#why did i put so much effort into a drawing for a one off presentation

[swannieluv]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖꩜ Portraits and flowers- PLATONIC Albedo and Klee x Child!Reader

✦⸼࣪⸳ 𝐆𝐍!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

✦⸼࣪⸳ 𝐖𝐜: 1,4k

✦⸼࣪⸳ 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆!!: Slight mention of a bruise.

✦⸼࣪⸳ Part II of: Alchemy, bombs... Family?

✦⸼࣪⸳ A/N: HII!! Writing for Klee is so nice, she's just a silly ball of energy. Hope you guys like it!! Also, a friendly reminder that you're free to send whatever thoughts you have about this or my other fics on my asks <3

"Stay still."

These two words had been repeated thousands of times over the last two hours. A single command that should be simple, if it weren't terribly boring to sit in an armchair posing for so long.

"I still don't understand..." Their eyes turned to the back of the easel, which concealed Albedo's work. "Why do you want to make a portrait of me?"

"Because you're our new addition to the family; it's only fair that we have a portrait of you to put on the wall."

He wanted to present them with a painting that he would do himself. Although most of his drawings didn't make it out of the sketch phase because he always found other inspiration and left his unfinished projects lying around, Albedo was clearly making an effort for them.

For Albedo, this wasn't just a gift. It had been a few days since [Name] had joined the small family made up of Albedo, Klee and Alice; although they still hadn't had direct contact with the latter.

They were still adapting to the new reality they were living in, in the midst of a great deal of internal confusion because they couldn't remember anything about their past. That's where the idea for this gift came from, something that would make them feel embraced by him and Klee.

Albedo then returned his attention to the painting. He seemed focused, trying to capture every possible detail in his work and create the best possible representation of the person in front of him.

"It's already a great honor to have the opportunity to be painted by the 'genius' Albedo..."

They teased him in a light-hearted way. Albedo was known to many as a 'Genius'. Something in his mind said that the person who told [Name] about this title was a certain Cavalry Captain with, apparently, too much free time for his liking.

He wasn't particularly fond of being called that, thinking it was a big exaggeration on people's part. Nevertheless, he decided to join in.

"And it's a great pleasure to be able to paint the great Dodoca..." he smiled and looked at the canvas, his eyes analyzing every detail of what he had already done so that he could correct the mistakes.

"The mini terrorist will surely want a portrait if she sees it."

"Mini terrorist? New nickname for Klee, I see."

In a small family of three - or four if you count Alice - Klee was the bomb-maniac little sister. Although Albedo was the one who spent most of his time looking after the little girl, now that [Name] is here, she has been dividing her time between the two of them. Whenever Klee met [Name] along the way she would jump around and show off her new bombs, causing the two to end up in solitary confinement more than five times before even a week had passed since their arrival.

And today would probably be no exception.

"Mr. Albedo!"

Klee appeared as energetic as ever. The girl looked as if she had just returned from her adventures in Mondstadt, adventures she could only experience outside solitary confinement. In her hands was a bouquet of orange flowers: Windwheel Asters.

"I did it! I've collected all the flowers!"

Albedo stared at Klee in silence with wide eyes, his panic inside was apparent. He had agreed with the little girl to deliver the flowers after the painting was finished, not before!

But seeing Klee's sparkling eyes, he could only laugh softly and stroke her head gently. The little girl was really excited to hand over her present.

"Thank you, Klee."

As soon as Albedo's hand left her head, she ran and threw herself over them in a tight hug. Causing some of the flowers in her arms to slip, not that that was a problem at the moment.

The seat didn't have a back support, so as soon as Klee jumped, they both fell straight to the hard floor and remained there completely motionless while hugging each other.

The sound of two awkward giggles echoed around the room. The fall was funny, but a little painful for [Name]'s back.

"That was so fun!"

Klee stood up awkwardly; her backpack weighed a lot, even if she could carry it around. The contents of the backpack? A mystery, she always took the most random trinkets out of it. The only thing you could be sure of was the dozens of bombs she must hide in there every day.

"Klee picked the best flowers she could find! Just for you!" She brought the flowers close to their faces; a sweet but early surprise for [Name].

"You didn't have to..."

They prepared to get up, wiping the accumulated snow from their clothes. Their efforts were met with a gentle hand extended to them, just like the day Albedo and Klee had helped them.

"Thank you."

They accepted the support and were finally on two feet. Their sore backs would probably end up having a few bruises from the sudden impact they had suffered, but they didn't want to have to worry when they were having such a good time.

“Did Klee hurt you? I didn't intend to…” she mumbled under her breath, a hand over her mouth as the worried girl looked at them.

“I'm not hurt at all. It's okay.”

It wasn't exactly the truth, but what heartless person would say that to her? She looked so guilty right now, fearing having hurt her new friend like that.

“You could've used your vision to avoid your fall. Why haven't you done so?”

That was a reasonable question. The fact they wielded an anemo vision and weren't actively using it when needed was quite curious for him; maybe he could get the answer he was searching for. All evidence, from their vision's shape to their past clothing pointed out their origins coming from Snezhnaya.

It would start to make sense if they truly had come from the snowy nation, since they could stand the cold naturally without feeling slightly bothered by the lack of natural warmth inside his lab – unlike Klee, who would complain to no end about how her ears were “freezing” before getting her vision and becoming the walking heater she is – and their effortless pacing around the mountain, when even skilled adventurers would find the area rather hostile for exploring sometimes.

Yet, no answer would be concrete while [Name]’s memories continued to stay locked inside their mind for who knows how long. But even so, Albedo was more than willing to help them and wait for the right time when things will finally become clear.

“I don't know…” they answered with a rather puzzled look on their face. Their hands clutching to the hanging vision on their side.

“It's alright, just take your time.”

He put a hand on their shoulder, it was a reassuring action to make sure they knew he truly meant those words. Behind him was Klee, picking the flowers that fell when she jumped.

“Remember, no one's pressuring you into remembering anything”

Albedo's tone always carried a wave of gentleness with it. Years of taking care of Klee had surely improved his skills when dealing with children, she was the perfect definition of a ball of sunshine that could melt everyone's hearts.

“Yes, thank you—”

“What's this?” Klee’s question caught you two by surprise. She was standing close to the canvas, eyes exploring the painting quickly as if she was searching for something specific. Yet her facial expression showed a hint of confusion. “Oh, a drawing?”

“Yes, I'm important now so I can have one.”

They playfully stuck out their tongue to her, which she responded by leaving the flowers on a table and putting her hands on the hips with a pouting face. Of course Klee found [Name] amazing now that she was their friend, yet it didn't prevent her from feeling slightly jealous of Albedo's attention. Though it was more of a lighthearted, childish kind of jealousy.

“Right, Mr. Albe—”

He was gone.

“Oh.”

Albedo disappeared without saying a word, leaving them both alone in the lab without any kind of explanation.

“Let me see it.” [Name] ran to where Klee was, in front of the easel. Instead of a half done portrait, there was only a sketch.

Two hours, two freaking hours staying still like a porcelain doll for a sketch. It was quite infuriating, but maybe that's how artists worked? They wouldn't know.

“...”

They were so focused on their representation in the canvas that had failed to see the other two faces composing the picture. It wasn't only them; Albedo and Klee were also present in the sketch by their side. Written delicately in a small blank space was the word “family”.

“Family…"

A cozy home, big dinner, and a fireplace. Those images appeared for a second in their mind alongside the face of a familiar woman, but they couldn't remember whose face was that. It was blurred, just like everything else about their past.

"[Name]?" Klee's voice cut their thoughts. She had the flowers in her hands, ready to gift them with it.

Klee finally gave them the Windwheel Asters. A small smile on her face as she placed them carefully in [Name]’s hands. Maybe, just maybe, they were accepting it better than they thought.

“Klee wants you to be happy. Let's be siblings! I promise I won't explode you with my bombs, really!”

This time, though, the one to start the hug was [Name]. Their arms cautiously wrapped around the smaller child, afraid of hurting her somehow.

If Klee was a small flame due to her vision, [Name] would be the calm breeze to carry her with themselves. It's the very concept of siblings, right? Fighting, yet hugging by the end of it all.

“Thank you, Klee.”

#genshin impact #genshin platonic #genshin x reader #genshin x gender neutral reader #mondstadt #albedo x reader #albedo x you #albedo #klee #genshin klee #genshin #Swanniesarchive<3

[thedevilinmybrain]

my babygate thoughts after watching AOTV

I want to start off by saying that these are just my opinions and I am in no way, shape, or form indicating that I am apologizing or justifying my believed closeting of a queer individual. Nor am I making apologies for someone that I do not know nor will ever know. That being said, I do feel that I am allowed to draw my own personal conclusions given the evidence presented before us and make my own critical decision based on the content.

I do not believe Freddie is Louis' son. I honestly will never believe that he is biologically Louis' son.

That being said, I do think that AOTV did an interesting job of framing the Louis/Freddie relationship in the  midst of talking about his family and the role he is so often put in. For instance, I believe that AOTV is more of a film of self discovery and reconciliation of the self than anything else. It's framed about one man's struggle to find where he belongs and if he even deserves it. So in some ways, it's an introspective film about Louis' outlook on himself as an artist, as a brother, as a friend, and as an individual.

Given the way that Louis and his sisters talk about him, Louis has always been in the role of 'protector' and 'big brother'. Even in the band, there was a sense that Louis was the oldest and that he was 'the boss' because of his skill in voicing and sticking up for the rest of the boys. We have seen it time and time again from the way he's protective of his siblings to the way he was always so involved in the `1D days. This is a man who prides himself on taking care of others and making the best of situations - a fact that I will bring up later.

When it comes to babygate and the deals and trauma that surround that, I do believe that Louis had limited say in the matter. Much like the example in the film of the producer that gave Louis hope but ultimately did his own decision on the song, Louis' life in One Direction didn't come without a slew of managers and music company people who had a say in it and made decisions. I do not think at the beginning that Louis was allowed to give much imput or control over the happenings behind the scene. As 1D went on break and Louis was able to navigate his own career with a little more freedom, I do think that input changed but considering how much of his life is hidden behind contracts and NDAs, I don't think the truth will ever be told in its entirety. And honestly, I am okay with that because at the end of the day, it's Louis' life and I am just an observer.

So, when it comes to Freddie now, I am of the opinion that Louis is more of an 'uncle' or 'family friend' to him. Given the limited amount of time we actually know they spend together, probably equal to how much Louis has seen Doris and Ernie, one can speculate that Louis isn't a constant in Freddie's life. More of a randomly visiting family memmber than a core fixture. We never hear Freddie call him Dad. We see Freddie multiple times look at the camera during the film and on other occasions such as the holidays where it feels like he's being prompted to interact with the family. It's the same feeling of seeing an uncle at Christmas that you haven't seen in ages. You know them but you're not 100% comfortable.

So, why even bother? Why does Louis make any effort at all?

I think it comes down to him being in the role of protective older brother. If there is nothing he can do about babygate, if there is nothing he can change about the narrative now, the very least he can do is make positive memories with an innocent child. I mean, what would fandom prefer? Every time they're stunted together that Louis just ignores Freddie like he's Eleanor? Found somewhere in the background looking miserable?

It's making the best out of the worst situation. Because one day, someone is going to explain all of this to Freddie. And yes, I do believe it's unfair and it's cruel to the child, but we also don't know what he's being told as his own narrative. Maybe he knows Louis as his 'Uncle Lou' or 'The UK family'. We just don't know. But what we do know is that when Louis is with him, he takes on the role of big brother. He plays with him, he gives him good memories, he provides experiences just like he did/does for his younger siblings. It's shown in the film with the way he kisses the baby twins. It's Louis being a stand in 'father figure' or 'big brother'.

I'm not saying it's right or that it's the way it should be. Honestly, I don't think closeting should be a thing at all. It's grossly unfair to everyone involved. But the Louis I know, the man we've all loved from the very beginning, would never allow himself to be cruel or cold to someone innocent. And I think he's doing the best that he can given the circumstances.

And I hope one day when Freddie finds out the truth, at the very least he can look back and be like 'Yes, this was unfair and unjust and completely inappropriate. But all I know of this man is the kindness and the fun and the good times. He didn't cause me more pain.'

#babygate #louis tomlinson #my thoughts

[jemmo]

to say im in love with the most recent ep of my personal weatherman would be a gross understatement bc my god, i dont think a show has ever pulled off two idiots that are in love and don’t know how to express it so perfectly. 

(put in a read more bc wow that got long)

and this ep is perfect for that bc it explains so well segasaki’s behaviors and attitudes up to this point, where we previously hadn’t got to see that much behind his curtain. we’ve seen yoh, we’re privy to his inner thoughts a lot, and we know why he’s in a difficult place with his feelings at the moment, and we know the way he perceives segasaki, which was complicated to begin with and has only gotten more so. but in this ep, we get to see this whole journey of where segasaki has come from, why he is the way he is, and how he found some kind of solace with yoh, and why he’s panicking at the idea of that solace crumbling.

and it’s genius bc it’s a backstory i never really saw coming, it’s one of the few times i could predict something in a bl. this idea of him not being an outright people pleaser, more so just a good observer of the status quo and acting accordingly to get by with as few problems as possible. and with his looks, his general demeanor and such, it means he can easily integrate with these ‘popular’ people who aren’t actually popular, they just act the way that they think gains them popularity, namely acting superior. it’s never that segasaki was like that, they were just his social security blanket.

(and no, it does not escape me that this set up is very much like utsukushii kare and I’d very much like to dive into how those shows take this same basis to establish in some ways very different and in other ways very similar relationships, and why so often with these dynamics we see these recurring themes of like… extreme obsession and dependency and a fear of being left, but another day)

I think what was a real breakthrough for segasaki wasn’t just first glance, but seeing those drawings of himself yoh did, seeing himself being that removed and void and emotionless and realizing that this random kid he didn’t even know and who’d only seen him for a moment could see that in him. and it’s this simultaneously realization in himself and these burgeoning feelings for yoh that lead to this change. he’s not dropping the mask, it’s more so that he feels this comfort around yoh that he’s never felt before and so he’s suddenly realizing how exhausting it is to put on the act. and he’s both treacherous and unsure and unwilling to expose himself in that way, but also feels this need to reject it now that he knows the weight of it.

and just like that, as soon as it slips, as soon as he lets yoh in, my god he just becomes fixed. he just like yes, this one, he’s mine, end of story. but it’s insane to me that, despite all the undertones, none of it is romantic at this point, and even to where we are in the present, none of it is ever presented or established as a romantic relationship between them. it’s sexual and dependent, bc they both know they need each other, segasaki especially, but they just aren’t able to recognize that it is romantic. and it keeps coming back to this thing about smiling, that the other never smiles for them, or segasaki saying i can smile better than that, they just want to see each other happy, and they want that happiness to be because of them. but bc of the mental places they come from, my good they just cannot do that. it’s such a mental block for them both. yoh is coming from this place of having complicated feelings but all the way back in those early eps, he did all this stuff for segasaki and just got indifference in return and he just wants to feel like those efforts are appreciated, that he is appreciated, and when segesaki said what he did about his manga, that’s the clearest way yoh has got the message that segasaki doesn’t appreciate him as a person. meanwhile segasaki is just so dependent on yoh at this point but still has this lingering tendency not to show his true emotions and remain stoic and removed bc that’s just what he’s used to, and while he does try to communicate his feelings for yoh in some ways, they’re just not the best and yoh doesn’t register, hence the way he behaves, so uptight and on edge around segasaki, that when he sees yoh smiling or having fun or at ease around other people, he just panics and goes to extremes and you know… ties yoh up. he just can’t handle the idea of yoh finding happiness elsewhere bc then he’ll leave and segasaki will suffocate. literally, going back having that front on all the time, like when he’s at work, with no escape, it’ll stifle him so much he can’t breathe. but this is where segasaki needs to start unlearning what he’s used to and being honest and open, and equally yoh needs to speak up for himself if he wants something to change.

but also with yoh, and i wrote about this before when i said this show was like watching two people trying to reconcile with and navigate wanting a dom/sub relationship, or at least something with those undertones, and not just sexually (or even sexually at all), but in their dynamic. bc in these flashbacks we see the essences of that kind of relationship that they have shown up to now, and this is their first prolonged interaction, which shows this isn’t just something that’s been put on them or evolved into per say, it’s a way they naturally behave, their tendencies, that manage to sync up. yoh is instantly willing and eager to serve, to tend to segasaki, not just feed him but cook for him where he isn’t a proficient cook just bc segasaki said he doesn’t like convenience food as an offhand comment. like not many people would go and make a full curry in a guy’s house you’ve talked to maybe 4 times just for that reason, but he does. equally, he goes out and buys a whole range of drinks and puts them out for segasaki to pick bc he hopes that in those choices he picked the one that was right, and in that small interaction of segasaki saying he didn’t mind then picking one, the way yoh goes from disheartened to happy with himself. he wants to look after segasaki, to serve him, and his feelings get complicated when, as we saw with those drinks, he doesn’t get appreciated for it. so when he does the cooking and cleaning and laundry and segasaki doesn’t seem happy about it, that’s when he gets annoyed and angry.

and on the other side, you see segasaki immediately unleash this need to be the only person in yoh’s life, this obsession, to know him the most, and for him to be the only person yoh does these things for. he eats a curry and asks for the rest to be saved in tupperware for him to eat later solely bc he wants to be the only one that knows the exact way in which yoh’s cooking is bad. he wants the joy of someone asking yoh if he can cook, and yoh saying he can make curry, for only him to know he actually can’t, it’s awful. and it’s the way the underlying thing of it is seeing these bad points, these weaknesses of yoh, is what he enjoys as well as the want to see him happy only for him and only because of him. it’s wanting to be able to hold those extremes over yoh, make him overjoyed bc he appreciates him and praises him so much, but also squirm and feel bad bc he knows the ways in which he is imperfect, bc he doesn’t see them as flaws, he sees them as the intricate ways he knows all of yoh there is to know. if that does not scream dom, idk what does.

and what i hope for in this final ep is some kind of exploration in finding happiness in the exact kinda fucked up way their relationship works. i want segasaki to tie yoh up and say these things about him not being allowed to see other people, and for yoh to both stand up for himself but also kind of… like it. it’s such a hard line to tread bc you don’t want to present some of these things as ok, but I think it’s important to show that before you can behave these ways knowing it’s ok, and esp if you don’t have good communication, you have to kind of just… do it. and i think these people care enough about each other that it would never cross the line, but at least in this fictional space it feels like it needs to be there for them to explore it and find the ways they both enjoy it (and im saying this fully only commenting on this in fiction and the way the story is, not a real life situation) anyway, I just think it would be great to show how, in a roundabout, messy way, these two people manage to get on the same page and communicate better and enjoy the ways they are dependent on and obsessed with each other bc at the end of the day they are just so fucking in love with each other, and this is just the way that’s expressed. it’s not gonna be a case of oh I see I was too much I was wrong I love you let’s me a nice happy lovey dovey couple, it’s very much i love you I’m obsessed with you our dynamic is still our dynamic but now we just smile a lot more bc we know we are both happy with the way we love each other. it’s about removing that grey area of doubt for both of them, knowing yes I am appreciated and yes I won’t be left, bc they learn the ways to show their feelings to each other that removes those doubts.

and finally, both bc i forgot earlier and bc i loved it so much and it made me cry a lot (it’s been a long week, spare me), I wanna talk about that prolonged head pat. the way segasaki does it, not just a pat but playing with the hair and down to his ear, more like the actions of an inquisitive baby than anything else, bc that’s what he is in that moment, inquisitive as to why this boy makes him feel this type of way, and the way yoh keeps glancing to it and doing that small laugh that you do when something seems awkward and you wanna draw attention to it hoping someone will see it’s awkward and stop, or at least acknowledge it, bc he’s uncomfortable, but segasaki doesn’t do anything, doesn’t stop or acknowledge what he’s doing, he just carries on, and it’s almost like he looks at yoh as to say no I’m not stopping I’m gonna do this yes it might be weird and kinda awkward but I want to do it so I will and i won’t be the one to stop myself just bc you’re signaling that you’re a little uncomfortable. and ultimately yoh does nothing, doesn’t move the hand, doesn’t even move away from the touch, he just lets it happen, let’s the moment be weird and uncomfortable but also feels that weird joy from it. and like… at least for me, that’s the spark of someone finding out they like that weird idea of being praised and appreciated, and it’s magical that segasaki ignites that in him bc of the specific way he is at his core, not the mask but instead letting feeling out and acting on impulse, being brazen and forward and not backing down when he does something. I just thing it’s beautiful that you see in these flashbacks all these small ways in which they discover the dynamic of their relationship and how it proves that there can be a future where they’re both happy in it after they get over their own doubts and learn to communicate better. honestly this show is just such a treat to pick apart and explore lenses to read it from and god i don’t want it to end

#my personal weatherman #mpw #taikan yoho #I crawled out of the floorboards to rant once again #I think this is how my tumblr is gonna be from now on bc I don’t have a lot of time to be active but when I have feelings I still need an #outlet so here I am #rants never die!!!

[that-green-haired-swordsman]

„It’s Zoro’s birthday tomorrow!“ Usopp yells, looking at the calendar.

„Why didn’t he say anything? We need to buy him a present“, Chopper chimes in.

„I don’t think he’s one for a birthday present“, Franky muses. „What should we even get him?“

„A good bottle of sake“, Robin smiles. „I’m sure he’d appreciate that.“

„We’re pretty broke right now, though“, Luffy frowns. „I have just a few berries left.“ Franky, Usopp and Chopper compare their empty pockets.

„No problem!“, Nami smiles. „I could lend you some of my money!“

„You’d do that?!“ the boys shout excitedly.

„Why yes! You just need to pay me pack 400% of interests.“

„Witch!“

The boys hurl insults at an indifferent, smiling Nami.

They take the money from Nami and head to town for the sake.

„What about you? You didn’t give any of your money for the present“, Brook asks Sanji.

„I ain’t spending any berry on a present for that shitty-ass marimo“, Sanji growls and continues to cook lunch.

„I’d frown now if I had any brows and skin on my face yohohohohoho“

The others get back and decide to hide the bottle in the woman’s dormitory. Zoro’s never been there once so there’s little chance he will get there

Next day it’s Zoro’s birthday! The crew gathers in the kitchen to sing a birthday song (which Zoro seems to hate but he’s actually moved, big softie) and hand him the bottle.

„Oh wow, that looks expensive“, he remarks.

„Sure, only the best“, Luffy lies (it’s not expensive at all) (he spent most of the money for food before they even entered a liquor store)

Sanji stands there and smokes until he just disappears without a word

Crew’s murmuring and wondering about his behaviour. „Even on Zoro’s birthday…“ Chopper says downcast.

„Why would that bother me even“ Zoro shrugs (it does bother him)

Sanji comes back and brings a large tablet with a katana on it. He puts on the table.

Zoro raises a brow. The rest is excited as fuck.

„A sword?! Whoa where did you get it?" and so on

„Very funny shitty cook. That’s already my sword. What the hell even crossed your mind to steal it from me in the first place…“

„Uh, Zoro-kun. You have all of your blades“, Jimbe notices and points towards Zoro’s hip. Zoro turns his head.

„… and now act as if... you… what the…?!"

Jimbe is right. Zoro has all of his swords attached to his hip. What’s Wado then doing on the table?

Chopper’s nose twitches. „Tha-that’s not a real sword!“ he exclaims. „It smells… sweet??“

Luffy sticks his finger on the sword and pushes it inside. He draws it back and licks it. „That’s cake.“

The crew stares at Sanji who looks away.

„You made Zoro a cake that looks exactly like his favourite sword?!“ They shout excitedly.

„Shut up“ Sanji growls

Zoro cuts off a piece of it and eats it. „It’s quite alright.“

„Quite alright“, Sanji repeats. „I had to mess with the recipe because you don’t like too much sugar.“

„You must have been up all night! You’re so sweet“, Nami chirps and gives Sanji a kiss on the cheek. Sanji passes out.

„all the effort he put into it and you just say it’s alright you crude idiot“ Nami bonks Zoro on the head

Sanji recovers and they eat the cake together, and Zoro eats most of it.

☺️🎂

#one piece headcanons #monkey d. luffy #Roronoa zoro #cat burglar nami #usopp #vinsmoke sanji #zosan #nico robin #cutty flam #franky one piece #soul king brook #jimbei #tony tony chopper

[issie-https]

Would you write Nikki Sixx x reader fluff like him waking you up on your birthday with like breakfast in bed and could it be 90s Nikki?

Birthday Girl

Nikki Sixx X Reader

A/n: I need to have a tea party with Nikki and Slash😩 Anyway, I feel like I got a tad carried away? Not that it’s long because it’s a short one but idk. I’ve got a handful of requests to do and I’m so excited! And thank you for 32 followers❤️

Word count: 770

Warnings: Nikki being adorable asf

Masterlist

༺✩༻

I woke up to Nikki slightly shaking my shoulder. "Is everything okay?" I yawned. "It should be," he replied, placing a tray on my lap once I'd sat up. "Aww, Nikki. You didn't have to," I cooed. He gave me a kiss and sat down on his side of the bed. "I did, it's your birthday," he replied, stealing a piece of fruit from the bowl. "Where'd you learn to cook?" I asked, putting a forkful of pancakes in my mouth. "Your mum. I called her the other night and she came over and taught me," he replied. "Is that why Katie invited me to hers?" I said. "Yep," he said. "It all makes sense now," I smiled, taking a sip from my tea. "Happy birthday," he cheered, almost nocking the plate of my lap. "NIKKI!".

"Okay, now that you've finished your food. It's present time," he said, placing three gifts and an envelope on the bed. I looked at the presents and the wrapping was messy but I could tell he made an effort. "Aww, Nikki," I said, my emotions and hormones taking over making tears well in my eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked concerned. "You're so fucking sweet," I cried, pulling him in for a hug. "Open this one first. You can wear it tonight," he said, handing me a rectangle-ish present. I tore the wrapping off to reveal a blue Tiffany & Co. box. I looked at him and he just nodded his head, indicating for me to open it. I opened it and inside was a gorgeous diamond necklace. "Oh, Nikki. It's the one we saw in Italy," I sighed. When Mötley went to Italy, I tagged along and while we walking around, we passed by Tiffany and I stopped to look in the window and saw the most breathtaking diamond pendant on a silver chain. "I got it when you went to the toilet," he added, making me laugh. "Thank you, Nik," I said, kissing his lips. "This one next," he said, handing me a big box. I opened it and saw 'Christian Louboutin' on the lid of the box. "Nikki, I can't," I said, feeling guilty he spent all this money on me. "Open the fucking box or I'll do it for you," he said. I opened it and there were my dream pair of Louboutins looking back at me. "Nikki, I-". "You're keeping these shoes. And you're wearing them tonight whether you like it or not," he cut me off. "Okay. Thank you so much," I replied, taking one last look at the shoes and replacing the lid. He next handed me a thin box, smirking as I tore the wrapping paper off. I looked inside and saw a red set of lingerie. I looked at him and saw him grinning from ear to ear, thinking about me wearing it later. "Very cleaver, Mr Sixx," I laughed. He shrugged and pointed to the last gift. It was an envelope this time, making me confused as fuck. I opened it and it was a handmade card with a Polaroid of us on the front of it. I opened it and saw his messy but adorable writing.

Hi, princess.

I'm not the best with words or stuff like this but I'll do my best. Since we first met eight years ago, I've never stopped thinking about you. Since we started dating six years ago, I've never stopped loving you. Not once have I thought about another woman(not even Sofia Vergara). I don't ever want to think of another woman, you're all I need. I need you in my life forever. I love you, gorgeous.

Love, Nikki xx

I looked up at him, tears streaming down my cheeks. Everything he said about me, I could say about him. It's true, Nikki Sixx is the only man I need. He turned to his bedside cabinet and took something out the draw. He got up and kneeled on the floor, opening the box to reveal a jaw-dropping diamond ring. "Y/n Y/l/n, i said everything in the card so now if the last part, will you marry me?" He asked as I clasped my hands to my mouth. "Yes," I managed to say. He got up and engulfed me in a giant hug, kissing all over my face. He grabbed my hand and put the ring on, kissing my knuckles after he did. "Mrs Sixx," he said, starting to cry as well. "Mr Sixx," I replied, hugging him again. I looked at the diamond on my finger. Mrs Y/n Sixx. I like that.

#motley crue imagine #motley crue #nikki sixx imagine #nikki sixx #mick mars #vince neil #tommy lee

[lollytea]

Omg Lolly the first 6 minutes were uploaded in better quality by someone and include a few extra seconds where all new outfits except Luz's are on screen (presumably this shot comes after the intro montage but was cut before it for some reason?!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8ovrHvJQg4

I have a hunch you'll like Willow's new look :D

Head full!!!! Thoughts many!!!!!

(Okay there's been another leak situation today but we're not gonna talk about all that here. I'm not sure if that quick second after the montage counts but I think it's alright to show since its not spoilery and we all kinda knew what the new outfits would be anyway. But just to be safe I'll put it under the cut.)

Willow flowy cardigan real!!! Its so pretty!!!! Thank god that shirt is a yellow rather than orange, that's so much nicer. I was iffy about the look before but now that I think about, she's really giving off autumn-vibes with this colour palette. Fitting. I think my least favourite part is the little leaf on her shirt (Willow has been playing animal crossing :D!!) is navy. Its throwing me off for some reason. But that's not a huge thing. Overall girl is DRESSIN. Love you Willow.

She's a shutterbug now!! That's adorable!!! Love the idea of Willow using photography as an outlet. Snapping shots of her friends and the palismen to express how much she loves them and pinning them by her bedside. Taking pics of human realm plants and wildlife and sunsets and rain and whatever else she finds beautiful and saving them to show her dads when she gets home.

Also...I have a strong feeling this is gonna be plot relevant...Willow's gonna snap a pic and there's gonna be something Weird in the background, I know it.

(Also we got those drawings they did of their families in high def and I just...she wrote "We're fine, Willow!" next to her dads. I wanna cry. Little Miss "not if I never look down" strikes again.)

ANYWAY there's other stuff to talk about here.

Unsurprisingly Amity looks FANTASTIC!! I love her outfit so SO much. She's such a fashion queen. Gus too oh my god!!! I love his jacket and his bracelets and he's wearing the little amplifier thingie as an earring!!! We love him!!!!

GOOD AFTERNOON TO HUNTER'S PANTS. This outfit was shown in the concept art for the panel and it mentioned that he sewed the patches into the knees himself. Sewing Hunter real. This puts the image in my head of Camila buying some extra clothes for the kids and she gets Hunter some ripped jeans cuz she's like "I'm pretty sure that's what teens are into right now." And Hunter grits a smile about it but he fucking hates them ("why the FUCK would they sell pre-ripped pants??") and takes it upon himself to fix the issue.

I love that Vee is here and helping in the portal process. I knew she'd be present this season but I didn't expect her to have such an active role in the kids efforts to get back home. But of course she's helping!! It's been months and they've bonded!!! Those are her friends!!!

It's so cute how the kids have clearly personalised the old shack to make into their own little hangout spot. The plants, the fairy lights, the pictures, the mirror the corkboard, the cooler, the attempts at wallpaper, the beanbag, even a fucking BASKETBALL HOOP. This is their place. It's absolutely for very serious portal constructing and plotting but they've clearly had a lot of fun over the months here.

Little bed for the palismen 🥺

Also...Flapjack keeps pecking at the floorboards. He was doing it in the montage too. There Is Something Under There and It Belongs To Caleb.

Anyway one shot. Yet so much to say. I love them all so much.

[stopscammingartists]

I wish I wasn't hyperfixated on this webcomic and several of the characters in it. I kinda hate myself for it. Do you have any tips or tricks to alleviate the brainrot? It's rather conflicting for me.

You shouldn't hate yourself for it anon! it's perfectly understandable that the comic and characters mean so much to you, it's meant a lot to many different people since its inception since for many it was one of the first queer positive comics they found and the characters were charming and well designed at times (especially the ones not designed by glip, like red Beleth). There are a non-insignificant amount of current-day floraverse fans that despise Glip and their actions but continue to dote on the characters they fell in love with. As an example, we found this just yesterday. There have also been multiple attempts to rewrite Floraverse or 'reboot' it without Glip's involvement. This wouldn't happen if there weren't some things to like about it!

I do understand your trepidation with publicly enjoying the comic and the characters though, especially since the comic and its related art have been the cult's major source for attracting new members and the last thing anyone wants is for their favorite media to become the gateway for someone else getting suckered in and being abused as a result, I know something like that would eat at me.

You don't have to punish yourself for liking something that a horrible person made, you can even steal the characters and draw them doing whatever you want if you so choose!

Glip is known to use peoples Flora's oc's without their consent in their work because of the creative commons attribution share alike 4.0 license that Floraverse as a whole is under, but the thing about this copyright license is that it works in both ways, just like how Glip can use anyones Flora ocs for any purpose under the name, you can do the same for any of Glips ocs, so long as Glip is credited in some way.

The only thing I would recommend is to make it clear that you do not support the mainline Floraverse canon + the people behind it, with some mention as to why. Not just because of the inherent danger present but also......because the aspects of Floraverse that people fell in love with really died off after 2018.

This is a bit of a tangent but, all the characters most non-cult fanartists draw are before that era for a reason. Floraverse as a comic is just, not what people like anymore. While the community always had cult-like tendencies, a lot of the more brazen practices that make the group a cult (specifically, scenes) started to occur after the Big Fluff / Marl logs leaked in 2018. I suspect that Glip realized that they can't rely on their art alone anymore to control people because their reputation rightfully took a nosedrive from the Big Fluff logs. So they started these practices like scenes to have more assurance that those that did stick around, would stick around for longer. This manifests itself in making the barrier for entry for current day Flora really high - in Eastar you can't even get full basic access to the server if you do not put the time in to make a proper Floraverse OC.

Combine this with the fact that in order to gain access to a lot of community channels you have to actually partake in the lengthy roleplay, it leaves people with a massive sense of sunk cost fallacy if they want to leave.

I bring this up because the comic itself has had to change to accommodate this push to establish a sunk-cost fallacy with fans. The content shifted to focusing on the roleplays people have in the discord server, and visually the comic took a nose dive as Glip changed art directions to fit the new tone. The comic was difficult to follow pre-2018, but nowadays it's not only nearly impossible to follow without the context of these fan ocs, or the community drama or discord roleplays.

Essentially after the BF logs Floraverse became a low-effort vent repository where Glip yells about whatever discord target they feel is acceptable (such as what happened to @hexcryingwolf) or weird personal sexually charged feelings (such as Routine Maintenance where w0z fantasizes about it sexually violating Rina based on Rina's history of being sexually violated in the exact way depicted and W0z's history of sexually violating others in a similar way depicted.)

Current day Floraverse is just, a really hard sell to new potential fans. There's a reason the servers only see like, 1 or 2 people join per week.

You could also just try to broaden your horizons. Just sit down one day, visit a site like hiveworks, find a webcomic that interests you and binge it. Hard to hyper-fixate on the furry cult comic if you're hyper-fixating on a different comic.

#floraverse #glitchedpuppet

[serpentsurgency]

Part: [4/5] Word Count: 978 Content Warning: Guns, gunfire, site under attack, mentioned death. Visibility: Visible to anons. TLDR is at the bottom.

"He is lying-" It was all she could bite out as she finally whipped around to the others, taking a step back automatically. "I never did any of that. He is lying."

Her guard — her friend — tried easing closer with a softness in their expression.

... Perhaps they were the only one still holding any sort of softness... 

As her eyes darted between the others, she could pick up a variety of reactions. The other woman held her arms folded and shoulders slightly up while the man beside her refused to look her in the eyes. The older man, on the contrary, was staring solemnly in her direction as if looking just past her in contemplation, the young guard at his side shifting timidly to look to the other side of the room.

Nonetheless, the general reception of what the filthy lying Insurgent had said was apparent. They believed him more than they believed her.

"I never signed for any terminations. I did not kill anyone. That was not me." Her words were sharper, edged with anger as she directed them anywhere and everywhere before finally pointing them at the old man. "You know that I never signed for any terminations."

The old man hesitated, drawing his glance away before speaking in a low tone. "Truthfully, I do not remember..."

She felt more anger building. How dare he. How fucking dare he. "If you have been around for so much of these fucking terminations to the point that you can't even remember who has terminated the things under your watch then why am I the one being put up here?" She hissed. "You are supposed to be a leader."

The guard in front of her gently tried to say her name again to draw her back out of her anger and to the present. They were always good at that. Not now. Not fucking now.

"Stop," The old man gently tried again, as if trying a final last ditch effort in settling the situation.

She ignored him.

"I have never seen the man beside you here anyways. He is probably working with him, you know? Why else would he show up and then the fucking Insurgency follows shortly after?" The old man's expression changed but she pressed further, practically snarling at the young man shifting and giving his boss a sheepish look. "We can hold him hostage and use him as a bargaining chip to get out of here. He-"

"-is my nephew and has been here for three weeks now. That's enough." The old man said sharply, his tone raising and causing her to shrink back slightly, her back bumping into the desk behind her.

"I-" She hesitated, caught off guard as she tried to catch her bearings. By now, the other guards had started to creep closer, passing through the group as they had seemingly had used their authority to make the best decision for the group's safety.

The life of one for the lives of many… Funny how she always agreed with that up until now.

She tried to creep back further fruitlessly as her eyes darted between the others before landing on the one final saving chip in the room.

The guard she had known for so long. Her guard... Her friend...

"Please- We have been together for so long, you know that I wouldn't sign any terminations. You know that isn't like me-"

She tried desperately, shoving an approaching guard back and stumbling a couple of feet to the side under the pitiful watch of the others in the room as she stared desperately at the one person that could save her.

Nonetheless, the other guards persisted. One grabbed a hold on her shoulder, starting gently but quickly wrenching her arm forward painfully as she tried to strike him while he dragged her to the door.

Even still, her own guard followed close behind, uselessly trailing the others with a conflicted expression.

"You know me! You know I wouldn't do that!" She shrieked, a small amount of spittle flying as she tried again fruitlessly to yank herself out of the grip of the guard that was holding her arm while they passed through the door and the hallway. "You know that I wouldn't hurt anyone!"

... As if to add insult to injury, she watched as her friend, her guard. Gave her one final saddened look as the door was opened and she was thrown out.

They didn't know that she would never hurt anyone..

The proof was in their expression.

Just in front of where she had been thrown and merely feet away, the door to her only chance of safety slammed closed without another word, abandoning her within the empty hallways and an almost deafening silence falling across where she had been thrown.

... The almost empty hallways...

Moments before she could gather her bearings of where she was sitting, the smell of rust and gunpowder still lingering within the hallways from the swift tragedy minutes earlier that was still pressing on even now, she heard a soft whistle draw her attention to down the furthest side of the hallway...

There, greeted by the monster himself; the Insurgent stood with his shoulders down and a patiently unreadable expression on his face.

"... Fancy a chat?"

TLDR; The woman begs for the others in the room to believe her. She points out that even if she had caused so many deaths and injuries, her boss should have done something about it. She then accuses the bosses guard of being a double-agent which backfires as he is a new recruit that is also the bosses’ nephew. She tries a last ditch effort to beg her guard to help her but is thrown out and is promptly greeted by Dogwood in the hallway.

#don’t call me a heretic for what i believe in #tales from the shelves #tw guns #tw violence #tw mentioned death #ask to tag

[scarletwritesshit]

🐕 Luocha x Sushang 🐕 A Merchant's Loyal Dog by the Name of Sushang

Luocha glanced at the hyper brown-haired girl that he had begrudgingly allowed to accompany him on his mission.

That girl has far too much energy, he thought.

Luocha did not have to worry about being unable to quell the inexperienced knight in the event of a conflict, but rather, she just talked so damned much for his own sanity. It was an onslaught of never-ending yap inquiring about his cargo or pointless small talk that he could care less to hear.

Sushang’s claims were that she was making absolutely sure that he didn’t feel lonely on his journey. That problem was already addressed by what, or rather, who, was sealed within the coffin he carried on his back. He couldn’t explain that to her, though. One answer will lead to twenty more questions that he would never hear the end of, and the truth of that coffin was his business and his business alone.

To her, apparently, whatever was Luocha’s business was also her business, and he would on numerous occasions catch her in the middle of an attempt at prying into the coffin. He would scold her all the same, gently at first, until he was forced to resort to a sharp, stern tone. With how persistent she was, despite the fear Luocha would momentarily strike into her, he couldn’t help but wonder if she actually enjoyed receiving such a scolding from him.

While the mystery remained unsolved, Sushang was all too happy to hound him with question after question, time and again. And even a vague answer bought her more joy.

So, what do you REALLY do for a living?

I am merely a traveling merchant and nothing more.

But you haven’t sold anything!

Why, my wares are reserved for exclusive customers alone.

Am I one of your exclusive customers?

More like, an exclusive assistant, in a way.

His responses bought her joy. Always. Curiosity, was it, inspiring such enthusiasm for mundane responses? It seemed more of a strange obsession with Luocha himself, as every little glance or word directed at her sent Sushang into a clearly repressed internal frenzy.

He wasn’t born yesterday. Luocha knew precisely what was going through Sushang’s head. And he wasn’t afraid to exploit this weakness to encourage Sushang to do him favors.

Mara-struck soldiers were fairly common on the Xianzhou Luofu. Luocha struck down a few personally during their initial encounters, but with how little of a fight they put up against him, it was hardly worth the exercise. And why should he go through the effort of sitting up the coffin and drawing his blade when a young lady would be all too happy to show off for him?

The mara-struck desperately snarled at Luocha in its best attempt to strike some sort of fear into him. It was going to take a little more than a mossy corpse to bring the embodiment of an apocalypse to his knees, and so he sighed in a graceful, pleading manner to bring the attention of Sushang.

“Not another one,” he complained, despite knowing damn well that he could end its stubborn life with one fell swoop.

“Luocha, is that your way of asking me to cut it down for youuuuuu?” Sushang asked.

“Why, that would be lovely, my dear.”

It was as if Sushang had a thousand fireworks set off inside of her, as her face lit up with determination and she spoke not a single word more before taking off.

All too easy, he thought. Sushang was still far too young to fully grasp the extent of her feelings, and so she was quite eager to do practically anything he wanted with the bribery of a sweet little smirk.

She was the perfect accomplice for his business. Having a loyal Cloud Knight by his side helped lower the natives’ suspicion of him greatly. And if he played his cards right, he could get her to do his bidding with not a single question in return. Dirty work, performed under the nose of the Cloud Knights, to help him slide right through the cracks of the ever-present security.

And if Luocha maintains her undying loyalty, perhaps an even greater reward would be in store for him.

Tch…he was getting himself far too worked up at these thoughts, though it was likely something that Sushang would be far too happy to oblige even now. The headache of her yapping was a small price to pay for the convenience of a master key to the Xianzhou Luofu.

He had been so preoccupied with his thoughts that he had not realized that Sushang had finish clumsily knocking down the mara-struck that was in their way. Prying her sword out of the ground, she almost fell backwards, but attempted to hold it gallantly to show off for Luocha. Thinking that he was intently watching, she smiled and presented the cleared path before them.

He still could’ve done it faster.

But every strike would be another chip in his sword.

He picked up the coffin and walked past the remains and an enthusiastic Sushang, paying absolutely no mind to either. Sushang was quite displeased with his negligence, and so she made it her duty to get Luocha to compliment her absolutely flawless skills in battle.

“So,” she said, running up to his side, “what did you think? Pretty great, huh?”

“You got the job done,” Luocha said, keeping his eyes fixated on the path ahead of him.

Sushang ran out in front of him and stomped her feet down, staring at him in the eyes and pouting. “You weren’t paying any attention, now were you?”

“Why would I need to observe? You did what was needed, and I care not about the execution,” he said, walking around her.

Still not satisfied, Sushang kept speeding up ever so slightly to stay ahead of him while continuously whining for attention.

“It HAD to have been faster than last time, at least!”

“Wasn’t paying attention.”

Sushang now decided that the best tactic for getting Luocha’s attention would be to pay him no mind at all. Instead of furthering his argument, she silenced herself and crossed her arms, dragging her feet. Luocha failed to take notice of her scowl, let alone her displeasure.

Awfully quiet she’s being, he thought after some time. Peaceful, yet suspicious, but I worry not as I still hear the sound of her footsteps dragging behind me. Angry or not, that girl would dare not leave my side, and I have full confidence in that.

He was long overdue for another inconvenient mara-struck obstruction when at the turn of a corner, two soldiers sent him and Sushang back a stride. No worries; Luocha’s dainty hands and precious cargo would not have to be soiled with his faithful servant by his side.

“You know the drill, my lovely Li Sushang~,” he beckoned.

Only this time, she wasn’t falling for his sweet words. Er, perhaps obeying was the proper term here, as she was powerless against the blush that overcame her face, but she crossed her arms and huffed away.

“I said, you know the drill Li Sushang,” he said once more.

Sushang held her ground, refusing his demands. Certainly, that was one method of getting Luocha’s attention whether or not it was her greatest idea. Secretly, she was basking in the amount of focus Luocha had on her, though she hadn’t considered the possibility of this backfiring.

Now that she was suddenly refusing his demands in some sort of unexplainable act of rebellion, Luocha would have resort to more forceful means of obedience, as he cannot be losing his grasp on his precious companion over something so minor. He had to show her that he wasn’t allowing anything of the sort to fly, even if it was all for a little bit of his attention. And so, sometimes a little force was necessary for him to make his stance clear.

Luocha grabbed Sushang by the shoulder and spun her around to face him. Her proud, rebellious expression was immediately wiped off of her face as Luocha pinned her against the railing. To get closer to eye level with her, he bent down and glared directly in her eyes.

“What did I say? You are to do what I ask of you if you even want the slightest chance of staying with me,” he barked, knowing that Sushang wouldn’t allow her love to slip away from her so easily.

“I…I…” she spat out, words unable to form.

“Do I make myself clear?~” he said, releasing one of her shoulders to gently caress the side of her face.

Sushang nervously nodded her head, flustered, yet fearful.

“Which means, if I tell you to bark like my obedient puppy, you are to speak on demand.”

“B-bark?”

“Louder.”

“Er…bark, bark bark!”

Please with her cooperation, Luocha released his grasp and gently patted her on the back.

“Ah, that’s my good girl. Now, what was it that I asked of you again?”

Sighing, Sushang charged ahead and started flailing her oversized sword at the mara-struck, battling exhaustion to please Luocha before his dissatisfactions drives him to request other forms of pleasure.

Glancing once to assure that she was doing what was asked of her, Luocha leaned against his coffin and began stroking it, pressing the side of his face to it longingly.  

I have confidence, that this little puppy will lead us to our destination unscathed. And if not, she could always serve her purpose in other ways, for the time being. Wouldn’t you agree, that she is an ever so lovely lady?

I know a useful catch when I see one.

🐕 Notes:

i feel like i should clarify that i love luocha and sushang but lets be real here

Mr. Totally Not Otto Apocalypse's moral compass is as backasswards as it gets and god damn is that sexy of him

#fanfiction #fanfic #hsr #honkai star rail #honkai star rail fanfic #luocha #sushang #luoshang

[dwollsadventures]

Magnus Chase Project Idea

The next thing for my list of projects is something a little closer to home and achievable, but also perhaps less anticipated. 

Percy Jackson was the first series of novels that I ever read of my own volition. It instilled a love of reading and appreciation of mythology that continues to this very day. When I heard that Riordan was going to be writing a series based on Norse mythology in 2014, I was ecstatic. Unlike before, I had a basis of knowledge to draw from to prepare for the books. When the books were released and I read them though, I felt a little disappointed. I actually have a large document that I wrote back in 2017 detailing all of my criticisms, but I’ll summarize them here: 

Magnus Chase as the protagonist goes through a very well defined and meaningful character arc in the first book. It’s probably one of the only things that make him stand out from Percy Jackson, who he can sometimes read as a carbon copy of. In the subsequent two books, however, he loses everything that made him special. His identity as a peacemaker and healer, and his choice to not use Jack the sword as a weapon are all forgotten about. 

Rick Riordan’s passion for Greek and Roman history oozes out of everything he wrote for his previous books. And while he did make an attempt, the mythology presented in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is one of its greatest flaws. The gods of the stories are shallow, one-joke cut-outs compared to the complex parents and power players in PJO. Heimdall is the worst example. Rather than echoing themes and remixing myths, oftentimes the characters play out recreations of Norse myths word for word during the course of the story. Norse mythology has a lot of large gaps in its content, meaning that an author will almost certainly have to bridge them with their own creations at some point. Riordan chooses to do this by mixing in modern culture and folklore from the 1800’s of Scandinavia. 

This book was not the first to feature cross-overs from other Riordan books, but it is the one that leaned the most heavily on them. Annabeth’s inclusion in the first book was appropriate, but it seemed like pandering to include Percy in the last one. When reading reviews to refresh myself for writing this, a good percentage of them cried out about their insufficient screen time. 

Slavery. The mythology point above makes me the most peeved, but this one baffled me as I read the books. One of the first einherjar characters introduced is Hunding, from the Volsung Saga. In the Saga, another of the characters, Helgi, kills Hunding, and his reward for the victory is that Hunding becomes his slave in Valhalla, commanded to “of every hero / Wash the feet, | and kindle the fire, / Tie up dogs, | and tend the horses, / And feed the swine | ere to sleep thou goest”. This is present in the books, but couched in PG13 language, so that Hunding is Helgi’s “servant”. One of the main cast of characters is Thomas Jefferson (TJ) Jr., a runaway slave that died fighting in the Civil war. In the third book, one of the other main characters replays a scene from mythology where she gets a bunch of jotunn slaves to accidentally kill each other. This character then apologizes to TJ for killing the slaves and they make up off-screen. Hunding is never rescued from eternal slavery, the existence of slavery in Valhalla is never acknowledged, the end. 

So what? Why did I list all of my gripes with the series and put it under the future projects title? Well, after I wrote my laundry list in 2017, I capped it off with a “what I would do” section. I’ve never been able to get into the realm of fan fiction. But what about fan rewrites? Rewriting the book chapter by chapter with my own changes? 

The reason I haven’t done this is because, again, I don’t have a foot in the fan fiction world, and for most of my time I’ve thought that spending so much time and effort working on something like that would be a waste of my time when I could be working on my own stuff. But recently I’ve been rethinking that. Finding the motivation to work on my own Acronym Pending series is conflicting with my anxiety about perfecting it so that I don’t tear it down a month afterwards. What if working on fan fiction doesn’t trigger this response? After all, the hard work’s already been done. If I end up doing this, it will be because I can’t bring myself to work on the TDG, which is bad, but it would mean something is still getting done, even if it’s something I cannot claim as 100% my own. 

What would I do differently? Here’s a few examples:

Magnus is not a demigod. Demigods are not a big thing in Norse sagas or myths, and it links the series too much to the previous ones. 

Samirah would not be a valkyrie, but another of the einherjar. 

Valhalla and the Norse elements would not be modernized, at all. 

Hearthstone’s father would be Volundr. 

Overall, the story would be closer to a runaway tale rather than a hero’s journey. The overarching mythological theme would be focused on breaking the cycle. 

#magnus chase #magnus chase and the gods of asgard #mcga #magnus chase spoilers #rick riordan #writing #writing idea #fan fiction idea

[scatterbrainedart]

Being a slow artist with a short attention span is hell because I literally do not have the energy to finish anything ever. My drawing process is literally just me sketching the same thing over and over because I wasn't able to focus enough on it to make it good the first time. To make ANYTHING I have to be quick, just to make sure it exists, and then I go back and refine it and make it GOOD.

It really does not help that I struggle a lot with picturing stuff in my head, especially 3D things. This means that I have to highly rely on references or just muscle memory, which is another reason to why my sketches usually start out rather skewed.

Because of both of these things, I tend to trace photos. Now, here me out here alright. I don't trace other people's art, that's not what this is. When I say tracing, I mean drawing over my reference picture to get the general anatomy right, and then I shift it to look how I want it to look (make limbs longer/shorter ect.). I don't do it because I'm unable to draw the anatomy. I know that with enough trial and error I can do it no problem, but it takes a LOT of time and effort. Time and effort that I'd gladly cut out of the process if I'm able.

I don't even use just one reference most of the time. I tend to put a bunch together, even just for poses, so that is a whole thing within itself. For example, here’s my reference versus final for this old drawing. I started out with changing the proportions of the photo, mixed a bunch together, and then continued to edit the sketch once I had the bases down. This still takes a lot of time and energy, but it makes the process less intimidating to me. This drawing took 16 hours to make all in all, which I’d say is pretty standard for me. It can take anything between 5-40 hours depending on the complexity of the piece.

But it’s kinda funny because you can so clearly see where my energy starts to run out in a sketch’s first draft. It’s literally a visual representation of the deterioration of my attention span. It’s kinda neat, even if it sucks ass.

Just wanted to touch on this a bit in case other people relate to struggling with this, and because I don’t believe in gatekeeping helpful tools and tips. I still practise anatomy and I take time to study stylisation and art techniques, all quite regularly. When I trace photos, I tend to trace shapes more than I trace lines. I don’t do this because I’m unable to draw good anatomy on my own, but because it’s a good way to entertain my focus for longer by removing that specific bit of trial and error. Here, for example, Isa piece in which I didn’t use any references at all. It showcases that deterioration of focus that I talked about earlier very well. I drew the first version all in one sitting (which took around 6.5 hours) and you can clearly see how I didn’t have enough energy for the background and was rushing to finish it before my energy was completely drained because of all the time I spent on the characters.

In the second version, I completely redid the background (which took about 2 hours) while leaving the characters as they were. The trees in the far background still suffers from a bit of that focus deterioration, but it overall looks a LOT better than it did initially. And it was all a matter of how good my energy and focus levels were as I drew them, not on a lack of skills. The same gos for when I’m drawing literally anything else.

I recently took a step back from leaning as heavily on references as I normally do because it felt like such a weakness, but the only thing that really happened was me drawing significantly less and still getting one of the worst burn outs I’ve had in years. So much so that I was seriously considering just stopping making art completely, including writing. That’s how tired I got. The only thing I really have to present from that time are these little clay sculptures, because that was the only thing I could bring myself to make.

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. What I'm trying to say is that it's okay to trace photos if that's what helps you draw. It's okay to lean on tools to an extent, as long as you learn the basics and don't use them as a reason not to practise or improv. And don't use them as a bible to follow to a T. Use them as guidelines, and stray from them when needed. Sometimes the better looking drawing is the one with slightly incorrect anatomy because brains are weird and sometimes what is less realistic just reads better. So don't be afraid to trace, but also don't be afraid to stylise your drawings and stray from the reference photos.

Lastly, and I cannot stress this enough, DO NOT TRACE OTHER PEOPLE'S ART. Trace photos. It's okay to do for practise as a part of a study of another artist's art style, but don't post it. If you really want to, you can ask the artist personally if they are okay with it or not. Some are, some aren't. That's something to be respected. But I'd recommend to entierly refrain from that outside of studies. Not only because it's kinda scummy, but also because it won't help you much in the long run as the artist's anatomy very well could be off and it'd affect your own piece. It's a loose loose situation, really, and absolutely NOT what I am encouraging here. Alright? Alright. Good we're in an agreement here.

#art tips #artists on tumblr #digital artist #artist struggles #scatterbrained rambles #nd artist #neurodivergent artist #adhd #adhd problems #adhd artist #adhd struggles #neurodiversity

[badrhymeramblings]

How I got into art multiple times

"How long have you been drawing?" is a common question asked of art streamers.

Often times the answer starts with "I drew a lot growing up. Sometimes the artist describes going through phases of drawing and not drawing as a teen, but it always ends with "but I started taking art seriously x years ago."

Thinking of my own journey, it's pretty much the same. When I was young I drew a lot. A few times I even tried to draw what I could see instead of drawing from imagination. There's a whimsy to children's drawings. They're unbound by adult logic, just a stream of pure creativity put down on a page. I guess you could say this was the first time I got into drawing. Not by any motivation or desire to create art, but as a fun activity to an energetic young child busy.

I discovered anime and manga in my early teens (I think), but it wasn't until I went to a workshop with a comic artist that I started trying to draw in an anime style. I drew on an off throughout my teens. I think it's at this stage when people try on a lot of different 'outfits', but unfortunately you've also experienced failure and embarrassment, so you tend to be overly critical of your work.

I was too impatient and ill-disciplined to stick with art to start finding improvement. However I also had other responsibilities with school and the like. However throughout this period of time I think my parents subtly encouraged me to draw. Sometimes I'd get a sketchpad or 'drawing pencils' as a birthday present.

Over my teen years I would say I got into drawing at least once a year. This time I was motivated by a desire to create something, to tell a story, and also to be admired for my artistic skill (which also was why I dropped it so many times).

So if you count it out, I'd gotten into art roughly eight times by the time I turned 20. Probably more than that.

It wasn't until mid-2021, when I thought to myself "Man, what am I doing? I should get back into art."

I think a few things lead up to this; 1. I didn't really have any hobbies. I played videogames, but I was falling out of it 2. I'd been watching art streamers for a while (2020 lockdowns gave way to me finding art streamers) 3. I'd gotten back into watching anime, and I had just finished Violet Evergarden

I'm sure there were many other contributing factors, but these three stick out in my mind. So I dusted off my old Wacom Intuos, and made a promise that I'd buy a new one tablet if I managed to make a good effort of it. I also set myself a goal for a year from that day; 1st of July 2022. It was this goal that I think kept me going. Whenever I did work that I wasn't satisfied with I could at least say to myself "It's an improvement from my last, and I've still got time."

I didn't meet my one year goal in the way I wanted, but by that time I had found the fun in drawing so I didn't really mind. I'd built habits, made friends, and found creativity. It wasn't easy, but I had the discipline to keep at it, and the temperance to not be so harshly critical of myself that I wanted to quit.

So by everything I've just talked about, it took at least nine attempts over more than 20 years for me to get into art.

#ramblings #thoughts about art #art journey #you should draw #or write #or play music idk #find something creative

[chloesunit4]

Self Assessment

During this unit 4, I have covered quite a lot in my illustration work. From the start of the summer holidays, I started planning my work effort and trying to add as much detail from using my primary images from Chatsworth. I have understood the skill of organization, as I took several days to enjoy summer and then spent the working week drawing out my illustrations. I also have improved in my media application in my drawings for my initial research. I took time over summer adding several layers of colours and shading to make my drawings more realistic and have a crisp finish. I finished off my drawings off by adding fine liner. I knew that six of my illustrations would become my first prints ideas. So, I spent a week on each drawing I did. However, when I arrived back at college, I knew I had some unfinished pieces and as a result, I spent the first couple of weeks finishing and finalizing my primary imagery. Additionally, I took time to play around with my presentation as I want a fresh look in my sketchbook for each unit, so I tried making it minimal but still quite developed to make my work interesting to look at. I know from this unit I need to work on time management and working at a quicker pace. I have fallen behind and I decided to put all my efforts in on the weekends with my sketchbook as I started at half nine in the morning and finished in the evening around five. I now understand I need to plan more efficiently with my life and work balance. I understand why I fell behind due to my hospital appointments however I did not want that to affect my grade. Therefore, I decided to put all my effort to work on practical areas of work at college and the media and illustrations at home. Furthermore, I took time to highlight my diversity too, as I made a page displaying different disabilities and how it can affect those mentally and physically. When I knew my diversity, I wanted my illustrations to be realistic with adding special adaptations and requirements. But also make a customer feel comfortable in their own skin as my thought process was putting myself into my customer viewpoint. I really wanted to display the struggles but also the enjoyment of wearing fashion as its make others feel confident and happy even after all the treatment, they have been through. I tried to make stories for each illustration to really show my feelings into diversity and fashion. 

-Marketing and Promotion; During unit 4, I have improved and developed my researching as I have felt I have researched into more depth especially with each diversity: age, race, disability, gender, and size. During summer, I researched into each theme separately with around forty pages on each one investigating how fashion affects each one. I found each diversity unique and interesting to view. For my own chosen diversity, I researched into adding depth to my findings but also making my work look presentable and make it enjoyable to look at. I added several videos and pictures as well as including Harvard references. In this subject my time management is far better than my time management in illustration. I enjoy marketing as it makes my illustrations more understanding and have a clear similarity. I enjoyed making the gifs as it was new and exciting for me to experiment with several types of promotion for fashion. I took time to practice before making my final pieces. I hope to develop these for my next Unit and keep them to help me later in life to advertise and promote.  

-Specialist Industry report; For the specialist report it was all new and I have developed a better understanding of how I can become my preferred career for fashion, making it clear for my journey I need to take to make my dream come true. I found this quite like marketing, but my focus was making my report interesting to view but informative to help me in my future choices. It has opened my eyes to choices and paths I can take. Previously, I was not too sure of the next steps I needed to take after college to make my place in the fashion industry. My initial idea was to have an apprenticeship, however after this I have found better options such as an internship or going to businesses to help me reach my chosen profession. I have also considered going to further education later in my life as I understand how important and helpful learning is and then I can specialize in my chosen path. Moreover, I have included videos of previous people in my chosen profession to show reality and the journey to achieve where they are. This was helpful and gave me a better understanding of my life after college. 

Section 2: 

-Sketch book/ Illustration; For my illustration work, I think during my time illustrating Chatsworth House was my best pieces of work as far as I feel I have improved my illustrations from my previous work. I like working from direct copies but also drawing out some abstract images too. My strengths are drawing out objects but also my quick designing process as I am inspired by a lot of items from Chatsworth house. My downside is I put too much stress on myself by doing extra work and ideas into my short unit. So instead of doing a quick fifteen drawings mine came up to around thirty drawings. Additionally, I think my media application has improved compared to last year as my shading and my drawings look professional and less messy as previously, I found my worked looked rushed and untidy but now I need to work on my final changes and finishing standards. I still found hands and feet a problem for illustration however I did try new was drawing prosthetics and wheelchairs for my poses as my theme was disability for my diversity factor. I need to practice my face development and try to make my own style for illustration to really make my work come to life. I would like to progress in developing my clothes illustrations too, making them more realistic and look finer by being lifelike such as adding the creases, folds, and movement of the fabrics. However, I can achieve this by experimenting in my free time and looking at inspiration from other illustrators to make my own style and look at videos for illustration tips for fashion design to make my work professional and have a clean finish ready for my fmp to display my development during my time in this course.  

-Marketing and Promotion; in my marketing work, I feel confident in my work as I spent a lot of time and paid attention to the intricate details during my research for the different diversities and looking even further after summer. I have achieved new skills with making gifs. I was not too sure as this was my first time using Canva, as a result I decided to practice before finalizing and editing my final six gifs. I want to improve my gifs for my next unit. I want to make them look higher quality as I now know a basic understanding. After some practice I began to understand making gifs. I just want to make them better as I progress through my second year to make my mark for marketing to develop new ways to advertise and promotion. I shall keep on making my findings interesting and I look forward to researching inspiration for my next collections.  

My specialist unit went well in my opinion; I tried a new presentation idea to make it look creative and interesting to read. I enjoyed learning and researching into my chosen career paths. It has made me aware how my skills need to improve and develop to make me specialize in my dream jobs in the future. My research is clear and looks professional and easy to understand to help me make the right choices. I took this task as part of my marketing with highlighting my research in an enjoyable viewing, clear and informative.  

Section 3: 

From my experiences so far, I will take all the skills and knowledge I have learned and keep pushing forward to make my work ready for my career and my next chapter in life. I want to keep pushing my boundaries for pattern cutting and work on my textile pieces as I never had any experience of pattern cutting or textiles before. But I enjoy making textiles pieces and fabric manipulation consequently I want to keep making improvements. I want to improve my techniques in pattern cutting too and work independently and confidently on the industrial machines as I have been practicing on these machines during my unit four project ready for unit five. As I know Demin will be hard to work with as it is a thicker fabric, especially on the domestic machines. For my illustration I will keep my designing quick and fast but also use my research as it helps me well and makes my work look more realistic and have a backstory. I know I need to create my own style and improve my realism in my media application and my clothes design as it needs to look life like and clean with caution to detail. I want to keep my progression with my face development. I want to keep experimenting with my presentation to keep my work enjoyable to view and understand my own style as well. I have enjoyed learning new techniques and different knowledge to try out. Such as making collars, gifs and adding some flair with diversity as I know there is truly little in the fashion industry and that needs to change with the future of fashion.  

[lucienh]

Week 11 - May 19? - Patterns in ID + Sick

Hello and welcome to my belated Week 11 post. during Week 11 I was off sick so did not attend class. also due to being sick I have not had a lot of time to work on my kids book, so this post might be pretty small.

Since I was not present in class I have had to learn how to make the continuous patterns in AI at home following the notes. and I am quite a visual learner so I did get confused a bit. Also sorry if may drawing is bad I was still not feeling great when I made this and had not much energy so my effort I put in was not a lot. but enjoy.

I started off by making my box for my pattern.

TADA!!! so cool, (sorry)

Then I added in my pattern which was a not so good smily face. I also created my odd blob shape, to put the pattern in. Next I put the box into the swatches panel. And I have always wondered how the funky design ones get in there so now I know.

mine is the blue smily face 3rd row down far right. (amazing right!)

Then things got a bit tricky for me. I had my blob selected and double clicked the pattern then got to this stage.

At this point I was confused, took me a few minutes to realise I had to scroll down to find more instructions on Moodle (go me) then I tried to experiment with the tile grid types. and made some fun pattern variations.

Then I clicked the tick and my blob did not change. I was once again confused. I spent a bit to much time trying the same thing over and over again. Until I realised, I had selected stroke and not fill. :| I was a bit annoyed at myself.

(not sure why it is so small) but this me after fixing it to be on fill.

And tad my problems were solved! I now had a blob with smiley faces in it.

and I think that is all I have for this post. This is an amazing tool though, so good for saving time and easy to use. I did find myself today looking around at patterns and going aha! I know how you did that. Not a lot of progress on my book so far due to not feeling good but I should have it all sorted for my next post.

Ps this update is not great I am sorry the next one will be better.

Until then, bye

[keefwho]

December 17 - 2022

10:25 AM

Like a HOLY sign I opened up my ACT book and found a section about nurturing relationships. I’m not done reading over it but so far it’s word for word describing the kinds of problems I’m having right now and what I could do about them. I’m excited to find some sturdier direction and put some effort into making positive changes in my behavior. I’ve sulked enough, I’m ready to put work into what I want. I know nothing happens without someone doing something about it. My room won’t get clean without me cleaning it, projects won’t get done without me doing them, and I won’t get better without self work. 

I’ve gotten pretty far with my anxiety from the start of my journey and while I’m far from where I want to be, I think I’m far enough to justify focusing more on my relationships. Or focusing on them equally. Maybe I’m just now truly realizing it or I was too afraid to admit it in the past but I struggle socially. Not with interaction but how I treat and feel about my relationships. Now that I think back on it, I’ve unintentionally moved in the direction I want to be going. The friends I’ve made lately are TRUE friends. People I honestly care about and would do anything for, and I feel that in return. A lot of relationships in the past have not been open to emotional discussion and it limited how intimate things were. And it was always my fault, I was not open emotionally until this year. 

There are so many things wrong with how I tend to think about people and act towards them, its too much to unpack right now. Its definitely something that needs to be taken one step at a time. I’ll keep going back to my book for guidance on what kinds of topics I can focus on. 

3:52 PM

I was not prepared enough for Christmas. I have a thing to draw I haven’t started on, some model work I haven’t started on, and a physical project that is taking much more learning than I thought it would. Unless I crank all this out in a week, things are gonna be late. Especially the one I have to mail. That one probably can’t get there in time even if I finished it today. It sucks but I know it’s not a big a deal as I’m making it. What matters is that I made anything at all, my friends won’t mind if things are late. 

10:11 PM

This even went very well. I ran into someone I apparently met before but unfriended because we never hang out after that initial meeting, and we had fun. We had a funny little squad with him, one of my friends, and another furry we met along the way. It was a nice social night. I didn’t go in intending to do this, but I felt very empathetic and caring towards everyone. Thats my goal, to truly care even though I might just be with a stranger. I want to listen to and accept people naturally. Tonight I did that. 

11:45 PM

This Christmas present project is KILLING ME, I can’t stop thinking about it because I really wanna do a good job on it. I gotta chill out and give it the appropriate amount of time and thought. And try my best which is all I can really do. I imagine I won’t be able to make it as good as I fantasize about but I’ll give it my all. 

12:39 AM

I thought I had tasted the unmistakable flavor of broken tooth after brushing my teeth tonight and I think something chipped off of one of my upper wisdom teeth. Very annoying, why there of all places? I can’t even chew with those because of my other fucked up teeth and I’ve been good about brushing my teeth ever since I started growing them in. Why would they get fucked up? 

I really need a dentist visit but at this point I’d wanna get completely knocked out so they can do everything in one go. There’s enough to do to justify that.