#It has a screen I can draw on with a fancy pen!!!!

[spocks-kaathyra]

thoughts about the Cardassian writing system

I've thinking about the Cardassian script as shown on screen and in beta canon and such and like. Is it just me or would it be very difficult to write by hand?? Like.

I traced some of this image for a recent drawing I did and like. The varying line thicknesses?? The little rectangular holes?? It's not at all intuitive to write by hand. Even if you imagine, like, a different writing implement—I suppose a chisel-tip pen would work better—it still seems like it wasn't meant to be handwritten. Which has a few possible explanations.

Like, maybe it's just a fancy font for computers, and handwritten text looks a little different. Times New Roman isn't very easily written by hand either, right? Maybe the line thickness differences are just decorative, and it's totally possible to convey the same orthographic information with the two line thicknesses of a chisel-tip pen, or with no variation in line thickness at all.

A more interesting explanation, though, and the one I thought of first, is that this writing system was never designed to be handwritten. This is a writing system developed in Cardassia's digital age. Maybe the original Cardassian script didn’t digitize well, so they invented a new one specifically for digital use? Like, when they invented coding, they realized that their writing system didn’t work very well for that purpose. I know next to nothing about coding, but I cannot imagine doing it using Chinese characters. So maybe they came up with a new writing system that worked well for that purpose, and when computer use became widespread, they stuck with it. 

Or maybe the script was invented for political reasons! Maybe Cardassia was already fairly technologically advanced when the Cardassian Union was formed, and, to reinforce a cohesive national identity, they developed a new standardized national writing system. Like, y'know, the First Emperor of Qin standardizing hanzi when he unified China, or that Korean king inventing hangul. Except that at this point in Cardassian history, all official records were digital and typing was a lot more common than handwriting, so the new script was designed to be typed and not written. Of course, this reform would be slower to reach the more rural parts of Cardassia, and even in a technologically advanced society, there are people who don't have access to that technology. But I imagine the government would be big on infrastructure and education, and would make sure all good Cardassian citizens become literate. And old regional scripts would stop being taught in schools and be phased out of digital use and all the kids would grow up learning the digital script.

Which is good for the totalitarian government! Imagine you can only write digitally. On computers. That the government can monitor. If you, like, write a physical letter and send it to someone, then it's possible for the contents to stay totally private. But if you send an email, it can be very easily intercepted. Especially if the government is controlling which computers can be manufactured and sold, and what software is in widespread use, etc. 

AND. Historical documents are now only readable for scholars. Remember that Korean king that invented hangul? Before him, Korea used to use Chinese characters too. And don't get me wrong, hangul is a genius writing system! It fits the Korean language so much better than Chinese characters did! It increased literacy at incredible rates! But by switching writing systems, they broke that historical link. The average literate Chinese person can read texts that are thousands of years old. The average literate Korean person can't. They'd have to specifically study that field, learn a whole new writing system. So with the new generation of Cardassian youths unable to read historical texts, it's much easier for the government to revise history. The primary source documents are in a script that most people can't read. You just trust the translation they teach you in school. In ASIT it's literally a crucial plot point that the Cardassian government revised history! Wouldn't it make it soooo much easier for them if only very few people can actually read the historical accounts of what happened.

I guess I am thinking of this like Chinese characters. Like, all the different Chinese "dialects" being written with hanzi, even though otherwise they could barely be considered the same language. And even non-Sinitic languages that historically adopted hanzi, like Japanese and Korean and Vietnamese. Which worked because hanzi is a logography—it encodes meaning, not sound, so the same word in different languages can be written the same. It didn’t work well! Nowadays, Japanese has made significant modifications and Korean has invented a new writing system entirely and Vietnamese has adapted a different foreign writing system, because while hanzi could write their languages, it didn’t do a very good job at it. But the Cardassian government probably cares more about assimilation and national unity than making things easier for speakers of minority languages. So, Cardassia used to have different cultures with different languages, like the Hebitians, and maybe instead of the Union forcing everyone to start speaking the same language, they just made everyone use the same writing system. Though that does seem less likely than them enforcing a standard language like the Federation does. Maybe they enforce a standard language, and invent the new writing system to increase literacy for people who are newly learning it.

And I can imagine it being a kind of purely digital language for some people? Like if you’re living on a colonized planet lightyears away from Cardassia Prime and you never have to speak Cardassian, but your computer’s interface is in Cardassian and if you go online then everyone there uses Cardassian. Like people irl who participate in the anglophone internet but don’t really use English in person because they don’t live in an anglophone country. Except if English were a logographic writing system that you could use to write your own language. And you can’t handwrite it, if for whatever reason you wanted to. Almost a similar idea to a liturgical language? Like, it’s only used in specific contexts and not really in daily life. In daily life you’d still speak your own language, and maybe even handwrite it when needed. I think old writing systems would survive even closer to the imperial core (does it make sense to call it that?), though the government would discourage it. I imagine there’d be a revival movement after the Fire, not only because of the cultural shift away from the old totalitarian Cardassia, but because people realize the importance of having a written communication system that doesn’t rely on everyone having a padd and electricity and wifi.

#if I read over this again I will inevitably want to change and add things so I'm refraining from doing that. enjoy whatever this is #forgive my very crude recounting of chinese and korean history! I am neither a historian nor a linguist #but I will NOT apologize for talking abt china so much. that's my culture and I'm weird abt it bc of my family history #and it's my GOD GIVEN RIGHT to project what little I know abt it onto all my worldbuilding #also I've never actually read abt any of the various cardassian conlangs but I'm curious if this contradicts or coincides with any of them #I still want to make my own someday. starting college as a linguistics major (in 2 weeks!!) so presumably I will learn how to do that #narcissus's echoes #ds9 #asit #star trek #cardassians #cardassian meta #a stitch in time #hebitians

[ofthecaravel]

Everything I Didn't Say

Chapter 4 of ‘You Don’t Go To Parties’, which is clearly not a oneshot anymore, but this is the last chapter I swear it on my father's sardines

Part 1  Part 2 Part 3

Summary: It's time for a stake out.

Tags: Brotherly shenanigans, anxiety, miscommunication, coming out, resolutions, love and peace on planet earth

Words: 4.7k

A/N: Let's all gather around for one last rodeo. Thank you for all the love on this series, figured it was about time to wrap it up for everybody's sanity. You are all required by Caravel Nation law to tell me what you think <3

~~~

Danny gave himself the kindness of keeping his phone off and out of sight during work, but it was never much of a problem considering the majority of his messages came from his family and Sam. However, when he slid his phone out of his work locker at the end of his shift, he was surprised to see his entire lock screen was filled to the brim with legions of texts and missed calls from Josh.

His anxiety piqued when he read the urgent nature of his texts, but calmed quickly when he realized they all had something to do with the twins’ fervent demands to help them track down Sam’s mystery girlfriend. Not even bothering to text back, Danny called Josh, pinning the phone to his ear with his shoulder as he kicked off his grass stained golf shoes and slid on his sneakers. As expected, Josh picked up on the second ring.

“Danny, my boy, finally, where have you been?” Josh greeted loudly. 

“Work,” Danny deadpanned, tapping the heel of his shoe against the locker to secure it onto his foot. “The children yearn for the golf course. What’s the emergency this time around?”

“We have a breakthrough in the case,” Josh whispered conspiratorially and Danny felt a nervous tremor in his hand start to pulse. Their work on “the case” had been slim to none, mostly being carried out on a night when Danny slept over at Jake’s apartment and Josh had scrolled through Sam’s Instagram followers and pointed out “potential suspects” while they all passed his dab pen around. Needless to say, their sleuthing hadn’t reached any kind of important conclusions after the third pass around. 

“Do tell,” Danny asked as he strode out the back doors and lumbered across the parking lot to his bulky Kia. 

“Jacob managed to divine some very interesting information out of Sam,” Josh continued, clearly enjoying drawing out the suspense. “Apparently, he has some sort of ‘meeting’ tonight at Roscoe’s. A meeting? At night? At Roscoe’s? It’s gotta be a date.”

“Hm!” Danny squeaked, his keys falling through his fingers at Josh’s words. Danny was very aware of this dinnertime date, considering he was the one who was going to be in attendance. They’d only planned it a day or two before. How could Jake have gotten that information out of Sam so quickly? Danny pressed the speaker phone button and pulled up his text thread with Sam, smiling as he waded through an adorable stream of texts begging for Danny to come save him from lecture before zeroing in on a text that read ‘Just had Such a conversation with jake, ugh’. Uh oh.

“I mean, what else could it be?” Josh exclaimed, his voice filling the expanse of Danny’s car as Danny sat staring at his phone. “Sam’s smart but he’s not professional. Bullshit, it's a date.”

“Well, I could always ask him about it and report back,” Danny offered.

“Nope, I have something much better planned,” Josh announced, a smile dripping from his voice. “Pull out your fancy pants, Wagner, because the three of us have a reservation at Roscoe’s, 6pm tonight. This is a proper stakeout.”

“What?” Danny blurted, his panic returning swiftly. “No, no, Josh, I’m b-”

“Cancel whatever it was, this is top priority!” Josh insisted passionately. “Come on, it’ll be a blast. We have a table right outside the window so we can see every table inside. We’ll stay out of sight, sneak a peek at whoever shows up, and then we’ll know! It’s a foolproof plan!”

“Josh-”

“I won’t hear it,” Josh snapped. “We’ll pick you up at 5:45. Wear something nice. See you then!”

“No, Jo-”

“Yes, Josh, thank you for your kind offer,” Josh mocked in his best impression of Danny. “Oh, you’re so welcome, Daniel. And don’t try and tell Sam we’re coming, he texted Jake that his phone was dying half an hour ago and we all know he didn’t bring a charger to class. He’ll be out of commission until right around when we show up. It’s a perfect storm.”

“You watch too many movies,” Danny countered, his stomach sinking at Josh’s information. He glanced at his phone again and sure enough, his last text from Sam was an annoyed apology that his phone was dying and he’d text him if he had time to run home and grab a charger before he got to the restaurant. 

“You don’t watch enough,” Josh accused with a laugh. “5:45. Fancy pants. Maybe bring sunglasses. Be there or be square!”

“You’re evil for this,” Danny sighed. “Alright. I’ll dig out my sunglasses.”

“Perfect! Au revoir.”

And just like that, the call cut and Danny was left sitting blankly and anxiously fidgeting. He thought about texting Sam anyways, but it seemed like a fruitless task knowing he wouldn’t see it until it was too late. Could he call someone Sam was with to warn him? Who was he even with? He didn’t know anyone’s numbers by heart, anyways. The stars had aligned in favor of Josh’s ridiculous stakeout, and Danny couldn’t help but feel the walls closing in around him as he started up the car and drove uncharacteristically slow all the way home. He knew this wouldn’t mean the end by any means, but his stomach was aching all the same. 

~~

Danny spent his two hours of free time buzzing around his apartment and brainstorming ways out of the plan, but when he heard a horn blare outside of his window at the stroke of 5:45, he knew his fate was sealed. He ran down the stairs and walked out to Jake’s piece of crap Toyota, smoothing his semi formal button down with one hand and pushing his sunglasses up with the other. The backseat window rolled down and Josh’s cherubic face appeared, letting loose a loud wolf whistle. He was sporting a huge pair of bedazzled sunglasses of his own and a lavender fleece, and Danny chuckled as he climbed in the passenger seat and received a side hug from Jake, who was wearing his standard round sunglasses and a secret agent-esque turtleneck.

“You both look ridiculous,” Danny declared as Jake started to drive, turning around in his seat to properly face Josh. “I don’t know how you roped me into this.”

“I’m extremely charming,” Josh announced. Jake scoffed in reply.

“Is that what you call it?” Jake teased and it was Josh’s turn to scoff. 

“Why are you in the backseat?” Danny asked, his nerves melting in the presence of his friends despite them being the source of it. 

“He calls it ‘Driving Ms. Fernanda’,” Jake explained tiredly as Josh began to cackle. “He pretends I’m his chauffeur.” 

“Are you Ms. Fernanda?” Danny questioned Josh.

“Elle Fernanda to you,” Josh declared in a confident impression of some kind of wizened socialite. “You didn’t come up with an alias for this?”

“Amateur,” Jake accused in a gravelly British accent.

“Oh, and you are…?”

“Oliver fuckin’ Reed!” Jake crowed, his face splitting into a raucous smile. “I have a beard for our grand entrance in my pocket. Didn’t want any ladies driving next to us to get distracted by how devilishly handsome I am with it on.”

Danny didn’t answer, simply laughing as he relaxed into his seat. For a moment, he forgot the end goal of this trip, taking time to enjoy the portal the twins always seemed to conjure up to transport his state of mind to a new plane of reality.

 Before he got the time to fully indulge, Jake pulled into a parking spot around the corner from the restaurant and they all climbed out. As they walked, Josh quietly hummed the Mission Impossible theme and Jake chattered about the menu he’d looked up online, leaving Danny to try and get his panic under wraps.

“I’ve planned it all out,” Josh assured them. “Sam should already be inside, and we’ll just go right to our seats outside so he’ll never even see us. See, that table right there, by the bush? He’ll never see us from behind that.”

“Smart,” Danny answered absently. He checked his phone again, but there were still no texts from Sam. He fought cursing under his breath as they approached the hostess outside and she led them to the table Josh had described. As he took his seat, he peeked around the greenery and nearly jumped when he saw Sam sitting at a corner table, his chin resting on his hand as he looked around the restaurant. He’d been there for at least 15 minutes now, and Danny hoped he had kept up his streak of lateness so that he’d been sitting there for even less time, but from the frustrated crinkle on his forehead that Danny knew so well, he figured this may have been a rare occasion he’d actually showed up on time. Danny’s heart gave a pull as he stole another glance at Sam, recognizing the soft sweater he was wearing as one that he’d told Sam was his favorite. His mind was so overwhelmed with guilt it took him a minute to hear Josh in his ear.

“Dan!”

Danny jolted and turned to him.

“Can you see anything?” Jake asked, looking at him over the edge of his menu.

“Yeah, uh, straight shot actually,” Danny stammered. “Nobody’s with him, though.”

“Let me see,” Josh pestered, leaning over Danny to look into the main seating area. “Aw, there he is. Hi, little guy!”

“Imagine if he got stood up,” Jake joked, taking a sip of his water. “And we did all this for nothing.”

“That’s sad!” Josh lamented, but they both laughed. “We’d have to go in there and ambush him.”

“By the way, Dan, we picked an alter ego for you,” Jake said as Josh continued squinting through the glass at Sam, who had pulled out his phone and was trying to start it. Danny recognized this as a typical Sam maneuver for when his phone was dead, the explanation being that maybe he could “catch the phone by surprise” and trick it into starting up. 

“Oh, really?” Danny answered curiously, trying to distract himself from the guilt now nearly choking him. 

“You’re Chip Bunker, golf superstar,” Josh explained. “Just in case the waitress asks. If you need help beefing up your backstory, we’ll fill in for you. We need you to focus on keeping an eye on Sam.”

“Can do,” Danny answered honestly.

“Ugh, where would we be without you?” Josh gushed as the waitress started to approach. “Drinks are on me.”

An absolutely grueling 15 minutes passed, with Josh ordering a round of appetizers for them, Jake workshopping a list of discreet questions to ask Sam after, and Danny downing his entire cocktail while he watched Sam’s expression grow ever more frustrated. 

“Oh!” Danny said, leaning in and patting the table to get their attention as he watched Sam shift in his seat. “He’s getting up!”

The twins awkwardly leaned around the bush obscuring their view as they all watched Sam get up and hail down a waitress, asking her something with her replying and hurrying away as Sam took his seat again.

“Is he leaving?” Jake asked in a hurried whisper. 

“I don’t know,” Josh answered unhelpfully. “Oh, oh, here she comes.”

“Shit,” Danny blurted as he watched the waitress return to his side, a white iPhone charger in her hand as she passed it off to him and gestured to something out of sight. He watched Sam thank her and then bend to plug it into an outlet. They all waited in silence until they saw Sam’s face glow in the light of the phone starting up.

With a shaking hand, Danny tried to subtly slide his phone out of his pocket and turn his ringer off, but before he got the chance, his phone started buzzing with the Hozier song he’d assigned for Sam’s ringtone. The twins’ head snapped towards him and he had no time to move before they both saw Sam’s contact photo on Danny’s screen. His heart dropped like a cold weight into the pit of his stomach. 

“Pick it up, pick it up!” Jake hissed, wiggling his fingers towards Danny’s phone as he and Josh slid down synchronously into their seats. 

“Uh,” Danny faltered, his mind racing and his fingers beginning to shake as he tried to figure out what to do. In an instant, Josh’s hand darted out and accepted the call for him, and worse yet, pressed the speakerphone button. Danny felt the facade crashing down around him as Sam’s voice cut through.

“Where are you?” Sam whispered urgently, a sincere note of upset lacing his words. Jake and Josh stayed silent and still, their eyes slowly moving to Danny as he sat stupidly, all words dying on his tongue.

“Hello? Daniel?” Sam went on. “We were getting dinner tonight, right? I’ve been waiting for, like, half an hour for you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Sammy,” Danny finally answered, his voice stuttering as the twins gave him confused looks and seemed to have an entire silent conversation of their own.

“Where are you?” Sam asked again, his words poisonous as he said every word punctually. “I can’t believe you forgot.”

Josh let out an involuntary scoff of surprise, clapping his hands over his mouth as Danny shot him a glare. 

“What was that?” Sam asked. Danny could see him hunched over at his table, hurt beginning to taint his features as his free hand began to rip his napkin to shreds. “Are you with someone?”

“No, no, I mean, yes, but-”

“Okay, wow,” Sam spat, straightening in his chair again and scowling. “You made plans when we had plans? Aren’t you Mr. Calendar?”

“Sam, let me explain-”

“No, no, please, go on, I’d love to hear this,” Sam laughed tunelessly. 

“I…” Danny trailed off, looking back at the twins, who were now looking at him with an expectant look of amusement. “Can you do something for me quick?”

“I will do jack shit, thank you very much.”

“Trust me?”

Sam was quiet for a minute, and Danny watched his gaze soften ever so slightly.

“Trust you.”

“Can you look out the window for me?”

“What?”

“What?” Josh echoed, smacking Danny on the arm. “Come on!”

Sam’s brow crinkled again and he looked up from his glare fastened to the table and out the window, his eyes dancing over the scarce scenery until he finally made eye contact with Danny. Danny attempted a sheepish smile, but he was sure it came out as more of a guilty lip curl. Sam hung up the phone and got up from his table, stomping across the restaurant and towards the door.

“Traitor,” Jake declared. 

“I have so many questions,” Josh whined, removing his sunglasses and rubbing his eyes as the door burst open and Sam approached their table. He reeled slightly when he caught sight of his brothers, sending Danny a furious and panicked look.

“What the fuck?” Sam asked simply, throwing his hands up in the air and letting them fall noisily against his pants. “What is going on?”

“I have no idea,” Danny answered honestly, his seat scraping as he attempted to get up but ended up sitting defeatedly again. “But everything is fine.”

“This was your meeting?” Jake blurted in confusion. “Dinner with Danny?”

“Yes?” Sam answered in petulant exasperation. “What the hell do you care? And why are you wearing a fake beard?”

“Well, we thought you were…” Josh’s voice got very small. “On a date.”

“So you’re stalking me now?” Sam asked, putting his hands on his hips. “Why is Danny here?”

“Clearly we didn’t know he was the one you were meeting!” Jake snapped. “Why wouldn’t you tell me who you were getting dinner with? We got all excited for nothing.”

“Why do I owe you that information?”

“Why didn’t you say something, Dan?” Josh pointed out, all of them turning to Danny, who felt heat flushing his face as all three brothers glared at him. Danny caught Sam’s eye, giving him a silent look of pleading and questioning. They were completely and utterly cornered.

“For the record, you barely let me get a word in,” Danny attempted to explain. 

“What is happening?” Jake laughed, dragging a hand down his face. “Sam, we totally thought we were staking out your date. We know you have a girlfriend, okay, so we roped Danny into helping us figure out who it was, but-”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Sam cut him off. “We’re dating. There.”

He gestured towards Danny, who sat red faced and silent as Jake’s mouth gaped slightly in shock and Josh let out another shocked gasp. 

“Now you understand my hesitancy about the stakeout,” Danny muttered sheepishly, beginning a nervous ramble as the twins visibly absorbed the new information. “I wanted to say something but I didn’t want to before Sam said something to you guys, so I tried to play along, but then Sam’s phone was dead and I couldn’t text him about what was going on and Sam, I am so sorry, I didn’t want to stand you up, but I didn’t want them to get suspicious and-”

“Ah, ah, ah, okay, stop,” Josh interjected, waving his hands around as Danny and Sam kept a tense eye contact, Danny pleading for forgiveness with his eyes as Sam’s glare slowly began to soften. “Why didn’t you guys tell us sooner?”

“What, you thought we’d be mad?” Jake laughed, pointing at Josh. “Remember how little negative response Josh got? Mom was like okay, cool, that’s awesome, we don’t care.”

“I know, I know,” Sam said, sinking into the empty fourth chair at their table, blushing uncomfortably. “It’s just…I love you guys, but you always make such a big deal about whatever I’m doing, and I just didn’t want it to be a big thing.”

“We’re not going to be, like, all PDA and insufferable,” Danny added on. Sam laughed in agreement and half of Danny’s tension melted at the sound. 

Jake and Josh exchanged an extremely guilty look over the table.

“Sam, I’m so sorry,” Jake lamented, grasping Sam by the shoulder. “You know it’s because we love you and you’re our baby brother, but I’m sorry we made you so uncomfortable. You gotta tell us when we’re too much, man, you know we don’t know.”

“You can talk to me about stuff like this,” Josh offered, his voice gentle and genuine as he and Sam exchanged a knowing look. “About whatever you’re feeling that might, I don’t know, scare you. Even if it doesn’t scare you, talk to me anyway. I get it.”

“I know you get it,” Sam’s voice cracked, his face crumpling for a second before he scrubbed at his eyes with the sleeve of his sweater and let out a long contained breath. “I do. It’s just… it’s hard to introduce this whole new thing about myself without getting all anxious about what people might say. Even when I know it’s not a big deal, I know someone else might think it’s a big deal.”

“Fuck everybody else,” Josh exclaimed, grabbing Sam’s hand and squeezing it. “Seriously! Fuck ‘em. This is great news.”

“Sorry it came out like this,” Jake apologized again, grabbing Sam’s other hand and reaching across the table to grab one of Danny’s. “Let’s all pinky promise to keep each other totally in the loop from now on.”

With a quiet chorus of laughs, they all messily exchanged pinky promises. 

“Are we allowed to ask questions?” Josh prodded carefully, and Sam rolled his eyes.

“Yes,” Sam agreed.

“But you only get three questions a piece.” Danny added on.

“That is way too many questions!” Sam argued, shooting Danny a much more good natured glare. 

“No take backsies!” Josh insisted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Hm. Who told who they liked each other first?”

“Also,” Jake interjected before either of them could answer. “When?”

“Well,” Danny started. “I technically did, at Sam’s birthday party. But Sam totally cornered me into doing it. You guys are good at doing that to me, so it seems.”

“I did not corner you!” Sam scoffed. 

“Yes, you did! You were mega drunk and hinting at it.”

“At the party?” Josh let out a sigh of disappointment. “And we missed it?”

“Bummer, man,” Jake complained. “I’d pay to see that.”

“I don’t think you would,” Danny mumbled into a sip of his water, and Sam shot him another look as the twins groaned. 

“Nevermind,” Josh gagged. “Okay, my second question is…how long did you each like the other person? Because I have guesses.”

“What do you mean, guesses?” Sam squeaked, his face flushing again.

“I want to hear this,” Danny laughed, suddenly self conscious of just how transparent he had been this whole time. 

“I’d guess you, Danny, probably liked Sam since…middle school?” Josh guessed, and he hooted in triumph when Danny sighed and nodded shyly. “Boom! Okay, two for two, I’m guessing Sam liked you since high school.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Sam replied exasperatedly, which Josh took as another confirmation and held his hand up for a high five from any of them, but received not a single one. 

“You guys weren’t all that subtle,” Jake powered on as Sam and Danny obscured their faces with embarrassed face palms. “I actually have no idea why we didn’t guess Danny as your potential beau sooner.”

“He didn’t even make Top 5,” Josh added. “We’re off our game, Jakey.”

“Indeed we are.”

“Well, this has been nice and all,” Sam began. “And by nice I mean emotionally tumultuous, but we did have something planned, so, Danny, do you…?”

“Yes, please, God,” Danny answered, getting to his feet and skirting around Josh to finally stand at Sam’s side. 

“Hey, you said we got three questions!” Josh protested.

“I only asked one, what the fuck!” Jake argued in agreement. 

“Text them to us, date crashers,” Sam stuck his tongue out childishly at them. “Or should I say ‘stalkers’? I’m including that detail when I call Mom, by the way.”

“Do not!”

“Boohoo.”

“Are you guys going to stick around?” Danny asked with an amused lift of his eyebrow. 

“Well, I mean, we ordered appetizers and all,” Jake explained sheepishly, raising his glass of wine and shrugging. “Might as well.”

“It gives us more time to plot our next stake out,” Josh grinned, flicking his sunglasses back down to cover his eyes. “Elle Fernanda and Oliver Reed are a fantastic investigatory team, you know.”

“I-you know what, I don’t care,” Sam dismissed them, looking up at Danny. “Let’s go, yes?”

“Yes,” Danny confirmed. “I’m guessing you’re not keen on sticking around for dinner here.”

“Not even a little bit.”

“Can I tempt you with a frozen pizza and Psych?”

“Absolutely you can,” Sam grinned, looping his arm through Danny’s and tugging him back from the table. The twins immediately burst into a chorus of awes and endearing coos, and Sam shot them their own round of complaints as Danny waved goodbye.

~~

Once they were out of shouting distance, Sam let out a huff of air and leaned his head against Danny’s shoulder, causing them to stumble slightly as they walked. It was rare for them to not talk while on the move, but a few minutes of quiet passed between them until Danny finally spoke up.

“I should’ve texted you anyways,” Danny said. “I’m sorry.”

“Well, I should’ve had the brains to bring a charger,” Sam countered with a feline smile. “I’m sorry, too. It’s my fault for not telling them in the first place. We should’ve known this would end the way it did.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Danny chuckled. “I mean, now that they know, we only have to face our parents, and we’ll be lucky if they don’t hound us even more than them.”

“Ugh, God, you’re so right. My mom is going to flip. She likes you more than me, you know.”

“She adores you, Sam, come on.”

“I’m just saying don’t be surprised if she asks you to start being in our Christmas cards.”

“Oh, right, and you’d hate that,” Danny countered sarcastically. 

“Totally,” Sam doubled down, his smile growing as he stared up into Danny’s eyes with the doe eyed look that made Danny nearly trip over his own feet as they approached Sam’s car. “Sorry my brothers are idiots.”

“They said it themselves, they just care,” Danny said, brushing a loose strand of hair out of Sam’s face as they stood in the warm dying light of the sunset. “Let’s cap the apologies for the night, okay? They’re idiots, we’re idiots, we know this.”

“Okay,” Sam replied quietly, looking nervous for a split second before speaking again. “Hey, uh, just, thank you.”

Danny frowned in confusion.

“For what?”

“Understanding,” Sam went on. “For not being, I don’t know, scared off by all the weirdness that follows me.”

“Sam, I’ve been there for every weird thing that’s ever happened to you,” Danny laughed. “If I was going to get scared off, that would’ve happened a long time ago.”

“I know, I know, it just means more to me now that we’re, you know…”

Sam smiled sheepishly and Danny felt like his heart was fit to burst in his chest from how much he loved him in that moment.

“I’m the lucky one, trust me,” Danny insisted, pinching Sam’s cheek endearingly.

“Ugh, gross,” Sam teased, batting his hand away and pulling out his keys, but Danny didn’t miss the smile Sam failed to squander as he fumbled with the lock button. 

“You’re gross,” Danny countered, mimicking the open mouthed stank face Sam sent him in reply as he circled to the driver’s seat and unlocked the car. Danny piled his long limbs into his seat and watched Sam start up the car and pull up his address on his GPS, his heart fluttering in further endearment at Sam’s complete lack of direction. Without thinking, Danny plucked Sam’s phone from his hand and set it on the dash.

“Hey! What-”

Danny cut him off by grabbing Sam by the jaw and pulling him into a long kiss, both of them drawing it out by huffing excitedly through their noses and cupping the other's face until Danny finally pulled away. Sam watched him with starry eyes, a dumbstruck smile on his face as Danny returned the look and cupped Sam’s face in his hands.

“I just missed you today,” Danny hummed. “And I’m thankful that didn’t end in complete disaster. I felt completely horrible watching you sit all alone. I seriously wanted to throw up seeing your little sad face.”

“Really?” Sam asked, preening in Danny’s attention. 

“I did!”

“I was only sad because I missed you, too,” Sam relinquished, putting his hand over Danny’s on his cheek. “I was surprised you were taking so long. You’re always early for me.”

“And I always will be,” Danny assured him. “I promise.”

“Even after I graduate?”

“Duh.”

“Even after I get some fancy science job and I have to move?”

“Sure.”

“Even after-”

“Whatever it is, yes, Sam, I’ll be there,” Danny laughed. “Seriously. I’ll follow you anywhere. And I’ll be right on time.”

Sam paused, drinking in the sincerity of the statement. Then, in typical Sam fashion, his face split into a cheeky smile.

“And if I ask you to go to a party with me?”

Danny swallowed, thinking hard as he relished in the warmth of Sam’s skin on his palm. Finally, he smiled in return and leaned in slightly.

“I’d go if you promise to never run again,” Danny whispered, and Sam shuddered slightly at the rasp in his voice. “And if you promise to always say the dumb shit you’re afraid of saying.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “I promise.”

“One more pinky promise for the road?” Danny grinned, moving his hand from Sam’s face and holding out his pinky for Sam to grasp. Sam looked down at his digit and raised an eyebrow.

“I can do you one better,” Sam insisted. 

Danny didn’t get the time for a witty retort before Sam leaned in and gave him another kiss. It was a little clumsy, and lasted far longer than necessary for the situation, but after it was done, Danny spent the entire ride home reveling in the realization that he’d just been promised a lifetime's worth of them. And he intended to cash in each and every one.

~~

Taglist:  @s0livagant @holdingup-fallingsky @t00turnttrauma @the-starcatcher @streamsofstardust @spark-my-nature @joshkiszkashusband

#im actually so emo about this ending #gvf #greta van fleet #danny wagner #sam kiszka #sanny gvf #greta van fleet fan fiction #greta van art #you dont go to parties #i love my boys #they rode off into the sunset #gay rights!!!!!! #tell me all your thoughts #karoufiction

[triflesandparsnips]

Um. Izzy WAS rude first in that scene, though. The first thing he says isn't "still it's a nice room", it's "I was thinking what a complete misuse of space this is" or some such Badminton bullshit--and that's deliberate. He's deliberately being paralleled with Badminton with that line. Fucking piece of shit Izzy apologist bullshit.

My darling! My peach! Thank you for pointing out the true meaning of this scene, which, obviously, is the historical art of

COURTSHIP THROUGH CONVERSATION

As you and I both know well, dear heart, a popular publishing genre of the time was SAMPLE DIALOGUES between a wooing lover and a coy mistress -- as seen here, and here, and here, among many other places, several of which also include Etchings of a Curious Nature that I may only Hint At ere I too quickly tax your Gentle Sensibilities.

But leaving that aside, my darling moon and stars and small heavenly bodies that have been previously miscategorized as planets but that I nevertheless hold sacred in my heart-- there is a delightful subset of courtly conversation that, quite clearly, and as demonstrated by the canon and by your own dear letter, applies not only to our own tentative trembling tryst but also to that of Stede and Izzy!

I had not considered the matter before now, but your sly missive, so artful in its gentle tease and saucy in its declarations, reminded me strongly of what the sages called Mock-Complements, or Drolling-Complements. That is to say, when two would-be lovers, attempting to enter into a courtship but hesitant to appear too forward, treat their conversation with one another as if enemies rather than the hot-blooded lovers that they so dearly wish to be.

And so, just as your dear note falls between those lines, so too does that conversation between Stede and Izzy! For as you well know, since you most definitely reviewed the scene so as to ensure utmost accuracy in your thoughts and feelings before penning your note of Deep Romantic Interest as to My Person, behold:

Between a Roguish Sailor and a Fallen Gentleman. The Rogue, all courtesy How goes the fuckery? The Gentleman, his sharp reply What are you doing in here?

My God! What flirtatious delight! What promise of future connubial bliss! Look how clearly the Gentleman attempts to indicate the mode by which he wishes to be wooed! No sweet embrace nor honeyed words for him-- he seeks the speedy wit of a clever lover, pushing away with one hand while beckoning with the other, all Beatrice to his would-be Benedick. See how very intentionally Stede behaves rudely first, because gosh, protagonists can very much be assholes in their own right regardless of the motivations of any nearby antagonists who happen to be sharing screen time with them and for whom perhaps the audience is overly concerned with demonizing to the point of willfully ignoring the very literal previous dang line of dialogue--

Which, of course, you know! Because you too studied this scene with care and attention, and so, with your letter, wished to draw my notice to the deeper meaning of this clearly loving moment. My thanks, dear Sibyl, sweet Relevator of Forbidden Love, for urging forth this understanding.

And yet! A sad conclusion is simultaneously revealed. The tragedy of this bathic pairing is that while Stede has studied the modes and methods by which he can indicate his interest, Izzy has not had as thorough an education in the Artful Ways of Wooing. Rather than a fanciful rejoinder, he instead mirrors Stede's gambit-- a noble attempt at meeting his would-be paramour halfway, but sadly, only a Recipe for Missed Meanings. Our sad Izzy's reply would seem to parry the Gentleman's overture, rather than enjoin it-- and leads them, thus, to the Comedy of Errors wherein now they find their love, and also Ed is around here somewhere.

But never fear, my pocket pumpkin of pleasant fancies-- I will not make this mistake! Just as you so kindly dropped your handkerchief of Rather Ridiculous and Perhaps a Touch Juvenile Displays of Media Illiteracy before me in hopes that I might take it up for you, so too shall I offer it back again, perfumed with the hopes, dreams, and delights of our no-doubt felicitous and quite impending nuptials.

#look look! it's another #('enemies to lovers' future biopic applicant) #lemme just aaaaadd them to the list #*seals with a kiss* #our flag means death #and the continuing adventures of Strangers attempting to Woo Me with their Deeply Silly Tantrums #wait lemme add some real tags here #history #stede bonnet's theoretical library #trifles the amateur history enthusiast strikes again

[chiptrillino]

Hey, I don't know if you've said this before, but may I ask which program you use for digital art? I'm still trying to figure out which one I want to get because I wanted to try out something new. (I've drawn on Gimp and I feel like it's a lot better for editing images than it is for drawing ^^")

i got just asked that and replyed here

i use Photoshop. and i know its costy for a lot of people. so i recomend to look at the following programs Krita its free, lots of brushsettings, brush stabilizers, and vectors + text. you can even do smaler animations in it.

if you would like to invest, you could try

Clip Studio Paint i have artist friends that use this programm. its loved by many artist. its created by having artists need in mind. lots of brushes, stabilizers, vector lines + texts. animations option. a huge library or resources you can download form (carefull some could cost money) and 3D models to make the drawing process easyer. it also does this fancy recording your drawing thing we know form procreate. i think you can still get the old version without the subscription payment methode, which costs around 50 bucks.

Affinity Photo i admit i used it once and it took me getting used to. but its fine. the Affinity programs are like the counterpart to the AdobeCC. i know some people recomend it as an alternative, and got this and more programs for a steal on black friday. currently they cost around 80 bucks for a one time payment. way cheeper then the CC. it does what PS does. so if you are an artist that is used to PS you could give it a shot

i want to honorably mention CorelDRAW because i began my digital drawing journey on that program like.... 15+ years agon... but its expensive.... -i am not gona say it but if you thought about it.... well... go for it!-

if you have the option of a ipad or screen touch tablet. get a good stylus pen and check out the app store for digital drawing apps. there are lots of free ones out there. most popular i know of are:

Ibis Paint x - is free. and if you want to use all the tools and features you can by just watching one add and then everything is unlocked for like 8 hours. apart everything you need it also has this fancy procreate drawing recording option

procreate - its not free but as far i understood its an amazing program and just costs around 13 bucks? it only works on ipads. but professionals use it, has animation option just like everything! hope this helps! (sorry idk how to link the apps)

#chip!ask #art programs #again.... i mean... exspecially about the... you know #just do it the good old ways #maybe with an eyepatch and a clothes hanger as hook to get the right vibe #you know???

[captainx-camino]

Someone commented on an old video recently asking me (genuinely) if one of my speed paints was AI because 1) it was broken up into highlights for TikTok, and 2) I have a very unorthodox sketching process. So, I have decided to show the entire ass backwards way I sketch out the nearly incomprehensible nonsense that my mush brain spits out at me.

To preface, I use Ibis paint x on a cell phone.

I do not have a fancy program like procreate or clip studio, or even a tablet and a lot of how I work has evolved from what I have found works the best for drawing on my tiny, little, shitty phone screen.

That being said....

A speed paint video

To begin, I rarely map faces more than just very basic shapes. (Though, I will admit the structures can get more complex the less comfortable I am with drawing the face.) I usually start with a very basic framework that I implement half from just years of practice in drawing faces and becoming more comfortable with those base shapes, as well as the fact that I'm already aware I will inevitably be over using the liquify pen. Now, I would like to say this is a crutch and I just do it because it's easy, but unfortunately it's actually just because I have fat fingers and a tiny screen (sometimes I can place lines better with my pen but it's still a really small surface to work with) and it's just less of a headache to address the lines with liquify than redoing them a million times or zooming in so close that I lose the rest of the picture.

I will often start with faces because they tend to have the most small details. From there, I will then usually shrink the drawing down and place it about where I think it'll need to be to draw the next part, all while less than strategically erasing the piss poor guidelines I had originally given myself.

SOMETIMES I will save my guides of a second layer in case I might need them later, but that's about as far as I ever plan ahead to be honest...

And we can see that in the next part where after scribbling in a few vague marks for their hair I then IMMEDIATELY regret erasing my head guides and hastily sketch them back in so I can proceed to poorly map out their bodies (most of which I will inevitably be covering up anyway, which I KNEW was going to happen with this one and I cursed myself the entire time). I then fill in where I want all the glorious hair, which fills up the rest of the blank space in the art with fun and interesting shapes and conveys the lore of the AU.

After this, and to take this from a sketch to actual lineart, I will clean up some of the lines on a second layer and keep some of the original sketch features where I like them. This helps me keep the life of the original sketch while also allowing me to clean up the more scratchy lines, which usually produces a pretty nice, clean looking line work.

Should I do a lore drop for my AU next??

Kinda want to...

#sketch process #bluffy #bulu #buggy x luffy #buggy #luffy #moon god buggy #anti ai

[cherrypikkins]

hello! I found you through one of your art tutorials and absolutely loved it, it's really inspired me to try it. I was just wondering, not being familiar with digital art, what set up/ app/ tools do you use (or recommend)? do I need a fancy tablet? thank you :)

I'm so glad to hear it! I hope wherever your drawing journey takes you, that you will keep having fun along the way :)

I am always glad to show my setup!

Let's start with the hardware!

Nowadays, I use a Wacom Cintiq 16, which I purchased this year for around $800 CAD.

This device very much on the fancy side but as someone who has done digital art for 20+ years, it has helped me complete my works in a much shorter amount of time. The Cintiq surface allows me to draw directly on the screen.

Before that, I used a tablet - the Wacom Intuos v4 S, which I received as a gift from my Dad. It held up for 10+ years and was still working excellently when I gave it away for my Mom to use. :) In 2009 I believe it was priced around $250 CAD.

The surface was a lot more matte when I purchased it and has since gotten shinier from all the abrasion and usage and skin contact. I remember it had a protective transparent sheet which I tore off on the first day of use. LOL

My desktop PC is i7 processor @ 3.20 GHz with Windows 10 64bit, 16gb, with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 video card. Monitor is 24". Notably I use my PC for other activities such as gaming.

Now let's talk about drawing programs!

My software of choice is PaintToolSai v2! It is very lightweight and has a smaller toolset compared to Photoshop or Clip Studio.

I favor it because I feel that it has a better response to pen input, which helps create higher quality lines. It is very stable and performs very well - I don't think I've ever had any crashes while using v2, which is still in development. The smaller price point helps. The current price is 5500JPY, which should be around $50 CAD these days? The price was lower when I purchased it years and years back, and I was able to upgrade to v2 without any additional cost.

As for what I recommend for a beginner? I admit, it's a little hard for me to say - the landscape of digital painting has changed so much over the past ten years that so many new tools and software have come out while I was still using Sai and my Intuos!

But if you start shopping around, there are some things that may factor into your decision. Please note that I will be speaking as someone who uses mainly desktop systems and tablets for digital art.

Price: The price of a good-quality drawing tablet can range from the $100s to the $1000s. If you are a beginner, you may not experience the benefits of a professional-standard tablet right away, so it's ok to start small! For software, there are quite a few free options to get you started, such as Medibang or Krita. If you have an iPad, Procreate is available on the store for $9.99, though you may need to invest in a stylus.

System Specs: If you have a laptop or a PC, be sure to double check your specs to make sure it can support the hardware and software of your choice! The requirements are less stringent than gaming, so at least i3 with 8gb RAM will work! You will also need to make sure you have enough storage space to hold large files. I've read that the sweet spot for storage is 128GB. If you are a beginner, you probably won't hit the limit in a short amount of time - just be aware that file sizes for digital art can reach 100s of MB depending on size and complexity.

Pressure Sensitivity: This is a measure of how sensitive your tablet is to pressure changes so that you can vary between solid/translucent and thin/thick lines as you are drawing. The recommendation for newcomers is 1,024 levels. Any less, and the experience may be lacking and the results less than satisfying.

Display Size: Tablet size can vary! Wacom Tablets in particular come in Small, Medium and Large. Make sure it can fit on your working space! I've had no problems creating art work using the smallest size, though it has caused a bit of wrist strain.

A monitor/display screen of at least HD quality with a resolution of at least 300dp is recommended! Screen size will also affect your experience. So, similar with gaming, consider what might be most comfortable for you!

Learning Curve: If you are drawing on a screenless tablet for the first time, then it may take some time to get used to the feeling of drawing the tablet surface while keeping your eyes on the monitor. Don't be discouraged if you're not getting the same results as you would using pen and paper! It will definitely feel different, but with time and practice you will gradually get accustomed to it.

Each software comes with its own toolset - some larger than others! For complex programs like Clip Studio and Photoshop, the number of features and the level of customization available can be overwhelming! That said, most software programs for digital art come with a standard set of basic tools, such as Brush, Select, Straight Line, Erase, Zoom, Copy + Paste, Undo etc. So it is perfectly feasible to get started using a complex program, familiarize yourself with the basics, and try some of the more advanced features once you get confident.

(Meanwhile, I am terrified of Clip Studio's seemingly endless features whenever I open it and usually find myself running back to Sai for safety lolol)

Public Opinion: Take caution when watching Youtube reviews, as artists (especially popular ones) are known to accept company sponsorships. Ask around if you can, take a look at the best, worst, and average customer reviews, and check out a public discussion like Reddit where opinions may differ! Take note of the good and bad experiences. And, where invited, ask artists like or not-like me. :)

I should note this far that I'm not sponsored by anyone or anything. ;;;; I swear on my Mom I'm not a Wacom plant. (That said I will gladly continue to sing my praises of PaintToolSai for free. It is an excellent program and please consider supporting the smaller devs!)

That's it! ...I think? I'm almost certain that there are at least one or two things that I've neglected to mention, but so far, those are the points I can think of, so I hope you find it useful. :)

Each digital art journey is different, and so your mileage may vary with the factors above! I do hope that as you get started with creating stuff digitally, that you have a fun and enjoyable experience.

I also invite other people to share their opinions, agreements, and disagreements to the points above! Especially if there is anything important that I may have missed. I hope this is helpful and thank you again everyone for your positive comments on my tutorials. :')

#tutorial #art #digital art

[cfrog]

for the art questions thing: what’s your process for shading? how do you come up with drawing / animation ideas? how do you sketch / how does a sketch differ from a complete piece for you?

Oh boy thank u for the questions! Uhh i ended up writing a lot w these so I'll throw this under a cut. I added pictures too. We'll call this a first draft for whatever I end up doing for my class assignment.

My process for shading changes pretty dramatically between if I'm doing my easy cel shading or my fancy soft shading. Lately, if I'm doing cel shading, I'll just come up with colors straight off the color wheel (colorpick and move it darker, more saturated, cooler/warmer depending on the material). OR, one trick I like, I'll draw where I want the shadows all on their own layer, THEN copy my color layer, mask n merge it on top the shading, and multiply that onto the actual layer. So it's the same colors for each exact section multiplied on top of itself? If that makes sense? Does nothing for the Atmosphere but it is Darker, and if I'm drawing them in a void anyways, it works fine. Sometimes I like to just slap a random tilted rectangle on it like its a garfield background. My soft shading is much more trial and error; for those fancy Xiph pin-ups I've been doing, I'll have like 30 different layers going, all doing different shit. Multiply mostly for shading, then for highlights I'll just try overlay/screen/soft light/hard light until something Works. A fun thing I do on these too: To get that "painted" look without adding a bunch of random texture, I use my default lining pen sized WAY up with the opacity WAY down and just go ham. Close up of robot ass for reference.

For ideas: I'd say the majority of the art I put out is "inspired" from something else, like memes or songs or tiktok audios. Honestly, I'd say every piece of information I receive has to pass through a "could this be about my ocs" filter in my brain, and if the answer is even kind of yes, I Will Make It So. Everything is ocs to me <3 and sometimes I inflict those oc thoughts on everyone else :3 For actual Original stuff though? Most of my ideas come about as a natural result of trying to figure something out with my characters. How would they respond to this, how would they do that, how does that work? The whole reason I started doing art is cause I have such a hard time with words, and sometimes drawing it out is just the only way I can communicate a thought. Expressions, camera angles, visual gags, subtle details, timing, those are things I could never figure out in writing. So I make comics and animations!

Sketching, what can I say about sketching. My sketches are very messy because I try for a Zero Erasing method like I do in real life (<- enjoys drawing in pen). If I sit there overthinking every line of a sketch, I get too caught up in the details before I've figured out the full picture. Sketching is for blocking/framing/posing ONLY, clean up is for lineart. I do sketch in only black/grays if that's a thing people care about, but that's because I have very strong thoughts on color, again it's too distracting. The main difference to me (that im sure no one else notices) is I let my sketches get fuzzy from resizing. I'm very particular about my art having NO anti-aliasing/transparent pixels. Crisp and clean, and VERY easy to color. Sketches I have on hand for example. Lil preview of smthin im working on :3c

Actually, sometimes I don't do sketches at all ? Like I go straight to clean lines. Only for certain characters, like LEDD and the lab rats, and if it's not a crazy angle or something. I can just draw them on command at this point. Very handy.

Thank you again for questions ^^ I am. slowly figuring this assignment out.

#chayos speaks #im not gonna tag this oc talk cause Technically thats for Lore. I did mention ocs tho :] #ask #tumblr keeps wanting to move my read more. keep it where i put it Please

[haysgrove]

i use procreate and flipaclip together

flipaclip is really good for at least planning/sketching . it has really only basic tools (like a pen/pencil etc but nothing like multiply/screen/filter tools) , and has very easy interface . it’s free but to get rid of watermarks is a 1 time purchase membership thing and it comes with a bunch more benefits too ! you can make really long animations and put sounds inside the app so you can sync your animation to it real super easily

procreate is a 1 time paid thing (not subscription) and i use it for the actual finished product since it’s a full drawing app n has all the fancy tools like filter effects . downside is that there is a layer/frame limit so you have to break your longer animations up into smaller bits especially if you’re using filter layers on each individual frame

mmmmm i might go w flipaclip for now bc i REALLY want procreate cause my friend has it and the app looks rlly good. But if i get it id like to get like, a ipad or smth similar for it so i can take it to class nd such

thank you sm !!! :]

#ask

[veryimportantsparkles]

We bought new tablets!  This one has a screen on it!  I thought that was going to be great, and potentially help with some of my hand issues.  I’ve been using an Intuos 3 since like...2007, 2008?  And I just slap it down where my mouse goes and draw like that.  But since 15 years have passed, fancy tablets with a screen on them are actually affordable.  So now I have a Wacom One.  But...my desk doesn’t have room for it.  It would have to go where my keyboard goes, and my wired keyboard isn’t that easy to move in my current desk setup.  I’m not unplugging it every time.  I can hold the tablet up in my arms/lap and draw that way, but that hurts my off hand.

Also, I wouldn’t have access to any of my shortcuts.  I can’t ctrl+z on this thing.  It doesn’t have extra buttons on it (it’s one of the cheaper models) and even if it did, I never use the little buttons on the side of a tablet.  I’m not entirely sure what the extra buttons on my Intuos were supposed to be used for.  I use it next to my keyboard so I can just use my usual hotkeys.  Also the pen only has a one-sided button on it, while my Intuos pen has two, so I can right click OR double click.  SO there’s a lot to get used to.

So I tested it out, and drew this Tony.  I think a lot of my issues are things I could get used to, but I NEED to have proper space to set the thing down.  I can’t hunch over my lap and expect productivity to increase.  It’s just going to fuck up my left wrist instead of my right.  Or both.  We have plans to move and rearrange my workspace, maybe get a new desk.  But not yet.  So I put the new tablet away.

And then I had to re-install the Intuos drivers and struggled for a solid 30 minutes to get Windows to stop treating my tablet like it was touch controls.  I’m so mad about that.

So anyways, until further notice I’m sticking with the old tablet but we might overhaul my workspace and then we’ll see!

#doodles #laserwing #tony #change isn't scary it's just inconvenient and usually just a downgrade with glitter on it

[itsclydebitches]

OFMD Party Drabble #8

Prompt: Literary Devices (Symbolism)

A/N: Team Black has a bit of a romance novel theme going on for our final day and though I definitely can’t draw, I can offer something in the way of a ficlet :D

“Really, mate, you know I trust you with my life—”

“Just not your books.”

“I do! It’s just... fuck. Isn’t it a little cliché?”

Ed sat with socked feet propped up on his desk, toes just shy of knocking over a now cold cup of tea, papers everywhere, pens scattered, his poor laptop screen sporting a new and mysterious crack. He always worked best with a little chaos, but right now a literal tornado might have blown through and he wouldn’t have noticed. All Ed’s attention was on the cover mockup for his latest novel, Never Left.

On the other line was his illustrator, Stede—sounding very much like he wished to reach through the phone and strangle him.

“Ed,” he huffed. “I don’t know how to say this other than to just say it: you are an erotic romance author. Everything you write is a cliché.”

A bark of laughter escaped before Ed could snatch it back. God, but he’d been so pissy this morning, arguing with his editor over the latest addition to chapter seven. The man could pull even his rambling nonsense into the tightest prose, but he was so repressed he wouldn’t know a good sex scene if it sauntered up and bit him on the ass. Izzy was a fucking handful at the best of times and tended to leave Ed with a migraine and an impulsive desire to leave the business for good. Meanwhile, a single insult from Stede could brighten his day, no matter how fucking bonkers that was. This final stretch was always Ed’s favorite part of the process, probably because Stede was involved.

“Alright, alright, point taken. But a lighthouse, Stede? Really?” Ed shifted the mockup a bit, trying to see it through a reader’s eyes. The protagonists of his long-running series—the fearsome Blackbeard and his refined co-captain, the Gentleman Pirate—were wrapped around one another in a passionate embrace, almost, but not quite, reaching their kiss. Behind them the lighthouse illuminated the moment, waves breaking, sea-foam spraying, a rather curious seagull eyeing them from afar... like all of Stede’s pieces it was stupidly detailed. Sometimes Ed would look at books he’d published years ago and suddenly spot a feature he’d never noticed before. Like some hidden pattern in the lace of a sleeve, or an obscure, queer reference in the colors of a sunset. The man definitely knew what he was doing, and yet... “There’s not even a lighthouse in the book, mate.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time I took a little artistic liberty.”

“Sure, but...” Ed blew out a breath. He was having trouble articulating what the problem was.

“Author at a loss for words?” Stede quipped and Ed could hear that fucking smirk all the way across the island.

“Haha. It’s just... hmm. This one is a little edgier, right? More danger than the previous books. I just figured the cover should reflect that. They reach this point, sure,” Ed flicked Blackbeard’s smitten, agonized expression, “but not until the very end. They’ve gotta work for it.” Again Ed considered the mockup, frowning. “Suppose the lighthouse is good for that in some ways. Can’t get too close to them you know, risk hitting the rocks, but it still needs something else.”

Silence on the other end. Stede was considering.

“Very well,” he said slowly. “What did you have in mind?”

Ed cleared his throat. “Well, I was... kinda thinking a kraken?”

“A kraken?”

“Uh huh.”

“Ed, there’s no kraken in your story either!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He waved aside his own hypocrisy. “But it’s symbolic, Stede. Of Blackbeard’s inner turmoil, his former nature, and... some other, fancy-pants shit, I’m sure.”

Stede snorted.

“Plus it would look rad as hell.”

There was a groan and the distinct sound of a teapot being set on the counter. Oh, Ed was really pushing his luck today. He grinned as more sounds of tea-making filtered through until finally, with what was presumably a calming blend in hand, Stede said, “I suppose I could have the kraken attacking the lighthouse?” Then, much more softly, “It would certainly be phallic enough.”

Ed grinned. “Yeah, that sounds great! And, uh...” He hesitated, wiping his sweaty palm on the edge of his jeans. “We should work out the details later. Over dinner.”

“O-oh! Really?” Ed caught the fumbling of the teacup and prayed that was a good kind of panic. “We’ve never—this is—like a business meeting, or—?”

“Like a date.”

He had the phone held out now like it was some deadly snake poised to bite him. Head bent, all his fingers and toes crossed, Ed waited in agony to hear—

“Yes. That is, I’d love to. Go on a date, I mean.”

Fuck but he could hear the blush in Stede’s voice. Ed surged to his feet, giving the air a silent, enthusiastic punch.

“Great! Fucking A, man. I’ll email you, yeah? Date, time, and uh, restaurant.” He’d need to research that one carefully, make sure he took Stede somewhere nice. Somehow, Ed didn’t think his local bar & grill was going to cut it. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Stede agreed, voice soft. “I’ll talk to you later, Ed. I’m... looking forward to it.”

“Me too. Later, gator.”

Ed winced at his stupid mouth, but he caught the beginning of Stede’s laugh before he hung up, so he hadn’t totally ruined things yet. Doing a happy little dance he threw himself back into his seat and picked up the mockup again. Ed decided than and there that he’d frame it. No matter what the final version looked like—or even if this whole, terrifying attempt fell apart—this illustration was worth saving.

After all, it was partly Stede’s work that gave him the courage to ask. Ed couldn’t help but notice that, over the years, his version of Blackbeard had begun to look more and more like Ed, whereas the Gentleman Pirate looked suspiciously like Stede...

Grinning, Ed wondered if Stede had noticed that his writing had started including some rather telling details too.

With a laugh and a healthy dose of hope for the future, Ed started outlining the final installment in the series, the one where Blackbeard, the Gentleman Pirate, and the rest of their motley crew finally got their happy ending.

#OFMD #Our Flag Means Death #BlackBonnet #OFMD Party #OFMDfic

[kifu]

Heya thank you so much for the art advice earlier! I was wondering if you had any specific suggestions for programs and/or brushes (you know specifically for someone whose only fine art experience has been in pencil and charcoal 😭) .

I’m currently using iArtbook because it’s free. I know Procreate is probably the most popular program but I’m literally -$300+ in my bank account right now, so that isn’t a current option 😅.

However I do believe you can upload brushes to the iArtBook app, honestly I’m not sure, I haven’t tried but you can edit the brushes in a very similar fashion to Adobe Photoshop. So I’m assuming you can also download and upload brushes. I actually really like this program because it has a similar feel to Adobe programs and as a Photographer I’m very experienced with Adobe (I have an Adobe Cloud Account).

In all honesty I’ve never been a good illustrator (since my main focus in my fine arts education was always photography) , but I find the activity meditative and I’m ALWAYS looking to improve.

(Also I was gonna DM you but cant so sorry for the long question 😅)

Yo, it's all good. No apology necessary.

I can only suggest what I know. I've never used Procreate, and I've never even heard of iArtbook. I'm also one of those that absolutely will torrent my art program of choice. And have.

A long, long time ago (like probably thirteen years), I got a copy of Corel (Coral? Idek anymore) free with the purchase of my Wacom bamboo tablet. I didn't know what I was doing yet and I hated it. My laptop hated it. It was very heavy and lagged big time.

I switch to Gimp, which is legally free and open source. I used Gimp for years with zero problems. You can import a lot of Photoshop brushes into Gimp without issue. Compared to Photoshop and Paint Studio, it's incredibly underpowered. Looking back at the art I made, however, I was not poorly off.

From Gimp, wanting more, I then switched to Photoshop CS5. It was incredibly easy to find and install. Personally, I say screw Adobe, since their current model is subscription based. I hate that. I used PS for yearsssssss, up until last year, I believe. It wasn't too heavy for my laptop to handle unless I used too big of a brush. It allowed me to expand my knowledge of digital art programs. It has way more to offer than I'll ever use. But as i mentioned before, the natural art brushes are ... okay, and the blending tool is awful. I learned to NOT ever use the blending tool because of PS.

Throughout time in my PS years, I switched from a Wacom Bamboo tablet to a Huion pen tablet (three different ones) to a Huion Kamvas 16 Pro tablet. With my family's help, I put money towards improving my art by way of hardware, and each tablet became significantly better. A good tablet will help TREMENDOUSLY, but by no means does anyone *need* to splurge on a screen tablet like the Kamvas series. I recommend Huion. It's hard to go wrong with them. In case that ever tickles your fancy.

Like, I'm pulling examples of art I've done with these programs and tablets, specifically unshaded pieces, to show that the software and hardware doesn't necessarily make the piece.

Now, I'm using Clip Studio Paint because it comes with so many native traditional brushes. Again, the company switched or threatened to switch to a subscription pay, so I have no qualms in resorting to circumventing their purchase page.

I will say, I think I love Clip Studio more than I ever did Photoshop. The brushes are just ... perfect.

Like this. This isn't pencil and paper! It's the pencil brush that comes with Clip Studio. It draws JUST like a pencil and I feel like I'm in my natural element when I get to use it.

If you do decide to use PS, or a program that is PS brush compatible, I'll have to find that set of brushes that works similarly to these.

These pictures both used one of the pencil brushes from that set in PS. The horse was painted with a watercolor wash brush; the human with a chalk brush. It's nowhere near as versatile as what can be used in Clip, though.

But I'm sure you could find many brushes through dA and gumroad to use until you find the one that works for you, too!

#lostgirl1428

[loosestitchescomic]

Love the comic!! I was wondering if you have any tips for people who want to get into digital art? What program do you use?

Hope you have a good day :D

oOF so that's hard cause it's been kind of a really long journey and a lot of the stuff I've picked up has been from watching youtube, looking stuff up, and only recently a few classes here and there. So I don't have any TIPS but I CAN walk you through my digital art journey, if you will. (also if you don't wanna read this all: I use Clip Studio Paint Pro, and a Wacom Intuos Pro)

SO. my first tablet was a cheap, tiny square thing that cost 30 dollars and connected to my labtop via a usb cable. It only lasted a few years. It was a Huion drawing tablet, don't know what kind but a brief search shows they're still selling tables for around 30-50 dollars and they look WAY better than the one I started with. so if you wanna start digital drawing but don't wanna buy a super expensive tablet at first in case you don't like it, I'd suggest Huion.

NEXT I used a free digital art program called Fire Alpaca for a while, and since I was new to digital art I didn't really need all the fancy brushes and options that expensive digital art programs had because I just needed to familiarize myself with the basics first.

After a while I wanted an upgrade, but adobe products are super expensive and slowed down my cheap broken laptop. Eventually I ended up finding Clip Studio Paint Pro, which I bought for like 40 dollars (I think it's 50 dollars now) and has been my faithful companion ever since. It helps that it's made specifically for digital illustration/manga creation too, since I like making comics.

somewhere along the line my Huion tablet started sporadically cutting out and losing pen pressure so I asked my mom for a better one, since I'd proven that I was serious about digital art, and I ended up getting a Wacom Intuous Pro for christmas (also a tablet without a screen, I've found from using others ipads that I kind of hate screen tablets haha)

WHICH SURPRISED ME cause I thought they were WAYY too expensive. That's the tablet I still use today but I wouldn't suggest buying it, the charging port broke multiple times and after the warranty expired there wasn't much I could do about it, so I had to switch to using the wireless option and charging the battery via a different battery charger I bought on amazon and the whole thing was very annoying and BAD, I made do cause I can't afford a new tablet but the charging port breaking is kind of a big fucking deal :/ \

anyway thank you for your interest and giving me the chance ot ramble haha

AH SORRY I THOUGHT I POSTED THIS THE DAY I GOT IT. My bad i saved it as a draft instead haha.

#loose asks #not comic #long post

[botaniia]

Tablet advice

Gonna get one of 'em fancy screen tablets now that XP Pen is like 25% off, but I can't choose a size. I'm on the fence between 13 inch and 16 inch.

Some factors that make the choice hard:

I have only one hand at my disposal and if I need a second hand to hold the tablet because it's too large or heavy, that's a no-no

Screenless tablets can be so tedious to use when they're too large

I'm afraid I'll pick a too small drawing surface area and it'll be inconvenient

It's just. The 16 inch tablet is so big but it's only €50 more. I have no idea if with a screen, larger is better at all

Anyone who has experience with this willing to share some insights?

#botaniia posts #xp pen tablet

[argiininosucccinate]

Just a little Lu Guang for lighting and Colour purposes

#I got a new laptop!!! #It has a screen I can draw on with a fancy pen!!!! #can you tell i'm excited #link click #lu guang #the backgrounds in this show are so fucking good i can't #the way the light just makes everything feel alive #ugh #mine

[cherrycheridarling]

tic-tac-toe | mcu

marvel cast x actress!reader

warnings: one swear, fluff, no plot

summary: you play aphrodite in the MCU and it's time for the press conference for infinity war. based off of this press conference

wc: 2.7k

"Tom Hiddleston!" Jeff Goldblum introduced the man who was sitting on your right.

Everyone applauded before Jeff moved onto you, "Y/N Y/L/N!" more applause rang through the room.

"Sebastian Stan!" you looked to your left where Sebastian waved to the crowd as you clapped with everyone else.

"Anthony Mackie!"

After Jeff finished with the introductions, he explained how the panel would work. He would pull a ping pong ball out of a container and it would either have a name or category. The audience would be able to ask a question to that person or a person in that category after Jeff called on them.

As he pulled RDJ's name out of the container, Tom leaned over towards you.

"Does your water taste funny, too?" he whispered making you stifle a laugh.

You nodded, "Kind of like lemon, right?"

He shook his head, "Mine tastes like mint. Can I taste yours?" he held his hand out as you passed him your water bottle. He took a sip and spent a moment analyzing the taste, "Yours does taste like lemon! Why does mine taste different? Here." he passed you his water.

You took a sip and were hit with a strong mint flavour, "Woah. I think they're trying to drug you." you joked making him laugh.

"As I am answering this question, Tom Hiddleston and Y/N Y/L/N are discussing the flavours of the water behind me." Robert exposed you and Tom to the audience making the room burst out into laughter.

"They have fancy water. Mint and lemon." Tom spoke into a mic drawing more laughs. "Sorry. Carry on!"

As Jeff pulled the next name, you adjusted your dress. A white, long sleeve, blazer dress with gold buttons down the middle, the dress ended mid-thigh. The v-neck cut showcased your subtle gold necklace. Black stiletto heels covered your feet.

You unconsciously began bouncing your leg up and down in a fast motion. Sebastian placed a hand on your thigh, stopping your movements, "You're gonna drill a hole through the floor, Y/L/N." he chuckled.

"Sorry." you laughed quietly.

Sebastian pulled out a notepad and pen, "You need a distraction. Tic-tac-toe?" he offered.

You smiled with a nod before making your move.

"You absolutely suck at this." you chuckled as you won the third game in a row.

Sebastian scoffed, "You can't suck at tic-tac-toe."

"And yet, you do." you smirked.

He rolled his eyes playfully before you continued playing.

After two more rounds, your attention was back on Jeff as he pulled a new ping pong ball. "Ooh! You can ask a God or Goddess." Jeff announced, "So, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth or Y/N Y/L/N." he reminded the crowd, "Okay, yes, you!" he picked a woman in the front row.

"Hi, I'm Alexis with Forbes. My question is for Y/N." the room applauded as Jeff tossed the ping pong ball at you and you caught it with one hand.

"See, Robert! It's not that hard!" Jeff exclaimed making everyone laugh.

"Screw off, Goldblum! You chucked that shit at my head." Robert joked back. "Sorry, Alexis, go ahead."

"Um, I wanted to ask about Aphrodite's powers. We all know that she is the Goddess of Love and can seduce anyone with her beauty. We see in the trailer a small clip of her seducing men. How many people did you seduce in the film and were there any funny moments filming those scenes that you can share?"

Her question drew a mix of reactions from the cast. Some laughed, some furrowed their eyebrows and others were just confused. You took in the question before opening your mouth to reply, until you remembered that you weren't wearing a body mic. The cast laughed again before Sebastian passed you a mic.

"Sorry. Um, how many people did I seduce in the film? None." you stated drawing more laughs, "How many people did Aphrodite seduce? All of them." you chuckled, "I'm kidding. Although, I'm not sure what I can share because I don't know what's in the trailer." you confessed, "Kevin, Joe, Anthony, what's in the trailer?" you asked them making everyone laugh again.

Kevin picked up a mic, "I believe it's you seducing Spider-Man, Starlord, Drax and Iron Man."

You nodded, "I do have a funny moment that I'm sure Mister Holland will kill me for sharing, but it's too good to not tell." you smiled thinking of the memory.

Tom immediately grabbed a mic, "You wouldn't!" he exclaimed making the audience and cast laugh.

"I would," you retorted, "We were shooting that scene and, as you know, they have to act like they are falling in love with me. Like I'm putting them in a trance. Well, Tom took that a bit too seriously." you paused at the laughter that your sentence caused, "They're all on their knees in front of me, looking at me as if I'm their queen, because I am." you joked, "And then Anthony calls 'cut' and Dave, Chris and RDJ all get up and start chatting, but as I'm turning away, Tom doesn't move. Still on his knees, looking at me as if I hold the world in my hands." the room filled with amused laughs and chuckles as Tom covered his face with his hands.

"No, it was so bad because I just looked like a creep that couldn't stop staring at her!" Tom laughed at himself.

Robert grabbed a mic, "Very true. I was watching and it honestly had me convinced that Y/N had real powers."

"I have to say, I understand the kid's reaction. Y/N's costume for Aphrodite and the way they transform her only enhances how gorgeous she already is." Anthony Mackie spoke up causing the crowd to gush and clap, "I'm pretty sure we all had the same reaction when we first saw her while filming Civil War." he looked around as the cast nodded.

Scarlett picked up a mic, "Yeah. I remember her walking on set in this stunning white dress which made me extremely jealous," she confessed, "Because, one, it's so gorgeous and she looks absolutely amazing in it," the crowd and cast applauded again, "And two, it's made of the softest silk while my suit is leather and spandex!" everyone laughed at her comment.

Benedict picked up his mic, "Although, it wasn't Tom's first time seeing Y/N as Aphrodite. He was in Civil War and still could not contain himself." he teased making the audience and cast laugh again.

Robert spoke again, "Yeah, he did that during the filming of Civil War, too." the room hollered with laughs.

Tom's face was bright red, "I'm just a very committed actor. I really give all of myself to my work." his comment drew more laughs.

"That's why Sebastian despises Tom. It all started when Tom couldn't take his eyes off of Y/N." Chris Hemsworth added making everyone double over in laughter.

"I feel so loved," you held a hand to your heart as the room chuckled, "These are genuinely the best people in the world and I guess you could say I seduced one person during filming." you joked as the crowd continued to laugh, "Sorry, Tom. I'll buy you some juice, don't be mad." Anthony and Benedict laughed loudly. "Thank you for your question!" you thanked the lady as the cast clapped before Jeff picked out the next ping pong ball.

Next was Scarlett. You sat back and silently judged the man who asked about fashion. Scoffing with Sebastian at his question and laughing at Scarlett's sarcastic and witty responses.

Sebastian leaned over again, "I have to piss."

You stifled a laugh at his abrupt confession, "Go to the washroom, then." you nodded your head towards the exit.

"We're not allowed to leave." he frowned.

You chuckled and reached over, patting his thigh with your hand, "Don't piss yourself."

He rolled his eyes playfully before Jeff called out the next name.

"Anthony Mackie!"

"Hi, I'm Tiffany with Times Magazine. With such a star studded cast, do you find it difficult or any obstacles in developing your character with all theses amazing stories being told and struggling for screen time? Like, are there any obstacles or special difficulties or is it all just amazing?"

Before Anthony could answer, Joe Russo picked up his mic, "Are you asking Anthony Mackie if he has a hard time getting attention?" his comment caused the whole room to erupt in laughs.

Anthony nodded slowly as the laughter died down, "Touché, touché. Uh, well, Tiffany, a wise man once said that some men need an hour to make their presence felt and some need thirty seconds." there was an uproar of laughter and hollering at his comment as he dramatically dropped the mic on the table.

"Who are we asking next?" Jeff squinted at the ping pong ball, "Ooh! Back to the Goddess of Love herself, Y/N Y/L/N!" the room applauded for you as Jeff threw the ball to you.

Sebastian intercepted the toss and caught the ball himself with a smug smirk. You rolled your eyes, but smiled as Jeff picked a lady out of the dozens who had raised their hand.

"Hi, I'm Amy with Esquire and I wanted to ask about the relationship between Bucky and Aphrodite. We see in the previous films their awkward tension from their past history. They have a very special romance and their love story is a fan favourite in the Marvel fandom. What was it like building that bond and relationship on screen? And what do you think of the choice to match the two characters together, how did you react when you found out? Did the pairing of the two help build your bond off screen?"

Jeff spoke again, "I said 'one question', that was at least twenty." he teased the lady drawing laughs from the room.

You chuckled and nodded slowly as the laughter died down, "Excellent questions. Umm, I honestly really like the pairing of the two. I think it gives a great dynamic to both characters and reveals sides of them that we never would've seen without their relationship. It's a very 'good girl falling for the bad guy' trope. And if I'm being honest, I've always wanted that." you confessed causing the room to chuckle, "Their relationship is, without a doubt, one of the most complicated ones in the MCU, but I think that's what makes it so loved by the fans since there's not a dull moment between the two. It's nice to see Bucky have a sentimental side, in his own awkward way of course. And you get to see Aphrodite fall for someone who's not a God or a Titan." you turned to Sebastian, "What do you think?"

You offered him the mic, but he didn't take it, letting you hold it up for him, "Yeah, I agree. I never thought Bucky would have a love interest, if I'm being honest. But I'm glad he does because Aphrodite brings out the soft side in him and he brings out the fighter in her. They really balance each other out and Y/N portrays the character in such a unique way, it really brings a whole new fresh persona to Aphrodite and it's amazing having her as a partner on screen." the audience applauded at his words, "When I first found out about Bucky having her as his love interest—"

"—He called me screaming about how hyped he was." Anthony Mackie cut him off making the room laugh. "Anthony! Anthony! Bucky is gonna be with Aphrodite! That's gonna be sick!" Anthony mocked his voice as you were hunched over with laughter.

Sebastian nodded with a smile, "I did. Won't lie, I did. It's a really refreshing relationship and I'm glad that the fans love it as much as I love playing it. Back to you, you haven't talked about the development and our bond." he gave you a lopsided grin.

You chuckled, "I feel like I'm rambling, but yeah. Their development is definitely," you paused, trying to find the right words, "A development?" you settled on drawing more laughter. "Well, as I said, it's very complicated, but awkwardly adorable at times. Since Seb complimented me, I feel obligated to say something nice about him," you joked making them laugh again, "Kidding. He really does play Bucky with such passion and commitment, it's truly inspiring. And working with someone who loves what they do as much as Seb, it definitely motivates you tremendously and yeah. Um, I won't lie, I honestly was dreading working with Seb," you confessed drawing laughs and a gasp from Sebastian.

"Why?!" he exclaimed making you laugh.

You sighed, "Not because I think you're a bad person or anything, but you come off as very intimidating to people who don't know you very well. And I knew nothing about you before filming other than the films you'd already done, so you scared me." your confession caused everyone to laugh loudly.

Sebastian smirked jokingly, "I am extremely frightening. I understand." he shrugged.

You scoffed with a laugh, "I caught you sleeping with a stuffed turtle and whale noises playing." the room roared with laughter again, "That's when I knew you were a big softy."

Sebastian rolled his eyes playfully, "She's joking. I am the toughest man alive." he deepened his voice.

You shook your head with a chuckle, "Sure. Thank you for your questions." the room clapped for you as you set the mic down and relaxed back into your seat.

"Nailed it." Sebastian held a hand out for a high five and you chuckled before hitting your hand against his.

For the rest of the press conference, you sat back and listened to your friends answer questions. Laughed at jokes made and clapped when appropriate. Small tic-tac-toe games went on between you and Sebastian. Your attention was fully on your nails when Tom Hiddleston got called on.

"Hi, I'm Samantha with Daily Mail and I was wondering, since Loki is a very closed off and mysterious character, we never explore the aspect of him having a love interest. So, if you could choose anyone from the MCU for Loki to end up with, who would it be and why?"

You turned to look at Tom as he pondered on the question, crossing his arms and rubbing his chin, "Very good question. Umm, who would I choose for Loki? Let's see," he paused again and looked around the room until his eyes landed on you, "Ah, I'd steal Aphrodite from Bucky." he answered making the room laugh and Sebastian chuckled with a nod.

"Why Aphrodite?" Jeff asked.

Tom chuckled again, "Well, it's Aphrodite." he simply answered drawing more laughs, "They are so different yet similar in so many ways. Loki is never fully evil nor fully good, but I think Aphrodite has the best chance of turning him good. And who wouldn't want to end up with the Goddess of Love?"

The cast nodded understandingly before Chris Pratt grabbed a mic, "If you were to ask any person on this stage that same question, I guarantee the answer would be Aphrodite." the whole cast nodded.

"They're all trying to steal Sebastian's woman." Jeff teased.

Sebastian scoffed jokingly, "They're all jealous." he wrapped an arm around your shoulder.

You chuckled with a shake of your head before Robert spoke up, "Adding onto the conversation. Miss Y/L/N, who would you want Aphrodite to end up with?" his question drew excited reactions from the crowd.

You let out a bark of laughter before looking from Tom to Sebastian, "Hmm, excellent question, Mister Downey." you rubbed your chin, "Stop doing that, Holland." you chuckled as you saw Tom point at himself in the corner of your eye.

He raised his hands in surrender before Anthony Mackie spoke up, "Spidey is five years old, kid." everyone laughed at that.

"I'd have to stick with Bucky. He is her true love." you shrugged as the crowd cheered.

Sebastian smirked from beside you as the men of the cast faked disappointment.

As the panel came to a close, you looked around at the family you were surrounded by. Friends you love more than anything. Hundreds of memories with the most amazing people you'd ever met. Your home.

#marvel cast x actress!reader #marvel cast x reader #marvel fan fiction #marvel #infinity war #sebastian x reader #tom holland #sebastian stan #anthony mackie #robert downey jr #tom holland angst #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fluff #tom holland smut #tom holland x actress!reader #sebastian stan x reader #tom hiddleston #bucky barnes #peter parker #loki #iron man #falcon and winter solider teaser #marvel cast x singer!reader #marvel cast x famous!reader #avengers cast #avengers #avengers fanfiction #avengers fic #avengers fluff #marvel cast fluff

[miekasa]

Things the aot characters would match with u ?

Eren

Sneakers. It makes him somewhat giddy when you guys wear them at the same time, particularly if it was unplanned. 

He just thinks they look nice, and it’s something that you guys can match with that doesn’t look completely obvious or cringe. You can wear them at the same time or on your own, but for Eren it’s really just knowing that you’re wearing something he bought you.

Not matching matching per se, but one of my favorite things to think about is Eren having his key necklace, and buying you one with a lock on it. Again, matching but not over the top.

Jean

Maybe simple jewelry? Like plain, gold or silver bracelets/rings—nothing too much, but you guys still know it’s there. Watches might be a bigger splurge, but he’s willing to do it, especially if they’re nice and classy.

Once he knows you’re okay with jewelry, you’ve gotta be careful with him. He’ll ice you out if you don’t stop him. He has a sorta refined taste where you’ll get something, and think “Hey, this is really nice,” and then boom, the price tag could pay for your courses for a semester. 

Other little things like matching/coordinating phone cases, you guys each having mugs from the same place, even little charms on your keychains that match together.

Water bottles. This was more so him buying you one (and yes, it was an overpriced Hydroflask) to make sure you’re drinking enough water. If you don’t think he’ll force feed it to you if he notices that your bottle is heavy, then you thought wrong.

Levi

Lots of the things are pretty practical, and are the result of Levi buying it for you because he thought you needed it, or needed a better version of it; so, in a way, it’s not intended to match, but because he buys what he already has and knows works, you end up with a copy, so inadvertent matching 😌

For example, he’ll buy you mittens or gloves if you don’t have any, or if he thinks the ones you have are shit and need better insulation. They happen to be the same ones he has because he knows those work, so now you’re matching. Same goes for things like lunch boxes, water bottles, even the towels in your apartment.

Plants. Again, he probably intervened saying you need some source of fresh air in your house, or something smart like that. If you don’t have a green thumb, don’t worry because he’s practically taking care of it for you. Occasionally he’ll note how your plant is doing in comparison to his and it’s pretty cute to hear his little plant parent rambles while he’s watering them.

Matching aprons. It’s cute, don’t let him tell you otherwise; and if he does, you know he’s fronting, because he always wears his when he’s cooking, anyway.

Connie

Tattoos if you’re down for it. It can be as simple or stupid or extravagant as you want, you honestly have full control over the design even tho it’s going on his body please. He doesn’t care—he trusts you, and he wants to match with you, so whatever you want, wherever you want it!

Sneakers for him too, but I think he’d go as far as to have matching/coordinating outfits with you. Particularly sweats and crew necks and hoodies, and if you guys are traveling together, then you’re more than likely matching at the airport.

He probably put some stupid sticker or decal on your car that you’re stuck with now. Good luck. He put the same shit on his so at least you can look dumb together.

Armin

Stickers, whether it be on your laptop or phone case or water bottle or even just in your room; he’s got one and you’ve got one.

Stuffed animals. He has a lot that he just buys for you, but you guys go on a Build-a-Bear date and make bears of each other at some point, and it’s kinda cute. He keeps his on a shelf close to his bed so it’s safe and sound.

Stationary, like pencil cases and pens and such. They don’t have to be fancy with your initials engraved at the top, but you guys buy them in sets of 2 so you have the same stuff, and get cases to store everything that match, too.

Porco

Something cute that you put in his car that he doesn’t have the heart to remove, no matter how much he bitches about it. Like those little sticky rubber ducks with the glasses that go on your dash.

Gym bags. Yes, he’s a gym bro. No, he doesn’t care if you’re not. Allegedly they were “two for one” at the Adidas outlet, so now you’ve got one. It can double as a duffle bag if you’re not getting any practical gym use of it. 

You could probably get him to wear matching rings as long as they’re not too obvious; just a simple gold band is really the furthest he’ll go (he never takes it off, but don’t point it out or he’ll chuck it at you).

Mikasa

Some kind of accessory—bracelets, hats, necklaces, scarves. She’s into that kinda stuff, just don’t make a big deal of it when you’re in public or she’ll get embarrassed please.

Pins. You’ve got one on your jacket and she’s got one on her book bag or something. Again, they don’t have to be identical; you can get two different Pokémon, or references to a show you both like.

Lipstick. You don’t have to both wear it at the same time, but it’s still something sweet to have.

Sasha

Charm bracelets! The charms themselves don’t all have to be identical (tho at least one of them would be), but just the fact that you guys both have them and are collecting charms at a similar rate is cute.

Definitely matching cups or mugs or something of the like. Kitchen towels with the same pattern or each other’s initials on them. Matching shot glasses, too, obviously. 

Your home/lock screens match, too. Pictures of each other from the same day or of the same scenery or something. She always lets you know when she’s gonna change hers so you can change yours too.

Annie

Hoodies. They can be solid colored, or two if the same ones just in different colors. Hoodies are kind of her go-to look, and nothing that draw too much attention anyways; so she doesn’t mind having the same one as you.

Backpacks. Again, they don’t have to be exactly the same and can be relatively simple in design; and is something most people have anyway, so it’s not outlandish. She seems like a Kanken kinda girl, so you both can have one in different colors.

Pieck

Jewelry. Strikes me as the type to be okay with getting each other’s initials on necklaces or earrings or something, but it could also be more covert like having each other’s birthstones on a pendant.

Speaking of stones, you’re getting crystals whether you like it or not. They will be on your nightstand, they will be in your car, they will be in your jacket pocket, they might even be in your bra and don’t ask her how she got them there without you knowing. They’re in hers too if that makes you feel any better.

Hange

Jackets or sweaters. Wanna say matching cardigans in particular, and yeah, they’re pretty ugly but that’s the point! To bask ironically in the pointed ugliness of them all so much that it becomes cute to you.

Snow globes. Hange is obsessed with them, whenever you travel they collect one and sometimes even if they just pass a store at home and see two unique (translation: weird looking) ones, they’ll pick them up. So, congrats.

Socks with funky patterns on them. Beer bottles, weed plants, zodiac signs, dinosaurs—whatever Hange buys, they buy in packs of two so at least you’ll never run out of ankle socks.

#anonymous #aot x reader #eren x reader #levi x reader #levi fluff #jean x reader #porco galliard x reader #connie springer x reader #that's enough bye #nan*mi would have matching aprons n oven gloves too but i dont wanna think about that man alright #minicanons