Today marks one full year of sitting down and drawing something every day. I figured what would be better to draw than what I started this year long challenge in the first place. So here is a good an honest portrait of my best friend, Jesse.
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I wish I had left more time in the day to work on this. Now after a year of building this habit, I hope to work on more detailed art projects that involve a little effort every day.
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Thank you to everyone that has enjoyed and appreciated looking at the stuff I sketched over this last year ♥️
I’m too lazy to do the first part but I imagine it’s like this:
[Dean walks into the room.]
DEAN: All right, let’s do this.
SAM: Well, shouldn’t we wait?
DEAN: Wait? Why? We got everything we need. Everything else is just burning daylight. Come on. Let’s make this prequel.
SAM: All right. I’ll gather my gear.
DEAN:Uh…hold on. I’m doing it alone.
SAM:What?
DEAN:Look, prequel’s tend to ruin canon and character motives. And, there’s no telling if this thing will even get off the ground. Okay? Somebody’s gotta stay true to the source.
[Miracle walks into the room]
Miracle: woof [And I’m coming with you. I could use the screen time]
SAM: The prequel might only give you one scene. And you know the fandom has pretty much hated this idea since day one, right?
Miracle: woof [A part’s a part and I’m a dog. I just got to look cuddly. No one hates cuddly animals.]
I love Ethan Winters specifically because he’s just a normal dude who’s just so, so tired of being in a horror game. Everyone trying to throw their evil agenda at him and be like ETHAN ~WINTERS ~WE FINALLY MEET while he’s just like fuck you fuck you fuck you stop talking FUCK YOU
“Any normal person, they crawl off when they get a beating. Or they have the sense to stay down, at least. But sometimes you get one who just won’t let go. You know what I mean? Idiots who’ll go on fighting long after they should stop.”
“I think I know the type, yes,” said Lady Sybil, with an irony that failed to register with Sam Vimes until some days later.
The newest addition to the Hewahewa-Crawford family seemed to heal incredibly quickly, but Hoku wasn’t complaining. The small foyer separated the kitchen and living room, but given the matching pair of arches allowing smooth access between them, Hoku could see the cat from the corner of her eye as she dished out equal shares of fresh tuna into separate dishes, each one engraved with a cat’s name; the new cat simply got a small plate until she could figure out what to do with him.
He watched her with an intense wariness, his tail twitching back and forth. She was used to cats staring at her (especially in the bathroom) but there was something about this big boy’s stare that was unnerving. There was an intelligence in that stare, as though he could see right inside of her. All her secrets. Her desires. It was ludicrous to think that a cat could be so intense, but there he was, entering her kitchen as if he owned the place and devouring the tuna that was set down for him.
That same day, she found him on the back of a chair, pawing one of her ridiculous amounts of books off the shelf. This particular tome was old and she watched with raised brows as he pawed through the pages until he found the chapter on Loki. If they could, her brows would have lifted right off her face and into her hair was he used one of those paws to point at the word LOKI and meowed up at her.
Cool, cool. She adopted an eerie cat who could read.
She could move things with her mind, so really, was it that strange? At least he got along with her other cats, for the most part, even allowing little Tiggy, who was really still a baby, to cuddle with him.
It was an eventful weekend, but all too soon, Monday rolled around, which meant back to work. But as they said, find something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. She took Loki with her into the town proper. Bell, Book, and Candle was her little shop among other little shops, situated between a cafe and a second-hand shop. As the name implied, her shop specialized in charms, books on the mystical, and candles, salts, teas, and soaps to aid in… well, anything one could possibly need aiding in. All homemade of course.
During lunch she crossed the street and went down the block with Loki in tow to the pet shop where she got him a pretty green collar and used their personalization machine to make him a tag with his name on one side and her information on the other. She put it on him when they returned to the shop, giving him a smooch on the head and a scritch under his chin. “I guess you’re mine now, hm? And I’m yours, as long as you’ll have me, my darling.”
To her, an animal was not a slave nor a pet, much like a human wouldn’t be. If one of her cats ever truly wanted to leave, as heartbroken as she would be, she would let them go. If they chose to stay with her, as they have so far, she would continue to treasure them.
One thing they seemed to disagree on with her was her choice in company. Some of her more frequent shoppers would stop by for a home visit, just to chat, or looking for advice. These were usually the older women and occasionally a teenaged girl and her friends, sometimes a mother seeking a more natural cure for their child’s ailment (though Hoku never implied her homemade remedies were somehow better than modern medicine, thank you) and these types of guests never bothered the cats. In fact, they delighted in them as a welcomed guess often brought treats or new toys or attention and sometimes all three.
No, what her cat’s didn’t seem to like were the guests of the… male type; unless they were accompanied by their wives or girlfriends or were old enough to be Hoku’s grandfather. Not that Hokulani had many single male visitors; she rarely went on dates. However, there was Philip. He was a bank manager from London who had to often make trips to other branches of his banks, which included the one in Whitehaven. Apparently, he had spotted Hoku one day eating lunch at the cafe next to her shop and was “smitten ever since” (his words) and just had to speak to her. It had taken him months to finally wear her down enough that she agreed to a date.
He was attentive, polite, and seemed interested in what she had to say. Hoku would never say it was love, but she was fond of him, and did find him a bit attractive, even if he wasn’t all that fond of animals. That, of course, changed the moment she rushed into the living room from the kitchen where she was making them lunch. Her dark eyes took in the scene before her. Her other cats, who had shot under furniture the moment Philip arrived, gave her all the information she needed. While she could tap in and see what a human thought in words (which she rarely did as she believed in privacy) and animal’s mind worked more in pictures. Through her cats’ minds, she saw Philip kick Loki was was just minding his business.
She scooped Loki up, holding his big-little panther body to her chest protectively. “Get out of my house. Lose my number. In fact, forget I exist.”
“Now, love, lets calm down. It’s not what it looks like. I didn’t see him th-“ Philip broke off watching in growing horror as the other four cats emerged, fur raised, ears back. They spit and hissed, and he had to jump back as a paw, claws on full display, swing for his shin. As the cats advanced, they weren’t the only ones spitting.
“A man who can hurt an animal whose so small compared to him is no man at all. He’s a childish bully who has no place in a woman’s home.” The cat’s lunged and he backpedaled. Somehow, the front door was opened. Momo, with his solid body, planted himself firmly in Philip’s path.
The jerk tumbled out the door, landing hard on his backside where he looked up to see six pairs of eyes looking at him like he was worthless. Those eyes were focused on him, unwavering and even his massive ego was deflated in that moment. Hoku looked magnificent, all wild hair and dark eyes. Surrounded by her cats in her overgrown cottage in the woods, she indeed looked like the witch the townspeople whispered about. Equal parts beautiful and frightening.
“And to think I actually considered sleeping with you today.” And she slammed the door, turning the lock in place. The cats watched through the curtains with satisfaction as Philip limped his way down the path to the road and hopped into his car, peeling away, hopefully never to be seen again.
Hoku cuddled Loki to her breast, rubbing the top of his head with her nose. “I’m sorry, my baby. The mean man will never hurt you again. No one will. Or I’ll kill them.”
She was a feisty one indeed, and Loki was purring long before Philip had tumbled out of the house and right on his ass. He threw a triumphant look at Kalapana, and no words were needed for the mutual agreement that passed between them. He could sense that the female cat didn’t like Philip either. His manipulation would benefit all of them in the long run in the sense that they didn’t need to worry about dealing with someone as cruel and moronic as Philip Astor.
Loki closed his eyes in response to her nuzzling, placing a paw over her hand as if to bless her for her swift reaction. He would end up protesting if she decided to put him down on the ground; it would be hours before he allowed her to let him go. He was perfectly content resting his furry little head on the swell of her breasts.
Once he joined the other cats, however, he lay down on his belly, ignoring Tiggy, who climbed over his back and ended up using him as a pillow. The sound of their food bowls clattering in the kitchen didn’t even prompt him to move, so he was the last one to eat his dinner that night. He did follow Hoku into her bedroom and make his way onto her bed, using her butt as a cat bed once she rolled onto her stomach.
He knew that this kind of life couldn’t and wouldn’t last, but as far as anyone and even Thanos knew, he was dead. His body long lost in space, floating forever in the endless horizon. There was no reason for any of the Avengers to search for someone who no longer existed; this was his chance for a new life and a new identity.
Even if it meant being stuck in a cat’s body.
Morning came with him waking her up by sniffing at her cheek and then meowing twice. He knew that she needed to be up at a certain time so that she could be in her shop twenty minutes before it was supposed to open, and she was never late. Not since he started living with her, that is.
He liked going with her to her shop: most of her customers were nice, and they patted and stroked him whenever he was within their reach. Even the children seemed to be fond of the jet black cat with green eyes who sat by the cash register, and he purred at them if he was in the mood. Some of the tourists also asked for pictures with him and the other cat(s) that was there, but he rarely obliged. He didn’t want images of him being spread, just in case his brother ended up seeing them.
He followed Hoku to the store ( he never needed a leash or a harness ) and slipped in once the door had been unlocked and opened. After a quick check of the inside, he determined that there was no one else there, and he plopped down on his usual spot on the counter. The muffled conversations coming from the outside provided soothing background noises, and he rested his head on his chin.
That is, until he heard one of the first few customers discuss the disturbances in Wakanda. They’re saying it’s aliens, one of the women muttered as she put a few bottles of Hoku’s best-selling soaps. A few of the Avengers have arrived, and it looks like a fight’s about to start. You think that cute blonde one is going to be there? You know, the one with the huge hammer?
Loki narrowed his eyes at the gossiping women as they puttered around the store. But he could hear them perfectly from where he was sitting, so he just watched them like a hawk as if he thought that they were shoplifters. Now and then he moved to avoid getting in Hoku’s way, but he refused to leave the counter. The women finally finished shopping ( they’d gotten stuck at the tea shelf ) and brought their baskets to the front where they greeted her with a warm smile.
One of the women had whipped out her phone and was watching something, and she gasped and showed her friend live videos of the war, shot from a shaky camera. The familiar sight of the Chitauri flashing across the screen had him hiss and stand on all fours. So far, it looked like the Wakandans’ and the Avengers’ efforts were working – the shield was being rather effective – but he thought that it would be wiser to let the Chitauri in and slaughter them before the shield broke.
They would need to keep out something stronger soon.
The women had left before he could see what happened next, but based on their screams of joy, Thor had arrived. Despite everything, he still worried for his older adoptive brother, and he almost transformed just to insist that the women stay and show him what was happening. Before he could, however, there was a sudden, STRONGshift in magic that had him shudder and his neck throb in pain. Ghost fingers seemed to wrap around his throat and squeeze: echoes of a memory that hadn’t even begun to fade. He retreated to the other end of the counter, curling up by Hoku’s hand, but before he could seek or offer comfort, the screaming began.
He didn’t need to look outside to know what was happening: people began to turn to ash and disappear, leaving the rest to wonder in horror over what had happened. Loki looked up at Hoku, only to see that she was still there. He licked the back of her hand to make sure that she was, and a few minutes later, it was all over.
“You’re a needy little thing, do you know that?” Not that she minded of course. It was easy enough for her to tote him around in her arms and do absolutely nothing else for the rest of the day.
She had trouble getting going in the morning, sometimes, but not since Loki showed up on her doorstep. Opening her eyes and seeing stare down at her in the mornings was a great way to start her day. The early morning was mostly uneventful, but by mid-morning things started to change. She started feeling almost ill, though of course she hid it from her customers, pressing a hand to her stomach. There was too much negative magics in the air, so to speak, and she could feel it.
She pretended to adjust things at the register counter as she listened in on th two women’s conversation. The battle in Wakanda seemed to the the source of the bad energy; war always generated bad mana. The women thanked her and departed the shop, the little bell above the door tinkling softly. She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.
Out of nowhere it hit, a shift in the magic that circled the world. A surge of power unlike any she had ever felt before. It knocked the breath from her body, and before she realized it, Hoku snatched Loki up from the counter and ducked under it, practically crushing him to her chest. Her breathing came in hard,l and a bead of sweat rolled down her temple; she was sure she was having a panic attack even though she had never had one before.
Then the screaming started.
Vehicles crashed as their drivers turned to ash; a car would have came right through the front of her shop if it wasn’t stopped by the protective barrier she had up. As quickly as the surge of massive magic cane, it was gone. The screaming continued, the panic as not only that world but all worlds were thrown into chaos. After what seemed like forever, Hoku crawled out from under the counter and cautiously made her way outside, Loki still in her arms.
People- less people than there should have been given the situation -were scrambling around, pulling passengers out of cars where drivers simply vanished; down the block a mail truck had plowed into a fire hydrant, and a truck was through the front of a boutique. Other cars were crashed into each other. There were hardly any responders on scene.
Her first thought was to get home, to make sure her other cats were alright, but she couldn’t just run away and hide. She held Loki up in front of her, hands under his front legs and she pressed per lips against his face. “Listen to me, Loki, I know you understand words. I need you to go back to the shop and stay there, okay? I need to help where I can, but I can only do that if I know you’re safe. I’ll come get you after and we’ll go home.”
She gave him another kiss before setting him down on the sidewalk, trusting that he would (hopefully) listen to her. She took off, running over to a car that a group of people were trying to pry the door open to get the young teenager out of. She used her magic, bending the metal with her mind enough that the door could be pulled open. If the strangers noticed it, they didn’t seem to care, helping the boy out. She moved onto the next group that could use her talents.
