leapinlxzards

[leapinlxzards]

“I’m being body positive! Just like the Internet said”

Night in the Woods sentence starters

   { 🦎 } Rory arched a brow from their spot on the couch (sprawled out, with one leg hooked around the back of the loveseat, the other bouncing against the armrest, a Teen Vogue with half the pages missing that they’d found in somebody’s recycle earlier this week hanging loosely in their hand), amused smile twitching on their lips.

   “I think your snakes will live confidence in-tact without you reassuring them that they’re perfect, rubenesque angels after they finish swallowing their dinner whole,” they drawled with a wry smile. “But hey, I’m not a snakeologist, or whatever. You do you.”

[leapinlxzards]

Night in the Woods

“Do you think we’d be friends if we weren’t, like, stuck together in the same town?” “My entire life feels like running after something that keeps moving away into the distance, while I stay in the same place” “Do you believe in anything at all?” “So I believe in a universe that doesn’t care and people who do” “So what am I doing here?” “This is going nowhere” “There is no time to forget before all is forgotten” “That was seriously messed up” “Yeah, nobody’s going to top that” “I’m sorry, but it’s off to Hell for you” “You’re in good company” “I regret nothing” “Can you be any more specific?” “Got hit by a car” “My back hurts” “Why is this a douchebag song?” “We have a table for when you’re done” “I’m being body positive! Just like the Internet said” “Can I offer you a complimentary slushie?” “Did he die?” “He definitely would’ve died” “Thank you for coming on such short notice” “I’ll never forgive them for taking him away” “Yeah, a crime was definitely committed”

[leapinlxzards]

   ( ooc ; ...i really should put something along the lines of “sporadic activity” in my blog description, huh? )

[leapinlxzards]

flashgotthis‌:

“Hah, thank god,” Wally smiled, still a bit embarrassed for even mentioning it that easily. He was just used to some people being rather special, even appearence like, that he didn’t really think about it that much anymore. “All in all, you seem to be doing great. From my point of view.” He couldn’t know what was going on inside of them of course.

“Do you think there’s an ‘achievement unlocked’ sound going on if one gets that balanced? Sounds enough to be out of this world to make that happen,” Flash joked with a chuckle. It was a stupid joke but he liked it all the same.

Nodding, Wally mused over what he could give as an example but..nothing came to mind. Except the time where he had been controlled by a gorilla and done some bad deeds. “Who knows. Maybe you met a few of us, maybe not. We might be many but then again..we’re spread thin most of the time, all over the world,” he smiled. “But all in all..you’re not too weird. Okay?”

    { 🦎 } “Yeah?” Rory pulled a grimace. They weren’t so sure of that, themself. It was nice to hear, in a way--then again, it might have just been that Flash hadn’t known them long enough to see the full extent of their fuck ups. That seemed pretty likely. They kicked at a stray rock near their foot. “...Well, thanks, I guess.”

     “...Ha, maybe.” A wry snort sounded in the air between them, and Rory cracked a tiny grin. “Seems like there oughtta be something, right? Pretty big accomplishment, and all.”

      “Guess so. I’m not really a numbers guy, I just thought it might be kinda likely, is all. We pass a lot of people every day and don’t really register them--er, most people pass a lot of people every day, anyway. Not so much me anymore, but, y’know... Anyways, there’s not really any way to know for sure, right? I assume most of you just look like regular-ass people under the spandex. You might’ve passed me before, even. Y’know, back when I looked...”

     Rory trailed off, and their vaguely-gesturing hands dropped back into their lap. They stilled for a moment, morose, and then the heels of their feet began tapping against the concrete again. A beat of silence passed alongside the motions, and then they continued, in a slightly more stilted tone, “...Uh, but I guess that’d be pretty hard to tell, too.”

[leapinlxzards]

alverlanche‌:

Lance’s head shook from side to side, a wide grin on his lips. He loved Rory’s constant rambling, and how they were constantly entertaining, even when they probably shouldn’t be funny. 

   “Dude, you know I can always get ‘Tro to grab some clothes or something for you, right? I mean, he’s always bitching at me that I don’t have any decent clothes to wear.” he shrugged. Like he cared. He liked the looks he wore, even if it was only a small handful of looks. “He’d love the excuse to go lookin’ for more stuff.”

   { 🦎 } “...Oh, fuck, right--I keep forgetting that’s, like... an option.” They’re so accustomed to their provide-for-yourself mindset (by necessity, really--you don’t make a whole lot of friends when you’re squatting in abandoned buildings and avoiding about 99% of the populace on the daily), so it’s genuinely a little startling to remember someone might actually be able to... help them out at all.

   Even Lance sometimes they forgot was able to help them out a little. Or, maybe ‘forgot’ wasn’t the right word--it was more like they were worried about asking too much of him. There wasn’t much they could give in return, after all--aside from the occasional fix of a household appliance or whatever. They didn’t want to get presumptuous and start leeching off him too much.

   With this in mind, they shot their friend an amiable grin (albeit slightly forced under the weight of their worries) and said: “...Well, I’ve been keeping an eye out for jackets--uh, y’know, for when it starts getting colder--but I’ve been getting better at figuring out where to look around here. So I might be able to swing that myself. But, uh--noted. Thanks, man. ‘ppreciate it.”

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flashgotthis‌:

“It’s not such a bad thing. I mean..it is a bad thing but…damn,” Flash huffed out with a smile. He didn’t mean to belittle them on their lizard-y problem but at the same time..there were enough other people out there with animal features. “Forget I said anything about it.”

“I wish it would be more like..fifty-fifty but we can’t all have what we want,” he shrugged with a snort. “And I absolutely get what you want. There are awkward people and really proud people. And then there are categories of them as well. Some great, some not. I get it,” he agreed with a nod. People were just people and anyone not being aware of being awkward..well…that was something.

“That’s honestly not the weirdest thing I’d have ever said and no one would really bat an eye at that. So…yeah no,” he laughed at them. “I’ll still keep you out. No worries.”

   { 🦎 } “Well, it’s not great,” they remarked wryly, torn between feeling amused and guilty over the other’s fumbling. Mostly guilty. So, after a pause they continued: “Uh, I get what you’re trying to say, though, don’t worry. Nobody’s more aware of how this lizard-thing shakes out than me--er, probably. I kinda gotta work around it rather than with it these days.”

   “Oh, to be an average, emotionally-balanced human being. The dream.” The words came out wry--jokingly wistful. They did kind of want that, actually--not that they’d even been like that back when they were actually a regular human being, but still. Still, their tone stayed pretty light, which they were thankful for--the last thing they wanted was to make it sound like they were anguishing over it. Which, y’know, sometimes they were, but the hero didn’t need to know that.

   “...That’s fair. I guess to supers it... wouldn’t really be that out of place. I don’t really have a good gauge for everyone’s weird-level these days. Never really hung out with a super before.” Rory paused here, squinted, and then slowly said, “...Not that I know of, anyway, but that’s kinda the whole point, right? Possible I’ve interacted with a couple out of the suit--er, as a regular-ass civilian, maybe--before all this transient-hermit-lizard stuff."

[leapinlxzards]

shattered-catalyst‌:

The way they’re moving their feet back and forth; shifting their weight indecisively indicates they’re probably trying to figure out if they should run or not. It was clearly obvious to his superior night vision that this person was a mutant like himself.  Run afoul of the fauna and now, well who doesnt get into fights with the neighborhood raccoon. Totally normal. Right? 

“I agree completely I once chased a skunk for a container of yogurt. I am certain it was blueberry flavored at one point but by the time I finally caught up it was more dirt flavored.” He clears his throat shrugging feeling just as pressured to speak now. “Horrible really it had the fruit on the bottom too.” Which was his favorite because it was so delightful to have little chunks of fake fruit and gelatin floating around in yogurt.

Rubbing the back of his neck he watches them for a moment trying to figure out what was proper protocol. Of which he knew just enough to get by but not enough to avoid having the cops called on him once every weekend or so. Gesturing over his shoulder down the street he finally asks “so uh, mutant to mutant do you want me to pick you up some food from the store? I uh, did the whole garbage digging myself, its not the best?”

Wow he really needed to work on his small talk.

   { 🦎 } Rory finds themself temporarily distracted from their constantly-frayed nerves by the tale the other is weaving for them about a skunk and the container of yogurt that hung in the balance between them. Thrilling, really, and a little too close to their day-to-day for Rory not to feel a small sense of camaraderie with this... nighttime stranger. And so, before they can stop themself, they remark:

   “...Well, I figure if you didn’t end up getting sprayed, that kinda counts as a win, the yogurt notwithstanding.” They haven’t actually gotten on the wrong side of a skunk so far, but knowing their luck, it’s only a matter of time, really. “Fruit in the bottom, huh... I’m more of a mixed yogurt guy myself, but live your truth, man.”

   Rory’s in the middle of a pretty disappointing line of thought wherein they try to remember the last time they’ve actually had yogurt--a year and a half? Two?--when the other’s next words sound, snapping them immediately back out of it. They feel their shoulders inch up, defensive--so he can see them. He can see them and he’s not freaking out--but that doesn’t mean anything yet. He might just be lulling them into a false sense of security. Is the offer an olive-branch of solidarity, or a stall for time so this guy can go get backup?

   ...Wrestling with a raccoon for cheesy-crackers would be easier than this, they think, a little melodramatically. A silence hangs between them after the offer is made, but it’s purely for show--Rory’s near-empty stomach, stupid thing that it is, has already decided their answer for them. So, after a beat, they say, with a slight wince to their face and their tone, as if it’s physically uncomfortable to even get the words out:

   “...It’s not ideal, no. Uh--I mean, I can’t really pop into a 7-11 like everything’s chill, so if you... I mean... that’d be good. Thanks.”

[leapinlxzards]

alverlanche‌:

Lance couldn’t lie, he was loving this. Not Rory actually being scared of course, but he was enjoy the ridiculousness of the situation. “Oh dude, I totally missed an opportunity there!” he exclaimed loudly, a grin on his lips. 

   He snorted at their words, shaking his head. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m just enjoyin’ you looking so cute.” he teased, a smile curling his lips upwards. He was joking of course. Not that they weren’t sort of cute - but he pushed that small voice in his head to the back. 

“Ok ok, don’t worry man, I got this.” he made a little show of cracking his knuckles. It didn’t take long before the creepy crawly appeared again, scuttling towards Lance’s feet. He tensed, waiting for a second before raising one of his boots, stomping down on the insect with a loud thud. 

“There.”

   { 🦎 } Cute?! Rory was indignant at the brief sputtering noise the word choice prompted from them. Still, this was banter as usual, so Rory wrangled themself back into their usual wry sense of being and released a snort, drawling:

      “Yeah, yeah, I’m adorable and a fucking delight or whatever, we all know this. But the shine’s gonna come off the apple real soon, and when it does... Fuck, I dunno, there’s gonna be a worm in it, or some shit--didn’t really map out where I was going with that one.”

   They didn’t dare even entertain the idea of dropping back down from behind Lance onto the actual floor yet. If Lance was gonna kill this thing, they were gonna have to see its crunched-up carcass with their own two eyes before they’d feel safe putting their bare-ass feet back down on the tile again. So, once the thud echoes in the kitchen, Rory pushes themself up a little using the hands still clapped onto Lance’s shoulders to get a better look, eyes narrowing in grave consideration beneath the heavy boot he’s slowly moving from the kill zone. 

   Only once they were sure the thing was dead--not twitching, not dying, but dead did Rory finally release their grip on their friend’s shoulders, feet landing on the tile with an audible thwak. Releasing a loud breath, and scraping their fingers up and down their arms a couple of times with a shudder, they muttered: “I hate those fucking things...”

[leapinlxzards]

oh my god i’m actually doing drafts??? bithhch...

[leapinlxzards]

   { 🦎 } “Yeah, you’re probably pretty grandfathered-in on that whole ‘angel’ shtick at this point. Guess you could’ve gone with--uh, I dunno, some bird name. Dove? Nah, that’s still got pretty solid religious connotations, plus it’s also a soap brand, so like... not very awe-inspiring, really--no matter what kinda ‘empowering spin’ they put in those commercials. And god, that’s just the worst, isn’t it? You got this company run mostly by old white dudes trying to sell a primarily female demographic a product under the guise of female empowerment, which feels pretty skeezy. It’s like... man, shut up.”

   Alright, they were getting off topic again, and probably would again at least once more during this conversation too, just based on, like... a lifetime of experience. Apologizing for it was just gonna bring more attention to it, so after a beat, they pressed on.

   “...Anyways, I always kinda wondered how people picked hero names and stuff out. Definitely wondered if at least a couple of ‘em didn’t regret it a few years later. Especially for people who start the whole hero-ing thing pretty young. Like, even if the name you pick as a teenager or whatever isn’t outright embarrassing, you still get people with titles that have ‘kid’ or ‘boy’ or whatever in the title, and it’s like... how long before that just doesn’t work anymore? I feel like after 22 it’s just like, okay, we’re done with that. You gotta drop that bit. Otherwise it’s just kinda weird for everyone, y’know? But maybe that’s just me.”

     Rory was a little taken aback by Warren’s enthusiasm in questioning them, and it took their brain a few moments to catch up and register what exactly he was saying. Cool? Well, maybe from an outside perspective... It was kinda hard to divorce the cool shit from the not-so-cool shit--the latter of which was namely, well... everything that came along with looking like this--emotionally and environmentally. Still, that wasn’t gonna help Rory answer his  actual questions, so they tried to push that aside. After a moment, they replied:

     “Oh, uh--yeah. Actually, s’more of a pain to figure out how to stop sticking to things sometimes.” It had... definitely been a learning curve in the beginning. Still kind of was. Nobody was exactly around to help them figure it out, after all--not that they’d necessarily trust anyone who’d offer to do that. “...My jump’s way better, too. I think maybe in general I’m more, like--durable...? Something like that. Uh, my grip strength’s also a lot stronger, but that’s also been kinda hard to figure out how to, uh, moderate.”

It definitely wasn’t the worst comparison that could have ever been drawn, but he wasn’t overly happy with it. It just came with the connotations that he was going to be pretty, religious and very conservative, which he didn’t appreciate. At least he wasn’t compared to animals like Hank. He couldn’t imagine much worse than that, although he was sure that Rory had head worse in their time.

“It’s not original either, especially considering that it’s my codename too. Maybe I should have chosen something that I wasn’t going to feel is kind of ironic now that I’ve lived with it for a while. Can’t really change it now though.” Maybe he could, but he didn’t really know of anyone who’d changed their code name in so long. At least calling him an angel was more affectionate than the other words that mutants tended to be subjected to.

Warren definitely didn’t mind too much about introducing himself, even if he had already said it. Other people would get annoyed, he knew that, but he didn’t mind repeating himself if needed. He could be pretty spacy at the worst of times so he couldn’t say anything. He needed to ask people to repeat things fairly often himself when his brain followed a train of thought and he got lost in. People usually just interpreted it as him being stupid, an assumption he didn’t often purposefully break. He’d always been around people who didn’t think he was going to be intelligent. He was just too pretty to be intelligent, even though he went to an expensive military boarding school for a long while, where his grades had always been high.

The blonde looking at the hand of the other, before breaking out into a grin. “Wow, that’s pretty cool. Can you climb up things easier then, because your hands have the ability to stick to things a bit?” Not that he’d had to climb up things for a long while, but that aside.

[leapinlxzards]

no offense to me or anything but what the fuck am i actually doing

[leapinlxzards]

generic underclothes (for the sake of a somewhat more comprehensive scar ref--tho lbr i just slap those shits down a lil differently like every single time i draw something new dksghlksdg), initial/default outfit design, and one possible outfit adjustment for the sake of warmth and also just, like..... a more realistic reflection of character ig??? idk

[leapinlxzards]

i think i’m gonna keep the outfit base but just. add layers and have them, uh, actually use that flannel shirt around their waist in the default clothing design dkghsdkgh

me? thinking about design reworks for rory’s default outfit? it’s more likely than u think

[leapinlxzards]

me? thinking about design reworks for rory’s default outfit? it’s more likely than u think

[leapinlxzards]

avalanchiing‌:

   While Rory struggled to control their emotions Lance remained completely oblivious, leaning back with a carefree smile on his lips. It wasn’t often he managed to get control of the tv, and having the whole room? For just him and Rory? It was perfect. Though the ads were getting a little annoying.

A gloved hand moved to grab a handful of popcorn, stuffing the entire lot into his mouth, cheeks full of the salty snack as Rory spoke again, grabbing Lance’s attention. A small noise mixed between a laugh and a choke came from the teenager, struggling to swallow the mouthful before coughing, laughter falling between each cough. 

                     "yeah ok, you got a point there.” he managed, a wide smile on his lips despite the previous coughing fit.  “but mothman is kinda your thing too, y’know? kinda the whole reason i bribed the guys to go to the mall so we could get the place to yourself.” he pointed out with a shrug. “feels like one should cancel the other out.” 

   { 🦎 } Rory shouldn’t let that one itty-bitty word from Lance get into their head so much, really. After all, their friendship was kind of built around this sort of vibe. Quipping back and forth with words and sentiments that sounded kind of weirdly romantic, but which skirted around the genuine, always bookended with huffs of laughter, mockingly-smoldering looks, melodramatic swoons--all in good fun, all part of the bit.

     ...So it shouldn’t be making their stomach do--whatever the hell it is it was doing right now, but here Rory was, and there Lance was, and here they were together, bumping shoulders in a companionable back-and-forth, and Rory was still left feeling a little bit like their heart was stuck in their throat. But they were gonna power through it! They weren’t gonna make this weird--or, any weirder than it is solely by nature of Rory being who (and what) they are.

     “Pshaw, you kicked the guys out for their own good to suffer here in one-on-one cryptid-commentary hell with me, you poor misguided soul.” The words came surprisingly easy once they got going--that was the one good thing about their naturally-rambly nature. “Not that I’m not touched, ‘cause I am, even if I feel like you’re not entirely aware of what you’re getting into here.”

   Fully regaining their usual rhythm now, they tipped their head back with a snicker and then flashed a cheeky grin, eyes gleaming faintly with amusement. “Gonna be real with you, dude: one’s not gonna cancel the other one out here. I’m gonna be insufferable during this. I have a lot of thoughts--Mothman thoughts, and I’m gonna share them, because I’m the worst. Actually, by setting this up, you’ve only made me more powerful.”

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flashgotthis‌:

“I’m not saying you should avoid everything but..maybe Gotham.” Hopefully no one would be mad at him for saying so. But he was trying to steer them in a good direction and Gotham really wasn’t it. The sad thing was that Bats wouldn’t even disagree with him on that one. Thought it had gotten better compared to the years before Batman.

Smiling at them, Wally just shrugged. “If I don’t get anything I can still ask for it to be repeated again or simply say Sorry, that I didn’t understand. Not everything has to be awkward. Thought don’t think I’m this really clever guy who never gets awkward. I’m awkward seventy percent throughout the day,” he grinned amused.

“I don’t really hate anyone,” Wally shook his head and scratched his chin. “And I still like the idea, seeing how varying the shifts are. But don’t worry, I’ll leave out your help in giving it to me if you want.”

   { 🦎 } “No, that’s me, I’m the one saying that. ‘Cause of, y’know... this whole lizard thing.” 

   The words were half dry joke, half serious. Gotham was near the top of their ‘avoid’ list, but that list was... pretty densely-populated. Pretty much anywhere that couldn’t be described with something like ‘decrepit’ or ‘isolated’ (or maybe even just ‘swampy’)  was on there at this point.

   “Oh, that’s... okay, noted.” It still felt weird to have an adult so willing to do that--ask for clarification rather than write off everything they said as incoherent or stupid to avoid having to think about it. (To be fair, incoherent and stupid was kind of their niche sometimes, but that didn’t mean it didn’t still grate on them to have people assume there wasn’t any value in what they were saying). “Honestly, that’s not a bad ratio. And actually people who aren’t awkward enough feel like a whole other problem, y’know what I mean?”

     Rory snorted softly, amused. “Go wild, then. I dunno how you’d even cite my contribution, to be honest. ‘Oh, just got this dope party idea from some lizard kid on a bench in the middle of the night, as you do’. Something like that?”

[leapinlxzards]

     sorry for always disappearing for weeks on end. i’m gonna be real with u all it.... probably will happen again yikes i’m bad about this sort of thing. i like writing rory but i have... too little energy and time in the day to be super consistent in coming on here. i’m hoping once i kinda work my way through old drafts it won’t feel so daunting to come on here casually again. sorry dkghsdklgkdh