#There are still so many fics scenes i wish to draw but oooh time

[rorah]

As they talk, Leraye seems to find a comfortable grip on the back of the horse and starts dragging it back and forth across the table, wood skidding on wood. 

"...Who was her father?" he asks slowly. "I don't know. I never got his name. We met at a tavern." "In Fhirdiad?"  "Hm...maybe?" Byleth says. Then, "Oh." "He was blond, I suppose?" Her eyes fixed on his, Byleth nods. "He was." "Caught up in his own troubles? Stumbled out afterwards without so much as asking for your name?" "Something like that," Byleth murmurs. She's pulled Leraye protectively into her lap, but she's watching him with curiosity. Interest.

A Closer Look by Ammeh LERAYE IS BACK 🙌 I am a big sucker for Long biblical fics but this 1.7 k words fic is so tasty and short I can eat up like candy anytime, anywhere, not much time invested and it's perfect. Living in my mind and heart since 2023 🫰. And of course, had to draw these scenes that has been haunting me since that year And tbh I am not done yet LOL I NEED TO DRAW MOOORE

Attaching the whole page to show the references used for this practice.

My original ideas were slightly different in color settings, but I went with the vibrant colors of the references in the end because i can't make bold decisions T__T (and also i love using EVERY COLOR / I struggle using a limited color pallet tbh C': ).

Check the first post here

[riskeith]

good morning love! (or afternoon for you hehe)

deku vs kacchan part 2 is my favorite ep of the entire series actually. i’ve watch that ep so many times as well it’s just perfect. i got into them when i watched that episode actually! the voice acting god..... literally shivers. now that i think about it it might even be my favorite anime ep of all time help. i just love how bakugou lets it all out and we get to see that side of him.. the insecure scared child he tries to hide. god i could ramble about it forever idk just love it. OH YOU WATCHED THE MOVE RIGHT AFTER? a scene with bakugou and todoroki is guaranteed a good time.. and they work so well together. haha that’s such a nice coincidence tho their dynamic is great in that movie even if it’s mostly kiribaku sjsksjk. what do you think about kiribaku btw?

RIGHT!!! at least we have a couple days to decide hihi.... paimon no longer emergency snack.. only seelie. 🥴 oooh? what kind of thing have you envisioned? (if you wanna share ofc!)

i’ve seen so many people mention that!! like one of the worst parts of the game is that in the higher level you get the less there are to do.. ssjksjdk at some point all you can do is grind domains and try to level up shdkdfhdj

LEVEL 40 INTO A LEVEL 70+ FIGHT ok that’s honestly hilariously brave doesn’t she like die right away 😔 oh yeah you’ll be leveling up Again soon *praying for you*... can’t believe they don’t keep the easy bosses anymore sjdkfh that’s so rude. this game is just grind grind grind. WE NEED A BENNY STORY SO BADLY. like imagine a story with him wanting to seek out diluc because he wants to learn how to fight from a master or something like that. i saw it in a comic and i can’t stop thinking about it 😭 all of them deserve stories!!! there’s so many ways they could make it happen pls mihoyo... chongyun x xingqiu story... <333

shfkjdskdjhf nope right now i’m playing with noelle as my main damage dealer, traveller, lisa and barbara actually. so i think i have a pretty good balance atm.. 2 long range 2 short range-ish. i usually trade out barbara for another character if i have to tho, hehe. that’s only combat though ^ benny is with me when we explore. mood is me having a 5 star and not even using her... i still need to think of ways qiqi could fit into the group yk. is your group still looking the same as before? ooooh if you could rank the elements what would your ranking look like?

172!!!!! that’s a bit short though when you said tall i thought like... 190 or something sjksjdxk. wait how tall are You?

oh i just meant like... people bashing others for spending too much money on the game vs those that bash people for not spending money and complaining that they don’t get 5 star etc? idk yt comments can be so ugly though so it’s a good thing that you don’t read them sjdjdjdkd

that’s super smart!!! you just follow along the plan and delete when you come to the part. must feel so satisfying too i imagine. haha, what little notes i have i put in the notes app and just check up on when i need to. sometimes i even forget they’re there shdkdhsks. my notes are filled with half-assed dialogue or random one words notes that don’t make any sense to me anymore.. nskdhddjdj

you’re right!! so you write at night? sometimes i just open docs on my phone and write a bit before i sleep and when i wake up it’s either a grammatical mess or just... super bad hskshd the brain is simply too tired to create anything shakespeareian

nooo i’ll def check these out and let you know what i think. i’ve seen halsey being in pretty much every klance playlist on spotify so i imagine she portrays their vibes pretty nicely. doesn’t she have a song she sings about being blue and red or something... shdjfhdj such a bad description but i see it being used in edits a lot. also now that i think of it melanie has a song called pacify her that i really like!! do you like it?

THATS SO CUTE YOU ARE A CRYBABY. 🥺 same here tbh i actually like crying sometimes... sjskdjdjd like you said it just feels nice to get it all out. i cry to almost movie or series or book i read i’m a super emotional person but i also think it adds to the experience? you feel more immersed in it that way.

RIGHT??? ITS SO BEAUTIFUL!!! and it’s our boys 😭 and they’re cuddling 😭 under the sun 😭 ssjdjdhdjdj 😭

can’t wait to hear from you again <3 yours, ma <3

good night! more like ahhah

:o!! that’s so legendary of them wow.. <33 and yeah honestly the voice acting is phenomenal.. and all the implications behind the fight too? bakugou finally opening up? midoriya understanding that what he needs is to fight him? ugh. kiribaku is fine! fhdsjfks my brain is so full of todobaku that any other ship is really just... in the background hfskjfs but i can appreciate the relationship they have! with kiri being the only one bakugou has really acknowledged and seeing as being on the same level, that iconic hand clasp when bakugou was being rescued... i have a kiribaku fic in my drafts but idk if i can ever get to it ahha. you like them a lot right?

ikkk also i didn’t know we had to wait until the very end to buy? i have more than enough to buy it rn but when i clicked it said ‘must explore area 14 first’ and i was just... bruh. AHAHAH. okay so in my mind it’s like.. chongyun at a funky angle we’re kinda looking up at him and his body is like bent down towards us fhsdkjs idk how to describe it but i can picture it very well but i also cannot put it to paper/screen. and then his clothes are just black instead of white! HAHAH. tho i kinda wanna see if i can draw a xiao first to offer up to the gacha gods hfsdjkfs (and if i can i’ll do a version w a dark outfit too for u hehe)

legitttt im literally just logging in and grinding the talent domains every day fhsdkjfhskfhjd there are some artifacts i want as well but the domain is literally SO difficult for me fuck.

i just go in and use her skill then heal a bit and switch right away fhsdkjfsd it going alright! and then i go ham with my other 3 charas and switch back to her to heal again fhskfjd. OMGGG that’s so cute please... i miss diluc too... come back!! i wish we had a way to replay the old quests even if we get nothing out of them like i just wanna experience it again ya know.

oooo! that’s pretty nice. hfskjd you could switch barbara out for qiqi! since she’s a healer as well. omg wait you have lumine right? so your combat team has no males? legendary 😩 we love fighting queens! ya! traveller, chongyun, xiangling, fischl. and then i switch depending on the domain/boss i’m gonna fight. hmm elements I think would go: anemo, cryo, electro, pyro, hydro, geo, dendro? LMAO i reckon if i had diluc tho pyro would be higher... i also almost forgot to add geo to that list lmaooooooo oops, hbu??

I JUST SAW THE LINK.... AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! the bestest boys look how cute they’re sjdkfjdjjdd i’m obsessed. the picture where benny has his back turned sjdudjdjddnd stop. 🥺 they’re so neat. 🥺 also NO ARE YOU SERIOUS? that’s so upsetting are you gonna try it out nonetheless or do you think it’s too risky?

they’re SO neat!!! and bennett facing the other way was so fhskjfd yeah cute <3333333 I KNOWWW IM SO SAD :((( and no...... im not gonna try 😭😭😭 i told my brother about it too and he asked how many rolls i was at and i said 70 and he was straight up ‘you can’t try then’ and i was like ‘i know 😔😔’. @ xiao... i am giving up xingqiu rate up for you 😤😤😤😤 ugh i hope i can still get xingqiu in xiao’s banner tho even tho the chances will be shit. are you gonna roll ganyu’s banner?

FHSKJFSD NOOOOOO don’t tell me 172 is average for you wtf... (apparently the average male height in japan is 160cm! for reference ahah) and i myself am. one hundred and. fifty something cm hfsdjfhskjdfhskdjfhw9uehdsifhwsdkjfhsdkfhsd 😔 big sighs lmaoooooooo. how tall are you? (im assuming much taller 😔😔😔😔😔)

ooh notes app? nice ahaha. fhdkjfhskfsk hdthat’s the mood tho! if i don’t have my laptop with me i’ll write out everything on notes first then transfer to my laptop~

AHAHAH yeahhh i think mostly i do? bc during school times i’ll only write after i’m done with my work which = night time. for a while Peak writing time for me was like 1am lmfao but i do that in a like half-asleep half-conscious state so when i come back the next day at a “normal” time i run into the same issue as you fshdfkjshfs

she does!!! it’s called colours 😩 but i think the one i related to voltron most is control! there was this really good shiro edit with that song i still remember it to this day <3 yeah i do!!! i like most of melanie’s songs actually ahahah. i think my favourite for a while was show and tell~

it totally does!! like it’s satisfying as well you know... like the characters have gone through so much and you experienced that with them so it’s natural to get emotional about it. that reminds me, what kind of books do/did you read? did you read all Those YA novels ahah talking about crying has reminded me how i cried reading those..

<333 i wanna be there with them 😩 actually no i want to BE them 😩😩😩

eager for your response <33 love, c.r.

[tehmoonofficial]

Blog Interview! 2/4

@seven-misfits

The interview is under the cut! This is the second of four interviews. You can find the first one here: (x) The third one will be posted next Saturday at 3 PM UTC, and the fourth one will be the week after (April 3). I hope you enjoy learning more about the fandom!

Who are they?

Name: Liv Pronouns: She/they/he/anything else Age: Minor (Or, as Liv puts it, “babey” x’D)

Q: What are your other fandoms? A: So many... there are so many. To start, there's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Boku No Hero Academia (although that's on the backburner for now), the Carry On books by Rainbow Rowell, Rick Riordan's books (Magnus Chase series in particular, currently), just recently I watched I Am Not Okay With This, and also I'm into many, many musicals. I can guarantee you there are still more, along with some foreign content and those fandoms. I have so many interests, it's ridiculous.

Q: Any other things people should know about you? A: I'm fucking feral. That's a joke, but I do tend to go off (read: go White Violin mode) if I really get going about something, and I do have a tendency to talk loud and yell... a lot. I have a qpp, their name is NJ you should totally go follow them because they're amazing and I love them (@be-ace-punch-nazis​). I'm also fluent in Russian, so if you wanna chat in that I am down for it! :)

Q: Where are some other places people can follow you? A:  Oooh okay so, you can follow me on many other blogs, so it's probably easier to link my carrd (https://octopodium.carrd.co/), but I will say that I'm behind blogs like @pineipina​ (which is my main), @farahblack​, @bahumdrum​, and @probablyheroism​. You can also follow me on instagram @octopodium, and my ao3 is under the same name.

What do they do?

Q: What sort of content do you make? A: I make all sorts of things for TUA! I used to do a lot of incorrect quotes, but now I tend to write and draw :) there's also a bit of poetry floating around my blog. I make meta sometimes (although a lot of it is still not posted...) and also like to try and point out things I find in the show! Another Thing of mine is AUs and HCs; there have been some truly cursed things born from my rambling bullet points. Q: How long have you been making TUA content? A: I've been making content since somewhere around April, I think? My first TUA fic was published somewhere around June. I only got into TUA a couple months after it came out, and it took some more time for me to actually start making things.

Q: What’s your favorite piece of content that you’ve made? A: I don't think I have a favorite piece but IF I HAVE TO CHOOSE, then one of my favorite art pieces I've made is the Ace Luther painting, and one of my favorite fics is "we sail upon forgotten waters", though there are definitely more galaxy brain takes I have written. (Cough, "like constellations" and "The Sky Is Falling" and "She Likes Girls" cough.) (As you can see I like my writing more than my art lmao.) AND WAIT; I forgot my magnum opus. My ultimate fic. The one thing I will never forgive myself for. "don't forget your lines," the Dave/Everyone content nobody asked for and nobody wants.

Q: Do you ever wish you did something else for the fandom? A: I wish I could make music sometimes, I've tried to write songs for the characters but I'm not good at composing at all :')) I also wish I could do more content in general, because lately my attention has been kind of diverted onto other media (still very into TUA though) but other than that, nope! I'm happy with what I'm doing here.

Q: What is your favorite piece of content that you haven’t made? (Made by someone else in the fandom) A: Goddd a lot of my favorite fics come from the lovely @evelinaonline, and Bree's writing is so godtier... I love the thing people in this fandom create so much, I can't think of any specific content creator I love but hey!! If you make TUA content and are reading this *waves* I love you!! (Love you tooooo and thank you <3)

What are their views on TUA?

Q: Who is your favorite character? A: Ben. I love them all, and I can't pick an ultimate favorite, but it's Ben. He has the "dead asshole" and "babey" appeals. (Along with many others but... I just think he's neat lmao.)

Q: Which is your favorite: comics or show? A: I like the show more, I'm gonna say, it was the first thing I consumed for TUA. But the comics do hold a place in my heart and I love them a lot, too.

Q: What is your favorite part of the comics or the show? A: I love all the show, and while I can name some least favorite parts (cough incest cough the rave scene cough) I can't name a favorite lmao. I do really like the I Think We're Alone Now dance scene, though. (And Five's Istanbul fiasco... though rest assured those aren't my ultimate faves, they're two I can think of though.) [For the comics,] I suppose when the Séance saves the world with his telekinesis (oop, spoilers) and when Number Five is exposed as a furry? Good shit. (Also the Horror's scenes kdfsk I love me some dead tentacle man.) (Comic Ben in general is just very neat to me. You go, you funky ghost tentacle man.)

Q: How do you feel about the fandom discourse? (Like sibling shipping, anti-Vanya, anti-Luther, etc) A: FUCK sibling shipping, incest is gross. (Of course though I'm not gonna directly call out people or w/e, do whatever you want, I'm not you mom, but I 100% do not support incest and sibling shipping.) Anti-Vanya and Anti-Luther is stupid, whoever is against them clearly hasn't bothered to actually watch the show lmao, while both of those characters are "problematic" so is... literally all of the entire cast. I mean, come on. Stop scapegoating and recognize they were all abused and wronged, and have all done shitty things, "don't villainize abuse victims" isn't that hard to wrap you head around.

.

And that’s the end of the second interview! If Liv’s content sounds interesting to you, go give her a follow :D Liv: I love having you around to goof around with on our discord server and everywhere else! You’re fan-flipping-tastic. To everybody else: there are two more interviews left! At this time, all the question responses have been sent to me, and I have to say this has been one of the biggest highlights of my time in this fandom. If you have any additional questions for Liv, go send her an ask or put them in the notes here! <3

[fountainpenguin]

Question Meme: (Ignore this if you don't want to answer all these....) 1, 2, 3, 28, 31, 33, 40 (sorry i couldn't pick one)

40 Questions For ‘Fic Writers Meme

#1 - Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

Gradual character development spread across a piece with deepened, believable worldbuilding. You know, I often say I’m not into romance, but here’s the thing: A nice long, serious slow burn does a person good. I’ll happily accept romance if an author can really get me into the minds of the characters and make me want their relationship to develop as much as the characters do.

It’s shallow romance that rubs me the wrong way. Give me two characters who honestly, truly care about each other to the point where they’ll sacrifice something they love, or even be willing to let each other ago if it means the one they love will be happy. I love that. But if you’ve got one character who will pitch a fit rather than let their love be happy with someone else, you’re really working uphill with me.

Worldbuilding doesn’t have to be as deep and complex as my ‘fics tend to get, but I do love to see how different authors expand the same world in different ways. I’m not a big fan of horror and for some reason I just can’t get into sci-fi. I enjoy fantasy and biology.

Really, I love anything that doesn’t contradict canon. AUs? Eh, sometimes, but they’re not my favorite. I like behind-the-scenes, between-the-lines, believable futures, and backstory pieces with some nice worldbuilding. And some complex characters who don’t always make the best choices and then have to suffer the consequences for their actions. Yes. ‘Fics like those are very nice.

#2 - Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

A queerplatonic relationship that’s happy, healthy, and long-lasting. You would think I would let my aro/ace children be happy, but alas, ‘tis not to be! You could say I like to squash zucchinis. I am self-projecting my own insecurities. I made Bennett a horrible person to show the “worst possible relationship with an aro/ace who wants a sexless marriage” so that the hopes and dreams of the other aro/ace characters look more reasonable by comparison. I do that a lot.

Okay, I lied. I can think of six “official” queerplatonic relationships we will see in my FOP works, and one of them actually does have a happy ending. I mean, probably. I haven’t written it yet, so who knows?

Spoiler alert: Mario and Peach are the OTQP and I’m going to milk it. What can I say? I call ‘em like I see ‘em and canon literally gave us a plumber who’ll collect 120 Power Stars in return for cake, and a princess who turned down his hand in marriage after all the times he’s rescued her, but adores him anyway.

#3 - Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole?

“We pretend to hate each other but secretly we’re both in love and will one day in the heat of the moment spontaneously confess our romantic feelings and form a mutual, caring relationship without any further character development.”

I don’t know if it’s because I’m a very serious, honest, straightforward person (being INTJ and all), or if it’s because I’m asexual, or if it’s a combination of both (or neither), but I can’t stand huge plots about people refusing to admit that they like someone. Love has always been a logical thing to me. I was sixteen before I found out sexual attraction was a real thing. I don’t really understand it, but I guess it’s possible to have physical feelings for someone even if you don’t logically want to? And you can’t stop yourself or turn it off? I honestly don’t know how that works, which is why the “I wish I wasn’t physically attracted to you” trope has infuriated me since childhood. I just didn’t get it.

Even before I realized I was asexual, I would have discussions with my mom about how if I ever had a crush, I would openly admit this to my friends if they asked. I wouldn’t protest or deny, as I see so many media characters do. Then it turned out I’m incapable of feeling physical attraction and I get friendship squishes instead of romantic crushes, so that happened.

As a general rule of thumb, you should trust the characters I write if they say they aren’t attracted to someone. If they like someone, they’ll tell you so. If they don’t, they’ll tell you that too. And if they’re confused, then it will be very clear that they’re confused. No means no. I’m very strict about that. Don’t read into it looking for signs that they’re being secretive even to the reader. They are not. I emotionally cannot bring myself to do that.

#28 - Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

Oooh. I’m going to say that Shaddic takes the cake on this one. If you’re a Total Drama fan, or even if you’re not, then “Daddy’s Characters” will break you deliciously like very few fanfics will. “Before and After” is just a step behind it. The emotion captured by these ‘fics is incredible, and I highly, highly recommend them if you’re into evil villains who are undeniably and yet realistically cruel. Both ‘fics revolve around Mike and his multiple personalities (“Daddy’s Characters” revolving around adult Mike and Zoey, married with a daughter and with twins on the way, coping with something horrid that lands a distraught Mike in prison, and “Before and After” being the trauma-filled childhood backstory ‘fic). 

Shaddic characterized everyone perfectly. So horribly, painfully well. Ugggh, I love it. My gallery has Identity Theft on the way, which will revolve around Foop and Hiccup and some multiple personality trauma, but it won’t be as beautiful as Shaddic’s work. They’re honestly worth a read if you ever have the time one day, even if you aren’t a Total Drama fan. You really don’t need to know the show to enjoy them. And enjoy them (and suffer) you will. In all my years, I’ve never seen an evil villain portrayed so… villainously. Love it.

I’m also a fan of SelanPike- partially for sentimental reasons, I suppose. I remember reading her Mario ‘fics over and over eight years ago, and I still read them today on a regular basis. Crazy how time flies. They’re just ones that I love going back to. As most of you know, I tend to fall in love with background characters. Fawful, Kamek, and Doopliss fit those qualifications- and coincidentally, those three are Selan’s favorites too! Technically, it’s because of her that the 130 Prompts project came to be. I always loved her 100 one-shot challenge, and that’s sort of how I eventually decided to write my own.

I really admire Selan for her characterizations. Her Kamek portrayal is my all-time favorite. So is her Fawful, her Doopliss, her Bowser, her Bowser Jr, her E. Gadd… she’s just a master of character. Even her freaking Jojora is spot-on. I mean, talk about background characters, am I right? Ha. Her writing is excellent and she has some fun plots. I always enjoyed drinking up her fanart and reading her comics on her deviantArt too. Still do. She has such a fun, bouncy art style. Her 8-page comic about Fawful attending school in the Mushroom Kingdom after Kamek hits him with the truant officer threat gets me every time.

I highly recommend “Until Tomorrow” (Her post-“Superstar Saga” ‘fic about Kamek and Fawful attempting to revive Cackletta so Kamek can kick her butt in a magic fight and Fawful can get the mother figure he refuses to call his mother figure back), and her famous ‘fic “On My Own” (about Fawful coping with Cackletta’s death and eventually working his way up the Koopa Kingdom social ladder). “Fragmented Spectrum” is a wonderful, tense, horror-ish ‘fic as well, with my absolute favorite Bowser Jr. portrayal. Plus, I love the rivalry between Kamek and Fawful seen in “F.S.” with Fawful trying to draw magic circles that he decided must be 100% perfect to count as circles, and Kamek not even knowing how to deal with him and his technology brain. Beautiful. 

Check out the rest of her gallery too. Her two FFN fandoms are Mario and Invader Zim. She isn’t active there anymore, but her ‘fics are worth the read. I will say that I’m not a fan of her ‘fic “Everything You Ever” because I feel that Cackletta was way too sweet and nice for an evil villain in that one. But then again, I haven’t read it in years, so who knows. I’m not crazy about Selan’s Peach portrayal either, but that’s where my third recommendation comes in.

GuardianM1234 is a recent discovery of mine, and she does not disappoint. I’m a big fan of her ongoing ‘fic “Smoke” (which updates twice a month right now and is nearing its climax). It’s basically the story of Peach and Bowser growing up, and the development of their relationship from being fairly friendly as children to their complex relationship as adults. I’ve never seen Peach portrayed so perfectly, and I adore her. Never thought I would, but I do. Guardian also has a very unique take on Mario that’ll really make you squirm.

I love Guardian’s writing because she pits characters in emotionally-difficult situations and lets them learn and grow. They make bad choices, but she demonizes no one. Not even Bowser. Plus, Bowser has a little sideplot with Clawdia going on (the canon mother of the Koopalings if you know your deep hidden lore, though since the Koopalings were recently ruled “not Bowser’s children” by Nintendo’s “official” canon, I don’t know if she will be their mother in “Smoke” or where Guardian is taking this ‘fic). Basically, what I’m saying is, Clawdia and Bowser roastfest. Be there. They crack me up. And Guardian’s TOADSWORTH is perfection. Please give that old boy his gossip.

Plus, Daisy takes Bowser shopping for wedding dresses once and he bribes her with a six-pack of soda. Nice, short chapters with a few pleasant hints of worldbuilding slipped in, and a LOT of character. Guardian is still somewhat new to fanfiction, but she’s very sweet and she would adore some reviews if you do read her work. If you love her stuff, give her a shout-out! She’s great.

#31 - Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I fall halfway between this one. The answer is, sort of both! For my main fandoms, I have one rule: I don’t contradict canon, unless canon contradicted itself and I was forced to pick a side. Origin gets so deep into biology and Knots into culture that they feel more like original works than fanfics sometimes, because I’ll flesh things out as much as I want to. So that’s sort of a liberty I take with canon. But I never contradict canon if I don’t have to. I always comply.

It’s a puzzle. I love connecting dots behind the scenes. I love forcing everything that’s canon to be canon, even if it looks like it contradicted itself. If I can solve a plot hole, I try to. I will make ridiculous backbends to fit colorful Anti-Fairy eyes, Crocker’s ebb and flow of wealth, Miss Idaho’s “rare genetic condition that prevents her from aging,” Mary Alice Doombringer’s random abilities, and Girlfriend the cat’s sentience into Riddleverse canon, and I’ll love every second of it. I only cut a piece of canon out if I feel like I absolutely have to. It’s fun.

I can definitely enjoy reading ‘fics that stray from canon, and might even write them on occasion. But the reason why I write fanfics is because I loved the canon and I want to see it expanded, not taken away. I’d like to publish my original works someday, so if I’m not sticking close to source material, why would I write a fanfic that I could publish as an original work instead? 

For the same reasons, I’d rather read a fanfic that expands on canon than eliminates it. When I fall in love with something, I fall in love with its world. I like ‘fics that blend worldbuilding aspects in with the plot they’re writing, even if it’s a short one-shot. I don’t love reading something that feels like its writer just inserted the names of popular characters into their otherwise original work so that people would read it. I want to have the little details and feel convinced that these are the characters (and the world) that I love. Personal preference.

In some cases, I default to realism over canon, such as by giving Cosmo the ability to recognize faces. In my psychology classes, I’ve learned that sometimes during investigations, police will show pictures to people and ask them to select the face that matches the one they were shown earlier. People pretending to be mentally handicapped in some way will often get the answers wrong on purpose in an attempt to maintain their facade, while those who are actually mentally handicapped will get them right. Just a nitpicky thing I do.

So I often favor realism over canon in certain ways, even if it possibly contradicts canon a bit. I respect canon and try to stay true to it as much as possible because I enjoy doing so, but I don’t consider myself 100% beholden to it, especially considering how many different contributors there can be to a project over the years. I do my best, but enjoying what I write comes first.

#33 - How do you feel about crack?

I can enjoy the occasional way-out-there thing, but I prefer serious stories in general.

#40 - Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one).

Well, you didn’t give me a ‘fic you wanted to see an alternate ending to, but I do have a few short pieces I can share. You see, the “That Was Then” Prompt (the Jay Rhoswen and his studies about Anti-Fairies one) wasn’t supposed to end the way it did. Here is how it was meant to go:

Rhoswen scooted back hand over hand along the counter, his feet skittering in the vapor. What in the name of dust was he doing? He shouldn’t be looking at his wife’s counterpart more than at his wife! He shouldn’t be having these sorts of thoughts at all!

Anti-Shylinda placed her palms to his cheeks and gazed into his eyes. “No talk,” she whispered, and when she leaned forward, those burning lips closed over his.

As for whether that Seelie Courter chose to kiss the anti-fairy back once she’d started to draw away? Well… You ought to look to the term “Rhoswen syndrome” to answer that.

I didn’t like the idea of Anti-Shylinda being the one to make moves on Jay, so I scrapped it. Not only that, but the whole piece is written as snippets from Rhoswen’s journal now, so the voice here no longer fit the narrative.

At the end of the first chapter of Frayed Knots, “String Theory”, Anti-Cosmo cuts off the tips of his ears. I was originally going to expand the scene as follows:

Blood spattered the floor. With a hiss through my teeth, I withdrew the knife and dabbed the blood up with my sleeve. The stone might stain.

Recalculating, I dragged my stool over to the sink. The angle was awkward, but at least my blood would wash easily away. There, I slit off the tip of my ear, cutting carefully around my first canetis ring. Then I mirrored the action on the other side. Both rings bounced across the stone with a clink, click, clatter.

I uncurled my tongue and set the knife aside. Then I took the severed tips of my ears and held them to my head again. It took three agonizing minutes, but the smoke that filled my veins stretched out and wound around my fingers. It absorbed my ears and pressed them into place again. Full, soft, and whole. I fingered the gashes mother’s piercing clamp had left behind. Apparently, even regeneration couldn’t heal injuries left by an unenchanted tool. Useful information to know.

The canetis rings disappeared into my pocket. Then I got up and pushed open the window. I took a running start, dove out, and unfurled my wings.

However, I kind of liked leaving the chapter on the cliffhanger of “Oh my gosh, what did he just do to himself???” I also couldn’t include a sink in the castle in a time period when there is no indoor plumbing. Then I decided that I would rather give Anti-Cosmo permanent gashes in his ears he had caused himself, rather than ones caused by his mother, to always remind him (and everyone around him) of that day he stood against Anti-Fairy tradition. Kind of a shame to delete the scene since I like how it gave us information about smoke and Anti-Fairy healing right from the start. I might recycle it later.

Actually, if we’re talking about the original version of Knots, everything was supposed to be different than what it was. Here is another deleted scene that was originally planned to be the opening scene of Knots:

“Mum, I’m nine and a half minutes old. I’m not a baby anymore. Come on, please? You let Anti-Robin leave home to get his wand when he was only three!”

“You weren’t even born yet. How can you possibly know that?”

“He told me about thirty seconds ago, right before you came in here.” I grabbed my mother’s skirt in two tiny fists. “Mum, I’m going to be the only pup in the colony without a wand. What about our image?”

She wavered visibly, running her thumb along her staff. “Well…”

Father peered over his spectacles and frowned. “Now, wait just a minute here, Anti-Florensa. He’s just a pup. You can’t send him into the woods to gather the materials for his first wand all by himself.”

“But it has always been our family’s tradition,” she sniffed. “It’s not as though he’ll die. On the contrary, I’m more concerned about him killing valuable plants with his acid. Anti-Cosmo, you’re drooling again.”

I wiped my mouth. “Sorry, Mum.”

I really loved the “I’m nine and a half minutes old- I’m not a baby anymore!” idea, especially since there aren’t many times when you’ll have the chance to use it. As you can see, Frayed Knots was going to begin with baby Anti-Cosmo leaving his manor home alone to obtain his first wand. 

But overall, in the end, I decided that it was more important to show the importance of smoke in Anti-Fairy culture, and we ended up with the scene we have now. Also, I really wanted Anti-Cosmo to grow up never knowing who his father was until several years after Anti-Robin had died, which meant I had to scrap or replace this scene in some way anyway.

The “Mama’s Boy” Prompt was actually written with the manor idea in mind, and I believe Anti-Florensa even uses the word “manor” in it. I added an author’s note to that piece several months ago mentioning that “Mama’s Boy” is semi-canon for now until Frayed Knots is finalized. A lot has changed.

Some other deleted scenes from the early plans of “Anti-Cosmo lives with his family in a manor near the Castle, and they are nobles but not royalty” include:

“I got something for you, kiddo.” Anti-Robin flicked an aluminum medal across the table that read #2 Son. I grinned.

“This is for me? Thanks! I love it!”

He tilted down his glasses. “You say, ‘Thank you, Father, for this generous gift.’”

I repeated the words, and he tousled my hair. “Now, go do second son things.”

“Yes, sir! I will! Thank you, Father!” With the medal swinging from my neck, I trotted happily off.

and

I clung to the frame of his office door, beating my wings to keep myself from staggering forward. I knew better than to cross the threshold, even though there was nothing I wanted more in the universe right then than to throw my arms around his waist and squeeze him in a hug. The bruise Mother had left on my arm hurt even more now than it did in the kitchen, somehow. My eyes slid back and forth across his desk.

“Where are you going?”

Anti-Robin calmly placed another folded shirt inside the suitcase. “Back to Anti-Scarlett’s.”

“With your other family?” I asked. “With her kids, Anti-Xavier and Anti-Tom?”

“Yes.”

“Why can’t I come with you? I want to meet them.”

“It’s a dad thing.” He closed the suitcase with two clicks and turned around. His eyes were steely calm, his frown very firm. “You’ll understand when you’re older.”

and

“ELEANOR!”

Anti-Robin and I grabbed our mouths and looked at each other, gaping with our eyes. Mother was over 150,000 years old. Her real name wasn’t supposed to be said out loud.

Father slammed a newspaper on the table, then stepped back and crossed his arms. “Might I inquire what the meaning of this is, ‘dear’?”

“Whatever do you mean?” she asked, not looking up from the end of her staff. She studied its base, then ran her polish rag across it again.

“Anti-Bryndin had the green fairy locked up, and I know you’re behind it.”

So, don’t feel too sad that Anti-Cosmo grows up without a dad in my works! It wouldn’t have been the best relationship anyway. Besides that, now that I’ve had time to think about it, this Anti-Robin portrayal isn’t that far off Ambrosine, and I’d rather H.P. and Anti-Cosmo had fathers with very different personalities.

If you have a really sharp memory, you may possibly remember seeing that medal around Anti-Cosmo’s neck when I drew my late-night FOP/Moana doodle dump that one time.

I also have oodles of scenes deleted from Anti-Cosmo’s visit to Winkleglint’s estate, since originally Scarletfeather was supposed to show up and Anti-Cosmo panicked when he couldn’t stop Scarletfeather from luring Mr. Thimble away. I could have filled another entire chapter with what happened during that study abroad week, but in the end I decided they were mostly self-indulgent and not important enough in the grand scheme of things to justify leaving in.

I’m skimming through my files of deleted scenes and I forgot I had this one too. Anti-Cosmo wasn’t supposed to have his intelligence test proctored by Ambrosine originally, as I was going to send him to this mental hospital facility. I decided against it, but here is a terrifying scene that we almost got. So, it’s technically an alternative ending too:

Dr. Gabriel handed me a piece of bark marked with the word Failed. “Don’t get cocky. Everyone has their limits.”

Failed? That lout outright failed me? I dropped the bark strip and looked up as Dr. Gabriel spread his wings. With a few sharp beats, he flew out of the pit. I chased after him, searching the platform above me with my eyes. So I couldn’t fly, and I was short, but I could make that leap-

“Oof!”

Or… perhaps not. I slid back down to the floor and landed on my rump. Never one to be deterred, I leaped back to my feet. Something to boost me, something to boost me… Oh! Snatching up his forgotten broom, I backed against the opposite wall, and then ran forward. I shoved the handle of the broom into the corner offered by the platform and the floor and launched myself into the air. Yes! Yes! Ahahaha! I hurtled out of the pit and went rolling across the ground. Dr. Gabriel spun around, his mouth falling open in surprise.

“Please,” I begged him, climbing to my feet again. My broken wings batted feebly behind me. “I want to gain a Fairy education. Level with me, doctor. You don’t want Anti-Fairies filling up your precious conservative school. And I don’t want Anti-Fairies filling it up either. True, we Anti-Fairies are known for our memories, but I like to feel special, and I shouldn’t want to chance anyone stealing my thunder away from me. You let me in, and I won’t breathe a word about your biases against my people.”

Dr. Gabriel studied me with idle coldness, clutching his tablets to his chest. He drifted a few steps backwards along the corridor. “Anti-Cosmo, your genius is entirely creative. You’re severely behind in your knowledge of technical skills, and you lack basic common sense as well as a sense of self-preservation. Because of this, we can’t recommend you be placed in any advanced programs. You’ll need to stay where you’re at.”

The corners of my mouth twisted into a frown. Then a sneer. “Frankly, Dr. Gabriel, I’m not particularly fond of that option.”

With that, I yanked out the can of forget-a-cin I’d nicked from his pouch when he’d been turned the other way. Dr. Gabriel had time to look horrified before I mashed the button down. My eyes were squeezed shut, but even so, the world around me lit with white. I let the empty canister fall to the floor and opened my eyes again to find the nervous fairy glancing around in bewilderment.

“There,” I said. “I’ve just put a block over this memory of yours. I do hope no one else would care to challenge me, or I will be forced to perform the same trick on them. Now, I demand that you, good sir, will have me enrolled in all the classes of my choosing. Is that understood?”

Dr. Gabriel’s wandering eyes finally latched onto me. His shoulders shivered, although he possibly didn’t remember why. He bobbed a bit lower in the air. Then his wings fell silent altogether, and he leaned his back against the wall. He slid down to the floor. “S-security! Security?”

His voice was too weak for anyone who wasn’t an Anti-Fairy to hear. I sighed. Covering my eyes again, I made a signal with my other hand. “Oh, dear. I do apologize. I really never do this, you must understand. It’s so messy.”

If he hadn’t been so hazy from the aftereffects of the forget-a-cin, I’m sure Dr. Gabriel wouldn’t have let me get away with as much as he did. As it happened, I walked right up to him and lay my claw against the karmic pouch on the left side of his neck. He yelped, but I knocked his clumsy hands away from me without any real effort. I braced my hand against my hip.

“I really never do this. It’s vile and crude. So sorry, I really am. But then again, well, perhaps I’m really not.” And with that, I sunk my fangs into his neck. Blech. He tasted of old mutton.

Dr. Gabriel screamed. He twisted, his shoulders rapidly seizing up. I rolled my eyes and kept my fangs embedded until his coughs turned to silence and he had frozen in place, as still as a stone statue. Only then did I wrench back my head, bringing the coils of his karmic weave along with me. Most of them were blue, but here and there a pink one surfaced, or a yellow. As the colourful threads of his life whisked above us, I stood back and traced one claw beneath my eye.

“Anti-Fairy tears consist mainly of sulfuric acid, of course. And I daresay you hurt my feelings quite a bit back there, didn’t you?”

Forcing myself to cry came as naturally as forcing myself not to cry always had. I captured the burning tear on the end of my claw and, very slowly, held it out towards the paralyzed fairy sitting against the wall. For several long seconds, I let him see it glistening there. Threatening to drip down on the place where I had bitten him. Which was still bleeding.

“I never do this,” I said again, truthfully apologetic. “It’s messy and you’ll be rather cross when you wake up, assuming you wake again at all. But it is true that I am crying, and here you are, lying so very still. We’re standing rather close, aren’t we? So close that I could touch you.”

Lacking the ability to move, all Dr. Gabriel could do was sit numbly, his mouth gaping. I lowered my claw towards his neck.

“But it’s only a single tear, isn’t it? Why should a fairy care if he made an anti-fairy child cry? No, a single tear cannot hurt your conscience. A single tear may sting your skin, perhaps, but it shouldn’t cause any long-lasting problem so long as no liquid in your body is particularly warm. Oh, wait…” Here I feigned surprise, and brought my claw a mere centimetre from his karmic pouch. Green liquid trickled down his neck. I smiled. “Why, internal Fairy body temperature borders on the boiling point, does it not? Oooh, I’d hate to see what happens when that acid comes into contact with your blood. I’ve heard it’s prone to such catastrophic explosions.”

There was, of course, no reply. Sighing, I withdrew my handkerchief from my pocket and wiped the tear from my claw.

“No, but I suppose I’m a gentleman, so I shan’t leave you comfortless. As I told you, I really never do this. I’m all boasts and bluster, really. That’s all I really am. Let’s get you cleaned up, lad.”

I was just wiping away the last drops of acid from his stunned face when the door opened behind me. I looked over my shoulder to find Anti-Jolene floating there with a clipboard in hand. She took in the threads of wild karma and my kerchief, and looked at me with her ears cocked forward.

“So… How is it going?”

I sighed and tucked the handkerchief away. “Dr. Gabriel and I have just finished, painfully. I say, are business deals with Fairies always so messy?”

She smiled a thin smile. “It would behoove us to find a neutral party who could settle things between our two races more easily, wouldn’t it?”

“I’ll be cleaning karma out of my fur for weeks,” I muttered, and went about gathering up his tangled threads so I could stuff them back inside his soul.

He was one messed up kid in this draft, that is for sure. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll find a place for this scene in the current version someday, if I ever need to send an older Anti-Cosmo to a mental health facility. For now, however, it’s deleted.

“This Is a Box” was actually supposed to end differently as well. And of course, so was “This Is Halloween.” Every once in awhile I’ll have a piece get away from me and end the way it wants, but most of them end the way I plan from the start.

Thanks for all your requests! I really appreciate your curiosity!

[sour--strawberries]

Under the sea, part 2

fandom: Stony (Steve x Tony)

universe: The Little Mermaid AU, Disney version (not entirely faithful)

summary: Tony goes to stalk his love, Janet and Rhodey follow, and Rhodey is so not impressed. And then a storm starts...

length: 3 508 words

warning: more of a Tony and Rhodey bro!otp fic, Stony romance hinted

inspiration: this prompt and The Little Mermaid, including some of ideas from here

a/n: gonna start December strong! Another portion of mermaid AU, tickling at the veeery end, so not gonna lie, this is more of adapting the story and giving it my own twist. And I really hope you will like the twist! Preferably read part 1, before reading this for better understanding. As always, feedback, comments, likes and reblogs are welcomed and loved!

————–

Under the Sea, part 2 (part 1, part 3)

Rhodey broke the water surface with a splash and looked around frantically. The dark, intimidating shape of a human ship was right in front of him, but what was really terrifying was that high up, he saw a gleaming red tail, perched on the ledge, way too close to the two legs on the deck. There were music and ruckus above and a high chance that Tony won't be spotted. High, but not guaranteed, and they couldn't take any risk.

"Tony!!" Rhodey hissed, putting both hands around his mouth to let his voice travel better, yet still keeping it quiet to not alert the ship's crew. "Get down here this instant!"

There was no answer, but Tony shook his head, denying his friend's order, and clutched closer the rope Rhodey had just noticed. It was probably what he used to climb up, and next, Rhodey swam to the ship and tried to follow his friend, but the side of the ship was slippery and smooth. Not climbable at all.

"Get down here!!" he hissed again and saw Tony's mocking grin shining from above. Of course, his stubborn friend won't listen.

There was a small plop sound as Janet finally joined the two mermen and peeked out from the water, gently floating on the surface.

"Can you get him down?!" he asked the stingray and Janet looked curiously at the request.

"Down? We should join him! I want to see Tony's crush!" Jan shrilled enthusiastically.

Rhodey groaned, almost defeated. Almost. He had an idea. He lay on his side and positioned his tail sideways, taking a swing.

"Last warning!" Rhodey looked up at Tony and saw the brunet widening his eyes in panic. Yet, he stuck his nose up and ignored the threat, thinking that his friend didn't have the guts. If he wanted to play like that.

Drawing his eyebrows together in anger, Rhodey flung his tail and hit the side of the vessel. If a regular merman did that, there would be no harm done, well, maybe except to the merman. Rhodey was a descendant of an old tribe, the one that was told to possess the strength of the humpback whales. He wasn't as fast as Tony, but his tail was able to crush boulders, something Tony saw before and which was one of the many reasons why at such young age he was already a part of royal family's guards.

The ship shook at the impact and music stopped, changing into a confused scream. Tony gripped the rope tighter in his hands, almost falling from the small ledge he was sitting on.

"Woah, that was a big wave!" someone from the deck called, nervous laughter following and the air filled with sounds of harmonicas and flutes once more.

Tony bit his lip, and looked down. Rhodey's face was set in anger, and he took another swing… He couldn't risk his friend turning the ship over or damaging it.

"Finally," Rhodey tsked and submerged into the water when the rope fell down. He took it and felt someone sucking to his back. "Ow, Jan!"

"Sorry!" the stingray said, using her flaps to wrap around merman's shoulder for better hold. With a sigh, Rhodey started climbing up, until he was on the same level with Tony.

"Glad you could join," Tony smiled casually as if they had this planned from the very beginning, and Rhodey had to hold it in himself to not push his friend back into the water.

"Oooh, here he comes!" Janet announced cheerfully, flopping on Rhodey's back and batting him, making the merman hiss in discomfort. Tony shushed them and they all observed through the port how men parted on the deck and the merry gathering became silent. Heavy shoes walked on deck and Rhodey looked up, seeing a man in a dark blue and white uniform. He was… big. Big and muscled, and had long blonde hair kept in a low ponytail and had bright blue eyes and a three-day stubble on his face. The man Janet described. Rhodey could guess that in human's world, such physique was considered attractive.

"Good job, men!" the captain bellowed, his voice strong and clear. "Tomorrow morning we will make it to the port, for now, rejoice!"

"Ay, Captain Thor!"

"That guy?!" Rhodey knocked Tony in the arm when the crew started the party again and the Captain took a pint of beer, gulping it down to the mirth of his crew. "This is the guy you like?!"

"What?" Tony hissed, eyes widening comically. "No, it is not him!"

It was Rhodey's turn to stare. Nothing made sense anymore. "But Janet said---"

"Oh! There is the one I like!" Tony said cheerfully and cupped Rhodey's chin pointing his eyes somewhere far. Rhodey had to focus a bit but finally saw him. In the far corner of the ship, on all fours, was a small figure. He wasn't part of the fun and kept scrubbing the deck with force. Dirty, stretched out clothes hang on the boney frame in a miserable and sad way. Thin blonde hair. Stubborn blue eyes.

"THAT GUY?!" Rhodey yelled, not believing his eyes and quickly being quitted by Tony pressing a hand to his mouth.

"Hey, cabin boy! You forgot to scrub here!"

"Ay, sir!" the small blonde got on his feet and run to the appointed spot, carrying a bucket with soapy water. He tripped and spilled the content out, to the general laughter of the crew.

"Quiet, men!" Captain Thor bellowed, silencing everyone. "On your feet, boy!"

"Ay, Captain!" the blond got up and used the spilled water to scrub the deck, muting everything around him.

"Wish you all had the half of the vigor this young man has!" Captain scolded his crew, who didn't look sorry at all for teasing the blond. Soon, it became merry again and no one paid attention to the cabin boy. Except for Rhodey who was becoming increasingly angry.

"That guy?!" he called again, pushing Tony's hand away. Out of the two, he preferred the Captain. Not that any of them was a good choice.

Tony sighed sweetly and put his arms on the deck, folding them and nestling his chin on top. "Isn't he perfect?" he asked, not really wanting an answer and looking at the blond with adoration.

Perfect was an overstatement. Rhodey looked again at the guy and felt something heavy smothering him. How he should put that… Nature was cruel but fair. Smaller and weaker fish had no chance in the ocean and often became bigger fish lunch. If that guy was a fish, he wouldn't survive a day in the ocean.

"You told me he is in love with the Captain," Rhodey ignored Tony, and turned directly to Janet.

"Huh?" Janet obviously didn't listen and Rhodey noticed that she also had love-struck eyes pointed directly at the… Captain.

That explained the mistake.

Rhodey dramatically raised his arms up. And old tales claimed that flounders were ditzy.

A cold gust of wind, made him lower his arm. It started to become shivering cold and black clouds gathered above their heads. Not a good sign.

"Okay, enough of this gazing," Rhodey slapped lightly Tony and then Janet, knocking the love-filled looks out of them. "Time to go back."

"What? Why?" Tony asked, not understanding. As for the future king, Tony was painfully slow to recognize signs. Hopefully, he would learn with time.

"We need to get home while we still can."

"But---"

"No buts!" Rhodey barked and didn't go subtle anymore, and pushed Tony off the ledge.

"HEY!!"

SPLASH!!

"BLEH!! THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR!"

"What was that?"

"Did you hear something?!"

"It sounded like someone is overboard!"

Rhodey gasped and flattened himself against the side of the ship. Luckily, Tony already dived into the water and observed about ten faces looking down the rail, trying to spot anyone in the darkness. And Rhodey was just inches below…

"Must have misheard…"

"Maybe it was the wind."

The faces withdrew and Rhodey could breathe again.

"Nice going," Janet hissed into his ear in reprimand and Rhodey made a face. He slowly slid down the rope, and when lowered himself into the water, Tony emerged back up and looked as smug as ever.

"Don't say a word," Rhodey warned.

"Mhhhhm," Tony hummed, but the pleased look on his face said plenty. Together they dived into the dark water, just as the surface became more chaotic and big waves came.

As they were swimming deeper, Tony kept looking behind his shoulder. The wind was getting stronger and the ship was being carried away, up and down, big waves crashing against the sides of the vessel. A lighting cut the sky, and huge droplets of rain kept drumming against ocean surface. It looked beautiful from below, but above had to be a nightmare.

"Do you think they will be okay?" Tony stopped, looking with worry at the struggling ship.

"It is not our concern, Tony," Rhodey answered calmly. It was men's decision to go out on the sea and their responsibility to come back safe. Not theirs.

"I know, but---"

A particularly strong wave rocked the ship. Lighting shone and illuminated the scene, as someone from the crew fell all the way down and into the water.

"RHODEY!" Tony yelled, watching the figure sinking and sinking, deeper and deeper.

"Don't even think about it--- I SAID DON'T!" Rhodey roared, as the red tail sprung up, and directly to the man.

"Oooh!" Janet shrilled in excitement and clung back to Rhodey. This time she won't be left out. Rhodey went after his friend and saw Tony taking in his arms the blond guy he was so mesmerized with earlier. Tony held him around the waist, but instead of going up, he swam down.

"What are you doing?!" Rhodey asked, meeting his friend halfway, not understanding. Tony kept his arms possessively around the blond and even held him closer as if shielding from Rhodey.

"What? He is in the sea, he is mine now," Tony stated, sounding and looking like a pouting child and cradling the small figure close.

Oh, that could be so easy. Just a few minutes and all of Rhodey's problems would be solved. Easy and clean. And extremely cruel. He saw small air bubbles coming out from unconscious man's mouth.

Decisions, decisions…

"He can't breathe here!!" Rhodey yelled out, reason winning.

"Wh-what?" Tony asked, seeming terrified, color draining out of his face. Much like the person he was holding.

"He can't breathe here! Humans need air! He needs to get to the surf---"

Rhodey didn't manage to finish, as Tony sprung back up. And then farther, undoubtedly to the shore. Rhodey could only follow with Jan still on his back.

***

They shouldn't be here. Really shouldn't. It was too dangerous. Rhodey popped out his head above the water surface and scanned the shore. He saw Tony on the sand, the tip of his tail dipped in water as he was looming above an unconscious human figure. Silently, Rhodey swam closer. Tony sniffled, hearing his friend behind his back.

"He--- he is not moving. Why he is not moving?" Tony asked in a breaking voice, his hand placed delicately on blond's cold cheek.

Rhodey came closer. He looked at the man, at his small face and pale lips. He looked like if he was gone, but his chest was moving steadily, up and down. He was breathing. Shallow and barely, but was breathing. Maybe Rhodey underestimated him earlier.

"He is alive."

"He is?!"

"Yes. He is breathing."

"Oh, thank Neptune…" Tony whispered, putting his forehead on blond's. He kept quietly crying, this time with relief.

Rhodey looked worriedly at Janet, and the stingray sent him the same kind of look. Seemed that Tony really cared about this guy. But Prince's safety always came first.

"We should go," Rhodey urged and Tony shook his head.

"I can't."

"Tony, his kind is probably looking for him, we can't risk it---"

"I can't go!!"

There was a real need in Tony's voice. Not the play orders he used to give from time to time, or a wish of a spoiled prince. And if Tony couldn't go, Rhodey shouldn't either.

"Please…"

That was new.

"Please… Please, Rhodey do something… Please…"

Rhodey closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, accepting his fate. "Janet, go to the palace and make sure that no one enters Tony's bedroom until I bring him back," he turned to the stingray and Janet quickly understood the gravity of the situation and dived back into the water, helping their friend the best she could. Rhodey turned back to Tony and the man. "We need to get him warm," he said, remembering everything he was taught about humans, "and you need to stay wet!" Rhodey reminded Tony, splashing up his tail.

"Okay," Tony agreed quickly. Anything to stay here. Rhodey looked sadly at that, knowing that their lives became just much more complicated.

***

Warm. He was covered with something heavy and dry, comforting his body. A crackle of fire and smell of wood burning filled his nostrils. It was warm and safe, but he was too tired to open his eyes.

"How come I didn't know about this?"

"You are the prince, you don't need to know about this."

Some voices. He didn't recognize any of them.

"Yeah, that's more reasons why I should know about this --- AAAAAAA!!"

"Don't touch it, you idiot!!"

Before he passed out again, he registered the smell of a frying fish.

***

There was an orange glow under his eyelids. Sun was rising up. Soon, he would need to get up to help the cook with the breakfast, and then polish the shoes and ---

Just that he wasn't on deck. He started to remember the last night. The storm. The way he had hit his head and fell down into the sea. Did he die?

"Hey, he is waking up!"

"No, don't---"

Something cold and heavy lay on top of him. He slowly opened his eyes, almost getting startled by warm brown eyes framed in thick eyelashes and looking back at him.

"Hi," the person said, and he had a nice, husked out voice. Cold hands embraced his face and caressed his cheeks. "You don't know it yet, but one day, you will become the king of the sea," it was a weird statement, but what happened next, was even weirder. A kiss. Cold and salty and not that great. But with time their lips warmed up and the taste became sweeter, and he closed his eyes, giving up to the affection.

"STEVE!!"

The person was gone. He heard two splashes and when he opened his eyes he was alone on the shore.

"STEVE!! You are alive!!"

Steve looked at himself, not understanding anything. He was alone, yet there was a fireplace nearby and he was wrapped in a cloth, a part of a torn sail. What exactly happened?

"I was worried we lost you! The Captain will be so relieved!"

"Sam…" Steve said, being lifted up to his feet by his beaming friend.

"I told everyone you are tougher than this! If this won't get you promoted, I don't know what will!"

"Sam!" Steve said, suddenly feeling more awake. Salty lips. Brown eyes. "Did you see anyone here?!"

"What? No, there was only you---"

"But there was someone here! I---"

"Woah, did you drink salt water? You had to, you went down like a rock---"

"You don't understand, there was---"

"Maybe you also bumped your head, does it hurt when I do that---"

"OW! That's not the po---"

"Shhh, let's go to the tavern and get something warm in you. But first, you need to change clothes. Bucky will be so happy to see you! He went north to look for you, he was losing his mind---"

"Sam, wait."

"What?" Sam stopped, and on wobbly legs, Steve walked away, closer to the water. He looked around himself for the last time and then took a deep breath.

"To whoever saved me! Tomorrow at sunrise I will be waiting for you here! And thank you!" Steve bellowed the best his lungs allowed him.

"You definitely drank salt water," Sam shook his head in pity and together they walked away, Sam supporting his friend, while Steve wobbled away, still feeling weak.

Not far away, hiding behind some rocks, Tony smiled brightly. Rhodey didn't say anything, but the grim look on his face was self-explanatory.

***

"You are not going."

"Hmmmm-mmmhhh-mmhh…"

"You. Are. Not. Going."

"Mhhhmm… Nana-naaa..."

"TONY!"

Rhodey decided to stop being subtle and abruptly put both hands on his friend's cheeks and drew his empty head closer. Tony blinked the initial surprise away, and smiled dreamily, his mind occupied with different thoughts.

"Look at my lips. YOU. ARE. NOT. GOING," Rhodey accented hard every word, hoping that something would finally get to the future king's head. Tony indeed looked at his friend's lips, saw them moving, and then smiled sweetly, gently moving away. Maybe he understood. Or maybe not, seeing that the next second he was the one who framed Rhodey's face in a gentle hold and tenderly kissed his friend's forehead, before leisurely swimming away, a hummed out song following.

"It is hopeless," Rhodey lamented, hiding face in both hands. Tony was in a different world. Tomorrow morning he would be in a different world. Much drier and much more dangerous. And it was Rhodey's duty to stop him. Not only as Tony's guard but as his friend. Mostly as his friend. "Knock it off!" Rhodey swatted Tony away when the love-struck merman slid some colorful sea flower behind his ear. Tony giggled at the action and swam away again, but kept close enough, drifting on his back. "You are hopeless," Rhodey corrected himself and seethed the words through his teeth. Yet, he kept the flower.

Tony didn't answer. He couldn't care more about his friend being all uptight. Only a few more tides. Few more tides and he could see him again. He wanted to see him again so much.

Rhodey was really, really getting desperate. The risk was too high. He needed to stop him.

"Tony," Rhodey tried again, making his voice loud and clear, "if you go, I will tell the king," he said. It was his last resort. Threatening to tell Tony's father was a low blow, but he had no choice. It was for Tony's good.

"No, you won't," Tony giggled, doing a lazy circle around his friend and smiling irritatingly sweet.

"I will," Rhodey repeated, well knowing that he was lying, but at least it got him some answer. Finally.

"No, you won't, sea bunny," Tony said with all confidence, well knowing that his friend wasn't a tattletale. He kept swimming in lazy circles, and it was just driving Rhodey mad how calm he was, while he was losing his mind.

"TONY! This is serious, you are not goin---" Rhodey stopped, seeing someone getting closer, right behind Tony. "There is a crinoid behind you," he ended his sentence on a totally different note. Not any more panic, but a lot of evil intentions.

"Phhh, no there is not," Tony argued, rolling his eyes. He won't fall for that again.

"Hello, Prince Anthony," a smooth, female voice said.

"EEEP!!" Tony immediately paused in his swimming and curled his tail to himself. He turned around, just inches away from a feather starfish, gently floating and moving its feathery arms. "Natasha!" he shrilled, his eyes getting wide and skin already crawling. For reasons. "Wha--NO!" he continued to shrill when Rhodey stood behind him and took both of his arms and pinned behind his back.

"Hi Nat," he smiled at the unique starfish, "I need to get one stuuupid idea out of Tony's head, can you help me?"

"Wait, NO! Rhodey! You can't!"

"Always," Natasha agreed. It wouldn't be the first time, she was helping and it was always fun. For them. For Tony not so much.

Or maybe it was, and as soon as Natasha's soft arms brushed against Tony's bare tummy, the merman shrieked in helpless laughter and continued to laugh for long minutes. He was laughing, so he was having fun, right?

Rhodey kept smiling, knowing that it won't probably get the idea out of Tony's head, but maybe would buy him enough time to think of a new plan. And watching the future king wriggle and crumble during a tickle attack was always entertaining.

-------

<-- part 1 ----- part 3 -->

sketches by amazing @steve-sketchbooks, added with permission

[riisinaakka-draws]

It has only been a little over a year since I started watching the show and joined the Black Sails fandom. I posted my first fanart exactly one year ago and it was the one above. Thus far I have drawn over 100 of them. I tried different mediums and styles, both for practice and for capturing the essence of the things I wanted to share. Some of them are great, some are silly, some are a bit out of character or not so good in other ways and some ended up surprising me in many ways. All are nonetheless very precious to me.

Under the read more there's a list of all my doodles thus far. Most of them feature Flint, Silver or both of them (there will be more of the other characters in the future, no worries). I have to admit I laughed quite a lot while going through these again. This is a really long post.

This is a list to show what sort of things there are and also for my own amusement and archiving purposes. The list is in chronological order, from first to the latest.

I tried to make this as concise as possible, but the tag/navigation page is here if you want to find something specific or don’t want to go through all this:

- Flint takes care of Silver's leg in the darkness of the captain's cabin.

- Some quick doodles of Flint, ballpoint pen

- Sharkdate cuties (really scrappy doodles of Silver gazing at munching Flint)

- Progress. A continuation to previous pic. Silver holding a cup, covered in blood and looking affectionally at Flint. Here’s a giffed version.

- Silver and Flint go for a night walk in winter and Flint finds the streetlights amusing. Modern Au, beanies and the BS logo

- “See any treasures, Capt'n?” Billy to Flint who is looking at something “shiny” with his spyglass.

- What if Silver stole that certain ponytail and made it into "a rabbit's foot"? And what if Flint had a medallion with pictures of the Hamiltons and later a lock of dark curls... I returned to this idea several times after this, lol. (still secretly wishing that anyone would write a ficlet about this).

- Overload of Blackbeard - several doodles of different adaptations of BB

- Shark hunting. Flint has the shark on his lap and Silver stands in front of him. Composition inspired by that infamous Wolwerine and Nightcrawler cover.

- A gif of Blackbeard with flowers in his beard (I share a birthday with Ray Stevenson, that's why).

- a quick sketch of displeased Jack

- The Red Lollipop. Flint eating candy which is distracting to Silver, inspired by this awesome post (x). Silver steals the sweets and peels some potatoes. Bonus: Randall and Betsy the Cat.

- Draw me like one of your quatermasters... Flint doodles sleeping Silver in the Captain's log.

- Random sketches of Silver and Flint. Learning to draw their faces

- Flint with a horrible mustache and Silver with a long braided beard. (I should redraw this someday..)

- Flint takes Silver for a ride (modern Au with motorcycles). The Walrus gang follows "the flagship"

- Black Sails moomin AU, part I (I had so much fun with these).

The domestic modern beach au serie with 15+ doodles, various characters, inspired by this hilarious post (x). - Jack takes pictures of everything and Vane ends up buried in the sand - Silver puts some lotion on Flint (Billy tosses people up in the background) - Max and Anne Bonny enjoying each other's company - Rogers is going to get hit by a beach ball "accidentally". Anne, Max, Vane and Jack in the background - Ben Gunn shows his ship kite to Billy Bones - Vane and Flint swim butterfly. Silver (*.*) - Vane flips his hair like a merman, Eleanor is drinking and enjoying the view. - Mr Scott and Mr Gates enjoy their drinks at the bar while others fight in the water. Max and Eleanor gossip together. Anne and Jack hold hands like otters on swim rings. - Silver and Flint sleeping on the sun, Flint has a book on his face - The Ranger Crew swimming. Jack is slathered in sun lotion, Anne waits for him and Vane makes a joke. + Mysterious swimming trunks. - Silver is the sneakiest shit and likes to creep underwater and drag people down by their legs. - Silver and Flint eating ice cream + some early sketches in a gif - the Fucking Warship (minivan) rides to sunset, Vane is forgotten in the sand but do not worry...

- Silver and Flint sing the song "Dynamic Duet" from Starkids' Holy musical B@tman!

- Nooooooooo! Flint shaves his head, Silver doesn't take it well.

- Silver's character development. From little shit to actual scary fuck

- A HUG. (silverflint, done before s4. I really needed a hug)

- Bloodthirsty Bunny & Squinting Squirrel, (furries, i am so sorry)

- Flint brings water to Silver, a scene from the show. <3

- Sweetness of touch. Flint gets his hair/head touched by his loved ones.

The Walrus crew acquires some chicken. A lot of them. And a parrot. - Billy and Joji are tending them - people playing board games and ignoring the chickens - a coc- I mean a rooster between Silver's legs - Silver holding some chickens and Flint meeting "the Captain Flint"

- Flint gets his ginger crown back...sort of

Chickens, part II. Flint sends his regards. Teach has taken Anne and Jack to fishing and they get a surprise "gift" from the Walrus.

Fanart about Silverfin, a thrilling and unbeliavably funny (nsfw) silverflint fic by @jadedbirch and @zoinomiko (can’t tag u for some reason..).

Go read it :D I made some (sfw) fanart inspired by it (spoilers). - a comic of the tragic night - reunion and crowns (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)

- (a recap, not really a tutorial) about some of my messy work methods.

- Anne Bonny, without her hat, ready to kick your ass, season 3

- A portait of Max

- Every fashionable pirate captain needs a hat! Silver buys some silly pirate hats. Inspired by @vowel-in-thug​'s fic (part V, nsfw) and the CBeebies Bedtime Story etc.

- "Support". Silver and Flint approaching the Maroon camp.

- A portrait of Long John Silver on his way of becoming the legend

- Swords and time. James McGraw - Captain Flint. Sword placement comparison, gif experiments etc. (I really like this one)

- A canary. Flint finds a sad-looking caged bird aboard a merchant ship and then reads books to it in his cot. Inspired by @old-long-john​'s sweet and beautiful fic (x). Also thanks to @captain-flint​ for spotting the bird cage in s1.

Inktober 2016, 20+ doodles, various characters - Silver, a sad little face doodle - A bringer of death and destruction (Flint as an angel of sorts). Quick doodle with a brush - Silver and Flint. A little doodle with an ink-dipped cotton swap - "Hungry", Silver and Flint find the whale and prepare to hunt sharks. - "SAD?" NOT TODAY! There's always Silver Lining. Silly and shitty puns. - "Hidden", The treasure has been buried. - "LOST", Silver and Flint look for a bird on board the Walrus. - "ROCK", Ben Gunn and Billy Bones play rock-paper-scissors. (sorry, still no better doodle of them) - "BROKEN", Benjamin Hornigold misses his chair. - "Lock the door", Flint on the floor of his cabin when they were becalmed ;_; - "TRANSPORT", Anne Bonny takes Jack Rackham to safety on a horse. - Madi, a little sketch - "Dufresne admires his new tattoo" - "TREE", What difference does it make? Captain Naft shares his insight. Froom and Crisp agree. Morley and Randall (+ Betsy the Cat) are not impressed (for obvious reasons...). - "RELAX", A nice afternoon at the seaside with some of the brothel girls - A little sketch of John Silver again, because I cannot resist him. - "Flint has a meeting with Death". - "ESCAPE", Flint has retired and Silver still sails the seas. Occasionally he visits James and steals some of his baked goods (with some help from his crew and birdies). - "FLIGHT", a sketch of a parrot on a napkin - "SQUEEZE", Jack Rackham enjoying his bath - "LITTLE", a little sketch of Max and Anne kissing in little rain, under Anne's huge hat. - "Surprise", Charles Vane lurking in the water - "And then! You won't believe what the.." Hal Gates and Billy Bones spend their free afternoon gossiping and having fun - "Forget-me-not" / "one dozen", Miranda finds some familiar flowers and thinks about Thomas. - "BURN", Thomas, James and Miranda, just eyes. Inspired by the powermetal duet "Wish I Had An Angel"

- Oooh, What does my reflection shoooow ~. (Lovable) Little shit.

- Accidents with the spyglass. Flint acts like an asshole, Billy and Gates are having none of it, Silver is yet to learn.

- Death builds a raft and follows the Walrus.

- Portrait of Eleanor, the Merchant Queen of Nassau

- "long johns and puns". Silver is looking for a new pirate style and Billy offers to help.

- Black Sails Moomin AU - part II

- Silver at the wrecks, light and visual practise

- Eleanor Guthrie and James Flint, looking in / out. visual practise, parallels and contrasts

- My Heart Will Go On, but I'll keep your ponytail and get a parrot for my duets. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

- Muldoon's tattoo ;_;

Some of the following have season 4 spoilers:

- Eleanor does some embroidery (of bees and fuck-yous)

- How Silver gets his new crutch (Israel Hands is handy)

- Flint and the Wanderer above the sea of fog

- Flint's mouth saying FUCK infinitely, a gif experiment

- "That's my wee lad, Gimli." Berringer's locket and asshole Rogers.

- For a moment there was a Hat Trio. Teach, Jack and Anne

- Silver and Madi, canon kiss

- The Spare Ginger. Silver doesn't like Eleanor's plan. Madi and Israel Hands try to comfort him.

- Eleanor Guthrie, a green portrait

- Long John Silver must make a tough choice, while Flint enjoys his capture at Eleanor's expense

- All those extra spyglasses in 4.08. Maybe the answer was Israel Hands' hoarding.

- Fresh air on the balcony of the Walrus. (a drawing of the ship at night). There're celebrations on the deck, Flint and Silver have a private talk.

I find it endearing how this list ends with the balcony one. Like a parallel (ha!) to the first one, where Flint and Silver are having a private moment on board of a ship, although it is a different ship and at a different time. A year ago I had no idea where this all would lead me and how much I would learn and get to experience *pats my past-self in the back awkwardly and fondly*

Looking back at them (doodles) I feel both proud and slightly embarrassed of my enthusiasm. I have never done anything like this for any other fandom. I have never felt so much and had such an urge to engage in this sort of thing.

This show, its creators and crew, this fandom. Just something unbeliavable.  I cannot find the words to say how much I appreciate you all. The brilliancy, the humour, the love in all kinds of forms. I am so glad I stumbled on this show (it was a gif or a fanvid about ep 2.05 that made me aware of this show, btw. I cannot remember it clearly anymore and for a moment I thought Crossbones was a pilot for Black Sails and almost missed everything, but that's a story for another time...)

Know this: I have loved sharing this experience (the show, the fandom) with you and I appreciate everything you have given to me or shared with me. I will treasure this. (I apologize not thanking more people individually, but this post would’ve never reached its end otherwise).

*throws hearts and forehead kisses to the best and inspiring fandom and the greatest show that broke my heart and healed my soul so many times*

All the possibilities and love to you. Thank you <3

(This is not a goodbye, btw. There’s still so much more to come!) (◠‿◠✿)

P.S. All this started as doodles so that’s why I have kept using that word eventhough it doesn’t really apply to many of these anymore...