#this applies to everything i have ever done

[iraprince]

gonna show u guys a little opalescent highlight hack i threw together today

rainbow gradient above your main figure (i usually have all my main figure folders/layers in one big folder, so i can clip gradient maps + adjustments to it!). liquify tool to push the colors around a bit. STAY WITH ME I KNOW IT LOOKS STUPID RN I'M GOING SOMEWHERE WITH THIS

THEN: set it to add/glow (or the equivalent in ur drawing program), lower the opacity a bit, and apply a layer mask. then u can edit the mask with whatever tools you like to create rainbow highlights!!

in this case i'm mostly using the lasso fill tool to chip out little facets, but i've also done some soft airbrushing to bring in larger rainbow swirls in some areas. it's pretty subtle here, but you can see it better when i remove the gradient map that's above everything, since below i'm working in greyscale:

more granular rambling beneath the cut!

u could also just do this with a brush that has color jitter, but what i like about using layer masks for highlight/shading layers is how simple and reversible it makes everything. i can use whatever brushes i want, and erasing/redoing things is super low stakes, which is great when i often approach this stuff with a super trial-and-error approach.

example: have u ever thrown a gradient w multiple colors over an entire piece, set it to multiply etc, and then tried to erase it away to carve out shadows/highlights? it's super frustrating, bc it looks really good, but if u erase something and then change ur mind later, u basically would have to like. recreate the gradient in the area u want to cover up again. that's how i used to do things before figuring out layer masks!! but masking basically creates a version of this with INFINITE undo bc u can erase/re-place the base layer whenever u want.

anyway, back to rambling about this specific method:

i actually have TWO of these layers on this piece (one with the liquified swirls shown above, and another that's just a normal concentric circle gradient with much broader stripes) so i can vary the highlights easily as needed.

since i've basically hidden the rainbow pattern from myself, the colors in each brushstroke i make will kind of be a surprise, which isn't always great -- but easily fixable! for example, if i carve out a highlight and it turns out the rainbow pattern in that area is way too stripey, i can just switch from editing the mask to editing the main layer and blur that spot a bit.

also, this isn't a full explanation of the overall transparency effect in these screencaps! there's other layer stuff happening below the rainbow highlights, but the short version is i have all this character's body parts in different folders, each with their own lineart and background fill, and then the fill opacity is lowered and there's multiply layers clipped to that -- blah blah it's a whole thing. maybe i'll have a whole rundown on this on patreon later. uhhh i think that's it tho! i hope u get something useful out of this extremely specific thing i did lmao

#tutorials #my art #wip #process

[polyamorousmood]

Have you ever felt guilty about being polyamourous despite knowing deep down there's nothing wrong with it, but you're overthinking everything??

getting a little personal here

I've been struggling a lot with it lately, being attracted to another person while currently dating someone, knowing it's okay and its an open relationship, and it's just been spiraling so much in my brain as guilt for no reason i hope I'm not alone in that

of course, though mostly when I was in monogamous relationships, if I'm being honest. I still get twinges on occasion, butbone of my greater strengths is stopping my brain from spiraling into self-loathing. So. Not a huge problems from me. I do have tips though! Some from recognizing what I do and some from various readings. There's not an order, some of them are incompatible with each other, try a couple and see what works

Affirmations to help you internalize things like "I believe in this as a right for all people, and that has to include myself"

Reframings. So when you catch yourself going "waah! My pArTnEr WiLl fEeL bAd!" You can maybe be like "my partner is my equal. If I hold myself to a ✌ higher ✌ standard than them, I am treating them as an inferior, which is unfair, and will make them feel bad" or you know. Whatever. Frame Polyamory As A Good Thing So That It Can Be One, basically. What does your partner GAIN from polyamory? How is your life BETTER from polyamory?

Politely detach from the spiral. You're not stopping it, necessarily, but it's not you. It's that toddler that lives in your brain having a temper tantrum, and you're the favorite babysitter standing non-judgementally to the side, waiting it out, and saying "wow, that was a lot. Are you okay? Do you think that's all true? Do you think that's all fair? Do you think a juice box or a nap would help you feel better?" once the waterworks have ended.

Check in regularly with your partner, and trust them. Make a space for them to say something they appreciate and soemthing you could have done differently, take them at their word, and use those words later. I have literally gritted my teeth at myself like like "she SAID the only thing I should do different is text her when I'm coming home. Am I calling her a LIAR? Is that what I've come to?"

Literally say when you're being dumb. "Well. I guess that could be true, in a hell world where Nixon Jr is president and we're all idiots, but I don't think that's the world I'm living in so it really doesn't apply here" and drop it

thank our feelings. You feel strongly about it because you want to do right by your partner! That's good! Thank it for trying to make sure you do that, and explain to your guilt that you have things under control, in so many words. "Thank you, guilt, for trying to make sure I don't betray [partner]'s trust, but they know about it and said it's okay, so you can take a day off"

All very effective. I encourage anyone else who has experience with this to weigh in

#Polyamory #Guilt #ask box is always open

[footballffbarbiex]

Blurbs you say 👀 I’m in my I need John stones in a way that’s so unholy era sooo a lil smutty stonesy something. Maybe a pre euros we must bang each others brains out before we separate for a month sex 🤭 bonus points for his sexy voice dirty talking pls and thank you 🥰

(Also I cannot tell you how excited it makes me to get notifications about you posting again! Missed you Amy!! ❤️)

(you have no idea how much this makes me happy to see 🥺)

I'm going to wait and see if anyone catches onto the nugget that I've dropped in this btw.

-

John's lips had found yours within seconds of the door opening. His impatience had been clear from the frantic replies, assorted voice notes and pictures which he'd sent that had sent you into a frenzy. The build up to the euros had been long, and he'd done everything he could to ensure that he was as fit and healthy as he could be but now it was quickly approaching, but neither of you were ready for the separation that this tournament will bring. He'd been determined to try something different, wanting to opt for some phone fun in an attempt to make this inevitable dry spell slightly less dry. He hadn't banked on it working this well.

You'd sent him voice notes of you whimpering, the subtle sounds of your body responding to the way you'd stroked over your soaked pussy had been clear. Videos of John had been sent back, his long, thick cock enveloped between his fingers and palm as he stroked every inch he had while quiet praise for the way you were playing fell from his lips.

Even now with your knee is up by your chest, enabling John to penetrate you as deeply as possible, he still praises you. "Fucking hell, you take me so easily don't you?" he says, peering between your bodies to watch as inch after inch is thrust inside of you.

The sound of skin coming together and your whines fill the room as you adjust to something bigger than your fingers and the toy that you'd been playing with stretches you open.

"Gonna miss this," you promise him, desperately trying to keep your hazy eyes open but it becomes harder to do so with each passing second. The glimpses you get show him looking euphoric, mouth slightly open with pleasure, his eyes no doubt the way your own look and a light blush colouring his cheeks.

"Gonna be counting down the days 'til I'm back inside you," he says before grunting as he enters you fully, pausing there with his balls pressed to your ass cheeks and the head of his cock twitching against your cervix. You feel completely full and yet you'd have taken his size again if he'd asked.

Your pussy clamps around him when his fingers find your bean; an action that has your eyes rolling into the back of your head while contracting tightly as he throbs between your swollen walls. The long drawn out "fuuuuuuuck" that leaves your mouth as you desperately try and arch your back is music to John's ears.

"Is that good baby? D'ya like the feel of my dick inside you like this? Want me to keep going?" he asks as you begin to circle your hips ever so slightly once he begins to give shallow thrusts. He's barely pulling back out before he's sinking back into you once more but the drag of his cock against your highly sensitive spots is exactly what you need. His thumb applies the perfect pressure to begin to fine tune the orgasm that threatens to take shape.

Each time you try to open your mouth to agree, your breath catches as he fucks into you in such a way that renders you speechless.

"I'm going to need to hear it baby if this is going to get me through this next month."

"Please John." Your eyes close as your toes begin to curl tightly as everything he's doing begins to harmonise.

"Please John, what?" his tone tells you he's grinning and you hate him for it.

"Please let me cum and don't. stop. fucking me."

#john stones imagine #john stones blurb #john stones drabble #john stones smut #football imagine #football one shot #footballer imagine #footballer one shot #football blurb #football fanfiction #football fanfic #footballer fanfiction

[iamanartichoke]

I don't know who needs to hear this, but as a creator -

I am fine with "the audience" -

downloading my fics

printing my fics

copy/pasting or screenshotting my fics

sharing your saved copy of my fics with anyone else who might want them in the unlikely but never impossible case that my fics are no longer available on ao3

making a book of my fic(s) and running your fingers across the pages while lovingly whispering my precioussss

doing these things with anything I create for fandom, such as meta, headcanons, au nonsense like 'texts from the brodinsons,' etc

I am not fine with "the audience"

doing any of the above with the purpose/intent of plagiarizing my work or passing it off as their own in any capacity

feeding my work into ai for any reason whatsoever

Save the fandom things. Preserve the fandom things. Respect the fandom things.

Enjoy the fandom things.

#fanfic #ao3 #archive of our own #fandom things #tumblr things #i may have said this at some point #i'm sure i have #but whatever - just in case #i don't say this with the presumption that i'm so amazing and people are clamoring to save my fics #but just if anyone is so inclined that's all #ftr i don't intend on ever removing my fics from ao3 or deleting fandom things from this blog #i've always shared my fandom things with the intent of keeping them shared bc that's the whole point of posting #but the fandom atmosphere and ao3 constantly being under attack who knows what can happen #not that this applies to anyone but should all else fail you can also reach out to me and i will personally give you a copy #at least of fics bc i save everything #not so much the tumblr things but this is a good reminder to myself that i should do that for the things i care about #that i've made or done and only posted here #anyway sorry i have now used up my quota of the putting words into sentences doing for today #i have plans to stare into the void now

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

#i turn 27 tomorrow and i feel like my life is collapsing in around me #i officially made the decision to take the summer off. which i hate. which means i have to get a summer job #when ive only ever had jobs in academia so my resume looks insane if im applying to work in a bakery or whatever #im just so tired. everything makes me so tired and sad. i still dont kno what im gonna do #im glad my dad is here bc he gets it more than most ppl bc hes also dyslexic and like everyone assumes im fine bc ive got this far #but like at what cost? im doing a job where im set up to suffer. and for what? im doing something so niche and weird #all i can do is more academia. but what if i cant cut it? what if i would b better off getting a epa job or something where i can do my job #and then go home and stop thinking abt it. how do i apply the stupid bullshit i decided to study? i should have done Ecosystem restoration #or something. its just that my dream was to study weird things in weird places and now it feels like that dream is collapsing #which is devastating. im gonna try to come back in the fall and give it a go but like i dunno it feels so hopeless rn #im just so tired. i have no joy. i just want to lay on the floor #unrelated

[mickedy]

I spent a lot of my last Undertale playthrough jogging my memory on the neutral endings, and I think my favorite one is still the ending you get for sticking through a No Mercy run all the way up to the point where you fight Mettaton Neo, without exhausting the CORE kill-count beforehand. The Queen Alphys one. It's not the most powerful or important ending, and it's not really the saddest one, but Man. it gives me so much to think about. forever

#something something nearly the best outcome for alphys despite her losing everything. how her speech could also be applied to sans #who is also there with her. Alphys and sans parallels. Forever. both of them watching from the sidelines now forced to own up #and take charge of things. this is the only ending where alphys tells anyone about the dt experiments and its. the best thing #she could have ever done. you know #maybe i will elaborate. i am going to sleep now

[idiosyncraticrednebula]

Almost all of the "criticism" (i.e., hatred, bashing) thrown at Disney Princesses comes directly from a fundamental misunderstanding, misinterpretation and misreading of the core message of their stories and their respective characters and journeys.

#disney princesses #disney #meta #disney meta #txt #thankfully dp hate isn't as common now thanks to the multiple defense essays that have been done about them there are still people who #spread nonsensical exaggerated and false narratives about them #don't even get me started on the disney princes #if the disney princesses are unfairly lambasted the disney princes are basically burned alive just because they are the love interest #and everything that is said about them is based primarily on the first two princes and even a bit of phillip #but ever since eric they've been pretty damn unique in their own way (except for john because i don't like him but i don't even think he #should count anyways considering the historical basis of his character. anyways that's another topic for another) #i feel like this specially applies to the first 6 who get the most hatred #specially in regards to cinderella and ariel who are undoubtedly the most misunderstood of all #and they also happen to be two of the most popular princesses #if you think all they have ever thought little girls is to be pretty and wait for somebody to “win” them as their trophy wife you are #pretty damn stupid. how the hell do y'all reach these types of conclusions? #the disney princess has always been defined for her HEART the physical beauty just ACCENTUATES their beautiful soul #they have different ways to show it some are tougher and some are softer but at the core they are all good people #if you don't get that about them ofc you are gonna f*cking hate them with every fiber of your very being #this also has to do with the bastardization of the princess archetype being painted as a spoiled brat as opposed to a kind-hearted selfless #and brave individual #also it's kind of funny that they complain about that when they constantly tell women that all they have to do is be pretty and don't have #to do a damn thing because their existance alone is enough and they don't have to do sh*t in the relationship #SO WHICH ONE F*CKING IS IT????????????? JESUS CHRIST #anyway. rant over

[isfjmel-phleg]

[ ]

#random personal stuff #whining ahead feel free to ignore #if I had a nickel for every time someone (usually a particular person close to me whom I love) responded to #my owning up to having negative or difficult emotions about something #by saying something like 'just ask the Lord to take that away' and acting like they've magically solved my problem #I'd have a lot of nickels #and I am frustrated with this #first of all it feels dismissive #it feels like 'I don't want to deal with your Bad Emotions so go get that quickly and easily removed so you can be acceptable again' #instead of addressing the problem it's telling you to slap a spiritual bandaid on it and everything is fine #and secondly I tend to doubt that God works like that #COULD he miraculously make me not feel things? of course #has he ever done that for me though? no not that I've ever noticed #so I would have to conclude that my emotions exist for a reason and I need to learn things by actually facing up to them #and I am trying to learn how to do that #but to be open and honest about my feelings with this person who is close to me only to get the ask-the-Lord-to... brush-off - #I don't know ... it just reminds me of how I've ended up in this mess in the first place and it's frustrating #surely we could apply our faith in other ways besides using it as a veneer for repressing and bottling up emotion

[mihai-florescu]

Unfortunately I am sunk cost fallacy's bitch and have been for my whole life

#its ok its ok its ok maybe itll take me a long time and i will hate every second but ill get through with it #this applies to anything and everything ive ever done #in ro we have a saying that hunger comes as you eat. you gain the desire for it as youre doing the thing #it has never worked for me #but i still hope it will be different

[silverislander]

people smarter than me have said this before but jesus christ why does every job seem to require at least a year of experience and a degree in some hyperspecific field. where did the entry level positions go? how am i even supposed to get experience if none of yall will give me a job without it?

#theres already almost nothing related to my field being offered but even the unrelated things that i think i could try are out bc of this #most of the stuff id actually care abt doing actually require 3-5+yrs! in a field that i cant get into without experience i cant get! #and people talk abt how 'nobody wants to work' i am BEGGING you for a job. literally begging (cover letters). #im coming to the horrifying realization that its possible Nothing i have done w my entire life matters. i have nothing useful #i really feel like i made a mistake. that cant be the best five years of my life i wasnt even happy during most of them #i applied to six jobs weeks ago and ive heard back from one of them and it was a rejection. and theres nothing else to apply to #my degree isnt helping and all of my hobbies are useless. why am i only good at/passionate abt arts. why not math or smth instead #i should have just done ece like i was planning to instead of my honours. what was even the point #and im watching other people in my year get great jobs right out of university. watching my BROTHER get offered work on a silver platter #hes 19 and got five different offers + didnt apply people just asked him to work for them. second year in a row this has happened #hes never had to work for minimum wage. hes always had a good job in his field lined up anytime he wants to work and it always pays well #and i finished five years and ive had to beg for everything ive ever gotten and its still not enough to count for anything #im proud of him but fuck it stings a little #levi.txt #vent tw #oh right i forgot i should just walk in and shake the managers hand. /right/. and they will simply give me a job on the spot bc of this #if people whove been working the same job since before 1990 dont fucking stop giving me bad advice istfg #and these same people say nepotism isnt real and in the same breath talk abt giving their nephew a summer job at their company #literally all i want is work i can be decent at that i care abt and making a living wage. it doesnt have to be fun i dont want to be rich #i just want to do an ok job feel like my work matters and make enough to start my life. thats all

[suncaptor]

they should make funded graduate programs for people who could have realistic chances of getting into them actually.

#every school has the same acceptance rates as wjen i was was applying to ivies and guess what i didnt dedicate the last half decade #like i did as a teen #because i was too busy trying to live not escape! and i was so so sick! and there was a pandemic! #maybe having gone to ghana and my double major will help idk #im going crazy ill graduate with no money and be homeless hahajahahjajaha i may as well kill myself #(after they reject me) #see thats the reason no one needs to worry i have chronic cant give up disorder #but ive also never ever ever done this poorly academically #i felt the same way last spring IN THR MIDSY OF XJKAKXKD #but this time i legit legit legit its not an a minus ill get :):))“) #the prgirams cant knoww i have to apply to everything now #but its already too late #anyways losing it #i mean i very much am still going to try. #does anyone know how to find a european masters lol #delete #vent

[marklikely]

hey what is going on in tech right now that we keep having to do this "new buzzword dominating every conversation you have" thing every year

#i swear to god it didn't used to be this prevalent or change this frequently #like if tech companies were getting into something you at least wouldn't have to hear about it every day but now its like #2021 every single day you will hear about nfts. everyone will need to learn what crypto is #2022 every single day you will hear about the metaverse. everyone will know what the metaverse is #2023 every single waking minute you will hear about AI. forever. #and in the case of those last 2 the terms are mostly big bc they mean nothing and get applied to everything #anyway. will the AI shit crash and burn like metaverse and nfts did before it or are we going to be stuck in this one forever #i personally think its a lot less likely to flop like the other 2 because a lot of regular people are actually buying into this one #and playing with stuff that's labeled AI in a way that nobody did with stuff labeled as metaverse #like metaverse and nft headlines were always about some company trying to push it into consumers #but most of the stuff around machine generated stuff (somehow we count this as Intelligence i guess) is from regular people. #avpost #im tired im ready to be done with all this i don't want to have to hear elon musk's thoughts ever again. #fully ready to become old man yelling at cloud.

[bear-of-varley]

I'm finally done with my university studies like all I have to do is submit some journal entries and my final and that's it. Forever. I never have to do a master's degree ever again and you'll never make me.

#it was really cool doing an educational theater class since my university has an extremely well renowned theater program #i mean my university is renowned in everything but ESPECIALLY theater #I can't believe I'm totally done like what a massive weight #I'm not showing off or anything but my university is well known abroad #anyway I finally achieved my revenge against my ex because although I was slow by a whole decade #i did get it done and got it done in a year and at a school my ex could never get into #I'm still honestly surprised I was accepted here and I'm forever grateful #also I do feel like if i have kids they do have a solid school to fall on thanks to me #anyway my family is pressuring me to get a PhD but I'm not doing education ever again and going back to English and/or writing #doing English means I should apply to this university or the other one but for writing I'd need to leave #I'm kind of interested in the one at Belfast #but living abroad for writing would be hard as fuck esp with by then living in NYC for a decade

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

#theres a special kind of agony in tryinf to find an apartment in an college town with a housing shortage #everythings expensive as fuck and im sure its frustrating for everyone but i feel like its especially frustrating for me #bc it takes me so much fucking time to understand the information right in front of me and then i doubt myself so i have to check and check #and double check and triple check that im on the right website. that im inputting the right info #and its like. what if theres a better place i could b looking? like i found a management place to apply to thats expensive but less #expensive than another place but the building looks like its kinda on the edge of town like 15min drive from school #which i hate bc im an anxious freak and its gonna b worse than driving here bc itll get icey as fuck there #like proper inches of snow all winter. negative negative cold. so its like. do i take a nice apartment thats kinda far away #or a slightly more expensive apartment thats like 10min from school and more in town #and then theres the application stuff. and i cant fill anything out without having a full on like sobbing breakdown #but im that way abt everything. i do that all the time when i have to buy plane tickets #its exhausting. and i cant plan my exit until i know when i can move into a place. whatever. it doesnt help that my hormones r fucked rn #or i hope its the hormones. ive been so tired. so so tired. like sleeping 9hrs and still tired when usually im wired after only 7hrs sleep #i hate it. and super brain foggy. and this week i have to finish taking measurements for the last time #so i gotta decide if im gonna go in tomorrow or Monday to start it. its gonna suck so bad bc im gonna try to do it in 6 days. which will b #agony. but after that ill never have to do it ever again. ugh. im just so tired and i dont wanna limp my way into a new project feeling #like damaged goods. which is exactly what it feels like now. ive just done a very good job of making my job difficult #cant go into the lab without feeling physically ill. drained away all my joy. now theres only a sad distant recognition of how far ive #allowed myself to fall. i kno ill feel better once i have a place to stay and i can quit my job just getting there is taking an eternity #unrelated

[dot823]

im going through hell right now

#i can hardly make myself even do things i like doing #let alone things i need to do #even eating is a struggle #because the effort of getting out of bed and getting food is too hard #and also i cant afford to just buy food because my family is poor as fuck right now #i spend hours just on tumblr or instagram or talking with friends while doing nothing constructive and then i feel exhausted and pass out #i need to do my taxes and i need to deal with work things or get a new job and i need to be an adult #but i cant even get myself to play my favorite video game im so down #the idea of even having to leave my house for four hours to work is too much #putting on pants is a lot of effort #and i cant apply for disability bc ive tried and it's so goddamn hard and they expect you to remember everything youve ever done #and every penny you've ever held #and god FORBID you have family or friends who have ever given you money to help you #its literally ridiculous #not to mention the state of my house is horrible bc my whole family is depressed #and i want to move so badly but i cant even afford the gas to get to my friends house even if i just loaded my car up and left #im struggling #my mom gets paid in 8 days and until then i have approximately 2 frozen meals and some pasta i can eat #everything else in my house i cant eat because of dietary restrictions and most of it is expired anyway

[yvmoveon]

.

#I just think about how some people have done me when i’ve only been kind and supportive with them and it really hurts #i always try my best to be kind and upfront and i know it’s stupid to expect that from everyone #but that doesn’t negate the hurt that’s been put on me by ppl who took advantage of my kindness and understanding #i forgive them but the pain that came with what they’ve done i don’t think i’ll ever fully shake #but the good thing about this is that it’s helped me see that being kind is everything #this is why i take my time getting close to ppl #also my body dysmorphia is really bad rn e.e #idk how you could treat someone who was kind to you so wrong #i will never understand #but nonetheless i will continue being kind and gentle idc #imma keep applying Ephesians 4:32 #i know God will keep blessing me as long as i do this #please ignore this thank you