#happened when i posted the initial rough sketch

[demonzoro]

shoutout to me finally completing this 2 year au design WIP [collapses and finally lets the tablet pen roll away from my limp hand]

p.s. please do not use this design as oc insp (i.e. taking the outfit and copy-pasting onto your chara)! just research fashion/clothing from scratch tyty

#userart #usersaint #btw he wld have a rapier not a sword #but i don't wanna draw that <3 #not putting this in the tag this is nothing #also i don't want this to blow up #and for someone to copypaste it onto their oc #happened when i posted the initial rough sketch #and it's not smthng that flatters me ... sozza

[elitadream]

🎆 Sing for Absolution: behind the scenes 🎆

Hello everyone, and welcome to this summary on how the story was visually built! If you happen to come across this post and would like to read (or reread) the collab @drones-of-innocence and I have created together, just click on the title above and it will take you right to it! 🤗

With that said, let's begin! :D

As some of you already know, this was an idea that Drones had for a long time. It was brought up during one of our many conversations a few months ago, in which she briefly described the plot and sent me a condensed version. I- immediately and completely fell in love with the concept, so much so that I couldn't keep still. 😂💘 I practically begged Drones to let me draw a few frames for it, and she happily gave me permission. At first, what I intended to do was make about 3 or 4 thumbnails, like I had done with One Step Closer.

I returned with 22.

And from there, we both decided "Okay. Yeah. Let's make this official. 🙌💯" LOL

What's interesting here is that, as you can see, some frames didn't make it to the final cut! 🤓 And inversely, new frames were eventually added as the collab progressed. Out of all the sketches that were either abandoned or later deemed superfluous, my personal favorite would probably have to be this shot of Kamek. 😈

From the rough thumbnails I had presented, Drones helped me select the best and most eloquent ones, and I also changed a few other things along the way. For example, one panel that was entirely redone was frame 3 (where Mario enters Peach's room), because the initial composition didn't allow for the reader to see the setting very clearly, and I felt that the establishing shot needed to be wider.

Many of the drawings were also ultimately flipped to give the visuals a more coherent direction and better flow, including this one!

I decided pretty early on that the palette should be made of cold hues, seeing as these events happen to take place at night and that a warm overlay wouldn't adequately have conveyed the more ominous and solemn tone of the story in my opinion. 🤔💁‍♀️

Oh! And I almost forgot: using cold colors for the backgrounds and characters was also very convenient because it helped make the magical effects (the fire, the spells, etc- all the bright, warm and/or complementary nuances) really stand out, which resulted in a more interesting and visually striking contrast overall. 😌🎨

As I do with all my illustrations, I started by cleaning the sketches and adding a unifying background filler for all the frames. Then, I selected the colors I wanted to use (a gradient made of a mix of navy blue and purple) and worked on each drawing individually. Even with simple tones, we can observe the sheer difference that shading makes! 👀��

There's a visual element that appears in the story and which I had borrowed from Drones before, and that would be Peach's healing magic.^^ ✨ I remember I was fascinated by the idea when I first discovered it in Un Fiore Per Te, which had prompted me to ask her if I could feature it in a piece where the Princess is seen using said power while at Mario's bedside in one of my other tangents. 💞

I kept the effect similar on purpose in Sing for Absolution, so that the slight reference would be easier to catch! 😊

And last but not least, there's that cheeky little Fire Flower! 🤭🔥

As mentioned in a previous ask, the flower actually signifies a lot in this case as it somewhat embodies the deeply affectionate bond between Mario and Peach, glowing brighter and closing its eyes in happiness when the two are close. 💖

While admittedly not the first drawing I made in which a Fire Flower appears, the one that actually inspired both Drones and I to include this symbolic power-up in the story was one that I made all the way back in February for Valentine's Day. 🥰 The subtle yet direct reference can be spotted twice in the text, linking this piece to the collab and establishing a bit of a chronology as well. I was very honored that Drones added this small detail, and I very much look forward to working on more ideas with her in the future! 😁🤝

Big thanks once again to all of you dear friends and followers who have commented and given their thoughts on this projects. Drones and I can't thank you guys enough for your interest and enthusiasm!! 😇💗

ALSO ALSO- I have shared here my visual side of the collab's progression, but Drones intends to give her own side of the story's development soon (explaining some of the themes and narrative elements a little more in depth), so make sure to stay tuned and check her blog as well! ^-^ 💫

#Mario #Princess Peach #Mario x Peach #Mareach #concept #story #collab #Sing for Absolution #fanart #fanfic #elitadream #drones-of-innocence #creators on Tumblr

[ghost--girlfriend]

ELUSIVE LAMB COMIC! Bunny's and Lamb's reunion, set in the forests of darkwoods after Leshy's defeat... two lovers stricken apart by death and reunited in the aftermath of battle. extras under the cut :)

GODDD THIS FELT LIKE IT TOOK FOREVER but it was SO worth it and working on this comic was so much fun!! lets see how many layers i used-

oh. oh man.

here were my main refs(ft. color blotch bunny+lamb)

and my initial sketch of the panels! very rough very messy. I didn't save any of my refined sketches fyghj I drew a total of 6 unique backgrounds! got to reuse some of them. I do like drawing backgrounds but when its the same one over and over it starts feeling repetitive haha Oh! and I actually didn't have a name for my sona going into this. After some debating and thinking up backstory I decided to go with Bunny! I'll probably make an additional post about this, but in Bunny's backstory, both of her parents were killed by the bishops(I'm thinking maybe her parents were sheep too? maybe!) when she was quite young. the same thing happened to Lamb, so they either don't remember their names or were never given them. Both decided to go the simple route- named after their species :) ANYWAYS! Im in love with lammy and im gonna be happy stimming in a corner for the rest of the month <333

#🌹 pure devotion 🩸 #🌹 romantic f/os 🌹 #🌼 my art 🌼 #self shipping #self shipping community #self ship #cult of the lamb #cotl #cotl lamb #lamb cotl

[merakiui]

I hate how depraved my mind got cause while reading ur post where Azul’s dumbass killed an artist and reader has to pose in their stead, my initial though was “wow, that’s acc a pretty cool concept oh but wouldn’t it be cute when reader gets closer to the trio that they paint with each other and it would be so adorable to see them all improve in painting too 🥰”, which was immediately followed by “I bet that most times whenever reader has gotten art block the twins help give them some “inspiration” by having sex with them on the canvas”. There’s so much else I want to say cause I love this concept but for now all I’ll say is that 9/10 times readers works, specifically the paint, may or may not contain some cum and other fluids from the sessions.

(in reference to this post.)

Oh, that's so good!!! The twins give you the best "inspiration" and are then promptly scolded by Azul because they've broken so many canvases now with how rough they've gotten during their little "inspiration" sessions. I think they'd probably film/photograph some of it just for pose references (and for their own personal enjoyment).

Azul gives you his ink for when you want to practice on blank notebooks. He's very pleased when he sees the masterpieces you manage to sketch with his ink, and he'll frame each and every artwork, even the nonsensical scribbles you threw into the rubbish bin. He flattens and smooths them out on his desk and he feels so warm inside when he realizes that your precious hands crafted these very masterpieces with his ink. Floyd thinks he's too sentimental, but Azul is very happy to add to his secret room of art pieces (a space dedicated solely to you).

Jade teaches you about nature drawings and he'll occasionally take you out for nature hikes, where the two of you find a nice shaded area and will sketch and doodle the flora and fauna you happen to spot. If it ends with you pressed against a tree, with Jade rutting into you, that's okay! Sex is a great way of breaking pesky art block.

Floyd likes to do that thing where the two of you finish each other's art. You'll start a sketch and so will he and then the two of you will switch and continue where the other left off. It's always a good time and you can never guess what additions Floyd will make to your art. He has definitely fucked you while you're in the process of painting. He'll smear paint into your skin in delightful patterns and when paint bores him he'll use his cum to decorate you in pretty, pearly white.

#twisted chit chat #n/sfw #the urge to write more with that concept is too strong... orz

[nerdnag]

How much do you plot out your stories before you write them?

More than I used to!

Up until maybe 2019 I almost never plotted out stories beforehand. Therefore I have a LOT of started docs saved with little random ideas: some of which never became more than a page, some of which went haywire after a while and never recovered. And there are some entire "books" or fics that were completely improvised as I wrote them. That used to be how I wrote when I wrote for my own enjoyment only.

I tried my hand on an overarching structure for an original work back in 2017/18, but that was probably my real first planning for any story I'd ever written.

And then I think it was @alienducky who really got me into plotting and got me stuck on it for real. We worked on a fic together, and it would have been practically impossible to do that without some kind of joint plan. I remember she started a table at the top of the doc where she listed all the scenes, and I was like yeah, that's a good idea, and it was. After that I started plotting out my own fics in a similar manner too, and now I never want to go back to how I did it before. The stories just turn out so much better when I know where I'm going from the beginning. But I plot in a way that still lets me be creative with the plot along the way.

So this is how I do it nowadays:

Scribble any little initial idea I have - sometimes in a single sentence, sometimes in a paragraph, sometimes in random loose sentences here and there that only make sense to me.

Place the bits I know I want into some kind of organised scene structure - if I don't already know which order things will happen in, I'll get a first sketch on that now. I usually structure this into actual chapter titles (placeholder titles that just give me an idea of what the scene is about) so that step 5 becomes a bit easier later.

Loosely figure out what kind of ending I want - just so I have something to aim for. Usually I have two large threads going and then a number of subthreads; the main threads (like a fantasy conflict or a romantic struggle) have to be clearly solved at the end imo, but some of the subthreads can be more loosely handled. At this point in the process though it's all just a rough sketch.

Slowly fit more pieces I want into the puzzle - any scenes that are necessary to bring me to the end somehow, or even scenes that bring me joy to think about, as long as they don't stray too far from the main threads. I also make sure to always add in early on which pov I think I want for every scene.

When I have a beginning, an end, and a number of scenes that seem to coherently bring me from one to the other, I start fleshing out parts. This usually means that I start writing bits and pieces here and there. Often I wrote the first handful of chapter first before I go on to the rest of the story, so I have a basic idea for myself of what the characters want and how they should be acting. But after the first few chapters, I usually jump from scene to scene depending on what mood I am in and what feels more joyful at any point in time. So I might write half a scene in chapter 7 one day to then write an entire chapter 22 the next day, only to then jot down a few paragraphs into chapter 16 after that. (This is my adhd working, I let it because it's worked out pretty well for me so far.)

Along the way I may come up with new ideas and adjust things, I flesh out scenes that were very barebone in the beginning, I solve and change things that turned out not to work, and when I reach the latter chapters that I wrote early on (for example ch 22, if I wrote that straight after ch 7), I'll usually have changed enough things that I need to rewrite large parts of that chapter. That is fine by me, it's all part of the process.

I should also add that if I've started posting it on for example Ao3 along the way, I sometimes - very rarely, but it happens - adjust my plans depending on what people comment. This is usually only if someone comments something that is so genius or otherwise so perfectly natural for the story that I just cannot let it go by without doing something with it, and only if it fits into the plot somehow. One example of this is when I noticed that several people were suspecting a particular character of having hidden motives. Up until that point I hadn't planned on doing much at all with that character, but when I realized that what I'd already written was leading very naturally to their conclusion, I decided to give that character more space from there on out and even played into the whole hidden agenda idea (but with a twist). That kind of thing can be really fun to do, but I don't do it if I don't think it will work for the plot I already have.

There have also been occasions where conversations with @alienducky have led me to change things in similar ways. One example of this is when I sent her a first overarching plot of my entire then upcoming fic series back in... 2020 I think? And she's great with noticing details, so she asked me how the characters would be able to send letters to each other if they didn't know where the other person was. I told her there was a magically enhanced wolf in there that would be used to bring letters back and forth. She was so into the idea of this wolf, and asked what would happen to it later in the story, that I simply had to make it part of the main cast, and in the end it even played a very important part in a reveal down the line. XD Throwaway details that grow larger like that are also very fun.

Omg I actually found our old convo from back then, I can't not add it in here.

TLDR; I plot out an overarching story with beginning, end and bits and pieces in-between, then adjust as I go.

#Ask a nerd #This answer got away from me #But I love talking about this! #Writing

[wtl-archive]

Det er mærkeligt. Jeg har gået over de nye logs i dag, og jeg fandt denne mærkelig besked: [ User Pink Diamond has logged on. ] Og det er fra Tiffany’s Coms Prism. Det er en række andre ting some denne “Pink Diamond” bruger har gjort sig, såsom at see igennem Tiff’s logs. Hmmm… der eksisterer ikke nogen Pink Diamond her, men jeg ved at der helt klart er nogen ude der. Jeg… Jeg håber bare at det ikke er ham. Der er mange andre det kunne være, siden der er adskillige timelines derude der har deres egen Pink Diamond eller hybrider. Men Tiffany ville ikke bare overrække sin Prism like that. Denne Coms Prism er muligvis kompromitteret. Jeg venter lige på om Tiffany logger på igen eller skrive tilbage just in case, men hvis ikke, så bliver jeg nødt til at blokere linjen til denne Line. 

Intermission 09 - Discontinuity

Read all the pages in order here.

Blog Info

Artist Credit: NugatorySheep (lines/colors) || hugthesquids (sketches/layout/colors)

Writer Credit: hugthesquids

✨Oh emm gee, it's the other bastard that's ruined my life! ✨

Mmm. But, before I go down that depression pit, let's cover the details of this part of the AU.

First things first, as mentioned in the previous tags, I do not speak Danish. I have the translations for all the entries, but to dig them up requires I go through pages and pages of pain and I've tortured myself enough by even uploading this archive. So, ya'll just gon' have to deal with Google Translate. It's not too bad with translating these but there's some jank for sure. For this log specifically though, you won't need to translate anything as it's just a word for word repeat of what Sven says above.

This intermission happens a few hours after Prime Steven and Connie read through the leftover logs in Intermission 01: Tiffany Stone's Log, as you can see by the user record in the first page, making it one of the few intermissions we planned to post that showed an event that happened earlier in the story then when the reader is seeing it. The other five being for Druid (Intermissions 02, 04, 05, and 06) or for Soda Lime (Intermission XXX - A Crack In Time). Don't worry, we'll get to Soda...

The nature of Druid's meant that most of his were always going to be set in the past, but for the most part, intermissions were usually meant to take place in-universe at around the same time followers of the blog would see them. All that being said, it was important that anyone reading would be able to understand when these events were taking place, and given that a lot people seemed to forget the first intermission existed (I guess reading is too hard...?) spelling it out clearly here was a must.

Secondly... I do really like how these pages turned out. There was some... rough patches getting them done. I got a little excited and basically steamrolled the creation of them after I was shown the sketches and it wasn't the first time I got too invested in something and just breezed through it, only to realize that I jumped the gun and didn't give much room for outside input. Hyperfixations are a helluva drug. In hindsight I should've slowed down. But... hiccups aside... I was proud of the art I helped create. I thought it was spectacular. Now I can't look at it without feeling dread. Hmmph. Anyway.

Lastly, the logs were initially posted around April Fools, with this log being posted on Sven's canonical birthday, April 7th. (I chose that date 'cause two of my friends were born on the 7th of April and April's birthstone is Diamond. Felt fitting). The idea was that the first post, being written in Danish and when translated seemed to be completely random and mundane, would be taken as an April Fool's joke by readers, only for this to be posted on the 7th and make it clear that no, it's not a joke and this is all Very Serious Business.

Thing is... Sven was not originally planned to appear this early on in the AU. Not that I have an issue with it, it was just something that got pushed to be sooner, mostly because, like Druid, Sven became a favorite of a lot of people in the WTL Discord server. Me included...

I know that for ages people exclusively associated me with Druid, but that's only because for the longest fucking time he was the only character I could post about publicly without spoiling the entire plot. But this bitch? This motherfucker right here? He's the other half of the equation. I assure you that for all of my obsessing over that old man, this coffee addicted teenager was sitting on the sidelines stalking my bitch ass like a fucking hawk.

I love this kid. I despise him. I want to give him the biggest hug and I want knock his brain out with a fucking hammer. I look at him and feel purest joy and the deepest regrets. For every part of me that adores him, another part wants to tear him to shreds.

I have a lot of Feelings about this child, alright?

I have a lot of Feelings about his co-creator too.

Maybe one day it won't bother me so much.

There's so much about Sven that just makes him feel obnoxiously important to me. Which, y'know, weird thing to say about an alternate universe version of a fictional character. I mean, for all intents and purposes Sven is like... a hop, skip and a jump away from being an OC. He's designed to be the polar opposite of his canon counterpart, but I think that's why I resonate with him so much...

Steven is a character I love, but he's not one I can fully relate to since his personality isn't much like mine. But Sven? He's the most similar to me out of the Core Six by far. At least, when *I* write him he is. (Even though most people seem to think I'm more like Druid... I think my online persona leans a little more towards him, but offline? Not so much).

As the AU progressed and ideas got added Sven kinda slipped away from me. If I realized how differently he was in my head vs how he was in everyone else's I don't think I would've let it go so far. Fact of the matter is... there's always been two versions of him and I was just too stupid to notice. And I got so frustrated with being told that I wasn't doing enough despite trying my best that I just decided it would be better if he wasn't my problem anymore. What was the point in stressing myself over something that was never mine to begin with?

I keep looking back and wondering what would've happened if I did things differently. If I never talked to X person, posted Y thing, asked Z question... If I went back in time, with the knowledge I have now, could I change the outcome?

I should've said no.

#chapter two #story post #walk the line #walktheline au #steven universe #su #intermission #au/niverse #the mirror line #ech. rambled too hard on this post. whatever. #comic page #old wtl content

[aa-line]

On using friction strategically

As someone who is trying to figure out how to successfully have a clothing startup rooted in customization, I really enjoyed reading Professor Gosline's article about using friction in the right way for a human led design.

I do agree that most people, even those familiar with the concepts of AI, feel like there's at least some component of a black box. They don't understand why things happen the way they do when they use AI, particularly when using someone else's algorithm/product. There's a level of trust we give to businesses when they use AI to meet our needs as consumers. And when that trust is violated, it can tarnish a company's brand and future adoption of AI.

Right before I started this assignment, I interestingly saw on Instagram a carousel story about how Amazon Fresh's "just walk out" was actually just a bunch of people sitting in a room manually adding up all your groceries.* This to me is an example of bad friction. Amazon sought remove any extra "hassle" of pulling out your wallet and interacting with grocers, but in reality they were just doing a slight of hand that pushed the transaction behind the scenes. I know this isn't an exact use of AI since there's a manual component, but I think it's interesting how AI was used as the veil for the whole thing. I'm also not very familiar with the diversity of Amazon teams or the way they run experiments, but using Professor Gosline's three point framework described in the article, I can't help but wonder if having more, different voices deciding if "AI should really be doing this" would have lead to a different outcome.

In my startup**, I'm now considering how to add 'good friction.' One idea I'm exploring involves integrating customer input into a generative AI tool to generate an initial garment design before we discuss further. Currently, the process for my custom clothing company starts with a customer reaching out to me. I then ask for descriptors or information about what they're looking for, sketch an initial idea along with 3-5 variations for customization, and finally, we meet to take measurements and finalize the design.

Visualizing clothing and its details can be challenging for customers, unlike for me, as I'm deeply immersed in the industry. So, I'm exploring ways to guide them in understanding specific design elements. By allowing customers to experiment with various ideas using generative AI independently, we can then collaborate to refine the design together, adding my expertise to the mix. This approach introduces 'good friction' into the design process, granting customers autonomy while ensuring we arrive at a final vision that excites them.

*No large media org has covered this yet, so we'll wait to hear more details. I did find this article about it online - https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/amazon-s-just-walk-out-checkout-tech-was-powered-by-1-000-indian-workers-124040400463_1.html

**My branding team had some other great ideas we're going to go with for our final project instead, but another group in another class will be working on my startup!

Posting just a rough example of part of a sketch I did with someone in real time - they were looking for options (button down inspired vs just a simple dress) for office-wearable summer clothes (the top left was the fabric pattern/colors)

#MITSloanBranding2024A

#MITSloanBranding2024A

[writingdotcoffee]

#208: Write Like a Painter

The initial sketches that an artist does in preparation for a painting look almost nothing like the finished product. For writers, the lines are a lot more blurry. A draft — the first or the very last — is always just a bunch of words on paper.

When you're reading a story, you may imagine the writer sitting at his desk, writing those beautiful sentences down exactly as you see them. But that rarely ever happens. What the author wrote down in the first draft has been rewritten and edited many times before publication. In fact, you probably wouldn't even recognise the story by reading a passage from the first draft.

Writers and painters have a lot in common when it comes to the creative process. Here's what you can learn about writing by watching painters at work.

Working in Layers

Most painters start with a rough sketch. They erase it so it's barely visible and do another one on top. Then they start blocking in the colours and adding more and more detail.

The initial sketches guide the artist's hand later on when she's adding new layers on top. Without the sketches, it would be very hard for the artist to create the image. Even though you won't see it in the finished work, the sketch is an essential part of the process.

Think of the first draft as the initial sketch — something to guide you when shaping the story to its final form. By the time you're finished, you may have removed, replaced or rearranged every single word. That doesn't make the first draft any less valuable. The finished story wouldn't exist without it.

The Importance of the First Draft

As I said, the first draft is critically important, but it also isn't. The details aren't important at all. A lot of the polishing and editing writers do while working on the first draft can be a waste of time. Often, you'll have to cut entire chapters.

A painter won't spend hours adding detailed shading to a sketch only to cover it with a layer of paint. That'd be ridiculous! As a writer, it's much easier to fall into the same trap.

Painters use the initial sketches to set the perspective of the image and find the right shapes. Writing is much the same — the important things in the first draft are the broad strokes that will define the shape of the narrative. You want to get your main characters in and hit all the crucial plot points. But there's no need to agonise about what does your protagonist order at Starbucks in scene 12.

That's not to say that the details don't matter. They can make or break a story, but they aren't necessary when you're working on the first draft.

It's ok to leave things unfinished or keep writing even if you can't decide or simply don't know something. Skip it, wing it, do whatever it takes so you can keep going. The first draft just has to exist. You can fix anything later.

Many writers (myself included) spend way more time and energy on the first draft than is necessary. I'm not entirely sure why, to be honest. Perhaps our brain gets somehow confused because the first draft looks a lot like the final draft. They're both just words on a page, and yet, they couldn't be more different.

About the Author

Hi, I’m Radek 👋. I’m a writer, software engineer and the founder of Writing Analytics — an editor and writing tracker designed to help you beat writer’s block and create a sustainable writing routine.

I publish a post like this every week. Want to know when the next one comes out? Sign up for my email list below to get it right in your inbox.

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Past Editions

#207: On Being Stuck, August 2021

#206: 4 Reasons to Keep a Journal, August 2021

#205: It’s just Writing, July 2021

#204: What Will Your Story Look Like?, July 2021

#203: It Will Take Longer Than You Think, July 2021

#writing #writers #write #writing tips #writing advice #amwriting #writing life #writeblr #writing update #personal update #me #update #writing.coffee

[bananaofswifts]

By Paul Tingen

From sketches to final mixes, engineer Jonathan Low spent 2020 overseeing Taylor Swift’s hit lockdown albums folklore and evermore.

“I think the theme of a lot of my work nowadays, and especially with these two records, is that everything is getting mixed all the time. I always try to get the songs to sound as finalised as they can be. Obviously that’s hard when you’re not sure yet what all the elements will be. Tracks morph all the time, and yet everything is always moving forwards towards completion in some way. Everything should sound fun and inspiring to listen to all the time.”

Speaking is Jonathan Low, and the two records he refers to are, of course, Taylor Swift’s 2020 albums folklore and evermore, both of which reached number one in the UK and the US. Swift’s main producer and co‑writer on the two albums was the National’s Aaron Dessner, also interviewed in this issue. Low is the engineer, mixer and general right‑hand man at Long Pond Studios in upstate New York, where he and Dessner spent most of 2020 working on folklore and evermore, with Swift in Los Angeles for much of the time.

“In the beginning it did not feel real,” recalls Low. “There was this brand‑new collaboration, and it was amazing how quickly Aaron made these instrumental sketches and Taylor wrote lyrics and melodies to them, which she initially sent to us as iPhone voice memos. During our nightly family dinners in lockdown, Aaron would regularly pull up his phone and say, ‘Listen to this!’ and there would be another voice memo from Taylor with this beautiful song that she had written over a sketch of Aaron’s in a matter of hours. The rate at which it was happening was mind‑blowing. There was constant elevation, inspiration and just wanting to continue the momentum.

“We put her voice memos straight into Pro Tools. They had tons of character, because of the weird phone compression and cutting midrange quality you just would not get when you put someone in front of a pristine recording chain. Plus there was all this bleed. It’s interesting how that dictates the attitude of the vocal and of the song. Even though none of the original voice memos ended up on the albums, they often gave us unexpected hints. These voice memos were such on‑a‑whim things, they were really telling. Taylor had certain phrasings and inflections that we often returned to later on. They became our reference points.”

Sketching Sessions

“The instrumental sketches Aaron makes come into being in different ways,” elaborates Low. “Sometimes they are more fleshed‑out ideas, sometimes they are less formed. But normally Aaron will set himself up in the studio, surrounded by instruments and synths, and he’ll construct a track. Once he feels it makes some kind of sense I’ll come in and take a listen and then we together develop what’s there.

“I don’t call his sketches demos, because while many instruments are added and replaced later on, most of the original parts end up in the final version of the song. We try to get the sketches to a place where they are already very engaging as instrumental tracks. Aaron and I are always obsessively listening, because we constantly want to hear things that feel inspiring and musical, not just a bed of music in the background. It takes longer to create, but in this case also gave Taylor more to latch onto, both emotionally and in terms of musical inspiration. Hearing melodies woven in the music triggered new melodies.”

Not long after Dessner and Low sent each sketch to Swift, they would receive her voice memos in return, and they’d load them into the Pro Tools session of the sketch in question. Dessner and Low then continued to develop the songs, in close collaboration with Swift. “Taylor’s voice memos often came with suggestions for how to edit the sketches: maybe throw in a bridge somewhere, shorten a section, change the chords or arrangement somewhere, and so on. Aaron would have similar ideas, and he then developed the arrangements, often with his brother Bryce, adding or replacing instruments. This happened fast, and became very interactive between us and Taylor, even though we were working remotely. When we added instruments, we were reacting to the way my rough mixes felt at the very beginning. Of course, it was also dictated by how Taylor wrote and sang to the tracks.”

Dessner supplied sketches for nine and produced 10 of folklore’s 16 songs, playing many different types of guitars, keyboards and synths as well as percusion and programmed drums. Instruments that were added later include live strings, drums, trombone, accordion, clarinet, harpsichord and more, with his brother Bryce doing many of the orchestrations. Most overdubs by other musicians were done remotely as well. Throughout, Low was keeping an overview of everything that was going on and mixing the material, so it was as presentable and inspiring as possible.

Mixing folklore

Although Dessner has called folklore an “anti‑pop album”, the world’s number‑one pop mixer Serban Ghenea was drafted in to mix seven tracks, while Low did the remainder.

“It was exciting to have Serban involved,” explains Low, “because he did things I’d never do or be able to do. The way the vocal sits always at the forefront, along with the clarity he gets in his mixes, is remarkable. A great example of this is on the song ‘epiphany’. There is so much beautiful space and the vocal feels effortlessly placed. It was really interesting to hear where he took things, because we were so close to the entire process in every way. Hearing a totally new perspective was eye‑opening and refreshing.

“Throughout the entire process we were trying to maintain the original feel. Sometimes this was hard, because that initial rawness would get lost in large arrangements and additional layering. With revisions of folklore in particular we sometimes were losing the emotional weight from earlier more casual mixes. Because I was always mixing, there was also always the danger of over‑mixing.

“We were trying to get the best of each mix version, and sometimes that meant stepping backwards, and grabbing a piano chain from an earlier mix, or going three versions back to before we added orchestration. There were definitely moments of thinking, ‘Is this going to compete sonically? Is this loud enough?’ We knew we loved the way the songs sounded as we were building them, so we stuck with what we knew. There were times where I tried to keep pushing a mix forward but it didn’t improve the song — ‘cardigan’ is an example of a song where we ended up choosing a very early mix.”

Onward & Upward

folklore was finished and released in July 2020. In a normal world everyone might have gone on to do other things, but without the option of touring, they simply continued writing songs, with Low holding the fort. In September, many of the musicians who played on the album gathered at Long Pond for the shooting of a making‑of documentary, folklore: the long pond studio sessions, which is streamed on Disney+.

The temporary presence of Swift at Long Pond changed the working methods somewhat, as she could work with Dessner in the room, and Low was able record her vocals. After Swift left again, sessions continued until December, when evermore was released, with Dessner producing or co‑producing all tracks, apart from ‘gold rush’ which was co‑written and co‑produced by Swift and Antonoff. Low recorded many of Swift’s vocals for evermore, and mixed the entire album. The lead single ‘willow’ became the biggest hit from the album, reaching number one in the US and number three in the UK.

“Before Taylor came to Long Pond,” remembers Low, “she had always recorded her vocals for folklore remotely in Los Angeles or Nashville. When I recorded, I used a modern Telefunken U47, which is our go‑to vocal mic — we record all the National stuff with that — going straight into the Siemens desk, and then into a Lisson Grove AR‑1 tube compressor, and via a Burl A‑D converter into Pro Tools. Taylor creates and lays down her vocal arrangements very quickly, and it sounds like a finished record in very few takes.”

Devils In The Detail

In his mixes, Low wanted listeners to share his own initial response to these vocal performances. “The element that draws me in is always Taylor’s vocals. The first time I received files with her properly recorded but premixed vocals I was just floored. They sounded great, even with minimal EQ and compression. They were not the way I’m used to hearing her voice in her pop songs, with the vocal soaring and sitting at the very front edge of the soundscape. In these raw performances, I heard so much more intimacy and interaction with the music. It was wonderful to hear her voice with tons of detail and nuances in place: her phrasing, her tonality, her pitch, all very deliberate. We wanted to maintain that. It’s more emotional, and it sounds so much more personal to me. Then there was the music...”

The arrangements on evermore are even more ‘chamber pop’ than on folklore, with instruments like glockenspiel, crotales, flute, French horn, celeste and harmonium in evidence. “As listeners of the National may know, Aaron’s and Bryce’s arrangements can be quite dense. They love lush orchestration, all sorts of percusion, synths and other electronic sounds. The challenge was trying to get them to speak, without getting in the way of the vocals. I want a casual listener to be drawn in by the vocal, but sense that something special is happening in the music as well. At the same time, someone who really is digging in can fully immerse themselves and take in all the beauty deeper in the details of the sound and arrangement. Finding the balance between presenting all the musical elements that were happening in the arrangement and this really beautiful, upfront, real‑sounding vocal was the ticket.

“A particular challenge is that a lot of the detail that Aaron gravitates towards happens in the low mids, which is a very warm part of our hearing spectrum that can quickly become too muddy or too woolly. A lot of the tonal and musical information lives in the low mids, and then the vocal sits more in the midrange and high mids. There’s not too much in the higher frequency range, except the top of the guitars, and some elements like a shaker and the higher buzzy parts of the synths. Maintaining clarity and separation in those often complex arrangements was a major challenge.”

#taylor swift #folklore

[splendentgoddess]

Strangest thing just happened

So I had a private message from an Inuyasha fanart account I don’t follow, asking me (politely enough) to DELETE a reblog I did of their post, with no further information. 

I sent a slew of replies none of which got a response probably because they just aren’t online right now, so I was more or less talking to myself in the DM box as I asked them what the post was and said how that was a strange request but I would try to honor it, as I proceeded to look for the post when I had no idea what I was looking for.

Because my brainpower isn’t the best I initially went about it the stupid way, LOL, and just started scrolling through my own blog looking for their user name, which I didn’t immediately see even after going back three days, when I had assumed my reblog was probably just from last night, or ya know, more recent given they had just messaged me either last night or this morning.

Well long story long (ha) I finally got smart and looked at their blog page, in the hopes of finding the artwork in question (thank goodness I always also like the artwork I reblog, and so I knew I just needed to quick-scroll looking for a red heart) and then it turned out they didn’t have many posts at all and so it was easy for me to find. It was six days old, but I scrolled down to it in my own blog and deleted my reblog as requested.

This is the kicker, though. THEY USED A FUCK-TON OF TAGS. Like “Inuyasha fanart”, “Kagome Higurashi”, etc. (It was a rough sketch of Kagome.) I was trying to figure out how I’d even seen their post in the first place if I wasn’t following them and I directly reblogged them and so not a reblog of a reblog by somebody I follow. I had assumed it must’ve been that “Based on your likes” thing, only because I had assumed well surely if this person doesn’t want their artwork seen by strangers they won’t have used TAGS...but that assumption was incorrect.

Also too, their profile headers says DO NOT REBLOG OR REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION. But like...we don’t see profile headers when posts just appear on our dash? Unless we scroll over the user name, but I’m not checking everyone’s profiles prior to reblogging to make sure their profile header doesn’t say NO REBLOGS, hahaha. I mean, WTF?! No reposts, sure yes, duh, because that removes the OP, but this is my first real life encounter in the wild of that phenomenon where newbies apparently think reblogs are reposts. People (rightly) make fun of Twitter migrants for not getting how Tumblr works, and I was one of them...for like a day, but honestly, Tumblr is not that hard to figure out! And even I could understand that reblogs were like retweets and thus you’re just sharing somebody else’s original post, and everyone can see who the OP is. That’s obviously not the same thing as stealing artwork to repost it yourself. And if it’s just a silly unfinished WIP you only want to show your few followers, who know not to reblog it, uh...don’t use tags? 

So anyway, I won’t name names because I don’t want to drag the user, but just a heads-up, if you happen to come across a rough B&W computer sketch WIP of Kagome in various stages of doneness, that admits it’s a rough sketch and is not finished yet, DO NOT reblog it. 

[crystalkleure]

Haha hey remember that post I made awhile back, speculating on what a bad idea it might be to fuse dead things in the godless Frankenstein fossil machine

Meet White. He is a reanimated corpse. Two of them, actually. Or more like 1.5. [And I whipped up this half-assed partial reference sheet in one night instead of sleeping, so don’t look too hard at the chickenscratch lineart and visible guidelines, and kindly ignore the total lack of shading as well as any other messy jankiness.]

White is a product of me wondering not only about what happens if you NecroFuse a human with a Pokemon, but also what happens if you make it even worse and specifically fuse that human with a Pokemon capable of mega evolution. Because canon seems to imply that mega evolving is at best deeply uncomfortable -- and at worst outright agonizing -- for whatever creature is going through it.

Character Lore under the cut. Lots of text:

White is one of actually multiple undead guys who got mashed together with bits of dead Pokemon. They’re science experiments, so they've got the dex numbers of the Pokemon they're spliced with tattooed on the backs of their necks, and those numbers were treated as their names In The Evil Science Lab.

In his Original Life, White [and some of his buddies] got gored to death by some escaped Horrible Fucking Monsters that were accidentally [...and then not-so-accidentally] created via Two Pokemon At Once In A Fossil Resurrection Machine, because hey, it is SUPER easy to think you got Just One Thing's Bones from an excavation dig but then later you realize that Some Of Those Bones were from something TOTALLY different that just died in the same place. It happens. So, some Fossil Scientist People accidentally resurrected an Abomination, realized they fucked up pretty fast...and then started wondering if they REALLY fucked up or if this is Cool, Actually. And then the team of Science People split into two Morality Factions, with one half being like “This is unethical as shit, we need to make sure this doesn't happen again because it's not natural so who knows how this poor fucked up creature is suffering” and the other, cooler half being like “WE NEED TO DO THIS AGAIN RIGHT NOW BECAUSE SCIENCE. IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES HOLY SHIT.”

Cooler group splits off from the Horrified Group With Morals, and they promptly use their Science Knowledge to Construct More Machines and Make More Monsters. Doesn't take too long for them to realize, however, that Abomination Pokemon are stupidly hard to control, because not only are they suffering, their masters obviously don't care for their wellbeing, so Revolt Inevitably Occurs and they escape to wreak havoc upon the nearest congregation of townspeople. They promptly maul some people to death at a nearby local rock concert, scientists chase after them to clean up the mess, realize “Oh Shit, Manslaughter Charges Impending”, and then realize...

Science Guy 1: “...Hey, what happens if you put a dead person in the fossil machine?”

Science Guy 2: “Hey, people probably listen better than Pokemon. We can, like, TALK to people.”

Science Guy 3: “Lads, I got a stellar idea just now. And we got plenty of Dead Guys to start with right here! Great way to hide the bodies too, probably.”

This goes approximately as well as you would expect, and precisely as ethically. A smashing success!

However, because they Fucking Died, the reanimated Newly-Monsterized dudes do not remember shit about who they were pre-resurrection. They're not technically even the same people, they’re more like clones. They've been remade. So, all they know now is Science Lab Life, and they have no initial attachment to eachother aside from "that other guy is also a Science Experiment Person just like me, so Same Hat @ Labrat Neighbour ig", in spite of several having been friends or even family prior to death. They also just...don’t know/remember things in general. They are fresh blank slates. And to a morally-bankrupt team of scientists, that’s perfect! They can train these guys to behave however they please!

...However, people might be People Instead Of Animals, meaning they can be Reasoned With And Manipulated And Coerced far better than animals due to their far better communication abilities with the Science People, but...there is Still A Problem in the sense that Holy Shit, A Person Can Only Take So Much. You can only treat someone as "Experiment [number]" for so long, blatantly putting no value on their life outside of The Value Of Scientific Research, in spite of literally basically needing to raise them like a normal child due to the Lack Of Memories issue. Eventually they're not gonna be able to take that anymore and they are gonna Fucking Leave, too. And they’re gonna be much harder to track down than the rampaging Pokemon were. Impossible, actually, once they’ve ripped out their tracking chips.

So then there's just these monster dudes, who don't actually know what they are because they weren't ever told anything more than necessary to get them to cooperate with Tests And Experiments, just Escaped Into Civilization and having NO idea how Anything works. Fun! Especially considering how, at first glance, these just look like Normal Dudes. Their monster bits either aren't apparent or just look like funky body modifications.

They've also got Science Things in them and they Don't Know What The Fuck Those Things Even Are. They've just got these little Devices in/on their chests, and they were never informed of the exact functions of them because there's no reason to explain to the experiment What Is Happening, just that the experiment needs to Hold Still and Cooperate and Now Do This, Now Do This, Now Do That, Good Job That's Enough For Today, etc.

Those devices contain both key stones and mega stones.

If you were a Mad Pokemon Scientist, you would most certainly be interested in the mega evolution phenomenon. What would YOU do if some of your Undead Fusion Experiments happened to be spliced with bits of Pokemon known to be capable of mega evolving? You’d kill two birds with one enigmatic set of stones, that’s what you’d do. Your Frankenstein Experiments can even TALK to you and tell you exactly what they are experiencing when you run tests on them! It’s perfect!

So, if a rock-bearing monster’s heart rate goes too high, part of the little device, which is a barrier between one type of rock and the other, opens up and Exposes One Rock To The Other Rock. Which exposes the monster to the Rock Energy Reaction. The greater the stress, the higher the dose. And I’m sure you can see the snowball effect that’s gonna create, at least the first time or two.

They were INTENDED to eventually be made to Physically Fight With Eachother to gauge the effects of The Rocks™️ when the Guys With The Rocks are under Stress and need to Do Some Self-Defense. The Science Squad was basically trying to suss out the Actual Purpose of mega evolution. Because mega evolution is weird -- it puts ENORMOUS stress on the body of whatever is undergoing it, so the hypothesis was that its true power is probably drawn out best via a perceived life-threatening situation, like it’s a type of hysterical strength, because what else would cause a need for that kind of ability. And aren’t ethics a bit overrated?

So, there’s our premise. White is just wandering around without any particular purpose outside of never ever going back to Science Hell, and he has no clue what the funny little doohickey buried in his chest does until it activates one day and absolutely fucks him up [...as well as everyone around him. Mega Absol radiate an Aura Of Sheer Terror that can literally scare people with weak hearts to death if they’re not careful.]

And now, some Miscellaneous Character Info:

The bit about Lots Of Death happening at a rock concert specifically was important. White was actually the vocalist of the band that was playing. He doesn’t remember that now, but he still loves music and has the same strong vocal cords. And THAT is important because White is partially an Absol now and Absol naturally learns Perish Song. These Fusion Monsters are absolutely capable of using Pokemon moves, though whether they’re aware of this is a different matter entirely. Imagine what happens when they end up tapping into those abilities accidentally.

That band was a relatively-unknown little local band. White was by no means anywhere near famous. Very few people even realized he was gone, and most of the ones who would have noticed also ended up Equally Unalive.

That black stuff between the belts on White’s arms is mesh. Like, stocking mesh. It gets Ripped The Fuck Apart when he goes Mega Mode and his arm fur gets Extra Spiky. Hence one stocking being a bit tattered in that reference pic. He frequently has to replace those things, they are fragile.

“How did White get his name if he doesn’t remember his original name and didn’t have a real name in the lab” I am glad you asked! Post-escape, he eventually encountered a situation where someone asked him what his name was, he bluntly told them “I don’t have one. I am #359.”, they said “Well That Is Not A Name, I need something proper to call you”, and he was just...Super Apathetic. So, the other person picked out the name “White” just based on the fact that White’s hair is white, and he just shrugged and rolled with it.

As you can see in my Incredibly Quick And Rough Sketches, the backs of White’s shirts are open to accommodate that huge amount of fur that bristles out into false wings when he goes Mega Mode. Because his Actual Normal Hair is relatively long and overlaps with that fur, it blends in with his Actual Normal Hair and doesn’t look too odd [when it’s down]. Probably mostly because nobody’s expecting it to be anything OTHER than Perfectly Normal Hair That Just Happens To Be Very Long.

White does not particularly like violence. White does not want to beat you up. He will, though, without a bit of hesitation, if there’s some logical reason he feels like it’s the most practical course of action. Being essentially raised by Cold, Emotionally-Sterile Scientists With No Care For The Wellbeing Other Living Beings uh, tends to affect a guy a little bit. White has a bit of an internal dilemma regarding “It would be efficient for me to just Harm This Other Person to defuse the current situation, because attempting nonviolence will be overall more risky somehow” vs. “Holy shit it feels bad when I hurt people. Why does it feel bad when I hurt people. Is it...SUPPOSED to feel bad when I hurt people?? No one ever felt bad for hurting me.” He Figures Out How Empathy Works Eventually. He is a good guy at heart. He is a Monotone Snarker, but not actually Cold or Malicious at all.

If an Absol can do it, White can probably do it. He has incredibly keen senses and a STRONG ability to Detect Impending Doom. He has exactly the amount of Supernatural Absol Powers you would expect. He is also stupidly physically strong, way more so than he appears to be.

White can’t punch people. Look at the fist he’s making in the pic, he’s doing it wrong. If you punch someone like that, you WILL break your own thumb. That’s not a Revving Up To Sock Someone pose, he’s just tense. He’s using his thumb as a buffer between his long-ass Sharp As Fuck claws and the flesh of his palm. If White tries to punch anybody, or just makes a proper fist at all, he will impale his own hand on his nails. Like, all the way through. He CAN slash straight through things like metal and bone with those claws, though.

White...is unsettling. Completely accidentally, and unknowingly. He just radiates an Aura Of Intimidation [...or Pressure], even when not in Mega Mode, that scales depending on his mood. Just being near him tends to put people and Pokemon on edge. Thus, he’s generally avoided.

The latter point is especially unfortunate, because White’s preferred method of Socializing and Bonding is to just kind of quietly hang out in the same room as whoever he is trying to Socialize and Bond with. He just wants to, like...chill out Near A Buddy and watch a movie and share a bag of chips or something. His social skills are predictably not good.

#DO YOU LIKE MY TOTALLY NORMAL GUY #HE SUFFERS #He's pretty though and that's what actually matters here right #I need to draw the other Totally Normal Guys sometime too. White is Part Of A Set. #Pokemon #CK's art #OCs #I have Long Pointy Fingernails myself can you tell

[beeshavethrees]

HEY LOOK it’s an AU I’ve sat on for a couple years and never talked about! This is also probably the *weirdest* AU I’ve ever made. This AU focuses mainly on Alexander and Thomas reincarnating over the years, though other characters sometimes pop up as well. Details below the cut!

Making the photoset small so that it isn’t immediately obvious how rough these little sketches are. I did this in like an hour which is why it’s so sloppy.

Don’t expect anything else from this AU, I just wanted to get it out once.

As stated this is a really weird AU, so I’m going to summarize it in the cleanest way I possibly can.

World setup:

This world relies on three main concepts. The first is that souls have power, and the second is that this power is represented by colors, and the third is that soul magic leads the world.

Souls have power, and this power grows over time. As someone is reincarnated over the years, their soul will continue to grow more and more powerful and refined. Souls can change their power type (explained in the next concept) each time they’re reincarnated, but often trend towards keeping the same or similar power types as those they’ve had in previous lives, or a mix of them.

This power is represented by colors, particularly light or the lack thereof. Magic is defined as two types: white/light (and its components), or black/dark. Someone can not have both types of magic. Dark magic is organic magic, allowing the user to manipulate the natural world. Only a small subset of the population has this magic, and most go into careers related to naturalism or farming. Light magic is inorganic magic (making it essentially limitless), and is held by the vast, vast majority of the population. It is broken down in the color spectrum -- most light magicians aren’t considered as having light magic, but instead have red magic, or blue magic, or so on.

Soul magic leads the world in the form of the High God. As the power of souls grow over time, so does the power of the gods. The High God is little more than a web of scraps of magic, and builds up the basis of the universe and everything within it. Two Lesser Gods are also much later brought into being by this same force of magic, but where the High God is concerned with the cosmos, the Lesser Gods care for the beings within it. The Lesser Gods also pluck individual souls out of the cycle to act as servants and ambassadors who can actively visit humanity to guide it down the path of the Lesser God’s vision. The Lesser Gods can correspond with the High God, but there’s little to be heard by a being in such a grand scale above even the other gods.

Plot basics:

The storyline takes place over thousands of years, and several reincarnations of the cast, but the main focus is on three lives.

One of three: This life takes place while humanity is still only beginning to gain its footing. Magic is in its infancy, and is capable of very little -- and while some regions embrace the natural variation in magic, others detest it. The main cast lives in an area of the latter sort -- a small tribe identifying themselves with their “red” magic is clashing with the “blue” tribe over a small area of land that grows a particular herb that is highly nutritious and thought to have healing properties. The one thing the two tribes agree over is in a legend of people with every magic type, “light” magicians, who are incredibly powerful and are sent by fate to lead tribes to prosperity. Both tribes also identify their affiliations by painting stripes under their eyes with their color.

(There are other tribes in the area -- many of the other cast members live in the green tribe, and Lafayette is of the dark tribe to the south, but they don’t have much standing on the plot.)

Thomas is the son of a the blue tribe’s leader and is particularly gifted with magic to the point where some people claim his family must descend from a light magician. He hates the pressure put on him to step up and lead, or to use his powers to defeat the red tribe.

Alexander is from the red tribe, raised by his mother -- his father is unknown to him, though his mother claims she found his father one day while out foraging, brought him back to the village to tend to his wounds, and fell in love until the day he ran away again. Alexander is a typical red magician, but often will go out alone into the woods to attempt to push his powers to the limits, with the excuse that he forages while away. One day, Alexander leaves to forage, but becomes caught in a heavy thunderstorm. Disoriented, he stumbles through the underbrush until he comes to a messy trail and follows it.

Thomas is the one to find him collapsed on the trail, bunches of the herb Alexander collected in his small bag. The rain washed away Alexander’s paint -- not knowing who this stranger could be, Thomas hauls him back and takes the herb from Alexander’s back to give to the healers.

When Alexander wakes up -- indoors, clothes dry -- he’s approached by Thomas, who introduces himself. Alexander is at first terrified, knowing that a member of Thomas’ tribe wouldn’t hesitate to kill a member of the red tribe. But Thomas has been working on a plan: he doesn’t want all this pressure on him to do this and do that as the heir to the only family descending from a light magician; instead, he slyly mentions that he heard legend of light magicians appearing to aid those in need. Alexander jumps on the opportunity, claiming that of course he’s a light magician, and of course he’ll help Thomas’ community. Anything to stop them from stabbing him then and there, he supposes. Thomas thanks him, hands him a bowl of broth made from the healing herbs, and their relationship develops from there.

Alexander never does find out his father was a light magician.

But other folks find out he’s a red magician -- and before he can escape back to his own tribe, he’s killed.

Two of three: Thousands of years later, magic is no longer a faint power only a few can properly utilize. Instead, it’s well-known and spread through the population, which isn’t tribal any longer, but is instead a relatively highly-developed interlocked society spanning the globe.

No longer are people defined by a single color -- many people descend from a mixture of many colors, and instead are simply inclined towards one over the other, though some stronger than others. Light magic has also become far more common, though it’s rare to see someone who can naturally use it; instead, people with great magical affinity will be invited to schools of higher education where they are trained.

Thomas is in his second year studying with one such school. His parents both attended it, and are ecstatic for Thomas to join it as well, though he’s less interested. He’s initially invited to the school to study light magic, but during the first week of orientation he finds out: hey! He hates light magic and isn’t inclined towards it at all! And instead he runs off to study blue magic. It just...feels better.

Alexander comes into the school a year after Thomas on a full scholarship. He comes from a far more unfortunate background, but shows incredible magic potential. So, a light magician it is! Where the other magics at the school dress however they want, work on projects all over the common spaces, wander the halls...to be a light magician is to be perfect, and that’s exactly what he wants. He dresses in the perfect white uniform, he sticks his nose up at other magics, and his class -- only one, all day, every day -- is set with the other 99 students in his class in an auditorium.

Only...light magic isn’t all it’s cracked out to be. Light magic is no longer the raw force of power it was; instead, students are encouraged to refine and control it if they want to use it. Light magic is pulled from the soul and spun into a string, then woven on a loom into the desired shape. First-years are still learning how to weave, so they work on projects as a community -- each student of the 100 is brought up to a stage during class, spins a single string, then sets it on the loom and sits down. The lecturer then weaves them all together. Though first-years are forbidden from meeting with the upper years, rumor says upper years get to weave their own magic, and go on to work at the greatest government-run magi-tech facilities in the world.

But Alexander feels off. He doesn’t like the clothes, and he doesn’t like the culture. Within the first month, the lecture becomes dull: there’s no notes to take, every demonstration is slow, and he’s terrified that every time it’s his turn to come to the stage, he’ll mess up his weave. Not only that, but weaving doesn’t feel...right.

One day he runs into a group of blue students while going to the restroom during lecture. They’re encouraged not to leave during lecture, but he’s falling asleep and has to get out of that uncomfortable chair. And he realizes...the blue students are using their magic freely, and already doing amazing things with their powers, not spending all their days in that awful lecture hall.

And just like that, Thomas convinces him to leave the light magic program. Alexander becomes a red magician, but something never does sit right with him about what was happening in those lectures.

Until it comes out that weaving light magic requires depositing a bit of one’s soul along with it. Light-weaving magicians will all burn out eventually, and while the soul will regenerate come their next reincarnation, their magic is stolen from them in their current incarnation.

Chaos breaks out among the magicians of the school. A microcosm of revolution between those who are learned and powerful and those who are plentiful and ready to throw all they have at it.

Alexander is killed in the chaos.

Three of three: Another several thousand years pass. It’s by this time that the Lesser Gods have fully formed, and light-weaving technology has surpassed all else to the point where humanity is post-scarcity -- cities are rebuilt for beauty, natural spaces carved out, portals and magic commonly integrated. Everyone has everything they could want, they only need to find their place and personal happiness.

Thomas is plucked out of the reincarnation cycle by the Lesser Gods; he’s brought into being as an adult with a strictly light-blue uniform and a purpose. He mainly takes correspondence and delivers messages, seeks out additional souls that would be good to be made into a being such as himself (a ”unit”), as well as various other duties assigned at random, such as setting things up if another unit will be doing things down in the world.

He doesn’t personally recommend Alexander’s soul be pulled, but he doesn’t mind when he’s assigned to wake Alexander up. Alexander is another unit, but this time an enforcer with a pink uniform: or, white-red, to be specific. An enforcer is more than a passive messenger -- they’re powerful, strong, and are meant to cleanly eliminate those who would destroy the perfect society humanity has built.

He and Alexander work next to each other for a time while Alexander is awaiting orders. One day, Alexander is sent off on a mission: some random crazy person has been trying to build an artificial god. Of course, that won’t fly, so he’s off to eliminate them and destroy anything remaining of their project.

But in his absence, Thomas starts to realize that he’s...lonely. He’s excited when he’s given his next assignment to go to Earth for some silly routine work, and realizes that he doesn’t...really want to go back. James is the final nail in the coffin for him: finally, someone else who likes him! They just have to disappear and pop off elsewhere, ideally avoiding enforcers, and they’ll be off scott free!

Shame that Alexander finds him.

(The funny thing about Thomas being a servant is that he does have some powers -- ones that happen to counteract all of Alexander’s offensive abilities as an enforcer. Making it a very awkward sort of manhunt. Units were never made to hunt each other, or even defect at all!)

And with each escape, every thwarted plan, Alexander cracks a little more. And eventually, when Thomas extends a hand -- maybe out of pity, maybe out of love, maybe just because it’s what he’s always done in all their lives -- Alexander takes it.

And they run free.

And that’s it for this AU! I’m never writing for it ever again. Goodnight.

#jamilton #hamilton #hamilton: an american musical

[quantumvaudeville]

I’ve been promising to do this for ages but here’s my updated commission sheet! Screen reader-friendly/”I can’t read your handwriting QV” version under the cut

Prices:

Bust Sketch: $15

Waist-up Sketch: $20

Full Body Sketch: $25

Colored Bust: $25

Colored Waist-up: $30

Colored Full Body: $35

Reference Sheet (includes two figures and a detail shot or three figures): $80

I'll draw you a weird horse: $5 (weird horse included free on purchases of over $50)

Additional Charges:

Complex Character Designs: $5

Difficult Poses: $5

Major Revisions: $5

Complex Props: $10

Intricate Patterns/Textures: $10

Additional Characters: Same as base price

Revision Policy:

After we've decided on a price, I generally like to send over one very rough sketch to confirm that I'm on the right track with pose/composition/expression and so on, at which point extensive revisions can be made at no penalty to you. I'll keep sending progress sketches after this, but at this point any revisions that require me to redraw more than half the piece will cost an extra $5, so make sure we're on the same page before then.

Payment:

I accept payment through Paypal. I like to be paid at least half of the price up front, but the rest can be saved until after I deliver a finished piece. If something prevents me from completing your commission, or if you change your mind before I send any sketches, I’ll refund all but $5 dollars of your initial payment.

Can I repost things I commission from you on my blog/use them as icons?

I actually encourage it! Just be sure to link back to my tumblr or to my commissions page.

Can I finish your sketches/pay another artist to finish your sketches?

Sure! Just be sure to credit both me and them when you post the finished piece.

What I Will Draw

I'm generally good with:

Humans (I'll draw fictional characters, OCs, celebrities, you, your grandma, etc.)

Furries and Anthros

Animals

Nudity/Mild sexual content (Pinups and softcore stuff are okay!)

Mild injury (Bloody noses, superficial cuts, bruises, etc.)

What I Won't Draw

I'm generally not okay with:

Real people in sexual or romantic contexts unless I have the explicit consent of the involved parties (This includes actors as themselves (as opposed to their characters), youtubers, your ex, etc.)

Cars or similarly mechanical/inorganic-looking things (characters like Nick Valentine from Fallout 4 or Raiden from Metal Gear Solid are fine, though)

Explicit sexual content (Poses where the genitals are the focus of the image)

Non-consensual sex

Gore (disembowelment, dismemberment, etc.)

There are exceptions to both of the above categories, so if you're unsure about where your request stands, feel free to ask! I reserve the right to deny any request, but I promise the worst that'll happen is I say no. Depending on what you're asking for, I might even be able to point you at an artist more suited to your needs.

#long post #cw: creepy doll

[kosmosguk]

Hi!!! Are there any bts yandere profiles we shoud know about?? Like what sort of yandere is each member. Can i request that you do a yandere profile for each member?? Thanks!

I did a brief version of this for my post BTS as yanderes based on their MOTS 7 song, but this gives me an opportunity to elaborate more and be more detailed! Sorry for the slow posting; luckily school’s ending soon which means I get a break to catch up on my inbox :) Thanks to everyone who’s been supporting me and a BIG shoutout to the anon who sent me the long incredibly sweet message because y’all are the reason I’m posting this week<3 (also this gives me a reason to look at pics of heartthrob bts)

warnings: yandere themes (toxic relationships), mentions of violence, mentions of kidnapping, blackmail, implied deaths, gaslighting 

Kim Seokjin

Yandere Type: Controlling

Danger Level: 7

It’s often rare that Seokjin finds someone to take interest in; after all, he’s spent all of his life being the one who people took interest in. Thus, when he sees you, someone he finds as beautiful as himself, he falls too hard too fast. He sees you as a pretty doll, one that he can arrogantly toy with and play with as much as he wants, and, as the son of a wealthy family, he’s spent his life always getting what he wanted when he wanted it; you’re no exception. He’s not above using the power that comes with his family to force you into the role he has applied to you in his mind, whether it be subtle threats against your family or punishments. As his obsession with having control over you continues to grow, you better not refuse to play your role well; after all, if he snaps, you’ll find yourself waking up in a special room that he has designed for his precious little princess. 

Min Yoongi

Yandere Type: Overprotective 

Danger Level: 8

Yoongi’s a little rough around the edges; he’s cold and distant, or at least that’s what you think about him. You don’t even suspect that he’s harboring such dark, twisted intentions for you, even when those who have hurt you seem to be disappearing in such mysterious ways, and Yoongi always shows up looking scuffled. Those who are fortunate to survive can barely meet your eye, only showing up to apologize before abruptly vanishing; you find it weird, but you can’t help but think that your life has gotten so much easier. It takes a while for you to realize how overprotective Yoongi is; he’s always with you, refusing to part from your side unless you’re using the bathroom. With him by your side, it helps you to evade all of the rumors that’s floating about him, but the one person who brings up the rumor about Yoongi always ends up disappearing. But you barely realize that; not when Yoongi’s so adamant about protecting you from everything outside. 

Kim Namjoon

Yandere Type: Manipulative 

Danger Level: 8

Namjoon’s always been good with words; he can twist a situation that’s horrible into one that sounds like it’s meant to be. At least, that’s what you’ve deluded yourself into believing. He starts out small at first, passing remarks that shed doubt on the choices you’ve made like whether or not the dress you’re wearing is right, and the remarks grow until you can barely look outside the window without practically trembling. After all, Namjoon’s always right; everything he’s said that’s wrong with the outside world has happened, and if you were rational like you were a few months ago, perhaps you would’ve realized that everything that’s happened to you is much too planned out to be just coincidences. But you’re not the you from a few months ago; Namjoon has manipulated you well into placing your heart and mind into his grip. Even if there’s doubt in your heart, it’ll be quickly stomped out by your belief that Namjoon is always right. 

Jung Hoseok

Yandere Type: Two-Faced

Danger Level: 8

Hoseok, as a yandere, is good at fooling you; to you, he’s so nice and energetic, always smiling brightly and taking good care of you. But with others who dare to even look at you, he’s terrifying. If you ever looked at Hoseok in these moments, a callous look in his eyes, the same eyes that practically sparkle whenever he sees you, and his lips set firm in a line, the lips he uses to smile and kiss you tenderly with, and his hands, the ones that softly cradle your face, stained in a horrific red, you wouldn’t be able to recognize him. However, Hoseok is careful about revealing who he really is with you to the point where you would refuse to believe it if someone told you the truth. As long as you don’t suspect your loving and supportive boyfriend and don’t get too curious, you’ll be safe, but if you find out something that you shouldn’t find out about Hoseok, you can’t blame the drastic measures he’ll need to take to ensure you can never leave him.

Park Jimin

Yandere Type: Delusional 

Danger Level: 6-8

Jimin’s yandere type is quite volatile. He’s stuck in his own fantasies and delusions, in which you’re his pretty lover and he’s your doting boyfriend, and his fantasies will continue to escalate if you, out of fear, keep feeding them. One day you’ll be his lover, but then suddenly, he’s proposing to you in public, a bold smile on his face, and you’re terrified to say no as everyone around you claps and cheers. If you dare to try to push him out of them because hell, you don’t even know this guy besides a brief introduction at the start of college and he’s insisting that you’re dating, he’ll snap, and trust me, it will not be pretty. Either way, you’ll end up in what Jimin fondly calls ‘’our happily ever after,’’ the kind where you’ll have children running around, either from the both of you or lovingly adopted, and you’ll have the wonderful duty of prettily smiling by Jimin’s side until your last breath.

Kim Taehyung

Yandere Type: Obsessive 

Danger Level: 8

Taehyung, normally, loves art; he loves the beauty and the blend of emotion-provoking colors and lines that lies within the canvas of a masterpiece. As a yandere, his obsession with art continues to grow and decrease in stability after meeting you; he craves being able to put the image of you down onto paper, and he dreams, fingers twitching unconsciously, of sketching your face perfectly down. His studio is filled with half-finished portraits and crumpled sketches and walls filled with carefully creased photographs of you because no matter how much time and effort he pours into replicating your artistry, he can never achieve it. Taehyung comes to the conclusion that to really replicate your beauty, he needs to have you. You find yourself knocked out one night walking back home and waking up with a throbbing head to a man who’s as beautiful as the marble statues he’s surrounded himself with. You should pray and hope that his obsession with you will only remain at putting your image into art.  

Jeon Jungkook

Yandere Type: Clingy/Aggressive 

Danger Level: 5-9

Jungkook’s initially one of the softer yandere types, refusing to leave your side for even a second. As long as you don’t try to leave him, he’ll remain sweet, like the syrupy taste of honey. But, just like honey, you quickly find yourself getting sick. He’s too clingy, and he’s easily jealous, the kind of jealous that shows his more aggressive side and leaves a numb unsettling sense of terror gnawing deep in your bones. You try severing your relationship with him, and suddenly Jungkook, the Jungkook who’s always been gentle and soft with you if you ignore his bouts of horrible jealousy, changes. He becomes the Jungkook that terrifies you, the Jungkook that only comes out when he’s wracked with jealousy. If you resist him when he traps and confines you, he’ll only get worse, but if you give in and return to being his loving significant other, Jungkook will take it easier on you and become your sweet Jungkook again. 

#yandere bts #yandere bts profiles #yandere #bts au #yandere au #bts yandere #bts #bts profiles #bts fic #yandere x reader #bts x reader #yandere namjoon #yandere seokjin #yandere yoongi #yandere hoseok #yandere jimin #yandere taehyung #yandere jungkook

[formerprincewille]

I was tagged by @pamouche and @borborai in this and I finally gotten around to doing it. Thanks so much!

Fav wtfock s3 things: honestly I could go on for hours about my love for this season it’s One of my favorite things to exist in the entire world. I have re-watched it so many times and it always leaves me feeling so happy. Some specifics: Robbe IJzermans, sweet sunshine, love and light of my life, I would throw myself in front of traffic for that boy I love him so much. He captured my heart in a way few ever have. This boy. He’s just such a caring and compassionate person. He’s got his little shit attitude, and he’s definitely a tiny brat, but he is also so full of love to give. I love that he’s not flashy. He’s not somebody that a lot of people are going to notice in a crowd. He’s overlooked by everyone, including his friends. But when you get to know him you see how remarkable he is, because few people are that genuinely good. And the way he grew from hurt and lonely and angry and afraid to happy and confident and not only accepting but proud of who he is makes me cry happy tears. He’s just the best. But the other best is the yin to his yang, his beautiful, wonderful, cool, bold, funny, sweet, and completely dorky art hoe of a soul mate, Sander Driesen. When I think of what my ideal Even would be, he is it. His heart is just right there for everyone to see and he doesn’t hide it. In fact he’s extra about showing it. He’s also vulnerable and needy and feels so very young to be going through such large struggles. He makes me laugh and cry and I would dive in front of the Skam France car for him as well. Love that kid so much. Sobbe. Do I really need to say it? Holy shit they are everything. Soulmates, best friends, loves of each other’s lives. Their chemistry is so good that it doesn’t even exist in this stratosphere. It’s otherworldly. The love that they feel for each other is tangible. They’re one of those couples that when I look at them I think “now those two are going to make it”. You can just feel it. They also somehow manage to hit on so many beloved fanfic tropes but remain realistic because it’s actually canon. Like when couples in fanfic will call each other pet names but it’s rare you actually see it in canon. But sobbe is like hold my beer and goes all out with it. The way they express their love to each other is exactly what the other one needs. Sander is loud end boisterous and goes all out to make it clear to Robbe and everyone else on earth how he feels about this boy. He gives him things to make him feel special and he’s full of affection for him. Robbe is also extremely affectionate, he tells Sander what he needs to hear to feel safe and loved and they love spending time together. Their love is a balm for one another that soothes them both. And it’s clear that neither of them need the other more nor ever did. They both needed one another and met at a time in our lives that they were both in pretty low places and were exactly what the other needed. And they always will be. Sorry, getting emotional again. They’re the otp to end all otps. 🥺 The Soundtrack. I love every single song on the soundtrack. All of them, and I listened to the soundtrack so much on my Spotify that my entire top songs of 2020 were made up of wtfock s3 songs. They not only have excellent musical choices, but they are all placed within scenes so well that they perfectly complement what is happening in the narrative at any given point. Casa Milan and Zoenne and Robbe aka Flatshare Fam. I want to live there. It is so warm, it is so inviting, and it is filled with such love. The support that Robbe got from Milan, Zoë, and Senne was unmatched. I don’t know where he would’ve been without it. Could you imagine if he had had to live with his dad? How differently his story could’ve ended up? Especially with Milan, having someone not much older than he is who has gone through a lot of the same things he has. He was such a big brother figure and mentor and I’m so glad Robbe had that.

Fav clip: Scuse me I’m not picking just one so Dinsdag 16:31, Zaterdag 09:41, Woensdag 21:21, Mandaag 11:03, Zaterdag 08:44 and Woensdag 16:36

Fav scene: Their Vrijdag 21:21 reunion, morning after, ohn/mbm, singing to a shoe, the hotel scenes, and the grocery store. I’m not really sure of the distinction between a scene and a clip 😂

Fav shot: Oh god don’t make me choose. Their hands in Dinsdag 16:31 is a big one. The dual mirror shots of Robbe after Milan tells him about gay pride before the attack to him bruised and battered after. When Robbe is kneeling down beside Sander in Mandaag 11:03. The shot of Milan, Robbe, and Sander playing the pandemic game all cozy by the Christmas tree. Any shots of Robbe and Sander making heart eyes and/or kissing. Any close ups of Robbe’s face and eyes bc Herbots, man. Good god he’s amazing.

Fav kiss that Robbe initiates: Woensdag 21:21, Dinsdag 07:27 and Woensdag 17:21

Fav kiss that Sander initiates: Zaterdag 09:41, Dinsdag 16:31, and Vrijdag 21:21

Fav Sander dialogue: Can I say everything? Okay okay, I’ll give some examples. “Wow, that’s expensive!” “You and me, a hundred percent forever, in every universe.” “I’m holding onto you and I’m never letting go of you.” “🎵Ground control to major Tom. Circuit dead there’s something wrong.🎵” “Are you going to leave me behind?” (🥺) “Zero stars on booking.com.” “The moonlight was shining down on you and I knew immediately ‘he is the one’.” “Get ready to be mindblown!” “All the way or no way.” “Take it or leave it, eh?” “You could try bribing the teacher.” “Robin.” Also literally everything he said during wtfockdown because there’s not a moment where he isn’t iconic. But a really special moment, “Just because other people are close minded doesn’t mean that you should make your world smaller.”

Fav Robbe dialogue: “You touched me and I’ve never felt something like that.” “That kiss was really *head explosion noises*.” “Not in this universe.” “Sander, there is something between us. I love you.” “Jawel.” (I just love the way he says it, it’s so fuckin cute). “Fuck Chernobyl.” “Always.” And of course, his verse in eenvoud.

Fav hug: Mandaag 11:03 when Robbe holds a crying Sander. Also, does the spooning and cuddling in the hotel scenes and Dinsdag 07:27 count? Because I love that. Also Woensdag 17:21. Or really anytime Robbe is being a clingy koala. And we can’t forget his hug with Milan after he tells him about the attack. He really needed that comfort.

Fav 21:21: Nope. Nah in all seriousness they just hit different. Woensdag is my favorite in terms of clip alone because from beginning to end it is just so beautiful and perfect. The music, the tunnel, the pool, the kiss, just absolutely gorgeous. But at that time everything was still really new between them and the aftermath of that was rough. Vrijdag is my favorite clip in terms of what it means for Robbe and Sander. The clip itself is shorter, but it has much larger impact in terms of sobbe’s relationship. It’s not just their first time physically, but their emotional declaration to one another as well. It comes with a commitment. Also them falling off the bed laughing is the greatest thing ever. They are so HAPPY. So basically my answer is both, just in different ways.

Fav Sobbe instagram pic: Why are all these questions so mean? Okay- their first one together obviously because along with Robbe’s caption it’s just a showing of their love being official. But also the grocery cart pics for their 6 month anniversary. The grocery store pic in Ardennes getaway. Robbe’s bday pics of them embracing they’re SO HAPPY omg. And of course, we cannot forget the pic posted for Sander’s birthday. It is absolutely perfect. I love it so much.

Fav song/scene pair: I have a few- both examples of wildfire obviously, past lives in Zaterdag 09:41, and rebel rebel at the grocery store. But I have two more that are not at all happy clips but are two of my fave clips regardless: life on mars/zaterdag 21:43 (that scene is impeccable along with its followup which I consider them a pair but LoM only plays in the first one) and I found/zondag 15:12 (my god I love that scene it’s brilliant).

Fav message between Sander and Robbe: Woensdag 12:45 when Sander sends Robbe the sketch of them and talks about that kiss earlier being Chernobyl. Also everything during wtfockdown but especially “I love you so much Robin.” “I love you too. So damn much.” But honestly they had so much adorable banter during those clips we were truly fed.

Fav banter on Instagram: lmaooo they’re always so thirsty on main you could pick a million examples. I will say I loved their back and forth about emojis on their anniversary.

I will tag @onzeziggy @everyone-has-their-story @bowieexaminprogress @sanderxrobbee @ayellowcurtain and whoever else wants to do it. This was fun!

#wtfock #wtfam #sobbe #wtfock season 3 #tagging games

[fe-semi-decent-scenarios]

How they act around their crush: GD edition

[This one’s for @glass-grapes​. I saw your submission and am completely psyched that you love my blog! I know that I’ve only recently had it kick-off with a few posts, but I have been wanting to start one of these since January. Hope this is to your liking! (p.s I didn’t know if I should do pre or post time skip, so I did a little dabbling into both]

Claude:

We all know Claude here is both a go-getter and a tease 

If he finds you interesting then there’s no reason for him to hide it. A  battle of wits never hurt anyone, and boy do you two fight well

He is s a s s y. If you’re chatting with some other students he might stick his nose into the conversation to toy with you. It’s all in good fun, right? Just a little mini-game on his way to achieving bigger things  

That’s what he tells himself 

Some days he finds you a bit too alluring, and can’t help being self conscious of the other people around

Fiddles with his braid when you throw him for a loop

Will pay extra special attention to you in battle, and makes excuses to the prof. for why you should be near him. He really is a snake 

Post-Timeskip he hides his bias even more. Not enough to fool his close comrades, but enough to avoid you receiving any extra attention from the enemy  

Sometimes slips items in your room to distract from the stress. Tea, a new blanket, etc.

During the five year gap he keeps track of your whereabouts. After Garreg Mache fell he decided that his dream would take priority as planned, but also believed that one day you would be at his side 

Wasn’t surprised at all to see you at the reunion, but that familiar urge to tug his hair returned too  

Judith and Nader have already heard about you prior to your meeting. Much to his dismay they view his buried feelings as open range comedy

Lorenz: 

We all know how Lorenz acts when he finds someone of interest. The guy is a huge flirt which causes the professor wayyy too much stress 

He’s not as in-tune with his sense of romance as you would think. In the early stages he’ll treat you the same as all the other ladies: a potential partner for house Gloucester.

Date offerings, frilly words, gifts, acts of kindness. Ah tis but the duty of a noble, yes? 

No. 

One day he lets that stubborn side of his personality slip out, and you come back at him with just as much fire. He becomes so angered after it, but somehow hearing the words from you hurt more than if someone else were to say them

That’s when he knows that he’s in deep, and from then on he treats you more gently. He’ll watch his tongue around other women, and sets his sights on only you. His mannerisms are the same as before, but now he tries to learn more about you as a person vs. just the cold hard statistics

He’s a blusher. He has a naturally light pigmentation so it shows. 

After the time-skip he’ll watch you like a hawke. Do you like his new hair cut? Surly it’s an improvement from before sorry bro it’s not

Sets his dignity aside to request that you be given a hexlock shield during battle, or placed near him. Claude won’t let him live it down

Ignatz: 

He m i g h t avoid you, but please don’t take it the wrong way. That’s just how he is, you know?

Young Ignatz isn’t that confident in himself. You’re...well ‘you’. And he’s...well, ‘him’

Oddly enough he confides in HIlda of all people. It originally began with wanting to see if she was still on stable duty with him, but ended up with him working and her talking

When you’re nearby he chooses not to speak unless spoken to. If you didn’t know his tells he’d come off cold, but one look at his hands wringing together just proves he was nervous 

Byleth puts you two on cooking duty together: que panic. He legit grovels at their feet to pick someone else. They don’t, and that evening he sketches a wonderful picture of you sifting through different seasonings 

On your birthday he struggles to give you the gift he prepared. It ends up with Lionie giving you it while he watches from afar. 

When you’re older he is much more verbal with his opinions 

More often than not he lets those honey-coated words slip out, which usually end up with him excusing himself quickly 

Invites you to join him during downtime at least once a week. Every day could be his last, and goddess forbid yours. He wants to spend time with you even if he isn’t the most graceful companion never mind that he’s a smooth-talking mofo

Raphael: 

If there’s one thing Raphael is good at, it’s showing that he cares 

The boy is a giant muscular teddybear. He will carry your things, he will spar with you, he will eat anything you cook without complaint, and he will hug you; hard. 

Unlike everyone else he’s pretty open with his feelings. Life is short, you know? 

If you make him particularly bashful he’ll laugh loudly. More so to cover up his own embarrassment than because he finds the situation actually humorous

Adopts this habit of constantly asking if you need anything. The guy loves to dote on people, and lookie here you’re the perfect target 

Remembers all important dates like a pro. On your birthday he drops a gift right on your desk first thing in the morning 

Goddess forbid anyone gives you trouble. Without the smile on his face he looks the murder type, and the guy uses it to his advantage. He will happily escort you anywhere you need to go 

Once his sister is settled he might honestly stick with you during that five year gap. He’s made his feelings painfully obvious, and you haven’t chased him off. Why not stick around? 

Hilda: 

Yo she’s clingy 

She knows you have to be a catch and a half to steal her heart, so who knows who else that you’ve smooth talked 

Just like everyone else she’ll still get you to do her bidding...but, maybe a smidge less 

She feels guilty, but won’t show it 

Hilda will do all in her power to not let the news reach her family. The last thing she needs is Holst sending her more letters, or worse: showing up at the monastery

Y’all she will don her best perfume for you. She will push all her work onto Cyril and drag you to have lunch with her. This is normal Hilda behavior so she has no reason to be shy 

Will flirt openly and proudly. If you recuperate she’ll go gossip to Marianne about how you’re ‘totally smitten’ with her

Post-skip she’s not much different. Most of her time is spent doing what she can for the cause, but when you see each other she’s more bold. 

Like always she doesn’t like to have expectations pushed onto her. She does have one for herself though, and it’s to stay by your side. 

Marianne: 

During the academy years she tends to admire from afar 

Her favorite memories are of when the professor signed you both up for choir practice. She loves your voice, and it was a time where there wasn’t any pressure for conversation 

As time passes she’ll become less adverse to talking. Quiet greetings will be whispered when you cross paths, and occasionally you two have lunch together 

Marianne is not as reserved as people assume her to be. She’s just had a rough time, and if you take things slow with her then she’ll gradually have a stronger presence in your life. She hopes that this comes true for you two 

Eye contact hasn’t always been her forte. She does try to maintain it with you though 

Her feelings remain at a stalemate through most of the academy days. Only when she bypass’ some more personal-issues does she let her emotions go free

About halfway through the war period she changes. Her stance is more vertical, and she becomes the one to take initiative in your relationship 

She’ll still blush upon any physical contact, and in some cases she’ll lose her breath when you talk. Don’t take the momentary silence as a bad thing, she’s okay. 

Occasionally she’ll be restless and unable to sleep, worrying about the future she now has in her grasp. You might find her scouring for a cup of chamomile late in the night 

Lysithea: 

She’ll deny herself immediately. For Lysithea the future is an anomaly. One of which that no amount of studying or research can uncover.

It’s painfully obvious that there’s a spark between you two. Anyone can see it, and Hilda has pestered her many times regarding confessing 

If the situation was a bit different, she would. Lysithea is no push over, but she also doesn’t want to invest time into something that will bear no fruition 

She keeps her cool around you for the most part...or at least until you’re out of hearing distance 

Then she completely loses composure. Did someone say clammy hands? Because hers get slicker than lorenz’s hair gel 

Leads to stress eating, not gonna lie. There are many late night trips to the mess hall, and many angry cooks over the missing sweets  

Times are different post-timeskip though. She’s a bit more reluctant to let these feelings go 

Occasionally there’s some open flirting on her part. If you recuperate then it becomes more frequent and less forced. The sassy banter between you two becomes the deer’s free entertainment

Leonie: 

She’s commonly been viewed as ‘one of the guys,’ for her personality. So she’s very insecure about getting friend zoned 

It’s not like she was actively searching for romance. It just happened, you know? One day something just struck a chord 

She never took the time to picture sharing a life with someone. Most of her life has been spent worrying about her village, or working hard to attain some kind of recognition from the Captian 

For a split second she considers going to Byleth for some advice. Now isn’t the time for school-girl crushes. Now is the time to be forging a path to the future

Decides to completely ignore the ache she feels when you’re nearby. Just...lets it go. 

She’ll put hella distance between you two. The only time she’ll initiate contact is during sparring 

After the timeskip she stays this way too. Well, until HIlda calls her out on her bullsh*t (if you haven’t noticed from all these. Hilda is a perceptive little cookie)

Just like anyone she’ll go through the moral dilemma of deciding to confess or not. She instead chooses to just let her feelings do as they please, and if something happens then it happens 

#fe3h #fe3h imagines #fe3h scenarios #fe3h fanfic #golden deer #claude von riegan #hilda von goneril #marianne von edmund #lysithea von ordelia #lorenz hellman gloucester #raphael kirsten #leonie pinelli #fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem imagine #fire emblem scenarios #claude x reader #ignatz x reader #lorenz x reader #hilda x reader #marianne x reader #lysithea x reader #raphael x reader #leonie x reader