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#okay i initially wanted to draw a lot of sketches and then make one cool fnc post but i never did...
wasyago · 9 months
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:3c
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were there any specific styles/cultures you took inspiration from when designing the telchin clothing styles?
Honestly the tricky answer is: a lot-
Initially, it was very much just like “okay does this shape and colour palette and design look cool? Sick” and just throwing thoughts at a wall.
When it came to defining those broader shapes/colours and adding things like specific cuts, details, patterns, etc, I sort of worked backwards to grab inspirations.
Ulysses initial/main outfit is honestly quite Medieval, European (but notably Norse/Scandinavian in its cut/style), albeit with a ridiculously plunging neckline for some reason lol-
(it was even a bit early on that every time one of the cast drew Ulysses, we’d make his neckline just a little bit sluttier)
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HOWEVER the details on the collar and sleeves are directly lifted from ancient Greco-Roman designs, specifically influenced by the “Greek Key” or “Greek Meander” pattern which can be seen in pottery, jewellery and architecture all over the ancient Mediterranean!
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Specific to Ulysses, his clothing has currently reached a fairly fairytale-esque “fantasy” stage, drawing a lot of early Renaissance and pirate-style influences with his little poet-shirt and sash, since he’s been on the Overworld so much, and is slowly growing to become a part of that culture and world, and I really wanted to show that in his clothing changes.
Honestly, a lot of the broader telchin clothing when I have sketched it up is very Greco-Roman, at least in the way I tend to depict it (that is my field of expertise, given my degree haha) but there’s honestly a lot of broader Mediterranean ties in as well. The army and their armour is designed to be very Ancient Macedonian, and a lot of the more casual clothing skew very Ancient Egyptian.
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Canonically the Telchin clothing style also definitely develops rapidly over the course of the war with the drowned, mostly for practicality sake more than fashion (loose flowing fabrics aren’t doing anyone much good escaping the undead), leading to an almost 1950s/60s American aesthetic? Of course still mingled with the Greco-Roman patterns. Especially in the way the scientists are presented in lore/my art, they always had a very retro-60’s almost sci-fi scientist aesthetic. If I was to give it a fancy/proper-sounding name I think “Wartime-Americana Retro-Classicism” would be more or less it, potentially lmao-
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(You can even sort of see similar shapes and patterns in that first reference image to Ulysses eventual design!)
There was of course always a flair of Victorian-Mad-Scientist too, because I have a bit of a brand and I can’t help myself. And given the blurring of science, alchemy and magic in Fable I think it definitely fits.
It’s a shame Tumblr only lets me upload 10 images per post on mobile because I have A BUNCH of reference images for all of these stages of the Ulysses/broader telchin clothing design lol, but sadly I can’t include them here :(
But I hope this was somewhat useful/interesting!! I’ve had so much fun coming up with this kind of stuff over the course of Fable s3 for the telchin and I’m very grateful to Ocie and Metta for kind of just letting me go ham on a bunch of aspects like this lol-
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cheapsweets · 2 months
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The nocuous Shonweak
My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge from @maniculum
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Jinhao shark fountain pen with fine, hooded nib, with Monteverde Raven Noir ink, over initial pencil sketch. I'd considered adding some colour, but didn't have time this week; imagine it's got telltale orange/yellow and black warning colouration :)
It's been interesting trying to relearn pen shading techniques from scientific illustration again (as ever, suspect going a bit bigger would make this easier, I'm also going to have another rummage through my pens to see if I can find an even finer nib, since the one's I've been using don't come close to using a dip pen).
Reasoning under the cut;
The Shonweak is so called because it is proof against fire.
Okay, first things first, we get no indication about what type of creature this is. My default assumption when the bestiary authors don't give us any more detail is that is must be a Beast, but I've been wanting to mix it up a bit. But what to go for...?
Of all poisonous creatures, it has the strongest poison. Other poisonous creatures kill one at a time; it can kill several things at the same time. For if it has crawled into a tree, it poisons all the apples and kills those who eat them. In addition, if it falls into a well, the strength of its poison kills those who drink the water.
Okay, a poisonous critter, and not just poisonous, the most poisonous...! Okay, this narrows it down a bit. We get some creatures that are occasionally poisonous due to their diet (including certain birds, and snakes!), but mostly we're looking at amphibians, insects, echinoderms, fish, flatworms, and some others too.
This also made me think about the line between poisonous and venomous. We've all been on tumblr a while, so we've probably seen the memes, but technically the main difference is that poisonous animals deliver their toxin passively (in this context, being eaten is passive...)
We also know that this thing can crawl into a tree, so must be able to climb (that eliminates most fish, for starters).
I've gone for a beetle, since drawing an arthropod is pretty different from anything I've done thus far. Main influences are;
The diabolical ironclad beetle, a tiny awesome critter that is nigh on indestructable. It has a flattened body, fused elytra, and a cool, knobbly surface to its armour; I gave the elytra a bit of an overlap, so it could consider clamping its body down if it gets into a sticky situation (like a fire).
Bombadier beetles; in case you're not aware of them, their defence mechanism is spraying near-boiling noxious chemicals at attackers (you'll also be familiar with them if you've ever read the Spider World books by Colin Wilson!). The most famous ones are yellow and black, and you can see the nozzle on the end of its abdomen.
While the bombadier beetle does actively spray toxins, keeping them in its body also makes it poisonous - best of both worlds!
Also can't deny the influence of the blue death feigning beetle, a very aestheic insect indeed, and if I'm honest, the tanker bug from Starship Troopers...!
I did look at large beetles like the goliath beetle for some inspiration, especially around the legs (I imagine the Shonweak to be pretty big as beetles go), but decided against it since they're a lot fancier, and I figured a tough, fire-braving critter like this to be a little plainer and unadorned.
It resists fire and alone among creatures can put fires out. For it can exist in the midst of flames without pain and without being consumed by them, not only because it does not burn but because it puts the fire out.
Okay, if this is the creature I strongly suspect it is, this is an interesting wrinkle to the mythology around it; it's proof against fire because it puts the fire out (not something I've heard before). I'll have more to say if it does turn out to be what I suspect...
Okay, hear me out... The bombadier beetle combines exothermic chemicals in its body to produce its boiling, caustic spray... What if a creature could do something similar for a seriously endothermic reaction; it would be almost like a tiny, living fire extinguisher... I imagine the Shonweak as a bomadier beetle relative, spraying freezing toxins at enemies (or just generally if stuck in a fire, or if it falls down a well, or if those apples are looking particularly hostile...)
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bamdelune · 11 months
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Genshin boys as uni students + content creators 🎧🎬🗯 (Sumeru edition) headcanons!
— this took a while to post because I saved the draft the moment my wifi cut off and I had to rewrite the whole thing.
— these are my personal headcanons, you may feel free to disagree with me ! little wonky when it comes to talking about what they do in uni because a high school student wrote this 🔥
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Al Haitham ★ Law Major + Day in My Life
As much as I want to assign him to being a literature major, I believe he would choose law over it because he believes in practicality and plans WAY ahead into the future. It's not that he was forced into it, he chose it himself to survive in society and he's somewhat fine with that.
He's passionate about his course to a certain/decent degree but I image it's not even measurable to his interest in books & analyzing literature.
Naturally excels in his class and is commended for majority of his thesis papers and projects.
Adding to the last bullet: Whenever the professor assigns those scenario based requirements, the teacher will always get shocked from reading his works because he finds the most unexpected ways (and uses the most unexpected constitutional statements) to answer the question and somehow they always turn up reasonable.
In terms of content creating, he doesn't upload on a schedule but gets irked when the date between today and his last upload is a little too far so he uploads one when he feels today is gonna be a productive one.
Doesn't talk a lot in videos and just shows himself going about his business (mostly studying in the silence of the library or in the bustling environment of the nearest cafe, he still manages to concentrate either way)
When he reads new books with really good plots, he somehow incorporates them into short videos along with his usual routine and talks about what he thinks of it so far (which prompted a few not so pleasant comments on some of his videos because of his unbiased opinion)
Absolutely despises bullshit and problematic authors and problematic plot points and he makes no effort to hide that.
He likes silence. he finds the silence of his room with only the sound of his mouse and keyboard clicking and clacking as he edits his videos. he finds both the lack of sound and the activity very theraputic.
Posts study with me videos — believes in the power of the body doubling study method and it's a win-win for both him and his followers.
Examples of his videos would be something like what saranghoe or kai notebook would post on their channels (check them out! they're so cool omg)
Kaveh ★ Architecture Major + GRWMs & DIML
Be honest were you really expecting another major for him...
Okay, maybe he would fit as a fashion/art student.
If it's not obvious enough, his blueprints and structure plans are immaculate. Whatever the prompt is, he would ALWAYS find a way to make it fit into both the theme + his distinct architectural style or draw it even better. This man is so full of ideas and genuinely loves his major.
Affinity to classical and dainty architecture styles.
Enjoys doing interior designing as well — he tries to include them in his initial exterior designs if he has the time but majority of the time, he doesn't.
He's a self-care babe. Already has an estsblished skincare, haircare, nailcare, and even makeup routine by the time he starts content creating.
Trust me, if his course didn't entail straining his hands a lot from sketching and nails getting accidentally cracked (to his dismay), he would've painted them a LONG time ago. Instead, he paints his friends' nails for fun.
Is the type to upload anytime without a schedule like he genuinely enjoys making videos and such. Even if those updates last for about 30 seconds or a minute, he uploads them.
His videos are motivation to get your life togjether just because his looks like it.
It's not. He lives off of lattes and convenience store snacks on his off time. (He also films himself even when he doesn't look as put together as he does in his usual videos).
Examples of his videos would be the content Song Jia (free지아) would post. Drops effective tips, recommendations, and even advice from time to time.
Cyno ★ Criminal Justice Major & Tighnari ★ Med Student + Vlogging & Mukbang
Cyno
I decided to write these two as a duo because I headcanon them as roommates as well in a modern au.
Cyno despite his kind of intimidating course takes it very well and has always been a fan of solving stuff related to criminology. In serious moments, he's able to give his two cents on social topics.
The fastest in his class to answer and solve scenario-based questions.
He's a fucking pain in the ass (said in a loving tone) to watch action/thriller movies with because on top of the puns and jokes he makes, he ends up spoiling the plot because he's already deduced what's going to happen.
Tighnari
Tighnari is a tired medical student, taking up a pre-med course in either biology or medical devices.
He's the type to have the messy-neat room, papers neatly but at the same messily sprawled on areas in his room but it adds to his personality so it's alright.
The one med student who makes his notes as neat as possible because he believes that it's better to understand during his first year and the one who relies on a distant memory to decode what he wrote in his notebook that looked like it went through 7 failed situationships, 3 divorces, and lost the custody of 3 children in the later phases of his academic career.
Despite that, he remembers the names and uses of medical treatments and supplements at the top of his head.
Tighnari likes to be precise in practice operations during the later years in med school after pre-med.
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Cyno introduced the idea of content creating to his roommate.
Tighnari agreed because he's drowning in student debt.
They would mostly do vlogs when they go out with friends or play board games (Tighnari cheats his way to the top whilst Cyno is left to wonder how he, the master at card games and alike, is losing to someone who just learned the mechanics 5 minutes ago).
Their viewers enjoy that bit very much.
When the weekend pulls closer, they like to plan the food they want to eat at home for a video or the restaurant/food fair hopping they'll be doing on a random Friday. It's a routine they do to unwind from the stress of academics.
They also gossip together while filming and eating.
The type of content they would post would be like the videos Stephanie Soo posts.
Scaramouche/Wanderer ★ Performing Arts + Gaming & Covers
He's so K-pop idol coded, did we as a society forget one of his hobbies was dancing in canon
He has a background in contemporary dancing/ballet and hip-hop dancing.
His voice is angelic and his professor really likes his vocal color (probably would have TXT's Soobin / SVT's Minghao's tone).
Scara ensures that dance moves are always clean when he performs and makes sure that there isn't any idle part of his body when he dances. His right hand is up? His left arm has to be placed somewhere at the same time. He hates it when he looks awkward on stage.
A really wide vocal range and can comfortably shift vocal tiers. He only strains his voice when the following note is unbelievably high for his pitch.
Shines the most in slow and r&b type performances, and is extremely flexible physically and in terms of genres.
When he posts content, Scaramouche takes interest in horror games as well as fixed-world (I'm not sure about the word) RPG games (ones like Persona 5, Honkai Stsr Rail). He screams (much more than he likes to admit).
He posts dance covers and song covers as well and gets a lot of praise for it online, urging him to become an idol (little do they know that he's studying to do just that).
Books really nice dance studios for covers and goes all-out for outfits.
Examples of his videos would be what Tuonto/Jake and Antony Chen would post.
© bamdelune may 2023. do not repost or plagiarize any of my works, thank you so much! reblogs, notes, and comments are always appreciated!
(main masterlist)
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pyrrhocorax · 8 months
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4 10 20 35 !
OKAY I know you asked this a bit ago sorry i got busy!!! work!!! turtle took a tiny chunk out of my finger!! the usual! y'know What's a headcanon you need to work out? i am blanking real hard with this but i Guess what i consider to be estonia's true name b/c von bock is von bullshit has been a constant Thought of mine for a long time. sme goes for a lot of nations that have bad canon names or no canon names like what the FUCK would i name them. it takes so much effort for me to decide. How long have you been in the fandom? What's your lore? i've been around a while! i can't date exactly when i started but it was at least sometime in 2008. i Think it was in the late fall of 2007, i've been trying to do the backwards math and i think this makes sense timeline wise, but my memory isn't exactly great. i figured out yesterday i am Pretty sure i was into hetalia before den/nor/ice were released?? which is. wild to me. anyway the story is that i occasionally saw hetalia fanart in passing and i was like. what the fuck is this but i don't care enough to investigate. and then i watched darker than black and was like wow i gotta tell my (now ex-)friend about this new cool anime darker then black b/c i am enjoying it a lot and i think she would too! and then my friend was like "i am going to totally ignore you. watch this thing called hetalia instead. you like other countries and history and languages and shit you should like this it's so funny" and i watched it and i didn't find it as funny as she claimed but i thought the concept itself was utterly Fascinating and i became Obsessed. my initial favs were japan/prussia/estonia initially, all for radically different reasons. i can elaborate on that if prompted it's just more text than i care to put here. then the den/nor/ice dropped and we had some comics with the nordic 5 and i was like oH FUCK these character dynamics between them are So Fun!!! and i have been in Hell every since. this is my third time getting back into hetalia after swearing it off for good and uhhh i think i have just been in denial this entire time that i am stuck here forever. Favorite Hetalia relationship dynamic? Any combination of the Anko Trio without question. they're such an interesting little complicated group. Post a Hetalia sketch or draft you want an excuse to share i am not very good at drawing and draw from the perspective of a more refined 8 year old child or something (positive). but i also don't have anything currently drafted writing wise that feels complete enough either so i am gonna share a dumb doodle i did and also share some upcoming things i plan on doing.
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one of the chapters of the SOS sequel is going to be called "The Joy Machine" and i am. very excited about that.
also have a neat NorAus idea i am obsessed with and will probably write soon-ish. once i sleep and think a bunch
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Hnnnghhhhh I should be drawing transformers …
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BUT I LIKE THE ZOMBIE MAN.
HELLO I’m posting some ocs because recently I’ve gotten into a new rp server and it’s like one of those usual “oh kids go to highschool and they have powers and it’s alllllll monitored by the government” BUT they allow aliens too so it’s pretty neat
I brought in a TON of my old ocs who I used to use Back In The Day when I roleplayed on my hero academia roblox servers which HAS to be the most haunting, most horrible Experience of my entire life thus far. But basically I redrew a lot of my characters who I added to the new server im in and gave them a basic little sketch design and NOW im going to INTRODUCE THEM TO YOU
The girl in red is Fuji she is very mean and very manipulative and very evil and her ability is basically she can just glitch. Like it’s so funny the universe thinks she’s an error so she constantly like fades out of existence and stutters and lags and stuff but still remains. She can glitch through walls, lag and glitch other people, and even insert something like a trojan virus into others, where she can control them remotely, albeit she won’t have control of her own body while she controls them…. PRETTY COOL, pretty EVIL!
NEXT the weird SpongeBob looking thing is literally god. I’m not joking!!! In the lore of my own universes this guy, Sir Boxers (which, fun fact, had a close friend name him and it stuck perfectly!!!) is legitimately god he has the ability to warp reality and do legit whatever he wants. Ofc for the sake of the rp I have to tone down his power so we made this super crazy dramatic backstory that he was like the reigning but benevolent king of his dimension but then he got usurped by some evil force and sent into another world, trapped in a weaker, smaller vessel that can’t do as much as his other godly form, and he’s like trying to return to his dimension to restore order… it’s a funny thing LOL he’s just a joke character
Next is T-0FF-E3 of TOFFEE, and I HAVE DRAWN AND POSTED HIM BEFORE!!! I just didn’t like his design cuz he was too skrunkly so I bulked him up. I already talked about him but basically he was a regular dude and when his powers started showing up he just like mutated into a machine. Super nice, doesn’t know his strength, I love toffeee
Next is Liberty and I very Love Her!!! She’s a little bit of a mess because she’s both like a gym bro but also a cat girl so she’s pretty funny LMAOO she’s extremely competitive and almost aggressively supportive but also has the ability to turn things into weapons!!! As long as she can put both of her palms on something she can turn it into a weapon but that does NOT mean she can use it effectively, because a) the more elaborate the weapon, the more energy she needs to use on it to create it, b) the mass of whatever she makes the weapon on doesn’t change so if she makes like a weapon out of something heavy she might not be able to pick it up and c) she has NO EXPERTISE in any weaponry WHATSOEVER lol
Next is… Romeo 😍😍😍 he’s fucking disgusting! Little Zombie Boy “died” when he was an infant of like some sort of tumor in his brain but even though he was medically dead his body just persisted on its wild Basically his ability is he has full control over every single individual cell in his body and can use his his abilities to manipulate his flesh and stuff however he pleases and can just put himself back together if he’s torn apart. He’s like that trope where people talk abt bats and they’re like THE BATS ARE MORE SCARED OF YOU THAN YOU ARE OF THEM becuz Romeo lowkey is scared of everyone NOT socially inept but he just doesn’t like to interact and because of his strict upbringing
Next is Coronette and OKAY SHES ONE OF MY ALIENS Coronette was initially a part of a species I made for transformers where this group called the crixstaline were Cybertronian minicons that escaped to another planet, initially just to colonize it but then they sorta mutated with it… anyway Coronette is similar to that but I removed all of Cybertronian stuff from her stuff and made them just a species of PURE crystal theyre so cool they have their own language and like customs and stuff and UGH I might post their lore Bible one day it’s so cool anyway. Coronette is a princess from Crixstal, which is a planet that fell to foreign alien influences, and she hates earth and is stupid and dumb and wants to go home but doesn’t know WHY she can’t go home (planet was destroyed L BOZO) and she’s an iPad kid
TWO MORE second to last is CHIP and first of all I would like to say he is named after my dog and I have three ocs named after my dog two are named Chip Mooney and one is Chip Gebelhoff and the second Chip Mooney is based off Neil cicierega—
BUT ANYWAY this is the ORIGINAL CHIP other than my dog Chip used to wear red but I made him blue bcuz it fits him better and because I wanted a rainbow with my characters designs Anyway chip has the super power of onomatopoeia which means that when he says words like Pow or Boom they actually take affect in the world around him. This is disastrous and deadly and after he unintentionally nearly killed his father by activating his powers on accident, he has become mostly selective mute. He’s really guarded with how and when he talks and he’s JUST like those redditors who write like scripts of how they’re supposed to like interact and talk with people so he specifically doesn’t accidentally say a word that might trigger his power’s affects anyway he has my favorite ability
AND FINALLLLY we have Whizzer he’s a little guy the youngest oc of the line up. HES AWESOME he’s actually a remake of one of my OLDEST OCS EVER, who was an umbrella academy oc. Whizzer has a weird little astronaut bubble head not just to protect himself from anything, but to mostly protect others— FOR YOU SEE, whizzer’s ability is that his lungs are SO POWERFUL, if he breathes, he can basically desolate an environment of all of its oxygen and even take the oxygen out of other peoples lungs. He wears his little bubble so he doesn’t suffocate no one but also so he doesn’t breathe in nasty stuff like smog or bugs all of the time cuz that??? That would be bad.
ANYWAY. That’s my oc post have a wonderful day!!! Will blitz post soon❤️❤️❤️
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spinaroos-47 · 3 years
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Hunter Noceda AU: Venance
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(can't digitalize these rn so you'll get the sketches for now)
So yeah, Golden Guard version two!
When Belos does find out about Hunter in YBOS, Hunter gets the bomb dropped about them being related (idk how yet). but Hunter obviously doesn’t believe in it. Until Hunting Palismen comes around and they find this small thingy, Venance.
(thank you @bernardo-draws-and-cries​​ for the name. Its based on the name Venâncio, which means “the one who hunts”)
He is another grimwalker made by Belos, he’s 12 (yeah.) and way more stressed (Belos has gotten more iron fisted after losing Hunter). Someone save this poor child
- He’s just starting out as the Golden Guard (and he’s not a coven head. Kikimora is. And she still wants him dead too), he’s still getting the hang of it. He does act tough and serious, way more serious than canon GG/Hunter, no space for goofyness.
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- So yeah, a duo Hunting Palismen thing would be fun. Haven’t sorted out everything here but I do think Hunter would also go with Luz because of no palisman reasons. And he hasn’t met Ven yet, he only heard Lilith talking about him and Luz and Eda dealing with him on Separate Tides (he was busy drowning in guilt and trying to help with the money situation in other ways), so when he meets Ven and when he sees his face and how similar they are (and how many scars that kid already has), he’s reasonably confused/upset, like “Oh, that creepy man wasn’t lying. This doesn’t make anything on this situation better”
- After the initial surprise/confusion, Luz and Hunter jokingly call him Ghaterer until they learn his name, then they start calling him Ven. At first Ven hates this nickname but ends up reluctantly accepting it.
- Even before Eclipse Lake he’s so scared about being replaced, and knowing about Hunter’s existence in the Boiling Isles makes it worse, now he’s super sure he isn’t as valuable to Belos anymore. So he hates Hunter
- Hunter: come here youre part of the found family now
Ven: NO
Hunter: too late *picks him up*
Hunter: If Luz taught me something is that if you didn’t want to get assimilated into my found family, you should have killed me when you had the chance
Yeah that’s their dynamic when Hunter learns a bit more about him
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- Venance doesn’t have much respect as the Golden Guard yet. He’s small (like, maybe even less than 1,50m/4′11″), young, has just been starting out on this role, like, in the last few months, could easily be picked up like a kitty, so he has to fight quite a bit to be taken seriously. Which results on him being way more grumpy and short tempered
- So he doesn’t take it very well when hes made fun of by the scouts in Latissa. Not at all
- Hunter, who was joking around until then:…are you okay?
Ven: I AM! *barely holding the tears back*
Hunter:
Hunter: that’s it youre part of the family now
Ven: you can’t do that
Hunter: we’re two and you’re one, we have your staff and youre very light.
(he still would put up a fight, and it would take a while for it to end. And he bites hard, he has very sharp fangs)
- Scouts: Go home with your sibiling
Hunter: *oh. Oh yeah i forgot we have the same freaking face*
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- They don’t know yet about the grimwalker thing. Well, maybe Ven discovers later but at the moment where Hunting Palismen happens, neither of them know anything besides them being related, Ven got told he is his brother, and that Hunter was taken away from the coven before he was born
- Rascal seeing Hunter: hey you’re cool, i kinda want to be your palisman
Rascal seeing Ven: oh heck this kid needs help 
- I’m not sure if Hunter gets Lil Rascal. Because on one side, would be fun for him to have Lil Rascal and train doing magic like this, but also could be good for Ven to have some small support back at home, like how they are to Hunter in canon. So this hasn’t been decided yet. Hunter could either get Lil Rascal and Ven doesn’t get a palisman/gets a blue jay palisman, or Ven gets Lil Rascal and Hunter comes back also empty handed
- So I’m going with the no palisman for Hunter route for now. 
- It’s a bitter moment for both him and Luz. He tries to convince her that it’s okay, that they’ll get theirs soon, but she still kinda feels like a failure about this. And he himself thinks it’s because they don’t have a magic bile sac, so it’s not a good time for them. Eda and King lift their spirits a bit about this, though.
- Either by peeking around or just flat out being told, Ven does learn about him (and Hunter) being grimwalkers. What does he do with that? He has a crisis about it, which raises even more the stakes for him in Eclipse Lake. He still wouldn’t know his purpose for the Day of Unity, but he would know that he was created for it and could lose his position if he didn’t prove himself worthy of it.
- He would explode at Hunter one day and end up telling the truth about them being Grimwalkers (after Eclipse Lake)
- Ven: Do you want to know what you really are?! You’re a clone! You’re just someone’s clone just like me! A replacement!
Hunter, trying to not freak out but freaking out anyways: ...are you okay?
Ven; WHAT DO YOU THINK?
- If Belos is searching for Hunter, on the grounds of him being a more mature grimwalker than Venance, Ven could end up resorting to sabotaging the searches, he doesn’t want to be replaced.
- And he’s making Ven convinced that he will be replaced, to pit both boys against eachother. He gets Ven more under his thumb and not risking Hunter making Ven change his mind. Which doesn’t work as he intented, Ven does get scared about it but Hunter ends up pretty quickly going “dude why do you think I want to replace you?” and Ven is quickly thrown into a loop because he can’t understand why he wouldn’t want to do that
- Ven: what do you mean with “I don’t wanna be the Golden Guard”? If you’re like me you should DESIRE IT SINCE YOU WERE BORN
Hunter: lol no. I dealt with my need of approval a year ago on therapy.
Hunter: Also being a cop sucks.
- This boy is a tense child always a few bad moments away from a breakdown/meltdown. And has anger problems. A lot of anger in a very tiny body
- There’s some more interactions between Ven and the Noceda duo, and he would rather die than admit that he’s got slightly attached to them
- Eda: Luz told me that Golden Guard is a uwu smol boi that needs to be protected, hell knows what this means 
Hunter, who definetly came there too because FUCKING COOL ASS CAVE AND LAKE: i hate/love her
Ven: If i ever see that human again-
Amity AND Hunter: watch your fucking mouth
(definetly not how it would play out but very funny sdkdshdfsj)
- In terms of strength he couldn’t defeat Amity in a fight for the key, he would lean more on the blackmailing. He is a 12 year old but he’s still on a position of power on the emperor’s coven and he knows where the key is, it would put the owlfam on Belos’ line of sight again (if they even ever went away from it)
- That or he passes out, gets dragged out of there by them (he’s a lil shit but they’re not going to leave him there alone where Kikimora could kill him) and he falls asleep for 12 hours in the couch on the owl house. Which ends up giving him a day where he can be just a kid. He’s very weirded out by everything but he enjoys it a little bit at least. He would still try to get the key and would be torn apart by the guilt of thinking of doing this and the guilt of not doing this
- It wouldn’t take much to make him want to stay in the owl house. He’s starved for positive attention. It wouldn’t be easy but also it’s not as hard as for how Hunter is right now in canon
- I don’t think this could happen but I keep thinking about one day him and Hunter switching places so he can be just a kid for one day. Would be cool to see him sneaking into Hexside (or being dragged there, which is more likely to happen) and interacting with Willow and Gus
And that’s some of what we have for Ven right now! He’s a fun character to figure out :3
This took SO MUCH TIME to write
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missdawnandherdusk · 3 years
Text
Will You Go With Me?
Neville X Reader
Summary: Ginny turns Neville’s proposal to the Yule Ball, and you go to comfort him finding yourself in quite a situation.
A/n: I have no idea where this came from but boy is it PRECIOUS. It’s soft and fluffy and cute and Neville is just the best. It’s just a drabble so about 1k words, but so precious. 
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I was in the common room curled up with a book when I watched the events unfold before me and there was nothing that I wanted more than to curl up in my book and to not witness them.
“So, Ginny,” Neville dared to approach the fiery redhead, “I was thinking that maybe, you know that if you’re uh, not going to the Ball... with anyone yet, maybe that possibly you and I could go... maybe?” Stumbling over his words, he as flushed to the color of her hair, presenting a flower that he had no doubt grown himself. The tangible awkwardness could be cut with a knife.
“Wow,” Ginny stood, flustered. “That’s... totally sweet of you. But uh... someone else already asked me, sorry,” She left quickly after that and Neville sank down to the nearest couch, twirling the flower between his fingers.
I got up, setting my book down. Neville and I never really talked before. He was in some of my classes and when we were paired together, he’d keep his head down and barely say a word. I left something to be desired.
“Hey Neville,” I approached slowly. 
“Sorry I’ll move,” He stood immediately.
“No, wait, hang on,” I reached out for him. “Sit,” I gestured as we both took our place. I... um, just wanted to say that I saw what happened with Ginny and I think it was totally unfair,” His unsteady hazel eyes flashed to mine. “Any girl in the school would be lucky to go to the Ball with a guy as nice as you,” I offered a smile and stood.
“Really? You mean that?” He looked hopeful.
“I do,” I went to go back to my book. To be fair I should have seen it coming.
“Will you go with me?” He offered his flower out, catching me off guard. He asked again. “Will you go to the Ball with me?”
“...Yes.” With a hesitant smile I took the flower he offered.
“Awesome,” The light shining in his eyes was something that I couldn’t dare take away. “I’ll uh... pick you up at six?” I nodded and he left the common room leaving me to my thoughts.
To tell the truth, I never planned on going with anyone to the Ball. I had a few friends who were going, and we were going as a crew. It was easy and nothing to stress about. I looked at the flower in my hands and smiled to myself. Maybe it wouldn’t be so awful to go with Neville. I just didn’t know anything about him.
“Oh, thank Merlin,” Ginny rushed back into the common room. “I’m so glad you said yes. I felt just awful,”
“I... yeah. It’ll be fun,” I smiled. “Neville is a sweet guy,”
It was the next day that I ran into a dilemma McLaggen in the common room. The Gryffindor Seeker had no insecurity as he walked up to me amidst the other students. It had been no secret that McLaggen had been trying to initiate something with me over the past few years. If he wasn’t so egotistical and bigoted, I might have said yes.
“So, Y/l/n,” He grinned. “Go to the ball with me,” He didn’t make it a question. 
“Oh, uh, someone already asked me,” I gave.
“Who? Longbottom?” He laughed. “You can’t be serious. Ditch the nerd and go with a real man,”
From across the room my eyes met Neville’s. In despair, he shook his head and left the common room like a bat out of hell. My heart fell, clearly distracted.
“I doubt that’s you,” I snapped. “Keep dreaming McLaggen. At least Neville was a gentleman when he asked.” I pushed past him and the ruffling that out little scene caused in the common room and went to look for Neville.
The corridor was empty. Looking to the left and right, the cold night gave no answer as to which way Neville went. Muttering to myself, I took a chance of where he might be. Maybe I knew something about him after all.
“Neville?” I asked the greenhouse softly. “Are you in here?”
There was a rustling in the corner. A stool scraping against the tile floor.
“Neville, I want to talk,” I pleaded, making my way over to the sound. I found him hunched over a notebook, focused on the lines his pencil made.
“You want to go with McLaggen,” He didn’t look up. “I get it,”
“No,” I corrected. “Even if I did want to go with the sleaze ball,” I muttered offhand. “I still made the promise to you, and I’m not going to break that promise,”
He finally looked up.
“Really?” He seemed genuinely surprised.
“Yeah,” I smiled, taking the seat beside him. “You have to give yourself some more credit Neville. You really are a sweet guy,”
“You barely know me,” He mumble.
“Yeah... I thought that too. But I found you here didn’t I? That’s gotta count for something,”
“I suppose it does,” Neville smiled up at me. “You really turned McLaggen down?”
“Yes,” I laughed, gaze falling and catching sight of his paper. “Did you draw this?” I was amazed. It was a perfect replica of the flower he had given me.
“Uh, uh, yes,” He stammered, growing red.
“Can I see it?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, delighting in how flustered he always got. He slid the paper toward me, bashful.
“This is incredible,” I ran my finger over the sketch. “What kind of flower is it? The one you gave me? I’m not very good at plant names unless they’re the common ones,” I admitted.
“Anemone coronaria,” Neville said matter-of-factly. “It originates from the Mediterranean and its name comes from the Greek meaning wind. They come in a lot of colors based on what soil you use, I’m partial to the white ones, but that’s just...me.” He caught my eye as he ended, growing flustered again. “Sorry I tend to rant. I know plants aren’t all that interesting,”
“I think they are,” I reached out and covered his hand with my own. “Neville?” His eyes met mine, “Will you go to the Ball with me?”
“Wh—I—okay,” He stammered, grinning at his lap. “I’d love to,”
.
masterlist
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more like this:
neville dating headcannons
pride and prejudice
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stupidzeldaaus · 3 years
Text
Okay- here we go-
The Steampunk Minish AU
I'll leave a whole bunch of explanations under the cut because it's a mess. There's a lot....
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Okay getting the minish themselves out of the way first- these are just three of them.
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So first off is the minish girl with a mini guardian sword. She's the reason it turned into spirit tracks brainrot so it was fitting to give her an outfit based off of the engineers outfit.
She has a grappling hook as well, which is mostly for scaling up tables, chairs, and bookshelves in the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab. And the guardian sword, due to being effective against guardians, is used to sever connections inside of them.
I had a sibling ask (around the vaatea au) if the minish used acorns as coffee cups so she has coffee in an acorn. She needs it.
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Next is this guy. I honestly haven't put much thought into him except he's probably alot older than he looks. Also I think he'd vibe with Robbie in Akkala. Those goggles he has probably move like Robbies do as well.
He was also the one who made the little guardian sword.
Oh and his tail is under his clothes. It's probably so it doesn't get in the way.
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Alright- my personal favorite and also the one that will probably out me on discord cause they're based off another OC I've already shown off and do not shut up about. Anyway, they're a ray of sunshine.
So they seem to carry a lot of tools on them, some of which can't be seen. They also have a lot of belts on their jacket, which, while it seems like just a fashion statement, I think they have a use. Most likely for holding more tools. The big pockets probably have tiny nuts bolts and screws. Also snacks. They gotta make sure their partner didn't just have coffee for breakfast.
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So Purah. She's actually pretty important since, not only is she a scientist, she can see them all as well. I had a theory a while back that she turned into a child to study minish and then that was cut from the game. She can see them but, can't quite understand them at that point. Maybe she makes a translator or finds a jabber nut later.
The minish trying to explain something here might be the first based off of handedness but also might be the first ones mother. The first picture has her speaking minish while the bottom has her drawing out a wrench, glasses, and a sword. The sword might be in reference to the minish cap.
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Yep. They still wear leaf cloaks. But they're more for camouflage now. Botw may not have cats that I know of but they do have birds that typically eat mice. And the manga did show that yep animals can see the minish pretty well actually.
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Alright- the fun part! It's mostly going to be explanation since- guardians...
Robbie studied guardians mostly so its probably his research that gave the minish the knowledge on their inner workings.
So the first picture has who I think is a younger version of the second minish.
We saw where Link had trouble climbing up sheikah walls and the minish probably had the same problem.
Theres one scene from secret world of Arrietty where they use double sided tape for climbing, and i wanted to use that but I didn't think tape was a thing invented in the zelda universe. And (after an adult timeline and beyond quest) SURE ENOUGH- Spirit Tracks wellspring station. Also possibly Purah or Robbies labs. So... I guess that can be a thing...
Secondly is the guardian labeled dead. It's been taken down. One thing I should mention- I'd like to think that if the active guardian stalkers are closer to towns or roads used regularly there's probably more of a chance that they'd be immobilized.
Plus the thought of the scene from revenge of the sith, with the AT-AT, would probably be cool with a guardian.
The guardians probably would go even more haywire than they already were while trying to shut them down and it's probably better if there isn't a giant spider robot running into one of the stables.
Link ran into this guardian, and knows he didn't take it down. So who or what did...?
There's a third unfinished doodle that I couldn't bring myself to finish, mainly because i couldn't figure out anything about the inside of a guardian. What I know is that there are gears, shafts, springs, and cores. I wanted initially to let them meet the hylian champion but- this link is more of an adult and he probably can't see them.
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Finally- I did say it devolved into spirit tracks.
The first picture is a book on New Hyrule, which is covering the Spirit Train, The Hero of Spirits, and Byrne apparently. This book might have been lost somewhere in Hyrule Castle, since I'd like to believe the royal family would keep track of all the legends and history of Hyrule.
Finally, the final picture.
So the minish girl (Okay they all really need names...) is trying to decide on how to power the train. Sheikah technology or Lokomo technology. Two very different technologies.
They are not the same. Not even remotely.
The train she's in the middle of sketching was from the ST concept art. Apparently the book she was reading didn't have much on steam power.
(But that doesn't mean it's the only book. If I had to guess there's most likely a few more books on the technology from new hyrule.)
I'd like to have eventually a train going from Akkala to Hatenos lab, and eventually go across all of Hyrule
Anyway thanks for reading through! I know it was a mess.
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peaceoutofthepieces · 3 years
Text
chapter 20
Fake Making-It
Social Media AU
previous chapter
~^~
Jens opens the door either a moment too soon or a moment too late. Sander and Lucas are already standing outside, as he’d thought, and are deep in conversation. Jens stands frozen in the doorway and waits for them to notice him. In that time, he takes in Lucas’s frown and Sander’s comforting hand on his shoulder. Lucas had been speaking before Jens opened the door, then he cut himself off abruptly.
Now they’re both staring at him. Silent.
Jens takes in the tension laced through Lucas and the frustration obvious in his face and feels nerves bubble up in him. He thought he had come prepared today, but now he’s doubting himself. He swallows as Lucas meets his eyes, but miraculously manages not to look away. They’re sort of friends, now, right? They’ve come a long way since their first meeting, at least. He doesn’t have to be so anxious. One simple look from Lucas should not tear his stomach to shreds.
It’s a little nerve-wracking, however, when Lucas slips away from Sander’s hand and brushes past Jens without a word.
Jens twists his head to look after him for a moment, then turns back to Sander and tries not to appear too awkward or concerned. “Everything okay?” he carefully asks.
Sander is still looking after Lucas, seeming pained, and then he looks at Jens and blinks. “Yeah, of course,” he smiles. “Sorry, we’re a little late.”
Nothing about this is very convincing. Jens wouldn’t consider himself a people expert, and he’s especially not overly familiar with Sander, but even he can tell that his smile is a little forced and his body strung a little too tight. He doesn’t think they were fighting. It didn’t even really seem like they were arguing.
But there’s definitely a shared tension between them. Jens doesn’t understand why this makes him simultaneously curious and more anxious.
“You’re fine,” he says, stepping back and beckoning Sander in, shutting the door behind him.
They’re using the front room in Jens’s apartment as a studio space. He hadn’t thought much ahead before offering it up, but Sander had barely paid attention when he first showed up and gave Jens no reason to fret. He hadn’t really cared what Sander would think either way.
He may have taken a little extra care this morning. (Or in the last hour, after waking up late and proceeding to rush around like a mad man.) Robbe may have raised his brows at him in teasing surprise when he showed up, and it may have made Jens feel even more silly for being so nervous.
But no matter how friendly their texts seem to have gotten, Lucas is still very intimidating.
Jens has no idea how they’re supposed to interact in person, and it doesn’t help that Lucas already seems to be in a rather dull mood. He isn’t sure why he expects Sander to continue to try to do something about it. Instead the blond lingers back with him as Lucas greets Robbe, smiling now as Robbe offers him a bro-handshake. Jens lets out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding at the sight, feeling a smile of his own grow as Robbe immediately strikes up a friendly conversation with the other man.
It’s not that he’d been nervous about Robbe, but well, he imagines that it isn’t easy. He doesn’t know how Robbe does it.
Lucas is already shrugging his bag off his shoulder and pulling out his sketchbook and his camera. Jens feels anticipation bubble in the pit of his stomach.
“Hey,” he greets, once they’re close enough, and to his delight, Lucas glances up and offers him something like a smile. “Everything good?”
Robbe nods as Lucas says, “Yep. Or, well, depends. What’s the plan?”
He looks to Jens for direction, and Jens forces himself not to stutter, instead simply turning to Robbe for help.
“Uh, well,” Robbe thinks, glancing between them all before finally settling on Sander. Jens hopes he’s the only one who notices how Robbe’s cheeks flush. “You don’t urgently need to work with Jens today, do you?”
Sander blinks at him, then quickly shakes his head.
“Okay, well I filmed a little bit of your shoot with Jens the other day, and I’ve been thinking I could edit it into like a promo to sort of announce things before we release the actual pics? But I was hoping I could maybe get your opinion on it first.”
“That’s a really cool idea,” Sander says, brightening. The smile on his face appears much more genuine than before. Jens supposes that’s what a passion can do. He hopes it’ll have the same effect on Lucas.
Robbe looks to Lucas and then to him, smiling as well. “That’s if you guys are happy enough to work this out yourselves? I’m sure Lucas knows what he’s doing, and I mean we’ll just be here if you want another opinion on anything.”
Jens raises his brows as Lucas glances at him.
Lucas offers Robbe a nod and a smile. “Sounds good.”
Jens notes that he doesn’t speak to or even glance at Sander as Robbe guides him to the small table in the corner while Jens and Lucas remain at the island. Jens hesitantly takes a seat, then gestures for Lucas to do the same, trying to remind himself to be both chill and professional. He’s usually able to manage it at meetings. Maybe it’s being in his home that makes it feel a little more personal.
“Hi,” he repeats, watching Lucas’s concentrated frown as he skims through his sketchbook.
Lucas looks up at him and seems, again, vaguely amused. “Hi.” He skims his gaze over Jens, tilting his head curiously. “Are you always this nervous?”
No, Jens thinks. Just with you.
“Sometimes,” he says.
Lucas huffs, smiling now as he looks back down. “Don’t be. I’m the one preparing to be criticised this time.”
“You were very intimidating last time we spoke.”
“Because I told you to watch it?” Lucas raises a brow at him.
Jens blanks, then remembers their text conversation from yesterday and flushes. “No, I mean, the last time we actually spoke. At the first meeting.”
“Ah.” Lucas nods. “In person. That usually makes me less intimidating.”
“Why?” Jens’s brow furrows.
Lucas raises his brows again and gestures at himself. Jens takes him in. His curls are as artfully styled as ever, falling over his forehead in messy waves, and below that his eyes are a stunning blue. He’s wearing another loose shirt, this time black with a light floral pattern. Jens can see the collar of a tee poking out underneath. Along with that, Lucas is wearing skin-tight jeans and shiny black boots along with his usual assortment of jewelry, rings adorning his fingers and silver bracelet glinting from his wrist. Jens wonders if any of them are gifts from Sander.
“I don’t get it,” Jens says. He means it. Lucas is beautiful. He looks like the true model here. It’s part of what intimidates Jens so much.
Lucas wiggles his fingers at him, showing off dark purple nails, then flexes a skinny arm. “Very intimidating, I imagine.”
Jens frowns. “You don’t need to be brawny to be intimidating. Honestly, I think I’m probably more intimidated by pretty people. Especially when they’re confident.”
Lucas stares at him for a minute, and Jens must imagine the flush on his cheeks, because then he snorts and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, okay, you basically just described yourself.”
Jens grins in surprise, but before he can say anything else, Lucas is spinning his sketchbook around and shoving it towards him, then digging back into his bag. Jens drags his gaze away and down to the paper in front of him. It’s littered in designs, different emblems and patterns interlocking across the double page. There are a few combinations of his initials, which he supposes also work well with a self-titled album. As much as Jens felt creative with words in the songwriting process, naming the songs and especially the album had been a frustratingly difficult task, so much so that he’d eventually just settled on JENS.
Robbe has been very skeptical, but Jens’s label seemed to think it was a good choice, and that was good enough for him. It wasn’t about the names or the titles, anyway.
Lucas seems to have also recognised this, and there are some heavy references to the actual music in some of the sketches. Lucas has sprinkled waves and rain and other forms of water throughout some of the designs, or focused on them entirely. Along with that are cages and chains, locks and keys, and beautiful wings.
Jens instantly falls in love with all of them, and then turns the page only to find more. He lets out a long breath. “How much time did this take you?”
He looks up in time to see Lucas shrug. He’s now staring down at an iPad. “Not that long. I might’ve stayed up a little longer than I should have, though.” He shrugs again, and now Jens believes the flush crawling up his neck has to be real. “The album gave me a lot of ideas.”
Jens nods. He hovers his fingers over some of the sketches, leaning down to admire them in closer detail.
Lucas makes a small sound of triumph, and then slides the iPad on top of the sketchbook. “I did a few out then on some rough clothing sketches, just to get an idea what they’d look like brought to life and put together. This doesn’t take that long, so if there’s any ideas you’d like me to group or something we could spend a while messing around with that. Or as long as you tell me, I can do it when I go home.”
“Everything is amazing.” Jens shakes his head, awed. He blows out another breath and laughs slightly as he looks up at Lucas. “I don’t know how you expect me to choose anything. None of these should be left out. Fuck, this one’s amazing.” He taps his finger on a sketch of drooped wings encased in a golden birdcage. He takes the iPad and lets Lucas draw the sketchbook back towards himself to examine, humming quietly in agreement.
He knew Lucas was talented. He’d gone after him for that exact reason. But seeing how quickly he’s managed to create all of this, how easily he’d brought the images in Jens’s words to life—he’s in awe. As well as that, he’s managed to implement the designs onto hoodies and t-shirts and sweatpants and hats and everything in between. Excitement floods through Jens at the prospect of getting to wear one himself, never mind seeing such items on anyone else. He smiles secretly to himself as he imagines Lucas donning a sweatshirt with his initials embroidered on the chest.
He doubts Lucas would ever sacrifice his beloved reputation to such an extent, or like Jens that much in the first place, but he’s allowed to dream.
“Yeah, I’m never going to be able to choose. I’m so sorry for making this more difficult but you’re just—this is just too good.” Jens shakes his head, still scrolling through the different images, and Lucas huffs.
“I didn’t expect you to be such a suck-up,” Lucas teases.
Jens looks up at him, exaggeratedly rolling his eyes. Then he lets his expression turn earnest and shrugs. “I’m telling the truth, like I hope you did with me.” He’d been relieved, and pleased, when Lucas had given such a kind review of his album yesterday. It was almost hard to believe. He’d instantly gone and listened to the third and last songs again, the ones Lucas had said were his favourite, and had a smile on his face for the rest of the day.
Lucas’s smile slips now, and some of Jens’s nerves come back. Lucas clears his throat and snaps his sketchbook closed, setting it aside so he can pull his camera towards him. “We can ask Robbe for his opinion, later? It might help. Even if you’re just able to rule things out together.”
Jens suddenly remembers his best friend only a few feet away, and Lucas’s boyfriend with him, and quickly glances over his shoulder. He’s been doing well, every other day, at keeping an eye on them. He knows how easily Robbe could get hurt or upset, no matter how much he protests that he’s getting over his crush perfectly fine. Jens knows it’s far from the truth, both because he knows the full capacity of Robbe’s feelings and because it must be ten times harder to get over someone you see every day. He knows Robbe avoids contacting Sander now outside of work as much as he can. He knows it isn’t easy, and he’s been doing his best to provide a comforting buffer.
Now, though, he turns around just in time for Robbe to start giggling as Sander talks animatedly. Robbe is staring at his laptop screen instead of Sander, and his cheeks are flushed, but he’s smiling wide. Not upset, not yet, but quite possibly digging himself into a hole. Sander, at least, appears oblivious, happy and excited as he makes a dozen hand gestures and leans farther across the table to get a better look.
“Yeah, we’ll do that when they’re done,” he agrees, shooting a smile back at Lucas.
Lucas is watching Robbe and Sander, too, the furrow back between his brows. Jens remembers the sour mood that he’d arrived in, the tension between him and Sander, and resists asking if everything is okay. He’s told Robbe enough times, when he was mourning over Sander, that it’s none of their business. He shouldn’t be the one to butt in now.
He gently hands Lucas’s iPad back to him instead, then raises his brows. “Meanwhile, do you want a snack? Or something to drink?”
Lucas smiles at him. “Oh, he remembers to be a good host.”
Jens pulls a face at him. His heart flutters when Lucas actually laughs in response. “Five seconds and I retract my offer,” he threatens.
“Water would be nice, maybe,” Lucas acquiesces instantly. “And if you have any chocolate, I won’t say no.”
“Huh, sweet tooth. Noted.” Jens winks at him, pushing to his feet and glancing back at the other two co-workers. “Sander, can I get you anything?”
Sander quickly looks at him and shakes his head, and his eyes slide on over to Lucas and he tries for a smile. Lucas either truly misses it or pretends not to notice.
Jens bites down his questions once more. “Robbe?” He waits for his friend to shake his head and then goes to fetch water and chocolate for Lucas. A few minutes later, when Lucas has eaten half of the biscuits on the plate Jens had left out and is taking a sip of his water, Jens decides on a safer line of interrogation. “So, how many times did you actually end up listening to the album?”
Lucas rolls his eyes. “Those two times. And then the first few songs again because Sander joined me and he’d missed those.” Lucas pauses, blinking at Jens with wide eyes. “I hope that’s okay.”
Jens waves him off. “Yeah, obviously. I don’t expect you to keep anything from Sander, especially when you share a room.” He raises a brow. Lucas doesn’t react. “Besides, you both signed the contracts. Sander’s in our trust, too.”
“Okay,” Lucas nods, smiling slightly again. Jens’s chest warms. “That’s good, then.”
Jens smiles back at him, and they sit in silence for a moment, considering each other. Jens realises Lucas’s attention isn’t making him as anxious anymore. Their texting relationship seems to have actually carried over into real life, and he’s relieved.
Lucas takes another sip of his water and then grabs his camera again. “How do you feel about doing a practice shoot? I might even be able to mess around and edit some of the designs onto you then. Plus it’ll be a lot easier when the time comes if I’m already familiar with you and your angles and the lighting and everything.” Lucas waves a hand.
Jens bites down his smile and nods in acceptance. “Okay, sure. Just tell me where you want me.”
It turns out his nerves aren’t entirely gone. It’s different, when he’s sitting on a stool and Lucas is focusing entirely on how he looks. It’s different when there’s a camera pointed at him and Lucas is the one behind it. He doesn’t want to mess up. He doesn’t want to frustrate Lucas, and he doesn’t want to look like an idiot.
It turns out this makes the whole process more difficult.
“Are you always this tense?” Lucas asks, vaguely concerned, and Jens’s shoulders tense further. Lucas sighs. “Don’t act so much like you’re posing. Just, do whatever feels comfortable.”
Jens wriggles on the stool. He draws a leg up. Puts it back down again. He leans forward to rest his arms on his knees and almost falls off the stool, which is too high for that position to work. He leans back and crosses his ankles, tucking his hands in his pockets.
Lucas snaps a photo, then considers it with a frown. He examines Jens again. “Maybe spread your legs?” He suggests.
Jens instantly raises his brows and smirks slightly, just to see Lucas rolls his eyes and set an unimpressed hand on his hip. Jens relents and spreads his legs, planting his feet and letting his hands dangle between his knees.
Lucas takes another photo and stares at it for a moment. Then he says, “How about we go outside?”
Jens blinks at him. “Why?”
“Because if you’re just walking around, not posing, I might get something more natural. I can tell you’re not feeling this.”
Lucas isn’t exactly wrong. The only thing Jens is feeling right now is sick. He’s twitchy and his stomach keeps rolling and Lucas’s gaze is too intense. He can’t sit still. Maybe it will help if he doesn’t have to.
“You’re the expert,” he says. “I can go wherever you want me.”
Lucas shakes his head. “No. Wherever you want. Somewhere you’re a little more in your element.”
Jens thinks, then nods. “Okay.”
“Okay.” Lucas grins, letting his camera settle around his neck. He moves back to the island and collects the coat he’d abandoned there, the same denim jacket with the fluffy collar he’d worn the first time they’d met. He slides his arms into the sleeves and turns to the other two men in the flat, clicking his fingers once to get their attention. “We’re going out to take some photos. Do you two wanna come with?”
Jens doesn’t know if he wants them to. The possibility of being alone with Lucas is terrifying and thrilling all at once. He decides this thought in itself is enough to make up his mind. He shoots a panicked, pleading look at Robbe, but Robbe is already looking at Lucas and nodding his head. He doesn’t seem to notice Sander’s frown.
“Yeah, sure,” Robbe agrees, and Jens lets out a breath of relief. He supposes his friend likely doesn’t want to be left here alone with Sander, either. “Where are we going?”
“Wherever Jens wants.” Lucas fiddles with his camera for a moment. “He needs to chill.”
Robbe raises his brows as Sander blinks. There’s a hint of a laugh in Robbe’s tone. “Jens needs to chill?”
“He’s always been chill with me,” Sander agrees, confused.
Lucas looks up to blink at them, then at Jens, amused. “Do I scare you that much?”
Jens flushes and pointedly ignores Robbe’s giggle. “No. I’m just, stressed. We’re releasing the first music video and announcing the album in two weeks and I’m very aware of all the things that could go wrong and how shitty I’ll probably feel.”
That shuts them up fairly quickly. Sander simply offers a sympathetic smile and Lucas’s expression softens as he seems to search for something to say. It’s Robbe, however, who raises to his feet and grabs Jens by the shoulders, squeezing reassuringly. “You won’t. It’ll be amazing, and we’re going to spend the entire day celebrating. Right now, Lucas is right. We should go out and have fun.”
“You definitely need it,” Lucas agrees, tilting his head towards the door, brows raised.
“Come on.” Robbe slaps his shoulder. “Skate park? It’s been a long time.”
Jens sucks in a breath, then slowly lets it out as he nods. They spend a moment collecting coats, keys, and boards, and then Jens ushers them all out and locks the door behind them. Robbe leads the way outside and down the sidewalk, and Jens half hopes Lucas will instantly rope him into conversation and start giving orders. Instead Sander slips an arm over Lucas’s shoulders and speaks to him quietly, and after a moment Lucas is nodding and leaning into his side.
Jens looks away and catches Robbe’s gaze, then falls into step alongside his best friend, bumping his shoulder. “Okay?” he asks quietly.
Robbe gives him a tight smile and a nod and Jens ruffles his hair.
The skatepark is relatively empty, but the people who are there continuously sneak glances at the group, whispering and grinning between themselves. Jens sees a guy pointing his phone at them. This isn’t entirely unusual, but it doesn’t help him destress.
“Just ignore them,” Robbe reminds him. “But be aware I’m gonna post a few stories because people are starting to ask if you’ve died.”
Jens rolls his eyes, but he does his best to listen. He looks to Lucas first, who merely waves his hand in a ‘go ahead’ gesture. He realises soon that it does help. It’s been a while since he’s skated, but it still loosens him up like it used to, still gets his blood rushing and allows him a few moments of freedom. He flips off Robbe’s phone and winks at Lucas’s camera and doesn’t really allow himself to think about either, or the way Sander is watching over Lucas’s shoulder and occasionally directing him, both of them smiling and bickering now.
He finally rejoins them and plops himself down on top of the half pipe, where Lucas immediately comes to kick at his thigh. “Weird question, but can I have a go?”
Jens blinks up at him, noticing how he’s rocking on his heels with barely constrained energy, and raises his brows. “Skating?”
“Yeah?” Lucas raises his eyebrows back. “Is that a no?”
“Uh, no, go for it. I mean, if you can.”
Lucas huffs, carefully setting his camera and his jacket on the ground next to Jens before picking up his board. He plants it at the top of the ramp, a foot balancing it on the edge, and cocks an eyebrow at Jens again before he’s racing down the ramp with a wave.
Jens stares after him, astonished, as he navigates the park on Jens’s board with ease. He barely notices Robbe and Sander sitting down with him until Sander wolf-whistles and Lucas flips him off as he passes. Jens feels something thrum in his stomach as he watches Lucas and can’t quite figure out what it is.
When Lucas finally comes to a stop below them, flicking his hair off his forehead, Jens gives an exaggerated clap. Lucas simply grins up at him, eyes considering as he holds the board up for Jens to take, then requests, “Pass me my camera?”
Jens does so without question, and Lucas’s lips curl as he looks up at him and then snaps a photo. “I just have to capture the utter shock and awe on your face right now.”
Jens sets a hand on his thigh and stares down at him, unimpressed, but his brow furrows slightly as the camera goes off again.
Lucas takes it away from his face and examines the image he’d taken, pursing his lips slightly. “Not bad. Who knew you could actually be sort of photogenic.”
Jens pulls a face at him as he grins and draws himself up next to Sander, who immediately leans in to look at the photos he’s taken. Lucas doesn’t hesitate to lean towards him, this time, and then he’s laughing at whatever Sander says, turning towards him with a dazzling smile Jens hasn’t seen yet. Their faces are so close they could kiss.
Robbe seems to have the same thought and looks away, showing Jens his hurt expression for an instant before focusing steadily out at the skatepark, his pinched lips the only visible sign of jealousy.
Jens has to look away, too, and finds himself mimicking the expression. It’s only then that he recognises the heavy feeling in his own stomach as the same emotion. He doesn’t know how he didn’t notice it before. Jealousy has never been foreign to him.
He darts another glance at Lucas, in shock and slowly expanding terror, and notes how his heart flutters and then pinches as he throws his head back and laughs and Sander reaches out and fixes his hair for him.
Oh, fuck.
~^~
tag list: @allthewayornowayy @wedarkacademia @lockerfivethreefive @yellowballoon @gucciboner @nora-keinwitz @moonskam @painfully-oblivious @zoenneforever @akucecilia @hischbabe @evaksobbe @alittleemo @boring-side-effect @franboos
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cuewulfir · 2 years
Note
2, 9, 21 and 23 for the art ask game!
2. what's your favorite thing about your style
maybe the way i draw faces? idk, it's a relatively minor thing, but i find it cool to see how my faces have changed and improved over the past year or two as i've gotten more familiar with how faces work and figured out what i want my art to look like!
9. show us a finished piece right alongside the original sketch
i had to really go looking for something for this one because if i'm doing a thing digitally i usually just. clean up the sketch on the same layer. but here is a teeny initial thumbnail for this! (just linking bc otherwise it'd be quite a few photos)
Tumblr media
21. something you would like to improve on
my use of colours i think? there are so many artists i admire that do incredible things with colours and i'd love to be able to work that into my own art
23. what's something you hope people notice when looking at your art
okay i had a really hard time thinking of an answer for this one, but i'll go with - little things i add in terms of clothing/accessories for characters, if that makes sense? idk, a lot of the time i add piercings or teeny details to clothes that i know only i will know are there, just because it makes me happy! but it is very cool when other folks notice those too.
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massivedrickhead · 4 years
Note
bechloe tattoo shop au? Beca gives Chloe a tattoo?
So I’ve had this prompt in my inbox forever. I started writing it last year not long after I got my tattoo but it wasn’t going anywhere so I kinda gave up on it. But I just started watching Ink Master and I had to finish this prompt. 
It’s kind of pointless but I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, and now I’ve written it I might as well share it.
I also gave Beca loads of tattoos because I’m high-key attracted to the idea of a heavily tatted Beca
Read on AO3
------
“Hi,” Chloe said, approaching the reception desk at Titanium Tattoos and Piercings. There was a blonde woman sitting behind the desk, spinning on her chair.
“What’s up?” She asked, with a heavy Australian accent. 
“I have a consultation appointment,” Chloe said. 
“Cool, what’s your name?” The woman asked, looking down at her computer.
“Chloe Beale,” Chloe said.
The woman nodded. “You’re meeting with Beca?”
“Yeah,” Chloe said.
“She’s in with a client right now, why don’t you take a seat and she’ll be out soon. My name is Fat Amy, give me a shout if you need anything.” Amy said, gesturing over to a collection of couches. 
Chloe nodded and took a seat, her eyes roaming over the art that was hung around the room. She recognised a lot of it from Instagram, and she knew Beca was responsible for most.
Chloe waited for another 10 minutes before Beca came out, followed by a very pale looking man. 
“Okay Jesse,” Beca said, patting him on the shoulder, “keep it clean, no swimming for a few weeks,  and when it starts healing don’t pick it.” She handed him a sheet of paper. “Follow these instructions and take care of it yeah? If you get it infected it makes me look like a jackass.”
Jesse laughed. “Thanks, Beca.”
“Go give Amy your money and give us a call if you have any questions or anything,” Beca said. She spotted Chloe waiting. “Chloe, right?”
“Yeah,” Chloe said.
“Give me a couple of minutes to grab a drink and I’ll be with you. You want a coffee or anything?”
“I’m fine, thanks,” Chloe said, watching Beca rush off to another room.
Chloe’s heart was pounding, and it was only partly due to nerves. Beca was cute. She had seen a picture of her on the tattoo shop’s Instagram but seeing her in person was something else.
Beca returned after a few minutes. “Chloe? Do you wanna follow me?” 
Chloe nodded and followed Beca into the shop. 
“Sorry I’m running a bit late,” Beca said. “My last guy got a bit lightheaded, we had to take a break.”
“No worries,” Chloe said.
Beca showed her into her room and asked her to take a seat.
“So, this is just a consultation, I’m not going to be sticking you with any needles today,” Beca said taking a seat next to her. “What is you’re wanting to get done?”
“I have a couple of reference photos,” Chloe said, pulling up her phone. “I want something kind of floral but a bit geometric too?” She handed Beca her phone who nodded and she swiped through the pictures. “And I also want to incorporate this ‘B’,” Chloe added, showing Beca a specific picture. 
“Okay, cool,” Beca said. She rolled her chair over to her desk in the corner and came back with a sketchbook and pencil. She started drawing as she spoke. “The B isn’t your partner’s initial is it?”
“No,” Chloe said, laughing. “I’m single.”
“Can I ask what it’s for?”
“Don’t laugh,” Chloe said. “But, um, I’m graduating from college next month, and this is the logo of the a cappella group I’m in.”
She saw the corners of Beca’s mouth twitch as she carried on drawing.
“That’s cute,” Beca said. 
Chloe laughed and felt herself blush slightly as she watched Beca draw. She was having a hard time focusing on anything else. Beca’s eye makeup was dark, her ears were pierced in several locations, and both arms had what looked like full sleeve tattoos.
She was distractingly attractive.
“You thinking colour or like black and grey?” Beca asked, glancing up.
“I was thinking black for the flowers and the shape, like kinda simplistic, not a lot of shading. But maybe we could do some colour in the logo?”
Beca nodded. “Awesome. Like the blue in this picture?”
“Yeah,” Chloe said.
“Where did you want it?”
“My ribs,” Chloe said.
This time Beca looked up fully and stopped drawing. “Is this your first tattoo?”
“No,” Chloe said, pointing at her tiny ladybug on her wrist.
“Cute,” Beca said, laughing softly. She ran a hand through her hair. “You sure about getting it on your ribs? It hurts like a bitch.”
“I’m sure,” Chloe said, laughing. 
“Okay,” Beca said, grinning. “How big?” She moved closer and put her hands against Chloe’s ribs. “Like this?”
Chloe felt suddenly light headed. “Yeah,” she said, trying to keep her voice casual.
Beca nodded again. She turned her sketchbook over so Chloe could see and passed her phone back. 
“So I can do something like this. You’ve got the geometric diamond shape here and that contains the flowers, but they’re sort of breaking that barrier here,” Beca said, pointing out different aspects of her sketches. “And then we can put the ‘B’ in the flowers but maybe a bit concealed? To give it some like depth.”
Chloe knew she should be focusing on what Beca was telling her, but she was having a hard time focusing when Beca was this close.
“Yeah, that’s awesome,” Chloe said, finally looking down at Beca’s sketches. “Exactly what I’m looking for.”
“Cool,” Beca said, grinning. “Can you send me that logo? I’m gonna draw up some more designs tonight.”
“Sure,” Chloe said. She airdropped Beca a picture of the logo. “I really love these designs, Beca. They’re perfect.”
“Thanks,” Beca said. “I’m glad you think so, you’re going to have this tattoo for a while.”
“So when can we do this?” Chloe asked, standing with Beca and heading back to the front of the shop.
“I might have some time tomorrow if you’re up for it?” Beca asked, heading behind the reception desk to check her schedule. 
“Yeah, that would be great,” Chloe said. “I’m free all day.”
Beca began typing into the computer. “How about 3pm?”
“Sounds great,” Chloe said, feeling a rush of nerves and excitement. She knew her tattoo was going to hurt like crazy, but somehow she was more nervous about having Beca’s hands on her body.
“Sweet,” Beca said grinning and typing into her computer. “So, I would recommend you don’t drink any alcohol tonight and please don’t drink any tomorrow. Make sure you eat too, I don’t want you passing out in my chair.”
“I don’t want that either,” Chloe said, laughing. 
Chloe arrived the next morning with a stomach full of butterflies but feeling excited. She was looking forward to seeing Beca again and she couldn’t wait to get her new tattoo, despite how much pain she was about to go through.
Beca called her through after she had been waiting for a couple of minutes.
“I usually take a girl for a drink before I ask this, but can you take your shirt off?” Beca asked.
Chloe laughed and pulled off her t-shirt, leaving her in just her bra. “Can I keep this on?” She asked, tugging at her strap.
“For now, yes,” Beca said. “Let’s get the design on there and see how it sits.”
Beca placed a piece of paper against Chloe’s ribs and applied the stencil of her design. When she peeled the paper away, a blue stencil remained.
“Have a look in the mirror,” Beca said. “Try it on for a bit while I get set up. Move your arm around, see how that’s going to affect the tattoo. Just make sure you’re 100% happy with it. Anything you wanna change or add we can do no problem right now.”
Chloe looked at the stencil in the mirror and did what Beca advised, twisting her arm and side, making sure it didn’t distort the tattoo in any weird way. 
She loved the design Beca had made, and she couldn’t wait to wear it.
“Happy?” Beca asked.
“Yeah,” Chloe said. “I love it.”
“Anything you want to change?” 
“Nope,” Chloe said, stilling grinning at the design in the reflection. 
“Okay, then let’s get started,” Beca said. She patted her chair which had been folded flat like a bed. As Beca pulled on a pair of black latex gloves, Chloe lay down on her side, her back to Beca’s chair. “Ready?”
“Yeah,” Chloe said, feeling her heart race as Beca placed her hands on her ribs.
“Here we go.”
Beca hadn’t been lying when she said the ribs hurt. Each line felt like a knife was being pulled slowly across her skin. 
“How’s it going?” Beca asked after about thirty minutes.
“Yeah it’s uh, it feels great,” Chloe said.
Beca laughed. “Liar.”
“It fucking hurts,” Chloe said, laughing lightly. 
“You need a break or anything you let me know, okay?” Beca said, wiping away some ink and blood.
“Will do,” Chloe said, clenching her hand as Beca carried on tattooing. 
“How come you picked this design?” Beca asked, eager to keep Chloe’s mind off the pain she was putting her through.
“I just really wanted a way to commemorate the Bellas,” Chloe said. “They’ve been my family for like the last four years. They gave me confidence and - ah fuck - and a support system. That last line really hurt.” Chloe laughed, feeling tears prick her eyes.
“I know, I’m sorry,” Beca said. “We’re making progress though.”
“Good,” Chloe said. “What’s been your most painful tattoo?”
“My ribs for sure,” Beca said. “I had some big pieces planned for them but after I got some lyrics tattooed there I totally changed those plans. So if it makes you feel better, I think you’re metal as fuck right now.”
Chloe laughed again. “That does make me feel better.”
“Your next tattoo is gonna be way easier now,” Beca said. 
“My next one?”
“Yeah you’re gonna get the bug, trust me,” Beca said, wiping away some more ink and blood. “It hurts like a bitch but I kinda like it.”
Whatever Chloe had planned on saying disappeared as a string of expletives flew out of her mouth.
“Damn I did not expect that from you,” Beca said laughing. She could see Chloe gripping the side of chair. “You doing okay?”
“Mhm,” Chloe replied, jaw clenched.
“No you’re not,” Beca said, stopping her machine. “We’re taking a break.”
“Thank you,” Chloe said, letting out a slow breath. 
“Stay where you are, I’ll get you some water,” Beca said. She pulled off her gloves and dropped them in the trash. “If you wanna sit up wait until I’m back, okay?”
“I’m good down here,” Chloe said.
Beca left and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and a straw. She stretched her back out before heading back in.
“You still with me?” Beca asked.
“Sure am,” Chloe said.
Beca pulled her chair around so she was sat by Chloe’s head, and passed her the bottle and the straw. 
“Your bedside manner is excellent,” Chloe said, smiling as she took a drink.
“I just don’t want anyone having a bad experience in my shop,” Beca said. “Plus if you passed out I’m way too tiny to lift anyone off the ground. You ready to finish this bitch?”
“Yeah,” Chloe said, drinking some more and then putting the bottle down.
“Awesome,” Beca said. She pulled on a new pair of gloves, pulled her chair back up to Chloe’s side, and started her machine back up. “We’re almost done with the line work now. Then it’s just some shading and some colour.”
“Cool,” Chloe said, thinking it still sounded like a lot to do. “So have you got any tattoos you regret?”
“Uh, not really. I mean I have some kinda shitty tattoos, but I think even bad tattoos tell a story,” Beca said. “I do have an ex-girlfriend’s name hidden under a cover-up though. That’s why I’ll always try and dissuade a client from getting their partner’s name on them.”
Chloe laughed. “Yeah I think that’s good advice. Is there anything you’ll just refuse to tattoo?”
“Oh yeah,” Beca said. “I won’t do any Nazi shit, or any other racist stuff. Nothing homophobic or anything like that. Like it’s just a straight up no, and once I know they want something like that I won’t tattoo anything else on them either.”
“That’s awesome,” Chloe said.
“Yeah, I don’t want bigot dollars,” Beca said. She stopped tattooing and wiped down the ink and blood again. “Okay the outline is done.”
“Thank god,” Chloe said, letting out a breath of relief. 
“You’re doing great,” Beca said. “Not much longer, I promise.”
As Beca carried on the tattoo, they carried on talking, each learning a little more about each other. 
Chloe learned that Beca also made music, and spent a few evenings a week DJing.
Beca learned that Chloe volunteered at an animal shelter, gaining experience for when she went to veterinary school in the fall.
After hours of tattooing, Chloe was finally done.
Beca helped her up, and Chloe admired her new tattoo in the mirror.
“Beca, it’s so awesome,” Chloe said, grinning. “I love it.”
“I’m really glad,” Beca said. “Can I take a quick pick for the Instagram before I get you wrapped up?”
“Yeah, of course,” Chloe said.
Beca took a few pictures and then cleaned and wrapped Chloe’s new tattoo, before handing her a sheet of paper on aftercare.
“Please take care of it. No scratching, no picking, no getting it dirty,” Beca said. “Follow these instructions and you’re gonna have a beautiful, nicely healed, tattoo in about a month.”
“Thank you so much, Beca. It’s exactly what I wanted, it’s perfect,” Chloe said.
“You are very welcome,” Beca said. “You sat like a champ. I’ve had grown men cry in my chair getting their ribs done, you did great.”
“So, um, what’s the deal on drinking now?” Chloe asked.
Beca laughed. “Give it 48 hours at least. This sounds gross but you’re gonna be bleeding and… oozing for the next couple of days, you don’t really want to thin your blood.”
“I can drink by Saturday then?” 
“Sure,” Beca said. “You got big plans?”
“No, I was just kinda hoping I could go on a date with this cute girl on Saturday,” Chloe said. Having survived her tattoo, she was suddenly feeling invincible.
“Sounds like a lucky girl,” Beca said. 
“Beca, would you like to come for a drink with me on Saturday?”
Beca couldn’t stop the grin that spread over her face. “I see. I’m the lucky girl?”
“You can be.”
“Sure,” Beca said. “It isn’t often I get asked out by clients after I put them through three hours of pain. Let’s do this.”
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daveyjacobss · 3 years
Text
meant to be made into art
jack kelly x davey jacobs (freshman college roommates au)
summary: davey might like his new roommate more than he was expecting to.
a/n: hi @faded-dragon-flys !! i’m your secrect santa for @newsies-secret-santa !! this is being posted a little later than i wanted so i’m really sorry about that but i hope you like it!! i hope you’ve had a happy holidays and that you have a wonderful new years :)
masterlist
_________
College was....okay. It wasn't that Davey wasn't excited to have more freedom and to finally be able to pursue his interests, but the entire experience was incredibly nerve-wracking. Classes and coursework were enough stress on their own, but the addition of living away from home for the first time in a new place with a stranger for a roommate wasn't exactly ideal. Not that his roommate wasn't fine, he was —mostly. He had a horrible sleep schedule and he was a little messy and he sometimes listened to his music too loud, but Davey had many of the same flaws. So, yeah, Davey could mostly handle Jack.
It had been a bit of a shock the second week when he had been up at an ungodly hour writing for one of his classes and Jack, who he had assumed was sleeping somewhere else for the night, had returned from one of the school's art studios splattered with paint. From the look on Jack's face, it had been a bit of a shock for him, too. But after the initial surprise had passed Jack had laughed quietly and Davey's cheeks had flushed the lightest of pinks because, oh, Jack had a really nice laugh. Davey had laughed a little, too, once he got his faint blush under control, and they had stayed up a little longer to talk before going to sleep. There were plenty of late night encounters in the following weeks, but that first one lingered in Davey's mind — the way the paint on Jack's face had accentuated his jawline, the way his smile had spread across his face so easily. His laughter had been soft but, with the quiet of the room, the sound of it had wrapped itself around Davey so firmly that he had felt it in his chest.
That happened a lot — more than he would have liked to admit. Jack would laugh, or he would sing along with his music, or he would just talk, and Davey would feel it reverberating in his chest and quickening the pace of his heart. Though, to be fair, the sped up heart rate also happened whenever Jack changed his shirt in front of Davey or walked into the room after a shower in only a towel.
So, maybe he couldn't actually handle Jack that well. Or, rather, he couldn't handle the way his face warmed every time Jack looked at him and his heart jumped in his chest anytime Jack touched him. Every time he talked to Sarah on the phone she would ask about his cute roommate, and every time without fail Davey would make a little choking noise and, if Jack was there, a swift exit. She had seen him when she was helping Davey move into his dorm, and he spent every day grateful that she hadn't gotten the chance to actually talk to him.
Sarah was better at making friends than Davey was, she always had been. Where she blossomed in social situations and could easily command a room, Davey floundered for what to say and criticized every word that came out of his own mouth. He was awkward, and people tended to give him strange looks rather than friendly smiles. Jack was the same way as Sarah, from what Davey could gather. He had plenty of friends back home and he had had no trouble making friends at their university, never eating alone in the dining hall and always having someone in each of his classes to text about assignments. Davey could understand it, the way people seemed to fawn over Jack and melt at his smile — after all, he did the same things. Jack never really brought his friends back to their dorm, though, and it warmed Davey's heart to think it was out of consideration for him.
The only real friends Davey had made since arriving on campus were Jack and a girl in his english class named Katherine, who sometimes scared him but he still adored all the same. Katherine had caught onto his growing feelings for his roommate so fast Davey had briefly wondered if she was psychic. Jack had seen them sitting together while they ate dinner and came to say hi, and Katherine had clearly not missed the way Davey had simultaneously brightened out of excitement and shrunk down out of nervousness. Thankfully, she didn't say anything until Jack had left, but then a teasing smile had spread across her face and Davey knew he was a goner.
"Don't think I didn't see that," she had said, nonchalantly flipping her hair behind her shoulder. Her eyes were twinkling with mischief as she looked at him.
"See what?" He had asked, trying to appear as unbothered as she was. He failed miserably.
She hadn't responded, only going back to eating her salad, but she had been poking fun at him about it ever since. It didn't help that she insisted Jack had a crush on Davey, too. She would tell him about how Jack's smile was different for him and he rarely looked away from Davey when they were in the same room — but Davey just couldn't bring himself to believe it. Believing it would let in too much hope, and with too much hope came the inevitable bone crushing weight of heartbreak.
Even just the little bit of hope that had crept into his chest after Katherine's constant reassurances of Jack liking him as well left him stealing glances at his roommate while perched on his own bed and making half-assed annotations in his textbook. Sometimes he felt creepy, always watching Jack when he wasn't looking (thought he probably spent an equal amount of time averting his eyes for his own sanity), but every once in a while Jack would catch him and he would just smile — so Davey never felt too bad about it.
He watched as Jack hunched over his sketchbook, his lip between his teeth and his brow furrowed. Jack always looked breathtaking when he was concentrating on his artwork. He ended up in strange positions that looked like there was no way they could ever be comfortable, but his body was as relaxed as it was tense. Sometimes his tongue would slip out between his teeth if he got really into it, and it always made Davey smile. Jack's control over his face in general seemed to disappear when he was working on his art, every emotion clearly written in his expressions as he cycled through them. Once, Jack had brought Davey to the art studio with him so he could have company while he painted. It had been one of the smaller rooms in the art building, and they were the only ones in there. The way Jack had loosened and opened up was incredible to watch, it was like as soon as he picked up his paintbrush his whole being clicked into place and was brought into focus. The painting was beautiful, as was every piece of Jack's, but it was the painter who Davey had watched come alive in vibrant colors.
"What are you working on?" He blurted out, startling even himself as Jack looked up from his sketchbook. His roommate's face relaxed a little as his eyes fell on Davey.
"Just some warmup sketches," he answered easily. Everything Jack did seemed to come easily.
"Any particular subject?" Davey pushed his textbook off his lap, his notes forgotten in lieu of a much more important subject (Jack, of course). For a split second, he swore he saw panic flash across his friend's face.
"Not really, I just like to make sure I draw a bit everyday." He smiled at Davey, closing his sketchbook. "What class are you working on?"
"Oh, this?" Davey gestured to the several colors of highlighters and pens scattered across his bed with his textbook. "It's just stuff for my intro to philosophy course. The professor gives us, like, never-ending readings. It's nowhere near as interesting as your art." He was blushing by the time he finished talking, not having expected himself to turn his answer into praise for Jack (...again). But Jack scoffed, bringing himself and his sketchbook over to Davey's bed. He plopped down next to him and their knees knocked into each other, Davey's heart missing a beat.
"Nah, if it's interesting to you than it's cool. You don't have to downplay it or justify it to me." Jack caught Davey's eyes while he was talking, locking in so that Davey couldn't have looked away even if he wanted to (he didn't). There was something so simultaneously comforting and exposing about Jack looking right at him, all of his attention focused on Davey. He was so caught up it in that it took a second for his words to register. But, when they did, he found his chest warming and the butterflies in his stomach fluttering their wings — not the harsh, violent flapping that happened when he got anxious, but a gentle soothing rhythm that could have lulled him to sleep. Not knowing how to respond to such a warm act of reassurance, he tried to redirect the conversation.
"Can I see what you were drawing?"
It was Jack who finally broke their staring contest, dragging his eyes down to look at his sketchbook resting in his lap. He glanced between it and Davey, biting his lip.
"Tell you what, I'll show you some of these sketches if you finally let me read one of those short stories of yours for your fiction writing class, deal?"
Davey's eyes widened, feeling himself shrinking back without actually moving. He was retreating from the warmth Jack was radiating and it left him cold and regretful, but he didn't know if he could do it. He didn't know if he could let Jack read one his stories, let him look that deeply in Davey's mind. Sure, his professor and his classmates would read his stories for workshops to help him revise it, but this felt different. They were reading it for the sake of constructive criticism and helping him improve it, Jack would be reading it just to read it. Jack would be reading it and in doing so he'd get the biggest peek into who Davey was that he would probably ever get. Even Sarah hadn't been allowed to read his stories yet. But —
But Jack was there. Jack was sitting there in front of him on Davey's bed, offering up a part of himself, too. Davey had watched Jack paint, but he had never had the privilege to look into Jack's sketchbook. Even when he asked he had been expecting a playful dismissal, a kind brush off. Jack's other friends, Davey knew, weren't allowed to look at his sketchbook. He had confided with Davey that even his foster brother back home had only been allowed to glimpse a few pages. And if Jack was willing to show that part of himself, to reveal that to Davey, how couldn't he offer up the same in return?
"Okay," he said, looking Jack right in the eye again and watching as his lips turned upward. "Deal."
Jack grinned fully before spitting on his hand and holding it out as if for a handshake. Davey scrunched his nose as he looked down at it. "That's disgusting."
Jack laughed, pulling hand back to wipe it on his pants. "Sorry, force of habit."
Davey's phone vibrated on the bed beside him as he was giving Jack a slightly bewildered stare. He picked it up without really looking, pulling up the text notification from Sarah. His face flushed at her message, quickly putting his phone face down on the bed to make sure Jack couldn't see it. It was Jack's turn to give Davey a bewildered stare.
"You alright there?"
Davey laughed nervously. "Yeah, uh, I'm good. Sorry, it's my sister. She won't stop asking me about my cute roommate." He froze as he realized what he had said. "Uh! Her words, not mine. She won't shut up about it."
"That so?" Jack asked, smirking. He was so smug and so boyishly attractive that Davey's brain didn't even give him a second to think before he was talking again.
"Well, you know, you are." And holy shit he did not just say that. Holy shit he did not just say that. Jack's jaw dropped just slightly, but Davey was more focused on the panic making its way through his entire body and forcing even more words up his throat. "I mean—like, uh, objectively, ya know? Like, your face is, uh — it's, like, aesthetically.... pleasing?"
He wanted to die. He wanted to throw himself out the window and die. He could not believe all of that had just come out of his mouth. He continued to stutter for a few more seconds without any real words coming out, Jack's eyes still fixated on him as he blushed and fidgeted. Then, suddenly, he turned away as if to hide his face — but he didn't turn enough. Davey watched in muted shock as Jack lips spread into a broad grin.
"For what it's worth," Jack's voice was soft and gentle, slipping out from behind his smile, "I think your face is pretty aesthetically pleasing, too."
Davey's entire body shut down. Oh. Jack thought he had a nice face. Okay. Yeah, definitely not something he could handle — definitely something he would need to deal with and process when he was alone and could express the proper amount of freaking out over it.
"I actually, um—" Jack was turning back to him, opening his sketchbook to his most recent pages. "I think you have a really nice face, Davey." He held the book out to Davey and he took it with slightly trembling his hands. In front of him were two full pages populated entirely by sketches of Davey. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at them, at Jack's beautiful handiwork. He made Davey seem more breathtaking than he was, than he could ever dream of being. And, more than that, he made Davey seem like the kind of person worth paying attention to.
When he turned to look back at Jack, his gaze was softened and his mouth was stilling hanging open slightly. Jack looked like he was holding his breath, his eyes hopeful as they met Davey's.
Oh, Davey thought again. Oh.
While he had been sneaking glances at Jack, Jack had been doing the same. While he had been romanticizing every detail of Jack, Jack had been doing the exact same thing to Davey in his artwork. He made Davey feel like he was the kind of person who deserved to be romanticized, like he was the kind of person who was meant to made into art.
Oh.
Davey gently placed the sketchbook down on the bed, feeling more calm than he had since he moved into their dorm. The butterflies in his stomach were fluttering, his heart was beating out his chest, his face was practically burning, and yet everything felt peaceful. Jack's eyes widened as Davey reached for him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
But he melted into it when Davey kissed him. He grabbed at Davey, his hands scrunching up the fabric of Davey's shirt as he pulled him closer, smiling into the kiss. Davey felt like he had literally ascended to heaven, curling his fingers in Jack's hair.
When they eventually pulled away Davey's nerves returned in full force, stumbling over his words as he tried to explain himself. But Jack just smiled at him and kissed his forehead before lacing their hands together. And, yeah, Davey could make do with that.
"What do you say we go grab some dinner and I read one of your stories when we get back? Then we can have a movie night or something," Jack offered, standing up from the bed and pulling Davey with him.
No fear came with the idea of Jack reading his story that time, not after having seen Jack's sketchbook. Not after Jack had revealed himself so openly to Davey — it was only fair he do the same. Plus, he found that he wanted Jack to see that part of him. He wanted to know what Jack thought of his writing.
"Yeah," he smiled, squeezing Jack's hand. "That sounds good."
_________
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quickspinner · 4 years
Text
These Two Hands (I’ll Never Not Know You)
I worked on this for ages, and I just couldn't get it to come out right, so I put it aside and worked on other things. I hadn't looked at it in months, and then the WIP meme came along, and I started looking it over, and it turned out to be ridiculously easy to fix and finish, so here it is at last!
Shoutout to all my artist buddies, whose complaining about hands being such a pain to draw gave me the idea for this fic. 😆 Love you guys.
I don't think I said anything that specifically made it clear, but they're university aged in this one.
It was a beautiful summer day in Paris, with just enough breeze to keep the heat from being unbearable. Enjoying the weather and his music, Luka had no idea how long he’d been sitting there playing on the warm, wide stone steps of the Trocadero. A while, by the sun and the hollow feeling in his stomach. Luka packed up his guitar and slung it across his back. He started to descend the steps, but paused as he nearly trod on something at the bottom. He bent down and picked up the book, plain black and with heavy, weighted paper, like an artist’s book. It wasn’t battered or dirty, like it had been there for days, though the canvas cover was frayed a bit at the corners. Well-used, he concluded, and lost only recently.
Luka looked around, hesitant. He couldn’t see anybody who looked like they’d lost something. He went back up the steps and looked around at the top, with the same result. 
Luka sighed. He got so into his music, he frequently lost awareness of his surroundings, so while he knew some people had stopped on the steps to hear him play, he had no memory of what they looked like or what they’d been doing, other than Officer Roger passing by and giving him the stinkeye. Apparently the officer hadn’t felt like ruining a perfectly good day by hassling about permits and nonsense, though, and once he’d moved on, Luka had played without regard to his audience.
He went back down the stairs, thinking, and then sat down slowly on the bottom step. He felt like an intruder as he opened the book, as he thought of the battered spiral notebook full of embarrassing, half-finished scribbles he carried in his guitar case. He checked the inside of both covers first, but found only the initials MDC. No phone number, not even a full name.
Luka blew out a frustrated breath, fluffing his bangs away from his face. Reluctantly, he began turning pages. 
It was full of...hands. Hands planting a seedling, hands cleaning something indistinct. Hands buried in a lumpy mass. Clay? Or maybe dough? Hands twined in yarn, holding the vague suggestion of knitting needles. What they were doing was usually only lightly sketched in and suggested, but the hands themselves were detailed and bold. It was kind of weird at first, but as he continued to turn the pages, still checking each for some sign of the owner, he began to appreciate the different types of beauty and strength captured on each page. He could imagine the trembling in the wrinkled hands with swollen joints that held a flower stem delicately. There were fingers curved over a computer keyboard, charged with energy, and he could almost hear the rapid smack of the fingers hitting the keys. 
Luka found himself rubbing his fingers together. He’d never contemplated his hands from an aesthetic standpoint. Why would he? They were rough and scarred; his fingers from the guitar, his palms from the ropes and rigging on the boat, from the lifting and carrying required for the constant rearranging of the stuff on deck to make sure they could get around. He’d never thought about whether they were—any of what he saw in these pictures. 
He glanced up and around again, still feeling guilty to be poking through someone else’s private things, but no one was paying him any mind, and he still had no clues as to the owner. He tried to flip quickly, just checking each page for even a hint of where he might go to return it, but with everything but the hands indistinct there wasn’t much to go by. 
He stopped in surprise on the last sketch in the book, staring at the drawing of hands on a guitar. The guitar was just roughed in, once again more of a suggestion than a drawing, except where the left hand rested on the fretboard, pressing into the strings. 
The hands, though, were incredibly detailed, and, he realized with a sudden blush, they were his. He touched his thumb to the ring on his pointer finger absently. The right hand, curved to strum, the pick invisible from that angle but implied, had bracelets matching his stacked along the wrist. 
The nails were colored in, dark like his, but beyond that, he wouldn’t have recognized them without the jewelry and the small curving scar near the thumb of the right hand.
These hands were elegant, graceful, intentional. It had been a long time since Luka last consciously thought about the control he had over his hands, but he couldn’t help thinking about it now. It had taken him years of practice to get there, but when he played, his hands did exactly what he needed them to, found the strings he needed quickly and accurately. Though they were thin, they were strong and sure, equally capable of coaxing a melody and knotting a rope with speed and strength. 
That was what this person had seen in them, at least. 
“Oh!”
Luka looked up and found a girl staring at him with both hands over her mouth, her blue eyes wide. Her gaze flickered between him and the book. 
“Is this yours?” he asked without thinking. 
She nodded slowly, pink spreading over her cheeks. 
Luka closed it quickly and stood up, offering it to her. She took a hasty step forward, grabbing the book gratefully, but somehow got her feet tangled up and yelped as she tipped forward. Luka caught her shoulders and steadied her. “Woah, easy.” He shifted her back until she was solidly on her feet, and let go. “I’m sorry for snooping, it’s just I found it on the steps and I was trying to find a name or something so I knew who to give it back to. I wasn’t having much luck, though, so I’m really glad you came back.” 
“Oh,” she said, blushing and holding the sketchbook to her. “It’s okay, of course I understand. I’m glad it was found, at least. I just...I’m just kind of embarrassed, I know it must look kind of weird, and I usually ask before I draw someone but you were busy and the music was so lovely and I started watching your hands and just kind of got caught up in the moment but I’m really sorry—”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Luka said, putting a hand on her shoulder briefly to interrupt as she began picking up speed. “I thought they were cool, and I’m flattered you saw something in my hands worth capturing.”
She smiled shyly. “I like hands that make things. They’re my favorite. I mean, it started just as a drawing exercise, because hands are hard, and so I thought if I just kept drawing them I’d get better. And...and then when I started looking, I got interested, and I kept going. It’s kind of stress relief now. And that probably doesn’t make it any less weird.” She put one hand back over her face, the other still clutching her sketchbook, and made a little whine. “Why am I still talking?”  
“That’s amazing,” Luka smiled, and then hesitated. “Um, are you busy? On your way somewhere? Because if not, I’d really like to look at some more. If it’s okay with you.” 
Her eyes widened slightly, and the flush on her cheeks deepened. “R-really? I mean, sure, if you, um. If you want to. I didn’t really think they were that interesting, to be honest.”
“Well, I do,” Luka said, and backed up to sit back down on his steps, tipping his head to invite her to sit next to him. “My name’s Luka.”
She smiled nervously, perching on the step and tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. “I’m Marinette.” Luka turned back to the beginning of the book, and began to page through more slowly, pausing now and then to ask Marinette about a picture.
“That’s my grandmother,” she told him, as he looked at a picture of half-gloved hands resting on the handles of a motorcycle. “She travels a lot.” 
“I really like this one,” he said after a moment, pausing at the hands twined in yarn. 
“I, um,” Marinette hunched her shoulders a little bit. “I love drawing people knitting. They all look so different, even though they’re doing the same thing. Everyone holds the yarn a little bit differently, knits just a slightly different way.”
“And this?” he asked, tilting his head slightly. “I can’t quite figure this one out.”
“That’s my friend Kim,” Marinette explained. “He’s a swimmer. He was doing backstroke time trials and I just got really fascinated with the way his hands held onto the wall. I didn’t quite get the perspective right, though.” She giggled nervously, and Luka smiled at the sound. “The blurry spots are from when he dripped on me trying to get a look at what I was doing.” 
���I can see it now,” Luka nodded. “The tension in them, and why you did the eyes here between them—”
“They ended up looking kind of buggy, with the goggles,” Marinette admitted. 
“No, I really like it, though,” Luka looked up to flash her a quick smile. “You really get that sense of power about to let loose.”
Marinette blinked. “Y-yeah,” she smiled. “Yeah...thanks.”
“Why make the rest of the drawings so incomplete compared with the hands?” Luka asked curiously, looking up from the book to meet her eyes. “I mean, I get why the hands are the focus, but why make the rest of it so vague?”  
Marinette blushed. “It’s...stupid. I don’t know if it’ll even make sense if I say it out loud.”
“Try me,” Luka smiled. 
“It’s just, no matter how I draw them, it’s not the full picture,” Marinette said thoughtfully, and then glanced up at him with an adorably shy smile. “No pun intended. I just mean that there’s so much that these hands can do and when I draw them, I’m really only capturing one. I’d be fascinated to find out what else your hands can do besides play guitar,” she added, and Luka’s face flamed red, though Marinette didn’t seem to notice anything suggestive about what she’d said as she picked his hand up, examining it. Luka swallowed as she turned his hand over and ran her fingers over the calluses on his palm. “You didn’t get these from the guitar,” she said. “Sports? Or something else?” 
Luka cleared his throat. “I live on a boat on the Seine,” he said, watching her. “I work with a lot of ropes, and I’m always climbing around fixing something or other.” 
Marinette nodded, looking up at him, his hand still cradled in hers. “That explains the tan. What else?” 
“Um…” Luka blinked, trying to think. “I carry sound and boat equipment.” 
“Okay,” Marinette said, still listening. Looking at him like he was a puzzle she was trying to solve. He wasn’t sure what she wanted to hear, or why he suddenly very much wanted to be worthy of her interest, but...
“I...comfort my sister,” Luka said softly, dropping his gaze to his hand again. “She’s nervous, she gets worried. I put my hand on her shoulder so she knows that I’m there with her and she’s not alone. I...I calm my mother down. She’s kind of...passionate, she gets worked up about stuff a lot. I put my hand on hers or on her arm to remind her to take a minute to breathe.” 
“And you help up strangers who trip over their own feet,” Marinette giggled. 
“Yeah,” Luka smiled, looking at her. “That too.” 
“It sounds like your hands do a lot of good,” she said. “Your hands help people. Lift them up. You carry, you support. That’s very noble, Luka.”
Luka’s face heated. “Poetic, but...I think that’s giving me a bit too much credit,” he said, looking down at her little hands on his. He was beginning to be fascinated with their contrast, by the way their fingers looked together. Impulsively he closed one hand, capturing hers gently.
“You’re really special, Marinette,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody that thinks like you.” 
Marinette stared at him for a second, and then looked down at their hands. It seemed to hit her all at once that she’d been holding onto him, and she jerked her hands back, face reddening. “I’m so sorry—I’m being really weird, aren’t I?” Marinette hunched her shoulders. “I’m sorry—”
“Maybe a little bit,” Luka broke in, stopping her from another apology spiral. “But what’s weird anyway? Just something a little different than normal. Unique. Nothing wrong with that. Let’s just roll with it.” He grinned. “Embrace the weird. May I see yours?” 
She looked startled. “W-what?” 
“Your hands,” he said, holding out his own. “May I see them?” 
Marinette couldn’t get any redder but her mouth opened and closed soundlessly for a moment. “It’s okay,” Luka said quickly. “If you’d rather not. I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable.” 
“No, it’s fine,” she said, hunching her shoulders again. “It’s only fair, right? Gosh, I didn’t even ask you, you must think I’m so—” She made a wordless noise in her throat and held out her hands stiffly. 
“I don’t,” Luka chuckled. “I didn’t mind. It doesn’t have to be fair, though,” Luka said, making no move to take her hands again. “If you’re not okay with it, don’t feel like you have to.” 
“It’s really okay,” she said. Her hands relaxed a little, her shoulders came down, and there was enough sincerity in her smile to convince him. “It’s just, I don’t think mine are anything special.” 
“Hmm,” Luka chuckled, slowly reaching to take her hands. “I didn’t think mine were either, until today.” His hands dwarfed hers as he closed his fingers lightly. Her fingers were slender and elegantly tapered. Her fingernails were short but filed meticulously into perfect ovals. He ran his thumbs lightly over the backs, tracing the veins and gliding over the bumps of her knuckles.  
“So what do you do with these hands, besides drawing?” he asked as he looked. 
“Sewing, mostly. Some knitting and crochet and things like that, but mostly I make clothes. I’m in school for fashion design and I’m always working on some project or other. That’s why my hands are always so beat up.”
Gently Luka turned her hands over, letting go of her left hand to trail his fingers over the palm and fingers of her right, noticing the calluses on her fingertips and one on the side of her middle finger. 
Luka looked up at her and grinned. “You said hands that make things are your favorite.”  
Marinette shrugged slightly, smiling. “It’s worth the callouses. The business stuff, I could live without, but the making—it doesn’t feel like work. I like making things that help people express themselves.” 
Luka picked her left hand up again and noticed a shiny burn scar on the heel of it. He turned that hand up and let go of the other to run his fingers lightly over the scar. “What’s the story here?”
“A boring one,” Marinette chuckled, making a face. “I’m a klutz and I live in a bakery. I tripped and put my hand down in the wrong spot. I’ve gotten lots of burns for various reasons but that’s the only one that really left a mark.”
“Do you bake?” 
“Sometimes. Not for the bakery, but for friends and family on special occasions. I also do a lot of decorating. Cakes and cookies and stuff. I’m a master with a piping bag.”
“That makes sense,” Luka said softly, thoughtfully. 
Marinette tilted her head and looked up at him. “Luka?”
“These little hands create so much beauty,” he mused aloud, marveling. Marinette squeaked and he glanced up at her, a question on his tongue, but he froze instead, caught by her eyes, clear baby blue, framed with dark lashes, and currently wide and staring at him. It struck him all at once as he took in her vibrant blush and pretty parted lips that she was really, really beautiful, and that he’d been fondling her hands for the last several minutes and he should...he should probably let go.
He didn’t want to. 
He didn’t want to let go of those tiny, strong, capable, beautiful hands. 
“Sorry, I was just thinking,” Luka said, and cleared his throat to smooth out his suddenly rough voice. “What you were saying about my hands lifting people up. Your hands...make things beautiful. You take ordinary things and make them better.” He looked back down at their hands, rubbing his thumbs absently across her knuckles as he spoke. “That’s a pretty special gift, Marinette. Making the world a more beautiful place, or even just making it so that people can see the beauty that’s already there...you’re amazing.” He took a deep breath and forced himself to look back at her face. “Would you, um...this is going to sound really forward, but would you go out with me sometime?” 
“O-out?” Marinette stammered, looking rather like she’d just been hit in the head with a board.
Luka tried not to laugh. “Yeah. Out. On a date? Maybe this weekend? I know we just met, but…”
“I’d like to,” Marinette blurted, face red. “That...that sounds really great.” She dropped her gaze for a minute, and then flicked her eyes back up shyly, a slow smile curling her lips. “But if you want my number, you’re going to have to let go of my hands first.” 
Luka grinned back, squeezing her hands instead of releasing them. “Or I could just take you out right now. Are you free for lunch? I’m starving, personally.” 
***
It was another sunny summer day, on the same stone steps, and Marinette and Luka sat pressed close together, the fingers of his right hand threaded together with her left, as she sketched busily on the sketchbook in her lap. They’d been there for a while now, but Luka was comfortable and happy lounging on the sun-warmed steps, humming a tune to himself and trying not to fidget in a way that would tug on the hand Marinette was holding. 
He was staring blankly at nothing, remembering their first kiss. Well. Not their first kiss, standing outside of her home while he held her hands in his and leaned in to press his lips to hers for just a sweet, soft moment. Their first real kiss, when his hand came up to cup her cheek as hers slid back and slipped into the hair at the nape of his neck and he kissed her for real. He remembered noticing how his hand felt so big compared to her face as his thumb brushed her soft cheek, his touch feather-light and reverent even as hers was firm against him. She tilted her face to better meet him, and his thumb slipped down to her jaw, his calloused fingertips fanning out along the side of her neck. He remembered the way she gasped, leaning into his touch, which pulled her lips away from his. He’d kissed along her jaw as his rough palm skimmed down the elegant line of her neck and followed the curve of her shoulder before stroking back up again to pull her closer. How their other hands had met and twined together, fingers locked as they were now, palms pressed tight together. He remembered how the strength in those little hands had surprised him.  
Movement beside him jerked him back to the moment, as Marinette sat back to look at her page critically. Swallowing, Luka seized his moment. 
“Can I see?” he asked as he sat up and leaned over, and Marinette shifted the sketchbook so he could look at the drawing of their joined hands she’d been working on.  
Marinette had teased him a little bit about asking for such a thing, but not too much. He was just as in awe of her art now as he’d been the day they met, and she knew it. Her portraits of his mother’s hands and his sister’s hands were already hanging on his wall, so this was a logical addition to his collection.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, looking over the nearly-finished picture. “I’m loving it, but...I think it’s missing something.” 
Marinette frowned, turning the picture back towards herself. “What do you mean?” she asked, just as Luka shifted his grip on her hand. She looked back at their hands, opening her mouth to protest, but instead her mouth just dropped open as Luka slid a small sparkling ring onto her finger. 
“There,” he grinned, looking up at her face as Marinette did a credible imitation of a fish. “That’s better.” His eyes softened as he looked at her. “Marinette, will you—”
He never got a chance to finish as she tackled him awkwardly back onto the steps, her sketchbook falling from her lap and bouncing down to land in nearly the same place it had almost exactly a year ago.  
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dinosaurs-last-day · 4 years
Note
Hi!! It’s the one and only Remile Anon popping in again! Life’s kinda hitting a rough patch again right now, but i’ll most likely be fine. Anyways, I wanted to ask if you’d mind writing some fluffy Remile today. Hope you’re having a good day! <3
Hey Nonnie! Of course I’ll write some fluffy Remile for you.
How about a short high school au? 
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Remy Sanders sat in art class, already having finished the assigned sketch project and sitting in silence. He was trying not to stare, but it’s hard when the guy sitting right in front of him was so damn attractive. Emile Pacani, the boy in front of him, was basically Remy’s dream boy. Emile was sweet and smart and really kind. And Remy was gay, really gay. He would have asked Emile out by now if he wasn’t so damn awkward around cute boys, and if he actually knew if Emile liked guys. 
Emile didn’t even notice that Remy was staring, he was busy with his art project. Art wasn’t Emile’s strong suit, despite what everyone thought. Emile, with his love for cartoons and storytelling, could barely hold a pencil. Remy watched as Emile furiously erased what he had drawn. He decided that today would be the day he actually had a conversation with Emile, even if it was just to give him some drawing tips.
“If you draw the lines lighter, you won’t have to erase so hard,” Remy said, slipping into the empty seat next to Emile. Emile looked over at Remy before going back to his art. 
“You’re probably right. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.” 
“Well, you’re not doing a terrible job, you just need to learn some tricks to make it better,” Remy said, grabbing his pencil and a sheet of paper. “Lemme show you.” He demonstrated a few things, different ways to hold the pencil and how to draw gently and erase so that the paper didn’t tear. Emile watched, eyes wide, soaking in every detail. 
“You’re really good,” Emile said. Remy felt his face turn hot, his mouth suddenly unable to form coherent words. He reminded himself that it was just a compliment, that he needed to get over his crush for a minute. 
“Um, thanks,” Remy finally said. Emile turned around and looked that Remy’s completed sketch. Remy suddenly became very aware of all the little mistakes he made on the drawing, but Emile didn’t seem to notice a single one of them.
“I think you’re the best artist in the class! I wish I could draw like that.” 
“Well, practice makes perfect and all that.” The words fell awkwardly off Remy’s lips. His face was still a bright shade of red and he wished that he could hide in his leather jacket. 
“You’re right, I need more practice!” Emile laughed. “I don’t want to make you feel obligated, so totally tell me if I crossed a line, but do you think you could teach me some more? Like, after school?” 
Hanging out with Emile after school was Remy’s dream, but he wasn’t about to admit it. 
“I’m sorry, that was a dumb thing to ask,” Emile apologized. Remy practically jumped out of his seat at the fear of losing his chance to spend more time with Emile. 
“No! I mean, of course I would like to teach you some stuff. Maybe you could come over to my place and I let you use some of my art supplies or something?” Emile’s face brightened as he agreed. 
“Oh, I don’t think I caught your name,” Emile said as the bell rang, signaling the end of class. 
“Um, it’s Remy.” 
“Well, thank you then Remy!”
~
Remy waited impatiently for Emile to arrive. He had given Emile his phone number and address right after art class and was anxiously pacing his families shed, which had been redesigned to serve as an art studio for Remy. 
Finally, he saw the other boy walking up the driveway and he practically ran over to greet him. 
“Hey! Thanks for doing this, it means a lot,” Emile said, following Remy to the shed. 
“It’s no problem. I can’t promise that I’ll make a good teacher, but I can try.” Remy opened the shed door and motioned for Emile to walk inside. When Emile got in, his jaw dropped a couple of inches as he took in the sight.
Remy had been allowed to paint the walls, and he had chosen to use chalk paint so that he could constantly doodle on them. There was one wall not painted with the chalk paint, and on it hung a bunch of Remy’s favorite art projects, the ones he was most proud of. Over the sketching desk hung a pride flag, and there were shelves full of paint and other art supplies. Emile looked around for a long minute, his eyes finally resting on the pride flag.
“You’re gay?” Emile asked. Remy’s brain suddenly started to panic. What if Emile was homophobic? Leave it to Remy to fall in love with that guy. He mumbled a yeah and was surprised to see Emile practically jump in excitement.
“I’m gay too! What are the odds? This is so cool!” Remy let out a silent sigh of relief, allowing himself to relax.
“So, what did you want me to teach you?” Remy asked. Emile thought for a moment.
“Maybe we can work on a simple painting project? I think that might be easy.” 
Remy laughed. “Painting isn’t as easy as people lead you to believe but sure! That sounds like fun!” He got out two easels and his favorite acrylics, setting everything up for Emile and answering any of Emile’s questions as he went along. 
Painting with Emile Pacani was probably the most fun Remy had ever had in a long time. The two laughed and joked, swapping different colors every once and a while. Remy had suggested that they started with something easy and Emile said that painting a butterfly sounded easy, so there they were, two butterflies on canvas. Finally, after they both had decided that they were finished, they stepped back to admire their work.
“Your butterfly is actually really good,” Remy noted. “You have an amazing eye for colors, it looks beautiful.” 
“My butterfly looks like a sad little moth compared to yours,” Emile said, earning a laugh from Remy. 
“Hey, don’t hate on moths. Mothman is my one true love,” Remy joked. As Remy cleaned up some of the paints, out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Emile go over to the desk and stare up at the pride flag. 
“You okay?” Remy asked, putting the easels back in their place in the corner of the shed. 
“I’m fine, just thinking.” Emile turned to face Remy. Remy noticed that a bit of paint had managed to find a home on Emile’s face. 
“You have some paint on your cheek,” Remy said, fighting the urge to reach up and wipe it away. Emile rubbed his cheek. “No, the other cheek.” 
“Could you wipe it off for me? I don’t want to miss it,” Emile said. Remy nodded and ran a towel over the paint. He was acutely aware of how close he was standing to Emile. He ran the towel over the cheek a second time, just in case he had missed some paint the first time, totally not because he didn’t want to move. 
Even though he was less than a foot away from Emile, he could barely make out what Emile was saying. Emile was barely speaking, just breathing out the words. “I really want to kiss you right now.” 
Neither one of them remember who initiated the kiss, just that they kissed, and it felt like magic. Remy held Emile’s face, he could feel Emile snake his arm around Remy’s waist and pull him closer. They stood there, kissing desperately, for what felt like the longest minute ever. When they broke away, Remy tried to pout from the lack of lips against his, but he couldn’t because he was too busy smiling like an idiot. 
“Remy, you’re very attractive,” Emile whispered, more audible this time but now his voice sounded slightly hoarse, probably from all the kissing. 
“I’ve been wanting to kiss you for a while now,” Remy admitted. 
Emile’s lips quirked into a mischievous smile as he pulled Remy close once again and they kissed, another long and breathless kiss. Remy felt like he had forgotten how to think, and that was fine. 
Finally, Emile let go of Remy, stepping back. Remy’s lips were slightly swollen, his hair messed up. Emile’s glasses hung crooked on his face. 
“I have to get going, I promised my mother I’d be home in time for dinner. Maybe tomorrow I can come back and you can teach me something new?” Emile asked, grabbing his stuff. Remy smiled.
“I’d love that.” 
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wilted3sunflowers · 4 years
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fusion redesign sketch for @elitesokai​
Also a little moment about how i can end up reworking a design completely 
Okay so, there are the designs of the past of how the fusion looked, a couple references from other artists on an alexandrite and a fangem including a palette. The basis summed up of what the fusion would end up as “Feral, Furred pastel” as i put it 
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The initial design, i thought maybe coloring could help it, i of course first started working with the color palette they provided but i wasnt finding good footholds there in what to work and i didnt want to just mimic dragonslayers1088 opalite cause i dont ever wanna rip off designs, its reminding me too much of alexandrite in general even if alexandrite type was asked for, it feels like too much of a pick and choose combination where its just not working out. Its a lot, it doesnt seem cohesive together and even me trying to color it isnt working. 
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it was at this point of still messing with colors i just decided to do what i do a lot of times and thats working without staring directly at refs, just working with the ideas and trying to work from there. out of sight, out of mind, and just was like ‘well when i get the other one drawn lets use this base coloring of the pale skin and blue hair 
So in which focusing on and very much leaning in  ‘Feral, Furred, Pastel’ this time, i tried to make the hair more wispy and sharp and then ended up thinking of a cool fire when coloring it in, adding fur in a more unique place as it couldnt be around the shoulders due to the amount of hair yet adds more visual interest still in the legs. Messing with the chest design and especially decided to have the eyes showing, adding to what i kind of find of thinking her like a tarantula, so many limbs, fuzzy, with multiple eyes. 
She does also kind of remind me like a wrestler, the first design reminded me of a bad and shoddy looking faux wrestler and then the second one does remind me a lot more like a genuine cooler wrestler. 
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I would say if a design isnt helping and you have a lot of refs up on your file. i say, hide the refs, try just drawing what will come out naturally for you. 
it helps me quite a bit, even reworking the pose to give off a more ready to fight and wild stance, i just let myself draw, working with what felt right of the design and what didnt. 
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