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antoniosvivaldi · 3 months

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Neural Filters Tutorial for Gifmakers by @antoniosvivaldi

Hi everyone! In light of my blog’s 10th birthday, I’m delighted to reveal my highly anticipated gifmaking tutorial using Neural Filters - a very powerful collection of filters that really broadened my scope in gifmaking over the past 12 months.

Before I get into this tutorial, I want to thank @laurabenanti, @maines , @cobbbvanth, and @cal-kestis for their unconditional support over the course of my journey of investigating the Neural Filters & their valuable inputs on the rendering performance!

In this tutorial, I will outline what the Photoshop Neural Filters do and how I use them in my workflow - multiple examples will be provided for better clarity. Finally, I will talk about some known performance issues with the filters & some feasible workarounds.

Tutorial Structure:

Meet the Neural Filters: What they are and what they do

Why I use Neural Filters? How I use Neural Filters in my giffing workflow

Getting started: The giffing workflow in a nutshell and installing the Neural Filters

Applying Neural Filters onto your gif: Making use of the Neural Filters settings; with multiple examples

Testing your system: recommended if you’re using Neural Filters for the first time

Rendering performance: Common Neural Filters performance issues & workarounds

For quick reference, here are the examples that I will show in this tutorial:

Example 1: Image Enhancement | improving the image quality of gifs prepared from highly compressed video files

Example 2: Facial Enhancement | enhancing an individual's facial features

Example 3: Colour Manipulation | colourising B&W gifs for a colourful gifset

Example 4: Artistic effects | transforming landscapes & adding artistic effects onto your gifs

Example 5: Putting it all together | my usual giffing workflow using Neural Filters

What you need & need to know:

Software: Photoshop 2021 or later (recommended: 2023 or later)*

Hardware: 8GB of RAM; having a supported GPU is highly recommended*

Difficulty: Advanced (requires a lot of patience); knowledge in gifmaking and using video timeline assumed

Key concepts: Smart Layer / Smart Filters

Benchmarking your system: Neural Filters test files**

Supplementary materials: Tutorial Resources / Detailed findings on rendering gifs with Neural Filters + known issues***

*I primarily gif on an M2 Max MacBook Pro that's running Photoshop 2024, but I also have experiences gifmaking on few other Mac models from 2012 ~ 2023.

**Using Neural Filters can be resource intensive, so it’s helpful to run the test files yourself. I’ll outline some known performance issues with Neural Filters and workarounds later in the tutorial.

***This supplementary page contains additional Neural Filters benchmark tests and instructions, as well as more information on the rendering performance (for Apple Silicon-based devices) when subject to heavy Neural Filters gifmaking workflows

Tutorial under the cut. Like / Reblog this post if you find this tutorial helpful. Linking this post as an inspo link will also be greatly appreciated!

1. Meet the Neural Filters!

Neural Filters are powered by Adobe's machine learning engine known as Adobe Sensei. It is a non-destructive method to help streamline workflows that would've been difficult and/or tedious to do manually.

Here are the Neural Filters available in Photoshop 2024:

Skin Smoothing: Removes blemishes on the skin

Smart Portrait: This a cloud-based filter that allows you to change the mood, facial age, hair, etc using the sliders+

Makeup Transfer: Applies the makeup (from a reference image) to the eyes & mouth area of your image

Landscape Mixer: Transforms the landscape of your image (e.g. seasons & time of the day, etc), based on the landscape features of a reference image

Style Transfer: Applies artistic styles e.g. texturings (from a reference image) onto your image

Harmonisation: Applies the colour balance of your image based on the lighting of the background image+

Colour Transfer: Applies the colour scheme (of a reference image) onto your image

Colourise: Adds colours onto a B&W image

Super Zoom: Zoom / crop an image without losing resolution+

Depth Blur: Blurs the background of the image

JPEG Artefacts Removal: Removes artefacts caused by JPEG compression

Photo Restoration: Enhances image quality & facial details

+These three filters aren't used in my giffing workflow. The cloud-based nature of Smart Portrait leads to disjointed looking frames. For Harmonisation, applying this on a gif causes Neural Filter timeout error. Finally, Super Zoom does not currently support output as a Smart Filter

If you're running Photoshop 2021 or earlier version of Photoshop 2022, you will see a smaller selection of Neural Filters:

Things to be aware of:

You can apply up to six Neural Filters at the same time

Filters where you can use your own reference images: Makeup Transfer (portraits only), Landscape Mixer, Style Transfer (not available in Photoshop 2021), and Colour Transfer

Later iterations of Photoshop 2023 & newer: The first three default presets for Landscape Mixer and Colour Transfer are currently broken.

2. Why I use Neural Filters?

Here are my four main Neural Filters use cases in my gifmaking process. In each use case I'll list out the filters that I use:

Enhancing Image Quality:

Common wisdom is to find the highest quality video to gif from for a media release & avoid YouTube whenever possible. However for smaller / niche media (e.g. new & upcoming musical artists), prepping gifs from highly compressed YouTube videos is inevitable.

So how do I get around with this? I have found Neural Filters pretty handy when it comes to both correcting issues from video compression & enhancing details in gifs prepared from these highly compressed video files.

Filters used: JPEG Artefacts Removal / Photo Restoration

Facial Enhancement:

When I prepare gifs from highly compressed videos, something I like to do is to enhance the facial features. This is again useful when I make gifsets from compressed videos & want to fill up my final panel with a close-up shot.

Filters used: Skin Smoothing / Makeup Transfer / Photo Restoration (Facial Enhancement slider)

Colour Manipulation:

Neural Filters is a powerful way to do advanced colour manipulation - whether I want to quickly transform the colour scheme of a gif or transform a B&W clip into something colourful.

Filters used: Colourise / Colour Transfer

Artistic Effects:

This is one of my favourite things to do with Neural Filters! I enjoy using the filters to create artistic effects by feeding textures that I've downloaded as reference images. I also enjoy using these filters to transform the overall the atmosphere of my composite gifs. The gifsets where I've leveraged Neural Filters for artistic effects could be found under this tag on usergif.

Filters used: Landscape Mixer / Style Transfer / Depth Blur

How I use Neural Filters over different stages of my gifmaking workflow:

I want to outline how I use different Neural Filters throughout my gifmaking process. This can be roughly divided into two stages:

Stage I: Enhancement and/or Colourising | Takes place early in my gifmaking process. I process a large amount of component gifs by applying Neural Filters for enhancement purposes and adding some base colourings.++

Stage II: Artistic Effects & more Colour Manipulation | Takes place when I'm assembling my component gifs in the big PSD / PSB composition file that will be my final gif panel.

I will walk through this in more detail later in the tutorial.

++I personally like to keep the size of the component gifs in their original resolution (a mixture of 1080p & 4K), to get best possible results from the Neural Filters and have more flexibility later on in my workflow. I resize & sharpen these gifs after they're placed into my final PSD composition files in Tumblr dimensions.

3. Getting started

The essence is to output Neural Filters as a Smart Filter on the smart object when working with the Video Timeline interface. Your workflow will contain the following steps:

Prepare your gif

In the frame animation interface, set the frame delay to 0.03s and convert your gif to the Video Timeline

In the Video Timeline interface, go to Filter > Neural Filters and output to a Smart Filter

Flatten or render your gif (either approach is fine). To flatten your gif, play the "flatten" action from the gif prep action pack. To render your gif as a .mov file, go to File > Export > Render Video & use the following settings.

Setting up:

o.) To get started, prepare your gifs the usual way - whether you screencap or clip videos. You should see your prepared gif in the frame animation interface as follows:

Note: As mentioned earlier, I keep the gifs in their original resolution right now because working with a larger dimension document allows more flexibility later on in my workflow. I have also found that I get higher quality results working with more pixels. I eventually do my final sharpening & resizing when I fit all of my component gifs to a main PSD composition file (that's of Tumblr dimension).

i.) To use Smart Filters, convert your gif to a Smart Video Layer.

As an aside, I like to work with everything in 0.03s until I finish everything (then correct the frame delay to 0.05s when I upload my panels onto Tumblr).

For convenience, I use my own action pack to first set the frame delay to 0.03s (highlighted in yellow) and then convert to timeline (highlighted in red) to access the Video Timeline interface. To play an action, press the play button highlighted in green.

Once you've converted this gif to a Smart Video Layer, you'll see the Video Timeline interface as follows:

ii.) Select your gif (now as a Smart Layer) and go to Filter > Neural Filters

Installing Neural Filters:

Install the individual Neural Filters that you want to use. If the filter isn't installed, it will show a cloud symbol (highlighted in yellow). If the filter is already installed, it will show a toggle button (highlighted in green)

When you toggle this button, the Neural Filters preview window will look like this (where the toggle button next to the filter that you use turns blue)

4. Using Neural Filters

Once you have installed the Neural Filters that you want to use in your gif, you can toggle on a filter and play around with the sliders until you're satisfied. Here I'll walkthrough multiple concrete examples of how I use Neural Filters in my giffing process.

Example 1: Image enhancement | sample gifset

This is my typical Stage I Neural Filters gifmaking workflow. When giffing older or more niche media releases, my main concern is the video compression that leads to a lot of artefacts in the screencapped / video clipped gifs.

To fix the artefacts from compression, I go to Filter > Neural Filters, and toggle JPEG Artefacts Removal filter. Then I choose the strength of the filter (boxed in green), output this as a Smart Filter (boxed in yellow), and press OK (boxed in red).

Note: The filter has to be fully processed before you could press the OK button!

After applying the Neural Filters, you'll see "Neural Filters" under the Smart Filters property of the smart layer

Flatten / render your gif

Example 2: Facial enhancement | sample gifset

This is my routine use case during my Stage I Neural Filters gifmaking workflow. For musical artists (e.g. Maisie Peters), YouTube is often the only place where I'm able to find some videos to prepare gifs from. However even the highest resolution video available on YouTube is highly compressed.

Go to Filter > Neural Filters and toggle on Photo Restoration. If Photoshop recognises faces in the image, there will be a "Facial Enhancement" slider under the filter settings.

Play around with the Photo Enhancement & Facial Enhancement sliders. You can also expand the "Adjustment" menu make additional adjustments e.g. remove noises and reducing different types of artefacts.

Once you're happy with the results, press OK and then flatten / render your gif.

Example 3: Colour Manipulation | sample gifset

Want to make a colourful gifset but the source video is in B&W? This is where Colourise from Neural Filters comes in handy! This same colourising approach is also very helpful for colouring poor-lit scenes as detailed in this tutorial.

Here's a B&W gif that we want to colourise:

Highly recommended: add some adjustment layers onto the B&W gif to improve the contrast & depth. This will give you higher quality results when you colourise your gif.

Go to Filter > Neural Filters and toggle on Colourise.

Make sure "Auto colour image" is enabled.

Play around with further adjustments e.g. colour balance, until you're satisfied then press OK.

Important: When you colourise a gif, you need to double check that the resulting skin tone is accurate to real life. I personally go to Google Images and search up photoshoots of the individual / character that I'm giffing for quick reference.

Add additional adjustment layers until you're happy with the colouring of the skin tone.

Once you're happy with the additional adjustments, flatten / render your gif. And voila!

Note: For Colour Manipulation, I use Colourise in my Stage I workflow and Colour Transfer in my Stage II workflow to do other types of colour manipulations (e.g. transforming the colour scheme of the component gifs)

Example 4: Artistic Effects | sample gifset

This is where I use Neural Filters for the bulk of my Stage II workflow: the most enjoyable stage in my editing process!

Normally I would be working with my big composition files with multiple component gifs inside it. To begin the fun, drag a component gif (in PSD file) to the main PSD composition file.

Resize this gif in the composition file until you're happy with the placement

Duplicate this gif. Sharpen the bottom layer (highlighted in yellow), and then select the top layer (highlighted in green) & go to Filter > Neural Filters

I like to use Style Transfer and Landscape Mixer to create artistic effects from Neural Filters. In this particular example, I've chosen Landscape Mixer

Select a preset or feed a custom image to the filter (here I chose a texture that I've on my computer)

Play around with the different sliders e.g. time of the day / seasons

Important: uncheck "Harmonise Subject" & "Preserve Subject" - these two settings are known to cause performance issues when you render a multiframe smart object (e.g. for a gif)

Once you're happy with the artistic effect, press OK

To ensure you preserve the actual subject you want to gif (bc Preserve Subject is unchecked), add a layer mask onto the top layer (with Neural Filters) and mask out the facial region. You might need to play around with the Layer Mask Position keyframes or Rotoscope your subject in the process.

After you're happy with the masking, flatten / render this composition file and voila!

Example 5: Putting it all together | sample gifset

Let's recap on the Neural Filters gifmaking workflow and where Stage I and Stage II fit in my gifmaking process:

i. Preparing & enhancing the component gifs

Prepare all component gifs and convert them to smart layers

Stage I: Add base colourings & apply Photo Restoration / JPEG Artefacts Removal to enhance the gif's image quality

Flatten all of these component gifs and convert them back to Smart Video Layers (this process can take a lot of time)

Some of these enhanced gifs will be Rotoscoped so this is done before adding the gifs to the big PSD composition file

ii. Setting up the big PSD composition file

Make a separate PSD composition file (Ctrl / Cmmd + N) that's of Tumblr dimension (e.g. 540px in width)

Drag all of the component gifs used into this PSD composition file

Enable Video Timeline and trim the work area

In the composition file, resize / move the component gifs until you're happy with the placement & sharpen these gifs if you haven't already done so

Duplicate the layers that you want to use Neural Filters on

iii. Working with Neural Filters in the PSD composition file

Stage II: Neural Filters to create artistic effects / more colour manipulations!

Mask the smart layers with Neural Filters to both preserve the subject and avoid colouring issues from the filters

Flatten / render the PSD composition file: the more component gifs in your composition file, the longer the exporting will take. (I prefer to render the composition file into a .mov clip to prevent overriding a file that I've spent effort putting together.)

Note: In some of my layout gifsets (where I've heavily used Neural Filters in Stage II), the rendering time for the panel took more than 20 minutes. This is one of the rare instances where I was maxing out my computer's memory.

Useful things to take note of:

Important: If you're using Neural Filters for Colour Manipulation or Artistic Effects, you need to take a lot of care ensuring that the skin tone of nonwhite characters / individuals is accurately coloured

Use the Facial Enhancement slider from Photo Restoration in moderation, if you max out the slider value you risk oversharpening your gif later on in your gifmaking workflow

You will get higher quality results from Neural Filters by working with larger image dimensions: This gives Neural Filters more pixels to work with. You also get better quality results by feeding higher resolution reference images to the Neural Filters.

Makeup Transfer is more stable when the person / character has minimal motion in your gif

You might get unexpected results from Landscape Mixer if you feed a reference image that don't feature a distinctive landscape. This is not always a bad thing: for instance, I have used this texture as a reference image for Landscape Mixer, to create the shimmery effects as seen in this gifset

5. Testing your system

If this is the first time you're applying Neural Filters directly onto a gif, it will be helpful to test out your system yourself. This will help:

Gauge the expected rendering time that you'll need to wait for your gif to export, given specific Neural Filters that you've used

Identify potential performance issues when you render the gif: this is important and will determine whether you will need to fully playback your gif before flattening / rendering the file.

Understand how your system's resources are being utilised: Inputs from Windows PC users & Mac users alike are welcome!

About the Neural Filters test files:

Contains six distinct files, each using different Neural Filters

Two sizes of test files: one copy in full HD (1080p) and another copy downsized to 540px

One folder containing the flattened / rendered test files

How to use the Neural Filters test files:

What you need:

Photoshop 2022 or newer (recommended: 2023 or later)

Install the following Neural Filters: Landscape Mixer / Style Transfer / Colour Transfer / Colourise / Photo Restoration / Depth Blur

Recommended for some Apple Silicon-based MacBook Pro models: Enable High Power Mode

How to use the test files:

For optimal performance, close all background apps

Open a test file

Flatten the test file into frames (load this action pack & play the “flatten” action)

Take note of the time it takes until you’re directed to the frame animation interface

Compare the rendered frames to the expected results in this folder: check that all of the frames look the same. If they don't, you will need to fully playback the test file in full before flattening the file.†

Re-run the test file without the Neural Filters and take note of how long it takes before you're directed to the frame animation interface

Recommended: Take note of how your system is utilised during the rendering process (more info here for MacOS users)

†This is a performance issue known as flickering that I will discuss in the next section. If you come across this, you'll have to playback a gif where you've used Neural Filters (on the video timeline) in full, prior to flattening / rendering it.

Factors that could affect the rendering performance / time (more info):

The number of frames, dimension, and colour bit depth of your gif

If you use Neural Filters with facial recognition features, the rendering time will be affected by the number of characters / individuals in your gif

Most resource intensive filters (powered by largest machine learning models): Landscape Mixer / Photo Restoration (with Facial Enhancement) / and JPEG Artefacts Removal

Least resource intensive filters (smallest machine learning models): Colour Transfer / Colourise

The number of Neural Filters that you apply at once / The number of component gifs with Neural Filters in your PSD file

Your system: system memory, the GPU, and the architecture of the system's CPU+++

+++ Rendering a gif with Neural Filters demands a lot of system memory & GPU horsepower. Rendering will be faster & more reliable on newer computers, as these systems have CPU & GPU with more modern instruction sets that are geared towards machine learning-based tasks.

Additionally, the unified memory architecture of Apple Silicon M-series chips are found to be quite efficient at processing Neural Filters.

6. Performance issues & workarounds

Common Performance issues:

I will discuss several common issues related to rendering or exporting a multi-frame smart object (e.g. your composite gif) that uses Neural Filters below. This is commonly caused by insufficient system memory and/or the GPU.

Flickering frames: in the flattened / rendered file, Neural Filters aren't applied to some of the frames+-+

Scrambled frames: the frames in the flattened / rendered file isn't in order

Neural Filters exceeded the timeout limit error: this is normally a software related issue

Long export / rendering time: long rendering time is expected in heavy workflows

Laggy Photoshop / system interface: having to wait quite a long time to preview the next frame on the timeline

Issues with Landscape Mixer: Using the filter gives ill-defined defined results (Common in older systems)--

Workarounds:

Workarounds that could reduce unreliable rendering performance & long rendering time:

Close other apps running in the background

Work with smaller colour bit depth (i.e. 8-bit rather than 16-bit)

Downsize your gif before converting to the video timeline-+-

Try to keep the number of frames as low as possible

Avoid stacking multiple Neural Filters at once. Try applying & rendering the filters that you want one by one

Specific workarounds for specific issues:

How to resolve flickering frames: If you come across flickering, you will need to playback your gif on the video timeline in full to find the frames where the filter isn't applied. You will need to select all of the frames to allow Photoshop to reprocess these, before you render your gif.+-+

What to do if you come across Neural Filters timeout error? This is caused by several incompatible Neural Filters e.g. Harmonisation (both the filter itself and as a setting in Landscape Mixer), Scratch Reduction in Photo Restoration, and trying to stack multiple Neural Filters with facial recognition features.

If the timeout error is caused by stacking multiple filters, a feasible workaround is to apply the Neural Filters that you want to use one by one over multiple rendering sessions, rather all of them in one go.

+-+This is a very common issue for Apple Silicon-based Macs. Flickering happens when a gif with Neural Filters is rendered without being previously played back in the timeline.

This issue is likely related to the memory bandwidth & the GPU cores of the chips, because not all Apple Silicon-based Macs exhibit this behaviour (i.e. devices equipped with Max / Ultra M-series chips are mostly unaffected).

-- As mentioned in the supplementary page, Landscape Mixer requires a lot of GPU horsepower to be fully rendered. For older systems (pre-2017 builds), there are no workarounds other than to avoid using this filter.

-+- For smaller dimensions, the size of the machine learning models powering the filters play an outsized role in the rendering time (i.e. marginal reduction in rendering time when downsizing 1080p file to Tumblr dimensions). If you use filters powered by larger models e.g. Landscape Mixer and Photo Restoration, you will need to be very patient when exporting your gif.

7. More useful resources on using Neural Filters

Creating animations with Neural Filters effects | Max Novak

Using Neural Filters to colour correct by @edteachs

I hope this is helpful! If you have any questions or need any help related to the tutorial, feel free to send me an ask 💖

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thearchercore · 3 months

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As a Lando fan, but first and foremost a Max and Charles fan, I’m quite disappointed in Lando. It’s true what they say, not everyone is happy when you are on top and your real friends show their true colours.

You are right, Max says what he thinks and never filters it. While Charles is a PR King (let’s be honest he’s more of a princess but that’s besides the point) but never once has he thrown shade at Max since they became friends (at least not that I know of)

Now, Daniel is not, has never been and will never be someone about him. Nothing against him, just vibes. But the fact that Max has held him so dear and close to his heart and he goes ahead and throws major shade at Max when Max was being nothing but honest at Vegas then makes sure to hang out with Lando during Winter break the other driver who is Max’s publicly known bestie on the grid (I mean the man even attends P’s birthday parties) anyway I digress. It’s just outright shady and childish.

Max is on another level and not everyone will understand that. True friendship should withstand such challenges. Of course anyone would be jealous and intimidated by such dominance and success but to deny the man like Peter denying Jesus infront of the crowd is just sad. I mean c’mon, did he mean it as a joke? Also was Daniel attempting humour? It’s possible but I can’t see someone like Charles making such weird comments. Even when they were beefing, Charles made it known that him and Max are okay and even though they are not best friends their relationship or hang out outside the paddock (back then things are different now) he still loved racing against Max because they understood each other and how they raced.

It’s actually petty for grown men to belittle their friend because of his success. But what do I know, the sport destroyed a childhood friendship (Nico + Lewis) Maybe only the realest and toughest friendships survive. Viva Charles and Max (whether you ship them or as friends) it’s real and they are always rooting for each other.

Sorry this got long.

yeah, i feel like the difference between daniel's current place in f1 and max's is playing a significant factor. again, max joined RBR when he was essentially still a teenager that was battling with puberty. daniel was there as the mature driver that max looked up to.

now, fast forward to 2024, daniel is fighting for his last chance at f1 after many unsuccessful team moves, and max is much more mature and has 3 WDC titles under his belt. that certainly changes things.

so i'm sure that if for whatever reason rbr kicks out checo and daniel jumps in, their dynamic would be different.

lando, on the other hand, is a different story. @tsarinablogs had a great post where someone suggested "I think Lando couldnt handle his car actually being competitive. Thats what weakened their friendship. It’s easy to be friends when you are driving a slow car, but then the car actually got competitive and he still couldnt beat Max."

again, the truth is -- f1 is a highly competitive environment and everyone will fight for themselves first without a doubt. that's what's happening with daniel and lando. daniel wants that red bull seat, lando wants to beat max. and that is going to be their priority over whatever friendly relationship they may have with max.

on the other hand, there are only 20 drivers in f1 so you have 20 other co-workers who share the same experiences as you. so you will always be closer to them than anyone else because no one would get you that well.

i think what works well currently between max and charles is that no matter how much media tried to put them against each other, they alway showed mutual respect to each other. charles never talked shit about max in press, and the overall vibe they have going on recently is that charles is happy for max's success, and is working hard to gain his own. also their actions speak a lot -- like charles' putting aside ferrari's questionable qatar strategy and rushing to congratulate max on his WDC. or max running to charles to apologise for his mistake in vegas.

their relationship doesn't seem to be definined by their racing results, and their joint racing history also makes them more equal in their own eyes than other drivers.

#charles leclerc #lestappen gate 2023 #lestappen #formula 1 #f1 #lestappen gate 2024

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littleluminaryzzz · 5 months

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I had a blurry dream that there was a special episode of the Smiling Critters that had been released by MOB exactly 10:05 at night where in the episode There were two Dogdays, the normal Dogday and The one from the poster Dogday(Lets call him Dog days for now) From the start it was like that one episode where Pinkie pie from My little pony turned into Pinkamena except it was Dogday instead

Andd also how Dogday is actually Experiment 1006, which is.. yeah a very weird dream. It explained how the reason there would be times Dogday has different colours like how Dogday didn't had the orange on his face on his reveal unlike his plushie, his hands at the end of the VHS was lighter, and the poster of him were darker(altho maybe its a filter?) He had a was because the VHS Dogday is actually Experiment 1006, while Dog Days is the original Smiling Critters Leader

#poppy playtime #smiling critters #dogday #poppy playtime fanart #crackpot theory

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iamnotoriginalphil · 1 year

Text

Early Morning Coffee (Larissa Weems x Reader)

Synopsis: You have a new favourite customer

Words: 2.1k

Warnings: none

You’d been warned about the people from Nevermore. Whispers around town told you the kind of freaks they were, the trouble thye caused, how little people wanted them around. Being new in town, people had been more than willing to fill you in. It left you with a feeling of apprehension of when you might have your first experience with Nevermore.

Despite it all, you weren’t prepared for your first glimpse of someone from Nevermore.

Working as a barista wasn’t the worst job you’d had. You enjoyed it, being able to meet all kinds of people. Chatting and seeing the same people every day, it was soothing. It gave you a nice routine. Plus, you’d always loved working with your hands.

It was an early morning, sunlight filtering through the wide open windows. The Weathervane was light and airy despite the name, and the woody smell mingling with the coffee beans behind the counter calmed your heart. With a damp rag you wiped down the counter, the repetitive movement putting you in the right head space for the day.

The little bell above the door jingled. You looked up, smiling at your first customer of the day. Your smile froze on your face.

Walking up to the counter, high heels clicking on the floor, was the most gorgeous woman you’d ever seen. Statuesque, tall, pale skin almost glowing in the sunlight, her bright blue eyes pinned you in place. Red lips quirked up in a smile, and her silver hair was swept up, showing off the long line of her neck. You couldn’t do anything but watch her walk towards you, hips swaying. You hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing her before, of that you were certain.

“Hello,” she said and you could have melted on the spot at her voice. Deep and husky, it wrapped around you, stroking your brain just right. You would have been happy to listen to her all day every day for the rest of your life.

“Hi,” you squeaked out. She gave you an indulgent smile.

“Could I get a take away black coffee and one of those delightful looking pastries?” she asked.

“Of course, what size would you like?” you asked, finally able to move. Your fingers trembled as you made your way over to the register.

“As large as you have,” she replied, chuckling, “I sense it’s going to be a trying day.”

“A day worthy of an IV full of caffeine,” you said, nodding along, “I’ve been there.”

“I can imagine you need to be on top of your game working here,” she said.

“Only during the breakfast rush,” you said, trying for an airy laugh but worried you’d come off as insane, “can I get a name for the order?”

“Larissa.”

“Larissa,” you repeated, liking the taste of it on your tongue, “it’ll just be a couple of minutes.”

You looked up from behind the machine, watching as she lowered herself into one of the booths. She caught your eye and you ducked back behind the machine, cheeks heating up. You picked up the coffee cup, uncapping the sharpie in your hand with your mouth. You paused a moment, before putting pen to paper.

“Larissa,” you called out.

It was completely unneeded, given she was the only other person in the shop. You enjoyed the way she looked at you as she rose, so elegant in every movement. Each step another sway of the hips, making your mouth grow dry.

You handed over the paper bag and the cup, disappointed all that brushed against your fingers were soft gloves. You gave her a smile. You enjoyed seeing her face but watching her walk away was also a pleasure.

She paused outside the door, looking down at the cup. A flush coloured her cheeks. You watched her mouth form the words, reading the message you’d left on her cup.

You’re beautiful

She glanced back over her shoulder at you. You lifted your hand in a wave. She quickly looked away, footsteps hurrying down the street. You smiled to yourself, loving that you were able to make such a woman flustered.

The next morning, you waited in anticipation, wondering if you’d see her again. Hoping you’d see her again, more like. Smiling to yourself when you saw the towering figure walking past the window, your heart skipped a beat. The bell tinkled and you looked up, offering your best smile.

“Larissa,” you said, “black coffee.”

“You remember,” she said, a slow smile spreading over her face.

“I make a habit of remembering the orders of beautiful women,” you said, deciding you’d already made your move and she’d come back. Time to go for gold. The flush on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eye was worth the moment of courage it took.

“I’m sure you’ve memorised a lot of orders then,” she said, tugging on her gloves at her wrist, avoiding looking at you.

“So far there’s only been one person worthy of it.” That might have been a step too far.

“I’m honoured,” she said, a look of surprise crossing her face.

You began making her the coffee, the largest you had. She lent against the counter, those enigmatic eyes watching you work. There was something so enjoyable having her watch you, a shiver of pleasure going down your spine.

“You must flirt with a lot of customers,” she said, “you’re rather good at it.”

“I see no other customers here,” you said, “only you.”

The pretty blush on her cheeks was the best thing you’d ever seen. Two interactions and you were ready to pledge your life to causing that look on her face forever. You ducked down, putting a pastry into a paper bag and quickly scrawling a message on the cup.

You passed her the cup and the bag. Her eyes swept over you before she took them, a small smile gracing her features. You were so enamoured, just wanting to stare at her. There weren’t enough seconds to drink up how beautiful she was.

“Thank you,” she said, practically purring the words.

She turned, giving you a view you wanted burned into your brain. She paused, halfway to the door, inspecting her coffee. She turned to glance at you over her shoulder. You shot her a wink.

Caution: Almost as hot as you

You kept the image of her swaying hips in your mind for the rest of the day.

You were expecting her the next morning, waiting with anticipation for the bell to ring. So you waited. And waited. Until you began to deflate, thinking she wasn’t coming back in. You’d pushed too hard, been too forward, and now she wasn’t ever going to come back in.

The bell ringing was coming more and more frequently, and with each new customer your hope slipped another notch downwards. It wasn’t until late in the afternoon when you looked up from the register, finding her towering figure standing in front of you, a smile on her face. She’d kept you waiting, and you thought she’d done it on purpose.

Still, that didn’t stop your breath catching at the sight of her.

“One black coffee, coming right up,” you said, doing your best to ignore the fluttering in your heart.

“Such service,” she said, “I’ll have to leave a good review on Yelp. Make note of the wonderful barista.”

Your cheeks warmed from the compliment. You ducked your head, finding the paper cup and scribbling your note onto it. When you glanced up again she was watching you, a pleased smirk on her face. Perhaps you weren’t the only one who enjoyed flustering the other.

“Take a seat, it’ll be ready in a moment.”

You couldn’t help but watch her make her way to one of the booths. She was like the sun, drawing you into her orbit, giving you life. You could bask in her glow for the rest of your life.

You placed the cup down on the table in front of her.

“Coffee for Larissa,” you said.

“Table side delivery, I am a lucky girl,” she said, looking up at you. You couldn’t help but imagine her looking up at you under very different circumstances.

“I aim to please,” you said on a shaky breath.

“I’m sure you do.” Did her voice just deepen? She was going to be the death of you.

“Oi, keep your flirting to your own time,” your manager called over to you. You glanced guiltily over your shoulder at her. Larissa chuckle drawing your attention back down to her.

“I get off in half an hour,” you said, “perhaps you can wait around until I’m done.”

You spent the rest of your shift very aware of her eyes on you. It made it difficult to focus on your job, knowing she was watching. No one had ever had this effect on you. It was making your head swim.

The moment the clock ticked over you had your apron off and were around the counter. You slid into the seat across from her, finding those lips curled up at your eagerness.

“‘You are more dazzling than the moon’?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“You do dazzle me,” you replied, “you must have noticed.”

She bowed her head in acknowledgment, a wide smile gracing her features. Glancing around you could see wary eyes turned in your direction. You stood, offering your arm to her.

“Shall we get out of here?” you asked.

“I would be delighted.”

She slipped her hand into the crook of your arm. You led her out onto the street, strolling with a calm gait, revelling in the moment. You wanted to stretch out your time with her, until it spiralled into infinity.

“You’re new in town, aren’t you?” she asked.

“One month and counting,” you replied, flashing her a smile.

“Finally something worth making the trek into town for,” she said. Your heart pounded hard in your chest.

“You don’t live in Jericho?” you asked.

“No, I live on the school’s campus,” she replied, sounding unsure. You paused.

“You’re from Nevermore,” you said, puzzle pieces sliding into place. You couldn’t believe you hadn’t seen it before. No one normal looked like this. Only someone special could be that beautiful.

“You didn’t know.” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement at your realisation.

It wasn’t a surprise you hadn’t realised before. She was nothing like all those descriptions from the other people in town. They’d suggested that Nevermore was full of monsters wearing the skin of people. Larissa was… well she was hardly a monster. You couldn’t imagine her every terrorising townsfolk or causing chaos. She was calm, like a deep water, hardly one for mischief.

“I can see I’ve shocked you,” she said, “I’ll leave you to your afternoon.”

She slipped her hand from your arm, turning away. You wanted to see her face, desperation clawing at your heart.

“Wait.”

You grabbed at her arm, not caring if you were making a scene on the street. She froze, slowly turning to look down at your hand on her arm. You jerked back, certain it wasn’t a welcomed touch anymore.

“Sorry,” you said, “but I’d like you to stay. If you want. If you don’t want to then yes, go. But don’t leave on my account. I’m enjoying your company.”

“Even after discovering where I’m from?” she asked.

“We can’t help who we are,” you said, offering her a shaky smile.

“I truly thought you knew,” she said, “most people recognise me.”

“I haven’t lived here very long,” you replied with a shrug.

“And no one warned you about us? About outcasts?” she asked.

You shrugged again, “idle town gossip is hardly the stuff of truth.”

“You can’t mean that.” She shook her head. You reached out to her again, laying your hand on her arm, loose enough to be easily shrugged off.

“You’ve been nothing but kind to me, hardly the way they paint Nevermore,” you said, “and if you’re willing, I’d like to continue this date.”

“Date?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” you said firmly, “date.”

She considered you for a moment, and you braced yourself for the inevitable rejection. You didn’t expect her to slip her hand through the crook of your arm again.

“I supposed I’d better be on my best behaviour then, or else I may not be offered a second,” she said.

“Have you not been on your best behaviour?” you asked, elation filling you.

“Darling, you’ll know when I’m not on my best behaviour,” she purred and it sounded like a promise.

You’d take your Nevermore woman over any of the other people in town any day, no matter the gossip.

#larissa weems x reader #larissa weems imagine #larissa weems #principal weems x reader #principal weems imagine

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dragonsbluee · 29 days

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It's Usopp day!! So here are some quick headcannons I've had bouncing around for a while:

Usopp is, hands down the best gift giver of the crew. One of his main love languages is acts of service, you know he's always ready for the crew's birthdays! If he can't find it, more often than not, he'll make it, so when his birthday rolls around, it's all hands on deck.

Contrary to popular belief, Usopp doesn't drink coffee that often. His anxiety plus caffeine isn't a great mix. He doesn't really have a preference between coffee or tea, he's more of a sweet drinks person.

At least twice a week, he and Robin spend some time caring for their plants together. He's working with Robin and Chopper to see if he can cross-breed pop greens with other plants.

Usopp journals pretty consistently. It's a habit he picked up from his mom when she was bedridden and trying to keep occupied and awake. He likes to write down his to-do list, ideas, and first sketches as they pop into his head. It's always somewhere on him or nearby, but no one is allowed to look through it.

(Its definetly not because he loves making little sketches of the crew as they go about their day)

Usopp's sketchbook is where he drafts out his blueprints and works on complex drawings. That's usually in his workshop, and he and Franky communicate on projects through little notes left on pages.

He and Nami are the most consistent writers of the log book. At first, Nami kept it up to date, but Usopp got involved to add more flare, and now it's their little ritual.

Usopp is a little touch starved, and especially after the whole water 7 debacle, starts seeking out comfort and physical affection from his crew mates. Evening cuddles with Luffy and Chopper quickly becomes a regular thing.

Brook and Usopp have a religiously scheduled time one day a week, dedicated to hair care. Neither usually care too much about the shower schedule, but Wash Day is sacred. They pull out all their products and shamelessly hog the bathroom. Sanji brings them snacks and drinks as needed. Sometimes, Chopper joins them when his fur needs a good clean. Brook and Usopp experiment with different styles on Ussop's hair if they have the time and energy. Both of them will never admit just how important it is to them, but they know.

It's not a grudge, per say, but Usopp definitely has some repressed anger towards Yasopp. He loves his dad, respects him, and looks up to him. He also socks him across the face before hugging him when they finally reunite.

It takes Usopp a few hours to wind down if he pushes his observation haki too far. His haki is strong, and it backfires a little, leading to a painful case of sensory overload. He has to lie down in the dark and built himself a wieghted blanket just for occasions like this.

Once, when he got a little too tipsy, and had spent a little too long staring at Kabuto upgrades, Usopp may have considered - very passionatly, out loud - how well Luffy's skin would work as a last ditch replacement for the rubber straps of his slingshot. It took them an hour to convince Luffy to come down from the rigging.

Usopp is not allowed to experiment with explosives on the Sunny unless he is manning the cannons. This is absolutely because of an incident when Ussop was on watch, sleep deprived, and experimenting with new ammunition. Luffy, Nami and Zoro have a pact to ensure Usopp and Buggy never interact with each other.

Speaking of sleep deprivation, when Usopp gets like that, he scares the crew and never even ends up remembering it. All of his intrusive and unhinged thoughts take over, and he loses any filter he has. He's tried to collect Chopper's fur to make a coat, made Jimbei sit still so he could colour match the exact shade of his skin, watered Zoro's head in the middle of his nap, started debating the worst ways to die and why with Robin and made a detailed plan to kidnap and train a news coo to get Nami free newspapers.

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marsupialmenace · 9 months

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I am incredibly tired and unwell, but I think I've finally cracked so this is very much a vent post, BUT:

I desperately want to take "Romani Dick Grayson" away from fans until they can learn to be nice. Specifically non-Romani fans.

I've seen so many terrible, invalidating, frankly stereotypical and racist takes from people who are 'claiming to be sensitive' to Romani people.

I don't particularly get upset about peoples headcanons, or the desire for diversity (because I have those desires/HCs too!). It's when I see the 'has to' or people arguing their headcanons about Dick's Romani heritage without the experience or the knowledge to do so beyond their five-minute google search that I get upset.

I saw a nice piece of fanart before that had Dick drawn tanned, and it had a reply on it to the effect of "thank you for drawing Dick brown, he's romani." It makes me sad to see people say things like that, that 'Dick has to be brown', because my pale white ass is also Romani. However, on the flipside, if someone draws him too pale, I see people attack the artists and calling them racist in vagueposts for drawing him 'wrong' (white-appearing) despite it being completely possible for a Romani person to be white.

In another place I saw someone refer to the Graysons as 'definitely travellers, so they couldn't be Romanichal'. Are you saying that Romanichal (English Romani people) are less Romani? I don't really understand the need to exclude other Romani people from the 'list Dick could be descended from' based on...whether on not you (royal) consider them 'travellers'.

Not to mention, the word 'Travellers'. Travellers is used in a derogatory way to the Romanichal in the UK, or at least in my area it is, there is a turn of phrase to avoid calling someone a slur in public, people say "Oh, that ones a travelling girl" or "They're travellers" and it has all of the implications with it.

Romani people are diverse, and we're not limited to a skin colour or religion, we all have different culture and traditions and languages, yet I see people insisting Dick has to fit into a box of a 'specific Romani'.

I don't really care for it in fic, I filter out the 'Dick Grayson is Romani' tag. I don't care for it in comics, because it has always been done poorly. I don't care about peoples HC's, 'cause even if I disagree, they can't affect me.

But to see real people talk about a comic book character using words, stereotypes, and phrases that hurts other real Romani people to attack or build up their own worlds/HCs is just so frustrating.

#dick grayson #romani dick grayson #rant post #marsupial rant #dare i say?#marsupial meta #(i dont)#tbh I could go on about this subject for hours and I have at select friends #but my issues with it will always be steeped in my own experiences as a Romani #I just want to stop being hurt when I look at Dick Grayson fan creations #and I don't want to see the word 'exotic' used #or people using phrases from languages they don't understand that they haven't properly got the translation or knowledge for #hence why I avoid fic/the romani dick grayson tag now #obligatory tim seeley my beloathed

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audreyscribes · 7 months

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CARRY ON MY WAYWARD CHILD [PART 4: EPILOGUE]

Ω PJO IMAGINE Ω

PROMPT: When a dream makes the reader unable to settle, they decide to take a walk, converting their dream to reality.

Reader encounters Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth on the run when they have a dream that makes them go out and see a sick Annabeth with a tired, injured Luke and Thalia. They take them in, saving them, and encounters them years later when they remembered a kind stranger.

a/n: Reader is neutral; no specific pronouns or descriptions used. Referred to as Y/N. Roughly college/university age. [AO3 LINK] | [1] [2] [3]

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“... and yeah, that’s what basically happened” you recounted, nodding to yourself while licking at your now dry lips. Your fingers nervously wrapped and drummed against the cup.

You glanced from your empty cup, struggling to decipher the tea leaves at the bottom but also trying not to because you didn’t want any more mystic, mythological, magical, whatever nonsense right now.

On the other hand, your nerves were shot with your aunt sitting across from her. So it was either trying to divert your attention to reading the damn tea leaves or staring at your aunt.

You took a quick peek up at your aunt, who was sitting across from you, sipping her own tea with a seemingly neutral face. Which either was good or very bad for you.

Pretending to sip your tea from very empty cup, you thought back to the situation.

You had watched the dawn rise and the sun peering over the horizon, light filtering through the open, broken doorway. The sky changing from its dark hues to lighter hues, the clouds appearing with tints of colour. You weren’t sure exactly how much time passed or if you somehow slept in your daze.

The only reason you snapped out of your stupor was it was time to make breakfast. When you had pushed yourself up and begun to make breakfast, it was only then you realized that the kids weren’t here anymore and you didn’t have to make breakfast on time.

It was strange how these kids appeared in your life and gotten you into a rhythm that you didn’t know you found yourself playing. When popped in the first bite of food, you chewed numbly, you noted why breakfast didn’t taste as it used to be.

With a full stomach, you turned your attention to cleaning up the house now it was daytime. The house was in such disarray with everything strewn all over during the scuffle, with broken furniture and pieces filling the gaps.

Time passed by you as you cleaned and straightened the house, taking moments to pause to eat the leftover breakfast for too many for one or to reminisce about the kids’ impact on your life when it came to you.

Then something strange happened. As you took the blankets and duvet outside and begun to hang them on the line, you saw something in the corner of your eye.

Your heart leaped, thinking the kids came back, but as you turned, your heart leaped for another reason as you saw a person. You let out a curse in surprise, hands and legs flying as you jumped, sending a duvet flying before you scrambled to catch it before it hit the ground. You heard chuckling and your face burned at the display.

“Sorry for scaring you” said the person, giving a grin that was more playful then apologetic. You stared skeptically at him, not believing his apology. He was a man with salt and pepper hair, with blue eyes that seemed to crinkle with mirth. There was something about him that made your brain itch, but you had no idea why.

Your brain could only handle so much itchiness.

You tossed the blanket back on the line before making your way to the stranger warily; your experiences with the monsters making you think twice. “Is there something I can help you with?” you asked carefully, looking for anything inhuman about him. He seemed like an other middle-aged man, but then again, monsters came in plain sight-

“Actually, I’m here on business if you will. You are (y/n) (l/n) correct?”

You felt a bit unnerved when he knew your name. You kept your toe to the fence, hoping the protections were still active.

“...Yes...how do you know that...?” you asked slowly.

“Well, before I can answer that, I come here on behalf of some individuals to extend their thanks to you.”

“Huh?”

The man gave a (too) charming smile and reached into his pocket. He took out a business card to you and handed it to you. You carefully took the card and it’s inscriptions read:

HERMES AGREIPHONTES

OLYMPYUS

Travel Agent, Head of Communications, Head of Commerce

you could feel something connecting in your brain, as you looked up at the man named Hermes. You squinted as you felt a connection forming before you gasped, connecting the dots. Of course, how could you be so blind?

“Wait, I know you-”

“Yes, (y/n), it may be a bit surprising for a mortal, but I am Hermes, the god of-” he started to say,

“You’re Luke’s dad?!” you said before he could even finish.

Hermes stared at you for a moment, eyes wide with surprise and totally off guard, before bursting into laughter while you had a red face.

You invited the man into the house, apologizing profusely for the strangeness of a lack of a door, but the man waved it off goodnaturedly and grinned, “I’ll just deliver a door for you as a replacement” he said before pulling out a blackberry and begun typing.

You opened your mouth to protest but you decided to just get your guest some drinks and snacks, hopefully not minding that you couldn’t host properly due to damaged house.

“So, uh, how may I help you? Like are you here for Luke? Because something happened and he’s not here, but uh-” you begun to stammer and Hermes gave you a soft, sad smile.

He gave a bitter chuckle, taking a sip of his drink, before giving you his full attention.

“Don’t worry about it. I know Luke was here recently, but it’s because of that I’m here.”

“What?”

Hermes eyes became dimmer and had a weak but amused smile.

“It’s a bit complicated and there’s only so much we can reveal given your limited knowledge. It’s against the law for us to reveal too much to mortals who are not prepared for it.” He said it a way that felt very personal.

You felt your mouth go increasingly dry. You remembered the dream that led you to meeting the children. Their weapons. The monsters. The man, the being, in front of you. You could feel yourself grasping onto something but you knew once you accepted that reality, it was the point of no return.

“...So why are you here? If not for your son? Or the other children?” you started to say otherwise. Hermes flashed you an appreciative smile as he continued.

“I, among a few others that I’m representing in their case, want to thank you for taking care of our children. There are...circumstances that prevent us from directly interacting with them, so the fact you have helped them as a host, not only under the Laws of Xenia, but also a protector, we are grateful for your actions and you will be rewarded with a boon.”

“A boon? Like blessings from a god?”

Hermes smirked, “Exactly”.

Your spine shivered at his words and you felt something looming. “And what are these...boons?”

“Well, that’ll ruin the surprise wouldn’t it?” said Hermes as he got up from his seat, and pulled out his blackberry phone, and for a moment you thought you saw something slithering around it. “But really, you’ll be getting your boon after we get approval from your patron and aunt, but for now, will suffice for now. Goodbye (y/n) and thank you.”

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion but the doorbell rang, making your head turned. From where you were in the living room, you had a view of the foyer and there you saw two men with tool kits and a giant door. “Hello, we’re here to deliver and install your new door!” one of them said.

You opened your mouth then turned back to Hermes, or would’ve, but he was no longer there. You stared at where he stood and promptly turned back to the people at the door, pushing Hermes aside because you didn’t want to deal with it now.

And now here you were, with a new door that Hermes ordered for you on express service, and your aunt still sipping her tea.

“You’ve done well” said your aunt, as you looked up at her in surprise. She was giving you an amused smile.

“Uh...I did?”

“You did” she nodded. You waited for her to say more but she just gave you a smirk. You sighed at the how your aunt went back to being vague and you ran a hand through your hair, before leaning back into your seat.

“I still don’t know if all those things really happened but everywhere I look, I know it did” you started to say, “but if it was real, and I really did help those kids, I wonder if they’re okay.”

You felt your aunt pat your shoulder as she spoke. “It is how it is; but know this little one, they ever come back, they know this is a safe space for them.”

You nodded as you closed your eyes when your aunt patted your head. You closed your eyes as you listened to your aunt disappearing into the kitchen and begun making dinner. You listened to her bustling around the kitchen, the warmth of the house, and the lack of it as well before drifting off into a nap.

From that point, you almost forgot about those kids; being swamped back into college. It was almost the end of the semester and the full force of college work, with back to back projects, papers, and presentations. You were so busy and tired from it all, that you begun to dismiss some minor coincidences; things that were a little bit too good to be true but in the rush of work, you weren’t going to look a gifted horse in the mouth. Small mercies.

It was only after you finished your last hurdle as you merrily went made your way back home, finished with the semester. You had plans to go home, gorge on your aunt’s food and that dessert you’ve been saving for a job well done, and take a long year nap.

But when you bent down to slip off your shoes, you felt a subtle shift in the like something rippled in it. You looked up and found a girl dressed with brown hair and eyes, in a brown dress, giving you a warm smile. You looked at her with wide confused eyes as she sat at the table, laid out with a feast. By her side, was your aunt as she looked at you with a unfazed look.

“Ah, (y/n), right on time” she said, gesturing for you to sit. You hesitated but did as you were told, eyes on the guest.

“Uh, hi, how do you do” you introduced yourself to the guest, glancing at your aunt for any hints.

The guest smiled as you felt warm like a homey sense kind of way. “Hello, (y/n), we finally meet.”

You glanced at your aunt as she huffed. “Be on your best manners, our guest decided to stop by and prepare you this feast to celebrate your hard work.”

You looked down at said-food, and now you realized what was odd. It could be information passed by your aunt, but even then, the food was laid out with all your favourite foods; even if your aunt knew some of them, she didn’t know all of them.

There was a knowing smile to the guest as she gestured for you to eat. You did, slowly, but as soon you took the first bite, it was an explosion of flavour that made your body buzz in a way that was like eating the perfect bite. Your aunt and your guest ate and talked with each other like they were old friends and you couldn’t pay much attention, as the food seemed to draw you in.

With stomach full, fatigue was creeping onto you with the lack of stress. You were about to drone out with the dessert, when your aunt cleared her throat.

“(y/n),” she said, “Now you’ve eaten, it’s time for me to introduce you to our guest and patron.”

You looked at her and the guest as your aunt spoke next. “(y/n), this is one of our patron deity; Hestia, the goddess of the Heart, Fire, Home, and Family.”

You stared at Hestia with wide eyes as she smiled. Something seemed to click as you remembered about Hermes, then the children-

“Oh my gods, this is really happening. Hermes wasn’t just a guy named Hermes, that was the actual Hermes-”

Hestia giggled good-naturedly. “Yes, it really is (y/n).”

“Uh, why now? I mean, not I’m not glad for your presence Lady Hestia, but what brings a god to our mortal life?” you squeaked out.

“Fear not, no harm will come to you” she reassured and you believed her. “As for why you became involved...the gods are restrained in interacting with their children directly, but when they saw their children were in dire need of help, they were guided to one of my sanctuaries.”

“One of?”

Your aunt huffed. “The children you saved were not the only ones to sought safety here.”

You gaped at your aunt as more puzzles begun to fit into place; but acknowledge the bigger picture was even more daunting.

“You...were the only who sent me the dream,” you slowly said, not believing it yourself.

“In a way yes and you responded.”

“But-” you wanted to counteract, somehow logical it out-

“Child, have you ever realized something?” your aunt asked. You looked at her confused. “What are the children’s names that you cared for?”

“Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth, why-”

“But do you ever recall them telling their names?”

You went to open your mouth to say “of course they did, how else would I know their names?” but as you were about to voice it out, your brain caught it. You went through your memories yet you couldn’t recall them every actually giving their names. You stared at your aunt and Hestia in confused horror.

“How?”

“Our family are not strangers to offer sanctuary to those who need them, from all walks of life, nor do we have one singular patron goddess. In turn that allows us to have our own skills” explained your aunt, “There’s no true stranger in our homes, allowing us to offer them what they best need. Of course, this also applies knowing when to deal with unwanted guests.”

You tried hard to lean away from your aunt.

“(y/n),” said Hestia as you turned to her. “You’ve taken on your aunt’s duty when she was not here, and you’ve done is wonderfully. For your efforts, you are rewarded with boons by the gods.”

You stared at her as you heard a but. “But?”

“From this point on, you may return back to your life before you’ve met the demigods without any harm and with the rewards you’ve earned,” told Hestia, “But we also offer you to tell you about the world of the gods, and take on the same duty as your aunt has, and many of your fore-bearers. However, once you’ve crossed the line, you can never go back. What is your decision?”

You stared at her and flashed a look at your aunt, who remained neutral. You could tell she was giving you a choice and she would support you whichever you chose.

You looked back at the goddess, licking your lips nervously. Immediately, you were going to choose the former, knowing you weren’t equipped to handle all of this, fully aware it was safer in general.

Yet, you couldn’t help think back to Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth. You remembered meeting them for the first time and how relieved they looked as they realized they were truly safe. They didn’t tell you explicitly but you put it together that as demigods, their fate was going to be tough and rough. This was their norm yet...should it be?

You remembered those three, and knew they had already changed the course of your future. Even though you may never see them again, you wanted to offer some warmth to those who needed it, and maybe, one day you’ll see those three again.

You looked at Hestia and your aunt and you knew by the proud look in their eyes that they knew your answer.

“What do I have to do?” you asked as you decided to cross that line.

Years passed.

Since that fateful day, you finished your college studies. You got a job surprisingly quick (which you really thanked the gods cause it was nothing short of a miracle which you suspected was a boon used. Maybe), and you were satisfied, and you were setting up a good life all things considered.

It was almost a normal, mundane life.

Except for a few things.

The house was managed not just by your aunt, but also you; making you a co-owner. Your aunt showed you the ropes and provided you with experiences and knowledge. And magic, let’s not forget magic.

It also turned out the door that Hermes gave you, free of charge, had a hidden motive. It was also a magical door; that let anyone who prayed for sanctuaries to enter from anywhere; just they had to enter through the door. It was a bit of a shock when a different demigod and their satyr (which was a whole entire another experience), appeared through the door, looking very confused as well who were just in another completely different area.

It was something to get used to but at least the door allowed you to also go wherever you wanted to which you used regularly. Your aunt also used it more and more often to go to different places; especially now she didn’t have to make annual trips to get supplies (Athen’s Olives did not disappoint). The only drawback was to the door was it didn’t allow any demigods or those seeking sanctuary to wherever they needed to go; and would only go back to where they originally entered from; with a leeway of a 100 mile radius.

In retrospect it made sense. It allowed them to find sanctuary but they still had to go through the journey to wherever they needed to go. It was a process that you couldn’t help with.

But that only made you put more effort into the ones you could help with. With every demigod you helped, you learned more and more about each individual.

Imagine your surprise when you gotten a thank-you package of very fresh strawberries from a place called “Delphi Strawberry Service” and a quaint letter from a man named Chiron. You immediately clocked in on it.

It was nice helping those who seeked refuge. They weren’t limited to just Greek demigods, you also encountered others; Roman, Egyptian, Norse, all sorts of other cultures, and even some mortals.

But some part of you kept hoping you would see Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth. You told about them every so often to those who came over, hoping for some hint of information but you didn’t get much (you weren’t sure if they just didn’t know or they can’t tell you).

More time passed and now you had fully grown into your role. You were working from home and you heard the familiar special doorbell ring throughout the house that acted a forewarning to those incoming.

“(y/n), get ready for the next guests; I’m in the middle of this brew-” said your aunt through the pipe system. You heard a series of hisses and garble in the background following that, and you weren’t going to think what ingredients she was using

“Alright!” you said through the pipe before you pushed yourself from your desk. You did a big stretch, popping all the stiff joints in your body before getting up to greet the desks.

You went through the familiar twists and turns of the house before reaching the foyer. You expected the next occupants to be hurried or hesitant but what was strange this time were a single doorbell.

Furrowing your eyebrows, you answered the doorbell and your breath hitched. You looked at the person in front of you and then what was in their hands; it was the ID, your old, beaten up and slightly scratched, college ID card...the one the kids still had all those years ago.

You gaped at the person in front of you as they gave you a tentative smile. The people behind them looking a bit confused.

“Hi (y/n), it’s...been a while...” they said, before looking sheepish. “If it’s not too much trouble, can we stay over for a night, please?”

You looked at them and then at their companions and back at them. You let out a scoff and grinned, “Of course, in fact, there’s a lot you need to catch me up on.”

[F I N]

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a/n: that's a wrap folks! thanks for reading "Carry on My Wayward Child"! You can decide if it's either Luke, Thalia, or Annabeth at the end, there are no wrong answers ♥️ Like and reblog if you feel so inclined, and see you all later~ thanks for all the support! Much appreciate!

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dontbotherwiththepronunciation · 4 months

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Triggered by a conversation between mutuals that I wasn't able to partake in because I read it when it was already over but it still left me with a feeling of wanting to talk.

Many of my recent issues with this series and some of the characters in it come from coming to terms with the fact that people like me were never the intended demographic for it and thus many of my expectations and beliefs are unrealistic. I'm very much aware that every person who ever reads a text will understand it differently based on their experiences and emotions, we can see the most clear examples of it when it comes to the eternal debates on whether Jeyne & Sansa really bullied Arya or whether Catelyn's treatment of Jon should be considered abuse, but at least in my case the projection is based more on political situations that have strongly affected me and my loved ones and that are difficult to talk about in the open without feeling like my concerns are exaggerated and are also ruining other people's fun.

This is a fun series that has given my solace written by a white usan democrat who writes orientalist tropes and gives no real personality to any of his fully-canon-not-up-to-interpretation characters of colour and uses a half assed excuse to not have any of the main characters be a not-up-to-interpretation character of colour.

An example that is lighthearted and makes me chuckle could be my perception of the Vale. To me Mya Stone wears heavy colourful ponchos while Myranda wears a sanq'apa, Domeric Bolton played not only the harp but also the charango, maté is a common drink, and at least some of Sweetrobyn's lacking health comes from soroche. None of this is contradictory to the canon but I know that if I were to meet grrm and tell him of these concepts, he would probably think I'm on crack but would smile in false sympathy while Liiiiiiindaaaaaaaaa (and some readers, fans and tumblerinas) would just straight up tell me to go read something from my shithole country instead of tarnishing the beautiful and perfect European-based world of ice and fire./sar

And I am aware that the ironborn are perceived by most and are somewhat intended to be perceived as pseudo-historic "vikings but in the late Middle Ages" but I read these books when I was 12 and still thought that vikings were just a Hollywood invention, like the orange filter they put on Latin America or white saviours.

With this long introduction here are some random headcanons regarding ironborn lore and culture that aren't contradictory to canon but would probably clash against the more common fandom-built conceptions (many of which I do not like), sometimes accompanied by explanations and reasoning, often sentimental or based on personal experiences.

Nagga, the other unnamed dragon and the geographical formation of the islands

Heavily inspired by the myth of Trentren Vilu and Caicai Vilu. In the original real life mapuche myth the two giant snakes were enemies and after Caicai Vilu (sea snake) awoke form his slumber he caused a flood to bring down mankind because he considered them ungrateful brats who didn't appreciate the gifts offered by the sea. Trentren Vilu (land snake) helped the humans escape by raising the hills and turning those who drowned into sea creatures (fish, sea mammals and the mapuche equivalent to mermaids included) and those who were about to be engulfed by the waters into sea birds. Due to the long fighting and constant floods the land developed into thousands (not an exaggeration) islands.

My ironborn version of this isn't very different from the myth narrated above with Caicai Vilu's role becoming Nagga's and Trentren Vilu's being given to another sort of dragon that was it's oponent. The major difference in my headcanons is that said opponent perished, unlike Trentren, and Nagga kept on living and causing havoc until the Grey King finally killed it off. And if I am allowed to reach out even more with all this, the mermaid that the Grey King married could have been one of Nagga's victims saved by the other dragon but, taking into account what we know from Strange Stone this would mean that the formation of the Islands and the existence of merlings and the sea dragon would precede the Drowned God. That would be interesting.

Architectonic decoration

Some of my happiest memories take place in a small and poor fisher town in my home country that was usually damp and covered in fog. The beach was not a pleasant one. A remarkable thing about it was it's architecture that wasn't very particular in it's structure but still remains striking to me. The houses near the coast were all typical colourful, wooden stilt houses, but the further you got into land the houses would change and suddenly you found yourself in small and dirty alleys and streets between concrete houses that were rather plain in shape and old but the walls were covered in sea shells, and sometimes starfish and sea urchin carcasses, that had been plastered on the concrete. When I was 12 and had just moved to another country my class was tasked with making a dissertation about what we associate with the word "home". My teacher was a xenophobe who delighted in tormenting me and she laughed at the pictures and referred to them as tacky, my fellow classmates liked emulating her. I however still find them beautiful and that entire sentiment is something I mildly associate to the iron islands in a way.

It is my home. Flawed and meagre, but mine.

I also think that since sea shells are cheap and common it would fit into their more utilitarian tendencies; giving a purpose to what little they have instead of overspending (gold price) on aesthetics. For some reason this is something I like imagining at Harlaw and Lordsport in particular. Here are pictures

Music

Feel weird about this because music in the entirety of Westeros is very generic and that makes it a little boring in my opinion. When it comes to Ironborn we are told of two reaving songs ("Steel Rain" and "The Bloody Cup") and it's mentioned quite often by ironborn characters that getting a song about them is something they should strive for. There might even be some religious reasons behind it too but that wasn't expanded on:

The Drowned God had made them to reave and rape, to carve out kingdoms and write their names in fire and blood and song. - Theon I, ACOK

Makes me wonder if Theon's "Let Abel make a song of that, we flew." could have been influenced by ironborn culture too instead of just his usual romanticism and the chivalric connotations of him "saving the girl". I haven't compared this to the other characters so I can't be sure about this but from my notes Theon seems to think quite a lot about wanting to be in/not being fit for a song.

We also have Loron Greyjoy, "the Bard", and we know very little of him except for that he used to have a gay ol' time with Desmond Mallister, but there's nothing that points to him being looked down on by the other ironborn and the nickname "the bard" feels significant but there's no info so what am I to make up with that? Well, I like to think he was a bit of a patron of the arts and maybe even a composer. The two reaving songs have no mentioned origins so maybe he was involved in their creation.

The thralls were pouring ale, and there was music, fiddles and skins and drums. - Theon II, ACOK

I like all of those instruments but grrm you are a bore. Westeros is about the size of South America and yet they have a total of nine instruments named. Loved the mention of kettledrums during the kingsmoot though.

The largest kettledrum in the world finds itself in Bali and serves religious purposes. I like to believe that perhaps the kettledrums during the kingsmoot also had some religious reasons for their use. Perhaps traditional melodies used to announce the different contenders for the seastone chair.

Drums make sense for reaving songs and truth be told I'm not sure to what he was referring with "skins" but I was surprised by the fiddles because they seemed like a wink at the just as anachronistic golden age piracy, even if fiddles have been around since the 10th century. This makes me think of more folkloric oriented music made more for dancing in taverns and harbours than for rowing.

When being deranged I became aware that percussion and string instruments can be played underwater as they don’t rely solely on air to transfer sound (they would still be very difficult to play and the sound would be weird). Dragging a bow across a fiddle would probably be easier than strumming a harp or lyre though. I don’t think the ironborn are deranged enough to try to play music under water but it makes for a fun picture to imagine them being more fond of sounds that can be transferred through it. I’m imagining them trying echolocation with dolphins.

For some reason I can’t really explain I like the idea of them playing the marimba and other percussion wood based instruments.

I like to believe that the finger dance can be somewhat compared to capoeira as in serving aesthetically pleasing and artistic purposes but also carrying a sort of danger and fighting spirit to it. It is something I can see as a pastime, acrobatic exercise and art and I like that.

Some mapiko dancers will bind sea shells in nets to their clothes and they will use them as bells and rattles when they dance. I like to think this could maybe be part of the finger dance when performed for artistic purposes, like perhaps a diplomatic visit or a national festivity, instead of just as a game.

(not ironborn lore related but as I went through my notes I realised that Theon is usually tense when thinking or witnessing happyish heroic sort of songs but he seems to be weirdly at peace/melancholic around "sad" and "soft" songs during ADWD and I find that very endearing. Go listen to Chris Garneau's between the bars and castle time you sad sulking ghost I love you I wish I could have seen you thrive but we are all doomed : ) )

Priestesses of the drowned god

I am heavily against the fandom notion that the Ironborn built a culture out of toxic masculinity that is particularly misogynistic when in canon women in the island (or at least ironborn women) have more liberties than in most of Westeros (with Dorne as an exception and maaaaaybe the North). The only female stewards we see in the series are all iron islanders and Asha being allowed to reave and raid and engage in spaces usually reserved to men isn't the exception to the rule. Theon mentions that women like her aren't uncommon in the isles, Asha is said to have resembled her mother in spirit and Hagen's beautiful red headed daughter, who is so low on the socio-economical hierarchy that she doesn't even get her own name, is not only allowed to behave similarly to Asha, but her sexual freedom is never questioned or criticised either. I honestly think that their most problematic issues come from feelings of ethnic superiority, not a personal vendetta against women.

So, I find it disappointing and lazy that we haven't gotten any female spaces in the faith of the drowned god. I remember someone mentioning on a Tumblr post that on one of the asoiaf based video games drowned priestesses were a thing. Sadly I have never played any of the video games and I can't find any further sources for this so I don't know if I should trust that. But! I like that idea. Drowned priests are restless; they have no home and are made to basically pilgrim their life away; they travel around the islands and also accompany the men on raids. I think it would be cool if the priestesses of the drowned god had a more stable role in ironborn society. During the age of heroes we had salt and rock kings and in a way I could see the drowned priestesses as the rock to the drowned priests salt but with less authority.

Maesters are still somewhat recent in the Iron Islands and I don't think that Septas would have been appreciated by most ironborn women given their teachings and expectations around gender norms so I like believing that priestesses of the drowned god could occupy that space as educators of children and healers. History and religion seemed to be tied together in ironborn culture and their religion at least passed down orally so I can imagine them acting somewhat similar to mande jèli but with more of a focus on religion and less importance on the overall politics. I can also imagine them performing less important rites, like weddings, coming of age ceremonies or maybe fertility related acts. So basically a mixture between Maester and Septa with a lesser standing to their male counterparts.

Rafts as beds

Drowned priests, who have no homes, should sleep on rafts on nights that are more or less calm because that is a magical experience that I think everyone should go through at least once in their life but it's also fitting to their entire suffering theme because you will freeze to death and get a cold.

Dhows

I learnt how to row, sail, fish and use the night sky as a map before I learned how to ride a bike and my personal nitpicking issue with the world building in asoiaf is the nautical terms used. What do you mean longships and galleys that have decks and cabins????? Even if they have two levels of rowers (and most of the described ones don't) this rarely makes sense!

And you know what? I'm not even going to take my time to give them accurate Viking-like ships. In my head, they travel on dhows. "Dhow" is a generic term to refer to certain types of sailing boats that are mostly used around the Indian Ocean and I am in love with them.

They are precious to me and they allow me more variety when imagining the different ships mentioned in relation to the ironborn characters.

Sea Bitch for example looks more like a beden to me than like a typical Viking longship

but I can still imagine smaller, simpler looking galleys when needed, like a Dhoni. They can carry quite a lot of heavy stuff so they are usually good for trading (and probably raiding) too.

If I recall correctly, the Iron fleet has been identified by the text as some hybrid between dromonds and longships and I can be content with that definition. Personally I picture them more like Byzantine dromonds with a deck, cabins and more than one set of rowers.

Colloquialisms

I have always perceived colloquialisms as a subtle type of resistance to colonial and imperial forces, so I assume that the less integrated and maybe more separatist parts of Westeros (such as the Iron Islands, Dorne and maybe The North) would probably have a wider range of colloquialism as region based expressions. This is difficult to convey in fanworks of any sort and I can't think of any time I've made it noticeable in any of my fanworks but I like thinking about it. This could include idioms related to religious or geographical lore or more ambitious terms stemming from perhaps a former language spoken in the region or words taken and adapted from places they have sailed to, like the Summer Islands.

#I think many of my issues with this fandom could have been solved if I had become an ironborn supremacist in the same spirit as the #t@rgnation/st@rk stans;#don't know how to tag this. this isn't about any character in particular. I'm just saying stuff because I no longer give one tenth of a f #speaking #asoiaf

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17isrighthere · 2 years

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— what’s up guys 😭 i just wanted to share my own little two cents on some colouring trends i’ve seen lately (particularly for kpop gifs!) which includes really distorted pink/red hues for skintones or oversaturated yellows so maybe i could give some tips that also helped me in the past!!

and of course because i love to talk a lot — this is a very long and image heavy tutorial...

❓ why is it an issue? i think its a very clear given that whitewashing is wrong and problematic for a vast number of reasons (with a history steeped in colourism and racism) and how there’s no excuse for changing the skintone of a person-of-colour.

— but with that said i want to make it clear that this is not an accusatory post! i’m not jumping on any one content creator or tumblr user to call them racist or colourist or a bigot 😭 and i don’t want to accuse anyone of having bad intentions with their gifs or images that they post! i really just want this to be a helpful post for anyone who is struggling to colour their gifs properly and more of a learning step instead of a call-out!

however pink-washing (i’m aware there is another definition for this term but i’m referring to washing out a skintone to make it red-pink) and yellow-washing are equally as wrong! and they are also easily avoidable!!

in the past it was a commonly held (and incorrect) belief that european people (a term i’m going to use broadly for non-poc) had a ‘fair’ and ‘pink’ undertone to their skin [and it was an encouraged beauty standard to try and emulate that fair pale pink skin] while asian people (particularly east asian ethnicities) had ‘yellow’ skin (as seen in racist caricatures and a plethora of terrible and outdated race theories).

thus pink-washing and yellow-washing both embrace two extreme ends of the scale and it’s simply better and more respectful to try and maintain the skintone of the idol in your gifs! there are deeper contextual explanations of this if you would like to learn more!

❓ identifying pink/yellow gifs

let’s start with recognising what colouring is a no-go ❌ if you’re a gifmaker you’re probably fighting a battle on two fronts — against the whitewashing music shows and then the struggle to restore skin colour without turning the dial up so much that you’ve changed their entire skintone.

for this example below i found a kpop psd posted recently (in the past few months actually) and applied it to a basic bright-lighting sort of facecam.

the original facecam has no heavy stage lighting (as stages can often have really strong red or pink lights that also darken the colours) so it’s an easy one to follow along with.

the gif on the left has only a basic curves layer while the gif on the right has the added kpop psd on it. it’s a very stark difference in jungwon’s skintone and i would definitely classify this as an unnatural skin tone.

following a selective colour layer (to subtly increase the warm tones of his skin) / a photo filter (to counter the pale blue sort of lighting) and a colour balance - we can end up with a product like this.

now of course, this is only a very simple sort of colouring. and everyone has different colouring styles so you can go bonkers with all the colour manipulation for the blues and greens and purples as you like!

but what if the stage is just naturally red?

may i introduce you to the dreaded seventeen stages during face the sun era then 😭

as you can see there is already a very heavy sort of pink-red cast on his skin (that only gradually got worse as the stage started because of those damn lights and shadows 😭) but we can easily work around them!

so here’s our stage lighting with no adjustments

and now even though we got rid of the pink-tone it’s been replaced with a very strong yellow. (you might think i’m exaggerating out here but there are unfortunately a mite too many gifs like this). jeonghan’s skin (not to mention the members in the back) have been dialled up to a wasp yellow.

and unfortunately (at least in my experiences) there have been quite a few of the below instances (especially for this stage) so ultimately it is all about finding the right balance between getting rid of the harsh, unsaturated lighting while also bringing back warmth to the skintone while ALSO not giving the idols a spray-tan.

❓ so what can i do?

well i’m glad you asked! let’s go back to the jeonghan example we just used. here’s the stage gif once more without any adjustments or layers.

now i’ll add a simple curves layer (to even out the general lighting) and we end up with this. it’s obviously much better. the red-brown cast has no become darker creating a greater contrast with jeonghan’s skintone versus his black and white outfit! it’s a nicer gif overall but i want to bring out his skintone ever so slightly to make up for the harsh white lights on the highlights of his face.

i added another selective colour layer (increasing the reds with the cyan slider and then the black slider while also pushing on the yellow slider as well) and a gradient map (fading from black to orange and set to soft light at a 20% opacity)! and this is my final result!

❓ tips and tricks

— colour balance is your best friend! if a gif seems too blue (and hence giving your subject a pale purple-red sort of look) bring back the slider to the yellow side. or vice versa. it often sorts out all the little hiccups that a curves layer might have provided. — create layer masks to compare skin colour. it’s always useful to just have a little circle where you can see the skintone before and afters! — don’t just rely on selective colour to bring colour back into skin. this is where i find that i often trip up to overcompensate for whitewashing. a gradient map works wonders if set at the right opacity and you can adjust the skin colours minutely afterwards! — this might seem like a reduntant theme but it’s more than okay to ask for help! even i’ve found that i struggle with colouring a gif right and it’s better to get two or three heads in the game than one 😭

there is no one method or psd that will automatically graces oneself with perfect and correct colouring but it’s a matter of practice and figuring out what methods works for you!

i’d take a look at these very helpful tutorials! how to colour east/south-east asian celebrities how to fix orange-washed characters

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