#will i ever manage to make a consistent coloring for this show? probably not. i hate it here

[becauseofthebowties]

MISHA COLLINS as HARVEY DENT in GOTHAM KNIGHTS | 1.04 Of Butchers and Betrayals

[sabertoothwalrus]

so I’ve been gaining a lot of insight into the animation industry recently, especially in regards to pitching & the creation of new shows. There’s a few ways to go about it.

First, there’s pitching to a studio. When you pitch, it has to be SHORT and CONCISE. You may write a lovingly detailed pitch bible that perfectly breaks down episodes and characterizations, and it might barely even get read. First impressions, first impressions, first impressions!

Most peoples’ first projects don’t get picked up. I’ve heard a few stories from directors that said they tried pitching a story they’d had for years, which got rejected, to then spend a week or even several hours in their car coming up with a new idea, only for that to get greenlit.

But that’s not the end of it. Just because a show gets greenlit, doesn’t mean it will ever get finished. There’s lots of things that can happen. Sometimes, unexpected major world events (like… a global pandemic) can cause projects to get chopped. Sometimes, a CEO change or studio merge means a single person can decide a project “no longer fits with the company’s brand.” Sometimes, the one producer that was rooting for your project gets laid off, and no one else cares enough, so it gets shelved. Sometimes, a streaming service decides to create an animation department, and then they decide they don’t want it anymore. Sometimes, the studio will be simultaneously be developing another project that was too similar to yours and they just didn’t think to tell you until they decide yours is the one with less potential.

On top of that, almost everyone in the industry is saying that “studios just don’t pick up original content anymore.” Studios want something they can franchise, something that will bring in money. New content is risky. Established fanbases are safer.

However! Studios can still be a very good thing. They can be unionized. They can provide better benefits and resources. They can have connections and infrastructure and a larger volume of workers. At a studio, you can divide the labor and produce more in less time. Longer episodes, longer seasons, more consistency in quality.

But this comes with all of the disadvantages of having more in the kitchen.

The alternative is indie animation.

With indie animation, you have total freedom. Full artistic control. It doesn’t even matter if your idea sucks ass, because there’s no one to tell you you can’t make it. You could make it anyway, and you can make it whatever you wanted.

The thing is, making animation is hard. In my production class last semester, the average maximum animation one person could make in that timeframe was 30-60 seconds, and that’s not even counting background design, sound design, or cleanup/color. To make a 5 minute animated short, you should probably have at least 5 people.

And it is CRUCIAL you have a production manager. Ideally someone who’s not already doing art for the project. Most projects without a production manager will fall apart pretty quickly. Once the adrenaline and impulse-fueled motivation wears off, you need someone to hold you accountable and enforce deadlines and proper time management.

Speaking of time, that’s also hard to get. The more people you have, the more likely schedules won’t line up. Most people will have school, or other jobs.

And it costs MONEY!!!!!! You either have everyone work for free and volunteer their time & energy, or you establish a business as a proper indie studio, with people who may or may not have experience on how to handle paying someone else’s salary. And the money has to come from somewhere, so you have to rely on crowdfunding like patreon or kickstarter. (This, by the way, is why I could never fault an indie animation for releasing merch with their pilot.)

And like, maybe you wanna do a series, and all your friends agree to volunteer their labor and time to make the first episode, but it was unanimously not sustainable. Deciding not to produce a second episode until you can raise enough money is not being suddenly greedy, it’s attempting to compensate people rather than expecting them to be continuously taken advantage of.

You have to consider your output as well. There are some outliers like Worthikids, who afaik does all his animation himself, and afaik can work on it full-time thanks to his patreon subscribers. And he still has only produced a total of 30 minutes of animation (for Big Top Burger specifically) in the past 4 years. This is an IMPRESSIVE feat and this is with using a lot of 3D as part of his pipeline!!

Indie animation also has the complication of being more accessible for fandoms. When you’re posting your Official Canon Content on youtube, it doesn’t look a lot different than the fandom-created video essay in the sidebar next to it. What’s canon vs what’s fanon becomes less distinguishable. The boundaries are blurrier. When the creator is just some guy you follow on twitter, it’s easier to prod them for info regarding ships and theories and word-of-god confirmation. They don’t have a PR team or entire international tv networks to appeal to. And this is when creators get frustrated that their fans snowball and turn their creation into something they don’t recognize (and no longer enjoy) anymore.

So it’s tricky.

Thankfully, the threshold to learn animation is fairly low nowadays!! There are TONS of resources online to learn it on your own without forking over a couple hundred thousand to a private art college. There are conventions and discord servers and events where you can network, if you know where to look.

I know it can seem discouraging in the face of capitalism, but I think that’s all the more reason why it’s so important to BE DETERMINED about animation!! We’re already starting to see the beginning of an indie animation boom, and I think it’s a testament to humanity’s desire to tell stories and create art. Even if there’s no financial gain, we do whatever it takes to tell our stories anyway.

[columboscreens]

columbo is so gender to me but i dont think i could ever look like him</3

i think it's totally possible for anyone to embody his essence. you can even manage to rock something directly inspired by columbo without looking like you're cosplaying.

hair

if you have columbo's hair type, it's actually pretty easy to emulate his styles. i even know people who show pictures of columbo to hair stylists to get his look. my partner's hair in its natural state is very similar to columbo's--dark, wavy, tending to grow in spite of gravity rather than with it. whenever he gets his hair cut, he shows the stylist photos of late 60s/pilot episode peter falk, whose look is actually pretty on-trend for the current era. it works out pretty well.

your swag may have aged well pilot columbo but you can't beat floof

failing that, getting any haircut that is natural, low-maintenance, and not too attention-grabbing captures the visual language all the same. for reference, natasha lyonne in poker face has her hair in natural-looking, messy waves that to me just exude columbo.

clothing

how you present yourself to the world is up to you, but if you want to invoke columbo, there's a lot more you can do than buy a tan raincoat.

in an era of sharply-cut, wide-lapelled constructions, fat tie tuesdays, and gucci loafers, columbo stands out as classic comfort personified.

his collar, tie, and lapels are slim, proportional, and unassuming; they'd look good in almost any era. his pants fit closely to his leg but not too wide or slim, and sit at or near the natural waist. though his suits, shirts, ties, shoes, socks, and even coats rotate, there is a consistent color palette keeping him "on model". he embraces earth tones: creams, forest greens, light browns, dark browns, stony grays, rusts, and roses. his clothing seems like an afterthought, but it's an extension of his personality--rumpled and unassuming at first, yet sharp and deliberate upon further inspection.

amid the 1970s explosion of synthetic popularity, it says something that every stitch of textile on columbo's person is natural (aside from the raincoat, which is probably nylon or poly--he wears it without a lining and uses it as essentially an oversized windbreaker). his boots are leather with crepe latex soles; his tie is silk. his shirt is cotton, a bit boxy but comfortable and properly fitted. because the construction of his suits is roomy and unstructured, and because they're made of linen, they wrinkle easily.

this is easily confused for appearing slovenly. actually, all things considered, his clothes fit him pretty damn well, it's just hard to avoid wrinkling natural fibers like linen and cotton, especially in hot weather. he's running around los angeles sweating up a storm, the man needs loose, breathable fabric.

point is, columbo dresses very thoughtfully. since these clothes are workwear for him and he works a hell of a lot, it's imperative that he factors in the weather, his comfort, and proper fit when picking clothes. he wants to like and be comfortable in them while looking unassuming. so even though he sometimes ends up looking like an unmade bed, his choices are deliberate.

you could invoke these principles in your own appearance by picking earthy colors/jewel tones and comfortable, natural fabrics that you enjoy wearing, which has the added benefit of being better for you and the environment. consider also taking a few garments in to be altered. it's usually not that expensive, supports your local needlefolk, and makes even cheap clothes fit great.

as a last little aside, i think having a "signature" clothing item akin to columbo's raincoat would be a nice touch. a jacket, a pair of shoes, even a watch or necklace. something you always wear. if you really do want a raincoat like his, just make sure you're not buying a trench coat, because, repeat after me: columbo does not wear a trench coat.

[polymorphiczooid]

Marcille's frog suit is complete! This was my third-ever project using a sewing machine, so I've put a bit on my process for suit and staff-making below.

The Body: I drafted a pattern from a loose sweatshirt and sweatpants (somewhat following these tutorials: 1 2). From this I made a truly terrible mock-up from a fitted sheet -managing to sew the arms on inside out (twice, in two different ways). I also learned that the back panels need to be larger than the front panel, to accommodate the butt.

Originally, I wanted to make this out of raincoat material or pvc fabric to get that slimy frogskin look. I couldn't find any in the right color (or price), so I went with a cheap polyester satin. I think latex might have been also been a good alternative, but I've never worked with it before.

To get the white patterns on the frog, I just eyeballed where I thought the stripes should go on the paper pattern and cut it into smaller pieces (which I had to tape back together when I made the lining - this time out of blue bed sheet).

In the manga, there are large visible stitches in front. To mimic this, I decided to have the front lace with a thick cord. This meant I needed to install gromets on the front opening - but I was worried the hardware would tear right through the fragile satin. To prevent this, I reinforced the opening with a strip of denim encased in red cotton.

The smart thing to do would make the front zip up, and add a panel of fake lacing over the top. Since I didn't, 1) it takes a while to put on, and 2) the suit gapes open in places.

Frog Head: I spent a lot of time trying to figure this out - but in the end, I went with a very simple construction.

The hood consists of four main panels: the frog-shaped front and back panels of the outer hood, and two red panels for the inner hood. I 1) attached the white and orange parts of the outer panels 2) sewed the outerpanels together, and the inner hood panels together 3) cut a hole for my face out of the front outer panel, 4) sewed the edge of the inner hood panels to the face hole, 6) stuffed with batting from an old pillow, 6) added some extra fabric to close the hood under the chin.

I didn't quite get the shape right - the eyes should be rounder/ protrude less, and the cheeks/marcille's ears should sit lower down on the head. I think adding an extra panel to the back of the head would help it sit better. It's pretty 2D in profile, so my face sticks out of it too much.

Finally, using a stretch fabric for the inner hood (or a drawstring, that could tighten the hood itself) could make the hood fit snugly around the face. My hood was too loose, and I constantly had to adjust its position.

The frog eyes were also a bit tricky. The satin frayed to much to add large decorative stitching, so I had to sew little pieces of cord individually to the eyes. I probably should have made these smaller and more numerous...but my fingers were pretty sore form hand sewing.

The Shoes: I decided to make some boot covers for my docs, because making shoes from scratch is beyond my skill level.

I made a pattern by wrapping one shoe in a plastic back, then masking tape, and tracing out what looked like some important seam lines. I sewed all the pieces together except for top of the shoe, which I left open so 1) bagline the show cover, and 2) sew in the frog toes.

The toes themselves were sewn out of cotton and, stuffed with batting and old crochet squares. Then everything except the toe-tip was covered in orange satin. I did this since I was worried that the satin would not play nice with paint (foreshadowing). The toe-tips were then painted with a mix of black acryllic and liquid latex (for flexibility).

To keep the shoe covers on the shoes, I added some elastic around the bottom (salvaged from a fitted sheet). They also needed to close in the back - but I didn't have and velcro or zippers and I was running low on gromets. Instead, I made some loops out of scrap leather to run the lacing through. This looked cool but it was really hard to lace up myself!

Gloves: These were made the day before the convention, and are terribly slapdash.

Normally when you make gloves out of non-stretch fabric you need to add gussets to allow your hands bend, without the gloves being too loose. I did not do that. I just traced my hand on the fabric, and gave myself big finger pads and plenty of ease. They turned out pretty meh!

One issue was the finger pads themselves: it's hard to sew in a circle, so they were lumpy in shape. This lumpiness was enhanced by the way I stuffed them: just shoving stuffing into the finger tips. which is also where my fingers have to go. So every time I took the gloves on and off, the fingertips would get out of shape. I think hollowed foam balls would have been a better choice for the finger tips.

In addition, I painted the fingertips with the same latex/acrylic mixture I used on the toes. While it dried just fine on the cotton, the paint remained really sticky - so they picked up dust and peeled rather badly.

The gloves only had four fingers in the manga, so that's what I went with. But it was pretty uncomfortable with the pinky+ring finger sharing a home, and it didn't even look good.

Ambrosia (the staff): This was a real last-minute addition to the costume, done the night before the convention.

The base is a wooden dowel, and the hoop in a long tube of cotton fabric that I stuffed very firmly. I anted to make sure the hoop wouldn't fall off, so I "drilled" a hold near the tip of the staff (I.e. I shoved a screwdriver through the soft wood like an animal), and added grommets to each end of the stuffed cotton tube. I then created a tight mechanical join by running leftover cord though one grommet, then the dowel, and then the other grommet before tying it off.

Next, I wrapped a ton of different materials around the hoop and body of the staff: coord, twine, paper florist "rope", and paper-covered florist wire, etc. This was secured with an ungodly amount of hot glue. When possible, I tried to new strands under pre-existing ones for some extra security. I really like how wrapping the cord around the soft-hoop created the impression of vines growing around a living branch.

I painted the staff in three layers: base coat of red-brown, then a "wash" of watery black acrylic , and a dry brush of a lighter brown. I did not do a good job getting the paint evenly over the surface! From some angles the white cotton is still very visible, and I probably should have painted it before wrapping anything around it.

The sprout was made by sewing two leaf-shapes out of cotton, hot gluing it to a small snip of florist paper, and then hot gluing the stem to the hoop. Not bad for a rush job!

Overall: I think the feet and staff came out the best! People recognized me at the convention too, which is always the real test.

[actuallyacerrr]

16 Days of Birthday Fun; Day 1 - Lloyd Garmadon

It’s April 3rd, 15 days left and so to kickstart this project of mine i’m starting with one of my favorite and longest loving characters, Lloyd! Ngl they’re gonna be kinda short? Depending ig on the character.

Type ->

Headcanons

Pairing ->

Lloyd Garmadon x Reader

Warning ->

Lowkey catered towards me soooo hehe :) other then that OOC Lloyd.

Summary ->

Lloyd celebrates your birthday!

Masterlist

• Ok ok, this man definitely gets excited for birthdays

• And a little sad but that’s only because he practically grew up at darkly’s before losing like most of his childhood 😭

• So he works his ASS off to create the best birthday party ever. Does his best to like sneakily ask for ideas and things you like;

“Hey, so what kind of like colors do you like? like what’s if a candle could be any color what would they be?”

“You are not planning my birthday.”

“How did you know?! I never mentioned birthdays.”

“Candles give it away.”

• On a similar note, he’d get all his needed information from Nya. Or Zane, he’d probably know too.

• It ended up being a small gathering consisting of you, the ninja, Sensei Wu and Misako. You invited a few friends or family members too.

• Lloyd planned it to be a suprise, but that failed. Though he did manage to keep the place it was at a secret.

• He rented out Laughy’s for it. Dareth probably would’ve left him have it but 🤷.

• Now onto the cake!

• He and Cole bake it together, no store bought for you!

• It’s a confetti cake! With buttercream frosting with little red heart.

• Nya saw a few on a pinterest board and showed it to them.

• And after cake issss presents!

• I’d say he’s pretty decent at it. Knowing what a person would want.

• He got you a few gifts: a Squishmellow, and The Tortured Poet’s Department.

• Y’all will be listening to it together (he is a swiftie in my eyes.)

• Overall the party was a success! Everyone had fun. You got lots of gifts and have atleast two slices left of the cake. Had to save it before Cole got to them.

• I can imagine Lloyd stealing you away near the end of the day, to watch the sunset on a roof. It’s all cute and stuff. Yall eat the last two pieces together. :)

The sun was setting overhead, of pretty oranges and pinks. A picnic blanket underneath yall, half eaten slices of cake forgotten along with their glasses of sparkling water. Taylor swift playing in the background as you lean against him.

Today had been perfect.

“Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you Lloyd, for making today special.”

[anewp0tat0]

AAAAHHHHH!! CONSIDER MY SHIT FLIPPED!! THE BLACK BUTLER LIVES! What are your thoughts on the new art style?

BRO I'm with you, flipped like that pancake I managed to throw half out the pan😩 I still can't believe. best Monday every fr.

and ooo thanks for the question, I wanna hear your thoughts after this👀 I've already said a little bit about this in the tags of some other posts, as well as touched on it in my master post of the crew, but I suppose I may give a big final answer(for now, from this teaser).

judging the art alone, not the fact that we get a new anime or anything exciting like that, just the art alone... it's very pretty!

yea this is very pretty. the kid looks great, small and good, and his hair looks feathery and neat, so I approve. I think they nailed his general proportions, I think they'll do a great job at keeping them consistent during episodes! the image to the right does looks a tiny bit like a 3d asset, which is a bit jarring compared to the previous anime style, but I'm flexible towards this change. even if he looks like a video game cutscene character, I usually love cutscenes!!

but here's the drama I'm sure you're here for. yes, unfortunately, there are some wee things that I don't love as much🤏

the first thing, it really doesn't matter and I should shut up about it now... but YOU asked so ajdjfksksk why did they have to shrink sebs jaw cmon my favorite art of him ever was during the Greenwitch arc so don't tell me I'll NEVER be able to see that style of him animated😫 I just like prominent features man. I know he's meant to be pretty but but but....

ah okay. heres the main thing that I think most people may agree with.

these are two screenies of sebster from the teaser. honestly, as ☆luxurious☆ as his lashes are, I'm not a fan of the left image. the airbrush on his hair feels a tad overdone. I love the attention to detail, especially in the one on the right, it shows a lot of love! but there's just something about it that's a bit off for me.

and I think after 24 hours I've finally figured it out: it's the colors.

the realization started to hit me when I saw my favorite edit so far here by @ashxketchum. the colors have been edited to be much more saturated and warm. and I think this is exactly what is missing here.

I even tried my own hand at it, and yea personally, I think slapping a saturation, tint, and just a BIT of contrast on the whole thing can do numbers on it.

already I like it(no I'm not just praising my own work, it's not the best edit out there I did it in 30 secs). I think the reason for this is because the background is very rich in contrast and warm tones, so the characters(particularly sebastian who is all black) stand out when they are muddy and low contrast. I love stylistically when contrast is high, but that's just a personal thing, and I shouldn't hold a studio to those standards.

I tried it for the poster too though, which again I felt was a bit off. official art has never been the most top tear, and the poster is GOOD, the background is awesome and the two peeps looks amazing. but my problem with it was clear once I did another color edit.

(edit on the right)

again, I feel like everything was very muted in the left original, not to mention a tad monochromatic. I really think a kick of contrast and hue could do wonders.

BUT. I know that at the end of the day, it's not a big deal. I don't really care. would it make my day or whole year if they slapped a color filter on it, or continued to work on the color grading of the scenes? probably yea! but my opinion isn't obsolete, and most of all, I look forward to and respect the artists decisions.

so no I'm not "fixing" the art😅😒.

and finally, I think this is awesome:

(I had forgotten but this gif is edited by @kilruas from this post)

GORGEOUS. could it turn some people off cause it's mostly cg? maybe. idc though. gorgeous. gimme some of that beverage.

sorry for the rant, hope it's what you wanted! I think that's everything... I like it 85%!

[cookierunauprompts]

I'm thinking the layout of the toy box consists of 2 level maps. Bare with me, this will be long.

1st one is the main landscape of the realm. Nice and vibrant. Very colorful, but I think the main dominant color would be yellow since... Butter. Big contrast to the dolls who've gone hyperactive and are trying to kill Gingerbrave and Co. Rosemary, thankfully, shows up on time to lead them to safety, possibly a village. The dolls within the place are either dormant, passive, or docile, keeping themselves safe. We learn from Rosemary that ever since Golden Butter Cookie had fallen into an everlasting slumber, leaving them with no other purpose or task, caused a divide amongst her doll servants. So much so that the hyper focused ones even began attacking the others who didn't join them. When Gingerbrave asks if there's an exit to the toybox realm but they say that it's been shut for years, and that only Golden Butter Cookie could open it. This is what motivates the gang to go wake her up. Rosemary goes along with them to make sure they don't die. Being one of GBC's first creations, they know the realm like the back of their hand, and knows where she is. The final boss battle is probably with another doll that had been working hard to fend off people from the dollhouse not because they were protecting GBC, but because everything inside the dollhouse has gown downhill.

2nd layer is the dollhouse where Golden Butter Cookie is kept in. It looks like a normal dollhouse at first, but the further you go, the much darker.. The messier... The creepier it gets. The dolls inside, though still hyper focused on protecting Golden Butter Cookie are damaged, bent, or distorted. There's this one doll, no, a mannequin doll that looks just like a cookie constantly ambushes the group, trying to prevent them from going further. The further they go... The more the group wonders why GBC is stuck in a deep slumber, and finally, Rosemary finally explains who GBC really is, who she was before she hid away from everyone in the toy box realm, and her relations with the Beast Cookies. I'm assuming this is the part where they tell Rosemary about what really happened to Shadow Milk Cookie, and the current situation that is happening beyond the toybox realm. Realizing the urgency, they become more motivated to keep pushing forward and wake up GBC.

The moment they get there... It's a small room, with a faint light that shines through the windows. Amongst pillows, flowers, and plants, is a glass coffin, in which Golden Butter Cookie is asleep. Giving off the motivation sucking aura that is keeping the group away. However, Rosemary manages to muster up enough strength to open the glass coffin to wake her up.

They wait for a moment... It all seems hopeless... But the room goes dark, and Golden Butter Cookie awakens.

As she eyes Gingerbrave and Co. She's... Disappointed... Sad. What was she expecting for? But she sensed it... She sensed HIS soul jam. So why isn't HE here? Cowardice had led to Shame... Her shame had drove her to her eternal slumber that let her escape from her thoughts... Now they were rushing back.. She was wide awake... And she's finally snapped.

Thus, the final boss battle in the toybox realm begins, as Golden Butter Cookie commands the dolls to fight for their puppet master. Their creator. Replicating any spell or attack of their respective cookies while GBC unleashes her own spells.

Anon how the FUCK do you understand my own oc better than I do/VERYPOS

But, anyways, I don't believe that Goldie would order the puppets/dolls/pookies(plushie cookies) to fight for her. The very minute she sees Pure Vanilla she's assuming the worst and thinking that he killed Shadow Milk for his Soul Jam.

The first thing she does after she sees it is to call out Rosemary for not coming to the realization she did before rosemary could explain. She tells Rosemary to go and Rosemary cannot help but follow orders. Goldie then summons a spear and immediately rushes to attack Pure Vanilla, who quickly puts up a shield.

The fight with Golden Butter Cookie would be brutal. There's a constant de-buff affecting your team thanks to her aura of burnout, and if you have any ancients then Golden Butter Cookie will focus on attacking them.

Luckily, due to her own burnout, her hp drains over the course of the battle. As to symbolize her slowly succumbing to her emotions. After the battle is when Gingerbrave and Co actually get to explain the situation proper. And after hearing their explanation... " ... I... I see... So he's alive... and free..."

She's... depressed? Why wouldn't she be? If he had really gotten sealed, and was just now free, then why didn't he come see her? Did he... forget her? ... It was a terrible thought, one she didn't like thinking about. Soon, however, she agrees to join the Gingergang to help out with the situation.

She wondered what it was like, briefly, if she hadn't been a coward back then. Maybe if she did more to help, maybe if she fought back against the beasts when they arose, maybe none of this would have happened... but-

But what? does it really matter? It'd be better to not linger in the past too much after all.

With that, she fixes the Toy-Box, repaired the hyperfocused and dorment to their former states and creating one last thing, a crown. She gifts the Crown to Rosemary, telling her to lead the citizens of the Toy-Box in her stead this time instead of just abandoning them. Rosemary agrees, not because it's her new purpose, but because she genuinely wants to help the other residents of the Toy-Box towards a better future.

And after that, she leaves the Toy-Box with Gingerbrave and co.

It, also turns out that Rosemary lied to them. They could have just gone back the way they came, there's no way to lock the Toy-Box from the Inside after all. Rosemary really wanted to help Goldie though, and if it took lying to a few cookies? Well, that's certainly something she's willing to do.

...

But what's Golden Butter Cookie going to do after seeing Shadow Milk again? Well... Let's just say that she can be very scary when she wants to be, especially after going through the equivalent of being left on read for thousands of years.

[gamma-gal-24]

for the writing prompts how about:

"that isn't what i think it is, is it?" *proceeds to show the most embarrassing baby photos imaginable*

for syndrome👀

KISSING YOU HUGGING YOU OUGHHJ TYSM this was SO fun!!😭💞💞💞

In Galiath's eyes, the best days on Syndrome's island base were the days he hung up his cape and let himself be lazy.

A smile streched across pink cheeks as Syn stepped out of the bathroom, his hair falling down past his shoulders and a comfy pair of white sweats on. "Conveniently," he had left his teeshirt on his bed, right next to her. She wasn't going to risk seeing him indecent to bring it to him, he knew that. He counted on it, knowing she'd be all blushy when he came back out, shirtless.

The both of them were grinning like fools when he finally reached for it.

"It's been forever since I've seen you without the cape and mask." Galiath sighs happily, her chin resting in her hands. "I almost forgot how cute you are." To that Syndrome just laughs. He sounded like such a child when he laughed. It was contagious.

"Yeah? Well, I forgot your wardrobe didn't consist entirely of pink, so I guess we're even." He teases, slipping his shirt on and fluffing his ginger mane. Galiath can only smile and roll her eyes. While it was true most clothes she owned were pink(her Supersuit included), she did have at least some variety. Syndrome, however.... He managed to wear black and white in his every outfit.

He was no one to talk, for sure.

"Hah!" She laughs, poking a freshly painted nail into his belly, making him jump back. "Says the guy who wears more black and white than a zebra! I Dont think you've ever worn anything else!"

Syndrome lifts a finger to correct her, but she's quick to interrupt him.

"And no- the blue lining in your cape does not count."

Syndrome deflates, a pout gracing his freckled, boyish face. He tried to look unamused, but the grin returned in spite of him. She was the one person he simply couldn't get mad at; not even when she had tried to send him to prison months ago. They were funny like that.

"I'll have you know, black and white are both excellent camouflage colors." He snarks, his tone taking on that slightly nasal thing he gets when he's being a smart-ass. "And so if we ever have to go into hiding, guess which one of us is gonna have better luck? Probably not the one dressed like a bottle of Pepto Bismol, right?"

Galiath huffs and pulls her legs up underneath her, patting the side of the bed next to her in a silent invitation. "You're dodging my point. When was the last time you ever wore anything but black and white? I mean- I'm off duty so I'm wearing yellow. And yet here you are, off duty as well, and still in the same color scheme!-"

Before she can giggle out another word, Syndrome's pulling a box out from under his bed. This has to be the one thing his housekeeper-robot doesn't touch, it's the only thing in his room with dust on it.

He plops it down on the comforter and blows on the top, sending a cloud of dust and cobwebs at his girlfriend. He smirks when she sneezes, amused by his setting off her minor allergy. She shoots him a little glare as thanks.

"Jerk..." She gumbles, earning a laugh. Syndrome slowly shimmies off the cardboard lid, the decade-old box sticking a little after all this time. "What?" He asks, playing innocent, "I thought you wanted to know if I ever wore color?"

And just like that, Galiath forgets all about her allergies. Her eyes light up and she crawls across the bed, mussing up the black sheets beneath her as she leans forward to peek inside.

"Ooh!" She coos, visibly excited. Syn didn't keep much from when he was younger- only his incredible knowledge and his love/hate relationship with superheroes.

Or so she thought.

Either way, she was thrilled to see just a glimpse into his past.

Ever the nosey little thing, she leans over so far he has to struggle to keep from falling. She leans so far, in fact, Syndrome has to push her back so he can see.

"What's all this? I didn't peg you for the sentimental type!" She's almost shaking she's so excited. Syndrome can only chuckle and shake his head. "Eh, I'm not as much as I used to be... But a few little things have managed to avoid the trash... And Mirage."

Ah yes, Mirage... His assistant and ex-situationship. The thought of him sucking on that gorgeous blonde's face still makes Galiath uneasy. Mirage could have been a supermodel but instead she chose to work for a charismatic evil genius with enough money to buy out whole countries. She doesn't blame her... It's just awkward.

Galiath pushes the thoughts aside, though. She has nothing against Mirage.

"Ah, yeah, I bet she was curious too." The slight jealousy in the superhero's tone doesn't go unnoticed by the villain, but he spares her the embarassment for now. That's blackmail for another day.

"Oh, incredibly." He chuckles, rummaging through his box. "She would threaten to put bad photos of me up on the screens in the lab whenever she was mad at me. I had to bribe her with a sports car so she would stop looking for my-."

His abrupt pause catches Galiath by surprise. Quickly he goes to shut the box, only to have her slip a hand underneath.

"Woah, hold on! What's the matter? You were about to show me something!" She giggles, pulling the box away. Syndrome is quick to try and jerk it back. His face is so red his freckles almost blend in.

"It's not in there, I was mistaken." He says just a little too quickly. And if it weren't already obvious he was lying, his darling girlfriend knew to look at his ears when she suspected a false truth. Low and behold they were as red as Mr. Incredible's unitard.

"Nu-uh, don't try that, Buddy, I know there's something in there. Now spill." Syndrome shoots her a look. "Buddy" was the last name he wanted to hear right now.

"Holly..." He hisses out, calling her out of her alias just as she had him. "It's nothing. Now drop the box." His face, while red as his hair, is stern and harsh. He's demanding, not asking- a habit that came with years of villainy. Galiath isn't about to insist. It isn't that she fears him, anything but, really. It's just that she can see this is bothering him. She won't pry if it means invading on him.

And so she lets go of the box, leaning back with her hands up. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry." She says with a small, apologetic smile. "Didn't mean to overstep." She watches Syndrome's shoulders untense, his face relaxing until he smiles a little too. No harm done, it seems.

"It's alright, Holz." He assures her, ruffling her fluffy, black hair before picking the box right back up. He steps away from the bed, hurrying to shove the box back into the depths where he found it.

"It wasn't you, I just- SHIT-!" In his hurry to hide his past once more, Syndrome managed to trip over a pillow that had fallen off the bed, sending himself and the box crashing down to the floor in a series of thuds.

Ever the superhero, Galiath is quick to jump to action.

"SYN-! Oh my goodness, are you okay?!" She squeals, trying not to giggle as she leaps down from the bed. She reaches down to hoist an embarrassed Syndrome up to his feet when she sees something in the corner of her eye.

She glances over without thinking, the sage green color catching her attention. She's bending down to grab it before Syndrome can stop her.

All she hears is a gasp from him before it dons on her what it is she's holding.

"Oh my god- Drop that!" He hisses, but it's too late. Galiath has stars in her eyes and the biggest grin on her face.

"That isn't what I think it is, is it...?" She giggles, holding the little paper closer to to see it better. Her baby blues go wide like dinnerplates and Syndrome knows then and there what it was she held.

Like salt in the wound, she squeals and turns it around for him to see.

Like he wanted to look at his own baby picture....

Holly is in awe, a hand on her heart as she tries her darnedest not to keel over from pure joy. In her hands was probably the single sweetest baby pic she had ever seen.

A little baby Buddy in a green onsie, smiling as happy as a one-toothed infant could be.

Syndrome wanted to die too, but not from a cuteness overload. He snatches that photo so quickly he gives himself a papercut, yanking it from her hands and throwing it and everything else back into the box.

"I told you to drop that..." He huffs, slamming the lid back on and kicking it back under the bed. When he rises back to his feet, Holly wears a gentle, knowing smile.

"I'm sorry, Love." She cooes, laying a hand on his shoulder and a kiss to his forehead. "I just thought it was cute." Syndrome can only scoff and look away, flustered more than he is angry.

"That thing was hideous..." He grumbles bitterly, similar to how a moody teenage boy would. Galiath bursts into a laugh, shaking her head.

"No you were not!" She giggles, pulking Syndrome he didn't want, but definitely needed. "You were a cutie! With that little red curl and-" Syndrome wiggles free and puts a stop to her little gush REAL quick. His hands wave about and she swears she sees him fight a smile.

"Enough about the baby picture alright? Jus- just burn the image from your mind. Delete it, whatever visual helps you forget all about what you saw." "But why?" Galiath laughs, sitting herself back down on the bed. "We were all babies once! At least you were a cute one! I looked like one of those cinnamon jellybeans!"

Her comparison is silly enough to crack him, weasling a laugh and a grin from the grouchy man. "A red jellybean, huh...?" He quirks a brow, his smirk slowly returning.

Ah, there he was... She was worried he would be grumpy the rest of the day! She was so glad to see their day off was still plenty salvageable.

Nodding, she laughs and pulls him down to sit with her. "Oh yeah, I was an ugly little thing! I'll have to show you some time. Oh-! And I can show you the picture my mom took the time I fell down the stairs and lost three teeth! My.... Only three teeth at the time."

Oh, that does him in. The visual alone had Syndrome in stitches. The idea of little toddler Holly grinning at a camera with nothing but gums was enought serotonin to last him the next 15 years. Galiath laughs along with him, glad to see him so giddy even if at her expense.

The two cut up and laugh until their faces go sore. They cling to each other for supoort, only to flop back against the blankets anyways. They roll about like that for a good minute until they finally have to stop, breathless and clinging to the other like a life line.

"Oh-" Syndrome chuckles, not quite down from his high and nuzzling closer. "Oh, I hate you, Sweetheart." He says in a way so sweet she knows he could only mean it out of love. She just smiles and buries her head in his chest, arms wrapping around his middle. "That's okay..." She lets her eyes slide closed, her head rising and falling with his every breath.

"I love you, too."

[likeabxrdinflight]

okay episode three was a huge improvement from the first two in a lot of ways. I'm gonna stop here for a bit, I think, cuz I'm not sure I want to binge all of this in one day.

so this one combines "jet" and "the mechanist" with aspects of "the waterbending scroll", but it's set in omashu, which was a great choice. the exposition problem is gone, the dialogue is much better (though aang still talks about "saving the world" a little bit too much), and the kids seem to have settled into their roles more by this point in the shooting. I think the diction might also be improving, but I also have the subtitles on now, so it's harder to tell.

omashu looks incredible. there's colorful markets, the mail system is utilized, it's big and spectacular and feels very alive. I think they combined practical sets with the CGI quite a bit because it really has a lived-in feel to it. probably the best environment they've created thus far. this gives me a lot of optimism for what they'll do with ba sing se if we get a season two.

the plot is...very different. but not bad here. they were able to make this episode flow very well by having jet show up early to help sneak the gaang into omashu. later, while aang is off with teo and sokka is helping the mechanist, katara wanders off with jet to trauma bond and struggle with waterbending. it all comes together as while the mechanist remains a traitor (we think...this is a 'to be continued' kind of episode...), jet's extremist move this time is to attempt to assassinate the mechanist in a move which would kill teo and other innocent people in the process. we see the fall out of jet's actions earlier in the episode too- he bombed a fire nation spy hut, but omashu citizens were caught in the blast.

this is such a better take on jet's extremism, because not only is he potentially harming innocent people, he's harming innocent earth kingdom civilians. there is no argument that he's taking down only enemy combatants or people complicit in the fire nation's war crimes. I suspect some jet fans aren't gonna love it, but if you're gonna have a character come across as an extremist, this is a better way to show that.

they also add a fire nation subplot here- and azula finally shows up! my girl! who colludes with zhao to try and undermine zuko. this version of azula doesn't want zuko back home, at least not yet. elizabeth yu is doing great btw, anyway who was concerned she can't be "evil" enough is...wrong. they're just wrong. she's gonna do scary just fine if they get a season two, don't worry about it.

finally they add a subplot with zuko and iroh sneaking into omashu to find aang. zuko does his impulsive zuko thing where he sets something on fire (it's the cabbages btw) and so in order to protect him, iroh takes the fall and outs himself as a firebender, leading to his capture. this is clearly going to set up the subplot from the animated show where zuko has to go and rescue him.

paul lee's iroh is so good btw, what a phenomenal casting choice. he's doing the most, honestly. the dynamic between him and zuko is perfect. I think he's a much better character than his animated counterpart as he's much more consistent. the white lotus has already been hinted at too. given how much this show is adding, I do wonder if they'll at some point give us a more detailed look at his backstory. we'll see.

I am now curious if they'll ever address his relationship with azula in later seasons but I don't expect that for now

this is obviously very, very different from the animated show, but honestly? anything they did in omashu was likely to be better. "the king of omashu" was one of the weakest episodes in the original, and the way they stitched these disparate episodes together managed to work very well. the themes of both "the mechanist" and "jet," which deal with earth kingdom citizens doing wrong things in the name of survival, freedom, and safety, played off each other nicely. these characters represent two sides of that conflict- the mechanist who is betraying his people to keep himself and his son safe vs jet who will go to any lengths to stop the fire nation, even if innocent people get hurt. and it was a solid way to use the city of omashu as a setting.

a little sad we likely won't get to see the northern air temple, and it does lose the ideas about cultural appropriation that were in the original. jet's story also takes some significant cuts, and his betrayal doesn't quite hit as hard. we also lose a lot with "the waterbending scroll"- we see katara struggling to learn the water whip, but instead of getting pissed at aang and having that whole side story with the pirates, she ends up with jet's gang.

katara is, unfortunately, still the weakest character of the main cast, but she was better here. some of that spark was there this episode, but it's just a shadow of the original. they are doing more with her trauma, however, and at the very least she's not nearly as parentified. this katara is not "motherly." so, there's that. but she's still the weak link of the main cast, I'm afraid.

azula is still my best girl though, and this azula? baby. absolute baby. I would die for her. the hair looks a little fake and I think it might be a wig but I'd still die for her. baby girl. ozai can catch these hands.

I'll have more to say on her later, I want to see the whole season before I talk too much about what they've done with her. but so far, I'm good with it.

[teaspoonofdragons]

A Claire's and a Hot Topic Walk Into a Bar (They Leave Immediately Because They're Both Underage)

Summary: The new kid's all sorts of confusing, to Amitie. They're perfectly capable of a normal conversation, hell, he's even usually rather nice, if a little prone to spacing out and, incidentally, ignoring people. But he's also got a tendency to start fights, and he's always trying to goad Amitie into one. She can't understand why he's sending her all these mixed signals-

-And he just can't understand why she won't play with him.

(made for the au in this post)

Characters: Red!Sig, Amitie, Raffina, Klug, Arle Nadja(mentioned)

Warnings: Swearing, implied past bullying and manipulation, miscommunication

Word count: 3321

Amitie's not completely sure she believes Raffina when she claims that Sig's not really all that mean. She trusts her friend's judgement, of course! It's just, well, personal experience claims otherwise.

By no means does she hate him! Amitie finds it... Difficult, to really find enough anger towards any one person to hate anyone. But he sends her an awful lot of mixed messages and she feels like he's toying with her at this point.

He's plenty nice- when he feels like it. It's not like Raffina where all her insults are made either in jest or because she's trying to get her to do... whatever rivals are supposed to do. He'll be nice, and then he'll get mean, and then he'll ask her if she "wants to take this outside," and Amitie's dumb but she's not stupid. She knows he's looking for a fight.

And she'll tell him no, thanks, they can Puyo battle inside just fine, and he'll grumble because that's not the kind of fight he wanted, but he'll do it anyways. If nothing else, he calms down a little afterward whether he wins or loses, but he still seems irritated over something regardless.

Well, admittedly, she's pretty sure that's just his face. Even when he's doing something he actively enjoys he manages to look a little annoyed. So, she can't actually be too sure on that front.

Either way! Would it kill the guy to be a little consistent?

Raffina doesn't seem to see the issue. Amitie's seen them trading blows- physically, not with words or Puyo- but they seem to be on friendly terms. More than that, really. If Raffina doesn't sit with Amitie over lunch she's sitting with Sig, and if Amitie ever wants to know something about him but doesn't want to go through the hassle of asking him to face, well, Raffina will probably do just as well.

She has learned through this method many things. Primarily that despite his very... Red appearance, he's actually rather fond of the color blue. Who'd have thought?

Arle doesn't really see the problem either. Says he's just got an "interesting" way of making friends.

Yeah, interesting is certainly a word choice alright. Amitie can't see what either of them see in him.

"What's the deal with you two anyways," Raffina asks.

"He's mean! I swear, he has it out for me!"

"He's no worse than Klug."

"Yeah, but Klug's not good at it," Amitie counters. "He usually just comes off as silly."

"And Sig is?"

When they'd first met, and Amitie had come with her boundless excitement to say hi to the new kid and introduce herself to him, he'd given her a quick once-over and asked, after she'd finished talking, if she was the reincarnation of a Claire's.

As in the store, Claire's.

And wow, that should not have hurt as much as it did, but Amitie had never felt more shot down before in her life. She tells Raffina this much, and to her dismay Raffina laughs.

"I'm so sorry," she squeaks between laughter, "you're right, that's so cruel. I'm going to have to give him a stern talking to, next we meet."

Amitie groans, looking up at the sky. After a moment Raffina manages to add, "You two could be an item. Claire's and Hot Topic."

The look of complete and utter dismay Amitie shoots her sends Raffina into another giggling fit, and Amitie is so upset by her statement that she demands a Puyo battle. Raffina loses because she keeps breaking concentration and laughing again, and Amitie can no longer show her face around her for the rest of the day, she decides.

Sig's back and forth indecision over whether to be nice to Amitie or to attempt demolishing her in a fight comes to a head on a really, really bad day for Amitie. It's not uncommon for her to wake up late, but she also forgot her homework, and her lunch, and worst of all they were practicing aiming their magic. Most of the time this was generally all good fun, a break from the monotony of normal, boring schoolwork, but not today.

Not for Amitie, who was already in a pretty piss-poor mood, who can't aim for shit, and who has a gnat in her ear goading her for every shot she manages to fire 2 feet away from the intended target.

"I'm sure Glasses would let you borrow his spectacles if you asked," Sig passively throws at her before muttering "cardinal," at his own target.

Amitie huffs and doesn't answer him. She fires off another shot- how the hell did she get it to land there?

"Careful," Sig drones, "you might hit The Tower."

Amitie has to think about that one for a second, but she does come to the correct conclusion that the joke is that The Tower is quite literally opposite of where they're currently aiming. She growls under her breath this time, and tries again. She actually gets a bullseye, and she points at Sig with a "ha!"

He lets out a low whistle. "Wow," he drawls.

Amitie can't tell if it's sarcastic. Everything sounds sarcastic coming from him.

Nothing else is said between the two of them for a few more spells, but then just as Amitie casts one-

"Miss."

And miss she does. She cringes as she watches her flare only barely singe the edge of the target. She buries her face in her hands for a second, then turns to face Sig.

"What is your problem!"

"I've got a few. Like, my arm's always too warm and it's really annoying."

"That's not what I'm talking about, and you know it!"

He tilts his head at her like he doesn't know, actually.

"Quit insulting me!" She demands. "You're not helping!"

"'M not supposed to be."

"Well you could at least not make it worse!"

"What're you gonna do?" He bares teeth and raises his right arm, flexing his clawed fingers at her. "You gonna cry about it?"

"I might!!"

"Oh."

He lowers his hand with a frown. "Well, maybe, you'd feel better about it. If we fought."

Amitie groans. "I'm not going to fight you! I'm not going to get detention because you're being incomprehensible!"

He stares at her.

"Incorporeal!"

She is met with further silence. She sighs, turns around, and calmly asks the classmate on the other side of her, "Klug, what's the word for when someone's being stubborn, and it starts with 'in,' and has a c and an r in it, I think?"

Klug blinks at her and thinks for a moment. "Incorrigible?"

Amitie turns back to Sig and gestures to Klug. "That!"

Sig opens his mouth.

"Shut up!" Amitie interrupts. "No! No, I'm not gonna let you walk all over me anymore! Stop talking and leave me alone!"

He lets it click shut again. They stare at each other for a tense few seconds.

And then he leaves.

Just up and walks off the school grounds entirely. Of course, Klug being Klug, he shouts after Sig, and when the other doesn't turn around he tells Ms. Accord he's gone off to who knows where. She says she'll take care of it, and Amitie doesn't see him for the rest of the day.

Or the next.

He does come the day after that, and he very resolutely does not talk to her. Refuses to look in her direction, even. Amitie doesn't say anything to him either, except for some reason his silence is giving her anxiety. Maybe he's just trying to give her space after her outburst.

A lot of it.

Multiple days' worth.

Okay. Okay now she's definitely more than a little bit anxious.

She knows, realistically, she should be overjoyed! He's finally leaving her alone! But those few times that she manages to catch his eye he's quick to look away and he always looks...

Sad. Dejected? She's not sure. It's hard to read his expression on a good day, let alone when he's clearly having a bad one. Or, many. But he sure doesn't look like his normal, slightly-annoyed-by-everything self.

She's watching him eat from the far side of the school grounds, which is probably really weird and she'd be super embarrassed if he caught her, but she can't help it.

"You'd think you're worried about him or something," Raffina points out, checking out her nails in faux-disinterest.

"Is he okay?" Amitie blurts out.

Raffina snorts, lowering her hand and bringing her gaze to Amitie's. "No."

Amitie watches him flump forward onto the dirt. Now the only thing she can really see of him is a mass of varying shades of red and two little horns poking out from it. She frowns.

"I mean- I know I was a little harsh," Amitie mumbles sheepishly, and Raffina looks at her like harsh isn't the word she'd use but she remains quiet, "but it wasn't that bad, right?"

Raffina sighs, turning her eyes toward the sky. "Normally, I'd say it couldn't even be considered bad in the first place. But for him, it was bad enough."

"You'd think someone as nonchalant as he is wouldn't be bothered by it..." Amitie grumbles.

"Yes, well, from you, it meant something."

"Why?"

Raffina blinks and goes quiet. "I think... Perhaps that's something you should ask him yourself."

Amitie looks a little horrified at the idea but she knows if Raffina won't tell her the first time she's not going to spill at all, unless maybe she bribes her. She swallows, and resolutely stands up. Right. Okay. She's going to figure this out one way, or another. And by that, she means only one way, actually.

Sig has found that fighting someone is one of the best ways to get to know them.

That's what the kids at his old school would tell him, anyways, and they were right. After his right arm and eye had turned red and he'd started inexplicably growing horns under his mess of hair, he'd gotten a lot more friends.

A lot more bruises, too. A broken nose, once.

They were a little on the aggressive side, sure, but he'd found that at some point he'd started matching them in temperament. He's not sure when that happened.

He's not sure why his parents decided to move him to a different school, either. He'd spent so long without any friends and of course, it's only when people actually start playing with him that his parents decide to move. Go figure, huh.

But he's got new friends here, at Primp. Not as many, and they act a little differently, but they're friends regardless.

Raffina was very, very easy to make friends with. He knows a lot about her. She's confident, practiced, she knows what she's doing- it's not the kind of practice where she learned everything on the fly and has been working on it since, like Sig, it's the kind that's purposeful.

She's also hotheaded, though, and prone to making more mistakes if she thinks she's losing. This carries through most of the things she does, her competitiveness a constant in her personality.

Arle's another one he made pretty quick friends with. She's a little on the looser side, more in it for the fun than the glory. But sometimes, when she's cornered, she's like a wild animal. Unpredictable. Violent. She's been in tight spots before, and it's clear how she got out of them.

(She apologized for the burn on his arm, and he waved her off and said if it was anything like the others it'd go away within the day. She didn't ask what that meant.)

He tried to be friends with Klug. He seems fun. Unfortunately, while Sig had managed to convince him to take an argument to the back of the school, when he lifted his fist to throw the first punch Klug flinched and screamed and curled up on the ground.

It wasn't even his right hand. He was using his normal human one to test the waters. Unfortunately, it seems these particular waters have the depth of a puddle. Shame.

Amitie, though. He can't understand Amitie. He's not very good at reading people as it is, but she's sending him so many mixed signals and he can't seem to interpret them correctly. She follows through with the lead up just fine, huffing and puffing the whole way through, but then he tries to actually play with her and she always refuses, and she's absolutely unbending in this decision. She'll Puyo battle with him, but it's not quite the same.

He guesses he's learned some things about her that way. She's smarter than she acts, and than other people tend to make her out to be. She's just smart in a very particular area. But she's prone to picking at her own mistakes. She notices one, and the entire thing breaks down.

And, yeah, that's pretty significant. But he bets he'd learn more if she really fought him. She was the first person to really approach him, to say hi rather than lean over to her friends and ask "what's wrong with his arm?" Of course he'd want to get to know her.

"You could always just tell her you want to be friends," Raffina'd suggested to him. "That might be, I don't know, easier?"

And yeah, he could. But that's not being close. That's just saying "let's be friends." That's not genuine- there's something different, something vulnerable about biting without bark. Bits and pieces of the other person bleed through. He wonders what Raffina and Arle see, when they play with him.

The way they play feels different from the way his friends at his old school do. They're not gentler on him, necessarily, but it hurts way less. He wants to know if Amitie is the same.

But he could never tell if she felt that way too.

Guess he has his answer now.

He's laying in the grass and watching ants crawl towards the food he'd lain down for them. He couldn't stomach it. Why waste it when he could feed a colony for days.

He hears someone approach, but he doesn't bother looking up. They stop not even a full foot behind him, and seem to shift a little awkwardly.

"... Sig?"

He looks up to glare at Amitie (he doesn't even mean to glare, that's just how he looks), but it doesn't last long. He decides craning his neck over his shoulder like that is too much work, so he lets it drop back onto the grass and tracks an ant grabbing a crumb of his lain down food.

"Sig," she tries again, slowly sitting down next to him. He huffs, flipping over on his side to face her all the way. Despite this, he still doesn't really look at her. She fidgets, trying to figure out what to say, and then settles for, "Are you... Okay...?"

He looks up at her with a look she can't really decipher, and this time she's the one directing her gaze away. "Um. Yeah. I guess that's kind of a dumb question," she laughs nervously. She looks down at him again. "But, um, could I ask what it is? That's bothering you, I mean."

He lets the question permeate a little and then responds, "Why would you tell me to leave you alone if you were just gonna come over n' talk to me yourself."

"So it is that," Amitie mumbles. Sig brings his focus to the grass. Wow. It sure is green, down here.

"Why would that bother you, though?" She asks, and when he stays silent she continues, "I mean, you're all! Bitey, and snappy and bored by everything all the time, and I know I should probably be glad you're not talking to me anymore," she watches his expression change again, and this time she can take a guess at what it is.

Hurt. She cringes at the thought.

She takes a breath and keeps going. "But now you're being all weird about it so what-" she furrows her brows, watching him curl his fingers into a fist and pull out a few blades of grass. "What changed?"

"Nothing," he responds, honestly. "Nothing changed. You just..." His eyes unfocus and his tone goes distant, "You just never want to play with me."

Wah-huh?

"I never what?"

"You never play with me," he repeats. "You act like you might, maybe, but whenever I ask you to you always say no."

"Wait wait wait, back up. Fighting... Is playing to you?"

His attention snaps back to her. "Is it not for you?"

"No! No," Amitie denies, "I mean, Puyo battles are totally normal, but fighting? Why would you want to do that?"

He rolls onto his back, staring up at the sky. "Wanna be close to you."

WAH-HUH x2?

"I want to get to know you," he admits, closing his eyes, "I've never been good at talking. It's easier to understand a fight."

Amitie's not completely sure she really gets that feeling. She doesn't really know how fighting someone would help you understand them better.

"But, I mean, I get it," Sig murmers, keeping his eyes shut. "I get it if you don't wanna be friends with me. Freak, n' all."

"NononoNONONO!" Amitie exclaims, quieting down when Sig looks up at her with a squint. "That's not it. It's not- I don't- I thought you hated me!"

He scowls at her, which very much contradicts his next statement of, "I don't hate you."

She chooses to believe his words, instead of his face. "So, then, you- you were just-!"

She buries her face into her hands and screams. "Ohhhhhh my god. Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

Sig sits up in a lackadaisical manner, but he keeps his attention on her.

"This entire time I thought you were just being a, a uh," she snaps her fingers a few times. "What's a word Arle would use?"

"Asshole."

"An asshole!" She nods. "But that's just how you play? You were trying to play with me? Because you wanted to be friends?!"

He blinks at her. "Yeah," he responds. He sounds irritated, but Amitie chooses to ignore it.

"Ohhhhhh nooooo," she whines, and now she's the one laying on her back. "I'm sorry! Oh my god, and I hurt you! You just wanted to be friends, and I hurt you!"

"'S fine," he mutters, "You didn't know. Sorry for... Not communicating. Or whatever."

Amitie grumbles about how that's probably not a healthy way to form relationships and they should discuss this later. She sits up and gives him an awkward smile. "Can we start over? Please?"

Sig tilts his head at her. "Uh. Sure?"

Her smile brightens and she excitedly throws her hand out. "Hiya! My name's Amitie I heard we were getting a new kid are you the new kid? You look like the new kid I've never seen you before you look super cool is your hair dyed or is it just like that sorry I'm talking so much I should let you go huh so what's your name?"

Wow. Did she seriously memorize that entire run-off? He looks her up and down, then smirks. "Are you the reincarnation of a Claire's?"

She punches his shoulder with a disbelieving laugh and an indignant "Sig!" then responds, "No, but I get my earrings from there!"

Further off, Raffina watches the two laugh with a feeling of relief. Finally, that's one headache removed.

Unfortunately for her she pretty soon realizes that this would merely cause a different headache to later form. But it's better than Amitie complaining about Sig's hot and cold demeanor, and Sig moping about how Amitie, who definitely wants to be friends with him, doesn't want to be friends with him. Honestly, as long as they're not going back to that? Raffina thinks she can deal with this particular headache.

[littleragondin]

So we are saying goodbye to Ghost Host Ghost House today. I will miss them all a lot, but this was a lovely way to conclude the show. A few things I especially enjoyed, once again!

I liked all the calls back to the beginning of their story. The taxi full of amulets, asking Kevin if he's coming home. Pluem and the "you're still as cute as before" speech. I liked the way they walk through steps they walked before, but because they have changed, grown during those 3 years, this time they manage to "get it right". That's something I am always fond of, and it worked really well here.

Seeing the house again! I said before that I really loved the house as a set, with its specific colors, light and atmosphere. It was great to see it in two very different states > empty and very monochrome with everything under wraps when Kevin's gone, somehow "dead" too. And then full of natural light and colors - of life - once Pluem lives in it and the memories it carries (because unlike when the family was haunting it, the memories are not holding them stuck in place, they're now part of a lived existence and are companions instead of a cage).

The way they look at each other, generally speaking. You can feel they look at someone special when they look at each other. I like when Kevin looks at Pluem like he's searching for something on his face, his eyes always moving. And they way Pluem looks at Kevin is just. It's always so full of feelings and emotions it's fascinating to watch.

Admitting wrongs. Here's another thing that we've seen across the series that makes a come back, the way they are willing to admit they made mistakes, own up to it, and try to get better about it.

Hands action! I felt very spoiled, personally, by the insane amount of hand holding, hand caressing and hand kissing the series gave us all along. I will never, ever get tired of watching Pluem kiss Kevin's hands - here's a guy who clearly get the appeal of a pretty pair of hands.

The can strip rings. It was adorable when Pluem made and exchanged them, it slayed me that they both kept theirs on jewellery they seem to wear everyday.

And, like during the whole series, how believable it is that they are attracted to and desire each other. I'm not usually super attentive to that, actually, but here it always felt so very natural I consistently noticed!

I am a bit emotional saying goodbye to a series that, frankly, took me by surprise. I went in ready to enjoy it because, you know, GHOSTS, yet I was not expecting much more than a fun ride. But it ended up being a surprisingly strong romance (with stellar work from the actors who portrayed what is probably one of my absolute favorite relationship across all the BL I've seen so far), and a beautiful story of love and grief. I can only recommend it!

[ladyhindsight]

Ugh. I don’t know. I don’t knooow.

At the end of it all, what am I left with this? Big chunk of nothing cohesive. It’s a character-driven story for sure because the plot is once again somewhere out there, buried under all the other stuff and fluff the writing manages to cram into itself. Compared to Chain of Gold, Chain of Iron was definitely overall more consistent. The story progressed at a leisurely and steady pace from start to finish, though there were some hiccups along the way (Grace’s first PoV chapter interrupting the story, James being silent about his experience with the shadow realm for over two weeks before he finally tells Cordelia because it’s the most urgent thing on a random breakfast when the plot needs to finally pick up etc.). It is just so unnecessarily long.

The steady and boring pace is all fine and dandy, but when the climax—once again—arrives without a proper buildup and—once again—hundred pages before the ending of the book, it feels like it’s really not the central point of the story at all. I liked the writing here more than any other Shadowhunter book, because the characters were more aware of themselves and their actions and actions of others than Clare has before managed. I understood where every character came from—not that there weren’t tiny bits of complaints along the way, but I understood. I also liked the casual affection the characters showed each other, because Clare’s writing seems to have shaken off the jealous and hierarchical approach to relationships that inhabited The Mortal Instruments.

The world felt more vibrant than before, but most likely because it rests on the shoulders of 17 or so other books of the same world and the endless description of everyone’s clothes and the colors they wore. The mysteries were more alluring than their answers, and the prologue basically gave away Belial right away despite the narrative trying to throw readers off. Despite some of the things I liked, overall this book was just so tedious to read.

CORDELIA & ALASTAIR. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every scene with them. I liked reading their interactions, and the fact that Cordelia actually stands up to defend Alastair (side-eyeing Isabelle here). Each time they would interact or be in the scene together was great. Lovely. Best. Both are characters I like to read about, and Cordelia is probably the best heroine Clare ever wrote. Clary, Tessa, and Emma could never.

JAMES & CORDELIA. I really have no major issues with their relationship. It was expected to be angsty and messy and I can’t wait for it to be dealt with because that’s going to be the ending for them anyway. I really don’t care how they get there. Just do it.

ALASTAIR & THOMAS. Interesting, self-conscious, though has no proper footing and, compared to the main couple, the writing spends waaayy less time building their relationship and attraction. It was once again the scraps of Clare’s attention they were given.

MATTHEW. I didn’t like Matthew still any better, but I liked him a bit more towards the end. His friendship with Cordelia, despite his unrequited love for her, was a nice read. I don’t know where the story takes his alcoholism, and though I am sympathetic to this issue, you slapping some issues on your character doesn’t make the character sympathetic by default just because they experience those issues. Alastair’s internal wounds are made to be the source of his antagonism, Matthew’s are there for overindulgent sympathy.

ANNA & ARIADNE. I was disgusted at Anna, how she treated Ariadne in the pantry, how Ariadne is written basically without dignity and on her knees begging Anna back. It’s disproportionate, Anna’s anger over Ariadne’s wishes to have a life where she can be a mother. Anna doesn’t extend any sympathy or understanding for Ariadne’s needs and wishes in life. Anna only cares about Anna and how her own heart got broken by Ariadne. Ariadne doesn’t come from the same standing as Anna, isn’t free to behave as she wishes as Anna, thought she couldn’t have a family with Anna—but why would Anna care about any of what Ariadne wants? It’s so ridiculous how Ariadne (and Charles) are both considered badly for being in the closet in a society that does not truly accept them as they are, and yet it is for Ariadne to wax poetic how great and beautiful Anna is and is basically left without dignity until the end of their story in this book. Anna’s character is very reminiscent of Jace.

CHRISTOPHER & GRACE. If the family trees (because I don’t knooow) are true to the extent that Christopher and Grace end up marrying, their interactions were interesting and, if true, a nice setup. Just don’t know how they can go on from here because of the bracelet and stuff. Grace grew on me during this book. She was more interesting as a character when we saw her mind and her side, not the damsel in distress that needed James’ saving.

CHARLES. My lovely self-important Charles.

Cordelia glanced back: Rosamund seemed to be gesturing for Grace to come with her to join some of the other unmarried girls, but Grace only shook her head and turned to Thoby.

A moment later Thoby had taken Grace by the hands and spun her out onto the dance floor. Rosamund looked after the two of them, her mouth open. Charles shrugged and walked off.

and

“I’m feeling much better,” said Charles, though James would not have described him as looking much better. He was still quite pale, his lips bluish. There was only so much quick spells and blood-replacement runes could do. He squinted at Malcolm. “Are you the High Warlock?” he said. “I’m delighted to make your acquaintance at last. I’m Charles Fairchild—you might know my mother, the Consul.”

“Charles,” Matthew muttered through clenched teeth. “You’ve just been stabbed.”

Charles was undeterred. “I regret, of course, that we didn’t meet under more auspicious circumstances—”

What a legend.

NOTES I TOOK WHILE READING

i. The prologue was corny

ii. Am I the only one bored to death with each chapter opening with a poem? They don’t add any more depth or flourish to the writing or the characters, and nothing would change if they weren’t included

iii. In the first chapter the word ‘tendrils’ is used twice in consecutive paragraphs, which read weird

iv. I wonder how the families of the Nephilim who died because of Elias felt when he was, essentially, freed of any charges because Cordelia became a Clave hero (not remarked upon at all)

v. Another Caravaggio reference scored by Matthew

vi. The dialogue in the beginning feels stilted but eases later on

vii. All of London is in envy of Cordelia because she’s marrying James? C’mon

viii. Sanvi, Sansanvi, and Semangelaf—these angels were not mentioned in TMI relating to the protection ritual which would’ve made sense because it was pretty relevant in CoFA and CoLS. So probably the ritual wasn’t that fleshed out back then

ix. What’s up with all the like Caravaggio angel, like Justice and Victory, like Diogenes looking for an honest man, painting by Rossetti, like a Botticelli angel, and like Theseus following the thread out of the Minotaur’s labyrinth? Please

x. Could Tessa fire a runed gun?

xi. I liked the first chapter from Grace’s PoV, her narration of Tatiana felt more in depth and explanatory compared to the looks of a character, though it is also a pretense to narrate Tatiana’s character

xii. After the wedding, Cordelia thinks betraying Tessa and Will was the most difficult the bear. Why not Sona as well?

xiii. It’s told that Cordelia has a habit of feeding Xanthos carrots, though she didn’t do this in Chain of Gold. Probably would hold more water if she was actually shown feeding carrots to the horse before

xiv. Sighted mundanes are only good for being servants

xv. Risa’s presence at the Mayfair house, among other things, is just a vehicle for the fake marriage trope to spur on the intimacy between James and Cordelia because they are thus forced to pretend intimacy of a married couple. All of what comes with the trope is just a pretense to have James help Cordelia with her dress. The narrative crafts reasons for sensual scenes but because the intent is obvious, it’s awkward and forced

xvi. “His eyes had gone dark gold” when James’ eyes were described as “dark gold” before this

xvii. Wayyyyy too much sexualization of Cordelia’s body. I was warned and yet

xviii. Gabriel and Cecily were just Gabriel and Cecily to Cordelia at the wedding, but then at the Pastry house ball they are introduced with their surname but Tessa and Will aren’t?

xix. I am tired of reading what lavish thing and color everyone is wearing in every scene

xx. I wish the concept of a Shadowhunter not being able to bear runes would be expanded upon, at least explained why because that defeats the whole purpose of their angel blood and existence (with Jesse it was plot-relevant and explained, just in general)

xxi. Even during her descent into madness, Tatiana manages to blame even the Herondales like please, Clare, try not to mention them at least once because it takes away any credibility of her villainy to bring Herondales into her speech all the time. You just want readers to feel defensive and sorry for them

xxii. I definitely wasn’t expecting erotic scenes out of the blue

xxiii. Why are the Nephilim amongst themselves adhering to MUNDANE ballroom etiquette? Also Tessa, Sophie, and Cecily all danced with their husbands in Chain of Gold

xxiv. Teenager and adult characters are all tonally same

xxv. I feel uncomfortable how many times Cordelia’s breasts and curves were described. Jeesus

xxvi. Making Charles bad at his job is a pretense to remove Tessa and Will from the story

xxvii. Runes not working on guns. Why does the gun need to be runed when it is not the part that hits the demon rather than the bullet?

xxviii. James being immediately perfect in Persian is annoying

xxix. What the ever-loving fuck was the point of Filomena? Why was she specifically introduced and crammed into the story when she was nothing but a plot point?

xxx. “It had stopped snowing, James realized; he wasn’t sure why he was so very cold.” Probably because it is still winter?

xxxi. Belial has been stuck twice now. If he doesn’t get struck third time in Chain of Thorns and something whacky happen, It will probably Emma who takes him down in the end

xxxii. So much kissing with tongue??

xxxiii. “But as a woman, I am well accustomed to using methods other than brute force.” Why is Lilith tied to such human and societal and stereotypical understanding of how women behave when she’s an eons old demon?

xxxiv. The only thing surprising to me as to the plot was Charles almost being murdered

xxxv. Oh, so now incest is used for villanization

xxxvi. I’m so glad that the bracelet thing is done. Dragging that thing for two whole books was tiresome, especially since the point of it here was to simply drive James and Cordelia apart

xxxvii. I’m bored with these trilogies revolving around the same villains, here Tatiana and Belial

xxxviii. When Lilith appeared as Magnus, it didn’t seem like him at all, so I’m pretty pleased that it was an actual plot point and not bad writing

xxxix. I probably don’t have such major feelings about these characters and their relationship messes because I didn’t really care about this series in the first place. All the settings for drama and the characters entangled with them feel just recycled already

[justanisabelakinnie]

Camilo's Transformation~Part II

Part I here 

Also known as Camilo's Revenge.

I had a lot of fun writing this, and it was inspired by a dream I had last night, so don't hate me, hate my dream, lol.

Anyway, enjoy! 

“Mirabel?” Isabela peeked into Mirabel’s now expanded and much more personalized bedroom.

“Hmm?” Mirabel looked up from her needlework.

“Any idea what’s up with Camilo?” Isabela asked. It’s been months at this point, and Camilo was still slipping into the “Carlos” persona every once in a while. During this time, he refused to answer to a name that wasn’t “Carlos” or short for Carlos, such as “Carl”. Only Mirabel and Dolores refused to call him such a stupid name. Bruno was the only one who seemed to enjoy this Transformation of his, and every now and then would join his sobrino by pretending to be “Hernando” or “Jorge”. It was all too much for the family to handle, and not even Alma could to anything about it. Eventually, they just rolled their eyes whenever it happened and let the freak show duo be.

Mirabel shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t even know anymore. It’s like he’s a totally different person. He refuses to talk to me, he refuses to get makeup tutorials from Dolores, he refuses to pet Antonio’s animals or play princesses with him…its like…I dunno. I just miss my friend.”

“Me too, hermanita, me too.” Isabela hugged Mirabel and kissed her on the forehead.

The worst part about Camilo being “Carlos”(for Camilo at least) is that the kids didn’t care. They weren’t intimidated by the town babysitter’s faux-edgy persona and consistently roped him into their adventures. If the kids wanted him to transform into somebody for their amusement, he had no choice but to comply. If they wanted him to be a pirate, he was a pirate. If there was a baby that needed coddling and the parents were busy, well then, that was Camilo’s job. It was exhausting. He liked kids, but they weren’t even willing to call him Carlos! For a bunch that ought to have such a big imagination, they refused to play along with his make-believe and see him as anything else other than Camilo, no matter what color his ruana was. Granted, at least he wasn’t overworked like he was before Casita fell and got rebuilt, but still.

Maybe the parents thought that if he spent more time around kids who didn’t entertain his nonsense behavior, they could wring the Carlos out of him.

Like that was ever going to happen.

Fortunately, Carlos came in handy one day.

Mirabel walked the busy streets, searching for her best friend Emiliana. Where could she be? Knowing her, she was probably asleep on a bench somewhere, Mirabel wouldn’t doubt it as a possibility. Practically everyone knew of Emiliana’s rather unfortunate sleeping condition. The poor girl had narcolepsy during the day and insomnia during the night. Worse yet, it appeared to be genetic, perhaps even hereditary as her father had the same condition, so Julieta’s food couldn’t cure her.

Mirabel came across a bench in the town square, as townspeople buzzed around it, acting as though nothing unusual was happening. Because it wasn't at this point. And sure enough, a young Black girl wearing a pink dress with pillow-shaped embroidery adorning it was there, lying down on the bench as she slept peacefully.

Mirabel stood there, waiting for the girl to wake up. Emiliana was her best friend along with Camilo, after all. She would wait as long as she had to, if she had to.

Fortunately, she wasn’t forced to wait for long. Emiliana’s beautiful brown eyes fluttered open as she yawned and stretched her arms. Mirabel rushed towards her to help her up.

“I’m sorry, Mira,” Emiliana giggled groggily. “It happened again.” She bonked herself on the head playfully. "What's the matter with me?"

“It’s okay,” Mirabel assured her, taking the seat next to her on the bench and hugging her friend before adjusting Emiliana's glasses for her. “You always manage to pick the best sleeping spots, I don’t know how you do it. Umm…” she picked something out of Emiliana’s hair.

“Oh, thanks,” Emiliana smiled lazily at her friend.

“You’re welcome,” Mirabel said. “So, umm, any idea what happened with Camilo?”

“How would I know?” Emiliana shrugged.

“Well, because he’s your boyfriend. And lately he’s been acting up.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen it. He hasn’t been doing it with me, though. He’s always so normal and sweet around me! I really am lucky.”

“You are!” Mirabel agreed, almost squealing but maintaining her composure. She cleared her throat. But then again, who wouldn’t be happy that their two best friends—whom she loved more than anything else in the whole world—were dating each other? “Maybe you can talk some sense into him.”

“I’ll see,” Emiliana considered, shrugging. “So, is that the only reason you came to see me? To talk about my boyfriend?” Eyebrow arched, she waited for a response.

“Of course not!” Mirabel denied. “I always have time for my best friend! So anyway, how’s life been?”

“Pretty good,” Emiliana lied. She looked at her feet in avoidance of Mirabel’s poignant gaze.

“Pretty good, huh?” Mirabel parroted, absolutely not buying it.

“Yup.” Emiliana forced herself to look back and Mirabel, who returned her look with an air of skepticism. “Okay,” she finally admitted. “Maybe not the best. My sisters still don’t talk to me and my mom doesn’t do anything about it. She says that because they’re triplets, they’re supposed to be closer to each other than they are to me. Granted, sometimes they do still talk to me, but…” she sighed. “It’s like they don’t have time to be my older sisters anymore. I wish Dolores was my sister. Well, not really, because…you know. But…you know what I mean.”

Mirabel couldn’t believe her friend was being treated like this. Though they weren’t related, she was just as much Mirabel’s best friend as Camilo was. So being excluded from her birth sisters just because she wasn’t a triplet was absolute garbage.

“I know what you mean,” she said after a long pause. “And I know how you feel, too. Isabela and I are closer than ever before, but it hasn’t always been that way. It was partly my fault anyway for only seeing her as perfect, but all I’m saying is that I understand.”

Emiliana nodded.

“You still have your father though, right?”

Emiliana nodded. “I do, and I am so grateful. I love my father a lot, but I just wish I could be close to my sisters…! And that they didn’t constantly make fun of me while my mom did nothing about it.”

Mirabel wrapped her best friend in a hug. “I understand,” she soothed. She knew she was being repetitive, but what more could she say? It was no wonder Mirabel and Emiliana were best friends. They both went through similar struggles in their families.

The hug went on for a while, Emiliana shedding tears lightly, until they heard a snicker above them.

“Oh no,” Mirabel groaned in Emiliana’s ear.

“Please no,” Emiliana gripped Mirabel’s back tighter. “I am not ready to deal with him today.”

But it was too bad for her, because Andre was ready to deal with them.

“Are you done with your little sob fest yet?” Andre sneered, clapping slowly to emphasize his sarcasm. “Wonderful. You chicas really put on a good performance there. You deserve an award for it, really.”

“Go away, Martinez,” Emiliana glared, regretfully breaking the hug with Mirabel. “And quit bullying me, I’m not afraid of you.”

“Hey Mirabel,” Andre ignored Emiliana. “Can you give me a minute with your amiga mejor, ¿por favor? You can play around with your gift in the meantime. Oh wait!” He laughed at Mirabel’s dejected and offended expression, before grabbing Emiliana by the arm, yanking her up out of the seat on the bench, and wrapped an arm around her as they walked a tiny distance from Mirabel.

“Why would you say that to her? Take it back!”

“Whatever, ojos mocosos,” Andre mocked, and Emiliana rolled her eyes, shoving the mean boy off of her.

“Don’t call me that!” Emiliana seethed, but Andre only laughed. He is so annoying, Emiliana thought.

“But it’s exactly what you are! Maybe if you slept when you were supposed to sleep, you wouldn’t look so disgusting!” He eyed her up at down, before shaking his head in mock shame. “I don’t know what he sees in you.”

“Don’t you dare bring up my boyfriend!” Emiliana defended, getting all up in Andre’s face and poking him in the chest with her fingernail. “Or else.”

“Or else what?” Andre rolled his eyes. “You know, that’s actually what I came to talk to you about. Now that I think about it, he doesn’t see anything in you after all! I just thought that as your closest friend—“

“You are NOT my closest friend!” Emiliana growled. “Mirabel is.”

“I should tell you that your novio’s got some wandering eyes.”

“Liar. Camilo would never cheat on me!”

“Are you sure about that?” Andre chuckled, examining his nails. “Because from what I know, it’s a different story. You’re not ready to hear this, mujercita, but…Camilo showed up at my house last night.”

“…He did not!!!”

“He did! And let’s just say we had a lot of…" He wiggled his eyebrows for flirtatious effect. "...fun…together. Mmm-hmmm.”

Andre grinned at Emiliana, before he received a damaging blow to his face.

Andre staggered back, clutching his face for dear life. He could’ve sworn that a tooth was broken, even though he lost all of his baby teeth years ago.

“Are you lying about getting with my boyfriend? To my face?" Emiliana roared, the clench of her fist tightening. "And you expected me to believe that lie?!”

Andre coughed up something red before answering, “I just…thought you deserved to know.”

“Save it.” Emiliana turned her back to him. “You’re a disgusting and disgraceful human being. Come on, Mira, let’s go—wait, Mira? Where are you?”

“Aww, so your best friend fled!” Andre taunted with a snicker. “I guess she doesn’t really care about you after all!” He gasped. "Or maybe super speed is her real gift!" Laughter again.

But he realized pretty quickly that Mirabel had left for the exact opposite reason.

From a distance, Mirabel could spot where Emiliana was being bullied and picked on by Andre. She yanked her cousin’s ruana, pointing in their direction.

“Is that him?” Camilo demanded.

“Yes.” Mirabel said decisively.

“Good.”

Emiliana looked to where Mirabel was standing, only this time, she had her cousin with her.

Uh oh. Andre felt himself sweating rapidly as he realized this was very bad news for him.

Some of the townspeople noticed what was happening too, and needless to say, they had a lot of opinions on it.

“Is that Camilo Madrigal?” Little Alejandra piped up, yanking on her Mami’s dress. “I love him! He’s so nice and he’s my best friend!”

“He doesn’t look so nice right now though, primita,” Lilli said, standing beside her prima and Tía as they looked on in confusion.

“What’s up with that outfit of his?” Sra. Pezmuerto judged, eyeing his differently colored ruana. “And why is he holding a rock?”

Camilo, seething with rage, glared at the boy who was bullying his girlfriend with the heat of a thousand suns.

“Hey you!” He yelled. “Who do you think you are?!”

But he didn’t give the boy time to answer as his arm stretched back.

"DON'T MESS WITH MY GIRLFRIEND!!!"

And with that final threat, he hurled the rock at the other boy with all his might, it hitting Andre square in the mouth.

As Andre cried out in pain and Sra. Pezmuerto led her daughter and niece away, Mirabel and Camilo made a beeline towards Emiliana.

Camilo wrapped his girlfriend in a hug. “Mi amor! Are you all right?”

Emiliana just giggled. “I’m fine!”

“Oh that’s a relief.” He gave his girlfriend a sweet peck on the lips. Behind him Emiliana saw Mirabel grinning from ear to ear but trying and failing to hide it. “I’m so sorry about what that bribón did to you. But don’t worry. I’m sure after this he won’t bully you anymore. Also I’m sorry if I caught you off guard.”

Emiliana only laughed. "It's okay. I'm happy you stepped in. Really."

"Yeah, I told mi primo what was going on," Mirabel informed, placing a hand on Emiliana's shoulder. "You really think I'd let my best friend get harassed by that idiota?"

"Of course not," Emiliana hugged her amiga mejor. "You're always there for me!"

"That's right I am!" Mirabel hugged back.

"Come on, Bella Durmiente," Camilo said. "You can come over to me and Mirabel's house if you want!"

"Of course I want to!" Emiliana eagerly replied, and they walked off, ignoring Andre as they left him writhing and moaning on the ground beneath them. 

~*~ 

"I don't know why your sobrino hates me, Sra. Madrigal!" Andre cried like a baby as Emiliana and Camilo eyed each other suspiciously. "All I did was try to befriend his girlfriend! But he got mad at me and lashed out with unprovoked physical violence because he's possessive, toxic, and controlling!"

"Oh, and now he's making me out to be an abusive boyfriend!" Camilo yelled, pointing at Andre angrily. "I'm telling you, Mama, don't heal him!"

"I thought she was your tia--"

"Shut up."

"Why is he even here?" Mirabel asked.

"He's here because your cousin doesn't know how to control his impulses," Julieta said, giving Camilo a look.

"But he deserved it, Mama!" Camilo explained.

"Then explain why Sra. Pezmuerto doesn't want you around Alejandra anymore."

"I would never hurt a kid!"

"I'm fourteen years old, so technically I am a kid!" Andre idiotically reasoned.

"If you don't stop talking, I will make you bleed again," Camilo threatened. "Do you understand me?"

"Camilo, that is enough!" Julieta ordered. "This is why you are no longer allowed to pretend to be Carlos! This character of yours has proven to be a bad influence!"

"A bad influence on who?" Camilo asked. But Julieta was right. Pepa and Felix had taken away Camilo's burgundy ruana and forced him back into his normal yellow one. They also didn't allow him to wear his hair covering one eye and also banned him from wearing makeup. All because he defended his girlfriend from a boy who was bullying her and lying about him cheating on her. As if he would ever be romantically or sexually involved with Andre of all people. Yuck.

"Mami, do you know what he did?" Mirabel asked. "He mocked Emiliana and her sleep disorder, and also made fun of me for not having a gift!"

"That's not true!" Andre protested.

"You told my girlfriend that I slept with you!" Camilo barked, clearly enraged.

Julieta looked from her daughter to her nephew to the random boy sitting in the chair, before turning to Emiliana. "Is this true?"

Emiliana only nodded shyly. "Yes, it is true."

Julieta just looked at her for a little longer, then sighed. Turning back to Andre, she made a final decision. "I will heal you," she said. "But only if you promise to never harass my daughter or my nephew's girlfriend ever again."

"But--"

"Do you promise? Otherwise you can walk right out the door with that bloody lip of yours."

Andre paused, looking at the three scowling teens, before sighing reluctantly. "I...promise." he murmured.

"All right," she shoved an arepa in his mouth. "Eat up."

Andre swallowed the arepa, and instantly his lips stopped bleeding and his teeth were all aligned. "Hooray, I'm cured!" Andre cheered. "Thank you, Julieta!"

"That's Sra. Madrigal to you, young man."

Emiliana couldn't help but giggle at this. When she had first met the Madrigal family, she had addressed Julieta in the exact same way that she demanded to be addressed by Andre. Only difference is, her response and been for her to call the older woman Julieta. And that made her happy.

"Thank you, Sra. Madrigal."

"Now apologize to Mirabel and Emiliana."

Andre didn't need to be told twice. With a huff, he turned to the two girls. "Mirabel, I'm sorry you didn't get a gift--I mean I'm sorry I made fun of you for not getting a gift. There is nothing wrong with not having a gift. And Emiliana, I'm sorry I called you 'ojos mocosos', I'm sorry I told you that Camilo sees nothing in you, and I'm sorry I told you that Camilo was cheating on you with me. Please forgive me."

"Well, I accept your apology, but it's going to take me a long while to forgive you," Mirabel stated bluntly.

"Me too," Emiliana chimed in.

Andre nodded. "I guess I'd...better leave."

"You'd better," Camilo agreed snidely. "Thanks to you, I'm not allowed to be Carlos anymore! Are you happy with yourself?"

Andre just rolled his eyes at Camilo, but Emiliana could tell that he felt fear, and walked out the door, never once looking back. 

~*~ 

"Hey, Camilo!" Isabela peeked into Camilo's room, the young boy looking sadder than ever. "Wanna go get some coffee?"

Camilo didn't respond. His head was down at the table as he stared at the metronome as it ticked methodically. He didn't even play the piano anymore, and yet for some reason he still had it.

"Cami, are you okay," Isabela walked delicately over to Camilo, and crouched beside him. "Did you and Emiliana break up?"

"Never!" Camilo gasped in offense, shaking his head. "I love her!" He went back to his emotionless expression as he continued to watch the metronome, almost as if he didn't say anything in the first place.

Isabela paused. Well, this was awkward. "Well, then what's the matter."

"I can't be Carlos..." he said, voice quivering as he was on the verge of tears. "All because I threw a rock at this one jerk."

It was true. Not only that, but Bruno had stopped being Hernando and Jorge. At least when Camilo was around. No matter how many times Camilo told his uncle he had nothing to do with this, Bruno still felt like he had maybe been a bad influence on Camilo by encouraging him. Maybe he thought that Camilo would throw Jorge's spackle at someone.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm impressed by you," Isabela answered honestly.

Camilo looked up. "You are?"

"Yes!" Isabela chirped. "That boy totally deserved it. He, what, tried to make your girlfriend think you were a cheater? You're the best boyfriend Emiliana could possibly have! That Andres or whatever his name is can absolutely get lost."

Camilo giggled. "I can't believe you said 'get lost'."

"What, like it's weird for me to say it?" Isabela laughed along, nudging Camilo in the side with her elbow. Seeing Camilo writhe, she got an idea. Wiggling her fingers, she let the tips trail up and down his waist, as he continued to squirm.

"Stop it," he exhaled, but Isabela didn't stop it. Her fingers moved to his stomach, then to his back, then to his shoulders and neck, and the next thing Camilo knew, he was on the floor, wriggling like a worm as he laughed hysterically, Isabela also laughing as she tickled her primito to death.

Isabela stopped once there were tears in Camilo's eyes and he began coughing. "Feeling better?" she said.

"Better," Camilo said, tucking in his shirt. "But no more raspberries. The belly button is uber sensitive territory."

"Got it," Isabela giggled. "Come on, let's go to the cafe."

She helped Camilo up and they linked arms as they left his room, before leaving Casita. 

[decompose1]

Hi! Sorry this is late, but this for the OC ask game! :) These are questions for two UFS characters, Peachy and Rose! They both really seem like intetesting characters :D You don't have really answer them all if some are too spoilery! My questions are 10, 19, 20, 29, 35, 36, 42, and 50! Sorry if that's too many questions 0_0; you can just pick some if that's the case, that's all, bye! :D

FINALLY ABLE TO GET TO THIS YAY!!!! I LOVE YOU THANK YOU FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS I LOVE TO RAMBLE.

10: Do they have any markings, piercings or scars?

Peachy: Peachy has various light yellow-orange splotches :o) i don't keep these a super consistent shape, i sort of draw them however i want, often in little shapes like hearts/stars/triangles/circles!! BUT that's just my lil stylization thingy, Peachy DOES actually have splotches! They're like the fruit equivalent to a birthmark hehe! I also pretty much always draw her with rosy cheeks.

Rose: Rose doesn't have much in the way of markings, i think their thorns, roots, and claws are their most distinguishing features!! However... i think they would love to have some piercings, they could rock it. If they had a nose, they'd get a bridge piercing, i think. They would also have a piercing on the Gay Ear. Things to consider with gijinkas maybe!!!!

19: Hobbies

Peachy: She doesn't have a ton of free time, and she'd only ever advertise her beauty stuff, but i think she secretly enjoys painting.

Rose: Rose sings!! It isn't professional for them or anything, but they do like to sing a bit on open mic night at the venue they work at! I like to think they would be a good singer. (Considering i'm the one planned to voice them, though, who knows how true i could ever make that,)

20: Clothing/Aesthetic

Peachy: Oh she's so extremely preppy. She's so preppy it hurts. Big fan of pink/sunset colors- varies between neutral tones and super flashy. She does like to go all out whenever possible. Think early 2000s cheerleaders. Very into mini skirts, fun socks, etc. Not afraid to show skin. LOTS of makeup, enjoyer of scrunchies and pom pom ties. I give her a very girly aesthetic with a lot of nostalgia elements. Very mean girls-esque. Sunset or bubblegum palettes!!

Rose: Think, like... a sophisticated, romantic aesthetic. They're a fancy flower! Vintage, pretty things. For clothing/style, they REALLY like to go with a very "mixed" presentation, so they'll often incorporate both typically masculine and feminine things. Vests, lace, corsets, boots, ties... anything is free game if it fits the look! They tend to prefer deeper tones like maroon/forest green/plum/navy/etc, or more muted ones. Not super bright, very proper and luxurious. They have a very romantic and fancy aesthetic. The kind of person who writes love poems. Almost vampiric.

29: What was childhood like?

Peachy: Peachy was a child star, with her mother (Apricot) as her manager and her father (Plum) staying out of it. She was an only child. She is quite spoiled and often comes off bratty and mean these days. She is still currently managed by her mother. I will leave it at that for now, i think :o)

Rose: Rose has a good relationship with their family! It was just them for a good while. Their mom (Multiflora) was a singer, and she taught them a lot. They had sort of always had very... mixed ideas as far as gender, and the role they played, and what they wanted to do and who they liked, and that... you know, likely led to some issues with peers and bullying. When they were a young teen, though, they got a little sister, Wimi (<a type of tea rose!), who they love dearly. They are so so protective.

35: What are they like as a friend?

Peachy: It... really depends. Peachy is pretty inconsistent in her relationships. This is probably because a lot of her friendships are based more on her popularity than sincerity, and she's used to it, so she doesn't take most relationships that seriously. It has kind of screwed with her sense of loyalty. It would take some real work to get her to understand a relationship- even a friendship- is serious/sincere. She assumes most are not, and will treat them accordingly. (It's Possible, she just has walls.)

Rose: Rose is pretty much the opposite of Peachy here. They feel things hard and fast. They are VERY prone to becoming protective of people they care about, and they are a big lover. Though they are also EXTREMELY flirty, and will often flirt with people- including friends- a lot. And then they. have trouble actually going anywhere with that because they are so nervous about their thorns hurting someone. Endless feedback loop. Rose You Are A Disaster (<one of the calmest people on the show actually)

36: What are they like as a partner?

Peachy: Unfortunately, much like her friendships, she tends to not get very attached, as she hasn't had very many serious relationships. Fame will do that! ... If she does start to feel things for someone, though, she is... kind of a wreck. She doesn't know how to handle things like that. She would want to make them happy, and i'm not sure she'd really understand how. For a usually very confident and dominant person, i feel like she would need some help understanding herself in a genuine relationship.

Rose: HUGE sap. Very very romantic. Their love language is everything. They give gifts. They love spending time together. They're just very loving in general. Still extremely fiercely protective, and they might worry a little much, but it's alright. The biggest obstacle is their thorns. They usually won't touch anyone out of fear that they could prick/scratch people, so one would need to find a way around that (either by being someone who can't be cut, or by figuring out ways to touch while avoiding the thorns, etc).

42: What’s the dumbest thing your character’s done?

Peachy: I can't give you the real answer :o). Second worst wasn't actually something she did, but there is a viral video of her being pushed into a pool floating around out there.

Rose: Hm. Probably joining the show! Listen. It was an impulse decision,

50: What are some motifs associated with your character?

Peachy: Sunset/sunrise, peaches/fruit (yes, she is a peach, but yes, there is also a reason this is on here), bad decisions. There are certain musical things i can’t say. I can't disclose more than that at the moment, hopefully that's good enough ;o)

Rose: Thorns, flowers (again, they are a flower, but this was intentional. this is a reason i love working with objects!), knights, melody. This one is also a bit limited as far as what i'm able to say at the moment, sorry!!

AND UH!! I THINK THAT IS IT!! I HOPE THIS SUFFICES HEHEHEHE AGAIN TYSM FOR ALL OF THE QUESTIONS I WAS SO HAPPY TO RAMBLE

[anderssoneskesen40]

Being a parent is among the most critical tasks we can at any time perform in daily life. Via successful being a parent we guide our child from infancy to adulthood. Our target, naturally, is to provide them to eventually key in the realm of adulthood as liable and fruitful humankind. We make this happen by case in point.

An incredible tip for just about any father or mother is always to show consistency and follow-through in all of the relationships with kids. Mothers and fathers who consistently concern exactly the same commands and probable consequences and fail to obtain them via will more than likely find yourself with children who happen to be unwilling to listen closely or conduct themselves. Standing up from your records will train little ones to spend consideration and routinely do the things you question of which. Be sure your kids has time to become kid! Don't pressure them to mature and cope with points too soon. Kids are only fresh as soon as, and it's important that they reach make the most from it. Allow them to have a chance to engage in and check out as well as you should be a child. Avoid offering young children "I told you so responses." Despite the fact that in certain specific circumstances this may be required there exists typically an improved way. It is vital for children to know why they ought to not do just about anything because this enables them to increase as being a man or woman and to figure out how to make their particular excellent judgements. Stay consistent. Young children operate far better whenever they determine what will occur through the day, especially children. An enormous change in plan or no routine will give you really crabby youngsters. They are going to think that these are out of control, and they can demonstrate that with their habits. In terms of seeking to transform kids' bad habits, moms and dads need to "move the go walking" by environment a good case in point. Just like most moms and dads are unable to stay the sound of their kids whining, virtually all young children can rarely have parent nagging. Rather than continually harping on your own child, create a good declaration inspiring these people to follow-through with a few activity and accompanying it having a quick clarification from the outcomes of malfunction to achieve this. Making bath-time exciting will motivate your children to get very good health. Ensure you have ample bathtub games for the little one to perform with. Many different toys will keep them from getting bored too quickly. With color transforming bubbles, and water markers, your children would like bathroom-time to last all night! Stay what you say, don't just say it. Children will discover from your activities just as much as your words. Demonstrate to them how you desire those to react. In the event you don't desire them to light up, you must not cigarette smoke on your own. If you'd like these people to try to eat healthy, make your very same healthful selections together. Even children are able to see through hypocrisy! In case you have a child that is certainly not quickly soothed, think about rubbing a bit of lavender important oil on the rear of your neck. The infant will scent this if you are rocking her and will also have very the soothing result on her. You may even desire to set several drops of lavender child lotion on your baby's cover. The Net is a huge issue for moms and dads currently that failed to actually are present only a several years ago. Youngsters are now able to use the web and look at a myriad of sex and violence-associated fabric. The Internet makes this kind of material much more accessible to youngsters, and parents needs to be rightfully involved. The simplest way to manage this concern is going to be well aware of what applications the kid is applying on the pc, and properly manage parent regulates on these programs. An incredible parenting tip is to never ever verbally mistreatment your child. Mistreatment is mistreatment, whatever kind it is actually. Verbally abusing your kids can certainly make them truly feel ineffective, puzzled, and can lead to numerous mental troubles in their afterwards existence. In no way verbally misuse your child under any conditions. Surround a youngster with very good textbooks. Looking at is arguably among the most critical abilities we can easily have. Your son or daughter ought to create a desire to read nicely well before they may be cognitively willing to do so. Retaining an accumulation of multi-colored and intriguing books in their attain can be a essential a part of creating that wish. Determine very clear policies in your household. This lets children determine what their borders are. It also helps them to recognize why you are disciplining them in case the need to have should develop. Some regulations should relate to everybody, even grownups. Whenever you can allow your kids use a say in establishing several of the policies that will also help. Whenever you evaluation useful raising a child advice such as that over, you are carrying out a great service to your kids and on your own. You make raising a child a lot less function and much more entertaining. Personal-education and learning will take the mystery as well as the obstacle from raising a child. What you are still left with may be the thrilling journey - the delighted and cardiovascular system-warming job of getting your young ones up well.

[hoe-doroki]

On the Job pt. 2

minors do not interact

warnings: 18+, fuck or die sex pollen (which means there are noncon/dubcon elements), reader is a sex worker, masturbation, face fucking, temperature play, (light) pain play, biting

pairing: todoroki x fem!reader

wc: 3.4k

summary: Super human society has a secret. Aphrodisiac quirks aren’t just the things of porn and fantasy–they’re actually quite common and too often fall into the wrong hands. Heroes, of course, do the best that they can, but when they get hit, they must be taken off the line of duty and someone needs to be able to activate the quirk’s release condition. If they’re single, who might that someone be? Obviously, you.

a/n: Half of me didn’t actually think that I would follow up part one, but I feel a heavy obligation towards my fanfic promises so...this is a weight off my shoulders, lol.

edit: I no longer write x reader but here’s my old masterlist - mobile | desktop

You’d gotten the call early today.

Not early in the day—truth be told, you’d hardly known what time it was before picking up the phone. No, you got the call early. As in not last minute. The call saying that your client would have to be transported to the agency from on site and they could tell you the details in the meantime.

The call saying you’d better drive to the agency, because you had to service a hero in an hour.

Now, patience wasn’t usually your virtue of choice—actually you didn’t often tend towards virtues in general. Save perhaps for kindness, which you preferred to deal out on your knees or your back, augmented by praise and the generosity of offering all three of your holes for your clients’ needs. But you were happy to cultivate it today, because an early call meant one thing.

You knew who was coming today.

Your pants were already off and you shirt was pushed up over your breasts as you leisurely played with yourself. You’d licked the tips of your fingers and gotten them started with slow passes over your clit, the other hand pinching your nipple, just a little too hard in prep for a hero who’d probably give it to you rough.

Maybe your reaction wasn’t right. Maybe it wasn’t kind of you to be so relaxed—relaxed and eager, actually—over the news that it was possible that Pro Hero Shouto would die. That he’d been hit with the particularly high stakes brand of aphrodisiac quirk and that if you didn’t trigger the release condition—that was: hot and heavy sex—his heart may very well stop or whatever happened on the other side of these troublesome quirks.

You wouldn’t know. After all, you hadn’t lost a single client yet.

So perhaps that was cold of you. Perhaps it would be more virtuous for you to be worried about him, fretting on the other side of the door with the guards over his ETA.

Then again, as stated: you’d never been one for virtue. Sin was much more fun. And surely it was better to make sure that whenever Shouto did show up, you had a wet pussy that he could waste none of his precious time sinking his cock into.

You groaned at the thought, dipping two fingers from your clit into your cunt and scissoring them. Your head lolled back against the pillows, eyes fluttering closed as you pressed against that front wall the flats of your fingertips, feeling that soppy wetness covering you and beginning to drip down your knuckles.

Yeah, you were ready for him.

In fact, you’d been waiting for Shouto longer than just today. After nabbing the number two pro hero, Dynamight, a few months back, you’d gone ahead and debased yourself  further—how much further was there to go, though, really?—by creating a list of your dream clients. You’d written Dynamight just to check him off, the memory of him cumming in you raw and licking you clean still hot between your thighs.

Your near encyclopedic knowledge of heroes—naturally, you took a healthy interest in your job—had then led you to daydream about Dynamight’s whole hero cohort. You added Red Riot to the list, dreaming of his abs, imagining riding them, teasing sweet whines out of him before backing up and dropping yourself on his cock. You thought of Deku, what it would mean for your ego to nab the number one hero, the flash of jealousy that would rise on his face when you let it slip that you’d already fucked his biggest rival, fucked his goddamn brains out and yours to boot.

Of course, you couldn’t do that. NDAs, after all. You’d already signed away your rights to mentioning anything about what happened to or with Shouto today. Still, you could dream.

Then, of course, your thinking had truly devolved, and you’d thought about the boys being paired up, fighting a villain with an unknown quirk only to be hit by the ever common, ever unknown—thanks to you and your prudence; oops, there was another virtue—aphrodisiac quirk and having to take care of both of them. Spit-roassting, Eiffel Tower, a goddamn daisy chain—anything. Long story short, you’d ended up cumming twice more on your hands before the evening was done.

But also on that list, was Shouto Todoroki.

Who, if you weren’t mistaken, was now on the other side of the door.

After all, these walls weren’t soundproof. It provided quite the show for the lucky guards on the other side, but hey, if you needed to scream for help, they had to be there. By the same coin, you could hear the shuffling on the other side, the footsteps approaching, and the telltale sound of the lock on the door being activated. You pressed your legs together, resting them to the side, hiding your glistening pussy artfully with your legs for the sake of modesty. Everyone knew what was happening here, but you didn’t need to send Shouto’s poor handler back blushing to their colleagues.

Shouto was ushered into the room and, without eye contact, someone yelled to you, “Ready, ma’am?”

“Ready!” you called back, and the door was closed, leaving you alone with the number three hero.

Without modesty, your legs fell open, revealing the mess you’d already made of yourself to Shouto. You dipped the fingers you’d been using into your mouth, and cleaned them dutifully. After all Shouto was still wearing his costume, and you did so hate the agency having to send those to the cleaners with your fluids all over them.

“Hey, bud,” you purred, running a hand slowly up one thigh. “I heard you have a problem.”

Pro Hero Shouto was known for his stoic personality. News conferences and interviews he participated in always consisted of a slow, even tone, and little beyond cold facts. There was something pleasantly mysterious about that, sure, but it didn’t exactly hint that he’d be quick to jump into bed. Sexy voice, though.

But whatever quirk he’d been hit with must have been strong, because the next thing you knew, the index finger from his left hand was tracing down the front of his uniform, cleanly burning a line straight to his already tented crotch. His accessories had already been taken off—his belt, gloves, shoes, even the clasp at his neck had been undone earlier. So there was nothing in his way as he pulled either side of his scorched uniform to the side and off his arms as he approached the bed.

“All business, huh?” you asked, pushing yourself up off your pillows by your forearms, watching as Shouto climbed onto the bed on his knees, finally pulling his jumpsuit down past his crotch.

You’d taken a bet with yourself on the color of his pubes—it’s not like you’d be losing either way if you got to see them. They turned out to be dual-colored, but not the stark red and white of his hair. No, they were more neutral in tone, like yours. Unlike yours, they were nested above a heavy cock, already shining with precum—or actual cum, you didn’t know—at the head.

Shouto didn’t reply to your comment, and you weren’t surprised. Some people went totally nonverbal when hit by sex pollen quirks, and that was fine. You’d rather someone button their lip than ruin the mood by saying something off, after all. All business was fine by you—this was your job, after all. And no matter the size of his mouth, his cock was just fucking right.

You naturally lowered your legs as Shouto began kneeing over you, cock in hand. Your brain only just managed to catch up to what was going on when his legs stopped on either side of your ribs, his leaking cockhead crossing your eyes before you. Automatically, your jaw dropped open, and Shouto’s cock smeared pre against your cheek and the corner of your mouth before sinking deep into your mouth, drawing a first obscene moan out of him.

A humming moan fell out of you too, barely able to take in the taste of Shouto’s cock before it was pressing against the back of your throat, springing tears to your eyes automatically. Something about aphrodisiac quirks so often seemed to play with the taste of these heroes’ cum. No longer was it bitter, but just heady, salty, and more pleasant than it should have been as it coated your tongue and throat. You adored it, and purposefully relaxed your muscles so that you could take more of him in.

Shouto didn’t hold back. With barely half a breath in your lungs, Shouto was thrusting deep in the back of your throat so that your spit dripped from your mouth and smacked wetly between his balls and your chin. You blinked tears out of your eyes and looked up at him to find blown pupils staring back at you, gaze hot and pointed.

There was light behind those eyes. Whatever Shouto was right now, it wasn’t unthinking, not pure instinct. No, the way he was fucking your throat, the way his eyes had you pinned—it was intentional.

Abruptly, Shouto pulled out, a think strand of spit snapping from his dick, cold on your tongue as you panted from the rough treatment. You held your mouth open, expecting him to shove back in once you’d caught your breath, but Shouto seemed to have other plans. He moved down your body, soaked cock again in his palm, and his eyes now set on your pussy. You reached for one of the condoms you’d set out next to you, and held it in front of him.

“Hate to sound like an after-school special, but no glove…”

Shouto paused, eyeing you for just a moment before taking the square and making quick work of it, rolling it over himself.

Then, abruptly, he put a hand on your cheek, drawing your eyes back up to his. “Thank you for your hard work. It does not go unappreciated.”

“What the—”

You were left agog at his statement, wholly unprepared as he swiftly took each of your thighs in one hand, spread them, and plunged in you to the hilt. You gasped high in your chest, your throat still tender from being rawed by Shouto’s dick. He leaned over you, sighing with a relief that doubled then halved the size of his chest. His forehead touched yours in a strange moment of intimacy, and, for a moment, you wondered if that was it. Was that all the release condition took? Penetration? Or had he cum and you just hadn’t noticed?

Were you going to be left to tend to yourself with the bullet vibrator in your glove compartment yet again?

Then Shouto leaned back, looked at you again with those sharp eyes, and began smacking into you with abandon.

“Fuck,” you let out as Shouto’s balls, still wet with your spit, left their mark on your ass with every deep thrust he gave you.

Shouto manhandled your thighs, grabbing them firmly in each hand as he reared back fully on his knees again, taking the lower half of your body with him. You reflexively braced with your arms, and soon they were the only part of you still in contact with the bed, along with your upper back and head still resting on the comfortable stack of pillows.

As was often the case, you’d lost control of the situation. You could barely match Shouto’s thrusts on your own as he repeatedly used his upper body strength to bring you to him, and his lower body strength to send his hips right back in return. If you tried to reach him, your fingertips would barely brush his thighs, much less any other part of him. You were totally at his mercy.

You couldn’t help but eyeball his broad biceps, flexed by holding up the weight of most of your body. And aside from the sweat dripping from his forehead—probably quirk-induced—he was showing little to no strain.

He hadn’t always had muscles like this, you were sure. You couldn’t help but remember pundits sounding off on Shouto’s overreliance on his quirk over physical strength, or the difference between his body and the massive tank that was his father, Endeavor. They’d shown clips of his body—handsome, always handsome—but either Shouto had done a lot of bulking in the last few years or those newscasters had been particularly unkind. Likely both. Because now, drops of sweat were trickling from his body in rivulets; there were no straight paths to go down. A bulging muscle here to dip around, the crease from a flexed ab there to pool in. You were hypnotized by his form, even the thighs straining under the part of his uniform that he hadn’t bothered to burn off.

Your mind was so enraptured by thoughts of Shouto’s body that the sensations happening to yours crept up on you. All at once, you realized that your thighs were burning. Actually, one was burning, and the other was freezing cold, both just under his palms and branching up the fingers currently painting five bruises into each muscle.

A gasp flew out of your mouth and your eyes rolled back as your thighs suddenly began quaking unbidden. Shouto looked down at you, his expression easy save for those passionate eyes, little huffs escaping his slack jaw. “Too much?” he asked.

Your head shook side to side, a vehement no as Shouto dug his fingers even deeper into your flesh, bringing dull throbs of pain so close to where every thrust brought about sharp flashes of pleasure. It felt like a betrayal when he just then loosened his grip to slide his hands up to your knees and hook them over his shoulder. Then those hands, right at the brink of freezing and searing pressed into the meat of your ass as he brought your hips to his with redoubled force.

That first new thrust sent Shouto’s head turning to the side, digging a painful bite into the fleshy part of your calf, making you cry out. A moment later, he let go, his tongue passing over the teeth marks like a salve over a wound.

All the dueling sensations had you close. You’d been teasing yourself for so long before Shouto had even shown up and now he was fucking into you like…well, like his life depended on it.

God, was it wrong to love fuck or die quirks?

You were quick to take a hand and put it back on your aching clit, despite the strain it put on your neck and upper back to lose one arm of support. Part of a good fucking was being folded like a pretzel, and you’d just book a massage appointment tomorrow to deal with it. Surely saving the life of the number three hero was worth a reward.

Shouto’s eyes honed in on your fingers moving rapidly over your clit, and you bet he could feel the twitches of your cunt approaching climax. A hand left your ass and went behind his head to pat your ankles. “Cross them,” he instructed.

Obediently, you crossed your ankles, making your position a bit sturdier as Shouto continued to drive you back onto him with one hand. Then that second hand went to yours, brushing it away with the backs of his knuckles. A surprisingly gentle gesture for the man who was kneading bruises into your ass and biting your leg. Then, with his thumb, he painted one slow, hard, blazing stripe up your clit, and you came instantly.

“Fuck!” you shouted as your back arched in midair, the crown of your head digging into the pillows as your neatly crossed ankles came undone, your thighs shaking and falling from Shouto’s grip. His cock slid out of you as your lower half bounced once on the bed. Before the springs could vault you back, Shouto was on top of you, pressing himself back in your still convulsing cunt.

His thrusts were long, desperate as he breathed into your neck. He mouthed the base of your neck with light bites and suckles—never quite kissing. Your thighs came back up around his hips and his left hand went back to squeezing your thigh. Meanwhile, the right came between your thighs, surprising you as two fingers began prodding at your entrance.

Almost immediately, you could feel the heat of the stretch. Or rather, you would have felt the heat of the stretch, had his fingers not been ice cold against you. You cried out as he curled his fingers forward while his cock kept thrusting straight through you, the hot and cold contrast nearly too much. You wondered how much more intense it would feel if Shouto were unbound by the condom, and you able to bear its full heat.

“Please,” you whimpered as your orgasm began to rise again, too quickly, nearly as sudden as the first one had been, but without all the build up. This one felt like it was going to tear out of you.

Just then, the nips that Shouto had been teasing over your neck went away, and he planted one more good bite on your shoulder as his thrusts became insistent, the fingers petting inside you matched with a cold thumb over your clit. And neither of you could hold on a moment longer.

Shouto groaned low and bone deep in your ear while your voice, still raspy from early, keened in his. Your thighs went tight around his waist and his hand was trapped between you as you both rode out your highs. It took a full minute for your muscles to unwind, and your feet to fall flat to the bed. At that point, Shouto pulled out and rolled over next to you, both of you panting as the sweat dried on your skin.

Shouto pulled the condom off of himself and found a trashcan to toss it into before falling flat on his back again. After a few moments of nothing but heavy breathing, he opened his mouth. “Thank you for your professionalism.”

You snorted. “You’re welcome,” you managed, keeping your laughter at bay. “That’s not what people usually thank me for.”

“Thank you for saving my life?” Shouto tried again, his gaze shifting over to you.

His eyes were still bright, but his gaze less sharp, obscured by dual-colored bangs falling over it. Suddenly, Shouto looked a great deal more innocent than the man who’d been fucking the life out of you just minutes ago. Perhaps an effect of the quirk wearing off, perhaps the effect of unfettered pleasure meeting relief.

“More common, yes,” you replied, unable to keep the smile off your face.

“You’re very good at what you do,” Shouto said, his eyes going to the spot where he’d bitten your shoulder. He circled it with one finger, brows furrowing. “You’re like a hero.”

“Hah,” you returned, looking up at the ceiling. You weren’t going to let this be the moment in your career that made you blush. “Vixen, the orgasm hero. I don’t think it would meet the commission’s guidelines.”

“Perhaps not,” Shouto said, sitting up and pulling up what remained of his costume, frowning at the spot where he’d torn it. You supposed you needn’t have worried about this costume going to the cleaners; the support team would likely toss it and make a replacement.

“There are clothes you can change into in the closet,” you said, pointing to the near invisible door in the back wall.

Shouto waved you away as he stood up. “This will be fine to make it to the locker room with.”

“Suit yourself,” you said as you pushed yourself up, trying to remember where you’d thrown your leggings before you’d started jerking of, grunting as your spine cracked.

Shouto plucked the leggings from near the foot of the bed and tossed them to you before heading towards the door. With his hand on the knob, he turned back and made eye contact with you one last time, the ghost of a smile you’d never seen before on his lips. “Thanks again…Vixen.”

As he closed the door, you could only blame your own impropriety, that utter lack of virtue that you first thought was:

Number two pro hero, Shouto: check.