#TO SEE ONE OF MY FAB ARTISTS OF ALL TIME

[ghosttotheparty]

OK TICKETS BOUGHT IM GONNA SEE HOZIER

#MY FIRST CONCERT #TO SEE ONE OF MY FAB ARTISTS OF ALL TIME #WITH MY BEST FRIEND THAT I HAVENT SEEN IN FIVE YEARS #YALL

[slayerkitty]

Narrative Frameworks in Only Friends

So here we are, the finale of Only Friends and not a framework in sight. Would the last half of the show worked better in some respects if we had the frameworks come back? Would we understand more about why Boston's friends hate him? (Did they ever like him? Ray seemed to, but Mew and Cheum...)

I wish we had gotten more frameworks toward the end. I wish the voiceovers had come back for the last episode if nothing else, because I would have wanted one from each character. It would have maybe solved some of the narrative issues (re: Boston).

I also wanted to thank everyone who liked, reblogged, commented or otherwise interacted with me and these posts on a weekly basis. Your feedback, discussions and general love made watching Only Friends an amazing experience each week and reminded me why I love being in fandoms.

Shoutout to the amazing members of the Ephemerality Squad who made this ride fun and thought provoking: @lurkingshan, @waitmyturtles, @wen-kexing-apologist, @chickenstrangers, @ranchthoughts, @twig-tea, @clara-maybe-ontheroad, @distant-screaming, @thatgirl4815, @elizabethsebestianhedgehog

I've gone back and added things to earlier episodes that weren't there before, so make sure to read through the whole list! Please let me know if I missed anything - I will edit this post based on suggestions.

Frameworks:

1. Voiceovers: gives the audience specific insight into a characters thoughts and feelings; also a great way to provide exposition. It’s more of an audio than visual framework, as we don’t always see the character doing the voice-over because it plays over other scenes.

2. “Talking Heads”: The characters talk directly to the camera, interview/documentary style. We get to see exactly how they feel about a given moment because they are reacting to it at that time. Audio and visual. Homage to Love8009 (per P'Jojo).

3. Social Media (ft The Artist Formerly Known as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook): Not as insightful as the other two frameworks but does give context and a way for interaction, commentary, and exposition on a given plot. Visual. Probable homage to Together With Me, one of the first spicy BLs starring our kings, MaxTul.

(Side Note: I was re-watching some scenes from Never Let me Go and realized P'Jojo uses yellow text on the screen in it too. So maybe he just likes the yellow text or maybe it means something, idk, idk.)

Episode 1

Framework: Voiceover

Title: What’s Your Role in a Bar?

Narrator: Mew

Visual Moment: Yellow title cards listing everyone’s “roles” as well as the month and days of the week

End Credit Shot: Mew sitting on the floor in front of his fish tank

Episode 2

Framework: Talking Heads

Title: M.F.M. My Favorite Man

Narrator: Everyone

Visual Moment: The talking heads scenes; SandRay smoke kiss; Boston's dark room; Photo Boston takes of Nick post sex; Photo of RayMew from wakeboarding

Audible Moment: The songs Ray plays during his scenes with Sand

End Credit Shot: Ray driving

Episode 3

Framework: Social Media (Twitter and Instagram)

Title: What Am I to You?

Narrator: Nick and Boston

Audible Moment: The thunder rumbling ominously over everyone's bad decisions, Nick listening to the TopBoston sex audio

Visual Moment: Top's Instagram (with all of Boston's comments); Photo strip of TopBoston from their hookup in the photo booth; Photo of the Fab Four in Boston's room; Nick watching TopBoston have sex; Photo of RayMew kissing

End Credit Shot: Nick listening to TopBoston sex audio

Episode 4

Framework: Voiceover

Title: Emergency Contact

Narrator: Ray

Visual Moment: The flashback of RayMew is in 4:3 ratio (meaning it looks like recorded footage versus a memory); yellow text onscreen indicates flashback

Audible Moment: TopMew at the silent disco (both moments of silence but also them singing); SandRay listening to music at the record store

End Credit Shot: Ray driving (repeat from episode 2)

Episode 5:

Framework: Voiceover

Title: The Extra Hour

Narrator: Sand

Visual Moment: Intro and Outro are animated; black and white (made me think of the Take on Me MV by A-ha but I’m open to suggestions on what this might be referring to), "Ray o'clock/Alone o'clock" appearing onscreen in white letters (not yellow!); TopMew going Instagram official; The blind dining scene

End Credit Shot: Sand driving his motorcycle

Episode 6:

Framework: None

Title: Happy Fucking Birthday

Narrator: None

Audible Moment: Ray listens to the TopBoston sex audio; Mew plays the TopBoston sex audio for Top

Visual Moment: Top draws Mew sleeping/gives Mew a book of drawings he did of Mew; BostonNick selfies

End Credit Shot: Top in his bathtub alone looking angsty

Episode 7:

Framework: None

Title: After Effect

Narrator: None

Visual Moment: Mew setting the drawing on fire; Boston’s sex tape; the “super zooms”

End Credit Shot: Mew sitting on the floor in front of his fish tank (repeat from episode 1)

Episode 8:

Framework: None

Title: Save Me

Narrator: None

Visual Moment: Facebook party invite/everyone’s reactions to the invite; Everyone’s costumes at the party

End Credit Shot: Boston looking angsty at the hostel

Episode 9:

Framework: None

Title: The Return

Narrator: None

Visual Moment: Boston’s photo of Atom; Top recording SandRay kissing;

End Credit Shot: Top in his bathtub alone looking angsty (repeat from episode 6)

Episode 10:

Framework: None

Title: Redemption

Narrator: None

Visual Moment: The “I will never leave you”/“I will never love you” neon sign; Boston’s photos of Atom; Nick’s photo as Boston’s lock screen; Boeing’s Instagram

End Credit Shot: Ray driving (repeat from episode 2 and episode 4)

Episode 11:

Framework: None

Title: Move On Move In

Narrator: None

Visual Moment: Boston taking pics of NickAtom

End Credit Shot: Sand driving his motorcycle (repeat from episode 5)

Episode 12:

Framework: None

Title: Begin Again

Narrator: None

Visual Moment: Yellow letters indicating the date (NYE); Framed photo of Nick; Framed photo of the Fab Four at the hostel; Mix's entrance; Begin Again montage of SandRay; Hostel sign "Only Friends Stay"

Audible Moment: Begin Again montage of SandRay

End Credit Shot: Outtakes/BTS

Tagging @sandrayy by request

Apologies to anyone I forgot!

#only friends the series #only friends meta #thai bl #ephemerality squad #only friends is over and I don't know what my emotions are doing

[https-furina]

2023 is coming to an end and while this blog has yet to hit one year old, it’s gathered its fair share of mutuals. it’s only fair to give you all some thanks and appreciation before the year closes. if you’re not here i apologise sincerely, i’ll make sure you are on next year’s list.

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ mika — @mikacynth

hi mika !! i’ll start with you. i know we haven’t interacted much since you went to university (i hope you’re doing super well !! please take care of yourself) but i wanted to thank you for being one of my first mutuals on this hell site. you were super friendly and you always randomly drop cursed genshin memes in the server <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ mae — @maehemthemisfit

mae, i don’t know where life has taken you but i miss you a lot. it was so fun trying to figure out dango anon and you made me laugh countless times, i just hope you’re doing well <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ bell — @blue-b3rries

ew it’s bell (i’m JOKING) hi sweetheart !! you literally never fail to make me laugh in the network server and you always come out with really random things. it’s okay, maybe next christmas we’ll get you a dictionary /lh i love you !! /p <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ inky — @lemeowade

inky !! my favourite artist ever !! we don’t actually interact too much on tumblr now (i do like a lot of the stuff you rb tho) because we talk a lot on discord now. it’s nice to have someone that checks in occasionally and i absolutely love when you show your art !! it’s clear you’re making progress with it and finding your style and i love it so much. you’re gonna do fab things sweetheart <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ amai — @amaiaqt

one of my favourite writers ever and a fellow cyno simp !! i miss you a lot and it shows because i always get excited to see you in my inbox. i hope life is treating you well and that we get to see you more in the new year <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ general — @watatsumiis

hi general !! i’m sorry we didn’t interact as much anymore but you’re so sweet and fun to talk to !! i love your writing and i have the best time reading your tags on people’s art because i’m like “damn. that’s so me” and also you always reblog the best art?? it’s wild you keep my dash alive <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ aly — @soleillunne

who are you? anyways hi wife !! i send you appreciation letters whenever things get tough so i’ll dull it down here a little. thank you for being probably my closest mutual, talking to me daily and always sending tiktoks to each other. if you dare think about leaving me, i’ll find you. in every lifetime <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ ari — @n3r0-1417

another person that i’m super sorry we don’t interact as much anymore ): you literally never failed to make me laugh and you 100% have permission to kill me at any time, just don’t tell aly. i hope we can interact more in the new year and i hope it treats you well too, you deserve it <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ yui — @ilyuu

yui !! wow i’m really failing on interacting with some of you but whenever you’re on my dash it’s pure chaos?? even with no context i can’t lie it’s funny. i picture it like when the scooby doo gang are running and you see all the different shots and stuff. anyways, 2024 better treat you good !! <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ kiri — @kirimoochi

the last time we interacted you wasn’t doing so hot on some fronts and i really hope things have improved for you, sweetheart. you deserve the world and whilst i love your alhaitham & kazuha works, i know a lot of them came from your heart and i hope you’re healing. i pray the new year is kind to you and that things are going better <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ bori — @bboricha

hi bori !! we’ve only interacted a few times because i find it sooo funny when you randomly appear on my dash talking about leon kennedy (because honestly, same) but i hope there’s chances we interact more in 2024 !! fun fact, i followed you for your 5swirl stuff and 1k special (i actually remember what content made me follow you hahahelpme) but i stayed because… relatable. here’s to more interactions !! <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ yume — @yaminohimeyume

oh boy.. hi yume !! you know i could sit here for hours appreciating you right? whenever i log into genshin i check to see if you’re online so i can say hi !! i love helping you with bosses, domains or even exploration but even when we just talk and i don’t join you, it’s nice to have a conversation with someone. you’ve provided me with plenty of distractions this year but in 2024 our goal is to build your characters HAHA i love you !! /p <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ aya — @miuzki

my neuvillette !! i miss you so much, i hope you’ve been doing well and not overworking at all. i know you haven’t really been in touch with genshin towards the end of this year but you’re always welcome in my messages, yknow? i love your writing so much (i still re-read that comfort piece you wrote for me all the time…) please take care of yourself and i hope you have an amazing new year <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ yukari — @ryuryuryuyurboat

is that.. is that my favourite child?! hi ryuu !! i don’t exactly remember how we met. you kinda just appeared in my life one day but it felt like i’d known you forever. you’re an absolute joy to know and you constantly bring a smile to my face !! i’ll c6r5 morrigan first though. have a fantastic new year (and you will not be getting rid of me) <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ lili — @lillonvia

oh my gosh !! my chihuahua !! every time we talk i have the best time ever i can’t even lie like that one time we randomly started reciting the lyrics to california girls and how you started playing on eu server for me. it’s a little crazy with the timezone difference but you’re the amber to my collei and you deal with me torturing you with my genshin va knowledge (did you know cyno is izumi from horimiya?) i love youuuu /p <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ dumbi — @dumbificat

well well well, if it isn't the cutest mf to ever exist >///< it's my co.. parent-in-law? i don't remember because i just remembering rizzing you (oops.) but hey dumbi !! i'll be fr i was always a little nervous/scared to interact with you but i really wanted to and then you joined the network and i minorly lost my mind.. thank you so much for all the smiles and laughter you've brought in these past few months and also for your writing that i am very happily married to. oh and all the fun i get to have helping you explore on eu <3 thank you for letting me join you sometimes. i really hope we get to interact more in 2024 and here's to hoping the new year treats you well!! i love youuuu /p <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ heia — @heiayen

heia. my child. my sweet, funky bean. i love you /p but also. fuck you for how much you make me absolutely lose my shit when it's late for us and i have to be quiet so instead i'm wheezing in bed until i'm crying. chaos hours are the best and you are genuinely such a sweetheart to be friends with. i hope we get to interact more in 2024 (you have no choice) and that it treats you well !! but also, 0.5 stars to the ayaka uber but 10 stars to the network's ooc reporter. mwah! i love you (again) /p (you still need to read to me in some blankets ehehe) <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ coco — @hwaitham

hi hi coco !! we haven't interacted that much (and i'm typing very formal for this post it feels out of character for me) but i've loved your works for sooooo long !! and you and haitham are so cute i just wanna. AAAA you deserve the world and i genuinely hope everything you ever want comes true in 2024 because you just deserve it. if it doesn't, i'll start barking up some trees ehehe. i love you!! /p i hope we get to interact more in 2024 <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ raine — @to-kazuha

oh, it's you /j hi sweetheart <3 2023 has been very all over the place for us but here we are, ending (and starting) another year together !! even if you don't think so, your writing is amazing and i can't wait to see you grow and get more comfortable with it (practise makes perfect!) and also how can i forget that you're my personal miko main.. life would have been a very sad experience if you hadn't came to me on anon in my old blog <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ clara — @umgatochamadopercyval

clara !! you're a very recent mutual so i can't say i have a lot to write (we'll be changing this in 2024 !!) but you are an absolute gem to know. your asks never fail to make me smile and now even your messages !! you're a sweetheart and you deserve a lot of good things. i hope 2024 brings more sagau isekai to my dms and a lot of joy to you. never stop being you !! <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ yza — @yzashaven

hi yza !! we've not been able to interact for a while ): but i'd like to appreciate you for all the times you've came to my inbox with angst, i love you so much for it /p and i still have an angst draft with your name on it because of an idea you came into my inbox with !! your writing is so good and i really hope we get to interact more next year. happy holidays sweetheart !! <3

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ honorary mentions — @jingyuansbird, @honeykaes, @nervocat & @bunicate

happy holidays & happy new year to the four of you !! i would love to appreciate you all but i can only go as far as praising the absolute hell out of all of your works !! you're all fantastic writers that i love to pieces and i hope that the new year treats you all well !! here's to more interactions so i can write you all paragraphs next year (cries) <3

signed with love, serafina.

#signed with love 💌 #https-furina

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

batman recommendation anon!

i've been looking to get back into comics lately so i'd be up for a bigger series

i prefer a more serious tone but typically try to avoid gore simply for the sake of it

i don't know if this is canon to the comic books, but i like the kind of partnership between catwoman and batman in some of the movies

oh, ideal! this is such helpful information, thank you!

bearing in mind that these are some personal preferences, my taste is what it is, more recs are welcome but nobody give me shit about my shit:

Batman: Year One (Frank Miller and Mazzuchelli, 1987) - this is a short, 4-part series that locked down the new official origin story for Batman after Crisis on Infinite Earths. it's pretty serious but not gory, following Bruce and Gordon as joint protagonists as they each struggle through their first year protecting Gotham. Selina is also present whooping Bruce's ass before they ever become Batman or Catwoman, and if you want to see more of her side of things there's a Catwoman mini-series (Mindy Newell, J.J. Birch, and Michael Blair, 1989) that takes place alongside the events of Year One (warning for that one dealing much more heavily with the violence Selina was facing as a sex worker!). also I don't know how important the art is to you but I LOVE the art in year one, it's so moody and evocative and really makes the most of an extremely minimalist palette.

for serious, self-contained stories you really can't do better that Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's triptych of the Long Halloween (1996), Dark Victory (2000), and When in Rome (2004). the Long Halloween is iconic for a reason, taking you on a tour through Gotham's rogues gallery early in Batman's career when costumed villains are just starting to overtake the old mob families with a newer, much more unpredictable breed of crime. the story is fairly simple - an unknown killer strikes each month on a holiday, and Batman, Gordon, and Harvey Dent are on the case - but sweeping and atmospheric. the sequel, Dark Victory, sees young Dick Grayson added to the Bat-family, and When in Rome follows Selina on a solo adventure to Italy seeking out information about Carmine Falcone. you only need a broad strokes understanding of Batman lore to follow along with the plots here, and Bruce and Selina's relationship in here is interesting and tense because they only know each other as Bruce and Selina, while Batman and Catwoman are still unsure how much they're on the same side. also I just really like how Loeb writes Selina, especially when she gets to be the star in When in Rome.

for a story that is part of the larger Batman narrative at the time but can be read as a standalone, I like Heat (Doug Moench and Russ Heath, 1993)! It's a 4-part story from Legends of the Dark Knight, a series whose rotating cast of writers and artists could introduce a brand new Batman story every few months. Heat is a pretty grounded crime story, featuring Batman, Catwoman, and Gordon all chasing a cat-themed serial killer while Gotham is in the grip of a crushing heatwave. aside from the costumed vigilantism of it all it's a relatively grounded story, with Catwoman dealing with the fallout of being a suspected murderer and Gordon having to quell racial tensions that arise in the city when the serial killer is suspected of being a Black man.

skipping WAY ahead in time, can I tell you about Their Dark Designs (James Tynion IV, Tony S. Daniel, Danny Miki, and Tomeu Morey, 2020). TDD runs from Batman vol. 3 issue #86-94 and is SUCH a fun story, centering on old plans that the Batman's fab four - Catwoman, Joker, Riddler, and Penguin - made in the early days of their crime careers coming back to bite everyone in the ass and rock Gotham to its fucking core. Bruce and Selina's relationship is very central, as she's officially made the leap to be more hero than anti-hero as she works alongside him, and it's very grounded in well-known characters while still serving up just a heap of premium bananagrams comic book bullshit. the plot is convoluted but a lot of fun, I had a great time with it and I infamously don't care for modern comics. this is important: you will be tempted to read what comes immediately after this. it's Joker War, and it's very bad. do not say you weren't warned.

lastly, if you want to get Catwoman-heavy I cannot recommend Catwoman: Lonely City (Cliff Chiang, 2022) nearly enough. although it takes place in a Gotham 20 years after Batman's death, Selina is still heavily influenced by her relationship with him and spends much of the series trying to puzzle out the legacy he left behind. it follows her fresh out of prison in a Gotham where Mayor Harvey Dent has outlawed costumed vigilantes and criminals alike, and you get to see Selina fighting to rebuild her life when the entire world around her has changed. you get middle-aged versions of classic characters - Selina, Dent, Barbara Gordon, Killer Croc, the Riddler - and some sparkling original characters - Edie Nygma, my beloved!!! - taking on a world after Batman, once again requiring very minimal knowledge on behalf of the reader to just sit back and enjoy the world. also, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that Cliff Chiang's art if fucking gorgeous.

#batblogging #bruce wayne #selina kyle

[thekhoei]

The Beatles and Vietnam (part 1/?)

My Roman empire is whenever my favourite bands have songs in my mother tongue. Today's case is the most influential band of all time, The Beatles (now why im sounding like a freaking interviewer). I wanna share yall a 1987 record by an overseas singer named Kiều Nga (overseas artists are conservative due to the complications behind USA's most infamous war crime - Indochina/Vietnam war). It will take me long to explain the whole thing, so i will break it short while writing about that record. You can find it here on Spotify (im so grateful to still get chances to listen to it, bc the real tape costs quite a lot in my currency, but i can link you where to buy. it's around 32$ in foreign currency. and the fact that it still exists tho i thought it would become a lost media 😭)

This is not the only songs that were covered in Vietnamese, as there was this version of Something by Don Hồ (1992), or You won't see me by Thúy-Hà-Tú (a pre-1975 girl band (?)). You can find some other different and later covers besides the 1987 record on a local channel here. The Beatles and Beatlemania became a worldwide phenomenon during the 60s, and in Vietnam it was no exception. There were so many young bands inspired by them, and even one of our big song-writers Phạm Duy was a fan of them. The Beatles left a foot print in our flow of music during the war. And iirc, there was a commotion (?) relating to the rock n roll wave and The Beatles in the late 60s - early 70s. In old magazines, image of The Fab Four were on almost every pages! It shouldn't be a surprise to me but i'm still so shocked to learn about how the 4 guys brought love to my beautiful homeland, and so many early fans who were, and still are in love with them, like me, a youngster in 21st century. I mean, who am i even kidding, not my country being an inspiration behind those well-known songs.

The 1987 tape was produced by Dạ Lan Productions (originally Mây Productions), and it was numbered the 46th.

Some fyi/disclaimer ig: I did mentioned of why this is a conservative topic. I am a nothern Vietnamese. And Dạ Lan Productions was a product by the overseas singers who followed the lead of RVN/South Vietnam. But i have been growing up with many kind of music without bothering to care whether it is against the government's ideal. And i'm not the only one who has that thought. Most Vietnamese are working class/peasants, and not much gain access to higher education. Music is the beauty of life, and the heart of the composer. Whether it's bad or good deed, it's only love that matters. Not like all of us understand the true nature of communism or capitalism, we only want peace and love, and that war is over. Our current government is no longer against most RVN artists and it's legal for this kind of music to be spreading now.

Dạ Lan tape 46 is a cassette tape featured 10 translated Beatles songs by various artists, with Yesterday/Mới hôm qua, And i love her/Và tôi yêu nàng, Here comes the sun/Vầng dương sáng ngời, Michelle/Michelle yêu dấu, Strawberry fields forever/Tình yêu cuối trời on side A; and I want to hold your hand/Đôi tay thiên thần, Let it be/Chớ âu lo, Ob-la-di Ob-la-da/Cuộc tình Desmond Molly, The long and winding road/Dấu đường tình, If i fell/Một mai nếu yêu anh on side B. Most of them stay accurate to the og, except the Vietnamese version of SFF has a whole new name and meaning (roughly translated as Love in the end of the world??). Mind you that when western music arrived to this land as a result of the first colonization by French, there started a trend named "nhạc ngoại lời Việt", which means creating a whole new lyrics on the original foreign song. I mean it's obvious that not many understand about copyright back then, and the music was only circulated in the country. That era was called "Tân nhạc Việt Nam" (Vietnamese modern age music), along with the modern changes of literature and many forms of art. The overseas singers who moved to a new land during the war mostly were against VietCong, so this kind of music was banned in the northern. Except it broke the wall and bridge that held the grudge.

I will make this a long series to break down the history of The Beatles and Vietnam's connection (will have tag as well if anyone's interested and want to follow) and compare the difference between both versions, as well as finding more information on this topic bc im so invested. There are still concerts and shows running by this generation fan of The Beatles, and im so grateful to be a part of it. I mean, isn't it wonderful that The Fab are still listened by 21st children, like what Brian once predicted?

Thanks for coming to my Ted yap (i'm a professional yapper)

#long post #the beatles #vietnam #The Beatles and Vietnam #john lennon #paul mccartney #george harrison #ringo starr

[meetmymouth]

How has miss groupie been liking tour so far?? UK/EU and day one of Canada. Will she be joining for all of North America??

i missed groupie so here's something !!!! don't think too much about the tour dates when reading this, it's not accurate at all <3

groupie the fic

One year and twenty-five days.

One year of bliss, tours, different countries, and so much love for her and Harry.

Before him, she never thought she could be someone people wanted long term: she was always temporary, someone they could have fun with until they got bored. Then, he came along.

Sure, when Harry met Fab, it was temporary; she was temporary. Neither of them thought anything long-term when it came to their weird-fucked-up relationship. For Fab, it was all money, travels, and sex. For Harry, it was more or less the same: someone close by to fuck, whenever and however he liked.

One year and twenty-five days later, Harry found her to be something so precious; something permanent.

She'd left a permanent mark on Harry.

He knew the exact way she took her tea and coffee. He knew she hated someone touching her on the neck– especially with wet hands. She hated mornings, and Harry learned to love lay-ins when she was with him. She loved Dolma, stuffed grape leaves, so he learned how to roll them on his own, and cook them by himself. She loved bike-rides, so he bought her a brand-new bike.

She learned how to make his coffee, with the specific brand of milk he loved. He loved fresh mint in his salad, so she grew mint in Harry's back garden, alongside some lettuce, tomatoes, and sunflowers. She cooked his favourite meals, and woke up really early on the days he would leave for tour, just to say goodbye.

They changed for each other, and sort of met in the middle.

Tour was so much fun when you didn't have to explain to his crew what you were doing there.

She was the girlfriend now, not just a hook-up, the groupie.

"Does this go with my outfit?" She rummages through the makeup bag, coming across a lipstick, the shade reminding her of the Christmas lights on their tree– the one they decorated when they first got together.

Harry Lambert looks up from his phone.

"Hm?" He says, trying to see the colour.

She shows it to him, walking closer to where he's sitting.

They're in Harry's changing room, waiting for Harry to get his trousers on after some minor alterations by Harry Lambert.

"It does," Lambert nods, turning towards the small bathroom Harry is in. "Harry, is it all right?"

"Yeah," he calls back. "You can't see my bum now," he opens the door, a smile on his face as he walks towards her. "What you up to?"

"She's going through my makeup bag, I can see it," the makeup artist walks inside the room, hands on her hips.

"Fine, I'll stop."

"Leave my girlfriend alone," Harry quips, placing a kiss on her temple. "I'll buy you the same lipstick."

"You don't need to buy me anything, I told you. You need to chill," she says, referring to his latest habit: buying her whatever she mentions.

When it's time for him to go out on the stage, she takes her place in front of the stage, and Harry Lambert brings Jeff and Tommy with him to watch Harry sing his heart out.

He starts off with As It Was, and she can't help but dance along, singing along as well as he works the stage. It's fun– so much fun.

She can't help but hear the fans calling her name, and she turns around, watching as one of them waves her hands around– signalling for her to come closer.

So, she does.

She walks over to them, and Harry sings loud, leave America, two kids follow her.

"Can we take a photo?" One of them yells through the music.

"What?" Fab yells back, laughing since she couldn't hear anything.

"A photo with you?"

"Oh! Sure! Bring it in," she takes the phone from her, and takes a few before handing it back with a thank you.

When it's time for Satellite, she walks over to the side stage, and places her arms on the platform, cheek against her arms as she listens to him introduce the song, like he does every night.

"Now this song," he says to the microphone. "It's pathetic, really."

Screams.

Harry continues.

"I wrote it when I was kinda going through a breakup with someone very special to me. I'm–" he laughs. The screams get louder. "–I'm saying 'kinda', be cause we didn't even calling it a breakup– we weren't officially together. Then," Harry walks past her, and smiles at her before turning to the fans. "Then she said she didn't want me– didn't want anything to do with me, she said. So, I wrote Satellite, as one does," he laughs.

"Actually," he lifts up his finger in the air. "She's here– yeah!" Screams. "She's here, over there, watching me with the biggest smile– hi," he walks closer to her, then stops. "Are you having fun," he asks, still keeping the distance for obvious reasons.

The screams get louder and louder before Harry shushes them.

She nods, smiling up at him from her position.

He nods, too. "Good– I'm glad– this is your song, after all," he turns to the massive crowd. "This is Satellite."

#i'm rusty i guess #especially when it comes to fab and harry #harry styles #groupie!reader #harry styles x reader #harry styles imagine #harry styles concept #harry styles blurb #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fic rec #harry styles writing #harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #harry styles x y/n

[chuplayswithfire]

Do you have OFMD fic recs?

do i have OFMD fic recs?

oh my god, but do i have OFMD fic recs. i am, not, as some might be fooled into thinking, a Normal Person, and as of today I have read through and browsed about 77 pages of the 103 pages worth of Edward x Stede fics over 3k in length that AO3 has to offer.

Why have I done this? I really enjoy reading fics. Seeing what the writing community has to offer, enjoying whats available, crying at the things that make me feel the word No crystalize louder in the core of my being when I see takes I can't live with.

As a direct result of this, I currently have over a 180 specifically Ed x Stede OFMD fics in my bookmarks, so in the broadest of terms, generally speaking all of those could be in a rec list. But here's an incomplete list of the OFMD fics I would recommend (and have recommended to my friends). Also none of these will have the exact summary, just my sales pitch on them bc i don't feel like copying out the summaries.

domestic by Ark

the most blissfully domestic fic ever, a take on what could have happened had Stede and Ed left the academy together rather than what happened in canon. It's a long and generous character study on how these two might have adapted to domestic life together, how they flourished, and it nurtures my soul.

Turning Tides by Fyre

A speculative season 2 bringing in just about the entire cast from the first season and introducing new characters, new threats, and reuniting our sappy middle-aged men along the way, this series blew me away with magnificent characterization, stunning use of the characters and plot threads from the first season, and some absolutely fab moments. A speculative season 3 is coming in the future!

An Awfully Big Adventure by trinityofone

I won't spoil the surprise and twists in this tale, but it was a fun and emotional fantasy journey for our characters, and is astoundingly entirely from Izzy's POV, which is usually a thing I unashamedly hate, but here is used to incredibly fascinating effect. I couldn't stop reading this fic from the moment I started. This is post S1 and does have reconciliation/reunion aspects.

Always and Forever by stereobone

ACCIDENTALLY GOT MARRIED FIC, ACCIDENTALLY GOT MARRIED FIC, do I NEED to say more? Post-S1 Stede and Ed wake up married without remembering their reconciliation, things progress from there.

The CafeHouse by WaitingToBeBroken

Coffee shop AU where Ed is a tattoo artist and Stede is determined to figure out his perfect coffee order - because obviously Ed isn't a man to really want a black coffee. I loved this from start to finish, it had me laughing and screaming.

half-agony, half-hope by lyricl

Post Season 1 fic Ed gets his groove back by getting a new pen-pal, going on a journey of self-exploration, picking a first mate who aligns with his management and life goals, and getting his man back. I LOVED this fic, loved Fang and the rest of Ed's crew, and the various OCs who pop in from time to time. Really enjoyed the take on Izzy too which is a big one for me, and also the fact that this author, like me, agrees that Izzy needs to go and find the dom top of his dreams instead of trying to make Ed into that.

guardians of a rare thing by ShowMeAHero

its a 5+1 fic about nice things Stede did for Ed and one nice thing Ed did for Stede and look I am a simple woman, I just want my babygirl Edward Teach to have the best life possible and be spoiled and this fic satisfied that craving so well.

a very good bad thing by seularen

Someone tries to come after Ed while he and Stede are on vacation. Stede Handles It baby. I will actually copy a bit of the summary here to show you why i HAD to read this fic when I first found it, and why everyone else should too:

“Unhand him,” Stede said. “Or what?” “Good point. I can’t say ‘or bleed.’ You’re going to do that already.”

My Saddle's Waiting by dracothelizard

One of the shorter ones on this rec list, this is a nsfw comedy take on the first season, where Ed sees that Stede's hung like a horse in episode 4 and is determined to ride him some of that.

Possibly the only incomplete fic on this list but which I die for every update:

Chiaroscuro by MenaceAnon

featuring one of my favorite genres of OFMD fic, the Mary & Ed friendship dynamic, this fic features Stede crashing back into Mary's life with an injured Ed, and the ways that Ed, Mary, Stede, Doug, and the kids all interact. I love this take on Mary, I love the compassion and humor and care that the author puts into every single word and scene, Ed teaches Mary about tattooing and Mary affirms Ed's nature as an artist, AND, Ed and Stede still haven't made up yet, so we get some delicious conflict there too.

and to finish the list, my favorite fic in the entire fandom which I have rec'd like twice already but will never STOP rec'ing because it WRECKS ME EVERY TIME -

this tired world could change by gangnamstiles

IT HAS EVERYTHING.... EVERYTHING.... i love this fic so fucking much okay?!?!?! Modern AU, miserable business man Stede is drowning in his day to day life when he meets Edward Teach, mechanic, handsome guy, savior who offers him a cigarette (and uh former hitman for Spanish Jackie's mob). They fall in love, but oh boy is there a lot for them to cope with along the way.

I LOVE THIS FIC. I love this fic. I found it about halfway through and screamed through every single update with one of my friends, literally read this fic on the cycling machine at the gym and jumped for every update as soon as they posted because i LOVE this fic so much okay, and now that the author is posting some extras i am living again.

And this is my OFMD Bookmarks on AO3 in case anyone wants more. My bookmarking philosophy is "anything I know I'm going to want to read again, put here"

thank you anon for letting me spend an hour revisiting all these fics I love

#ofmd #our flag means death #blackbonnet #fanfic rec #fanfic recs

[sunshinemoonrx]

I've been thinking about the original folkloric Arthur

Not a king, not a knight, but a great hunter and a humble soldier.

I'm not really an artist but I spent all yesterday filled with the urge to draw this version of the character, so here's a post that's 50/50 doodles and historiographical rambles about him.

I wanted to do scenes depicting the feats this earliest 9th-century Welsh folklore describes him doing, so first I needed a design for the guy.

Notes on my choices and historicity:

-These earliest local Arthur legends are recorded in an appendix to the Historia Brittonum (c. 830), where he is referred to as simply "Arthur miles" ("the soldier"), a protector-figure in south Wales. The name Arthur is thought to derive from the Latin "Artorius", so I've just written it here to create a consistent Latin version of the name and title. That doesn't mean it was his "real name"; there probably wasn't a specific real guy. Some have floated a 2nd-century Roman general named Lucius Artorius Castus as the "real king Arthur", but there's a 600-year gap between his life and any mention of Arthur, so that's extremely unlikely.

-The visuals are a mix of historic (he wears a tunic, a mail shirt and a cloak with an early medieval brooch) and the kind of anime boy that appeals to me personally. I can't tell you why I was so sure he had to be black-haired, it just felt right. I tried to avoid depicting him as too elite a warrior; I imagine the necklace was obtained as plunder from a raid. For his build, I wanted him to have some mass but not to look like a modern gym bro, and that crashed headfirst into my predilection for messy twinks, and I ended up drawing him (and the other characters here) with kinda "curvy anime babe" proportions, I guess, lmao

-The 10th-century Annales Cambriae say that at the battle of Badon, "Arthur carried the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ for three days and three nights on his shoulders and the Britons were the victors". This is probably referring to to a shield design, but I thought it'd be fun to interpret it as a back tattoo. The practice is attested as being practiced in the north of Britain from a 786 synod in Northumbria. The English clergy weren't fond of it and actually tattooing a cross isn't attested until the crusading era, plus from a modern perspective the vibes of a guy with just a big Christian tattoo are a bit questionable, so I decided to pair it with something else. Earlier Roman accounts of Briton tattoos mention animal shapes, and Welsh legends often depict people or their souls becoming birds (early modern Cornish folklore even held that Arthur survived in the form of a bird), so I went with a wing-pattern.

-The precursor to Excalibur, Arthur's sword Caledfwlch ("hard-cleaver", Caliburnus in Latin, Calesvol in Cornish) isn't magic yet, and his spear and dagger are given equal prominence, so I depicted it as the kind of straight sword common at the time, derived from the Roman spatha design.

-One of the two prior stories recorded in the HB is Arthur's fighting and killing his son Amr ("fab Arthur", "son of Arthur", is my translation into Welsh); I drew Amr in a half-tunic/half-dress because, again, I just kinda wanted to

The other story involves Arthur hunting the great boar Twrch Trwyth (Troit/Troynt), so that was the next thing to design:

This is very cool to see referred to this early, because the hunt of the Trwyth is the climactic set-piece of Culhwch ac Olwen (c. 1100), the most complete Arthurian tale we have from the period after the Historia Brittonum transformed him from a minor local figure into a magical warrior-hero for all the Britons and centrepiece of Welsh legend, but before Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae further began his transformation into the chivalric king popular in France and across Europe.

In Culhwch, Trwyth is a king who was turned into a boar by God as punishment for his sins, so I came up with a human design as well as a big pig design. The king in question was probably intended as a Briton, but I thought it would be fun to depict him as a Saxon, Arthur's enemies in the HB, especially as Saxon warriors often wore boar-crests on their helmets. I did one take with a mostly historic boar-helmet, and one more fantastical, almost like a boar-themed Kamen Rider helmet, as if rather than becoming an actual boar he became this more fearsome but still humanoid warrior.

I also made his sword slightly asymmetrical, to mirror the seax knives that gave the Saxons their name. Their actual main battle swords were straight, but I thought it was a fun touch for this magical tyrant.

As for the boar-form design, I like depicting monsters with sketchy outlines, like they aren't fully solid creatures of this world.

And that's how we get our first scene proper!

The legend recorded in HB says that when Cabal (Latinisation of Welsh "Cafall"), Arthur's dog, was hunting Troynt (Trwyth), he left a paw-print in a stone, which Arthur then assembled a cairn under, and if the paw-print stone is ever removed, within 24 hours it returns to the mound. (Cafall is also featured in the version of the hunt in Culhwch!)

Anyway, I can't really draw animals that aren't big scary creatures, so I didn't want to draw an actual dog. So since I'd already turned Trwyth into a guy, I figured why not just turn Cafall into a guy too? Plus, I get to draw a guy in a collar with a dog-tail and a little fangy. So win-win, really.

I also wanted to draw a version with the human Trwyth, and I figured I'd combine that with the story of Amr, and just do a page of swordfights:

"...on fatal field / we fended our lives, as the ranks clashed in battle / and the boar-crests rang..." -Beowulf

The Amr (or Amhar) story relates that Arthur built a tomb for his son, and that every time it is measured it comes up as a different length.

The fact this is such an early story is also very interesting, because one of the most famous parts of post-HRB chivalric Arthur is the killing of his son Mordred. Early Welsh references to Mordred (Medraut or Medrawd) portray him entirely positively. I do wonder if when Mordred became the more famous son of Arthur the story of Amr got folded into his, but we don't have evidence to do more than speculate.

I also now realise that my human Trwyth looks a lot like a Ringwraith, and honestly the more medieval lit I delve through the more moments of "oh that's why that bit of Tolkien is like that" I have.

Those were what I originally wanted to depict, but in doing them two more ideas occurred to me. One was depicting the Arthur of the Historia Brittonum itself (not just the pre-existing folklore it recorded), this local hero plucked into a much grander stage, cast as a pseudohistorical general leading his people against the Saxons.

This one came out very "edgy teenager on Deviantart", but fuck it, kill the part of you that cringes and be free, right:

The title comes from one of the medieval Welsh "triad" texts, each one a short line listing the "three great X of the Isle of Britain" to help bards remember. Arthur is referred to in many of them, here as one of the "Three Red Reapers of the Isle of Britain". I thought that was a good fit for his war-hero portrayal here. Also I tried moving the cross-tattoo lower down to make it sluttier.

HB's Arthur is an interesting middle ground. He's leading the Britons as a whole, but he still has one foot in his humble origins. He's named as Dux Bellorum, "battle-leader", and it's specified that the kings of the Britons were under his leadership although he was less noble than them. It's only somewhere between the grander Welsh legends that sprung up after this and the HRB that he would get upgraded to king.

For the final picture, I was inspired by a much more recent piece of Breton verse, a 19th-century gwerz (ballad) telling of Arthur arriving in Brittany (on account of being king of all Britons) to slay a dragon and getting help from Saint Efflam. The core story, though, is remarkably consistently preserved from the Vita Euflami, the original saint's life written around 1100. I was captivated in particular by the verse in the gwerz where Arthur announces himself:

Me zo roué ar Bretonet Artur an terrub lessanvet Deut aman deus a Lannion Evit tistruji ann Dragon.

I am the king of the Britons/Bretons Arthur, known as the terrible Come here from Lannion To destroy the dragon.

For one, the way the lyrics flow in the Breton just kinda goes hard, but the bombastic tone and the length of time the story was transmitted across brought a scene vividly to my mind, inspired by the persistent story of Arthur's prophesised return: Modern travellers in the Breton countryside being set upon by a dragon, only for Arthur to miraculously appear with this declaration, defeat the beast and vanish, his original task as hunter and protector fulfilled once more.

So I drew that! Once again, I like sketchy impressionistic monsters. Also, I think the people in the back are lesbians, but that's less of a conscious decision and more just what happens when you ask me to draw two people.

And that's what's been occupying my mind for the past few days! There's a couple more things I could do. Cai and Gwenhwyfar (precusors to Sir Kay and Guinivere) are characters I'd love to whip up designs for, and there's a bunch of really wild scenes in Culhwch. But that'll only be if I'm still feeling this specific creative energy.

Thanks for reading!

#arthuriana #medieval welsh #culhwch and olwen #king arthur #catia learns to draw

[romaine2424]

Weekly Blog August 14, 2023

Whew! Finally making it back to the Blog. I've been occupied on the homefront with some house projects. Can I just say that peeling wallpaper is very therapeutic. Getting that large piece successfully off the wall and then the layer of glue that comes off like suntanned skin in the summer is weirdly satisfying.

I've been reading a lot of Drarry and delving into Haphne for research purposes. I hate that Harry/Daphne is called Haphne when there are really clever ship names available. I mean PotDGrass or DGrassPot are ripe for the taking. LOL Or something with Pot and Grass (have to distinguish between the Daphne and Astoria).

I've updated The Azkaban Letters with Chapter 10. I'll make a separate post for that. But I admit to being very dejected that the hit count was low for the last chapter, and I won't even get into the kudos or lack of comments, but then when posting today, I discovered a mistake I'd made in updating last time. The original publication date for the fic is June 2007. When adding a new chapter, for some reason, I have to manually update the posting date for the new chapter to the current day. I'm hoping that was the reason. *looks around nervously*

Okay, onto other goodies.

What I'm reading (and for today, What I'm Looking At):

First up is a major Art Rec. I'm sure most of you have seen it, but just in case. Keep Driving by Anonymous (Shhh, we know who it is!) from @hd-wireless is one of those pieces that is a complete game-changer for a trope. This is FemSlash!Drarry, or as the artist put it in the tags, Lesbian Road Trip Montage. Established relationship. From the get-go, we're introduced to fab badass Draco driving the car. And then we meet HJP in all of her curvaceous glory. And Draco thinks so too. In every piece after the first, we see that Draco is in awe of her love. I'm not an artist in any way, but the colouring is dreamy and summery. We feel that we're on that road trip as a fly on the wall or windshield. I've not been a big fan of FemSlash!Drarry in story or art. If you have any recs for me, send them my way, but previously most have been cutesy or PWP. This series I want to see more, I want to read more but what is there now is enough. Just absolutely stunning.

View "Keep Driving" on AO3

Second is a fic also from @hd-wireless. The Waiting (43.5K) by Anonymous is a great piece of mystery writing. Summary:

It’s been almost ten years since Draco Malfoy disappeared during a routine Curse Breaker training exercise. Harry, his partner in more ways than one, is determined to figure out why. As the past resurfaces and the present fades into confusion, Harry discovers the only thing more unreliable than memory is love.

There are two timelines in this fic, the one before Draco disappears and then the one ten years later. The one ten years later can be a bit hard to read because Harry is so lost (which means the author wrote this extremely well so we can feel his pain). There are also sections in the current timeline where we know things are wrong, as does Harry, but no one else does. It's scary, it's tense, it's delish!

One final note, read the Author's note and tags before diving into this amazing fic.

Read The Waiting on AO3

Remember, Artists and Authors need lots of love! Comment folks!

Tumblr Resource:

I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with @creativepromptsforwriting but if you're a writer or artist too I think, you could spend hours on the blog. The series for What is? on Wednesdays earlier this year was wonderful, especially for those new to writing. They're definitions of terms we see all of the time but are sometimes afraid to ask because you might look stupid. Some examples defined are What is a Drabble, Deus Ex Machina, Missing Scene, etc...

There are thousands of prompts for different genres, there are fic titles to use beginning with every letter of the alphabet, and one of my favs was Same Height Ideas; basically, what can two characters the same height do, like rub noses without bending down or looking up, staring directly into their eyes, or one wearing shoes to get the other off balance. All very cute.

Also, there are examples of dialogue one-liners even for Smut. Sorry, I could go on and on.

Take a look, and have fun exploring!

Have a Fab week!

Rom

#romaine2424 daily blog #drarry fic rec #romaine2424 fics #drarry art rec #I'm not ready for summer to be over! #Haphne is not a good ship name!

[alas-i-cannot-sim]

Tag 9 people you would like to get to know / catch up with

I got tagged by @goodnightlittlewing Thanks lovely!

Last song: Asleep by The Album Leaf. I've been hella burnt out and overstimulated as of late, so going under my duvet and zoning out to wordless songs has been very soothing. The Album Leaf are top tier for disassociating.

Last show: Dragula. Shudder is the best streaming service for all things horror and binge watching filthy, glamorous Drag artists makes my spooky lil heart very happy ♥️

Currently watching: Queer for Fear. A fab documentary on queer horror. Definitely recommend!

Currently reading: I'm one of those people who hoards books, but struggles to read them. Is it the dyslexia of the AuDHD? We may never know.

Current obsession: Embroidery and Crochet. I'm working on a present for one of my favorite tattoo artists I'm finally seeing again Saturday for the first time since pre-pandemic, and I'm embroidering one of her flash designs. I'm also working on a granny hexagon cardigan for myself after my Mum fell in love with my last one and claimed it as her own.

In conclusion, I'm a queer, spooky and neuro-spicy crafter with a hording hyperfixation 😂

I'm on mobile because my computer is unplugged and moved so the painters can get to the walls, so I'mma tag the first nine people that come up.

@simsmidgen @deathflowertea @kalino-thesims @thatsimslove @siminycricket @drudragonrose @dustofsims @cawthorntales @poisonfireleafs

And if you've made it to the end of it post, consider yourself tagged too 😊

[acaseforpencils]

A Case for Scanners.

Non-artists often assume that once a drawing is completed, the art process stops. As most professionals will tell you, that's not the case! Capturing an image for reproduction, and making sure that it represents the original work well, is oftentimes an art form of its own. Since this topic isn't something that has been given a lot of air time on here, I thought it would be fun to ask some folks who do a lot of non-digital work, with (seemingly little) processing, if they had any hard-earned advice on how to get a final image!

I hope everyone is having a nice summer, and that you all are making lots of art! —Jane

Roz Chast

Find this print here!

How do you get images of your work? For reproduction, I use a basic Epson scanner I got on Amazon a few years ago (my old Canon one died). Cost maybe $175. My only complaint is that it only goes up to 8.5 (maybe 8.7) by about 11.5 inches. If the image is bigger, I scan it in parts and put it together. The Epson scanner is excellent. You can scan up to 1200 dpi which was useful when I did drawings that were 9 by 12 inches and they were blown up 9 by 12 feet, and they looked FAB. I was amazed. I also once scanned an embroidery that the NYer used on a cover and it worked fine.

But for just sending someone a quick pic of something, or posting to Insta, I use my camera. Oh, and for pysanky eggs, I use my camera. LOL, wouldn't be good to smash them flat in the scanner.

What are your best tips for getting a good image? If the item you want to scan is a little rumpled or wrinkled, press down hard on your scanner lid before scanning. Also, I use Photoshop to optimize the image--mainly brightness and contrast and to remove patch shadows etc. And for embroideries and pysanky eggs, I use my camera and photograph them in natural light outside. Not in bright sunshine or dark shade-- in between.

Does your method differ when capturing a colorful image vs something black and white? Not really. But I do adjust for brightness and contrast with Photoshop, no matter if it's in the scanner or the camera, b & w or color.

Joe Dator

You can find this print and more here.

How do you get images of your work? I scan my images. Ever since The New Yorker stopped accepting original artwork, the cartoonists have had to scan their own work and send it as a digital file. It's been a source of some frustration for me, as I used to rely on the top-of-the-line scanners at Condé Nast's imaging department, but now the quality of my published work is dependent on whatever modestly priced scanner that I can afford to have at home. For a while I was using a Brother and then an Epson all-in-one printer/scanner, though neither were very good at capturing the nuance of wash shading. I've now got a Canon 300, which is a dedicated scanner, and is somewhat better, though not by much. It's adequate for its very low price, I suppose. All of this has led me in some cases to scan my work as line art and then add the grey or color areas digitally, or sometimes to bypass scanning entirely and just create digital art.

What are your best tips for getting a good image? It's always better to go a little bit darker and then lighten the image after the fact, because that way you've captured the information that is there. You can subtract information if there's too much of it, but you can't add in formation that wasn't captured in the first place. I always take a very high resolution scan, 600 dpi, and then adjust the image in Photoshop, mostly with the Levels feature. I'll also go in very close to the image and go over it with the eraser tool, removing any dirt or blotches that I see. This is made much easier if I remembered to Windex the glass before scanning! Best tip: clean the glass first! I have wasted hours of time cleaning up images because I forgot to wipe the glass clean before scanning!

Does your method differ when capturing a colorful image vs something black and white? No difference in how I capture the image from the scanner, but the way I will clean the image up in Photoshop differs slightly, because for a color image I will use the Levels as well as the Hue/Saturation and Color Balance features.

Amy Hwang

Find this image here!

How do you get images of your work? Flatbed scanner

What are your best tips for getting a good image? I used the photo setting to scan my work. For watercolor paper that isn't completely flat, I'll weigh it down with a stack of copy paper and place a heavy hardcover book on top of that. I'll also weigh the sheet down with my hands as the scanner bulb moves under it. 

Does your method differ when capturing a colorful image vs something black and white? No. 

Ivan Ehlers

Find this print here!

How do you get images of your work? If it’s a work of ink on paper, I’ll usually do the ink drawing first and then scan that just to be safe in case I screw it all up with the wash/color. If I screw it up, then I will do a digital wash/color pass in Photoshop. If all goes well, then I’ll scan the drawing again and adjust digitally as needed.

What are your best tips for getting a good image? Take the time to figure out your scanner and to learn which values will get lost in the scan and how to deal with that, either preemptively on the drawing itself or digitally after it’s scanned.

While scanning, if it’s a black-and-white image, scan in black-and-white. You’ll get more of what you want without the scanner trying to make sense of random color information that may exist on the paper. And the higher the resolution, the better the image (and information within the image) will be.

Once you get that image imported, throw it into Photoshop and hit Command-L to mess with the levels. This is where you’ll find the sweet spot of making the lines/wash darker, the mid-tones lighter (if you want to erase the background) or darker (if you want to show the wash/paper more) and your contrast (again, if you want to make the background paper ‘disappear’).

Also, depending on how the work is showcased (digitally, printed small on newsprint, professionally printed on expensive materials), you will learn what matters and what really does not. If people are just going to see the image on their cell phones, it doesn’t matter if the image doesn’t look absolutely perfect when zoomed in 6000%. If it’s for print on newsprint, there’s a limit to how much detail will show and how much color information will transfer. It's easy to get lost in a spiral of saying "It doesn't look exactly like the original!" Look at photos of original paintings, then go see them in real life. It never looks the same!

Does your method differ when capturing a colorful image vs something black and white? Black-and-white images are much easier to capture/edit in that the amount of information is dramatically lower than that of a color image. When working with black-and-white images, your concerns are mainly with levels (see above).

When working with color images, you still have to deal with the levels but add to the equation a step of color correction (or color mixing for those who consider the term ‘correction’ inherently pejorative and indicative of an error).

Getting color right is the hardest part. It’s like trying to find the simultaneous determination of position and momentum of an electron—You can either get a good line quality and contrast, or you can get good and true color, but you can’t get both. (This is of course me being dramatic. You can get both, but you better have a much better scanner than most of us can afford.) 

If you need to ask how much a really good scanner is, you can't afford it.

Carolita Johnson

Find this print here!

Scanners are great for flat work without ripples. I flatten my stuff under two very thick, heavy pieces of plexiglass and with a piece of paper on either side of the original against the plexiglass after a very light fine misting with water if it’s too rippled. 

Otherwise I remember Andy Pilsbury at TNY used to take photographs of fine color art — especially if it had a lot of texture— in his special studio.

Jenny Kroik

Buy this print here!

I use an Epson scanner. Mine isn't great, so I have to do a lot of Photoshop tweaking for color precision. I've been meaning to get a better scanner for ages! Get a nicer one, and you might not need to do as much color-correcting. (I got the cheapest one for like $70).  Scan stuff at at least 600 DPI.

Also, my laptop has a retina display. I think they all do that now, I'm not sure.

Navied Mahdavian

Find this print here!

How do you get images of your work? I use an Epson V600 Photo scanner. I've used a few scanners and it's my favorite. 

What are your best tips for getting a good image? I usually scan at 600 dpi for finished images. I use Photoshop to clean up an image and adjust black and white (make whites true white etc.). 

Does your method differ when capturing a colorful image vs something black and white? I usually do black and white, so I'll use the greyscale scanning setting. If I do use color I just switch it to color. Otherwise, all the same. 

Michael Maslin

Find this print here!

How do you get images of your work? An Epson V550Scanner....probably 5 years old, still works well. 

What are your best tips for getting a good image? Don't have tips. I just make sure the image on the screen looks as close as possible to the original piece. As I'm dealing with a simple ink line with some pencil added on, it's not a complicated replication. Rarely have to do anything with/to what comes up on the screen.

Does your method differ when capturing a colorful image vs something black and white? For me, it's fairly simple as the drawing is an ink line with a small amount of pencil added. I've noticed that color pieces invite messing around with "saturation" and those other tools. I almost always end up liking the "adjusted" image better than the original. 

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If you enjoy this blog, and would like to contribute to labor and maintenance costs, there is a Patreon, and if you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee, there is a Ko-Fi  account as well! I do this blog for free because accessible arts   education is important to me, and your support helps a lot! You can also  find more posts about art supplies on Case’s Instagram and Twitter! Thank you!

#how to scan art #how to draw new yorker cartoons #roz chast #joe dator #navied mahdavian #carolita johnson #jenny kroik #michael maslin #amy hwang #ivan ehlers

[eremeldanin]

Hello my friend! I saw your tags on the silm minor characters post and I had to reach out. Recently I got some sort of artistic burnout from this and I had to block the silm tag haha like, all those gorgeous elf fanarts? But like, every artist draws them in its own way, colors etc (and it's good, they should!), many times with no reference to their name in the caption? and everyone is like *calls elf by name, surname, nickname, fandom nickname and almost-famous deeds* like wth? It was too much to me yk. I admire ppl who have this clarity, but they are not me, I have to fight for every lil crumb of detail to engrave it to my brain ._. it's just a lot, a lot of elves 8D not complaining, just wanted to share this, I'm sorry if I'm babbling etc

Hello! you are fab and I see no babblage here :D

yeah, the Silmarillion can get DENSE, there’s so much going on and so many juicy dramas and characters. It’s a whole lot. So many hot elves 👌✨ I only vaguely remember things and although I super love the depth of the world and all that jam, I have to let the stuff I don’t know kinda wash over me. There is only so much brain space one being can have, and it is a healthy thing to recognise; I totally get it.

And pls do let me know if I’m slipping in my tagging - I will use 'silm' in future to make sure it has u covered ❤️ Sending u good art and brain vibes my pal✨

#ask me anything #starlady66 #Dwyn speaks

[profbruce]

White Angel of Merida Mexico

This silent angel in downtown Merida (aka Centro) offers you one slip of paper to guide your future. For 20 pesos, mine read (in Spanish), “Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.” #Excellent message.

White Angel of Merida

This young woman dresses up every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in her angel costume, which she designed and fabbed herself. She stations herself outside Merida’s cathedral in their central square.

In front of Merida’s central cathedral 

For a modest donation (such as my measly 20 pesos, about $1 USD) in her jar, which you can see at her feet, you draw one tiny piece of paper from her cup. She only “speaks” in gestures, ie, she’s a mime… She graces you with a smile as well.

I estimated she makes up to 1,200 pesos an hour (around $60 USD). It’s a good gig and she’s a fine artist/actress/mime in her own right. It’s another PB4L, personal business for life, or side hustle. Beats begging, right? Or waiting on tables if you are a young actress waiting for your next gig.

Makes people feel good too and, of course, it doesn’t hurt that she’s a beauty.

Prof Bruce

ps here’s Chris Rock’s latest (foul-mouthed) take on the power of female beauty (on Netflix), https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/chris-rock-live-standup-special. The title of his hour-long rant? “Selective Outrage.” A decent review is on Variety, https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/chris-rock-slap-will-smith-netflix-comedy-special-1235542611/. #NSFO #RatedR

pps I have a theory that pretty much everyone needs some sort of PB4L to get them through the tough patches that almost all of us will face during our time on this planet. You can read more at:

Should Every Person on the Planet Have a PB4L (Personal Business for Life)? https://www.dropbox.com/s/bpqc508879tsdwk/PB4L-personal-business-for-life-bruce-m-firestone.pdf?dl=0.

FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT AND BUSINESS COACHING THAT’LL HELP YOU PROVIDE FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY FOR 3-GENERATIONS, PLEASE CONTACT:

Bruce M Firestone, B Eng (civil), M Eng-Sci, PhD Real Estate Investment and Business coach Ottawa Senators founder ROYAL LePAGE Performance Realty broker 613-762-8884 [email protected] brucemfirestone.com https://burningrocksolutions.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/profbruce https://www.linkedin.com/company/firestoneinstitute https://brucemfirestone.com/blog/ https://www.youtube.com/user/ProfBruce/ https://www.amazon.com/author/brucefirestone https://twitter.com/ProfBruce https://www.facebook.com/groups/reiroi https://www.facebook.com/ProfBruce https://www.instagram.com/brucemfirestone/ https://profbruce.tumblr.com/archive

BOOK YOUR FREE CLARITY CALL WITH PROF BRUCE NOW, https://brucemfirestone.com/coaching/prof-bruce-real-estate-investment-and-business-coaching/talk/

• MAKING IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE • FREEDOM VIA REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT AND PB4L, PERSONAL BUSINESS FOR LIFE • FEHAJ, FOR EVERY HOME A JOB, FEJAH, FOR EVERY JOB A HOME • MAKE YOUR HOME WORK FOR YOU, INSTEAD OF YOU WORKING FOR IT • HIGHER ROI NOT JUST FOR OWNERS AND INVESTORS, BUT FOR TENANTS, GUESTS, VISITORS, NEIGHBORHOODS, COMMUNITIES, TOWNS, VILLAGES, CITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT TOO

+++

#SideHustle #Gig #entrepreneur #PB4L

[brwncns]

OBJECTS OF DESIRE - INSIDE by Vasilis Katsoupis

We talked to Greek director Vasilis Katsoupis about his feature film debut INSIDE, starring Willem Dafoe as an art thief.

What was the initial spark for INSIDE? Did you want to make a heist movie or a film about art? The idea for the film came after my studies, when I first went to New York. These huge buildings and all this stuff, this is where the idea sparked. The heist element came later. The initial idea was someone stuck in a penthouse. The heist element came to make a narrative for the film. But from the beginning I wanted to have a very well-designed penthouse full of artworks and objects of desire. Because I really wanted people to get goosebumps for everything that he destroys. Before my bachelor degree, I studied the history of art, and that that was something really new for me because in the Greek high school and curriculum there's no any mention of the history of art, at all. That sparked my fascination with the art world.

Nemo, the thief played by Willem Dafoe, uses the art in the film like a tool, like a caveman. The art becomes a way to break out and at the same time he's becoming something of a primitive artist himself. He not only turns shamanistic but transforms the setting around him, from a normal beginning to an almost religious or spiritual ending. How did the story change over time? From the very beginning, I said it is a project that I don't want to write. I had a timeline. I had a treatment. I had all of this. And then Giorgos Karnavas, the producer, found the writer Ben Hopkins. We talked with Ben, and he found it very challenging to write the story because there's no dialogue. He's a great writer, a great director, and he's an amazing collaborator. So he made a fantastic treatment in order for us to get development money from the European media fund. And this is how it started. If you read the script, it's a very beautiful script. It puts you inside the story, you can smell, feel the story. He writes it like literature. It's amazing how Ben makes you see the film.

How much was planned in the preproduction, how much improvised? It was difficult for me to do the storyboarding because there was no location. The only thing we had from the location was a SketchUp, a model. The production designer Thorsten Sagel had a friend, a computer genius. He took this model and put it on an Unreal engine so I could make some screenshots and have a dummy of the place. We flew Steve Annis, the DoP, to the office in Greece and we storyboarded together through this thing, Steve is a very experienced and amazing DoP. Because we were shooting in the studio, he made a set of lights that we could change very, very quickly. Mainly the light was coming from outside the building. Rarely, maybe in one scene, he put lights inside. So everything was achieved by using he security lights around the house. We built these lights in the corner of the house and practical lights and some soft stands outside of the screen together with the projection.

It's one of those projections where you already see the city in the studio, not a green screen, right? It was front projection, yeah. That was something I really wanted from the beginning. First of all, it works perfectly with the actor in order to perform. The actor feels the day, the night. It's completely realistic where he works. Secondly, it could be a hell in post-production to do the green screen through glasses. It looks really good now but it was something that worried me until the premiere in New York. It was funny when New Yorkers came to me there and said, where is this? Who lets you destroy their penthouse? When you get that from real New Yorkers, when they think it's a realistic place, it worked. It worked because Thorsten made a fantastic set.

Was there a real ceiling? The center piece was removable. You can take It down where the light comes out. The ceiling was fixed but it was, and this is how clever Thorsten was, made of fabric. Very, very light. So it looks like cement, but it's fabric. It's amazing.

How much time did you have to plan and to build? We talked a lot a year before the start because we were developing and waiting for money. We talked a lot and exchanged ideas, and then we built it. To make the tower was also very difficult. Don't forget that all the set had to be waterproof because it gets flooded. There were many elements that we had to overpass. To shoot chronologically helped the performance so much. It helped to sculpture the character and the personality of the protagonist. Because neither me nor Willem wanted for this character to have a backstory. It would be this character getting trapped, and from that, we start understanding this person: Who is it? To shoot chronologically is a luxury for many fields. For us it was inevitable because everything was getting destroyed as the film progresses. But we were very, very careful with continuity. At the end of the day, when we edited the film, we saw that we were overly careful with the continuity because everything's getting in a time warp, and you don't care what's going on. So that was really good, but it was good that we were extra careful with the continuity. The problem with shooting chronologically is that you cannot go back. If you find out that something is not working or something is destroyed, you cannot go back and reshoot it. But that was the pact I made with Willem. I said to him, we have a beautiful script but from the moment we get to the set we can follow the script but there will also be thousands of things that will come to our mind and for us to try. There is 40% in the film that is not scripted. And this is why I love Ben, because his script gave us this freedom.

Was the Macarena song in the script or something you chose? It was in there from the first drafts. When we were doing the film, it was something I wanted. Mainly because it's a ridiculous song, and second, because the building is trolling the protagonist. But also because it's a song that the American Army uses to befriend the enemy. And I guess it works also as a torture device.

You obviously have many artworks in the film.They are objects of desire that later become tools for escape but they are also status symbols for the owner. What were the criteria you discussed with the curator who made the selection? Leonardo, the curator, was found by the producer, Giorgos. It was something I really needed. We found him last minute. He then had three or four months to make this collection, and that was a really difficult task. I talked with Leonardo about the characteristics and the personality of the owner who conceived this collection. I had done my research but my collection was very scattered. It wasn’t a believable collection. So he had to make the collection realistic. Because if it wasn't, we were to have the backlash of the whole art community that we really wanted to have in on our film. And it happened to many films before, when they just use lookalikes.

It’s true that art often looks bad in movies. There’s something that quickly can make it look quite cheesy through the camera lens. Yeah, if it's not real. It is very difficult. I think it’s maybe the first time that this happens in cinema, that you have a collection of contemporary artists that are alive. It's fairly easier to get art from artists in institutions, where you just go and get a license. But when you have people that are alive and still work like Cettelan, like Clemente, all these huge artists, then it’s not so easy to convince them. Because they need to be convinced that their artwork will be well-treated. It was a risk for them as well. And only to make the contracts of how the art will be treated was a huge project by itself. It's a big conversation.

What's your view about this kind of collecting and the art market? I don't know so much about collections and collectors. I wish that all the artworks would be accessible to the public and not hidden in a vault of some multi-billionaire in Japan. I don't understand why something should be evaluated a hundred million. It's good for the artists that are alive to get to make work. But I really don't understand why a Francis Bacon picture is worth 50 million, as much as I adore it. It works like the stock market. It becomes an investment. It is a way of some rich people to wash money and not pay taxes. But at the end of the day, art is a creation. So it'll be there even if the stock loses valuation.

The way Nemo comes into the apartment and then uses the art as a means of escape also talks about the value of art in a time of crisis. The art becomes a piece of paper or wood and has no representative value anymore. Is that something you were thinking about, how art changes its worth in different times? Inevitably. I think that’s how it works at the end of the day. It's a canvas and paint. For me, there is one scene in cinema that also worked very much not so much as a reference but that was inspirational for me. It’s in a film with Peter Sellers, THE PARTY. There is a scene where he goes to the bathroom and the toilet paper clogs the toilet. And behind the toilet there is a beautiful painting by Chagall. It falls inside the bowl, and he takes it out and takes some paper to clean it. If you know whose painting it is, you see it with different eyes. The value of the same painting changes by how it is perceived by the viewer.

It reminds me of the time a person washed a Jesus painting in a church and the religious painting started to look like a cartoon. At the same time, this comic figure is probably so famous now and iconic on its own terms that it might be just as valuable as the original, or even more. Leonardo told me that there are collectors that have their collection in their living room and maybe the kids go and play with the artworks. Others find that an artwork should be adored and praised like a holy grail. It changes with time. But if you ask me, I wouldn’t let any kids play with it. (Laughs.)

Nemo is transforming a lot in the film, physically but also spiritually. What’s his journey, is it a kind of catharsis for you? Does he go insane or does he find the destiny he was supposed to find? Is it connected to his background? There was just a little hint about a sketchbook in his past. When Willem talks about the character, he says he doesn't go insane. And I believe that he doesn't go insane as well. When you are alone for so many days, it's not insanity that hits you. It's that you are uncomfortable. Then malnutrition comes because he doesn't have any food anymore. So he’s just in a bad situation, physically, organically. But I don't know if there is a catharsis in all this. I've never thought like this. For some reason, I just observe him rather than trying to drive him somewhere.

I like the fact that it's not openly about someone with a backstory wound and then through a process of crisis gets healed from it. It's something that often really annoys me. Do you remember a film like GRAVITY with George Clooney and Sandra Bullock where they are trapped in space? I haven't seen it. But someone told me about GRAVITY and they told me that what they didn't like about GRAVITY is that you have the protagonist always talking, explaining what she is doing, something that we really didn't want to happen in our story.

I thought of this movie because Bullock’s character is trapped in space, and she gets out of it, but in the end it is mainly about her overcoming the trauma of losing her child. So the whole thing becomes reduced to that, that she finds life again. You make a movie in space with so much spectacle but thematically it seems very limited in the end. When you start talking about a film, especially with the screenwriter, he asks you, okay, what's the backstory of the protagonist. And I was telling Ben, I don't care about backstory. There is no backstory to this guy. We only care about him when he's inside. No backstory. For me, the audience should reflect on this character. After that, we had the first meeting with Dafoe. Giorgos, the producer, told me, look, man, the first thing Willem will ask is the backstory of the character. This is what all actors ask before talking about a role. And I said to them, there is no backstory. I don't give a fuck. But they were no, no, no, we really have to think of something, if he asks, we have to answer. So I spent the whole day before the meeting with Ben and Giorgos and we made up a backstory. And we go and meet Willem and we start talking. He had already read the script. I show him the mood video I made, my presentation. He really likes it and he says, guys, I'm Nemo. There's no reason to look further, I want to do it. And we are all happy. And, and at that moment, I say to Willem, look, let me tell you about the backstory of the character. And he goes, no, no, no, no. Don't tell me anything. I don't want to know about that. Because if you tell me, I have to play this character. So this is what you say about GRAVITY. The same thing, that then, you have only one dimension for the whole narrative. This is what I liked about Willem. We were on the same page from the beginning.

Vasili, thank you for the interview.

INSIDE is out in Greece and the US.

German theatrical release is on March 16th 2023.

#interview #film #inside #willem dafoe #vasiliskapoutsis #Youtube

[verecunda]

WIP waffle

For no other reason than the fact that I’ve been having a good writing stretch these last couple of days, and feeling pretty jazzed about the things I’m working on. :D (For the purposes of this post, “WIP” covers all bases from “actually drafting” to “energetically gathering vibes and daydreaming”. But you knew that already)

Mairon/Eönwë

I love imagining the potential dynamic that might have existed between these two, but most of the fics tagged with this ship on AO3 tend to be endgame Angbang, with poor Eönwë as collateral damage to Mairon’s fall. I wanted to explore the relationship for its own sake. Includes sparring (with a lot of artistic licence), and Mairon being a little shit, even before he went evil. First draft nearly finished!

Aegnor/Andreth - Aeluin

Unrestrained summer fun!! I’m rather in love now with the idea of A/A trysting and spending time together in the wilderness, especially Aeluin, which you kind of get the feeling was Their Spot. And after chatting with @irisseireth about the possibility of them being Elf-married (if you know what I mean) I thought I’d get in a bit of that too. 😏 Very important information: Andreth tans. Aegnor just turns magenta.

Aegnor/Andreth - first meeting

I JUST HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS. My take on that first morning in the high hills of Dorthonion. Aegnor’s patrol of the highlands is interrupted when he meets a very grubby, very cheerful Andreth out on the moors. There is botany* involved. Thus does his doom fall upon him... or something. Just vibes at this point, but vivid ones. :)

*Yes, I belong to the athelas in Beleriand school of thought. Beren/Lúthien & Dior - Tol Galen

Another prompt fic, about Beren and Lúthien making their home in Ossiriand. I already had a fair chunk written before falling off, but my new obsession with the LOL rock opera, and the July illustration of Lúthien at Tol Galen in my Ted Nasmith calendar, has put me back in the mood. :D Blissfully uneventful (they deserve it), lots of scenery porn. I ended up writing it from the POV of wee!Dior, who has a vague notion that his parents’ marriage may be a bit unconventional, but at the same time has trouble imagining that they’ve ever done anything interesting in their lives. And Beren makes dad jokes, because anything else would be OOC.

I’ve also got three exchange assignments: for TRSB, Rare Male Slash Exchange, and Pod Together. I’ve been feeling pretty crap these last few weeks, so I’ve fallen behind on all of them. Nothing chronic, though, so I’m hoping to get back up to speed by the end of the week. They’re all fab assignments, and I’m pretty stoked about them. (If either of my collab partners see this, expect a message from me before the weekend!)

#my fic #The Silmarillion #Athrabeth #otp: candle and moth #and other ships with no designated tags #exchanges and challenges

[space-blue]

for the fanfic ask thingy- 🎨? would like to know for...reasons. :))

Good evening! Thanks for the ask, from those!

And omg

🎨 How do you feel about fan art of your stories?

I feel EXTREMELY good about them. In a totally normal way. hahaha. Totally not freaking out when I get fanart ahahaa.

I mean, it's the dream of most fic writers, right? I guess every form of lasting interaction is fab. Someone writes a fic based on yours? Does a fanart? Binds your fic? Records a podcast? Leaves a long (or series of long) comments?

This means they not only enjoyed themselves but spent a lot of time thinking/interacting with your story. It's simply one of the best compliments one can receive. Also probably the closest to a professional experience (as in, I'm a content creator and just received a "fandom interaction" for my own creation, even if it to is a fan creation of some original work). Fandom love all the way down.

I often integrate fanart in works. I've been blessed with a lot of it for Meeyan Bane, and TQ did some fantastic art for my Zaundad reconciliation AU, which I added as the final chapter. But I've also included fanart in some cases where I was doing a fic for art.

In general I find it awesome and love the cross exposure artists and fanartists can give each other. I've been part of two big bangs too, and though I found being the artist too stressful (from lack of confidence), I'd be the writer again for sure!

I love art, and I know how hard it can be, so I always see it as a very high form of compliment! <3

#ask #writing #fanart #fanfic #thanks for the ask!!