#^ also not saying that its wrong to draw characters w/o the hair just that its how i picture everyone in this setting

[time-slink]

that grian drawing you made....!!. in my brain, rent free. I am ,,, SO serious about this. the baggy black pants. the red sweater around the waist.. muscle BULK. the floofy hair. the skin-colored sclera to give the illusion of his socket eyes.(!() STRONGK SHOULDERS.. THE ARM HAIR THE ARM HAIR THE A R M HAIRER L HEELLO??? ? the only thing keeping me from going completely insane is that he doesnt have the forearm veins BUT YEAH i love He <3. SO much. like i have nothing against twink baby-face femboy grian likers but hoooOOLY SHIT you know how to draw a Man,, not even like the ultra sexified anime boy kind of man. I mean like. I'm cis as hell but that is what i would want to look like if i was a guy. The perfect balance of intimidating and friendly and cheeky and cutesy and ,,, basically he looks like everything i could ever want in a grian design ok god bless <3

this is kinda on me but i did NOT expect the sheer volume of people hitting on my grian design in the tags its really funny to me,, glad yall enjoy haha kinda funny note: his sclera aren't intended to be skin colored, he sorta just doesn't have any in the way i draw him—but i guess its up to interpretation! thats kinda cool now that i look at it again

[swtki]

Cedric Diggory NSFW Alphabet

Pairing: Cedric Diggory x Fem! Reader

A/N: I’m gonna be working on more headcannon stuff like this, so follow me if you want to see them when they are posted!

WARNINGS: SMUT, ORAL SEX (F RECIEVING), MENTIONS OF PUBLIC SEX, 18+ ONLY

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

I think Ced won’t hesitate to clean his partner up. Just a warm rag and quick wipe. Sometimes Ced will pass out as soon as he hits the mattress, but most times he’ll hold his naked body to yours and talk until you fall asleep. 

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

His favorite part of your body is your lips, for sure. He loves to watch them wrap around things, even when you put his finger into your mouth it drives him mental. His favorite part of himself is hands, he has fairly large hands so everything in them looks small. He loves that when he holds your waist its like his hands were meant to be there. Not to mention his long fingers, one hand can do so many wonders. 

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

I honestly don’t see him as someone who loves anything to do with cum. He would be more than happy to wear a condom while you’re dating, because that way he can make sure you enjoy it without the worries of unprotected sex. I also can see him not wanting to go raw because so many things could go wrong, but if you’re on birth control he will definitely be persuaded to pull out. Once he pulls out the first time he is utterly hooked and loves cumming on your stomach while you lay there on your back, looking all fucked out.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Not to say that Cedric secretly wants to explore public sex, however I am saying every time you two go out hes thinking of railing you in an alley against a brick wall. He loves public affection in a sfw way so I think he would be eager to explore nsfw public stuff. Now this all being said, he doesn’t ask you for a long time though, until you’re walking home from the shops and he starts to kiss you because god you look so gorgeous in the soft lighting, and then the kiss gets more intense. Then, he basically says fuck it and asks you if he can eat you out on the wall.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Like I said in Cedrics headcannon post, I doubt he lost his virginity with anyone other than Cho when they were maddly in love. When he meets you he wants to be nothing less than perfect. When things started to get serious in your relationship he swallowed his pride and looked up sex tips because he was worried he wasn’t experienced enough. 

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Cowgirl. No doubt about it. He loves how accessible it is for you, he can rub your clit, he can be chest to chest and thrust into you, he can be hypnotized by your perfect tits, it has everything. 

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Theres times where he kills the moment because he makes a joke in between thrusts, but more often than not hes got his head in the game. It will always start of playful and innocent with Cedric, but as soon as hands start roaming, he gets focused on the task at hand.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

He isn’t shaven, but tidy for sure. Just a nice little bit at the base and he’s groomed. 

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Cedric loves nothing more than to brush the hair out of your face and stare into your eyes while your blissed out. Also he loves kissing and touching even before clothes come off. 

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

I can see Cedric having a pretty high sex drive and sometimes you have to tap out for the night because your body can only take so much, so he’ll for sure be rubbing one out in the bathroom as soon as you fall asleep. He doesn’t mind of course, he’d rather you be comfortable even if that means he has to jerk off in the shower to the memory of twenty minutes prior.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

I thoroughly believe that Cedric Diggory has a praise kink. He loves nothing more than growling “So fucking perfect, my perfect fucking girl” into your ear during sex. I also think he has a roleplay kink, because you dressed up as a nurse for halloween and he was in another dimension.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

As I said previously, Cedric likes the idea of walls. However, I think he much prefers the bed or floor of your room. It just feels like you two are the only ones in the world and he cant deny how much of an angel you look like while surrounded by his soft white sheets. He would settle for a car, but your home is much better.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Kissing is his number one movement to start things off, so I think just kissing him would make him ready to go. I can see him having a thing for lip biting, especially when you’re reading or doing some other innocent task.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

If its something you don’t like, he won’t ever do it. He draws the line at bodily injury and excretory body fluids, Cedrics not hardcore like that. Wouldn’t mind choking you but he could never slap you or hurt you in any other way.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Cedric prefers giving, he feels bad because he takes so long to finish so he always leaves it up to you. He is an absolute got at eating coochie though, he pays attention to what you do and don’t like. And he would honestly eat you out anywhere. Like sometimes he just drops to his knees and hikes your leg up. His eyes when he looks up at you tho....fuck.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Definitely depends on the moment but I think most of the time he’s sensual and slow. He wants the world to stop and for it to only be your bodies moving in sync with each other, and especially so he can look into your eyes while he gets you closer and closer to orgasm.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Loves the whole rose petal romantic 2 hour long sex thing but will rip off your underwear in a closet to eat you out if he can.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

He only takes risks by asking about something. He would always get your consent before anything else happens, so he knows worst you could do is say no. That being said, if you ask him 97% of the time he’s on board. Public sex took some convincing but he was in love with it.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

I just think he’s ready to eat pussy 24/7 despite how hard he is. He’s horny all the time (in spirit if not physically) so I think he would go for multiple rounds. Though he will eventually get tired in one position, so you end up switching through 50 different positions in the span of the hour.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

The only toys Cedric uses on his partner are handcuffs at most. He prefers to use his skill because after all, he’s the one who should be making you feel that good.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Cedric isn’t the tease, you are. He wants you but simply can’t take you from behind during potions class, so he rests his hand on your thigh. He secretly loves how cocky you get, and secretly you love how turned on he is from your legs.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Listen to me: breathy moans. He’ll get so close to your ear and start whisper-moaning the most risque words. But, volume wise he’s quiet and he prefers it that way. He never wants to drown out the pretty mewls you make because of his fingers and cock.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

He eats pussy that way iykyk. I’m glad every fic writer agrees that Ced is a pussy conesiour, because he loves grabbing your hips and pulling you down closer on his tongue, thats non negotiable. He probably has the strongest tongue in the world.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

He thought he was small until he met you and was like “Sorry, I’m not that impressive 😔” then pulled out 6 inches of cervix shattering dick. Its thick too, but not like the porn-type thick, like it fits in your hand comfortably and fills you up perfectly.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Like I said: Always horny. Every time he watches you bite your lip he’s got a million things he wants to do to you in a broom closet.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He would rather watch you fall asleep even if that meant he never slept. But once he knows you’re sleeping, he wraps his body around yours with his chin on your shoulder and falls asleep. Prefect rooms= naked naps.

Taglist: @annasdani @mullthingsoverinthehotwater @faeinorbit @anchoeritic @cedricsyellowscarf

[chuuya-centric]

down CATACLYSMICALLY 🤕

character: chuuya nakahara

genre: fluff, smut

warnings: gn afab reader, no pronouns used, alcohol mentions / use ? unorganized as FUCK — read at your own risk 🚶 these r also much longer than i originally intended 🤒🤕 they get kinda bad at the end bc im lazy asf and just wanted to be done with these im sorry yall LMAOO

↬he he i he he i i hhnhshgghfgg

↬lord please god passionate+romantic sex with this man is all i ask you for please ill never ask for anything ever again 🙏🙏🙏

↬now i would like to start this with a disclaimer by saying chuuya is usually vv rough and passionate and would manhandle your ass 😁🤞 however these hcs will be like 🧍 slow ................. and passionate ??? not gentle per se but just romantic amd uhm very much "love making" if u will 💯

↬sensual ?? i think ????

↬hhndhsgh ik we're all horny and just wanna be used like a ragdoll but please hear me out yall

↬emotional and passionate sex !!!!!!!!! this usually happens whenever chuuya gets drunk (bc i think he is a v emotional drunk, and if he's w his s/o i think he gets vv sentimental / touchy-feely

↬ofc if you say no or reject his advances he wont do anything other than cling to ur side but if u dont do anything to stop him you will 100% be in his bed by the end of the night 🔥🔥

↬starts out as him havin a lil too much to drink nothin new yk and then he gets more touchy / physically clingy than usual 🧎

↬a lil off topic but he would absolutely fight anyone who tried to flirt w you / anyone who looked at u the wrong way LMAOOO not saying u have to babysit him but 🧑‍🦯🧑‍🦯 taking him back home would be the smart thing to do as to avoid bar fights

↬but back on track i think chuuya would refuse to leave your side 💀 he would be all over u so unless ur into like hardcore pda u fr better take him home 💀💀

↬he's a horny menace 😕👎

↬okay so blah blah blah yall r back home now what ? now he rlly starts getting emotional 🚶 he's just so grateful to have u in his life and he loves you so much and what if he's not good enough for you ???? how could u love someone like him ?????? what if— please just shut him up with a tender kiss 🤒☹️ tell him u love him very much

↬he............hhbbgdgshhhh i was talking to @chuuyasbf ab this but dhshsbhhhhhh we came to the conclusion that he'd like smother u in kisses oh my fucking god 💔🙏 like he'd just cover your mf face in kisses and i— bursts into tears

↬now by this point this is where he'll start communicating his feelings thru actions rather than words so please expect a very heated makeout session (that leads up to the best sex of ur life 😏)

↬"he just goes “oops, missed a spot *kiss* oops, theres another one *kiss*" - @chuuyasbf and i honestly could not agree more please 🧎🧎 hhnbbhghghh

↬but back to the makeout session it started after u shut him up w that kiss yk and u were both just sitting on the couch, originally basking in the others presence, before the words just started flowing so ofc u gave him a lil kiss n told him he was enough and that u loved him so so much and he pulled you back for another n another til u were sitting on his lap w his tongue in ur mouth

↬and things progressed n progressed n next thing yk he's got you intoxicated (his kisses r life changing ok 🤨🕶️🤏 even if he were sober it'd just be hjndhdghgggh) but like yall know when ur grinding against them n they buck their hips up a lil ? yeah <33

↬HE'S SO HANDSY OMFG ESP IF YOURE SITTING IN HIS LAP 🙏🙏🙏 after he's pulled you as close to him as humanly possible (im talkin chest-to-chest, hip-to-hip — he is a very intimate person and greatly enjoys physical touch argue w the wall ab it) his hands go from finding purchase on ur hips and guiding your movements to pulling at ur hair to feeling u up to running his fingers up n down ur back to helping you take your shirt off. he cannot for the life of him keep his hands to himself

↬in reality he'd shift you onto his thigh before making ur neck his next target for his kisses (and hickies)

↬when you start whining for more and saying his kisses aren't enough, thats when he'll sober up enough to be snapped back to reality n to carry you to his room 🧎 or so you thought 😚

↬confused, u didn't get the hint until he bounced his leg, once, twice, oh— and even after you'd understood what he wanted you to do, he'd grab ur hips and completey take control of the pace n grind u against his thigh almost agonizingly slow, all while leaving some awfuy dark hickies on ur lower neck n a handful on ur collarbones

↬ofc theres some muttered praise and "i love yous" as well. he'll tell you how good you look, getting off on his thigh like this

↬he'll take u back to his room only after you've cum against his thigh 🧎🧎 consider it a warm up LMFAOO

↬when he finally does get up from the couch, he'll probably use his ability to help stablize yall a little 💀 (he had a lil too much to drink pls dont clown him)

↬whereas he'd normally toss u onto the bed, this time he took his time to set u down gently before settling down in between ur thighs and— hey wait a damn minute when did this mf find the time to get your pants off huh—

↬aye speaking of which i think chuuya is rlly big on eye contact regardless bc its honestly just vv intimate to him 🧐🚶

↬yall know when they like ............. when theyre like caressing / holding your thigh n looking up at u n they kiss ur inner thigh while maintaining eye contact or whatever ...................... <33

↬i think his praise kink especially shines thru when he gets drunk bc he will take his mf time covering you in kisses and hickies all while showering u in praise n telling u how beautiful u r and ab how much he loves you

↬he knows his words usually tend to be / sound harsh, but at the end of the day he loves you sm more than words will ever be able to convey :((

↬def tries to make up for that (when he's drunk 🙄 emotionally inarticulate ass 🚶) by showering you in praise and doing his best to be tender and gentle

↬and to be fair he'd be content w smothering u in praise and kisses for the rest of the night n probably would if u let him 🧎🧎 please snap this mf back to reality by yanking his hair n whining for more

↬in which case he will be happy to oblige 😚 he's def the type of person to get off on his partners pleasure so that being said this mf will make sure u cum on his tongue at least twice before properly fucking you

↬whenever hes drunk he tends set a rather slow pace but dont let that fool you 🧎 the entire thing is so fucking intimate oh my lord you will be seeing stars by the time he's done w you

↬his thrusts r much deeper n more precise than usual and he puts one of ur legs on his shoulder and has the other pressed up by ur head it really just enhances everything yk ?? 😁😁 (mating press kinda ??????? not exactly but)

↬he ends up alternating between leaving (more) hickies on ur neck n shoulders and actually kissing you as well (your lips r gon be bruised asf by the end of it all sorry 🔥💯)

↬even drunk he loves to overstimulate you omfg 🤤 loves seeing you get all teary-eyed from the pleasure (even better if u actually cry 😏🕶️🤏) bc to him it shows that he's done a good job

↬aftercare w drunk chuuya is a lil sloppy tbh 😕 probably immiediately passes tf still inside u after pressing like a final kiss to ur forehead LMFAOOO

↬but dw he makes it up to u in the morning !!!!! after taking care of his hangover first tho 💀 once he's feeling better himself, he'll def offer to draw u a bath and, lets pretend he has the day off here, after that all he rlly wants to do is cuddle for the rest of the morning

↬do not bring up how clingy he was last night LMFAOOO his face will get so red so fast (unless ofc thats ur goal in which case go right on ahead 😚😚😚)

↬please do, however, kiss his forehead and tell him that u love him n that he did a good job last night

[calligraphist-artemisia]

16 | Will-o’-the-Wisp

Written for Kidgetober 2020. Week 2 Theme: Myths & Magic. Day 16: Will-o’-the-Wisp.

Summary: Set in the Harry Potter universe.  Pidge finds herself lost in the woods on a dark, moonless night. She'd given up hope on getting home before sunrise when suddenly a light appeared between the trees to lure her deeper into the forest. Luckily, a handsome stranger is around to save her.

Also posted on AO3 under the username Kishirokitsune. Titled as “Magic of the Season”.

- - - - -

16 | Will-o'-the-Wisp

Pidge trudged through the undergrowth, cursing herself for deciding to take a stroll through the woods on a dark, moonless night. Why did she think it was such a good idea? She hated the woods! And nature in general.

Yes, she was definitely the indoors-y type, best suited to viewing the world from a screen and the comfort of her home.

She shivered and hugged herself, rubbing her arms with the hope of creating enough friction to generate warmth. She glanced up to try and see the stars but the canopy of trees completely blocked her view and the only thing that greeted her was more darkness. Her breath came in tiny pants as she looked around, barely able to make out the thick trunks, and it sank in just how well and truly lost she was.

Someone once told her: “the best thing to do when you're lost is to stay where you are”. But did that really apply when no one knew she was out there?

Pidge stopped and took a deep breath to try and calm down. What she needed to do was take a moment to think logically about the situation, highlighting all of the details she knew, and then come up with a workable plan from there.

So.

She was lost in the woods and it was too dark to see anything past a few inches from her face.

Her cell phone was very dead, though she did have a charging cable if she could find a place to use it.

She had no real way of navigating her way back to civilization.

Pidge reached out until she felt the bark of the nearest tree and used it as a way to ground herself. She briefly considered climbing up as high as she could go and hope it would be enough to get a look at the stars, which she could then use to get her bearings, but dismissed the idea as being potentially too dangerous.

There was nothing she could do but wait out the night and find her way once the sun rose once again.

She leaned against the tree and tilted her head back, wishing she could see something. Even the smallest pinprick of light would give her hope.

Pidge wasn't sure how long she stood there, her mind whirling through all of the different possibilities of how and when she would make it back to civilization and even entertaining the idea of someone heroically swooping in with a flashlight to save her. It was fun to imagine, though she knew it wasn't something that was going to happen.

She lowered her eyes and that was when she saw it: something glowing in the distance, lighting up the trunks of trees around it. Pidge held her breath in surprise. Surely she was hallucinating, right?

“Hello?” she called out.

She didn't get a response, but the light bobbed around a bit, as though whoever was holding it was trying to draw her in closer.

Or lead her out of the forest.

Pidge pushed away from the tree and began walking towards the light, praying that she wouldn't snag her foot on the undergrowth. To her confusion, the closer she got, the farther away the light seemed to move, occasionally stopping to sway and let her get a little more caught up before moving away again.

“Who's there? Can you slow down a bit?” Pidge called out, frustration bleeding into her voice.

And just like that, the light stopped. It hovered there in place, growing larger and larger as she approached. It pulsed in a mesmerizing pattern as it appeared the drift in the air, but Pidge didn't take any notice of how odd the whole thing was as she continued to follow it even as she sank to her ankles in cold, muddy water.

She shivered but kept going, the light too entrancing to stop. It would lead her to safety. She knew it.

The water lapped at her calves as the mud clung tightly to her feet, making any movement difficult, but she had to keep going. She was going to get out of the woods and make it back to her safe and warm home before the sunrise and a little bit of water and mud wasn't going to stop her.

Nothing could stop her.

A jet of crackling red energy shot past her shoulder and collided with the bobbing light, which emitted an inhuman screech as it skipped backwards over the water. Pidge watched, dazed, as two additional red jets shot out from behind her, colliding twice more with the light until the screeching stopped.

And then, suddenly, the water moved away from her legs and Pidge swayed, thankfully prevented from falling over into the deep mud by a pair of hands on her shoulders.

There was someone there speaking to her, but their words were so muffled that she couldn't make out what they were saying. Nothing made much sense. Her thoughts were so discombobulated that she couldn't keep anything straight and when the heavy fog clouding her mind finally lifted enough for her to think straight, she was sitting on a soft couch in an unfamiliar room with a warm blanket wrapped around her and a man with dark hair kneeling in front of her, holding up a mug for her to take.

“Drink this. It should help clear the rest of your shock,” he told her gently.

Pidge's hands were shaking so badly that she wasn't sure if she'd be able to hold onto the mug without spilling the drink everywhere, but she gave it a try anyway, choosing to rest it on the top of her legs until she was sure she could lift it high enough to drink.

“W-what happened?” she asked.

There was a moment of silence that stretched on for long enough that she wondered if she needed to repeat herself.

“The forest around here is dangerous at night, but especially during the new moon. Usually it isn't a problem since most people stay away once night starts to fall. They find it unsettling,” he said. “That light you encountered was something most folks would call a 'will-o'-the-wisp'.”

Pidge's brow furrowed in confusion. “But that's... that's not real. That's just a fairytale.”

“They're real and very dangerous. Their only goal is to lead people astray, typically into bogs or marshes, and... Well, those people don't come back.”

Pidge shivered at the implication.

“You were trapped pretty deeply into its thrall when I showed up, but you'll be okay now,” he continued. “Drink that. I need to finish preparing the spare room for you.”

“Spare room?” Pidge questioned.

He shrugged a little and then stood up. “I thought you'd prefer the privacy while you sleep.”

A flash of alarm shot through Pidge and she fought not to spill her drink. “I'm staying here? But why? I mean, don't you have a car or something? You could take me back into town!”

“Any other night, maybe, but... not tonight. And not when the most important thing is you getting rest. An encounter with a will-o'-the-wisp is draining even for people who know what they're doing and I want to make sure you're really alright before I send you away,” he explained.

Pidge watched him walk away without another word and she sat there by herself for several long minutes before remembering she had a drink in her hands. She took a sip and was pleased by the rich taste of hot chocolate, which warmed her down to her core and helped chase away the last traces of fogginess in her head.

And that was when she noticed how exhausted she felt.

Maybe there was something to what the strange man said.

The strange man whose house she was expected to sleep in.

Pidge sat up a little straighter and took a suspicious look around. Wherever she was, it had the appearance of a cozy little cabin with hardwood floors and a real stone fireplace tucked away in the corner. If she craned her head a little she could see directly into the kitchen behind her. There were six other doors that she could see, three of which was closed. The other appeared to be a bathroom and the third was the room the stranger had gone into, so Pidge assumed that was the spare room he mentioned. The final two closed doors led out the front and the back.

It would be easy to get up and leave. There was nothing stopping her.

But... there was also no reason she shouldn't stay. It was still dark out and she had no idea which direction to go in order to get back to an area she recognized. Plus, the stranger (who still hadn't given her his name) didn't seem like a bad guy. Maybe he was a bit weird, going on about a creature that didn't exist as though it were a real thing that people worried about, but that seemed like more of a quirky character trait rather than something to be concerned about.

Okay, maybe she'd be locking the bedroom door before she went to sleep. And moving something in front of it so he couldn't get in until she was ready to get up. And double-checking the windows. Maybe there was a closet she could sleep in?

There was nothing wrong with erring on the side of caution.

Pidge drank more of the hot chocolate while she waited for the stranger to come back and when he did, she blurted out the biggest question on her mind: “Who are you?”

He paused, a look of surprise crossing his face. “Oh, uh, I'm Keith.”

“Pidge,” she responded, unwilling to give him her real name.

“Okay, well the room is ready for you. I found a shirt and some pants that should fit you, if you want to be more comfortable and you can use that bathroom over there to wash up,” Keith said, pointing to the bathroom Pidge noticed earlier. “If you need anything else, my room is right there. Just knock and I'll come out to help. And, uh, you can see the kitchen, so if you need anything from there just help yourself.”

Belatedly, she realized he was trying to give her a tour of the house.

Keith paused for a moment to give her time to speak, but when Pidge said nothing he shifted his feet and spoke again. “You can leave your cup in the sink and I'll take care of it in the morning. And that's pretty much it. Just... I don't recommend going back outside until the sun rises.”

“Because of your make-believe creatures?” Pidge couldn't help but ask.

“Because it's dangerous to be in unfamiliar woods in the dark,” he responded, a hint of challenge in his voice. “Look, I know you have no reason to trust me, but please listen to me on this and don't go outside. Even if you don't believe me about the will-o'-the-wisps there are other dangers, like wolves, that live out there.”

That was a good point.

Pidge quietly agreed to stay inside and watched as he relaxed, his relief completely obvious even to her. He offered a tiny smile and then said something about going to bed, leaving her completely alone on the couch.

She finished up her hot chocolate and put it in the sink like he said, though she did take the time to empty it and rinse it out first. Pidge debated for a moment whether or not she wanted to change her clothes before deciding she'd rather have something clean to wear, although...

Pidge glanced down at her jeans, which were surprisingly clean despite her vague memory of walking through mud.

Either way, jeans weren't comfortable to sleep in and she didn't see any harm in borrowing a shirt and pants, so she changed into those before going to check out the bathroom. The light clicked on by itself when she stepped inside and Pidge's gaze was automatically drawn to the round mirror over the sink.

She frowned and combed her fingers through her hair to try and tame the mess it had become, but there wasn't much she could do.

Apparently her reflection felt the same, because it shrugged at her once she was done and said: “Best rinse it out and try again, dear.”

Pidge blinked.

Then she opened her mouth and screamed as she backed away so quickly that her feet got tangled with each other and she toppled backwards. She felt pain and then blackness took over her vision.

The next time she opened her eyes, she was tucked beneath warm blankets and sunlight was streaming in through the windows. It took her a moment to remember everything that happened the night before, but as her brain started to fully wake up she jumped out of bed and set off to find Keith.

She needed answers and he was going to give them to her.

[nettlestonenell]

Armie Hammer wants a sequel to The Man From U.N.C.L.E.—shouldn’t you?

This post is a long time in coming, Gentle Readers and @jammeke​, but now, though it might be here, before your very eyes, to think it will be well-laid out would be a mistake. It’s set to be just about as messy as Ilya’s misplaced loyalties and murky motivations.

How dare!

I probably first watched this film well over a year ago (courtesy @jammeke​ posting things about it). I used Sling OnDemand (I think on TNT). In the ensuing viewings I also watched it in that way, but as I was sitting down for a fourth(?) viewing, it kept coming to me that I was tired of watching it with commercials I couldn’t skip, and I had a sneaking suspicion that it had been edited for time and I was missing out on scenes. [pointless aside: I was also watching the film in chunks, and never as a whole]

Where is she now? What’s the time stamp? How far along did she get? Are you shagging the hotel hostess yet?

So, I, uh, set out to buy it on DVD—without any luck! In the sense that copies I could find cost more (w/ shipping) than buying it to stream. So, I bought it to stream on Amazon. Do I regret my choice, Gentle Readers? No, no I don’t. I do regret burden of knowledge in learning that TNT was already playing the entirety of the film. That was a hard pill to swallow.

Nope, I’ve looked. That’s absolutely everything. Nothing additional lurking around here...

So here it is, as it is, @jammeke, “My Notes on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”

Look, I don’t know what this film is. I probably can’t fully articulate its appeal. Or maybe I can--certainly after transcribing four page I’ve tried. Number One thing to know about me and fiction/films is that a top draw for me is seeing something out of the ordinary, such as beautiful locations, a historical era, delicious costumes. There are times, frankly, this can trump weak story and undefined character for me. (The best films, of course, combine all three) Certainly, The Man... delivers in the delight of the eyes. Additionally, I must confess that growing up as a person older than @reblogginhood​ but younger than Miss Fisher, so much of what was on TV was essentially reruns of this film’s iconic Look(tm). So, when I see women dressed like Gaby I am just another three-to-seven-year-old overcome with the drop dead glamour of it all.

Darling, tell me how you really feel...

Some questions I have:

·         IS Armie Hammer a hulk of a man? Everyone in this film seems to think so, yet he always tracks to me as trim (rather than hulking)

·         Why translate via captions some Russian speaking, but not all?

·         IS Napoleon’s backstory directly cribbed from USA’s White Collar?

·         DOES Gaby have a German accent?

·         Does Ilya get preternaturally attached to all the people he’s ordered to look after? Also, what is his bonding rate with kittens?

Sorry, wrong iteration. 

 ·         If Lady Villain knows the lens is wrong—if her technical understanding is that in-depth--does she really need Gaby’s dad to make the bomb?

·         How old was Gaby during the war?

·         What happens when Ilya gets a NEW puppy assigned to him? (please let this be addressed in film #2)

Hooray for:

·         That bathroom fight! *all the Burn Notice feels!

·         Gaby is her own lady, and chooses sides as necessary—not always unilateral in her support for either male character. Case in point: she sides with Ilya over the clothes, and Napoleon over the incident of the wallet.

·         That delicious (speaking as Rusty, here) Ocean’s 11-stylized action. It’s pretty, so I’m not bored with it. Sometimes a sandwiched montage gets shown, so I’m REALLY not bored. I’ve got 18 tiny moving boxes of things to look at!

·         Pinkie rings. There, you’ve told me everything I need to know about that character.

·         Solo in a beret. English has not yet found a word for the feeling it evoked in this viewer. Somewhere between ‘precious’ and ‘oh, no’.

See, there? Now you’ve felt it too.

·         Goggles! All the accessories! Dune Buggies! (I mean, that’s what I’m calling Napoleon’s chase-scene ride)

Things I adore:

·         It seems (after some research) that more than a few folks view Gaby as a third wheel, and though she’s not exactly a Princess Leia commandeering her own rescue and exuding competence and a deserved take-charge-attitude at every corner, she IS a foci for both male characters (though romantically it would seem only for one), just as Ilya is a foci for both her and Napoleon [no one seems to worry about Napoleon, though they should--film #2, anyone?]

·         Mechanic Gaby not needing a beauty makeover, or being dragged into one. She gets some nice clothes, but it’s never suggested that she’s not attractive or acceptable before putting them on, and I respect, nay, embrace it.

Oh, my heart. She’s still not as tall as them!

·         Ilya, drab pigeon Ilya, knowing fashion

·         Oh man, don’t even get me started on the power of the statement, “it doesn’t have to match”

·         You knew it was coming on this sublist: the wrestle-fight. I mean, c’mon. Poor little Gaby, locked behind the Iron Curtain, living a life of always being watched. She’s in the swankest hotel (I mean, Napoleon chose it, so we can be sure it’s swank with an E). She’s trying to celebrate her freedom, her liberation. She’s playing verboten music, she’s drinking to excess. Girl wants—and deserves—a party. And Ilya is…not built for that (that he knows of). For some fun, just imagine if she had been given Napoleon to room with instead.

                            o   I will say that this scene, and some of their other interactions have what I would call early (non-sibling) Luke and Leia energy. Ilya seems to have moments of being struck by Gaby in a way Luke is struck by Leia in the early part of the trilogy. When Leia takes charge, and Luke accepts it. When Leia does something incredible, and Luke is left open-mouthed. *no, I don’t see OT Star Wars in everything. Shut up.

·         “He fixed the glitch.”

·         Again, shout-out to the non-action action.

·         “I left my jacket in there.”

·         The whole race to rescue Gaby I am in love with beyond words. [I have noted it as “Crazy Jeep Drive with Warhead!”] Probably b/c it comes across as totally egalitarian. Both men want her rescued. They’re no longer in competition. It’s just as important to Napoleon as it is to Ilya to catch up to her. Also, it is bonkers, like some sort of X-games version of a commercial for the vehicles they’re driving. And screaming Willie Scott does not make an appearance.

         Someone says “winkle” out.

·         Look! Another note about the screen divisions and how I love it, shout-outs to the original Steve McQueen The Thomas Crown Affair (a contemporary of when this movie is meant to be set), and TV’s 24.

Things that get a great, big NOPE:

·         Jerrod Harris: you’ve been in so much streamable content in the last decade I can’t hate you, but frankly, you’re terrible here—unless you’re supposed to be giving a mannered, not-campy-enough-to-be-enjoyable performance here. Your American English puts me in the mind of Alex Hawaii 5-0′Loughlin where it feels you’re concentrating so hard on your accent that you fail to convince anyone that you’re a harried, over-worked and exasperated spy handler. Your performance is at odds with every bit of dialogue you’re given to say.

·         That awful, mishandled title that doesn’t even connect to the film until the final moments (a sequel set-up, for sure)

·         Look, you don’t introduce Hugh Grant casually mid-way through your film in a throwaway appearance. I mean, he’s HUGH GRANT we all know something’s up now.

·         This is not exactly a great big NOPE, b/c I love a flat cap, Tommy Shelby—but I feel like a less tall man with a far rounder face in a flat cap would track more as Russian to me that AH does. To me, he just looks like he’s about to go golfing.

Over par? Unacceptable!

·         Is Victoria a British-accented Italian? A British woman who married—what? Gaby’s uncle isn’t Italian!? An Italian who went to school in Britain? My head hurts. Also, is her hair meant to be unconvincingly bleached?

Other commentary:

·         Napoleon’s adult ne’er-do-well backstory is so far from being emotionally equivalent to Ilya’s childhood trauma [and his enslavement to the USSR] it seems bestial when he calls it out on multiple occasions. Badly done, Solo.

·         Gaby is the film’s key (sorry, Buffy fans). Everyone is connected to her. Yes, she could have been given a bit more on the character front, but I don’t see her as as much of a flaw in the film as some others/reviewers seem to.

·         Look, essentially (and not very nuanced-ly), Ilya is a stalker. I think the film goes a certain distance in establishing that his early behavior toward Gaby is not normal, but concurrently it does not truly call him out on it. He’s essentially viewed as an odd-duck, sure, but not a true threat to her (should she not reciprocate or tolerate his intensity toward her). I think I might be able to cite his behavior when Gaby comes on to him (that he doesn’t jump at a chance with her) that maybe he’s given a little more nuance than a straight-on stalker, and it helps that he and Napoleon never get into a pissing match over Gaby’s person, only over her new clothes. But overall the film has to walk a fine line (and the jury is still out on how successful it is, I’d say) between playing Ilya’s laser-like attention to Gaby for its humor, and calling it out for the unsettling, threatening behavior it is.

·         Honestly, it wasn’t until I engaged the Closed Captioning that I understood Napoleon was calling Ilya the ‘Red Peril’. So, that was nearly three viewings in.

·         I give the screen credits A+, on both ends. Not to mention the end credits are actually INTERESTING with lots to see and learn! (Certainly we learn more about HG in them than we do at any time during the film)

Things I would have liked:

·         More of fish-out-of-the-Iron-Curtain Gaby moments

·         A better dichotomy shown of East vs. West Berlin/Germany. There’s nothing easy either visually or otherwise to distinguish the two.

·         HC being given a more specific American accent (from an actual locality). This, for an American viewer, works better than the flat, unlocated American accent many a British actor will bust out. *Mind you, HC does a generally good job, but he fails utterly on both “Immediate” which he pronounces at least twice as “immeedeejt” [rather than imm-E-deeot] and “Nazi” as “NAHT-zee” [rather than “NOT-zee”]. And let’s not get started on that late in the film use of ‘earnt’, a word that—well, it’s just not in the American English twentieth century lexicon.

·         C’mon. You gotta tease the Hugh Grant more.

·         Solo is a blank before the war. I’ve read thoughts on the film calling out Gaby as the blank character, but they’re wrong. Solo is the blank. He’s the ‘made’ man, his identity seemingly assembled during the war and after. For example, he doesn’t go into the war a thief, nor (it would seem) a particularly educated or urbane individual. Now THAT’s a juicy backstory I’d love to learn about, perhaps in film #2--or #3? What creates a Napoleon Solo? What would he be doing if he weren’t on the government’s leash/incarcerated? Is anyone left caring about him back wherever he calls home? I mean, who doesn’t love a gender-flipped 60s-era Holly Golightly backstory? [And yes, I would love there to be an ex-wife or even a current wife mixed up in his origins as well—Guy Ritchie, call me!]

Notes I have that I’m not sure if they still make sense to me:

·         Only mom calls me Napoleon (do he say it ‘mum’?) Is he a secret Canadian?

·         Solo’s torture, 1st view recall Napoleon’s childhood? *I think this means that after watching the first time I somehow erroneously believed that during the torture Napoleon’s childhood was a topic gone over. This was wrong. HOWEVER, this would have made far more story-sense than the backstory we’re given on an easily disposeable villain.

·         “Even the average Russian agent. You’re special.” ?

·         Uncle is Baddie (*so glad I made this note to myself)

·         Ilya’s dad IS an embarrassment. I’m not sure what genius commentary I had in my mind, here. Perhaps that Ilya himself is embarrassed of him? Not just Ilya’s handler’s? [Also, aside: Napoleon totally slut-shames Ilya’s mom, which is the doublest of double standards from ‘I got myself the biggest and most ornate suite b/c I-wanted-plenty-of-space-for-my-random-seductions’ and I really wish Ilya had thrown that back in his face] *yes, of course I know that Ilya and Napoleon would not likely equate a wife/mother’s sexual exploits with that of Solo’s, but let’s be honest, this film tweaks the nose of (I won’t say reverses, it doesn’t go that far) plenty of tropes and gender expectations, and this certainly seems like a missed opportunity to call Solo on the carpet (which I hope film #2 does far more)

Things I wrote down so long ago I don’t recall what they mean:

·         CC-save

In conclusion:

What does film #2 look like? What title does it get? Will the Peter/Neil White Collar dynamic continue to grow? *note that I have no confidence a second film will ever come to pass...

In the end, all I know is, “It didn't help when American Tom Cruise, who was slated to play U.S. spy Napoleon Solo, dropped out, prompting the casting of Cavill (who had previously read for the Russian role).“ I would not have watched that film.

[odos-bucket]

I was going to wait until this was finished and post it all at once, but it was starting to get kind of long so I figured I’d cut it up a bit.

(Also fair warning that I don’t know shit about music)

Jaskier hears it for the first time when he’s traveling alone. And, yes, it probably does say something about his character that he hadn’t been paying the music at the tavern any attention until a series of chords came together to make direct reference to his own work. Though reference may have been the wrong word; the difference in key, combined with the cadence of the performer’s voice were more suggestive of a parody.

Which, fine. He has a sense of humor. And there’s still something kind of flattering about it. Once he hears it he can’t not listen. He won’t deny his curiosity. And tuning a sound out is a great deal harder than tuning it in.

What he hears upon giving his attention to the other minstrel makes his blood run cold.

Tales of The White Wolf are told all across the continent now. And he takes no small degree of credit for that. He’s yet to hear any such story that didn’t have its origins with him, or rather he hadn’t until now. Because the story he’s hearing is unlike any he’s ever told, would ever tell.

It’s a story about the Witcher's defeats and losses, his captures and humiliations. Jaskier grinds his teeth as he listens, references to encounters he was present for confirming to him that this isn’t just some slapped together joke.

How dare they.

The voice that had been so unobtrusive for the better part of the past hour quickly becomes grating. The tone it sings in is light and playful. The tune it accompanies is disrespectfully jaunty.

How fucking dare they.

There’s laughter around the room. And it may be related to the music, and it just as easily may not be. But the fact that he has to hear it while the imagery of his lover caged and muzzled is being forced into his mind is too much.

He doesn’t pay attention to what he might knock over, or who he might knock into on his way out of the tavern. He’s shaking when he gets outside, because this can’t be happening. The thought flashes through his mind that he needs to get to Geralt, as if that could somehow do anything to rectify the fact that this is happening.

He rubs hard at his eyes, and takes a shaky breath as he leans against the building’s outer wall. He tries to take a moment to calm himself, he really does. Then, failing that, he goes to wait for the other musician down a nearby side street.

He’s young, and skinny, and not particularly difficult to shove up against the wall when he finally emerges from the pub a half an hour later.

“What the hell was that?!” Jaskier demands, just loud enough to drown out the beginnings of a startled yelp.

The younger bard struggles for only a few seconds, before the entirety of his energy seems to pour into staring intently at Jaskier. The way his eyes go from being narrowed in concentration to suddenly blown wide with something resembling horror makes them look like a pair of rapidly inflating balloons.

“What are you-" by the time his eyelids have pushed back as far as they can go the question dies on his lips. “Oh gods.”

Something about the fear that seeps into his voice and over his face once he realizes who it is who’s pinning him to the wall brings Jaskier a mean spirited sense of satisfaction that he doesn’t feel comfortable examining too closely.

“Look, I just sing what I pick up from whoever’s passing through! It’s all any of us do around here!"

Jaskier backs up enough to examine the other bard, and he is young, sixteen or seventeen maybe. Nothing about him looks particularly road-worn, the way it would if he had gone out to do any of the necessary research for his stories.

Not the writer then.

Still.

“Do you remember who you picked that particular song up from?”

“A traveling bard,” the boy stammered.

“Yes very helpful, thank you.”

“I’m sorry! I wasn’t taking credit for it or anything, no one from the village thinks I write my own songs! I can stop singing it!”

“You will stop singing it. And pass it along to anyone else you know who might have picked it up that it would be in their best interest to stop too.” Jaskier sighs, suddenly exhausted. “…What do you mean you weren’t 'taking credit for it’?”

“I don’t take other people’s music and try to pass it off as my own… But I know some poets don’t want others performing their work either way.”

“Why is this something I should care remotely about?”

The boy’s eyes deflate back into thoughtful slits. He takes a step to the side, circling around the arms reach of space Jaskier has already allowed to grow between them.

“It’s- You don’t want me performing your songs, right?”

“What-" A slow working part of his mind answers the question before his mouth can finish asking it.

Enraged, he consciously wills himself to take another step back, as if that will somehow make the growl rising out of him less terrifying to the virtual child he’s just violently accosted. He runs his his hands through his hair until it stands up on ends. He desperately reaches for something to say that’s not just a string of profanity, and wonders vaguely if this is how Geralt feels all the time.

The youth is on the opposite side of the narrow street from him now, and seems to be weighing the benefits of just taking off at a run. Jaskier would rather he didn’t. But he’s not going to chase after him if he does.

He takes in a deep breath.

“I have neither the energy, the patience, the time, nor truthfully the inclination to so much as begin to approach the depths of how badly you have misunderstood this situation.”

“W-what?” The boy asks.

“I don’t give two shits if you sing my songs!”

“…”

“…”

“O-oh,” he finally catches on. “You’re not- So then why-“ he makes some vague gestures.

Jaskier feels his patience fraying.

“I want to know who wrote it,” he snaps. "You clearly have no idea. But if there’s anything you can remember about the performer you picked it up from…”

He can see the effects of his own expectant glare reflecting back from the boy’s eyes.

“He was a man,” he offers meekly. “Older than you, I think, a little bit. He wasn’t anyone of note, local probably. Most of the bards who pass through aren’t from more than a day’s ride away from here.”

“There are quite a lot of settlements within a day’s ride from here.”

“I’m sorry!” By now his voice has risen to a squeak, and there doesn’t seem to be any point in continuing to terrorize him.

Jaskier shoos him away, and leans back to rub at his temples as the sound of hurried footsteps fades farther and farther away.

He doesn’t get a chance to stop thinking about the song before he hears it again. And again. And even in variations, with some details added, or switched out for others. It gets longer. Like it’s being steadily added to from somewhere. Stretching out what already feels like an infinite loop.

Truthfully it isn’t that wide spread. Jaskier may feel like its joke of a melody is surrounding him like an inescapable fortress, but if he were keeping actual track he’d know he hasn’t been coming upon people playing it more than a couple times a week. At the height of its popularity “Toss a Coin” could have easily played two or three times at the same pub on the same night.

The perspective doesn’t make it any better. Not when every time the damn song plays he remembers a cave of vampires, who almost killed him, who did kill more than half of the townspeople with whom he had shared a horrifying week of captivity. By the time he was freed he was soaked and splattered in the blood of at least a dozen other people. What right does somebody think they have to make a joke out of something that still keeps him and scores of others jolting awake in the middle of the night with half formed screams trying to escape their throats?

The things he doesn’t remember he can imagine. He doesn’t want to, probably shouldn’t, but he can, and he does, and then he can’t stop. The lyrics shine new light on certain scars; they’re scars Jaskier hadn’t yet heard the full stories of, and it’s a light he would go blind to turn off. If it’s all as accurate as the parts he can vouch for the authenticity of then he’s learned things he has no right to know, or that he only should have learned from Geralt. The fact that he knows that the raised patch of smooth skin on his back is from a fucking cattle brand feels like a betrayal, he feels like a monster for knowing that without the witcher wanting him to. And the thought of things that even he shouldn’t know being carelessly wafted past the ears of strangers draws a rage out of him that he barely knows what to do with.

He stops to sing everywhere he passes through, whether it makes financial sense or not. He plays, and writes, and tells his stories, and tries with everything he’s worth to drown out the malicious slander. He asks questions wherever he can too. He can threaten and terrify every wayward minstrel he comes across who’s foolish enough to play it, but he won’t even come close to killing the song unless he can cut it off at its source.

[tiny-smallest]

in little ways

Rating: G Characters: Steven, Greg Warnings: none Description: The world changing is inevitable, but there’s one thing that will never change in Steven’s life.

Also on AO3!

—

Holy mother of god did I finish something? Slap a hammer in my hand and call me jesus because I’m making miracles.

—

Steven Universe is five years old. He wakes up in the little guest room of Miss Vidalia's house that he lives in every winter when Daddy says she goes to visit her family and crawls out of bed, gulping back tears as he pads his way down the hall to the living room where he shakes his father's sleeping form on the couch.

"Da-daddy?" His tremulous little voice sounds way too loud in the quiet house.

His father is awake in less than a few seconds, sitting upright with a soft gasp and rubbing at his eyes and Steven bites his lip, reaching up for his father's arms. Daddy reaches down and scoops him up and Steven nestles right under his chin with a sniffle, rubbing his nose on his pajama sleeve. "What's wrong, Schtu-ball?" he soothes, fingers stroking through his curls, eyes worried in the light from the street outside.

"Ba-bad dream!" he sobs in a wail, tilting his head back as it comes bursting out of him. "The-there was- there was a bi-big- a big robot! A-an' and it gobbled you all u-up and then it cha-chased me an'-"

"Shhhhhh sh sh shhhh." Daddy's hand is big and warm on his back, rubbing circles into it. "Deep breaths. A bad guy came and ate me?"

"Mmhmm." Big, wet eyes peek pitifully up at him from his chest. "A-an'- an' I was all 'lone."

His father presses a kiss to his forehead, his voice warmer than any blanket. "I'm sorry. That must have been so scary. But I'm right here, kiddo. It didn't happen and it won't ever, okay?"

"Mmmnnn."

"... How about this; why don't we make a plan in case it ever does? That way, you'll know just what to do."

He sniffs. "O-okay..."

"Okay." He smiles, and it is soft and gentle and nothing will ever hurt them ever, so long as Daddy is here. Steven lays his head against his chest. "So here's what we do..."

The rest of the world melts quietly away.

—

Steven Universe is seven and sitting in the van, plucking quietly at his ukulele. His tongue sticks out of his mouth, tiny fingers carefully working to coax the right notes from the strings.

Despite his hard work, the intense concentration, a string snaps. It avoids catching his fingers and the sound isn't even especially loud, but the suddenness of it pulls a sound that is part squeak, part yelp from him.

"How's it going, Schtu-ball?"

He looks up to find Daddy putting a knee onto the edge of the van floor, leaning over to pull a water bottle from the package they'd stopped to buy on their way here. His eyes stray from aiding him in freeing the bottle from the plastic to looking over at Steven with a smile.

The smile fades, a frown of concern taking its place. "Steven?"

Steven looks down at the broken ukulele string with a sniffle.

"Oh," comes the response, further softened. "Here, let Daddy fix that for you?"

He holds his hands out. Steven lifts the ukulele up and over his head, Daddy accepting the instrument and pulling out a repair kit from where it sat behind the box of water bottles.

Steven watches in silence as Daddy pulls out a string and sets about restringing the instrument. He watches as he slides the string through the hole in the back of the piece of wood--the bridge, Daddy had called it--and tied it in place, then pulls it a few inches past the tuning peg he was going to tie it to. He snips off the excess and feeds it through the tuning peg.

"You know," his father says as he worked, "you've been snapping strings more often than usual. Is something wrong? Are you stuck on something?"

Steven shakes his head without really thinking about it. "Jus' not payin' attention as much as I should."

"Oh, well- that happens sometimes." He looks up at him and smiles kindly at him, eyes crinkling at the edges. "It can be hard to focus if you're thinking about something else. Maybe that's a sign you need a break?" He lowers his head to resume his work, but keeps talking. "Remember that talk we had about burnout?"

Steven nods without really thinking about it. There is something really nice about watching him work. He watches Daddy's hands, rough with callouses, carefully work with the tiny pieces of the instrument to restring the ukulele, turning the tuning peg afterwards to tune it.

He wants to be able to do that someday. Maybe he should ask.

What would be the point if you can't play and your song's awful?

"What if they don't like it?" he mumbles.

Steven doesn't realize he'd said that out loud until his father's head jerks up with a look of surprise. "Huh?"

"Nothing," he says quickly, kneading his too-large shirt in embarrassed fistfuls.

Daddy reaches over to draw his fingers through his hair. "Kiddo, is this about the song you wrote for them?"

Steven hunches his shoulders with a wince, but the gentle touch coaxes his head up. His father is still smiling, eyes kind with understanding.

"It's scary," he soothes, "putting your work out there. I know."

He returns to the ukulele for a moment and finishes tuning it, handing it back to Steven before sweeping the small boy onto his lap. He cuddles him close, Steven laying his head back against Daddy's stomach.

"Sometimes you realize how what you made has your heart and soul in it, and it's really scary, exposing that heart to other people. But the gems love you, kiddo. And they'll be so proud that you wrote something for them- much less that you can play it for them!" Steven closes his eyes, listening to the smile in Daddy's voice. "They'll love it because it's your heart and soul. And honestly, also because it's really good."

Steven makes a little noise and his father gives him a light poke.

"I mean it, mister. You've got real talent!"

Steven blinks and looked up at him. "Really?"

"Mmhm." Another poke, to his side. That tickles! He giggles. "With your cute lyrics-"

Another poke. Steven squirms, giggling louder.

"And your nice harmonies-"

"Daddyyyyyyyy!" He tries to shove at the hands both poking him now half-heartedly, overcome with squirming laughter.

"And can't forget that nice angelic voice-"

"Eeeee noooooooo stoooooop!" Steven begins poking his father's belly, making his daddy laugh too. His father lifts the ukulele over his head and begins to tickle under his arms, making Steven shriek with laughter, but he stops after a second and Steven mimics him, prompting his father's own snorts and shouts.

It ends with his father lying on the floor on his back and Steven on his chest, smiling into his face.

His daddy smiles back, laying a hand on his head.

"You do your old man proud already." His eyes shine. "I can't wait to watch you grow up, kiddo. I love you."

Steven wraps his little arms around his father as best he can. "I love you too."

—

Steven Universe is ten, and the autumn breeze is cool on his back as he sits on the bench and swings his legs, ukulele on his lap, fidgeting with the strings. He is bored, frightfully bored, the feeling nails scraping along the inside of his brain, but he just has to try to be patient just a bit longer.

The wind blows a ballroom of fall leaves past him, dancing and twirling on the updraft. He could write a song to that, right? Yeah, he could!

little leaves fall from the trees come twirl up a dance for me! play on the breeze on your way towards the sea come twirl up a dance for me!

He's getting better at the ukulele, he thinks. Dad ran out of stuff to teach him ages ago; said he'd covered all the bases and now there was nothing to do but play. Hone his craft, Dad said. But don't overdo it. Burnout was an awful monster.

So he's careful to follow that advice. But it's hard to, sometimes. He loves to play and write music. He loves snatching new songs from thin air and breathing life into them. He doesn't think he could live if he couldn't create it, play it, learn it, listen to it.

It's like breathing. If he can't do it, he'll suffocate.

He assumed for awhile that everyone was like that. It was jarring when he learned the other children in town didn't experience the same thing.

It's still confusing, even now. Maybe he could understand if there was something they needed the way he and his dad need music, but one of them just... doesn't seem to have that.

It was when he realized that that he also realized this same boy was usually alone. And he always seemed so sad.

Steven swings his legs again, plucking a few idle notes. That song needs work, but he's not feeling it right now. Doesn't mean he can't try coaxing other music from his instrument, though.

How long does it take a bus to get from Ocean Town to Beach City, anyway? Drive faster bus man! I'm dying!

A honk startles him and his mouth falls open as the bright yellow bus pulls up. "I SUMMONED IT!" he crows as the children file off the bus. They all look at him, but he's only looking back for one boy-

And there he is!

"LARS!" He leaps up and waves, and the other boy flinches back, staring at him first in confusion and then... frowns?

The other kids are staring too. Weird.

"St-steven- what- what are you doing here!" He recovers fast, hands on his hips. Steven smiles despite the scowl.

"I waited for you! I thought we could go to the arcade-"

"No." He glares around. Steven isn't sure who he's glaring at. The other kids are gone.

Lars's face relaxes a bit when he realizes this, and without another word, he turns to walk away.

"W-wait!" Steven jumps up off the bench. "I- I thought-"

Lars doesn't stop.

"O-okay! M-maybe tomorrow then!" Still nothing. "Uh- Saturday! Saturday's fine!"

Lars turns the corner. Steven droops.

"They've got a Saturday special?" he pleads to no one.

The leaves whirl again. Steven watches them before sighing and grabbing his ukulele.

It's a quiet walk to the car wash. He finds his dad just inside the building with the big brushes, hosing it down, and can't find the will to wave when Dad waves first. The bright smile droops, and Dad turns the hose off as he draws near.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, setting it aside.

"Lars didn't wanna go to the arcade," Steven mumbles, folding his arms across his chest. His father pats his shoulder.

"Maybe he's just busy?"

"Maybe..." He looks away. Dad crouches onto one knee.

"Maybe he's just grumpy. Maybe he had a bad day and he needs space." He hesitates. "Maybe he's just- not a very nice kid."

Steven balks. "Oh no! He's not a bad kid! He's just sad."

"Those things aren't exclusive, buddy."

His dad's voice is gentle, but Steven isn't having it. "But he just looks sad! Maybe he's scared of anyone knowing."

He fidgets.

"Or maybe I'm just not doing it right," he adds in a sad little whisper.

"Oh- Steven, no..." Dad cups his face with both hands. "... One of the hardest lessons you'll ever learn is... sometimes you can be the nicest you you can be, and it still won't be enough."

He tucks a particularly unruly curl behind his ear, something in his eyes heavy. "Sometimes people just aren't compatible. And sometimes they're just mean. That's not your fault, son."

"... But he seems so... lonely. Won't he feel better if he just has a friend? Doesn't he just need a friend...?"

His father's smile was sad. "... He probably would feel better if he had a friend. But you don't need to be that friend."

"But I wanna be."

Dad kisses the top of his head.

"You're a sweet kid," he murmurs. "But you don't need to be everybody's friend."

"I wanna be his. He's nice. I like him."

His father let out a soft sigh, cupping his face. "Maybe he really is just grumpy today, or sad, and needs space. But there's no shame in leaving something be."

Steven's insides squirms. "I... I wanna keep trying. But... he doesn't wanna today. And I don't wanna go alone."

Dad straightens up and looked around the car wash, a hand still on his head. "... You know what? It's been a really slow day here, stchu-ball. Let me finish up here and I'll close up early, and we can go."

He brightens, feeling the stars return to his step as he starts bouncing. "Really!?"

Dad never closes up early, though!

He smiles at him. "As long as you don't mind hanging out with your old man."

"Never! Never ever! Oh my god c'mon dad let's go let's hurry up what do you need help with-"

His father's laughter echoes around the building as Steven grabs the hose and charges deeper inside.

—

Steven Universe is fourteen, turned fourteen three days ago, actually, and is standing side-by-side with his father at his bathroom sink, razor held in nervous, twitchy fingers. "Like this, right?"

"Yup, just like that. Now you want to put it against your face like this-" Dad demonstrated with a razor of his own, the protective plastic casing over the blade to avoid actually maiming his beard. "And then slowly, carefully draw it down. No need to rush."

Steven draws the razor down his face in a slow but shaky motion, letting out a soft gasp of pain. "Ah!"

Dad winces in sympathy. "Well- close, yeah. You okay? How good did it get you-" He leans over his son to check without waiting for an answer. Steven let him look at the cut on his chin for a moment before reaching for the box of bandaids, his hand touching his father's hand instead of the box. They look at one another and laugh.

"Sorry," Dad apologizes as he withdrew his hand to let Steven take the box, smile sheepish. "Guess you can uh- patch up your own cuts, huh?"

"Well I mean..." He looks at the weeping cut and winces. "... Yeah, but still. Thanks."

He blinks as Steven opens the box and fishes out a bandaid. "For what?" 

"For taking time out to help me," he answers as he peeled off the paper and aligned the cotton part with the cut. "I guess I was a little eager and a little too nervous at the same time?" He laughs, a little shakily. Like his hands. "I always mess up worse when I'm like that. Too excited to do the thing and too nervous to really stop and think and steady myself so I can do it right."

His father's warm hand comes to rest on his back, and when Steven looks up and over at him, it was to kind eyes gazing down at him with a fondness beyond measure. "Everyone's a little nervous about new things. Even good things. Especially big, new things, like milestones."

Steven thinks about the way Connie smiled at him, and cuddled into his chest, and how the wind had tugged at her curls in the summer sunset. Like growing up and falling in love? he wants to ask.

"Like shaving?" he asks instead.

"Like shaving," Dad ruffles his hair. "And sometimes you make mistakes, but that's learning any skill. Your old man will always be here to help you master them, however long it takes."

Steven looks back into the mirror, at the only facial hair he'd grown and yet still somehow managed to miss.

Connie declaring she liked him even if he didn't grow at the same pace as her, would always care about him, something that felt so, so obvious in hindsight by how she panicked when she thought he'd melted into a microscopic thing.

"Even if it takes awhile?"

"Always."

He stares at their reflections, side-by-side, the hand on his back, and picks up the razor again with a smile.

"Thanks."

—

Steven Universe is sixteen and sitting across from his father at breakfast, resisting the urge to swing his feet like a child because the buzz in his brain and the core of his being won't go away.

He meant it when he told Dad he thought he could pull off the new look, he really did. Dad is Dad and will always be Dad, no matter what his hair looked like.

And it is because of that fact that his gut still aches. As his father makes small talk about the weather and Little Homeschool and some of the new Beach City gem residents, Steven finds himself staring at the short hair, especially when Dad turns to address their waitress, removing the threat of him noticing Steven staring for about a minute.

He sees the look she gives them, too. Not many people know the Universes that well, but everyone knows of them. Dad is less invisible to the fellow humans of Beach City than he is to the gems that inhabited the town to work and learn and play. While they remain oblivious to the fact that something awful must have happened, the human townies sure aren't. Their waitress's look is one of nosy worry.

Steven prays she won't act on that worry.

He likes to think that all these years together means he can read Dad like a book. Every gesture, every crease and line in his face, every widening of the eyes. Steven prides himself on reading people in general, and he knows his Dad better than he knows just about anyone else. Better than just about anyone else knows Dad, actually.

And what he reads right now are glaring signs of upset. It shows in the slight shake of his hands when he goes to cut his waffles, the lines around his eyes, the slightly-too-wide look he throws the way of the door when it suddenly opens with too much force because quartzes never know their own strength ever.

It reminds him of when they escaped the Zoo. The tremors, the fake smiles, the frightened eyes that sometimes glazed over. The realization he'd failed in his promise to make sure gem stuff never touched his dad again was something that had hit him earlier, but it doesn't make the resurfacing of that realization suck any less. His gut feels like lead, filled with so much guilt he could be sick with it.

His dad trembles a little all over as the quartzes step inside, crowing about... something he has no context for.

He desperately doesn't want anyone to call attention to it. Dad's already not having a good time. Please don't make it worse.

Thankfully their waitress does not. She sticks around for a second as Dad cuts into his breakfast, left frozen for a moment by the sudden loud entrance of the quartzes, before smiling at them and going to see what the gems might want.

His father laughs, a little too forcefully, and shakes his head. "You'd think they'd learn how light wooden doors are sometime!"

"You'd think," Steven manages to chuckle, shoveling a bite of pancakes into his mouth. It tastes like sawdust. Maybe the cook's new.

Something must have shown on his face, because Dad pauses before lowering his fork and reaching across the table. "Hey," he says softly. "Are you okay?"

He asked that question not even an hour ago and somehow it's harder to answer this time.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He forces a smile. It must not have worked, because Dad's frown only deepens and the knot in his forehead only gets more pronounced. "Really," Steven adds.

"... I know what happened this morning was- scary." Dad's grip tightens on his shoulder before letting go. He doesn't return to his food so much as push it around on his plate a little. "I know you said you were okay earlier but- really- if you need to talk-"

"No, I'm fine," Steven promises. The words fall out so easily and naturally he barely hears himself say them, doesn't have to think about it. "Really."

Dad puts his fork down and looks at him with a gaze so strongly empathetic that Steven for a moment fears his father is actually staring into his soul. "... I believe you," he said after a moment. "But if it ever suddenly becomes... not fine, come tell me, okay? I won't be bothered by it."

Steven nods, still smiling. Dad said the same thing when he kept asking after the Zoo, kept getting the same answer, but really, how wouldn't it be a bother? Dad had his own worries then, and he does now.

Dad believed him after the umpteenth time of being promised he was fine, his gentle offer always present each time but especially stressed the last time before he dropped the questioning entirely, and this time is no different.

If only he had believed Dad's promise in return.

—

Steven Universe is seventeen and curled around his phone, under his comforter, trying to ignore the sunlight against his bed.

He should get up. He should go take a shower and brush his teeth. He should get something to eat. He should go sit outside. If absolutely nothing else, he should do just that really short list.

But he can't move. He should get up. He should get up. Why can't he move? He notices a pink glow against his phone and lets out a noise somewhere between a whine and a growl.

"Schtu-ball?"

He jolts, brain taking a minute to catch up to reality. Steven pushes his comforter aside a little to peek out, his father's worried face looking back.

At the sight of him, Dad's concern melts into a smile. "Hey," he says in hushed tones. "How're you feeling?"

Like I can't even talk. He gives his father a grimace. A knot of concerned sympathy set itself in Dad's forehead.

"Want food?"

Does he? He thinks he does. He should eat something anyway. So he nods. Dad smiled at him and straightened, leaving the room.

Steven isn't sure how much time passed in a foggy haze, but it's disturbed when Dad returns. The smell of pancakes make him blink, pushing his comforter aside to sit up.

"You didn't have to-" he starts, voice cracking as his father passes him the plate. His creaky protests are immediately smothered with a very careful hug.

"I did," Dad soothes. "And I wanted to."

"But-"

"Shhh. No buts." He draws back, smoothing back Steven's hair as he sits on the edge of the bed. "Is it a talking day? Or a quiet sharing space day?"

Steven hesitates before holding up two fingers.

"You got it." The large hand begins to rub his back in circles as Steven rubs tears from his eyes. Stupid! Why is he crying!?

He's nibbling at the meal when his father adds, very quietly, "It's a lot. Sometimes things overflow. It's okay to cry. It's okay to talk. It's okay to not talk. Whatever you need, I'm here."

He turns to look at his father's face, at his dark brown eyes filled with so much love, before he rubs his eyes and begins to eat, really eat- slowly, but surely.

He leans into Dad's side.

Dad pats his back.

—

Steven Universe is eighteen. The world snaps into focus with jarring, sickening suddenness, like he just fell from one plane of existence to another. In a way, he did.

He lays there, gasping in the silence that thunders in his ears, in the thick heat settling over the room. He shudders, feeling tears track down the sides of his face, head full of cotton and fog. Where is he? What day is it? What time is it? It's dark.

He doesn't like that it's dark.

He tries to get out bed. Falls. The thud shakes the house and Steven whimpers as he tries to kick away the sheets twined around his leg, the feeling of being pinned making his stomach turn. He succeeds, flailing to his feet, opening the door to the balcony.

He hesitates, slams it shut, runs downstairs, and flees out the front door instead, taking the stairs two at a time and nearly falling his way down them.

The sea spray is a nearly welcome bite against his skin at first, but despite doing better to draw him into reality, it doesn't make the sick pit in his stomach go away. He is now wide awake, painfully wide awake, and yet every fiber of his body still shrieks sirens. His pulse is near painful.

He slows to a stop along the beachfront, doubling over, hands on his knees, breath coming in gulps and gasps.

What now?

He could go find the gems. He has full access to the temple, welcome whenever he wants.

He doesn't want to find the gems. They can't help him here.

Steven takes a moment to contemplate the trembling of his body before he admits what it is he actually needs to do, and he straightens, turning to jog back around to the boardwalk. Reaching where the wood meets the sand of the beach and the grass of the hill, he runs up the block towards the car wash, feeling his gut churn. He doesn't realize until he stops running that he'd even started, chest heaving.

He hesitates at the sight of the van before he pushes back the faint this is dumb this is dumb this is duuuuumb you're too old for this sort of shit echoing in scolding bursts from the back of his head and stands on his tiptoes to peer through the diamond window in the back of the van.

There's Dad, asleep, bundled comfortably in what was probably a more orderly setup at some point and during the night devolved into more of a nest than anything else.

Overpowering relief sweeps in like the tide he had just been running adjacent to a few minutes ago. His knees turn to jelly and a powerful burn creeps into his eyes, Steven covering his mouth and putting his back to the van, sliding to the ground and stifling as a sob. The van is icy against his back even through the random yellow shirt he'd decided to designate a pajama shirt. His hand finds his hair, grasping fingers twisting themselves into his curls, his other hand still over his mouth.

It's unusually chilly for a summer night. In two weeks he leaves for his road trip. These are random facts that have nothing especially to do with the situation and yet they're dredged to the forefront of his mind. Why?

Steven takes a moment to sit with the thought. The former is probably just because it's miserable. He's miserable. He doesn't want to be here, in this moment, right now, and the chilly night air is compounding his inner turmoil. The second...

Can he really say he's ready for this venture when just a single nightmare is enough to rip him apart like this?

It's a thought so upsetting he yanks himself away from it like touching a hot stove. His therapist would be disappointed in him for not engaging with the thought. He really doesn't have the energy to do much but hate his cowardice for a brief moment and then try to move on.

Dad. Dad is fine. Dad is safe. You can go home now.

... But he doesn't want to.

The thought makes his stomach squirm. What is he supposed to do? Wake Dad up? Bother him with the figment of his imagination? Hey Dad, I know it's like three in the morning, but funny thing- I had a dream about Eyeball and Aquamarine using that knife to do exactly what they were planning! So, how about the weather, huh?

No, he really doesn't think he had to bring that up again.

... He could wake him up without telling him details, though. Should he wake him up? Would that be selfish?

He could hear his therapist. "Steven, people love you. Let them love you. It's not a crime to accept the different ways they love you even when it inconveniences them; relationships are give and take."

Well, guess Dad's getting his money's worth, he thinks, slowly, shakily rising to his feet.

It still feels wrong. It's the reminder that Greg would be even sadder if he didn't wake him--even if Steven knows that's not the proper motivation--that makes him swallow and knock on the window, finally.

Greg jerks, sitting upright so quickly Steven can hear his back crack. This was a mistake.

But it's too late now. Greg's head turns towards where the sound came from, blearily blinking sleep from his eyes, and freezes as awareness hits. He scrambles up to his knees and Steven can hear him fumbling to crawl over to the doors, throwing them open as Steven makes his way around to the back. "Steven? Steven what-?"

"Hi Dad," he whispers around the thick lump in his throat, feeling supremely stupid, standing there shivering the way he is.

Dad makes a soft hushing noise, ushering him inside with sweeping gestures of his arms, and Steven is too weak to resist, especially since he did just wake the man up. He crawls inside, Greg immediately bundling him in one of the blankets he'd been using for sleeping before hugging him tight. Steven watches as he unsuccessfully tries to close the door without letting go of him by hooking his foot on the inside handles, but he manages it before Steven can apologize and move to do it himself.

"You're freezing!" he laments, letting go of him just enough so as to lean back and get a look at him. "What happened!?"

Feeling his father's warmth retreat even just a little leaves a yawning yearning somewhere in his center. Without giving himself time to think much more on it Steven moves forward to follow his father's movement and buries his face into the crook of his neck. "Nightmare," he croaked, willing his voice to hold and disappointed it doesn't do anything of the sort. "I just- I just had to make sure you were okay."

The tenseness in his father's form melted a little with the promise of no imminent threat, Dad reaching up with one hand to softly stroke his fingers carefully through his hair. "Oh Steven..." He felt his father's face press against his head for a moment and only half swallowed the whine that slipped out. "I'm here. Everything's okay. You need to talk about it?"

"No no nO NO DON'T PLEASE STEVEN HELP-"

He couldn't shake his head, buried against him like this, but he untangled his hands from the blanket enough to fist them in his father's shirt. You can feel his pulse like this. This is him. He's okay. He's alive. They didn't hurt him. You didn't let them. He found a way out, and you made sure they didn't go into the house after him, and then the gems squashed them outside.

"... I can't," he pleads. His father's arms squeeze him tighter.

"Writing?" comes the soft suggestion.

"Not this time. Not-"

Would he be ready to share this anytime soon?

... No, he can't promise that. He can't say 'later' when he didn't know when that would be. It would be too much like lying.

"Not yet. Dunno if soon."

"Okay," Dad soothes. He begins rubbing circles into his back. "Do you want to stay the night?"

"... Do you mind?" His voice sounds pathetic even to him.

"Never," he promises.

Steven swallows back a sob with a gulp and nuzzles his face into Dad's shoulder. His father's chest begins to vibrate as Greg starts to hum; a low, soft, gentle white noise he's heard a million times.

And will a million more, Steven realizes.

And will a million more.

Steven lets the heavy tension begin to leave, feels the coiled bands in his muscles loosen.

He lets his heavy lids finally close.

The rest of the world melts quietly away.

[texasthegreatdestroyer]

So, I don't usually do these, because I always felt that shipping oc's with characters from other fan works was socially frowned upon, but since I've been seeing a few of these around, I'll give it a shot. My OC shipped with Auron.

Auron x Texas.

Yes, Auron's current partner in crime, rather he'd liked to admit it or not. Their meeting was rather... comedic. Auron didn't really notice his co worker until he accidentally rested the elbow of his sheifed arm on her head. She was very short, Her height being 4'8. He looked down to find a short, albino girl with wolf ears, and a tail. The whole package. Everything else looked human, she just had a few furry parts to her. Another key thing about her is that she always came off as the, "edgy" type, for her preference in black lipstick, and eyeliner. When he did get to know her, Auron has always found her annoyingly chipper, and overly friendly. The two attended a funeral together once, and she wouldn't stop smiling. Seriously. How does someone smile that much at a funeral??? Auron asked her about it.

Her response: Usually when people die, they don't want people to mourn over them, there for I choose not to mourn.

She wasn't entirely wrong, speaking from his own experiences, however it wasn't exactly the majority opinion, as Auron had to keep the wife of the dead man from trying to punch Tex in the face. Tex was almost always very clingy in the irritating and physical sense. She liked hugging a lot. She would hug Auron everytime she'd see him, and it usually would last 5 minutes before he would have to eventually pull her off. As time went on, and they grew closer, Auron started to notice that something was very wrong with Texas. Her extremely chipper personality was used to hide some dark, twisted thoughts, feelings, and even experiences. He came to this realization when he went to visit her one night, and she didn't answer her door. She lived in a dormitory like area, where there was the bedroom, and then a small room next to it that was a kitchen, and the bathroom being against the the smaller side of the rectangular kitchen. It was a nice little place for someone who likes living alone, but it had its downsides, like paper thin walls. You could hear the inhabitants, and they most likely can hear you as well. After a minute or two of waiting, just as he turned to leave, Auron was startled by the sound of soft, female sobbing, coming from Tex's dorm. He knew for a fact that if Tex was crying, which he had never actually seen her do, something was horribly wrong. He immediately opened the door to find a mess waiting for him. Texas sat their curled up in a ball, hands grabbing at her hair and pulling, make up smeared, wrists bleeding from self inflicted bites. Scattered around her were drawings of morbid, violent, and just horrid depictions, along with words scribbled over them along the lines of, "Worthless", "Dead", "No Future", "I'm nothing." A common sign of depression. If there was one thing Auron always knew about Tex is that she had a talent for art. She did this thing that she called a web comic. Auron, not really being kept up in technology, never really knowing what it was, let alone reading it, thought nothing of it, but he had seen her art, and it was phenomenal. It really opened his eyes to what she truly was when he saw that beauty and talent turned into something so ugly and self degrading. When Tex finally noticed him, her reaction was just to try to hide herself in the comfort of her knees. Auron began snooping around, and grabbing rags, then pried Tex's hands from her head, and wrapped her wrist.

Auron: Moron. What were you thinking???

Texas: ...

Auron pulled her into an embrace, still holding the rags to her wrist.

Auron: Would you like to talk about why you bit yourself up like this? Or the sketches for that matter?

Texas: I-I don't know what to do! My art! My comic! I- the deadline to get chapter 9 out is tomorrow, and I thought I could just push through it in a day with enough effort, but I don't even have content! I don't have a script! I have no story, no art for chapter 9! I'm a fuck up! I'm stupid! I'm nothing! I-... I'm so sorry... you shouldn't have had to see me like this...

Auron: It's fine. You're human after all. I expect you to have emotions, breaking points. As for your problems. Tex, the comic is just a for fun thing, right?

Texas: Yeah...

Auron: Great. Take some time off until you get over your writer's block. The timely fashion of updates doesn't matter, the quality does. If you can't produce anything good, then step back and take a break. It's obvious that it's affecting your mental health. This will make you hate what you do, so step back from it. Take a break.

Texas: You're right, I've just... meh.

Auron: Don't be afraid to show your emotions around me. It shows me that you are human.

That night, Auron didn't leave Tex's side, mainly out of fear for what she might do when she's alone. This opened a pathway for future sleep overs. Auron didn't share his bed with many, but with Tex, it had become routine, and he didn't mind. He actually liked the cuddles. A few months later, he receives a message from Tex. That night, she wasn't with him, she decided to stay at her place to do some cleaning.

Message received at 1:23 am:

Texas: Hey. Are you awake?

Auron: I wasn't until you woke me. -_-

Texas: Oh sorry. I forgot that your ringtone is up all the way usually... I'm sorry. XD

Auron: This better be important if it warrants you texting me at one in the morning...

Texas:...

Auron: It's not that important, is it?

Texas: ... No comment...

Auron: Tex...

Texas: I'll leave you alone then.

Auron: Why do you do this!? Spit it out! I'm already awake!

Texas: Are you sure? It can wait until tomorrow.

Auron: Tex. Spit. It. Out...

Texas: I can't! You're making me nervous!XI

Auron: Why would you be nervous?

Texas: Because it's kinda personal...

Auron: Okay. Pretend I'm not here. Say what you have to say.

Texas: ... that is so unaffective when I'm staring directly at that message...

Auron: Point taken. Just tell me.

Texas: Okaaaaay! ...

The icon at the bottom that says that Tex is typing stays that way for 5 minutes.

Auron: So?

Texas: Okay. Here goes nothing. And when I say that, I mean here goes everything I could possibly hold dear in my life. XD

Auron: Are you going to say what I think you're going to say?

Texas: I would really really really REALLY like to punch you in the face!

Auron: Okay, that's not where I thought you were going with this.

Texas: With my face, gently... I Love you! You are amazing, and wise, and sweet, even when you hide it under your protective layers! I simply love you. End of story. And I was wondering if you would allow me to take you out to dinner! I'm going to go cry now, because I feel like I'm dying XD

Auron: I stand corrected...

Auron: O//_//O...

Auron: No.

Texas: No?

Auron: No.

Texas: Okay then... What? No reason why? Like I'm cool with it, if you don't like me like that, but still. At least give me a reason...

Auron: Okay. I'll tell you exactly why. Yeah. I like you. I think you're cute. However, I don't appreciate you waking me up at 1 in the morning to text me with a confession. You want a relationship? Fine, but take initiative and tell me to my face. Quit being a coward. -_-

Texas: Ouch. My feel goods. Anyways, I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow man. Sorry about this...

Auron: It's fine :) Sleep well, Tex.

Texas: You too bro <3

After Auron and Tex finish messaging each other, Auron goes back to sleep. The next day is pretty amusing. Auron waits for his partner. Half expecting she hopes to forget about the previous night. Auron hears running behind him, and turns to find Tex in a suit and tie running up to hi., screaming, "I love you, you sexy, sexy son of a gun!" She knocks his feet out from under him, and steals a very, very passionate kiss, but soon afterwards, causing Auron and Tex both to fall over to the ground. Because her tiny frame is too much for his bigger, heavier frame. Luckily Texas's arm was under Auron's head when they fell, so no brain damage was caused to the older male. Texas turns to Auron, half expected to be heated, and she wasn't wrong, just heated in a different sense. Auron's face was bright red, slight tears to his eyes, he bursts out laughing, black lipstick smeared on his lips.

Texas: What? You told me to take initiative!

His laughter fades to a light chuckle, and then he stops.

Auron: Wow. That was... cheesy.

Texas: Also clearly failed...

Auron: (Still catching his breath.) No it didn't.

Texas: So it actually worked!?!? YAY!

Auron: Just don't do that again. You took us both out in the process.

Auron pulls Tex into his lap, and the two share a proper kiss.

Auron: See. That in of it's self is enough for me.

Texas: Yeah, but it wouldn't be a confession from me if it wasn't stupidly cheesy and didn't make you smile.

Auron: It's missing something though.

Texas: And that is?

Auron: The amazing pick up line from last night.

Texas: Ah yes, you have good taste, my kind, gentle sir. I would really.

Auron: Yes?

Texas: Really.

Auron: Go on.

Texas: Really.

Auron:...

Texas: Really!

Auron: Hopefully this is the last, "Really."

Texas: Like to punch you in the face. With my face gently, romantically, and in other places besides your face.

Auron: Okay. Okay. Calm down. We haven't even had dinner yet...

Texas: Exactly. Dinner.

Auron is very flustered at his now girlfriend's sense of humor. Safe to say, they had a very romantic evening together. ;3

This is my contribution to OC x Fan work Characters. Hope you enjoyed!

[franeridart]

Happy 1000th post to one off my absolute favorite artists on Tumblr!

This is it!!! The 1k post on this blog!!! It’s me finally getting my ass into gear and answering the asks in my inbox!!! As good charm in hope of not waiting so long from now on hahaha thank you so so much, by the way!!!! :D

Anon said:LITERALLY YOUR TODOROKI IS THE BEST THING IN THIS CRUEL WORLD I LIVE THE WAY U DRAW HIM IM EMOTIONAL HHECK ALSO ALL THE REST OF UR ART IS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD ITS SO NICE UR CHARACTERS ARE LIKE VERY LONG NOODLES THEYRE GOOD™

THANK YOU FOR EVERY KIND WORD AND ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE TODOROKI ONES HOLY SMOKES!!! I don’t draw him much sadly but he’s super fun and comfortable to draw for me, it’s nice to know he also comes out well!!!

Anon said:So like,,, I really miss your bokuroo ;^; Will you ever post with them again???

I haven’t taken a vow that forces me to never draw them again, so, possibly! At the moment posting for the haikyuu fandom is giving me more sad feelings than anything else though, so I can’t promise that’s gonna be any time soon, I’m sorry 

Anon said:bruhh i listened to that chiodos song under ur halo, and that one by memphis may fire that was w that bakugo art that was called not enough and uhhhhh ur music taste is dope care to share some more songs?

SURE I’m glad you liked those! Everything by Memphis is A+ and I love it so if you haven’t you should check out more stuff by them ( No Ordinary Love is super nice, That’s Just Life is very dear to me and so is Divinity, Speechless is… my otp song for every otp ever tbh) -  Bring Me The Horizon is my fav post-hardcore band and both MMF and Chiodos are that genre so if you don’t know them give them a try! (Blasphemy, Run and Doomed are between my faves out of the latest album, and since you liked Under Your Halo you’re probably gonna like Follow You too) the album right before is amazing too if you’re okay with less melodic stuff, but the further back you go with BMtH the harder to listen to they get, just a heads up - Sleeping With Sirens are on the softer side of post-hardcore lately, Fly, Left Alone, Trouble, Fire and Empire To Ashes are some great ones, between the many, and, uhhhh, at this point I might have recced Nothing More a hundred times but let’s make it a hundred and one, try Funny Little Creatures, Do You Really Want It and Go To War out of the newest album! If you’re into punk and female voices you should check out Tonight Alive too, Jenna has one of my two fav female voices in rock right now (Crack My Heart and Temple are the latest two songs out!) and since I always rec stuff but I never rec anything by my favorite band ever, you ever heard of Alter Bridge? They’re more towards hard-rock/alternative metal, but check out Blackbird, Fortress, I Know It Hurts, Cradle To The Grave and Broken Wings just to make it one for every album I really, really adore this band and everything they ever made

Anon said:I adore all of your art, especially your bnha art!!! I had so many of your drawings saved to my drafts before I read the manga and was really looking forward to catching up so I could look at them all!! They’re all fantastic

AHHH THANK YOU!!! This made me smile lots, I’m so glad you like them!!!

Anon said:What’s coming up? Fluffy, dorky or angsty? (I’m talking about your next work XD just to be sure) Have a great day my friend!

LMAO this was about this one right? I’m sort of a fool honestly cause as I drew it it… didn’t feel actually all that angsty to me? I mean, obviously it doesn’t come after anything happy, but they’re working things out! Making an effort! Loving each other enough to try and understand each other better!! I drew it as something positive but in hindsight I should have expected the reactions lmao so I honestly dunno, I feel like telling you it’s most probably gonna be something happy but as it seems I angst without even realizing, lately #rip

@not-enough-kaneki​ said:Pass the happy! 💛 When you get this, reply with 5 things that make you happy and send this to the last 10 people in your notifications! 😊

!!!!! my cats!!!! tea and coffee!!! Bakugou and Kirishima and Bakugou-and-Kirishima and the squad!!!! not having an headache!!!!!! the sound of ocean waves and the sun on winter days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! new music I like!!!!!! nice asks and lovely tags under my art!!!! that’s more than five things but a lot of stuff makes me happy tbh !!!

Anon said:one of my favorite parts (i love every bit of it) of the holiday pic you drew of the squad, is they each have their own personal mug. 10/10

I didn’t think you’d be able to notice Mina’s!!! I’m glad it was visible, I thought I had made it disappear into the background hahaha thank you!!!

Anon said:i just went through your entire kiribaku tag and, honestly, gay (also ur art is soooo good and pure and thank u so much for all the content u make for bnha 💖💖)

It is very gay, isn’t it? The other day I was going through my old stuff and I think I might have slowly turned them mushier oh my hahaha I’m glad you like my stuff, by the way!! Thank you so so so so much!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Thank you for sharing the beautiful Bakusquad Christmas! It’s very colorful and warm & it gives me such a comforting feeling! I love looking at all the details! Kami & Sero’s ribbons, everyone’s mugs, the decorations, all so cute! Especially Mina’s bulletin board with the photos, charms of the boys, & the little alien dude (?) Each time I look at it, I see other cute details!! Sorry to bother you, but thanks again for sharing your art with us! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!!!!!

It’s not a bother at all!!! Thank you so so much for looking at it long enough to notice all those details!!!!

Anon said:You are so good at giving advice omg

I wouldn’t say I’m especially good at it, I just say what was useful to me lol but thank you! It’s a nice thing to be told

Anon said:Dude, your bakusquad drawings are awesome! Keep up the great work!

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!! I’m super glad you like them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:The new chapter made me think about Bakugou dealing with his squad as babies all over again. Toddlers would probably be worse.

Depends?? Actually??? Like, at least toddlers aren’t gonna steal his gauntlets and tell him he’s lame and punch him just for the hell of it and be a bunch of smartasses and assholes like. Compared to this bunch of baby-Bakugous he has to deal with in the new arc maybe the squad as toddlers would actually be refreshing lol

Anon said:Um I have a very real crush on ila? Can we please know more about her??

I’m ??? so happy you like her!!!!! I don’t wanna say too much about her cause until I draw her in comics I won’t be too sure about who she really is, but she’s!! a pianist, very tall and sorta insecure about her physical appearance, very soft spoken, incredibly gay, scared of sensory deprivation of any kind. Her full name is Ilaria! Dav calls her Aria, which means air in Italian~ they’re pretty good friends, I have a comic about that I’ve been meaning to draw…

Anon said:So, you like KiriBaku with songs, so what do you think of You Had Me At Hello by A Day to Remember? Particularly the lines, “What have I gotten into this time around, I know that I had sworn I’d never trust anyone again, but I didn’t have to. You had me at hello. I’ve never seen a smile that can light a room like yours, it’s simply radiant, I feel more with every day that goes by.”

s o f t…………. ;; also incredibly fitting considering Bakugou decided Kirishima was his new favorite hero the second time he spoke to him, like, god bless I love those two s o m u ch this one I’m listening to it right now and having feelings (is it Baku to Kiri? Kiri to Baku? why not both for double the feels)

Anon said:Hey Fran!! Have you been keeping up with haikyuu? If so what do you think about the Miya twins? (Personally I think they’re pretty okay, they’re funny when they interact with each other. My favorite of the two is Osamu haha)

I don’t mind them! My fav out of Inari is Kita tho, have to admit - that said I have… sort of been ready for this game to be over for months, now………………

Anon said:Okay but imagine….. Kirishima with freckles

I’ve drawn that, now and again!!! the latest one was this one, and another one I remember is this one :D I’ve been liking the idea of him with freckles even more since it’s become official his hair isn’t naturally red? So now and again I add them in, even though they’re usually not much noticeable haha I do so with Bakugou too from time to time, actually… and the rest of the squad… I just… love freckles a lot… haha

Anon said:Love the squad, love the squad kisses.

HECK YES the goal is to draw at least one smooch for every couple sooner or later !!!

Anon said:I hadn’t even realize that I stuck around for a whole year OwO, anyways, congratulations! Your art style has improved much more than you think, especially since you’ve gotten more into coloring ^o^ I noticed that you’ve also been doing more complicated poses too, so, it’s the little stuff that counts ♥️👍 Hope to see more spontaneous art next year, love you Fran!

THANK YOU SO MUCH I love you lots too??? honestly??? This ask means the whole world to me, I really can’t see much improvement after all but knowing you can DOES help a whole damn lot

Anon said:So I came across this fanfic where Uraraka and Todoroki were a thing. I’m personally not a fan of this rare pair, but the whole scenario was the cutest thing ever. Todoroki basically asks Uraraka to help him confess to Midoriya, but in the process falls in love with her instead.

Awwww that sounds cute! Can’t say I have any particular feelings about the ship, but I am up for Todoroki with nearly anyone so why not!

Anon said:Bro bro bro I’m sorry if this is the wrong channel to go through or something but holy shit I just spent hours going through your entire tumblr and your. Art. And. Concepts. I… can’t??? DUDE YOU’RE AMAZING AND YOUR TATTOO AU!! I?? Just thank you so much for all the awesome work you do honestly made my entire fuckin week with your blog, you are WICKED GOOD AND FUNNY AF. That’s all I got go on with your day you talented ass fiend

I’M CRYING!!! OH MY GOD THANK YOU!!!!!!! I’m gonna pick this ask and frame it right on top of my desk!! The heck!!!!!!

Anon said:Why is Bakugou such a fuckin meme

The real question is why is everyone in class 1A a meme. How do they even keep up. How much of the shit they say on a day to day basis is actually just catchphrases from other 1A kids repeated over and over again. How much of the deadpan ridiculous shit Todoroki says has become an inside-joke. How many 1A kids move and talk like Iida just for the hell of it. How often do they yell DIE at inanimate stuff when it pisses them off. How much stuff is defined as manly even though it has nothing to do with manliness. Do they say “going wheey” instead of “frying one’s brain”. Can anyone outside of 1A even understand them when they speak at this point.

Anon said:You are amazing human bean and I love you 💖 Keep being great ✨👏

Thank you??? ;O; I’ll do my best!!!

Anon said:Just annonly passing by to tell you I F'ing love your take on Ashido And the Kids XD … Way to much fluff And laugh for my heart

THANK YOU!!! I’m happy I can make you laugh!!!! :D :D :D

Anon said:I love you god bless you and your art! THANK YOU!

NAH THANK YOU FOR BEING THIS NICE!!!

Anon said:Hi! I absolutely /adore/ your BakuKiriKami art! I was wondering if you had any headcanons about them/what inspires you to draw them?

More than headcanons for them I have an incredible amount of scenarios I’d like to see them in! And when they’re compact, complete things I usually draw them, which is what inspires me really haha that, and seeing them interact in the manga! Lately I’ve been really drawn to Bakugou and Kaminari’s friendship, actually, so the romantic stuff has fallen in the background while my mind is preoccupied with thinking about them as platonic good pals ahhhhhhh as soon as I’ll work through it I’ll probably get back to drawing them as romantics, that’s just how my mind works lol

Anon said:I love the casual clothes you design for MHA characters! And I really enjoy reading your headcanons-always creative and fun! Is there anything you’d add to anyone’s hero costumes in class 1-A (something that might prove useful/practical for them, or something you’d add just for the heck of it)? Sorry if this is a stupid question or if you’ve answered a similar question before. Thanks for your time!

It’s not a stupid question, don’t worry!! But I generally like to leave myself in Horikoshi’s hands for this sort of stuff, since I both enjoy the costumes as they are AND don’t want to be disappointed in case what I hope for doesn’t actually happen - that said, I’ve mentioned before that I’d really like Aoyama to get redirectors for his laser on his palms and for Kaminari to get a close combat weapon, since with the quirk he has anything metal would actually work wonders for him! He mentioned a sword, but I rest my case that tonfas would be cool, I really want him to use tonfas. A “costume” I don’t understand is Hagakure’s, by the way - would be nice if she got an actual costume and also I don’t really get why she’d wear gloves at all?? Mirio’s costume was made using his hair, I really want her to get something similar! That’s about it tho, I haven’t really thought much about anyone else in that sense~ 

Anon said:Hello! A few weeks ago I asked about the bracelets you drew for Baku & Kiri. (That art is so beautiful!!) I was wondering if there’s a story behind them; such as, did one of them buy the pair, or did they pick them out together? I’m sorry if it’s a dumb question and if I’m bothering you.

THIS ASK I had lost it, thank you so much for sending it my way again! Actually, Kirishima bought it for himself and Bakugou - I mean to draw a small thing for it, be patient with me while I try to get my ass into gear for it ;O;

Anon said:It’s been a while since you’ve done any BakuKiriKami, do you still like that ship?

I do - as I said a few answers above this one, I’m just finding myself weirdly invested in a platonic relationship between Bakugou and Kaminari at the moment, and also Bakushima stole my focus and soul, but I do still like the ship a whole damn lot, definitely still my fav ot3 in the manga~

Anon said:I love your drawings so much, they always make my day seeing them. But I gotta say that kiri with his hair down is my weakness. He just looks so pure, the cuteness factor goes through the roof.

Thank you???? The Kiri thing is true for canon Kiri too, I’m glad I can bring it in my art!!! Mostly cause when I draw him with his hair down I’m never really sure what the hell I’m doing, I’ll be honest with you lmao

Anon said:hello, holy fUCKin shit how are you this damn good at drawing? like, fuck? thank you, bless you, have a nice day

THANK YOU! And all I do is draw, really lmao I wouldn’t say I’m all that good, definitely not anywhere near the artists I admire, but since all I can do is draw as long as I keep doing that I guess I’ll get there, sooner or later hahaha

[djgamek1ng]

Log Horizon: To Fade Away (OC story) - Chapter 1

Damon found himself regaining consciousness. When he opened his eyes though he saw something strange. A world so alien, yet so familiar. A world he had been exploring for the last year or so. A world… that wasn’t his room. He was in Theldesia.

“What in the blue blazes?”, he said while looking around. He looked towards his own body to examine it. First thing he noticed, he was considerably closer to the ground than he used to be, and his arms looked a lot stronger. He felt his chin and there was facial hair. Not that he didn’t have any before, but this was a lot more robust and went all the way around his mouth. “What the hell is going on”, he said as he was still looking around. When he let go of his chin, he suddenly saw an interface pop up, Elder Tale’s interface. “…Oh”, was his only reaction. He started going through the menus after trying to touch it and realizing that they are indeed menus, while he sat down on the ground.

“Ah, the log out button! Let’s do- of course it doesn’t work. What did I expect?”, he thought. He looked at the top right of the menus and saw his status screen. He looked at the picture and the name. He just let out a big sigh, since he realized what it meant. “I’ve become my Elder Tale character, huh? Welp, time to get used to being called Duran”, he thought. He navigated the menus further and eventually found his skills, which were the same as he last checked them out before the expansion launched, and he found his friends list. Gaia – Online, StarrySky – Online, Osburn – Offline. “Erin and Faye are here too? And Ren isn’t. It might’ve been only people that were online when the expansion dropped then, since I remember that Ren wasn’t and the other two were. Well, let’s get in touch with them”, he said as he clicked on Gaia.

Voice call started to try and grab a hold of her. Few seconds later: “D-Damon? Damon is that you?”, Gaia said. “Yeah, it is me. Hey”, he said back. “What… what is going on? Why are we in Akihabara? Why am I my Elder Tale character?”, she said with panic in her voice. “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure stuff out and more than ‘we are inside Elder Tale’ hasn’t been figured out”, he said trying to cheer her up a bit. It worked; she sounded a lot less panicked. “Where are you Damon? I’m just kind of walking around”, she asked. “I’m on top of a building. It actually isn’t too far from the building we took the screenshot”, he added. “Oh, I’ll go to that building then! I’ll see you in a bit”, she replied. “See you. I’ll contact Faye in the meantime”, he said as he hung up.

He clicked on StarrySky. Voice call started to try and reach her. She picked up and immediately: “WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING DAMON?!”, she yelled. “Ow, my ears”, he said. “I’m sorry, but I’m kind of FREAKING THE HELL OUT. What is happening?!”, she said back. “I don’t know. Wish I could tell you the answer, but I can’t. Anyway, Erin is also here in Akihabara”, he said. “She is? Is she okay?”, she asked. “She seems fine from as far I could tell over voice calls, but I won’t exactly know until I see her”, he replied. “Right, right. Got a place in mind to meet up?”, she asked him. “Yeah. Remember where we took the screenshot? We’ll meet up there. I told Erin to come there too”, he said. “Good, I’ll come right to there”, she said, and she hung up immediately. “Right, let’s get moving”, he said as he started walking towards the meet up place.

Immediately as he tried walking, the first issue for Duran reared its head. He fell on his face after walking a couple steps. “What the?”, he thought. “Why did that...? Oh… oh no”, he thought as he stood back up. “I’m much shorter than I used to be since I’m a Dwarf now. Dammit! Well, let me take this slowly but surely I guess…”, he thought as he continued walking towards the meet up place. He fell quite a few more times on the way there because he was not used to this body with a much shorter stature.

He had arrived by the place as the last of the three. He had quite the scratches on him, but nothing that wouldn’t heal by itself. “He- O-oh”, Faye said. “Hey there, you two”, he said back. “Right… gotta get used to your new look”, Faye said. “You are so cute Damon!”, Erin said while kneeling a bit to look closer at him. “Don’t… don’t call me cute”, he said. “But you are so cute, it is unfair! I have to be in these revealing clothes, and you get to be cute?!”, Erin responded. It was then when he truly noticed her outfit. It was unusual for Erin to be in such clothing. “R-right. Anyway, let’s talk. We need to come up with some sort of plan… or at least we have to think about what we want to do”, he said. They took place in front of the building, sitting on the ground.

D: So… well then, we are in Elder Tale it seems. E&F: You are being way too calm about this. D: Huh? F: Seriously, you accept that we are stuck inside a video game that easily?! E: Yeah… it is kind of weird and you aren’t freaking out at all? D: Well, no. F: WHY?! D: Because what is the point? E&F: Huh? D: Let’s be real here, whatever or whoever put us in here isn’t going to magically let us leave. While yeah, it is real strange that we are here, it is best to remain calm and not lose yourself over all this. F: I guess you do have a point there. E: But… but what about where we came from? You know, the real world? Aren’t you worried about there? D: Of course I am. I wanna go home just as much, but like I said just now, we aren’t going to get out of here that easily. If someone or something wants us here, we will keep being here for however long they want to keep us here. E: Hmm… F: Can’t say I can argue with that? D: Say… did either of you make your characters much different than your real-life bodies? F: No, not really. Different hair style, different hair color, different eye color, but aside from that I kept it fairly close to myself. Why? D: Well, with me being a Dwarf and all… I’ve obviously gotten shorter by quite a bit compared to my real-life self. F: Ooooh, right! D: Yeah, and so moving isn’t the easiest yet. I have to still get adjusted to the much shorter body of a Dwarf. Complete with me tripping a bunch. E: Yeah, I’ve noticed it too. F: Huh? E: I’m a bit taller in real-life and there are a bunch of smaller differences as well, so it is a bit weird getting adjusted to this body. D: What are those smaller differences? E: W-well… I’m a bit skinnier in here than in-real life and… u-uh… D: Hm? E: I-it’s a girl thing, don’t worry about it. F: Y-yeah, no, I totally get what you mean. Don’t worry about it, Damon, it isn’t that important. D: Fair enough. Though that gets me to another point: names. E: W-what do you mean? D: We are now in the game, right? No doubt you would’ve already seen the user interface at this point. F: Yeah, what about it? D: Well, on the user interface it doesn’t display our real names. It displays the names of our characters. Maybe it might be handier to call each other by that? E: Hmm… I can agree there. Though, hold on. (Grabs her notebook, a bottle of ink and a quill) D: What’s that for? E: I want both of you to write your real names in here, along with me, so we won’t forget that part of ourselves if we are stuck in here for a long time. F: Oooooh, that is smart Er- I mean, Gaia! D: Yeah, that’s a good idea! Good thinking! E: Hehe, thanks!

As they all wrote their names in the book, they started thinking about what next. “We probably wanna avoid combat for today”, Gaia brought up. Duran nodded in agreement. “Wait, why?”, Sky asked. “Well, you are the only one out of us three that can currently fight without any trouble, and that is assuming combat doesn’t work like how it did when this was a game”, Gaia said. “The two of us aren’t used to these bodies yet, so we could be killed because we could trip for example”, she added to that. “Right, you have a point there. But what then? What are we gonna do with the rest of today? You two probably noticed that the rest of the town is in complete disarray”, Sky responded. This left both Duran and Gaia thinking. “You’ve got a point there. Hmm… Actually, I wanna try something”, Duran said. “What is that?”, Gaia asked. Duran reached behind his back and pulled his sword out and held it in an aggressive stance towards Sky. “W-w-what the hell are you doing?!”, both Gaia and StarrySky asked. All Duran said was “Like I thought” when he saw a portal open in the sky. Out of the portal came a Royal Guard, ready to stop the aggression. Duran put his sword back in its sheath and just as quickly as he appeared, the Royal Guard disappeared. “That is what I wanted to try out. They are still here”, Duran said with a slight grin on his face.

“WHAT THE F**K IS WRONG WITH YOU?!”, Sky yelled as she slapped him quite hard. In fact, the slap was so hard that it actually knocked Duran off his feet and knocked him a few feet further. He lost 37 HP from it as well. “O-ouch…”, he said as he stood back up. He looked up in the sky to see if that triggered the Royal Guard again. Nothing. “Interesting”, he thought. He walked back. “What is wrong with me? I wanted to know if the Royal Guard still existed and on what would make them trigger to come here”, he said when he had walked back. “You could’ve just said so instead of just drawing your sword and pointing it to me!”, Sky yelled back. “Y-yeah, that was really uncalled for Dam- I mean, Duran!”, Gaia added in. “I could’ve and I probably should’ve, but regardless I wasn’t going to harm you. If anything, had we needed more testing, I was going to harm – or at least, got close to harming – myself. Your point stands though, I’m sorry”, he said. “Well, now we know. They activate when they think people are being aggressive”, Sky said. “Not entirely. It is specifically about aggression with whatever weapon you have. Magic also counts I’m assuming. When you slapped me just now, no Royal Guard”, Duran said. Both Gaia and Sky were shocked, but they realized he was right. “Huh, that’s true. Did you lose any HP from that by the way?”, Sky asked. “Yeah, around 30 or so. Nothing too bad”, he replied. “Oh! We can try out healing magic and buffing magic actually! Those won’t trigger the Guard!”, Gaia spoke up. “That’s very true actually”, Duran replied.

“Let me try!”, Gaia said as she stood up and looked through her magic spells. She had found the spell and grabbed her staff. “Healing Light!”, she shouted as she casted the spell. It healed Duran’s 37 HP back and it looked nice. The skill was mostly a white light around Gaia’s hand and the same color light around Duran’s body. It removed any visibly wounded spots and made it so that they didn’t hurt anymore. “You had to go through the menu, huh?”, Sky asked. Gaia nodded. “Seems… impractical”, Sky added. “Yeah, that wouldn’t be practical at all for combat. Hmmm… Let me try a skill”, Duran said. He grabbed his sword, making sure he was turned away from his friends. He scrolled through the skill menu as well. He clicked on the skill. “Aura of Hate!”, he shouted as he used the skill. He had his sword in front of him as he said that. The skill made a blue aura appeared around Duran and it radiated blue light in an area around him. Then both of those faded. “Huh, so that’s how it feels”, he said as he sheathed his sword. “Yeah, kind of a rush huh?”, Gaia asked. “Well, less that – though you are right – and more that in skills that used to have a longer animation when this was a game, you actually can’t move in the middle of them”, he replied. “Wait, so you couldn’t move your muscles when preforming that skill just now?”, Sky chimed in. “Yeah, it felt like the game took control over my body for a bit… strange”, he replied. “I wanna try something then”, Sky said. Duran stepped aside, standing over where Gaia was. Sky took out her two swords. However, unlike the other two, she didn’t go to the menu. She shouted, “Quick Step!”, and with a blur of motion she moved a couple meters forward.

“It is like I thought then”, Sky said when she was done with the skill. “What is?”, Gaia asked. “Duran mentioned that he wasn’t able to move when using the skill, right? Like the game was making him move?”, Sky asked. “Yeah, I did say that”, Duran said. “Well… to put it simply, you don’t wanna be using the menu for your skills. You can activate them without it by just doing the motion of the skill”, she said. Duran looked confused for a bit. He knew what he heard and what those words meant; he just wasn’t sure about the logistics behind it. “Hmmm… Let me try”, Gaia said. She raised her hand and a similar light appeared on her hand, though this time it was pale blue. She shouted out, “Cure!”, and the light surrounded Sky. The spell was finished casting. “That felt a lot better… wow”, Gaia remarked. Duran stood up and unsheathed his sword once more. Now he at least understood what Sky meant. “Do the motion and the skill will come out”, he mumbled at himself. He had his sword in front of him, pointing upward, then in a swift motion turned it and stabbed it into the ground as he said, “Hallowed Ground!” The ground around him lit up with white light and he felt that while in it, his body felt sturdier. “Now that… that is really cool!”, he said. “Told ya so!”, Sky shouted. He started laughing. “Now, come on! Pick up your sword and let’s go eat something! I’m starving honestly”, Sky said. He hadn’t realized that he hadn’t even picked up his sword yet. “Oh, right. Hold on, I’ll be right there”, he said. He picked up his sword, put it back in its sheath and walked over to the girls.

“So, apparently doing skills yourself doesn’t put you into animation lock”, Duran said. “Wait, really?”, Gaia asked. “Yeah. In the animation of Hallowed Ground when this was still a game, the character would put their weapon against the ground – in a sword’s case, literally stab it in – and then take the weapon and go back into their battle stance. That was at least if you let the whole animation play out. I, however, was able to leave my sword in the ground and move, right?”, he said. “Yeah, I even called out for you to grab your sword”, Sky said. “You did and that’s why I realized it. I didn’t automatically do it like the game’s animation would have made me”, he replied.

“Interesting. Anyway, let’s eat something!”, Sky said, very happily pulling out a peanut butter sandwich and a bottle of apple juice out of her magic bag. “Yeah, let’s!”, Gaia said, pulling out a ham and lettuce sandwich and a bottle of chocolate milk out of her own magic bag. Duran sat down next to them (they were sitting in a small circle) and pulled out a bottle of orange juice and a grilled cheese sandwich. “Enjoy your meal!”, the three of them said in unison and they each took a bite. The whole party looked at each other, making sure that they weren’t the only ones experiencing this. Duran was the first to swallow it down. “This… this is Hell”, he said as threw away the sandwich and started groveling. The other two had swallowed their food. Gaia continued eating, though she wasn’t enjoying her sandwich. “C’mon… it isn’t that bad”, Sky said to Duran. “Oh, but it is. A world where food is without taste might as well be Hell. What did I do to deserve this?! I’ve been as good as I can be, I’ve helped others when needed, I’ve been respectful to people!”, he said as he lamented this fate. Sky rolled her eyes and took another bite. Despite the taste not changing, this hit her harder. Duran stopped groveling and took a sip of his orange juice. No flavor there either. It was just water. This was significantly less disappointing than the food not having flavor, but it still felt weird. Gaia took a sip of her chocolate milk. She looked up, staring forward with completely zero emotion on her face. “A-are you okay, Gaia?”, Duran asked. “You are right. This place is Hell”, she responded. “Wait, what? You are agreeing with that nonsense?!”, Sky said. “This world makes it so chocolate milk doesn’t have flavor… Yes, I’m agreeing with Duran because what sick monster would do such a thing?!”, Gaia replied. “You two are acting so childish! This isn’t Hell. We will get through this, together. We will find a way to make food taste like it should and we will make a way to make chocolate milk taste like chocolate milk again!”, Sky said in the hopes of rallying the other two’s spirits. The other two were both groveling. “Come on you guys!”, Sky shouted. The rest of the day had passed. The trio decided to go to one of the inns for the night. The bar that inn had was about half full. They approached the innkeeper. “Hey there, what can I do for ya?”, he said. “H-hi, we would like three rooms please!”, Gaia responded. The innkeeper said, “That can be arranged. One room per person I assume?”. “Yup, you got that right”, Sky chimed in. Duran nodded. Gaia tilted her head slightly, looking at the innkeeper a bit confused. The innkeeper grabbed three keys and gave one to each. “Anything else I can do for ya?”, the innkeeper asked. “I think we’re good. Thanks a lot man”, Duran replied. “It’s no problem. Have a good night”, the innkeeper replied. “Y-you too, sir”, Gaia said. “Thank you kindly, miss”, the innkeeper said as they walked to their rooms. Gaia started thinking. “What’s on your mind?”, Sky asked. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it”, Gaia said with a smile. Sky figured that Gaia wasn’t telling the truth, but she decided not to ask further for now. Duran was absentmindedly walking towards his room. When they got to their rooms, which were right beside each other, they each said good night and walked in. Duran sat on his bed and took his sword off his back. He also took out his graver that he used for his Sigilmancer subclass and started practicing. He first practiced a bunch of runes on different weapons and armor. A lot succeeded, but some failed. Notably the higher-level runes were tricky to put on lower leveled equipment, especially since it could destroy the original item. The problem with that stood in that higher-leveled runes were so much better than their lower-leveled counterparts. He grabbed his sword and scrolled through the menu to see what runes he could engrave on it. “Life steal rune, MP drain rune, Shield rune… While the effects are nice, rather would wait for a higher leveled version of any of the runes since the improvement is very high”, he mumbled to himself. He put his sword away and started trying to fall asleep.

Sleep didn’t come easy, as a sense of uneasiness filled him. He couldn’t get his mind off his sister. He wondered what she was doing and if she even would’ve noticed that he wasn’t home. He felt bad. He mostly wasted his days locked up in his room, playing video games. It was his favorite way to spend his free time, but that also meant he didn’t spend much time with her. “I really hope she is alright and if… no, when I’m able to get out of here, I’m going to go spend more time with her”, he again mumbled to himself. It was then he heard some voices. Specifically, the voices came from his right side which was Gaia’s room. “What the?”, he thought. He heard Sky and Gaia talking and giggling. He continued listening while half dozing off. He had fallen asleep until he heard a yelp. It was Gaia. He was about ready to get up and take a look, but then he heard them talk again. Shortly after, the door opened, and someone walked out of the room. Not too long after, the door opened again and like a second later, Duran heard knocking at his door. He stood up and at his door was Gaia, confirming in his mind that it was Sky who walked out first. Gaia looked embarrassed, something Duran hadn’t seen from her in a long time. “H-hey, can we talk for a bit Damon?”, she said. “Yeah, sure. Come on in”, he replied. She stepped in and he closed the door behind her, locking it.

She sat on his bed and he sat beside her. “So… what’s up? Did something happen?”, he said. Gaia was looking really embarrassed and barely knew where to look. Duran had noticed this. “Hey, are you okay? You look really bothered by something”, he said. “U-uh… y-yeah, I guess you could s-say that”, she replied. “So… what is going on? What has you this bothered?”, Duran said. “W-well… y-you see… uh… Promise to just listen for a bit a-and not judge?”, Gaia said. He nodded. “Okay, w-well… here goes nothing. So… uh… Faye and I have been friends for as long as we’ve known each other. We have been by each other’s side for forever. Of course, this obviously wasn’t the case when I had moved to Japan. We stayed in contact though, as you know. W-well… I might have sort of been developing something akin to a… c-crush on her. I… it seems that t-those feelings might be returned. Y-you would’ve probably heard it a bit, since the walls s-seem kind of thin. Well, she came to my room to talk for a bit. Just to catch up and stuff like that a-and eventually s-she ended up kissing me on the cheek. I-I was surprised and got embarrassed. She seemed to get embarrassed too and q-quickly left. Then I-I came to here and uh… y-yeah”, she said.

“W…wow. Alright then. Uh… Where to begin with that? Well, let’s start here: you think you have a crush on her? Just asking because you didn’t really sound sure about it”, he said. “I… y-yeah. I’m not a 100% s-sure, but t-this is the first time I felt so strongly about someone”, Gaia replied. “Alright. Well, can’t say I’m too shocked to hear that honestly. Anyway, I assume the yelp I heard was you then?”, he asked. She became more embarrassed and nodded her head. “Figures as much. Well, if you want my opinion… just talk to her”, he said. “Eh?!”, she let out. “Not like right now but talk to her about it. It’s obvious that you aren’t entirely… comfortable, for lack of a better word, with what happened. You are uncertain if those feelings are actually returned. Actually, you don’t even know if you have feelings for her to begin with. Give yourself some time to figure those feelings out as well. It’s been really long since you guys have seen each other face-to-face. Or, well, as close as this is face-to-face. Don’t rush things, especially since we are now in a semi-unknown world and I’m sure that isn’t helping to think things through calmly”, he said. “O-okay. Thank you, Damon. For both listening and your advice. I’ll head to my own room now”, she said as she stood up. “Not a problem. Have a good night Erin!”, Damon said as he also stood up and gave her a hug. She hugged him back, walked out of his room and into her own.

He laid back onto his bed. “Well, at least things will not be uninteresting for as long as we’re here. I wonder what tomorrow is gonna bring?”, he thought as he slowly fell asleep.

[comicteaparty]

December 3rd-December 9th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from December 3rd, 2018 to December 9th, 2018.  The chat focused on JINGKU by DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio).

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on JINGKU by DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)~! (https://globalcomix.com/c/jingku)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until December 9th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. Will "Taw" be discovered and revealed to a woman and/or not Shu? What do you think will happen should that come about? Who might be the first to discover it?

QUESTION 4. Do you believe that the Taw clan, especially Mother Mai, will leave the situation as is, or will they intervene to protect "Taw?" Also, do you believe Shu might be discovered wherever he went? If so, what might happen?

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Alrighty! Welcome and thank you to Comic Tea Party for hosting this discussion! I am DA-POW!, the creator of JINGKU, and will be participating as well. Feel free to read through the short excerpt above, if you haven't already! Please remember to be kind and respectful of everyone's thoughts. But please don't hold back if you have any burning questions or passions pertaining to JINGKU that you'd like to share! As a starter, I'll go ahead and answer the first two questions here. O w O

So! What has been my favorite scene in the comic so far? I have a number of favorite scenes, but I would say the moments that I've enjoyed drawing the most is the scene where Lee gives Taw his kukaoki. 8^U!!!

And the scene where Lee saves Taw from falling to her death. Q v Olll

These are my favorite scenes because they turned out the closest to how I envisioned them as I drew. And that is always something very satisfying to know when a creator's life is essentially attempting to chase and capture their vision for other's to see. Now who is my favorite character? I have to say, I like each character for different reasons. ; v ; BUT!!! I will share who I enjoy drawing the most-- which is Hur. Since Hur is a character who has a bald cut, if I need to adjust him mid-way through--- there's not a lot of editing I have to do to say... Huatai. Who's hair I almost have to always redraw if I should need to change his position and placement on the page.(edited)

But then again, I also must confess Huatai is very dear to me! He is the only character that was alive before JINGKU's world was molded out from my late teenage years-- meaning he was made before JINGKU existed. He's gone through a lot of changes, but I'm glad that he's found a home in JINGKU. He is very important to the Vavoan afterall. XD I would love to hear what other people's thoughts are on their favorite scene and character from the JINGKU cast. I must confess though!!! As far as I know, Lee is officially the most popular character and if you feel that way-- please tell this silly bean why. (And if not, who's the precious bean you've offered up yer likes to, eh? Confess!) ; V ; When I created Lee, I did not put an inkling of effort to insure his place in anyone's heart and now I'm wondering if my lack of effort has backfired on me. XDDD(edited)

RebelVampire

im surprised you find lee's popularity a semi-mystery given your own chosen fave scenes XD lee is my fave but until i answer more questions tomorrow i will be more objective and less subjective about why i think he is probably the most popular in general. and that would be due to 1) of the characters so far his positive traits have probably been the most focused on 2) of the character so far his positive traits are the ones who have had the most impact on the protagonist, Taw 3) of the characters so far, he is the one who continually does nice things without forseeable self motivation, and selflessness is an extremely endearing trait (keep in mind im talking about as he presents himself. maybe he does have selfish reasoning, but its an unknown factor). 4) although he's stoic, his "negative" traits are the least abrasive in their own way due to the fact he gives Taw some more space. whereas the others are somewhat more social aggressive.

so effort aside hes basically been the most positively painted character

to summarize

actually the fact you claim to have not put effort to get ppl to like him makes him even more endearing because it just means hes angel through and through

lee doesnt even need the kukaoki. hes just gonna fly through the sky using his angel wings

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Rebel dropping dem truth bombs on me. XDDDDD But I must clarify (just for my own mental comfort) that I would have loved the scenes I mentioned whether it was Lee saving Taw, Hur, Voo, or simply a monkey. I was just really happy with how they turned out artistically-- more so than the actual fact that it was Lee or even Taw for that matter. ; W ;/ But OMG Rebel... OMG.... shakes head to self What have I done? It seems I played myself and I can't help but laugh at my own silliness.(edited)

"Lee doesn't even need the kukaoki. He's just gonna fly through the sky using his angel wings." - RebelVampire (Quote of the Year)(edited)

shrimpchipsahoy

Answer 1: One of my favorite scenes is from the first chapter, where Taw says she is like the fence protecting her family. It's difficult for me to explain exactly why it's my favorite, but something about it really resonated with me. (It could be because I'm a wife and mother, idk. Lol) Other than that, I have to say, every scene is meticulously drawn and all the characters are perfect in their own way.

Chillin&Livin

1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it? I find the interaction between Hur and Voo to be my favortie scene. The way they jab each other with insults and nicknames is just hilarious. 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor? I am a bit undecided on choosing my favorite character, so I'm going to wait until there is more material for me to examine who I find the most favorable. 3. Will "Taw" be discovered and revealed to a woman and/or not Shu? What do you think will happen should that come about? Who might be the first to discover it? It's quite difficult for me to decide when Taw's secret will finally be discovered, but if that ever happens I think she will be in big trouble. I think the first one to discover Taw's secret will probably be Hur or Voo since they're the ones mostly close to Taw. 4. Do you believe that the Taw clan, especially Mother Mai, will leave the situation as is, or will they intervene to protect "Taw?" Also, do you believe Shu might be discovered wherever he went? If so, what might happen? I think they'll come back to help Taw in the future and I don't think shu will be discovered.(edited)

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Now that @shrimpchipsahoy has mentioned that, I must confess one of my favorite quotes from JINGKU is: "You chose to become a wild animal. And I... For this family... Chose to be the fence."(edited)

But OMG, Shrimp. ;v; Thank you for the kind words~~.

keii4ii

I love that quote too, and not just because it shows her love for her family. There's something poignant about her being a fence ... she's not one of the animals being protected. She is, and is not, part of the family at the same time.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

OMG. O _ O @keii4ii Your wise mind knows no bounds. But yeah!!! Adding on to that, a few readers have talked about the fence being the borderline to what's right and wrong. The pigs being what's right and the wild animal being what's wrong. But as the creator, I didn't intend it that way-- though I won't stop people from discussing it in that sense.(edited)

But it's more so of simply: Protect those inside (and put yourself at risk)? Let others protect you (and put other's at risk)? Or simply protect yourself (and leaves others to their own mechanisms)?(edited)

shrimpchipsahoy

@DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio) I volunteer to be your fence.

Answer 2: I struggled for a long time over picking a favorite character. Just like everyone else, I really like Lee, but all of the characters bring unique qualities to the table that make them special and stand out in their own way. That being said, so far Taw is my number one favorite character. She's very strong and selfless when it comes to protecting the people she loves. I like that her character is flawed and that we get to experience her struggles with her. Also, quick superficial sidenote, but Huatai (and his flawless hair) is a hottie and if we were going solely based on looks that man wins hands down.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

But on the topic of Voo & Hur, one reader of mine did mention that their interaction was "interesting." XDDD Pertaining to what @Chillin&Livin said, I'm happy to hear someone finds the two funny and entertaining! Some of us are probably not aware since they did pop up later to read JINGKU, but the first few drafts of JINGKU posted online actually had Hur's dialogue censored because I was not really sure on the target audience yet. In the end, I ultimately decided that the work would be best left in the hands of older teens and adults instead of children seeing as the topics that JINGKU will discuss would probably be too dark to share with a young audience either way.(edited)

@shrimpchipsahoy BUT OMG SHRIMP!!!!! XDDDDDD(edited)

I've got to agree Huatai's flawless hair is truly something. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Many of my friends have commented about his little twirl, which is essentially the last element that I placed on him before deciding he was ready to take his place in the circle of JINGKU characters.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. Who exactly is the new Huatai? Is the fact he has a Green dialect significant in regards to himself or Shu's lover? What do you think he'll do as Huatai?

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

So the fact that we're asking about the Huatai-- it reminded me that a few readers in the past have asked me: what in the world is everyone's actual names? XDDD I have no idea if any of the future questions in this discussion will poke at this, but I do hope to make plans to reveal some of the cast's real name where applicable in the future. Though, I must say that I make no promises. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

AH!!!! But the topic of the Green dialect! Just as a comparison, I would like to mention that the Green dialect is different in say... American English is to British English or Australian English. Which I have mentioned to @- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́- at one point. XDDD Even a standard Northern American dialect compared to a deep Southern American one would be a good comparison. Of course, I must mention that I do lean towards a more British one to represent Huatai just because it would give him a more posh impression. ; v ; Though the thought of a deep Southern American one seems quite awesome too now that I've mentioned it. 8^L Example: Do you have a flashlight? (American English) Do you have a torch? (British English) Don't forget the fact that there is slight difference in stress of certain vowels and consonants in the Green dialect just as American English differs a bit to British English if you still need a comparison.(edited)

If anyone has any questions pertaining to cultural or lingual topics of the Hmong ethnicity, please don't be afraid to ask! O v O/ I will do my best to answer!

RebelVampire

1) I'm torn between two scenes so ill just pick both. the first scene i really like is the one with Taw having to get out of bath thing with Hur and Voo. like majority of the time those scenes happen in secretly a girl stories, its really comedic and shenanigan ridden. and while ill love shenanigans, im not a huge fan of the trope because it always feels really forced and logically inconsistent. so i love that in this story taw got out of it no big deal. boundaries were respected and everyone moved on. so i appreciate that scene just for being different and not focusing on it (at least in that specific moment of context). the second scene i really like is the one where lee gives taw his kukaoki and is super patient with taw. it was heartwarming to see the contrast to their arrival cause it shows that rules will be followed and enforced not out of cruelty but because the rules exist and everyone is there for a reason. 2) as i stated Lee be my favorite. i already gave my objective reason why i assume hes the most popular in other spaces. but now my subjective reason. lee hits all the right notes for my favorite guildty pleasure character types. got the grumpy stoicism, the dedication and focus, the immense loyalty, all packed on top of a heart of gold. Lee is just the angel no one deserves. 3) I totally think Taw is gonna get found out. I mean theyre with the Huatai for life. So unless Taw dies a very early death, she's kind of doom. Something is gonna happen eventually that exposes the secret. I'm assuming it's gonna be Lee or Huatai. cause i dont feel Hur or Voo would be understanding enough. Or maybe it's gonna be someone we havent met yet. Maybe that pretty lady who greeted them when they arrived.

4) I think this largely depends on what they know. Like did Taw leave them a note that said "Shu ran away and I'm taking his place?" or was there a note that said "I hate you all I'm running away Shu is best and going to the palace like a good boy." Cause while I might of missed it, that really determines whether they even know to go looking for Taw in the first place. Even if they did know Taw is taking a risk, i'm not sure they'd do anything cause they do have to think of the whole clan. Actually speaking of this, this is why i actually dont view Taw's whole obsession with being the fence as selfless as a lot of others. Cause her actions to try and be the fence, while good intentioned, still have consequences. If she's discovered maybe her whole clan gets punished, for instance. at the very least, ppl are going to miss her im sure and be hurt by her absence. so her actions are not without their downfalls and selfish nuances. not that this is bad, at all, just saying the fence thing makes me side eye a bit sometimes. as for shu, idk. i dont think hes going to be found out unless he wants to be found out. and maybe hell want to be found out. theres no gurantee his relationship will last and like, where else is he gonna go at that point if thinks all go downhill? probably home, cause that is the usual instinct. 5) i think the green dialect might be specific, but i dont have theories as to why because there is much to be seen about the region. i think hes gonna be the best huatai who does all the great things and shows taw why taw should care about the kingdom. i base this on nothing except the huatai is a hottie and that lee trusts him so i feel compelled to trust him. #ShallowReasoningIntensifies

kongli

My favort scene is when taw finds out about shu and his boyfriend. i was really shocked-- I didn't think that any hmong story would include a gay couple because its something we shouldn't talk about. So it was daring to me.

Out of everyone we've seen so far, i think I'm leaning towards is mua. He seems like someone really sly and i like that-- sort of like gin from Bleach.

I'm going to agree with RebelVampire. Taw's going to get found out. i don't think she thought this through. I think she should have told mother mai what happened, and then decide on how to approch the problem.

about Shu though. I think he''s an idiot! I don't care much about who he was with, but how could he betray his family? I actually thought shu was okay at first, but then after he did that to taw I was like no.

i binged through Jingku and I was on a rollercoaster. For every scene that shcoked me, I was upset and also excited.

I just wish shu was more sly then this wouldn't have happened.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

OMG, @RebelVampire . XDDDD Huatai's a hottie and Lee trusts him. That's legit. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)b AH!!! But I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the scene with Voo and Taw, although I sort of forgot about it in the midst of all the other plot devices I'm juggling. 9v9lll Ah... But I do understand the undercover girl bath scene trope that you speak of. XDDD I do my best to make characters true to their backstory, so every character's reaction to whatever pops up in JINGKU should reflect on them as a person. ; V ; Maybe someday when we get further enough, I'll do little extra installments outside of the canon plot with plot along the lines of the beach episode, the valentines episode, so on and so forth for giggles. (Makes fanfic and fan-comics of my own creations. =v=b) No promises though~~.(edited)

Lee is just the angel no one deserves. GEH. wipes a glittery tear ; W ;

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

For all the feelings that I didn't invest into Lee... Now thinking it over, I'm sort of happy that the readers feel for him. Although as I mentioned, I never intended for this to happen. I guess it's like Bob Ross says... There's no mistake. Just a happy accident. Y v Y

On the topic of Taw though, I will admit-- as a human being and as myself (my background and circumstances)-- I would have never done what Taw did. OvOlll I don't think I'm that... gutsy? Willing to risk so much or gamble with such high stakes? Essentially, in the terms of the pig, fence, wild animal analogy-- I would be the pig. I probably wouldn't be very promising as a character. But as I always say, I think I would make great bacon. =v=b

BUT OMG. XDDD The lack of faith in Shu from my readers is immense! I can only hope that whatever happens, it will be for the better of everyone's life. OvOlll

It's always great to hear that I put readers through a roller coaster of emotions @kongli !!! ; V ; I can only hope you'll continue to stay on the ride till the end!

In all honesty though, I'm surprised to hear that you've already sort of grown attached to Mua (just because he's just barely appeared.) OAO!!! Everyone in the Vavoan are sort of an oddball, so I'm glad they all shine through with their own respective traits.(edited)

kongli

Yeah. i'm going to stick around. (;

I don't really care for lee because he hurt Taw. i don't like the guys that are always talking and don't listen to the girl.

Lee is always assuming everything like he knows it all and it just turns me off. Why dont he think to ask?

But yeah, he is the member thats like doing everything so i understand why people like him.

I also think that because lee is so truthful about everything like from what we know so far like vampire said, he is going to be taken of advantage of easily. taw is kind of different. Like she;s not really a good person, but not really a bad person to the country. From chaptor seven, i think Taw might be the one to do that. I wish the creator told us what taw was thinking though so we know for sure though.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

We'll definitely be learning more about the conclusion Taw came upon from the seventh chapter as we move along the plot for sure, @kongli! I won't simply leave ya'll hanging and say that's all I have to say about her plan so fear not. Ov<b

shrimpchipsahoy

@kongli I like that scene too because I think it gives Taw a chance to shine. We get to see how much she loves her family and is willing to sacrifice for them in action, not just thoughts or words.

kongli

Can't wait for that moment then! (;

i agree with shrimpchip. Taw seems like a person of action not just all talk. i like that she seems to be pretty careful like she thinks about what the other vavoan people say and then decide on what to do instead of just doing whatever.

Chillin&Livin

For me personally, I think there are a lot of actions Lee commits that is questionable, for example, his initiative to take authority over everyone else in the vavoan. According to Hur in chapter 2 the vavoan are supposed to act as merely puppets who serve the Huatai. if a vavoan member were to create a problem then shouldn't it be in the Huatai's place to solve it, not Lee? And I keep wondering, why does Voo consider Lee's assault on Taw a nice thing? Even Taw wonders the same thing. If what Lee did was nice, what's the norm? I seriously want to know. Voo mentions how close Lee and the Huatai are in chapter 3. This is probably a bit out there, but it just occured to me... what if Lee is a bad guy and plans to over throw the Huatai and to do that he decides to create a close relationship with the Huatai to learn more about the Huatai's plan. And that sole reason is why Lee made Taw his target when Lee meets Taw and later forces Taw to join his schemes to kill the Huatai.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

OMG. XDDDDD The theory of Lee turning out to be a bad guy-- now that's really something isn't it? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Though I must say, I think that if it benefited Taw in the long run in order to get back to her family, she would probably take it. Just saying... O3O~~ whistles

shrimpchipsahoy

@Chillin&Livin Interesting points but I feel like, and I'm not the creator so I could totally be wrong lmao, people are misreading the situation with Lee. When I read through it the first time, I just assumed there was a hierarchy to the Vavoan. Obviously Huatai is head bitch in charge but when he's not around, who keeps everyone in line? It's Lee. The fact is, most people can't be trusted to do things independently (I feel bad saying this but it's proven to be true) without leadership or guidance. The other characters have a certain closeness between them, but Lee seems to stand out in a way that makes him feel unreachable despite his moments of kindness.

@DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio) I'd be really happy for Taw if she could find a way home without any repercussions before she is forced to do something she may regret.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

I hope the same thing as well, @shrimpchipsahoy~~. ; V ; We can only hope!

kongli

it'd be cool if Lee was a villain, but i don't think it will happen unless the creator pools a 180 on us. if it did happen, I wouldn't be surprised thuogh. Its sort of like a trope where this character is like all cool and good to a group, like lee is to the country but then later they're like just kidding. That's when shit hits the fan. i'm sure all the Lee fans would be heartbroken for real if it did happen though.

But what shrimpchips said, about heirarchy. i don't really think theres an official like level for everyone. I feel like it really is supposed to be the huatai and then theres the vavoan like chillin said. lee is just the kind of person that will do things before anyone asks him to because he feels like it.

I think that if there was someone that had something to offer to taw though and taw feels like its a good deal that she would take it. like I said I don't think Taw would just sit around waiting for something to work out for her situation.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. What do you think the Huatai and Lee's relationship actually is? Do they have past history, or is something else going on? Why is Lee so dedicated to the Huatai?

- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́-

1. My favourite is when Taw is mad about the their big brother Shu taking a whole day to catch the chicken. Because as a reader that was my reaction too. 2. Hur's rough behavior made me like them instantly. I am always a sucker for rough characters with golden hearts. The interaction with Taw was much like a tsundere HHHH You look like this rice ball. HERE EAT THIS BECAUSE YOU MISSED DINNER. HHHHH 3. I'm very much hoping that Taw's secret will go to their grave. I know thats light thinking but I'm really not wanting to see the reveal, what is the punishment?! Who will try to protect Taw?!? Will Taw become valuable enough to keep in the Vavoan? HHHHH 4. I don't really think Mother Mai will do much of the situation, as I think they would just assume that Taw disappeared and Shu went on their way. If Shu's discovered first that is a different story. I hope Taw gets the best life. ;w; 5. Maybe the Huatai is a replacement to the Huatai. MAYBE ITS AN INCEPTION OF AN INCEPTION. That is why Lee is so much favoured, because Lee was probably close to the Huatai before they were even going to be the Huatai. HHHHH I'm a fake Huatai playing the pretend for the real Huatai, so now I have to actually be the Huatai because the real Huatai went MIA. HELP ME OUT LEE. 6. I think their relationship is that of a newly born chick and a mother hen. Have you seen how many times the Huatai screams out Lee's name? (edited)

RebelVampire

@kongli @shrimpchipsahoy @Chillin&Livin i agree with shrimpchips on the matter of hierarchy. because when theres anything involving large, large groups, theres always a structure of hierarchy. keep in mind also that the huatai is in charge of the whole kingdom basically. so its not just the vavoan under him. theres probably a ton of other branches and people. so while yes, the huatai might be the ultimate leader, that doest mean there arent also ppl in charge directly under him to keep order in various other matters of the kingdom. its kind of like how in an army you have a general at the top but then various other ranks under them who control various army squads and such. those other ranks obviously follow the generals orders, but at the same time they make sure those under them also get those orders fulfilled. now this being said, i do think its debateable on whether lee's position as this secondary leader is official or not. but even if it wasnt official this would be the natural result. someone always has to take charge, because otherwise theres just anarchy. youd wind up with even worse situations then what happened on the bridge cliff thing. instead of just taw falling off the cliff itd probably be like half of the vavoan because thered be no one ordering people around keeping things organized. and as was also pointed out, the huatai cant be there in every situation. so if theres no one in charge, even unofficially, theres going to be problems and will probably lead to the huatai getting offed pretty quickly.

that being said, if lee winds up a villain im okay with this. i will support lee to the end, even if the end is some sort of train derailment into the abyss

6) im getting kind of a sibling relationship? not that i do think theyre siblings, but it kind of feels like lee is the older brother and the huatai is his lazy younger brother who just moved out of home for the first time. i definitely think theres past history here that were going to find out tho. they seem way too super close for them to have just met. as for the dedication, i assume its either that Lee knows something we dont about the Huatai's plans or that Lee is a strong believer in duty. something like that

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́- OMG. XDDDD The day Huatai calls someone else's name will probably break Lee's heart. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) @RebelVampire Lee is the older brother and Huatai is his lazy younger brother who just moved out of home for the first time RIP Huatai. XDDDD

kongli

I think lee and Huatai are not sibling because they dont look the same. maybe friends or lovers? or maybe lee owes the huatai something like the Huatai did something for him.

it's kind of like, they might have backstory together.

Just wondering but are you all from webtoon too? i didn't know that the creator put jingku on another site.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@kongli I think the majority came from webtoons though I wouldn't know the exact details of how everyone got invested enough to stay. Surely it was my unrelenting charisma and charm? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) get's killed Though, Rebel was probably obligated to read since they had to prepare questions for this discussion. Whether that was webtoons or globalcomix though, I've no idea. XD But in all seriousness, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on anything you guys! OvOlll(edited)

kongli

I came from webtoon and i stayed because i liked the story and characters. im so tired of always having to read character that dont do anything or like don't have a goal. Its like where in the hell are we going? and Taw is a bit different from the girls i always read. She;s kind of like not a good person who always try to save people that she don't know but she's not bad because shes just tyring to survive.

i also stayed because i liked the art. I really like the pictures you put at the beginning of the chapters.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

GEH. ; W ; Much thankies @kongli!!! <333 I probably should do more color works, but I've been sticking with the black and white plus red illustrations since it rings true to the JingKu aesthetic. OvOb And I've grown very attached to it so look forward to more illustrations with the same style!

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Holy heavens-- now that Kong mentioned about webtoon and globalcomix, if any of us have only read the pages on globalcomix, please jump over to webtoons so that you can read up to the latest page. 9v9lll We should be in the midst of the seventh chapter!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Do you think there is any reason Lee is so nice to "Taw?" Is Lee just a nice guy or is there something else? Will Lee continue to help "Taw," or will Lee give up since "Taw" is years behind everyone else?

RebelVampire

@DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio) I read the globalcomix version but I did switch over to webtoons for the last bit. cause i suspected there might be more pages and then lo and behold i was correct. XD

7) I think theres two things going on. first off, i think lee is just genuinely a nice dude. gruff and a stickler for rules, but nice. however, i also think pragmatically speaking its in lee's best interest to make sure taw is up to snuff. because if taw isnt up to snuff, welp, good-bye huatai. so in essence lee's actions may be less nice and more driven by the pragmatic need to have taw not suck at the job. i dont think Lee is gonna give up, but i have a high suspicion it might lead lee to learn that taw is not the taw that was supposed to be sent. or at least theres going to be many lectures. but again, pragmatically not a good idea to leave taw as is. unless theres like...paper pushers in the vavoan. taw can get that nice, comfy desk job in that case.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

AH! Good to hearz! OvQb @RebelVampire But OMG. XDDD Taw getting that desk job would be the dream~.

shrimpchipsahoy

@ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ Not to mention the GIVEAWAYS you do on webtoons! hellbent on winning

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@shrimpchipsahoy Webtoons probably the only place I do constant giveaways. >v</ But in all honesty, I'm always at lost when the names drawn don't claim their prizes. Q v O Y u no want prize, commenter friendo? SOBS That's why I started putting the 7 day time limit on the giveaways. RIP winners that disappear into the void.

shrimpchipsahoy

Answer 3: I think it's inevitable that the truth about Taw will be revealed to some extent. cries I can't imagine it would be easy for a woman to hide her identity long term, especially in consideration of baths/toilet time/that time of the month. I've been thinking a lot about who may be the first to discover it, but there are so many variables involved that I can't pin it down. Although I hope whoever discovers her secret helps her escape or fake her death or something (so she can escape without repercussions), I don't think the odds are in our favor. Lol

@ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ i want their prizes changes nickname on webtoons ٩(๑òωó๑)۶

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. Do you believe that Taw will learn to use Kukaoki? What other talents might Taw discover she has? Do you think Taw will find a way home, or will she be stuck serving the Huatai forever?

RebelVampire

(the archive for the chat on super galaxy knights deluxe r is up! @snuffysam https://comicteaparty.com/post/180885573190/november-26th-december-2nd-2018-ctp-archive)

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Speaking of kukaoki! I think I only mentioned this once (like way back when I posted the first draft of JINGKU on webtoons) but when the name kukaoki is broken down, it's defined as: ku = pair / kao = wheel / ki = spin. As a side note, the Hmong language is tonal (8/7 tones or so), meaning these definitions are conditional depending on the tone used when speaking the word. Kind of like how one kanji, though pronounced the same, can mean different things depending on how you depict the character. So don't try to share these meanings without that little bit of salt to add in^ There were a number of names I thought to call the weapon, but recalled that I shouldn't use hard to pronounce Hmong words for the sake of readers. 9v9lll I hope that my efforts pulled through. sweats(edited)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. Who do you think attacked the Huatai on the way to the temple? Was it a foreign power, or could it be an inside job? What might this mean for the rest of the story?

RebelVampire

8) I think Taw is gonna learn, and I think she's also gonna learn that strength has advantage too, what with all the farm work. In all honesty, I don't think Taw is gonna go home. I think the inevitable path for Taw is to learn that there is more than one way to be a fence. so instead of just protecting her little family unit shell learn that by protecting the kingdom she also protects her family. or something like that. 9) It was Lee. /shot In all seriousness, I assume it was a foreign power. I don't get the sense that the kingdom is in the most secure of places, and I think it's a sign that these are troubled times that are gonna involved quite a bit of fighting and securing of power.

kongli

Number seven, i don't think lee is going to give up. Hes too stubborn. Number eight, i think taw will learn the kukaoki but she wont be good at it because Yah said that you have to start from when your a kid. I dont know how old Taw is but i think it would be hard for her like when someone learns ballet kind of late. Taw is probably going to try to find a way home but get stuck being with the vavoan for the rest of her lief. i think its going to be like she thought she wanted to go home but after staying with the the vavoan for so long she decides to stay because she likes it there.

for number nine, i think it might be a foreign power like vampire said. I went back to look at the part where they are atacked and i just realized that if huatai didn't get sick he would have been dead because Lee wouldnt' have came to move him from the carriage.

I think that someone in the country betray the country and if they did betray the country they might be working with foreign power.

okay, so i just thought about this but the huatai is supposed to be green right? why is he wearing a girl's shirt? a green shirt would be like the one shu's boyfriend wears or did the creator mess up?

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

O v O!!!! UH....

Okay, so I will confirm that Huatai is indeed wearing a girl's shirt. And I will also confirm that it is NOT a mistake. But that's all I can say about that. 9v9llll @kongli(edited)

And for those who are wondering about Hmong clothes... Essentially, there's a number of designs (its fashion afterall ;v;) but the main thing you should always be aware of is that a girl's shirt typically features an extended collar on the back. Hmong male clothes do not (and should not) have this feature.(edited)

As exemplified below, Taw has an extended collar on the back:(edited)

shrimpchipsahoy

O.O Maybe Huatai is secretly a woman. That would be awesome because s/he could be Taw's greatest ally! Other idea is maybe Huatai wears girls clothes to honor someone they lost (like Nuriko from Fushigi Yuugi, who is actually a man but poses as a woman to honor his late sister.)

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@shrimpchipsahoy OMG!!! I didn't know that about Nuriko! I never got the chance to finish the series, but I always wondered why he wore girl's clothes. My child brain just thought that it was just out of preference and mentally muted the question. XD

On the topic of Huatai though, we'll definitely be learning more about him as a character in future chapters. O v O Pwease look forward to it ya'll~~~.

shrimpchipsahoy

@ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ Eek! Sorry about the spoilers.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Tis all good, Shrimp~~. XDDDD patpat

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

kongli

i'm looking forward to when taw sees Shu again and kicks him in the butt. I really hope that the creator doesnt stop making jingku because theres like no hmong manga at all with a interesting story that has a lot of stuff in it.

and it was cool getting to talk to you guys about the story. Thank you for inviting me.

(;

keii4ii

Growing up, my family moved around a lot, and I found myself as a transfer student often as a result. (e.g. 1st grade year, I went to 3 different schools) I was also a sickly child and missed school a lot. That combination meant I was often clueless in the class: the material they were covering at a new school was sometimes a little ahead. Or more commonly, I miss 2 days of class and everyone else in the classroom was 2 days ahead of me. Teachers made zero effort to help me catch up. It was all up to me. What I'm trying to say is, I can really relate to Taw being thrown into a situation that she'd never been prepared for, unlike everyone else surrounding her. I'm looking forward to how she deals with all of that. I also hope she can catch a break sometime!

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

So there are a number of things I'm looking forward to for JINGKU and most of them revolves around revealing plot points. XDDD But depending on how the story of JINGKU goes, I'm kind of looking forward to drawing Taw with longer hair in the story. Q v O GEH. Probably just wishful thinking, but hopefully the opportunity reveals itself at some point. (Worry not. If Taw's hair grows, then the men's hair will grow as well. 8^U!!! Gotta trim dem heads!) On another note, I am very grateful to everyone that has taken the time to read the story and drop off their thoughts here in this discussion! ;W; I didn't know how well the week-long discussion would go since the active reader-base is essentially just a handful of people. But seeing how much discussion we did, it's really shocking. O_O!!! Thank you to you awesome peeps and I hope that ya'll will stick around for all the upcoming week discussions as well.(edited)

@kongli Thank you for coming and participating, Kong! ; W ;/ Surely with tangible support from readers, JINGKU will only continue to soar towards completion. But trust me when I say there's a lot of ground I've got to cover, so worry not. OvOlll We're in for a long ride!

@keii4ii If I miss one day of school as a kid, I'm lost for the next month. 9v9lll RIP mah childhood. weeps Ah, but I'm happy to hear that Taw's disconnection is relatable, seeing as its definitely a stressful situation to be in. Taw's always got to be on her toes, that's for sure! Hopefully, things will turn around at some point. ;v;/

- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́-

7. Lee probably had a big family before they left their family to serve the Huatai. Perhaps worrying about others is just innately ingrained into him, as well with the Huatai always comes first. So I believe Lee will help out Taw to become an asset to the Huatai. 8. OF COURSE TAW WILL LEARN TO USE THE KUKAOKI. Taw bby must be the very best that there ever was. Finding a way to get back perhaps will happen if Taw really superemly fails at something which I hope doresn't happen.

9. Well the Huatai's king died recently and it really could be an inside job. The Huatai looks super young. I'm not saying that the Huatai isn't prepared considering the Huatai has a 6 PACK OF A GOD, that means the training they did to learn how to become a Huatai is very evident. The dialect that the Huatai has was probably because of a close tutor who has the same dialect as Shu's lover. Because obviously you are going to pick up the way of speaking of the people you surround yourself around. Judging by the Huatai's behavior shown so far... I don't think the Huatai has many close relations other than Lee. (Because Lee is the ultimate Motehr Hen ) This might mean the Huatai has to lug around the Vavoan around lots of places... considering that they already supposed to be the cream of the crop.

10. I'm looking forward to Taw becoming more badarse. Lee showing more Mother Hen traits.... anDDD FIGHT SCENESE. I am a simple person who loves simple thing so maybe more... ABS. Jingku peaked my interest as I really love the opening. "Fence or Pig?" Taws love of family has a really warped dark side at the same time, and will be showcased more and more as the story progressed. How darker will the pure Taw be tainted in the dark. This isn't a fantasy story so there will be very realistic consequences and much heartbreak in the future. Hopefully I'll get to see some nicely timed comedy from the future.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́- OMG. You use the best emojis, Mitsu. XDDDDDD

Taws love of family has a really warped dark side at the same time, and will be showcased more and more as the story progressed. Such a bootiful conclusion, you've made. Hurhurhur. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

On the topic of genre though, YESH. A [] A JingKu is indeed not a fantasy so as Mitsu has mentioned: there will be very realistic consequences and much heartbreak in the future.

A few peeps that have read the story have spoke about JINGKU as if its a fantasy story with tributes to the Hmong ethnicity. JINGKU is a HISTORICAL FICTION/DRAMA. O v Olll(edited)

I'm also hoping we'll get more action scenes because-- boy oh boy, though mah art skillz suffer, I really do love action. GEH. ; v ; (No promises though.) Thank you so much for dropping off yer final thoughts, Mitsu. You're probably one of the few that has been here since near the first draft of JINGKU. XDDD And I'm always grateful that you've stuck around for that long, you awesome bean~~! Mitsu is truly a JINGKU veteran! ; W ;(edited)

RebelVampire

10) I'm looking forward to Lee being Lee some more. But more seriously, I don't really have any specific looking forward to desires. I'm more just interested to see where everything goes in general. This comic has already thrown some curveballs to where I expected it to go, so I don't want to overthink it and stop being surprised.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

I'm looking forward to Lee being Lee some more. OMG. XDDDD GEH. ;W; But I'm happy that JINGKU has been able to give you some curveballs~~. Whatever's in store for JINGKU, hopefully its' future will not be cut short! @RebelVampire AH!!! OAO!!! But OMG. I'm really surprised that you've taken the story so well, Rebel! I seriously thought that you might just eye JINGKU over for the sake of discussion and simply mod from afar. Thank you for giving your insight and I'm happy to hear you'll continue to root for Lee!(edited)

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́- OMG!!! I don't know how, but my eyes did not catch your answers for the first few questions!!! OAO Probably because everyone is giving such detailed answers, but GEH. GEH. GEH. I laughed so hard at your comment about Hur being a tsundere. MUAHAHAAHA. XDDDDD Pwease cherish that bald babeh!(edited)

Ah... I do have to confess, Shu's excuse on catching a chicken was ridiculous in its own right. But the reality is, my own parents have stories of how animals would sometimes escape or go missing and peeps were forced to search the surrounding mountains for their livestock. RIP peeps chasing after their cows and pigs. Y v Y

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Okay, so I've no idea if anyone else is going to leave any more comments before 3 am (12 am on PST time) so I'm going to go ahead and toss this here. O W Q @RebelVampire @shrimpchipsahoy @- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́- @Chillin&Livin @kongli @keii4ii THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT PARTICIPATED IN THIS JINGKU DISCUSSION!!!!! YA'LL ARE AWESOME BEANS AND HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO STICK WITH THE STORY NO MATTER HOW CRAZY IT GETS! YOSH! (edited)

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about JINGKU this week! Please also give a special thank you to DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio) for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked JINGKU, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://globalcomix.com/c/jingku

DA-POW!’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/YayaoYuyingSTU?lang=en

[franeridart]

I can see you have a type...

If the type is The Most Knowledgeable And Smart In Their Group But Still A Complete Idiot then yes, definitely, I have a type lmao - seriously tho I dunno if this is specifically about DGM (Lavi and Wisely are pretty similar) or if it’s a general thing, but as far as Wisely goes you might not believe this but over half of the reason why he’s my fave is that he suffers from chronic migraines and I Hard Relate

Anon said:MAKO AND TAiYOu ARE THE CuTEST I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. ALSO KIRI WITH LONG HAIR GIVES ME LIFE.

Thank you!!! Super happy you liked them!!!

Anon said:You know, apparently in the raws of Chapter 144, Kirishima’s friend calls him “Ei-chan”, not just Ei

!!!!! thanks for the info! I was actually wondering which between the -kun and -chan they had used!!! 

Anon said:ok but mako and taiyou meet but they have to be on one side of todoroki at first (im sorry i just thought this was super funny)

Haha nah it never got to that, it didn’t take too long for them to teach him to keep his own temperature under check - the fun thing about this actually is that Todoroki’s Tai’s fave hero (Bakugou still can’t believe this rip him) (it’s because with how Tai can lower and raise temperature their quirks are sorta similar) so if anything like that had ever happened Tai would have imploded, probably

For information sake, Mako’s fav hero is Gang Orca! Of course without counting their dads, that goes without saying

Anon said:THE BAKUSHIMA KIDS ARE SO CUTE AAAAAAAAA quick question though: how much do you think uncle Kaminari spoils them

Nearly as much as Mina does haha Kaminari’s Tai’s fave “uncle”, actually, since just like Bakugou because of his electricity Kami barely feels the heat so Tai never accidentally hurt him even back when he still couldn’t control himself at all! On a related note Mako’s fav uncle is Tetsutetsu - when she first saw him she was convinced he was a shark too and she was kinda sad when she found out she was wrong, but she still treats him as if they were kin lol if one of Tetsu’s visit goes by without him going “she’s mine now” even once then something’s wrong haha

Anon said: mako: just keep swimming just keep swimming

*high pitched dying noise* this is the cutest thing 

Anon said:FRAN. FRAN. THE KIDS AU. ngl i’m actually choking up here thinking about domestic blasty and kirishima being good happy dads?? AND THE KIDS THEY’RE SO CUTE!!! (on a side note i never knew i wanted bakugou with an undercut but now i just.. hnnng) AND!! AND THEY’RE SO LOVING WITH THEIR KIDS (just as they will be, you know it, i know it) just. thank you so much for this. (also, one question– how did the two of them deal with, yknow, diapers when they first got their kids?? lol)

Ahhh I’m glad you liked them!!!! And they didn’t actually have to deal with that, Mako was adopted when she was four and Tai when he was seven!

Anon said: Do you have any ships from little witch academia???? Im so happy, i saw them in your style!!!

Also who is your fave character(s) from lwa??????

Amanda’s my fave!!!! And I ship her a lot with Akko! Constanze and Lotte are also faves, but Amanda’s, like, the love of my life probably haha

Anon said:mako and tayou look like sharpedo and camerupt and i love it

It’s okay it’s not a bother dw! And depending on who you’re trying to talk to they might have the messaging option up only for people they’re following/disabled altogether, so that might be the problem!

Anon said:What if all 33 (or more depending on when you get to this) of your fusions where in a class together? (I also wrote down the names I tried to fuse together and tried to figure out quirk names. I failed on that part.)

You mean if they were actual singular people and not fusions? I don’t think they’d be able to survive all together haha

Anon said:Husbands! Baku and Kiri give me life tbh especially that one painting with Kiri’s black roots and them having a family is 10/10 I love all your art with them SO MUCH BLESS YOU

THANK!!! YOU!!!! FOR LIKING THEM!!!!!! AHHHH!!!!!!!!

Anon said:I have a suggestion. What about someone with an ice and dry ice quirk? One parent had ice and the other had liquid nitrogen (or something quite similar) do you think that’d be cool?

That would be pretty damn strong!! And cool, definitely, I’d like to see something like that!! °O°

Anon said:AAAAAAA IM SCREAMING AND CRYING CRYING SO MUCH thank you so much for blessing me with the kiribaku kids im so inlove

sob thank you so much ;A; I’m glad you like themmmm!!!

Anon said:I started watching BNHA kinda out of boredom but I also wanted to understand your bakukirikami art and I feel like I have been E N L I G H T E N E D. I UNDERSTAND NOW, after a whole year of teetering whether to watch it or not I’m glad I started! I’ve also almost read the whole manga, nothing can stop this free fall now.

AYYYYYYYYYYYY NICE!!!!!!!!! I’m glad you’re actually liking it, welcome in the fandom!!!

Anon said:That’s it I’m completely in love with you and your art I’m all in /oh my God./ Kiribaku kids is so sweet and soft, and I love all the thought and ideas you put into it. I also really loved their hair too, and the way they both were w the kids was so lovely I cried a lil. I love the idea of kiribaku being together in the future and then you added kids and it was great. I also loved baku’s mom’s mention I love the idea of that entire family you’re so good and I hope you’ve had a lovely day!!!!

Thank youuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m so so so happy you liked them this much omfg ;; you’re so nice ahhhh

Anon said:Hi i love sharks and uhhhh i have stuff i wanna say could be part of the kiribaku kid’s quirk but idk if you’d be alright w that??

I don’t mind one bit so go for it, but I can’t promise the stuff will actually be part of the quirk in the end - I already got ideas for it, but it’s not important since I don’t know if I’ll ever draw them older, and right now both she and the quirk aren’t developed enough for her to do more than what I mentioned!

(If she’d been with her biological parents they would have told her what to expect from it/she would have known watching them, but since she’s adopted and neither Baku nor Kiri have ever known a shark before they’re kind of going at this blind haha it’s gonna take a lot of googling and trying stuff out until they find something that works, once she’ll start training)

Anon said:Today I dedicated myself to finishing the manga for boku no hero and I can safely say it’s ruined my life. Yay, suffering!!! I’m so obsessed. Send help.

How can I send help when I’m in your same conditon a n on

[franeridart]

Can we also talk about how Bakugou went from "weird haired guy" to "Kirishima. Change of plans". Oh man I didn't realize how much I missed the anime *cries*

BOI CAN’T WE I just spent the whole morning crying over seeing the moment Bakugou recognizes Kirishima as an equal animated nbd at all r i p me - I think this might be the first time Bakugou calls anyone by their name, actually, and I just!!! that’s because Bakugou heard Kirishima’s words and recognized him as a good partner and a worthy hero and someone whom he could respect and I’m gonna be grateful for chapter 133 for the insight on this for the rest of my always I !!!!!! have feelings g a h

Anon said:ok ok ok ok but but listen what about BAKGOU AND OCHAKO they are the most popular couple and the most cutest , i think you should try to draw them once i would love love to see this !!! of course just if you want hehe thanx

Ahhh sorry anon but I really don’t ship that - I mean, it’s true that I ship Bakugou with a bunch of people aside from my main two, but if they’re part of Deku’s group you can fairly assume they’re not between my Bakugou ships? And I only romantically ship Uraraka with Deku, Tsuyu and Iida anyway so! You’re probably not gonna see any romantic baku/ocha from me, sorry o

Anon said:Since we know what Bakugou’s parents are like, what do you think Kirishima’s parents are like?

I have a similar ask somewhere asking about Kaminari’s parents as well, so I guess I’ll answer both here?? As a general rule I don’t really like making headcanons over stuff I’m sure the manga will give me in the future, so I can’t say I’ve thought about this too much - there are a few things I work under the assumption of while drawing, like for example I’m taking for granted they both have at least functional families, considering Aizawa personally visited their homes to ask their guardians about allowing them back to school, and if anything had been weird he would have noticed

I like to think Kaminari got his quirk straight from one of his two parents with no mixing happening, and got the Kaminari surname from them as well, but that’s all I ever allowed myself to settle on as far as Kami’s family goes, everything else changes based on what I need for the current scenario I’m thinking about… I do often end back on him being an only child, though - in the same way depending on how angst or lighthearted I want it to be my ideas for Kirishima’s family change a lot, but generally I think I mostly fall back on the idea of him having a big family? In a scenario like that his parents are kind and love him a lot, but having many children and needing to split their attention on all of them might cause them to overlook him a little (it would explain his obsession with being flashy, for me) then again, who knows? I don’t know how canon you can consider the infos SMASH gives, but in one of the strips Kiri mentions working part-time, and the fact that he doesn’t seem to have problems with money kinda makes me believe he might be independent from his family like that (unless he’s a rich kid, also very entertaining as a possiblity)

I’ve seen a lot of headcanons floating around about both of these guys’ families and possibly being related to villains, that would be cool too, though I’m not sure how much I believe it

I’m sorry this ended up being little to no useful at all lol as I said, I just shift between scenarios a lot - imagine settling on one and growing attached and then having to let it go once Hori proves it wrong, that’d be terrible for me

Anon said:Oh my god…we had a black cat called nitro !! He was super affectionate and high strung. Thanks for reminding me of him. great art as always !!!

You’re!!! the second person telling me they have/had a cat called that!!!! °O° is it a popular name for cats? I just called her that for Baku’s quirk tbh hahaha

Anon said:I would L.O.V.E to do a BNHA art collab with you my lord!

BOI THAT’S FLATTERING!!!!!! I’ve never done collabs before though, so I dunno if I’m comfortable with this? I’ll !!! have to think about it!

Anon said:Not only is your art adorable but how much you babble on in the tags is absolutely precious, you’re like a sunshine who always brightens up the day just by being yourself!

Way to make me blush anon oh my g o d!!!!!! I’m??? glad I can make you smile with my incoherent blabbering??? It’s super nice to know because tbh I just have way too much to say about everything hahaha (read: I dunno how to shut up. ever. rip)

Anon said:I just wanted to say your asks posts and doodles and literally just your whole blog in general brightens up my day so much no matter how sucky it’s been. I had a rough day today but the first thing I saw when I got on tumblr was one of your bakugou drawings and it made me smile when nothing else that day did and I just wanted you to know that. Also you seem like one of the most honest and heartwarming people ever. I hope you have a good weekend. ❤️

gODS what’s up with you guys trying so hard to make me a smiling and blushing mess here aaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! thank?? you???? I’m really, really, really happy I could make you smile!!! That’s the reason why I post my stuff to begin with, knowing I could help you even just a little bit means a lot!!!

Anon said:I’m really sorry if I reposted anything!!!!! Its truly out of habit….😌 But really, I’m sorry. (By the way, your art is amazing!!)

Thank you!! And as long as you took down whatever you reposted, your apology is more than accepted! Thank you for being understanding! But that kind of habit is something you should really grow out of, anon - for most artists, if they wanted their art on other websites they would post it themselves, and as long as it’s about sharing it here on tumblr a reblog is more than good enough! It’s nice of you to want to share my things, and I’m happy you like my stuff enough to want more people to see it, but since I don’t have accounts anywhere else on the internet I don’t really want my stuff there either - a link back to the original post would suffice if all you want is share, wouldn’t it? 

About this, thank you so much to all the super nice people telling me they’re sorry about my stuff being reposted! There’s a lot of you and posting all the asks here would make this post insanely long, but know that I read all of them and I appreciate every word! To those mentioning they do tell people to take my stuff down when they notice it being reposted, thank you so so so so much, and to those worrying I might stop posting, for now that’s still not going to happen - I might reduce the amount of stuff I post for specific fandoms or ships, but I love it all too much and I love sharing my love for them too much to just stop. And thank you for all the nice words and compliments too, you’re all so kind to me !!!!

Anon said:I don’t know if you’re familiar with Dave and Buster’s (it’s a big arcade/restaurant for mainly adults) but I went the other day and all I could think about was “holy shit, Kuroo, Bokuto, and Terushima would have the time of their lives here” anyway, just thought I’d share that with you since I know you ship them as well cx

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we don’t have those in Italy so I can’t say I am, but this sounds interesting and if it’s bo kuro and teru I’m always up for hearing more! What kind of place is it? How does it work?? *O*

Anon said:Not a question or anything but I just found your blog and it is so nice??? Like all your art is amazing and you’ve made bakushimanari my ot3 and you bakusquad doodles are just perfect too. Just thank you for existing and your art and ideas just give me life. That’s all

THANK YOU OH MY GODS!!!!!!!!!! I’m so so so happy you like my squad stuff?? Lately they’re the most entertaining thing to draw tbh, I’m glad there’s actually people who like all the silliness hahaha I wish you the best weekend, anon, I know this ask just made mine, tbh!!

Anon said:LMAO when did Allen strip I don’t remember that

It’s in an extra! God I can’t remember what they were talking about so I can’t find it, I’ve been trying to since I got this ask (if??? anyone knows??? that’d be much appreciated???) but anyway they were hosting something? It might have been a character poll or something similar but I’m not sure, and Allen was The Host™ and at some point he started stripping and talking about added prices for it and if I remember right Reever and/or Johnny might have started crying for his forever lost and now non-existent innocence (was that a pun? possibly)

Anon said:OMG!!! I get so excited every time I see you posted something and now you just !!! uploaded !!!! all !!!! these !!!! BAKUGOU !!!! BIRTHDAY !!!!! COMICS !!!! AND !!!! I !!!!! AM !!!!! SO !!!! HAPPY !!!!!! (and they are all so adorable!!)

I’M GLAD YOU LIKED THEM HOLY SMOKES!!!!!!! Every time I post so much all together I always worry it’s too much haha I’m sorry for clogging all your dashboards now and again rip

Anon said:I was so excited this chapter of bnha because I thought we’d finally learn Kirishima, my babies, backstory but then we didn’t and now I’m sad (im still holding out for him having met/seen Bakugou in middle school for some reason and being inspired or something).

That’s tbh a good headcanon I’ve seen around now and again, and until Horikoshi will finally stop holding back all the Kiri infos you!!! keep on doing your thing!!!! he for sure already knew of him because everyone did thanks to the sludge incident, so why the heck not 

(I can’t say I share the hc though, since until they fought together during the USJ attack Kirishima did think of Bakugou’s quirk as Everything He Ever Wanted™, but he didn’t seem to be much into Bakugou himself? I dunno I dunno Kiri’s very gay and got around to sticking to Bakugou like glue in something like fifteen chapters I can’t say we saw much of how he used to think of him before deciding he wanted to marry him lmao)

Anon said:I love Kirishima so much it’s genuinely confusing, like this boy is literally sunshine and I want him to be happy with his explody bf. The latest chapters gave me life because he is shining and I want the world to love him like I love him. Your art of him is beautiful and the best thing ever.

BOY THANK YOU!!!! I’m glad I can do him justice in your opinion? He’s SO MUCH and SO BRIGHT !!!!!!!!!! It’s kind of hard, making him just as good as he is in canon, but that’s cause he’s perfect how is he that perfect how does he even do that I 100% share all of your confusion anon when did I even fall this hard for that child

Anon said:I’m most into the voltron fandom tonight so if I followed every blog that was suggested I would be burried in more discourse than I can handle lmao so I will just try to dig through tags to find weeks

……that’s really one messy fandom you decided to stick with, anon, I admire your strength - but!!! as far as ship weeks go, since the voltron fandom is pretty huge maybe there might be a blog dedicated specifically to letting you know when fandom events are supposed to happen! You should try digging around for that!!!