#this came to me after seeing a fanart of them like a vision

[fischiee]

carwash siblings carolina dyeing her hair red to be less like their mother, wash bleaching his hair to be more like their family

[evelmiina]

Love your work! I wanted to ask what your process is like when it comes to coming up with a design/composition to a piece? Do you have any specific methods you use or it is more improvised:)? Thanks!

I'd say both - method and improvisation. To me all pictures are basically shapes organized in a pleasing way. Even when I draw lines I think more about overall shapes together and how I feel about them. There's a lot to consider about design and composition, some pretty smart books on the subject are Marcus Mateu-Mestre: Framed Ink and Hans Bacher: Vision - color and composition for film. I'm still learning all the time and I make mistakes but I think method to making composition comes down to: readability and narrative intention, moving from simplicity to complex. But it's also fun and important to play around and see what works, that's why my process is not always the same and I can show some examples. Here are the sketches and final I did for my Magic card illustration:

This is my go-to method when I want to rely on tried and true process and I know I won't get lost once I start drawing/painting because I can rely on my steps. I don't always do things this way, but for paid work I want the client to have as clear idea of my intention as possible. The reasoning why 3 worked the best is because it's more dynamic and dimensional than 2, but more readable than 1. It also best showcases how the tower is supposed to be huge, something that was important for the design.

This on the other hand was personal work and I approached it in more relaxed way just to see where it goes. Still I think what made me want to finish it is I liked the variety of shapes and rhythm of the room, like how the screens lead towards the doorway, lot of rectangles but varied in their size and angle. If it was client work I probably would've been called out in the sketch, because the focal point is this empty wall that makes no sense. I came up with the idea of shadow of a window while making it and in the end it worked, but it was an example how I made a big design problem for myself that I was gambling on to figure out.

This one had very specifically just one photo reference, but I did the sketch to put down the essentials of what I was seeing in the photo. In the end I referenced dog's face and pose more from the photo so it looks more natural, which was also funnier than my own initial interpretation

Sometimes the initial comp just doesn't pan out exactly. I did the sketch for this Unicorn fanart and I even drew the interior at some point, but it just Did Not Work for me, I also discarded the idea of medieval dragon in the statue for same reason. So it sat in my folder for a while until I could look at it again and after taking a break, I still liked the statue and the general idea, but decided to make the surroundings easier to look at so that the statue stands out better.

When I did the sketch for this dragon I wanted it to feel big and heavy, like lifting its head from the ground. But I didn't want to do vertical picture which lead me to painting over digitally and extending the picture, then painting the whole thing traditionally anyway.

[msbunnat]

thank you for your answer, in any case I was already very excited by your comic and I cannot wait to read more about it!

I honestly cannot understand the people hating on your work. I feel like fandoms has been invaded by a wave of purity/moral policy that shouldn't exist anymore. it's even more wild to me knowing you're working on a greek myth, and the greek myths are KNOWN to have many versions. that's the beauty of them in my opinion, the way these authors all wrote their own versions and they passed them to us. I love the fact you picked Ganimedes, and you decided to explore both Zeus and him. And the mystery you keep about your relationship really makes me wonder which take you will follow!

and speaking of take, I really enjoy yours on Zeus. Gods are complex beings, and sure they're problematic (like duh) and bad, and everything but it's funny how people will decide which pick for who. Like everybody love Poseidon but oh boy, he can be as bad as Zeus people. So yeah, I am actually excited to read the way you're gonna write him! I don't hate Zeus, sure he does seem one of the "worse" when reading most of the myths, but my favorite thing is the way you can love one god in one story, and hate him in another. they're immortal beings. they're not just black and white. so I happen to enjoy when authors write Zeus as more than just a big bad villain. But I also enjoy when they just don't make him a "sweet lovely daddy".

Oh by the way, I didn't know the version of Metis abusing him and I'll have to look into it! We had a more "feminist" vision of her myth in my class, so it's not something that was talked about hmm.

Also, my bad for saying he died. It was a sum up because of him turning into a constellation. I cannot say we studied this myth so unfortunately I don't have sources to help you on it! It's assumed he lives on forever young but the fact he turns into a constellation is why people think he died?

Thanks! I want to post soon, but I'm so tireeed ;w; I prefer to make people wait and do a good job tho.

About the hate... People re affraid (artists have to much power kkkkk) and we live in a time that you need to share your opnion to get validation. In my case, they need to say that Zeus is bad and hate on him and me so they know they re on the rigth side and have good morals. And even after all this, I think its a good thing they just warning people, that way I can get to my real target that can enjoy characters more complex that re not good or evil, but mess up beings (that includes Ganimedes). And even if people in the end critizied my aproach, its also fine, I dont claim to be perfect and just hope that even to the mad ones, they feel inspired to create their version as well. I think they forgot that, like, they can have their version and will be as valid as mine, dosent matter the story.

(I really enjoy everything about Ganymede, if people go and do their versions, its a plus to me! More about him is best for me heheh. I came across two versions of Ganymede on tumblr and I LOVE BOTH!! I really want to do a fanart of the second one, but I'm a lil afraid if they dont want to interact with me, which is fair, but I'm just judging by the dark aproach on the myth, as a horror story).

Thanks for liking my Zeus u.u I'm really more found of him, as I think about his past, but I'm trying not to focus to much on him! He steals the scene to much!!!

About Metis, its not a version, but a interpretation. I'm looking to see if I find a sourse, but anyway, its intresting, since they met when Zeus was still young. And there re some greek myths with female abusers, so... its something.

Oooh! I see. hm... I never see the constelation as a death, so its not clicking with me, but I understand. Any way, I kinda dont like the constelation, for some reason looks wrong to me, but its a valid version and Im totally using the aesthetic kkkk

[fritoley]

The Dragon Prince Thoughts 6x03 - The Frozen Ship

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Spoilers under the cut

Ooh so this is how callum got out of those chains in s5

WAIT why are his eyes bright instead of black did he get possessed back then again—

OR IS IT A VISION—

“Uh, are you sure it’ll hold us?”

It’s giving s1ep6 or whatever when they dropped Zym’s egg—

They’re not sPrEaDiNg ThEiR wEiGhT

OMG IT IS LIKE WHEN THEY DROPPED THE EGG—

OH NO SHADOWPAW DON’T DIE

Rayla really said “yeah nah” lmao

Bruh how long has Terry been sitting there

This is so unhealthy for him ugh—

WHY’S HE JUST L I N I N G UP STICKS LMAO

Oh he’s making something—

OH claudia came back

Wtf happened to her—

She looks worse off than before she left Terry behind

“It’s sad that this ship is stuck. I mean look at it. This ship is going nowhere.”

Wonderstorm definitely knew what they were doing here lmao—

“I mean you can draw pictures of the ship but does that change anything?”

HOW DARE YOU CALL OUT MY FANART OBSESSION HAHAHAHAHAHA—

TERRY YOU DESERVE BETTER 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I still love y’all but C’MON—

They better get a happy ending

“Is Rayla crying?”

Bro how did you even hear her from outside that big-ass ship—

BRO BRUSH FROM THE BOTTOM UP OMG—

Wouldn’t have has to cut it if he knew how to properly brush hair lmao—

“Guess I can always use a pile of loose planks as a blanket.”

Dude if i didn’t know better i’d think you were trying to get Rayla to share her blanket

But it’s callum so of course not lmao—

“My dad wrote that.”

STOP HE’S TALKING ABOUT HIS BIO DAD

HIS NAME IS DAMIAN AHH—

I wonder if callum remembers damian a lot since he died when he was a kid

Stella and Sneezles are on a mission lmao

They’re literally the fandom

K I S S 

WHY’D YOU STOP

“I did dark magic again.”

S E R I O U S L Y

NOW OF ALL TIMES??

You’ve gotta be KIDDING me—

GAHH CLAUDIA’S HAIR IS SO PRETTY—

Aww Terry made a prosthetic for her I love that

“I didn’t have a choice because… I would do anything for you.”

Omg callum’s delivery on that line was SO GOOD ugh—

Rayla’s face is pure gold too

WAIT THEY’RE FORGETTING THE PEARL—

OH NOW YOU REMEMBER IT AFTER YOU GOT OUT OF THE SHIP

Gurl don’t die

THE SHIP SAYS RAYLLUM

NO WAY LMAOOOOOO

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN—

OMG VIREN’S BACK IN KATOLIS

OOP THE HUMBLE SERVANT LINE

Viren breaking down sobbing is something I never thought I’d see

Ezran’s unfazed face is wild

“Are you begging for mercy?”

“No.”

“Good. You don’t deserve any.”

DAMN THAT’S HIS COLDEST LINE YET

Woooooooow that was wilddd. I’m worried about the Rayllum ship sinking and what that means for rayla and callum I hope nothing bad happens to them. Terry and Claudia’s relationship is also really tense cuz Terry’s been just allowing claudia to walk down the dark path she’s on for what could be years and he’s just accepting it no matter how many times she could’ve (directly or indirectly) hurt him. It’s unhealthy, yes, but at the same time i think they really do need each other. I think if they work at their relationship they could make it work. I hope Soren gets to talk to Viren now that he’s back in Katolis I’m excited to unpack that, especially considering we didn’t get to see them talk in s4 (yes i did read the short story and it’s S A D 😭).

[koa-z]

Nagito Color Study | Please do not repost, reblogs are welcome though! Brushes & Techniques & a progress pic below the cut

Uhhhh okay, how to explain this one. I was rereading “Logically Lucky” by PinkSweetSmoke and some of the visuals in the earlier chapters really struck me. The way that they write this relationship is pretty dynamic, and I wanted to see if I could use colors to talk about how Hajime and Nagito feel for each other and what they’re going through emotionally? So this is fanart for that fic, directly inspired by that fic based on the established vista(s) and also the style of writing their relationship, but it doesn’t really make sense unless I say all of that lol? But it wouldn’t exist if not for that fic, so I’d feel weird not mentioning it.

Brushes used (Clip Studio, Free):

Main: “ラフペン” from gyuukotu’s “Fill Set (塗りセット)”, content ID 1695210 Fill: Default India Ink brush pen - the rough pen is a little unpredictable, so I used this to flat the image and make sure that there were no gaps Cloud Flat: "荒筆" from gyuutoku's “Fill Set (塗りセット)”, content ID 1695210 Cloud Blender: I downloaded it from the internet instead of the app 2 years ago and cannot find, with certainty, where it came from, since I get rid of everything on my hard drive that's not art every year :( there are lots of good cloud blending brushes out there for free, though, and I typically use the gouache blender Misc. Techniques: Screen Distortion: I used CSP's free cloth texture clipped above the "blue" layers and then liquified it in places for the screen distortion effect Gradient Mapping: I cannot overstate how helpful gradient maps were for minor color corrections, you guys PLEASE try them on a finished piece of your own if you haven't used them yet. Click Layers > New Correction Layer > Gradient Map and then choose from the premade gradients before adding your own so you can see how they worked. I used a few different ones clipped to specific areas w/ lowered opacity & hard/soft light settings where I felt like the color was falling flat and it was SO helpful at giving it just that little bit more depth. Hearts: I've discovered that you can cheat at hair and clothing rendering by just making hearts. Try and see how many you can find lol Color Theory in General: The whole point of this piece, after it stopped being fanart (lol rip), was to be a color study focusing on the contrast between shadow and light and what I could do within the blues & the yellows to make them appear as if they're actually different colors. In the blue section, everything is p much blue, nothing is any other color. In the sunny section, a lot of the stuff is warmer variations of the standard colors, since I wanted it to be more vibrant and didn't feel like I could achieve that if everything was shades of yellow and orange. That being said, I stuck as closely to that as possible. But ANYWAY, juxtaposing the two starkly different color profiles also helps the blues in the blue side read as colors that they aren't, which was part of why I did this study. Sneaky sneaky: I just modified the diner a bit in order to get the colors I wanted, i.e closing the blinds bc I can. As an artist it's important to remember that YOU have full control over every single part of the piece, you just should ideally have a reason to create inaccuracies/ break rules or else it can end up being a bit messy and disorganized & details/ your vision can get lost.

Aaaand finally, the sketch from TWO AND A HALF MONTHS AGO:

#trusttheprocess 😭😭😭

[geminiskulleta]

This is my very first post, and after seeing all of the lu and loz fanart on tumblr I thought what if all of the zeldas across each era in Hyrule came together linked universe style? I know this isn’t an original thought by any means but I think a story for the zeldas would be super cute and I’d like to show what my take on a Zelda story would be.

I designed a new lullaby (OOT Zelda) and I’d like to see your thoughts on her: Anything I could improve? Anyone else you’d like to see? Please let me know - hope you like it🫶🫶

Lullaby - the queen

Link: Hero of Time

Age: Early 30’s - The same age physically as Time and a year older than Malon.

• She is also known as the princess of destiny, and was surprised to have found out that nearly all of the Zeldas have heard of her and that She and Time became legends.

• The wisest and oldest of all the Zeldas, the unofficial leader.

• Very protective and caring towards the others - seen as the “mom” of the group.

• Holds a lot of regret for her past mistakes and the splitting of timelines (She remembers the events of OOT as she was a past user of the Ocarina. In every instance where time is rewound, she remembers even if it isn’t her that uses it. The same is true with Time.)

• Tries to be a good role model for the other Zeldas as she knows they look up to her, she feels a lot of pressure to be a perfect queen.

• Much less sure of herself than Time, her biggest fear is making mistakes that effect others and constantly second guesses herself. She tries her best to put on a brave face.

•She knows that Fable, Dusk and Tetra are her successors- each from a different timeline, but she is unsure how to tell them.

• She knew about the timeline where she and link lost against Ganondorf and the timeline that she and link had left behind, but never knew what became of it. She was distraught when she found out it had been flooded and turned into the great sea.

•She is able to see into the future, as she grew up her power became much stronger- her prophecies have never been wrong.

•She doesn’t dream anymore: She can only have visions. By closing her eyes and focusing very hard she can see tiny snippets of the future like flashes that will leave her to decipher their meaning, but the only way to get a clear vision is to fall asleep.

• When she has trouble sleeping, she will hum Zelda’s Lullaby, the others never comment on it as they fear she will stop.

•She will always listen to other people’s problems and do whatever it takes to help. She often puts others before herself and is very rarely selfish.

• She shares the trait of being too absorbed in work and pushing herself too far just like Flora. She just doesn’t know her limits when it comes to things such as that and she feels that no matter what she does, it will never be enough

• Needs reading glasses but the others make fun of her and call her Grandma when she puts them on

Relationship with Link:

• As children, she and time were friends but they drifted as they grew up.

• During her time as Sheik she trained hard for seven years; learning how to fight, mastering magic and learning everything there is to know about the temples and how to help link on his adventure.

• She remembers everything from the timeline that Time left, as she was a user of the ocarina. Much like him, she had the opportunity to relive the childhood that was taken from her but she would never be the same again. She was hardened by her and Times adventure. He told her some of what happened in Majoras mask and she felt like she was responsible for everything that happened to their kingdom, to her father, to Link. She began to avoid him due to crippling self hatred and believed that he was a living reminder of her failiures. He was very broken from Majoras mask and was in a dark place in his life. He didn’t care whether anyone stayed or left for a long time and his walls were only broken down when he met Malon again.

• When Lullaby and Time would talk as adults they were very formal and distant with one another. They felt on guard towards one another and didn’t know exactly why, as Time held no ill will towards the queen and Lullaby could never bring herself to hate him.

• As Time matured, his walls were broken down by Malon and he allowed himself to make connections and feel again. But Lullaby never had someone like that to help her through her pain, and she threw herself into her work to become a truly great queen. She was formal and almost robotic to anyone she met.

• As Time allowed himself to heal he would wonder about Zelda, but never reached out. He could never figure out why he was like this, why the thought of seeing Lullaby again scared him, but he was never understanding of his emotions.

• She and Malon are actually great friends and though they’re often too busy to see each other they send letters all the time.

• Fun fact: She planned and officiated Time and Malons wedding. She felt as though she owed it to Time and this is where she and Malon started to get to know eachother.

• She and Time haven’t properly spoken since the wedding. They spoke briefly and Time saw just how closed off Zelda was. He could see that she had been in an awful state of mind but he felt like he couldn’t help her. He wasn’t able to, he wasn’t strong enough.

• the whole ‘ age thing’ effects her too since she remembers the adult timeline. She says she is 34 but she doesn’t exactly know her age.

[egretwing]

redrunningtiger: the basics

ok so. for those interested in my divorced redrunningtiger polycule thoughts . . .

hi there @snailchaser-the-medicinecat (this amazing fanart) — i'm a slow reblogger too but here! my rambles on their origin story, since i wanted to write it anyway :)

** fair warning for brief discussion of Thistleclaw and Spottedleaf, as I'm keeping at least the gist of SPH in my rewrite **

find the immediate reworked family tree and notes in this post

my runningredtiger thoughts are under this tag

starting off with redtiger...

These two were the first to get together. They were apprentices at the same time for about a moon before Tigerclaw earned his full name. While Whitepaw and Tigerpaw were best friends, it didn't take long for Redpaw and Tigerpaw to grow close too. Within three moons of Redtail and Willowpelt's warrior ceremony, the toms quietly but happily became mates.

Redtail admired Tigerclaw's strength and vision, while Tigerclaw was drawn to Redtail's intentional optimisim and dedication to his family. They brought out each other's best qualities (cheesy, I know). Tigerclaw tended to focus too much on a glorious future while Redtail was full of anxious what-ifs — but they kept each other grounded in the present.

They were together only a few moons when the truth about Thistleclaw was revealed to the Clan. Whitestorm, Tigerclaw, and the three siblings had become warriors within the past year and were still close enough. They closed ranks quickly; as Thistleclaw’s son, apprentice, victim, and siblings . . . there were eyes on all of them. Thistleclaw was put immediately under strict and constant supervision while ThunderClan decided what to do with him, and he still,, managed to get in a skirmish and die like a loser before anything happened. (Not going into too much detail about this, but I will at some point because it's important to me and the gang's story)

And they lived happily ever after until the divorce :)) more on that later :))

now for runningred(tiger)...

While Redtail was attracted to Tigerclaw first because of his character, it was different with Runningwind. Redtail realized one day that huh, that lanky tabby is actually sort of cute, couldn't stop the thought from developing, had a bit of a crisis, then talked to Tigerclaw.

Long story short (bear with me, I'm still working on Runningwind's character pre-Sandstorm) — Redtail intentionally pursued and got to know Runningwind with Tigerclaw's blessing. Of course, there were challenges as Runningwind reciprocated Redtail's feelings and a new dynamic developed. But they were all happy, and Runningwind and Tigerclaw maintained a good friendship over their mutual partner.

the rest <3

Eight moons before Rusty joined ThunderClan, Redtail gave birth to Sandkit and her littermates. Unfortunately, only Sandkit survived, which was hardest on Tigerclaw. Redtail stayed in the nursery with her until she was weaned enough for him to return to his deputy duties, at which point Runningwind took over as nursery parent.

All seemed to be going well from the outside, but Tigerclaw and Redtail started fighting more after Sandkit was born. Redtail was never fully blind to Tigerclaw's more violent tendencies, but trusted and encouraged his mate to do what was good. Especially after seeing what came of Thistleclaw. Still, having a kit of their own opened Redtail's eyes to what Tigerclaw was truly becoming, even with Redtail and Runningwind at his side — and it scared him.

When Sandkit was only four moons old, Redtail was surprised to find that he was pregnant again. This spurred him to truly break it off with Tigerclaw. He still loved him, very much so, but the relationship was not good for either of them at that point. Redtail did not keep Tigerclaw from their kits, but he did make the stipulation that their time together had to be under supervision.

Time passed, and Sandkit became Sandpaw around the same time her brothers were born. Swiftkit (named by Runningwind, clearly) and Lynxkit were certainly bulkier than their older sister and both survived until apprenticehood — but that's a topic for a later date.

Also for later is the, y'know, murder. Because Runningwind may be spared from Tigerclaw's teeth, but Redtail was not. Still, they were happy while they lasted, and their legacy, both good and bad, continues on through their kits.

aight that's all for now ^^ i've got descriptions of the three kits plus a leopardfoot design queued up so be on the lookout for those! byee

[flowerandblood]

The Impossible Choice Series

✨ Music Themes Moodboard ✨

If you want to feel musically how these series and characters feel, then I invite you to listen to the songs, that I associate with them - it's not even about the lyrics, but just the vibe!

Series Main Theme

Hurts - The Road

Aemond Theme

IAMX - I Come With Knives

Prince Aemond terrified everyone and most of the court kept their distance from him. He didn't talk or discuss with anyone, he only practised and fought with Criston Cole and made no friends. He seemed a cold, stone-faced, haughty man without a heart and without his ground, which is why, along with being called a one-eyed prince, he was called the prince of nothing.

Lady Baratheon Theme

A-ha - Minor Earth, Major Sky

From childhood, Lady Baratheon was regarded as an extension of her father and brother, and although she herself was not taken seriously, her father and brother's attachment to her was genuine. They saw in her an ease with the sword, an understanding of battles and the affairs of men, that her sisters shunned. This led to a situation that, although happy, Lady Baratheon was not well prepared for what awaited her at the royal court, a loneliness and cool politeness that had nothing to do with sincerity.

Aemond and Lady Baratheon Theme

U2 - Electrical Storm

There was a perception at court at the start of the prince's marriage to Lady Baratheon that he had subjugated her, treating her objectively like just another servant. As Lady Baratheon made it clear, that she had no intention of befriending the ladies of the court, and as the affections her husband had for her grew, the women began to refer to her derisively as 'the princess'. To the ladies of the court their love seemed animalistic and brutal, the prince being able to grab her suddenly by the cheeks or neck in front of everyone gathered. Their servants strolling past the prince's chamber at night, reported to their ladies the sounds as if of pain and pleasure that came from there, certainly belonging to the married couple.

Aegon Theme

Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again

Aegon knew that his younger brother had everything he needed to be a good king - patience, self-control, determination, a thirst for knowledge, perseverance in training and combat. Despite his jealousy, he never refused to use his skills, seeing him as the only valuable adviser, not believing and not trusting his grandfather and father.

Helaena Theme

Enya - Aníron

Helaena has always shown incredible sensitivity and closeness to the animal world, which is why she easily tamed her dragon, astounding her brothers. She was haunted by dreams and visions, words the meaning of which she did not understand, which then found reflection in the future.

Daemon Theme

U2 - Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill me

Daemon was a child, and then a young man, wild, uncouth, unstoppable. His bond with the dragon was incredible, they were connected by fiery characters. He was famous for his explosiveness and mood swings, thrown into madness, overwhelmed by an excess of emotions, pushed aside as a second brother, a non-heir to the throne.

Alys Theme

Garbage - The World Is Not Enough

After her half-brother Larys Strong took over, she knew, that she had to act quickly. She saw blood in her dream, she saw a rose bush without flowers, full of thorns. She knew what it meant, she knew, that evil would come with him. She avoided him as much as she could, hiding in the shadows, wrapping his guards and fellows around her finger. She saw the way they looked at her, knew what to do, how to make them want her. She didn't impose on them, merely showing them what they could have, her gaze was enough to make sure, that they couldn't forget her.

I'll probably add some more songs in the future, so stay tuned! I have a lot of memories with all of this songs but Electrical Storm is one of my favorites love songs and it's fit it here perfectly, if you didn't ever hear it before, do it now!!!! Remember that all fanarts and music videos are welcome, I love your involvement in this story!!!!

[pyro-madder]

Do you have any ideas of Djura's relationships with other characters? Or maybe what was his vision of them? (Especially Ludwig, since, you know, *neigh neigh* in Old Yharnam)

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) thank you Faree for enabling me as usual

Funnily enough, Katy asked me the same a while ago ! My brainrot contaminates you sdfghj

Powder Kegs and associates || basically what I covered in my previous essay already !

Oto : made a person by french localization, the Kegs' founder ; naturally, looked up to as both a craftsman and a hunter by all its members, the then-apprentice Djura included.

Izzy : a friend to Oto, Djura also respected them despite not interacting with them much. It came with a sense of kinship after the burning, since Izzy explored the connection between man and beast and was branded a heretic for it.

Jozef, Brandr (ally) and Ysle (disciple) : Jozef is slightly older and a tutor in Izzy's teachings, Ysle is a younger Keg apprentice, and Brandr... it's a blood pact they got at this point, since I headcanon the guy as a survivor of the burning. Beyond these subtle variants, all four have a strong "it's us against the world" companionship, and because Brandr's the only one remaining today, he and Djura are fiercely protective of one another. of course, there may have been some benefits between the four of them ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

2. Fellow Old Hunters || my favorite one, for which I'll approximatively paste what I wrote to Katy !

Gascoigne, Henryk & Eileen : because they were, with Djura, my favorites when I started playing, I am greatly attached to two ideas : them being mentor figures to the Hunter, and them having been friends with each other. But I understand this theoretical friendship would be cut short - all 4 of them were present for the burning, Eileen would start putting distance between herself and those she could very well have to hunt down one day, while Djura would exile himself, possibly even fight with the others who don't seem to follow his reasoning. Still, my soft little heart says they "saw him off" before he went back down to Old Yharnam. And that was it. Djura still thinks about them, but even when the Hunter is with him he judges he has no right to ask about their whereabouts, that if he wants to know, he has to go back to the surface and see for himself. Of course, by the time the Hunter has pacified him, we know said whereabouts, so... bittersweetness all around :')

I also think he and Gascoigne fooled around back then. I mean there's the poetry of their opposed narratives, and also i've seen fanart of them that has rewired my brain. dilf4dilf

Here's a wip i'm hoping to finish of their wild wild youth :')

Valtr : I don't actually have anything for now but I need to think about it, since the bozo uses a Keg weapon. They could have met through Henryk 🤔

3. The Beasts ||

Albina (Blood-Starved Beast) : I haven't decided whether they did have a relationship, or if it was just Djura being smitten like the fool he is 😔 but either way they were good friends, and Djura tried to protect her all the way until her transformation. He still would be, but between the poison AOE and him looking suddenly very edible to her, he's somewhat limited.

Old Yharnam Beasts : implied just above - it's a hard-on headcanon that he is NOT safe from them either, something that I've briefly mentionned here. In fact, I think a beast is behind his missing eye, because i love irony :^) So, he protects them, but doesn't approach them.

4. The Church ||

The beasts down Old Y are no threat because there are no civils left to harm in their vicinity, unlike in the rest of Yharnam ; so Djura hates the Hunt, not necessarily the hunters, as long as they keep out of his turf. He's aware of the blood of his own hands, and is retired in name and quarry only. However, he knows who is reponsible for the Hunt and is twice as less patient with Church hunters - if they don't listen to his very first callout, he'll open fire without further ado.

Before the burning, he hunted like anyone else, with enthusiasm even, but the moment he realized that there were still human civils in the fray that had not been evacuated beforehand, and then that it had been intentional because ALL beasts were actually civils, hoo boy. At first he was too shocked processing that + the deaths of most Kegs, including Oto, but when sometimes later Laurence publicly announced the heresy of Kegs and Izzy... bro was ready to fistfight him LOL

i like to imagine that Laurence granted him audience, even showing him his own signs of transformation, only for Dju to tell him "I hope they burn you" SDFGHJKL somehow he was allowed to walk out alive, because getting blacklisted functionally made him unable to do anything - he was (almost) alone, had no proof to work with, everyone would call him crazy if he tried anything AND he was still monitored by the Church if he did try anything.

Regarding Ludwig, no specific feelings beyond overall disdain for carrying out Laurence's every order (when he's not listening to the so-called guidance of his magic sword... but Djura doesn't know that), which included leading the burning. There's definitely things to be said about Ludwig's "heroism" in such a corrupted institution, but again Djura doesn't know him enough to make a proper in-depth judgement (and that's not me saying I don't have a proper analysis yet either)

5. And last but not least... ||

The Good Hunter : well. On the one hand, there's canon and what I said about it already (pacifying him is not befriending him, and his general distrust towards us is part of the overall narrative, etc.). On the other hand, I crave those positive interactions and him being an unofficial tutor for our hunter, quiet conversations on the tower and less quiet ones in bed, perhaps with Brandr too because yes. To think he's one of the sanest characters and WILL make it to the ending if you don't go out of your way to kill him yourself... well, it wouldn't last anyway, even on good terms with the Hunter on a Sunrise ending - he'd refuse to leave Old Yharnam.

Those are all I can think about for now ! Which is already a lot sdfgh thank you for reading to the end, and again for asking :') Your tags are right, on our own damned blogs these posts should be spontaneous and not have to wait for an ask :'')

[starclast]

About my experience with Scooby Doo

Okey, if you have seen some of my fanart carefully, you may have noticed that...I'm a Scooby Doo fan. And honestly: who isn't? No matter in what year you were born, you pretty much grew up alongside (at least) one of the many- MANY series and movies from the Scooby Doo franchise. So, even if you are not really a *fan*, you certainly know about this famous gang with a talking dog and the *meddling kids* phrase is probably stuck on your head. Aaand so, as a fan, I just wanted to talk about my experience with some of stuff from this franchise!!

To be honest, my first REAL interaction with the franchise is...pretty blurry. Like, I honestly cant remember which one was the true beginning!! O__O But still, I can say a couple of guesses. First, I own a vhs of the *first* and one of the best Scooby Doo movies in existence: Scooby Doo on Zombie Island. When I saw this movie for the first time I was confused about why they were separated and other things so...I think I wasn't really aware of the gang before that?? Still, I really enjoyed this movie and it remains as one my favorites till this day (P.S: And surprisingly, I didn't get scared at all!? :o)

My second guess is that I saw an episode of the old series (one from the 60s to 90s) on TV one day, though...I cant really say what episode exactly, hehe.

Still, I (kind of) remember when I saw the first live action Scooby Doo movies for the first time! I think...before I saw the first movie, I already watched a scene from the second one, specifically: the one where the gang is knocking at the door of the *villain*s haunted house. Buuut well, back to the first one! I saw (the full movie) on TV one day and I really, REALLY loved it! It had some kind of charm and atmosphere which I can't really describe, but it caught me immediately!! And ooh boy, the Latin Spanish dub was incredibly funny!! XD This movie also remains as one of my favorites of all time!

It took a couple of years (but not really too long) for me to see the second movie. I also liked it, but not as much as the first one, which is curious, considering that aesthetically, this movie is more Scooby Doo like than the first one. Oh, and as a side note! I didn't ship Shelma back then. Actually, I didn't ship anyone inside the gang. I mean, I saw Fred and Daphne kissing and all but I didn't think much about it =__=

Years passed and I grew up seeing all the Scooby Doo animated movies that came year after year. Back then there was also the *What's new Scooby Doo?* series (which theme song still remains in my head), but aside from one or two episodes which I was lucky to see on TV, I couldn't see much of it. That's why the movies were my only Scooby Doo related entertainment.

More years passed and then it came out: Mystery Incorporated, one of the best (if not the BEST) Scooby Doo series of all time. Sadly, I wasn't really interested in it back then. I was in my teen years and since I had *grew up*, it would be very childish of me to watch a Scooby Doo show now. Still, I was lucky enough to watch some episodes on TV. One of the episodes I saw featured Shaggy and Velma as a couple and then I was like *Wait- they can date??*. I stood silent for a few moments, then I was like *Cool* and kept viewing the episode like noting. I still didn't think much of it, but the vision I had of their characters had already changed a little.

Some time later, I found a place where they sold DVDs and along the many of them, I found one with Scooby Doo movies which I hadn't see before. I bought it and then I finally got to see movies like *Scooby Doo and the witch ghost* for the first time. A few months later, I also found two DVDs with the two seasons of Mystery Incorporated, so I said *why not?* and bought them. And Oh-MY, I LOVED IT!! Sadly, the episodes weren't exactly in order and the second DVD didn't have all the episodes of the second season so, I couldn't finish it, but still, it was worth it! here, I kind of started to actually ship Shelma.

Many-MAAAANY years later (now in college), I finally got the chance to see the series as it was supposed to be, and I just have to say: I loved it even more! Although the series itself *broke* the ship, I still liked it and couldn't *move on* from it as I was supposed to...and so, here I am, still shipping it!

Aand finally, we come to the fanmade live action Scooby Doo series. I never heard or saw anything about this project until last year, when I stumbled upon the pilot on Youtube. I was curious so I watched it. I didn't have any expectations, but I was gladly surprised with what I saw. I had such a good time that I immediately showed it to my friends! And still now, I'm eagerly waiting for the next episode! (...While creating my own fantasies already, as you know XD)

One thing I wasn't sure when I was first sawing the pilot, was about Chris Villain, who takes the role of Shaggy in this series. As he have said, he doesn't look like Shaggy at all (physically speaking, of course), so I was a little out of place at the start...But as the minutes passed, I got to care and actually SEE this version of Shaggy functioning (it even made me cry at one point for how rough his situation is TT w TT). Now, he is definitely my favorite out of the cast (about both, actors, and characters) and I'm excited to see what else will come across him ^w^/

So yeah, as you can see, I ship Shelma in almost all its forms. It may not be the *right* ship for a lot of people, but I still like them and think they can work together as long as someone cares to do them right.

EXTRA:

To be honest, I NEVER saw the TV movies before. If it weren't that one day I stumbled upon them out of pure luck, I would probably continue to know nothing about these movies. At first, I didn't want to watch them because...lets be real: it didn't look good to me. The cast, the scenery, even Scooby look kind of weird. But well, I decided to give them a chance anyway. The first one was okey, nothing really extraordinary, but enjoyable still. The second was...*particular* to say the least (so much that I had to close my eyes out of embarrassment sometimes). Still, it was nice to know this version of their characters because I think they would be funny to work with!

[lvsifer]

For the latest character ask game:

8, 12 (something I don't know yet if there is), 14 and 17 for Mairon/Sauron because I'm a predictable person

1, 5 and 9 for Feanor

3, 21 and 25 for Kylo Ren

Omg mein Feini these are SO much, I am jumping from wall to wall. <3

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

I am not a fan when he is written with Melkor as an abusive ship. To each their own, but that is not at all how I see them.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Okay, the only one I might not have told you yet is, that in a real-world AU, he'd be French. Might have been the Lestat influence on me. But. SEE THE VISION. Also, look, to finally settle our horse dicourse: what about him riding on a cool skeleton horse like in that one painting we both reblogged?

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

High femme goth in-universe. Real world AU, I'd put him in a lot of gold and pearls and furs. In-universe getting more and more goth as Necromancer/Sauron. More plain as Annatar (Shadow of Morder my beloved), and Slut (tm) when he is Ar Pharazon's slave.

17. What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

I don't think there is one I can think of right now. I am either insanely horny about ships with him or shove them aside in complete disgust. Polarising guy.

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

HAHAHAHHAHAHHA. This bastard needs to be smacked against the wall like a mosquito. Love him for his hot unbearable cuntiness and the war crimes, hate him for the same reason. Needs to be pegged.

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Had to think on this, but Hozier - Eat Your Young.

Esp this bit:

Pull up the ladder when the flood comes Throw enough rope until the legs have swung Seven new ways that you can eat your young Come and get some Skinning the children for a war drum

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

Would kill him on sight.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

What the movies have done to him after Force Awakens. The whole redemption bit was just...so bad.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

Ohhh, I love how immediate he feels as a character and how unrefined he is. This rawness mixed with his absolutely pathetic desire to be wanted by those who despise him (Hux, or imo Vader of he were still life. Have written fic about this.)

Nothing in particular that I don't like!

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Man it's been a while. I think I first saw fanart of him on my dash shortly after TFA came out and thought "who is this cool brooding goth"? Now I have written so much about him, probably some of the most I have ever written for a character (did not expect that tbh) and have a million head canons for him. He's my horrible son. <3

[shallyne]

Through Blood and Tears

Fanart by @edgyellie

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter four! Feyre's backstory. Enjoy! Read slowly pls it seems a little hurried otherwise

Words: 2,832

TW: Violence, graphic depictions of Violence, blood, DEATH

A murder in Rhys's court makes Rhys and his brothers pay a visit to his cousin Mor, who is a vampire. For the first time they are meeting the leader of the Vampire coven Mor lives with and they are shocked to realize it's the girl they believed to be mortal.

Chapter Four

They didn't come back for only her father, they came to destroy everything he owned, everything he loved. Her father had gambled too much with the wrong people and he had doomed them all. Their enforcer came as they were about to eat supper and from there on everything went to shit. The men were too fast for Feyre to grab a knife, utterly defenseless as they held her back to watch how the other men shattered her father's bones one by one. Feyre begged them to spare him, spare their family. Tears had blurred Feyre's Vision so much that she could barely see what happened before her, but the crunch of her father's bones still echoed in her ears. Feyre's pleas were pressed out between sobs. She despised her father, Feyre had decided at that moment. She despised him for not giving them a warning, not giving Feyre a chance to bring her sisters far away from this, to save them.

Elain met Feyre's eyes across the room where the other men held her and Nesta, her sobs echoing Feyre's own. Something shone in Elain’s eyes, something akin to a goodbye as one of the men pushed. "No!" Nesta screamed as Feyre tried to fight her way out of the men's grip. She almost succeeded when their grip tightened again and something cold was pressed against Feyres throat. Something sharp, like a dagger. For a moment, only a quick second, Feyre debated to move so they would slit her throat. It would be a mercy compared to what they would do to her but she couldn't, her sisters needed her help.

"Please," she sobbed. "My sister's are blameless, let them go." They didn't stop, they pushed Elain forward again. "If you want to hurt one of us, then hurt me. Let them go, please."

"Don't worry, little Archeron, your turn will be soon enough." one of the men growled in her ear. Too close. She tried again to break free but their grip was too strong. Defenseless, they were utterly defenseless. One of the men who held Feyre chuckled as they shattered Elain’s leg first. Nesta roared furiously as Elain screamed in pain. Feyre's knees buckled as she threw up, not being able to stomach the sight. Feyre could only beg, and she did. She begged them to spare her sisters. She offered herself, she offered to get the money they were after. She offered everything and more but it seemed like her pleas for exemption were drowned out by the screaming of her sister and the crushing of her bones as they were shattered, leaving Elain a whimpering mess beside their father's broken body. To Feyre's horror she could still see him twitch, still alive. Feyre swallowed hard and by the time they pushed Nesta forward everything Feyre could think was I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Maybe she said it out loud, because Nesta looked at her as if she understood. Maybe she saw it in her eyes and as their gazes met Feyre knew that was the last time they looked at each other. No one would survive this day. No wonder in this world could undo these horrors. Feyre could barely stand as Nesta's whimpers sounded. Her sisters tried to hold back, to not give these men the satisfaction but it didn't take long and her screams started to reverberate through the room. The only reason Feyre was still on her feet were the men who held her.

It felt like an eternity went by when they pushed Feyre so hard to the floor that her knees cracked as she landed. Groaning, she pushed up on her hands, looking at the floor. She fully kneeled in something wet. A glance to the floor and the bodice of her dress told her it was blood. So much blood. They had pushed Feyre in the puddle of her sisters and father's blood. Feyre swallowed again, everything churning in her stomach. This was it. These were her last moments, staring at the pooling blood beneath her fingertips. Much of it was a blur from there on. She remembered the pain and how she cried out, witnessing the satisfaction in their sick faces. She had almost cried out for her mother who had never cared for her anyway. Feyre doubted she would have saved her, even if she was still alive. Certainly no one had heard her prayers to keep her sisters safe as their father went out in mourning, losing all their money. No, the worst case scenario had happened and as Feyre could feel every bone being splintered, tears were rolling down her face.

She didn't know when the men left, leaving all their broken bodies right there. She didn't know when the fire broke out, how it had started from the beginning. Feyre's head turned to her right, where she looked directly into her father's lifeless eyes. She took all her strength to turn her head to the left, the pain knocking the breath out of her chest, but she did it. She could only see Nesta's twisted legs, angled so unnaturally that another sob escaped Feyre. She couldn't hear anything, the roaring in her eyes drowned everything out. Feyre hated herself for not being able to give up on hope, even in her last moments. She prayed, no matter how hopeless it was, she prayed to anyone who would listen to save them. To save her sister's. Feyre ignored the fact that they were far past repair and nothing but a wonder could fix them. She prayed as the flames came closer, encircling them and she prayed that her own death would soon claim her. Every breath hurt so much that Feyre Feared she would throw up. Crying, hoping, praying she closed her eyes and counted. The heat nearing, the pain unbearable. Why did death not claim her already? Why did no one listen?

When Feyre felt hands on her face, she almost let out a sign of relief. This was it. Death. Death was her to get her, to claim her. To escort her to the afterlife. But death didn't utter a word and his hands slid to her neck, two fingers pressing right above her pulse. Then they cupped her face again and something deep rumbled over the roaring in her ears. Feyre opened her eyes, to look at death. But it wasn't death that looked down at her, probably a few years older than Feyre. His short, red hair illuminated by the flames behind him and his russet eyes wholly fixed on her. It was only a heartbeat that she could take him in before a wave of pain hit her so hard that she had to fight to stay conscious. The edges of her visions started to black out as the man slid his hands under her.

"No!" Feyre panted, sweat and blood and tears slick on her face. "My sisters! Save my sisters. Please, my–" unconsciousness threatened to claim her before she could finish. "My sisters."

The man said something, but Feyre didn't hear. She couldn't hear because at last, she finally lost consciousness.

Feyre awoke with an audible gasp. The room was dark, it was the middle of the night. A bad dream. It was all a bad dream. She took a few shakingly breaths before she slowly sat up and leaned against the headboard. Just now she realized she was trembling and felt incredibly cold. Never in her life did she have such a vivid dream. The pain still echoed in her bones and she could still feel the blood caking her skin. The darkness made it impossible to see something but it still felt like the whole room was spinning. Dehydration, probably, she couldn't remember when she last drank something. Unsure if she would be able to get on her feet, she patted with her hand along the mattress until she could feel Elain to ask her if she would get her a glass of water, but all Feyre met was air. She must have skittered to the edge of the bed. Although when Feyre tried the same on the other side of the bed, she hit air again. A single bed. Feyre was in a single bed and not the double bed she had shared with her sisters. Her breathing became quicker and her hand snaked up to her neck where she could still feel the phantom touch from the stranger in her dreams. Although now that space felt slightly swollen. Feyre softly dragged her finger over the swell and could make out two tiny, identical wounds. As if something had bitten her.

Scared, Feyre slowly slid to the edge of the bed, putting her feet on the ground. Just then she could make out breathing, from someone else in the room. She knew the person wasn't directly beside her but Feyre could hear them nonetheless, feel their presence.

"Wait." a deep voice said. Then something rattled and then they lit a single candle. It was enough to make out the many to realize who he was. That he was the same man from Feyre's dreams. Scared out of her mind she scrambled back and stumbled over the bed, hitting the ground on the other side. Quickly she stood up again and rested her hand on the wall, to give her some kind of stability as she stared at him from across the room, standing on her trembling legs.

"I am not your enemy." he said, holding his hands up in a gesture to calm Feyre down, unsuccessfully.

"Where–where am I?" she asked. "Where are my sisters?"

The man sat in a cushioned chair, a side table stood to his right, on top sat the candle he just lit.

He frowned and rubbed his eyes. Then he slowly leaned forward and opened his mouth. Then closed it again. He repeated that a few times before he cleared his throat and said "I'm sorry but there wasn't a way to save them. When I arrived, they were already dead. I couldn't do anything to help them."

The whole world stopped. It was not a dream, everything had happened. They were tortured to death. Feyre scrambled farther along the wall until she hit a corner. Feyre expected her heartbreak to quicken up, she expected a pounding in her head or a roaring in her ears but nothing happened. Now that she focused, she couldn't feel her heartbeat at all. What happened? Feyre looked at her hands, her arms. Everything looked exactly like it should, no sign of the torture she had gone through mere hours ago. "What did you do?" she asked.

The man stood up and confidently walked over to the bed, sat down on the edge, closer to Feyre, and looked at her. "I turned you." he said.

"Into what?" Feyre asked. Everything Feyre knew Was that Fae existed, in the north above the wall, but she was fairly certain that they couldn't turn other beings into Fae, and the creatures that roamed their lands couldn't either.

He tilted his head and told her "I turned you into one of us. A vampire."

Feyre shook her head. Again and again. That wasn't possible. "Vampires don't exist, they are just legends."

His russet eyes were only fixed on Feyre as he chuckled, softly as if any loud noise could scare her away. "I fear that is not true, sweetheart. What's your name?"

"What is your name?" she spat back.

The man's mouth tugged up. "My name is Eris. Now tell me your name."

If Feyre could, she would step farther away from Eris, getting as much distance between them as she could but she already was backed into a corner. "Feyre." she said quietly. "My name is Feyre."

"That's a beautiful name," he said. "I assume you want to clean up before we continue this talk." he jerked his head to a door to Feyre's right, a door that she hadn't seen at all. "There is a change of clothes for you inside after you're done. Be quick."

She nodded and without any other word, she hurried into the bathing chamber. Candles were already lit inside the room, so when Feyre stepped in front of the mirror she could see all of the dried blood on what was left of her pale pink dress. She didn't remember that she ripped her dress anywhere but the hem of the skirt was in pieces. So much blood had covered her that you could barely make out any pink spots. Grief overcame her so strongly that she had to turn away from the mirror as she slipped out of her dress. Her sister's were dead. She was not. To her horror she didn't know if she was relieved that she had survived or if she wanted to die, too. She feared that she leaned towards the latter.

Feyre quickly washed and slipped into the clothes that Eris had left for her. The clothes were too big, assumably they were Eris' own clothes.

When she left the bathing chambers again, Eris stood in the middle of the room and turned when he heard the door open. "Alright," he said. "You need to listen to me very closely now, okay? I can't stay with you so you need to remember what I tell you about vampirism."

Feyre could only nod, even if she had a thousand questions. Although Eris didn't wait for her to say anything else as he started his lecture about vampires. She sat on the bed, fiddling nervously with her fingers, while Eris stalked around the room. It was hard for Feyre to focus but she learned that vampires were faster, extremely fast if you willed it, and stronger than mortals. Stronger than most Fae, even. Feyre felt physically sick when he told her that vampires could only consume blood but they didn't need to feed as often as Fae or mortals. A few drops could last them often enough. She should be careful though because when she gets too hungry, her instincts take over and when that happens, vampires would kill anything to feed. Feyre would never let that happen. Also all of Feyre's senses were heightened now that she was a vampire and she healed faster. Except for sunburns or wounds inflicted by fire because ultimately, vampires can only die if someone punches a wooden stake through their heart or burns them. Eris only chuckled when Feyre told him that legends claimed that vampires would burn in the sun. "Vampires don't like the sun because they are prone to sunburns and it will take forever until a vampire's sunburn heals." he explained.

Feyre nodded and tried to remember it all. Apparently she also had an ability to control people, but only if they made eye contact. When Eris finished explaining, he gave her cup full of blood. She had almost let the cup fall when the scent hit her nostrils, a scent so familiar. Only a few hours ago she was surrounded by the stench of it. Terrified she took the cup and took a sip, and gagged. As she wanted the pry the cup away from her lips, Eris's hand grabbed her neck with one hand and the cup with another, forcing her to keep drinking. "You will get used to it." he told her. "It won't stay like this."

Feyre had to fight to not throw up, staring at the carpet as she clasped a hand over her mouth. When she looked up again, Eris had thrown on a jacket. He fished out a sack with coins and a dagger that he had kept somewhere, and pressed it in her hands.

"Wait." Feyre said. "Why can't you stay? Don't leave me."

Eris shook his head. "I can't, Feyre. I am not even supposed to be here."

Feyre ran after him when he left the room, the house. It looked like they were residing in an Inn but she didn't have a clue where they were. Her village had an inn but it was more run down than this inn.

"I shouldn't be alive right now, but I still am!" she called after him as they entered the crisp night. "Please, Eris. Don't leave me I can't do this alone. Please."

Eris turned around and for a moment Feyre thought she had convinced him to stay or that he'd take her with him but again he shook his head. "I'm sorry." he said. "You can do this, Feyre. You know everything that you need to know. You're an immortal now, make something of it."

"Please." Feyre whispered, desperate.

Eris turned his back to her, ignoring her plea.

As Feyre watched him leave her there, all alone without a plan what to do, she promised herself that she would never request or beg or ask anything of anyone ever again. It was a waste of breath, either way.

Tagging: @starfall-spirit @reverie-tales @brieslibrary

[rosewood-multifandom-writer]

Just because I simply wanted to do it and not because someone asked, I decided that I wanted to list everything I like and dislike about my favorite characters. Link to original post (OP deactivated their account, so I’m using the link of one of the reblogs):

I’m gonna start with V since me scrolling through the “dmc v” tag is how I came across this.

Favorite Thing I Like About Them: His design. I am a sucker for gothic/emo designs, not to mention the awesome tattoos, so seeing V’s design drew me in. And so it began my thirst for this goth man whore.

Least Favorite Thing About Them: I barely have anything bad to say about V, but the closest I can think of is the fact that he got such a nice alternate costume in a GACHA GAME. I hate Gacha games because they are the most obvious boring and bland money grabbers and the fact that the only time he officially got an alternate costume is in Devil May Cry, Peak of Combat.

Favorite Line: “Don’t worry… I’ll be gentle.” For… reasons 🤭. Okay but for real, that aside, I like his, “I have no name, I am but two days old,” line.

BrOTP: V and Nero, because technically, Nero would be interacting with his father in his 43 day old goth phase.

OTP: None. I’m indifferent to him (while I’m at it Vergil) being shipped with Lady.

NOTP: V paired up with Dante or Nero. I will move on before I make an unfunny Sweet Home Alabama joke.

Random Headcanon: He’s a messy eater with specific foods. Despite how gentlemanly and somewhat polite he is, things get messy if you give him a burger. Even if he starts to get it after like the 5th time.

Unpopular Opinion: I’m not sure if this is an “unpopular opinion,” since a lot of other people agree with this too, but nonetheless, I have no problems with V being his own character. It’s mainly because when I personally look at V and Vergil, I see two different people.

V is basically who Vergil could have been had that incident at their home not have happened or if he and Dante switched places. Vergil chooses not to open up emotionally or make himself vulnerable because he is an emotionally constipated power seeking blue demon, but V chose to be vulnerable in front of Trish and then Nero.

Even with that twist at the climax of DMC5, I will always view the two as separate characters.

Song I associate with them: Joke answer: Emo Boy by Ayesha Erotica.

Serious answer: Tourniquet by Evanescence (I thought long and hard about this one and could not come up with anything else).

Favorite picture of them: Fanart wise? @orosuz who drew very cute artwork of Shadow licking V’s cheek affectionately.

Officially? That one Visions of V panel I reblogged under my “goth poet (my dmc v tag)” where he’s eating cooked demon meat and saying, “this tastes vile” while he’s STILL eating it.

[esparafuso]

Monday, November 7th, 2022

Dear Diary, where do I even begin. Perhaps saying I still can't believe I saw my favourite band performing live for the first time.

I'm an anxious person and shows always seemed so far away from me, from where I lived and from what I thought I'd have the guts of attending. If it wasn't for my friend Lya (@/sorethpid) I'd perhaps still be dreaming about how cool it would be if I lived the same experience I keep seeing others have for years and years.

In an impulse, we bought tickets for Primavera Sound 2022 happening in São Paulo. It wasn't cheap, but both of us had savings and were crazy enough to spend it on a ticket and flight tickets and a hotel room.

We live in different states, so it was thrilling to meet her again (third time personally), as we met on the internet 6 years ago here on tumblr, two artists drawing Arctic Monkeys fanart and rambling to the other about our favourite things about them, and our favourite album, and how much we wish we had the chance of hearing them live.

It happened on Saturday, November 5th. Her first festival, my first show ever in life, we got to the place and tried to keep it cool among all the stylish people around. It was okay though, we were just happy to be there. We decided to buy two donuts (we admittedly didn't plan food very well, too anxious to get to the place already) and after a couple stops we headed to the stage to take a look, but decided to stay there already when we saw the narrow place and the realisation that soon the whole thing would be packed w ppl hit us (later on, we saw we would better had stopped by a nearby bathroom for Lya, but okay)

The gig would start at 10pm, and we were there at 4:30pm. We got to know the music of a sweet artist called Helado Negro, which we supported and danced along even not knowing the lyrics. One hour and a half break, and then came Interpol. I personally didn't listen to the band much, but they kicked ass and made everyone super pumped and jumpy (myself included). Another one hour and a half before AM.

Gigs aren't kind to shorter ppl, we learned that. We tried our best to adjust and see the stage (which was actually way closer than we expected to get) and managed with some struggle. Our boots were also a literal pain, and I don't remember feeling my feet hurting this bad in my life, to the point I had to keep dancing to keep the pain manageable - only forgotten when an artist was performing. Especially the ones we were dying to see more.

Seeing the stage being set up made us already excited. Matt's golden drumkit, Nick's bass, Alex's and Jamie's guitars going through the soundproof, curtains being set on the back of the stage - we saw THREE regular sized disco balls being brought up when Interpol's stage was being set, and we knew who they belonged to, and yet they didn't make it to the final thing for AM.

After 3 false alarms, here they come. Screams ringing in my ear, I saw those four men (plus two) walk into my sight of vision and I can't even describe how I felt. They quickly assumed positions and the heavy synth of Sculptures resonated from the speakers - the The Car song we were more hopeful they would perform (we didn't even know they had played it before in Rio).

the photos really aren't the strongest bcs of how overwhelmed I was and the little space in my phone (another thing I forgot to prepare properly, like an idiot)... some recordings didn't go through, like Potion approaching, which made me sad but at least I got some :'D

I wish I could put here what my eyes saw, because I could see their FACIAL FEATURES from where I was, which was unbelievable close in my book. I managed to save the recording of Pretty Visitors, really hoping to get my beloved Agile Beast's crazy good drumming

I recorded another for Do Me a Favour, my favourite Arctic Monkeys song, where I kept shaking from crying but can't upload here pls of Tumblr's limit of videos in a post.

The whole time I sang and danced and screamed and cried, I just kept repeating in my head that they were real people, they existed, they weren't a fever dream or a gif or a video I saw on the internet, they were living humans right in front of me, and up until now I can't wrap my head around the fact I stood so close to them. I listened to them sing and play a few meters away from me, I could feel Matt's drums resonating in my heart, I saw Nick on the side looking SO soft, Jamie being the closest one, doing his little quirks and hops, Alex singing and dancing and. being a goofie, Matt playing and singing and making me absolutely lose it.

Even now typing all this makes me cry becasue I know I will never forget this experience. I just love and appreciate this band so much. I'm not the fan that knows all the lyrics of ALL songs yet, and I don't have their physical merch and albums, and this was only the first time I saw them live, but they hold a very special and meaningful place in my life that I will never forget.

The crowd overall was amazing, we sang everything they put out, screamed our lungs out and clapped and threw our hands in the air and pleaded them to come back. They waved to everyone and Alex threw us many kisses, and I hope they enjoyed their night as much as we basked in their presence.

Leaving the festival was very difficult due to bad logistics, my feet were incredibly sore, it was super cold outside and hundreds of ppl couldn't get a ride back home for the life of us - but we managed. And even then, when we arrived at the hotel, the only memory in our minds was their presence and their music still buzzing in our heads and hearts.

I hope we will have the chance of going to another one - we sure are thirsty for more now that we saw that it IS possible to see them live - but until then: Thank you Monkeys for this unforgettable night, and for existing and making us feel such strong emotions with your amazing music and journey as a band overall.

P.s.: thank you also whoever recorded the gig properly, because then we can see everything we lived in another, high definition angle, for the rest of our lives.

[desultory-novice]

Ask game let's hear it for: 2,8,9

Wah! Thank you!

2 / Favorite Thing About My Style

Probably that it's fast? XD I remember worrying early on that I'd never be a really stunning artist because I didn't have as much time to devote to it as other people. A smart friend told me to just focus on making pieces I could call "complete" in a short amount of time.

Basically, adjust my view of what my "art" would be. And it worked! I have other artist's styles that I like more, but I realized too some of my favorite fanart back in the day was fanart that looked like it was pulled right out of someone's sketchbook. With big chunky lines and little marks and forms that tell you where their focus was!

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[More Answers Below!]

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8 / Most Fun and Least Fun Parts

I really enjoy the "concept" phase. You put just anything down, and because I'm a Kirby fanartist, that's usually a circle and then you just keep adding onto it. A pair of triangle horns ears? You've got a Magolor. Big eyes? A Marx. Draw a circle on top? A Meta Knight. Draw a circle halfway below it, a Dedede. Etc...

I'll often pick a perspective at random and then start filling in what the character might be seeing/doing from that!

Least fun is figuring out things like light and where my characters are in space. I've got a vision impairment that means I can't see "depth" in RL so perspective is hard for me. I found a trick for lighting that has you douse the object in shadow and then "carve out" the light, which helps because I can imagine what's on "top" easier than what casts shadows, but I still haven't gotten perspective down. I've even used 3D models but things just get more confusing somehow!! :cries:

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9 / Finished Piece and Original Sketch

Here's two, based on the fact that I have two different brushes I use for sketching and that leads sometimes leads to two different styles.

The first one, for my Father's Day piece, I did the rough sketch in PaintStorm Studio, which is an under-appreciated little app (It doesn't work flawlessly on iPad but it's highly functional) and is my favorite app for concept sketches because it's like the FocusWriter of drawing apps. Then I imported it to Clip Studio, adjusted the size (I draw my concepts VERY small, usually starting with a box to help figure out how much canvas I want to use) and built it up from there.

The second, I did the sketch in Clip Studio using this soft painterly builder brush I made based on some other artist's brushes. This style of sketch is more "chisel-y" and I'm frequently carving out areas as I draw them by lowering the brush's alpha to zero. It's pretty easy to apply colors on top in this style (as opposed to the previous style, which requires cleaner line work.) I also started this piece as just a solemn, lonely Magolor looking "captured" and regretful. Adding the crown and then adding the reflection in the water came later on.

I was gonna have him be hanging by some Dark Matter looking vines originally, but then I remembered I'd seen someone on JP Twitter say that his magic circles in Soul form were almost like handcuffs restricting his actions, which is why I switched to those.

(You can't see it here from the sketch, but I knew from the beginning I wanted it to be color on a black background.)

One last thing because I think this is probably something weird only I do? (But maybe other novice artists will find it freeing??)

When I'm drawing sequential comics, even for the four-panel ones, because I can lose my train of thought easily, I tend to draw them completely OUT OF ORDER, going with whatever image is strongest in my mind first. Then I just scatter the rest over the page wherever there's room as I get ideas, finally using the lasso tool to re-arrange them later! You can see everything in the proper sequence here!

(You can also see that originally, Marx shows some barely concealed sorrow that Kirby doesn't recognize his childhood friend after all that he's been through. In the finished piece, I had him respond by going all fangs-out crazy instead. He IS a villain after all!)

[mrssimply]

17th: Sleepless

Filling the prompt list with things from my ideas folder, there was still a blank... So I wrote "Slice of life" and it was a mistake because it's was so broad! I didn't even know what I wanted to do, kept thinking up things, they were all bad and worse. In the end, @m-lter helped me without knowing. We had a talk around this fanart about how the boys would have difficulties with falling asleep, or would fall asleep right away only to be woken up by nightmares. So this is the result, which is why it's gifted to her, even though she didn't prompt it.

I also gift this fic to all of you out there who suffer from insomnia: hope Kerry can help you to find the Sandman ;)

You can find the prompt list here.

Every fic will be posted on my AO3 Account here.

It's t-rated. Literally nothing happens ^^'

They have trouble sleeping, Johnny and V. Kerry already knew that about Johnny from the last time he was alive — and how weird is it that he can say it like that : the last time Johnny Silverhand was alive. Anyway, it seems that dying and coming back to life didn’t cure Johnny of his insomnia. Kerry doesn’t know if he can call it insomnia, because Johnny generally falls asleep just fine: he the first one to snore when the three of them settle to sleep after a good fuck. But he doesn’t sleep long before he’s awakened.

Back when they’d just met and lived in a squat together, it was nightmares about the war. Johnny would jerk awake with a gasp, gripping his chrome shoulder so tightly Kerry half imagined it would dent the metal if it was any tighter. His eyes would be open but unseeing even when Kerry turned on the light. In Johnny’s dark pupils, his friend saw the panic, the confusion, the fear and the sadness all swirling around madly. It was what made him keep being so lenient with Johnny, because he knew what hid under the rage and the anger: a lost boy, running in the dark, calling out for help but never receiving it. Kerry fell in love with that boy and never fell out, even when it turned out to be a curse.

Later in the 20’s, when they toured or Johnny crashed at Kerry’s for a few months, generally after a severe injury on a gig, the nightmares turned to other things. Johnny’s own violence came back to haunt him: he would see himself stand in the middle of a fire, not even trying to move, just waiting for the heat to become unbearable, for the smoke to strangle him, for the flames to burn his skin. He would wake up, panting and trembling, and tell Kerry about it only when he’d taken some Blow. 

By the end, he kept dreaming about a crumbling tower, and when Kerry asked him if he ever made it out alive, Johnny would smile at him and say no. His smile was strange, like he knew this dream was some sort of prophetic vision, but couldn’t really find it in himself to care. By then, Johnny was either be rageful, or totally numb, nothing in between.

So, Kerry isn’t surprised by Johnny having nightmares that wake him up after two or three hours of sleep.

Kerry is more surprised about V’s sleeplessness. Sure, V lived through some traumas, too, but from what Kerry knows, it’s about the average kind when you were born and raised as a streekid in Night City. Kerry has some of them, too, like having to fight for water, being offered shelter in exchange for your dignity, being a victim and an aggressor at the same time… 

But apparently, it’s not that. V turns and tosses in bed for hours, waking Kerry up because he keeps moving, fussing with the pillow, rearranging the covers. He’s too cold, then too hot, can’t seem to find a comfortable position. Sometimes he just gives up and goes to tinker with his pistols, or deals with fixer shit. Since Kerry and Johnny keep odd hours, too, they don’t really find it weird, and Kerry isn’t particularly worried because once V is asleep, he can sleep for nineteen hours in one go and not look like a zombie when he wakes up. 

Tonight is apparently a night where V can't find rest. Kerry fell asleep in his arms with a hand over Johnny’s collar bone, over the place he used to have the scars from the field surgery that had saved his life and granted him The Hand. An abomination Kerry is glad he got rid of during his death. The new arm is much sleeker, a lot more sensitive, and has an incredible bonus in Kerry’s eyes: it doesn’t turn Johnny cyberpsycho. So that’s how Kerry fell asleep, or he thought he did but maybe not because he finds himself with eyes wide open something like an hour later, in that strange state of mind where he isn’t sure he really slept. 

One thing is sure: V isn’t sleeping. He sighs loud and deep, and Kerry knows he’s on the verge of giving up and getting out of bed, deeming this night a bad one. Chasing the remnant of his maybe-not-sleep, Kerry turns between the sheets. He finds his input propped against two pillows, scrolling on his favorite app — which apparently contains mostly cute pictures and funny videos of cats — with a tired expression.

He glances at Kerry when he turns.

“Can’t sleep?” the musician asks and V shrugs before dropping the phone on his chest with another weary sigh. He turns on his belly, shifts and moves his head on the pillow until he’s satisfied… Then move again, once more under Kerry’s growing smile before he settles. 

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” the rocker asks with a gravelly voice, whispering as not to wake Johnny up, too. Let him get a few hours more sleep if he can.

“Nothin’,” V replies, eyes roaming over Kerry’s face and the musician sees his shoulders relax somewhat, as if just looking at Kerry has an appeasing effect on him. The singer just raises an eyebrow and V groans, hiding his face in the pillow.

“It’s silly.”

“Well, you know I love silly stories.”

Another muffled huff, then V’s sparkling eyes reappear.

“You know, that gig I did yesterday?”

“The Romeo and Juliet one?” Kerry asks after a moment of thinking. Not only does V rarely speak about his gigs to him — he does with Johnny, because Johnny generally goes along with him — but the superstar isn’t that interested to know about every detail. It would probably make him lose sleep, too.

Yet the musician seems to recall the target was the heir to a rich and influential family, apparently being held against her will by her own grand-parents because she planned on donating most of her fortune to charity. The charity in question was to help the victims of water poisoning caused by her family's industry. Apparently the heir had fallen in love with one of the activists, who was the one who’d contacted V.

“Yeah. Well, I went with that merc, Helen?”

Kerry nods, he’s been hearing about this rising star for a while now. When Johnny is unavailable, V generally asks Helen along.

“The client knows the flat is under heavy automatic security but couldn’t tell us more. So we went to do recon. We climbed the unfinished building on the other side of the street to get to the right level. We were setting up to watch, when suddenly, we stumbled upon construction workers sleeping on site — I mean, I thought they were squatters at first. It surprised us and vice versa so here we are at a standoff. I don’t wanna harm them but they’re really panicky, don’t speak english and have no translators. I try to understand what’s happening when suddenly a fucking rocket —” V explains, whispering so loudly Kerry puts a finger across his lips to tell him to keep quiet. Kerry can’t help but smile at V’s outraged expression that someone dared launching a rocket at him. 

“A fucking rocket,” the merc repeats more quietly, “comes right at us. Apparently we made so much ruckus it alerted the NCPD drones patrolling down the street, which identified us as a threat and just fired. Helen and I ducked, but the construction workers weren’t all so lucky… One got hit by the rocket square in the chest, another fled right into a hole in the ground and fell four stories high…”

V trails off, looking haunted.

“And then Helen and I were dashing madly down the stairs, firing at the drones and hoping the NCPD won’t just be waiting for us when we get to street level. I swear it was the worst recon I ever did,” he finishes, a note of anger in his otherwise really weary voice.

Kerry stays silent, only strokes V’s cheek tenderly. He can feel his input’s pain at innocent lives being lost. It’s exactly what made Kerry and Johnny fall in love with him: after all he’s been through, V still cares, and he cares so much it’s sometimes difficult to bear.

“I keep seeing him fall,” V confesses as he closes his eyes and shuffles closer to Kerry. “Then I keep thinking about the fact it could have been Helen. Then it makes me think about Jackie when we escaped the Konpeki Plaza… and if not that, then i think that i haven't heard from the Aldecaldos in two months and they should have come back by now, or I think about what Dino said about this mysterious BD circle who’s been releasing really hardcore content and I need to fuckin’ find them before they settle in my fuckin’ city for real but I —”

“Hush,” Kerry interrupts him firmly, still stroking his nape gently, “you’re getting all worked up, no wonder you can’t sleep”.

V lets out a dry chuckle and turns away to face the ceiling. 

“I can’t stop, it’s running in a loop in my head.”

“I know.”

He does, it happens to him too, though a lot more rarely since V is in his life. Kerry just moves so he can rest his head against V’s shoulder and caress his stomach, his chest, tracing over the tattoos on his skin.

V catches his hand after a while and brings it to his lips to kiss his knuckles. He looks calmer.

“I keep thinking about everything I could have done to prevent it,” he admits and Kerry smiles. V is an over planner and a control freak when it comes to his work, even more so now that he’s mostly a fixer. He wants to make sure his clients get what they paid for, and to keep his mercs alive, too. Guilt and "ifs" are what’s keeping him awake, and it’s one of the things that makes Kerry sure V is a good guy.

“That’s because you care.”

“I care too much.”

“No, you care just enough. I think it’s normal to feel guilty because two men died for nothing. But it’s not your fault, the NCPD is just trigger happy, especially in the areas they have sponsors living nearby, and those workers shouldn’t have been there. They should have been home, safe and sound, and not sleeping on the construction site because they can’t afford lodgings.”

“Carefull, you’re starting to sound like Johnny,” V snorts good naturedly.

“You know he’s right on these things.”

“Yeah, don’t tell him.”

“I heard it,” Johnny interrupts, turning to face them. He’s probably trying to sound smug but he’s still blinking sleep away so the effect is just cute.

“We woke you up?” V asks with a frown. 

Johnny shakes his head no.

“Nightmares.”

“We didn’t feel you thrash around,” Kerry replies with a worried expression.

“I think I woke up just when it started… Like my brain said ‘nope, not doing this again’ and woke me up.”

He looks confused about this, troubled by the fact his brain wouldn’t happily subject him to more horrific memories of his past.

“Heh, that’s an improvement,” V comments.

“I’m still awake after…” he checks the hour on his holo, “an hour and a half. So I basically took a nap.”

Both Kerry’s inputs sigh dramatically, prompting a laugh out of him.

“Ok, let’s… Let’s do something else, ok. Watch a movie or something, since we’re all awake?”

“Sure,” they reply with little enthusiasm, but Kerry has some for three. With a grin, he throws the covers back and puts on his gown before going to the lounge room downstairs to set up the home cinema. 

Johnny and V join him as the screen finishes lowering itself over the portrait of his naked ass. Kerry has pulled out the plaids and after telling them to settle, he goes to make pop-corn. 

When he comes back, he sits in the middle, and both men put their head on each of his shoulders.

-

Two hours later, Kerry has finished the bowl of pop-corn and he’s sniffling softly as the credits for A Nomad Story scroll down. He missed it when it came out in theaters, but the critics were unanimous about this being the movie of the decade, with magnificent photography, good old school acting and a heart wrenching universal story about love and loss. 

As he wipes his cheeks with the sleeve of his robe, he glances down to see if his inputs liked it, only to chuckle when he discovers they’re both asleep. Johnny's head is actually resting on Kerry's lap, face buried against his stomach. The musician can’t recall feeling him settle like this so he must have been really engrossed in the movie. V is snoring softly, drooling against Kerry’s neck, mumbling something in his sleep.

Kerry smiles, and tries to move. He really needs to get up because he feels all stiff for one, but also because he needs to pee. He gently pushes V the other way, not worried about waking him up now that he’s asleep. He could sleep through the armageddon. With Johnny he’s more careful, but manages to extract himself. Stretching, he groans when his spin pops and shakes himself before walking to the bathroom.

-

When he comes back, thinking about watching another movie, he finds Johnny seated on the couch, looking at V with a strange look. From the way he is breathing, hard and fast, Kerry can tell this time it’s a nightmare that woke him up.

Johnny jumps and turns swiftly to Kerry when the man comes into his field of vision. His hands spasm over the blanket he’s still holding, and when his eyes meet Kerry’s, they look lost. With a frown, Kerry closes the distance between them in two strides.

“Hey, hey,” he calls gently, “you’re ok, you’re safe.” Johnny looks at his lips like he can’t hear Kerry’s voice, but can read the words on his lips. He relaxes, sighs softly and lets his forehead bumps against his friend’s.

Kerry brings his hand to his nape, stroking it gently. He feels Johnny’s chrome hand slide under his robe to feel his skin, thumb rubbing over the muscle of his thigh.

“What was it, this time?” Kerry asks in a whisper after a moment of silence.

Johnny shakes his head,  and frowns like he can’t really remember.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m back in Mikoshi, or the Black Wall. And I wake up but the sensation follows and I don’t know if it’s real or not.”

Kerry makes a soft sound of commiseration and brushes their mouths together.

“It’s real, you’re here,” he affirms, gently gripping Johnny’s cheeks. “You can feel my hands and the heat of my body. You can hear my voice…” he trails off as the other man tilts his head until their lips press harder together. Kerry welcomes him in, licks inside his mouth, sucks on his tongue briefly before nipping at his bottom lip. Johnny groans, shuffles closer and lets his hand roam higher.

With a last kiss, Kerry draws back to look at him with a worried expression. His skin is cooling down, cold sweat covering it now, but his eyes look clearer. Johnny groans lowly before diving back in for another kiss and Kerry laughs into his mouth.

“Sometimes I don’t feel like it’s real either,” he admits against Johnny’s lips. The man smiles, a wry expression that silently translates his regrets. He nuzzles against Kerry’s cheek, playfully bites his earlobe before looking at V.

“You know, I always felt like we’ve been dealt shitty cards,” Johnny murmurs. “But it’s like… You know — what Misty says about karma.”

Kerry nods, hugging Johnny against him.

“V is an ace.”

The other man nods, huffs against Kerry’s neck.

“Or maybe a wild card,” Johnny adds like an afterthought. 

They stay silent like this for a moment, before the resurrected rocker snorts.

“Look at him sleeping.”

Curious, Kerry disentangles them and looks over his shoulder at his other input. V is deep in slumber now that his brain finally let him fall asleep. He’s sprawled on his back, one hand down his shorts, holding his limp dick and snoring with a happy face. He sleeps like the innocent. Kerry grins; he kinda wants to draw a dick on V’s face. When he looks back at Johnny, he can tell the man feels the same and they laugh maniacally, but discreetly, so it sounds like they’re wheezing like old men.

“Think we can transport him back to bed?” Kerry asks when they are done snickering.

“With all the cyberware, even I can’t, he’s heavier than he looks.”

The singer knows because sometimes after sex V sags over him. Kerry loves it, feels safe under his mass of muscle and chrome so he smiles dopily, which earns him a disgusted expression from Johnny.

“We could get the spare mattress here, though. He can have the couch,” Kerry suggests.

-

So that’s what they do, then they decide to roll a joint, and then to play guitar. They play softly with no amps, even if they both know it wouldn’t bother V. He’s snoring rhythmically, so Johnny and Kerry use his snores as a bass line.

“We should record it,” Johnny says when they stop to listen to him. Kerry hums, feeling sleep calling him once more. They both settle on the mattress next to the couch, having pushed the low table further away.

In the low light, Johnny watches Kerry blink sleepily.

“You happy?” he mouths and the question makes the musician frown then nods softly, a gentle smile blossoming on his lips.

“Never been happier,” he replies, still a bit confused about the sudden inquiry.

“Because of V.”

Kerry looks at him, turning on his side to better observe him.

“Not only,” he replies, reaching out to brush Johnny’s mouth with his thumb. Their gazes meet and Kerry gets lost in his friend’s dark eyes, turned black by the night. He can’t say it out loud yet, but he hopes the message gets through anyway. Johnny doesn’t comment, but some lines around his eyes and mouth relax. It’s strange to think he was… worried, about that. Johnny used to be so good at pretending he didn’t care.

“You?” Kerry asks just as softly. 

Johnny catches his hand, flesh meeting flesh. He holds it as he turns his head until his lips brushes Kerry’s palm. In his chest, the singer’s heart beats faster and he smiles wryly at himself: he’s still such a fool for this man. Johnny stays silent for a good moment, so long Kerry hinks he won’t answer. He closes his eyes, unable to fight sleep any longer. He won’t push tonight, he knows better anyway and he’s too tired now with V’s snores like a comforting lullaby in the background.

Johnny moves to wrap his arm around Kerry, holding him closer and entangling their legs together. The singer makes a happy but sleepy noise and feels himself drift.

“I don’t think I really knew what being happy meant until now. Took me a while to understand what I was feeling,” Johnny finally answers, voice rumbling through his chest like a purr.

Kerry smiles at him and feels a matching expression on Johnny’s lips against his forehead. 

Maybe he’s already dreaming.