#it took 3 days to make this how does anyone do art fast :'')

[engagemythrusters]

this was meant to be just a pose/clothing practice by way of a one-time OC for @starwars-art-eventsbut BY GOD I predictably got attached.

Her name is Shyyra and she's a sevent (maybe ninth) generation Coruscanti Togruta. She has absolutely no ties to her homeworld and she's fine with that--she hasn't even beenthere. She's happy on the top level of Coruscant, living lavishly on her upper-middle class money and family connections (we love a networking queen). She's a spinfluencer (space influencer) and she's vain and she's conceited and she deserves to be. Look at her. She's hot. Also she definitely has a THING for clones.

And I fucking love her

[facioleeknow]

The art of pleasure ch.8

Company ° I.N.

When one girl in your class makes fun of you for being a virgin at a party, you are left distraught. It's only natural that you decide to whine about it to your best friend, Bang Chan; but he does more than lending a shoulder to cry on, he comes up with a solution. He and his 7 friends will help you and teach you all about the pleasure of the flesh. What could go wrong?

Genre: College AU, SMUT 18+ ONLY Wc: 2k+

TW: aftercare, threesome, consent is behind the scenes they are really into it and it's all consensual, pussy slapping, name calling, mean jeongin, oral (m rec), throat fucking, cumshots,creampie, let me know if I missed anything

AN: thank you for following and reading this series, I hope you all liked it! Please do leave feedback <3

The moments after your activities with Seungmin were a blur in your mind. Everything mixed together and nonsensical. You only remembered the world's softer tissue wiping away at your skin, Seungmin talking to the owner of the karaoke rooms and then his car. When you came to, you were safely tucked into bed with your clothes still on. Seungmin laid at your side on top of the bed, completely ruptured by something on his phone. His right hand slowly massaged your scalp.

“Minnie?” your voice was rough and hoarse.

Seungmin whipped his head so fast that for a moment he saw double. His phone flew to the other side of the room and in a second he was crowding you.

“How are you feeling? Everything okay?” His hand had moved from your hair to your face and was now drawing circles on your warm cheek. You just hummed and nodded, your limbs were so heavy and tired.

“Did you particularly like or dislike something?” 

“I liked that we could get caught but I wanted more of your attention,” you pouted. If it had been any other moment in any other state of mind you would've been embarrassed but now you were just so content and tired that you didn't care.

“My attention was already on you, puppy, but if you want more I shall give you more,” he smiled and beamed at you. With a few stretches and pulls he got under the covers as well and promptly took you in his arms. It was weird with both of you fully clothed but you were grateful for the warmth that was seeping into you.

“Why didn't you take off my clothes?”

“You didn't give me permission, I can't take your clothes off without permission.”

Your heart warmed, he was a golden boy. Truly the perfect boyfriend anyone could have.

“I’ve always thought you were pretty, would you like to go out?” Seungmin had showed you his soft side once again and you couldn't help but be ecstatic about it.

“I was about to ask you, I was just thinking you were one of the nicest guys I've ever met.”

Seungmin hummed. His soft petal pink lips came in contact with your skin and fireworks erupted underneath it. Your head turned swiftly and you pressed a sweet and chaste kiss to his lips.

Ping. Ping.

Your phone interrupted your lovesick moment and you almost wanted to throw it away. 

“I put your phone on the nightstand, you should answer it,”  Seungmin spurred you on, his hands around you loosened.

Unknown number:

Hey noona, it's Innie, when are you free? I thought we could go to a cafe before our lesson. Just you and I :)

Chrispy boy <3:

Baby, how was the lesson with seungmin? We should talk about the next one, I remember you had some doubts

“It's Chan hyung, isn't it? He really likes you.” 

You offered him an apologetic look, you had to go.

“Go, you can make it up to me on our date,” Seungmin pressed another feather light kiss on your cheek as goodbye and then walked you to his door after you had collected your things. The short walk from Seungmin's room to Chan's seemed even shorter that day. Knocking wasn't even an option at this point in your relationship, so you just swung the door open. Chan was laying in the bed, only in his boxers, typing something on his phone.

“Baby,” he beamed, “ I was about to text you again, come here.” You didn't even hesitate for a second before throwing yourself in his arms; you didn't care that your clothes would get wrinkly, you needed that Bang-hug.

“It went well with Seungmin.”

“Just well? Nothing else?” 

“Yeah, I'm honestly just a bit worried about the next lesson, Chan. A threesome is a lot.” 

“You don't have to do it if you don't want to,” his grip tightened on you and he squeezed you against his chest.

“It's not that I don't want to but I need to be sure about that other person. Do I know him? Does Innie know him? I just need to know,” you were clearly frustrated.

“What if that other person was me? Would you do it?”

You pushed yourself away from his chest to look him in the eyes.

“Are you serious?” Chan just nodded.

A threesome with your college best friend who had always treated you like you were royalty and a cute junior with dimples, a killer smile and a charming personality. That sounded like something out of your deepest fantasies.

“Okay, let's do it.”

Jeongin had insisted you two had a date alone, no Chan, just you two. ‘Its because hyung makes everything awkward,’ he had said in front of him but you hardly believed him. Chan wasn't awkward at all in front of girls, he was flirty and charming. 

A cup placed in front of you snapped you out of your thoughts. 

“Thank you, Innie. This place is really nice.” 

The cafe was spectacular, you had never seen a place with such a balance of chic and cozy and the beverages looked delicious as did the food.

“I came here with Seungmin hyung once, I wanted to take you here. Alone.” 

So that was why Jeongin didn't want Chan around, he wanted to go on a date. With you. The thought made your head spin a little, he was one of the hottest freshmen on campus and he wanted you? Luck must have been really on your side.

“You wanted to come here with me? Why?” 

He was cute, unbelievably so. His ears and cheeks were completely red and his gaze was on his mug.

“I think you're nice and pretty, and I’ve wanted to go out with you for a while.”

His sudden confession left you flabbergasted. THE Yang Jeongin wanted to go out with you.

“You don't have to answer right now, noona, take your time.”

“You're so cute Innie, thank you,” you got up from your chair and leaned across the table. Your lips pressed a light kiss on Jeongin’s cheek. You were so close now, you could feel his breath on you and heard him gulp loudly. His face was almost buried in your tits, you chose a low cut shirt for the occasion and you didn't care that he could see everything you had to offer, you wanted him to see. 

I.N. stood abruptly and grabbed your wrist, with a sharp tug you were at his side.

“We've talked enough, noona, let's go.”

Jeongin's thumb swiped at your folds for what felt like the thousandth time. As soon as he had gotten you in Chan's room, he had removed your clothes hastily and pushed you back into Chan's arms. Your legs had been opened roughly and a pair of arms, a pair that you knew very very well had circled your middle to keep you in place. Jeongin had taken his place between them, a scowl on his pretty face. 

Jeongin's thumb caught on your clit and your back arched, finally glad for some real stimulation but retreated as soon as it appeared. 

“Are you a whore, noona?” 

All you could do in response was pant and wriggle in Chan's grasp. The boys were both fully naked and you could feel Chan's cock against your backside and see Jeongin's drooling precum and looking painfully hard. You wanted to put your mouth around him and suck until his soul came out of it. At the thought a few drops of sleek dropped on the covers beneath you.

“Our baby has a mouth on him doesn't he?” Chan’s voice was supposed to be comforting compared to Jeongin's harshness but the contrast made you drip even more.

A sharp slap was delivered to your pussy.

“Answer me.” Jeongin was completely different in and outside of the bedroom, now you knew why girls came out of his room with shaky legs and a bewildered look in their eyes.

“N-no, I'm not,” you managed to stutter out. 

“C'mon Innie, I'm sure she only wanted to show you, not the others,” Chan argued. His thumb slowly circled your flushed cheek and you leaned into his touch with a whimper.

“Shut her up, hyung, and you whore don't you dare cum.” Chan's lips were on yours in an instant, it was an awkward position, your neck would hurt like hell after, but just the thought of Chan's plush doll lips made everything better. Your best friend was an exceptional kisser, he wasn't rushed but not too slow either and he poured just enough passion into it. As ruptured as you were, you didn't notice Jeongin gathering your wetness on his fingers and then slamming them into you. Your back arched off Chan's chest so much that he had to wrap his arms tighter and pull you towards him again. Little whimpers and moans came out of you, the pleasure was so intense after all that teasing that you couldn't even lift your head up from Chan's shoulder.

“I said shut her up, hyung,” Jeongin spoke nonchalantly like he wasn't pistoning his fingers into your g spot and abusing your already sensitive pussy. If he had kept that up, it would've taken you mere seconds to cum.

“No, I wanna hear her,” Jeongin tsked at his answer but didn't say anything; yes everybody was whipped for the baby and let him get away with murder but that didn't mean that he didn't have to respect the eldest authority. Chan lowered his head to the shell of your ear and whispered: “ keep up the pretty noises, baby.”

“Channie, I'm close,” your voice and your legs shaky. Jeongin pulled his fingers out and stuck them in your mouth.

“Mh, best I’ve ever had.” Your face felt like you caught on fire. Baby bread was nasty.

“Hyung put her down with her head dangling from the edge, I want to fuck her mouth.”

Chan's muscly arms picked you up and threw you down on the bed, your thighs slicked at the show of strength. With your head upside down, you could see and feel Jeongin's presence above you even more intensely than before.

“Open up,” his tip prodded your lips and without a second thought you opened. He was big, longer than Changbin but less thick, you didn't doubt you could take him. At the first roll of his hips, a tear rolled down your face. Your eyes focused on his heavy balls slapping on your forehead, you wanted those in your mouth too. Jeongin's continued fucking your face with fluid and deep thrusts, his face was thrown back and scrunched up. He was pretty, really pretty. 

Suddenly you felt something breach your entrance and soon Chan's tick and long cock was entering you.

“Hey baby, I'm sorry, I'm so worked up, I have to make you cum quickly,” his breath fanned over your collarbone and he pressed a soft kiss on your skin before he sent you back on Jeongin's cock with a sharp, quick thrust. His thumb pushed on your clit and relentlessly circled the poor swollen bud.

“Fuck, you're so wet baby,” Chan paired his words with another few heavy thrusts. His pace was frantic and almost animalistic, you wouldn't mind coming back to him after the whole ordeal to let him take his time with you.

Your attention snapped to the other boy when he squished your face in his hand, forcing you to open up your mouth.

“I wanna cum on your tits,” his voice was strained and sexy and so was his face. Jeongin pulled out of your wet and warm mouth and started quickly jerking his cock until white ropes of cum were cascading all over your chest. In the meantime Chan was still pounding into you with brute force. Your breath was erratic, your hands fisted your sheets; your orgasm was imminent but you didn't want all that to end.

“It's okay baby, let it go, I'm right behind you,” Chan leaned to once again kiss your skin, not caring if his friend's cum was staining his lips. The extremely erotic sight sent you barreling over the edge, your pussy gushed and pulsed around him. You felt your body go lax and you didn't even notice when Chan came inside you with the most sensual moan of all. When you came back to the land of the living, Jeongin was laying on your chest, fast asleep; his cute cheek completely squished. You cooed at the sight, baby bread was back being a baby.

“Are you okay, baby?” Chan sat next to you, his eyes, completely focused on your face, were sparkling as you had hung the moon and the stars personally. You just hummed in approval, there wasn't any energy in you left for more.

“You know what I was thinking, Channie? I wouldn't mind letting you take your time with me. Next time that is.”

Chris showed you that beautiful dimpled smile that he only reserved for a certain group of people.

“I wouldn't mind that either, I'm buying you food before tho, you're gonna need energy for what I'll do to you.”

@kflixnet

[ladykissingfish]

(Blank) The Type Of Person …

Konan the type of person to sleepwalk to the kitchen at midnight, eat all the leftover pizza, put the empty box back in the fridge, wake up the next day forgetting what she did, and go around interrogating/threatening to kill everyone because dammit she was planning on eating that for breakfast!

Hidan the type of person to not shower for weeks at a time because he believes that drenching himself in cologne works the same.

Sasori the type of person to say he’s only going to read ONE chapter of his book this evening, end up reading the entire thing in one sitting, absolutely hate the ending and spend the rest of the next day writing a fanfic about it to “correct the mistakes”.

Kakuzu the type of person to insist that his birthday is “just another day” and “not a big deal” then be really, really hurt if everyone doesn’t make it a big deal.

Konan the type of person to seem very gentle and delicate at home, but when she goes to the gym she’s an absolute heavy-lifting beast.

Itachi the type of person to pour himself a bowl of Raisin Bran for the fiber then sit and pick out raisins until the bowl contains an even number of them.

Kakuzu the type of person that absolutely does not trust banks and keeps all of his money either under the bed or in his pillowcase, and everyone KNOWS this but nobody ever tries to rob him because they know this man counts his cash at least five times a day and will literally stab you if he thinks you took even a few cents from him.

“Tobi” the type of person to “confess” to everyone in the Akatsuki as to who he really is, but separately and secretly, so that each person believes that they’re the only one who knows the truth.

Obito the type of person to spend forever picking out little thoughtful gifts for his friends, then never give the presents to them because he thinks they’re not good enough.

Itachi the type of person that spends the first ten minutes in the shower just standing and staring blankly at the wall.

Deidara the type of person to speak vigorously and viciously about someone he doesn’t like, but then all that person has to do is give one teeny tiny positive compliment about Dei’s art and he does a complete 360 opinion change on them.

Kisame the type of person that watches himself work out, shirtless, in the mirror.

The type to wash the dishes right away: Konan, Itachi, Sasori, Kisame

The type to let the dishes sit in the sink until they’re “reminded” to do them: Hidan, Deidara,

The type to purposely do the dishes so badly that the others just do them before they do: Tobi

The type who make someone else do the dishes by threat of violence: Kakuzu, Nagato

The type to never use dishes, period: Zetsu

Deidara the type of person to start some kind of new diet every week. One week it’s cutting out added sugar, the next it’s going for a high protein intake, the next it’s intermittent fasting, etc. The routines usually last about 3 days before Dei gives them up in pursuit of something better.

Nagato the type of person to keep holding on to an old phone simply because the newer ones have gotten rid of the headphone jack and he despises wireless buds. Says it’s for aesthetic reasons but it’s really because he doesn’t get how wireless and Bluetooth works and feels too embarrassed to ask anyone to explain it to him.

Itachi the type of person that'll start going gray in his late teens and feverishly dye his hair at least once a week to hide this from the others.

Zetsu the type of person to be anal about buying “all organic” products at the grocery store and judge the others when they don’t. Conveniently ignores that organic products cost more money and most of the others don’t have the financial resources that he does.

The type to carry the groceries in, in multiple trips: Konan, Itachi, Zetsu

The type to attempt to carry all of the groceries in at once no matter how bulky or heavy: Deidara, HIDAN, Kisame, Tobi

The type to (threaten) someone else to carry in the groceries: Nagato, Sasori

The type to offer to pay someone else to bring in the groceries (but never does): Kakuzu

Kisame the type of person to constantly downplay his talents or abilities, while secretly being the most badass person to ever do anything, ever. Makes a fantastic poker player.

[hiveworks]

Micro Comic Summer - A Summary

August 2023

Last year in 2022, Hiveworks introduced the art challenge Micro Comic Summer as a tag on Twitter. Creators took to the challenge and produced four page comics that were shared on the final day of August. This year, we’re encouraging more creators to participate in the challenge. Want to know how? Read on.

Micro Comic Summer is one of many online art challenges that bring creators together to complete a project and share their work with their community. Other well known examples of art challenges include Hourly Comic Day, where artists draw a comic panel for every hour of their day on February 1, and Inktober, a 31 day challenge in the month of October to ink a new illustration every day. While these challenges have artists flexing their endurance and speed, Micro Comic Summer takes a different approach: slow, experimental, sustainable creation.

Very frequently, comic artists face unsustainable working conditions, as many are the sole creator behind projects that require multiple skill sets (such as writing, penciling, inking, flatting, lettering, and so on), often on top of day jobs.

The rules of Micro Comic Summer take into consideration the working conditions of comic creators, particularly in fast paced environments like social media, and attempts to buck the norm.

The rules of Micro Comic Summer are as follows:

Rule 1- Tell a story in four pages. This rule is possibly the most challenging aspect: to be succinct and efficient with your page count. Some creators have used this challenge as an opportunity to redraw old webcomic pages or introduce new readers to their pre-existing characters and story. What story you tell is completely up to you, but the four page maximum is in place to prevent overexertion.

Rule 2 - You have all summer (or winter, for the southern hemisphere) to do it. From June to the end of August, take your time to perfect your paneling, edit your story, and choose your palette thoughtfully. There is no need to make snap decisions or cut corners for this challenge. The timeframe is meant to encourage exploration and growth.

Rule 3 - Share it online. Use the tag #MicroComicSummer to share your work with others on August 31. Contribute to the conversation around comic artist working conditions.

While Hiveworks introduced Micro Comic Summer, anyone is free to participate. Participation in the tag does not mean you’re submitting your work to us, nor does it mean we own it. It’s just a hashtag, for fun :) 

We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

[yuyan]

The art of love pt. 2

Fluff, hurt/comfort

Kaveh x gn!reader

Tags: academic rivals to lovers, cliche confession during arguing in the rain scene don't look at me, mild cussing (not at each other), highschool au

A/n: the comfort part of this. I hope it doesn't dissapoint, I tried to do this as fast as possible so I wouldn't keep anyone waiting!

Part 1 || Master list || Requests: open

Half an hour after school and you were stuck cleaning the art room on the last day of school with Kaveh. Honestly, the only reason why it was only the two of you were cleaning the art room because the art teacher was still mad at the time you two made a huge disruption in class. It was 3 weeks ago though. Who would even hold a grudge for that long? For something they weren't even really involved in or affected by it too. At least you were almost done.

"Ok what's wrong with you?" Kaveh asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Whats wrong with me?" you asked back, the anger in your tone contrasting his.

"Yes what's wrong with you, anger is practically seeping out of you!" Kaveh said, raising his voice. "Does my prescence annoy you that much!"

"Well, apparently mine does!" you shouted, "especially when I'm trying to help you apparently!" Throwing your broom, you grabbed your bag and stormed out, slamming the door behind you.

"W-what? Huh?" Kaveh stuttered out, watching you leave.

~

The sweet final week that Kaveh had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity didn't have that usual sugar coat. Now it was just a bitter pile of food that Kaveh pushed aside. No one could ignore it forever though.

"They're just so frustrating and annoying and nitpicking everything I do and oh my gosh, do I hate them so much!" Kaveh ranted while Alhaithem was seriously contemplating why he walks home with Kaveh.

"Don't you like them though?" Alhaithem asked, "they gave you a note, just go talk to them."

"Whatever, Its fine!" Kaveh shouted. "It's not like I love them anyways!" Kaveh shouted, again but his shoulder shook slightly and it felt like a piece of him died when he said that. "...Plus! They're always..."

~

"Ah, please don't go," Kaveh whispered and took of running.

You approached the entrace of your school. The sounds of heavy rain rang through your ears, making you furrow your eyebrows and your frown etch deeper into your face. "Fuck! I can't think!" you screamed. Hot, angry tears blurred your vision and made small wet patches on your uniform. Teachers and students alike had long left due to the heavy rain and it being the last day.

Silently, you pulled out your umbrella and hovered it over your head before step out into the rain. Rain slightly flooded the area and each step was like stepping into a puddle. Your emotions were a mess and the rain did nothing but anger you further as your tried so desperately to sort them out. The rain could've been calming if it wasnt for your violent urge to kick and scream to your heart's content. Until you had no energy left but to cry silently in your cold, empty bed.

"Wait!" a voice called out. It felt more like a delusion though considering how drowned out by the rain it was.

It wasn't until a tall blonde boy in the same uniform as you, umbrella in hand appeared Infront of you that you registered it as not a figment of your imagination.

"I-...So what if I said that!" Kaveh started and immediately you knew you didn't have the time nor energy for this. You side-stepped him and started to walk away before he turned to you and yelled, "What does it mean to you!?" It came out a little desperate and was followed by heavy breathing.

Turning around, you said,"what does it mean to me? I helped you because I wanted to yet afterwards you ignore me even though I said I wanted to talk and then decide to rant about me to your friend when I hadn't done anything for weeks!"

"Well, what an I supposed to believe when every classmate of ours tells me and gossips about how you must hate me so much that you don't even want to argued with me anymore!"

"I left a note!"

"Your friends are notoriuous for meddling in your business! How am I supposed to know if it was truly from you!"

"But-"

"And if you really cared you would've I don't know, say something along the lines of 'you don't have to promise me that, asking for help is enough' or I don't know!"

"Well, I didn't expect to fall in love with you!" you shouted. Kaveh had to stop himself from dropping his umbrella in shock. "Plus, if I didn't want to help, nothing you offered would've been enough," you mumbled.

Despite the pouring rain making it harder for the two of you to speak he heard and clinger to every word you said.

"Wait, I, did I say?" you fumbled, pink invading your cheeks as you backed away from him.

You could've turned and ran, if it wasn't for his hand. That damn hand that secured tightly around your wrist. That hand that kept you in place as he stumbled forward. That hand that pulled you in as his lips met yours. Your umbrellas had knocked against each other as he leaned forward to kiss you. His lips were soft but slightly chapped despite the humid weather, kissing you slowly, like any wrong move would hurt you.

Backing away, he saw your half lidded lips open up a bit more, your cheeks glowing a brighter red.

"I-um, we're far from perfect but I think we'd be a good couple so I'm be my lover?" Kaveh asked, sounding a little unsure but you just smiled and nodded, giggling a little at his flustered expression. "Ah! Well ok Let's meet up on the holidays, you have my number!" Kaveh shouted over the rain, running off.

You waved with your free hand, watching him run off into the distance. Touching your lips, it contorted into a soft smile. He tasted like strawberries.

A/n: I've never written a kiss scene so um getting out of my comfort zone today. 😀👍

Also I headcanon that Kaveh loves strawberries cause he just such a cute pretty boy who'd probably like strawberries ok I'm not weird ok goodbye! (^o^)／

[sky-kenobye]

15 questions for 15 friends

Thanks @fangeek-girl for the tag! <3

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nope!

2. When was the last time you cried?

Hmm 🤔 I'm not sure tbh, maybe last week? Two weeks ago? Less than a month most likely. Just felt bad about myself and had a good cry.

3. Do you have kids?

No kids, nor do I want any.

4. What sports do you play/ have you played?

Dance (contemporary and a bit of modern jazz) when I was a kid but I didn't learn much even though i started when i was 3 or 4 i think, and did maybe 8(?) years of it.

Circus for 9 years.

Taekwondo for 2 years (I think you're supposed to be a yellow belt after only two years but my teacher gave me the blue belt so 🤷 guess I'm a blue belt).

Self defense for 1 year.

And ski and snowboard since I grew up in the alps though I barely took any classes, mostly just with my parents.

(☝️ This is making me look super sporty even though I'm really not lol)

(+ all the sports I had to do in PE class in school. I really liked rock climbing, orienteering and step aerobics)

5. Do you use sarcasm?

All the time!

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Either clothes or hair I think? I'm not very observant or a good judge of character so it has to be something obvious.

7. What's your eye colour?

Blue 🧿🧿

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings! I don't really like scary movies, though I love suspens and action that get you on the edge of your seat.

9. Any talents?

I have pretty fast reflex? Not sure that's a talent but I'm good at games where you have to catch something or put cards down faster than the other players. Actually I'm good at board games in general (unless I'm playing against my brother, he's way better that me).

10. Where were you born?

In the french alps 🇨🇵🏔

11. What are your hobbies?

Reading (I wish it was more books (it used to be) but honestly most of the time it's mostly fics), playing video games, sewing, knitting, crocheting, random arts and crafts that I'll drop a week later, watching movies and going to the cinema, astronomy (mostly just stargazing so far but one day I'll buy a telescope), playing board games, travelling (does it count as a hobby?), daydreaming about star wars characters...

12. Do you have any pets?

Sort of? I've always had cats at my mom's house but since I moved out it's mostly my mom's cat? But it's also mine and my sister's. Idk it's our cat.

(My mom also has a dog but that's her dog, not mine)

13. How tall are you?

169 cm (which is 5'6" or 5'7" i think)

14. Favourite subject in school?

Maths and Latin

(I was also very good at physics but I didn't love it for some reason, even though that was the most interesting)

15. Dream job?

Prop guy or costume maker in movies (not the designers, the people who actually make the stuff). Or somehow living off of making cosplay and stuff like that (through YouTube and Instagram I guess).

(I'm not actually trying to do any of that though, I don't think I have the skills to do it)

I'm tagging @grapenehifics @piecesofeden11 @willameena @wibzenadarksiderwithasoftheart @renlyslittlerose @cottonraincoat @to-proudly-go @kingdomvel @desmothene @hausofroxann @amadwinter @ineffable-snowman @tideswept @sendpseuds @yourfavoritefridge

(No pressure of course, as always)

[grave-queen-jakrabitt]

Okay so something has changed in my brain because of wrestling and I need to ramble about it. As someone who’s had some trouble being able to understand a lot of plutonic affection (and still do it’s a work in progress tbh) I don’t really ship the people I’m about to talk about because honestly shipping real people makes me severely uncomfortable for personal reasons

But I came upon a wrestling rivalry that made me understand plutonic relationships a little better. Ilja Dragunov vs Cara Noir. If you’d allow me I’d like to walk you through what I took away from each particular match

The first match: I think from the entrances it’s clear that nobody really knows what to expect, even Cara and ilja themselves. Dragunov as always was a force of pure raging passion, then there’s a switch to pure bewilderment as swan lake begins and Cara comes out. The wrestling is good because how could it not be? It feels like two irresistible forces being pulled towards each other. This was the beginning of something great

Point ilja

The second match

Cara’s red eye makeup and ilja’s reaction make me so happy, the hand holding into almost unwilling violence from ilja. where the first match was a little more restrained and and reserved they’ve learned from the first encounter. Cara picked up the violence the long feeling out sequence switched out for an immediate swan woo dropkick. One of my favorite things was the finish. up to this point Cara knew that the torpedo Moscow would mean death, then it comes….and it’s countered into the blackout and it works also the fucking forehead kiss

Point Cara

The 2/3 falls match

Oh my fucking god Cara’s reaction to ilja wearing paint, him pointing to his face like “you did that for me huh?” To the god damn distress over ilja tapping out over nothing. It’s the fact that the black swan wanted to make a masterpiece, and the only person that gets him gave up so fast seemingly for him. It was a move to get the upper hand, torpedo Moscow, second point ilja. At one point they kiss. As if to say the first two falls meant nothing it went to sudden death, it had to be it could never be anything else. This was a rivalry born of two people that have to give everything to their art, they have to destroy themselves for their art and there’s nobody they’d rather do it with. Cara pulls out the win

Point Cara

10th anniversary show

5 days after Cara lost the title ilja returns, he returns an all conquering champion from nxt uk. But above all else the mad dragon returns FOR the black swan. From the jump this match is different obviously Cara got his shit rocked so this basically functions as therapy. It’s not easy to watch at first cause it’s a one sided beating. This is not who ilja came back for, this is not the black swan then it happens. A torpedo Moscow, a kickout, Cara gets up. The headbutt that never seems to work on ilja gets a little distance, both of them are rocked and it starts picking back up into normality for these two. But at this point ilja just doesn’t want to follow through with what has to be done, he knows Cara can’t be put down humanely, he refuses to stay down, so yet again the torpedo Moscow nearly takes out Cara, but dragunov knows better, a second just in case. It’s over, it had to happen but it pained him nonetheless. Ilja dragunov wins. There’s a kind of love between them I don’t think anyone else could relate to. It’s not romantic but I think it’s somewhere beyond plutonic. I can’t express to you why but this is how I feel about wrestling in general.

I feel like this is RVD vs Jerry Lynn for a new generation with a kinda twist. The RVD Jerry Lynn rivalry was kinda based on iterating on some of the move sequences and basically learning each other’s favorite moves to counter. And noir dragunov does have this (in the form of the torpedo Moscow being Ilja’s biggest weapon the thing to put Cara down nearly every time, the hand holding into neck chops, the kisses, torpedo into blackout.) but I think more so it’s philosophical. This militaristic Russian whose passion is violence, an indestructible tank of a human being pulled towards someone more theatrical, sure Cara can do strong style but it’s more ilja’s thing. you can tell he’s putting all his unbridled passion into in ring stuff and the entrance BELONGS to Cara noir and as it goes on they seem to take more from each other

[batbirdies]

Hi! Love your stories but I was wondering what is your writing process? I want to start writing Batfam but it's so intimidating with making creators like you, I just feel like I'll never measure up! What do you do for inspo? Do you plan out every chapter? How long does it take you to write? Do you already know how the stories will end?? Sorry if this is to invasive!

Aw thank you so much that’s very flattering!!

I would try not worry about “measuring up” to anyone as much as that’s easier said than done 😅. Just remember there will always be readers who like your work even if you think it could be better.

As far as your questions no worries! I’m happy to answer questions like this :)

I get inspo from lots of things! Mainly reading really good fic inspires me to write. As far as ideas they come from everywhere! Sparked by other fic often where I think “this is a cool idea but what if this part was different?”

Or sometimes by reading fic I didn’t love lol because I like the idea but want to execute it in a way I prefer.

Otherwise I think discussing ideas and head canons with others is one of the best ways to flesh out and get new ideas. Discord is the way to go. (As far as finding discord servers to join, this can be hard, but if you ask around there are usually some open to inviting new people)

Do I plan out every chapter? I’m inclined to say yes. Usually I write a first draft of the entire fic, then I start a rewrite and post each chapter as I finish the second draft of it. This usually leads to big changes and deviations from the original draft as I go, so I don’t always stick to the plan and often have to go back to the drawing board but yes, I do have a plan.

For me trying to write a publishable draft without a rough draft feels like trying to draw perfect line art without a sketch. It’s just doesn’t work for me.

How long does it take me to write? Honestly impossible to answer 😂 it varies drastically. I wrote CCAKT in about year including first and second draft, the second draft reaching 250k words. I also wrote Live While Breathe and I’ll Come Out Right on the Other Side that same year. Which amounts to roughly 340k words of second draft in one year. The 23k of LWIB was done in about 3 days. So I wrote a LOT that year and fast.

This has since not been the case lol. Took me about a year and half to finish the 31k of overcoming our antecedents. Then theres Penny drops.

I’ve been working on it for like 2 and a half years at this point and I’ve been incredibly slow trying to get the next few chapters out because I keep being unhappy with them. And also because I’ve had some health issues and it’s been hard to have the energy to work on it. I have taken significantly long breaks from writing all together at different times because of fatigue and burnout. But I try to stick with things and eventually finish long projects.

Do I already know how a story will end? Again, yes and no lol. I always have a plan of how it will end from the beginning, but with long fics i inevitably hate my original plan by the time i get there and have to totally rework what i previously had in mind. (This is really the reason i do a first and second draft, my rewrite is always SO much better in my mind than my original ideas)

Short fics are less that way and I usually stick with the plan.

Having said all of that I definitely want to emphasize that everyone is going to have a different process that works for them! Best thing to do is try different methods. I know I’m rare for fully drafting stuff and rewriting it so that might not work for you, but I know @cdelphiki does the same thing. She’s the only other fic writer I know that does it tho lol.

@coyote-nebula plots more with timelines and lists and then writes her scenes out of order but in perfectly publishable prose from the beginning, then does heavy editing run throughs and keeps notes on points to remember when she’s continuing long fics. (I am not nearly so organized)

And of course there’s many other methods! Best thing to do is jump in and try some stuff!

[lucero-is-here]

Headcanons time! Julian Ramis!

Requested by:

Photos of Julian, when he is 12 and when he is 18

1 - after Julian got released from the Juvenile detention center, he apologised to anyone who he had made upset or wronged before, include Alden Greene for robbing his mansion with Freddy.

2 - Julian likes making sandcastles. Though sometimes, he makes dirt castles if he can’t go to the beach.

3 - Julian’s dad got him one of those tiny table top sandboxes (yes I think those exist) with kinetic sand, and Julian absolutely adores it.

4 - Julian has a turtle stuffed animal he likes a lot. He hugs it to sleep too. He still has the stuffed animal now.

5 - He has a set of noise-cancelling earphones with him at all times, since he gets a little overwhelmed when things get too loud

6 - he likes English. He does really good in any language classes, especially English.

7 - his weakest subject is geography. He sometimes can’t remember everything, which makes him dislike geography a bit.

8 - Julian does a lot of arts and crafts. He took part in pottery classes with his dad once, and had a lot of fun making some plates and cups. He also does some origami. He’s really good at origami.

9 - Julian really likes art classes too- he never failed art before.

10 - Julian’s favourite colours when he was 12 was red and green. But after growing up to around 15-16, he wasn’t as fond of either those colours, but he still likes them.

11 - Julian has some scars on his arms from his little adventures with Freddy. He calls them his battle scars and is kinda proud of them, since he thinks of them as a way to remember the fun he had back then.

12 - Julian has emotional issues. He struggles to control his emotions and has emotional outbursts every now and then.

13 - Julian is quite restless. He can’t really sit still for long, so he’s usually drumming his fingers against the table, tapping his foot against the floor or just swinging his legs about.

14 - scraped knees. As a kid he would often scrap his knees. He still scrapes his knees now, just less often.

15 - Julian’s favourite drink is cola. He likes it a lot, but water is second favourite.

16 - he can draw really well- he tried drawing his own comic book once and he still keeps it. It’s unfinished and he plans to continue it one day.

17 - he listens to rock music sometimes. It’s not his first choice in music, but it’s on the list of favourites.

18 - Julian can run pretty fast. He definitely isn’t the fastest, but he can still run quite fast. Only sad thing is that he has low stamina and can’t run for too long.

19 - Julian takes walks in a nearby park in his free time. He tries to at least stay a bit healthy, and always goes for a short walk after meals. He’s usually alone, but sometimes lets his dad tag along and they talk while walking.

20 - Julian has a treehouse. He built it with his dad and he absolutely loves that treehouse. Nowadays, he sits in it sometimes to have time to himself. He has a box of crayons and some paper there too for him to draw with sometimes.

21 - he has colouring books. It’s those colouring books with really intricate drawings for you to colour in, and Julian always spends a lot of time colouring them cause he wants them to be really pretty. It usually looks great and he shows it to his dad.

22 - Julian and his dad are pretty close despite the occasional arguments. After Julian got released from the Juvenile Detention Center, his dad took him out for some food. They kind of made an agreement that Julian will avoid doing anything shady again, and his dad should know about the friends Julian makes to prevent anything like this from happening again.

23 - most of Julian’s bags are sling bags. Julian doesn’t like backpacks for some reason. He just prefers how sling bags look, and his favourite is brown messenger bag his dad bought him.

24 - Julian has a lot of beanies- he likes beanies a lot too. He has a yellow beanie, a red beanie, and the usual beanie he wears.

Okay I probably have more headcanons for Julian- so possible part 2?

[chaomother]

Mother I finally finished rena lore so be prepared for it to be long, btw you can send Rena art here to

Rena was born in Mobian planet, the girl had lost her parents at a young age due to a fire accident. She was three when she had lost her parents. Rena doesn’t remember much about her parents so she doesn’t have any feelings towards, more specifically she doesn’t care. Her grandfather Emil who worked alongside with eggman took her in and raised her, he taught her everything he knew. Rena was always someone who never really socialize due the fact she doesn’t really care for much for people. The only person you could say she’s has a close relationship with is her grandfather, even then she doesn’t have much feelings for him. She does helps eggman time to time with his machines, but she isn’t close to him. She only helps him due to him being work partners with her grandfather. At the age of ten while she was exploring green hills for the sake to get peace of quietness until the eggman robots attacked that was when a certain fast blue hedgehog came to the rescue. He attacked all the robots and saved her from harms way, from that moment she fell in love with him. Something about him flattered the young red hedgehog heart. She couldn’t help it, Sonic introduced himself to her and that’s how they became friends. Sonic one mistake because now he has a red hedgehog who became obsessed with him. A girl who doesn’t care about anyone else, just him <3. She later on became friends with sonic friends, she acted all sweet and friendly even though underneath it all she isn’t. At the age of 12 her grandfather died due to old age but before he died, he left a gift for her. An ai computer name Mika so Rena won’t be lonely. Rena didn’t know what to feel about his death, did she feel sadness? Who knows. Rena used the ai program to make a robot, Mika know has their own thoughts and feelings. Rena just pretty much let it do what it wants. There was really no need to take care of Mika when they don’t need any food or water. Rena let them make friends of their own as Rena has no need for them. Rena still has sonic after all, the one who stole her heart. Rena still does help eggman time to time whenever she feels like it. Eggman does know about her relationship with sonic and his friends, but he doesn’t say anything because after all Rena still helps him. Rena later discovered she had powers when she went with sonic to help some mobians from danger. When one of eggman robots were close to attacking Sonic. Her powers helps her a lot with things now, especially in her lab. She pretty much lives by herself and sometimes Mika comes over to keep her company, Mika doesn’t know about Rena true self much as Rena always put on a fake act. To this day Rena just helps Sonic friends when they need her help or helps Eggman. She doesn’t want to know Sonic to know about herself just yet, after all she wants to break his moral self down and get rid of his friends slowly.

i can fix her♡

[morg-among-the-stars]

Valentine’s Day

Word Count: 1,658

(Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all! Here’s a sweet Hobarkley fic in honor of today! <3)

————————————————————————

Payton doesn't get particularly excited about commercial holidays, especially now that he's always preoccupied with one thing or another.

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and he vaguely, half-heartedly knows that he has to get Alice something nice. He's gotten her something nice since they were kids.

But back when he was a kid, his dream had only just spawned in his mind.

He wasn't a politician, he was only a kid with an answer to the question of, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Payton remembers telling his mom about Alice and talking about how Mrs. Charles always wore pearls around her neck.

Shiny and beautiful.

Those two things seemed separate, completely unrelated, but it made sense to an eight-year-old boy with his first little crush.

He wanted to buy Alice a set of pearls for Valentine's Day.

While he didn't understand the scope of his family's wealth, he did know they had the money for his intended gift.

But Georgina didn't want her son to buy something so grand, she wanted him to give a gift in the scope of his age.

He's only eight, he can gift her pearls when he is older.

Payton had pouted and protested, but he had been given an alternative idea; he could make a necklace himself.

It was the one homemade thing Payton ever made for anyone. He was never into arts and crafts, even as a child, besides the occasional drawing to be hung on the refrigerator.

But he sat in his bedroom, stringing shiny plastic beads together, picking out all the white ones for the necklace.

When his work was done, Payton had hid it underneath all the other Valentines that were to be passed out the following day.

Once they'd been let out for recess, Payton took Alice behind the rock wall near the swings, the swings where McAfee and James kept watch so Payton could have his moment in the most private place kids their age had access to.

Payton presented the "pearls", stuttering and bashful, telling Alice that he loves her.

Being bashful about how he feels is a thing he learned to overcome with Alice and most people later on in life.

But at the age of eight, Alice was happy, giving the one boy who didn't believe in cooties a peck on the cheek.

Alice loved him, too.

Payton stepped out from behind the rock wall, grinning like the happiest boy on the planet.

His future First Lady was set in stone.

Payton made it a point to buy Alice something for every Valentine's Day from that day forward.

He stuck to it through elementary and middle school, but high school is when the idea of buying a card or chocolates became one thing to take him away from focusing on changing the world.

A distraction as opposed to a heart-felt gesture.

Now, in his junior year of high school, heart-felt gestures are off the table.

If Alice feels any heartache about it, she never speaks of it.

She sees the pink and red heart motifs everywhere she goes in February and she pays it no mind, pushing forward.

James, in his love for Alice, sees Payton's dismissal of the holiday and something in him wants to buy Alice something nice himself.

But he knows that won't do him any good, Payton would kill him.

So, he does the next best thing and reminds Payton that Valentine's Day is in two days.

"We don't do that. You know it, James." Payton tells him across the table in the library, while Alice and McAfee are off somewhere else, "Since when do you care about Valentine's Day anyway?"

James doesn't have an answer that he can give Payton.

So, he makes one up.

"She's your girlfriend, it's the right thing to do." Payton laughs, audibly laughs at that and looks up from his laptop,

"In twenty years, when we're all in the White House, this stupid holiday won't matter."

James drops it there, there is no getting through to Payton and his stubbornness.

The sun rises the following day and the holiday he now despises is a day away, fast approaching.

He doesn't like this mushy stuff, the cards and little teddy bears and the roses.

But James' words hit him all of a sudden when he thinks of the way Alice had looked at him through her usual content gaze.

She looks frustrated, frustrated in a way she can't express.

If she expressed it, it would cause a rift and a disturbance.

If Payton truly hates anything, he hates a disturbance in his meticulously crafted plans.

So, he drives out to the local Hallmark store in search of something to get James' words out of his mind and that look of frustration out of Alice's eyes.

The store is quiet, a few people are wandering up and down the isles, picking out any number of gifts for their special someone.

Payton turns to the Hallmark cards and the biggest disturbance in his life is shuffling through the various options.

River has a small stuffed bear tucked under his arm.

Payton goes down the isle, shuffling through the cards himself, watching River as subtlety as he can.

He struggles to find a card that is good enough for Alice.

Half of him doesn't care about this one bit and the other half cares a lot, maybe even too much.

In his third or fourth glance in River's direction, he sees him pick a card covered in roses and hearts.

Payton knows that underneath the cheesy Hallmark message will be something poetic and sweet and from the heart.

Astrid is a very lucky girl.

At a point, River looks back at Payton, in a waiting game to see who would acknowledge the other first.

"I thought you and Alice didn't do stuff like this." He comments.

Payton had forgotten that he told River about his distain for Valentine's Day during last week’s tutoring session.

"We don't." Payton states, then shrugs, "But I felt like it was the right thing to do."

River looks almost proud of Payton for using his morals.

Payton can tell him that James knocked the sense into him in a few days, when this store is all set up for St. Patrick's Day on February fifteenth.

Payton picks up a card and puts it right back, asking, "Are you and Astrid doing anything special?"

The question comes off his tongue and it tastes bitter like an unripe lemon.

River smiles to himself and the bitterness only grows as he goes on about their plans for dinner at the best place in town.

Payton has to think quick on his feet when River flips the question back around to him,

"Oh, well- I think- we're going out. Though, I'm still trying to book a reservation, God knows everyone else is trying to steal my great idea." He jokes towards the end to mask the fact that it's nothing special.

He hadn't even thought about it until yesterday in the library.

But River has how he'll treat Astrid like royalty all planned out and Payton is bitter and envious for reasons his subconscious won't allow him to confront.

He picks up a card that's pastel colored and classy, the same as Alice is.

He can write his own message in it tonight.

Payton drafts up the card's message on the way home. He'd also picked up a heart-shaped box of fancy chocolate that Alice likes.

He feels good; this is the most he's done in years.

He wants to do more in the future, the bitterness from his run-in with River solidifies it.

As dumb as it is, Payton understands the frustration Alice feels.

He knows he won't receive a heartfelt card or a nice evening out, where he's showered in sweet words and love from River and that gives him an ache in his heart.

It's a thing he'll never have and he has to deal with it.

He pushes his sorrows to the back of his mind and readies himself for tomorrow.

Alice is overjoyed with what Payton gives him.

No matter how cold and calculated she is, she's still a girl who wants to be shown love, even in the commercial sense that Payton isn't fond of.

James looks at him, it's a look of approval.

A job well done. His First Lady is happy.

At the end of the day, Payton goes to his locker to put his books away.

A folded piece of loose-leaf paper falls out when the door is opened.

A note from River.

Happy Valentine's Day, Payton. You're a busy guy, so I'll keep this short and sweet...

The note is short and sweet in a very literal sense, Payton feels warm and fuzzy at the brief words River had written.

It's signed, "Your buddy, River", but if Payton squints, he can see where the eraser of River's pencil erased the, "L" in, "Love".

Today is the best time to use that word, but River knows better than to make Payton short-circuit when he only has a few hours to prepare an evening out for himself and Alice.

River knows him well, he loves him a lot.

Payton knows River loves him, it's evident in every word he's ever spoken to him or every way he's ever looked at him.

He is the best disturbance in Payton's life.

In the end, Payton enjoys his evening with Alice; he has a lot to be grateful for when it comes to her.

He doesn't explain to her that a run-in with River and a nudge from James pushed him to be so romantic, he keeps that to himself.

Payton keeps River's note in his wallet, tucked behind his school ID.

Next year, he might be brave enough to sneak his own note into River's locker.

[fire-fira]

Okay, I’ve been meaning to do this for a while but kept getting derailed. Thankfully I’m fully caught up on Rise (though it took me forever) and I was able to mostly sort out the in-universe order for the episodes.

Because fun fact-- something I noticed way back in season 1-- is that the episodes weren’t released in in-universe order. This was true on cable, this has held true on netflix and hbo-max paramount+ (I goofed, oops), and while [turtlepedia] does have them listed in tv broadcast order and has the episode production codes listed, neither of those entirely match up with the various in-episode context clues for what order things happen in.

And believe me, some of those context clues, those in-episode “signposts” are subtle enough to be blink-and-you’ll-miss-it details (like the fact that the background video for Donnie and Mikey in Hypno! Part Deux! implies that it’s happening at the same time as Repomantis). Needless to say it’s taken a lot of work and a lot of paying attention. And thankfully season 2 wasn’t as all over the place (mainly due to more of the episodes not having any distinct signposts beyond things that made it obvious they took place after season 1).

(I’ve done my best to get it as nailed down as possible. Episodes that occur at the same time are listed on the same bulletpoint in recommended watching order.)

So good news if you’re like me and you’d like to watch the episodes in in-universe order, because this is that list!

Without further ado, I give you:

The In-Universe Rise Episode Timeline

Season 1:

Mystic Mayhem

Origami Tsunami

Donnie’s Gifts

Smart Lair

War And Pizza

Newsworthy

Repomantis & Hypno! Part Deux!

Down With The Sickness (Due to not really having any more than one possible signpost, this one could take place either before or after the previous point or The Purple Jacket. I don’t think it’s any later than that, but it’s debatable.)

The Purple Jacket

Minotaur Maze

The Longest Fight

The Fast And The Furriest

Stuck On You

Hot Soup: The Game

Mascot Melee

The Gumbus

Shell In A Cell

Pizza Pit

Bug Busters

Mrs. Cuddles (Like Down With The Sickness this one has very few signposts, only two that I spotted and one of those is debatable, but it does take place sometime after The Fast And The Furriest.)

Al Be Back

The Evil League of Mutants

Late Fee

Bullhop

Portal Jacked!

Mind Meld

Nothing But Truffle

Warren And Hypno, Sitting In A Tree

Shadow Of Evil

You Got Served

Operation: Normal

The Mutant Menace

Sparring Partner (This is another one where the placement isn’t entirely certain, but it is after Origami Tsunami, The Fast and the Furriest, and Shadow of Evil.)

How To Make Enemies And Bend People To Your Will

Mystic Library (This is another one where there aren’t enough signposts to be sure where this one belongs exactly, but this was my best guess.)

The Purple Game

Jupiter Jim Ahoy!

Cloak and Swaggert

Man Vs. Sewer

The Ancient Art of Ninja Hide and Seek

Turtle-dega Nights: The Ballad of Rat Man

One Man’s Junk

Snow Day (Yet another one where the time placement isn’t certain and this is my best guess, though it does take place sometime after Late Fee and possibly Jupiter Jim Ahoy!)

Insane in the Mama Train

End Game

Season 2

Many Unhappy Returns

Todd Scouts

Goyles, Goyles, Goyles

Flushed But Never Forgotten

Lair Games

Breaking Purple

Repairin’ the Baron

Air Turtle

Pizza Puffs

Sidekick Ahoy!

The Hidden City Job

Always Be Brownies

Mystery Meat

Donnie vs. Witch-Town, Raph’s Ride-Along, Hidden City’s Most Wanted, Bad Hair Day

Fists of Furry

The Clothes Don’t Make the Turtle

Battle Nexus: New York

Finale Part 1: E-Turtle Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Finale Part 2: Shreddy or Not

Finale Part 3: Anatawa Hitorijanai

Finale Part 4: Rise

Rise of the TMNT, the movie

Go forth and enjoy!

(And if anyone wants my rationalization on any of this, just hit me up and I can go in detail.)

[en-hale-archives]

Me with You ~~

pairing ⑅ bestfriend!Jake x fem!reader

genre ⑅ friends to lovers, fluff, slow dancing, suggestive/smut

words/read time ⑅ 3.9k/12-19 mins

warnings ⑅ 18+ content, light cussing

synopsis ⑅ Jake is back in his hometown to spend time with his closest friend. During some fun and frivolous dancing, things start to heat up...

author's note ⑅ I’m really proud of how this story turned out. I'm not a huge fan of second person, so I wrote in first, but if anyone asks, I can copy and post again in second person. It's more fluff than anything, but it does get a bit steamier towards the end, so I’m just going to go ahead and put a warning.

————✧————

When the back door finally slammed shut and the cacophony of barks faded down the street, I could finally let out my sigh of relief that I had been holding in since this morning. I tapped on my phone. How many days had we been watching Mrs. Chen’s pets? And just how was I able to put up with hours of barking, the smell of fresh turd lying across the lawn, and dog walks till dark? Including their rigorous feeding times and bathroom breaks -- I’m surprised I haven’t exploded yet.

I had so much planned the minute they left my house, but instead, the sudden silence felt all too relaxing and I laid my head against the cold countertop. I could finally stop stressing, stop thinking, and stop worrying about reprimanding for chewing on my shoes or peeing in the house or the continued barking that never ended. I was free. I felt like I could’ve stayed laid on the countertop forever, drowning in the evening sun. Who knew watching five dogs would take such a burden out of a person. Jake and I had taken on the job of dog sitting for Mrs. Chen while she visited some family in Tokyo. We both switched off every other day; some of the dogs at my house and the others at his; until we realized it would be easier if he just spent the few days at my house as we co-doggy sat. He got up bright and early to take them on their walks while I prepared their highly detailed and specific meals. Then from there, we spent the rest of the day making sure they didn’t run off somewhere or cause too much destruction in the house. But alas, Mrs. Chen came back early from her getaway and picked up Toby, Caleb, Khao, Sofia, and Pickle on her way home. Although I was exhausted from watching 3-foot dogs all day, the pay was amazing for me, and it would help tremendously for all the online classes I was going to be taking next semester.

The warmth of the sun cast a comforting trance over my heavy eyelids, and soon enough I was fast asleep, standing in the middle of the kitchen with the soft sound of nothing surrounding me.

By the time I had fluttered my eyes open, I had realized I was now seated in my dining chair and a large black jacket was placed over my shoulders. I sat up and let out a yawn, wincing at the bright light coming from the tv and shaking my now numb arm awake. I must have been sleeping for a while because the evening sun had turned to pitch of black. The moonlight beamed through the window and danced along with the sways of the large oak tree out front. I stood up and walked over to the refrigerator in which I grabbed two water bottles and some leftover pasta.

I was sure that Jake hadn’t eaten since lunch, seeing as he only ate if someone sat food in front of his face. I dragged my feet up the stairs until I heard the slamming of a book and the fast typing of a keyboard come from the living room. I turned and looked behind me. Jake had settled his things on the coffee table and floor, large books, folders, and several amounts of crumpled up pieces of paper found their way around Jake, himself slouched up against the edge of the couch. He had changed clothes since the last time I had seen him, he now wore a plain blue shirt with grey sweats, his eyebrows furrowed as he worked hard on whatever he was getting at.

“Oh yes, I was starving!” Propping himself up on the couch, he took the plate of pasta. I placed the waters on the coffee table and settled comfortably on the couch beside him.

“I can’t say that I’ve ever seen anybody sleep standing up before. Look,” Jake took his phone off the charger. “I got a picture.” He pushed the screen in my face, and of course, there was my unconscious body laying on the counter, mouth open and all. I playfully pushed it back his way as his face lit up with a smile I was all too familiar with.

“What are you doing down here so late, it’s almost 12 in the morning,” I asked. Jake’s smile disappeared when he was reminded of the work he had been doing seconds before.

He let out a large huff of air. “Trying to get some words on paper but instead it turned into a paper massacre,” he jokingly replied, “sorry for the mess.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied, taking a swig of water. I was going to ask if he wanted to watch a late-night movie, or pull an all-nighter and talk endlessly until the sun rose, but I could tell by each passing second that Jake was worried about this, and he wanted the time he had now over the summer to work on his music. I wished I was motivated to work on my own music, but unlike Jake, I wasn’t in a globally popular boy band. My complicated best friend for over 10 years had been working his butt off since middle school. It was his annual time to sit back and relax while he had the time to, but instead, he chose to use that time to help watch a bunch of dogs with his hometown bestie. God, I loved him.

Jake pulled himself off the couch and right back onto the floor, leaving the rest of the pasta to me. He picked up his pen again and started scribbling down words as quickly as he could, trying hard not to forget the lyrics that had floated into his head. Until he stopped, closing his eyes for just a split second, and let out a powerful sigh. Crumpling up the sheet, he stacks it on top of the others in frustration and started frantically tapping his pencil against the table.

“Maybe it’s best to just try again in the morning,” I advised, taking a small bite of the pasta that was left by my side.

“How come I’m having such a hard time with this?” He gazed up at me frantically for a clue, as if I had the answer to fix a problem as big and as important as his was. I looked at his doleful eyes and the bags that were starting to grow underneath them. I couldn’t help but think, because I made you sit up and watch a bunch of dogs with me.

“Do you want me to see if I could come up with something?”

“If you want. But, hold on, I think my thoughts are coming back up.” He quickly grabbed another piece of paper, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

I tried my best to keep occupied by watching videos on my phone, but I found myself suddenly bored out of my mind. I laid out on my back and picked up one of Jake’s folders. Briefly looking through it, I couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous at the amount of fan art and letters, praising him and the other members. Followed with that were just more and more engene stuff, full of nothing but kind words and heartfelt messages. Part of me wished that I was able to travel with Jake and see the world like he was. How fun would it be to meet people that praised you? And how cool would it be to see that you had fans? I couldn’t help but plaster on a huge smile as I skimmed through some of the notes until I finally came to one with familiar handwriting.

Remember Me were the words written on the top of the paper in bold and bright colors. But the message written underneath is what caught my attention:

To the person that makes me the luckiest guy in the world, this song is for you. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same, but please just remember me -- it was Jake’s handwriting.

I didn’t feel like I was breaking any crime reading his stuff until this moment, but curiosity killed the cat, and right now I didn’t mind being a feline. I checked to make sure Jake was still busy, and he was, almost like he had teleported into his own world. I quietly turned back to the sheet and started reading. It was about a girl, presumably his crush I’m sure. She was someone important to him, someone who made him love so much that it hurt. But this was far from a happy song, in fact, it was terribly heartbreaking. She didn’t understand his love, she wasn’t able to interpret it like he wanted her to. But he confesses that he was scared of what telling her would do, worried that she wouldn’t feel the same. So instead, it was like he was apologizing, and asking that she forgive him for not being brave enough to tell her, and if he did ever get the courage to, for her to remember him even if she wasn’t able to love him like he wanted her to.

The song ends like how the title began, and I find myself flabbergasted at the beautiful mixes of rhymes and metaphors that read like a poem. This was the first of Jake’s songs that made me feel this way, like I had just finished watching a tragedy movie with Ryan Renolds starring. I blink back the tears that I didn’t realize were forming. How come he never told me this? We never kept secrets from each other, like ever. It never mattered the subject or the severity, we had always promised that we would be open and honest with each other. I wish I would’ve known this sooner, maybe I could’ve saved him from feeling this way. And what girl could it possibly be? I knew for sure I was the only girl he was presumably close to; but was there someone else?

I glanced down at Jake, who was still in a focused state of mind with the pencil in his mouth and mumbling lyrics softly under his breath. I tried picturing my bubbly Jake writing these agonizing words and miserably failed.

Jake looked up at me as if he could feel my gaze on the back of his head. “I think I’ve found the chorus, but it’s the rest of the song I’m not able to get, and how come it’s so hard to find another word that rhymes with severe? Beer? Sphere? Revere? Appear? Gosh, rhyming sucks some serious ass!”

“This song is beautiful.”

Jake furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Huh?”

“This song I found in your folder.” I glanced back at it in my hand. “Remember Me.”

Jake’s gaze leaped from my eyes to the sheet, and I felt his body tense. “Where’d you get that from?”

“I was just going through one of your folders. Did you accidentally get it mixed up in your fan folder? Cause this is -”

“Did you read it?” He interrupted.

“Yeah, and it’s perfect.”

Jake glanced at me for a split second before turning back around, obviously uncomfortable. “I was watching one of those Kdramas you love so much and it inspired me. Could you help me rhyme with severe now?”

I knew Jake like the back of my hand, so I knew continuing on with this conversation would get him upset if he’s clearly avoiding it. But, I wasn’t going to just let him off that quickly. “Jake, come on, you can tell me anything. Who is this about?”

Jake looked back at me with a hint of something in his eyes, something I’ve never seen before, and something I wasn't able to decipher. “Nobody, I was just feeling really inspired, that's it.” His tone had switched from calm to agitated.

I give him my I’m-not-stupid look and he comes back with his own you’re-being-delusional stare. “It’s seriously nobody, truthfully and honestly.”

“Okay, okay I’ll back off.” I could tell he was starting to get defensive, and when he got like that, it took him at least a few hours before returning to normal. I watched Jake's Adam's apple move up and down, a way in which I could tell he knew I was not convinced in the slightest. “Well, sometimes we go through things that can remind us of situations like that, but not necessarily in that same exact context, you know? It has to be amplified for that audience appeal.”

“Okay...but have you ever felt this way before? Not exactly like how it’s written, but maybe somewhere along these lines?”

I thought I was going to get another vague answer, or worse, an aggravated one. But instead Jake looked down at his pencil as he tapped it along his wrist. “...maybe, but I think everyone can connect to the words in some way. I mean, everyone feels some kind of heartbreak in their life, right?” Jake's answer was still pretty vague, but at least I was able to get something out of him.

“Okay, but you know you can tell me anything, like, anything ever because you know that you’ll never actually have to feel this way, right?” I said, maybe too much in a hurry.

“Of course I know that.” He replied, giving one of his awkward grins.

“And if anyone has made you feel this way, then you know you can tell me that too cause there a sucker to lose out on a perfect person like you.” I teased in a sing-song way, poking his shoulder hard. Jake chuckled and poked me back.

A weird silence grew in the room, and Jake went back to trying to find rhyming words. I tried getting back on my phone, but I knew I needed to say something to let go of the tenseness in the air.

“Hey, crystal clear rhymes!”

He leaned his head back and looked up at me. “Nevermind, I give up for tonight.”

I could see the stress that played on his face. “Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah, but by the time I do, it’ll be too late.”

“What do you mean?”

Jake pulled his knees up to his chest and spoke. “This was going to go on our album comeback that needs to be finished in the next four months. By the time I think of something, it'll be too late and I’ll have to wait until the next four months. But by then, I'll have forgotten. This always happens and I have no idea how the hell to fix it.” I couldn’t tell if he wanted my help or just a bit of comfort.

“Did you try asking the other guys to see if they had any ideas?”

“Yeah, but they’re working on their own parts, I can’t ask them to do this too.”

“I’m sure they’d be willing to help if you asked,” I assured him.

“I know they would, but I just don’t want to. I always ask them for help, I thought being away from the studio and being back home would help my brainstorming abilities.” He gave a weary chuckle that almost sounded like a groan.

“Well, maybe tomorrow will come with better results.” I did my best to give him some motivation, but I could tell I was failing miserably at that too.

Jake watched as a car zoomed past the window, a low bass sounding off as it zoomed away. “I bet it’s easier to just listen to music than to try and come up with it. I remember when I would just blare NCT all day long and jam out in my room. It seemed so much easier back then to come up with stuff than it does now. I miss it.” He took a slight pause before continuing. “ Did you know that song you read was the easiest thing I have written in my life? I remember writing too. I just had this super weird feeling in my chest one day so I basically locked myself in my room and took maybe two hours and just wrote a bunch of words down and connected them to sound like a song. For once my mind had just gone blank and I couldn’t stop thinking and feeling that song, like I knew what it was supposed to sound like, I knew what the lyrics were supposed to mean. I just knew everything. And I miss that feeling, that feeling of like- '' He broke off his sentence when he looked back up to my eyes. It seemed like he was talking more to himself than to me. He swallowed hard and looked back at the pencil still in hand.

“Well, I'm sorry you don’t feel free anymore. I wish there was something I could do to make you feel like that again-”

“No, please don’t feel like that. It’s just something that had just recently started happening, something I really just can’t fix…” His voice gets softer and softer the more he spoke.

“Have you spoken to your manager about it?” I asked. “He’s super nice from what I understand. And he’ll probably have better answers than your friend who can barely play the piano, let alone produce an entire song.”

Jake laughed before I had the chance to. “ See, now you're underestimating yourself. Remember that song from freshman year? The one about-- what was his name, Josh?” Jake teased. I grabbed a pillow and slammed it into the back of his head. “Oh my gosh, I thought we promised we’d never bring it up again!”

Jake chuckled and laid his arm on the couch completely turning towards me. “How about we sneak out and go get ice cream and try to not wake up your mom in the process?”

I suddenly jumped to my feet when I have the perfect idea on how to cheer up the gloomy Mr. Shim. “Or, we could do something even better!”

“Urgh!” Jake groaned.

I grabbed my phone and hooked it up to the speaker. I was going to turn on his hit song Drunk-Dazed as a joke, but Jake needed this break from his career, so instead, I crunk up Beyonce as loud as it could go without disturbing my mom who slept upstairs. I turn back to Jake and reach out for his hands, already moving my hips to the music.

He shook his head and threw it back onto the couch as if throwing a temper tantrum. “I literally dance for a living.”

“Okay but this will be different, I promise.” I grabbed the piles of papers on the ground and threw them in the trash, I then pushed the coffee table near the wall and piled his folders and books neatly on top.

“Come on, cowboy!” I grabbed his hands and helped him up. He was reluctant to get up, but he threw one last groan before standing on his feet.

“This will get the brain juices flowing again!” I told him. I go back to my phone and switch it to one of my favorite Beyonce songs that she covered, At Last.

I sang dramatically to get Jake to smile, and luckily, it worked. I placed both my hands over his shoulders and swayed us back and forth, still miming the song as overly exaggerated as I could. Jake still couldn’t help but smile, and it didn’t take him long to join me in the rhythm and sway naturally with me. I learned at our middle school dance that Jake had perfect rhythm. He was able to impress the rest of the crowd when he busted out moves from BTS. Everyone was impressed, including me.

Now we were on a steady roll. I accidentally stepped on his feet a few times, but it was fine seeing as I was wearing foam flip-flops and he was barefooted. After a while, the song switched and played another of my favorites that didn’t match our style of dance, but we still moved slowly to the beat. Jake tried twirling me, but since I have two left feet, I almost ended up hitting the wall each time and Jake laughed loud at my clumsiness. The moonlight from the kitchen had now switched to the window in the living room. It gleamed through and glistened on Jake like a spotlight, just like the ones on the stage did for him. In a split second, I was reminded that he wouldn’t be here forever, just like he wasn’t here for the past year. I tried to not let it settle on my face that I was scared to see him go again, so I played up on the fun we were having now. Jake looked like he was at ease; finally, since he’d been here, he looked genuinely happy and I wasn’t going to ruin that.

After another handful of songs full of laughs and giggles, we were soon sweating and taking deeper breaths than normal. Each song was different from the one before, but it didn’t stop us from sticking to our style of dance. Even with the simplicity of the moves and the slowness of the steps, I had to take a minute to relax. I hooked my arms around his neck and rested my entire body on his. I could feel Jake’s own sweat seeping through his shirt, But I didn’t mind the wetness that was now attached to my cheek. I thought he would act awkward and ask for me to pull away, but instead, he gripped tighter on my hips and started slowly moving me side to side. I let out a long overdue sigh, trying my best to match the steady breathing of Jake’s with my own. It was actually therapeutic: hearing his heartbeat in one ear and the softness of the music in the other.

I tried to continue our steady breathing together, but his had picked up a bit, almost out of nowhere. I felt the heat of his breath on the nape of my neck, and it made my entire body tingle in a way it never had before. After this sudden feeling, I realized just how close we really were. His leg hair tickled my legs, I could feel the bone of his foot connecting to mine, I could feel his thin waist against mine as well. I felt like I needed to back up, but instead, I couldn’t and continued to sway softly against him. A few seconds later, Jake’s hands rose a little higher, planting themselves on my waist and tightening their grip as if they were trying to pull me closer than we already were.

The sensation hadn’t stopped though, it clung to my body like my damp shorts did on my thighs. Sooner or later I felt pressure on the lower part of my stomach and thought for sure that Jake was messing around and wasn’t feeling what I was, which indicated that I needed to pull back before this feeling became too much.

This is so embarrassing. I thought. How could I let myself feel like this? How was this in any way okay? I finally pulled back, the sensation becoming too unbearable, and glanced up at his face. His pupils were large in a way I hadn’t seen before. His mouth was slightly open and a drop of sweat slowly traced down his forehead, onto his nose. That pressure I was feeling on my stomach had now doubled in force, and Jake's face had switched from calm and subtle, to alarmed and panicked...

————✧————

(part 2 possibly...?)

Thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Please, leave any constructive criticism you have on helping improve my writing!

————✧————

None of the images are mine, They all belong to their rightful owners :)

[ltleflrt]

Hey Carrie! You talked a little the other day about writers' tendency to start a fic too early in the story, and how you see a lot of first scenes that could have been scrapped to improve the story. My question is if you have some tips to recognize while writing that first scene that you are starting too early in the story?

Hello friend!

That's a really good question, and I'll see if I can give an answer that makes sense. I am not a professional, and I'm not educated or trained in this stuff, it's just something that I recognize from years and years and years of voracious reading. And as with all writing advice, I encourage you to take what I'm going to say with a grain of salt and remember that no writing rule is a hard rule, only a guideline.

Also, my advice is going to be pertaining fanfiction, and specifically to AUs. Obviously a published book has an editor with a razor blade going through a manuscript for you, and the problems that bother me in fanfiction crop up in AUs more than Canonverse.

Oh, and every instance of "you" is general, not specific 😜

So I think the main problem that I see is that people are starting with an Info Dump. An Info Dump is not always a bad thing, sometimes it's completely necessary, but it is NOT where you want to start your story. If it absolutely has to be done, it's better to be somewhere in the middle or near the end. When it's something that your characters need to know.

That's an important bit: Do your characters need to know this?

And related to that: Does your audience need to know this for the story to make sense?

And very important follow up: If the answers to the above questions are yes, does the character/audience need to know this RIGHT NOW?

There's a lot of information about your story that YOU need to know. Heck, my notes files are full of sooooooo much stuff that I know about the characters and plot that never reaches the final product.

So when you're reading your first chapter (I say reading, not writing, because sometimes info dumping for your own benefit is good, and then you fix it before you share the story lol), ask yourself those two questions.

So for example:

In an AU where Dean is a tattoo artist, and it's his POV. The story starts with Dean driving to work, and when he gets there he's going to find out that the empty shop next door has been purchased and is going to be a yoga studio. He meets Castiel out front, up on a ladder trying to hang a hand painted sign, and some teens go running buy and knock into the ladder and Dean has to catch Castiel from falling. (Anyone who wants to adopt this idea is welcome to it btw, I would love to read this lol)

The mistake I often see in a first chapter like this is that as Dean is walking to work, there's a whole Info Dump about why he's a tattoo artist instead of a hunter. He'll be ambling along, thinking about his nice little business, and there's info about how his mom died in a fire, and his dad was a jerk, and Dean didn't go to college because he saved his money for Sammy's college fund, and Dean's only passion was art, and Bobby Singer introduced him to a tattoo shop owner who took Dean under his wing, etc.

Question 1, does your character need to know this?: Why is Dean reflecting on his past? Does Castiel need to know this information in order to build a romance with Dean?

Question 2, does your audience need to know this?: Why does this information matter? If Dean's only reflecting on this because you want to make sure your audience knows where the timeline changed and this became an AU, then you're starting too early in your story. Dean doesn't need to know this, and honestly in a lot of cases the reader doesn't need to know this. This is information that should have been left in your notes file.

Question 3, does the character/audience need to know this NOW?: If this information is pertinent to the plot, like maybe there's some trauma there that Castiel might need to know about to develop their relationship, then you don't want to put it HERE, you want to put it in a conversation with Castiel LATER.

If I was writing this AU, I would just start with Dean sipping his coffee, he's kinda tired because reasons, he looks up to see an unusual commotion, and has to drop his coffee and sprint forward to catch Cas. If he's reflecting on anything in this scene, it's going to be whatever made him tired, or how good/bad the coffee is this morning. Since Cas is a new business owner, they can talk about the origins of Dean's business on their first date, because it'll be a relevant response to Castiel talking about the origins of his yoga studio.

And just in general, if Dean's origin story includes a lot of canon elements, like mom dying in a fire, dad being a deadbeat, Sammy being the adorable overachieving Stanford student.... try to hide that info for as long as you can so that the audience is actually curious about it by the time the info might pop up. It's the wild divergences that are more interesting earlier on.

Okay, and then I want to talk about my giant pet peeve for a starting chapter. It's a specific kind of info dump, that often includes the stuff from above, but then goes a step further.

My nemesis, The Daily Grind.

I haven't asked the authors, so I could be wrong about this, but I feel like most of the time when this type of chapter is included in a story it is because the author wants to show the reader that the character's life is boring and meaningless before the plot's inciting incident. I can absolutely see why that might be considered an important detail about the character, but keep in mind if it's boring and meaningless to the character, it's boring and meaningless to your audience.

You know how I said earlier that writing tips should never be hard and fast rules? Well this is in regards to that Show Don't Tell rule, and it's an example of TOO MUCH showing lol

It is possible to do a daily grind in an interesting way, but only if you include a Shake Up right away. And you have to look at the 3 questions a little bit differently.

So for example:

Castiel POV, and he works in an office. His daily routine is to always get up at the same time every day, he goes for his run, he grooms himself, he has his breakfast, he goes to work and talks to Kelly about how Jack's doing in kindergarten for a few minutes before going into his office. Adler comes in to be a prick, Castiel hates him for it, and then he does his reports, has lunch hiding in a corner of the lunch room so that his co-workers will leave him alone, he does more reporting, leaves an hour after his shift technically ends, goes home to a lonely apartment that maybe includes a pet who is the only being that shows him affection, has an unsatisfying dinner of leftover takeout while watching a mindless reality tv show, then he goes to bed.

Ugh.

BORING.

Which, yeah I get it, the point is that his life is boring. But now the story is too, and I've clicked the back button before I can see how exciting it's capable of getting.

Question 1, does your character need to know this?: No. He knows. Poor thing definitely already knows.

Question 2, does your audience need to know this?: Yes, but...

Question 3, does the character/audience need to know this NOW?: Yes, but new question for ya:

Optional Question 4, why does this need to be separate from your plot's inciting incident? The answer to this 4th question is usually that it doesn't.

Chapter 2 of this type of beginning usually shows the shake up of Castiel's day. My advice is to start with the shakeup, and sprinkle in the details of what you would have put into chapter 1 to show the contrast. It's far more interesting to learn how boring Castiel's day is by starting with the shake up.

So, same scenario:

Castiel's alarm doesn't go off for some reason, OH NO HIS ROUTINE IS SHAKEN UP! You're explaining his routine while also stressing him the fuck out because he has to rush, or skip something that he normally needs to do. Action! Interesting! He gets to work late, and has to miss his conversation with Kelly about Jack because she's telling him that Adler's already in his office being a prick because Castiel isn't there waiting for him like he always is. Oh shit, he's pissing off his asshole boss! Conflict! He's so flustered by the shakeups that he misses something on his report, and he gets a call from that new marketing guy Dean Winchester who asks if they can have a meeting about it when Castiel normally takes his lunch. BAM! MEET CUTE OPPORTUNITY! While Castiel is getting all flustered by how pretty Dean is while they talk about TPS reports, he can reflect on how this is both better and worse than hiding from his co-workers in the corner of the lunch room. The rest of the day after that meeting he's thinking about how weird this day is, he still goes home an hour late, he talks to his pet about his weird day when he gets home, and maybe he still eats leftover takeout, but he's not paying attention to the reality tv show because holy shit he wants to count Dean's freckles.

In this example, you're Telling the audience about Castiel's normal routine instead of Showing them. But since it's during a plot heavy chapter, it works!

Lemme see if I can TL:DR this...

As you're reading, ask yourself who needs to know this information, why do they need to know this information, and why is it important for this information to be included early instead of later?

If the answer to any of those questions boils down to "this is backstory" instead of "this kicks off the plot", then you've started too early.

I hope this helps? I'm always nervous about giving writing advice because so much of the time I have no idea what I'm doing, and I'm just feeling around in the dark. And I definitely do not ever want to hurt an author's feelings, because this hobby is so fucking hard, and we're all fragile. Even authors who welcome con-crit with open arms will have a weak point that they're unaware of that might get poked wrong and cause a crack, ya know?

I hope anyone who gets this far who might see their own works reflected in my examples understands that I have a lot of respect for their ability to put their work out into the world, and I want them to keep doing it. We're here to have fun, okay? Okay. I love y'all 💜

[astaroth1357]

Demigod MC Series: Demeter

Have I been using this series to vicariously punish Belphie for the events of Season 1? I cannot confirm nor deny that statement.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter

Lucifer

Didn't think too much of the "human" when they popped out of the portal. Sure they had a straw hat and a huge basket full of produce but it wasn’t like they were… Wait… No… Were they…?

Oh no. Oh nonononono, this is not good…!!

Demeter is notoriously doting and protective of her children (see her freakout and breakdown after Hades abducted of Persephone as proof) and they've pretty much done the EXACT. SAME. THING. here!!

It was a mad scramble by him and Diavolo to contact and appease their godly Mother Bear before she came roaring down to Devildom herself to turn them all into barley. Thankfully, Zeus must have intervened at some point because though she was indeed PISSED, she didn't threaten to barge in… yet.

She made one thing very clear. Bend so much as a single hair on her precious child's head and there would be WAR…

The MC received a 24 hour security detail after that. Just Mammon wasn't going to cut it, he needed NO chances. It was a full rotation of Mammon, him and Beel for the entirety of their stay (Asmo and Levi both threw hissy fits at the prospect of babysitting, Satan couldn’t be trusted not to kill them just to irritate him, and Belphie was out for… obvious reasons).

In some ways, it wasn’t so bad. The MC was a very mild sort of person, rather even tempered. He’d dare say they were pleasant, mostly content to just tend to their gardens and be out in the moonlight…

But the problem was, he just could not convince them to stay OUT of nature. Including the forests, which were full of hellish beasts fully intent on gnawing their flesh from their bones… and their specialty was plants, not animals, sooo…

Their habit of sneaking out to wander the woods got so bad that he very nearly considered pulling a Belphie 2 and locking them in the basement for their own good. But Devil knows what damage their mother would do if she found out…

At least they make for pleasant company… And Diavolo seems to like them quite a bit himself so the mortal gets a pass from him. Now if they’d only consider their own safety for a change…

Mammon

They make him a KILLING.

Like, no seriously. Their produce is insane!! He’s never tasted food so good, especially stuff that’s come fresh from the ground! It only took a few berries for Mammon to throw on a straw hat himself and start harvesting! He’s a farmer now, baby!!

Weeellll not quite. He’s still absolutely only in it for the money, but anything he brings to a farmer’s market goes so fast that he can hardly care about the labor! He’s never made this much Grimm in his life!! And it’s totally legit for a change!

He bought himself another car, paid off half of his debt, and even got Levi back that 2 or 3 grand he leant him centuries ago. Really, Mammon’s living his best life and it’s all thanks to MC!

It’s a good thing his blatant grifting doesn’t hurt his relationship with them at all, in fact they seem to enjoy having his help regardless. They bring him drinks on hot days or invite him on picnics and stuff, it’s… it’s really sweet. They’re very nice to him and he appreciates it…

But… COULD YA JUST STAY PUT ALREADY???

It drives him INSANE that they won’t stay out of dangerous places!! After he started caring about them for more than just a meal ticket it only got even worse!!

He’s not usually one for monitoring someone’s every move (that kind of control freak behavior is more a Lucifer thing) but he eventually had to set up familiars around the House just to keep them from sneaking out at night...

What was so interesting out there anyway?? There wasn’t any kind of plant that he could bring them himself! They didn’t have any need to be out there!! 

They’d keep telling him they’d be fine but it’s not like he’s going to actually buy that. They were too… nice to be dangerous or anything so why would he believe them?

No more running off, MC! Please, he’s beggin’ ya!!

Leviathan 

Wait, gardening? Like, being outdoors and stuff? Ew. No thanks, he’ll pass.

That was more or less his first reaction when they showed up and it never really got much better than that…

He admits that they’re friendly and it’s not like he dislikes them or anything, but their thing so far from his thing that they just don’t have a lot in common… you know?

For starters, they get So. Antsy. when they’re inside for too long! He tried to invite them to a marathon once, but they could hardly keep still and kept looking around like they were searching for a window… He said, “to jump out of.” They insisted just for some fresh air, but he didn’t buy it...

They’re nice enough to listen to his rants, but they’re barely ever inside for him to do so and like HELL is he going to leave his room and stand around out there for that long. Ranting is at least a one to two hour engagement! What if he gets hot out there? And have you SEEN Devildom bees?? Hell no!!

He has, however, asked them on multiple occasions to reproduce flowers he’s seen in different anime, especially ones that have a very unique look and they’ve done some real wonders with that!

He can now claim to be the only person to ever own a Ruby-Jade Vine plant, straight from the pages of TSL when it was used to brew tea for the Lord of Lechery during his brief illness and-is anyone even still listening anymore?

The point is, it’s a flower so rare it was imaginary but now HE has it!... or had it for about a week until his utter incompetence of all things plant killed it…

He begged the MC for another but they were out of the plants they needed to make it and would have to go back to the human world to find more… He’s still mourning his loss… Poor Henry 4.0…

Satan

Well… He’s called this MC “salt of the Earth” and he does truly mean it. Take of that what you will.

He doesn’t get much in the way of intellectual conversation out of this mortal UNLESS he’s talking about plants, farming, or botany… Interesting topics and complex in their own right to be sure, but that’s pretty much their wheelhouse and they like it there.

That being said, the feats that they can perform are genuinely mind-blowing! They are the ONLY person he has ever met who can cultivate the Devildom’s own ultra-rare Phantom Orchid, a plant only blooms when it reaches a perfect state of undeath (i.e. both taken care of and neglected just enough so that it's only barely alive. The balance is so tricky to master that one hasn’t bloomed down there for centuries!)

There’s also something just genuinely relaxing about watching them work or helping them in the gardens… More so than he’d ever expected from such a simple activity.

He admits that he’s taken quite a few strolls through the flower-filled courtyard of the Demon Lord’s Castle just to admire its beauty... But anything that they can grow just blows all of that out of the water!

They even taught him several magic botanical techniques so now he can grow some pretty mad plants himself. Lucifer never expected to find that giant Venus Flytrap in his closet, but one was there regardless. 😏

Just… out of curiosity one day, he asked the MC if they could make him a new kind of catnip. Not for any nefarious reason! You know… just for research purposes…

The nip they made was so effective that the House grounds were FILLED with nipped-up cats for a whole month! He was in Heaven!! (and Lucifer practically wiped those plants from existence so he couldn’t get any more… asshole...)

That must have inspired them because they apparently made a demons-only version that they told him about WELL after the fact. Had he known, he probably would have burned the stuff on principle... Do you know how dangerous demon-nip could be to them? Experiment responsibly, MC!

Asmodeus 

Ehhhh, gardening SOUNDS like one of those things that should be super Devilgram-able, but then you realize how sweaty and dirty you get in the process and it’s a huge turn off… Sorry MC.

When they first came down to the Devildom, he thought two things: 1) Such a sweet little flower child, as adorable as they were, would never survive; and 2) even if they could, he would never ever see eye-to-eye with them on the “wonders” of getting all up in the dirt.

Well, he was right about 2, but certainly not 1. Personally, he thinks his brothers worry about them too much, they ARE still a demigod.

At one point he saw a pack of hellhounds almost trample one of their vegetable gardens and they lost it. Word to the wise, never try to take on a child of Demeter in their own garden. Those hounds were wrapped up in rose vines before they could even yelp...

Yeah, the MC would be fine.

That being said, while everybody else clamors over their produce, he thinks that their flowers are really where it’s at!

Taking just five minutes in one of their gardens is something else... He’s never seen blossoms as healthy and immaculate in all the Devildom before! Their beauty could (almost) rivals his own! What they do isn’t just a hobby, it’s an art.

He’s taken multiple pictures with their blossoms and they go viral every time. It’s so rare to actually see gorgeous, petal-filled flowers in the Devildom, most of the native plants are of the man-eating variety.

His only complaint about this MC is that they seem to feel much more at home in work clothes and dirt than they do in any sort of party-look he tries to give them… Cute as they are, they can afford to gussy up sometimes can’t they? Mud and grass stains don’t make for a good look, sorry.

Beelzebub 

Beel gardens and the MC gardens as well. Add on that they seem to be able to grow all manner of fruits and veggies and he likes this one. A lot.

They had just finished apple-picking when the portal nabbed them so they had a massive basket of apples at the time. Naturally, Beel more or less stole the thing on sight, but the apples inside were so juicy and good that he almost shook them down for more on the spot!

Imagine his surprise when they, half pleadingly, explained to him that if he got them some seeds they could just grow more… and it wouldn’t even take that long.

To be clear, the formula he saw was this: Get seeds > bring seeds to mortal > mortal grows seeds > mortal makes endless supply of food….

Congratulations MC, you’ve now earned the sixthborn’s eternal loyalty after a grand total of… two minutes. He didn’t even know their name, but he was willing to take a bullet for them (provided he got more of those apples).

The next several months were spent with Beel attached to them to the hip in some way, but honestly? It was just so wholesome anyway…

If he’s helping in the garden, he never complains. He does most of the heavy lifting and actually likes being out there with them (unlike others...)

Many afternoons were spent sitting under fruit trees and talking. Sometimes, they go to the trouble of preparing a picnic or something but it would always inevitably end with Beel plucking the whole tree clean of whatever ripe (or unripe) fruit he can get his hands on with a smile. 

The MC never minded though. That’s just another excuse to grow more, right?

His only problem was when the MC would sneak out to the forest… especially when they get too antsy and just go alone. 

He HATES it when they do that! How is he supposed to keep them safe if they just wander off?? He knows that they have a special connection to nature and all, but it isn’t safe…

He’s flown in and scooped them back up to the House on numerous occasions and his “talking tos” get sterner after every rescue... Please stay put, MC! He’d have so many reasons to be sad if you were eaten… 😔

Belphegor 

Okay, he was looking for a capable, if not gullible, human. Not a shoeless flower hippy!

He honestly wasn't expecting much out of this one... Damn their little heart because they did genuinely believed his lies, it’s just that they weren't… well… They were really good at gardening.

… And it grew kind of hard to keep hating them whenever they'd show up just to give him fresh berries or a bouquet to see him smile… He may claim that his heart is made of nightmares and orphan tears, but who doesn’t enjoy being given a batch of flowers? 

Damn their sweetness too… Right to here.

When it came time to kill them he had a heavier heart than he thought he would, but kind of saw it like putting down the sacrificial lamb. Gotta be done to reach better goals... Stiff upper lip and all that.

Unfortunately for him, they had taken to carrying packets of demon-nip with them as a self-defense measure…

He wasn’t exactly sure what he expected when they shouted “Get nipped!” at him mid-attack, but it wasn’t a face full of some smelly herb! Like, really smelly…! Actually, that smelt kind of good… Hold on.

Turns out murderous rage really doesn’t last long after you get what is effectively ultra-strong catnip thrown in your face. They ended up having to go and tell Lucifer what happened themselves because Belphie was way too blissed out on the floor to do anything... They were legitimately worried they might have fried his brain...

He’s told the effects of the demon-nip lasted three days. He doesn’t know, because he hardly remembers any of it... They described him as like he was high on “weed” and “ecstasy” at the same time but he doesn’t know what either of those are either so it wasn’t helpful…

Truthfully, they were so nice to him while he was recovering that he couldn’t even be mad afterwards so all's well that ends well? Either way, he’s sleeping under their orchard trees from now on. It’s peaceful out there...

They burnt all that nip though. It’s some strong stuff...

[chasingpj]

𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫

pairing: leo valdez x child of iris!reader

requested?: yes!

translation: full of color

warnings: uhh, mentions of mental health and ?? maybe some typos lmao

category: headcanons, fluff, best friends to lovers

pre-relationship

though, leo saw you around camp often, you caught interest in him before he caught interest in you

i mean, he literally couldn't miss you because your outfits were always bright, whether it was a combination of colors or monochromatic

you and your siblings actually look like a rainbow threw up on you guys, and it's honestly iconic

no one at camp can not notice the children of iris, especially when they're in a herd

one day, you were sitting alone at a picnic table near the lake, and you found yourself drawing him in your sketchbook

you sketched a portrait of him while he spoke to piper at a table nearby

you've always found the floppy curls and how his brightest smiles always look a little manic to be adorable

when you sketched his portrait in your notebook, you didn’t intend for him ever to see it

until a couple of weeks later in the arts and crafts center, leo passed by and caught sight of a new project you were working on

he stopped in his tracks to compliment your drawing

since you were nowhere near done with it, you couldn’t admire the piece as much as he was

but his enthusiasm was so endearing

he politely asked if he could see more, and you didn’t hesitate to slide over your sketchbook

he noticed a lot of your drawings were scenery and people at camp; especially your siblings

he stumbled across a detailed sketch of a woman and her child sitting in a bus

“wow… who’s this?”

“oh, I don’t know. It was just a little girl I saw on the train with her mother.”

“so you just drew her?”

you never realized how weird your habit of drawing random people was until he had asked

you giggled nervously, quick to explain yourself, “I tend to draw people or things that I find beautiful. I wanted to capture how calm and happy she was with her child ‘cause at the time, I was stressed and angry. Watching and drawing her made me calm.”

leo nodded, a faint smile on his lips before looking back down at the drawing. “that’s really cool,” he complimented, and you shifted in your seat, suddenly shy.

And then it hit you

you were so willing to show leo all your works that you had completely forgotten that his portrait was in that book

your pulse thumped loud in your ears, mind racing to figure out a way to take away your sketchbook before he could see it

you ended up spending so long thinking of what to do that he arrived on the page in no time

right before he could see the drawing in its entirety, you slammed the book closed and snatched it

leo’s startled expression turned into a mischievous smirk

“was that me?”

you froze in your place; a squeaky sound escaped your throat in your embarrassment

leo’s brown eyes sparkled as he leaned into you, your gaze fixed on his, “y/n, you think I’m beautiful?”

AHHHH!

^^ that was you in your head btw

leo laughed, amused at your attempt to deny it

“then why did you snatch it away?” he raises an eyebrow before reaching over quickly to grab the sketchbook back

you didn't pull it out of his reach fast enough, leo getting a grip on one side

the two of you pull it back and forth, leo laughing at you as you continued to deny what he saw

though you were incredibly embarrassed, you couldn't contain the laughter bubbling in your chest

gods, of course, this would happen to me, you thought

he got it out of your grip, and you sighed in defeat, watching him flip to the page of him and piper

he was quiet, studying the picture for a second before giving you that playful smirk

“you think I’m beautiful?” he asked again

you playfully rolled your eyes, “it was more piper than you.”

your tone was sarcastic, only fueling leo’s banter with you

“oh really?” he chuckled to himself, “but i’m the only one colored in.”

you were silent at his observation before scoffing, “whatever.”

leo only laughed as you take the book away from him

“don’t you have somewhere to be, fire boy?” you asked and nudged his shoulder

the glint in your eyes made him smile, and he shrugged, “i guess i do. i'll see you around."

you nodded, too shy to do anything else, and he walked off

after that, leo took it upon himself to talk to you every day

leo teased you about the drawing all the time, and he found the way you would play along to be funny

before you both fell in love, you were close friends

you had such an optimistic point of view about life, and it was pretty contagious

somehow when leo was in the dumps about something, you always knew what to say

you were just so easy to talk to, and because of this, your friendship just grew naturally

your first kiss was towards the end of summer

leo invited you to hang out with him in bunker nine at, specifically, 6 pm

you teasingly asked if it was a date, and you remember the way he tensed up a bit

with a mumble, he asked, "what if it is?"

from the tone in his voice, you knew he wasn’t joking

in fact, his tone was hesitant, a part of him was expecting you to reject him

then the heavy pit in his stomach turned light when you smiled and said, "then I'm down."

the grin leo gave you made your heart flutter like crazy

your first date consisted of eating snacks and watching a movie on one of those portable DVD players

You picked up on the tension between you and him, and noticed the opportunities for a kiss kept passing

it was until Leo walked you to your cabin that night did you have a moment of boldness and asked, "so are you going to kiss me or?"

leo's eyes widen in surprise before his face broke out in the familiar smirk he gives when he flirts with you

you rolled your eyes playfully and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him into you

your first kiss was sweet and soft; a little awkward

his hands hovered over your sides for a second, not sure what to do with them until he decided to rest them on your waist

it was the perfect way to mark the beginning of your relationship

relationship

since you guys are both broke teenagers, you got creative with date nights

you came up with the idea of paint splattering with him

you guys got canvases, covered the walls and floors with plastic to make sure you didn't dirty them

then you filled water balloons with paint and just threw them

despite you guys singing and dancing around in the midst of it, the canvases came out so good

and to commemorate the beginning of your relationship, you hung them up side by side in bunker nine, and when you guys get a place together, you hang them up in the hallway of your apartment

leo is a huge gift giver; as i’ve said before in my “how he shows he loves you” headcanons

he’s made you a lot of things; canvases, jewelry, little trinkets with scrap metal

one of your favorite gifts from him is a suncatcher with rainbow quartz

you fell in love with it and when you move in together, you make sure to hang it up in the kitchen with the bunch of other suncatchers that he’s made you

i love the idea that you would attempt to bring more color in his wardrobe

a lot of his clothes are muted in color; you don’t mind it but you were interested to see what he’d look like in a colorful outfit like yours

To say the least, he was not that enthusiastic and maybe, you shouldn’t have put him in a monochromatic orange outfit but… you still thought he looked cute

leo thought he looked like a traffic cone though so it didn’t stick

it’s okay because you like him the way he is anyways

another thing is that you guys are super supportive of each other and leo loves just how you manage to lift his mood

once leo was having a bad mental health week

you guys were sitting under a tree, looking out at the water

his head laid on your shoulder and small sniffles came from the other

it hurt to see him like this and you wished you could do more to make him feel better

then you had the greatest idea to make a rainbow for him

so you did

leo was so stunned when he saw the rainbow form over the lake

he looked at you surprised and when you admitted to making the rainbow for him, the emotion on his face was indescribable

and then you laughed and held him when he started crying because he said it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for him

another time, you insisted that meditation would be good for him

he literally sat down for like 3 minutes with his eyes closed before he was itching to get up and do something

even when he was sitting down, he was still bouncing his legs and fidgeting

so that fell through too but you still helped him in other ways and he’s so grateful for your optimism and bubbly personality

leo always says that you bring color to everything; literally and figuratively

one of the things you bring color to is his life

and he’s constantly reminding you of this; that his world just feels brighter now that you’re around

and it’s literal too

since you painted the walls of bunker nine a bright orange

he asked you why orange, and you told him because orange encourages productivity, creativity, and most importantly, optimism

it may have also reminded you of the orange outfit you put him into

anyways, you told him that it hurt you to see him get down in the dumps, and you insisted there was no way he could be sad in a bright orange room

needless to say, you were kinda right

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