Tumgik
#I tried out different shading and coloring techniques than usual
bunnieswithknives · 1 year
Photo
Tumblr media
I’ve stacked them! @carehounds
704 notes · View notes
Note
I love your art! (I clicked on your art tag and started scrolling.) What is your process for creating a piece? Do you usually look at a single reference photo which you draw from? Do you somehow incorporate photos into your drawings by drawing over them? (I did that once on a tablet.) Or do you use another method? Thanks!
omg hiiiii thanks so much!!!!!!!!
my process is a bit all over the place (I've tried to describe it before with not much success, maybe now I can do a better job hahaha) but yes I always need reference photos, I can't draw anything from my imagination :( sometimes I use more than one picture, but most times I think I use just one photo that I really like and want to reproduce.
when I'm feeling super inspired and I have a lot of free time, I draw from observation only. And then if I get stuck on a particular spot that I feel I can't get right, I overlay the reference picture and make the necessary adjustments. I've been replicating images for such a long time that nowadays I can usually overlay the original over my drawing and 90% of lines match 😅 And when I draw on paper I do the same thing, I place the paper over my screen to check if the lines are where they should be, but always retroactively, first I draw then I check.
I actually started out drawing everything upside down! I learned that technique with another artist (I took a course when I was in high school 15 years ago), cause apparently if you flip your reference upside down, a house stops being a house, eyes stop being eyes, a mouth stops being a mouth, so you can focus on distances between points, lines, areas and proportions only, without thinking "oh a mouth looks like a little cartoon bird on top of a minimalist boat" or whatever, but rather "this shape is about the same size as that one, and is positioned in relation to that other one and that other line..." So that's sort of how I learned to draw/replicate I what I see (if that made any sense). And replicating a photo is much easier than drawing reality cause a picture is already 2D, when I'm drawing something real I have to convert the 3 dimensions to 2 in my head and I often get a headache by the end of the process lmao
Sometimes I don't have the time or energy (it takes a lot of effort from the brain to do the observation thing) and in those cases I do some lines over the reference pic just to get key areas, then I delete the reference layer (of course I keep a copy in another corner of the screen so I can keep looking at it) and paint over the sketched lines till they mostly disappear.
I think painting is the most fun - either in color or b&w - getting the shades to blend and the painting to look realistic is the part that I like most.
I usually paint on photoshop but I recently got a tablet and I've been trying out new software on it. I mostly require a soft brush with opacity varying with pressure. I start out by doing blocks of color and then I blend blend blend.
I often think that my art is not very good (sometimes I question whether it's art in the first place), cause the only thing I'm good at is copying what I see, and because of that I've been trying to play more with colors and textures, trying to make my paintings a bit more different than their reference photos, a bit more "artistic" idk. I wish I could do more stylized stuff. But the realism can be fun too, it relaxes my brain after a whole day of PhDying.
Thank you so much for the ask!!! And for telling me that you like my stuff (ಥ _ ಥ) means a lot <3
4 notes · View notes
mikauzoran · 1 year
Text
Art Update
Tumblr media
Hi, guys! I haven’t blogged about my art journey all month, so I wanted to give you guys an update. I feel like I’ve sort of been in a funk, but, at the same time, I’ve gotten better? Anyway. Here are some highlights from the past month. (Confession: I’m only showing you the ones I’m happy with. I’ve actually made a lot of art that was rubbish too. XD Oh well. All part of the process, right?)
Above is a watercolor landscape that I did along with an instruction video series. I’m happy with the puffy cloud in the center. I also like the colors of the grass in the foreground and the mountains in the distance. In the video, the instructor said they were supposed to be a line of trees, but mine are mountains because I said so. I think mountains look better at the end of a vast grassland.
Tumblr media
I also started doing acrylic. I think I’m kind of getting the hang of watercolor, but acrylic makes more sense in my head with putting the darker colors down first and adding the lights and highlights on top of that, so I’m giving it a try.
I have a video series for acrylic painting too, so in one of the lectures we painted an egg in black and white. For my first acrylic painting and not knowing what the heck I was doing, I think this turned out really well. I really like the shadows.
I’ve also been doing a lot of drawing. Below are two pumpkins. They make me happy. The real ones are sitting on our dinning room table now looking all festive for the autumn season.
Tumblr media
So, the below was actually a picture in a book I got from the library on drawing techniques. It’s three different ceramic kitchen jars and a coffee mug. It was featured in the lesson on hatching and crosshatching. I thought it looked cool, so I tried drawing it. It turned out really well! The image in the book is probably copyrighted, so I can’t show you a reference photo. You’ll just have to take my word for it that I did a good job with my reproduction.
It’s funny. It doesn’t look like I drew it. I feel like it’s too early for me to have a distinctive “style”, but when I look at the below, it’s obvious that this image didn’t come out of my head. So I must have some sort of basic, cohesive elements that characterize my work. I have no clue what those could possibly be. XD 
Tumblr media
So, I’ve heard about this thing called “gesture drawing”, but I’ve never learned how one goes about doing it. ^.^; Below is a quick “gesture drawing” I did of my daughter Eiko as she was lying out in the yard. (Yes, she does lie with her leg sticking out in back like that. She also only eats lying down. She’s a strange, beautiful creature, and I love her.)
I tried to do one of my son Noiz too, but he didn’t stay still long enough for me to complete anything. XD
Tumblr media
Lastly, here is the final project I did for my drawing class that just wrapped up. It’s my ocarina (dark blue), a tea mug (a slightly darker shade of blue), and a blue and white porcelain bowl containing three clementines. The colors are really pretty together. It doesn’t come across in my greyscale drawing, but know that I thought about the colors when making the composition.
The drawing turned out pretty okay. It’s a lot bigger than I usually work, so the size was a challenge. Looking at it after the fact, there are a lot of little things that I would finesse some more, but I kind of just worked on it for a few hours, got tired, and said, “Good enough. I’m going to bed now”.
There are things that I’m really happy with about this too. The mouthpiece of the ocarina looks really good in person. I also like the way the top of the tea mug turned out as well as the handle. The reflection of the bowl of clementines in the mug also looks pretty good. I think the right-most clementine turned out well. I had a little trouble with shading. It’s so hard for me to shade light, but I think the right-most clementine turned out well.
Tumblr media
At the moment, I’m actually taking a portrait painting class. XD I’m super new to acrylic AND portraits, so I’m way out of my depth, but the instructor is very nice and supportive. (She’s the same one who did my drawing class.) All of the other students are way more advanced than I am, but that’s okay. We’ve only had one class, and I’ve already learned a lot. Maybe I’ll share my portrait with you guys at the end of the class. If it’s not too embarrassing. XD
Thanks for reading! <3
9 notes · View notes
demonsandco · 3 years
Note
I searched through your blog and I'm honestly so surprised you don't have more Simeon content. That being said, if you're still doing it, can I get the WHOLE smut alphabet for Simeon?
You’re right! It’s a shame cause he’s very much one of my favorites now that we get to see more of him in game! Normally I wouldn’t do the entire alphabet like this because it’s… a lot, but Simeon deserves it uwu. This is nearly 3000 words, which makes it my longest post yet by a long shot!
A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)
Simeon is such a sweetheart after sex. He’s not actually sleepy, but his limbs feel like jelly and he’s full of so many soft, loving emotions. All he wants to do is keep his partner close in his arms, slyly stealing kisses from their lips and whispering words of love in their ear. He’s not eager to get up or move at all, but he’s willing to have a bath or grab some water if they join him. Sex leaves him feeling rather emotional and vulnerable, and he really just wants to feel them near him and hear their voice.
B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)
Simeon’s favorite part of his body is his hands. He wears gloves often to protect them, leaving his skin feeling so soft and smooth. He’s a very hands on type of person, and he’s quite skilled with them, too. One of his favorite things to do during sex is run his hands up and down his partner’s sides, feeling their warmth under his palms.
In turn, Simeon loves every part of their body. If he had to pick just one part, though, it would be their eyes. He’s a firm believer in the saying that “eyes are the windows to the soul” and he could lose himself in their gaze. He’s fond of maintaining eye contact, watching their expression shift as they get close and memorising the different shades and tones that make up their eye color.
(Cont under the cut)
C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)
Simeon cums so much, both in quantity and frequency, but he hates the messiness of it. It feels good in the moment, but it gets cold and sticky way too quickly for his liking. He really likes to see his partner covered in his cum, as though he marked them as his in a way only the two of them would know about, but he’s always quick to help clean them up before it gets uncomfortable.
D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)
Simeon really doesn’t have anything that he would call a dirty secret. All the sexual experiences he’s had in the past have been quite tame and he’s very much not the type of person to feel ashamed about his past actions or keep them secret. He’s an open book when it comes to relationships and sex.
E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)
Contrary to popular belief, angels are allowed to have sex. As long as it doesn’t impact their duties, angels can do whatever they want with their private lives, and Simeon very much took advantage of that. He’s had quite a few partners in the past, especially before the war took place. His original rank as a Seraph gave him a lot of popularity among other angels. His experiences have taught him a lot about how to make his partner feel good in many different ways, but he never really had the chance to figure out what he enjoys. There’s a huge opportunity for them to experiment with his body and to teach him more than just the basics.
F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)
Simeon is really open to experimenting and trying out new positions, so he doesn’t have just one favorite. However, the positions he enjoys most are ones where he can see his partner’s face, especially if the position lets him pull them against his chest when he feels the need for closeness. He’s open to just about any position, though, even if it seems rather absurd at first.
G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)
Simeon isn’t goofy enough to ruin the moment, but his playful nature definitely shines through. If he’s in bed with someone, that means he feels close to them emotionally, too, so he feels comfortable enough to not stay serious all the time. Sometimes things go wrong in the moment or something silly gets said out loud on accident. He doesn’t see anything wrong with laughing it off or jokingly teasing each other. He’s good at telling when the mood allows for some laughs and when some composure is necessary.
H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)
Being an angel, Simeon’s body is almost entirely hairless. Besides the hair on his head, the only other hair on him is a small patch above his cock and a very faint happy trail. He doesn’t enjoy the feel of shaving, but he does keep it very neatly trimmed at all times. Colour wise, it matches the hair on his head perfectly.
I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)
Simeon is quite romantic in the moment. Love and intimacy are very important aspects of sex to him, and that comes through in most of his actions. His pace, his preferred positions, everything reflects that intimacy that he craves. Through it all, he’s sweet talking to his partner, letting them know how good they make him feel, how important they are to him, and how much he loves them. He knows he might come across as too intense, but he wants to make sure they know that sex isn’t just about the physical aspect for him.
J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)
Simeon rarely, if ever, feels the need to masturbate. Without a partner, sex really isn’t something he thinks about often, and if he does have a partner, he’d much rather take care of his need with them, rather than on his own. If he does end up jacking off, though, he always ends up fantasising about them, and he finds that he can’t actually cum without imagining them being there with him.
K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)
Unsurprisingly, Simeon has a corruption kink. It came as a huge shock to him when he first realised it, but something about having his sweet little human tempt him and lead him down a path of “sin” excites him. It feeds into his rebellious nature that he constantly tries to control. It gives him a rush of adrenaline whenever they convince him to do something shameful or lewd and he finds himself enjoying it and even craving more instead of actually feeling shame.
As well, Simeon also has a massive praise kink. He always strives to please his partner as best as he can and getting positive reinforcement, something he rarely hears normally, sends shocks of pleasure shooting down his spine. The more praise he gets, the more eager he is to be good. If he’s being bratty, praising his good behavior in the past gets him to behave much quicker than a “punishment” would.
L = Location (favorite places to do the do)
Simeon’s preferred location is either his or his partner’s room. It’s a place that feels safe and familiar, while also offering privacy. They can take as much time as they want and be as loud as they feel like without having to worry about anyone bursting in.
M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)
Getting Simeon turned on is pretty easy. All his partner needs to do is be direct with their advances. Their boldness excites him. He isn’t the type of person to get turned on by seemingly innocent actions, so their intent needs to be clear. That, alongside some suggestive touches, is more than enough to get him in the mood.
N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)
Simeon is usually open to trying anything once and there’s not a lot that he’s opposed to, but he is very serious with his boundaries. He refuses to allow sex with his partner to start impacting his day to day life. Skipping classes, missing meetings, or even risking being late to something, even if it’s not important, in favor of sex is a big no for him. He makes his boundaries very clear from the start, and will quickly become harsh if his partner doesn’t respect them.
O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)
Simeon has almost no experience in oral, giving or receiving, but it quickly becomes one of his favorite things. He could spend hours between his partner’s thighs without getting bored. While he’s rather hesitant and unsure at first, he’s very skilled at reading their reactions and starts adjusting his technique to make them feel as good as possible.
He doesn’t enjoy receiving quite as much, but he still loves it! It’s so easy for his partner to make him cum or overstimulate him with just their mouth. The warm wetness of their mouth feels divine and their breath is so hot against his skin, he can’t help but cum embarrassingly quickly.
P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)
Simeon greatly enjoys taking his time with his partner, keeping a slow and sensual pace and exploring every inch of their body with his mouth and hands. He’s not a fan of rushing, even as he gets closer to his peak, he keeps his pace steady, his body molding against theirs. He’s not opposed to going faster if they prefer that, but his favorite pace will always be slow and intimate.
Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)
Simeon is not a fan of quickies. He’ll be open to trying it at least once, but he knows from the start that it’s not his cup of tea. The whole thing just feels so rushed and impersonal to him. The most important part of sex to him is the intimacy and emotional connections, and quickies feel very lacking in comparison. If anything, they leave him craving his partner even more than before.
R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)
Simeon is very open to experimenting and he’s always excited to learn and experience new things. He’s willing to try anything once, even if it’s something that he’s pretty sure he won’t enjoy. The idea of taking risks also interests him, but it needs to only be a perceived risk for him to participate. Something like messing around in an empty classroom at RAD is exciting, but it needs to be afterhours when the school is empty and the door has to be locked for him to feel comfortable.
S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)
Simeon’s stamina is not the best, at least at first. He can go for more rounds than the average human just because he’s an angel, but he’s so unbelievably sensitive that the rounds themselves are rather short. It’s been so long since he’s had anyone touch him sexually that he ended up cumming in his pants the first time he was with his partner. With time, his stamina will improve drastically, probably to the point where he could easily outlast them, but he needs some practice to get there.
T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)
Toys aren’t something Simeon has ever really thought about using or has ever owned. When he sees the huge variety of toys that exist, he feels excited to try them out, mostly relying on his partner’s preferences and recommendations to pick some. He quickly learns that he really enjoys having them use different toys on him and, in turn, he loves the new opportunities the toys give him when it comes to pleasuring them in return. The possessive, prideful part of him that is usually buried very much prefers making his partner feel good on his own, without toys to help, but most of the time, he doesn’t mind.
U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)
The first time he teases his partner, it’s entirely accidental, his habit of going slow and taking his time exploring their body ends up making him tease them. Once he sees the way it makes them feel, though, he starts doing it on purpose, wanting to see more of their reactions. He’ll relent, with a smug little smile on his face, if they start begging, but until then, he plays the innocent card, pretending not to realise what he’s doing.
As much as he likes to dish it out, Simeon really can’t take much teasing. He’s so sensitive and desperate that he’ll start begging immediately, willing to do anything just to feel more of their touch.
V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)
Simeon is naturally very loud and he lets out the prettiest sounds. At first, he tries to muffle them and keep his volume down. He talks quite a bit, at least while he’s still able to form coherent thoughts, and loves to whisper sweet things to his partner in a breathy tone. The closer he gets to cumming, the more his words devolve into delicate gasps and high pitched moans. When he cums, he lets out the longest, breathiest whine that no amount of gritting his teeth or covering his mouth could smother. He’s very vocal throughout, and without some sort of soundproofing, his voice can very much be heard through the walls.
W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)
Simeon has a hard time controlling his wings during sex. He can’t focus hard enough to keep them hidden and they tend to have a mind of their own, fluttering and puffing up depending on how he feels. They’re quite sensitive in the moment too, especially at the base. In the end, he finds himself wrapping his wings around his partner as he pulls them close, keeping them warm and safe under his feathers. Unfortunately, this usually means that the bed is covered in feathers from all his flapping and wiggling.
X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)
Simeon has such a pretty cock, so perfectly smooth that it almost looks like a drawing rather than an actual dick. He’s large enough to be impressive without seeming intimidating, with just enough girth to feel like a stretch, but not be painful. It’ll still take some prep for his partner to take him, but it won’t be too difficult with some patience and plenty of lube.
Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)
Simeon’s libido isn’t very high at all, and sex isn’t something that’s on his mind constantly. What matters to him most is spending quality time with his partner, regardless of what they’re doing together. They usually need to be the one to actually initiate things, since he has no qualms with pushing down his need to avoid ruining the moment. With how much he values physical touch, it’s not hard for cuddles to become something more, and as long as there’s time for it, Simeon will never say no.
Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)
Sex doesn’t exactly leave him feeling sleepy, but it does make him feel extraordinarily relaxed. He tends to follow his partner’s lead, staying awake longer if they don’t plan to sleep right away. With how warm and soft he feels, though, he has no trouble falling asleep quickly, cuddling them close to his chest to absorb more of their body heat. If it’s up to him, he prefers to share some casual pillow talk together, before falling asleep soon after. If he can avoid having to get up and be functional, he will.
451 notes · View notes
fadenet · 4 years
Photo
Tumblr media
hello everyone! under the cut you’ll find a tutorial explaining how to make pale and pastel gifs without turning the subject into casper the friendly ghost. please keep in mind that this is not strictly a step-by-step coloring tutorial - i won’t be teaching you how to recreate the exact look featured in the header. it will be more of a "foundational” guide that teaches you the basic techniques of anti-whitewashing, so that you can apply them to all sorts of different scenes. with that being said, let’s get right into it!
all you need for this tutorial is a version of photoshop with a timeline option, and a basic understanding of adjustment layers.
the first and most important step is picking the right scene to gif. you’ll want to select a scene with a solid background. since red and yellow are the predominant colors in most people’s skin, it’s important that you pick scenes where those colors are easy to isolate - meaning you’ll want to use a scene with a white, black, blue, green, or purple background. it can even be a combination of all those colors. (you can also use red and yellow, but the process is a bit more complicated and involves layer masks, which i won’t be explaining today). for example’s sake i’ll use this scene of jasmine from aladdin, since it has a simple dark blue background:
Tumblr media
it’s at this point that we’ll want to start isolating the reds and changing the background color of the gif. for this step i don’t do anything fancy - usually a selective color adjustment layer does the trick. it’s at this stage that you can go crazy and change the background to whatever you like, but for this tutorial i’ll just keep it simple. here’s my gif after i’ve removed the yellows and cyans, and made the blues more of a purplish hue:
Tumblr media
as you can see, the gif is desaturated but it’s still dark, not pastel or pale by any stretch. this is where your brightness and curves layers come into play. brighten the scene to your heart’s content - for now you don’t have to worry about how it affects the character’s skintone. you can make your own coloring, or you can use a psd - i prefer to layer one of odairannies’ stunning psds with a bunch of my own adjustments. here’s what my gif looks like after i crank up the brightness and make everything more pastel/washed out:
Tumblr media
as you can see, the background is a nice lavender shade now, but jasmine’s skin is also significantly lighter and ashier. we don’t want this of course, so we’re going to return to our best friend the selective color adjustment layer. since we isolated the reds earlier, all we have to do is play with their brightness and saturation to get jasmine’s natural brown skincolor back. i also added another selective color layer to brighten the purples even more, and a hue/saturation layer to deepen her skincolor further. here’s what she looks like now:
Tumblr media
at this stage, you might think to yourself: “this looks pretty good. she’s not so pale anymore, i can go ahead and post this.” no. please remember that you can’t always rely on your naked eyes to determine whether or not something is whitewashed. especially if you’re making a lot of gifs at once, you might develop tunnel vision or color blindness and not truly process what you’re looking at, even if you toggle the psd on/off. i highly, highly recommend creating a layer mask to double-check  your work, like so:
Tumblr media
now that i have a direct before/after comparison, i can see that jasmine’s skin is a little lighter and more yellow-toned than it was before. normally this is something i would fix, but remember that we changed this gif from a night scene into a “day scene” with our adjustments. because of factors like this, you don’t always have to match the “after” skincolor to be exactly 100% the same hex code as the “before” skincolor. when you take into account the lighting, it’s normal to have a bit of discrepancy - it might look more natural to make the skin a bit brighter or yellower. for example, if i tried to adjust jasmine’s skincolor to match the original gif to a T, she would look like this:
Tumblr media
as you can see, she looks too dark and almost purple. because we changed the "lighting” of the scene, it’s natural for her skin to be a slightly different hue. that being said, you should always try to stay within the same color range, and never lighten the subject’s skin by more than 1 or 2 shades. with that in mind, here’s how my final gif turned out:
Tumblr media
like i said earlier, this process will vary from film-to-film, scene-to-scene, person-to-person, which is why you can’t always use the same psd. it’s also a bit easier with 2d animation, since characters will have one “flat” skin color, whereas in 3d they will have varying shades of beige, yellow, and pink that you also have to pay attention to. that’s not to say it can’t be done on 3d or live action footage though. i’ll include a few examples from all different types of media to show you that it’s not only possible, but that it is necessary. i implore all of you to follow this method if you truly believe in inclusion and making aesthetic tumblr a safe space for poc, especially dark-sinned poc. thank you for reading, and happy photoshopping~
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
4K notes · View notes
leftski-art · 2 years
Note
First off- Love your art. Big, hard yet somehow soft and warm. I can't really explain but I feel like all your characters smell great and give serotonine-filled hugs.
I would just love to know your drawing process. All your lines and colors are so clean, so straight, so nice. How do sketches look? Whats the walkthrough. Tell me your secrets. I beg of you.
Thank you! It’s a running joke among my D&D group that my characters give the best hugs, so I’d say your feeling is right ^^
Secrets can be found below 👀
The tools I use are as follows
a small Wacom Intuos tablet
Clip Studio Paint (sketch, lineart, flat colours, shading)
Photoshop (textures, backgrounds and lighting effects, colour correction, abusing the Liquify tool to try to fix anatomy mistakes)
Sketches
Tumblr media
My sketches usually look something like this and involve a lot of scribbling and experimentation and use of the Transform tool until I end up with something I like. I kinda just feel out the shapes as I go and am constantly redoing and adjusting things.
The different colours are just so I can differentiate between the different elements and it doesn't all just become a giant scribbly mess when I'm trying to line it after.
Lines
Tumblr media
As for my lineart, half of it is just a result of practice. I've been doing lineart + cell shading as my main style for over ten years now so I like to think I've managed to acquire some decent line control in that time.
The other half is a good stabilizer and pen pressure settings on the brushes I use.
Before Clip Studio Paint, I used Paint Tool SAI for my lineart because I could never get line results I was happy with in Photoshop, but not only does CSP have phenomenal stabilizer settings, its vector layers feature (which automatically turns your lines into vector shapes regardless of the brush you use!) has also made the process way easier by allowing me to edit and adjust my lines after the fact.
The one tip I can share when it comes to lineart is to take advantage of momentum. I never draw directly on my lineart layer; I make a new layer above it, draw on that one, and then merge it down every few minutes. This lets me use momentum to carry my brush strokes and then erase the parts that overlap without worrying about messing up the stuff I already have, resulting in smoother lines than if I had tried to precisely draw a straight line the entire time.
Tumblr media
In the example above, the green line is on its own layer and can be easily erased without damaging the black lines around it.
I also tend to use a smaller brush for interior/detail lines and thicker ones for the outer edges of a shape just because I think it looks nice.
Process in General
Honestly, my process is just a lot of trial and error. I draw a line, undo it, draw a line, undo it. I sketch several hairstyles or outfits on different layers and then swap between them like some weird dress up game until I decide which to keep. I experiment with adjusting the hue and saturation of flat colours until I find something I like. I’m a very “make it up as I go” kind of artist, and really, creator in general; and rarely is the finished piece the result of any sort of plan.
That being said, I do have a general order in which I do things:
Sketch a bunch of random things until I find something I like
Merge all sketch layers and reduce the layer opacity until it’s very faint
Make a lineart layer above, then a layer to actually draw on above that
Draw the lineart using the techniques mentioned above (I often jump around and line different sections randomly), fixing any wonky parts of the sketch as I go
Make a separate layer below the finished lineart for each differently-coloured element (eg: hair layer, skin layer, pants layer, etc.) and fill with fill bucket*
Tweak each layer’s colour until vaguely happy with it
Make a layer below all other layers, select the entire interior of the lineart, fill it with black to fill any tiny gaps left by the fill bucket
Make a layer above all other layers, set it to multiply, draw shadows with a light grey-blue-purple colour (I shade one element at a time by selecting the area and then drawing within that selection on the shading layer)
Repeat step 7 with a layer set to Overlay and a light-medium grey for highlights
Open the image in Photoshop and apply gradients, patterns, lighting etc.
Notice all the mistakes it’s too late to fix and start second guessing the entire piece, say “screw it”, save it as a .png, and post anyway!
And I think that’s about it.
Sorry if that was confusing, I’m not sure how much previous knowledge of these programs you have or how much detail I should go into, but I hope maybe some of it was interesting and/or educational lol
I also have a short process video here that shows the steps one at a time that might help you visualise it better
- - - - - - -
*In case anyone’s brave enough to try using this as a tutorial and isn’t sure what I mean here:
CSP lets you set the lineart layer as a reference layer and still fill the colour on a different layer as though the lines were present on that layer. In other programs you may have to select the area you want to colour on the lineart layer manually with the magic wand tool and then move to the corresponding colour layer before filling it in.
If you use a program where you have to select the area manually, you may want to keep all your tiny detailed lines on a separate lineart layer just so you don’t have to spend time selecting all the small gaps between them. Alternatively, you could just fill it by hand with a brush.
28 notes · View notes
cinnamonpretzelboy · 2 years
Text
Got the basis of a botw fic that pretty much results from a shitload of my headcanons it’s pretty long of an overview as I wanted to cover most details so be warned
The Marked AU:
Botw 2 takes place seven years after botw ends
Link is 118+ by the time botw ends (atleast 118 and 6 months)
Link pulled the sword soon after he turned 13 and died at 18
Zelda was terrible to him (throwing things at him, constant verbal abuse, dehumanization, belittling loss of a family member (his dad who died when he and link were trying to protect the princess from a monster hoard), lied to the gerudo so they would immobilize him (break his legs) so that he couldn’t even try to get into gerudo town.
Things only got better with Zelda within 6 months of the calamity
The memories in botw take place over a 1 year period
Link never saw his sister or mother again after he pulled the sword
Links hair was white (think fierce diety) after the shrine of resurrection for a decent period of time
While he would occasionally have aid from the spirits of the hero of twilight and time (dusk and shade) it was inconsistent at best and for the most part he wandered alone
When he wasn’t near death their aid wasn’t something he could rely upon
They both taught him techniques (shade taught him magic (dins fire farores wind nayrus love) and dusk taught him / refined his swordsmanship
Due to this more in depth understanding of magic during the champions ballad he is able to make the champion abilities his own (he is able to conjure weakened versions without calling on the champions)
So even after their spirits leave he can still conjure their magic, even doing so in different ways to what they allowed in game
Miphas grace for a general healing factor, Revalis gale to keep an arrow flying straight longer or maintain altitude long er with the paraglider, Daruks protection closer to his body and using the shards as weapons, and Urbosas fury can be used to power things requiring electricity, for electric resistance, and for electrifying his metal weapons
He also does the same (expanding the capabilities of) the magic taught by the hero of time
This makes farores wind a more general speed boost and it kinda flows with the flurry rush
This makes dins fire more capable of just shooting out general fire balls and applying a layer of heat around his body to protect from the cold
This makes nayrus love function closer to the magic armor from wind waker and twilight princess where it adds a defensive boost but he isn’t invincible and he usually only uses it in tandem with a modified daruks protection for very brief periods to tank hits, if he tried using this defensive combo for a whole battle he would exhaust himself
Mind you he doesn’t just immediately make all of these Magic’s work for him, it takes years to develop some of these skills and he had many teachers, he is no prodigy
The gap between botw and its sequel allow for link to get roped into some of the multi link journeys (linked universe and bonus links)
The way the time flows in the gap between games can be read through his hair color, pre calamity is the same hair color as the game shows, at the end of botw it’s still almost pure white but the roots start having some blond strands
The reason his hair was white is because of the shrine of resurrection and it’s side effects (sharper teeth, glowing eyes, blue glowing blood, better vision and hearing, general increased potency for having magic applied to the user (links ability to use the champions abilities more than in game)
His hair was staying mostly white as a result of the malice in the atmosphere
when he joins the chain (linked universe) his hair is blond on the top but his sideburns and the ends of his hair are still white for a couple inches and his hair color is more of a pale blond that is still very light less vibrant than his hair in LU. When LU raps up its pretty much just the ends of his hair that are still white but his hair color is still considerably lighter than it was in game and a bit lighter than his hair in the LU comics
LU is also where he starts building on his magic with the help of mainly hyrule and time, but he’s still pretty inexperienced with magic and really only got the champion abilities back to how they perform in game and learned hyrules trick for heating yourself up in the cold
During LU he doesn’t really act like the typical ‘wild’ and is instead mostly silent and distrustful for a while as a result of time and twilight not being shade and dusk (both shade and dusk lacked the facial marks they have in LU and dusk was a twili)
He gets along with time after a while and gets along with wind and hyrule from the start but while accommodating he is emotionally distant from the others
Bonus links takes place a couple months later and links hair is pretty much the color it was in the LU comics with the white gone (Zelda keeps giving him haircuts) but with some strands of white still interspersed throughout
Bonus links he’s pretty much constantly confused in the first weeks but learns to accept it the same way he accepted that whole time and twilight were the hero’s they claimed to be they weren’t his realities version of them
He learns a lot from mage after some prodding but generally is even more emotionally distant with this group than the chain with exemption of the hero’s that don’t act like the ones in the chain (mask, mage, wake) and the ones who weren’t really in the chain (mini, tracks, mirror) he’s pretty indifferent on wolf and loft basing both of them on their LU counterparts and not really interested in looking deeper to see them as their own people so he just ends up seeing depressed/midlife crisis twilight and sky if he was more of a realist. He’s pretty distant but not rude to the both of them. The only one he really clashed with is the captain because despite the fact he wears the hat now he acts almost identically in links eyes to warriors and it doesn’t help that the captain won’t leave link be.
After this group he’s mostly gotten his magic to the proficiency listed earlier but with pretty bad magic stamina as while he naturally regains magic as a side effect from the shrine of resurrection he doesn’t know to make or have a way to obtain magic potions so he resorts to using stamina potions which while they do the job he has to use magic just to focus their effects in the right place making them generally a more of a hassle than it’s worth.
For both LU and bonus links I’m going to leave it open ended on whether or not he stayed to the end of their journeys or if he got fed up and forced his way out of the adventure I’m leaning towards him going to the end with one and leaving the other because of Zelda being pregnant.
By the time botw 2 happens link and Zelda have 2 darling daughters with a 2 year age gap the older being Astra and the younger being Sunny (“she has a smile like the sun” reference)
Jumping back to some details I want to elaborate on about links time during botw he would introduce himself as link but was only really indifferent to the name and preferred how dusk and shade called him thistle (because he’s mighty) the one time zelda tried calling him this however he lashed out at her. He had a formal goodbye with the two of them where dusk left him the twilight crystal but so he could turn into a wolf in a pinch and shade left him the fierce diety mask.
The fierce diety in this au is like 2 (but really 3) separate characters where the one(s) that marked time and mask aren’t the same as the one shade was acquainted with (this also feeds into some tension with time and mask) the key difference is that shade didn’t see the fierce diety as a get out of jail free card or a something he would reluctantly pull out only when necessary like mask and time. Shade was still traumatized by termina but in a way where he was willing to find a friend in everyone even the soul trapped inside of a mask for millennia and along with this when shade died he incidentally broke the fierce diety’s mask effectively freeing him. So the fierce diety botw link carries is a lot more chill and link knows that he needs to respect the diety to use the mask properly. The issue with time and mask is they are effectively the fierce diety’s warden and have dehumanized him, he has been trapped for millennia and instead of being sympathetic you antagonize him and his only temporary release is when you put the mask on of course he’s fucking marked you, you tried to relegate him to just being a fucking item instead of a living thing.
Back to links character development between the games, he’s gotten a lot better at understanding sheikah tech due to spending most of his time outside of adventuring with Zelda and by extension, Purah, so he can definitely read ancient sheikah, he’s a doting parent and loving husband.
If your wondering how he and Zelda could’ve ended up together after I talked about how terrible she was to him pre-calamity, he doesn’t remember and nobodies fucking telling him, the zora had rumors of him being mistreated but there was never any actual proof, his memories are pretty much just the ones from the game and some from his childhood but he has a massive empty period in between when he pulled the sword and was named hylian champion that he’s subconsciously blocking because of trauma
General worldbuilding facts:
- [ ] All monsters have black blood by the time he wakes up as an evolutionary thing that was sped up because of malice
- [ ] Of the champions only Mipha and Daruk supported him with Mipha even transferring letters between link and his mother and sister
- [ ] Links sister’s name is Aria, his fathers name is Edward (read that in old English it means guardian of prosperity / mists, seems fitting because as soon as he dies link’s life spirals and for the mists part it makes sense that links father delayed him finding the sword by protecting him), and his mother’s name is Devon (old English for defender)
- [ ] Revali was older than Zelda but younger than Link
- [ ] Riju is urbosas great grandniece
- [ ] Link isn’t decended from the hero of twilight or time
- [ ] While Impa did give the champions tunic to Link she also warned him that he should hide his identity and the slate to protect him from the yiga’s eyes
- [ ] Link and Mipha were together before the calamity (but after the champions ceremony) because realistically you don’t propose to someone who you aren’t already in a relationship with
- [ ] After skyward sword hylia only ever exists through her descendents and lacks the power to truly influence fate only to step in when she can
- [ ] The reason Zelda unlocked her power so late is because of hylia trying to build up her power so that she could eradicate demise. The reason this differs in the age of calamity timeline is because of terrako opening the rift for hylia to see that there wasn’t a point in trying to build up past the necessary amount
- [ ] The death of the hero of time is heavily based off of his final battle with ganondorf in the fic on Ao3 ‘the legend of Zelda: a shade of time with ganondorf taking his eye and shattering the fierce diety mask but unlike the fic link didn’t last much longer and as he came back to consciousnessafter the gerudo had pushed the battle north he dragged himself into the lost woods hoping the Kokiri would help him, but alas they were long gone without the Deku trees protection. And so he became a Stalfos only keeping his mind due to the weakening magic of the woods and skull kid safeguarding his soul until a time where he could pass on
And now I’m getting into stuff that is very likely going to be AU from botw 2 but I may retrofit the botw 2 plot onto this au after the game comes out. Link and Zelda go under the castle to try and find a solution to the sheikah tech no longer working or losing power (in the first trailer the shrines and towers are absent) but they stumble upon ganondorf the trailer thing happens and they get separated. Link with his new magic and Zelda with the master sword (note: at this point the magic is primarily locked onto his arm but hasn’t replace it or anything his old arm is still there) general Zelda stuff happens (dungeons, monster, fighting, sidequests) until the halfway point where link and Zelda meet back up but surprise surprise ganondorf is also there to ruin everyone’s day. He attacks Zelda but link gets in the way. Link and Zelda fight ganondorf but he’s just toying with them until Zelda gives link an opening to get a hit with the master sword. At this point ganondorf isn’t playing games anymore and quickly takes both of them out resulting in Zelda being badly injured and link getting what would be mortal wounds getting his magic arm sliced off.
To prevent his death he binds his soul to the fierce diety’s so that he can survive. This results in link being down an arm for a short section where the atmosphere is very bleak and while link will live with the diety’s intervention the two are still reluctant to really become one as they niether really knows what that entails as it’s more than when it was just the hero of time wearing his mask as the mask is no longer a full buffer with it being broken when the hero of time died. For the atmosphere of this period where link tries to get Zelda to kakariko while avoiding being spotted by ganon the atmosphere is very reminiscent of the escape from the last city in destiny 2.
After link gets Zelda to kakariko she is effectively decommissioned for the rest of the story up until the final confrontation with ganon. For the rest of his life links hair is white. After this link goes to Hateno/ Akkala where purah and Robbie build him a robot arm replace the one he lost. He only uses the robot arm for about a third of the story though as in a fight with a phantom ganon link is pushed to his limits and the lingering magic he got in the beginning of the story reactivates and forms a magic construct arm based on his real arm and the scraps left of his robot arm after the phantom crushes it.
The story continues until Zelda recovers enough that she deems herself ready to go with link to face ganon head on.
Despite her assurance that they are ready they still can barely keep up with a ganondorf who isn’t holding back and the battle effectively becomes a war of attrition with them on the losing side. As the battle goes on ganon attacks Zelda again but in her more damaged state and with the distance between her and link from link trying to draw ganondorf’s attention away from her Zelda takes the full force of ganondorf’s attack. what was once her chest is only a gaping hole, ganondorf mirthfully allows link to get to her relishing in the hero’s desolated frame. Link and the fierce diety know that there is no turning back from this and begin to meld only for the combined warrior to pause as Zelda grasps his left hand using the last of her strength to bless him and give him the triforce. She wished for his protection and gave him a man already becoming diety her power the last of hylias power to give. With her final act she bestowed upon link immortality, not on purpose, she couldn’t have known what she was doing in her last fading seconds, but this didn’t matter to the combined warrior of man and diety the warrior took on her power to finish the fight, forming a sword with his right hands magic and wielding the master sword in his left he annihilated the final incarnation of demise and in killing something that had given up on reincarnation had ended the cycle. With the cycle broken the breaths of the long dying goddess hylia came to an end
If you want to check out more stuff of this au just click the ‘Marked AU’ tag on this post
25 notes · View notes
subjectnumberx · 3 years
Text
Thumbnailing: Subject's Way
Thumbnails are an important workflow tool artists use to make creating their works more efficient. They are essentially tiny, low detail versions of the idea you may have in mind, and save time by helping you catch potential compositional errors, clashing colors in palettes(if you blob some colors on), and poses that simply might not.. work in character art as well as many other things not mentioned.
I am a very visual person and sometimes putting ideas to paper really helps me focus better on the task at hand. Organizing things into steps on the page really helps me not get overwhelmed. It might prove helpful to you as well.
In this tutorial, I'll take you through my workflow process when planning paintings and simple character illustrations.
Tumblr media
I start off the process by doing a ton of sketches of whatever thing from many angles, poses, etc. Usually if I have a certain image in mine I simply sketch that and adjust little things like angle, placement of limbs, etc. Work teeny tiny, you can enlarge it later. I,t really depends on what the goal is for that piece what the process looks like. Here the goal was to just draw a character, so I have many options.
environment sketches look a bit different for me, as I will sketch them in literal cubes. I am still working through the technique. I just haven't gotten good enough at them yet to consider a tutorial by me would be helpful to anyone though.
Like with piece D, it's good to plan compositional elements here too. I added the moon that would go in the eventual background, swords in the hands of B and E, etc. Had I had more time, F would have gotten rough roses, but I digress.
Tumblr media
After I have base sketches, I do very rough lines so I know what I'm looking at, and it primes me for what I could possibly have issues with in doing the final. I keep it VERY loose and don't dwell too much on details. If I'm drawing a character, I'm not even going to look up references, unless their silhouette is very complex. There is not much need for accuracy here. Just to nail down your subject's silhouette.
At this point, you can start eliminating which poses you don't want. Here I was very indecisive so I went through with sketching all of them.
Tumblr media
At this step ill also take the time to plan variants if I feel like I would be indecisive about them/need them for certain platforms (optional).
Tumblr media
Here's where things start to actually take the form of thumbnails. I work large and draw most of the anatomy of the subject so that things are positioned correctly in the frame. Draw the whole of something, even if you know it's going to get cropped out. There is nothing worse than trying to draw in a way that is already cropped, it messes up your anatomy bad, and you'll spend more time trying to fix it, especially if you are just starting out as an artist.
Physically drawing a box around them to help with framing is really good to help plan the composition of the final piece. Again, you can eliminate stuff here as well if they don't make interesting compositions. Consider the rule of thirds and how much breathing room you want or need in your piece. The one not in a box was eliminated because I didn't like the pose nor would it make a very interesting piece.
I also use different colors on the boxes so I can overlap them and keep my eyes from getting confused where one "drawing" ends and one begins.
Tumblr media
If I'm planning portraits/art in my painterly style, I'll take the time to block in some colors just to see what I should shoot for in the final. I will also do several pairings of colors in their own sets of thumbnails if the piece needs it/i want varients. I highly suggest blobbing so that you can see how potential colors will play with one another. Learning the teeniest bit of color theory will help, I promise, but for now, i'lI'lll refrain from the mini-lecture.
Tumblr media
these three two (you'll see), I figured would make better cel-shaded/quicker pieces due to how zoomed out they are, any true details I would want to focus on don't exactly work for my current style faraway. Be sure to tailor compositions that suit your style. I will be keeping these sketch ideas for future reference.
It's important to remember that just because an idea doesn't get used in this piece, that doesn't mean it can't be used in a further piece down the road. I actually have a horrible habit of deleting my thumbnails after I'm done with them, but if I'm thumbnailing in a sketchbook? I find myself browsing back over them for future pieces to get some rough ideas of what could work later.
One last thing, you don't have to plan as many thumbnails as I did, but I do suggest at least 3 or 4 to really stretch your creativity.
Thumbnails also make for a good warm-up. If you're curious, I did the initial sketches in this order: A C E D B F. I think it helped me loosen up a bit, but you can be the judge of that.
Tumblr media
I went back and tried another approach for a painting, but now I have the base for 3 paintings I could pursue, albeit rough, but it's good to learn how to paint like a sculptor, I digress.
That's all there is to it. the key is being clean enough to get the idea down, but rough enough to save time. work small, using basic shapes to create silhouettes. You can enlarge it later and use it as a base sketch.
Last two cents: I've also learned that sometimes if a piece is just not working, it's probably more than likely a compositional issue, anatomy, or perspective, Which is why thumbnailing can help you catch these issues early.
happy drawing :)
a/n: this is my first time really creating a tutorial. this might not be groundbreaking information for some of you and that's okay. this tutorial was initially created for someone in an art server I'm in on Discord, hence the slide-text-slide format. I have taken the images and text from that and compiled them here to make it easier to pick up the tips. I do not consider myself a pro on any of the things mentioned by any means, merely my take on it all. Get multiple sources, educate yourself, practice, and find what works for you. - Sub
21 notes · View notes
phoenixyfriend · 3 years
Text
Time-Travel feat. Ino, Sakura, TenTen
The short of it is "Ino, in the Founders Era, sees Izuna and makes it her personal mission to Tap That."
The time-travelers are Ino, Sakura, and TenTen. Why them? I like girls being badasses, these three make a badass trio, and I don't want to deal with Caged Bird Seal politics. (Hyuuga just... complicate time-travel plots.)
Ino is the one that is clearly clan, and they make a group decision that the benefits of Yamanaka backing (and by extension Akimichi and Nara) outweigh the potential drawbacks.
It's pretty easy to convince them that they're Worth It. Ino doesn't bring anything new, really, but she's clever and knows the clan techniques and is very good at them, so the clan head (after performing a mind search to confirm the story) is like Sure, You're In.
Meanwhile, Sakura is a terrifyingly competent medic that knows hundreds, if not thousands, of medical techniques that don't even EXIST yet, and TenTen might not be a medic like the other two, or capable of explodey punches, or clan-trained, but the girl is a taijutsu powerhouse that's probably fast as hell because she was trained by GAI, and she's got at minimum a journeyman-level training in fuuinjutsu.
(Also just, don't argue with the 100% accuracy lady. Just don't. The reason she doesn't have a body-count to rival Minato's eventual count is because she doesn't want to and basically no other reason. There are some opponents that a Kunai to the Neck won't take down for whatever reason? Iron-skin, water body, super healing/shapeshifting, but for the rank and file? That's a one-hit. And she can throw hundreds of kunai at a time, so... if you take the 100% accuracy statements literally, she's a nightmare if she decides to go lethal.)
They run missions for a bit, and Ino is... usually the one sent out on field missions, because Sakura's busy teaching people how to save lives, and TenTen is currently the closest thing the Yamanaka have to a seal master--she's not a master, not on the level of an Uzumaki or even a Senju, but she's way better than most on account of village training schema and it's cheaper to give her a long-term role in the triple clan system than to hire independent contractors--but sometimes they all go out!
And... okay, I'm gonna be real here: Nobody approves of the way Ino dresses other than Ino and her girls.
Sakura extends her pants a bit. TenTen's fine. Ino refuses to stop wearing crop tops and short skirts, and none of you can stop her.
It helps that Ino's response to guys propositioning her is to tell them to back off, and then if they get handsy, she breaks their wrists. If they're ninjas getting handsy, she starts a fight, but most ninjas are smarter than that because they realize she's not just A Kunoichi, based on how she's moving, but a kunoichi with long, free-flowing hair, which is like... basically a big "I'm A-rank or better, come at me if you dare" flag. On the off chance that someone tries to fuck with Ino and they're actually out of her league in taijutsu, she has Mind Scrambling or, if absolutely necessary, an ear-piercing scream that summons a woman that can fistfight gods.
(And absolutely has.)
But anyway, The Girls go for a Girls Night Out one day. No plans to get laid, but they want to go shopping and have fruity drinks and maybe cause a little trouble.
They visit a blacksmith at one point, because weapons shops aren't quite a thing yet due to lack of centralized shinobi systems, and TenTen's talking up a storm with the smith about things like carbon infusion and alloys preferences, and Sakura's just standing off to a side reading something because most of what she wants/needs can be made by Akimichi blacksmiths, so she's not really in need of anything specialty. She wanders off after a bit, tells them all she wants to visit the apothecary to see if they have any herbs she's running low on. Ino is browsing examples of the blacksmith's more esoteric handiwork When In Walks An Uchiha.
TenTen has a VERY basic look, more or less civilian who got some ninja training, so Izuna doesn't pay her much attention, but blonde isn't a very common color in the Land of Fire, unless one happens to be a Yamanaka or Senju, and even among them it's not like EVERY clan member. (Or Namikaze but imo Minato's color is actually from Land of Earth immigrants and is a BLATANTLY different shade from characters like Ino and Tsunade.)
Senju is obviously, uh, bad, but the Yamanaka and Uchiha are basically neutral... mostly. There's some tension. Izuna isn't expecting to be attacked, but he's constantly darting glances out the side of his eye just in case.
Ino is... not unaware of Izuna.
She feels his eyes on her, notes the fact that he keeps making faces like he's not sure what to think, and Ino... Ino is of the opinion that this is funny.
She decides to drop something on purpose just so she can beeeeeeeeeeend over to pick it up and see what happens. Ino, again, does not dress appropriately for the decade she is in. Izuna chokes on his own spit.
Ino: I'm gonna be a bit of a ho. Yamanaka Clan: Please don't, our reputation is-- Ino: I'M GONNA BE A BIT OF A HO.
So Ino's fucking with Izuna's head by just... being Ino, really, she turns around like "OMG are you alright???" and lets him see that her eyes are lacking pupils so he doesn't keep worrying about whether she's a Senju, pats him on the back, coos over him, flatters his hair, and then insults his fashion sense.
She is of the firm belief that his expression is hilarious. Flirt Flirt Flirt "but you're wearing that? Really? Oh honey, you should know better."
(Ino pulls pickup artist shit on Izuna.)
Ino is fucking with him, and she is enjoying herself. She's a flirt, she's gorgeous, she's a bit of a ho, and Izuna is a hot, main family clan boy who keeps blushing. He's maybe two years older than her and he squeaks when she squeezes his shoulder and compliments his muscles.
And after all that, after Ino has wound him up and turned him around and gotten him confused and flustered and a little angry...
That is when they feel the ground shake and hear Madara screaming for The Pink-Haired Bitch to "come back here so I can kick your ass!"
So. Yes. Sakura has picked a fight with Madara. I don't know how or why, I just know that Sakura and Madara are fighting, Ino and Izuna are both going 'dude WHY' about their respective fighty person and fleeing the blacksmith to go stop whatever's going on before they get banned from town--because really, they can force their way in, but it's way easier to get those tasty daifuku mochi from that one shop when people WANT to serve them--and TenTen is... still chatting up the blacksmith. The girl is going to get a discount.
Sakura leads Madara on a bit of a merry chase so the fight happens a mile outside of town--Ino loves her more than ever--and there's a flare of "Sakura punches a Susanoo," and by the time Izuna and Ino get there, Sakura is yelling in Madara's face about how he's fucking up his eyes.
Madara is. Offended. Izuna is also offended. Those are clan secrets, and Sakura is just looking him in the eye without fear and I'm like. Half convinced that they want to just tear her throat out.
Except Ino is there, and Sakura called her by name, and they know that names with 'Ino' among the Yamanaka are only for clan heirs, and they can't just pick a fight with the entire clan.
They. They can't afford that right now. Tajima is ramping up the whole Thing with the Senju again and they do not have the resources to add another front.
"For fuck's sake, will you let me go alive if I fix some of the damage you've done to yourself?" "You can fix the Mangekyo?" "Uh, no, nobody can fix that hellscape of a doujutsu without some incredibly invasive surgery that I refuse to do in a non-sterile environment unless there's literally no other choice, but I can reverse some of the chakra strain on your ocular nerve if you stop trying to pick a fight because I got the last of the [some medicinal plant that only grows up in the badlands around Iwa]."
Izuna shrieks and demands if that's really what they were punching down trees for and Madara yells at him to fuck off and Ino just laughs at all of them.
Sakura is like. Two seconds away from putting Madara in a headlock and calling him a nerd. He's like a solid five years older than her and she's smarter than he is and he's a jock but she's going to dunk his head in a toilet, I swear to god.
Tumblr media
[Image Description: a gif from Will and Grace where a man in a dark shirt approaches a woman in a white shirt for a hug. Both characters have their arms spread wide in greeting, but the woman subverts the expected hug and pulls the man into a headlock with an angry expression.]
(Tenten is just, she's having a good time with a random blacksmith, talking shop. She just comes out to see all this crap has happened and it's like she came back with pizzas to see the apartment wrecked.)
Anyway, Sakura does some Medic Mojo on the Uchiha bros, Ino continues to flirt with Izuna until he can't tell up from down anymore, and when they're headed back to meet up with TenTen and see if there are any ruffled feathers that need smoothing, Ino declares that she's going to get that boy to propose to her.
"Don't people usually say 'I'm gonna marry that boy' or--" "Nah, I don't know him well enough to make that decision. I just want him invested in me. Whether or not I do anything with that... depends on how well he woos me."
And anyway, things spiral from there, Ino keeps hitting on Izuna whenever she gets a chance, Izuna keeps being Very Overwhelmed by this girl that shows off so much of her body and has the confidence of a god--because Ino is the epitome of confidence and always will be--while Sakura fucks off to badger the Senju into peace by making friends with Hashirama and bribing Tobirama with medical developments and flirting with Touka (except Touka's almost a decade older than her and is flattered but not interested, thank you), and TenTen is... honestly I'm not sure what TenTen is doing except that there's a very solid chance she's sneaking off to meet with Uzumaki specialists to help her build a Zetsu Trap.
Our trio of badass ladies decides that Hm, Actually, Having Bijuu Backup Would Be Nice.
Ino's the best sensor of the three, but even she's not feeling out where the nearest bijuu is, so they go for the by-that-point tried and true method of "Sakura goes and hassles Tobirama for information while TenTen and Ino play cards with Hashirama."
Tobirama does point them in the direction of the nearest bijuu--it's the Kyuubi, even!--and Sakura just... invites Hashirama along.
Hashirama: Oh! What do I have to do if I come? Sakura: Stand there and look pretty, mostly. Hashirama: Yes, I can do that. Sakura: And then interfere if we piss off the Kyuubi enough that he attacks. He probably won't, but Mokuton is useful if he does. Hashirama: Oooooh yeah, I can do that.
Tobirama is so tired but these gals are pretty determined to do the whole Peace Thing and Hashirama can mostly take care of himself, and Butsuma isn't quite dead but almost there (idk some disease or infected wound, it doesn't matter), so Hashirama isn't a Clan Head ditching his job but there's nobody around that can stop him from running off, so Tobirama's just like "Cool, don't die."
Butsuma: [dying] Sakura: [sipping a mixed drink wearing sunglasses inside] Shame.
So they go find Kurama, and try to barter with him about the whole Zetsu situation, and... ngl okay I have an entire conversation in mind about "your evil goo uncle" and "none of us know how to seal a bijuu without taking away your autonomy, but sealing is the best way to hide you from Zetsu, so do you have any ideas on a compromise" and "I can SORT of figure out how to--"
And then Kurama just. Summons a smaller fox. Which has a scroll. And pokes it towards TenTen because she's the one that's Impressed Him The Right Way over the course of the conversation.
(Mostly by being vaguely sparky about fuuinjutsu and easily distracted by the Ifs of it instead of the Whys.)
And once she's signed--which Ino and Sakura are just like 👀 about because Oh???--Kurama nods and just. Presses his snout to her hand. And without telling her what he's doing, he just enters her body and settles in as a consenting jinchuuriki situation. He can leave without killing her if he wants, but he can also just chill out. He's hidden from Zetsu, TenTen gets a boost, and nobody's in prison.
(Time to belatedly note that TenTen was earlier suggested as the best jinchuuriki option since, among other things, she had the least to lose as far as chakra control went.)
TenTen: My chakra control is pretty shitty, but I can fight hand to hand for literal hours without feeling like I've done more than a light jog, is that good?
TenTen is such a different brand of ninja from most of the heavy hitters. Because her main attack is just More Knife.
Team InoShikaCho has their whole human yoyo thing, Sakura can punch gods, Naruto and Sasuke are literally insane levels of power, Kiba turns into a giant three-headed dog and Shino can insert exploding bugs into people, Lee can kick hard enough to make a bijuu pause, Neji and Hinata are... okay I don't have much to say about the Hyuuga, but... TenTen. She's just here with some seals and whole lot of sharp and pointy things.
Founders era, you have Madara and Hashirama with their god-level techniques, Tobirama is usually sword but has a bajillion other things like his Suiton, Izuna has a Mangekyo, Mito has her chains and was the first jinchuuriki... and then, here’s TenTen, with Many Sharp.
Her special attacks are Throw, Stab, and Kick the Shit Out Of because she still trained under Maito Gai.
TenTen is the current queen of "catch these hands."
After the village is founded, she challenges one of the og founders to taijutsu only and the literal only reason she doesn't win against Hashirama is that he has a healing factor and is built like a brick house.
TenTen: Hey, Izuna, if you beat me in a taijutsu fight, Ino might be impressed. Izuna: No weapons? TenTen: No weapons, no bijuu, no Sharingan. Izuna: Cool, I can do this. [five minutes later] Izuna: [screaming]
The triple clan alliance: We will gladly join Konoha on the condition that-- Izuna, internally, chanting: That I marry Ino That I marry Ino That I marry Ino-- Madara, internally: Please don't say that Izuna marries Ino Tobirama, internally: [math meme because he can imagine like eighty conditions] Hashirama, internally: [elevator music] The triple clan alliance: That you put Haruno Sakura in charge of the hospital. Izuna: [internal screaming] Madara: [sigh of relief] Tobirama: [internal cheering] Hashirama: That sounds great! I've seen her work, she's a great choice for hospital management, do you think she'd be willing to spearhead a medical training program on the side?
Izuna just wanted the politics to be his wingman here, she's killing him.
Ino has broken this man.
(At this point she's mostly made up her mind... unfortunately, she deeply enjoys messing with him! He's too fun to tease!)
Ino: I want to marry him, yeah, but did you see his face when I teased him about visiting the Daimyou's court and looking for a rich husband to bring to Konoha? He even knows I'd never marry a civilian, and yet.
(He knows, it's just that his brain is dumb when she is involved.)
TenTen asks Hashirama if he's opposed to threesomes, mostly because Mito is amazing and TenTen's a little in love with her. Hashirama is NOT opposed to threesomes, but only with Madara, sorry.
Ino is just... the queen of self-confidence. I want to include some gifs to explain but there are just too many.
As a rule, Ino wears high collars, but... she might try to pioneer Tiddy Shirts out of spite because people keep trying to tell her to dress More Appropriately.
Ino, adjusting her wrap top to show more of the chesticles: Relax, Hashirama, I'm just taking a page out of your granddaughter's book. Hashirama: [verbal keysmash]
This one twitter post.
Sakura: You can't just use your tits to get what you want! Ino: I didn't see you complaining when I got us free dango. Ino, misunderstanding Sakura's point: Uh, yeah I can? Watch. Ino: [gets drinks for the table and a free dessert too] Ino: See? Sakura: Oh my god. TenTen, cutting a slice of cake: Yeah I think she's got us here Sakura. TenTen: I love using Ino's tits to get what I want. Sakura: No!
Sakura: Why am I the only one of us who isn't down for Ino using feminine wiles for material gain? TenTen: Does it have anything to do with your unresolved childhood crush on her? Sakura: ..... shut up.
Sakura: Was Sasuke descended straight from Izuna's line? What if you just negated his existence? Ino: I mean, his soul still exists, right? Or will exist? It's not like we could have lined the genetics up perfectly anyway, don't worry about it.
Once Ino finally lets Izuna woo her, they turn into that couple that's just constantly making out in dark corners. PDA is over 9000. Sakura throws erasers at them to make them stop. TenTen catcalls. TenTen just. Not interested in being a thot in the slightest, but delighted by Ino being a thot.
Izuna: Help I don't know how to BDSM and my hot wife is a dominatrix. Madara: Sucks to be you.
(Ino being a bit of a ho fits and feels fun because she's also just like, very convincingly an actualized character. If Ino is acting like a bit of a ho it's very definitely because she wants to and is absolutely going to make that everybody else's problem.)
Ino, at any given moment: Did you miss the part where I'm the hottest person here?
I'm honestly considering platonic-marriage TenTen/Tobirama on the basis of Seals And Sparking. There aren't enough women in the Founders Era for me to ship Sakura with one so I'm going to say she ends up living in domestic bliss with a Nara kunoichi.
Sakura: Can I just. Can I just be Gay here? Like, can I just Be Gay and get Big Gay Married and have 2 dogs and lead a prestigious medical program? Tenten and Ino: Of course you can, hon! We'll be up to our nonsense the entire time, though.
Sakura: Well... at least Shikamaru isn't here to complain about Ino being the way she is.
OH I forgot to mention TenTen wearing Externalized Small Fox Kurama around like a scarf.
Kurama: [Gets to be out of the seal and See Stuff] TenTen: [Constantly has a companion around who is never tired of hearing her Special Interest Rant about smithing techniques and what will eventually be Aerodynamics after TenTen accidentally builds a plane while tinkering]
TenTen: I wonder if I could make Temari's giant fan thing work for me without wind chakra. [two years of tinkering later] TenTen: I can't remember what I was trying to do at the start but I can definitely fly now.
(Sakura's honestly lucky that Karin isn't there.)
(And tbh Sakura's only The Sensible One until Madara pisses her off and then it's time for people to remind her that she can't just go around Punching Things.)
When Sakura is forced to be the Voice of Reason she is always frustrated. When TenTen is freed from the responsibility of being the Voice of Reason? Shenanigans. TenTen's defense is that she never got to be the crazy one in Team Gai. Like, she’s still a little nutty, but she couldn’t go all out because she was constantly overshadowed by the YOUTH and also Neji’s fate situation.
ANYWAY. TenTen and Tobirama.
TenTen: Your brain makes me horny. Tobirama: Oh, finally, someone sensible.
I remember that while I was brainstorming, I had "TenTen tells Tobirama to marry her within five minutes of meeting him because they vibed so hard on weird fuuinjutsu stuff" followed by "Izuna sputtering and saying that everyone told him that he couldn't just propose to a girl he liked, why does Tobirama get to accept a proposal from a clanless kunoichi when Izuna can't even--"
The proposal is from TenTen to Tobirama, which imo is hilarious in the context of the Warring Clans Era, and also is done on a whim and is basically just.
Tobirama: [says a clever thing about one of TenTen's theories] TenTen, grabbing his hands and looking him in the eye, her own eyes full of stars and the classic Team Gai sunset genjutsu around her: Marry me. Tobirama: ...do we have to have sex? TenTen: No. Tobirama: Do you plan on children? TenTen: Students yes, adoption maybe. Tobirama: I'm sold. Hashirama:
Tumblr media
[Image Description: Stephen Colbert, in a suit, dramatically crying at the camera. He has running mascara, and the caption says “I just feel like my heart is going to burst because it’s full of rainbows.” End Description.]
They're Nerd-married and it's the best.
I love the idea of Hashirama just being an Elevator Music Mind when it comes to Tobirama and TenTen. Like. An orange cat. Like, okay, yes Minato is the Hokage with the orange cat energy. And Hashirama is usually golden retriever energy.
But when it comes to Tobirama and TenTen, Hashirama is completely oblivious to their intention to do such things as Raise The Dead For Science.
They're not even raising a specific person for a specific reason, they're just vibing Super Hard and haven't slept enough and forgot this is a bad idea. Got so obsessed with "Can we" that they forgot "should we."
(And I feel like Kurama just encourages them like a chaos entity.)
Tobirama: It was a theoretical exercise. Hashirama, gesturing at the zombie army trying to eat its way out of a Mokuton Cage: !!!! Tobirama: We realized it didn't need to stay theoretical. TenTen: In our defense, we were left unsupervised. Tobirama: It's true, we were.
Sakura: TenTen! I expected better of you! TenTen, with sincere confusion: Why? Sakura: ... TenTen:  Like you knew my team, and my sensei, and also I agreed to help you go back in time and alter the past.
Overall.......
Ino: [here to fluster her pretty boy husband] TenTen: [got platonic married to a necromancer who shares some special interests and hyperfocuses with her] Sakura: [just wants 2.5 kids and a steady paycheck as she runs a world-changing medical program]
Anyway
Back to TenTen being Wild.
Tumblr media
[Image Description: TenTen in her Shippudent outfit, which is calf-length red pants and a white qipao top with red trim, turning on the spot while flourishing a pair of scrolls that expel weaponry on her command. End description.]
I like to imagine TenTen has an abundance of common sense, but she just never, ever applies it to herself. She can only common sense when other people present her with their problems. TenTen: What if I combined Ribbon dances with the noble art of YEET, then made it into a fighting style?
"I've got 99 problems and all of them can be solved with sharp and pointy objects."
[This section of the brainstorming is removed on account of being deeply inappropriate for a post that should max out at rated M. Just know that Ino and Izuna are freaks, and TenTen and Tobirama are enablers.]
BACK TO TENTEN BEING ABSURD
Tobirama: Ugh, I can't match Hashirama's energy levels for another entire day. TenTen, a member of Team Gai: I can do it. Tobirama: Hashirama is literally inhumanly happy and-- TenTen: No, no, I got this.
(You have no idea how much practice she has at this Tobirama, no idea.)
Tobirama: I am currently the fastest man alive. TenTen: Only because you cheat with Hiraishin. I could totally beat you in a five-hundred lap race around Konoha. Hashirama: ...five hundred? Tobirama: Wait, what. TenTen, already stretching: Yeah, let's do this! It's been a while since I had a solid challenge, you know? Hashirama: ???? Tobirama, is she serious? Tobirama: She runs two hundred laps around the village every morning, so... probably. Hashirama, wheezing: That's a lot. TenTen: That's a warmup.
Someone, probably Madara: Okay but that's cheating because you have inhuman stamina from the fox! Kurama, chilling on a tree stump napping: No the fuck she does not. Hashirama: What do you mean she doesn't? Kurama: I don't just leave the faucet running 24/7 Senju, besides, she doesn't need my help to be a ridiculous persistence hunting nightmare monster in this regard. TenTen: Awww, Kurama, you flatterer.
TenTen: I was running 150 laps of the village every morning by the time I was fourteen. Hashirama: Why? TenTen: My teacher was fun.
At least one shitty joke from a stranger about stamina In Bed and TenTen and Tobirama just stare at the person.
Maito Dai would be... maybe a little older than the Sannin, younger than Hiruzen. Solid age for TenTen to take as a student, probably. Very feels-worthy, with the whole Passing the Torch thing that that whole family had going on, and that Gai passed it to his students since he didn't have children of his own, the idea of TenTen taking that shot to make sure she's still part of that... family, for lack of a better term? Even in this strange new world they're making by altering history like that.
And that’s about it.
As per usual, most of this was brainstormed with @firebirdeternal​.
196 notes · View notes
misterewrites · 3 years
Text
A Part of Something Bigger (Welcome to the Underground!)
Hello everyone! E here, hoping you are safe and sound and doing good! The new chapter of the Underground is here and I'm excited for this and the next chapter. I am so happy I finally get to reveal something I’ve had in my head since I first started creating the Underground! Man am I cheek E. oh puns, I’m terrible. 
:D
I hope you are all have a great week! Stay safe, wash your hands, take care of each other, get the vaccine if you can, push for companies to give it world wide all that jazz. Feel free to comment (I love feedback) tell your friends, reblog I appreciate it all!
If you’re new and curious what the heck I’m talking about, feel free to check out the whole story and have access to my other work right in the link below (cuz I’m 95% Tumblr has shadowbanned me) 
https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrE42/pseuds/MrE42
https://archiveofourown.org/works/27814297/chapters/68094967 (first chapter)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/27814297/chapters/78927370 (latest chapter) 
Have a great week, E is out!
Summary:  Turns out Oliver is a part of the Choir, a secret organization that operates within the Underground. Something big is happening tonight and It's up to Oliver and his allies to ensure it does not. However, the bard has to figure out what's going on before anything else.
-----
Oliver had been many things in the 18 years of his begrudging existence: An orphan, a thief, a con-kid, hopelessly in love, a scout, fry cook that one week and an aspiring minstrel. Many masks and different roles to survive each new day.
The one he took a quiet pride in was being a member of the Choir, a secret organization whose goal was to keep the Underground free from malicious and devious intent.
Every society had their dark, treacherous shadows where evil did its business (Oliver assumed. He only really ever lived in the Underground but you know universal constants and such.) The Choir’s purpose was to ensure those plans never came to fruition.
Rather than being an openly known identity, the Choir was more a loose collection of independent agents operating under secrecy. The organization employed any and everyone who was willing to fight for the cause, each in their own way: Merchants passed coded information, tavernkeepers offered safe havens, those with some level of magical proficiency gathered to study abnormal phenomenon. Fighters fought, clerics healed with lords and ladies used their influence for the greater good.
Sometimes, as is the case now, one individual was too limited for what was required of the organization’s purpose. In these rare moments, agents were granted permission to request help, often leaving hidden messages and imagery for other wandering members to respond to.
That’s what brought Oliver here to this dark alley in the middle of the night: When he first arrived to the capital, he caught sight of the coded symbol asking for any Choir member to lend their skill set to a mission tonight. No details added but that was par for the course.
Terri was the first to recover, her slivers eyes wide with wonder “A soprano? No joke?!Flora, he’s like you!”
Terri was tall, taller than anyone else here. She wore a red vest with torn off sleeves, probably because her muscles were too thick to actually allow them to exist in the first place. Her long jet black hair was elegantly tied into braids with her dark blue leggings tucked into thick hiking boots.
Flora pursed her lips thoughtfully, irises of lavender giving Oliver a curious look “A fellow magic user? Interesting. Wizard?”
“Bard” Oliver corrected “You?”
“Druid.” Flora spoke before drifting into an uncomfortable silence. Oliver suspected she wasn’t impressed by his response.
Flora seemed unassuming but Oliver knew better than to be lured in by appearances: Long silvery hair with petals of green and yellow flowers scattered within. She wore a white blouse with splotches of brown dirt and a long green skirt. Her feet were bare and free to be soiled by the floor.
Terri rushed over to the petrified Tyrell, dragging him into a bone crunching hug “Tyrell here is a baritone like me!”
Tyrell, the youngest beside Oliver, shifted his brown eyes away from anyone’s gaze. He wore rather well kept clothes: A tunic of purple tucked under a leather vest, his leggings were dark gray that blended fairly well in the darkness. His footwear seemed a little too fancy to be workman’s shoes.
“Fighters” Oliver nodded in understanding “Always useful. And you mysterious stranger in the darkness?”
The cloaked figure had pulled back deeper into the shadows, red eyes gleaming in the shades of night. They were trying to hard to hide their appearance but Oliver caught sight of a smooth featureless bronze face. Metallic armor of a matching color and sheen covered the rest of their body, an automaton it seems.
“You may call me Sel. I’m a tenor.” the figure responded, their voice tinged with scratchy static.
“You are going very useful. Lockpicking?”
Sel shrugged casually “Among other less savory techniques. As per usual for tenors.”
Oliver nodded “Okay, fill me in.”
Flora took a step forward, pulling a letter out of her pocket as she did so “Are you aware of one Reiner Brambleoak?”
“Oh fucking hell” Oliver rubbed his eyes tiredly “Him again? What’s he planning this time: Gonna burn an orphanage? Or maybe sell moldy food to the poor? Wait, I know!” Oliver snapped his finger “He’s going to be a terrible piece of shit.”
“Right on the money!” Terri growled.
Sel let out a mechanical click “He is planning to tear down several homes in West Haven.”
Oliver narrowed his eyes “I thought it was illegal to tear down homes in that area?”
“Not if the owners signed them over.” Flora explained “Then he would have the authority to do whatever he wished with them.”
“Let me guess, he tricked them?”
Terri flexed her muscles angrily “His representatives would change languages and double talk when they spoke to the poor folks. Most hadn’t the slightest idea what was going on and the orc thugs his people brought didn’t exactly make them feel warm and safe.”
“So.” Oliver stretched his arms “He’s strong armed his way into property, going to evict helpless folks onto the street and probably fill them with his own thugs to get the rest of the neighborhood to fall in line.”
“Unless we stop him.” Sel spoke with righteous fury.
“Tonight.” Oliver chimed in “Throwing another party?”
“You are good.” Tyrell whistled.
Oliver gave a playful wink “Naturally. What’s the plan?”
Flora reached into her pack and handed Oliver a letter: it was written in such a fancy hand he swore he was getting a headache just looking at it.
“One for each of us.” Flora explained, distributing the rest to the others “A fellow Choir member secured these tonight’s mission.”
“Helpful. Alright here’s the plan….”
“Wait” Flora interrupted “Who said you are in charge bard?”
“Me” Oliver countered with a grin “Because I’ve been to these types of festivities. Have any of you?”
Flora opened her mouth then promptly closed it, irritation in her glance. Tyrell gave a sheepish but unhelpful smile, Sel remained silent while Terri gave a thoughtful scratch of her chin.
“Thought so.” Oliver tried to keep the smugness out of his voice “Look we just need to work together for tonight.”
“Agreed.” Flora spoke with a softness that did not match her glare.
Sel inched closer to the group “What is the plan Oliver?”
“Where’s the party? Merchant Ward? I assume he’s using his office to host it.”
“Correct” Sel confirmed “His office has been chosen as the venue. He claims to be throwing the party as some sort of fundraiser for a charity that is no doubt a front for his illegal operations.”
Terri huffed, crossing her arms furiously “Probably making some more deals to trick people out of their hard earn money.”
“Without a doubt” Oliver agreed “But without any hard proof, we’re not taking him down tonight. Our mission is to ensure those contracts he forced people to sign mysteriously disappear.”
“Will that actually stop him?” Tyrell frowned unhappily “What’s stop him from forging new ones? Or just bullying people again?”
“He can’t forge new ones” Oliver explained carefully “They’re a special type of document only found here in Haven’s Nest. You can only get them from city hall and they’re magically enchanted to be untamperable with. He’ll need to get the ones he has to city hall on open court day which I assume is soon.”
“Indeed. Tomorrow in fact.”
Oliver continued on “So since open court day is the only day any major changes are allowed to be introduced to the city, if we grab them he’ll have to wait a month for another chance of snatching up that land. He’ll no doubt try to bully the folks again but now that they know what he’s up to, hopefully they’ll won’t be as easily pressured and if a few rough looking folks who can take punches and give them back start hanging around the neighborhood when his goons come knocking again…”
“They’re gonna be less eager” Terri cracked her knuckles cheerfully, already savoring the feel of bruised skin and broken bones that would bless her hands.
Oliver caught Tyrell’s eyes “One problem at a time. If you look at the mountain, you’re going to get scared.”
Tyrell nodded timidly in agreement.
“So.” Sel’s voice crackled with curiosity “What is the plan bard?”
Oliver closed his eyes, mentally mapping out the Brambleoak bank: three stories of corrupted, immoral finance who preyed on the helpless and lost. He could still see the faded green hue and cracked paint of the building in his mind’s eye. The ground floor would no doubt be where the bulk of the party would be taking place: a large space with an elevated stage normally reserved for long winded speeches could easily repurposed for a band or some sort of entertainment. His guests would range from any and everyone with any amount of influence or wealth. The second floor were the offices of his lecherous employees while his office took up the entirety of the third floor.
“Alright” Oliver spoke after a moment “I have a good idea what to expect. We’re going to break up into two teams.”
Everyone stared him expectedly.
Oliver gestured to Terri and Tyrell “You two are going to hang out at the bar across the street: The Stinkeye. Charming place, ran by a former pirate captain. Sunday is sea shanty night I think."
“Whoa, wait a minute” Terri grumbled unhappily “I am not letting Flora go into that place without me! It’s enemy turf and I don’t feel comfortable with the idea."
Flora took Terri’s hand within her own “Agreed sweetie.”
“Look this isn’t exactly a fist loaded, knives out situation. Any sort of brawling inside will be dealt with swiftly and painfully. Brambleoak doesn’t like anything scaring away the prey and causing a scene inside won’t accomplish anything. Outside, however.”
Terri’s eyes knowingly sparkled, Tyrell just looked dumbfounded.
Oliver gestured with his hand, muttering a phrase under his breath as magic formed around his hand in a golden light. A small image appeared in his palm: A heavily scarred elf with ashy blonde hair, one eye a brilliant forest green the other dull and cloudy. He wore an elegant officer’s uniform, dark green with various medals pinned to his chest with a long flowing red cape that trailed behind.
Oliver opened mouth to speak but Terri’s low snarl beat him to the punch.
“Lea Foot.”
“Acquaintance I guess?””
Flora nodded, gently squeezing Terri’s hand to get her to calm down “Lea has been a constant thorn in our sides. I believe he suspects we are a part of some greater organization. He has never seen us but he sends his underlings to bully us.”
“So I don’t need to explain his whole mercenaries for hire deal. Been exclusive to Brambleoak for a while now.”
“Can I punch him?” Terri murmured darkly.
“Yes, can she?” Flora chimed in, unable to keep the plead out of her voice.
Oliver shook his head “Maybe but we’ll see. He’s gotta show up at some point but I doubt he’ll be there right at the start. Likes to push old people around, probably eat a child or two before ‘working.’ Your job is to keep him distracted at all costs. He’s a sick man that likes to watch a good fight and the longer he’s out there, the better chance we’ll have.”
Sel tilted their head quizzically “Why is it important to keep him outside?”
“Basically” Oliver cracked his fingers “He’s very perceptive and the person most likely to catch our plan in action. His crew is made up of a nobodies with a perchance for cruelty and a thirst for violence but Lea is an old hand. Keeping himself outside is the best chance for success and if you guys accidentally get too close and managed to stray a hit his way…”
Terri chuckled manically the idea. Tyrell just looked sick.
“Meanwhile Flora, Sel and I will be inside. We’ll be looking for a chance to get Sel into the stairway so he can break into Brambleoak’s office. Without any sort of information, there’s no point to flesh out a full plan but we’ll make it up as we go. It’s a giant party of people who think they’re special. Shouldn’t be too hard to cause some drama and distractions.”
Flora said silent for a moment before speaking up “It’s not a lot to work with but admittedly better than anything I would’ve come up with.”
“Agreed.” Sel added “Without proper intel, it would be pointless to attempt to formulate any sort of long term plan. This works best to our strengths. Wait and create an opportunity,”
“That’s on us.” Oliver cut in “Your job is to get in and out. Preferably without being seen but who knows what will happen.”
The group, previously lost and anxious, glowed with renew sense of purpose and determination: 10 minutes ago they had no plan and now they were ready to do what they signed up for.
“Get ready team” Oliver gestured about “We leave in five.”
Everyone broke away to prepare for the mission: Terri cracked every bone in her body, ready for any brawl she would start. Sel slunk back into the shadows and remained still among the darkness. Tyrell held leaned unevenly against the brick building nearby, trying to steady his breathing.
Flora, on the other hand, approached Oliver, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“Oliver.”
“Flora.”
“I have a question for you.”
Oliver was confused “I’m not sure what about but go ahead.”
Flora pursed her lips “You were coming from West End, delivering a package to a Choir member out there correct?”
“Yeeeeees.” Oliver unsure where this was going “The old man. Lady Rozalin said it was the upmost importance.”
Flora bit her cheek nervously “Before you left, did you see him?”
His stomach turned cold as he remembered how uneasy he felt the day he left with Archie and Abigail, the chill that ran down his spine “No, why?”
“We haven’t been able to contact him. He is not responding to our wizards long range message spells. We’re…..worried.”
Oliver could feel his skin crawl with anxiety, his pulse raced as a horrible realization dawned on him.
“He’s missing.” Oliver spoke what Flora did not.
She nodded in response “As a high ranking member, he is important to our cause and since you were the last person to see him, the higher ups were wondering if anything suspicious happened the last day you spoke with him.”
Oliver remembered it clearly: The free money, rushing them out the door, his ‘tiredness.’ There was no such thing as free money in his mentor’s eyes and Roland was never known for pushing a guest out of his house or being tired in the middle of the day. He was attempting to get them to leave to prevent something from happening.
“He was acting weird.” Oliver admitted “At the time I found it strange but he gave me little room to argue. Now I’m wishing I had.”
Flora’s face was indifferent but Oliver could hear the sincerity in her voice “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this. If you need a moment…”
“No” Oliver cut her off quickly “I’m good. We have a mission to do and we need to focus on that now. Afterwards we can talk about finding out what happened to the old man.”
Flora gave a simple nod before wandering over to Terri’s side, lightly kissing her cheek with affection.
Oliver took a deep calming breath: There was no point to let his mind wander, to worry about things out of his control. Even if he wanted to do something, he was needed here and now. Besides the Choir would investigate Roland’s disappearance and there were agents far more experienced than he about.
He would leave it up to them. For the moment he needed to balance out the universe and root out the evil that laid in the shadows.
38 notes · View notes
haikyuu-sins · 3 years
Note
Hiiiii! Since you are in the need for Law request I have plenty lol He lives in my head rent free 😁
So since Law is a Lowkey fanboy for ninjas what if on Zou when everyone met Raizo they met a kunoichi med! Ninja and Law was instantly infatuated with her. He’s impressed with her medical knowledge and her special medical techniques, and wants her to join his crew. And while traveling to Wano they get a little close in such short time that he doesn’t feel he can just forget about her. If that’s too much or too descriptive I apologize and feel free to cut whatever if it is too much.
Gimmie all the requests!!! And too much??? Too descriptive??? Oh my gosh I LOVE when there’s a lot of description!! It makes it so much easier and a lot more fun to write when I know exactly what you want and frick, I absolutely LOVE this ask!! I have a feeling I’m going to have a lot of fun writing this one so I’m sorry if I went overboard with it 😅 (I’m also not a doctor so forgive the misinformation if there is any, I’m just making shit up lol) update: I went overboard.
*****Law x Med Kunoichi! Reader
“Raizo, seriously, you need to calm down.” you tell the ninja who’s in chains because of how upset he is. “I get it, but the mink are fine now. I healed them the best I could and there weren’t many serious injuries.”
He was still on a tirade or yelling and crying but you just ignored him and kept him company. You just sigh. There wasn’t much you could do to help him. “Now you just need to shut up.”
There was yelling coming down from the stairs in front of you along with the sounds of multiple people sprinting. Were... they yelling ‘Ninja?’ It didn’t take long for multiple people that you didn’t recognize to be right in front of you.
There was a gasp. “Raizo is a woman?!” a man with a straw hat shouted, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
“Um, no, that’s Raizo.” you pointed to him.
All of them seemed to physically deflate when they heard that. “Wait... are you a kunoichi?!” the long nose yelled.
They were all shouting out rapid fire requests and you couldn’t even get a word in to tell them that you were the medical ninja. But hearing everything they were saying, you couldn’t help but smile and laugh. The little reindeer was asking if you said ‘nin nin’, another was asking you to hide in the ceiling and get stabbed with a spear, while someone else was asking for the shadow clone technique.
“Nin nin?” You had to put your hand over your mouth to cover your giggles. “Stabbed with a spear? Goodness...Is that what you think of us?” Looking over at Kin’emon and Kanjuro you saw that they had strange looks on their faces. It was cute hearing everything that they thought ninjas did and they were eager to see it all. “You should be asking Raizo to do all that, I don’t don’t have the energy for it right now. I’m the med ninja and I’ve been helping with healing the villagers...and there’s a lot of them.”
Law’s ears immediately perked up at the mention that you were a medical ninja.
“Which reminds me, I should be doing some more rounds for the minks who were more seriously injured.” you sighed and stood up from your spot.
“Would you mind if I came?” the man with the tattoos asked as you walked past them.
“Sure! The extra company is always nice.” you smile at him and he follows you up the long set of stairs out of the tree. “So you were curious about the shadow clone technique?” You glance over at him and he doesn’t exactly know what to say. He doesn’t want to sound too eager if he says yes, but if he says no then he won’t be able to see it. You can tell that he’s trying not to be excited and it makes you chuckle. There was a quick hand sign and another one of you popped up in front of you.
“Hello!” your clone smiled and waved at him and you could see his eyes widen, and then a small smirk. She poofed away in a puff of smoke after the introduction. “Oh and also, we don’t say ‘nin nin.’ I’m not sure where you heard that one.”
His shoulders drooped slightly and you could see that he almost looked disappointed. “Oh…”
“What was your name? I didn’t get to introduce myself earlier with all of the commotion. I’m (Y/n).”
“Trafalgar Law.”
“Is this your first time on Zou?” you ask him, opening the door to the room where your patients were.
“Yes, I’ve heard a lot about it, but I wouldn’t have been able to get up here to see it.”
“That’s a shame. There’s tons of medicinal plants on this island that you can’t find anywhere else. I assume you’re a doctor since you wanted to come with me? You seemed pretty interested when I said I was a medical ninja.” you sat down next to one of them and began your work.
He was surprised by how perceptive you were and he nodded as he watched you diligently heal the minks. Your hands glowed a light blue color and they moved up and down to where they were injured. Law heard you sigh heavily and he wondered what was wrong since he couldn’t see anything. ‘It must be internal.’ he thought to himself.
“It’s internal bleeding that I can’t stop with just my healing. I’m going to have to do surgery. Can you grab me that?” you asked him, pointing to a small tin that was on the shelf.  Law picked it up and opened it wondering what you would be doing with a balm. “Don’t smell it!” you warned him. “It’ll knock you out.”
He slowly put the cap back on it and handed it to you.
“It’s from the leaves of a certain mix of flowers here. I’ll show you after I’m finished.” you smiled and took it from him as you spoke to your patient about what you were going to have to do to him. “Come here.” you motioned Law closer to you. “If you want to watch you’ll have to be a little closer than that.” Law did as he was told. When you had the mink smell the balm, he almost passed out immediately. “They have better noses than us so this works much more effectively than it would on a human. It still will though so you have to be careful.”
He took all of the information in that you were giving him. He had never seen the techniques that you used. What was even more baffling to him was that it wasn’t even because of a devil fruit. They were all things that were taught to the medics at a more advanced level. The way you only used a finger to cut open your patient was incredible. He didn’t know how you did it, even when you explained it to him because it was something that he knew he wouldn’t be able to do. You could generate heat in your fingers that were hot enough to cauterize a wound.
What would have taken a normal doctor over an hour to do, took you about 10 minutes. Then you went on to the others who needed your help. They didn’t need surgery but he watched you in awe. It looked so effortless on your part, other than the fact that you looked a bit out of breath now because of how hard you were working.
“Oh man, I need to sit down for a little. Then we can go out and I can show you what I collect when I’m here!” you smiled up at him as you went over to a chair and plopped down, resting your head on the wall and closing your eyes. “I don’t usually get this tired. But having to heal everyone who was injured- including Duke and and Catviper who were really hurt-it takes a lot of energy out of me. It’s worth it though.”
The two of you talked about everything and nothing while you rested. You told him more about ninjas to which you had all of his attention and about Wano and what exactly to expect when they all got there.
“Are you going to be coming with us back to Wano?” Law asked as casually as he could.
“I would assume I am? I mean I could always go back on my own though if there isn’t any room for me! I came here by myself anyway, before Raizo. So I do have a way back.”
“There’s plenty of room, don’t worry. It’s probably too dangerous to go back on your own anyway after the attack.”
“What, do you think I can’t take care of myself? Come on, I’m a kunoichi! I don’t have this sword for decoration. Or do you just want me to be safe?” you tease him with a smile.
In truth, he wanted you to teach him. You had so much knowledge that he didn’t. “I just-”
“I’m just teasing.” you smile softly and stand up. “Are you ready? We can go now. I’m rested enough if you want to get some herbs for your trip.”
He rolled his eyes at your first comment. “We can wait until you’re fully rested if you want.”
“That’s okay. There are some flowers that only bloom at night so we have to cut them off before they can close back up. It’s best to just go at sunset and get the others that you need first.” you grabbed a big bag and already started to walk out the door. Law quickly followed behind you and the two of you were on your way.
In the few hours that you and Law had met each other, you already felt like you had formed a kind of bond with him. You showed him all the different leaves, roots, and flowers that could be used for a multitude of things.
“I can teach you how to make a bunch of things when we’re on our way back to Wano if you want?” you asked hopefully, just wanting to be around him more.
“So you’re coming with us?” Law raised a brow and tried not to smirk at you.
“Well you insisted on it so I guess I have to!” you joked. “But yes, I’d actually really love to come with you. I-I mean with everyone!” You stammered, face turning a bright shade of pink while Law just smirked while he put some flower stems in the bag.
Not too long after, you and the others left on Law’s submarine. It was nerve-wracking at first and you’ll admit you were terrified. Being with the others you knew wasn’t that bad though. You were introduced to the StrawHat Pirates before you boarded and got to know Robin a little better. She was sweet and knowledgeable. But Law was the one you spent the most time with. Even if there wasn’t a reason, you made one up. You’d ask him random things, just went to see what he was doing, or showed him some of the extra things you’d made for his infirmary. You would just say that you made more than you needed but really you were just making it for him.
Law knew more than anyone on the sub that he wanted you to stay so he made sure that you got along with the rest of the crew. You wanted them to like you so you had Kin’emon help you make some traditional dishes from Wano. On one of these days, you went to find  Law so he’d be able to try some before the rest of the crew ate it. He was of course in his office working on some kinks that needed to be worked out before they got to Wano.
You knocked on the door and he told you to come in. “Hi Law~” you smile and go to his desk and put the bowl of red bean soup on it. “I had a feeling you’d be in here for dinner so I wanted to bring you some food before it ran out or got cold.”
He sighs and leans back in his chair while he runs his tattooed fingers through his hair, obviously stressed about what’s to come. “Thank you.”
“You know you really should relax. Even if it’s just for a few minutes. I understand that you’re under a lot of pressure right now, but stressing about it is just going to make it worse. You’re better off taking a break and eating some of the soup I made.” you grin and push it closer to him, encouraging him to try it. “Come on~ I wanna see how much you like it! I know you will!”
Law accepted your offer and took the bowl. You watched him with raised brows and an expectant look on your face as he took a sip of the soup . “Well~?”  
He wanted to melt in his chair at that moment. The feeling of the hot soup ran down his throat and calmed him unlike anything he’d felt before. He’d never had this before but somehow it reminded him of home. “I’m deciding whether I want you as my cook or my other doctor.”
You tilt your head to the side, your brows now scrunch together and your cheeks flush. “What...what do you mean your cook or other doctor?” you had a feeling you knew where this was going but you wanted to make sure.
“You know exactly what I mean. I mean, you should join my crew.”
You thought about it for a moment. “Would I be a pirate or a kunoichi? ...Because I do like being a kunoichi...and would I have to wear that outfit everyone does? I like my kimono that I have on.” Truthfully, Law did too and he wouldn’t mind if you continued wearing it either, he thought you looked nice in it.  
“You can be whichever. If you want to keep your kimono on to pay a sort of tribute to being a kunoichi, you can do that. I don’t mind. I get it, it’s what you know and what you grew up with.” It was your ninja way.
As he spoke, your smile only grew wider and you couldn’t believe what he was saying. It was exactly what you wanted and you were so glad that he brought it up to you since you thought it might be inappropriate to ask him yourself to join his crew. You just wanted to be around him and you were hoping that he would feel the same.
It was strange. Law had never felt this much of a connection with someone in such a short amount of time. But there was first for everything and he didn’t mind this first.
“Of course I will!” you just wanted to wrap your arms around his neck, hug him tight, and not let go. “I was kind of afraid you weren’t going to ask...” you say to him sheepishly chuckling.
“Oh were you?” He takes another sip of his soup while raising his brows.
“Yeah...I really like spending time...with you. It’s been nice getting to know the crew too. I’ve had a lot of fun with them so far. Now I don’t have to worry about being sad when you guys have to leave Wano and missing you-missing everyone!” you say the last part quickly.
“If you were going to miss me then you should have just said something.” he smirks at you.
Rolling your eyes, you’re tempted to push his shoulder, but he has hot soup and you’re not going to spill it on him. “Oh shut up and eat your soup before it gets cold. Captain.”
Now that’s something Law can get used to hearing you say.  
139 notes · View notes
ravensbug · 3 years
Text
Beautiful
Tumblr media
Fandom: Legend of Korra
Ship: Lin Beifong x reader
Request: No
Prompt: “It’s beautiful”
Summary: You’ve been stuck at home ever since you broke your leg. Lin refused to even let you go to the precinct to work at your desk. Seeing as you had nothing to do at home you decide to paint, seeing as it has been years since you’ve done so. Lin comes to visit to see how you're doing and admires your paintings. She visits more often to see how they’re going.
You picked up the two-inch brush and primed your canvas with turpentine. You decided you were going to use oil paints today, rather than the watercolor you’d been using for the past week. It was a change of pace since oil paint took much longer to dry. It allowed for more complex ideas and significantly more details.
You were always fond of painting animals, either from memory or when they would sit outside your window. You mostly painted birds, but there were a few cats and dogs scattered throughout your list of paintings.
Switching to a different brush, you situated yourself in a more comfortable position in your chair. Painting was much easier when you were standing, but your broken leg didn’t allow you to do that. It was more like Lin wouldn’t allow you to. She would scold you if she came over to find you standing while painting.
You really wished you two could spend more time together, but being a cop was a time consuming job for the both of you. More so for Lin, being the Police Chief and all.
Her visits were always nice. She would usually come with food, knowing you spend all day painting without a break. Of course she wouldn’t have eaten either, so she couldn’t judge you too harshly.
Today you decided to paint a raven, by far your favorite bird. Even though it’s feathers were all black, you were able to put so much color and detail into them. Of course feathers were still a pain in the ass to paint. If even one was off by size, color, or even shading you had to repaint it.
But that’s what made oil paint so much better than watercolor for this. If it didn’t look right then you could fix it. The paint didn’t dry right away. It was a nice ‘cheat’ as you would call it, even though it wasn’t cheating.
The downside was that the paint didn’t dry right away. Kind of redundant, but you couldn’t do too much work all in one day. The paint had to dry so you could add some details without the colors mixing. Things like eyes would be done last to avoid any chance of the paint getting wet.
You took a small amount of the general paint colors and painted over your sketch. You could still see the sketch, but there was a light layer of colored turpentine now covering it.
Turpentine was very important for oil paints. The paint refuses to attach itself to the canvas without it. It also serves as the cleaning agent, as water only moves the paint around everywhere.
You took some of the grey and began with the beak of the bird. Starting at the top was important to avoid smudging. You also had the background to worry about, but that would come last. You would rather be able to remove the excess paint covering the raven than paint over the background and have layering issues.
Once you were satisfied with the color and shading of the beak you moved on to the head. Black paint would be what you used for the most part. The eye, and the shading around it would come last, but it was still black.
You painted the small feathers that stick out from its head as well as the ones that cover some of the beak. The paint was nice and smooth, so you could get fine lines out of it when you needed to.
You painted down the neck and stopped before the wings began. It’s important to know that with oil paint you work from dark to light, rather than from light to dark. Lighter oil paints, like white, can never truly be covered once added. You avoid this by always adding less white until you get the desired shade.
Once you added the small details to add definition to the head and neck you began work on the wings. The most painstaking part of the painting. You started with the left wing first, which was at an angle. Less feathers to paint and it allowed you to get a technique figured out for this painting.
Because of the background you had chosen, a cherry blossom tree, you decided that the highlights on the feathers would include some green and even a hint of blue. It created a contrast that was noticeable, but wasn’t ugly.
The top of the wing was much easier to deal with as it was made up of smaller feathers. Since the wings were both tucked in you could get away with only using vague highlights to show off the small feathers. You knew you would come back to them eventually, either later while painting or when you finally decided you needed to fix it. For now it looked fine.
Moving down to the individual feathers you painted them one by one. Not just plain black either. Full shading on each feather before you moved onto the next. And if the previous feather didn’t look right after you finished another you would go back until it looked right. This was tedious and sometimes annoyed the hell out of you, but making these feathers look right was your main priority.
About halfway through the first wing you threatened to rip the canvas in half. The feathers weren’t cooperating like you wanted and there was the nagging voice in the back of your head telling you that you could never get them right.
Oh the perks of being able to paint. On one hand it relaxed you and kept you from thinking about being stuck in your apartment all day. On the other it pissed you off to no end when you couldn’t get something exactly right.
You eventually gave into your frustration when you threw the brush at the painting. It didn’t ruin anything thankfully, but it made you feel better.
Sitting back in your chair you couldn’t help but scold yourself for being stuck in this situation. You were always careful when it came to using your cables and zipping around the city or down from one of the blimps. But as life would have it you still weren’t careful enough.
Your fall wasn’t life threatening in any way, thankfully. Lin wouldn’t have known what to do if it had been. It was maybe fifteen or twenty feet from the ground when your cable suddenly snapped. There was training for these instances and you knew what to do.
You had used your other cable and attached it to a nearby building. It helped angle your descent to not have as much of impact which was the key to why you weren’t injured anymore. But you still managed to land awkwardly, catching your foot on a small hole in the street and breaking plenty of bones.
The adrenaline of the whole situation caused you to not feel anything, which was for the better. You tried standing up, but when your leg refused to hold your weight you knew something had happened.
Lin ignored whatever they had come to do in the first place and ran over to you. You weren’t crying, but there was a sense of sadness or disappointment around you.
No matter how many times you and the doctor told Lin you were going to be ok she never really believed it until you got home. You would have a cast on for six months or more if you tried to use the leg. You knew it would be more because you were stubborn as hell.
You didn’t want this to stop you from working, even if you were stuck at your desk for those six plus months. Lin, however, refused to let you come to work. She personally walked with you back to your apartment after you had come to the station the day after getting injured.
Lin would rather you be in a wheelchair than crutches, but she knows she can’t control everything you do. She remembers that you can handle yourself even if you’re more vulnerable now. She spends more time with you because of that, but neither of you complain.
Once you were done reminiscing about how you got to where you were right now you took a deep breath. Art wasn’t easy, you knew that. Being out of practice wasn’t much help either.
You picked up the brush from its spot on the floor and cleaned it off. The floor had some paint on it, but it was nothing a rag couldn’t clean up. At least it wasn’t a spill.
After another deep breath you went back to the feathers. Taking that short break to let out your frustration worked well. Whatever was stopping you from figuring out had left your mind. You could see that it was simply how wide the feather was. A stupid mistake that you scolded yourself for.
Finishing the wing became much easier now. It wasn’t faster because even though there were less feathers as you went down they also got longer.
You noted that you might have to change the shading after getting an idea. It was only a maybe though. Making it seem like there were flowers above the bird and out of view was hard, but not impossible. You would come back to that idea later.
The body in between the wings was left unshaded. Plain black was enough since your light source would make it shadowed anyway.
Now came the second wing. It would have to take much more time and patience for you to do this one, as you could see more of it than the other wing. Thinking you had plenty of time left in the day to finish the painting you started on the wing. You only stopped when you heard the lock of your door turn.
Were you startled by it? Yes, you definitely were. But it could be argued that Lin was more startled by having a knife floating inches from her face as she opened the door.
“Lin! Spirits you scared me!” you guided the knife back to the counter.
“I’m glad you’re prepared for intruders,” She seemed unphased even though you knew better than to think that.
“C’mon. You don’t need to be the high and mighty Chief of Police here,” you smirked. That was one of the things she had started to do around you. Let down her guard. It was rare for her to do that and you felt appreciated knowing she did that around you.
“I brought you dinner.” she lifted the bag of food in her hand. It was for both of you, but she wouldn’t say that out loud.
“You’ve been working on that all day haven’t you?” she placed the food down on the counter and walked over to you. She studied the painting while waiting for you to respond.
“Apparently I have,” you sighed. “I don’t even know the time.” You leaned over and looked at the clock. Seven in the evening.
“Well you got off early,” you smiled at Lin. It was rare for her to get off anytime before eight.
“Wanted to see how you were doing, that’s all,” there was a small grin that showed on her lips. You wondered if she left early on purpose just to see you.
“So what did you get us this time?” You added the us last second. You two had eaten dinner together so much in the past few weeks that it was the new normal for you two.
“Kwong’s,” she answered.
“No way! You didn’t?” You got up out of your chair and hobbled over, without your crutches. You were excited, who could blame you?
Kwong’s was something you had only a few times in your childhood, saved for ultra rare occasions, like your graduation.
When you made it over to the counter you saw that Lin had indeed gotten you two Kowng’s.
“How the hell did you get Kowng’s? They’ve been filled with customers for months.” Lin turned when she saw that you were now next to her. You knew your question wouldn’t be answered because of the scowl on her face.
“You have crutches, please use them. I’d like you back in the station as soon as possible,” she scolded you. It wasn’t her usual tone that she gave newbies at the station or even vets who were on her nerves. There was worry rooted deep in her voice. She cared about you, you knew that.
Lin walked over to where your crutches rested and grabbed them for you. She handed them to you and you reluctantly took them and put them under your arms.
“I’ll get the food ready, you go sit down. Use your crutches this time,” she told you.
You stuck your tongue out at her as you made your way to the table. If anyone else had done that, they would have been dead. But you weren’t anyone and you figured that out when you got injured.
You had speculated that Lin had liked you after the fourth day of her bringing dinner, as an excuse to see you. She would always say she was checking in, lying to herself about why she came to see you every time.
Once you had confirmed it, which was hard to do, you tried to get her to admit it for a while. You knew nothing could make Lin blush, let alone laugh, so when you were able to do both, that was the confirmation. That happened almost a week ago. Her hesitation to tell you frustrated you to no end, much like the feathers on your raven had.
Lin placed the take out boxes on the table and grabbed plates from your cabinets. Once they were on the table you both served yourselves some food.
Talk was usually minimal when you two were eating. You occasionally asked about what was happening at the station and Lin would usually tell you. She would grumble about it of course, because everyone there seemed to think her advice or orders didn’t matter to them. You would always listen, only sometimes saying things back to her about whatever she was grumbling about.
Today there was a strange call in and Lin couldn’t even finish telling you what happened before you were laughing your head off. You laughing brought a smile to her face because it was the first good thing that happened to her today.
When you two finish eating Lin is the one to clean everything up. You protest by trying to get up, but your leg seems to have a mind of its own and sends a wave of pain up your spine. You winced and sat back down in defeat.
Lin gave you another glare, but it was still soft. No anger was present, she couldn’t be angry at you. She would have done the same thing if it was her with the injury. Nothing would have stopped her from continuing to work in the station. Well you probably would and Lin would listen to you.
That was another thing that Lin would let only you do, argue. She would shut everyone else down immediately. Of course when she had tried to do that to you, you didn’t cower away like everyone else. You stood your ground against her and she admired that about you.
When she finished cleaning up dinner she moved to grab her coat and leave. You didn’t want her to. It was always what she did. Come in, eat dinner, and leave. It was nice and all, but you felt lonely cooped up all day.
“Could you stay? At least for a little while?” you asked. You sounded more desperate than you wanted, but it was how you felt.
Lin had stopped putting her coat on and looked at you. You felt like you made a mistake, but it was too late to go back now.
“We don’t have to talk or anything, I just don’t want to be alone.” You really sounded desperate now. You scolded yourself in your head for it.
“Sure,” she hesitated. “Of course.” She didn’t know why she hesitated to answer. Of course she wanted to spend time with you, that’s why she came over with dinner all the time. Bringing dinner was just the excuse though.
“You can continue painting if you want,” she suggested. You thought about it and then shrugged.
“I think I’m done working on that for today. It’s already made me frustrated enough,” you glared at the painting like that would do something.
“Are you having trouble?” she asked in disbelief. She was walking closer to the painting again, looking it over for a second time.
“Yeah, feathers are a lot harder than you think. It still doesn’t look perfect.” you had come over to the painting, on your crutches, and stood next to Lin.
“It doesn’t have to be perfect,” she told you. “It’s beautiful.”
It was your turn to blush for the first time. You didn’t know if Lin wanted you to blush or not, but that wasn’t important. What she said was. She had always complimented your art when she came over, but it was always “This looks nice,” or a simple “Wow”. Her calling your art beautiful was like her holding your heart in her hands. Surprisingly soft for someone compared so closely to the element she could bend.
“T-Thanks,” you muttered.
“It’s been awhile since someone’s seen my art let alone compliment it,” you explained. Like that was the only reason for you to be flustered.
“I don’t understand why you ever stopped.” She looked at some of your finished watercolor paintings that were hanging by clips in front of your window.
“I never had the time when I was always at the station. I tried for a few months, but it just became stressful rather than relaxing,” you explained.
She had stopped and looked at one particular painting that stood out from the rest. It was the only non-animal painting you had. Still watercolor of course, which made it even more brilliant in Lin’s opinion.
She recognized it in a second. It was the view of the city from her office. You had painted her office. She smiled as she looked over the picture. She couldn’t see any mistakes. You truly strived for perfection in this painting.
“Oh,” you realized which painting she was looking at. “I was really missing the station that day. It made me feel better having some part of it here, even if it was a painting.”
Lin felt honored that you had chosen the view from her office as the part of the station you wanted to paint. She felt so gullible right now. Both of you felt that way.
“Thank you for always coming over,” you had said this a few times before over the past weeks.
“I honestly don’t know what I would do if you didn’t. I’d probably go crazy,” you laughed. That wasn’t entirely true. You would have found something to do, it wouldn’t have been as nice as having dinner with Lin, but it would be something.
“I’m sure you could’ve managed. Plus, there’s no one else checking up on you, so how am I supposed to know how you’re doing?” she raised an eyebrow at you.
“You could let me work at my desk,” you suggested.
“That’s not happening as long as you have that on your leg.” She pointed to the cast on your leg.
“I am perfectly capable of handling myself,” you argued.
You shouldn’t have argued. You knew that as soon as a sly smirk appeared on Lin’s face.
You had been leaning on your crutches while Lin had been talking to you. She knew that’s what you were doing and took advantage of that. She simply kicked one of the crutches out from underneath you and sent you falling to the ground.
“Shi-” You couldn’t react in enough time to find something to stop you from falling. You didn’t need to find anything because Lin wasn’t actually going to let you hit the ground.
You felt the wire wrap around your waist and hold you in your almost fallen position. You looked up at Lin who still had that smirk on her face.
“Y’know you really are mean,” you said jokingly. She grabbed your arm and pulled you back up. You leaned on her for support since you had dropped your other crutch while falling.
“I try,” she smiles. “Comes with the job.”
“Yet you rarely are to me.” you continued to lean on her.
“Because I don’t need to be with you. You actually listen to what I say,” she told you. You weren’t the only person who listens to her, Mako occasionally does, but that’s only after she scolds him.
“One, you’re my boss and two its kind of hard to ignore what you say,” you explained. Was this you admitting how you sometimes got lost in whatever she was saying? Yes it was.
“Everyone else has a pretty easy time ignoring me,” Lin counters. She took what you said as a compliment, in a way. She wasn’t sure what you were trying to say, so she couldn’t tell herself that it was really a compliment.
Your words were caught in your throat. How exactly could you tell her that you got lost in her voice. That sometimes your heart flutters around her the same way you know hers does around you. You really couldn’t explain in words. So you didn’t.
Did you regret moving in to kiss her? No, not one bit. Hell you were glad you finally did it because you knew Lin had been dodging around her feelings for weeks.
Her arms snaked around to hold you by the waist and you wrapped your arms around her neck. It felt so good, it felt perfect. You wanted to stay like that forever. But unfortunately both of you still need air to breath so you have to stop.
“You…” Lin began before pausing.
“Oh don’t act coy with me. You don’t think I’ve figured out why you come here so often?” You watched embarrassment flood her face.
“Not that I would have wanted it any differently,” you smiled. That made her feel better.
“Am I not allowed to worry?” She asked. She looked at you and the shell, the armor, that she wore to keep her emotions hidden was off. She was out in the open, her heart in your hands.
“You are. I’m glad you do,” you were still smiling. Of course you wanted her to worry, it made you feel loved.
“I still want to go back to my desk though,” you complained.
“What am I going to do with you?” she sighed.
“Love me?” you gave her a cheesy grin.
She rolled her eyes and kissed you again. Mostly to make sure you weren’t going to ask to go back to the station. You were hers to protect and she was going to make sure that you stayed here until your leg healed. Even if she didn’t bring dinner every night.
189 notes · View notes
mintchocohip · 3 years
Text
sub!bts ﹢ the reason for chastity 🔐
❝ Chastity is best approached with a sense of purpose. Although the OT7 have their individual reasons for wanting the cage, they all do so with a deepening desire for your control.   
a/n ─ a little something i worked on to break writer’s block. with locktober as inspiration, i set out to write a few sentences about how the members would approach keyholder relationships. 1.5k words later, turns out thinking about the members in chastity is, indeed, very inspiring... 
note ─ sub!bts x domme!reader. see each member for any other kinks or notes!
Tumblr media
 🔑 TAEHYUNG ﹢ adoration 
 other kinks - possessive behavior | note - poly mentioned
Without your constant gropes and nuzzles Taehyung is in danger of forgetting you’re obsessed with him. Although he understands you’ll stop if maintaining his interest in this play becomes boring for you, Taehyung also very sincerely hopes you view jealously withholding his body from a world that wants him as your job. When life pulls you in separate directions Taehyung feels connected to you through this private, secure symbol of ownership. You call constantly to hear that he’s being a good boy and ensure he’s comfortable in equal measure. Resting on your bed surrounded by cozy blankets looking vaguely shy to be captured from his thick collar down to his glittering cage and thigh harnesses while you photograph the artwork calms Taehyung with safe knowing. You’re proud this boy is yours. Every time he’s frustrated you won’t let him out of the cage so he can play with his friends Taehyung rereads the notes you scrawled on the backs of those polaroids, stashed inside an envelope in his sub journal—notes about how precious he is to you, how breathtaking his cock is, and how the world's finest treasures are always kept under lock and key.
 🔑 YOONGI ﹢ masochism
Yoongi’s tastes hide in plain sight. He finds satisfaction in intentional, controlled discomfort. Doing it to himself is easy. When he discovers you have the same interests he tries to cut his giddiness at finding a keyholder with a little diffidence. It’s similar to your elegant silk shibari knots under his work clothes, or simple pressure on the bruises you left along the insides of his thighs when he crosses his legs to sit and check his notifications while waiting for the butcher to call his number. Reminders of a body possessed willingly keep him grounded. Yoongi has caged himself in the past out of curiosity. He enjoyed forming new routines around the cage, remembering it slowly when he awoke at night confused by a strange heaviness, observing its effects on his libido, and generally experimenting with a transformative yet tame form of self-discovery. Your hand holding the key will change the experience completely. Before he can do this with you, Yoongi needs to hear you explain why you’re interested. The tension of physical strain and emotional warmth is what makes him itch for it. Beyond that, whatever rules you want to set, or games you want to play—Yoongi is here to follow your heed.
 🔑 JUNGKOOK ﹢ initiative
The moment the uncomfortable cage touches his sensitive skin Jungkook’s affectionate mannerisms shut down. Showering together finds Jungkook maneuvering around you awkwardly. Part of him is confused. His body serves you well. He’s internalized this confidence so deeply that even when you explain your intentions he secretly wonders if wearing the cage is a punishment. You always tell him he’s too tempting. Most days he can’t hug you without risking a hand on his cock two seconds later. The removal of his ability to provide all of himself to you feels like a subtle hint that he should give you some distance. Or, at the very least, he should cool down on the teasing touches and deep kisses until you want to fuck him again. “It isn’t about your body, baby,” you remind him patiently, “it’s about your loyalty. There’s no reason to stop showing me affection. Just because you won’t be getting off doesn’t mean I can’t.” The learning curve is a surprisingly steep slope. Satisfying you with his touch without worrying about getting hard as fast as you’d like and coming before you get bored is almost a relief. Jungkook begins to understand. By focusing on your body alone this dynamic is reinforced in a way he could never truly understand when he had his freedom.
 🔑 HOSEOK ﹢ humility
  other kinks - pegging, degradation 
Firm control corrects Hoseok’s scattered priorities when he forgets his true nature. Although you reassure him again and again he can slide it off comfortably with lotion and patience, Hoseok never tries. Not because he enjoys wearing the cage—but because he respects you, he’s a little bit scared of you, and honoring you is worth losing his autonomy. Initially, there’s no real purpose to the cage besides dominating Hoseok psychologically. You become so accustomed to seeing him with it on, though, that his bare cock begins to look underdressed. Slowly, bespoke cages in a glittery rainbow of colors fill out a sleek strongbox near the bed. Choosing what color he’ll wear today is fun for you. The flippancy hurts a little bit, but that sting is what pulls Hoseok in deeper. Neediness to have all this pent-up energy fucked out of his electrified skin fogs Hoseok’s mind and quiets him into obedience with the hopes that you’ll enjoy his plaintive kisses on your legs and give him what he needs. A condescending pat on the head when the strap pulls out of his ass brinks Hoseok into forgetting why he’s shaking yet unsatisfied and begging for more. Thankfully, you’re here to tell him. He’s a whore. Your whore. And, that’s all he really needs to remember. 
 🔑 JIMIN ﹢ passion
Jimin has always known chastity would be easy for him. He’s operating on intoxicatingly high levels of horniness every second of the day, anyways. He’s learned to cope valiantly. With his own pleasure defined loosely he readily offers one facet of it for the comforting notion he’ll be gifted a plethora of new intimacies. The cage will bring you closer. He knows it will. Scheduled check-ins keep you fed on each other’s attention. Randomly sending him a partial nude of yourself during the day with the promise you’ll give him one number of this week’s passcode for every photo he recreates to your liking has Jimin rushing to the nearest public bathroom, heart hammering with both desire for you and hope for good lighting to pose in. Tracking tasks on the daily habit app to earn evenings without the cage motivates Jimin to do the things he wants to do for you but sometimes lacks the energy for, like practicing the piano and providing you accompaniment when you sit with your cello. Caged sex is, however, never a loss. Jimin might prefer if you simply told him you love how creatively you please each other in bed without adding that you want to start incorporating anything from foot massage to prostate toys into his tasks. Nonetheless. This light in your eyes as you’re overtaken by whims of intrigue is too sexy for Jimin to resist.  
 🔑 NAMJOON ﹢ self-improvement
 other kinks - sub training, toys, voyeurism/exhibitionism, filming
Mediocre sex isn’t worth your time. Namjoon adores that you hold him to your standards. The intense single-minded drive that consumes him when you turn him on is redirected and channeled into other forms of pleasing you. Graduations from watching you use toys on yourself, to using toys on your body at your direction, to free play with the toys, to eventually repeat the process incorporating hands-on techniques fascinates Namjoon more than anything. In a scheme of education the cage is simply a reminder that you haven’t gotten to that part yet. Until then, Namjoon keeps the records of how many times he’s made you come this week and how he did it with fervor. Watching old videos of himself fucking you to take notes distracts from purpose; but, Namjoon can click his pen, shake his head, and refocus on a studious attitude. An extravagant rewards system combined with aftercare orgasms stop Namjoon from getting antsy. This venture is predicated on his ache to study your individuality, but you need to feel him savoring the process, too. When he is granted momentous opportunities to show you what he’s learned, mutual gratitude shines. 
 🔑 SEOKJIN ﹢ modesty
 other kinks - cuckolding, threesome
Seokjin asks about it often. If he’s too big, or too small—if you would like his cock better if it was thicker, or harder, or softer, more curved; a different shade of pink. “Stop with the inane questions,” you finally snap during attempts to assuage him for the hundredth time when it’s obvious you love it because you’re laying here blushing and cooing while you jerk it off, “or I’ll lock it up.” Seokjin shuts up; flustered. Coyness isn’t Seokjin’s usual style when talking about kinky things. Yet, chastity gives you an unusually sulky boyfriend. When you ask if this is what he’s wanted all along Seokjin won’t deny it. He’s also too embarrassed by how good it feels to say “yes”. There has always been an understanding in this relationship. You’re the only person he gives himself to like this. Fully. Wholly. Through that virtue of submission you’re falling in love with his body all over again. You kiss him deeper as if to imprint your love. You tease him harder, but pet him softer and let him cuddle him tighter. Seokjin has wistful daydreams about romantic vanilla missionary and hearing you moan in approval when the cage comes off; but, he also knows he can get confused. If you decide what’s best for him is listening to your fond laughter at how hard he’s dripping through the cage while you warm each other up for the guy who’ll be arriving in a few minutes—he trusts your judgment without question. 
Tumblr media
193 notes · View notes
Text
I’ve never shared my writing like this before, but I figured since tumblr now hates links I might as well?
This is my fanfiction on Deltarune.
It’s centered around the scene in which Susie rushes into Noelle’s room during the Snowgrave route.
The first and last lines of the piece are what she says directly before and after exiting the room as it's meant to convey that short visit- with creative liberties on the time-scale obviously.
No content warnings
2,845 words
Romance | Hurt/comfort
Exists on Fanfiction dot net and Ao3, links available through my #my work tag, this is a mirror upload.
“Susie’s Ultimate Healing Technique”
“Fine, I’ll do it myself!” Susie growled as she whipped open the door and slammed it between them.
With a huff, she glared behind her before taking a deep breath to center herself.
‘Keep your cool. They can pay later, for whatever the hell their problem is.’
She glanced to her hand as a familiar sensation began to flood past her anger, “Fuck.” she muttered under her breath.
That door had been locked.
‘It’d hurt less to kick it to scrap.’ she grinned as she clenched her fist, looking up to the darkness around her. ‘But then I couldn’t slam it in their stupid faces, heh. Good riddance. Now if they don’t mind, I’ve got to be the hero this time around.’ she thought smugly.
The room lay dim; Most things blur into their surroundings unless you squint through the shade. While trying to discern if any of the shapes were Noelle, Susie felt another familiar sensation.
It was cold.
She exhaled and watched her breath disappear into the darkness before her.
Freezing.
Susie furrowed her brow, this didn’t make sense.
There was no one here. She expected to find the Queen’s minions surrounding Noelle or perhaps an elaborate cage trapping her, instead it was just another simple room.
As the thought left her she spotted exactly what she was looking for shifting just across the room.
In the center of the back wall sat a bed under a windowsill. Curtains drawn allowing the night sky to pour in and providing a means to see part of the room.
Sitting on the bed was a shivering pile of blankets, was it Noelle? Whoever it was sat bundled up, staring out the window.
Susie couldn’t help but smile as she took a step closer only to be interrupted by a quiet demand.
“Leave.” came a cold voice. It seemed to quake in their throat as it came, but it was more than enough to freeze Susie in her boots. It made her feel strange.
Her smile left, replaced with uncertainty and concern.
“I said LEAVE.” The voice shouted, straining itself as a piercing wind carried hail from the voice’s perch towards Susie.
Holding her arms up to shield herself from the sudden cold, Susie played off instinct. “Hey! What the hell!?” she shouted, pulling her axe out of the darkness and striking a menacing stance, “You cold bastard, where’s Noelle? Hand her over!” she snarled, showing her teeth at the opportunity to fight.
The wind billowed frantically before suddenly stopping in its tracks, hail falling to the ground with a shatter.
The figure didn’t move.
Susie stomped her foot as she took a step closer, “Do you HEAR me, asshole? Where is she?!”, her voice carried a threatening hiss.
Silence. A momentary stalemate.
The figure shifted. Susie could just barely make out that they were tightening the blankets around themselves. It was ignoring her. This pissed her off.
Her lips curled back to bare her full toothy maw once more as her patience ran thin.
Her eyes hinged on going fully rabid as she stared through the figure, “What’s wrong? Freeze your mouth shut with that attack?” She slammed the head of her axe into the ground before her and with a sinister snicker she continued, “You know what? I’m actually glad one of you assholes showed up to ambush me. I’ll show you what a real monster looks like in the dark!” she growled as the sound of snapping wood accompanied her axe being pulled out of the flooring.
She took another weighted step closer as she readied her axe for whatever their next attack would be, only to be frozen solid not by the figure’s magic but by the noise they began to hear.
She blunk, dumbfounded, before realization set in.
They were crying. They had always been crying.
Susie dropped her axe which quickly disappeared into the darkness below as she took another step forward, “Noelle?” she called to the figure, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.
“I, uh, that wasn’t me yelling at you, I uh… So... ice magic, huh?” Susie tried to calm things down after her blunder.
‘Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, idiot, of course she knows magic here, we didn’t exactly knock now did we, of course this happens.’ Her mind raced.
“Susie?” Noelle asked, voice threatening to crack. She fumbled with the blankets and pulled her head out. Her face was drained of color, and her eyes looked tired, even still they widened in surprise when she managed to see her guest.
“You… You shouldn’t see me like this, after all that’s happened… Why are you here?” She was shaking. Something about the question and seeing her like this hurt Susie, it didn’t feel right.
“I’m here for you?” Susie spoke, unable to think as she walked closer and placed a hand on the bedpost. “Why wouldn’t I be? You need help, so uh, here I am. Right?”
‘Is that weird, I made it weird.’
“I mean, unless you don’t… I don’t really see anyone trying to come after you now that I mention it...” Susie was beginning to reconsider barging in.
Noelle furrowed her brow and stared harshly into the pillow beside Susie, deep in thought. “I think I see...” she said as she rubbed the tenderness of her eyes one by one.
The cold seemed to ease as Noelle relaxed ever so slightly out of her stressed headspace; As the room warmed, so did her complexion.
Susie fidgeted with the bedpost waiting on the pondering deer. “And? So are you coming along or?” she couldn’t help but sound concerned at Noelle’s tone.
Noelle didn’t seem to hear her question, instead closing her eyes and nodding hard as if to convince herself of the validity of her own thoughts. Susie raised an eyebrow in confusion as the silence pushed on a moment more.
Noelle opened her eyes with a new look of self-assurance as she confidently locked eyes with Susie.
She smiled, blushing with all the red her body could manage. Susie was mildly taken aback by this change.
“Uh… is something on my face?” Susie asked, a touch embarrassed all of a sudden.
And then, all at once, Noelle grabbed Susie’s hand off the bedpost, pursed her lips, and pulled her as hard as she could towards her.
Noelle clenched her eyes shut in excitement while Susie’s own went hide as she toppled over the side of the bed...
And directly into a painful headbutt as Susie flailed at the surprise attack.
Susie yelped in surprise, frantically rubbing at her nose and blinking away the sting.
“What the hell was that!” Susie yelled, baring her claws as she shouted all while kicking herself back up and out of the bed. Her eyes were watering from the impact which prompted her returning to rubbing her snout.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I just, I thought it wouldn’t, I thought I would-” Noelle was flustered beyond reason and struggling to collect herself, all while a red mark began to become clear on her forehead.
Susie noticed and quickly pulled her hands from her still sore nose and into her pockets to hide how much that hurt, “It’s fine… just what were you trying to do.” She couldn’t help but stare, “That’s gonna leave a mark you know?”
Noelle stiffened up when she realized she was being stared at and slowly reached a hand up to her forehead before reeling back at the immediate soreness of it, “Ow.” she winced. “That’s not supposed to hurt…”
“How would headbutting someone not hurt?” Susie asked, squinting at her.
“I mean, this is all a dream, it’s not supposed to hurt!” Noelle explained like it was the most obvious thing to her.
“I mean it’s the only way you’d come to rescue me, it’s the only thing that explains this whole weird world… it’s the only thing that explains away…” Noelle frantically explained before cutting herself off, she turned towards the window as she struggled to finish what she sought to say.
Susie looked out the window alongside her. Something seemed wrong. Really wrong. And the fear in her eyes before she turned away stuck in Susie’s mind.
‘I… what do I say?... Maybe.’ Susie begged to understand.
“So… you realized it was a dream and thought you would attack me?” Susie interrupted the newfound silence, still struggling to grasp the fear she’d just caught a glimpse of.
Noelle blushed, “Well, no, I mean, usually when I dream of you it’d go… differently.” her voice became barely a whisper towards the end.
‘She liked that distraction, maybe it’s best she thinks it’s a dre- WAIT WHAT’ Susie blunk again and again as the cogs turned through every doubt she had built up inside. She nervously cleared her throat.
“You… tried to KISS me?!” she shouted in exasperation as she replayed the attempt over and over in her head.
Noelle tossed the blanket back over her head, “SHUT UP. THIS DREAM JUST ISN’T GOING RIGHT IS ALL.”
“You have to tell me, do you usually kiss me? Do you dream of me often? What’s it like?” Susie excitedly asked for details and quickly felt embarrassed as she heard what she was saying.
“No I don’t usually kiss you, are you kidding! But I thought, maybe, I’d try something special this time, to make up for all of this.” Noelle managed from under the blanket.
‘What the hell happened here...’ Susie worried with a sigh. Grabbing the edge of the blanket and softly pulling it off of her, she asked, “So, do you really think the real Susie wouldn’t come for you?”
Noelle gave a pitiful laugh, “You know as well as I do that she wouldn’t. I’m invisible to her. And how do I change that? I’m too scared to try.”
Susie gave a knowing look, “Ah. I see. She, I mean, I scare you.”
Noelle jolted up, “No! I mean, yes, but you’re a good kind of scary. I... like that about you.”
Susie rubbed the back of her head with a mix of disappointment and relief, “I... think I’m flattered?”
“Heh! If only the real Susie felt that way…” Noelle sadly chimed in.
She let out a sigh, and climbed out of bed. “This isn’t what I had in mind.”
Susie cocked her head to the side, “What do you mean?”
“I mean, this is all a dream.” She took a deep breath, “That means none of this happened, that’s good. That’s good.” Everything felt a little colder all of a sudden. “But I wanted to make it better. To make something special happen. Something I’d like to remember when I wake up, something to help forget the rest and…” Noelle rubbed her forehead, “That didn’t work.”
She idly kicked her legs off the side of the bed, swaying them forward and back as she stared into the seemingly endless darkness of the floor below, “I think I just tried to push things too fast, even if just in my head... it wasn’t going to work out.”
Susie looked away, “I mean, it’s still your dream. Why not try again?”
Noelle let out a soft giggle before admitting, “Honestly? I’m petrified!” she said rather happily, “I couldn’t possibly!”
“Strange thing to be happy about.” Susie muttered, her disappointment peeking through.
“I mean I want to, but it’s just… it feels nice to be scared of something good for a change.” She more quietly explained.
Susie scratched at her cheek in thought.
“I just… wish this wasn’t so much of a nightmare. That I didn’t leave with so much regret and…so hurt.” Another cold breeze. Susie eyed the window as the pane frosted over.
“I wish more of this dream was like this… good. And with you.” She admitted, a warmth to her sincerity. Susie closed her eyes in thought.
“Noelle?” she offered, causing Noelle to perk up out of curiosity. “Would you tell me what happened tonight if I asked?”
Noelle immediately turned away, Susie following suit, sighing as she idly paced along with her thoughts. “I see.” Susie said, an understanding behind her words as she thought to herself for a moment.
“You’re just a dream.” Noelle said quietly.
“That doesn’t mean I want you to hurt. It doesn’t mean I couldn’t care.” Susie said just as quietly, a bit hurt.
Quiet. Tense, stiff, quiet.
“Maybe.” Noelle whispered. “But…”
“But not now.” Susie finished, prompting Noelle to nod in agreement.
“Maybe.. Maybe I’ll show up in another dream. If that would be better.” Susie continued.
Again, she nodded.
It fell quiet again, but it felt less tense now, if only just.
Susie took a breath. “I’ll make sure you wake up soon.” she said as confidently as she could manage. “I'll take down the Queen and get you out of this dream. You just stay here and rest, okay?” Susie placed her hand on the door and awaited a response.
Noelle locked eyes with her and tried to offer a sincere smile, but the both of them could see straight through it.
Susie took a step closer, and unable to break eye contact, so did Noelle. Once more, and again, until there were no steps to be taken. Susie silently embraced the smaller deer, and held her as tightly as she could manage. She tried to think of something to say, but all that came was the need to show she cared. That it would be okay.
Noelle stiffened at her touch at first, momentarily unsure if this was real or not.
After a moment of accepting Susie’s warmth, she decided that she didn’t care if this was real at the moment.
She murmured quietly into Susie’s arm, “Thank you.” before burying her face into Susie’s chest and squeezing her back as tightly as her shaken body could.
Susie began to idly stroke Noelle’s hair as question after question bombarded her mind. All of them left unanswered as she couldn’t focus on any of them with someone this important in her grasp.
‘Can’t this be real?’ ‘Will she even remember this?’ ‘She likes me?’ ‘Me…?’ ‘She seems so hurt.’ ‘What hurt her?’ ‘I will hurt them.’ ‘It’s going to be okay.’ ‘I’ll make it okay.’ ‘I want to… if there’s anything I can do.’
Before the moment could allow her a moment to think on any of these, she had just one concern playing loudly in her mind.
Noelle began to cry. Buried into her, with shaky breaths, she was crying. Just like when Susie first arrived.
Susie opened her mouth but no words came, again and again, nothing escaped. Uncertain of what to do and glaring into the dark, she did all that was left. She hugged with all her might and let her own tears fall where they may.
They stood like that, as two tearful, caring souls allowing themselves to feel.
Until the tears simply ran out.
Noelle hiccuped into her, causing Susie to give her a light squeeze, and things fell much more quiet.
As the moment hung on its edge Susie took to softly tracing lines along Noelle’s back. Jagged rows, small circles, occasionally a heart which she hoped Noelle didn’t mention.
Her friends were waiting. So was the Queen, the fountain, and a whole world, all waiting on this moment to draw to an end. And Susie decided they could all wait as long as it took.
“Noelle?” Susie whispered as she pushed through her now cracked voice. She ran her hand softly down her back and listened as intently as she could but there was no response beyond her quiet breathing.
She let out a hum as she traced her back once more and got her response as the smaller girl’s arm slowly slid off and to the side.
She had fallen asleep; The day had worn her down and letting it all out had drained the last of her strength. She was out of it, no longer standing at all as she was being held aloft by Susie alone.
Something inside Susie felt at peace knowing this, as she picked the sleeping deer up in her arms and began carrying her to the bed.
Gently, she laid her down and carefully laid the crumpled blanket from the floor over top of her.
Susie looked at her face and saw Noelle the tiredest she’d ever seen her. But she also saw a small, unmistakable smile that told her she’d done well.
“It was just a dream.” she whispered, half hurt that it had to be. “But it mattered to me.” she said with a nod before turning to the door.
She placed a hand on the door, took one last look at the sleeping figure behind her, then took a deep breath to confront her friends.
Remembering herself, she quickly reached up and rubbed her face frantically to hide any sign of what happened, and with all the false vigor she could manage she swung open the door.
“Alright let’s go!”
13 notes · View notes
collecting-stories · 4 years
Text
Yellow - JJ (Outer Banks)
Request: No just me being self indulgent. 
A/N: I started writing this the other day because I had an anxiety attack. I based a lot of the reader on my own weird stuff so...it was a little tough to get through but honestly kind of cathartic too? 
Summary: During an anxiety attack at a party JJ calms you down and from there a relationship begins to form between the two of you. Autistic reader. 
Warning: Descriptions of an anxiety attack and mentions of mental illness. 
Outer Banks Masterlist
///
You sat on the side of the house, stiff as a board, breathing so rapidly you thought you were going to send yourself into an asthmatic attack. No, that was nuts, you weren’t asthmatic you were just having a panic attack. But you couldn’t catch your breath and your head felt like you were 25 feet in the air but trapped on the ground at the same time. Your heart was beating in flutters, hands shaking, you were aware that you were crying but you didn’t know how. You couldn’t feel the tears, but your eyes stung and your vision was blurry, were you wearing your glasses? You couldn’t see anything.  
You heard someone’s voice, tinny, like they were calling to you through a tunnel, were they far away. Something touched your arm and you flinched, pressing yourself further into the side of the house. Where were you.  
They kept talking, voice a distant memory but it was happening right now, in slow motion in front of your face, someone’s mouth was moving.  
“Call my mom.” You managed, voice much less clear than it sounded in your ears. It was hoarse and your words mixed with sobs as you anchored yourself into the grass with your fingers.  
Whoever was there took your backpack, rummaging through the pockets until they found your phone. “Passcode?” They asked, holding it up to show you the lock screen.  
The glow of the phone bounced off of every surface and you leaned forward, choking back the sudden urge to throw up. Whoever they were placed a hand on your back, just below your neck. Not too much pressure, it was gentle but it was there and you felt yourself following the motion of their hand running circles in your mind.  
“Alright, okay, your safe. Your safe.” Was all they offered, unsure really, what else they could possibly say in this situation.  
Your fingers stopped digging into the earth slowly, the tension leaving them first. They ached. Next your shoulders, still crying but no longer sobbing, you could hear your heart beat but it sounded like a heart beat again. Not drums banging in your ears or thunder breaking in the sky. Your shoulders sagged beneath the weight of their hand and you felt them grasp your arms, guiding you into a more comfortable position. They sat behind you, arms wrapping around your body while you leaned into them, your whole weight using them to stabilize you.  
When it was over, when the attack on your entire being subsided and your brain could function once more you would be embarrassed, you would practically send yourself into another panic attack trying to apologise. Your body was too tired to comply with your brain right now though. Everything felt heavy, like you were anchored down to the earth. And you felt lips pressed against your temple making you close your eyes as the person holding you placed a kiss against your cold skin.  
“You’re safe,” they promised. When you tried to move they shushed you, hand brushing sweaty hair from your forehead. “It’s okay, you don’t have to move.”
“I’m sorry,” you apologized, more because you didn’t think you could move even though you wanted to. You wanted to get up and run away, hopefully never see whoever was holding you in their arms. Tan arms, plenty of bracelets, a few rings. You leaned your head against their arm, warm skin soothing yours.  
“It’s okay.”  
-
You’d fallen asleep there on the side of someone’s house in a stranger’s arms, exhausted from an episode. You had woken up with the sun, careful as you removed yourself from the other person. You didn’t need him to wake up or try to ask you if you were okay or if you needed anything or try to pretend that you hadn’t totally ruined the party for him. You were certain that calming some random girl down was not on the top of his priority list for the night before. Taking your phone and your bag, you walked home. 
For two days after that you hung around the house. It was too many people all at once and you were still exhausted as you tried to regulate yourself. You couldn’t stay in forever though, according to your parents, and you left the house on Thursday for therapy. You omitted the tragic end of the party, embarrassed that you hadn’t tried any coping techniques when you felt yourself starting to panic, instead you’d just kept going until it was too much and you were tripping out on the side of the house. Not the best summer story you could think of. Your two days inside hadn’t been totally unproductive.  
When you’d been sitting there in his arms, silently naming all the colors in his bracelets as he held you and promised you were safe, you’d thought about making a new bracelet for him. Two days later you considered the fact that he would probably be happy to never see you again but you’d made him a bracelet anyway, varying shades of yellow woven together. It sat in the front pocket of your back pack just in case you saw him somewhere on the island and he didn’t immediately hide from you.  
It was after therapy, as you walked home that you saw him. A little coincidental for your taste but there he was, standing with a friend on the other side of the street. They were talking and you decided today wasn’t a good day. Two days was not enough time to compartmentalize everything that had happened and seem totally well adjusted. Could you blame the freak out on drugs? Was that plausible? Probably not. He’d definitely think you were weird if you gave him the bracelet. There was no way that was happening now.  
“Hey!” His voice carried across the street. Louder than he’d been two nights ago. “Hey.”
You kept walking, hoping maybe he’d seen someone else that he knew. But then he was appearing in front of you, forcing you to stop walking or collide with him. “Oh, uh, hi.” You twisted the front of your striped shirt in your hands, looking at him and then just passed. Deep breathes, you could do this. You were good at talking to people, everyone said so.  
“Hey,” he repeated, “I was looking for you the other day, you like, disappeared.”
“I had to get home.” Was he concerned or was he just saying that to be nice? No, he’d crossed the street to talk to you so it must have been concern. Or curiosity.  
“Are you alright?”
“Right now?”
“Right now. The other night.” He shrugged, “I’m JJ.”
“I’m okay, sorry for the other night.”
“Bad trip?” Maybe drugs weren’t so farfetched.
You nodded. He invited you to hang out with him and his friend, Pope, and you accepted because wouldn’t that be a nice story to tell your therapist next Thursday. She loved when you talked to new people. You got dinner with them while the bracelet you’d made him burned a hole in your bag. Another time, now was too soon.
When you went home that night you made another one just to calm your nerves.  
He invited you out the next day and the next and you had trouble saying no because you liked him but he was exhausting. His friends seemed to be all personality, each demanding attention at exactly the same moment and you knew there was so much you missed when you hung out with all of them together, so many little pieces that you couldn’t concentrate on at the same time. They liked to do a million different things in one day. And they especially liked going on the boat.  
-
You hated the boat. Really what you hated was the water. It was deep and you could tread but you weren’t a great swimmer and you’d imagined your death by drowning enough times that every time you got in the water you were convinced it was the last. The anxiety of it ate at you. On boat days you went home earlier than usual with an upset stomach and you laid in your closet for hours trying to cocoon yourself into some kind of comfortable state.
They always swam when they went out on the boat and you always promised you’d go in but never did. You held onto the same beer all afternoon but only drank half. You laughed when someone else laughed at a joke and you took at least one hit from JJ’s blunt just so it seemed like you smoked since he thought that you did.  
It was exhausting. And every time he asked you thought about saying no. But you never did. It’d be one thing if he texted you but he usually showed up at your house, as if he knew you couldn’t say no to him in person.  
Today you brought your backpack on the boat with you. Your therapist suggested bringing something that could calm you when you felt yourself getting anxious. You brought your box of thread to make friendship bracelets. The entire front pocket of your backpack was filled with ones you’d already made with JJ in mind.  
“What are you doing?” JJ asked, halfway through the afternoon, as you sat in the boat. Everyone else had been paying attention to something Kiara was saying but JJ’s always loud voice caught their attention.  
“Oh, I’m making a bracelet.” You offered, keeping your eyes on the thread that you had attached to a carabiner on your water bottle.  
JJ moved over next to you on the bench, leaning his chin against your shoulder as he looked down at the bracelet. “Make me one?”
“What?” You turned your head, shifting away a little so you could see his face. He was so close you wondered if he could see the imperfections on your skin.  
“Will you make me a bracelet?” He asked.  
“Yeah, yeah...I uh, what color?” You asked, thinking of all the ones you already had for him in your bag.  
“You choose.” He moved his head, but only so that he could watch you better.  
You started up again, having to fix two different knots as JJ sat there, almost touching you but not completely. You could feel his breath on your skin, and his body was so close you could feel the warmth of him. “You’re very close to me.” You pointed out.
JJ looked at you, brow furrowed in confusion. “You want me to move?”
No. But you were two seconds from dropping the water bottle. You could already feel the tingling in your fingers. They would shake next and the tingling feeling would move up your arms. Some one jumped in the water and the splash made you jump, water bottle rolling out of your hands. JJ got up, grabbing the bottle and handing it back to you.
“You alright?”
“Fine.” You wanted to ask how much longer they were planning on being out but you didn’t want anyone to feel like they had to turn around on your account. You could make it the rest of the boat trip. Deep breaths. You searched for colors and shapes that you could silently name, running over and over them until you felt yourself starting to calm down enough to resume your bracelet making.  
When JJ texted you the next morning about hanging out at John B’s house you said you were sick. New friends were exhausting. You needed a break that lasted longer than a night.  
-
You ignored your phone for the next few days, falling back into your usual routine. Your mom tried to coax you into a movie day or shopping but you’d spent too much time around people to want to spend even more time around them. A crowded shopping trip or a stuffy theater?  
You settled on watching the movies in your room and listening to quiet music. You were on your third day of ignoring your phone when JJ traded texting you for seeing you in person. He wasn’t entirely sure what he had done but he was determined to get to the bottom of it. When he got to your house, he found you outside on the hammock reading.  
“Hey,” JJ sat on the hammock without warning, rocking it just enough you to grip the edge. His feet stayed on the ground, steadying it. “I’ve been trying to text you.”
“Sorry, I haven’t been feeling well.” You lied. Was he upset? Maybe, he didn’t look upset though. He looked fairly unphased but you knew how hard he was to read; it took all your attention sometimes.  
“You wanna go on the boat today?”
“I don’t know if I’m up for hanging out with everyone.” That was too much pressure.
“It can just be us.”
“Okay.” You agreed, surprised that he wanted to spend time with just you.  
The boat with just JJ was still a boat and your irrational fear of the water still existed though with less people you didn’t imagine dying by capsized boat as an option. Though maybe it could still capsize. Another, larger boat could hit it and you’d sink. JJ steered, watching you as he took the HMS Pogue out in the marsh. You weren’t watching the water. He’d taken girls out before and they always watched the water or used the front of the boat to sunbathe while they talked endlessly. You were staring at your lap, twisting your striped shirt in your hands.  
“You don’t wear any of your bracelets?” JJ asked, realizing for the first time that your wrists were bare.  
“I make them for other people.” You replied, crossing your arms so he couldn’t see your wrists anymore.
“Did you make mine yet?”  
“Oh, yeah. Can I move when it’s moving?” You asked, he’d stopped driving but the boat was shifting in the wind.
“It’s not.”  
“A little bit.”
“It’s just the wind.” He shrugged, grabbing a beer from the cooler and offering you one.  
You were careful still, holding the side when you stood up. You grabbed your backpack and opened the front pocket, rummaging through until you found the bracelet you were looking for. Yellow. You held it out to him, exchanging the bracelet for a beer. JJ turned it over in his fingers, looking at the pattern and the different shades of yellow in it.  
“I didn’t expect it to be so...one color.”
“I can make you a different one, if you don’t like that.” You offered. You found the bench again, happy to be sitting.  
“No, I like it.” JJ insisted. He sat beside you, holding out the bracelet with his hand overturned, “can you tie it on for me?”
“Sure.” You pushed his other bracelets up to wrap it around his wrist, fingers brushing against his skin.  
“Will you teach me how to make these?” He asked.  
“Sure, why?”  
JJ shrugged, “I could make you one?”
“Okay.” You smiled.  
“Why yellow?”  
“Yellow usually calms me down when I’m having a bad time,” you admitted, “since you calmed me down during my freak out I though yellow was a good color for you.”  
“That was some trip you were on.”  
“Hey JJ?” You started, crossing your arms to keep from pulling at your shirt. You had thought about telling him that it wasn’t just a trip, trying to decide what sort of reaction he might have. It’d always been you with him and friends never just the two of you together. You liked him, not just because he had held you through an episode but because he was him. Magnetic. Incredible. Calming.  
“Yeah?” he shifted in his seat so he could look at you better, close like always but this time it didn’t make you so nervous.
You uncrossed your arms, twisting your hands together and looking down at your lap. The explanation came in waves. You stumbled over words trying to tell him that you hadn’t been tripping over weed but that it was just a part of your brain. While you talked JJ stayed quiet, his hands reaching for yours and threading his fingers with yours. He listened while you told him that you hated the boat because you were always afraid that you were going to drown. He didn’t tell you that was irrational or that you were crazy he just listened.  
You finished, waiting for him to say something to you but he just sat there, “So?”  
“I don’t...know that much about like, stuff like that.” JJ admitted.
“Neither do I,” you laughed, “I just know living with it.”  
“Should we go back?” He asked. He moved his hands so he could hold yours better, thumbs rubbing along the insides of your wrists.  
“I kinda wanna go in the water.” You replied, looking over your shoulder at the calm water. You always thought about going in the water when you came out with everyone but somehow going in with everyone made you more anxious than being on the boat in the first place.  
“Okay, lets go in.” JJ said, standing up and pulling his shirt over his head.  
“You go first,” you replied, taking your shirt and shorts off. JJ wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you close, kissing your forehead.  
-
taglist: @maplelattes22 @poguesrforlife  @freckled-and-daydreaming  @calumhoodsbuckethat @millie-753 @fangirlwithme @alex12948 @howdyherron @katherine097 @tangledinsparkles @tragicmisfits @carbonated-beverage @mariofgreengables @jolomez @timotaychalabae @ssprayberrythings
529 notes · View notes
thedeviousdo · 3 years
Text
Tether Me
Here is the opening scene for my fic Tether Me, a side story from Repairs following Sehun and Junmyeon’s relationship. If you haven’t read Repairs, you may be a bit lost in this fic, but hopefully it’s still enjoyable.
Sehun’s morning routine was simple. He usually started his days by cursing at the sea birds that liked to squawk near his windows at the butt crack of dawn to wake him up. He’d shower and have breakfast made within the hour, then would pick up where he left off on a painting on the deck of his yacht. 
The colors Sehun had chosen were perfect. Shades of pink, blue, and green that pushed the painting towards the borders of  unrealistic. His technique was near perfection, there was nothing objectively wrong with it. But the painting, like all the others Sehun had made, lacked something. To Sehun, it was nothing more than a place for paint to dry. 
Sehun placed his paintbrush down, and with a grunt of frustration he flung the canvas over the side of his boat. He squeezed his eyes shut as he took a calming breath, instantly feeling foolish. He walked over to the side of the boat and peered over the railing. “Shit.” 
The painting was swaying along with the waves, gradually floating further and further from the yacht. He watched as the colors started to wash away. He should have just thrown it in the trash like all the others. 
A shiver ran up his spine, he could almost feel the pull to go back to the mainland, back to the city full of people to Mark. Cupids could go maybe a full week before they started to feel overcome with the need to make someone fall in love. It was the same every time: it would start with shivers, like what Sehun had just felt. Then after another day his skin would tingle, and then after that he would become restless until all he could do was Mark someone.
It had been five days since he had Marked anyone. Every now and then Sehun liked to test himself, see how long he could go without doing what he was brought back to life for. 
It wasn’t like Sehun didn’t like what he was, he found enjoyment in it most days. But over time he found he didn’t get the fulfillment from creating a couple like all the other Cupids did. Before he knew it, 100 years had passed and he hadn’t created one couple. Instead, he focused on bringing love to mortals in other ways. The love of authors and artists, architecture and music. For Sehun, it was seeing the way their eyes would light up when they fell in love with the words printed on pages, or the sound of a singer's voice. 
He had known only a few other Cupids like him, who shied away from the romantical side of their job. One of them, Kyungsoo, he considered a friend.  Kyungsoo was a lot like him, and Sehun liked his company. Both tended to be on the quiet side, and preferred to find smaller gatherings of people, rather than the crowds Cupids were usually drawn to. Kyungsoo had said his partner, Jongin, did enough of that for the both of them. Jongin usually just left the two of them to work together while he went on his own. Though they were polar opposites, Sehun liked Jongin, and actually enjoyed being around them both. The couple had a silent bond, both knowing exactly what the other needed. It put Sehun more at ease rather than feeling the need to look elsewhere like most couples made him feel. That is, until they got handsy, which happened more often than not. Still, that didn’t even bother him as much as it usually did. It never felt like they were trying to show off or flaunt what they had--they just were. 
Sehun looked towards the coast, he could just make out some of the boats docked at the marina. He might as well head back, soon enough he would start to get restless anyway. Perhaps he would see Kyungsoo, he had heard he and Jongin were in the city. With a sigh, Sehun made his way to the controls and set a course back to the city.
**
Junmyeon patted down his jacket pockets, hands moving around his body till he found his keys in his pants pocket. "You sure neither of you want to come with me? The exhibit has a lot of different artists, I'm sure there will be something you guys would like."
Jongdae, still sitting at his desk, looked up from his work."I have a date. Don't look at me like that, it's true. Baekhyun saw her "
Junmyeon turned to look at Baekhyun, who was slouched into his chair, eyes on his phone as he played some game. Baekhyun looked up briefly before shrugging and turning his attention back to his phone. "I walked in on them facetiming."
Junmyeon ignored Jongdae’s holler of triumph and instead watched as Baekhyun tried to keep a straight face, always keeping his distance, not giving anything away. "Fine, then do you want to come, Baek?" Junmyeon knew the answer before he asked, but he still had a little hope.  
"I'd rather not, I'll close up here and go home tonight," Baekhyun answered, not bothering to look up from his game.
Junmyeon nodded, quickly turning his pout into a smile. "Well if you’re both certain, then good night." He gave a final wave before making his way out of the library to his waiting motorcycle.
He didn’t mind going to art shows alone, he had now done it multiple times, even befriending one of the gallery owners. But it was nice to share in the experience, see the way someone else lights up when they find something they really like.
He tugged at the stuck zipper on his worn leather riding jacket. He was going to need to repair it or find a new one soon. Though he’d rather get it fixed if he could, he loved the gift his brothers had gotten him years ago when he first got his motorcycle license.
With his helmet now on, Junmyeon brought the black motorcycle to life. He turned to look at the library door once more before pulling out and heading for the gallery. 
**
Sehun watched as the mortal he Marked got the attention of a gallery worker, asking as many questions about the artist of the painting in front of them as they could. It was an easy Mark, the man was looking to be inspired for a book he was writing, so really it only took a little nudge. He smiled at the fading glimpses of the man’s future when a sound from the other side of the room caught his attention.
A man was righting a stand that held brochures for the exhibit, hands frantic to catch it before it fell completely. Once he set it back up, he started to walk off only to stop, sigh and turn back to grab one of the brochures. Sehun snorted a laugh as he watched as man walk quickly towards another room, his cheeks every shade of red. Sehun turned back around to the painting he had been looking at before, running his fingers over his lingering smile.
Sehun walked the room slowly, enjoying each piece of art that caught his attention. He was glad he had come here tonight. Shivers aside, Sehun was able to really enjoy where he was for the first time in weeks. There weren’t more than 40 people walking the multiple-exhibit gallery, so he didn’t feel too overwhelmed like he can feel in more crowded spaces. Maybe it was something from his past, his life before he became a Cupid, that made him so sensitive to crowds. 
Of course he didn’t know anything about his past, only his name, just like every other Cupid. That didn’t stop him from wondering what that life was like. Was he happy in that life? Would that version of himself like the life he had now? Was he this uncomfortable with a lot of people around?
Sehun walked into the next room, skirting past an elderly woman wearing too much perfume. He may be able to make himself invisible, but that didn't mean he wasn’t a solid form that others could feel if they happened to touch him. He smiled at the memory of being a new Cupid and scaring so many people when he had accidentally bumped into them. He stopped walking when he saw the man from earlier.
The man was standing near a sculpture, the embarrassment from earlier no longer evident on his face. Instead he looked fondly from one sculpture to the next. Sehun watched him enjoying the art a few more moments before looking around at the pieces himself, glancing over his shoulder every few minutes to see if the man was still there. *****
35 notes · View notes