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eyrieofsynapses · 4 months

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why Aurora's art is genius

It's break for me, and I've been meaning to sit down and read the Aurora webcomic (https://comicaurora.com/, @comicaurora on Tumblr) for quite a bit. So I did that over the last few days.

And… y'know. I can't actually say "I should've read this earlier," because otherwise I would've been up at 2:30-3am when I had responsibilities in the morning and I couldn't have properly enjoyed it, but. Holy shit guys THIS COMIC.

I intended to just do a generalized "hello this is all the things I love about this story," and I wrote a paragraph or two about art style. …and then another. And another. And I realized I needed to actually reference things so I would stop being too vague. I was reading the comic on my tablet or phone, because I wanted to stay curled up in my chair, but I type at a big monitor and so I saw more details… aaaaaand it turned into its own giant-ass post.

SO. Enjoy a few thousand words of me nerding out about this insanely cool art style and how fucking gorgeous this comic is? (There are screenshots, I promise it isn't just a wall of text.) In my defense, I just spent two semesters in graphic design classes focusing on the Adobe Suite, so… I get to be a nerd about pretty things…???

All positive feedback btw! No downers here. <3

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I cannot emphasize enough how much I love the beautiful, simple stylistic method of drawing characters and figures. It is absolutely stunning and effortless and utterly graceful—it is so hard to capture the sheer beauty and fluidity of the human form in such a fashion. Even a simple outline of a character feels dynamic! It's gorgeous!

Though I do have a love-hate relationship with this, because my artistic side looks at that lovely simplicity, goes "I CAN DO THAT!" and then I sit down and go to the paper and realize that no, in fact, I cannot do that yet, because that simplicity is born of a hell of a lot of practice and understanding of bodies and actually is really hard to do. It's a very developed style that only looks simple because the artist knows what they're doing. The human body is hard to pull off, and this comic does so beautifully and makes it look effortless.

Also: line weight line weight line weight. It's especially important in simplified shapes and figures like this, and hoo boy is it used excellently. It's especially apparent the newer the pages get—I love watching that improvement over time—but with simpler figures and lines, you get nice light lines to emphasize both smaller details, like in the draping of clothing and the curls of hair—which, hello, yes—and thicker lines to emphasize bigger and more important details and silhouettes. It's the sort of thing that's essential to most illustrations, but I wanted to make a note of it because it's so vital to this art style.

THE USE OF LAYER BLENDING MODES OH MY GODS. (...uhhh, apologies to the people who don't know what that means, it's a digital art program thing? This article explains it for beginners.)

Bear with me, I just finished my second Photoshop course, I spent months and months working on projects with this shit so I see the genius use of Screen and/or its siblings (of which there are many—if I say "Screen" here, assume I mean the entire umbrella of Screen blending modes and possibly Overlay) and go nuts, but seriously it's so clever and also fucking gorgeous:

Firstly: the use of screened-on sound effect words over an action? A "CRACK" written over a branch and then put on Screen in glowy green so that it's subtle enough that it doesn't disrupt the visual flow, but still sticks out enough to make itself heard? Little "scritches" that are transparent where they're laid on without outlines to emphasize the sound without disrupting the underlying image? FUCK YES. I haven't seen this done literally anywhere else—granted, I haven't read a massive amount of comics, but I've read enough—and it is so clever and I adore it. Examples:

Secondly: The beautiful lighting effects. The curling leaves, all the magic, the various glowing eyes, the fog, the way it's all so vividly colored but doesn't burn your eyeballs out—a balance that's way harder to achieve than you'd think—and the soft glows around them, eeeee it's so pretty so pretty SO PRETTY. Not sure if some of these are Outer/Inner Glow/Shadow layer effects or if it's entirely hand-drawn, but major kudos either way; I can see the beautiful use of blending modes and I SALUTE YOUR GENIUS.

I keep looking at some of this stuff and go "is that a layer effect or is it done by hand?" Because you can make some similar things with the Satin layer effect in Photoshop (I don't know if other programs have this? I'm gonna have to find out since I won't have access to PS for much longer ;-;) that resembles some of the swirly inner bits on some of the lit effects, but I'm not sure if it is that or not. Or you could mask over textures? There's... many ways to do it.

If done by hand: oh my gods the patience, how. If done with layer effects: really clever work that knows how to stop said effects from looking wonky, because ugh those things get temperamental. If done with a layer of texture that's been masked over: very, very good masking work. No matter the method, pretty shimmers and swirly bits inside the bigger pretty swirls!

Next: The way color contrast is used! I will never be over the glowy green-on-black Primordial Life vibes when Alinua gets dropped into that… unconscious space?? with Life, for example, and the sharp contrast of vines and crack and branches and leaves against pitch black is just visually stunning. The way the roots sink into the ground and the three-dimensional sensation of it is particularly badass here:

Friggin. How does this imply depth like that. HOW. IT'S SO FREAKING COOL.

A huge point here is also color language and use! Everybody has their own particular shade, generally matching their eyes, magic, and personality, and I adore how this is used to make it clear who's talking or who's doing an action. That was especially apparent to me with Dainix and Falst in the caves—their colors are both fairly warm, but quite distinct, and I love how this clarifies who's doing what in panels with a lot of action from both of them. There is a particular bit that stuck out to me, so I dug up the panels (see this page and the following one https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-30/):

(Gods it looks even prettier now that I put it against a plain background. Also, appreciation to Falst for managing a bridal-carry midair, damn.)

The way that their colors MERGE here! And the immense attention to detail in doing so—Dainix is higher up than Falst is in the first panel, so Dainix's orange fades into Falst's orange at the base. The next panel has gold up top and orange on bottom; we can't really tell in that panel where each of them are, but that's carried over to the next panel—

—where we now see that Falst's position is raised above Dainix's due to the way he's carrying him. (Points for continuity!) And, of course, we see the little "huffs" flowing from orange to yellow over their heads (where Dainix's head is higher than Falst's) to merge the sound of their breathing, which is absurdly clever because it emphasizes to the viewer how we hear two sets of huffing overlaying each other, not one. Absolutely brilliant.

(A few other notes of appreciation to that panel: beautiful glows around them, the sparks, the jagged silhouette of the spider legs, the lovely colors that have no right to make the area around a spider corpse that pretty, the excellent texturing on the cave walls plus perspective, the way Falst's movements imply Dainix's hefty weight, the natural posing of the characters, their on-point expressions that convey exactly how fuckin terrifying everything is right now, the slight glows to their eyes, and also they're just handsome boys <3)

Next up: Rain!!!! So well done! It's subtle enough that it never ever disrupts the impact of the focal point, but evident enough you can tell! And more importantly: THE MIST OFF THE CHARACTERS. Rain does this irl, it has that little vapor that comes off you and makes that little misty effect that plays with lighting, it's so cool-looking and here it's used to such pretty effect!

One of the panel captions says something about it blurring out all the injuries on the characters but like THAT AIN'T TOO BIG OF A PROBLEM when it gets across the environmental vibes, and also that'd be how it would look in real life too so like… outside viewer's angle is the same as the characters', mostly? my point is: that's the environment!!! that's the vibes, that's the feel! It gets it across and it does so in the most pretty way possible!

And another thing re: rain, the use of it to establish perspective, particularly in panels like this—

—where we can tell we're looking down at Tynan due to the perspective on the rain and where it's pointing. Excellent. (Also, kudos for looking down and emphasizing how Tynan's losing his advantage—lovely use of visual storytelling.)

Additionally, the misting here:

We see it most heavily in the leftmost panel, where it's quite foggy as you would expect in a rainstorm, especially in an environment with a lot of heat, but it's also lightly powdered on in the following two panels and tends to follow light sources, which makes complete sense given how light bounces off particles in the air.

A major point of strength in these too is a thorough understanding of lighting, like rim lighting, the various hues and shades, and an intricate understanding of how light bounces off surfaces even when they're in shadow (we'll see a faint glow in spots where characters are half in shadow, but that's how it would work in real life, because of how light bounces around).

Bringing some of these points together: the fluidity of the lines in magic, and the way simple glowing lines are used to emphasize motion and the magic itself, is deeply clever. I'm basically pulling at random from panels and there's definitely even better examples, but here's one (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-16-33/):

First panel, listed in numbers because these build on each other:

The tension of the lines in Tess's magic here. This works on a couple levels: first, the way she's holding her fists, as if she's pulling a rope taut.

The way there's one primary line, emphasizing the rope feeling, accompanied by smaller ones.

The additional lines starbursting around her hands, to indicate the energy crackling in her hands and how she's doing a good bit more than just holding it. (That combined with the fists suggests some tension to the magic, too.) Also the variations in brightness, a feature you'll find in actual lightning. :D Additional kudos for how the lightning sparks and breaks off the metal of the sword.

A handful of miscellaneous notes on the second panel:

The reflection of the flames in Erin's typically dark blue eyes (which bears a remarkable resemblance to Dainix, incidentally—almost a thematic sort of parallel given Erin's using the same magic Dainix specializes in?)

The flowing of fabric in the wind and associated variation in the lineart

The way Erin's tattoos interact with the fire he's pulling to his hand

The way the rain overlays some of the fainter areas of fire (attention! to! detail! hell yeah!)

I could go on. I won't because this is a lot of writing already.

Third panel gets paragraphs, not bullets:

Erin's giant-ass "FWOOM" of fire there, and the way the outline of the word is puffy-edged and gradated to feel almost three-dimensional, plus once again using Screen or a variation on it so that the stars show up in the background. All this against that stunning plume of fire, which ripples and sparks so gorgeously, and the ending "om" of the onomatopoeia is emphasized incredibly brightly against that, adding to the punch of it and making the plume feel even brighter.

Also, once again, rain helping establish perspective, especially in how it's very angular in the left side of the panel and then slowly becomes more like a point to the right to indicate it's falling directly down on the viewer. Add in the bright, beautiful glow effects, fainter but no less important black lines beneath them to emphasize the sky and smoke and the like, and the stunningly beautiful lighting and gradated glows surrounding Erin plus the lightning jagging up at him from below, and you get one hell of an impactful panel right there. (And there is definitely more in there I could break down, this is just a lot already.)

And in general: The colors in this? Incredible. The blues and purples and oranges and golds compliment so well, and it's all so rich.

Like, seriously, just throughout the whole comic, the use of gradients, blending modes, color balance and hues, all the things, all the things, it makes for the most beautiful effects and glows and such a rich environment. There's a very distinct style to this comic in its simplified backgrounds (which I recognize are done partly because it's way easier and also backgrounds are so time-consuming dear gods but lemme say this) and vivid, smoothly drawn characters; the simplicity lets them come to the front and gives room for those beautiful, richly saturated focal points, letting the stylized designs of the magic and characters shine. The use of distinct silhouettes is insanely good. Honestly, complex backgrounds might run the risk of making everything too visually busy in this case. It's just, augh, so GORGEOUS.

Another bit, take a look at this page (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-15-28/):

It's not quite as evident here as it is in the next page, but this one does some other fun things so I'm grabbing it. Points:

Once again, using different colors to represent different character actions. The "WHAM" of Kendal hitting the ground is caused by Dainix's force, so it's orange (and kudos for doubling the word over to add a shake effect). But we see blue layered underneath, which could be an environmental choice, but might also be because it's Kendal, whose color is blue.

And speaking off, take a look at the right-most panel on top, where Kendal grabs the spear: his motion is, again, illustrated in bright blue, versus the atmospheric screened-on orange lines that point toward him around the whole panel (I'm sure these have a name, I think they might be more of a manga thing though and the only experience I have in manga is reading a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist). Those lines emphasize the weight of the spear being shoved at him, and their color tells us Dainix is responsible for it.

One of my all-time favorite effects in this comic is the way cracks manifest across Dainix's body to represent when he starts to lose control; it is utterly gorgeous and wonderfully thematic. These are more evident in the page before and after this one, but you get a decent idea here. I love the way they glow softly, the way the fire juuuust flickers through at the start and then becomes more evident over time, and the cracks feel so realistic, like his skin is made of pottery. Additional points for how fire begins to creep into his hair.

A small detail that's generally consistent across the comic, but which I want to make note of here because you can see it pretty well: Kendal's eyes glow about the same as the jewel in his sword, mirroring his connection to said sword and calling back to how the jewel became Vash's eye temporarily and thus was once Kendal's eye. You can always see this connection (though there might be some spots where this also changes in a symbolic manner; I went through it quickly on the first time around, so I'll pay more attention when I inevitably reread this), where Kendal's always got that little shine of blue in his eyes the same as the jewel. It's a beautiful visual parallel that encourages the reader to subconsciously link them together, especially since the lines used to illustrate character movements typically mirror their eye color. It's an extension of Kendal.

Did I mention how ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL the colors in this are?

Also, the mythological/legend-type scenes are illustrated in familiar style often used for that type of story, a simple and heavily symbolic two-dimensional cave-painting-like look. They are absolutely beautiful on many levels, employing simple, lovely gradients, slightly rougher and thicker lineart that is nonetheless smoothly beautiful, and working with clear silhouettes (a major strength of this art style, but also a strength in the comic overall). But in particular, I wanted to call attention to a particular thing (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-12-4/):

The flowing symbolic lineart surrounding each character. This is actually quite consistent across characters—see also Life's typical lines and how they curl:

What's particularly interesting here is how these symbols are often similar, but not the same. Vash's lines are always smooth, clean curls, often playing off each other and echoing one another like ripples in a pond. You'd think they'd look too similar to Life's—but they don't. Life's curl like vines, and they remain connected; where one curve might echo another but exist entirely detached from each other in Vash's, Life's lines still remain wound together, because vines are continuous and don't float around. :P

Tahraim's are less continuous, often breaking up with significantly smaller bits and pieces floating around like—of course—sparks, and come to sharper points. These are also constants: we see the vines repeated over and over in Alinua's dreams of Life, and the echoing ripples of Vash are consistent wherever we encounter him. Kendal's dream of the ghost citizens of the city of Vash in the last few chapters is filled with these rippling, echoing patterns, to beautiful effect (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-14/):

They ripple and spiral, often in long, sinuous curves, with smooth elegance. It reminds me a great deal of images of space and sine waves and the like. This establishes a definite feel to these different characters and their magic. And the thing is, that's not something that had to be done—the colors are good at emphasizing who's who. But it was done, and it adds a whole other dimension to the story. Whenever you're in a deity's domain, you know whose it is no matter the color.

Regarding that shape language, I wanted to make another note, too—Vash is sometimes described as chaotic and doing what he likes, which is interesting to me, because smooth, elegant curves and the color blue aren't generally associated with chaos. So while Vash might behave like that on the surface, I'm guessing he's got a lot more going on underneath; he's probably much more intentional in his actions than you'd think at a glance, and he is certainly quite caring with his city. The other thing is that this suits Kendal perfectly. He's a paragon character; he is kind, virtuous, and self-sacrificing, and often we see him aiming to calm others and keep them safe. Blue is such a good color for him. There is… probably more to this, but I'm not deep enough in yet to say.

And here's the thing: I'm only scratching the surface. There is so much more here I'm not covering (color palettes! outfits! character design! environment! the deities! so much more!) and a lot more I can't cover, because I don't have the experience; this is me as a hobbyist artist who happened to take a couple design classes because I wanted to. The art style to this comic is so clever and creative and beautiful, though, I just had to go off about it. <3

...brownie points for getting all the way down here? Have a cookie.

#aurora comic #aurora webcomic #comicaurora #art analysis #...I hope those are the right tags???#new fandom new tagging practices to learn ig #much thanks for something to read while I try to rest my wrists. carpal tunnel BAD. (ignore that I wrote this I've got braces ok it's fine)#anyway! I HAVE. MANY MORE THOUGHTS. ON THE STORY ITSELF. THIS LOVELY STORY #also a collection of reactions to a chunk of the comic before I hit the point where I was too busy reading to write anything down #idk how to format those tho #...yeet them into one post...???#eh I usually don't go off this much these days but this seems like a smaller tight-knit fandom so... might as well help build it?#and I have a little more time thanks to break so #oh yes also shoutout to my insanely awesome professor for teaching me all the technical stuff from this he is LOVELY #made an incredibly complex program into something comprehensible <3 #synapse talks

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anawrites3 · 1 year

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I'm thinking about blind Dick today, about how he'd lost his sight during one of the missions and there was nothing anyone could do to help him. He was so mad about this at first, fucking furious. Not only he's not able to protect the city anymore, he needs help doing the most simple everyday things now.

Alfred helped him put his clothes on right; Tim helped him out with eating because he fucking needed help with that too; Jason read to him because listening to TV just made him want to throw the damn thing out of the window; Damian was a warm presence, always at his side that held his hand and lead him through the Manor so he won't walk into things, and Bruce... Bruce was there somewhere.

Dick was trained for it, he screamed to himself, to be able to fight without his senses but this... this was so much different. He couldn't listen for his opponent's breath, he couldn't focus on the sound of their steps - none of that was useful, he was still putting his shirts backwards, he was missing the food on his plate, he was fucking useless and no amount of Bruce's training from before could change that.

More than once, Dick's siblings had to endure his outbursts, his screaming, crying and throwing things. It was a hard time for all of them. Dick just felt so helpless all the time, useless and that made him furious. So many things he won't be able to do anymore, he won't perform on a trapeze ever again...

It took a few months, of living in the Manor with his family helping him every day, of having a new life without being Nightwing, when Dick just accepted his fate. Because, let's be honest, there was nothing he could do. Being angry and yelling wouldn't help any of them and only made things worse so he slowly started to accept the fact that he was blind now.

He learned to live without his eyes.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Slade opened the window and slipped inside the apartment without making a sound. The place changed a bit from the last time he was there but not enough to make it a problem for him, even with the bedroom enveloped entirely in darkness.

Dick was sitting on the couch in living room, in front of the turned off TV and didn't even look in Slade's direction when he walked past the door. He was looking down instead, at the knitting needles he was holding, his brow furrowed in concentration. It was kind of cute, honestly. Did Grayson hope to fight him with one of those things, in a way of greeting?

"Long time no see, little bird." Slade purred out, taking a few steps closer. "Did you miss me?"

Dick's head shot up abruptly, just like Slade knew he would, but instead of looking at him, those blue eyes just flicked in his general direction.

Slade frowned. It wasn't that dark in there.

"Slade... You're back." Dick breathed out. He wasn't as quite excited about it as Slade expected him to be.

"I am. Aren't you happy to see me, little bird?"

Something about his words made Dick's hands clench on the needles just slightly. Dick barely moved his hands but it was still enough for Slade to notice.

"Now is not a good time." Dick said instead of answering his question.

"Oh? We haven't seen each other for almost a year and that is how you greet me?" Slade shook his head, clicking his tongue in disapproval. "Where are your manners, boy?"

They weren't exactly dating but Slade expected Dick to be a little bit more optimistic about his return. They didn't put any label on what they were doing and Slade was comfortable with that - they simply fucked and annoyed each other on every possible occasion, with a lot of flirting and too-friendly touches that Dick loved to initiate. It was weird to see Dick just sit there instead of jumping him right there right now.

Slade knew that this contract would last a few months, knew that it could get even longer were there any complications - and he told Dick exactly so when he was leaving. "Good" he said then, straddling Slade's naked body with a grin, "we'll finally get some peace in the city". He didn't seem the slightest bit upset about it, maybe except the whining about the fact that he'll miss the sex.

Slade didn't usually take on contracts that long but it was well-paid and on the other side of the globe, and he almost considered it a vacation. They didn't contact each other during that time but it was hardly the first time something like that happened. It was the first time, however, when Dick wasn't happy to see him after he came back from the job.

"Maybe things changed during this year." Dick forced out and Slade's grin slipped completely off his lips.

"Yeah? And what changed exactly?"

"Maybe you're not welcome here anymore."

Slade barked a surprised laugh at that, "Kid, when was I ever welcome? Isn't that what made it so exciting, what made you run back to me again and again? You fucking a mercenary right under your daddy's nose?"

Dick swallowed with an effort and Slade focused on the way his Adam's apple bobbed.

"That's not it." Dick insisted. He looked almost desperate to convince Slade of that and Slade took a few steps closer to him, his boots soundless on the cheap floor.

"Then what is it, Dick?" he murmured softly. "Tell me. If you're worried about Bats being around, he's not, I checked."

"That's -" Dick started before shaking his head. "No. I don't care about Bruce. You should go."

"Maybe I should. But I don't think I will."

Dick still wasn't looking directly at him. In fact, now that Slade walked over to the couch, Dick's eyes were pointed more at his chest than at his face, as if he didn't even notice that Slade got closer.

"Something is wrong. Something happened when I was gone and you're trying to get rid of me instead of telling me what it was."

"Everything is- I mean, nothing is wrong." Dick stuttered, putting the half-made sweater away. "But it doesn't matter anyway. I want you out of my home, Slade."

Slade crossed the rest of the distance in two steps and reached out to gently cup Dick's cheek in his hand. But Dick didn't push his hand away or nuzzle the palm like he would usually do. No, Dick flinched violently, as if he didn't even see the touch coming.

"What the fuck is happening?" Slade growled. "Tell me, Grayson, before I get really mad."

"No. No, get out." Dick's voice trembled. "Get out, get out, get-"

Slade clenched his fingers on Dick's chin and forced his head higher. The kid was trying to fight him, digging his nails into Slade's wrist, kicking at him and doing his best to pull away but Slade was stronger and didn't let him move.

That's when Slade saw it. Saw the way Dick's eyes weren't focusing on anything in particular, the way their blue color was dull and empty.

"No... Dick-" he breathed out, feeling as if someone stole all the air from his lungs.

"Shut up!" Dick yelled and punched at Slade's chest. "Shut up, get out of here!"

"You're blind." Slade said, as if saying it outloud would make him understand it. As if that would make it easier to accept the truth, that Dick Grayson was blind now, that he got injured while Slade was away on a job. "You're-"

"I know that, you fucking son of a bitch!" Dick roared. "Believe me, you don't need to fucking tell me!"

"What happened?" Slade demanded but Dick just pushed at his chest again.

"I'm not telling you shit-!"

"You are fucking blind, Grayson, and you didn't even think about calling me!" He screamed. No, they weren't dating but they were close enough that it's the least Slade would expect from him in this kind of situation. He ignored the weird feeling inside his chest. "What, did you think I wouldn't ever find out?!"

Dick started to scream and curse in Romani and Slade let him, forcing himself to calm down a bit. There was no use in screaming - usually their argument would turn into a physical fight but Dick couldn't see. Slade couldn't even take him to the rooftop without the fear of Dick falling out of the edge during one of his flashy moves.

It took some time but finally Dick calmed down enough to stop yelling. His breath was fast and heavy, as if he ran for hours and at least he stopped trying to push Slade away. His arms fell down suddenly, as if all his strength abandoned him at once.

Slade waited a few more seconds before asking again, "What happened?"

"Doesn't matter." Dick spat out, shaking his head. "Nothing you can change now."

"Doesn't matter." Slade echoed. "Tell me. Tell me what happened, who did this to you. Who do I need to kill?"

Dick laughed but it turned into a sob pretty quickly. Slade wrapped his arms around Dick and pressed him close to his chest, just letting his little bird cry for a moment.

"Fuck you." He said at last, voice hoarse. "I was doing so well about it too."

"I'm sorry." Slade murmured. The words held a lot of weight and they let the silence envelop them for a few more minutes.

"I don't even know what are you doing here." Dick whispered. "I'm just another fuck for you, why do you care?"

"You're a lot more than just that. You're not stupid, little bird, I know you know that."

Slade wasn't able to count how many times they tried to kill each other. Dick had a bunch of scars created by Slade's blade, and if it weren't for his healing factor he would have a lot of marks left by Dick's weapons as well. If nothing else, that alone made their relationship so much deeper than just occasional fucking.

"Not a bird anymore." Dick curled his fingers into the material of Slade's shirt. "I can't fly now. Not with not being able to see."

"You're my little bird nonetheless." Slade argued, pressing a kiss to his temple. "It doesn't matter to me."

"Stupid..."

"Mm. Tell me."

"...I don't want to talk about it." Dick's confession was so quiet Slade barely heard it, even with his enhanced senses. "Not now at least. I- I don't -"

"It's alright." Slade murmured into his hair. "Alright, it's okay, I won't push. But I'll be here if you decide you want to tell me."

He had a lot of questions. What happened? Who dared to touch Dick? Where was Batman at the time and why the fuck did he let that happen? How long has it been since Dick lost his sight? And more, a whole lot more. But Slade was a patient man and he was going to wait as long as it took.

Slade still remembered what it felt like when Adeline shot out his eye - he didn't blame Dick in the slightest for reacting the way he did. Dick had to feel even worse than that, with not being able to see at all. But Slade was here now and he was going to help and make it better, however he can. Even if it'll be just a little bit, Slade wanted to be by Dick's side.

Maybe what they had was so much more than simply fucking and annoying each other on every possible occasion. Maybe they should talk about it soon. Maybe. But not now.

Right now, the most important thing was that-

"I'll be here, little bird." Slade whispered as Dick pressed his face against his neck. "I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

/ / / /

Wow that was something for sure! I apologize if the pacing is all over the place, I had a lot of thoughts for this one 🥰

Thank you for reading and if you enjoyed please consider [buying me a coffee] 💕 It means a lot!!

#are they a little ooc?#mmm maybe just a little tiniest bit #it's almost 2k words long #and i was fighting with myself to keep it short #but well... you already know that im unable to write short stuff #maybe ill turn it into something bigger one day #who knows #also yes jason was the one who convinced dick to start knitting #and teached him how to do it #my writing #sladick #sladedick #sladin #dickstroke

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