#I’ve got like 3 default poses

[datusaguy]

All TMNT Shredder’s Revenge Color References - Leonardo

Other character posts are linked at the bottom.

Here’s another post going over color references. Went through the main turtles and realized I actually did know most of them already and with a bit of research, figuring out most of the rest wasn’t too hard. All the turtles have essentially the same references, so hopefully I can make the other turtle posts quickly.

If you do have any additional info, I would appreciate it. Anyways, hope you enjoy.

# 1 - Default (1987 Show)

# 2 - 1988 Playmates Toys Action Figure - Wouldn’t have gotten this one by myself since I have none of the toys nor do I look into them much. The weapon color here though is a big indicator it’s this specific toy line (also I think it may have been the first toys which would be more reason to put it in the game).

# 3 - 90’s movie(s) - Most likely based on specifically the first one.

# 4 - 2003 Show

# 5 - 2012 Show

# 6 - Rise of the TMNT

# 7 - Archie Comics Intergalactic Wrestling? - This slot for Raph and Don ABSOLUTELY is this specific version of the Archie Comics designs where the turtles fought in some tournament. Mikey also seems quite likely to fit, although Leo’s does resemble his Next Mutation design a lot closer. Since the other 3 turtles almost definitely got their 7th color from here though and I can somewhat see how Leo got this design. I’m putting this design here.

# 8 - This one I’m quite clueless on. The obnoxious green indicates it’s probably from an older game, but it’s too colorful to be the Gameboy. He does have the “whited-out” eyes which implies it’s a game that doesn’t base the designs on the 87 show. Maybe it’s from a game where you could get a power up that makes you glow? It’s seemingly the same green for the other 3 turtles though so I doubt it’s be something like an 03 game. Most of my research has literally just been for this and I can’t find something that looks close enough.

Update - TMNT ULTIMATES Mutagen Ooze Figures - I’m still not 100% confident that this is correct, but out of all the things I’ve thought of that seem close (like the ZX Spectrum TMNT game or the GBC version of Back to the Sewers), this seems by far the closest.

# 9 - Mirage Comics - I do think that this color is likely for Mirage specifically, although it is worth noting that every turtle canonically wore red masks in that version, so maybe it is referencing a different version of the turtles. Most times I’ve seen the TMNT depicted in black and white though, it either is just outright the turtles from the original comic or it’s a reference to them, so I think it’s likely they just added a bit of color to be rad and for some visual clarity.

# 10 - NES - There’s multiple NES games this could’ve been, although all the turtles have the same shade of green which does narrow it down a bit. The first NES TMNT game (that one AVGN reviewed) seems to resemble it close enough which is the example. Something like the NES Tournament Fighters is closer in terms of posing, but that specifically probably isn’t the exact reference since the NES costumes in this game are all the same green colors, whereas that specific game had different turtle colors to help distinguish the turtles.

# 11 - Gameboy - Really any of the Gameboy games could work as the example, but I chose Fall of the Foot Clan.

All other Color References posts:

1. Karai

2. Leonardo

3. Michelangelo

4. Raphael

5. Donatello

6. April O’Neil

7. Master Splinter

8. Casey Jones

9. Usagi

#TMNT #teenage mutant ninja turtles #shredder’s revenge #TMNT shredder’s revenge #TMNT Leo #Leonardo Hamato

[chromaji]

thinking more about the character assets I’m planning on making in the future… Wondering how many characters i should include per pack, and what exactly should be in each pack.

I was initially thinking each character be released solo, but that’d be way too much. Now i’m thinking somewhere between 4-8 characters per pack. I was already gonna solely make packs for characters I deemed NPCs, but a little while back I decided yeah, the “adventurers” should come in packs too for sure.

For the content; 1 halfbody with multiple expressions (+ faceset versions) and a 4-directional, 3-frame walk sprite per character is the bare minimum. And this is probably the most any NPCs will have.

Beyond that, I could possibly have a second halfbody with its own expressions. And a static battler (enemy sprite) compatible for frontview, sideview, or both?

And then there’s the question of animated sideview battlers… Would it be too much on the workload & hold back the asset release time significantly to make these?

Sideview battle systems are very popular in mv/mz in particular with the reintroduction of animated sideview characters by default (plus the character generator). That’d been gone since 2k3. Having animated sideview battlers (gonna call them ASB now) of these characters I make WOULD get more interest on average… But I wouldn’t want my characters to use the base model of rmmv/mz.

As an RM dev who plays a lot of RM games, i’ve definitely seen a lottt of these sideview sprites in particular. I absolutely don’t think less of any games that have them, though. Just… I’ve seen that same default “bobbing with arms at side” idle animation so much its in my dreams i swear on my timbs.

Anyway, I’d want to make my own style of ASB’s if I did include them in these packs. It’d probably be just about the size of the MV/MZ ASB sprites. Mine’d definitely need to be a style that has its own base model as well, or else i’d be taking even LONGER per character. …But I’d want the characters to have their own unique poses in some instances (like victory pose).

​Slightly off topic, but monsters have been a lot easier to figure out. They’ll have static battlers, but i’m planning a Final Fantasy Mystic Quest kinda thing where they have different poses depending on their state. Whether that’s states of damage like FFMQ, or “idle, attack, defend, and KO” poses, I’m not sure yet. Monster packs will be bigger than character/NPC packs for sure though. At least 10 different monsters per pack.

…

…And well thats about all i got to say lmao. Mainly just rambling and thinking, you know how it is. But also please lemme know any thoughts and opinions you have about this. And questions, definitely send questions if you have any.

#i feel like i need a tag for this…? #talking assets #rpg maker #technically not just rpg maker but clearly i have a focus there #i love rambling gotta be one of my favorite things #i will say that if i made ASBs the bases would defintely be released for free

[someplumberrys]

Tag game for historical simblers!

1. What has been your favorite period to play in or which one are you most excited for?

So every time I try to play the decades challenge, I’ve never actually gotten past the 1890s, so currently that’s my favorite period by default. But I’m very excited for the 1920s! 

2. Do you have a favorite piece of historical cc? (CAS or BB)

I can’t choose a favorite piece but I currently have almost all the 1890s stuff from @vintagesimstress and @gilded-ghosts! I don’t really have any BB content except for this typewriter.

3. Who is your favorite sim currently?

Not much competition yet, so I’ll say my founders Horace and Vanessa. But I’m further ahead in gameplay than posts and their daughter is currently one of my favs for storyline purposes.

4. What is your favorite world?

For historical gameplay, Brindleton Bay and Henford-on-Bagley. Good out of the way lots that make it easier to imagine it being set in that time period. In general, I tend to build and play in Oasis Springs the most.

5. Are you more gameplay or story focused?

I like to try and be a balance of both. It’s more gameplay right now since they’re just starting out but will get more story focused as we get passed the 1900s. 

6. Do you like to play with pets in your historical saves?

Sometimes. I kinda wanna get the Elswoods a dog when their kids get older and I almost had the Emorys take in a stray. It depends on how many sims I’m trying to juggle. 

7. What’s your biggest immersion breaking pet peeve with the game?

Oh boy, where do I start: Random townies showing up at my door (or breaking into my house) in their randomly generated outfits, random phone calls, AUTONOMOUS PHONES! (I really need to download the mod that stops them) Also beyond historical gameplay, when sims that are supposed to live far away show up. 

8. What’s your favorite in-game historical item? (CAS or BB)

Vampires, cats and dogs, and get together have a lot of nice furniture that fits with the period. And all the woodworking stuff you can make and the cross stitch from Cottage Living. Also that one base game oil lamp I put everywhere.

For cas, I mainly use cc, but the men’s cottage living bathrobe, that one victorian dress from Get Famous, and the cottage living lace up shoes and vampires boots.

9. What would you like to see as a new pack or asset to the game?

I’d like to see more afterschool activities for kids and teens. Maybe chorus, dance classes, art club, ect... In general, it’d be nice to have more activities for kids since they only have scouts or drama club and like 10 variations of the crafts table. People always say they want a band pack and while I don’t really care for an entire pack new instruments like a flute, drum set, maybe even a harp (With variations for adults and kids) 

10.  What pack do you think is invaluable as a historical simmer?

Cottage living. Pretty world, not much modern stuff to get distracted by. Areas of Windenburg and Britechester are nice to.

11. Do you have a favorite mod to enhance historical gameplay?

Not exclusively historical but MCCC, PandaSama’s realistic childbirth, and woohoo wellness and pregnancy overhaul

12. What’s your ideal family size for playing?

5 is ideal. Not too many sims to the point that it’s overwhelming trying to make sure no one dies or sets the house on fire, but also enough so it doesn’t get boring and you can switch between them.

13. Do you use poses?

Always.

14. Do you use overrides?

No.

15. Do you, or did you, play off-the-grid during your gameplay?

No. I tried, but I found that it got too annoying and some of the stuff I felt should work off the grid didn’t, so I took it off.

16. What life span do you play on?

Normal.

17. What inspired you to start playing historically?

It was seeing other people’s historical gameplay and lookbooks and downloading a bunch of victorian era cc and wanting to use it somehow, as well as suddenly wanting to play with Cottage Living and start a family farm! 

Thank you @aheathen-conceivably and @bardish-cryptid for tagging me in this! I tag anyone who wants to do this 🎊🎊

#not sims #ask #thanks for the tag!

[merchantarthurn]

made a little process image... just so i could remember what i did, mostly, lol. i don’t work digitally much so this is something i’ve been feeling out.

1) rough sketching... reasonably straightforward, but i had a complicated pose in mind so i made sure to keep the key complex parts (like the hand) separate, so erasing and tweaking the position wasn’t too much of a faff (i forget i can do this usually pff). i like having the face fairly well defined but i try and keep it rough and not cover the pose with clothes

2) cleaner sketch & clothing - again fairly straightforward, but this is where composition consideration comes in since the billowing cape and plume is coming into play. sketch shown here wasn’t really doing it for me dynamics wise!!

3) lines & blocking - owing to the complexity and overlapping parts, i wanted to keep different parts of the clean lines on different layers - similar to the sketch, so i could move/alter without affecting overlapping sections. i made colour blocks to match so i could keep track of what was where - in ugly as sin colours so nothing would go unrendered later

4) a step i usually miss/skimp on - tone and colour thumbnailing. not really a thumbnail in this case but i started with the rough green image to get a wrangle on tone - both for an idea of where my planes for shading will be and also to get a focal point sorted! i wanted a nice line between the brightest parts of the image so his face was tonally the focus >:3

after that, i slapped down the “neutral light” base colours and used my tone sketch + gradient maps to sort out how they would be lit. i wanted a sort of sickly but not entirely cold vibe, so i kept the green, added a nice warm gradient map, and then made sure the contrast was nice with a grayscale layer. the result was the image at the top of 4! 

5) using a main shade from 4 for each area, i got down the block colours and then started picking through the rendering. technically i started with the main cape bit since the rendering was key to understanding the shape, but after than i worked from the backmost layer to the front - which ended up being a sort of spiral. tweaks to hue and brightness happened as i went - including deepening some shadows and dipping into the lineart occasionally to make the highlights pop >:3

6) not actually pictured but there’s not much to show - background and effects was last - mostly just adding a nice glowy effect to the nails and making some rough flames with a default brush.

there’s definitely some things i wanna go back and fiddle with but... yeah turns out stage 4 is a good one lmaooo

#usually i just have a thought in my head and try and pull the lighting outta my butt #it's a bad habit from my lazy traditional rendering lmaooo

[meenatranslates]

[R] Taichi | fall in <3

Being popular’s important too, but I like feelings the most. These candies would never taste bad if they’re packed with lots of love! Lead Skill: Can't Carry These Feelings! Adlib Skill: Eat as Many as You "Like"

Translation under the cut

__________________________

#TheSeatNextToNanaoIsOpen - Part 1

__________________________

*Director's default name as Izumi

―Lounge (Day)―

Taichi: Mucchan, let’s do a face swap this time~!

Muku: Sure, let’s do it!

Izumi: Are you guy taking photos?

Muku: Yes, using SMOW.

Taichi: They recently added lots of new filters, so we’ve been taking photos of everyone!

Look, here it is! There’s Omi-kun, and lots of Kazu-kun too!

Juza: Taichi looks like a girl.

Izumi: If I recall, there’s a small face filter and a makeup filter.

Banri: Man, you never get tired of doing it all the time, do you?

Taichi: New stickers and filters are added almost every day, so I never get bored~!

See? For example, you can try wearing animal ears-.

*snap*

Muku: Oh, me?

Juza: You’ve become a rabbit, Muku.

Taichi: Mucchan with rabbit ears is so cute!

Izumi: You’re right, he’s very cute...!

Muku: Really...? Hehe, I’m kind of embarrassed.

Taichi: There are many types of animals other than rabbit ears! Like this one!

Hmm, who should I take a photo of next~? Ah, Ban-chan’s in a good spot!

Muku: How cute, it’s fox ears!

Banri: Huh?

*snap*

Taichi: Wait, his eyes became bigger and turned into teary-eyed!

Muku: He’s so cute! Right, Ju-chan?

Juza: Exactly how a fox would look like.

Banri: What’d you just say!?

Taichi: Oh no! Don’t fight, you guys~!

―Veludo Way (Day)―

Izumi: (The meeting got dragged on for a bit too long... I’m hungry, so guess I’ll have something to eat and then go home after that.)

Taichi: Ah, Director-sensei! Were you going out just now?

Izumi: Taichi-kun! I’ve just finished a meeting a while ago.

Taichi: In that case, wanna hang out with me and grab some hamburgers?

I was thinking of stopping by on the way home from shopping since I wanna eat them so bad!

Izumi: Hamburgers, huh? Sounds good! I’d like to join you.

Taichi: Alright, it’s decided then!

Izumi: The food is very filling as always. My stomach’s full now.

Taichi: As I thought, the combination of cheeseburgers and cola here is the best!

Izumi: Come to think of it, you haven’t taken a promotional photo for the Actor’s Café yet, right?

Taichi: Yeah! I've been looking into various things, but I can’t overlap with someone, so I’m having a hard time to find any place...

Izumi: I’ll try to search for it on Inste.

Taichi: Uhuhuu, thanks! I’ll also look for it one more time!

Izumi: Instablammable spot...

Ah! This looks good... is what I thought but seems like it’s a bit far.

Taichi: It’s hard to find a good place nearby, huh~.

Ah! What about here? A wall of math addition!

Izumi: Wall of math addition?

Taichi: There’s an equal sign on the wall, and if you stand next to a + sign, an addition equation can be done!

Izumi: You’re right. It’s pretty cute, so this should be fine.

It’s really close from here, so let’s go over there.

Taichi: Yes sir!

__________________________

#TheSeatNextToNanaoIsOpen - Part 2

__________________________

Izumi: Wow, there really is an equation written on the wall! This will look great!

Taichi: I’ll stand over here then!

For the pose... how about we go with this?

Izumi: Yeah, looking great! I’ll take a photo now!

*snap*

Taichi: Did you take a cool shot? Show it to me~!

Izumi: Hmm, but it’s a photo spot for 2 people, so the empty other side makes it feel a bit lonely.

Taichi: Oh, that should be no problem! I’ve thought of something for it!

Izumi: Really? Okay, then.

Taichi: Yup! But still, we’ve came all the way here, so I wanna take a photo with you!

Izumi: True, let’s take a commemorative photo.

Taichi: Let’s stand in front of this heart sign! And then, we’ll add some cat ears using SMOW~.

Come closer to me, Director-sensei!

Izumi: L-like this?

Taichi: Ah, Director-sensei with cat ears is so cute~!

Izumi: (I’m a bit embarrassed, but...Taichi-kun looks like he’s having fun, so it’s fine.)

Taichi: Here we go~!

*snap*

Looks good! I’ll send this to you later.

Izumi: Sure, thanks.

―Lounge (Night)―

Taichi: We took lots of nice photos~!

Kazunari: Oh, Taicchan! Is that your promotional photo for the cafe?

Taichi: Yup! I took it with Director-sensei today~!

Tsuzuru: It looks very Instablammable, huh.

Kazunari: But wasn’t this a photo spot for couples?

Tsuzuru: You’re right, there’s a space enough for another person.

Taichi: Hehe! I actually left it open on purpose for all the fans!

Tsuzuru: You’ve thought out that far...?

Kazunari: I see~. Then let’s make a hashtag “#TheSeatNextToNanaoIsOpen”!

Tsuzuru: What kind of hashtag is that.

Kazunari: Taicchan, you’re recruiting potential girlfriends while promoting the cafe! That’s like killing two birds with one stone!

Taichi: Y-you’re right! That’s a great deal...!

Tsuzuru: No, don’t do that at this kind of place!

Kazunari: Eh~? I think it’s a good idea tho~!

Still, if you ever upload it to Inste, I’ll be the first one to like your post!

Taichi: I’ll be counting on you!

(Oh right, I still haven’t sent that photo to Director-sensei. Gotta do it now before I forget.)

*ding*

Tsuzuru: Hm?

Kazunari: Huh, it’s from Taicchan.

Tsuzuru: A photo of you and Director was sent to the group chat, you know.

Taichi: Eh? Oh man, did I missent!?

*ding ding ding*

Tsuzuru: This raging incoming messages...

Kazunari: It can only be from that person~!

M.U　

　What’s with the photo 　What does this mean? 　That should be a photo spot for couples 　Explain yourself, Taichi

Tsuzuru: Of course it’s from Masumi.

Taichi: O-oh no, I’ve done it now...

Kazunari: Uh oh~! You’re in trouble, Taicchan!

Tsuzuru: It would be wiser to run away for now.

Taichi: Waahhh~! Both of you, please help me~!

Story Clear!

#a3! #a3! translation #meenatranslates #nanao taichi #taichi nanao

[the-enzyme]

So, I hope these don’t go to the dark-side, on this place. This is my Myou Bettina on a male 3-part-toso-body, ball jointed doll. He is a doll, around 28cm in height (I haven’t measured him, yet, but going by Myou’s measurements!). He is going to be my fan-art version of Ken Kaneki. So he should represent a 19-year-old, young man. Not a child. I am posting these to show the body blushing I’ve done on him. I have also made two wigs, the first one in the 1st image is synthetic fiber, the one in the 2nd image is brushed out acrylic yarn. 

I’m very happy with him so far. I purchased pale blue eyes for him, because I like blue and Ken is supposed to have either grey or blue eyes depending on the manga or anime version. I wanted him to have small irises eyes, but the ones i got were normal sized. So, he’s wearing the default Myou Bettina’s eyes in these, which are purple. They are lovely eyes, and actually have small iries, unlike the pair I purchased for him. I did purchase a few more pairs from Myou; the ones that are default to Alan, which appear to be blue, and the ones that are default to Reid, which appear to be beige or a tanner-grey.  I have no clue when I’ll be getting those, but hopefully soon.

In some of these images, he is posing holding or next to Ken Elephant Red Wing gashapon shoe figures. I was hoping they would be a touch bigger, but they are so tiny. They might work for flat-foot Barbie, or Azone Pure Nemo, but I haven’t tried them on any of mine yet. They won’t fit on these dudes, but maybe the girls might be able to wear them. I don’t know their foot sizes. The shoes are really nice regardless, but they are sadly too tiny -- which would have been obvious, had I read the measurements from their official website, but I didn’t.  I love this little guy, he is so beautiful. If I am being nitpicky, I wish his shoulders were a cm wider and/or his head smaller. His features are a bit too-baby-faced, but I missed out on SoulDoll  Little Kimmy, a million years ago and it still haunts me at night. Since I saw Alan, I knew I had to have one of these Myou mature tinies, even if I didn’t have anyone to bring to life with him. 

However, I feel like he makes a very decent Kaneki (for my purposes), and I will also force him to cosplay as Accelerator and KH Riku. When I stop being a lazy-bum and start sewing stuff for him to wear.(:

#Myou #MyouBettina #BJD #ABJD #BallJointedDoll #AsianBallJointedDoll #BodyBlushing #FigureShading #Customizing #Costomization #Toy #Doll #Collecting #Photography #KenKaneki #TokyoGhoul #FanArtdoll #Art #Craft #Handmadewig #dollwig #KenElephant #RedWing

[alecatmew]

Reflections on Tableturf

This blog post goes through a few of my Tableturf inspired artworks from 2023, ending with a quick timelapse of this painting:

With the launch of Splatoon 3 came a new game mode, Tableturf! I got quite into the idea of Tableturf, even being a part of coordinating an art collab project – Arty Siege – which paid homage to the in-game cards. I did lots of work for that – creating various design elements, having fun data merging artwork in InDesign, thinking about how the physical game would really play out, coordinating artists and creating artwork!

The art that I worked on included assets for the card backgrounds, and I illustrated one of the cards.

These background images were ink paintings traced from game screenshots. After doing a little photography tour in the game I exported the screenshots and used the Find Edges filter in Photoshop. I printed these reference lines to carbon paper and transferred them to watercolour paper.

After scanning the ink paintings, I applied some gradient map adjustments to them to adapt them into the card background.

I chose to illustrate the Splattershot Jr. as my designated card for the project. I’ve drawn the newbie squid before and as a Junior player (I became a Junior main because of having to unlock kits on many, many systems) I just feel a certain connection to the default loadout.

During initial project advertising, I used this artwork. The pose is taken directly from the pose of the original Tableturf card. With this version of the artwork, I mocked up the first version of how the cards would appear, including tweaks to the card UI and creating a 3D view of the card.

My motivations for changing the UI were to make the Arty Siege cards distinct from the in-game works, but also to think about what would make sense for a real card game. The original cards put all their important information at their base, but I wanted to make all the pertinent information visible easily from a fanned out hand of cards. So I moved the grid and special costs to the left side.

I also straightened the alignment of the block grid. The angled grid was cool, and saved a little space, but I felt that when looking down at the game board and determining how to make a move, it was easier to visualise the move you wanted to play by having an aligned grid. Maybe that was just me, it’s not like things in the real world would be completely squared anyway.

Anyhow, relatively late into the project I started feeling a bit insecure about that version of the Junior being my entry into the project. I was surrounded by an incredibly talented pool of artists and felt like I needed to step up to the standards of my peers! I still like my original artwork but I also felt inspired by the work I’d done on the backgrounds to do a piece in ink and use gradient mapping to add colour.

This time, I based the pose on some promotional artwork from Splatoon 2 – I wanted to show off the square ink tank because while the flat ink pack of Splatoon 3 features in some of the cards, many of the other ones seem to take cues from Splatoon 2’s fashion options.

Here’s the final version of the Splattershot Jr. card. Please do check out the Arty Siege website for all of the other works!

One of the things I did at the end of this project was to print out all the cards, which was a lot of fun! I felt like I built a new connection with each of the artists and their artwork in the process of printing, cutting and sleeving the cards.

While wrapping up Arty Siege I had a vague idea of running a promotional Tableturf tournament – maybe something in a casual vein, or with a bit of a team gimmick to allow a mix of player skills among drafted teams. The team angle was influenced by my favourite anime – Chihayafuru – a show that features a competitive karuta game based on the Ogura hyakunin isshu.

Chihayafuru is beautiful, and the way it depicts friendly competition really hits home. And there’s just something so great about the earnest enthusiasm of the players – they’re engaging in a pretty niche hobby so having the opportunity to play is something they’re truly grateful for. Coming from a grassroots Splatoon scene, I feel the parallels between the competition depicted in the show and some of my favourite times being a member of the Australian (and broader) Splatoon community.

I wish competitive video gaming was filled with people as kind and grateful for the opportunity to play with others as the karuta players in Chihayafuru.

— David Michael Kinne (@Mewd462) May 18, 2019

This kinda sums it up!

Although I didn’t end up running a Tableturf tournament, the imagery and the idea for an art piece stuck with me.

As much as I adore Chihayafuru, I’ve never felt brave enough to try to tackle fan art for it. The gorgeous scenes, the sense of movement, the game that I only have the most superficial understanding of… it all felt quite intimidating.

But Splatoon, I feel comfortable in that universe…

(A universe which coincidentally seems to have a version of karuta already!)

However, my painting is not an attempt to retcon that karuta into Tableturf. In my headcanon, the two coexist. I just wanted to borrow the aesthetics of karuta for my Tableturf scene. I was inspired by the glowing sunset scenes of karuta which I associated with the characters practicing in the school clubroom, but also by the tournament games played while wearing kimono.

Before starting this painting I did two “mood studies” – just getting a feel for whether I could tame the contrast of yellows, oranges and purples before I started. Watercolour can be a tricky medium, and it’d be hubris to walk into this kind of endeavour without a plan.

That first image is sort of a Chihayafuru fanart, I guess – the scene is most likely Arata sitting alone with his cards – but that wasn’t the purpose of the sketch. I wanted to get a feel for how I’d depict the trees in the windows, and the light entering the room. The second sketch really sets up the composition that I’d ultimately use for the final piece.

After deciding on that sketch, I made simple 3D version of the scene in Blender.

A digital sketch then filled in the character details

Which was then printed out and transferred to stretched watercolour paper, then painted over the span of a few weeks.

I also wrote a poem to go with this painting. It’s based on poem 77 of the Ogura hyakunin isshu. Here’s one blogger’s translation and writeup about the poem (I chose to highlight this blogger because they also have a post about the Karuta that appears in Splatoon 2!)

The translation included in that post is credited to Joshua Mostow,

Because the current is swift, even though the rapids, blocked by a boulder, are divided, like them, in the end, we will surely meet, I know

Other translations summarise the scene as

Swift waters parted by the jagged rocks are joined at river's end.

The overall mood that I get from this poem, having only experienced it through translations, is a mix of urgency and yet steadfast certainty that comes from love. Apparently, the “swift currents” were not in the original poem, and were a later edit, but I think the imagery is certainly much stronger with the idea of rapid waters.

I felt the scenario could be mapped quite closely to the energy and movement of Turf War, and by extension, Tableturf. The rapid currents can be whirls of paint instead, and the boulder standing in the way of the lovers could well be a grey block, created in Tableturf when both players play their cards over the same squares.

I chose to write my poem following the rough syllabic rules of the original poetry, the lines having 5-7-5-7-7 syllables. But I put a western poetic spin on them as well, making use of rhyme throughout.

Our rapid advance, Blocked by chance or wit wherefore. Must we halt our dance? No - surge forth in this turf war! We'll unite our ink once more.

The rapid advance describes that rush to claim turf, as well as for the rivals/lovers to meet at the middle of the map. “Chance or wit wherefore” refers to how the grey block ended up in their way. Was it coincidence that they played in the same tile, or was it cunning strategising from one of the players? With this obstacle in place, the shape of their relationship (whether it be a rivalry or a romance) is affected.

The ending couplet describes the characters choosing to rise above (or work around) adversity – in-game the boulders would not be passable at all, so they must certainly have some grit! Like the swift waters in the original poem, they’ll be sure to meet again.

I love how this artwork and poem came together. Reflecting upon them I feel all those warm fuzzy feels from all the ways that Splatoon – and more recently Tableturf – have made their impact on me. I’m grateful to have had another great year of art, friends and community and I’m looking forward to more good times in the future.

"Reflections on Tableturf" was originally published on Proairesis

#arty siege #fan art #splatoon #tableturf #watercolor #watercolour

[bricktonki]

Iresizer in photoshop

#IRESIZER IN PHOTOSHOP MOVIE#

Both nighttime pictures were taken at Disney's X-mas party, & the 1st shows a spotlit candy cane made out of balloons. Trying out iResize, a couple images on my hard drive worked really well. The 2nd scenario has a background scene or setting that is important. making a 4:3 picture better fit a 16:9 HDTV. Here you might use iResize if you don't have access to the original, & what you do have can't fill the width of whatever screen, e.g. And normally you'd want to crop the image as much as practical, showing only enough background to set the scene. If you've got a portrait or take a snapshot of people posing for the camera, they're the focus & things probably should stay that way - very often too much of anything else in the picture is a distraction. Sometimes the same thing happens with still images.

#IRESIZER IN PHOTOSHOP MOVIE#

To show the same movie on regular TV they often just cut the sides off, & while certainly you still see the actors & whatever's going on, many feel that something irreplaceable has been lost in the process. Movies are shot wide-screen, because it's felt that the extra background helps convey the entire scene, maybe does a better job of pulling you into the picture. And really, who doesn't care about image quality? That's just nonsense.#12: "Can someone tell me if there’s any advantage to using this tool instead of cropping an image around the content you want to keep?" So again, when resizing your image, it's okay to make your images smaller, but you should avoid making them larger at all cost unless you absolutely don't care about image quality. Instead of the sharp, highly detailed version you were hoping for, you'll get something that looks dull, soft and blurry. Bottom line, the larger you try to make your image, the worse your image is going to look. Of course, Photoshop is a very powerful program and its guesses are based on some very complicated and advanced math, but at the end of the day, it's still just a guess, and it's not going to guess correctly. When Photoshop makes an image larger, it has to add pixels that were not there before, and since Photoshop wasn't on the scene when you took the photo, it has no idea what a larger, more detailed version of the image should actually look like, which means it has to guess. I guess it just kind of makes them up out of thin air", you'd be right again!Īnd therein lies the problem. Where does Photoshop get these new pixels from that it's adding to the image? If you answered, "Um, I'm not sure. If Photoshop makes them smaller by tossing pixels away, how do you think it makes them larger? If you answered, "By adding pixels to the image", you'd be right! But here's the bigger question. The problem comes in when we ask Photoshop to make our images larger. Fortunately, Photoshop is really good at knowing which pixels to throw away without sacrificing image quality, so making our images smaller isn't usually a problem. It just takes some of the pixels from the image and tosses them out the virtual window. When you use the Image Size command to make a photo smaller, Photoshop makes it smaller essentially by throwing away pixels. If I was to enlarge it even further, the image quality would grow progressively worse. We've lost a lot of detail in the image, and it's starting to look soft and blurry. Photoshop lets us know that the width and height values of the image are currently linked together by displaying a linked icon to the right of the values:īy enlarging the image, I've managed to return it to its original size, but when we compare the quality with that of the original, the enlarged version clearly doesn't look as good. Normally, you wouldn't change the width of a photo without changing the height as well, otherwise things will look distorted. That's because by default, Photoshop keeps the original aspect ratio of the image intact when you resize it, which is usually what you want. In other words, if you try to change the value for the width of your image, the height will change along with it. You'll notice, unless you've changed the default settings, that when you enter in a new Width or Height value, the other value changes automatically. When you're done, click the OK button and Photoshop will resize the image to whatever percent value you entered. Just double-click inside the Width or Height value box and type in a new percentage. Resizing the image using a percentage is done the same way as if you were using pixel values. Once you've chosen percent as your measurement type, the Pixel Dimensions section will display the width and height of your image as a percentage rather than a pixel value. Changing the measurement type from pixels to percent.

#Iresizer in photoshop

[ghostchasersmagazine]

Goober and the Ghost Chasers model sheets pt. 1 - Goober and the Ghost Chasers’ References 

Uploading the Goober and the Ghost Chasers model sheets next, so here’s part one with the titular characters. Commentary under the cut:

- The top Goober pose is a fun one to me. Anything that emphasizes how spindly his limbs are is entertaining to me.

- The pose on the bottom is fun too. Partially because that seems to be Hanna Barbera’s Dog PoseTM (as Elvis had that in his model sheet, and I’ve seen it for dog-adjacent characters like Howler too), but also because they gave him his default character expression with it, so it looks like he’s scratching just to scratch. No thoughts head empty.

- I don’t have anything to add with this pose I just wanted to add it here. Smiley boy.

- This is less about the model sheet and more a general comment, but I do wonder why Gillie was never shown to use his jacket pockets for anything. Like, you can see that he actively has to push past the jacket pocket to use his pants pocket. I do agree that it looks more natural for him to use his pants pocket more, so I assume that why, but still. He should at least use the jacket pockets for something.

- Gillie gets 6 headshots in his expression page, while Ted and Tina only get 5. Why Gillie needed to be drawn with the back of his hair showing and the other two didn’t is unclear to me. Maybe they just liked drawing Gillie’s hair.

- One thing I noticed about these expression sheets compared to the ones for the Sundance Kids is that two of them have the character facing the same way, but one with an open mouth and one with a closed. It’s interesting to me that that was the way they decided to do the open mouth/talking expressions for them. Maybe to mimic how it would look in animation if they talked?

- All three of the Ghost Chasers’ front-facing expressions are almost a :3 face. Friends that :3 together stay together.

- Ted gets a bonus :3 is his expressions, good for him. 

- These model sheets show that Ted having his hair parted to the right is the canon way for him. This doesn’t always show in the show itself (since there are scenes where the part changes depending on which direction he’s facing), so it’s good to know which way is correct. It’s also good to see that Ted can be drawn well facing forward - a lot of the time in the show Ted looks wonky facing forward. Maybe he’s just not photogenic.

- Not directly related to the model sheet, but it reminds of how much I like Ted’s design. The waist-high pants, the short jacket, how they’re both a matching purple. Good stuff.

- Ted’s side view makes it look like he has really long legs, which is amusing to me. Legs for days or miles or whatever your preferred saying is.

- These model sheets also reminded me how much I like Tina’s design as well. She’s got both the 70s mini-dress AND the 70s bell bottoms at the same time. Why choose one fashion trend when you can have multiple?

- Very glad there were poses where Tina had her hands pointed outwards on her sheet. The superior Tina poses.

- I like the little detail that Tina doesn’t have her eyes colored in while Ted and Gillie do. It’s a nice little nod to how Tina has a light eye color in the show while Ted and Gillie have the classic black eyes. (Also, they talking.)

#Goober and the Ghost Chasers #eBay things

[silmaspens]

“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.”

#happy international women's day #ya dorks #here’s a little eowyn doodle for you #as a treat #tolkien #my art #lotr #eowyn #did I rip off my Glaurung drawing with Turin? #yeah??? so what #I’ve got like 3 default poses

[chippedaxe]

𝑨 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒌

ੈ✩‧₊˚

Title: 𝑨 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒌

Warning(s): NSFW, not sure what other warnings ?? Pet names used, unedited (as always)

Pronouns : they/them, non specified genitalia (Or at least I tried to keep it vague)

Synopsis: What was a seemingly harmless prank turns out to cause a helluva lot of chaos.

Pairing: c!Sapnap X gn reader (Sub reader btw)

Word count: 2k

Note: simping for Sapnap hours <3 No one requested it but I suddenly got this idea and was like 'I have to write it, it's what the people would want' and I also wrote it bc Sapnap has no full fics in my masterlist yet <3

* lemme know if I've missed any warnings/tags or if you see a mistake in this fic that I can quickly change (I didn't rlly proof read, I just sorta scanned over it with my eyes)

ੈ✩‧₊˚

2nd POV

You walked to the bathroom after a long day. You were held back a few hours to work overtime without warning and you’re pretty sure that you won’t be getting paid extra, you weren’t in the mood and just needed to relax with a nice shower.

You entered your bathroom and closed the door, you assumed by default that Sapnap wouldn’t bother you since he’s normally such a good roommate and he hadn’t bothered you in the bathroom before! You stripped yourself of your clothes and hung up your outfit that you were planning to wear when you get out of the shower.

You placed the clothes on your sink counter and then approached the shower, your feet were placed on the bath mat as you stood there patiently. You took a deep breath before walking in, you turned both faucets and waited for the water to warm up to a good temperature. You got underneath the water and let the shower rinse off all of the dirt and negative emotions.

You could only hear the water hitting the shower floor since most of the water plugged up your ears, you tried to wash it out but failed so you better hope that no roommate of yours comes in here and plays games while you’re basically half deaf. You grabbed the soap and lathered it in your hands, your soapy hands running over your soft skin.

You came to a pause when you thought you heard something but decided to shrug it off “what would it be anyways? It’s not like Sapnap would come in here” you thought to yourself as you continued washing up. Your hand trailed down to your nether regions and you whined a bit as you cleaned down there, you were just cleaning but your body didn’t know that and so you became a bit aroused.

You ignored the arousal and just continued to have your shower, if you were still horny later on than you’d deal with it but not now. You rinsed the soap off your body and sighed, today was a rough and tiring day but you got through it.

You turned the shower off when you were finished getting clean, grabbing the towel and wrapping it around your body. You got out onto the bathroom mat and started to dry yourself with the towel, you glanced over towards the bathroom sink and your eyes widened.

“Where the fuck did my clothes go?” You asked out loud, your eyes searching the floor just in case they may have fallen down. You groaned in annoyance and wrapped your towel around yourself securely so it wouldn’t fall and then you stomped out to your bedroom to look for the little thief.

You had a look through your drawers to quickly get dressed and confront the troublemaker but it seemed as all your clothes had mysteriously disappeared. You pulled out all the drawers and you searched all the shelves, even your closet was completely empty apart from some scattered shoes.

You whined angrily and then stomped downstairs, your feet dragging along the floor “Sapnap!” You called out to him and he came to your call “what’s up? Like the new look!” Sapnap looked up and down at your towel covered body “Oh hush up! Where’s my clothes? I know you had something to do with their disappearance!” You accused.

“What? Me? What makes you think that?!” Sapnap gasped “they couldn’t have just grown legs and ran away!” You put your hands on your hips “psh, you got me! It’s just a harmless prank..” Sapnap put his hands up in defeat “Good- great, now give them back please!” You held your hand out expectedly.

“Why? I’m liking this outfit you’ve got on right now..” Sapnap teased “oh please, do not start with the flirting again” you rolled your eyes “I can’t give your clothes back right now but feel free to borrow some of mine!” Sapnap smiled “Huh?? Why can’t you give them back?” You exclaimed “if I told you than it’d ruin the whole prank! Just borrow some of my clothes” Sapnap invited you to his wardrobe.

You pouted and entered his room, roaming his closet and just mindlessly picking some of his clothes. “What am I meant to do about my underwear? Can you at least give that back?” You asked “you don’t need underwear, if you do then just borrow some of mine” Sapnap shrugged it off. You wanted to argue with him but found that he had already turned his back to you and left.

You changed into his clothes, his baggy shirt and pants made your body look more boxed up. You tugged at the fabric and it started to cling to your body more “stupid electricity-“ you tried to get it to move away from your curves but it stayed stuck to you.

You walked out into the living room and crossed your arms “When am I supposed to be ‘getting pranked’?” You sighed “oh fuck, you’re looking hella good in my clothes, maybe I’m doin you a favor” Sapnap licked his lips quickly. You scoffed and flicked his forehead “I look good in my own clothes too, you know??” You huffed “I personally think you’d look way better without any clothes, you looked amazing in that towel earlier” Sapnap wiggled his eyebrows at you.

“You’re disgusting!” You laughed at his little flirting attempts “you know you love it, baby!” Sapnap winked “oh I do” you decided to tease back which made the tip of his ears turn slightly red “oh you do? That really warms my heart, c’mere and show me some love!” Sapnap held his arms out to you but you only pushed him away.

“Your offer is very kind but I must decline, I don’t show love to people who steal my clothes!” You told him. Sapnap lowered his head and frowned “What’re you so upset for? I was gonna get you out of your clothes anyways” he jokes around “oh be quiet!” You slap his arm playfully.

He gasps and exclaims dramatically “OUCH! I can’t believe you’ve striked me! All I did was love you and this is how you repay me??” He falls to the ground slowly and fakes his own death “may I have one final request?” He whispered and You leaned down “maybe one..” you decided to play along “can a dying man please have one final kiss?” Sapnap closed his eyes.

You decided ‘fuck it’ and leaned in, your lips pressing against his. He caressed your cheek and deepened the kiss but you were quick to pull away “hey, I don’t go making out with thieves” you smirked “Oh? Maybe you can make this ol’ criminal a good guy again, what’dya think?” Sapnap wrapped an arm around your waist.

You looked up at him and smiled “oh of course, is this thief gonna return my clothes?” You asked “only if you return mine..” Sapnap whispered and started to slowly tug at your collar “hm.. I think we have a deal” you slipped your shirt off and stood there with a bare chest “you look good, baby” Sapnap blew a kiss at you.

You slipped the rest of your clothes off and kicked them away, you were completely naked now “Shit- I can’t believe you were hiding all this from me..” Sapnap came up to you and ran his hands down your sides “my eyes are up here, play boy” you grinned. Sapnap’s eyes snapped from your body up to meet your gaze.

You leaned in and kissed him again, your mouth parting to allow his tongue entrance. You wrapped your arms around his neck and panted slightly as you two were now having a heated make out session. You pulled away for air and gulped down your spit “Sapnap..” you breathed out “yes, Y/n?” He smirked.

“Take your clothes off, it’s unfair” you complained and started to pull at his clothes “calm down. I’ll take my clothes off whenever you ask, baby” Sapnap stripped himself hastily and then posed for you, your eyes narrowed as you stared at him “checking me out?” Sapnap laughed.

Your eyes couldn’t help but be attracted to the large thing hanging between his legs, his cock was huge and throbbing “oh fuck..” you muttered “what was that?” Sapnap got closer “your cock is humongous!” You shouted “haven’t I told you that before?” Sapnap kissed your neck gently as you two were speaking and taking in each other’s beautiful bodies.

His hands rubbed at your hips gently “I’ve been waiting so long for you, Y/n.. I’ve had this crazy attraction to you ever since we met, you were the only one that ever joked back with me..” Sapnap confessed “I always had a soft spot for your stupid jokes..” you whispered softly, “I KNEW IT!” Sapnap hugged you and started to pepper kisses all over your face excitedly.

“Does this mean we’re dating??” You questioned “no it means we’re mortal enemies, of course we’re dating!!” Sapnap joked around “oh wow..” you blushed softly before realizing that you two were in the middle of having sex “oh um..” your face was red.

“Do you need me to stretch you out, do a little foreplay?” Sapnap’s hands caressed your torso, his mouth leaving soft kisses on your neck which left tiny purple marks “ah.. No, I just need your cock now..” you were ready for him! Sapnap guided you to his bed and laid you down onto your back, he then crawled on top of you and smiled.

Sapnap positioned his huge throbbing cock with your tiny hole, you gasped and threw your head back when he started to slide into your slowly “does this hurt?” Sapnap asked when he saw your facial expressions “n-no! It feels so good..” you cooed.

Sapnap gripped onto your hips and started to thrust inside of you, his cock was overwhelmed by the feeling of your tight warm squishy insides. Your legs were quivering and your hands were covering your mouth, you felt embarrassed to have such loud lewd sounds spewing out of your mouth like this but it was hard to control.

Sapnap thrusted harder and faster which made you yelp, tears pricked at your eyes from the overwhelming pleasure that you were getting from his cock stretching your insides “Fuck! Gonna cum-“ you scratch his back, leaving light claw marks on his skin. Sapnap continued to fuck into you roughly “cum for me, baby..” he encouraged.

You went over the edge and came hard, your juices running down your thighs. Your head was thrown back and your eyes were rolling into the back of your head, your back arched and your legs were shaking uncontrollably from the stimulation “FUCK! I love you!-“ you then panted and whined as you tried to catch your breath after just having the best orgasm of your life.

Sapnap came shortly after, his cum leaking out of your hole and down your thighs “shit, sorry about the mess-“ you shut him up with a kiss “clean the mess. Return my clothes. Cuddle me.” You instructed as you tiredly laid down on the bed “will do! I love you too, Y/n” he gave your forehead a kiss before going to clean everything up.

#mcyt x reader smut #sapnap smut #dream smp smut #dsmp smut #mcyt smut #c!sapnap smut #smut

[the-himawari]

A3! Minagi Tsuzuru - Translation [SSR] MANKAI Memory (1/3)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

Citron: …!

Taichi: …!!

Tsuzuru: (…Hm? There’s a lot going on in the lounge. Everyone sure is energetic in the morning.)

-pause-

Citron: Good morning, Tsuzuru!

Taichi: Mornin’!

Tsuzuru: Morning. Huh, I-Itaru-san!?

Itaru: Morning, Tsuzuru.

Tsuzuru: Good morning… Eh, i-it’s… 8 in the morning right now…

Itaru: It’s always like this when I have work, you know?

Tsuzuru: I mean, you’re off today, aren’t you…? Are you working on your day off…? No, wait, did you pull an all-nighter…?

Itaru: Nope~. Today’s special.

Tsuzuru: Special…?

TV: “♪~♪~”

Citron: It’s started!

Taichi: Ooh. That person’s the main character this time!

Tsuzuru: Ahh, I see. I get it now. A new series started today, huh?

Itaru: Bingo. This new Sentai show has been blowing up on SNS.

Citron: I’ve been eagerly waiting for today!

Taichi: Same here!

-pause-

Taichi: *Sigh*, that was awesome! The new hero was super cool too~.

Tsuzuru: Yeah. He gets carried away pretty easily, but he’s a refreshing and dashing protagonist.

Citron: I really liked that transformation pose!

Itaru: It seems popular since it has a classic vibe to it despite its unique setting.

Taichi: The preview for the next ep is after this, right? I wonder if a new ally will join forces with them?

TV: “SHINE! PLAY THE MUSIC! You, take this sword and fight alongside the hero!”

Taichi: Eh? This sword is…

Citron: OH!? A never-before-seen weapon?

Itaru: There it is. The commercial dropped spoilers before the actual show. That’s probably the weapon that’ll show up next week or the week after that.

Taichi: What a sharp business tactic…

Tsuzuru: Haha. That happens a lot for hero shows and anime at this hour…

Citron: The official sources spoil the most! But I can’t wait for next week!

Tsuzuru: Hold on. Taichi has a little brother, so that makes sense… But you’re into these things too, Citron-san?

Citron: Yes! The same hero shows were aired in Zafra 2~3 years after they were broadcast in Japan. I watched them in secret. I was looking forward to them every week.

Tsuzuru: I see. So that’s how it was. …Then there’s Itaru-san. I was sure you’d watch shows like this by streaming reruns instead.

Itaru: It’s only for the first episode. If it’s interesting, I’ll stream it later.

Tsuzuru: Only the first episode…

Itaru: I mean, I can do my best to get up earlier than when I do for work… But in the end, I wanna prioritize gaming. *Yawn*… and with that said, I’m gonna head back to my room and sleep again. G’night~.

Taichi: Goodnight~.

Citron: That’s Itaru for you.

Tsuzuru: Yep…

*door opens*

Izumi: I-I just passed by Itaru-san. Today’s Sunday. And it’s still morning.

Tsuzuru: I knew you’d think that. You had the exact same reaction as me.

Citron: Itaru got up early to watch the early bird*.

Izumi: Um, I see…? Ah, that’s right. That reminds me, Tsuzuru-kun. Your turn is coming up for the birthday bromide photoshoot.

Tsuzuru: Oh right, it is.

Citron: You need to prepare one item yourself to use as an accessory in the birthday bromide shoot, right?

Taichi: Yep! The theme is a memorable item from before you joined the troupe.

Tsuzuru: A memorable item, huh… Well, I don’t have any plans today. I’ll drop back home and look for an accessory to use in my photoshoot while I’m at it. I’m sure my little bros were also watching that show just now.

Taichi: Great! You can get hyped up over the same topic.

Izumi: Yeah. Have a safe trip.

---

*I’m like 99%(?) sure Citron is misspeaking here, but I can’t figure out what he actually meant. So I just put something for now haha

| next

#a3! #a3! translation #minagi tsuzuru #act! addict! actors!

[jakeyp]

“I don’t know why I’m crying I-I’m sorry” // angst and fluff ♥︎

hi... i kind of wrote a small fic with that prompt. you can read it here or on ao3! thanks for this i really needed the motivation. i decided to write something about what happened after 8x06! <3 

—

Amy arrives home a little later than usual that night, overwhelmed with the events of the last few days. There are so many things to process, though the only thing she can focus on at the moment, is her husband’s suspension. She knows Jake very well, and most likely he’ll try to hide his sadness and pretend he’s fine, not because he thinks he’s weak but because he doesn’t want Amy to worry about him. Yet, she can’t help to wonder how he’s taking it.

Not knowing what to expect as she enters their apartment, Amy tosses her keys onto the couch sadly, too distracted to place them on the key hook. Jake is nowhere to be seen, so she figures he must be putting Mac to sleep, since it’s past ten already, and there are no toys scattered around the floor.

Indeed, she finds Jake whispering to his son, who lies in his crib, babbling and very, very awake, even though the lights are dimmed and it’s quiet in there.

“Hey,” Amy says softly.

Despite her tone, Jake startles, turning around, but immediately relaxes when he sees it’s just her. “Ames,” he breathes, looking down at Mac and then back at his wife, guilt taking over his features. “I kind of let him take a nap earlier and now he can’t sleep…”

“It’s okay,” Amy says, shrugging. She wants to add something else to reassure him, but her mind’s entirely blank, so she settles for a casual question. “What did you two have for dinner?”

Jake smiles. “He tried scrambled eggs for the first time. I know it’s technically breakfast food, but I read he can eat them now, plus it’s what I cook best.”

“And?”

“He loved them, duh.”

Amy chuckles. “Of course. Did you have some too?”

“I… wasn’t really hungry.”

“Oh. Well, I haven’t eaten either. We can heat some leftovers if you want.”

Jake nods with a weak smile, which widens as he turns to check on Mac. “Hey, he’s asleep! Maybe he just needed to make sure mama arrived home safe.”

Amy leans over to look at her sleeping son. Mac looks so much like his dad, when he laughs or smiles—which he’s been doing recently a lot—but especially when he’s asleep and completely peaceful.

She turns to see Jake staring at their baby with a proud smile and it warms her heart. Perhaps he’s forgotten about the suspension.

“Leftovers, then?” she whispers after a while, grabbing him by the wrist to pull him a little closer to her.

“Sure,” he says, throwing a last glance at Mac before following Amy out of their room and closing the door behind him. They’ve learned to make as little noise as possible in the last ten months, so their voices are barely above a whisper by default whenever Mac is asleep.

As it’s routine, Jake turns on the TV, not choosing a channel, and mutes it before joining Amy in the kitchen, while she gets the food from the fridge and puts it in the microwave.

From the corner of her eye, she can see Jake leaning against the counter in an awkward pose, staring at her almost anxiously.

Amy has no idea how to ask the question she’s been wanting to ask him since she got there, so she takes a deep breath and turns to him. “Babe, are you… okay with it?”

His expression tells her he’s been dreading her to ask. Yet, he plays dumb. “With what?”

“With everything that happened. Your suspension…”

“Oh,” Jake spats after what seems like hours, as if every emotion he was supposed to be feeling before was just settling in. Amy’s stomach drops. These subjects might not be her thing. “It’s fine. I suppose I can talk about it, but is it necessary?”

She shrugs. “Just tell me.” Her voice is as soft as it can be. “How do you feel about it?”

Jake puts on a poker face now. She’s usually good at reading him, but she can’t tell what he’s thinking. Amy knows how much he enjoys his job. Everything had happened so fast, though, at some point she’d lost track of it all. One second he was very excited about his ‘Speed’ situation and then, suddenly, he was in too deep.

To sum it up, it hadn’t gone well.

“I feel weird,” Jake finally admits, looking down. “It feels weird to know I won’t be going back tomorrow. But I’ll… adapt, I guess.”

“I’m sure you will,” she automatically replies, hesitating a little before placing a hand on his chest.

He seems to attempt a smile, but it vanishes right away. “I feel stupid too. Why can’t I listen? Holt told me to stay out of it and I screwed up. I screw up a lot.”

Amy frowns. “Of course you don’t. Sometimes you can be silly, yes, but there’s nothing wrong with it. This time it just… it got out of my hands too. I was really drunk.”

Jake chuckles. “Yeah,” he says shortly, and then swallows. “So five months, huh? It isn’t that much, is it? There are like thirty days in a month so it would be like a hundred days which have twenty-four hours each, so it would be like twenty-four thousand hours.”

“No,” she says, shaking her head with a smile. Math is decidedly not Jake’s strength. “It’s only like… three thousand and seven hundred hours.”

“Oh. That’s… still a lot.”

Amy sighs. His eyes are red, probably with exhaustion, and she can’t recognize the emotion behind them. It might be just deep, deep sadness.

“Ames,” he says huskily before she can talk. “What am I gonna do?”

Her eyebrows shot up, but before she can even think of an answer, Jake cuts her off again. “Things were so well yesterday. It makes me think… I can mess everything up so quickly. And it’s always my fault. What am I gonna mess up next?”

“Don’t say that,” she says, her throat knotting. “It’s okay to make mistakes, babe. And you are great at dealing with the consequences. You learn from your mistakes, you’ve always done.”

“Yeah, I keep pushing things until something goes wrong,” he argues in a trembling voice, “and until then I stop, I—” and suddenly that trembling voice breaks.

Amy’s stomach drops again as his eyes tear up, becoming redder. He immediately looks away when he realizes himself.

“Hey,” she says soothingly, cupping his face to make him look at her. “Don’t beat yourself up over this.”

“I’m sorry,” he chokes. “I know it’s a dumb thing to cry over, I just—” once more he’s unable to finish his sentence, pinching his lips shut before his voice can get any louder or high-pitched.

A single tear streams down his cheek.

“It’s not dumb,” Amy says. “If it makes you feel like this, it’s not dumb.”

“Well, I got myself into it—”

“And as I said, you will learn from it. That’s what matters.”

“I’ve been suspended like a thousand times already,” he counters, his tone bitter. "What makes you think it won’t happen again? What makes you think I couldn’t get fired?”

She shrugs, trying to stay calm even though she wants to cry as well. “I wouldn’t be less proud of you than I am today,” she says. “You’ve grown up so much and whatever you have to deal with, I have to deal with too, because I love you and I’m willing to. So please, don’t beat yourself up over this because it’s going to be fine.”

He sniffs. “How can you know that?”

“Because I’ll make sure everything’s fine. You’re not alone, babe. You have me.”

Jake stays in silence for a few seconds, and she thinks he’s going to start sobbing, but his lips curl instead. “I love you so much,” is all he says.

“I love you too,” she mouths back, afraid she’ll begin crying if she talks, and then pulls him into a hug.

They stay like that for a while, maybe five seconds or ten minutes, sinking in a silence that they don’t really mind. She pulls away from his embrace only to wipe his tears away. Jake looks so tired. Exhausted, even. She feels the same way, when minutes ago they were going to watch some TV and have dinner, though now she’s not sure she’s up for it.

Jake must have been thinking the same thing because a small laugh comes from his lips all of a sudden.

“What?” Amy asks, amused.

“I just realized we never even heated the food.”

Amy chuckles, and it only causes him to laugh a little harder. She wonders if it’s the exhaustion making such a simple detail seem so funny, and rests her head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. It’s calmer now, it could be matching hers.

“Babe,” she says softly.

“Yes?” Jake hums.

“It’s going to be fine. I promise.”

He doesn’t answer right away, and Amy separates, afraid she said the wrong thing, but Jake’s only bowing his head like she said the cheesiest thing in the world.

“I know. Thanks, Ames,” he says, and then adds, “I love you.” Even though she hears those words coming from him at least ten times a day, he manages to make them sound like it’s the first every time.

“I love you too,” Amy whispers, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

Jake is about to return a much longer kiss on the lips when Mac interrupts the moment. Amy squeezes her eyes shut with a knowing smile—this has happened many times before. However, Jake immediately becomes alert and rushes to attend to his son.

Amy chuckles to herself, finally heating the food which is still inside the microwave and turns off the TV, because they are definitely not watching anything before they fall asleep, worn off with the events.

Like Jake would say, they’re sort of an old couple now, but she couldn’t care less. To her, so far, it’s meant that things can be so easy now.

Her husband doesn’t join her back in the kitchen so she goes and checks on him and Mac. The room feels so warm and quiet still, as Jake rocks his son softly, lulling him, again not realizing Amy’s watching. It always seems like he drifts away from reality when he’s trying to make Mac stop crying—and he’s good at it. She doesn’t know what it is, but Jake is great at it.

“I have to admit,” Amy says, startling him of course, “I’m a little jealous of you. You get to spend five months with him, all by yourself.”

Jake gives her what looks like an automatic smile, and then realization hits him. “I hadn’t thought about that before,” he huffs, stroking Mac’s soft curls and looking down at him. “Did you hear that, bud? Five months for only the two of us.”

Mac babbles, and Amy tries to ignore how awake he still sounds. “Careful, Ames,” Jake tells her. “That sounded a lot like ‘dada’, and with these five months? It’s definitely going to be his first word.”

Amy rolls her eyes with a playful smile. “Not if I train him every night.”

“Challenge accepted.”

An hour later they’re both in bed after eating dinner and Amy has already changed into her pajamas. Jake hasn’t stopped rocking Mac, who woke up once more, but his father doesn’t seem to mind, and Amy has the feeling that his suspension doesn’t sound so bad to him anymore.

—

#this is the first time i post a fic!! #i let myself go #it's 1.9 k words i think #anyway i'm excited to know what you think! #i enjoyed writing this a lot #it had been ages since i wrote anything like this #so THANK YOU anon #ilysm #jake peralta #amy santiago #mac peralta #b99 fanfic #fluff #angst #comfort

[eurekq]

>be me >today i will make a height chart for my da protags and their love interests >okay maybe ill make it an outfit and color reference too >well i dont want it to be too boring to look at >draw this

so here we are with all my sweet little ladies and their lis :]!!! from left to right: cassie cousland, marian hawke and anders, aoife lavellan and cullen, rhiannon tabris and alistair, cecelia hawke and fenris, melly cadash and sera

LOTS of extra stuff under the cut!!!

lovely da protag templates are from marian churchland!

dear sweet cassie, partaker in the forbidden non-romantic alistair marriage that the game never knows how to acknowledge. very much the definition of gaslight gatekeep girlboss. and by that i mean a genuinely bad person in the sense that she tends to toy with peoples feelings. had an extremely public affair with anders during the events of awakening. It takes a good 5 years for her and alistairs marriage to be anything even approaching functional. extremely savvy, ambitious, and charismatic; a great politician and an extremely effective ruler. morrigan is her closest friend in the world (yes i know i never had her in my party. thats because im bad at video games and needed a healer.) and they’re like sisters.

my default hawke. 6′2, buff as shit, slept her way through half of her friends before finally settling with anders. she’s a blood mage and her first use of blood magic was during a particularly nasty fight where she got speared through the stomach. she carves herself up for mana; anders puts her back together. does things in anger and impulse and then regrets them (see: giving isabela to the arishok, never reconciling with carver after leandras death). mean if you dont know her, intensely protective if you do, but takes betrayal extremely poorly. constantly taking action, even if it doesn’t turn out very well; she is physically incapable of being a bystander. her and anders are my fave da couple ever... ask me about my post da2 hcs <3 theyre happy and have a daughter named bethany :] she punched cullen in the mouth at the end of da2 so hard that it left that scar.

literally is there anything like your first dai playthrough being an elf. aoife is... remarkably well realized in my brain for a character who’s life began as my friend chanting “goth elf! goth elf! goth elf!” over my shoulder while i was in character creator. very affable and friendly, but extremely politically adept with a capability for subterfuge that even she isn’t fully comfortable with. huge history buff. solas was like a big brother to her and her faith was extremely important to her so trespasser was crushing. very curious, especially about magic; definitely learned some blood magic from hawke after hearing dorian and solas talk about it. dorian is her closest platonic friend, but cullen is her rock. as in he is literally so normal compared to everything else that happens to her and she loves him for it. also her and hawke are friends and a scenario that lives rent free in my mind is them hanging out while anders and cullen attempt to kill each other in increasingly looney toons-esque ways in the background. she turned out remarkably pretty for an inquisitor... look at her

....and that’s it for my canon timeline. onto the secondary timeline!

DEAR SWEET RHIANNON. 4′8 powerhouse with a sword longer than she is tall. i first played rhiannon with a friend who was very new to rpgs and she picked all of the mean dialogue options because she thought they were funny, which led to me discovering that alistair reacts oddly and kind of hilariously well to being made fun of by a female warden pre-duncan dying. rhiannon is fun in that she literally gives no shits about conflict avoidance; if you start something with her, she’ll see it through. disliked alistair on principle and poked fun at him when they first met, but after the events at ostagar bonded to him extremely strongly. very close to him pretty much at the exclusion of all her other companions. extremely strong willed, laughs loud and smiles wide, no real concept of subterfuge except for when she’s hiding her own pain, generally goes in the path of least resistance if it gets to her goal faster. #1 arl eamon hater. she looks pretty different when i draw her compared to how she looked ingame but this screenshot of her doing the like. dead deer tinder profile pic pose is extremely powerful

cecelia is the truest tragic hawke that i’ve played (rip cecelia. you had the misfortune to exist in the warden alistair timeline). lost carver, lost bethany in the deep roads, lost her mother, believes that fenris has left her. act 2; a real rough ride for cecelia. aside from all the tragedy, she’s tough as nails, direct, and extremely blunt. very cautious in combat, even more so since she lost both carver and bethany. plans upon plans upon plans and prefers to strike unseen and unheard from the shadows. DEEPLY in love with fenris, best friends with isabela and merrill. aware of anders affection for her and keeps some distance for both their sakes; after the chantry explosion she helps him fake his own death on the condition that she never sees him again. when terrible things are not constantly happening she has a very dry wit, part of the reason her and fenris get along so well. too many bad things happen to her for someone with such nice thighs and such a stylish cape. her save file had some weird bugs with companion like.... staring???? in weird directions???

the absolute energy here. she also turned out very pretty in inquisition.

melly is easily my most powerful da oc. not in terms of in-universe power (although sword and board reaver is like. unkillable.) but in the sense that she is a catholic (read: andrastian) mid-40′s widowed mobster milf. she’s very close to cassandra and vivienne and consults them for advice before she goes to her actual advisors. even she was surprised by her relationship with sera; she finds sera’s unique sense of humor very charming and really likes pulling silly pranks with her as a reprieve from her everyday life. when she’s not with sera, she tends to be very pragmatic and logical when making decisions for the inquisition and has a very defined sense of purpose. she takes her role as both as the inquisitor and the herald of andraste very seriously. she’s very warm and soothing to be around during off hours and random inquisition members will often drift towards her for life advice. first draft of her and sera in this drawing had sera wearing this

#dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age 2 #dragon age inquisiton #handers #cullavellan #alistair x tabris #fenhawke #sera x cadash #im not trying to tag spam honest this is for my own tag system #anders #cullen rutherford #alistair theirin #fenris #sera #cassie cousland #marian hawke #aoife lavellan #rhiannon tabris #cecelia hawke #melly cadash #my art #jesus. #btw there is A LOT under that cut #my ocs

[beatricethecat2]

"Chill for a minute! You're making me nervous," Myka says.

"I'll not miss the performance because of a third-rate watchman," Helena huffs.

"Abigail said she'd sort this out."

"Abigail got us into this."

"She didn't slug him."

"He tackled me."

"You grabbed the book and ran."

"And I'd have succeeded were it not for that wandering child," Helena gruffs. "Who brings a child to theater?"

"You wouldn't have brought Christina?"

"Were she old enough and properly dressed, yes. That child was in dungarees."

"They probably came to see the exhibition not the matinee—"

"We're not dressed properly either," Helena grumbles, swiping dirt off a pant leg.

"Theater's not as formal as it used to be. And you did put your hair up," Myka says, flashing a feeble smile.

"And now it's mussed. It wasn't much to look at to begin with." Helena fusses with her bun.

"Hey, I think you look really nice," Myka says, reaching over, stilling Helena's hands.

"This is hardly theater attire."

"It's the Oregon Shakespeare Festival not the Met Opera."

"Attending the theater used to mean something." Helena's hands drop to her lap.

"It still does, but not corsets and gowns." Myka raises a brow. "Would you have worn a dress if this was a real date?"

"I very well may have. I'd certainly have made more of an effort."

"A nineteenth or twenty-first century effort?

"May I not embody both?"

"Yeah, but I'm just noticing you sort of default to the nineteenth when you're around me."

"And you disapprove."

"No. It think it's kind of sweet. I like that you don't have to hide who you are with me." Myka bumps her shoulder into Helena's.

"And to think, I once yearned to live in a future such as this. I'd no clue how exhausting it'd be being out of time."

"It'll get easier," Myka says, meeting Helena's unsure gaze. She leans towards Helena and Helena follows suit, their lips nearly touching when a door slamming in the distance halts the action.

"So, um...when's the last time you saw Shakespeare?" Myka asks, recomposing herself.

Helena thinks back. "Hamlet, in Stratford; Sarah Bernhardt as lead. We'd travelled specifically to see her, as it was unusual for a woman to play a male's part. She was her bombastic self, but watching Shakespeare translated into French was odd. I may have opinions about the American accent as well."

"Oh you will."

"Flipping through those gravures on display really took me back. Then the cabinet cards...are you familiar with those actors?"

"No."

"Such a shame," Helena says, pushing up from her slouch to sit upright.  "Ellen Terry, she who worked so very hard to elevate the acting profession for women and men; Lillie Langtree, the beauty who pulled her reputation up from the mud through her craft; Violet Vanbrugh, locked in competition with her sister for the spotlight...celebrities, one and all, yet seeing them now, they feel like lost friends." 

Helena sighs deeply and looks away. "When I snatched the book, my mind was no longer present. Hence the guard getting a jump on me."

"It's going to work out," Myka says, flashing a comforting smile.

"How exactly is Abigail remedying this? I heard little of your hushed conversation earlier," Helena says, narrowing her eyes at Myka.

"She's convincing them to put it back so we can swap it with a copy she's sending."

"Could she not have done so previously?"

"With Artie out of town, she's scrambling to keep up."

"How exactly is she convincing them?"

"She's, um..." Myka looks down at her lap and adjusts her wrist watch. "Do you actually need to know?"

"I do now," Helena says, swerving in her seat to face Myka.

"She's posing as your therapist."

"And I'm a babbling idiot."

"No...our pitch is you're obsessed with Victoriana."

"Convenient," Helena grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Do you want to see the play or not?"

"What do you think?"

"I think we wouldn't be here at all if Abigail hadn't asked us to snag volume nine of 'The Illustrated Library of Shakespeare.' And I think she'll fix this for now so we can see a play like two normal people who see plays. We'll worry about the book tomorrow."

Helena's scowl stays firmly in place.

"I'll make it up to you tonight at the hotel," Myka says, eyes pleading.

"Placating me for performing the Warehouse's bidding is not in the least desirable—"

"Ooh, look, he's coming out," Myka says, patting Helena's leg as she rises to talk to the head of security. "Stay here."

Helena stays put but her scowl grows all consuming.

-END SCENE-

------------------

Bering and Wells: Field Trip ("Warehouse 13" Season 5 replacement) Season 1: Episode 7 Title: Oregon: To one thing constant never

Summary: With Warehouse staff stretched thin, Myka and Helena are asked to dash from Myka's parents to The Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The pickup hits a snag when Helena, lost in memories, bungles the retrieval. Emotions run high when Helena reveals an unshakable impulse that threatens their newfound bliss.

Previously: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6

------------------

BONUS SCENE

The next day, in the parking in the lot of the festival, freshly off the phone from the Warehouse, Myka turns to Helena.

"Artie's booking us a flight. He wants us to bring the book in person—"

"We are not altering our plans again," Helena sneers. "He can pick it up from us."

"I think he needs it sooner," Myka mumbles. "It'll be quick, just a day or two. Maybe we can push our bookings up?"

"As if that's worked in the past."

"True," Myka says, shoulders slumping as she sighs defeatedly. "Then we'll skip Mendocino and head straight to San Francisco from there. I'll grab some of my stuff since we might stay in the city longer." She turns the key, revving the car to life.

"I'll drive to Mendocino and meet you in San Francisco. You go on to the Warehouse."

"But Artie said you can come," Myka explains, looking over her shoulder, backing out of their parking spot. She puts the car in drive and moves towards the exit.

"There's no reason for me to do so."

"But you haven't met Abigail. Or Steve, really. Plus Claudia's dying to see you—"

"Myka, I can't."

Myka steps on the brake and turns to face Helena. "Is this a Regent thing? Because Artie wouldn't have said you could come if you couldn't."

"It's not a Regent thing."

"Then what?" Myka huffs.

"We've not time to discuss this now."

"Then tell me the abbreviated version."

A honk from behind jolts them both.

"Alright, alright!" Myka grumbles, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road.

"You go on. I'll follow our plan," Helena says. "I wish to feel the land shifting underfoot, as if Elizabeth, Christina, and I had made our way through California in my own day."

"Wouldn't that have been on a train? Or a carriage maybe?" Myka asks.

"Is a car not the modern equivalent?"

"I guess," Myka says, her face the picture of concern. "You know, most of San Francisco was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. There's not much left from back then."

"No matter. It's the spirit in which it's encountered."

"Then I want to 'encounter' it with you."

"Then have them pick the book up from us. You're not obligated to obey their every beck and call."

"I guess not," Myka says, frowning as she stops at a red light.

"Their prerogative led us to rush here, waylaying our plans," Helena presses.

"And the plays."

"Which we may have seen, in our own time, had we not been browbeaten into a retrieval—"

"We weren't browbeaten, we were helping Abigail—"

"The light's green."

"I see that," Myka grumps, the car jerking forward as she presses on the gas too hard. "So that's why you won't come with me? You're mad we came here in the first place?"

"It more than that. My relationship with the Warehouse must remain distant. Better if I retain none at all."

"How exactly is that going to work? Because I live there."

"I'd rather not discuss this while you're driving."

"Then I'll stop." Myka flips her turn signal and veers left at an intersection. She swings into a parking lot turns off the engine. "You said I'm your One. That we're partners."

"You are both of those things to me."

"But you can't come to the Warehouse, maybe ever? Explain." Myka shifts in her seat to face Helena as fully as possible.

"I've come to understand distance may be the only remedy for certain...triggers."

"What triggers?"

"Where to start?"

"Anywhere, really," Myka gruffs, holding onto Helena's petulant gaze.

"A hundred years in bronze weighs heavy on one's soul."

"You were fine there before."

"Was I?"

"You said it was your tether!"

"I'd have said anything to—"

"Gain access, dupe everyone, and destroy the world. I know." Myka scowls. "But you wouldn't do that again."

"That's no longer my vice," Helena says.

"Then what is?"

Helena looks off into the distance. "A secondary plan, utilizing artifacts catalogued since my bronzing."

"W-What kind of plan?" Myka says, her back straightening.

"One in which Christina would be returned to me."

"Wait, you tried again when you were there?"

"How could I not?" Helena laments. "I've hatched countless schemes since."

"But you said you'd made peace with not having kids."

"Moving forward. But I may never find true peace with Christina's passing. Apparently, it's not uncommon."

"How do you know?"

"At the precinct, after particularly gruesome cases, they conducted psychological evaluations. I'd breezed through most, but one in particular, concerning the death of a little girl, was difficult to shake."

"Oh, Helena." Myka scoots forward and takes hold of Helena's hand. "What happened?"

"I recounted my story, albeit heavily modified, and learned about triggers. Avoiding them entirely was an acceptable solution, so the Warehouse...but you? You were a conundrum."

"I was a trigger, too." Myka slips her hand from Helena's but Helena grabs it back.

"You remained a symbol of hope, of all that was good in this world. I ached to be near you but feared disappointing you again. When you turned up in Montreal, I was drumming up the courage to approach you."

"But you weren't there yet."

"I wasn't," Helena says, squeezing Myka's hand. "Asking you to separate yourself from your home, from your calling, was difficult to justify. But after hearing of your illness, nothing else mattered but being by your side."

Helena cups Myka's jaw and strokes her cheek with a thumb. "But I must protect myself, and you, from those demons."

Helena shifts closer and guides their lips together. Their kiss lingers until Myka's phone rings.

"Artie," Myka says, answering in an instant. "We can't come. We'll keep the the book safe until someone can pick it up—"

Myka moves the phone away from her ear at Arties loud volume.

"Ok, ok! But H.G.'s not coming. Put me on a flight."

Myka places her hand over the microphone and glances at Helena. "He said Mrs. Frederic's there and 'needs it yesterday'—"

She's interrupted by Artie chiming in.

"I'm not taking a flight with two connections because it leaves tonight! Put me on a red eye."

Grumbling emanates from the other side of the phone.

"Five-thirty's fine. Send me the details."

More grumbling, then silence. Myka hangs up the phone.

"Artie seems his usual congenial self—"

"I'm really proud of you," Myka blurts, turning to face Helena again.

"Whatever for?" Helena asks, head tilting, brow furrowing.

"For fighting your demons on your own. Though I wish we'd been doing it together."

"From now on, we shall," Helena says, meeting Myka halfway as she leans in for another kiss.

Hands reach across the console, twining in hair, groping at necks, arms, shoulders, as if the space between them is too great.

Minutes later, a tap on the window jerks them apart.

"Ma'ams, bank won't open again until 9AM," a man says as Helena rolls down the window. "I'm going to have to ask to come back tomorrow."

"Bank?" Myka croaks, scanning the parking lot, eyes locking on a glowing sign at its entrance. "Oh, bank."

"Terribly sorry officer. We pulled over to take a call before becoming...distracted," Helena explains.

"Just a security guard, ma'am. But I'd appreciate it if you move on. I didn't want to disturb you but my manager's going to wonder why you were here so long."

"Nothing nefarious, I assure you. We'd have been stealthier were anything afoot," Helena says with a wink.

"Helena!"

"Just reassuring the boy."

"We didn't mean to....we were just..." Myka stumbles over a more direct explanation.

"We've been granted one more night together before our separation."

"But we do have a hotel room."

"And mere hours before I'm to deliver you to the airport."

"True." Myka's lips push together, her face contorting into one of a new understanding. "Not enough hours. We should go."

"Thank you again for accommodating us," Helena says to the security guard.

"Um, sure?" he says as Helena rolls up the window.

"We'll make this work," Myka says, slipping a hand over Helena's thigh as she drives away. "I know we can."

"I adore your enthusiasm," Helena says, covering Myka's hand with her own, threading their fingers together.

-END-

-TBC-

NOTES: A quick reminder - this Christina is the daughter of Helena's original "One" back in the 1800's - Elizabeth. I think that story is in the second installment of this series. Also note this text probably pretty rough as I'm out of town and have sporadic internet (remember DSL?) and so haven't been able to use my usual text checkers (let me know if anything's super bad!) I'm putting it up now so I won't fuss over it as I'd like to not fuss over *anything* this week. Also, the first manip is one of my favorites - there's only one I can think of that tops it, but it's not public yet (I think you'll know when you see it.) Anyway, here are some of the people HG mentioned. And here are some of the amazing panoramas of the SF earthquake. Also Sarah Bernhardt - look her up, she was *quite* the character.

#BERING AND WELLS #w13 #fan fiction #roadtrip!AU #fan art #Myka Bering #Helena HG Wells #canon divergent #sorry this took so long to finish! #really happy to get this out there finally #I had to get my head back into it #going to try to get next one up sooner #as once the semester starts (in three weeks) #everything will be nuts for awhile #but we'll see once I'm back home and not on vacation!

[autumnslance]

Was it just me or is corran’s dragon for rathian looking?? Also how did you design Avengret in game?? Cause I see a bunch of people make screenshots for their stuff and I’m here going ‘???? How???’

Short answer: Patience and a little Crime.

Longer Answer: Go under the cut for explanations, like Avengret's body double, Corran's transformed model, and How Lyn (subjects you all to her) Screenshots.

The model I used for Avengret is simply a red dragon at Anyx Trine named Nehsk Fan, using careful Gpose angles, camera zoom, filters, lighting, time of day, and the same Gshade filter I've been using for these headers for consistency (Teddy Gpose for the curious). So actually fairly simple in the manner of "anyone can actually do this and get similar results" (aside from the Gshade).

Image is Aeryn at Anyx Trine with Nehsk Fan, using my simple default gameplay filter in Gshade.

For Corran's look in "Scale" I used CMTools, which takes in game assets and allows one to manipulate them, as well as time and weather. It's how one can use carbuncles, chocobos, and/or most housing retainers to take the form of NPCs, and create custom poses while dressing up in whatever existing clothing items one wants.

Which is how I got this shot with all 4 of my OCs in one room; one I am actually playing, another is a carbuncle, and 2 others are Dark's housing servants, after saving each of my ladies' appearances in the tool. This is also how I get so many shippy shots of Aeryn with Thancred; she's just hanging out somewhere with a carbuncle (while I curse how various joints work as I mess with sliders).

For "Scale" I actually went with the monster menu and stood Dark Autumn somewhere while overwriting her appearance with Rathalos. Anyone else wandering by just saw my femroe idling on a hill, as the change is only visible on my own screen. Then back to the game's Gpose, using zoom, angles, drop lighting, filters, to take multiple shots until I found one I was happy with; I have 7 others in this case that I took and edited but didn't use.

For post-work, I mostly use Picasa 3, a simple photo editor discontinued about 10 years ago but still can be found in places online. I don't do Photoshop, so a simple tool that lets me one click color corrections, lighting balance, and various filters and minor adjustments, as well as cropping, lettering, angling/straightening the pic, works for me.

Image below are just the examples of options I can play with in Picasa 3, many of them adjustable in various ways:

I mostly use Crop, Straighten, I'm Feeling Lucky, Auto Contrast, Auto Color, the Fill Lights/Highlights/Shadows/Color Temp menu, and play around with what filters seem to work for the shot I want. I use "Tint" with the default light blue to "cool down" many of Aeryn's screenshots so she's not super red, depending on what other lighting and colors are happening in the picture. Saturation is good for upping or lowering saturation, especially when using the Bright 4 filter in Gpose.

Knowing how to compose a picture using camera angles, lighting, color, etc, with the in game tools is the most important part; all the extra tools won't do a darn thing to make a good screenshot if you don't learn the basics. Basic photography/art rules apply! The extra tools just make some things easier. I don't think I'm that good at it (I have little sense of composition, lighting, or color; all my best stuff is happy accident!) and I still have a lot to learn, and it does take time and practice. As well as lots of patience and taking dozens of shots to only then end up posting 1 or 2.

My dear friend @healerstail is fantastic at taking screenshots (and photography in general) and has mostly only used basic Gpose and Gshade, only the occasional mod and just recently picked up CMTools. Mostly it's just knowing how to set up the default emotes, timing, and good angles. His composition is amazing. Likewise, @gunbun is very good at lighting and composition, and has been using the new posing tool, Anamnesis (CMT's successor) to excellent affect. She'll tell you to mind your drop lights and camera angles, too

Extra tools only work on PC, so console users have to use only Gpose and defaults, though some do post-work in Photoshop. An excellent example of detailed post-work is @kukurubean's edits.

NOTE: Remember that while Gshade is fine as it's just a filter overlay (and one can get the same results from most graphic card interfaces these days), mods are against the SquareEnix TOS so use your extra tools responsibly; remove the default watermark from screenshots, do not tag official accounts, do not talk about mods in game, put any lewds on locked/private/behind cuts. Do not tease or harass other players with either cosmetic or combat mods.

The FFXIV devs are willing to turn a blind eye and allow player creativity so long as extra tools are used responsibly, not to affect gameplay or bother other players. Yoshida flat out hates DPS meters as people don't tend to use them for personal growth; we have Sky Sea Stone and the metric is "did the boss die and everyone have fun?" Also he has gone on a PLL before and told people to stop lewding younger characters using game assets for legal reasons--right after talking about changing code to break a combat mod used during the TEA world first race (as well as changing how combat markers work in general), making the implications clear.

#Lyn Prompts #Gpose #Gshade #Picasa 3 #Screenshots #Blogging #about me