#this is in reference to another ask btw
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bakuhatsufallinlove · 7 months ago
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I’ve seen people saying 431 wasn’t written by Horikoshi but by his assistants; is there any truth to that? (Sorry if this isn’t the type of question you like to answer, you’re honestly the most reputable source I know for MHA)
The only reason people are saying this is because they hate the content and want an excuse to dismiss it.
We have no reason to believe this chapter was written or drawn by anyone other than Horikoshi, who has a team of assistants as all manga artists do.
The only middle-men here would be WSJ editors and executives, who have regular input on the story's direction and execution. One could theorize about how much pressure and of what kind there might have been on Horikoshi, as the creator of a hugely popular and lucrative shounen series, to hint towards the possibility of a heterosexual relationship at the end, especially considering WSJ's relationship to the "settle down and have kids" politics of modern Japan. But that's all it would be: theorizing.
Regarding editorial overreach, Horikoshi has said that he will tell the story he wants to tell. I'm not positive, but I think he went through several editors trying to find a good fit, someone who would respect his vision instead of dominate it. It would be insulting to insist he is some helpless victim with no agency whatsoever. Or, for that matter, that he would ever allow someone else to draw his manga for him, slap his name on the title page, and call it a day.
I have no special information in this regard, but my guess is that Horikoshi arranged to end the serialization of the series where he wanted to, then had meetings with his publishing team to discuss what kind of material he could create to fill the final tankōban, which needed extra material to meet publishing standards. 431 is the result of that.
At 38 pages, it could have been two serialized chapters. But it wasn't.
The thought I keep coming back to is that 431's pages are after Horikoshi's afterward in the volume. I've heard that people are trying to say that 430 and 431 are BOTH "up for interpretation" or "just future possibilities," but consider this: only one of those was included in regular serialization and can be read back-to-back with all the other chapters in the usual way.
That chapter directly parallels the first chapter in a number of extremely meaningful ways, both visually and thematically. That's 430.
The other chapter, for whatever reason, comes after Horikoshi's comments on the story's conclusion. It is literally separated from the rest. Maybe this isn't that significant, but I don't know any other final ending chapter like that. Demon Slayer's volume-exclusive epilogue comes immediately after the serialized chapters, with the only break being a two-page extra explaining character genealogy. Gotouge's comments come after the brand new epilogue.
All of that, plus the content itself, contributes to me personally feeling like 431 is just extra. It's undeniably Horikoshi's work, but it doesn't draw any strong parallels to the established themes of MHA. It isn't necessary to the conclusion of the story we've followed.
But for what it's worth, I haven't seen anyone in the jpn fandom bring up whether 431 is canon or not, because they don't care. Japanese fandom is very flexible and self-indulgent. Fanworks and headcanons regularly contradict canon and no one cares even a little. It doesn't matter if the chapter is "canon" or not, they'll do what they like either way.
I have seen a huge range of responses from jpn fans. Some see it as confirmation of a het ship, others see it as open-ended. Some find the outcome sad, some felt it was hopeful. Many people had mixed reactions of happiness and sorrow.
I saw at least one person interpret the "put down the camera" note as providing the fans the opportunity to "freely imagine what happens in the future." Another person questioned how they were supposed to interpret that phrase in conjunction with Shouto's monologue about "inevitability."
I'm gonna go Plus Ultra here and reach far beyond the framework of your question, so let me just say this: No one has to care about the creator's intentions. No one needs permission to ignore canon.
For one thing, we are only ever guessing what the creator's intentions are. We can only surmise and make arguments based on our interpretations of their work.
To act as though there should be one sole authority that dictates what the audience is allowed to think about art is ridiculous, and that includes the creator.
Because art is completed by the audience. Art is communication. In language, the speaker knows only what they intended, while the listener knows only what they interpreted. We may discuss our perspectives in different ways to try to understand each other better, but in storytelling, the audience doesn't interact that way with the creator. They interact with the art itself.
Art means something new the moment it touches another human heart.
Who I am, what I value, my experiences in life, all of these influence how I see Horikoshi's story. And that's a good thing. To remove myself from that—to insist that who I am as a person has nothing to do with what art means to me—is to diminish the meaning of art itself.
I don't need Horikoshi to agree with me. I don't need him to see things the same way I do or tell me I'm right. He wrote a story about the complex, profound love between two boys. Whether he thinks that love means they'd wanna kiss each other is completely fucking irrelevant to me.
The love is on the page, where I found it.
Other people may think it means something different or fail to see it entirely, and that's fine. That's their relationship to the story. That has nothing to do with me.
I'm glad Horikoshi got to write the story he wanted. I wished I liked his extra chapter more, but them's the breaks.
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sentientstump · 3 months ago
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i have a (very evil) question to ask... who's your favorite miracle mask character? favorite to draw, favorite to think about, favorite in general? :)
i will let the images speak.....
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thank you for the ask! (⁠~⁠‾⁠▿⁠‾⁠)⁠~
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dustykneed · 1 year ago
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Picture this; Bones holding Joanna, rocking her to sleep and the part in Beautiful Boy where it’s like “The monster's gone, He's on the run, And your daddy's here” is playing. :,)
Fatherhood gives you certain... skills. Coincidentally, this is also how Jim finds out that Bones sings.
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:'))
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qu33rcommunist · 3 months ago
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a leetol scene for the cass&bruce fic idea im rotating in my head rn... *in the voice of sebastian stan* transfemme bruce wayne you are always on my mind
dedicated to: @fuckyesbrucewayne for being the impetus I needed to unleash the brain maraca
[okie so for itty bitty context, bruce (briar, but only to/with cass bc she’s the only who knows (For Now)) has been growing out his/her hair (<- still figuring out the pronoun situation. For now i think maybe??? she/her but only with cass)]
Bruce had been growing out his hair since his talk with Cass a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t so much longer that someone might have reason to comment on it, but still somewhat longer. At the moment, his soft curls reached slightly below his ears, and he had to keep brushing his hair out of his eyes so he could see through his lab equipment clearly.
Right now, he was meditating in the solarium. It was far away from the main sections of the brownstone, to afford more privacy to any potential inhabitants.
It had been a good week. Only 17 muggings, 9 shootings, and 3 foiled bank robberies in the past few days. The rogues were all accounted for, quiet in their cells or boltholes around the city. Routine operations for the Justice League too.
Damian was busy working on a massive group project for his art club at school, and the hallway to the bedrooms had smelled like paint for a few days now because of it. Dick had things in Bludhaven well in hand, last Bruce had heard from Barbara, not 13 hours ago. Jason had sent him a photo of the book he was currently reading, just yesterday. Duke had sent him a photo earlier today too, a selfie of him and Elaine at an ice cream parlor. Stephanie was busy with exams, Tim having been strong-armed into being her study partner. Bruce’s messages were full of pleas for rescue and complaints of headaches from cramming too much pathophysiology.
Bruce smiled and let the afternoon sunlight wash his skin golden and warm.
Yes. It had been a good week.
The only one left unaccounted for that Bruce could recall was Cass. Last he heard from her, the day after their Talk, she’d been running with the Birds of Prey.
Bruce worried, but he always did, so that wasn’t saying much. He had every faith in Cass’s abilities and knew that she could take care of herself. Still…
At that moment, serendipitous, a presence brushed against his awareness. Someone had just entered the solarium. Bruce smiled, slight but sincere. “Hello, Cass.”
Soundless, Cass slunk over next to Briar on the floor by the largest window. She matched postures, criss-cross applesauce—Cass had learned that from Babs while visiting her at the Gotham Public Library, when the older woman had been reading to a group of schoolchildren—resting her hands lightly on her knees. “Hello.”
Cass turned to look at the person beside her, watching. Seeing. Briar seemed… looser, somehow. Relaxed. Her shoulders, normally so tense, were rounded. Only slightly, but Cass could tell.
Briar, sensing the attention despite her closed eyes, hummed, low and gentle. Inquisitive. Did Cass need something?
Cass smiled and huffed through her nose. “Pretty,” she said. She was looking at Briar’s hair.
Briar’s ears flushed and her lips trembled for a moment, pursed. She turned away from Cass, just a bit, eyes now open and trained on the floor by her left knee.
Not welcome? No. Overwhelmed. It was a lot, but still good. Pleased, just nervous about it.
More confident about her comment, Cass reached over and gently brushed Briar’s hair, soft and longer now, behind her still glowing ear. “My mother is so beautiful,” she said.
yeah and that's all i have 😔
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electroniccollectiondonut · 5 months ago
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I have not been in this fandom long enough to reasonably judge others' takes however. "EPIC fans are so silly to characterize odysseus as feeling guilty for his actions don't you know he's a war criminal" is definitely a wild one. like first of all to each their own so settle down and let people enjoy things ok. and secondly making choices with a bad outcome, even knowingly and deliberately, does not exclude the possibility of feeling bad about it later. in fact it makes for a much more in depth character because then you get to explore what he does or doesn't feel guilt over, and why, and if that guilt ever edges into regret or not.
#and thirdly i actually find it fascinating the way EPIC had him take a very conscious role in the greying of his morality#it's interesting to me because from my point of view odysseus in the odyssey is almost a passive player in his own myth#and i enjoy taking that very active moral choice and applying it to some of his non EPIC actions#odysseus#epic the musical#uh what is the tag for the epic cycle#as far as I'm aware it's#tagamemnon#?#idk i just think that if you were to ask your character what they would do differently the answer should not be ''nothing lol''#that is either a character who needs wayy more development or a storyteller who needs wayy more practice#also. WAR CRIMES DIDN'T FUCKING EXIST IT WAS THE BRONZE AGE#regardless of how socially acceptable or not his actions may have been#none of those men on the plain of fucking troy was about to sit down and agree on what constituted a crime of war#like if achilles can get away with flaunting straight up deliberate corpse desecration#i don't think anyone gets to say a word against odysseus for being a sneaky underhanded bastard who doesn't fight fair#coming back an hour later to add yet another point. the point of the people with this take is ''haha dont you know hes a bad person''#which fine yes by modern moral standards he is and even by contemporary standards* some of the stuff he does is super yikes man#but that STILL does not preclude him from feeling guilt. 'bad people' can feel guilt#gonna go ahead and explain those quotes around 'bad person' btw um i do not believe in morality like that. no one is fully good or bad#i shant speak on THAT further unless someone asks though#*contemporary is an iffy word here i feel because the default is to call the time of the penning of the text contemporary#despite the events in the text taking place several centuries earlier.#in this particular case because i am speaking from a point of textual analysis i will use the former#however i think that the latter is also a useful reference point
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thenamesapollo · 8 months ago
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APOLLO!!!!!! DROP AN INFODUMP ABOUT YOUR NIGHTMARE....AND MY LIFE,,.,,IS YOURS...,..
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OKAY ummm um um fucking um!!!
nightmare's one and only dream was to become an actor!
or at least, become whatever that mettaton guy is, cuz that guy always seems on top!!
he wants to be someone famous on tv!! someone everyone knows and watches (and that gets a lot of money)!!
he really wants to be on tv. in fact, 'tv' consumes almost his every thought, sometimes he acts like he genuinely believes he's being broadcasted when there's no cameras around.
and also, he actually did achieve his dream! ...sorta. it was such an awful experience that he doesn't want to be part of a set ever again........
he was treated so badly on set that in a sort of 'payback' response, he started seeing everything as a giant set and him as it's star.
(his castle having a giant star at it's top wasn't just for show.. hihi..)
being 'on the top' is all that matters to him, more than money, more than people. and he's willing to destroy life long friendships, a whole ass marriage, but also himself to get there.
fun factoid for u : nightmare has three exes that hate him ₍⁠₍⁠ ⁠◝⁠(⁠ ゚⁠∀⁠ ゚⁠ ⁠)⁠◟⁠ ⁠⁾⁠⁾
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kaiserouo · 3 months ago
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Hi everyone. Any suggestion on what im gonna draw tonight?
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doodlingwren · 6 months ago
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It's 2024 can we please stop saying it's normal to trace or copying an entire drawing and pretending it's 100% your work? Just bc you changed the character or added clothes on a base you found on pinterest it doesn't mean you created original art
Edit: I need to specifying some things, or somebody might misinterpret this post in the future.
Tracing and copying are more than okay to use if you need to exercise or study stuff! Copying might be a bit better because you're actually training your eye and hand on how to make shapes and volumes. My best advice is, if you trace something, keep it for yourself and don't post it online (if you do, ask the original artist if they're okay with it)
Always use references, especially for anatomy stuff! It's not a cheat! Poses are complicated, and there are a lot of photographers posting pose packs FOR FREE TO USE! Or even artists drawing them :)
Remember to read the TERMS OF SERVICE when using a photo/ base you've found online: some people want credits, others are fine without them! But you have to check to know, and please be respectful
YCH (your character here) are NOT free to use bases; please know that. They are artwork from other artist showcasing a type of commission they are doing. And neither are WIPs
do NOT trust stuff you find on Pinterest. A great part of the artworks over there have been uploaded 1) without the artist consent and often 2) with a misleading use. Already happened to find other artist artworks or sketches being given out as "bases".
This post came from the fact some of the images used and traced were actually anatomy studies made by a very famous artist who requested for them not to be traced over (or if used like that, to give credits were it's due).
For the actual bases, they can be found on Twitter, and credits are required as well.
For that one traced artwork. It's actually a work in progress made by an artist, and I suppose it was uploaded on Pinterest, so some people might think of it as a base? Although it has on it "WIP" and the original artist name (if you've been drawing. You know exactly what those 2 things mean). The other things that bothered me it's while for the other there has been an attempt, this one it's traced 1 to 1. Didn't bother to change the character face at all. That's what makes me mad. Taking all the credits for something that you didn't do. That's just being lazy and not giving a fuck about art. Also they traced other artist's illustrations as well with their OCs so. I guess it's not just fandom art 😂
On a side note, this is something that I've seen happen quite a lot. And especially if you're doing commissions for a living, a trace accusation can destoy your carreer. Therefore, I won't tell this person a name or make a callout post. I did block them and moved on, and this was a vent post I had to do for myself.
#wren text tag#tw: vent#like tracing and copying are morally grey. If you want to trace to learn stuff or practice or study it's ok ig#maybe don't post it online or if you have to... don't trace from picture/other people artworks/bases you found online w/o giving credits#unless it's a base an artist made specifically for tracing purposes#I think this depends on where you draw the line bc I'm much more strict abt copying/tracing from art rather than photographs 🤔#with photos you've to do some mental exercise for your muscle memory + simplification studies#tracing feels a bit lazy to me. Are you a copyprinter perhaps? Or maybe that's because I'm not a couch potato idk#This vent needs some lore otherwise this looks so umpromted it's almost confusing 🙄#kinda found out sb who was copying or tracing both from fucking pose references from Pinterest and other people artworks 😅#like poses ref are ok but you should check the Terms of Condition of the original artist first. For the artworks plagiarized. DUDE#surprised no one has found out yet but if I see another copied drawing my netiquette is leaving my body and I'm turning into a HATER#or another comment like “omg your poses looks so dynamic”. I'm flying#btw I blocked them so my dash is free. Sadly we are also in the same disc server so I'm kinda cooked#thinking of leaving it so I don't have to start drama and discussions. I'm not a fan of call-out and stuff and if I can avoid it I will#btw I say copied/traced bc some are traced over while others are hopefully just eyeballed. What bothers me is the amount of plagiarized art#like almost half of those fanarts are copied poses. The other half are character standing on a white bg. I hope those aren't copied as well#it's already bad... but if only was just for the bases. That one traced artwork can almost be damaging to the fanbase reputation 🤦‍♀️ smh#there are only a few artist in that part of the fandom I don't need an art thief drama. I guess I will shut up and look away 😑#anyway that's the lore which didn't help with my Art Block. Actually it made worse. That's why it took me so long to be back lol 🤣😂😭#pov: you log on tumblr 🥰 and you have an art crisis 😍#Are u telling me I could have done that? Copying and tracing and taking all the credits instead of wasting time learning anatomy?! 🤯#Ok the last tag was sarcastic but wouldn't be funny. I wish I had the balls to be like that#And now that this post is published I can finally rest. I had this thing in drafts since September#To whom is asking about who this person is. I won't tell. I just want to forget what I saw. Ty and bye 💖✨️
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cloud-ya · 1 year ago
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Fuck it, I will name my dinos in homage to Dinosaur King, so I will have two trex, one named Rexy and needs to be female to reference Jurassic Park and the other- I need to search cuz has been a while since I watched Dinosaur King and I only remembef Chompy that in portuguese is named Gabu
there's no genders for dinos in paleo pines, neither there are for player to choose actually; they all go by they/them. who's to stop you from assigning them ones tho
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piningpercussionist · 1 year ago
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Kinda weird you're only ninety-nine percent sure. What's the one percent?
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Trying to be mindful of the extremely slim chance that I'm wrong. But I'm not; I'm always right.
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But even if I was wrong- which, again, I am not- weirder shit has happened. Both here and just generally speaking.
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tamayokny · 2 years ago
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i keep getting dragged into the snow white discourse and it's starting to irritate me. like idc if rachel zegler was scared/didn't like the 1937 adaptation as a child, but she needs to do her homework because the prince was not a stalker--and that's the tip of iceberg. but on the other hand, i don't particularly care that the prince isn't going to be in the remake either, and i get that snow white can "choose both" (i.e., being a leader and being in love), but i feel like everyone forgets other details of disney's snow white.
like, of course, snow white has a wicked stepmother who wants her dead because of the queen's jealousy and vanity against her stepdaughter. and while the huntsman advised her to run away, snow white ultimately made the choice to run into the forest. but then snow white realizes she needs to support herself, and she eventually finds friends and creates her own little community of support (i.e., the forest animals and the seven dwarfs)! and sure, i get where some people have issues with snow white cleaning and cooking for the dwarfs and see it as a gendered role, but cooking and cleaning are important skills for fostering independence. so, after saying all of this, i think a lot of people miss the themes of community, support, and independence. all of these themes, along with themes of vanity and jealousy, are still applicable today.
also lol i'm sorry but the prince discourse, again, is so funny to me. like he's only in the 1937 movie for about five minutes but he does have an established relationship and reciprocated feelings with snow white. and when he appears at the end of the movie, the prince wasn't expecting to wake snow white up with "love's first kiss"--he was there to say goodbye to her. he didn't know that "love's first kiss" was going to awaken snow white--only the audience did, which is dramatic irony, a common literary device. anyway the prince is fine but if andrew burnap's character takes over that role and provides something fresh, i'm willing to watch that.
TLDR: snow white discourse is wild. i think people forget or feign ignorance about the details in disney's original snow white film. and while it's totally fine to want to offer a new twist on the tale, don't completely disrespect the original work or completely dismiss ideas on why the original work is so popular in the first place.
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theokusgallery · 2 years ago
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Oh btw 3 days ago After making you Discover Oleander I had a stupid non-canon concept in my mind
Nick & Sunny Except that their eyepatches Are Oleander shaped Or Under The eyepatch theres an Oleander Replacing the Missing Eye
My Autism Going Brrr with how i could use The Oleander's Symbolism with these two
I'm literally listening to Orelander right now. This is really good timing
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give-grian-rights · 2 years ago
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i remember almost all of these but i NEED TO FUCKING KNOW THE CONTEXT OF GEORGESOOT BEING SUED BY DREAM
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hey babe wake up new mcytblr iceberg dropped
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skrunksthatwunk · 5 months ago
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been cleaning my dorm for like 4 hours and it somehow does not feel like it has amounted to anything
#i have completed tasks things are better!! where the fuck is my dopamine you bitch#i couldn't deal w a lot of stuff in the way i would normally want to bc im trying to unfuck a LOT of things here#namely the cat piss closet. i have since washed basically everything in there bc they smell like piss#by virtue of sharing air with the piss for possibly weeks (im not bitter im not bitter) but ofc i can't put them#back in the closet bc it still smells like cat piss despite my best efforts#i am. very underequipped for this btw#anyway none of the major things i WANTED to be better are better despite effort (i.e. i wanted to stop living out of my suitcase#but i still can't do that bc the closet is still fucked up. so the scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing the floor and washing clothes#didn't lead to the tangible reward of not kicking my fucking suitcase every morning#and rascal Does Not Like It when im up and moving so a hazard of doing any chores is getting attacked#and oh boy did he#ugh i wanted to clear my weekend i had ASSIGNMENTS. I STILL HAVE ASSIGNMENTS#but thats not super appealing bc again im tired and i feel like dookie doodoo ass#but i don't want to have shit to do over the weekend bc i know my work is probably gonna be affected by my mental health#which is definitely gonna be affected by The Event. i wanna get my shit done before tomorrow afternoon but like. guh#whatever it's fine we roll nonetheless. i could probably get away with skipping another class or two over this anyway#only good thing about this#would be nice to go home and wash my face. shower. etc#anyway. if nobody got me i know kaiji fa.nart as my keyboard background got me 🤝#(chanting) no matter what kind of bad day im having kaiji's having a worse one no matter what kind of day im having kaiji's having a worse#horribly embarrassing moment where a friendly stranger in class saw like 4 kaijis in the margins and was like whos that :3#no it's not a bad thing i was just caught off guard and my drawing's rusty as fuck and whatever. bleh#im trying figure out his design bc im in trauma-bonded love aith him or whatever and#but my ass will NOT look up a reference. in class. and i haven't been drawing out of class bc ive been doing work for class. c'est la vie#wait i never closed that parenthesis. here:)#ech then again maybe i'll want the distraction of work. crossing that bridge when i get to it#after all i can just work ahead if that's the case yk#to explain the closet my roommate stayed in the dorm over winter break and i didn't and at some point in there#roomie's cat pissed on a fallen skirt like crazy. and then that piss was trapped in there for possibly weeks#and im not bitter not even a little that i didn't get an apology from my roommate. but hey don't ask and don't receive ig
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d4nde1ion · 9 months ago
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There is no virtue in accepting and bowing to hierarchical systems of love that hurt u
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digitald0rk · 4 months ago
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ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* NERD ALERT ! [ 1 ]
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pairing — mark grayson x gn!reader.
synopsis — in which mark falls for the new comic book store employee who matches his nerd [ and he hopes his freak too :3 ] and realizes he wants that effing cookie SO BADD.
warnings — super duper self indulgent! mark being mark, mention of blood like once. sappiness overload RAHHHH. not proofread.
w.c — 2.1 k.
a/n — this is part 1 btw, the second part's gonna be focused y'all's relationship. this is SO SO SLEF INDULGENT LMAO. i am that annoying little fly that keeps buzzing when it comes to my interests, my ass keeps going, "holy shit is that xyz reference???" :0 like GIRL STOP PULLING THESE REFERENCES OUT YO ASS 🤓 if you're like this too just know i think you're super based and awesomesauce gang :D BE ANNOYING ABOUT YOUR INTERESTS!! it's honestly so refreshing, anyways :p lemme know what you think of this!
taglist — @vm4879bb-blog [ lemme know if you wanna be added too ]
READ PART [ 2 ] HERE.
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it was another normal ordinary day, he was just binging the new volumes of seance dog in his favorite little comic book store because being a superhero leaves no time for that, thank god he has some time off.
it was another normal ordinary day, that is until you walked in.
well more like look insanely good behind that cash register.
he asks himself, mind racing a mile a minute, how has he never noticed you before? are you a new employee? why the hell is his heart beating so fast? are you single?
the moment he sees you smile at some customer, he's doomed.
he has to talk to you. he has to-
oh god wait. he's been staring, hasn't he? no no no! what if you think he's some loser or worse a creep. [a weirdo what the hell am i doing hereeeee sorry had to lol]
and when your gazes meet for a split second, he whips his head away way too fast, if he wasn't a viltrumite he definitely would've gotten whiplash, his eyes immediately zeroing on the comic in his hand, which is actually upside down. not that he realizes because he's too busy thinking about how he'd love to get lost in your pretty eyes, he needs to get a grip, what is he fourteen?
it's just some dumb fleeting infatuation and-
then he hears a laugh. peeking up from the still upside down seance dog volume, hoping to god it's not your laugh because if it is, he longs to hear it again.
it was your laugh. oh he's in deep.
and he swears he's never heard a more beautiful thing. sap.
he needs to be the reason to make you laugh.
oh shit he's holding it upside down, hopefully you didn't notice (*_*;)
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it takes him a whole ass week to muster up the courage to talk to you, he'd only check out with his new additions and issues when it wasn't your shift.
he's checked himself in the mirror a gazillion times, his hair looks okay, maybe he should've worn the blue shirt, it makes his eyes pop out-
he's mark grayson, he's invincible for fuck's sake.
still his palms grow sweaty as he approaches you to check out, little do you know he already has these volumes, he's just desperate to talk to you okay.
"hi." and great, his voice cracks.
but your sweet smile makes him forget about it. he watches you as you scan his items, typing away as you do so.
he kind of wants to hold your hand. is that bad?
"so, seance dog huh?" oh shit you're making conversation with him? oh my god calm down calm down calm down-
"yeah, it's uh one of my favs." he flashes a small smile, a nervous one.
"no way! same!" you beam at him, sheepishly showing him the small seance dog hair clip holding your hair in place like it's some sort of national treasure.
you're telling him that you, the cute comic book store employee he's been crushing on for weeks now, likes seance dog?
he's dreaming.
he has to be.
right?
then you say something, something only a huge seance dog fan would know.
and he swears he hears wedding bells, he can already see walking down the aisle.
it takes him a ridiculously long time to recover, eyes widening comically as he processes that this is infact not a dream.
"you okay there?" you ask slightly amused.
your voice breaks him out of that little trance you just unknowingly put him in, his eyes flitting to the name tag on your shirt-
he can't help himself from muttering your name, soft and reverent like a prayer.
a little flustered giggle leaves your mouth.
oh.
oh.
he made you laugh? he feels like he's on top of the world, he introduces himself, his smile widening when he shakes your offered hand.
william's gonna have a field day with this one.
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after that one conversation, he's grown comfortable around you over the past few weeks.
and he's fallen even deeper in love.
he's less tense and awkward around you, rambling about everything and anything, conversation flows easily between you two now.
you'd call him the second you'd read the new volumes of your shared favorite comics to talk to him about it, he does the same.
he puts you on his favorite comics, you put him on yours along with whatever you're big into. it's a win-win really.
he's never been happier.
you make him feel so seen.
he doesn't feel the need to hide parts of himself from you. he loves when you buy him matching merch or just little trinkets of his interests.
rex made fun of mark's little italian charm bracelet once, because what do you mean the strongest man on the planet has a matching charm bracelet with all the things he loves on it that he always wears?
it actually broke the first time he wore it to a fight because obviously, what was he thinking? gets very sad when he can't find all the pieces to put it back together, asks cecil to remake it with some metal that won't break from the impact of alien attacks or whatever decides to mess with the peace of earth the next time. he gets all pissy when he gets blood on it :(
"aw that's adorable!" rex would tease him, but mark would just get all excited because he gets to talk about you <3
cue him rambling about all the things you made for him or got for him that align with his favorite pieces of media and interests, rex does NOT understand half of those words but hey as long as invinciboy's happy.
rex is not making that mistake again lol, also he thought you were dating mark because of the way his eyes turn into literal hearts whenever you're mentioned, so imagine the look on his face when mark's all bashful like, "nah i wish :(" rex goes, "man you two are so fucking oblivious." and he's right.
even outside of your little nerdy conversations and hang outs, when he comes to you for comfort, he feels safe.
and that — feeling safe, not being on edge 24/7 isn't easy for him, but you make it easier than breathing.
he feels loved when you hold him, rub his back and make some dumb joke when he's having a bad day.
he lives for the references you make out of nowhere.
"holy shit is that-" you start excitedly.
"i was just gonna say that!" he laughs.
pointing out things that he thinks are references to his favorite media and you joining him, this has to be love.
"why does that cloud lowkey look lik-" he starts and you finish his sentence for him, he laughs at how you two are almost always on the same wavelength.
once the secret is out that he's invincible, he'll literally just fly to some foreign country to get you what you want, oh what's that? a new figurine of your favorite anime just dropped? it's only available in japan? it's already yours <3 anything for you, he's whipped. [ god bless his bank account i imagine it's in negative LMAOOOO because his ass is definitely not letting u pay :( ]
and when you oh so sheepishly hand him the seance dog plushie you crocheted for him as his birthday present, muttering something along the lines of how "it's not good enough" or "it looks a little funny", i mean yeah seance dog has seen better days for sure where his eyes are the same size, he has to physically stop himself from kissing you senseless, because how dare you be this thoughtful and sweet.
yeah he's in love alright.
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after a lot of restless nights and convincing from william, he finally decides to ask you out after six months of longing and yearning.
you two are currently in your room, hanging out. you had invited him over to watch the new reboot of your favorite sci fi series, although the internet seems to have a different plan as the video keeps buffering and loading.
you groan in annoyance, refreshing the page, still nothing.
so when you give up and let it do it's thing, aka the good ol "pretending not to care so it'll load faster", mark takes this as a sign.
"hey uh-" he opens his mouth, he's going to piss himself, he can't do this.
"yeah?" you reply. he sounds awfully nervous.
he stares at you, holding your gaze, lips slightly parted before taking a deep breath.
he ends up immediately blurting out the words he'd practiced a thousand times, "iloveyousomuch", his words are hurried as if he's scared you'll leave him if he's not quick enough.
he pauses, realizing this isn't exactly going to plan. he has just confessed his feelings, it's done now. there's no going back from this and that scares him.
he's also considering just making a run for it, or well fly for it, your window's open afterall.
he avoids your gaze like the plague, the ground suddenly very interesting.
he hesitantly adds, "i have for awhile now actually", might as well serve his heart on a silver platter to you it's all yours anyways, it beats for you, he thinks.
his cheeks are flushed a pretty pink. he can't stop his mouth, it moves on it's own, "im sorry if- if this ruins our friendship i just-"
"i love you too mark", you can't help yourself from confessing back, feeling your cheeks heat up.
"i just can't do this, i can't be friends when everytime i look at you i want to ki-" wait.
it's actually adorable the way he looks at you all wide eyed when his brain finally processes what you said.
did you just say you love him back?
nope, that's just his terrible hearing that comes with being a superhero, all wishful thinking.
but the way you're looking at him tells him otherwise and your words only confirm that his hearing is perfectly fine.
"you were saying?" you tease him, daring him to finish that sentence.
thank god the teasing is back, this is familiar territory. his nerves calm down a bit.
a minute of silence passes before he speaks.
"so that just happened", he chuckles, he wants to be all suave and cool and say something that'll make you blush, but he can't.
he doesn't need to.
because that's not him, he's mark grayson, he's awkward, a sweetheart and a big nerd. he just needs to be himself to make you swoon.
you know this, he knows this.
he knows you accept him for who he is, so he doesn't think twice about leaning in when you reach out to cup his face, leaning in as well.
your acceptance, your love, you. that's all he needs.
and the moment your lips meet his he realizes those six months were worth it.
he gently pulls you closer by your waist, his touch hesitant, it takes all his power to not just pull you flush against him and show you just how much he adores you.
when you pull him closer by the neck, his toned chest brushing against yours, he has to stop from letting out a small pleased groan.
you're just as desperate as he is.
kissing you like this is dizzying, he can even taste the sweetness and slight tang of the strawberry dessert you two had shared earlier on your lips and it only serves to drive him crazier.
his body practically aches when you pull away, chasing your lips. he can't get enough.
"easy alien boy", you chuckle, trying to catch your breath — resting your forehead against his, nose scrunching a little when he kisses the tip of it, nuzzling his own nose against yours afterwards.
his smile is sickeningly sweet and contagious. "i love you", he whispers.
and when you whisper it back he giggles happily, pressing a kiss to your head - he pulls you in his warm embrace. relishing in the feel of your body against his, fitting like a missing puzzle piece.
it's like you were made for him.
a scream from the tv ruins the intimate atmosphere, ah so now it decides to load. you two stare at each other, a collective look of "are you seeing this shit" is exchanged before you two burst into laughter.
both of you could care less about the show playing on the tv, too busy indulging in long passionate sweet kisses.
"the new issue of batm-" you jokingly start against his now swollen lips.
"baby! we're kinda having a moment here", he scoffs playfully, the dumb lovesick smile on his face only widening.
"no but seriously the new issue sucked ass. they mischaracterized him sooo bad and-", he complains, not moving a centimeter away from your lips.
"and you're a nerd" you cut him off, pulling him close by the collar of his shirt for another kiss.
"hey that's friendly fire!" he hopes you'll always shut him up with a kiss <3
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