#sorry I took a second to answer this

[necrotic-nephilim]

https://www.tumblr.com/necrotic-nephilim/761747687384252416/i-dont-care-how-much-you-hate-me-you-need-to?source=share

so i'm imagining that tim gets free

(maybe it's steph who's on the outs with tim and doesn't believe him about bruce but sure as fuck doesn't approve of whatever the hell this is or maybe it's damian who's jealous that tim is getting any so much of dick's attention despite the fact that he's the heir and robin)

regardless tim gets the fuck out of gotham and goes on his international art theft adventure to find bruce

unfortunately for everyone dick processes to lose his shit and now damian (and steph to a lesser extent) is doing for dick what tim did for bruce

also a lot of heroes are drawing parallels between this and b reaction after jason died

anyway tim gets his proof (and get saved by jason bc jason's looking at dick all "this is really creepy actually and i don't want you anywhere near tim despite how bad our relationship is")

tim then goes to green arrow with his proof because he knows that man would call dick out no matter what costume he's wearing and he actually does an ok job with all the kids he picks up

there's a jla meeting and dick sees tim and is just as unstable as tim guessed he would be and it's pinging everyone's radar as A Problem now

but obviously they get bruce back and no this is his problem bc literally everyone in the league is like "pls keep dick away from tim, his behavior has passed weird and gone into extremely unsettling"

i can't see what happens next bc i can't imagine bruce actually being help but i can see him being a disaster when he tries and that would be funny

this is SO good anon i love all of these things based on that fic so much aaaa

personally when i was writing it, i imagined Jason being the one to break Tim free. not out of wanting to save Tim or anything, but more so seeing it as a chance to make Tim owe him, and just to fuck with Dick. Jason will cause problems because He Can, and while i don't think he would particularly care for the moral implications of Dick holding Tim hostage (Jason was morally all over the place during Dick's Batman era i fear) he's just morbidly curious. that said the idea of Steph being the one to do so is also fun, because for her it *would* be the moral issue as well as caring about Tim. i think the most fun option is somewhere in the middle, where Jason and Steph are forced to team up, each with different end goals and not trusting each other whatsoever. so when they succeed and get Tim safely out of Dick's hold, there's a deep disagreement and slight scuffle over what to do now, Jason trying to manipulate Tim further against Dick and onto his side, whereas Steph is just prioritizing Tim's safety. i think it's fun if Tim is slightly mentally broken, just from how long he was held captive and the realization of Dick's feelings at the end fo the fic. so he's distrusting of anyone he's once trusted, even Steph, that he just slips away to focus on getting Bruce back, leaving both Jason and Steph trying to chase Tim. and course, Dick.

because Dick would of course try to get Tim back, again and again. Damian is trying to reel Dick back, just because he wants Dick's attention and he does sort of believe they should focus on Gotham. and then Steph is also trying to distract Dick to protect Tim. so everyone's tail spinning in the most complicated game of cat and mouse. Steph and Damian are forced on the same side, trying to get Dick to focus on Gotham instead of Tim, just for now. Steph is promising to keep an eye on Tim, Damian is insisting Gotham needs Dick's attention and combined, they're able to at least keep his immediate focus away from Tim, giving Tim time to find his proof. Jason having to save him is just *fun*, because it reinforces how sort of helpless Tim is. he's not up on his training and his become soft and with Dick's need to catch up to him eventually, it puts him in a vulnerable spot he would *hate.* he'd despise needing to be saved by Jason of all people. it'd fuck him up so bad, because all the bad things Jason is saying about Dick are technically true and somehow, the world is so flipped upside down that Jason is the reasonable one. i think it'd make Tim isolate more and more, distancing himself from the Batfamily, even the ones he should trust like Steph. sure, he's on the outs with her (likely still upset from the Search For A Hero arc) but she's looking out for him. and maybe he knows it, deep down, but Tim is just terrified of trusting anyone associated with the Bat name.

and since he can't go to the Batfam with his proof, him going to Oliver is *so* fun. i adore any concept where Oliver is the one to notice something is very wrong in the Batfam i swear anon it's like you're connected to my BRAIN. because sure Oliver doesn't *like* Bruce, but even Oliver knows this is fucked up. the story Tim tells him is a horrifying one. Oliver has always done right by his kids, or at least tried his best to. so to know what Dick pulled is horrifying. there's this implicit trust the entire hero community has in Nightwing that would get badly shaken up and i think that's fun. the Justice League meetings about it would be a shitshow. someone like Clark who's as close to Dick as he is would want to at least hear Dick out, try to understand his point of view. maybe Dick was in the wrong, but he had to have been doing this out of a place of concern and Tim's just twisted up about Dick's intentions. at the very least, trust in Dick is shattered but no one can agree on what to do, if they can do anything at all. it's agreed to keep TIm safe and away from Dick and long talks are had with Dick, but Dick is disturbingly good at being charming and manipulative, convincing them all he's sorry and he knows he took it too far, it's just the stress of the mantle that got to him.

and Bruce coming back would further complicate things in such fun ways. because Bruce will *always* protect and side with Dick. yes, he's worried about Tim, but he refuses to let any negative blowback hit Dick for this. because sure, Bruce would've never done that, but also, Bruce has done equally shitty things so, he's also not going to fully question it. Dick made a judgment call in the heat of the moment, and now, Bruce is going to defend his right to do so. it sends the League even more out of control, because they didn't expect Bruce to be so deeply on Dick's side. the phase "what would Bruce think?" got thrown at Dick a lot by all of them and now, well. they look a bit like fools for it because Bruce has made it clear what he thinks is that Dick had the right to make the call he thought was best as Batman. so while Dick is socially exiled, he doesn't face any *real* consequences. he's still in hero society and is respected as Nightwing and allowed to exist on the League. Dick just patiently waits for it all to blow over because eventually, there's always something more important to focus on that will make people forget about this outside of just a weird bad mistake Dick made.

and the longterm for TIm is fun. because I think he'd keep his distance from Gotham and Bludhaven, mostly keeping around Oliver, given Oliver is one of the few League members still refusing to let it all go, and it gives Tim some kind of safety net. but i think Dick would still try to pursue Tim. Dick would convince himself he just went about it the wrong way, he came on a little too strongly and he can still fix it. he keeps harassing Tim and trying to get Tim to like him back, making it clear he has no real regret for his actions. i think it's fun if Tim is forced to fake a relationship with someone else to get Dick to leave him alone. maybe Jason, maybe Steph. (honestly, this being JayTimSteph could be fun) and that fake relationship ends up developing into something more real, which would make Dick *insanely* jealous. i'm torn between Dick actually taking it too far (possibly forcing himself on Tim) or keeping his distance because both are fun. i'm partial to him forcing himself on Tim, just for the fucked up non-con that Tim has to cope with, knowing nothing he does will get Dick to leave him alone. he learns the best ways to stay safe, but it essentially kills his ability to have a vigilante career bc it puts him too out in the open. he takes a more Oracle-esque role (Tim working with the Birds of Prey could be a lot of fun) and always lives in some kind of fear of Dick catching up to him. it's so fun and fucked up that even when Tim escapes, he doesn't really and he knows it.

[good-beans]

i love the idea of yuno singing everything, you're such a genius for that :D YUNO COVERS FOR ALL SONGS WHEN!!

EXACTLY!! THANK YOU!! (In reference to my first milgram experience -- a friend had played Tear Drop and I fell in love. After listening to the song for a month or so just enjoying (and being a little confused by the specifics of) the mv, I decided to check out more songs from this wonderful Miss Milgram. It was right after Backdraft's release, and upon hearing the violent switch in genre/vocalist I literally wrinkled my nose and backed out 😂 "What do you mean she doesn’t sing every single song on the channel?")

Anyway I've been itching to draw more Yuno and this was a good excuse!! Yuno cover era when 😤👏

[bazpango]

FSOTC - Ch 11: Hideki Ryuga

[astral-scout]

nobleflower hcs pls

omg yay i love u <33333

nobleflower are my GIRLS they are so dear to me. trust that they are always on my mind just floating around in there. yapping got out of hand and it is completely incoherent im so sorry

not really a headcanon but i love music and i associate everything with songs so. i just made a list of songs i associate with them!

ivy by taylor swift -- their theme song sorry not sorry

illicit affairs by taylor swift -- post breakup nobleflower where theyre absolutely a disaster!!!!! i eat that up

you're losing me by taylor swift

casual by chappell roan

good luck babe by chappell roan -- both povs sort of work i have to be honest. but i think alice would be more self aware about her sexuality and thus the chappell in this situation

we're in love by boygenius -- this one is kind of canon-compliant with alice being crucio-d by bellatrix & losing her memory.. because "if you dont remember i will try to remind you of [etc]"

christine by lucy dacus -- kind of au-y. as in i've written an au set to this song. and the "if you get married" verse drove me to tears

bullseye by lucy dacus theres a lot of lucy dacus here bc i love lucy dacus and she writes very nobleflower songs imo

lacy by olivia rodrigo kinda has that . enemies to lovers vibe that they embody in my mind

modigliani by lucy dacus "you make me homesick for places i've never been" is so alice core to me !!! she Is home. but the "and even if it [the subject's boyfriend] doesn't fit, you'll still wear it / cause if it's what you want, you're gonna get it" is . narcissa toward lucius to meee)

sister golden hair by america im not sure about this one . i lovelovelove this song and it came on while i was writing a nobleflower fic and i was like Yup this is them all right. idk. narcissa is blond i guess

daffodil by florence and the machine YES it is mostly because narcissa means daffodil . HOWEVER. i do have some justification for it in that "the helpless optimism of spring" and "sometimes i see so much beauty i dont think i can cope" are my alice)

troublemaker doppelganger by lucy dacus hear me out on this one ok . au where they have a messy break up and marry their canonical husbands etc etc and then being haunted by That Bitch their whole lives. this song is alice pov specifically "it couldn't have been you but she had your eyes / made for faking smiles and turning tides" are you hearing me. "was it that girl, that beautiful girl, thirsty for love and eager for attention / was it that girl who taught me about destruction?" ARE YOU HEARING ME "they made you a throne out of magazines, they made you a crown out of peonies" quintessential narcissa to mee.... also "is that a hearse or a limousine" simply SCREAMS the black family

night shift by lucy dacus i think most people know this one so. no explanation necessary

vampire empire by big thief yeah its them. did somebody say toxic yuri

anything by adrianne lenker (christmas eve w your mother and sis is druella and bellatrix btw . if they wouuld ever be in a situation where they meet alice LMAO) i dont wanna be the owner of your fantasy i just wanna be a part of your family... you held me the whole way through when i couldnt say the words like you / i was scared indigo but i wanted to <- narcissa pov song for once. i dont know why all these songs have been alice pov sorry

moon song by phoebe bridgers "and if i could give you the moon i would give you the moon... you are sick and youre married and you might be dying but youre holding me like water in your hands..." yeah

dreams by fleetwood mac post breakup again! "like a heartbeat drives you mad / in the stillness of remembering what you had / and what you lost .... say women they will come and they will go / when the rain washes you clean you'll know" yeah. alice. im on that haunting each other shit again

(you may have sensed by now that i have listened to approximately 5 artists in my entire life. yes i am slightly ashamed of it)

i looove academic rivals nobleflower. narcissa needs academic validation to function and alice is an Academic Weapon tm and they fuckng hate each other. but then they fall in love. you know that post that's like "i fear only one person has ever truly understood me and i fucking hate the guy" ? yeah thats nobleflower to me

however ! i think they could become friends in like . a homoerotic bound-to-end-badly kind of way. (they definitely had one of those sapphic homoerotic sleepovers and kissed and never talked about it again.) their friendship would be sort of like.. regina george and cady heron core kind of.. if cady didnt gaf about what regina tried to get her to do and couldnt stand the plastics

alice reads poetry for the sheer joy of it. the real love of her life is poetry and her favourite thing to do is curl up with a big mug of tea and read some poems. narcissa reads poetry because she is pretentious and wants to be liek, an Intellectual. that kind of vibe. (alice teaches her to love it for the right reasons eventually. they read sappho together like the lesbian losers they are)

since i am in university (unfortunately) i like putting them in my shoes because i hate them. i think narcissa woudl be an english, psychology, or anthropology major, and alice would be an engineering, music, health sciences, or biology major (i have a lot of Career Paths in mind for her). she could also do english for Rivalry reasons ( I AM AN ENGLISH MAJOR IF YOU COULDNT TELL)

alice would minor in something "political" (for lack of a better word) (gender studies, global studies etc) and she would be super political around campus, fighting for social justice. narcissa would not gaf (ultra privileged rich white girl that she is) and it would drive alice nuts (she is right). she would try to get narcissa to protest w her and narcissa wouuld be like ??? no ??? alice can fix her.

theres an au floating around my head where theyre rival lawyers who have to work together on a case.. and learn about each other along the way... and its set in new york and its raining... idk

i have also been thinking abt them in an orchestra........ narcissa on flute (because i played flute for 5 years and im determined to make it do SOMETHING for me) and alice on bass or violin.. minerva as the conductor... lots of drama

theyre so 90s core to me i dont konw why... i have like 3 separate 90s au nobleflower wips 😞 also vaguely-regency-era (I did not pay attention in history idk when that even was) britain.. yea

this ^ is like, The nobleflower picture if you look up their aesthetic on pinterest . its in everyones boards yaknow. but the pinterest people are right its them

thats all i got for now! thank u again for letting me yap about them <3 iam posting this right before i go to sleep so if theres some truly horrific typo or i missed something .. too bad! i am eepy.

[pipeupcomic]

I know I already sent you an asked a few days ago, but I really must know. How do you write your characters? Create their personalities, motivations, etc? I tend not to care about web comics because they take a decade to finish and I hate reading a story that may never have an ending, but for this comic, I'm actively waiting for the next update. It's the writing that hooked me.

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... GOOD QUESTION.

SPB here! I'm the writer of the comic (though Tiny and Egge helped a lot with planning the story). I've been writing for over half my life and dedicated a lot of time and study to character writing because I felt like it was the best thing to sink my effort into if I wanted my writing to be engaging at all. My characters are very much created for the intention of being pieces of the STORY, I really never make OCs for the purpose of just having an OC. Every character in the story has an intended role, and everything about them is fashioned so they can effectively fulfill their purpose in the writing. Other than that, I really just kinda feel them out??? Once I've started on a character, thier personalities and motivations come to me quite naturally. When I first started studying character writing, I would fill out very long character-making questionnaires, it was a list of like 40something questions and I'd try to answer as many as I could for each character. It taught me to think about almost every aspect of a character... Their gender, thier species, where they come from, their likes and dislikes, temperament, personality, etc. But I don't use that questionnaire anymore; at this point I kind of know how to write the characters to look a lot deeper than they actually are.

Tiny, Egge, and the rest of our beta reading server helped a lot in fashioning the Pipe Up cast specifically. It was actually Tiny's idea to have Kai be a well-meaning but ultimately selfish character, for example. A lot of the planning was done in collaboration with a whole bunch of other creatives. Oh, and of course, there was a ton of input from systems I talked to during the research phase.

Tl;dr My characters are vibes based.

[moonriselabyrinth]

What are your fav davron fics if you've read any??

I am so glad you asked!!! I haven’t had a ton of time to binge read but I have a few in my bookmarks and I won’t stop till I’ve read them all. Here are my personal favs I’ve read so far!

wait me out by toraophim

Always an Angel, Never a God by ghost_queens

Heartless Hinds by bzoumoon

Before the Maiden by RayBeAnotherName

Bloodstained Shadows by Aethir

Villain and violent (infant and innocent) by herofumi

Sacrilege / Absolution by bzoumoon

Détente by DuckyDream

fog of war by Anonymous

That's just a few but I thoroughly enjoyed all of them and if you check them out I hope you will too!!! Send them all love <3

[lovesickeros]

lord its so dark in here the sahara desert of tsaritsa content you are like a shining oasis. your characterisation of her compels me & mihoyo would be hard pressed to top it imo.!! caaaaan i humbly request yr thoughts on her first meeting w a reader of any kind, or maybe even multiple kinds (sagau, sagau god au, isekai, etc) if you so desire...

it really is like a desert here. being the fan of a character we aren't getting until the last damn nation is driving me up a wall but i will persevere bc if nothing else i support morally bankrupt women in media. we r in a severe drought over here but i do my best. unfortunately nothing i say is ever coherent so pull out your translation notes its abt 2 be messy

also this got out of hand but thats bc first meetings w the tsaritsa are tricky to write + a LOT of her characterization lies in deeper exploration then just surface level yknow...NOT A DIG AT YOU this is just my excuse for rambling. gently pats the tsaritsa she can hold so much complexity i do not have the word count to delve into it completely :]

gonna talk cult au for a bit here though because that's 99% of my content. and honestly? she thrives in sub au's of the cult au like villain au + imposter au. it's basically made for her. i mean, early days, the imposter au had been going around for a little while but one of the first few ideas was the Fatui taking reader in so like. it kinda technically actually was. pretty sure cult au Tsaritsa popped up because of the imposter au. a lot of it's writers kinda left though which. man am i getting old or.

anyway.

there isn't much of a chance her first impression is all that positive. at best it's usually neutral, imo, but rarely if ever positive. specifically because i view the Tsaritsa as someone who isn't as fanatical as most of the acolytes typically are towards the creator. she's not exactly going to worship the ground you walk on unlike a certain geo lizard. which is partially why i think she thrives in the sub au's i mentioned.

imposter au, for example. she meets you at your lowest. there's no gaudy extravagance or pampering from the acolytes waiting for you because your own acolytes have turned on you. for all intents and purposes you aren't a "god" at all. which is why i don't think she meshes well with normal cult au reader. the Fatui are made up of outcasts, basically, and imposter au slots right in just perfectly. you're weak, at your lowest, when you meet the Fatui in the imposter au. and the Fatui can help you, too.

a mutual exchange, really. the Tsaritsa sees a tool she can use to one up the rest of the nations and especially Archons, and she has no qualms about you using her and the Fatui in turn. you both want something out of it, after all. whether you just want to be safe from the rest of the acolytes, or you want revenge, or whatever else..she'll give you the power to fulfill it, and she gains the strongest piece on the chessboard when all is said and done.

the best way i can describe the first meeting is "practical", i suppose. she sees an opportunity in you. the ultimate gamble. because if she "saves" you, and you dont trust anyone else because they tried to kill you, well..she holds all the cards, doesn't she?

but the Tsaritsa, imo, is just as capable of being just as fanatical towards you as anyone else. she just won't worship you as the creator. but as yourself? clawing your way back to your divine power and taking back what belongs to you? the Tsaritsa is, to me, a character who's character flourishes in long-term fics more because she changes a LOT between "just met reader" and after having been with reader for some time. she's practically apathetic at the beginning but a lot of her character, in my characterization, shines through LONG after the first meeting.

[thefloatingwriter]

Your beetress headcanons I beg of you

hi!! i have a few posts about my beetress hcs linked here, but i definitely have some more i can share 💗

they’re not really a couple that uses pet names all that much. both refer to each other as their surnames almost always except when they’re alone. still, sometimes darling does slip out from either of them. sometimes wiress calls him babe to annoy him.

neither would consider themselves pda people, but they kind of accidentally do it lol. like they’re just casually holding hands or wiress is resting her legs on top of his when they’re sitting down or he’s placing a hand on her back when he’s whispering something in her ear. they could make anyone feel like a third wheel and they’re not doing it on purpose, they’re just like that.

they argue in french. when beetee gets angry, he reverts to spanish, but wiress doesn’t understand spanish, but they both speak french fluently, so now they just argue in french and it’s utterly terrifying for everyone around them.

neither of them particularly liked each other after wiress won. they could reasonably be classified as a slow burn i think, since it took them four years to even like find common ground, and then three more years after that for them to start a relationship.

they’re very different. they’re definitely a case of opposites attract because they are not similar at all. it was a big problem when wiress first moved in to the victor’s village because they were two clashing personalities who already didn’t like each other, but it’s calmed down a lot more since then (thank god for everyone).

they don’t give birthday gifts. beetee hates his birthday and the games are usually still on during them so it feels like a weird time to celebrate and wiress just wants to sleep in and have someone cook for her on hers, and he already does that anyway so. the most they ever do is cake.

wiress taught him how to swim and beetee taught her how to ice skate.

beetee’s first language is spanish and wiress speaks polish fluently because of her grandparents and parents sometimes speaking it, and they teach each other both as a way of understanding one another.

they’re both pretty clean, except for their separates offices. those look like tornadoes came through that one room in each of their houses. they’re complete disasters, nobody can find anything except for them.

speaking of cleanliness, beetee’s kitchen is obsessively clean and organized. like to the point that wiress moves a pot slightly to the left and it’s haunting beetee for the next three months.

they don’t say i love you to each other that much, but sometimes beetee will write 23 in the margins of paper if he knows wiress will see it to represent te amo (2 letters in te, 3 in amo) as a shorthand instead of just writing it.

thank you for the ask 💗

[ask-the-druggieverse]

So Dreamberry is confirmed. Are there any other ships that are canon in ATDV?

I'm gonna list the main ones in ATDV, background ships like Undyne x Alphys, or Classic!MMM x Fell!MMM won't be listed sense they're background ships / aren't the main focus

ErrorInk -> My No.1 ship, Queer Platonic or Romantic I don't care I just really love Destroyer x Creator...

Tragic CrossMare (R.I.P Cross)

WikiBill404 (Mandatory/Guilty favorite/forever my OT3)

- I will GUSH over WikiBill404, Bill404 sure but it's always so sad seeing Wiki left out (mainly because this ship is... really really new and came as a crack ship between me and my oomf JFGBDFGB)

(F?)Dr(M/NB)Ink (???Verse specifically) -> Lowkey I think I might make this Dream a girl to help separate ???Verse with Druggieverse

DanceLust (?) -> It's complicated....

AfterDeath (ReaperGeno)

AxeCchiato(HorrorLust) (T4T) -> Macciato is MTF here btw

FarmerTurnip(Horror) -> I will call any Horror that is shipped with Farmer Turnip all because of my other MAU SOPV where a second Horror ends up meeting Farmer and his first actual food he ate outside of his AU was a turnip, but this blog isn't about SOPV

My bad that I keep on talking about SOPV, I like to think ATDV and SOPV are cousins of some sort that compete with each other for attention SJGBGBF

Yes there are 3 Horror's in ATDV, you've only seen 1 so far, the other 2 I won't show until act 1 ends/we get into an intermission or side story of some sort

Depends on the route chosen

KillerColor

Won't spoil / I can't say for certain / Or left for interpretation

GreaserFresh

HorrorDust

GothCuit -> Goth's crushing but this ship is not important at all to the story

CcinoLight(Mare) -> There's a second Nightmare named Moonlight....... R.I.P Ccino,

Insomniac Detective (EpicLight(Mare)) -> this one came entirely as a crackship, Unsure if I want them to be canon or not, so right now it's up to you,

[pressure-escapee-au]

is anyone questioning why a fish is working at a pizza place?

In which Sebastian's coworkers try and figure out why he is a fish

[soranker]

hi….! any chance we can see your art process ? it’s fine if not! i was wondering if u do a sketch before your lines or you just skip directly to lineart? your art is very beautiful!

HI!!! AUGGHHHJHH THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH T__T my art style is kinda simple imo so my process is pretty bare-bones ^^;; there's not rly much too it!! it also kinda changes depending on how uhhhh lazy im feeling in the moment HAHA

probably around half of my drawings are straight to line art bc they're rly just doodles or things i decide to draw without any planning (but also im kinda impatient so i try to skip the sketching step if i can LOL...). but if i DO have a specific pose in mind for a drawing, i'll start with a sort of mannequin sketch or loose pass, then depending on how messy it is, ill either do the lineart pass on the layer on top or duplicate the sketch and then clean it up.

and then my coloring process is not sophisticated at all i just create a new layer and then paint bucket tool away LMAOOOO

here's an example of a drawing where i did sketch first ^_^

[magister-cyran]

You are known as a court mage but given your nobility status, outside of your duties are you considered as a lord outside of that ?

No. That is not so.

By my birth into an old and distinguished noble family, I am undeniably part of the Empire's nobility... but I do not hold a title on my own.

It was my brother who inherited the Earldom and formal address of "Lord". Now it is my nephew who bears the title.

In terms of address, you should correctly use my academic title of "Magister". In written correspondence, you may also use my professional title: "Court Mage".

[whimsicalcotton]

About "101 quick fluffy/soft/comfort prompts for brief fic snippets" how about 23 and 24 with amberpricefield

ended up setting these both somewhere vaguely in the polluted marrrow universe bc i couldn't help myself. hope that's okay lol

--- --- ---

23: Healing/Nursing Back to Health/Tending Wounds

“It's really not a big deal, y’know.”

Rachel stares down at Max, taking in the gleaming steel of determination that paints her features. 

Max offers only a grumble in reply, apparently unable to be swayed from her work of peeling open another bandage. 

“Nice try, Rach,” Chloe pipes up from beside her. She's got one bandage on her cheek, a couple on her right arm, and several on her left. “But I don't think there's any stopping her at this point.” 

“You, I understand,” Rachel huffs. “The way Trevor tells it, you ate total shit today. I've just got a few paper-cuts.” 

Max wraps another bandage around one of Rachel's fingers with the utmost of focus. “... A few is too much,” she mutters, matter-of-fact. 

“Yeah,” Chloe agrees. “I'm with Max on this one. How did you manage to get so many?”

“I was flipping through my script a lot today,” Rachel whines in return. “I kept forgetting my damn lines, sue me.” 

Max turns Rachel's hand this way and that, keen on scrutinizing every last inch until she's certain she hasn't missed anything. When she's satisfied with one, she moves to the other, well aware that Rachel's being ambidextrous only heightens the possibility of picking up injuries on both. Just as suspected, she finds another little wound attempting to hide from her. 

With that final brightly colored bandage, Max pulls away, sighing. “You have to be more c-careful.”

“Yeah, Rach,” Chloe says, bumping their shoulders together. “You gotta be more careful.” 

“Pretty sure that was directed at you,” Rachel counters, doing nothing to hide her pouting. “You needed, like, twenty. I only have three.”

Chloe opens her mouth to argue but snaps it shut when Max fixes them with a worried sort of glare. Even Rachel falters under its weight.

“Both of you,” Max huffs, brows furrowed. "Please."

--- --- ---

24: Soothing Fear/Panic

“Would it kill the weather guy to get something right for once?” Rachel grumbles, holding her bag closer to her chest and wincing at the sound of the rain splattering against the driveway. 

“Tell me about it,” Chloe huffs, scrambling to jam the keys into the lock and shivering all the while. “Slight chance of drizzle my ass, this is some Noah's Ark shit.” 

When they finally manage to stumble their way through the front door, they share an uneasy glance at the silence that meets them. Rachel struggles to separate herself from Chloe's drenched jacket, double checking to make sure Max's sneakers are still there while she's at it. Chloe hastily shakes her hair out like a dog and scampers off down the hall, not wasting a second calling up the stairs. 

“Max? Hey, Max, we're back. Everything okay?”

Normally, this is about the time when the girl in question would appear at the top of the stairs with that adorably eager expression of hers and greet them with a wave. Today, there's no sight of her. Chloe lets the quiet simmer for another minute or two before her frown deepens and she ventures up into it, Rachel not far behind.  

She finds Max all hunched over herself with her hands over her ears. Eyes screwed shut, muttering in the thin, repetitive cadence that so often indicates a desperate attempt to stave off panic. She doesn't even register when Chloe kneels down by her side. 

Chloe reaches to lay the barest, softest, most barely-there touch she can manage on Max's shoulder, slow and hesitant as she braces for the ensuing flinch. Max, of course, jumps so hard she nearly hits the ceiling, and even after getting a good look at Chloe her eyes are still swirling with unadulterated anxiety. When she pries her hands from her ears, they're shaking. 

“Max, hey, it's okay,” Chloe says, taking the girl's hands in hers and watching the fear in her gaze morph into something more akin to curious anticipation. “You're okay, everything's okay. It's just–” 

Suddenly, everything goes dark. And fuzzy. And blue. 

“Here.”

Chloe catches a glimpse of Rachel's triumphant smirk as she pulls the towel from her face. 

“Dry yourself off a bit first. I don't think your wet dog chic is helping much.” Still attempting to dry her own hair, she turns to face Max. “Sorry about that, by the way. I tried to get her to keep her coat on, but you know how she is.” 

“What was I supposed to do?” Chloe asks in a muffled grumble. “It's not like that thing has a hood anyways. Just as well to let you have it before that damn lumberjack shirt of yours started dripping everywhere.” 

“How dare you bring my sense of fashion into this,” Rachel gasps, putting a hand to her chest in hyperbolic offense. “My flannel need not suffer the wrath of your backfired gallantry.” 

“And Max doesn't need to suffer the headache of translating your Shakespeare talk,” Chloe says, rushing to pull the towel back down around her shoulders. 

But Max doesn't seem like she minds. If anything, it looks like she's calmed down a little just listening to them. Most of that petrified fear has wilted from her expression, though when a particularly strong gust of wind draws the rain to patter hard against the window she starts going rigid again. Chloe moves to sit at her side while Rachel flops herself onto the other end of the bed, both inching as close as they can. 

Max makes quick work of turning to bury her face in Chloe's shoulder. “S’Okay,” she murmurs, letting out a sigh of relief. “Good distraction.” 

“So I've been told,” Rachel replies, with just a touch too much pride. “Always happy to be of service. Oh, and speaking of, I've got a movie for you guys to watch. It's a good one this time, promise.”

“Oh god, no,” Chloe groans, holding Max a little closer and absentmindedly running a hand up and down her arm. “That's what you always say before putting on some absolute fucking garbage.”

Rachel gives Chloe a Cheshire grin. “And is absolute fucking garbage not thoroughly distracting?” 

Feeling Max let out a weak puff of laughter at that, Chloe concedes with a one last gripe. “Fine. But if you put on another one of those shitty knock off High School Musical movies, I will kick your ass.” 

Instead of answering the threat as she usually would — a cocky, blithe, “You wouldn't, you couldn't,” — Rachel stays quiet for a suspiciously long time before speaking up again. “... I plead the fifth.” 

“Jesus, Rach, really? Where do you keep finding these things?” 

Rachel hums in consideration. “Trade secret.” 

“What fucking trade?” Chloe scoffs, a familiar cross between incredulous and exasperated. 

They carry on like that the entire time Rachel is rescuing the DVD from her only half soaked bag and fiddling around with the TV. Bickering back and forth about nothing important, pushing each other's buttons just for fun. Chloe says something about how they're supposed to be calming Max down, and Rachel points out the way she's melted into Chloe's side as a means of claiming victory. 

Unbeknownst to them both, Max is listening on with the biggest smile she can muster, hidden just out of sight as she continues ignoring the rain in favor of their voices.

[docsbestkissedoperative]

HI MUTUAL

I have no reason for saying hi I just. Wanted to

But if you would perhaps want to think of angst for Genesis... or comfort, either or, I'm just spinning Genesis in my head right now but can't come up with anything for some reason lol

-🌌⭐

HI MUTUAL!!!!!!!!!!

From what i remember, genesis gets to be with SQ right? i'm thinking once it gets there, it's allowed to go do its own thing, so it takes a step out of whatever building the SQ HQ is at. if it can't do it by itself, then someone from SQ, protags or not, helps it. for the first time ever, even if there's no sunlight to soothe it, it just loves that it gets to experience seeing the sky and the outside world in the first place

Only angst thing i can think of is that it is very much aware that something horrible happened to it, and the best it can do is try to put that in the back of its mind and not wonder about what could have been. but when it does, ohh boy it's straight up not having a good time

grips genesis like a squeeze toy. weird creature i love youuuu

[deoidesign]

Hello I stumbled across your profile and I just say I love your art style! I've gotta ask, how'd your develop it? And do you have any advice for someone who can't decide what they want their art to look like?

Thank you so much!

To be entirely honest, I don't feel like I truly "developed" my style. I feel a lot more like I finally let myself draw it! But I am incredibly deliberate with my work, and I do have clear tendencies and preferences... So I'll do my best to explain how I got to where I am now as an artist.

It's important to remember that "style" is something of a nebulous concept. It changes with you as you grow as a person, and most artists can work in and emulate many art styles! Art really is a form of communication with yourself, and your "style" is a reflection of the tendencies and preferences you have. My art does not look how it looked 5 years ago, and my art will look different 5 years from now too. I've changed, and my art reflects that!

(2012, 2018, 2023; two pieces I remember being incredibly proud of and considered my best work up til that point, and then my most recent piece)

What you need to do, as everyone will tell you, is study the fundamentals (anatomy, perspective, form and structure, lighting and shadow, color, and composition) so you have the proper tools to make the most informed decisions possible about your art, and so you can deliberately break or follow rules as you please for your desired effect. I know it sounds silly to learn rules if you're not gonna be following them anyways, but they help you be much more consistent and intentional! More knowledge is NEVER a bad thing to have!

However, I know it's a bit demoralizing to just be told to study fundamentals. Everyone knows you're supposed to do that, but it takes YEARS to learn, and people want their art to feel how they want it to now (which is very very very normal to want!)

So on that front, I have 2 follow up suggestions that I personally find helpful (of course, everyone is different, so it's not like this is the only way to learn! But, if it resonates with you, it might mean it will work for you too.)

1: Separate study from application

I believe this is beneficial for a few reasons:

If the goal of every piece is learning, it can become frustrating, overwhelming, and boring

It's harder to self critique when there are multiple variables to investigate. I like to study one fundamental at a time

Study (usually) works best with a large quantity of output, whereas application of knowledge (finished pieces) is often more satisfying and effective when you get to take your time

Deliberate practical application of what you've learned in a finished piece helps cement the learning in your mind, and also lets you get satisfying finished pieces with noticeable improvement after a good study session!

I've found that keeping these things separate helps me improve faster and more deliberately, and it takes a lot of the pressure off of both aspects! I'm not worried about my studies looking beautiful, they're just to learn! And I don't feel pressured to critique my finished pieces, cause they're just for fun and to make something pretty. I personally find this helps me have a much healthier relationship with my art.

When studying, copy! Copy things as best as you can, all the time. It gives you something to compare to for self critique (and of course, if you're copying someone else's work and you share the study, ALWAYS give credit, share the original, and say it was for study.) In application, don't copy: reference. Make it yours!

2: Let yourself do the things that feel "easy" or like "cheating"

This one is simpler: nothing in art is easy.

If something feels easy to you, most of the time it's not because it's actually any easier... It's because it's part of your natural tendencies and preferences! This took me forever to realize, but as long as you're actually doing some study, then you're learning. You don't need to learn All The Time. When you're doing the "application" portion, you should let yourself do whatever is actually the most fun and feels easiest! This is where your style will start to come through, and where you get to learn about yourself. Take the pressure off, and have fun!!!

The only cheating in art is theft. If you're not stealing, then it's allowed!

My whole life (and yes, still!) I'd get regular criticism about both my style and my subject matter. You will too. You'll see a thousand different styles, and a hundred different things to admire in each. Your heart will ache that you don't draw like others do.

But art is a form of communication with yourself. It's like your voice, or your accent; just something that's a part of you! It can be fun to mimic others', but when you sit to have a conversation you speak naturally. (I know some people want to and do change their voice, but this is a metaphor and metaphors aren't perfect)

Don't stress so much about what you want your art to look like, especially if you're not sure. There's a lot of value to be had in constant experimentation, I think it'd be rather boring to only draw one style the rest of my life. What I draw is what I want to see, right now, for who I am now! It's a part of me and comes naturally, if I let it!

I hope this helps!

[thefloatingwriter]

🌻 :D

send me a 🌻

i’ve been thinking a lot about D3 tributes lately, so here’s a few hcs related to that!!

Specific:

Teslee Ravuri grew up in an Indian ethnic enclave in Three Falls, one of the towns that make up the Stills. after she died in the games, her older sister wanted to move away to another town because everything reminded her of her baby sister—her favorite restaurant across town, the factory they both used to work at, the preschool Teslee wanted to work at when she got older—but she stayed for her parents, who were already grieving their youngest child. eventually, she meets her future husband and they settle down together, but she never forgets her baby sister. next to the pictures of her family on the mantle sits a small portrait of Teslee, and every day before going to work, she places a kiss on the picture frame to remind herself of what she lost.

Circ Bauer was on the road to become the second person in his family to attend and graduate college before he was reaped. instead, after he died, his younger sister studied and grew up to do just that. privately, she credits all of her success to him, even if she can’t do it publicly in fear of sounding like she’s denouncing the Games (even if that’s exactly what she’s doing).

Various:

the 16th hunger games was the first time the capitol provided uniforms for the tributes, and also became the first time Three won with Attican “Atlas” Hoffman.

while Three’s names can be pretty out there, many of them do not have crazy names like Beetee and Wiress do. names like Athena, Annabeth, or Darwin are all popular, and typically more common than industry-related names.

the only time two children from Stepanov were reaped in the same year was the 48th, while the only year two children from Midtown were reaped in the same year was the 45th.

until the 4th hunger games, no tributes were chosen from either Stepanov or Midtown, as both tributes from the 1st to the 3rd were from the Stills. the first tribute from Stepanov was Alyona Nikolaeva for the 4th while the first tribute reaped from Midtown was Circ Bauer for the 10th.

the highest kill count a tribute from Three has ever had was nine kills, held by Beetee Latier of the 40th hunger games.

Three has won a total of five times—the 16th (Attican “Atlas” Hoffman) the 40th (Beetee Latier), the 48th (Wiress Liseicki), the 55th (Marie Teller), and the 68th (Haskell Nishimaru).