#comic work will resume tomorrow

[longing-for-the-past-times]

finding out it's your birthday

task force 141 x reader

synopsis: It's your birthday, but you don't know how to tell your teammates about it

notes: don't really know how to properly describe this, but it's based on this request and my personal experience of having to spend my birthday at work (no, I did not bring them baked goods, just sweets from the shop). Really short, not proofread, no plot.

comments and reblogs are always appreciated🙈

warnings: none

find it on ao3 masterlist

"and now I am dreaming and you're singing at my birthday// and I've never seen you smile so big" - moon song

There were a lot of potential ways you could have spent your birthday, but running through the narrow hallways of the base with a heavy backpack slung over a shoulder definitely hadn't been one of them

You almost crashed into other three operators, including König from KorTac who had the common sense to place his heavy hands on your shoulders in an attempt to steady you before you ran him over in your rush to get to the meeting room

Laswell had advanced the hour the post-mission debriefing was supposed to take place and it ended up clashing with your own schedule, the one day you decided to organise your actions into one and now you were late by almost 5 minutes. Which wouldn't seem like much to some, but being a member of Task Force 141 meant you needed to uphold a certain standard.

But it was your birthday and even if you were 99% sure no one was actually aware of it, you'd spent the morning baking oat cookies and muffins, and carefully packing them into casseroles. You also tried to bring them to the destination with minimal damage, but now you could only hope there was something edible left of the baked goods.

"I'm sorry I'm late!", you meekly excused yourself, taking a seat between Ghost and Soap and blushing slightly when feeling Price's judging glare.

"Anyway, as I was saying when you tried to infiltrate through this crack in the perimeter…"

Slightly tapping your left foot against the floor, you couldn't focus on Laswell's words. What if they didn't like the cookies - you were never able to make them both soft and chewy - or what if the muffins stuck to the muffin liners? Did you put too many chocolate chips in them?

"Y/N? What's your take on this?"

You looked at Price with an alarmed expression, panic bubbling up in your chest upon seeing the questioning looks of the others. You didn't catch the last part of the question - were they asking about your birthday? Laswell must have known, she was the one responsible for all the intelligence after all.

So you did what seemed the most logical thing to do. You opened the backpack and placed the plastic casseroles on the table, unaware that everyone else in the room was literally frozen in place.

"So yeah, it's my birthday today and I made some cookies and muffins and thought it would be nice to share them with you and… that's not what you were talking about, is it?"

Your words trailed as you realised that the timing wasn't as ideal as you planned. At least, now you were sure they hadn't known: Price's eyes were widened comically, and Gaz was repeatedly blinking at you in confusion and disbelief. Soap let out a thunderous laugh as he instantly pulled you into a bear hug and Ghost… you couldn't tell his expression under the mask, but the blank look in his eyes meant he was probably still wrapping his head around it

"How about we forget any of this happened and I do it again after the debrief is over?" A blush spread on your cheeks as you tried to put the casseroles back into the backpack, but you were stopped by Gaz's firm grip.

"Are you kidding? It's your birthday, we should celebrate - go out for drinks and do karaoke and-"

Price and Kate shared a knowing look between themselves and shook their heads in defeat. Before being able to ask them what was the matter, Kate closed the laptop and began to stuff the files back into the manilla folders

"Happy birthday, Y/N! We will resume this tomorrow. And now tell me, what kind of oats did you use for the cookies, plain or instant? My wife's been trying to make them this chewy, but she never seems to get the recipe right."

It was your turn to open your mouth in disbelief when you saw Price joining Kate at the table, securing a casserole of oat cookies just for themselves

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?", he asked in a gentle tone, fishing breadcrumbs from his moustache.

"I… It's not that important, I mean…"

You couldn't help but flinch when someone placed a hand on your shoulder, squeezing it slightly, as if in reassurance. You turned your look to Ghost, who was holding a pink muffin in his gloved hand. His mask was lifted up to his nose, revealing his tight-lipped smile:

"Don't ever say that again, ok? That is all the more reason to celebrate it. You were the one who got us out safe from the bunker after all…"

And you could swear you saw his lips twitching into a smile, a playful glimmer dancing in his eyes as he bit into the cupcake

[fizzywashere87]

OKAY OKAY SO I WAMNA REQUEST LIKE 2012 RAPH HAS A CRUSH

AND HIS CRUSH IS THE MOST DENSE MF EVER LIKE RAOH WILL FLIRT WITH EM AND THEY'LL BE LIKE "awe thanks!" Just really oblivious lol

notes: OMGIE YESSSSS THIS IS CUTE (it has been rotting in my inbox for a few weeks months and this i apologize for) also i didn't know if you wanted hc's or a fic so i js went with a fic for this one BUT I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS TYSM FOR REQUESTING ML I HOPE YOU ENJOY!! 🫶🫶

Warnings: Gn! Reader, Fluff? Slight crack ig, Rushed at the end kinda

M.List

Think Babes, Think!

Raphael and his brothers were training in the dojo, as usual. Nothing new, nothing to bat an eye for, though Raphael was somewhat distracted. This was not usual.

What was he thinking about that made him so distracted you ask me?

Them.

Who's them?

(Name)

He's gonna try and flirt with them today, that's why he's so worked up.

Raphael is put against Donatello today in their sparring matches, and while they circle each other just waiting for Master Splinter to give them the 'go,' Raphael can't seem to shut his thoughts up.

They probably don't even like you back.

You're an ugly, gross mutant, they're human and just perfect, no human wants to be with a mutant, nonetheless one like them.

Ugly green freak-

His anger was beginning to show on his face. Donatello noticed, raising a non-existent brow, he started, "Uh- Raph-"

"Haijime!"

Raph lunged at Donnie right away, which the taller turtle narrowly dodged, causing Raph to tuck and land on his knees for him to quickly get back up again. The rest of the sparring match was a blur, Raphael was just angry.

"Yame!"

He came back to his sense when he heard Donnie groan from the floor as he stood over him panting slightly. He wasn't as angry as he was a few seconds ago, but the feeling of anger definitely lingered. Donnie got up, Leo and Mikey were already seated on their knees, Leo having won that match. "Uh, Raph, you look, like extra angry dude-" Mikey spoke up prompting Raph to whip his head at his younger brother and send him a glare.

"I am not angry." He spoke through gritted teeth, Mikey put his hands up in mock defense as Donnie and Raph go to sit on their knees beside their two brothers. Master Splinter stands in front of his four sons his hands clasped behind his back, the boys wait to hear what he's about to say, Raph, with an angered look on his features.

"You boys did-"

"Casey! Cut it out!"

"I didn't do nothin' red!"

"Say on God, we both seen you Jones!"

Master Splinter sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose at the certain ruckus going on at the new arrivals if you'll call them that, Leo also seems to sigh, the rest of the brothers unphased.

At the sound of their voice, Raph's anger was immediately lifted a ton, and he thought about his plan to flirt with them today. He didn't know how he was going to do it, but he was going to. His attention turned back to his sensei when he heard another sigh come from him. "You boys did well today, remember your strengths, hide and let go of your weaknesses. We will resume our training tomorrow."

"Hai sensei!" The boys say together, bowing slightly before getting up and meeting their human friends who're in the living room.

As the four boys walk in, April gives a warm smile and wave, (Name) flashes their usual grin, and Casey continues munching on popcorn. Donnie runs to April first much to Casey's dismay and he gets ready to pick a small fight. Mikey, as usual runs to grab a comic book and he plops on the couch next to Casey, giving (Name) a fist bump, Leo also walking over to greet and join his friends. (Name) looks to Raph who seems to be taking the soul out of that poor punching dummy.

(Name) walks over to him, smiling slightly. "Hey Raph, what 'cha up to?" They ask talking over his quieter grunts. He pauses for a moment, looking at them and sighing slightly, (Name) didn't pick up on it.

"Nothing, just punching." He replies, crossing his arms, they look at the dummy and back at him, nodding in understandment. He really wanted to say something sweet to them, something that would give them the hint. This was so, so, not like him. He's not supposed to care about this, the only thing he's supposed to care about is punching aliens and taking down Shredder. So why, why was he so persistent with this?

Although now that he thinks about it, he may have to be a bit more straightforward with (Name). There was that one time...

"Hey." Raph says as a greeting, seeing (Name) walk into the lair, they plop down on the couch next to him, and he sets his comic down.

"Hey Raph! What's up?" (Name) smiled and started idly tapping their foot on the ground. This was his chance, why was he doing this? Never mind that he's doing it, no matter how soft he comes off as.

"You," he clears his throat, "you look cute today." Raph says mentally cursing himself at the way he sounded and how they easily could've taken that as him implying they don't look cute everyday.

(Name) pauses for a moment, taking in his words. A bright smile etches across their face and she gives him a thumbs up. "Thank you Raph! You look pretty good yourself!" They stay quiet for a moment before speaking up. "You okay? It's totally not like you to give out compliments like that!" (Name) tilts their head a wave of concern washing over their adorable human features.

Raph was dumbfounded, shocked even. He stayed quiet for a moment as he processes how his flirting just flew over your head. Were they playing dumb with him to avoid rejecting him? he wouldn't blame them... (Name) was a human and he was an ugly green freak!

"What do you mean?! I can't compliment people?!" He plays the angry and defensive card to get out of that one.

(Name) watches as he punches the dummy, looking over how his muscles flexed at certain points, taking it all in. They wished he seen them the way they do. Why can't he like them back?

Raph stops his punching and turns towards (Name), he took a deep breath and sighed. "(Name), can I ask you something?" He sounded almost nervous? What was wrong?

"Of course Raph! What's up?" (Name) asked slightly concerned, it could be anything at this point. (Name) was hoping he'd get it over quickly so they don't have to wait any longer in suspense.

"Would you," Raph clears his throat, "Would you want to go out sometime?" His tried not to wince as his voice took on a higher pitch at the end.

(Name) thought for a moment, was he asking them out? Probably not, either way they would love to go. "Sure!" They smile, "Any specific reason?" They ask curious as to why Raph of all people would want to go out with them.

Raph sighed audibly through his nose. Welp, this was going to be all or nothing. Time to rip the bandaid off for this one. "I was asking you out on a date." He crosses his arms he scoffs. "Forget it, you wouldn't want to go on a date with an ugly green mutant. Stop playing stupid with me." Raph walks off, angry and a little sad.

(Name) pauses for a moment, as if something wet had just hit them in the face. "What?" They mumble. "Raph wait!" They call out and Raph pauses.

"What do you want?" Raph turns around to face them again, although he didn't really want to. (Name) lightly jogs up to him. "I would love to go out with you, I just didn't think that you liked me like that..." (Name) says rubbing the back of their neck awkwardly.

Raph raises a brow, a small smirk on his face. "You really are that dense." He said crossing his arms, getting an eye roll from (Name)."Where were you thinking we go?" (Name) asks, referring to their up coming date, completely disregarding his (lighthearted) insult.

"Mr. Murakami's place, it's not like I can go anywhere else." Raph says as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. (Name) shrugs and nods. "You do have a point there." They smile at him and plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Pick me up at 8 on Friday!" (Name) skips off to go hangout with April who was seated on the couch engrossed in her laptop for school. Raph was left there with pink cheeks and wide eyes, his jaw slightly agape.

Wow.

@fashionablysouly @serendipitous-girl

[usedtobeguest123]

...He raised his eyebrows in surprise at that. Favorite people? Was he included on that list? Julieta just smiled and turned back to the dishes. It took Bruno a moment, but he also slowly resumed his duties, finding he couldn't put away the little smile on his own face that had arrived at the thought that he might be someone's favorite.

I drew from my fic La Traes again for @encantober-official Day 2 - siblings. This scene is a little exchange that happens between the triplets--the OG siblings. You can find the whole thing below the cut.

“You need to get out of the house, hermanito,” Julieta had said to him gently one evening after dinner as they washed dishes together. “It’s…been a while, sí?”

“Eso se queda corto,” Pepa had mumbled as she dumped some more dishes into the soapy water, earning a glare from both of her siblings. [ That's an understatement.] She widened her eyes at them as if to say What? Am I wrong?

“I’m just saying ,” Julieta continued, pointedly moving past Pepa’s comment, “that it might do you some good, to have a little more change of scenery.”

“I-I think I’m doing just fine,” he replied a bit defensively. And he did. He went for walks with Dolores around the perimeter of Casita, down to the river where it ran past the southwest edge of the grassy lawn. Sometimes he’d wander out back behind the house, napping in the afternoon sun before it disappeared behind the mountainous wall that guarded the back of their home. Compared to the previous ten years, he was a veritable expeditionist now. 

“Of course you are,” Pepa said, putting an arm around his shoulders. He hunched them in response, glancing at her suspiciously. 

“Y-yeah?”

“Yeah! You’ve made it to the edge of the grass! That’s like, what, un kilómetro cuadrado, yeah? A completely normal amount of space for a person to exist in.” 

[One square kilometer.] Bruno’s frown deepened. “You’re mocking me.” 

Pepa winked at him. 

“A-alright, alright,” he said, waving his hands in the air beside his head in surrender. “I’ll, uh, I'll go to the banana fields tomorrow. As long as it’s not a harvest day,” he added, pointing a finger at Julieta, who rolled her eyes good-naturedly at him. “Or an irrigation day. Or you know…a-a day with other, um, other people there.” 

The busyness of rebuilding Casita last year had given him enough social interaction outside his immediate family to last him quite a while…a very long while. Thankfully, he’d been able to largely lose himself in the organized chaos of it all, and Mirabel had been particularly helpful, working as a liaison between him and anyone he’d had to interact with, smoothing the awkwardness away with her easy conversation and joyful presence. And he had managed to largely ignore the curious stares that came from, well, from pretty much everyone until the novelty of his return had worn off. Well…at least he had pretended to ignore them. 

“I don’t want to pressure you, arenoso,” Julieta said gently, putting a slightly soapy hand on his shoulder. “I just don’t want…”

…don’t want you to get lost again. She’d let her sentence trail off, but the unspoken ending hung awkwardly in the air anyway. They’d both turned back to their dishes, with Pepa standing stiffly beside them, hugging a freshly dried plate to her stomach. The cloud above her head darkened just a little. Bruno winced down at the soapy water as the silence surrounding them grew painful.

“H-hey, maybe you can spend the day with Antonio tomorrow?" Pepa offered nervously, popping the tension like a soap bubble. "He needs a…a break …from routine, too."

Bruno and Julieta looked at their sister with matching frowns, both narrowing their eyebrows in concern. It would have been comical or even sweet to see the same expression mirrored between her two siblings again…if she didn’t feel the weight of the very same concern pulling down the corners of her own mouth. 

Antonio had been struggling to find a place for himself in the Madrigal visits to town. Before his gift, he might have shyly clung to Mirabel’s skirts or played in the dirt while Pepa rained on the fields, never quite brave enough to venture out to play with the other children on his own, refusing to speak to the adults that smiled down at him. Pepa worried about his shyness.

But now a different problem had presented itself. Antonio was now more than happy to engage with anyone and everyone, possessing a newfound courage with his animal friends by his side, but his animal friends were also decidedly wild, and even Antonio could not control every move they made. Just last week, some monkeys that had trailed him into the town had wandered away and found some storage crates of fruit, working together to drop them from the roof of a nearby house until the crates smashed open and spilled out a feast that was then fit only for them. The owner of the crates had not been happy.

Most of the jungle animals had largely maintained a healthy, fearful distance from the bustling, busy streets of the Encanto for the fifty years it had occupied the valley, but Antonio’s warmth and friendship seemed to have blurred that boundary, and Abuela was struggling to find a balance between loving encouragement and civic order. And when Abuela struggled with something, all the Madrigals struggled with her, in one way or another. 

“...Mamá suggested that maybe Antonio might spend some time in the forest paths, playing with his gift,” Pepa explained, putting away the plate so she could pull at her braid. A knowing glance between all three siblings conveyed the underlying meaning of the word play—learn to get it under control. “Félix was going to take him, but you two get along so well, Bruno. Maybe you could spend some time with him, and you both could enjoy the fresh air. You know. Bonding?”

Bruno blew out an exaggerated breath, his cheeks puffing and his shoulders dropping dramatically. He pulled his mouth to the side and looked at Pepa with an expression of reluctant concession. How could he say no to a whole day with his sobrino? He loved the kid. And the very fact that Abuela had been the one to suggest the break from town…well. He knew what that felt like. No matter how nicely she put it, how lovingly she intended it, he knew it would feel like a punishment to Antonio. That thought…well that thought broke his heart a little. 

“...F-fine,” he mustered in response. “We’ll go for a walk in the–- ” he swallowed dryly“ –- i-in the forest.” 

A bit of sunlight broke through from behind the cloud above Pepa’s head, and Bruno couldn’t help but flash a small, crooked smile up at it. She pulled him sideways by his collar and planted a kiss on his cheek, which he winced at but accepted gratefully. Julieta nudged him with her hip. 

“There you go! That will be fun,” she said happily, clearly convinced this was a fantastic solution for all parties. Bruno was not so sure. “Take Mirabel with you, too, if you want. You know she’d love to join her two favorite people for the day.” 

Bruno had raised his eyebrows in surprise at that. Favorite people? Was he included in that list? Julieta had just smiled and turned back to the dishes. It had taken Bruno a moment, but he also slowly resumed his duties, finding he couldn’t put away the little smile on his own face that had arrived at the thought that he might be someone’s favorite. 

So here he was now, sharing a picnic blanket with a sloth and a capybara—among other crawling, flittering things—nursing a bruised ego after having been tackled by a six year old on a jaguar, all because he was a pushover who couldn’t say no to time with his sobrinos. 

Caray. The things I get myself into…

--La Traes, Chapter 1

[sweetfirebird]

A Christmas Gift for the Silver Fox

SHW Drew on Patreon gave EXTREMELY generously to a food and housing org and for a prompt said, "in case you have a snippet about "Charlie & Will ten years on" floating around that you're longing for an excuse to write about...."

Sidenote but it is really weird to consider that Will and Charlie ten years on is… more or less now.

Content tags: Covid mention, background family stress. The lightest of BDSM mentions. References to both the book Play It Again, Charlie and some of the commentfic that is floating around the internets somewhere. Passing body image and aging issues. Financial issues. Some alcohol.

This is it for the charity prompt fills this year. Thank you to everyone for being so generous and awesome. <3

A Christmas Gift for the Silver Fox

Will shoved yet another roll of wrapping paper to the side and peered underneath it for a list he was nearly almost hundred percent certain that he’d actually made and used today while shopping and now needed to consult and possibly revise.

“How many bows did you think you’d use?” he asked himself irritably under his breath, setting aside a bag of those he’d bought today. He’d add to the bin of them that he’d gotten years ago in an attempt to make gift wrapping easier. He was going to be like all the homemaking influencers and have a wrapping station, or so he’d thought at the time. He didn’t have a station. He had the temporary use of the kitchen table and space in one of the closets. And there was no point in setting aside wrapping supplies to save time and money if every year he saw some new cute wrapping paper patterns and brought them home.

A tape dispenser clattered to the floor, startling Natalie Wood, who skittered away from Will’s feet and went back to circling the food bowls.

“Sorry, Natty.” Will meant it, but he muttered that too, bending over to snatch up the tape and then resuming his exhausted search for the Christmas list. Beside the rolls of paper and the bin of bows and ribbon were some of the gifts for various Howard cousins and niblings and siblings and siblings-in-law that he’d purchased today. He needed to make sure he had what he wanted to get, and then see what else was still left, and he wanted to do it while shopping was fresh in his mind.

Then he had to wrap them all, tonight, if he could. It would make the following weeks slightly easier. Tomorrow, he’d agreed—months ago, without thinking—to pick up Alicia and take her to the city for some comics event at a shop, which meant getting up early and lots of waiting in line… and probably seeing something she liked and getting it for her for Christmas as sneakily as he could.

If it was expensive, he’d have to use the joint card, which he frowned thinking about. All his life, he’d thought he would enjoy being like Lorelei Lee and spending someone else’s money but it turned out that when it was a reminder of his failures, he didn’t care for it.

Not failures, he immediately repeated in his head, glancing guiltily across the kitchen. It wasn’t failure to finally settle down and get a chair in an actual salon, only to end up having to go back to traveling to work for private clients because of Covid. He wasn’t the only one it had fucked over and it had nothing to do with him succeeding or failing and he was lucky, very lucky, to be okay, both health-wise and financially. He knew that, like he knew that Charlie didn’t mind Will spending his money.

Charlie would, in fact, get cranky if Will called it that and not their money. And would not like Will calling himself a failure either, for having to rebuild his savings and his career this late in the game.

Charlie would be harder on himself than he would ever be on Will, and that included spankings. Then he’d say something about how he worried less about Will knowing that their finances were linked, or say that’s what he thought marriage meant, sharing highs and lows, and if his family had money, and Will was his family, then shouldn’t Will use it?

But Will couldn’t think about that now or he’d lose focus. He was going to complete the list, handle everything like he’d said he would, and then he wouldn’t feel weird about it and everyone would have a nice Christmas. So that. He had to summon the energy and just do it. Wrap presents. Finish the list, if he could. Get ready for bed. Get up to taxi Alicia around and listen to her talk about girls and boys with wonder and a little envy he hadn’t realized he’d ever have toward young people, but there it was anyway. Bring her back here to wait for her mom to pick her up. Get ready for a holiday party which Charlie was iffy on attending for various reasons, but if they didn’t go to that, then probably spend the evening on the phone or online dealing with the rest of the shopping, or wrapping anything he failed to wrap tonight.

Meanwhile, the tree in their living room had lights on it but no decorations, there were several school recitals and one dance performance they were supposed to go see in the next few days, as well as a few more parties—including the one for Charlie’s work which was officially-unofficially mandatory, and Will needed to do a few hair consults before a late December wedding.

Not that long ago, Will’s Decembers had mostly been a small bit of Christmas shopping, first just for his sister and few friends, then for Charlie too. Then Charlie’s sisters, then everyone, even though Charlie kept insisting they could do joint gifts or that he could handle it. Of course Charlie could handle it; he’d been handling it for years before he ever met Will—and frankly for most of the years afterward. That was the point. Will was going to help him, the big, charming dope. If Charlie could insist that marriage meant sharing everything, then it meant sharing everything… even if Will was so tired.

His one Christmas tradition, born out of retail jobs with long December hours and having no family but his sister, was to find whatever channel was playing his favorite Christmas black-and-white classics, and watch them while enjoying a glass or two of champs.

Now, of course, too much champagne was out of the question because of his acid reflux and he had no time to watch anything.

He sighed for the memory of peace and quiet and Barbara Stanwyck, and also his twenties and the ability to eat and drink whatever he wanted, then dropped his head down onto his hands on the table to glare at the reindeer on the roll of wrapping paper closest to him.

In the kitchen, connected to the dining room of the larger apartment they’d happened to have moved into right before lockdown, Charlie was loading the dishwasher, pausing to handwash a few things as well and to check the time on whatever was in the oven.

Charlie had worked all day and probably fielded calls from his family and still had emails to answer or papers to grade, but he’d made dinner anyway. It was for the best; Will couldn’t cook even if he tried. And he’d been busy anyway, out shopping for the family.

Their family, Charlie would say. Like their money. And that Will shouldn’t still think he needed to be perfect and do everything for them—the big hypocrite—and how honestly, he’d been going to get the teens gift cards and Will should do the same.

He was probably right. That’s what teenage Will would have wanted from older relatives instead of bath sets or Christmas socks.

Actually, a nice bath set would be good, for him and for Charlie. He should write that down.

Where the fuck was that list anyway? He had a whole Charlie??? section that needed to be added to. He’d snuck a peek at Charlie’s To Be Read list for some book titles, and considered some fancy cookware that Charlie would probably just buy for himself if Will didn’t. Maybe Will should get Charlie a gift card too, or do one of those TikTok-esque shopping sprees in a Barnes & Noble.

Which would still be spending Charlie’s money, really. Their money, but really Charlie’s. Will was still saving up what he’d lost in the past few years, so using his own would mean Charlie wouldn’t be able to get many books—shockingly expensive things, history books.

Charlie wouldn’t care if Will spent his—their money—or spent his own and got him a cheap bath set, that was the worst part. He was always stupidly surprised to get any meaningful presents, so the amount wouldn’t matter. But Will cared. He wanted to get Charlie something he valued in with all the other stuff.

Nat returned to circle his feet, her soft meows mixed with the quiet thumping that meant Hulking had joined her. Hulking, adopted in Sam’s memory, was a stray who’d had a leg amputated and only entered the kitchen and dining area with its smoother, harder for him to navigate, floors when he was starving. Or cat-starving, anyway.

Alicia had named him. Will got up to feed them and then washed wet food off his hands before dragging himself back over the table to continue his work. He heard the momentary silence that meant Charlie had stopped, probably to watch Will go by, and belatedly looked over once he was no longer on his feet.

“God damn it, Charlie,” Will exclaimed softly without meaning to.

His nearly fifty-year-old hot piece of a husband was in sweatpants, socks, and a soft sleep shirt with the sleeves rolled up to keep them out of the dishwater. He was wearing an apron, the one that said “Silver Fox” which Will had gotten him two birthdays ago, because he was. He had more silver in his hair than dark brown, which was bad enough, but he was actually fitter than he had been because once he’d finally gotten his hip surgery, he’d been ordered to work out to help keep his balance and his strength up and he took that seriously.

He took everything seriously. 

He was currently handwashing Will’s reusable water bottle, the one with the sticker of the French poster for Bringing Up Baby on it—L’impossible Monsieur Bébé—because he was obsessed with keeping bacteria out of it and because tomorrow morning when Will was running around, he was going to want that bottle with him. It was just like Charlie to do this to Will when Will was tired, grumpy, and frustrated.

Charlie looked over, then opened his mouth.

“Don’t.” Will cut him off before he could ask if Will had eaten.

Charlie didn’t look hurt, not exactly, but did take a second before he turned around again, because he was. And now Will was a dick… who yes, had not eaten.

“You should have let me make dinner,” he said anyway. “Or I could have brought some home.” Though even McDonalds would have strained Will’s budget these days, and probably also make him sick. Anyway, Charlie would have thought it wasn’t healthy, which it wasn’t, and made Will take vitamins or something.

Which should have made Will feel like a child but he of course was trained in the ways of Charlie and loved it.

Charlie left the water bottle to dry on a towel by the sink and then said in a mild voice, “I’m going to make some tea. Would you like some?”

There was a lot of hidden worry beneath that careful offer. Will gave up looking for the list in his mess of presents and paper and slumped down in his seat to watch Charlie be competent. “Why do you like me so much?” he wondered quietly, not whining but close.

They both startled at the same time as the words sank in. “No, nope,” Will denied it all immediately. “Never mind. That was exhaustion talking. Don’t worry about it.”

Charlie put down the kettle he’d only just filled. He walked over to the fridge, reached on top of it for a red tin that Will didn’t remember seeing before, then brought it over to the table. He sat down with a loud, old-man noise of relief to be off his feet, then popped the lid on the tin and held it out for Will to look inside.

“Fudge?” Will guessed excitedly, already taking a piece.

Charlie nodded. “And chocolate rum balls. Teddy, the new office guy, apparently de-stresses with baking and confectionary, and goes overboard for Christmas. As people tend to do.”

He gave Will a look. Will gave him a look back.

“That remark feels pointed,” Will finally said, only a little bit snippy because fudge. “I have to get gifts for your family.”

“Which I told you, you didn’t have to do.” Charlie was noticeably not eating any of the candy.  

Will took a rum ball and handed it to Charlie before taking one for himself. “I want them to be happy. I want you to be happy…. Fuck. These are incredibly good. Do we need to get him something in return?”

Charlie hummed a little around a sinful bite of chocolate and rum. “A bottle of wine should do it. I’ll take something from the house if I have no time to go to the store. All that red you can’t drink anymore just sitting there.”

“Stupid aging,” Will sighed it. “Stupid acid reflux. Years of champagne and terrible meals catching up with me.”

“Pretty sure some of it is also genetic.” Charlie shook the tin to urge Will to take more. “You didn’t eat this afternoon.” He was not guessing. “Just seasonal lattes and whatever you had for lunch?”

“The seasonal latte was my lunch,” Will grumbled. “Skim milk even. We can’t all age like you.”

Charlie put the tin to the side and folded his hands in front of him. The Silver Fox on his apron taunting Will. “What can I do to help you?”

“Charlie,” Will whined at him, his irritation forgotten, “you have enough to do.”

“I’d rather see you enjoying yourself.” Charlie accepted the whining but did arch an eyebrow. “You usually do, this time of year.” There was a hint of a question there.

Will floundered a little. “I’m just… going through some stuff, and it’s the worst time of year to do that. Taking stock before Christmas is dumb. It’s nothing. I’ll get over it.”

Charlie took a rum ball all on his own, so Will went for more fudge. “You know,” Charlie began slowly, after savoring his chocolate, “you don’t have to get me anything.” He ignored Will’s gasp of outrage that Will made very dramatic even though he had just had this thought about Charlie moments before. “Truly.” He looked Will in the eye with a serious, dark stare that would have made lesser men whimper. “I’m happy as I am.”  

“You’re dreadful,” Will returned immediately, but didn’t give Charlie a chance to be hurt. “Just absolutely… I ought to make you something handmade, and heartfelt, and ugly, and force you to display it in the house…. Except you would.” He really would. He did it for his sisters and niblings all the time. Will sighed, perhaps also dramatically. “I’m just tired. And hungry—shush, you—and poor—and I know what you’re going to say and shush for that too. Then you go and wash my water bottle for me. I want to do something like that for you.” Will gestured at the air, then reached for more chocolate. “But also bigger and grander because you should have that. You can deny it all you like, but you supported me for two years. Maybe it’s natural for you but I still want to just… fuck, make things easier for you, at minimum. Then get you something really nice.”

A gorgeous frown of confusion came and went on Charlie’s face. “What would you like to do for me?” He was almost tentative, which he really shouldn’t be.

“If I knew that, I’d do it,” Will answered, huffy. He leaned forward a second later. “You know what? I’d like to let you rest. To not have you picking up after me and taking care of me—” the alarm on Charlie’s face was touching— “just for the one day,” Will assured him. “A few hours, even. To not be a mess or stressed, and… all that. But it’s December so… the month of stress.”

Charlie took another rum ball. This conversation had puzzled him or he wouldn’t be reaching for the booze in candy form. He ate it silently, frowning into space at first and then at the reindeer-pattern wrapping paper before looking up again.

“Wrinkles,” Will gently reminded him out of habit.

Charlie gave a nod, not of agreement. More decisive. “What are you doing tonight? Wrapping?” He waved over the table.  

“I have to if I want this all out of the way before the last things arrive… and still have some to ship off, and tomorrow I’m out most of the day and…” Will groaned.

“Or.” Charlie stopped Will’s moaning with a word. “Or… we make Alicia help tomorrow. Wrapping presents for the family is a grownup activity. It will make her feel more adult but also, having big Christmases like this takes work and everyone needs to learn how to contribute sooner or later. And then you give me your list, and we just do gift cards for the teens like I suggested… and maybe a few of the adults. And they can be understanding—they will be understanding,” Charlie added, in that voice that said he meant it and the family would listen. “And how about… tonight, we eat dinner and then do nothing?”

Shocking. Scandalous. Outrageous.

Will sat straight up. “I will probably fall asleep if I do that.” But he wanted.

The softest smile of relief crossed Charlie’s face. “That’s all right with me. You know that.”

“A night on the couch with the half-done Christmas tree and maybe a movie before we’re snoring?” Will was so middle-aged adjacent because that sounded amazing.

“Could you give me that, Will? As your present?” Charlie was so delicate and fine. “You haven’t watched your December movies yet either.”

Of course he’d noticed.

“Charlie.” It was probably the lack of food or the chocolate and sugar but if Will had known what he was in for, he would have dropped that flowerpot to get Charlie’s attention sooner. “It took me years to find these movies on DVD and now once I own them, they’re streaming everywhere? So rude,” he complained instead of saying any of that. “Bell, Book, and Candle could be considered a Christmas movie and I’ve been debating adding it to my usual watch. It begins and ends with Christmas anyway.” He had rambled about that for years now and Charlie had definitely heard it before and was probably very bored. But he regarded Will with that soft look lingering in his eyes. “You know this isn’t going to count, right?” Will surrendered. Will always surrendered to Charlie and was happy to do it. “I still want you to have nice things to open the morning of.”

The oven timer beeped. Charlie sighed and pushed himself up, leaving Will unattended with the chocolate because of course Charlie wouldn’t mind if Will had a million love handles as long as Will was okay and content.

Dreadful, for him to be like that. Will would do whatever he wanted, but all he wanted was this. A quiet night with Will.

Tired or not, Will leapt out his chair, startling poor Hulking as he rushed over to grab Charlie and hold him tight.

The oven beeped again.

“Fuck off,” Will said into the Silver Fox.  

Charlie exhaled the smallest laugh and gently disengaged from Will’s hold to go to the oven and take out whatever he’d put in there—sweet potatoes and chicken or something—and then, after taking his oven mitts off, came right back to Will.

That was much nicer. A much better end to the day than Will had been anticipating. Except maybe it could get a tiny bit nicer. He peeked up. “Need me to do anything else, Charlie, sir?”

“Ah.” Charlie sighed it—very pleased, Will could tell, because he used the voice when he spoke next. “Get out plates and silverware and whatever you want to drink with dinner. Make enough room on the table for that, but you don’t need to clean off the whole thing. Eat real food, and then you have as many rum balls as you like… that won’t affect you tomorrow morning.” Will didn’t think he could get drunk off candy but nodded anyway because he enjoyed being good for Charlie when he wasn’t being bad for Charlie. Charlie wiped something, probably chocolate, from Will’s mouth. ��I bought more Tums today when I went to pick up my prescription, including a small travel-sized one for your workbag, since December is the month of tempting foods.”

Will considered that he ought to complain, again, and wonder how he was ever going to show love the way Charlie did, but did his best anyway. “Is that all, sir?”

Charlie hummed thoughtfully, petting Will’s mouth now, with no agenda except that he liked to do it. “There is something you’re supposed to say when you feel like this, isn’t there.”

He was not asking.

“Oh.” Will was vaguely embarrassed to have forgotten, but he was tired and hungry, and had stressed himself out for weeks now. He inched up, silently asking for a kiss but also to let Charlie gaze at him in that serious Charlie way while Will said what he should have said from the start. “Charlie loves me, and that’s all that matters.”

[scarletify]

Hello! I have I have an update about the state of my comic going into 2024. If you enjoy my comic, thank you so much 💖

More under the cut!

Hello! The year is coming to an end, and as I tend to do at times like this, I find myself looking back on what this year was for me.

It's no secret that this has been one of the worst years for the comic in a long time, and it's not something I'm particularly proud of. It's also no secret that the comic slowing to a crawl is something that has been weighing on me greatly. It's something I feel a lot of regret and guilt over, and though I've said it many times this year, I still think it's important to say again. I'm very sorry that I've been unable to keep up with my comic. 

Next month the comic will be reaching its thirteenth anniversary. It's been a long road, and the comic's state through the years has directly reflected my own. When the comic is doing well, I am doing well. When it's not, I am not. I feel this is reflected in both the speed of updates and the quality of the art. 

This story is something I've put my heart into, and I want nothing more than to see it through. So, needless to say, the poor output of the comic this year has been a direct result of my own struggles. It's been a very hard year for me, a year I've struggled to stay afloat, and a year I've tried to find myself and who I want to be. 

I apologize if this comes off as too dramatic, but I can't help but think about these sort of things at times like this. Thirteen years... that's such a long time. I think I just hope to be understood. No one is more disappointed about the current state of the comic than me.

That said, I don't mean for this to be a sad post. On the contrary, I want it to be an uplifting one. 2023 was a year of struggles for me. A year of soul searching. A year of trying to find meaning. The answer I found was this. I love my comic. I love what I do. I love the people who enjoy my work. I love to share my work with you all, and I don't want to stop. 2023 was a year of struggles, so I'm going to make 2024 a year I can thrive again.

That's what I hope the takeaway of this post will be. I have been unwell, but I'm still determined to keep going. And I'm going to be trying harder than ever to find myself again this upcoming year. 

That said, I know that's easier said than done. I don't expect the comic to catch up to speed again overnight. But I'm ready to take those steps. Starting tomorrow, public updates will be resuming. Updates will continue to come first on my Patreon. My goal is to finish at least one page a week. Over time I hope to make that number even bigger. I hope to ease my way into more frequent updates again. These are goals, not promises, but ones I'm going to be trying as hard as I can to meet. 

You know what's been really hard? This scene we're on right now is a scene I've been looking forward to since the comic began. We're on the cusp of some big character moments, and it's driving me wild that we've been so close yet so far for so long. I'm excited about what's about to happen, and I truly hope you enjoy what's to come. 

Earlier this year I mentioned wanting to change the story medium at some point. This is something I still intend to do, but it won't be happening in the near future. At the very least I plan to finish chapter 6 as it is. Honestly, I really want chapter 7 to continue the comic format as well. Whether or not chapter 7 will be a comic however, I do intend to switch formats once the lycan arc is over. I truly believe this will be a good thing, and it will make finishing the story a lot more realistic. I'm excited for it when it comes, but I don't anticipate it coming just yet.

Also, I spoke before about issues with the hosting for my comic's website. This is something I've been working on behind the scenes, and I have good news in that regard! This issue has been resolved. Thanks to the help of a very kind friend, my website has new hosting and can continue running for the foreseeable future. I'm very relieved and very grateful that things turned out this way. That's one less thing to weigh down my mind.

Once again, thank you so much for all the support you've given me. Thank you for enjoying my work. Thank you for sticking by me for so long. Thank you for giving me a chance even as I've struggled. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything. Here's to a better 2024! ♥

[stry-someone-to-remember-you]

Update... September was a Weird month for Me

2 Updates bellow come directly from my Art Twitter Account:

#STRY #webcomic I haven't posted art lately, as promised. Life kinda got me. Had a few weird days last month of random depression (I mean I know definitely why it happened has to do with something from last September... but I won't get into it)...Then other times this fixation with the novel or jobsearch. Trying to get back in routine of exercising and art. I hope next few weeks to post more. #STRY #SomeoneToRememberYou The #novel is coming together. It still will be several months and still getting everything in life, and the web comic together. But I'm honestly excited! I think I have the final Novel Summary down, -some cuts. Let me know if you want to see it.

~~~~ Sssooooo.... Lets Expand on what I mention above...

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO:

I felt more pressure as I also realized Indeed after I worked my ass off fixing my resume and my cover letter, had gone and saved the rough draft version so for the last several months I was using the poorly fixed version of both and had to fix everything again... I really don't like the side but it's one of the best for job searching. I admit my hours for art started becoming a game of job searching, going through the stressful process. I call it a game cause it was almost like an addiction. Especially after realizing I was using this whole time the wrong form of my resume and cover letter. You don't know how embarrassed that was, especially since I'm applying mostly for secretary positions. Talk about FACEPALM... I've told myself my old rule not to look at Job Apps at night, leave them be so I can focus on art... (I also watched a few new to me shows, I've been meaning to watch... got addicted lost time watching them, then came to find out they have a horrible ending *cough* Devil is a Part Timer *cough* yeah took a day to realize that has creeper predator ending) I really fell off my exercise routine which I tell myself I have to do (about for an hour) before I do art, mostly to stay healthy so I can keep doing what I love. I hope to just post some stuff and finally involve myself in the month challenge. Even if late. Stay tuned if I manage that... On my other profiles, job searching since fixing that "accident" up I have had several interviews scheduled since. Tomorrow I have a few scheduled and am so ready. Although, I admit I'm hoping for once with benefits, my last job promised it but never gave any. So I really hope to find one with such. And that will eventually help me in my potential career. If things keep not working, due to having a few friends on the force I've honestly considered going into the academy if things keep not panning out job wise. But they seem to be looking up. And I have looked into doing book reading jobs as well. So I have several avenues I'm looking at just in case. #WISHMELUCk Hopefully, you hear more from me art wise.

I want to thank the many people who've subscribed since my last few posts. Also so sorry for any art friends that think I may have dropped off all of a sudden. I'm still here. Just knd went through some odd motions..

~~~~ Update on Last Post (about the date): Lastly, to my update on going on a date. Yeah it was fine, conversations were odd afterwords and I can't say I felt much after the fact so I don't think that's going anywhere. Took a few weeks away from social dating apps/sites as I can get addicted to focusing on them. I'm trying to control the sudden addictive phases of solely focusing on this or that. I know it's cause I've been more nervous lately not getting previously during the summer more then a few job interviews and wondering what was wrong. Now that I've solved that issue and have several lined up, I'm finally kinda taking the reigns again and switching my focus art I was working on and art for the story.

~~~~~~~~~~

STORY UPDATES:

As for S.T.R.Y... Someone TO Remember You.... I hope to work on the Initial (last valentines day) Hint Post of the main characters which has been sitting in half unfished limbo for months now. And work quickly on the Sneak peak of the characters and full Face Reveal before or Around Halloween, cause I recently was introduced to a fandoms that I really want to use for a character halloween pic. It may be posted after Halloween. But I have an idea of what I'm wanting to do. I can't promise all my plans will work My Dad's birthday is this month, and though he's busy I know we are thinking of celebrating it a month later. So some of my focus will be put to that while the long time he's off working assisting my disabled mother with her many cleaning projects. I promised to help her around the front yard, especially with Halloween coming up for the trick-or-treaters. (Since my mom has mobility issues I'm often the one in charge of answering the door or such. So course I go all out dressing up. And I know it's important to all of use that the house looks good in the areas that can be seen. I wasn't able to do much last year since I was suffering Anxiety. I want to make up for things I haven't done. So I know the many art projects I want to do this month may not occur. But I wanted you to know what plans I'm hoping to do. I know I often pile on a lot, so I'm just saying what I hope accomplish but may not be able to fully do. That's my update so far... Stay tuned. Stay Sweet. PS. Ironic but I finally am just going to work on my UPDATE Comic that Legit I put on hold Two Years almost to this day to Job Search back near the end of the pandemic and now I'm picking it up again. WHy? THe Update is just me using my Authors character, by promoting the story and saying a little about myself. It was my way of practicing making a comic while making art. But, I told myself I wouldn't use the author character to make updates till I posted the comic. I've had so many times the last four months I wanted to make updates. Had a good plan but knew it would be redundant later posting the Update Comic I still plan on. I'm finally at a point where I want to work back on in (with the extended pages to add Recent updates rather then 2 years ago updates)... Then from then on, I hope to have shorter updates where I just use my Author Character to give updates without these long paragraphs and just short tidbits.... I've mentioned it before. But finally want to announce I'm working on finishing that... I still have a art project I'm making as a present, which is Half Way to completion. I added way more elements to it then I planneda nd just had numerous computer issues or life issues that got in the way of that getting completed. I also have a few fan Henry Stickmin art pieces I ALMOST forgot about from April and May I want to get back to soon.... So to say I have alot of art on the way Is not Putting it lightly. I have alot Of future Art coming up.

[dennydraws]

It's September!!

Also a holiday tomorrow! :D No work, free day!! And it's going to be a day of no plans beyond drawing and vibing and picking my folder of Sun Haven wips :D I'm in this warm fuzzy and mushy mood, I want to draw some wholesome moments! ... and continue my Claude propaganda! :D;;;

I hope it stays rainy and cozy tomorrow. I love the first month of autumn, it's still warm but with that delightful chill in the morning, crunchy leaves everywhere, hot drinks, everything pumpkin... :D

Beyond that, I'm thinking to attempt Inktober again this year and do the "redraw old OCs" again as my own personal theme. I just need to pick the OCs and maybe pre sketch some cause I know it gets really hard to keep up after the second week :D;;;

I also have my ongoing comic project to juggle on the side and I hope I can keep up. I don't want to fall down my own pace but super enjoying working on it and getting more comfortable drawing on the ipad!

And because I like my plate very full... I've also been considering resuming my FanFyria comic again which... has been on pause for...like over 5 years? ^^;; Boy, do I feel guilty about this one... But I also begin to miss it more and more and I did find my outline, though a lot of it is now big question mark as my art and writing obviously evolved and changed over the past 5-10 years lol

FF14 writing challenge is also going on this month and I cheer my friends who take part for I'm not powerful enough to write XD however I am one of the volunteer artists who will draw rewards at the end of it! I'm always so excited about that!!

Anyhowsies... it's just me rambling and thinking about arty things! Autumn has always been the season of creativity for me and I hope inspiration finds you as well, my dear reader!

I hope every word you write come with ease and every stroke you lay on the paper turns exactly as you wanted it. I hope the colors turn out better than you expected and you feel proud of yourself for every creative step that you take this season! :>

[frc-ambaradan]

Let's rewind 73 years and 3499 issues back to Topolino #1

Times were dire in 1949. Italy had just exited II World War in... erm... not the best shape 🙄. Italian currency, the lira, had fall to about a 30th of its pre-war value. People had barely the money to buy food, let alone newspapers or -god forbid!- comics.

Saving money was publishers code word. Milan based publishing house Mondadori had just resumed printing Topolino after two years of stop due to the war (they acquired it in 1935 from Nerbini), and in 1949 sales had dropped: it was time to cut the costs. What better way than to put to work some unused rotary presses?

The previous year Mondadori started publishing an italian version of the Reader's Digest (the Selezione dal Reader's Digest), which was a monthly publication, that meant the rotary presses bought specifically to print it had a substantial idle time. Maybe they could use them to print Topolino?

Well, yes... but there comes the problem: the Selezione dal Reader's Digest had a completely different format that newspaper size Topolino.

Selezione dal Reader's Digest #8 dated May 1949

It was Arnoldo Mondadori's brilliant intuition to transform the big, inconvenient newspaper into a smaller digest size comic book with Disney stories only.

Starting from Topolino #737, Mondadori began advertising the big changes that were about to come. Changes that would affect not only the size of the publication but its frequency too: Topolino wouldn't be a weekly publication any more but a monthly one.

Inside page of Topolino (newspaper) #738 announcing the big changes!

Issue #738 was the last one in newspaper format. In April 1949 comes a totally new magazine starting over from issue #1: it's a little booklet of 100 pages, sized 12,5×17,8cm with a bright red cover dominated by a joyous Mickey Mouse dressed as a band conductor . It was the beginning of a new age.

At Mondadori, though, they were not entirely convinced about the success of the operation. Such big changes tend to scare customers away, especially if you consider the price increase from 15 to 60 lire! But it was those same customers to prove them wrong (I mean, was Arnoldo Mondadori ever wrong?).

The readers loved the new Topolino. Sales increased rapidly and already in issue #8 readers could find a postcard in which the publisher asked them how would they feel about Topolino becoming a fortnightly publication? Just asking... :D

So... "Do you want Topolino to become fortnightly? Write YES or NO in the box to the right"

Topolino became fortnightly in 1952 and in 1960 it was back to be a weekly magazine. From 1961 it is fully in color and in 1967 it acquires its signature yellow spine.

Topolino #1 had a circulation of about 100.000 copies. Despite the wide diffusion a mint copy of it, nowadays, it's worth around 2000€ that's mainly because it's HIGHLY sought-after.

(Obviously a reprint of) Topolino #1 😜

The first story of Topolino #1 is actually the 27th and last chapter of Guido Martina's "Topolino e il cobra bianco". The story was previously published on Topolino newspaper from issue number 713 to 738. And this issue also marks the debut of Eega Beeva in Italy by publishing Floyd Gottfredson's story "The Man of Tomorrow".

Mondadori kept publishing Topolino up until 1988 with minimal changes and even after that the magazine basically remained untouched. The biggest difference between today's issue #3500 and 1949's #1 it's the binding, and the modern Topolino is a bit larger.

We can undoubtedly affirm that Arnoldo Mondadori is the father of Topolino as we know it today. And we must thank him if Topolino is the most long running comic book in Italy (sorry, Tex, but the years spent in newspaper format DO COUNT 😏).

Here's a list of the stories published on Topolino #1 (worth to be noted, Martina's "Topolino e il cobra bianco" is the only italian one: the italian Disney school was just at the beginning):

Topolino e il cobra bianco The Man of Tomorrow Gladstone Returns Brer Rabbit Bucky Bug as fire fighter Li'l Bad Wolf - Red Riding Hoodwinked Pluto saves the ship The Old Castle's Secret

From left to right: Arnoldo Mondadori, Topolino's editor-in-chief Mario Gentilini and Walt Disney in Milan during the Salone del Bambino book fair (September 1965). Source.

[isfjmel-phleg]

Comics are not meant to have a consistent internal timeline. They take place whenever they need to, which is usually whatever the present day is, even if that amount of time hasn't gone by within the story. That's just how it works. Trying to create a consistent timeline for a comic is pointless to attempt.

So I went through Impulse taking notes on whatever each issue reveals of when it's set. I didn't try to reconcile anything--that's impossible--but I wanted to see if there was at least a vague notion of the passage of time. Here are some observations about what I found.

The year is always whatever the current year is. The earliest issues are set in 1995 and the last one in 2002, even though it hasn't been seven years for the characters. (Although there's an issue late in the series in which Bart talks about his eagerness for high school and how he feels like he's been in middle school for years.)

Bart and Max seem to arrive in Manchester in May, although Bart’s schoolgoing doesn’t seem to match that—he’s not on summer break shortly after.

The first six issues cover maybe less than a couple of weeks. By #9, Bart is said to have been with Max for at least two months.

In #24, Bart tells his mother that he’s been in the twentieth century for a couple years, but this seems like too long a time period for what we’ve seen of his adventures. It’s probable that it only has felt like two years to him. In #25, Bart is said to have been with Max for “months and months.” In #32, set maybe a few weeks after Bart’s return from his attempt to move back to the thirtieth century, it’s said to have been nearly six months since #6, which takes place over a week into Bart’s time in Manchester. So my best guess is that Bart’s time with Max before Meloni comes to get him (#1-24) is about four or five months.

Bart’s first Halloween is in #44, while he and Max are living with Helen. There are two separate Christmases shown in surprisingly close proximity in #45 and #57, as well as the story “No, Bart, There Is No Santa Claus” in DC Universe Holiday Bash #3, which was released at the same time as #44 and might be the same Christmas as in #45. Bart’s first April Fool’s Day is seen in #50 and is set during his living at Helen’s house and after his joining Young Justice; since it’s a sequence that Thad is watching, it’s possible that it takes place earlier chronologically than where it’s placed.

Inertia makes himself known to Bart on the day of a Fourth of July fair in #52 (yet Bart recently got a report card). But by #54, it’s already September and just before the start of school. Where did the rest of the summer go? #57 is Christmas Eve and #59 is Valentine’s Day. #63 shows a June date on a test but by #67, weeks later, it’s around Halloween. There’s no way to make sense of this.

The Mercury Falling arc lasts several weeks. Over a week later, Bart starts to realize he’s romantically interested in Carol, only to lose her to distant time traveling during the Dark Tomorrow arc, which takes place over about a day. Within the next few weeks, he joins Young Justice in doing their part in a war, goes to Apokolips, experiences his own death vicariously, goes into a coma for several days, and returns to school the following week. Around this time, he decides to give up being Impulse and his membership in Young Justice. He resumes the Impulse identity about two weeks later. As little as less than a week later, Max disappears into the speed force. About a week after, Bart moves to Denver to live with the Garricks. 

Therefore, Bart goes through a series of traumas and dramatic life changes within the space of three to four months. His losing Carol and his not-quite-death and coma take place over about a month, and it’s no wonder that he has a depressive episode in #78. Not even he can be that resilient for that long.

In #71, the narration states that Max has been Bart’s mentor “for the past year or so.” In #75, Carol claims that she and Bart have known each other “a couple of years,” although she has known him for as long as he’s been with Max—is she rounding up? In #79, it’s said that it’s been “a little over a year” since Bart and Max moved in with Helen, which would suggest that they’ve lived in Manchester a year and a half at most. The final issue, #89, which takes place not very long after that, states that it’s been “a few short years” since Bart became Impulse, which would include the unspecified amount of time he spent living with Wally and Iris after arriving in the twentieth century, before he and Max moved to Manchester.

Given this information, the timeline that makes the most sense to me is for Bart to have spent a few months at most with Wally and Iris in Keystone City, then four or five months with just Max in Manchester, then about a year and a half with Max and Helen, and then less than a month with the Garricks in Denver by the end of the series—a bit over two years. If time were passing normally, by the end of the series, Bart should be about sixteen (or four, chronologically) and in eleventh grade.

[purity-town]

I have officially submitted all of my final projects! Just one more exam tomorrow and then I’m free for winter break! I’ll resume comic posting next Sunday now that I’ll finally be able to chill and draw again, but in the meantime, here are all of the ask replies I’ve been neglecting! Got the inbox cleared out again :)

In theory, only that specific color of tan-brown narration rectangles are from Andrew, but so far, he’s been the only one giving narration. So, in short- yes, all of the narration panels come from Andrew!

And for your second question, that will be discussed more in-depth in coming chapters!

AH!! Chewing!!!

(But I’m glad you’re enjoying my stuff! I have so much fun with these characters, and I love seeing other folks’ Terraria drawings too.)

Kinda? Terraria has the ability to resurrect people. It’s not an entirely pleasant process, and takes longer depending on one’s age and power, but she can do it -- the whole reason why the Dryads died out was because of how much Cthulhu/Moonlord had drained her power, to the point where she couldn’t resurrect any of them, let alone create more. Hence why a few decades past the end of the war, as she regained some strength, she created the first Guides and the Guardian of the Underworld!

(Using things like intent/strength very loosely here, as it’s hard to pin such terms to a god who’s so nebulous and a part of the world rather than something you can speak to, but they’re the best descriptors!)

It is rare for someone to “respawn,” since it has to be Terraria’s will that they do so. You can’t just jump off a cliff and wake up seconds later in bed, unharmed. But it can happen, and will be discussed in a later chapter, as Andrew himself has died before.

Thanks for reading!! And hahaha, a big reason why I chose mage for Chris was because of how fun it is to draw magic!

Really, though, I feel like I’ve learned and improved a lot over the past two years of working on this comic, so I’m glad that you enjoy the art!

Yep! I’ve doodled him wearing a skirt a couple times before, but it’s never come up in the main comic before this chapter.

Word gets around! The comic takes place in a pretty isolated region; it’s quite far out from the more settled areas and only has a few significant villages scattered throughout the various biomes in the area. So with such a low population, just about any news at all gets around quick, because everyone knows each other.

As far as that news spreading outside of that region goes, word might get out as rumor by traders or the like, but Andrew would probably be the main source of spreading that news, due to him being a Guide who’s trusted and reliable.

And “have there been people who have tried to fight it in the past and lost?” In a general sense, I’m sure there have been, but it won’t be a subject of focus in the comic. Most people who take on any sort of “adventuring” role either go into it for the money/magic items they find left by those who inhabited regions before them before such crafts were lost, or fall into a local hero role who handles things like Blood Moons. And even then, that’s mostly restricted to areas that are still mostly untamed and have ruins and similar, like the area around Purity Town; places like where Chris grew up have long-since been reclaimed for civilization.

The Eye is such an ancient, inherent part of the world that it’s hardly even thought of as a “thing” you can target. What Chris did is...kind of crazy, and a show of raw, unfocused power. But Andrew is specifically drawing him down this path, trying to help Chris reign in his abilities over time and grow.

He’s had that hair tie since his very first appearance! As for where it came from…Chris is the sort to very rarely buy things for himself over others, but is from an area on the sea that often saw trader ships come through, so it was probably either a small gift from someone else or a special treat for himself. And hey, a pretty-colored hair tie that can keep hair like Chris’ in check (mostly) and doesn’t break or stretch out is a fantastical thing!

The actual explanation for why they haven’t shown up yet is that I either don’t have a good design for them or don’t have the time/energy to add them -- a lot of stuff gets cut, and NPCs that I wanted to sneak into backgrounds while characters are in-town don’t make it in. The tavernkeep falls into the first category (I just don’t have a design for him), while the merchant falls into the second one.

I definitely want to add more of the other NPCs into the story! It’s just difficult to do so, sometimes.

It wasn’t a part of the original script, but I’ve had a bunch of ideas for it, and so I was thinking of sneaking in a little chapter 6.5 aether interlude! Either that or bundling it up into the start of chapter 7, depending on how chapter lengths work out. It won’t be a huge thing, but I do want to include it!

It’s hard to measure the time it takes, honestly. I find it very difficult to sit and work on Purity Town for longer stints without getting distracted; I’m often either understimulated or overstimulated and either one destroys my ability to focus and draw. With all of my schoolwork I tend to be very tired by the end of the week and want to just chill, which doesn’t help much. This isn’t a complaint, to be clear! I love working on Purity Town. It’s just difficult to do sometimes, and that makes things take a lot longer than they “should.”

I tend to have Saturdays be my “off” days, where most other days I have chores and school and homework, and so all of my drawing really takes place on Saturdays, and I do use most of the day to do it. But again, because I can’t stay focused on drawing for long and get distracted by other things easily, it’s hard to measure anything for certain.

All of his theories are founded at least to some extent in reality! Malik and Andrew have some history and have known each other long enough for Malik to pick up on those sorts of things; he’s quite perceptive.

None of them are explicitly correct, but he’s not entirely off!

Thank you for these kind messages!!! I really love getting to share all my Terraria ideas and it makes me super happy that other folks enjoy my comic too. I don’t have much more of a coherent reply, but this makes me really happy to see!

Thanks for reading!! I’m glad you’re liking it so far!

[bluebeetle]

anyways gonna clean up in my room and maybe around the apartment, put stuff i took back from work away, do laundry, have some lunch, etc and then work on cosplay later hopefully. tomorrow groceries, more cosplay and cleaning, and maybe see about doing some gardening. i went for a walk to get the comics so that helped.

also apply for EI and work on my resume soon too.

and try to read some comics each night so i can get thru my backlog esp since i can sell some of ‘em at the con (already was but more the better rn)

[timepiececats]

Wow, this week blew by faster than I expected! Things are progressing smoothly in the ol' creator's dungeon. Timepiece Episode 4 is on schedule for March 24th, and I'm developing a better rhythm when it comes to creating comic pages.

I'm hopeful that I'll be able to make more pages when college resumes, now that I understand my routine better. (Gotta stay clear of the mind-numbing corners of the youtubes)

Still trying to get things rolling with normal art stuff. I would love to make more artist and writer friends, but currently I'm either locked away in the previously mention dungeon, or neck deep in college papers and still life drawings. It's frustratingly hard to meet people these days, and without an all consuming pop culture interest to latch onto, I'm not likely to find many friends out on the internet either.

It doesn't help that I'm deathly afraid of being judged or misperceived by those around me, whether because of my art and interests or my generally cautious disposition. Luckily my friends are still chill! (Love you guys) I just hold out hope that I have the opportunity to discover some colleagues with similar interests and values.

That's all for this week! Lots of work, some time to relax, and now back into the maelstrom of college tomorrow!

--Isaac @Caasib

[donutwares]

A long day out to select tiles for renovation work on the folks’ retirement home. There were lots of mirrors at Super Ceramic and my facial expression somehow, as it sometimes does, looked comical. There was a cute salesgirl there which the witchy satanists tried to recruit. I had to explain that the Tribulation is like election year -don’t kill the candidates or disturb the electorate, it isn’t a time for violence and lies but to elect a good leader (the Father, Jesus etc.), as our God. When you see flashbacks, deja vu, hear interpretations, dreams of the future, etc. it is simply the campaigning going on around or towards you.

We bought 4 large tiles and 2 loo roll shrouds to keep the TP dry. Then we headed over to NSK for lunch. I got a bar of Dove cucumber soap. Showered and changed into a fresh shirt. Will be out to Amcorp later. Back before 7pm.

…Back from the flea market @Amcorp Mall. Bought a book on ‘discovering’ Mathematics for $5 and an old supple nylon watch strap for $7. Very pleased with both. Must have walked an hour+. Mom advised me to wear a hat and that cut the glare by a lot. It was still very hot at 4pm. Now cooling down in a/c.

It’s important to brisk walk once in a while in a mentally-challenging (safe) environment. To get 2 hours in every week. To interact with technology in the wild or urban. And to convert some of our money into wealth by purchasing wisely. Tomorrow, will resume running pre-dawn and work out as usual. Then to compile my watch and strap database.

[blaisemoritz]

And after a couple of weeks, here’s a look at the cover for #thetestcomic issue 41 that gave out of the work drawings in the last post. A new direction for The Test after a year with an intense #jackkirby focus. (That said, starting tomorrow, I’ll resume regular posting by sharing content from the final “Machine Mail” trilogy that hasn’t shown up here yet.) #draw #drawing #drawings #drawingoftheday #sketch #sketches #sketching #art #artists #artistsoninstagram #graphic #graphics #illustration #illustrations #illustrator #illo #comics #comix #comicbook #comicbooks #comicpanel #comicpanels https://www.instagram.com/p/Ckly7zavaPE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[datfluffypillow]

Man so I’ve been gone awhile huh… Well hopefully that’ll change soon!! I apologize for the lateness on my posts, but I started working on a big comic about a crisis very important to me, and to say it stressed me out working on it is a bit of an understatement. But I’m working to finish it so I can publish it soon!!

In the recent months, I’ve turned 21, started a new semester at college, and even landed my first job!! Finally!! So things have been looking up for me a bit on the mental health front! I’m tired all the time, but I feel like I’m working towards something and the socialization had been helping ALOT. Like seriously, getting out of the house has been helping me so much.

Posts will resume shortly, on a weekly basis starting tomorrow!! I’ve got a few pieces lined up to post starting with one for our favorite beloved elf girl, Reshi! Slowly I’ll be working on showing off references a bit, some more pokemon gijinka stuff, annnd hopefully a few fandom pieces along the way!! Thanks for sticking with me if you’ve hung around this long, sorry to have kept ya waiting!!

[corpupine]

Update!

Here's how I'm doing on the inks:

So I've been making a lot of progress!!

Unfortunately a snag has come up, however. After nearly 2 years of avoiding it, hubby and I have officially been felled by the COVID bug 🙃

So far it hasn't been too bad, just a mild fever and body aches. But I may lose some of my productivity/speed over the next few days. *Cries in art deadlines*

I want to stress though: Chapter 4 *is* coming out!! Soon!!! Your patience has been amazing, I always appreciate it so much how kind and accepting you guys are, even though this is taking forever haha. You guys are the best!!

Okay, I'm going to go snuggle my husband and sleep for the next 2.5 millennia 🤗