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jess-the-vampire · 3 years

Note

Sooooo whatya think of the new episodeee?

Oh it’s definitely my favorite episode of the series so far, i was having such a good time at every turn. I’m glad i went out of my way to avoid spoilers, cause i was glad to actually be surprised by some elements on first watch.

I think this had by far the best opening for an episode so far, we finally get back to the villians, we meet the coven heads, we get insight on belos’s plans-

and then belos gets constipated, which starts getting into the more character driven lore, which is the best part. You instantly can tell GG and Kiki have some bit of tension between them to be Belo’s favorite, though granted i wonder if hunter is the only one to know belos is cursed and actually just always insists to help belos with his fits to prevent others from seeing them.

Including kiki.

It’s honestly unclear how aware anyone is that belos is cursed, like him eating pailsmans is apparently not something he hides, but like....i feel him being cursed is something that people would know universally if it got out...so i’m left wondering if anyone knows besides hunter.

Regardless, belos turns into a goop monster with an angry side, and i guess his mask doesn’t transform with him compared to the rest of his body so he breaks it again because i guess he goes though masks like crazy.

Hunter turns away in this scene from his outburst and even though he’s masked here i can already tell he’s most likely pained in these scenes. Like he’s probably seen this happen so many times, and i can’t imagine it gets any easier for him, it’s probably awful to watch belos suffer like this for him (Regardless of the abuse)

And to be honest, it seems pretty painful for him, i think this ep seems to at least confirm whatever this thing is that takes over belos’s body.....belos never actually wanted it in the first place.

Yeah so after Hunter tells belos there’s not enough trees to medicate him anymore, we’re hit with the “UNCLE”. Which, when i first watched it i needed a second to even process the fact they confirmed their relation.

and i was like “CLOSE ENOUGH”, not his kid but uncle still works just fine for me, i’m just happy my assumption they were related actually came to ahead.

And i rewatched this episode a few times, and on second watch i realized more what happened in this scene. Hunter was talking about his interest in wild magic, and making more pailsman to help belos, and some method that could heal him and as soon as belos looked at him he instantly shut down.

He was clearly rambling about wild magic cures for belos because of his interest in it, and then suddenly remembered his uncle hates wild magic and felt super awkward.

It seems highly likely his interest in wild magic came from trying to cure belos and spending a lot of time reading up on the stuff.

And then we get hit with the whole “Our family is dead because of wild magic” line, which.....i’m curious to know what happened there. But it does at least explain why belos feels how he does, if wild magic both killed his family beside hunter AND cursed him in the first place. We’re just gonna need more info on what exactly happened.

Also while Belos is def abusive and does not treat hunter how he should, this scene actually does read off to me like belos does care about hunter to some degree. If belos is cursed and his curse works in similar ways to how Eda’s curse works, then it’s worth reminding ppl that eda mentions early this season how stress can amplify the curse even more.

And sure enough, belos goes goopy on hunter’s shoulder all of a sudden when he grasps him. Which could be considered a sign of stress and that the idea of hunter dying or being in danger actually does stress him.

You could very much also assume this is just due to his curse not being fully handled and just getting worse, or that belos only cares about hunter for selfish reasons....but i’m not taking anything off the table here.

Belos can still be a shitty uncle, and still care about hunter, these aren’t mutually exclusive traits. But we need more episodes for now on this.

But anyways he asks hunter if he can rely on him, kiki is pissed......and we move on.

So i’m glad luz’s impulsiveness is addressed a ton in this episode, they actually bring up a lot of good points. That luz has no plan, that the time she’s spending here might render moot if she goes back to earth, ect ect.

Hunter even calls her out a lot later for not thinking things through, it’s a whole deal in this episode. I’m glad it was brought up cause it’s actually worth asking a lot of these things.

the set up here works, they actually made a good reason for why a pailsman didn’t bond with her. Speaking of which the adoption thing is cute and i love it, it’s a great idea. The designs are all very cute and fun.

Bump face reveal was a lot for me to process, but i find the idea of his pailsman being a pet that can help with his disabilities a good idea.

Also like, i did find it odd that they got staffs so early because we’ve never seen kids their ages with them before, but i guess it’s a new tradition? Does everyone at hexside now have one?

Honesty not sure why batqueen left the nest there overnight, i meant i guess she assumed they were safe with that shield but in context i dunno why she didn’t take them home after the school day was over.

but whatever, luz stays there overnight hoping a pailsman will bond with her and GG just kidnapps them cause of pure luck on his part a bunch of pailsman were in a vulnerable spot tonight.

So GG continues to be charming, by whistling the theme song and then being blasted off his ship hilariously, before cockily teleporting himself right back on it seconds later. Like he and luz have great banter, he’s so extra like this it’s so funny, and god he’s so FAST with that staff it’s scary but so awesome.

Yeah so then hand dragon crashes them and i was so excited cause it meant face reveal. Poor dude looked so in pain and then we find out kiki tried to effing murder him because of course she did. But like, i think killing your boss’s nephew is the WORST way to get a promotion tbh.

(Also i got confused for a bit cause his mask has always been drawn as a mask, but now it’s a helmet in this scene for whatever reason but-)

Anyways, face reveal, Like honestly ppl weren’t too far off with their guesses, really the only thing people didn’t get was the tooth gap (That was fair tho, we couldn’t have guessed that). But it did make him even cuter.

like the banter is funny, he licks her hand, she slaps him, he looks SO pissed at her for this mess.

and i guess that outfit is his under armor apparently.

He’s lucky she didn’t run away immediately and followed him, but maybe he assumed she would since she had no where else to go.

Also his expressions in this ep are glorious, these had to be fun to draw.

Also we find out that the coven team members have never seen his face i guess? They just assume he’s a silly kid and are awful to him, so i guess he’s not only the youngest member of the coven but he never really shows his face much.

(”Call your parents”, ha ha.....whose gonna tell them who his uncle is?)

He is however, REALLY good at parkour and he’s fast even without his staff, so he’s well trained alright.

And then they reveal he’s not magical and i was SO happy cause i was so sure something was up when he wasn’t doing magic like the other witches despite his pointy ears. So they outright confirmed what i thought.

Hunter is pretty smart tho, like he can tell luz wouldn’t hurt him and wouldn’t flee so he knows he has the high ground here. Like he might be being a bit of a dick, but to be fair luz has been nothing but a dick to him throughout the whole episode (Everyone in this episode has been a dick to him tbh)

They team up and i get excited cause i love this kinda stuff and it gets more wholesome because hunter is super interested in her magic, he thinks it’s cool and you can tell how much he actually loves wild magic but then again...shuts himself down because of belos making him fear the stuff.

An then because luz asks, he tells her his backstory.

honestly with how this world treats people who aren’t magically powerful, living and growing up in a world that would find you useless sounds....awful. Hunter must be an anomaly around here, human blood or not.

Luz coming here to learn is different then growing up in a world and being the only one with no abilities and no future without them. Belos provides him with magic and a future, it’s no wonder he stays with him despite everything.

the whole “Found me” thing is weird, cause belos implies they’re blood related and hunter makes it sound like belos semi-adopted him. Which....if he did i dunno why “Uncle” and not “Adopted dad”, but ok....guess that’s for later.

Apparently hunter is important for something tho with the “Titan has big plans for me” thing, not sure what, but-

But yeah as soon as Hunter talked about wanting to make his own future and Rascal tried to land on him i knew EXACTLY where this was going, it was so cuteeeeee. The lil birb wanted to be with hunter, that’s so wholesome.

And he’s so terrified because of belos and what wild magic did to him, the poor bab.

But yeah, luz then trusts him with his staff back, because again....impulsive. But hunter does actually ask if she’s sure, so he might as well be asking if she trusts him.

The plan goes ahead, and hunter nearly betrays her.

though granted, hunter never promised her he’d stop and let her take them away, the truce was supposed to last till kiki was stopped and they were gonna fight out who got the pailsman. But it does bother luz cause she was hopeful he was better then this.

But just like he did before, she calls him out and he doesn’t betray her, because he’s ALSO too nice to do it, just like he said she was. He says his name (Which also took a moment to process), and then beats the crap out of kiki while letting luz get away and protecting her like a badass.

He might not have magic, but he’s good at fighting

like he can easily teleport to luz and take the pailsman, but he doesn’t, he lets them get away and luz knows this. Even though she also knows hunter has to go back to the emperor too and they have to separate.

It’s only slightly bitter terms, because in the end he came through for her and she knows it.

honestly, the worst part is i can’t even be mad at hunter for it, i’m sure he was terrified to fail belos. Both because he loves him and doesn’t want him to suffer....but also because of well...being punished. Really says something when his near betrayal doesn’t even make me mad at him, and i can understand why he nearly did it.

He let her go, knowing he’d be in SERIOUS trouble and that it would hurt someone he actually loves, so....ouch.

so yeah at this point i knew rascal wanted him so it was only of matter of what happened next.

Which was, luz getting the wood, which i like more anyway. Eda and King doing this offscreen and coming home like this is actually very funny, and honestly i appreciate the message of it being ok to wait.....means a lot to me.

yeah so belos is like...being an ass, like the kid tried his hardest, you don’t need to hit him with the “Is this the thanks i get?”. He’s a kid and he’s trying to cure you you dick, give him a break he doesn’t remotely have to help you like this.

Also apparently belos has not even told hunter HOW this happened, like...dude. Hunter is trying to be entirely reasonable here and belos spikes at him, which does imply some physical abuse though the only reason hunter doesn’t get a new scar is because he moves.

but how he reacts implies this has happened before, he is bracing for impact and he flinches. It’s pretty sad tbh, especially since hunter loves him and belos’s respect means something to him.

Belos is such an idiot, like c’mon dude, hunter is trying to help you and you don’t listen to him you dick. Kid shouldn’t have to say sorry for anything he did nothing wrong, he was just trying to help.

Anyways, he gloats at kiki (So at the very least she knows what he looks like under the mask), which he deserves a chance to do anyway. So i guess he didn’t rat her out for trying to kill him, personally my guess why is blackmail.....he was gonna hold it over her head to keep her from doing it again and threaten to tell belos.

But kiki quickly tells he LET the pailsman get away since he was the one to fight her (Curse his cute loose hair strand). So i guess now they have dirt on each other, so that’s fun.

His room is adorable, though the med kit by the bed is concerning.

Rascal comes for him and it;s so cute....though you can tell hunter nearly hurts him on instinct because of force of habit, but it’s so cute how he cares and how the birb loves him and is his new staff.

it was well hinted to as well, it’s so subtle, but the bird being cheery, curious, and his constant habit of escaping boundaries was perfect for hunter. He represents what hunter wants to be and why they got matched is done so well, all without explaining anything.

Hunter indirectly stated his deepest wish, to make his own choices, and rascal resonated with that.

can’t wait to see where this goes.

great ending shot, love me some conflicted shots looking out of windows like trapped birds.

also this title was a pun the whole time i can’t-

#the owl house #toh #toh spoilers #golden guard #toh golden guard #the owl house golden guard #the golden guard #the owl house luz #emperor belos #kikimora

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ughseoks · 4 years

Text

syncope | ksj

— pairing; seokjin x reader

— genre; fluff, a little angst

— word count; 2.4k

— warnings; description of blood being drawn, needles, fainting, unedited, jin is a sweetheart

— summary; you decided to donate blood for the first time, and your nurse is... really cute, to put it nicely. it’s just too bad you had to go and embarrass yourself by fainting in his arms.

“Syncope is a temporary loss of consciousness usually related to insufficient blood flow to the brain. It's also called fainting or ‘passing out.’“

— masterlist —

“Is this your first time donating?”

If it weren’t for your nerves about the impending procedure you’d agreed to for reasons unknown to even you, you would most definitely have been a melted puddle at the feet of the nurse— no, god— currently looking down at you.

“Um..” He looked at you expectantly, but not unkindly, as you took slightly too long to answer the very simple question he’d asked, “Y-yeah, yes. This is my first time donating.”

“Well, Ms…” he glanced down at the clipboard in his hands to find your name before smiling up at you reassuringly, almost as if he could tell how nervous you were, “Y/N, my name is Jin, and there’s nothing to worry about. If you have any questions about the process, don’t hesitate to ask. I want you to be as comfortable as possible.”

You gave him a small smile as an answer, shifting uncomfortably in the bed you’d been instructed to sit in after checking in and filling out an assessment to confirm that you were able to donate. You weren’t scared of needles (you had no issues with getting your annual immunizations, unlike your scaredy-cat of a brother Hoseok), but the mere thought of draining your body of an entire pint of blood was enough to give you the heebie jeebies.

“Squeeze this three times, then continue to hold it tightly.” He placed a red stress ball in your palm after propping your arm up, his hand hovering slightly over yours until your fingers grasped the ball firmly. He then wrapped a blood pressure cuff around your bicep, inflating it until it was tight, but not painful.

“Too tight?”

You shook your head no. Humming in acknowledgement, the raven-haired nurse then began to gently feel the inside of your elbow with his fingers, attempting to find the vein he would stick. “Don’t move your arm,” he warned when he finally found it, keeping one of his hands on your forearm to prevent you from wiggling while the other held up a small white stick.

“What’s that for?” you blurted out, eyes wide as you stared at the foreign object.

“I’m gonna use it to mark where your vein is,” he explained with a smile before pressing it firmly in a dotting motion down said vein. “I’m going to clean the injection site now. If your skin becomes irritated, make sure to write it down for the next time you donate. You can tell the nurse that you’re allergic, and they’ll use a different type of antiseptic so you won’t have a reaction.”

“Are you going to stick the needle in after you clean it?”

“Yes,” he turned to throw away the used pad, quickly taping a long, small tube to your wrist when he faced you once again, “It might sting at first, but the burn should go away fairly quickly. Let me know if it doesn’t, okay?”

Gulping, you looked away as he lined up the needle with your arm. A grimace twisted your features when he pushed it in (that’s what she said), a sharp pinch followed by burning radiating from the site where he stuck you.

“You okay?” Jin asked, pressing lightly on the needle to make sure it was placed correctly.

“Y-yeah,” you exhaled slowly, trying to calm your breathing. Within a few seconds, the burn began to subside, just like he’d mentioned earlier.

“Awesome. If you start to feel faint, just call me over and we’ll get it sorted out. Any questions?”

You shook your head no once again, and an encouraging smile lit up his soft features. “You’re doing great, Y/N. It’ll be over before you know it.”

“Hold your arm up for me?”

You held up your arm perpendicular to the floor, pressing the cotton pad onto your inner elbow like Jin had instructed you to do while he turned around to cut off a section of bandage for you. The actual blood-drawing ordeal had been over within a matter of minutes, and you were surprised by how quickly the time had passed.

“Okay, you can set it back down now.” You complied, removing your hand to allow him to bandage up the small injection site with a brightly colored wrap. “You can remove this after around two hours. Take a minute to finish drinking that, and then we can move you out to the lobby. You’ll have to wait about 15 minutes before you can leave once you’re out there, just so we can make sure you don’t faint.”

After finishing off the drink they’d given you, you gave Jin a small wave, flashing him a smile when he took the empty can from your hands to set it out of the way. “Feeling good enough to make it to the lobby?”

“Yeah, I think I’m fine now,” you answered honestly. Sure, you felt a little tired, and your stomach was slightly queasy, but you could definitely make it out of the room and down the hallway.

“Sit up slowly for me, alright?” You complied with his request, carefully swinging your legs over the side of the bed while he watched attentively.

You made it about four steps on your own before all hell broke loose.

The ground began to sway beneath you, your feet fighting to take even one more step forward. It felt like somebody had thrown a weighted blanket over your head. You struggled to stay upright as black stole away the corners of your sight, the dark gradient quickly spreading across your field of vision. Something was tugging at your consciousness, attempting to pull you under the dark waters even as you fought to stay afloat. Everything around you was muffled, with a slight static quality to it— you noticed it when Jin began to speak to you.

“Are you okay?”

You were too out of it to register the question properly or formulate a coherent answer, so you did your best to convey the way you were feeling whilst sticking your arms out for balance. “Uhhhhhhhhh…”

“Okay, come over here, lay back down for me—” His voice stopped registering in your mind halfway through his sentence, his gentle grip on your arm the only thing guiding you to follow his instructions.

The tugging became more incessant; it felt like the unknown force was pulling at the string to your soul, rendering your desperate attempts to stay conscious useless. You’d never felt anything like this before. It wasn’t like when you drift off in class or stand up too quickly; it was as if you were losing touch with reality, death knocking on your front door.

You managed to clamber back onto the bed, your vision returning to you once you’d laid down for a few seconds. The voices of the nurses were still muffled as they gave you gentle instructions to lift your feet up so they could elevate them, and you blinked with force a few times in an attempt to fully regain your senses.

“This might be a little chilly,” you recognized Jin’s voice as he lifted the front of your shirt slightly, slipping an ice pack into it so it would rest on your chest. The quick temperature change gave you something to focus on, and when Jin spoke up again, his voice was clear in your mind instead of muffled like before.

“Can you sip on this for me?” he asked gently, setting down another can with a straw next to your head. You nodded yes, reaching over to hold the can still as you wrapped your lips around the straw carefully.

The following minutes consisted of occasional reminders to continue moving your legs and gentle touches on your shoulders accompanied by questions of “Feeling better?” Jin was usually the one asking, and deep down, you felt a little guilty. Realistically, you knew that he’d dealt with situations like this many times before, but you still felt like you were inconveniencing him and the rest of the staff.

After what seemed like a thousand years, he gently lifted the back of the bed into a raised seat position, allowing you to move into an upright position more easily. “We’re gonna try this again. Move as slowly as you can. I’ll help you out if you need me to.”

Nodding, you began to swing your legs over the side of the bed once again. Apparently, it was still too fast for his liking, because he gently grabbed your legs and moved them at the pace he saw fit, murmuring “Easy, easy,” gently beneath his breath.

Carefully placing your feet onto the ground below, you gradually placed your weight on them, nervous that the ground would start to sway like it had before. Much to your relief, all you felt was a slight dizziness; nothing compared to what you’d felt earlier.

When you looked back up, Jin was staring down into your eyes, his gaze flitting around your face to check for any sign of unwellness before he smiled and nodded towards the doorway. “Follow me and let me know if you start to feel faint again.”

You smiled gratefully at him, following him slowly out into the hallway and towards a set of fluffy chairs. When you took a seat, he handed you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, instructing you to snack on it while you waited.

“Do you think you can drive yourself?” A different nurse kindly asked, roughly fifteen minutes after you’d sat down. Your immediate reaction is to say yes, but after a second thought, you realize it might not be a great idea.

“I’m not sure,” you admit sheepishly, “I can see if my brother Hoseok can come and pick me up, but he’s at work, so it might be a little while—”

“Wait, Hoseok as in Jung Hoseok?” Your head whipped towards the sound of Jin’s voice a few steps away from you. He was escorting a middle aged man towards the seating area, just like he’d done with you a few minutes ago (although the man seemed to be in much better shape than you’d been in).

“Yeah, you know him?” You were a little surprised, but not shocked. After all, being the social butterfly he was, your brother seemed to know pretty much everyone in town.

“He’s pretty close with a few of my buddies,” Jin explained with a smile on his face, “Now that I think about it, I actually owe him a favor or two. Want me to give you a ride home?”

“O-oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” you waved your hands wildly in front of yourself, “I’m fine with waiting here for a little longer.”

“It’s no trouble, I promise. My shift is over in five anyways.”

“If you’re really sure…” you rubbed the back of your neck awkwardly, thankful for his offer but still feeling a little guilty accepting it.

“I am. Let me go pack up and we can get out of here.”

Twenty minutes later, you were walking up the steps to your house with Jin by your side (he’d insisted on walking you to the door) when a previously unconsidered issue popped into your head. “Oh, I almost forgot! What are we going to do about my car? It’s still back in the parking lot.”

Jin stopped walking, taking a minute to consider before speaking up. “I work another shift in the morning, so if you don’t mind getting up a little early, I can swing by here and take you with me.”

“T-that works for me.” A look of confusion crossed your face when he held out his phone to you.

“If it’s okay with you, I can text you when I get here in the morning?” You nodded enthusiastically, quickly typing your number into the empty contact before sliding his phone back into his hands.

“See you tomorrow,” he grinned, throwing you a thumbs up before you shut the door behind you.

Unknown, 7:38am: hey! this is jin, the handsome nurse who took you home last night in a very platonic and non-romantic way. i’m parked outside ;)

Throwing on your hoodie and snatching your keys from the entryway table, you quickly locked the door behind you and scrambled into Jin’s car, ignoring the way he chuckled at your flustered state. The ride back to your car went by in a comfortable silence, the two of you sneaking glances at each other when you didn’t think they were looking.

Was Jin this attractive yesterday? Surely not. The morning sun was shining through the windshield, causing his raven hair to sparkle and his plump lips to shimmer in the light. His long lashes brushed his cheeks every time he blinked, making your heart beat a little faster with each passing moment.

You were startled out of your thoughts when the car was put in park, a small smirk present on his face when you realized he’d caught you staring.

“Uh-umm,” you stuttered, heat rushing towards your cheeks, “Thanks for the, uh, the ride.”

You scrambled to let yourself out of his vehicle when he gently grasped your wrist, a glint of mischief in his eye when you visibly gulped at the contact.

“Are you free this evening?”

“H-huh?” you blinked, tilting your head to the side in confusion.

“If you don’t have any plans, I’d like to take you out,” he explained with a wink, “Apologies if I’m being too forward. You’re just really cute, and if you’re anything like Hoseok, I can see us getting along really well.”

“Wow, you sure know how to charm a girl, comparing her to her brother while trying to ask her on a date,” you managed to tease slightly, giggling when his eyes widened by a fraction. “I’d love to go out with you tonight.”

“Alright, I’ll text you later to set a time, if that’s okay?” There was a slight blush on his cheeks, contradicting the confident persona he’d put on not even five minutes beforehand.

“Sounds like a plan,” you grinned, giving him a small wave before shutting the car door and making your way towards your own vehicle.

Who knew that fainting in front of the cute nurse would be the best accidental decision you’d ever made?

a/n; wrote this after i donated blood and was 0.2 seconds away from fainting. fun!!!! anyways i’m a slut for nurse!jin and i always will be so yeah (sorry i feel like the end of this is really shitty but i was struggling to finish it so take what u get and dont throw a fit ok)

— masterlist —

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failbaby · 4 years

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Can you please write moreid #3 from the fluff or 12 from misc?

Sorry this took me so long! This sort of prompt (not depressing or horny) is not what I’m used to writing, so it was kind of a challenge. I hope you like it! (Set during S1. Long as hell for absolutely no reason. Not NSFW, but warning for adult themes.)

Spencer wakes up as soon as the sun’s flush has spread to the center of the sky.

For a fraction of a second, before he’s opened his eyes, he’s certain he’s at home. Then, for an even smaller increment, he’s half-awake and confused at the unfamiliar angles at which the light fills his peripherals.

Then, then, once his brain has fully rejoined him on planet Earth, then he remembers.

Holy shit.

Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid, Spencer.

Sleeping with your coworker?

Stupid.

Think.

He’s still asleep.

Carefully, as if he’s diffusing a bomb, Spencer removes Morgan’s (heavy, good Lord, what does this guy lift?) arm from where it’s draped across his chest and sits upright. He keeps every muscle in his body tense in an effort to keep as still as possible.

Twelve and a half feet from here to the door, clothes five feet three inches left of the door.

Will take me two minutes to dress. My legs are three feet and four inches long. My strides are four feet and five inches on average.

Sixteen stairs.

Six and a half inches each.

It should take him, he reasons, about four minutes and some change to dress himself and get out the front door, as long as he makes exceptionally good time and manages to dodge distractions. (He doesn’t want to seem too eager, after all, hanging around the house the morning after--he doesn’t want Morgan to know just how much this matters to him.)

As soon as Spencer shifts his weight, though, he realizes how sore the previous night had rendered him, and he tries to adjust his calculations for limping.

Six minutes? Eight?

He’s not sure.

He’s not sure of anything right now.

God, he hates being unsure.

Painstakingly slowly, Spencer climbs out of bed and tiptoes over to the corner of the room where his clothes had been carelessly discarded the night before.

(He finds that he almost doesn’t want to put them back on. He feels as though he’s somehow a changed person.)

For just a moment, as he’s wrestling his jeans on, Spencer pauses to drink in the domestic tranquility laid out before him. The sun has risen in full, and its gentle morning rays are slipping in defined slates through the blinds covering the window above the bed. Derek Morgan is passed out with his back to the corner of the room where Spencer is standing. Even from behind, everything about the older man seems regal, somehow; unnaturally beautiful, like he was created by something far more powerful than a man and a woman. His shoulder blades, the curvature of his spine, his medium-dark complexion that almost seems to glow in the sunlight--it’s all perfect. His back is scratched up, and it’s with genuine surprise that Spencer realizes he must’ve done that.

Reluctantly, he tears his eyes away and turns to face the wall as he gets dressed.

Four and a half minutes with NO DISTRACTIONS.

No distractions.

Don’t get distracted.

Don’t get--

“What’re you doing?” Morgan calls from behind him, voice thick with sleep.

Shit.

Spencer pivots quickly around, heart hammering, still holding his shirt in his left hand. “I was j—uh—I was just…leaving…?”

Morgan frowns. “I drove you here.”

“I was…gonna take the metro.”

“Uh-uh.” He yawns and sits up. “What kinda douchebag do you think I am? I’m not gonna fuck you and let you take the train home.”

“Morgan, I can—”

“Hey. Call me Derek, okay?”

“Derek, I can get myself home. It’s really not a problem.”

“It is a problem. I’ll make you breakfast. C’mon.” His face softens a bit. “Please?”

It occurs to Spencer, then, that he might actually be wanted here. He entertains the thought (doesn’t cling to it, but allows it to pass by without shooting it down) that Morgan - Derek, whatever - actually wants to make him breakfast, and isn’t just doing it out of obligation or because he feels bad for him. It’s an unfamiliar (though certainly not unwelcome) feeling-- being truly wanted is a dopamine rush he hasn’t felt in years.

Spencer nods, trying his best not to grin like a lovesick teenage girl. “Okay. Sure, I can stay for breakfast.”

…

Spencer’s never been good at sitting still, and it’s ten times worse when he’s nervous.

The atmosphere of the kitchen is not tense--that’s not the right way to describe it, because Derek certainly doesn’t seem tense, humming to himself as he flips pancakes and the dusty, familiar smell of the heat turning on fills the room--but Spencer is certainly tense. He hadn’t grabbed his shirt when he’d come downstairs, having been thrown off of his groove by Derek asking him to stay for breakfast, and he’s self-conscious and cold. He bounces his leg up and down idly and wrings his hands in his lap.

Sleeping with your coworker, he thinks, over and over and over. Stupid.

“Do you mind if I go look at your pictures?” He eventually asks, gesturing towards the framed photos on the wall in the living room.

“Not at all. These’ll be done in--actually, I’ll come in there.”

As Spencer stands up, he absentmindedly grabs a gray hoodie draped across the back of one of the kitchen chairs and tugs it over his head. It’s warm, soft, and smells like Derek.

He never wants to take it off.

Morgan’s living room is painted a pale blue color. The couch and coffee table sit a foot and a half apart. There’s a brown, circular rug (almost exactly six feet in diameter, Spencer notes) in the center of the floor. The walls are lined with photographs; side-by-side portraits of two pretty young women who Spencer recognizes as Derek’s sisters, a photo of Derek in front of some sort of waterfall with his arm around a slim, pretty brunette woman (which sparks an irrational jealousy that Spencer swallows as best he can), and a small framed photo of a group of people which looks to have been taken with a disposable camera.

Spencer moves in to get a closer look.

“Is this JJ on your wall here?”

“In the group picture with the unit?” Morgan calls. “Yeah. We look a lot younger there, huh?”

Spencer smiles. “You do. I didn’t even recognize Gideon. What year was this?”

“That was...‘98? ‘99? JJ’s first year. Probably my favorite year with the BAU yet.”

His favorite year ever was before I was there, Spencer realizes with a twinge of sadness.

“That was before we got the jet,” Derek continues. “Man, you don’t know the struggle. We used to fly commercial. Get split up and sat next to randos. But that was before 9/11, so...hey, did you see my hoodie anywhere? I swear I set down in here somewhere.”

Spencer’s smile fades. He balls his fists within the too-long sleeves of Derek’s missing hoodie. Fuck.

God, he’s so bad at these things.

He’s almost never sure in advance exactly where other people draw the lines of their comfort zones, but he can always tell once he’s overstepped them, and standing here at eight o’clock in the morning in his coworker’s living room, bare-chested beneath his hoodie, sore between the legs and staring at his family photos, he knows for sure that he’s overstepped. He’s gotten too comfortable.

Spencer reaches to pull the garment off. “Uh, I…”

“You’re wearing it, aren’t you?”

“I’m not, I--”

Derek chuckles. “You’re super cute. I’ll be out there in one sec.”

Honestly, the fact that Derek regularly has two kinds of syrup (maple and blueberry) in his house is extremely intimidating.

Spencer’s spent most of his life around older people, and, though he certainly never feels left behind intellectually, there are occasional jarring moments when he realizes just how immature he is in comparison to his peers. This is one of these times; he feels adolescent and ridiculous looking around Morgan’s fully-furnished, Real Adult living room, thinking about how he probably has a mortgage and a spice cabinet and a swiffer mop.

(Two kinds of syrup--really? Spencer doesn’t even have ice cubes. Maybe it’s time for him to grow up and get an ice tray.)

“Did you know that the profitable blueberry season in South America directly follows the profitable blueberry season in North America, almost to the day?” Spencer asks, nervously dragging his forkful of pancake through his puddle of blueberry syrup. He’s hardly eaten. He’s too uneasy. “On the day that the average North American blueberry farmer’s profits decline to zero, the average South American blueberry farmer’s spike. Now, this is partly just because of demand, of course, but the fact that it’s so exact--”

“Spence?” Morgan interrupts.

He mentally kicks himself. “Sorry.”

“Hey, no. Don’t be sorry. Listen, uh...do you think I could maybe...take you out...sometime?”

Spencer frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Snipe you. No. What do you think? To dinner or something.”

(If Spencer didn’t know any better, he’d almost think Derek looked nervous. He’s biting his lower lip--it’s a classic anxiety tell. Sometimes, Spencer really wishes he wasn’t a profiler.)

“...Why?”

“Why?” Morgan repeats. “Because I like you.”

Spencer’s stomach turns over. “You do?”

“Isn’t that what I said?”

“...Do you really mean that?” (His heart hammers. He wonders, for a moment, if this is some kind of cruel joke, like the ones kids used to play on him in high school.)

“What? Of course I mean it.”

“Do you do this with everyone? I mean, everyone who…?”

“No.”

It’s difficult for Spencer to comprehend; he almost can’t wrap his head around the idea that someone so gorgeous and widely beloved and well-put-together would want anything at all to do with him, let alone this. “Then why is this time different?”

“Because you’re different. I’ve never met anyone like you in my life. Look, can I take you out, or not?”

Spencer locks eyes with Derek and raises his forkful of pancake (now completely saturated with blueberry syrup) to his lips. He’s not quite sure if the overwhelming, comfortable warmth he feels is from the heat, Derek’s hoodie, or the affection he feels bubbling up inside him at the prospect of a date, but he finds that he doesn’t really care.

“I’d like that.”

#moreid #ask #pay attention to me im bored #writing

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nadunacreates · 4 years

Text

HEROES BLEED RED • FLUFFCEMBER PROMPT FILL

days one to six: sunrise // flower crown // humming // lake // gentle touch // cute animal

set somewhere after the epilogue that has yet to be written; a soft ending; 2k words, continued under the cut.

•

Radiant is sitting next to her, once again. They’re back out here, once again, with the same mountains and forests surrounding them, stretching as far as they can see. This time, though, time doesn’t matter. They don’t have to hurry back to the city, there’s no rush to be anywhere, no need to pretend that this is not exactly where they’re supposed to be and who they’re supposed to be with. This time, it’s easy to linger, to settle back against the grass that’s cold and wet with dew, to interlace their fingers and tip their heads back, keep their eyes on the horizon and watch the sun rise over the valley, watch the Mountain Beasts rip entire trees out of the ground and crush them to dust with their razor-sharp teeth, grazing contentedly and bleating ‘good morning’s at each other like overgrown, furless sheep.

The air is filled with birdsong and the smell of spring; there are flowers that crane their heads towards the first rays of light, that let the sun’s fingers caress their newborn bodies, and they sigh softly when the warmth of a new day seeps deep into their leaves, makes their blossoms flutter and the color pop. There are busy bees and hungry caterpillars, a wild bunny or two, and it feels like it’s the whole world that’s spreading out before them, finally at peace. Finally able to heal.

Moe startles when Radiant tugs her hand out of Moe’s grasp, when she sighs and tugs off her mask, shoots a sheepish smile in Moe’s direction as she lets her hair fall loose over her shoulders. “It’s better that way,” Kaliope says quietly. Her eyes glow. “I don’t even know why I put it on in the first place.” Moe smiles back at her, but in the end, there’s no need to say anything. She knows why Kaliope put it on in the first place, just as well as Kaliope herself knows it, probably, even if she doesn’t quite want to admit it.

It’s still hard, after all.

Some days are still worse than others, and sometimes the memories press in on them both, barely let them breathe. Memories of both good and bad, of things past that they wish they could change and those that they wouldn’t ever, of light and dark and dark and light, and all these grey spaces in-between. It’s never easy, but sometimes it’s bearable. Sometimes it’s okay, because they’re going to be fine. Because somewhere down the road, they’re going to be okay. And right now, they’re just working towards that goal, day after day, step by step, along that winding path.

Moe realizes she’s still smiling when she blinks the shadow of these memories out of the corners of her eyes, blinks and notices that Kaliope still isn’t holding her hand again, but instead she’s now holding up a flower crown woven of forget-me-nots and daisies and other small plants that Moe doesn’t know the name of, isn’t sure if they’re even flowers or just random weeds. Then again, Kaliope has never needed perfection to love something, to be able to appreciate its inherent beauty in spite of all appearances. (She’s always been the one to look closer, deeper, to listen and wait and figure out the truth for herself, to see beauty from within.) Moe realizes she’s still smiling because it almost hurts when she wants to grin even wider at the sight, when her throat closes up as if that was where these flowers were growing, and even swallowing twice doesn’t do anything about the choking feeling at the back of her throat or about the sudden dryness of her eyes, the way they itch and water and— Moe keeps smiling despite the quiver of her lips, because of the quiver in her lips, and she closes her eyes, leans forward and bows her head in Kaliope’s direction, a silent acquisition followed by an agreeing noise from under her breath, a shaky hum to distract from the way she’s literally rendered speechless. Kaliope laughs a little to herself, softly, and takes care to arrange the flower crown on Moe’s head, to weave it into the short brown locks, to make sure it doesn’t fall apart at the slightest movement. She takes a moment to admire the image once she’s done, after, and there’s a pause during which Moe doesn’t dare to open her eyes. She feels the weight of Kaliope’s gaze on her, though, and it’s a comforting kind of burden. Then Kaliope runs her hand down the side of Moe’s face, oh so gently, cups her palm against her cheek, and lets her thumb stroke along the bone underneath Moe’s right eye, brushes a few stray tears away. She doesn’t say anything, for a while, just hums and stays close and leans forward to touch her forehead against Moe’s when Moe’s breaths finally start to calm, when there’s no hitch to them, anymore.

Moe’s hands itch to touch Kaliope back, return the gesture of reverence, to wrap her up in a hug and just… hold her close, for a while, to know that she’s here and she’s not going anywhere, and it only takes the span of a heartbeat for Moe to remember that she’s allowed to do these things, now, that Kaliope even requested she give in to such whims whenever she wants to — and oh, how she wants to.

Still, she’s careful when she raises her hand to come to a rest on Kaliope’s wrist, on the hand that’s still cupping Moe’s cheek. Kaliope doesn’t flinch or back away, so Moe runs that hand along Kaliope’s arm down to her elbow, up to her shoulder, back down again, following soft curves and well-known paths, until she reaches the cage of her ribs and lets her other hand join it there, and then she wraps both of her arms around Kaliope’s waist, oh so gently, pulls her close — buries her face in her neck and just breathes, for a while.

Kaliope’s own hands come to a rest on Moe’s shoulder blades now, and still she’s running her thumbs back and forth in soothing circles, a subconscious gesture that makes Moe relax a fraction more, until Kaliope is all but holding her up, capable and strong and unyielding, sarcastic and soft and gentle, and gods, how Moe loves her.

She loves her.

It’s not really a revelation.

It’s something she’s known for a while now, the same way she knows when the moon is full or when there’s a storm coming, something that’s ingrained deep in her bones and impossible to get out, something that’s as much a part of her as the blood in her veins and the heart that beats in her chest, only that now that heart beats for Kaliope, too, a thump-thump-thump of you’re-here-beside-me, of no-more-masks-I-know-you-and-you-know-me and let-me-spend-the-rest-of-our-lives-with-you. It’s— it feels like coming home. Coming home to the kind of home where the fireplace is lit during wintertime (because Emerson will never not complain when it’s cold outside and there’s no fire in the hearth), where it smells like fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies (because Maura found that new recipe and had to try it) and where there’s a new painting on the wall (because Lisa has finally found her inspiration again), a home where cat and dog lie curled up next to (and on top of) each other in front of the flames, where Kaliope looks up with a smile and ink-stained fingers when Moe enters, where Moe gets to come home and press a kiss to Kaliope’s lips, where she stumbles forward and lands in Kaliope’s lap (because Farren is a little shit and they just won’t quit match-making Moe even after Moe has found her match). It feels like coming home to a home that’s no longer a pipe dream made of mere wisps and smoke of hopeful thinking, but rather a home that’s made of solid bricks and mortar, steady, sturdy and reliable, comfortable and real, and it’s not something she has to wish upon a star for, but rather something that actually happened that way just last week, and... yes.

Moe might be more than ready to say it now, and she’s never considered herself a coward, doesn’t want to start now, so—

“I love you,” she says, and very much feels as though she just took a tumble down a cliff; her heart is in her throat and her are hands shaking, so she fists them in the material of Radiant’s cloak and hopes for the best. She took a tumble down the cliff and she can’t fly, anymore, but Kaliope will always be there to catch her. She holds her closer still, and Moe can feel the way her fingers shake as she stops drawing patterns on the bare skin of Moe’s neck, as she presses them flat against it instead, as though she has to steady herself. Kaliope breathes in and out and her hair tickles Moe’s nose and her heart beats a steady rhythm against Moe’s chest and then she turns her head to the side, presses her lips to the place where shoulder meets neck, where that scar runs down along Moe’s collarbone, and she says, whisper-quiet, “I love you.”

Moe smiles, again, or maybe still, and she lets herself melt back into Kaliope’s embrace, lets herself just enjoy the moment. There’s nothing more that needs to be said, nothing that couldn’t wait just a few minutes more.

The sun has fully risen now, the Mountain Beasts have moved on, a little, stopped eating trees and started ripping chunks out of the mountainside, instead, and a few of them have trotted down to the water to drink, and it’s their old friend who stops and stares on his way, who cranes his long neck and roars a greeting. Kaliope startles at the sound, but it only takes her half a heartbeat to recognize the sound and know that it isn’t a threat, and then she starts laughing, the full-belly kind of laughter that leaves her unable to hold Moe close anymore, that makes her stomach cramp and her voice go too high, her eyes crinkle and glow brighter, sparkle with mirth, and it makes the hiccups start again.

Kaliope leans into Moe’s side as she’s calming down, then, lets her fingers wrap against Moe’s and lifts those intertwined hands to her mouth to kiss the back of Moe’s hand, but doesn’t quite manage to follow through with the whole pressing-her-lips-to-skin thing, because she hiccups again. Opens her mouth in affront, to protest, hiccups again. She snaps her mouth shut and glares, and this is the moment that Moe’s composure dissolves into laughter as well, carefree for once, just happy to be here, with Kaliope, to enjoy this moment of peace. Freedom.

It’s not perfect. There’s grass stuck to Kaliope’s cheek and her fingers are stained with the color of the flowers she used for the crown, and Moe thinks there’s hair in her mouth and her own legs are getting numb from the way she sits and the fact that the cold and wet grass has really become a nuisance now, but it’s good. It’s good.

They’re alive, they have each other.

Tomorrow will come, and it will come with yet another beautiful sunrise.

It’s more than enough, and Moe loves every second of it.

•

author’s note at the end, because wow this has gotten long.

i’m… not bad at writing daily, but rather at being able to produce something actually readable daily. which is why, when i saw how perfectly these first six days of the fluffcember prompts go together, i couldn’t resist writing a single piece for them all. i hope you enjoyed it!

also. i realized pretty late that this whole thing probably counts as a major spoiler because it’s literally an epilogue after an epilogue, but. i kinda don’t care. i also don’t care that i have no idea just what these two have been through, in the end, because i haven’t written it yet. i know what my PLAN is, and i know it’s gonna be ... bad, but honestly my writing rarely goes according to plan, so this might very well end up never happening like that. it was still a nice break from the angst.

(and mountain beasts count as cute animals, right?)

#fluffcember 2019 #amwriting #writing #original writing #creative writing #writeblr #superheroes (and villains) getting their needed break #hbr: excerpt #wip: heroes bleed red #sorry for any mistakes and english weirdness #it was late when i wrote this and english isn't my native language so #but if you want to provide feedback or constructive criticism please feel free to do so #it's part of the very first draft and probably won't make it into the story but #i know my writing style is ... different and i'm very curious about your opinions!#char: moe baldwin #char: kaliope sanders #long post #just in case the readmore doesn't work..

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sttngfashion · 7 years

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Genesis - 7.19

It’s a fashion-light episode but it DOES involve Spot, so.

We start with Riker in sickbay getting some sort of spiny plant removed from his back after things “started getting romantic” with him and another crew member in the arboretum.

Fuck so hard I roll over dangerous plants and don’t give two shits

Nurse Ogawa is here, which is always a pleasure, and she’s rocking a seriously voluminous updo, sort of a 1940s meets 1990s sensible French twist. I’m sure she loves having to remove Riker’s sexytime plant spines. That’s definitely what she went to Starfleet Nursing Academy for.

Barclay is also in sickbay, because: Barclay.

He literally claimed he had something called “Terellian Death Syndrome” which is honestly a terrible name for a syndrome

Beverly has asked him repeatedly not to search the medical database before coming to her (AKA Never Search WebMD), but of course Broccoli does. She’s got her gorgeous strawberry shortcake season 7 hair happening:

MFW Barclay shows up in sickbay for the third time this week

The other patient being tended to is also a beautiful redhead:

The laying on of hands

Spot is pregnant and at first I was like “HOW THE FUCK DID SPOT GET PREGNANT” but apparently a) there are 12 male cats on board and b) Spot has a tendency to sneak out of Data’s quarters.

Okay, listen.

1. If there are AT LEAST 13 cats on board, WHERE ARE THEY? I want a Bridge Cat.

Bridge Cat: artist’s rendering

2. HOW IS SPOT GETTING OUT? This is a fucking SPACESHIP. Shit should be LOCKED DOWN. It’s literally AIRTIGHT. I GUESS she could sneak through, like, a vent or something but if you’re going to have cats on board, you need to PLAN for their fuckery.

This could be really bad

3. If the cats are WANDERING THE SHIP, aren’t you worried they’re going to end up in the warp core? Or that even just their fur is? WHO IS VACUUMING UP ALL THE FUR.

Anyway, Crusher is apparently also a veterinarian (which I guess makes sense since she treats all sorts of species) and says that Spot should deliver her babies soon. Nurse Ogawa then says that she’s also pregnant! THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER, which is the only reason she says it.

Also important for later:

Oh yeah gimme that t-cell injection

I’ll just tell you now that all the weird stuff that occurs in this episode is a result of Broccoli’s mutated t-cells after he gets this shot (or something). It’s (enjoyable) nonsense so don’t worry about it. I just wanted you to see how much he loved getting this hypospray.

Picard and Data have to drive through an asteroid field to get a stray torpedo (bad). Data asks Barclay to keep an eye on Spot, since she’s about to give birth, and she likes Barclay best of all the people on board. You can tell by the way she looks at him:

This IS my “I love you” face

Broccoli is pleased, because no one likes him.

WE’RE BEST FRIENDS NOW

It’s actually very sweet; Barclay even seems to know something about cats and asks Data where she’s planning to have her kittens.

With Barclay’s luck, she will have them inside his pants while he’s wearing them, somehow

I just really enjoy Data’s display case here, with his violin case juuuuust open enough to let all the dust in, but not quite enough to actually see the instrument.

Spot’s in good hands:

Yarn, Spot? You cliche

Elsewhere on the ship, Worf is having a fucking feast:

No I asked for a SIDE of tentacles

This looks delicious, actually. Giant turkey leg? Some kind of weird dried fish? Potato salad on a bed of green beans? I’m in.

Troi shows up, a little upset that Worf didn’t wait for her, since they planned to have lunch together. He’s mean and it’s weird. You can already tell something STRANGE is happening on the ship, mostly because Troi is NOT wearing a jewel tone:

Eileen Fisher for Spacefleet

Drink this look in, kids, because it’s one of the two non-uniform looks in this episode. We can see here that I THINK Troi is wearing some Danskin shimmer tights with her beige on beige minidress and matching waterfall cardigan. The color is not what we usually see on her, but it’s not terrible (except for my pre-existing anti-beige bias). It’s certainly along the lines of what I wear when I’m lounging around.

Secret pajamas except it’s not a secret. It’s just pajamas I wear in public

Ed. note: I copied that picture of my cat Violet to my clipboard earlier when I was making the images above and I accidentally pasted it here and I can’t bring myself to delete it.

Troi’s hair has reached its astonishing season 7 pouf levels and I just love everything about it. Anyway, Worf is acting like a real dick, but we do get another good look at those Ten-Forward outfits.

IS THAT HOUNDSTOOTH

If I ever attend another con, that’s going to be my look because houndstooth is everything to me.

Later, Worf’s dickishness turns into something MORE:

I’M A DICK ON A RAMPAGE

This scene is super dark and it’s not totally clear what’s happening, but Worf basically just destroys his own quarters, including his pillows, then cuddles up with them on the floor. We do get a decent look at Worf’s jammies, which are brown and might be made of varying colors of burlap.

If anyone was gonna wear burlap pajamas, it would be the Klingons

I’m not sure what’s going on with that shoulder detail, but it can’t be that comfortable to sleep in? But again - Klingons aren’t exactly a culture that considers “comfort” to be something to aim for. If you showed a Klingon an Aerosole, he would 100% cut it in half and throw the halves in your face.

These PJs might also be linen, which would be WAY nicer to sleep in, but a little off-brand. I mean, a Klingon in linen? Can you imagine? Hold on, you don’t have to:

Pure white to better show off the blood of my slain enemies

So everyone is acting weird. Troi is like “I’m cold. I need a bath,” and walks off the bridge. The next time we see her, this is happening:

Deanna, sweetie? It’s more relaxing if you take your uniform off

As she’s taking her fully-clothed bath, Worf busts in and:

CHOMP

It’s actually very upsetting, and at first neither of them even really know how to react either:

Oh god did I just bite you

Did you just fucking BITE me??????

Troi goes to sickbay, where she gets my favorite disco blanket:

Disco Blanket: Because why shouldn’t a blanket be iridescent

To be fair, emergency blankets ARE shiny, so.

You better believe that’s an affiliate link, friend

Okay so THEN Crusher is examining Worf and she asks him to open his mouth and HOO BOY was that a mistake.

Does the replicator not have the recipe for Listerine, or

He SPRAYS her like a fucking dilophosaurus!!

NOT IN THE FAAAAAAAAAACE

Later someone says her injuries were so bad that SHE WILL NEED RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY. That means in every episode after this (not many, but still), we are seeing a RECONSTRUCTED BEV.

So everyone is losing it, basically, which doesn’t explain why Broccoli thinks this is a normal way to stand:

Is this how a human? Does a stand? How is stand

Finally, Picard and Data come back, and when they arrive, the Enterprise is just adrift. They board and find this:

Sir, if the t-shirt does not spark joy when you touch it, the book counsels you to throw it away. I was unable to apply this method as I do not feel joy, nor any other emotion

It’s the shed skin of a reptile, which: whaaaaaat? Ain’t no reptiles on this ship!

Narrator: actually, there were reptiles on this ship

Troi is still in the bathtub when Picard and Data find her, and she is like, half lizard because the t-cells released when Barclay got that hypospray are making everyone de-evolve. Sure. She looks terrible, which is a real feat since Marina Sirtis is such a Betty:

Honestly she’s still p hot

I think my favorite part of this makeup is the gecko-like fingertips. Excellent detail. Love the scales, love the contacts, love the unripe banana shade of green they used. All great.

Data and Picard go check out what else is happening, and they find a caveman at one of the control panels:

Not a Starfleet regulation haircut

But what’s this? It’s not a caveman at all! It’s...

I heard dramatic eyebrows were back in

...Riker! I guess! The makeup on Frakes here is SO heavy that it’s not immediately apparent that it’s Riker, except that he’s wearing command red and has a beard. Plus, Picard says “Will?” upon this reveal.

FUCK YOU GUYS

I’m saving this as my “flipping the bird” image to use forever.

Data and Picard manage to subdue Riker and get him to sickbay, after which they go to Data’s quarters to use his computer. But guess what happened?

KITTENS

Spot had her babies! They’re legit VERY small kittens and very cute. Data says they’re hungry, and wonders why Spot isn’t taking care of them. And then comes one of the best shots since chicken in the hallway:

Sup

IT’S AN IGUANA WEARING SPOT’S COLLAR. SPOT DEVOLVED INTO LITERALLY JUST AN IGUANA. I laughed so hard at this shot and I REALLY wanted the kittens to interact with the iguana, but they didn’t. I don’t know if that iguana was even on set.

LOL

Data notes that the kittens didn’t turn into baby iguanas, so he thinks maybe there’s some kind of cure for the devolution from pregnancy? Or something? This is where Nurse Ogawa’s recently-announced pregnancy comes into play. So he goes to sickbay, and Picard goes to see what’s going on in Engineering, and finds:

Help meeee

Barclay devolved into, like, a spider? I guess? Because this gene mutating thing is just nuts and does whatever the effects people think will look cool. (And they all do look pretty cool.)

Nurse Ogawa has devolved into Standard Neanderthal #4:

On loan from the American Museum of National History

And finally, the big boss: Worf. Worf turned into something with an exoskeleton that was able to make this dent in the sickbay door:

Rude

Picard and Data speculate that Worf thinks Troi is his mate (sure) and he’s trying to get through the door to her, so they synthesize her pheromones to draw Worf away from sickbay so that Data can focus on making a cure with Nurse Ogawa’s pregnancy hormones. Obviously. But first Picard has to get out of sickbay.

PEEK

Picard manages to lure away the Worf-monster, which looks like this:

Part beetle, part conch shell, all covered in chocolate

It’s hard to see what’s happening but what you can see is just really gnarly:

Are there horny toads on Klingon?

Ultimately, Data is successful in making a cure and sends it through the air ducts so everyone on board is fine. And when Barclay finds out that it was his treatment that started it all, and that he might have a disease named after him:

A hypochondriac’s dream

And don’t forget: THERE ARE AT LEAST 13 CATS ON THE ENTERPRISE

#season 7 #tng #sttng #star trek #Star Trek TNG #Star Trek Fashion #fashion

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aviyinglet · 7 years

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Workflow Issues, Potential Solutions

I've lately grown dissatisfied with a few aspects of my long-form comicmaking process! Here's a lengthy, technical post explaining why, and what I plan to do about it:

(tl/dr: I get too bogged down in art details/grow too frustrated with the earlier bits of a long story as I produce it; I plan to shift my focus to VN-style indie games, the first of which you might be seeing from me soon.)

My story ideas usually begin with a script, and that script is usually heavily focused on dialogue, with very little in terms of prose or stage direction to frame it. As a result, many of my comic ideas -- my most cherished ones, the ones I’ve repeatedly rewritten and refined -- can be summed up as the adventures of a pair of emotive talking heads. Because of this, there are a lot of times I am completely unsure how I'm going to lay my pages out. Visualizing interesting methods of framing two people talking is pretty difficult, it turns out!

Some other webcomic artists overcome this in a few ways:

They always use a four-panel template, and pace the conversation around little jokes and cute moments on every page's fourth beat.

They restrict background details to establishing shots, and have most of the character interactions take place in empty space.

They render their characters exclusively from a perfectly flat, side-on perspective.

I should make it clear: each of these shortcuts are perfectly valid ways to tell a story in sequential format. But I usually don't do those -- at least, not to the prolific level of my more successful peers -- because I have very exacting standards. In a finished, long-form, professionally-presented story, I feel like I must vary my layouts/camera angles and include a background in each panel whenever possible. I believe these are high standards for any comic artist, but especially so for one who diversifies their creative interests and handles the entire workload themself. Visual art is ultimately just one part of how I’d like to express myself, and as far as my stories are concerned -- unless it's very specifically a story dependent on character movement (lewd stories like TCS or ASDR) -- it's not exactly the primary focus.

In addition, I've also grown frustrated with the permanence of the comic workflow process! Those who've followed me when my Patreon was active know of a comic project from 2015 I've produced 8 pages of, and subsequently stalled on before I could finish and release it. What many of you don't know is that the story has been completely rewritten several times, with each rewrite stemming from the most recent page I’d fully finished and uploaded. The script, originally meant to be my own playful version of a specific type of comic story, ended up having an original script and ending I simply couldn't be proud of. I had to clarify additional backstory and motivation, give one conversation a more thoughtfully-considered angle, and rewrite the ending entirely -- and given the implied permanence of uploaded art, they could only be rewritten through the lens of the pages I'd already completed and uploaded. This is fine for an ongoing webcomic with a consistent update schedule, but for a 26-page story I was only a few pages into, it simply didn't work.

So, if not through comics, then what other storytelling format would work for me? Followers of my public Twitter might know that I’ve been thinking about doing this through software. As an example, I'd like to point you to a spritesheet for the GBA/DS game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

For those unfamiliar: The above-linked sheet is every single graphic used for the main character of a story-focused adventure game that lasts several hours. The process of drawing and animating a character to this level of detail is -- compared to a full-length, full-color comic, assuming a quality level typical of my art -- a Telegram sticker pack's worth of visual art work. This character is exclusively depicted from the exact same angle, on a static background that is rendered once; throughout the game, his poses are extensively reused. Repeatedly copy/pasting character art in a comic is a cardinal sin to many people, because readers expect a certain level of dynamism in the way characters are depicted from panel to panel; in a game like the Ace Attorney series, since the events play out in linear real-world time, very few people mind this at all, just because the game format comes with different expectations.

There are, of course, points in every Ace Attorney (/Professor Layton/Dangan Ronpa/etc.) where more complex poses than a character's defaults are required -- at which point the game either tells it through descriptive text, special effects, or (during especially plot-critical moments) by switching to individual fullscreen illustrations of the actions taking place. This graphic storytelling method is typical among visual novels, but a few other games have implemented methods I wouldn’t mind eventually adding in.

An exclusively VN-style approach would've been more than enough for me, had I come to consider all this in early 2015. But the release of Undertale (which uses expressive face portraits juxtaposed alongside its text) had me thinking about my fondness for games like EarthBound and Final Fantasy VI, where an overhead view gives ample opportunity for characters to animate and interact with one another in limited yet effective ways; it makes me think that some stories might be best off with a similar overhead-view mode, in addition to the typical VN interface, to allow for a greater level of direct interactivity. (Modern 2D games like LISA and Stardew Valley also employ these techniques; their success makes me think I'm on the right track.)

Is all this actually feasible for me? Well: I've recently been messing around with Lexaloffle's PICO-8 fantasy game console, which has turned out to be a surprisingly fruitful endeavor so far -- fruitful enough that if I replicate the progress I've made in it in a more versatile platform (like MonoGame), I'll have a visual novel framework I can not only add features to piece-by-piece (as each project's needs demand it), but that I could also potentially export to other platforms, should I ever end up producing something appropriate for them.

I should again make myself completely clear: I am under no assumptions that this new approach will lessen my workload, nor am I assuming it will be easy -- but I am hoping that it will instead allow me to depict longer stories in a more economical way that fits my writing style, and to more effectively be able to release each one as a contiguous story I can refine from beginning to end until the moment the finished work is uploaded. Assuming this approach continues to work the way it already has been, I’ll be sure to keep you all apprised of the results.

#text #read more #Beeps About Games #(kind of)

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