Accepting that my first sketch is awful is one of the most useful lessons I’ve learned. I cannot repeat it enough: a first sketch is always horrible, and that’s precisely what it should be!
That first horrible sketch helps you to get rid of an empty canvas. It gives you an idea of what you’ll be drawing and some general shapes to work with. That’s its purpose!
⚡️ Dynamic Character Illustration
Learn professional drawing and coloring techniques for creating dynamic characters full of movement!
Dick Grayson X Zatanna Zatara
Young Justice
Wordcount: 1,244
Author Note: This is set one year after season one, during the infamous time skip. All we know is that sometime during the 5 years between season 1 & 2 Zatanna and Robin dated. So like...idk I thought this would be cute. There is nothing inappropriate in this fic, THEY ARE CHILDREN. Not betas ect, ect. Okay bye. ( Also, I know August is over but I wrote this for the collab and have only now been able to put it up)
He had no clue what he was doing here. The door, and the task in front of him felt like a mission on his own.
It was scorching. He couldn’t breathe. The air was attacking him.
And all the other dramatic thoughts that Wally probably uttered before him.
Dick pulled his sunglasses off, wiping away the sweat that had collected on his face. The salt stinging his eyes just a bit. The central air system had some how stopped working entirely. And of course it had to happen during what was being called the worst heatwave in ten years. The first couple days were okay. They were in a cave after all. But it didn’t last long, by the third day the heat crept in, an unwelcomed guest that drove all his teammates into the living room and onto the floor as their only source of respite. But soon even that was no good. Connor had tapped out and taken M’gann to Superman’s fortress after she nearly fainted when standing up to get a glass of water. Everyone else had elected to change into swimsuits and try a trip to the beach, which seemed like the only option. Everyone else. Except for one.
The same person who had been missing during the unwanted group bonding session on the floor. And he wasn’t sure why. He had jumped up to get her at first when Artemis yanked him back down, her mouth set into a frown, instantly wiping the joke that he was about to say of out his mouth.
“I know we’re you’re going. Don’t.”
“What do you mean? She’s probably dying in there, we can’t just leave her while we all have fun.”
Artemis hesitated. “She told me she wanted to be left alone, she hasn’t been doing too well the last couple of days.”
“…Yeah? Well, she should join the club. Preferably the one that is leaving to go to the beach. ”
“Robin-”
“She told you she wanted to be left alone. But she didn’t tell me that. Let me try.” His voice softened. “Leaving her here, alone, won’t make her feel any better. She’s a part of the team.” Artemis seemed to hesitate before letting go of his arm.
“Just don’t make it worse.”
*~*~*~*~*
So here he stood, in front of her door.
For the last five minutes.
He was a almost 15 year old master hacker, with flawless detective skills and a mind for strategic planning.
There was no way it should have been THIS hard to get to talking to a teenaged girl. She was cool, they always got along well, so why was he this nervous? It had to be the heat getting to him. Taking a deep breath Dick pushed himself forward and knocked on the door. Moments passed, first he heard nothing, then shuffling, and then the door swung open.
Cool blue eyes met his own….as well as they could have with his dark lenses. He could see enough though. He could see that, her eyes were puffy, eyelashes clumped together, as she quickly wiped away the remaining remnants of the the tears on her face. Artemis had failed to let it slip that Zatanna had been crying.
It was almost a deja vu to when she first arrived at the cave.
He thought that the crying had stopped.
How could help someone who needed nothing that he could offer?
“Robin?”
There were sometimes, in times like this, serious times, when he wish he could drop the layer of protection that was held in place to protect his anonymity.
He flashed a grin. “I was thinking about going on secret master mission, filled the danger, suspense, hijinks, you know the works. Wanna come with?”
Cue question one.
She raised a brow. “Isn’t Wally usually the one you call for that?”
“Yeaaah, after that last mission Black Canary sort of banned us from hanging out together for two weeks or risk getting kicked off the team.” The words flowed out of his mouth, so smooth it was almost as if he had practiced them.
Zatanna leaned against the door frame, her eyes considering him for a second before she spoke again. “Really?”
“Yup.”
“Kicked off the team?” Her lip curled slightly into something that wasn’t quite a smile but it was better than nothing.
“Overdramatic right?”
“Uh-huh. So let me get this straight - Black Canary, who also happens to be the teams therapist thinks its a good idea to threaten children instead of offering some advice?”
“You explained that beautifully.” She stared at him, her gaze dropping to his attire- or lack there of. He had already changed into his bathing suit for the beach and he hadn’t thought to change back.
“Anyyyways” Dick circled around her, gently laying his hands on her shoulders, as he now faced the hallway. “You’re obviously the next best person. Let’s go!”
“Wait-” Her feet remained planted despite the slight push from his end.“You plan to get up to hijinks at the beach?”
“I don’t know what would give you that idea. I walk around in my swim trunks all the time.”
“Robin.”
Dick took a shallow breath. “If you don’t want to go, that’s fine. But…everyone else is going I’d like it if you did. I don’t know why you’d want to stay back. Staying cooped up in the cave can really make it hard to stay whelmed.” She looked back toward her room with hesitation, and he let allowed the silence to grow. There was no rush, he just waited patiently.
“….It’s his birthday today.”
Oh.
“It was never a big thing but…he always made sure that we spent the day together.”
He let his hands drop from her shoulders and took a step back. “That must be really hard for you.”
A dry laugh escaped her lips as tears began to pool in her eyes once more. “You think?”
“I’m not going to say I know how that’s like, knowing your parent is around and you can’t even see them.”
She said nothing.
Bruce was going to kill him if he said anything.
He couldn’t say anything. His personal life had to remain a secret.
He sighed.
He would deal with Bruce later.
“But I know the pain of having my parents ripped from me far too soon. I also hide out on the anniversary of their deaths.” Zatanna whipped around, confusion and disbelief clouding her features.
It felt strange to talk about his parents. He never did. He wasn’t allowed to.
“It’s a painful thing. But knowing Zatara, I’m positive he would have wanted you to spend the day with the people who love you, and not dealing with all this alone.”
She considered him, the silence over taking them one again. He could feel the sweat dripping down his neck. Everything feeling even more stifling under her gaze. He held his breath.
And then released it right after because it was already so fucking hot he didn’t need to put himself through more misery.
Slowly she reached out, hands resting on his shades, and he did nothing to stop her. If he wanted her to trust him, he had to trust her as well. Just as he was sure that his anonymity would be out he window she pulled back, letting her hands fall instead.
There was trust.
There was an understanding. She smiled.
“….I’ll go if you never use the word hijinks again.”
I’d like to point out that this kitten is trying to entice the dog into wrestling. As it would with other kittens/cats. That feinting and then leaping back sideways? That’s an invitation to tackle. Other kittens would understand this body language.
This dog does not understand which is probably for the best, because this kitten clearly does not understand the concept of ‘weight class’
⟢ the partner 〡mel x jayce 〡 T 〡1,112 wc 〡fluff 〡 mel and jayce take a detour to the beach for research purposes
── .✦ Legend of Korra
⟢ crystal clear 〡mako x jargala ono 〡 T 〡2,402 wc 〡slow burn 〡 enemies to lovers 〡 mako makes a dumb mistake, putting himself in a situation he never thought he'd be in
scrolling main tag for interest be like: block, block, BLOCK, bad opinion i hate, Amazing incredible art that makes it all worth it, block, block, block, surprisingly well written meta, BLOCK, some dickhead who fundamentally misunderstands everything like it's a paying job, block, block, block
Mel X Jayce
Fandom: Arcane
Wordcount: 1, 112
Author Note: So Mel doesn't get enough love in the Arcane fandom. Point, blank, period. Most likely due to mix of internal and external misogynior, more so than someone not agreeing about a ship. ☕ With that being said I just really wanna show Mel some love and fill the world with stories that have her at the center cause she's awesome and such an intricate character who deserves everything ( I mean look at her mom, her life is hard enough). I know basically nothing about LoL and its geography so please don't come for me, I only watched Arcane, so I took creative liberties. This story takes place sometime in the 6ish years between Season 1 episode 3 & 4. Fair warning this was not Beta'd, okay thanks bye!
Mel never knew that a place in Noxus could be so serene. It would seem like that very idea went against the notion of the what the region stood for. If she had not been there to witness it in person she wouldn’t have believed it. But Fallgren seemed to be different. An island of the past that Noxus had conquered just for the sake of conquering, and then left alone to it’s own devices once the thrill had vanished.
Her back pressed against the cool foam board that floated on the surface of the water. A soft breeze working in tandem with the suns rays, cooling her skin against the heat in the most pleasant way. The chilling water had turned warm where her arms met the sea. She couldn’t remember a time when her brain wasn’t riddled with thoughts and decisions, and she could simply focus on the state of being.
The slight rippling in the water caught her attention, as it lapped at her stomach. A single eye flickered open in time to see the mop of brown hair emerging from the water, followed by a pair of golden eyes.
“Hey.”
She smiled, taking in his form as he stood up straight, water meeting him mid chest, as droplets cascaded down his body and back to the sea. “Having fun?” Mel asked, both eyes now open as she watched him.
“More than I thought I would, to be honest.” Jayce admitted sheepishly. “It’s so nice here. Don’t know why I doubted you.”
Her lip twitched. “You’ll learn soon enough that it is never wise to bet against a Medarda.”
He shifted closer, resting his hand on the board inches away from her thigh. “Think I’ve already learnt that lesson.” Their eyes locked for a second too long before she turned her attention back to the sky. Mel inhaled deeply trying to ignore the heat radiating from her skin that hadn’t been there seconds before the placement of the inventors hand.
Jayce wavered, unsure if it would be best to float back, creating the distance once more as the silence grew between them. This happened often. He would think that they were getting closer, having long since past the point of being mere colleagues, toeing the line of something more than even friends when Mel would pull back and grow distant. Was he that bad at reading her? He cleared his throat. “It’s good to confirm that the hexgate can work as far as Fallgren. I mean, that eliminates 11 days of travel in an instant.”
She hummed. “Travel and trade will be completely revolutionized, thanks to you and Viktor.”
“We do have to do a few more tests though - before we debut anything to the council.”
“Of course.” Mel raised her hand lazily brushing the fact away. “I’ll make sure to keep it out of discussion at Hoskel’s gala.” The portly councilman had always been easy to influence. She paused, question circling her brain that she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to know the answer to. It took all of three seconds before she spoke once more against her better judgement. “You and Viktor will be there, right?”
“I don’t think Madam Kiramman would allow me to miss it.” And he had just assumed that Viktor would be going as well.
“Great.” Mel said softly. “It will be nice to have someone there that I actually enjoy talking to.”
Jayce shifted, fingers still resting on the board alive with energy. He glanced back toward the beach where the gaping hole that was the hexgate had been. It was still empty. They were the only people around and still Mel’s attention seemed to be focused on the sky rather deliberately. He reached out, finger tips brushing against the side of her stomach. Her head whipped around as he pulled his hand back. “Sorry.” He wasn’t sorry. “I just…wanted to get your attention.”
She stared, brushing away the coils that now clouded her vision.
“I was actually wondering if you’d want to be my official date to Hoskel’s event.”
Mel’s hand froze on a golden charm as her eyes went wide. “Your date?”
“Uh-yeah.”
She sat up quickly pushing against the board and causing it to tilt off balance. Instantly, Jayce grabbed the board with one hand and her arm with the other, steading the both of them before she could fall into the sea. “Are you not bringing Viktor?”
“Why would I bring Viktor as my date?” He chuckled.
Mel carefully swung her legs into the water, her body turning so that there was no way that she would eliminate Jayce from her sight. “Because that’s what’s expected when you are dating someone.”
His mind went blank as he tried to take in what she had said. “Dating? Me and Viktor?” He laughed. “Viktor and I are not dating. That’s ridiculous."
“Huh.”
“Why would you even think that?”
Mel raised a carefully crafted brow. “Everyone thinks that.”
“What??” His eyes widened. “WHY?”
“You call him your partner. You’ve done so multiple times. …All the time in fact.”
“Of course I do, he’s my business partner!”
Mel crossed her legs and rested her face in her palm. “Funny enough you’ve never actually said the word “business” when you introduce your partner.”
“….So everyone just assumes that Viktor and I are together?” His voice was filled with confusion and straight awe.
“Pretty much.”
The longest groan escaped his lips. He closed his eyes, fingers pressing into his forehead. “Guess that’s a thing then.” He took a deep breath. “Doesn’t matter. As long as you know that we aren’t together.”
Mel’s shoulders seemed to have relaxed, her mouth upturning into an amused grin.“And why am I so special, Mr. Talis?”
His face flushed. “Will you go with me or not?”
“Waiting for the argument of why that would be in my best interest. I am already going. Going with you would cause a stir.”
He leaned forward, his mere presence invading her space. Rough calluses met her skin, as he made trails that left it ablaze.
She was close enough that he could count the golden freckles that scattered across her cheeks if he wanted to.
He was close enough that she could feel their breaths becoming one, but never dared to move closer.
She reached out, hand tangling in his hair, beads still dripping onto his face. “I think that we can discuss it further.” She murmured, mouth so close that she could taste the salt against his lips before he lurched forward, pulling her into a searing kiss that rivaled even the rays of the Noxian sun.
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