. “Did I tell you guys about playing in here without me?” Alex shrugs and apologizes, and she can’t really be mad at Reggie, at least not for long.

But Luke -- he barely looks at her, nervous fingers dancing across a complicated riff even as the other boys stop playing. It takes a second of silence before he looks up to see the rest of his band staring at him. “Oh,” he says, the phrase ending in the discordant sound of fingernails on steel strings. “Yeah, right. Sorry.”

They get started, but nothing sounds right. Luke rushes the tempo and refuses to make eye contact with anyone, spinning off into fancy riffs that have no place in the song they’re working on. Reggie keeps trying to keep up with him, tripping up Alex and frustrating Julie, and when the song grinds to a cacophonous halt for the fourth time, she stands up from the piano. Reggie takes a step back.

“What is your problem?” she practically yells, stomping over to Luke. He’s been surly and unusually stubborn, and the shift from his usual cheerful, passionate demeanor builds her own stewing anxieties to a dangerous head.

“It’s not my problem you can’t keep up,” he says, and then, after watching the words register in Julie’s expression, immediately regrets it. Alex’s eyebrows shoot up and Reggie makes a very soft ‘ooooohhh’ noise under his breath.

“It’s not keeping up if you can’t hold a steady tempo,” she says, too upset over his refusal to cooperate to catch the reaction from her bandmates.

“Okay, so maybe I was rushing,” he admits, trying to walk it back. But Julie’s on a roll, and once she gets started laying into him, she very rarely lets up.

“Thank you!” she yells, the sarcasm clear in her tone. She’d been especially fond of the product so far, a song she thought embodied the perfect blend of Luke’s harder edge and her singer-songwriter roots. His sudden, uncharacteristic left turn is as much an interruption in their rehearsal as a knock to the tenuous pride she’d been building in the piece. “And what are all those riffs you’re tossing in? You have to hear how they don’t fit.”

“Oh come on,” he says, proud in his ability and therefore less willing to step down. He rolls his shoulders back and moves toward her, the challenge set in his spine. “I was shredding and you know it.” Luke is sweet and kind and silly and compassionate, but he’s also a musician, and a lead guitarist at that. His ego, though it rarely becomes an issue, is far from insubstantial.

“If you want a solo, fine!” she cries with exasperation, her hands flying through the air like they always do when she’s upset. “But you have to say something so we can give you room for it!” Her annoyance has turned down the sensitivity on her Luke-nonsense monitor, caught up enough in the trouble that she can’t see that he’s riling her up on purpose.

“What, you afraid of a little improvisation?” He’s smiling now, and his obvious glee, such a stark flip from where she thought this was going, throws off her tirade. He starts walking toward her, and his newfound physicality gives him an ability to fluster her to a much greater degree than before.

“No --” she stammers, stumbling backwards, distracted out of anger by his sparkling eyes and the power in the body approaching rapidly. “That’s not what I --” There it is again, that power he has to turn the rest of the world into radio static, her vision blurring and her hearing dulling until it’s just Luke filling up the world in front of her.

“C’mon Julie,” he says, and right now she hates his stupid smirk and the stupid way he rolls her name around in his mouth before letting it out. “you have to take risks once in a while.” She’s backed up against the piano now, her hands wrapped tight around the lid, and he’s still pushing it, strong and warm and undeniably, frustratingly male in her space.

But Julie isn’t one to let him intimidate her into silence, no matter how cute and well-muscled he may be. She takes a breath and looks him in his ridiculous sparkly eyes, poking him in his absurdly firm chest.“I am not afraid of taking risks, mister,” she says, “Let’s not forget who performed in front of her entire school to get back into the music program --”

“My idea,” he scoffs, not backing up. Why isn’t he backing up.

“Or who fronts a band of actual ghosts!” she continues, her voice increasing in volume again, and the speed of her heart tripping over itself could be from the argument or the boy who’s collarbones are less than a foot from her face. Both are entirely possible.

“Less ghost now,” he reminds her, tilting his head, his weight leaned one one leg, his hand resting on the head of his guitar, relaxed when they’re supposed to be arguing.

“You just get to poof out after we perform!” she says, only about two-thirds of her mind still focused on the fight itself, the other third completely wrapped up in the feeling of Luke in front of her. “I’m the one who has to stick around and ask questions!”

“So you’re saying you take chances,” he says, diabolically diplomatic instead of challenging. He leans forward, putting his hands on the piano behind her, caging her in with his arms. She refuses to back down again, even though his face is now inches from hers. “You’d take a leap of faith?”

“Yeah,” she says, only half-certain, because she’s not totally sure they’re still talking about music, and her heart is in the base of her throat and her stomach is somewhere around her shoes, and suddenly her hands are sweating when they definitely weren’t a minute ago. This definitely isn’t an argument about the song anymore.

“Oh yeah?” he says, and there’s the challenge again, except this one sounds more like a dare, and he’s definitely looking at her lips this time, not even trying to be subtle about it, and her hands are braced on his forearms and when did they get there? And Luke is warm and when she looks up, his eyes are on hers, and despite all that bravado and provocation there’s still a question there, and all she would have to do to answer is lift up on her toes and finally, finally press her lips against his, and --

Alex coughs. The oxygen goes out of the room like someone opened an airlock, and Julie feels herself sink, just barely, back down on her heels. The world fills back in, colors and sounds suddenly too bright, too abrasive. Tearing her eyes off Luke, she glances over his shoulder to where Reggie and Alex are, still with their instruments, watching them intently. Alex looks politely put out, his eyebrows tilted up with incredulity, like he's asking if they seriously just made him watch that. Reggie, on the other hand, hides nothing in his expression, shock and amusement there in equal parts as he glances between Alex and the two of them still tucked close against the piano, jaw askance in a surprised smile.

"Are you done?" Alex asks, in a tone that sounds less like a question. "It’s not that I mind…" he gestures between the two of them with a drumstick. "This, but like, time and place, dude." He's not talking to Julie. Luke clears his throat, appropriately chastised, but still looking smug as shit.

"Um, sorry," she mutters as he returns to his spot next to his amp.

Alex shrugs. "Not your fault," he says, "from the top?"

"Uh," she says, frozen for a moment in embarrassment and confusion. She looks to Alex, and he gives her one of his soft, kind smiles, the sort that makes her feel like everything is going to be okay. “Right, okay,” she finishes, as her hands twitch and she settles back into her body. Rushing back around to the bench, she flexes her hands over the keys, curling them into fists and then back out again when they tremble. “From the top.”

The rehearsal goes -- okay, after that. The magic is missing; therefore, while she usually feels inspired and courageous and empowered walking out of the garage, she just feels exhausted and drained. She eats dinner with her family, and her dad definitely notices that she’s uncharacteristically quiet, but saves asking about it until after Carlos is safely sequestered with his iPad. “How ya doin, kiddo?” he asks as she helps him clear up the dishes. “Everything okay?”

Julie looks at her dad with mild alarm, wondering what exactly he knows. He does his best, he really does, but it took him a while to even notice she was in a band. Not to mention, he still believes they’re holograms. “Um,” she says convincingly. “Yeah?”

He smiles kindly, in the way that means he’s very politely calling bullshit. “Alright, mija. What’s going on?”

Heaving a sigh, Julie keeps her eyes on the dishwasher she’s loading, trying her best to plan an escape route out of this conversation. “I promise, Dad,” she says, “It’s nothing.” and then, what she thinks are the magic words. “Boy stuff.”

But Ray’s been prepping for this, had conversations with Rose about it before she passed, while the cancer slowly ate her alive. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to be there for her daughter through the time in her life a girl needs her mother the most, and she wasn’t about to let him hide behind toxic masculinity and leave Julie to figure it out on her own. “Okay,” Ray says, trepidation clear in his voice but also not unwilling to approach the topic. “What’s his name?”

Julie almost drops the pot she’s scrubbing. “Does it matter?” she asks, her voice crawling up several octaves.

“Just trying to learn who is in my daughter’s life,” he answers diplomatically, sitting down at the counter to make it clear he’s not letting her out of this one easily.

“I promise, Dad,” she says, doing her best to frantically dodge the interrogation she knows is coming, regretting she brought it up at all, cursing herself for being so obvious. “It’s dumb. You don’t even know him.”

Ray nods slowly, pretending to believe her. Julie goes after the pot a little harder, because maybe if she just finishes the dishes she can go upstairs and bury herself in her bed and not have to have this conversation anymore. “It’s not that guitarist, is it?” he asks, and her spine goes stiff as a ramrod. Ray’s her dad, but he’s not blind. He’s seen the way they look at each other when they perform, the way the boy follows her around the stage like a puppy, desperate for her attention, disappointed when she jams with the other members of their band and not him. He’s an excellent musician, but Ray knows too many stories of near-legends gone sour with misdirected young love.

“No!” Julie cries immediately in an obvious lie. “Of course not!” She turns, half-laughing, explanations falling out of her mouth “We’re just friends,” she insists, lacing her fingers in front of her and nodding exaggeratedly. “Just friends. Only friends. Uh-huh. Friends. And!” she continues, gesturing widely, “he doesn’t even live here! So that… wouldn’t even make sense!” she laughs awkwardly. “So no way. That it’s him. No way it’s him.”

Ray sighs out a laugh that Julie’s too panicked to hear and leans forward on his elbows. “Alright, nina. Just be careful, okay?” She’s nodding along, edging her way towards the stairs. “You and your band…” She looks like Rose, in that hoodie that practically swallows her, hair piled messily on top of her head. Her mom was also a terrible liar, he remembers fondly. “You have something special. Don’t throw that away for a boy.”

Julie nods rapidly and then bolts, thundering up the stairs before throwing her bedroom door closed behind her and diving headfirst onto her bed, burying herself in decorative pillows. How does everyone know?? First Flynn and then Reggie and Alex and now her dad? Is she that obvious? (Um, yes.) She flops onto her back, staring up at the colorful tapestries slung across her ceiling, the string lights and posters and art. Usually, she loves her room, the feeling of her creative mind as a space she can inhabit, exploring her heart and the things she loves without having to shut out the outside world. But tonight, she feels trapped in her own head, so she grabs her notebook and squeezes out the window, perched on the roof outside her room.

The evening air is cool and crisp, the gentlest bite warning the oncoming winter, as much as there is a winter in LA. She spends a while scribbling down half-baked lyric ideas and doodling angry black scribbles around the edges of the pages when nothing comes out right. It’s harder to write on her own, now, without the steady pulse of Luke’s genius behind her, the electricity that flows between them as they create impeccable harmonies. Sometimes, it feels like music belongs to the both of them together, a joined force, like they’ve given up their individual melodies for something greater. It’s thrilling and terrifying all at once.

Eventually, she just ends up holding the notebook open to ‘Perfect Harmony’ with one hand, the other arm wrapped around her legs, her chin propped on her knees. She still hasn’t shown it to Luke, afraid of how real it feels, how clear it makes her feelings for him. Also, it’s a ballad, which they haven’t even approached yet, and she has no idea how Reggie and Alex will feel about such an explicitly romantic duet. She’s thinking that maybe she might be able to vague it up, maybe even make it a solo piece, when Luke appears next to her, like thinking about him draws him to her. (Which might actually be true -- she hasn’t examined that very closely.)

“Hey!” he says cheerfully, all awkwardness from the evening’s rehearsal ostensibly disappeared. He plucks the notebook out of her hand, using the other arm to hold back her immediate demands for its return. “New stuff?” he asks. This is not normally such a grievous invasion of privacy. Ever since they started writing together, their songwriting journals have become common property, and half the pages in hers are marked up with his handwriting and vice versa.

“It’s not ready yet!” she cries, pushing against the (stupidly strong) arm he has across her collarbone, willing to climb bodily over him to snatch the notebook back. Luke’s face very slowly falls as he reads it, the lyrics sinking in, and her protests trail off as she stops scrambling to grab it out of his hands.

He stands suddenly, pacing across the roof. “Did you --” he starts, breathing shallowly, his tongue tucking his teeth between his lips, nostrils flaring before he speaks again. “Why did you copy this out of my songbook?” It’s not accusatory, only a question, born of true confusion.

“I didn’t,” Julie replies without skipping a beat, equally baffled.

“I wrote this after the garage party,” he says. “How is it in your notebook?”

“I wrote it at school before the garage party,” she replies, doing her best to keep down the memory of the Luke in her imagination and the song coming to her fully formed in the form of a Patrick Swayze-esque daydream. She didn’t even tell Flynn about that part.

“At school…” Luke repeats, studying the lyrics with a furrow between his eyebrows, and as much as Julie is also reeling from shock at the mystery, it’s kind of adorable to watch him try and solve it. “This doesn’t make sense,” he says, looking up at her, signature grumpy expression in place. He tilts the notebook flat, like he’s presenting it to her, hoping she has the next steps. Like he’s reached his conclusion, and it’s that he’s confused.

“It doesn’t,” she says, and it comes out as half a laugh unintentionally, just looking at his ridiculous, adorable face.

“Why are you laughing?” he demands with exasperated urgency. “This is super weird!” He rushes over and collapses next to her, a mess of flannel and limbs and beautiful dumbass. He shoves the notebook back into her hands as she folds her legs underneath her, relinquishing her grip on her knees.

“Yeah,” she sighs, unable to wipe the grin from her face. “Yeah, it is.” Luke looks like he wants to ask her what she’s smiling at, but then he starts smiling, too, because her happiness is his happiness. Julie’s already past the strange coincidence, lost in the joy of his gray-green eyes and the feeling of him next to her. She’s too used to strange, to the ever-changing rules of the afterlife and the constant uncertainty that Luke and her boys bring to her life. Yes, it’s strange, but she’s in a ghost band and her crush is dead and still manages to look at her like that so she has a certain level of perspective when it comes to things like this.

“What are you --” Luke tries to say, but her eyes are on his and they’re warm and brown and kind and he’s finding it a little hard to form sentences.

“This is ridiculous,” she says, and he’s nodding without knowing what he’s agreeing to. “We wrote the same song on the same day,” she laughs, and he nods again, half-listening, half lost in her. She’s excited now, about the possibility brought on by magic and her connection -- their connection -- souls tied together with passion and music and love. “That’s impossible!” It cements something for her, the feeling of coming together, of sliding into place. They’re so solid, tight, together, on the same wavelength… musicians have put it a thousand ways throughout the years, to communicate the feeling of a co-writer, a bandmate, a partner, reading your mind, singing the next line, playing the next riff that was just in your head. Julie and Luke get the added bonus of being inexplicably spiritually linked. Nothing can break that, or replace it. She’s not scared of it, anymore.

“Impossible,” he echoes. He always feels a little bit stronger, a little more alive whenever he’s with Julie like this, just the two of them, hanging out or writing music, and he’s in her immediate proximity, soaking in the warmth of her brown skin and brown eyes and the chaotic energy of her wild, incredible hair. She pulls him in, without knowing the power she holds or the light that she emits, casting a golden glow over everything around her.

“Luke,” she says, and he tunes back in, realizing that he’s steadily leaning toward her as they sit on the roof, Julie cross-legged, Luke angled toward her, one leg stretched out, his elbow propped on his other knee. “Are you listening?”

“Um,” he swallows, “Yeah?” but he’s looking at her lips, not her eyes, and he’s thinking about kissing her, just once, just to see what she tastes like, remembering the smell of gummies and m&ms, hoping she’ll be just as sweet. She doesn’t say anything, mostly because she forgot what she was going to say in the first place, watching his eyes watch her mouth, breathing him in. He’s too close again, closer than any friend or bandmate should be, and there’s no mic between them, and the door to her room is closed, and there’s no bandmates or brothers or dads, and her heart pounds in her chest.

When she tilts her chin towards him, she feels ready, finally, knowing what he means to her. Only a breath separates them, but they both stop, waiting for the inevitable interruption, the door slamming open, or someone calling up from the yard below, but it doesn’t come. Realizing what they’re both waiting for, they breathe out a simultaneous laugh, their foreheads dropping together. The tension fades, and Julie’s smile feels uncontainable, demanding every inch of her face as this beautiful, goofy, genus, talented boy adores her while she sits there, falling in love with him.

It’s easier, this moment, than the one before, because it feels less laden with the weight of someone pulling away, unsure or unwanting. This moment is comfortable, joyful, the two of them acknowledging every minute of want and disappointment and hilarious misfortune over the past few days, acknowledging what they would have asked for instead. And when Luke finally reaches up, pulling her in gently with his hand on her neck, his thumb sliding over her jaw, it’s with confidence and tenderness, reassured that she wants this, too. Julie leans easily into the touch, and when their lips meet, the spark and rush is better than any performance, any screaming crowd drowning in lights. They kiss each other, moving together, leaning in as one, harmony made in the movement of mouths and the press of lips, and this moment -- it’s perfect.

#jatp #juke #julie and the phatoms #julie x luke #luke x julie #jatp fic #julie and the phantoms fic #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #my writing #my stuff #homebodynobody #julie molina #luke patterson

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enthusiastic-nimrod · 4 years

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Hey I'm Fred's fourth daddy anon! I sent that to you, and what felt like five minutes later you came in with that gorgeous sketch. Do you have any art tips or videos that have taught you cause I've been stuck draw trying to draw anything not resembling a lump for two years. Also yeah it was whirlwind episode, f*ck Rose, and Fred should have turned that loon in.

Hey FD Anon, thanks so much! I don’t draw a lot of “horror” art so I’m really happy with it’s progress so far!

While I do agree with you that Rose is The Worst, I think she added in an interesting dynamic and I’d be happy if she became a recurring character in the Scooby mythos at large. As for Fred not turning his dad in... I agree, but I also understand why he didn’t.

The episode went out of it’s way to show off how frightening and weird he is but Fred made it very clear that when he wasn’t wearing the mask he was a good parent, and that all of his crimes were shown as nonviolent. He didn’t seem to steal anything (unless I missed that line?) he just liked messing with people by confusing them.

As for art tips, I... honestly never expected anybody to ask for advice from me? That’s super flattering wow.

Okay, so I’m still pretty much a novice, but lemme give you some of my best tips and tricks:

1) Notice how my last sketch had a grey background? This wasn’t just for that sketch, this is how I use ALL of my digital canvases. I do this because the grey causes less strain to my eyes, and allows me to work longer and more easily. Being so close to a screen, especially a blue or white one, can make it harder to work for long periods of time.

2) If you want to do digital art, you need to learn “traditional art” (pencil and paper) first. It makes transitioning to digital more easy and it’s pretty much what any art teacher would recommend, for good reason.

3) Using one method of art not only limits you, but stops you from learning other techniques which can be incorporated into what you typically prefer. Not only that, but you can also discover a medium you really love that you never would have thought of before!

4) Whenever you get the chance, work in black and white or monochrome. This is a great way to help yourself learn about values and intensity, and just looks cool in general.

5) Piggybacking on that last point, if you’re ever worried about your shading, values, etc becoming muddled either A] take a picture and use a filter to make it black and white, or B] create another, pure white layer on top of the others and change it from “Normal” to “Hue”. Doing this can really help change your approach to coloring (black and white effect may be different for every art program).

6) If you want to get better at realistic faces, I was taught using the grid system. You have squares on your reference picture, squares on your paper, and then match up the body parts to the squares. I personally didn’t like this method, but it’s a really solid style of learning.

7) Start with the torso instead of the head. what you start with the head, the body may end up becoming wonky and having the neck stretched out at an odd angle or having a too small cranium. This is easier to fix in digital art but I suggest just remembering the importance of that rib cage (this is something I’m still training myself out of).

8) Asking for feedback can be an invaluable tool. For example, last year I had this really weird thing where I drew my eyes way too close together- I never noticed until I had it pointed out to me, and it took MONTHS to break this habit.

9) References are very useful, and one fun technique I’ve found great use in is to draw a pose, first with no reference, and then following that reference very strictly. This can be helpful when you want to see where you are developmentally.

10) Every now and then while drawing, you want to put the pencil down, prop up your paper, and walk away so that you can see the full image from a distance. If you’re working digitally, you zoom out a great deal so that the image appears smaller. This is a GREAT tool for seeing which sections of the piece need the most attention and how those smaller details hold up.

11) If you have the opportunity, you REALLY want to participate in an actual art class. Having a teacher that can see what you’re doing in real time and knows where you’re at skill-wise is an INVALUABLE thing to have- these people were specifically taught how to teach you these skills, recognize your problems and how to fix them. Don’t be afraid to talk to them and ask for advice about non-classwork art, either! You can’t receive help if you don’t ask for it.

12) Flip your canvas! I know you’ve probably heard this before, but this is one of the best ways to check for anatomy inconsistencies.

13) When it comes to youtube artists, I don’t really actively follow any, but I do know of some!

Mark Crilley: While I don’t watch his videos much now, I used to follow his videos RELIGIOUSLY. He’s got some really solid advice on how to map out comics and mangas, and he taught me the importance of silent scenes and keeping your work from getting too wordy. He mostly does the soft anime look, but he also does some pretty stellar realism.

mikeymegamega: I’m not going to lie to you, anon- this man likes his cheesecake. This guy is all about the cute anime girls, so if you’re not looking for that, skip him, but I really can’t recommend his videos on hands, feet, and faces enough.

Proko: Has a video about best drawing exorcises and is the guy you turn to when you want to know about figure drawing. He tends to focus on the more realistic anatomy, and while his videos may be long he’s got some good advice. I’d say to check out his studying anatomy correctly video, and then just kinda scroll through his pages.

Ethan Becker: THE KNIFE MAN. The first time I clicked on him I thought he was making a troll video- but then he Got Into It and my dudes, my guys, he has some CRAZY good advice. The way he words things and shows you examples in his videos are amazing and I really can’t recommend him enough. He did a video called “Fixing PROKO's LAZY Drawings“ and while you’d think it would be a bash fest his advice on shading in it is just so incredibly useful. Click on pretty much any of his videos and you’ll be entertained and learning.

I'd also suggest watching speedpaints. Even if it was unintentional, I’ve learned several really solid art hacks from speedpaint and storytime videos- so always be aware that you have an option for that.

…. Oh! And also, practice! I know you’ve probably been given this advice from everyone already, but it’s worth remembering.

Sorry if this got a bit long, I just figured I’d try to give you some good hacks- and even if you have already heard of most of these, I hope I could at the very least entertain!

#ask #response #anon #art advice #art tips #scooby doo #fred jones #professor huh #bcsd

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grumpyoldsnake · 4 years

Photo

[Brief image description: A series of illustrations of Gerou teaching in front of a blackboard. The illustrations repeat, each in a different art style; at the end is a collection of doodles mixing the art styles and a few notes reflecting on the exercise. Full description and transcript starting at the heading below the cut. End ID.]

Part one of some recent style studies I’ve been doing, featuring Gerou struggling with student teaching!

I wanted to explore how different artists that I like handle stylization and simplification in comics, and when I asked around several people gave me permission to post the results. I recommend checking them out!

1) Harbourmaster is by @waywardmartian.

2) Never Satisfied is by @ohcorny.

3) Broken is by @yubriamakesart.

4) @doodledrawsthings makes a lot of content that is posted to tumblr, most recently a fair amount of A Hat in Time fanart.

Thank you all for the permission to post! ^_^ I'm having a lot of fun with this.

Side notes:

I genuinely thought that the Harbourmaster style would be easiest for me, since it contains roughly the same amount of detail as my own style and since I’m like 75% sure that reading it as a younger teen informed a lot of my own style and character designs. Turns out it was actually the hardest! Perhaps because, since there aren’t as many blatantly fundamental differences, I had to pay more careful attention to proportions and specific forms? .

Never Satisfied was interesting! Alongside the work of Doodledrawsthings it’s definitely the furthest from my own style, and choosing Gerou for this honestly doesn’t do that difference full justice. I looked a lot at Fidelia, Sylas’s mom, and Thierry in trying to figure out how Gerou’s facial features would translate. Part two of my plans is to explore different character designs that might make fuller use of the difference in style, heh. (In other news: Colored lineart looks very neat and studying how it’s handled in NS is the first time I’ve been able to carry it off in a reasonable time frame, hah.) .

Broken is just... very pretty, y’all. xD I don’t think it really saved me any time or much ease of drawing over my own style, but it’s very nice to look at. And I think the style differences and specific simplifications do lend themselves very well towards creating more consistency than I ever manage in my own art. Noticing the patterned way of drawing ear details was a fun moment for me, I’d never really thought of codifying anything that way before! .

I did the first drawing in Doodledrawsthings’s style (the 3/4ths view in the turnaround) and thought “Oh goodness this is lovely and quick and feels nice.” It’s very nearly the first time drawing something in a cartoony style has ever come easily for me. But... I struggled much more with every other drawing in that style, ahah. Still, it was comparatively quick and I do love the expressiveness of the stylized eyes. :D This is another style where I think I’ll need to explore a wider range of character designs, though. I think it’s also worth thinking about how character design is fundamentally changed in some ways by the change in style; some of what I would think about designing a character specifically for that style is very different from the details I would normally think about when designing a character.

[Detailed image description:

A series of images repeating the same content in different art styles, followed up by a page of sketches and a page with text notes.

The repeated content is a turnaround of the character Gerou as well as a short two-panel comic showing Gerou as a student teacher in front of a blackboard. Gerou is a thin white man with sallow freckled skin, a large hooked nose, long wavy brown hair, and glowing orange-yellow eyes. In the comic, in the first panel he gestures animatedly with a wide smile and says, “Oh, that’s easy! If you just--” then breaks off. In the second panel he holds up a hand as if asking for a pause, and says, “...wait,” with visible consternation.

The sketches feature continued style experimentation with Gerou making a number of expressions and gestures, including: absolutely failing to maintain a good pokerface; looking stressed; various smiles, from tired to nervous to wide and happy; sighing tiredly; sticking out his tongue with arms crossed huffily; arguing with someone; drinking tea; and fighting off a dizzy spell.

The text image is headlined Thoughts and reads as follows:

Think less about reducing details and more about streamlining said details into shapes that are easy to repeat consistently?

Experiment with different ways of rendering mouths and eyes; they can change the feel of an expression

There are no rules; vary style as needed with panel size/detail, emotion that needs depicted, etc. Prioritize information conveyed.

Increasing detail on teeth beyond your baseline makes them look gritted/tensed/bared

Sometimes low contrast is nice

Emotion backgrounds are fun!

Gotta learn to loosen up (though I knew that already hhhh)

Simplified hands are lovely. (So, so much easier. Not sure I’m gonna go back anytime soon except for anatomy practice sketching, heh.)

End image description.]

#I have been hyperfocused on this for a week straight whoops #art #style study #artists on tumblr #style experiment #comics #my art #my stuff #sketches #Gerou #Imperfect Science #image described

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xlehukax · 4 years

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Start of Something - A Fateful Meeting (Pt. 1)

-Writing a little series on here as a warm up! In accordance to @orangelegs‘s Hogwarts AU! Updates won’t be on a set time, but they’ll come eventually-

The Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch tryout Friendly. An event attended by the most avid of local Quidditch folk of Hogwarts… scoping out the upcoming and new Quidditch players could mean seeing the future of the sport. Many a Quidditch master has come out of these tryouts, and it makes sense that people would flock.

Virgil didn’t think this many though. He’s been sitting on one of the benches close to the commentator’s booth, watching in thinly veiled apprehension as people fill in the seats next to him. The only reason he’s here is because Logan asked him to be: the commentator frets endlessly that he’s going to be left behind by the other rotating student commentators. They’re not nearly as statistically advanced as Logan… perhaps a bit more charismatic, but otherwise, Logan is ahead of the game by far. His sketchbook lies open, waiting for some interesting drawing to adorn it. Virgil sighs. Who is he kidding?

He’s also here to check out Roman King. As Logan put it, he’s ‘infatuated’. The Gryffindor had been a chaser for three years now, one of the very few to be put on the team in his very first year. Popular as all hell, maybe one of the most talented chasers ever to grace the school team, regarded largely as being the most attractive guy in school and completely oblivious to his existence.

Why wouldn’t he be though? Virgil’s just a quiet, rude, prickly Ravenclaw. Besides Logan, who he’d met in childhood and not Hogwarts, he has all of zero friends. His sketchbook mocks him with its emptiness now: they both know that the only thing going to be drawn in it is little doodles of Roman flying about on his broom.

“I’m sorry, is this seat taken?”

“I guess now it is. Sit, fine, just don’t bother me,” Virgil hisses at the offending person, an enthusiastic Hufflepuff. His face has game paint, done in Gryffindor colours. It’s crude, but not the worst Virgil has seen sitting in the crowd. The boys things are thrown at his feet, and he produces his wand from his pocket and uses an altered version of the Red Sparks Spell to show his pride loudly and boisterously. Fuckin Hufflepuffs.

“Could you cut that out? I’m trying to focus here,”

“Oh! I’m sorry. Should I leave?”

“Well, you already got all your things all over so I’d say you should just sit tight. Don’t want to make things a bigger mess,”

“O-okay, I just don’t want to intrude, but if you say it’s alright…”

The Hufflepuff adjusts his glasses and settles next to Virgil. It’s only a few moments of silence before he breaks the silence again.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot. Hi! I’m Patton!”

“Hi Patton, I don’t care,” Virgil rolls his eyes, and starts sketching the number 6 chaser who is stretching down on the grass of the pitch.

“Oh hey, great drawing,” Patton notes, peering over Virgil's shoulder, “Is that Roman King?”

Virgil pulls the book to his chest, a plethora of cursing sounding off in his mind. No no, it won’t matter, everyone has a crush on Roman! Or you can say that this is just for the paper, or I’m practicing or something…

“Do you have any manners? Mind your own business!”

“I’m sorry, again… um… who are you here to see?” Patton continues to pester Virgil. Virgil rolls his eyes, accepting at this point that the only thing that will stop Patton from attempting conversation is moving from this stellar seat, and that’s not going to happen. Best just talk to this ‘Patton’ and hope he stops talking sooner rather than later. And doesn’t say anything about the sketches.

“The name’s Virgil- I’m a friend of the commentator. He likes someone to give him constructive criticism about his commentary after the match. According to him, I’m the only one he can trust to be brutally honest with him,” Virgil sighs, leaning back to look at Patton and putting his sketchbook aside. Patton’s eyes go comically large behind his glasses, and a light blush dusts his cheeks as he peers at the dark haired commentator in the booth nearby.

“You know Logan… I- uh- that’s his name, right?”

“Uh… yeah! How do you know him?” Color me surprised. Someone here flustered over the nerd.

When he thinks about it, Logan certainly isn’t unattractive. But they’ve been friends for so long, he honestly doesn’t see Logan in that way at all.

“He sits next to me in Transfigurations. Logans… really super smart. And nice… he helps me with the switching spells when I can’t get them. He makes them look easy,” Patton squirms in his seat, his blush deepening. Virgil’s not stupid: he knocks Patton’s shoulder with his. This Hufflepuff has more to him than Virgil initially pegged him for if he’s holding a flame for pocket protector.

“You like him!”

“Nooo!”

“Yeah, you do, I’m not dumb,”

“Well- if I do then… you like Roman!”

Virgil is flushed all at once, and shoves Patton. Hard. Patton simply giggles, laughing at him. Virgil can’t help how the corner of his mouth rugs up into a half smile.

“Shut up!! Doesn’t everyone?”

“It’s true! Ah! Don’t worry, I won’t tell him,” Patton presents his pinky in childlike fashion, to which Virgil ignores in favor of the more important knowledge there.

“You know Roman?”

“Yeah, we’ve been friends since the Sorting Hat in our first year.”

The horn is blown for the Friendly to begin, and briefly the two boys turn their attention to the match. Roman is there, flying about faster than anyone else on the pitch, his brother Remus on the opposing Slytherin team seemingly purposefully beating every matter of ball at him.

There’s a new Seeker on the Slytherin team as well… it’s easy to tell who it is: Janus, the one who everyone is sure is He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named spawn due to his magic-induced snake features. Almost all the other players completely ignore him, letting Janus rely on himself to dodge incoming Bludgers on the hunt for the snitch rather than act as a team. Sort of sad, but the potential Seeker seems serene. Remus, oddly enough, is the only one who consistently protects Janus: wisely, he sticks by the Seeker knocking all the bludgers sent his way to Roman and bumping the Gryffindor seeker when he gets too close. Logan points this out from his tower.

“Patton-” “Virgil-” they overlap each other, both laughing after.

“You go first,” Patton allows.

“Now, this is only if you want to, but what if we introduced our friends to each other? I’ll get Logan to open up to you, if you can get me a solid introduction with Roman. Butter me up and all that. How does the afterparty in the courtyard sound?”

“Deal!” Patton squeals, presenting his hand to shake. This time, Virgil takes his hand wholeheartedly.

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chronicalanxiety · 4 years

Photo

[here are their cutie marks and a sketch of their human forms that nobody asked for]

Now here’s a huge ass description for the kids™ if anyone is interested

Zap Apple

Rainbow and Applejack's first-born child and Lil' Cheese's best mate. Zap is a daydreamer and has a gentle soul, he's that one ripped nerd that likes writing and drawing things just for the sake of it. Exploring and discovering new things and places is what really makes his eyes glow (history and geography hoe), so he can be usually seen carrying his saddlebag around all the time (you never know when you're gonna need sketching and exploring supplies). Zap also loves puzzles and is a huge fanboy of Daring Do Books like Dash (and adventure books in general. AJ swears it's because Rainbow used to read so many Daring Doo adventures to her belly when she was pregnant). While he can be smart, he tends to over-thinks things, Zap has a wide imagination and is easily one of the most compassionate ponies around, though he used to be easily coaxed into fights or manipulated by his feelings. Like a good apple family member, the boy loves farm life and has a strong fraternal instinct, but his nature just doesn't allow him to settle there, though he still finds some peace whenever he's back in the environment he grew up in.

Random facts:

- Zap loved wearing his Ma's hat so much that she gave one for him as a gift in a Hearts Warming;

- He lost part of his his right ear to a bad fall when he and some friends went exploring one of his first off-limits area;

- Loves collecting comic books and stamps;

- AJ entered labor right during a Zap Apple harvest (Yep, that's exactly how he got his name);

- Inherited AJ's stare and lie detector;

- Upon noticing Zap's resemblance to his great grandmother, Rainbow nicknamed him Baby Smith.

Applejoy

Rainbow and Applejack's middle child. Applejoy doesn't take her name for granted, she's a total sunshine and bringing people happiness is what really makes her happy. She tends to be famous for getting a bunch of bruises all the time and being a little too reckless, so much so she lost two of her teeth out of pure clumsiness when she was little and had to wait until they began to grow to get them back (still has the best smile), and she also used to break her flying goggles at least once a week. The girl is also very outspoken and sincere, though it can end up being a problem sometimes. Applejoy is the family's Poly Athlete and has strong and fast wings (as well as legs, the girl is speed itself), she doesn't do very well in school but makes for it in sports and is very disciplined when it comes to it (Rainbow is her personal coach for every occasion). She hates losing, but tries her best to be a good sport and not to show she's upset most of the time. It was also awfully difficult for Applejack to handle her being all over the place when she learned how to use her wings (no need to say she was very grateful when her next child was born an earth pony).

Random facts: - Inherited Rainbow's habit of napping on trees (Applejack didn't like the idea, she was always concerned her children were gonna fall and hurt themselves for being too cloud-headed);

- Loves to indulge in her mother's sugary treats;- Rainbow started calling her junior (or AJJ) because her name abbreviation is the same as her ma's. No need to say the nickname was a success;

- Sleepwalker;

- The bandana she uses around her neck is a part of the fabric of an old sheet she used to nap with;

- Likes a bunch of crafts, specially wood-carving, but isn't really gifted at most of them (doesn't matter because she always tries her best every time).

Cider Splash

Rainbow and Applejack's youngest child and Tank's best buddy. Cider Splash a performer at heart, he's a innate dancer and plays multiple instruments very decently, he's the loudest of the bunch in every way and talks everyone's ears off (some conversations can also turn into musical numbers for no apparent reason). He's the most headstrong and stubborn out of the three, so he'll almost always get really deep into a project (or anything, really) when he sets his mind in it. He has blessed hoofs like AJ and is by far the one who ends up helping with the applebucking stuff the most, though he has a natural charm with the farm animals and prefers playing with them (his love for animal plushies wasn't taken for granted). He also indulges in cooking (mostly by Big Sugar's influence). Cider was always jealous of his sibling's ability to fly, so RD tries to compensate by taking him for a ride every once in a while and making sure he's the first one to get Wonderbolts tickets whenever they perform.

Random facts: - His love for music started when Applejack bought him a toy guitar to get him out of his tantrums when he was little. Later, his grandpa Bow Hothoof gave him a mini drum set as a birthday gift. AJ and RD weren't very happy when he started playing it all the time and making a bunch of noise, but they eventually saw potential in it and started investing in his inate talent;

- No need to say cider is his favorite drink ever;

- His bandana was a handmade gift from his Aunt Applebloom.

Florence

Fluttershy's big baby and Agate's older step-sister. Florence is a very resourceful and hard-working young mare, though she tends to spends way too much energy worrying about results and is almost constantly on the verge of outright panic (she's usually seen gritting her teeth or generally flipping out, no need to say she does not fare well under stress, specially when she is given a task to complete). Florence is known to be very sensible and intelligent, and even though she sometimes puts her own paranoia before common sense, she usually manages to find logical solutions to problems. She learned how to deal with stress by canalizing it into something productive, thanks to Rarimom (which ended up being another source of anxiety, ironically). She also has very strong beliefs, and when forced to question them, she becomes very upset. Despite that, Florence is extremely loyal and kind and will go out of her way to help other ponies.

Random facts: - Her scarf was given by Rarity, it made her feel safe when she was little, and she still uses it until this day (Her moms had to bribe with her in order to get her to let them clean and wash it after months of using it non-stop);

- Probably has OCD;

- She has also been known to retreat into her imagination when under extreme stress, often picturing peaceful, grassy fields or tranquil landscapes to calm herself down.

- Florence loves her coffee, tea and Fluttermum's pets more than her life (She loved growing up around pets, they still give her a sense of calm and relaxation. Her mom used to use them to calm her down when she was crying or couldn't sleep, she would almost always fall asleep after caressing some pet's ear for a while)

Agate

Rarity’s most precious gem and Florence’s little step-sister. Agate has been a very independent gal since she was little, she has been described as curious, monotone and sarcastic, and also appears to be more logical and mature than some of her peers, typically being the one to call them out on their ignorance, she’s inclined to remain passive and stoical to most things that happen around her. She has a fuckton control over her emotions and wears a neutral expression about 80% of the time, but is actually a pretty chill gal and has a very good (and weird) sense of humor. Agate has a great eye for photography (specially Avant-garde stuff) and turns out working as a professional photographer in the future.

Random facts: - Lowkey a huge mystery fan and computer nerd;

- Has a huge soft spot for Fluttermom's pets since she first came in contact with one, she can’t help but to smile the whole time she’s around them;

- Discord's favorite gal right next to Fluttershy.

Lil' Cheese

So let's get this out of the way, the script says Lil' Cheese is a colt, but many people see them as a filly, so they ended up being non-binary in my headcanon because I couldn't decide their gender (but go with whatever suits you better).

"Don't worry, Zap and Cheese got another infallible plan". Cheesecake, AKA "Lil' Cheese", is first and foremost known for the ability to talk their ass off anytime of the day for whatever reason (they used to spend most of their time besides their mom, so no need to mention that they practically picked up all her goofiness and energy by osmosis), they're also an excellent actor and are known as "The God of Puns". They’re generally a popular and gifted student, however, they're foul-mouthed and kind of competitive (but despite that, they are generally well liked and always looking after their friends). Lil' Cheese uses their innate talent for comedy and natural charm and charisma to help attract attention to their mum's bakery. Cheese had pretty deep random conversations with Pinkie since very little, so they turned out to be a pretty good conversationalist and improviser.

Big Sugar/Little Mac

I don't really have a very elaborate description for him (sorry peeps), but I imagine Sugar as a very sweet (pun intended) Big Baker Boy that loves cooking (and eating, most of all). He has that big bro energy and always gives the best hugs, but can also have with no mercy when messing around with his peers. He's very well liked around Ponyville and known for his extroverted and warm nature, though he may care way to much about other's opinions and tends to take a lot of them personally. Being a proud member of the Apple Family, he's the embodiment hard-work and loves working on the farm, but his heart always feel in the right place whenever he's preparing meals for other ponies.

----------

Okay, so quick backstory time about how Flarity happened in this canon.

Fluttershy was going through a very rough time with her previous marefriend, she always wanted to have a child of her own, and seeing her friends having some of their own made her even more eager to have one, so she found a sperm donor and conceived Florence with the consent of her partner at the time. Their relationship didn't get any less toxic even after Florence was born, so as a good friend, Discord felt the obligation to intervene (along with the rest of the elements of harmony) and convince Fluttershy to just end it and let go, as it wasn't doing any good for both her and the kid. When she finally got out of it, Discord and Rarity were the ones who helped Flutters to heal the most.

Meanwhile, Agate was the product of Rarity's previous marriage with Fancy Pants and was conceived as the last hope for their doomed marriage. Turns out having a child didn't save their relationship and they ended up divorcing, both going their separate ways with their own lives and businesses, however, it was a healthy separation and they remained in good terms with each other. Rarity took this separation as a way to get to know more about herself and to spend more time bonding with her daughter, having a break from her business life and letting Sassy Saddles and some other employees take the wheel for a little while, though she didn't stop playing her part on the creative side. During the time Fluttershy was going through her healing process, she and Rarity reconnected and some gay stuff happened. By the time the series ended they were probably on the dating phase and close to engagement. They eventually marry and join their families together.

Also Discord's still a very close friend of the couple and helps them and the kids whenever and in whatever way he's able to. He loves spending time with the kids, specially Agate, who finds his chaotic energy specially amusing.

#next gen #mlp next gen #mlp #MLP:FiM #mlp oc #My Little Pony #next gen oc #appledash #flarity #rarishy #sugarmac #cheesepie #lil cheese #little mac #my art

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