Hello Hi! Loove the wip prompt! May I have Becoming or First meeting, please?
First meeting is... Technically the third meeting, but the first time Ricardo gets a chance to talk to Riley after she finds herself stepping into a Ranger op.
You shrug away from the offending hand, cross your arms, defensive, defiant in ways you couldn't be before. It's still heady, arguing with someone, sharpening your tone. "... Why?"
"I haven't seen you on the hero scene before. You new in town?"
"Yes." It's obvious, not worth the lie. When is he going to let you leave?
Becoming is the celebration night of Nox coming of age, unknowing of her Destiny. She's a bouncer and body guard for the tavern wenches at that time, half-reared and trained by the old mercenary who owns it.
Masha's strong arm coils over your shoulders as she pulls you down to her level. Her breath is hot, stinking of alcohol and red meat, and you lean in closer to hear the old merc over the din.
"Look at you, all grown up now, eh?" she rasps in your ear, planting a wet kiss on your cheek before handing you a small glass of hard liquor. A clinking toast and you down it with a cough at the fiery burn down your throat. Far stronger than the cherry cordial you'd been sipping.
"Right, that'll put some hair on your chest," she guffaws, slapping your back. "So, what does our big lass want to do to celebrate?"
Got permission from the amazing @mihqorio to print his Rat King design on a sweater, and it turned out so well! I absolutely love it, and it's so comfy and warm! Thank you so much ❤️
Tried to go for a in a tavern kind of feel. Also gave Fiala a huge hood on his cloak because I both wanted to draw that and thought he'd look good in it :D
Ahhh I can't decideeeee!!! 3, 28, or 41 for a pairing (pairings?) of your choice!
I went with 28 in the end I think? Was seriously considering 41 but I think I’d rather see you do that, maybe just silhouettes or something? Anyway that’s not for me to decide have some writing
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There's a kind of soft quality to the light filtering through the shades of Ortega's apartment. Makes the place look a little less real, a bit more magical. As if you could reach out for a dust mote floating in the air and it would erupt in a burst of warmth, and light.
It's not worth trying, though. It would inevitably fail, doomed to only remind you that you can't have these things. The good ones. You belong with the broken things, and it's only a matter of time until Ortega figures this out, too, and puts you out with the trash. Or maybe, if you're lucky, turn you into an art project instead. One of those you sometimes see in pristine museums, something beautiful made out of filth, the contrast that's meant to be jarring and make people question themselves. An art piece shredded to make a point about the people who would buy it.
No, you think, Ortega wouldn't. That's more Herald's deal, and that one worships you for some reason. Refuses to see you for what you are. Only the trash heap waits for you. It's a comforting thought in a way. Maybe they'll even let you rot in peace.
But first, the here and now. Enjoy the good things while they last and all that. Stay in the magic. Stay nestled up against Ortega, in the crook of his arm, your head on his shoulder, act like you belong there. Feel the way his body shifts as he takes a drink from his beer, the bob of his throat as he swallows, the drop of drink on his lips that is going to drip down his chin any second.
Your hand was already on his chest, you're faster than he is to wipe off the spilled drink. You run your thumb down his lower lip again, and you kind of expect him to make a move, but he just hums in response. Too lazy, probably. Just happy to be here. Idiot.
So are you, though.
You don't drop your hand back to his chest, but instead keep tracing his lips. First with the back of a finger joint, with the edge of a nail, a soft pinky fingertip. There's no real goal or purpose to it, just enjoying the fact of touching him. That you can do this, and it's not questioned or weird or doubted, you don't have to ask for it, it simply is.
He sucks your finger into his mouth, just a little, and you shouldn't be surprised but you are. You can't help the giggle escaping.
You press your thumb against his lower lip, push it sideways a little, and the inside of it is so soft. His eyes are on you, and they're so full of wonder. You think you're blushing, but most of all you're marveling, still, that you get to do this. He shifts his head a little to kiss your fingers, but all the while he keeps looking at you, and it's.
It's all so much. Here you are, discovering all the soft parts of him, and he's not only letting you, he's inviting you in, practically asking you to lay him bare, flashing signs pointing to all his weaknesses, every move shouting he trusts you. Like he believes showing you where it hurts most will make you avoid those places. How you wish you could. How you wish you would.
You want to scream in frustration, to run, to kick him and tell him to stop making it easier for you to destroy him, but it's only the soft inside of his lower lip, and you don't want to reach for the dust motes in the hope that they're magic. So you move in the only way you can. Closer. Half climbing on his lap, your arms around his shoulders, let his hands settle on your hips, you kiss him. Maybe it's a little harder than you intended, a little more desperate than you'd want to show, but you know he won't question it, not now.
You nibble on that lower lip now, and he's melting under you. You wish you could bite down until it's bleeding, make him see the bigger picture here, make him run because you know you don't have the strength to, but he's always loved danger too much, and you?
You prefer not to look too closely, so you can live with the magic dust motes.
I am so happy to see you reblog that ask meme. I am curious, what would you say to 👀 (art) and 📝 (writing)?
From end of year meme here
👀 a piece where i tried something new
Oh, I know which one to pick here, at least!
These ones (showing the one with chen ‘cause I like that one best)
I wanted to see if I could make something nice looking without the fancy bushes, so for these I only used a hard round brush without opacity after I’d laid down the base colors. I got a cramp in my hand at the end but I’m happy with the results! (Except I should have spent more time on herald I don’t like how he came out but I thought he’d be too small to bother me. I was wrong. D:)
📝 a line or paragraph i’m really happy with
This was really hard! Managed to pick something in the end though, from here:
One of them looks at you, and she shies back, her expression betraying exactly what she thinks - Oh God, who is that, what’s wrong with him - he looks sick - he looks dangerous. Her mind is like a little snow globe, full of stupid little decorative thoughts - before you’ve really have time to reflect on it you’ve smashed it, reached in and ripped out the memory of your face and crushed it to dust.
She stumbles, falling into another pedestrian, clear liquid full of snowflakes spilling out everywhere.
