#the definitive bender list

[gale-gentlepenguin]

#atla #avatar #the definitive bender list #air bending #fire bending #earth bending #water bending

[ja3hwa]

Jae's Recommendations pt.4

Damn I haven't done one of these in a while. But at this point, are you even surprised I'm making another recommendation list? Hehe, more and more I read. The more I uncover treasures hidden away. Now, I must share these absolutely amazing fics because they deserve attention.

Marks [By @last-words-ofashootingstar ♡]

Taking care of you [By @sage-space ♡]

Atz taking their kids to the studio [By @blu-joons ♡]

Better Than I do [By @emeraldelysian ♡]

Spaces In Between [By @kitten4sannie ♡]

Waterfall [By @shinestarhwaa ♡]

Pool Party [By @a-soft-hornytiny ♡]

Last Night Swim [By @kitten4sannie ♡]

Riding San [By @ateezscupid ♡]

Slow Down [By @strawberryya ♡]

Five Of Cup [By @flowerboykun ♡]

Jealous Pt.1 & Pt.2 [By @cyberpxnk ♡]

Fuck Me Like You Fantasize [By @strawberryya ♡]

Speed [By @riboism ♡]

Size Kink Go Brr [By @pyeonghongrie ♡]

Ateez As Bender [By @cybrsan ♡]

Put On A Show [By @crazyforhwa ♡]

MinSanHwa Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3 Pt.4 Pt.5 [By @akistaytiny ♡]

Hot Summer Night [By @astayinwonderland ♡]

Sway With Me [By @luvt0kki ♡]

Getting Caught [By @shinestarhwaa ♡]

Young God Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3 Pt.4 [By @yourfatherlucifer ♡]

Deep Down [By @seventhcallisto ♡]

Water Bomb [By @jonghoslvt ♡]

Game Over [By @desirehorizon ♡]

Run, Rabbit, Run [By @kitten4sannie ♡]

If You Listen [By @ughsimpp ♡]

Project Omen [By @atzfilm ♡]

Sails And Anchors Pt.1 Pt.2 [By @lemontreefantasy ♡]

—

There are so many more stories I'd love to add. But alas Tumblr as a tag limit (which is stupid but oh well). Until the next recommendation post. Enjoy these gorgeous fics that will most definitely satisfy any need. ♡♡♡

Also, thank you to each and every one of these amazing authors. You all are such amazing writers and deserve the word. Hehe ♡♡

Make sure to check out my own Masterlist. Hehe. And don't forget to check out my other recommendations posts here.

#ateez #ateez smut #ateez scenarios #ateez imagines #ateez reactions #ateez reaction #ateez fanfic #ateez fluff #ateez scenario #ateez fanfiction #ateez poly #ateez x female reader #ateez x reader #ateez x reader smut #ateez fic #atz reactions #atz smut #atz fluff #atz drabbles #atz hard hours #atz imagines #atz scenarios #ateez hongjoong #ateez Seonghwa #ateez yunho #ateez yeosang #ateez san #ateez mingi #ateez wooyoung #ateez jongho

[slytherinshua]

SEVENTEEN ATLA HEADCANONS

genre. headcanons. avatar the last airbender au. warnings. none. featuring. ot13 seventeen. wc. 1.6k. (around 100 words each) request. no. a/n. obviously i've been on a svt atla kick since burnt promises, second chances. i'd be open to writing fics for any of these small headcanons if anyone is particularly interested :)

SEUNGCHEOL

Ugh, Cheol is really hard. I kinda see him as any nation and also none at the same time. For the lack of other Water Tribe on the list, I’ll give him Water Tribe, but I don’t even think he’s a bender. He’d be a passionate hunter of the Southern Water Tribe, and a very good one, but not a bender. He’d always be eager to help out and fit his role as a true leader. He’s looked up to because he protects his people without fail. He’s good at strategics and known for his bravery. I see him fitting a role like Sokka’s father, but I don’t see him as anything glamorous like Water Tribe Royalty. He’s down to Earth and humble and honest. He leads and the people follow.

JEONGHAN

Jeonghan is an airbender. He’s witty and intelligent, and a great asset to his nation. He’d be in an Air temple close to the Earth Kingdom, and he often helps out with strategics if they ever need it. Definitely a kind and angel baby, but if there’s anyone who needs dealing with, he will personally take the task up. He’s world renowned and has allies and friends in every single nation. When he’s not busy, he’ll spend his time travelling around and immersing himself in the different cultures of the nations. He’s beaten Water Tribe hunters at their own hunt, evaded earthbender attacks in the ring because of how light he is on his feet. And his agility and wit proves to be useful whenever he goes head to head with a firebender. He can often predict their next moves and avoid attacks before they’re even fired at him.

JOSHUA

Joshua is Water Tribe!! Definitely a Water Tribe prince, or even a poor boy from the Northern Water Tribe whose parents couldn’t afford water bending lessons for him, so he would sneak around and watch lessons without getting caught. He’s mostly self taught, so he’s not exactly the best, but he can still hold his own. If he’s a Water Tribe prince, then he probably got bored with water bending very quickly as a child and started figuring out ways to skip his lessons lol. He knows clever ways to bribe or fool his masters into letting him slack off, but he also has to build enough skill to show at least a little improvement. He’s probably more interested in carving proposal necklaces to give to his future girlfriend than improving his bending skills.

JUNHUI

Jun is Fire Nation, and he’s extremely talented at Fire Bending. He probably runs a tea shop with his family and takes lessons on the side; just a regular middle class kid. He’s not aiming for a military position or anything high up, but he uses his skills to help him in daily life. He might have friends from places higher up in the city, and because of that, he got to take a visit to Royal Fire Academy for Girls. Definitely turns some heads— practically the whole school is crushing on him by the end of the 2 hour visit, and he enjoys the attention that he wouldn’t usually get at home. It’s safe to say that he’s invited back given the significant improvement in attendance and performance after his initial visit. 

SOONYOUNG

Another airbender, only because he’s so agile. Like the spider choreo really makes me see him as someone who just likes to swing around upside down for fun. He’ll play pranks on the older monks, or just anyone he can get his hands on. He’s a lot like Aang in that way. He definitely creates his own airbending moves, because he is a choreographer!!! Somehow takes a trip to the Earth Kingdom because it was his life goal to see a tigerdillo in real life. Once he meets one, he somehow adopts it, and settles down in the Earth Kingdom from there on! He’s perfectly happy, and can he even pose as an earthbender if he’s smart about it.

WONWOO

Anyone could probably guess that I see Wonwoo as Fire Nation. I wrote an entire 14.5k fic about it which is expecting a part 2, but I just think he fits it so much? Especially in a role like the Fire Lord or some notable higher up who is skilled at firebending and definitely owns a dragon (if we’re talking a time period before/during the dragon hunts). He’d be the type to just be a natural at it and reach a high mastery at an early age. He’s such a skilled fighter, and definitely knows how to control his flame. He prefers to study directly from dragons instead of old masters, whose teachings feel regurgitated and watered down, which sounds pretentious, but it’s one of the reasons why he got so good.

JIHOON

I see Jihoon as an Earth bender. He’s short and stout but HE'S SO BUFF. He definitely has the density in him to move some rocks, he’s practically built like The Boulder but without the height????? I definitely see him as part of the royal guard, but definitely not an Earth King. He might teach Earth Bending or get posted out on the coast near the Fire Nation or something— but he definitely has a military position. Somewhere where he can use his earthbending to its full potential. Not the most talkative, but definitely the most efficient, so he climbs the ranks like nobody's business and everyone knows to respect every word that comes out of his mouth. If you say even a word about his height, he’ll throw a rock at your head before you can finish the sentence.

SEOKMIN

It was hard to pick between Water Tribe and Fire Nation for Seokmin, but I think he’s ultimately Fire Nation. I see him as an actor for plays, and he definitely uses his firebending to win over the audience. It got to the point that even though he’s from a small town in the Fire Nation, he became a household name and got increasingly popular until he eventually found himself acting in front of the Fire Lord. Once he got rich enough from it, he got a spot in the most infamous acting troupe in the Fire Nation. His favourite role to play is, of course, the Dragon Emperor in Love Amongst the Dragons.

MINGYU

Just a bulky earthbender I don’t know what to say. He probably got recruited to some military position because he’s fit and can hold his own in a fight, but boy’s just really a sweetheart. He doesn’t enjoy smashing people with rocks, so he tries to get out of the military as soon as possible. He instead works as a carpenter of sorts? Builds elaborate structures with his earthbending, and has a surprisingly artistic touch to his creations. Popular with the older ladies because he is a gentleman.

MINGHAO

I see him as an airbender, but I cannot imagine him with a bald head LIKE HELP. But let's say he is, and for aesthetic purposes, keep the long haired Minghao. He practically floats and flies through the air with his airbendings. He’s probably more of a lemur guy than a sky bison guy. I can imagine him having 1 or 2 lemurs who he spends most of his time with. Obviously very light on his feet and into meditation. He’s one of those star students in the class that the teacher picks as an example for the other students to watch and learn from.

SEUNGKWAN

A waterbender, and he’s good because he focused and studied the traditions of it. He knows the importance of the basics, and when he’s teaching, he can get mad pretty quick if he catches a novice waterbender doing a technique lazily. He teaches them the hard way, making the floor an ice rink or slapping in the face with a water tentacle if they make a silly mistake. But he’s a respected master. (Not to say that he’s old, but he holds the respect of an old master). Also a great healer for the Water Tribe. He thinks it’s important for the men to not just learn how to fight with spears and slices of water, but also to heal the tribe, and he offers his lessons to the women of the tribe as well.

VERNON

Another Fire Nation boy. He’s so skilled he can redirect lightning and all that jazz. He’s a worldwide guy too, so he’s definitely familiar with the other nations and their bending to a certain extent. (Like Iroh, studying the Water Tribe helped him with creating new techniques within firebending). He has a dragon because he’s hot like that, and would hold master firebending classes lol. Definitely has connections to the Royal Family and I could even see him serving as a personal guard or something of that sort. His skills aren’t to be wasted, so he can snag a high paying position practically anywhere he wants.  

CHAN

Earth Kingdom kid from a poor family™, I mean it’s just so clear in my mind. I imagine his mom runs a corner store, and he likes to use his very limited earth bending skills to make the shop look prettier. If the wooden tables break down over time, he’ll earth bend a makeshift counter to display the trinkets for sale. He’s quite charming even though he doesn’t have much to say about himself. In the lower class of the Earth Kingdom, practically everyone knows him because he likes to go around and make new friends when he’s bored. He’ll help out the elderly if they need it, and flash a toothy grin to anyone he comes across.

↳ svt taglist: @kangtaehyunzzz,, @eternalgyu,, @ddeonudepressions,, @hannahsophie0103,, @minholing,, @shuabby1994,, @icyminghao,, @98-0603,, @weird-bookworm,, @candewlsy,, @wonwooz1,, @cyberpunksunwoo,, @haecien,, @amara-mars

#﹒fics 𓈃 ⵌ #caratsland #k-labels #seventeen #ot13 #seventeen ot13 #seventeen headcanons #svt headcanons #svt ot13 #scoups #scoups fic #jeonghan #jeonghan fic #joshua #joshua fic #hoshi #hoshi fic #jun #jun fic #wonwoo #wonwoo fic #woozi #woozi fic #mingyu #mingyu fic #dk #dk fic #minghao #minghao fic #seungkwan

[tonberry-yoda]

hii, loved ur zuko x reader post, it made the zuko simp out of me rise ✨️

I was wondering if u could write a zuko x fire bender! reader where they re together in the gaang and talk with the rest about how they would train together on the ship back when zuko was obsessed w catching aang and reader making fun of him along with sokka and toph,

thank you <3

OMG HI!! i am so glad you were here for that zuko writing and here for a request!! seriously, rewatching Avatar made my inner simp come out bruh (also, i love your pfp so much monster high was my CHILDHOOD lmfaoo). thank you so much for the request! this was super fun to write and i am so happy i got to write it for you <3 have a wonderful rest of your day and please stay hydrated <333

The Past - Zuko

Pairing - Zuko x reader

Warnings - none!

Word Count - 663

“Remember when you were bald?” You said through a cough, giving Zuko a sideways glance with a little smirk on your face.

“Oh come on!” Zuko exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “What the heck did I ever do to you, y/n? Stop making fun of my bald self.” He crossed his arms and pouted and you just giggled to yourself as Toph and Sokka were holding back laughter.

“You have to admit it’s a little funny, Zuko.”

“It’s not!”

You walked over to Zuko and put your arm around him. “Okay, okay, it’s not that funny.”

“Thank you!” Zuko turned away from you still pouting and the campfire you were around with the others went silent.

Until you spoke up, of course.

“Remember when all you wanted to do was capture the Avatar.” Everyone started laughing and Zuko’s face went as red as a tomato. It definitely didn't help that Aang, you know, the literal Avatar, was sitting right there.

Sure, Zuko was happy that the gaang took him in, but it was definitely a little embarrassing that he had once made it his whole life and every waking moment to capture him.

“I have to capture the Avatar and restore my honor.” You said in a mocking dramatic voice.

Sokka and Toph were completely out of breath laughing while Aang and Katara were trying not to laugh in respect of Zuko.

“Okay, y/n.” Zuko turned to you, his face flushing a dark crimson. “I'm serious. Stop.”

“Zuko,” you walked over to him and tucked his long hair behind his ear. “You know I'm just playing. Sure, capturing the Avatar was definitely number one on your list, but you were still just a kid.” You rubbed his arm and Zuko smiled at you.

Zuko didn't know if he could live without you or his uncle. You were both there for him through thick and thin since he was banished from the fire nation. Heck, you even decided to go back to the fire nation with him after that awful crisis in Ba Sing Se. No matter what, you were always there for him.

“Remember when we would train on the boat?” You smiled.

Everyone turned to the both of you, intrigued.

You just smiled and hugged Zuko’s arm. “You’ve always had the potential to be a great fire bender. Who cares if your sister was some prodigy since she was born? You've always put in the work, making you that much better.”

“Stop,” Zuko said with a bright red face, hugging you to him. “If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be as good as I am.”

“Oh, come on, Zuko! I'm not that good.”

“YES YOU ARE!” You laughed at Zuko’s sudden outburst.

“Yeah, y/n!” Aang butt in, beaming at you. “You’re not only one of the best fire benders I’ve ever met, but also the nicest. No offense Zuko.”

“None taken.”

“You guys are a riot.” You said with a joking eye roll, standing up to stretch your legs.

Zuko stood up with you and wrapped his arm around you, looking at the full moon.

“You know,” Aang said, standing up and walking over to the two of you. “If it wasn't for the both of you hating my guts for that period of time, I honestly don't think that I would have any firebending teacher.”

You and Zuko smiled at Aang, pulling him in for a little group hug. Aang smiled and ran back to the rest of the group and you turned to Zuko and pulled him into his own hug, kissing the crook of his neck. “I'm so proud of you.” You whispered and looked at his bright yellow eyes with small tears of your own.

“I'm proud of you too.” He leaned down to you and gave you a small, but loving kiss on the lips before the two of you cuddled in each other’s arms, watching the clouds cover the moon.

~~~~~

atla masterlist --- pinned post

@tonberry-yoda

#i hope you enjoy it #i love this one its just so fluffy #writing #fanfic #my writing #fanfiction #<3 #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla x reader #avatar the last airbender x reader #zuko #zuko x reader #prince zuko

[rosiethorns88]

Dropping the latest Patreon Sketch-a-Wish for May! The opening scene for The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, featuring Cinder, Kai, Iko (who is basically an EVE/Wall-E love-child), an unconscious Nainsi and a bunch of easter egg items, as requested in our poll. (can you point them out?)

This was definitely one where the background itself was its own character; There's so much happening here and it's very nuanced to the context of the scene. I think those who aren't familiar with the book will have a hard time figuring out what's happening here - but seriously, caption this artwork: "Doting dad drops off his two android kids at day camp where the youngest has already stolen the cyborg foot off of the caretaker." ... and it still works. 😂

In order to fish for Easter Egg items, I re-listed to the Lunar Chronicles for the first time since I first read them a few years back; they were my gateway series into the bookish community and I absolutely fell in love with it all over again! I have Gilded on my TBR shortlist, and just recently listed to Heartless last month. I'm definitely on a Meyer bender, with the fabulous Rebecca Soler (the narrator) to keep me company!

#the lunar chronicles #tlc #marissa meyer #kaider #linh cinder #prince kai #iko #stars above #my art

[oneatlatime]

Sokka's Master

pleasebegoodpleasebegoodpleasebegoodpleasebegoodpleasebegood

Strange choice of master but we'll see where this goes.

The meteor shower animation is quite meditative. I wouldn't mind it as a screensaver.

How to describe something exceptional to your blind friend: "You've never not seen anything like this." It's amazing the quality put into even the tiniest of throwaway jokes.

Are meteor strikes flammable?

I love how whenever Sokka's disappointed he gets noodle arms. A surprisingly consistent characterisation.

Momo butt skate.

Iroh. The fuck?

ok. So he's playing a part for the guards. Why?

Pretty.

Funny to think about, but as a former WWE character, Toph's probably had more hero worship than the Avatar.

Lots to say about this! First, I stand corrected! i honestly thought that Sokka would be immune to this specific insecurity by virtue of him not being a bender. I was wrong! Second, I love how, as soon as Sokka expresses that he feels that he isn't as talented as the rest of them, the others respond by listing his actual, invaluable talents, without which the group would be completely at sea. They don't respond with "no you're perfect!" they respond with "no one can read a map like you can" and how he keeps their spirits up with jokes. They're not using false praise. They are using specific facts. I love that an episode that looks like it's going to deal with a character feeling down on themselves establishes from the get go that the character is invaluable, actually. So often, the 'low self esteem stock episode' puts the affirmation of the character's value at the end. Which means the viewer spends the whole episode being convinced that the character in question might actually be useless. Here, we're told from the start that the character is invaluable - the problem is that they do not perceive themselves to be so. Quite on the nose for a show that deals so much with identity.

OMIGOD IT GETS BETTER!!!!!!!!!!

Validating Katara sweeps in and a) validates his feelings, while b) clearly explaining that his self-perception is not in line with how the others see him, which c) doesn't invalidate a) !!!!

Katara has such emotional intelligence when she chooses to use it.

Nuanced intelligent discussion of the complexities of emotions and self-perception in a Sokka episode I am so happy I am blessed the gods are shining on me today I'm sitting here twirling my hair and swinging my feet and doodling hearts on the corner of my journal

SHOPPING!!!!!

btw that's the same face he makes when he says SUKI!!!

"Reinvigorate my battling" this boy. just. this boy.

He lasted a lot longer than I would have with nun chucks.

Aang the Happy Meal toy.

Some say that Halberd is still spinning today.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present: the 45 degree Sokka.

Some Foley artist had the time of their life with this weapons sequence.

Why thank you for that exposition, Mr. Exposition. Now walk away and we'll never see you again.

Toph does NOT move ONCE this whole scene and it's ever so slightly freaking me out.

Toph tells you she learned from Badgermoles and no one wants to discuss this further?!? We're going to gloss over that?

So this episode has a training montage theme.

Sokka goes freestyle on those door knockers.

That's one hell of a castle. Must be dark in there though. Tiny windows.

Which explains the several hundred candles. This show. Set up with one hand; slam dunk with the other.

This guy's reciting Sokka's s1 introduction on Kyoshi Island.

Sokka: Actually. I am a dumb. The Master: Sold.

The face of someone who is definitely picking up what you're putting down.

It's been ages since I watched the episode, but is some of what the Master saying here about swords an echo of what Zuko says to the kid in Zuko Alone when he's decapitating sunflowers?

A Sokka-less Gaang. Depressing and they know it.

The way Katara's voice actor says "oh everyone's a critic" is gold.

Multidisciplinary education vs. kid who's never been within a mile of the box he's being told to think outside of. Fight!

Yikes that was a meaty hit. Does Sokka have a nose left?

They're wearing beehives on their heads.

Was Sokka always this short?

The greens in this episode are such a delight.

The way he says "I'm finished!" Sounds like "Am finished" and you can actually hear the smiley emoji he throws in.

He's good.

What do they FEED him?

Sokka's voice actor had a great time this episode. All the voice actors had a great time actually.

Sokka invents the La Z Boy

Katara inadvertently invents a fandom war by attempting a joke.

They're all so useless and it's wonderful.

That was all only one day? That's a lot of outfit changes for one day.

"You mess things up in a very special way." Compliment? Let's go with compliment.

Sokka is so very Sokka this episode.

A reason to live is coming!

*thundering herds of shippers in the distance*

That's clever. The inciting incident gets smelted. Haven't seen that before.

This whole Iroh gets buff montage has been completely dialogue free on Iroh's part. Crazy levels of inner peace, that he'd doesn't need to snark back at the guard.

Seriously. What are they FEEDING these children. Also how is that door that shiny.

Sokka really has it in for those door knockers.

Apropos of nothing, the clouds in this episode are all so yummy. All these soft slate colours and misty layers.

Meteoric iron is actually a thing, right?

Ok but aren't mold made swords crappy?

HI YUE

I love how they managed to made a crafting montage where the character who does the least work is the one who looks like he's working the hardest.

"I saw a heart as strong as my garden decor"

"No it certainly wasn't your skills. You had none."

Creativity, versatility, intelligence, meat, sarcasm.

You've known him like two days and you can already tell he's more worthy than any man you've ever trained? Sounds like you had poor taste in students.

"No. This is my fight. Alone." Bro you are going to DIE. The first time you held a sword was two days ago. You might need the avatar on this one.

Guard who never shuts up actually kind of has a point here. He's a dick about as usual, but it's entirely possible that the rank and file of the Fire Nation army view Iroh's actions as a betrayal. Does anyone remember in Star Wars movie number 7, or maybe 8, when that Trooper sees Finn after he's switched sides and yells "traitor!" and it's the best part of the movie? Yeah, like that.

This episode throws the concept of linear time out the window. In two days, Iroh gets swole and Sokka masters sword fighting.

Do you think Sokka's realised yet that this is his final exam?

Yummy yummy clouds.

One in a million pocket sand shot.

One in a million stick placement.

So this master is like a sword spirit or something. He can't be human. There's no way he could get the scabbard to fly on perfectly without seeing.

"Try Lee, There's a million Lees. There's a tea shop in Ba Sing Se that has a super cranky waiter called Lee."

This guy's just this side of committing treason and I love it.

I see this Master is a devotee of the 'Hakoda school of shoving outrageously over the top compliments into Sokka's thick skull in the hopes that 1% of them will stick.' I approve.

This last scene has gorgeous hills and skies but you'll have to take my word for it because I've hit the image limit.

Sokka's been inducted into the super secret boy band!!!

He saved space earth for Toph! He's so considerate! He's fuelling the ships!

Let's compromise and call it space dirt instead.

Final Thoughts

This episode every two minutes: Sokka, you are currently flawless and you're about to get better. Me: Yes. Yep. Yeah. Seconded. I concur.

I like it! It's great! It's 24 minutes of the writers and characters fangirling over Sokka! Of course I like it! It made me criminally overuse exclamation marks! What else can I say?

Hands down my favourite episode is Bato of the Water Tribe. For Sokka's story, this episode is Bato of the Water Tribe part 2. Of course I'm going to love it. This episode was lab grown specifically for me.

Now let's see if I can say something about this episode that isn't poorly disguised squealing.

I love how the characters respond to Sokka saying he's not special with an evidence-based refutation rather than blanket reassurance.

I love how shopping cheers up Sokka. I love how Katara knows that shopping will cheer him up. This must be something she's learned since the show started. I don't think there were malls in the South Pole. So Katara was paying attention when Sokka and Momo went through the bag saga.

I love how much the master is baffled yet impressed by Sokka. He seems almost charmed by this breath of fresh air. I think it's hilarious that, when Sokka first approaches him, he's expecting early season 1 Sokka. He'd better send Suki a thank you card.

I also really like "The way of the sword doesn't belong to any one nation." It seems obvious to us, but in a world where there are weaponisable skills that are quite literally inseparable from the nations their wielders inhabit, it's probably something no one in the Gaang has ever heard before.

Obviously the episode is a little rushed - half hour kid's show and all that - but it's still pretty crazy that you can apparently impart a solid basic knowledge of swordplay in two days.

Toph going all tsundere is funny, and makes Aang and Katara unapologetically desperate for Sokka's company twice as funny as it already is. Toph's like "whatever" and the other two spent the day making a welcome home banner.

I love how Sokka's happiness is always so loud and shameless. It makes it contagious.

This episode highlights what Sokka's actual strengths are, by instructing him in what he thinks his strengths are. If that makes sense? Sokka is brain, which he's finally starting to realise by attending brawn lessons.

He's also heart, and I'll die on that hill.

Iroh getting swole was honestly just a thing that happened. No comment really, except it was interesting to have a reminder from the guard that a character we perceive as the good guy is currently perceived as the bad guy by everyone but us. When the Fire Nation does inevitably get defeated, a whole nation is going to have to reset their worldview and that will not be an easy process.

More like this please!

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #sokka's master

[softlyspector]

Innocent

Summary: A year after his mother’s death, Marc travels back to Chicago to face his father. He doesn’t expect it to be easy but he also doesn’t expect it to be so hard. He especially doesn’t expect to find refuge from the hard moments in a little known witch’s shop a few blocks over. And definitely not in one keeping watch over the family’s piano.

This chapter: Marc takes the blame. You, Steven, and Jake try to find a way to stop him.

Tales Untold; Part VII - Series Masterlist

Pairing: Marc Spector x Reader (minor Steven Grant x Reader and Jake Lockley x Reader)

Word Count: 9.7k

Warnings (this chapter): angst, lots of ✨touching✨, protective Steven and Jake, mental health issues, tense relationship with a parent, mentions of past child abuse

A/N: If you saw my post yesterday about this being the last chapter I accidentally lied to you! We have one more to go! As always, thank you for reading! Comments and reblogs are so appreciated! If there are any additional warnings that need added, please let me know. If you want to be added to the tag list, you can do so from the series masterlist!

VII.

Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago 4:55 AM

It’s his fault. 

It always is. 

Marc rises early the day after he finds your shop closed and dark with a note that feels like a goodbye lodged in the window. 

It’s very early, still mostly dark out. The morning light is just starting to turn blue with the first few dregs of sunlight peeking over the horizon.

A dream still lingers behind his eyelids, though he can’t remember it. The way his heart thumps lets him know it hadn’t been anything good. 

Steven is staring at him from the mirror across the spare bedroom he’s been sleeping in since he arrived in Chicago. “Marc-,” 

“Don’t,” he grumbles, already miserable. A headache pounds at his temples; his spine aches. His lungs feel heavy in his chest, weighed down. 

He shouldn’t have drank, and he misses you more than he cares to admit. 

Marc had known, of course he had, that he was too attached to you, that he relied on you too much. But it’s all the more obvious now that he hasn’t seen you in a day. It’s also never been more obvious how much he takes from you, and how much he doesn’t deserve to bother you the way he does. 

It was only a matter of time before he shattered it, inadvertently or not. 

This is what he does. He destroys everything, whether he means to or not. 

He tries, and always it's for nothing. He tries so hard it makes him sick, and it never matters. 

His mouth is dry and tastes like acid. He hadn’t been able to sleep, not at first. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about you and so he’d self medicated the only way he knew how. The smell of whiskey permeates the room, the sharp scent burning his nostrils. 

The bottle still sits on the bedside table, open, with only a few swigs taken from it. 

Marc had tried, and failed, to think of what had gone wrong. 

You’d seemed so…happy, when he left you. He hadn’t been able to fight the smile that tugged at his lips when you’d insisted on seeing him off from the window. Marc wasn’t used to making people happy. 

It had been nice. Strange, sure, but nice all the same. 

He thought he’d done everything right. 

“Fuck,” he presses the heels of his hands to his eyes, pushing until stars appear in his vision. His hands tremble when he lowers them. 

He can’t lose another good thing. He can’t. He can’t do this again. 

It’s his curse, the thing he carries inside the last layer of his heart. It’s his worst fear. That he’s meant to be destructive. That he’s meant to be alone. That all the bad things in his life come from his own hands, are of his own making. 

He just doesn’t know how this time. Usually, he knows how he fucked up, he knows why he tried to kill the thing that claimed to love him. 

This time -

It’s worse. 

This way. 

Is worse.

Marc turns away from the mirror, searching through the rumpled sheets until he can find his phone.

The only thing that kept him from going on a full on bender, a descent into the darkest corners of his mind, has been your text messages. 

Little reminders, he thinks, that what you said is true. That he hasn’t done anything wrong. 

You: I’m having leftovers for lunch. 

You: Next time you come over we should start on the mural wall. 

You: You can’t hear it but I’m playing the piano for you. 

You: [Link] Do you want to go to this game together? The tickets are cheap right now. 

You: What did you eat for dinner? You have to eat Marc. 

You: [Attachment] Show Steven. I want to try to make this glass piece next. 

You: [Attachment] This is my favorite one. I’m going to get it printed.

It’s a picture of you with your head pressed to his shoulder at the baseball game. He isn’t looking at the camera but down at you, a faint smile on his face. The look on his face makes him sick. It’s so fucking plain to him, everything he feels painted on his face with a broad stokes brush. 

He hasn’t been able to bring himself to text you back. He’s not sure it would sound sincere, or that his melancholy wouldn’t drip through the screen and confirm whatever horrible thing made you reject his calls. 

For all the messages, he can’t figure out why you don’t want to see him, why you won’t answer the phone. Would today be different? Would you let him in? 

His thumb hovers over the call button. 

It’s early. You’re probably asleep, and you probably wouldn’t pick up anyways. 

Maybe you really are sick. 

Maybe Marc is doing that thing where he thinks about it too much, where he overanalyzes and wallows.

He can’t help but feel like it's something more. Something bad. And if he just knew what, if you just talked to him, he’d be able to fix it. 

He wants to fix it. 

He wants to hang onto whatever is blooming between you. He wants to hang onto you more than anything.  

The phone buzzes as he scrolls back through the messages, rereading your words and searching for hidden meanings that may not be there. 

Before he passed out last night, he’d texted you back, against his better judgment. 

Marc: Goodnight. Let me make it up to you. 

You had responded almost immediately, and Marc hadn’t thought about why you might be awake so late too. 

You: There’s nothing to make up. Goodnight, honey. 

He holds his breath as he scrolls down to see the new message you’d sent. 

You: Good morning. I didn’t sleep well. I’m worried about you. 

He replies before he can stop himself. 

Marc: I didn’t sleep well either. 

Marc: Let me fix this. 

You don’t reply for a few minutes, a little bubble appearing that lets him know you’re typing. 

The bubble disappears and a second later your message comes through. 

You: There’s nothing to fix. 

Of course there isn’t. It’s broken beyond repair, and he’s not even sure how. He’s not sure what you realized about him. He should have never kissed you, should have never crossed that line, then maybe things would still be normal. 

“Marc,” Steven says. “I’m sure it wasn’t meant that way. Just ask if we can drop by today, yeah?” 

But there’s no other way you could mean it. 

He flops back on the bed and takes a slow breath in. Something in his heart twinges, the curse wraps tight around his heart before it drags it down into his belly. 

Tales Untold, Chicago 8:32 AM

You’re pouring yourself a cup of coffee and trying not to cry again when your phone buzzes. 

Marc hadn’t texted you back earlier in the morning which had only made guilt pool deep in your belly. You’re sure he misinterpreted your message, but you worry texting again would only make it worse. 

He’s going to hate you, afterall, when he finds out what you saw. He’s going to hate you for crying over something you merely saw, but which he lives with every single day, that he witnessed and suffered and survived. 

Marc: Hello love. 

Your heart lurches. Steven. You really should change the contact name. 

Marc: It’s Steven. 

You smile, like that wasn’t immediately apparent to you.

Marc: I know you aren’t keen on seeing Marc at the moment. But would you mind seeing me? 

Your heart sinks. 

Of course, Marc would think that. 

It’s not that you don’t want to see them, that you don’t want to see Marc. You do, you desperately miss Marc, and Steven too who you’ve become quite attached to. 

You glance across the kitchen island, where the shirts still sit innocently on the counter and consider for a moment before pressing the call button next to Marc’s name and lifting the phone to your ear. 

Steven answers almost immediately. “Oh, love, thank you for calling. We’ve been worried sick about you-,” 

His voice is like a soothing balm, even and calm and worried. He sounds so worried about you. “Steven,” you say gently. “Um, is - is Marc there?”

“No, no, not at the moment, he didn’t get much rest last night. He’s bloody exhausted.” Something shuffles in the background, the sound of sheets being moved aside. “Jake and I are handling things at the moment.” 

“Oh,” you whisper, voice cracking. “I’m so sorry Steven, you all must hate me.” Jake, who you’ve never even gotten to meet must think the worst of you. 

“Of course we don’t,” Steven reassures immediately. “How could we, love? Just worried, yeah?” He pauses and you wait for him to say more, your throat so tight you can’t speak for a moment. “Have you been sick?” 

You take a breath to steady yourself, “Not exactly.” 

“Oh…but your note-,” 

“Are you really sure Marc isn’t listening?” You interrupt. 

“Yes.” 

You hesitate for only a second before asking, “Would you come over?” 

There’s a long, heavy pause before Steven answers, “Of course, dove.” 

Tales Untold, Chicago 9:30 AM 

Steven knocks on Tales Untold’s door and waits nervously. 

Although Marc isn’t around, Jake is. He’s not exactly angry, not yet, but he is irritated. A viciously worried energy that read more like calamity than anything else. “Calm down, mate,” he mutters to Jake who paces along the reflection of the front window. “Let me talk to-,” 

The door opens and the anxiousness in his periphery fades down into a muted shock. You look absolutely dreadful. 

A blanket is curled around your shoulders and your face is wan with tears shed, the whites of your eyes red. “Hi, Steven,” you say, standing back and holding the door open for him. 

“Hi, love, what on earth happened?” He asks as he steps up next to you. 

Out of habit, Steven reaches for you. 

You flinch away from his hands, and that more than anything sends alarm bells ringing through his head. 

“Are you alright?” He asks before shaking his head again. “Stupid question, yeah? Sorry. You clearly aren’t alright.” 

“I’m so sorry,” you say gently, taking a step back. You shut the door and snap the lock into place before fidgeting your hands in front of you. “I didn’t mean to - I mean I hope Marc isn’t too upset with me.” 

Steven twists his fingers together. “Well, I can’t say you haven’t upset him, though I don’t think he’s upset with you.” 

You push your head into your hands, covering your eyes, “Oh, God, I know. I know! I just-,” 

Steven doesn’t want to try touching you again, not when you seem so adverse to it. He takes a careful step closer, giving you time to move away. “Well, you haven’t done it without reason, have you?” You look up and shake your head vehemently, your throat working painfully and Steven becomes aware that you’re trying very hard not to cry. “Right, of course not, love. So maybe we just need to understand, yeah? What happened?” 

You sniffle and nod, “Come upstairs with me? I need to show you something. To explain it.” You reach out to him then and he readily puts his hand in yours and lets you lead him along. 

You pause at the top of the stairs and take a slow step into your flat. 

Steven glances around, half expecting to see a disaster awaiting him, but your flat looks the same as it always has. There’s a tension in your shoulders though as you point him to the counter. 

The t-shirts Marc had given you are still sitting in the same place as the day of the Cubs game. He’d brought two and although they sit in the same place, the one on top is a bit rumpled. 

Steven takes a seat at the counter and you sit next to him, hesitantly holding out your hand again like you expect him not to take it. 

Steven folds your hands between his and waits.  

You swallow, “I’m really sorry. I just didn’t know how to be around Marc after - I just kept crying and -,” 

“Did something happen between you and Marc?” He has to ask, mildly alarmed by the shake in your voice. Marc had seemed positively elated afterwards. There’s no way Marc had upset you so badly, made you cry, and hadn’t realized it. 

“No. No. This is not because of Marc. I’ve been trying to tell him that over text but I - I -,” you shake your head. “I told Marc once that I don’t know how my gift works. And I don’t.” You shrug and squeeze his hand, “I’ve touched things with bad energy before. But this time was different. I - I don’t know if it’s because I’m so close to Marc and you now, so I personally have a firmer connection to the feelings, or because the energy was just that intense but -,” 

Your eyes flick to the shirts on the corner of the counter. 

“Oh, God,” Steven murmurs, the pieces falling together in his mind. “Oh, my goodness,” he releases your hand and stands. “Oh, no, dear heart, I’m -,” 

“It was so intense,” you whisper suddenly, eyes distant. “It - it hurt. Or, maybe it didn’t hurt. I don’t know. I think maybe I was more surprised than anything - I usually just get impressions of memories or feelings but this…It was like it was happening to me.”

Steven feels suddenly nauseous. 

He knows first hand what violently and suddenly being thrust into a memory that doesn’t feel like yours is like.  

“You saw something, didn’t you?” Steven asks, cautiously taking a seat again when you reach out to him. 

You nod slowly. “Yes. Yeah, I saw - I don’t want to say what I saw. But the worst part was the weight. The feelings were worse. So - so heavy. It was all mixed up. Guilt and anger and sadness and pain. Years of it.” You grip his hands hard, “Usually the feelings fade as soon as I stop touching the object. It didn’t this time. It lingered, it wouldn’t go away.”

You swallow, but don’t give Steven a chance to speak. “He's already so in his head, I knew he’d blame himself. He’s in so much pain and I never realized,” you croak. “And I just didn’t know how to look him in the eyes and tell him what happened. I know I’ve seen something he never wanted me to. Marc never even wanted me at the house, let alone to see something like this.” 

Steven tries to interrupt you again but you barrel on, “And he’s going to blame himself. He’s going to think he hurt me, or that I know too much now and - and I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t have him see me like that. Making his trauma about me.” 

Steven shuts his mouth. Your hands are shaking, he folds them carefully between his own. “I’m sure that’s not-,”  

“I had to wait,” you whisper. “I had to wait until I could get it together. Because I can’t make this about me. I can’t let him see me in pain and blame himself. What kind of person would I be if-,” 

“I don’t think that’s what you were doing, darling. You saw and felt something awful, this is a natural reaction.” 

Your mouth twists to the side when you meet his eyes. “But Marc won’t see it that way.” 

Steven nods. There’s no use pretending that wasn’t true. “What exactly did you see?” Steven asks gently. 

You bite your lip and then close your eyes. “Like I said. I normally get just impressions of memories, or the feelings associated with them.”

Before you can continue, Steven is suddenly and forcefully pulled away from the front. “Jake!” He shouts in the headspace, the buzz of anger lighting up his veins. 

You’ve never met Jake, and Jake is not going to make the best impression by confronting you when he’s concerned for Marc. 

Jake shakes himself, adjusts the posture of the body where Steven had been slouching at the counter. 

He ignores Steven, seething in the mirror across the room. 

“What did you see?” You glance up at the sound of his voice. A frown pulls across your face before you pull your hands away from his. You know then, immediately, that he’s not Marc. “Tell me.”

You swallow, and Jake wonders what you see now. 

You see the other two so clearly, but Jake lives in the shadows. You have no idea how hard he’d been rooting for you, how badly he wanted Marc to not fuck up. 

You lean back and drop your hands to your lap, “I…never knew how your brother died.” You take a long breath but don’t look away from his eyes, “I’m not sure why I saw what I did. Maybe Marc was wearing that shirt when something happened between him and his mother when he was a teenager and he forgot about it.” You swallow, “Maybe the last time he wore it he was thinking a lot about that day.” You shake your head, “I don’t know. I don’t know, I’m sorry.”

“Why? Why did you touch it? Can’t you tell?” His voice is harsh. “Why would you touch it at all?” 

“Jake! Cut it out, mate, you’re just going to make things worse!” Steven hisses at him from the mirror. Jake can feel Steven pressing at the edges of his mind, desperately trying to get into the driver’s seat again. 

You blink rapidly, tears pooling at your waterline, nodding at the question. “I wasn’t…honestly I just wasn’t paying attention. I can normally tell if something wants to communicate before I touch it but I was just so-,”

Your voice cracks and you don’t continue, finally dropping his gaze.  

“So what?” Jake asks, his shoulders tense, worry tightening along his spine.  

“Happy.” You don’t look at him. Your voice is flat, tired. “I was just so unbelievably happy. I’ve never been that happy before. Certainly not after a date.” 

“Because of Marc,” Jake clarifies, to be certain. “You were happy because of Marc.” 

“Yeah,” you laugh weakly. “Yes. Because of Marc.” 

Jake leans back and glances over you, the curve of your shoulders, the way you’re trying so hard not to cry in front of them. 

Marc made you happy. You had been so happy, because of Marc, that you hadn’t realized what you were touching until it was too late. 

But Marc wouldn’t see it that way, Jake knows you’re right about that. All he would see is a mistake. He would only see that you had been hurt and the thing that hurt you was something he gave you. 

“Because - look, cariño.” He softens his voice and stands. You don’t pull away when he steps forward into your space to take your hands in his, the weight of your fingers warm. He’d wanted his first meeting with you to be different, but the safety of the system came first. “Marc is going to blame himself. And when he does that, he self-destructs. I can’t have that.”

You’re quiet for a long moment, staring up at him with watery eyes.

“You think he’ll hurt himself-,” 

“No. No, not on purpose,” he reassures. “He’ll drink himself sick, probably try to make you hate him. He’ll want you to push him away. He’ll ruin what he has. We should avoid that, if we can.” Jake squeezes your fingers, suddenly aware of what he’s doing and who he’s standing in front of. “Lo siento. I didn’t want to meet you this way.” 

A long silence stretches between you. 

You tilt your head, watching him. Something about your gaze is so piercing, so knowing. He’s seen it directed at Marc more times that he can count. 

But having you look at him like that? It makes him squirm. He’s not meant to be known, that’s not his role. 

It had been easy to tease Marc about you, easy to bully him about taking you on a date, when he was certain he’d never have to see that intense look turned on him. 

Jake tries to tug his hands away but you hold on. “You know it's not your fault, right? This was an accident. And you can’t protect him from everything.” 

Something sour twists in Jake’s gut and he doesn’t answer you, not sure how to. He doesn’t like being reminded of that, that there are times he’s helpless too, especially against Marc. “At least let me help you,” you continue as he gently draws his thumbs over the backs of your hands. 

“Help me?” 

“How do we stop Marc from blaming himself? How do we get in front of it? How do I fix it?” 

Somehow it surprises him that someone, that you, are willing to try. “You want to fix it?” 

You blink and frown, “Of course. I don’t want to lose him. I don’t want to be pushed away.” 

“Even after what you saw? What you know?” 

It is, after all, just one more piece to their broken puzzle. He wouldn’t blame you for saying this is too much. 

“Yes,” you answer without hesitation. “Of course.” 

Jake swallows and runs his thumbs over your hands one last time before reluctantly letting you go. He does wish this had gone differently. Your impression of him is going to be a bad one. Even though he hadn’t admitted it to Marc or Steven, you’ve become important to him. 

He wasn’t really joking when he threatened to go on the date with you if Marc didn’t. 

You’re kind to them. Understanding. You’re creative and funny. And most of all, you make all three of them feel safe. You make Marc happy. You make Steven happy. Maybe Jake could be too.

You were not going to judge whatever he said next. 

“He’s not going to remember this,” Jake says. “So when you tell him-,”

“I-,” 

“Sorry, mi vida, you have to be the one to tell him why. You have to tell him what you saw and how.” 

You nod, “Okay. You’re right. He deserves to know.”  

“When you tell him, you can’t leave any room for doubt. He’ll try to be mean. You can’t let him do that either. Hopefully, me and Steven will be there too. But I can’t promise that to ya.” Jake swallows, and then continues before he can think better of it. “He wants to live. He’s better. With you. He’s trying to not be the person he was. He listens. Thinks about things more. Didn’t always do that. So it might be alright.” 

You press your palms flat to the counter, and glance at the shirts again. “Do you think he’ll forgive me?” 

Jake nods and looks at Steven in the mirror, hands folded in front of his chest. They’re thinking the same thing. “He’s not going to think you’re the one that needs forgiveness,” he says when he looks back into your eyes. 

A tear escapes then and rolls down your cheek, and you hastily wipe it away. 

Jake isn’t sure he can take seeing you cry. 

“I’m gonna let Steven-,” 

“Jake?” Your eyes are soft, tears webbing your lashes. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Thank you for always taking such good care of Marc.” 

He looks away. 

Jake feels the uncomfortable press of heat under his skin, embarrassed. He rolls his shoulders and doesn’t look at you but something tells him you’re smiling.

He doesn’t answer. 

Tales Untold, Chicago 2:46 PM

Steven is still with you, sipping a cup of tea. 

You watch him carefully, trying to decide if you should insist that he stay with you tonight. Instead of asking, you murmur, “Does Jake hate me?” 

“What?” He splutters. “No, of course he doesn’t, love. He’s actually quite - erm - taken with you. He’s got a bit of a crush.” 

You doubt that but you smile anyway and round the counter, pushing your hands over Steven’s. “How’s the tea?” 

“Brilliant,” he tells you. “You’ve almost got a perfect cuppa down.” 

“Almost, huh?” 

When it became apparent that Steven would also be a fairly permanent fixture in your life, you’d bought a variety of teas to keep in your kitchen. Steven had then insisted on teaching you the proper way to make  a cup of tea. 

“Very nearly there,” he says, and you know he’s teasing you. He smiles at you before reaching for your hand, “You know, I think everything will work out. I think it’s going to all be fine. Jake is worried but he’s always worried.” 

You nod and keep your eyes on his hands. “We should finish our latest glass piece this evening, don’t you think? I think Marc’s getting fed up with how long the door is taking us.” 

Steven laughs, “Marc is overjoyed that everything is taking so long. Gives him an excuse to be here.” 

You frown, an odd feeling fluttering in your gut. It rolls around your ribcage and settles hard over your lungs. “What do you mean?” 

“He…gets rather in his head about things. He justifies being around through being useful. He won’t let himself think someone might enjoy his company just because he’s there. That’s why he was so keen on not having help and doing things for you. Silly, I know. Especially now. But he likes to be needed.” 

Somehow you never realized it, that it was how Marc showed love and care. 

You bite your lip and wrap your arms around Steven in a sudden hug. “It’s incredibly silly. I told him so often that he was welcome no matter what.” 

Steven hugs you back, his arms tight around you. “We tried to tell him that the baseball game was a date. He wouldn’t believe us! Wouldn’t bloody ask you about it either. Jake threatened to go with you if Marc was going to be so difficult.” 

So, that was why he’d asked you about the game that day in the truck. He really hadn’t even been sure you wanted to go with him in any capacity. 

You laugh, enjoying the warmth and comfort of Steven’s arms around you. “I missed you. Both of you. It was only a day but it was like a piece of me was missing.” 

“We missed you too,” he says quietly.

When you pull back Steven stares at you for a long moment, tracing the pad of one finger over the curve of your cheek. You only pause for a moment, wondering if you should, when Steven leans forward and presses his lips against yours. 

It’s chaste and soft and brief, and when he pulls back, you smile, faintly amused. 

“Shall we go finish that glass pane?” He asks. 

“Yep,” you reach up and curl your fingers through the backs of his. “We should.” 

“C’mon then,” he tugs you up from the stool and keeps his fingers locked between yours. 

Tales Untold, Chicago 6:33 PM 

When Steven leaves, you take your time cleaning up the apartment. 

The only thing you leave untouched are the shirts. 

Eventually, you work up the courage to touch them, they couldn’t hurt you now. You wouldn’t get the same resurgence of memory and emotion, just the vague aura they give off. 

You pick up the one on top and refold it before reaching for the second. 

You pause before you can, the shirt echoing new energy you hadn’t felt before, masked by the first. 

You smile and touch it, the rush of fondness and warmth of summer swimming through you. 

So, here is what Marc had wanted you to feel. Happiness and peace, a little island of safety. 

Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago 6:35 PM

When Steven shuts the front door behind himself, Marc is there. The entryway mirror reflects a haggard looking body, eyes with circles, skin kissed with anxiety. 

Marc doesn’t even ask where Steven’s just come from, why they’re in the front entryway. 

He just wants to go to bed, the emotional toll weighing on him, and they all need sleep. Even if he could rest in the headspace away from the front, the body needs sleep. 

You’d fed him at least, before letting him leave, insistent on it. 

When he passes through the living room, their father is there, and everything, all they’ve been through and discussed with you and Elias and amongst themselves comes to the forefront of his mind. 

Their father was never going to get to the hard things they needed to talk about, that much is obvious now. 

He pauses, and Elias looks up. 

Marc too, is never going to manage. There’s too much fear, especially in this house. It’s unfair, that he’s had to try to talk about these things here, where he doesn’t feel safe. 

He’s come far on his own, but that’s what he and Jake are for. To make the leaps he can’t on his own. 

And they deserve better. 

He thinks of you, so willing to do anything to help them, to protect Marc, to try to figure out how to communicate with him and keep them all comfortable. 

They deserve better, they deserve answers. 

“Why did you never get mum help?” Steven asks. 

Elias blinks, “Steven?” 

“Yeah,” he confirms. “It’s me, dad.” 

Elias opens and closes his mouth. “I-,” 

“I mean, it wasn’t fair to us was it? She - she-,” Steven has to shove down the memories of his mother he thought he’d had, the good ones, the ones filled with love. 

“Steven, don't do this,” Marc says. “You don’t have to do this.” 

“No, I - I think I rather do have to do this. We deserve answers.” He doesn’t look away from Elias who stands from the chair. 

His heart slams against his chest, anxiety clawing at his throat. He’s allowed this, though. No one can hurt him anymore. “She hated us. She hated Marc.” The next words are hard, they hurt coming out, digging into his cheeks and lips. “She tortured Marc. She beat him. Why wouldn’t you get us away from her? Why wouldn’t you get her help?” 

“Son,” Elias says, a tremble in his hands as he approaches Steven slowly. “I wish - I wish I had done things differently. I wish I had an answer for you.” He swallows, “Everyday I have to live with the choices I made-,” 

“He was a child. He was nine years old.” Steven takes a step back. “We were children. You should have protected him.” 

Elias takes a shaky breath, “It’s irrational. It was wrong. But I…there were days where things were normal. Where she didn’t drink and it was almost like before. I kept thinking we could outrun it. One day, it would be over. Things would be as they were. She would come back. But that day never came and then it was too late.” 

Steven shakes his head, “That’s not good enough. She was abusing and harassing your remaining child and you pretended it wasn’t happening for years!’ 

“I know,” he nods. “I know that.” 

Steven takes a trembling breath, “Do you know why he went chasing after that bloody piano?” Before Elias can respond Steven is answering his own question, “Because it so thoroughly freaked him out to have a good memory of mum.” 

“I’m sorry,” Elias whispers. “I’m so sorry. This is why I asked Marc to come home. I want to make things…I can’t make them right but I-,”

“Then why haven’t you?” Steven asks. “Apologized even once to Marc? For what happened to him? For what you did to him?” 

“How do you apologize for something like that? I should have…I should have gotten him away from her. I should have gotten Wendy help. I should have gotten all of us help. But I lost my son, and I kept thinking if we split any more ways than we already had, it would all fall apart. I would lose my family. And I did anyway.” 

Marc is listening but if he has anything to say, he remains silent. 

Steven takes another breath, trying to remain calm, “Marc deserves an apology. Whether it’s sufficient or not. You can’t be silent with him anymore, you can’t sweep this under the rug and call it done. It’s not. He thinks about what happened, every bloody day.”

“I know,” he nods, looking down. “I know he does.”

Steven takes a step forward and lies a cautious hand against his father’s shoulder. “Maybe things can’t ever be the same again, but Marc still wants to have a relationship with you. We both do. But, we have to talk about it.” 

His father nods, and before he can say more, he’s tugged into a hug. 

It takes a moment, but Steven returns the gesture. 

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Marc is still listening. And he doesn’t say a word. 

Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago 3:18 PM

The next day finds you on the stoop of Marc’s childhood home. 

You knock on the front door and stand back, shifting anxiously from foot to foot. 

When the door finally opens, Elias is the person on the other side. He says your name in surprise and then moves aside to let you in.

You understand almost immediately why Marc hadn’t wanted you near the house. The aura is oppressive, like secrets lived in the floorboards and peeked up with shadowed eyes, mocking and waiting to be discovered. 

“What brings you over?” Elias asks. “Can I get you something to drink?” 

You shake your head. “Thank you, but no. I’m here to see Marc.” 

Elias freezes, his eyes drifting toward the staircase when you’re ushered into the living room. “I’m not sure Marc is, ah, available at the moment.” 

The double meaning of his words is clear to you. “Marc told me,” you say gently. “I know he has DID.” 

For a long moment, Elias just stares at you. “I…didn’t know that. He trusts you. Do you know - do you know Steven?” 

“Yes,” you smile. “Quite well actually.”

Elias smiles at you, tension easing out of his face. “Well, he should be in the first door at the top of the first flight of stairs.” 

You dip your head in a nod and round the bannister, eager to see Marc after two days apart.  

When you glance up the stairs, Marc is there, frozen at the top of the steps, clearly having heard your voice and come to investigate.

He doesn’t move or speak as you climb the rest of the stairs toward him. “Marc,” you whisper, voice echoing in the darkness of the landing. “Hi.” 

“Why are you here?” he croaks. “You shouldn’t be here. You promised me you’d never-,”

“It’s okay,” you reach out and take his hand, “Hey, I’m okay. It’s alright. Can we talk?” You sweep your hand up his arm, rubbing the tense muscle carefully. 

His skin is clammy and chilled beneath your touch and Marc doesn’t answer you immediately, his shoulder leaning heavily against your hand when you rub his bicep. “You can tell me no,” you say gently. “I’ll leave.” 

Marc covers your hand with his. “Nah. I gotta know why you’re here.” He squeezes your fingers. “What’d I do, sweetheart?” Though his voice is strained, the tone is soft. 

Your throat closes, “Nothing. Really, nothing at all.” He opens his mouth but you push on. “Can we sit down?” 

“C’mere,” he says, weaving his fingers through yours and tugging you towards a door on the right. 

The room you’re pulled into is bland. Cream walls and pale furnishings, like a hotel room. 

It makes you want to cry again. Clearly Marc could not bring himself to sleep in his childhood bedroom. 

The room, despite its calming colors, is in a state of disarray. The bedspread is crumpled on the floor, a bottle of nearly empty whiskey sits on the bedside table, there’s glass from a shattered vase swept neatly under the window. 

You cautiously lower yourself onto the edge of the bed, and Marc takes a seat next to you. He has circles under his eyes, and a shadow of facial hair across his jaw that you aren’t used to seeing. 

You reach up and cup his face. He smells sharply of booze. You aren’t sure if it's just from the open bottle and on his clothes, or on his breath. “Have you been drinking recently?” 

He closes his eyes. You can see the shame that sits on Marc’s shoulders like a well loved scarf tightening around his throat. “Last night.” 

“Hey,” you release his face and scoot closer, until your thigh is pressed tightly against his, “I just wanted to know so we could both have this conversation sober.”

Marc nods, eyes downcast and decidedly not meeting yours. “Marc,” you tug your canvas bag off your shoulder and hold it in your lap. “Marc,” you press a hand to his shoulder, and he flinches lightly, “You didn’t do anything wrong. I mean that. This isn’t your fault.” 

He reluctantly meets your eyes, “What isn’t my fault?” 

Already you can tell he’s shouldering the blame, even though he doesn’t know what happened. You would have to work quickly to dispel that. 

You take a breath and tug the shirts out of your bag. You only hold them in your lap for a moment, trying to gather your thoughts. 

“Oh, shit,” Marc whispers, realizing quicker than you would like, before you can explain anything. You grip his wrist when he stands and starts to back away.

You remember Jake’s advice. Don’t let him think, don’t let him spiral. 

“Listen to me, Marc,” you say sharply, with as much authority as you can muster. “You owe me that.” 

He doesn't yank away from your grip but he also doesn’t sit. A muscle jumps in his cheek, the acrid press of fear surrounding you. “You’re going to listen to everything I have to say to you.” 

“Oh yeah?” He bites out, the edges of his voice like razor wire. “Why don’t you just fucking leave and save both of us the trouble?” 

Something jagged lodges itself between your ribs. It scrapes at your sternum, digs into your lungs. “Marc,” you whisper his name. “Because I don’t want to leave. That’s not what I came here to do.” 

“What’d you come here to do then, sweetheart?” he asks, the endearment twisted into something sarcastic and mean. “I already know. Whatever it is, I know. Whatever you saw, whatever you wanna say - trust me, I’ve thought worse. I’ve done worse.” 

You don’t let him pull away, standing instead and moving with him when he shifts. “Marc.” You hope repeating his name will keep him anchored to you. “Look at me,” you squeeze his wrist. “What have I ever done that would make you think I’d come here to hurt you before leaving you? Have I made you think that badly of me?” 

He blinks, an odd expression pulling over his face. 

Grief. He wants to grieve the loss of you already. 

“It’s not you. And it was only a matter of time.” 

You shake your head and step into his space, crowding him slightly. “No.” You follow the cut of his eyes, not letting him look away from you. “I would never do that to you Marc.” 

He laughs bitterly, “Then you don’t really know me. You don’t know what I bring out of people. I bring out the worst in people. You’re better off to just fucking leave now.” 

“Then you don’t really know me,” you snap. “You can’t push me away. You can’t make me hate you. I know what you’re doing.” Marc sighs heavily through his nose. The noise is frustrated. You swallow and continue, “Please don’t make me beg. You’ve always listened to me. You’ve been there for me and been kind to me. Please? Just one more time? Listen to me and know I’m telling you the truth.” 

His expression is stony, an impassable wall, but something shivers in his eyes, the honeyed depths you love so much. “You don’t get it. You know I’m a monster now; I’ll turn you into one too.” His voice is hard, unforgiving. 

You realize then that you can’t defend Marc, he already sees himself as broken. But you know how defensive he is of people he cares about, how protective. So you say-

“I never knew you thought so lowly of me,” you say but don’t let go of him. “You didn’t have to put up with me for so long if you thought I would eventually do this to you. If you always knew I’d hurt you.” 

You start to loosen your grip on his hands, but he grips you hard. 

Marc blinks at you, his face goes ashen. “What? No. That’s not what I - It’s not you - it’s-,” 

“Then listen to me. Please, honey.” 

You hold onto him until he finally nods. You nod slowly back. 

“Okay,” you hesitantly release him. “Marc, the truth is, I am the happiest I’ve been in years because of you. Because of everything you are and everything you do. And our…date. Our date was one of the best days of my life. I never wanted that day to end.” 

You hold his eyes, “I wouldn’t lie to you about that. Trust me. I have no reason to lie about that.” You feel your throat closing but fight through the sharp spike of emotion lodged there. “I wanted to sleep in one of the shirts you gave me. To feel close to you because you wouldn’t stay and I didn’t want to be so far away from you.” 

Marc chokes out a self-deprecating, disbelieving laugh, the sound caught in his throat as he suddenly and abruptly sits on the bed again, like his legs can no longer support him. “Fuck that makes it so much worse.” He buries his head in his hands. 

“No,” you murmur, anchoring a hand on his shoulder as you step between his legs. “I should have been paying attention-,” 

“I should have never given them to you!” He looks up at you. “You wouldn’t have had to worry at all if I wasn’t around. And I, fuck, I knew I better, I-,” 

“Why did you give them to me?” You cut him off, not letting him take that thought any further. 

“Because - because- ,” his throat works before he goes quiet and doesn’t continue. 

“Because baseball was safe for you,” you say gently. “And it reminded you of summer and green and good times with your father and ice cream. And you wanted me to have that. You were trying to give me something really good. You’re always trying to give me only the best pieces of yourself.”  

He blinks, “How-,”

“Because if you let me finish, you’d know.” You pick up the shirts and rub the material between your fingers. “They told different stories. They’re no more objective than a person. You weren’t trying to hurt me, Marc. You never could, not on purpose.” 

His eyes drift down to your hands.

Hesitantly he reaches out and covers your fingers with his. “What’d the bad one say? Why’d you - why didn’t you wanna see us?” 

You cautiously take a seat next to him, careful to keep your hands beneath his so he doesn’t think you’re pulling away. 

His skin is still chilled, nearly cold. “God, Marc,” you fuss. “You’re so cold.” There’s a thin sheen of sweat coating his skin, and you see now the perpetual state of anxiety he must have been in the last two days. 

“I’m fine,” he says when you bend down to scoop the duvet off the floor. 

You ignore him and tug the material over his shoulders.

He had been ramped up for a fight that you hadn’t given him, and now the adrenaline that had flooded his system is burning and crashing. “Can we lie down?” You don’t ask if he’d like to, hoping that he would agree more easily if he thought you wanted to. 

Marc’s eyes close, his jaw straining as he clenches it. 

You aren’t sure if he’s shutting you out, or if he’s hearing voices you can’t. 

Or, if he’s telling himself he doesn’t deserve to let you care for him.

“Please?” You plead. 

He breaks and nods, and lets you pull him down next to you. His heart is beating hard, the pulse of it rapid under your touch. You lie together on your side, his head tucked neatly beneath your chin, curls tickling your cheek. “Calm down,” you murmur. “It’s alright. It’s not your fault. Everything is okay. I’m okay. I promise.” 

Carefully, he worms his arm under your side so he can circle his arms around you. 

“What did you see, baby?” 

You take a long breath before whispering, “The day your brother died.”

He squeezes you tight for a moment, “God, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have seen that. You shouldn’t have had to-,” 

You stroke his hair back, nestling your chin atop his curls. “And this is why I stayed away.” 

“What?” 

“Honey,” you coo, pulling back to look him in the eyes. “It’s not about me and you wanna make it about me. You shouldn’t comfort me about it. I shouldn’t have seen it, you’re right about that. But because it's something you didn’t want me to see. Not because it was hard for me. I could feel - feel what you felt,” you croak. “It hurt. It hurt really bad. You were just a kid, you didn’t deserve to live with any of that. The guilt and confusion and grief. I had to be better for you, because I knew you’d blame yourself.”

He’s shaking his head, heart rate picking back up, squirming against you, like he half expects you to lash out at him. “I didn’t mean to - I didn’t want to-,” 

You pull Marc as close as you can, tucking your chin against his shoulder. “I didn’t want you to see me like that. Maybe it was wrong of me, but I didn’t know what else to do.” You swallow thickly and then repeat, “I knew you’d see what happened and you’d blame yourself. You don’t need any more unnecessary guilt on your shoulders.”

He doesn’t answer but his arms tighten around you. “You tried to give me something good. And you did. This is not your fault,” you assure him again, encouraged by his tight grip on you. 

He doesn’t reply for a long time, trembling violently against you, fingers dug into the fabric of your t-shirt at the base of your spine like you might disappear if he let go. You lie there together for so long, the light starts to fade in the west. 

The physical assurance of your presence might do more than any words you speak ever could. Just the act of not leaving might be enough. 

“I never wanted you to know,” he says eventually, voice wrecked. “About any of it.” 

You tilt his face up and think about kissing him, but don’t. “No. Honey, you never deserved anything that happened to you. You were innocent. It wasn’t your fault, Marc.” 

His laugh is self-hating. “Which part?” 

“Any of it.” 

It’s not long before you both fall asleep. 

Tales Untold, Chicago 9:43 PM

He feels pathetic, the long harbored truths he holds about himself not able to be washed away in one conversion. But you hold his hand when you walk back to Tales Untold. 

You’re so present. You treat him like you always have. 

With kindness and humor. 

You don’t let him think too much about what just happened. 

He’s hungry and you promise to feed him. 

“You wanna get cleaned up while I cook?” You ask. 

You sit down your canvas bag with the one shirt that holds his good memories on the counter, before you start pulling down ingredients from a cabinet. 

He still smells like spilled whiskey and the anxiousness of stale sweat. He fidgets with the handle of his own bag. “Yeah.” 

“Okay,” you smile gently at him. “You can use whatever is in the shower.” 

He passes you at the counter and considers leaning in to kiss you, but doesn’t. He worries you’re being too nonchalant about what happened. He’s worried he’s hurt you more than you’ll ever tell him. 

You should be angry with him for not thinking better of it, for passing something on to you that he’s already upset Jake and Steven have first hand knowledge of. That is memory and pain he wants to wall off, that no one else should have to experience. 

The tile in your bathroom has little crescent moons inlaid in the design. Marc has always found them funny, like an easter egg for his own life. He's lucky he gets to see this little easter egg at all, a year ago he wouldn't have let you explain, he definitely would have shattered whatever was between you for good.

It's different now. He's different now. He understands why Jake had worried.

Your soap smells like lavender and rosemary, same as your skin. He washes quickly and wishes he had something to shave with. He hates the tug of facial hair and much prefers to be clean shaven. 

Your eyes immediately snap to him when he opens the bathroom door, still running a towel over his damp hair. You frown at him, flicking off the burner and covering whatever it was you made. It smells like coconut curry. He hopes it is, it's one of his favorites that you make and you know it. “Do you want to shave?” You ask. 

He only realizes then that his other hand is busy scrubbing at his cheek, like that might make the sensory nightmare disappear. “No.” 

“I have shaving stuff.” 

“I’m too tired, baby,” he admits, lowering both his hands and tightening them around the towel. 

“You don’t have to do anything. I’ll help you,” you say, approaching him slowly. “If you want.” But you don’t give him a chance to tell you not to bother. You’re already dragging him into the bathroom, settling him onto the closed toilet seat and searching through the mirrored cabinet above the sink for shaving supplies. 

He closes his eyes and lets you work, too exhausted to resist you. The shaving cream is cool against his skin, and the touch of your careful fingers is nice. 

“I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you,” you say. “But I met Jake.” 

His eyes flash open, “When-,”

“I…Steven messaged me yesterday morning,” you shrug and run the razor carefully down his cheek, tilting his head with a hand beneath his jaw. “While he was here, Jake fronted.” 

“He didn’t…Jake’s a wild card. Sometimes.” 

You smile, “I like Jake. He’s very protective of you. He wanted to know why I’d abandoned you.” Marc closes his eyes and sighs. Trust Jake to introduce himself that way. “And he gave me advice on how to handle you. Said I had to tell you myself.”

“And?” 

“Very helpful,” you laugh. “He said you would try to push me away and that I couldn’t let you. Said I couldn’t let you think too much. And I agree, I think it worked.”

Marc nods, and then stays quiet. “He likes you too,” he says after a while. 

You laugh again, running a warm, damp cloth over his newly shaven skin. “There,” you murmur. “Done.” 

Marc starts to stand when the tiles catch his eye again. “I like your tile.” 

You beam at him, “Thanks! I love moon phases and stars and stuff. Look,” you turn back to him and lift your shirt. On your waist, there's a small tattoo, the moon phases in a vertical line up your side. 

He chuckles, the irony not lost on him. He cups your hip and squeezes gently before smoothing a thumb over the tattoo. 

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he says, not quite meeting your eyes. “A lotta things I don’t know how to explain.” 

“If there weren’t, you’d be kinda boring,” you circle his wrist with your fingers and let your shirt fall. 

Just because the guilt lingers, he says, “I’m still sorry.” 

“And it’s still not your fault.” 

Tales Untold, Chicago 1:27 AM

After you eat and wash the dishes, Marc agrees to stay with you. You won’t let him help you with anything, and you talk at him the entire time, like you’re trying to make up for the last two days. 

You talk to him when you play the piano, and you smile when he presses his hands down next to yours and plays alongside you. The result is more noise than music, but it makes you laugh and so it isn’t so bad. 

He’s reluctant, even now, to stay there with you. 

There’s still so much you don’t know, so much you haven’t talked about. And he did hurt you, no matter what you try to tell him. 

As if to make a point to him, you pull on the Cubs shirt he gave you, the good one, to sleep in. You turn off your air conditioner, open the window where the flowers he’d gotten you still sit on the sill, well taken care of in their vase, and then climb into bed with him. 

The air is balmy and warm, but not uncomfortable. 

“It’s too nice not to sleep with the windows open.” You curl up against him like it's the most natural thing in the world, burrowing down into his skin. 

You’re right, the breeze is nice, and your window is far enough away from the ground that he feels fine leaving it open. 

He decides to just let himself enjoy it.

Even though you’d slept most of the afternoon together, he’s still tired. Tired enough to sleep. It’s nice, to have your weight against him. It forces his chest to rise in time with yours, forces his heart rate to slow.  

“Steven confronted our dad,” he tells you, pressing his hand up and down your spine. “About our mother.” You don’t reply, squeezing his side to let him know you’re listening. “And I think…we have a lot to talk about but I think everything is going to be okay.” 

You’re warm against him, your body pliant and trusting against his. 

“I never woulda said it,” Marc admits. “If he didn’t. I didn’t know how. I’m not - I’m afraid there.” 

You nod against his shoulder. “But Steven wasn’t. Steven and Jake are good at taking care of you. You’re all good at taking care of each other.” 

Marc presses a hand beneath your jaw, cradles your face in the darkness of your apartment. For a long time, he just looks at you in the faint light coming in from the street. He wonders what you really saw. You’d said the day his brother died, but you mentioned confusion and guilt, and those things had only come later. He wonders if you saw his mother, if you saw her hatred too. 

You reach up and cup your hand around his wrist. “Hey, don’t disappear on me. Don’t think so hard.” 

“I’m not.” 

He is. But only a little. “I gotta ask,” he traces your cheek, feels the skin pull into a tiny smile. “Did you see my mother?” 

You shake your head, “But I think…there were so many emotions. I think I was feeling-,” 

“Yeah,” he answers. He knows exactly what you mean. 

“Would you tell me about the good times?” You ask, clearly trying to distract him. “We’re good at talking about good things.” 

Marc scoffs, “I’m really not sure that’s true.” 

You gap at him and roll up onto your elbow, hovering about him. “We are,” you press your hand through his hair, and Marc tries not to let on how much he wants you to keep doing it. “We talk about the piano all the time. And that’s something that’s only good. We talk about all our projects and-,” 

“And grief and death-,” 

“And those things aren’t bad either.” He doesn’t stop you when you lean in close to him, knocking your forehead against his. “Did you figure out how to grieve for her?” 

He might have. 

“I want you to keep the piano.” 

“Really?” You tilt your head which is only a little awkward in your current position. “Why?”

“It told me you’re it’s home now,” he teases.

You seem to understand what he means, though, that he’s serious. “I’m happy to keep it,” you whisper. “Will you tell me more good things, Marc Spector? Will you tell me about summer in Chicago? I have my own stories. I can tell you about my mom. And maybe we actually did know each other then, maybe our paths crossed.” 

Marc nods. “Tomorrow. I’m not thinking about that right now.” 

“What are you thinking about?” You ask, pulling back with a raised brow. 

And god, he’s drowning in you, drenched in streetlight, clouds of your scent rising from the sheets. 

He tips his head forward and presses his forehead to yours again. “Kissing you again.” 

“Oh. And what are you waiting for, honey?” 

He shakes his head, trying not to laugh, “Nothing, I guess.” 

You grin and lean in, not quite meeting his mouth. 

When you don’t close the space, he does. He wraps an arm around your waist and pushes you gently onto your back. You hold onto him, digging your fingers into his shirt, the flesh at his hips and ribs. 

You taste like the mint of your toothpaste when you open your mouth to him. It’s oddly domestic.

“I never want to finish our projects,” you tell him when he pulls away to breathe. Your breath comes in little pants, hot and sweet against his skin. “So you always come back.” 

The words are strange, but Marc doesn’t question them. “I’d do anything you need me to. And anything you don’t need.” 

You smile and kiss him again, when a memory floats up from somewhere in the back of his mind. 

Marc cradles your face between his palms, smoothes his thumbs over your cheeks. “Did Steven kiss you?” 

“Only a little bit,” you say, hooking on foot against the back of his knee, pulling him in closer. 

Marc grumbles, not able to find it in himself to be mad. It had really only been a matter of time anyways. “Fucking figures,” he says and kisses you again. 

The next morning, you’re still tangled tightly around him, and the weight of you is grounding, something he never wants to sleep without again. The sun through the open window is hot, long rays of purple splashed over both of you through the colored glass. 

Thank you for reading! A special thank you to those keeping up with the series, and for all the continued love and support. One more part + an epilogue to go!

Comments and feedback are so appreciated. New parts will be posted Saturdays at 3PM EST! You can add yourself to the tag list on the series masterlist.

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#marc spector x reader #marc spector x you #steven grant x reader #steven grant x you #jake lockley x reader #jake lockley x you #moon knight fanfic #moon knight fanfiction

[u3pxx]

hey sun! sorry to bother you, but I'm currently doing a commission for a guy who wants a portrait made in the disco elusium style and I've never drawn in that style before ^^;

any tips, especially how to color?

not a bother at all! and while i'm not an expert on the disco elysium art style since i don't think i've done enough studies on it to say that i'm confident on saying what to do, i'll try my best to list out the things i've noticed while mimicking the art style. i'll split this into two parts, the composition of a portrait and the rendering and technical stuff behind it

i'll keep it under read more bc some of these portraits i'll be talking about are spoilers! whoops!

COMPOSITION

there's like, an unbelievable amount of variety when it comes to the portraits of disco elysium! personally, when i'm trying to mimic the art style, i try and look at the portraits in the game and see which of these characters are the most similar personality-wise to the character i'm trying to draw, and then i reference

1. PERSONALITY AND GROUNDEDNESS

let's compare the portraits of these two characters, ok? we have sylvie and idiot doom spiral. right off the bat, TOTALLY DIFFERENT VIBES, and that's good because we can instantly tell what kind of people these characters are supposed to be! and that's something disco elysium is excellent at.

sylvie's portrait is very simple; a very limited palette is used and the rendering on her is rather exact even with the rough-esque rendering that disco elysium's art uses. idiot doom spiral's portrait, on the other hand, is a lot more chaotic. there's more disorder to his portrait with how the paint strokes in the background seem to mix in with his face, there's a disheveled quality to how he's rendered.

ask yourself, how grounded is this character you're drawing? on a scale of sylvie to idiot doom spiral, how normal does their portrait look?

now, i'm not done with this klavier but i think it's pretty obvious that i heavily referenced smoker on the balcony's portrait because they have very similar vibes and role: pretty boy npc who your protagonist may or may not be a little infatuated with pftt (there's just something so different about them! i can't put my finger on it...)

2. WHAT DO THEY STAND FOR/THE ABSTRACT

ok! besides personality, they also have a knack for just doing some gorgeous portraits that truly reflect just, the history of a character and their role in the story. now i'm not the best at analysis so these are just gonna be some very simple observations about kim and dolores dei's portraits pftt.

the big white circle behind kim's face, besides doing an excellent job of framing kim, is very reminiscent of a nimbus which we typically see in religious art. it makes kim look like a very important figure, someone you should listen to. it's also kind of like a nod to how kim is like the few people who's like, civil and even nice to harry after his whole mind-breaking bender.

for dolores dei, GODDD i can rave about this portrait forever, it's such a favorite of mine. first, the rendering of her skin, she's like an opal or a golden statue; it's otherworldly, which makes sense because that's what harry thinks of her. and then, the splotchier and messier rendering below her, it's like she's fading away, she's just a distant memory of the past.

i'll use this very quick doodle of apollo in the de style to explain my point about symbols better. what is it that you want to emphasize about your character? are there any motifs you'd like to show?

i definitely wanted to portray apollo as determined and even heroic-looking in this portrait. leaning into his name, added that rim-lighting as if the sun was shining on him. emphasized his badge by giving it this exaggerated shine on it and lastly, made the background like the one he has when he perceives.

3. LOCATION

for backgrounds, i feel like you can go either three ways: abstract colors, political alignment, and location.

(i'm not happy that i have to use gary as an example here but he's the most blatant example of the second type of background AKSKSKS orz)

ok! so harry's bg, pretty funky, pretty fun. gary's bg, he's a fascist, that's the fascist flag in de. moving along trant's bg looks like a very abstract version of the wall in the building he's seen gazing at, heck, the way he's head is turned to you looks like you just called out his name and he quickly turned around to look at you but he is still very much facing the building.

more examples of those three things! garte: colors. titus: that red block is present on all union members. dicemaker: facing the window in the darkness of her workshop.

RENDERING

de has fairly very realistic looking faces, so brush up on your knowledge of the anatomy of a face or collect many faces/portraits that look the character you're trying to draw and reference the SHIT out of them!

1. BRUSHSTROKES

you're gonna be needing some brushes that have a texture to them ok. you're gonna need to slap those bad boys in that digital canvas and go wild ok. you can still do lineart kind of not everything is like rendered RENDERED bc some portraits make heavy use of smoother-looking black strokes to indicate lineart. ok i love you

2. PALETTES

think back to personality and symbolism, what colors are strongly associated with your character, and how grounded are they. the more normal they are the more minimal colors are used but if there's something going on with them you can go so so so wild

and also, you can eyedrop tool the colors from any of the de portraits, makes life easier pftt

3. HOW TO RENDER? HELP?

i'll go ahead and put my drawing of butch!kim here bc i basically just did a study of kim's portrait pftt. the art style is very painterly so i'm so sorry to say that you're gonna have to paint 😔 i know... i'm so sorry...

so block your colors! block your shadows and chip away on that thang, give it dimension! don't zoom in on your canvas in the earlier stages bc you'll end up fixating on one tiny part instead of the whole painting itself, and that's gonna make the duration of your drawing so much longer lol

ok i've been writing this for way too long and i can't think anything more to add so if there's anything else you want to know that i didn't mention here, feel free to ask me again. now good luck 🫡

#again not a bother at all i'm just terrible at answering asks quickly FDGHJD orz #sunnysidetutorials #sunnysideanswers #marchmay-may #described #id in alt text

[cybrsan]

Treasure — J.WY [Pt.3]

SUMMARY: Your journey officially begins, and you try to find your place in the group.

PAIRING: Waterbender Jung Wooyoung x Non-Bender F!Reader

RATING/GENRE: M ; angst, fluff, eventual smut ; ATLA au, enemies to lovers

WORD COUNT: 2.1k

A/N: Happy birthday Wooyoung ♡

LINKS: Ode To ATEEZ Masterlist | Together in Harmony Masterlist | Cross-posted on AO3 and Wattpad

↞ Previous | Masterlist | Next ↠

The next morning, you watch from a distance as the group of benders prepares for the journey ahead. They have laid out all of their supplies on one of the inn’s large dining tables to make it easier to take stock. Despite the discord you sensed last night, they seem to work together well. Hongjoong and Seonghwa take the lead, as you have come to expect, with the waterbender handing out lists and overseeing all the packing and the firebender heading into town for some last-minute errand. Even the rowdier members of the bunch seem to know their roles; Mingi and Yunho diligently organize the rations, murmuring to each other, while San and Wooyoung pack camping gear and clothes, respectively. 

Almost everyone greeted you warmly this morning, much to your surprise. You had tossed and turned last night as you wondered what to expect from them. You haven’t traveled in a group in ages, let alone in a group full of complete strangers. Considering your introduction hadn’t gone smoothly, to say the least, you didn’t think you’d be readily accepted into the fold. But, as soon as you came downstairs, Yunho smiled and waved you over to join them for breakfast. San slid a plate towards you, bearing a piece of bread topped with butter and jam and some fruit, while Jongho gave you a mug filled with piping hot coffee. If it wasn’t for a certain firebender completely ignoring your existence and a waterbender shooting daggers at you with his eyes, it would have almost been perfect.

Hongjoong’s hostility you can understand—he is obviously the leader in some capacity, and he doesn’t trust you. Wooyoung, however, seems to have some irrational vendetta against you. You can’t think of anything you could have done to offend him other than accidentally bumping into him outside Nadira’s tent. Though, since San hinted that this behavior is unlike him, surely he wouldn’t hold a grudge for such a minor offense. It’s not that you want him to like you, per se, but you can’t stand the idea of someone disliking you when you have done nothing to deserve it.

You must have been staring at him without realizing it, because he gives you the nastiest look before turning back to San and mumbling something. Anger snaps within you like a line pulled taut, and just as you’re about to confront him, Hongjoong rejoins the group. You huff, stopping in your tracks and heading towards Yeosang instead. At least he isn’t bothered by your presence; Wooyoung and his bad attitude can be dealt with later. 

Seeing you approach, the long-haired airbender looks up at you from his place on the bench, smiling softly. He pats the spot next to him, and you acquiesce, taking a seat. As Hongjoong converses quietly with Seonghwa, you take the opportunity to prod Yeosang for some information. 

“Would you say you and Wooyoung are pretty close?”

He nods. “I’ve actually known him the longest out of everyone here.”

“Oh, good. Then surely he’s told you why he doesn’t like me?”

Yeosang turns to look at you, eyes widening slightly. “He doesn’t like you?”

You’re stunned into silence for a moment. Has he really not noticed? Even if he didn’t pick up on all the dirty looks and bad energy Wooyoung has been sending your way, surely he remembers the conversation from last night. Regaining your composure, you continue, “It sure seems that way. He was definitely very vocal about not wanting me here.”

“Oh, that,” Yeosang purses his lips, thinking. “I don’t think he dislikes you. I think he’s scared of something.”

“Scared? Of me?”

“I’m not sure,” he shrugs. “He hasn’t mentioned anything to me. But I know that he isn’t the type of person to really dislike anyone. Even when someone hurts him, he often blames himself and not the other person.” He pauses and then adds, “You should talk to him about it.”

You laugh in disbelief. “Yeah, I don’t see that conversation going well.”

“He can be stubborn, but he’s really a good person. It’s worth a try.”

You find your gaze slipping to Wooyoung again, noticing how easily he laughs and smiles around San and the others. Everyone circles around him as if he’s the sun, and they’re the planets stuck in his gravitational pull. Even Hongjoong’s lips occasionally quirk up at the corners in a half-smile as he watches him, despite whatever bad blood the two of them seem to have. 

Your gaze softens. “Maybe I will.” 

Yeosang seems satisfied with that, and the two of you fall into a comfortable silence. Not long after, Hongjoong claps his hands, capturing everyone’s attention. 

“All right,” he says. “It looks like we have everything we need. Let’s head out.”

Slinging your bag over your shoulder, you fall into line behind the others, lingering near the back of the group. You’re unsure of where you can make yourself fit into their dynamic or if you should even try at all. Your people skills are a bit rusty, at least when you aren’t actively trying to get information out of someone. You would have maybe stayed with Yeosang if he didn’t join up with Wooyoung and San. 

Luckily, you don’t have to ponder this for long. Yunho, having noticed you’ve fallen behind, slows his stride so that he can match your pace. He smiles at you warmly, and his joviality is so infectious that you find yourself smiling back before you can even think about it.

“So,” he starts, “Have you been on your own all this time?”

“Mm, in the desert, you mean?” He nods. “Yeah, I came out here on my own.”

“Wow, that takes a lot of guts. I honestly don’t know how you did it. We had some pretty close calls, even with the eight of us.”

“I’m resourceful. Plus, I may not be a bender, but I’m good with weapons.” You pat the belt at your hip, where your bolas and kunai are securely fastened.  

“You aren’t a bender?” Mingi, who must have overheard some of the conversation, joins in. “That’s even more impressive.” 

Normally, you might take offense at the insinuation that a non-bender isn’t as capable as a bender, but by the way his face lights up, you can tell that he doesn’t mean any harm. Instead, you choose to take the compliment for what it is. 

You continue to make small talk with the two of them, and some of the others join in here and there. Before long, you find yourself laughing and joking with them; they’re easy to get along with, despite the fact that your first impressions of each other were strained. Jongho has a surprising sense of humor, and San and Seonghwa bicker like brothers. The desert sun is as harsh as ever, but you find the heat a bit more bearable with some company.

As you have come to expect, Hongjoong and Wooyoung are the only two that don’t interact with you. But, to be fair, Hongjoong doesn’t seem to really interact with anyone. It’s almost as if the second you stepped out of the town and into the desert, something within him changed. Seonghwa never strays far from him, and you can tell that Hongjoong’s behavior makes him—and some of the others—nervous. It’s strange; you can tell Hongjoong deeply cares for the others and feels protective of them, but at the same time, he seems so cold-hearted. The look in his eyes is almost reminiscent of the very person you’re on the run from. It makes you inclined to avoid him as much as possible.

Wooyoung keeps looking in your direction, seemingly bothered by the fact that you’re getting along so well with everyone else. It irritates you to no end; he could easily join in on the conversation if he wanted to. Instead, he chooses to give you the stink eye and silent treatment. Yeosang has been keeping him company but, seeing your gaze, gives you a subtle nod before walking over to Jongho. You take the hint—he wants you to talk to Wooyoung. You excuse yourself from your conversation with the other boys, though you doubt they will even realize you’re gone with how excitedly they talk amongst themselves.

“Hey,” you say, jogging over to Wooyoung. “Can we talk?” He looks at you out of the corner of his eye but says nothing, lips forming a tight line. “Oh, come on. Don’t be so immature.” 

A long moment passes before he finally responds. “I have nothing to say to you.”

“If that’s the case, why do you keep looking at me every five minutes?”

He scoffs. “Bold of you to assume it was you I was looking at.”

“Oh, right, sorry. Was it Yunho you were glaring daggers at, then?”

“...No.”

“Exactly. Let’s just cut to the chase, okay? I don’t understand what I could have possibly done to make you hate me so much, and I deserve an explanation for your attitude toward me.”

“I don’t—" He cuts himself off with a sigh. “Listen, let’s not do this.”

“Why not? What’s your problem?”

“You’re my problem.” He spits out the words with so much force it almost startles you. Then, calming himself, he adds, “You shouldn’t be here.” 

“But why do you feel that way?”

“Nal’ich, are you always this annoying?”

You don’t recognize the exclamation he uses, but you don’t need to understand his Tribe’s language to be able to tell you’re getting under his skin. If you were smart, you would stop bothering him about this and just leave him alone. But while you are smart, you’re also stubborn. 

“Only when I try to be,” you goad, smiling at him in an oh-aren’t-I-such-an-angel sort of way.

His jaw ticks. “You’re not gonna get the answers you want from me, so just do us both a favor and leave me alone.”

“Oh, I’ll figure this out one way or another, just you—” 

“Careful!” 

Before you even know what’s happening, Wooyoung is grabbing you and pulling you close. You stare at him in shock, face only a hair’s breadth from his. At this distance, you can make out moles on his face that you never noticed before—one under his eye and another on his lip.

He pushes you away and clears his throat. “You were walking right towards a sand serpent, idiot. Pay attention to your surroundings.”

“So, you hate me, but not enough to let me die. Noted.” 

“I don’t want anyone to die, preferably.” 

“Whatever,” you shrug, now walking with a bit of a skip in your step. “I still consider this a win.”

“A win? What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m one step closer to figuring you out.” 

He rolls his eyes. “You’re insufferable.”

“So are you.” 

With a huff, he stomps off toward Yeosang who has a small frown on his face from observing your conversation; you can only assume he’s not happy with how it went. You shrug at him—you tried, like he asked and, like you suspected, it didn’t go well. However, despite not getting much information from Wooyoung, you’d be lying if you said his obstinacy in the face of your questions didn’t make you even more determined to figure out why he dislikes you.

You reach into your bag, fingers itching to have the map in your hands once again. It’s a habit you have developed over the span of your long journey. After everything you went through to get it, you need to know it’s safe and on your person. You take it out and unscroll it as you walk to glance at it, though you’re sure that you have it memorized by now. 

Seonghwa notices and asks, “Are we still headed in the right direction?” 

“As long as we’re still headed southeast, we should be.”

“We are,” Hongjoong affirms, glancing up from the compass in his hand. You almost jump, having not even known he was paying attention. “Though it looks like a storm is about to roll through.”

Glancing at the sky, you can tell that he’s right. Dark clouds are rolling in from the west and the wind has begun to pick up, rustling your robes and sending sand flying. You feel a granule hit your cheek, and you hiss in pain. If this turns into a full-on sandstorm, it could get dangerous fast.

Yunho frowns. “Yeah, I can feel it in the air.”

“Let’s stop, then,” Seonghwa says. “We’ll set up camp and pack it in for the night.” 

Mingi points to an area of land in the distance. “There are some rocks over there. I can probably set them up around us in a way that can protect us from the brunt of the sand.” 

Though Hongjoong doesn’t look happy to be stopping, he also doesn’t argue, logic winning out over desire. “Good idea, Mingi. Let’s go.”

NETWORKS: @cromernet @kflixnet @pirateeznet

TAGLIST: @nebulousbookshelf @ad0rechuu @seonghwaddict @sanniesbunnie @wooya1224 @tournesol155 @ja3hwa @pocketjoong-reads @lovandr @yeoyeoland

#wooyoung x reader #jung wooyoung x reader #wooyoung imagines #wooyoung fic #wooyoung smut #ateez imagines #ateez fic #ateez smut #wooyoung fluff #wooyoung angst #ateez angst #ateez fluff #my fic #jung wooyoung fic #kpop fic #kpop writers

[marlynnofmany]

“Oh, you write books?”

Yup! And I love it.

Here’s the published list so far, with relevant tags for all the extra content and ramblings that inevitably end up here.

“If you set Dirty Jobs in outer space, mixed in some Mythbusters, and gave Buster the crash-test dummy the ability to sass back like a cross between Bender and Murderbot… you’d get something like this book.”

“Spectacular Silver Earthling” is available wherever books are sold!

Relevant tags: Hubcap the robot Hubcap the Egomaniacal Sassmaster (there’s some crossover there) Spectacular Silver Earthling

“When space poachers release Earth animals on an alien world, threatening a fragile new alliance, they anger the wrong people. A veterinarian, an accountant, and a furious sign-language-fluent gorilla are coming for them.”

“A Swift Kick to the Thorax” is also available everywhere!

This is the one I’ve been posting backstory snippets for weekly, from when the main character was traveling the galaxy working on a courier ship.

There are also comic strips, which take place between the stories and the book. I should really draw more of those. They’re fun.

Relevant tags: A Swift Kick to the Thorax The Token Human (series name; originally just the comics) Robin Bennett (the main character)

Do you long to write fascinating fiction, but struggle to find a concept that feels worthy?

Do you have piles of unfinished stories, and eagerly await the next shiny new idea?

Do you have writer friends to inflict assistance/benevolent torment on?

Good news! I have precisely one bazillion ideas for stories that someone ought to write, and I’ve selected 100 of them to collect in this book. You may recognize some from my old posts here, but not all.

"Story Seeds for Fantastical Trees" promises to grow you a forest of compelling ideas, ranging from wizards both wise and foolish, to aliens seeking dinosaurs, to a robot that lets a vampire into the house (possibly on purpose).

Relevant tag: writing prompts (buckle in; this one is A Lot)

“In science fiction, humans are usually boring compared to other races: small, weak, no claws or tentacles, and no special abilities to speak of. What if instead, we were talked about by the other aliens? 28 authors have contributed to make sure you never think of humans as boring again!”

“We’re the Weird Aliens” is the “humans are weird / humans are space orcs” collection that had everyone excited in 2020.

Relevant tags: humans are weird humans are space orcs (and a bunch of others, but mostly that first one) (and you'll find the Token Human stuff tagged here too)

“An old street sweeper takes on the shadowy invaders responsible for a plague of amnesia, while saddled with a dodgy memory, a mysterious past, and a reflection that talks back and makes fun of him.”

My first published book! I still love it. Magic, memory problems, and walloping ruffians with a broom. What’s not to love?

Relevant tags: Sweeping Changes

And that’s everything so far, as of August 2023!

Not counting the anthologies that other people put together, which I have stories in. (I’ll point you to my website for those.)

I am definitely working on more books. So many more. I write as a way of going on adventures, and I will happily take you with me.

#long post #my writing #books #getting published #book recs #writeblr #authors #writing community #good thing I proofread this; I spelled 'relevant' wrong twice #no idea why #good job there fingers #way to type #anyway! #here's the info post I've been meaning to get around to #isn't it shiny and exciting

[3dprintcess]

🔒 (48 hours outside of TM? Doing TM tasks? It’s up to you 😎)

🔒- which taskmaster contestant would you choose to be handcuffed to for 48 hours?

Oh heck - 48hrs? That means:

Going to the toilet?!

Eating meals (one handed I suppose)

Sleeping, probably!

I'd get a bit smelly because oh heck I'm not showering/stripping I don't think?!

Assuming we can't get the handcuffs undone by any means, ofc.

There are definitely contestants that are a hard NO. Folks that have that angry edge to them, or who I think wouldn't suffer fools gladly, or who would get real grumpy after the first 3 hrs. Josh Widdicombe for example, or Lou Sanders - both on my very nope list.

A shortlist:

Mel Geidroic might be a good one - she is, after all, incredibly nice, with the added bonus of probably having already seen everything there is to see and not being especially bothered about it.

Victoria Coren Mitchell would tear me a new one, of course - not suffering fools gladly - but she'd be just so very practical about it, I'm not sure I'd mind. She might help me get my life in order, in fact. I could imagine her going "Oh for goodness sakes - just make the phonecall. Look, I'll type in the number..."

Tempted to go for Ivo Graham, just to see how his brain works, but I think the poor man would have a breakdown. Not that I'm especially difficult to be around, I don't think - just that I imagine Ivo would turn into a pretzel over the awkwardness of the situation.

Sophie Duker is too cool to be handcuffed to me, but if we were, I'd want to go on a 48hr escape room bender with her. I think that'd be hilarious and by hour 20 we'd be an absolute mess.

Lastly, maybe Mike Wozniak or Richard Osman for "terribly lovely seeming men who'd likely try to work with me to make it as smooth as possible" - I think they'd also be fantastic to chat to with great conversation.

Final answer - Sophie Duker, but only if she's up for the escape room thing (or equally fun days out). Otherwise VCM with the hope that she'd show me how to be a proper grown up!

#taskmaster #ask game #thanks! That was a tough question

[doddsmountain]

okay! i've been wondering how harry gets back in touch with his family after the whole amnesia thing and how they all handle that. and how was harry's relationship with them before that, also? is there a sibling he gets along with the best? do any of them also have weird brain things going on (like the psychosis, talking to things, heck even pale exposure)? if the sister who works at the harbor knows titus, how does the reveal that she's related to harry go?

i may have more but that's a lot to start with for now. i might come back another time :3

Alrighty! Gonna put this under a cut to save people from my old-ass being cringy lol

First, I wanna introduce the OCs I’ve made for Harry’s family! (Ages as of events of the game, March ‘51)

Alain Du Bois, father, dead (died in ‘21), born January 27, ‘80 of previous century. Was absent most of the time, abusive when around

Margarette Du Bois (nee Barrach), 70, born August 2, ‘81 of previous century. Kind, loving mother.

Victoire ‘Victor’ Du Bois, 48, born July 17, ‘02. A bit distant, also struggles with alcohol but not to Harry’s extent (he won’t drink while working), lorry driver, emotionally shut off, rarely smiles, known for his deadpan humour and really bad puns. Has whatever the lorry driver version of Esprit du Corps is. Married and has 2 kids: 21 year old son, 18 year old daughter. Pale exposure up the wazzoo due to having to travel through it. He knows the pale driver, and Tommy Le Homme.

Madeline ‘Maddy’ Petrovski (nee Du Bois), 46, born June 1, ‘04. Very friendly like their mum, short and chubby, cosmetologist (works for the biggest theatre company in Revachol - which still doesn’t pay that well - definitely working class), has some of the same psychological things going on as Harry (the lists - she does the lists as well). Married and has 4 kids: 16 year old daughter, twin 13 year old sons, and an 8 year old daughter. Her husband has addiction issues and isn’t the greatest but he’s kind and loving regardless - life isn’t always what we expect it to be.

Harrier ‘Harry’ Du Bois, 44, born January 3, ‘07. We know about him.

Mairi Du Bois, 42, born December 20, ‘07. The only one to really escape the poverty of their childhood. Geology professor in Sur la Clef. She has the same weird empathetic skills Harry has. Lesbian, married to a fellow academic, no children.

Eloise ‘Elsie’ McTavish (nee Du Bois), 37, born February 2, ‘14. A bit standoffish, she is a nurse, and recently divorced. Has plenty of similar strange psychological traits similar to Harry’s and is distressed over it, tries to ignore it. Has four children: Twin 6 year old son and daughter, 3 year old daughter, and a year old daughter. Currently lives with their mum due to financial stress as her ex-husband is a deadbeat and can’t be found (he’s a former friend of Harry’s and Harry vows to beat the shit out of him if he ever sees him again).

Marcelline ‘Marcy’ Du Bois, 34, born January 4, ‘17. Exactly the same psychological stuff as Harry. Divorced because she had a few miscarriages (her ex-husband is a piece of shit - upper middle class weenie). Very outgoing, works in Martinaise surprisingly as a shipping container inspector (enemies to lovers type thing with Titus Hardie eventually) (also didn’t know her brother was the absolute mess of a detective doing the investigation into the Hanged Man). Has some issues with making relationships for obvious reasons. No children. Her favourite sibling is Harry. She is Harry’s favourite sibling (he got a baby sister for his 10th birthday). Because of Marcie’s proximity to the hole in the universe she also has some issues with pale exposure.

My headcanon for Harry getting back in touch with his family post-amnesia is a little wishful thinking on my behalf, I suppose.

So, as we know Harry has blanked before after some epic benders - purposefully. I figure it would only be a matter of time before he gets his memories back. 

In my postgame HC/AU/whatever you wanna call it I figure this happens roughly a month after the events in the game - and it happens fast and painfully - leaving Harry in a very very emotionally unstable place. Thankfully, Kim is there and Judit is also very understanding. Harry’s reaction to all of this suddenly happening is what gets Jean to finally believe Harry had amnesia. Throughout it all Harry still remains sober (this is again wishful thinking on my behalf due to my own history with alcoholism [grew up with it, know it’s damages]). 

Shortly after this is when the Kim is Revachol comic takes place (so mid- to late April). Kim encourages Harry to reach out to his family after learning about them. Harry is understandably terrified as the last 6 years have been strained due to his spiralling into further alcoholism and drug abuse after Dora left him. After university I HC that Harry dived into the Disco/party scene heavily, especially after meeting Dora, so alcohol and drugs have been an issue of his for a while before Dora left. I think that after he became a cop these addictions got worse as he struggled to cope with the realities of what he had to do as a cop and what he had to see. I imagine things were a bit tense after Harry met Dora, as I HC the rest of his family not really liking her all that much due to class differences (and I imagine her family didn’t like him either for the same reasons). Harry’s family does their best to make Dora feel welcome though and they get along well enough until finally she leaves and he goes off the deep end. His older brother quietly stops talking to him, his older sister tries her hardest to help but he doesn’t accept it. Mairi is on another isola so there’s not much she can do. But she makes sure to call him once a week and this doesn’t stop until the events of the game. Eloise is very vocal about her displeasure with what he’s doing but still tries to support him in small ways. Marcelline is heartbroken but refuses to give up on her brother. They get drunk together a few times over the years post-Dora/pre-game. Harry refuses to be around his mum when he’s drunk or high, but she is well aware of how rough he’s living. He builds her a gazebo one summer when he tries to sober up (I like to imagine him being good at carpentry). He gets Jean to help him.

Because family is important they all open their arms to him when he reaches out. Because all of them have some extent of Harry’s weird abilities they can tell he means it this time when he says he’s trying to be better, be the Harry they knew before he met Dora, before he let his life spiral. Harry slowly integrates into his families’ lives. Harry made sure to never be high or drunk around his nieces and nephews so he’s always been the fun uncle, and now they get to see him much more often. Harry cries so much when his oldest nephew introduces Harry to his grand-niece. The family also openly embraces Kim, Cuno and Cunoesse. And Rene in my AU. Harry’s sisters are excited to have a new brother-in-law and niblings. Victor quietly respects Kim for being able to help Harry pull through this time. He also teaches Cunoesse how to work on a lorry engine.

When Titus learns that the chubby babe Marcy is Harry’s sister he’s not all that surprised. Once he knows he can see the familiarities there. After the events of the game, I HC that Titus slows down on the partying and sleeping with younger women (the man is 39 after all). He kind of becomes a bit more reserved, especially after losing his best friend and the others. Marcy was close with Angus so she understands Titus’s pain. They grow close. Harry gets a bit put-off when he learns that they start dating. Kim is highly amused by Harry’s protective older brother attitude.

I likely have more to add but I’m losing steam lol

#disco elysium #original characters #head canon #discocs #harry du bois #kim kitsuragi #cuno #cunoesse #harrykim #kimharry

[vasyandii]

Hi love! Here I am again annoying you <3

For the OC ask game thingy:

4, 9, 10, 14, 23, 24

If you don't want to answer all of them you can just choose! <3

Yes hello hello!! Sorry it took so long for me to get to this ask ;0;;; I always want to make sure I include a lil thank you doodle so it took a while xD

(( The OC Ask Game as a refresher ))

4. When scared, does your OC fight, flee, freeze or fawn?

Despite prioritizing her own safety over others, Phayvanh is stubborn. If it comes to it, she's going to fight until she has an opening to run or until another person comes.

So.. kind of a mix of Fight AND Flee xD

9. Do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your OC?

Oooh Definitely this one quote

“The dog that weeps after it kills is no better than the dog that doesn't. my guilt will not purify me.”

10. What's an AU that would be interesting to explore with your OC?

Ooooh boy. I have alot of Aus but here's a list of my favorites.

1. KruegerNak Fantasy Au where Nak is a Naga and Krueger is a Nachtkrapp (Night Raven)

2. Avatar Last Air Bender Au where Krueger is a Dai Li Agent, Nak is a Fire Nation Soldier

3. Boxing au!! Krueger is a Professional Boxer, Nak is a Professional Mauy Thai Fighter

4. This one Super cringe Ice Skating Au: Nak is in a women's Hockey team, Krueger is a figure skater

These are all Aus I want to explore more but never really have the time since it doesn't.. really fit with the military setting I like. But it's some I like thinking about!

14. How does your OC want to be seen by other characters?

She wants to be seen with improvement. That she's trying so hard to be better. Her words and actions have hurt people in the past and she wants to prove that she won't make the same mistakes again.

On a lighter note, she wants to be seen as girly. She really adores and admires women. She wants to dress pretty and be pretty like the women she looks up to (Syd, Iskra.. etc.) Because she didn't have the chance to be feminine back in Laos.

23. What emotion is the hardest for your OC to process? How about express?

Guilt and Grief. Nak is FILLED with guilt and grief.

The more she improves as a person the more she feels guilt for her actions in the past, she doesn't know if she is able to apologize because how could she? Would it be too late? Some of them are long dead so she can't apologize.

Guilt is an emotion she can explain, Grief isn't.

Grief is in her very core. Nak grieves for her mother for giving birth to her, for giving her up. So much so that Nak doesn't know why she feels like this, she misses and yearns for her mother so desperately. However Phayvanh doesn't believe she should be feeling this way, she doesn't deserve it. After all..

"How can someone miss a person they never knew? Touch? Seen? That person could not be real for all they know."

This is an emotion she doesn't express besides from finding mother figures in older women.

24. What is an alternative life path your OC might have gone down? How different would their life be if they'd made those decisions?

Her alternate life path would be controlling Naga's Drug trafficking Ring.

If Nak never fled Laos and took up Naga's family business she would most definitely be dead by now. Her temper and stubbornness would've run what her uncle built up to the ground. Naga knew that.

Joining Chimera was the best thing that could've ever happened to her.

Aaand thats all I can say for now, I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing this :3

#call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty oc #call of duty original character #cod mw oc #art #digital art #kruegernak #original character #phayvanh nak sotsvahn #Cod Nak #krueger cod #sebastian krueger #artwork #ask game #i love asks

[quibbs126]

I did another one that no one was necessarily asking for, but I still wanted to do, this is Vampire Shrimp Cookie

I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure if this is even a ship, or if anyone but me ships it (and maybe @bellatheinkdemon considering they made darklobster comics this morning? But that might have just been because I requested a fankid for this ship and they decided to do more afterwards), but I think it’d be neat. I know in canon they haven’t interacted, but their backstories seem similar and I would really like to see them interact at some point, and see how they’d work off each other. Okay, I don’t think that’s very solid of a reasoning, but I just thought shipping them would be kind of neat, and put them on my list. Then this morning I had a bit of a darklobster kick, so I made this one

So does anyone remember that one time when I went on a bender looking up shrimp and then posting about them? Well okay, I only made one post, but I did still do that. Anyways, so one I particularly liked was the vampire shrimp, and I was considering using one for a darklobster kid, since shrimp and lobster are related, plus they’re big (for shrimp) and rather bulky, and also they apparently give off the impression of being scary, when in reality they really aren’t, which seems to fit Dark Choco’s personality (also they aren’t vampiric, so I’m not sure why they’re called that). So I thought “good enough” and put it as a candidate, and to be honest I just wanted to make this into a Cookie, so yeah

Vampire shrimp:

So I’ll be honest, I definitely put more Lobster into her design than Dark Choco, though I’m not entirely sure how to fix that. I gave her a grayish color because I remembered some vampire shrimp having blue-grayish shells, but I think they were more blue than I remembered. Lobster’s tone probably could have worked fine, but I mean, it makes her look more like a mix. And I gave her black hair to give her some similarities to Dark Choco (as well as me thinking it’d work good with the grey). I also put in some reds like Lobster, though I think it helps with the whole “vampire” part of her name, as well as the fact that she’s supposed to have an at least somewhat crooked mouth that resembles fangs. Though again, vampire shrimp aren’t vampiric. I gave her normal hands instead of claws because vampire shrimp don’t have claws. Also I gave her a little shark plush because she’s supposed to be shy, and I thought her hiding herself behind a toy would sell that, and I made it a shark to match Lobster’s sea aesthetic. Though maybe I should have chosen something different, as it does still lean in to the “more emphasis on Lobster” thing

I’ll be honest, I just sort of made something up for her dress. That’s something I’ve noticed, if I make a character where their torso is largely obscured, I’ll have no clue what to do for the outfit. Ah well

Also I don’t know why I drew her as a child. One thing I wanted to portray is that vampire shrimp are bulky, but I can’t really do that with a young child. Maybe I can draw her again as an adult, because that’s definitely something I wanted to keep, she’s supposed to be large. But for now at this age, she’s very small, which I guess works with her shrimp thing. Also don’t know when I decided to make her a girl, I think I was originally going to make her either a boy or non binary. Ah well

So as for her character, there’s not too much, she’s pretty basic. She’s a very shy young girl, who often hides behind her parents (or in Dark Choco’s case, usually within his capes/cloaks). She’s rather timid and has a hard time opening up to people, but if you get her to open up, she’s a very friendly individual who likes to play with others

I’d also imagine Mocha Ray to be like an aunt to Vampire Shrimp, and someone she loves to play with

Growing up, I don’t imagine her to be a warrior, as she’s very non aggressive and would rather settle things peacefully. Not sure what she’d do though

(I may or may not have just taken her personality from what I read about how vampire shrimp behave, but shh. Also I felt like it fits)

Anyways yeah, not much to say on that end. I know at one point I said part of my issues is that I wasn’t able to flesh out these fankids’ personalities in time, but now I have all the time in the world and am able to come up with very little. Though then again, it could also be the lack of creative juices flowing while I’m at home

But regardless, I hope you like her!

#I think this is the one time I really like the inspiration and use it for most of the things #but like I think it works #anyways #cookie run #cookie run ovenbreak #dark choco cookie #lobster cookie #darklobster #fankid #fanchild #cookie run oc #my art #there was something else I was going to say but I don’t remember what #vampire shrimp cookie

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

#tumblr polls #detroit become human #the legend of korra #rwby #bright #dbh #legend of korra #faunus #bright movie #detroit: become human #tlok #white fang #will smith #detroit: bh #amon #blake belladonna #netflix original #quantic dream #Korra #adam taurus #orc cop

[jtownraindancer]

top 5 burn characters go

Good gods Anon this is evil. Only five!??? 😭💕

I spent like three days trying to make up my mind on this, and I'm still not satisfied, but as of the moment, in no particular order:

The Best Boys

Mr. William Guppy of Kenge & Carboy, Bleak House

He's awkward, he's manipulative, he has no real social skills to speak of, and he's in love. I actually really disliked this character when I first read the book circa 2011, but as Burn seems wont to do, I ended up being completely won over in the end. ^_^; His Guppy is expressive, less a comic relief and almost sympathetic. I mentioned in a conversation with @synthapostate about how Guppy is technically an antagonist, but he's played in such a way that you really can't see it (unlike the book). Also the camera is half in love with Burn this entire series, and it makes it very, very easy to fall in love with this dorky, curly-haired puppy of a man.

Dr. Hermann Gottlieb, Pacific Rim & Pacific Rim: Uprising

I could write sonnets about Hermann for how much I've come to love him. 😅 He's one of the Characters of All Time for me. From his passion, his stubborn resilience, and his sharp humor, to his unwavering loyalty for those he cares for and his ability to care so deeply, how could I not irrevocably fall for him? (Also singlehandedly the cause of the 2023 Burn Binge.) Hermann found his way into my heart from the very beginning, but I never realized how at home he had made himself until the day I turned around and he was patiently waiting for me to see him. I think I fell for him and Newt in the same fell swoop, and my love for both of them is unwavering.

Dr. Owen Harper, Torchwood

I've been in love with this bastard since 2013; I've been repressing that adoration for 10 years. I- I don't really remember the exact moment that my opinion of Owen shifted from extreme dislike to him carving a permanent place in my very being, but there it is. He's sarcastic, an incorrigible flirt, and has one of the biggest, kindest hearts I've ever come across in fiction. At the time, I was pre-Med, and I aspired to be half as compassionate a doctor as him. After Exit Wounds, I gave up Torchwood (I couldn't, not with Tosh gone too.), but I've slowly been dipping my toes back in via Burn's reading of some of the books & the Big Finish audios. It's been 10 years, yet I think I'm more in love with this bastard than I ever was before. (And okay, I admit, he might be my favorite-favorite ^_^;)

Sgt. Detective William Blore, And Then There Were None

Bill, Bill, Bill... He's a crooked cop, he's tired of everyone's nonsense, he's filled with regret, he's probably gay. Detective Blore is yet another classic lit character that I first met back in the late 20-aughts, early 2010s who I really didn't care for. Then 2023 rolls around, and not only did I come to love him in this adaptation, but I've ended up going on an Agatha Christie bender because of it. Burn made me... well love would be too strong a word, but I definitely rank Blore as "a poor little meow meow."

Major Edmund Hewlett, TURN

How could this list be at all complete without including my beloved major? (Just picking a gif for this made me realise how badly I've missed him. 🥺) Edmund is... How do I explain how much I adore this guy? How do I possibly pin down the levels of pride I have in his journey, in his growth, explain the way my heart aches at the twists and turns that will tear him apart and build him back even stronger? How do I possibly do justice in conveying how damn aspirational he is, how merciful, how delightful? I can't, really. He's a force of nature that one must experience for themselves. (And I need to resume my rewatch methinks~)

Runner-Ups

(or the characters who have been spinning in my brain nonstop like rotisserie chickens and absolutely deserve mention)

Ben Jarvis, Cheat

I... I have entire essays I want to write about this guy. I have theories I want to discuss, but as most of them are... I can't. Yet. Maybe soon? I- Anyway. Ben was a huge surprise, and definitely nowhere close to what I was expecting when I finally got around to watching this show. I would be lying to say it wasn't a pleasant surprise, and I absolutely love how Burn was able to do a lot of solo work this series, with a lot of focus on body language and his uncanny knack for killer expressions.

Jacko Argyle, Ordeal By Innocence

This... This beautiful little shit ♡ One of the first Burn movies I actively chose to seek out, my second in his Agatha Christie adaptations, and my first dive into gif making. And Jacko-! Oh, Jacko... You stole my heart then broke it in only a few, few precious moments of screentime and backstory. He haunts the entire film, he haunts me still, and I'm so glad I had the chance to meet him.

Martin, Up There

(Oh look yet another one of my gifs 😅)

Martin is absolutely one of my favourite characters, especially for his absolute growth during the film. He crawls out of his downward spiral, he finds himself again, and ultimately discovers that there can be life after death. He just- He's grumpy, he's beautifully sarcastic, he's depressed, he's loved, and he just- Seriously I love him. Martin feels like a friend who I haven't seen in an age, and it's always a good day to bump into him again.

Reverend Benedict Marley, Lark Rise to Candleford

I almost forgot my favourite clergyman??? D:

Benedict Marley came into my life just to shake my very foundations, send me on an existential journey of self discovery, and waited for me at the end of it all with a soft smile and encouraging words. He only had one episode in the show, but his story was so easily woven and understood, his humility humbled me, and in ways that make me almost afraid to admit aloud- I felt seen in a way that I ever so rarely am. I connected to him; I understand him. He has depths that I could hardly explain in a single paragraph, but I can say that- out of all these characters- my feelings are birthed more out of a very deep respect and admiration.

I can't say this list will stay the same- I'm far from through with Burn's portfolio- but for his on-screen roles, these guys firmly remain top-tier for me. :)

(If you'd like to hear about his voice work instead, please let me know; I could go on for Hours about some of those lads. ♡)

Thanks for the ask Anon, and if you haven't seen any of these yet, I definitely recommend them!

#this has been sitting untouched for days; I'm so sorry anon #burn gorman #anon ask #thank you! #man i need a tag for burn now fuck #i TRIED to find gifs i didn't make myself yet- #i kind of want to go back and add some of my fave audios too but I'll do a separate post instead if you'd be interested...? #mr. guppy if you please #bleak house #hermann my beloved #pacrim #owen darling boy #torchwood #sgt. detective blore #and then there were none #attwn #edmund my dearest 🔭 #turn #ben jarvis #itv cheat #jacko argyle #ordeal by innocence #martin mon petit 🤍 #up there #benedict marley #lark rise to candleford #seriously anon tho thank you for the ask; i hope this was okay and not too rambly ^_^; #shut up ace #hello tis i #the burn collection