#STILL MESSING AROUND WITH MY OWN COLOR PALETTES FOR HIM

[kyri45]

✨ShadowPeach Bio Parents Bio AU Q&A! 23/10✨

I'm LIVE on my TWITCH page drawing Spicynoodle! Come and say hi!

Welcome to the Q&A! A space where I can answer related or similar question about the Shadowpeach Bio Parents AU! If you submitted your ask anonimously, then you’ll have to check the whole post if it’s answered here, if it’s not, worry not! Your asks might have been used for a future comic or just in the queue~

Anonimo ha chiesto: Ok so your Bio parent AU (loving it so much by the way) takes place after season 5 right? I thought it would be cool if you touched on Monkey Kings issues with Mk using the circuit on him. I eat that stuff up. if its already going in a different direction then that's ok, just a suggestion.

Aww in the end I don't think I can fit this in the story. It's absolutely an amazing idea, and I had thought of adding it for so long, but in the end the final part of the story will go differently.

Anonimo ha chiesto: How do Wukong and Macaque react that they have two grandchildren?? (Kai and Nya)

Will probably die of emotions. The fact that that's both their son's son/daughter, and that's their nephew/niece. It would blow them away. I'll never have children, but they completely change your prespective.

@shadowpeachera ha chiesto: AGHHHHHH XIAOTIANS WEAPON IS SOOO COOOOLLL AND THE WAY YOUR SHOWED HIM MAKING IT AGHHHHHH SO GOOD HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO COME UP WITH THE DESIGN? THE COLOURS? THE EVERYTHING UGHH I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS COMIC AGHHH

I think I did a couple of sketches before the final design, but I went on pinterest quite a lot before to see some variations of magical staff

@beanspassin ha chiesto: Do you think Macaque and Wukong will ever find out about each other secretly checking the other out? Cause let’s face it, Wukong will get a MASSIVE ego boost when he finds out Macaque was staring at him. 🤭

I think Macaque can HEAR when Wukong is checking him out. Wukong probably would negate the fact that he's checking him out, bc my boy is just a mess of emotion

@tessthe-cheesecake ha chiesto: Hello! I just wanted to say I really love your Shadowpeach Bio Parent AU I just have two questions, one: how is MK handling four ears? I assume he doesn't like crowded places (if yes then me too bud me too) ok second question would MK ever go back to being Wukong's successor but in his own way instead? :)

I think MK doesn't want to be a successor bc he doesn't want to be the next Monkey King, but he still wants to be the Monkie Kid. Also, I think he might be starting to feel himself a little more like an heir then a successor

@minli-daughter-of-wukong ha chiesto: So, would you have changed MK’s weapon if you thought a staff wasn’t really his style anymore? Also how did you come up with the idea for the sunset staff and can you give tips on how to find the right kind of weapon you’d choose for a character? So this is so long lol

I aint real good with weapon/characters. This was my first time matching a weapon to a character to be honest. I wanted to create something that was similar to both Wukong's and Macaque's staff, but at the same time being something new. With a new color palette that could represent the kind of hero MK wants to be

@cavern-of-shenanigans ha chiesto: Ok ok ok this is kind of silly but MKs new staff kind of reminds me of a twirling baton So combined with Macaques showmanship and the scarf bit MK tied on, they could play around with it and do a joint shadow play/ribbon dance performance! Maybe add him into the hero warrior story? Nice mother son bonding activity because its cute

HA! true! they are performance duo!

@ashmeertheimp ha chiesto: Hi love your fan art, story,and art style! What if piggsy and Tang went on a long trip and lives in flower fruit Mountain

I don't think freenoodle could survive living so close to shadowpeach

@italian-wizarding-world ha chiesto: Duuude i love, Love, LOVE!!! your art, and your Mk, Wu and Mama it's just too sweet, just two question: 1 Why sunset and not dawn? is it because usually sunset are more impresive? or maybe the staff has two "forms" depending on him using more his shadow powers and if so can he change between them? 2 We need red son reaction to Mk essentially magical girl transformation even if it's just a sparkling staff, because i think it would be epic/hilarious. We need more moment about them and Mei lookin at how dumb both are

I liked sunset because in a way MK started more with Sun powers and he is now discovering more his Macaque side of powers, so he's approaching a little bit the shadows (so his journey was from day to slowly twilight)

Anonimo ha chiesto: Have you ever thought about drawing an adult MK? I love your drawing style, and I wanted to see what an adult MK would look like, as well as Mei and Red Son. Você já pensou em desenhar um MK adulto? Eu amo seu estilo de desenho, e eu queria ver como seria um MK adulto, assim como Mei e Red Son.(I'm Brazilian by the way and I love reading your Au)

Maybe in the future....?

Anonimo ha chiesto: I REALLY REALLY REALLY LOVE NO ..I ADORE YOUR DRAWINGS MAN!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ EVERY DAY I REREAD THE WHOLE LMK COMICS OF YOURS..!!!!!!❤️❤️ And hey l have a quition!!! What if mk interrupted wukong while his meditation and like wukong thinks he's in the past what is he gonna do when he see mac!?🌝❤️ Probably we will see a lot of hugs and kisses?🥹

Can you imagine since they are so cuddly even if they aren't together yet again in the AU, that because of this Macaque for a good moment DOESN'T notice the difference?

Anonimo ha chiesto: Can we get a character sheet for chiyou?

nope sorry, but he will come back no worry

Anonimo ha chiesto: Who else wants to see Pigsy and Tang show Monkey King and Macaque pictures of MK growing up?

Aww I think Wukong and Macaque would die from cuteness but at the same time feel a great remorse that they weren't there for their child when he was little. They are glad freenoodle was with them, but still, It's a big chunk of his life that they missed.

@itz-izzyart ha chiesto: So with the noise canceling headphones, does mk wear them so he (hopefully) doesn’t start hearing the past again or is it just something he wears to help him sleep at night?

Both. It helps him muffle the noise.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Would Wukong get ptsd if MK somehow got a circlet himself ?

He would probably loose all his immortalities rather than let MK have a circlet.

@loseranddummy ha chiesto: I have a ≈question≈ is Peng gonna be in your lmk bio parent comic by chance?

mmmm nope, sorry

@oddogoblino ha chiesto: Beeeeeg monke armmssss...meant for hug jail...

yessss..... and cudlleeeeeee...

Anonimo ha chiesto: :D was macaque grooming mk while they were waiting for the weapon to be forged

yup!

Anonimo ha chiesto: HI! Hope you're well and staying hydrated. Would we/could we see more Lilo and Stitch refs for your ShadowPeach bio parents au? I saw the last one and couldn't stop laughing. �� Maybe a beach scene or something?

I'll have to see the movie again and I'll see if new idea come in my mind

Anonimo ha chiesto: Have you ever thought about that because Macaque was gone from the living world for so long he doesn't know how use modern technology. Like Wukong's phone will go off when he isn't there and Macaque can't figure out how to get the stupid thing to be quiet

They are both gay boomers, your honor

Anonimo ha chiesto: In your shadowpeach au who is a morning person and who is a night owl Macaque or Wukong?

none of them. Wukong sleeps like 12 hours and Macaque like 5. (but now he's sleeping more thanks to Wukong but still wakes up earlier than Wukong)

[wave2tyun]

strawberry kisses | ☆

pairing: beomgyu x reader

genre: fluff

summary: when you accepted your boyfriend's sweet request to do his makeup, you weren't expecting the fiery turn that your little makeup session was going to take

warnings: none<3

word count: 875

a/n: reposting with much love for my dear 🐾 anon!!😼💞💞 to this day i still don't know what possessed me when i wrote this fic tbh ASBHJDBSJ my turn to experience this when.......?<//3

☆ = repost from my old blog!!

“ah-“ “-it’s so cold” beomgyu exclaimed, slightly moving away from you.

“stay still-“ you grabbed his face again, dabbing the concealer you had just put on his face with a sponge.

beomgyu had been all over you that night, begging you to recreate the makeup look you had on your last date with him. but he was just so cute doing it, there was no way you could ever refuse him. so now- here you were, beomgyu sitting down on the edge of your bed with you on a chair, leaning over to do the base of his makeup. your hands were shaking a bit, even though you weren’t gonna leave the house again after this was done. it was just beomgyu who got to see the result. perhaps that was actually the root of your worries, you were nervous whether beomgyu would like your work or not.

“my neck hurts” beomgyu complained again. you let out a laugh as you got up, wanting to get your eyeshadow palette from the nightstand.

beomgyu’s arms suddenly wrapped around your waist, bringing you down with him on the bed. “w-what was that for?” you asked, flustered by his actions.

“i think i like this position better- my neck feels more relaxed this way.” he replied with a shrug.

beomgyu’s hands rested on your waist as you straddled his hips and continued continued your work. sometimes his fingeres travelled down to your thighs, tracing patterns on the velvety material of your pants. you grabbed his face again. every single one of your touches had his body melting underneath you, he was so infatuated with you, simply letting you do whatever you needed without questioning anything. he was content watching you do your thing, enjoying how all of your attention was on him and him only.

“your eyelashes are so pretty” you whispered, putting on a light coat of mascara on him. your cold fingers touched his skin, soothing down the burning sensation that bloomed in his cheeks from such simple words. your hand slid down to take hold of his chin and lift it up “pout your lips for me gyu”

“do i get a kiss if i do that?” beomgyu asked you cutely, voice laced with honey.

you playfully tilted your head to the side “maybe” you teased.

beomgyu closed his eyes, pouting his lips exaggeratedly. the feeling of the lipstick touching him instead of your own lips made him open them again. beomgyu huffed; he looked at the floor, sulking, instead of looking at you. you held back the urge to laugh and carried on with the final step, blending the crimson color with the pad of your fingers, feeling his plush lips against your skin. you could notice the way his face lit up, eyes glistening with mischief from the idea that just crossed his mind. one way or another, he was going to receive the kiss that he wanted from you “you know what this lipstick would look good on?”

“hm?” you lifted your eyebrows, waiting for beomgyu’s response.

“you” he answered, giving you a quick peck, chuckling at your surprised face.

you glanced at his lips, smudged lipstick on his face inviting you to mess it up even more. you leaned down, moving away the bangs covering his face to return the favor.

the continuous tentative pecks slowly raised in intensity, and with each kiss you would linger against his lips more, blood rushing through your veins. beomgyu took hold of you, rolling you on the bed so that you could be the one underneath him. he held your wrists above your head with one hand, his other one playing with some strands of your hair as he left kisses all over your cheeks, red marks from the lipstick blossoming along, as a clear sign of his adoration towards you. beomgyu’s heart fluttered at the sight, he took the lipstick tube and placed it in your hand, silently asking for more. he pouted his lips once again, and this time, you couldn’t resist him. your lips captured his in a shy, chaste kiss before fulfilling his request. the corners of his lips turned up and he gazed directly into your eyes as you colored his lips again. then, his head dived down, painting your neck with the same crimson marks that adored your cheeks. he nipped and gently bit at your skin, his tongue swiftly gliding over those same spots, letting out a sigh as he let himself become more and more absorbed by you, the worry of keeping his makeup intact long forgotten. he covered you with his love, slightly pulling the collar of your shirt down to cover the area right underneath your collarbone with more kisses. as much as beomgyu relished telling you that he loved you, he was much fonder of showing his endearment towards you through actions. he loved seeing how you couldn’t control the blush rushing into your cheeks as he kissed you, how you held on tighter to the sleeves of his sweatshirt as he travelled down your body, soft gasps escaping past your lips whenever his kisses turned slow and sensuous.

his face came back up, rosy lips curving into a smirk as he looked at you again “what a beautiful sight”

[vicolette]

would you write a Guille Fernandez fic of him trying to do readers makeup?

Love u 😽

Makeup Adventure !

– A/N : Ty for the request!! Love you too anon<33

– Warnings : English isn’t my first language, mentions of y/n & pet names, idk

"C'mon, stay still."

Your boyfriend’s charming smile made you raise an eyebrow at how confident he was about this – about doing your makeup. You weren’t going outside anyway and he had the day off of training, so Guille was quick to stay for a sleepover at your house.

Now, as he gestured you to take a seat on your bed and opened your makeup bag, you felt a bit unsure about all of this. Sure, he wasn’t going to hurt you in any way, shape or form, but it still made you nervous.

Firstly, Guille took your moisturizer and applied some on your face to help you get a smooth base before applying any makeup. Secondly was sunscreen, which made him raise an eyebrow, since it was barely even spring, but he still used it.

"Is this necessary?" Holding up the Primer a bit too close to your face, you facepalmed at him, before he pulled it back to let you take a proper look at it.

"Nope."

"Alright." As he put it back inside the makeup bag, Guille put foundation on your forehead, cheeks and chin, making him smile at how silly you looked like from above. As he continued your usual routine, with you giving him some hints and tips, he shrugged it off, saying that he was a pro at this.

What really made you flustered were his teasing compliments, such as "I can make you blush, so you don’t need it." or "You already look like you're shining, baby. Is highlighter important?" . Even if it was natural for him to tease you like this, it was what made you feel appreciated – that he was genuine about his own words.

Now came the tricky part: your eyes. At first, Guille just stared into your eyes for a whole good minute, before he smirked and suddenly kissed you. It caught you by surprise, your hands flying to his shoulders on instinct. He pulled when you couldn't breathe anymore, then proceeded to act as if it was nothing.

"Bastard..." The teenager chuckled in response, holding up an eyeshadow palette for you to choose the color. One glance at it, and you immediately pointed at a rosy pink.

"Seems like you love the color." Everyone could see how much you've used it, just barely using any other shades unless if it wasn't for an everyday look.

However, you couldn’t help but snicker as you watched him shakily hold an eyeliner afterwards, closing your eyes while Guille tried to master this and miserably failed.

"I give up."

"Loser." A dramatic gasp left from his mouth at that moment, pouting while he opened the mascara. Even with your eyes closed, you could probably imagine how Guille looked like right now.

The final touch came as he only searched for your lipstick, only to find some lip balm, lipgloss and...

"Is that a pencil?" Guille held up a lipliner, showing it to you, as if you didn't know what he was talking about. Once you nodded your head in amusement, he bursted out laughing. His laughter filled the room with noise and after a short while, you sighed softly while shaking your head at your boyfriend’s attitude sarcastically.

"Okay, okay- how do I use this?"

"Around the lips, silly." His genuine curiosity made you smile as he firstly put on some lipstick, once again letting you choose your color, before moving to the lipliner, decently mastering it.

"No lipgloss?" As he handed you his phone and let you see yourself, you thought that it was actually pretty good – almost as similar to your everyday look, if it wasn’t for the messed up eyeliner.

"Nah, don’t want my lips to get glossy." Before you could even properly process his words in your mind, Guille quiet literally jumped on you, pinning you down to the mattress. A grin blossomed on his face, before leaning down to kiss you repeatedly.

There was a lipstick stain on his face, letting you grab his face and press kisses all over him, yet he didn’t mind the clinginess. Guille loved seeing you like this, even if he was usually the one to tease.

"And? Did I do good?" Once you pulled away, your hands still cupping his chin, you saw how he looked a little bit more relaxed than before. Your lipstick was probably messy, but none of you two cared.

"Hm… totally."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

– A/N : acc loved writing this but I have absolutely NO experience with makeup sooo….

[heennnngggggarae]

Sunny side up

a/n : This is long, and by long I meant few hundreds word more than my usual drabble. also minor notes it might seem like this is totally out of character for Minghao, VERY VERY SORRY ABOUT THAT!!

ANYWAY please like and/or reblog to ket me know if you guys like it or not!!

Painting or anything art related is not a particularly strong suit of yours, so when Minghao asked you to accompany him on one of his painting sessions you didn’t think much of it. That is until he gave you a 6x6 sized canvas and a set of paint tubs and brushes.

“Why are you giving me this? I thought I was supposed to be staring at you while you paint and getting bored in the process,” You said after grabbing the equipment and putting it on the floor next to you, eyeing it uneasily. The sound of a sigh was heard before you tilt your head towards him and seeing his expression. Eyebrows furrowed and lips tight. You feel kinda guilty for saying that but it’s true wasn’t it? You prefer to watch Minghao paint rather than get into that mess of colors. 

“That’s exactly the reason why I’m giving you this,” he gestures to the discarded tools beside you before sitting in front of it and giving it to you again. “You look bored, yes. But I also saw how your eyes sparkle when you see me paint small details, so that’s why I bought you this,” 

You look at the brushes and the paints before looking at Minghao again. “At least try it once, hm? For me?” he smiled at you, silently trying to make you waver, which he won, darn that cute face. 

Sighing, you finally nod before saying yes to him. He clapped his hands together before standing up. “Great! I’ll set the easel on the table,” he said as he moved to the storage. 

“You bought an easel? For this mini sized canvas?”

“Of course, I had a feeling you’ll like painting sooner or after, so I just bought it in an impulse,”

“What if I still don’t like it?”

“Oh you’ll like it, beside I can use it even if you don’t”

Always thinking ahead with this one. “Alright then,” you shrug before grabbing the easel from Minghao and placing it on a nearby table.

What should you paint? Minghao? too hard for a first timer. The apartment? nah, too much stuff inside of it, a field with flowers? definitely. just blue sky and green grass, with patches of color for the flowers.

Grabbing the blue paint tube you splatter it on the canvas before spreading it as a base, making the sky. The blue unnerves you, shouldn’t it be more saturated? The sky on Minghaos painting aren’t this… boring. 

‘Whatever, I’m still a beginner at this stuff,�� You look towards the other tubs of paints beside the easel. ‘Maybe I should add a cloud? Wait, what flowers should I paint?’ 

Too focused on your painting, you didn’t notice Minghao looking at you with a small smile on his face. He barely even started on his painting when he decides to abandon it, choosing to sit in the chair behind you. Staring at your movement, placing the palette a little too rough, fidgeting with the paints, before grabbing one and placing it again, and scratching your head, made Minghao chuckle.

Turning back you’re surprised that Minghao wasn’t standing a few feet besides you, focusing on his own canvas.

“What are you doing there?” You asked him before placing your palette again and walking towards him.

“I can’t sit here and stare at my lovely partner?” he tilted his head to the side and looked up to you from where he’s sitting. You stuttered before sighing and turning back towards your painting.

Smiling at your back, Minghao decided to stand up before wrapping his arm around your waist, peeking at your painting. Though his smile falters when he actually sees it.

“Why is there an egg between the grass?” He ask tilting his head towards the painting.

“What are you talking about?” You asked him back before focusing back and paint more flowers between the grass.

“You’re painting an egg between the grass again,” He said pointing to the flower you just made. 

You look back towards him with a questioning gaze. “Minghao, that is a daisy,” 

He stayed silent before looking at the flower you just painted and back to you.

“That doesn’t look like a daisy” 

“IT DOES! look it got yellow and white, a daisy,” you said exasperatedly 

“It looks more like a sunny side up,” He said as he picked up the canvas, observing it carefully

You pouted at his words before placing the palette on the table and sat at the chair, crossing your arm. “This is why I don’t want to paint, I rather sit back and observe you”

Minghao cooed at your pouting face before putting the canvas back at the easel, and walked towards you. He hugged your body before apologizing to you.

“Sorry for forcing you paint, and saying your daisy looked like a sunny side up”

You sighed at his words before hugging him back. 

“Apology accepted”

Hearing that Minghao smiled before pulling back a bit. “You looked like you enjoyed it a lot though”

“I did, actually, and I now realized that my daisy does look like a sunny side up” 

“So this means I’m right?”

“Shut up”

[skylarstark4826]

Hobie Brown doesn’t believe in consistency. Hobie Brown doesn’t believe in labels.

So, if it came to light that there was a…little quirk about him that consistently labelled certain little “moods” he gets into, one could understand how he’d be hesitant to believe it.

Or maybe he’s just in denial.

“The fuck you mean I change colors?” He asked incredulously, his whole body shifting to a sort of greyscale before Miles’ eyes.

“That! You just did it!” Miles’ hands flailed a bit before he gripped his sleeves, and he laughed a bit at the look Hobie gave him. “When you get upset, you turn grey.”

“I can’t be grey already, mate, come off it.” Hobie chuckled, running his fingers along his hairline before returning his hand to the neck of his guitar. “Though, between the Spider thing and you lot on my arse all the time, the stress could be gettin’ me.”

Miles scoffed, offended. “You know that’s not what I meant! And since when do we stress you—” He paused, realization lighting his face as Hobie’s scheme turned to several tones of pink. “You’re messing with me!”

“Oh?” His voice remained steady, but his eyes were distinctly smug. “I felt like that was pretty serious just now. Full sincerity.”

“No, because you always turn pink when you’re being a goof.”

He froze, fingers catching a sour note on his guitar. Miles flinched a little when just his eyes moved to stare at him. That side-eye alone could level mountains.

…But he was still pink.

Miles eyed him warily, crossing his arms. “I know you’re just trying to get in my head.”

Hobie laughed quietly, and his color returned to…normal? Red Spider suit; black vest; and his skin was actually a human color. Yeah, this could be considered normal. “Hate to break it to you, mate; but it’s very easy to get into your head. You get in there so much on your own; you start leaving the door open.”

Miles pouted, but he inched closer to Hobie’s side and rested his head on his shoulder.

Hobie smiled a bit more, plucking a few notes. “Bit of a fuss-bucket, but we like that about you. ‘S cute.” He leaned in turn, letting his head rest on top of Miles’ as he hummed softly.

“Someone has to worry about you and Gwen, especially when you start scheming together. Or not checking in for days; remember the talk we had about that?”

“Gotta unplug sometimes, my guy.” His color shifted again, flipping between grey and another muted palette. “You…you worry about us?”

“Always. You guys both bottle everything up and then act like drinking from it will make it go away.”

Hobie winced, but he couldn’t help another little laugh. “That’s a half decent line, innit? I…You worry about me, huh?” He murmured, his hands going a little tense before he suddenly looked away and cursed under his breath.

Miles glanced at him curiously as he flickered again, between those muted tones and his bright pink. “Are you—”

“Shut up.” Hobie ran his thumb under his eye, a smile stuck on his face as his body settled into the pink palette.

“Hobie!” Miles said just a bit teasingly, hugging the taller boy’s arm and rocking against him. “You’re all pink~ You turn pink when you’re happy, is that it?”

“I don’t turn colors; what are you on about?!” He let himself rock with Miles, reaching to ruffle his hair with his free hand. “An’ I’m not happy; I’m miserable. You’re out here tormenting me.” He carried on dramatically, slipping his arms around Miles and pulling him into his side as he started to lean over. “Makin’ me cry and all. Terrible.”

“Aw, poor thing.” Miles snorted, trying to get his hands between them again. “Maybe I should cheer you up?” He got one hand just under Hobie’s vest, squeezing his side a few times.

“Oi, watch it!” Hobie yelped, giggles starting to slip out as he tried to lean into Miles. “You’re tickling!”

“You’re ticklish?! That’s crazy, man. Unbelievable.” Miles smirked, bringing both hands to scribble up his sides. “That sounds like a cute thing, and you hate being cute.”

“Miles, you—No!” Hobie let out a cackle as Miles grabbed his waist, electricity rushing through his midriff under his touch. Sparks of color flashed across his body, and he tried to shove Miles’ shoulder as his form settled back to pink.

Actually… Now that Miles really thought about it…

“Have you always turned pink when you get tickled?” He asked softly, letting his thumb press circles on Hobie’s hipbone and brushing stray tears off of his face with his free hand.

Hobie slapped lightly at Miles’ face as he giggled. “Stop saying that…” He half whined, lifting the neck of his guitar as he let his head fall onto Miles’ again.

“How do you keep denying it?!” He pulled his hands back, rummaging in his pockets for his cell phone. “Here, c’mere.” He giggled as Hobie slipped his arm around his waist and hooked his chin over his shoulder, and Miles snapped a picture of them without really looking.

“Okay, there, l—What. The. Fuck?!” Miles stared in disbelief at the photo.

Hobie snorted, laughing snidely as his body turned a few neon colors before going pink again. “Oi, that mouth, love.”

“There’s no way—Hobie!” Miles squeaked as Hobie suddenly pressed a flurry of kisses against his neck and cheek, his phone slipping out of his hand as he laughed.

Sure enough, the photo only showed the pair of them: with Hobie’s red Spider Suit, black vest, and dark brown skin.

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

Gwen had made the fatal mistake of letting Hobie bring her to a pub in his dimension. She had also made the mistake of letting him drag her to three more after that. They were cuddled up in the hammock Hobie had strung up on one side of his bedroom, rocking slowly as the canal shifted the boat.

“Not really sure why you thought you could beat Karl on that third one, lovey.” Hobie purred, fingers carding through Gwen’s hair as her head rested on his chest. “How many times have you told me you don’t even like whiskey?”

“Not my fault you keep shitty whiskey…” She murmured into his shirt. “’N I needed to shut him up.”

“Forgot the sauce makes you a rude li’l bitch, didn’t I?” Hobie smirked down at her as she set her chin on his chest and tried to glare at him.

“Why are you so okay anyway?” She griped. “You knocked back half a bottle of vodka right at the start.”

“Little lesson for the pub crawl: Ol’ Roy waters down the vodka bottles he serves out. Keeps the good shit for himself. Takes a bribe and a half to get so much as a shot out of him, but you need that buzz to choke down some of the food Mary’ll serve ya. Bet you didn’t even notice how fast we booked when they tried to give you those burger things; they’re awful, and you hadn’t even—Aw, love…”

Gwen’s eyes had fallen closed, and she smiled softly as she snoozed quietly against him. “’M listening… Promise.”

“Sure you are.” He pulled her head to rest against him again, tracing gently along the side of her face. “Kinda important, though, you do need to eat more if you’re gonna drink that much. The healing thing ’ll fix ya quicker, but still. That second place? We hit it just for those chicken strips, okay? The cheap wine was a bonus. And I’m still mad you let Riri take that root beer float from the Winchester, man; you’ve gotta try it.”

“I just try not to eat dairy when I have a stomachache…” She yawned for a moment, stretching her arms and hands like a kitten before loosely clutching at his shirt. “Bad things happen.”

“She said, shortly before getting into a drinking contest with a super soldier and keeling after three shots.”

“Hm? Oh, sorry; I got distracted by your cigarette breath. Run that by me again?”

Hobie barely stifled a laugh, ruffling her hair gently. “Okay. It was only, like, two.”

“Two per pub, more like.”

“Nah, it was not like—” He suddenly paused, thinking back to a few hours prior. “…Shite.”

Gwen chuckled sleepily, trailing off into a quiet snore.

Hobie huffed as he smirked, humming a tune and letting his fingers strum against her spine. He wasn’t entirely sure how long they stayed like that; the rocking of the hammock was good for melting away any semblance of focus. Suddenly, though, a thought jumped out of the remaining haze of alcohol to the front of his mind.

“Oi, Gwendy.” He murmured, dragging his nails more purposefully up and down her back.

She shifted slightly, a smile breaking her face as snickers slipped out. “Mmph… Not funny, Miles…” She grumbled, pushing softly at Hobie’s face.

“Ooh, I’ll try not to be offended at that one, love.” He sneered as she whined. He moved his hand to lightly tickle her ear as it turned bright red. “Remember you told me I could ask you one stupid question a day?”

“Seriously? Now?” She huffed, the pout audible in her voice.

“It’s still today, innit?” He kissed Gwen’s hand when it shoved the side of his face again. “Just the one, I promise.”

“Yeah, yeah…Go on.”

“So, um… Do I, like, change colors?”

Gwen was silent for a second before starting to giggle as she looked up at him. He could tell by her tone that she might still be a little buzzed. “What? Like a chameleon? Hell no!” She asked in disbelief.

“Heh, right?! God, I can’t believe I almost fell for that. Miles tried to get in my head that—”

“You change more like a fever dream.”

And, suddenly, his body flickered between normal and grey. “…What?”

“It’s like… Maybe a strobe light? No. It’s like flashing, but not quick, like…”

“I do not change colors!” He insisted, the greyscale settling in.

“Ack! Volume…”

“Sorry, just—” His palette was quickly muted, and he hugged Gwen close. “I’m pretty sure I would know if I was changing colors all the time, y’know? And you never said anything like that before.”

“I don’t go around questioning how people’s bodies work in other dimensions.” She shrugged, her head falling onto his chest again. “You want me to let you know every time I notice you breathing? I can hear your heartbeat; does that surprise—Oh, that’s really fast, actually.”

“Nah, nah, nah, don’t get distracted.” Hobie ruffled her hair again, his colors shifting brighter as she laughed softly. “Does—Does everyone do it? The gang and all?”

“Your gang here? I mean, yeah. I think it’s just your dimension’s thing. Changing colors with how you feel, I think.”

“Oh, you think now? Which is it?” He turned pink, unable to keep the smile off his face as she stretched groggily and let her hands fall onto his face again.

“Hey, you’re all different. I don’t keep track of all of you. I know most of your little patterns though, Cuddlebug.”

Hobie pouted, feeling his face heat up. “Don’t believe much in patterns…”

“Okay, but then how did I know you’d say that?” She cupped his face in her hands, thumbs drawing the smile along his cheekbones. “I can feel you blushing.”

“Pfft, yeah?” Hobie shifted between pinks and neons, taking hold of one of her wrists. “You wanna feel somethin’, eh?” He dragged the flat of his tongue up her palm, his piercing almost catching between her fingers when she shrieked and pulled away.

“Oh, my god, you fucking weirdo!” She accused, scrubbing her hand against his shirt as he laughed at her.

“I thought you’d see it coming, love~ I’m so easy to predict, apparently.” Hobie sneered, his colors still shifting despite lingering on pink.

“That’s not what I said, you big baby!” A few giggles snuck into her voice as she pushed herself up onto her knees, gripping her head for a moment and wincing.

“Easy there, Gwenny; watch your volume.” He taunted, lifting his hands and letting her brace herself against them. It quickly turned into her trying to shove his hands over his head, which he definitely didn’t just let her do without a fight. Definitely.

“You don’t believe in patterns; do you ever not speak bullshit?” She grumbled, letting go of his hands and crossing her arms.

“Gettin’ a little hostile, aren’t we?” He chuckled, crossing his own arms under his head as his colors flickered again. “I mean, here I am having an existential crisis, and you just want to leave me in the dark.”

“Yeah, you look so bothered by it.” She huffed and rested a hand under her chin. “You’re flipping between stuff, but…You light up when you’re happy; you start fading when you’re down; when you get upset, you turn grey. Actually, no, it’s like: You turn into some kind of newspaper collage. Like, literally, there are words on your face right now. I think they change depending on what’s bothering you…”

Hobie touched his face, finding himself distracted. “When do I turn pink?” He murmured, accidentally interrupting her going on about neon or something.

She snickered just a bit before she grinned brightly. “You turn pink when… God, it might be the best one. You turn pink when something makes you super happy. Happy like when cats purr; it’s your tail wag. You also turn pink when you’re planning pranks or goofing off with the band; it’s so great and—Wait. You said that Miles…” She paused suddenly, thinking for a second. “You do turn pink around Miles a lot, don’t you?! Hobie that’s so cute!”

Hobie groaned, letting his arm fall over his face.

“You turn pink when you blush sometimes too~” She poked his cheek, and a smile crept onto his face. “That’s the happy blush~!”

“Shut up…” He whined, a few giggles sneaking into his voice and getting amplified when Gwen’s fingers started crawling up his ribcage. “Gwen…”

“Is that my Gigglebug?” She asked teasingly, starting to scribble her fingers as her hands moved toward his armpits. “Oh, my god; did Miles find out you like getting tickled?! Is that what this is about?”

“Gwen, I do not—!” He started to insist, only to break into loud giggles when her hands shot up. “Gwendy, please!”

“Oh, yeah? Then why are you still pink?” She giggled a bit herself, bracing her knees around his legs as the hammock started to rock.

“I don’t change colors!”

“Okay, you’re just trying to do the contrarian thing. I love the commitment to the bit, but you are literally tickled pink right now.”

He lashed his hands out, hugging her tight and pulling her back down onto him. It didn’t help much; her fingers still found a bit of wiggle room against his upper ribs, but she rolled her eyes and chuckled.

“I hate you.” He murmured, the bright pink still lingering as he nuzzled into her shoulder.

“Hate you too, punk.” She teased, shifting slightly to kiss his mouth. “Ack! Yeah, that was definitely more than two cigarettes, Hobie.”

He snorted, his colors flickering for a moment as the hammock slowly stopped shaking, and Gwen chuckled and rested her head on his collarbone.

And then the hammock fell to the floor, and both of them laughed themselves hoarse.

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

“What happened?” Miguel had asked worriedly when he first saw the look on Peter’s face. He had rushed Miguel across the facility and down to the infirmary before finally answering:

“There was an, uh, incident down in Equipment Development.” Peter explained a bit warily. “One of the kids got hurt. Kinda figured you’d want to make a proper report, and he’s not exactly being cooperative.”

Miguel had paused at that, realizing that there were very few Spiders in Spider Society that tended to be uncooperative. Definitely only one uncooperative kid. Sure enough, there was a single occupied bed in the infirmary, and Hobie sat as tense as if he were made of stone. His left forearm was wrapped tightly in bandages, his hand barely having the leeway to squeeze the grip strengthener in his hand.

“Hey, hey, Hobie Brown!” Peter called in a playful tone, clapping Hobie’s shoulder. “Lookin’, uh, a little blue there, eh?”

The muted blue shifted instantly to greyscale, and a distinctly not-human sounding hiss filled the air between them.

“Okay, not funny; got it!” Peter said quickly, stepping back and nudging Miguel forward. “Miguel, here, just needs t—”

“Fucking hell; what’d you bring him for, pops?!” He griped, flopping himself over onto his side and cringing as he adjusted his arm. His voice was groggy, still slightly affected by the heavy anesthetic that had been used on him.

Peter sighed softly, and Miguel rolled his eyes. “I brought him because your injury is, well, pretty bad. We need an incident report, y’know?”

“He said you were being obstinate about it.” Miguel chimed in, and Hobie’s color flickered as his head whipped around to glare at both of them. “He has half a point though. Tell me what happened.”

Hobie huffed, settling back to greyscale as he returned his focus to his hand exercise. “Ain’t nothin’ to write about.”

“Literally, the one thing I asked you for.” Miguel pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, if it were nothing, you wouldn’t be sulking in here.”

Instantly, Hobie put on his smirk, rolling onto his other side and looking at them with a shrug. “So, who’s sulking? I feel great.” His greyscale somehow grew cloudy, those dark blues melting in as if the newsprint had been dropped in paint. Neither Miguel nor Peter commented on it.

“I mean, Miguel definitely knows a thing or two about sulking; I’d tend to agree with him on this.” Peter tried another joke. Hobie chuckled, but he didn’t change.

“I don’t believe in agreements, then.” Hobie shrugged, smiling a bit tauntingly.

Miguel eyed him for a moment. “LYLA, pull up the footage from Equipment Development. And the medic’s record.”

Hobie’s face fell before he could catch it, and he sat up quick enough to make himself dizzy. “Oi, Tink—”

“You got it, boss!” LYLA’s voice was bright before she appeared on Miguel’s shoulder. “It is a little rough though.”

Miguel watched through a small holographic window as Hobie assisted Peni with repairing and recalibrating the blade weapons in her mech’s arms. He’d made some joke, and she laughed and punched his arm. They stepped back a bit—not nearly enough, and definitely not behind the designated safety glass—and she pressed a button on a remote. The saw blade spun, apparently picking up speed even after she pressed the button again. They moved warily, and Hobie’s eyes never leaving the mech as he put one arm in front of Peni, his color shifting to the harsh greyscale. It quickly turned into both arms snatching her off the floor when the saw shrieked and launched off of its gear. Miguel tore his eyes away before the impact, clamping his hand over his wrist before the scream could bury itself in his mind.

“Dios mio, kid…” He murmured, and Peter covered his mouth as he tried to find something to say.

Hobie stayed silent, wincing a little as he stared at his arm.

LYLA hummed sympathetically, petting the side of Miguel’s head. “Medics’ report says that the wound was pretty deep. Hobie’s one of the faster healers, but nerve damage is no joke. They want him on observation and physical therapy for a little while before he goes on another mission.”

“And why exactly did you need me to ‘get a report’, Blue?” Hobie asked gruffly. “Just rip me up and piss off, alright?”

“Excuse me?” Miguel might have stammered a bit.

Hobie’s hand clenched as his body stayed that dark grey, and he groaned irritably. “Just tell me how fucking stupid I am! How the irresponsible rebel let a poor li’l bird get hurt! I know what the others said!”

“Wait, wait; hold on.” Peter said slowly, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. “Who said that about you?”

“Oh, like I keep a fucking catalogue of which Red-Suit Peter Parker is which. Come off it.”

Miguel pulled up the video again. Peni got hurt? And if she had gotten hurt, why didn’t Peter mention it? He braced himself as he let it run this time, and he spotted it: The moment of impact, as Hobie held her tight, the very edge of the blade nicked her forehead. And even then, he only realized it had happened when she kept wiping a dribble of blood away from her eye. She was the one to activate her watch and send out an alert, but a few Spiders had already come running as Hobie screamed.

He looked up, watching Hobie bicker with Peter for a few seconds. “Why do you think I’d call you stupid for this?” He asked, and both of them balked at his tone of voice. His eyes were soft, concerned; and his tone seemed a bit shaky.

Hobie cringed, the look on his face incredulous as his colors flickered. “You’re asking me that after last year, huh? We’re only supposed to save some people sometimes, yeah?”

Miguel sighed. “I haven’t forgotten. But don’t try to put words in my mouth about this. I’m not going to scold you for probably saving your friend’s life.”

Hobie rolled his eyes, biting his lip on some comment, surely.

Peter’s hand returned to Hobie’s shoulder, squeezing firmly. “Hobie, no one—No one—should even have the nerve to tell you that you were wrong here. Lab accidents just happen. Peni is safe; no one’s dead; HQ isn’t on fire; I don’t see any sentient saw-based super villains, and you’re not even missing that hand.”

Hobie huffed softly toward the end, remaining mostly stone-faced despite his color shifting brighter.

“Just know you’re amazing, Spider-Man.” Peter said finally, patting Hobie’s back.

A shock of neon flickered through Hobie’s palette, and he let a soft chuckle slip out.

“Oh, that’s what gets a smile out of you, really?”

Hobie lightly shoved Peter’s arm with his good hand. “Yeah, right, pops. You know you ain’t that funny. Lemme go back to my sulking; I’m so good at it.” He let himself fall onto his back, draping his arm across his face and sighing sadly.

And flecks of pink bloomed across his normal colors. Peter gave a look of exaggerated offense, crossing his arms and looking back at Miguel.

Miguel let out a fraction of a chuckle. “Didn’t think you were the type to doubt yourself this much, Spider-Punk.”

“Sorry, Hook, I like to think I’m multifaceted. Full a’ surprises and all.”

He blinked at the nickname, letting a smirk creep onto his face and resting his hands on his hips. “Well, if you can’t pull yourself up out of this little rut, I suppose we’ll have to help you—” He gave a light tap to Peter’s shoulder and winked as they made eye contact. “—And the method might not be so delicate.

“Pfft… Don’t know what I believe less: You thinking I want your help or you thinking I’d need you to be delica—!” His voice was caught in a yelp as one of Miguel’s hands suddenly squeezed one side of his ribcage. As he started to flail, Peter fired a bit of webbing that stuck his bandaged arm to the wall.

“If you really want some commentary, you should probably keep that arm immobilized for a bit.” Peter taunted, leaning closer to scribble gently at Hobie’s other side.

“Oi, hey!” He griped, giggles starting to slip out of him as his free hand pawed Miguel’s arm. “Fuck off; that’s not funny!” He curled over onto his side, pinning Peter’s hand under his weight. It didn’t stop him scribbling his fingers at all, but Hobie seemed determined not to let him have that hand back.

“It’s a little funny.” Miguel shrugged as he sat on the bed as well. He set his left hand firmly on Hobie’s shoulder, flexing the fingers on his right to get them primed. “You called me Hook earlier, didn’t you? I wonder why.” He said it playfully, as if he didn’t actually know, and he dragged his claws gingerly against the back of Hobie’s t-shirt.

Hobie’s legs kicked out as a shriek escaped him, his laughter jumping quickly to cackles as bright pink tones covered his body.

Peter chuckled as he watched them, squeezing Hobie’s side softly until he got the opportunity to pull free when the kid suddenly writhed. “Must be really funny if you’re laughing this much.” He teased, sneaking a few pokes across his stomach. “Hobie ‘Spider-Punk’ Brown stuck in a giggle fit from the evil backscratcher~!”

“Pops!” He laughed, his free hand making a grab for Peter’s wrist again. Miguel, completely undeterred—and maybe a little shocked by it—pulled Hobie to lie flat on his back, and he let his claws scribble softly all across the kid’s stomach. Hobie covered his face, giggling brightly as he seemed to make an effort to keep still.

“Aw, the lone wolf still kicks for tummy scratches.” Peter smirked, leaning on Miguel’s arm and tickling along Hobie’s ribs. “Definitely something Miguel knows about.”

“You are terrible.” Miguel chuckled, shaking his head and sneaking scribbles toward Hobie’s sides.

“You’re both terrible!” Hobie barked out, twisting a bit harder than he meant to and shouting suddenly. “Ack, shit!” Bright red lightning-like bolts flashed along Hobie’s arm as his body flickered between the pink and newsprint palettes.

Peter flailed to remove the webbing from the injured arm, not that there was anything he could do beside watch Hobie ride out the sting of pain. “I am so sorry…” He stammered, suddenly panicked and rambling while Hobie’s voice came out a bit ragged:

“M’fine, m’fine, mate, really.” He insisted, flexing his fingers as best he could and letting out a sigh as the pink tones started to reappear. His eyes fell on Miguel, and when he smirked, Miguel realized he’d been holding his breath.

“You’re fine?” Miguel asked, pushing himself to stand back up.

“As I can be.” Hobie shrugged, grinning harder to cover the wince. “You two gonna stop bothering the invalids now?” His bright pink was muddied by the muted blue, though it flickered between the two.

Peter sighed and shook his head with a weary smile, patting Hobie’s knee as he got up.

Miguel crossed his arms. “Not just yet. Have you told your little crew about this?”

Realization flashed across Hobie’s face, and grey text etched itself into his skin as he tried to push himself up. “Shit, I need to get home, I—”

Miguel grabbed his shoulder before he could accidentally put his weight on the wrong arm. “We can arrange that. I meant: Have you told Gwen and Miles? Or Pavitr?”

For as tall as he was, Hobie seemed to shrink at the idea alone.

“Hobie…” Peter scolded without scolding him.

Hobie pulled a pillow over the side of his head, groaning in frustration. “Ugh, look, okay? I don’t want them worrying over me. I don’t de—” He bit his tongue and paused, the color draining away from him— “They’re busy and all, and I’ll be fine. I begged the doctor not to say anything to you, but Peni had already run off. Then Pops showed up, so, yeah, maybe I was a bit pissed off.”

Both men glanced at each other. Some parts of Spiderman really are always the same.

“They care about you, you know.” Miguel said softly, and Hobie cringed himself into a smaller form. “They love you.”

His hand clenched tighter on the pillow, and bits of the newsprint highlighted itself in pink while others crossed themselves out or tried to become more prominent.

It was sort of an unspoken rule in Spider Society not to read the words that would flash across Hobie’s body, or at the very least, not to comment or draw attention to them. He rarely got emotional enough for them to be legible anyway, but most Spiders could respect the idea of staying out of someone’s head.

But Hobie doesn’t change colors. So, if Miguel’s hand covered up the words “I don’t deserve them” when he pressed his palm to Hobie’s back, it was a coincidence.

“If you stay here to heal up, they’ll notice you missing.” Miguel caught a glimpse of something and glanced away. “If you try to sneak out before you’re healed up, they’ll notice when you can’t use your hand properly. Tell them.”

“…Fine.”

“Promise you’ll do it.”

His colors darkened a bit. “Promise…”

Miguel pat his shoulder firmly, finally stepping back. “And stay behind the safety glass next time. That’s why it’s there.”

Hobie chuckled softly, letting out a quiet sigh as Miguel and Peter made their way out of the infirmary.

“LYLA, let the medics know that Hobie might need another round of painkillers.” Miguel said once they were definitely out of earshot.

She appeared on his shoulder again, a clipboard in her hands. “Already done, boss!”

“By the way, give me an estimate on the kid’s recovery. What do you think?”

She flipped through papers on the board, kicking her feet casually. “Well, based on previous known injuries, and the medic’s report; adding in physical therapy time: I’d say he’ll be mission-ready by next Friday. Probably the Monday after to be 100% normal. Just estimating; you know he’d probably say otherwise.”

Miguel nodded. “Check in once in a while. If he hasn’t told anyone by Wednesday night, drop them a message first thing Thursday.”

Peter looked at him with a smirk, and Miguel rolled his eyes and chuckled.

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

“Hobart Brown!” That was Miles’ voice, and it was weighted by his Puerto Rican accent. He was pissed. His sneakers squeaked against the infirmary floor as he stomped up to Hobie’s bed.

Hobie nearly choked on the sip of water he’d taken, catching the grip strengthener when it slipped out of his hand and flickering through several different color palettes.

“Oi. We don’t pull the government names, you know that!” He had barely set his water bottle down when Miles cornered him against the headboard, eyes sharp with rage.

“Shut your punk ass up!” He barked suddenly, seeming to shock both of them for a second. Hobie rested his left hand on his chest, and he felt his face heating up.

“When the hell were you going to tell us that you got hurt?” He continued, crossing his arms as he glared.

Hobie winced, and dark blues settled in with flickers of pink. “I-I, well…When I stopped being hurt?”

“Hobie!” Miles ran his palms over his face, and absolutely none of the anger had drained from his eyes when he looked back up at him. “How could you do this?”

“I did check-ins; you can’t say I didn’t!”

“Yeah, and you lied to us!”

“I—I did not lie. I just…didn’t…”

“Lying by omission is lying, Hobie! And it’s a shitty thing to do to your partners!” His hands were moving a bit wildly before he clutched at his jacket sleeves for a moment. He sighed heavily and let them fall to his sides. Hesitating just a little, Hobie slowly took Miles’ hands into his own, and Miles stared at the remains of the newest scar on his forearm. Miles squeezed his hands tightly, closing his eyes and taking a breath.

“It’s just… After everything that happened, and out of everyone here…You were the one person I thought would never lie to me! Not about important stuff, at least...” He moved one hand to the side of Hobie’s face, brushing his thumb over the words he pretended not to see. “And you are so important! To me and Gwen and Pavitr and your band and so many people.”

In the midst of his speech, Hobie spotted Gwen creeping in with her hands behind her back, but that last part might have gotten to him a bit. The colors on his body fluctuated again, and he felt himself sinking into the hand cradling his face.

“Did you make him cry yet?” Gwen asked a bit playfully, approaching the bed and lightly nudging Miles with her elbow.

“Gwen…” Miles chided softly as brighter tones started to appear on Hobie’s body.

“He has such a way with words, Gwendy; I don’t know what to say.” Hobie leaned to rest his chin on Miles’ head, rubbing his thumbs across his knuckles.

“Yeah, yeah; I wasn’t done, by the way!” Miles pouted.

“I’m not stopping you; I just thought we should give our maybe still-injured partner his flowers.” As she spoke, she pulled a picture frame and a card from behind her back. Pressed inside of the frame was a bouquet of clearly handmade paper flowers wrapped around the neck of a familiar-looking paper guitar.

Hobie found himself staring, the breath stolen from his lungs as he took one corner of the frame in his hand. Gwen didn’t let go, and he was glad for it, because he felt like his hands would have been weak even without the injury.

“Miles made them for you last week—”

“Don’t tell him that!” Miles groaned, blushing as he tried to glare at her. He gestured to Hobie’s face and color with one hand while the other rested its palm on his own face. “See, he’s not going to listen now!”

Hobie had slipped his arm around Miles, pulling him in for a hug and kissing his wrist instead of trying to get him to move it. He had shifted almost completely to a bright pink, bits of text occasionally visible on him before shifting back to blurry lines.

Gwen snickered and sat on the bed, hugging Hobie’s arm. “You seemed pretty off in that first call. Guess we know why now, but he wanted to make you something to cheer you up.”

“I can admit it’s working.” Hobie nodded, smiling at Miles again. “It’s beautiful, love. You never stop amazin’, do ya?”

“Do not compliment me when I’m mad at you.” Miles huffed, his face softening as he looked up.

Hobie set the frame on the table beside the bed, holding the stand out with his pinkie and flexing his hand as he pulled it back. “’S the best time to compliment you though, innit? You care so much; feel so much; I admire that about you.”

Gwen nodded. “Plus, your accent slips out when you’re mad. It’s the cutest thing.”

“He sounds like his mom.”

Gwen slapped Hobie’s arm, barely stifling a snort. “Stop right now. You know his parents already don’t like me. Plus, don’t say that after I saw you blushing when he yelled at you.”

“I like a li’l double meaning, I’m afraid. And Man’s got a bark on him. Makes me weak.”

Miles looked between them, groaning. “Of course you would roll up like this. You two are practically the same.”

They glanced at each other; Hobie’s colors flickered darker, so Gwen was the one who said: “Sounds like you’ve got yourself a type.”

Miles glared at them, but the tiniest hint of a shy smile pulled his lips.

Hobie chuckled softly and shook his head. “Ey, come on, don’t lump her in with my bad decisions. If she had listened to me, she wouldn’t have told you about her broken arm from that Rhino mission.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot you were the one who said that first. Do you do this a lot?” She murmured, and suddenly both of them were eying Hobie with an edge of…judgment? Felt like judgment. Hobie cringed, looking away for a moment.

“I…” No, no, no. He’d jumped from the church wagon a long time ago; no need to start an impromptu confessional.

They love you.

Shit.

“Look, we’re Spiders, okay? We heal fast. I heal faster. When I get hurt, it’s nothing. Maybe I have to sit out for a while, but the crew can handle most work and shows.” The words were just falling out of him without much control, and he found himself squeezing Gwen’s sleeve when one of her hands traced lines on his arm. “My crew—My friends—I feel like they, uh… How the fuck…? T-There’s plenty of them. They go out, knock some heads and chill with each other. You two… You have whole cities to go home to; you’re flying solo when you’re on patrol. And I don’t want to be the one… distracting you?”

Somehow, stopping felt worse than the rambling. They were still staring at him, but their eyes were soft; both of them took hold of one of his hands.

“You wanna translate?” Miles asked, running the pads of his fingers along some older scars before pulling his hand up to kiss his knuckles.

Gwen shook her head, smiling. “Just means he loves us~” She said almost teasingly, lacing her fingers with his and hugging his arm again. “Loves us so much he thinks he’s not good enough.”

“Did I not just get through telling him how important he is to us?” Miles asked in disbelief. “Honestly, this guy.”

“Feelings are dumb like that.” Gwen shrugged, huddling closer to Hobie’s side. “That’s why I can’t stand them.”

“Tell me about it…” Hobie murmured, resting his head on top of hers. “I do care about you birds, though. Can’t really hide from that. Where’s Pavi, by the way?”

“He’s gonna call before he drops in; said he was making your favorite thing from his dimension, and he didn’t want to interrupt us.” Miles finally walked around the bed to properly cuddle up to Hobie’s other side.

“He also told us it was supposed to be a surprise,” Gwen giggled as Miles leered over at her, “but I think Miles was already raging.”

Hobie chuckled, grinning softly as he looked down at his hands. He flexed the fingers on his left hand; they felt a bit stiff, but they moved just fine. Well, fine enough for now; he needed to get his hands on his guitar.

“What are we thinking?” Gwen pressed a kiss just below Hobie’s shoulder.

“Oh, you can’t tell?” Hobie teased, his palette settling on the bright pink tones. “I thought you said I change colors.”

“Do you seriously still think we’re making that up?” Miles laughed lightly.

“Maybe~ What color do you see?”

“You’re pink, as usual, you dork.”

“Cool, so you probably know what I’m going to do next.” He slipped his arms around both of them, hugging them tight as he let his fingers scribble against their stomachs. “Or not? How were you both too slow?” He laughed, speaking over them as they fell into loud giggles and complaints.

And, okay, maybe he could admit that he would call this moment “pink”.

[ghostwaffleheimer]

Probably kinda long, text-heavy post ahead, a majority of the details and some other supplemental concept sketches under the read more that I didn't feel the need to make their own posts.

So uh yeah, lawsan fankids.

First we have the twins, Lara and Somi, who are about as different as it gets.

The older of the two, Lara takes her big sister role pretty seriously, in a very, "you mess with my family, I'll kick your ass" sort of way. She can be a little impulsive at times and is very energetic, but she's also definitely the friendliest and most outgoing of her siblings. Also she loves sharks. I had a hard time with her outfit's color palette, but I ended up going with warm colors to reflect her personality while also contrasting the colors of her sister's clothes.

Somi, on the other hand, is low-energy. She falls asleep a lot, and randomly, while also having a hard time sleeping at night. When she is awake, she's a little on the strange side. Her interests were considered morbid for a child and she's something of a vulture with her bone collection and fascination with death. She also has a habit of making friends with stray cats.

Coraji is where things get complicated. I have some writing drafts addressing this more, but his birth was traumatic and resulted in him having long-term health issues. Such circumstances, coupled with how he started to look more like Corazón as he got older, resulted in him having a bit of a strained relationship with Law. He rarely ever speaks, and when he does, his voice is very soft.

I gave them all an animal motif. It helped me to shape their personalities since I already do this sort of animal-association thing in real life and always kind of have. Lara = sharks, Somi = cats, Coraji = dragons (maybe also rabbits? I kinda wanna do a subplot where he finds and keeps an abandoned bunny).

Coraji was born about a month early, and frequently sick. He had colic for several months and, due to his weak lungs, struggled with respiratory infections, eventually developing asthma. Law was also dealing with postpartum depression and worrying about his son dying, so to say he was not in the best mental state is an understatement. Sanji ended up doing a majority of the care for the boy at times when Law would just... shut down.

He's very sensitive, and painfully shy, having been kind of a sheltered child compared to his sisters (both of whom he is very close with and babied by even though he ends up being bigger than them). Despite the awkwardness with Law regarding who he resembles, he has a similar sense of humor. He also calls him "mom", which... they're still not sure where he got that from. Not that anybody really cares, since all three kids call their parents something different.

All three of them are very much legacy-named, though indirectly. Lara and Somi's names are a combination of Sora and Lami, but with the syllables divided and swapped around. Coraji is, obviously, Corazón and the last half of Sanji's name (though he was almost named Sazón. Yes like the seasoning. Blame Law). Though he's more often referred to as Rosado, a nickname that caught on since he always had reddish cheeks as a baby.

[emeraldhypothesis]

Yubel, for the ask Meme

Why I like them/why I don’t

Yubel's my favorite villain in GX. Such an interesting character with a really tragic background that the show juggles expertly between using it to excuse and justify their pain when it needs to be excused, while also still having the cast say "Yeah but you gotta go down." I love their history with Judai and how they complete each other in a whole mess of ways, I love Yubel's twisted views on love and how several characters contrast with and against it during Season 3,

And in retrospect, they're also just Peak Gender.

What I like about their appearance

Where do you even start with praising Yubel's design? The physical split of the gender between their breast and pec combo? The striking orange-teal eyes? The eccentric but comprehensible color palette? Yubel just has it all!

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

Same in both beyond their evolved forms going from Germanic phrases to more conventional translations, both are fine.

Performance wise I do prefer the Japanese but I'll give Cassandra Lee Morris her due flowers for making the most of her time in the dub. Pity Duel Links recording for Yubel happened during the SAG Strike a few years ago as I think she was approached about returning. Eileen Stevens and Alyson Leigh Rosenfield were both OK, but I think Rosenfield maybe went a bit too raspy for her Duel Links performance.

Hiromi Tsuru though, she owned that role. One of the best in her career, may she rest in peace.

OTP

Judai/Yubel, no contest. Please don't separate them for the good of the universe.

NOTP

Let's be real any dynamic that doesn't involve Judai is gonna be this for in-character reasons

OT3

I once heard Yubel/Judai/Johan described as "A GNC couple with their woke European dog" and that wordplay is just too specific and too funny for me to never not enjoy, especially Yubel being a bit awkward around Johan and praying they never ask where Yubel found all that leather.

Favourite card they use

Listing Yubel's own monster would be cheating so I'll either play nice and list Grinder Golem, or cheat uniquely and list Loving Defender Forever.

Nightmare Pain is also a fun spell. :)

Favourite moment they were in

That moment when Darkness steals Yubel and forces them to attack Neos, but Judai turns it into a direct attack and just tenderly holds their hand while promising to get them back is everything to me. I wish we got more Yubel moments in Season 4 like that.

Also just all of their duel with Ryo/Zane, it's the perfect capstone to his arc and Yubel plays their role perfectly.

Shout out as well to them just murdering Amon so hard the show doesn't even pretend anyone brought him back. Good riddance to that cloudy creep.

Least favourite moment

Not many, I'm quite fond of Yubel, but I will just gesture at how the dub trims down their motivations as "You maybe simplified it a bit much in your effort to make the sadomasochism palpable for Little Timmy."

[rafayelsss]

THE WORLD IS MY CANVAS ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ content: rafayel x gn!reader, no y/n, face painting, usual rafayel shenanigans ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ Rafayel surprises you with some impromptu face painting.

Rafayel had once again invited you over with a pretext of igniting his artistic inspiration, or so he claimed.. But by now you’ve just about figured out that he just wanted you to keep him a little company, not that he was hiding it at all in the first place. Even with that, you couldn’t just ignore your employer. After all, Rafayel wasn't a bad person, and the perks weren't too shabby either.

Gazing out through the expansive windows, you observed a squadron of seagulls fly through the vast expanse of the clear blue sky. It struck you how the hue mirrored the paint smudge Rafayel had inadvertently left on the tip of your nose—wait, what?

You snap out of your momentary daze to focus back on the present, where Rafayel stood in front of you, giving a curious wave ahead of your face. You must have not noticed his presence up until now.

“Sure took you a while to acknowledge me.” Rafayel grumpily pouted at you, stepping back slightly and putting his hands on his hips. His behavior was a curious mix of irritation and adorableness. At times, his childish antics towards you, as if he were a prince demanding attention, could be exasperating yet endearing. You return his pout with one of your own as you wiped the paint off your nose with the back of your hand. “You could’ve just… I don’t know, tapped on my shoulder or something? Called my name? Like a normal person does. Just a suggestion.”

Rafayel scoffs softly and shakes his head. “You don’t think I tried that? You were as still as a statue. My bodyguard should be alert at all times, you know? And,” He retrieved a mirror and positioned it next to his tools, handing it over to you. The sunlight bounced off the surface, making for quite the task to discern exactly what he was attempting to show you. 

As you finally position the mirror just right, you notice how the paint you tried to wipe off just now is even more spread across your nose. As if the baby blue was trying to cross a bridge between your cheeks.

“you just made even more of a mess of yourself. Not that it’s a bad thing, besides, I think blue is really your color.” The painter used the end of his paintbrush to gently push your chin and move your head to the side, inspecting your now-vandalized face closely.

You couldn't help but chuckle at Rafayel's antics, amusement in your tone as you replied and playfully rolled your eyes. “Whatever you say… Now get this off me. I don’t want to look like a knock-off of Rudolph.”

“If you insist. The bathroom’s just around the corner, make a right and–” He pauses abruptly in the middle of his sentence, and you could practically see the imaginary lightbulb going off in his head as he stared at you. 

Furrowing your brows in confusion at his sudden shift, you silently gave him a questioning look. Sensing your bewilderment, he pressed on, "Don't wash it off just yet. Stay still… No, actually, sit down." Before you could even ask, he firmly pushed down on your shoulders, forcing you to sit amidst the paint and paper-laden wooden floor.

You could only watch as he retrieves his palette, crouching down to your level as he expertly mixed paint with practiced precision, fitting for an artist of his caliber.

“What are you doing, exactly?” You finally spoke up, observing him intently as he continued to mix paint.

“Shhh. Don’t move a muscle.” Rafayel spoke in a hushed voice, his eyes momentarily glancing up at your features. “Sit up straight and face me.”

“Why should–” “Hurry! This is an urgent order! Imperative, even.”

Fine, okay. You’ll play along for now. Whatever he planned, it was amusing so far, at least. You adjust your posture as instructed and lift your chin up, hands folded over your lap. 

Rafayel gives you an approving smile before he brings the tip of his brush closer to your face, making soft strokes across that tickled, the cool paint dancing across your skin.

“So what exactly is so urgent about this?” You couldn’t help but be curious about what he was actually doing.

Rafayel's hand paused for just a second, a mischievous smile forming as his eyes crinkled at the sides. "You'll see when I'm done. I'll be making you my new masterpiece," he declared before resuming his work.

From this angle, you could see everything . Every little scrunch of his face as he steadied his wrist to flick a particularly fine brushstroke, every soft little sigh as he worked upon the initial smudge. Rafayel’s lips tightened to a firm line as he put his focus into his work. Did that smidge of purple in his eyes grow brighter?

Your intense gaze didn’t go unnoticed. Rafayel seemed to stare back at you, the ministrations of his brush slowing to have his other hand be brought to the side of your face. The air around you changes drastically, tension building between you. Your heart rate went up on its own accord and your eyes couldn’t help but flutter shut as you felt his palm lightly graze your cheek…

“I need my canvas to be free of obstacles, dear bodyguard.” He offered a teasing look thinly veiled by an innocent smile as he brushed a strand of hair away from your face. “What else did you think I was doing?”

This bastard.

“Just finish what you were doing already.” It came out harsher than you’d wanted it to, but he seems to get the message as he proceeds with one final brushstroke from the bridge of your nose to your left cheek. 

“I’m already finished. Wanna have a look?” Rafayel grabs the mirror from his side and hands it to you. Looking at your reflection, he turned your face into a canvas of intricate detail and smooth, expert strokes that resembled the waves of the ocean, its cerulean hue particularly unique to his paintings, a show of his artistic style. Something that showed, beyond doubt, that Rafayel was the one who made a masterpiece of you.

You cautiously touched the cool, dried paint with a light finger as you admired the impromptu face-painting. You seemed to have been staring for a bit too long, as Rafayel snorted a bit and brought the hand mirror down to force your focus back on him.

“From that reaction, I’m guessing you like it?” 

You shook your head. “No, that’s a bit of an understatement… It’s beautiful, Rafayel.” And you weren’t lying, either. You’d never doubt his skill for a second, but being the (indirect) subject of his art made you appreciate it in a new light.

“It isn’t.” he countered.

His words made you jolt a bit, perplexed. “What?”

"Really, this was just a spontaneous creation. I've merely enhanced the inherent beauty of an already beautiful face," Rafayel explained, his voice carrying a charming lilt. His gaze softened, not directed at his creation but at you as he ran his thumb gently across the paint.

"Spontaneous or not, it's a work of art," you insisted, appreciating not just the colors on your face but the sincerity in Rafayel's expression.

“I’ve enough to think that you’re someone who’s just easily impressed when it comes to art.” He shook his head and stood, holding out his hand to you. “But you’re right. I did pretty well today, maybe I should have you displayed in the next exhibit instead? Much easier than spending weeks on one piece.”

“In your dreams.”

[demonic-radio]

I feel like that's more of how he was when he was only beginning to get famous, but then he suddenly got hit with this need to keep up a good image that would help him stay being respected, and he put a bunch of effort into it for a few years before his death. After all, his immediate reaction after fighting with Pentious was going to the tailor to fix his (already ripped) coat.

And I feel like he keeps the holes in his coat because he likes a good dramatic flair around him, proved by how he literally summoned a whole new color palette in Hells Greatest Dad

-dragon anon

I disagree on the 'before his death' part. I have my own headcanon on how he spent the last couple years of his life, and appearances were not on his priorities list. Additionally, he would have already his hygiene practices when gotten whatever level of fame he achieved, so there wouldn't have been any need to improve them. He'd already made it that far. He would only need to improve those practices if he was aiming to get something more than what he already had.

Then, I thought I'd specified that it was in his early era that he stopped practicing hygiene at all. This would've also been when he was anonymously killing overlords, so he had no real reason to keep up his appearance. Nobody needed to remember his face. Modern day, he definitely has some hygiene practices, though I don't believe it's for publicity's sake anymore. After all, his coat is still a tattered mess, including after he got it tailored. That means he likes his coat the way it is, and specifically the way it is. His practices focus almost entirely on his own comfort and enjoyment instead of pretty much any concern for how he looks to others. Why would he need to meet any standards? He's well-known for his violent acts, so people are going to respect him, regardless. He manages his appearance in accordance with what he likes and how he wants to present, and with that, he doesn't enjoy anything high-maintenance.

[danganronpadedication]

DAY 6: DANGANTOBER

Day 6: Favorite SDR2 Character

I'm going to be 100% honest here, Hajime is my favorite SDR2 character, but I already talked about about him for Dangantober, and while he may pop up on a later date, let's give someone else a chance. Mikan is my favorite female SDR2 character, so let's talk about everyone's favorite nurse! Intro aside, I adore Mikan. I completely understand anyone who doesn't like her, there are definitely valid reasons to be uncomfortable with her, but I am Team Mikan. First of all, she's very important when it comes to my introduction to this franchise. Back in 2020, when I was looking for something to occupy myself during lockdown, I stumbled across this video on YouTube (created by Ivan Ace, though I think the mashup itself may have come from someone else), and really liked the sound and look of the characters.

Besides, I was big into Miraculous Ladybug at the time (I have since recovered) and Bryce Papenbrook was a selling point for me. I looked up playthroughs of Danganronpa, and never looked back.

Because of this introduction to the series, I had my information all out of whack. When I started THH, I 100% believed that Mikan was just hiding in the nurse's office, and when it unlocked, we'd meet her. I was sorely mistaken. Upon discovery of a second game with a lot of the characters that weren't present in THH, I felt vindicated and couldn't wait to start it. Initially, I really liked her design. She's got a calming, cutesy color palette of pinks and whites and purples, and she seemed like a very awkward, yet lovely person. While chapter 1 left me feeling a bit icky with certain moments that wound up being important to the plot, I still felt nice when she was onscreen. The game kept making me like her, and while I loved a lot of the other characters too, I counted her in my top 5 of the game. Her backstory really resonated with me too. I was a victim of bullying in the past, BEFORE I was a Danganronpa fan because I know someone will be like "Gee, a Danganronpa fan getting bullied? Next you'll tell me the sky is blue." In all seriousness, I have encountered more nice and kind Danganronpa fans, than toxic ones. Love you guys <3 I know what the effects of bullying can do to someone, it can make you more self-conscious, and prone to associating with more toxic people. I saw a lot of my recovering self in Mikan, and her being so likable was a real comfort to me.

Then, chapter three happened. I really liked Ibuki, and I was just coming around to Hiyoko, so imagine my shock when both wound up dead. I had no guesses, but I knew whoever it was, had to have been pretty crazy and calculating. I was right, because Mikan matched and exceeded the amount of freak I expected from her, and I LOVED HER FOR IT.

Her breakdown in trial 3 was so fun, she was straight up TWEAKING, and all the TikTok audios that started up around that time kept reminding me of how well voice acted those bits were. Which was jarring, since her English voice actress also voices one of the WORST AND MOST INSUFFERABLE MIRACULOUS LADYBUG CHARACTERS (a literal child, no more than ten). But, hey, the lady's got range.

Mikan was also my first glimpse into the Remnants plotline, which has since become the part of Danganronpa to fascinate me the most. Her talking about her 'beloved' in such an overzealous way was freak, and got me thinking about a more messed up story in the game. Shame that part was undercut by her blasting off into space, ala Team Rocket.

The Remnants of Despair stuff is very interesting to me, and Mikan provides a unique look into it that the others don't. It got me interested in the real life science behind the RoD's brainwashing, and the Kamukura Project, and both subjects could be their own, separate posts. Getting me interested in that topic is extraordinary, since if there's one thing you should know about Mod Tsumugi, it's that I am TERRIFIED of brainwashing, hypnosis, mind control, subliminal messages, and everything else in that vein. Definitely made the anime a hard watch, lol.

For the briefest moment in time, I fell out of love with her because I found out about what she did as a Remnant, regarding a certain body part (which I don't think was Junko's, Junko was merely pink paste on the floor, while Mukuro's body was largely intact and still resembled Junko but once again, different topic, different day. Maybe more of an ask). I think it's a needlessly messed up detail, that doesn't really do anything unless you really look for reasoning behind it.

Speaking in the same vein, I really wish Mikan wasn't sexualized as much as she is. Her usual outfit is normal, but we constantly get lewd pictures of her, and oftentimes, the joke around her is the fanservice. Every other outfit she's in, whether it's anniversary, Remnant, or swimsuit, it's very revealing, it just feels icky. Her execution's icky in the same reasoning.

Once I feel comfortable posting art on here, I WILL REDESIGN THE REMNANTS, AND I WILL GIVE MIKAN THE PLAGUE DOCTOR MASK AND BEAUTIFUL, NON-FANSERVICE LOOK SHE DESERVES.

Then, I watched the anime, and was reminded of why I liked her in the first place. She's so sweet, and awkward, and I just want to give her the biggest hug and have a nice little chat. She can mildly scold me about my sleep habits and vitamin deficiencies all she wants. You could really see her warming up to her classmates throughout the episodes, and even see some kind of friendly situation starting with Hiyoko. I liked how she seemed to find good friends with Imposter and Ryota (who I also have many thoughts on, tsk tsk).

Still quote her "lifetime movie" line every time I get a little nervous walking home despite doing it in broad daylight on busy roads.

But, I knew Junko's insidiousness was right around the corner. So, when she brainwashed Mikan into an Ultimate Despair first, I had to sit there and watch the beginning of the scary stuff, lmao. Very jarring for the whole arc to not just be slice of life, happy stuff. I really like undercover despair operative Mikan as a concept. You see it in the final episodes, where she's acting like her normal self, yet still aiding in the plan to start the Tragedy by separating Chiaki from the rest of the class and herding them all to the right spot.

She returns to her amazing self at the end of the anime, saving Hiyoko and they get a little moment that's still teasing but definitely feels less like bullying and more like friendly ribbing.

On a lighter note, I want her to be able to live a nice, calm life. Make her miracle cures that she wanted to, live in a quaint little area, rocking long skirts and turtlenecks, being comfy and cozy with tea in her hands and people who love her by her side.

Last thing, I swear. In Island Mode, if you follow Mikan's romance path (I did, after Nagito), she says she wants something bad to happen to Hajime so he needs her to nurse him for the rest of his life, and do you know what that man did?

Did he:

A. Run for the hills

B. Never speak to her again

C. Propose

HE MATCHED HER FREAK AND PROPOSED THE VERY NEXT SECOND

THATS THE CORRECT ENDING TO THE ROUTE, AND I WILL NEVER STOP LAUGHING AT THAT.

Quick shout-out to @hajihiko for their depiction of Mikan post-game, I really like the art, and the exploration of her psyche. And the short hair, *chef's kiss*.

[immessingaround]

i can put together a list of stuff i like, stuff that i recognize as "cool" or "interesting". some of this stuff brings me joy. all of this stuff i am grateful for it existing. i want to be able to add and complete this list so i can look back on it and be reminded of what i have when i feel like i am nothing.

pete the cat

leonard cohen / songs of love and hate album

doing eye makeup (eyeshadow, liner, mascara)

garfield

polo shirts

jennifer Lawrence

ethel cain ptolemaea "stop" scream

also preachers daughter by ethel cain

chris pratt/jared leto hate hell yea

the cat emojis😸😹😺😻😼🐱😽😾😿🙀

saw iii angel trap

baggy black jeans

eyebrow slit

my old black lace up boots

ada wong microwave edits

ellipsis "dot dot dot" ...

people writing cuss words/weird things w lettering decor in stores (ex: 'kms' stockings at kohls)

7/11 by beyonce

gardettos

poetry i relate to

wham! last christmas pudding mix

considering broad and pointless philosophical questions (i.e. what is the meaning of life?)

christmas (ofc)

80s comedies (ferris bueller, better off dead, big, ...)

sad brokeback mountain edits

angel/religious imagery, iconography, references

alvin (and the chipmunks)

spelling "with/without" as "w" or "w/(o)"

trail mix

children of men last 40-45 mins specifically

tajin watermelon/peach rings

ikea model hand 🖕

pinterest

fuzzy socks

bti cg

ghostbusters

life is strange quotes "ready for the moshpit shakabrah" "holy shit are you cereal" "rachel in the dark room" "youre gonna DIE, motherfucker" "ik ur pumping drugs n shit to kids around here..." "i need to medicate" "shake that boney white ass" "no moshpit for you shakabrah"

classic movies

when u call me daddy (nvm she left lmao😭)

caramel coldbrew m&ms

(green) mechanical pencils

santa alter ego

mr x thomas the train mod in re2

weird/unique compliments

wearing jewelry

bolos or ties

my green skull necklace ilyyy

elektra from marvel (comics)

my handwriting idc if its messy

"can a loc come up in your crib?" scene from gta

"no i didnt kill him... but i did kidnap his wife!" scene from gta

pretending im a man

"i took her to my penthouse and i freaked it"

songs that begin like other songs but arent that song

12 am bathroom concerts

ppl who look unique

uno +4 cards

hawaiian shirts

(organized) clutter

bjork

keepin the streak (i mean chopping it up)

messing around in big stores

whole lotta red christmas ver.

baggy shorts (would totally still wear u)

we are the people by empire of the sun

mauve or plum UR MY FAV COLOR UGHH😩

a horse walked into a bar... i love that joke

updog "what's updog?" "not much. hby?"

we cry together clean ver.

being a lesbian so glad i dont like men

"walmart version of justin bieber"

grey spelled w an e

"culturally significant/pop culture moments i think about regularly/we dont talk about enough" videos

pretending im not living my own life

ornate things

going through old closet/junk

laying on the floor in front of my mirror w grouper or ethel cain playing (i want to get out of the house)

making spotify playlists after memes/tt audios

pajama pants

"LEAVE ME ALONE" "HES GONNA GET MEEE"

johnny cage (the international love edits from last year)

leon kennedy and those smooth operator edits

temp tattoos

roller skating

gorey/grotesque drawings

goretober

jar of flies by aic

pitbull mr worldwide mr 305

kevin gates ethical freak concert

jane from breaking bad

harris/chares my snake

painting my nails. all my beautiful nail polish ty😫

hash browns

mini beanie babies (the ones on my floor)

smores goldfish w the marshmallows even tho it got discontinued

eyeliner in my waterline

fake fruit in stores

deep red roses

george harrison

mix matched socks

coconut/lavender smells

coffee flavored things

soggy purple grapes

cashews

funky eyeshadow colors and palettes

my moms old lipstick colors (they are beautiful)

cherry flavored things

drawing on a mustache

turquoise and silver jewelry

samples in stores

physical touch (never get any😼)

purple hair dye (u made my life sm better)

gingerbread smells

my gta character

keyboard spam

smelling candles in stores ofc

carmex chapstick

immessingaround@myyahoo.com

gum / altoids (the pink ones)

silver jewelry/rings

last.fm

pineapple flavored things

mascara on bottom lashes

brownies

doawk

being a cowboy ig

no doubt

"your final challenge... let yo bih stroke yo bone"

"oh hell yea jigsaw you da goat!" audio

my celeb crushes

scooby doo characters

drawing crude cat drawings

catch me if you can

nacho from better call saul

chicken taquitos

aloe vera gel

i am mclovin☝️

these emoji combos: 🤠🔫, 🎅👍, 😹🫵

hoop earrings

commas, i literally abuse the comma key everytime i touch the damn keyboard

q tips

drawings ppl as drag queens (using artist's free will)

hair clips

xiuxiu

sky lights

fargo movie woodchipper scene

spotify obvi

[sunnylovescats]

A little snippet of my AmeBela fic :) (It’s still not finished lol)

Every human being was a blank canvas just waiting to be drawn on.

Each their own color on the palette board, a special characteristic that gave them individuality from one another. With very precise dip into the paint, Natalya assigned them those colors with a quick stroke of her brush. If she believed in things such as souls, she would say this colorful essence was as close as one as anything could be. Every name, every face, she could give color to without a second thought.

All except one.

A myriad of colors reflected off him, bright shards of light breaking away to cut her like glass, piercing her eyes and blinding her. Now her hand shook, unable to see the canvas right in front of her. For the first time in her life, she was unable to paint someone.

Heels clicking on the linoleum floor, Natalya continued along the long corridor, ignoring the looks she received from the many bystanders she passed. She was more than aware that she was considered attractive in their eyes. The glorification of physical appearance was foreign to her since most nations did not care about such things, excluding the special few that. It was unusual to hear a compliment on each other’s looks, unless it was part of a pleasantry.

Speaking of the other nations, she was used to being ignored by them. Her personality was not one that welcomed conversation; instead her cold demeanor and sharp words led them to steer clear of her, until she was mostly surrounded by her fellow Eastern Europeans.

Was it lonely? Yes, but it was better than the alternative of letting her walls come down and be hurt. It had happened to many times before, and she refused to let it happen again. Her life was one of betrayal and bitterness, not love and warmth.

“Natalya!”

Natalya squared her shoulders, but otherwise made no indication she had heard anything. If she ignored him, he would go away; she had realized long ago he thrived off of attention. Unfortunately, the sound of fast approaching footsteps told her differently.

“Hey, hey, Natalya, wait up!” A hand on her shoulder. Excruciating warmth against her cold skin. She jerked back roughly and spun on her heels to face the offender who dared to touch her without explicit permission.

“Do. Not. Touch. Me.” Ah, of course it was that obnoxious smiling face she loathed so much. “America.”

Said man just smiled wider, holding his hands up in a placating manner. “Sorry, my bad, didn’t mean to scare ya,” he said, somehow sounding both apologetic and amused at the same time. Natalya tsked and looked away, avoiding those cheerful blue eyes of his.

It hurt to look at him for too long. The colors that curved around him, blinked brightly than dimmed repeatedly, attacking all of her senses at once. Every time she saw him, he was a new mess of a palette of colors that didn’t make sense and didn’t fit together in any way. It wasn’t only nauseating, but distasteful to an artist such as herself.

She shook her head in annoyance but began walking again instead of engaging in mindless conversation. But, of course, he only took it as a challenge and continued to walk side by side with her, a bounce to his step that countered her dragging feet.

[meanbihexual]

All 1 - 30 for the ask game.

Oh lord. Okay, here goes--

Do you like watching sunsets? Yes! It's my favorite time of actual daytime, although I do like nighttime better in general.

Have you ever started a rumor? Not exactly a rumor, but once all the Elder Cousins (myself included) convinced all the baby cousins that there was a ghost haunting the mountain my grandparents lived on, and it just kind of kept growing until there was a hidden treasure and several ghost grudges and a forbidden romance and all sorts of stuff. We kept it up for a solid two months until one of the aunts caught on and revealed us as the masterminds. The babies still haven't forgiven us 28-ish years later.

What makes you laugh hard? One thing about me is I am a bitch who loves to laugh. I will crack up with very little provocation, but probably I laugh the most when I'm with my sister. We're so similar and find the same things funny so we can really "yes, and" each other into hysterics very easily.

What's the last concert you went to? I actually can't remember. It's been a long time, because although I love concerts they do not love my body and my body is often a little bitch about things chronically ill and disabled.

If you believed in it, what would you be reincarnated to? If I got to pick, I think i might like to be a whale.

What's your current vocal stim? Usually it's "fuckamingo," from this video of a little girl trying to say flamingo but messing it up adorably, but lately it's been a quote from a House Hunters episode my wife was watching where the lady looking for a house goes, "Far, Gary!" in, like, a valley girl accent. It's annoying everyone in my life, thanks for asking.

What shirt are you wearing? The really soft, several sizes too big tshirt I bought to go with my christmas pajamas this year. It's grey and has pink and blue and sea green christmas trees on it.

Who or what is on your mind? My sister in law. She's trans, and all of the bullshit happening with the US government right now is scary for all of us queer, disabled, decent people, but I really worry for her (and all the other trans people I love) in particular.

What are your favorite pair of shoes? Because of my disabilities, I can't wear any really fun shoes anymore, but I recently got a pair of tennis shoes that are an exact match for the peach/lavender color palette Stede wears on the deserted island in S1 of OFMD so I'm really pleased with those.

What would easily win you over if someone gave you it? Honestly, I'm pretty easy. As long as there's genuine thought behind it, I'm happy.

What three words describe you? Curious, smart, loving

What's a funny memory you have? When my nephew was a few days old, he caught sight of my sister's dog for the first time and made the absolute funniest face I have ever seen. His eyes were the size of dinner plates and he just looked so alarmed...I can't describe how hilarious the poor little guy looked.

Do you have any drunk stories? No, I've been disabled enough to keep me from drinking since my early teens, so I never really had a chance.

What's one thing you own that you're sure no one else has? I have this gorgeous, framed embroidery piece of two eighteenth century ladies sitting in a garden making bedroom eyes at one another. I found it in a thrift shop and behind the frame it's signed as an original by the artist so I'm pretty positive it's the only one out there.

Do you have any superstitions? Plenty, but they're all pretty low stakes. Like, I'll throw spilled salt over my left shoulder but I don't freak out if I forget or something. There's only one that I put a lot of stock in. When I got married, I struggled a lot with infertility and at the advice of my therapist got a dog. He was my child and when he passed away last year, I got a memorial necklace for him that I wear all the time. Whenever the clasp works its way around to touch the charm, I kiss the charm/clasp and make a wish before I turn it back around, and I always wish the same thing: that someday I'll see him again.

What is your guilty pleasure? Right now, Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta. I don't even like reality tv and I cannot stop watching this show.

What weird thing do you do when you're alone? Generally the same weird things I do when I'm around people.

What is the worst food you've ever had? Tuna salad. Ick.

What fictional character would you bring to life if you could? Most of my favorite fictional characters come as a set and I wouldn't want to separate them. But if I had to pick just one, maybe King Arthur? I feel like he could fix some shit around here.

If you could join a career immediately, what would it be? Does heiress count? For real, though, I would like my health to improve enough that I could go back to being a therapist full time.

What keeps you going during the day? AO3 and a whole lotta (prescription) drugs.

Current song on repeat? Persephone by Allison Russell

Funniest inside joke? Congressman Marr. I cannot explain.

What's your favorite piece of jewelry you own? My wedding ring or my aforementioned memorial necklace, although I'm also really partial to my OFMD Ed's boot/Stede's shoe earrings and my bee earrings and my lily of the valley earrings and...I have a problem.

Favorite niche topic? I couldn't decide, but my wife says it's rank and title in Regency England so apparently I talk about that a lot.

What fandom are you currently in? OFMD, WWDITS (movie and show), BG3, SWTOR--I could honestly keep listing for a really long time. But those are the most active right now.

Most controversial take? Doesn't feel like it should be controversial, but apparently that we should treat other people with kindness.

Favorite ship and why? Ed/Stede from OFMD. I don't know what it is exactly but I've been absolutely feral since 2022 and I'm not showing any signs of slowing down.

Do you have any piercings or tattoos, and what are they? My ears are pierced once. I would love more piercings or a tattoo but unfortunately, my terrible body rejected the last piercing I tried to get (a second hole in my earlobes) and my doctors all say I really shouldn't chance that or a tattoo again.

What is your worst & best quality? My worst is probably impatience, and (survey says) my best is being kind.

[erineverly]

“Oh, it definitely will. One of those books that you bought about parenting and children has an entire chapter dedicated to how crucial a healthy relationship between the mother and the father is to creating a safe and loving environment for the baby. There’s another one on how observant babies are how quickly they learn just from watching how people around them behave and treat each other,” she rambles on with a smile, trying to impress the other with her newly acquired knowledge. It’s something that she rarely gets to do because he’s so intelligent and curious that she feels like he already knows almost everything there is to know. “That’s awful, Axl.” Her good humor fades quickly and features crease subtly in sympathy upon hearing his story, the story that’s so well-known to her at this point as if it were her own and yet still never fails to break her heart. He deserved so much better. “Part of me always feels bad for your mother, but at the same time… Why did she never leave him? It baffles me. I know that it was the 60s and it probably wasn’t easy to get a divorce in Indiana back then, but she could have at least tried.” If not for herself then for her children and their future. Anything seems better than growing up in an abusive household. “We’re nothing like our parents,” the brunette says confidently, smiling once more when the other leans in and kisses her lips. Her eyes seem to be glowing with happiness. “Oh, yeah… Seems like a better option.” Giggling at her silly attempts to squeeze beside him, she curls one of her slender arms around his neck and perches down on his lap. “You okay?” She asks shyly, feeling like she’s already gained at least twenty pounds, which she has not, and wanting to make sure that she’s not causing her husband any discomfort. “Of course, I do. It’s my favorite. I only use these on special occasions because I want to make them last longer,” she admits with a faint laugh, reaching out to touch one of the lipsticks. Money is no longer an issue, they can afford fancy brands like Dior and Chanel, and she does own a few more expensive items in her makeup collection, but it’s the ones with the most sentimental value that she truly cherishes and loves. Besides, she doesn’t really see the point in spending thousands of dollars on makeup. “We always think alike, hm?” She coos, tucking his hair behind his ear and kissing his temple. Her slender arms coil tighter around his neck and she nuzzles into his cheek, basking in the warmth of his skin. “Well, there’s no right or wrong way to do this, but yeah, I usually start with lighter colors and apply them first. I think that makes it easier for you to blend the darker shade later,” she explains, letting go of his neck to pick up one of her favorite palettes, the one with slightly darker shades. She pries it open with her nails and points to the darkest shadow, thoughtfully labeled midnight. “See? I use this one last and just start with the lightest, that way when things start to look a bit too harsh I can catch it right away and blend it out before it messes up my whole eye look.” 

“That’s what I hope for and aim to instill in our relationship that’ll reflect towards them.” Axl sincerely responds, nodding and taking that as something he’s very serious on. “Neither did mine. My mother acted like she was walkin’ on eggshells most of the time around him, which made things really weird. My stepfather was always talking down to my mother. Then they’d erupt into arguments, be screaming in the kitchen and a few times it could get physical even. So yeah…that wasn’t anything nice to see between them ever.” As a young impressionable boy, absorbing and taking things in. Learning from it. “That’s weird to me too, how my parents never kissed and hugged either. And if they did go out on dates it was just so my dad could get my mom alone and take advantage of her. Cause she let it. Yeah, all of that is really strange. Especially from how we’re different and wanna kiss.” A smile curls on his lips, leaning in to kiss the corner of her lips. Then he sees her puckering her lips and leans down to kiss those too. “Well, here. Just sit here on my lap.” Looking down at her once she sits, since there’s not much room and they can be more comfortable this way. “You still have this?” he chuckles, finding it cute she keeps everything of his. “Yeah, I was thinking red looks great with black eyeshadow. And when you put a little on it always makes your eyes look very pretty. So I’ll do the full thing…but I’m just questioning if I mix a few shades with it? I should apply the grey first?” he questions, becoming genuinely confused with this part but a little guidance and he can figure it out.

[insomniakingdoom]

Been messing around with Bezel from Chikn Nuggit, I've saw a concept art of him being chubby and honestly, we need more chubby representation. So been like, considering recycling some design element from it as a new character. He would have a pocket watch as a head rather than a clock. I've named the character "Clock" as for now, but I imagine him having like a normal name like "Steven" or something XD

I don't want to reuse straight up Bezel color, but I thought it would be funny to still like, use it as an inspiration and just hue shift his color palette lmao. So yea, harmless fun. I obviously want the design of my own character to be unique enough so Bezel just seems like a mere inspiration for mine.

Here my very early concept, really just a bunch of pocket watch taken from google image + potential color palette lmao. The idea isn't set yet but it's getting there

[kwangya-express]

Dream In A Dream (WayV) - EN

Author: Onyx

Keywords: Ten (Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, NCT-WayV); Max Changmin (Shim Chang-min, TVXQ); Kwangya.

Inspiration: Teaser - Ten (SuperM); Paint Me Naked, New Heroes, Birthday (Ten); Low Low (Ten & YangYang); Truth (TVXQ)

The dust danced through the air, accentuating the desolation that encompassed every inch of the once elegant space. Amidst the wreckage, Ten, one of the 'visionary children,' now grown into an adult with intensely red-dyed hair and adorned in immaculate white garments, advanced with cautious steps. His eyes revealed a mixture of curiosity and nostalgia as he surveyed the chaos surrounding him. It was evident that the environment was unfamiliar to him. Sunflowers of various colors, crushed and devoid of petals, sprawled across the floor; their once vibrant and cheerful hues now accentuated the aura of prevailing sadness.

In the center of the room, a painting hung solitary on the wall, untouched amidst the chaos wrought by the flowers around it. The light wooden frame created a stark contrast against the fabric that veiled it, a blue so deep and radiant that it brought to Ten's mind the reflection of water touched by light. With deliberate, unhurried movements, he pulled away the fabric to reveal what lay hidden beneath: a depiction of a man seated before an expansive mirror reflecting the same image endlessly, capturing the room in which he was situated. The man's face remained obscured, concealed by a black hat and veil; his body exhibited indiscernible designs, and thick chains imprisoned his hands.

A sense of discomfort engulfed Ten as he stared at it, yet he got lost in the depth of the brushstrokes, seeking solace in the beauty crafted by hands long absent. In the midst of this scene, he found a connection to his past and a potential path for the future, recalling that, much like sunflowers always follow the sun's light, they could indicate the way he and his friends could now tread. As he was immersed in his thoughts, he was startled by a shrill and familiar sound. His cellphone vibrated in his pocket, signaling an incoming call. He retrieved the device and saw his friend YangYang's name on the screen. Ten answered, his voice somewhat shaky as he said, "Hello?"

[YangYang]: Where are you?

[Ten]: I'm on my way, just had a little setback.

[YangYang]: I see... How much longer is it gonna take?

[Ten]: Not too long, I just need to wrap up something.

[YangYang]: Oh no, not this again, man? Just give it up already. You don't need to worry, we're using the Dream Lab, Ten. They can't trace us.

[Ten]: I know. But that wasn't the setback.

[YangYang]: Then what is it?

[Ten]: (long pause)

[YangYang]: Hm. What do you know?

[Ten]: Me? Nothing! (brief pause) At least, nothing that would affect you guys.

[YangYang]: (loud laughter) I'm sorry, but we're all tangled up in this mess together. So, it does affect us.

[Ten]: It's not the best time right now. I need to have some certainties first.

[YangYang]: Dude, what's going on with you? We're in the dream world! Nothing is concrete.

[Ten]: Still, I want to pursue it.

[YangYang]: You've got to stop this hero complex. You know we're with you, bro.

[Ten]: (no response)

[YangYang]: Waiting here. Literally.

[Ten]: I know, I know... I'm on my way.

[YangYang]: Don't forget your passport and ID.

[Ten]: Oh...

[YangYang]: Please, don't tell me you lost your documents again.

[Ten]: Alright. I won't tell you.

[YangYang]: Never mind. I'm coming up there.

[Ten]: No! Leave it to me, I'll sort this out. Let's meet up in 10 minutes.

Ten quickly hung up the phone and left the ruined room behind, entering his own creative haven: the art studio. The contrast between the two spaces was striking. The change of environment seemed to release a new spirit within him. The walls were adorned with sketches, unfinished canvases, and a rich palette of colors, forming a visual kaleidoscope that mirrored the artist's mind. Almost magically, his clothes transformed. He now wore a blue beret, black pants, a coat adorned with splattered paint flower patterns, and red sneakers. The studio wasn't just a physical space but also a gateway to his true essence, reflecting a glimpse of his soul.Chaotic...

He rummaged through the disorder with determination, searching for his passport and ID. Amidst the search, his attention was captured by an unfinished painting that stood out. It was his own work, an enigmatic portrait. On the canvas, the figure of a man took shape, dressed in a shimmering black long-sleeved shirt and leather pants. The enigmatic veil was still present, but now it enveloped the figure's entire body, revealing only silhouettes and contours. The developing scene in the painting was that of a moonlit beach, its silver sand peaceful under the night sky. The atmosphere conveyed a blend of melancholy and serenity, as if capturing a moment of deep reflection.

Breaking from his reverie, he continued his search, and among piles of art materials and works in progress, a sigh of relief escaped when he finally found a small notepad, next to a rectangular semitransparent red plaque with a striking "V," the emblem of the Visionary Forces, near a paper mask – his first creation.

With a final gaze at the studio, Ten stepped outside, only to be enveloped once more by a sensation of change. His jeans and sunflower-adorned coat vanished like traces of paint being washed away by water, and in the blink of an eye, he was dressed in a canary yellow suit that radiated a brightness reflecting the vibrant spirit of a blooming sunflower. Ten spotted YangYang, also dressed in a matching full yellow suit that harmonized perfectly with his own. His friend's gaze overflowed with excitement.

"Finally! I thought we were going to miss the trip," YangYang said, as a mutual nod was followed by a knowing smile. They headed out of the building.

"Did you find the documents?" YangYang asked.

"Got everything right here," Ten replied, pulling his passport and identification from his pocket and displaying them for YangYang, who, in turn, retrieved his own ID and inquired, "Did you bring your WayV card?"

"Yeah, I thought it would be wise. At least that way we can avoid more confusion by showing that we're different from the Neo City residents."

"I'm not sure if the higher-ups make, or want to make, that distinction. After all, we're from Neo City too," YangYang reflected.

"Can't hurt to try..." Ten responded, a tone of hope in his voice even as he shrugged uncertainly.

As they walked down the notably deserted street, their plans were interrupted by an entirely unexpected encounter. At the exact moment they crossed paths, Ten experienced an energy that was profoundly distinct from anything he had ever felt before – an energy that evoked the primordial. A man of commanding presence and confident demeanor decisively disrupted their journey, approaching with a certain elegance. His appearance projected an intriguing blend of mystery and resolve. Dressed in a balance between contemporary elegance and classic style, he wore a black overcoat, black shirt, and black trousers. The aura he radiated, like that of a deity from the West, instantly piqued the curiosity of Ten and YangYang. His dark eyes emanated keen intelligence, while a subtle smile danced on his lips as he drew closer.

"I apologize for the intrusion," the man spoke in a polite yet firm tone. "But there's something I'd like to discuss with you." His gaze turned toward Ten. "So, lost child, what have you to say?"

As mutual surprise reflected in the shared gaze between Ten and YangYang, their expressions were an intriguing blend of astonishment and interest. In almost natural synchrony, they halted their steps, allowing the enigmatic man to take the lead and define the new path they would tread. Under the starry gleam that shimmered in the sky, a magical aura seemed to envelop the scene. The journey that followed was unexpectedly brief, culminating in the opening of the first door they encountered at the end of their path.

Upon entering the room, Ten once again underwent a transformation in attire. His canary yellow suit made way for a checkered ensemble with a vibrant pink shirt and a black tie. His once blonde hair adopted a light shade of orange. The next room they found was spacious, filled with an array of blue hues that seemed to stretch infinitely. At the center, a small dark wooden table held a red telephone and two chairs. One of the chairs was the subject of a camera on a tripod pointing at it, indicating it was on, but at the exact moment the mysterious man took the lead, it turned off, revealing a smile on his divine lips.

"Of course, we wouldn't want any unwanted audience for our conversation, now would we?" he announced with a shrewd tone.

Having said that, the man deliberately chose the seat opposite the camera. This choice didn't go unnoticed by Ten, who was uncomfortable with the situation, as everything indicated he was being led into an interrogation. The pressure was evident; he felt that a wrong answer could seal his fate.

"Where's YangYang?" Ten asked, his concern palpable.

"He is safe, but for this conversation, his presence is not necessary," the man reassured. The trust Ten felt, even without knowing him, was strange. The man's aura was so persuasive that it left no room for doubt, and his imposing nature was such that Ten wouldn't dare challenge it.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier," the man said, showing no sign of remorse, releasing a slight smile. "I am Shim Chang-min, to those close, Max, the Rising God," he proclaimed with grandeur.

"... the bearer of dawn, the guardian of renewal, sentinel of Cassiopeia," Ten automatically completed, and a satisfied smile appeared on the god's face.

"I'm pleased to know you've heard of me, Chittaphon," the god said, and Ten shuddered at hearing his true name pronounced. "It makes our conversation more fluid," he added. The revelation that an entity of such magnitude had knowledge of him didn't put Ten at ease.

"What would you like to know?" Ten asked, revealing his unease. "I don't think I have any interesting information for someone of high position like you."

"Me? About you? Nothing. Nothing of particular importance, really. Just... Explain yourself," Chang-min replied.

"Could you repeat that? I think I misunderstood," Ten asked.

"Ex-plain your-self! Is it clearer now?" Chang-min answered emphatically.

"Why? And where's Xiao Yang? (sheep)," Ten inquired.

"Because it was you who invaded my domain, and today I'm in a good mood, so I'm giving you this chance," Chang-min responded seriously. "As for your friend, unfortunately for him, he was linked to you, but it was you who connected with my domain and left the door open."

"No, sir. I assure you I didn't invade anything," Ten hastened to say.

"Words of mortals hardly convince me, Chittaphon," Chang-min replied. "By the way, be careful with that nickname. There are certain beings who wouldn't react well to hearing it."

"I'm sorry, sir, Chang-min, right?" Ten spoke hesitantly, choosing his words carefully as if weighing each sentence. "We are in the Dream, using the Dream Lab..."

At this moment, Changmin let out a loud laugh, interrupting Ten's words. "You're astute, so tell me, do you really believe you're still in the dream world?" Ten shook his head dispiritedly, denying it.

"Something must have happened," Ten murmured, searching his mind, rifling through his memories for what happened before he entered Neo City. "We tried to synchronize again all together, the mission was vital. We received a signal from others like us, lost in the Dream. Taeyong assured us there would be no more failures this time. My leader, Kun, had no choice." He reflected aloud but realizing he had revealed more than intended, his eyes widened, and concern settled in.

Changmin remained silent for a moment, seemingly pondering Ten's words. The West God arched an eyebrow. "I knew a conversation with you would bear fruit," he said with an enigmatic smile. "You're lucky. If it were my brother, the situation would be quite different."

"Thank you?" Ten replied uncertainly in his voice.

"It's amazing to think that there was a time when I still cared about you lost children," Changmin muttered, his voice laden with gravity. "But let's get straight to the point: you children are irreparable errors of the Cosmos, and now I see how powerful you're becoming. Neo City should have never existed." Ten had already imagined this, but hearing it directly from a god made it even more distressing. "The gap between humanity and the Cosmos is shrinking," Changmin continued.

"Theoretically, it's not our fault," Ten tried to defend.

"But the Dream Lab is," Changmin emphasized. "You're creating an opening in the veil that protects Kwangya."

"But we navigate through the Dream," Ten protested.

"It's not that simple. How do you think you arrived in my domain? Or better yet, what explains the inexplicable connections all of you have?" Changmin rose from the chair, emanating total irritation. "Kangta was merciful in allowing the construction of the carriage for you. Otherwise, none of your journeys would be so easily accessible, and the price for staying here would be higher."

"You said 'price,' what do you mean?" Ten sighed, delving into the depths of his thoughts.

Changmin observed for a moment, his dark eyes scrutinizing every expression on his face. "At first? Your memories," the entity replied. "But don't fool yourself, losing your memories means losing your individuality, and losing that in here is a fate worse than death. You would be led to eternal madness, a mind empty and without control. And you humans are the most susceptible. That's why you're our biggest problems," Changmin concluded, his words heavy with gravity. "Even for us, inhabitants of the Cosmos, we can't handle it so well. Just look at what happens to the children of the Mother Tree."

Ten nodded, recognizing the truth in Changmin's words. The complexity and risks involved in their forays into the Dream were becoming increasingly evident. Sitting back in the chair, the Rising God continued, "You have no idea what you're tampering with. The Ether offers endless possibilities, but the fragile human mind could easily get lost in them. Whether it's the carriage or the plane, they shield your minds from collapsing. Your minds are left vulnerable, something easily manipulable. Moreover, the abundant flow of Ether could shatter your minds, which is why our esteemed general created this device to protect you. However, you can't always rely on this protection. Hence, the loss of memories," his tone was taking on a darker nuance. Their gazes met, a silent understanding passing between them. "Why are you telling me all this?" Ten asked.

"It would be imprudent of me not to explain at least the basics before recruiting you, don't you think? Usually, it's my brother who takes care of this sort of thing, but this time you'll be working directly for me," the deity said, a smile dancing on his lips.

"Recruiting?" Ten repeated, seeking clarity.

"Yes, I can't lead you the way you are now. You presented me with a big problem to solve. And since I'm in a good mood today, I'll decide to give you a chance," Changmin commented.

"A chance to save Kwangya?" Ten speculated.

"Oh no, I don't care that much about that. The real issue is that you opened the door to my domain and don't know how to close it. And until that's resolved, you'll be under my command."

Ten realized he had no choice, no power or influence there. He looked at Changmin with frankness, his expression serious. "I accept," he declared. A satisfied smile curved the entity's lips.

"I, Shim Changmin, the Rising God, declare that the group known as WayV is now part of my subordinates," Changmin proclaimed firmly. A stream of something akin to water began to flow before Ten's eyes, intertwining his hands like chains, meeting the palm of the god's hand. "The pact is sealed," he said.

Ten sat stunned in the chair, overcome by profound dread. "I can't decide for my group," Ten rushed to emphasize. The words spoken echoed in his mind as he tried to process what had just happened. WayV's fate was now intertwined with a god of Kwangya.

"You fooled me," Ten retorted.

"I would never do that. It was you who didn't pay attention to my words," Changmin replied. 

"You share the same individuality, that's how it works here. The fate of one affects all," he explained. Ten felt a wave of terror for what he had just committed to, as the understanding of the complexity of the situation deepened.

"Will I remember this conversation later?" Ten asked dispiritedly.

"Maybe. Who knows. I'm not the one who controls the Nexus," Changmin jeered.

As Ten's thoughts plunged into shadows, an unexpected sound cut through the air. A red telephone began to ring, emitting a piercing tone that echoed through the space around them. Changmin looked surprised at the phone and, with a quick gesture, answered the call.

The voice on the other end of the line wasn't audible to Ten, but the expression on the god's face changed drastically. His brows furrowed, and his gaze turned serious. He listened attentively, occasionally nodding or asking short questions. He was engrossed in the call, but he quickly covered one side to avoid being heard. Instead of speaking aloud, his lips moved, saying, "We'll talk another time," and he gestured for Ten to leave.

Something strange began happening around Ten. The colors and shapes around him seemed to distort and blur, as if reality was dissolving. He felt a whirlwind of sensations, as if he was being sucked into a vortex.

Ten blinked, confused and slightly disoriented. He was back in what he believed to be reality. He rose from the bed, rubbing his eyes as if trying to dispel the haze that lingered in his mind. He approached the window, and as he looked outside, it was as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes. The city before him was a futuristic metropolis filled with gleaming skyscrapers, neon lights, and flying vehicles cutting through the sky. The landscape seemed straight out of a sci-fi movie.

"Damn it," Ten cursed.

Realizing he was in Neo City, Ten grew even more bewildered. He looked around, taking in the sight. The truth finally clicked: He had been in a dream within a dream. All of this had been part of a dream lived within a world he still didn't fully understand. And now, waking up in Neo City, Ten was facing this truth. The idea that the Dream Lab could have been breached and that he had been dragged into this situation was unsettling. The blend of dreams and reality felt almost surreal, and he found himself questioning what was true and what was imagined.