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#the higher contrast red/black/white works better than red/black/dark gray for us

charmedslayer · 1 year

Note

Hey how do you colour your gifs? I’ve been trying to get better and would really appreciate any tips

bear with me cause i have adhd and i am very bad at explaining things

I’ll start by saying i use Photoshop CS6 so you know what program i’m working with. Now i’m gonna list all the layers i typically use when i’m coloring a gif.

Brightness & Contrast: sometimes i add this layer after all the others (but beneath all the others as if it’s the first layer i added) to reduce the brightness a bit if the whites are too bright

Levels: this is pretty much always the first layer i use which i mostly use to color correct which also often brightens the gif (it depends though i can’t always use it to color correct+brighten the gif). the method i use is using the eye dropper to pick the blackest point and the whitest point in the gif (which is what can color correct it and most often also brightens the gif a whole lot)

I tried to find the tutorial where i learnt about this but i could mostly only find tutorials with people using the eye dropper method with the “curves” layer but it’s the exact same concept as the “levels layer” and i did eventually find one using the “levels” layer so i’ll link to those tutorials below:

tutorial #1, tutorial #2, tutorial #3, tutorial #4, tutorial #5

i also decided to include my own screenshots so this below is the levels layer with the black point eye dropper circled in red:

and this is the levels layer with the white point eye dropper circled in red:

I tried it out with the curves layer after seeing these tutorials but i’m gonna be sticking to using the levels layer cause i know how to use it better and so when i color correct with the eye dropped i can also then adjust the blacks/grays/whites here (all circled in red):

Color Balance: i usually always add a color balance next and adjust them in this order:

Midtones

Highlights

Shadows

Curves (#1): then i often add a curves layer to lighten up the gif and add some contrast which can often looks something like this:

Selective Color (#1):

Reds (most often something like: Cyan: -20 to +10, Black: -10 to +10)

Yellows (often decrease Yellow: -20)

If there’s some green/cyan/blue/magenta colors in your gif i.e. green/blue/purple/pink colors then mess around with you can mess around with the Cyan/Magenta/Yellow in each color below:

Greens

Cyans

Blues

Magentas

Curves (#2): sometimes i add another curves layer, after adjusting the colors to make them pop, to brighten the gif just a bit more so that when i adjust the whites they look how i want them too, not really sure how to explain but i guess it adds contrast to the rest of the colors and idk make the gif look less flat? and it can also sometimes give the gifs a bit of a glowy effect like this gifset here for example

Curves (#2: alternative second curves layer): sometimes i’ll add a second curves layer not to brighten the gif but actually to make it darker, but because i’ll already have made the gif brighter at this point i can control how dark i make it and it won’t end up pitch black unable to see anything. it can make for some interesting results to darken the gif like this. the layer to make it darker can look something similar to this but you might wanna play around with it for awhile to get it right:

but basically this time your two points on the curve are on the other side of that gray line you see in the middle whereas if you look back to the curve i used to brighten you’ll see my two points are on the other side of the line or above it

Selective Color (#1):

Whites (most of the time Black: -20 sometimes more like -30 and sometimes even all the way to -100. it just depends on the gif)

Neutrals (most times i have Black set to +10 but sometimes it needs less or more than that like +5 or +15 and sometimes i use it in the opposite direction like -10 to brighten the gif up)

Blacks (this makes the darkest colors (dark gray/black) a more pure/absolute black and it very often doesn’t need to be much higher than +1 or +2, also if you’ve got blue in the gif that’s creating a pixel-y/grainy effect you can add +5 or +10 to the Yellow to keep the blue but get rid of a bit of the pixels ending up with a clearer nicer looking gif)

I decided to include screenshots below:

As you sent in this ask very soon after reblogging this gifset, i figured i’d include a bit of the coloring process for that gifset.

So this is the gif (as a still image so there’s no movement) with no coloring, just the sharpening:

Then i added a Levels layer and used the eye dropper like i mentioned above to color correct which as you can see also greatly brightened the gif:

There’s a bit of a lack of contrast though on her face so i adjusted the levels layer to this:

So i brought the blacks down (10) making it darker, the grays (0.75) the default is 1.00 and i brought it down to 0.75 making the gif darker on the whole not just the blacks and then i brightened it a bit by moving the whites from 255 (the default) to 245. so now it looks like this:

next i added Color Balance cause the colors were looking a bit off, a bit orange in this case

then i added Curves to darken it a bit cause i found it a bit too bright:

next i used Selective Color to make the reds/blues pop + adjust the whites/neutrals/blacks

i found it a bit to bright in certain parts of her face at certain points of the gif so i added a Brightness/Contrast layer at -20 (brightness) and 10 (contrast) i put underneath all the other layers

This is what the layers look like in case any of this was confusing (which shows apparently i found the B/C layer made it look too dark so i changed the opacity to 70%):

Note: i feel it’s hard to see the differences after every layer added just seeing the images one below the other but if you click on the first image of buffy you can then click the arrow keys to go left/right and see the gradual progress of the coloring.

While searching for the tutorials mentioned earlier i found this helpful general coloring tips post i decided i’d include:

https://whitewolfofwinterfell.tumblr.com/post/181682828552/gif-colouring-tips-this-post-is-some-top-tips-for

Also this is an old gif/coloring “tutorial” i made years ago when i had just gotten back into giffing, so like it’s outdated cause my coloring process has changed a lot since but it could still be helpful. One thing i mentioned in it is how i like to do my coloring before i crop and resize my gifs which really helps me color things easier cause i can really see every pixel and color i’m working with and how i’m affecting each one (unless you’re making a big gif anyway then i guess you could crop/resize it first but i’d still recommend coloring before resizing) whereas every tutorial i’ve ever seen always says to crop/resize first THEN color but i’ve found the other way ‘round to be easier. So there might be some other helpful things even if it’s somewhat outdated to how i make my gifs now.

#asks #answered #5bi5 #gif help #gif stuff #gif tutorial #photoshop tutorial #photoshop help #photoshop #my tutorials #this is so much text i cannot make myself reread all of that to make sure it all makes sense and there are no typos #so sorry if there are any and good luck reading/understanding this #hope it makes sense!

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h0unds-of-h3ll · 3 years

Text

Talking to the moon

The rumors and trauma lived inside his head in fact it ate him alive. Each and everyday lifeless and a black cloud hung over his head. Except when he received and a test message from an unknown number. He knew it was unknown for three reasons. 1) Everyone knew to not text him or disturb him unless he contacted them first. 2) He could recite his entire list of contacts over anything else in his life. And the third was that he didn’t know that this unknown message would change him forever.

Word count: 15,000 *im so sorryyyy*

This is another dreaded Bucky Barnes x reader fic.

Viewers beware you are in for a scare with the: fluff, Bucky is a wanna be alcoholic, blood, angst, cheesy tropes *wrong number,etc*, bad jokes, one liners, awkwardness, sexual innuendos, mentioned sexual harassment, suicidal thoughts, depression, murder, slight dark Bucky who’s just trying to get through life, Sam Wilson mentioned, astrology and planets, knifes, ptsd, nightmares and terrors, flashbacks, sad bitch Bucky missing Steven and using the reader as a better therapist then the certified one, she/her pronouns used for the reader, mostly from Buckys POV, she/you referring to the reader JOHN WALKER SLANDER NO HATE TO THE ACTOR, glass.

(This is dedicated to my friend, tiny adjustments to buckys story and I am dearly sorry if I didn’t write bucky true to his character!)

He choked awake on the air that never left his cold lungs, meanwhile, his skin was afire. A coat of sweat coated him, he slept shirtless since this occurred so often. Always waking in the depth of night to little to no light, only the low gleam of the moon shone through his window near his kitchen along with the soft luminosity of the television sat in front of the sofa. One that he refused to sleep on. He couldn't even sleep on the soft bed tucked in the back corner of the room down the hall in his apartment. He debated why he just wouldn't move into a studio apartment instead of the one he resides in.

He huffed staggeringly and his eyes falling to the ground, searching for something that was never there. Tranquility. His brain trying to calm itself in some form, it never worked it took hours for it to. Even then it never lasted. He suffers another day's trauma trying to sort the world back into order. Sam would often notice but knew to never ask him about it. He knew from the months working together asking and attempting to comfort Bucky often led to arguments. Bucky strongly knew this was nothing and that others were just blowing it out of proportion.

That also led to bias work and Bucky not doing his best, since Sam put him in a bad mood beforehand. Bucky went to therapy. He was more forced than offered, the government felt he was more of a ticking bomb than anything else. Bucky thought of it as more of a joke than anything.

There was no sense in for him to go to the sessions. He often found himself trying to find excuses to skip sessions. He thought that the past is the past and trying to fix it wasn't a possibility. Bucky dealt with it the way he could. He pushed it deep, deep, down in the roaring sea of his mind and dealt with it later. Only in his dreams did it resurface to haunt him. Always making him uptight and tired from the lack of sleep.

However, at this point, he was use to the torture of it all. His brain is his worst enemy. Through shaky breath fanned on his arm, he was crouched over his left leg up his metal arm resting over his knee his other arm holding his weight. He watched the glow of the tv, his chest heaved in exasperation.

Nothing piqued his interest in broadcasting. It was all the same mumbo jumbo of stereotypical things like romance, the reality that was depicting the species as inhumane, the comedy he didn't understand, only one channel did hold his interest.

Perhaps it worsened his mental state but he didn't care and it was the news. It was all the current disasters of the world and the avengers trying to stabilize the circumstances and the best part of it all how disturbing the world is. Even if his bringing was normal to where he is now, he'd most likely be a deeply tormented individual.

He nearly had heart failure when a banner at the bottom of the screen read "John Walker elected as the new Captain America." In blinding letters. Above the banner was John Walker himself standing in front of the podium a hand raised in a gesture to recognize the audience's howl.

Buckys head burst with memories of Hydra and the way it evoked him. The way of how Hydra forced him to be something he wasn't. John Walker was the perfect example of an alternate reality with a substitute Steve. Everything Steve was for John Walker was against.

Images flashed in his head. He put his hands on his head his natural one warm and clammy, in contrast to the bitter cold one. It just gave his flashbacks even more fuel. Living with a constant reminder of who he is. A monster.

He grabbed tightly onto his hair the strands were being plucked as this was being written. He felt small patches of balding from this happening so regularly. His legs parted and creased by the knees. His face strained into pain. His extensive wrinkles from age, noticeable, and worsened from him doing so.

His blanket thrown away to the side with disregard, he started to rock softly front and back. The wood floor burned his tailbone from him sitting on it for so long. Suddenly he felt a different pain. A killer one.

The beige cabinets thrown open papers and documents scattered everywhere. The dark grey of a ceiling of the shelter peered over him judgingly. His arm pushed down into the metal of the chair burned from the uncomfortable position. The bolts leaving deep indentions in his skin. The helmet pressed tightly to his skull leaving him render less against the horror of hearing the words. So many times he had to go through this routine, the monitors loud and buzzing. He bit down strenuously onto the guard in his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. The electricity drumming into his head, his brain setting fire to its system, he feels it in his muscles, in his blood, the veins that pop in his neck. The tubes behind his head generated and pumped large amounts which umped higher and higher in velocity each time an activation word was spoken loud and clearly. Spat carelessly not in his mother's tongue, he would never think of the language to be beautiful only to be a monstrosity of the world one of the greatest. His dull fingernails dug into the chair it did nothing other than to give him some sort of balance. He screamed but it was muffled to an extent of the guard doing its purpose. "Daybreak."

The announcer spoke into the fuzzy black microphone that's the only word he made out to hear. The daily news report drone on for what of which he came back into reality.

He opened his azure eyes and looked to the left the window that sat in the middle of a pale white wall and his kitchen showed the red bloom of the sun and the tall buildings of the city.

He felt resentful towards the time of day since his flashbacks usually only lasted a minute or so.

Lately, they've grown in duration and that stroke dread into him. He was horrified that someone would say or do an act that would put him in a state of mind. One that he wished to not be in.

Somedays he just yearned to be left for dead in the snowfall of the forest. Notably, so far from the arm that was taken from him that it would be hidden to the world for eons. And from the pessimism of the clouds above him.

He grew irritably hot and damp from the excessive sweat he did to himself, he felt everything was his fault, enlisting, going on the train, helping Steve.

He hated himself for a moment realizing what he thought, he felt selfish for thinking that Steve did this to punish him. He sighed and laid his head tilted to the plastered ceiling.

His neck outstretched. His legs and his arm, limp from the compression of him tensing them for so long. His muscles trying their hardest to relax. His figure seeming to be the equivalent of a sack of potatoes.

He didn't care about how he presented, perhaps it was his past with being a soldier the constant thriving to be the strongest and the son of Hercules. He pushed so far that his body couldn't endure the strength he put it through.

Super soldier serum and all, he was still just a man. He was still human deep into the last atom of his DNA. His eyes nonchalantly examined his ceiling a soft pale white like the rest of his apartment, it reminded him of the moon outside.

If he were to take out his ceiling it'd be right above him. He was enamored by how it seemed to have an ever-lasting glow. He let out a shaky huff then fell ever quiet. Until the day grew old.

Yori had scheduled a lunch meeting earlier that week, they had a routine. Yori attended and Bucky paid. This happened every Wednesday they would meet up and discuss whatever they wished. Yori was just an old decaying man who lived in Chinatown, he lived across from Bucky's building. Yori was kind to the ones he knew.

It was otherwise to people he didn't. After Yori's son died it was hard to, if he only knew who Bucky was entirely he'd die out of shock. Bucky swore to tell him but honestly, Yori was his only friend he had out of work, and even that he couldn't let himself go and confide in Sam.

So here he was in a plain-back leather jacket, some jeans and the same pair of boots he had since the war. He didn't understand the fashion trends of late. Last week he and Yori saw a woman in a bright suit, it looked like a second skin from how tight it was.

Yori was simple-minded as he was and had similar morals and interests. It was disheartening to say that Bucky had a sort of envy for Yori, Bucky wished to have lived a normal life of maybe dying in the war or growing old and gray like Yori.

Get married, have a couple of kids, live a normal life. He understood greatly why Steve went back but he never fully forgave him for it. He felt like Steve was selfish for doing so, but isn't everyone? Steve got a normal life while Bucky had to rot in the world alone and was terrorized by his brain.

He crossed his arms, the leather making a strange sound since he gripped himself so tightly. He sat up straight, his shoulders back, his face set with a profound scowl. It forever imprinted on his face the dark scruff of a new beard growing in.

He hated how it meant uncleanliness, but he didn't have the motivation to shave it off, there wasn't a reason to anyway. He hadn't been on a date in years, centuries even.

He poked and played with his sushi that Yori said was great to try at least once. Bucky felt bad and tried a bite, he had to give credit for a thing so small having to be so spicy. That was about the first and last bite Bucky had. Since then he just jabbed at it with one of the sticks.

The other laid across the small complimentary plate with the rest of the remains of the sushi he failed to eat, he lost his appetite a few weeks ago.

He's been nursing a strong drink called Shōchū. Every time Bucky ordered it Yori said that he put an accent on it and that it made him sound like a foreigner. Although Bucky didn't know how since he was fluent but that was an argument for another day.

The employees there grew to know that they should just leave the bottle there since he usually drinks half their supply on each visit.

He just simply didn't think eating was something he needed. Recently things just seemed to bore him to the point where things that he needed to do he couldn't.

All because his brain tells him this doesn't matter. He's just lived so long from numerous life-ending things and he'd be damned if he'd kick the bucket from starvation.

"That scowl of yours is going to scare the women away," Yori spoke, breaking Bucky out of his trance. Bucky only saw the select few people around them and the women that Yori was referring to were a few older women with smiles and when Bucky turned to look they suggestively waved their fingers.

When Bucky looked back Yori smiled and waved and went back to inhaling noodles. Bucky looked at the man across from him in the small sushi restaurant he grew to know too well, they always sat in the same place a small table near the front of the glass doors.

Some posters and decorations were scattered throughout the small building. The dim lanterns gleam radiantly against the cryptic night. It rained before and the droplets of rain still reside on the windows behind Yori.

Yori slurped pounds of noodles into his mouth at a time, the residue of it was left behind on Yori's pale-white mustache. Bucky was surprised that the stick didn't break from the weight of it. Bucky's eyebrows furrowed together in thought, his posture relaxing.

He laughed inside his shoulders coming up and the side of his lips curved in a smirk. The demeanor he held was appealing from afar, (specifically to the cougars adjacent from where they were.)The conversation always breaking Bucky's previous mood, Yori was very light-hearted when he wasn't in a mood. Especially when he had food and good company. He decided to further it:

"What do you know about the ladies here that I don't?" Yori swallowed a big round lump in his throat slowly going down to his stomach, he must've had a pile of noodles in it by now.

"Well first off all, don't test my ways of making them swoon over me," Yori stated it more of a threat than a declaration. He used his chopsticks and pointed them at Bucky and a warning manner.

His eyebrows perked up and the wrinkles on his forehead worsened similar to the ones that grew on Bucky. His eyes became wide at the thought of being disrespected like the way Bucky just did.

"Second of all, you don't understand how to look without your eyes." And with that Yori chowed down once again on his bucket of noodles. Bucky couldn't perceive Yori's advice, what does seeing without your eyes even could mean?

His smirk faltered into his normal resting face which Yori liked to remark and say was the equivalent to people putting the trash into his garbage can. There was no rhyme or reason for people to do so but they just did.

Just like the way Bucky was always in a sour mood it reminded him of himself always being angry at the world because of other people.

"Have you been seeing anyone lately, if not that might be the cause of your problems," Yori spoke as if he knew everything about Bucky and maybe he could Truth it since Hydra and after being the winter soldier and Steve passing.

Bucky hadn't really been ready to mingle. He just knew he had too much baggage for a partner to put on deal with him. Every now and then when he felt completely alone he downloaded some dating app he didn't actually want and deleted it on the same night.

He had flings here and there and since he met Yori he had been setting him up on dates whether Bucky liked it or not. None of them worked out since Bucky didn't try; he was too wrapped up in his own problems to be listening to hers.

Bucky's gloved metal hand wrapped behind his neck and scratched his stubble coming back down.

"You know Yori surprisingly enough I haven't," Bucky spoke grimly and clutched his teeth. He knew Yori was going to tell him off. He winced when he heard Yori's chopsticks fall into the cup of noodles. Yori sat back into his wooden chair, his arms crossed and a displeased look came across his face.

"And why is that?" Bucky began to open his mouth "Don't give me some excuse that you always give me or this will be our last meeting." Yori stated in a harsh manner with his face twisted in that fatherly manner. "I don't understand why it's a great value to you, to know about my love life,"

Bucky spoke of it as a statement but it came out more as a question. Yori quieted and thought for a moment thinking of the proper words to say. "The stars are aligned in your favor, in which that means you should try and put effort into those small details in what is grief, if not love persevering."

Bucky sat there thinking over the things Yori told him. Bucky stretched his arm out to sip on the Shōchū. He was about a quarter way through. They'd only been there for two hours.

Since Yori met Bucky he learned that people can't always be that bad. Unless of course, you're the type who knocks over his trash can and the men don't pick it up and so it rots to hell when he fills it.

Bucky sighed and reached for the half-full glass of Shōchū. Yori never favored seeing him drink. It was too similar to him drinking when his son passed.

So Yori being Yori he made a little catapult with his chopsticks and put a small piece of noodle into his device and flicked it at Bucky. Bucky glared at him and touched the spot where it hit. Right in the middle of his creased eyebrows. The residue of the noodle followed his fingers Yori went back to eating but before he did so he gave a word to Bucky

"You're not supposed to think about how to see without your eyes. It defeats the purpose entirely if you think about it as strongly as you do, I may have some years under my belt of practicing but you are going to go nowhere soon with the troubles that live in your scowl."

He paused searching into Bucky's storm-driven eyes, Yori saw nothing that lived behind them other than sorrow. It pained Yori to see his friend in such a state.

Yori rested his hands on the table interlaced in front of him, trying to find anything worth reviving if it wasn't already killed behind Bucky's aurora. But then all of a sudden a glimmer, a spark you could say flitted inside the fellow in front of him.

Yori leaned back in his chair and smiled softly, his eyes creasing. "Ah, there it is," Yori spoke softly. Bucky confused more than he had ever been in his life questioned everything.

He had no idea what Yori was doing or as to why he endured the unwanted staring contest they just had. Then his answers were spoken by the one who created the questions.

"The way you see without your eyes is simply to be at peace with yourself, look at the moon and the stars.

They have no troubles or worries and they are the most looked at things in the entire universe no matter where you are. They see everything, yet they still choose to have no regard for the ones that judge them. For you young sir, for them to have that happiness you take that amount doubled."

Bucky scoffed that he didn't intend to be disrespectful, but how in the world was he supposed to be calm when he knew Yori's speech was literal. Yori never made jokes or metaphors, he learned that the hard way.

He uncrossed his arms for the first time since they sat down, and rested his elbows on his knees, and leaned forward in the wooden chair. He squinted his eyes, questioning Yori's statement.

He knew Yori hated to be questioned and tested, they always led to night and day-long arguments that never fully were resolved. Maybe it was the half bottle of Shōchū he drank that made him confident. He spoke rough and dry from it taking over his throat and liver.

"So let me get this straight. the only way I can find peace and happiness is if I talk to the stars and the moon? Yori, you've got to be joking." Yori grew agitated but his composure remained ever the slightest of relaxation.

Yori reached towards the back of his pants to retrieve something while glaring at Bucky and the staring contest resumed. Bucky thought for a moment that Yori was going to shoot him in point-blank range in front of the small company that was set at different tables all over the place.

Instead, Yori pulled out a small crumbling paperback book with the cover filled with stars and galaxy-type depictions and inscribed above it was

"Talking to the moon, and other astronomic casualties"

Yori sat the book gently on the side of the table he got up and before he left he looked at Bucky for a long while before turning and walking out the door. Not another word was spoken between them until the next Wednesday.

Bucky walked home that night by himself. Usually, he would walk with Yori but what happened at the sushi place he felt disturbed by. He lost his temper and he never should've.

He's been put in worse situations than thinking that Yori made him out to be a fool for believing that the stars could talk. Who knows if they do. He should've been more open-minded, he's just been riled up from the flashbacks.

Shōchū seemed to make things worse but he'd forget about things for a while. He wanted to apologize to Yori;

he severely drowned the urge. With the rest of the bottle. Yes, the restaurant let him take the rest. He had to pay handsomely. He thought it was worth it until he had to walk up the stairs to get into his apartment. He swayed back and forth mostly to the left. The arm weighed more when he was like this.

He had not a thought in mind about the world other than seeing the bottom of the clear bottle made of glass.

He tried to walk up the stairs he really did but his chunky boots made it hard to judge the height of the stairs. He got about halfway up them and then he fell. He smashed his chin against the wood and his chin started to bleed. He didn't try to stop the fall.

His right hand was occupied with the bottle. His thick scarred fingers tied around the neck of it securely. He'd kill anything that would try to take it away from him. He pushed himself up off the stair and he winced in pain when his right hand was now in the pile of glass. It fell and broke when he did.

His back burned with being indented from laying on the stairs. His chin seeped down onto the pit of his neck where his jaw formed.

He pushed slowly up off the stairs entirely putting his damaged hand behind his back. How ironic that his normal flesh is the damaged one.

He lifted off with the metal one. He clutched his wrist and pinched it tightly with the metal one.

Trying to cut off blood flow so it won't get more infected than it already had. He walked to his apartment shamefully. His head hung down low, too insecure and awkward about what happened. His jaw stern and gritted he was embarrassed.

The alcohol dimmed it but it was still a major event. He'd hit the rock bottom of an endless pit.

He dug out his key in his pocket and went inside. When he entered he always felt worse than he had left. Yet he never had a problem leaving. It always felt like he was welcomed back into a deep aurora of depression.

He stepped on the back of his boots and left them by the door. He walked to the bathroom but he stopped and turned to look at the tv. There he was again in all his glory. John Walker.

Although this time in his clutches was Steve's shield. He grew saddened by the fact Sam gave it over. He felt betrayed. Sam was the only one he knew other than him how valuable that was and John Walker out of all people had it in his possession.

He'd have a long discussion with Sam in the near future about this. He was always infuriated by John but now he couldn't put it into words. Except for the word imposterous.

Bucky felt a sharp pain in his wrist and when he looked down. He soon found that he was nearly fracturing his wrist with his metal modeled fingers. He also took into mind how deep the glass shard was. Some tiny, some huge. He cursed under his breath a soft and crude

"Fuck."

He quickly loosened his grip and shook his head in regret when he looked down to his wood floor. He realized that blood trickled from him since he opened the door.

He hastily shuffled awkwardly to the bathroom trying his hardest to not make more of a mess than he already had. He walked with long strides and his white socks dirtied from blood.

The bathroom was small, with half tiled walls and a tiled floor, beige paint covered the rest of the wall. A shower shoved to the left of him, an off-white bulb accentuated the room.

He swore to change it but he never did. A mirror and sink in front of him, the mirror was a small white rectangular one, matching the shape of the sink. Sandwiched in between the shower and sink was the smallest white toilet imaginable.

He hated going into the bathroom for this reason alone. He saw how weak he was in the mirror.

A busted bleeding wound. That crept close to the imprint that marked the middle of his chin, dark drunk eyes, shaded pink lips, sharp cheekbones accompanied with a keen jawline, scars littered across his body. His face had a few abrasions, and cheeks hidden in the scruff that continued to grow.

His hair tousled and strewn every way it pleased. He never cared about it; he never tried to style it since he'd just put his hands in it. His shoulders were clad in leather and a beige henley that matched the walls. The calmness after getting pounded reminded him of when hydra made him fight the other soldiers. Then suddenly he was there.

It was a day that Bucky would think about for the rest of his life. Bucky had a lot of those days but this one, in particular, was one that made him feel excruciating pain. The fight he was trained to lose. The compound was a dimly lit walkway in between the cells. Two would fight momentarily continuously one was declared the winner and fight the champion. Bucky or the soldier.

The commanders of hydra love to evoke fear. Seeing the men riddled with fear. Some vomit, others beg. Some are like Bucky. Ruthless. They don't care who they are or what they want to be. All they strive to be or do is fight and the blood splatter after winning against the enemy, releases stress so sometimes it's a release unless you have a guilty conscience. For Bucky, it's the latter. He has nightmares, sure, but everyone does.

Bucky had perfect posture, his head tilted into the way hydra trained him to do or to be brainwashed until he was complicit. Bright ocean eyes were unknowingly dead. The thunder of the other candidates to fight by the cells on the sidelines until it was their time to fight.

Although before they went to fight they would have a fistfight with Bucky to higher their combat skills. Bucky was the best soldier they had to let them practice on. That being said Bucky wasn't being used to his full potential. Bucky hadn't fought anyone to his skill level, everyone was either at a lower or average level. They were put into groups of two in fighting whoever won would fight either Bucky or another soldier even crueler than Bucky. Bucky had some remorse and would hold back. He still deep down was a person but the other soldier killed many from going too far. And today was the day that Bucky had to fight that soldier. Bucky had three other men for the soldier to fight until it was him, all skinny and small, scrappy.

The soldier was big and unruly. He was undefeated, sure Bucky was scared but at the compound, it's kill or be killed.

No one knew the soldier's true name, just the series of numbers he was given. His confidence may be the death of him. Bucky believed-knew that he was more than the average man. He had courage, a heart of gold, and the endurance of a bull and here he was amping himself up and nervously fidgeting wondering what would happen if he won this fight. He wondered if everyone would think of him as superior or if he'd be more of a black sheep.

He heard a crack of a hydra man yelling to start. The man in front of him was next and the one that lost had gashes to the bone and blood oozing out of places where he didn't know could.

Bucky felt exposed when the man in front of him went to fight, there was still a very long list behind him to fight but he was next up. The soldier looked at him, his demeanor felt like the grim reaper and Bucky was fixing to pay his toll.

The soldier had muscles upon muscles and as broad as one can ever be. The word powerful couldn't even describe him in the lightest.

Bucky chewed on the inside his cheek he was nervous.

The soldier was known to put the others in the infirmary for days on end and those he hurt abnormally bad gotta not fight for a while and rot in their cell until. More often than none they'd put you back out in the field.

The stories of this soldier were the type you'd tell sitting at a campfire to scare kids, instead, it was grown, men. Even if Bucky was the bravest out there he wasn't like the soldier.

Bucky observed all of his techniques and styles over the weeks. Preparing himself for his scheduled fight. It was an algorithm for the soldier to react to specific hits and counter them with the same thing over and over. The hydra men taught all of the soldiers the same moves except the one Bucky was going to go against. They knew Bucky was their best soldier so they had to at least put him in a good fight. Bucky caught on to this pattern and that made him think that he could win.

The man in front of him laid in a fetal position with mud and red splatter across his pale form, the boisterous crowd making the shame feel unbearable.

Then all of a sudden Bucky felt a harsh shove on his back. One of the hydra men shoving him into the pit with the soldier. Bucky nearly fell face forward on the cement. A burst of loud booming laughter deafened him more than the crowd on the sidelines.

The soldier crouched low and Bucky knew what he was going to do. He took out the legs then beat his component to a pulp like a gorilla. Bucky did the same stance. He looked foolish, his hair stuck to his forehead, sweat-soaked his clothes which were already tightened to his skin from the excessive working out he did. Courtesy of Hydra wanting him to be in top shape. The other soldiers grew restless as they psyched one out. They went into circles staring at one other like vultures testing who was the quickest. Whoever blinks first wouldn't blink for weeks after.

A screech came from the soldier and he came after Bucky.

Now imagine a vicious lion combined with a cyclops coming at you. Bucky psyched him out and pivoted. That just angered him more since the battles never lasted more than a couple of minutes. This one was already the longest. The soldier turned slightly and looked over his shoulder and before he could do so Bucky had gotten close enough to kick the left of his knee in and he fell. It was as loud as the thunder when he did.

Although Bucky wasn't watching his feet and the soldier took his left foot and grabbed Bucky. He fell. The roar of the other soldiers boomed. His ears went out painfully, a ringing sound, and the rain flew harshly against his face.

He couldn't move, the wind knocked out of him that he couldn't breathe. He felt ashamed to have even thought that he could win. The black ceiling littered with golden beams.

The gold reminded him of the stars behind them, how someday he could be out of this dungeon to see them again. Abruptly all the ringing in his ears came back. He heard a low hum of breathing; he thought it was his own until he saw the beast above him. The soldier grabbed his arms and Bucky struggled even through his stupor. Bucky wiggled and tried to get out from his grasp but he was a god amongst men. Bucky then thought of how Steve felt when he'd get cornered in an alley and he'd come and save Steve from being killed. But Bucky didn't get saved. The barbarian struck Bucky over and over. The nurse would later tell him that she was surprised that he didn't have any brain damage. Bucky waved in and out of reality. Every time he tried to open his eyes it'd be welcomed with a fist. Bucky spat the blood out of his mouth onto the soldier. The soldier was just too strong. He was impossible to win against. The soldier rubbed the blood into his face and laughed. He leaned to Bucky's ear only so he could hear "puny."

Bucky screamed loud. Loud enough that the neighbors awoke from their sleep and he'd sure have a lot of complaints to address in the morning. In a split second, he found himself with his fist through the mirror, the glass falling every way onto the tile into the sink and toilet. Into the already damaged hand of his, the glass poked through his palm, and through the other side, the previous glass dug deeper into his flesh.

Severing the tendons. All he could think about was the pain of having to clean everything up. He didn't feel the pain he caused himself because that didn't matter. It made him feel the least bit human. Pain. Everything living thing felt alive and once he lost that. He'd feel like a complete and utter monstrosity.

He looked up from his hand and to the mirror. Shards still hung and it displayed a perfect depiction of what Bucky was. Damaged.

Bucky spent the rest of the night with a bandaged chin that kept bleeding like a waterfall. Hw picking out pieces of glass with the smallest tweezers known to man, that too ruby red water ran down the sides of his hand onto his bare beefy thighs and pooled in the middle of his palm.

He had calmed down after a couple of hours by sitting on the bumped-out window.

He often likes sitting there and watching the city. The cars zooming past the bright casinos.

The one thing he enjoyed the most was watching the constellations and making them out to be the things he liked. Often he'd see a star in the moon and he saw the shield.

He hated that one since it put him in the pain of remembering Steve and how he had no one.

He didn't need anyone. That's what he told himself but he was very wrong. His jacket was thrown over a wooden chair in the dining area. The sleeves of his henley rolled around his elbows showing the veins in his forearms.

He changed out his jeans for a random pair of dark shorts, he threw off his dirtied socks.

To say the least, he was at comfort for the first time this week. He started to read the book a little, the pages were torn and faded. Yori must've read this multiple times.

Bucky wondered why. The book was small and petite and was only a hundred or so pages. It was interesting, it was all about philosophy, it was written as if it was a big life poem.

He hated a lot of it but here and there were a few good points. He was about halfway through the book when a paragraph struck him.

Heart. Mind. Body. Soul. Great beings of life and they can only communicate by stars. Life and everything between can be carried through them. So if you speak to the sky of night. You will often hear a reply.

He thought of it as silly but then his brain began to wonder. What if he could talk to whoever he wished dead or alive. Just from talking to the stars. It seemed too easy and childish.

Although what did he have to lose the majority of the world hated him and the other half tolerated him.

He put the tweezers down and wrapped his hand with the bandage used to box. He had leftover wrappings since he used to do dirty street fighting when he got dumped from S.H.E.I.L.D's payroll.

He picked up the book that was under his thigh, holding the book open. He held it there since that was where the most light surfaced. He didn't exactly have the expenses to pay the electric bill so he always kept it off.

His eyebrows furrowed ever close as he came across a sentence he seemed to not understand.

The book looked like it shrunk in the size of his hand. His fingers twisted and ran over the cover and the letters on the page fell off onto his lap. The shorts rode up about mid-thigh and engraved their way into his skin.

He couldn't read anymore. He sighed when he read the same paragraph twice over.

All he could think about was being able to talk to Steve. He pushed it into the back of his mind, he carried the book carelessly in his hand, the feeling an odd one since he hadn't read anything for ages.

He walked over to his little place where he slept and laid down.

The news wasn't showing anything interesting. He became quite bored. He wondered if Yori was doing okay.

Maybe he should check up on him even if they weren't on the best of terms. He drifted in and out of consciousness, he played with the wrapping of his hand to try and keep him entertained.

He sat up against his wall observing everything around him how bland and monotone everything was.

He felt a buzz in the pocket of his shorts. He begrudgingly went to grab it. He didn't know who or why they were messaging him. Whoever it knew that it was just for emergencies.

He swears that he was going to murder Sam if he sent him one of the pictures with a caption that never related to the image. Sam said that supposedly there was a joke in the caption but that just made Bucky even more confused.

Bucky didn't know why he kept the phone. He never answers it and usually, he finds out everything he needs to know by watching the news.

When Bucky did finally open his phone to see the lock screen. He stared at it in bewilderment for a long while trying to make sense as to why someone messaged him.

He noticed that it was from an unknown number. That being said there was a one in a million chance for someone to know what his number was. He sighed he was going to have to change his number again. He was surprised what the message was.

"Hey! I had a wonderful time on our date today, I was wondering if we could go on another this week? If not I completely understand I'm new to this..um..blind dating thing. I really enjoyed meeting you instead of talking to a screen! Lol! Anyway, Ttyl!"

Bucky didn’t know how or what to feel. What date? Why was she (he assumed so since the person seemed vibrant and bubbly.) So happy to see him? He didn’t even know who this person was! A thought crossed Bucky’s mind.

Perhaps he could initiate the partner she went on a date with. He wasn’t exactly busy and had a girl on his arm. He realized that if he were to go on this hypothetical date that it would be very obvious that he wasn’t the man she was interested in.

He subconsciously stood up and paced his living room to his kitchen to and fro. The soft glow of his phone illuminated his face in the dark. It was wrapped tight in his metal fingers. The yellow stripes that were like a snake coiling around his arm grew more visible.

He threw his right hand into his hair, his henley slightly rising and showing a patch of skin between the waistband of his shorts and where the sweater laid. It allowed a drooling sight of a teasing view of his defined “V” of his hip bone that flowed below his shorts.

It's been a while since he felt any blood circulate under his shorts. He didn’t understand what this girl did to him but it got him going and that was certainly uncommon under his circumstances of life.

Don’t get him wrong back in his day he was a player. Now it's lessened to nothing. Not even dates, so this could be big for him. He stopped when he concluded. What the hell did ttyl and lol mean? It took an embarrassing text to Sam and Sam merely laughed at him and told Bucky to google it. That just made things worse.

What was google? He went through every single thing on his phone until he found the icon labeled google and he did google it. ‘Talk to you later and 'laugh out loud' Oh. Bucky was embarrassed how long it took him to figure that out.

He sloppily used both of his thumbs and stood in the middle of his living room texting out a reply.

'I'm totally down to go on another date with you, sweetheart."

He was proud of himself since he remembered Sam using the word totally in a sentence before. He was confident that the confidence and the suaveness from his past never left. And then the regret started to hit him with a bat.

Why’d he called her sweetheart? What if she didn’t like to be called that. God how could he be so stupid?! He started to give up after he didn’t seem to have a reply in his future.

He sat down, crisscrossed in front of his tv and his couch, and began to swim ever so quietly in his mind. His eyes burned with strain as he watched the bright screen in front of him. A festival celebrating the new captain he nearly lost his mind until he felt a buzz against his thigh and when he looked down he saw that the mysterious girl messaged him again.

He opened his phone to find three little dots appearing and disappearing continuously. He wondered what she was writing that required that attention to thinking of what she was writing to him. He wasn’t anyone special. He was a natural disaster but that was about the unique thing about him.

He grew impatient and shifted his weight every few seconds. He was very nervous about what she was going to say. He felt like a schoolboy asking out his crush and being afraid of rejection. Lord help him because he missed feeling something other than pain. Then another buzz ran up his arm and under his spine, it was the message she sent. It was short and simple of the lines of what remembered to be:

"..."

Bucky nearly threw his phone across his apartment. But then sucked a huge breath through his teeth when another buzz went through.

"It's just no one has ever called me 'sweetheart' before."

That made Bucky feel like he wanted to crawl into the deepest darkest ice chamber and live there for the rest of his life. This was it he destroyed his life by trying to flirt with someone hundreds of years younger than him. He exposed himself and he could never redo it. He should've known that this was a bad idea.

Technically he did but he just ignored it. How could he be so idiotic to spoil his chances of getting out of this cage of death. This was the epitome of a fish drowning. He was overreacting and hyperventilating solely because he doesn't know how to flirt like the modern age. He was doomed.

His fingers resisting the strength of his mind telling him not to type out sent her the message reading:

"Do you like being called sweetheart or do you prefer doll?"

He swore he died when he saw that he sent that. SWEETHEART AND NOW DOLL? He wanted to take a steaming hot bath and maybe splurge with bubbles and fall asleep and hey maybe he'd drown.

At this point, he didn't think it wasn't that bad of an idea. He put his palms on his forehead, his knees on his thighs staring at the pitch-black rectangle below him. Impatiently waiting for her response.

An on-set headache developing from all the stress he's had under the last thirty minutes. His heart jumped at the sight of the glow lighting up his screen. He quite literally jumped out of his sin to read it:

"You have no idea. It's way better than getting called mama and shawty by the fuck boys. Lol!"

Bucky was now in the crisis of not knowing what was a shawty and an *ahem* fuck boy. It was so worrying the amount of googling Bucky has done just talking to this girl. He noted to never call her..shawty or mama and to never be a fuck boy.

When he did figure out what those things were he wasn't exactly surprised. He was jealous and angry that she'd been called things that she didn't want. The feeling was common but never this strongly. It was an odd feeling it rose from his stomach to his throat and made it dry and hard to speak.

It made him clutch the sides of his phone so harshly that webs started to hatch from within the glass. His eyes cold and dead staring at the screen reading over her sentence once, then ten times over.

A little buzz came from his phone gasping for air from Bucky choking it out with his metal hand. (You wish that was you, huh?)

"I do love how polite and gentlemanly you are tho. It's hard to find guys like you."

Such short sentences made his heart gallop so fast in minutes. The logical side of his brain kept telling him that her compliments weren't for him but the attention for someone was much louder.

Maybe his old ways of flirting were beneficial, which caused him to be more at ease. His tensed shoulders relaxed along with his metal arm. Although his body felt he was burning alive. His free hand pulled his collar off his velcro skin, letting his structured collar bones come breathable. His breathing became shallow.

"It's hard not to be when you meet someone so radiant."

He didn't even know who this girl was but all he knew is that he didn't want to lose her and become utterly alone again. Not this time. His hair stuck to his face. He was going to have to take the coldest shower ever to get rid of her and even that he won't.

"LOL, Speak for yourself, I'm nothing compared to you."

He scoffed and typed furiously, how could she think such things about herself. He was deeply frustrated he didn't know why but he felt very drawn to her. He'd do anything in his power to just want her to promise him that she'd never leave him.

God, he sounded like a psycho and maybe he was. Maybe this was his last straw and when she'd break off he would too. He was so afraid of going back to the way things were to going back to being the winter soldier that he felt like he lost his mind trying to prevent it.

"Alright doll, how about this, we meet up this Friday for dinner and a movie at nine o'clock?"

He was scared that she would reject him. Fuck. She didn't even know what he looked like. What if she took one look at him and saw past his facade and into how broken he was and decided that no. All these feelings are what drew Bucky to stop searching and to think that he was a burden to everyone. Maybe that's why he felt the only place he could be himself was when he knew that he was 100% alone.

He huffed softly and threw his head back against the couch staring up at the ceiling once again. His Adam's apple bobbed as he listened to the soft murmur of the tv. All the world's troubles put onto Steve's back for years and he gets a little tongue-tied and that was it for him.

He needed help. He needed to get better. He laughed softly, his face breaking out into creases of his tanned skin, his lips parting and his teeth glowing against the white flush. He was insane and there was no going back. He laughed at himself for what seemed like an hour until he felt the familiar buzz against his heated skin.

"Hell yes man as long as we watch sharknado!"

Bucky's smile grew more and stretched his face into a radiance that made him look like he did when he was young.

Bucky didn't know what the hell sharknado was but he was glad to know she liked him enough to go on a date with him. Bucky Barnes had a date to go on Friday and he couldn't be happier. He didn't have any nightmares that night but he'd rather have a life-ending one than what he told Yori in the morning.

It was a couple of days after the fight with Yori. Bucky finished the book the day after he read it that's why he was here along with wanting to apologize for his actions at the restaurant. He was currently sat on the wise man's couch. His son's shrine right on the small table in front of him. He bit the inside of his cheek hard and let his eyes fall elsewhere. He was ashamed to have kept this secret for so long but he couldn't find a way to tell Yori.

"Yeah, hey I murdered your son but it was fine since I was brainwashed by wanna-be nazis?" He let out a small nervous laugh and ran a hand through his hair. Yori was going to find out somehow sooner or later. Bucky just hoped it was later. He didn't want what he had with Yori to end because of his past.

"What's worrying you?" Yori said softly as he walked briskly into the living room with a cup of green tea. He sat down on the couch on the right side of the Bucky. Nearest to the door. Bucky couldn't but think Yori was in some form afraid of him since he tested him that night at the restaurant. No one ever tried to test Yori.

Bucky was different. A way that Yori wanted to understand. But Yori saw the trouble of the glass downstairs when he went to put the trash away. The brand was still visible and Yori only knew one person who drank that. Bucky. Yori figured bad things came from it.

Partly the reason since he knew what came after from drunken mishappenings. Yori sat the green tea on the brown coffee table in front of them by Bucky and put his focus back onto Bucky.

"I asked a question," Yori said softly. It seemed that Bucky was in a trance his head downward and his eyes shifting searching for something maybe an answer to Yori's question but there were so many things going through Buckys mind that it'd take months for Bucky to explain to Yori everything.

Bucky looked up to Yori with a smile but in his eyes were nothing but disaster. Yori sat uncomfortably. He was disturbed not once in the few months of knowing Bucky did not smile.

Bucky ignored the question instead "I finished the book you gave me," Bucky spoke with a waver in his voice making him sound unsure. While he reached into his pocket to grab it Yori pursed his lips.

"I didn't want you to read it I wanted you to return it to the library," Bucky's smile faltered and his eyes dimmed even darker than the way they did before. "Oh" is all Bucky said before he put the book back into his jacket pocket. He messed with the wrapping on his hand that Yori took notice of. Bucky was acting odder than usual and Yori couldn't put his finger on it.

Yori took out a scratch piece of paper and handed it to Bucky. In scratchy handwriting, Bucky assumed it was another book 'life on mars.' Then Yori spoke up "Are you going to drink your tea if not I will," Yori jabbed a finger pointing to the white cup. Bucky cleared his throat "I'm not that thirsty,"

Bucky handed over the glass cup to Yori and he glared over to Bucky and he glared back. Yori smacked his lips together after he finished. "If you're here just to have a staring contest with me, then I'm afraid you'll be here for a very long time,"

Bucky readjusted his posture and breathed roughly. "I wanted to apologize for the way I acted at the restaurant. I know I shouldn't have lost my temper at something so minor."

Bucky stopped thinking of words to say he gave up. Yori got up and left the kitchen uninterested in Bucky's apology. His son's portrait started yearning to be alive again. He stared brutally into Bucky's existence. It asked to switch position with Bucky and Bucky swore that he was out of his body and then sucked back in when Yori started to swirl a spoon around the top of the lip of the cup.

"Sugar makes green tea flavorful," Yori sat down when he was finished he swirled it into the now full cup. Bucky guessed he made a few more for later. Yori came back up to the lip and dampened it with tea it made and a remarkably loud song.

Around and around it went putting Bucky into a trance his posture regained to straight and his shoulder back head high with eyes dead. "When my son, RJ, was one he used to sing this song 'a longing rusted freight car coming to an end where it went when the furnace descended.' it was quite a beautiful song when he sang it,"

Bucky heard bits and pieces before his brain went to a mush of the activation words being said in his head. "When he was nine had a tumor and we took him to the doctor but we found out it was benign."

Bucky couldn't hear. He couldn't see. The sky was filled to the brim with stars. The moon brightened and removed his appearance from the trace of a normal eye. He stepped carefully on the roof of the building. His suit blending him into the shadows. His hair stuck to his face closing him in and disguising him more than he already is. He saw RJ through the roof's window. This couldn't have gone more perfectly. He slipped behind one of the paintings and was quiet, his breathing irregular. He heard footsteps and assumed it was RJ and punched through the painting and grabbed tightly onto the neck of the man he mistakenly thought was RJ and tossed him back into the debris of the painting. A man came after him and he quickly threw the knife from the back of his belt and plunged it into the neck of his victim. Another man slammed into the stairway when he flew out of the painting the rest of the men flew down the stairs in pursuit of fleeing the winter soldier. As they shot at him he was faster and killed them first he jumped off the stairs and threw the other spare knife at the man in front of him. An old man grey in the green leather jacket he smashed against the wall even threw metal Bucky could feel the man's heartbeat quickening and then faltering to nothingness. "Hail Hydra'' The last words the man heard as he dropped from Buckys grip to a heap of a corpse in a matter of seconds. Bucky turned to his right and watched the RJ struggle to put the key to escape Bucky. Bucky wanted to laugh at how weak and puny his attempt was to get away; he was constantly looking behind him at Bucky. Closer and closer Bucky's strides were to capture his life. Bucky's shoulder swayed a demeanor threatened with authority and anyone who dared to test it would feel the stupidity of their choice. When RJ started to beg Bucky thought that was all he had in him. Bucky didn't care. He raised his hand and straightened it perfectly matching the hilt to the RJs head.

"I KILLED RJ!" Bucky yelled standing upright. Saliva flew onto Yori when he screamed. Bucky's metal arm was tightly tied around Yori's throat. Yori was in pure terror, his eyes wide, his hands in front of him wrapped around the metal as he leaned back to get away from Bucky as he confessed to him who killed his son.

His mouth was wide in shock gasping for air. Bucky's eyes widened in horror, his mind running thousands of thoughts per second he took his hand off Yori's throat and choked on air. Bucky stared down at his metallic pitch-black hand and then Bucky ran. He ran to his apartment. Hands in his hair pacing kitchen to the living room.

What the actual fuck did he just do? He felt tears brim his eyes and he couldn't believe what he just did. He ruined everything he worked for since Wakanda. His reputation was obliterated just like that in a matter of seconds. His breathing became ragged; he managed to take off his dark black leather jacket and tossed it to the couch.

The black t-shirt he had on raised slightly from his arms being on his head. His wrapped hand tore into his skin making him even more upset from the broken mirror in his bathroom that he still didn't clean up. The memory just kept running itself over in his head he couldn't stop thinking about it. Yori's reaction.

There's no way he'd be able to repair what he did to Yori and he'd had to live the rest of his life knowing how badly he fucked up. He wanted to so badly tear this goddamn arm off with everything he had. He remembered trying the old one off that Hydra gave him it never worked. He still had the deep gashes from his nails where they latched onto his shoulder.

The scars never really healed right, instead of being in the skin, they rose like mountains from it. Bucky clutched his head tightly, his form shaking with tremors. He just kept thinking of the word stupid.

"I, John Walker. Captain America has taken the super-soldier serum and in my disregard, I feel as if there are no consequences and it should be open to the public. And in retrospect of the world, I personally think that Steve Rogers was too soft on his components and since I have taken the serum I will no longer be tolerating the life of the terrorists. That being said I will in no regard will hold back. I will do everything in my power to rid this Earth of the monsters we know until their last god-ridden breath."

Bucky lifted his head from its place hanging down into his hands, his jaw gritted tight, his nose flared, and his eyes full of fury. John Walker. He was going to kill that man one way or another. Bucky was pissed so beyond natural anger that he stood up and walked straight in front of the tv.

This man was beyond no right in having that televised. What he said could destroy the world in an instant. Who or why did he get the serum from? And Bucky was the time bomb? Bucky closed his eyes, his hands turned into tight fists, and let the image of John Walker in an interview with a lady sat across from him at John's old school burn in his mind. The white noise of the crowd cheering John's opinion made Bucky's blood boil.

Bucky thought he had calmed himself until he opened his eyes he saw John look into the camera and point.

"The world would be a better place if there were more brave soldiers like me."

Bucky reared his metal fist back and pounded the tv until the screen was ridden of John Walker's face. Bucky came to the idea that when he got another tv maybe he shouldn't watch the news for a while. Glass fell on the table and pieces on the wood floor by his feet.

He fell to his knees. His knees cracked from all his weight on them with no support. His knees being crushed by the glass. His hands hiding his face from the world.

His cheeks and face grew warm from how he felt. His nose burned when tears started to fall ever so gently down his cheeks. Grey eyes becoming the most vibrant of blues. He choked softly, his throat closing as he sat there in the middle of his destroyed living room. His apartment is the greatest amphitheater in the world.

His shoulders rising and falling and stuttering when he gagged on air. He parted his hands from his face and sat upright. His hands fell into fists, his arms tensed and the veins in his neck pulsed when he let out a blood curdling scream. It was a long screech filled with his voice cracking his vocal cords giving upon him.

His tears despite his yelling still fell and stained his cheeks. He thought so many things at once and everything involved him being a monster. He was hurt and this was the worst self-harm. The arm was given to him and the brain that wasn't his own.

He decided that he needed to go on a walk to calm himself down. Maybe he'd go and return Yori's book. All he knew is that the world for Bucky Barnes was getting darker and worse by the day. Who knows how long until he loses who he is. But one thing was for sure. It wasn't going to be for long until he does.

He stayed home for the rest of that day. It was in the evening when he had gotten home from Yori's. He was still greatly upset by what happened. He couldn't think about it until he grew angry with a suicidal rage. He was alone. All over again the monster that kids are scared to go to sleep over.

He sat by the window again just in the same random shorts and no shirt out of fear of coating it in sweat. It was the least of his problems but it was still a burden. He wished he had something to listen to, his thoughts were so loud that he was surprised that mind readers didn't go deaf from it. He watched the people below him walk past the building complex.

Not batting an eye at the monster in the window above them. He wanted to laugh at how normal people were and how he was once like them but now turned into this creature. His shoulders broad and held his form up by the sides of his sculpted waist.

His legs crossed over another he leaned against the wall that joined the window in the corner. He sat across from the kitchen. His stomach growled at the thought of food, the last time he could remember eating something was at the restaurant and that was just a nibble. It wasn't like he could eat something. He never splurged on food, all the food he had was fruit sitting in a white complimentary bowl on the middle of the island.

He pushed his head against the wall swallowing thickly debating whether he should or not. He decided he didn't deserve it after what he's done. Disrupted from his thoughts he felt a buzz on his thigh in the pocket of his shorts.

He fished out the stupid little box and saw that it once again another text from Sam. He's been ignoring them since he's had Sam's contact; he deemed them not worthy of a response. They were all on the lines of are you okay? Bucky smiled at something so incredulous. He started typing out

Yeah. Just losing my mind but other than that I'm just fine. But went against it. When he read more of the missed messages one did pique his interest. Did you hear about the rumor of Steve being on the moon? Bucky's eyebrows furrowed and his face contorted. What? How could Steve be on the moon? Sam and he literally watched Steve grow old in front of them. How absurd to say that Steve was on the moon. But when Bucky thought more of it, it reminded him of what he read in the book.

Talk to the stars and they'll talk back. Bucky groaned in annoyance. Was this what he was resorting to in a desperate measure for interaction? Talking to inanimate things. He let out a deep breath his chest rose then fell shortly after. He closed his eyes imagining Steve back in Brooklyn and all the mischievous things they did.

He remembered the day Steve got rejected and then Bucky being deployed the next day. The day that started it all. The downfall of Bucky's life. Bucky didn't know what he would say to Steve but he thought he started out well enough.

"Do you remember when we were kids and we'd always have to act like we were soldiers because of you. God Steve even when we were kids you had your mind made up. Always wanting to be something when I couldn't even choose what cereal I wanted,"

Bucky stopped and thought over the words he said. It was true. Steve was always headstrong about everything he wanted. Bucky remembered that Steve was going to create this comic of this monkey who shot bananas out of a bazooka. And Steve did.

It never took off or anything it was just the thought of if anything Steve wanted he would never stop until he got it.

While Bucky always had his priorities elsewhere, the majority of the time he made Steve do his homework so he wouldn't fail. Two opposite people were the best of friends, who knew that one of them would turn out to be the villain.

"You know Steve I enlisted because I felt like I had to prove something, I had to prove that I was better at something than you. Just that one thing I ended up not even being better than you at."

Bucky's voice was dry and raspy when he spoke. The screaming fried his throat when he talked. It burned like a good bottle of Shōchū.

He'd kill for a bottle right now. He was starting to understand that this wouldn't work but he grew angrier at the thought of Steve trading him out for some girl. Bucky knew how much Peggy mattered to Steve but he still never got why he'd trade him out for her. He was jealous in a sense over the life Steve got.

"If I could I would change places with you in an instant, to be at peace. You got to live your life and I had to decay for years without my best friend. Maybe this was for the best so you couldn't see me become who I am now. Someone that we swore to never be ever since we were kids, the bad guy."

Bucky chewed on his lip after that. Til the end of the line his ass. Bucky ran his hand through his hair, the strands comforting his hand. He got up from the window and walked over to his little bed and went to sleep. The night's toll took everything out of him.

The only thing he currently wanted was this thing he had with this girl to be good. How wrong he was.

He decided that he was going to go and return the book Yori gave him. He still hated what happened and he knew trying to fix it would make it worse. The least he could do is get him the book he wanted. So Bucky put on his washed-out jeans, his shirt he wore yesterday, shrugged on his jackets and slipped his feet into his boots, and a black glove to hide his metallic arm, and went to the Library.

The library was a little old place with the roof caving in not far from the complex building. He wondered why Yori didn't just go and get it himself, Bucky didn't really care about having to go but he just wanted to know if Yori was okay and doing well.

Bucky went down the stairs and found a few remaining pieces of the glass bottle he broke last week. The memory of him falling and breaking it etched in his mind vividly. He felt a chill run up his spine at the feeling of someone seeing him like that.

He hurried down the last of the stairs and opened the glass door and went outside. The warm air wafted itself around him in a soft summer breeze. It was warm but not hot enough for him to go without a jacket and the chilly breeze lightened it up. It felt relaxing since he forgot how long it's been outside of his apartment.

He took long strides on his walk. But he couldn't shake the paranoia of being stalked. He was about halfway when he saw a shadow mock him. He walked faster not wanting to have to deal with this today.

The other person's shadow grew larger and bigger as Bucky walked further. When Bucky saw the library and a few he nearly bolted to the building. When he was inside he saw that it was just a lost dog. He was losing it. He sighed his mind relaxing and then jolting when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay mister?"

A warm voice made his heart pump faster than it already was he felt like he was going to have a heart attack. When he turned around he was met by easily the most beautiful girl. It was you. He thought in that instant that everything about you was perfect the way your eyes looked at him, the way your face was adorable, the way your hair fell behind your ears, the way your lips looked the most perfect shade along with your eyes. He promised himself when he got home that he'd paint his whole apartment that color.

He went cross-eyed from staring at the shape of your lips and how they shaped around the words he couldn't hear from being so entranced by you. He started to feel his heartbeat out of his chest. When he thought of how you'd look with pretty lips wrapped around him and dull bedroom eyes looking up at him through thick eyelashes. He needed to stop, he just met you and now he's so hard against his jeans that he was sure that he was bruised.

And your hands on his shoulders shaking him wasn't helping him. His trance was broken when he realized what was happening. "Huh?" That is all he managed to make out through his lust-clouded mind. You did this face that made him die, it was when your eyebrows furrowed and your lips went to one side pursed together. Your eyes were cut at him and he knew he was in trouble but he just couldn't help being enticed by you.

"I asked if you needed help," You stopped and wagged a finger in his way "You're all sweaty." He looked down at himself and you were right, his hair stuck down and his shirt showed pools. Shit. Way to embarrass yourself, Buck. You're sweaty, you're horny for some girl you just met. He was a trainwreck embodied. "I'm okay, it's just the heat," Bucky spoke with uncertainty. He had no idea what was happening why he was acting like this. He usually never felt like this around a girl, especially one he just met.

Your face was still cut, your lips went back into the fullness of how they are naturally. "Weird but okay." You spoke under your breath since it wasn't sweating weather outside. You were going to be the death of him and thankfully there were only a couple of other people in the library since it was the morning of a weekday.

"There's a cool spot where the ac is over there." She turned and pointed towards the left somewhere. He couldn't concentrate in the slightest even if he tried. And god your body from just the standard shirt and jeans you wore he felt his turn into skinny jeans.

"But anyway if you need me just yell, its y/n." And you left and when you walked away to assist someone else he got the perfect view of your ass. He scurried into the thick of the bookshelves and triple-checked if anyone was around him and adjusted himself.

It was so painful to not jump your bones right there. He rubbed his face with his hands and groaned. Get it together Buck. He realizes that he was going to have to go and talk to you again since he had to check the book in. He mentally stabs himself in the neck.

He calms himself down enough so that he could talk to you again. He feels like a prepubescent boy talking to his crush. Bucky guessed that he lost his cool with talking to girls over the years since he stopped. This was hell. You were at the front desk, the one in front of the door. You were reading some book that he didn't know.

He took a moment to admire the way your hair frames your face, the way your ass jutted out so you could lean over the desk on your forearms. Your free hand, the one not holding your page was used as a support beam for your face under your chin. God you were so beautiful, he hooked his finger under the collar of his shirt and started to flick it back and forth to generate air.

He was the human-dog drooling over a mate. He hated himself for not getting to know you and he already felt like this towards you. He was a monster but he wasn't impolite; he drew the line there. He was in the clouds that he didn't notice you staring at him with squinted eyes. "Can I help you, sir?" Your voice hung on sir in his mind.

He couldn't help but envision you beneath him moaning sir. "Uh, yeah, there's this book" He startled himself when his voice croaked out a response. He patted the pocket of his jacket and had a crisis when he thought he left it at home. But when he shoved his hands into his pocket he let out a smile of relief and grabbed it and slid it over to you on the other side of the desk.

"I need you to check that in and then" He stopped and searched for the piece of paper Yori gave him. He found it crumpled as lint in the bottom of his other pocket and the words faded. "Shit, uh, and check out this." He shoved his hands in his pocket and looked at his feet afraid of confrontation. You silently grabbed the book and checked it in and grabbed the note. You couldn't make out a single letter. Your eyebrows pinched together and when he looked up quickly and then darted his eyes away. He knew that you couldn't.

He wanted a sinkhole to open up and swallow him whole. You scratched the back of your neck trying to decipher the note "I can recommend something similar to the book you turned in, I'm sorry but I can't read this." You spoke with sincerity. And walked out behind the desk and poor Bucky followed you like a lovesick puppy.

You cursed Jordan, another employee for putting the desired book on the top shelf. The bookshelves were very tall and you weren't short but you weren't 7' foot either. You pinched your nose shutting your eyes and put a hand on your hip. "Do you see the book at the very top with the red back?" You muttered and Bucky looked up and saw the issue. "Do you want me to grab it for you?" Bucky looked at you with the softest eyes and you couldn't help but admire them.

You shook your head and lord you were about to melt. His body was brushed up against yours, you could've moved but you really didn't. You could feel the texture of his jacket against your soft skin and you cursed yourself for blushing. He took notice and let a small smile creep on his face when he handed you the book and your head was hung low when you walked back behind the desk.

Bucky guessed that he didn't completely lose his effect on girls. When you were checking out the book he noticed the book you were reading. It was The hobbit. He actually enjoyed the book when he read it when it first came out. He didn't take an interest in fantasy and so he shrugged it off until he actually read it.

When you stamped the books inside the page and slid it back. Bucky smirked "You know they all die in the end." The pure confusion on your face was amusing and with that, he left.

When he got home he started to feel the metal of his arm become rusted and thinking back it had been a while since the last time he cleaned it. He was wanting it to fall off so bad that he forgot he actually needed it.

He wondered where the girl went that texted him before. He didn't want to bother her by texting her first that to him was unnatural. It didn't bother him that much since he used to. And that the date was tomorrow so she would either show up or not and he'd suffer the consequences either way.

He went to the bathroom to grab the grease and a rag he uses every time in the cabinet under the sink.

He stopped shortly catching himself in the shattered mirror. The bandage on his chin began to fall off God forbid it started to at the library. He took it off slowly, the hair of his stubble getting caught in the crossfire. There was a bright pink little scar where the gash was. His skin healed relatively fast but it never cured the scars. He figured if his chin was healed that his hand should be.

He unwrapped his hand slowly for some reason he was scared of what it looked like. When he finally finished unwrapping his palm was littered with scars ranging in size. He touched the scars to see if they hurt with his metal hand and nothing.

Just a scar.

Bucky grabbed the grease and took off his jacket and boots and the first time he moved in he sat on the couch.

It was stiff as ever and it never got out of the store phase. He poured some grease on the white rag and it turned brown and he started to put it in the creases where he noticed it too slow. His mind ran back to you that never happened to him. God he was caught red-handed too, he'd have to take a very long and cold shower when he was done cleaning his arm. The rest of the evening all he could think about was what would happen tomorrow and how he'd destroy the girl of his dreams.

Bucky spent Friday constantly checking his phone for two reasons.

1) to see if his admirer would message him and

2) always checking the time.

He honestly couldn't wait; it's been forever and he was excited about something new. For change. The only source of entertainment he had was the book he checked out earlier. It wasn't the book he was supposed to get. The book in contrast was called American Psycho.

Bucky was about halfway and he fairly enjoyed it. Although it disturbed him since he found similarities in himself with Patrick Bateman. Bucky laughed at all the dark jokes and liked all the points where Patrick lost all sanity; it was the highlight of the book.

Bucky flipped one of the knives carelessly in the hand that wasn't occupied by the book. Bucky loved the power a single knife had. A single slip of the wrist could end something as fast as it began. Time flew by when simple hobbies turned into jobs. He cursed himself because it was seven o clock and he had only an hour to go to the restaurant which was the sushi place that he and Yori used to eat at.

He texted the directions to the girl, he grabbed his glove and jacket and shoved the knife in the back of his belt and fled down the stairs and out the door, and ran the rest of the way.

You sat at the small petite table, your phone clutched in your hand carefully watching the time. When it turned to 8:55 your gut twisted. Maybe he didn't like you as much as you liked him.

The waitress came by once again asking if everything was okay and if you'd like to eat and each time and you'd have to politely decline. You crossed and uncrossed your legs, they grew numb from you sitting in the wooden chair for the past hour. You didn't know what to wear so you opted for a sleek white dress and some heels.

You hoped you didn't overdress and make the wrong impression. You sipped on your water looking through the window to find any hint of your lover boy. You knew what to look for since you knew who it was. But maybe he didn't come and you were set up. How embarrassing this was. Yori told you that he was stubborn but he seemed pretty into you at the library. You know Yori through Leah, an employee at the restaurant who was a friend of yours.

She promised you that she would pay for your meal every time you ate there. How could you refuse? You sighed and began to get up and leave since you thought Bucky gave up on wanting to go on the date. You quickly sat down when you heard the bell of the door ring open and then there he was in all his glory.

Bucky Barnes, in the same leather jacket but you couldn't believe how good he looked underneath the dim light. His bandages were now gone and his face was sullen and structured from the shadows that made his face deepen. You smiled your ruby lips catching Bucky's attention and he hadn't seen something so pleasing to the eye in ages. Although he was confused since he didn't know that it was you who he was texting was there something going on that he didn't know about?

He pulled out the chair and sat across from you with his face stern. "Why didn't you tell me it was you that I was talking to?" He spoke slowly and his head tilted in question like a puppy's. "Yori told me about how you are with dating and he was afraid of you always being alone, and he gave me your number, I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

You fiddled with your fingers when you talked you were nervous about his reaction. You knew all about Bucky's reputation and embarrassing enough growing up you developed a crush on him, so you jumped for this opportunity.

You loved how strong and brave he was and even though he was brainwashed you thought of him as a good person. He chewed on the inside of his cheek thinking of what were the right words to say. "Just no more secrets from now on." With that, he waved down the waitress for a bottle of Shōchū.

After the half, the bottle was gone you couldn't help but be in wonder from how he managed to be able to drink all that meanwhile you were still sipping on your first shot. Every sip you took you gagged and your face turned into a kid who took their first sip of alcohol which made Bucky laugh.

Dinner was going along nicely there were many jokes and stories shared but Bucky couldn't help but be skeptical of how this could work. Bucky was severely messed up and couldn't care for another. He wanted to but he was just incapable, maybe he could just live this lie and things could be normal.

When they called for closure Bucky finished laughing at some remark you made, you and he were sat there talking for a couple of hours. It was just so easy to talk to him. Although you did notice a few times he would wince in pain and put his face in his hands. You thought it was odd but shrugged it off from his excessive drinking. Speaking of the devil he asked

"Do you want to go to my place. There have been complications with my tv so we can't watch a movie, but I can keep you company." You smiled a drunken buzz of Shōchū. Not nearly did you drink as much as Bucky but it was still written across your features. Your face flushed pink and your body made of jello hung off of Bucky's arm the whole walk to his house and Bucky every now and then had to pick you up.

Bucky didn't want to do anything rash to you but in the back of his mind, something kept itching it made it so painful that he couldn't ignore it. It kept making him shake his head and wince it was like a headache but much more painful. When he got into his apartment you took notice of what he meant by complications of a totaled tv. You shed off your heels and sat on the tv nervous to be in Bucky's house, your form off-putting to Bucky.

He sat down across the couch from you and he became hurt by you sitting so far away from him. "Are you scared of me or something?" He spoke grimly staring at the floor, his face holding no emotion to his words. "What? no!" You were shocked by his words. How could he assume that you were scared of him? Bucky looked your way and a strange look appeared in his eyes.

"Then why are you sitting so far away from me?" He gritted his teeth and his hands turned into fists, they were clamped tightly together on his thighs and this side of Bucky did scare you. He wasn't Bucky, he looked like him but his whole persona changed in the span of minutes. You wondered if it was something you said or did.

You became fearful when he fell off the couch onto his knees his head clutched in his hands. He started to scream not like the ones before this one was full of pain and torment. The moon's light made this scene unfold a lot more sinister. What was happening to him, why was he acting this way? Then all of a sudden he grew very quiet nothing could be heard other than your breathing.

You were confused and scared but you did care for Bucky and in his position, you assumed he was in serious need of help. You walked carefully taking notice to not step loudly to provoke him. You crouched down your dress falling over your feet, you reached your right hand out hesitant towards Bucky.

You stayed with your hand on his shoulder

"Bucky?"

You whispered softly, scared to disturb him. Everything was at ease at a calm one that felt too unrealistic.

That was true because a few seconds later Bucky grumbled out

"Who the hell is Bucky."

He slung around his body twisted and grabbed a knife from the back of his belt and stabbed you straight into the heart with it. Before you could even have time to run it was over.

The white of your dress now became a soaking deep red. The way your eyes forever open to the moon the way the moon took your life. And that day was when Bucky Barnes lost his sanity and forever came the winter soldier.

*A few months later*

She sat with her legs crossed, her hair tied up perfectly.

Her posture evenly to the ceiling while sitting. The only one that a soldier would perfect. She read over his portfolio over and over to get every last detail to stick in her mind so she wouldn't forget.

She breathed heavily finishing the last sentence. She took off her glasses and shut the case file on her lap, and put her right elbow up on the white seat, her glasses in the same hand.

She pursed her lips staring at the man in front of her and sat on the white couch in front of a forest mural. He was in all black a blank face, his hair a little longer and his stubble now thicker.

He played with the pink protruding scar on his right hand. Pushing and watching the blood rush to it. She wrote that in the notebook.

When he caught notice he stopped and tilted his head slightly. He narrowed his eyes and stared at her.

He was convicted of third-degree murder and numerous accounts of other convictions.

She thought over all the things that were stated in the portfolio but what struck her the most was that he drank excessively and faked being drunk just to feel

"more human."

She thought of a way to form a sentence to not upset him about what he's telling her to see if what he recollected matched what was in the documents but there was no easy way to do that.

She listened to him finish the last of what he was telling her:

"And that's how the story ended."

Fin.

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tomorrowsdrama · 3 years

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So the costumes in rebel princess are obviously beautiful and incredibly detailed. But I love that the costuming also informs us about a character’s social standing and for some characters, their state of mind as well. Or in Song Huaien’s case, how far into the dark side he’s gone. He’s really the inspiration for this post. As I was re-watching some of the early episodes while waiting for the new subs (shhh, I know I’m unhealthily obsessed with this drama), I noticed not only how drastically his costuming/hair has changed, but also that he’s pretty much a mirror of whoever he chooses to follow at the moment. Cheng’s very own Single White Female without the obsessive craziness, if you will. Delusional? Sure. But not quite crazy.

But first, let’s talk about the clothing of the noble class. I’m sorry for this thesis that I’m going to inflict on everyone that no one asked for. I’ve joked about the long trains on Awu/the nobles’ clothing before, but it’s clear that they are a sign of high status and wealth. The higher ranked/wealthier you are, the longer your train is it seems. Also, just in general, the nobles’ outfits usually include an abundance/overflowing of luxe silky and billowy material. See:

And the nobles can afford to have such styles of clothing not just monetarily, but also lifestyle wise. To put it bluntly, the nobles don’t have to do shit in their lives so they can afford to drag long trains of expensive fabric back and forth in their huge manors/the palace. These clothes aren’t for functionality, but for beauty/showing off your wealth (whether intentionally or not). If they need to go anywhere, they have comfy carriages to travel in instead of walking long distances. If they need something? That’s what servants are for. I mean, just imagine how cumbersome it is to move around with such huge billowy sleeves and six feet of cloth dragging behind your ass. You don’t have to imagine, just look at this scene where Daddy Wang visits Prime Minister Wen in prison (oh, how I regret taking this time for granted and condemning Daddy Wang for imprisoning that old fool):

Look at how his train drags over the threshold of the prison door. Daddy Wang literally has to lift his train and throw it over a bench in order to sit down.

The higher your status, the less physical activity you have to partake in a.k.a. the more useless you are, so it should come as no surprise that the longest train I’ve seen so far in the drama belongs to none other than our Useless Mopey Teenager Zitan:

The clothing choices are pretty deliberate, because whenever a character needs to do something more than just sit around enjoying tea (or wine if you’re Awu), they are given clothes that are more practical for moving around. Like the outfit Awu wore when she chased after her dad:

It’s much shorter than her usual garb and she’s wearing simple black pants underneath which makes horse riding and chasing after a traitorous father much more manageable.

What’s interesting is seeing the opposite happen with Hu Yao. Hu Yao is usually in very practical and simple clothing since unlike the rest of the nobles in the capital, she has to fight against invaders and protect Cheng. But when she goes to meet our Emo Emperor Zitan, of course she has to be dressed up in a big frou frou dress that makes it hard to walk:

It highlights just how impractical this type of extravagant clothing is for any kind of life other than a noble’s. Hu Yao can barely walk without tripping over her own dress, let alone fight. Also what the hell is that giant bow?

Now let’s talk about Daddy Wang’s clothes. So before he gets exiled for attempting a coup, Daddy Wang was arguably the most powerful man in court. He was the head of the Wangs, the most influential noble family in Cheng. The past 10 empresses of the empire were daughters of the Wang clan, and his sister, the current empress, listened to whatever he said (for the most part). Also his nephew wass the crown prince and easily manipulated. He’s also wealthy AF so his status and wealth was apparent in his clothing.

Look at the sheen on that fabric and all that intricate embroidery work! But then of course, he gets exiled and understandably has to put on some more humble clothing:

Simple, unembellished clothing made of coarse fabric that can withstand moving through the fields and rough terrain while you covertly make your way towards your disappointment of a son. What really sticks out to me though, is his wardrobe choice after he reunites with the turnip. Instead of going back to the lavish and ornate clothing he used to wear, he opts for an understated gray and black outfit with no long train in sight:

Turnip obviously can afford to put his dad in fancier clothing. I mean look at the gaudy over-embroidered monstrosity that he’s wearing. But it makes sense that Daddy Wang has now opted for something a bit more subdued and modest. He’s been defeated once and is no longer the powerful prime minister he used to be. Also, the Wangs do not hold as much clout as they used to because 1) empress has gone mad; 2) potato emperor is dead; and 3) the official head of the Wangs is now...Turnip.

But make no mistake, his clothes may be simpler than before, but they’re still made out of very nice materials. He is after all, still Daddy Wang. And Wang will rise again if he can help it!

Next we have the seagull. Ugh, yuck, gross, I hate her. Anyway, now that I’ve gotten the bad taste out of my mouth...So for the majority of the drama we see her in light pastel colored clothing with little to no make up as if to imply that she’s a sweet, innocent thing:

She’s also usually pretty covered up. But then she becomes Concubine Su (ugh) and all of a sudden she’s in bold colors, wearing red lipstick, and most noticeably, gotten very breast-y

Man, did Seagull make a wrong turn and accidentally stumble onto the set of The Empress of China? She’s definitely got the tackiness to fit in with them. This drastic shift in styling is clearly to signal to the audience that Seagull is now a seductress ready to do whatever it takes to hold onto that magical flute and never let go. Also, whereas before she was a snake hiding in the grass, now it’s all out in the open (at least to the Wangs) just like her bosom.

Look, she even gets her own long train to reflect just how useless she is.

And finally, we have Song Huaien, Cheng’s very own Single White Female who molds himself to whoever he happens to follow and takes on their personality and principals (or lack thereof).

In the beginning, he is stuck to Xiao Qi’s side like a shadow, dresses similar to him, and even wears his hair like him. He’s like the kid brother who copies everything his cooler older brother does because he looks up to him.

Notably, he’s the only one in the Ningshuo crew who wears his hair down with a half bun, just like Xiao Qi. Hu Guanglie (RIP best bro) is XQ’s oldest friend and literally devoted his life to him, but he’s also his own man and did not need to copy XQ. He never wanted to be him, he only wanted to serve him.

If you didn’t pay attention, you wouldn’t be able to tell who’s who.

When you follow a brave, honorable general who’s sex on legs, you too will be a brave, honorable and sexy general. Song Huaien never looked better than when he tried to emulate Xiao Qi.

Interestingly, when Song Huaien goes off with Awu and starts to fall for her, he also starts to incorporate some color into his previously all-black wardrobe. I guess spring arrived in his heart even though it was the cold winter:

Hm, now I’m starting to wonder if a part of his crush on Awu wasn’t influenced by his desire to be like XQ a little bit. And then, sigh, he starts to get tempted by the riches of the capital city and the internal shift in his character is materialized externally through how he wears his hair in his first appearance in court:

This is the first time we’ve seen him wear his hair in any style other than the usual loose half bun. And of course, his top knot conforms and fits in with how the rest of the ministers wear their hair. Now contrast that with Xiao Qi who only wore his hair in a top knot once:

and then promptly went back to his usual hair style:

Sure, he looked good with the top knot (when does he never look good), but it wasn’t him. Unlike Song Huaien, XQ is secure in himself and knows who he is. He is not easily swayed or corrupted. That is why he is able to remain just like how he always has been, internally and externally.

The next change we see in Song’s appearance is his armor. Now that he is Count Suyi, his armor is noticeably more ornate. Unlike XQ’s armor, which remains pretty much the same barebones armor we’ve seen since the beginning, Song’s gets fancier and fancier as he gets more lured in by the nicer things in life.

At this point, his hair is still down like before. But then the next time we see him after his wedding, his hair style is changed into a high ponytail:

Which is a very good look, don’t get me wrong, but it is again another physical representation of the change happening in Song internally. It’s kind of a weird limbo he’s in because it’s not completely a top knot, but it’s definitely neater and closer to a top knot than his previous hairstyle. At this stage, Song hasn’t completely crossed over to the dark side quite yet. He’s still kind of wavering and going back and forth. So a high ponytail that is a shift from his prior hairstyle but not quite the same as the nobles’ hairstyle makes sense. He keeps this look for a while and even momentarily goes back to his less fancy self while dealing with the floods away from the capital. That is, until he joins hands (or is it roots?) with Turnip and it’s all downhill from there, character-wise and also appearance-wise.

First, we have this very ill-advised mustache and goatee which mimics the same facial hair Turnip all of sudden started sporting:

Matching facial hair to commemorate their entry onto the shit list, perhaps? Anyway, turns out facial hair isn’t for everyone, including Song Huaien. But this isn’t even the worst of it. As Song Huaien continues his descent into being a greedy, spineless, puppet for Turnip (HIM of all people! or should I say, of all root vegetables?), he gets uglier and uglier. I mean:

He looks downright haggard and as if he aged 20 years overnight. Notably though, he looks exactly like the rest of the useless ministers in court. He has definitely lost the sheen, vigor, and hotness that he once had when he was following XQ. It’s as if the ugly inside is reflected on the outside as well.

I guess when you follow a weaselly coward like Turnip, you too will turn into a weaselly coward. Oh Song Huaien, Song Huaien. What a disappointment you turned out to be, you dumb, greedy bastard.

#categorize this under things that pop up in my head late at night #monarch industry #the rebel princess #cdrama

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s-k-y-w-a-l-k-e-r · 4 years

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My GIF making process!

I’ve been asked many times for a tutorial, but because I get really detailed, I always get overwhelmed by the idea. But I finally decided to buckle down!

Just so you know: I don’t use PSDs in this, and I don’t import layers to frames or anything like that. I like the hard way—at least in gif making, I believe you get higher quality gifs. Join me as I show you how to make gifs by loading videos directly into the Photoshop timeline and my coloring and sharpening techniques.

Tools used:

Mac OS X (only necessary for the first step, and there are other ways around it with a PC)

Adobe Photoshop

YouTube Purchases (any streaming service will work)

Topics covered:

Obtaining the Source Material

Loading the video file into Photoshop

Prepping, Cropping, and Resizing the Media

Adjustment Layers

Sharpening

Exporting

Obtaining the Source Material

There are a few different methods for obtaining video to work with. Proper YouTube videos are nice, but finding any major motion picture in that format is difficult, if not illegal.

Once I realized I could get really great quality video by doing screen recordings from streaming services, I stopped worrying about finding (and pirating) high resolution video files. So now, I just go to whichever streaming service I need to, pick out the movie or show, find the spot, and record small snippets.

Mac screen recording instructions:

On a Mac, Command+Shift+5 will bring up the screen recording dialogue.

Resize the frame of what you want to record within the browser.

Go to a second or two before, press the “record” button, and then begin playing the video, remembering to keep your cursor out of the recording box.

Use the Space bar to pause your video when you’ve gotten the snippet you need. Stop the screen recording by clicking the ⏹ button that is in your menu bar at the top of the screen.

Important: when the recording appears in the bottom right of your screen, click on it, and then trim the video on either end. This will help your computer convert the video file to the type that can be opened by Photoshop.

Click “done” and it will appear on your desktop, ready to be used!

PC Users: ??? Here’s a Google search I did for you

Loading the video file into Photoshop

Lots of people use this process for making gifs (a great tutorial!). I didn’t even know it existed until last summer, when I’d already been giffing for years. I wish I could still do something like that with these screen recordings, but the files are absolutely HUGE, especially on Macs with double retina displays, which actually increase the dpi by a lot. Making screencaps of them fills up my hard drive, almost immediately—even when I’ve got 20 gigs of free space to work with. So what do we do? We just. Open the file. In Photoshop. Et voila!

You can do this with any type of video, not just screen recordings.

Prepping, Cropping, and Resizing the Media

When Photoshop loads your videos up, it makes the video hilariously fast (something about frame conversion). You must slow it down for it to look natural. THIS MUST BE DONE BEFORE YOU RESZE. Your Photoshop timeline window should be at the bottom of the screen. See that little triangle in the top right of the video?

Click on it, and a menu will appear to change speed and duration.

Change the speed first- usually between 80-85% will seem realistic. (I actually went a little faster than I usually would on this at almost 86%—I don’t recommend this)

Press the button next to duration and pull the toggle all the way to the far right (if you don’t do this, full length of the video will be cut off).

Now you’ll want to crop it. Ever since Tumblr upped its GIF size limit, I have been playing around with 7:5 ratios, but let’s go with 3:2 for now. Use the Crop tool, pick out 3:2 in the top left (it may say 2:3, but you can switch that) and then find the most suitable spot in your gif for that. Hit enter on your keyboard.

Some things to keep in mind when cropping:

Most videos come in 16:9 ratio (BoRhap is even wider). If it’s a wide shot, you’ll need to do the full 16:9 to not lose anything. Of course, experiment and find what’s right for you!

As you can see above, I moved forward in the timeline and made the crop to a point in the video when the broadest movement was happening.

Certain videos WILL have a black or red bar that may be imperceptible until you’ve already exported the gif. Just crop in a little tighter on top and bottom to avoid them.

Now you’ll need to resize your gif to be the correct size for Tumblr. If you don’t use Tumblr’s exact dimensions, your gifs (as uploaded) will appear blurry or pixellated. We’re doing a full-width gif here, which is 540px. On a Mac, I use Command+Option+I (for “Image Size) to open the resize dialogue. You can also find it under Image->Image size...

Make sure to also have “Resample” checked. Lately I’ve been playing around to see if different options are better. Most GIF makers use “Bicubic Sharper (Reduction)” and they are not wrong to do so. I’ve just been unhappy with it lately, so I have been trying this other setting out, “Bicubic (smooth gradients)”.

Click OK. A dialogue may come up that asks if you want to convert to a Smart Object. The answer is yes, okay, do it. The only major caveat is that you can’t go back and change the timeline speed. That’s why we did it first. But you can preview the speed now that it’s smaller, and if you don’t like it, use Command+Z (or “Undo”) and go back a couple steps to get the speed you like.

You may find, especially on a Mac screen (and possibly other displays), that at 100% your gif looks too small to be 540px. That is the curse and blessing of working with super-high resolution hardware. Zoom in to 200% and proceed about your business. This is what it will look like on Tumblr.

You may find it helpful at this point to begin by defining the beginning and end of your gif by moving around these bumpers. It’s safe to keep gifs under 02:00f in length. Under half of 01:00f will be way too short. (I tend to overshoot in length and then trim the beginning and the end once I see how big the gifs are upon exporting.)

Adjustment Layers

Now the creativity and fun begin!

There are a LOT of ways to get creative here. I’m going to keep it simple, very simple, but I strongly recommend opening up a new adjustment layer of each type and trying to figure out what each does!

You’ll find the adjustment layer menu at the bottom of the Layers window.

Curves

There are a lot of ways to make Curves work for you! It can do the job of Brightness/Contrast, it can do Levels, it can do Color Balance! We’re going to use it mainly to help with brightness here, but also to level out some of the tones. One of the quick tricks you can do is use the droppers on the left side of the Properties window. There are three- one with a white tip, one gray, one black. These can help define what your white tones are (and whether they need to be more of one color or another), and so on with your blacks. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t; in this case, I think it doesn’t:

That looks totally blown out and somehow also too dark!

So instead, we’re going to use that little hand with the finger pointing out and some arrows pointing up and down. This lets you define which sections you want to get brighter or darker, and how much. It doesn’t do color correction. In the example below, you can see I dragged up on a white spot and down on a dark spot. Then, I moved points around on the curve itself to refine (which the gif here doesn’t show...).

Vibrance/Saturation x2

Next, I’ve been using @gwil-lee‘s Vibrance/Saturation trick (I know you said you learned it from someone else, but I learned it from you!).

Create a Vibrance Adjustment layer, bump the values up a bunch, and then change its Fill to somewhere between 2-9%. Change the Blend Mode to Color Burn. Then make a copy of that layer keeping everything the same, but make it Color Dodge. I can’t quite define what these do, but it makes it punchier!

Color Balance

Most people are familiar with this. For this gif, I’m going to make the shadows more Cyan/Blue and the highlights more Red/Yellow. Just a few points each.

Exposure

I brought the Exposure up a bit, but not enough for you to need to read about, haha.

Selective Color

Here’s where you make fine adjustments to colors. This particular scene is extremely simple, color-wise, so keep it simple. I’m going to bump up the cyans/blues, take up the black by just a point or two, and maybe bump up the yellows and reds a tiny bit. (And as always, remember, the “opposite” of cyan is red, the opposite of magenta is green, and the opposite of yellow is blue. CMY/RGB!)

I think at this point I’m going to call it with the adjustment layers. You can go absolutely hogwild with more of them! But at this point, I’m ready to start sharpening!

Sharpening

I do three sharpening filters these days. These are all under Filter->Sharpen. Make sure your media layer (default called Layer 1) is selected as we go through this! (Also, this can really take a toll on your processor, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

Sharpen- This layer does the basic job

Smart Sharpen (Amount: 10%, Radius: 10, Reduce Noise: 4% Gaussian Blur)- This layer gives texture

Smart Sharpen (Amount: 500, Radius: 0.3, Reduce Noise: 12% Gaussian Blur)- This layer gives refined sharpening and smoothing

Fiddle with these as needed! Let your gif play all the way through- this may go slowly as your processor works on it. Make sure the beginning and end points make sense.

Exporting

After You’re going to have to use File->Export->Save For Web (Legacy)... or use the shortcut of Shift+Option+Command+S. This could take some time for the dialogue to pop up! Be patient.

In my opinion, these are the best gif export settings for crisp edges and no noise:

Now you see how big the file is in the bottom left. Tumblr won’t let you upload anything bigger than 10MB and it’s safer to stay under 9MB, in my experience. When your gif is too big, you have a couple options. You can close the dialogue and change the length of your gif.

OR, you can uncheck “Interlaced” and bump up the lossy to 1 or or more. This will create noise. Sometimes, that’s a good thing!

Here’s without lossy:

Here’s WITH lossy: (Honestly in a fast moving gif like this, it’s almost imperceptible, but I can see it!)

And now that I’ve exported, I can see what there’s a little black line on the bottom! So I’m going to trim that off and call it good! You can see the full gifset here.

Hope you enjoyed! Reblog if you try this out or learned anything. Feel free to reach out with questions any time!

#gif tutorial #tutorial #creator tag #my gifs #rami malek

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bang-and-a-blintz · 4 years

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Through the Darkness

CHAPTER TWO - DEJA VU

Fandom: Dracula (2020)

Relationship: Dracula/Roxana(OFC)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,999

Holy shit it was getting hot in here, Roxana thought as she wiped her face with the crisp white towel and then tossed it on the table with a sigh. Even though it was starting to freeze outside, her kitchen was scorching. Absently, she hoped that the pipes wouldn’t burst again, which had already happened twice this winter.

All the food was prepped and ready for the guests that evening, she went through and turned up all the ovens so they’d be set by the time everyone would begin to arrive. Roxana glanced at the clock and then looked over the menu once more before grabbing her jacket and walking out back to smoke a cigarette.

“Well this cold weather can kindly fuck right off.” She grumbled, fighting the wind to flick her lighter. After a few more clicks and curses, she succeeded and took a long drag. She exhaled slowly and closed her eyes for a moment, leaning back against the back door.

It had been many long years of busting her ass to get to where Roxana was today: the proud owner and executive chef of her own thriving restaurant. She should feel carefree as usual. But there was just something off about this night, she couldn’t help but to feel on edge all day long and when she brushed it off earlier, she was unable to shake the intensity in which it grew.

Thus the cigarette. Roxana usually tried to moderate her vices, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t chief down almost an entire pack already that day.

“Bitch I thought you quit smoking!” So much for a moment to herself.

Roxana turned to see her sous-chef walking towards her, all bundled up so that no inch of skin showed, and he was shivering quite dramatically all the while glaring daggers at her. “Look at you being on time! Guessing the streetcar froze up and left your cheap ass with getting a cab?”

“Ha fucking ha.” He burrowed even further into his down jacket and impatiently waited for her to move away from the door, “That streetcar was packed up tighter than Cooter’s on a game night, baby, I nearly had to fight someone’s granpaw to get up in there. Honestly now, what could be so urgent? He ninety. Well? Are you gonna fucking get out the way or what, Rocks? I’ll be no use to you with frozen fingers, I’ll tell you what!”

She chuckled and tossed the butt in the trash before gallantly opening the door. He wasted no time rushing in and placing his hands close to the ovens. Al Patrone had been her kitchen partner at their previous job and if it had not been for his endlessly entertaining sass, she would have never made it in that horrid place. They became thick as thieves from years of bickering back and forth over the fires.

So it was no surprise that when Roxana told Al her plans to start her a new restaurant, he immediately pick up his knives and followed her out. Even though he had been with the establishment for nearly a decade, Al didn’t bat an eye when he gave them the finger and left. The owner was a xenophobic and misogynistic piece of shit anyways. Fuck him.

The idea was presented to her, Roxana somehow ended up in the right place at the right time, because that’s how these things usually happen. While she was throwing back tequila shots at the Monteleone, she met some famous actor - not that she gave the damn, his name was Tom…or was it George? - they chatted the evening away. The next day she invited him to the restaurant she had worked to show him some local cuisine.

Even though he was positively salivating over her seared pompano, the man constantly bemoaned to her about the lack of small and intimate restaurants in New Orleans. He wasn’t wrong. Most of the fancy to-do joints all sat three to six hundred people a shift and seemed to have a turnover rate higher than a pornstar.

The guy basically wanted a butler and in-home chef, but not actually be at his home. To all the peasants working in the food industry, the idea was laughable.

“Oh and how would I keep up the bills with serving just one table a night, huh?” She had huffed and signaled for another round of shots. “Seems like some whimsically ludicrous pipe dream to me.”

He had looked her dead in the eye, suddenly sober enough for the moment, “If you can cook the way you do in this shit hole, then darlin’ I can only imagine what you could whip up when you’ve got nothing holding you back. I know people who would pay the building’s rent in a single night after eating just one of your meals. I’m fucking serious.”

Who was she to deny that sort of opportunity?

Roxana had gotten a steal of a deal on the building and simply fell in love with the neighborhood. It was in the Irish Channel down closer to the river with a breathtaking view of the Crescent City Connection bridge. The property was an old Spanish colonial styled building with dark red stucco that faded in areas revealing the old brick beneath. High white arches lined the front entrance, the gas lanterns flickered shadows against the ceiling and danced when the large canopy fans spun lazily.

It seemed to almost slink into the darkness of the night, hiding in plain sight amongst the other homes on the street. The large and ominous oak trees stood guard out front, their branches were natural curtains and their roots fenced in the broken sidewalks like a front yard.

The interior was a stark contrast with light gray brick walls with natural reds scattered across, aspen wood flooring, and industrial piping that lined the walls with vintage light bulbs. Very bright and open in a comforting coffee-shop sort of feel.

There was just one large black table that severed the room in half. The chairs assembled around the exterior of the rectangle while the inside had a long walkway down to the front. Similar to hibachi-style but instead of the large grill top, there was an empty space that allowed Roxana and Al to personally serve each dish directly.

In the back, the kitchen gleamed and sparkled, the burners all neatly arranged on the large island in the middle of the room reflected the lights above and glimmered like diamonds. Roxana would meticulously scrub everything down every night before finally closing so it would always remain spotless.

It was simple and elegant, intimate and relaxed. She put her blood, sweat, and tears into the remodel and hoped beyond all hope that it wouldn’t all have been for nothing. Roxana had a strange sort of optimism about the project, something she had never felt before, and so she decided on naming her restaurant Sanguine.

True to her friend’s word, he made a few calls to some of his famous friends and told them to come down. One thing led to another and it blew up. These prominent and wealthy clients started to come in droves, they craved the exclusiveness, and they would happily pay beaucoup money for it. It all worked out flawlessly.

They decided on hiring just a hostess and valet, while Al helped Roxana run the kitchen and service. She took good care of her employees and in turn they treated her with the utmost respect, making sure that everything was impeccably done and ran smoothly.

That was three years ago and business was still very much booming.

“Are you gonna stop daydreaming and help me whip up these fucking cakes?” Al shouted over the music that he insisted on blasting full volume as soon as he put on his white double-breast chef jacket.

“Oh calm yourself before your sweat ruins my recipe.”

Al’s eye grew wide in offense, “My sweat would give this bland shit some real flavor, honey.”

Roxana barked out a laugh and grabbed a bowl. The two friends began to work together in easy synchronization. Shortly after, the hostess named Angeline peeked into the kitchen to tell them that the guests had begun to arrive and then returned to start seating.

Al finally turned down the tunes to a reasonable level for a restaurant, but there was still a ringing noise echoing in Roxana’s ear. She shook her head and pulled the amuse-bouche out of the oven.

They were having a smaller table than normal this evening with only five people, some local politicians that she had served before - the mayor, his wife, his popular defense attorney buddy, and two other names that she did not recognize.

While they put all the finishing touches on the first two courses, the chefs could hear the absent chattering and boisterous laughter of their guests. However, one voice in particular caught their attention with its luscious baritone.

“Well hello there.” It was slightly muted behind the walls but the British accent was unmistakable. Al looked over to Roxana and waggled his eyebrows, she laughed and waved him off.

“Good evening, sir, you must be Mr. Balaur. We’ve been expecting you, please come in!” Angeline’s cheerful voice lilted at a slightly higher pitch than normal.

Al elbowed Roxana, “You know what that means, baby girl, we finna have a looker!”

She wiped away a smudge on the plate before nodding in satisfaction at the finished product, “What about that frenchman with the yacht last week you were schmoozing?”

“Rocks, please, that boy was twink-city-slams and should’ve stayed over at Tulane by them frats.” Al finished decorating with a little dusting of paprika on the remoulade and sighed dramatically, “I have moved on to bigger and better. Just need to pop down to Oz and find myself a daddy.”

“What you need is therapy.”

“I already have a therapist.” Roxana rose a brow, her smile crooked goofily at her eclectic friend’s antics. Al popped a hip and gave her a look over his shoulder, “And her name is tequila, baby.”

She laughed openly and smacked him on the arm, “Alright, alright, let’s get this dinner going, you scoundrel.”

They filled their arms with plates and made their way towards the dining room.

With every step, the ringing in her ears grew louder and louder. Roxana frowned and tried stretching her shoulders to shake it off, but no avail. The two turned the corner and placed the plates down in front of each guest, then took a step back to politely let the clients quiet their conversations.

As the chatter died down, Roxana could still only hear the roaring sound that permeated the cavity of her brain. Her arms lit up with goosebumps. What the actual fuck is happening? Her mind was frantic as she looked around at the faces of those dining, a chill crept up her spine in anticipation, and the hairs on the back of her neck shot straight up when her eyes met the sight before her.

Then everything was silent. Save for her heartbeat, which suddenly spiked as if she took off for a marathon. Thump, thump, thump, thumpity.

“Oh fuck.” She didn’t even hear herself whisper.

But it caught the man’s attention and drew it from the woman seated next to him, his head tilted and ears perked at the sound of the beating drum within Roxana’s chest.

Slowly, he turned his gaze towards her with a lazy smirk that almost immediately slipped from his face as hers came into focus. His jaw dropped slightly, gaping like a fish out of water for a moment before his eyebrows furrowed and his dark eyes softened in wonder. “Agatha?”

#dracula x ofc #dracula bbc #claes bang #yay chapter two!#i got distracted with this mans face and forgot to upload #can't even be mad #through the darkness

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bhandarimarblekishangarh · 4 years

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GRANITE- THE SUPER STONE

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WHAT IS GRANITE?

Granite is a natural stone that is quarried in many countries around the globe. Granite and Quartzite are the names that are used interchangeably wherever stone tile and slabs are sold. True Granite is a porous, igneous rock that has any number of chemical compositions that include a quartz base. Quartzite is a metamorphic rock that has a higher percentage of quartz in its chemical makeup than granite does. For the record, true quartzite is harder than true granite. But, don’t get too caught up in the name of the stone because regardless of which it is, geologically speaking, it has the same purpose.

TYPES OF GRANITE

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DETAILS OF SOME COMMON TYPES OF GRANITE

WHITE GRANITE

White Granite is harder to find than black or brown granite. All granite and Marble gets its name from the background color. Some white granite slabs have veins similar to marble while others may have a spattering of freckles in either brown, gray, black or red and may include a sprinkling of blue throughout. White granite is a granite that is composed primarily of quartz minerals. The small black specks in the granite above are likely small amphibole grains.

RIVER WHITE GRANITE

River white on shaker style cabinets with laminate floors that look like hardwood. Since this design can be stretched along the length of the kitchen work surface, it can make any countertop look longer than it actually is. Like the currents of a river, you’ll find that the sweeping lines of this white granite countertop perfectly complement any kitchen design.

KASHMIR WHITE GRANITE

Kashmir white granite with a glass tile backsplash and chrome faucet. If you’re looking for a white stone with just a bit of texture, choosing Kashmir White Granite is an excellent choice. The salt and pepper look of the stone discreetly cloaks small countertop messes, which are harder to hide on light monochromatic countertops that have less variation. If you’re having trouble finding it at your local stone yard cotton white is a similar alternative.

HIMALAYAN WHITE GRANITE

This stone is one of the most greys of the white choices, which means it would add contrast to any light-colored kitchen. It has even been used by some designers as a marble substitute for projects with a lower price point. It’s one of the cheaper options on this list, which means you can start your remodel immediately without any regrets. So if the stone you pick is completely black it’s likely gabbro, which makes for an excellent kitchen work surface, but you should know that all black slabs aren’t really granite even though that’s most likely what they are being called.

ABSOLUTE BLACK GRANITE

This is the purest black granite that you’ll find, with little to no traces of any other colors found in it. Absolute black is a great choice to create the high contrast black and white kitchen you may have been daydreaming about and it looks great polished or honed.

BLACK GALAXY GRANITE

Black galaxy is the perfect name for this variety as it channels the look of a rural night sky. With small white flecks resembling the stars, this is a more family-friendly choice than absolute black since the flecks will help mask any messes and smudges, much like Ubatuba does.

BROWN PEARL GRANITE

Brown pearl granite counters polished to a highly reflective surface with a glass tile backsplash and chrome hardware. These brown pearl counters are polished to such a highly reflective surface you can see the faucet in them. For those looking for something, a bit on the wild side, brown pearl granite is a great choice. Brown pearl incorporates brown, black, and white to create a look that nearly resembles a mosaic and looks much more expensive than it actually is.

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FINISH OPTIONS

For even more options, any slab can be finished in a variety of different ways. Finish Options • Polished • Leathered • Honed • Flamed

Polished A polished finish can bring elegance to the look by giving off a reflective mirror-like finish to the stone.

Leathered A leathered surface is textured and is not glossy at all. They’re great if you’re concerned about etching or staining because the imperfections will be less noticeable.

Honed A happy medium between polished and leather is honed. Honed finishes are smooth, matte finishes, that may still be slightly glossy depending on when the fabricator stopped working the stone. Like leather, honed is also a great choice if you want to hide any wear and tear the stone may endure. This honed work surface will hide wear and tear much better than a polished one.

Flamed Flamed has a bumpier finish that is perfect for any heavy-duty usage from outdoor kitchens to shower flooring. Granite is the most versatile and budget-friendly choice of any stone, which makes it the perfect way to add luxury to your home. Tags: Granite, Imported Marble, Indian Marble, Italian Marble, Onyx Marble Marble and Granite One of Our Premium Products

About Various Type of Marbles, Stone

Kitchen countertops have a great impact on the value of the home, so it is important to choose just the right material for you and any potential homebuyer when the time comes. Granite countertop is a top favorite for many people, so that is a safe choice. The problem is granite comes in a wide range of colors and patterns. They range from neutral colors such as white, black, and brown to exotic and bold colors such as reds, greens, and blues. It can be hard to choose the right one that will show your kitchen in the best light, and you have to get it right the first time because it is a considerable investment. Fortunately, there are some tips you can follow to help you through this difficult time. granite countertop that matches the dominant color of the kitchen Designers often choose one element as a basis for creating a color scheme for the kitchen. When choosing granite, you have two choices. Pick out the primary color in the granite that best matches the dominant color in the kitchen, which is usually the cabinets, or go for a subtler approach by finding matching veins or streaks. For example, if you have white cabinets, you can choose granite with a white background or with white veins.

Pick a pattern modern kitchen with stunning granite countertop Most people focus on the color of granite to pick the right one, but the pattern can actually be a better hook in some cases. If you have a colorful or rather busy kitchen design, you might want to choose granite with a more or less solid look as a contrast. On the other hand, if you have a monochromatic or simple kitchen, choose granite with a flamboyant pattern. For example, if you have Shaker-style or flat-panel cabinets, a marble pattern can provide a good accent for it. Consider some popular pairs oak cabinets with dark granite Some pairings just work for some reason. You can use that to get some inspiration when choosing granite countertops. Here are some tried-and-tested pairings to get you started: • Very dark hardwood cabinets i.e. mahogany and gold or neutral granite countertops • Lightwood Granite black or other dark-colored granite • Deep brown cabinets and green-hued granite • Rich red cabinets, i. e. cherry and white, green, or earth tone granite Some rules of thumb

If the above tips are not really helping, check out some rules of thumb for granite colors below. Black granite black granite countertops It will not always work, but if you have a neutral or monochromatic kitchen, black granite will usually give it an elegant look. This works best in large or well-lighted kitchens because black granite usually has a good sprinkling of white or silver specks to reflect the light. If you have a smaller kitchen, you can still use black granite if you pair it with white cabinets. The black will make the white float and make it the focal point of the kitchen for a modern look. Black granite is not true granite, but a granitoid, most probably gabbro or basalt. It makes no real difference when it comes to kitchen countertops, however, as it is just as good as true granite.

White granite

white granite countertops It is not easy to find pure white granite, as they usually have a good amount of other colors mixed up in there. The most common granite slabs are in the gray, brown, beige, and pink hues, but if you do find white granite, it would be a fantastic choice with shiny, sleek appliances to give your kitchen a contemporary touch. On the other hand, if you have vintage or retro appliances, white granite. White is always a good choice because it goes with almost anything. You just have to be careful to find one that has some depth, or your kitchen will look lifeless.

Red granite

red granite countertops Deep red granite is quite rare, and it can be a bold stroke to use in the kitchen. Red tends to dominate, so it may just be too much red in one spot. You can pull it off if you have cabinets in a neutral color to rein it back a bit. You can also find red granite in a variety of shades, usually mixed with white, silver, yellow, or blue highlights, and these are usually easier to match than a pure red. Red granite can give your kitchen either a bright or dramatic look, depending on the shade you.

Add by expert and export team of BHANDARI MARBLE GROUP INDIA RAJASTHAN KISHANGARH.

#www.bhandarimarbleworld.com

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rangerofpelor · 5 years

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1, 11, 20, 33, 53 for three of your pick!!

goin’ with my two main dnd ocs and also antigone because i’m camp nano-ing and ironing out her story this month

1. Age, Birthday, Star Sign

VALKO. he’s 27 years old, born on the 23rd of the month of Rebirth (May), which makes him a gemini

BRYNJA. she’s 63, born sometime during Summertide (July), which makes her a cancer.

ANTIGONE. she’s 17, born sometime in the middle of her world’s version of august, so she’d be a leo

11. Do they have any notable features, like horns, tails, or so on?

VALKO. the scars slashing across the right side of his face are probably the most distinct features of his. but there’s also the symbol of pelor that was branded on his hand after he was chosen as his champion. that symbol has usually been covered up either by a glove or some sort of wrapping tho. it wasn’t something he advertised for a number of reasons and most recently, it’s been covered up because nerull did something and put some old-ass magic on it and the gang needs to head back to the temple of pelor and figure out what’s going on with that

BRYNJA. none that she puts on display regularly. she’s got her lightning scars in the shape of yggdrasil on her torso, but that’s usually covered up by her clothing and armor.

ANTIGONE. she’s got albinism, so...her pale skin and white hair make her stand out in contrast to the suntanned skin and brown hair the rest of her family has. her mother told her that she was “born under a full moon” and that she was “kissed by moonlight”

20. Clothing/Aesthetic

VALKO. function over form clothing, usually in dark greens and grays to help him blend into his surroundings. studded leather armor, bows and arrows, dark shadows contrasted by beams of light, open wounds, scars, bruises, wolves, thieves tools, wheat fields

BRYNJA. viking. so very viking. stormy skies, high reaching mountain peaks, battlehammers, symbols of mjolnir, eagles wings. dresses in blues and greys with silver adornments, hair half pulled into braids and half loose and wild

ANTIGONE. her clothing is pretty simple and comfortable: a simple tunic, trousers, and comfortable leather boots. though if she had her way (and if she had the money for it) she would much rather wear the fancy dresses and high fashion of the Obsidian city. but in general, the red/white/black color palette is what she likes.

33. How have they changed over time?

VALKO. god i could write ad nauseam about his character arc. but put simply: he went from sweet little farm boy, to an angry victim of poverty, to a cold-hearted criminal, to a self-loathing and suicidal vagrant, to a highly skilled adventurer with supportive friends and slowly learning self-worth and recovering from the abuse and trauma of his past. at the beginning of the campaign, his main goals were “don’t get caught” and “inflict as much self-harm as he can without outright killing himself”. now, at fucking level 18, his main goals are “be a better man that he used to be” and “stop running; take responsibility for what he’s done.” and it may not seem like a lot of growth but god it really really is.

BRYNJA. she went from being angry and bitter about her father trying to push her into following a certain path. and then she actively rebelled against that by choosing to be a cleric of thor, which was such a liberating feeling and then she disowned him as her father. and then she calmed down a lot after that and after she started her training with grettir. so basically...angry teenager to a calmer young adult....tho the anger still lingers and it’s starting to come back considering there’s a god trying to push her and her party along a certain path which...she isn’t appreciating

ANTIGONE. ah...i’m still working on this tbh. she starts off as a pretty normal girl stuck in the boonies with dreams of doing something more than just...farming and ugh...rearing children...then she loses everything and she’s hellbent on revenge. wrath is one of her bigger sins and she’s so ambitious but she has to learn how to reign in that anger and learn how to use her intelligence and charisma in order to survive in a highly politically driven place like the Obsidian Palace

53. Expectations vs Reality: what did you expect and what did you get with this character?

VALKO. i went in with the desire for a redemption arc and i’ve definitely gotten that (and an incredibly slow build one at that). that said as i worked on his backstory it just got darker and darker (which only made the redemption arc harder but that’s ok because both valko and i are masochists) so i guess i didn’t expect the amount of abuse and trauma valko suffered when i first went to make his character (obviously it was still there but just not...as much). also the whole champion of pelor thing. i did not expect that AT ALL let alone as early as that happened (like level 6/7). i had talked about maybe having valko take a few levels in cleric (as a cleric of pelor) at some point but i didn’t expect story to lend itself to it that soon. so yeah, valko as a champion and high status religious figure was definitely something i didn’t expect from this at all (tho i am very pleased about it)

BRYNJA. i mean my big thing with her is that i wanted a dnd character as different from valko as i could get (confident, emotionally open, not nearly as angsty) and that’s really what i got. she was designed to be as straightforward as possible and that’s what she is. i suppose if anything she’s more rebellious than i had anticipated. her backstory was written/finalized after we had been playing for a few months but as mentioned in the last question, there’s this theme of her not liking higher authority pressuring her into doing certain things

ANTIGONE. tbh she’s pretty much what i’ve expected so far. I haven’t properly written her yet, so i know she’s got plenty of surprises in store for me and i’m excited for them. I can’t wait to see what kind of monkey wrenches she (or any other characters) throw into things

#oc: valko fejes #oc: brynja bearbreaker #oc: antigone pruitt #krshush

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dipulb3 · 3 years

Text

Epson Home Cinema 2250 projector review: Go big and go bright at home

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/epson-home-cinema-2250-projector-review-go-big-and-go-bright-at-home/

Epson Home Cinema 2250 projector review: Go big and go bright at home

Epson’s Home Cinema 2250 is an excellent projector, creating an impressively bright image with accurate colors and a decent contrast ratio. It improves upon just about everything we liked with last year’s Home Cinema 2150, though not in any way that’s significant enough to justify upgrading if you’ve already got one of those. If you’re in the market for a new projector, though, the 2250 should be on your short list.

Incredibly bright

Accurate colors

Built-in streaming

Don’t Like

Somewhat expensive

Not as sharp as some competitors

Loud at full brightness

The standout aspect of the 2250 is its extreme light output. I’m pretty sure it the brightest projector I’ve measured, like, ever. High brightness allows a projector to look better at bigger sizes and when there’s some ambient light. Unlike most other ultra-bright projectors this one also has a pretty decent contrast ratio. It’s not as punchy or sharp as our Editors’ Choice BenQ HT2050, which I still like better overall, but the Epson does have some significant advantages over the BenQ, with better placement options, immunity to DLP rainbows and built-in Android TV streaming.

My biggest complaint about the Epson is that it’s probably $150-$200 too expensive. It’s a great projector, but would be even more competitive if Epson chopped the price a bit.

1080p in all sizes

Native resolution: 1,920×1,080 pixels

HDR-compatible: No

4K-compatible: Yes

3D-compatible: Yes

Lumens spec: 2,700

Zoom: Manual (1.6x)

Lens shift: Manual

Lamp life (Normal mode): 4,500 hours

The 2250 is a 1080p resolution projector, but like many can accept (and downconvert) a 4K resolution signal. There’s no real benefit in doing this, but it doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t accept HDR, which is fine because projectors in general don’t do a great job with HDR.

One of the best aspects of the 2250, like its predecessor, is how easy it is to place in a room. With ample zoom range, it can sit well behind your seating area. Even better, there’s lens shift, which is rare in sub-$1,000 projectors and quite welcome. The combination allows for significantly more placement options, like on a shelf behind your sofa.

Most DLP-based projectors — which is nearly the entire projector market in this price range other than those from Epson — lack any sort of lens shift. Many also have a very limited zoom range. You need to make your room work around them, while the 2250 works with your room. It’s much more user friendly.

I measured approximately 1729 lumens of light output, or 192 nits. This just edges out the previous brightest projector I’ve measured, the BenQ TH685, by 10 nits/88 lumens. 1729 is a lot of light. So much so that in an otherwise dark room, on a 102-inch 1.0-gain screen, it was almost too bright. That’s actually good for two reasons. One, you’ll want to keep it in ECO mode most of the time anyway, since it’s significantly quieter. In ECO mode it puts out a still-brighter-than-many-projectors 126 nits. Two, projectors get dimmer over time, so starting with “too much” means it will be far better looking for longer.

One mild surprise is the lamp life. In Normal mode, which is the brightest, is 4,500 hours. This is fairly typical, but in ECO it’s only 7,500, about half what many other projectors can do. I don’t think this is that big a deal since Epson lamp replacements aren’t that expensive, and 7,500 is still over 5 years at 4 hours a night.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Who needs connections?

HDMI inputs: 1

PC input: No

USB port: No

Audio input and output: 3.5mm stereo

Digital audio output: No

Internet: Wi-Fi

12v trigger: No

RS-232 remote port: No

MHL: No

Remote: Not backlit (x2)

It might seem surprising that the 2250 actually loses an HDMI input from its predecessor. However, I can’t imagine many people use the second HDMI input on any projector. Who runs multiple long HDMI cables when it’s way easier to switch at the source using an HDMI switcher, soundbar, or receiver?

The lone HDMI also relates to why there’s no USB connection, which for many years has been there to power a streaming stick. The 2250 has Android TV built-in. So if you don’t want to run HDMI, or just want to use this for occasional movie nights, all you need is a power cable, flat surface, and Wi-Fi. It has all the usual suspects: Netflix, Vudu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, etc., and you can cast from your phone right to the projector.

The 10-watt mono speaker isn’t going to offer sound worthy of the image the 2250 can create, but thankfully there’s a 3.5mm audio output, so you can easily connect the projector to any powered speaker with an analog input.

Two small remotes come with the 2250; neither is backlit. One is only for controlling the built-in Android TV. The other can control the Android TV, but also controls the projector. This seems needlessly confusing to me.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Picture quality comparisons

I connected all three projectors via a Monoprice 1×4 distribution amplifier, and viewed all on a 102-inch 1.0-gain screen. The 2150 is last year’s model, while the HT2050A is still our pick for best projector in this price range.

These are some of the best projectors around $1,000 and it shows. All three projectors look good on any content you want to send them. The images are colorful, natural, and punchy, at least relative to other projectors within a few hundred dollars.

Side by side, I could clearly tell the 2150 and 2250 are made by the same company. The images look far more similar than different. The extra brightness, about 7%, isn’t that noticeable. The 2150 was the third brightest projector I’ve measured. Which is to say, they’re all very bright.

The biggest difference is in the contrast. Technically, the 2150 has a higher contrast ratio, about 1,220:1, which is the second highest for projectors in this price range after the BenQ HT2050A. The 2250’s 1,026:1 is lower, but when it comes to contrast ratio a difference of 20% is hard to notice at best (and fairly close to what could be considered inherent measurement error). However, they look different. This is largely because there seems to be less of a color tint in the 2250’s darkest images. So it looks less artificial and, subjectively, better than the 2150 overall.

Neither projector comes close to the BenQ in this regard, however, which is still our champion in contrast ratio at 2,094:1. Its image has more depth and punchiness, though the difference is less pronounced between these rarefied contenders than with some I’ve reviewed in the last year.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The other edge the BenQ has is in detail. Both Epsons are LCD, and in my experience LCD just doesn’t look quite as sharp as DLP. So even at the same resolution, the BenQ just looks higher resolution. Edges and fine details are just more noticeable. The Epsons certainly don’t look soft, but side-by-side with the BenQ they’re definitely softer.

Comparing the BenQ HT2050A and the Epson 2250, it’s not an easy choice. On a strictly image quality basis, I’ll give the nod to the BenQ. That contrast ratio is fantastic. Both projectors have great color accuracy, but the the BenQ looks sharper. The Epson is brighter, but the BenQ is still quite bright.

This isn’t quite the whole story, however.

Beyond the specs

Like all single-chip DLP projectors, the HT2050A is subject to rainbows. Personally, I’m not bothered by them. Some people are, however, and if that’s you, it doesn’t matter how good a DLP projector could look, it’s unwatchable. So point to the Epson, since it uses three LCDs, which can’t exhibit rainbows.

The HT2050A is also harder to fit in a room. The zoom range is a lot less, the maximum throw distance is less, and while it has lens shift, it’s not as much as the Epson. I don’t think built-in streaming is a big benefit in this kind of projector, but the 2250 has that too and it works well. So that’s another point.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The Epson’s biggest liability, however, is its price. The BenQ is 25% cheaper, and there are other projectors that can get the job done for even less. For the same money as the 2250 you could get the 4K Optoma UHD30. That projector has some issues, but looks great and is incredibly detailed.

So the bottom line is this: The Epson 2250 is an excellent projector. If you’re not interested in the BenQ HT2050A, or want to sacrifice some overall picture quality at the altar of pixels for the UHD30, the 2250 is the one to get.

Geek Box

Test Result Score Black luminance (0%) 0.189 Poor Peak white luminance (100%) 192 Good Derived lumens 1729 Good Avg. grayscale error (10-100%) 2.485 Good Dark gray error (20%) 3.524 Average Bright gray error (70%) 2.605 Good Avg. color error 5.564 Average Red error 7.171 Poor Green error 8.1 Poor Blue error 4.771 Average Cyan error 7.352 Poor Magenta error 3.192 Average Yellow error 2.797 Good Avg. saturations error 3.12 Average Avg. color checker error 2.6 Good Input lag (Game mode) 28 Good

Measurement notes

Out of the box, in the Cinema picture mode and the seven-color temperature mode, the 2250 was very close to accurate in just about every measurement. It lacks green throughout the grayscale range, except for the brightest of images, but not enough to look that way to the naked eye.

Color primaries and secondaries were all very close to their targets. Green is very slightly yellow, as is red. Cyan is slightly blue.

There are two different lamp modes and two iris speeds. You can hear the iris working if you’re close to the projector. In Normal lamp mode, labeled Power Consumption in the menu, the 2250 is quite loud, but is able to produce 192 nits, which works out to roughly 1,729 lumens. Drop to ECO mode and the fan noise drops to a more acceptable level, while still producing 126 nits. If you want to go all out, and sacrifice overall image quality and accuracy, the Dynamic mode can produce a whopping 289 nits, or roughly 2,602 lumens. I wouldn’t recommend that setting for normal viewing.

The contrast ratio average, not including the iris, was 1,026:1, which is quite good for a projector in this price range. The iris, which tracks the video signal to make darker scenes darker, gives the 2250 a dynamic contrast ratio average of 5,730:1. I didn’t find that it added much and disabled it in the menu.

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audreybizouerne · 3 years

Photo

Blending modes in Photoshop

I wasn’t aware of the different blending modes in Photoshop before our class so I tried a few different ones to notice the differences. Some seem more straightforward and useful than others although it really depends on the images you work on.

I chose two recent photos I took randomly imagining they might blend well.

After previewing different modes, I finally chose the hard light one which I thought worked best as it kept the most important elements of each image in the final result. I then edited a wee bit to make it blend even better. I left it quite rough though as I like showing that it’s just a superimposed image with no crop or resizing in the end. I kept the same ratio and angles.

This Adobe link details all the different blending modes and how they affect the image. Here’s an extract from it.

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/photoshop/using/blending-modes.html

Normal

Edits or paints each pixel to make it the result color. This is the default mode. (Normal mode is called Threshold when you’re working with a bitmapped or indexed-color image.)

Dissolve

Edits or paints each pixel to make it the result color. However, the result color is a random replacement of the pixels with the base color or the blend color, depending on the opacity at any pixel location.

Behind

Edits or paints only on the transparent part of a layer. This mode works only in layers with Lock Transparency deselected and is analogous to painting on the back of transparent areas on a sheet of acetate.

Clear

Edits or paints each pixel and makes it transparent. This mode is available for the Shape tools (when fill region is selected), Paint Bucket tool, Brush tool, Pencil tool, Fill command, and Stroke command. You must be in a layer with Lock Transparency deselected to use this mode.

Darken

Looks at the color information in each channel and selects the base or blend color—whichever is darker—as the result color. Pixels lighter than the blend color are replaced, and pixels darker than the blend color do not change.

Multiply

Looks at the color information in each channel and multiplies the base color by the blend color. The result color is always a darker color. Multiplying any color with black produces black. Multiplying any color with white leaves the color unchanged. When you’re painting with a color other than black or white, successive strokes with a painting tool produce progressively darker colors. The effect is similar to drawing on the image with multiple marking pens.

Color Burn

Looks at the color information in each channel and darkens the base color to reflect the blend color by increasing the contrast between the two. Blending with white produces no change.

Linear Burn

Looks at the color information in each channel and darkens the base color to reflect the blend color by decreasing the brightness. Blending with white produces no change.

Lighten

Looks at the color information in each channel and selects the base or blend color—whichever is lighter—as the result color. Pixels darker than the blend color are replaced, and pixels lighter than the blend color do not change.

Screen

Looks at each channel’s color information and multiplies the inverse of the blend and base colors. The result color is always a lighter color. Screening with black leaves the color unchanged. Screening with white produces white. The effect is similar to projecting multiple photographic slides on top of each other.

Color Dodge

Looks at the color information in each channel and brightens the base color to reflect the blend color by decreasing contrast between the two. Blending with black produces no change.

Linear Dodge (Add)

Looks at the color information in each channel and brightens the base color to reflect the blend color by increasing the brightness. Blending with black produces no change.

Overlay

Multiplies or screens the colors, depending on the base color. Patterns or colors overlay the existing pixels while preserving the highlights and shadows of the base color. The base color is not replaced, but mixed with the blend color to reflect the lightness or darkness of the original color.

Soft Light

Darkens or lightens the colors, depending on the blend color. The effect is similar to shining a diffused spotlight on the image. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened as if it were dodged. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened as if it were burned in. Painting with pure black or white produces a distinctly darker or lighter area, but does not result in pure black or white.

Hard Light

Multiplies or screens the colors, depending on the blend color. The effect is similar to shining a harsh spotlight on the image. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened, as if it were screened. This is useful for adding highlights to an image. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened, as if it were multiplied. This is useful for adding shadows to an image. Painting with pure black or white results in pure black or white.

Vivid Light

Burns or dodges the colors by increasing or decreasing the contrast, depending on the blend color. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened by decreasing the contrast. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened by increasing the contrast.

Linear Light

Burns or dodges the colors by decreasing or increasing the brightness, depending on the blend color. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened by increasing the brightness. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened by decreasing the brightness.

Pin Light

Replaces the colors, depending on the blend color. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, pixels darker than the blend color are replaced, and pixels lighter than the blend color do not change. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, pixels lighter than the blend color are replaced, and pixels darker than the blend color do not change. This is useful for adding special effects to an image.

Hard Mix

Adds the red, green and blue channel values of the blend color to the RGB values of the base color. If the resulting sum for a channel is 255 or greater, it receives a value of 255; if less than 255, a value of 0. Therefore, all blended pixels have red, green, and blue channel values of either 0 or 255. This changes all pixels to primary additive colors (red, green, or blue), white, or black.

Note:

For CMYK images, Hard Mix changes all pixels to the primary subtractive colors (cyan, yellow, or magenta), white, or black. The maximum color value is 100.

Difference

Looks at the color information in each channel and subtracts either the blend color from the base color or the base color from the blend color, depending on which has the greater brightness value. Blending with white inverts the base color values; blending with black produces no change.

Exclusion

Creates an effect similar to but lower in contrast than the Difference mode. Blending with white inverts the base color values. Blending with black produces no change.

Subtract

Looks at the color information in each channel and subtracts the blend color from the base color. In 8- and 16-bit images, any resulting negative values are clipped to zero.

Divide

Looks at the color information in each channel and divides the blend color from the base color.

Hue

Creates a result color with the luminance and saturation of the base color and the hue of the blend color.

Saturation

Creates a result color with the luminance and hue of the base color and the saturation of the blend color. Painting with this mode in an area with no (0) saturation (gray) causes no change.

Color

Creates a result color with the luminance of the base color and the hue and saturation of the blend color. This preserves the gray levels in the image and is useful for coloring monochrome images and for tinting color images.

Luminosity

Creates a result color with the hue and saturation of the base color and the luminance of the blend color. This mode creates the inverse effect of Color mode.

Lighter Color

Compares the total of all channel values for the blend and base color and displays the higher value color. Lighter Color does not produce a third color, which can result from the Lighten blend, because it chooses the highest channel values from both the base and blend color to create the result color.

Darker Color

Compares the total of all channel values for the blend and base color and displays the lower value color. Darker Color does not produce a third color, which can result from the Darken blend, because it chooses the lowest channel values from both the base and the blend color to create the result color.

#preproduction #postproduction #illusion #practice

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fleetingfan77 · 6 years

Text

The Flaw in Every Crystal

Chapter 18: 'Life in Praxus' Part 2

Aka: Part 1

Aka: Time for walkies!

Aka: Jazz’s surreal day

Aka: Shopping montage!

So, as with any good relationship Prowl has to remind himself in the morning not to body slam the mate next to him. Jazz was able to catch some sleep it seems by closing himself to protect his midsection in a kind of fetal position but is woken up by Prowl’s movement. This is interesting in that I can see how this will parallel Jazz’s ability’s later on since being able to maintain a light sleep will probably be a top skill for a spy.

Jazz then lies to Prowl about how he slept with Prowl just accepting it despite the way Jazz slept and speed that he woke up. Prowl then gives Jazz a choice:

"Would you like some Energon or would you prefer a chance to clean up first?"

This seems almost like the kind of choices that one would give a child. Either choice is acceptable and in the grand scheme don’t matter. Yet the choice is given to both give the child a greater feeling of agency and experience in making decisions. Part of me wants to say that the reasons Prowl gives the choices are to both give Jazz some agency back to temper any anger early and start training Jazz about how to make decisions again but it is more probable that Prowl finds the choices so unimportant that he might as well just let Jazz pick without thinking about it too deeply.

Jazz offers to get energon for them both and Prowl accepts without question, even pleased that Jazz was thinking of him as well without any prompting. This is once again I believe Prowl’s desire to be at the happy couple stage again that he tends to fall into once Jazz starts behaving in line with Prowl’s beliefs. Of course his beloved mate would fetch him breakfast as well, this is how things were always done in his home after all (I assume at least). There is no way then that Jazz could poison his energon while alone with it because that is not what a sub in the household does after all. Not to mention that Prowl probably has the cleaning supplies locked up at the moment and any other dangerous chemicals. I’m sure that any education for getting/training a foreign sub mentions that foreigners tend to mistake cleaning solution for energon additives, silly subs, ha...ha...ha...

Jazz takes a moment to reflect that his rebellious feelings have left him and just feels empty. This of course is a perfectly natural response to trauma/depression. Like someone/thing opened a hole and all the “you” fell out.

"’That was quicker than I expected,’ the officer praised” god Prowl, even your complaints are weak. Can’t even do a thank you?

I think Jazz is dissociating at this point due to how surreal he feels and how he goes on a kind of “auto-pilot” mode, but I don’t really know that much about the condition and have a hard time finding explanations of it so I can’t say for sure. The next line mentions Jazz’s “mental state” but that could also be referring to the depressing thought that Jazz was having that the current situation is simply his dying dream.

Prowl seems to be moving fast with wanting to take Jazz out already on only his second day out of THAT ROOM. I can’t say for sure wither this is due to Prowl’s wanting to speed the relationship along again or if he doesn’t want to leave Jazz alone in the house since its currently 2/2 ending in explosions. Or a combination thereof.

I guess then Jazz didn’t clean up enough the first shower since he still looks kinda like crap? Or is it that after healing more and getting more energon it is more apparent? Like he went into the shower a 0/10, came out a 5/10 and Prowl was just like “good enough” till he saw it in the light of day?

Prowl again offers Jazz the choice of what cleanser he would want, another pretty meaningless gesture, but a gesture nonetheless. (I don’t count the energon as a real choice since it was more of an if/then than a choice.) At least he didn’t just assume Jazz should use the same cleanser as last time.

Jazz’s wings it seems integrated well since he can do the Yes/No moments easily and readily. He can also control twitching.

Jazz then gets his first taste of having Prowl’s name painted on him. At least Prowl does it quickly, probably because he didn’t want to risk Jazz losing control and twitching without meaning to. Prowl brings up that currently they are a plain black that can be fixed in the future. I wonder what color? I can’t remember if there is another one in the future and Jazz/Prowl tend to be mainly black and white. Perhaps red?

“[Prowl’s glyph(s)] was a sign of who one belonged to, and who another would have to compensate should anything be done to the wearer of such marks.” Aka: only damage the ones below your current rank, or else.

It’s sad that Prowl is probably the happiest he has been in a long time with the relationship while Jazz is wondering how much it is worth pretending/performing the role Prowl forced him into. I just know as well that if Jazz said no Prowl would probably be disappointed at Jazz’s lack of caring but still accept it.

Jazz then gets his first look at himself after exploding twice, gaining two new wings, and being tortured multiple times. What he sees, isn’t that great. Prowl gives Jazz another choice, seemingly an import one this time, of what Jazz would like to look like. Jazz tries to respond that he would like to hang on to his current look, but then Prowl dismisses how important the choice actually was by saying how it would have to be changed, aka Jazz’s black will have to be changed to a dark grey.

Prowl also says that too much contrast will make Jazz stand out. This seems to be both a hint of how Praxus works with the subs trying not to be noticed and that Prowl’s rank is nowhere near the higher end in the city. I assume at least that if Prowl were one of the elites Jazz would be able to stand out more without problem. I almost want it to be that the real elites have some sub slaves in the gaudiest paints ever put together just to show that the sub can stand out so much without problem due to the name on their wings.

I am a bit disappointed that we didn’t get more details about Jazz’s first walk about since getting married and then arrested. Like is Jazz still on a leash or is he allowed to walk on his own? Does he have to be a certain distance behind Prowl and is Prowl enforcing the distance? Or is Prowl simply depending on Jazz’s absolute knowledge that even if he did run there would be no where to go?

After his repaint Jazz admits that he considers himself dead inside now. That the real Jazz “died” in the training room and now he was just a walking talking doll for Prowl. Though if one can consider one’s self dead, can one really be dead?

“ Prowl would never win because he could never have Jazz, just his frame and a drone-like response system to serve as a personality.” Oh, the foreshadowing, the horrible, horrible foreshadowing....

“ In the end, he'd been forced to accept a light gray in place of the white as well as replacing the black. It wasn't a situation he liked but there had been no better options.” Are the he’s here referring to Jazz or Prowl? Because Jazz wasn’t putting up a real argument so I want to say Prowl. But then why would Prowl be forced to accept a light grey color instead of white? Did the white contrast too much with the dark grey? But Prowl got Jazz a reward, so is it just Jazz? But then Prowl was disappointed with the look and @-@ I have a confusion....

(Okay, that Just Jazz line has it so I now want a transformers AU doki doki literature club where Jazz slowly falls for the too-smart self-aware Prowl or go AI Jazz but full on creepypasta)

The glyphs are red now! Called it/remembered it/assumed it! Now then, how would a conversion on the paint go.... “It is not my favorite of your looks” “Same. Yet you dressed me like this without my say so!” “I asked what colors you wished for!” “And I said I liked my old ones!” Cue argument about the Praxian sub culture again.

God, Prowl is really in fake perfect relationship mode again. He even does the hold ‘close your eyes and hold out your hands for a surprise.’ The visor even works enough for Jazz to thank Prowl for it even though Prowl was the one who took his original. I wonder if Prowl actually threw it out or if he’s keeping the original visor somewhere.

"Even the white is only to be used to prevent outsiders from viewing your optics." - ? Why would outsiders not be allowed to see Jazz’s optics?

“It was a choice between which would be least horrible, and none of the options were looking good.” I feel as if this line summarizes the story perfectly and yet not completely. And look, another meaningless choice from a selection that Jazz is allowed while having no say in what he actually wants!

Its also kinda horrible that Prowl is taken in or at least going along with Jazz’s perfect/dead inside mate act but still knows/paid attention enough about Jazz to order him something he would enjoy.

Jazz realizes the disconnect as well and tries to justify the two Prowls in his mind by thinking one must be an act since if one is a monster sometimes, one must be a monster always and otherwise just pretend to be human. Though its interesting that it really isn’t an act with Prowl. Its more that this is how he wants to be and the monster is just something he justifies to himself and then never looks back on.

Honestly this day is probably what Prowl had wanted/planned for the day after the marriage was accepted by the council to go. His mate wearing his glyph, getting a treat from his generous dom of lunch, then as another treat going to the gardens Jazz wanted to visit so much as the first of many if not happy then at least interesting and acceptable days together. Then Jazz had to go and ruin it all by exploding....

Jazz of course sees this as a trap in waiting since he can’t see his captor/torturer treating him this way for any reason except getting his hopes up just to dash them. Though actually its probably just Prowl over-gifting again. It is too bad that if Praxus were more normal it would be that Prowl was one of those guys who bought their significant others waay too much just because they wanted to/could. Like flowers everyday or something. And this would probably have annoyed the crap out of Jazz in a way.

“...but overly praising one's mate was frowned upon so he had to condense his reasoning. ‘Such things may become standards in your life even, if you continue to excel as you have been.’” Ha, Prowl finally admits he enjoys over-praising/rewarding his mate. Though Jazz has a point that there is no price worth what happened to him.

And thus Jazz visits the crystal gardens again, IN PART 2! ... of Part 2....

Till next time!

#Prowl/jazz #the flaw in every crystal #ao3 #read through #fanfiction #meta analysis #maccadams

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suzanneshannon · 4 years

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Programming Sass to Create Accessible Color Combinations

We’re all looking for low-hanging fruit to make our sites and apps more accessible. One of the easier things we can do is make sure the colors we use are easy on the eyes. High color contrast is something that benefits everyone. It not only reduces eye strain in general, but is crucial for folks who deal with reduced vision.

So let’s not only use better color combinations in our designs but find a way to make it easier for us to implement high contrasts. There’s one specific strategy we use over at Oomph that lets a Sass function do all the heavy lifting for us. I’ll walk you through how we put that together.

Want to jump right to the code because you already understand everything there is to know about color accessibility? Here you go.

What we mean by “accessible color combinations”

Color contrast is also one of those things we may think we have handled. But there’s more to high color contrasts than eyeballing a design. There are different levels of acceptable criteria that the WCAG has defined as being accessible. It’s actually humbling to crack open the WebAIM Contrast Checker and run a site’s color combinations through it.

My team adheres to WCAG’s Level AA guidelines by default. This means that:

Text that is 24px and larger, or 19px and larger if bold, should have a Color Contrast Ratio (CCR) of 3.0:1.

Text that is smaller than 24px should have a CCR of 4.5:1.

If a site needs to adhere to the enhanced guidelines for Level AAA, the requirements are a little higher:

Text that is 24px and larger, or 19px and larger if bold, should have a CCR of 4.5:1.

Text that is smaller than 24px should have a CCR of 7:1.

Ratios? Huh? Yeah, there’s some math involved here. But the good news is that we don’t need to do it ourselves or even have the same thorough understanding about how they’re calculated the way Stacie Arellano recently shared (which is a must read if you’re into the science of color accessibility).

That’s where Sass comes in. We can leverage it to run difficult mathematical computations that would otherwise fly over many of our heads. But first, I think it’s worth dealing with accessible colors at the design level.

Accessible color palettes start with the designs

That’s correct. The core of the work of creating an accessible color palette starts with the designs. Ideally, any web design ought to consult a tool to verify that any color combinations in use pass the established guidelines — and then tweak the colors that don’t. When our design team does this, they use a tool that we developed internally. It works on a list of colors, testing them over a dark and a light color, as well as providing a way to test other combinations.

ColorCube provides an overview of an entire color palette, showing how each color performs when paired with white, black, and even each other. It even displays results for WCAG Levels AA and AAA next to each result. The tool was designed to throw a lot of information at the user all at once when evaluating a list of colors.

This is the first thing our team does. I’d venture to guess that many brand colors aren’t chosen with accessibility at the forefront. I often find that those colors need to change when they get translated to a web design. Through education, conversation, and visual samples, we get the client to sign off on the new color palette. I’ll admit: that part can be harder than the actual work of implementing accessible colors combinations.

The Color Contrast Audit: A typical design delivery when working with an existing brand’s color palette. Here, we suggest to stop using the brand color Emerald with white, but use an “Alt” version that is slightly darker instead.

The problem that I wanted to solve with automation are the edge cases. You can’t fault a designer for missing some instance where two colors combine in an unintended way — it just happens. And those edge cases will come up, whether it is during the build or even a year later when new colors are added to the system.

Developing for accessibility while keeping true to the intent of a color system

The trick when changing colors to meet accessibility requirements is not changing them so much that they don’t look like the same color anymore. A brand that loves its emerald green color is going to want to maintain the intent of that color — it’s “emerald-ness.” To make it pass for accessibility when it is used as text over a white background, we might have to darken the green and increase its saturation. But we still want the color to “read” the same as the original color.

To achieve this, we use the Hue Saturation Lightness (HSL) color model. HSL gives us the ability to keep the hue as it is but adjust the saturation (i.e. increase or decrease color) and lightness (i.e. add more black or more white). The hue is what makes a green that green, or a blue that blue. It is the “soul” of the color, to get a little mystical about it.

Hue is represented as a color wheel with a value between 0° and 360° — yellow at 60°, green at 120°, cyan at 180°, etc. Saturation is a percentage ranging from 0% (no saturation) to 100% (full saturation). Lightness is also a value that goes from 0% to 100%, where no lightness is at 0%, no black and no white is at 50%, and 100% is all lightness, or very light.

A quick visual of what tweaking a color looks like in our tool:

With HSL, changing the low-contrast green to a higher contrast meant changing the saturation from 63 to 95 and the lightness from 45 to 26 on the left. That's when the color gets a green check mark in the middle when used with white. The new green still feels like it is in the same family, though, because the Hue remained at 136, which is like the color’s “soul.”

To learn more, play around with the fun HSL visualizer mothereffinghsl.com. But for a more in-depth description of color blindness, WCAG color contrast levels, and the HSL color space, we wrote an in-depth blog post about it.

The use case I want to solve

Designers can adjust colors with the tools that we just reviewed, but so far, no Sass that I have found could do it with mathematical magic. There had to be a way.

These are some similar approaches I have seen in the wild:

An idea by Josh Bader uses CSS variables and colors split into their RGB values to calculate whether white or black is the best accessible color to use in a given situation.

Another idea by Facundo Corradini does something similar with HSL values and a very cool “switch function” in CSS.

I didn't like these approaches. I didn’t want to fallback to white or black. I wanted colors to be maintained but adjusted to be accessible. Additionally, changing colors to their RGB or HSL components and storing them with CSS variables seemed messy and unsustainable for a large codebase.

I wanted to use a preprocessor like Sass to do this: given two colors, automagically adjust one of them so the pair receives a passing WCAG grade. The rules state a few other things to consider as well — size of the text and whether or not the font is bold. The solution had to take this into account.

In code terms, I wanted to do this:

// Transform this non-passing color pair: .example { background-color: #444; color: #0094c2; // a 2.79 contrast ratio when AA requires 4.5 font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: normal; }   // To this passing color pair: .example { background-color: #444; color: #00c0fc; // a 4.61 contrast ratio font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: normal; }

A solution that does this would be able to catch and handle those edge cases we mentioned earlier. Maybe the designer accounted for a brand blue to be used over a light blue, but not a light gray. Maybe the red used in error messages needs to be tweaked for this one form that has a one-off background color. Maybe we want to implement a dark mode feature to the UI without having to retest all the colors again. These are the use cases I had in mind going into this.

With formulas can come automation

The W3C has provided the community with formulas that help analyze two colors used together. The formula multiplies the RGB channels of both colors by magic numbers (a visual weight based on how humans perceive these color channels) and then divides them to come up with a ratio from 0.0 (no contrast) to 21.0 (all the contrast, only possible with white and black). While imperfect, this is the formula we use right now:

If L1 is the relative luminance of a first color And L2 is the relative luminance of a second color, then - Color Contrast Ratio = (L1 + 0.05) / (L2 + 0.05) Where - L = 0.2126 * R + 0.7152 * G + 0.0722 * B And - if R sRGB <= 0.03928 then R = R sRGB /12.92 else R = ((R sRGB +0.055)/1.055) ^ 2.4 - if G sRGB <= 0.03928 then G = G sRGB /12.92 else G = ((G sRGB +0.055)/1.055) ^ 2.4 - if B sRGB <= 0.03928 then B = B sRGB /12.92 else B = ((B sRGB +0.055)/1.055) ^ 2.4 And - R sRGB = R 8bit /255 - G sRGB = G 8bit /255 - B sRGB = B 8bit /255

While the formula looks complex, it’s just math right? Well, not so fast. There is a part at the end of a few lines where the value is multiplied by a decimal power — raised to the power of 2.4. Notice that? Turns out that it’s complex math which most programming languages can accomplish — think Javascript’s math.pow() function — but Sass is not powerful enough to do it.

There’s got to be another way…

Of course there is. It just took some time to find it. 🙂

My first version used a complex series of math calculations that did the work of decimal powers within the limited confines of what Sass can accomplish. Lots of Googling found folks much smarter than me supplying the functions. Unfortunately, calculating only a handful of color contrast combinations increased Sass build times exponentially. So, that means Sass can do it, but that does not mean it should. In production, build times for a large codebase could increase to several minutes. That’s not acceptable.

After more Googling, I came across a post from someone who was trying to do a similar thing. They also ran into the lack of exponent support in Sass. They wanted to explore “the possibility of using Newtonian approximation for the fractional parts of the exponent.” I totally understand the impulse (not). Instead, they decided to use a “lookup table.” It’s a genius solution. Rather than doing the math from scratch every time, a lookup table provides all the possible answers pre-calculated. The Sass function retrieves the answer from the list and it’s done.

In their words:

The only part [of the Sass that] involves exponentiation is the per-channel color space conversions done as part of the luminance calculation. [T]here are only 256 possible values for each channel. This means that we can easily create a lookup table.

Now we’re cooking. I had found a more performant direction.

Usage example

Using the function should be easy and flexible. Given a set of two colors, adjust the first color so it passes the correct contrast value for the given WCAG level when used with the second color. Optional parameters will also take the font size or boldness into account.

// @function a11y-color( // $color-to-adjust, // $color-that-will-stay-the-same, // $wcag-level: 'AA', // $font-size: 16, // $bold: false // );   // Sass sample usage declaring only what is required .example { background-color: #444; color: a11y-color(#0094c2, #444); // a 2.79 contrast ratio when AA requires 4.5 for small text that is not bold }   // Compiled CSS results: .example { background-color: #444; color: #00c0fc; // which is a 4.61 contrast ratio }

I used a function instead of a mixin because I preferred the output of a single value independent from a CSS rule. With a function, the author can determine which color should change.

An example with more parameters in place looks like this:

// Sass .example-2 { background-color: a11y-color(#0094c2, #f0f0f0, 'AAA', 1.25rem, true); // a 3.06 contrast ratio when AAA requires 4.5 for text 19px or larger that is also bold color: #f0f0f0; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: bold; }   // Compiled CSS results: .example-2 { background-color: #087597; // a 4.6 contrast ratio color: #f0f0f0; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: bold; }

A deeper dive into the heart of the Sass function

To explain the approach, let’s walk through what the final function is doing, line by line. There are lots of helper functions along the way, but the comments and logic in the core function explain the approach:

// Expected: // $fg as a color that will change // $bg as a color that will be static and not change // Optional: // $level, default 'AA'. 'AAA' also accepted // $size, default 16. PX expected, EM and REM allowed // $bold, boolean, default false. Whether or not the font is currently bold // @function a11y-color($fg, $bg, $level: 'AA', $size: 16, $bold: false) { // Helper: make sure the font size value is acceptable $font-size: validate-font-size($size); // Helper: With the level, font size, and bold boolean, return the proper target ratio. 3.0, 4.5, or 7.0 results expected $ratio: get-ratio($level, $font-size, $bold); // Calculate the first contrast ratio of the given pair $original-contrast: color-contrast($fg, $bg); @if $original-contrast >= $ratio { // If we pass the ratio already, return the original color @return $fg; } @else { // Doesn't pass. Time to get to work // Should the color be lightened or darkened? // Helper: Single color input, 'light' or 'dark' as output $fg-lod: light-or-dark($fg); $bg-lod: light-or-dark($bg);   // Set a "step" value to lighten or darken a color // Note: Higher percentage steps means faster compile time, but we might overstep the required threshold too far with something higher than 5% $step: 2%; // Run through some cases where we want to darken, or use a negative step value @if $fg-lod == 'light' and $bg-lod == 'light' { // Both are light colors, darken the fg (make the step value negative) $step: - $step; } @else if $fg-lod == 'dark' and $bg-lod == 'light' { // bg is light, fg is dark but does not pass, darken more $step: - $step; } // Keeping the rest of the logic here, but our default values do not change, so this logic is not needed //@else if $fg-lod == 'light' and $bg-lod == 'dark' { // // bg is dark, fg is light but does not pass, lighten further // $step: $step; //} @else if $fg-lod == 'dark' and $bg-lod == 'dark' { // // Both are dark, so lighten the fg // $step: $step; //} // The magic happens here // Loop through with a @while statement until the color combination passes our required ratio. Scale the color by our step value until the expression is false // This might loop 100 times or more depending on the colors @while color-contrast($fg, $bg) < $ratio { // Moving the lightness is most effective, but also moving the saturation by a little bit is nice and helps maintain the "power" of the color $fg: scale-color($fg, $lightness: $step, $saturation: $step/2); } @return $fg; } }

The final Sass file

Here’s the entire set of functions! Open this in CodePen to edit the color variables at the top of the file and see the adjustments that the Sass makes:

CodePen Embed Fallback

All helper functions are there as well as the 256-line lookup table. Lots of comments should help folks understand what is going on.

When an edge case has been encountered, a version in SassMeister with debug output was helpful while I was developing it to see what might be happening. (I changed the main function to a mixin so I can debug the output.) Feel free to poke around at this as well.

Play with this gist on SassMeister.

And finally, the functions have been stripped out of CodePen and put into a GitHub repo. Drop issues into the queue if you run into problems.

Cool code! But can I use this in production?

Maybe.

I’d like to say yes, but I’ve been iterating on this thorny problem for a while now. I feel confident in this code but would love more input. Use it on a small project and kick the tires. Let me know how the build time performs. Let me know if you come across edge cases where passing color values are not being supplied. Submit issues to the GutHub repo. Suggest improvements based on other code you’ve seen in the wild.

I’d love to say that I have Automated All the A11y Things, but I also know it needs to be road-tested before it can be called Production Ready™. I’m excited to introduce it to the world. Thanks for reading and I hope to hear how you are using it real soon.

The post Programming Sass to Create Accessible Color Combinations appeared first on CSS-Tricks.

Programming Sass to Create Accessible Color Combinations published first on https://deskbysnafu.tumblr.com/

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thatpersonrightbehindyou · 7 years

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Blog meme: Lysandre, Ganondorf, and. Q, if only because the idea of Q with a Tumblr is amazing.

Lysandre:

their blog url

Has a radical environmentalist blog at green-wood-and-forest-fires and a ventblog at hvm4ns4r3th3pr0bl3m

the kind of posts they reblog

On green-wood, ton of ‘we HAVE to do x!!!’ ecofriendly posts that propose methods that are only accessible to the upper crust, dubious statistics and infographics about how fucked the world is, generally one of those blogs that looks really useful but turns out to be a circlejerk of scaremongering and misinformation if you look too deeply at the sources. Probably a few Onion articles taken seriously, too.

On hvm4ns, basically just a ton of images and anecdotes about the horrible things humanity has done. Animal abuse, gore, death, a general ‘humans are inherently evil’ theme. Not much on human on human mistreatment other than classical/historical stuff, so the Crusades and bedlams instead of institutional racism or lgbt+phobia.

the first person they followed

green-wood followed Sycamore’s blogs first, and occasionally reblogs cute Pokemon pictures from it en masse under the tag ‘#feel better’

hvm4ns browses tags for content and follows back those with similar content

what kind of theme they’d have

green-wood is soft grays and whites with dark orange text, pixel font and three columns. There’s a tag page that’s meticulously updated but most of them only have a few posts in each because everything’s subdivided so much.

hvm4ns is one of those nightmares formatted like tumblr’s ‘search’ feature. there’s an about page and a tags page, but no links to them, so you’ve got to type in the URLs manually. each page has a different theme, always along the lines of high-contrast black/white/red/yellow.

what kind of text posts they make at 2am

most 2am posts are posted to green-wood then deleted later in the morning with a ‘sorry wrong blog’ because he meant to post them to his vent blog. mostly just complaints about the state of the world, the inherent goodness of man, and first world problems.

Ganondorf

their blog url

if it’s not something really smart in Gerudo transliterated into english-equivalent, it’s a pun involving it like ‘voe-betide-you’. it’s supposed to be secret squirrel but anyone who’s had a five minute casual conversation with him will recognise his horse from the pictures.

the kind of posts they reblog

Tons of political activism stuff, especially bashthefash and black bloc resources. Names, addresses, and phone numbers of people who have done something to warrant the torrent of abuse (neonazis, defenders of state/police brutality, rape endorsers, ect). Many rants and callout posts about racism and cultural appropriation, also historical revisionism and international politics. Also lots and lots and LOTS of pictures of animals, especially his horse, doing cute things.

the first person they followed

Unknowingly followed Zelda’s political activism blog. Ends up following Link’s blog for all the cute animal photos through the aforementioned.

what kind of theme they’d have

Fairly plain, large text with a sidebar on the left and the rest of the page devoted to posts. Decorated with desaturated traditional art bordering the edges of the sidebar and each individual post.

what kind of text posts they make at 2am

Self-doubts and reflections, under Read Mores and usually deleted by morning. Expect a lot of “is this even the right thing?” and “i want to do right by my people but it’s never worked before” and “the definition of insanity is repeating the same course of action and expecting a different outcome each time” and just generally vagueposting about the cyclical nature of reincarnation. Because he does not exactly have a good time of it from what we’ve seen.

and finally, the one you’ve all been waiting for: Q!!!

their blog url

Along with his icon, he changes it CONSTANTLY. Usually it’s a pun, like q-can-depend-on-it or why-dont-q or areqkiddingme, but also cycling through some of his favourite quotes from his favourite starfleet members. take-your-domestic-off-my-ship lasted nearly a month.

the kind of posts they reblog

Shitposts, diss tracks, surreal memes, unreality shit, accurate and amusing historical trivia, inaccurate but amusing historical trivia, and complete bullshit are the permanent elements. He’ll generally switch ‘main’ topics depending on who he’s hanging out with at the time, or who he’s trying to butter up, so a lot of moral/ethical discussions and landscapes for Picard, cute animals and relaxing videos and coffee porn for Janeway, ect.

the first person they followed

The first person Q followed was Picard. the second was Janeway. the third was Riker’s supposed-to-be-secret anti-sjw vent blog, literally just for the drama. Fourth was a mostly-humorus riker hateblog, of which he makes a point of always reblogging the ‘Number of femenine-presenting crewmembers Riker has not attempted to hit on’ counter. He tags Picard every time it falls below double digits.

what kind of theme they’d have

Much like his URL, it changes constantly. Every page has an entirely different theme. All of them have autoplay, except the ones you’d expect to have autoplay. Which are they? Only you know. Font size is different everywhere too.

what kind of text posts they make at 2am

Mixture of shitposts (’what if birds could fly? how fucked up would that be’ ‘oh wait’), his own take on deep philosophy (’if your only encounter with higher lifeforms is at their discretion, and you are to them what an ant is to you, and an ant is to you what a cell is to an ant, and a cell is to an ant what an atom is to a cell, and so on and so forth, the most reasonable hypothesis is that the rabbit hole goes up indefinitely as well and those more powerful than the likes of the Continuum have simply not deigned to interact and frankly i’m offended they want to miss out on moi’), and personal moments of self-doubt and reflection (’have i made the right choices in life? have i done the right things?’ ‘ive been trying but have i been trying hard enough to be a good parent?’)

#memes #lysandre #ganondorf #q #sorry tags #ryttu3k

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satelitebox-blog · 5 years

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Samsung 65-Inch Class Q90R (QN65Q90RAFXZA)

Samsung has been enthusiastic about OLED screens for its phones for years, but it’s pointedly shied away from the technology in favor of its own QLED lines of LCD TVs. As we’ve been consistently impressed by OLED TVs since we first started testing them, and less so with QLED, we’ve been skeptical of that choice. With the Q90R, Samsung’s 2019 flagship TV, the company finally proves us wrong. The Q90R is a very expensive 4K LCD model ($3,499.99 for the 65-inch QN65Q90RAFXZA we tested) that shows some of the best color and contrast performance we’ve seen. Usually good LCDs can show terrific color but falter at contrast, and OLED TVs show superlative contrast but have weaker color. The Q90 excels in both fields, earning it our Editors’ Choice.

Design

The Q90R looks simple and stylish, with a thin, matte silver bezel around the screen and running along the TV’s sides. It rests on a simple, gunmetal stand with a single rectangular foot in the center. The back of the TV is made of dark gray plastic and curves outward slightly, and very notably has only a single wired connection. Instead of plugging all of your devices and a power cable into the TV itself, everything is handled by the separate One Connect box that plugs into the back of the Q90R through a single, thin wire. The One Connect box is a gunmetal plastic slab about the size of a cable or satellite box, with all of the Q90’s ports and most of its electronics. Because it’s designed to be tucked in a cabinet, the front is flat and nondescript. The back holds four HDMI ports, an Ethernet port, an antenna/cable connector, a 3.5mm EX-Link port, a connector for the power cable, and a connector for the One Connect cable that plugs into the back of the TV. Three USB ports sit on the right side of the box. The Q90R has no analog video connections, so if you want to use a component or composite video source, you’ll have to get an HDMI converter. The Q90R’s remote is identical to the one included with the lower-end Samsung RU8000, a slim, simple black plastic wand built around a circular direction pad. Its scant controls include volume and channel rockers; Home, Back, Pause/Play, Voice, and Power buttons; a number/color button that brings up an on-screen number pad and additional controls; and three dedicated service buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix. A pinhole microphone on the top lets you speak into the remote to use voice search and Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant.

Samsung Smart TV

In typical Samsung style, the Q90R’s smart TV interface is sophisticated and very Samsung-centric. The platform is also just like the RU8000’s, with a powerful Universal Guide that aggregates live TV and streaming content into a single space; a functional but modest app ecosystem that covers most major streaming services including Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, Google Play Movies & TV, Hulu, Netflix, SiriusXM, Sling TV, Spotify, and Tidal; and support for Apple’s AirPlay 2 for local streaming from iOS and OS X devices. The Q90R also features Bixby, Samsung’s voice assistant that remains a largely unwanted runner-up to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. It works perfectly well for controlling the TV itself, and can even control smart home devices if they’re compatible with the Samsung-owned SmartThings platform, but it simply isn’t as useful, powerful, or broadly compatible as Amazon’s or Google’s voice assistants. Fortunately, you can simply ignore Bixby by not pressing the Voice button on the remote, and if you have Alexa or Google Assistant smart speakers you can use them to control the TV instead. Unless you’re a very dedicated Samsung fan with a home filled with the company’s devices, Bixby just isn’t very useful.

Performance

The Samsung Q90R is a 4K TV that supports high dynamic range (HDR) content in HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG. It does not support Dolby Vision. We test TVs with a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ CalMAN software using methodology based on Imaging Science Foundation’s calibration techniques. In Movie mode, with Local Dimming set to High and Black Level set to low, the Q90R shows remarkably high peak brightness at 548.2cd/m2 for a full-field pattern and 1,510.8cd/m2 for an 18-percent pattern. This is almost as bright as the Sony Master Series Z9F, the brightest TV we’ve tested (1,677.49cd/m2 with an 18-percent field). Combined with an 0.01cd/m2 black level, the Q90R has an effective contrast ratio of 151,080:1, by far the highest we’ve measured on an LCD TV. Only OLED TVs can show better contrast, with their ability to display perfect blacks, and are at best only half as bright. Color performance is similarly impressive. The above chart shows DCI-P3 color levels as boxes and measured color levels as dots. Out of the box, with the HDMI input set to the full color range, the Q90R almost completely covers the DCI-P3 color space, with spot-on whites. Greens and yellows are slightly undersaturated, but all colors are very nicely balanced with no noticeable shifting. The fantastic color and contrast comes through in BBC’s Planet Earth II. In the “Islands” episode, the blues and teals of the water and greens and yellows of the plants look vibrant and accurate. Fine details like fur and bark appear clearly both in shade and direct sunlight. It’s a natural, crisp picture. The Q90R’s accurate colors are also easily apparent in Deadpool. In the opening fight on the highway, Deadpool’s costume can appear slightly purple under the overcast, fairly cool light on some TVs, but is a properly saturated red on the Q90. The flames in the burning lab fight also show a wide range of yellows, oranges, and reds, and details in the shadowy parts of the scene are easily visible without looking washed out. The party scene in The Great Gatsby demonstrates the Q90R’s strong contrast. The contours and textures of the black suits can be clearly seen against the bright whites of the shirts and lights. Shadow and highlight detail are both visible without lacking brightness, and skin tones look natural.

Input Lag

Input lag measures how long it takes for a TV’s screen to update after it receives a signal, and can be important for video games that require responsive controls. In Movie mode, using a Leo Bodnar signal lag tester, the Q90R shows a lag of 79.6 milliseconds. This is fairly high, but enabling Game Mode improves input lag considerably at the expense of some picture quality, cutting it down to 24ms. This is still higher than the 20ms threshold at which we would consider a TV to be among the best for gaming. To be fair, the environment in which we tested the Q90R prevented us from using our newer HDFury Diva 4K 18Gbps HDMI matrix to test input lag, which we have found to be capable of producing more accurate and generally lower numbers on newer displays.

A Surprising Stunner

Samsung’s Q90R TV is one of the best-looking LCDs we’ve tested. It’s also one of the most expensive, at $3,500 for the 65-inch version. That puts it in OLED territory, where we previously thought LCDs couldn’t quite reach. The Q90’s remarkably bright panel and impressively low black levels come close, though, and its color reproduction out of the box is far superior to any OLED we’ve tested. This is an excellent TV for anyone looking for a centerpiece to their pricey home theater, and professional calibration can potentially coax even better performance out of it. It’s pricey and it doesn’t have Dolby Vision, but it still earns our Editors’ Choice for its sheer picture quality. Follow my blog with Bloglovin If you want the slimmer profile and better black levels of an OLED TV, and don’t mind a dimmer picture and less accurate colors, the Sony Master Series A9G and LG OLEDC9P are both excellent alternatives. If you simply want to spend much less while still getting strong color and contrast performance, the Hisense H8F and TCL 6-series remain our favorite budget TVs. Read the full article

#BBC #SamsungSmartTV #Samsung’sQ90R

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bhandarimarblekishangarh · 4 years

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Granite & Natural Stone

GRANITE V/S MARBLE & OTHER NATURAL STONE BY BHANDARI MARBLE GROUP

Granite is literally formed by Mother Nature, cut out of the ground in big blocks, sawn into slabs, and then polished to a shiny surface. It doesn’t get more natural than others.

It may seem like an impossible choice. After all, both come in a gorgeous selection of colors and patterns and both make an incredibly durable work surface. However, if you talk to the real experts, the fabricators most will be quick to tell you granite is a better choice than other Natural stone.

Extensively used for architectural purposes under big as well as small projects, our products are available in various sizes and designs. Our large assortment of Marble Flooring includes various qualities of Indian Marble, Italian Marble & Other. Marble and granite are both beautiful, highly sought-after surfacing materials. The biggest difference between granite and marble is their porosity. Basically, marble is softer and more porous than granite with few exceptions like marble from BHANDARI MARBLE GROUP Kishangarh Rajasthan India.

What is the difference between marble and granite?

Granite and marble are materials that come directly from the earth. Although marble and granite have similarities, they also have significant differences. When choosing countertops for your kitchen or bathroom, granite and marble surfaces are popular choices. They are natural stones — unlike, say, engineered quartz stone

Appearance

Properties

Applications

Maintenance

If you can’t decide between granite and marble for your countertops, take a look at this list of differences to help you choose the material that’s right for your needs. The Bhandari Marble and Granite are one of the best and largest suppliers for the UK, USA, UAE, and India Mainly wholesalers of natural stone slabs. All of our materials have been expertly selected to provide you with the very best quality surface materials for your home villa hotels office Projects etc. Marble & Granite Supply of BHANDARI MARBLE GROUP Kishangarh Rajasthan India Mainly is the Midwest leading Marble and Granite supplier, for wholesale natural stone slabs or tiles, porcelain and mosaics call +91 972941111

BHANDARI MARBLE & Granite is the leading provider of stone materials in the UK, USA, UAE INDIA, and AND MORE COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. Supplying the strongest and most beautiful stones for your spaces. Your best choice for quality custom surfaces. Select from our stunning marble, elegant limestone, timeless granite, and much, much more.

Hardness and Durability: Granite is harder than marble, so it is more resistant to chips and scratches. … Both marble and granite countertops are quite durable, but ONLY if they are properly sealed every one or two years. Granite and marble are porous, so without a seal, liquids will penetrate and stain.

Granite is considered higher quality and more durable than other natural stones. Quality countertops should be around 3/4-inch thick in order to provide the necessary durability associated with natural stone.

Granite is formed in intense heat and is naturally impervious to high temperatures. Hot pots and pans won’t damage the surface, though they may damage any sealant on them.

Granite, the tough, rugged stone that it is, can handle you cutting vegetables directly on its’ surface. It’s so durable that it will actually dull your knives so invest in a wood cutting block.

The final cost of countertops will depend on several factors, but generally, granite countertops cost less per square foot including installation. Marble ranges from more per square foot installed. This difference can really add up if you have a big kitchen.

For granite, you’ll find lots of full slabs to choose from and you can see exactly how your countertops will look because you choose the exact slab and not just a sample. You’ll be able to compare the intricate patterns and subtle color differences before you ever have your countertops designed.

No shades of granite will fade when left in direct sunlight for extended periods of time. This is why Granite cobbles & slabs are often stored outdoors in direct sunlight.

The most important advice I can give you is to always wash your granite with a neutral cleaner or soap and water; using a cleanser that is highly acidic or alkaline can damage the surface the stone, leading to etching or a dull finish. This is the one that we are currently using and it works great.

ALASKA WHITE

Marble is a natural stone, and when properly finished can be transformed beautifully at any place of your interior to give it a royal look. Marble flooring is one of the most luxurious and sophisticated floorings to install in a home and adds a whole new element of class. Marble is evergreen and timeless. It adds a royal touch to the flooring, countertops, wall cladding, staircases, etc. The advent of new technology and new materials has not been able to take away the charm of marble.

“Alaska White granite is a striking stone that works well with many different color schemes and designs. This versatile stone can be used inside your home or outside and is ideal for floors, walls, countertops, and more. Although it is one of the more expensive granite options available, its flexibility, durability, and classic beauty make it well worth the cost.”

What Causes Different Granite Colors?

Black

Beige & Brown

White

Pink & Red

White River

Cotton White

Delicates White

Ice White

Himalayan White

Absolute Black

Uba Tuba

Black Galaxy

Pearl

Coffee Brown

How to Pick the Perfect Countertop

There are few countertop materials on the market today that appeal to a wide group of a group of people as granite does. Its natural stone quarried from around the world in huge slabs that can be cut and shaped to fit your kitchen, no matter what the shape, size, or layout you have in mind.

Part of its appeal is the fact that it is a natural material; it isn’t made in a lab and while there are many stones with very specific characteristics to them, no two pieces are ever exactly the same. It’s this natural variation from piece to piece and within one piece of granite that gives it its beauty and a lot of its appeal.

ENDLESS COLORS BY BHANDARI MARBLE COLLECTIONS

While granite that looks like marble is extremely popular, it’s hardly your only option. While you get the same wacky colors you do still get a ton of natural variety.

Meet the very popular Granite

Tans and browns are probably the most common colors simply because the primary minerals comprising granite tend to be in this color spectrum. Ranging from creamy tans to darker, muddy browns, most of these have light and dark veining that provides great contrast. Beiges in high demand and have a neutral coloring of mostly cream and beige tones.

Choose Granite over other flooring options and rest assured that you own the best flooring there is.

Bright as a Summer Day: Wizardly Black & White

The specialty of Granite resides in the startling Black & white of the natural stone. With little to no impurities, the Black and white Granite mined from various mines in North and South, We bring you the best of Black & white that brings elegance and chastity to your spaces and captures attention like no other. Available in many variants, one exceeding the quality of the other, these Black & White variants are here to set your dream spaces leagues apart.

Granite is the soul of beautiful architectural masterpieces across the country and the world. Their worth needs no more praising as their superior quality speaks for itself.

With Granite, you get the most sought after look for your dream scope. The Granite floorings are a show-stopper everywhere as you have very well seen for yourself. We hope your projects light up with our products so much so that the love with which you created your space, only increases with time.

Granite Always Pays: Durable

One of the main reasons why Granite is preferred is because of its strength and durability that exceeds that of the tiles and other flooring options by a remarkable mark. Though tiles are consistently being improved to bear heavy traffic, their maintenance is more difficult than Granite. They never can be carved into something spectacular, unlike marble with which numerous sculpting can be carved in the interiors, as it suits you.

ALASKA WHITE

TRAVERTINE

Travertine is a gorgeous sedimentary stone that lends itself well to the interior wall and flooring applications, as well as for exterior pavers and pool copings. Find out how travertine can enhance the look of your home.

WHITE ONYX

White onyx is a verity of onyx in white color natural and beautiful stone with wide variations featuring a white icy background and veins of gold and grays.

“Widely appreciated for its high luster and imparting visual appeal to the area where it’s used, Italian marble is quarried in Italy and is now easily available in India as well. Italian marble is one of the most sought after because of the rarity of the material. Italian marble is a versatile stone and can be used in many areas of the house. It is well known as a flooring material and it has been widely used in bathrooms as floor tiles, wall cladding, and vanity tops. It also makes great table tops and kitchen worktops where practicality meets subtle elegance.

Indian white onyx comes with pure white color with colored veins under it . It looks perfect for your bathroom kitchen or another external area. White Onyx marble elegance look gives your home interior or exterior a new & stylish look nobody ever seen.

CALACATTA GOLD

Amplify the appeal of your dream projects by the exclusive range of Calacatta stone available at Bhandari Marble Group.

Marble comes in endless colors and patterns. Here are just a few of the hundreds of types of marble that one might come across when searching for new floors. Calacatta Gold marble can vary from stone to stone, and it tends to be a warmer and lighter marble.

This is the classic marble that you see in Greek and Roman statues or fountains. It is a pure white marble and can maintain a pristine look, depending on the stone. It is also one of the lightest marbles available for flooring. Widely appreciated for its high luster and imparting visual appeal to the area where it’s used, Italian marble is quarried in Italy and is now easily available in India as well.

Italian marble is one of the most sought after because of the rarity of the material. Italian marble is a versatile stone and can be used in many areas of the house. It is well known as a flooring material and it has been widely used in bathrooms as floor tiles, wall cladding, and vanity tops. It also makes great table tops and kitchen worktops where practicality meets subtle elegance.

Conclusion:

We passed through a journey to know marble stones, their properties, usages, pros and cons, and how to polish your marble floor in a DIY manner in the current blog. It may have improved your appetite to apply marbles in your next project, and you are looking for the right supplier in your vicinity, right?

World of Stones USA is the best place to check a huge inventory of marble stones in customized ways. Visit the premise or ask for our marble catalog online and beautify your places using our free of charge consulting services with perfect guidance on each move

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fairyguks · 7 years

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work in progress tag

this took forever to do oh my god i was tagged by @chanyeolingss ; tagging @boymeetsfiction , @peachseong , and @httpsung !

tricks up his sleeve ; now you see me!au ; reader x taehyung

By now, he was pretty sure he could drive around laps of the parking lot with his eyes shut based upon how long he’s been working as a valet. Every width of each parking spot, each speed required to execute a proper turn to drive into the next lane... he had memorized it all. But the employee policy was to avoid car accidents with vehicles he could never afford.

“Tae!” Yoongi was slouched over the stand underneath the umbrella as if it’ll shield away the heat. The sun was setting, an orange hue painting the darkening sky, and yet the heat had never let up even though the clock was ticking towards 8 pm. There weas a black BMW at a stop near Taehyung’s coworker and a man sticking his head out the tinted windows.

“Coming,” he made sure to push another ounce of cheerfulness in his low voice, jogging over to meet the man who stepped out his car. “Hello sir, welcome to Emerson Resorts. I hope you have a lovely stay.” Taehyung’s polite greeting was returned with a grunt and a dropping of keys into his palm. The man’s wife trailed behind him, calling for a bellhop to help with their luggage, and their young son had his eyes glued on his handheld gaming device.

Once the three had moved forward to the lobby, Taehyung’s smile had dropped to a grimace and he trudged over to the bellhop who was struggling with the endless amount of designer suitcases. Before he could run over and help, another set of hands was already unloading a few.

“Really, miss, I got it,” Jungkook hurried but you were stubborn and managed to get most of them down. Taehyung twirled the key ring around his slender finger, deftly moving maneuvering it, as he watched you curiously. Like your parents, you were dressed luxuriously and he knew that pretty necklace alone could pay off his tuition for college. But the aura that surrounded you didn’t beg for attention like your mother nor stave off any people because you were approachable unlike your father.

“You gotta let us do our job,” he chuckled and watched his coworker load the rest of the suitcases onto the trolley before rolling it in. You shrugged and crossed your arms.

“It doesn’t hurt to help, does it… Taehyung?” you read his name tag and he found himself enamored with how his name seemed to roll off your tongue so sweetly.

“Hm. Suppose not.” Your lips quirked up in a vague smile before running inside the lobby of the hotel, leaving him to hop into the drivers’ seat and find a suitable parking spot for the pretty girl.

imprinted ; werewolf!au ; reader x jimin

red clouded his vision the moment you stepped through the golden doors of the ballroom. crimson fabric hugged your figure like a second skin, flaring out like a flame once your hips twisted to the melody of the violins. you were without a partner, dancing to the songs of the band as if you had no care upon your shoulders. black heels clicked to the rhythm of the bass and the sensual jazz music fit deliciously well with your moves.

he leaned against the mahogany counter of the bar. jimin clutched the glass a little too tightly, feeling the condensation build into small droplets that cooled his burning hand. throwing his head back, he felt the amber liquid burn his throat as it traveled down. his entire body warmed, wondering if his cheeks had maybe reddened slightly at the hard liquor, and after placing the glass down, he gave a smirk to the bartender then made his way towards you. in a sea of black and white attire, you were as bright as a flame.

as you spun on your toe, you had twirled elegantly right into his arms. his hands found purchase on your waist and yours linked behind his neck in response. words weren’t spoken and instead, the both of you used movements to converse. you pressed your body against his, feeling the taut muscles underneath the suit that fit him all too well, breaths mingling with one another.

“this was a black and white ball,” he murmured in your ear, pulling away for you to see his eyes as nothing but black; his pupils were blown and you nearly shivered at the lust that scratched at his words.

you allowed him to twirl you before finding yourself with your back against his chest, your arms crossed at your middle where he held your hands by your sides. “i guess i didn’t get the memo.” your voice was wry, playful and bright compared to the dull conversations he had been forced to partake in earlier. he chuckled at your reply, chest rumbling behind you as he suddenly pushed you away to twirl you, pulling you back in so your arms were folded in between you, hands clutching at his shoulders for balance.

“it wasn’t just your dress that got my attention.” he leaned in so his lips were pressed against your hairline, an oddly intimate moment that contrasted harshly with the hot and heavy notions you were getting from him earlier. “it was you. you’re… you don’t belong here.” and neither did he.

offense hit you like a dull knife at his comment. “excuse me?”

“the families here had generations growing up together. no one is unknown at this ball.” immediately, you looked around and realized no one was an odd man out; there were no strangers. “except you. how did you get in?”

you frowned, wondering why this handsome man wasn’t already alerting security or—“aren’t you gonna kick me out?”

he shook his head. “no. i want to know how you, a mortal of all things, got in here without dying at the doorstep.” your breath caught at your throat and you wrangled away from his grasp, entirely freaked out by that simple sentence. raised in a ‘shoot now, ask questions later’ home, you knew better than to stick around to try and figure out what he meant. so you ran.

bolting out the side door and into an alley, cold air hit you like tiny pinpricks but adrenaline pushed you to keep running and running—

“look, you can’t run.” the man from the ball approached you calmly from the end of the alley, suddenly appearing out of nowhere as he placed his hands in his comments. “i’m your safest bet to stay alive right now since you made one hell of a scene running away from me.”

“get the hell away from me!” you yelled and followed your instincts; you threw your stiletto at him.

if the crown fits ; royalty!au ; this is a snippet of the wip, since i’m like 4k words in ; jimin x reader x tae

Grunts and pants echoed throughout the ballroom, mixed with the clangs of metal swords and heavy boots that fell upon the tiled floors. "Come on, Tae Tae," Jin provoked, leaning in as he managed a smirk between the crossed swords that created a deadlock between the two men. "Where's the strength?"

The prince grunted in frustration as he pushed against the taller man, successfully breaking the locked swords and pointing his against him once more. Despite the sweat that clung to the back of his neck and the ruffled clothing that hung messily upon his frame, poise radiated from his posture as he awaited for Jin's next move. "Where's the skill?" Taehyung retorted as he braced for the strike that was quickly anticipated once he noticed the twitch in the other man's shoulder.

Conversation immediately ceased as a dangerous dance ensued between the princes. Each jab was met with a counter attack and a side step was followed with a strike. A swing was knocked aside with another and each parry was dodged. The two were easily matched but the tremendous amount of skill each possessed gave the other a thrill, a type of learning experience. After combinations of deflects and lunges, the two found each other at a standstill; their opponent's swords were pointed at their necks.

With heavy breaths, a lazy smile crossed both their lips as they dropped their swords. Exhaustion settled upon them as their strong stances deflated into a slight slump.

"You're improving," Jin commented as he sheathed his sword. Taehyung did the same as he took the compliment with a boxy grin. "Truly. The accuracy is almost deadly."

Servants were quick to enter with water, eyes pointed to the floor as they offered the glasses to the princes. They politely dismissed them once they finished. "So what's this I hear about a thief that's stolen your heart?”

glass ceiling ; pairing unknown

White and gray houses lined the perfect streets, forming a perfect image of suburbia for the perfect families of four. Each building housed a mother, a father, a son, and a daughter. Perfect families. Perfect, perfect… but empty.

‘Crimes had soared higher than ever before in the early 2000s,’ the children’s history books reported. It is now the year 4891. Freedom was an act of treason. War was vital to achieve peace. And silence was golden.

It was what kept their streets clean of the riffraff that had tainted their towns and cities with unspeakable crimes. It was what kept fathers bringing food home to place on all their white tables. It was what kept mothers holding their tongue, to submit to their husbands. It was what kept their children obedient and in line. Of course, children weren’t born perfect. They were made to be perfect.

If not, they had to be discarded.

But with each perfect city and town, something dirtier and wild was hidden underneath. It wasn’t the uniformed black and white like the paradise above them but splattered with the colors that was Banned for daily life. Rumored were the ones who chose to listen to hateful music once curfew’s bell rang out, throwing themselves to one another in obscene fashion that fought against the conservative rules that shaped their society.

a deal, not a vow ; heir!yoongi ; the main fic where heir!yoongi drabble came from! ; reader x yoongi

"What do you mean I can't collect my trust fund?" The designer sunglasses that he wore, used to hide the dark crescents beneath his eyes, were now sliding down the slope of his nose as he stared at the lawyer in shock. Jungkook and Taehyung weren't doing any better at handling the news.

The lawyer shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the full weight of Yoongi's gaze fell upon him. "It-It says here that..."

"That I must be at the age of 25 to receive the money," he continued. "So why can't I get it?"

"Provided if you have a marriage certificate," the lawyer finished meekly. Three sets of eyes widened at the final part and after a couple seconds, two sets directed their gaze to the man in question.

"Marriage," Taehyung breathed out, suddenly smacked sober at the thought of his harsh friend being married.

“When—”

"It was a recent amendment, sir. Only a few months ago."

No one spoke for few minutes but rather stole a couple glances at the birthday boy for his reaction. Finally—

"Alright then. I need to speak with my grandmother. Thank you. Have a good day."

Yoongi briskly stood from his chair and stormed out of the office, leaving Jungkook and Taehyung to scramble after him to the lobby of the law firm.

"My grandma---no, let me speak to her," he commanded the staff on the phone and after a second, Yoongi started to pace. "Nana? Nana, why didn't you tell me I had to get married before I could collect the trust fund?"

"Oh my dear, I thought I told you." Nana's voice was soft, soothing and not at all bothered by the urgency from her grandson's voice. "I know I have. On your 24th birthday. Is there something wrong?"

"B-But..." Yoongi searched desperately for any recollection of his precious grandmother ever telling him of the new requirement but he found nothing. "No! No, nothing’s wrong… it’s just that---you didn’t tell me. " Panic seeped through his tone.

"Ah, Yoongi?" A cautious voice was barely noticed by the man and he spared Jungkook a look, allowing him to speak for just a moment. "You might want to calm---” however, a glare was sent the young man’s way and rose two hands in surrender. “No, never mind. Ignore me. You do you."

"Yoongi, I know I told you... ah, wait..." he redirected his glare from Jungkook to the floor once his grandmother began to speak again. "Ah, I did tell you but you were so drunk. Maybe that's why you didn't remember."

"Nana!" At this point, Yoongi sounded very much like a scolded child but he pressed onwards in his conversation. "How am I supposed to remember then?"

"At least I know for sure I told you," she sighed, still sounding as carefree as ever. "Now I spent very good money on my face to take off decades. Please don't put them back. Don’t tell me you don’t have at least a lovely lady? I would like great grandchildren."

Yoongi paled as he hurried for a reply. “Of course I do. I’m married! I just… I didn’t want to say for publicity reasons.”

“Then it’s not an issue? I’ll call the lawyer soon but I’d like to meet the lovely little lady, hm? Maybe in an hour or so for lunch? Perfect. Have a lovely day, dear.”

The call clicked as the line went dead and Yoongi just stared at his friends in shock.

"Someone get me a fake wife. And fast."

#i have tons more but those wips are like ... 2 sentences lol #*wip #*tag

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