#little painting to cap off the project

[rad-roche]

boy, did this one take a while!! whenever i got very stuck on a part, i made myself close the file and go do another study to get over the wall, so this was done on and off over a few weeks. the timelapse for this one is long, and inelegant, but if i just showed you the stuff that came together in a 'pretty' way i'd be doing the both of us a disservice

there's a part very near the end of the timelapse where it looks like nothing is happening. it is, it's just very zoomed in. i hand drew the marquis outlines on the shards

[bluejayblueskies]

ten thousand flowers in spring | bluejayblueskies

[ID: Three photos of a hand-bound book from different angles that show the front, side, and back respectively. The book has dark green bookcloth, a decorative red and gold ribbon along the front cover and a black ribbon along the back cover, and a gold painted cherry blossom design on the front and back covers. The title and author name are also in gold on the front cover and spine and read, "Ten Thousand Flowers in Spring" and "bluejayblueskies." /End ID]

Last November, I got a Silhouette cutting machine for Black Friday. This weekend, I finally got the chance to use it for a bookbinding project! I bound my fic ten thousand flowers in spring as part of one of my Fandom Trumps Hate typesetting gifts, and I had a lot of fun going all-out with the flower iconography.

[ID: Two photos of the interior of the book. The first is the title page spread of the book, showing a pastel-colored painting of a cherry blossom-scattered hill with sheep and a shepherd that spans both pages. On the right page, there is the title "Ten Thousand Flowers in Spring" and the author name "bluejayblueskies" in a sans serif font. The second is the colophon (left) and table of contents (right) of the book. The colophon has details about the binder, the original fic, and the fonts and image sources used in the book. The table of contents has each chapter title and corresponding page number listed in a grid format with flower icons above each chapter title. /End ID]

Each chapter is titled after a flower that has a specific meaning that ties into the chapter content. I decided to style this bind after old botany books. Along with the cover, which is inspired by the covers of old botany books, each chapter header has an image of the titular flower pulled from public domain botany book scans, along with the flower's name and meaning below it.

[ID: The inside of the book, showing a page of text on the left and the chapter header on the right. The chapter header has an old-style image of blue salvia on it, with the name "blue salvia" and the meaning "friendship, family, thoughtful gestures, thinking of you" beneath it. /End ID]

Each chapter also begins with a faux-excerpt from the book Jon is writing throughout the fic:

[ID: The inside of the book, showing the introductory faux book excerpt on the left and the beginning chapter text on the right. The faux book text has an image of a flower beneath it; the beginning chapter text has a drop cap with a floral design at the beginning of it. /End ID]

Some more notes and pictures on process are below the cut!

The binding style of this fic is sewn boards binding, which I like for thinner books as the spine is much less fiddly to work with. It's also a really nice binding style in general because it eliminates my least-favorite part of the binding process: casing in. When casing in a regular case-bound book, you construct the entire case separately from the text block and then attach the case to the text block via the endpapers. Inevitably, I always end up just a little bit crooked, and because my brain currently refuses to let me try using paste instead of PVA, it's very hard to fix once the endpapers are pasted down.

With sewn boards binding, the boards are attached to the text block via an extra signature of folded cardstock on the ends of the text block. The case is then constructed directly onto the text block, and glueing the endpapers down is very, very easy and near-impossible to mess up.

The ends of the boards do end up exposed with this binding style. The first time I did it, I covered them with paper. This time, I painted them gold to match the cover:

[ID: A side view of the book, showing off the exposed boards near the spine which are painted gold. The front cover of the book can also be seen at an angle. /End ID]

I plan to experiment more in the future with potentially adding endbands to this binding style, as that's one thing I wish this book had that it does not.

For the cover design, I first cut out the stencils using my Silhouette:

[ID: A cutting mat with white vinyl stuck to it that has been cut and weeded to expose the backlit cherry blossom design. The title "Ten Thousand Flowers in Spring" and author name "bluejayblueskies" can be seen in the designs for the front cover and spine. /End ID]

I'd heard a lot of things about weeding, positive and negative, but I actually enjoyed doing the weeding on this 😂 it was like doing a puzzle in a way. I think I would like it less if I had to keep all of the tiny little pieces and make sure they looked nice, but as it was, all I had to do was remove them and it didn't matter if they got bent in the process.

The fabric paint I have dries very quickly, so I got very little bleed on my stencil and was able to remove it almost right away:

[ID: The back cover of the book with the vinyl stencil stuck to it, painted over somewhat messily with gold fabric paint. /End ID]

Overall, I was very happy with the stenciling process and will probably continue to do stencils as opposed to heat transfer vinyl unless I want to do some bigger, blockier designs in the future.

[centipedelightning]

Hobbies!

headcanons about what kind of hobbies i think some of the skeles have. this post includes undertale and underfell sans and papyrus. i want to smooch these guys so bad y’all.

| Undertale & Underfell || fluff |

Hobbies: you are here | pt. 2 | pt. 3 | pt. 4

words: 1045

Sans

Canonically it’s trombone, and he knows how to sew

He started learning how to sew pretty young (out of necessity) so he’s really good now. He made papyrus’s costume after all! He’s actually a pretty skilled seamstress and super super good at making barely visible, perfectly blended alterations to clothing. He’d be better at mending if he cared to, but he isn’t bad.

The trombone was probably in whatever the underground equivalent of his second year of high school.

Yes he was and still is a band kid sorry 🤷🏻‍♀️

Other than in game canon, I see him doing origami. He found a box set of books (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) at the dump in great condition and decided to take it up.

He used to make a bunch of little characters and animals for babybones Papyrus to play with.

He makes so many paper stars. Like two of those really big mason jar fulls with a third actively being filled.

It became a bit of a coping mechanism to be able to pick up scraps of paper and make little things quickly and mindlessly. Not to mention the chance to make a wish

More than once he may or may not have used torn slips of blueprints and schematics for projects…. Oops

Papyrus

He’s so babygirl girliepop

He loves puzzles but that’s already covered by playing the game and this is not written to rehash the canon

So instead I will tell you about the million and one crafts he does (no I won't)

He so so crafty and creative so technically he does a lot of different things, but I see him loving making decor items. Stuff like rock painting and recycled garden decor. Yk those bottle cap flowers for your garden? Stuff like that.

His front garden is so cute because of all the stuff he put in it.

The rocks he paints are just random local forest and river stones. The paints are all natural and watershed safe. Ecological awareness queen.

He mostly does those dot patterns when and places them all around the garden and pathways. Sometimes he’ll do little faces or bugs to mix it up

ZUMBA omg

He’s such a Zumba girl you have no clue. He loves the fun danciness of it while still being a good workout. He’s very 90s fashion-wise so you know he’s in those brightly colored body suits.

He lovesss putting together and painting model figures. Kinda like dnd minis but I see him being more into put it together yourself robot sets (like Gundams or whatever they’re called)

Y’all he’s so down bad for sexy robots you can’t tell me he wouldn’t love Gundams. Just look at how he acts towards his action figures AND METTATON HIMSELF. He’s so tragic and so real tbh.

Red

He’s my artsy babygirl.

If you’ve read my headcanon post about him you’ll know.

He’s not very good, but he does do landscape paintings every now and then. Those times are more when he randomly decides to take a walk around a local park or something. He’s more interested in studying other artists’ work than doing it himself.

Onto an actual hobby: Whittling!

He discovered the hobby kinda on his own in the underground. Whenever he was forced to show up to his sentry station and couldn’t find a way to run off, he’d pick up sticks and cut them down to nothing with a pocket knife. Over time he started carving little shapes and figures into the sticks. He’d usually just make simple bone attacks or snow poffs. Sometimes if he found a bigger branch, he’d make replicas of some of the other royal guards or random machines.

Topside he makes so many animals. Like so many. His favorite things to make are birds. He has so many different types of whittled birds all over his room. There’s boxes in his closet overflowing with finished and half finished bird carvings. They’re also in the windows and you can see them walking past their house.

If he’s feeling fancy he’ll pull out the woodstain and give them a little depth to make the species more obvious.

He makes other animals too of course, but they’re usually gifts. He makes a bunch of forest animals for Frisk (their favorites are rabbits and deer).

He made an MTT carving Once when Edge was going through it and was increasingly stressed for like a month straight. Red is a bit of a hater so jacking anything MTT was like pulling teeth. You gotta do what you gotta do for the happiness of your siblings I'm afraid.

A lot of people see him working as a mechanic and I agree, but that’s his career and jobs can’t be hobbies so I’m not gonna go into depth.

Edge

Ok consider for a second: (silk) flower arranging

For one, I headcanon him working as a professional makeup artist on the surface so its not completely left field,

For two, I’m right and you know it.

He does it as casually as you can imagine Edge being casual. Mostly dining table centerpieces and hallways vases. He does silk flowers for places he doesn’t check as often (like hallways) but since he’s classy he dumps the extra G for the fancy fake flowers.

The real flowers are in foyers and on tables. He even takes the occasional flower arranging class in different disciplines to be able to have the skill to arrange any flower in any style.

Edge is such a granny so I think weaving would be reasonable too.

Originally he started out darning his clothes so they would last a few more months, but since he got topside he does a lot of more artsy woven pieces on those small lap sized looms.

He’s not too picky about the actual design; they’re usually classy and fancy and a bit pretentious like him but he’s not actually all that picky about it. He mostly makes scarves and wall hangs that he sells at the local farmers market and craft fairs.

All his friends do have specially designed and stunningly made scarves that he spent hours laboring away on. He gets to critical levels of happiness when he sees them wearing his hard work.

[rollypoliesonarock]

No one asked, but here's a vest tour! I've added a bunch since I last talked about it here, so here's the update!

Here's the full front and back

Most of this I made myself. The patches were mostly made by hand embroidery (anything machine done was probably given to me as a gift), with the exception of a couple that were just markers on white fabric.

Under the decorative patches is also a layer of random fabric patches, mostly from leftover projects scrap fabric, or old clothes I didn't know what to do with.

There's also some random paint splashes in green and red, and a ton of pop tabs and safety pins thrown around in empty spaces.

The pins I made were made from painted bottle caps, and held on with a pop tab and safety pin combo, with the edges of the bottle cap bent to hold it in place

The vest itself I got from a family member's friend, and said family member didn't want it. So she gave it to me to put patches on. I used it as a formal jacket for a year, but I didn't like how the sleeves felt, so I cut them off and ended up putting patches on it anyway. I've been working on this vest since last January, but many of the patches and stuff were transferred from my old jacket that I have other plans for, but that's for a different post.

Inside, plus the snack pouch

so much white embroidery floss, I'm surprised I'm still able to scrape up some in my embroidery floss drawer

Front top left (from the perspective of someone looking at me)

Gay frog pin is the only pin I own I paid for, I found all the rest for free from various events and also the library likes giving people free pins

Front top right

Got the Vulpix pin from some random lady at the empanada restaurant because she liked my nerdy jacket. A few months ago I reconnected with an old friend, who recognized the art style. So that's kinda neat

Front bottom left

I used to have the heart/brain patch sewn on an older jacket (that is no longer with us). I am never attempting to stick a needle through that thing again. Easily my most painful patch I own. Also a little keychain ring so I can clip stuff to my vest

Front bottom right

The worm's name is wormy, named by my friend who loves him. Wormy has been through a lot, and before finding a safe home on my vest, rotated between being a room decoration and a cat toy

The hotelier patch (the house on the pocket) is probably my favorite music based patch I've made. I spent way too much time on it, but I think it turned out nice in the end!

Back top

the trans flag section in the center is my favorite part. The peace was never an option patch is usually peoples favorite, and I get compliments on it regularly. It's hard to see, but the patch at the bottom left of the flag is the chemical formula for testosterone

Back bottom left

The QR code is a Rick roll, and also fully functional. When I made it, a picture of it was floating around between my friends between various group chats. I had one friend who tried to go to lengths to avoid getting tricked, until one of his friends sent him the picture, and he actually scanned it before realizing it's the QR code on my back. He was (jokingly) upset at me the next day. I want to make another qr code to a song I like more, but that one took longer than most my other patches do, so I'm not sure it's worth it.

Back bottom right

The Kos-mos patch (blue haired girl on left) is my favorite non music patch on here. It just feels like one of my most well made patches. Not much to say here, I just like the patch a lot

So yeah, that's my vest. No clue how many patches are actually on this, or how many hours I've put into this thing already, but it's probably a high number whatever it is.

If this gets at least 0.5 notes Ill talk about my other patch stuff, of which I've got a lot of.

[dnickels]

"The house is a character" goes without saying, on Ghosts and other shows about people trapped in an old crumbling house that hates them (by God, is that Julian Fellowes' music?), but Ghosts makes good use of the house as a site of contention. It is a very old pile of bricks and masonry in disrepair, that's what it is, but it means to various people-- who live in, who live around it-- is a much thornier issue. Robin, who predates it by millennia, doesn't really give a shit, and to Allison and Mike by the end of the first episode its a huge liability they would bulldoze if given the chance. A windfall, an asset, a stone around their necks etc. But to the people who lived there it was/is a world unto itself. We get to see just how much history that place has, which is a meaningless thing to say, because any square foot of Earth outside of Antarctica has untold millennia of human history, but its a history that's real and alive and present because people remember it, and live out that remembering.

Who does it belong to? Legally to Allison and Mike, by the vagaries of fortune and inheritance law. But what does it mean to try and share the place where you live, currently, with centuries of past inhabitants? The show makes the issue literal but its an ideological struggle that happens constantly when it comes to preservation. People do have to live. Not every beautiful old building can be preserved as it was forever with no changes or updates, although it doesn't stop me from wincing when a new block of 5 over 1s goes up. If you wanted to talk about the long arc of the show, its from episode one where the Ghosts can only watch in horror as the wrecking crew comes in to the last (penultimate?) episode where they make a negotiated peace with the idea of change. (I haven't! Not a golf course! Allison noooo its so bad for the environmeeeeent etc).

I am a little surprised the blue plaque issue got such a brusque treatment-- I was wondering when the Coopers would come up against whatever local heritage society objects to them putting in modern plumbing, or tearing out the old lathe-and-plaster, to say nothing of the government agencies who hand out historic protections etc. But on the other hand, maybe the history of the house feels "more important" than it is because we, the audience, got to experience it so closely. Yes it was the site of a duel, a witch-burning, a murder, a WW2-era weapons development project, a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth-- but so were lots of places. It's not, in the grand scheme of things, an especially important house and yet it means so much! What do you mean, Cap doesn't get a blue plaque for having a very minor homefront position from 1939-1945! What do you mean Fanny doesn't get a memorial for being pushed out a window! Those are my friends!

There could have been a season-arc about someone outside the house trying to 'save' it, make it into a museum etc, but maybe that would be a more byzantine and thorny issue than the half-hour penis joke format would allow. I do still cringe whenever they sell off pieces of 'the collection', or destroy a painting etc, but the point is that its not a collection-- its furniture. People are still living on it, using it, etc. i do hope that any future plans (in the canon of the show) include some kind of way for people to learn about the ghosts' stories-- Allison could write one hell of a book, though how she would source it is a nightmare to think about. But maybe its for the best that the house doesn't become a stagnant museum that's locked up at night. If nothing else, the ghosts would get bored again.

[aiweirdness]

AI-generated donuts

If you're going to open a late-night donut shop, you're going to need a unique set of over-the-top donuts to set the proper festive atmosphere. But how to keep the ideas coming?

I decided to see what donut ideas I could get using OpenAI's GPT-3 text-generating models. I collected seven of the weirdest donuts and descriptions I could find (such as a pizza donut, or a dirt-themed donut), and presented them as a list for the AI to complete. I've drawn a few of the best donuts it added to the list.

[human illustrations of some of the ai-generated donuts below]

When I say I used "GPT-3" for this project it's hard to be exact about it, because OpenAI often updates the models. The newest GPT-3 versions (as of May 2022) actually did the worst at this task - they kept presenting me with real donuts that they'd seen during their online training, and not even particularly weird donuts. They were trying to match what was most common online, not what I was asking for. But the original early-2020 GPT-3 models were more willing to deliver the weirdness. Here are some more of my favorite results from the various models!

The biggest model, DaVinci

Violet Beauregarde - A lemon glazed donut with blue raspberry eyes and a raspberry center The Candleberry Flu - A chocolate doughnut filled inside with ganache plus a dripping candle on top that's dripping liquid sediments Brick of Yum - A glazed doughnut sandwiching American cheese, with red pepper jelly inside The Confusatron - A doughnut sliced into three layers - vanilla, coconut, and chocolate, dipped in chocolate ganache and topped with sugar pearls that look like circuit boards The Purple Stuff - Chocolate, oreo, and purple stuff sprinkled with powdered sugar

Curie, the second-largest model

Heckleberry - A strawberry donut smothered with blueberry syrup and crushed vegan Crunchies Donut of Doom - Rainbow donut filled with Frosted Flakes, black sprinkles, and sour candy The Alligator Rising - A spiral donut, frosted with chocolate and filled with a filling of chocolate hard-boiled egg and green apple slices Hell Raisin - A jelly donut with a filling of peanut butter and hot dogs Dark Crystal - A donut filled with candy corn and white chocolate chips I ♥ My Gay Ex - A rainbow Jell-O donut with white frosting, red sugar sprinkles, and pink glitter Fish N' Chips – Topped with chocolate and tangy tempura-flavoured icing

Babbage, the second-smallest model

Mr Crepe - Topped with tapioca pudding, green sprinkles Little Red Apples - Topped with pumpkin bread crumbs and small red apples Chalkista - Stationary donut with chalk dusting Horns - Cupcake gripped in both of the animal’s horns Julius Rooms - A pair of bottomless donuts Doughnut Forest - A profusion of donuts spread throughout the French Quarter Flintlock fennec - bacon, fried okra, and burnt thermochromic alcohol Baffle - cocoa powder, giraffes, and vanilla wafers

Ada, the smallest and definitely weirdest model

Bath Roll - Three donuts melted hot on one side Friar Flats - Topped with tomatoes, honey, red paint and ceramic chili caps Ponder Owls - magical, yellow-feathered donuts covered in icing with puffiness and shine By Soul - filled with firecrackers, black bean dip, red pepper syrup, and watermelon Coconut Fun - Sulphure hasn’t been wiped off, a demon cake filled with coconut cream and pistachios Blood Donut - Creamy moist donut topped with spoonfuls of delicious blood Goofy Trick - the elephant, is a clown and it's all about tossing treats into his skull Spankin’ - Other-colored donut with a frying pan in the middle

Bonus content: More of Ada's weird donuts (plus some donuts made of antimatter??)

Also you can buy the donuts on a tea towel! Along with pies, cookies, and breakfast cereals.

[throwaway-yandere]

Paint (Kaveh/Reader Drabble)

a/n: not a yandere fic, i'm just a kaveh simp who cant focus on pe midterms lol. Sorry i didn't draw anything like usual– this is literally just something i wrote like 7 minutes tops lmao

-------

"What... Exactly are you doing, Master Kaveh?"

"Ever heard of rapid hardening cement?"

"Not really, no."

"Well, you're about to find out what it is." 

Kaveh peeled off the straw-like material from the solid concrete, revealing the final product of his casual 2-hour-long project. It was a miniature house, adorned with bricked textures and tones. Something at this level is mere child's play to him, but to everyone else? It's quite a masterpiece, not even his roommate can refute that statement or criticize his work. The light of the Kshahrewar honestly never ceases to dazzle and amaze you.

"That looks fantastic…"

Kaveh shrugged. "Eh, can't say I agree. It's a bit too basic for my standards– I'm quite indifferent about the results."

"Still doesn't make it any less great for everyone else." You were awed, unable to tear your eyes away over what he called a 'basic' project.

Kaveh's expression softened. "Thank you."

He quickly looked back at his model. "A-Anyways, the only thing that would complete it now is a bit of color. Are you good at art, (Y/n)?" 

"On the contrary, no." You sighed. "The only art form I practice are social dances, and I presume you meant a more visual display?"

"Unfortunately yes." Kaveh frowned. "Anyone else you know I could ask?"

"There's the traveler but..." You muttered inaudibly, not wanting to bother her with the eccentric architect's antics. "No, I don't."

"Well, why don't I teach you how to paint?" Kaveh smiled. "Come, sit beside me. It's a fun exercise! It'll help you act a little less rigid."

"Rigid...?"

"Yes." Kaveh nodded solemnly. "I pity the victims who had such sparks of creativity die so easily between the rough hands of the corporate and cold life. (Y/n), you act like such a grandmother that I sincerely did not believe you when you told me we were roughly the same age."

"W-Well, the Akademiya never taught us this so–"

"We're gonna change that today."

Kaveh brought up his painting materials. There were posted paints, glitter, fake grasses, and–

There's not a single paintbrush.

"Kaveh, I'm afraid you don't have a brush. Might I run to buy you one?"

"What? Who said we're using brushes? I make and break the rules of architecture around here."

Kaveh pulled your hand, his fingers locking with yours. His hands were warm. With a youthful smile, he forced you to sit beside him. He hastily grabbed a capped red paint, before pointing at the roof. But you can't seem to focus on the task at hand– how can you, when his face looked so aesthetically pleasing?

This man...

He set this whole thing up perfectly.

"Today's mission is to bring back the childlike wonder in your eyes– you'll find out what a joy it is to finger-paint!"

—--

The next day, Alhaitham comes back to his desk carrying a large pile of paperwork, not knowing where to put it as he mentally screamed at his roommate for making his workplace more paint and glitter-filled than last time.

"I swear– I'm going to take both keys the next time he asks them out."

[firespirited]

I have a Delilah Noir !

I was looking for gunky bundles and found a damaged 'bjd' instead. She was a mess.

So I have two projects for the weeks ahead :

Celia the BJD: sculpting in Milliput for neck and hips then sanding and testing wig ideas.

Delilah Noir: acetone goop repair for the ankle, making a head cap, removing the pink overpaint from the lips, possibly filling the mouth slightly with coats of black + acrylic matte. Delilah probably won't be staying, she's a fun project but I'd want to modify her significantly.

photos under cut:

Celia's wiring. I'm not touching the eye makeup until the last minute, it gives her a cheekiness that demands attention - I will get around to doing the work!

Delilah looked like she'd been splashed with coffee. Her wig was glued to the front and back of her head (no head cap) with non water-soluble (or alcohol for that matter) glue so I gently pried it off and soaked it before removing the glue with my finger nails strand by strand from the wig (acetone for the head).

Her putty was both hard and turning into dust while also oily and pretending to be soft which is a very odd textural sensation... and had cracked one of the eyes a little. I removed the eyelash and replaced it with acrylic matte sealant for glue (dries clear, no clumps, water-soluble) as well as repainting the chipped lower lash lines.

She had stains on her upper eyes at the nose bridge, the eyeliner doesn't quite fit the eye with pink parts showing - the lipstick also doesn't quite match the lip sculpt. It's taking me a while to remove the pink, I'm thinking it's maybe enamel paint

Please excuse the green putty - since fixed it. There's potential in that face, I like the heavy lidded teen goth y2k look but it's missing something beyond my skillsets.

[caitlinbirenbaum]

Any tips for new writers?

Write like no one is reading.

What I mean is, write what you want to write. If you are passionate about what you are creating, others will resonate with that so much more strongly than if you were to create with readers/the publishing market in mind.

Keep writing.

Writing is like a muscle, it needs exercise and rest days. Some of my best passages come from taking a break from my project for a day, and actively thinking about where I want to take the story next. I don't recommend more than a few days off, because at least for me, it can turn into months.

I don't mean don't address plot holes or major character issues, but if you don't know the name of a town, or the color of something, write a keyword in all caps, (mines OCTOPUS) and make a note of what you need to add and keep f@#king going. It's immensely helpful to keep me in a state of flow and keep the story moving.

Take all the best bits from the stories you love, and smush them all together until it becomes your own and you fall madly in love with your project.

No one can take your creativity away from you, you are the only limit to your own potential. You got a little voice in your head that tells you you're not good enough? Ay, give it here. Let me take it. I'll crush your doubt so far under my boots it'll paint the soles red.

Again, louder this time. No one can take your creativity away from you, you are the only limit to your own potential.

Best of luck kiddo. You're gonna do great.

[pluck-heartstrings]

My mind is in shambles, I hope you know that. Here I am tangled up into like 3 different gauges and types of threads trying to determin the difference between steel grey and platinum and what becomes a hand and what becomes a dress while making her look like a creature of distinct parts. Should I double strand some cool pastels into her dress to make an Aurora affect ton mimic sun and moon taking on sun rise and set adjacent coloring? Or try and make her as acurate as possible with flat coloring so my brain doesnt itch? Maybe I could try and ombre her skirt in an attempt to make her face as striking as possible? Like a singular blinding star in the sky. Do I use micro thread for a tiny, figurine like statue, or more versatile larger gauges that look messier but allow for more variety, but a floppier plush like design? How much do I have to pay you for a reference sheet or should I go all and just freehand her a dress design? What color is the gem on her circlet I cant find a reference?!?! I know its non canon but she's about to get my ballet slipper pattern feet and become and en point queen. I could streamline the design by forgoing feet altogether and make a stand and thick skirts and pose her and straight up make like 10 of her! GOLDEN PRINCESS PLUSH! Oh my god, sleeping beauty dress split in sun and moon colors I can't. I feel a deep connection with Sun to the point of pulling my hair this princess has me in a death grip. Her aesthetic got me quaking. *her god damn head is a nightmare!!!!!!!* I've got a third of a two year project left to do *that I was paid for, and can not put on hold* or else I would be elbow deep in dragon scale patterns trying to make 3D eyelashes!

And part of this design process is trying to like... reverse enjineer Fazco type branding. What parts of ger are most marketable and thus, simplified and emphasized? With her and sun being the only two without "cool accessories" my brain wants to go whole fucking ham into the rose prop that will most likely be her signature and remove her legs so her skirts can become an inverted rose. I'll bet they'll be all over her merch.

Ima go die now. Or lie down and shake from overstimulation. Princess fixation always be hitting at 2 am.

Nelly I'm shaking you. I'm kicking my feet in a furious attempt to keep it together.

If there was a head of merch at Castle Faz I'd hire you in a heartbeat. You understand. /italian gesture hand/ No matter what happens Castle Faz is still a FazCo business and they'll do whatever it takes to make a profit.

Shitty little cheap plushies of the Princess? Fly off the shelves. Every little girl either buys one of the Princess cap crowns or a plush. Their parents bring them back to Castle Faz because the doll basically disintegrates with too much playing so they have to return to get a replacement. But the die-hard fans that follow the company and turn a blind eye to all the mysterious circumstances of the past? Those are the ones that shell out BIG BUCKS for the high resolution, hand painted figures. Especially one of the newest character in their lineup, the first in however many years. The Princess isn't well known yet, but if the business does well then she'll be the marketing face for the brand.

Her aesthetic is platinum, with an array of subtle colours. Picture fine particles of glitter that catch the light and refract into a multitude of colours. Because of her simplistic mask and hat, she looks good in all colours. That means her merch can change often, and it does! Dress up Princess dolls with changeable outfits for every occasion, holiday, theme.

See now you got me goin'

[triforce-of-mischief]

You know what? I cast it back at YOU! What do you think the boys most irrational fears are? - Fire

mmmmm fear~

Time: Being grabbed from behind. If he's hugged unexpectedly then the other person will find themselves thrown into a wall/tree. This is because of Redeads. To make this a full-blown fear instead of just a minor inconvenience- Time is almost constantly on guard, imagining a body creeping towards his back, a gasp of air on his ear taking in a breath to scream... then he whirls around to find nothing.

Twilight: Fire because something something manga. I just think there's potential here- regarding even tiny candles with a wary gaze, shying away from the campfire, being overwhelmed at the strong smell of smoke...

Warriors: Becoming incapacitated and unable to fight in any way. Illness, injuries, loss of limbs... he lives in constant anticipation of the unavoidable. You would think this means that he visits the med tent often, but it is of course the opposite. Medics mean healing, recovering, sitting and doing nothing to help his brothers and people in danger. Illness and injuries may slow him down, but by Hylia they will not stop him.

Wind: Everybody says he's afraid of big birds, but you know what's way scarier than a couple of Kargoroks? Those noodly hand things that pop out of the ground, grab your face, and drag you into the unknown. The kid, much like Time, hates being grabbed unexpectedly but is terrified if somebody suddenly goes for his face. Nobody tell him about Wallmasters.

Four: Green peppers Seriously what can beat that? I haven't played Minish Cap yet so I think I'm gonna go with the beloathed produce. He turns into an absolutely feral demon when faced with an innocent green pepper, and they are the cause for his worstest of nightmares.

Wild: Jumpscares. No really, anything can set him off and nobody expects such an extreme reaction (scream, leap back, probably some tears). Out in the wild, you have to constantly be on guard for a falling boulder or a stampeding goat or a sneaky Stalmoblin about to yeet you off a cliff. And frankly, Wild has never gotten used to these.

Legend: PROJECTION CITY I see your "Lege has a million piercings" and I raise you "There's a reason why he doesn't have a single pair of earrings in canon and that reason is a fear of needles". He would like to stay very, very far away, thank you very much. He is an absolute mess when somebody forces him to get his wounds stitched and requires a task force of at least 3.

Hyrule: Big crowds. The poor thing gets overstimulated, overwhelmed, and just shuts down in the busiest of Castle Town markets. Goddess forbid the others leave him behind or send him on his own.

Sky: Underground tunnels. They're dark, tight, and you never know what's around the corner (probably a giant centipede or an approaching wall of lava). He can barely move in the first place, and under stress he gets his directions mixed up and starts to hyperventilate which is Very Bad for an enclosed space.

Ravio: Paintings. Yuga threatened to turn him into one if he wasn't a good little bunny. Ravio was actually immensely relieved to be rid of the bracelet just in case he accidentally activated it one day and couldn't figure out how to escape. Now every painting featuring a person freaks him out and he refuses to let any decorate his Link's house.

[egg-noodle]

I made a short film this year! \o/ https://vimeo.com/897307551 Pass: what is Val? (one word, no caps, no plural)

It's based on the characters from Knives In Your Eyes. A little write up about my goals and thoughts on this project below.

I had wanted to see if I could still make a film after having a stroke. I haven't made a film since 2014, so it felt like I was dusting off cobwebs for the first few months haha.

I'm an animator at my day job, so I didn't want to focus on the animation at all. Instead, I wanted to put all my energy into all the other steps of making a film (script, storyboard, layout, backgrounds, fx, compositing, etc), since I'm far less proficient at those things.

I wanted to explore Hunter's fears, mainly their fear of becoming inhuman and of being seen. I love the idea that Dream and Nightmare see the dreams that they're eating, and thought that Hunter's conflicting desires surrounding Val would be a great opportunity to see them feed off a single dream.

I lengthily blogged about my technical goals and process elsewhere so I won't write it all again here, but I hope the 'Val is intensely unsettling, and Hunter experiences what they think is the worst case scenario but is still somehow Into It' vibes comes across ok. I Am Cringe But I Am Free! :D

The cool thing is, I can already spot the areas that need improvement and know exactly how I'd go about making those changes, so I feel that overall my critical observation skills have leveled up a lot :D I'm really proud of myself!

If anyone is curious about software: boards were done in Storyboarder, backgrounds in Clip Studio Paint, and anim/fx/comp in Harmony.

[rinwritesfics]

The Speederbike - Part 2

Plot: Rex’s flirting skills leave something to be desired, but that’s what happens when he takes advice from someone else.

Warnings: Awkward flirting

Word Count: 1432

Author’s Note: Were both parts written all at once? Yes. No descriptions or names for the reader included.

Part 1

Part 2

When Rex returned, he decided to try out what Fives had told him. After all, he wasn’t going to get anywhere by doing what he was.

He set the cans down by the workbench, then walked over to you and crouched beside you. You backed away from the speederbike for a moment, then sneezed into your elbow.

“Are you alright?” he asked, accidentally causing you to jump. “Sorry. You didn’t get sick while I was gone, did you? There is something going through the ranks, you haven’t caught anything have you?”

You shook your head. “It’s just dust. I’m okay. I am up to date on my vaccinations, too.”

Rex blinked, then tried to hide the blush rising in his cheeks. “Right, yeah. I’m glad you’re up to date. It would be a shame if you got sick.”

He paused, then remembered what Fives said about flirting and took a breath. “But, if you did get sick, I wouldn’t mind taking care of you.”

Your eyes widened. “Huh?”

Rex was in too far to stop, so he kept going. “I just mean I’d be the most attentive caregiver?”

“Uh… I’m okay, but thanks.” You frowned, then got back to working on the bike. Rex watched for a moment, wondering if he had gone too far.

“But I could make you soup and help you if you were.”

“I’m okay.” You turned away.

Suddenly, he realized he had definitely gone way too far. “Sorry,” he whispered, stepping back. “I never should have taken advice from Fives.”

Rex walked away from you and sat at the workbench, his head lowered in embarrassment. He didn’t notice you had stood up and walked over to him.

“Rex?” you said softly.

“I’m sorry,” Rex said quietly, looking down at his hands as he fiddled with his gloves. “I never should have taken advice on flirting from Fives. Usually his tactics are undeniable. But for something like this… I’m just not the right one to do it.”

You hummed in amusement. “Yeah, Fives’ tactics off the battlefield usually only work for him.”

“I’m so sorry I upset you with my flirting. I’m an absolute mess. I’m not a smooth-talking, suave guy.”

You sat on the stool beside him. “Maybe next time you just act like you. Be yourself.”

“Do you think you could forgive me?”

A soft smile crossed your face. “Yeah. I can forgive you.”

He smiled back a little. “Thank you.”

You bit your lower lip, causing his heart to speed up a bit, then you said, “Meet me here tomorrow, okay? The bike’s all fixed up, but it still needs to be painted.”

He looked up from his hands again, a bit surprised at your invitation, and was surprised further by the mischievous twinkle in your eye. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be here bright and early.”

“See you then, Rex.” You stood up, then left the bay.

“Bye,” he whispered. Rex watched until you were gone, then chewed on his lower lip, replaying everything in his mind. Relief flooded his body since his attempt at flirting hadn’t completely ruined things.

. . .

Morning arrived and so did he bright and early like he said. He had expected to be there before you, but you were there first. You had cleaned the dirt off the speederbike and prepped it for painting already.

“Hey,” he said softly and you turned to him, smiling.

“Good morning, Rex. Grab the paint and we can get started. Do you want this thing to stand out, or just to have accents?”

Rex paused, thinking carefully, then said, “Just accents. We still want to be able to get into enemy territory far enough without being noticed.”

“And the noise won’t be a problem?” you chuckled teasingly.

He laughed. “Okay, well maybe, but that’s not the point.”

“You’re the boss, Cap. Shall we?”

He smiled softly as he looked at you holding up a paintbrush with a smile back. If he tried, he could imagine that this was a project far away from the war, just between the two of you, no expectations on either of you. He grabbed a paintbrush, too.

“So,” you said. “What design are you thinking of?”

He made a decision and with that, the painting began. Every so often, he caught you glancing at him. You also caught him glancing at you upon occasion as well. The smell of the paint wasn’t overwhelming, but it certainly was strong. It wasn’t going to drive him away from you, though. It took a couple of coats on the lines and careful details, but finally, it was done.

“Now, we just have to name this beauty. Any ideas?” you asked.

He thought for a moment. The name had to be special and he almost said your name but decided against it just in case you didn’t think it was funny. Finally, he just went with his gut. “Speed Demon?”

You laughed. “For some reason, it just had a glimpse of you driving this through Coruscant past Commander Fox, playfully saluting him as he watches it all happen in slow motion. It would probably drive him nuts.”

Rex brightened up. “Then it’s perfect.”

He watched as you painstakingly started to paint the letters on, admiring your hands, the face you made in concentration, and the way you absentmindedly wetted your lower lip with your tongue. He swallowed thickly at the sight, suddenly wishing he had the guts to ask you out again.

When you backed away from the speederbike finally, you sat beside him and smiled. “Now, we wait for it to dry and then we can put a protective covering on the paint.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Before he knew what was happening, you raised the fine-point paintbrush and dabbed a tiny bit of black paint on the tip of his nose. His eyes widened in surprise.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, a bit of wonder in his tone as he looked at you curiously.

You chuckled. “My very best.”

He smiled. After a moment’s pause, he said, “You know the best part of this?”

“What is the best part of this?”

“The time I got to spend with you,” he said quietly, his shyness surging again. “Spending time with someone I care for a lot.”

Your smile turned shy and his heart sped up a little. “I care very much for you, too, Rex,” you said, your tone just as quiet as his.

He says your name softly, then fiddles with his gloves again.

“Rex,” you responded just as gently. You were very close now. His face warmed, and so did the tips of his ears. He swallowed thickly as his stomach did a somersault. Why could he face droidekas and Separatists, but you could reduce him to a melted mess by not doing anything?

He said your name again, then bit his lower lip. “Would it… maybe could I… I’d really like to kiss you…” he whispered. The blood pounded in his ears as he waited for your answer, looking at your face properly just in time to see a smile on your lips. Time almost froze as he waited for your answer.

“Please,” you whispered.

Slowly, he reached his hands up to touch the side of your neck and your cheek, softly touching you before leaning in. The second his lips touched yours, he sighed softly. Your lips began to move against his and he held you close, kissing you back. The rush through his body made all that time worth the wait.

A moment passed and he begrudgingly pulled back, then chuckled softly as he caught sight of the small paint smudge on your cheek and realized it came off his nose. You looked at him with confusion and you gently wiped away the paint from your cheek as you glanced at the rest of the paint on his nose.

With a smile, you said, “This day has been perfect.”

“The only thing that would make it better is if you would be my partner,” he said quietly. “But I’m not sure if that’s appropriate for me to ask.”

You smiled and kissed him softly, melting his worries again for a moment. Then, you said, “Technically, I think the general is my boss since I’m part of this experimental civvie program?”

Rex smiles. “Maybe I can ask?”

“And maybe I can say yes?” you replied teasingly.

“That would be perfect,” he said and kissed you again, not caring about the paint still on his nose. He was yours now, and now the day was definitely perfect.

Taglist is open!

[nousernameideas22]

Lacey Road February - Day 5

little story by me | yes I'm a day late

***...***...***...***...***...***...***...***...***...***...***...***...***...***...***

“Come on, the movie starts in two minutes!” 

Maisie looks up at Jay, nail polish jar in one hand with the other holding up Lacey’s, letting her freshly painted nails dry. “You can turn on the TV.” Maisie lets Lacey’s hand drop and screws the cap back on the polish. 

Lacey holds her hand out, looking at the fresh paint covering her chipped nails. It’s light pink. Just perfect. 

Jay lays down at the end of Lacey’s bed, moving her face closer and closer to the TV screen. Maisie grabs the bowl of popcorn from the nightstand and lays against a pillow in the corner. She places the bowl in between the three of them. 

Lacey keeps her head high as the movie plays, laughing along with Jay and sighing along with Maisie. She shifts her feet around. It’s been a while since the three of them had a girls’ night. 

“It’s really getting cold in here,” Jay says, pulling her sleeping bag up from the floor and draping it over herself. “Is the window open?”

“No—” Lacey pauses. The window just a few feet left of her bed was slightly cracked. “I guess I forgot to latch it.”

Lacey slides off of her bed and reaches for the window. A cold breeze hits her face. For a moment, she swears she can see something outside. 

She shuts the window, making sure to latch it. She listens for the click before turning around. Jay and Maisie’s eyes are still glued to the screen. She pauses for a moment, letting her face warm back up to the familiar sight. 

She climbs back on the bed. 

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Water Damage

Water Damage plays a thick and noisy variety of drone, favoring looooooong compositions that the band refers to as “Reels”; on Water Damage’s most recent LP, 2 Songs, you get two reels, subtitled “FUCK THIS” and “FUCK THAT” (band’s caps). All those verbal antics feel appealingly playful, but the music is deadly serious stuff — not surprising, given the players involved. Members of this septet also play in Austin-associated bands like USA/Mexico, Marriage and Spray Paint. As the band’s moniker suggests, the music is patient, persistent and often insidious. Here's some music the band has been listening to.

Travis Austin

Surface of the Earth — Surface of the Earth (1994/95, Reissued 2022 Thin Wrist Recordings)

New to me when it was reissued and the record I’ve played most since then. It feels as huge to me as it does microscopic — prehistoric as it does post-apocalyptic.

Jon Hassell — Aka/Darbari/Java: Magic Realism (1983, E.G. Records)

Start to finish, I don’t know of anything else that sounds like this — the hazy atmosphere and way the rhythms tumble. From the liner notes: “a ‘coffee-colored’ classical music for the future.” And the cover is by the same artist who did the cover for Bitches Brew.

Mike Kanin

Archie Shepp — Blasé (1969, BYG/Actuel)

I heard this one for the first time just this past year. I can’t believe I’ve missed it. By turns raw and beautiful, honest and evocative, what’s here transcends genre while highlighting Black experience and struggle. Incredible work.

George Dishner

Clipse — Hell Hath No Fury (2006, Star Trak / Re Up Gang Records)

The most engaging rap record in history as far as I’m concerned. Pusha, Malice, and the Neptunes peaked. Sonically HHNF is minimal and alien sounding, almost nonmusical at times. Lyrically, it’s bleak throughout and incredibly funny at times (some of the best punchlines ever recorded). At 12 songs and 48 minutes with only a few guests and skits, there is no fat whatsoever.

Remarc — Sound Murderer (2003, Planet Mu)

I’m always looking for cheap electronic records at every record store. Mid 1990s Jungle scores are the best. It’s a pretty narrow subgenre but one of my favorites. Remarc checks all my Jungle boxes — chaotic, lo-fi, dubby, rough. It’s devoid of any pretentious jazziness or techy soullessness. His formula is pretty basic — supreme mastery of The Amen and sick ragga Bass shit. This is a comp of some of his best stuff of the era when Jungle was at its best.

Nate Cross

Omertà — Collection Particulière (2022, Standard In-Fi, Zamzamrec)

Not to point out the obvious, but France is a huge influence for Water Damage. I’ve obsessively kept up with everything they’ve done and all their various related projects and their label Standard In-Fi. This is Omertà’s second LP; the group features members of France, Tanz Mein Herz, Societe Etrange and more. The album is a vibe, I can listen to it over and over. Really interesting to hear these folks do something more ‘song oriented’ instead of the normal long-form style in their other groups. Also, you can never go wrong with two bass players.

Bumblebee Unlimited — Sting Like a Bee (1979, RCA Victor)

Always been a huge disco nerd and Patrick Adams was a genius. This one-off LP and group was about as close to perfect as you can get and is a sort of bridge between disco and house music. So much glorious repetition on this album, and the bass lines are minimal brilliance. The chipmunk-esque vocals are ridiculous, but still work so well (similar to another 1979 disco gem — Bryan Adam’s “Let Me Take You Dancing”).

Jeff Piwonka

John Coltrane — Olé Coltrane (1961, Atlantic)

This is one of the first jazz albums I heard that had two bassists on it, Reggie Workman and Art Davis, Davis being a little lesser known I think and a really really amazing bassist. This whole album is great but the first side, 18 minutes of everyone going in and out, and there is space for the bassists to get weird with arco and pizzicato playing. I’ve known this album for a long time, but it’s been played a lot lately because both my 4-year-old and 16-month-old grab this record from the shelf all the time. It’s really strange actually, I put it in a different spot each time and they still grab this record very frequently, it’s a French pressing and Reggie Workman’s name is spelled “Reggie Wokrman” and Eric Dolphy is “George Lane.”

Greg Piwonka

Lungfish — Artificial Horizon (1998, Dischord)

Love this record, and the repetition is something that I often thought about as we were still figuring out Water Damage ideas. I feel like some of the newer songs that we are working on sound like extended Lungfish songs. Much of that has to do with the influence of this band on my drumming. There is a part toward the end of this interview where Daniel Higgs talks about experiencing repetition as a listener, and how there isn’t really a thing such as a repeated passage in time — that it’s unique every time… the listener is creating the pattern. That idea is foundational to me in relation to what we do as a band. Every time we play, I get lost and question how the pattern is even working.

Palace — West Palm Beach/Gulf Shores (1994, Drag City/Palace)

These two songs back-to-back are high on the list of my favorite things ever recorded. The mood here reminds me of all the rundown beach towns around the Gulf. The playing is great, it sounds like they just went in the studio and made it with very little effort. Many other recordings have that same vibe, Neil Young’s Zuma, Songs: Ohia’s Didn’t It Rain, John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme… this list could get long. I guess a technical term for that vibe is magic. I had not listened to this for a few years and returned to it recently and instantly loved it again.

[highfunctioningflailgirl]

Damage Control - 1x15 The Benders

The hike back to town is long, and dawn is already breaking when they finally reach the Impala parked near the police station.

Sam notices that Dean doesn’t even debate riding shotgun this time. While they’ve both been knocked around pretty badly in the last 48 hours, Sam’s had some time to recover, and Dean’s clearly taken the brunt of the damage. His gait had been a little unsteady walking back, and dried blood is covering the entire right side of his face. He’s not using his left arm, now cradled protectively in his lap, and there’s a ragged hole in his shirt that flags an injury underneath.

“What is that?” Sam asks, reaching over to check. “Stab wound?”

Dean bats the intruding hand away. “Will you focus on driving?! It’s just a burn. Hot poker.”

Sam flinches in sympathy. “Ouch. Deep? Think you need a hospital?”

“No. No hospital. I’m still a wanted man, remember?” He peels the flap of his shirt back and squints underneath, grimacing. “No. Nurse Winchester will have to do.”

Sam frowns, not exactly thrilled at the prospect of treating a burn wound with nothing but tweezers and whiskey at his disposal. “What about your shoulder? It’s not dislocated is it?”

“No.” Dean tentatively rolls the injured limb and stops with a grunt. “Just bruised, I guess. Fucker slammed me into a door post.”

“Concussion?” Walking beside Dean, Sam had seen him gingerly touch the back of his head.

“Frying pan. No worries. I’ve got a thick skull. You?”

“Got over it.”

This is how they do it: brave banter after trauma, to cover up the hurt. It’s a tried-and-true method. A manly shorthand that keeps them functioning until they’re somewhere they don’t have to - in this case, another faceless motel Sam checks them into while Dean - looking too garish - waits in the car.

Once inside their room, painted in depressing shades of brown but at least clean and spacy, Dean disappears into the bathroom. Water splashes, Sam hears some muffled cursing, and when Dean reemerges, his face is clean and he’s holding a wad of toilet paper to the cut on his forehead. He’s shed his worker shirt, but he’s still wearing his t-shirt.

“Couldn’t get it off. Damn thing’s stuck to the wound.”

“I’ll help you. Sit down.” Sam points to one of the beds where he’s already laid out what they’ll need: tweezers, antiseptic, bandages. On the nightstand, next to a bowl with warm water, a whiskey bottle is waiting with its cap unscrewed.

“Medicate,” Sam says, tossing his seated brother a pill bottle.

Face brooding, Dean swallows a couple of Vicodin with the aid of Jack Daniels. Normally, Sam would lecture his brother on mixing alcohol with opiates, but they both know that, although the wound isn’t that big, this is going to hurt like hell and, without the benefit of a local anesthetic, booze and pills is all they have. While Dean works on his blood alcohol level, Sam searches the small kitchen counter and gets lucky: He finds a pair of scissors that he uses to cut Dean’s t-shirt off him, leaving only a small patch behind where the fabric has adhered to the wound. He soaks it with warm water, and Dean curses.

“Sonovabitch!”

“Sorry.”

Dean grunts and takes another swig from the bottle. They both know there’s much more swearing ahead.

The whiskey is a good quarter empty by the time Sam has managed to peel the cotton patch off Dean’s wound. The burn looks ugly - a mix of oozing blisters and charred, peeling flesh. It’s a partial thickness burn at least and will leave a nasty scar. There are still a few shreds of fabric embedded in the whole mess and, slightly nauseous, Sam reaches for the tweezers.

“Hold on,” he says warningly. “This’ll hurt like hell.”

He’s not wrong. In the next few minutes, Dean turns into a sweating, cussing mess, doing his best to hold still while Sam meticulously debrides his wound. At some point, they use Dean’s belt for him to bite on. And if Sam’s hands shake a little by the time they’re done, Dean is too focused on control-breathing and blinking through tears to notice.

“Okay. Okay, okay.” Sam shucks the tweezers aside and straightens, exhaling deeply. He pats Dean’s leg. “That’s it. You’re good.”

“Sonofa–...” Panting, Dean looks down at his shoulder, lips forming a disgusted rectangle, teeth bared. “That mother–” Shakily, he wipes at his brow with his good arm, smearing blood over his face. The cut on his brow is oozing again, and all the flop sweat isn’t helping.

“Gimme that.” Sam takes the whiskey from his brother and takes a swig of his own. Then he points from the bottle to Dean’s wound. “You ready?”

Dean eyes him warily, then closes his eyes for a moment and takes a fortifying breath, nodding. “Go ahead.”

Without delay, Sam tips the bottle over and douses Dean’s wound.

“Hunghhh…! The veins on Dean’s neck stand out as he bites back the pain. Sam winces in sympathy.

But at least the worst is over now. Sam bandages the wound with non-adherent gauze he finds buried deep in their medical field kit (he’s going to restock and expands its contents, Sam promises himself), then moves on to close the cut on Dean’s forehead with butterfly stitches. The Vicodin and the whiskey have mellowed Dean enough to just sit through it all in exhausted silence, propped up against the headboard, grimacing sluggishly now and then. He doesn’t even protest when Sam wrangles his arm into a sling. It’ll do both the burn and his bum shoulder good, although Sam has little hope that Dean will put up with it for more than a day.

“You good?” Sam asks, stepping back to watch his handiwork.

“Freakin’ fantastic.” Dean toasts to him with the near-empty bottle of Jack.

“Get some sleep, then.”

Sam swipes the bandage wrappers and used gauze up with his hands and goes to discard them in the trash. He’s tired and sore. It’s been a shocking two days that have taught them that, in some cases, humans were worse than monsters. But they’ve come out the other side alive and largely intact. Dean would heal up, albeit with an unwanted souvenir etched into his skin. He’d come looking for Sam and not given up until he’d found him. Had risked his skin - literally - to get him out. It’s a comforting feeling. One that trumps all the ugliness of this latest hunt. That it ended with Sam having to patch up his big brother wasn’t exactly fun, but it’s leaving Sam feeling somehow content.

They’ve got each other’s backs. And for the first time since Dean picked him up at Stanford Sam thinks that maybe he’s not just staying with Dean to find their father. Or to revenge Jess. There’s something else there. A feeling of companionship. Of family. Maybe, if he’s honest, he’s missed his brother more than he’d liked to admit.

“Huh.”

Marveling, Sam opens the freezer and grabs a bottle of beer that he’s definitely earned. Behind him, he hears Dean softly beginning to snore.

Damage Control Masterlist

Read the entire Damage Control series on AO3 here: