#so this is my third attempt at inktober

[autumnmobile12]

The Sekoto Peak Tournament

It’s kinda funny how My Hero Academia is pretty much told through the lens of Midoriya’s perspective to the point where all other professions that have a fan following:  athletes, actors, singers, etc. just go completely by the wayside.  Just once, it would have been great to have Kirishima or someone mention a household name and Midoriya’s all, “…..?”

“Y’know, [insert name here?]  Legendary boxing champion?”

My point is, other professions outside of hero still exist and are probably just as popular as they’ve always been, so here’s the ‘Young Rei used to snowboard competitively’ headcanon.  This started as a piece I did for Inktober with a, ‘Rei’s a refridgerated character.  Don’t love that,’ attitude.   Because aside from finally making an attempt to fight for her family (a little late, sure, but I’m not here to do a character analysis right now,) Rei doesn’t have much characterization beyond being the victimized mother in Shouto’s story.

So two things to consider:

1.) Snowboarding is a high-intensity activity.  High intensity activities are known to reduce stress, anxiety and depression.  So Rei having this career before marriage (and possibly a little after) would have had a very positive impact on her mental health.  But after having four children, something this intense would be difficult to restart and being in her late twenties when Natsuo and Shouto were born, her professional career would have been effectively over.  Being cut off from snowboarding and its mental health benefits would have definitely contributed to her downward spiral in a more significant way than if she had never done it.  In its own way, this is also a reflection of Touya having all his energy and ambition and nowhere to put it, contributing to his own mental break.

2.) In both my Inktober post and this piece, Rei won gold and she’s wearing a different jacket, showing these were separate competitions.  Winning gold wasn’t a one-off moment; she was relatively successful and that may have served as some unspoken tension/resentment between her and Endeavor if she was one of the top competitors in her profession while her husband never made it past second place until over two decades into his.

I like the idea of this background for her.  I want to explore it further possibly as a one-shot, but I have a lot of ongoing projects right now (plus I’d need to do a little more research on how professional snowboarding competitions work,) so it’s a little up in the air whether or not an actual fic will happen.  For now, I hope you enjoy the artwork.

…

I also referenced Touya’s freaky smile for these, albeit not quite as intense.  He got that from someone, and my money is on Mom.  Mostly because I am entertained by the idea of a much younger Rei rocketing down a mountainside and terrifying other snowboarders with the same ecstatic, unhinged smile her son has.  And that footage probably exists online somewhere, someone in Class 1A is going to find it, and be all,  “Uh, Todoroki, I think I found a video of your mom.”

…

And just in case anyone asks:  Yes, that is Korra in the back.  I like to sneak crossover cameos into both my fanart and fanfics, and when thinking of characters, I remembered a behind the scenes LOK fact that Korra’s character design was partially inspired by female snowboarders.

The third snowboarder is also a cameo from a more obscure, nostalgia cartoon:  Suzy Lu from Storm Hawks.

[loopyhoopywrites]

It’s inktober! I’m running slightly behind as usual, but I thought I’d practice my object drawing by using the Tabletoptober prompt list to create some useless RPG items. I think day 3 is my favourite so far ^^

Day One - Taste: A pale blue potion that tastes like birthday cake. Causes the drinker to age one year. (Image ID: a potion bottle shaped like a slice of cake, with a pink icing top and a yellow strip round the middle. It is a third full with a pale blue liquid dotted with sprinkles. A cork sticks out the top. End ID)

Day Two - Bright: A golden pendant that glows dimly when exposed to bright sunlight. (Image ID: a rectangular pendant surrounded by elaborate golden filigree hanging on a red cord. The inside of the pendant looks like a solar panel. End ID)

Day Three - Media: A portable notice board. Notices not included. (Image ID: a cork board in a thin wooden frame with two pins stuck in it. On either side are closable flaps attached by hinges. End ID)

Day Four - Plant: An orb shaped cactus with spines sharp enough to pierce most armor. Deals 1d4 piercing damage when used as a thrown weapon, but the wielder takes 1d6 piercing damage upon picking it up. (Image ID: a spherical green cactus with orange spines. End ID)

Day Five - Divergent: A compass cursed with uncertainty. Upon encountering a junction, the needle spins wildly. (Image ID: a bronze compass with a black and white eight pointed star in the centre. The needle is red and spinning. End ID)

Day Six - Redeem: A 1d6+2 shortsword possessing mild sentience. On a miss, it attempts to redeem itself by attacking the nearest creature. This is usually the person holding it. (Image ID: a silver sword with a pointed golden cross guard and dark brown handle. There is a green eye in the centre of the cross guard and the word ‘sorry’ is inscribed on the blade. End ID)

[atarahderek]

Okay, let's try Inktober one more time...

For the past several years, I've been attempting to make it all the way through Inktober. I was successful the first year I did it, but not in any subsequent years. But I keep trying.

So here are days 1 and 2.

Reepicheep is one of my favorite characters in the Chronicles of Narnia. In the third book, Voyage of the Dawn Treader (yes, I read it in the real, true, proper order), we learn that Reepicheep's greatest dream is to sail to Aslan's country at the end of the world. For some reason, Reepicheep's dream has always resonated with me. Maybe it's the fact that he's not obsessed with it, like some people might be with their ambitions. He lives his life and pursues practical goals close to home, such as becoming the leader of the Mice. But this dream is always in the back of his mind, subtly informing all of his actions. He's patiently waiting for the opportunity to fulfill it, knowing it will come. He leaves it in the Lion's paws, and when at last it's within reach, he goes gladly, fearlessly (granted, he's pretty fearless to begin with), knowing that to fulfill his dream, he'll have to leave everything he ever loved in the world behind. And he's ready to do so. He has prepared his right paw Mouse for his departure. And when the time comes, he doesn't even look back. He's an example to follow for everyone who has ever had a dream that becomes their heart's deepest desire.

I've been playing around a bit with a new brand of watercolor markers and decided to whip up a quick crossover. They're not making it easy to master. And the fact that my scanning app likes to wash out colors when it scans doesn't help much either.

Anyway, here's Spider-Romni and Spider-Kid. Don't ask me how Esmeralda hides her earring under that mask. Maybe Clopin taught her about hammerspace or something.

This design combines aspects of Gwen's costume and Pavitr's costume. And Web Slinger's horse inspired Djali's mask, of course.

Spider-Romni has all of the standard Spidey powers. Djali is just a normal goat in a mask. But he's very good at 5-14 inverts, so walking on ceilings like a spider isn't a problem for him.

[mossycobblestonearts]

these were my attempts for inktober 2020.

i suck at commitment, i've tried for YEARS to complete inktober 😭 this was my final huzzah. in order to give myself a fighting chance, i was going to combine and condense the prompts so i would have less drawing to do. i gave up mid third drawing - though not because i decided to stipple the whole thing (like a fool) but because i literally ran out of time with high school.

try to spot all the bits!!

drawing 1, prompts 1-5; fish, wisp, bulky, radio, blade.

d2.p6-10; rodent, fancy, teeth, throw, hope.

d3.p11-15; disgusting, slippery, dune, armor, outpost.

[spreading-ink]

Here’s a thing about me that may or may not resonate with someone else out there: I get obsessive about silly little things. A lot.

This is the third or fourth year that I’ve attempted Inktober. I finished the other years, and although I’ve only posted a couple this year, I’ve been working to catch up and… I hate it. While other years, it gave me inspiration, this year it feels more like a chore. I’m not enjoying my work, and I’m not particularly proud of it. But I still felt like I had to do it, and I asked myself why.

Similarly, my family decided to try and watch a new horror movie every night for all of October. I was all on board! I love Halloween and horror and spooky season… but then I missed yesterday because I had to run to the store, and felt like I had to make sure it was made up somehow. Like I am doing something wrong if I don’t get to all 31 and I will miss out on something important.

I don’t know why I feel this way. Both of these activities are just supposed to be fun, and yet I build them up into a “have to do it, have to do it… can’t miss it…” when I should just be enjoying them when I can. I mean… I’m getting married this month! I shouldn’t be worrying about literally anything else. So fuck it, I’m going to draw what I want and watch scary movies and not worry about numbers or lists or anything… because I’ve discovered they really, really freak my brain out.

TLDR: Draw what you want, watch what you want… as long as you’re fulfilling your real responsibilities and not hurting anyone, your hobbies should bring you joy.

[curiouslissa]

Crowley wakes up on the first day of October like😲

This is for two prompts: "Warmth" from OTP-tober by colorfulcore

and "Soft" from Artober by scila_e_kanon

because I was unable to choose one:))

[fantom-noise]

Inktober Day 3: Knockturn Alley or Historic Alley

Places of Harry Potter Inktober 2018

@amortenteia

[caw4brandon]

- 01 October 2021 | Crystal -

Born under drops of The Burning Core. Every Hoodlite’s existence is to be raised as the Core’s sworn protector, expanding through the land, widening its veins till the ends of the earth. With every wake, a name is added to its chronicler and although they look different from each other, they bleed the same blood as the Core itself.  

And so, it begins. Welcome one and all to Inktober in the Caw! Today’s prompt is, Crystal. I’m starting a bit weak today because I had no clue how to do something related to the prompt but, I’ll get good, I’ll get good.

This version is my third attempt at the Hoodlites. I simplified them a lot more by removing the limbs, give them tails with different tips and gave each of them, different features. From hats, to glasses to horns and even, a hood. Consider this a retcon for all things Hoodlite related.

- Caw4B -

[demomonic-murmurs]

[K]Inktober Day 7: First Kiss [Saeko]

Content: Saeko confesses to you that she lied about having her first kiss.

Warnings: Underaged Drinking (?) [They're both 18 which is legal here but I know it isn't in other countries so I'll put that warning there]

What Saeko Tanaka and [Name] [Last Name] were currently experiencing was what could only be described as the ideal high school experience presented in the bad american romcons they had watched together.

They were sprawled out on the back of [Name]'s truck, an emptied sake bottle carelessly thrown next to their feet, giggling like they were back in kindergarten.

"Come on Hiro was a jerk, I dunno why you even dated him Saeko", [Name] snorted, her gaze fixated on the night sky above them.

Saeko hummed in an amused manner, "Yeah he was. I mean it was middle school romance. You know, typical drama stuff, everlasting romance and more shit like that, we didn't even go to the same highschool together."

"At least he was hot for middle school standards. Could have done worse."

"True", Saeko agreed as she rolled over to grab a leaf that had fallen onto [Name]'s shirt and began twisting it between her fingers before flicking it away, "Wanna know a secret?"

[Name]'s eyes snapped from the firmament above to her world below. Saeko's face was flushed, most likely from the alcohol, but the look she was giving her made her wish there was something else that painted her red.

"Sure whatever", [Name] murmured, attempting to sound nonchalant, which was a stark contrast to her body language. Nothing about it was nochalant, her pupils were full blown, all attention on the Gaia besides her and her fingers twitched, wanting nothing more than to come to rest on Saeko's skin.

"I never did kiss him", Saeko said.

[Name] blinked. "But you told everyone-"

"Yeah yeah I wanted to be cool. But nope. Never got that first kiss. Pretty lame huh?"

[Name] could only nod her head in a dumbfounded manner. She didn't have her first kiss either, mostly due to her strict parents never allowing a romantic partner to enter her life, but Saeko? Saeko Tanaka was as cool as it could get. Impossible that she didn't have her first kiss yet, especially with all the boys lining up to even be able to talk to her. She was a punk, a rule maker of her own, a heart breaker to countless others.

"I didn't have my first kiss either if that comforts you", [Name] snorted.

She hummed. "I just felt as if... God as cliché as it sounds, a first kiss is something you never forget and shouldn't regret you know?"

They laid there a few moments, silence comforting them like the night comforted the world.

"I think we should kiss."

"Huh?", [Name] asked intelligently.

"You know. We are friends. It would be a good memory. Plus once we go off to college... things will be different. So we gotta make one good high school memory at least."

Saeko's face was flushed, mirroring [Name]'s, and both parties were unsure if it was the alcohols fault or if there was something more. They leaned in and kissed, awkwardly, noses bumping and teeth crushing into each other. Saeko pulled back and killed hysterically, before leaning in for another kiss, followed by a third and fourth and fifth until they stopped counting.

Kissing Saeko Tanaka was addicting and it fueled a burning sensation in [Name]'s chest. It ignited something in her that maybe had been there the entire time. And maybe Saeko shared it too.

[cloudmyweather]

A Small Guide to Munimún's Discography: Part two, Aimless wandering

From 2016 to 2018 I really hit a point where I didn't know what to do next, both with my life and artistically. I went to major in arts, and there I wasted the beginning of my adulthood. Meanwhile, I went on making music. I made a lot of stuff that I didn't know what to do with it, so I figured I'd make more compilations like Leftovers. Not on account of that being successful (nothing I make is), but simply because it was fun to do.

The first one, titled Lonely Tracks, is probably one of my better collections, at least as far as close friends have told me. The second one was titled How could I ever forget you?, and it's not as good, it feels like I'm scraping the barrel sometimes.

LONELY TRACKS — November 2016

Highlights: "Megger Le Venus", "Life on the Moon", "You're Endangered", "The Mississippi Legend", "Shine on Me"

HOW COULD I EVER FORGET YOU? — June 2017

Highlights: "Squandered Immortality", "Look at Yourself", "We Like You", "Piece of Me", "The Ghost House is Growing"

A third compilation of this sort was done during Inktober 2017. There was a gimmick on my old tumblr where, along with a daily drawing, I would post a new audio track. So that was 31 audio tracks - some of them composed specifically for the occasion, others dug out from my folders to fill space. The result was published on Bandcamp the following month. It's quite long... but I really like the sound I was coming up with at the time. Plus a lot of nice drawings were made, all available as download gifts by the way.

INKTOBER 2017

Highlights: "Up There with the Boys", "Forest Maze Variations", "Vapour Dream", "Oklahoma", "Cloudy Weather"

The year of 2017 was actually quite productive musically. Aside from the aforementioned compilations and some toe-dipping into videogame music (which I'll get into on part three), there was an album done in collaboration with Selena, a friend of mine, as a duo named Fishface. The duo thing was my idea, and Sel was the only one of my friends who had experience making music, so we put our efforts (or lack thereof) into this ugly thing.

FISHFACE — October 2017

Highlights: "gloomy mood", "DIE!", "Kung Fu", "The Jam", "Artsy Girls", "Evil Eliza (both parts)"

I have many reservations about this album. While Sel's friends were quite amused about the project, on my end people weren't so receptive. On one occasion someone told me it was the worst thing I'd ever done. Others complained of the lack of chemistry between us two. I'm not usually one to take criticism into heart, unless it really digs deep - and making a "comedy" project admittedly put me in a vulnerable spot. Like someone making fun of your smile. So I've made some efforts to distance myself from this one, but I'm not closed to the idea of making further collaborations, or even bringing Fishface back with a better record. An attempt led into a project I'll discuss on part four.

Other small projects of note: Teu silêncio ensurdece — March 2017 EP recorded in a week at a very low mood, with some guitar/fake piano noodling. I call it my "bandcamp-core" project.

Abbey Road Demastered — 2012 / January 2018 Don't ask me why I butchered my second-favorite Beatles album by layering isolated vocal tracks onto shitty FL Studio remakes of every song. They're not even interesting reimaginations — the instrumentals were done way back in 2012, I'm pretty sure. So while the Residents have the Warner Bros. Album, I have this stupid thing.

I will watch you bloom and prosper without me — July 2017 Nature 2017 — March 2018 Two "singles." Wanted to have "Bloom and Prosper" somewhere but couldn't. "Nature" is a remake of a track from Magic.

Continued on part three.

[ignis-scientia-estrogen-brigade]

Inktober Day 22 → Ghost

I wonder whose hands those are. Noct’s? The redhead’s? The hands of time?

As of this writing, not one single prompt has given me as much trouble as this one has. Usually I force myself to finish a drawing on the first try even if I don’t love it because it doesn’t make sense to spend a ton of time on a free sketch, but this one racked up not one but two failures (pictured above) before I settled on the the third. The first drawing (left) was an attempt at playing with negative space that didn’t really speak to me, while the second one (middle) gave me some major grief with trying to get the inked gradient right. I finally decided to save myself some trouble and go with pencils + copics, which technically defeats the purpose of Inktober but I'm giving myself a pass on this one lol.

@pikacheeka​, the Six have smiled in your favor today, so I’ll be in touch with you shortly to get a mailing address from you. To everyone else, I’m gonna do my best to get through the last four prompts today!

[harveytolibao]

...inktober day one | fish. this is my third year attempt of inktober celebration. my first year was really have a good run, it reach me to day seventeen but my second year was a little bit rough, I reached day seven. so this is my third year, I'll try to work it this year, it's a tough start, it was black out tonight no electricity but I have my laptop charge for several percent and two power banks to lite my rechargable desk lamp. so I started to plan a little and think carefully of which world would get my interest challenge and I go with samurai era something but with small animals again. since it's a fish for a start, so let's call this one samurai goldfish. so to all of you who participated this inktober celebration, let's just do it, there's a lot controversy around this idea, but I think the challenge of the whole month to draw each day is more important and the toughest thing to work around is the ideas we have as creatives. let's challenge ourselves, no electricity yet but phone is working and I think it's a good day to start with. let the magical begin. #inktober #inktober2020 #inktoberday1 #inktoberfish #inktoberchallenge #penandink #illustration #art #drawing #fantasy #samurai #harveytolibao #kayayan #lovekoto #staedtler #staedtlerph #staedtlerphilippines (at Harvey T. Studio) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFz_Kd3AEs5/?igshid=18tiotm6dpswg

[alarawriting]

Inktober #7: Enchanted

The pet store cashier smiled at Amanda. “Your turtles must be going through a growth spurt. You’re here almost every other day, aren’t you?”

Amanda smiled back. “They’re definitely getting to be big girls.” She hefted the bag of feeder goldfish. “How are things going here?”

“Business is good, they keep me pretty busy,” the cashier said.

Amanda carried the goldfish out to the car. “Sorry, guys,” she said, “but you’ll probably have a longer life this way than if you’d actually been bought as feeders.”

There were no turtles.

Once she was home, she carried the bag of goldfish down to the third tank in the basement. She’d drained it and scrubbed it down and washed it multiple times before refilling the tank, and there it was, pristine and sparkling with well-aerated water bubbling through the system. Amanda poked a few tiny holes in the bag and put it in the tank, so the fish could get used to the temperature, and went over to check the other tanks.

Tank number 1 was still in great condition. A good, healthy number of fish swam around in it, leading a happy fishy existence. Two dead ones floated at the top, but the rest were in good shape, still.

The same couldn’t be said for tank number 2. One of the fish had an eyeball hanging out of its head. At least four of them seemed to have ick, which had killed off the last set in tank 3. She counted up five floating on the top of the tank. “You’re not long,” she said to the tank full of fish. “Sorry.” Did a couple of months in a clean, not-overpopulated tank with plenty of food and medical care, when they’d otherwise have lived in an overcrowded tank until they were fed to predators, make up for the terrible last week or two when different maladies would strike them all down at random?

Tank 4 was still malfunctioning. All the fish had died when the pump motor had shorted out and sent deadly electric current through the tank. Amanda hadn’t gotten around to getting a replacement yet.

They were dying faster than they usually died. She looked at the opal in the ring on her left hand. It was solid purple.

“What’s going on, I wonder?” Maybe it was the fact that there were two tanks out of commission, and she’d only just added fish back to tank 3. But if that wasn’t the problem…

“Hey, Mom!” Arista yelled down the basement stairs. “Did you see what I did with my social studies textbook? The one I have to keep at home?”

“I have no idea,” Amanda called back.

“But I need it! I have a test to study for!”

“Then you should have kept better track of it!”

She took a deep breath. She was going to have to go upstairs and help Arista find the damn thing. And take Natalie to soccer practice. And Theo was suspiciously quiet, which usually meant he was up to no good. But before that she had to put the new fish into service.

In ancient, Homeric Greek, she murmured, “Blessed fates, let this fish be as my family in your eyes, and whatever darkness threatens to befall us, they will take that fortune onto themselves. Let this pact be sealed.” A diabetic finger-prick device that she didn’t actually need because she wasn’t diabetic sat on top of the fish tank. She changed out the needle, used it to poke her finger to get a drop of blood, and squeezed the drop into the tank.

Gary asked her all the time why she even kept fish when they died all the time. After her first attempts to keep pretty, individualized fish that her children had gotten emotionally attached to, she’d taken to filling the tanks with feeder fish. They weren’t all that attractive. He pointed out, quite reasonably from his perspective, that there seemed to be little point to having tanks full of unattractive fish in the basement that always died anyway. Why not keep a pet that would survive better?

She couldn’t very well tell Gary the truth – that she was a magus; that she had been trained to channel power by speaking words in a dead language, in her case Homeric Greek, to make the universe do her bidding; that the fish lived in her basement to absorb magical attacks and ill fortune that was aimed at her and her family; that the fact that so many were dying, so quickly, meant that someone was most likely targeting her. And Gary. And their children.

The color of her ring faded from dark purple to a lighter shade. Not completely turned to white, not entirely safe… but better.

“I’d be able to find it just fine if you didn’t keep moving everything around!”

She sighed. “I ‘move everything around’, as you put it, because you kids leave your stuff everywhere.” Amanda headed up the stairs. “Where did you last see it?”

Tomorrow she’d get a new motor for tank 4, and new fish. If she was being targeted, she’d need all the tanks in service.

[tuffmallowinteractive]

Tuff with new Stuff

My first official Tuff Mallow Interactive Tumblr post! 

It’s been an exciting few weeks. I’ve been spending some time organizing some of the things I’m working on right now and attempting to design a schedule that is in line with my chaotic self-imposed to-do list. I think I may have a formula! More on that in a minute.

So what has been going on, you ask? Let’s start out with art and what has been in the works. with the character cards uploaded for the love interests from Sunset Memory Sunrise promise out of the way, my next goal is to begin the background art. As well, I’m working on the sprites and BGs to the characters from The Closet Door, a short free to play game nugget I’ve been working on in the wings. 

Another little artist victory has been art streaming for Inktober! I think it’s been a success so far and I really enjoy sharing my sketches and interpretations from the Inktober 2019 prompts while members of Tuff Mallow Discord hang out with me! I’ll definitely keep it going. Tuff Mallow Twitter for updates!

Aside from drawing and drawing and drawing and drawing strictly game art, there’s always the ever growing list of server emojis...

...so artistically, I’ve definitely been keeping myself busy. The wacom has been puttin in WERK. lol

And now on to writing! I’ve been making some leeway into Matthew’s route. As you may or may not know, the common route is complete and soon to be edited for any changes. After which I should have an accurate word count for it. As it stands, it’s just shy of 30k. That’s on the Sunset Sunrise side of things. The Closet door doesn’t really feature a common route and is moving a lot faster. I’ve almost completed one of the love interest’s routes (I need to make character cards and introduce these dudes!), and that’s one third of the work right there! Woohoo! My goal is to edit with the precision of an editing goddess~~and then hand it over to a real editor who actually knows what words do UwU. 

It’s no joke when you are doing it all your own. There are some things that I want to do with grandiose, but the world of reality is like NO. One of those things is an animated teaser trailer... but we shall see. So far, I’m working on animating, but I’m definitely new to it, so for now this theory is in test mode. Fingers crossed on that one. 

There’s so much else going on. I’ve still not even gotten to the GUI design. I’m really in love with it! <3 But as will be working on polishing that this week as I finalize my schedule, I’ll be sure to make sure it’s included in my next update! 

So check me out on Discord if you will for daily updates and to share our works and stories. I look forward to having you! This is getting to be a really fun experience and I get more excited about it as I venture further into this game dev production! 

~Always JmB

[writeanapocalae]

Inktober: Tear Stains

The windows of Francis’ office were dark, the opacity filter fully turned up. Adam had seen it before, more times than he he ever wanted to, and knew that it meant that Francis had worked himself hard enough that he couldn’t go home, that he was too tired to even bike home, that the little couch on the back wall was getting some use. He couldn’t have Francis asleep, not right now, at four in the morning, when he’d just come back from a mission. He still smelt like powdered cement, blood, sweat, and leather, but this was important. He had to get that information to Francis as soon as possible.

As tired as he knew the man was, he needed this data decrypted, Sarif needed it decrypted, and neither of them were going to go home until it was done.

He knocked lightly on Francis’ door. There was, unsurprisingly, no answer. Decrypting a download of perfectly legally obtained data couldn’t have been that hard. He was sure that he could figure it out, if he could figure out what software he needed. It was software that Francis would have had, which would still mean getting into his office though.

He knocked again, louder this time, and heard a shuffling from inside, fabric and breath fluttering. When Francis called out to him, it wasn’t with the grogginess of sleep, just a bit stilted and strange. Fro a fleeting moment Adam wondered if he’d caught Francis doing something he shouldn’t have.

“Just a second, I’m coming!” he heard the growl in Francis’ voice, the annoyance of being interrupted.

The door opened quickly enough and, whatever Adam thought he was doing, he was wrong. Francis’ hair was pulled down from its usual ponytail, fluffed and mangled from hands running through it. He wasn’t wearing his orange and black jacket, just a black turtleneck, but the neck looked like it had been torn from his throat a few times too many, the fabric now lax. His eyes, usually that cold gray blue, were electrified, the blue in them brighter and more enticing than usual, a stark contrast to the red around them. Because the vessels in his eyes were prominent and swollen, the dark bags around them even heavier than usual. There were marks, not around his eyes as they had been rubbed away in an attempt to clean himself up, but on his cheeks and jaw. They glistened a little, still somewhat wet, catching the subtle light of Francis’ office.

Adam didn’t ask. He didn’t have time to ask. He wasn’t supposed to care, it wasn’t like they were friends. He handed the information over. “Sarif needs this encrypted.” It wasn’t said kindly, it wasn’t said humanly, it was just sort of barked out like even his voice had been augmented.

Francis’ shoulders slumped, as if disappointed. He took it though and stepped back into the half light of his office. “Good to see you too then.”

He wanted something. He wanted help, or to at least be asked what was wrong, but he was also not looking at Adam, as if he didn’t want Adam to notice that he’d been crying, even though they both knew Adam could tell what his blood sugar was at if he wanted to find out. He closed his door, dejected, and left Adam in the hall.

That was fine, Francis would let him know when it was ready. He could go to his own office and take a much deserved nap in the meantime, or he could go to the locker room and take a more needed shower. He was just standing though, in front of Francis’ door, and part of him wanted to tear it off of its hinges so he could get in there and know what was wrong.

People saw him as a machine until they got to know him.

He went to the break room downstairs and got himself a cup of coffee instead, putting far too much sugar in it. He needed more than that but, for the moment it was all he was going to get. As he drank it he eyed the coffee machine and wondered, worrying at his lip. In a blind moment of compassion he pulled one of Francis’ many mugs down from the cupboard and got him a coffee too, keeping it straight. He refilled his own and brought bot of them to Francis’ office, knocking with the hard front of his boot.

The door opened faster this time, Francis looking more exasperated but no better than before. “What is it?” he snapped before softening, seeing that it was Adam instead of someone else. Didn’t make him apologize.

“You look like you could use this,” Adam offered him a small smile and the coffee.

He could see Francis all but melt as he took the mug from him, sipping it and letting his eyelids flutter as if the crude from the break room that he drank five cups a day at a minimum was some rare ambrosia.

“You’ve paid the troll his toll, you may pass over the bridge,” Francis decided, taking a step back.

Adam took the invitation into the office he knew almost as well as his own. There were a few other mugs around, all empty and used, scattered around Francis’ desk. There was an old fashioned cell phone on his desk, probably for keeping touch with people he didn’t want accessing his infolink like Adam could. On the screen of his computer was the intel, code scrolling over the page, a loading screen overlayed on top of it. It was a third of the way through.

“So, you went in there, knocked a few heads, and won, good job.” It was a shitty pat on the back but it was more than Francis usually gave. “Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be at home, drinking yourself to sleep?”

“Should be,” Adam shrugged, taking a seat on Francis’ couch, “But it looked like a certain troll could do with some company.”

“Ha.” Francis said. He was still standing there, next to the desk, as if he wasn’t sure where he was supposed to sit. In his own office. “As if! There’s a reason trolls live under bridges alone, Jensen.”

Adam patted the cushion next to him, inviting Francis over. The decryption was mostly all done by computer, he could steal Francis’ attention until the next step at least. Francis hesitated, shook his head, bit his lip, and finally made his way to the couch, to sit next to Adam, fa enough away that only their knees touched.

“I know I’m not the company psychologist,” Adam smirked. “but I know you hate her anyway. What’s up?”

“I am. And I will be for another few hours,” Francis retorted. “It’s nothing. I don’t need your pity.” “Okay, I wasn’t offering any.”

Francis snorted, leaning forward so that his elbows were on his knees, his back sloped. With his hair down he was almost pretty. At this angle Adam could see the allure of him, more than he always pretended wasn’t there.

“It’s nothing important. Just boy problems.”

Adam quirked an eyebrow. He hadn’t known that Francis was into boys but that piqued his interests. He thought that Francis was too busy with machines for a relationship of any kind.

“Donald from downstairs?” Adam jested.

Francis pulled a face. “No! Ew! That guys like half my age!” Not possible but Adam didn’t push. “No. Um. Look, this is stupid middle school bullshit .It doesn’t leave the office, okay?”

“Okay.”

Francis sighed. He ran a hand through his already messy hair. He breathed a shuddering wet breath. “We broke up. Well, I broke up with him. The anger has simmered own and now all that’s left is the self hatred, disgust, and betrayal. I’m not taking it so well.”

“I can see that.” Adam leaned forward, mirroring his stance. “What happened?”

“Nothing I shouldn’t have expected,” Francis sighed and that breath was shakier than the one before it. “I spend too much time at work, am too weird and sarcastic, he went and found someone else. I wasn’t supposed to find out, it didn’t mean anything, but it meant everything. So I broke up with him but now I’m thinking he was right, that anyone else is better, I’m good for a quick lay but better be a booty call and a forgotten face than an actual romantic partner.”

He was eating himself alive, Adam could see that. The break up had to be recent, he would have guessed earlier that night, especially if Francis’ phone was out. He was waiting for a call, a text, something, for the bastard to come back and apologize. He wasn’t going to get that. He wasn’t going to get any closure from this. He’d seen it before. He’d been betrayed enough times to know that no amount of apologies would ever remove the hurt.

“He didn’t know you very well then.” Adam set his coffee on the side table and put his hand on Francis’ knee. Far more intimate than either of them were used to, but definitely desired by the look on Francis’ face. “Yeah you’re a sarcastic prick but your loyal and hard working and persistent as shit. No one deserves to be cheated on, not even loud mouth hackers. Shit, no one should treat people like that, especially not that.”

Francis hung his head down, looking further away. “I said I didn’t want your pity.” “I said okay. I’m not giving you pity. Hell, if I knew this guys name and address I’d teach him a lesson for you.”

“Don’t snoop,” Francis hissed glaring at him. Adam could see the moisture building in his eyelashes. He must have been so tired from so much crying.

“I won’t. He’s not worth it. But if you wanted me to, I would. Because you are worth it.”

“Lying doesn’t help people feel better.”

He took his hand off of Francis’ knee to run it through his long hair, putting some of the messier strands in place. He wished that he could feel it, really feel it, instead of just touch.

“I’m not lying but, I do want you to feel better. That’s sympathy, by the way, not pity.”

Francis finally got closer, finally let his head rest on Adam’s shoulder. Adam adjusted, wrapped his arm around Francis’ back, and held him close, let him rest his face against Adam’s chest, let him hold onto him. He’d spent enough nights full of self loathing that he knew the signs, could pick them up early, and he knew that he’d wanted nothing more in those moments to be touched, reassured, allowed to exist as he was.

“It’s okay,” he promised and that was enough to let the dam break again, to let Francis know that he could cry and nothing would come of it. Adam was there, running a hand down his back, wishing he could do more. He saw the loading bar fill up, the decryption ready for the next step but, instead of saying anything, he just sat there, and he held Francis, wanting to do more than just be a shoulder to lean on.

[pepperly]

Doing an attempt at inktober again. I really love the crazy AI-generated prompts I came across, so my theme is from AInktober.

This one is from the third list; Temperature 1.4: tiny cod Flames rise.