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#it was originally in the reference photo i used.... but i was running out of layers quick and i dont have aggie membership...
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Stargazing Lovers
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extra... made it my pfp...
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kinda blurry...
it's okay...
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atomicami · 7 months
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special snapshot
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tattoo artist!abby anderson x fem!reader
- summary: you decide to tease abby before she meets an important client at her shop by sneaking in a special photograph of yourself. once she finds it during her shift at work, she decides to have a private photo session with you in the bedroom.
- content: smut MDNI, no outbreak/modern au, vegas living, established relationship, a bad australian impression (sorry aussies ily), lots of picture taking, strap usage (r!receiving), possessive dom!abby, submissive headspace (r), abby’s custom strap (if ykyk), abby refers to her strap as her cock, use of nicknames towards reader (angel, princess, sweet girl etc), edging, overuse of the words ‘inked’ and ‘tatted’ bc i can’t think of anything else
- author’s note: the wait is finally over, you asked and i delivered. here is my first tattoo artist!abby one shot! this is the first idea that came to my mind at the time, but i might make more of these if y’all like this one.
if you’re new to my page and haven’t seen my original post about tattoo artist!abby, you can find that here. a lot of references i’ve made in this fic come directly from my hc post.
also, i have a masterlist now so y’all can easily find my fics and see what i’m currently working on :)
- middle pic creds to @abbystanaccount
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“Come on, come on…hurry up already…”
You were pacing around the bathroom floor, impatiently waiting as the image below you still appeared white. Your girlfriend was running late for work right now because she’d spent the past 10 minutes endlessly searching throughout her apartment for something that was currently in your possession.
“Babe! I still can’t find it! Are you sure you haven’t seen my camera anywhere?”
Abby’s looked around every single area in her apartment so many times that she’s lost count. Every single area except the four walls that surround you right now. Her Polaroid camera was there, sitting on the bathroom counter in front of you, right next to a photograph that was still waiting to develop.
You grabbed the photograph and began to shake it again before setting it back down. After a couple more attempts, it finally began to develop. You smiled as you picked up the photograph, shaking it one last time for good measure before seeing the fully developed image you took of yourself. The plan you had come up with today was sinister, and you were all in for it.
“Babe! Have you checked for it in my room again?”
Abby’s footsteps were approaching the bedroom, causing you to quickly grab your pants from the floor and put them back on. You then grabbed the photograph and carefully placed it in your back pocket before taking the camera and leaving the en suite bathroom. By the time Abby walked in and saw you, you still had her camera in your hands.
“There it is!” She exclaimed before sighing in relief. “Where was it?”
“You left it by the window over there.” You reply, pointing over to her bedroom window with your free hand.
“Wow, you have a good eye, babe. I never would have guessed it’d be there.” She took the camera from your hands and wrapped her arms around you. This brief moment allowed you to take the developed piece of film out of your back pocket and quickly slide it into the back pocket of her dark wash jeans. Luckily, your girlfriend was too distracted about today to even notice.
“I’ve got this first-time client coming from Australia today to get a tattoo…” She began as she broke her hug from you. “He said he loves my work and wants—“ She cuts herself off as she checks the back of the camera. “Damn it, I’m out of film…” She let out a sigh once she saw the little 0 appearing in white next to the film cartridge compartment. There were no more shots left on her camera.
Well, there was one left…but you already used it.
Abby didn’t think anything of it though. She figured that she used up the last 10 shots between her past clients and her previous photo sessions with you in the bedroom. “I’ll have to pick up some film on my way to the shop, hopefully I’ll get there before my client comes in…” You watched as Abby opened up the back of the camera and took out the empty film cartridge before tossing it out and closing the compartment. She looked up and smiled at you, quickly rushing in to kiss you. “Thanks again for finding it, babe. I’ll let you know when I’m back from work, yeah?”
You nodded in response, kissing her back. “Of course babe, good luck with the client today!” Abby shot another smile back at you before leaving her room. Once you heard her keys jingle and the front door closing, you let out a breath of relief. If it weren’t for Abby being so distracted by this big client flying over halfway around the world just to get a tattoo done by her, she most definitely would have caught you a lot sooner. But luckily, she took the bait.
Now all you had to do was wait for her to find it.
── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅
Abby hurriedly got out of her car upon arriving at her shop. Once she entered inside, she saw her special client there talking to Nora at reception. She was super relieved to have made it in time.
“There she is!” Nora exclaimed once she saw her. “Speak of the devil, we were just talking about you.”
Abby raised an eyebrow at her as she approached the reception area. “All good things, I hope?” she said jokingly before looking over to her client. “I’m Abby, you must be Nathan?” she asked, extending a hand for him to shake it. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.”
Nathan shook his head in response as he shook her hand. “It’s no worries mate, I just got in a few minutes ago.”
“Sounds good, I can get you started over here.” She brings Nathan over to her station to get himself situated. “I was working on your piece last night and came up with a few options for you to choose from.” Abby sets her things down at her desk while turning over to him and pulling her phone out of her pocket. Her back pocket. The same pocket that you slipped the photograph in less than an hour ago.
But what Abby didn’t notice was that the photograph had slipped out of her back pocket and onto the ground right behind her.
Abby didn’t notice it, but Nora sure did.
Nora was just passing by to give Abby some transfer paper when she saw the photograph lying face down on the floor. Clutching the transfer paper in her hands, she quickly copped a squat to pick it up. “Abby, you dropped one of your—oh” Nora cut her own words off once she accidentally caught a glimpse of the photo, causing Abby to turn around and face her. “You okay?”
“Yeah, um…I’m guessing this isn’t meant to go on your wall…” She replied as she handed her the photo face down, her voice quiet enough so that her client wouldn’t hear.
The blonde furrowed her brows in confusion when Nora gave her the photo. “Not on my wall? What are you—“ She flipped over the photo to take a look before quickly flipping it face down and hiding it in her palm. Now she understood what Nora meant by that.
It looks like Abby’s camera did have one shot left after all.
Abby was startled when she felt Nathan tap her shoulder, causing her to turn back around. “Everything alright?” he asked, his tone slightly curious.
“Y-Yeah, yeah everything’s fine! Just excuse me for one moment.” She briefly excused herself before speedwalking to the back of the shop and locking herself in the first room she could find. The photograph remained hidden in her palm.
Taking a deep breath, Abby lifted the photograph to take a better look. It was of you, front and center on the camera, wearing that same black skin-tight shirt she saw you in this morning. Despite the quality, Abby could tell you didn’t have a bra on because she could easily see your nipples poking through. Along with that, you were also wearing something else— a matching thong with rhinestones on the waistband. It must’ve been new because Abby had never seen you in that before.
It was taking Abby everything right now to not drop what she was doing and leave to go home and fuck you senseless. Seeing this photograph alone was already causing her boxers to dampen. But she needed to work on this client. She’s been planning on doing this piece on him for months, she can’t back out of this now.
Abby took a deep breath, giving the photograph one last look before putting it back into her pocket and turning around to exit the room. She walks back to her station and sees Nathan patiently waiting for her in the chair.
“Alright, let’s get started shall we?”
── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ──⋅
You don’t hear back from Abby all day.
You figured that it could’ve been because of her special client, along with whoever else shows up to get a tattoo from her. But what really happened was that Abby decided to take the rest of the day off after finishing with her client and was waiting for you to come into her apartment.
You unlocked the door to Abby’s place with the spare key she gave you and entered inside before closing it shut behind you. To your surprise, you see Abby sitting there on the couch. She was manspreading, with one of her tatted arms perched over her knee so she could rest her chin.
“Hey babe, you’re home early…” You set your things down at the counter before walking over to her. “How did it go with the client?”
Abby lifted her head from her hands, looking up in your direction. “The client went great, actually…he loved the piece I tattooed for him.”
“That’s good, um…why are you home so early?”
You felt the need to ask her right off the bat. There was a feeling that you were getting. A sense of knowing that she found the photograph.
“No reason…just felt like taking the rest of the day off.”
You simply nod in response before slowly heading over to her bedroom. And as if you could feel her presence approaching, Abby soon followed behind you, closing the door once the two of you were inside. There was a brief moment of silence before Abby decided to speak up. “Did you think I wouldn’t find it?”
You turned around to face her. She stood there, her tatted sleeves crossed in front of her chest, with a smirk plastered on her freckled face.
She found the photograph. You know she did.
But you still decide to play dumb.
You furrow your brows in confusion. “Find what? What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play silly with me now, princess….” You watched as Abby reached into her back pocket, that same back pocket you slipped the photograph in, and saw her pull it out. The delicate photograph of your body stood in between her inked fingers, fully on display in front of you.
“So much not having any shots left on my camera, right?” She said as she began to slowly step forward in your direction.
“Do you not like it…?” You ask her quietly, quickly looking down once she’s right in front of you. You start to feel like doing this to her wasn’t a good idea after all.
Abby’s expression softens for a brief moment. “Oh, baby…” she lifts your chin up with her free hand before leaning in to plant a kiss on your cheek. “Of course I love it. You look so fucking sexy in this.” She looks back down at the photograph before directing her attention back at you.
“But do you remember the rule I told you about these?” She asks sternly, holding the piece of film in front of you.
You avert your gaze away from her and back to the ground. “Your eyes only…” you mutter out to her.
Abby lifts your chin back up once again to face her. “That’s right, angel. My eyes only.”
She points the photograph towards her and taps the corner gently on her chest, just a few inches above her chest piece in reference to herself.
“Mine. No one else’s.”
She slowly lets go of your chin and looks back down at the small piece of film. “You’re lucky it was only Nora who found it…if it were any of the guys, I would’ve gone insane.” She takes a closer look at the photograph, remembering the new thong you had on in the photo before looking back at you. “Are you wearing it?”
You nod.
Abby hooks an inked finger on the belt loop of your pants and gently tugs on it. “Off, princess. I want to see you just like how I saw you in this picture.”
You follow her command, bringing your hands down to the waistband of your pants and slowly unzipping them before pushing them down your thighs. Once they’re at your feet, you step out of them and take a step towards her. She then slips one of her hands under your shirt until they stop at the hem of your bra, gently tugging it down as well. “This too.”
Reaching underneath your shirt, you quickly unhook your bra, pulling the straps off of your shoulders before taking it out completely and dropping it on the ground. Abby took a step back to take in the sight of you. “My sweet girl…You look so good for me right now..” She muttered quietly. You feel her run her tatted hand through your body, starting at your hip and making its way up to one of your tits.
She looks back at the photograph for a brief moment, noticing you had one of your hands covering that same one. An idea flashed through her mind, you could tell because that same smirk was starting to appear on her face again. Her hand lets go from your breast and drops back to her side. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
Abby leaves her room for a moment before quickly returning, now with her camera in her hands. “How about we recreate that pretty picture of you, hm? Would you like that?” You nod to her in response, biting your lip to hide your smile.
“Words, princess.”
You nod again, a little quicker this time. “Yes, I’d love to do that.”
Abby walks over to you and sets the photograph at the corner of her bed before turning her camera on. Once it was ready, she pointed the camera right in front of you with one hand and used her free hand to gently grab your breast, placing her thumb on top of your hardening nipple. She looked into the viewfinder, adjusting the angle and position before a quick flash went through your eyes.
The photo slowly whirs out of the camera. But Abby doesn’t even bother to check it out yet. Instead, she sets the camera to the side right next to the original photograph of you and begins to undo her jeans. “Kneel for me, princess.”
By instinct, you drop down to your knees in front of her. You already know what’s about to happen next.
As soon as the zipper of her jeans goes down you can already see it. The bulge underneath her black boxers, with a sliver of light tan with black marks peeking out of it. The thought of having that piece of silicone inside you was already making you desperate.
Once Abby’s jeans are pooling at her ankles she brings down her boxers in one swift motion, causing her strap-on to spring free right in front of you. You could already feel your mouth watering at the sight of it alone.
Abby notices your dumbfounded expression and smirks. “Look at you, princess…already drunk just by looking at my inked cock. Do you want it inside you, angel? Is that what you want?”
You look up at her and nod quickly while clenching your thighs at the same time. “Please, Abs…need it so bad….”
“I know you do, my sweet girl…” Her hand comes down to her side and gently holds your jaw, tilting your head up to look at her. “How about you get it wet for me, yeah? Get my cock ready so I can fuck that pretty pussy of yours.”
Without even thinking twice, you wrap your hands around the strap-on, your fingertips covering over some of the fake ink that was plastered on it. The tip of it was practically face-to-face with you. You position it towards your mouth before opening it wide and taking in as much as you can down your throat. The strap barely reaches halfway, so you begin to stroke whatever your mouth can’t reach with your hands while bobbing your head up and down simultaneously.
Abby keeps her gaze fixated on you, then briefly looks over at the camera that is sitting on her bed. She brings a hand down to the back of your head, slowly guiding it up and down her inked strap. “That’s it, princess, just like that…” She mutters out to you as she quickly reaches over to grab her camera off of the bed. In doing so the strap accidentally lunges itself forward down your throat, causing you to gag. You take your mouth off of Abby’s strap for a moment to take a deep breath before looking up at her, now with the camera in her hands again.
“Smile for me, princess.”
The flash of the camera passes through your vision again. Another photo whirs out of the slot.
You get back to sucking on her strap, even harder this time out of pure desperation to have it inside your walls already. Abby pulls the photo out and tosses the camera aside, beginning to quickly shake it to see the final product.
You hear her let out a quiet groan once she sees the fully developed piece of film. “God…you look so beautiful like this, angel…sucking my cock like the good girl you are.” She sets the second photograph aside and gently grabs your head again to pull your mouth off of her strap. Her strong tatted hands then grab at your waist, effortlessly picking you up and placing you down on the center of her bed.
Abby tugs down at the hem of your shirt as an indication for you to take it off. “Take this off, princess. I need to see all of you.” You oblige, taking off your shirt and tossing it to the ground. Abby does the same with her muscle tank and sports bra, exposing the rest of her patchworked body to you. At this point, the arousal in between your legs just keeps growing and growing, along with the urge to also be completely ridden of the little black piece of fabric that was pressed against your pussy right now. You bring a desperate hand down to the jeweled band of your thong to take it off, only for it to be lightly smacked by Abby’s tatted hand.
“Except this. This stays on.”
You nod in response, setting your hands aside, and letting your girlfriend do the rest of the work for you. You spread your legs open while Abby positions herself on top of you. The tip of her inked strap falls right on the damp fabric covering your crotch, causing a whimper to escape from your mouth. She then hooks a finger under the fabric and shifts it to the side, revealing your gushing wet pussy to her.
It takes a minimal amount of effort for Abby to insert the tip of her strap inside of you before pushing in the first couple of inches. “Fuck, princess…look how it's going in…you’re always taking my cock so well…”
You look down to see the piece of inked silicone connecting your bodies. With a desperate need to be filled, you bring a trembling hand down to your pussy and use two fingers to spread your folds open so Abby could keep pushing her strap inside you. Your jaw drops in pleasure as she slowly pushes in a few more inches, and the two of you still don’t take your eyes off of it, both watching as the tattoos on her fake cock slowly disappear as it makes its way into your cunt.
Abby lets out a groan once she bottoms out before tightening the harness on her strap, making sure it's pressed closely against her cunt. You feel your pussy start to clench around the strap as it sits there inside of you. Your body was practically begging for some movement to happen.
“Abby, please…I-I need you to move…” You whimper out to her, looking down at the base of her strap that was resting below your heat. Within seconds you began to feel it moving inside you. Abby starts to thrust in and out of you slowly, but that slow pace progressively turns into a rapid one.
Before you knew it, you were gripping onto the sheets to keep yourself from possibly getting slammed against the headboard, despite Abby’s firm hands holding your hips down. Your tits and thighs were bouncing and jiggling uncontrollably. Moans and whimpers were escaping from the two of you. But most importantly, Abby was hitting that special spot inside you with every single thrust.
She wasn’t stopping her pace at all…until that familiar phrase slipped from your mouth.
“Abby…I-I’m getting close…”
That’s when she stopped. That’s when she pulled her strap out of you. That’s when you snapped back to reality…for now.
You quickly shook your head as you watched her inked strap practically pull itself out of your pussy. “No….no no no no, Abby! Why would you do that?!” You whined out in protest. You let your hands go from the sheets and brought them to her hips, attempting to bring her closer to you so she could slip herself back inside of you.
Unfortunately, your attempt to do so was unsuccessful. Abby shook her head and pushed your hands off of her hips. “I’m sorry angel, but I��m not letting you cum like this. Not after that stunt you pulled today.”
You felt your body break at the possible feeling that you weren’t gonna be able to finish tonight, but you understood that you still needed to be taught a lesson.
“So…You’re not gonna let me cum at all tonight?” You mutter out to her quietly. The smirk that shows up on her face once again tells you something different.
“Oh, my sweet girl…I didn’t say that I wasn’t going to let you cum at all…” She brings a hand to your jaw and gently strokes it with her thumb. “You’re going to cum, but you’ll do it my way. All fours, princess.”
That statement alone had you flipping onto your stomach in an instant. At this point, you were willing to do anything to get a release, even if it meant having to do things her way.
Once you were on all fours, you soon felt Abby’s lips start kissing at your shoulder, slowly making its way down to your lower back. “You have no idea…how good you look for me like this…” she murmurs in between kisses. She plants some more kisses on your lower back, specifically on your tattoo that rests above the band of your thong. Your first tattoo. The one that Abby put onto your body the first day you met her. It gave Abby so much pride to see her work on you, especially in the position you’re in right now.
You feel the weight of the bed shift around for a bit and look over your shoulder to see Abby reaching for her camera again. She brings a hand to your waist to keep your back straight. “I want you to stay just like this, princess, okay?” You nod in response, resting your head on the pillow as you perk your ass farther up in front of her.
With her camera in one hand, Abby uses her other hand to shift your thong to the side again before positioning her inked strap at your tight entrance. Given how soaked you were at this point, it slides in with a lot less effort the second time around. You let out a whimper once she bottoms out, causing you to involuntarily jerk your hips at her.
As a result, Abby gives you a light smack on your ass. “Stay still, angel…I need this one to come out perfect.” She hovers the camera on top of you and looks through the viewfinder, making sure you’re perfectly centered.
You hear the flash behind you once again, followed by the whirring sound right after.
Abby sets the camera aside and places both hands at your hips, beginning to thrust into you at that same slow pace she was doing before. It didn’t take long for Abby to speed it up. Now she was back to hitting your g spot with every single thrust of her strap.
“Fuck…look at you, my sweet girl…taking my tatted cock so well..” She tells you in between her thrusts. “I bet you wish…someone could get a picture of this, hmm?”
The pleasure Abby’s giving you is so intense that you can barely decipher what she’s saying to you. She keeps talking you through it, but her voice slowly starts to fade through the blood pumping in your eardrums and the feeling of TV static filling your brain. You find yourself slowly slipping into a newfound headspace as Abby continues to pound herself into your pussy.
Regardless of how drunk you were feeling from it, you try your best to form a response to whatever she tells you.
“F-Feels s-so good, Abs…D-don’t stop…” you slur out to her.
Your entire body feels heavy right now, but you make an effort to extend one of your hands behind you and hold one of hers. You grasp onto Abby’s hand tightly as she keeps fucking you.
Abby notices and clutches your hand into hers as it remains on your hips. “Don’t worry princess, I got you, just stay with me, yeah? I promise you’ll get to—fuck—“ Abby cuts herself off, moaning at the feeling of the leather harness rubbing against the small barbell that rested above her clit. This motivates her to thrust even faster into you, now with a desire to chase her release.
As her pace gets faster, you start to get closer. Your cunt begins to repeatedly clench itself around her strap, indicating that you were going to cum. You try to tell her that you’re about to cum, but you were already getting so fucked into this headspace that you were struggling to get the words out of your mouth. As a result, you start to dig your fingers into the back of Abby’s hand to get her attention.
Abby felt your nails digging into her hand, which were already forming crescent indents on her inked skin. She looks over at you, seeing your fucked out expression with your mouth agape against the pillow and your eyes rolling to the back of your head. “Are you gonna cum, angel?” she asks, only receiving a slow nod followed by a few desperate gasps from you as a response. “I-fuck, I’m gonna cum too…Just let it out for me, princess, you deserve it.” While keeping one hand on your hips, she brings her free hand around your waist to rub quick circles on your throbbing clit as she continues to fuck you relentlessly.
And that’s what sends you over the edge. A string of whines and mewls escape from your mouth once you get there. You dig your nails deeper into Abby’s hand while your other hand fists the corner of the pillow. Your thighs begin to tremble, and your cunt pulses a few more times around the strap before fully coating it with your slick. Abby finishes right after you with a loud groan, completely cumming inside the harness. She keeps herself inside you for a little bit before slowly pulling out, letting out a quiet grunt at the sight of the string of slick connecting between your pussy and the tip of her strap.
Your body was completely limp at this point, and Abby could tell. She guides your lower half back down onto the bed so you’re lying down on your side. As you bring yourself back to reality, you feel the warmth of her hand stroking your jaw, leading you to slowly blink your eyes open. The first thing you see is her eyes scanning yours, making sure you were okay after your intense release.
“There she is…” she says quietly, smiling right after. “Are you okay, angel? I didn’t go too hard on you did I?”
You slowly shook your head in response, smiling back at her as you try to catch your breath. “Of course not, Abs…you felt amazing…” you pant out to her.
Abby lets out a sigh of relief before leaning in and planting a kiss on your lips before kissing your forehead. “I’m gonna get you cleaned up now, okay?”
You watch as Abby gets off of the bed and takes off her strap before slipping her boxers back on and heading into her bathroom. You hear the sound of the water running in the background, knowing that she was drawing a bath for you right now.
As the water continues to run, Abby jogs out of the bathroom and heads over to the bed to pick up all of the developed photos that were spread out on the sheets. She looks through each one of them before pulling out her wallet and storing them inside. You can’t help but let out a giggle over it. Her wallet was so full of your photos that you could easily see the thickness of it from the side.
Abby looks over to you as she closes her wallet. “What’s so funny?”
“Don’t you think you have too many pictures of me in there?”
She shakes her head in disagreement. “Nonsense. there’s no such thing as too many pictures of you.” You watch her walk over to your side and feel her lips planting another kiss on your cheek.
“Besides…they’re for my eyes only, remember?”
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requested tags 🏷️: @tokkismari @onlinelesbo @elliens4 @thepurplebutterflyysblog @kindtim3
2023 © atomicami | all rights reserved. do not copy, modify, or translate any of my works.
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a-simple-gaywitch · 1 year
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Amidst the Chaos
Spencer Reid x Reader
Summary:  Spencer and (Y/N) didn't get along, and it annoyed the whole BAU. But when a traumatized (Y/N) shows up at Spencer's apartment late one night, their whole relationship shifts
Warnings: PTSD, trauma, references to torture, other canon-typical topics
Word Count:  3827
Author’s Note: not necessarily my best fic, but i’ve been working on it for over a year so... here it is
Orpheus - Sara Bareilles
AO3 Link
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“Don't stop trying to find me here amidst the chaos. Though I know it's blinding, there's a way out.” ~ Sara Bareilles, Orpheus
~
“Guys, I want you to meet our newest team member,” Hotch said to the BAU as they settled around the table. “This is Agent (Y/N) (L/N).”
You gave a shy wave to the group in front of you, but your smile was bright enough to light up the entire room. “Hi.”
“She’s coming to us from Organized Crime. I trust that you’ll all welcome her to the team.”
“Honestly, I’m just happy to be given a chance to work with all of you. It’s been my dream to work at the BAU for years.”
“We’ll have time to get to know Agent (L/N) better on the plane. But for now, we have a case,” Hotch said. “JJ?”
~
“So,” Derek said, taking a seat next to you on the jet. “What was Organized Crime like?”
“Honestly? Boring as all hell. It was mostly stopping money laundering and drug cartels,” you said. “Not as glamorous as Goodfellas makes it seem. Besides, the BAU was always my end goal anyway.”
He chuckled a bit. “Yeah, I get that. We’re glad to have you on our team. ” The conversation between you and Morgan flowed easily and before you knew it, you had become like brother and sister. The rest of the team grew to love you too. Well, most of the team. 
Spencer seemed icy and cold toward you, and no one could offer a valid explanation. By all accounts, you should have gotten along. You loved Halloween just as much as Spencer did and you always had at least 3 books on your person at a time. You had a borderline unhealthy addiction to caffeine and sugar and spent more time in the office than your apartment. But for some reason, you and Spencer just seemed to constantly be at each other’s throats. 
In your defense, Reid had started it. 
For whatever reason, Reid disliked you right out the gate. He tried to be civil toward you, but something about you just bothered him. 
He originally just tried to avoid you when he could, but with the nature of the team’s dynamic, that didn’t work out well. 
Spencer found himself doing small, petty things to annoy you, like putting your favorite mug on the top shelf where you couldn’t reach it or borrowing your pens and “forgetting” to return them. Something about seeing you mildly inconvenienced and annoyed as opposed to your normally happy and bubbly self made him feel better. He knew it was fucked up of him. 
Eventually, the animosity became mutual. You and Spencer were rarely paired together on cases because Hotch couldn’t stand the constant arguing between the two of you. Mostly, Hotch tended to pair you with Derek who you began to see as a brother. 
Spencer would never admit it, but seeing you and Derek be as close as you were stirred some kind of jealousy in him. He figured it was just because he had been friends with Morgan first, that was all. 
~
Local cases were always extra stressful on the team. Something about unsubs being so close to home made the cases more personal. As such, tensions were running high and no one had slept in over 24 hours as the team worked to nail down a profile. 
“This doesn’t make sense,” you muttered as you looked over the crime scene photos. “The crime profiles as disorganized but the victimology and timeline profile him as organized.” 
“How you doing there, Pretty Girl?” Morgan asked, setting down a carrier of coffee cups. 
You sighed and picked up the cup with your name scrawled on it. “There’s discrepancies in our preliminary profile and I can’t…”
“Did you try comparing notes with Reid?”
“Derek, I love you, but are you insane?”
“I’m serious, (Y/N).”
“So am I. Any time I try to have any kind of civilized conversation with that man he turns it into an argument.”
Thankfully, Hotch came into the room at that point, stopping the conversation. “We have two potential leads. Morgan, you’re going with Blake to the first address. (L/N), you and Reid are going to the second.” Hotch tossed you both keys for SUVs. “Reid and Blake have the files. They’ll fill you in on the drive.”
“Yes, sir.” You grabbed your coffee from the table, along with Reid’s, and headed out to the car. When you got to the parking lot, Reid was already leaning against the car, flipping through a file folder. “Reid. Here.”
As you handed him the coffee, he said, “What, was everyone else busy?”
You rolled your eyes. “I don’t know. I’m just following Hotch’s orders.” You unlocked the car and climbed in. “Where are we going?”
“21 Rock Creek Road, Somerset. We’re interviewing Linda Walsh, the neighbor of our first victim, Savanna Curtis.”
“Great. Can you type it into the GPS?”
“Why? I can just give you the directions.”
“Because the GPS is more accurate.”
“(L/N), I have an eidetic memor-”
“Eidetic memory, I know. But you’re telling me your memory can predict traffic patterns? I don’t think so. Just use the damn GPS.”
“Fine.” Spencer typed the address in, muttering under his breath.
“Thank you. What information do we have on Walsh?”
“72 years old, she was reportedly in the house when Curtis was attacked and taken to the secondary location. Hotch wants us to interview her and see if she noticed anything that might help us with the profile.”
Soon enough, the two of you pulled up to the witness’s house. Before even getting out of the car, you felt like something was wrong. 
”Wait, Reid.” You grabbed his arm as he reached for the door handle. “Something about this doesn’t feel right.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at the windows. All of them are dark. Not even a television glow. Something’s off.”
“I hate to say it, but you’re right.” 
You hopped out of the car and pulled your gun from your side, following Reid up the path to the house. He knocked on the front door. 
“I don’t hear anything from inside.” He knocked again. “Go around the back, see if you can get in that way.”
You nodded and walked around the house. You could hear Reid continuing to knock as you went around. As you rounded the corner, a sharp pain entered your shoulder. You yelled and turned around, but not before a blunt object hit you in the temple and your vision faded.
~
Spencer was panicking. You were missing, and it was his fault. He was pacing in the front yard of Walsh’s home while the team and the local authorities worked to catch up. 
“Reid, what happened?” Hotch asked. “We need everything.”
Spencer relayed every detail from the moment the two of you pulled up to the house, still pacing. “I shouldn’t have told her to go off on her own, it’s my fault-”
“Kid, breathe,” Morgan told him. “You didn’t know this would happen. What’s important now is finding her and bringing her home safe.”
The team did a thorough inspection on Mrs. Walsh’s home and learned a good deal. Mrs. Walsh wasn’t home, as was reported. However, her son, Devin, was clearly staying with her. It didn’t take the team long to figure out he was the unsub. 
~
When you awoke, you were in a secondary location. Your head was throbbing behind your eyes and your shoulder was in agony. Your arms were tied behind your back, but that was the only restraint to your mobility. You looked around, trying to figure out where you were. It was a large, open space, you guessed a warehouse, probably abandoned. It was dark, except for the glow of the streetlights outside and an industrial lamp in the center of the room. You didn’t have much time to assess your surroundings, though, because Walsh was waiting for you to wake up.
You knew the facts of the case. You saw the photos. He kept the women for 24 hours, torturing them until their bodies were barely recognizable. Then, he’d kill and dump them.
But you also knew your team. They were relentless. And they would save you.
~
“We’ve seen what he does to his victims. We’re in a race against the clock here,” Morgan argued with Hotch.
“But we still have to keep our heads and follow the law. If we don’t get a warrant, any evidence we do find goes right out the window.”
“Guys, Garcia found something,” JJ said. She put her phone on speaker. “Go ahead, Garcia.”
“So, Walsh’s dear old dad was the owner of a warehouse in the 80s. The warehouse is still in his name but has since been abandoned. And before you even ask, yes, I sent you the address.”
~
The SUVs pulled up to the warehouse and the team jumped out. The plan was to enter the building slow and quiet, but that changed when they heard you scream, followed by a gunshot. Then, everything went silent. Completely silent.
Everyone rushed into the building. The team was terrified of what they were about to find. What they saw, no one could have expected. 
You were lying unconscious on the floor, in a pool of blood. Also on the floor, with a bullet hole through his forehead, was Devin Walsh. Standing with a gun in her hands was 72 year old Linda Walsh, tears running down her face. 
“I had to,” she said, looking at Hotch. “He was gonna kill her.”
“We need a medic!”
~
The team was sitting around your hospital bed. The doctor had said you probably wouldn’t wake up for a while, but they were determined to have someone there with you when you did. 
“We should take shifts,” JJ suggested. “That way there’s always someone here and the rest of us can get some rest, too.”
“That’s a good idea. Dave and I can take the first shift,” Hotch said. “We’ll do four-hour rotations in pairs.”
They talked through who would pair up and take what rotations before Rossi shooed the rest of the team out.
Eventually, Reid and Morgan were on their “shift.” Morgan glanced over at Reid, who was staring at the same page of a book. 
“You ever gonna flip that page?”
“What if she doesn’t wake up?”
“Kid, you heard the doctor. She will.”
“But what if she doesn’t? It would be my fault. I’m the one who made her go off by herself. We were supposed to be a team and I couldn’t see past-” He cut himself off, shaking his head.
“Hey,” Morgan put his hand on Spencer’s shoulder, “it’ll be okay, Reid. I’m gonna go grab a coffee. Want one?”
“Sure.” After Morgan left, Spencer looked at you and sighed. Your body was wrapped in casts and bandages. “Hey, (L/N),” he said, reaching out and resting his hand on top of yours.
~
One thing you didn’t expect about being in a medically induced coma was to still hear everything going on around you. You could hear the doctors and nurses moving about your room. You could hear your teammates. You heard Hotch and Rossi talking about the paperwork they’d have to file on the case because an agent had been seriously injured. You heard the music Penelope insisted on playing, and you heard Spencer. 
“Hey, (L/N),” you heard him say. “I don’t know if you can hear me but,” he took a deep breath, “I’m sorry. Not just for this. I mean, obviously for this. I never should have split us up, I never should have sent you around the back of the house, I never should have-” he stopped himself. You could hear the tightness in his voice. Was he crying? No, Reid wouldn’t be crying over you. Would he? But he continued. “I was awful to you. I mean, I was an asshole,” he said with a dry laugh. “There’s no other word for it. I was an asshole to you and there was no excuse. I’m so sorry, (Y/N). I-”
~
“One cup of sugar with a splash of coffee,” Derek said, coming back into the room. 
“Thanks.” Reid took the cup in both his hands, grateful for a distraction from his guilt. 
“Any change?”
He shook his head. “None.”
Derek sighed. “You know, part of me was really hoping she’d wake up in the five minutes I was gone.” He gripped your hand that wasn’t casted up. “We miss you, Pretty Girl.”
~
Your coma lasted for about 3 weeks. The doctors kept you in the hospital for observation for another full week before finally letting you go home.
During your recovery, your apartment was practically a revolving door. Just about the entire team came by to check on you and keep you company, with the exception of Spencer. You couldn’t say you were too surprised. However, something about it upset you. Hell, even Hotch and Rossi took the time to stop by and check on you. 
Derek and Penelope were probably your most frequent visitors. You were honestly grateful for their visits, and for the help it brought. With your injuries, simple day-to-day tasks were more difficult for you, and Penelope and Derek were more than happy to help you out. Derek took your grocery list and all your other errands while Penelope helped around your apartment. You were even more grateful when they forced you to attend a dinner party at Rossi’s. Penelope was at your apartment, helping you pick out a dress for the event.
“I don’t know, Pen.”
“(Y/N), I’m telling you, purple is your color.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want my dress to match my bruises.”
Penelope just rolled her eyes and tossed the dress on your bed. “Do you really think I’d pick out a dress that didn’t make you look good? Let’s go, you haven’t had a proper shower in a week.”
Penelope helped you get ready for the dinner party before getting ready herself. She helped adjust the strap of your brace when your doorbell buzzed. 
“That’ll be Derek,” you said. Penelope answered the door to Derek standing outside, leaning against your doorframe. 
“Well, look at these pretty ladies. You ready to go?”
“Yeah, I need to get out of this house,” you said. “I haven’t seen anything but these walls in weeks.”
When you pulled into Rossi’s driveway, you were more than excited to see the team. The team, in turn, was excited to see you. You were smiling and laughing, more and more of your normal self. 
When Spencer saw you walk through Rossi’s front door on your crutches, a lump formed in his throat. Ever since seeing you in the hospital, he’d been wracked with guilt. It was the main reason why he hadn’t visited you like everyone else. He tried to avoid you the whole night. Thankfully, you were so happy to be with the others that you didn’t seem to notice. But Blake did. 
“Okay, what’s going on with you?” she asked Spencer, handing him a drink. 
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re avoiding everyone tonight. Why?” When Spencer stayed silent, Blake followed his line of sight. He was watching you talking with JJ. “Ah. Why don’t you go talk to her?”
“I can’t, Alex. Believe me, I’ve tried. For months. Any time I try and have just a normal goddamn conversation with her, what comes out is sarcastic and cruel. I-I don’t know why it happens.” He ran his hands over his face and groaned. 
“You’re in love with her.” Blake wasn’t saying it as a question. Seeing the panic in his eyes, she said, “Don’t worry, it’ll stay with me.”
~
The heavy sheets of rain outside pounded against the apartment windows. It was the kind of cold rain that seeped into your bones, despite a warm home. It was late, but Spencer was still awake, reading. He couldn’t sleep, which wasn’t unusual for him. He heard a knock on his door. Spencer set his book down on his coffee table before walking to his door. He glanced out the peephole and took a step back in shock. Spencer opened the door to see you standing there, soaked and visibly shivering, in only your pajamas. Your eyes were bloodshot and you were sniffling. 
“(L/N)? What are you-”
“I’m sorry. I know you probably don’t want me here and I don’t even know how I ended up here, I just started walking and-”
“Wait, wait, you walked here? In the torrential downpour?” When you nodded, Spencer opened his door wider. “Here, come in. You must be freezing. What happened?”
You stepped through his door and began to ramble, “I don’t know. I woke up from a nightmare and I knew I-I couldn’t stay in my apartment alone so I just started walking and somehow I ended up here and I’m sorry.” Your teeth were chattering as you continued to shiver. 
Spencer grabbed a blanket off the back of his couch and draped it around you. “No, no, it’s, um-” Spencer cleared his throat. “Do you want to talk about it? I’ve found that sometimes just saying it out loud helps.”
Once you nodded, Spencer held his hand out and led you over to his couch. You were silent for a few moments, staring out the window at the rain streaming down. 
“I was back… there,” you said when you finally started talking. “In the dark. I-I couldn’t see anything but I knew he was there. Then I felt his hands on my throat and-” You cut yourself off, shaking your head. Your whole body was shivering, but Spencer didn’t think it was from the cold anymore. 
Spencer moved to put his arm around you but stopped, dropping his arm back to his side. “I know how you feel,” he said. “After Hankle, I couldn’t handle looking at the crime scene photos because I knew what the victims were thinking right… you know… right before.”
“Do they ever stop? The nightmares?”
“I don’t know. Mine haven’t.” When he saw the defeat on your face, he added, “But it does get easier.”
You nodded, still staring out at the pouring rain. You cleared your throat. “Well, uh, I’ll, um, I’ll call a taxi and get out of your hair.”
“You don’t- uh, you can stay, um, if-if you want,” Spencer said. 
“Reid, I don’t want to impose-”
“You wouldn’t be!” Spencer assured you. “I could use the company, actually. I’ve been trying to find someone to watch Stardust with me. Penelope says I need to watch more pop culture and I know you’re a fan of Neil Gaiman.” He gave you a soft smile. “Please, (Y/N), stay. I promise, you’re not imposing.”
When he saw your face crack into a small smile, he felt a swarm of butterflies rise in his stomach. “Okay,” you said. 
About halfway through the movie, Spencer felt you slump against his shoulder. Before he knew it, you were fast asleep. He was frozen there, not wanting to disturb you. He knew how rough the past few months had been, and it was obvious to everyone you weren’t sleeping. Maybe it was the guilt, maybe it was more, but Spencer felt like it was now his responsibility to take care of you, if you would let him.
~
The whole team noticed the shift between you and Reid. Where you would previously stay as far from each other as possible, you were now actively seeking each other out. You chose to sit next to each other in the briefing room and on the jet, something you had never done before. On the trips back from cases, you would rest your head on Reid’s shoulder and sleep while he read a book. But, no one said anything about any of it. No one wanted to burst whatever weird bubble was surrounding the BAU team. 
That was, until Blake, Derek, and JJ spotted you knocking on Spencer’s motel door one night during a case. The two were sitting up in the lounge going over the case files yet again when they spotted you, in your pajamas, sneaking out of your own room. 
After watching you slip into Spencer’s room, JJ said, “You don’t think they’re…”
“Reid and (L/N)? No, there’s no way. They can’t stand each other.”
“Well, they do say there’s a thin line between love and hate,” Alex noted, turning the page in her book. 
“I don’t know about you two, but I need to know what’s going on,” Derek said, getting up from the couch. 
“I’m coming with you!”
“Guys, I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Alex warned. “Just talk to them about it in the morning.”
“Do you know something, Alex?” JJ asked. 
“Even if I did know something, it wouldn’t be my place to tell you.”
~
The next morning, you felt eyes on you as you drank your coffee. You looked up from the case file to see Derek staring at you. 
“What?”
“Were you going to tell me about you and Reid or…”
“What are you talking about? Me and Reid?”
“(Y/N), come on. You two are practically attached at the hip when just two weeks ago you couldn’t fucking stand each other.”
You shrugged. “We worked out our differences, I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Alright, what about you sneaking off to his room last night?”
Your face paled. “It’s not what it looked like.”
“Care to explain then?”
You sighed, looking around to make sure it was just you and Morgan. “You know I haven’t been sleeping since, well, everything.” Derek nodded. “Well, a few nights ago I ended up at Reid’s apartment in a panic. It was pouring out so he let me just stay and I slept better than I had in years. And, you know, he’s not too bad to hang out with either,” your face flushed with your last statement. 
“You’re not too bad to hang out with either.”
You jumped, turning around to see Spencer in the doorway with cups of (good) coffee in his arms.
“Spencer, when did-”
He handed you a frappuccino. “Just now. I take it you weren’t as sneaky as you thought?”
“Shut up,” you whined, nudging him with your arm as you stuck a straw in your drink. Spencer just laughed and took a seat next to you.
“So, you’re just, like, friends now?”
You and Spencer looked at each other, seemingly having a conversation without speaking.
“I mean, I’d say we’re a bit more than just friends,” you admitted, smiling at Spencer. He kissed the top of your head. 
“Damn, I owe JJ 10 bucks,” Derek muttered before saying, “But seriously, I’m happy for you two. It’s about time you realized you were perfect for each other.”
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cycat4077 · 4 months
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Gator's room: foreshadowing & clues
I went back to take a look at the scene of Gator in his room. While the "flag", girly posters, blaring heavy metal and handcuffs were an immediate stand out to all of us, I wanted to have a look to see if there were any other clues to who Gator is.
First up, here's his room:
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SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT FOR EPISODES 1-8
Let's look a little closer at the obvious foreshadowing.
Based on the previews and the Instagram post from the makeup artist (along with the subtle nods to Oedipus), it appears Ole Munch is going to torture Gator. We see him holding a knife to his eyes, and in the original trailer, Gator is bloody and blindfolded while being led by a noose.
Gator's own posters, decor, and drawings seem to depict this fate.
#1 The poster immediately behind his shoulder depicts a man with no eyes - potentially gouged out.
#2 The drawing below it has the eyes blocked out in colours that suggest necrotic (dead) tissue.
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#3 The animal skull on his wall obviously has no eyes.
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The Oedipus parallel and removal of his peepers were foreshadowed right in Gator's room from episode 3.
Linda's fate (mommy issues)
We learned in the last episode that Linda is dead. Roy tells Dot that he can burry Dot right next to Linda. When Dot confronts Gator and tries to win him over via his mother, Gator gets visibly emotional and shaken. We see hope and heartache run through him simultaneously. I think Gator knows instinctively that his mother is dead, but some small part of him hopes she is still out there.
I also think Gator's drawings depict his mother.
#1 This drawing not only depicts a person with eyes blacked out, but the drawing is clearly of a woman - possibly a corpse. She has breasts and long hair but is drawn in purples, reds, and blues; colours that represent bruises, blood, and dying flesh.
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#2 The other drawing with missing eyes is also of a woman. This drawing once again has long hair, but she is smiling.
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Perhaps Gator accidentally saw his mother's dead body. He has a drawing that represents a scary corpse (reality) and one that represents an almost comical one. Maybe the smile is how he tries to remember Linda - dead but somehow still smiling for him.
Other little things
#1 Robbed of childhood innocence. Gator's room is filled with "tough boy" items: swimsuit model photos, car photos, alcohol, heavy metal posters, etc. But he also has children's toy cars. The hot rod photos are in direct contrast to the toy cars on his shelf. The boy trapped inside the man. A boy robbed of his childhood by abuse and traumatic events.
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#2 Jack Skellington. I'm probably one of the only people on the planet who have not yet watched The Nightmare Before Christmas, but the Jack Skellington parallels go beyond just the mask Gator wore. To me, it looks like he also drew Jack - and yet another reference to death. The skull's mouth is sewn shut too, just like Gator is sworn to obey his father and not speak the truths about what Roy has done.
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#3 Red or Blue Pill? Again, I have failed to watch yet another classic film: the Matrix. But this poster seems to be a clear reference to it, I think.
According to Google, "The red pill and blue pill represent a choice between the willingness to learn a potentially unsettling or life-changing truth by taking the red pill or remaining in the contented experience of ordinary reality with the blue pill."
And if there's anyone with the last name of Tillman who will be forced to see reality (and potentially change), it is Gator. Gator will likely be forced this "red pill" by Ole Munch, either finally seeing the reality of his father's ways, or by becoming the next sin eater.
Whatever the outcome, the poster must have some sort of meaning!
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That's all for now 😊 But I really love all the subtleties in this show! It's fantastically written and acted, and Joe is doing such an exceptional job playing this mutli-layered and morally ambiguous character of Gator!
***EDIT***
A post by @familyfriendlyhoho got me thinking about the drawing on Gator's wall. I was thinking that his drawings represent his dead mother, Linda and that he may have accidentally seen her corpse. The post theorizes that:
"I feel like Gator knew Linda was dead. but worst, I feel like Roy showed it to him."
And I think that this is the most-likely scenario. Roy is sinister enough to do something like that to his own son. I can imaging Roy telling Gator to stop being a loser and become a winner and, to drive the point home, he could have led Gator to Linda's corpse warning "this is what happens to losers".
If so, Gator's drawings would depict the corpse he witnessed. Even here, before Gator gives himself the "I'm a winner" pep talk, we see him glance towards the drawing - a reminder of what happens to losers. He then feels the need to convince himself that he is not one, despite what his father says.
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adiluv · 10 months
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❥ PHOTOGRAPHER + GENERAL HCS. ˚⊹꒷
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⚜️୧・꒰word count꒱ 1129.
📕୧・꒰warnings꒱ none!
👑୧・꒰adi moment꒱ unfortunately i am writing for french 'people' now… how sad… /j lol—to be real, though, i’ve actually started playing identity v again and ended up sparking some interest for joseph ꒰netass gave me tranquility, as a treat꒱, so here we are! feel free to send in requests, whether it be for him or other characters! hope you enjoy! ꒰ㅅ´ ˘ `꒱
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꒰⚔️꒱・A closed-off aristocrat with a slight tendency for egotism, Joseph is certainly one of the more tedious residents to woo. Congratulations for ꒰somehow꒱ managing to do so! Beneath his haughty and withdrawn persona, he’s an incredibly observant, caring, and loyal individual—and he does his best to make sure that you feel loved whenever he’s by your side.
꒰⚔️꒱・Although I consider him to be far from optimistic, considering everything that’s happened within his pre-manor days, I do still imagine him to be a sort of hopeless romantic. This is a sentiment you’ll become well aware of through the many dates that he plans for the both of you—whether they be candlelit dinners, strolls in the garden, or something else. These dates do occasionally go astray due to the ever growing amount of inhabitants sharing the space, though he does his best to keep/get things back on track. Please reassure him if things get a bit too hectic—he’s very much prone to panicking.
꒰⚔️꒱・As a man of the arts, you’re quick to become his new muse. He loves taking photos of you at any and every moment he can, regardless of how mundane it is. Depending on your own sentiments of the matter, this could potentially be a root of disagreements—especially considering that the camera seems to follow him every time you’re together. Similarly, he’s a big fan of painting you, originally using the photos he took of you as references, though he quickly abandons them once he gets the hang of things—he’s a fast learner when it comes to you.
꒰⚔️꒱・Of course, though, he values your happiness far more than his desire to preserve you, and he’ll try to stop taking so many photos of you if you ever express discomfort. ꒰Of course, the keyword here is ‘try’.꒱ He slips up on occasion, so please try to be patient with him—it’s his way of showing love, and he tends to get a little over dramatic at times.
꒰⚔️꒱・Joseph is also a rather clingy type of lover, and jealousy is ever quick to sink its fangs into him. The fear of losing you, whether it be physically or emotionally, is relentless in haunting him once you start dating. Even so, it isn’t something he vocalizes often, due to his fears of being considered as weak. Whether it be him hovering close to you whenever you’re too close to another survivor, or the way that he subtly begs you not to leave his side, it is something that you come to notice.
꒰⚔️꒱・Ignore his signs of jealousy, and you might just find that other survivor being targeted during matches—but he’ll ꒰reluctantly꒱ catch himself if you call him out on it. Afterwards, he’ll just resort to being a pouty mess around you, though some extra affection is quick to restore his good mood. You might even catch the Joseph Desaulniers apologizing to the other survivor afterwards—though you’d best bet that he’s swearing them to secrecy. It’s embarrassing, truly! You know nobles like him are meant to be composed at all times..!
꒰⚔️꒱・When it comes to facing you in matches, well… It really does depend. His most common strategies include going friendly for your entire team ꒰and spending the time by your side꒱ or simply avoiding you until everybody else has been chaired and he can give you dungeon. However, there are times that he’ll have to go full swing on you—he fears that the baron might punish the both of you, otherwise. He tries to be gentle on you when this happens, grazing you ever so lightly with his rapier, but he’ll always come running to Emily’s infirmary once the match is over… just to make sure.
꒰⚔️꒱・Assuming that you haven’t been hurt by him in a match, though, it does take some time for him to catch back up with you. Joseph is a massive cleanfreak, and absolutely despises the idea of being dirty—something caused both by his social status and the illness that took Claude away from him. He tends to make a beeline to his shower whenever he returns from matches, a habit that you’ve gradually come to pick up due to his hesitancy to cuddle with you when you haven’t. All things considered, it is a good habit, so you don’t mind it all that much.
꒰⚔️꒱・When it comes to things like PDA, I do imagine Joseph falling more on the conservative side ꒰once again due to his upbringing꒱. He’d really only engage in it when he’s feeling jealous, and for the most part prefers to keep all amorous gestures private… though he won’t complain nor attempt to stop you if you give him a quick kiss on the cheek, or something similar. He does, however, use a lot of French nicknames and terms of endearment for you—both in private and public. Mary enjoys teasing him for it, and offers to translate them for you if you don’t know French.
꒰⚔️꒱・Circling back to his fixation on cleanliness, the worst thing for him is falling sick. He’s quick to become upset if he notices himself falling under the weather, and he’ll quickly try to find something to blame for it. While this can grate on the nerves of whoever’s caring for him, being angry distracts him from his fear—though he’ll try to tone things down if he notices that he’s riling you up. Regardless, he’s grateful that you’re putting in the effort to care for him, even if he initially tries to shoo you off for the fear of getting you sick, too.
꒰⚔️꒱・If you’re the one sick, however, things tend to go much differently. He’s a mix of worried and distant whenever it happens, constantly obsessing over your condition and endlessly pestering Emily—begging her to make sure that you’re alright. At the same time, however, you won’t catch a single sight of him while you’re still ill—the thought of seeing you in such a state causing his stomach to churn. He’s quick to apologize once you’re better, pressing kisses on every part of skin that he can reach… Though expect a slight scolding to accompany his tenderness.
꒰⚔️꒱・Ending this with a cuddling headcanon..! Joseph absolutely adores having you close to him. Whether it be you sitting in his lap while he reads a book or him having an arm wrapped around you as he rants about bad matches and annoying survivors, cuddling is a necessity for him. He’s not against the idea of falling asleep while holding you, either, but be warned that his grip gets shockingly tight once he drifts off. While attempts at escape don’t fully wake him, he’ll try to convince you to stay with half-asleep murmurs of ‘don’t leave, mon ange…’ or ‘stay a little, mon amour…’. Unfortunately for you, they’re rather effective.
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i have a taglist, which you can sign up for here!
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sameschmidtdiffname · 3 months
Text
Lapses
Billy x Gender Neutral! Reader
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Summery: In the wake of death our minds begin to wander. To better times, to little moments. Reality is so fickle in the minds of the weak. But he's coming back. Eventually.
Tags: No use of Y/N, hurt/no comfort, set mostly during the nine months Reader spent grieving before Billy returned in 'My Ghost,' disassociation, distorted reality, death, references to 'Twin Peaks' (1992).
Previous Works in Series: 'My Ghost' (original) • 'Repentance' (prequel)
Warning: You should at minimum read 'My Ghost' before reading this work in the series first. (For best reading experience, please read both previous works beforehand.)
Notes: :)
-¤°》◇《°¤-
Down comes clumps of wet snow from the grey sky, falling.
                And falling.
                         And falling.
I don't know when I wake up.
The TV has been on for hours. Flashing the same photos.
He smiled at me from across the room.
Don't think. Don't perceive. Don't focus.
"I think you look pretty with your hair like that," I told him. His cheeks are so rosy when he smiles.
Smiled.
Why is he smiling?
Where is that photo even from? Have they contacted me with any new details? Check your email.
"Is the internet working? I can't get this fucking email to go through."
He left on an errand.
"Did the auto-payment go through for the bill?"
He's coming back.
"You didn't tell me that was due, I don't have anything on the account."
He's coming back.
"You don't have anything?"
He's coming back.
"I don't have anything."
What are you supposed to do after a death?
There's no guide. There's no instruction manual. Grieve, move on. That's it. That is all we know. How am I supposed to do the second if the general public disapproves so heavily of the first?
There's a long while I don't even leave my house. I lock the doors, shut the curtains tight and nail them to the walls so he can't leave. Like he's captured in my basement, wilting in the darkness as I try to preserve his voice ringing in my ears like the sirens on the TV I eventually break when I throw the remote at it in a fit of rage and desperation.
"It's a piece of shit anyways," Billy would say when he saw it again. "I always meant to buy us a new one."
First thing I did when I found out was rip open my nightstand drawer. "William, have you ever shot a man?" I ask, bolting upright as I wipe the crust from my eyes.
"What the fuck did you do? What the fuck did you do?" I whispered under my breath. "Where the fuck is the gun?in my nightstand. And if I don't get some sleep soon, I'm going to use it. I haven't before, but I can't imagine it's hard."
I tore the house apart looking for it. He's unwell. Wasn't it just last night he was curled on my bed, so sweet and small as he stared at the wall in front of him?
He didn't feel well. He said his stomach hurts. My stomach hurts. Must have been something he ate, he mentioned a mistake. He wouldn't do this of his own free will, I know him.
He walks through the living room, pulling on a jacket to fight the cold air that seeps through the thin windows.
"Whatcha watching?"
Your report "'Twin Peaks,'" I told him.
"Oh shit, seriously? I haven't seen that since high school," he laugh'sowhodoicallabouttheremains?"
"Apparently they came out with a new season," I said. "Got us a free trial if we wanna watch."
"We gotta start from the beginning. Won't make sense if we don't," he says as he throws himself and one other dead thus far against the couch, almost landing on top of me in his excitement. It makes me scream.
Our first date was a little bit of a mess. I wasn't really expecting to meet someone when I did. But I met him. And he was sweet.
"So he didn't tell you anything about this?"
I've dated. I've seen a few guys. Not to sound easy, it was only a handful. But I'd only dated one other guy seriously. It was high school, lasted all the way through. Didn't end well.
"He was running an errand. He does it all of the time."
Billy picked me up fifteen minutes early. Claimed Google overshot the time estimate to my address, so he left early. Later he admitted it was a lie.
                                   But he's not a liar. Why won't anyone believe me?
"What does he do on the errands?"
"I don't know, get groceries or something. I never asked."
                         I never wanted to know.
Billy hasd this romantic side to him. Oh yes, Mister 'Primps and Primes in Front of The Mirror For an Hour Just To Get Drinks' had a flare for the dramatics. Who would have thought? And he showed up with this grocery store bouquet of lilies and baby's breath mixed with wildflowers from the local park.
"They price the hell out of these things for half the product. Figured I'd give you the proper amount," he said with a wink.
"Did you know he was affiliated with gang activities?"
"No!" Yes. "Of course not!" I helped him pack a bag of coke about a week ago.
Did you know that I love the color blue?
                                                                        No.
Mm hmm. Had it on everything. Even dyed my hair that color in high school.
      You with blue hair? You're full of shit.
No, I'm serious! Hated the bleaching process though. Do you know how bad it looks when you grow out dark hair from neon blue?
                          I imagine It'd look co-
Ld.
                              It's cold.
It's been a week. The police have decided I have nothing to do with this. The town has nothing to do with me.
The house is in shambles. But some things are prestine. Like his ashtray sitting on the kitchen table. I kept the surface clean for him, for when he comes back. A string of photos is on the wall from when we went to the arcade and found a photo booth. Half of them are photos of us just looking at each other. Not kissing. Not smiling. Just looking. He has such gentle eyes, you know? I tried to draw them once. They're really hard. They're just so soft, just the right angle. The skin on his eyes crease so specifically. And if you don't draw them right, it doesn't look like him at all. Told him I was gonna get it perfect eventually.
"I may have to go away for a little bit."
They won't give me anything to bury. They won't let him come home. One time Billy was trapped at a bus station during a snow storm and couldn't come home. He'd been running an errand for a friend. I think I know who that friend is now. Billy could hardly even call on the phone from how bad the storm was. He was so cold. Said he wished I was here. Said how much he misses me. Said there was a rerun of 'Twin Peaks' at the station keeping him company. So I put on the same episode and stared at the TV while I waited for him to regain service and let me know where he was. I told him to give me a call when he could.
I'm at the bottom of his closet. Our closet. I don't know why I'm here.
       When I was a child, I liked small spaces
Yeah?
"This is a hard time. It's only natural that you're grieving," says my mother on the other side of the phone.
A month ago Billy sat across from me, eyes trained on the TV as we smoked our way through season two.
"If I have a psychotic break, would you reenact history for me?" He teased around his joint.
"Why don't you go to church?"
"No one talks to me there. I've tried, momma. They hate me. They keep thinking I was in on it." I helped him pack a bag of coke.
"God won't judge you."
Scientists aren't really sure what happens to your mind when you die.
I've looked it up. Once. Read an article. Well, read is a strong word. More accurately I stared at it on my ancient computer I'd had since college while I disassociated for hours on end trying desperately to concentrate. Maybe it's morbid, but when your soon-to-be husband dies in a fire one is prone to wonder about such a thing.
Recent articles suggest DMT- a psychedelic drug that can occur naturally in plants -can actually be produced by your brain in the final moments of brain activity.
"Do you think there's anything after this?" He'd asked me one time as we layed beneath the stars, sand in our hair from the beach of the lake.
"I think we see what we need so that we'll be content as we drift away."
"Studies of animals undergoing brain death have found that the organ begins to release numerous signaling molecules and creates unusual brainwave patterns to try to resuscitate itself, even as it shuts down external signs of consciousness."
I'm sorry. I can't focus anymore. On anything. I feel like my lungs are being squeezed from bottom to top like a tube of gogurt.
We were hardly paying attention to the show anymore. So smoked out it was hilarious to us, laughing at everything as we focused on nothing except for the feeling of each others skin. My hands on his cheeks, his hands covering mine so soothingly. It was so sweet when he guided me off the floor where I lay. Julee Cruise sang on the old TV. Falling, falling. All I can feel is falling as he guides me into a gentle sway across the old shag carpet lit with the mid-July sunset, holding me like I'll fall far, far away.
"I think I've fallen in love with you," Billy whispered against my ear. His breath is warm.
"Yeah?" I'm too high for this conversation. I didn't even realize how low my tolerance had gotten since the last time I smoked. "You make me feel like I'm in high school again."
We'd danced the whole night. He didn't know hardly any of the songs, causing him to be off beat. I was too drunk to keep time, so I stepped on his leather boots enough times there was a visible scuff on the top of one by the end of the night. I always felt bad, offering to replace or help pay to fix it. He wouldn't let me.
"I could die tomorrow and I'd be happy," Billy confessed in a strained voice, finally letting all of the walls come tumbling down around us to the gentle beat of the song. "I'm so glad I got to meet you."
I was so nervous during our first date that I forgot how to eat hummus properly. It sounds so silly, doesn't it? But there was something about him. He wore this white button up shirt, basic jeans that were tight on his thighs. Not that I was looking. Much. His hair was combed neatly, gelled away from his face in a chic manner. Really, he took the whole thing so seriously he almost looked like some youth pastor they would have shuffled into a room with high schoolers to play a guitar and say 'you know, I was troubled once'  before offering his story of repentance. It was so different from how he usually looked. Was he scared?
But anyways, I was so nervous that when they brought us our tray of hummus and bread to share, I took my little triangle slices and barely dipped them so to not look greedy before shoving the whole piece in my mouth one by one. I didn't even remember I was supposed to tear them apart until a week later. I was just trying to avoid double dipping.
"I think that's the first time I fell in love with you," Billy confessed. I giggle so stupidly, so incredibly high as I float on air.
"Because I was stupid?" I ask.
"Because you were sweet," he said.
There's a long moment of silence, the music swelling and making the cheap TV vibrate from the bass it was unequiped to handle.
"Tell me you'll marry me one day," he whispered.
What do you do with a ring that no one wants you to wear? I'm sorry I couldn't help you.
"Isn't it a little early for that?" I laughed softly.I'm sorry you went out on a romantic whim and borrowed money you shouldn't have for the ring I was too ashamed to wear on the proper finger. "It's only been a year." I don't even think we're dancing anymore. I think I'm sorry you couldn't come back for me.we're just swaying softly to the music flowing around us in a blind stupor, the humidity so suffocating outside that Billy shoved an electric fan in the living room window to try and blow in the cool air earlier that afternoon.
And I'm sorry for hating you when you showed up unannounced at my door.
“It shuts the door to the outside world and takes care of internal business because the house is on fire,”  says biomedical scientist Charlotte Martial of the University of Liège, who studies near-death experiences.
He looks guilty sitting on the bed, watching me fiddle with the small container in front of me.
"You can't bring much," he tells me. There's sadness in his voice, honest and tired. His clothes smell like lavender.
"It's fine," I said.
He simply stares at me, bags heavy under his eyes. He had this spark of life before he returned to me that evening. I'm so glad he's home. Things weren't the same.
"Your hair looks so pretty like that," I said, stepping closer to cup his face in my hands. The contents of my nightstand drawer stabbing the bare skin of my feet as I walk to him. He blushes, looking away in shame.
"You can't ever come back if you leave with me," he says softly.
"I have nothing to return to. Everything is gone," I insisted. But I can see he's having second thoughts, glancing down the hallway. "You can't leave me again."
"What the fuck is that?" I screamed into the phone.
"Baby, I don't know-"
"There is a manhunt for my fucking fiánce who can hardly kill a fucking spider and all you want to say is you don't fucking know?!"
There's an article staring at me. Sent by my mother just a few minutes prior. Billy had been gone for a couple hours after leaving me with a small little keychain on the kitchen table and a soft kiss on my forehead, saying he had some plans for that evening. But he'll be back soon. He wasn't lying.
"I want you to come. But you have to be sure."
His eyes are desperate, staring up at me as I stoke his hair away from his face. His clothes smell like lavender.
They finally sent him home today. Took nine months. First they had to confirm it was his remains. Then I had to decide where I wanted him to go. It's such a hard process trying to get your loved ones back, especially when you were running out of the pills that kept you sane. Kept you wrapped in the thick fog of memories left behind to damn the living in a house that has turned more into a tomb. No sunlight, no visitors. My mother came over to see us once, but the smell was so bad she left soon after. I got a new bottle today. Might as well, after all.
He looks so tired on my bed. Curled in on himself. You could fit him in a box. So small. So tired.
It's so cold.
                  "You know, today would've been our anniversary?"
Zemmar says, because “death is sort of a mystery—we don’t really know what it is.”
I wonder who found me alone in the closet of our room.
                    We were too busy dancing to notice.
▪︎》◇《▪︎
Taglist:
@cassiecasluciluce @gh0u1ishly @joshhutchersons-slut @schmidtsbimbo @sugarevans @wompwompwomp57 . Thank you for your support pookies!!! <3
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marchsfreakshow · 8 months
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The Locket With A Masquerade {Tate Langdon x Reader}
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You own a locket, you weren't sure who originally owned it until Tate helped you find who was in the picture.
Fluffy, and a bit short. 💜
First Tate fic, so I apologize in advance if it sounds ooc, but I love this idea.
Your perspective
⊹˚.⋆ ₊꒷ᘏᘏ︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹˚ᗢ₊꒷︶ଓ︶꒷
"What are you fiddling with?" Tate asked. He turned around so we were facing each other after cuddling for a bit. Then he gently held my locket. It was a simple oval shape and had a fuzzy picture or drawing in it.
"Not sure." I got it when I was 10, and got it adjusted as I aged, so it never accidentally choked me. He stared at it for a bit, sort of in awe at the actual locket itself. "It is a pretty necklace I'll admit."
"It looks beautiful on you."
"Shut up." I gently pushed him away out of embarrassment, and looked away from him, out the window instead. He just smiled and moved towards me more. The window was foggy and it was difficult to see out of but, it was nice anyway.
"Do you know who is on the locket?" Tate asked, wrapping his fingers around it again. We faced each other again, and at this point, I was practically on top of him, not that either of us minded. But I shook my head and wrapped my arms around his neck, snuggling into him.
"Let's look."
"nah.."
"Why not? It could be fun."
"Sleepy."
"Come on, let's go have a look." I begrudgingly rolled off him, and grabbed my small laptop, opening it up, and letting it turn on. The rain was turning into a storm, so I lightly groaned.
"A storm usually means the wifi is gonna go nuts." Rolling my eyes, I checked the wifi, and it seemed to be okay, so I clicked on Internet Explorer, staring blankly at it. "Where do we start?" I mentioned, turning over to look at Tate, who was in his little world.
"Helloooo? Mr Langdon sir?" He shook his head, reached behind my neck and took the locket off. Then he opened it and studied the picture.
"A woman." Tate started. Very helpful. "From...the 20's? I think?"
"Very helpful Tate. Millions of women lived through the 1920's." Despite my negativity, I searched for a registry and looked for women who lived in California in the 20's. "Is there anything else you can see? I know the picture is very blurry."
"...look up Rudolph Valentino."
"Valentino? Uh, okay." As I looked him up in the registery, I saw no clues. "Why?"
"The Woman in Black! The one who always visited Valentino's grave. Have you never heard of her?"
I shook my head, then laughed at the prospect of constantly visiting someone's grave. "Apparently not." But I decided to search for her anyway.
A few minutes of silent searching went by. "Elizabeth Johnson. Born 1902, death year unmarked." I muttered, running my finger along the information it gave me. "A background actor on the set of The Sheik and worked with Valentino."
"Do you think this is her?"
"There aren't any photos of her to reference." But I shrugged my shoulders and carried on deep-diving the internet for a few minutes as Tate cuddled himself up next to me, resting his cute head of blonde hair on my stomach. As I read an article about Valentino, I kissed Tate's head, so he knew I appreciated him. "Is this her?" I asked soon enough, bringing up a picture of a woman standing next to Valentio and the other actors. Blonde hair, crimped up, the famously thin eyebrows from the '20s, and wonderful, red lips. Her eyes had something. A light we both liked to look at.
Tate then looked at the fuzzy picture, and the face structure was as similar as we could make out. We both switched between the picture in the locket and the photo in the Google search. "I think so." He smiled, closing the locket and putting it back around my neck. "You're so much more beautiful than her."
"She's gorgeous, I couldn't compare to her. I do wonder how she died though. And when."
"...No you're much prettier." Tate grinned, closing the laptop and putting it on the floor right by us.
"Shut up." I chuckled quietly, kissing Tate and bringing him close. Elizabeth looked wonderful, in the picture, and in the locket. I started to wonder about my connection to her if I had one at all. My mum never spoke to me about my family or our history. Or if she just put a random picture of a 1920s actor in the locket to make it seem like I was interesting.
Tate didn't seem to mind at all. He didn't seem to hear any negativity I said about myself at all. But I stared at him while he lay on my chest, sleeping. It felt cheesy to think that he was like Rudolph Valentino, but, not an actor. He slept peacefully, but I decided to place the locket around his neck. It made him, and I thought it fitted him.
"I love you, Tate," I whispered to him.
⊹˚.⋆ ₊꒷ᘏᘏ︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹˚ᗢ₊꒷︶ଓ︶
Tag requests: @strangerthings420
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bleaksqueak · 5 months
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Man.
So, of course, the rampant theft and disregard for artists has never been ideal, but Pinterest has always been an invaluable tool despite that since it's a paradise for reference and discovery (so you know, always tag your art.. .in multiple places. I started tagging mine with more subtle watermarks in the dead center since uploaders were cropping my tag out, even though like, with the elias respite image, it ruins the composition by ruining the card look and frame... Why do you want to crop my sig out so bad to ruin the composition lmao) Anyway Point being, I have gotten more use out of pinterest as a reference archive than any annoyance it has ever brought me. I've found some artists I absolutely adore using it, too, especially when people use it as its (mostly. sort of) original intended purpose, being a huge communal bookmark/pinboard... those that leave the links directly to the art/artist are saints. However, I really, really hate seeing it being over run by generated Aye-Eye shit. Especially since, apparently, no one ever told the Aye-Eye bros the common sense of "DON'T make the exact same picture 500 times with only an ever so slight difference, are you stupid?" (rhetorical question, ofc.) But it's getting harder and harder to keep the search feeds tailored because these morons cannot understand the value of quality > quantity, so I love being flooded with the slightest variant on the same gd picture over and over. I really hope this bubble bursts or the world gets its act together and outlaws it/heavily regulates it soon. I've said before I wasn't even completely against it as a potential for a fun tool back when it made actually cool dream-like collages of really wacked out whimsical shit, but even then it was like "... but you shouldn't have free reign to just steal to make this stuff. At least it looks nothing like the source, I guess?" but the "Better" it gets, the more uselessly souless and obnoxious it gets, and the more "well that's just straight up obvious theft" it gets. I see so ,so so so many recognizable styles , sort of just hollowed out husks, in these awful things... but hilariously, the more over saturated they get, the more they seem to just feed off of each other, and they start looking like the most homogenized, soulless ero-game style art I've ever seen. Anyway, I just needed some reference for a specific cut of dress pants, and somehow *that* started turning into a feed of nothing but the same soulless pseudo-anime twunk generated over and over and over with bulbous buttocks stuffed into passable pantsuit pantaloons. so I guess i'll just get my ref the old fashioned way - going to specific websites/blogs with actual photos. I'm just glad that for the most part tumblr and bluesky both are strongly anti-aye-eye, they're the only two places where I rarely have to see the shit.
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rockethorse · 3 days
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Calcinidae Bay Lot Tour: Marine Discovery Centre
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I finally got around to picking the terrains I wanted to use for Calcinidae Bay's subhoods, so the Bay now officially has a(n as-of-yet unnamed) Downtown! Yay! Let's take a look through the only currently-finished lot there, the Marine Discovery Centre and Aquarium.
First I wanna shout out @dirtfauna for suggesting I build an aquarium and getting me thinking about this in the first place! As I was putting on the finishing touches I was also inspired by seeing @lolabythebaysims's gorgeous lot influenced by the Belle Isle Aquarium.
Before I get into the lot, I need to show the original Sims 4 shell for reference. It's "what the.. shell?" uploaded to the Gallery by simbellaz, and as you'll see, it was both perfect for and wildly impractical as the basis for an aquarium.
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I don't normally go for shell challenges that have so many internal walls, but all those little 1-tile-wide hallways were practically SCREAMING to be made into fish tanks! The external "walls" you see added to my TS2 shell are all either actually half-walls, fences, or just windows placed with moveobjects, all of which are allowed within a standard shell challenge. It may seem like a cop-out, but it's more limiting/challenging than you'd think.
But enough preamble. Let's take a look inside!
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The entrance is also a small gift shop. It seems like every aquarium I've ever been to has also sold jewellery. Don't ask me about my tiny penguin earrings.
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I really wanted a "fish tank tunnel" vibe, and the effect was... almost perfect, lol. Close enough for a shell challenge IMO. I so so badly wanted to break my CC-free rule to place some fish shaders, but I'm glad I stuck to my guns because I think the solution I came up with looks goofy but effective. (Plus you wouldn't see them in build/buy anyway.)
Ooohhhh jellyfish tank ooohhhhhh they're so lifelike and graceful
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I have my fun.
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That little "airlock" room is a fun pirate-y undersea exhibit that connects to the outside and is probably where school field trips would loop around rather than heading upstairs.
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Through the pirate's cabin is a touch pool and tactile play room where kids can inspect rubber anatomical fish models. I like to imagine the TV plays a short looping movie featuring a B-grade celebrity talking to a cartoon bass about the water cycle, fish spawn, and pollution.
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The outdoor area is where the field trip groups would probably eat their packed lunches, fill out activity sheets, and take a commemorative photo with the world's worst greenscreen that's supposed to make it look like you're underwater but just ends up eating half your hair and shirt.
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If you're not a student and you're just here for the love of fish, you'd probably head upstairs to get a closer look at the fish tunnel, smaller specialty tanks, and the squid/octopus models. (This room is technically considered outdoors thanks to the shell so tbh I'm not sure how lighting/temperature would behave during gameplay.)
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The third floor has more tanks, some hands-on displays about aquatic plants and marine ecology, and finally a room with the actual floor-to-ceiling aquarium objects.
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I thought this would be an interesting lot to run as an owned business, so I included a small employee area tucked behind the guest toilet block on the ground floor. It also helped to naturalistically answer "how would Sims feed themselves if their outing wouldn't stop complaining they were hungry," a concern I keep in mind whenever I make a lot I think would be a nice place to take a date.
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And here's the floorplan! This lot had a pretty severe ugly stage but I'm really really happy with what we ended up with and the vibe I achieved without any CC. Hope you enjoyed reading this far and that it could give you some decorating inspiration!
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mirai-e-jump · 6 months
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Beautiful Catalog Vol.1 ft. Kamen Rider Ryuki Cast Members Suga, Matsuda, Hagino and Ryohei Interviews & Photoshoot (pages and translations below)
Publication: December 16, 2002
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Takamasa Suga (Ryuki) Interview
"We're enchanted by his soft and gentle smile~❤️❤️❤️. Maybe it's because he plays the role of a handsome man (?), but the image of Shinji Kido, played by Takamasa Suga-san in "Kamen Rider Ryuki" makes us feel relaxed when we see Suga-san~❤️❤️❤️. Shinji seems like an honest and hardworking guy, but we wonder, what does he and Suga-san have in common?"
Suga: For one thing, when I think like this, I really get into him, which I guess is all that there is? There are many things I can learn from him. Hmmm~, the same goes for his honesty, and also for his strength.
"Suga-san is also very laid back, yet he seems to have a strong core ❤️. You originally took lessons at a training school to become an actor, right?"
Suga: I've always loved and admired movies. When I was 18, I saw Iwai Shunji-san's movie "Swallowtail" in theaters, and when it was over, I was really shaken up. For awhile, I was in agony over what this feeling was. As time went on, it became clear to me that I wanted to express myself on that screen, and so I entered a training school to study acting. But, it wasn't interesting at all (laughs). I spent about a year wondering if this was the kind of expression I wanted to express. One day, I was sent to a movie set as an extra. I quit the training school because I realized that important things can only be learned on site.
"And? And? What happened after that????"
Suga: I had some free time, so I was given the opportunity to perform on stage. It was right around the time that I was introduced to my current agency, so that's how I ended up here (laughs).
"What was it like auditioning for Ryuki?"
Suga: I just wanted a job. I felt like I was grasping at straws. I was approached by my agency and accepted, but at first, Kamen Rider didn't really sound appealing (laughs).
"Eh~?! When you were a child, weren't there any heroes you admired?"
Suga: I only watched baseball, so I don't remember watching shows like that. I was a (Yomiuri) Giants fan, and it was around the time that (Masumi) Kuwata made his debut, so I think I remember saying, "Kuwata is the future!" (laughs)
"We wonder, what was Suga-san like as a child~?"
Suga: I was mischievous. My family owned a sushi restaurant, and I was always running around the store (laughs). There were many shops in the neighborhood. There was a grocery store next door, a soba noodle shop across the street, and a Chinese restaurant next door, as well as others. It gave off a downtown kind of atmosphere, you know?
"If you were to start a family, what kind of father would you want to be???"
Suga: In my family, both of my parents worked at the restaurant, so we rarely went anywhere as a family. That's why I hope I can create an environment where we can be together.
"Would you participate in the housework?"
Suga: I'll leave the housework to them!
"Would you cook?"
Suga: I don't do it.
"Cleaning?"
Suga: Not at all (laughs).
"Laundry?"
Suga: Well, when the time comes (laughs).
"I see. If it were Suga-san, I'd do anything for him ❤️. However, Suga-san is very fashionable and has a serious image, doesn't he? The outfits for this gravure photo shoot were also Suga-san's personal clothes, and even during talk shows, he wore a turban and a red western hat as his personality shines through⭐. Where do you find these Western styled clothes?
Suga: I'll wonder around Daikanyama, Harajuku, and Aoyama, and think things like, "Ah, I found something!" I don't decide what I'm going to buy today, I just go out on a whim and buy what I think looks nice. I'm not particular about brands either.
"Do you have any fashion references?"
Suga: There's nothing in particular. However, I do read fashion magazines. There's also alot of women's magazines, such as "Figaro," "Vogue," and "High Fashion"……I like women's fashion. The shapes and styles are beautiful.
"I see. The secret of Suga-san's cuteness may be because of the fact that he's honestly attracted to what suits his sense of style. His face is as beautiful as any girl's ❤️. I like girls who wear this kind of fashion when I walk with them! I wonder if he has any particular fashion preferences?"
Suga: That's not really true. I tend to dress up in various styles. But, I like girls who dress up and take care of their appearance. I think that's definitely more attractive as a woman.
"Well, who's your favorite actress?"
Suga: It's Kuroki Hitomi-san! My family loved Takarazuka Revue, and I thought she was beautiful from her Takarazuka days. I still admire her. She's both elegant and attractive, isn't she?
"I see, so older women are okay ❤️. I'm sure there are many mother fans whose maternal instincts are tickled by Suga-san, do you have any message for them?"
Suga: Please take care of your children! There's no exceptions (laughs). I think that Ryuki depicts a world that's truly profound even for adults, so please be sure to look at the content carefully.
"The show is coming to an end and the Riders are fighting a brutal battle. If it were Suga-san, what reasons would you have for fighting?"
Suga: Hmm, when I listen to the other Rider's reasons for fighting, I nod in agreement. It's a reason that only that person has. I think that's the theme of Ryuki as well. It's not about what's right and what's wrong, but since there's many different Riders, I think I've also asked questions like, "What is justice?"
"For example, would you fight for your family?"
Suga: I think so, if it were for family……I think I'd fight for someone I care about and want to care for.
"We know you're extremely busy right now, but what do you plan on doing after Ryuki is over?"
Suga: I'd like to try designing clothes. Also, I'm thinking of going to learn Japanese dance. After that, I'd like to get a license for a large motorcycle. There are so many things I want to do…..
"Finally, some words for the fans!"
Suga: I always do things at my own pace like this, so please continue to support me!
"Of course~ I hope you'll keep being Suga-san, and continue to move forward without losing that current freshness!"
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Satoshi Matsuda (Knight) Interview
"A sharp gaze, and a tight body reminiscent of a wild beast. Satoshi Matsuda-san has a cool, wild, and mysterious feel to him, just like the image of Akiyama Ren (Knight) who he plays in "Kamen Rider Ryuki." However, he keeps quiet (laughs). When the hair and makeup artist said to him while setting his hair, "You have more than one whirlpool, don't you?" he responded with, "The official record is five." He also has an outstanding talent for winning the hearts of those around him! And when he smiles, it's so cute, your eyes will become dizzy~💙💙💙. There seems to be quite a gap between Matsuda-kun and Ren's character, but the actor himself feels no discomfort at all. He's an actor 💙. But still, it's tough having so much work, isn't it?"
Matsuda: I think one Kamen Rider is tougher on a schedule than having multiple jobs (laughs). Filming for the final scene of the movie version took a full 24 hours, starting at 6 a.m. and ending at 6 a.m. the next morning. After that, we were taken to a hotel, slept for 20 minutes, and then started filming for the TV version at 7 a.m. Filming would continue until 5 p.m. It really made me think that I was going to die (laughs).
"Normally, Matsuda-san is said to be the mood maker on set, and yet he was in such low spirits?"
Matsuda: No, I was in really high spirits. I was just going with the flow. I would fall asleep while in a standing position and wake up to the sound of "Test!" (laughs).
"Such a hard year is finally coming to an end, and we wonder what the end of Ryuki will be like~"
Matsuda: We don't even know if Ren will survive or die. But, even if the name of the show was "Kamen Rider Knight," I want to make sure that the story comes to an end, and I want to do my best to finish the story as Akiyama Ren.
"Despite his tough schedule, he made his debut as a singer with the maxi single "DISTANCE" on December 4!"
Matsuda: I was originally scouted as a singer. After 3 years, I was able to release a song with confidence. And, I think I did a great job~. We recorded 3 songs in 3 days, but we had to shoot Ryuki in the mornings, and the second day's shooting in particular was the scene where Knight screams in agony (laughs). There are no singers like that. Everyone was telling me to take care of my throat and use a humidifier instead of a heater (laughs). On top of all that, I couldn't even eat. I was told that if I put solid food down my throat, it would make my voice noisy, so I wasn't allowed to eat within 2 hours of it. I got through it with things like jelly drinks.
"Oh no~, you poor thing~!"
Matsuda: There's a bonus video on the CD that includes an interview with Manager Kawaguchi right after we finished recording the 3 songs. I was so careless with my manager that I was already dizzy. Since I was dealing with my manager, I let my guard down, so I was alittle unsteady~. I don't think you'll ever see such a burnt out look anywhere else, so it's quite a privilege (laughs).
"You released your personal DVD & Video "Colors" at the same time as the CD~. It also includes footage from the recording process. If you want to see Matsuda-san's true face, then there's his column "Matsuda Lab," which is currently being published on his website. It's a collection of hilarious and interesting writings, which set him apart from the plain diaries that are found on other talent's websites."
Matsuda: It's just for fun (laughs). When people who only know me as Akiyama Ren saw Matsuda Lab for the first time, they were shocked, and I still get emails saying, "I was surprised."
"It's certainly a surprising true face, and it's completely exposed. Apparently, he now types it on his computer, but before that, he'd write it on manuscript paper and have it retyped."
Matsuda: I would get very angry if I got even one punctuation mark wrong, so the person typing was very nervous (laughs).
"You pay attention to every detail 💙. If you join the fan club, you'll be able to see more in depth (?) columns and special videos. I'm curious. We heard that you used to always respond to fan letters and e-mails, but the support of your fans is a source of energy, right?"
Matsuda: Energy's also a big part of it, so I'd like to know what you are looking for from Satoshi Matsuda. There's another "me" who's controlling "Satoshi Matsuda," and he wants to know your opinions (laugh). These days, I don't have much time to reply, but I do read all the letters and e-mails.
"I think there are alot of fans who are older than you, but how old would your lover be?"
Matsuda: It doesn't matter if they're 30 or 35 years old. My grandmother is eight or nine years older than my grandfather, and because of that, every couple in my family has an older female member. I'm not particular about it either.
"Well then~💙. So, have you ever thought about what kind of family you want to have?"
Matsuda: I don't really feel like it. But, there are moments where I'd like to get married. I like seeing happy families at events. And yet, I can't imagine myself as a father. I wonder what it'd be like to become a second generation, when I myself haven't mastered anything yet.
"I think you're abit like Ren in that he's stoic 💙. When you were a child, who was the hero that you idolized?"
Matsuda: Hmmm, there was no one there. I was just a kid who fished outside all the time.
"Your hobby is still fishing, right~?"
Matsuda: To be honest, I want to hide a fishing rod with me on set. If they found out, they'll probably say, "Are you serious?!," but it's frustrating when filming finishes first thing in the morning and there's a good fishing spot right over there. But, my rod is long and stands out. It's a 50,000* yen rod with a reel that costs 40,000-50,000 yen, so it feels like a professional grade weapon for catching fish (laughs). (*over $300)
"He specializes in black bass, with his largest official record being 52cm (20.5in)! Ama~zing! When I asked him to give a final message for the fans, he thought for a moment before answering with……"
Matsuda: Some people seem to think that singing is a side job, but I'm doing my best in singing as well. I can't say which is most important, acting or singing. I hope that people will watch and listen to my performances and judge them for themselves.
"Never cutting corners! So cool~💙💙💙. What else would you like to do in the future?"
Matsuda: I'd like to try radio. With the same spirit as Matsuda Lab.
"We're sure it'll be fun! We'll warmly welcome your efforts that make use of your unique character, and of course, your looks 💙."
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Takashi Hagino (Ouja) Interview
"His eyes, with their intense shine, are truly those of Ouja! Once you've caught a glimpse of him with those eyes, you'll be captivated~💜💜💜. Takashi Hagino-san starred as Akira Suzumura in the cult classic show "Choukou Senshi Changerion," and also appeared in "Kamen Rider Ryuki," which was produced by the same Producer, as Takeshi Asakura. His blonde hair matches the mood of his role, and with a leopard print shirt, and slim black pants……it's too intense, isn't it scary?"
Hagino: It's really scary. Nah, I'm kidding, I don't actually know (laughs). I don't mind if people think I'm scary.
"He has the sex appeal of a man, but also has the innocent smile of a boy~💜💜💜. That's how he attacks when his prey is distracted~ (laughs). We wonder if Asakura, a brutal murderer and escaped prisoner, has anything in common with Hagino-san."
Hagino: I think there's some. When you've been doing it for a long time, you become influenced by the role you play. When I'm tired, I'm like, "I'm irritated!" (laughs).
"There it is! Asakura's famous line (?), "I'm irritated!" How does it feel to play such an intense role?"
Hagino: Regardless, it's alot of fun. It's not a role I get to play very often, so I want to enjoy it even more until the end. I don't want to relax in my private life right now, rather, I want to finish the story in the same way that I've been doing it so far. I want to keep the tension, and perform with a sense of urgency. In the meantime, I try to watch the news and live a normal life.
"I guess you could say you've broke new ground as an actor, huh~?"
Hagino: As a job, I was enthusiastic and thought, "Let's do this!" But it was my first time playing such a role, and I didn't have any hesitations about how I was going to do such an amazing role, but strangely enough, I was able to play it quite naturally from the first day. So I'm not sure I can call it breaking new grounds.
"That's true, your performance suggests that you've had plenty of experience. Given your career, we wonder, are you like the older brother on set?"
Hagino: Until now, I've often worked on set with senior actors, and there weren't many people younger than me. That's why it was interesting to see where I stood on set this time around. Suga-kun and Matsuda-kun are really good kids, and I've become inspired by the younger people. I've learned alot from their youthful energy and the way they use it. In my role, I often interact with Ryohei-kun, who's the same age as me, so we have alot of fun together.
"As a fan, it's very moving to see Hagino-san, who used to play the role of Akira Suzumura with all his heart, grow like a snake, shedding its skin, and happily playing the role of Takeshi Asakura. What has the reaction from viewers been like?"
Hagino: There was an episode called "The Girl and Ouja," and since then, I've been getting an incredible amount of fan letters. Until then, I had received letters from people who said they liked, "scary things" and "bad guys" in a cult like way, but when they said, "I saw a different side of him, even though he is a bad guy," the number of letters increased rapidly.
"So, what kind of hero did Hagino-san himself admire during his childhood?"
Hagino: There was no one in particular, but I think I had a desire to become a hero. When I was a child, I genuinely thought that helping the weak was heroic, and I admired it. Doing things like helping girls even if they're elementary school students. In my role now however, I bully girls (laughs).
"Even so, for some reason, Hagino-san always plays "unusual" heroes, right? He's so handsome, that maybe he plays untraditional heros without any complaints?!"
Hagino: I think the roles I've been given to play are wonderful. Both Akira Suzumura and Takeshi Asakura are honest with themselves. I'm not saying that heroes need to be honest, but I think that it's very important. There's something in me that's attracted to that part.
"We wonder what kind of child Hagino-san was~?"
Hagino: I was naughty. But, I studied for entrance exams and went to cram school (laughs). I liked being called "boy." There are pictures of me studying until midnight, and of going to school with dark circles under my eyes. I'd get so excited when it came to studying, that I'd suddenly realize it was 2 a.m. (laughs). I was like, hey, I'm pretty amazing. I liked doing those kinds of things (laughs).
"Kya~! That's just like Hagino-san 💜. What kind of father do you think you'd be if you had children?"
Hagino: I can only imagine, but I think I'd really love it. After work, I'd feel like going home right away.
"Would you let your own child watch Ryuki?"
Hagino: That's……They can watch it, because it's their own father (laughs). If they complain, I'll just slap them. I'm just kidding about that last part (laughs).
"By the way, you also tried your hand at singing for the first time with the CD, "Kamen Rider Ryuki Song Collection", right?"
Hagino: It was alot of fun! I was able to experience recording for the first time in my life, so I was very satisfied with it (laughs). The voice training and the production process were also interesting. Also, I was really nervous. The engineers and everyone else were professionals, so I knew I had to do it right. But, I'm not a professional singer, so I had no choice but to do the best I could, but when I actually tried it, it was alot of fun.
"Does this mean, you'll debut as a full fledged singer?!"
Hagino: It's not like I said to myself, "I want to be a singer!," but it was an experience that I'd like to do again if I get the chance.
"As expected, you'll continue to focus mostly on acting in the future, right?"
Hagino: That's right. I want to play various roles in various situations. I want to play roles that I've never played before, and I want to play roles that I have played before.
"I see. If the current Hagino-san were to play Akira Suzumura, I'm sure we'd see a new side to him. Now then, some final words to the fans!"
Hagino: As long as you enjoy it, that's the most important thing. I'll do my best, so I hope everyone enjoys watching.
"We had a great time during the interview with him, with his skillful storytelling and sexy beams bursting 💜. We hope he'll continue to entertain us more and more as an actor and singer (?)~💜💜💜.
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Ryohei (Zolda) Interview
"Kya~! He's sooo~ tall~! Furthermore, his handsome and chiseled face is so cool that it makes us dizzy~. That's because Ryohei-san, who plays the role of Shuichi Kitaoka, a talented lawyer known as Zolda in "Kamen Rider Ryuki," is an active fashion model with a career spanning about 7 years~💚."
Ryohei: In the modeling world, there are people taller than me, but in the entertainment world, I'd say there's only Abe Hiroshi-san (laughs). I don't mind it anymore, but I used to have a complex about it.
"He has long, slender legs, which we think is one of his charming points. Although he has experience from appearing in commercials, this is his first real acting job!"
Ryohei: I've always liked Kamen Rider and other heroic show, and when I was a child, I would wrap myself up in the curtains around my house and say, "Henshin!" That's why I was genuinely happy. You'd never think that you can become a hero, or that you yourself can transform, right?! When I got the role, I was just so happy, that I couldn't stop cackling.
"When he's silent, he looks just like Kitaoka, cool and mature, but when he speaks, he gives off a playful, boyish look that's very cute~💚💚💚. But, you couldn't "cackle" once filming started, could you?"
Ryohei: I think that acting is the same whether it's a regular drama or a tokusatsu production, the creators are always on site, and they're always trying to produce high quality work, so you can't go to a production site just to have fun. There was such a sense of urgency on set, that I felt my back tense up.
"Your schedule was tough, wasn't it~?."
Ryohei: There were times when I didn't perform, so it wasn't that tough. It was a relief for me since I had no experience in acting, but still, I was always nervous whenever I entered the set (laugh). If I go in every day, I can stay in the mode of my role for a long time, but after a 2 week gap, I'm back to my normal self. It was quite difficult to get back into the role. I also tried to imagine how Kitaoka would spend his time off screen.
"What are some similarities and differences between Ryohei-san and the lawyer Kitaoka?"
Ryohei: The movements and gestures are as close to mine as possible. I don't usually talk like him though (laughs). When I first received the script, I thought he was a lawyer, had money, and was a slick guy who could do anything. I hadn't heard that he was suffering from a disease, so I wanted to make him come off as arrogant, obnoxious and unpleasant.
"I see. Kitaoka, a confident man who carries the shadow of his illness, is attractive, but Ryohei-san, who is friendly and talks about many things, is also wonderful~💚. Did you ever feel confused on set?"
Ryohei: To be honest, I never ever knew what to ask. I saw various cast members coming in later and asking the Director questions about things they didn't understand, and that's when I realized that it was okay to ask questions. Since then, whenever I have a question or an opinion like, "Isn't it better to do something like this?," I'll say it as much as I can.
"The setting is that, "Riders are fighting each other!" There are alot of different actors in the show, which is interesting as a viewer, but isn't it also exciting when on set?"
Ryohei: Even though they're younger than me, there are some people who are my seniors when it comes to acting. There's so many different styles and personalities, and it's both instructive and stimulating. I realized again how interesting acting is, and I also realized how difficult it is. It's so deep that when you look up, there's no end to it. I always try not to make mistakes the next time, but when filming finishes, I find myself regretting something again, and the cycle repeats itself. But, I wonder if it'd be bad if that stopped.
"I wonder, what's the difference between modeling work and acting? When I looked at the gravure photoshoot earlier, I saw that your poses and facial expressions were so perfect, and I felt that this is what you'd expect from model!💚💚💚"
Ryohei: It's been a long time since I've done a gravure shoot, so it felt really good. Modeling is all about having fun in the moment. Once I enter the studio, I look at the atmosphere, the photographer's personality, and the clothes they're wearing, and I instantly think about how I want to act. It's an instantaneous decision. As an actor, you spend alot more time developing your character, so it's a great feeling of fulfillment after you're done. There's differences between the two, kind of like short distance running and long distance running, but the sense of accomplishment is the same and both are enjoyable.
"When it comes to future activities, we wonder, what are you thinking about~?"
Ryohei: Regarding roles, I'd like to play a variety of roles without refusing any that are presented to me. It could be a murderer or a comedian. I think that my current popularity was gained as a result of the popularity of tokusatsu, and not because of my ability. From now on, I want to work on closing the gap that has opened between my popularity and my ability. I don't want to let down my fans, so I want to do various things to improve my skills, and I want to acquire as many things as possible as an actor. In that sense, I'm very "hungry."
"Kya~! (starts clapping) Now that I think about it, Ryohei-san also has experience as a salaryman. Now that he's had alot of experience, his words carry alot of weight to them, anyway, tell us about the type of woman you like and your views on marriage~!!!"
Ryohei: I don't have a specific type, but my type is the person I'll fall in love with (laughs). Marriage is about your partner, so I hope to meet someone who has similar values to mine.
"We're curious, in Ryuki, what's going on with the relationship between lawyer Kitaoka and his male secretary Goro-chan?"
Ryohei: It's a mystery, isn't it? (laughs). Since we don't see much of Kitaoka's private living space, we can only imagine how they live together. Personally, I think that maybe Goro-chan is a live in worker, and that they each have separate rooms and are living a normal life.
"With some mysteries remaining (laughs), Ryuki is finally coming to an end, huh?"
Ryohei: I don't know how things will turn out myself, but please look forward to more drama towards the conclusion, as well as the future of Shuichi Kitaoka and the Kitaoka Law Office!
"We're really looking forward to what Ryohei-san will do after he plays Kitaoka~💚💚💚."
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madameberry · 1 year
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This was originally a thread I made on twitter of drawing reference packs of nonwhite and/or body-diverse people. I made this out of spite after hours of googling trying to find fair-use reference for RGB/hue lights on dark skin (which I still haven't found!). With twitter going the way that it is, I'm crossposting this here in case it gets nuked. This thread originally focused on packs that are specifically uploaded for drawing reference that have licenses for artist use, though later I did branch out a bit with suggestions from others. I'd love to see more added to this.
This is gonna be long so I'm putting it under the fold. Let's get into it.
@AdorkaStock has tons of body-diverse reference packs, including probably the only trans or disabled models in a reference pack I've found. Oh, and the best part about adorkastock: most packs are free with attribution! Some faves:
https://www.deviantart.com/adorkastock/art/Wing-Pack-Preview-891765898
https://www.deviantart.com/adorkastock/art/Sailor-Starlight-and-Prince-Nova-Highlight-Pack-842015663
Faestock on Artstation has a few packs. I like that these packs have costume references too, since I struggle with clothing a lot.
https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/VXDqy/x113-stella-fantasy-queen-reference-pack
https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/v9bPA/x120-genie-pose-reference-pack
https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/1V0aw/x120-christine-action-reference-pack
https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/LpWb0/x120-gown-sword-pose-reference-pack
Grafit Studio has a few good packs if you're willing to pick through their selection. Here's a free pack with a variety of models, and an expressions pack I've used a few times.
Sample pack: https://grafitschool.gumroad.com/l/IoHbY
Expressions Pack: https://grafitschool.gumroad.com/l/LPpjT
Satine Zillah on Artstation has a number of packs. Anyway here's a nice one of an older black gentleman, a variety portrait pack, and one costumed pack that I included in my original thread, but I can't speak on the accuracy of the depictions:
https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/J25K/portraits-vol-2-model-ali-260-jpegs-photo-reference-pack-for-artists
https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/yJ72/portraits-photo-reference-pack-255-jpegs
https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/9NdV/culture-of-the-steppe-760-jpegs-photo-reference-pack-for-artists
Cathleen Tarawhiti on Deviantart has a number of stock options sorted by model. They normally do book cover shoots, but they're seemingly free for personal use, which I assume includes study.
https://www.deviantart.com/cathleentarawhiti/gallery/55170611/zabeen
https://www.deviantart.com/cathleentarawhiti/gallery/65446765/whitney-marie
photoref.org has a number of shoots of diverse models. The pinup shoot and the skate party shoot are great, I love the outfit inspo!
Pinup Pack: https://jennravenna.gumroad.com/l/vwAsi
Skate Party Pack: https://jennravenna.gumroad.com/l/EGpIk
@ fugitiverabbit on Twitter is running this resource of fat photo references that's (so-far) volunteer-run:
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This site was suggested to me and it's just good and fun and wholesome.
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There are a number of Tiktok users who pose for reference use. I can't include all of them individually, but here's the one that was brought to my attention:
r/drawme and /rdrawmensfw subreddits were suggested to me as places where people have given permission to be drawn. This can be a good source of refs for different body types as well!
And finally, two book recommendations:
Morpho Anatomy for Artists - Fat and Skin Folds by Michel Lauricella So many anatomy study sources focus on idealized proportions. This is one of the few resources I've found that goes deep into how fat and skin lays on the body in different locations.
and How to Draw Black People by Malik Shabazz
That's all from my original thread, but feel free to add more!
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queen-mabs-revenge · 9 months
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Why Peter Parker Was Not 15 When He Was Bit: A Treatise
This was originally a twitter thread but in an effort to save the one thing I actually care about having posted there from whatever the fuck is going on, here we go!
While early on there aren't any outright 100% indisputable references to Peter's age (i.e. himself or Aunt May just saying it outright on the page), from the very beginning of publishing, there have been enough references that give a firm grounding to Peter being a senior in high school throughout the first 28 issues of Amazing Spider-Man.
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ASM 8 (Jan 1964)
Right off the bat in Amazing Spider-Man 8 (a tribute to teenagers xoxo you will always be famous) we get our first definitive mention that Peter and his classmates are in their senior year of high-school at the very least from this point on in the narrative.
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ASM 14 (Jul 1964); ASM Annual 1 (Oct 1964)
Peter himself states this 6 issues later trying to wheedle Aunt May into letting him go to Hollywood on assignment from JJJ to cover Spider-Man's cinematic debut in a film role offered to him by the Green Goblin (in his first comic appearance. When I say I love the Silver Age.) ASM Annual 1 confirms that the gang is in their senior year yet again.
This is already stupid long so the rest goes behind the cut!
This isn't something that's just dropped in the Silver Age and then forgotten. 26 years after those first mentions, Web of Spider-Man Annual 4 makes a call back to Amazing Spider-Man 3 and places that moment in Peter's senior year of high-school:
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Left: WOS Annual 4 (Oct 1988); Right: ASM 3 (Jul 1963)
While on tour to promote the Bugle-produced book of his Spider-Man photography, WEBS, Peter states on a TV interview that a photo of his first encounter with Doc Ock was taken while he was a senior in high school.
"But Mabs," I hear you say, "so what if he's in his senior year in ASM! Even if that's true, that doesn't mean he was in his senior year in Amazing Fantasy 15, and that still doesn't establish an age! He's a super mega genius so like....he probably skipped grades, prodigy that he is! And there was a time gap btw AF15 and ASM1, right?"
Alright let's go through this. As mentioned earlier, yeah, references to Pete's age are very few and far between and are a bit wobbly but let's put them together. The first age ref we get is in ASM 16:
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ASM 16 (Sep 1964)
Here our favorite public defender is "rescued" from a mugging by the webslinger. After Peter fucks off, Matt gives us the above rundown of Spidey's characteristics: about 17, 5'10" and in excellent health. So "about 17" which, granted, doesn't have to mean exactly 17 but since we've established that at this point Peter is def in senior year, based on NYS age matriculation dates, Matt's probably spot on.
New York State matriculates students based on the age they are on December 1st of a school year. A 1976 edition of school regulations lays out the process: "[a] child who attains the age of 5 by December 1 of the current school year must be admitted to the kindergarten if a district operates such a program". So this means that within the same kindergarten class, kids born from the beginning of the school year to November 30th would be turning 5, while kids born from December 1 through the end of the school year would turn 6 during the school year, and kids born over the summer would also turn 6 but wouldn't celebrate during the school year.
Following that, Sept through Nov babies would be 16-going-on-17 in the beginning of their senior year, Dec - June would be 17-going-on-18 during senior year, June - Aug would turn 18 after graduation.
Peter being 17 or 18 during the high-school run of ASM just makes sense and there's nothing in the writing up until this point to push against that! In fact, when you first start seeing the de-aging of Peter creep in, AF15 literally had to be changed to make a younger age fit!
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AF 15 (Aug 1962)
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ASM Annual 23 (Sep 1989)
The very first time we see 15 floated as an age when Peter becomes Spider-Man is in the Amazing Spider-Man annual 23 of 1989. The annual is trying to present itself as Peter scientifically studying his own origin story, so the direct parallels to AF15 make it really clear when it's retconning the original to make sense with the younger age.
The panel where ASMAnn23 states Peter is 15 is otherwise a near word-for-word quote of AF15. Then later, the cognate panel of Peter in science class changes AF15's "you're sure to rate a scholarship when you graduate" to "in a couple of years when you graduate, you're sure to rate a scholarship." (Gerry Conway back at it again). This is the first time there's ever a hint at his story not being centered around his senior year, and that was made explicit in this issue by changing the original dialogue in order to justify stating he was a 15 year old in this recollection of AF15!
This is also an argument against the 'skipped grades' premise. Conway could have easily just left the text of AF15 as it was which would hint that Peter was obviously very young for being a senior in high school, but instead he tried to push AF15 back in time to fit a usual high-school timeline for a 15 year old (who would be at the earliest a December baby in their freshman year and the latest a Sept-Nov baby in sophomore year, and would be 'a couple of years' away from graduating).
Plus, fr if you're gonna argue that he skipped grades, it's on you to prove that. There are literally zero references to that throughout 616 continuity so like, why tf should it be taken as given? Please.
Anyway. And so are sown the seeds for torturing the already stretched timeline to make Peter an uwu baby infant. They didn't take right away. References to age go away after this and only resurface in 1994 (as far as I could see), where we see him aged back up:
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ASM 395 (Nov 1994)
'I can't believe I was only sixteen when that spider bit me' actually makes sense with all of ASM being established as fully in Peter's senior year, Matt gauging him at 'about 17' in ASM 14, the age matriculation cut off for NYS schools, and the timeframe established between AF15 and ASM Annual 1 from 1964:
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ASM Annual 1 (Oct 1964)
ASM Annual 1 (which I mentioned earlier as yet another point establishing Peter as being in his senior year) also has this little timestamp. Peter is watching Aunt May mourn for Uncle Ben and mentions that Ben's death was 'months ago'. Granted, that's in no way specific but I feel like it establishes at least a rough timeframe for the intended time gap between AF15 and ASM -- and it's not years.
And to be honest, there's really only one space in the narrative that allows for a time gap at all (Stan is really attached to his 'a few minutes later!' 'later that day!' pacing let me tell you!)
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AF 15 (Aug 1962) page 9, panel 1
While the narration box says 'In the days that follow' it seems like we can take that colloquially considering the stream of newspaper headlines. For all of that to take place, I feel like it's not a massive stretch to allow this panel at the very least a month or so, which gives a bit of breathing room between when Peter lets the burglar run away and when Uncle Ben is murdered. (Which if you think about it a delayed dropping of the other shoe actually makes it worse! So how about that!). But between this and ASMAnn1, I don't think you can argue for years taking place in this gap which would have to be the case for a 15-year-old bite timeframe.
So if Peter's bit his senior year, for him to be 16 when he's bit he has to be born between the beginning of the school year and November 30th (because school has to be in session when he's bit). Which fits with the official New York City 2012 declaration of his birthday being October 14:
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If he's 16 when bit in his junior year (again, school has to be in sesh), you've got to decide when from December of his junior year to the end of the school year makes sense for him to be bit with the rest of the time markers and how long you're gonna give to the time skip in AF15 for it all to qualify as just 'months' up to ASMAnn1. Which definitely can be done, especially if you AF15 pages 1-8 near the end of his jr year, put the time skip over the summer between junior and senior year, and rest of pages 9-11 in his senior year. In some ways this option makes a bit more sense, to be honest!
The way I personally like to square it is to go with all of AF15 and ASM1-28 happening in Peter's senior year (which he reaches without skipping grades) interpreting the 'when you graduate' in the AF15 panel referring to the same school year. If he's 16, the bite happens sometime before his birthday which has to be before Nov. 30th and, sure, why not Oct 14 -- it fits. A month or so passes between when he gets bit and starts his show-biz stint, and when Ben gets murdered. That means the last 3 pages of AF15 (bar the first panel on pg 9) to ASM28 spans from some time in December of his senior year to the end of the school year.
(If you don't care if he was 16 or 17 when he was bit, AF15 - ASM28 can take place any time from the second half-ish of his junior year to the end of his senior year, you can decide how many 'months' the time skip is in AF15, pick his birthday out of a hat, and Matt's "about 17" could mean 18, too. Have a ball.)
But in any case whichever way you choose to spin it, this shit is dumb and wrong:
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Civil War 2 (Aug 2006)
and especially deserves to be memory holed for the ridiculous de-aging of Peter Parker that has subsequently been pushed into popular memory and continues throughout current Marvel 'brand synergy'. Sad and bad!
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north-noire · 1 month
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north!! i hope ur doing well!! im really interested and curious abt jennifer emily shes seems very giving in tough love but i hope i request some hcs or sketches im already in love with her i love her i love her id do anything for her
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I've been doing well the best I could, but thanks for asking! It's been an exhausting time for me, but I'm getting by :] Here's a colored sketch of her, as you requested! Still working on her reference so she'll take a bit (same to the others as well), but I hope this suffices!
Thank you for being interested in my grumpy gal, and for the lovely ask! I'll try my best to explain my headcanons and that kind of thing for her! And honestly same, I would just do whatever she wanted so that I don't get on her bad side lmao.
Plus I really like the idea of Henry having an older sister - originally she wasn't really in the story, but I really liked the idea of an outsider from the Freddy's drama finding out what kind of thing Henry got himself into, and I thought Jennifer suited that role nicely.
Jennifer Emily in my AU - she's a very tough love and blunt kind of woman (Henry unintentionally got his bluntness from her partially), preferring to just be straightforward rather than sugarcoating everything. She just prefers having things done first before she deals with the ungodly things called emotions - she can be a bit brash and can get easily irritable, but she means well, she just says what's on her mind sometimes, so she can sound pretty harsh and brutal. And sadly, she's not really the best at consoling someone or helping them get through their emotions, but she tries her best to console in a different way.
She's a car mechanic, but genuinely has an interest in racing cars (even got racer's jackets and photos of race tracks/racing tournaments she had watched - she's a racing fan, damn she would've loved the Cars movie lmao) and custom car stuff (I imagine her car is like modified a bit to look like a race car for the aesthetic - probably would've collected sports car toys and the like) and that kind of thing - she really wanted to be a racer someday, but alas, that's simply just a child's dream, but she's happy enough to be someone who fixes something she loves as a living, but she was definitely frustrated with the whole misogynistic remarks she gets for just being a car mechanic. Also she doesn't Henry to repair his own car and would rather find him and his run-down car in the middle of nowhere than get him to try and repair it on his own. Another thing, it's never explicitly said in the story/treated as a big deal at all, but my Jennifer is a lesbian woman, and Henry doesn't really care and loves her all the same regardless (and honestly he's not even surprised mostly because he sort of knew she dated women before). She never really found luck finding love though, but she tries her best to go by her life regardless.
Back when Henry and William were just new friends back in college years, she highly disliked William - Henry always argued back/stood up for William, but she just never really liked him. Her personality would always clash with William's, and she really doesn't like how wishy-washy William can be and how much he puts on a show for people, and how much he can be a "people-pleaser" in her perspective. The British accent also made her feel like he was being pretentious and posh individual. Of course, years down the line, Jennifer just sort of got used and just kept her dislike for William all to herself/to Henry, but Henry sometimes alludes to it sometimes in a light-hearted manner.
She also lives alone, with her dog (A Doberman, they're very sweet) :] She never really saw herself as someone who can take care of kids, let alone know how to deal with them, so she's honestly living the best life she could! It's honestly why she doesn't mind Henry coming over every once in a while, she doesn't like to admit it but she gets a little lonely there by herself sometimes.
Sorry for another long post, but I really hope I've explained her stuff well! Thanks for the ask as well it was really fun answering this question!
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candy8448 · 3 months
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Photo (for the one word prompt)
Used a fic idea i had since i basically joined this fandom but never wrote so i got carried away and wrote 1580 words 0.0
This fic idea came to me when playing totk for the first time when it first came out, i took a photo of the old champions photo and put it in the gallery of my new house
Get ready for some fluff! (From me? I know, shocking!)
Send me a one word writing prompt
"And this room, i actually made with you guys in mind... i didn't have space for full beds but those mattresses are a lot comfier than a sleeping roll. Sometimes i even prefered sleeping in here than in my own bedroom," imagining that i was still with you lot, he left out. Wild turned back to the chain as he finished showing them around his new home. Twilight glanced around, noting something,
"Where is the champions photo? I thought of all things you would want to bring, it would be that?"
Wild tried to hide his upset expression, "well, Zelda kept it... and she is the one with all the real memories of them... so its okay"
He tried not to think about losing the champions photo, but he couldnt help but think it was like loosing them all over again. Still, nothing would come from burdening the chain with his emotions.
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The next day, while Wild was out running errands, Legend burst into their shared room on the top floor, canvas and paints in his arms, dumping them on the table in the center of the room,
"We're painting him a new one."
"What?"
"You saw how sad he looked when he didn't have the champion's photo; we are repainting him a new one"
Warriors grinned at the vet, "wow, didn't know you were soft, collector."
That earned a glare, "You never know when you could lose someone, sometimes you need something to keep their memory alive, like a song, or a picture."
A few of them nodded in agreement.
"Right, who's doing what?" Time said as they all gathered around the table.
Wind's hand shot up first, "ooh, OOH! I can draw! Let me draw it!"
Legend looked at him, "okay, you do the sketch and i do the painting, BUT im gonna check over the sketch before we're done" ever the perfectionist.
Sky nudged Four, "bet we can make a pretty good frame eh?" Four grinned back and nodded, running off to find somewhere he could start.
Roles were assigned to each member: Four and Sky would work on a frame, Wind would sketch and Legend would paint, Warriors would find Flora and ask to borrow the original photo as reference, Time would also go with him to learn more about the champions, and finally, Hyrule and Twilight, having no artistic skill and being the closest to their cook would distract Wild until the painting was finished. It was a good plan, and they began too work.
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Legend and Wind sat in the top room all day, Wind was getting frustrated at how the sketch was just not looking right, Legend came to pull the pencil away,
"No you do it like this!" He said, rubbing out a piece of the drawing and sketching it on himself. Wind's eyes widened in understanding, and he grabbed the pencil again, fixing up other similar mistakes. Legend noted that the rito happened to look the best and he had to wonder if that was because it was the only race outside of hylians he had a lot of experience with. Wind noticed the same thing. He almost felt the spirit of the rito looking smug as he pridefully gloated on the others, and Wind giggled.
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"It's really nice you're doing this for him, i wasn't aware that he would feel upset that i kept the photo. I thought he would come and tell me if something was upsetting him," Flora said as they sat around the table in her own house in Hateno village. Warriors and Time had told Wild that they wanted to speak to her and Wild, being unsuspecting at the two 'leaders' of the group wanting to gather information, called Zelda over with the Purah Pad. She had teleported to them with the old Sheika Slate and Warriors couldn't help but gape at the glowing blue antlers and her purple and blue eyes. Zelda then proceded to take them to her house once they told her they wanted to speak to her in private, much to the displeasure of Wild, who wanted her nearby to make sure she was safe, not that anyone could blame him.
Time smiled at her, "well, hiding one's emotions do seem to come with the hero's spirit"
She nodded uncertainly.
Wars drew the girl's attention, "Can you tell us about the champions? Our friends Sky and Four would like to make a frame and were hoping to make it something special."
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Wild excitedly showed them around Tarrey town and was pulling Twilight and Hyrule along with him. When wild came running back to the house, Twilight first asked to have help with Epona, but because the house stable was already occupied, they had to go to the nearest stable. Hyrule also tagged along, hoping to use up time exploring once Wild's attention would eventually shift from horses to something else. Twilight was currently just following behind them, trying to catch up to the duo and making sure they didn't get hurt.
Wild had decided that it was a good idea to dive off the side of the town and into the water to reach the construction grounds. Twilight tried to stop him but the champion, as slippery as he is, got past him, already with his shirt off and shouting as he went down, followed by a massive splash that almost reached up to them. Twilight sighed and turned around, only to see Hyrule missing from his side. The traveler's laughter joined Wild's own as he knelt on the moving tracks platform and waved at him, Wild waving back as he swam to shore. Twilight sighed harder but smiled, at least his brother seemed in a better mood.
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Sky hummed to the rythm of Four's hammer hitting metal. The skyloftian had decided to join the smithy in the forge to spend time with him. The carving in his hands would theoretically slot into what four was making, the metal to hold the canvas in place and the wood for the details. Sky used what Warriors and the old man had relayed to them from Flora to create intricate markings which he hoped represented the champions. Four hammered away, joining his humming with his own layer to the tune until he stopped hammering and looked at his work, "how does that look?" He asked, sky stood up, halfing his unfinished piece nearby and comparing the two, looking at the but where the two would slide in together, "it looks great!"
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Hyrule excitedly dragged Wild to the top room by his arms. When the champion saw everyone in the room he looked confused, waiting for an answer. "We made something for you" Wind said, ushering him to the table.
Wild walked up to the table to see a canvas resting on it, one with a very familiar image. His breath hitched in his throat as he silently.
It was almost identical to the original image, the champions photo, but newer. Everone in the image looked perfect, careful strokes of paint marking out their individual features. Wild sniffled as he inspected the frame. Wood and metal worked into eachother. The metal sides of the frame had the words "champions ballad" indented in his hylian. The wooden sides had carvings, depicting the four regions the champions came from, it also had things which he knew the champions loved from his scattered memories. There were indentations of more things, and Wild wondered where they got this information from. The frame was detailed, he could also see where the wood and metal intertwined with one another. There were no carvings of the divine beasts, Wild noticed suddenly, no marks of duty; just six friends, together and happy.
Wild worlessly looked up at his traveling companions, and only now noticed the river of tears running down his face.
Twilight stepped forwards, offering Wild a tissue, "legend was the one who suggested we do this because we saw how sad you were about not having the original. He and Wind sketched and painted it. Wars and Time got the original image from Flora and learned about the champions for the details on the frame, which Sky and Four both made. Hyrule and I were distracting you so it could be a surprise"
Wild sniffed, happy tears overflowing him, "th-thank you guys, it really means a lot" his voice cracked, "i-um... can we take a new one? With all of us? If you dont mind" he stuttered.
---------------------
Flora held the Purah Pad, looking through the lens. She called out, telling everyone to move around and making sure they were in shot, "Time, move down, yeah like Warriors, you might not be that tall but you are still out of shot" laugheter errupted out of the others, the old man deadpanned before his face returned to his smile. Flora decided to take advantage of everyone's laughing faces, "Ready?" She giggled, borrowing Purah's iconic phrase "Click-" Twilight grinned mischieviously, "-snap!" And pulled everyone in suddenly with his strong arms.
The image was put up next to the champions painting on the top floor where they all slept. Wild took a step back, smiling softly. Everyone had a mixture of shocked and laughing faces, Wild himself, in the middle with a beaming smile and a tear running down his cheek...
Ao3 (oneshot collection)
Ao3 (the fic on its own)
I have notes and headcanons featured in this fic in the end notes of both of the Ao3 versions
Hope you enjoyed! :)
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lupes-hat · 7 days
Text
i've been working on a depiction of a bufflehead in bobbin lace lately. i had some ambitious ideas about what sort of effects i would be able to create. like i'm still proud of what i've done but it doesn't look as cool as i had hoped
this is the reference image:
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Picture credit: Mick Thompson
and this is what i have made so far:
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i chose rose ground for the wings bc it's a cool looking stitch. problem is, it makes the wings appear spotted, like a loon. i know what stitch to use to make a loon body now though, so that's a positive. originally, i intended to just do cloth stitch all in black to create a solid mass and rose ground for the white body. i changed my mind bc i thought it was too simple and boring. should have followed the plan. oh well
the reflection of the duck in the water i did using cloth stitch; the workers (running vertically) are blue and the passives (horizontally) white. i did this to try to mimic how the rings of tiny waves kind of break up the reflection and create lateral lines in the photo. this might have worked better if i did a far closer weave (idk if there's a proper term for that). this part was supposed to go farther down the duck's body, but the workers broke :( and i had to undo a couple rows to get enough slack to make a knot :(. overall, i'm okay with how this looks, though
and the head. one of the most striking elements of the duck in the photo is its iridescent head. i'm using black workers and colorful passives to try to recreate this. the issue i have with it so far is how solid it is compared to the rose ground of the back. it makes the back seem even more spotty. i'm trying to reserve judgement on how the head looks until i've finished it. hopefully the white patch on the head will make it look more bufflehead-y than loon-y. also, i think i'll try a tally to depict the eye, which i've never done before. i've heard tallies can be difficult to tension, so it's so good i'm doing one for the first time as part of a large project lmao
another problem i've created for myself is that i'm using polyester thread. i heard i can block it by steaming it. hopefully that will hold the shape. i've added an element of danger to this project by not testing this on a smaller piece first
i still have to finish the head, do the body (idk why i left the middle piece until last), and decide if i should fill in the water or leave it empty. i'm treating this an as experiment and a learning experience. my goal is to create a bunch of imperfect bobbin lace, rather than getting stuck on one piece
i think i might make a loon next, since the rose ground seems to work so well. my lace society encourages members to enter at least one lace piece in a state or county fair each year, and i think a loon might be popular among potential judges. since it's for competition, i'll actually have to plan that one out impeccably
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cologona · 11 days
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If you won some sort of lottery contest and DC allowed you to write a comic run for any character, any topic, no limits, what would your comic be like?
What kinda plot and characters would you want to etch into official DC canon? (Or would you prefer to write an elseworlds kinda thing?)
-redhoodinternaldialectical from the "main" blog
Sorry it took a while to answer this, I got pretty carried away! Jason is my favorite character and the character I know most about, so of course I'd write about him. This is going to be pretty long winded and fanfic-y, hope you don’t mind!
First things first I’m making both UTRH and Lost Days mostly canon again. Jason was a crime lord who did Mean Crime Lord Things for a while and that’s what I’ve decided everyone is referring to when they gesture vaguely to his villainous past.
I’m also bringing back the original “big boob” backstory where Jason makes Bruce laugh on the anniversary of his parents’ death. Catherine was an opioid addict due to illness, Willis was the person who taught Jason about cars (and thus how to jack tires) and Faye Gunn is no longer Jason’s grandma. (I really disliked Ma Gunn’s “redemption” in RHATO.) Just in case, I’m also reiterating Sheila’s role in Jason’s death.
Here’s a few lines I came up with for the Todds:
Jason keeps the letters Willis sent him from prison - the ones Ma Gunn hid- in the same picture frame that holds his Robin graduation photo with Bruce. He loved and resented Willis in equal parts, but mostly he regrets not having gotten more time. It’s all the same with fathers.
Catherine is curled up in bed, her expression is half a grimace. She asks Jason, who is reading a picture-book by her side, to get her ‘medicine’ for her. Jason doesn’t know how else to help her feel better so… that’s exactly what he does. In a moment, he returns with a small heart shaped box and a cup of microwaved soup.
If I can imply in some way that Catherine is in denial about the possibility of her dying I’d like to do that too.
I’m also doing a total overhaul of the All-Caste.
Essence is getting proper Tibetan braids, Ducra is going to wear a khampa chuba instead of her current old coat, and the Acres-of-All are getting reimagined as a towering Ziggurat with all the murals, pillars, curtains, and ornate trim befitting a monastery! The All-caste of memory will be bright and fantastical, but the ruins of the present will be dark and spooky.
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Some references for what I'm talking about.
I’m also reframing the “Absolute Evil” part of the All-blades’ description to be an epithet for the Untitled. The sword is not literally judging Goodness and Evilness anymore; now they cut through negative psychic energy Jujutsu Kaisen style. I don’t think I need to spell out a justification for Jason being able to summon them whenever, but for any sticklers I’ll just say it’s because Jason- like the Untitled- has a lot of bad feelings and trace amounts of Dionesium in his system (among assorted other chemicals.)
Since Lost Days is being brought back that means instead of spending an entire 3 years with the All-Caste, Jason only spent a few weeks with them during his world-wide training arc. Ostensibly because a little magic would give him an edge over Batman. Ducra wouldn’t normally just give away powerful magic weapons to any chump with a free weekend, and she knew Jason was dangerous, but since the All-Blades are so specific and the ritual to attain them nigh-unsurvivable she saw an opportunity to use Jason. Sure she's one of the Good Guys, but she's not called a conniving old witch for nothing hoohoo!
Now a few plot ideas for a vague overall mini-arc.
First, Jason goes to ugly lengths to protect or prevent consequences from finding one of his family. Maybe someone threatens their secret identity…? The ‘opponent’ should be someone innocent and/or noble but not easily bought or fought. Maybe Vicki Vale, another Hero, or some kind of wealthy heir. The point is to cast doubt on if Jason’s return to the Bats is really so unquestionably redeeming. Jason has pretty much chosen to betray his morals for them after all.
Then, Jason chooses not to kill a villain who shortly afterwards victimizes more people and skips town before he can get caught. Basically a rehash of Diplomat’s Son except the Garzonas figure gets away. It’s technically a win for Batman- his presence kept Gotham safe after all. But it doesn’t feel like a win, especially not to Jason.
And finally, Jason frames himself for various murders committed by victims against their abusers. Maybe kick the story off with one of Ma Gunn’s boys killing her and telling the cops it was Red Hood in a desperate bid to avoid jail.
Obviously Jason can’t be allowed to do this long-term. It’s a bad precedent to set, an obstruction of justice, etc… Jason hasn’t broken The Big Rule though, and Bruce can only act so sanctimonious when those same complaints could be are made about him as well. There’s no way this ends any other way than Batman running Red Hood out of Gotham again and they both know it, but neither deviates from the path set before them.
One or two “monster of the week” issues where Jason fights various assassins and bounty hunters sent by his more influential enemies might be good- one should occur right after the above story. A consequence for his “return to form” so to speak. Batfamily fans may appreciate a scene where Bruce says something indicating that he ran Jason out for his own safety as well as Gotham’s. Batman may be able to hide in Bruce Wayne’s skin during the day but Jason’s only identity is that of Red Hood, and at times that makes him vulnerable in a way other heroes aren’t. This + some panels contrasting the generic mercenary look of Jason’s guns and equipment with the Bats’ spandex future-tech will be great for showing how separate Jason is from the Bats.
Now while Jason’s out of Gotham again there’s this detail in one of RHATO’s flashbacks that I want to expand on- that being how he used to be able to summon a lot more All-blades.
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Red Hood Outlaw 34
“I had a lot of soul back then” - implying that he has a lot less soul now…!?
Jason’s been through a lot, in life sure but also more recently. Fight scenes where the All-blades take the form of daggers would not only be cool and evocative of the wavy dagger Talia gifted him way back when, they’d be good visual sign of his declining emotional state.
Later on as his soul ‘shrinks’ further, I’d give him a pair of mystical guns through which he can channel his All-blades into bullets. If it’s another gift from Talia I’m thinking dark brass revolvers with paisley filigree and a red Endless Knot charm hanging from each handle. If they’re from Essence or S’aru I’m thinking black lacquer and silver cloud-patterned ornamentation, with red coral embedded on either side of the gun. Beautiful Bayonetta-style guns with glowing red veins and a cowboy flair!
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antique guns which inspired me
As for what he’s using the All-blades (All-bullets?) for, I think it’d be fun to have Jason exorcising some ghosts. He can solve various murder mysteries, figure out why this place or that person is haunted, and get into fights with horrific otherworldly creatures. Jason is an interesting character to do this premise with because he might just determine that some some spirits should get their revenge, and act on behalf of a ghost rather than erasing it.
I’m not sure whether I’d want to have Essence join him or not… On one hand it only makes sense that Jason would help Isabel and Essence find a way to free themselves from the Blood Blade, and that goal would provide his character with some direction. Then again, Essence/Isabel could be cool as antagonists. Jason might see some ghosts as valid but Essence probably wouldn’t see any merit in appeasing manifestations of lingering resentment. She’s similar to him in that she also turned her back on her family, but she’s different in that she did it because she believed so wholeheartedly in their cause. She’s old and sort of a Jedi, but she’s hot-blooded and she’ll never not be Ducra’s daughter in the same way it seems Jason can never escape Batman’s shadow. I bet she has some real juicy sunk-cost fallacy type thinking too, that’d be fun to dig into.
Anyways I think this is a pretty good set-up to explore the politics/morality of forgiveness. What makes the difference between an injustice and a hatchet that ought to be buried? When is forgiveness empowering and when is it coerced? Who is it that must forgive? Justice vs Revenge, that whole kind of thing.
Other than the supernatural stuff I want Jason working with Talia, and I’m reintroducing Sasha to the post-52 continuity. Duela is getting nixed.
I don’t really have any specific plot ideas for Talia, but I would like to establish Jason as one of her associates. With Lost Days back they have basis for an actual relationship again. They’re not always on the same side but Jason can sometimes do tasks for Talia (outside the purview of Ra’s and the LOA), and Talia can occasionally support Jason with various social power-play type moves.
An instance of Jason getting into a fight with one of the Bats because he’s doing a favor for Talia would be great! I wouldn't write Talia as an evil evil bad horrible dragon lady, so it shouldn’t be a huge blow to Jason’s status as a Good Guy. Also I like the idea of Jason and Talia’s relationship mostly being inferred through their actions supporting one another, rather than directly showing much ‘on-screen’ interaction between them.
Also it’ll be interesting to go into Bruce, Dick, and Damian’s reaction to finding out that they’re not the only ones Jason is loyal to. Bruce thinking Talia was a bad influence on Jason (like fanon), silently frustrated because what he really wants is for Jason to be a full Bat-Believer (like the good old days…). Dick being fine with Jason never falling fully in-line with Bruce, provided that at the end of the day his loyalty belonged to his family.
-brief topical detour to talk about Sasha-
The new timeline of events is that Jason and Sasha met as fellow patients while Jason was in his Vague Villain era. They escaped the hospital building together (Sasha in her bloody dress, and Jason naked save for his skimpy hospital gown dhoti) and having no one else they stuck together. They got close but at some point Sasha lost her memories, giving her a chance at a fresh start. This was around the same time Jason “redeemed” himself and so just like Max Dawkins, ‘Numbers’, and Gabby Christiensen -Sasha became another person from Jason’s past that he didn’t let himself have a relationship with.
Sasha was just old enough that she didn’t have to be sent into foster care, so with some help from Wayne Foundations she got her GED and her feet underneath her. Now… she goes to work, goes to her physical therapy appointments, fights with her mother over the phone, and yes- sometimes she goes to the club.
The new Sasha still has spiky red hair but her face looks entirely normal save for a subtle scar tracing around her jawline and chin- the edges of where her mask used to sit. She wears dark makeup and even darker clothes. She’s prone to false memories and dissociation. She’s lost most of her ability to feel pain. She can’t watch certain shows she used to love anymore because they trigger her. She never returned to Russia. She doesn’t have many friends.
Since this is comics, her reintroduction will come by way of a dramatic fight. Sasha will regain her memories one day and show up out of the blue to fight Jason, angry and heartbroken that he abandoned her. He tries to explain himself but she just says look what they did to my face, referring to the facial reconstructive surgery she was given while amnesiac. She’ll be difficult to fight, not only because being a partial Dollotron gives her enhanced strength but also because she’s being reckless and the longer they fight the more strain and damage her body accrues.
After Jason apologizes and they reconcile (they will both cry) Sasha can become a recurring side character that Jason visits, keeping him grounded and up to date with Gotham. I think it'd be cute for her to bid him farewell by saying she’ll hold the city hostage until he comes back. (Is Sasha going to become Jason’s love interest? No. If I give Jason a love interest it’s going to be Numbers.)
--Going back to the previous topic, I want Sasha’s return to be part of this greater arc of Jason addressing his "shrinking soul" problem. My brain is a little fried now so I’m not exactly sure how but she is related. I think she ought to be.
Jason wants Bruce to be right. He would like for his problem to be fixed by going home and saying sorry. But at the end of my run I want him to face the reality that it’s not about that.
...Perhaps it should be about Jason 'abandoning' Gotham? I don’t really want the final thesis of my run to imply that Jason’s soul would just be fixed if he killed Rogues though, and Jason always came back whenever a big disaster was happening so it doesn't quite fit anyways… Jason does believe in the value of “pure” heroes it’s just not what he’s supposed to be. Whatever his problem's “about” , it ought to prompt Jason to stop taking Bruce’s shit. I'm saying the man is literally breaking Jason's spirit.
I’m sympathetic to Bruce but I wouldn’t write him as a nice father. I would also have scene where a younger Bat accuses Jason of being overdramatic despite 'not even having it the worst’. I don't know who 'has it the worst' but I want to make a statement that you don't need to win the pain-race to be fed up.
Ah anyways, now my brain is really fried. I hope this post was coherent all the way through, I neglected to edit and organize my thoughts as much towards the end. Thank you for asking me such a great question, I had a lot of fun thinking about it! :D
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