#it's really fun to draw the tiny versions of them

[anonf1writer]

“but please shut up” — ln4

summary: from the SINGLE PARENT UNIVERSE and based on THIS request, I present to you 2k words about the moment Yn first said the three words to Lando, and then told him to shut up (or something like that). (I am reposting this because I didn’t like the first version, so... yeah. no more yn now)

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You and Lando had been dating for no longer than six months when the words finally slipped out of your mouth. 

It was a Saturday morning. A sunny one, to be precise. One of those rare occasions that normally meant peeling Olivia away from the TV and getting her ready for a picnic at the park, or for riding a bike, or for doing just any activity that allowed you to soak the sun as much as possible. 

On that particular Saturday morning, though, the clear sky wasn’t the only rare thing happening in London.

For starters, you weren’t at your place, but at Lando’s apartment. Something that had never happened before. Not in the morning, at least. Not as a result of spending the night there. 

Then, of course, because you weren’t at your own place, there was also the fact that Olivia wasn’t there, with you. Instead, your sister had taken her to Bristol so she could spend a fun weekend with her cousins. And so you and Lando could have some time alone. 

So, yeah, of course—things were different that morning. 

And yes, maybe you could have sensed that something else would happen, something you didn’t see coming because it also normally never happened. 

But you didn’t.

All you did was wake up wrapped in Lando’s arms, kiss him good morning, and drag yourself out of bed. On your way across the bedroom, you grabbed one of his hoodies and put it on. Warm, oversized, and smelling like him. Exactly how you liked it. 

Once you made it to the kitchen, the space opened into sunlight and sleek surfaces. Fancy. Clean. Organized. Looking not even one bit like the messy tiny home you owned. With no crayons forgotten on the table, no mermaids and unicorns in the mugs and cups and plates, no colorful drawings stuck to the fridge. And yet just as comfortable and cozy in its own Lando Norris’ way. 

It made you smile, for some reason. A smile that you kept on your face while trying to decide what to make for breakfast, and that only grew bigger when Lando finally joined you in, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder while you cracked four eggs into a small bowl. 

“Hmm,” he murmured, his morning voice sending chills down through your spine. “You look really nice in my kitchen… Wearing my clothes… Smelling like me…”

You tilted your head slightly, leaning into his curls as he kissed your neck and just settled there, keeping up with your movements—with the whisking of the eggs and the soft clink of the fork echoing in that quiet morning. 

You could tell Lando was happy with that setting, with spending the morning together after also having spent the night together. Something you couldn’t really do very often, considering you still weren’t ready to add him into Olivia’s routine like that. Not without making sure—making fully, fully sure—that this wasn’t just a temporary thing for him. That he was staying in for good, and that he was actually willing to have a role not just in your life, but also in your daughter’s life. 

Which, to be honest, was becoming more and more easy to see as time went by. 

Like when he stepped away to grab the milk from the fridge and very casually asked, “Talked to Liv yet?”

“Not yet,” you said, then waited until he had splashed a bit of the milk into the small bowl to keep going. “Told my sister I’d give them a call after breakfast.” 

You sprinkled in a pinch of salt and went back to whisking, meanwhile Lando got himself busy by grabbing a pan and dropping a knob of butter into it. 

“I hope she’s having fun,” he said, distracted as he switched on the hob and placed the pan above the humming heat. “Y’know, I was thinking about what it’d be like to take her to the beach.” 

You paused. 

You paused and stared at the bowl. Right in front of you. 

And Lando laughed. 

And the butter sizzled gently. 

And then the smell of it filled the space. 

Warm. Comforting. 

“Sandcastle chaos, for sure,” he added.

Still chuckling. 

Still nonchalant. 

As if mentioning he had been thinking about your daughter and about how it would be to spend time with her didn’t bring this funny feeling to your chest. As if it wasn’t a big deal. As if it was normal. 

You swallowed.

To be fair, when it came to Lando, it actually wasn’t weird. Because he did that a lot—dropping how much he cared in the most subtle, random ways. In the little things. 

But this morning, for some reason, it seemed to happen more than usual. 

He did it again, for instance, as you were sitting around the small table and having breakfast. As he was telling you about these new clothes he had bought online. Casually, randomly. Just by asking, “Purple’s her favourite, right?” 

To which you furrowed her brows and mumbled a simple, “huh?” 

“Liv’s.” He scraped the fork against his plate, gathering the scrambled eggs, and shrugged. “I saw these really cute tiny trainers that made me think of her.” He scooped up the food and shoved it inside his mouth. But he didn’t stop, he just chewed as he talked, muffling the words. “They were… Mmph… Puh’pul… Yeah?… Puh’pul’s her fav’rite… Innit?”

 “I—Yeah. Purple’s her favourite color, yeah.”

He smiled, swallowed and nodded, all proud of himself. 

“I knew it.” He took a sip of coffee, then focused on the beans still left on his plate. “Didn’t get them though…” He shoved the fork back into his mouth. Words mumbled as he chewed again. “Didn’know’er size, so… Oh!” He swallowed and shuffled on his seat. “Shit.” He coughed, choking a little around the food that had gone down his throat. “Um… Just remembered… Did I tell you about this… About this new idea we had for the next collection? I didn’t, did I?” 

“Um… I don’t think so, no…”

“Right. Yeah. So, listen to this…” 

And so he rambled about something else. 

And you listened. 

Trying to absorb as much as possible. Trying to understand. Trying to make sense. 

But then, as you were putting the dishes in the sink and talking about the next few weekends and how busy his schedule would be, he did it again. 

He brought her up again.

“I’ll try to come home as much as I can,” he said, “but y’know, if you ever want to come to a race one day, I’d love to have you there. Not just you, but Liv, too. Like, not now, of course, but later, when you’re ready. I’d like that.” 

And like a cherry on top, while you had your hands submerged in warm soapy water, he asked, “Hey, is it weird if I frame that little drawing Liv made the other day?”

You stopped.

And blinked at the plate you had in your hands. 

“The one she said was for good luck?” Lando added, pacing in the kitchen. Not in a nervous way, but in that very particular excited version of him. Full of caffeine. Hair sticking up in three different directions. Hands moving along with his words. Babbling. 

Always babbling.

“Or maybe not frame it but put it on the fridge or… I don’t know… Something. Just… Somewhere I can always see it… Y’know? Would that be weird?” 

You blinked again.

“Because I won’t if it’s weird… Don’t want to make it weird…”

“Lando…” you mumbled, eyes still fixed on the dish in your hand. 

“I mean I don’t know what the protocol is here… I know you said you wanted to take things slow when it comes to her, and I totally get it… I mean you know way better than I do, so I trust your judgment… It’s just that she’s so great, y’know? And that drawing is so cute. It’s been back and forth with me for weeks now, but I wanted to check with you because I—”

“For the love of God!” You dropped the sponge and the plate and turned around, water dripping from your fingers as you glared at him. “Lando, I swear I love you so much, but can you just please shut the fuck up for a moment?”

Lando stopped. 

No. Lando froze.

Mid-step. 

Not even looking at you.

Just.. Hand reaching into the cabinet. Eyes fixed ahead. Blinking to the clean tableware. 

And you didn’t even notice, so you just sighed. Loudly. Dropping your shoulders. Grabbing a tea towel to wipe your hands. And then trying again.

“Sorry. I don’t mean like, shut the fuck up, but just… Y’know, give me a minute to think? You’re like… Nonstop right now! Just going on and on and on about Livie and it’s just—”

“What did you just say?”

You looked at him.

He was still facing away, still frozen on the spot.

“That you’re going on and on about—” 

“No. Not that.” He dropped his arms to his sides and turned towards you. “Before.”

You frowned, searching inside your head for whatever you could’ve said that made him look like that right now—pale, shocked, terrified. On the verge of freaking out.

“I don’t know. What did I—”

“Love me,” Lando murmured. “You said you love me.”

“What?”

“You said,” —he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if gathering the strength to say the words— “Lando I love you so much but can you please shut the fuck up.”

“Oh.”

“That’s what you said. You said you love me.”

“Shit. Lan…”

You stepped forward. 

And he stepped backward. 

“Nuh-uh.” He raised one finger, pointing it at you. “Nope. Stay there.”

Your lips tugged up.

“Babe… C’mon.”

“You love me.”

“Mhmm…”

Lando dropped his arm.

Then opened his mouth, then closed it again. 

And then he looked away, dropping his posture like he had just been punched in the stomach.

“Holy shit,” he said. “I didn’t—I wasn’t—wow. Wow. Ok. Okay. Yeah. That’s—That’s just… Ok. I mean, did you—You really meant that?”

At that, you laughed. 

“Lando…” You dropped the tea towel on the counter and took a step forward, a tiny one. Just to make sure you could. That he wouldn’t run off. “Baby. Just breathe, okay?”

“I am breathing.”

“You’re also sweating.”

“I’m not—” He raised one hand, touching the back of his neck. And then he shook his head. “Maybe, who cares. That’s not the point.”

“Right… Then what’s the point?” you tried, softly this time. Stepping just a bit closer.

“That you love me.”

“Okay.” Standing in front of him, you placed your hands on his chest and nodded. “So? You’ll get used to it.”

Lando snorted and looked at you, his own hands instantly finding your waist. Almost involuntarily. As if they belonged there. As if it was the only natural reaction when having you so close to him. 

“You’re just… You think this is funny?”

“A little, yeah.” 

“I’m freaking out here.”

“I know. I know you would. That’s why I’ve been holding myself from saying it out loud.” 

He pulled you closer, and yet also flinched. Chin and head jerking back slightly while he made sure your body was as close as possible to his. “Why would you ever do that?”

“Why?!” You laughed and slid your hands up his chest, then up his shoulders and neck, until you were able to link your fingers through the short curls on the back of his head. “Did you see your reaction just now?”

“So? Just because I’m weird and freak out like this sometimes doesn’t mean that I… Y’know… That I don’t… I mean I just…”

“I know.” You nodded and launched yourself forward, kissing his cheek before landing back on your feet. “I know you do, babe. So whenever you’re ready. That’s okay.”

He sighed and leaned down, pressing his forehead against yours. 

“Bloody hell I do. But now I’m gonna wait until you least expect it. Freak the hell out of you, too.”

You laughed and arched forward, barely lifting off your heels as you reached for a kiss.

Lando reacted quickly, closing his eyes and kissing you back.

And then, around his lips, you murmured, “Bring it on, babe. I dare you.” 

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[pickleddandelions]

Suze taking oil Caz to apologize to Billy Chamberlain

I was doodling during an online class and liked angry tiny Caz enough to do a full drawing with him.

I realized I did Suze's sweater wrong after I already made the pattern. I'm not that happy with how I drew her to be honest.

Once again, the Infected by Oil AU was made by @thesleepyfable

[l-a-l-o-u]

Korra's Wardrobe | 2025 edition

Over 10 years ago, while LoK was still airing, I drew Korra in each of her outfits. I recently found that post again, and thought I should revisit my old obsession, and add the outfits that were missing. This has been really fun, it was like meeting up with some old friends - both my younger self and Korra herself!

Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to finish this!! ♥ And hi to the people who were in the fandom with me back then, I'm waving at you from over here in the future :)

None of these are show-accurate, I thought it would be much more interesting to give each design a bit of a twist while keeping their original visual language. It was a really fun challenge, and I love comparing the old and new.

Some of these are a lot further into my own interpretation - the chains ghost, for example, is super bloodied because I'm not restricted by a TV network censor and the Zaheer fight was violent. And it left scars, too! The Raava fusion designs are extremely self-indulgent (Raava I love you, you will always be famous), and the kid designs are pretty far from the depictions of Korra in Friends for Life and Weaver's Ball, but I wanted to make them into a real evolution getting closer to the Book 1 design over time.

Here are the two full lineups side by side:

how far we've come...

Here are some line versions also! I had a lot of fun drawing all the little tiny details:

I once said that if I ever stop posting Korra redesigns, assume I'm dead. and well. I guess it's still true

[remxedmoon]

(You don’t know how much longer you can do this.)

hi the wip for this was absolutely not supposed to blow up. why does that have 1k notes. horrifying. anyways!!!! it’s update time baby!!!! 64 new assets this time around!

so that’s what the caption was supposed to be. this update was already pretty damn big and took a ton of time to make!!! and i was finally done!! but then my hand slipped and now we’re at 143 new assets. super sorry for the delay! That Was Not Supposed To Happen.

i’ll go more indepth below the cut, but this update encompasses all menu/profile art for both isat and sasasaap, battle portraits for sasasaap, every single pixel icon in isat (to my knowledge anyways), the dialogue skipping animations, and a few miscellaneous additions.

also i spent too much time on these to put them below the cut so Please God Look At My Icon Resprites I Spent 16 Hours On Them. enjoy!

okay first things first. why the hell is this batch 143 assets. so. i HEAVILY underestimated how many times the menu drawings are used in the games. even removing all of the custom art, it’s still ≈30-40 variations! that’s a lot! and once i finally finished everything, i got Posting Anxiety and somehow convinced myself that attempting Animation And Pixel Art (two things i haven’t done in YEARS) would be easier than writing a normal post. so here we are.

the custom art here is pretty much par for the course at this point. extra menu art for bonnie, extra expressions for the party in act 5, we’ve done this enough times that it’s expected. i am aware that bonnie’s custom menu art gets completely covered by the ui. i kept it in because it’s really funny (and also i didn’t feel like extending the sprite (but then the sasasaap version forced me to extend the sprite anyways so Whartever)).

once again, provided a spritesheet for sasasaap’s battle portraits! i do intend to cover both games, it’s just a slightly lower priority atm. unlike isat though, i’ve got Less (read “No”) experience with sasasaap, so there might be more issues with those assets?? apologies if there are, i’ll try to fix any issues that come up!

the Miscellaneous Additions i mentioned above are the sprites used on the teleport map and the loading screen, which is just a tiny version of the skipping animation. they were pretty small, so i figured i might as well get them out of the way!

not actually much to say about the 75 icons surprisingly! i haven’t done pixel art in about 5 years?? and that’s a Travesty actually these were super fun to make. i did make mockups for the overworld sprites earlier, but they aren’t Officially part of the redraws (yet) so they’re getting posted seperately

and also!! some exciting news!! this project might actually become a Proper Published Mod pretty soon!! i’ve been in contact with someone who’s willing to help me get everything set up, and i’ll be getting a Usable Computer around the end of the year!!!! it’ll still be at least a month before it’s up (i’d like to get the enemy art finished beforehand wauaua) but!!! still exciting!

okay, i think that’s everything relevant to the update!! i Definitely can’t fit all of the relevant assets here lol. but i’ll try my best ! please enjoy !!

[yoiisa]

Hello!! I’m hoping to request wind breaker characters (please include Umemiya, Kiryu and tsubaki if you don’t mind!) with a reader who has really ‘nerdy’ interests? (Nerdy as in buys anime figures, plays dating sims, etc!!)

I just started watching Wakatoi, so I'm more than ready for this request! Coming right up (⸝⸝> ᴗ•⸝⸝)

➜ my king umemiya hajime actively funds your obsession with whatever it is that you like ➜ manga? he's buying the latest volumes so that you can read to him. figurines? he'll bring blind boxes to your house to open them together while you hang out ➜ however, the one exception to this support is dating sims. he hates your dating sims ➜ you have an actual, tangible, breathing boyfriend sitting two feet from you, what on earth could you possibly get out of a dating sim ➜ he will pout and throw a tantrum, that's a guarantee

"Y/N!! I'm here!" Umemiya calls, stepping into your hourse. He toes his shoes off and places them on the rack before heading upstairs to meet up with you. His heart thrums in his chest, his excitement making him more hyper than normal. He reaches the door to your bedroom and pushes it open, not bothering to knock. It's a bad habit of his, and you've scolded him repeatedly for it, especially after he walked in on you changing once in his eagerness. This time though he's safe. You're just sat in your gaming chair, your back to him and your headphones on. However it's not you that draws his attention, but rather the image of . . . Xavier. Umemiya stops dead in his tracks, his face falling and going blank as he watches you continue to flirt with code in your computer instead of just messaging him to flirt instead. Eventually, you sense someone's presence behind you and turn in your chair, taking your headset off. "Oh! Hajime! You scared me what are you doing here?" you jump. "What am I doing?" he asks incredulously, "what are you doing?" "Playing games, duh," you gesture to your monitor. "Anyways, how many times to I have to tell you to knock before just barging into my roo-" Umemiya falls to his knees and cradles his head in his hands. You flinch backwards at the sight before shooting from your seat and dropping in front of him to check on him. "Hajime, what's wrong?" "Just my luck, my girlfriend loves a computer more than me," he mumbles to himself. You sigh and gently push his head. "Don't just drop like that, you scared me!" Umemiya looks up at you and points, "And you are mean. How many times will you choose one of them," he points at your computer, "over me?!" The two of you enter a tense staring contest before you finally crack and burst into a fit of giggles. You shake your head and wrap your arms around Umemiya's neck, hugging him tightly. "Sorry, but it's fun!" He sighs and smiles softly, kissing your cheek.

➜ kiryu mitsuki doesn't really get your obsession with all these things that much, but he won't ever make fun of you for it ➜ rather, he'll support you from the sidelines ➜ he won't ever pose a date where you both go to pop ups and themed cafes, but if you ask him to come with you to one, he'll never say no ➜ after all, it makes you happy, and there's nothing that brings joy to him like seeing your smile

"Mitsu, look!" you gasp, pointing at a tiny stall selling a variety of plushes from Fruits Basket. There's a tiny Kyo, complete with his signature pout, and a Tohru with her eyes closed as she smiles brightly. You pull on Kiryu's hand and lead him to the stall, your eyes roaming all along the plushes from the other shows as well. There's Blue Lock plushes, Attack on Titan, Haikyuu, Apothecary Diaries, and so many more. "Cute," Kiryu says, picking up a sample version of Jinshi. "You want one?" You nod enthusiastically, before looking back over the array of characters they have. "We should get a couple! Mmm, let's see, what romance characters do they have?" "What about those ones?" Kiryu asks pointing at the Kyo and Tohru plush from before. You shake your head. "We can definitely get those, but I wanna see if I can find a couple that's more like us." "Hmm, do you think I'm like any of these characters?" "I don't know, maybe not," you sigh after seeing the roster of couples again. "Maybe we should just get Kyo and Tohru then." "I'm fine with anything." You pick up the two plushes in your hands and carry them to the attendant in charge of the stall. Kiryu hands her some cash to pay for the stuffies, and the attendant happily puts the two in a bag before handing them back to you. "Thank you!" you call over your shoulder as you walk away with Kiryu. Later, on Instagram, you post a selfie that the two of you took with the plushes. You hold Tohru and Kiryu holds Kyo in front of your faces, with the show's theme song playing in the background.

➜ tsubaki tasuku knows all too well what it's like to have interests that could be shunned or looked down upon, so he will literally never say or do anything to make you feel embarrassed or ashamed (unless what you're into is like weird fetishes and illegal crap of course) ➜ i think the one thing tsubaki could really get on board with is cosplay though ➜ the opportunity to essentially play dress up, then get to take cute pics, with his favorite person? sign him the fuck up! ➜ he ends up getting super into cosplay as well thanks to you, and a portion of his savings ends up going into funding the hobby

Tsubaki and you are getting ready for a photoshoot. You're tucking the last of his braid into his wig cap. "Tasuku," you marvel, "you have such pretty hair. It's not fair." Tsubaki giggles and waves you off. "Only cuz I do so much to treat it. Your's is naturally pretty though, that's better I think." "Well either way, we'll be in wigs, so what does it really matter?" you place a long white wig on Tsubaki. "I'm so excited! You'll look so pretty as Tomoe!" "I hope so, this wig was expensive, especially to attach the ears on top of it all," Tsubaki says, adjusting the positioning of the wig on his head. About an hour and a half later, Tsubaki is all dolled up, looking like he came straight from the anime. You hurry to grab your phone, taking a few preliminary and more informal photos with Tsubaki. It's a bit weird to see someone who looks like Tomoe acting as refreshing as Tsubaki does, but when it comes time for the professional photos, he quickly snaps into place. Tsubaki's model face is truly a powerful thing, and he's easily able to convey every ounce of haughtiness that Tomoe possesses. He twirls strands of snow white hair around his fingers, which the two of you've adorned with long press-on nails. At one point, you hand him the infamous hairpin from the show, and he effortlessly works his hair into an updo. By the end of the photoshoot, the two of you are huddled around your computer as the photos upload from the memory card in your camera. "Oh my god Tasuku, you're a proper model, I swear! You should really try to get scouted after school is over," you squeal. You smirk and tease, "I'll show these to Umemiya later. He'll adore them!" Tsubaki turns red and laughs nervously. He cups his hands over his cheeks and chuckles, "Ahh, I hope so. But, I do look really cool, don't I?"

a/n: I've always wanted to try cosplay, but it's such an expensive hobby, I just can't. anyways, y'all cosplayers look beautiful ദ്ദി(ㅠᯅㅠ)!

[roosterforme]

Yours Truly, Bradley Bradshaw Part 2 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: The collection of letters that Bradley received from the fourth grade class provides him with entertainment while deployed. He takes the time to answer their questions and send a package back to the United States via air mail. But he has your email address. He also has a bit of a crush and some questions himself.

Warnings: Fluff, language

Length: 4100 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female teacher!Reader

Check out my masterlist for more! Yours Truly, Bradley Bradshaw masterlist

A few days later, when Bradley was done with his training protocols for the day, he returned to his bunk with a different mission in mind. While he unzipped his flight suit, he eyed the box which was taking up most of his nightstand, and a smile found its way to his lips. He managed to find a notebook that nobody wanted along with a thick, padded envelope, and he was going to take the time to respond to the fourth graders who wrote to him. 

He'd spent hours poring over the letters, laughing at some of the questions from the kids and frequently picking up that one photo. He couldn't stop going back for more. For another look at you. Just one more look. Okay, this really was the last one. He had to toss it across the small room toward his duffel so he could focus on something other than your smile and the fact that he might have a tiny crush on a fourth grade teacher who knew absolutely nothing about him. Yet.

The note from Jayden was on the top, and Bradley opened it up and started to jot down a response.

Jayden,

It was so nice to hear from you and the rest of your class. To answer your pertinent questions, I am currently stationed on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The most disgusting food in the mess hall is easily the cabbage rolls (which taste nothing like cabbage... or rolls). The best food in the mess hall is surprisingly the meatloaf. And yes, I would love to see a photo of your Cocker Spaniel. Please send one next time. I hope you're studying and doing your best in school.

Lt Bradley Bradshaw

The next note he decided to tackle was the one from Violet who had the tiniest handwriting he'd ever seen. The page had at least fifteen questions written out, but he decided to answer just a few for her. He had to squint as he skimmed through them again.

Violet,

You seem very inquisitive. That's a great quality to have, especially if you want to be a pilot someday. No, I did not attend the Naval Academy. I went to the University of Virginia. Yes, the Navy is way better than the Air Force. Yes, I can hold my breath underwater for three minutes. Yes, they actually made me do it. No, I don't think I could make it as a Navy SEAL. Yes, I have been staying hydrated and getting enough sun, thanks so much for asking. Keep studying hard, because you have a lot of school ahead of you before officer training.

Lt Bradley Bradshaw

Okay, so this was actually a lot of fun. Up next was a response to the note from Oliver, which made Bradley laugh every time he looked at it. 

Oliver,

Thank you so much for drawing the different Naval aircrafts for me. I hate to break it to you, but I actually do not fly the F-35 Lightning II. Yes, I know they look 'sickeningly cool'. Yes, I know it would be like 'slam dunking off the back of a dragon'. I guess I never knew I was jealous of those pilots until right now.... But I fly the equally cool if not quite as sickening looking F/A-18 Super Hornet. And yes, I would be more than happy to draw my own version of one for you. See below.

Lt. Bradley Bradshaw

The ten minutes he spent replicating his own aircraft to the best of his ability for Oliver churned out a pretty damn good result. He fished his phone out of the nightstand and took a picture to email to Nat when he had time, because she would find this whole thing amusing. Then he reached for the letters from Harrison, Nia and Jackie. He wrote his responses, and after a bit, he had a decent sized stack of letters all ready to go back to the fourth graders.

After a few more days, he worked his way through the entire class, and each kid would soon have a handwritten response on the way. He just needed to figure out what he wanted to say to you. The pretty teacher from the class photo that he now kept tucked in with his personal items. He worked on that one last, writing your full name at the top of the page and wishing you didn't go by the very non-specific Ms. which gave him zero clue as to whether or not you were married.

The package you sent was the nicest piece of deployment mail I have ever received. Thank you. I'm lucky it ended up in my hands. I'm impressed by how much all of your students have learned about aviation this year. I just hope I did them justice in regards to the questions they had for me.

I also hope you don't mind that I replied to each kid individually. They had some very amusing stories and questions, and I wanted to acknowledge all of them. But there was one question in particular that I was asked so many times, I thought I'd answer it here instead. My call sign is kind of a silly one, so it's okay if you all laugh. I go by Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, and my helmet is mostly red, yellow and black.

Your kids seem like a fun bunch, but I bet they keep you on your toes. Feel free to let them know they can write back to me again, but please include my name on the package this time. I don't know that I'd be lucky enough to have it fall into my hands again by chance. I'll just be here somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for a few more months, ready to answer any questions you throw at me. Hope to hear back from you soon.

Yours Truly,

Lt Bradley Bradshaw

The following day, he packed everything up and dropped it off with the rest of the ship's outgoing mail. There was a rumor that a helicopter would be coming to pick it up in the next day or two, and he wanted to make sure it got back to California and those fourth graders as soon as possible. On his way back to his bunk, Bradley stopped by the lounge to see if there was an iPad free, hoping to send a quick email or two. He was in luck. He also happened to have your email address memorized.

--------------------------

You yawned at your desk and checked the time on your computer. Within the next ten minutes, your classroom would go from silent solitude to mass chaos, so you took a minute to clear out your email inbox. You had a few messages from some parents and a reminder about Spirit Week from the superintendent. And a random piece of junk mail that must have slipped through the spam filters. You didn't know anyone with a US Navy email address, and you didn't know anyone named Bradley Bradshaw.

As you closed your laptop, you gasped and tried to pry it back open again as quickly as you could. The Navy! The package you sent a few weeks ago! Maybe it was someone writing back to your class! Of course it could just be someone saying they were sorry that they didn't have time to engage with your students, but you figured even that was better than nothing. 

"Come on," you whispered, entering your credentials again before your inbox reappeared on your screen. The email was just a few lines long, but it was addressed to you by name. You were smiling immediately as you read it.

I just wanted to let you know that I got the mail you sent to a deployed Naval Aviator. There's a package on its way to your school for your class. It should arrive in about a week or two. Your fourth graders provided me with several hours of entertainment, and I hope they find my answers to their many (and amusing) questions useful. Thanks for the laughs, and thanks for the photos, too. Can't tell you how much I've been enjoying them. Hope to hear from all of you again.

Yours Truly,

Lt Bradley Bradshaw

You squealed and pumped your fists in the air. Someone actually got the box! And he actually responded! The other, older teachers thought you were just wasting your time when you deviated from the lesson plans a bit. Literally all of them said there was no way anyone would write back, even though you took the time to go through the proper channels at Top Gun on North Island. But now you could rub it in their faces, all thanks to Bradley Bradshaw who sounded like he'd had as much fun with this whole thing as your class had.

Then your day really started as Violet and Oliver burst into your classroom, calling out your name with excitement in their voices. The rest of your kids followed behind them, already asking about the plans for the day and what kind of adventure you'd be taking them on in each subject. 

When you clapped your hands twice and said, "Good morning," they all clapped and replied with their own greeting, and then they sat quietly with their gazes fixed on you. "Guess who I just got an email from!"

"The president!" 

"My grandma!"

"My Cocker Spaniel!"

"Oliver's grandma!"

You just shook your head and tried not to laugh as you said, "None of the above. But do you remember when we wrote and packed up those letters for a real aviator in the military to read?" Most of the kids nodded, so you added, "Well, he emailed us! And he sent us some mail that should arrive in about a week!"

And telling them that was a mistake. Because you didn't know a moment of peace after that. Every morning, you had kids rushing into the room to see if the promised piece of mail arrived yet. Every day you had to disappoint them, but you were finding yourself a little disappointed, too. You wanted to know what this Bradley Bradshaw guy sent back. 

You'd responded to his initial email letting him know you and the kids in your class were delighted to hear from him and that you would let him know when the mail he sent arrived at your school. He didn't respond, but you figured he was busy. Too busy to constantly muck about with your class while he was thousands of miles away on a deployment. 

And that was what left you standing at your desk with your mouth hanging open in awe when the padded envelope did finally arrive one morning. Because when you carefully cut it open, you found not just one letter to the class but individual handwritten notes, one for each child.

"Wow," you whispered, pulling the note with your name written on the top out of the stack. This man seemed humble and sweet, and his letter made you laugh in more than one spot as you read through it. Then you read it again. He sounded apologetic about responding to each individual kid, but you felt like your insides were melting. Who would do that? Who would take the time to give individual attention to a bunch of nine and ten year olds besides you? And you were technically getting paid to do it. 

Bradley Bradshaw seemed willing to continue to engage with your kids, and you weren't going to stop him. Because starting that morning, he became something of a legend to your class. A celebrity. A real lieutenant in the Navy replied to all of their silly questions, and their love of aviation just grew from there. You figured you were going to have to keep your lesson plans going a bit longer while their faces lit up as you walked around the room and handed them each their notes. You had taken the time to skim them beforehand, often laughing at his sense of humor which seemed to jump off the pages.

"Can we write back to him?" Jayden asked as everyone read their notes from Lieutenant Bradshaw. "I have more questions."

You smiled and nodded. "Yes, you may write back to him." Then you postponed your geology lesson until the next day and let them spend the next forty minutes writing some followup letters. You took some pictures of them diligently toiling away at their desks, excitement on their faces. Then you bit your lip and sat down at your own desk.

As you started to construct an email letting him know the envelope had arrived, your thoughts drifted to what he might be like. Humble and sweet, for sure. But he also made it a point to tell you that the box from your class was the best piece of mail he'd ever received while deployed. Maybe he was a little bit lonely. Maybe he was single. Maybe he was stationed on the west coast. Your thoughts started to get ahead of you, and it was hard to reel them in when you imagined him excited to see another email from you. Smiling when he was handed another box from your class during mail call.

Dear Lt Bradley Bradshaw,

We got the envelope from you today, and my kids are absolutely thrilled! I'm not sure if you know how hard it can be to wrangle eighteen fourth graders all at one time, but they are currently sitting quietly and working on new letters for you to read. Once again, please don't feel obligated to continue correspondence if you're too busy. I'm sure you have other people you could be writing to who want your attention as well. I just wanted you to know they are overjoyed that a Naval officer took the time to answer their questions about aviation.

I have attached some photos as proof that they are sitting still. Thanks again for making their day.

You signed your name at the bottom the way you always would from your work email account, and then you attached the photos. After a brief debate about adding the selfie you took with Violet where most of your face was visible, you decided to just go for it. Adding it to the mix wouldn't hurt anything. It wasn't like this semi mystery man would be up all night thinking about you. 

But you found that you were still thinking about him when you went home to your silent house and made dinner that evening. Maybe he was a little bit lonely, but maybe you were, too.

-------------------------

It was amazing how infrequently Bradley found himself thinking about Vanessa. He was busier now with his duties picking up a bit more as his deployment wore on, but even when he was tired and in his bunk at night, his thoughts seldom settled on her like he was afraid they might. He didn't miss her or her half-hearted emails, and he wasn't craving the connection of reunion sex with her. 

Instead, he was thinking about what a group of fourth graders were learning about this week and what their cute teacher was up to. It had been a few days since you emailed him, letting him know that his package was delivered to your school. You made it sound like the kids were excited that he sent it in the first place, and when he really thought about it, he supposed some officers would have just eaten the snacks and tossed the notes in the trash.

He didn't reply to the email yet, still thrown off a bit by the pictures you attached. Your classroom was vibrant, and the kids were absorbed as they worked on more notes for him to read whenever they happened to be delivered to the carrier. But the photo with you in it held his attention longer than it should have. The fact that you were working at a school that was just a handful of miles from his damn house made him feel warm.

But what would he do about it? What could he do about it? Nothing. He didn't want you to think he was creepy. He still knew essentially nothing else about you. The only thing he could do was keep it friendly if not professional. Unless of course you did something to push the boundaries of conversation into a more personal realm. God, if you did....he didn't think he would be able to handle it. 

The next day, when he was heading out on deck to talk to the mechanics who were doing regular maintenance on the aircrafts, he took his phone. "Hey, you mind if I take a few photos of some of the engine parts? I want to send them to a class of fourth graders who will think it's cool."

"Go ahead, Lieutenant," the head mechanic replied. Then he smiled and asked, "You dating a teacher?"

Well. Wouldn't that be something? Bradley would never run out of curious pen pals. He would always have some fourth graders to take interesting photos for and to send notes to. He'd always have a classroom to visit as soon as he got home from a deployment.

He couldn't help but picture you as the teacher.

"Nothing like that," he replied, his voice a little gravelly. "Just writing to some kids who are learning about aviation."

After dinner, when he had a chance to use an iPad in the lounge, he did his best to put together a response to your email that would at least hint at the curiosity he felt. 

If all it takes is mail from three thousand miles away to get your class to sit quietly, then I should probably be writing to you every day. But I'm sure you're a great teacher. That's a given considering how much your students learned and shared with me. And I can assure you that I'm more than happy to take the time to write to your class. And you. Please don't think I feel obligated, because I do not. I want to.

I have attached a few pictures of some F/A-18 engine components as well as some of my cockpit controls. Each photo is labeled, but please let me know if you have any questions.

It was nice hearing from you.

Yours Truly,

Lt Bradley Bradshaw 

As soon as he hit send, he wanted to kick himself. Should he have included a photo of his face like you had twice now? Or did he already sound too desperate to hear from you and your class again?

"Shit," he muttered, looking around the lounge as if there was going to be someone here proficient in the art of getting to know a fourth grade teacher without sounding stupid. But it was too late now. All he could do was wait for the next mail call or hope you decided to write back to his ramblings by the next time he checked his email. 

-----------------------------

You were going to have to scrape your jaw off the floor. You had no idea what this man's face even looked like, but his hands were... something else. And his thighs... well, they were pretty great, too. It must have been too long since you got laid, because you were sitting at your desk in your classroom staring at the set of photos in your inbox, currently unable to look away from his right hand. It was wrapped around the throttle of his aircraft. It was elegant with attractive veins and rough calluses. You were sure that you were supposed to be focusing on the cockpit controls, but all you could see was that hand and his thick, muscular thighs below.

The next photo was no better for you. He was holding up his helmet with his call sign Rooster emblazoned across the front, and you were able to see his left ring finger. There was no wedding band. There was no evidence of an outline where a wedding band would belong. There was just his big, strong hand.

You whimpered softly while your students worked on their math tests. You couldn't help it as you took one last look before logging out of your email account. And now you needed to know if his face matched the very attractive image you had in your mind. 

When Jayden called your name, you rocketed to your feet like you'd been caught red handed. "Yes?" you squeaked, your voice sounding higher pitched than usual.

"I'm done with my test. May I have the hall pass and use the restroom?"

You handed it to him as the rest of your class finished working through the math problems. A few minutes later, when you collected the papers from them, Violet asked, "When is Lieutenant Bradshaw going to write back to us?"

It had only been a few days since you mailed him the second box of notes and some more snacks, but it made you happy that they were all so invested in learning more from him. 

"It will probably be a few weeks before we get anything in the mail. However... he did email me some pictures of engine and cockpit parts from the aircraft carrier for me to share with you guys." When you looked around the room, the kids were on the edges of their seats, excited expressions on their faces. With a laugh you added, "I was going to wait until tomorrow and use the projector to show them all to you, but if you're very well behaved for the rest of the afternoon, maybe I could pull them up on my computer for you to see them today."

Not two hours later, you were just as excited as the kids were to look at the photos... again. As they crowded around your desk, you opened up the first one of the cockpit to a barrage of questions. 

"Is that really his jet?"

"Is that the throttle?"

"What do all the buttons do?"

"Was this right before he flew it?"

Once again you were distracted, but you managed to click over to the next photo, and the kids gasped in delight. 

"His helmet is so cool!"

"It says Rooster!"

"That's his call sign!"

"Red is my favorite color!"

You just smiled softly and laughed. "Should we go ahead and start working on another list of questions for him?" you asked as you slowly scrolled through the rest of the pictures. "He said we can write back to him as much as we want to." When everyone cheered, you handed Oliver a marker and pointed to the board at the front of the classroom. "Let's start making a list."

You listened to all of your students call out questions for Bradley while Oliver wrote them down. Then Violet asked, "Can he send us a picture of his whole jet? From the outside of it?"

You cleared your throat and added, "Maybe he could get someone else to take the picture so he could stand in front of it. For size comparison."

Violet nodded, but you knew you were a fraud. Sure, it would be great for the kids to understand just how massive the F/A-18s were compared to an actual person, but you were the one who wanted to see all of Bradley. You were itching for it now. 

Later that night, you drank most of a bottle of wine and did something you promised yourself you'd never do. You logged into your work email account after nine o'clock. You skipped over the handful of unread emails from parents and clicked on the icon to compose a new message. With your liquid courage goading you on, you typed up a response to Lieutenant Bradley Bradshaw and hit send before you could think twice.

Thank you for the photos. They were very enlightening. We especially liked the ones where you were showing off your cockpit. Or I did, anyway. The kids liked all of them and started on another list of questions for you. Good luck getting rid of us now. 

We were wondering if you could have someone take a picture of you standing in front of your jet. For size comparison purposes. And also because my students would like to know what you look like. Hearing from you makes our day even better.

You couldn't believe how forward you were being with this man who you'd never even met in person, but you fell asleep thinking about his hands and what they might be capable of.

-------------------------

This Bradley makes me swoon. I've never wanted to be a fourth grade teacher so badly in my life. There is something that's starting to blossom between them even though they haven't even met in person. Thanks @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls

PART 3

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[montimer]

Deadpool x reader

Gn!reader,him gaining a crush on ya

He tries not to believe it. Is there even a scenario where you would love him back?

He tries his best to push these feelings away. But he just can't help it, i mean why you gotta be so beautiful and kind to him and your voice, gosh- but the more he tries getting his mind off you the more it hurts. Especially if he goes to drink at a bar and gets so drunk he ends up with someone next to him in the morning.

So instead he lets his obsession grew.

Oh you're shopping? He just happens to be there too! Don't question it, he'll start yapping and drags you with himself.

He invites you over more than usual. You wanna watch a movie? Play games? If he wins he gets a kiss- whoa what,who said that?

He'll wanna have sleepovers. Throw pillow fights and no he won't sleep on the floor, make some space for him. Incase you don't tell him to sleep on the couch he'll totally not creepily stare at you as you sleep. Sure he'll fall asleep,,eventually.

He gives you tiny hints that he loves you. But of course you won't really catch them, after all he acts freaky with everyone.

And by flirting i mean, putting a hand around your shoulder. Telling you that you are gorgeous and calling you nicknames. Showing you a heart with his hands and so much more.

If you let him he would love to hug you every now and then. Tho his hugs get longer and longer the more you let him closer to you.

Speaking of which, he'll let you see his face and know more about his past only after a longer time.

But even then, when he took off his mask and expected a disgusted look or a mean comment, you just smiled at him and reassured that he is beautiful inside and out. Can you be any more charming? He just fall head over heals all over again.

You laugh at his jokes and think hes cool? He is wordless.

He will try to kiss you through his mask and will do it if you don't push him away. "Smooch me!"

Sometimes he stares at you with out noticing.

His room is full of stuff that you gifted to him and photos of you (where he got it? Oh don't worry about it..)

And if you happen to be a hero/etc, he will have a plush and other merch of you around.

He'll even give you a mini version of himself. To keep you safe he says.

He loves to be around you and is overly affectionate.

He squishez his eyes into a smile upon seeing you. He'll wave at you and everything.

He'll draw you silly pictures (mostly the two of you holding hands and being lovey-dovey)

He also leaves you flowers.

If you say nice things to him it'll blow his mind. By nice i mean stuff like "You are cute!" Or "You're the best!". Yeah you really think so? His heart feels like its beating stronger.

He speaks before thinking rather often. He lets his stranger thoughts out. Such thoughts like "You're so hot". He stares wide eyed at you after. Then comes the awkward laugh, just laugh with him please.

Anyways get used to it cuz he'll make your life a living hell, or maybe heaven?

He would ask you to move into an apartment with him, and he won't stop asking that question. Wouldn't it be less lonely and more fun to have a roommate?

He just can't come up with a way to confess..maybe the job will do it itself? No Yes,yes it will Wade don't worry.

[callme-holly]

Hello there, I saw you were taking requests, (free feel to ignore this) but I was wondering if you could do a younger version of the gang and a younger. Meeting when they were kids, like really cute, and the gang and reader having crushes. Like very childish. Hope you have a great day!

-🐭

𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 (𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧)

a/n: this is so cute i canttttt

Darry Curtis:

You and Darry first meet each other when you’re around 10. You both spotted each other in the playground, and he was already incredibly responsible and serious, looking after his brothers and chasing after them. 

You first spoke when his younger brother Sodapop knocked you over and you scraped your knee. Darry was very quick to help you, and like the little gentleman he is, he apologised profusely and checked you over, cleaning you off.

After that, he made it his job to protect you and wouldn’t let a single kid make fun of you. He definitely had a tiny crush on you and would get flustered anytime you hugged him or smiled at him. 

Sodapop Curtis:

 You met Soda when you were both 8, and he immediately adored you. He developed a little crush on you very quickly and would always bring you little flowers or pictures. 

He was always trailing after you, helping you whenever you needed and making sure you were happy. He loved when you laughed at his jokes and would always try to impress you in different, silly ways. 

He would always gush over you to his mom, telling her how pretty you were and how amazing you were.

Ponyboy Curtis:

You and Pony both met when you were 6 in kindergarten. He was a little shy at first and didn’t tend to talk to many people; however, when you introduced yourself, he very quickly came out of his shell. 

He loved to draw with you or sit and look at all the picture books with you, and the two of you would spend hours together. He’d get nervous whenever you’d hug him or hold his hand, his cheeks flushing pink.

He’d always make sure his seat was next to yours, and if you weren’t, he’d be all sad and pouty for the rest of the day.

Johnny Cade:

You and Johnny first met when you were 7, and he was the most timid, sweetest kid ever. He was very quiet and would always stay on the sidelines, but the moment you started talking to him, his whole face lit up, and pretty soon you were both inseparable.

You became his favourite person in the whole world; you’d share snacks at lunch and hold hands wherever you went. He’d get very flustered around you, his cheeks flushing red, and he’d look away. 

One time, you told him he was your “most favourite friend in the whole world,” and he couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day. 

Dallas Winton:

You met Dally at 9, when you caught him getting into some kind of trouble. He was rough and a little guarded, so your first impression of him was that he was rude and not very kind. However, that changed when he protected you at the playground once, and soon you thought the world of him.

He pretended to be too cool for your affection, but he’d secretly get very flustered whenever you’d gush over him. He’d always try to impress you, stealing your snacks or climbing trees to show you how high he could go. 

If someone ever made you upset, he’d go and find them and force them to apologise. 

Steve Randle:

You and Steve met when you were 8, and you thought he was the funniest kid around. He’d always make silly jokes just to hear you laugh or to see you smile, and whenever you did, he’d grin like he’d won a prize.

He’d always race you everywhere, turning everything into a little game, and secretly letting you win almost every single time. He never really gets flustered, and if you ever hug him or hold his hand, he’d just act all smug and cocky. 

Two-Bit Mathews:

You and Two met at 9, and he immediately decided that you were his favourite person to joke around with. He’d always tease you in the sweetest way, pulling on your hair gently and giving you cute little nicknames.

He always enjoyed it when you laughed at his jokes, and one time, he found a cheap little ring and presented it to you like he was proposing. You two definitely had a playground wedding. 

He always shared his snacks with you, sometimes giving you his whole lunch, claiming that he was a gentleman. 

[the-ancient-dragons]

Welcome back to Overcomplicating the Pyrrhian Tribes! This week: the beloved RainWings!!

You know what's up. Joy Ang and Tui are so cool and I am just me.

Details and explanation below!

Otherwise, next week are the chilly IceWings! See you then!!!

More overcomplicated dragons.

I knew the RainWings would be really important, and I think they turned out the best of all the ones I've done. I think they're my favourite because they are basically the perfect mix of extra realism spice without altering Joy's design too much. The SkyWing design is awesome and I love it to bits, but it is one of the two that are the farthest from canon.

As for the RainWing.... I had. So. Much. FUN. I heavily used chameleons and snakes - they're basically the two main species on my research board - but there is a dash of cuttlefish and frilled lizard in there. Where, you ask? Well if you look closely, all over the RainWing are little tiny flecks of darker colour. I found a beautiful reference of a close-up on a cuttlefish eye. Its skin is dotted in thousands of little marks and I thought that would be perfect for the RainWing, who can camouflage just as well as them. I don't know if it's been discussed in canon but I bet they could animate their scales more than just colour shifting - cuttlefish are known for using their rapidly shifting patterns to hypnotize prey. RainWings could do it too, sort of like Ka from Disney's 2D animated Jungle Book.

Speaking of Ka - snakes. I love snakes. The head structure of the RainWing here is very smooth and rounded with muscles based on snakes like the python. I was even going to originally draw them in a venom striking pose and got as far as completing the lineart, but ultimately decided it wouldn't fit the calm portraits of the other tribes.

Will you see it in the future? Hell yeah! Pure, unhinged, magical death spit. Looking at it now I might try to alter it to be a full piece of Glory attacking Scarlet or Crocodile.

In the striking pose you can see the frills much better, but I still took my time on this serene pose (this is where the frilled lizard influence comes in). If you notice that I've drawn every scale (every single scale) then, yes, I am insane. If you didn't know that yet, you know it now. You have to draw guide lines and follow them meticulously while you wonder why you don't make a scale brush, and then cry because you know the randomness and imperfections that come from drawing a thousand circles is how it looks natural. The eye area is actually my favourite part, since drawing dragon eyelids was the original inspiration for doing this. Did I mention that? I wanted to draw eyelids.

EYELIDS.

I digress. Besides the eyelids, I like the frills on the action pose, but this pose is where I like the body scales more. When zooming in on my chameleon colour refs, I noticed the very rhythmical distribution of their scales and figured I would give it a try. They actually do have extra large circular scales along their bodies, which is where I guess the canon RainWing design gets it from. Very clever, Joy!

Anyway, on this version, those small circular scales appear on the face. Not only that, but I added a bit of influence from the snouts of my ref chameleons by extending the nose bridges to wrap around the nose horn. They blend in so seamlessly and that's the reason why I love this design - it's subtle, barely there, mostly Joy but a little extra.

Wow, I talk too much. If you're here, thank you! It's not mandatory to read, but very appreciated. I heard once that visitors at an art gallery look at each piece an average of 2-3 seconds. Or was it 3-6? Idk, but it was shockingly short, and ever since then I've tried to encourage myself to pay more respect to other artists and glean their work for little details I skip after that quick glance. I could talk so much more about these designs but that would be like an hour long video, each, lol. If you have questions about anything, ask away!

[thoughtfulfiction]

Dad and Mini’s Weekend

Author’s note: Gameday re-write! Bolt up as always. Hope you enjoy this dad!Justin piece!

“Daddy?”

“Yes, baby?”

The toddler stops in her tracks, putting down the purple crayon she was holding to look up at him like he’s offended her. “I’m not a baby, I’m this many,” she informs him, holding up four fingers. He reaches over the tiny drawing table and puts one of her fingers down so she’s only holding three up. They’ve been trying to work on it this week and there is clearly room for improvement.

“You’re right mini, you’re not a baby. Daddy’s sorry, do you forgive me?”

She hops out of her seat, the masterpiece she was creating quickly forgotten so she can give Justin a hug. “I forgives you, but...why do you call me mini?”

“Because,” he begins, laughing when she holds her hands up to be carried. He secretly still really liked to hold her, it was hard to believe the once small, green-eyed miniature girl version of him that he could hold in his hands like a football, was now a fully functioning, walking and talking miniature…person.

He walks the two of them to the bathroom, turning on the light so she can see their reflection in the mirror. ”Look at us, you look just like me. You’re my mini me. My mini.” She stares back and forth between her reflection and his, tilting her head as if that would help her get a better look. “See? We have the same eyes, same nose and—smile? That little hole in your cheek? It’s called a dimple. I have one too. And when I was your age my hair was blonde just like yours.” He pokes at each body part as he lists them off, his heart being warmed at the sound of her little laugh.

“Oh! We match daddy. We’re the same!” Remi kisses him on the cheek.

Justin was in charge for the next few days while you were in Chicago at a work conference. Remi had recruited you to help her make a list of things she wanted to do with him. And he made it his personal mission to get everything on the list done, to make up for all the lost quality time he didn't get to spend with her during the season.

Today, the main thing on the agenda was the aquarium. He strapped her up in her car seat and asked what she wanted to listen to on the way to their destination, secretly already knowing the answer because it had been the same for the last two weeks anytime either of you drove her around.

"The Cars song!"

“What’s the magic word?” He says looking at her through the rearview mirror, waiting for her to understand what he was getting at.

“Um…please?”

He nods and grabs his phone, playing the song on repeat. Remi starts dancing in her seat as “Life is a Highway” plays on the speakers. Justin watches intently as she wiggles her arms and shakes her little body as she pleases and joins her in singing along. If he could bottle up these tiny moments he would and he’d savor them just to be able to look back on them in the future because his mini was already growing up too fast.

Their duet lasted over an hour, driving into Newport from the ranch, and every time they left their home it made him grateful for his purchase to give his family some privacy. Of course he loved meeting fans and interacting with them but he wanted to be present with his daughter and interruptions or a quick selfie here and there got a bit old. And Remi was still trying to wrap her mind around why her dad always had people following him or taking pictures with him so answering those questions was always more fun for you than it was for him. So when he could be in the comfort of his own home, he wanted to be. But then again, if Remi said jump, most of the time he said how high and that is why he had this trip to take her to see some fish.

"Do you see those with the pretty tail that looks like a tutu? Those are called Red Betta Fish, so we can mark off the red square because we found something." Justin points out, handing Remi the marker and showing her the spot on the aquarium scavenger hunt they just checked off. After she was done she handed him the sheet, holding on to the writing utensil. He held out his free hand for her to hold, which she happily grabbed as her dad continued identifying different fish.

Remi looked at the various colors and sizes of the animals in front of her. “Do fishies have mommies and daddies too?”

“They do,” her dad nods, smiling at the fact that his daughter was tugging at his heartstrings due to her care for animals. He saw more of himself in her every single day but it was still mind-blowing.

“Maybe the mama went to work too, like mine. And the one in Finding Nemo!” She muses, looking up at him.

“You’re right! It’s exactly like that.” Neither you nor Justin had the heart to tell her what really happened to the mom when you all sat down for family movie night last Saturday. "Should we go find something blue?"

The toddler could not contain her excitement at the sight of the luminescent jellyfish. "Can we take one home? I want mama to see."

"Mini, I don't think they'd be very happy living at the house, they need lots of water. What if we find one at the gift shop to bring home? I think I saw some with glitter."

She understands immediately, silently wondering if she could let one live in the pool at their other house in California but she forgets her train of thought as soon as she he mentions glitter. "Yeah! I want more sparkly things in my room. Daddy?" He hums, grabbing her hand again, "someone is looking at us."

Justin turns around and spots the culprit, a little boy, maybe around 12 or 13, wearing his jersey. He can hear the dad, at least he assumed, who was telling him to just go up and ask for a picture. Remi pulls her dad over to them, clearly having heard the entire exchange as well.

"You should take a picture with my dad. He's really nice and he'll say yes." She obviously knew he played football but didn't quite understand the fact that her dad was famous. He was literally just her dad and he wanted to keep it that way as long as he could.

The kid's dad smiles at her, asking Justin if it's ok to interrupt his family time. "It's fine," he reassures him, "she insists and isn't the best at taking no for an answer," the quarterback huffs out a laugh. "Do you have your phone on you?" The dad pulls it out immediately, snapping a picture of the three of them as Remi looks on proudly. She definitely got that part from you. The father and son thank him after he signs the jersey with Remi's marker and both duos move on with the rest of their day.

Remi falls asleep on their way home, hugging her new plushie tight like her life depends on it. She's awake by the time he pulls into the driveway, thanking him for the "best day ever."

As soon as he opened the door, she went to her playroom to sit her plushie in a chair so all of her stuffed animals would be ready for tomorrow's tea party. "Hey," Justin pokes his head in, announcing his arrival when Remi doesn't turn around, purely focused on her "stuffies."

"Mini, what do you want to eat for dinner?"

She finally turns, plopping down to sit on one of the beanbags. "Can I have pizza pretty please? With ranch. Ranch is yummy."

"Sure, pizza and ranch coming right up."

"Thank you daddy," she says instinctively, having turned all of her attention back to the table.

Justin closed the playroom door, taking the stairs two at the time to grab his phone from the master bedroom. He clicked on your contact, praying you'd answer asap. "Babe, I really need your help. Remi wants pizza for dinner, how do I make healthy pizza?"

He hears you laugh on the other end of the line. "Oh my god. You know you don't have to give her absolutely everything she wants. I know you said you wanted to make salmon, so just make that. She'll be fine."

"I know but—she really wants pizza," you can hear the slight pout in his voice, reminding you of Remi.

"She also wants to be a unicorn when she grows up."

"I don't think I can make that happen, but I can definitely do some pizza. Can you just send me the recipe, please?" He really was desperate.

You chuckle at his antics, Remi really did have him wrapped around her little fingers. "Fine. Pushover."

"Whatever, thank you. I love you and we'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you too honey. You're a really good dad," you tell him seriously, "Rem has no idea how lucky she is to have you. We both are."

Justin didn't realize exactly how much of a pushover he was until he found himself sharing his bed with a toddler and the blue sparkly jellyfish he bought a few hours earlier and a gray bear named Muffin. Remi had cried sometime after dinner, a tell-tale sign she was tired, complaining that she missed you and his solution to that problem was to let her sleep in your spot for the night. She, of course, happily agreed.

All of the lights were off and he was seconds away from closing his eyes when he heard her giggle. "What's so funny over there little lady?"

"My pillow smells like mama. Like she’s right here.” She whispers in shock and he shakes his head in amusement, both of them drifting off to sleep with smiles on their faces.

The next day, Remi wanted to get into her costume. She’d been watching a lot of Spidey and his Amazing Friends and was convinced that she was Gwen Stacey aka Ghost Spider. So when her grandparents bought her a costume, she wore it pretty much daily. And her dad had to be Thor…for obvious reasons. The superheroes saved the city from the green goblin’s plan to turn everyone into hamsters and then they had to save Muffin from Doctor Octopus’ evil lair.

“We make a pretty good team, Spider Gwen.” Justin says, putting the Thor hammer on the couch.

“It’s Ghost Spider daddy.” She corrects him.

“Oh I'm sorry Ghost Spider. How about you take your costume off and we take a little snack break? Superheroes need food to keep up their energy.”

After enjoying her apple slices with peanut butter, Remi grabbed the list and asked her dad to read off the two things they had left.

"Flowers and slime."

She had added making slime to the list because she learned how to do it in preschool last week and made you stop at the store to get all the necessary supplies. Although he was secretly looking forward to this little science project with her, it was just another reminder that she was much closer to kindergarten than she was to the newborn stage. He followed the detailed directions that Remi got from school and added glue and food coloring to a bowl and let her stir.

“Do you wanna add in the baking soda?” He hands her the spoon and she dumps it into the bowl.

“Uh oh daddy I spilled. I need a tissue.”

“It's okay, we can clean it up when we’re done. You can keep mixing, you’re doing so well.” Justin runs a hand down her ponytail, proud of himself for successfully getting it all, even if it took him three tries. In his defense, Remi had a lot of hair to work with. “Next, we need to add some of this saline solution and mix it with our hands. Are you ready?”

Remi rolls up her sleeves with her dad’s help and digs into the bowl, kneading the slime with so much joy in her face. The orange slime came out gooey and perfect and they played with it for a while, cleaning everything up together when they were done. He loved that she was into science, fishing expeditions, superheroes and of course...football. But she was also a lover of unicorns, princesses, tea parties and all things glitter so they had gone through a plethora of her interests throughout the week.

The last thing on the list was going to the flower shop to surprise you with a bouquet when you came home. He walks into the tiny store with Remi on his shoulders, setting her down so she can smell the roses. "The yellow is pretty."

"It is pretty," he acknowledges, a sense of peace washing over him. Justin felt like he was in a constant state of serenity when he was home, the calm and quiet energy that followed him daily during the offseason was something he didn't want to take for granted.

The store clerk spots them browsing and asks if they're looking for anything in particular. "My mama is pretty, so we need the prettiest flowers in the world for her surprise."

She smiles, placing her hand on her chest at the toddler's words. "Well, I think I have just the thing you're looking for," the clerk crouches down to Remi's level, "do you wanna take your dad and see?"

Remi nods excitedly after looking at Justin to make sure it's alright. He walks behind her to the side of the store where they are shown an expansive array of flowers to make their own bouquet. The quarterback chooses sunflowers, remembering Remi's comment about the prettiness of the yellow, baby's breath and peonies and Remi picks out some roses, ranunculus bulbs and tulips, all various shades of pink. He gave her a fist bump on their way out the door, thoroughly proud of their work.

Before he knew it, you were texting him to let him know you were picking up dinner on your way home while the two of them watched Moana. Usually she’d be up and running around while the movie played in the background but tonight she was focused, cuddled into his side with her eyes glued to the screen. But as soon as you walked into the house Remi ran into your arms, not wanting to let go.

“Oh hi sweet cookie, did you have fun with daddy?”

“Uh huh, daddy is the best! I love him,” she mumbles into your shoulder.

“I love him too, he’s pretty great isn’t he? You’re so lucky sugar, you have the best daddy in the whole world.” Justin walks up to you and wraps his arms around both of you, sandwiching Remi in the middle. He gives you a kiss on the cheek and kisses the top of the toddler’s head. “So…tell me everything. What did you and daddy do?”

She takes a deep breath and you know you’re in for a long story. You catch your husband’s eyes and he shoots you a tight lipped smile as he goes back outside to your car to get your bags inside. Remi doesn’t let you go as you walk her to the couch.

“It was sooooo fun…” she begins, telling you every single detail without missing a beat.

“Do you need help unpacking? You know I have a little experience with it.” Justin smiles, looking down at your suitcase, long after Remi had gone to bed. You weren't going to say no to the help, gesturing for him to go for it. The man grabbed all of your essentials, easily placing them in their rightful places and putting your bags up without breaking a sweat. His tidiness and attention to detail had become even more attractive since you became parents, it really came in handy.

"How was it? Did she nap at all?"

He closes the distance between you and wraps you in his arms, sneaking in a kiss. "Barely. Maybe fell asleep twice for a total of less than two hours the last 4 days."

"I knew that was gonna happen," you laugh, shaking your head, "she was probably scared to fall asleep and miss spending every single waking moment with you."

"Not just 'waking.'" He notes. "She also slept in our bed...said she missed you too much to sleep alone."

"Of course she did, that kid is a genius."

"I swear she's three going on thirty. It hurts to admit but I just kept thinking about how fast she's growing and honestly? Sometimes I miss the baby stage. I—I think I want another kid." Your husband admits.

You look up at him with your eyes wide in shock, "really?"

"Yeah. Remi is...perfect. I just want her to have someone to play with and everything we did this weekend was great but it would be nice for her to have a sibling to do those things with. Hanging out with dad is cool now but it won't be forever."

Pondering his revelation, you bit your lip, taking in his words. "Two kids. That wouldn't be so bad."

Now it's his turn to be surprised, "you sure? I mean we don't have to make a decision right now, it's just-I always saw us having our own little crew running around."

"We did make a pretty cute kid, another one would just add more fun to our lives. Just promise me one thing."

"Anything,” he responds without hesitation. He’d probably carry the baby for you if that was humanly possible.

"This time I want to have an offseason baby, there's no way I'm having another kid in the middle of the season."

Justin's laugh vibrates against your chest as you hug him. "Deal. And maybe this one will look like you a little bit because Remi is all me."

"You carry a child for 10 months, suffer through over 20 hours of labor all for them to look like someone else. This one better look exactly like me or I'm suing you and your selfish genes."

"We'll have to wait and see but I may be seeing you in court."

[neverheroes]

Here’s a bunch of stuff in the MM Tales of the TMNT comic-con sneak-peek I thought about too much!

They’ve cared so much about showing how differently they each react to and process the same situation.

Through the scene Raph is excited to tear things up and true to every iteration ever tries things his way until it doesn’t work, Don’s flight response pings into analyst mode and you just know he’s figuring out how to break stuff, Mike is thriving in team-mode and keeping them all on track, and Leo flails around like a giant ball of chronic anxiety before figuring out a plan. They’re original formula with gently new toppings and I’m ready for this slice.

Raphael

This guy! We get so much. He’s rearing to do some fighting that isn’t sparring and be free to do some actual damage. So we know he’s bored fighting is brothers and wants a challenge. He can’t handle this one and in figuring that out is “open to suggestions” which is quite the overlooked Raph quality, he’ll listen he just has to work through that impulsive reactive streak first. He’s strong and knows it, and that robot gets a harder fight. The Raph highlight for me was taking time while fighting to honour the time-old tradition of making fun of Michelangelo. <Sobs in last ronin.>

Donatello

This kid, man! It’s a long standing opinion of mine that everyone should be more scared of Donatello. His interest in understanding the threat overrides most of his fear. Cerebral af. This is his face most of the time while a robot programmed to obliterate him is directly behind him. On the surface it looks like he’s running away a lot, but he can’t exactly press pause on it to figure out how they work. His gentle heart characterisation is well intact, apologising to the robot when he damages it having already personified the thing. I honestly believe he would take it home like he’d found a new pet if that were an option.

Michelangelo

What a show of Mikey magic. He’s got the comedy relief on a casual setting with subtle jokes and unintentionally antagonistic observation style. Mike has a tiny attention span but is 100% in every moment and they draw a lot of attention to his speed and agility. He shines doing what Mikey is known so well for; keeping the family together. It was awesome to see him effectively orienting his brothers into the situation, and see them listen to him so readily. He still calls to Leo for guidance when he feels out of control, but we might be in for a more surprising personal arc than ~nobody takes me seriously~ this time around.

Leonardo

This is a blessing for Leo fans because MM Tales Leo sucks /srs. Not in the way Raph fans say it on Instagram posts, in the way that his flaws are so disparate from other versions that a mastery arc is screaming his nervous muppet name. The giftedness is still sewn in; even flailing around he has more advanced weapon control, is observant enough to be the right level of stressed when a threat shows up, and jumps into strategy finding a vantage point to make a plan like a good little Leo, but instead of our usual Leo trauma ball we (at least for now) get to watch a Leo with the confidence of a processed cheese slice be terrible at things because he’s just some kid…

Pfffffffahahhhahhahba

The Mutant Mayhem kids are the most realistically green (and by that I mean inexperienced) we've ever seen them and it's continued into Tales. With detaching from source origin and establishing a much more grounded reflection of teen life in the current world, the growth arcs over Tales and the next MM movie have such immense unburdened potential that it really could lead anywhere and I don’t know what to expect.

(Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will air in August 9th 2024 on Paramount+)

[merbear25]

Monster trio, cross guild, and Ace reaction to seeing their s/o being good with children and having a strong maternal instinct when she sees children? And also her having baby fever every time she sees a baby lmao xD

Hello there! I thought this was a cute idea! I got a bit emotional thinking about this Anyway! Since you had more than 3 characters, I chose the ones I had the most ideas for. Thank you for sending in this request. I hope you like what I've written for you 💜💜

CW: fem!reader, fluff, slight angst, headcanons

A natural mother x Cross Guild

Mihawk

Despite not having considered starting a family prior to meeting you, it was difficult for him to ignore how much warmth he felt when he saw how sweet you were with children. You were in your element when you were with them. There was no denying that.

Each laugh you shared with them, each cuddle only deepened this feeling growing inside him. There were times you fawned over how cute this or that child was, talking about how lovely it would be to start a family. Although he didn’t contribute much to those monologues, he took each word you spoke seriously.

The times you held babies you looked down at them with such softness and spoke to them with such care. They were so small and fragile, but in your arms they looked safe.

This eventually led to a long conversation; one that needed to be had. You both took the time to discuss the possibility of starting a family together. He wasn’t opposed to the idea at all. In fact, he felt there was no one better to have one with than you.

Crocodile

He never saw himself as a potential father. It wasn’t something that he thought would be in his cards, so having you as a s/o was making him put more thought into whether or not it was something he wanted.

The moments you shared with some of the children you encountered had him questioning his stance on raising a family. He’d sneak glances every now and then, not wanting you to catch him admiring your patience and care towards them.

Although you were admittedly a natural - born to be a mother in fact - he was apprehensive. It wasn’t that he thought you wouldn’t make a fabulous mother or that he didn’t want to see little versions of you running around. He just didn’t quite see himself as a father figure, at least not yet.

When you finally talked about it, there were slightly hurt feelings. He wasn’t exactly saying no to having a family, but it wasn’t right for him now. He reminded you how much you meant to him, and if there was anyone who would bear his children, it would be you.

Buggy

There were many things he thought were wonderful about you, one of which was your natural talent dealing with children. Even if he got irritated with kids every now and then, he really did like them. They were just tiny people who wanted to have fun and enjoy life after all.

That being said, he had his reservations about being a father and seeing you be the most well-suited future mother he’d ever seen really put those to the test. The gentleness in your voice, the time you took out of your day to draw with them, and how excited they got when they saw you, all of which were moments that stood out to him.

He felt guilty to an extent. Here you were, this beauty who had a heart of gold and so much love to give not being given the family you so rightly deserved. Even with these moments of self-doubt, he loved watching you with them.

Eventually, you took notice of the growing dark cloud over him, which led to this important discussion. You reassured him that he would make a wonderful father. He wanted to take your word for it. If you thought that about him, then surely it was true.

[sreppub]

Restaurant owners/chefs/waitstaff AU.

The Robins in their cute waiter uniforms, Bruce the manager/owner trying to herd them, the Batgirls as the chefs lol

Green Arrow as a Definitely Not A Knock Off version of the Batcave(?), but THEIR menu is all organic and vegan (it’s GREEN, get it??) versions of what Bruce’s restaurant offers

The Batcave(?) was a high end dining establishment that is more of a family restaurant these days? Or it’s super fancy still and the all Robins leave to open a less strict establishment aka: Dick is the one that owns Nite-Wing (the wing shop the silly character that Nite-Wing takes his name from lol), Tim opens a coffee shop, etc

The Iron Fam has the Chuck Cheese style entertainment&arcade “restaurant” that also has laser tag and their animatronics are just robots lol.

The Super’s have a farm->table BBQ stall at the farmer’s market

The Flash has a food truck? Or they are the deliver guys?

Green Lanterns are the food inspectors

The Wonders have a Themyscira Food place. It’s very classy but cozy place

Who has the local pizza place?

The villains have like, Chik-à-fila

The Teen Titans all quite their parent’s restaurants and run the local Mall food court for a summer

You sent this super quickly after I said I wanted new AUs and I am so impressed anon. Did you just have this ready?!! Thank you!!!

Anyways I love it! I love wings and I would go to Nite-Wing all the time lol. And maybe also to see the cute dog and hot wings guy. I think it’s a tiny place with stupid bright colours and like 2 bar seats. (I hate it. I would hate this place) I know, coloured floor grout is futile, AND the black through-colour ACT, who ARE we??? Well, the reno was bankrolled by Bruce, so that’s who we are. The drinks fridge wasn’t even secondhand, that’s who we are. Also, Dick had Damian paint a wall mural, not pictured because I didnt wanna draw it lol

I know what you’re thinking. There’s a second street entrance/back of house corridor behind the pink wall, and the front counter is ADA compliant. I’m not an animal.

Secondly, I would love if the Waynes used one of their properties, a townhouse in the city, and converted it into a restaurant inspired by Alfred’s cooking 🥹 Classy, but has gotten homier and cozier over time. The kids multiply, and their friends hang out there and suddenly adults and young people hang out here…. This kind of thing! Two floors for the restaurant and an event space/gallery, and then lofts up top. 3-4 storeys, in my mind. They probably own the block.

Wouldn’t be crazy for Green Arrow to buy a property across the street 🤣

Idk if I’d have Tim running a cafe day-to-day… He does do a pop-up for their gallery events. Maybe he’s on the business side. If you’ve ever seen Chef, I’m thinking of RDJ’s character giving Casper a loan and the food truck…

Not to say he’s too good for food service. The YJ98 crew definitely hop around their families restaurants at will, for fun and enrichment.

IRONFAM PIZZA-ARCADE IS AMAZING AND I WILL BE THINKING ABOUT THIS FURTHER. you really oughta take the credit for this, anon, before I go off the rails and people start thinking I’M smart or something 😂 A robot-garage-themed restaurant sounds rad as HECK. Dum-E serving food would be a show in itself.

Farmer’s market stalls, my beloved.

They’re all going to live in one big terrible amalgamated city/group of cities and Gotham/Metro/Star/etc are neighbourhoods/cities within it. Oh damn.

[jesncin]

HI HELLO HEARD YOU WERE A LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS ENJOYER soo just wondering what thoughts you mayhaps would be willing to share?

YESS I LOVE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS!! I know the show's a classic, but I only just recently got to checking it out after Wait In The Wings' fantastic documentary on the Audrey 2 puppet and general making of the musical! I admire the work that team does to archive and interview the people involved. I adore puppets and animatronics so seeing a musical involve that as a center piece was a huge draw for me! The show really is like proto Disney 90s renaissance but "allowed to be more risqué" which is amazing to see. It has classic Disney lyrical genius (Howard Ashman and Alan Menken the duo ever) but allowed to be more camp and dirty.

I strongly identify with Howard Ashman being obsessed with a mid movie, then making an iconic reimagining that infused so much personal life (upbringing in a tough neighborhood, love of girl groups, and dentist backstory from Alan Menken's dad) that it outdoes the original. He made the monster win in the end. The monsterboinker in me approves of this.

I LOOOVE this Tiny Desk concert! Not only are we treated to wasian Seymour by gaysian icon Conrad Ricamora, but it has my all time favorite dentist so far (Christian Borle) who is giving greasy bad boy with a fun subdued energy that makes his occasional outbursts more shocking. We also actually get to see the Audrey 2 singer (Aaron Arnell Harrington) emote on stage which is priceless.

Feed Me is probably my favorite song because there's something hilariously homosexual about Howard Ashman and Alan Menken coming to an agreement that "we need to make Audrey 2's voice something a man would take orders from" and that voice is this low manly voice that is giving drag voice miss Piggy but commanding and catchy. Even describing it as "seductive". This ^ is my fav performance of both the voice and puppet work so far! That puppet is lip syncing for his life and is so emotive! I don't know if it's specifically the same puppeteer but I hear Noel MacNeal, the Bear In the Big Blue House actor, is in the revival show and that guy is fantastic.

My fav Seymour actors are the ones that go all out with being a pathetic nerd in their acting and singing voice. I get disappointed when they get a typical Broadway handsome man lead and they just use their usual leading-man voice. This is your chance to play a fun character! Don't just give me your Disney Prince voice I want to hear a NERD. I think Jeremy Jordan did a pretty good in between where he was using his Newsies voice again but with a bit more nerd acting tossed in. His rendition of Grow For Me is sooo tasty. I've never heard Jeremy sing badly ever. I don't think he knows how. I personally prefer campier performances for Audrey as well. The soundtrack version of her from the 2003 album is giving Harley Quinn and I really like it!! This show has larger than life characters who sing heart tugging songs that make you connect with them. Joy Woods is a good in between of the dramatic Audreys with sincere camp. The little differences she makes in her performance are iconic.

Speaking of Harley Quinn. If I were to Gotham cast the Little Shop of Horrors crew it would be: Riddler as Seymour, Harley as Audrey, maybe Penguin for Mr. Mushnik? Joker as the Dentist (I think this should just be the Joker's origin story), Harvey Dent and the rest of the rogues for the many roles the Dentist actor plays, Gotham City Sirens (woc versions) as the urchins (I'm thinking Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Eddie), and. I know it seems obvious to cast Poison Ivy as Audrey 2. But. Hear me out. Swamp Thing as Audrey 2. I won't take criticism for this choice.

I love little shop of horrors so much. Chances are a song is stuck in my head if I'm dozing off.

[tyrantisterror]

I decided to spruce up the Thorn and the Spectre today - one of the problems when you have a big art project that keeps growing despite your attempts to end it because you're having too much fun with it is that your skills grow with it, and eventually you look back on the first parts of it and being like, "Uh, yeah, I think we can do better than we did." This is why Tyrantis's soft sculpture model has two whole remodelings.

The Spectre's touch-ups were somewhat minor. I added more transparent material to the interior of her skirt so she feels a bit more substantial, and then, uh... cut off her face for the second time and gave her a third and final one. This time I used the technique I first tried with the Beast of layering the foam rubber on her head so she has naturally sunken eye sockets and cheeks, then covered it in a thin layer of fabric so the seams aren't as noticeable. It worked, I think she looks much closer to the cute ghost she is in the game! Also now she has her old face as a fun accessory.

With the Thorn, I decided to do something I had initially intended to do, but decided against because it seemed to have a bad ratio of "insane amount of fiddly intricate detail work" to "things people will actually notice and give a shit about. Namely, cutting out a bunch of tiny little thorns to put on her vines and gluing them all on individually. Even now I can feel Dennis Nedry waving his hat around and saying, "See? Nobody cares!" about all the effort I put into this, but dammit, this is the Thorn! My favorite princess! She should have her namesake! I also made some extra vines to put in her hair to make her more canon-compliant, which of course meant I had to make even more tiny little fucking thorns no one will notice.

It's ok, she's worth it. She's worth it.

Oh, and I beefed up her legs a bit with some more fabric. Her original legs were too twiggy and it was really noticeable whenever I stood her next to the other princesses, so now she's got stronger gams.

...and since I had the hot glue gun anyway, I decided to make one last new princess. As a treat! The Princess and the Dragon is one of my favorite routes of the game, and it can result in one version of the princess who's, like, color inverted - where the other princesses look like cross-hatched pencil drawings, this one looks like a cross-hatched chalk drawing, and it's just a really cool effect that I wanted to try and figure out how to do. I... I'm kind of ok with the result? I like the felt I got for the hair, it's dark gray with streaks of white and really feels as close to the chalk drawing looks as I can probably get with that material. Unfortunately, the white-ink pen I got to try and do detailing on her face did not show up as well as its black-ink siblings have - you can kinda sorta see the lines I drew on for her lower lip and eyebrows if you squint, but yeah, bit of a disappointing result, especially since I was hoping to be able to use it to give her skin some of those faint chalk cross-hatching lines that make her look so cool. Still, she looks nice next to her fellow princesses!

I imagine if I was good with paint there'd probably be some sort of fabric paint that would work, but I can never use the stuff without it globbing everywhere.

The funny thing is, while I think she's one of the most visually striking princess designs, the ending that gets you the photo-negative Princess isn't my favorite for The Princess and the Dragon route. My favorite is the one where you and her get out of the basement and just lay on the grass together. Sure, her design isn't as striking in that one - she's almost identical to how she appears in the beginning of the game, just missing a hand and bearing an x-shaped scar on her heart - but it's such a sweet, tender little moment, and I savor those in the game. Definitely the least interesting P&D take on the princess to make a doll of, but perhaps the one that's more dear to my heart.

...

but I did say this would be my last one, so...

[sonicboomrevisited]

When you think about it it’s suuuuper sneaky and cruel from Robo Sonic to trick Amy like that, considering that at the very beginning (if I remember correctly), in issue 1 when Sonic was only partly robot, there was a tiny little moment when Amy did reach him for a second and confusion came through his programming. Also he really knows how to mess with her and her feelings - I swear, each page he seems more and more like our Sonic but evil version.

Also I love how we still more on the humour side (especially after introspective part of issue 2, I LOVED IT WITH MY WHOLE HEART but like I said before, it’s great how SBR is balancing dark and humour, honestly the whole theme of Sonic being turned to robot is dark enough and you make sure we know it but don’t overwhelm us with angst). I think motif of the hunt for Sonic’s teammates has a lot of potential for situational comedy. not super related, but I can’t stop thinking about that one scene from Sonic Boom where Sonic goes “did you really think escape would be that easy” - I remember watching that episode for the first time and genuinely not knowing if he’s joking or not, and the whole scene of their fight in that episode made me thinking (not for the first time ofc) how unstoppable Sonic would be as villain and I love that SBr somehow explore that idea~ And it occurred to me how people often think of Sonic Boom as just comedy and fun - and yes, it is a sitcom and the rules of the world building are adapted to the genre, but hello- it is the only Sonic’s piece of media yet where Sonic is actually hypnotised?? Where Tails (mind and body) is actually turned into robot?? Where Sonic has a real mental breakdown about saving people, where Sonic is captured by the psycho fan- literally the list goes on. And honestly Boom!Eggman did many truly evil things, just because they were reduced to joke because of convention doesn’t make them less evil).

That being said, I still think that closer to the end of issue 3 vibe will get darker again and more angsty and honestly, even after everything I said about comedy aspect, I can’t wait for the drama as well! I trust your abilities fully and can’t wait for what you cooked for us!

(Also, i went back to previous pages to check that one scene i mentioned before. And going back to issue 1 - which was fantastic - I can’t notice how BIG progress you made in drawing and colouring, it’s incredible!)

Ahhh, asks like this makes me so emotional! It makes me incredibly happy to know how much you enjoy our dark storytelling in Boom's World. You're absolutely right that it tends to go to some pretty crazy places thanks to it's episodic/sitcom nature which have definitely helped inspire a lot of the stories we are telling and want to tell (It's not called "Revisited" for nothing)!

I'm happy my growth is visible. 😭 It's kinda crazy to me what I've been able to accomplish in a year. Especially since before this comic I didn't do much (if any) background work. I will say, though, while I (Multi) colored Issue 1, @star-stages has been in charge of colors since Issue 2!

I appreciate your faith in us! We promise not to disappoint!