#and secondly of course it doesn't look like i do; i've spent all of my teen and adult years learning tricks and ways of disguising it

[eyrieofsynapses]

why Aurora's art is genius

It's break for me, and I've been meaning to sit down and read the Aurora webcomic (https://comicaurora.com/, @comicaurora on Tumblr) for quite a bit. So I did that over the last few days.

And… y'know. I can't actually say "I should've read this earlier," because otherwise I would've been up at 2:30-3am when I had responsibilities in the morning and I couldn't have properly enjoyed it, but. Holy shit guys THIS COMIC.

I intended to just do a generalized "hello this is all the things I love about this story," and I wrote a paragraph or two about art style. …and then another. And another. And I realized I needed to actually reference things so I would stop being too vague. I was reading the comic on my tablet or phone, because I wanted to stay curled up in my chair, but I type at a big monitor and so I saw more details… aaaaaand it turned into its own giant-ass post.

SO. Enjoy a few thousand words of me nerding out about this insanely cool art style and how fucking gorgeous this comic is? (There are screenshots, I promise it isn't just a wall of text.) In my defense, I just spent two semesters in graphic design classes focusing on the Adobe Suite, so… I get to be a nerd about pretty things…???

All positive feedback btw! No downers here. <3

---

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love the beautiful, simple stylistic method of drawing characters and figures. It is absolutely stunning and effortless and utterly graceful—it is so hard to capture the sheer beauty and fluidity of the human form in such a fashion. Even a simple outline of a character feels dynamic! It's gorgeous!

Though I do have a love-hate relationship with this, because my artistic side looks at that lovely simplicity, goes "I CAN DO THAT!" and then I sit down and go to the paper and realize that no, in fact, I cannot do that yet, because that simplicity is born of a hell of a lot of practice and understanding of bodies and actually is really hard to do. It's a very developed style that only looks simple because the artist knows what they're doing. The human body is hard to pull off, and this comic does so beautifully and makes it look effortless.

Also: line weight line weight line weight. It's especially important in simplified shapes and figures like this, and hoo boy is it used excellently. It's especially apparent the newer the pages get—I love watching that improvement over time—but with simpler figures and lines, you get nice light lines to emphasize both smaller details, like in the draping of clothing and the curls of hair—which, hello, yes—and thicker lines to emphasize bigger and more important details and silhouettes. It's the sort of thing that's essential to most illustrations, but I wanted to make a note of it because it's so vital to this art style.

THE USE OF LAYER BLENDING MODES OH MY GODS. (...uhhh, apologies to the people who don't know what that means, it's a digital art program thing? This article explains it for beginners.)

Bear with me, I just finished my second Photoshop course, I spent months and months working on projects with this shit so I see the genius use of Screen and/or its siblings (of which there are many—if I say "Screen" here, assume I mean the entire umbrella of Screen blending modes and possibly Overlay) and go nuts, but seriously it's so clever and also fucking gorgeous:

Firstly: the use of screened-on sound effect words over an action? A "CRACK" written over a branch and then put on Screen in glowy green so that it's subtle enough that it doesn't disrupt the visual flow, but still sticks out enough to make itself heard? Little "scritches" that are transparent where they're laid on without outlines to emphasize the sound without disrupting the underlying image? FUCK YES. I haven't seen this done literally anywhere else—granted, I haven't read a massive amount of comics, but I've read enough—and it is so clever and I adore it. Examples:

Secondly: The beautiful lighting effects. The curling leaves, all the magic, the various glowing eyes, the fog, the way it's all so vividly colored but doesn't burn your eyeballs out—a balance that's way harder to achieve than you'd think—and the soft glows around them, eeeee it's so pretty so pretty SO PRETTY. Not sure if some of these are Outer/Inner Glow/Shadow layer effects or if it's entirely hand-drawn, but major kudos either way; I can see the beautiful use of blending modes and I SALUTE YOUR GENIUS.

I keep looking at some of this stuff and go "is that a layer effect or is it done by hand?" Because you can make some similar things with the Satin layer effect in Photoshop (I don't know if other programs have this? I'm gonna have to find out since I won't have access to PS for much longer ;-;) that resembles some of the swirly inner bits on some of the lit effects, but I'm not sure if it is that or not. Or you could mask over textures? There's... many ways to do it.

If done by hand: oh my gods the patience, how. If done with layer effects: really clever work that knows how to stop said effects from looking wonky, because ugh those things get temperamental. If done with a layer of texture that's been masked over: very, very good masking work. No matter the method, pretty shimmers and swirly bits inside the bigger pretty swirls!

Next: The way color contrast is used! I will never be over the glowy green-on-black Primordial Life vibes when Alinua gets dropped into that… unconscious space?? with Life, for example, and the sharp contrast of vines and crack and branches and leaves against pitch black is just visually stunning. The way the roots sink into the ground and the three-dimensional sensation of it is particularly badass here:

Friggin. How does this imply depth like that. HOW. IT'S SO FREAKING COOL.

A huge point here is also color language and use! Everybody has their own particular shade, generally matching their eyes, magic, and personality, and I adore how this is used to make it clear who's talking or who's doing an action. That was especially apparent to me with Dainix and Falst in the caves—their colors are both fairly warm, but quite distinct, and I love how this clarifies who's doing what in panels with a lot of action from both of them. There is a particular bit that stuck out to me, so I dug up the panels (see this page and the following one https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-30/):

(Gods it looks even prettier now that I put it against a plain background. Also, appreciation to Falst for managing a bridal-carry midair, damn.)

The way that their colors MERGE here! And the immense attention to detail in doing so—Dainix is higher up than Falst is in the first panel, so Dainix's orange fades into Falst's orange at the base. The next panel has gold up top and orange on bottom; we can't really tell in that panel where each of them are, but that's carried over to the next panel—

—where we now see that Falst's position is raised above Dainix's due to the way he's carrying him. (Points for continuity!) And, of course, we see the little "huffs" flowing from orange to yellow over their heads (where Dainix's head is higher than Falst's) to merge the sound of their breathing, which is absurdly clever because it emphasizes to the viewer how we hear two sets of huffing overlaying each other, not one. Absolutely brilliant.

(A few other notes of appreciation to that panel: beautiful glows around them, the sparks, the jagged silhouette of the spider legs, the lovely colors that have no right to make the area around a spider corpse that pretty, the excellent texturing on the cave walls plus perspective, the way Falst's movements imply Dainix's hefty weight, the natural posing of the characters, their on-point expressions that convey exactly how fuckin terrifying everything is right now, the slight glows to their eyes, and also they're just handsome boys <3)

Next up: Rain!!!! So well done! It's subtle enough that it never ever disrupts the impact of the focal point, but evident enough you can tell! And more importantly: THE MIST OFF THE CHARACTERS. Rain does this irl, it has that little vapor that comes off you and makes that little misty effect that plays with lighting, it's so cool-looking and here it's used to such pretty effect!

One of the panel captions says something about it blurring out all the injuries on the characters but like THAT AIN'T TOO BIG OF A PROBLEM when it gets across the environmental vibes, and also that'd be how it would look in real life too so like… outside viewer's angle is the same as the characters', mostly? my point is: that's the environment!!! that's the vibes, that's the feel! It gets it across and it does so in the most pretty way possible!

And another thing re: rain, the use of it to establish perspective, particularly in panels like this—

—where we can tell we're looking down at Tynan due to the perspective on the rain and where it's pointing. Excellent. (Also, kudos for looking down and emphasizing how Tynan's losing his advantage—lovely use of visual storytelling.)

Additionally, the misting here:

We see it most heavily in the leftmost panel, where it's quite foggy as you would expect in a rainstorm, especially in an environment with a lot of heat, but it's also lightly powdered on in the following two panels and tends to follow light sources, which makes complete sense given how light bounces off particles in the air.

A major point of strength in these too is a thorough understanding of lighting, like rim lighting, the various hues and shades, and an intricate understanding of how light bounces off surfaces even when they're in shadow (we'll see a faint glow in spots where characters are half in shadow, but that's how it would work in real life, because of how light bounces around).

Bringing some of these points together: the fluidity of the lines in magic, and the way simple glowing lines are used to emphasize motion and the magic itself, is deeply clever. I'm basically pulling at random from panels and there's definitely even better examples, but here's one (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-16-33/):

First panel, listed in numbers because these build on each other:

The tension of the lines in Tess's magic here. This works on a couple levels: first, the way she's holding her fists, as if she's pulling a rope taut.

The way there's one primary line, emphasizing the rope feeling, accompanied by smaller ones.

The additional lines starbursting around her hands, to indicate the energy crackling in her hands and how she's doing a good bit more than just holding it. (That combined with the fists suggests some tension to the magic, too.) Also the variations in brightness, a feature you'll find in actual lightning. :D Additional kudos for how the lightning sparks and breaks off the metal of the sword.

A handful of miscellaneous notes on the second panel:

The reflection of the flames in Erin's typically dark blue eyes (which bears a remarkable resemblance to Dainix, incidentally—almost a thematic sort of parallel given Erin's using the same magic Dainix specializes in?)

The flowing of fabric in the wind and associated variation in the lineart

The way Erin's tattoos interact with the fire he's pulling to his hand

The way the rain overlays some of the fainter areas of fire (attention! to! detail! hell yeah!)

I could go on. I won't because this is a lot of writing already.

Third panel gets paragraphs, not bullets:

Erin's giant-ass "FWOOM" of fire there, and the way the outline of the word is puffy-edged and gradated to feel almost three-dimensional, plus once again using Screen or a variation on it so that the stars show up in the background. All this against that stunning plume of fire, which ripples and sparks so gorgeously, and the ending "om" of the onomatopoeia is emphasized incredibly brightly against that, adding to the punch of it and making the plume feel even brighter.

Also, once again, rain helping establish perspective, especially in how it's very angular in the left side of the panel and then slowly becomes more like a point to the right to indicate it's falling directly down on the viewer. Add in the bright, beautiful glow effects, fainter but no less important black lines beneath them to emphasize the sky and smoke and the like, and the stunningly beautiful lighting and gradated glows surrounding Erin plus the lightning jagging up at him from below, and you get one hell of an impactful panel right there. (And there is definitely more in there I could break down, this is just a lot already.)

And in general: The colors in this? Incredible. The blues and purples and oranges and golds compliment so well, and it's all so rich.

Like, seriously, just throughout the whole comic, the use of gradients, blending modes, color balance and hues, all the things, all the things, it makes for the most beautiful effects and glows and such a rich environment. There's a very distinct style to this comic in its simplified backgrounds (which I recognize are done partly because it's way easier and also backgrounds are so time-consuming dear gods but lemme say this) and vivid, smoothly drawn characters; the simplicity lets them come to the front and gives room for those beautiful, richly saturated focal points, letting the stylized designs of the magic and characters shine. The use of distinct silhouettes is insanely good. Honestly, complex backgrounds might run the risk of making everything too visually busy in this case. It's just, augh, so GORGEOUS.

Another bit, take a look at this page (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-15-28/):

It's not quite as evident here as it is in the next page, but this one does some other fun things so I'm grabbing it. Points:

Once again, using different colors to represent different character actions. The "WHAM" of Kendal hitting the ground is caused by Dainix's force, so it's orange (and kudos for doubling the word over to add a shake effect). But we see blue layered underneath, which could be an environmental choice, but might also be because it's Kendal, whose color is blue.

And speaking off, take a look at the right-most panel on top, where Kendal grabs the spear: his motion is, again, illustrated in bright blue, versus the atmospheric screened-on orange lines that point toward him around the whole panel (I'm sure these have a name, I think they might be more of a manga thing though and the only experience I have in manga is reading a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist). Those lines emphasize the weight of the spear being shoved at him, and their color tells us Dainix is responsible for it.

One of my all-time favorite effects in this comic is the way cracks manifest across Dainix's body to represent when he starts to lose control; it is utterly gorgeous and wonderfully thematic. These are more evident in the page before and after this one, but you get a decent idea here. I love the way they glow softly, the way the fire juuuust flickers through at the start and then becomes more evident over time, and the cracks feel so realistic, like his skin is made of pottery. Additional points for how fire begins to creep into his hair.

A small detail that's generally consistent across the comic, but which I want to make note of here because you can see it pretty well: Kendal's eyes glow about the same as the jewel in his sword, mirroring his connection to said sword and calling back to how the jewel became Vash's eye temporarily and thus was once Kendal's eye. You can always see this connection (though there might be some spots where this also changes in a symbolic manner; I went through it quickly on the first time around, so I'll pay more attention when I inevitably reread this), where Kendal's always got that little shine of blue in his eyes the same as the jewel. It's a beautiful visual parallel that encourages the reader to subconsciously link them together, especially since the lines used to illustrate character movements typically mirror their eye color. It's an extension of Kendal.

Did I mention how ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL the colors in this are?

Also, the mythological/legend-type scenes are illustrated in familiar style often used for that type of story, a simple and heavily symbolic two-dimensional cave-painting-like look. They are absolutely beautiful on many levels, employing simple, lovely gradients, slightly rougher and thicker lineart that is nonetheless smoothly beautiful, and working with clear silhouettes (a major strength of this art style, but also a strength in the comic overall). But in particular, I wanted to call attention to a particular thing (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-12-4/):

The flowing symbolic lineart surrounding each character. This is actually quite consistent across characters—see also Life's typical lines and how they curl:

What's particularly interesting here is how these symbols are often similar, but not the same. Vash's lines are always smooth, clean curls, often playing off each other and echoing one another like ripples in a pond. You'd think they'd look too similar to Life's—but they don't. Life's curl like vines, and they remain connected; where one curve might echo another but exist entirely detached from each other in Vash's, Life's lines still remain wound together, because vines are continuous and don't float around. :P

Tahraim's are less continuous, often breaking up with significantly smaller bits and pieces floating around like—of course—sparks, and come to sharper points. These are also constants: we see the vines repeated over and over in Alinua's dreams of Life, and the echoing ripples of Vash are consistent wherever we encounter him. Kendal's dream of the ghost citizens of the city of Vash in the last few chapters is filled with these rippling, echoing patterns, to beautiful effect (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-14/):

They ripple and spiral, often in long, sinuous curves, with smooth elegance. It reminds me a great deal of images of space and sine waves and the like. This establishes a definite feel to these different characters and their magic. And the thing is, that's not something that had to be done—the colors are good at emphasizing who's who. But it was done, and it adds a whole other dimension to the story. Whenever you're in a deity's domain, you know whose it is no matter the color.

Regarding that shape language, I wanted to make another note, too—Vash is sometimes described as chaotic and doing what he likes, which is interesting to me, because smooth, elegant curves and the color blue aren't generally associated with chaos. So while Vash might behave like that on the surface, I'm guessing he's got a lot more going on underneath; he's probably much more intentional in his actions than you'd think at a glance, and he is certainly quite caring with his city. The other thing is that this suits Kendal perfectly. He's a paragon character; he is kind, virtuous, and self-sacrificing, and often we see him aiming to calm others and keep them safe. Blue is such a good color for him. There is… probably more to this, but I'm not deep enough in yet to say.

And here's the thing: I'm only scratching the surface. There is so much more here I'm not covering (color palettes! outfits! character design! environment! the deities! so much more!) and a lot more I can't cover, because I don't have the experience; this is me as a hobbyist artist who happened to take a couple design classes because I wanted to. The art style to this comic is so clever and creative and beautiful, though, I just had to go off about it. <3

...brownie points for getting all the way down here? Have a cookie.

[vintagesage123]

Fired Gojo x Reader

its been 2 years but i'm back, see you in another two maybe

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

That was it, really. No thank you for the years of torture no i'm sorry for all the stress i've put you through over the last 5 years of your life, no of course not, the asshole couldn't even come and tell me he was firing me himself.

All i was provided with was the cardboard box that I was supposed to put my things in. Fuck that, if they want me gone they can pack it them self. I've spent 5 years working my ass off in this company, i'm not spending another second in this hell hole.

16 hours later:

Something does't feel right, my head feels as if my brain is fighting to get out, my legs are like jelly, the hot body pressed to me from behind, and oh yeah that man's arm around me. Wait who the hell is that? ''Good morning sexy'' he smirks against my neck. Oh shit, i know that voice, I can already see that smirk just by the tone of his voice. Please tell me i didn't sleep with my old boss, please tell me i didn't sleep with Gojo Satoru.

i turn slowly around and see him, those blue eyes meet mine, still smiling of course. ''so... you wanna order in or should we go out?'' Oh no.

8 hours earlier

There was a banging on my door, I didn't order food did i?. I'm pretty drunk but i think id remember that. Slowly i peep through the hole in my door and see none other than Gojo. Fuck fuck fuck. What if I just pretend i'm not home?

''I know your in there'' Fuck my life.

I groan and open the door '' what do you want?''

''Nice outfit'' i'm wearing a hoodie and pj shorts. He pushes past me into my apartment. ''I have your stuff''

''What stuff?''

''The stuff you left on your desk before you stormed out, obviously'' he puts the box down on my kitchen island.

''Oh well why didn't you just get one of your underlings to bring it, like the way you got one of them to fire me'' i say ''and I also didn't storm out''

''You didn't storm out? then why did James tell me you cursed him out and oh... stormed out'' he laughs at his own joke.

''Whatever, we are done now, i don't have to pretend I like you and you can hire some early twenties bimbo to take my place''

He leans back on the island ''okay firstly'' he holds one finger up ''I didn't fire you for that reason, but thanks for the bimbo tip'' he holds his second finger up ''secondly if i wanted some eye candy I would have kept you, and your also good at your job so that's a bonus''

I step in front of him still a bit flustered from his comment ''Then why did you fire me''

''Your attitude'' he smirks

''My attitude'' i laugh at that ''my attitude, you were the one calling me at 3:30am to see if i could finish the work you didn't bother to get done, and i always got it done''

He leans down to my face ''You did, not very well but you did''

This ass ''Maybe because I don't have a business degree, and oh, IT WAS THREE THIRTY OR LATER''

''Yeahhhh, maybe that's why, anyways, whatcha doinggg'' he looks past my shoulder and sees the half drank bottle of alcohol ''Rough night huh''

''Fuck off'' I make my way to my couch and pour myself another drink.

''Woah, i thought your attitude was bad before, now your a full blown bitch. Keep that up and you might turn me on'' he makes his way over to sit beside me and pours himself a drink''

''What the hell is wrong with you'' i laugh.

''Oh my God'' he looks to me shocked.

''What, what is it!?'' i freeze.

''Your face doesn't crack when you smile''

''What is wrong with you, seriously, i thought there was an axe murder behind me'' I exhale.

He grabs the remote ''what are we watching, fight club, planet of the apes ohhh bullet train?''

I think of telling him to go home but that would be more work than just dealing with his presence ''uhhh bullet train''

It's about an hour in. He has spread himself out on the couch, the bottle's empty and we are pretty drunk. In this light hes kinda hot, well he was always hot, but tonight is the first time iv'e actually looked, like really looked. As I'm looking at him he catches me in the side of his eye. Oh no hes going to make a big deal out of this isn't he''

''See something you like'' he smirks

''Yeah Aaron Taylor Johnson is pretty hot''

''Anything else you like?'' he looks at me with that big cheshire grin.

''I mean Brad Pitt is pretty nice to look at'' he rolls his eyes at that. I almost feel like laughing.

''Sure you don't see anything else'' he grabs my thigh. What the fuck.

''No not really'' i gulp, there's no hiding how nervous i am now.

''Just relax, we've both had a pretty shitty day, why not relax?'' he lifts his hand up higher until hes almost touching me. Oh my god.

''If i say yes this doesn't mean anything, okay'' Is this a good idea, probably not, but i'm drunk and really fucking horny so fuck it.

He pulls me onto his lap ''You say no its a no, you say yes its a yes, you say its nothing then its nothing, what you say goes''

''Fuck it'' i pull him down to me and kiss him, and oh fuck he tastes good, like mint and alcohol.

He's holding me by my hips and grinding me down onto him, hes already hard ''fuck your so hot'' he says making his way down my neck. He picks me up from under my thighs ''where is your bedroom''

''Straight down the hall first left'' he drops me on the bed and crawls between my legs slowly pulling my shorts and panties down.

''Fuck, how long has it been baby, your soaking'' i really don't want to give him that answer, so I ignore him.

He puts his tongue on my lips and i already feel like i'm about to burst and he hasn't even gone near my clit ''Satoru'' i moan.

''How long baby, i wont lick you again if you don't tell me''

This asshole ''I don't know like...three years''

His smile drops ''how are you alive''

''Not all of us have a sex addiction'' he licks my clit this time and fuccckkk.

''I don't have a sex addiction'' he keeps licking''

''How many times have you called me late at night to 'leave to deal with a work emergency' because you wanted to get away from a woman'' he nips my thigh. ''Ow Satoru'' i hiss.

''I love it when you say my name'' he slides two fingers in me and it doesn't take him long to find that spot.

My legs start to shake and my thighs clamp around his head and then i'm seeing stars. Fuck i'm cumming already. He's good, easily my best, ill never tell him that of course.

When i think he's done he keeps going, overstimulating me ''wait Satoru, it's to much'' i moan out.

''How are you supposed to expect me to stop when you say my name like that, anyways I need to get you ready for me'' not long after he says that does he draw circles on my clit with that magic tongue and fuck i'm seeing stars again.

''Satoru'' i moan. Finally he pulls away from me. He pulls my hoodie over my head and see's i'm not wearing anything under it.

''Fuckkkkkk'' he kisses my neck and make his way down to my nipple and takes the left one in his mouth, letting me grind myself on his thigh.

He pulls himself back up to kneel in between my thighs ''I to be in you'' he pulls his fly down ''do you have protection''

''I haven't had sex in four years, so no'' this idiot

He smiles at me, what the hell is he smiling at ''thought you said three years''

''Shut up'' i grit out ''i'm on the pill, just pull out''

I've never seen this man smile more than after that sentence ''fuck yes baby'' he rips off his shirt and pulls down his sweatpants and fuck, no wonder these women keep coming back, easily 8 inches and fat to. Maybe he was right in making sure i was ready, this one time he was right.

''You ready baby'' he says stroking himself and lining himself up to my entrance.

I nod and that's all the confirmation he needs, he pushes himself in all the way ''fuckkkk baby your so fucking tight'' and fuckkkkk, hes right again, It's hitting just right, no man's fingers let alone his cock could hit that deep, but here the one man i thought I'd never sleep with is eight inches deep and i'm loving every second of it.

He starts thrusting at a slowed pace but doesn't take long to build up a rough fast pace. He lifts my legs up to my shoulder's and if i didn't think he was hitting the spot before, he sure is now.

He's not shy about showing how he enjoys sex, hes moaning and grunting just as much as me and it's turning me on more than i've ever been turned on before. He throws his head back in pure bliss ''Fuck baby, where is it''

I can't even think when hes hammering into that spot ''where's what'' i moan in between his thrusts.

''Your vibrator, you haven't had a cock in four years, you definitely have one'' he smiles. I stare at him in shock, how does know that.

''Em, in the nightstand'' without pulling out he grabs the bullet from the nightstand and puts it over my left nipple ''FUCK'' i moan.

Slowly he brings the vibrator down to my clit and in less than a minute i'm seeing stars. He doesn't stop there, he keeps abusing that spot and my clit. The only noises in the room is our skin and moans and before long i'm coming around him again. ''Fuck baby your so hot when you cum''

Tears are streaming down my face from the overstimulation, fuck its all to much, hes to much. ''Come on baby, just one more beautiful'' he lets my legs down and lays above me ''your so sexy baby he says kissing my neck comforting me ''your okay just give me one more''

''Satoru'' i moan and i'm cumming with him.

8 hours later:

Oh yeah that happened

note:

This is the second story i've written so the grammar and pacing might be a bit off but hope you enjoy and please id love some constructive criticism.

another note:

In this story i talked about pulling out, if your having sex pulling out doesn't work, please be careful and use protection.

[kyuriin-chan]

Adam Warlock x OC

Part 2

Word Count: 2.045

Warnings: Adam being cute, fluff, angst, slight jealousy, first kiss

POV Seraphina

I got to know Adam better over the next few days and found his naivety almost sweet. He still had a lot to learn, mostly about himself and what he was capable of. I quickly grew fond of his mannerism and got used to his almost permanent presence.

When I was working with other people, you could assume Adam wasn't far and almost never let me out of his sight besides his own work. You couldn't see him, but I could almost feel his golden eyes burning into my shape.

Pete in particular tried to tease me about Adam chasing after me like a lost dog.

"5 bucks that Adam is sitting behind that building over here, staring at you", Pete laughed and pointed over his shoulder to a slightly taller building that had already been repaired. I could only roll my eyes and shake my head, "Pete this is getting old, don't you have other things to do?"

"Oh come on Phina, how can you not notice this! He's always around ready to protect you or whatever. It hit him hard and he's always glaring at me whenever I'm apparently 'too close'", Pete continued to laugh and wiggled along his eyebrows.

"First of all I am noticing him and secondly don't be ridiculous! He's just trying to understand everything better", I said quickly and closed the repaired junction box I was working on.

"He sure does understand that he doesn't like others touching you", said Pete and shrugged his shoulders with a grin, whereupon I laughed and gave him a light smack to the side, "stop it!"

POV Adam

With a bitter taste in my mouth, I watched Seraphina and Peter from a hidden building. I had recently completed my task and actually wanted to go back to Seraphina to see if I could help her, but when I found her, Peter was already at her side. I didn't like how close the two always were. Of course they had known each other for a long time, but why did Peter always have to touch her like that?

Whenever he hugged her or took her hand to pull her up or anything, my stomach clenched like I had eaten something bad. I had to hold myself back from marching towards the two and yanking him away from Seraphina.

Only I should be allowed to touch her like that!

A few days ago I saw two residents holding hands and hugging. I was a little confused because I've never seen anyone else hold hands, only hugs so far. Mantis had explained to me that the two were a 'couple' and that these actions were about love.

x

"Ohh but love is about so much more Adam! When you love someone you get butterflies in your stomach and you have to think about that person a lot", Mantis tried to explained after seeing my confused look, "you show affection to that person and would do anything for her, so holding hands is just a small part."

I nodded thoughtfully and looked back at the seemingly happy couple. They seemed to say goodbye to each other and when the two pressed their lips together it almost caught my breath.

In that moment, I knew right away that that's exactly what I wanted to do with Seraphina. Put my lips on her soft ones and sink into her warmth.

x

So I spent the next few days trying to show her as best as I could that I liked her and wanted her for myself. Whenever we went somewhere together, I took her delicate hand in mine, albeit hesitantly. Guided her safely by my hand from place to place, hoping she liked me too. After all, she never pulled her hand away or spoke negatively of my advances.

But Peter was a different matter. He put his arm around her shoulders when walking with her or hugged her longer than the other Guardians. He made her laugh and the two always seemed to have a great time together. Of course I also made her laugh, but most of the time I didn't even know why.

The only thing I could do was glare at Peter from afar while my hands clenched into fists for better control of my anger.

"Hey Adam you got a minute?" I was finally snapped out of my thoughts and quickly turned to Mantis, "what are you doing up here anyway?" She surveyed the building and must have noticed that it had long since been repaired, so my presence here was unnecessary.

She was just about to peek around the corner of the building where Seraphina and Peter were when I quickly stepped into her line of sight, "n-nothing! Just taking a quick break... that's all."

She continued to look at me for a moment, but luckily she stopped prying and waved me after her. "We need your help with fixing some walls", she explained quickly and I followed her while my thoughts wandered back to Seraphina and Peter.

"Can I ask you something?", I asked a little uncertainly and Mantis turned to me with a smile, "sure just ask away!" We reached the road again and now strolled side by side while Mantis showed me the way.

"If you like someone... how do you get others to know?" I tried to formulate my question and then looked at Mantis, who seemed to be thinking about my question.

"Well for starters there are things that only couples do, like holding hands and kissing and stuff. Should be pretty clear by those actions I guess", she said thoughtfully and I started to fidget with my hands behind my back.

"What if the other person doesn't get that you like them?", I asked trying to hide my nervousness. "Well tell her of course! She won't know how you feel until you tell her Adam", Mantis laughed and I tilted my head slightly thoughtfully in her direction, "but you did say that those actions speak for themself..."

"Yeah but in order the be a couple both parties have to like each other and tell the other one how they feel", Mantis said quickly and I took in her words, "some people just like you as friends and don't want to be lovers." Her words stopped me almost abruptly.

Could it be that Seraphina only saw me as a friend?

An uncomfortable feeling spread through me. "You okay Adam?", Rocket suddenly asked who had appeared next to me and I immediately nodded without looking at him, "well then. This way golden boy, we got a lot to do." I quickly followed Rocket to one of the almost completely destroyed buildings and helped him with the walls.

x

After several hours we were finally done with most of the repairs and I was told we wouldn't continue until tomorrow. During all the work I had decided to somehow explain to Seraphina how I felt about her and hoped that she liked me as well. But when I was finally on my way to her, I wasn't so sure anymore on how to do it at all.

Only when I heard her soft laugh did I know that I had arrived at her and that my legs had led me to her as if by magic.

Of course, Peter was still with her and I clenched my jaw tightly as I watched the two of them. He had his arm around her waist and seemed to be telling her something. Seraphina also made no move to remove his arm from her hip and I felt insecure again.

Maybe I should just leave her alone with Peter. It doesn't look like they're looking for my presence.

"Oh and here he is! Golden boy is about to take you to your ship", Peter suddenly said when he had probably noticed me and I frowned at his remark. "Stop it Pete don't be mean," Seraphina said with a barely noticeable smirk on her lips and rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms and Peter just laughed as he said goodbye to us, "have a good night."

She glanced after Peter and then turned her attention to me, "you ready to go?" I looked uncertainly from Peter's ever-shrinking figure to her delicate one, and despite the butterflies in my stomach, I found my voice again.

"Do you like being touched by him?", I asked a little tensely and waited for her answer.

"What?"

"Do you like...", but she interrupted me in the middle of the sentence, "I know what you asked Adam. What do you mean by that?"

Unsteadily, I shifted my weight from one leg to the other and then still plucked up my courage, "I don't like him touching you like this."

"Why is that?", she asked me after a short pause and I had to swallow hard.

"I want to be the only one touching you like this. I want to be the only one holding your hand when walking and I want to be the only one to lay my arm around you", I started listing until finally I just said, "I really like you a-and would like you to be mine."

Stiff as a board, I looked into her eyes while the butterflies in my stomach danced wildly. Her mouth was slightly open and she seemed to be surprised, which in turn made me doubt.

Didn't I show her clearly enough that I liked her?

"A-adam..." she managed to choke out and my heart immediately felt like someone had ripped it out of my chest.

So she only saw me as a friend...

"I-im sorry... I should go... Rocket might need me... umm with walls and stuff", I tried to escape from the uncomfortable situation and turned around quickly. I hadn't gone two steps far when I felt her warm hand close around mine and she tried to pull me back, "wait Adam you didn't even hear me out." I hesitantly turned to her and my golden eyes darted from her soft hand to her blue eyes that regarded me softly.

"I'd like to be yours", she finally said smiling, giving my hand a gentle squeeze to reassure me that she meant it.

"You... really? You like me too?", I asked again to make sure that she understood my request.

"Yes, I like you too Adam", she assured me confidently and a happy smile was now on my lips as well.

"Come on my ship's this way", she said and immediately pulled me behind her. The butterflies returned to my stomach only this time they caused a warm and comforting feeling that I instantly began to like.

"So there'll be a 'no touching' rule for Pete huh?", she asked smiling in my direction and I unconsciously squeezed her hand a little more. I pulled her closer so that her shoulder was almost pressed against me, "it would be nice if he could stop himself from doing so."

"You're so cute Adam", Seraphina just laughed and then nodded to me reassuringly, "I'll tell him don't worry." We were already standing in front of her ship in which she lived for the time being and her hand slipped out of mine. She stepped onto the ramp to her ship and then turned to me.

Both hands placed gently on my cheeks and she pulled me down to place my lips on her soft ones. I immediately melted into the tender gesture and wished this moment would never end. Slowly we parted again and I looked at her a little out of breath because I hadn't expected this gesture of affection.

"I hope you have a good night Adam", Seraphina bid her goodbye to me while I was still standing in front of her, as stiff as a board.

"I uhh... yes I wish you also a good night", I said quickly after catching myself, which elicited a laugh from her.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Sooo yes I decided to add some more parts and hope you guys like my story ✨🌌

Feel free to comment your thoughts or prompts ✨

[fruity-phrog]

have any Colin and Michael headcanons or predictions about how they are gonna play out?

Anon idk who you are but I love you. Get ready for a long reply.

Okay, as I spent a while yelling about to my wife, I am not sure if Colin and Michael are a formed relationship or just friends with benefits. On one hand, the texts such as "thirst much?" seem very hookup like, but do you bring a hookup to a celebration with your closest friends? I don't know and it frustrates me. But I pretend they are canonically partners because I think it's so cute.

First off, a random headcanon is that Michael is a nerd. He loves Star Wars and the MCU and Colin knows fuck all about such universes. Colin, as we know, is not one to make use of the Richmond Braincell, but he'll listen to Michael rant with a completely blank mind.

Secondly, while Michael doesn't know anything about football he will turn the news on if he knows Colin's playing or doing an interview or something. Colin gets pretty flustered when he finds out Michael was watching. One of the reasons he goes out with Michael is his lack of football knowledge, but Michael's just sweet.

Another thing is Michael's schtick when he met Dani and Isaac and Zorreux; "May I spend all night talking to your cross-eyed friend while [Colin] hits on you...poorly". The pointed look at Colin, Colin's bashful laughter. This is what they tell straight people because this is what happened. Colin has zero swag and spent an entire night chatting up Michael's girl friend just to get to him.

I think these two cretins are adorable. Colin is obviously calmer and freer around Michael. On top of this, Colin already hates himself for making those comments and jokes. This is why I hope think they won't break up. I say this because I've heard people saying Michael will out Colin. No, I think he will be outed by two of Shandy's comments-

"Do something scandalous and go viral."

"Oi, don't be a dick, show some love on your socials."

(I quoted these from memory not sure if the first one is correct)

-and the fact that Zava left Sam's restaurant minutes after Colin and Michael.

Shandy is clearly an advocate of no press is bad press. She would think that a story like Colin's is a good thing. And so far, Zava has shown no outwardly dickishness, but he persists in taking over the team. So consider this - it was Zava's headlights that hit Colin and Michael in the alley. He saw them and took a picture. Sent it to Shandy, who prompted him to/agreed he should put it online.

The synopsis of the next episode is "With their season in a tailspin, Richmond try to right the ship against the mighty Manchester City. Off the pitch, everyone faces their own setbacks." If Zava and Shandy both act like dicks, this is a segway to resolving two issues - the issue of Zava taking over the team and the issue of Shandy ultimately hurting Keely's company. I also think, of course, Trent will get involved in the whole thing, and Keely will try to help as a bisexual woman in PR. So anyway. I don't think Michael and Colin will break up but I do think Colin will be outed. Why? Because he has been given no reason to think he's safe to come out.

Okay, I diverged a bit, but you get the gist.

OH also Colin will get angry at Isaac for the comments and will get to swear a lot it's what he deserves.

[giggly-squiggily]

today is my first day on my new job in an elementary school and i've spent all morning watching kids do kids stuff so here's a crumb of modern au sanemi:

since no demons and family still alive his trauma is obv not as severe as in canon but due to his dad being awful and him helping his mother raise his siblings he still missed out on a ton of childhood. so some things which are "childish" or are supposed to be "boring" to adults but fun for kids (fountains, rainbows, balloons etc, it's also why he has such a sweet tooth) gets him stupidly excited. it's very rare for him to actually show it so when it happens for the first time everyone is completely taken off guard but also ends up thinking it's so cute

like they're out at night and kanae just hears "holy fuck" and she turns around to sanemi watching some firelights with the biggest smile on his face. tengen and obanai get him a stuffed animal for his birthday as a joke and he literally starts crying. him and akaza bond over getting super hyped for some fireworks when no one else wants to go out in the snow and watch. he'll never ever say it out loud but blowing out candles is his birthday highlight every single year.

Rey! *hugs* First of all: Congrats on the new job!!! I hope the day is full of fun and excitement for you and the kiddos! They're gonna love you! :3

Secondly: KWEJEJKLREKJLRJKLERJKEJJ AHHHHHHH?!?!?! That's so dang CUTE! *sobs* I'm obsessed with this holy-

Sanemi being such a kid over this stuff but then getting all flustered because "I'm an adult I shouldn't act like this" while everyone else is dying from how cute these rare moments are is so akjrjearjej The first time they see fire lights and he's grinning like that Kanae has a mini heart attack and is fighting everything in her being not to squeal and hug him because she doesn't wanna make him feel self conscious but at the same time she wants to take a picture so bad!!! (She might have ala fake selfie- it's her new wallpaper)

AND THE STUFFED ANIMAL!!! It would be something cute too- maybe a wolf? (Or a turtle. I don't know why- Sanemi just looks like a turtle to me akljrjkearjejkrjk) It's not a huge cry but his eyes get all misty and he's hugging it close and Tengen and Obanai are all: "!!!!" like "ah crap we went too far" but then Sanemi' smiling against it and kinda wetly thanks them

Obanai and Tengen are just:

Literally have to walk away a few steps cause it's just too damn CUTE! Tengen might be a bit dramatic cause of course he is and fall to his knees holding his chest while Obanai has to lean on something. Then they go right back to messing with him and goofing around like usual on his birthday kjrjaerjkaekj

The fireworks THE FIREWORKS! Akaza's already running up the hill dragging him like: "Let's go come on, come on! They're about to start!" They're like two little kids and spend all night up there side by side as the fireworks go off. Sanemi loves it cause he never got the chance to enjoy fireworks like this and Akaza loves it cause now he gets to enjoy them with company (Rengoku isn't a fan of them- the popping and explosions make his skin crawl with anxiety) so it's a win win all around!

The candles oh my! He gets all eye-rolly like: "I'm a grown man- I don't need candles." But everyone can see the light in his eyes before he closes them momentarily, making a wish before blowing them out. It's the one thing they don't tease him on; mainly cause they get him for everything else and this is the thing they want to stick around for as long as possible. (okay maybe they tease him alittle- Tengen once coated the cake with 20+ candles for jokes until Rengoku threatened to spray him down with a fire extinguisher. Since then they've stuck to the number candles.)

Thank you for sharing- this was so sweet! TwT

[pb-dot]

Film Friday: The Last Jedi

Oooooooooooh boy. I would say I have a complicated relationship with Star Wars as a franchise, but from what I hear from other fans I've discussed this with, that's normal and, on some level, inevitable. Star Wars is sometimes good, sometimes bad, and almost always a mix of the two. It's a part of the formula at this point, every bit as much as light sabers and obscure space religion magic. That said, there is one Star Wars movie that holds a special place in my heart, and I want to talk about it and what it did to the franchise, or at least tried to do before the Franchise Management people over at the house of mouse got scared and released a feature-length breaking maneuver of a film, but that's just something that happens some times. Let's get on with The Last Jedi.

As so often is the case in second installments, the war isn't quite going the rebellion's way, and at the start of the movie our heroes are caught in a chase to save what little of the rebellion remains. In an attempt to turn the tides, Rey seeks out the council of legendary Jedi Luke Skywalker, while Finn, Poe and newly recruited mainliner Rose Tico attempt to find a way to circumvent the First Order's tracking to beat the chase.

Of course, things don't turn out quite that way. Luke is quite reluctant to get back into the "anything to do with the force"-business, and Finn, Rose and Poe find more than trouble navigating conflicting loyalties and First Order Infrastructure. It's a very "part two in the triology" kind of thing as our heroes fail, are tempted by both craven panic and the dark side, and learn the kind of lesson that, while necessary, doesn't feel all that good.

To briefly sum up the parts I don't like as much about this movie: the pacing is a bit janky, and while I think the Canto Bight sequence is good thematically, it does feel like it prolongs a part of the plot that could be better served with less space travel. It's also a bit frustrating that a major driver of the Canto Bight/pursuit plot is two pivotal supporting characters not telling the main characters things. Sure, it can be justified, but it feels frustrating to sit through on the second watch-through. Also I can't quite decide if the movie tries to set up Finn with Rose, or if we're supposed to be as baffled about that development as Finn apparently is?

Ok, now with those annoyances out of the way, WOW does this movie do some great stuff. The Rey/Luke subplot alone has so much dynamite about mentoring, learning, and growing past mistakes. Luke has spent the last... what, 10, 20 years trying to be forgotten because he doesn't consider himself worthy of being a legendary hero, having failed Ben Solo/Kylo Ren so thoroughly. Through Rey's earnest, and insistent, enthusiasm for his legend he comes to realize that whether he wants to acknowledge it or not, the consequences of his actions are out there, and if he really wants to make amends, he has to confront these consequences. It's one hell of a storyline and development to play out, and Mark Hamil does some career-best work in putting it out there.

There isn't really a good place to put this bit into the structure I wrote, but as I went through to edit this thing I remembered that I forgot to talk about the Holdo Manuever. This bit is apparently a bit controversial among the Military Logistics Of The Galaxy Far Far Away-crowd, but I fucking love it. For one, it's a twist I didn't see coming that also works just about perfectly even on re-watches, and secondly, just look at the thing. This action setpiece was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Letting physics, at least as much of physics as one can count on when dealing with FTL, do the heavy lifting in a pivotal moment feels like an inspiring choice, and again, look at it!

This movie's also I think the most sensible of the Star Wars movies when it comes to the internal politics of the villain faction, in that the interplay between familiar autocratic forms of leadership, fascism to be precise, and the obscure space magic mysticism of the Force makes for some tasty plot threads. For one, Snoke is so secure that he, alone, will be the first dark side user to not be utterly fucked over by his sole apprentice on account of his mind reading ability that he seemingly ignores the possibility of Kylo Ren learning about the concept of meta-cognition, and gets chopped all the way in half for his hubris. One of the easiest way to get couped, after all, is to believe it could never happen to you for X Y or Z reason.

And then there's Hux. Ah, the fashy wet beast of a man that is Admiral Hugs. His is a thankless job, screaming about nonspecific degeneracy and nonspecific order and getting just absolutely bodied by the dark force users of the First Order on any and all occasions. Granted, the man is the military leader of a wannabe empire whose main business is military, but that doesn't matter much. Poe dunks on him, Kylo and Snoke treat him like a puppet at best, and even when the death of Snoke might suggest a promotion, oop, no, guess what, Kylo Ren's still there and while he doesn't proclaim himself Master or anything, he certainly makes a compelling argument for him succeeding the throne of Supreme Leader. Sucks to suck, Hugs, shouldn't have subscribed to an ideology based on strength alone.

Rey's attempt at navigating the force and her identity is also fascinating to watch. The mystery of who she is exactly is an interesting driving force to the whole character arc. While I concede the point that this is in part because Lineage and Pedigree is like catnip to Star Wars fans to a worrying degree, it's also just compelling. Part of finding out who you are is, after all, a part of finding out where you came from, and in the ways you are different and similar to that origin is as good of a guide as any. With that said, it was an immense relief to me that Rey wasn't related to anyone important in the Star Wars Lore, if only because it opens up her plot so much. If she falls to the Dark Side it's because she falls to the dark side, not because she's a sapling from a line of part Force-homonculi like the Skywalkers, or like a quarter Darth Andeddu on her Mother's Side or whatever. Granted, Rey From Nowhere in particular was retconned in the following movie, and I'll GET to that. In the context of this movie at time of release though, it felt like a breath of fresh air.

It felt like an attempt to start something new. Maybe not every important character in the world is related to every other important character. Maybe the galaxy far far away is more vivid and exciting than it ever could be playing out some kind of extended Arthurian family saga. Maybe the first order is a threat not so much because they want to kill our Skywalkers, but because they're a massive conquering beast flattening culture and exploiting those they consider lesser, which is to say everyone. Maybe the stable boy is force sensitive. Maybe that'll matter, maybe that'll just be a little coda demonstrating that The Force isn't strictly a Palpatine/Skywalker family secret.

Speaking of though, let's talk about Kylo Ren some. I love Kylo Ren as a villain. He clearly styled himself on his grandpappy Anakin Skywalker, and the fact that the result is such a store brand thematic mockery is just perfect. Darth Vader didn't dress up like that because it was cool (at least in the Watsonian sense, in the Doylist sense he very much did), he's covered in all of that armor because it's his life support system. His unnerving hissing breath is his respirator chugging along. He is incredibly powerful in the force, yes, but his body is a mess, and it's a tribute to his strength in the Force that it's not a thing you notice as he takes you apart. Vader's armor is more than his armor, it's his prison, keeping him alive, bound to the Empire and the Dark Side in more ways than one. Kylo's armor looks that way because it's meant to evoke Darth Vader. Kylo doesn't need it, he just thinks it lets him be more like his grandfather. He's cosplaying, in practice, and no level of sulky angy boy antics can come close to projecting the sheer weight of Anakin's fallen splendor, which of course, only makes Kylo angrier. This is a compelling mirror to Rey in this movie IMO. Rey does not have Kylo's legacy, which makes her free in a way Kylo could never be, although Rey would probably switch in a heartbeat if she had the chance.

It's this kind of entangled conflict that makes the Rey-Kylo interplay so fascinating. Rey believes in the good in Kylo because That's What The Hero Does, but Kylo is so tied up in being Taster's Choice Darth Vader that she just doesn't get through the aura of angsty rage that surrounds him. They're not quite enemies, but far from friends, thus my choice of word "entangled." It's a pretty fun dynamic to see, and it leads to what I think is one of the better fight scenes of the sequel trilogy where Rey and Kylo are, however briefly, allies of convenience and fight through Snoke's Throne Guard. It's a rad fight because we haven't gotten too many "light sabers vs multiple semi-worthy opponents" in the main series, and because it's just so cool to see non-allies on the same side.

I suppose I have postponed talking about this movie's legacy as long as I can. It's not a task I cherish for two reasons, one, I find the current fandom focus on legacy utterly exhausting, and two, I feel this movie in particular was done dirty by its sequel, to the degree where I didn't even want to touch Star Wars for quite some time after it released.

In short, I would argue that just about every cool bit of The Last Jedi was clumsily retconned or just written out in Rise Of Skywalker. Rey from Nowhere? Gone, turns out she's Sheev "I've been dead for three movies except Sike" Palpatine's granddaughter and Kylo "I never lied to you" Ren was full of shit when he confirmed that her parents were nothing special. The power struggle between Hux and Kylo? Absolutely demolished. Sheev's back and he's brought his own Disappointing Generic Empire Guy to lead, so it's arguably not even the First Order any more. Rose Tico as a kind of Working Class conscience for the Adventure Crew? She's just kind of around and has exactly as many lines as it takes to not formally be an extra. Fuck me, if that movie managed to somehow convince me that cool Rey and Kylo fight didn't happen it'd be batting a thousand as far as ruining good shit from TLJ. Oh, and of course Finn and Poe get Plausible Deniability Girlfriends, because fuck you if you're finnpoe, right?

Anyway, this is not a review of Rise Of Skywalker, but it kind of impossible to speak of all the cool shit TLJ tried to do without acknowledging that these were very much The Road Not Taken. It's also important context to my current relationship with Star Wars. Put simply, I've lost faith. Why even bother participating in any further Star Wars media? I've clearly seen the Only Good Story Possible in Star Wars when I watched the original trilogy, considering how its the only story you're allowed to tell Post-Lucas, and any deviation from the same will lead to one of the biggest media companies in the world to ruin an entire feature-length film to meticulously undo anything that strays from the Star Wars Formula? How would any decent storyteller hitch themselves to a mess like this? How does it not become the miserable slog of content produced by work-a-day directors sleepwalking through Franchise Management-approved scripts, where nothing ever changes or grows, because the Star Wars Fans expect another of their semiregular reifications of three pretty good adventure/sci-fi films from the 70's, and heaven help you if you falter in your breathless reverence for The Legacy.

So while this isn't a review of Rise Of Skywalker, you can plainly see I didn't like it much. Do give The Last Jedi a look though, there's some neat scenes in it, and porgs.

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

HELLO AGAIN: IT IS I, THE BUTTHOLE ENTHUSIAST.

Now, you've told us all about Aemond's pristine, silver-sheened balloon knot (that NEVER shits obviously, what a peasant thing to do). But what I need to know - with the yearning of a thousand suns, mind you - is centred around our favourite old coot with the ass that won't quit.

What is Daemon Targaryen's asshole like?

Firstly, does he shit? Does he smush that daddy dumper onto the privy hole, spread those enormous cheeks and sigh with sweet release as he pushes that almighty turd outta his cocoa canyon? Secondly, what does this perfect man's equally perfect chocolate starfish look like? Is it perfectly wrinkly to match his saggy GILF ballsack? Does it have those gorgeous silver curls encrusted of course with stray crud from his lordly logs? Is he partial to having that asspussy eaten like it's the last meal his plebian partner will ever eat? Tell me everything.

Sincerely, the Representative from DAWC

(Daemon's Ass Worshipping Cult)

I've had to make my way through this ask in stages. Every time I read a sentence I have to walk away to clutch my chest and stomach while my body is wracked by uncontrollable laughter. My throat hurts, my lungs hurt and my cheeks are sore. This in particular fucking winded me for a good five minutes:

Does he smush that daddy dumper onto the privy hole, spread those enormous cheeks and sigh with sweet release as he pushes that almighty turd outta his cocoa canyon?

Anyway, onwards to Daemon's asshole...

We'll address the most important issue first and that is that yes, Daemon does shit. Daemon does not possess that pristine facade that Aemond does, he is a man of depravity. Daemon not only shits, but he enjoys the act itself. If he's indulged in a particularly large meal the night before, he'll take a book or a scroll in with him, smush that juicy dumper around the privy hole and just make a fucking day of it. He especially enjoys making other people uncomfortable with his toilet exploits. Let's say, for instance, Ser Criston Cole is waiting to use the privy while Daemon is in there. This no fucks to give dom daddy will come out after he's had brown down, clap Criston on the back and say "I'd give it 5 minutes if I were you, Ser Crispin" while looking smug as fuck and dramatically wafting whatever reading material he's chosen to take in with him. What a hero.

Daemon's balloon knot is an abundance of wrinkles, that match his saggy old coot nutsack. This hole has seen some shit, quite literally. It has spent a life time pushing out the remnants of rich foods, had a myriad of whore tongues swipe across it and the occasional finger inserted, so it's well used. He's not loose by any means though - his farts still sound tight enough to know his anus is far from being a windsock. It's probably that weird brownish colour that old men's dick and balls seem to turn as they get older.

Daemon's ringpiece is has a few stray brown pubes around it (his carpet doesn't match the drapes), but they are dangleberry free - he ensures that the servants responsible for cleaning him up once he's finished dumping up the privy do a thorough job.

He is partial to anilingus. He'll be more vocal about it if his partner finds it squicky and uncomfortable, as he gets off on the power dynamic and taboo of having such an area serviced. On the other hand, if his partner is super into it and chowing down on his hole like it's a bowl of pudding then he'll let slip the occasional curse word while he pounds his cock like it owes him money.

I hope you have found my answer to be informative.

Give yourself a pat on the back if you've made it this far.

[classicslesbianopinions]

how do you even go to grad school, i have two years of undergrad left and i'm already so scared. i have this fear that they will see that i passed all my exams not because i know stuff but because my writing is good enough and they will all laugh at my poor little collection of credits i got from my poor little college lmaoo

well my college closed and a global pandemic hit partway through my degree and my final transcript is from a college that straight-up does not offer latin or greek and i've been recommended for admission at a phd program so. anything's possible really.

anyway first of all if your writing is good enough to pass your exams, 1. that's a sign that you do know stuff, because it's really hard to write well without knowledge to back it up and also 2. writing is a huge part of academia and good writing is something programs will be looking for. like good writing is a selling point in its own right, completely separate from your knowledge.

secondly like... i had a lot of the same worries when i was applying, i graduated in december 2020 and it took until december 2022 for me to actually get any applications in. because i went to a tiny liberal arts college that closed, and because i spent my last semester working almost entirely independently at a school that did not offer anything in my field, i was worried my degree and coursework wouldn't be enough, and that i didn't know enough to get through. i applied to one masters and two phd programs and have been rejected from one phd program and recommended to the dean for admission (but not officially offered admission yet, i'm still waiting to hear) at the other (the masters had a later deadline and i haven't heard officially but i did have an interview). i thought basically if i didn't get into the phd program i could do the masters for a stronger foundation, which is still my plan, but i was also told by my current greek instructor that my language background looked strong enough without it (i have four years of high school and two years of university-level latin, and four-ish years of greek) and i would be a competitive candidate. i still don't necessarily feel like a competitive candidate, but honestly this field just breeds so much impostor syndrome that at a certain point you've just got to assume you're underestimating yourself.

but like... no one has laughed at the poor collection of credits i got from my now-defunct college, both programs i interviewed with took me seriously as a candidate and an academic, and also like... if it doesn't work out for me this year for whatever reason, i'll probably just work on my application and apply again next year 🤷‍♂️ there's no shame in applying multiple times, it can be a bit random where and when you actually get accepted.

also to answer the practical question of "how does this work": you pick out programs you would like to apply to-- i just went through this list of graduate programs in north america from the society for classical studies, although if you don't want programs in north america you will have to look elsewhere (and probably ask someone else. i live in the us and applied solely to schools in the us, and i know it works differently elsewhere). decide if you're applying to masters or phd programs or both. a phd program will include a masters as part of the program. masters programs are shorter and might prepare you to get into a phd program or to do other work in the field, and phd programs of course take a long time and qualify you to be a college professor and also let you put "doctor" in front of your name, which kind of rules. i picked programs by size and location (i do best in small communities), and i also was told to make sure that when applying to phds i could see faculty in the program that i could see myself working with, and to mention a faculty member's work in my statement of purpose for the school. so i actually might've applied to more phd programs if i had found more faculty whose work interested me, but honestly i pretty much knew where i wanted to go from the start and it's very likely that that's where i'll be next year.

check to see if the programs you want require the gre, mine were gre optional but i sent the scores anyway because i'm really good at standardized tests. but also taking the gre was a very dehumanizing experience, so like if it's not required and you don't test well, just skip it. and make sure to ask faculty for letters of recommendation a few months in advance. (they might also want to look at drafts of your application material, so i would recommend having that pretty far in advance.) every program i applied to asked for a statement of purpose to say "this is what i want to do and why i want to go to your school" and a recent writing sample (which was hard for me to find because of the haphazard nature of my last two semesters). i also attached my cv because i've done a lot of stuff outside of school in the last two years, and i held a lot of leadership positions when i was in college. also purdue owl has a page about applying to graduate programs, which was really helpful to me and might be to you!

if you're still in undergrad, also, you probably have faculty you can ask for advice etc-- part of my problem was that i was a year out of college when i tried to apply the first time, and the second time it was two years after i graduated. and i didn't have any way to contact any of my past classics professors. so if you have an advisor or just any professors you like and get along with, you should talk to them about this as you start researching programs and planning out your applications! you'll need their recommendation letters anyway, but also a lot of the time people are really glad to help. anytime i've asked for help i've been met with support. (and remember that it's pretty normal for professors to be asked to help with this sort of thing! it's something you're doing for the first time but they've almost definitely helped tons of people with it, in addition to doing it themselves.)

anyway i don't know how much help this is, but just know that you are almost definitely way more qualified and competent than you think you are, and grad school applications are super intimidating but incredibly possible.

[mcjour]

doot doot doot gotta start typing cuz i'm losing my fucking mind

i'm feeling a lot of feelings right now but i never found a healthy way to express my feelings growing up so i kind of feel like i am drowning and exploding and suffocating and bottling it the fuck up as well.

also i am supposed to start my period at any moment now so i am sure that is only amplifying the emotions.

my mom and stepdad have covid. let's stop right there. because i'm sure my mom thinks i'm mad at her for getting sick. if you're reading this, first of all, fuck you for reading my stuff. secondly, i'm not mad about that. because i realize it's just chance that it was you. and unavoidable in this shit society we live in that doesn't take a pandemic seriously.

but i am still pissed about all of the circumstances surrounding it.

first of all, the awful timing of it all. i am due back at school in a week. i am not going to be thrilled if i have to already use up sick days in my first week back!

but more than that, i have been sooo looking forward to going back to school. i fucking love back to school season, first of all!! but i am finally happy and stable with my job for once in my whole life. i am excited to return back to that. not to mention that i missed the beginning of the year last year because i was placed in a different assignment. this is my first time doing kindergarten screenings, my very first first day of kindergarten. i am so excited to do it. a little nervous too of course, but an excited nervous. now that is all up in the air.

just a couple months ago, i had to miss the school concert performance and my birthday because i was sick. those were devastating losses to me. even though life is cyclic and i always have next year. that didn't make me any less sad. i was straight up sobbing in the shower to the point that my mom asked if she needed to call an ambulance.

and i think that is a trigger for me too, getting too excited for things and too happy about things and getting them swiped away in an instant. or getting let down. it's the city year trauma, the birthday trauma, all the trauma.

and i've been trying my best to be careful too. i heard about the spikes. i've been doing outdoor stuff. when i've gone to the movie theater, i've specifically sought out the 9am showings even though it is a pain to get up that early. i've been putting off a target trip for weeks because again, i don't want to get up early to go at a non busy time. i could be doing more and all that, i'm far from perfect. but it is a bit frustrating. especially since i knew i wanted to cool things down before school started to make sure there was no chance of anything!!! and here we are.

and it's also just what a miserable society we live in. because okay, maybe i am safe this time. maybe the week passes and i never end up catching it. okay. well i'm sure it'll go around school in another 2-3 weeks. maybe i'll catch it then. great. so what was the point of all this.

part of me thinks i should just intentionally catch it now and get it overwith. again though, can't guarantee timing and i would hate to miss work over it. and also, duh, covid is not something you play around with. i don't want to intentionally infect myself with something that could actually end up disabling me long term/ forever.

i also spent all of last week at school so i could still have this week off to have fun. blah.

another thing that is bothering me is the germs. generally speaking, i am a major germophobe and i think everyone knows that about me. so i already spend enough time paranoid about catching various illnesses. so this is like bringing it to the next level. because all i can think about is all of the germs swarming around me in the air. i feel like it is inevitable that i will get sick. and here i am, just a sitting duck.

and what really pisses me the fuck off is that they don't seem to care. and i know they do. they are holed up in their bedroom, they are wearing a mask when they have to, etc. so it's not that they don't care.

but..... they are still parading around the house. they are shutting windows. are you absolutely fucking kidding me. i know it's a little chilly at night, but it's still summer. it's not winter. just grab an extra blanket or sweater or something. you talk about claustrophobia? that's how i feel with the same covid air floating around the house.

and i am not sure why you guys need to be walking around the house anyway? i offered to bring food to you. but i guess then you can't cling to your theory about how i am such a selfish and awful daughter.

in what world does it make sense to stand around the kitchen for an hour waiting for the pizza to heat up.

literally i wouldve heated the pizza up for you come the fuck on.

i wish i could move around the house but it doesn't feel safe. because of the windows shutting and the repeated passing through. why would i stay down there. but it doesn't feel safe in my room because it is right next to theirs, so every time they open their door, the trapped covid air must fly straight into my room. okay, maybe not. but to someone who is wildly anxious about germs, it is hard to convince your brain otherwise!!!!!

like this week would be the perfect time to start building my new lego set. however, i can't really do it in my room because i don't have like a table or even a hard surface that i could work at. i usually do all my building of new sets downstairs. well. why the fuck would i do that. downstairs is contaminated.

i don't get it, i'm not the one who is sick, so why am i the one who is most quarantined.

i know i can go outside of the house, but where tf would i go??? first of all, i've obviously had exposure, so i would feel guilt going anywhere. secondly, i'm a homebody as it is. so i'm not exactly going to have fun going out for the sake of getting out of the house.

if you still read that whole thing, again fuck you for reading my private stuff. this isn't a guilt trip. if it was, i would say it to your face. i am just so wildly unhappy right now that i needed to get all my feelings out. i have been sobbing non stop in the next room. you wouldn't know that. you never know.

and that i think pisses me off the most. i wish i had someone i could talk to about this. i have a therapy appointment tomorrow, so susan will definitely be hearing it. but wouldn't it be nice to have an actual mom to talk to. who would hear my worries and not try to spin it into how i am coming after her or guilting her or how she is the true victim in all of this. i'm not saying i have it worse than them. covid is awful and of course i feel bad that they are going through that. but it's always a competition of who has it worst. why can't i also be going through something.

why should i feel selfish about having big emotions about this? this effects more than just you.

[whiskeyandwolfsbane]

8/14 - 11:04PM

My final post-op appointment was on the 11th! The nurse took off the steri-strips covering over the incisions, and cut off any remaining sutures that hadn't ended up dissolving like they were supposed to, and said everything appears to be healing nicely.

I'll take her word for it; though I have been and still am kinda worried about how, to me, my nipples look like they're spaced unevenly. Like, too far apart. Everyone I've talked to about it so far though says, you're still healing, the swelling still hasn't gone down, give it time. So I'm trying not to stress too hard.

While there, I went to bring forms to the front desk. You know, the ones they told me to fill out that I had already filled out. (I didn't fill them out again, I just brought the original ones from home.)

The woman at the front desk, the very sweet one who helped me the first time I actually filled everything out, said she would take care of it and when I came out of my appointment, to come by and she would give me my paperwork back.

So I get out of my appointment and walk up to the desk. She tells me that she did some research - and apparently I was already approved for medical leave.

This was very confusing for me, since I never got any sort of notification: no email, no letter, no phone call. The only letter I got was for when I got denied.

We discussed it for a short time, but only really could come up with "maybe things got lost in the mail". She couldn't tell me where or who exactly allegedly approved it either. When I got home, I eventually called into SAW to ask about it.

According to the lady on the phone - I have never had medical leave approved. Only denied.

So yeah I have no fucking clue what is going on anymore and I'm so over it, lol. I'm trying not to bother thinking about it anymore. Later in the day, my store manager texted to ask if I could come back by the 3rd of September. I considered it, but since outside of having money again I would gladly stay away for months upon months, I decided to stick with the date my own surgeon originally gave me (that I sent to him and the HR team actually) and say it'd be best to wait til September 9th. So that's what I'm doing.

Other than that... yeah. Same old, same old. Just playing video games, reading, trying to get back into writing and trying to learn guitar and trying to learn to draw.

There has been trouble in my family. One of my grandmothers passed away suddenly and shortly after that, someone else in my immediate family had a near death experience that I'd rather not talk about as it's not my place. I only just found out about the second; I learnt about the first a few days ago after it happened.

My mind is... mush. There is a lot going on mentally and I'm not sure how all to handle it. So of course I'll handle it the way I've been handling my beloved cat dying, and how I've been handling my crippling fear of the future, and how I've been handling my general pining for past relationships that have changed drastically.

That is to say, refusing to think about any of it and throwing myself into multiple forms of media at once (i.e., a game going on my laptop and one on my phone, a book open on the desk next to me, music playing in the background, and notebooks scattered around) and never letting up until I'm no longer able to stay awake, thus being taken by the release of sleep. I am well aware that I'm doing myself a disservice and only delaying the inevitable, and that it will be all the worse for me when the foundation caves in but... I can't really help it. It's all I know how to do.

Anyway, sorry, that was a bit of a depressing note and nothing really related to my surgery, which is why this blog exists, and none of yall need to be burdened with my mental BS, so - sorry about that.

On a positive note to try and bring this back; so far, it's been really, really nice to be able to wear tank tops and not be super uncomfortable anymore. I'm still semi uncomfortable because of how large my stomach is but it is very nice to finally have a flat chest and not have to worry about that part of things anymore. I'm excited to hopefully lose weight and then be able to fit into all the old shirts and jackets I've missed so much.

And... yup, that's about all I got, surgery-wise. see ya.

[urshitarespopinions]

What I Love About South Park (And Its Fandom)

Okay, considering my first two essays were fairly negative and tackled more serious issues with the south park fandom, it's time to remind myself (and you, random tumblr user) just what's so great about it. I've spent more than enough time defining what to hate - now I'll talk about what to love!

First off, thanks for clicking "keep reading" :) it really means a lot to me <3

Secondly, I'd like to start this properly by saying no, Matt and Trey are not perfect. They are not angels, they are no more human or godly or demon-ly than I am myself (although sometimes I doubt Trey's humanity). They are capable of failure and mistakes. They are also capable of great things. And in favor of keeping this light, I'll be talking about the latter half :>

Like any other south parkie, I too, enjoy and cherish the earlier seasons of South Park. They're fun, adventurous, and truly do radiate those small-town vibes we all can't get enough of. It's cool if you disagree, but I personally love a lot of the newer seasons, too! It may not have that country hand-made charm it once had, but at least I can enjoy knowing Matt and Trey's hands finally got a break when they switched from stop motion to digital. Yay, no carpel tunnel!

Actually, one of my favorite episodes is "The Cissy", because I really enjoy that despite the fact Cartman and Wendy's perceptions of being trans are flawed and mostly offensive, we still know that behind the scenes, Matt and Trey themselves don't express this specific view. We know that Cartman is pretending to be transgender to get into the girls' bathroom, but most importantly, we see from the showteller's point of view that it is wrong. That's what separates it from some other modern media with less than pretty depictions of transgender identities (*cough cough Steven Universe*).

Another thing to love? The characters! Any south parkie has their special character they love especially more than the others. Some of them don't even get any lines in the show! But they're all special and unique in their own way, and that's what's so addicting. Stan's cynical. Kyle's morally challenged. Cartman's everything-challenged. Kenny's funny. Butters is Butters. (And Scott Malkinson's diabetic).

Speaking of uniqueness and its role in South Park, I'd like to take a moment and thank the genius who wrote Butters' speeches in both Raisins and Butterballs, because they've really made me look at the world in a different lens. And gain some respect for people who choose to be happy. That takes some real guts and emotional maturity I don't have.

What else, what else? Why, of course, I can't forget you, dear average south park enjoyer, reading these words on a screen. You and everyone else in the south park fandom (minus a few). You've changed everything for me! I've met some of my closest and dearest friends because of this little controversial show about morally questionable egg children. How wild is that?

What's more- the fandom even influenced a key component in what makes South Park, well, South Park. I'm speaking about Craig and Tweek, of course, another great example of wonderful LGBT+ representation [see paragraph 5]. We did that!! WE!! Creek was so popular among the fans, Matt and Trey made it real. Literally. Like how the fuck did we manage to do that.

Astonishment aside, it's a wonderful feeling to know this little show has changed my life so much. My little monke brain just can't handle the comprehension :')

But maybe it's all hogwash. Maybe what I said doesn't even make sense! Glad I'm just a person on the Internet that nobody should take too seriously. And I'm glad you've made it to the end! Thanks reader, you get a gold star.

I hope you'll enjoy your day a little bit more today :D keep rockin, rockstar!

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen [chapt. 6]

[Donnie x reader]

sfw, chapter 5 here

Come on, save it, save it, Donnie chanted to himself later that night, at home and tucked away in his room trying to figure out how to neutralize the situation. He paced along his bed back and forth, phone in hand as he wracked his brain thinking about how he'd get her to let it go. He could tell her that she was...overtired? Go the stereotypical route and say it was just her eyes playing tricks on her? Try to play it off as human teenagers messing around on the roof?

She'd gone to bed already. He hated that he couldn't pursue the subject until morning, her morning, but by then, he'd be tired. When she woke, he slept. But he needed to get it resolved as quickly as possible, so he reckoned it was time to pull an all nighter. Luckily, that wasn't anything he wasn't used to.

He figured he'd get the preliminaries out of the way so he could get right to it when she eventually texted back.

"Good morning

I know you're not awake yet but I figured I'd get an early start today.

I want to know, what exactly did you see last night?"

He shut his phone off and set it down on the bed, fingers rubbing his temples. Depending on her answer, this would either be difficult, or near impossible.

The rest of his time was spent just waiting around for her to finally wake up, dodging all his brothers and trying to occupy himself with something. He was fiddling with the radio he kept on the floor next to his bed when his phone notified him of a message. Turning the volume up, some old-school rock played softly. He didn't always keep music on when he worked, which was what he was doing felt like, but something needed to fill the silence. It also made it feel more casual to have the radio on, for both himself and for whoever might stop by his room.

"Good morning to you too

That was...sudden??"

How nice it was to read those words coming from someone who wasn't his family. Not that they said it like that often anyway, but the small gesture hit differently.

"I'm just really curious about what you said you saw."

Curious? Not quite. More like dying to know, and not because he fancied himself some cryptid hunting.

"That's fair I guess

But don't laugh, ok?"

"I'd never, [y/n]"

"Well

Okay

They were big

But no like not the overweight kinf, not even just 'tall guy' kind of big

kind*

You know?"

Yeah, I aware. I'm 6'8" and have a giant shell on my back.

"They?"

He was hoping she'd only seen one of them. Maybe it would have been easier, but, of course, that wasn't the case.

"I think there were two

Idk it just looked really weird, it was dark but the silhouette from the light made them look bulky, I don't know what it was"

Lips pursed tight, he looked up from his phone, and all of a sudden that music in the background was suffocating. He quickly reached over and shut it off. He needed to be able to divert all of his attention to one thing. Except, even though he should have been spazzing over her spotting them (even if just for a split second), a concern crept up in the back of his mind that made him scoff at himself. The need to know was too great.

His eyes fell on his scaled, three-fingered hand as he typed.

"Did it scare you?"

Perhaps it wasn't what he should have been focusing on. But he was. He knew she hadn't seen much, but what if she quipped that it was frightening, or gross, or…?

"I don't know, Bo

I guess it was kind of freaky

Uh, do you actually believe me? That I saw something?"

"'Freaky?'" he repeated to himself in a whisper, brow ridge furrowed. What was I expecting?

He had to shake himself of whatever was going on in his head at the moment, because there were more pressing matters at hand. Like what he was going to answer her question with. Theoretically, he could go two routes; one, invalidate the experience and try to walk on the line of telling her that it was not real without making her feel crazy. And then probably get mad at him. Or two, go along with it, if he didn't have the heart to do that to her. The answer was already here; he let out a deep sigh. Two, it is.

Nothing could make him want to make her feel that way, even if it meant he'd have to put in a little extra effort in fixing his mistake.

"I wouldn't doubt your judgement, [y/n]."

"Thanks

That makes me feel a lot better

You're a really good guy, Bo :)"

Freezing, he sat and stared at the screen before slowly taking the phone away from his face, lips moving, but no sound coming out. He had no idea what to say; all he could focus on was the fact that the girl he undeniably liked thought he was a good guy. And that, presumably, it meant she might have liked him as well. Big on the "might", he realized as the logical part of his mind took over once again. Regardless, he licked his lips and got to preparing a worthy response. He didn't want to come off as flustered as he felt. Donnie was aware he was not particularly suave—he took solace in the fact that she couldn't see his face or hear his voice. He contemplated on acting a bit more "cool guy" than he actually was, but wanted her to like him for him, not a facade. Which was a major contradiction to all that he had done up to that point, but the least he could do was be the person he was on the inside!

"You there?"

"Sorry, I got distracted…

You really think so?"

"That I think you're a great guy?"

"Well...yes."

"Totally. 100%"

His heart was going, he was stammering to himself, and a new feeling enveloped him. He was no stranger to the different emotions; he'd gotten familiar with many of them. Because though he didn't always show it, he had a lot of feelings. These, he felt most viscerally. But he had to get back on track. If he could push last night's incident under the rug, all would be well. More well than it already was, considering.

"Thank you, [y/n]

To be honest, I've never had a friend like you

So, do you want to talk more about what you saw? I know I'm switching tracks quickly, it's just very….interesting."

It was a jarring and awkward subject change, he knew that, but he desperately wanted to get it out of the way. The sooner, the better.

"I suppose

You seem pretty interested in it"

Maybe she wasn't hanging onto the experience like he'd thought she would. There were so many tales of people seeing inexplicable things and becoming enraptured by the experience that he guessed he should only expect the worst, but it appeared that she was not so obsessed. Crisis averted?

"Not too much, I was just wondering

We can forget about it."

"Oh, I'm not going to forget about it, Bo"

There it is, he thought, not surprised.

After thirty minutes of attempting to throw her off without coming off as suspicious himself, he had to take a breather, reorganize his mind. Only to come back and find that she had to go take care of things, and that she'd talk to him later. He'd done as much fixing as he could; at that point, it was as good as it was going to get. The thought of being looked for by his unknowing friend loomed about in the coming weeks as they did their patrols, when they would pass by her residence, and the times that he snuck off to stop by himself. Sometimes accompanied by Mikey, but he tried to keep it as solitary as possible. Soon, watching her on her balcony from that roof became part of his routine. He vaguely thought sometimes that watching her like that could be considered creepy, but that ship had already sailed.

For the third time in the last month he was there yet again, on the same roof, watching the same balcony, watching the same girl. Sometimes they texted, sometimes they didn't. The times he wasn't talking to her as he sat there were the times he daringly crossed the threshold onto the fire escape. There were only a few instances of that. But did he still feel out of his mind doing so? Yes. The window only looked into part of the living room and kitchen, but he felt scandalous to do it. Most of his time there was spent only with his shell against the wall next to the window, just out of sight. He could always hear her faint but noticeable footsteps coming and could easily vault the railing and climb up or drop down. She couldn't get past his keen hearing unless she knew to tread lightly.

Mikey was with him once again, this time out to look for scrap rather than patrol. He'd been buddied up with his younger brother more often ever since their talk that night in Donnie's room. They only stopped by because they were already out and had a viable excuse.

"Does she know about us? Like, me, Leo, Raph..." rambled Mikey, curious, as he practiced one of his new moves with his skateboard. He kicked up onto the ledge of the roof and skidded before hopping off, tucking the board under his arm. "You guys have been together like, what, two months? And she doesn't even know your name."

Fiddling with the strap reaching around his shoulder, Donnie replied matter-of-factly to hide the embarrassment that was ailing him at the thought, "Okay, for starters, we're not 'together'. And secondly, she hasn't mentioned voice chatting in a while."

"And?" He got back on his board, zooming by Donnie.

"My name? It just hasn't come up," Donnie shrugged.

"Call her, then!" Mikey smiled, still preoccupied with his board and trying out his new tricks. Donnie gave a light scoff and shook his head. His brother passed behind him where he sat leaned against the water tower.

"I don't want to just call her out of nowhere, Mikey, she might be asleep."

He also didn't want his brother there when he did.

"You gotta not be so shy!...oh, look, in the window. Right there. See? She's up," he quipped with a small smirk. The curtain was drawn, but the light had turned on at some point, and they could see her silhouette moving past. Donnie looked over his shoulder to say something but felt a hand slip into his pocket on the other side, stealing his phone right off of him. He was fast, but Mikey was faster in jumping into his board and gliding all the way to the other side of the roof with the fussy turtle hot on his trail.

"Mikey, quit it!" Donnie barked, lunging toward him for the phone.

"You'll thank me later!"

The two wrestled for the phone, Mikey holding it just out of reach as he tried to navigate the screen without dropping it.

"Come on," grunted Donnie as the tussle led them near the edge, where Mikey held it precariously over the alley below. His glasses were jostled off his face when a stray hand bumped them, causing them to fall amongst their feet. Squinting, he partially knelt down and searched for the pair while still looking at his brother and his phone, trying to stretch his arm long enough to snatch it. "Really?" he groaned, "just give me the phone!"

Donnie slung out his staff and used the other end to whack his wrist from underneath just as he pulled away from the edge, losing his grip on the phone. Mikey tried to catch it but it bounced off his hand, going right over the side of the roof and plummeting down into the alley.

Mikey froze. Donnie finally found his glasses.

Laughing nervously, Mikey turned back to him, "Whoops…"

When he didn't immediately find the phone on the ground, Donnie knew what happened. He looked over the edge, and there it was, sitting on the pavement in the alleyway. The building wasn't incredibly tall, but enough to do some major damage. He'd have to switch for one of his spares if he didn't want to deal with a busted-up screen.

"I don't need your 'help', Mikey, so leave it alone next time," Donnie said and gave him a narrow-eyed look, huffing as he leaped down to retrieve it.

Mikey may have been insistent, but he knew then it was time to stop. All he wanted to do was help. For his shy, flakey brother to come out of his shell (no pun intended). Donnie, at that time, had the biggest shot out of all of them for something unique and good. He hadn't yet worked out the logistics of how to bridge the gap between the two, but it was a calling of his to help him along.

Donnie watched for people from behind a corner before creeping out to get the phone, which was face down on the concrete. No doubt cracked to all hell if not completely shattered, though it did have a case.

But as he got closer, he heard a voice. From the phone.

He picked up the phone timidly and shot a glance up at the roof, where Mikey was peeking over the edge in apprehension. Without a word, Donnie activated the taser in his staff, pointing it at his brother and zapping it briefly. He flinched and retreated out of sight.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Bo?" she asked again, tone riddled with confusion. "What was that?"

"Uh, yes—hol—hold on, please," stammered out donnie, flying around the corner and pressing flat against the wall as a group of laughing people passed by the alley. "Just one second," he said nervously. Above him, Mikey was rapidly motioning for him to get up there, eyes wide and body trying to stay low. Baffled, Donnie gestured back at him, mouthing at him to keep his pants on for one more minute while he made his way up.

"Hey, what's going on there?" she inquired, concerned.

A street cat abruptly skittered out from between his legs from the dumpster he stood next to, and he had to stifle a startled yelp. He hopped up onto the nearest fire escape, trying to control his breathing. "Hey, hello…[y/n]," he half-chuckled, distracted by working up the building one-armed as he kept as quiet as possible.

"What was all that? And who's 'Mikey'?"

There was suddenly a shout—Mikey's shout—and his stomach did a jump. He sputtered as fast as he could, "I'm sorry [y/n] but this really isn't a good time, and I mean it really isn't," he pulled himself up onto the roof, and there was Mikey, fending off men clad in black, "so I have to go, but—"

"Don, dude! I need help over here!" cried his brother, sliding out of the way as a sword was jabbed towards him. He countered with a harsh uppercut to the man's chin, sending him stumbling backwards. The blade fell to the concrete with a clank.

"'Don'? Bo, what the hell?! Who is with you? And—"

Donnie jumped into the battle, a mix of nine or ten armed men with swords other weapons, and Mikey trying to stave them off, swinging his chucks with nothing short of reckless abandon. But he still didn't hit himself with them.

Ending the call, he secured the phone in his pocket. He wailed the guy closest to him in the side of the head with the heavy staff, then kicked him in the chest. The man fell to the blow, and Mikey ducked underneath the length of Donnie's weapon just in time as the two came together. Stray bullets flew past them, some colliding with their shells as they spun around for protection.

"How was it?!" Mikey yelled over the clamor, breathless. Donnie sidestepped from the rapid hit he sent towards the human to his left.

"What are you talking about?!" Donnie loudly questioned, flummoxed of what could have been going on in his brain during a fight. "We're kind of in the middle of something here!"

"Your phone call!"

"Yeah, the hell's the talkin' about, Don?" a gruff voice cut through the jumble.

Both of the boys whirled around to see their older brothers there, weapons drawn.

"Oh, right. As soon as I saw those bad guys coming, I let them know," said Mikey casually to Donnie, throwing his fist into the face of the man coming up behind him. "You know, standard biz."

With the rest of the team there, the fight was over twice as fast. Some groaning in pain and some unconscious bodies littering the area, along with their weapons. Leo finished the last one and sheathed his swords, eyes on their tallest brother while Raph kept watch around them. Donnie swallowed as Leo approached him.

"Don, you said you were going out for scrap metal," Leo stated.

In the background, Mikey grabbed his skateboard and was going to try to kickflip over one of the knocked out guys, but Raph yanked the board from him, growling. He checked all of the men to make sure they were down and would stay down.

"We were...just on our way back?" Donnie answered. Nearby, there was a small pile of scrap he'd collected, though definitely not enough to justify being out that long.

"So you stopped at your friend's place?" Leo deadpanned, crossing his arms. "Didn't you think that this could get her in trouble, too? Her apartment's right there, dude!"

Mikey budded in and corrected him, "Ah, we stopped by [y/n]'s. And nah! It's all good."

Donnie's face twitched. "Of course I thought about it! That's why I've only come here three times since, and only thirty minute intervals!" he bit back, throwing his hands up. The rest of his brothers all looked at him and his specificity. "I'm not naive, Leo."

The leader pushed past the both of them, signalling that it was time to leave, and they followed. Not before Donnie got what little metal he had collected and put away his staff, tucking the stuff under his arm. Raph joined alongside Donnie as they ran. "What's with all the secret' stuff, Don? First, ya hide it to begin with, then, ya make out like you were done, and now you get jumped by Foot guys by her place when you shoulda been gettin' scrap!" he said. "How were we supposed to cover for ya if you're lyin' even after we let you off?"

"Technically, I did get some!" Donnie remarked. He held up a piece of the scrap for him to see, and Raph snorted. "But..."

Well, his question would be a little harder to answer.

Next block was the nearest manhole, where each turtle swiftly jumped in, knowing by heart (and years of wandering) most of the sewers and the way back home. In some tunnels was Mikey's telltale graffiti, but it was scattered throughout the place enough to not be a giant arrow to their hideout. In the last portion of the run was the tunnel they always slid down, and once they were actually home, Donnie knew what was coming. Master Splinter was already waiting for them by the time they arrived.

"Uh-oh," Mikey said upon seeing him, sinking behind his brothers. Raph pushed him back up front.

Dropping the scrap in his arms, Donnie squeaked, "That's not good." He quietly cursed how high pitched his voice became when he was nervous.

"Yeah…" Leo cleared his throat, looking down at his hands clasped in front of him. The situation had an awkward tension for everyone in it, save for Raph, who was immune to it by then and Splinter himself. "We took care of the soldiers," he added more seriously. "Got out of there before too much attention was drawn.

"The police may be able to handle them from here, but it will not make a dent in the Shredder's forces," explained Splinter, grave as he paced along the line of brothers. "He owns the city. Until I say so, there will be no venturing to the surface. You are all lucky to be unharmed."

"That ain't it," Raph piped up. "But they'll be bringin' the big guns, next time."

"Oh, I am well aware."

"Um...of which thing?" the nervous turtle questioned, exchanging glances to Raph and then Mikey.

Splinter raised his brows knowingly, and that was all it took for Donnie. The floodgates of his signature anxious chatter opened. He grabbed the edge of Mikey's shell and pulled him over into the spotlight with him, "I met someone over an online game and we started texting after a few weeks, and—and Leo found out and I said I would stop, but we never told you," he gestured toward their brother in blue, who refused to make eye contact, "so I told her that it was through and then Mikey somehow convinced me to go back on it," he sucked in a breath, and Mikey grinned uncomfortably, "and then we started talking again and I don't know why, but I went back there to her apartment building and it was just…stupid."

There was a cumbrous pause. Donnie was stiff as a board, Mikey couldn't look at any one thing too long, Leo stood in his polite but awkward stance, and Raph started to whistle.

As poised as ever, Splinter spoke. "I know."

All four pairs of eyes shot to their father.

"What?"

"Uh..."

"Huh?"

"Wait."

They expressed their collective confusion at the same time, and Splinter chuckled. Donnie wanted nothing more than to be able to retreat into his shell, but that was physically impossible. "Nothing gets past me, especially not you and your nervous habits, Donatello. You are scratching that spot on your neck again, son."

Flinching, Donnie pulled his hand away. He'd be damned; Splinter was right.

But unbeknownst to them, there had been spectator of their fight on the roof that night.

————————————————————————————————

shh do not think too deeply about this my children

a/n: haha plot device go brrrr

i need to finish this cursed fanfiction

[mimisempai]

You are enough just as you are

Sam senses that something is wrong with Bucky since they left Madripoor, but he doesn't know how to reach him. Zemo plays matchmaker (of sorts), to help him open his eyes...

"Are you sure you're okay, Bucky?"

"Yeah..."

Ever since Bucky had come back from his meeting with Ayo, Sam had felt he was different. In fact, now that they were settling down for a bit in Zemo's mansion in Riga, Sam had had time to think about everything that had just happened and actually Bucky had been strange since the plane ride to Madripoor.

Sam couldn't put his finger on it, but he had the impression that Bucky was distancing himself.

"I'm going to bed. I'm dead." Bucky got up from the couch and headed for his assigned room.

"'Night." he added and closed the door behind him.

Sam, convinced now that something was wrong, got up and made his way to Bucky's room, determined to get to the bottom of it.

"If I were you, I'd give him some time."

"What are you meddling with, Zemo?" Sam turned back to the baron who was lying on the sofa.

"Samuel, do you realise the impact our little stint on Madripoor has had on James?"

"Of course, I know it couldn't have been easy." Sam came and sat on the arm of the sofa.

"Really?" asked Zemo, raising an eyebrow at him in his characteristically mocking manner.

"I realise how hard it must have been to consciously put on the costume of who he once was, to act like the one he's desperately trying to forget." Sam had been aware of this, though he had beenl surprised by the fact that Bucky could act so easily.

"Fine, but there's one little detail missing Sam."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Sam was growing increasingly annoyed with the man who acted as if he knew something Sam wasn't aware of. He waited for his answer.

"It's that he had to do it in your presence."

"I don't see what difference it makes, I knew him when he was the Winter Soldier."

It was true. He'd seen Bucky fight, he'd even fought against him, he'd seen him act like the robot killer he was back then. The killer with no conscience.

"So blind... you two are so hopeless. But thank you for the entertainment..." Zemo chuckled making Sam's annoyance rise a notch.

"Geez, are you going to end up talking in more than just riddles!"

"Think about it, what's different between the time you knew him and now, other than the fact that he was being controlled? And what did you feel? Weren't you worried to see him slip so easily into the skin of the Winter Soldier?"

After  a few minutes, Zemo could see on Sam's face the realization of what his words implied.

"You understand now?"

"Yes." Sam stood up, "All the more reason for me to go."

Zemo rolled his eyes, said with a sigh, "So much for subtlety." then got up and headed for his own room.

"Good night Sam, give my regards to James."

Sam walked toward Bucky's room. He didn't bother to knock, he gently opened the door to Bucky's room and slipped inside closing the door behind him. The room was lightly illuminated by a bedside lamp in the corner of the room.

He wasn't surprised to see Bucky sleeping on the floor, they had already talked about it, their years in the war had left all sorts of traces. Bucky had spent more than half of his life in war, it was normal that the old habits were hard to die.

He went to sit on the floor next to Bucky who had his back to him.

"Bucky, I know you're not sleeping. We need to talk."

"Hm...no, not in the mood."

"And yet I think you know it's necessary."

Bucky let out a long sigh before rolling over onto his back, sliding the blanket off and revealing his perfect bare torso to Sam, who struggled not to gasp at the sight. But this was not the time. His eyes slid to Bucky's face, and he didn't like what he read. He'd seen a lot of emotions on Bucky's face before,, but never such deep sadness.

"Hey Bucky, I know something's wrong. Talk to me..."

He saw the expression of stubborn defiance come over Bucky's face, that expression he knew well, the one Bucky took when he didn't want people penetrating his shell. The one he wore the day of their couple therapy session.

Bucky said to him in a challenging tone, "You think you're my shrink Sam?"

"No, but I think I am your friend."

"Precisely..." sighed Bucky, the sad expression returning to his face.

Sam placed a tentative hand on Bucky's shoulder. He felt him tense under his hand before relaxing again.

"Precisely what?"

"It's even worse because you're my friend Sam. Do you understand?" Bucky ran a hand over his face before throwing his head back and closing his eyes.

"Yes, I think I understand, but I want you to explain it to me. No pretenses or wordplay. Tell me!"

Bucky sighed again.

"Who am I Sam? Who am I? When you look at me Sam, do you see me, or do you see the Winter Soldier? Do you-"

"Hey Bucky for as long as we've known each-"

"Let me continue… What if Zemo was right?"

"In what way?"

'James, you will have to become someone you claim is gone.'

'Didn't take much for him to fall back into form.'

Sam remembered Zemo's words.

Bucky continued, "What if it was just me who thought the Winter Soldier was gone? It was so easy to impersonate him again, and so horrible at the same time! I don't want to be that man anymore Sam! But if that was all there was in me. And then I think, if I don't have it in me anymore, am I still useful to you? And if I'm no longer useful to you, will you still want me around? And-

"Wow, wow, wow,  stop that right now! Your cyborg brain is smoking again. You're overthinking it Bucky. Let's go sit on the couch." He stood up, reached out to Bucky to help him up, sat him down on the couch, and sat next to him, so close their thighs were touching.

"Let's think rationally first okay?"

"Hm." Bucky nodded, keeping his head down.

"Bucky, look me in the eye and tell me, do you think the Dora Milaje would have let you go if they didn't think you were completely free?"

Bucky looked up, swallowed and thought back to the day Ayo looked him in the eye and said, "You are free white wolf."

He replied in a low voice, "No."

Sam patted him lightly on the back and exclaimed, "Ha see? And on top of that, I saw you as the Winter Soldier, you don't have anything of him in you I swear. I know it." He let his hand rest on the back of Bucky's neck feeling the man's tension.

"Secondly, what's this about you being useful to me or something? You've never been an instrument to me. Just like the winter soldier, that's all in the past. Bucky, you are you, free to decide, if you don't want to follow me then don't, but don't think you are here because you are useful to me. That's so far from the truth, from what I really feel-"

Bucky interrupted him, "That's just it! I don't know how you feel, you say we're friends, but what connects us if not the fact that we have or rather had a friend in common? Who am I to you?"

"I keep telling you you're my friend Bucky, but..."

He felt the tension rise under his hand and saw Bucky's features harden.

"Let me finish Bucky..., you're my friend but I want more for us." There, he had said it. The naked truth laid there in front of them. It wasn't the moment he would have chosen, but he had known that for a long time, not everything was going as planned.

Bucky turned his head towards him, "You mean you, that I- that..."

"I mean exactly that." Sam slid the hand that was on Bucky's nape around his neck and brought his face close to his, before kissing him, putting everything he was feeling into it.  Seeing that Bucky wasn't pushing him away, he deepened the kiss while tightening his embrace around him. Bucky was not to be outdone, he placed his hands on Sam's head responding to the kiss with equal ardor. Someone moaned, and Sam didn't know if it was him or Bucky. They separated to catch their breath, letting their foreheads against each other.

Bucky whispered against Sam's mouth, "Are you sure that... hmph."

Sam put his heart into proving to him how sure he was. Then he moved sightly back and whispered, "I'm sure of myself and my feelings, but what you feel, I don't know...you still haven't told me what you want Bucky."

Bucky kissed him gently before saying, "You, Sam Wilson, you're the one I want, you're the one I've always wanted." before kissing him again.

When they caught their breath once more, Sam had a slight mocking smile and pushing back a short strand of Bucky's forehead he said softly, "My white wolf, what am I going to do with you and your cyborg brain?"

"Whatever you want, Sam, whatever you want." replied Bucky before settling down, his head in Sam's lap and raising his feet on the couch. Sam leaned back, and let his hand slide over Bucky's hip, who gripped it with his own, while Sam's other hand stroked Bucky's tousled hair.

They let themselves be lulled by the moment of serenity that was offered to them, a moment of respite in the middle of the chaotic time.

There would be time tomorrow for battles, conflicts, disagreements and they would face them, together as always, but aware now of the strength of the bond that they shared.

_________

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31097006

Thanks for making it this far, I hope you enjoyed your read. Feel free to say what you liked (or not 😬) in this story.

Not beta'd

[lunarfly]

Defending Harmione against some arguments Romione shippers use:

1. "Harry found Hermione boring."

Ok, I see where this is coming from. There is a scene in GoF where Harry thinks that Hermione isn't the same as Ron, and that having Hermione as his best friend would mean much more studying and much less having fun. But that doesn't mean he thought Hermione was boring, he just found studying and hanging out in the library boring, and since Hermione spent most of her time studying in the library, Harry didn't have as much fun. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Romione but I hate it when Romione shippers use that scene as an argument against Harmione, because Ron found it just as (if not more) boring to study at the library as Harry did! So it's completely unfair.

2. "Harry found Hermione unattractive."

Firstly, people's looks and attractiveness don't determine whether you like the person or not, you don't have to think the person is stunning to fall in love with them. Secondly, Harry didn't find her unattractive, he literally says he doesn't think she's ugly. And when Hermione was at the ball, Harry found her so pretty that his jaw dropped. He didn't expect her to look that pretty, and that's a bit sad, but once he did realize it was her, his opinion on her looks kinda changed and he started to see her as an actually beautiful girl ever since.

3. "Harry is too short-tempered for Hermione."

I've seen some Romione shippers say this, and I've been shocked every time I have. In OoTP, when Harry was having a hard time, was getting upset about everything and was yelling constantly, Hermione was the one person to handle it well and calm him down. She was the one to deal with him, she was the one who understood him best, knew exactly how he was feeling. If you don't remember, you can reread OoTP, and pay more attention to those moments, it will be clear afterwards. *Quick note though, Luna was the second person who understood Harry well, and Harry didn't have trouble talking to her, which is why I admire their pure friendship. 🥺

4. "Harry and Hermione barely even talked when Ron wasn't around."

No, that's not true. The thing is, Harry spent more time with Ron, obviously, because he shared a room with him, took the same classes with him and etcetera, and he was more similar to Ron as well, so it would have been easier to talk to him about things like Quidditch and studying. But when he was with Hermione, most of the time Ron was there too, and they discussed the most important things together, they wouldn't talk about their plans without Ron, they always included each other(🥺🥺🥺). And just like that, he barely had any time without Hermione. But when he did, (ex. GoF) he DOES talked to her about anything, and Hermione had no problem understanding him. If you've noticed (reread OoTP if you haven't), whenever Harry had a problem, he always went up to Hermione to get advice. And so many Romione shippers also use the scene from The Deathly Hallows against Harmione, when they're so shocked about Ron leaving them that they can't do anything alone and don't talk. They say it's because Harry and Hermione can't get along, and they need Ron to do something together, but that's not true at all. Actually, Harry was always the bridge to Hermione and Ron, but, forgetting about that, when Ron left them, they were so sad and miserable, that they lost all confidence, sadness took over them, and Harry didn't know what to say to Hermione, as he was very bad at comforting people, but you can tell he was paying lots of attention to her. That's why they didn't talk or interact much. And if you remember, right before Ron left, there's a paragraph talking about how Harry and Hermione were the only ones talking and Ron was sitting in the background, complaining about food. Please get the facts right before you say something. <3

5. "Their relationship would be so boring."

Ok, I don't fully understand what you mean by this. If you mean it would be boring for the audience, then you're not a real fan of Hermione. If you'd rather read about her crying over Ron for your own entertainment than have her happy but "boring", you can't call yourself a real fan of her, sorry, I don't make the rules.

But, if you mean that Harry and Hermione would be bored in the relationship, then let me say something against that. If you think they wouldn't be able to have a conversation with each other, then you need to reread my point number 4. If you're saying they wouldn't be able to interact and have fun together, then you're straight up lying. They've spent their entire lives together, they grew up together, went through all of the adventures together (including Ron too of course, but Hermione was also there when Ron wasn't, but I can't blame Ron), they've literally lived together so idk how you'd expect them to be bored. If there's something Ron and Hermione could do to have fun and not be "bored" that Harry and Hermione couldn't, name it, because I'm really curious. Yes, Ron was very funny, he has made Harry and Hermione laugh a few times throughout the series (and I love him for that), but jokes aren't all it takes to keep a strong relationship.

That is all I'm going to cover for today, there's so many more reasonable arguments against them that I'll fight against in the future, but, for now, that's it. I mostly see Romione or Dr*rry shippers say these, but others say them as well. As for Drarry, it's pure toxicity, basically the LGBT version of Dr*mione. As for Romione, it's an amazing ship. I love it so much, I'll defend Ron over Draco and I won't accept Ron bashing for anything, not even for Harmione. He deserves better than Draco stans coming at him for nothing. Romione is pure, Ron would do anything for Hermione, and vice versa. And the same things happen with Harry & Hermione. That's why these ships are so similar and I love them both very very very much. <3

Also, I'm putting this post under the Romione tag because I have also defended Ron in this, and I truly love Romione, so please don't be offended by that. 🥺 As for the Dramione/Drarry tag, y'all can be offended as much as you want. IDC.

[purity-town]

Little late getting to these -- that's fully the fault of a class project I spent all of Monday/Tuesday and most of Wednesday working on -- but I finished my project and wrote up some long replies to these!

(Apologies for any funny formatting -- I'm trying out the beta for the new post editor!)

Absolutely not.

Nope! There are a few people who do know (other guides Andrew's met before, the Dryad, and I'd imagine the Witch Doctor knows something's up even if he doesn't know why), but none of them live in Purity Town proper, and the Dryad and Witch Doctor aren't the kind to participate in rumors or spread what isn't theirs to share. The old man is also aware just because he and Andrew have talked about their curses, but he's 1) not currently in town and 2) not going to share even if he were.

Most folks don't know much about Andrew in general; Becca probably knows the most out of the townsfolk, knowing a little bit about his family and where he's from (he has some pretty specific skills as a hunter that betray this, but he doesn't talk about his exact town of birth), but no specifics and certainly not time periods.

Andrew is good at keeping things quiet; he has to be.

I would actually appreciate if you didn't post to Pinterest -- usually I'm fine with people reposting with credit (several of the things I've posted to my DeviantArt have found their way to Instagram, for example) but Pinterest has something of a reputation for stolen art (things being reposted from another Pinterest post without credit this time, or credit being hard to view for users not logged in or just viewing through Google). So reposting elsewhere is fine (though if you repost to Reddit or Instagram, tag me at u/Ariibees or @Ariibees)! I'd just prefer my works stay off of Pinterest.

The terminology related to The Guide/Andrew/The Guardian/The World’s Core/The WoF is all confusing because on some level, they’re all the same being. Kind of like trying to talk about Jekyll and Hyde -- same guy, different looks/actions, haha.

For all intents and purposes, references to the WoF being the barrier/core/whatever behind or within which the spirits of light and dark are contained is equivalent to saying “these spirits are held trapped by the magic of the Guardian, who when summoned appears as the WoF.” I do break slightly from the official lore in how the WoF/Guardian/thing holding back these spirits works (mostly because I don’t really like the idea that the Hallow is a “temporary guardian” or whatever), but the basic concept of “these are trapped by [thing that makes up the WoF]” remains unchanged.

If “loony cultist” is a reference to something, I’m so sorry, but I’m lost on it. If you’re just talking about the lunatic cultist in a funny way, then yes, they’re in here as a very plot-significant character!

I had to google what meme you were talking about, but it did make me laugh.

Andrew’s most annoyed by the nickname because people do like to call him Guide, and for someone who’s dedicated his whole life to his role, it can get tiring. He doesn’t really *mind* being called Guide -- it’s fine, that’s what he is and as long as people are respectful of his job he’ll take what he can get -- but at the same time, he’d like for people to stop thinking “Aah! Monster!” or “Weird academic know-it-all” and just...treat him like a normal person sometimes. So he fights to be called Andrew. And...Malik comes along and gives him a nickname that he doesn’t like and doesn’t allow others to use, save for maybe a small group of people of which Malik is not a part. So, not cool, man!

People love to overcomplicate explaining shading/lighting, and if you wanted to you could certainly go on and on about reflections of light off the ground and shading colors and all sorts of things, but as I’m writing this at 1 AM I don’t really care to.

If you really want to get into shading, I see nice ones on DeviantArt or Tumblr from time to time, or you can always watch a YouTube video on it. Really, though, just keep at it, think about how the shadows should look and work, and you'll get better at it eventually and pick up new ideas on how it all works. (And this is coming from someone who is new to making comics and actually started as a painter.)

Purity Town’s shading comes down to this: simplicity. As much as I’d love to spend hours and hours redrawing the panels I don’t like and carefully shading every fold of fabric and painting detailed backgrounds, I’m a full-time college student and will be working full-time over the summer -- I don’t have the time. So, I cut corners: I reuse backgrounds or use brushes (see: bricks, trees, clouds) that make certain details easier, and I try not to obsess too much over panels I’m not fully happy with. Shadows go where they feel right, and light on the opposite side.

For shading, this comes down to making things quick and easy. For these last few pages, character shading/lighting has only been five layers. One hard light layer for the bluer soft shadows, one overlay layer for darker soft shadows, one linear burn layer for hard shadows, one soft light layer for soft lighting, and one overlay layer for hard lighting. I’ll often also make use of glow dodge layers for lighting, or change the color balance or add more hard/soft light layers if there’s a very heavy color filter on the scene (such as a celestial event, blood moon, or outdoors at night).

Using all the different layer types is essentially a cheat code to fancier lighting -- don’t want to use flat black? Boom, hard light or overlay or burn will give you colored shadows. Want to make your light brighter? Glow dodge will make it burn your retinas.

Sorry that this isn’t a very comprehensive guide, but in my mind, shading and lighting is really something that you pick up over time and it’s hard to sit down and write a guide for it without making it into a massive essay on art theory that I don't even know proper terminology for because I'm not an art student. Of course with some googling you’ll find *proper* guides for this sort of thing from art majors and the likes, and those can be super helpful and technical! But for Purity Town, I just sort of go with what feels right and what's easy to replicate.

Firstly, I’m happy to hear you’re liking the comic!

Secondly, those buttons are actually there due to the theme! (For those on mobile who can’t see it, I have the theme set to only display on desktop as I prefer the current mobile layout on phone.) I’m using the simple webcomic theme (a quick Google should tell you how to install it for yourself) -- except I’m not actually using it for the webcomic features; rather, it’s a case of “this is the most simple, nice-looking non-default theme I could find.”

The previous/next buttons are added by the theme with the intent that the blog is being used as a typical webcomic website, with nothing but comic pages being posted. However, I post asks and other art here too, and I do so with the intent that people looking at #Terraria or their dashboards in general will see it. So...I use html formatting to make the first/previous/next/last links, along with an index and chapter-by-chapter viewing (using /tagged/chapter##/chrono) so that no matter where you’re coming from, you can still navigate just the pages!

If you want to add just the previous/next buttons, I can’t really help you -- web development is not my area of study in the slightest. But you can check out the theme that they come from and if you want to install only them, you can surely find a tutorial on it somewhere!

(As a side note, the comments section is not from the theme, it’s from a site called Disqus. I don’t expect many people, if anyone, to leave comments, but since I link back to this site a lot and many folks don’t have Tumblr accounts, it’s an option I like to make available.)

Hiya! My hike was pretty nice; it was a short and easy one, but that was quite appreciated as the trail is unmaintained from November to April, and the trail was covered in fallen trees and quite rocky. Still had fun, though!

And for backgrounds, it depends! For indoors scenes (or outdoors scenes with buildings) I don’t tend to use references, outside of looking up things like “which side of a door is the handle on.” I will, however, integrate real-life textures (see: the quilt and rug in Guide’s house, the wood walls on the building in the background of this week’s page), and paint over paintings from the Terraria wiki.

For outdoors scenes, for simple backgrounds (such as foliage-heavy) ones, I typically don’t need references. I like the difference between detailed, lined indoor/man-made object scenes vs. painted, messy outdoor scenes. But for things like mountains, I do sometimes look up references to help with color choices and the likes.

The town’s layout is a bit strange in that depending on the scene, the background could be drastically different. One side of town faces more mountainside, one side faces the orchards/open hillside, and the other two sides face various degrees of open space and more mountainside/forest. References taken on top of mountains are helpful to get an idea of what degree of foliage I should include between the characters and the sky.

Though this is very specific to the town of Purity -- other towns/villages will have significantly different-looking backgrounds, even the foliage-heavy ones.

That said, what's even more helpful than looking at photos is looking at paintings. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is really good for getting an idea of how to draw grasslands and distant mountains, plus Studio Ghibli movies in general!

[girl-next-door-writes]

Fake Dating

This is an entry from my eldest for my writing Bingo.

Fake dating - James and Peter

"I've got to get her attention somehow, Pads! Something that's going to make her realise she should be with me you know…"

The four of them were in the dorm room, Remus trying to read whilst Sirius lay into him, James paced the room and Peter sat down on his own bed. Once again it seemed the topic had turned to Lily Evans. Of course they talked about more than the girl, they did have lives, it's just every now and again it comes to one of James' few attempts to be with the girl. He'd been trying hard for ages but any time he seemed to ask her out, she'd always said no to him. He couldn't see the problem, what was it she didn't like about him? He was THE James Potter. Nevertheless here he was with his friends, working out his next game plan to make Evans swoon.

"Come on, You have to give me some ideas guys? I could use anything right now." The boy sighed as he then stood still and pushed his glasses up his nose, looking from one of his friends on one bed to the other two. "Anything but that…" He began to warn when noticing a smirk creep up on Sirius' face, already knowing what he was going to suggest without needing to hear it.

"How about this James," Remus began as he slowly laid down his book on the bed, keeping it open as to not lose his page "Maybe you should get to know Lily a bit better and shear some things about yourself before jumping full force into things? You might find it to be more successful then the approach you're currently choosing to take." He also began to sit up in the bed slightly, moving Sirius off him to gain more room.

Sirius pouted just slightly at him when he'd moved, also sitting up on the edge of the bed as his eyes traced Mooney before he turned his attention over to Prongs. "You could always try making her jealous though? I mean, show her that you don't care whilst also showing her how good of a lover you can be." This suggestion caused a head shake from Remus, completely disagreeing to the idea. In his opinion that may cause the opposite effect to what James was heading out to do, creating more problems even.

James, on the other hand, was more than interested in what the other gryffindor had put onto the table. It would definitely show her how good of a lover he was if she could see him taking around another girl and treating her well. His only problem now was finding a suitable candidate to use in place of his partner. "Hey Siri, you know if Marlene is still open? Or maybe one of your cousins?"

A gag was followed when Sirius heard the question and raised an eyebrow at James "One of my cousins? First off, I'm not sure whether or not that would be breaking the bro code, and secondly, if you can't even get with Lily then your chances of pulling either of them is worse." Just the thought of James wandering around the halls with someone like Narcissa made him uneasy. "Maybe Snivellus is still open since he’s got the same problem?"

"Pads, you remember…" Remus let out a sigh as he spoke before James even got the chance to get all defensive. He wanted to avoid a fight this early in the day, especially between Potter and Black. That wouldn't end well since they would tend to bicker non stop on occasion. "As for Marlene I think she's gone home for a family emergency or something so she's not here currently."

James was staring at Sirius before rolling his eyes at the smile that had appeared onto his face when he was getting the warning from Remus. This was a problem, he'd have to spend a while ticking a list to separate people off that he couldn't use for his plan. As a joke though, he did try to ask the rest of the room's inhabitants. "Mooney? Pads? Either of you up for helping a friend out?"

"I'm taken." Both boys spoke in sync as they held hands and raised them, Remus using his spare one to pick his book back up whilst Sirius tried to sort out his shirt collar. Not that Remus would have said yes if he hadn't already been taken, Sirius on the other hand would have been up to helping James out in any situation. Now, however, he kind of couldn't without some questions being asked apart from the obvious one of 'when did you two start dating?' that everyone would be questioning upon hearing the news.

"I'd be up for it!" Perked up a voice which had been silent for the most part during the conversation as he'd been more of just listening rather than getting involved at the moment. The voice of course belonged to Peter as he began to sit up on his own bed with his legs crossed over each other. When the smaller of the four noticed the other three looking at him now though, he went quiet once again but still talking of course. "I mean, only if it would help of course James?" The blonde kind of tried not to look the other boy in the eyes as he was unsure whether he should now flip his offer over into a joke.

Lucky enough, James just raised an eyebrow and looked back to the other two Gryffindors. The longer hair of the two was chuckling a bit at the circumstances as he nodded, insisting that James takes the opportunity. The brunette, on the other side of things, looked to Sirius for a moment, then to Peter, then to James. Finally he shrugged a bit as he shook his head, indicating that he could care less though still he thought that attempting to make Lily jealous was not the way to go about things. With these silent opinions, the dark haired boy looked back to the blonde, pushed his glasses up his nose and nodded. "At least someone's here for my cause. Thanks Wormtail, I really owe you something for making you do this."

"No need to thank me…" Peter managed to give off a weak smile back to the other boy, scratching the back of his head as he thought before mumbled slightly "You're already doing me a favour yourself." It might finally be a time where he doesn't feel like a fifth wheel, not that necessarily he was since as established James didn't have Lily yet but still. With Remus and Sirius on one side of things and then if things go how he planned, James and Lily come to be, then where would he fit into everything. Even if the time may only end up being short, for now Peter could hopefully know how it feels to be part of a relationship. Even if it is all fake…

~~~~~

The rest of the morning was spent deciding how exactly they were going to go about showing this ‘relationship’ between the two of them. Like preparing themselves for questioning, all four of them. Number one, When. The first to ask James and Peter this happened to be Frank Longbottom, seeing them more closer than usual. More specifically, he’d noticed them kind of holding hands and thought nothing of it at first before looking more at the facial expressions of the boys. The blonde had usually been the nervous type but at this moment he appeared to be trying to hide his face in his robes. From what could be seen however, he was a deep crimson. The taller of the two though looked hardly phased though it could also be noted that he was whispering to his friend a bit more then he’d usually be seen doing.

Frank stayed where he’d been before watching the two other Gryffindors plop themselves down onto the couch by the fire. The way the two interacted again was different to how he’d usually witness, but the other thought he had was maybe this was how they were without Remus and Sirius about. He’d either see all four of them together or at least in a trio. On the occasions that he did only see two of the group though, it was never usually this duo in front of him, normally being James and Sirius messing around together or the obvious flirting between Remus and Sirius. However this was new to him.

“Hey guys,” Happened to be the first thing to escape Longbottom’s mouth as he waved at the two, watching them a bit more since he did appare curious to the sight in front of him. Peter kind of waved back as he stayed quiet, sitting on the couch normally with his legs down and leaning back only slightly whilst on the other end of the spectrum James stretched his legs out across the rest of the empty space by him, leaning his head on the other boy’s shoulder. “So… What are you guys up to?”

“You know,” James merely stated and he rearranged his position so he was sitting up just a bit more, now looking at his friend with a small smile on his face “I’m hanging around the best guy I know obviously, just having some alone time with my boyfriend without Siri or Remus getting in the way. I mean, you’d know with you and Alice and everything.” He wanted to get it out as soon as possible that the two of them were now a ‘thing’ so Lily could hear about it as soon as possible. Peter hadn’t expected his phrasing though and stayed his previous shade of red and he went to try to hide his face again. Not that he’d argue about this of course. He’d hate to admit to the truth that he always wanted things to end up like this to his friend’s though. What kept himself for getting too immersed was the reminder that all this was just to help James get with Lily. That was all.

“Oh, okay…” Frank appeared to not fully take in the words for a second as he nodded at the two of them before looking away, going back to writing a paper due in for tomorrow. However, a few seconds into his writing he realised what he’d been told. At first he was going to get a little defensive about his relationship with Alice, claiming that ‘We’re not THAT close’ but the more intriguing part of the situation caught his attention. “Wait a second… You two are going out? Since when?”

“I mean yeah, you want to answer that one love?” James spoke as if it was obvious, which technically now it kind of appeared that way but still. Once more he changed his position on the couch, trying to find one to be both comfortable yet show off that he was now taken. This turned into the boy lying back over the blonde’s legs, having to fix his glasses on his face as they’d almost fallen off during his second rearranging and hopefully the last. “Or would you prefer me to?”

Peter paused for a moment as he looked down to his lap to watch James look up at him with those big hazel eyes of his. They made him almost forget the question until of course he came back to reality when turning his attention onto Frank. It took a bit of flustered ‘ummms’ and ‘ahhhs’ and just a slight bit of stuttering until he finally got out the right reply of “Oh yeah, yesterday you know…”

“That doesn’t seem right,” Frank began to raise an eyebrow at the two boys as he lowered his quill and parchment to place them down, not believing in their story too much. Not that he wouldn’t think they could eventually grow into something at some point, it’s just he didn’t think at this moment in time they had actually hooked up the night before. That and something he’d witnessed the other evening seemed to disprove this. “Yesterday night you tried asking Evans out by serenading her with Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You, didn’t you?”

Here was one of the other things they’d (Should have) prepared for in the boys’ dorm with Remus and Sirius, being able to wriggle James out of last night’s fiasco. This would involve some good acting from both of them to make the story appare believable though yet if they only did this for Frank then hopefully through him thinking things are true and help from the other two marauders then the news should spread like wildfire. “Well,” Appeared to be the start of James’ story, and not a very good one at that. “I’d started to think about things once Lily denied me for the...how many is it now… 15th time? Anyway though, then i was like ‘Hey, how about i get someone who actually appreciates me, am i right?”

If they were being completely honest, this was the most glost over part of the conversation earlier in their game plan. And it shouldn’t have been. If they didn’t have a convincing enough story then people would immediately see what James was trying to do. Why would Potter start going out with one of his best mates? And why of all people would Potter start going out with Pettigrew? It didn't make sense. Yet, now, it was both of their jobs to make it make sense. James at this current time though was done an absolute terrible job at it of course if Frank's still raised brow wasn't proof. Luckily enough for him, Peter came to the rescue with a back up.

"I know you always want to look tough James but… Geez…" The blonde seemed to sigh as he whispered under his breath yet just loud enough to let Frank hear him. He needed to be convincing, unlike his partner in crime here, and in an attempt to try to get into the feels Pete had looked back down to his lap and into James' eyes. If he just thought hard enough as he stared into an endless array of Hazel then…

"I found him crying in the dorm room after the whole thing went down, not that he'd actually tell you himself. I was going to turn in early and found him with his sheet over his head. Obviously I went over to ask about things but seeing him I just… It was hard for me to look at him with the tears streaming down his face. He… HeHe was really hurt, I knew that, and I just wanted to help of course and… Well obviously he needed a shoulder to cry on! When you love someone so much and just realised that, well, you can't have them then of course it would hurt. Especially when they're kind of a friend who wou--- doesn't share the same feelings back. Just kind of the heart to heart he had last night and I mean the way he spoke had me. A true Gryffindor would be brave enough to share his feelings like that of course and that's why James is. After that? Well we kind of got to talk alone before shearing the bed. So technically if you look at things, it wasn't till this morning that it was official, but unofficial it had been in the evening before…"

A silence filled the room as the only sound now being heard was the crackles of the fire that had been lit. James had begun to sit up by the end of the tale, at a loss for words at what the other had said. He'd wanted to interrupt on many occasions during it but found himself unable to as he had those blue ocean's staring back at him. Now, however, Peter had found himself looking into the first place as his face grew a Crimson once more and a somewhat shaky hand ran though his blonde locks. He had felt he trailed off a bit, finding himself unable to stop as he spoke, as if something had taken over him slightly. The final of the boys had his mouth slightly agasp as he looked for something to break the silence between the lot of them. When the words were found though, they were warm and slightly apologetic. "James… I shouldn't have assumed things, my bad. But it's great to hear you've found something you can actually get your feelings out to. I'm sure that you two will last for a while."

Once these words were offered by Frank, James excused himself from the room and began to drag Peter off with him back to the dorm room. The conversation to follow had been slightly awkward as when the smaller of the boy managed to finally look at the other's face once more, he'd noticed the other was slightly red too whilst avoiding eye contact. "Found me crying? And all hurt or whatever because of Evans? You just made me sound like some sappy love sick fool Pete…"

"Like you're not?" Sirius joked as he looked at the two enter the room again, him and Remus standing with each other by the door. "You're the typical Romeo Prongs, pretty sure Wormtail got you to a T!"

Remus looked at Sirius for a moment and ruffled his hair slightly, a bonus on being the tallest in the group is not having to reach up, before looking over to the boy's who'd just returned to the room. "Not to agree with Sirius," Though Mooney did indeed think Sirius' observation was right "But the way Peter had put things was rather convincing, especially compared to your rendition. I won't lie, if I didn't know you two weren't actually a thing then I might have believed it."

Peter turned his gaze from James again towards the other two boys, somewhat embarrassed at the previous event. From James' reaction he felt as if he ruined things and he should have just gone with the lame excuse he used instead of going a bit more deep. "Wait… You heard everything? I'm so sorry about it I just didn't know what I was doing. Really James, if I'm screwed stuff up then I und---"

"Woah, calm down Peter…" Remus ended up interrupting the smaller boy, slowly laying a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. This was followed by a soft smile for reassurance that he'd not done anything wrong but rather the opposite to the werewolf's opinion on the circumstances. "Padfoot and I were listening from the staircase just so we could come in if anything happened. You really did a great job out there so don't apologise for it. You were a convincing actor and from the sound of it you got Frank to believe in you after James almost sabotaged things." Mooney then turned his attention to the boy he'd just referenced and let out another sigh before lowering his hand from Peter to cross over his arms. "As for you James, just think about. Pete made an excellent point out there in his explanation. A true Gryffindor isn't afraid to show his feelings to others. Even if I do disagree with the way you're going about trying to get with her I'd like to point out the fact that if she hears about this and how strong of a guy you are to actually talk about things like that, then she might come to appreciate you more than she does."

Another silence followed this, similar to the one in the common room before except completely devoid of sound due to the lack of fire as white noise in the background. James had kept his head down, looking to the floor rather than at any of his friends as he used this moment to do as Remus had suggested and think. As he thought, that point had been right. If Lily saw him as a guy not afraid to show his weaknesses but rather build on them with help from others then she might like him more. At this, the Gryffindor began to smile and slowly nodded in regards to the werewolf's words, finally choosing to agree with the observations. In this moment he also finally brought himself to look Peter in the eyes again before bringing him into a hug. This was unexpected to the blonde but was meant to symbolise an apology for getting somewhat defensive earlier about the situation.

"Come on then… let's go show-off this power couple to the rest of the school… let you keep up with more of that acting talent you've been hiding from us too." James began to speak again as he patted the other boy on the back before letting go of him and moving to take a hold of his hand as they left the room. If only they really knew why Peter's monologue had sounded so convincing, not that they would.

~~~~~

A week. That's how long they'd kept it up for before finally being able to speak with Lily. Depending on who you were, this week may have been good or bad. For Remus and Sirius it had been a middle ground as either they'd have to help out with their friends' 'relationship' from time to time, get some much needed alone time together or head on a double date to Hogsmead. If you were Severus you would surprisingly have the week Potter free since he was too busy wandering around with his new 'boytoy' or whatever people were saying though rumours. If you were most people then you'd be confused, not sure whether you heard things right when as a Slytherin you heard Ravenclaw was told by a Hufflepuff who was told by another Ravenclaw that Potter and Pettigrew were going out. Then you finally have two sides of the relationship itself.

At one end you have James who was frustrated. He wasn't frustrated at Peter, no, he'd appreciate the help he was trying to give so much. Each time he heard the smaller boy talk about him, he felt as if he was actually acting like they were a real thing. This was a good thing for convincing people around them that they were actually a thing. Apparently the news had even got to Dumbledore he'd heard Marlene a few days after she'd returned which had coincidentally been the day after the fake dating started. The thing that really frustrated him was the lack of Lily Evan's in his life. Somehow he'd gone the whole week without sight of her and he was extremely surprised. She must have heard by now right? If Dumbledore knew then of course she would, but why had she not come straight to James to question the matter at hand?

On the separate side of thing's happened to be Peter and he… Well he felt both like he'd been blessed but guilty. Each time he and James hung around each other he'd felt deep down that he was appreciated. This wasn't to say he wasn't appreciated before, just more than usual due to the circumstances at hand. Being able to praise James in front of others without having to hold back due to it 'being too much' wasn't a problem when there was the excuse of dating the guy. Hell, he couldn't help blushing as he thought of the fact they'd been incredibly close ever since the rumours had begun, revealing in the time they'd spent cuddling together in the common room or holding-hands in the corridors. The reason he'd felt guilty though was due to not having shared a tiny, little fact with James which may have helped James out a bit sooner. He knew Lily had been in the hospital wing of Hogwarts due to high temperatures and an extensive amount of vomiting.

That same evening James had tried to woo Evans with his singing, she'd eaten something off. Extremely off. She hadn't realised it at the time but soon after she'd gained food poisoning. Peter's excuse was he didn't learn that till Tuesday… Their third day of fake dating. Yes, he didn't realise it was a little selfish to not tell James this but he'd also never specifically asked there Lily was at all that week plus he also knew that Lily might appreciate it more if James didn't come around and try to get with her during her being ill. That might make things worse, giving her a headache that keeps coming and going. At least whilst using the week for his own gain, he could give the other girl a break from what she'd usually deal with.

Finally though, a week after all of this had begun, Lily was finally better and sitting down in the Gryffindor common as she copied off some notes that Marlene had lent her. It appeared calm around her, most people such as Sirius and Remus having chosen to head out to Hogsmead for the day to head to place's like Honeydukes. Luckily enough, or rather not for two of the three, James and Peter had also decided to stay at Hogwarts for the day. As if to ruin the relaxing atmosphere Lily had surrounded herself with, both boys ended the common room with hands locked in on each other. The excitement to cross James' face in this moment was almost instantaneous and he did have to remind himself to stay calm in the current moment. He couldn't just pull his usual shtick, right now he had a plan and he'd been preparing it for a whole week, just for this moment right here.

"We should really head out again together tomorrow evening with just the two of us Pete, call it a date again but ditch Remus and Sirius this time so it's actually some alone time?" The Gryffindor had begun as he led the smaller boy over to the couch by the fire, slowly letting go of his hand and taking a seat, patting the space by his side. "I'll let you choose this time and of course I'm paying, you know how much of a gentleman I am."

Even if he'd tried to promise himself not to on the first day, Peter couldn't help but get himself over invested in the fake relationship they'd formed. At this moment he'd been too focused on James to realise Lily as well. "That sounds amazing but you really don't have to, you know how I hate making you pay for me… I just feel you've done so much for me already that I can't take any more." He had to move some of his blonde hair out of his face as he began to take the space by James, him being the one to lean into the taller of them rather than vice versa as when there with Frank. It was a comfortable position for him and always loved the warmth of James' body next to his, being able to sink into his body.

When Peter had noticed the mouthing of the words 'keep up the good work' from James however when he'd started to trace over those lips with his eyes, he'd realised his time was almost up. Reluctantly turning his gaze away from the dark haired male, he caught sight of the ginger who'd just started to look up from her own writing when listening to the boys. Though she'd usually roll those green orbs when she'd caught sight or even heard James' voice, this time she appeared to laugh a bit. It was just a small giggle as she looked at the position the boys were in, a smile now forming before word's escaped. "I'm sad I couldn't be around to witness this sooner, you wouldn't believe how much Marlene has been going on about this being her new favourite thing. I can kind of understand why now that I see it in person."

This was not the reaction James expected. This was not the reaction James had wanted. This was not the reaction James had played over and over in his head as a way to keep up the charades. He tried not to show his mixture of both disappointment and frustration in his face though as he tried to stay blank. He couldn't bring himself to fake a smile in this moment as he heard the redheads words and felt them hit him. Where were the passive aggressive remarks? Where were the 'what if you had somebody better' comments? Hell, she was being completely supportive towards them. Even as James was stuck thinking, she'd looked over to Peter to say "I could always tell you had your eyes on him from the way you gush, guess you got lucky with being in the right place at the right time last week. I really must congratulate you on that."

Peter hadn't expected this either, but damn if he hadn't hoped for this turn out. Remus had been spot on about Lily of course, she wouldn't get jealous. All that effort had been for nothing. For James it had been for nothing at least. For the Blonde, still lying into his best friend, he'd have to agree with the red head's words. He happened to be in the right place at the right time. Just in the room when Sirius had come up with a dumb suggestion. Now, though, a question did come to his mind. What comes next? What were James and him supposed to do that the plan hasn't worked and basically everyone across the school thought they were actually going out?

~~~~~

"We need to make it look like we broke up or something…"

So this was where things ended then? Two hours after the incident with Lily right where it had all started, in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. Not like Peter had expected anything other than this result, what else could it have been? James realises he doesn't like Lily anymore and thinks his best mate he's been pretending is his boyfriend is actually who he wants to be with for the rest of his life? Like that would happen. It was just some cliché that he would never find himself in, no matter how much he wanted it.

James tried to punch the wall to let out frustration only to find out he shouldn't have as he was soon shaking his hand to 'get the pain out' or something. He did agree it was a bit of a stupid move, next time he should just aim for the pillow. Nevertheless, he then looked to Peter and he continued to shake the pain away with what looked like a single vigorous jazz hand. "Like, What's the story around our break up? Cause I was thinking it might be that I'm actually not over Lily because she's my soulmate and everything and we found out in potions because of that Amortentia stuff and whatever?"

"I understand James… of course you wouldn't be able to get over her… You're almost obsessed. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt though, you're not Severus when it comes to trying to be with her…" Peter began to reply, knowing this is the last opportunity he'd get to say he and James were exactly 'together' as a couple. Yes, it had apparently been fake but it had to at least be half real. Everything James did and said definitely had to be fake as he probably just imagined the ginger from downstairs with him everytime the two of them would cuddle but that amount of faking and imagination wasn't needed for the other Gryffindor. He'd just needed to be careful with his words. "I just want to tell you this before it's all over though… Thank you. This week has been probably the best week of my life and though I'd hate to say this, I doubt I'd be able to feel how I've felt this whole time ever again. On our first day when I was talking about how it hurts to know that someone you like… As in like like… doesn't exactly have the same feelings back? Guess we've made it all the way around to that point haven't we? Yet, before we end this… There's just one thing I hope for… "

With his words being over and done with, Peter took his shot as he closed his eyes and waited… And waited… And… laughing? He could be sure of it, there was James' laughing in this moment as he'd waited for something else. "Woah there Wormtail, you're aware we don't actually have to act this out cause no-one's around right?" James had begun to point out through his laughing, completely misunderstanding the situation at hand. He'd gotten so used to how Peter had been acting lately that he thought everything along those lines were just him being an amazing actor. When he'd stopped laughing and noticed both that his friend wasn't laughing along whilst he opened his eyes to show disappointment, he'd begun to come to realise what had gone on between them. "Peter… you didn't actually think I… Right? I mean you couldn't have, you don't like me in that way. We're just friends, obviously. Just friends. You've got to be joking right? Tell me you're pulling my leg with this…"

It was almost an order in the way James had said it, drenched in complete disbelief over the circumstances and the fact one of his best friends could have actually had a crush on him. He'd never seen the blonde in that way and in his opinion, he never would be able to. Peter just felt a pit in his stomach on the other hand, both expecting yet being taken by complete surprise at his reaction. It hurt. All of his words began to hurt. Even thinking back to the 'romantic' remakes shared between them over the week, they began to pain him. He knew they were fake, he knew they were… But why did it seem so real to him? Now he had a dilemma. James knew, of course he did since he'd just come out to him, but he had to think fast. Either he could deal with this and have his relationship with James completely ruined by this, or he would try to make up a probable excuse to use. He was lucky enough to find the words in time to take the latter option.

"Of course I'm not being serious James. I mean… I'm Peter so that's obvious. I just wanted to see what I could get away with with you know, have a small prank of my own whilst we do this, maybe use it to defuse the tension… guess the opposite happened?" There was pain, a lot of it, being pushed down inside of the blonde as he faked what he could. For the first time since the beginning he finally appeared to act, even putting a smile on his face as such a low moment for him. The thing that put the nail in the coffin for him though was James… James believed his lie more than his actual feelings in this moment.

"A prank…? That's it! We say we pranked everyone to see what would happen and then it was successful, especially with us catching Dumbledore out!" There was a glimmer in the boy's eyes that shined through his glasses as he pushed them up his nose. What had previously been a face of shock had now turned into determination with a grin. "You're a genius Wormtail, and actually had me for a second. Must applaud you for that one… Now come on!" Before James had left however, there was an extra little surprise. As a joke, a cruel one considering the circumstances, Potter had leaned over and gave Peter a kiss on his cheek before moving out the door. "God, I love you sometimes Pete…"

There it was, an extra wound to live with. Those words. The Gryffindor was now left alone in the dorm room, no sounds to be heard at all apart from the beat of his own heart. Even that stopped for a moment as he thought. He wanted to forget everything that had happened between them that week. It had been amazing, like a dream, like paradise… But that's all it was. Something fake that you'd never actually get to experience for real. Just an illustration. And as wizards they were good at creating them, weren't they? Now wouldn't be the only time he'd wish to forget about it. At some points he may get close to forgetting but then something would always bring the memories back. At least in this moment, there was one thing he could remember from the experience. Never let people know what you really want.

"Love you too… James…"