#rectangle geek !!

[gridgamesgalore]

screenshot redraw but its more of an expression redraw than a full redraw

bonus + reference under cut

[2t2r]

Les paysages de rectangles numériques de Dimitris Ladopoulos

Nouvel article publié sur https://www.2tout2rien.fr/les-paysages-de-rectangles-numeriques-de-dimitris-ladopoulos/

Les paysages de rectangles numériques de Dimitris Ladopoulos

[bluesunss]

Anglerfish Choi Su-bong (Thanos) x F!Reader

following this request! tysm @asappywriter for requesting, I had a lot of fun creating this :) I hope you will enjoy it

summary (basically the very well detailed request): Thanos and you go to the aquarium. after reading something interesting about anglerfishes, you try to confess using it as a metaphor, but, well, it is quite fair to say that both of your states make it difficult to communicate.

warnings: none lol they're both geeked out

a/n: i have never done edibles/any substances so it's purely from my imagination and some research. hope it works fine!

Anglerfish are deep-sea creatures with a distinctive feature: the male, much smaller than the female, bites and permanently attaches himself to her body, providing sperm for her throughout her life. They dwell in total darkness, using bioluminescence at the tip of a filament on their heads to lure prey.

You leaned forward, your vision slightly clouded by the effects of the edibles, and fixated on the small wooden frame hanging from an elevated beam.

"The anglerfish bites... the female anglerfish for mating."

You squinted, repeating the words softly, almost incredulously. "Bites? The fish... bites for... what? Mating?"

Your eyes slowly lifted to the massive aquarium, its blue expanse of water and light swallowing the room. Schools of fish drifted serenely beneath the surface, like a giant-screen.

Fish of vibrant colors - indistinct in your current state - swam through the tank. The light cast faint blue reflections on the floor and your faces; you had to blink. Fatigue was making you feel heavy, almost weightless.

You frowned, your thoughts trying to connect those strange fish biting to reproduce with your own disoriented state. A sudden thought crossed your mind: were you and Thanos something like these fish?

You shook your head, murmuring in confusion. "It’s... it’s like you and me?"

You turned to find Thanos beside you, but he was already lost in the shifting lights, a dazed expression playing on his face as he stared into the water, clearly absorbed in his own world. He suddenly got up.

You exhaled, curling your fingers around your phone, stifling the urge to laugh. Your body felt sluggish - almost like it had melted.

"Thanos? Where are youuu?"

You barely caught a glimpse of his violet head disappearing into another room. You hurried to catch up, breathless, only to find him admiring two massive sharks, a blissful grin on his face.

"Hey, señorita, it's crazy - it’s almost like it’s real."

You grabbed his arm. Your body felt stiff, like you were moving through syrup. You clung to him, and another arm wrapped around your shoulders. He nearly pulled out his vape, but you whispered, "It’s forbidden."

"You... you know the anglerfish? For mating... the male bites the female?" you tried again.

"Hm?"

Thanos didn’t look at you. His arm dropped. "Yo, take a pic girl. This will be perfect for my new album."

"Thanosss. I’m talking to youuu."

He gave a small, distracted smile, eyes far away. "Ah, yeah, jellyfish. What did you say?"

"ANGLERFISH. For mating. The male bites the female."

Thanos let out a laugh. "They’re kinky too?"

That man! You gave a light tap on his shoulder, but he pulled you closer with his arm again. "Take the picture from behind, the lightning's better. WAIT NO, the shark’s getting close!"

He released your arm, stepping back, but you followed him, like a puppy. "Thanos. Thanos. Thanos. We’re like the anglerfish," you kept repeating like a lullaby, so much so that your brain got lost and confused your thoughts.

Without looking back, he pulled out his vape, trying to snap a picture on the yellow rectangle, and then shook his head, muttering to himself. "Thanos-su Min-su blrblrlbl." Why was he referencing your friends?

"Señorita, I can’t find my phone. Take a picture with yours, please," he said, putting back the vape into his pocket.

You grimaced, leaning closer. "Your phone’s in the other pocket, idiot."

Dipping a hand into his left pocket, you handed him the device.

He extended the phone, draped an arm around your shoulders, and pressed the button. "Smile."

Then, he clicked the off button. "Great."

"Thanos, you didn't take a selfie. You took a picture of the ceiling. Now, listen to me, or I’ll leave."

He shook his head.

"Nah, stayyy. I'm sorry." He took your arm and embraced you quickly (like everytime after messing up). "What’s up?"

Summoning your courage, you repeated yourself. "WE’RE LIKE THE ANGLERFISH. You and me."

"Huh?"

"We’re the anglerfish."

"Huh? Since when did we become fish?"

You buried your face in your hands in despair. Thanos let out a small "Oh!" and disappeared, only to return moments later, shouting, "HEY! COME SEE!"

You followed him, feeling weak in the legs. You entered a darkened room surrounded by a simple curtain, where glowing fish and tiny shrimp swam.

"What’s this?"

A female voice was speaking, and you listened.

"...epipods, or mysidaceans, are small marine creatures, usually translucent. They reflect light and move slowly in the water. The glowing fish you see emit bioluminescent light, a natural phenomenon that helps them navigate in the dark."

The voice paused, and the quiet of the room took over, with soft music playing in the background before the facts were repeated. The sound was a bit muffled. Thanos stared at the screen, wide-eyed, counting things on his fingers, looking repeatedly up at the aquarium then down at his hand. "Two. One, four, nine."

"Thanos?"

He didn’t look up.

"This music is awful. I should send them one of my tracks to play on repeat."

You grimaced, then felt your legs weaken and let yourself drop to the floor, crouching against the wall.

"Nine, ten, eleven… fourteen."

Shaking your head, you listened to your heartbeat in your ears. "What are you counting?"

"Twelve little shrimp."

"They’re not shrimp, the voice said they’re epipods."

"Huh? You’re weird today. Saying non-existent words and that we're fish."

He crouched down and put a hand on your forehead. "No fever."

His hand was very warm. And in his eyes, you could see the blue light of the little aquarium reflected. You pouted, hoping he’d care for you, but he immediately stood up and walked out, sending a voice message to Nam-gyu.

You got up and kept following him like a little dog on a leash as he marveled at the octopuses. "Hey, they have eight legs? They’re actually giant spiders." Or at the sharks, heading toward them.

"Thanos? Can you listen to me?"

He dropped down, wrapping his arms around you.

"Ugh, my needy girl. Yeah. I’m here."

You smiled dreamingly. The both of you collapsed onto a small bench, facing the sharks that fascinated him.

"The anglerfish," you gave it a last try.

The room began to empty as people left to watch the dolphin show.

"They mate by biting each other. Then they stay attached for life."

Thanos tilted his head. "They’re those super cool fish with lights and giant teeth?"

You nodded. "We’re like them. You know, for mating, the male bites the female? Hm?"

Thanos let out a little laugh.

"You wanna mate with me?"

Normally, you would’ve blushed, but the frustration was stronger. "You’re not listening to me! Stop picking out only what you want to hear. I'm trying to say that I lik-"

"There’s no one here," Thanos suddenly interrupted you.

Then he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out his vape, exhaling a tangy lemon puff. "Ahh, damn, that feels good. Been waiting forever. Want some?"

You shook your head.

"Too bad," he smirked, taking another heady puff.

He let himself fall against you, head on your shoulder, looking tired, with heavy eyelids, and traced lines on your knee.

"Like them. You, and me," he whispered, feeling his eyelids grow heavier.

The lemon scent continued to fill your nostrils, and you let yourself lean back against the backrest of the small bench. Even if he defeated you today, you could at least enjoy the warmth of his side pressed against yours while it lasted.

The confession would be for another time.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

It wasn’t until the next morning, very early, when Thanos was putting on his pants to go to the gym, that he had a huge revelation.

"Wait. Was she tryna confess?"

He groaned, smacking a helpless hand over his face, and uttered in a defeated voice.

"Fuuuck bro.”

i hope you like this! There might be some mistakes as I'm a bit tired

@breakmeoff @asappywriter

[sarah-kings]

Giant: "Truly, a beauty of nature. And look! Over there is a hunched starer! They are most common in their nests, transfixed on those TINY flickering paintings! Who knows the reason for why they stare at them all day?!"

Tiny, pulling off a pair of headphones: "Oi, stop commenting on my bad back posture while I'm on my computer! And STOP staring at me through my window with those big ole eyes!"

Giant: "What wonders nature can hold"

*sheds a tear*

Do you ever think about Giants doing birdwatching except it's not birds, but Tinies? Beause I do.

[pan-problemed]

A body on the step and lies all about - i

cooper howard x angel!gn!reader

tags; slow burn, character study, cowboys, angels, religion, gender neutral reader warnings; none

masterlist | cross posted on ao3 inspired by the fallen by @geeks-universe! please check it out summary ; You are an angel, trying to help humanity build what their leaders destroyed. He is a man cursed to painful immortality, trying to survive in the world his leaders destroyed.

He thought he had squashed out all that remained of his humanity, but here you were, all gentle hands and knowing looks, throwing a wrench into the character he had so carefully constructed.

Some of the others questioned why you remained on Earth, even after Father’s creations had burnt it in fire and gamma. They had all given up hope that good may remain and therefore given up on all of them.

You knew not all of them were at fault - a single secretary could do nothing in the face of her government’s greed and hubris. She could not be blamed, could not be declared evil for someone else’s crime. 

Still, grief was something you had become intricately familiar with. Looking at the ashen remains of all Father and humanity had created, you felt nothing but grief in its rawest, most volatile form. 

But you remained. You held onto that hope, because what else were you without it? 

Few of your siblings remained on Earth, equally dedicated to protecting and nudging humanity in the right direction. You remained in contact, despite millennia-long arguments on right and wrong. 

If you asked yourself back in the 20th century whether you’d find yourself allies and almost friends with Lucifer himself, you wouldn’t have believed it. 

But here you were. Constantly tasting the acidic flavour of radiation in the air, watching as humans tore each other apart again and again and tried to undo what they had done each time.

---

Purdue had grown into a careful little town in recent years. Before, they had called it West Lafayette, and before then it was Chauncey. But now it was Purdue, named after the title stamped into cracked signs and burnt textbooks. 

They still used the old street signs - someone had taken time to repaint the little forest green rectangles and white letters. 

Fondy was a bar built in the bottom floor of an apartment building, half of the letters had fallen off with age, the original name lost to time. Some of the apartments now were used as an inn, though not many travellers ended up in Purdue when Lucas Oil and Big State were only a day’s walk south. 

And here you were, sitting at the counter as Buddy Holly’s voice buzzed from the little restored radio on the counter. Lukas Striker had recently set up in Big State, and you had provided a generous donation of songs to the bright-eyed boy. What a King was doing starting a radio show in the remnants of Indiana was beyond you, but you were happy to indulge. 

You had always liked music, after all. 

You were nursing your first drink of the night - whisky, caravanned out of Kentucky. The bitter taste was familiar on your tongue. Nothing compared to the expensive drinks Lucifer would encourage you to indulge in back in the day, alongside corny movies and drunken exchanges of stories. 

He had been on a Western kick in 2076 and some of ‘77, particularly fond of one pretty little actor named Cooper Howard. His dark hair carefully slicked back reminded you of a gang you met back in the day, though it took quite a few more drinks to pull that story out of you. 

You reckoned, if they ever made a movie about them, put some facial hair and cigarettes on Howard and he was practically the spitting image. 

The ice clinked against the stained glass as you thought back to those late nights, drinking and laughing at the humans’ entertainment. 

Before the resources grew too few, and the humans’ greed too powerful. 

The ramshackle wood doors creaked open, announcing a new customer, but you didn’t look up from the spot you were studying on the counter. It had been built out of old signs and car parts, you could see a Toyota logo. 

He sat three stools from you and ordered in a low voice, heavy with a southern accent. Speaking of Westerns, you thought to yourself. 

You cast him a brief glance. He had rough skin, most of it covered with a ragged duster and clothes stained brown. His hat was angled to shield his eyes, despite being inside, and you could see the way his hazel eyes studied the room curiously. 

You recognised his kind - mortals cursed to immortality. Skin ragged and burnt. Some had their brains melt away with the cartilage and hair, but others held onto their sanity despite. 

His gaze met yours - intelligent, calculating, suspicious - and you held it for a moment, sizing each other up. 

There was something familiar about him that tugged at your tongue, but you couldn’t puzzle it out just yet. You would keep an eye on him, then - he had a dangerous look about him. 

The radio buzzed as the music rolled over to Billie Holiday. You didn’t look away, even as his drink was passed to him. 

Finally, he downed the thing in one gulp and slammed the glass on the counter, leaning forward. “Reckon I’ve seen you before.” He mused. 

“I thought the same.” You replied evenly, taking a careful sip from your drink. 

The two of you fell silent again. You wondered what he was thinking, why he wasn’t ignoring you as you had planned to do to him. 

He gestured for another drink, and the bartender hesitated for a moment. The man sighed and retrieved a few coppers, which seemed to appease the bartender for now. 

“What brings you to Purdue?” You decided to ask, growing uncomfortable with the tense silence in the nearly empty bar. 

He hummed, leaning back in his seat and draping one arm on the counter, tilting his head to look at you. 

It clicked, then, who you were looking at. Speak of the devil (haha), the hollowed out ghost of Cooper Howard sat in that torn duster, staring you down with curiosity and bitterness in those chesnut eyes. 

“Work.” He replied simply. “You?” 

You shrugged. “I travel.” 

He paused, tilting his head a little further, and you couldn’t help but compare him to a little labrador puppy studying something new for the first time. 

The conversation largely ended there, though both of you did ocassionally hum along to the music playing from the radio. He was much more quiet than you, but the tapping of his fingers and the soft rumble of his voice didn’t escape your attention. 

You gave him a friendly smile as you left, though he ignored it. 

And you wondered. 

[ajaxiscat]

The Bookworm 1/?

I was starting to get a bit burnt out on the other story, and I had been thinking about this one for a while. So I finally put my thoughts to the page. Enjoy.

Word Count: 1220

Worms

Most people think bookworms are people who just like books or insects that eat through the pages. But, for myself and ____? It has a whole different meaning. After all, I’m a borrower who lives in the library where he works. “Cornerstone Town Library” has been my home for twenty-four entertaining, but long years. When I’m writing this, it’s been five years since ____ and I met. I finally got to start keeping a journal this year, because I’m moving into his place. He gave me a notepad today, so I finally got to write down all the interesting things that happened to me at the library. First, I should probably write about how I ended up in this situation.

-Five years earlier.-

-____’s second day on the job- 

Yesterday a new worker started here. Carla moved to Europe, which I don’t mind because she didn’t work in the section I live in. I haven’t seen them yet, but I hope they don’t notice the books shift after hours. Most of the workers don’t, but who knows? Maybe this one will be more attentive, but hopefully not. There are not many houses nearby so it would be hard to move somewhere else. 

After a couple of hours, the Library finally opens, and I notice a new face, he comes in with a stressed expression. He goes up to the counter and apologizes for… being late? This had to be the new guy. He looked like a nice person. 

He wore the outfit all the workers wore, an off-white shirt and a nametag with a bee on it. The workers were allowed to wear jackets too, and he had a red dress shirt with gold stars. He wore green leaf-hanging earrings and rectangle glasses. He had heterochromia, one dark green eye, and one lighter. He had short fluffy brown hair with mixed dark and medium brown hair. 

I always keep track of what the workers wear so I can know who works where and when. I’m not good with names and can barely remember the staff's names. Most of the time I just call them whatever they wear. So it’s likely I’ll call him gold stars. 

Apparently, he got a tour yesterday. I was in the crawlspace for most of yesterday so I didn’t see him before. He’s assigned to my section which is a relief, Sofie, who I call Barbie, used to work in my section. She was rude to older customers and only nice to kids, which makes it not a surprise she’s moved to take over the kid’s section. Eliza, or teal skirt, shows him his tasks. Put away returned books, show people around, and answer questions. 

I decided to doze off on the top shelf of the crimes section, hearing the staff geek out about the job was not entertaining to me in the slightest. I wake up, half asleep, and notice it’s dark out. Teal Skirt wasn’t here, so the library was probably closed, but when I looked down, there was Gold stars cleaning dust off the shelves. Which was weird because I hadn’t seen anyone do that in at least a year. He probably just wanted to make a good impression. But by the time I notice him cleaning the bookshelf I’m on, it’s too late for me to run. I back up against one of the steel beams and hold my breath, but he climbs up the ladder and gasps. Shit. I’m screwed. 

But then I turn around and it’s just a spider. He quickly puts on a glove and grabs it with the paper towel. I flinch as he closes his fist and kills the poor thing. It was only a daddy long leg, so it wasn’t dangerous, though if a kid found it they’d most definitely scream, which would hurt my ears, which means I should technically thank him. By the time I’m done ranting in my head and I’m almost dozing off again, I notice he isn’t moving around. I turn to look where he is, and he’s right there, looming over me. His eyes are wide, but he doesn’t seem upset. Which is never a good sign.

I quickly turned around, going around the steel beam, but once I got to the other side, the sides of my waist were being squeezed by what I can only assume were his fingers. I frantically tried to push his fingers away.

“What even are you, little thing? I must admit you are awfully cute, but I don’t think Eliza will appreciate pests here.”

“No no no! Please let me go!”

“Well, the little bookworm can speak? That’s a surprise. Now, listen here. I won’t hurt you, but I’m not gonna just let you stay here either. How about I release you outside?”

“No… you can’t… I’ll die out there… Please don’t.”

“True,  a little thing like you would probably be in danger out there. How about this, you tell me what you’re doing here, and I might let you stay?”

“I live here. I eat the food they sell at the coffee shop outside. I hide here because there are lots of nooks and crannies that no one looks in. I don’t mean any harm, and I try to stay hidden from humans. Unlike that spider you found that crawled up to you, I stay away from humans like it’s life or death, as it is in most cases.”

“Hm… fine. You can stay, but I want you to stop hiding on the shelves. Someone who’s less merciful than me might find you. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt right after I let you stay.” Thank god. He was gonna let me stay, in other words, let me live. “...And I’m sorry for the way I phrased things. I don’t want you to think I want to hurt you. It’s just that I'm a bit of a mild germaphobe. I don’t want my workspace to be dirty, or any little pests to be running around.”

“Excuse me?”

“No! Sorry, you’re not a pest. I just didn’t know what you were before, and I’m apologizing for treating you like one. That wasn’t right of me. Seeing as you seem to have this all planned out, how long have you been here? I probably have no right to tell you to stay or not.”

“My whole life. Almost twenty years.” “You’re older than I thought. You look young, like a teenager.” “I’m nineteen so you aren’t far off.”

“Still, it wasn’t my place.”

“Are you going to set me down?”

“Right, sorry.” He slowly loosened his grip and released me. “I suppose I might see you around? I’ll probably keep cleaning these shelves every so often so I might catch a glimpse of you.”

“Maybe. Anyways, I’m… I’m gonna go.”

“May I know your name?”

��Valerie. My parents call me Val.”

“Nice to meet you, Valerie. I’m Kaja. Sorry again for the trouble.”“Thanks… Bye Kaja.” I quickly climbed down the shelf and left, I could feel his eyes burning into my back the whole way down. When I got to the carpeted floor I lifted a vent cover, going inside I headed to the crawlspace hatch, where my home was. I picked up the hatch and hopped down into the darkness below.

[the-haunted-office]

🤓 geek out over something ((for Thursday?))

Send a symbol for my muse to…

Thursday falls to her knees, her hands clasped together in a pleading gesture. "Please, please, just- let me geek out over how much I love to pop and extract blackheads and pimples, PLEASE, I beg of you! I have a special tool kit and everything, but the Author never lets me because she says that nobody wants to hear about that! She always cuts me off and tells me I have to talk about something else. PLEASEEEEE!"

After five minutes of desperate, terrible sobbing, Thursday suddenly snaps herself out of it and and breaks into a perfect smile, as though she had never been sad a day in her life.

"Okay, so can we all take a moment to appreciate those videos of people making giant food? Like, I sat there and watched this like fifteen minute long video of some people in, I think it was Korea or someplace, anyway, they were making this giant jiggly cheesecake, and... my god... I'm sorry this might be TMI, but I think it turned me on a little bit. Like, it legitimately got me hot, something about that giant jiggly cheesecake - and it was chocolate, those giant melted hunks of chocolate, it was like... the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, I just wanted to sink my hands into it and eat it and maybe never surface again. I could die happy, submerged in that thing. And the way they were cutting it, into shapes, rectangles, and boxing it up, ohohohohohohhh, how could they do that, how dare they do that and film it. Downright pornographic."

"And those food videos, people making food videos of themselves baking things, but there's no music, it's just them baking, and it's close-up of their hands... their hands... people have such beautiful hands, didn't you know that? Hmmm... Is that weird? I love watching people making food, especially if it's baking, and especially if it's their hands. And then just, the beautiful product afterwards! I want to eat it! AWAAAUGHGHHGGHGH, I'm so sad that I can't eat it, but it all looks so good!! It isn't fair!!"

Thursday then quite suddenly breaks down crying again.

It isn't clear whether or not jiggly cheesecake would make her feel better.

[balshumetsbaragouin]

Chapter 16 is live! That makes two more chapters past this before we reach the end of the Second Act. Oooo things heat up this chapter as Danny has a fight with his friends, and realizes something important about his feelings...

Still not convinced? Have a sample of the chapter below!:

The beeping of the scanner grated against his limited patience. His nose itched ferociously, nerves mocking him with increased signals once he’d been stuck in place on the bed. He stared at the tepid blue of his bedroom wall, willing himself to ignore it a few seconds longer. If he wiggled, they’d have to start from the beginning. The final beep rang out into the room, and he breathed a sigh of frustration. “Please tell me that is the last one.”

“Last one for now. We still have to drag a few more scanners up from the basement.” Sam tossed the thin rectangle back onto his bed, then leaned down to pick up another, “Whoops, I actually forgot this one.”

“No, you didn’t,” he pleaded.

“Yeah, I think I did,” she trailed off, turning the device a few times in her hands, “I don’t remember holding this one up until everything below my shoulders screamed.” She poked at it until its screen flashed on, pale blue washing out the delicate peach tones in her skin. “Or...we’ve done so many of these, I’m losing count. This one has your updated signature in it already.”

“Told you, I remember the noise it made. You know the—”

“Ugh right, that weird jingle.” She tossed that one on his bed as well, joining the pile in the completed scanner graveyard. “One of these has to be useful, they all check different things.” She looked over towards Tucker, an exasperated grimace on her face. “Please tell me that last one looked different? I can’t feel my fingers anymore.”

“Uh…no? Maybe nothing the Fentons have can actually capture the changes. This is supposed to be a micro-wave inside his signature.”

“I think,” Jazz said, typing with dainty taps on her new laptop keyboard, “we just can’t read it in human form. We should wait for mom and dad to go out so you can transform.”

“It’s not a bad idea. We’ve tried every scanner in FentonWorks.” Tucker’s mechanical keyboard clacked away near his desk as the geek saved the last bit of data. “Aren’t your parents going out on patrol later this evening? Sam will get a scan then.”

“Nuh uh, no way! This time, Jazz is holding up the scanners while I update the Excel spreadsheet.”

“Do I get a bathroom break anywhere in there? I’ve been stuck in one place the last four hours.”

[suxdixx4god]

i should ask my friend to let me borrow a mannequin head so i can finish the hair on my costume a lot of my art has no meaning but the lore of my costume actually has a lot of meaning i put years into coming up w that character

i can make purposeful art sometimes i just don't most of the time cause that's boring

the earth is gonna like melt and freeze 10,000,000 more times and everything we know physically will change and errode and degrade and reappear without context of how we behaved in previous eras of our soceties

but like the color pink will always be pretty

dumb hypothetical but if in 10,000,000 years someone else's meaning filled art was discovered ppl would be like the original intention of this piece has been lost to time but if they found my geeking abstract purple blue inkblot rorschach green yellow rectangle fucking abstract blob thing they'd be like hey this is super pretty lets upload it to redbubble and make blankets using this print i like it it matches my decor in my house

and that pleases me.

at least thats how i felt in my kandinsky tank top like idk why ya'll fuck w this so hard but me? i really fuck with blood orange triangles and pink squares. it's very pretty. 10/10

[roadkillremi]

Randy x GN!reader where they go to a bar in college for the first time? 💖

(I really don’t know what to request but your writing is amazing!)

Thank you!!!

I am so excited for this one! I hope you like it! :)

Randy Meeks X GN!Reader

Pairing : Randy Meeks X GN!Reader

MasterList

Warnings : Mentions losing virginity, drinking, Randy gets anxious.

Summary : It's Readers 21st birthday and for that special day, Randy takes them to a bar :).

You sat on the grass flipping through your notes, Randy's head rested on your thigh. He was busy looking at your face, but when you gave him a weird look he'd claim he's looking at the sky. He laid down when you claimed you didn't want to party for your birthday. He was a little shocked you didn't want to do anything for your 21st birthday.

'You've been excited about it and you won't throw a party?' he'd say.

'I'm happy with just being with you.' you'd smile.

Randy sat up leaving his spot on your thigh. He looked over at you with a smile, "What is going on in that head of yours?" You said giving him a look.

"We should go to the bar for your birthday"

"Randy-"

"Don't say it!- I know, you already drank beer. But this is different, there'll be music and dancing!"

"That's a club not a bar-"

"No it's a college bar." He corrected pointing his finger at you. You smiled, "and when did you become the party animal?-".

"I've always been a party animal" he said raising his eyebrows. You scoffed, "Totally, like at Stus?-". You have him a devilish grin mentioning him being too drunk to remember the details of the crime.

"Hey that was before I lost my virginity." He smiled giving you a kiss.

"you're such a dork." You joked. He laid back on the grass dragging you down with him. He planted kisses on your cheek then your neck.

"Saturday night. You, me going to the bar." He mumbled between kisses. You laughed softly, "Okay okay!".

You got ready to go out with Randy, putting on an outfit you felt confident in. You styled your hair and did any makeup if necessary.

"Randy's at the door!" Your roommate called out. You grabbed your belongings quickly going towards the door.

"Happy birthday!" He smiled pulling you into a kiss. You smiled, "Thank you! Is that a present for me?" You pointed at the wrapped rectangle in his hand.

"No, it's actually for my partner. It's their birthday." Randy smirked. You rolled your eyes walking out into the hall closing the dorm door. He smiled and handed you the gift. You took it and ripped the paper excitedly. You smiled, it was the book Carrie, one of your favorite movies.

"I love it!" You smiled and hugged him. He hugged you back, "I knew you would! I remember you talking about how your parents wouldn't allow you to read it..". You kissed him.

"You're the best."

"I know, it's a full time job." He joked. You softly laughed and grabbed his hand. He took you to a bar near the college. Music played loudly through the building. The lights seemed to shine every which way. You squinted holding on to Randy's hand for guidance. He dragged you to the bar you sat on one of the stools.

"This place is insane.". You said over the music. Randy smiled, "Yeah! But it's birthday party worthy!".

"What can I get you two?" A bartender leaned towards the two of you. Randy pulled his wallet out as he spoke, "Two beers! It's this one's birthday!" He smiled gesturing to you.

"Happy birthday!" The bartender smiled, "Imma need an ID.". You nodded showing them your ID, Randy did the same. The bartender nodded and went to go make you two a beer. You looked around, you recognized some people from class. You squinted, "Is that..Mickey?" You pointed at him trying to talk to girls. They awkwardly shuffled away from him. Randy laughed, "It is! God, and I thought I was a geek.". You shot Randy a look, "You still are, mister.". He put his hand over his chest, "Ow!".

The bartender put your drinks on the counter. You took the glass taking a sip, it wasn't the first time you drank.

"Let's see who can finish it first." Randy said challenging you.

"You're on."

You both counted down at the same time and aggressively chugged the beer. Randy put down his glass first, "I win.".

"That's not fair you took like 5 sips before I did."

"No I didn't!" He said shocked.

"You're such a liar!" You laughed. He smiled at you kissing your beer covered lips. You look into the crowd and smile at Randy, "Let's go dance!". You yanked him by his hand over to the crowd. Randy awkwardly follows you through the clusters of people. You turn towards him and place your arms on his shoulders. You gave him a bright smile, "You know this is like moments before Carrie went insane.' Randy referenced. He gave a small smile, you could tell he was a bit anxious.

You kissed him , "Come on, I'll make sure no Ghostface gets you, I promise!" You slid your hands down his arms and grabbed his hands. You started dancing trying to get him to dance along. Soon enough he danced with you giving you sloppy kisses every now and then.

[densi-mber]

Secret Santa

A/N: This is for today’s prompt: Kensi and Deeks plus a Secret Santa/gift exchange. Set in season 4, so it could probably be considered AU.

***

“Well, you’ve certainly outdone yourself this year, Nell,” Callen complimented her, taking a sip from his glass of spiced rum.

The bullpen was decorated with approximately a hundred strands of garland, twinkle lights, and a multitude of Christmas ornaments. Since they didn’t have a chance to fully celebrate on the actual holiday, they’d decided to hold a small team get together.

Of course, Nell had interpreted “small” very loosely and with Eric’s help, transformed the area into a temporary winter paradise. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, though that might have been partially due to the large bowls of egg nog, Christmas punch, and spiced rum that they all indulged in.

“Why thank you,” Nell said, straightening the sparkly green elf hat she wore. Eric stood next to her in a tree sweater which matched her sequined dress.

“Yeah, thanks for setting this all up, you guys,” Kensi added, leaning over to give both Nell and Eric a hug.

“You’re welcome.” He hugged Kensi, then quickly clarified, “Though I don’t take any responsibility for the beverages. That is all on our resident mixologist.”

“Well, I think the booze worked, cause you got even Sam feeling jolly.” Deek grinned, glancing at Sam. His cheeks were possibly just the tiniest bit rosy and his Santa was slightly lopsided.

“Hey, I am always jolly,” he protested. “I’m just more stoic about it than most people.”

“I don’t really think stoicism and jolliness go together,” Callen pointed out. “You’re definitely grumpy most days.”

“This coming from the man who has a single red candle in his house for decorations.”

“You know I like to keep it simple.”

“I could lend you some ornaments,” Deeks offered helpfully. “I’ve got a whole box of puppies, surfboards, and reindeer.” He couldn’t hold back a grin at Callen’s look of distaste.

“I think I’ll pass,” he said dryly.

“Hey, your loss. Monty and I always have a fantastic time putting them up.”

“It’s kind of sad that you have to decorate with your dog,” Kensi teased him.

“Hey, you know you’re welcome anytime you want to come over,” Deeks offered, sounding more suggestive than he intended to. Kensi held his gaze for a few seconds before suddenly finding the pattern on her glass extremely fascinating.

“Alright, I think it’s gift time,” Nell announced loudly into the awkward silence that followed. She clapped her hands together as she walked to the small tree just outside the bullpen and retrieved a present. It was perfectly rectangle, wrapped in shiny green and red paper and she handed it to Callen with a flourish.

“Merry Christmas, Agent Callen.”

Deeks grabbed a package from his desk as the others scrambled to grab theirs. He’d pulled Eric’s name in the gift draw and although he’d been hoping to get Kensi, it wasn’t too difficult to figure out a gift for their resident shorts-wearing geek.

As he passed the gift to Eric, Callen pulled out a pair of fluffy red socks with black polka-dots out of a nest of white tissue paper.

“Ah. Just what I always wanted,” he said, making Nell snort.

“Well, you always say you don’t want anything so I figured I go with something practical,” she reminded him reasonably. Then, taking pity on him, she reached over and plucked out a second, gift card shaped present. “I also got you this.”

“Ooh, this is that collectors edition I’ve been eyeing,” Eric interrupted, holding up a comic book with mild reverence in his eyes. “This is awesome, Deeks. Thanks!”

“It was either that or a candle,” Deeks joked, accepting a hug from Eric.

Kensi gave Sam a gift card for a nice restaurant while she opened a card from Callen with a donut of the month subscription. Eric gave Nell something a necklace with a red pendant, which she immediately handed to him to help her put on.

Sam handed Deeks his package last, which was in a neatly wrapped and plain silver box.

He gave it a shake, raising one eyebrow when the contents gave a dull thud.

“Sam Hanna, did you give me a book?” he asked, sliding the wrapping paper off and lid off. Sure enough, there was a woodworking book inside along with a gift card for a hardware store.

“It’s practical, educational, and by the end you’ll have a new piece of furniture,” Sam defended easily, ticking off each point on a finger.

“Well, I certainly can’t argue with that. Thanks, Man.”

As everyone headed back to the refreshments table, Deeks grabbed a second present from inside his desk drawer, tucked it into his pocket, and wandered over to Kensi.

“You gotta second?” he asked, gesturing to down the hall with his head. Kensi eyed him suspiciously, but followed him readily enough until they reached the burn room.

“Ok, if you’re going to pull out a piece of mistletoe, Deeks-” she started, crossing her arms. He noticed that she didn’t back away though, leaning against a file cabinet just a foot or two from him.

“I promise it’s nothing nefarious, Kens. Which might I add, it’s very hurtful that you would assume such things about me.”

Before she could comment on that, he revealed the small box wrapped in blue paper. The bow was a little crumpled now from being tucked away in his pocket.

“I just want to give you your present and figured it would be better away from prying eyes,” he explicated. Kensi frowned, hesitantly taking the box.

“But I wasn’t your person,” she said, looking confusion. “You already gave Eric his gift.”

“Hence the hiding in a fiery closet. I didn’t want to make anyone jealous. Plus, as my partner, you're always my person.”

He swore Kensi blushed just a tiny bit at that, hastily untying the ribbon as he watched. She lifted the lid and carefully removed an intricately carved wooden bracelet.

“Oh my god, Deeks...” She ran her fingers over the warm brown stain, feeling the tiny whorls of miniature wooden flowers.

“You like it?” He’d been a little unsure if it was too much or just weird ever since he bought it.

“It’s beautiful. Where did you find this?” she asked, her tone slightly hushed.

“There’s this guy I surf with sometimes. He makes carves all kinds of things in spare time for stress relief and sells them on the weekends,” Deeks explained with a shrug. “When I saw this one, it reminded me of you.”

“Wow, thank you.” She slipped it on, the bracelet encircling her wrist perfectly. “It’s such a thoughtful gift and I didn’t get you anything.”

Deeks made a dismissive sound and shook his head slightly.

“That’s not what this is about. I just wanted to get you something nice.” He paused a beat. “Although, if you insist, I have been eyeing this sick board.”

Kensi rolled her eyes, expression fondly amused. And possibly something else he couldn’t quite interpret. She set the box on top of a cabinet, closing the half-foot of space between them, and hugged him. His arms came up reflexively, hovering at her waist before loosely settling on her mid-back.

“Thank you, Deeks,” she repeated in his ear. The soft whisper made him shiver pleasantly. “I really do appreciate it.”

“Anytime,” he said, relishing having Kensi in his arm for a few more seconds. She pulled back way too soon and patted his arm, urging him towards the door.

“C’mon, we better get back before Nell drinks anymore egg nog and does something truly ridiculous.”

“Anything you say Partner.”

[izukult]

what they get you / what kind of gift they get you for valentine’s day :D

idc ab valentine’s day whether i have a partner or not but i would geek ab it for these mfs

warnings: swearing!! fluff 🤢

characters: hinata, kageyama, oikawa, suga, tsukishima, bokuto, akaashi, iwaizumi, matsukawa, atsumu

hinata shoyo ♡

this ray of absolute sunshine would see smth from tiktok and be like: yup. perfect. he’d get you like the chocolate box of crystals !! and be like “look at how pretty they are- this one looks like my hair!” and he also gets you some homemade ring from etsy and makes this big deal ab how “HES NOT PROPOSING BUT HE WOULD BUT LIKE- LATER ON BUT HES NOT PROPOSING AT ALL ITS JUST A PRETTY RING” he gives me secondhand embarrassment sometimes. really tho gets so giddy seeing you wear anything he buys you and if anyone ever compliments the ring he loves hearing you say “thanks! my boyfriend got it for me for valentines:)”

kageyama tobio ♡

he gives you this ratty ass old ass volleyball and you are trying your best to give him a convincing smile, but you’re really, really confused? it wasn’t the fact that it was volleyball related, it was just the fact it was so old. he rolls his eyes and turns it in your hands to show the tape on the other side of it. ‘kageyama t. grade 4’ MF GAVE YOU HIS FIRST FUCKING VOLLEYBALL PLSSSS that’s so goddamn cute i’m gonna throw up. you cried idc

oikawa tooru ♡

oikawa tooru is an overcompensating bastard man. no matter what he’s doing, he feels the need to prove himself. he kind of goes too hard for valentines LMAO. flowers and chocolates? yea. a teddy bear? i wouldn’t be surprised. a jersey? you betcha. romantic picnic at night? if you want. a playlist? probably. a necklace? maybe so. your favorite part, though, is the little note he writes you talking about how grateful he is for you that he slipped in your (his) jacket pocket at the end of the night. neither of you bring it up tho- bc emotions 🤢

sugawara koushi ♡

old fashion sweetheart i sure do love this man. i’m sorry to be so vague for this one, but his gift is definitely some very niche, partially homemade idea of some inside joke of yours. he wants you to know it’s personal to him, that he really put a lot of thought into your gift and that he loves you. a cute little stay at home kinda date, and you two make dinner together as you listen to your favorite playlists and laugh. very good fella. love him sm.

tsukishima kei ♡

his gift is that he doesn’t insult u all day😁🤝 no. no it’s not. he still insults you you’re not fucking dying why wouldn’t he? he burns you a cd and then realizes that’s kinda not cool and so he just makes you a playlist. actually explains the reason for each song (not verbally, though) and he brings u strawberry short cake bc he is convinced it’s the pinnacle of desserts he does not care if you like smth more take the gesture.

bokuto kotaro ♡

this lil dummy is so doting. starts your day off by bringing you your favorite coffee or tea and a lil kiss. he buys you guys something matching LMAO like maybe some bracelets or smth and while i am not a big “matching” fanatic and i don’t think bokuto would necessarily be an avid bracelet wearer, but he will not take that bracelet off unless it’s like a tournament game. definitely takes you out to some fancy dinner and also probably gets you kicked out of the restaurant

akaashi keiji ♡

akaashi is very down to earth. so, he knows what you’re going to want. he also knows what he wants to give you. so let’s say you’re really really into smth he rly rly hates, he’ll listen to you talk about it absolutely, but he might not spend money on it? in his eyes, the gift would be just like your relationship— a mutual understanding where two separate people come together. i cant say what it would be specifically (i’m sorry D: if u want my generic answer it would be: a lamp), but it definitely is a representation of what the two of you are together.

iwaizumi hajime ♡

he gives you something disgustingly meaningful. like the kind of nice that makes you want to gag yknow? but you don’t really know how meaningful it is at first?? he gives you like this little “photo book” esque thing, and you KNOW oikawa gave him the idea LMAO. it’s already so cute but at the end there’s just a little piece of paper with a day on it and you’re like what? and he shrugs and goes “wonder what that is? hmm” and you know he’s teasing u so u kinda joke ab it but he won’t tell u. then at the end of your date when he’s dropping you home he kisses you and he’s like “oh yea, that paper??” and you’re like omg yes finally and he looks so nonchalant when he says “yea, kinda weird that i remember this, but that’s the day i fell in love with you🤢” and he nods and laughs and you’re just Staring. you are STARING loss for words but he fucking leaves before you can ask him ab it. this made me physically sick to write bye

matsukawa issei ♡

simpleton scrub. buys you a gag gift or pretends he doesn’t remember. starts breaking out laughing when you try to hide ur disappointed look (it’s ok to punch ppl sometimes😁‼️). his real gift is kinda cliche, but i feel like he really has no idea what he’s doing for like actual relationships even if he tries to hide it. he just gets you like one of those rectangle bar necklace, and he does get his initials on it bc he’s kind of a braggy fuck, but he only does it on one side so you can choose whether to show it or not.

miya atsumu ♡

this man is absolutely a perfectionist. he is so loving, absolutely, but he’s also kind of immature? so, he’s a little nervous to give you a gift because what if yours isn’t as good. LMAO it sounds rude, but he always wants to be pushed to be better and do better, and even tho this is a declaration of affection, he can’t help but attaching competition? so he buys you two gifts- a mediocre one and what he thinks is really good. the mediocre one is just like a stuffed animal and the really good one is personalized, and well thought out, and it just Screams that he loves you. it definitely centers on a passion of yours so i can’t get like a specific example but if you play guitar he like bought you a fucking case youve wanted for months kinda vibe LMAO. also, truth be told, bc he’s a sucker for you, no matter what u get him he’s gonna give u the “mediocre” gift and the other one as well.

[killemwithkawaii]

Since we talking boi wife-

KEWK has mentioned their S/O, and I have a vague hint of Bi Wife energy from them >:3

Sorry Danu, your headcanon for mine and [IRL partner]s relationship is actually incorrect! He's a (mostly)straight husbandu and im the (part-time)softboiwaifu (who was the exception to the general rule of his straightness) uvu

I am softboiwaifu because:

>Can cook (and if i cook for him he has to give me a kiss before he gets a bite)

>Does the grocery shopping (and is a slut for a bargain)

>Eats vegetables

>Can mend clothing, assemble furniture, and start a fire

>Can write in greeting cards (but cannot remember to buy or send them)

>Doesn't understand bills (or math or cars or the law)

>Gets lost easily

>Oblivious

>No beard

>Tops (sometimes)

He is (mostly)straight husbandu because:

>Can cook one(1) thing really really really well (scrambled eggs) and I otherwise have to help him take things out of the oven because he is Scared

>Wanders off in the grocery store and is the reason half the things in our cart weren't on the list (but I usually end up happy he picked out what he picked out)

>Started eating vegetables because I encouraged him to (and his family is very impressed)

>Tech savvy, can install/set up whatever, geeks out over all his fancy rectangles and I don't understand what hes saying but i listen anyway because i love him

>Cannot write greeting cards (but remembers to buy and send them)

>Understands bills (and math and cars and the law)

>Has a good sense of direction

>Catches the drift

>Beard (sometimes)

>Bottoms (sometimes)

[crystalrose555]

Don’t make me slap you pt. 5

Reblog if you want more!!!

Mochi released a drawn out yawn as her eyes fluttered open. She rolled off her back only to discover that she was floating in a body of water. With a splash, she was upright in a decent sized inflatable pool in a bedroom with leafy vines and foliage spread throughout. She snorted as she looked around, looking for any potential danger before she pulled herself out of the makeshift pool and onto the surprisingly plush floor. Turned out she landed on a thick beach towel that lined the pool’s border. 

Mochi shook her head in disbelief as she focused on the room and looked for a way out. Unfortunately, she didn’t see any windows except for the skylight above her that reflected a night sky, thus leaving her the door frame that was lined with cutesy thick curtains. If she had eyebrows, one of them would be raised out of reaction to the questionable design choices but she shook that from her mind as she bounced her way out of the room. She had to find a window, she had to figure out where in the world she was since she failed to take in her surroundings due to her sudden kidnapping and forceful relocation by the mysterious men.

Mochi grumbled to herself, thinking about how she should have taken at least one of them out to better her chances but as she bounced down the hallway, it began to sink in how that wouldn’t have turned out well. However, she still toyed with the idea that if she could have taken out the big guy in the red coat, she would be the one in charge. She snickered in her mind as she quietly made her way to the stairs. Her heart sank inside her chest as she noticed how steep the staircase was. She knew if she iced the entirety of the stairs to slide down it would take a lot out of her and she would overheat but she was definitely not a fan of the second option. Her third choice crawled into her head but she knew that she had to keep that one hidden no matter the cost, at least until the odds were in her favor. So she went with option two.

She scrunched her head and neck into her body and condensed herself into a ball, tucking her flippers in and lining her side with the edge of the stairs. Then taking a deep breath to inflate her blubbery body rounder, she closed her eyes and rocked herself to tumble down the stairs. With each step, her pudgy body bounced harder and faster. She held her breath and prayed for the stairs to end. However, she didn’t account for the amount of momentum she built as she reached the landing and crashed into the waiting wall. 

The hanging portraits and paintings rattled and shook from the force as Mochi tried to get her head to stop swirling. Once she shook off her dizziness, a large painting slipped from its spot on the wall and bounced off her plentiful blubber, leaving it leaning against the wall over her body. Mochi released an audible sigh as she developed a minor headache, wishing she had something to relieve it.

“What the hell was that?”

Mochi tensed immediately as she pulled herself together and balled up behind the sizable painting. The sound of footsteps grew closer as Mochi remained as still as she could, cursing herself for attracting unwanted attention. 

“Looks like a painting fell from the wall.”

“Well that would explain the thump but what about the squeaking noises?”

“Guys, I just checked Mochi’s room and she’s missing.” Asmo pointed out.

“The beast is loose!?”

Mochi rolled her eyes as Satan sighed.

“Mammon, you really need to calm down.”

“Oi, you calm down when she tries to bite you.”

“Whatever, let's just split up and find her.”

“Why should we? The blubber bucket is Levi’s responsibility, I say we don’t do jack.”

“Scummy as usual, besides if she gets eaten by Beelzebub then we all get in trouble.”

Mammon grumbled as the sound of footsteps echoed away. Mochi remained still and refused to move, she felt as if she wasn’t alone. Mammon, on the other hand, refused to move the landing.

“Why do I have to find the stupid seal? Besides, how far can something that fat go? It’s probably stuck somewhere.” He commented as he checked his phone.

Mochi wanted to hold in her growl but pieces leaked out the corner of her mouth. Cold escaped her body from her current aggression of being insulted.

“Huh?”

Mammon turned his attention back to the painting which seemed to be icing over to the point of being a solid rectangle of ice. Mammon backed away with his eyes wide and his cheeks puffed from a stifled laugh.

“No fucking way she can be that fucking dumb?” Mammon snorted out.

That was it, Mochi had enough of his mouth. With all the power she could muster, she bounced out of the corner of the landing and launched herself down the stairs on top of the frozen painting, riding it to the bottom but not before running Mammon over with her icy chariot. The further she went, the more joyous she felt. While keeping her balance, she raised herself up enough to clap and laugh at Mammon’s dumbfounded misfortune. By the time she reached a lower floor, her joy exploded at the thought of breaking out. However, it was short lived as her momentum dragged to a crawl. She lost her smooth patch of ice from knocking it against the stairs but she was on her way out and that’s what counted.

Mochi bounced down the hall softly, making sure she remained in the corner out of sight. She finally got a glimpse of the outside through a window but all she saw was night time and an eerie looking tree with a number of dark birds flying around. She trembled at the thought of being outside. However, that no longer mattered upon hearing the growing swears of a recovered Mammon. She bounced faster, looking for a room to dip into to avoid him.

“Mochi, where are you~”

She froze, realizing that someone was close by and actively looking for her. Quickly she hid behind one of the hallway decorations and peaked to see a puzzled Asmodeus looking around.

“Hmm, where did she go?” He questioned out loud.

Mochi gave a small snort, figuring Asmodeus was no better than Mammon since he also wanted to make a coat out of her. She, however, remained silent as she looked around for a new hiding place. 

“Oh, I know, I’ll get Beel to sniff her out!” He excitedly claimed as he began to text his brother.

Her fur suddenly stood on end as the name of Beelzebub rang in her brain. For her, his eyes and hunger reminded her of sharks and leopard seals whom she could take on in the water anyday. However, she was out of her element and she needed to get to it. She waited till Asmodeus walked past her and down the hall before she bolted towards an open area. Confused by her name being called throughout the house, she picked a random hallway that wasn’t calling her. She could feel fatigue picking at her since she used a good amount of her energy on the stairs and Mammon but her hope was rearing its head as she heard water.

Hoping it was outside, she went faster only to end up in a dead end. The room was lined with windows with a fountain in the center. She sighed in disappointed relief, at the very least she found water to refresh herself. While approaching the fountain, she took in the planets and stars on the ceiling. It would be nice if she wasn’t running for her life. However, her hope was short-lived as she felt her back flippers being pulled by a pissed off Leviathan. 

“I am not missing the Ruri-chan semi-seasonal virtual VIF conference! So get back in your room, you stupid seal!”

His serpent tail, glowing orange eyes and his pointed coral like horns would strike fear in any mortal but Mochi was no mere mortal as her own anger had reached its peak. Like a rubberband pulled past its breaking point, the room was filled with a sharp slap noise. Levi stared in astonishment, not only was he slapped in his face but it wasn’t by a flipper. There in front of him was a young ample woman with fierce purple eyes and frown on her face. Pearls seemed to drip from her fluffy black aquamarine hair as she covered her naked front with what looked like Mochi's fur. However, before his brain could process, he found himself being pulled down to the level of his short attacker.

“Haven’t anyone ever told you not to pull a lady by her flippers, ‘cause it fucking hurts!” She hissed.

"W-Wa-"

"And the next one of you to call me stupid is going to get their brain rattled! You got that, Geek Boy!?"

"Wa-Waaaaaaah!?"

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Aaaanyways, I wanna put on my comic-art-nerd hat and talk about panel-to-panel action in that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow preview because yes, I have been staring at it for days, and yes, I will continue to do so until it is released next month! XD

LET’S GO:

I apologize in advance for the funky formatting, there’s an art to tumblr text posts and I...have not mastered it. XD

It’ll go image, then analysis.

Also, just to be clear: I’m not doing this so much to be like, ‘WOW THIS IS GROUNDBREAKING, STUNNING, NEVER-BEEN-DONE!’ In fact, many comics do the things I’m gonna highlight/geek out over! Rather, it’s more about, like. Appreciating the construction of the pages, panels, etc.

Okay, so! Page 1, the SPLASH PAGE

Okay, so, admittedly, I don’t have a ton to say about this opening image, largely because it is one single illustration as opposed to a series of panels. But even then! It quickly establishes that we’re not on earth--the foliage, rock formations, and GIANT WOOLY FRIEND(?) give that away. Also! Said rock formations and wooly friend’s horns frame our new character RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE, letting you know that even though she is tiny, she is important. And, I will just say, I love the dust effects on the ground. The repeated semi-circle shapes evoke the feeling of rhythmic, galloping hoof beats, even without actual movement or sound. Lovely.

And now, PAGE 2!

So, I’ve highlighted panel 3, but before I get there! Panels 1 & 2 do such a nice job of giving us an idea as to the actual, physical size of these two characters, as well as the power dynamic at play. This random dude takes up the WHOLE DANG PANEL with his bulging muscles and is framed in an up-shot; in panel 2, Ruthye is not only shown from above--we’re literally looking down at her--she is also relegated to the bottom half of the panel. Additionally, it’s a great way to show the action of her turning to pull the sword from her belt, obscuring it from both our view and his, to bring out the ‘big reveal’ in the next panel.

Speaking of! Panel 3! Our establishing shot! We’re introduced to the full interior of this tavern. We see where everything is placed--walls, furniture, and perhaps most importantly, the various patrons!

Establishing shots are so important to have in visual media because they help us, the reader/viewer, to orient all of the various components within a sequence or scene.  

It’s also helpful for the artists because then they can better maintain things like screen direction and continuity.

If we don’t have a shot like this, then subsequent action can become confusing to the point of distraction.

YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED how often this is neglected or forgotten in comics! Scenes will change abruptly and it’s like, ‘wait, wait, where are we?’ 

ADDITIONALLY, the establishing shot not only gives us basic spatial information, it ~sets the mood~ XD Setting! Atmosphere! Genre! It’s all here.

I mentioned this in my prior post, that the art gives off some intense fantasy vibes, what with the organic shapes, rough textures, and color palette.

Folks who’ve read advanced copies have described the book as a fantasy/western; that extends even to the series title design! The designer revealed that the western look of the text is deliberate.

So A+ to the art team for NAILING IT!

Okay, on to page 3!

Not a ton of notes on this one, but that’s only because the prior page has done such a solid job of laying out the space, as well as the relationship between these two characters WITH JUST WITH THE ART. (Okay, okay, the words help too. XD) Once more, we see this big brute tower over Ruthye, panel- to-panel; he’s always ‘large and in charge’ regardless of the angle. Even in that final panel! Ruthye is the largest element because she’s closer to us, but the guy is still positioned ‘above’ her, literally talking down to Ruthye from over his shoulder. 

(And HMMMM. That unassuming stranger in the back there, underneath the lanterns that seem to act as an arrow pointing right at her...could she be...important?)

(Her tiny size would seem to imply that she isn’t...AND YET...)

PAGE 4!

MMMM them FRAMES within FRAMES!

Okay, but before I get into that, I do wanna briefly mention panel size and shape.

All of these pages (save for 1 and 7, which are full-page illustrations) pretty much stick to a very traditional panel structure. Each panel is completely enclosed, and there is zero variety in terms of shape. It’s all rectangles.

BUT. The size and orientation change--take, for instance, that ‘skinny’ horizontal panel up top, the way it perfectly suits the ‘shape’ of the elements/action being shown. It’s a close on Kara’s wrist/hand, reaching out for the sword in the guy’s belt. 

I mention this because often, writers don’t dictate stuff like panel layout in a script. They will give the artist the number of panels, and what needs to be included in each one, but the actual, overall organization of the page? Totally up to the artist.

So! Really knowing what you want to highlight and convey is key, because you can use the panels’ size/shape/relation to other panels to ENHANCE those images, like that sword grabbing up top!

AND! Another thing I love about that panel in particular is the way that Kara’s hand and the sword make a tiny frame for Ruthye! Who is, again, VERY TINY! 

I keep mentioning the size thing because it’s a nice bit of economical visual storytelling; the child character is going to be smaller than the adult characters anyway, but by calling attention to it repeatedly, we as the viewer are constantly reminded that this kid is small! She needs help! She needs to be protected! Which is like, the whole premise of the inciting incident. XD Good stuff!

(Also more dot eyes in comics that aren’t humor comics, please.) 

There’s another frame down in panel 3 as well! Evely uses this device several times throughout this sequence; it’s such a great use of the multiple swords in the scene, AND shows that she can really pack all of the characters in there without cutting any of them off/obscuring them behind various objects.

And like, NO TANGENTS, which takes some serious skillz.

ESPECIALLY when you consider all that beautiful linework. LOOK AT THEM INKS.

...In particular, look at them inks in panel 5! The shading on the booth is done in such a manner that the ‘grain’ of the ink defines the perspective. We’re looking down at Kara, from above. This is a helpful little bit of orientation, as there’s not a ton of room around Kara to have any other perspective lines to help sell the angle. 

ALSO, NOTE THE POSITION OF MR. BRUTE IN PANEL 4, AND THEN KARA’S EYELINE IN PANEL 5. It will be important in...

PAGE 5!

Allow me to explain:

In panel four on page 4, we see the guy reach for his sword, his body language revealing that he’s intent on moving towards Kara.

In panel 5 on the same page, we get that lovely down shot of Kara looking right up at us, the viewer. But also, the implication is that she’s ACTUALLY looking at Tough Guy, because in the next page, we see that he’s positioned himself right above her to swing that sword down!

(My apologies for the poor attempts at drawn annotations.) 

There’s no action lines cluttering up the beautiful art; Not-Conan’s hair, rather, acts as the action line/guiding ‘arc’ so that we can better follow the movement.

Kara, likewise, doesn’t have any action lines on her, but her posture and hair act as visual cues to tell us that she slides over in the booth, out of the way of the sword.

In particular, the way her right shoulder/arm draws closer to her body, and the way her left hand comes up to offset the way she’s now positioned, really sells the ‘slide’. 

More beautiful indicators of movement in panel 2; the hair, the action line on the sword, the torn fabric of Kara’s shirt.

Panel 3 brings more FRAMES WITHIN FRAMES! And, actually, as I’m looking at it? I think it could be argued that we actually have a FRAME within a FRAME within a FRAME!

First frame: Panel border, natch.

Second frame: Goofus’ sword, arm, and face frame Kara.

Third frame: Kara’s arm and sword work with Goofus’ head again to frame tiny Krypto.

LAYERS.

And now, a note about colors!

I said before that I love the palette at play. The earthy tones give the entire setting an organic feel--this is not a high-tech locale! We’re dealing with natural materials here.

BUT THEN THOSE BLUES!

Not only do we get that nice split complementary thing happening with the yellow, but it also signals the blue of Kara’s costume, a little hint of which is revealed in the final page.

And, like. It’s night time. XD

(I just gotta say, love the cold blue outside the window next to Kara’s table, contrasted with the warm yellow of the interior. Even though this is a bar, there’s still that element of like. Coziness.)

Also! Even though the overall palette is heavy on the yellows, Kara’s hair is more saturated and leans towards a warmer yellow, while the rest of the yellows in the scene are cooler. Thus! We have CONTRAST! Our eyes are drawn right to her.

And I know--I KNOW--that SG comics twitter already hates King because Kara’s DRINKING and personally I want more of the story/context before I pass any judgement but I must admit, the shapes? In panel 5? With Kara drinking in the foreground? 

I kinda love it.

Also mmmm-MMMM, more of them SOFT BLUES.

Okay. PAGE 6!

Now THIS PAGE is what inspired this whole endeavor.

Because, okay. If I’ve not made it clear by now: I read a lot of comics.

And I generally enjoy all of the comics I read!

But, what I’ve found lately, is that if I don’t enjoy a comic, it’s because I, as a reader, find myself confused by the art.

Confused as in, the art is hard to follow.

That can be because the color design/ink work doesn’t have enough contrast, or the composition is muddled, but most frequently?

It’s poor panel-to-panel action.

When there’s no flow/connection between what’s happening in one panel vs. another, suddenly it’s on you, as the reader, to do a lot more of the work as you go through the scene. And sometimes! We don’t even have enough visual information to DO that work!

So when I read this, I was like, ‘ah, thank you, an easy flow of action for my brain to appreciate.’ XD

AND SO. Panel 1! Same stuff we’ve been seeing! The ink work, hair, clothing details, etc. all work to show us which direction each character is moving. Kara’s arm and jacket all point to her slamming that mug in the dude’s face; dude’s sword serves as a GIANT ARROW illustrating the path of his stab.

Not much to say on panels 2 and 3 other than: FACIAL EXPRESSIONS! And also, HAIR!!!

PANEL FOOOOUR!!!!

Love. This. Panel.

Again, I really love that there are no action lines slapped on top of this gorgeous art, all of the movement is conveyed in the inks, body language, clothes, and so on.

Like. There’s a conscious decision, here, to not have Kara’s hair obscuring the dude’s torso, and that’s good! Because his belt/uhh...kilt? Skirt? Is showing us the speed and direction of his jab; if Kara’s hair were in the way, it would break up the flow.

BUT THEN HOW TO SHOW THAT KARA’S DIPPING FORWARD???

Note the ties on her cuff, and the inks on her jacket!

There’s nothing special happening with Krypto, BTW. I just circled him because he’s a Good Boy who deserves to be noticed.

Panel 5, more of the same, the inks telling us how these characters are moving through space. ALSO, the length of the lines conveys speed without needing to add something distracting/obscure the art with a ‘blur’ effect.

Final panel! I. LOVE. THIS.

Particularly the movement in Kara’s hair, just. Beautiful shape language.

But in addition! You’ve got that LOVELY line of action in Kara’s spine as she flips him over, the sword likewise curved in the direction of the throw.

And of course, the dude is crumpling in the appropriate direction, bent in the middle as he collides with the table to--quite literally--complete the circle.

Also, just. The characterization here, is PHENOMENAL.

People (read: irate fans on twitter) have expressed concern (read: complained) about Kara having a sword. Some have even gone so far as to suggest that Kara’s basically a murderer now, because she’s using a weapon.

Never mind the fact that in an episode of JLU, Supergirl used both a sword AND a gun to defend herself while in Skartaris because she had no powers. 

Except we see here that Kara DOESN’T USE THE SWORD to take the guy out, she uses his own force against him. She only uses the swords in the FINAL PAGE in a type of ‘yield’ fashion.

(This particular ‘fight’ sequence reminded me of Brainy’s fighting style in the show so of course that added to my overall enjoyment.)

Like, Kara’s got no powers here, she very well could have used the sword to defend herself, and would...kinda be justified.

But she didn’t! 

Like. Even drunk and therefore out of it, Kara 1.) Steps in to help that kid and 2.) doesn’t use superpowered lethal force on the guy. (I mean, she can’t use her super powers anyway, what with the red sun, but you get the idea.)

And like, the flourish there, of the arms, the way the jacket swirls around her, like a gymnast sticking the landing, GAAAAAHHHH I just love it. It’s great.

Okay, FINAL PAGE, #7:

I mean. What more can I say? EVELY AND LOPES, MAN.

Just some top notch art.

(Also get it guys, it’s a LITERAL shirt rip! XD)

(And look! There’s that tiny bit of blue!)

But anyways, if you’ve made it this far, I applaud you, and thank you for indulging my desire to just. Geek out over one of my favorite comic artists drawing one of my favorite comic characters.

And just to like, reiterate, I’m not suggesting that this comic is THE BEST EVER or that it’s going to redefine the medium, or anything. XD Everything I’ve mentioned here is...pretty basic storytelling mechanics. Watch any movie, and you’ll see all this same stuff at work.

RATHER, this whole post is more about...admiring two artists who clearly know what they’re doing.

And they’re doing it so well! :D

TL;DR: I’m so excited that the Supergirl book has Evely and Lopes, guys. So. Excited. 

[charlotteweekly]

The Day I Found Out Video Stores Were Not Dead.

I was wandering around Austin, Texas when I saw it: a video store. Located on Airport Blvd, it was waiting for me. I was overcome with euphoria and nostalgia. I felt like a kid at Toys “R” Us. 

I entered and there I was, transported back to the nineties, early 2000’s; where “Clerks” meets “Be Kind Rewind”. Joy. Happiness. The employee at the counter was the exact image I was picturing myself of someone working at a video store. He was a perfect cliché of the movie geek with a twist of a Gus Van Sant character. I wondered if they hired him by coincidence or if it was purely deliberate. I passed him and I started noticing every detail of the place from the old movie posters hanging on the wall, to every genre duly organized in sections. “Lord of the Rings” was playing on an old CRT television, full of chromatic aberrations, which was giving a green and purple complexion to Gandalf and Frodo.

I walked every aisle of the store to find some hidden gems here and there. There even was a section on Vampires, my favorite horror movies.

Then, I walked up the stairs, because, yes, there is a second floor where every movie is sorted by famous directors’ names and I strolled to the rich foreign films area filled with titles I’ve never even heard of. It was really a blast for a film buff like me. I sure have some knowledge but, still, they were able to surprise me.

I lost track of time but my rumbling tummy reminded me that it was time to go. I spent one hour and a half in this magical place without even realizing it.

Did I end up renting a DVD? Sure thing, I even rented three of them. My first pick was an animated series from the nineties created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss (best known from their work on “the Simpsons”) called “The Critic”. It follows Jay Sherman, a New York film critic, who dislikes almost every movie he is reviewing. Quite funny, an underrated cartoon that went under the radar.

Then “Eyes of Laura Mars”, a thriller from the seventies written by John Carpenter, a bit sluggish for my taste but it will meet De Palma’s fan club expectations (even if it’s not directed by De Palma).

And lastly: “Jaws”. It seemed an obvious choice for a movie night. I had the perfect trio. I always like having a comedy on hand to brighten the mood after I watched a horror movie.

That done, I ended up paying quite a bunch of money though totally worth it. I’ve been missing this experience and adventure a lot since streaming platforms have come to light. I understand that for the same price as a Netflix subscription you only get three DVD’s and you gotta move your ass and drive but to get things straight, if I told you I had two tickets for a baseball game would you chose to watch it on your TV screen? Maybe… but it wouldn’t bring the same thing.

Video stores remind me of my childhood when, every weekend, I went out with my parents to pick and discovered some amazing movies I will never forget. It’s like going to the movies, it’s a whole ceremonial, buying your tickets, eating your bucket of popcorn and drinking Coke while enjoying the first minutes of legendary jingles from movie Majors, being completely caught in this big rectangle, surrounded by nothing else but this dark room (and, sometimes, annoying chewing noises). Online streaming on my couch will never bring that same sentiment. Even if I enjoy it too, it is not thrilling. I also noticed that, most of the time, when watching Netflix and whatnot, I end up tired of scrolling and I always select something out of spite.

Well, anyway, on my way back home, I noticed at the corner of the street, a little donut shop called “Mrs. Johnson’s Bakery”. Homemade donuts, everyday, since 1948. The perfect time to stop by is at the opening, seven thirty p.m. (yes, it’s quite peculiar), when the donuts are warm and soft. I bought a few of them and I was packed for the perfect evening!