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#my sketches are way better than the pieces i put effort into though. so.
murmurlilies · 25 days
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Less about OCs, but I'm interested to know what your process is like when creating a piece as detailed as that one you posted for Valentine's Day. How do you go about it? And do you happen to do time-lapse videos?
hmm can't say I can give an explanation that's terribly interesting or satisfying lol... I'm almost entirely self-taught, so "process" is a very loose and nebulous concept for me, and it changes from piece to piece. the one common thread among my works is that they all involve obscene amounts of trial and error. I don't have any recent time-lapses because I never think to record them, but if I did you would definitely see how often I feel the need to adjust and redo every little thing.
for the Valentine's Day piece, because it was a "remake" I had the benefit of a much more solid foundation than usual to start out with. however you can still see where I ended up deviating from the sketch phase - most obvious being her pose, the design of her hair, and the details of her sandals. (there were also meant to be candles on the dresser, but I forgot and didn't feel like adding them back in later and so I decided a vague suggestion of candlelight was enough lmao)
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anyways, compared to everything else, sketching and linework are fairly straightforward and come most easily to me. there really isn't much to say, just scribble some messy lines and then whittle away at and draw over them till they magically become less messy!
when it comes to coloring and shading, things get a lot weirder and more complicated. this is where my process tends to vary the most, because it really depends on the mood of the piece. for this one I wanted something dark and seductive, so I covered the whole image in a layer of burgundy red, then painted the "lighting" on top across several Overlay layers. additional shadow details were brushed in on Multiply layers using deep purple instead of straight black, but ultimately I didn't want them to be too dark, as that initial layer of red was meant to serve as the primary "shadow" of the piece.
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this is also usually where I decide which lines I want to "color" with clipping masks, which can either make certain elements pop or feel softer. it sorta brings the whole image together, giving it a much more painterly look overall. from there all that's left is to keep making adjustments and adding little details - the glittery effect on her dress was one of the last things I added, I thought it looked really nice!
...ok now take everything I just said and throw it all in a blender. because even though it might sound fairly orderly, the truth is I'm constantly making changes to all stages of my works, even the earliest ones, all the way to the end. I'll still be making adjustments to the linework and such after I've already put so much effort into the lights and shading! it's not the most efficient way of doing things... but again, trial and error. my perfectionism gets the better of me...
anyways I apologize if NONE of this made any sense, like I said I never had any formal training in art, so I'm not very good at teaching or explaining it!! at the end of the day my process is less about what makes logical sense and more about finding what feels right in a given moment. at the very least I hope it was a fun read lmao 🥳
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packedlunchmeat · 11 days
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COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
HOWDY Y’ALL!!!!
I’m deciding to open commissions once more! And finally making them public rather than just offering to friends.
This took a TON of deliberation, as I fear as an artist being taken advantage of for my time. And so, before we get into pricing and my boundaries as an artist, lets talk ground rules! Just so you, as a potential customer, understand my expectations as the artist.
(Also please be patient with me as I work 12 hour shifts at a hospital, so it may take a few weeks to get to yours if it’s behind a lot of others in the queue)
RULES & EXPECTATIONS
First come, first serve
This is mainly because I like to prioritize those who come to me first. With this being said though, if you express interest in a commission from me, but do not state what you are wanting, as well as a price range you are going for, I will prioritize a person who has already given me a commission request. Basically! I put you in the queue the moment we have a request worked out! :-)
No revisions after a finalized sketch
This is mainly to protect myself as the artist, and you as the customer from being in a perpetual revision cycle, after already finalizing the sketch. If you aren’t happy with something, please let me know before I begin the line art process! Once I begin to do line art or color, I enter a zone where doing any sort of serious revision could cause the quality to diminish!
Make sure it’s my art you are wanting!
I do do a plethora of art style mocks like persona 5 eye cut ins, as well as other sorts of persona art style stuff. But I don’t wish to copy another artists style thats already offering commissions. If you’re wanting a certain style that isn’t adjacent to mine, you’re better off saving up for the artist you truly wish you could commission :-). I like to feed into fandom wants and needs, but I don’t want to take away from other freelance artist’s business.
I will not send the art until paid
 Since I manage to work rather fast, I don’t mind making pieces that don’t get paid for, as any piece I do is good practice!! That being said, I won’t send my art until I have proof of payment for the time I spent on it. I will always be super clear on which part of the process I am in, but to protect myself from being scammed, I cannot send the piece until payment is proven.
DETAILS
Now lets get into the fun stuff!! To start, I do not charge my commissions based on how complex the art is, rather, how long it took me to make it. Which is the reason I can’t ask for up front payments. I charge, instead, by the hour. And my pricing is based on my state’s minimum wage. The software I use to make my art (Procreate) tracks the elapsed time I’ve spent drawing, and so I calculate the owed amount based upon that. So, to start:
I CHARGE $15 AN HOUR (USD)
METHOD OF PAYMENT IS THROUGH PAYPAL.
Now that that’s out of the way, here’s what I CAN and CAN’T draw!!
THINGS I ABSOLUTELY WILL DRAW:
Character references! (TTRPG CHARAS, OCS, ETC.)
Armor (I can do mecha, but because of the complexity it may bump up the price just because of how long it takes)
Main stream art style replication (Persona 2D Sprites, Ace Attorney, Steven Universe, The Owl House, and a few others as well)
People
Portraits
Couples (hugging, kissing, holding hands, cute stuff :3)
Inklings & Octolings (anything splatoon related pretty much)
THINGS I CAN DRAW (BUT WILL PREFACE WITH THE FACT THAT I AM LESS SKILLED IN THESE AREAS)
Furries
Animals/pets
Scenery
Pixel art
Vehicles
Weapons (this ones tricky because I can draw swords pretty quick, guns take quite a bit of effort to get right though)
THINGS I WILL NOT DRAW
NSFW/suggestive content
Gore
With the parameters out of the way, I’d like to talk about pricing now! Since I charge by the hour, I’d like to make it clear that I am 100% willing to work with money difficulties! I draw pretty fast, but as there are certain things that cause my pieces to take longer, it’s only fair I let you all know what those are, so that you can know what to avoid if you’re wanting some art from me!
THINGS THAT WILL CAUSE MY ART TO TAKE MORE TIME!
Lineless
Complex mecha/outfits
Complex props (e.g. instruments)
Anything in my CAN DRAW list
Complex backgrounds
And lastly…
EXAMPLES OF QUALITY OF WORK
(With time spent and how much they’d be priced)
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ROUGH FULL BODY
Time spent: 30m
Calculated price: $7.50
STYLIZED TAROT
Time spent: 2h 16m
Calculated price: $34.00
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SIDE ORDER LINELESS
Time spent: 3h 44m
Calculated price: $56.00
FYNN 1920S ‘IT’ GIRL PIERROT
Time spent: 5h 24m
Calculated price: $81.00
Anywho!! If anyone is interested, please DM me! I’ll hand over my discord so you can send me pictures easy :-)! Reblogs are greatly appreciated!!!!
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naiche-of-pride · 5 months
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Mika x Freminet
A/N: My second work to be posted on here ever. Constructive criticism is welcome, I hope you enjoy the story.
The geography of Fontaine is one that many cartographers would consider "impossible". Even the most renowned cartographer would have no choice but to concede to the watery terrain that overtakes the country.
After all, how could one possibly create a map when majority contains bodies of water, and barely any land to take mark of?
That is where our surveyor, Mika Schmidt comes to play.
He, as a front-line surveyor to the Knights of Favonius, has a long term dream to be an expert cartographer.
And what better way to prove his skills than to map a country considered impossible?
Sitting by the Marcotte Station, he lightly presses his graph onto the parchment, another piece underneath incase he makes a big enough to warrant a replacement.
He was tasked to create a map, one underwater and another above water. Whilst he had no clue what they would be used for, he had no qualms against it.
He did quite enjoy cartography after all.
"Hm… Marcotte Station's trail takes a 26° curve that leads over to the Fountain of Lucine… and then the Fountain of Lucine has 2 parallel 90° turns, one destroyed and another leading to…"
He pauses, looking up from his map to check around once he realized he was mumbling. Fortunately, only an old man was nearby, and he seemed to be quite amused.
"Oh- I- I'm sorry Sir. I hope I didn't disturb you." Mika stutters out, feeling flustered at possibly disturbing this man, who seemed to enjoy his time by the pond.
The old man huffed. "Please! It's no bother young man. Say, you're making a map, yes?"
He perks up. "Yes, indeed I am! I was tasked to map out the area and survey Fontaine for a while."
The old man sighs, before chuckling in amusement. "You're quite bold, young man. Fontaine is quite hard to map out after all, with the large bodies of water that takes up majority of your map."
Mika only grins shakily, eyebrows furrowed as a shaky breathe escapes his lungs. "Well… I do think that venturing deep into the water would be- terrible if trying to sketch out a map. But it's necessary. No matter how hard it is, just putting a bit of effort would allow you to at the very least get the general locations that may be of import." Mika explains.
"And- quite honestly I'm terrified of the ocean. I don't think I could continue swimming and diving for hours without going back up to the surface no matter how easy it may be for me to breathe underwater. But I'm also the surveyor so I should at the very least understand the locations we deal with as a team."
"It would be terrible of me to just- neglect my duty due to my fear of the deep and possibly put others in danger. They don't have my experience after all, and I know that they too wouldn't be able to handle the deep. Mondstadt never had such deep waters before so it's still new, but I'm sure I'll adapt!" he paused, before shrinking, catching himself.
"Sorry, was I rambling?"
The old man didn't stop his laugh, hand to his stomach as he wiped his tears. "You're a funny boy, but also a worry wart."
Mika smiles hesitantly, unsure if he were talking down to him or merely praising him.
"Well, you should get on with your map then, and be careful around the water." The old man warned.
"You can go ask one of the divers to join you underwater, though you should seal your parchment before diving anywhere. Wouldn't want your map to be ruined, do you?" The old man jested, to which Mika smiled in shyness and appreciation.
"Yes, thank you Sir! I'll do my best!"
(((♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡)))
Well.
He didn't… really do his best.
He had been taking a Fontaine Aircraft, finding it convenient when sketching out the general terrain shape before he adds any details…
When the aircraft suddenly started turning.
At first, he hadn't noticed, much too busy sketching the Beryl Region to notice the slow tipping of the ship.
Soon enough, he started to realize the tilted flooring.
"What the-?" He muttered in confusion, pulling away from the edge of the aircraft to look around the floor. He felt himself slowly slip, and so he unconsciously held onto a pole.
A large gust of wind suddenly came.
And the aircraft tipped over.
"Oh gosh-!" He yelped, hand gripping onto his items as he held onto one of the poles on the aircraft.
"No no no no no no no no no not now-!"
He tried his best to grip onto the metal pole, hoping that the aircraft would tilt back and this was just some false alarm.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be the case.
He slipped.
His eyes widened as he felt his body turn weightless, knowing that the height of the fall making the impact all the more painful.
He gasps right before he hits the water, map in hand as he feels himself submerged. His back ached, his ears popped, his eyes shut tightly as he threatened to get out.
Once in the water, his eyes opened, and his body was heavy. He couldn't help the panic that arose in his system when he felt himself sink deeper.
No no this can't be happening-! He thought, tears emitting his eyes as he tried to move his body.
But he was shocked and frozen due to the impact, not a single muscle cooperating with his body.
The fall had punched all the air out of his lungs, making him wheeze as he tries to breathe in.
To think that he would die, all because he dared to map a country of water.
He felt his vision start to blot, black dots fading in and our of his peripheral vision as his eyelids grew heavy.
"No- wait-!"
He couldn't do anything, body fully out of commission.
Before he fell unconscious, he caught sight of a person with a helmet. A diving helmet.
He couldn't help but reach out.
The person swam at him quickly, hand touching theirs right when he finally falls unconscious.
He couldn't help but wonder, ever so slightly.
Perhaps they wouldn't mind helping him map the underwater part of Fontaine?
♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤
He chokes, coughing as his body lurches. Now sitting upright, he spits out and coughs out water, body shaking as he greedily breathes in the air he used to take for granted.
After an experience like that, no person would take breathing for granted again. He thought bitterly, tears running down his cheeks as he wipes his mouth clean.
His eyes turn back to the person who had saved him, seeing them in the helmet and casual clothes.
Do all Fontainian's wear such casual clothing while diving? He wondered, but quickly shoved this thought aside.
"I… I thank you." He stammers, voice wispy and hoarse as he shakily smiles at the other. "I… I didn't think anyone would be able to help me-"
The other only nods, awkwardly standing up as they fiddled with their hands.
Mika guessed they didn't quite like speaking, so he didn't bother, checking his messenger bag. He couldn't help but groan, regretful and disappointed. "I lost my graphite… and the map." He mutters.
"The map." He shook when he heard the voice, turning to helmet wearing person, who awkwardly fiddled with their pockets, before pulling out parchment covered in… is that slime condensate?
"I… I wrapped it in slime condesate. To keep it... dry-ish before it got thoroughly soaked." The person spoke, coughing before offering it over to Mika. He hesitantly takes it, opening the rather slimy parchment, only to see the writings intact and- barely wet.
He couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face, turning to the helmet person with a smile. "Thank you-! I had- I thought I'd have to remake it, all this progress… Gosh, i-" he stumbled, standing up really quickly.
"Thank you, truly! I- I'm Mika Schmidt. A front-line surveyor for the Knights of Favonius!" He puts out his hand, eagerly waiting for a handshake.
The other freezes but hesitantly shakes his hand. "I… I'm Freminet. Professional diver."
While Mika was quite a shy person… well, Freminet did save him after all. I'm sure he had all the rights to try and befriend his savior.
"If you weren't there, I would've passed on! Please, allow me to treat you or something. I owe you my life." Mika pleaded, much to thankful that this random person had not only saved his life, but had saved his hard work.
Freminet awkwardly waves his hand. "Its fine, really. You don't- need to treat me to anything." He awkwardly stutters out.
Mika hums, eyebrows furrowed before sighing. "Ok, but-! If… if its no bother. If you don't mind…" he hesitated.
He wished to ask Freminet questions about the sea terrain of Fontaine, since the other was a diver after all.
But then again, the other had already saved his life.
It seems Freminet noticed his hesitation and cleared his throat. "You… you can ask me questions." He awkwardly allowed, to which Mika beamed, a hint of embarrassment on his face as he grabbed his surprisingly-dry notepad from his not-so-dry bag.
"Thank you…! I promise I won't take much of your time."
(((♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡)))
Mika seemed to be going back on his word often today, as he had somehow roped Freminet into a conversation for about 3-4 hours. The previously bright and cloudy now dim and dreary.
"So you're saying there are waterproof mechs that currently circulate around Fontaine's water terrain?" Mika asked in astonishment, as Freminet nodded energetically.
"Indeed. It was placed there to survey and patrol the waters. Specifically to search out, repel, and exterminate any life forms that may threaten any of the underwater equipment."
Freminet shrugs. "Fortunately, there are quite few of them, usually only hanging around underwater sites and underwater shipwrecks. So there is no need to worry about accidentally encountering them."
Only now did Mika notice that Freminet hadn't taken off his helmet throughout the 3-4 hours they had conversed. But it was… quite far into the conversation already, it'd be rude to ask for him to take it off.
Instead, he writes the information down, a smile on his face as he thinks of what he's learnt.
"Fascinating. Its absolutely admirable that Fontaine deploys such helpful mechanisms. Yet then again, it's Fontaine. The country is quite known for its innovation after all. Though, it makes me wonder if the mechas run on any type of energy that's particular only to Fontaine? It'd be quite useful if Inazuma would be able to harness it, able to warn ships if they are to head into electro-infused waters-"
He continued rambling on, thoughts pacing through several opportunities that underwater mechanisms could possibly help in achieving.
All the while Freminet watches Mika with amusement and fondness in his eyes. He fiddled with his helmet, not even noticing the small smile that had appeared on his face since he was interrogated by this… curious surveyor.
He's quite a chatty one, isn't he? He thought to himself, chuckling quietly.
He had actually been quite panicked earlier, when he had noticed Mika fall from the aircraft and sink down into the water. He never even thought he could swim that fast, until the adrenaline kicked in.
Although, he felt guilty.
What would've happened if he hadn't gotten there in time?
What if he was just a few seconds too late?
What would've happened to Mika?
He shook his head, rattling the helmet as he did. It was no use to dwell on what could've happened. For now, he was… just glad he was able to save the surveyor.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I ramble too much again?" Mika's regretful voice rung, snapping him out of his thought as he nervously laughed.
"Oh! No, sorry I was just surprised by how much you've considered." Freminet answered softly, as Mika smiles hesitantly. "I mean… I'm a surveyor, so I kinda need to take everything into account, especially if I want to make sure everyone in the team is safe…"
Mika pauses, eyes flickering to the sky before he stood up, shocked. "Oh goodness, I'm sorry, I must've taken up so much of your time."
Freminet clears his throat, hiding his involuntary giggle as he stood up as well, dusting off the sand that might've stuck onto his clothes.
"It's fine, really." Freminet says gently. "I didn't really have anything else to be doing anyway. And I quite enjoyed the conversation." Mika flustered, smiling with a chuckle.
"Then I hope it'll be alright if I were to seek you out again?" Mika asked, hope in his voice. Freminet paused, feeling his heart start to beat.
His palms turned sweaty, and he felt himself hesitant.
He… didn't find Mika's company terrible… but for someone to seek him out…
It was just…
He snapped out of his stupor, awkwardly answering. "Sure! I mean- sure. I don't- I don't mind. If- if you have any questions. I don't mind answering them."
Mika couldn't help the quiet laugh that bubbled out of his chest due to how Freminet reacted, but nodded.
"Then, thank you again for saving me and the map I had worked so hard on. I hope you get home safe."
Fremient nods stiffly. "You too. Uh… hope the- aircraft doesn't get tipped like before." He tried to jest, but the awkward delivery only made Mika giggle.
"I could only hope. It'd be a shame if I fell like that again." Mika sighed in helplessness.
On a sudden whim, Freminet spoke. "I… I'll try to catch you the next time you fall."
Silence overtook them, both parties equally shocked by the sudden comment.
Before Mika laughed, and Freminet placed a hand on his helmets screen.
"...forget I said anything please." Freminet pleaded, whilst Mika tried to silence himself.
"I'm sorry I just- pfft"
Mika's laugh was contagious, and Freminet found himself laughing along. His voice and laugh being just as distorted as his voice, which only made Mika laugh even harder.
"I- I'm sorry. That was rude." Mika finally found his composure, covering his mouth as he turns pink in shame.
"Its- its fine. I mean, it was kinda funny." Freminet rubs the back of his neck.
"Well… I don't mind if you catch me next time I fall." Mika replied, a soft smile on his face. "I mean, you've saved me once. I think I could at least guarantee that you'd save me again. Then, I'd owe you my life twice."
Freminet grunts in slight embarrassment. "I would save you regardless of you owing me."
Mika huffs in helplessness, shaking his head before waving. "Well, I'll be actually going now, Freminet. I'll see you when I see you."
Freminet waves hesitantly, watching as Mika turns his back and starts walking away.
And while usually Freminet wouldn't mind others not knowing his face…
He quickly took off the helmet, wiping his cheeks to hide his blush as he called out.
"Mika-!"
The surveyor paused, turning around in curiosity before his eyes widened in shock. He had accepted early into the conversation that Freminet was more comfortable with his helmet than without it.
But…
He didn't think Freminet was this handsome.
Mika felt his face turn red as Freminet smiled at him wonkily.
"Uh- don't hesitate to call me if you see me around the Court!" He said, voice raspy and shaking.
The Mondstadtian couldn't help the endeared smile that appeared on his own face. "Sure! I'll show you my maps once I'm done. You deserve to see what you've saved, after all."
And with that, Mika left.
With a semi red face and his bag clutched tight around him.
Whilst the entire Fontaine Aircraft was traumatizing…
"I'm sure Sir Varka wouldn't mind me asking for more parchment if a few more of them get wet.." He muttered, lips in a giddy smile as he ventured towards the large fossilized skull in the distance.
He got a friend out of it.
Perhaps water wasn't that bad after all.
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kindlyanni · 1 year
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hi, i hope you're well today.
i watched your sketchbook tour video on yt (from like 2 days ago) and so, i wanted to try to ask for advice, if you want to give it ofcourse, no pressure to.
you see, i love sketces so much, there's just some special beuty about them. i really enjoy seeing artists' sketches, including yours, ofcourse. i love seeing them on tumblr & yt.
also, even though i'm 26, i'm a COMPLETE begginner at drawing. i'm struggeling with the basic boxes-in-correct-perspective things, drawing faceless heads and motionless torsos, and.. yea, that's it. i know practice is the only way to advance in drawing, but i can't bring myself to. i see artists like you filling your sketchbooks with characters you're passionate about and honestly that's all i've ever wanted to be able to do, but i literally don't have the ability to do so.
just to be clear, i'm not asking you how to motivate myself to draw. the thing is, even though people are telling me that maybe it's not meant to be and i should give up, some insane part of me refuses to let this dream go. my question to you, as someone who somehow got there, is: do you think it's doomed? do you think that me struggeling so much with the drawing itself AND the motivation, means i won't be able to do it? do you think if i'm not having fun with it now, than i'll never get to a point where it will?
it might sound dumb, but it's a thing i'm nervous about. and after seeing your sketchbook, filled with so much characters and stories that i could see are so dear to your heart and so fun for you to draw, i'd love to hear (read) youe 2 scents about it, if you're willing to share. again, no pressure to.
thanks in advance, though.
Hi there Anon!
I'mma be frank and honest here: "maybe it's not meant to be and you should give up" is the absolutely stupidest thing someone can say to you. What the hell?? Dear Anon, if you feel even the tiniest bit of "I want to draw" then you should draw. You don't have to be good at drawing to draw, that's what's great about it. Anyone can find something to draw with and something to draw on. And just draw. If the act of drawing scratches some itch for you, then that's all you need. It doesn't mean it has to be fun all the time, though. Sometimes I can't get part of the drawing right, or even the whole drawing! Sometimes I hate what I finished drawing. Sometimes I want to draw but nothing comes out. But the itch is still there, it doesn't go away completely. You say it's your dream, then you should follow it. Everyone starts somewhere, and it's never too late too start. It's never too late. When you're dead it's too late.
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If you don't feel the itch for drawing anymore, then you know it's time to move on to other things. And that's okay too, and it's not giving up. And don't let anyone else tell you that you should give up, if it is your passion.
In case you have sketchbook anxiety, don't think a sketchbook has to be one big art piece with each page something instagram worthy. I know it's become a thing where artists share their sketchbooks on social media and it's so Aesthetic™ that it's giving anxiety and pressure for everyone to have a sketchbook that pretty, but it really doesn't have to. You don't have to show it to anyone. Or you don't have to even have a sketchbook. Draw on random paper and put them in a folder. I did that for ages. The ones I use now aren't really sketchbooks either, but sketch pads with spirals. And those work the best for me. I have a few books but I haven't finished any of them.
If stiff figures is your issue, I suggest figure/life drawing as practice. Drawing tutorials about boxes and circles and proportions can only get you so far. Gather images of people in different poses. Dancing is really good for this. Sports too. And the less clothes the better. Draw what you see. Do it in 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5... Focus less on getting details right and more on the flow, the movement of the body. Tracing the image is lower effort and not as beneficial, but it still helps get the idea of how things are shaped and connected etc. And remember you don't have to show these practice drawings to anyone.
I know thanks to social media there's this pressure to show everything you make. But you really don't have to, if it makes you nervous. When I started drawing, we didn't have tumblr, twitter, ig or facebook. I drew a shit ton! I bought so many drawing pads, and no one has seen most of what's in there. I drew for myself. I had a webcomic idea and I drew so much of the characters and what would happen with them in the comic. I've drawn So. Much. And just recently I'm at a point where I can show my entire sketchbook to the entire internet. I wouldn't have done that maybe like 6-8 years ago. And I still skip some pages I don't want to show, for one reason or another. And that's fine.
Gosh, this became a longer reply than I intended. I hope it helps! Find that thing that makes you want to draw. For me it was the story I wanted to make and the characters for it (I started the webcomic but never finished it lmao). For you it can be your OCs, or some other characters, it can be a pet or a band you really like, it can be Nicholas Cage, or flowers, or anything! Find the itch and scratch it real good.
Let me share a drawing of mine from 20 years ago (I was 16):
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sillysaysnonsense · 8 months
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I love your art lots and I love hearing people talk about their art so I'm asking some dca artists a bunch of fun art questions, no obligation of course
What is the art piece you are proudest of?
2. What is the art piece you've spent the most effort/time on?
3. What art did you spend the least amount of effort on?
4. What art piece/pieces has crazy lore that you could spend days explaining?
5. What piece is so completely different from your usual style?
If you want to tag an artist who you also want to see answer these questions feel free to though of course no obligation
of my dca fanart? Ima go with my general art cuz I wanna talk about it
1. This one of my lady nightmare ✨️ because this was the art piece where I finally accomplished the art technique I had been attempting to try for months also because of the use of colors and how much thinking I had to do 💀
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2. This was an ac commission from way back when. It took a little over a month to do because I had so many ideas on what to do with this character but I couldn't decide on one. I've also never wanted the decomposing corpse of a horse more than I did when I had to stare intently at pictures of horse skeletons.
I could have do better with the background art now, but I don't think I could ever replicate the things I had to do to accomplish the floating water stuff. I come back to looks at the details of the character sometimes cuz I'm still fascinated.
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3. This is doli, she's one of my oc's. On one night at 6 in the morning when I couldn't sleep because I kept wondering how doli would be able to wear modern people clothes with her weird appendages and proceeded to sloppily sketch out outfits I thought she might be able to put on
Why was this least effort?
No thoughts. Just pinterest. And because this is just a colored Sketch and even my little chibi doodles have a finished lineart
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4. I don't really do lore drawings unless its fanart but once I finish this in five years, I'll have a lot to talk about
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5. This one. I tried to do a sort of paper craft kind of art style on digital? and I still really really like it but I did not post it because the other half of this drawing was never finished
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neoncityrain · 7 months
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What are some of your favourite pieces that both break your style into a different era for you, and those that added to it?
OK I KNOW SOME OF THESE ARE VIDEOS BUT ITS NOT CHEATING... they required a lot of effort to put together AS WELL AS to draw oof
LONG post ahead o7
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This one's the precursor to a lot of my other animated works- i bit off more than I could chew, obviously, but considering this was drawn on my phone it turned out pretty goddamn good, and had more layers than anything else- and proved I COULD do stuff like this
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Way back when, I had a Hollow Knight comic called "Voice of Void" where I focused a lot more on backgrounds- and god DAMN did I work hard on them! While they've since been blown out of the water, these were ground-breaking for me at the time.
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I don't usually do stuff with... bubble letters? Using Polaris as a whole got me better at drawing humans, but the lettering and posing was an attempt at something more dynamic.
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l i g h t i n g
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Eden in general pushed me to be a better artist. Lots of works- especially with Garden- ended up with a heavier focus on shading and details.
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Still appalled over the fact I drew this. And with a MOUSE! This was a test to see if I could draw on my laptop, since I was becoming dissatisfied with my phone art, and it turned out great! This piece got me working with a mouse instead.
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This one was my first attempt at making art feel traditional despite being 100% digital! The lyrics are from The Altar, a song in his playlist.
Yea I'll share this. One of my first music pieces, and god DAMN did it teach me how fun making music of my own can be.
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Unfortunately I lost the files, so I'd have to re-do it from scratch if I wanted to edit it, but this one's interesting cause it was one of my first big projects with my art tablet- and with way more detail than my other sketched AMVs. While I also still like how Game of Life and Smiley Always Bounces Back turned out, it's this one that I feel REALLY hit the mark.
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Also real proud of the storytelling in this, though I'm not sure it broke any mold style-wise.
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Once again Pol- I kinda hated lineless, especially with people mistaking it for 'my style' and complimenting my lineless art over the art I actually tried on, but I'd say this image in particular was my transfer from hating it to kinda liking it a lil bit more. To the point where I used lineless art during artfight!
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noelclover · 1 year
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I saw a pic of some Blue Archive girl in Nikke and it made me wanna draw Uni. I drew her with a Nikke girl in mind, though I altered the outfit quite a bit. I named the image Goddass of Victory, but I felt kind of embarrassed and didn't put in enough ass, so it feels half assed
Monkey with a tablet perspective under cut
The workflow for this image was really smooth, I just tried something I did way back, but with some very minor alteration so there’s not much to say. I did combine the layers at the end, resulting in the image taking quite a bit longer. It did result in the back looking more painterly, which I really liked however, so I think it’s a net positive.
Colouring black on black on black is always difficult, but fortunately, I read up on it a lot when I wanted to paint miniatures. It really opened up a way of thinking for me, so I thank the people who wrote the tutorials, even though I don’t remember their names at this point. I briefly considered adding in some spots of tones to make the image pop up more but decided against it as any more application was going to take a lot more time and effort than I think the image wants and needs, like if I were to push it more in certain ways I would likely have ended up redoing the whole image, which would defeat the purpose of it being a relatively quick piece.
Admittedly, the image could’ve been completed much earlier if I chose to do cleaner lines instead of my thick brush like pen that I love using for sketching and drafting and if I didn’t merge the layers together, resulting in me painting over the lines, but it’s an indulgence I’m willing to allow myself. Not sure if it’s for the better good however, so I’ll play around more.
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inceptionart · 2 years
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Featuring Mo @archangelgabriel​ today for the artist highlight! Read on for their thoughts on art, and you can find all of their wonderful artwork here!
🎨 When did you start creating art for the Inception fandom, and what is your inspiration?
i started making art when i joined the "you're waiting for a train" discord server, so i want to say… 2019? some of my inspirations have gotta be the wonderful whirl @noitsnacktime, who is an awesome person who makes awesome art, and salt @ffc1cb, whose artwork and poses and expressions are just so lovely and fluid. another inspiration of mine who i followed really closely back in my supernatural days (which are not very far behind me) is @clickbaitcowboy​. he has this awesome rendering style and way of drawing bodies that i definitely try to imitate sometimes.
🎨 Tell us about your creative process, and which part do you enjoy the most about it?
oh, god. i have so many different styles and i make art so haphazardly that it's hard to say. first i generally have a dumb idea, and i try to get it down as soon as possible so i don't forget it. a lot of the time i don't have drawing materials with me, so I end up writing it down. then generally i do a kind of "thumbnail", which for me is usually just a stick figure i draw to get my poses down. then, i blow up my stick figure to the full canvas size (thank you digital art!) and i draw a sketch directly on top of it. depending on what kind of look i'm going for, after that i either line over my sketch or i just start a new layer and go straight to painting. i'm a psychopath who can't ever keep my layers organized, so i often do all my painting and rendering on one layer, and make more as needed.
my favorite part is probably rendering skin and fabric. i draw a lot of people and not much else, so other materials (including HAIR) are generally hard for me. folds are tricky but when painting you can kind of bullshit it until it turns out alright.
🎨 Link us to your first and latest artwork, and how your style has evolved since then?
my actual first digital artwork has definitely been lost to time. i might have a couple of old sketchbook gems i can pull out for y'all.
oh yeah, baby. none of my sketchbook pages are dated, but i'm pretty sure this is from when i was ~13. i think it's supposed to be me? this one is from when i was 11. look at that shitty anime! also from when i was 11, i remember my best friend signing the adjacent page of this in the courtyard, actually.
but for what i'll call this phase of my artistic life, my oldest artwork on tumblr is… pretty recent, actually. probably this drawing of castiel from mid-late 2019. my latest artwork on tumblr would be these arthureames sketches and i guess my latest artwork ever would have to be this drawing i did of a character for artfight just last night (5/29), though it was pretty rushed and low-effort. [find me on artfight under icedhotcocoa, btw!!]
i can't really pinpoint what's changed as i'm kind of constantly changing and growing, but i'm definitely more comfortable with drawing now. i'm also way better at using reference and capturing likeness. plus, i know my strengths and i play to them more! portraits and more sketchy, loose styles are honestly way more for me than anything as cleanly lined as that cas. switching from autodesk sketchbook to procreate was a pretty significant jump for me, actually, and i think i really started putting more effort in then. that castiel was the last sketchbook drawing i ever did. sayonara, autodesk.
🎨 What is your absolute favorite piece of art that you've made, and why?
sadly, i have chronic "don't post art" syndrome and a lot of my artwork has been lost in the great art purge of 2020 (I left my ipad in a rental car and never backed up any of my work so it's gone forever). but i think i can scrounge something up.
since i actually finish works semi-infrequently, my favorite art always tends to be my most recent art as i'm still studying! I think this welcome to night vale portrait or this arthureames drawing are my top two, both from mid-late last year.
i'm now realizing i've only made one actually complete 100 percent finished artwork this year. that's bad.
🎨 What is something about Inception that you really want to make art for someday, and why?
OH! I've actually always wanted to make fanart for some of my favorite fics, but i get insecure because part of me is like "mo this fic is from 2011 what are you doing". i know, it's dumb. a couple i have in mind are orbit by @finelydressedspacemen​, and my most favorite fic of all time, through centuries of nerve by ester_inc.
🎨 Give a shoutout to your favorite Inception artists here!
AH FUCK! well, the aforementioned @noitsnacktime​ and @ffc1cb. i've never spoken to @mizunoir personally but their art is just jaw-dropping, and an artist i've just discovered on tumblr is @birdlawco, whose work is really cute and wonderful.
🎨 Anything else you'd like to talk about art and the Inception fandom in general ❤
art is hard, and awful, and terrible, and i hate it. but also art is wonderful and amazing and incredible and i can't think of anything else i'd rather do, and every time I say "UAGHRGEU I HATE ART I'M NEVER DRAWING AGAIN!!!" someone always says "no you don't, no you won't" and it's true! so to all my lovely and talented artists and fanartists out there, keep on keepin on!
just struck me that i joined this fandom when i was 14 and i am, like, fully 17 right now, which is crazy. i'm still pretty young compared to a lot of veterans, but this fandom has been a pretty massive part of my teenage development as much as the fanart i've made for it as a part of my artistic development. stay awesome, yall. thanks for the years. happy dozenth inceptiversary, gang!
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leclerqued · 1 year
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I said it yesterday, Seb’s quotes were going to be the inspiration for this Monday Motivation. Mainly because I strongly believe that if we keep talking about Seb as a human, he is never leaving us for real. Yes, I am in denial and it hasn’t sunk in yet. I wanted to make a whole Daniel/Mick/Seb/Nicky Monday Motivation… but now I think I’ll shine a little spotlight on these beautiful quotes.
Yesterday I saw a TikTok that said ‘only six more weeks till 2023’ and normally it would give me the biggest rush of anxiety. “SIX WEEKS? But I haven’t achieved a whole lot and there is so little time…” But this year I am taking a different approach. Instead of just looking at the big things (like working for a company I loved, getting back on track with making myself healthier and of course getting my bachelor diploma last week), I am looking at all the small things that in hindsight made a big difference for my happiness and I want to ask you to do the same. I would love to hear the small things that made your January till November happier! 🧡
Here’s a small list of mine: I got closer with my friends since high school, I met new people and became close with them, I started doing these Monday Motivations and we became closer, I went on small little trips that are now big memories, I put myself out there and started this dating journey, I went to more concerts in a year than I’ve ever done, I started to take more pictures (no… I am not starting a babette.jpg even though I do think I could run a good account), I’ve seen more F1 cars in a year than I’ve ever done and most importantly I chose myself countless of times.
So, am I gonna give you a piece of homework this week? Yeah, I am! Write that list! Sit yourself down and write/record/sketch/whatever else a list of moments. Little moments of happiness and positivity to combat the stress of this year almost coming to an end. And if you feel like sharing, I’m a nosy bitch so… send them my way 🥰
Have a great week! 🍀
Ahhhh happy Monday baby!
I'm really sorry I missed your message last week. I've been working on a project that I hope will be worth the effort and I've been sleeping an awful lot. I went to my psychiatrist because I was having trouble getting asleep (thus causing my exhaustion during the day) so she adjusted my meds a bit and now it's a tad better even to the feeling of tiredness never leaves.
I must admit, yesterday gave me a ton of anxiety and when that overwhelmed me, depression. I know most people look forward to the end of the season mostly because of all the drama, but I wish I had a race every couple of weeks to look forward to, just to keep me away from bad thoughts.
Strangely, Christian Horner said something that calmed me down a bit: 2023 begins this week. And although we have to wait 100 days till the lights go out again, I feel that this winter break will bring us good news.
Or at least I hope so.
I didn't want to let Dan, Mick and Seb go, but at the same time I wish for Dan to make a great comeback. And for Seb to look at the possibility to be a TP for a certain Italian team...
But now, let's go back to your message!
Loads of stuff has happened since January and you're right, I haven't been looking at the little things that happened along the way: I found a research project to cooperate on with a professor that seems to have found something special in me and wants me to graduate soon. He also texts me for races and we comment on them. It's fun.
I finally found professional people to help me through my mental issues, I'm on medication and in therapy and my therapist made me feel less lonely now that I'm back living with my parents. I managed to get a couple of exams done too, fighting through my depression.
I adopted a cat. She's the love of my life now.
I finally visited my best friend in the city she's now living in.
I went back to play videogames and liking it. And met a new friend along the way.
And ofc I spent all the races having fun with all of you ❤️
Thank you for sending these messages. I really appreciate them ❤️ hope you have a wonderful week.
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nikitafiber · 1 year
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Small Group Recap 10/18
I met with my small group today: myself, Sarah, and Mary! We went around and explained our projects to each other and gave feedback or suggestions that we determined to be helpful to each other.
First we discussed Sarah's design, she had a very fancy sketch of her idea and it was really cool. Upon first glance, it looked like an abstract design of the human heart so I was intrigued, but then she explained her sketch (very detailed by the way with great notes and ideas). Her idea is much better than the human heart to be honest, it incorporated a multitude of fabrics that she would shibori and assemble in an almost three dimensional way, so that there is something different to look at from all angles. She also explained that it was her plan to embellish it with something sparkly!
Next, we talked about my design. Last week I draft a triangle shaped flag with a Mario theme and it included: a character from Mario, a koopa troopa (those menacing turtles that look cute and do a little jig, but will kill your character), many bricks for the character to jump on, and my favorite the background foliage that makes no sense but is acceptable since it is designed in a video game. The thing is, I came to class today and I looked at it and I hated it. It was ugly to say the least. I then noticed that I already had written a note about how I did not like it last week. So basically after 5 days I still did not like it. I then, upon Bailey's suggestion (she is not in my group, but I appreciate talking to others), I thought it would be a fun idea to take the little tiny bits and ends that I dye and embroider and incorporate them into the work somehow, maybe like a sort of quilt. This might prove to be better since, and I discussed this with my group, I have a great time making small little things and put a lot of time and effort into them, but when the design or fabric becomes larger it is much more intimidating and I will procrastinate it due to overwhelming feelings and then not work to the best of my abilities resulting in a questionable result. So with this, I can still enjoy a fun happy time with my small works (I will consider getting a little bigger though because I cannot live in fear like this) and then patch them together in a fun and exciting way that is able to capture my essence. We discussed that I might use the ridiculous background foliage from the Mario video game in my work to add to the essence.
Finally, we discussed Mary's project. It is a great idea, I love it!! I like that she is truly leaning into both the science and design aspects of her personality. On the surface, the carbon rings are truly great patterns that come together to create a whole molecule, with out the specific individual carbon bonds, the molecule would be something completely different. She is making the compound her own, by artistically drafting the carbon rings, chiral centers, and chlorine molecules into a composition that incorporates design so that it is also pleasing to look at. I believe that she is still taking into consideration the presentation of the piece. We talked about her color palette for the carbon structures and I feel like for the specifics of what she is doing it fits really well.
I am overall very excited to see the results of everyone's projects!
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havoc-warband · 2 years
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long-winded character post ahead >:) three charr, all originals of the havoc warband, very much in the process of being designed and fleshed out. very much taking ideas for what to do with them even if they clash with what i wrote here
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made an engi called Sivris Crankhavoc a few days ago! so excited to level her up, get more of a feel for her personality, and Commit Fashion Wars 2 sins while grinding to 80, as per usual
i’ve hinted at it some times before but i want her to be the kind of like. distracted tech person of the ‘band, like
On the far left of the scene, there’s some poor quartermaster with their back against the wall and an arrow at their throat, held there by Vikaros, who got bored of reasoning with them about dinner that night, and who’s only barely being held back by Tavryn (the guardian who i haven’t mentioned on here yet i now realize), this scene being witnessed by Yurmia who’s standing a few tail-lengths away gnawing on a roasted pocket raptor with a twinkle in her eye and a guffaw in her throat, the poor soldier who she stole her current snack from limping away hastily, and finally behind her there’s Sivris looking on slightly distracted, a half-assembled pistol still in her hands
She’s friendly, will share her snacks with you, gets distracted easily by shiny things, enjoys teaching friends about the stuff she’s passionate about but guards her own secrets and tech jealously, loves putting stuff together... Bandmates say the sound of her thoughts flying through her brain sounds like the clicking of gears. “Putting stuff together” also applies to bandmates after a slightly-more-heated-than-usual argument
She’s got good tactical thinking, going into the future the way that Vikaros’ doesn’t: he concerns himself with the daily things, and gets her advice on long-term plans and moves, along with Yurmia’s wisdom
When the warband was being formed and they were choosing their names, Sivris was actually solidly conked out/loopy like a skritt on fermented fruit after receiving a wrench to the head while rooting through piles of equipment at the junkyard, which is why her bandmates chose this name for her
I’m gonna use this same post for Tavryn actually and also the elementalist I’m still working on to complete the picture
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the guardian tavryn havocshield! name and design loosely based on a guardian i had a long time ago, that i have since deleted in favour of a character, that i newly deleted in favour of remaking Tavryn.
she’s the conscience of the warband, Lawful Good-wise, and has a protective streak a mile wide as her last name also implies. She trains a lot to be able to take a ton of damage and protect her ‘bandmates so they can do their best work. She’s known Vikaros and most of the rest of the band since the fahrar, so she’s seen them all at their worst, and no rank will come between tavryn and her scolding you for snatching that piece of equipment while the original owner wasn’t looking, give it the fuck back we’re gonna get in trouble. the only bandmate she’s slightly afraid of is Yurmia, because she’s Old, and that triggers the Hierarchy Following in tavryn’s brain, so she does defer to the mesmer a little. only a little.
ele time. so, i’ve got this char, who’s already level 60, and 425 artificer. i’m sincerely debating just getting them a namechange and a total makeover kit because that was Effort, You Guys, and also they’re one of my oldest characters... and still level 60 i know don’t look at me
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reason for the namechange is because their current name is... unsuitable. i was really fucking bad at naming characters like eight years ago and it’s gotten a Little Better since then. but god.
the longer i’m thinking about the makeover kit though, the more i’m like. nah, this is actually a fantastic character design... i may have not known how names worked but i had the design down
so, i have absolutely no idea what their role’s going to be in lore yet, but i want something like... so, coming back to the scene i sketched, i want the elementalist to be... napping somewhere else. the scene’s complete. the elementalist is quiet. aloof. shuts up a lot of time but when they do speak up it’s Insightful, Meaningful, or the absolute peak of comedy, no in betweens. they also pack a huge fucking punch in a fight and their fighting is big and showy and extravagant, and with reason. they cast fireballs left right and center and the sparkle in their eye at the sheer power they just unleashed onto their enemies is enough to set off another explosion somewhere else. very much “point me at the enemies and i’m happy”
you made it this far? congratulations, have Vikaros’ Pride fit >:) (that did totally not take me a half fucking hour)
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babyimaybecrazy · 3 years
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[gently hands you amandine angst] @willwoodimagines
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fernweh-writes · 3 years
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I don't know if you already did this before but- what about the slashers reaction to a S/O that works as a tatoo artist?
I have not done this before, but this also reminded me I do need to update my masterlist so thank you. It’s the holiday weekend so we’ll see how well I can write…
-Fern🌿
Tattoo Artist S/O
Michael Myers
He would 100% let you tattoo him. Michael has probably always wanted a tattoo and just never had the means to get one. It’s hard to walk into a shop when you’re a wanted murderer after all. Plus, he most likely doesn’t trust other people enough to let them tattoo him. So feel special, cause it means he trusts you enough to take off his shirt and let you repeatedly poke him with a needle.
Michael respects tattooing as an art form. It takes a lot of dedication and precision to permanently place an image upon a persons skin.
He also just thinks it’s neat. Especially if you’ve done some of your own tattoos. He likes the way they look on your skin.
Probably has a weak spot for any red tattoos you have. We all know Michael loves the color red, especially on you.
Bo Sinclair
Again, would let you tattoo him but only after he trusts you enough. He can’t have you suddenly going rouge and trying to harm him with a tattoo gun. And lets be honest with ourselves here, Bo has trust issues so it’s going to take awhile.
He’s very indecisive about what he would want though. Luckily you know him well enough to come up with a few rough sketches of different ideas and placements just… pinky promise it will look good.
Also loves the tattoos on your own skin. Especially the more intricate ones with a lot of detail. He thinks that tattoos are hot in general.
Would try and get you to tattoo his name on yourself.
Vincent Sinclair
Vincent is glad that his S/O is also into art. He thinks you’re really good at what you do and loves to admire your work. I also believe that Vincent has a bit of a superiority complex… so h would be glad you’re into different art forms than he is because he doesn’t feel like he can be outdone by you.
With that being said, he occasionally will give you tips on things like placement and critique the details you add to any pieces.
Still, you’re great at what you do and Vincent knows it. So, he would be happy to let you give him a tattoo. After seeing his twin knives I believe he would go for something snake or Greek mythology themed.
Thomas Hewitt
Thomas would want you to incorporate some of his scars into tattoos to make him feel better about them. Don’t worry about hurting him, this man has an insane pain tolerance and he won’t even flinch no matter how long the piece takes.
Also likes watching you come up with concepts. You always add so many little details to even the rough sketches. He really appreciates the time, effort, and attention you put towards what you do.
Even though his very traditional family is against tattoos, Thomas loves them. At night, he enjoys tracing the ones on your own skin. He probably has each and every one memorized down to the smallest detail at this point.
Brahms Heelshire
Our uppity little English boy would not want a tattoo. His parents were very high class and snobby people so they most likely raised Brahms to think tattoos were for hooligans. In all honesty, Brahms may not even know what a tattoo is…
Once he sees the ones that you have though, he’s less against them. His eyes hungrily take in the way the black ink decorates your delicate skin, and he’s hooked. Brahms absolutely loves to look at them.
Also loves to watch as you draw ideas for new pieces. You just look so cute when you’re focused and he’s mesmerized by your sketches.
Billy Loomis
This man + patchwork tattoos= the hottest thing in the history of ever
Would be more than happy to let you tattoo him…you are doing it for free right?
Billy thinks that tattoos are cool and they definitely add onto his intimidating look. If you compliment them it definitely gives his ego a boost as well. You won’t be able to save yourself from this narcissist after he catches you eyeing the ink on his skin.
Also thinks that the tattoos on your own skin are very sexy. Please show him each and every one of them. Yes even if you have to take your clothes off, that’s the best part y/n.
Stu Macher
Stu is more than happy to let you use him as a human canvas as long as you promise to make him look cool. He trusts you enough to not mess up after he’s seen some of the amazing work that you’ve done.
Doesn’t really care what kind of tattoo you put on him. He’ll give you all the creative liberty, occasionally throwing in a suggestion that he would think’d be cool.
Likes the tattoos you have on yourself as well. Stu would be the one to think giving yourself a tattoo is insanely cool! He would never be able to concentrate on little details if he was stabbing himself with a needle.
Would let you give him a very stupid, simple tattoo. Like the really dumb line art ones. Also 100% down for matching tattoos. Even better! Matching stupid tattoos!
Asa Emory
You cannot convince me this man doesn’t have a butterfly tattoo like the one harry styles has. He most certainly does, end of story.
He wouldn’t let you give him a tattoo in a very visible place. As a professor he has to keep up his neat and organized appearance. Coming off as professional is very important to Asa.
He’s fine with your tattoos though. He appreciates your attention to detail in each of the intricate tattoos on your skin. Asa even enjoys watching you draw your ideas on paper.
Jesse Cromeans
He loves tattoos and is more than down to let you give him one. Please do, he’ll even pay you if you want, he doesn’t care.
If you give yourself a skull tattoo Jesse takes it as a confession of your undying love for him. After all, you’ve pretty much marked yourself as his possession anyways.
Needless to say he also loves seeing the ink you have on your own skin. Tattoos are a big turn on for him.
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anemo-writes · 3 years
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hello travelers! again, thank you for putting up with my inactivity, it’s been hard to write lately haha. anyways, i thought this would be something fun to post and for everyone to enjoy, whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day or not :) (note: this will probably be more fanon than canon so please bear with me, i’ll make it as canon as it can be :’) i also kept this pretty short, so hopefully that’s okay too,, and sorry for this being late haha—i wrote this very late at night so don’t mind any typos you find please)
much love,
~ anemo-chan <3
(The Playable) Genshin Impact Characters on Valentine’s Day (Romantically)
super romantic; gifts you a bouquet of flowers and takes you out to eat at a fancy restaurant/cooks for you.
Diluc
He is nervous. He’s never paid close attention to the countless amount of people who have lined outside the tavern to ask him to be their Valentine, only to be rejected. There was absolutely no way that he would turn to Kaeya for advice, so unfortunately this was something he would have to figure out for himself. He figures that it wouldn’t hurt to go traditional, so that’s what he does; he buys a large bouquet of roses (which he had to get from Donna, seeing that at the hours that he ended work were very late and Flora’s shop was not open at the time—yeah, that was not fun) and presents himself outside your doorway, to which he invites you to join him for a late dinner—which he makes!
Lisa
She leaves a letter on top of your nightstand, paired along with a singular rose. The letter states for you to meet her outside of Good Hunter, where you find her sitting at a table with a candle dimly-lighting up the surroundings. She greets you with a warm smile, gesturing for you to sit down—the two of you enjoy a candle-lit dinner as well as bolognese she specially requested for Sara to make for the two of you to enjoy together why does this remind me so much of Lady and the Tramp,,
Tartaglia
Oh boy. It’s always a fun time spending a holiday with him, seeing that it could go two ways; one, he would be too busy to celebrate it with you on the day of, and he would take you out the day after, or two—have a store’s entire line of merchandise presented to you outside your doorstep, in which a very, very smiley Tartaglia hidden within the pile (after all, he was the best present!) After you’re done moving all of the gifts into your house (it took up the space of your entire living room), he tells you to cover your eyes and follow him. He takes you to one of the most well-known restaurants in Liyue (which currently doesn’t have a name because it is very late here!), and insists that you order whatever you want, and however much you want.
Zhongli
Over the years, he’s witnessed many, many couples celebrate this holiday and every year he’s wished to do the same. He finds the perfect opportunity to do so when Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and boy does he plan it out for the two of you. He’s even made sure to have his wallet on him at all times—it would be extremely rude for you to have to pay if he happened to forget his wallet. He makes sure to stop by to pick up a bouquet of flowers, as well as a bottle of perfume (not in a bad way, just to clarify) from Ying’er’s shop that he recalled you liked. He makes sure to pick you up early from your work place to make sure you made it to your appointment on time; after all, being late to an appointment was similar to breaking a contract, no?
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surprises you with homemade sweets.
Fischl
Oh, she is so nervous—of course, she doesn’t show this. The entire week, she spent researching recipes to create a special batch of chocolate-dipped strawberries just for you—she even sent Oz to the nearby farms to “borrow” the freshest strawberries for the treat (the farmers were too scared to confront the talking bird who “borrowed” their strawberries, so luckily they got away with it). She dips them in a purple-colored chocolate (because what other color would she use, really?) and drizzles on a dark-chocolate syrup to top it off. She’s too shy to actually give it to you herself though, so she has Oz drop it off for her.
Ganyu
Even though she’s quite busy, she’s somehow found time to whip up a special batch of chocolate just for you! She shapes them into Glaze Lilies (which she found quite hard, which is why there are so few of them) and presents them to you in a neatly-sealed box. She’s quite modest when your eyes widen and tell her it’s the best chocolate you have ever eaten, claiming that she only followed a recipe, when she really made it from scratch.
Keqing
Like Ganyu, you have no idea how she finds time to create a perfect array of chocolates, which she made herself! However, with her tightly-packed schedule, she has to drop it off at your house in advance, to which you accept happily. She tried to decorate them with designs of cartoon-versions of your faces, but they’re a bit...messy. Nonetheless, they’re tasty, and to her relief, you enjoy them.
Mona
Somehow, she’s managed to scrape up enough mora to buy you a necklace; yes, a necklace, and a real one at that—none of that fake, costume jewelry stuff! She even added a pendant shaped like star, just so you could be reminded of her whenever you fiddled with it or even glanced at it. She’s quite flustered when she gives it to you, ignoring the way you ask how she managed to save this much mora to be able to buy something like this, changing the subject on how you should never-ever take it off (because it looks great on you.)
Noelle
One word: pancakes. (Have you seen the ones she makes for her special dishes? They’re frigging amazing) As a dutiful maid should, she wakes up especially early to prepare a homemade breakfast just for you, to which she serves to you just as your wake up in bed. The fluffy stack of pancakes are decorated with fruits cut up in heart-shapes, as well the words, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Y/N”, written neatly with chocolate syrup—it’s quite a sight to see, to be honest, and utterly delicious. Lucky you!
Xiangling
The day before, she tells you to meet her at the restaurant around noon. When you arrive, the restaurant is adorned with Valentine decorations, as well as a terrifying amount of food; she insists that she only made it for you, so you better eat up! Before she can show you the other dishes, the restaurant is suddenly filled with a strong, bitter smell—something burning. With a yelp, she runs into the kitchen, coming out a few minutes later with a tray of half-scorched cupcakes, their Gouba-shapes adorned with...a lot of burn marks. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, doesn’t it?
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buys/makes a present for you.
Albedo
Without your knowledge, Albedo has been creating a collection of artworks throughout all the time you had spent together. The pieces include portraits of you, portraits of you and him (sucrose helped with this), as well as just random sketches of the little things that remind him of you, such as the bare, snowy-white terrain where the two of you first met, as well as its flora and fauna. If you request it, he’ll even make the painting come alive (literally), and the two of you run to Sucrose’s dwelling, who is very shocked to see the pair of you running from a Frosted Lawachurl when she peered out her window to see if she could pinpoint the sounds of distant screaming.
Amber
Is there anything better than a matching set of wind gliders? Not only that—they were homemade! She spent the last couple of weeks putting together a pair of gliders for the two of you, customizing them to your tastes (which she nailed!) She quite literally drags you to the nearest hill to test them out, and the two of you end up challenging each other on who can get back to the Knights of Farvonius Headquarters the fastest—spoiler alert: she did.
Barbara
Oh, she would make the cutest card for you—the envelope is decorated with cute stickers (some of them even had her face on it; there’s nothing like promoting merchandise, am i right? jkjks) She also pairs it off with a box of chocolates that she bought from Sara—however, what she didn’t know was that in the box was a special-edition spicy chocolate truffle. With your luck, that was the first one you chose—and boy, were you met a surprise (it was so bad that you were begging Barbara to use her Vision on you, which she refused of course). Fun times.
Chongyun
He’s real sweet. After his expeditions and commissions, he opens the freezer (yes he keeps them in there, don’t judge him) to an array of ice sculptures, shapes varying from flowers, hearts, and such—although it’s quite the simple gift, he’s put a lot of effort into them, even putting in the extra effort to cast a spell to make sure they would not melt; it’s all worth though, when he sees the absolutely giddy expression on your face, and the look of pure awe as you pick one up and study it closely, admiring all of the details and work that’s he put in.
Ningguang
She sends out informants to find out what you like, whether it be something that your gaze settled on for too long or something you’ve mentioned while talking to her—on the day of, you open your door to a mountain of gifts, with Ningguang herself peering out from behind it with a calm smile and a wave (which was the opposite of your reaction, because who has that much mora to purchase all of these gifts?!?)
Razor
He doesn’t have a clue on what the holiday until Lisa asks him if he’s planned something for the two of you during one of his lessons. When he shakes his head no, Lisa suggests that he make you something, to which he sets out on an adventure to do, looking for flowers and flower stems to weave into a pair of matching bracelets—they’re not the prettiest, but he is pretty proud of it; after all, it was his first time making something like that. He’s quite nervous to present it to you, afraid that you might not like it, but all feelings of worry melt away when you slide it on with a huge smile on your face, insisting that he wears his too.
Sucrose
At first, she considers gifting you a present that she created herself; of course, with her work being alchemy, she isn’t sure if that would be the safest option, despite being talented herself. And so, she resorts to buying a present for you—she is very picky with the present though, insisting that it should be perfect since she could not make one herself. She even consults Albedo when selecting some of the presents (he doesn’t help her unfortunately; he believes that she should figure it out herself haha). Like Razor, she’s quite nervous to give it to you, but lets out a huge sigh of relief as you thank her happily for the gift, wiping a bead of sweat from across her forehead (sucrose bby anything you give us would be perfect,,)
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whisks you away somewhere sentimental, where the two of you can enjoy a special date.
Beidou
It’s ungodly early in the morning when Beidou presents herself in front of your doorstep, announcing that you’ll be joining her and the crew on a special ride. She tugs you along beside her until you reach the harbor, where you are met with the sight of her ship adorned with streamers and banners, varying between shades of pink and red. Onboard, there is a table filled with goodies the crew collected and made, and boy do they look delicious. The group sets out to sea, and you take your place next to the captain, who even lets you steer the boat (momentarily, at least.)
Bennett
He takes you to meet his dads; yes, yes—he knows that it’s not the most romantic thing to do on a day dedicated to lovers, but he figures it’s just as important. Besides, they’ve been asking about you for quite a while—they even set up a small party within the Adventurer’s Guild, with the help of Bennett, of course. You spend the day listening to their old adventuring stories, as well as bits from Bennett’s childhood (poor boy is flustered from all the information his dads are spilling, but he’s still happy either way; after all, he’s with the most important people to him.)
Kaeya
He quite literally kidnaps you; one second you’re walking in the streets of Mondstadt on your way to work when suddenly someone grabs you by the waist and pulls you into an alley way (that sounds so creepy but i swear he means it in a good way). He only chuckles and shields himself with his arms as you punch him lightly, retorting that he scared you. He doesn’t care that the two of you have an overwhelming amount of work to do—after all, Valentine’s Day only comes once a year, right? Surprisingly, he doesn’t take you the tavern, but instead...Dawn Winery! Diluc received quite the surprise when he is met with the two of you standing outside his gates, with Kaeya requesting a wine/grape juice taste-testing. Yeah...you guys didn’t get any of that, but you did manage to snag a couple of grapes on your way out! Good for you!
Venti
You wake up in your bed, opening your eyes to see a very-smiley Venti laying beside you, chin propped up against his hand as he watches you yawn sleepily as you force yourself out of bed. You’re then presented with a handpicked-bouquet of Ceceilias, the freshest of the bunch, if he may add. You barely have time to thank him before he hoists you up in his arms and out of your dwelling, gliding over the city of Mondstadt as he whisks you away to Starsnatch Cliff, where he’s prepared a special performance just for you (and no, you don’t need to pay.)
Xingqiu
While he’s not the most romantic, he does have a clue on what people look for on Valentine’s Day; after all, that’s what cheesy-romance novels were for, right? Unbeknownst to you, he takes you on a date very similar to the one the main characters in his favorite novels partook in—and you don’t find out until you catch him peeking into the pages while you weren’t (you were) looking. Again, it’s the thought that counts—
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doesn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Jean
Sadly, she probably forgets about the holiday. She’s too busy holed-up in her office to notice the couples gathered up in the courtyard, sharing moments with their lover. It’s not until she walks out to take a breather that she notices the commotion—she immediately calls you over, apologizing frantically. Of course, to this you respond that’s it’s okay, but that you would much rather her take the rest of the day off to spend time together, to which she reluctantly agrees.
Xiao
“I do not have time to celebrate silly human traditions like that.” He would say as you bound up to him, exclaiming that it’s Valentine’s Day, the day where you can give sweets to your loved ones, and asking if he had someone special in mind to spend it with. He’s irked when your gaze falters and the grip on the object you’re hiding behind your back tightens—he only grows more irked as you mutter to yourself how you’ll give the chocolates you made to someone else. He scoffs loudly, avoiding your gaze as he lays out his hand in front of you to accept the chocolates (just because he doesn’t celebrate the holiday doesn’t mean he can’t get jealous!)
583 notes · View notes
coffee--writes · 3 years
Text
The Message on the Wall
Pairing: James Potter x gn!Reader - Marauders x Reader Content
Word Count: 5.9k (jdklfdh im sorry) 
Warnings: Underage Drinking, Implications of... yeah. I think that’s about it. 
Requested: Yes, a long time (i feel bad for only getting to it but i hope the nonnie stuck around to see this piece) by an anon who asked for James x Reader with childhood best friends to lovers trope. 
Summary: In which, James Potter was busy writing himself a message on the wall but was too blind to read what he had to say. 
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Pictures. 
In actuality they were only images. For Muggles, they stood stagnant, for James Potter they moved slightly. 
But in deeper meaning pictures were moments in time captured in a frame. They were a personal reminder of things that were, things that used to be and anything else that didn’t fall into one of the other two categories. 
James Potter adored pictures. His room was littered with them. A handful were of Quidditch players and Tutshill Tornados merchandise. One picture of him and his parents sat on the nightstand beside his bed. But adjourned on the wall to the left was a mostly blank wall. One small Tornados banner was pinned against the soft red paint and in the middle a picture he was particularly fond of. 
The film captured James at the age of four. A broom was clutched in his left hand and a toothy smile on his face as the wind rustled his hair causing it to stick up more than it already did. Beside him was you, your eyes crossed and your tongue licking a swirled lolly. 
When his mother had shown him the picture you had just left for home, making a young James quite sad that his friend couldn’t stay just a little longer. Euphemia Potter had smiled, handing the picture to her son. “It’s okay, my love. Now you have a piece of Y/N with you.” 
“How?” James had asked, his lower lip jutting out in a frown. 
Euphemia laughed. “The picture captures you together. Look how happy the two of you look!” she points at her son’s smile in the photo. “You can do whatever you’d like with it.” 
James grinned, his eyes lighting up once more. “I want to hang it, mum!” he dragged her hand into the bedroom with him, climbing on top of his bedsheets and pressing the picture to the wall. “Here. That way I can say goodnight to them even when they're not here.” 
Euphemia Potter smiled watching as her son tucked himself under the covers. “That’s a brilliant idea, James.” With a wave of her wand, two pins fastened themself to the wall, the photo beneath. 
That was the beginning of James’s love for pictures. More pictures would accumulate such as the one of him and his father at a Tornados game. Drawings you would give him of flowers and Kneazles. The pictures would come and go but yours stayed the same. An additional picture of you and James would later be added three years later when the two of you were seven. James’s broom no longer sat in one hand, instead was gripped with two and hovering five feet off the ground. He had a wicked smile on his face, his glasses slightly falling down his nose. You sat behind him, your small fingers clutching to his waist as the picture captured you mid-squeal. 
Time went on yet the pictures of the two of you stayed the same. Along with your drawings, which had improved dramatically since you were seven, he’d occasionally find a Hollyhead Harpies banner plastered to his wall. When he came to scold you, pink banners adjourned in his hand, you’d laugh at the pout on his lips. He could never stay angry at you and always joined in on your laughter. 
The final year before things would slightly change was the year before going to Hogwarts.  A third picture was added at the age of ten. The Potter family had accompanied your family on a trip to Diagon Alley in which you had bought your screech owl, Juniper. James had one arm wrapped around you. His hair was untidy and a goofy smile was on his face as his other hand flicked your forehead. Your eyes were closed mid-laugh as one hand pushed his face away and the other perched with Juniper who screeched happily on your available arm. 
Again, time went on quickly and changes were made in James Potter’s room but you were not one of them. He packed up his Hogwarts things the night of August 31st, leaving his room full of pictures with a soft smile. 
You rode on the train with him, both of you waving goodbye to your loved ones. You grinned at him wickedly, “Excited?” you ask. 
“Definitely.” he responded. “Do you have money for the trolley?” 
You slide into a train compartment, one small boy already sitting there. “Yeah. Do you need to borrow some?” 
James nodded and you rolled your eyes, handing money over to the kind witch who passed by, grabbing pumpkin pasties for you and Bertie Botts for James. 
The ride was life-changing as you made acquaintances with similar mindsets. Two more boys entered your compartment and along with the scrawny boy from before, all of you made it to Gryffindor. “Where dwell the brave at heart” as James liked to put it. 
First year was an interesting feat with James quickly falling head over heels for Lily Evans. Your friendship never faltered although the thought of her in his life made you feel odd. However, you were sure she wouldn’t be in his life for quite some time seeing as his persistent efforts were met with an equally stubborn rejection. 
“She’s a firecracker, that one.” he sighed, walking beside you down the hall after another devastating encounter with Lily. 
“You’re just embarrassing yourself now, my boy.” you reply, dubbing his nickname to ease the comment. 
He smirked. “Then why do you hang out with me?” 
“Because, I’m the one who makes sure you don’t cross the line from embarrassing to mortifying.” 
He shakes his head with a silly grin. “I doubt that. You love me. That’s why.” 
You laugh, an effective way of avoiding the curious ideas that ran through your young mind. “Don’t throw around the l- word so quickly! You’ve got to mean it.” 
James bumped your side. “But I’ve known you for years.” 
You ruffle his hair, making it messier than it already was. “Save it for Evans.” 
---
The year ended and the two of you went home to Northern England hands overflowing with Gryffindor red, spirits high with a drive for Quidditch practice and addresses from Remus, Peter, and Sirius tucked away in your pockets. 
James’s room changed tremendously that first year. Alongside the Tutshill Tornados merchandise were small Gryffindor banners, lions enchanted to roar at the touch. You had given him one of your sketches from the school year, one of Sirius and him laughing in Transfiguration, another of him and Peter skipping stones. The pictures of the two of you still remained, a small collection of dust coating the edges which he wiped away with a smile. 
Second year was merry and full of high spirits. James had acquired his father’s invisibility cloak which gave cause to a number of nighttime rendezvous and adventures in the kitchens. Suspicion arose on Remus, whose monthly disappearances came to your attention. With the help of Sirius and Peter, the group soon discovered Remus’s guarded secret and accepted the furry little problem with open arms. 
The Lily Evans situation did not get any better with James’s persistence holding up fiercely and her hatred toward him even more harsh. As Sirius had dubbed it, “Mate, at this point you’re never getting married.” Remus and Peter whole-heartedly agreed, sending James into an adolescent spiral. 
“What if I don’t get married, Y/N/N?” he confided in you by the shores of the Black Lake. 
You chuckled, his delirium quite adorable. “You’re going to get married, James. Trust me.” 
He sighed, snapping a twig between his fingers. “It’s not definite.” 
“Nothing is.” you counter. 
James groaned. “I know. I know. But I would like it to be. Wouldn’t you?” 
You contemplated the idea, a thought coming to your head. “What if it could be?” 
He stared at you curiously. Your eyes lit up and James grinned. “Hit me.” 
“If by the time we are thirty neither of us are married then we should get married to each other.” you propose, a proud smile on your face. “That way we can have a definite of our own.” 
James grinned. “I like that idea. But what if one of us gets married before that?”
You frown. “Then I guess it’d be a flop. But it’s better than nothing, right?” 
He agreed quickly. The sun was setting into a pond of pink. The wind rustled and birds chirped and the moment seemed picture perfect and James wished a camera would magically pop up and capture the moment so he’d be able to hang it on his wall for years to come. It did not work that way, instead, he turned to you with a smirk. “I don’t have anything to propose with.” 
You looked down in embarrassment and gave him a shove. “We’re not getting married yet! It’s just a deal not the real thing.” 
He rolled his eyes at you. “I know but it feels as though something special should happen. How about we seal with a spit swear?” 
You stick your tongue out and pretend to gag. “Ew! No.” you flick his forehead causing him to wince. He grins before flicking you back, watching as you fall back onto the grass. 
“I guess a flick works as well.” he sighs. “Y/N Potter has a nice ring to it.” 
Your head falls against his shoulder. “I can’t believe I might be a Potter one day. Sounds disgusting.” 
James laughs, the weight of your head feeling oddly familiar against his shoulder. “Oh, shut it!” 
--- 
The years came and went. Third year, James made the Quidditch team and he quickly became a ladies man despite his obvious pining over Evans. You made sure to keep his feet on the ground as you didn’t want his ego to get larger than it already was. You came to all his games, occasionally bringing a camera so that James could add his moments of glory onto his beloved room wall. There was the time he tried dedicating a shot to you and ended up getting knocked off his broom by a Beater. 
He made the next one thankfully. 
On the other hand, you had earned the title of master dueler amongst the third years for your quick arm and sharp spellcasting. While James was at Quidditch practice: you, Peter, Remus, and Sirius would practice in empty classrooms although after a while they became rather bored as you would always win. James would cheer you on, even when you beat him there was a compliment of your skill and he was more than anything, proud. 
The summer between third and fourth year was the year the Marauders got their first group picture together. Everyone had met up at the Potter residence, Euphemia Potter snapping the photo with Sirius and James to the left, Peter and Remus on the right, and you in the middle. James hung the picture on his wall as it was routine by now. The whole gang got to see his famous wall of pictures, his life an open storybook to anyone who looked closely. 
Fourth year sparked love, pranks, and new ideas. Peter went on his first date, flaming at the cheeks as his friends waved him off embarrassingly. Group pranks ensued upon Snape whose oily hair was dyed all colors of the rainbow by the end of the first semester. You had gone on your first date as well, Steven Goldstein from Hufflepuff whom James threatened to beat up and Sirius who gave him “a talk”. 
Most importantly, the group addressed Remus’s furry little problem seeing as each year he came back with more and more scars than before. Two ideas sparked up from the meeting and both were large feats that every member of the group was willing to take. 
“So wait..” Peter asked. “You want to make a map… that tracks everyone in Hogwarts?” 
James nodded and Remus shook his head. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Don’t look at me that way, Remus.” 
Remus shoved him lightly. “How would that even work though? Isn’t it a little invasive?” 
You smiled. “It most certainly is invasive but think about how awesome it’d be to have something like that. All we would need is…” 
“A complex locator spell.” you and Sirius said together. 
Everyone grinned. “Pete can do the drawing and sketching. He’s good at that stuff. We should check for secret passageways. All of us could do the magic. We’ve got the brains.” 
“I don’t think someone with brilliant magic technique would use the word brain to describe their intelligence.” you point out. James simply flicked you in the head. 
“And there’s the Animagi thing…” Sirius added. 
“That’s a reach.” Remus replied. 
“More than the map?” Peter questioned. 
Remus sighed. “You guys don’t have to do that for me. I’ve been transforming on my own for years. No need to have buddies now.” 
“Nonsense.” you say. “Anything for you, Rem. This is what you deserve.” 
The friends looked at each other silently. “Are we ready to pull off the biggest student feat in Hogwarts history?” Sirius whispered. 
“Aye, aye.” Everyone cheered. 
Peter grinned. “We’re up to no good.” 
James smiled back. “Then let us manage our mischief well.” 
WIth that the group commenced, exiting the abandoned classroom they used and taking off to class. James walked by your side as you headed to astronomy together. 
“I can’t wait till we pin this down. It’s going to be an epic year.” he grinned. 
You chuckle. “I know you’ll end up stalking someone, Potter. Evans by the looks of it.” 
He shook his head, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Nope. I’m gonna stalk you instead. See if you’re hiding any secrets from me.” 
You smile. “What secrets could I possibly be hiding from you, my boy?” 
James nudged your side with a smirk. “You’re telling me a good-looking fellow like yourself isn’t sneaking off with some other lad other than their best friends.” 
You shook your head, the word “good-looking” repeating itself in your mind. “No. If I did I would tell you.” 
“Good.” he said, starting up the stairs to the Astronomy tower. “I don’t need some arsehole stealing you away from me.” 
You roll your eyes. “No one could ever steal me from you, James. I’m not a Quaffle.” 
He nods with a grin. “Yeah. I suppose you’re more of a Snitch.” 
You laugh, dashing up the stairs in hopes that you wouldn’t be late for your Astronomy lesson.
--- 
As one could guess more pictures and sketches made their home on James Potter’s wall. It was a cluttered mess but beautiful nonetheless. It was as though the wall had an expression of its own with its array of Quidditch jerseys, photographs, art, and ticket stubs. Nobody touched the wall except James as he liked having every picture in place. His wall organized the way he liked it best… messy. 
Fifth year was the first year you didn’t see James every week. He had eagerly signed up for Quidditch camp and had left for Wales with promises that’d you write about the boys and the progress on the map and Animagi projects. The projects went well with Peter completing the outline sketches of the maps, Remus filling piles of papers on Animagi transformations and finally Sirius and you gathering the needed ingredients for the Animagi process. 
You had grown taller over the summer, hair lightening and your features more accentuated. Eagerly you awaited James’s return and when the time did come you had woken up early in the morning to see him arrive by Portkey on the hill. The second he appeared you had rushed over, engulfing him in a hug. You had missed his touch, his constant nagging and overall  the James Potterness that followed him around that would never fade with time. 
Meanwhile, he was left out of breath, a couple of inches taller and a smile on his face as he squeezed you back. “Y/N/N! I missed you, you lazy hag.” 
You laughed, messing up his hair that sat more neatly than in previous years. “And I missed you, my boy.” 
The next days before school were spent catching him up on the map and at the pond by your house. With each swim you noticed the changes in James such as the six-pack the tedious trials at Quidditch camp had given him. 
“Oi!” you shouted, splashing him in the face. “Whatever happened to the skinny twig that was my friend?” 
He smirked. “Oi! Why are you looking?” 
You bit your lip, not allowing him to see you flustered. “I’m sorry. You’re my best friend and it’s a very noticeable change!” you pointed at his toned stomach. 
James tapped your nose and you stared at him in annoyance. “It’s only noticeable if you want to notice it.” 
He turned around, making to walk back to the shore of the pond. You didn’t remember when James had gotten so cheeky although he’d always been that way, just never with you. Wickedly, you took the bucket that floated beside you and dunked it in the water. With a mischievous grin, you snuck up behind him, dumping the bucket of water on his head. 
James turned around with a gasp, jaw dropped. You laughed, a wide smile on your lips at the sight of him drenched in his swim trunks. It wasn’t until his arms tucked along your waist, dragging you to the deeper ends of the pond did the smile drop and his return. 
“Why you little…” you seethed. “James Fleamont Potter if you-” 
It was too late by then, your body submerged in the water and you swam up, his laughter the first noticeable sound. You scowled as he doubled over with laughter on the shore. “I’m never letting you go to Quidditch camp again.” 
The two of you walked home as the sun set, many flicks to the forehead ensuing as you did. 
---
Fifth year was by far the most epic year of your Hogwarts experience. Everything was prepared for the Animagi transformation and phase two of the map project was ready to launch with Remus having gained access to the restricted section of the library. 
It seemed as though the whole student body had recognized the change in James’s physique which only led to an inflation of his ego. The worst part was that Lily Evans just so happened to be one of those said noticers and while her defiance toward him was still strong, she could be caught staring in class much to James’s delight. 
The Animagi process began as soon as the September full moon. While Remus suffered in the Shrieking Shack, the four other Marauders set their Mandrake leaves into their mouths preparing for an uncomfortable month of bitterness on their tongues. The leaves were held under their tongues when talking in class and for the rest of the time they resorted to note passing leaving the entirety of Hogwarts wondering why the Marauders went quiet so suddenly. 
During the period between moons, they worked on their map. Stacks of books, both regular and restricted, lay among them. Each had a quill and parchment used to take note of spells or pass messages back and forth. As you worked you received a message from James in the form of a crumpled ball of parchment. You smoothed it out with a sigh. 
I hate this thing. It tastes like piss and lime. 
You held back a chuckle, writing your own message next to his. 
You’re not backing out of this, Potter. It’s for Remus. 
He stuck the leaf under his tongue in order to stick it out at you and you rolled your eyes. He scribbled a message back. 
I know. I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t complain about it. 
You smirked, tossing the parchment back to him. 
If your scrawny arse can come back from Quidditch camp with abs then you can stomach keeping a leaf in your mouth for a month. 
He smoothed it out and you went back to your work only getting in a minute's reading before the parchment bounced off your head. You scowled at his antics but he only looked at his book with a smirk. Unfolding the paper, James’s messy handwriting took up the last blank space on the parchment. 
Nice to know you still think about my abs. 
Your stomach squirmed at the feeling that inflamed from his words and the smirk that was on his face. You flicked him on the head, throwing the parchment into the fire before Sirius could ask what it was. 
--- 
It took moon soaked leaves, untouched morning dew and a lightning storm to finally complete the transformations. It was on a late November night that a lightning storm finally struck and in the fifth corridor bathroom the Marauders made their first transformations. For Peter, a small rat with a wriggling tail. For Sirius, a pure black dog. For James, a large stag with mighty horns. For you, a sly fox with sleek orange fur. 
Thus that night began the use of the nicknames: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs and Vixen. Dubbed by James and agreed upon all around. The final full moons of fifth year were spent prancing around Hogsmeade alongside Remus whose scars diminished with each transformation spent with his friends. 
The downside of it all was the building tension in the school. With Lord Voldemort on the rise, more and more of your classmates were showing their true colors. Select Slytherins no longer wore short sleeves, their wrists always covered even in the heat of summer. Watchful eyes and protective glares, you went home for summer in worry. 
Over the summer, Prongs lost his Pronginess. He wrote to Lily Evans most days of the week and now the things she sent him hung on his wall alongside you and the Marauders. An anticipated change but a scary one still. Every outing with James became more about Lily and less about anything else. You could feel your best friend slipping away and you told him so the night before the start of sixth year. 
The two of you sat together in the branches of a tree. The sun hit your skin in rays and clouds passed by over your heads. James’s voice droned on about his darling Lily flower and with an unknowing malice you snapped at him. “Shut it!” you groaned. 
His eyes looked over at you, hands holding your head in remorse. “Aren’t you happy for me? You’ve been acting off all summer.” 
“I’ve been acting off because you’ve been acting off. I am happy for you but Evans is the only thing you talk about these days. What happened to talking about the Tornados or sneaking out together for milkshakes?” 
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s different now.” 
“Well, it shouldn’t be.” you exclaim. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t grow up. I support the idea of you no longer being a cheeky bastard. If you’re happy with Evans then I am happy for you. But being with Evans doesn’t mean you have to forget about me or the Marauders or everything else.” 
James nodded, a leaf spinning between his fingers as he frowned. “I’m sorry, Y/N/N.” 
You shake your head. “I am too. Sorry I snapped at you, my boy.” your head fell onto his shoulder the same way it had done for years only this time things had changed. The weight still felt perfect on his shoulder but now his stomach turned and his breath hitched at the close proximity. Things were indeed changing although the two of you only danced around it, not wanting to address the mess you two had made. 
Your head was still against his shoulder as you spoke quietly. “Just remember you’re not a Quaffle.” 
He chuckled, stroking your hair affectionately. “I guess I’ll be the snitch then.” 
You smiled, swimming in the feel of the James Potter you knew so well. Later that night, the two of you snuck out like old times, sharing a chocolate milkshake and sending each other glances the whole way home. 
--- 
Sixth year was a rollercoaster. The map was finished, all the efforts poured out finally receiving an equally impressive outcome with the parchment branded with the names of the Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs and Vixen. Remus had his first kiss and Sirius decided on leaving home and James welcomed him with open arms. 
The other Marauders were not impartial to the changes in your and James’s behavior. The miniscule changes in his face when you napped on his lap or the flush of your skin when he rustled your hair. In all honesty, it was as though the two of you were finally waking up and seeing what they’d been seeing all along. However, your own defiance was strong and love wasn’t simple. James was still under the impression that his heart beat for Lily Evans and you flirted around your feelings as opposed to finally confronting them. 
When Gryffindor won the Quidditch season, you were the first one in James’s arms to congratulate him. He spun you around, a large grin on his face. “We won!” 
You smiled. “That you did, my boy. Celebration calls and are you thinking what I’m thinking?” 
He tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear. “Hmm? Let me guess… Firewhiskey?” 
“That’s my boy.” you cheer, linking your arm in his and dragging him off the field as Lily Evans watched the boy she had taken a chance on run off with someone else.
---
Firewhiskey made for a fine celebration and resulted in James and you collapsed on the floor of the Gryffindor common room at two in the morning. His glasses were crooked as he stared up at the ceiling and your hair fell in waves on the floorboards. 
“Blimey, I can’t believe we won.” James chuckled, his words slurring together slightly. 
“You deserve it, my boy.” you say, lightly punching his arm. “How are you feeling on this fine evening?” 
His cheeks went pink but a smile overtook his features making for a hilarious expression when he shouted out. “Randy!”  
You doubled over with laughter. “Gosh, James. I don’t need to hear about this.” you shove his grinning face with your palm. 
“What, you've never felt randy before?” he asked, a childlike expression on his face juxtaposing such an intrusive question. 
You hide your embarrassment behind a grin. “Yes, but I’m not going around telling you about it.” 
He tapped your nose with the tip of his finger and your stomach swirled. “And why not?” 
You turned over to your side. “I’m not sure best friends tell each other about being randy, Prongs.” 
James sighed. “I guess not. But how are you feeling, my little vixen?” 
With a swig of your drink and a grin you reply. “Randy.” 
The two of you erupt into fits of laughter. James pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I suppose it’s the whiskey then.” 
You stare up at the ceiling. “Yeah, I suppose so.” 
Both of you knew that wasn’t the case. You knew that despite the whiskey slowing the gears of your mind you still noticed James’s hand laying by your waist. You could still trace the outline of his chin and the bridge of his nose. James could still see the curve of your lips and the rise of your chest. Firewhiskey was most definitely not the cause of your randiness. 
But it was the easiest thing to blame. 
--- 
Your birthday came soon after with the Marauders celebrating in joy. Presents were exchanged with Remus giving you some books, Peter knitted (with the help of his mother) a pair of mittens for you and Sirius had gifted you a record to play on your stereo. 
But James had to be extravagant. It wasn’t everyday his best friend turned seventeen and he marked the occasion with something expensive yet meaningful. When you opened the small box inside had been a silver fox ring. It’s eyes sparkling gems that twinkled as if blinking. 
“James, I’m going to kill you.” you seethed. “This is way too expensive. I’m turning seventeen not fifty.” 
He laughed. “Oi, woman! It’s fine. Nothing I couldn’t handle. Besides, only the best for you.” 
You stared at it once more before engulfing him in a hug. “It’s beautiful, my boy. Thank you.” 
His arms squeezed your waist, breathing you in and remembering the sweet smells of childhood and friendship rolled into one. His eyes closed and it was as if he had drifted off into a pleasant dream. “Of course, my little vixen.”
You made certain to flick his head after. 
He was starting to regret giving it to you already. 
---
Sixth year came to a close with an even more devastating end than the last. The war only continued to rage with Muggles being murdered miles away from the school, Muggle-borns driving into hiding. Sirius’s brother was slowly falling into line with the other Slytherins, devoting their hours to the torture of Muggleborns, Lord Voldemort and the likes. 
James left Hogwarts heart-broken when Lily Evans broke up with him on the last day of term. “Look around!” Lily had told him. “You’re blind, James. I’m not the person you want and it’d be clear if you’d stop and take a look.” 
He hadn’t known what she meant and the first week of summer was spent crying and eating ice cream on the sofa with you by his side. His room had become a mess and Lily’s letters no longer remained on the wall instead crumbled up in a ball in the trash. 
Euphemia Potter couldn’t dread to see her son in the dumps any longer and she made sure to tell him so one evening after you had left. 
“James, you need to get your life together, my love.” she whispered, rubbing her sons back reassuringly. 
His words came out muffled into her neck. “It’s hard.” 
“I know.” she soothed. “And I’m always going to be there for you.” 
“Promise?” he asked. 
“Promise.” she smiled. “Now how about you go clean your room. It’s become quite dirty.” 
He nodded, trudging to his room with a broom. Lily’s words repeated in his mind as he entered. “You’re blind, James. Look around!” But there was nothing to look for. All he saw was his wall and a soft smile came to his face as he approached it. The Tutshill Tornado banners clung loosely to the paint and drawings of Kneazles and landscapes and trees. Pictures of the Marauders and Gryffindor lions. 
And finally the ones of you. 
His fingers ran across the picture in the middle. Four-year old James grinning and you licking a lolly. His eyes moved to the next one, seven years old and flying together on a broomstick. A grin broke out on his face as he saw the one with your owl in Diagon Alley, his fingers flicking your forehead. James’s mind was on hyperdrive as he examined each picture, one common factor in almost all of them. 
You. 
You were in many of the photos, a smile adorned on your face. If you weren’t in the photos you were the one taking them, knowing how much he adored them. Any pictures that hung were sketched by your hands. Here was James Potter’s open story, the story of his life all plastered to the wall as though it was an empty canvas. Present in every moment, every aspect, had been you. You had been the start of his book, the picture of the two of you as tots still smacked in the middle of the wall. Yes, he realized. You had started his book and had remained in it for quite some time. 
Lily Evans must’ve noticed and maybe everyone else had too. 
James had been blind to the message that was sprawled across his wall. He had been the one writing it, maybe not knowingly but writing it out all the same. Everyone had seen it except the writer and his subject, the message painstakingly clear years prior to its conception. 
He quickly removed all the pictures from the wall, grabbing each one that hung and piling them up in his hand. The door swung open as he dashed out of his room yelling, “I’ve got to go, mum!” before running out the front door. The hills of green were illuminated by the night sky, the stars burned for James as he hopped over branches and boulders to get to you. 
Your house was in the distance, your figure standing a few feet away from the home. He called out to you, your eyes turned to meet his. When he reached you, he paused, catching his breath. 
“James, what on Earth are you doing here?” you laugh, placing a hand on his shoulder as he breathed. 
He stood up straight, panting as he held up a photo. “This is us when we were four. The first photo we ever took together.” 
You squinted at him. “Right?” 
He shuffled through the pictures, fingers tracing each one. “And this is from when we were seven. That one from when we were ten. You gave me this drawing when we were six because you loved Kneazles and wanted one as a pet. That drawing was from the first year when we went skipping stones at the Black Lake and you sketched me and Peter.” 
Your face melts slowly. “James, I don’t understand. You’ve had these for years.” 
He exhaled, his eyes lighting up. “That’s the thing. I never saw it till now but Lily said I was blind and that she wasn’t the person I wanted.” You nod, wiping the sweat from his forehead with your sleeve and he grinned. “See that right there. That’s what I want.” 
The night air bit at your spine. “You want me to wipe the sweat from your forehead?” 
He shook his head with a soft chuckle. “Not exactly. I want you to wipe the sweat from my forehead for the next year and the next ten and then the next fifty. You’ve been doing it for years already and the thing is… I don’t think I want anyone else doing it for me.” 
You blinked as he came closer, his palms cradling your cheek as you gazed into his eyes. “You’ve been in my life for as long as I could remember and I want you to stay in it for as long as I live. You told me once to not throw around the l-word and I said…” 
“But I’ve known you my whole life.” you mutter. 
“I think I’ve loved you for a while. I just didn’t know it yet.” 
You shook your head as the wind rustled the branches, the windchime on your porch creating soft melodies. A large grin spread across your lips yet you continued to shake your head. “There’s a war, James.” 
He smiled. “Only more the reason to be with me.” 
“But I’ve been with you my whole life.” you tease. 
“Oh, shut up!” he chuckles, before leaning down to capture your lips. At that moment everything made sense. All the pieces of the puzzle sifted into place and the stars applauded you from the sky and the night gale created a ruckus at your shed blindfold. 
“Be my Snitch?” he asked. 
You rolled your eyes, “That’s the cringiest thing you’ve ever said, my boy.” 
He smirked. “Oh, but you love it.” 
“Perhaps I do.” you replied, flicking his forehead for good measure. 
---
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mochegato · 3 years
Text
Jasonette Protection Program
Chapter 2
Chapter 1
Marinette pulled her coat closer around her as she made her way from the bus stop to her apartment.  She had made the brilliant decision when she moved here not to get a car because… Gotham.  The likelihood that it would get damaged or destroyed in some kind of attack was ridiculously high.  The likelihood the bus would get blown up or taken over, while definitely still present, was significantly lower.
But today she was regretting that decision.  It meant she couldn’t isolate herself like she wanted to.  It meant she was exposed to anybody and everybody at the bus stop and on the bus and on the sidewalk and any one of them could have been the one to drug her.  She eyed the people around her as she walked.  Okay, maybe not the woman who looked like she was in her 90’s and could barely walk… and dropped her knitting out of her bag.
Marinette rushed over to her and paused right before reaching her. She twirled around and scanned the faces around her.  She could feel somebody watching her.  She could feel their eyes scrutinizing her every move.  She studied the shadows and the windows, but couldn’t find anyone watching her.  She frowned slightly and shook her head.  She was getting paranoid.  She was seeing and feeling things that weren’t there.  
She sighed and turned back to the woman, crouching down to help her put her knitting back in her bag.  The woman smiled in appreciation, which Marinette returned with a shaky one of her own.  She walked the remaining few feet to her apartment building and took a cautious look up and down the dark street before turning into it.  She made sure she heard the click of the door latching before continuing up the stairs, not that it would do anything.  Logically she knew that, but her anxiety still demanded it.
She kept her eyes on the stairwell as she made her way up to her apartment on the top floor, eyes hyper vigilant for any movement, her ears hyper sensitive to any sounds from the stairs.  She got to her floor and paused for a few moments waiting to see if any sounds or movement indicated someone behind her.  She let out a relieved sigh when there was no noise and turned to her apartment before letting out a muffled screech.
Jason jumped, dropping his phone he had been scrolling on, in his rush to hold up his hands in a placating motion.  “Just me.  It’s okay. It’s just me.”  He watched her for a few seconds.  She was starting to breathe hard, her eyes were boring into him. “Although I just realized you may not remember me.  So this was actually an incredibly stupid plan.”  He took a few steps away from her door, his hands still held up to let her know he wasn’t a threat.
Marinette continued to stare at him for a few more seconds, forcing her breathing to slow.  “You… you’re Tim’s brother, right?  You… you were…” she squinted at him, “you were in my bedroom?”
Jason grimaced and looked down to the floor as he rubbed the back of his neck.  “Yeah… that doesn’t make me sound too good, does it?”
She eyed him suspiciously.  “What are you doing here?”  
He perked up slightly and gave her a small, reassuring smile. “I wanted to check on you and see how you’re doing today.  It can hit a day or a few days later sometimes.  And I’m a security expert.  I consult on it for people and companies.  I wanted to offer to check your security for you so you’d feel safe, at least when you’re at home.”  He turned to her door and knocked on the doorframe.  “I can already tell that you need better locks.  I could have broken in easily, but I didn’t think you would appreciate finding me in your apartment.”
She raised an eyebrow at him but let out a quiet chuckle and looked away after a few seconds.  “You would be right.”  She looked back up at him and tentatively walked over closer to her door.  “But, I don’t think I can afford to hire you.”
Jason waved off her concern.  “I wouldn’t let you.  I’d charge Tim for it.  He can afford it and he’s worried enough that I’m actually kind of surprised he hasn’t contacted me already, but I suppose that has something to do with him not wanting you to meet me in the first place.”
Marinette quirked her lips to the side and studied him.  The longer she watched and talked to him the more memories came back and the clearer they became.  She was slowly starting to get bits and pieces of the night before, not enough to create a coherent picture, just incredibly short scenes, a word here, a smile there.  Regardless of what she could remember though, this was Tim’s brother and although Tim didn’t want them to meet, he trusted him, not that she would ever be allowed to say that out loud to either of them.  
She finally nodded and pulled out her keys.  “Well, I can at least offer you dinner while you’re here. If you’d like.”  She gave him a small smile as she passed him into the apartment taking off her coat and dropping her bag on the small dining room table.
Jason raised his eyebrows in surprise.  After the way she had reacted when she saw him, he honestly didn’t think she would talk to him let alone let him into her apartment.  He was starting to understand how she could have gotten drugged so easily if she was that trusting.  But then again, Tim had said they all were being careful. Her even more so than the others. So why was she so trusting now?  “I would never turn down free food,” he said slowly.
He closed the door behind him with a quick glance at the inside part of the lock, confirming his original suspicions.  Standard issue, not particularly secure.  He could have picked it in all of three minutes when he was only eight.  He didn’t have to lean down to study the doorknob to know it was in worse condition. One good kick and the door would be wide open.  He sighed. If anyone wanted to get into her apartment, it wouldn’t take them very much effort.
He turned back to the apartment, letting his frown morph into a smile.  Her apartment was cozy and lived in and very much her.  There were touches of her everywhere along with some touches that he wouldn’t have expected.  He shook his head at the condition of the apartment.  It wasn’t terribly messy but it also wouldn’t count as anything close to clean.  He could see why she and Tim got along so well.  Neither could clean up after themselves to save their lives.  
There were bits of fabric and half completed sewing projects scattered around along with random pages of scientific reports.  He raised an eyebrow at that.  Odd combination.  His eyes caught on men’s shoes by the door.  He scrunched his forehead in confusion.  If she lived with someone, where were they?  Where were they last night?  Why hadn’t Tim mentioned him?  “You live with someone?  A boyfriend?”
Marinette looked up from the refrigerator.  “No.  Well, yes, but no.  I live with my best friend,” she explained quickly, “but he’s visiting friends this week.”
Jason nodded.  That was good at least.  She wasn’t living alone.  There was someone else with her usually.  That makes it less likely someone could just break in and attack her.  He moved over to the window and sighed again, more deeply this time.  It was worse than the door.  “No curtains. You should probably get some, preferably lined ones.  This lock is ancient too.  It wouldn’t take much to jimmy it.  We’ll get you new locks for your windows and your door.”
Marinette looked at him wide eyed as she set a bunch of grapes and a jug of filtered water from the refrigerator on the counter.  She hadn’t been expecting the locks to be that bad.  She knew it wasn’t amazing, but then again, she hadn’t really been too concerned about being specifically targeted here.  Nobody really knew who she was, or rather used to be.  She was just an average citizen here.  
She stared at the window for a few seconds, her head cocking to the side and her eyes unfocusing as her mind wandered through the possibilities of what could have happened and what still could.  She was no longer safe, not even in her own home.  But then again, she never really had been had she?  She had just thought she was.  She thought she was safer after they’d defeated Hawkmoth, but she’d just traded one danger for another.
Jason watched as her face morphed from one expression to another, her eyes distant.  Her face clearly displaying each and every emotion she was going through, no matter how flitting.  Jason could guess where her head went.  When her eyes started shimmering, he opened his mouth to bring her out of it when her phone rang.  She jerked back violently, knocking over the jug of water.  
She cursed as she tried to stop the jug’s descent only to knock it further away, further spreading the water.  She gave a defeated groan and grabbed a towel from a nearby drawer to start sopping up the water.  Jason jumped to grab a few more towels to help.  It took a few minutes, but they were finally able to clean up the water with a minimum of damage to papers left on the counter.  Luckily, none of Marinette’s sketches were on the island anymore but Adrien was definitely going to have to reprint some of his papers for research.
Marinette gave Jason an appreciative smile and threw the papers in recycling and the towels in the sink.  She let out a deep frustrated sigh as she leaned against the counter.  After a few seconds, she ran her hands through her hair and laughed.  Jason frowned at the sound.  It was short and mirthless and sounded utterly wrong coming from her.  He could see her starting to spin but didn’t know her well enough to know how to help.  God, he really hadn’t thought this through.
Jason very slowly started reaching for her so she could see his hands coming.  Shen she didn’t shy away, he set a hand on her arm to ground her.  She looked up into his eyes, panicked eyes meeting concerned eyes. They both jumped when her phone started ringing again.  They both chuckled quietly at their reactions.  
“Sorry…” she started but was cut off by another ring.  She shook her head at herself.  She hadn’t even noticed the original call had dropped.  She checked the caller id and smiled at the phone. “Hey Tim.”  She paused to listen to him.  “No, I’m fine.  I just… I knocked something over and was cleaning it.  Sorry for scaring you.”
She gave Jason an apologetic smile as she listened to Tim.  “I’m doing okay, I guess.  I think I’m just jumpy… and getting paranoid.  I could have sworn someone was watching me walk home, but when I looked nobody was around or rather nobody was paying attention to me.” She missed the slight grimace Jason shot toward the floor.  “No, thank you though.  Actually, your brother is here already.”  She smiled at Jason again and put Tim on speaker.  
“…that so.  That’s very thoughtful of him,” Tim quipped in a clipped tone.
“Yeah, he’s checking my locks,” Marinette continued, seemingly oblivious to the tension in his voice, or attributing it to his concern.  “Apparently my door and window locks are pretty bad,” Marinette frowned at the thought.
“Uh huh.  Well it’s just so great that he came over then,” Tim gritted out.
Marinette did a double take when Jason’s phone dinged repeatedly with an extended series of text notifications.  She blinked at it a few times before looking questioningly at Jason. He rolled his eyes and turned his phone off.  He met her eyes with a shrug and a wink as he sat at her island.
“Tell him I say hi and remind him he has plans with Bruce soon,” Tim continued tightly.
Jason huffed.  “Tell him to tell B, I'm not going on patrol until Demon Spawn calms down.  And tell him I’m sending him the bill for this.”  He motioned vaguely around them.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” Tim conceded easily before his voice turned harsh again, “And tell him…”
“You two do realize you can hear each other and you two both know you can hear each other and I know you can hear each other and I’m not an owl!” Marinette admonished them sharply.
The room was silent for a few seconds before Tim started chuckling.  “Sorry, Hermione.”
“Thank you, Harry.”  She nodded at the phone even though he couldn’t see her.
“Hey!  That makes me Ron?  What the fuck?” Jason objected raising up from his seat in offense.
“Oh come on, you’d look good with red hair,” Marinette teased him lightly.
“You better fucking not be Ron,” Tim growled.   “You’re more like Draco anyway,” he continued flippantly.
“Fuck you, Pretender,” Jason growled.
“Yeah, this is making me feel better,” Marinette sighed, leaning against the counter.
There was a guilty pause as the men took in her words.  “Sorry,” Jason finally spoke up after a while.
“What?”  Marinette gave him a curious look until realization set in.  “Oh!  No, I was serious.  You two remind me of my friends.  It feels comforting, normal.”
Tim waited a second before speaking up cautiously. “So… you’re okay for tonight?  You feel safe?”
Marinette smiled at the phone again.  “Yeah, Tim.  I’m okay.  Thanks for checking on me.”
“Of course.  Let me know if that changes.  I’ll be over in three minutes flat,” he promised.
Marinette grinned mischievously.  “Do I get a free pizza if you take longer?”
Tim huffed out a laugh.  “Absolutely.”
“Sweet.  I might test it just for that,” she teased him.  “Night, Tim.”
“Night.  And tell Jason to turn his phone back on before I do it for him.”
Marinette rolled her eyes.  “Still not an owl,” she singsonged before she hung up.  She looked over to Jason with a concerned smile. “Do you have to go?  It sounded like you already had plans?”
Jason waved her off and took the battery out of his phone before leaning against the counter near her.  “I have plenty of time.  Like I said, if I show up now De… Damian is going to attack me.” Marinette’s eyes widened in concern but Jason waved her off again.  “It’s fine. He isn’t as tough as he thinks he is. He wouldn’t be able to hurt me, but Bruce would yell at me for it and Dick would give me his disappointed in you lecture.  It’s better for everyone if I stay away for a few days.”  
He grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Tim just doesn’t want me stealing his friend away with my superior looks and charm.”
Marinette scowled lightly at him.  “Tim is very handsome and charming,” she insisted defensively.
Jason shot her a devilish smile.  “But not as much as me, right?”
Marinette scoffed at him and rolled her eyes.  “You certainly seem to think so.”  She rinsed some grapes and set them in a bowl between the two of them. “But he’s the only reason you’re here right now.  If you weren’t Tim’s brother and we hadn’t met last night when you were fairly respectful of me in my… state…”
“Fairly!?” Jason squawked.
“I’d have called, well, not the cops, but Tim, to take care of you,” she continued over him.  She grabbed a grape and chewed on it while she watched him appraisingly as she leaned back against the counter opposite him.  “Do you make a habit of stealing his friends?”
Jason shrugged and grabbed a few grapes.  “No, we generally move in different…” he searched for a nice way to phrase it, “circles.”
She hummed in response.  “And yet here you are, willingly entering in a circle with one of his friends.” She eyed him pointedly.  She quickly broke their eye contact to look down and cross her arms over her chest protectively.  “Thank you for breaking into this particular circle to help me out. Last night spooked me more than I want to admit.”
“Did you want to talk about it?  Or pretend like it never happened.  I can help with either,” Jason offered.
Marinette stared at the grapes for a while without talking. Jason was certain she was about to start spiraling again when she spoke up quietly.  “I was keeping an eye on my drinks.  I only took my eyes off of them when I was around people I trusted and we weren’t exactly close to other people for someone to just slip something in.”  She frowned and looked at nothing in particular. She poured herself a glass of water and held the rim of the glass against her lips without drinking it as she remembered the night before.  “I don’t know which scares me more, that someone was that good to get it in with all of us there or…”
“That one of the people you trust might be responsible,” Jason finished for her after a few seconds of silence.  When she looked up to meet her eyes, she looked so shaken and uncertain, he wanted to pull her into a tight, reassuring hug, but after the night before, he wasn’t sure a virtual stranger’s embrace would be the most reassuring.  He settled for moving to lean against the counter next to her so their arms were almost touching, but she still had her personal space.
“Yeah,” she said wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing her arms.  
“You think you were the intended victim?” he asked curiously.  He and Tim had already discussed the night and decided that she had to be, but he was curious what her thoughts were.  “You don’t think it was just opportunistic.  You think whoever was with targeting you.”
She shook her head and looked down, frowning at the floor.  She gripped her arms tighter.  “I don’t know.  I was never alone and I only drank with my friends at our own table away from other people.  I mean someone at the bar could have drugged it before it was brought over when the waitress brought drinks but…”
“How would they know who it would go to,” Jason finished again.  “Seems unlikely they’d risk the drug like that if they didn’t know who it would go to. If they didn’t have a plan to get the person out.”
Marinette looked up at him anxiously and nodded.  She studied him for a few more seconds before she shook herself out of her daze.  She looked up at him with a fake smile.  “So what are you feeling for dinner?  I can make some pasta.  I can do stir fry.  I can whip up a casserole.  What do you want?”
“I’ll be happy with whatever you feel like having tonight,” he assured her with a smile.
“I don’t… really… feel like eating,” she mumbled, looking away again. “This is more something for me to focus on instead of last night.”
Jason gave her a gentle smile and lowered himself to her level, trying to gain her attention.  “Look, I know you don’t know me but why don’t we order take out and we can watch a movie, or if you want to be alone, I can leave.”
“I don’t want to be alone,” she answered quickly, instantly looking over to him with a desperate look in her eyes.
Jason nodded slowly and gave her a gentle smile.  He rested his hands lightly on her arms to reassure her he was there and not going anywhere unless she wanted him to.  “That’s understandable.  I wouldn’t want to be either.  Do you want me to call Tim over?  I know you probably feel safer with him and when he can’t be here in three minutes, you get a pizza.”
She gave him a wan smile.  “No, I trust you.  And I’m not really feeling pizza right now.”
Jason smiled back.  “I want to joke and say that’s a terrible decision, but now doesn’t seem like the best time.” She gave him a deadpan look that made his grin widen.  “I’ll save that for later,” he finished with a wink. His expression quickly turned serious as he watched her.  “You should eat though.  What kind of food do you want to try?  There’s a good Indian restaurant around the corner.”
She looked away.  “I don’t want to order out.  I don’t want food that I…”
Jason nodded and moved closer again.  “Yeah, that’s reasonable.  Let’s make something together, yeah?  I saw some eggs and milk in your refrigerator and there’s bread on the counter.  How do you feel about breakfast for dinner?  French toast sound good?  I think you call it Lost Bread?  And how do you feel about Clueless?”
“The movie?” she asked confused.
“Yeah, adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.”
“Fan of Alicia Silverstone or Jane Austen?” she teased weakly.
“Both,” Jason answered with a wink.
Marinette snickered and nodded.  “That all sounds amazing.”  She moved away to start getting the pan and bowls out, watching him while he got the ingredients prepared.  “Thank you, Jason.  You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“No problem.  We’ll get things figured out so you can feel safe, or at least as safe as you can feel in Gotham,” he assured her, and himself.  They were going to find who drugged her and make her feel safe again.  Whoever it was messed with one of Tim’s friends, one of the few he really trusted, that means whoever it was messed with his family and nobody messed with their family.
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