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#the eyes are like that sketchy black and white vibe
arabriddler · 7 months
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Or how I fudge and find out my way through making digital paintings.
art program used here : Procreate ( but the method can be applied to other programs )
original painting time ≈ 3 hrs
*note : English isn’t my native language in case something is confusing or wrong. Don’t hesitate to ask for more details regarding anything
**more important note : take breaks, drink water, don’t push your hands too hard.
Base
I start off by sketching where the bodies and objects are. Nothing too detailed. I’m just arranging stuff around and figuring out sizes. You shouldn’t spend too much time in drawing this and they shouldn’t be detailed so you can easily move the elements around without exhausting yourself beforehand ( also to avoid getting bored when you’re just starting.
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composition is a little complex to figure out but for this one I made the characters around the middle point to create some sort of guide for the observer’s eye movement.
2. Initial sketch (optional)
I usually make one sketch for a drawing unless it has little details or elements I’m not used to drawing. For this one it was figuring out the clothes and the details on them. Again, don’t pressure yourself to make this look perfect or right. You’re just figuring out where things are.
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As you can see, the sketch is pretty rough, not all the details on the hands are drawn. The eyeliner are still there and the chair is just a shape. Lots of lines are overlapping and.. you basically get the idea.
3. Second (final) sketch.
I wouldn’t call this a lineart. Linearts are more careful, less rough, cleaner. I like using sketches more than linearts because I like the rough sketchy texture they provide, and also it’s less restricting boring for me personally . Although we keep in mind this is the drawing we’ll color. So we’re more careful about it. I draw the details and clean the sketch.
also don’t be like me, I forgot to draw the cane here and was upset about it :(( didn’t notice till days later. But also sometimes I do change things here. This one wasn’t on purpose though.
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it’s important here to avoid chicken scratch by using less strokes. For example. Instead of drawing a curve with say a hundred strokes, draw it with one and then clean up anything wrong. You make have to redo one stroke a hundred times to get it right, but it’s cleaner and softer. ( it helps with drawing hair )
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Nothing is wrong in art but it depends what kinds of effect you want. You can use both methods to give different vibes, draw different things. But it’s important to know how to do them. oh and, it is one stroke but it’s fast. If you linger on it the line will come out woobly and shakey. If you do it fast it’ll come out clean.
4. Blocking.
You go back over the drawing here to fill in black spaces. Maybe if someone has black hair or for shading, you can also add texture on things like walls and etc*. I like leaving some white spaces when doing this because black is very reflective irl, so it gives some shine to it. It honestly depends on what the black element is, something’s are shiny some things are not. But it’s pretty fun
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**when it comes to texture this is an example from another drawing
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5. Grey scale coloring.
I have already a plate on hand of colors from white to black to use in my drawings. You can use three or more. This is the one I use
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Circles to indicate that if you have white, grey, and black, that’s enough. why grey scale? The thing about grey scale coloring is that it helps figuring out contrast. You don’t want all your drawing to be of similar tone, when you have contrast, it helps make elements pop and differentiate things.
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"Joseph Nelson." Roboflow Blog, May 15, 2020. https://blog.roboflow.com/when-to-use-contrast-as-a-preprocessing-step/
I’m honestly still figuring out how greyscale works but, looking at real life pictures is one way you can know how to do it. See how light is distributed where whites and blacks are used. One key element is to figure out where light comes from, and shading according to that . The light source isn’t very strong with this drawing so it was more of a simplified shading. If something is over the other, shade underneath. That’s the simplest way to figure out shading
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before coloring, I did change the sketch to a more grey color and set the layer to multiply. What multiply does is that it darkens the color underneath it with a hue of the color in the multiply layer. I know, confusing, so here is a picture.
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Sorry, got a little detailed there. back to our drawing.
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As I said, the light source wasn’t very complex here to give more of a photo shoot vibe, but I can show another drawing with a more natural strong light
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Places directly getting the light get very light colors like white, the ones opposite use very dark grey or even black.
of course the coloring here isn’t very realistic, I have, after all, colored the character, kristen, in lighter colors than everything else. This is because I wanted to create a sense of contrast to make her pop out against the background. So don’t limit yourself, play around.
6. gradient map
gradient maps replace the grey scale colors into other colors on a specific range, you can use a gradient map offered by the program or one you make yourself. How to chose them? Depending on the vibe you want to translate. I have synesthesia so I sort of follow my gut when it comes to this, but you can also look at movies and pictures and see what colors they use and what feelings they give. Or just go warm colors give warm feelings and cold colors give cold feelings. Or just whatever you like. Just have fun with it
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See? It looks pretty fun. Heck you can even stop here even. Note that I merged the sketch layer and the grey scale one into one layer so it can change the color of the sketch layer too. Also sometimes id use the blur tool to blend some things but I didn’t use that here.
another thing to note is that if you leave things empty in the greyscale drawing they won’t change color in the gradient map, that’s why I use white in the empty spaces. Or sometimes I don’t if I’m unsure if I want to keep something white/black or not.
7. Coloring.
here, I add another layer and set it to multiply and basically color it in over the drawing. I have the colors for the characters on hand to use, and they change according to the gradient map.
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note that it will look weird and wrong at first but just keep going, trust the process. The colors will fit in together.
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Also notice the difference between the colors in the drawing and the colors on the color palette. Cool no?
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And this is how the whole thing looks. You can also add details in here. Like the drawings on the vets and Ed’s bow tie. Makeup, blush, lipstick, nail paint… etc etc.
8. Details
I add another normal setting layer here and basically go back over the drawing to add details, fix mistakes, draw over things to make them pop off or look more hard than soft.
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I mostly like going over the hair and facial features in this step, and also adding highlights and shine.
I also felt that the background was a little too empty, but I didn’t want something too detailed so it wouldn’t take the attention from the characters. so I added a pattern.
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9. Finale touches. (Optional) sometimes the drawing is done here, sometimes it’s not.
I’d maybe add overlay and/or add layers and to highlight light sources, or add a multiply layer to emphasize shadows like in this example.
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for this drawing I didn’t do that as I was satisfied with the lights and shadow, but it still felt too… rigid.
so I added a textile texture as a multiply layer so it would look more…Touchable?
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And…that’s it!
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If you like this, you can check out the original drawing’s post ( or support me on ko-fi? ) 👀👀👀
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ddarker-dreams · 1 year
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This is how I imagine Chrollo's face when Darling goes too far and actually manages to piss him off 😅 (also, sorry for the double post).
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" It's funny— ever since the start of your confinement, you'd looked forward to the times that Chrollo's true feelings would betray his carefully crafted facade. A slight frown, a furrow of his brow from a particularly sharp observation of the criminal's hypocrisy, or even the occasional look of genuine confusion; anything was satisfying. As long as you drew it forward,you were satisfied. Though now, you find yourself sitting across from said criminal, awkwardly staring at your plate of untouched food, hoping that that same change of pace on his face goes back to the familiar. You've seen all kinds of reactions on Chrollo's face—and enjoyed them— but never have you seen it look like this before and truthfully you want nothing more than for it to go away... "
This is how I imagine Chrollo's face when Darling goes too far and actually manages to piss him off 😅 (also, sorry for the double post).
aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA NEVER HAVE I BEEN SO BLESSED!!! SO GRATEFUL FOR MY EYES!!!!!!!!! his expression good god it's eerie in the best way, the shadows falling over his face, his body language looking so tense... then darling's hands curling up in realization that uh oh. this is truly a dangerous situation they've found themself in. (you draw hands so well, how do you do that??? your power is unmatched...)
i love that he's reading a newspaper, he really does seem like the type to get news from the traditional avenue. especially if it's reporting on the gruesome escapades of the phantom troupe. the thought of him reading about his crimes while enjoying a morning cup of coffee, across from his darling, is chilling. AA i just love the atmosphere you get from it being in black and white, the sketchy lines/shading, it has this dark vibe that i can't get enough of. i don't know what i ever did to deserve such a blessing in my inbox.
thank you so much for sharing 💖💖💖😭😭😭 also, no worries at all!! it just means i got to see mr lucilfer twice <333
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Hi!! I just wanted to say first off that this is such a cute idea! I don’t usually do a lot of requests/asks but i could not pass this up!
-My name is Lara Lowry, I use she/her pronouns!
-I’m short (like 5’1”) and I have dark brown curly hair. i’m half irish and half nigerian so i look kinda mixed. i have really dark brown eyes that kinda just look black unless you’re really close or in the sunlight lol. i have olive skin, im kind of pale rn cause it’s winter!
- I am an ENFP-A and my enneagram is 2 if i remember correctly. i love very hard and get attached very quickly! my love languages are quality time and physical touch i think. I am somewhat outgoing but i love to be at home a lot too. I’m a cancer so im very emotionally charged and i wear my heart on my sleeve.
-i play the flute and piano, im in the wind symphony and orchestra at my university and i love it, but i also love to draw so im an art major! i enjoy theatre and singing. i love to write as well, i just wish i could be more motivated to do so. one of my dreams is to be a mother honestly and make a beautiful/loving home for my family!
-i really love a partner that is sort of grounding for me, like someone who can be my rock. (i am very codependent which is bad ik but definitely one of my flaws.) i love someone who is classy and gentleman like! i think chivalry is very attractive! i can be a little crazy sometimes cause i have ADHD so i also like someone who can be my calm counterpart but also be fun and crazy with me sometimes! ok this is very telling but i LUV gingers, they’ve always been my type. i also love me some scrawny white men lol.
-my b.o.b faves are definitely winters, liebgott, guarnere, webster… in that order :) so i would love to be shipped with any of them but honestly i love them all so i don’t mind!
i’m so excited for this and thanks! :D
Aaaaaa thank you so much for the request love!! 😁🥰
I ship you with…
Joe Liebgott!
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A song from my liked songs that reminds me of y’all - I Was Born to Love You by Queen
How y’all met
Ok so you were in Paris studying art and one day you were just vibing in an outdoor cafe doing some sketching
Liebgott was out with Luz and Webster just vibing on their weekend passes
Turns out they were at the same cafe!!
So you noticed the three of them hanging out and being Adorable so of course it’s sketchy sketchy time
You do this gorgeous picture of the three of them that just really captures the playful energy and happy vibes they were giving off
But Joe noticed you looking over and immediately is like wow she’s heckin cute
So he tries to catch your eyes every time you look up and he does a couple of times and just gives you THAT SMIRK YOU KNOW WHICH ONE and he can see you blush from his table and just thinks you’re SO CUTE
Joe decides to excuse himself for a second and saunters over to you, like, he needs to talk to you or else he’s gonna explode
“Couldn’t help but notice your pretty eyes kept looking over” he smooth talks as he takes the empty seat at your table
Before you can respond he sees your drawing and is just like
Jaw drop
Joe just drops all of his flirty smooth talking and in a sweet, honest voice, “you drew that? …that's how you saw me?”
Sweet boy just goes kinda quiet while staring at your drawing but he quickly snaps back to his senses, albeit a little frazzled
“Um, I’m Joe,” he says politely, stretching out a hand to you
Long story short he got a weekend pass to Paris any time he could and wrote to you every day
Lowkey you’d always put a little doodle on your letters back to him and he’d never admit it but all week he’d be looking forward to your letter and see what you drew this time
How he knew he loves you
So it’s one of the times when he got a weekend pass and y’all are having a picnic in the park just vibing and having a lovely time
All of a sudden a baseball comes rolling over to y’all and you notice a couple of itty bitty kids have started running over
You pick up the baseball and hand it to them and they start to apologize but you’re so sweet and they’re so stinking cute they just laugh and say thank you before running back to their game
Joe was sitting back watching the interaction and all he could see was you with a bunch of little Liebgotts
It just kind of hit him, he doesn’t want anybody else, you’re his person
As you’re coming back to sit down he takes your hand and just pulls you into his lap
Before you can protest he plants a soft, sweet kiss on your lips
“I’m in love with you, doll”
You can barely hear it but it still brings tears to your eyes
And you knew you found your person
A conflict and how y’all resolved it
So it’s after the war and you were back at home doing some sketches
It’s around the time Joe is supposed to be home but he’s still not home??
Finally you’re about to go to bed and Joe walks in the door
“Hey love! Long day at work?” you say, trying to mask your worry/relief as you give him a welcome home hug
“Yeah, something like that,” he replies half-heartedly as y’all go back and get ready for bed
This happens three more times in the week
You never get to see Joe, and when you do see him he’s too tired to talk
Not to mention the Intrusive Thoughts start happening
He can’t be seeing someone else…right?
So it’s finally the weekend and Joe has the day off
Or so you thought
You’re up and making coffee when Joe makes his way out
“Hey babydoll I’m gonna go try and get a few fares in,” he says casually, about to give you a goodbye peck on the cheek
Except all the worry and loneliness just kinda boils out of you
“Joey I haven’t seen you all week and now you’re picking up cab shifts on Saturday!?”
“Well I was just trying to make us some extra cash…”
“We’ve already paid our bills this month! Besides you could at least take today to be at home!”
The air is heavy while the two of you just stand there quietly
Joe has an anxious look in his eyes, looking everywhere but you as his hand comes up to the back of his neck
You notice and tears start welling up
“Tell me there isn’t someone else,” you’re barely able to make out without a sob accompanying your words
Suddenly Joe’s expression completely changes
His eyes immediately meet yours with shock and concern
“Baby is that why you think I’ve been out every night?”
You stay quiet and look down at the floor, unsure if you feel silly, embarrassed, frustrated, or some combination of the three
“Oh sweetheart…” Joe immediately comes over and wraps you up in a warm, tight hug
You let a few sobs escape as you melt into his embrace, wrapping your arms around him
“You know I’d never do that to you love, shit there’s no one out there that even begins to compare to you,” Joe tells you in a quiet, sincere voice
“Then why have you been going out so much?”
Joe pulls away from the hug and looks down at the floor, almost appearing embarrassed
“I wanted to surprise you… I’m saving up for your birthday present.”
And you just ???? “What could you be getting that could need you to work so much?”
“I just always saw how you looked at pictures of Ireland and how you always say you’d like to go somewhere on a vacation…”
“Joey, are you saving up to take me there?”
“... I was saving up so we could fly first class and get a nice fancy hotel, you deserve the best…”
Now you start sobbing again but for a whole new reason
Joe looks at you again with concern when he hears you start crying again but you just take his face in your hands and give him the biggest kiss ever
“You’re the sweetest man I’ve ever met, you know that?”
He winds up staying home that day ❤️
Your Happily Ever After
So y’all get married after the war and you move to San Francisco with your mans
You have twin girls who you both love to the moon and back
Your family is just as you pictured it and so much more - like it's so clear to everyone how much all four of you love each other
Every weekend you, Joe, and your girls are in the park trying something new
One weekend Joe is teaching them to ride bikes and helping them up when they fall
The next weekend they’re showing you the flowers that they drew cuz they wanna be artists like you
At the end of each day after you put the girls to bed you just sit on your couch with Joe and lean your head on his shoulder and life couldn’t be more perfect
A silly headcanon about your relationship
Y’all always do family costumes for Halloween and it’s the best thing ever
One year you were superheroes
You and Joe were Superman and Wonder Woman and the twins were Batman and Robin
Another year you were Cruella and the three of them dressed as dalmatians
Nothing compares though to when the Easy Company Reunion fell on Halloween Weekend
So, unbeknownst to Joe, the three of you dressed as his friends for Halloween
Of course you dressed up as Webster
And the girls just begged to go as Uncle George and Uncle Joe
The only ones smiling bigger than Joe were Luz and Toye when they saw their mini me's
Joe keeps the picture from that Halloween in his wallet and another copy in his cab visor
aaaaaaaa this was so much fun to write!!! Thank you again for the ask Lara and for your patience 🫠 !!!!
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luxmoogle · 5 days
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ALRIGHT WASSUP I love your art style and am an art student so I know a little bit bout what makes art recognizable, (not an expert and definitely not good at remembering terms so don't act like this is some art bible) lemme tell you what I think makes your art recognizable and "lux".
First, you got your shape language. That would be what the other person was referring to as proportions. (Since we're talking about Sora, proportions is absolutely not a wrong word to use, but I'm going to talk about shapes specifically.) The cheek? Always the exact same little curve, same spot, the forehead is the same, which creates a head shape that is incredibly recognizable as you. The hair is also always the same, which may seem weird considering your drawing hair that's pre established but you have a very unique way of doing it. The shape of his lower hair on the back of his head especially stands out to me. His body is always the same type of lanky, you draw his arms and hands a very particular type of way. Overall, very recognizable and consistent.
The colors you use. Honestly, I don't even know how to describe this, and I literally took a class on colors. The only word I can think of is "surreal". They're usually very vibrant, but destaturated at the same time? Like you're taking vibrant colors and putting desaturated ones on top? Genuinely hard to describe. It is one of the most beautiful color jobs I've ever seen tho, and I'm not exaggerating. If you could explain I'd honestly love to try (read: steal) whatever technique you use. Also very consistent, even in the black and white photos. I think it's partially lighting but I digress.
The other person brought up your eyes, and that's probably one of THE most consistent parts of your art I notice. I'm not rly gonna go into detail, cause you said you worked on eyes a lot so I'm gonna just leave you to that honestly cause the eyes you draw are iconic imo. Beautiful. Stunning. Breathtaking. No notes just keep it up 🫡
Your lines (and the texture of the drawing) are specifically sketchy, like a very specific type of sketchy. I'm guessing it's the texture of the brushes you use, and it also makes it consistent and recognizable. This is probably one of the things that makes the black and white photos more recognizable as well, since they don't technically have colors to with with and, imo, that's one of the most recognizable parts of your art. The very specific shapes you use are about on par with the colors, with everything else gradually moving down the list.
So yeah. My mini essay on your art. I hope this helps you understand cause honestly? Your art is iconic. Gorgeous. Magnificent. I dream of drawing like you. Pls keep it up cause on god it brightens my day every time I see you post, art or no
I appreciate you taking the time to write out such a long and thoughtful post~! ❤️ This was a very interesting and fun read! I am in many ways completely blind to my own work. Unlike looking at someone else's work, it's very hard to distance myself far enough from my own to see it's prominent features.
For color I can I say I am aware of color theory and mostly follow a sensible routine of cool shadows and warm light points, things that are further away seem more blue etc. etc... But at some point while drawing/painting I do usually fall into adding and prodding the colors into a more impressionistic vibe and away from realism, mostly favoring cool toned colors and adding tones to places that they realistically shouldn't be, but they aesthetically please me, so.
Thank you for all the compliments, I've re-read this quite a few times now, but don't really know what to say besides a boring thank you~! This has left me a lot to ponder, and I'm very glad for your writing..!
Hope you have a wonderful rest of your day, take care~!❤️
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bokatan · 11 months
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15 Questions for 15 Mutuals
Tagged by @twosides--samecoin and .....i think somebody else tagged me in this as well, except i can't find it in my likes so uh. yeah. thank you though! Tagging: @dudethatsgay @kharonion @bluepriestess @kyngsnake @ragedaisy @buthappysoverrated @bleumanouche @millionsknives + anyone else who wants to participate
1: Are you named after anyone?
I am! My middle name is from a family friend that passed shortly before I was born. I've considered going by it since I like it more than my first name, however 1: it gets butchered even worse than my first name, and 2: it's extremely close to the name of a character from a podcast that was super popular on here back in the day and I don't want people to think I named myself after that character lmao.
2: When was the last time you cried?
shgdlusfhjgdffgifdshsg literally at work this morning, one of my favorite patients was put down last night and then again after my coworker got a really fucked up call and made me listen to it
3: Do you have kids?
Absolutely not.
4: Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Absolutely, I have a very dry sense of humor and it usually takes people a bit to catch on to that lmao. Doesn't translate much online but any of y'all that have talked to me or heard me on voice chat know exactly what the fuck I'm talking about
5: What sports do you play/have you played?
I did dance and figure skating for a few years when I was a kid, then picked up horseback riding and did that for ...12ish years I think? I started when I was like 10 and stopped in my early 20's. I don't currently do people sports but I'm starting to get into dog sports
6: What's the first thing you notice about people?
General vibes, I'm pretty observant and pick up on body language very quickly.
7: Eye color?
Green, with central heterochromia so my eyes are light brown/hazel in the middle. I may have given one of my OCs the same eye color
8: Scary movies or happy endings?
100% scary movies
9: Any special talents?
I'm good at reading people and can usually figure out what issues are going to come from them immediately. Like I've had a few friends that I thought would be flaky or sketchy on first impression, and years down the line - guess who's now being super flaky or sketchy. I've picked up on a few different work relationships/affairs way before that dirt's come up, too. I'm also apparently very intimidating irl and play into that a ton so I get to be the scary dog friend or whatever the kids are calling it nowadays
10: Where were you born?
Detroit
11: What are your hobbies?
Art, photography, crafting & cosplaying(this is probably like 8 different hobbies in one - I primarily do sewing, painting, sculpting, leatherwork, 3D printing + finishing 3D prints, vacuum forming and working with thermoplastics, etc etc), and basically anything involving animals - I'm really into dog training currently.
12: Do you have any pets?
My house is basically a zoo lmao. I'm apparently a stray collector or something because I keep either finding animals that don't get claimed or they get rehomed or surrendered to me. Here's a list of everyone:
Molly: ~10-12 year old seal APBT mix
Zelda: 5 year old black & white Great Dane
Lucy: 2 year old seal & white Siberian Husky & APBT mix
Obi: 8 year old black domestic longhair
Loki: 8 year old orange & white domestic shorthair
Oliver: 2 year old tuxedo domestic shorthair
Felix: ~2 year old tabby domestic shorthair
+ a currently unnamed alien betta - haven't posted pics yet since he's still settling in, but he's solid turquoise and very feisty.
13: How tall are you?
5'10"
14: Fave subject in school?
I really liked taking history classes, biology, & art. I also really liked the geology class I took way back, & I've had to take some various science-aligned classes for my program(example: art-based anatomy class focused on visible anatomy, how bodies move, range of motion for various joints and parts, etc) that were cool too.
15: Dream job?
I mean ideally I'd be getting paid to live in some rich guy's house and make whatever the hell kind of art I want, but that isn't a career path nowadays so I'll just say artist. I'm in school for game design and plan on going into concept art or character design, but who knows at this point.
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uriel-is-best-girl · 2 years
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Kingdom two crowns orv AU
Maybe spoilers??? Idk
Featuring yjh with a golden crown, black horse, black clothes and a white fur cape or coat bc f the color schemes I think that looks cool. And kdj wearing the opposite color scheme, with a white shirt and long black cloak with white fur around the edges that hangs down to cover his eyes.
!!!OPTIONAL INFODUMP ON HOW KINGDOM TWO CROWNS WORKS!!!!
Ok so first things first for anyone who doesnt know what kingdom two crowns is its a side scrolling videogame where you play as a monarch rebuilding your kingdom from scratch and every night these monsters called the greed cone out of portals to attack you, and they slowly get stronger. They take your money, and can turn your workers into homeless peasants by stealing their money. You 'die' if the greed steal your crown. You move through different islands by repairing your ship and each island will have stronger mounts or hermits which can help you (and these are unlocked with gems). Every island will have a final portal that defeating will stop the greed from returning on that island. You cant beat the first island without going to different islands first (as far as ik anyway).
!!!AU STARTING HERE!!
Yjh as the monarch rebuilding/building a kingdom ti fight against the greed. Kdj as one of the hermits/ the dude who will hold onto your gems for you. The vibes im feeling are yjh struggling in what feels like a hopeless battle, exploring ruins to find anything that could help his kingdom survive. Hes just repaired his boat to move on to another island in search of a stronger mount when kdj appears wearing a cloak and looking sketchy af. Yjh still has some gems on him and kdj, with his untrustworthy smile, offers to hold onto them for him. Yjh is suprised bc in all his regressions (yea, regression is happening :/) hes never seen kdj. Yjh doesnt trust kdj or believe him about holding onto his gems, but he wants to know why kdj has nvr appeared b4 so he asks kdj to join him. Kdj is like nah, and blah blah eventually yjh ends up giving kdj 1 gem to see what happens. He thinks worst case scenario hell just start over. Then next island yjh cant find kdj again for weeks and hes pissed. But then kdj appears again by that half rebuilt boat with that grin of his and with yjhs gem.
And kdj stays there, offer always open to hold onto the gems. Sometimes kdj will even offer yjh advice. Advice that turns out to be life-saving. Anyways so yjh gets attached to the mysterious man, and everytime he travels to a new island he is worried about kdj not reappearing. But he always does.
Hmm ok so why dont the greed chase kdj? Bc hes a wizard, magical boy, whatever, and can cast a spell that makes him hidden from the world, so he can watch as an observer. Before the regressions began, kdj lived in the woods with his mom. Non of the cannon trauma, kdj's dad was killed when he was young bc kdj's mom was a witch and modern laws and law enforcement werent there so he dead b4 kdj can rlly remmeber him. However we do have some trauma with how isolated kdj was and also his mom was shunned from the current kingdom (of which yjh was the prince) for being a witch and idk ppl also probably tried to kill them for that and all. So that means that the hidding magic is one of the first things kdj is taught. Bc he had to use it so often he can cast this spell w/out a book or other ritual aids, but all other spells he needs extra materials for andd his spellbook. So that means he totally gets yjh to essentially go on fetch quests for him with the reward of stuff like "strengthened city walls", or "a boutiful harvest".
Anyways, back to the backstory, when kdj becomes an adult, he goes off on his own, wandering through the woods and being a hermit, collecting books/exploring ruins and avoiding ppl bc he has trust issues ofc. Hmm, need an origin story for the greed, do they appear out of nowhere? Ummm, so one day the earth trumbles and the air crunches and outside of the kingdom black rocks fly together to form arcs, and with a firey woosh purple illusory flames appear inside the arcs, and out of these portals run these black and oily child sized figures which begin to wreak havoc and the apocalypse starts.
Yjh cannot even begin to save his kingdom this first time because its so sudden, hes caught up in the havoc of just trying to survive like everyone else. Then, just as hes about to pass out from blood loss or smthing, a cloaked figure appears before him and asks him "do you want to save your kingdom?" When yjh blearily answers yes, kdj smiles and says cryptically "many have failed, but perhaps, you will be different".
So then yjh blacks out and bc he was dying he forgets this. Kdj takes him away and heals him, then leaves him somewhere safe with only his crown and a horse to try and rebuild and survive. He fails, and when he dies he wakes up again with only his crown and a horse. He doesnt remmeber kdj.
Okay okay more backstory time, not only was kdjs mom a witch, but also their family are some of the only ones who had records of and knew about the coming apocalypse, some generations try and stop it, others mearly standby. So when it comes around again kdj decides he wants to try and help, that maybe this time will be different, and will end the apocalypse for good.
So yjh continues on, this mysterious yet helpful man coming and going, working to defeat a the portals on every island. Finally he makes it back to very first island, where it all began. This time when he goes to attack the last portal, kdj appears and tags along. Used to kdjs sporadic and confusing behavior, yjh thinks nothing of it.
But at the end of this final portal, on the very first island, is the king who was supposed to be dead. Yjh looks at the father he barely knows or recognizes with horror, and, the truth beggining to dawn on him, anger. The truth of the apocalypse was that it was always caused by a previous king who had defeated the previous apocalypse and, in the height of their kingdom and success, become corrupt with greed, until when they die their spirits cant accept it and they bring about the apocalypse once again. This is the secret that kdjs family knew, and he helped yjh not knowing him but hoping he would be different. And he was right, yjh would be different.
Anyways after that yjh forces kdj to come back with him, and having helped in the fight kdj is too exhausted to actually fight or run away like he ussually does and then they live happily ever after in their kingdom (yjh gives kdj a crown and makes him a ruler as well, claiming that kdj helped just as much but we all know the real reason he does that is bc he wants kdj to stay and also ppl will think theyre married which yjh does not mind).
I forgot to add but the reason kdj only appeared after a couple regressions is bc of that underlying fear from his youth about ppl hating him. And the only reason he appears at all is bc he wants to help and finally decides to risk trying it.
Once again im sorry to anyone reading this bc i am not editing...
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coldgoldlazarus · 2 years
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Today I got reminded of a bunch of webcomics I read aaaages ago, like back around 2011 or so. Some I've been able to identify, but there are a few that I don't even really remember the names or even premises of, just vague vibes
1: Black and white, really scratchy style, about a weird friendly eldritch black lizard creature with two legs, a wedge-shaped head, and eyes running down the length of its body and tail, waking up in a desert and wandering into the nearby city. Mix of shenanigans (it liked hats) and horror. (found a sketchy mad science lab) Last thing I remember was it being on a boat traveling down a river, with enormous spiky crystals(?) looming overhead
2. Veeery vague memories, black and white and green, detailed gothic artstyle, but surprisingly wholesome, something about a girl in a cemetery under a tree? But fuck if I remember anything of use beyond that
3. Full-color, more standard artstyle, split between a robot waking up after an apocalypse and working to rebuild life, and flashbacks to a lady on a military base beforehand
4. Some homestuck-styled thingy, I remember literally nothing about this one other than a gif of someone falling down a hole at some point, and an offhanded joke about a "city of hipsters who died out because they decided water was too mainstream"
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mylittlesyn · 2 years
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Chapter 3: August 13, 2020 & August 16, 2020
Premise: Aquarela decides to pay a visit to the art exhibit that Tobirama recommended whilst high... Only to run into Dr. Senju himself.
TW: Just the weed tbh. This entire fic is pretty much good vibes. Although questionable power dynamics I suppose but trust it's not anything sketchy or sleazy.
Masterpost
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August 13, 2020
I walked into Tobirama’s office like he said I could. He was a little surprised at first and seemed to have been working on something, but he put it aside and gave me his attention. I was having issues with packaging. He asked me if I verified the plasmid, which not going to lie, of course I did and I was a little offended he asked. The inserts were there. Everything was the right size. He then asked about the plasmid size as a whole, which, that I didn’t check because why would I need to? Turns out the insert tail ends made it so it inserted into the ITRs twice. He thought my brainstorming methods were amusing. Especially the part where I answer my own question before I give him a chance to think. 
He was studying me so closely the whole time… It was pretty strange… But he was also smiling a little baby smile? That’s good, right? 
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August 16, 2020
**** TW**** OFC smokes weed? Here just in case.
So I went to the dispensary today, and got a vape. Indica main but also hybrid. It’s called blue cookies or something. It was nice. I did some of that and then I went to see the impressionist exhibit that Tobirama had mentioned… Only to see him there. While high… That was interesting…
I feel kinda warm… It’s nice… Ah… I suppose this sign that says impressionist would be what I was looking for. Walking into a separate room with walls painted a deep red, there were paintings lining the walls. The first one that caught my eye was one of a toddler seated at a table. What caught my eye was that they had no eyes, just black circles where their eyes should be. It was a little creepy honestly. I found myself leaning in, staring at those eyes that were nothing but black holes, unable to look away. From there I noticed the strokes, how you can tell the thickness and rigidness of the brush based on the markings left behind from each movement of the artist’s hand. Pierre Bonnard… He seems a bit twisted to paint a child like this.
“Doctora Juarbe?” I heard a familiar voice call my name and based on the formality, I froze. “Doctora Juarbe… I didn’t expect to see you here.” He mentioned as I subtly tried to smell my hair. Doesn’t smell like weed. I think I might be ok. 
“Tobirama!” I chimed with a wide grin while looking at this tall, handsome man. He wore his usual black turtleneck, though this time with white slacks and a black belt. His sleeves were already rolled up this time, exposing his forearms, and I noticed a rather large gold watch on his wrist. “I can say with certainty that I was not expecting to run into you either.” I assured him before shoving my hands into my high waisted short pockets… When I realized the tightness of them showcase my vape as I felt it with my fingertips. 
“Yes… I see you were admiring the Bonnard here.” He pointed out with his own hands in his pockets. 
“Admiring would imply I like it. I don’t…” I chuckled a couple times before looking back at the painting and shuddering. 
“What about it do you not like?” He wondered as he neared to stand beside me and look at the painting himself. 
“Honestly, it’s the eyes. They freak me out.” I explained while stealing a glance to look into those brick red eyes. 
“Are you alright? You’re acting rather… Strange.” He observed and I felt the blood drain from my face. “There. You seem rather pale.” He remarked and I quickly looked away back to the painting. 
“I’m going to tell you something that I hope you don’t hold against me, because I would never do this at work nor would I let it influence my performance.” I warned to then peek at him from the corner of my eye, seeing his brows furrow as he grew serious. “I’m under the influence right now and your commanding presence is making me a bit nervous.” I explained. 
“Day drinking…?” He asked with a disapproving tone. 
“Eh, no.” I clarified while pulling my vape out of my pocket and showing it to him.
“Ah.” His brows raised and he quickly nodded while I put the vape away. “I see. Another thing you seem to have in common with my brother.” He commented while looking back to the painting. 
“Tobirama… Have you smoked weed before?” I teased with a large grin while rocking back and forth on my heels. 
“No!” He snapped while looking to the opposite side of where I was standing, his ears bright red. I gasped with my hands over my mouth. 
“You’ve at least tried it!” I squealed while nudging his side with my elbow to have him grab my arm. 
“I need you to stop and be quiet.” He hissed while clenching his jaw. With his angered demeanor, I kept trying to stop myself from smiling as I let my arm dangle in his grip. 
“I will bring this up again.” I warned to hear him click his tongue, toss my arm aside and watch him cross his arms over his chest. 
“It’s not the influence that has you finding this painting disturbing?” Tobirama teased back as his shoulders loosened while wearing a smug smile. 
“No…” I retracted my head back while looking at the painting. “I’m pretty sure I’d still find it disturbing.” I moved onto a painting titled “Playing Catch” that was also by Bannard. There I admired the architecture of the building and the simplicity of the way he painted the plants. 
“Anything disturbing about this one?” Tobirama joked, still wearing that small smug smile. 
“No… I’m just looking at the brush strokes.” I mumbled while leaning in to observe the details of the portrait. 
“You’re genuinely enthralled.” He spoke with slight surprise in his tone, to which I furrowed my brows while giving the painting one last look.
“I spent my entire childhood looking at paintings in this manner, which I already told you about.” I commented while pulling away from the painting to look up to Tobirama who seemed to be observing my every move. “I’m not sure why you’re so surprised.” I shrugged while putting my hands in my pockets. 
“I’ve just never met someone who appreciates both art and science the way you do… I do…” He mumbled more so to himself, and when he realized he spoke out loud and that I heard him, I watched his blush come back all the way to his ears and to the little bit of neck I could see. I pursed my lips and blushed myself as I walked away from him to look at the next painting that caught my eye. This one was by Modigliani, title “Venus.” The lines for the body of the nude woman were all elongated, and peculiarly, she was cupping one of her breasts while hiding her sex. “What are you thinking about this one?” Tobirama asked, now at my side again. 
“Just interesting how elongated he makes everything.” I answered while leaning back to look at the other paintings. “Why don’t you give me your opinion for once?” I accused while raising a brow. He turned to me with his eyes slightly widened before putting his own hands in his pockets and looking down at the floor before looking back up to the painting. 
“Her eyes… He manages to capture a certain vulnerability in them.” He commented while pointing to her eyes. I peered into them while leaning forward, studying the blue hued strokes. 
“I see it.” I responded after a moment. 
“You do? You seemed very technical when looking at the paintings thus far…” He remarked and I scoffed. 
“Just because I like to observe the different stylistic renditions of each artist doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate what they were trying to capture in the painting itself.” I explained with a raised brow while he looked down at his feet… Was he… Ashamed? “How about we go get an early dinner together?” I suggested. His eyes lifted to mine and his lips parted slightly before he looked to the watch on his wrist. 
“I need to make a call quickly first.” He told me, and when I nodded, he went off to a far corner of the exhibit. I wandered over to look at one of Vulliard’s paintings, observing the contrasting hues of the dark blues from the woman’s dress and the bright reds of the brick. “.... I ran into someone…” I heard Tobirama say to whomever he was speaking to, and when I stole a glance I noticed him looking at me. “Hashirama!” He snapped while turning on his heel to face away from me. “That’s quite enough.” He grumbled, trying to contain his anger while avoiding the gazes of others as he lowered his head. “I will talk to you tonight… Hashi-” He looked at his phone and hung up, taking a moment to himself before coming over to me. “I apologize for that. Where would you like to eat, Dr. Juarbe?” 
“Call me Aquarela.” I demanded with a smile while his lips tightened. “Go on. Call me Aquarela.” I taunted while placing my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket. 
“Where would you like to eat… Aquarela?” He spoke each word cautiously, but when he spoke my name with his Colombian accent, my cheeks were surely turning pink. My heart felt warmed and I knew I held a goofy smile, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. 
“I’m not sure. I’m still learning the locale.” I pointed out to watch him nod. 
“Well what type of food would you like? There’s pasta-”
“Pasta!” I interjected excitedly. 
“Yes… Pasta it is then.” He agreed with a small smile, motioning for me to walk ahead outside. I walked along ahead and he quickly caught up to walk beside me, the back of his hand brushing against mine as we went. Goosebumps trailed up my arm with my cheeks getting a little rosy. I walked up to my Harley and stood before it. “Where’s your car?” He asked while looking around in other directions. 
“Right here.” I told him while walking up and slapping the warm leather bike seat. “Why else would I wear a leather jacket in August when there’s a high of 80 degrees?” I teased with a smile while watching his brows raise. 
“Should you be riding while under the influence…?” He questioned cautiously. 
“If anything it’ll help me from going over the speed limit.” I joked while straddling my 883 Harley and placing my hands lazily on the handle bars. 
“I’d much rather drive you. Once you sober up I can drive you to your bike and you can ride it home.” Tobirama spoke in a stern commanding tone with the slightest hint of concern spread across his face. His forearms flexed, exposed from the pushed up sleeves of the black turtle neck he wore with his arms across his chest. 
“Alright. If you insist.” I hummed while getting off of my bike to start following him to the nearby parking lot to find his car. We quickly came up to his Audi, where I sat up front beside him. 
“So you ride motorcycles?” He asked, trying to make conversation. 
“Yeah my great uncle taught me when I went home for winter break my first year of grad school. He rode for over 35 years. I saved up during grad school and bought one shortly after arriving down here. Managed to find it used at a good price with low milage. Got lucky really.” I elaborated a bit as he started pulling out of the parking lot. 
“It’s dangerous. Why would you do something like that?” He sneered, but I just huffed a chuckle. 
“A lot of things are dangerous. I do it because…” I shrugged. “Freedom.” 
“Does it really feel that freeing?” I raised his brow while continuing to watch the road. 
“It does.” I assured him with a small smile he couldn’t see. “So tell me Tobirama, when did you try weed?” I giggled while asking him to watch him grip tighter onto the steering wheel. “Awe come on… I won’t talk about yours if you don’t talk about mine.” I sang. “Just a little mutually assured destruction is all I’m asking for.” 
“You do have a way of lightening things up.” He mentioned with his shoulders relaxing before a quiet chuckle while I waited in anticipation. “It’s Hashirama. Once in a while… When he won’t shut up about it.” He grumbled. “When I’m overworked and highly stressed, he convinces me to have a bit. Usually food. Usually I’m tricked. But it helps.” He confessed with the slightest tinge of pink on his cheeks as I giggled away. 
“You should really try some and then going to see art, it really makes you see it in a whole new light.” I suggested, but he shook his head.
“I’d be far too paranoid that someone would be able to tell that I’m under the influence.” He explained. 
“Of course you’d be the paranoid type.” I muttered under my breath. “Maybe you can come to my apartment, smoke a bit and look at my mother’s paintings. There’s an impressionistic quality to them, at least in terms of the color palette.” I recommended to hear him hum happily. 
“That sounds nice… I am sure it would be quite the experience.” He hummed more while I grew the cheesiest smile.
“Tobirama… Did you just agree to come to my home alone ?” I teased to watch his grip on the steering wheel tighten while he clenched his jaw. 
“I did no such thing!” He snapped. “I merely suggested it would be enjoyable if I were to.” He huffed and just looked so damn adorable that I couldn’t help but have my giggles turn into laughter. My laughing only made his grip tighten further as his ears started to turn red. “Why are you laughing?!” He shouted. 
“Because…” I tried my best to calm myself. “You just look so damn cute huffing and puffing like that.” I told him while admiring those lovely pink cheekbones of his to then notice his parted lips. That’s when I realized what I had said, and that’s when I quickly looked out the window. Did I really just say that outloud to him? I cleared my throat quickly and looked up at the road ahead. “Where are we going?” 
“There’s a place called Cucina just out of the park here. It’s a nice modern italian place. I believe you’ll enjoy it.” He mentioned just as he started to pull into an open spot, parking on the street. “It’s just up ahead.” He pointed to a business that seemed to have tables outside, so after a nod I got out of the car. It was starting to get pretty bright and sunny out, so I shrugged off my jacket and carried it over my forearm while walking toward the restaurant. Tobirama joined me by my side after I held open the door for him, and we waited for the hostess to come seat us. The place appeared to be rather crowded, but once the hostess noticed us, she came over to us, grabbed a couple menus, and had us follow her to a booth where the seats were either stools or a bench at the windowsill. Without realizing it, we had both chosen to sit on the bench, and we ended up sitting next to each other. My arm brushed against his as I reached for the menu, I could feel myself blushing as I tucked my hair behind my ear. 
“This seems like a homey place.” I commented while looking over the menu. 
“They have a fantastic wine selection. Why don’t you have a glass with me?” He suggested as he looked down the wine list. 
“I don’t drink when I ride. Too risky.” I explained while deciding on the ricotta spinach agnolotti. 
“I’ll pay for an uber for you to take back home.” He offered, and when I turned to him I noticed he was watching me. His eyes wandered along my face, initially expectant until they settled on my lips. 
“If you’d like me to join you that badly, then you can pay for another one for me to get my bike in the morning.” I teased with a smirk. His eyes lifted to meet mine and I watched as he nodded. 
“I can do that.” He agreed, so I decided to push further while biting the corner of my lower lip, which only caused him to look at them again. 
“I should probably have your cell phone number in case you forget, this way I can remind you.” I teased again as I reached into my jeans back pocket to pull out my cell phone. Once I unlocked it, I switched to contacts and pressed to add a new one before sliding the phone to him. He took the phone and when he placed it back onto the table, I noticed a number saved under the name Dr. Senju. I grabbed the phone and edited the contact to change his name to Tobirama, placing it on the table so that he could see that I changed the name. 
“Your attempting to maintain formalities is starting to get futile, dontcha think?” I hummed with a smile while leaning on my arm that was next to his, when he turned to me, his face was close enough for me to feel his breath on my face. My eyes traced along his curiously red eyes, his cheekbones, his jawline, his lips… 
“Yes… It would appear so.” He hummed back with his eyes wandering as well. I startled a bit when he finally cleared his throat to go back to looking at the wine list, so I started to look now myself. 
“Are you paying? Because I don’t think I could afford more than one glass with my postdoc slave labor salary.” I joked, trying to hold back snickers. 
“The price isn’t per the glass, it’s per the bottle, but I was planning on paying… Yes.” He clarified.
“Ah. That does indeed change things.” I mentioned while looking at the wine list again. 
“I think a Sangiovese for the table?” He suggested and horrible memories came back. 
“Oh no, I remember trying one of those wines, they pride themselves on their ‘earthy taste’ but really it just tastes like dirt. I am not having that.” I warned him while I listened to his hearty chuckle. 
“I’ve never heard anyone describe it quite like that. You seem to know your wine.” He remarked with a smile. “What would you suggest then?” 
“I mean for reds, I typically like merlot blends and cabernets, but I’m planning on having the ricotta spinach, so I was planning on having a white. That being said, I’m not opposed to a red.” I clarified. 
“How about this Bordeaux? It’s a cabernet merlot blend.” He pointed at the wine on the menu and I nodded. 
“Sure, I’ll try it. Sounds nice enough.” I told him while running my finger along the listing on his menu. 
“And what would the cute couple like to drink?!” The waiter with a brunette man bun chimed with his hands clasped. We both cleared our throats and I moved a bit away from him. 
“We’re not…” 
“We are not…” We both spoke at the same time, looking at each other when we did, blushing in embarrassment. “We’ll have the merlot/cabernet blend Bordeaux, and we’d like that ahead. She’d like the ricotta spinach agnolotti and I’d like the short rib pappardelle.” 
“Alright, I’ll come back with the wine right away.” The server left with our order. 
“I can speak for myself.” I teased. “I know I joked about slave labor, but I do have an actual voice that goes with it.” 
“If it were up to me, I would pay you more, but with my advisors, they want me to use the system to our advantage.” He mentioned offhandedly with a raised brow while peering at me from the corner of his eye. 
“Spoken like any other rich millionaire.” I joked while peering back at him, resting my mouth against my fists with my elbow placed next to his. 
“Is being a millionaire something you disapprove of?” He questioned with his smile fading. 
“Why? What would happen if I did?” I wondered with a playful tone. He started fidgeting a bit with his fingers while staring at them, the air felt a little more solemn. “Why are you seeking my approval?” My words had him instantly tensing, stopping with his fidgeting. 
“I am doing no such thing!” He snapped while turning to me, his face reddened while I failed at holding back snickers. His lips parted as his face relaxing, though the redness didn’t fade as he realized I was merely teasing him about it. He looked away with a small smile, though his cheeks were still read. 
“Are you albino?” I blurted only to purse my lips, realizing that that could’ve been a bit insensitive of me to ask. The waiter brought over the wine, uncorked it, and poured a taste for the both of us into two glasses they brought over. I took the wine, smelled it, swirled it, smelled it again, and then tasted it. It was full bodied and fruit forward, exactly what I look for in a red wine. “It’s good.”
“Yes, thank you.” Tobirama agreed while the server served us a full glass before heading back off. “To answer your question.” He sighed. “Yes, I am albino.” 
“I’m sorry… That was rather insensitive of me to ask. I was just curious, you have such peculiar eyes.” I finished with a murmur, trying to meet his gaze, but he continued to look away while taking a sip of the wine. 
“Yes… My eyes are a bit of a sensitive topic for me. They were the target for many jokes made about me when I was younger.” He explained after a sigh and nearly finished with a grumble before taking a large gulp of his wine without making eye contact. 
“Red is my favorite color.” I blurted dreamily while still staring at him, hoping for his eyes to meet mine. Once he heard my words, he looked my way and I realized finally what I had said. Blinking a few times while I processed my embarrassment as heat rose to my cheek, I noticed Tobirama blushing as well. Quickly looking away, I took a sip of the wine and swirled it after putting it down. “Let’s play, never have I ever.” I suggested while staring at the wine swirl in the glass. 
“Never have I ever?” He asked with disbelief, and when I turned to see his expression, his brow was raised. 
“Yeah, do you know it?” I wondered.
“Yes of course, but you want to play a college drinking game with a bordeaux?” He asked before he started clenching his jaw with a look of disappointment. 
“Yes, because this way I get to know you without you having to say anything. Also, anything you admit to, I’m not allowed to ask about… Tonight anyways.” I taunted while studying his reactions. He shed a small smile before nodding. 
“Alright. I’ll let you start.” He declared. 
“Never have I ever been CEO of a major company.” I declared with a smirk while I watched him sip the red wine.
“That’s a tad targeted, wouldn’t you agree?” He mentioned with a small smile. 
“I just wanted to make sure you were playing seriously.” I explained while I inched my forearm next to his, resting it beside him. 
“Never have I ever kissed a boy.” He watched me take a sip of the wine. 
“Never have I ever kissed a girl.” I spoke to then drink a sip with him while he watched with a raised brow. He pursed his lips for a moment while looking down at my lips as I continued to study his reaction, and when he noticed I was still watching him, I saw his cheeks turn pink slightly before looking straight ahead. 
“Never have I ever… been to a nude beach.” He told me while I hesitantly lifted my glass. 
“It wasn’t a nude beach, but I was nude at the beach… Should I drink?” I wondered while looking at him to see his brow raised and his cheeks pink, avoiding my gaze. 
“Yes, I think you should.” He nodded while watching me from the corner of his eye. With that I lifted the glass and took a sip. 
“Never have I ever had sex in the lab.” I spoke plainly while taking off my leather jacket. It wasn’t until I had finished taking it off that I noticed him place his glass back onto the table. Raising my eyebrows, I looked up to him while he looked in the other direction. “Tobirama! You dirty dog!” I commented while I watched his jaw clench and unclench. I bit the corner of my lower lip as I watched him place delicate fingers around the rim of his wine glass. 
“Never have I ever driven over 100 miles per hour.” He grumbled while I took a sip of my drink. 
“Never have I ever…” I trailed off while trying to think of something I hadn’t done. “Played strip poker.” I sat and waited for his response. After a long moment, he lifted his glass and took a sip. “My my, you’re so adventurous, Tobirama.” I teased. 
“You said you wouldn’t say anything!” He snapped, which only made me giggle as I watched his ears turn red. 
“I said I wouldn’t ask about anything.” I corrected while trying to hold back a smile. 
“It was in college.” He grumbled while staring at his wine. 
“So the lab sex wasn’t? Do I need to worry about something if I show up to work on the weekends?” I teased and watched as he clenched his jaw. “Aw come on, I’m just teasing you!” I told him while rubbing his bicep. “I don’t want you to get mad, I just… You really amuse me Tobirama.” I hummed and watched as he turned slowly to me. 
“I’m glad I could be a source of amusement.” He spat before taking a large gulp to finish off his glass of wine before pouring himself the next. 
“Tobirama, come on… I don’t mean it like that. I like you Tobirama, I like spending time with you, that’s why I want to get to know you.” I explained while I rested my hand on his shoulder with my body turned towards him, watching him pour away. 
“Maybe you shouldn’t.” He grumbled while gripping tightly onto the glass. 
“Must be lonely at the top… Nobody can be your friend because of arbitrary power dynamics…” I contemplated while running my finger tips along his shoulder before letting it rest on it once more. 
“I’m sorry, I understand that you mean well and that you are simply poking fun… But… Your opinion of me seems to matter to me for reasons that I’m not quite sure I understand. Perhaps it is because you’re the shiny new acquisition for my company.” He mentioned while leaning back off the table to rest his palm behind us. I mimicked his seating with a raised brow. 
“Gee way to make me feel like an object.” I joked with sarcasm to have his eyes dart between both of mine. His hand left the wine glass and his fingertips traced along my jaw. 
“You are far more than anything I could have ever hoped for.” He spoke in an almost mesmerized manner while staring at my lips. My heart flutter and I felt my cheeks grow warm, only to have him retreat and clear his throat. “Never have I ever gone through my partners text messages.” He hummed while I straightened, not drinking. 
“I respect my partner’s privacy.” I commented. “Never have I ever used a fake ID.” I declared and watched him take a sip. “Those wild college years again?” I teased while elbowing him to watch his small smile form. 
“Never have I ever flashed someone.” He spoke, and I quietly drank the rest of my wine, staring at the glass as he filled it. 
“Wild college years?” He wondered.
“Gradschool actually.” I clarified while still not looking at him. 
“You would’ve just turned 21 when starting grad school, correct? That’s rather young.” He asked offhandedly. 
“Isn’t it illegal for you to know my age?” I questioned with a raised brow while resting my head in my hand that was leaning on the table. 
“Humor me.” He pleaded while donning a tiny grin. 
“Yes. I was.” I agreed while he poured me another glass of wine. “How old are you?” 
“I thought it was illegal for us to know each other’s ages.” He retorted with a smug smile as I took a sip of my wine. 
“Clever. Humor me.” I used the words against him the way he used mine against me. 
“I am 36.” He answered plainly to then take a big gulp of wine. 
“That’s rather young to be the CEO/CSO of a large biotech company.” I pointed out to have him huff a chuckle. 
“Touché. So that’s about ten years between us.” He hummed while lost in thought.
“Yes… I’m not unfamiliar with larger age gaps.” I mentioned with my leg brushing against his as my cheeks turned pink. 
“What do you mean?” He asked with his eyes searching for mine. 
“I believe the largest age gap with a man I dated was... 9 years.” I explained before taking a sip of my wine. 
“Ah… I see.” I pursed my lips as he took a sip of the wine while the server came by with our food. They placed the food before us and went back towards the bar while the air grew tense between us.
“I’m sorry if that was strange of me to say, I simply wanted to express that our age difference doesn’t mean anything to me.” I elaborated nervously to see his stonewalled face while he picked at his food a bit. 
“It is quite alright. I understand.” He mentioned before picking up his fork and starting to eat his food. Things still felt a little tense and unsettled as I started to eat the food. Why’d I have to open my big mouth??? The food however, was amazing. Everything was so rich and creamy and just exactly what my munchies were craving. I quickly started eating more of the pasta, fully diving into it as Tobirama and I continued to bump elbows, stealing glances at each other when we did, smiling to ourselves as we did. The tension seemed to fade the more our arms brushed together, and I felt a sense of relief consume me. He ordered another bottle as we finished off our glasses and the rest of the wine, feeling a little hazy from the alcohol and the remnants of the high from earlier. When I finished, Tobirama was still only halfway done with his food. “Seems you thoroughly enjoyed it.” Tobirama commented and I couldn’t help but chuckle. 
“Yeah, it was great.” I hummed while drinking more of my wine. 
“Would you like some dessert?” He suggested and my mind instantly went to some ice cream. 
“Yes! But they don’t really have what I would want here.” I mentioned to watch him slowly nod. “But you continue eating, of course! Take your time.” I gave him my best smile and watched him finish his meal. 
“You’re staring.” He commented and I jumped a bit in place and turned back to my wine, feeling my face turn red in embarrassment. 
“I’m sorry.” I mumbled under my breath to then watch his hand ghost over mine before… Patting it… Gently. 
“It’s fine. There’s no need to dwell on it. I will take you to my favorite ice cream shop after this.” He told me with a light tone, and that’s when I noticed him staring at me now. It wasn’t something I minded though. 
“I bet your favorite flavor is mango.” I guessed with a playful tone to watch him pout a bit. “Oh no! I actually got it right?” I whined a bit with a chuckle. 
“Am I that predictable?” He grumbled before finishing up his last bite. 
“No… Not that predictable. It was just a good perceptive guess.” I assured placing my hand by his as it settled, daringly placing my pinky over his. I noticed him look towards our hands, but he didn’t move it. The mere touch was electric and I felt so elated. I looked up to him and noticed his cheeks were furiously red and his ears matched. His eyes met mine and in that moment it felt like nothing else mattered. Nobody else existed. It was just him and I in this intense stare where my heart was racing. My eyes slowly traced down to his lips and in my periphery I could see he was staring at mine. 
“Would you like any dessert?” The server asked, snapping us up both from our thoughts with Tobirama quickly clearing his throat and moving his hand away. 
“No, just the check please, thank you.” Tobirama replied while the server nodded and headed off. “What’s your favorite flavor then?” 
“Double fudge brownie.” I smiled while finishing off the wine to have Tobirama pour me what was left in the bottle. 
“That is a good choice.” He agreed as he held up his wine glass. We both took a sip to then have the server bring by the check. 
“Thank you for dinner. It was truly lovely.” I told him as he placed a black card in the little booklet with the check. 
“Of course. I… Enjoy our time together as well.” He confessed while looking straight ahead to then finish off his wine. His words made my heart flutter as I drank some of the wine while the server took the check away. Moving the glass in circles, I watched the wine swish away as my cheeks turned positively red. “How is the research going?”
“I stayed a little late yesterday, but I reconstructed the plasmid and this time, no double ITRs.” I mentioned. 
“Make sure you register the overtime. You might be at a post-doc salary now, but this isn’t gradschool…” He remarked while I took another sip of the wine. 
“It was only a half hour.” I told him while waving him off. 
“That’s still a half hour. Put it in. I mean it.” He spoke with such a serious tone, if it wasn’t for the kindness behind his words, I would’ve been a bit intimidated. 
“You’re a good boss.” I responded with a smile before finishing off the wine as the server brought back the check. After Tobirama signed, he fiddled with his phone for a moment and then looked to me. 
“Thank you for saying that. Are you ready?” He asked while standing up, and after I put my jacket back on, I got up off of the bench and followed him out of the restaurant. Pulling my vape out of my pocket, I breathed in deep and took a hit. 
“Would you care to partake?” I offered with the smoke exhaling my lips as I held the vape up to Tobirama, but he held up his hand and shook his head. 
“No thank you. As I mentioned, I don’t usually partake.” He explained while looking at his phone. 
“So where are we going?” I asked while looking at the street as I shoved my hands and the vape into my pockets. 
“I ordered an uber to take us. It should be here any minute.” He explained before placing the phone into his pocket while a black car pulled up. Tobirama opened the door for me. “After you.” He motioned for me to sit in, so I slid into the car with him coming in after. It was the first time of the night that I noticed his scent. The jasmine, sandalwood, the slight sweet musk… I closed my eyes and rested my head back, nearly having it fall to the side and onto his shoulder from a little bump we took. The ride to the place was short, called something about homemade ice cream. Once inside, I ran up to the ice cream flavors in search of the one I was truly looking for. “Fudge brownie for her-”
“No actually, I’d like cookie dough.” I interjected quickly. 
“Would you like two scoops?” He asked while looking down to me with his hand lightly placed on my upper back. I hadn’t thought about two scoops. 
“Uhhh…. Sure. One cookie dough, one brownie.” I nodded to myself before looking up at the employee behind the counter. “In a waffle cone please!” I chimed. 
“I’ll take one scoop of mango.” He mentioned and I couldn’t help but giggle as they handed me my ice cream. “In a cup.” Tobirama clarified as the employee grabbed a cone to then cautiously put it back and grab a cup. I started to lick the scoop of fudge brownie, spinning the cone, twirling my tongue around the scoop, enjoying the rich chocolate sweetness. 
“Sir.” The employee called out, it was then that I noticed Tobirama had been staring at me. 
“Yes.” Tobirama cleared his throat and reached for the ice cream before reaching into his wallet and handing the employee the same black card from earlier. 
“Oh. Thank you for the ice cream as well.” I told him as I followed him to the register. He simply looked over his shoulder and shared a small smile before taking his card back, to then follow me to a nearby table with two seats. One across from the other. I continued to lick away at the ice cream with Tobirama occasionally looking up and staring. Which… I was somewhat enjoying, and fully taking advantage of. My tongue pressed flat to the scoop before I started digging out one of the brownie chunks with my tongue. When I readjusted to cross my legs, I felt my calf bump into his knee, but I cheekily left it there while continuing to attempt to show Tobirama my skills with a slight smirk. His ear were red once more as he stayed quiet while eating his own ice cream. 
“Must you eat the ice cream in such a manner?” 
“In what way am I eating the ice cream?” I asked with a smirk still. 
“Don’t act so coy.” He sneered with narrowed eyes before finishing off his ice cream. 
“It’s not my fault you’re having lewd thoughts-”
“I am having no such thoughts!” He snapped before looking away while clenching and unclenching his jaw, his hands balled in fists as I giggled. 
“Relax Tobi, you’ll pop a vein.” I teased while tucking an arm under my chest as I continued to lick my ice cream. 
“You’re using nicknames now?” He remarked as I started to nearly finish up the scoop of fudge brownie. 
“Is there a problem with that… Tobi?” I teased with another smirk as he continued to clench and unclench his jaw. 
“This is vastly inappropriate.” He commented while finally looking at me again. 
“Inappropriate for two friends?” I wondered while nibbling on the cone. 
“No, but we’re more than just two friends, aren’t we?” He pointed out and I couldn’t help but grow the biggest shit eating grin. 
“Oh? So this was a date? Why didn’t you tell-”
“You know that’s not what I mean!” He started with a shout to then quiet down as people looked at us. 
“Look if you’re worried about me reporting you or something, I would never. If anything I’m the inappropriate one here… We haven’t really even done anything. Are we not allowed to be work friends?” I argued before continuing to eat my ice cream. He gave me a once over and sighed deeply. 
“You are right. I am overreacting some. Hashirama was right, I do tend to overanalyze things and become too uptight about them.” Tobirama confessed. 
“I told you, you’re going to pop a vein.” I teased while bumping my calf into his knee as he huffed a chuckle. 
“Could we go outside?” He asked quietly. 
“Sure… Of course.” I nodded, quickly getting up and heading outside with him following behind me all while I dug my tongue into the ice cream cone. 
“Would it be possible… If I could take you up on your offer from earlier…?” He questioned in hushed tones, leaning into me while watching me closely. Offer from earlier… I placed my pocket into my hands with my brow furrowing trying to think about what he could possibly be talking about. My hand fiddled with the vape in my pocket and that’s when I realized. 
“Oh!” I pulled out the vape and handed it to him. “Yeah, sure!” 
“How do I use this? My brother only ever shoves food into my mouth.” He mentioned while looking at the vape, holding it up. 
“Just breathe in through here.” I took his hand with the vape and placed the cartridge end to his lips. “And then exhale.” I instructed. He placed the vape between his lips and inhaled a bit before handing the vape back to me to then exhale a little smoke. 
“I don’t smell like it now, do I?” He asked as I finished up the ice cream. 
“No…” I told him while shaking my head. He suddenly placed his hand on my cheek and ran his thumb under my lip. His tender touch had my heart racing as I stared back at him with wide eyes as he stared at my lips. 
“Sorry… You had a bit of ice cream.” He murmured with his hand lingering on my cheek. 
“You still smell really nice… Whatever it is that you use.” I mumbled while my eyes dropped down to his lips, only to have him pull away and take out his phone. 
“What is it?” He asked while holding up a finger to me and turning around taking a few steps away. “I’m still with her, I said I’d call you … Hashi-... Not now!” He snapped before looking at the phone and hanging up. “I apologize. We should probably get you home. I’ll order an uber for us both. I’ll have them take you home before me.” He informed while fiddling with his phone. 
That’s pretty much what happened. The car ride back was pretty uneventful other than that Tobirama actually chilled the fuck out. He was pretty quiet the rest of the way back to my place. Our legs would sometimes brush against each other, but that’s about it. Still, even though nothing happened… I felt so giddy and happy the entire time. He’s so cute when he blushes, it’s so adorable. I just want to keep gushing about him. All of my friends keep telling me this is a bad idea, but I can’t help it. I know I’m probably going to get my heart broken, but he’s just so… Magnetic. I can’t wait to see where things go. Anyways, dear sober me, I made rice for you for tomorrow, love drunk me. P.S. Sober me, keep trying to get that Senju dick. I bet it is great. Love, drunk me. 
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mi4011jesspark · 1 year
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Final animation
This hand-drawn frame by frame animation completed in Procreate with the animation feature opens with an image of Tim Burton as he holds a sign with the title of the animation on it. This quickly establishes Tim Burton as the focus of this project’s animation. Sticking to my chosen colour scheme of Black, grey, white, and purple, I decided to give this illustration of Tim Burton purple eyes and white skin. I chose this colour scheme due to its almost gloomy atmosphere which I felt mirrored Tim Burton’s aesthetic. The colour purple has connotations of emotion and imagination, two themes which Tim Burton discusses thoroughly throughout his films. Grey conveys gloom and protection another topic in his animations. The next shot zooms into the sign which Burton holds, filling the screen. The spirals behind the text spin to make the shot more interesting compared to a still image of the sign. The spirals are a nod to Tim Burton and his work as they are often featured within his movies, most famously within a scene in Nightmare before Christmas as jack walks down the hill under the moon. Moving onto the map of Burbank, the letters appear one by one on the screen, this allows readers to read this information quickly as they focus on each letter as it appears. There are small wave details which distinguish sea from land further anchoring the image as a map. In the corner, there is an outline of the snake / worm creature from the movie Beetle-juice. It is slightly hard to see, this is done to give the effect of an Easter egg which the audience can find. This also links to the fact that Tim Burton often features Jack Skellington as an Easter egg in other films. I gave the Jack Skellington head a sketchy look as I felt it fit the creepier vibes I was going for. The fact that the Jack Skellington head gets bigger as it fills the screen is to reflect Nightmare before Christmas’s success. I chose to include the map of Burbank California as it was where he was born, it was the start of his journey and career. For the shot of the Pierce brothers Valhalla mortuary sign, the text appears in the same way as before, this is to ensure the audience can read and take in the information quickly and more efficiently. The moon time lapse is used to convey how Tim Burton would spend countless hours in that cemetery as a child. Within the next shot, a young Tim Burton can be seen sitting in the graveyard reading a book. He is surrounded by the graves of his future projects to convey his success in his career. I decided I wanted to animate Frankenweenie within this scene, I felt it was best fitting to make it look like this was Frankenweenie’s gravestone rather than having him interact with Burton. To animate Frankenweenie, I took a small clip from the movie and screenshot every distinct movement within this clip. I then traced over these screenshots to create movement. [All other imagery is either referenced or my own, this animation of Frankenweenie is the only clip of an outside animation that I have traced over.] The focus on the graveyard and his love for it may reflect his often gloomy and macabre topics and aesthetics within his movies. The second to last clips shows Jack Skellington for a final time as he ways to the camera from his grave. The final shot is an end card outlining what the animation is and who it was done by. It also includes some information which is key to Tim Burton and his career.
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s0fter-sin · 3 years
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a concept: serial killer aizawa getting an eye tattoo for every person he’s killed. they started on his neck, now they’ve spread down to his chest and shoulders. mic is his equally murderous tattoo artist
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outerbankies · 2 years
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new light: blue christmas — rafe cameron
new light series masterlist
summary: your boyfriend's upset that he's not as into the holidays as you are, but you just want to make sure he's okay.
warnings: drinking, swearing, family stuff around the holidays
a/n: i leave u all with my last little gift of the week, a new light christmas! hope u all have a great holiday season! wishing everyone love and light this time of year <3
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“Can my big, strong, hot boyfriend please come help me unload the car?”
Rafe emerges on the front stoop of your home soon enough, padding through the front door you left open when you called for him, looking very perplexed and wearing socks with his flip flops. “What did you even buy?”
“Target was having a sale on their Christmas stuff and I might have blacked out,” you explain, throwing open your trunk. “See?”
“Oh my god,” Rafe deadpans, taking in the amount of bags in your trunk. “Babe, did you buy the entire store?”
“I actually went light,” you shrug. “Because my mom set aside some of the old decorations they’re getting rid of for us to use, remember? And I tried to buy stuff that was kind of timeless so it would fit that whole vintage vibe.”
Rafe furrows his eyebrows, then turns to load up with bags nonetheless, leaving you only two of the lighter bags to carry yourself. “Sure, sounds good.”
“When do you have time to decorate?” you ask, unwinding your scarf and hanging it on the rack by the door. “I was thinking we could start tonight.”
“We?”
“Yeah, Rafe. We,” you continue, rifling through the bags to find the monogrammed stockings you bought. “Could put on a movie and—ooh, you should make those really good spiked coffees you always make. I bought peppermint extract for my baking but we can use that to make them Christmassy.”
“Okay—yeah, I just… so this is like a whole event, huh?”
His sketchy tone is what makes you finally turn around and face him in the living room. He’s got his hands tucked into his pockets, observing the decorations with caution. “I mean, it’s decorating for Christmas.”
“I just didn’t realize Christmas was such a big deal for you—did you buy new pillows? We have to change out our pillows?” he asks, finally searching through some of the bags on his own.
“Do you not like them?”
“No, it’s fine, sweetheart. Really,” Rafe assures. He tears a red pillow with white stitching reading ‘jingle all the way’ out of the bag, setting it on your couch and throwing the plain pillow that occupied the couch before it out of sight. “See, boom. Beautiful. It’s officially Christmas now.”
“Rafe,” you say. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” he refutes. You drop the string of garland you were holding and cross your arms, giving him your most stubborn look until he sighs. “It’s just more than I’m used to. The decorations and everything—this is new for me.”
“Didn’t you do this with your family?”
You regret the question as soon as you ask it, but sometimes you just forget that things are different for Rafe. “Not really.”
You don’t press him any further, just coming to stand in front of him, the mistletoe you bought in the dollar section hidden behind your back until you’re right in front of him. “Well. Do you wanna help me this year?”
He looks up when he sees you holding something over him, rolling his eyes once he sees what it is. Rafe leans into kiss you, pulling back after a moment to answer.
“How could I say no to that?”
Rafe’s approach to the holidays was officially starting to bother you. When you asked him what his favorite Christmas movie was, he’d shrugged and said ‘Um, I dunno. Maybe that one with the ugly little clay people that they used to play on channel three when we were kids?’
He was extremely confused when you wanted to actually go cut down a real tree out in the mountains on a tree farm, wondering why you hadn’t just bought one at the store along with all of the other decorations. You’d explained that it has to be real because the house has to smell like Christmas, and he’d again shrugged. Before slightly cheering up at the fact that he got to saw down his own tree, carrying it proudly into the house when you got home. That had made you smile a little bit—you hoped he was starting to get into it.
But then he’d just turned bright red when you asked if he had any of his own Christmas decorations to put up, presenting a singular Frank Sinatra Christmas record and nothing else. And you didn’t dare mention it, but decorating the tree with all of the personalized ornaments your parents had kept for you over the years while Rafe had zero of his own had been completely awkward. He tried to shrug it off and help you move around the ornaments and tinsel you did have to cover the bare spots of the tree, but you still felt horrible over the entire thing.
“Rafe, they’re your sisters. You have to get them gifts,” you say in exasperation, rubbing your temples as the two of you went through your Christmas shopping list.
“Y/n/n, listen to me. They’re not gonna buy me gifts either, we’ve never done that,” he explains. “My parents take care of us, and that’s all we need.”
“Well, I already bought Sarah those Birkenstocks she’s been wanting and Wheezie’s eyeshadow palettes are in the mail. So.”
“Then why did you—baby.”
“Because, it’s Christmas. You buy things for the people you love,” you say. “Or you can make a gift if this is like, a consumerism thing.”
“Do we have to get them for our friends, too? Like, all of them?”
You don’t want to tell him that you’d taken care of all of your own friends already, their gifts bought weeks ago and sitting in your closet waiting to be wrapped. “Well, Secret Santa covers Topper. And Kelce and I do gifts every year, so…”
“Since when?” Rafe wonders, his face screwing up.
“Since forever. He bought me these slippers two years ago, look,” you say, propping your feet up on the coffee table.
He huffs. “Well I wouldn’t wanna put my name on a gift for your bestie—oh, fuck. Do we have to get John B a gift, too?”
“Well, dating Sarah for what, three years now? And we’re older than him and we have full-time jobs. And he’s gonna be there on Christmas, right? Yup.”
“Fuuuck,” he whines. “Why did I never realize how much work all of this is?”
“Because your step-mom has probably been taking care of all of this behind the scenes for your family for years. You can put your name on my Kelce gift, so that one’s done.”
“Oh, no, no, no. I wanna see the look on his fuckin’ face when I have a gift for him and he’s empty handed,” Rafe says, smirking and taking your laptop from you, going to search for his own gift.
“Wow, way to get into the holiday spirit. I love the spite.”
“I try.”
Your phone beeps and you start gathering your things, Rafe looking at you with a pout when he sees your jacket on. “Wait, where are you going? I thought we were Christmas shopping?”
“I am. Going to the mainland,” you say, collecting your purse. “Sarah said she’s on her way.”
“Wait, Sarah?”
“Yeah, she asked me to come.”
“Can you—did you guys invite Wheez? I don’t… I don’t want her to feel left out,” he worries.
“Rafe,” you tut, your hand coming to rest on the side of his face. “She was already going. They just asked me to come with them.”
“Really? I like that,” he decides, tugging you down by your scarf for a goodbye kiss.
“Me too.”
You treated Rafe’s sisters to a late lunch on the mainland after you’d all three shopped yourselves silly—well, Rafe treated all three of you, because when he asked why you were still gone he’d sent over enough money to cover the entire meal.
“So do you guys hate Christmas, too? Or is that just your scrooge of a brother?” you sighed, making the two girls across from you giggle.
“Rafe doesn’t hate Christmas,” Sarah says. “It’s just not a big deal in our family.”
“He told me that you guys don’t even decorate?”
“Rose does,” Wheezie supplies, pushing some food around on her plate. “But she’s pretty intense about it.”
“Yeah, we don’t get to help,” Sarah laughs. “Full interior decorator mode.”
“Ah,” you nod. Leaving it at that, at least until Wheezie excuses herself to the restroom and you realize Sarah hasn’t taken her eyes off of your face ever since you brought up the topic.
“What’s going on with him?”
“Nothing, Sarah. It’s just… I dunno. Rafe doesn’t seem into it at all,” you say, fiddling with the straw in your iced tea. “It’s like pulling teeth. He didn’t even know how the advent calendar worked—he opened day 22 yesterday because he was hungry.”
“I think for Rafe, it’s different?” she wonders softly. “Things are always different when it comes to him, just with my dad and work. The holidays are busy—all those parties and the networking, you know he hates that shit. So he just doesn’t have much interest in the fun stuff.”
You bite your lip as you nod, never having thought about it that way. “Thanks, Sarah.”
“Don’t tell him I told you that,” she warns. You cross your heart and she rolls her eyes, and you realized you’d really missed her when she was away at college for the fall term.
“You know I won’t. But thank you,” you repeat. “As a token of my gratitude, I feel inclined to tell you that Rafe got both of you gifts this year.”
Her eyes widen.
“What? Why? Since when does he do that?” You give her a deadpan look, pointing at yourself, and she groans in frustration. “Would you stop making my brother perfect? For like, five seconds?”
“What’s going on?” Wheezie says, sitting down at the table again.
“You guys have to buy Rafe a Christmas gift this year,” you tell her, waving at the waiter for the check.
“No,” Wheezie groans. “We have to circle back to the Patagonia store now, don’t we?”
Blythe came to spend the holidays in the Outer Banks with Topper this year, which was enough of a reason for your friend group to rent a cabin in the snow for the weekend before Christmas. Kelce bemoans his perpetual spot as the fifth wheel but comes anyway, saying he reserves the right to bring someone home from the one, singular bar in the mountain town, with no ribbing from any of you.
So you load up the car with enough alcohol for twice the amount of time you’ll be there and all of your cutest snow outfits, kicking Rafe out of the passenger seat when you pull up to Topper’s parents’ house for the caravan.
“What?”
“Blythe and I are driving together,” you remind him. “Go get in the car with the boys.”
“C’mon, what?” he whines. “They’re gonna make me sit in the backseat and you know my knees get sore.”
“Cameron,” Blythe says, ripping his door open. “Good to see you, merry Christmas. Get out of my seat.”
“Merry Christmas, Blythe,” he grumbles, offering her his seat when he finally gets out. He motions for you to roll down the window when he comes around to the driver’s side, leaning in for a kiss. “Drive careful, alright? I’ll put on your snow chains at the rest stop.”
“We’ll probably get there first, I’ll wait for you,” you promise. He narrows his eyes.
“Uh, we’re definitely gonna get there faster.”
You peek around Rafe to look at where Topper and Kelce are bickering over how to fit the last sled into the trunk. “Rafe, I know you’re not challenging me to a race in the snow.”
“No,” Rafe warns. “Drive careful, I mean it.”
“Alright, dad,” you tease, making Blythe groan next to you.
“Ew, you too,” she says. “Rafe, go away.”
“See you up there,” he nods, kissing your cheek one more time before heading off to his friends. You laugh as you watch him snatch the sled out of both of their hands where they’re fighting over it, fitting it in seamlessly.
You don’t wait for them to figure out seating arrangements, opting to get an early start on the drive so you and Blythe can stop at Starbucks for Christmas drinks and maybe still have time to pull over and take cute pictures when you first hit the snow.
“How’ve you liked Christmas in the Outer Banks so far?” you ask once the two of you have left the main strip of town. Blythe huffs a sigh and you throw her a glance.
“Good, it’s good. I missed Top—missed all of you. His family is just so intense,” she complains. “And it’s fun, but it’s a lot.”
“See, I have the opposite problem. I think I’m the Topper,” you say. “Rafe doesn’t wanna do anything.”
Blythe laughs. “Would you like to trade? We’ve watched Elf at least three times and I’ve been here for less than a week. And I think his mom wants us to go caroling.”
“That’s not fair,” you whine. “Why don’t I have a simp boyfriend?”
She laughs again, louder this time. “You’re joking right? ‘Make sure you drive careful, sweetheart.’ ‘Oh, don’t bother your pretty little hands putting on your own snow chains, sweetheart.’ ‘Let me ride in the car with you because I can’t stand two hours spent apart from you, sweetheart.’”
“Alright, enough,” you mumble, your cheeks burning as you pay attention to the drive. “I see your point. I just wish he was having fun, it’s our first Christmas living together and he just doesn’t seem into it at all.”
“Have you tried talking to him about it?”
“Why would I do that?”
Loose lips get you in the end. After a day of Rafe walking off to find better service for a phone call when everyone is building a snowman, missing out on making mulled wine with you and Kelce because he was watching the game in the living room, you finally snap when he doesn’t put on the matching ugly sweater you bought him.
“Rafe. Why?”
“What?”
“Where’s your sweater?” you ask, tugging on the plain black shirt he’s wearing.
“Oh. Um,” he mumbles, adjusting his grip on his beer, his thumb nail peeling off the label. “It was itchy. And I don’t like that the bells make noise whenever I move.”
You certainly didn’t skip out on the mulled wine, pushing him back into the bedroom the two of you had claimed and ignoring any jabs from your friends. “Okay, I’m not doing this anymore. What is going on with you?”
“What do you mean? Nothing’s going on,” he says, but his eyes give him away.
“Am I bothering you with all of this?” you ask, motioning to his discarded sweater on the bed. “You look miserable.”
Rafe groans, dropping his face into his hands where he sits at the end of the bed. “I’m sorry.”
That tugs on your heart strings and you feel bad you were getting a little testy, sitting beside him and putting your hand on his back. “About what, baby?”
“I just don’t know how to do any of this stuff. I don’t know the songs or the movies, I don’t have any of the fun traditions that you guys and all of your families do. Christmas for me always just meant stress and more work and never knowing what gift to get my dad that he’d actually like and—”
“Breathe, babe,” you implore.
“Yeah, trying,” he nods, catching his breath. “It’s just—this sounds so stupid, but. It’s hard for me this time of year. I dunno.”
“Rafe,” you say sadly, leaning your head on his shoulder once he’s settle down a little. “I didn’t know.”
He sits there silently for a second, just letting you lean into him. “Hm, figured Sarah would’ve told you.”
You look back up at him and he eyes you warily, and you sigh in defeat—of course Sarah told him. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to figure out if it something I was doing wrong.”
“S’okay,” he shrugs, pressing a kiss to your head. “It’s not you. I love watching you have fun with all of this. I just don’t… I don’t think I can see the excitement the way everyone else can. Just brings up bad memories.”
You make a displeased noise. “But Rafe—”
“It’s almost over, alright?” he rushes, standing up to leave the room. “And then I’ll be back to normal, I promise.”
You try to give Rafe space that night because you can tell he’s upset with himself and the way he’s handling things, opting to get caught up in the card games by the fire and Blythe’s special eggnog. He’s putting on a brave face in front of all of your friends, tucking himself behind you and hiding from conversations at any opportunity, but you can see right through the cerulean stare. You feel the urgency in his needy touch—how he just needs to be close to you but can’t or won’t explain why.
The other three don’t push it, but you’re grateful when they seem to all get the hint they should step away for a second, leaving the two of you alone with one last knowing stare sent from Kelce. The fire is crackling in front of the two of you where you’re curled up in his lap, soft Christmas classics playing from the TV while laughter spills in from the kitchen occupied by your friends.
“Do you wanna know one of my favorite Christmas memories?”
“Hm?” he asks, looking startled by your voice. “Oh, yeah. Sure.”
“My parents’ Christmas Eve party, when we were, god—eighteen, nineteen? It was the first one after we went away for college,” you start, waiting for him to catch up. He nods like he knows what you’re talking about.
“Oh, yeah,” Rafe says, then his eyes widen. “Oh, yeah. Oh my god, was that the one where we hotboxed your pool house, because we didn’t know we had to start sitting at the adults’ table that year?”
You giggle at the memory, thinking about the boys, you, Gretchen, and Margot sitting in a square at the end of the adult’s table, all trying not to give yourselves away. You sat there in silence until Margot missed her mouth and spilled practically an entire flute of champagne down the front of her dress, making Kelce laugh which caused a ripple effect until you were all teary-eyed messes.
And you would’ve been horrified by the disappointed look on your father’s face at the head of the table if Rafe hadn’t accidentally bumped his knee into yours from where he sat beside you, body shaking as he tried to contain his laughter. He’d brushed a hand over your knee and leaned down to whisper a sorry into your ear, and if you couldn’t use the excuse of being under an influence, you know your starry-eyed look as you told him ‘no problem, RC’ would’ve been a dead giveaway of your feelings. “That’s the one.”
“God, I still can’t believe we got away with that.”
“We did not. My dad definitely knew,” you tell him.
Rafe groans, but he’s smiling now, even where he’s hiding his face in your shoulder. “I cannot believe he lets me date you sometimes. Seriously.”
“But, see? Christmas can be fun sometimes, even if it’s just getting stoned at ill-advised times and causing a ruckus at the Y/l/n family Christmas Eve extravaganza.”
“Mm,” Rafe hums wistfully. “My dad and Rose went away on business on the 25th that year. I think Sarah went to John B’s—Wheez and I picked up a ton of Chinese food after we burned the turkey.”
You deflate against him. “Rafe.”
“No, don’t. This isn’t a ‘feel sorry for me’ moment—it was actually kinda nice, if I remember. We stayed in our pajamas and watched those clay people movies all day,” he says. “I dunno. Maybe Christmas isn’t horrible all the time.”
It was a start.
Through the years your friends have all calmed down and grown up, but that doesn’t stop any of you from getting a little rowdy at your parents’ Christmas party this year. Margot comes and Gretchen finally made it home too, so you blame the repeat cocktails on the nostalgia and everyone being back together.
And things are different now because when someone brings out the mistletoe you gladly stand up on your toes and plant one on Rafe in front of all of your friends, whereas when the same scenario happened when you were seventeen you’d been a deer in headlights, squealing in surprise when Margot sprung into action, pushing Rafe out of the way so she she could kiss you instead—a true friend, she is. Everyone laughed it off but they still tease you about it to this day.
Today, you’re still lip-locked with Rafe, ignoring the hoots and whistles from your friends, until Kelce is breaking you up and squeezing in for a cheek kiss from either of you and effectively ending the display. “Alright, mom and dad. We get it, you figured out your feelings. But it’s been a year of this shit and my eyes can’t take it anymore. Separate.”
“Seriously,” Gretchen agrees. “It was almost more fun when you didn’t know.”
“No it wasn’t,” Margot and Topper chorus.
Gretchen rolls her eyes and tugs you away with a looped arm, marching you both back toward the more dignified area of the party. “C’mon, I wanna go flirt with that bartender your mom hired.”
“Ooh, wait, really?!” you ask. “I love that for you.”
“And you need air,” she laughs, eyes scanning your flushed expression. “I swear, next time I come home you’re gonna be pregnant, Y/n/n.”
“Mmm, no. We don’t wanna have kids until we move back from California,” you say, immediately clapping a hand over your mouth as you realize what you just said. “Oh, fuck. Gretch—”
“Until you… what?”
“We haven’t told anyone, okay? So, shh,” you beg. “We just started talking about it. My parents don’t even know.”
Her eyebrows remain at their spot practically shot into her hairline. “You know I hate to ask. But do his?”
“No, nobody does,” you whisper. “So tight lid, alright?”
“Oh my god, wait. That’s so exciting,” she says, her lip pouting in adoration. “You’ll be so much closer to me. God, he’s so whipped—”
“Okay,” you interrupt, hands on her shoulders. “Let’s go find Cute Bartender and see if we can get him to shut you up, alright?”
“Maybe he’ll be my Rafe.”
Cute Bartender was decidedly no Rafe, at least in your eyes, but he was falling for every one of Gretchen’s usual tricks. You sipped your champagne flute in amusement as you watched her at work from a little ways down. She’d just moved onto asking him how exactly a Sex on a Beach got its name when a presence sidles up next to you, a black suit jacket brushing your bare shoulder.
“You’re way too pretty to be sitting here all by yourself.”
A comment like that would normally knock you off-kilter these days, ready to be shrugged off or politely declined depending on the situation. But coupled with your boyfriend’s very familiar voice, it has you turning to look at him in amusement.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I’m surprised your boyfriend isn’t around,” Rafe says, making a show of surveying your parents’ entire house. “I mean if I were him, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight.”
“Don’t have one,” you decide, stifling a giggle when something a little offended flashes in his eyes. Rafe shakes his head, sipping a little more of his drink before re-committing to the bit.
“No? Well that works out for me then, doesn’t it?”
“Depends.”
You’re out of practice in your flirt game but you can tell it doesn’t matter. Rafe’s a little tipsy and he’s absolutely hanging off of your every word. “Have we met before? I feel like I recognize you.”
“Hm,” you wonder, eyes roaming over Rafe in his black tuxedo like you’re trying to place where you know him from, when you’re really just checking him out for the tenth time that night. “Maybe. I grew up around here.”
“Me too,” Rafe says. “Shocked we never ran into each other.”
“A shame, really,” you say, testing the waters as you move closer to him. Rafe twitches where he leans against the bar when a festively painted fingernail traces the buttons on his crisp white shirt. “What should we do about that?”
“I’d like to take you home,” Rafe blurts, blinking dumbly. “And maybe you can just stay forever because you actually live there too because I’ve been in love with you for, like, half of my life.”
You throw your head back and laugh, slapping him on his chest. But he just grabs your hand and keeps you tucked close to him, gleeful smile matching your own. “Baby, you were doing so good for a second.”
“You know I can’t help it when I’m this drunk, Y/n/n,” he groans, still smiling when you wrap your arms around his waist under his suit jacket. “Fuck, I forgot how good of a flirt you are. You never pull the moves on me anymore.”
“Maybe you’re just immune to my charms by now.”
“Not possible,” he says. His eyes are glassy and he’s been smiling all night, and you know he’s finally starting to come around on Christmas just from the way he’s looking at you.
“Rafe? And Y/n, is that you?”
Your arms unwind from Rafe and fall to your side on instinct, faced with your AP Calculus teacher for the first time in years. “Mr. Torres?”
“I thought that was you two, wow,” the older man says. “How are you both?”
You take turns catching him up on all of your life updates over the years, stumbling over your words a little from the alcohol and from the fact that your old math teacher caught you both seconds away from making out in the middle of this party. You knew better than to be getting handsy when half of Figure 8 was in attendance tonight, and you guess this was your punishment. Mr. Torres orders another round of drinks for the three of you and covers the tip for all of it, turning to say one last thing before being on his way again. “You know, I always thought there was something there between you two.”
“I’m—I’m sorry?” Rafe says, clearing his throat.
“Yes, that year I had you both in my class.”
“Oh, we weren’t dating then, Mr. Torres,” you clarify. “This is uh, a little more recent.”
“No? Could’ve fooled me back in the day,” he says, smiling at you both. “Well, happy holidays.”
Mr. Torres walks off and you both stand there in a stunned silence until you groan, making Rafe laugh against you. “That was humiliating.”
“God. Who knew our math teacher was such a romantic?”
John B drops the two of you at home on his way back to The Cut that night, volunteered as a designated driver for the night by his girlfriend. Rafe lets you take the front seat but that doesn’t stop him from tipsily complaining about the lack of safety features in the back of the beat-up van.
“Is this thing even street legal?”
“I try not to think about that,” John B admits, pulling up to your street. “Monsieur and madame, your destination.”
“Thanks, kid,” Rafe says, helping you out of the front seat. “Merry Christmas. See you tomorrow.”
The two of you still-slightly-drunkenly shuffle around the house in a practiced routine for coming home after nights out, but you’re having a harder time with your heels this particular night. By the time you finally get them off and leave them by the front door, you expect Rafe to be in the bathroom getting ready for bed. Instead you find him with his bow tie undone around his neck, scarf and jacket still on, standing in front of the tree holding a small, neatly-wrapped box in his hands. “Hey, c’mere for a sec?”
“What’s this?”
“Well… Christmas is all about traditions with the people you love, right? And I thought it’d be cool if we started one,” he says shyly. “I mean, I plan to spend at least a few more with you, if that’s alright.”
“I was thinking quite a few,” you correct, feeling yourself smile as you slowly walk into the living room.
“Quite a few,” he agrees. “And one I always wanted to do when we were kids was open the first present on Christmas Eve, so I was thinking—I have one for you, sweetheart.”
“You do?” you say, pushing past him to kneel on the floor, digging around for a perfect present for him to open tonight. You hadn’t really planned for this but Rafe was trying, and he looked so sweet standing by your tree holding that box in his hands. “I can find one for you, too.”
“No, no, it’s okay. It’s kinda for both of us, anyway” he says softly, leading the two of you to sit on the couch together.
He places it in your lap and you slip a finger under the paper immediately, admiring his adequate wrapping job as you tear it open to reveal a white box. “And it’s definitely not, like, a huge deal, or anything—”
But you can’t hear him anymore as you find the wooden ornament inside the box, slowly pulling it out. It’s a picture frame, with a photo of you sitting in Rafe’s lap in Massachusetts from just a few weeks ago. At the bottom of the frame is an inscription that says ‘rafe & y/n. first christmas.’
“And listen,” he rushes to continue. “I know it isn’t technically our first, ‘cause we’ve been dating for over a year. But I dunno, it’s our first tree together in our first home and everything, and I just thought, you put all of those ornaments up on the tree this year, and this is the first time I’ve enjoyed Christmas in a really, really long time, and—”
“You know,” you squeak out, feeling those annoying tears start to brim your eyes. “For someone who doesn’t like Christmas very much, you give really great gifts.”
“You like it?” he asks in earnest, his hand falling to your knee. You look up, feeling the first tears overflow.
“Rafe, I love it.”
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symphonic-scream · 3 years
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Oh boy here we go it's time it's time
Jocks Kwami Swap Season 4 Heroes 2 & 3
I'm so hyped for these two you can't possibly understand, oh my god. Of all the heroes these two are really something to me and just- I'm so excited to finally show them off
Okay okay, okay, here we go, time to introduce the newest Jock Heroes, Capricorn (3) and Bengal (2), otherwise known as Alya and Nino
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(art credit to the ever talented @justanotherpersonsuniverse )
Okay let's talk Bengal first, my homeboy Nino himself
So yeah I gave Nino the tiger, and at this time theres no info on the tiger really, so I went with my assumption of the tiger being a stealth/long distance bow user hero, with a bow weapon of some kind, and a "shrouding" power that doesn't allow them to be tracked. Nino's hero Theming is based on a sort of underground dance club vibe, and it's sorta linked to the fact that I like the idea of him and Mari being in hip hop dance lessons together as kids
His outer jacket is magenta with black stripes, the stripes looking like they were painted on manually. The ears on the top of his hood have some mobility, as he doesn't take the hood off ever. The front tuft of his hair has a bit of a purple/magenta dusting to it. Instead of a mask, it looks like he smeared paint over his eyes? It's magenta too, and gets darker towards the top, and he's got the gold version of the cat eyes
Under the jacket he's got a deep purple crop top cause he's Nino, he's going the extra mile. Maybe claw marks torn in it? Maybe, but it's flowy as hell. Under that layer is a shirt like the classic Miraculous suits, black with magenta stripes. It goes up to his neck under the crop top too. His right glove is magenta, and his left is (where the miraculous is) and black, thick like an Archer's glove
His pants are a little baggy? And mostly black with a magenta stripe on the outside of each leg and the inside, and at night they get reflective and kinda glow? His shoes are high top sneakers, black with magenta striping, and where the logo would be on say a converse, is a little tiger paw mark. The bottom of the sneakers has a paw design. He also has a tail! Long tiger tail, hand black painted stripes and all that
He's a quieter hero when he joins, gets his jobs done as effectively as he can. But once he gets really into the team dynamic? He's a wild cat when not actively heroing. He gets real goofy with Wishbone and Kitsune, and he rounds out Crimson and Multi to reunite the original disaster bi trio
Up next is Capricorn, Alya with the Goat/Ram
Again, this is before we know anything about the Goat, and I'm using my personal belief as to what the ram will be; a physical front hero, who's weapon is like, arm bracers, and their power is to Ram something I guess. Alya's Theming is connected to her love of superheroes and the Superman origin, so like a Farmer that's an underground fighter/superhero when no one's looking
Her entire outfit is black and white, and any lines are kinda not solid? Sketchy, like they're drawn in pencil/ink. She's got little horns on her head, but also her hair is split into little pigtails that are curled like horns that curl around her face. Her hair is black with white "highlights" to keep up the comic aesthetic, and her mask is black on top white on the bottom, shaped like the classic Robin domino mask. Her eyes are now a grey colour, and her pupils are shaped like a goats
Her main suit colour is black, with grey and white markings that look like comic highlights. Over that are a pair of overalls that cuff up as shorts on the bottom? Grey/white again. Arm bracers are white, with black wraps around her hands like a boxer or fighter would wear
The leg space between the boots and the overalls are still black, and the boots are grey with the slightest heel. The toe of the boot has a little metal/steal toe aspect so she makes a clop clip noise while walking, and they look like work boots one might wear while doing heavy farm work
Capricorn is loud and spunky and a big personality. She's the first to jump into the fray, wearing that big smile that lights up every photo she's in. Her and Crimson and Chartreux rack up the most property damage, and it takes a lot to keep her from fangirling over the other heroes. She and Hornet and Multi rather enjoy being little shits together, just talking and laughing together
Capricorn and Bengal as a duo work really well together. They don't know who the other is at first, and right now I believe Bengal will debut first, but until season 4 is all done I won't know for sure. But when they do figure it out, they freak and start acting real close as heroes
--
HERE THEY ARE I HOPE YOU LIKE MY KIDS I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!! Congrats to anyone who guessed correctly! I had fun with this little secret thing, and I hope you did too!
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mosylufanfic · 3 years
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Color My World (just paint it with your love)
For the Killervibe Gift Swap, a gift for @ava-has-a-closet-murderboard. Eventually I hope to get everyone a gift but it’s going real slow, y’all!
You see in color when you meet your soulmate AU. (Also obviously Ronnie died the first time and didn't come back as Firestorm, sorry Ronnie.)
Title from the song Color My World by Petula Clark
Color My World (just paint it with your love)
When Ronnie died, the world went grey in an instant. 
Even as Caitlin screamed his name, she knew it was hopeless. Just the same as the world had exploded with color between one blink and the next the moment she'd met him, it reversed the moment his heart stopped beating.
-
For years, Caitlin assumed that Cisco saw the world in the same shades of grey as she did. She knew he was friendly and flirty and went on dates, and well - he was Cisco, after all. So she always expected to see him come rushing into the cortex one day, looking around at everything and seeing the colors after having met the person he was supposed to spend his life with.
So when she walked into his lab one day to find him comparing two apparently identical swatches, it was a surprise - but it wasn't.
"Cisco!" she cried, and he whirled to face her, stuffing both swatches behind his back. "Are you seeing in color?"
"Um, I - what? No. I was - comparing - um." He sagged. "Yes."
"You met your soulmate! Who is it? When can I meet them? What's their name?" She realized he wasn't looking as excited as people usually did in that first flush of color and love. "What's wrong?"
"I haven't met anyone new."
"Well, of course you have, you're seeing in color -"
"I met them years ago."
"Years? You've been seeing color all this time? You never said anything."
He nodded. "Sorry. Yeah."
"But when? And why didn't you - why aren't you - what happened?" Dramatic, overblown scenarios raced through her head, taken from cheesy cable movies with titles like "Soulmate to a Serial Killer.”
"Nothing happened, exactly. It's - " He looked away. "They're my soulmate, but I'm not theirs."
She goggled at him. You heard about those things, of course. Small percentages. Sad stories whispered behind hands. But knowing Cisco was one of them - "How do you know?"
"They'd already met their real soulmate when I met them."
She shook her head, attempting to wrap her head around it. "Are you sure? Have you told them? Have you talked about it at all?"
"Yes, I'm a hundred percent sure."
How could the universe be this cruel? Warm, laughing, loving Cisco, to be matched with someone who wasn't matched to him. To watch from the sidelines as they built a life with someone else. 
It was almost as horribly unfair as losing your soulmate. No - no. More unfair. She'd at least had a life with Ronnie, no matter how short it had been. Cisco never had that with his soulmate, and never would. 
"Why didn't you ever say anything? I always thought - "
"Because I didn't want you looking at me exactly the way you're looking at me right this very moment. Like I just told you my puppy has cancer."
She tried to rearrange her face. "I'm just -"
"Caitlin, it's fine. It happens." He shook his head a little. "I'm sorry I kept it from you."
"Who else knows?"
"Barry. And probably Iris."
"Has he met them?" A flush of - jealousy? she didn't know what to call it - washed up her throat.
"No, he doesn't even know who they are. Just that they exist." He shrugged and tossed the swatches on to the table. "Couldn't exactly keep it from him when we were designing suits together."
She said very quietly, "Did Ronnie know?"
He shook his head hard. "No, he didn't. No. Not even a suspicion. Look, I don't talk about it because there's nothing I can do about it, and there's nothing you can do about it, either. A soulmate is a soulmate, right? Even when they're not."
She reached to put her arm around his shoulder. "Cisco - "
Gently but firmly, he shrugged her hand away. "I've come to terms with it. It's just the way things are."
She swallowed hurt. "But you've been dating. Haven't you?" He had an app on his phone, and sometimes he would take it out and swipe through photos. She'd thought it was a regular app that just set you up on dates with other people who hadn't met their soulmate yet.
"It's a different kind of app. We all know the score. Nobody's on there to meet their soulmate. Just to find a good time."
"Is it just people who are - " She floundered. There was a term for people like Cisco, but to her mind, it was nasty and rude.
He said it anyway. "Third wheels?"
She made a face. It sounded even worse now that she knew it applied to him.
"Most of us, yeah. But there's a pretty good number of people who - uh - " He looked at her sidelong. "Who lost theirs."
"Oh." She couldn't imagine seeking anyone out after Ronnie. "Really?"
"Yup. I mean, they're not dead just because - well, anyway, if you ever wanna - you know. See the app. You can."
"Thank you,” she said. “But don't try to distract me. How long has it been?"
"A few years," he said. "Look, it's just a thing about me. Like having brown eyes and vibes and a rockin' fashion sense. Can you do me a solid, as a friend?"
"Anything. Of course."
"Let's never talk about this again."
Painted into a corner, she bit her lip. "Okay. If that's what you want."
"It's what I want."
Of course, she hadn't gotten the chance to ask the question that burned the most. Who was it? Who could possibly overlook Cisco? 
But she'd promised.
-
She thought about it, though. She thought about it a lot, in her cold bed, in her grey house with all the colors she couldn't see anymore. At her kitchen table, set for one. When she opened up her phone and looked at the last picture Ronnie had sent her, a selfie with a particularly gigantic donut.
In black and white, of course. Like everything else, all the pictures of him had drained of color when he died. It made everything sting worse. She'd seen his face in color from the beginning, but now she couldn't remember the exact shade of his eyes or the different tones of his hair.
She didn't ask Cisco anything more, but she did go down a rabbit hole of research. One-sided soulmate was the technical term they used in social science surveys. OSS for short. She looked at reams and reams of statistics, quantitative and qualitative and longitudinal studies. Some of the OSS's said they were happy, some were depressed, some simply accepted it. Surprisingly, the stats on their overall mental well-being weren't all that different from people who were with their soulmates, or still waiting to find them. 
Some one-sided soulmates spent their lives alone. But others dated and slept with and sometimes even married others like them.
She gave into curiosity and read the research on people who'd lost soulmates. She found the stats there very much the same. A little more depression, maybe, but there were a surprising amount of people who did just as the one-sided soulmates did - dating, sleeping with, marrying people they met. 
Sometimes those people even found a second soulmate. 
When that particular revelation popped up on her screen, she dropped a full cup of coffee and completely ruined her keyboard.
-
The day everything changed was just a regular day at first. The Flash and Vibe were out investigating a sketchy warehouse, and Caitlin was trying not to fret while reading yet another study on people who fell outside the soulmate norm. 
"Cisco!" she cried as Barry whooshed them into the cortex, almost doubled over trying to support his weight. "What happened?"
"Got my bell rung," he slurred. "Ow, dude, ow, gentle -  "
"The guy knocked him into a concrete pillar," Barry reported, settling Cisco onto the edge of the bed. 
"No, don’t lay him down. 'll take care of him. You go get changed." As he whooshed out, she gloved up quickly and checked Cisco's pupils. They were the same size, and he denied any nausea or dizziness, but she’d still have to monitor him for signs of a concussion. She set her penlight down and gasped.
"What?"
“You’re bleeding.”
He wiped his face and blood smeared across the back of his hand. “Just a bloody nose. I’ll be fine in a minute.”
She tsked and pressed a square of gauze to his nose, gently feeling its shape. It wasn’t broken. “Are your teeth okay? Your tongue?”
“Mhm.”
“Don’t lean back! Just breathe through your mouth.” After holding it a few minutes, she checked, and indeed, the blood had stopped its flow. She let him straighten up. "How's your head?"
"Could use an aspirin."
"You got it." She turned away, but before she pulled her gloves off, she looked at the blood smeared over the fingertips and soaking into the gauze.
Against the light grey of her gloves and the white of the gauze, Cisco's blood showed scarlet.
-
At first, she thought she’d been mistaken. It had just been the blood, not anything else.
But then the sprinkles on the ice cream he brought her the next day showed up vividly blue and pink and orange against the rich brown of the treat. And the chips and guac she shared with him the day after that were pale yellow and brilliant green. 
Color seeped back into her world a little at a time, mostly following Cisco. It was so different than before, but so wonderful at the same time. She'd forgotten how vivid red could be, how lavender was so delicate, how green was so rich. Sometimes she would just sit and stare at whatever had lit up today.
He noticed, of course. "What's wrong?" he asked one day, as the sunlight filtering through the skylights in the cortex picked out rich highlights in his hair.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
"You were staring."
"There was a - a bug on you. But it flew away," she added hastily as he swiped at his hair. 
It wasn’t like it had been with Ronnie. Then, it had been instantaneous, like a finger snap. Not this slow bloom of color, spreading outward from Cisco like watercolors soaking into paper, until every corner of the world had a different hue and shade. But Cisco wasn’t Ronnie, and she didn’t want him to be. 
She worried about it sometimes. Did this mean Ronnie hadn't been her soulmate? That she didn't love him anymore? But she knew he had, and she knew she did. She would never stop.
It was just that she was one of the lucky very few who got a second soulmate. 
And then the thought followed: what if Cisco's mystery soulmate was her?
She turned it over in her head, as carefully as an antique china plate. The facts fit. She had been with Ronnie when she and Cisco had met. She even remembered them telling him about their first meeting, over dinner or something. She struggled to remember his reaction, what he'd said or looked like, but couldn't. 
And when Ronnie had died and the color had drained from the world, she'd told him that too. 
She pressed her fingers to her eyes, watching the newly colorful starbursts behind her lids. "Oh, Cisco," she murmured to his past self. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I never saw. I know you couldn't tell me, but I wish I'd realized you were hurting."
Watching her with Ronnie must have been torture for him. Watching her after Ronnie died - that must have been torture in a different way, her loss of color confirming every day that he wasn't her soulmate. 
But it was going to be different now. If they were soulmates, he deserved to know.
And if they weren't - 
Her stomach pitched uneasily at the thought.
-
Her heart thundered in her chest as she made her way down to his lab. She'd kept this secret for a month now, clasped to her chest. And he'd kept it for years. This was going to change everything,
For the better?
She hoped.
He was head and shoulders into the souped-up treadmill Barry used to test his speed, a tool box open next to him. "Hey," he called out as she came in. She never could surprise him. Was that a soulmate thing, a Vibe thing, or just a Cisco thing?
"Hi," she said brightly, almost shrilly. She swallowed  hard and perched herself on the edge of his table, wiping her sweaty palms on her favorite skirt. "What are you working on?"
"Oh, just tuning this old girl up. How about you? What brings you down here?"
"Do I have to have a reason to come down here?"
He peered at her over his shoulder. "No, but you sure look like you do."
She wiped her palms again. "I was just thinking."
"Uhoh," he said cheerfully, turning back to the treadmill.
"About your soulmate."
Although he didn't say anything, all the cheer sucked itself out of the room.
"About, um, when you met them, and how long it's been, and -"
"Caitlin," he said in a heavy voice. "You said you wouldn't talk about this anymore."
"I know, I did, but I'm just curious - "
"You promised," he said. "You made me a promise."
"I - I did - "
He straightened up again, crossing his arms, resting the greasy wrench against his shoulder. His brows loomed heavy and serious. "So why the hell are you breaking it now?"
Okay, this wasn't broaching the subject like she'd thought it would. "You should put that wrench down," she said. "You're getting grease all over that shirt."
"Subject changed appreciated, but why - "
“And I like that shirt," she said. "I like that color on you. “It’s very flattering.”
He dropped the wrench on his foot.
When the clanging and the yelping and the jumping up and down and the checking that his foot wasn't broken had all died down, he wiped his greasy fingers on a rag, getting the fingers greasier. "So," he said levelly, "you met someone. That's great. That- that's awesome. What's their name?"
Oh. She hadn't expected this.
"Cisco," she said. "It's you."
He looked up, pain filling his eyes, and probably not from his foot. "No, it's not."
"It is," she insisted. Oh, wow, she hadn't expected him to be this stubborn about it.
"No," he said. "No. You met someone and you didn't realize, that's all. I don't know why you think it's me, because we've known each other for years, and it's never been me before." His voice cracked.
She reached out to take his hands. "But it is. I've been seeing in color for a month now. Just a little at first. But now it's everywhere. And it started with you. Cisco, it's you."
He shook his head slowly. "How?"
She shrugged. “I’ve been researching. Did you know it's a whole field in social science? The study of soulmates. Amatology. It's so much more complicated then everybody thinks, Cisco. We always hear how you know in the first moment, and it's just that one person, forever, and - and that's not accurate! You can have more than one. And you know somebody for years before they become your soulmate. And that's what happened to me. With you," she added firmly.
He was pressing his lips together. "It was - " he said, then stopped. Swallowed. Took a breath. "It was the first moment with me. The first color I saw was the gold of your engagement ring."
"Oh," she breathed. 
He swallowed again. There were tears in his eyes. "I've loved you for years, Caitlin, so I need you to tell me right now. Swear to me you're sure, and you're not screwing with me, and you - " His voice sank to a whisper. "And you absolutely know I'm your soulmate."
"I'm sure," she said. "I'm not screwing with you. I absolutely know that you're my soulmate, Cisco Ramon. And you know why? Because I don’t want it to be anybody but you."
He kissed her, hard, pulling her close. She had half a thought for her meticulously selected outfit, then mentally consigned it to the rag bin and kissed her soulmate back.
When they had to come up for air, he rested his forehead against hers. "I never wanted it to be anybody but you, either," he breathed.
"Even when - Ronnie?"
He nodded. "Because he made you happy. I wanted that more than anything else."
She traced the lines of his face, the arch of his brows, the curve of his lips. Dear and familiar and beautiful. "You're going to make me happy too."
FINIS
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Text
Random Wanda Vision Thoughts--
Episode 1: I am an emotional bitch crying at Wanda and Vision saying “i do” at the end of episode 1, like can these babies please catch a break? they just want to be happy. 
Also Agnes and the 70′s show mom are my favorite wtf. 
STARK TOASTERS I SEE YOU. 
WHO IS WATCHING THEM WTF 
Episode 2: 
Dottie should die, she seems like the type who needs gently run over by a bus
WHO IS IN THE RADIO
Elizabeth Olsen is so cute in this, absolutely adorable 
IS THAT DAVID SCHWIMMER PLAYING THE PIANO
Vision is drunk from getting gum in his gears, I’m actually cackling right now. 
Tiny bit culty with the “for the children” thing, huh? Yikes
BABY BUMP! 
Some creepo decides to get in on their world and Wanda literally went “i think the fuck not, let’s try this again and this time in technicolor” 
is that the cop who asked out Ant Man on the radio?
The difference in “sitcom” Wanda who is happy in her world and “real life” Wanda when she realizes something isn’t right is honestly astonishing and Grade A Face Acting. See what happens when they let women do more on screen then walk around in tight clothes with full lips parted in a sexy pout? 
Episode 3: 
Seventies Vision’s hair is ENDING ME, I can’t even deal with that. 
IT HAS TO BE DAVID SCHWIMMER except he looks like “russ” from friends instead of “ross” 
Poor Vision is not handling impending fatherhood well 
COMIC BOOK NAME DROP BILLY AND TOMMY I LOVE IT 
Poor pregnancy fritzing Wanda. DID WANDA JUST GLITCH A TIME ERASE AND NOT MEAN TO? Listen, I did not expect to love them as a couple this much. EW HER WATER BROKE OMG 
A STORK 
Oh Wanda, poor baby she’s so afraid, I write way too much fan fiction about how all these characters are secretly terrified to go through life alone to be okay with this. 
Why did I start crying immediately when the babies were born, I’m too emotional for this. She is so beautiful and Vision is so soft meeting his son as himself, oh my gosh. THE TWIN SCREAMS while the other twin comes omg this is Grade A Sitcom bullshit. 
The doctor knows something is Up and so do Herb and Agnes. *don’t be suspicious, don’t be suspicious*
...have we actually seen Ralph and I’m just blanking on it? WHY DON’T THEY LIKE GERALDINE? WHO IS SHE?
Oh no i’m crying again over pietro and the sokovian lullaby. Don’t let me watch this while I’m PMSing wtf this is torture. GERALDINE KNOWS ABOUT ULTRON
OH SHIT WANDA IS PISSED LOOK AT THAT DANGEROUS LADY. that head tilt is fucking lethal. 
I love agnes oh man. I know because of spoilers she’s something of a bad guy? but I love her
WHAT HAPPENED TO GERALDINE OMG DID WANDA KILL HER
Oh no, not dead. Just kicked tf out of the bubble. I just realized the symbol is for Sword. Is this some sort of experiment to keep Wanda contained post Endgame? I should have read more spoilers, I’m fucking confused. 
Episode 4: OH HOLY SHIT IT’S MONICA RAMBEAU AND IT’S POST EG SNAP OH MY GOSH SHE HAS NO IDEA SHES BEEN GONE FOR FIVE YEARS MY HEART IS BREAKING MY HEART IS BREAKING I CAN’T TAKE IT 
It IS the cop that hit on Ant Man! WHAT DO THEY MEAN WESTVIEW DOESN’T EXIST 
Oh it’s Darcy! Damn straight it’s Dr. Lewis. How very shocking, a woman was the one to show a room full of Ridiculous Men what’s going on?
ZOMBIE VISION OH MY GOD “no we can’t” oh man she is starting to CRACK and Vision knows something is wrong OH NO 
At this point I should point out that I am 1000% surprised at the quality of the show and 1000% pleasantly surprised by how much I’m enjoying it. The bar for Wanda’s character development was literally subterranean, but this is has been frankly sort of amazing?? 
Episode 5
Agnes asking about “taking it from the top” WHAT. I love so much the way the characters “break character” it’s so interesting and well done! WHY IS WANDA LYING TO VISION. 
WHERE IS RALPH
oh my god the babies are children now?? why isn’t agnes noticing?? THEY’RE SO CUTE I COULD CRY ALL OVER AGAIN 
I do not. trust. hayward. Why is he asking about Wandas nickname? Monica knows whats up-- she knows Wanda is grieving and hurting. 
THE VISIONS CORPSE WHAT? WHAT IS WANDA DOING OH MY GOD SHE STOLE VISION. Vision has a living will? Don’t you have to be human for that? Are you telling me the woman that loved Vision would straight up ignore his wish to not be turned into a weapon after his death? I have a hard time with this. 
Oh no Vision is starting to worry me. He’s onto Agnes, he’s noticing Wanda getting careless...the boys are adorable though. Good on Agnes for not even flinching. 
DAMN RIGHT WANDA COULD HAVE TAKEN OUT THANOS LETS HAVE SOME RESPECT PEOPLE. Also, why is Monica being sketchy about Captain Marvel? 
EMAIL ALERT EMAIL ALERT “none of it is real.” oh my god what is happening?!?!
“Is this yours?” OH MY GOD. “This will be your only warning” she is so unafraid and I love her for it. I love her accent coming back when she breaks characters LOOK AT HER TURNING ALL THOSE MEN AROUND I LOVE HER. 
“Fix the dead” oh my god the shock on her face. The absolute irony of her trying to tell her boys there’s rules when she’s writing the playbook as she goes. Oh my god. “Can’t I?” Jesus, then the credits start rolling because she wants the episode to be over but Vision won’t let her OH MY GOD. My heart is breaking
WHAT DOES IT MEAN SHE DOESN’T KNOW 
SHE RECAST PIETRO
Episode 6
OOOOH look at the classic costumes! Pietro is slaying me. I mean, it’s the wrong pietro but its still very funny. The way Vision calls her out and then plays it off is.... spooky. She is fully aware thats not her brother. “Be good.” holy shit. 
Look at me not liking Hayward again. “which one is the sassy best friend” i feel like that’s....racist. “don’t use the last five years as an excuse to be a coward” DRAG HIM SIS 
Listen Uncle Pietro being a little shit head is my favorite. I use the OG Pietro in my fics but this one is hilarious. 
Vision lied about being on duty? Yikes. The one house where people are stuck in a loop? YIKES. Its crazy how everyone is starting to be super aware of Wanda pulling the strings--MAGIC CHILD OMG. 
Whats past ellis avenue? Is that the limit of Wanda’s powers? I don’t super understand how Vision has his powers if he’s technically dead. HE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THE AVENGERS ARE she really just gave him enough life to exist just barely. Agnes knows he’s dead so she wasn’t snapped??
Agnes’s witchy laugh while dressed like a witch is legit awesome. We call that FOREEEEEEEEESHADOWING! Oh and there’s Ellis Ave. Got it. 
Monica’s blood is changed?? Idk how to feel about Black Character willing to die for White Charaxter? I mean I know Wanda should be Jewish but still. Uncomfortably close to icky tropes but maybe I’m reading too far into it.
YIKES where was she hiding the kids till now? How’d she do all this? “I’m not a stranger or your husband” YIKES.
OH MY GOD DEAD PIETRO
OH MY GOD VISION STAY IN THE BUBBLE SOMEONE SAVE HIM SAVE HIM OMG BILLY CAN HEAR HIS DADDY DYING SAVE HIM
“The people need help” oh Vision you are truly Worthy
She literally expanded her world to save him omg
DARCY WHERED YOU GO geez look at power of this girls mind it’s about damn time we got a glimpse at just how intense her powers are
Season 7
Ok is this like a reality show? Oh man she is GLITCHING.
Oh no it’s just Wanda not Wanda vision cos she feels alone? So sad. She really is losing it isn’t she and not in a “lol how awkward” sortnof way but in that truthful hard to watch way that so many of us feel when we’re at the breaking point
“I actually did bite a kid once” I literally ugly laughed right there
I KNEW I COULDNT TRUST HAYWOOD
It’s so nice to see Darcy used in a real way. Her character was totally wasted in Thor
The way Wandas little interviews get more and more sad :(
Uhhh what does that mean Agnes is quiet on the inside? Again with the Ralph thing. I’m starting to think there’s no Ralph at all??
LOOK AT THIS GIRL WITH HER SPACE ROVER . She’s got that same look of determination her mama had. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HER WHY ARE HER EYES BLUE
“....soooo Wanda killed me?” I’m ugly laughing again and I shouldn’t be but the comedic delivery is excellent. The whole “office” vibe with the cameras is making an otherwise devastating episode fairly funny
LOOK AT THIS GIRL STANDING UP TO WANDA we love a sharp cheekbones beauty
“Maybe I already am” I mean, I would have loved to hear that post Ultron when for some reason everyone blamed Tony for everything?? But hearing it now is just horrifying and I hate it
Oh vision deciding to go get to his wife is beautiful.
WHERE ARE THE BABIES WHERE ARE THE BOYS OH MY GOD IM FREAKING OUT WHAT BASEMENT THATS NEVER GOOD
Uh hey what the fuck is up with Agness creepy basement of horrors??
AGATHA HARKNESS OH MY GOD
This song is a BOP wtf she deserves an Emmy for this shit
Snoopers gonna snoop what?
Episode 8
Of course it’s Salem, where else would a witch story start
“They simply bent to my power” What a queen
lmaoooo THAT ACCENT COMES AND GOES Agatha really said what we’ve all been thinking
Wait so Wandas power drew Agatha in? I thought maybe Agatha trapped her here?? SHE DOESNT KNOW WHAT WANDA IS
THE BABIES
Oh ouch this trip down memory lane is gonna hurt me isn’t it?
Oh no her mama I’m dying inside send help. The TV sitcoms. Oh my god is this her last memory before her parents died. HELP ME I CANT WATCH THIS
Oh my god, she had powers when she was little?? SHES NOT AN EXPERIMENT???
Listen I generally think telling a story retroactively is lazy writing? Just give us a well developed story the first time?? But this is BRUTAL and brutally well done.
SHE SAW HERSELF IN THE MIND STONE???
Would it have been so difficult for them to give us even a PEEK at this version of wanda vision in CACW? Marvel has the worst habit of just popping up like “oh hey these two love each other all the sudden with no real reason for it” but this is wonderful. So much character development.
Oh listen to this woman begging to be able to bury her husband omg. WAIT SO SHE DIDNT BREAK IN AND TAKE HIM?? WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO VISION?? DID HE PUSH HER INTO THIS PSYCHOTIC BREAK?? HE TOTALLY PLAYED HER INTO RECREATING VISION SHE JUST WANTED CLOSURE. He literally showed her visions dismembered corpse and said “say goodbye” I will kill this dude wtf
“I can’t feel you” guys I have to pause this so I can cry for a minute
“I can’t feel you” and then she leaves. Totally alone in the world. My heart is an empty husk.
Why the house though? Why west view?
OH FUCK ME UP ARE YOU KIDDING ME VISION WAS GOING TO BUILD THEM A HOUSE I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE
It’s not even real vision? Just the projection of her broken heart? “Welcome home” I am broken. Physically broken.
CHAOS MAGIC
SCARLET WITCH
I CANNOT
OH MY GOD WHITE VISION??? NO NO NO
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kaebedom-me · 3 years
Note
We believe in Cheaya supremacy 😖😩🥵 Can I have some wedding headcanon plz🥺
YEEESSS CHAEYA SUPREMACY I'VE BEEN DYING TO WRITE THIS ONE
LESGO LES FU CK ON G GO!!!!!!!!
Pplspls,, im os fuckong sofft.... Chaeya wedding I'm,,, thnak you so so os much fot requesting this I'm gomma cry
Chaeya wedding...... I-
Childe's the one that proposes bet
Kaeya.. It takes a while for him to answer, i don't see him immediately accepting the proposal immediately even if they head over heels deeply in love with each other
Cuz Kaeya thinks he has issues and honestly why would someone as influential and spectacular and gorgeous as Childe?? want??? to marry him???????
I also think they're pretty communicative people? Like sure Childe's the type to spring up proposals out of no where
Especially during like a fight with a really strong opponent w Kaeya he just "marry me" out of no where
He's the type to do that, yes, but he also is pretty in tuned w Kaeya so he knows Kaeya might want to talk about it too
Like after a really nice date or smth? Or after a very sweet knock the air out of your lungs sex he just kinda softly asks if he can propose to Kaeya
They'll talk about it and it'll be awhile before Kaeya says yes to being proposed to?
Then Childe will propose uwu and even then it'll be a Soft™ proposal done in private or where its just the two of them
Okokok before i get carried away here's the actual wedding hcs because I'm trailing off to proposal hcs
[eyes emoji]
They would probably have a spring wedding
The weather isn't too cold or hot
Childe!! Wants a big wedding the biggest!!!!!! Everyone's invited!!! His getting married to the most beautiful man in Teyvat!! Everyone needs to know!!!
But Kaeya would prefer a smaller wedding with only close friends and family umu
They settle for a semi small wedding
Everyone important to them is there and they (childe) sent out a couple of extra invitations for people he thinks he'd like to see
His entire immediate family is there because he loves them sm and what's to share the special day w them
I feel also like they'd hold the wedding either somewhere really obscure or somewhere easy for everyone to get to
It's cute cuz Childe wants a really obscure place where it's super pretty very romantic and memorable? But Kaeya's like??? How are all your guests going to come then
Childe no think only putting a ring on Kaeya and kissing him to seal the marriage contract no Thoughts
Zhongli being like the priest-ish guy he's there to do the marriage contract ok
Venti provides entertainment
I want this to be few years down the line when everything is settled AU where everything works out fine, no one dies, and everything great. A happy ending because its what Chaeya deSERVES.
I- Kaeya in a wedding dress Kaeya in a wedding dress Kaeya in a wedding dress KaeyA iN a WEdING DReSS KAEYA IN A WEDDING DRESS
Yeah, Kaeya would totes rock a wedding dressing. Like bonus if Childe wants to see him in a wedding dress too?
They'd prolly have like a mixed tradition wedding like it's not as traditional. Something between Mondstadt and Snezhnayan tradition uwu
Diluc is here too,, they're brothers again kinda plS I JUST WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY IT'S A HAPPY DAY
I think it'd be nice if Diluc was the one walking Kaeya down the aisle? Hhh and they're talking softly because they haven't been talking for awhile
Diluc a little like reluctant because he didn't judge if it were like a fling or smth but your whole life????
But honestly it's just cuz Diluc's a little unsure what the marriage will entail? Like if Kaeya's gonna move away now or he'll be too devoted to spend time (even if it annoys the hell out of him) with him
And Kaeya before reaching where Childe is reassures Diluc. Because he knows, he knows how anxious Diluc is under that cool exterior just,,,,
Maybe they share a little hug,,, just tells him everything's still going to be the same, he's just got a ring on his finger now,, pls I'm so fucking soFt
Childe 1000% cries when he sees Kaeya walking down the aisle ok like how can he be so lucky to not only woo him but also have him for the rest of his life?
He cries sm Zhongli has to pull him aside for a bit to get him composed
Kaeya cries a little too ok tf he's just umu didn't think anyone would be this into him? Like he didn't think he'd have have someone to be with for the rest of his life that loves him for him even when he's not sure who he really is i-
Their vows to each other are going to be fucking cutest ok people are gonna get touched
I think their kiss when they sign the marriage contract-
I don't want to say like marriage thingy whatever the actual tradition is because i think it's so cute that they do a whole contract w the God (former) of contracts like- shut up I'm in my feels ok let me have this
So they kiss to seal the contract and its not going to be a long kiss even though they're both so horny and sketchy no
It's going to uncharacteristically sweet and chaste. They spend most of them time looking into each other's eyes than kissing
The after party like a dinner or smth where everyone just vibes is lit tho
There's so much alcohol so much because Childe spoils his bf- 🥺🥺 husband (fuCK I'm so emotional)
Venti's about to drink to the next century
Kaeya changes to a suit after cuz wedding dress do be stuffy so
There's like fun games for everyone, good food and music! Lots of dancing and laughter a great time
And he's so handsome in the suit too!????? Childe tears up again how is this man his husband tf
You'd think Kaeya's gonna get black out drunk and Childe's gonna start fights for fun but no they're uncharacteristically soft ok just let them take in everything and that they're husbands
Plspls them chilling in the corner of the room watching everyone and they're sorta just cuddle up and holding hands fingers tracing over their wedding rings
Lumine and Aether has to be the one to tell them to go dance and enjoy the wedding party they planned
Them being called out HAHAHA you can be soft for the rest of you life but you only get one (1) wedding like go???
They end up dancing and drinking til they're a little tipsy too just over all a good time uwu
I know y'all are really here for spicy hcs so i will provide some
Wedding night sex is a guarantee
Kaeya prepped cute white lingerie already
It's also honestly surprisingly sweet? Them just taking their time with each other and lots of loving kisses and tender touches
A lot of compliments and praise from Childe to Kaeya and Kaeya being equally as soft
He's telling Childe how much he loves him and how grateful he is for him, how happy he feels
Also Childe 100% wants Kaeya to call him his husband during
Bonus if its "my husband"
Childe calls him "my wife" or "my husband" in Snezhnayan
Kaeya laughs at him because Childe's still a little possessive even though they're bound by a contract now when Childe sucks a hickey onto Kaeya's ring finger
Childe's like pouting because of it but Kaeya bites hard enough to scar Childe's ring finger in return because lowkey Kaeya's possessive too
They're just,,, soft right now ok do noT SEpErATe
They'll go at it for like a good few hours or if they're extra Soft™ they'll only have rough sex again in like 3 - 5 business days
Them just basking in each other's love after like wow this is real and they're here w each other
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jesussavedevenme · 3 years
Text
To Be A Knight
This is the beginning of a collection of one shots following Seth's adventures as a Knight of the Dawn
Description: Like most young boys Seth had always dreamed of being a spy. He had spent most of his childhood sneaking around the house with a walky-talky while humming the Mission Impossible theme song. And while he technically still wasn't a spy,he was pretty darn close.
May 20
St.Matthew's Island, Alaska
6:25 pm
"Sorenson, I've got a job for you." came a gruff voice from down the hall. Seth turned and saw his handler, a man by the name of Flynn Hotching, leaning out of the door to his office. Flynn was a tall and strong man with a broad frame. At fifty five he was in excellent shape and the only indications to his age were the flecks of white that were sprinkled throughout his dark hair and neatly trimmed beard. Flynn was a serious man and often gave off an intimidating vibe, but Seth knew that he wasn't that bad once you got to know him.
Seth stood, ignoring the way his back popped and cracked in protest because of how long he had spent sitting in the rather uncomfortable wooden chair. He had once started a petition to replace them with those really comfortable bean bag chairs. He actually had quite a few supporters. But Flynn, being the man he was, just rolled his eyes and walked away. Seth could feel the stares of his fellow knights burning into the back of his head as he made his way over but opted to ignore it. Seth got missions quite frequently, a fact that many knights were slightly jealous of since it would occasionally get him out of some the more mundane tasks a Knight had to complete. For example, paper work. Which is what he had been doing when he had been called. He quickly made his way over, eager to get away from the evil sea of inevitable paper cuts. He couldn't help but chuckle as he mentally heard Eve calling him a drama queen. Though she wasn't much better.
Flynn barely waited for the door of his to close behind him before he began pouring out the details of whatever job he had lined up.
" There's a dealer that's been causing us some problems. They are preying on creatures such as unicorns and there has been some rumors that they are working with some less than savory characters. I need you to track them down. " Flynn stated firmly. Seth narrowed his eyes, there was no way it was that easy. If it was that simple then they would have brought in a rookie.
"Ok, what's the catch." He replied crossing his arms over his chest.The man heaved a sigh before sliding a file towards him.
" The catch is we don't have any idea who the dealer is. We don't even have a description. However, all of our dealers crimes have a certain flare to them and we have reason to believe that he is human. We have intercepted news of a deal taking place in three days in Belize. "
Seth read the file and whistled at the lack of information. The file was extremely limited which meant that whoever was doing this knew what they were doing. The Knights of the Dawn had excellent connections and kept tabs on every possible threat so for them to be this uninformed- well lets just say it wasn't good. It also meant he was walking into this mission completely blind. He couldn't plan for anything meaning he had to plan for everything. He had no idea what was going to happen once he got there but, if you ask Seth, that was part of the fun.
"Alright I'll do it." Seth replied after a moment of thought. He had to admit he only pretended to think about it, mostly just for the suspense. He had always loved a good mystery and this mission honestly excited him.
"Good, your plane leaves tomorrow at eight am sharp. You will be issued a bag that will be stocked with supplies but I advise you to bring anything you think would be useful" He said gesturing to the satchel over his shoulder, that served as his emergency kit. " I have wired five thousand dollars into your account but if you need more than that you know who to call." Seth nodded, placing the folder in his satchel and walked out of the office, heading to his apartment to prepare for the mission ahead. He pulled his coat tighter around his body as he walked outside and realized that it was later than he had originally thought. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon and though Seth loved the pinks and oranges that painted the sky, he could practically feel the temperature dropping. Last time he had checked it was 25 degrees, which is no where near as cold as it could get but it was still very cold. Despite how long he had been in Alaska, he had yet to get used to the bitter cold. And he honestly didn't think he ever would. Seth guessed he should count himself lucky, this was the Knights biggest base and it had been cleverly hidden by distractor spells as well as the natural terrain of the island. Seth shivered as a strong gust of wind blew through the base reminding him of the other reason it stayed hidden from most people. Luckily he lived on the grounds of the base so it was only about a minutes walk.
The Knights of the Dawn had no shortage of money. Seth wasn't sure how they got there hands on so much money and honestly he didn't want to know. It was all warranted though considering how many supplies they had to buy along with the amount of damage control. It was amazing sometimes how much chaos a secret organization could cause. Seth knew he definitely wasn't the favourite over in the legal department because of some of the 'incidents' that had been a result of his missions. Seth was proud to be able to state that these incidents were few and far between but when they did happen he knew they had to be a nightmare to clean up.
Needless to say, with all that money, his apartment was very nice. It had a decent size living room and kitchen which connected go a small dining area. Upstairs there was two bedrooms and a bathroom. Seth's furniture was pretty sparse if he was being honest. He had a couch that had been there when he moved in, his bed, a desk, a small dining table that has also come with the apartment, as well as few chairs scattered here and there. It didn't bother him in the slightest. He honestly wasn't here that often. He slept there when he wasn't out on missions which, once again, was pretty rare. Besides the real fun began downstairs. He walked down the stairs into what appeared to be a musty, unfinished basement. A punching bag hung from one of the exposed beams and a small pile of weights sat not far from it. Seth rarely used those, they were reserved for restless nights when the big communal gym and training area was closed for the night.
Seth strode confidently towards the back wall and slid away a lose board revealing a keypad. It was truly a horrible hiding spot for something that important but there wasn't really anything he could do about it. The neat thing about the keypad though was that it had been enchanted so that he was the only one who could touch it. Meaning that not only did you need the correct code, but he had to be the one to punch it in. He wasn't exactly sure what would happen if someone else touched it but he knew it would do more than just set off an alarm. Stuff like always made Seth feel like a true spy and totally made up for the unsecured hiding space.
Seth punched in the code and heard the distinct sound of stone scraping on stone, briefly reminding him of his few days spent in the Sphinx's prison. When the sound stopped, a small opening was revealed that lead to a room containing his weapons and supplies. From the outside the room appeared to be tiny and cramped but it had also been enchanted to be much bigger on the inside. It wasn't quite as big as the knapsack they had all those years ago but it was nothing to sneeze at. Still, no matter how big it was on the outside, Seth had to crouch down to fit through the opening. The door frame was ridiculously short and the amount of time he had smacked his head against the top was honestly embarrassing. The supplies inside the room was a knights dream. There was everything you could dream of, swords, daggers, armor, bows, you name it. The special thing about this room though, was that most of the items were his. They were things he had gathered prior to becoming a knight. Seth also had several magical talismans and tools that had gotten him out of more than a few sketchy situations. His favorite talisman was a ring that sat on his right forefinger. The ring had been a gift from The Fairy King when Seth had been accepted into the Knights Academy. It was pitch black and didn't look like much at first glance however, when you looked closer you could see three unicorns that were engraved on its surface, each of which served more functional purposes. The first unicorn, when pressed, sent out a distress signal strong enough to reach Bracken even if he was in the fairy realm. The distress signal also went out to anyone who had a connected talisman. At this point the only ones being himself and Kendra who had gotten hers when she officially began dating Bracken in the form of a bracelet. The second unicorn held a few precious drops of unicorn blood. The substance could heal almost anything but it could only be used once. The final unicorn was arguably Seth's favorite. When it was pressed it would release a pearly white dagger which had been extremely helpful in the past. The downside to this tool was that, since it was made of light, he tended to have a harder time controlling it.
Seth looked through his stash, trying to decide which weapons were right for this particular mission. He knew at this point stealth was key but if you leave for a job without a weapon, you're just going to get yourself killed.
When going on stealth missions the best route to take is small weapons that can be easily concealed, such as daggers or blow darts. However, the problem with that was those were easily detected when going through airport security. Ever since becoming a knight Seth had decided that he hated flying. It was loud, chaotic, and absolutely impossible to tell who was a danger to you.
Plus carrying weapons onto the plane was pretty much impossible but, a knight needed to be prepared in every situation. The weapon had to be easily accessible, ready at a moments notice, and the best way to do that is to build a weapon that doesn't look like a weapon. Seth walked over to a small red tool box tucked away in the corner, and pulled out a large nut and and tied a piece of cord to it. He secured the cord and then started to spin it, making sure nothing was going to fall off. And just like that he had a weapon that made a killer whip and could easily crack a mans skull if it came down to that. The best part was that it wouldn't trip any alarms. Sure it might seem a little odd that someone carries a piece of cord tied to a nut but, he wouldn't get arrested for it. Seth tied the lose cord around his neck, creating a necklace that he could hide underneath his shirt until it was needed. When that was finished he turned his attention to his emergency kit and sifted through the various items, taking out anything that would tip off a scanner. Seth gathered the items that he had taken out and moved towards the suitcase that he would be taking with him. He felt around one of the sides and unzipped a pocket so small that you most likely wouldn't see unless you knew it was there. In the pocket he placed the remaining items of his emergency kit. This time he wasn't worried about the items being seen as the pocket had been enchanted to hide the items from sight. Seth then repeated the process with the bottom of the suitcase, peeling back the inside to reveal a similar compartment that had also been enchanted to be bigger. In this pocket he placed two daggers, A blow gun and darts, and his favorite sword. He pulled the sword out of it's sheath and inspected it for any chips or dull edges. The sword was jet black and held the name Shadow Slayer, which was kind of ironic given its nature. The sword held just enough darkness to work well with him but not so much that there was a risk it would corrupt him. He had found the sword while on a mission for the fairy realm not long before joining the Knights. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to use it because lets face it, milk or no milk a sword was still a sword. However, Seth had learned that it payed to be prepared. So with that thought in mind, he placed the sheathed sword in the compartment, closed it up, and began to carry it upstairs to his bedroom. He filled the rest of the suit case with clothes and other essentials and once he was satisfied that he had everything, he closed it up.
He slumped down in his desk chair and pulled out the file he had stashed in his emergency kit, pouring over what little detail it had and attempting to prepare for what was to come.
†††††
May 21
St.Matthews Island, Alaska
5:00am
The next morning Seth was up well before five am preparing for the mission ahead. Thankfully he had always been a morning person so the early hour didn't bother him in the slightest. He grabbed his bags and exited the apartment, heading to the missions office to pick up the final things he would need for this job.
The lady at the desk, He pretty sure her name is Jennifer, smiled at him as he approached the counter. She was a women in her mid thirties and she was one of the nicer people that worked the desk. There were quite a few of the people working here that obviously didn't want to and others who even seemed to resent it. Seth really couldn't blame them though, he had worked here for a few months while he was going through training and it definitely hadn't been the most fun or exciting job out there.
" ID and case number?" She asked as more of a formality than anything else. Seth was such a regular visitor that he was pretty sure they knew who he was. However, since it was required, he slid showed them his badge and rattled the number off anyway. Seth supposed that he coukd see the logic behind the badge. It was a way of identifing someone beyond ther looks. All of them had been enchanted fo return to their owners, generally via their pocket, should they be lost. Seems simple and secure enough. However, in their line of work things were rarely that black and white. Seth is not entirely sure what would happen to the badge if their was a stingbuld or if the enchantment could be removed. Luckily they didn't do much. They were just means of identification and they didn't let you into anything at all. Any area qhich required a certain level of access had several different enchantments placed on it. Ones that were designed to recognize the person requesting access and weed out potential imposters. After the battle of Zzyzx and the whole mess with the Evening Star, the knights had undergone huge security upgrades. Bracken as well as one of his sisters, Iredessa, had set mist of the enchantments. Kendra had also played a major part on strengthening these enchantments a few years ago.
The case numbers were pretty harmless. Not the most secure but all they did was let the people at the desk know what bag of supplies to get. It didn't give access to any crucial or confidential information. The most a fake could get was an issued duffle bag and possibly some.plane tickets.
Jennifer smiled as she stood and disappeared through a secured metal door. When she returned a few minutes later she was carrying a black duffle bag which she passed to him over the counter along with a two way plane ticket.
"Thanks a lot," Seth told her, flashing a bright smile her way. She hummed in response before responding,
"Stay safe out there,"
"I'll try my best," Seth replied with a grin as he headed towards the door and began the short treck to the parking lot where a car would take him to the airport. He knew he must have looked a little funny carrying around a huge duffle bag, suit case and a leather satchel that sat across his shoulder but he wasn't worried. Every Knight here had been in similar situations before. Seth looked around the parking lot, squinting in the bright morning sun, before making his way to the small grey jeep that sat close to the front. Leaning against the side was a tall guy with wind blown red hair and a lean build. Seth smiled when he spotted him. The man's name was Parker and he was one of Seth's closest friends here on the base. They had gone through training together though, Parker was about three years older than him. He was twenty-four while Seth was only twenty-one. Seth, unfortunately, hadn't had a lot of friends at that time. Because of his shadow charmer status, people tended to be wary of him but Parker had never been deterred by his abnormal abilities.
In between his own missions Parker volunteered to drive Knights back and forth to the airport. Due to Seth's frequent missions, the two usually ended up paired together.
"Another one Sorenson? Didn't you just finish that one in Sweeping Pine preserve like a week ago?"
" Yeah, Jealous?" Seth teased, raising his eyebrows. Parker laughed and shot a playful glare at the taller boy. Despite Parker's tall height, he was still at least and inch shorter than Seth. Though to be fair, not many people were taller than Seth. A fact that many people found unsettling.
" Just a little bit dude. What, you trying to show the rest of us up or something?" Parker laughed back, poking Seth in the side as he got into the car. Seth rolled his eyes as he loaded his bags into the car before following Parker's lead. They road in silence for several minutes as Parker navigated his way out of the crowded base and set up the directions to the international airport. It wasn't everyday that a Knight flew internationally for a mission. Generally if they were going to somewhere outside the country they were going to a preserve and would have to be flown there by helicopter or other means. So while it did happen, it didn't happen often.
Seth used the temporary quiet to unzip the bulky duffle bag and look at its contents.
Looking into his bag for a mission and seeing the certain supplies or gadgets still made him a bit giddy. Like most young boys, Seth had always wanted to be a spy. He had spent most of his childhood sneaking around the house with a cheap walky-talky while humming the mission impossible theme song. And while he technically wasn't a spy, he was pretty darn close. One of the common misconceptions about the Knights of the Dawn was that they didn't use any human or modern technology such as computers and other gadgets to do their job. However that was far from true. Sure they tended to avoid it when dealing directly with magical creatures, but they often used these gadgets for things such reconnaissance.
Inside the bag was some of the things you would expect such a binoculars and many more that you wouldn't expect. Seth's favorite part of these bags were the small box near the bottom that generally came with each one. The box contained different potions that you might need for the mission. Seth had always found potions to be fascinating. There had even been a time that he had considered going into the field himself. For this particular mission he had been given a night vision potion which was pretty self explanatory, An eavesdropping potion that enhanced his hearing and allowed him to listen in on a conversation without getting too close, and a form of truth serum that would loosen the lips of of someone you wish to get information from. There was at least three bottles of each along with the normal defense and first aid potions that were added. Such as, the gaseous potion, a potion for pain, a salve for injuries and many more. On top of that Tanu insisted on making sure that Seth was always stocked with his own personal set of potions. Tanu usually supplied him with more gaseous potions, a gummy potion, a giant potion, a new potion that enhanced his focus and his reflexes, as well as plenty of first aid related ones. He seemed to be convinced that Seth would end up seriously injured on every mission. Though sadly, Seth could admit, that the worry wasn't completely unfounded. Other than the potions, the bag contained an enchanted communicator, a few listening devices, a laptop, and a few other useful knick knacks.
" Got anything good in there?" Parker questioned.
" You bet," Seth replied holding up the box of potions that was in his bag even knowing that with his friends eyes on the road and so Parker probably couldn't see them. Parker laughed anyway not needing his eyes to know what Seth was referring to.
" Seth, I swear I have never seen anyone get so excited over potions before."
" What can I say, I'm a simple guy," He replied earning a scoff from Parker.
" Uh huh, says the literal Shadow Charmer who has a mission every other week," The pair laughed once again and fell into an easy back and forth banter. Continuing there shenanigans until they pulled into the airport. It was then, as much as he, loathed to do it he bid Parker farewell , thanked him for the ride, and walked into the crowded airport.
Arriving at the airport was just as hectic as he expected it to be. Of course it was crazy for everyone but, it was even more so when you are constantly looking over your shoulder or waiting to get stopped by airport security. Thankfully he was able to board the plane okay even if his makeshift weapon did raise a few eyebrows.
Something Seth had learned was that a knight should always fly economy. It may not be the most comfortable but few people would start a fight with that many witnesses around. Plus it was easier to blend in. A tee shirt and some jeans and you were all set. Ready to settle in for a long flight.
Seth popped one ear bud in his ear but left the other out in order to let him hear incoming threats. Seth found it impossible to sleep on a plane, no matter how long the journey was, because of the unknown circumstances. It would be difficult to keep an eye on people and to know who was a threat. Unlike Kendra, Seth hated reading. Only a few books had every managed to hold his attention for any.period of time. He was too restless. He would much rather be doing something outside. Moving and exploring. He didn't mind doing art, sketching being his favorite. However, that was difficult to do in a crowded, bunny plane. So Seth resigned himself to a long ride half listening to music and ignoring the guy beside him who vaguely smelled like onions.
††††
May 22
Corazol, Belize
4:45 pm
Seth stretched his stiff legs as he walked from baggage claim to the exit of the airport. He breathed deeply and relished the feeling of the sun on his skin, even though he knew he would quickly become hot. But, after a long eight and a half hour flight, they were welcome changes. He glanced at the clock hung on the wall and noted the time. He knew that Corazol Belize was about two hours ahead of Alaska. Not that it mattered. Seth was pretty much immune to jet lag at this point. Not necessarily because of the constant travel, though that certainly helped, but because of the erratic and uncertain sleep schedule he had become used to while on any mission. His body had become well trained in sleeping whenever it was told. The only thing that interrupted this was nightmares but he rarely got those while on missions because his mind was too focused on other things. Seth would never admit it but that's one of the reasons he takes on as many missions as they will give him.
Seth's hotel was not far from the airport so he opted to walk there. He had done some research the night before and found a hotel that he rented under the name of Roger Alpine. The Knights would usually rent one for you but Seth preferred to do it himself. To say the hotel he chose was run down would be putting it nicely. The paint was peeling horribly from the siding and it was definitely not on the nicest side of town. The rooms were separated from the outside by a door with A flimsy looking lock, something Seth would secure once he had settled in. The room held a musty scent mixed with the smell of cigarette smoke. There was a bed in the center of the room, covered in some unsettling stains, a side table and lamp beside it, and a desk under the window. The window itself had a pair of thin ratty curtains and crooked blinds. There wasn't much Seth could do about the window, except string up a blanket, which he did. Opening his suitcase and removing his clothes, he opened the hidden compartment. From inside he took out the pieces of his emergency kit that he had stashed. He also opened up the duffle bag he had and pulled out a few other various knick knacks that he thought he might find useful. He then empty the remaining items into the compartment at the bottom of his suitcase. Leaving the duffle bag empty. This was.common practice for Seth in a place like this. He didn't want to leave his unused supplies in a relatively unprotected duffle bag while he was away. Unfortunately this was something Seth had learned the hard way.
In the end Seth was left with: the box of potions, a rope, a small bottle which held a thin dust that immediately soaked into the skin upon contact allowing the victim to be tracked, dark sunglasses (which did indeed have a camera and microphone installed) , a slingshot, some marbles( which as Seth had found were great for distractions), binoculars, and a pair of ear buds. All of these things were packed neatly into his emergency kit, ready for use. He still had his makeshift weapon secured around his neck and two knife secured in a holster and strapped to each of his legs. He had glanced mournfully at his sword but knew that it would only draw in wanted attention. Besides today wasn't about getting into a fight. Today was about exploring Corazol and getting a lay of the land. Still it played to be prepared, hence the knives. Finally, satisfied that he was ready, Seth left the dingy hotel room and began to wander along the streets. Searching for anything that might lead him in the right direction.
Corazol was a quaint little sea side town. You could smell the salt in the air, carried by the cool breeze. Corazol was small in population but it also had its fair amount of tourists. Especially right now with summer just around the corner. The busy streets were lined with street vendors all vying for his attention but Seth was more interest in searching his surroundings. The smells coming from said street vendors were heavenly and caused his stomach to crumble loudly reminding him that not only had he not eaten breakfast this morning, but that he had been walking for over an hour. Technically he could have rented a car, he definitely had the funds for it, and most Knights probably would. However Seth, was not most Knights. He didn't like rental cars for many reasons, one because it was easier to see a car and a license plate then just someone walking in a crowd. Two, every rental car was required to have trackers and such in them to prevent theft which was fine in most cases but problematic for him. That wasn't necessarily a huge risk but it was still one Seth wasn't willing to take. Maybe he had grown paranoid, but he was still alive so there's that. Finally he didn't like rental cars because, in his line of work, it was likely to get beaten up or destroyed. Plus having a car would cause him to miss out on the unique sights, sounds, and smells. That is yet another thing Seth loved about his job. It allowed him to travel the world and to see as well as, experience things he would never get to otherwise.
He had to admit this was a good place to go if you were going to hunt for artifacts and magical creatures and then illegally sell them . The Cerror Ruins were only a few miles away and Seth knew that it was a prime spot for missing person's cases, especially when people wandered off alone. He hoped beyond hope that he wouldn't have to venture there during this trip but, that's definitely where he would go if he was an illegal dealer trying to avoid the Knights as well as any other prying eyes and ears. Plus it wasn't exactly a place you would expect anything big to happen. And besides the Cerror Ruins, their wasn't really anything magical about the place. It honestly seemed kind of ordinary. It was perfect because it tended to be overlooked.
After another thirty minutes had past, the rumbling in Seth's stomach became too overwhelming to ignore and he resolved find a place to eat. He stumbled upon a small hole in the wall restaurant that seemed to be pretty popular amongst the locals. Meaning it was the perfect place for Seth to gather some information.
Even though he worked directly with magical creatures, you'd be surprised how many times he had to interact with regular people. The knowledge gathered from these people was often shaky at best and should definitely be taken with a grain of salt. However, this information often helped him form some semblance of an idea. In his experience Seth had learned that regular people noticed a lot more than even they realize. In addition most people never pass up a chance for a good gossip. And since they didn't know how valuable their information was, they were a lot less stingy with it. The only problem you run into is when they begin to ask questions and wonder why you're asking and who you are. When that happens you become the subject of gossip and word will eventually get back to you enemy. That's why Seth hated small towns. The information might be easier to come by, but it was also easier to get caught. And getting caught meant revealing your mission too soon.
In his line of work , timing was everything. Move in too soon and you risk blowing you cover as well as the entire mission. However, if you don't move in quick enough you'll miss your chance to get your guy. That perfect timing came only when you knew you enemy better than they knew themselves. It came from careful observation and lots of Intel.
Gathering Intel was arguably one of the most boring and tedious parts of Seth's job. It involved a lot of waiting, listening, learning, more waiting, and every once and awhile, a well calculated risk. Luckily, for Seth, his shade walking gave him an edge in this particular area. The ability allowed him to get closer to his enemies so he could overhear plans and put together one of his own. However no ability came without its share of risks. He had gotten a lot better at learning to shroud himself in the shadow to help cover his movements when shade walking but it wasn't an exact science. Not adding enough shadow would reveal his position should he happen to move too quickly however, adding too much shadow could be just as revealing.
Seth's favorite way of gathering Intel was doing exactly what he was doing now. Finding a place to eat while he sat back and listened. Small places like the diner he had just entered were prime spots for gossip. Additionally, they gave him an opening to talk with the locals in a relatively unsuspicious way. People tended to loosen up and talk more freely when both parties were eating. Plus it gave Seth a reason to try all the local dishes. Most of which were pretty good. The smell of home cooked food hit his nose the minute he walked through the door making his mouth water so much it was a wonder he didn't start drooling. He was met at the entrance by a plump, kind looking lady, who appeared to be somewhere in her mid fifties judging by the gray streaking through her black hair. The hair was pulled tightly into a bun at the back of her head, accentuating her full rosy cheeks. He apron stated that he name was Rosa which somehow seemed to fit her perfectly, even thought Seth didn't know her. She gave off a very motherly vibe that instantly made Seth feel at home. With a smile she led Seth to a table and asked him for his drink order. To which he replied with a simple black coffee. Coffee was something Seth had quickly become addicted when he became a Knight. It often helped him through the multiple all nighters he pulled while on a mission. Some minutes later she returned with his coffee, this time ready for his order of food.
" What would you recommend. I'm from out of town so I'm counting on you to hook me up with the good stuff," He said with a wink. Rosa laughed heartily and replied with a thick accent,
" Well only for you I will tell you my personal favorite," She rattled off the name of a dish which sounded completely foreign to Seth but he wasn't going to admit that.
" Ok then, you've talked me into it,.I'll get that," He replied and as Rosa turned to leave he continued, " And could you do me a favor and just wave your little magic wand and take all the fat and calories out for me," Once again Rosa replied with a full bellied laugh.
"You are a funny man. But for you I will have to add extra. Maybe then some of it will stick. You look like you need it," She teased in return before turning a leaving Seth alone once more. He leaned back in his chair, and pulled out his phone. Absent mindedly scrolling through something or another and trying to hide the fact that he was listening to the conversations around him. The diner was loud, making it difficult to discern the voice of only one person. Seth was tempted to use the potion he had that would hone his eyesight and hearing but didn't want to waste it seeing as he only had one. It would be unfortunate to use all of it now at the beginning of the mission when he could need it more later on.
His thoughts were interrupted by Rose who had come with his food. Seth was shocked at how quick the service was seeing as it was rush hour and the small diner was packed to the gills. With the meal she also brought his check. Seth glanced at the check, surprised at the low prices considering the quality of the food.
" Well would you look at that! you must have given me the senior citizen discount!" He paused for the laugh that he had come to expect and then followed up with, "So what are some cool things to do and see while I'm here, anything particularly interesting?"
" Oh well the Cerror Ruins are always a prime spot for tourism but you must be careful to stay on the trails. Too many people wander off and go missing. One of my favorite things is to see the sights at night. The water takes on this stunning color and you can see the star as clear as day. But if you choose that route you best stay away from Devils Tavern. Its on the North end of Corazol, close to the beaches. That place is nothing but trouble, and full of shady characters, especially recently," Rosa said. Rosa was obviously the type of person who talked openly once you got them going. The last part of her sentence caught Seth's attention.
" Really, shady people in this town? Surely not everyone seems so nice,"
" You are young. You haven't seen the darkness of man. People are not always as they seem child," She replied with a sad smile. Seth internally rolled his eyes. If only she knew. " But yes, a week or so ago , this man arrived and came into the diner to eat. He seemed normal enough even if he was a bit rude. However, later that night I saw him outside the Devils Tavern, its on my route home you see, and he was talking in hushed tones with another man. They were standing in the shadows real creepy like. I wasn't really able to hear what they were saying but they didn't sound to happy and they looked like they were planning something, " Rosa finished with a grim look on her face. A look that didn't last long as it was replaced with her usual bright smile.
Seth stored the information away for later, and smiled brightly in return. Acting as if the information had no effect on him at all. Something that had always made Seth a good agent was his poker face. He had a good control over which emotions showed on his face. This was a vast contrast to Kendra who tended to be easily read, like an open book. One with pictures and big letters. A fact that Seth ,and surprisingly Bracken, had teased her relentlessly for.
" Well I won't keep you, thanks for chatting with me . And I will be sure to check out those suggestions," He said, putting an end to the conversation. Seth then dug into his food, nearly moaning at the taste. It was incredibly good. Probably one of the best meals he's had while on a mission. While he ate, he began to sift through the information that he had been given. As always he had to wonder how much of it was true, seeing as people had a tendency to exaggerate. He also couldn't bring himself to believe that Rosa stumbled upon the Devil's Tavern, a place she claimed to despise, on her way home. From what he had seen of Corazol most of the housing was away from that part of the beaches. He wasn't going to completely discredit it but as Rosa had said, people aren't always who they seemed. However, no how much truth there was in the statement, one thing remained true. Tonight he was heading to the Devil's Tavern.
†††††
May 22
Corazol, Belize
10:00pm
Seth walked through the darkened streets. Careful to remain close enough to the street lights so as not to unintentionally shade walk. He had gotten a lot better at controlling it but it still happened from time to time. And he couldn't afford giving himself away like that. Just in case there were eyes watching him that he could not see. He had done a pretty good job of keeping on the down low. After lunch he had wandered around the streets a bit more and then headed to the beaches. Particularly the part of the beach close to the Devil's Tavern. The Devil's Tavern had been relatively quiet during the day. The sign had stated that they were opened but it had seemed oddly empty. That was a stark contrast to what he was seeing now.
The tavern now seemed to be packed to the gills with people. And even more of them were standing outside. Even from where he was standing a few feet away he could hear the loud music that played he could see the bright, colorful lights shiny through the windows. As Seth drew closer he saw a problem. Standing at the door was a big burly man wearing dark sunglasses and a tight short sleeved T-shirt that accented his bulging muscles. He was shorter than Seth, most people were, but he made up for it in width. Seth was considered to have pretty wide shoulders and his years of training had hardened his muscles into steel cords. However, none of this reassured him as he stared at a man that looked like he could snap him in half like a twig. He wasn't scared of the man per say. But, he was definitely cautious.
As Seth approached the man he seemed to be doing his own analysis and his stance showed that he didn't feel even the slightest bit intimidated. Which was fair and actually worked to Seth's advantage He had done his best to tone down the darkness of his aura that seemed to put people on edge. Plus the leather jacket he had opted to wear hit the bulk of his muscles, which weren't overly pronounced to begin with, as well as a few... other tools. Aside from the daggers strapped to his legs and the makeshift weapon around his neck, he had three throwing knives cleverly hidden in the folds of his jacket. Unfortunately, much to Seth's displeasure, he had once again leave his sword behind. As weird as it may sound he felt like the sword gave him a better sense of security than the multiple knives strapped to his body. He was dangerous with both weapons and that was disregarding the fact that he was a shadow charmer. So even without the sword, he was hardly helpless. Still, he always felt oddly bare without it. A look settled on the bouncers face. A look that Seth had often seen on bullies when he was a kid. In the end that was all this guy was. A bully. And obviously he saw Seth as his next victim. However, despite all the scenarios Seth was mentally planning for, all the man did was sneer. Seth did his best to pretend he was scared as he entered the building
The air smelled heavily of alcohol and the music, which had been loud before, now seemed to shake the floor. He immediately began to weave his way through the sweaty bodies packing the room searching for signs of anything that was amiss. You would think that a place with this much chaos would make it harder to find anything let alone one person but for Seth it made it easier. If there was one thing that the file full of its limited information had taught Seth was that this guy was far from careless. He wouldn't risk anything that might loosen his tongue. The rest of the people in this place shared no such caution. So find the guy who can walk a straight line and that was probably who Seth was looking for.
He hadn't been searching for more than five minutes when something caught his eyes. His eyes darted to what had caught his attention and and, confirming his previous suspicions to be true, he found Rosa.
†††††
So there is part one!!!! Most of this collection will be one shots but seeing as this z alone is over seven thousand words I figured I needed to split them up. I will hopefully be able to post the next part very soon. It needs a few touch ups and changes but.other than that its.practically done. This took SOOO much research its not even funny. I'm pretty sure trip advisor things I'm moving to Belize. Anyway I really hope you all like it, it is probably one of my favorite fics to date so let me know what you think. I apologize for any mistakes you may find. Let me know what adventures you want Seth to have in this book or any other requests you have!!!!!
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