#so i had to separate everything that was a different color into its own layer which was hell KAJSHDKGJAHD

[salted15]

tried gradient mapping a second time !! i will never do it again WIUERGKFDJSHKKFD

ko-fi

#it is simply not for me since like #i paint with only three layers #so i had to separate everything that was a different color into its own layer which was hell KAJSHDKGJAHD #the amazing digital circus #tadc #jax #jax tadc #tadc jax #gangle #gangle tadc #tadc gangle #zooble #zooble tadc #tadc zooble #pomni #caine #caine tadc #tadc caine #bubble tadc #tadc bubble #kinger #kinger tadc #tadc kinger #ragatha #ragatha tadc #tadc ragatha #charlie don't look #lightly salted art

[gemapples]

im so sorry it took me so long to answer these oml but YES i'd be happy to show how i draw and color :)

— SKETCHING

please note that i almost always sketch traditionally first lol it's just a lot easier for me to determine how the drawing is placed that way, but i always go over and re-sketch it digitally

for magolor i always start with a basic egg shape (lmao) and then i add his ears. then I draw the scarf; it's easy to determine the shape and dynamicism based on where the bottoms of the ears are located

then i usually add the cape and hood together. where and how these are placed and what these look like in general are very important because they're the main area that perspective is directed to (the ears and everything else is important too ofc!! but the hood and cape usually help demonstrate where he is looking and how he is moving the most). then i add everything else, usually his hands last!

— LINEART

ohhhhhh god my worst enemy. Hope youre sitting down because this will be embarrassing LMAO

lineart is easily what i struggle with most and is more often than not the most time consuming and grating step for me. If i had a choice i would drop it in a heartbeat, but my style is so dependent on thick lines and shapes that it's difficult to 😭 a hole i dug myself into unfortunately ITS FINE THOUGH. ANYWAYS I'm getting sidetracked

i use my finger to draw all my digital art, which means i usually have to use a Heavy stabilizer to avoid shakiness and staggered lines. Unfortunately ibis paint's stabilizer is actually dog water and doesn't even stabilize more than half the time (in which case i have to repeat lines over. And over. And over again until i get it right) but when it does like me and works properly it's very helpful!

i always use the soft school pen bleed brush as my main tool for lineart. This brush has been my best friend for everything, i even use it for sketching idk it just really like the way it looks lol. sometimes i change the aspect if i want the lines to look more ,, chalky?? or smoother depending on the work

i don't really use this tool much but for this specific piece, force fade was my partner in crime

also i think i need to mention that i use so many layers for this. So many layers lol like to the point it's embarrassing. and at the end i merge most of them (except for the gear patterns, rings on his ear, and eyes + hands, which usually need to be by themselves as they're colored separately) Thank you for layers

and i end up with this!

— COLORING && SHADING

yippee yahoo the fun part !!! the part that i love the most

at this point, if i havent already, i always create a folder for convenience in organization because this is the part that i stress the most about what details are on which layers lmao

then i add ANOTHER layer below that for the color, then i put every single color used on their own separate layer!

now, for shading, if im working on larger pieces with more complex shading, i'll usually plan it all out. normally when just drawing magolor, i don't really need to do this anymore because i'm so used to it lol, but for funsies i did it here anyways

then i use the bucket tool to fill them all in

i usually have a set color palette for all the characters i draw (though the way i shade white differs. A lot between my work as you can probably tell fhdfgf). For every color, i have two specific tones that are associated with the shading. for example, indigo + violet are shaded with my blue, pink + light orange (or lighter pink depending on my mood lol) are shaded with yellow, etc.

so, i shade the other areas with the 2nd shading color

a big tip i can give for coloring is to look at a color wheel when you draw. i know that sounds like. Such basic advice LMAO but that seriously was a huge help for me when developing my shading and something i learned while studying — if you notice, in all of the shading in my work, all of the colors used are analogous on the color wheel. note that not ALL combinations will work together like others obv !! but it's a huge step in knowing where to go with it

then i add other extra details like extra lighting, halftones (if i feel like it // if it fits the work), glow to his eyes, and color the lines and ta-da!

another tool i use a lot especially with my more recent art are blending modes, especially multiply. i use a clipping layer to add a dark color (usually a dark blue or purple) and set it to multiply, then erase the areas that emit light

and this is the end result! this is a very very basic demonstration of it fhdjg i was a pretty messy with the lighting and erasing in this example but you get the general idea right

and that's how i draw :) i hope this was helpful, and thanks for asking and being so patient with the response!

#ask #magolor #kirby #macdraws #ive wanted to make a tutorial for So long and finally found a bit of time to do it lmao

[irrevocableloves]

violent delights

twilight rewrite! edward cullen x fem!witch!reader

chapter seven: port angeles

previous chapter ౨ৎ masterlist ౨ৎ chapter eight

summary: a trip to port angeles should ease her mind, right?

warnings: swearing, violence, harassment

words: 2.9k (unedited)

I was back in the meadow. The sun beaming into my eyes, swallowing me in its warmth. The aroma of blue and purple cosmos, lisianthus, sweet peas, and scabiosas wafting through the air.

“Y/N!” I heard a voice yell. Jacob.

He pulled me out of my daze, his arm wrapped tightly around my wrist, leading me away from the sweet meadow. Everything was almost a blur.

“Jake? What’s wrong?”

I was being pulled deeper and deeper towards the dark and menacing forest. 

Looking back at the meadow, the light that emerged was almost blinding as it walked even closer. Edward. His skin faintly glowed as he approached, his eyes an intimidating black. He held out a hand towards me, asking me to come with him.

Jake's grip around my wrist had vanished entirely. In his place was a large light brown wolf with dark brown eyes and sharp teeth that snarled.

I froze at the sight.

“Y/N, trust me.” Edward said in almost a whisper.

I walked towards him slowly, cautious of the enormous wolf that was inches away from tearing at my skin. As I reached out for his hand, I heard a low, menacing growl coming from my rear. The wolf launched at us, Edward jumping in front.

“NO!” I cried out, springing upwards from my bed. I was completely drenched in sweat, the vivid image of that vicious wolf with its sharp teeth lunging towards Edward still burning in my mind's eye.

It was only 5PM. I forced my body to move, reaching my computer and closing the numerous tabs still open from the previous day. I didn’t want to make the same mistake. To search for absolute nonsense just to come up with nothing but a recommendation for a psychologist. I couldn’t plainly type in ‘vampires’ and expect an answer. My brain searched for the answers in Jacob’s story. The cold ones.

In my search, I came across all sorts of legends from different cultures. The Danag, a Filipino vampire who’d planted taro on the islands, working with humans until Danag had drained a woman’s body of her blood. The Romanian Varacolaci, a powerful undead being who could appear as a beautiful pale-skinned human. The Slovak Nelapsi, who was so strong and fast that it could massacre an entire village on its own. Amidst all the bad, the Stregoni benefici was an one of good, a mortal enemy of all evil vampires.

The myths were quite different from one another, only some backing up the ones I’d seen in horror films. The typical myths such as coffins and withering into ash in the sunlight were almost amusing.

With each myth, I compared it with my own observations of Edward. His impossible speed, strength, beauty, the way his eyes shifted colors, and how his skin resembled porcelain. His touch was ice cold. From the many dreams where I’d felt his touch. It was freezing, almost burning, then it would shift to a sweet and calming warmth. In reality, I’d only felt the burn of his touch with layers of clothing separating the two of us, but nonetheless, his touch left a lasting impression on my memories, making it difficult to forget the strange and hauntingly beautiful being that he was. Despite his otherworldly appearance and behavior, there was something about him that made me want to understand him even more, and with each new discovery, I found myself drawn to him in ways I never thought was possible.

What I needed right now more than anything was to shake him off. He had completely invaded my brain without even trying. I got up and out of the house, not even putting a second thought to where my feet were taking me.

My feet had guided me to a thin ribbon of a trail, one that led through the forest. After the incident with the animal attack, my dad insisted that I shouldn’t wander, but I couldn’t help myself. Even after everything, I still found comfort within the trees. One day, Billy had caught me lurking and convinced my dad that there was a spot on the reservation that was open and in his words, “a hell of a lot safer.” His daughter’s Rachel and Rebbeca brought me through the ribbon trail, revealing a tree, one that looked to be much fuller of life than the rest. It was a willow tree. It stood right in the center of the trail, the other trees surrounding from the outside. It had almost felt as if the image in front of me had been ripped out of a fantasy book. Ever since then, I’d catch myself running to this tree whenever life had felt completely out of my control.

Once I reached the tree, I stood to admire the way the trunk had twisted and turned, how the branches stretched out in every direction, the way its lush green leaves draped over the branches. It was almost unreal. As soon as my back had touched the trunk and my bottom had felt the legs of the tree, I instantly felt bliss. Even as the slight trickles of rain fell onto my cheeks, I remained.

Many questions still lingered in my mind. Could the Cullens be vampires?

From what I knew, from all that Edward had warned me about. How he was dangerous… a villain… Could that all be connected to the stories of bloodsucking monsters? They had to be something. Edward Cullen most definitely wasn't human. In Jacob’s stories, the Cullens seemed like saints in comparison to what I’d read, so perhaps all hope wasn’t lost. But hope for what? That somehow Edward was wrong about himself? That he’d graciously allow himself to let me in? To truly see him for what he actually was and not be blinded by the stories written from the outside?

If Edward was a vampire, why was I searching for some sort of way in and not out?

I had two options. The first was to take his advice: be smart and avoid him as much as possible. To tell him to leave me alone and actually mean it this time. To quite literally build a wall around him and pretend he was only just a figment of my imagination. No matter how much I wished that I could succeed, I knew that I wouldn’t. The second option was much more tempting, which was to continue to get to know him even with the knowledge that I know now. He wasn’t a monster, he just couldn’t be.

Once I finally felt that my escape had been fulfilled, I trekked my way back to my house, following the neat trail that stayed intact somehow.

Opening my eyes, I was greeted with an illuminating orange tint in my bedroom. From the window, beyond the pillows of clouds, I was able to see a tint of the blue in the skies.

For the first few classes, I couldn’t help my jittering. It felt as if the sun had completely cleared the clouds in my brain. Was it because I might’ve figured out his secret? That I wasn’t afraid for some terrifying reason? I didn’t fully understand my enthusiasm. Despite my discoveries, the excitement I’d built up to be face-to-face with Edward after our last encounter was almost nauseating. I was hoping he’d once again steal me away from my friends, with only his company at the same empty table. But once I walked into the cafeteria doors, I faced disappointment. The Cullens’ table was empty. Even as my eyes searched the crowded cafeteria, the table we occupied just last Friday was full of freshmans. As I moped throughout the entirety of lunch, I had a small glimmer of hope that he’d be waiting for me in Biology class, with a smirk ridden on his face after he’d seen my glumness quickly turn into pure joy. But, that didn’t happen.

The rest of the school day had gone by in a blur, my utter depression making the day absolutely useless. Even with the rumors that Tyler Crowley spread about taking me to prom had completely gone over my head. What was it about Edward Cullen that made my emotions go untamed? I felt pathetic. I’d hardly known him, yet my life revolved around him. My happiness was dependent on his wavering presence.

I was hoping time with Angela and Jessica would lessen my misery, but as I sifted through the various dresses, my thoughts had only worsened. 

I was going to this dance alone, Jessica and Angela wouldn’t let me escape it, insisting multiple times that I should ask the desperate flocks of guys who were just waiting for my question. I couldn’t help but think of Edward, all while the girls mentioned over and over how ‘into me’ he was, but the thought of asking him filled me with a level of humiliation that I couldn't bear.

After a couple minutes through my search, my eyes had finally fallen upon the perfect dress. It was a deep burgundy color, littered with a pattern of beads that looked to be a vine of flowers blooming across the dress.

I pulled the dress from the rack, admiring it from all around before bringing it to the dressing room. 

I slid the dress up my body with ease, the soft, silky material easily gliding over my skin. Looking up towards my reflection, I was in complete awe with not only the beauty of the dress itself, but how it had perfectly caressed every curve and contour of my body. I almost shrieked with excitement, forgetting for only mere seconds that I had no date and no Edward.

I stepped out of the dressing room and found Jessica and Angela, who were giving each other opinions on their dresses they had on.

Once they turned around, their jaws had immediately fell, screeching and running towards me to get a better look of the dress.

“Oh my god. That dress is fucking gorgeous!” Jessica squealed. “Where did you even find that?!” She began to rummage through the dresses in a rush.

“You look hot.” Angela said with her jaw still wide open. “You’re buying that right now, I swear.”

“If you don’t, I will!” Jessica yelled, still searching through the dresses.

“I’m getting it, Jess.” I laughed. “Maybe, I do need a date.”

“Oh my god! Yes! Please!” Jessica squealed.

Once I changed out of the dress and into my normal clothes, I went to the register and paid. In the meantime, I waited for Jessica and Angela to find their dresses, giving them opinions on each, ranking them from best to worst. Even as I was fully occupied, I couldn't help but sneak glances at the bookstore across the street.

“Hey,” I hesitated. “Do you guys mind if I check out the bookstore?”

“Oh, yeah! Did you want us to come with you?”

“No, no, you guys can take your time. I’ll just meet you guys at dinner, yeah?”

“Wait!” Jessica yelled just as I was about to open the door. “Pink dress is number one right?”

“Definitely. Makes your boobs look good.”

“Okay, okay.” She relaxed. “Have fun! Remember, 7:30PM at Bella Italia!”

“Got it!” I gave her a thumbs up and headed out the door.

The walk to the bookstore wasn’t far, but I still managed to take in the sights of Port Angeles. As I approached the storefront, I could already smell the musty aroma of old books and the faint hint of coffee wafting through the air. Once I opened the door, I was greeted with almost endless aisles of books. I eagerly made my way through the aisles, my eyes scanning the spines of every book, my curiosity piqued by each and every one.

I didn't have any idea of what I was searching for, but somehow an array of books had appeared in front of me to dig into. Every book had to do with spiritual powers, energies, and connections.

As I lost myself in the books in front of me, the hour had slipped away without me even realizing. A buzz from my phone had broken me from the trance. It was Jessica, informing me that they’d already secured a table at Bella Italia. I immediately started to panic, shoving all the books I'd purchased into my shoulder bag and rushing out of the bookstore.

I didn’t realize how long the walk to the restaurant from the bookstore was until the sun had completely set. Almost no one was on the sidewalks, except for a group of four men that were towards the corner that I needed to turn into. I considered rerouting, turning entirely back around and taking the longer route to the restaurant, but I decided against it. I rummaged through my bag that slouched on my shoulder, frantically searching from some old mace that I’d stuck in there years ago. When I finally found it, I readied it, clutching my bag for dear life as I made my way towards them. I tried hard to keep a normal stature. I couldn’t look afraid because that’s exactly what they wanted: a frail girl that they could poke at to mug or possibly worse… I shuddered at the thought, but continued on. But as a neared closer, the thoughts were almost unbearable, as if my brain had been altered and spoke in their manner.

“Hey! Watcha doing out here on your own?” One of them nearly shouted, an evil and taunting laugh coming out of their mouth immediately after. Finally, Something to do. I flinched, hearing those words in almost a whisper. Now, I couldn’t help but look afraid, but still, I pretended to ignore them, straightening my back and picking up my pace.

“Oh, c’mon! Not even a ‘hello”?” I didn’t even bother to respond or even look at any of them as I passed by. What I would do for– Wow– Stupid Bitch… I didn’t dare turn around as they spoke, even if it felt as if they were screaming it in my ears, but the voices began to fade as I walked further away from them.

Once I saw that I was alone, I realized the nerves had caused me to miss a turn and walk into a dead-end. I was stuck behind some old storage buildings at the end of Port Angeles. I'd recognized it from the one time I’d come with my dad to put away the many Christmas decorations that he could no longer fit in the garage or attic. 

Then suddenly, almost louder than ever: Looks like we got something to play with tonight. I stopped in my tracks. It was completely silent. Not even their boasting laughter from a minute ago could be heard. Just the sound of my wracking breaths.

Just as I turned around to walk back, just ten feet away from me were two of the men from the group from before. I never had a good look at them because of the darkness and also the fact that I refused to look in their direction.

Instead of walking back in their direction, I turned to my right. I even considered running, but at this point, I was outnumbered and the two other men were possibly waiting to cease on my escape. You don’t know that they’re following you. I tried to make myself feel better even though I knew they were. Why wouldn’t they? Why were their thoughts and energy so strong that I could practically pull it from their sick minds? Was that what I had done? Was that the answer as to why their thoughts were screaming into my mind as if they were all surrounding me?

After crossing the street, I found myself behind an old warehouse and just as I was about to turn to go around it, I bumped into someone. Just as I was about to routinely say I was sorry, I smelt the reeking smell of alcohol and two men smirking disgustingly in front of me, inching towards me.

“Hey! Where you going?” I turned around, hoping to make a smooth exit, even considering breaking into a run, but I’d just bumped into another two figures. “Don’t leave, we’re just having fun here.”

They all huddled around me, spatting obscenities in my face to the point where I’d completely forgotten the mace that was in my sweaty and shaky hand. The voices were almost too much. I felt a hand grab my arm and yank it towards them, forcing me to face them, to which I brought myself back to reality, forcing up my knee and hitting the man’s groin and macing him. A scream erupted and as the other three men tried to grab me, I heard a car screech and veer out of the corner.

Headlights suddenly blinded my vision. In the meantime, I’d managed to pull myself away from the group and jump out of the car’s direction, preparing to run in case the car was not for my rescue. Once I saw the car almost ram into the four men and skid to a stop before me, I let out a breath of relief, especially after I’d seen who’d gotten out. Edward. All thoughts, not just the men, but my own had vanished.

“Get in,” Edward said, his voice laced with venom as the four men stared bewildered back at him.

I didn’t even give it a second thought as I practically threw myself into the car, slamming the door behind me and locking it.

next chapter

a/n: i’m so sorry this took so long !!! i had such a writer's block (which is weird because this is literally a rewrite????) but i’m gonna try to go back to updating every week or two weeks if i can!! also i’m not sure if i wanna have edward’s confession in the car or have it in the woods like in the movie. i love the drama of the forest, but i also love the intimacy of the car, but idk i think i’ll do a mix of both??? but hehehe it’s my favorite part so i’m super excited to write it!!! i’m leaving the dinner scene in the next chapter too just bc i feel like it fits better imo. please leave some feedback, your thoughts, and reblog if you can!!

tags: @measure-in-pain @brekkers-whore @rejectedbimbo @leilanileila @anothercoffeeblogx @cevans-winchester @trawberry-fire @tiniewife @nephilimsss @itszzmoon @astrovampie @cryingoverfictionalmen @boxofbadsenses @ttnaanj @iheartprettygurls @aoi-targaryen

taglist ₊˚⊹♡

#violent delights #edward cullen x reader #edward cullen fanfiction #edward cullen x y/n #edward cullen x you #robert pattinson #robert pattinson x reader #twilight #twilight fanfiction #twilight rewrite #edward cullen #violent delights fanfiction #violent delights fanfic

[minecraftbookshelf]

Marriage of State AU Character Designs: The Mad King of Mezalea

Joel actually has three major looks through the course of the AU; Prince of Mezalea, Trophy Husband, and King Joel, with the subcategories of "armor" for each.

They all have the same base design of "human", differing by (apparent) age and general sense of style.

Some Joel Skins to start us off and provide the base we're working off of, and also the Mezalean banner because color pallet

And also, because it is actually relevant, (bear with me here) some samples of Mezalean architecture.

The Matral Palace and the Villager area.

Based off of Joel's final skin, the vibe is kind of "Victorian military dress uniform" however there is something very, very important to take into consideration from a worldbuilding perspective.

The Mesa is a warm weather biome. Its a colorful desert. Which means high temperatures during the day and cold at night. So tight-fitting, thick fabrics in a Victorian style would be incredibly impractical.

So we turn to the second possible source for fashion inspiration: The architecture, which gives mostly Byzantine vibes.

So what would Byzantine clothing look like, especially for nobility?

First off, taking into account that the Byzantine Empire lasted for approximately a thousand years and, naturally, underwent some dramatic changes in clothing style during that time, we'll pick a specific vibe out of the options. I settled on a bit of a mix between Early Byzantine (think the Theodora Mosaic shown below) and Middle Byzantine (see the mosaic of Emperor Constantine IX below)

And here are just some screenshots from my pintrest board for Mezalea and Mezalean!Joel, because if I put all these on here separately I'll hit the image limit too soon.

(General disclaimer: yes, Pintrest has an art theft problem, yes Pintrest is much harder to effectively use now due to the pervasiveness of ads on everything, no I don't use it for like, formal things. It remains one of the best ways to collect visual references and figuring out The Vibes)

(Yes, we get to go full Material Gworl vibes for the Mezalean King, as is only right and proper.)

General characteristics I'm adopting here for Mezalean clothing:

Brocade (and bejeweled) kaftan/kaftan-esque outer layer. This is a formal wear thing, and is absolutely a "showing off the wealth" power move.

Lots of Big Chunky Colorful Jewelry

I don't know what it's actual name is, but that general style of having jeweled tassel-like things hanging from the front sides of the crown/headdress.

Light-weight and loose fitting under-layers.

And of course, bright colors.

Prince Joel: Before he became part of the main cast in an epic fantasy adventure spanning several hundreds of years and an entire continent (and the adjacent ocean) Joel was the youngest of three princes with two older brothers who were both married and had kids.

Which is to say, it did not look like he would ever be the king.

His role in the kingdom was very much that of an ambassador to and direct connection to their people. He spent a lot of time working on fishing boats and in the mines and quarries. While he did receive a standard royal education on things like diplomacy and combat, international interactions were not his focus at all, much more involved in the day to day operations of his own home. (And yes, that is a very vital aspect of the idea of "royalty" in general, supposedly, and that being a particular point of Joel's upbringing will make more sense when I get around to writing and posting the post about how royalty functions in the Empires. tldr; its related to the whole thing where Pixlriffs accidentally redefined "war")

Basically, Prince Joel = the first skin, the simple green one. He's wearing more lightweight, practical clothes that allow him to engage in physically demanding dirty work without costing a fortune every day. He still dresses up for formal events, but he doesn't even attend all of those and he is far from a daily sight in court.

Trophy Husband: For a couple hundred years, Joel didn't live in Mezalea. Instead, he was one half of the chronological first arranged marriage in the "au in which all the marriages are arranged" situation. And this one was the one that most resembles the set-up of a generic "period" bodice-ripper novel (though that is not how it played out ultimately, for the parties involved, despite the romance that does happen.)

Basically, this is his War Prize Era. In which Lizzie won a husband in combat and then didn't really know what to do with him.

During this time period, Joel mostly wore ocean styled clothing, though during formal occasions he would wear a notable amount of Mezalean accessories, that were part and parcel of the treaty with him. (I'm trying so hard not to derail this into just a breakdown of the events of the Joel & Lizzie arc of the au im trying so hard)

He did tend to mix Oceanic and Mezalean clothing, due in part to Oceanic clothing being primarily designed for underwater wear, while he lived above the surface, finding the balance of practicality and appearances demanded by the political nature of his existence at the time. (Also a personal comfort thing as Mezalean clothing tended to afford more skin coverage and also had shoes) Once he and Lizzie were more comfortable both in the world and with each other he had more opportunities for personalization and tended towards Mezalean styles in oceanic colors. He did develop a significant appreciation for the Oceanic idea of skin-tight under-layers for water travel.

King Joel: He did end up back in Mezalea as king, which is when we hit the style closest to the second skin, which mostly for this is really an indicator of color scheme. Formally, he is now wearing the full Kaftan and Jewelry look, day to day its more of "colorful, simple, and lightweight" because he still is very active in the day to day commerce of his empire. He does usually wear significantly more jewelry than he did as a prince, he grew a taste for it during his trophy husband era XD. The details of his day-to-day wear are also fancier. finer fabrics, more embroidery, brocade hems, etc.

Most of his earrings are gifts from Lizzie, some in Oceanic colors, some in Mezalean, but all with little chips of prismarine to remind him of her even when she can't be there.

Armor: Joel's armor preferences are simple netherite plate. He also does have a ceremonial trident, as a member of the Oceanic royal family. His is gold-plated.

-

art

Lizzie || Jimmy ||

AU Masterpost

#empires smp #empires s1 #smallishbeans #the mad king of mezalea #rain rambles #marriage of state au #mos: worldbuilding #mos: joel

[upsidedownsmore]

Hi!! I was wondering if its okay to ask what brushes u normally use in krita? I love your art!!

Thank you so much!!! I only use the ones available in Krita by default and I tend to jump around based on what I think will work best for each piece, but I can give a little rundown on which ones I use the most and what I use them for :)

Here's an image guide with each of the brushes I've used and that I recommend checking out:

I'll highlight my favorites as well with some examples where they were predominantly used! (though in some cases multiple or even all of these brushes were used)

Marker Details:

Varying opacity and size makes this one my favorites for sketching, especially since it can easily be nearly transparent or fully opaque which helps with value range.

I also like using it for silhouette sketches!

It can also be used for final linework, but it takes more work to get to a full opaque and its lack of texture makes it a little less interesting than Ink-7 Brush Rough imo.

Ink-7 Brush Rough:

Really good for linework, especially for comic styled drawings with it's slight texture, varying weight, and opaqueness.

Also good for just filling in entire areas with a single color as well as non-smoothed shading!

Wet Bristles Rough:

Actually just an amazing brush, its pressure sensitivity is crazy.

Blends strokes like paint and can vary in size and opacity.

Also has a nice subtle texture!

Amazing for smoother coloring and shading, especially if you want a more painterly style.

Watercolor Texture:

(hard to show examples of this, just assume that I've used it in any piece that has smooth shading lol)

Not the best for painting/drawing on its own, however I've found it to be really useful when set to white or black on an overlay layer for adding extra shading and/or highlighting on top of the shading I've already done.

I usually shade individual figures, objects, and parts separately, but using an overlay layer with Watercolor Texture (or even Shapes Square) on top of everything helps make the entire piece feel more cohesive.

Also adds a hint more texture!

Another thing to note is the importance of layer modes!

I know that you asked about brushes specifically, but many of these brushes (particularly those to do with effects and textures) work best when experimenting with different layer modes other than Normal. Overlay is generally a safe bet and most of the best for, well, overlaying multiple layers for interesting effects. But please try out all of them at any given opportunity, sometimes things like Burn, Color Dodge, Soft Light, etc can have more interesting effects!

In addition, mess with filter masks! You can even edit where they apply by drawing on the mask directly! HSV/HSL Adjustment (also accessible with ctrl+u) in particular is INSANELY useful for fiddling with the colors and balance of a piece, from individual layers to whole groups and drawings. I also really like blur filters, often times I'll duplicate a layer and make the bottom one blurred to add a glow affect to something without losing its definition.

While this latter stuff isn't about brushes specifically, its generally very important to how I use and experiment with all these different brushes!

Anyways I hope this helps!! I kinda went overboard with this post, but I had a lot of fun writing it! Thank you again for the wonderful ask!! :)

#krita #krita art #warframe fanart #art #artists on tumblr #my art #UpsideDownSmore's art #art tips #art guide #art reference #long post #ask #didn't mean to spend so much time on this but ngl i'm actually so thrilled to talk about my art processes #like man i'm so grateful to be in the position where i can make an art guide like the ones made by people i look up to #sorry if this response is a bit long winded i just had to get a bunch out there lol #love asks like this :) #scheduling this 9 hours from now cause it is currently almost 1am lmao

[corrodedparadox]

wow looking at your rat king thing, you improved SO MUCH in the last two years. what did you feel helped you improve?

There’s a handful of things I would say but the main one was switching from a screenless tablet to an iPad!! Obviously iPads are kinda pricey so I can’t recommend it for everyone, but I genuinely feel like switching from a screenless tablet (I used to use Huion) to screened one REALLY helped me get a better grasp of everything, along with procreate just having an easier layout to use compared to the other programs I used (SAI and CSP) which made me less afraid to mess around with brushes and other fun things like halftone textures and chromatic abbreviations, ect ect . Definitely play around with brushes!! While a different brush won’t suddenly make you the Best Artist Ever, finding a brush that works well with your style/art process can help a TON (almost all my brushes are from @/thedawner brush packs, I highly recommend their brushes!! Lots of free packs too, I use the bonobo chalk as my main painting brush)

The other big thing is references!! I rarely used any references until like last year, I’ve been taking my own pose/expression/ect references (yes that means looking at a weird picture of you for like an hour to get the pose right but you get used to it) and going on walks to get nice landscape shots for my work (all my giant ass floating fish drawings are based on images I personally took), but if you don’t wanna do that websites like unsplash, Pexels, and pixabay are great for royalty free (VERY IMPORTANT, I have seen LOTS of artists end up in legal battles because they just used a random photo they got off Google that ended up being copyrighted) pictures and vectors to help get ya started.

The last major big thing is my drawing process in general!! I was hardwired to believe you HAD to do art in the steps of sketch, lineart, color, then shading all on separate layers. Don’t be afraid to use what process works for you! When I threw lineart out the window and started painting all on one layer it became WAY easier for me to block out shapes (highly recommend doing greyscale paint studies, it helps SOO much with more coherent color pallets and lighting) and really helps the entire work fell connected rather than a character that feels poorly overlaid on a separately drawn background.

Don’t be afraid to fuck around! Its art! It’s supposed to be messy and weird! Merge your layers! Use 30 different brushes because you feel like it!! Have fun and mess around with the process and see where it takes you!!!

#there’s two other attributes which was finally getting art classes that were more geared towards developing my style rather than the basics #and my brain fully developing at 25. I wish this was a lie but I feel like my brain can just suddenly understand anatomy better #ask #long post #behold my text wall

[pissmd]

literally how in the world is your art that good it literally makes my brain buffer!!

got any tips?

thank you so much mac! honestly a huge range of tips i could cover haha but i’ll see if i can give you some of my favourite tips that were the catalyst for my own improvement!

one of the biggest steps i made with painting realistically is after discovering a technique used to blend colours using gaussian blur. i dont use it as often but its still extremely useful for achieving a fast dreamy blended colour. but first i’ll explain how i use it. i’ll have my layer with my painting of say, my subjects face, duplicate the layer, set the upper layer to a lower percentage of opacity (around 50% at first but i often find that turns out too low of a %) and then i’ll go to the lower layer and add the filter gaussian blur and play around with the area to blur (often end up settling around the 20.00s) and after ive readjusted the upper layers opacity to maintain the structure of the painting the result ends up extremely dynamic with a nice blended look to it.

this was helpful for me when i started using a textured brush for quickly laying down colours without having to overly fuss about blending. because before using the textured brush i use now i used to use a soft brush to carefully blend while laying down colours and it was an Extremely slow and tedious way to paint. (oh and btw using my textured brush which is called ‘analog anabelle’ its a clip studio paint brush, adds a nice texture to just about everything, looks great for skin and for clothing, but has mixed effects for hair admittedly. i use a different textured brush i downloaded from the site called SU-Cream Pencil for fine details of hair).

it’s hard to explain in a way that doesnt reduce gaussian blur to a shortcut and a trick because the result of using the gaussian blur for the first time flicked a switch in my understanding of painting as well as speeding up my process an extreme amount. and now i dont rely on it to blend my colours anymore because its trained my eye and i can achieve a nicer blend by my own hand. i did use it recently on my house art as a finishing effect to his jacket though! a before and after image:

and it also helps for making lighting more dreamy, it came in handy for edges of wilsons face, making the rim lighting seem to bleed into the pinks of his face:

part of why this trained my eye was it helped me embrace trusting the process as well as using colours i deemed “ugly”, really it was about the idea of colours being contextual which ive known about for years but had been rejecting and winding up with paintings flooded with too many reds and pinks.

(picture of a page of hans p bacher & sanatan suryavanshis vision: color and composition for film)

the thing about thinking of colours contextually too is that it gave me a better understanding of achieving realistic effects with painting those trickier areas like eyes, which are a lot of subtle shifts in colour but sans eye makeup and/or deep wrinkles there arent really any hard lines. eyes and clothes wrinkles are all about the illusion of hard lines. (i only started really improving my art when i phased out line art which started with phasing out lines in clothes because the hard lines of the line art were competing with my subtly painted illusory hard lines) heres an example of when i was first phasing out of lines vs where i think my progress in understanding has taken effect in subtly painting illusory hard lines in clothing is most clear:

see how despite the fact i was still using line art in the left image the inside of the clothing has hardly any inner lines defining folds. but in the right image i have no line art at all and yet the folds look more structured and solid.

one more thing that was an important discovery to me is something i call overpainting. this may or may not help everyone but i keep different parts of my painting on separate layers, like a shirt layer, body layer, hair layer etc etc. and i used to have difficulties with the edges where the layers separated bc id be left with a lot of ugly sharp transitions between the body and the shirt.

an example:

but what helped me was creating a folder above all my layers and painting on an unlocked transparent pixel layer over the top and softening the transition between those layers. it also helps with making my subjects edges blend into the background heres what my edgar art looks like with and without the overpainting:

you can see the edge of his left sleeve is almost completely blurred into the colour of the stone bench, and you can see how i use the overpainting to blend hair into the background

these are all of my most recent discoveries that have helped me sorry if theyre of no use but i apply all of these in all my art to gain a more realistic effect! and if you have any further questions or need for clarification feel free to ask!

#i had to stop there because tumblrs image limit but i love talking about art so im grateful for the question🙏💕 #all of what ive learned is self taught/osmosis from other artists tips online btw im not formally trained so take that into consideration #like all of this is the stuff that applies to how ive managed to improve my own art and style over the years and may not be applicable t you #asks

[juuheizou]

omg pleeease elaborate on the more explicit stages of intimacy w juuzou please, i'd love to know about the dynamics, what he likes and doesn't like, what feels good for him, how does he feel about being touched in certain places and all those things PLEASE don't be shy tell me everythinggg

I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED FRIEND. Shy is not in my vocabulary and as per usual, you anons say 'everything' and I have given you everything.

IMO the cut is somewhat self-explanatory, but more specific content warnings for talk of some BDSM stuff, bloodplay, some references to his past with Big Madam.

I'm just gonna start with dynamics and go in order of what you asked from there, since that kinda sets the tone and allows me to just list things when we get to likes and dislikes and all that fun stuff. He likes to stay on the giving end of sex and be the one in charge of the situation. Even the most well-intentioned attempt to find a versatile or switchy bone in his body (spoiler: he has none) makes him feel annoyed and restless at best, and at worst... that's gonna need its own paragraph, so hang tight.

He is also into BDSM in a big way, and in that type of dynamic he is a sadistic, dare I say Madam-like, dom. For much of his life, pain was a reward for him whether he liked it or not, so replicating that dynamic the way he wants it to be in a fun, consensual situation is as natural to him if not more natural (kinky aces understand) than sex itself and honestly? Probably keeps him out of trouble.

He would probably enjoy anything he doesn't actively dislike that makes his partner whimper and squirm and have a lot of fun playing with new ideas in and of itself, but we're gonna stick to his favorites that are all him. Shockingly I think Mr. Happily Stab Someone 60+ Times is a piquer. Would he be one, or be one to the same extreme, without Big Madam and the Restaurant? Who knows? Who cares as long as he's enjoying himself? While he doesn't shy away from what it is he really wants in that sense, penetrative sex is an easy outlet for that desire of his, whether with fingers, toys, or both. He has his things he likes and dislikes about all his options, but I especially think he would enjoy being able to put more of his body into it and leave his hands free using a strap-on, being the tactile person he is.

On the kinky side, and I don't think he can be separated from his kinky side, he's very much into bloodplay. Needles, knives, and hooks are his favorites as well as what he knows best, but I wouldn't put it past him to branch out and see how a whip or a spiked paddle feels in his hands. Don't even get me started on the possibilities he wouldn't even flinch at if he had a ghoul/quinx partner who could regenerate serious injuries as if nothing happened-- or if you do want me to get started, I do write many genres of fic and that is a... recurring theme, to say the least. Shameless self-promotion. Body modification as an S&M thing is also a given: he would definitely want to give his partner stitches, but I can see him going more extreme if able and motivated.

From there, though, he also has his ways to soften those base likes of his to adapt to a situation as needed, because sometimes it's just not a good time to use your partner as a pincushion. Extreme stuff is fun but it gets labor-intensive. Partner not feeling strong enough for colorful body stitches? Hot wax can also be colorful and make his partner jump and cry. Not feeling the first aid demanded by that spiked paddle? A less sharp and pointy beating will still leave some pretty bruises.

I think he would have fun rigging bondage, from a simple pair of handcuffs to a full body suspension with rope, even layering different implements over each other. It started out as something practical-- it wouldn't be good for his hand to slip! But I think once he started experimenting with it, it would become just as much of a fun, exciting craft as what happens in the restraints. Needles and thread go together, you know?

He also strikes me as someone who would enjoy dress-up and roleplay. All in my head, I know, but I just think the small handful of times he has a disguise or costume between the series and official art look like he really made them his own, or just flat-out made them, which leads me to headcanon that that's something he likes and cares about in general, so why wouldn't he like and care about it in his sex life? And he gives me 'still likes to play pretend in some capacity as an adult' vibes.

Onto some dislikes! One thing I don't think he likes, as much as he likes to kiss and nibble elsewhere on a partner's body, is giving oral. He simply doesn't like the taste, and he doesn't like the taste of condoms/dental dams either. I don't see him enjoying too strong a 'body' taste, just in general. Tasting like pain and exhaustion is fine. Sticky hairline and teary cheeks? Of course he'll still kiss it better. Unwashed and musky or, alternatively, perfumed to all hell, though? Take a shower or don't expect much in the way of physical reassurance.

Another dislike: though he likes dominance/submission, he's not so into the discipline aspect of BDSM play. At least not in the way most people, including me, think of it. When someone on his squad isn't doing things right, his way of dealing with it is very direct and in-the-moment. He doesn't go 'okay Hanbee, this is our structured plan for gradually improving your courage in the field!' He calls the guy useless and throws him into the deep end over the course of a single case. Knowing that, he doesn't seem like he would be a fan of frivolous rules, contracts, and structure just to reiterate what he and any sub with a sense of self-preservation already know. The fun to 'shit he then has to remember' ratio just isn't worth it.

As far as what physically feels good for him, he only really has sensitivity in his dick-- they don't have to be fully developed to have sensation or to be able to reach orgasm. Not that he gets to that point with any regularity, but that's another headcanon that has nothing to do with his mutilation. Hope you wanted a little education with your filth.

ANYWHO, I think it's more of a boredom/curiosity/need to do something stimulating with restless energy thing for him, but he does like exploring this a little bit on his own until he hits sensory overload or loses interest in his experiment of the day. His favorite way to pleasure himself is rubbing against one of his plushies; they're just the perfect size to straddle and super soft against his skin if clothes get a little constricting. Plus, they tend to be the thing he practices other skills and ideas on before they're ready for a living thing, so it makes sense that at some point he might wonder if his squishmallows are good for anything else.

When you factor in how he feels emotionally about sharing any of this with a partner, though, it's a different story compared to how unflinching and adventurous he can be on the giving end. For how much he adores his handholding, kisses, cuddling, and all the above likes, he can't do other people's hands or anything where all his scars are, which basically means his whole body underneath his clothes, and doesn't cope well early on in the rare instance that curiosity might get the best of him long enough to try. If one were to push this boundary, no matter how gentle or careful the touch itself, he would have a shutdown or hand his partner back a body part.

Those wires that are supposed to differentiate abuse from affection, loving touch from torture are just crossed in his mind from spending most of his life with Big Madam. This is also what makes turning the tables on a helpless partner so fun (maybe even a little healing) for him, but it also has its not-so-fun side and that's what it looks like. Besides, the drive isn't really there. Even the sexual things he does get up to are more about amusement for him and he probably feels a stronger 'need' for candy than sex, so trying to change his boundaries is another thing that just isn't worth it.

#answers #anon #suzuya juuzou #nsft #i love talking about spicy suzuyas (and spicy suzumutsus even though i control myself if you didn't ask) actually #and talking about the thought process behind the details in-depth because I DON'T GO ON FOR PARAGRAPHS ABOUT IT IN MY FICS #but that doesn't mean i don't WANT to have a solid pages-long yap sesh about why i write them the way i do #also THIS HAS BEEN IN MY INBOX FOR SO LONG I'M SORRY FRIEND #i hope i delivered on what you were hoping for!

[tuiyla]

“I’m also just curious to know which tools and methods you found useful [...] So yes please reach out again (either on or off anon whatever feels comfortable).”

Please bear in mind that English isn’t my first language and that it’s difficult for me to talk about Photoshop features, so I hope this is comprehensible ;-; Anyway, things you did that I found useful:

- Using the Transform tool to change the size of images/logos, text and most importantly gifs (when you’re blending them). In the latter case in particular, I used to crop them separately before combining them in a separate document so I’d have to proceed by trial and error until the gifs finally looked good together. The way you do it is much more flexible and quicker. I tested it and it worked! The only downside is that the file size can become much larger with this method. I was going to ask how you managed to use it while still working on seven gifs at the same time (ie in the fourth gif of the set, the one showcasing the last part of Naya’s career), but then I saw that you lowered the gifs’ dimensions before adding them to the document... I had forgotten to do that lol. Good trick, this will definitely come in handy.

- Combining two different ripped papers in order to obtain a different shape... That was pretty clever. And using the pen tool in order to cut parts of these ripped papers. I had never used this tool and didn’t know what was its purpose. Still need to try it and see if I can work with it lol. And also working on the ripped papers and text in a separate document before adding them on the gif. That’s a good method, it helps to keep things organized.

- Using a document with a bigger height than the actual gif's and adding a shape to represent the small space between gifs on tumblr in order to create a continuous transition between the separate parts of Chris’ tribute to Naya. I didn’t really know how to connect images or passages or whatever from one gif to another like that, but now I think I could make it work after seeing how you do it.

- Creating an outline for the butterfly by duplicating it, changing its color and blending mode and moving it a bit. I’d seen people add similar outlines in other sets, but had no idea how they did it. 

- Using the rectangular marquee tool to delete parts of the gifs. I wasn’t sure how this tool worked, so it was interesting to see you using it.

- Using the method import video to layers. I still haven’t figured out how to use it myself because my Photoshop (I use the 2022 version) refuses to open the vast majority of the clips I download and I don’t know why. So I always used the Load Files Into Stack method. Still, good to remember that I can use another method if I manage to figure out how to do so, lol.

- Seeing the settings of the noise filter you added for your gifs. I never used it for my own, but I really like how it looked on yours and might try it at some point.

- Letting me know about the existence of another Youtube Downloader website. (It isn’t available in my country for some reason, but it works when I activate my VPN)

- Looking at your list of fonts also gave me some excellent recommendations like Partsold and Soulwave.

I imagine some of these methods/tips might be self-evident for you haha, especially bc I don't remember any gifmaker explaining most of them in any tutorial (and I search for and read a lot of tutorials). So seeing someone doing these things in a screenrecord was incredibly helpful. Hope you post more videos showing your gifmaking progress, I watched the previous ones too and they're all fascinating (especially the Naya one bc the set is so incredibly gorgeous and complex) <333

Oh wow, thanks for this summary! It was very interesting to read. And no worries about the language everything was perfectly clear.

If I may just reflect on a few points and maybe provide some further tips:

Transform tool: big yes, use transform and use it often! And yeah I've only recently started resizing the images before dragging them to the gif file itself and it saves a loooot of storage. You can't always know what size you'll need but I'm usually good with sizing the height to whatever my gif's height will be, 500px for example, and then I'm already much better off than with a smart object that's actually twice the size I need. I've been shaving off hundreds of MBs this way. I often work with several smart objects within the same file and they add up so yeah resize before converting into smart object when possible. And play around with the transform tool as much as you like! Its user-friendliness is one of the things that puts PS miles above similar software for me.

Pen tool and image combos: the pen tool is an old friend of mine from my shitty Avatar still image edit days. Again I recommend playing around with it because it can be such a powerful tool. Not shown on the video but I separated the Naya image used for the butterfly from its background using the pen tool. So I would mostly use it for cutting or small adjustments. And yeah sometimes you just need different shapes, so again the transform tool can do a lot and the pen tool helps with those final touches. I almost didn't include this section of the ripped pages in the video but I'm glad I did.

Using other docs: I don't usually but when it's something like this where the bottom of one gif "bleeds" into the next one I think it's just way easier to get the bigger picture. And then the shape used to represent tumblr's 4px gap helps to then place it on your actual gif.

Outlines via duplicates: it's become a "popular"technique from what I can tell haha, and all it is is nudging a duplicate and putting whatever effect you want on it. I had a few different variations of the butterfly but also if you look at texts like Naya's and Santana's names, they follow the same principle of duplicating and nudging, only there I put the fill percent on zero and add a stroke. It's mostly to help the text or object pop more, distinguish it from the background. (I guess I didn't include this in the video put ended up adding those outlines later.)

Rectangular marquee tool: particularly useful when used in combination with a layer mask and, like with the TV sets, deleting the unnecessary bits. With the TV sets, I just put the scene/smart object and all its adjustment layers under the TV's layer and whatever parts weren't needed got cut via this tool. In cases like these and where I do want a rectangular shape in the end it's just faster than the eraser.

Importing video to layers: this was life-saving when I upgraded my PS and started using it instead of manual screenshots. Maybe check the file formats? Mp4 should work best and, iirc, PS might not import from formats like mpeg and wmv. If you found a workaround that's good too, but might be worth looking into this issue as well.

Noise (and other filters): noise is a funny one because I don't typically use it. To be honest, I don't spend all that much time on sharpening and adjusting gifs to perfection like more disciplined gifmakers than me do. I usually just slap the usual settings on lol. But both because this project was a love child and because I worked with some truly, truly low res footage I tried everything I could to make it not look like it has the grand total of two pixels. For reference, this is the video of Naya hosting GLAAD in 2011, used for the last gif. This is the official GLAAD video and it still looks like it was recorded from a pen I found on the floor. I can't turn something like this into HD but a careful balance of sharpening and especially noise creates a nicer look, I hope, or at least adds a charm to the low quality. Long story short, there are lots of sharpening and probably some noise tutorials out there that I recommend looking into because it can really elevate gifs. At first glance, these are the ones I could find.

On the topic of youtube downloaders, I just ended up sticking with that one but I'm sure there are loads out there, and in terms of fonts I have way too many haha. And end up really favouring the first half of the alphabet as an unfortunate result. But if you want to explore more gifs, searching for font recs and font packs is a great start, as well as websites like Dafont or 1001 fonts (my new fav).

All in all, very happy I could help and very impressed you got all that from a video running on times 64 speed haha. Thanks for sending this in, I hope I could provide further tips and as always I'm happy to walk through more gif stuff if needed.

Also! I don't know if you've seen the two other gif videos I've posted in the past but they're waaaay slower (and less complicated). Maybe those will be nothing new after this massive Naya one but in any case I have a proper tag for them now and hoping to post more in the future.

#anon #gif asks #gif tips #gif tutorial #okay well barely but we need to keep the tags consistent #or at least try

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Yours

This is sort of a short sweet epilogue to this post right here

-

"Did you ever meet anyone?" Eli asks the question idly, as he toys with soft brown hair between his fingertips, pulling a lock straight and then watching it fall back against the other man's scalp.

Nine's head rests on his stomach.

Eli's bed is big enough for the two of them, just barely - and it's so different than his memory of Master's enormous bed, how dwarfed even the two of them had been in it on the days they'd spent together, talking in low voices just like this.

There's a bottle of some kind of cold and flu medicine on the bedside table, a little cup beside it with the dregs of purple syrup lining the bottom.

Eli has never taken a single dose of medicine that Nine did not coax down his throat, and this is no different. It was perhaps the third thing Nine did, after hugging him, after crying.

After they both cried, and Antoni mercifully pretended he did not notice.

Beside the medicine is his steaming, fresh fourth mug of elaichi chai and a half-empty Gatorade, and that was Eli's contribution to his own healthcare.

His throat hurts, when he swallows, but it's a pain gone distant thanks to the medicine and the heat of the tea.

He thinks his fever has broken - there is a cool sweat broken out across his brow and his upper lip, and it feels like heaven.

"There isn't anyone else," Nine whispers.

His lips barely move, his eyes are closed. Eli lets his head rest back on the pillow, his own gaze moving slowly over the ceiling. He draws nonsense circles on Nine's skin as he looks.

There's an old water stain there, over in the corner. Eli's thick eyebrows furrow slightly in thought. It looks ancient, fixed but no one bothered to hide it.

His Master would have died before staying in a place with a visible water stain.

Those days with Nine in the Master's house... Nine had been a spark of color, bright life and humor, in a place devoid of it. A delightful imperfection in a place that was so perfectly wrought it seemed everything was icicles.

Clear as glass, and deadly if you couldn't escape its chill.

Here, the sun shines warm through his window. Light chases itself through the cheap paint in the make-your-own-suncatcher that hangs there. His blanket is a quilt made of a thousand ridiculous colors he'd asked for at a thrift store when he went with Kauri, once. There's a couple of squares that remind him of the shadowy woman in his mind. They feel like her clothes, they look like her.

It seems like a sort of respect, to the idea of her, to keep something that reminds him this close.

Eli's eyes trace rainbows bouncing around the ceiling, thrown by the prisms, light broken by the window and the glass. The very makeup of light is heat and joy, messy layers of color.

There is nothing particularly clean, Eli thinks, about sunlight. Not compared to his memories of cold white lights from the ceiling. How long he went having forgotten sunlight entirely, until they he and Nine had been given to his master to go home.

Here, he never closes the curtains. He always welcomes the sun.

"It's been years," Eli says, gently. He rests his hand over the back of Nine's neck, and finds what he's looking for with his thumb - just beneath his ear, a notch of scarring that is invisible unless you know how to find it by touch alone. "Since we were separated. It would be natural to-"

"There isn't anything natural about it," Nine interrupts, rolling slightly onto his back so he can look up towards Eli without looking his place resting on his stomach. "About us. It doesn't matter. Eli... I've been looking for you. Everything else... was just wasting time until I found you again."

Eli's heart twists, a little. It flutters, perhaps. He locks it down as best he can, behind its protective walls. But he can't stop himself from the slight, quiet smile.

It's been so long since he's had a smile in him to give.

"Come now," He says, not quite teasing. "All this time?"

"Yes." It's spoken with Nine's unending sincerity, without hesitation, and those sharp warm eyes are on his own without looking away. "Yes, of course, all that time. I learned computers, I scoured every safehouse, all the records I could find. I learned how to break into WRU looking for you."

"Master hid me," Eli says, and looks away finally. His eyes travel over the silvered edges of the suncatcher. It hangs off a little suction cup stuck to the window, bumping into it occasionally with a soft click when the air being moved by the ceiling fan hits it just right. "We kept moving. He didn't trust WRU. He thought someone helped us escape, that time, someone from inside WRU."

"Bullshit." Nine snorts. "We took a chance, that's all."

"I know, but he did not know that. When I was brought back to him, he was sure we had been freed by someone. That we could not have done it ourselves. I didn't try very hard to prove him wrong." Eli sighs. "I thought it best to be underestimated."

"I still couldn't find you. I was always too late. A week, maybe a month too late. Every place, every time. But I kept trying." Nine rolls over in a sudden rush, and he's still all long limbs and a hint of awkward sharp elbows and knees as he moves up, tucking his head into the side of Eli's neck and sliding arms around his waist.

He isn't any taller than the boy Eli was trained alongside, but he's filled out some. There's a softness to his shoulders now, his cheekbones have blended in with the rest of his face. There's a hint of round along his stomach. Eli shifts, running a hand over it through the fabric of Nine's t-shirt. No longer stick-skinny, now. He's a man who has enough food to eat, and a little more besides.

Tears strike him, with sudden vehement gratitude, that Nine has all the food he needs now.

He turns his head to breathe in the scent of Nine's shampoo. "I found you once."

"I know. I still have it, the suncatcher you sent, I-"

"You said that on the phone before." Eli closes his eyes, and the two of them bask in each other's warmth. Once the only constant in their lives, now they've gone so, so long without.

There is a long pause, comfortable silence.

Finally, but reluctantly, Eli must break it.

"Nine-... what happens now?"

"I don't care," Nine mutters, and he grabs blindly at the edge of a blanket without looking, pulling the many-colored quilt up over the two of them like they used to in Master's house, hiding in the warmth and the dark they had made and lying together, speaking and laughing for hours.

"I can't see you now," Eli protests, but it's half-hearted and both of them know it. There's a hint of light filtering through the squares, and he catches a hint of Nine's nose, the curve of his lips.

"You never needed to see me, before," Nine says, and there's a question, there. Something worried. Maybe a little frightened. "We knew each other better than needing to see."

"We still do, I think," Eli says, a little soothing, and relaxes into the mattress even as he throws his arms around Nine, too. "We are older now. We have been apart. What are we, really, now? Are we friends? People who once knew each other? Nine, please, tell me-"

"Bonded," Nine breathes, with painful relief. "We're bonded, Eli. We always were. You're mine and I'm yours. Remember our promise? They made our hearts the same."

"Of course. I whispered it to myself every single night." Eli turns to speak, lips moving against Nine's hair. "'Before I belong to a master, I belong to you.'"

"I belong to you," Nine replies. He matches the cadence, perfectly. "'Before I am my master's pet'..."

"'I am yours'," Eli finishes, whispering in the dark. "Even now."

"'Before I am alive,'" Nine murmurs, "'I am your bonded."'

"And I am yours."

"Even now."

"Even now."

#eli: the other half #nine: searching for his other half #pure fluff #pet whump reference #bbu #box boy universe #box boy #whumpees #recovering whumpees #escaped whumpee #sick whumpee

[mysewingadventures]

How To Tell Victorian Clothing Apart By Decades

First and foremost, Karolina Żebrowska made a video about this quite some time ago explaing everything in detail, but I just wanted to make my own little checklist and mention some things that I’ve noticed for myself. Of course, this list won’t be foolproof as I’m only going to talk about the most popular styles at the time and people technically could have made a regency gown in 1900, but... that’s not the point. For the sake of being able to show everything with pictures, I’m going to leave the Regency period out as I’ve already made a separate post about it.

The Victorian era is commonly packed into the visual of a brown bustle dress and/or the typical wide dresses of the Civil War, but the Victorian era actually spans over 64 years and many, many different styles.

Queen Victoria was crowned in 1837, so let’s start in the 1830s.

The 30s were wild, and that’s one word to describe it, but that mostly goes for the first half of the decade. Huge sleeves and full skirts were the thing, often in patterns inspired by wallpaper. That’s right - stripes, florals and anything that stood out was the hit. The off-the-shoulder look is just as important though, that’s what creates the round shoulder shape, together with the puff sleeves. The waistline sat a little higher than the natural waistline and was usually adorned with a belt. In the second half of the decade the sleeves started to "travel downwards", as in they started smocking or gathering the top part of the sleeve and just leave the pouf at the bottom.

The 40s left the puff sleeves and bright patterns behind, leaving high necklines, tighter sleeves and lowered the waistline to its natural position. Something very popular was the gathered front of a bodice and that trend even lasted into the early 50s. Skirts grew a little wider, requiring more support from layers upon layers of petticoats.

With the 50s here, ruffles came into fashion. If you see a wide, ruffled skirt, it’s probably from the 1850s. Some bodices extended over the hips now and almost looked like coats. Another important aspect: the pagoda sleeve. And obviously it’s important to note that the crinoline was finally patented in 1856. No more layers upon layers of corded petticoats! But this meant that dresses could be even wider than before. However, keep in mind that in the 50s, the crinoline had a round shape whereas in the 60s it started to become oval and extended further towards the back.

With the 60s, ruffles went out of fashion and synthetic dyes were invented, this meant brighter colors for a wider population! Actually, synthetic dyes were already invented in 56, but just like everything it took a while to make all the colors and really catch on so I’m counting it towards the 60s, because that’s when brightly colored dresses really took off. I find that especially evening dresses look very similar to 50s evening dresses so for me the best way to tell them apart is to look at the shape of the crinoline. Not to mention that a lot of people certainly continued to wear or slighly altered their 50s dresses but with a new crinoline.

Now we’re in the bustle era - the shape of the crinoline became slimmer but extended further towards the back, creating the bustle. I still find myself struggling telling mid 70s styles apart from the 80s, but there are some things I look at.

Firstly, the shape of the bustle. Early 70s style bustles are still pretty wide compared to the later silhouettes. Generally, you can say that in the 1870s, the profile of the bustle has a more gentle curve, the curve is not as steep. Also, a lot of 70s day dresses have trains. Many people actually started recycling old 18th century gowns into 1870s dresses so you can see a lot of inspiration and similarity in the shapes and how the dress is put together. The collars often mimick those of 18th century gowns and the back is draped like it was on a Robe à la Polonaise. Towards the very end of the 70s, bustles went out of style and women wore their dresses without a bustle.

Now on to the 1880s. Like I mentioned, the style was very similar but the bustle came back into fashion and became steeper. The necklines on day dresses were high and the collars weren’t square anymore. The draping of the overskirt still stuck, but the skirts became overall a little less wide. Very popular in the mid 1880s was draping the overskirt asymmetrically. That is the best giveaway if you’re unsure. Trains on day dresses still existed but weren’t as common as in the 70s. And once again, towards the very end of the decade the bustle went out of fashion, this time for good.

The 90s - certainly my favorite decade in the 19th century. Big sleeves were back! But no off-shoulder day dresses and the waistline was at its natural position. Pretty much all skirts were now straight in the front and gathered in the back - a very popular look. The size of the sleeves and the width of the dress reached its peak in 1895 and after that it all decreased in size again until the puff sleeve went out of fashion in 1898-99. Bodices had a slightly looser fit than in the decade before but were still tight-ish.

Now, the Victorian era only lasted up until 1901, but I’ve decided to add the 1900s to this list just because I really like that decade as well and think the clothes are really pretty.

So, in the 1900s the silhouette changed once again. Now, loose lace blouses were all the rage and the so-called pigeon breast silhouette was created with the help of an s-bend corset and a lot of stategical padding, a frilly corset cover and a loose gathered bodice. At the waist, you’d usually find a silk belt called a sash that matched the dress. The straight front skirts stayed but changed their shape slightly to be bell-shaped and flare out at the bottom. A lot of lace was used for gowns as well as frills and dainty details. But on the other side, a working woman would usually just wear a light colored blouse with a usually dark skirt and wear a belt to tie the outfit together.

So this was my way to tell the decades apart! I specifically love 19th century fashion because every decade is so different from the one before and it’s so fascinating how quickly styles changed back then.

#victorian #fashion #fashion history #historical fashion #victorian fashion #victorian dress #historical dress #edwardian #edwardian fashion #victorian clothing

[sandibullock]

I was wondering if you could do a tutorial on this gifset that you did i really like ittt

Thank you for sending this in, anon! I’m glad you liked it and wondered how it was made :) Fun fact: the day before you sent this, I had just started working on my next set in that “Select Filmography” series. I hope you like that one too when it’s ready!

I think I should start by saying I’m pretty new to giffing myself and there might be more efficient ways of getting to the same result. However, the point here is to show you the process I went through to make this gifset and hopefully help you understand how to make a similar one.

To follow this tutorial, you will need some version of Photoshop and some giffing knowledge. I know there are multiple ways of making gifs so I’m just letting you know I’m using the timeline and the “Convert for Smart Filters” option (I don’t really know how else to call it).

Now let’s get started!

STEP 1 - CHOOSE THE SCENES

It might sound obvious but, in my opinion, this is the most crucial step. It’s also the one that takes the longest (along with step 7, aka the coloring).

At this stage, you need to have a general idea on how you want your set to look like so you can choose the scenes accordingly. In my case, I knew I needed two types of shots for each movie: one close-up for the main gif and one mid shot for the shape. I also needed to take two other criteria into consideration: the movement (because of the shape) and the lighting (because darker scenes are such a pain to color). Last but not least, I didn’t want the characters to be talking (but that’s just a personal preference).

With all of that in mind, you can start saving a few screenshots of scenes that meet your criteria (or at least some of them). In the end, there won’t be that many to choose from so be prepared to make compromises.

STEP 2 - MAKE A DRAFT

Now that you’ve preselected a few scenes, you can make a first draft. This will help you turn your general idea into something more concrete.

Basically, this is your opportunity to organize your thoughts. What size do you want your gifs to be? What shape are you going to use? On which side do you want the close-ups to be? Do you want all of them to be on the same side or do you want to alternate from one gif to the other? Do the scenes you chose work together (gif-wise but also set-wise)? Are you happy with the way it looks, overall?

By answering all of the questions you might have now, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, trust me. Of course, you can totally skip this step if you already know exactly which scenes you’re going to use and how you’re going to present them together.

To give you an idea, this is what my draft looked like for Atomic Blonde.

STEP 3 - PREPARE YOUR GIFS

Once you have a clearer view on how you want your set to look like, you can finally start giffing like you usually would (i.e. importing, cropping, resizing, etc.).

It should then look something like this.

The important thing to mention here is that you want both of your gifs to be the same number of frames (32, in my case).

Ideally, you should also aim for the ~same~ coloring (especially for the skin tone, since both gifs will be so close to each other). This bit is particularly difficult when you chose scenes which have opposite lighting (see my two uncolored gifs below). Remember how I insisted on steps 1 and 2? It was to help you avoid this. So my advice would be not to choose these types of contrasted scenes, unless you can’t do otherwise and you’re ready to suffer!

STEP 4 - MAKE YOUR SHAPE

To make your shape, you can click right on the Shape Tool (U) and select the last one, Custom Shape Tool. From the Shape menu appearing on top, you will be able to choose the shape you want from the drop down list and start drawing on your gif.

To be more precise with the dimensions, you can manually adapt the length and height from the Shape menu itself. I decided to go with the same ones as my gif.

Once your shape is positioned like you want it to be, you can drag and drop the shape layer under your gif. Next, you will have to click right on the gif layer/smart filter and select Create Clipping Mask. The result is as below. Note that if the size of your shape was smaller than your gif, you would still be able to reposition your gif with the Move Tool (V).

You can now export your shape gif, reopen it in Photoshop and convert it again to the video timeline and to a smart filter. This is where I’m not sure it’s the most efficient way of doing things but it’s the only way I found to keep the coloring of each gif separate. I also find it easier to work with a smart filter.

STEP 5 - COMBINE YOUR GIFS

To add your shape gif to your main gif, you can simply click right on the shape gif you just reopened and select Duplicate Layer. You can then choose the project which contains your main gif to duplicate it in there. Now go to your main gif and reposition your shape gif where you want it to be (how many times did I say gif here?). Finally, you can draw a new shape, using the same dimensions as in step 4, reposition it and choose any color you want from the Shape menu.

Since you will be repeating this process with your following gifs, I suggest you add a few guides so you know exactly where you should place everything to make all of your final gifs look the same.

(In case you’re wondering, the “Base” folder contains my adjustment layers/basic coloring for the main gif.)

STEP 6 - ADD THE TITLE

This step is pretty simple: go on the web and type “[name of the movie] title”. Download the png you like most, open it in Photoshop and resize it to a length of about 150-200 pixels. Next, duplicate the layer to your main gif and reposition it. In case you need to resize it again, select the title layer and go to Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl+T).

This is optional but in case you want to change the way it looks, know you can always duplicate the title layer and play with the blending options (see below). The good thing with a png is that you can also add some effects by clicking on the “fx” button.

STEP 7 - ADD COLORING (OPTIONAL)

To be honest, I had not planned on coloring my gifs. But I had already spent so much time on them and I was still unhappy with the way they looked. I mean, see how grey-ish they are? Not great...

So the only thing left for me to do was to add some colors. Now, since coloring is worth a tutorial on its own and it already exists, I suggest you read through becca’s mega coloring tutorial (and especially steps 3 & 5). Seriously, shoutout to her for making this incredibly useful tutorial. She is so talented and I love everything she makes!

My Atomic Blonde gif barely even needed coloring so I’ll show you what I did for my Tully and The Old Guard gifs.

For the first one, once I had found which colors to use with which blending option and opacity level, I only had to remove the colors from the left side of the gif because there was barely any movement in that scene (phew!). For the second one, on the other hand, I decided to color frame by frame because there was way more movement, in comparison. This is quite a tedious process, which is why you want to limit yourself to a certain amount of frames.

I’ll conclude by saying there are so many things you can do with coloring and what works with one scene might not work with another. So experiment with it: try different colors, play with the blending options and opacity levels, add some gradients and/or gradient maps, etc. Just know it will take some time to get to a somewhat satisfying result!

And that’s it... I hope this tutorial made sense and was somehow helpful. Of course, don’t hesitate if you have any questions! Also, if you do end up making a similar edit, pleeease send me the link or tag me in the replies or something ‘cause I would definitely love to see it!!

#asks #anonymous #tutorials #resources #completeresources #allresources #itsphotoshop #putting all of this process into words took so long i really hope it makes sense #also i can't help but wonder if it was my before/after post which prompted this ask... #gifs #gifs: tutorials

[thran-duils]

Key to the Garden (P.1)

Title: Key to the Garden (Part One) Summary: Dark!Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Witch Reader (main pairing), but on the side, Dark!Tony Stark x Reader, Dark!Sam Wilson x Reader, Dark!Zemo x Reader. Y/N lives in one of the many fringe covens with her family along with a few other small families that did not want to be roped into the powerhouse coven community, Shield, ran by the Maximoff, Stark, Wilson, and Zemo witch and warlock legacies. Y/N’s grandmother had a run in with the coven community in her youth and she is mostly mum about the incident, but makes it clear that Y/N should stay as far away as she can from them. But when the Shield community discovers where their community is and demands they send someone to teach at their school for upcoming magical beings with threats and when it is demanded that someone from the Y/L/N family be the volunteer, Y/N does not resist to make sure no one else is subjected to them, much to her grandmother’s dismay. Little does Y/N know that a particular head in the community had been searching for them for a very long time and she is going to satisfy a very, very long held grudge. Word Count: 1,893  Warnings (more may be added): Non-con, dub-con, emotional manipulation, imprisonment, orgy, forced pregnancy, death, violence, 18+

Introduction || Part Two || Masterpost mobile || Fanfic masterpost

Your grandmother grasped your hand tightly as you told the soldiers you would go with them in her stead. Your grandmother had foolishly thought that you would allow her to go from the coven to the Shield Academy, the place she had warned you about since you were able to walk. Locking eyes, you saw the terror in her eyes and guilt washed over knowing you were making her feel that. But you were also doing this for her so she did not have to go. She deserved to be able to relax in her old age and live out her days protected in your coven. You had decades upon decades ahead of you.

Tearing your hand from hers, you told her, “Be well. The willow rejuvenates.”

Tears that had been gathering at the corners of her eyes spilled over as she saw you turn away, being guided into the carriage to take you away.

<><><>

Wanda came down the spiral, stone stairs from her tower in a rush. The servants of the academy went against the wall when they saw her coming, backs straight, giving her a deep bow. The hallway was at least fifteen feet across, more than enough space, but it was done out of respect and custom. They would be berated if they walked past her or any of the other leaders. The custom was not bestowed upon merely the teachers.

Turning the corner to face a flight of stairs, she spotted Sam waiting at the bottom. He was waiting for her having known she had been up in her tower for the better part of the morning.

“Heard that they’re back with two carriages from the other covens,” Sam said to Wanda, falling into side beside her as she walked.

“I didn’t see a second, but I saw the one,” Wanda replied.

“Was it who you were hoping? Was it Elena?”

“No.”

Sam’s face screwed up in confusion and said, “Well, maybe they screwed up.”

“They didn’t,” Wanda said clipped, which only served to confuse him more. She sensed his bewilderment and she offered tightly, “I know she’s from the right coven. It was like I was seeing a ghost when she came out of the carriage.”

Sam ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, contemplating as they turned a corner towards the front door. The students in the hall parted seeing two of their leaders, giving them curt bows that Sam and Wanda ignored in turn. Much like with the servants, they were not equals to their leaders.

In quieter tones, Sam asked, “Well, do you think she is going to be able to provide the same—”

“I’m not sure, Sam,” Wanda cut in sharply, an air of annoyance about her.

She was high strung, that much was clear to Sam. She had been ever since she had figured out where Elena was and sent their soldiers out to retrieve someone from the coven, preferably Elena. Wanda had given instructions to suggest her, wanting Elena to make the decision on her own because she knew how altruistic Elena was. She wanted Elena to choose to come back to her, even if it was through unscrupulous means.

The other leaders of the academy – Sam, Tony, and Helmut – knew of the shared past with Elena and Wanda. She had not shared the finer details of their relationship past they had worked together, but Wanda knew the men were not daft – they could discern the intimacy that Wanda and Elena had shared. Had shared… before Elena pulled away, taking her power and just as important, her affection with her, leaving Wanda alone.

When Wanda stepped down into the entrance hall and was faced with this woman, she felt her skin was on fire. All the past touches, and late nights wrapped in each other’s arms came rushing back to her. It took everything in her to not stride forward and encompass the woman to her as if she was coming back from a long journey and was finally back home safe. Wanda only outwardly flinched in her fingers in her inner turmoil.

The young woman’s features were even more strikingly similar to Elena up close. A picturesque witch that threatened from the moment Wanda laid eyes on her to drag her under her spell. Wanda’s lips parted, feeling as if her breath was stolen from her. She was stronger than this, she need not fall under this woman’s spell. But her nose, her lips, the hair… it all tugged at Wanda. The eyes were different though. That may be for the better, Wanda thought to herself. It would help her to prevent herself from confusing the two completely and allowing her past feelings to overtake her in the presence of this woman.

Behind the woman trailed a Cross fox that was curiously looking around the entrance hall. Wanda admired the coloring of it. Its face and legs were black, with trails of black throughout the rest of its orange fur. It was sleek, its eyes piercing. She would need to be careful around this creature.

The woman came closer to Sam and Wanda, reading the signs from the surrounding guard that they were the people she needed to be greeting with how they were standing erect and leaving them their space. She smiled warmly and Wanda felt a pang. The smile was so similar to the one Elena used to give her lovingly.

“Thank you for the comfortable carriage,” the woman said in an even tone.

Wanda saw past the civility though; she was not happy she was collected and taken away. And that was only prodding gently at her mind because she was unable to penetrate further. Wanda’s jaw ticked; Elena had certainly trained her family against mind manipulation; she was going to be unable to capitalize on that. The girl had a solid wall up and all Wanda could do was scratch at the surface.

She gave a curt bow and Wanda gave a tight lipped smile in return. Sam was ever careful about his reactions, gauging what he should do depending on Wanda. Sam bowed his head in acknowledgment towards the girl.

“Your name?” Wanda asked.

“Y/N.”

Wanda savored the way the name would roll off her tongue, her mind flashing to whispering the name in late night corridors, beckoning her to her chambers.

“I’m Wanda. This is Sam. We are two of the four leaders at the school. The others – Tony and Helmut – you’ll meet later at dinner. Along with the other teachers of course.”

“Pleasured. I’ve heard a lot about the reputation of this school. I sadly never attended due to the nature of my coven.”

“Every coven has their own rules, and we respect that.” That was a lie. Wanda wanted every coven under her rule, but it served her now to lie. “You must be tired. Can they gather your things, and you can come inside to have us show you to your quarters?”

Y/N patted her thigh and ordered, “Ember.” The fox came to her side and sat down obediently.

“An impressive choice for a familiar,” Sam told her. “Not very conspicuous to have one trotting after you.”

With an amused smile, Y/N told him, “Oh, she is not a familiar. She’s my pet. My familiar Nyx is somewhere. My cat. She took off as soon as I opened the door, but she will come back. Is that frowned upon?”

“No, familiars are allowed to roam as long as they don’t cause trouble,” Sam answered.

“I promise she won’t. I’m not expecting danger here.”

She was calculated that much Wanda was gathering right now. That last sentence especially was insinuating she was on her toes with the flash in her eyes, ready for them to betray her.

Wanda gestured towards the front door, “We can give a brief tour on the way to your rooms. They’ll bring your things, don’t worry about that.”

Y/N walked forward, the fox following behind. Wanda was taking note the fox looked extremely protective of Y/N. She would soon have to figure out how to separate them or gain the fox’s trust. The latter seemed more likely if she played her cards right.

On the way to her rooms, a long-haired white cat came running up the hall and came to stride in front of them, tossing looks over its shoulder at Y/N, Wanda, and Sam.

Wanda’s brow furrowed; she had never seen this cat before. And that is when she realized it was Y/N’s familiar. The cat was leveling Wanda with a hard gaze even in its brief glances at both her and Sam; it did not trust them, She could sense that.

Playing it cool, Wanda gave a little chuckle, catching Y/N’s attention.

“You named a white cat Nyx,” Wanda commented, amused. “You’ll need a sense of humor around here.”

<><><>

After settling Y/N into her chambers, Wanda had brought Sam away to go towards the south tower where Tony and Helmut were prepping for the spring equinox. Spell bags were scattered along the table, ones they would hand out to select students and allow them to cast them themselves to they could bring renewal to the academy.

Tony caught sight of them entering and noticed her demeanor. “What’s going on?”

“The new recruits we sent for are here.”

“Well, that’s good news, isn’t it?” Helmut questioned, a layer of confusion in his tone at Wanda’s stiffness.

Wanda grabbed a handful of jasmine petals from the stone bowl at the end of the room, heading towards the alter. “We are still going to need a sacrifice. Maybe a handful until she gets on board.”

Tony shrugged, “We were expecting that. But light at the end of the tunnel. With Elena here now, you’ll have to work less eventually.”

“She’s not here,” Wanda clipped, her body stiff with her frustration.

Tony’s brow furrowed, “What?”

“She didn’t come.” It sounded like it was difficult for her to admit that. Like she had personally failed.

“Then what is going on?” Helmut asked, taking a step forward towards her away from where he was prepping.

She held a hand up and he stopped. His eyes flicked to her palms, knowing what she was capable of. The three men were powerful, but they could not hold a candle to her if they took her on on their own.

“The plan is going forward as we planned.”

“How without Elena?” Tony asked, sounding short of patience now.

“I have her blood still.”

“Did you go drain her?” Tony asked, his tone getting tighter, breeching on sarcastic. He was an impatient person and had little room for the appetite to put up with people toying with him.

“No,” Wanda said dismissively, walking past them to go throw her petals into the alter for good fortune and protection.

Sam came up beside Tony and Helmut, hands in his pockets. Out the corner of his mouth he said, “The granddaughter came. Wanda is in a tizzy. She expected a crone, and she got the fertile, spitting image.” Tony and Helmut both were heedful at the mention of fertile and Sam did not miss it, a smirk breaking out. Finally turning his head, he met Tony’s eyes and then Helmut’s briefly each before walking forward and grabbing the jasmine petals to offer.

~~~

Marvel tags: @coconutqueen21 @undecidedsworld @holl2712 @agustdowney  @biiskuitx @buttercupfangirl @namjoonwatcheshentai 

Fic tags: @ivybarns 

#dark!wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x reader #dark!tony stark #dark!sam wilson #dark!helmut zemo #dark!baron zemo #dark marvel #my shit #tony stark x reader #sam wilson x reader #baron zemo x reader

[bunny-xoxo]

To Call You Mine

college!tsuki x reader series

Ch. 1 - study buddies

warning(s): swearing, early early mornings 😵‍💫, second hand embarrassment LOL

a/n: ahhhhh!! Here’s chapter one of my first series!! I have the masterlist and details linked above but for some quick info: this is a college!au multi chapter fic about tsuki and the reader :) if you’d like to be added to the taglist let me know!! And as always I really appreciate your thoughts and comments n all that :) my inbox is always open!!! Enjoy <3 psps - don’t forget to check out the playlist linked above hhehehe

You’re not sure what woke you first; your alarm, the pain shooting up your back from the stiff cot your university has the audacity to refer to as a “bed”, or your own sour attitude from having to be up so early.

Five am. Five am. It takes a certain kind of sick and twisted individual to suggest meeting up to study at five in the morning. Although, you have to admit, it does take a different kind of person to actually agree to those terms.

Why, why, why, why, why.

Is the mantra you chant to yourself while you mindlessly dress and pack your bag, not even bothering to snatch a power bar from your nightstand for breakfast. Water will have to do.

You make an effort to click the door shut behind you quietly, not wanting to wake up your more than sweet dorm mate who’d surely be focusing on being just as careful as you were right now.

“Oh my gosh, don’t you have that study date in the morning sweetie? You should be sleeping right now.” Bonnie, said dorm mate, leans over the back of your desk chair to peer down at the page of your calculus ll textbook you’ve been staring at for the past ten minutes. Concern is evident in her voice and her body language as she brings up a hand to gingerly rub your shoulder, hoping her small sideways smile will give you a sense of comfort. Or maybe even convince you to give it, and yourself, a rest.

“I know, I know. I just want to be prepared is all. I’m already dropping past a C at the speed of light and I’m sure my professor thinks I’m an idiot, hence him actually setting me up with a tutor, and I don’t need this guy to think I’m one too.” Your head falls in your hands at the end of your sentence, a dramatic groan feeling needed to really emphasize your point, too.

“Okay, just head to bed soon.” She placed a kiss on the top of your head before crawling into her own bed, using a storage container to prop herself onto it properly. She almost made you homesick with the way she doted on you like she was your mother.

You looked over and tapped the screen of your phone to see it read 9:14, not too late. You could reasonably cram in one more lesson.

You scoffed at yourself with the door fully shut and locked. You should’ve listened to Bonnie when you had the chance, it was just past midnight when you finally tore yourself away from last weeks review and decided to get ready for bed. Barely even four hours later and you’re up and getting ready to look at it all again.

You could at least appreciate how quiet the dorm hall was this ea-

“Mornin’, you!”

You internally banged your head against the wall at the bright voice that came towards you with such heavy and loud footsteps, how can someone’s footsteps manage to be so loud on carpet?

You substituted a hello with a gentle smile and wave as your R.A., who definitely didn’t remember your name - which is fine cause you didn’t remember theirs either, rushed past you.

Sighing deeply, you left the warm confines of the dorm building and stepped into the cold and brisk morning, starting your trek to the library.

He couldn’t have even chose a coffee place or something?

You had some, thoughts, about this guy. You didn’t know much about him, only two things.

One, his name: Tsukishima Kei.

Two, he was a good enough student to be assigned to you as a tutor.

You swallowed your slight embarrassment at the thought of your professor reaching out to someone on your behalf and instead chose to focus more on how weird this guy has to be.

Waking up before the sun rises on a Sunday was not something you looked forward to, you don’t think anybody would truly; especially to meet someone for the first time; yet this guy thinks it’s a great idea. So much so he didn’t even think to ask first, just tell you when and where to meet.

Thursday 4:14 pm

- ‘It’s Tsukishima. See you at 5 in the library this sunday.’

- ‘Oh hi!! Oh ok, am or pm?? lol’

Thursday 7:43 pm

- ‘am.’

- ‘Ok cool, see ya then!’

And that was it. Neither of you have texted since, which was three days ago on a Thursday afternoon. It kind of bothered you really, I mean, what kind of self righteous ass-

You took a deep breath and chose to think happy thoughts instead. You’d much rather be in a somewhat pleasant mood when you meet this guy than have some grudge against a stranger. And he probably talks different than he texts, right? You’re sure he didn’t mean to sound like a complete jerk.

You shook your head as if you were shaking away your thoughts as you started to walk along the path to the library. It was a fairly nice walk, about five minutes, and being alone was kind of peaceful on the way there this early.

Your feet shuffled only slightly on the cold concrete surprisingly enough considering the way your fatigue was starting to creep into your joints - but surely the cold wasn’t helping.

It was that kind of morning cold that stung your nostrils when you breathed in and tickled your cheeks and ears. It made your hands clench and unclench in your coat pockets, debating whether or not it’d be worth it to pull the cold metal of your jacket zipper just a centimeter higher in hopes of keeping your neck warmer. The morning fog leaving droplets on the synthetic material of your coat, making it squeak awfully when you moved your arms. And there was the dew on the grass that’d cling onto the tops of your shoe when you had to walk through it.

But the way the old fashioned light posts lit your walk and illuminated the fog kind of made your slight discomfort worth it. And by the time you reached the tall brick library, you could almost say you were in a pleasant mood, almost. And then you remembered why you were here.

You took one final deep breath as you reached the heavy doors of the university library. It was a grand sight really.

The building had its own separate spot on campus, towering at about four stories high, which although didn’t sound ginormous, it definitely felt that way when you had to climb those stairs to the top floor for a book you really didn’t even want. The brick with the foliage creeping up the sides to cover some of the lower windows even gave it an almost magic feeling when you took it in from the outside, it’s too bad that sense of wonder couldn’t be mirrored on the inside.

It was too quiet, especially this early, it smelt almost stale, and everything seemed to have a layer of dust no matter how new a book was. And the bathrooms? Old. Most stalls didn’t even have usable locks at this point. It’s arguably all apart of the charm of such an old building, but it’s not as charming when you have to reach out to keep the stall door closed with your fingertips just to use the restroom. And the water from the sink that never seems to get warm enough when you wash your hands doesn’t help either. Yet the water fountains are always too warm curiously enough.

You made little to no noise besides the occasional rustling of your jacket and squeaking of your shoes as they padded across the dingy off-colored carpet towards the back of the first floor.

There were various sizes of tables spread out throughout the space, few actually matching in color or style. The chairs varied less - but you could still find the oddball desk chair, or the chair with the wooden frame just a tad to wide to feel like a normal seat but just as evenly too small to be a bench.

Your heavy eyes surveyed the dimly lit space in hopes of finding any sign of human life when you finally noticed a backpack haphazardly tossed onto a table, still zipped open. Pens were splayed across the table with a single notebook, scribbles scrawled across the pages too far from you to be read. Not seeing anyone occupying the seat pulled away from the tables edge, you took out your phone to take a peek at the time.

4:58 am

Wow, I’m early?

Shoving your phone back into your pocket you began to make your way towards the (un)occupied table, debating whether a seat closer or farther would be more polite.

If I sit too close that’ll definitely be-

“Hey.”

You felt your shoulders hunch up to your ears and a small gasp leave your mouth at the way the voice behind you so suddenly interrupted your train of thought.

You turned around to come face to face with the voice.

“Are you (y/n)?”

Damn. He’s kinda tall.

Kind of was certainly an understatement. God he was definitely above 6 feet, 6’2” maybe? No, maybe even a little taller.

A single earbud was still in his ear as the other hung down and rested against his chest. He took the time to take the other out and wrap the cord gently around his middle and index finger before shoving it into his coat pocket, presumably the same one with his phone, in an effort to prevent them from getting tangled most likely. He took a deep breath and eyed you up and down before chuckling softly to himself.

“Okay.”

The tall man, who you’re now beginning to realize is Tsukishima, gives you a quizzical stare with a quirked eyebrow as he looks you up and down one last time, definitely judging you and your silence at this point, before turning around and making his way to a table.

Well it’s a good thing he stopped you before you sat at some other strangers table. You don’t think your heart could’ve taken that today.

You watched his back as he made his way towards a table farther into the back, closer to a window peering out onto the foggy and barely illuminated field.

Oh shit

“Oh, sorry!” You clear your throat and begin again, your own sudden volume startling yourself for a moment, as you double your pace to catch up and walk beside him towards a table,

“Um, yeah. Sorry, it’s a little early, brain hasn’t woke all the way up.”

Silence.

At the lack of a response, you decide to awkwardly laugh rather than wallow at the fact he didn’t even give a pity chuckle at your bad attempt at a polite joke to ease the seemingly tense vibe between the two of you.

Okay, well he definitely seems to talk the way he texts.

Clearing your throat again, you tried once more.

“I’m (y/n) by the way, it’s nice to m-“

“I know your name.” He stopped at the table and turned to glance down at you over his shoulder, the tiniest of smirks resting on his face with raised eyebrows, before pulling out a seat to sit in.

Yeah, maybe being quiet for a bit would do you some good. You’ll try again later.

Still trying to shake the embarrassment, no humiliation at this point, you busied yourself with taking out all the proper materials and waiting while he did the same. Sitting patiently opposite of Tsukishima, you decided to finally get a good look at him. Take in what you see and make some judgements.

He shook off his jacket and draped it over the back of his chair, showing you his wide shoulders underneath the simple grey t-shirt he wore. You didn’t fail to notice how the sleeves were cuffed, either.

Hm. Nice look.

Points for Tsukishima.

His hands and ears were slightly pink from the weather outside, contrastingly sweet against the paleness of his skin.

Kinda cute, in like a Keebler elf kind of way.

More points, you guess, for Tsukishima.

He sighed as he opened up the calculus ll textbook, adjusting his glasses with long and slender fingers before flipping through the pages. You decided it’d be best to do the same.

It was quiet for a moment too long when you thought it might be a good idea to try and speak again, but apparently he must’ve had the same idea.

“So, why d-“

“Thanks for-“

Cutting each other off, you pursed your lips as he gave you some emotionless stare, one of you waiting for the other to start back up again.

Andddd, another awkward beat of silence.

Jesus, this was gonna be the longest hour of your life.

—————————

AHHHHH HERES CHAPTER ONE - I promise the next one will be full of tsuki and tsuki content ok, I just had to get the ball rolling and really wanted to post smth!! I hope you guys like and please please leave your thoughts or anything in my ask box or anywhere!! I’d love to talk :D MWAH I also have little footnotes in my tags too :) (more like commentary but yeah)

taglist for series: @plutowrites @c0rncheez @ruetaro @daniagabriela48 @toyas-wife @devilkou @anime-and-kpop-trash (if you’d like to be added or removed let me know! And if ur crossed off tagging didn’t work!)

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu!! #haikyu x reader #hq <3 #tsukishima headcanons #tsukishima x y/n #tsukishima hcs #tsukishima imagine #hq tsukishima #haikyuu tsukishima #tsukishima fluff #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima kei #tsukishima x you #tsukishima drabbles #tsukishima fanfiction #STOP NO CAUSE WHY AM I SO NERVOUS ABOUT POSTING THIS AHHHH #no cause I’m about to fall in love with y/n’s roommate are u joking like… hold on now #AND I REFUSE TO GIVE TSUKI THOSE MUSTY HEADPHONES OM #EARBUDS WILL DO JUST FINE YALL. #and yams most definitely made him cuff those sleeves smh 🙄

[sealbatross]

Wall Song Animatic - Making / Reflections

edit: forgot to link the animatic lol.

This is how it all started... about a year ago. Wow actually exactly a year ago (Jan 19, 2020). This idea didn't make it, but I still love it a lot.

The motivation for finally starting this animatic is the image of Hadestown in a sinkhole. The towering wall is a lie sold by Hades to the people. The walls are that of a sinkhole, they do not keep any enemies out (there aren't any) but serves to only keep people in. They build the wall by "digging their own grave" as I put it in the google docs (don't remember writing it, but its there...). The revelation is right at the end, and there isn't much time for it to sink in or be physically explored. However, I sincerely hope the zoom out was enough that this came through in the final animatic.

"Planning"

The poverty started out as dark blob monsters. And I did their designs near the end because they needed to be more defined. They go from kneeling > elongated skeleton with a single glowing eye eye (echoing the workers headlamp). And grow through Hades' tall tales into birdesque monsters. "Little songbirds".

At first the poverty and the wall were going to be actual people, poor souls outside the wall who look into the shining city as their savior. And they would be checkpointed by guards at the gates and turned into workers. The poverty wasn't being kept out at all, but indoctrinated. The belief of that separation was used as motivation and an enemy to unite against. This was changed because I wanted the revelation of the lie to be at the very end.

The thumbnail pass to sus out the different shots. It has the structure of the final.

This was the only color planning I did before starting to paint. You can see the final shot here, and my brilliant plan of how-to-shade-faces.

I had a whole different version of this song partially rendered. Each iteration of the call response was to use the exact same structure. But with sketch, line art, then painting was going to be layered on top. The wall would be “built” art process wise. I did a mock up of this version (see video above), and Did Not Like it - however clearly that would have conveyed this concept. So I went back to the original boards.

Another Attempt™

I wanted to try a different opening shot - try to build an ominous and oppressive atmosphere. Dogs greet us just like they do Orpheus. And they have one eye. Then the second shot of the inner factories (I hesitate to say cities), with the worker's headlamps mimicking that single eye. I remember boarding out this version on a particular tiring day, and afterwards had to admit the original was better. So it goes...

I did like this Persephone though.

also here's me trying to consolidate workers shots

Should'ves Etc.

In hindsight, completely designing the city would have helped some. I had a vague idea of the trench that circles the city where the workers are digging. And the abandoned western-esque towns near the edge where workers are supposed to live. Then an endless factory floor that makes up most of the inner area (no weather, roofs or walls). I should have designed the wall-less factory floor. I went with buildings instead because that felt less intrusive as it is familiar so requires less definition. But I think I could have worked the factory out if I had spent the time.

A weird thing about Hadestown is it had to be abandoned, yet full of working souls. Crude, yet filled with complex machinery. That's the kind of contradiction and challenge I love so maybe in the future...

I should have planned out the colors too. I concluded the eventual rendering would make that null and void, which was a mistake. I was originally going to have the full back end of the animatic in painted form (including Hades, the workers, everything). It would have been nice, but it wasn't necessary to me in regard to getting the point across.

Things to take away

I often find myself circling back to original ideas. Which begs the question why not take the first idea. Well, you never know.

writing on the drawings themselves is a nice way to note keep

plan out color thumbnails. its important, especially if you're using raster drawings. (can't change colors of many frames on a whim) - and especially if you're using colors as symbolism

CSP does not handle detailed graphics quickly. better to split up the project into separate files then have saving be a constant heart attack

thick lines good

A YouTube comment brought to light the contrast between the glorious shots of town and the reality of the barren landscape the workers find themselves in. I hadn’t thought of that. But it really couldn’t have been any other way. I wouldn’t be able to put the workers in a wonderfully rendered scene because that would not have been right. This is one of those subconscious symbolism things that make creation so wonderful.

As always the goal was to take what was in my head and make it real - to share and to record keep. This was one of the innumerable cases where the image was vaguely grand in my head, and there was no way I'd be able to best that on paper. But mind thoughts and concrete visuals are as different as dance and sculpture. What I mean to say is, it would be unfair to expect an exact replica. And alchemy happens during this translation, it will surprise you. So whatever it is, start! Because, well, you never know.

#hadestown #long post #animatic #making of #my rambles #nah just many rambles #seal art #This song has my heart and soul #I was listening to it as usual (part of the album) on a walk when I suddenly got very emotional #I think I connected it to my tendency to wall people out #and be emotionally distant from everything and everyone #in order to keep myself 'free' #At least that's what I consciously thought #Either way <emotions>

[aimasup]

Ok so from this first part I've decided to finally throw in my headcanon version of Roman and Remus when Thomas was a kid.

(Next here and next here)

@miraculousglitter

But first here's a fic as my headcanon on how they split (Tw gore and angst) :

The Seperation (oneshot)

Fun sniffled. "So... so you're saying... I need to be better...?"

Heart stared. No! No, no, no no! What was happening? Fun never cried. He never let the most piercing of insults get to him. He was always the bounciest of the Sides, bold and daring, without a care in the world. The log to lean on.

And now tears were pouring down his face.

"Fun, please, I never said that! That's not what I meant!" Heart placed his hands on Fun's shoulders, feeling like he was going to tear up himself. Somehow, he had made the unstoppable force that was the royal King Fun cry. He mentally kicked himself.

"I would never think any less of you for anything you do. Everyone else thinks so too. We all love you for who you are!" he said.

"It's just... the things you say and do sometimes. We don't hate you for doing them, what we hate is the things that get Thomas in trouble. That's what we don't want."Heart pulled Fun into a tight hug.

"It's nothing to do with you. Please don't cry." Heart choked. "You're perfect."

Fun gulped down tears. "So.. so.. so it's a - a problem? That we can f - fix?"

Heart had never thought of it that way, but as always, Fun was a brilliant Side. "Y - yeah! You're right! Maybe we can fix this! L - like a cold, or - or a bad knee owie...."

They dissolved into silence. Fun sat on his knees, tear marks still left on his tanned face. Heart had joined him on the bedroom floor and let go of him, but still kept a gentle hold on his hands.

Fun knew what Heart said was true. But the overwhelming aura of his room was pressing in on him from all directions. What no one realized was that Heart was one of Thomas' strongest sides. His room was especially influential. It would constantly shift and change to any emotion, subconscious or not.

Heart was scared.

Not of him, clearly, but Fun knew what else he was scared of. It was true. He had bad things and bad thoughts in him, and they needed to go. Then, everything would be better and everyone would love him again.

Fun hiccuped. "S - so, should we.. get Learning?" He was the one who named everyone. In his chest he knew these names weren't very 'clever' but given Thomas' limited vocabulary they were his best efforts.

Heart considered this. He shook his head.

"I dunno. I'm not sure how he can help. But I do know we're supposed to... uh...separate the problem. Separate...we could just separate the bad stuff! Right!" he said excitedly.

Fun furrowed his brow in deep thought, which was rare for the Side. "Se...perate? How?"

Heart's face dropped. He plopped back onto the floor, where he had previously stood up in a 'eureka' moment.

"... I dunno."

They sat there, pondering some more.

Fun glanced over unsurely at Heart. He noticed the unnaturally tired look on his features. Heart was clearly trying so hard to come up with a solution, which was a problem because that wasn't his job. He wasn't supposed to solve objective issues, which would surely tire him out further than Fun already had.

Fun looked at the ground. He stood up, catching Heart's attention.

"Fun?"

Everything was wrong. Was he wrong? No, it had to be the bad things, but wouldn't that make it him as well technically? Was he bad? Were the thoughts bad?

He took deep breaths, that quickened the more he thought about everything that happened in the past few years. All his friends' thoughts, all his doubts, all of the troubles because of him.

He had to banish the bad thoughts. Banish the bad thoughts. Get rid of them. Get rid of the things ruining everyone's lives.

Get rid of the things that tarnished his otherwise perfect image. Get rid of the ideas he wasn't supposed to enjoy because they were gross and wrong. Get rid of the scary stuff that would make his friends sad.

Fun choked. Rip it out. Kick it out of his body. He was supposed to extract it like a spider nest in his rib cage - no! Gross, bad, scary! You're scary, you're not me!

But why didn't it feel like it was coming out? Something was tearing away, but it wasn't a something else, it was... him.

Heart stared in horror as Fun stumbled and caught on his own feet. He was clutching at his hair and silently choking. Unholy gargled whimpers escaped his throat as golden bile bubbled out of his throat, under bloodshot, teary eyes.

Get rid of the bad things! They're awful, they're not you! They're not me!

I'm not you?

You're not me! You're you!

But I'm you! I'm me!

No! I'm me! Shut up! I'm tearing! It hurts!

No, I'm tearing, you're tearing!

Leave me! I'm leaving!

Leave me! I'm leaving!

Fine!

Fine!

Fine!

"I don't need you!" Fun screamed in a horrific layered voice, raw and primal. "You're going away!"

Heart was crying. He didn't know what to do, his friend was in a bad shape, nothing was done about it.

"I'm leaving! Fine, I'm leaving! Gone, I'm leaving! We're leaving!" Like a madman, Fun clawed at the carpet rapidly, oozing gold and black down his center. Thin red lines crept into view with bone cracking noises, the liquids stained the floor and his beautiful grey outfit, his pupils changed color, his layered voice grew more and more divided by the minute until he tore.

Right down the middle.

Heart screamed.

What fell onto the carpets were two different shapes. One hit the floor with a soft thud, with more grace and beauty Heart had ever seen. The other hit the carpet with a greasy splat, smelling as it looked.

Heart was still unsure of the situation. With heaving breaths, he scrambled over to help up the one who looked the most like his friend. He still didn't know what to do at the moment, but he just wanted to hold Fun in his arms and comfort him.

"Fun? Fun! Please, answer me, please! I'm sorry, please, wake up..." Heart shook him. "Please, please, please, please," he chanted, then broke out a little sob. "Please?"

The Fun in his arms stirred. Bleary eyes blinked and then shot wide open. "Heart!" he gasped.

Heart also gasped, staring at the face that sort of looked like Fun. Somehow he had completely different features, and his eyes were pure ruby red, but his hair and his clothes were so similar. It was definitely his rustic, bold Fun, but every move looked like a gentle dance instead of a determined lead. His voice was more airy and full of song, more than usual.

The two Sides stared at each other, still in each other's arms. A wet splat alerted them. Their heads whipped around to the noise.

To their horror, a...figure emerged from the black oily heap on the carpet. The figure shone ebony and dripped all over the thing. Somehow it was a mockery of Fun's image, but Heart couldn't help but be drawn to recognize him too.

They stared, and as it advanced slowly, the red one screamed in fright. "No! What is that?!"

Heart and his room were pounding. The answer spilled out before he could stop it, but he didn't care. "That's the bad stuff! It must have worked!"

He took up Fun's hands, now absolutely sure that it was him. "The stuff is gone! Please, don't look so doubtful, we're a family, we've always been!" Pulling him into a hug, Heart laughed in relief. Completely unaware of how his 'Fun' was feeling through all this.

The oily figure reared its head, revealing a terrifying smile and two glowing green eyes. It stumbled over itself and fell, a high, ugly voice tearing out of its orifices. "Heart!"

Heart let go of Fun and they hurried to their feet and backed off, realizing the sludge figure was still in their room. They stared at it with bated breath, like it was a cockroach ready to take flight after them. Their expressions were contorted by fear.

From the ground, it tried and failed to reach out to them. "Heart! I'm here, I've gotten rid of the bad stuff! Heart! Please, Heart!"

But they were already bolting out the room, Fun in Heart's tow. With a yelp, they had fled, calling for Learning and Careful.

The demonic creature sat in silence. Then it started laughing, cackling, a noise that was the stuff of nightmares. Tears streamed down its cheeks, smile permanently etched on its face, its shoulders shaking.

A small, crouched monster with yellow snake eyes silently watched the broken thing crumble from the doorway.

#i actually had this one pre drawn #tw gore #tw angst #patton sanders #morality sanders #sympathetic remus sanders #sympathetic deceit sanders #sympathetic patton sanders #duke remus #remus sanders #roman sanders #princey sanders #creativity sanders #king sanders #creativitwins #deceit sanders #deceit #roman and remus #sanders sides #kid sides #thomas sanders #my art #my post #fanfic #janice sanders #janus sanders