#fluke might actually be the cutest person in the world

[nick-nellson]

[noradarhkpalmer]

draw me like one of your french girls, miss darhk

Title: draw me like one of your french girls, miss darhk

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Nora Darhk/Ray Palmer aka Darhkatom

Warnings: Darhkatom gets a little suggestive

Summary/Notes: Ray finds out Nora can draw and then finds out she used to love to draw, so what does Ray do? What he does best of course. A big romantic gesture to fit the occasion.

I’m so sorry I fell behind on these! I had some personal health problems come up but I am going to try and catch up! This one is extra long! Enjoy!

Day twelve of 25 days of Darhkatom! Feel free to click the through the tag to see the others! Basically, I will be posted all loosely related (unless stated otherwise) fics for 25 days straight!

He had found the doodle when he was cleaning up dinner. They had had a quiet dinner in the galley while waiting for the rest of the team to get back from a mission. They sat there and talked, ready to get up and quarterback but also trying to enjoy a rare moment where they were the only two people on the ship. When Ray cleared the plates he noticed Nora had doodled on a napkin she hadn’t used. It was a profile of him, incredibly realistic, and Ray had tucked it into his pocket, reminding himself to ask her about it later.

Ray entered their room that evening once the team returned. It was now officially their room. It made him giddy every time he thought about it. Not only was that the only room Nora had ever stayed in on the Waverider but things were now sprinkled about the room that just made it theirs, rather than his and she just also happened to sleep there. Things like her houseshoes on her side of the bed, and Ray thought the fact that she wore them was absolutely adorable, she said it was because her feet were always cold but Ray didn’t care. He just thought it was one of the cutest things about her. Her books, the ones she brought with her and the ones she’d fabricated since were beginning to stack high in two stacks on Ray’s desk, which they now also shared. And of course her clothes were also in his closet, their closet.

He changed for bed and grabbed the doodle from his jean pocket before tossing the clothes in the hamper. Ray climbed into the bed next to Nora who was reading and humming quietly to herself. She looked up at him and smiled when he got in the bed.

“So ugh… I found something of yours after dinner tonight.” Ray handed her the folded up napkin and Nora took it with great confusion.

She opened it and her eyes went wide. “Oh I thought I had thrown that away with the rest of the food bits on my plate.”

“This is really good, Nora, and I’m not just biased because it’s a profile of me. You’re really good, have you ever drawn anything else or is this just some talent that is somehow magically wonderful the first time off?”

Nora smiled in embarrassment. “No… I used to doodle a lot as a kid, I was always drawing something, I much preferred it to playing with dolls or even reading, or playing with other kids. I stopped because I had a job to do but even when I got bounced around asylums and mental hospitals if I was able to have stuff to draw with I would, it usually wasn’t anything in particular but tonight you had moved your head to a certain angle and I don’t know, you maybe also had a look on your face and I just wanted to capture it and so I drew it.”

Ray placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re really good, I think you should do this more often. We can fabricate any art supplies your heart desires.”

“So I can what, draw you like one of my French girls, Ray?” She rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but no thanks. I feel like I barely have time to read or spend time with you between missions. I don’t want to clog up all my free time by drawing stuff that doesn’t even matter…” She tried to put the napkin off to the side but Ray caught her wrist.

“Hey, your art matters. I have no idea what all you’re going to create or have created but it matters. If it’s important to you or ever was, it definitely matters. You’re allowed an outlet, if Zari can have her video games that probably will actually melt everyone’s brains one day, you can draw or paint or sketch or whatever you want.”

Nora looked away. “I’m sorry, Ray, but I just don’t have the heart for it anymore. This was a fluke. Just me trying to pass the time while you were nerding out about some science thing.”

Ray knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere trying to push her more tonight so he nodded sadly and let her toss the napkin in the trash bin. “Okay. I understand.”

xxxx

Apparently, Ray “understanding” meant he wouldn’t press the issue anymore that night. The next day, however, Ray spent probably too long fabricating sketch books of different sizes, fancy pencils, fancy colored pencils, erasers, and even some kits of charcoals and paints and pens. Ray knew he was probably going overboard but that was Ray Palmer’s MO, show love in absolute excess.

Ray neatly organized all of the art supplies while Nora was in the shower that morning and left it on her side of the bed and then disappeared to the lab to do work, slightly afraid of Nora’s quite possible negative reaction to the gesture.

Nora came back to her’s and Ray’s room now ready for the day when she saw what she hoped was not a giant pile of arts supplies on their bed.

She got closer and realized that it was.

Dammit Ray.

Nora picked up one of the sketchbooks and ran her fingers over it, remembering how most of the time in the asylums and hospitals she maybe had loose leaf paper and a dull pencil but she’d draw everything she wanted her life to be instead of a scared, demon possessed teenager. She drew herself as a princess locked in a tower, being saved by a valiant knight, that one had been recurring after getting her hands on an anthology of King Arthur tales, she also drew herself in a world where her parents were still alive, doing normal parent stuff like picking her up for school or decorating the Christmas tree. She drew the fantastical and normal, because back then, even the normal was pure fantasy to Nora.

Nora threw the sketchbook down and sighed. Ray’s heart was in the right place but hers just wasn’t… but she would try, for him.

xxxx

Nora figured she would find him in his lab, she had a small sketchbook tucked under her arm with a set of brand new and sharpened art pencils. She also had erasers and a small set of micron ink pens. She might not even do anything with the supplies but she would try, for Ray.

She saw him tinkering somewhere deep inside the chest plate of the ATOM suit and knocked on the open lab door.

Ray looked up at saw her there and then his eyes fell to the art supplies tucked under her arm and broke out into a full grin.

“I saw you got my present.”

Nora walked up to him and grabbed his chin gently to look him straight in the eyes. “I did, and you are so often what I don’t deserve, and I thank you for it.” She pulled him in for a soft kiss and patted his chest. “Carry on, I just wanted to watch you work.”

“And maybe doodle me, while you work?”

“Maybe.” She smiled and hopped up onto his workspace table and put the supplies in her lap. She sat there, just enjoying watching him work as she often came down to the lab to observe but then she got an idea and pulled a pencil out of the box, discreetly so he wouldn’t get the satisfaction of seeing her actually trying, and opened to the first page in her sketchbook. She moved her pencil down the page, trying to get the perspective of him working on his suit correct. When she was satisfied she moved onto finer details, trying to capture the look of absolute concentration and amazement at his own invention on his face.

After a while the tinkering stopped but Nora kept tracing back over the same line, lost in the image of Ray on her paper and she felt someone touch her arm and she jumped. She looked up to see Ray standing next to her, trying to get a look at what she’d been drawing for the last hour.

Nora instinctively held the sketchbook to her chest so Ray wouldn’t see. “Can I help you, Dr. Palmer?”

“Just wanted to see what you were drawing.” He grinned.

“Well it’s not done yet so you can’t see it.” She gently pushed him out of her personal bubble and gestured for him to get back to work.

“Ah you want me back in the same spot so you can make sure you’re drawing me proportionally.” He started walking back to his suit and picked up a small wrench.

Nora smirked. “No, I know exactly how… well proportioned you are, Ray Palmer.”

“I am well aware that you do, Miss Darhk.” Ray abandoned his suit once more and went over to Nora, stepping between her legs and leaning down to kiss her gently.

Nora let the sketchbook drop and she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him further.

They jumped apart at the sound of a cough and saw Zari standing near them, now holding the sketchbook.

Zari narrowed her eyes at them before speaking, “I better not flip through this and find naked drawings of Ray.”

Nora, now annoyed that her moment with Ray was interrupted used her magic to bring the book back over to her. “There aren’t any but the ones I have planned are all tasteful, and are for no one’s eyes but mine and Ray’s. Did you need something, Miss Tomaz?”

Zari, now slightly disgusted, shook her head and held up her hands. “Nope, getting the image out of my head of you guys recreating the scene from Titanic has taken top priority. I’m gonna go now.”

Nora laughed as Zari made her exit and tugged on the collar of Ray’s shirt.

“You… you have plans to draw me naked?” Ray asked, completely flustered.

Nora shook her head, “no that was just to get Zari to leave us alone, however, the more I’m thinking about it, the more I am liking the idea. Just not here,” she said and pulled him in for a deep kiss, the sketchbook forgotten again… but not for long.

[inikavulpixelreviews]

Let’s Talk About Pokemon - Gen 3 Recap

Throughout the Gen 1 years and most of Gen 2's, Pokemon had a dominant grasp on the world of children's entertainment. By the time the excitement of Pokemon's first expansion pack in the form of Gold and Silver had died down, Pokemon's popularity had considerably deflated. Maybe a harsh exaggeration; we are of course between the 21st and 22nd years of Pokemon's ongoing history with it still running pretty strong after all. But after Gen 1 and 2, Gen 3 had a lot to prove. Was Pokemon more than just a fluke?

Gen 3 ended up taking a lot of mixed reception from returning fans. Gen 2 had introduced plenty of features, namely a day and night cycle and ingame events that happen based on the time of day. Gen 3 had done away with these, which led to raised eyebrows. And not only this, but Gen 3's Pokemon left a bad taste in the fandom's mouth. And it's likely because the manner of designing Pokemon had changed for Gen 3. Gen 1 and 2 had a considerably smaller team of Pokemon designers compared to these days. Gen 3 notably expanded the team, so it'd make sense that Gen 3 feels like something of an experimental period, with large numbers of the designs taking Pokemon into a different direction in terms of art style. Just take a good look at some of the more visually distinct Pokemon in this lineup. A lot of them like Slakoth, Pelipper, and Shedinja are really toying with the Pokemon art style to see what they can and can’t get away with.

And I'm sure another part of it is the GBA lifting a lot of limitations from the Gameboy games. Lots more colors, more intricate designs thanks to the bigger sprites. And with such a sharp turn in art style like that, it's sure to lose a few people along the way. And as much as I like Gen 3, I can admit there's plenty of Pokemon in there that look like they lacked the polish of some other Generations. What I can give it credit for is that, I feel there was a lot more effort put into these Pokemon here than ever was in Gen 2. If Gen 3's short on anything, it's definitely not character. I only need one hand to count the Pokemon that are mostly lacking in character. Even some of the designs I dislike have personality to them.

And I'd say that's definitely the strength of having a bigger team of designers for something like Pokemon. There's a lot of variety to pick from, so people of all tastes have something to latch onto. I can look at a good 95% of these Pokemon and see what someone may see in them, why someone may tell me Spinda, Nosepass, or even Barboach of all things is their favorite Pokemon. It definitely put forth a good show for newcomers and old fans alike. It may have suffered here and there, but I'll easily take “usually great, occasionally stumbles” for the nice, super-varied bunch of monsters we got out of it.

Top 10 Favorites of Gen 3:

Since I didn't really have a neat place in the first few paragraphs to put this, I'll just say it here. Gen 3, of all the childhood Pokemon games, is the Generation I have the most nostalgic value for. I drew most of the Pokemon here over and over again because I was so madly in love with them. Heck, I think this was the Generation where the very first shimmerings of my Topaz and Amethyst Fakemon started to pop up, because Gen 3′s had a lot of influence on my monster design style as I started to develop to like making my own monsters.

It was tough trying to narrow things down to just 10. But here it is. It had to be Latias on top. It's about all my dragon-aesthetics in one Pokemon. Somehow. Sceptile's my man. And I couldn't not have Shedinja in here. Shedinja's a creativity highlight for the entire series, man. As somebody who’s made a hobby out of creating Fakemon myself, I’m eternally left jealous I’ll never come up with something as genius as Shedinja.

Favorites so far:

Oh my, uhhhh. Rip Gen 2, I guess. Yeah, Gen 3 made a much bigger dent in this than Gen 2 did, huh? I know that isn't saying much since I've said Gen 2's a bit “meh” for me, but still.

Given two of those Pokemon have a lot of nostalgic value to me; Latias and Sceptile, it's maybe no surprise they wound up finally dethroning 2nd place Ninetales.

Bottom 10 Least Favorites of Gen 3:

Yeah, I'm not too surprised with which Pokemon I harshed on this generation. I about expected to not find a lot that I personally like about any of these. I'll grant, Grumpig-onwards, my biggest problem is their designs are just a little meh.

Least Favorites so far:

Hey, we finally bumped off all the Pokemon that were just “meh” to me! That's still plenty of Gen 1's Pokemon in there though. We'll see how much that changes the later we go on.

The Cutest:

Again, no surprises here. Whenever something was exceptionally cute, I did my best to point it the hell out.

The Coolest/Most Badass:

Not too tough a contest, but Gen 3's still left me spoiled for choice here. Honorable mentions out to Salamence, Kyogre, and all three Regis.

The Prettiest:

Yeah, a bit of overlap, but oh well. Absol's DeviantArt: The Pokemon, so it can get away with being both badass and “pretty.”

The Spookiest:

Yeeees. YEEEES. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS.

I’m 13 days late but I do NOT even care

God. FINALLY. There's enough Pokemon of this flavor to justify having this category! I love me some Halloween aesthetic, and Pokemon of this category are gonna be ones that scratch that itch the most. And boy do Shedinja, Duskull, and Cacturne alone got me covered just by themselves. Then there's the other three! Hell... yes. Honorable mentions out to Sableye, Mawile, and Claydol.

Most Creative:

More like the Shedinja awards, am I right? But for real, this was actually a pretty tough pick. There's a bunch of Pokemon that are just plain out there, it's hard to just narrow them down to just 6.

Weirdest/Most Unique:

So I put some of them here as honorable mentions.

I still can't get over Tropius though. What the hell.

Most Forgettable:

Not that any of these are that bad really. Just, a lot of them lack a thing or two that lets them stand out.

Most Under-Appreciated:

Okay, I swear, last time Shedinja's gonna be on here. But yeah, there's plenty of Pokemon in this Generation that attract all sorts of ire. And others that are overlooked but just plain deserve a little more praise than they usually get. Then there's Luvdisc. I really don't care for Luvdisc all that much but. Man, so much hate for such an inoffensive Pokemon.

Summing Up Gen 3 in 6 Pokemon:

There's plenty of Pokemon from Gen 3 that have a lot more exotic color schemes than the previous generations. There's plenty of “animal but badassified” types like Blaziken and Armaldo. Then there's the occasional oddball like Tropius or Gulpin thrown in that are just plain weird, but fun that they're weird. All combining for an overall tropical feel. Perhaps Armaldo's interchangeable for Kecleon.

My Gen 3 Team:

Okay, this is when I start to remember my teams a lot more vividly. And I guess it helps that Gen 3 is also very nostalgic for me, let alone this was the very first time I bothered to level up all my Pokemon to Level 100. (How many double-A batteries have I murdered in cold blood to do that? The world may never know.) Honorable Mention to Metagross and Latias. They were “Team members”, but only in the postgame, since that's the only part where you can get them.

And then there's my Alpha Sapphire team. Yeah, it's kinda filled with Pokemon that only get good in the long haul, like Milotic and Flygon. But boy getting them was worth it. I enjoyed finally getting to use a Milotic after having admired its design for so long.

The “Better than Their Evolutions” Club:

Yeah, it just feels like there's more of these this Generation than most. At least enough to where the prevo is notably better than the evo.

...And that's it for Gen 3! The between-generation break might be on the extended side. Personal things, and some may have noticed tumblr went and broke my archive page. So I gotta sit down and fix that at some point, preferably before I start Gen 4. Until then!

[Archive]

[recentanimenews]

Produce SideM Week 2: Your Favorite Weekly Idol Power Ranking!

"Do you think you might find your dream here?"

When we first met the idols of 315 Productions, we asked them why they set aside their former careers and positions – surgeon, pilot, prince of a foreign country, flower shop clerk, schoolteacher – to become pop music idols.

"This is a place for people who are working hard to make their dreams come true," DRAMATIC STARS' Kaoru Sakuraba said.

"I had such a different lifestyle until recently and I doubted that I could be an idol," DRAMATIC STARS' Teru Tendou said. "We'll continue to meet different people, work on things we've never done or thought about, and go to places we know nothing about. Thinking about it just got me really excited."

"I hope our charm can be portrayed," Beit's Kyoji Takajo said.

"I would be lying if I said it's not hard," Jupiter's center, Touma Amagase, said. "But with where we are right now, we can prove all of our strengths."

Jupiter would know the pitfalls of becoming idols. Despite a strong debut with "Alice or Guilty," their mismanagement at the hands of 961 Productions caused the popular three-man idol group to leave one of the largest pop production companies in the country and forge their own path. Now, they have arrived at 315, ready to prove that their debut wasn't a fluke—and that they can once again top the charts.

In a world where success is hardly guaranteed, 17 boys wait to walk the cherry blossom road, eagerly anticipating a chance to show their abilities to you and win the hearts of anime fans worldwide. Who will rise to the top? Produce SideM begins now. It's showtime!

#1. Teru Tendou (DRAMATIC STARS)

Last week, this former lawyer won over many with his simple desire to make people smile. It takes a rare person to be convinced into a drastic career change at 28 years-old, and an even rarer one to draw up the contract for said new career himself. Despite personality clashes worthy of their sub-unit name, DRAMATIC STARS, the center position was never a surprise with Tendou on the team. Tendou leads his team, and the rest of 315, with passion and a desire to please.

"It was so great to see Tendou step up and help Jupiter with their concert!" one fan said. "I think he's such a leader and it really shows every week. The other boys already really really trust him."

"How are we supposed to do rankings every week when Teru is always best boy?" another added. It's a worthwhile question.

#2. Shouta Mitarai (Jupiter)

Making it to the top of the rankings without help of the center position takes talent. In Mitarai's case, he's also the cutest visual of the group with a necessary edge to his personality that can cut Jupiter center Touma Amagase down to size when needed. Mitarai was a pre-season favorite, his popularity carrying over from Jupiter's initial debut. Although Jupiter is in the unenviable position of rebuilding as a pre-established group, with Mitarai's "little devil" persona and impressive stage physicality, the three-man unit will be just fine.

"SHOUTA!!!!" was all one enthusiastic fan could say after Jupiter's concert this week.

"He's super cute, but also can be really harsh!" another said. "I think he's really the one that makes Jupiter what it is."

"He was SO CUTE last week when he was sleeping!" [name redacted] said.

#3. Michio Hazama (S.E.M)

Michio Hazama shot up the rankings this week, earning votes for his cool demeanor and idol analysis. Responsible for S.E.M's less-than-impressive roller skate attire this week, it's clear that Hazama is passionate about being an idol and taking the top spot, even when his methods from his math teacher days don't translate into the idol business as well as he would like. We here at Produce SideM definitely didn't see this coming, but after his unit interactions and screentime this week, it's not too much of a surprise.

"When he came out on roller skates, I lost it," a certain fan said, visibly shaking from excitement. "I can't wait to see where his crazy analysis takes S.E.M. next!"

#4. Touma Amagase (Jupiter)

Jupiter's leading man has dropped a bit in the rankings, replaced by the likes of DRAMATIC STARS center Teru Tendou. That being said, Amagase is the face of Jupiter and it's going to be difficult for the SideM newcomers to bump him out of the top five.

"I'm actually glad that Touma got less exposure this week," one viewer said. "I still love him, but want to see more of the newbies, and I feel like A-1's editing has definitely been favoring Jupiter and Touma. They didn't even give Tsubasa a mic last week!"

#5. Tsubasa Kashiwagi (DRAMATIC STARS)

In last week's extra un-cut footage, ex-pilot Tsubasa Kashiwagi admitted that he loves to fly economy class when he's not piloting a plane himself, simply to travel and meet people. This, coupled with his mediator-type personality, has garnered him a large fanbase in a short amount of time.

"Kyun, kyun, I wish my boyfriend was a pilot!" one head-in-the-clouds fan commented.

"He's so warm and level-headed," another added. "I want to cook him dinner and have him rate my food."

The Rest:

#6. Hokuto Ijuuin (Jupiter)

#7. Minori Watanabe (Beit)

#8. Jiro Yamashita (S.E.M)

#9. Pierre (Beit)

#10. Kaoru Sakuraba (DRAMATIC STARS)

#11. Rui Maita (S.E.M)

#12. Shiki Iseya (HighxJoker)

#13. Jun Fuyami (HighxJoker)

#14. Haruna Wakazato (HighxJoker)

#15. Kyoji Takajo (Beit)

#16. Hayato Akiyama (HighxJoker)

#17. Natsuki Sakaki (HighxJoker)

It was a rough week for HighxJoker, who didn't receive much attention from the A-1 editors outside of the occasional Shiki Iseya outburst. Who will you, as SideM producers, support next week on THE IDOLM@STER SideM? Show your support in the comments below!

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Emily Rand is a writer who usually covers esports. You can find her personal anime ramblings at the blog Atelier Emily. 

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com