#and/or adjusting to the move less than ideally | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

deoidesign · 10 months

Text

A general cane guide for writers and artists (from a cane user, writer, and artist!)

Disclaimer: Though I have been using a cane for 6 years, I am not a doctor, nor am I by any means an expert. This guide is true to my experience, but there are as many ways to use a cane as there are cane users!

This guide will not include: White canes for blindness, crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs as I have no personal experience with these.

This is meant to be a general guide to get you started and avoid some common mishaps/misconceptions in your writing, but you absolutely should continue to do your own research outside of this guide!

This is NOT a medical resource!!! And never tell a real person you think they're using a cane wrong!

The biggest recurring problem I've seen is using the cane on the wrong side. The cane goes on the opposite side of the pain! If your character has even-sided pain or needs it for balance/weakness, then use the cane in the non-dominant hand to keep the dominant hand free. Some cane users also switch sides to give their arm a rest!

A cane takes about 20% of your weight off the opposite leg. It should fit within your natural gait and become something of an extension of your body. If you need more weight off than 20%, then crutches, a walker, or a wheelchair is needed.

Putting more pressure on the cane, using it on the wrong side, or having it at the wrong height can make it less effective, and can cause long term damage to your body from improper pressure and posture. (Hugh Laurie genuinely hurt his body from years of using a cane wrong on House!)

(some people elect to use a cane wrong for their personal situation despite this, everyone is different!)

(an animated GIF of a cane matching the natural walking gait. It turns red when pressure is placed on it.)

When going up and down stairs, there is an ideal standard: You want to use the handrail and the cane at the same time, or prioritize the handrail if it's only on one side. When going up stairs you lead with your good leg and follow with the cane and hurt leg together. When going down stairs you lead with the cane and the bad leg and follow with the good leg!

Realistically though, many people don't move out of the way for cane users to access the railing, many stairs don't have railings, and many are wet, rusty, or generally not ideal to grip.

In these cases, if you have a friend nearby, holding on to them is a good idea. Or, take it one step at a time carefully if you're alone.

Now we come to a very common mistake I see... Using fashion canes for medical use!

(These are 4 broad shapes, but there is INCREDIBLE variation in cane handles. Research heavily what will be best for your character's specific needs!)

The handle is the contact point for all the weight you're putting on your cane, and that pressure is being put onto your hand, wrist, and shoulder. So the shape is very important for long term use!

Knob handles (and very decorative handles) are not used for medical use for this reason. It adds extra stress to the body and can damage your hand to put constant pressure onto these painful shapes.

The weight of a cane is also incredibly important, as a heavier cane will cause wear on your body much faster. When you're using it all day, it gets heavy fast! If your character struggles with weakness, then they won't want a heavy cane if they can help it!

This is also part of why sword canes aren't usually very viable for medical use (along with them usually being knob handles) is that swords are extra weight!

However, a small knife or perhaps a retractable blade hidden within the base might be viable even for weak characters.

Bases have a lot of variability as well, and the modern standard is generally adjustable bases. Adjustable canes are very handy if your character regularly changes shoe height, for instance (gotta keep the height at your hip!)

Canes help on most terrain with their standard base and structure. But for some terrain, you might want a different base, or to forego the cane entirely! This article covers it pretty well.

Many cane users decorate their canes! Stickers are incredibly common, and painting canes is relatively common as well! You'll also see people replacing the standard wrist strap with a personalized one, or even adding a small charm to the ring the strap connects to. (nothing too large, or it gets annoying as the cane is swinging around everywhere)

(my canes, for reference)

If your character uses a cane full time, then they might also have multiple canes that look different aesthetically to match their outfits!

When it comes to practical things outside of the cane, you reasonably only have one hand available while it's being used. Many people will hook their cane onto their arm or let it dangle on the strap (if they have one) while using their cane arm, but it's often significantly less convenient than 2 hands. But, if you need 2 hands, then it's either setting the cane down or letting it hang!

For this reason, optimizing one handed use is ideal! Keeping bags/items on the side of your free hand helps keep your items accessible.

When sitting, the cane either leans against a wall or table, goes under the chair, or hooks onto the back of the chair. (It often falls when hanging off of a chair, in my experience)

When getting up, the user will either use their cane to help them balance/support as they stand, or get up and then grab their cane. This depends on what it's being used for (balance vs pain when walking, for instance!)

That's everything I can think of for now. Thank you for reading my long-but-absolutely-not-comprehensive list of things to keep in mind when writing or drawing a cane user!

Happy disability pride month! Go forth and make more characters use canes!!!

#mobility aid #cane user #writing tips #writing advice #drawing tips #art tutorial #art tips #art reference #art resources #art help #my art #long post

73K notes · View notes

scuderiahoney · 4 months

Text

Glad You’re Here

Oscar Piastri x insomniac!reader // Tangerine Pt. 1.5

Masterlist // Tangerine Part 1 // Part 1.5 // Part 2

It’s been raining where I live this week and I couldn’t get this version of Oscar and reader out of my head. So, here you go- a little companion blurb from Oscar’s POV.

Word Count: 1.1k

find my other fics here, including the original one for this blurb!

Warnings: none

Oscar loves sleep. He could sleep anywhere, could fall asleep at the drop of a hat. It’s been an issue, actually- he habitually snoozes through alarms and constantly naps when he should be doing more important things.

It’s been an adjustment, dating you, because of that. It’s not that you don’t like sleep, you just… can’t. Honestly, it breaks his heart, because while tumbling into his bed at the end of the day is a relief for him, for you, it’s the opposite.

He’s watched you get worked up with exhaustion to the point of tears far too many times. He wishes he could take it all away, that he could reach deep into your brain and press the magic button that would let you sleep. You’ve tried lots of things- chamomile tea, melatonin, warm baths, hot milk and honey, but nothing seems to help.

That is, until Brazil.

It’s the end of a triple header, which is exhausting in its own way. You’re dragging, have been for days. He can see it in your eyes when you give him the update before qualis, can see the way it pulls at the corners of your lips. He wants to wrap you up in a hug and hold you there until you get so bored you fall asleep- though that doesn’t work, either. But the two of you are in public, surrounded by coworkers, so he refrains.

Dark clouds roll in over the track and cut the session short, which is less than ideal. Oscar climbs out of his car, frowning when he notices you’re missing from your usual spot in the garage. It’s odd, but not impossible. You could be in the bathroom, could be in a meeting- he’s not sure.

When he’s made it through his debrief and you’re still not back- which is odd since you’re a part of his team- he starts to get worried. Finally, he asks, trying to sound casual about it. It’s not necessarily a secret that the two of you are dating- the important people know, important being your bosses. He leans towards one of your closer coworkers, asks them if they know where you are.

“Oh, she left, I think,” she says, and Oscar feels even more concerned. “She said she didn’t sleep well last night, I think she wasn’t feeling good.”

Oscar blinks, rubs his thumb against his knee under the table. It’s odd that you wouldn’t have texted him before you left. He wonders if you went to your hotel room or his, feels a stab in his chest at the thought of you all alone and not feeling well. Not sleeping well the night before is an understatement- he knows you didn’t sleep at all, actually. You’d stayed in his room and read a book, a little light to read by and his head in your lap.

Once they dismiss him to head to the hotel, he beelines for his driver room to gather his stuff. Lando’s trying to make small talk on the way there, and when Oscar opens the door he’s following behind him. Oscar stops in his tracks, though, and Lando bumps into him, opening his mouth to make a comment when Oscar raises his hand and shushes him.

You’re there, curled up on the massage bed, tightly wound. You’re asleep.

“Oh,” Lando whispers. “I’ll go.”

Oscar nods, closes the door, walks over carefully. Your lips are barely parted, lashes tangled together, arms curled protectively around yourself. He watched the soft rise and fall of your shoulders, absolutely entranced.

The thing is, Oscar doesn’t actually see you sleep very often. When it does happen, you usually fall asleep after him, and then you wake up before him.

All of the tense energy is gone from your body. Your hair has fallen into your face, a strand across your lips that moves with every breath you take. He’s pretty sure you’re wearing one of his hoodies. You look so soft, like you’ve melted into the massage table. He wants to curl himself around you, into you, keep you close and warm and safe.

He sends Lando a text, asks him to knock quietly when the car to the hotel is ready. Then he locks the door and crosses the room. He’s so careful when he climbs onto the makeshift bed with you. He takes it inch by inch until he’s got you under one arm, his chin on top of your head. He doesn’t dare pull you close like he’d really like to, afraid of waking you up-

“Osc?” You say, voice soft.

He curses himself out in his head. He shouldn’t have risked it, should’ve just let you sleep, should’ve known this would happen. You’re going to kill him, probably- the one time you fall asleep easily, and here he is, ruining it.

“Sorry, baby,” he says, sighing. “You looked so cozy, I just thought- I didn’t mean to wake you.”

In response, you wrap one of your arms around him and pull yourself into his chest. Your cold nose brushes his neck, lips against his collarbone. You yawn and turn your face so that your cheek is pressed to his chest.

“S’okay, m’glad you’re here.” you mumble. “The storm made me sleepy.”

The rain is still pelting the side of the garage, sending the sound through the room. Every so often, there’s the distant sound of thunder. He wonders if a sound machine would help you sleep, tucks it away into his brain to try later. Right now, he brushes his lips against the crown of your forehead and rubs your back.

He opens his mouth to say something again, but then he feels it- your grip on him loosens, and your soft, even breaths wash over his neck. He pulls his head back just slightly, finds your eyes closed and your lips parted once again. You’re adorable when you’re sleeping. The relaxed look on your face makes his heart clench in his chest. He keeps rubbing your back lightly, afraid that if he’s stops you’ll wake up again.

He’s not tired, but he stays anyways. He stays and watches you sleep, even if it’s mildly creepy, even if Lando will definitely make fun of him for it if he ever finds out. He doesn’t know how long your sleep will last, so he’ll cherish every second of it.

On the car ride back to the hotel, he buys a sound machine off of Amazon. You try it the next time you can’t sleep. It doesn’t work. He waits until then to tell you the truth.

He absolutely hates thunderstorms.

a/n: thank you for all the love on the original fic!!

taglist: @4-mula1

#oscar piastri oneshot #oscar piastri fanfic #oscar piastri x you #f1 fic #formula one fluff #formula 1 fluff #oscar piastri x reader #oscar piastri blurb #tangerine!verse #< I have started the tag but no promises on more in this universe… guess we’ll see though?#honeywrites

1K notes · View notes

cereovo · 8 months

Text

A set of very conceptual notes I drafted a while back for someone asking for advice on learning to draw humans. I'm entirely self-taught so this is less of a tutorial and more of a very rambling set of general principles I follow and ideas that helped while I was learning. I figured I'd post it in case anyone else could get use out of it!

I also recommend checking out:

Drawing East Asian Faces by Chuwenjie

How to Think When you Draw (lots of good tutorials in this series)

Pose reference sites such as Adorkastock

Transcript and some elaboration under the cut:

Img 1 - Drawing a face

The two most important elements (at least for me) when drawing a face are the outline of the cheek/jaw and the nose*. I often start with a circle to indicate the round part of the skull, then add a straight like and a 'V' to one side [to create the side of the face and the jaw]. The nose creates an easy template for the rest of the face's features to follow (eyebrows at the top of the nose bridge, eyes towards the center of the bridge, ear lines up to eye) and the placement/direction and overlap with other features is a very simple way to indicate dimension. [A sketch of a face that has been adjusted by moving its parts to create 3 different angles. The following text is underneath:] -Different 3/4th views can be created just by adjusting the position of and amount of overlap between the facial features. - The top of the ear usually lines up with the corner of the eye. Think of how glasses are designed [specifically, how the arms run from the eyeline to the ear] [I go on a tangent in these next few paragraphs] *One thing I see many artists do - not just beginners - is learn how to draw A Person. As in, one singular person with one set of bodily proportions and one set of facial features. It's an issue that runs a bit deeper than 'same face syndrome' because sometimes these artists can draw more than one face, they're just not very representative of [the diversity present across] real people. Part of the reason I'm talking more about how to think about approaches to drawing - rather than showing specific how-to's - is because there is no one correct or right way to draw a person. The sooner you allow yourself to explore variety - fat people, old people, people of color, people with [conventionally] 'unattractive' features - the easier it'll be! Artists often draw their own features honestly and without [harmful] caricature, so it's always a good idea to look at art made by the kinds of people you're trying to draw if you're ever unsure about how to handle something. In general, it's far more important to learn how to interpret a variety of forms than to learn how to replicate the Platonic Ideal of the Human Body.

Img 2 - Stuff that helped me

Jumping into drawing humans (faces or otherwise) straight from photo reference can be overwhelming. The trick is to simplify forms into shapes - but even this concept is sort of abstract and it may be hard to know where to begin. Good news - Thousands of other artists have already figured it out. [When starting out] I needed to learn from photo reference AND artists I admired in order to improve. [When looking at stylization you are inspired by] ask yourself: WHY does this simplification work? How can I translate it into a different pose? Instead of copying what you see in a photo reference exactly, try to focus on the general forms first. My two biggest style inspirations for humans while learning to draw them were Steven Universe and Sabrina Cotugno's art. SU gets a lot of hate [in this instance I was specifically referring to a time on tumblr when the art was knocked for 'losing quality'] but its style does a great job of simplifying anatomy in a way that still portrays a diversity of bodies + features. [Extremely simplified drawings of Lapis, Steven, and Amethyst] SU characters are still identifiable- and still read as 'human' - even when reduced to just a few lines!

Img 3 - Things I keep in mind while drawing side profiles

- Eyebrows + eyes close to the 'edge' of the face - Forehead needs enough room for a brain - Eye is > shaped from the sides - Mouth kinda halfway [between the nose and the chin] but closer to the nose - Skin/fat exists under the jaw [and connects to the neck] - neck is about one half the width of the whole head - the back of the skull always sticks out a bit further than you might expect - Sometimes less is more - contours exist on every face, but drawing them in may make your character seem much older than they're supposed to be. However, it's a good idea to use them when you *want* your character to look old! These are very general notes- every face is different and has different proportions [and playing around with them creates unique and interesting character designs]

#2023 #may 2023 #i realized this is pretty nonsensical while transcribing it LOL #feel free to send asks if anything is unclear #but again im not any sort of professional

562 notes · View notes

mikkeneko · 4 months

Text

Have been pondering, following the latest round of "But why don't authors LIKE it when we leave unsolicited concrit on their stuff? :|a Don't they want to IMPROVE?" discourse:

How do fan authors improve? Because it's not, by and large, through concrit. Some authors have never gotten any kind of concrit, and still improve. I've gotten some in the past, and it definitely was not helpful towards improving my growth as an author. Some authors never have a beta, and yet they still improve.

So. If not through a workshop devoted to the process, or a classroom style series of lectures, or a dedicated editor, how do authors improve over time?

I would say, based on my 20+ years of experience and observation, that improvement as a writer comes in three ways: Practice shaped by self-observation, practice shaped by non-critical feedback as positive reinforcement, and observation of other authors.

Fandom has always been a space where people of different ages and skill levels interact. How it works, generally, is that a new author comes into the scene and presents their work. Readers -- some of whom are authors themselves -- will leave feedback praising the parts they like. Writers will then adjust their style on the next piece geared towards eliciting more of the things that readers said they like. However, in a vacuum, they won't necessarily know what to adjust towards, or what new things to try that they aren't already trying.

But at the same time, these young authors are usually (though not always) reading works by more experienced authors in the fandom. They can see, based on popularity stats and feedback left by others, what people like. If they want more of that attention themselves -- or, just generally, if they want to be part of the community -- they will adjust their works to incorporate more of the parts they perceive as successful with the audience.

They will also -- the more they read, and the more they write -- come to internalize an understanding (often, not even a conscious understanding) of the moving parts that go into a story, of what makes the work work. How to pace a scene, a chapter, or a longer work. How the characters talk, and how different characters talk in ways that distinguish their voices. What sort of language works well to describe an action scene, and what is confusing and uncertain. What words are sexy and what words will jar you right out of the mood. They will pick up these tools by observation, and hone them through practice.

The down side of this, of course, is that sometimes the authors they are observing and imitating may have... less than ideal writing habits themselves. Certain tropes, flanderization, headcanons divorced from the original canon, or various other things can become endemic in a fandom due to this -- but also much simpler and more straightforward writing quirks. (The infamous oh is an example of these.) Sometimes things that I won't necessarily say are bad, I will just observe that they are not correct.

And this is how you got an entire generation of fanfic writers using strong endings on verbs that, in modern English, take the weak ending.

#long post #fandom meta

350 notes · View notes

undertheorangetree · 2 months

Text

Like Real People Do

Summary- A recollection of happier times.

Warnings- MDNI 18+ Female Reader. Reader is basically Lucy Gray. Alcohol consumption. Fingering. Handjob. Giggly drunkness. A little thigh riding. Blissful ignorance<3

Author's Note- This is a surprise part three to In the Woods Somewhere and Cherry Wine though it can probably be read as a stand alone. I really like writing this pairing and I wanted something softer for them so enjoy.

series masterlist

It’s hot.

Stiflingly so.

Though it had been hot all day- District Twelve had been suffering something of a heat wave for weeks now- it’s worse inside the Hob. So many bodies packed together, each one of them plied with white liquor and dancing until sweat drips from them like rain water off a roof, it’s no surprise that she had begun to sweat herself. She can feel her clothes sticking to her despite being relatively loose, clinging to the line of her spine and between her breasts, but she ignores it as she fights her way through the crowd.

Despite the coal miners and Peacekeepers that litter the floor, dancing with whatever girl they can get a yes from, she has her sights set on one man in particular, one who has plastered himself to the farthest wall. She stumbles along the way, having drunk a fair share of her own moonshine, but she manages to make it to Coryo and his group of friends regardless. Sejanus smiles when he sees her, greeting her kindly, and she grins as she half stumbles toward Coryo. Though it was not her intention, somehow she manages to trip her way into his lap, landing heavy on his thighs. Her clumsiness triggers loud laughter from his friends, something she joins in on as Coryo’s arms wrap tight around her waist, adjusting her weight so she can sit more comfortably on his lap. He really must be drunk if he’s allowing her to stay put rather than politely helping her up and such a public display of affection makes her heart swell.

She has been so disgustingly happy since his surprise arrival in Twelve, incandescently so. To have him so close, within reach, is enough to leave her near giddy. Though she knows it has come under less than ideal circumstances for him- his peacekeeping duties akin to exile- he has seemed happy enough whenever he has been with her. She keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something awful to happen just as it always has, but for three weeks there has been nothing but bliss. Though there have not been ample opportunities to see each other, there have been number enough for her to enjoy his company and all that had to offer, far more than they ever had in the Capitol, and nothing else could possibly make her happier.

She slings her arms around him, dragging her fingers lightly along the nape of his neck as she admires his pretty face. The line of his nose, his cheekbones, his pretty lips. Everything about him seems so impossibly perfect, so handsome and kind and all hers. For a moment, she just stares in awe of him as he chats with Sejanus, his thumb running a soothing line up her hip and under her shirt. That alone is enough to make her heart beat faster as she shifts in his lap, reveling in the feeling of his hand on her. It shouldn’t feel as good as it does- his warm fingers on her already sweaty skin- but she finds that there is nothing she likes more than that now.

Well. Almost nothing.

He leans forward to fetch his mason jar of moonshine, arm tightening around her waist as he does it, and she can feel the bulge of his cock beneath her as they move, already reacting to little more than her weight in his lap. Perhaps it’s just the drink, but she swears she feels his breathing speed up when she shifts her hips experimentally, nostrils flaring as he raises his glass to his lips. His eyes turn down to watch her carefully as he drinks, the challenge there clear, and that look alone is enough to make her want to press her thighs together.

Perhaps she should have more willpower, make him truly work for her attention, but she doesn’t see the point in that, not really. Why deny themselves what they really want?

Keeping his eye, she reaches out and takes the jar from him, raising it to her own lips to steal a swig. He watches her intently as she does it, so intense a part of her wants to shrink under his gaze, but she forces herself to sit tall, fighting her wince at the alcohol’s burn as she licks her lips, hands the glass back, and leans into his ear, arms wrapping tighter around his neck.

“Are you busy?” she whispers against the shell of it, attempting to sound as innocent as possible. She pulls back to watch his face as he looks to her, watches as his eyes, hazy and slow, meet her own. She has given nothing away, not really, but he’s so smart, her Coryo, and if the way the lust seems to cloud his eyes at her question is any indication, he knows exactly what she is asking for. Squeezing the back of his neck to encourage an answer, she fights a giggle at the near mechanical way he shakes his head and grins again. “Can I steal you away then?”

Read the rest here :)

#Coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus x reader #coriolanus snow x you #coriolanus x you #coriolanus snow x fem!reader #coriolanus x fem!reader #coriolanus snow smut #coriolanus smut #coriolanus snow fanfiction #coriolanus fanfiction #coriolanus snow #tbosas #tbosas fanfiction #tbosas smut #tbosas fanfic #the ballad of songbirds and snakes

191 notes · View notes

talesofesther · 2 years

Text

moments tucked away

Steve Harrington x Reader

Summary: Steve is a menace to sleep with. Why? Because he hogs all your blankets.

A/N: That's it, that's the story; I just vomited fluff on my writing app. Enjoy.

Masterlist

The situation was less than ideal.

It's not like Indiana highways near Hawkins had many luxury motels. But still, would it be too much trouble to have a heater in the room?

It was mid-winter and the roads wore a white blanket over them. When one is coming back from Indianapolis — after a trip that was supposed to be quick but wasn't, because someone forgot to check the car's battery — and all but a blizzard starts falling from the sky, snow so thick you can't see five feet ahead of you, it gets just about impossible to keep driving in the night.

You didn't have to think too much about it when the motel's old neon sign appeared on the white horizon. It was safer to wait it out even if you didn't have a change of clothes with you, even if there were unspoken words darting back and forth between the looks you shared with Steve, your roommate for the night.

There wasn't a spot in the parking lot near the entrance, many people had the same idea as you. You two had to bury your feet in the light snow to reach the reception, soaking your sneakers and coating Steve's hair in white snowflakes.

The old lady in the reception was less than impressed by your clattering teeth and Steve's purple lips, she handed you the keys and before you could ask for separate rooms she was shutting you up with; "this is the last one we have."

And so you ended up here, in a double bed that felt way too small to be called a double bed, hearing the glass windows shake with the howling wind outside — wind that seeped through the cracks in the wood and didn't allow the room to hold warmth — and with your back pressed to Steve's shoulder, your feet brushing his lower leg when you moved, and all too aware of how warm his body felt.

The night seemed to stretch on endlessly, the red numbers on the bedside clock telling you it had been about five minutes since the last time you looked when it felt like thirty.

Steve was snoring softly beside you. You couldn't sleep.

You clutched the covers in your hands, which were barely covering you, and pulled them closer to your chest, trying to fool your body into warming itself up. Blowing hot breath into your hands, the tips of your fingers against your lips were icy.

Your movements were all rigid and slow, just trying to get comfortable because it's been about two hours since the most awkward conversation of your life — convincing Steve to not sleep in the sorry excuse of a couch you had in the room because you didn't fancy waking up to him in a hypothermic state — and all you did was toss and turn in the bed.

Steve's breathing changed pace beside you, he mumbled something, and turned, away from you and taking the damn covers with him in a strong grip.

Cold air bit at your skin instantly, your lips hovering open as if he'd personally offended you. With an annoyed huff, you turned too, both hands gripping the end of the pastel pink blanket and yanking hard.

Steve woke up with a start when the fluffy material was snatched from his grip. He sat up in a quick motion, blinking several times until his eyes adjusted, head turning from one side to another trying to remember where he was.

You felt bad, but only a little.

Just after his eyes landed on you beside him, that Steve seemed to relax, shoulders moving with deep breaths. He let himself fall back on the bed, hitting his pillow with a thud, one hand going over his eyes. "What the hell?" He grumbled, voice thick with sleep.

"You were hogging the blankets and it's cold." You mumbled, only being able to make out the outline of Steve's nose and lips in the dark.

He let out a mix between a sigh and a chuckle, turning to you, his eyes shining with the faint glow of the street lights from outside. "'m sorry."

"'s okay."

You two were all lazy words and forgotten boundaries, with the rational part of your brains clouded with sleep at such late hours.

You reached out, throwing the other half of the blanket over Steve again; the warmth of his body momentarily engulfed your touch, your fingers grazing over his chest, making you want to be closer. Even closer, that is.

"Are you cold?" He whispered, his breath fanning over your lips. A hand caught hold of yours before you could tuck it back, his fingers closed around yours.

"A little." You breathed, the skin of his palm holding most of the focus still awake in your body.

You pulled away when, instead of answering, Steve made to move closer; "go back to sleep Steve, we still have a bit of a drive in the morning."

The yearning to say more was almost palpable, Steve's lips hovering open for a beat before he clamped them shut and nodded. He did as told, and closed his eyes.

An hour passed, maybe less, and sleep was finally starting to take over your tired body; but the boy beside you had other plans.

The covers were taken from you, again, in a smooth motion, remaining only over your feet.

You groaned his name in frustration, bringing both hands over your eyes and feeling droplets of tears collecting there; because you were tired, and you were cold. You just wanted to rest and honestly, you just wanted to be closer to-

"Didn't mean to, didn't mean- sorry." Came Steve's groggy voice right after, his eyes not even completely open and he was already turning to you.

He threw the covers over your body, his arm going around your waist and staying there when you refused to look at him. "Hey, hey, jus- just come here yeah?" He urged, words slurring together as he gently tugged on your shirt.

You slowly uncovered your eyes with a sigh, looking in his direction with pursed lips, "what?"

"C'mere, c'mon." Steve didn't wait for an answer before pulling you closer, steady arms around your waist gluing your body to his.

He was like a human radiator, all soft and warm skin and tight embraces, the kind that makes you feel the safest. He had his limbs tangled with yours in no time, face burying in your hair as a pleased hum escaped his lips.

You didn't know if his brain was half asleep and he wasn't thinking this through, or if he just didn't care about the implications at all. But he was so goddamn warm, and as you snuggled against his chest and slid a bold hand under his shirt to hold him; you decided you didn't care either.

___

Morning came with the company of a clear sky, the calm after the storm; a chilly breeze flowing outside with the company of birds singing and basking in the sun's rays.

A low groan escaped Steve when a golden light came over his eyes. He furrowed his brows, slowly blinking his eyes open. For a cheap motel bed, he felt incredibly cozy and well-rested. He squeezed the comforting weight that rested on top of him, breathing in the sweet smell of coconut shampoo.

His hand moved up on the curve of your waist, drawing up your shirt a little, over your shoulder blades, and up to your hair, then finally his drowsy mind started to catch up with what happened last night.

Steve tensed, his body going rigid under you for just a second, just until he glanced down; your head was resting on his chest, lips partly open as you snored softly, your hand had disappeared under his shirt, and he could feel your skin touching his abdomen.

There was a beat, a moment tucked away in a secluded motel bedroom where Steve prayed his thundering heart wouldn't wake you up, not yet. He raised a hand, all silk-like touch and innocent hope, fingertips brushing away a few stray hairs that covered your eyes.

Your eyebrows crunched together and Steve wanted to plant a kiss in between them. You woke up with a groan, rubbing the sleep from your eyes with your free hand. Steve felt when you realized the same thing he did just a moment ago, your body freezing on his hold before you tentatively glanced up at him.

"Morning," Steve tried with a smile, fingers tracing up and down your arm as he counted the beats of his heart until the moment you'd pull away.

It never came. You huffed, cheek marked with sleep as a lazy smirk came to your lips. Your eyes moved over Steve's face and he could only imagine the wildness of his hair at this time in the morning.

You stretched, and snuggled against him again comfortably. You played with the hem of his shirt as you said, "next time, we're using two blankets."

Steve chuckled, all warm cheeks and goofy smile. He hugged you closer, lips brushing over your hairline.

Next time.

⋆* ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

Thank you for reading this little story. Feedback and reblogs are very much appreciated. <3

Steve’s taglist: @milkiane @bookfrog242 @tiaamberxx @alexisaflop @alicetweven @just-love-reading @katsukis1wife @frostandflamesfanfic @k1ngeddie @andraimeide @esoltis280 @robinbuckleyssgf @justacrush

Let me know if you wanna be added to his taglist.

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington #strangerthingsedit #stranger things #steve harrington x you #imagine #fanfic #fluff #angst #steve harrington fanfic #steveharringtonedit #joe keery #stranger things x reader #st #my story

2K notes · View notes

ms-demeanor · 4 months

Note

Hey! I appreciate your perspective on computer-based things. I think I need to get a laptop and would love your opinion on decent brands. If you don't have an opinion or want to answer please disregard the q.

Context: I'm often on the move and really want something small, light, and that will last a long time. I'm bad about buying new things or taking things to be fixed so ideally it's not something that dies quickly or needs frequent repairs. For a while I used an iPad for this but I need more of a keyboard than tablets have and the shelf life of an iPad is shorter than it should be for the cost. Mine is 7 years old and only works while plugged in... I liked my Macbook Pro I got for college but it's almost 15 years old and given I haven't needed a new one since I don't think spending all that on a Mac makes sense either. I use a gaming PC mostly but I'm going to need to travel a lot more in the upcoming year. I'm ok to spend up a bit since I want it to last.

I think you're going to have to adjust your expectations about the average functional lifespan of electronics. Seven years is a lot to get out of any tablet and fifteen years is way way way above average for a computer.

At work we estimate that the functional lifespan of a laptop will be around five years and the functional life of a desktop will be around seven years; we include upgrades in that lifespan, like adding RAM and storage.

It is not *unusual* to get more than five years out of a laptop or seven years out of a desktop, but if you are a heavy user of anything other than a browser and a word processor, that's about the time when you'll find that the computer feels slow enough to be frustrating. This isn't a hard limit, and it's not something that everyone experiences because people use computers differently, but if you're an artist and you use a drawing program that program will start to feel slow after a while because as updates and patches and drivers have been tweaked for newer devices they've slowly left your device in the dust.

This isn't planned obsolescence, by the way. Computer manufacturers try to "future proof" their devices to a certain extent, but you just can't anticipate certain kinds of changes. Maybe your laptop was manufactured before there were consumer SSDs available so its operating system doesn't take the advantages and limitations of SSDs into account. Maybe your desktop was built for DDR3 RAM and we're now on DDR5 and people aren't writing programs to the standard of the old technology, they're taking advantage of the standards of the new technology.

Since you were able to use your devices comfortably for such a long time, it sounds like you're not a very heavy user and don't need to worry too much about beefing up your specs. However it does sound like you want to keep your computer and use it as long as possible while paying a reasonable price for it (which is good! I think we should all try to extend the lives of our electronic devices as much as possible!).

I actually think you sound like a good match for a Framework laptop.

Framework is a company that makes laptops that are a lot more modular than what's on the market these days. They're mean to be easy to open up for upgrades and sturdy for heavy use. Most of the parts of the laptop are easily replaceable - including the screen - so you can use them for a long time and easily make upgrades that will help the computer feel fresher.

They're a bit more expensive than comparable PCs but much easier to repair if you aren't comfortable opening up your own computer (framework is intentionally built to be easy for people who are non-technical to work on their computers), and they are a LOT less expensive than comparable macs.

I still think you're probably looking at around 7 years of regular use out of a Framework and it won't *break* at that point, it will just. Probably be a bit slow and frustrating. You might not be able to get parts for it after a certain point. You eventually won't be able to upgrade the OS. But that's true of all computers.

I've still got my 2005 macbook. It still turns on, I can still use garage band on it. But it doesn't connect to the internet and uses such an old USB standard that it is extremely slow to transfer data on or off of and it cries and freezes if i try to use photoshop. It's not broken, it's just no longer useful as a daily computer.

What I'm defining as functional here is "Is able to run multiple programs (including at least one browser with 50+ tabs open and two office suites) at the same time for 8-10 hours a day without crashing, freezing, or losing data and restarting is not a major inconvenience."

In those terms, it does sound like you're probably in need of an upgrade (I can't imagine that your current machine is particularly quick) and I think that a framework laptop would suit your needs well.

If you're looking for something somewhat less expensive, you can generally find a decent thinkbook with a 12th or 13th gen i5 processor, 16GB RAM, and a 500GB SSD for around $700-ish, which is the low end of what I think you're going to pay for a decent laptop. I'm reccing lenovo here because I personally like them and have found them to be very easy to crack open for repairs and upgrades. Stick to the thinkbook over the thinkpad because that's the business line and is a bit sturdier and they are designed to be easier to upgrade over time.

Actually, here's a thinkbook with a 12th gen i5, 40GB RAM, and a 1tb SSD for under $700. That's a shockingly good price for that laptop; the reseller OEMGenuine is one I've purchased from many times before for work and I've found them to be reliable, though the reason those specs are so good is because they've added aftermarket parts, so your RAM and SSD won't be under warranty from Lenovo.

For Framework you're looking at at least $1000, but it's easy to plug and play with upgrades so you can start out with lower specs (except processor, don't cheap out on the processor) and upgrade later. The framework is a bit smaller and easier to travel with, but I have a laptop quite similar to the lenovo and it's not a huge pain to move around - it's very light but the 15" screen might be bigger than you're looking for.

If you're willing to spend a little bit more and you're very uninterested in doing your own upgrades and would prefer the most computer you can get for your money right out of the gate, this is a 12th gen i7 thinkpad with 40GB RAM and a 2TB SSD for $1150. (I've not ordered from this reseller before, so maybe check over their terms if you're considering purchasing from them.)

140 notes · View notes

veampa · 2 months

Text

Yandere alphabet sebastian michaelis

Gender neutral friendly!

Character(s)- sebastian michaelis

Warnings are tagged, please please PLEASE don't hesitate to tell me if I've missed any

That being said this is purely fictional and is in no way shape or form trying to romanticise these types of behaviours I am purely writing this for others enjoyment and because It's something I find interesting to write, please do not seek out relationships anywhere remotely like this and if you do find yourself in a relationship like this where you are unsafe please try and get somewhere safe if you are able to.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?- Sebastian isn't far too affectionate, after all he's a busy man his contract with the earl is a busy job after all, though there is times where he gets more touchy, hugging you close to him with the little bits of free time he has not budging when you yell and try to squirm out his grasp

♥

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?- He doesn't care, if he's on a tighter schedule than it'll be less messy, if he has enough time then he can make it messy, though its not often he'll kill another.

♥

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?- No, he understands it's gonna be a hard time for you to adjust so the least he could do is not mock you, though he might occasionally laugh at your futile escapes or your meek insults.

♥

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?- Aparts from refusing to let you out and not letting you have interaction with anyone but mey-rin,no.

♥

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?- He's not that vulnerable, or atleast he doesn't show it, he's a demon for crying out loud he can EASILY hide and lie about stuff, even if you don't believe him he can put up facades and wont end them till he decides.

♥

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?- Depends really, theres a 15% chance he would react negatively to it, he understands you're going to have outbursts until you get used to your new life, though if he's had a particularly long day his patience will run thin, giving up and snapping at you, though majority of the time he just snickers and chuckles at your attempts.

♥

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?- He finds it amusing the first few times doesn't mean he wont punish you though, he knows you won't be able to escape and if you do he'll find you. He's very knowing of your abilities and always seems to know your next move.

♥

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?- When you tried to escape for the first time and he didn't talk for days, you were tied, bindfolded, had earplugs and gagged, causing you to get desperate and paranoid, the only time you wouldn't be gagged is when he came to feed you and give you something to drink by the end of it you were paranoid and didn't try escaping again for a few months.

♥

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?- Any where you're happy with him, maybe even making a contract with him once his with Ciel's finishes.

♥

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?- Not really, he knows that in the end of almost every possible universe where yous two know eachother you'll end up his.

♥

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?- Calm, collected and understanding, he knows when to stop and what to do, but sometimes he gets alot more affectionate and forces his affection on you.

♥

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?- He would have met you through lady elizabeth when visiting, you were one of her maids/butlers, he would approach you after hours when everyone else was asleep or busy.

♥

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?- When he first met you he would put on a much sweeter facade, dropping it when he abducted you, still he would be sweet just not as much as he forced himself to do before hand.

♥

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?- Psychological punishments or threats.

♥

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?- Freedom and privacy, you don't need either of that anymore after all he's taking care of you now.

♥

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?- his patience only runs thin on stressful days, so normally he's quite patient towards you.

♥

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on- He wont let you, at all.

♥

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?- Nope! He tells you and himself its to protect you (even though its more so his own greed).

♥

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?- Curiousity mixed with greed.]

♥

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?- at first he felt empathy towards you and your situation and would show it by holding you close to him.

♥

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?- Be more understandng and patient.

♥

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?- None :p.

♥

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?- Physically no. Mentally yes.

♥

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?- Sickly sweet compliments before he took you.

♥

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?- It only took him three months before he abducted you.

♥

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?- No he knows your limits and will stop just before he breaks them.

#tw abduction #tw isolation #tw yandere #tw psychological abuse #tw forced affection #yandere sebastian michaelis #sebastian michaelis x reader #sebastian michaelis #yandere black butler #yandere kuroshitsuji #black butler #yandere alphabet #tw violence #black butler x reader

120 notes · View notes

portraitoftheoddity · 3 months

Text

Beginner Hiking Guide: Gear - What to Bring Hiking

What you want to bring with you on a hike will vary depending on what kind of hike you’re doing. If you’re going on a very short (under an hour) and easy hike on highly-trafficked and easily accessed trails for instance, you may not need to bring much at all -- though I always recommend a water bottle, sun protection and a hoodie or something. But if you’re doing a longer trek on backcountry trails out in the wilderness, you’ll want to bring quite a bit more with you, because the stakes are higher if things go wrong.

My general rule of thumb is: Pack for the Worst Case Scenario.

What is the worst that could happen if you get lost or injured? How long would it take for someone to find you if your phone died and you couldn’t call for help? If you get stuck out overnight, how cold is it going to get, and will you be able to survive it? How about if you have to wait several hours for a rescue party to carry you out if you can’t walk?

I carry a bunch of emergency items in my pack that, on an ideal hike, I never need. But if things don’t go ideally, given the places and conditions I hike in, they could save my life. In the list below, I’ve put an asterisk next to items I recommend packing even for short day hikes (2 hours or less)

So let’s start with the most important thing:

You Need a Backpack.

If you’re going to carry supplies, you need something to carry them in, and a backpack is the easiest, most comfortable way to do so that won’t compromise your balance or leave you unable to use your hands on a hike. (On short outings, fannypacks are great, but you’ll want a backpack if you’re going out into backcountry).

DON'T: use a drawstring backpack -- this will dig painfully into your shoulders pretty quickly.

DO: use a backpack with a waist/hip strap (and chest strap if possible). Having more of your pack’s weight on your hips than on your shoulders will cut down on back pain! The more adjustable, the better; you want to be comfortable.

There are really great hiking specific backpacks out there, but they are on the pricey side. It’s something where, if you plan on doing hiking more regularly, I would recommend investing in a good pack, but for your first time your old book bag will probably do okay.

The Ten Essentials

If you do any research on backcountry hiking, you will probably see “the ten essentials” mentioned somewhere. These are the things that you’re recommended to always bring on a hike with you if you’re going out into the wilderness. The list can seem a little daunting, but honestly a lot of the things on it are pretty small and easy to acquire.

1) Navigation / Map & Compass* -- Have a paper map in a ziploc bag and a compass in addition to any digital tools and GPS you may be using to navigate. Technology fails, and having a map that you’ve familiarized yourself with before you set out will help you to stay on your route and avoid getting lost. REI has useful articles on how to use a compass and how to read a topographic map.

2) Nutrition / Extra Food -- I always bring food hiking. You burn through a lot of energy while hiking, and snacking will help boost your energy levels and keep you moving. Calorie-dense foods with sugar and protein like trail mix, nuts, and granola bars give you the biggest boost while not taking up too much room in your pack. And if your hike runs over, you’ll be grateful for the extra rations.

3) Hydration / Extra Water* -- I typically bring a full liter of water (or gatorade!), minimum when I hike. Nalgene bottles are great because they’re lightweight and virtually indestructible. You’re going to be losing a lot of moisture through sweat and through the vapor your exhale while breathing heavily, so you are going to need to hydrate. Bring more than you think you’re going to need in case things go badly.

4) Insulation / Extra Layers* -- I talked about this in the post about clothes, but always have an extra layer. If the weather shifts, or you get injured and can’t move to keep warm, or you get lost and need to wait for a rescue, the last thing you need is for hypothermia to come along and make your day worse.

5) Illumination / Light -- There’s always a chance of something going wrong, be it a twisted ankle or just misjudging the length of a hike, that can lead to you being out for longer than you anticipated -- and if you’re stuck out in the wilderness when the sun goes down, you want to be able to see where the hell you’re going to find the trail and get home. On any longer hike (especially if you’re starting later in the day), bring a headlamp or flashlight with extra batteries (and test it before you leave!)

6) Emergency Shelter -- Is there any chance that on the hike you’re doing, you could potentially get lost enough that you have to spend hours and hours out here? In the theme of extra layers, if you get lost, injured, or otherwise caught out in bad conditions and can’t hike out on your own for any reason and rescue won’t be there anytime soon (search and rescue teams take time to assemble, deploy and then hike out to you), you want to have some means of shelter. Obviously, you don’t wanna drag an entire tent out into the woods if you’re just going on a day hike, but a there’s a few lightweight options that can make a difference when you’re improvising protection from the elements, such as:

A mylar space blanket / shock blanket

A bivvy sack (basically a lightweight plastic sleeping bag that keeps warmth in and water out!)

....And if you’re on a budget, a large plastic trash bag can do in a pinch!

7) Firestarter -- On the topic of shelter, especially if you’re stuck out in the cold overnight, a fire can be an emergency source of heat and light. Since most of us are not capable of starting a fire just by rubbing two sticks together like in the movies, we’ll want to make it easier on ourselves by bringing something to start a fire with: pack something to ignite it with, and something to use as tinder to catch the flame and sustain it long enough to ignite other fuel you’ve gathered. I personally carry a bic lighter that was like, .99c at the gas station, and a toilet paper tube stuffed with dryer lint for tinder. This is one of those “hopefully you never actually have to use it” things.

8) First Aid Kit* -- You want to be able to treat an injury if it happens, and to address smaller health concerns before they become bigger health concerns. With blisters especially, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure -- putting blister pads on your feet when you’ve got hot spots before they turn into full on oozing blisters is going to make a world of difference. And as someone who has taken a nasty spill on the trail and hiked out injured, I always carry a solid first aid kit with me. You can buy a compact pre-made kit easily enough to carry with you, but you may find yourself customizing it to your needs. I recommend having the following:

Ibuprofen -- good for managing pain, swelling, and soreness

Tylenol/Acetaminophen -- pain reliever, fever reducer, better for head injuries than ibuprofen since it doesn’t thin blood (also, if you’ve hurt yourself and you’re in a LOT of pain, you can alternate Tylenol and Ibuprofen)

Benadryl or some other antihistamine for allergies

AfterBite -- good for stings and bug bites

Bandaids in assorted sizes

Blister pads

Disinfectant wipes x 2

Gauze

A triangular bandage

A lightweight SAM splint

Ace bandage - good for wrapping sprains

Tweezers - good for removing splinters!

Any important medications you personally need, such as an EpiPen or inhaler, or personal joint braces you require

9) Sun Protection* -- Even if you’re hiking under tree cover, or on a cloudy day, with hours spent outdoors, you’re getting a lot of UV exposure. Regardless of whether you’re someone who sunburns easily or not, it’s good to have sun protection. Bring sunglasses and sunscreen, and consider wearing a hat. Especially at higher elevations, where the air gets thinner and blocks less UV radiation! And don’t forget when hiking in winter, that you can get snowblindness and sunburn from light reflected off snow.

10) Repair Kit + Knife / All That McGuyver Shit -- A few lightweight and simple objects can make it much easier to jury-rig a shelter, replace a snapped bootlace, or hold together a torn pack until you can get back to the parking lot. I personally always have:

A pocket knife/multitool

Flat-wrapped duct tape

Several safety pins

A handful of zip ties

A spare shoelace

And other people may find other items useful depending on their gear and the kind of repairs they might need.

In addition to the stuff on this list, there may be weather-specific or trail-condition specific gear you might need, like microspikes for traction on ice, or rain gear for hiking in wet climates. You can use your best judgment and the recommendations of others who have hiked where you are hiking to figure out what the best packing list is for your specific hike. This list is a guideline and a starting point.

Other things you may want to bring:

Whistle -- if your phone is dead and you’re waiting for rescue, you can blow on a whistle a lot longer (and a lot louder) than you can yell. Three short bursts usually means ‘hiker in distress’ and will help other hikers or searchers find you.

Toilet Paper + plastic bag -- If you don’t think you’re going to be able to hold it, bring a means to go in the woods. But bring the plastic bag to carry out your used toilet paper so it doesn’t pollute nature (Leave No Trace!)

A ziploc bag big enough for your phone -- if you need to cross a river or if it starts pouring, have a means to bag your phone to keep it dry. If there’s a risk of rain, bring a trash bag as well that you can use as an improvised pack cover to keep your stuff dry.

Insect Repellant -- even if you don’t bring it with you and just put it on in the parking lot, if you’re hiking in spring or summer especially, you’ll want some bug spray.

Keeping It Light

You want to pack smart, which means maximizing the usefulness of what you pack while keeping things as light as possible. Try using a lightweight plastic water bottle instead of a heavy steel one, and packing spare layers that are warm without being too bulky. Put sunblock in a small tube or bottle instead of packing the huge family-size one. The weight adds up, and the final weight of your pack is what you’re going to have to be carrying along with you. Though the good news is, your pack will get lighter as you consume the food and water you’ve packed!

If you are hiking with friends in a group, there’s some things you don’t really need multiple redundancies for -- if one person has a well-stocked first aid kit and another person carries enough sunblock for the group, you don’t need three of each and every item. Communicate with your group to make sure all your bases are covered, but also be sure you stay close together while hiking. Your friend having the group’s utility knife isn’t going to help you if you go off on your own and get separated. And you will all still want your own food, water, clothing, and light.

Organize Your Bag

Having the right gear is helpful. Knowing where it is is even better!

I try to organize my pack so the weight is evenly distributed (with the heaviest objects at the center near my spine to avoid throwing off my center of gravity), but also so I can find stuff easily enough. If your backpack has different pockets and compartments, think about using those to organize your supplies. Put stuff you’re more likely to need to use in easy to reach places. I usually keep my water bottle in a side pocket that I can reach from the outside of my bag, and my snacks in the topmost compartment so they’re easy to get to and not squished.

I also have a couple of lightweight smaller bags inside my pack I organize things in -- a mesh bag I keep all my first aid supplies in so I can pull out the splint, main kit, extra bandage, AfterBite, etc. all together, and a waterproof stuff sack that I keep all my “emergency” supplies (bivvy sack, shock blanket, headlamp, lighter, knife, etc.) inside so they aren’t all rattling around loose at the bottom of my pack where I will never find them.

Using your knowledge about the hike you’re doing, the duration, the conditions, and your own body and needs will help you make smart choices about what you need to bring in order to keep yourself safe, both during your hike, and in the hypothetical scenario where something goes awry. Be informed, be prepared, and have fun out there!

<< Previous Part: What to Wear Hiking

#beginner hiking guide #lena hikes #hiking gear #hiking info #ten essentials

114 notes · View notes

bedazzlecunt · 17 days

Text

i get sooo many asks and DMs asking for tips on how to get better at edging so i wanted to make an actual post about how i turned myself into a total edgeslut — and how you can, too! there's really only one main 'rule' to follow while you're learning how to edge, so i promise you can do it! this info should still be applicable regardless of your particular genitalia, but i mostly reference cunts because that's what i've got.

the one rule!

my ultimate suggestion for people who are new to edging and finding it almost impossible is to STOP TRYING TO EDGE. some of you are going like that's crazy edging is all i want to do! but listen to me. listen to me. we are going to get you there.

if horniness is a scale of one to ten, with one being 'not horny at all' and ten being 'orgasming' the ideal edging situation is that you get to a nine and then stop. that's really hard to do, though! but you could probably get to a four and stop, right? pretty easily, even.

that's what you want to do. figure out that highest number on that scale you can go and still stop, and go to that number. do this a lot. i love, love, LOVE touching like this, even now that i am a pro at edging, because there's zero risk of going over and it's still a great tool to keep you horny / submissive / feeling hot as hell / whatever it is you want to get out of edging.

start at bringing yourself to a four and then stop. once you've mastered that, once that feels almost too easy, move up to a five. then a six. seven. i encourage you not to cum at all while you're doing this, but also, i'm not your dom! do what you want! the point is you're touching-without-cumming a lot (which is great practice all on it's own) and you're acclimating your body to getting horny, sometimes even REALLY horny, without actually cumming every time it happens.

doing this regularly also has the pleasant side-effect keeping you aroused more often than not. if you're constantly bringing yourself to level seven horniness and then stopping, you are almost never going to drop below level three. you are going to be turned on a LOT, which feels sooooo good. which leads to...

getting addicted*!

the thing about being always horny, about touching yourself all the time, about never cumming, is that it feels really, really good. people wouldn't do denial if it didn't! and once you've had a month or so of touching-but-not-edging and your body's adjusted to the sense of being constantly turned on and how good it feels, it gets to a point where cumming is a lot less appealing. you know it's going to take away the good, horny, happy feeling that you're getting addicted to! once you've come to really, really enjoy being constantly horny, and come to associate the idea of cumming with losing that good feeling, that makes it a lot easier to keep from going over as you creep up to higher levels like eight and nine. and even when you do go over, the fact that you'll lose the sensation that you've come to enjoy so much will just reinforce for you that it's better not to cum!

*i'm using addicted as a fun little hyperbole word here, but i do want to add the disclaimer that if your edging / horniness / etc. starts to interfere with your life like a real addiction then you gotta stop that before you hurt yourself. do not actually jeopardize your job/relationships/etc. for kink.

edging!

by this point, you'll have lots of practice at masturbating without going over and you'll be addicted to the feeling of being constantly turned on — and you'll dread the thought of losing that feeling. those things combined are the peak edging scenario. this is the point when you can start trying to edge seriously; bringing yourself to a nine on our horny scale and stopping.

you will probably still go over occasionally as you figure out your actual limits — don't be angry at yourself for this, but do refrain from trying to edge again on days you go over. the last thing you want is to reacclimate your body to coming regularly. if you try to edge in the morning but go over by mistake, just bring yourself to a level eight for the rest of the times you masturbate and try again tomorrow. eventually, you'll know your limits, be addicted to the feeling of being edged, and be really practiced at doing it!

if you're still having trouble or just want to play in new ways, then find out what turns you on but you can't orgasm from. your nipples are sensitive enough to break your brain but you can't orgasm just from that? well then get to playing with them, dummy! love penetration but can't come from it without clit stimulation? tape off your clit and get fucking! i can never cum just from humping a pillow or grinding on something, so grinding is a great way for me to edge! try to find stuff that makes you really, really horny but that you can't orgasm from and really lean into those things!

#im so serious abt not jeoporadizing ur life for this. like #if u cant still go out w ur besties and to work and be normal then thats not good #u must continue 2 have a life outside of ur edging kink #BUT!!!!!!! once u find the balance...its fun #edgeslut #nsft #sub nsft #bi nsft #wren speaking!#bd/sm blog #bd/sm kink #3dging

63 notes · View notes

yesloulou · 10 months

Note

Do u have any tips/tutorial how to make gifs so smooth if there's movement? Mine are always choppy and weird :(

Hi anon, ty for sending this ask. I'm sooo honored!! (and plz don't call your gifs choppy or weird i have a feeling they're very lovely 😌)

✨ Gif Tutorial: making movements in ur gifs as smooth as possible✨ (updated)

↳ aka: speed management in gif making

Remember to always source your content responsibly!! Process in this tutorial is simply what works best for me. Every creator has their own preferences and imo there is no right or wrong. We should always make content in the way we enjoy 🤍 Outline: 1. Remove duplicate frames 2. Repair missing frames 3. Speed management in Photoshop 4. Smoother slomo using Video Frame Interpolation

1. Remove duplicate frames

Obviously, if there're duplicate frames in a video, our gifs will end up with lil lags here and there (since some frames get more screen time than others). Although the dup frames are likely barely observable once compiled into gifs, imo this is what makes the difference between smooth and butter smooth. the two daniel gifs above (guy with big brown eyes, if ur not from our fandom 🤍) can hopefully showcase this difference**.

**technical explanation for this that you can totally skip: the persistence of human vision is approx. 0.1s, ie everything we see stay on our retina for this amount of time. since gifs refresh faster than this (eg. 0.04s on every frame for a 25 fps gif), we usually can't pinpoint exactly which frame is a duplicate just by looking at a gif. however. by definition, a duplicate frame will slow down a gif, by making it pause longer than it should. as a result, a movement during this lil chunk of time will move less pixels than your brain would've expected. and this is where we perceive the not-so-smoothness.

ok, now that we've established that we don't like duplicate frames -- I know it's common practice to handle this by looking for an optimal output frame rate to offset the dupes. to me this feels chancy. bc it's a process where you don't have control over exactly which frames to keep and not keep. Personally, I prefer making sure my videos are dupe free before everything else. (Again, this is just what works for me. Everybody has their own process and imo there is no right or wrong :)

To remove duplicate frames, the first thing I do with a clip is to play the first few seconds frame by frame to see which one of the following scenarios it falls into:

a. no duplicate frames ↳ best case scenario! congrats!! plz proceed directly to step 2 b. there is a duplicated frame once in a while ↳ This happens most often with (but not limited to) videos from social medias ↳ Reason behind this is frame rate conversion. For instance, instagram/tiktok has a default frame rate of 30 fps. However, many media sources (eg. no brakes, sharl's vlogs) produce at 25 fps. When these videos are uploaded, instagram/tiktok convert them from 25 to 30 fps by duplicating 1 frame every 5 frames, hence twitchiness in gifs when slowed down. ↳ Solution: in photoshop, go through the clip frame by frame, delete dupes manually (recommended) ↳ Alternative solution: use duplicate frames remover softwares (see next bullet point) c. almost every frame has duplicates ↳ This will almost always** be the case with screen record. ↳ What not to do: When there are many duplicates, we may be tempted to use photoshop's 'import 1 out of every n frames' function. this is not ideal bc, the dupes are rarely uniformly distributed. you could end up losing frames you don't want to lose (resulting in choppy gifs) or end up with dup frames still in the mix (resulting in laggy gifs) or, most likely: both. ↳ A better way: is to import all frames into photoshop, adjust the output frame rate to offset the dupes (here is a good tutorial on this) Pros: efficiency; yields decent results in most cases. Cons: again, in my experience this is a process where you don't have precise control over the frames. Therefore runs the same (albeit smaller) risks as the method above. It can also limit how much you can slow down a gif, and generally doesn't work well if the target frame rate (of the clip you're trying to gif) exceeds your computer's recording rate**. **More on this statement: when target rate is comfortably lower than recording rate (~ 55 fps for many), chances are most to all frames will be captured. It is therefore more tolerating towards skipping a unique frame from time to time. However, when target rate (i.e. anything 60 fps) nears or exceeds recording rate, you will be dealing with dup frames as well as missing ones. Using the method above can therefore subject you to the possibility of losing two unique frames in a row, making the gifs noticeably choppy. ↳ Solution: we always have the option to trim dupes by hand in photoshop. But in this case, it can be time consuming, even with keyboard shortcuts. as a result, here is where we can really use a: ↳ Dup remover software: google search 'dup frame remover software' will give you several options and tutorials (here a plug-in for after effects). i've heard good things about some of these but unfortunately can't give recommendations (they do cost money sooo i wrote my own)

Demonstration:

This is a frame-by-frame animation of an ad Charles did for apm. It was produced at 25 fps & uploaded to socmed where the default is 30 fps. You can see that: i. With screen recording, every frame has an unpredictable amount of duplicates. ii. Original clip from instagram has 1 dup frame every 5 frames. iii. After deduplication, the movement becomes lag free and continuous.

2. Repair missing frames

At this point, our video clip is (hopefully) free of duplicate frames, which makes our gifs lag-free (yayy!!). At the same time, we don't want choppiness in our gifs either. Choppiness in a gif is usually caused by missing key (unique) frames. To check if there is any, replay the clip, look out for the sudden jumps/fast forwards in movements. Three possible scenarios:

a. no missing frames ↳ best case scenario! congrats!! plz proceed directly to step 3 b. a lot of missing frames ↳ This is usually the case if the target frame rate (of the clip you want to gif) exceeds the screen recording frame rate. ↳ Solution, imo: (surprise!) is to leave things be. Reason is that something like this would be quite tedious to fix, but not that noticeable if made into a gif that's fast enough ↳ Alternative solution: Record at 120 fps c. occasional missing frames If a video clip misses frames, but not a lot, chances are it's only gonna happen very occasionally, i.e. 1 or 2 occurrences in total. A frame-miss in this case is usually due to either the screen recording skipping a frame by mistake (in a 'slipping thru the cracks' sort of way)**, or that the original video misses frames/contains bad frames to begin with. **To my understanding, even if recording at a frame rate comfortably higher than target rate, something like this could still happen since a common denominator between the two rates will always exist. ↳ Solution (for screen recordings): record again, find missing frame (chances are it will be captured on a second try), insert frame back into original timeline in PS ↳ Solution (if video misses frames or contains bad frames to begin with): Let's talk about ✨ VFI ✨. VFI (Video Frame Interpolation) is the process of synthesizing in-between images from a given set of images. It can increase videos' frame rates (i.e. 30 fps to 60 fps), achieve smoother slomos, and by definition, also help with missing/bad frames. There are many software products that let you use VFI by simply dragging videos into the app and clicking 'export'. Afterwards, all we need to do is to find the missing frame generated by the app & insert it back into the original timeline in PS (ahh technology). For more info on VFI, see "4. Smoother slomo". ↳ Note that VFI processed footages will likely differ slightly from the originals in terms of colors & lightings. This may be tuned out using clipping masks (allow a group of adjustment layers to only apply to one frame/layer, keyboard shortcut: Command+Opt+G)

3. Speed Management in Photoshop (✨ updated ✨)

At this point, our clip is without dupe or missing frames (or at least as close as can be). Whether you dodged the first 2 steps like a breeze or freshly emerged victorious from photoshop covered in blood to get here, good news is, things will be very straightforward for this point on. congrats!!!

🎉🎊🎉

As mentioned before, in terms of smoothness, our clip is now in ideal shape. The important thing is to keep it this way throughout the rest of the process. My workflow looks something like this:

Open file, crop, resize, sharpen, color, export gif, reopen gif in photoshop (which won't compromise quality), assign frame delay, export finalized gif

If you're used to finding a comfortable frame delay or speed/duration combo at the beginning, this process might feel unnatural. But it's so so so so important to leave the speed related settings alone until right before exporting. Here's why:

By not converting frames with modified delays into timelines with fps, we avoid having to give our finished product a frame rate (which photoshop timelines have to specify). This is crucial bc, there is no such a thing as frame rates in gifs. According to the syntax of GIF89a (the current '.gif' format, screenshot below), gifs control their speeds through (and only through) how much time to wait in between frames, aka delay time. Our process above does exactly that. It compiles frames directly into gifs, and avoids expressing frame delays (a gif concept) through frame rates (a photoshop concept), a conversion where dupe frames and missing frames come from**. In other words, using frame delays to control speed is simply more natural to a gif's syntax. **Why would this conversion cause dupe frames? ↳ On paper, frame delays should translate into frame rates seamlessly (i.e. 1 second ÷ 0.06s per frame = 16.67 fps). In reality, photoshop does not support direct translations like this. When converting frame animations into timelines, PS defaults outputs to 30 fps, regardless of frame delays. This disagreement between frame rates is where dupe frames come from. ↳ Some examples: i. Consider a frame animation where frame delay = 0.04s (25 fps), to convert it into a timeline defaulted at 30 fps, 5 out of every 25 frames will be 'duplicated' by photoshop (30-25=5) ii. Now, consider a frame delay = 0.06s (16.67 fps roughly 17 fps), to convert it into a timeline defaulted at 30 fps, 13 out of every 17 frames will be 'duplicated' by photoshop (30-17=13) ↳ (the 'duplicated' was in quotes bc photoshop achieves this thru assigning a frame roughly twice it's original screen time instead of actually adding another) ↳ (afaik, currently there's no way of changing the default 30 fps as long as u start with frame animations. If anyone does know how please let me know 😳) **Why would this conversion cause missing frames? ↳ This happens when one tries to reverse the harm done by photoshop in prev step by changing the 30 fps frame rate back to what it's supposed to be (using function 'Set Timeline Frame Rate') ↳ Let's use the last example again. As mentioned, to go from 16.67 fps to 30 fps, 13 out of every 17 frames will receive roughly twice its original screen time (0.033s * 2 ≈ 0.07s). On the other hand, 4 out of every 17 frames' screen time will remain the same (0.03s). to go from 30 fps back to 16.67 fps, photoshop resamples frames from its 30 fps timeline in 0.06s intervals. As a result, any frame with screen time less than 0.06s runs the risk of 'slipping through the cracks', namely ones whose screen time remained 0.03s ↳ (gifs require frame delays to be rounded to the nearest hundredth of a second) ** What if I open the file as video object, instead of importing as frames? ↳ Indeed, when opening as video object (i.e. command+o instead of command+i), photoshop inherits its frame rate as is. We would then have the option to manipulate it's speed by right-click ➡️ adjusting the percentage (of how much to speed up or slow down). ↳ Here, if we slow down a gif without changing its frame rate, we risk introducing duplicate frames into the result (since frame rate is now higher than needed). If we slow down a gif and lowered the frame rate, but the math didn't check out, we also risk losing unique frames (frame rate not high enough). The same (opposite) goes for speeding things up. Therefore the best and easiest approach is, again, leaving speed related settings alone until right before exporting.

(the block of GIF89a syntax responsible for graphic control:)

Ok in hindsight this probably isn't exactly like. the most straightforward thing ever but the execution part is very much so 😳 here goes:

1. Open file in PS via Command + O note the (25 fps) on bottom left

without changing speed, duration, or frame rate: 2. Trim ✂️ 3. Crop 4. Resize 5. Sharpen 6. Color

(Updated!!!) 6. Export gif, and then reopen it in Photoshop **Compare to the original method (timeline into smart object, smart object back into frames), the updated method has the following benefits: i. Avoid lowering gif quality by converting into smart objectsii. Reopening gif into frames and reassign frame delay saves time (bc less steps) and won't hurt the quality at all (bc no image processing required)

7. Assign Frame Delay (i usually go with original frame delay + 0.01s) 8. Export ✨

Tada!! Speed = managed!!

This ad actually came out last December where I was aware of like, maybe 5% of what's in this post. Here is what my original gif looks like. I'd say what we have rn is a big improvement :)

Now, imo there are situations where it simply makes more sense to start with frame animations (imported using command + i). For instance: when we need to remove duplicate frames by hand, when there is a missing frame/bad frame that needs to be repaired, etc. My workflow would then look like this:

1. Command + i 2. (do things to frames) 3. Set frame delay to 0.03s 4. Convert to video timeline 5. (the rest will look exactly like the workflow above)

This works bc when frame delay is set to 0.03s, photoshop will treat your video timeline as a "natural" 30 fps timeline and leave your frames alone. Therefore maintaining its uniform speed.

4. Smoother Slomo using Video Frame Interpolation

As mentioned above, VFI (Video Frame Interpolation) is the process of synthesizing in-between images from a given set of images. It can increase videos' frame rates (i.e. 30 fps to 60 fps), hence smoother slomos. There are many software products that let you use VFI by simply dragging videos into the app and clicking 'export'. I've had very good experiences with Topaz and After Effects.

Let's talk about After Effects first. If you have Photoshop, chances are you have AE as well. To use AE's Keyframe Interpolation:

i. Import ii. Set speed to half iii. Click square twice until you see lil arrow iv. Export

Topaz is a production grade video enhancing software. It's capable of enhancing frame rates (i.e. 30 fps to 60 fps), increasing resolutions (i.e. 540p to 4K/2160p) and more. Unlike AE who uses only the two neighboring key frames to generate an in-between frame, Topaz takes the whole sequence into account, hence better reliability. It's also more user friendly than AE imo.

Here is a before-and-after interpolation using Topaz.

That's all 🎉🎉🎉

To sum up: remove dupe frames (if any), repair missing frames (if any), use and only use frame delay to control speed, and software enhance frame rate if needed.

This post got way longer and more technical than I had planned and I honestly have no idea where all this stuff came from lol. But it was really fun and I hope you'll find it helpful. Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Have fun moving-picture making!!

#f1edit #gif tutorial #asks #*#my gif tutorials #photoshop #dailyresources #allresources #completeresources #this was. 3k words?????? what?????

202 notes · View notes

snarky-magpie · 2 months

Text

(Back to editing PS. so I could hopefully update around the middle of the week.) “You’re forgetting we spent the last two months living together, love, and I think we did a pretty good job of it, didn’t we? And that was under less-than-ideal circumstances. Fuck the conventions, Reg. I just want to be with you, but I know my dating record doesn’t inspire much confidence, so I’ll adjust. Move at your pace. If you need to move out and date like real people do, then let’s do it.”

Regulus stares at James, grey eyes full of storms but not leaving his face. It fills James with hope.

“But if you’re only doing this because you think it’s something I want—think again.”

“You worried about rushing into a relationship. I don’t like the idea of becoming yet another mistake you regret.” Reg bites his lips, looking like he's trying to prevent himself from saying more, but his fingers clench painfully around James’ hands as if trying to cling to him with every fibre of his being.

#jegulus #regulus black #james potter #starchaser #dead gay wizards #ao3fic #the marauders

57 notes · View notes

sirfrogsworth · 5 months

Text

Lens Calibration Madness

I was doing some more tests comparing my smartphone camera to my DSLR and I noticed in one of them the smartphone looked sharper than my DSLR.

(Smartphone top, DSLR bottom)

This did not compute.

How did a camera with a tiny sensor, half the megapixels, and a tiny plastic lens produce a sharper image?

Then I remembered that 3rd party lenses often need to be calibrated in order to focus properly. Canon is especially bad about restricting information about their focusing algorithms, so companies like Sigma have to reverse engineer everything. With mirrorless cameras they have been able to fix this focusing issue. DSLRs... not so mich.

Unfortunately, my camera has a flippy mirror that gets out of the way of the sensor every time you take a picture. That's the clicking sound most people associate with taking a photo. And since the mirror in a DSLR is a moving part, it will have some variability from camera to camera. And wouldn't you know it, DSLRs use that mirror to focus. If my mirror is even a few nanometers out of alignment compared to the camera Sigma used to create the focusing system for their lenses, I will not be able to get perfectly accurate autofocusing.

It will be good enough for most. But with all of the product photos and macros I do, having perfect focus is pretty critical.

So now I need to spend a couple of hours photographing test targets.

The lens was "front focusing."

You want the depth of field to cover the same distance in front of the 0 as behind. You can see the 1 and 2 at the top are blurry. The goal is to have the 1 and the 1 to be of equal sharpness. Ideally if you put the 1 and 1 next to each other, you wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

This caused a problem when taking a picture of a cylinder, like the flashlight I was using as a test subject. The text at the center of the cylinder was in focus, but the sides were farther away and started getting blurry. All of the in focus area was in the empty space in front of the flashlight.

But, after 20 test shots adjusting the focus correction 1 unit each time, I was finally able to dial it in.

And then when I redid my photos of the flashlight...

Not only was the DSLR much sharper, you can now see the individual lines from the printing process.

I have been using this lens like this for years and now I am wondering how many photos were a smidge out of focus. It's not a huge deal because you have to be zoomed in about 400% to really notice. And it really only affects photos taken less than 2 feet away.

But still, perfectionism is a pretty big trigger for my anxiety so I need to fix this so my brain doesn't melt every time I take a photo in the future.

Unfortunately, the issue isn't resolved with one adjustment.

It requires 16 adjustments.

You set the focal length of the lens to 18mm and take a test picture from 28 cm, 35 cm, 50 cm, and 2 m.

Then you set it to 24mm and do it over again.

Then 28mm.

Then 35mm.

And there is no gaurantee you will fix it with the first adjustment. You could overshoot or undershoot. So you have to keep testing and testing until you drill down and hit the bullseye.

All because Canon doesn't like other companies making lenses for their cameras.

Sigma will actually do the calibration for you, but you have to send them both your camera and your lens and who knows how long that would take.

And I really want to bring my camera to Florida in a few weeks.

So I guess I've got another project aside from my 20 other things I need to get done.

#long post #photography

88 notes · View notes

jokingmisfit · 11 months

Text

Yandere Rick Sanchez ABC's

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

Rick acts relatively normal with affection until he gets drunk, then he is all over you and very persistent. You're also screwed if you're around him when toxic Rick comes around. He tries to keep everything to a minimum, but everyone can tell he's in love with you. Rick will flirt and do practically anything for you thats how he shows his love aside from the hand somehow always touching you.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

Rick has little to no regard for life. The only people safe from getting killed in his attempt to get you are yours family and his.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

He may be condescending, but it's all in an attempt to convince you that you need him.

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

All the time. Rick doesn't feel he needs your permission for anything except sex, of course. You have no idea the amount of gadgets he has hidden in/around you.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

Rick isn't the type to just drop to his knees and tell his "sob story". He doesn't get too emotional unless you really push him to be or if he's super super drunk.

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

He's soo annoyed and kinda hurt. He just wants to protect you.

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

Rick isn't like Prime. He doesn't see your life as a game and he doesn't see you as a toy; he wants you safe not being a bitch.

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

You'll never know, because he erases that memory. Or y'know he traumatized you cause you left him.

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

Rick doesn't care much about the future; he has more pressing matters in the present. The only thing he thinks of is making sure you're safe no matter the situation.

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

He kills them. Rick isn't afraid to admit he can be a bit dramatic, but human/alien life means so little to him and you mean so much. If you encouraged it then he's gonna be so pissed, and you won't be seen for days 😉.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

The same as always. He acts normal, but he has you stuck to his side while he's whispering inside jokes and flirting.

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

The man is a flirt! Rick WILL make it obvious. He gives you things, flirts, insults you less than the others, drags you from conversations, and will straight up say he likes you.

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

Not really, but he is much softer and kinder to you than anyone else. If it wasn't for his own god complex he'd worship you. Rick will still act like a hard ass but he'll call you cringy cute nicknames, hold your hands/you, make silly jokes/puns, and smother you in love.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

Mostly Rick just fucks with you emotionally. He'll make you feel bad for just existing. If you're both horny however he is absolutely into bondage and spanking.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

Mostly just your freedom and some memories. You're restricted to the home unless he's with you.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

He'll let you take your time adjusting to your new life, but if it's just everyday bullshit he's patient as he is with everyone else. Rick may love you, but that doesn't mean you can be a little shit all the time.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

Leave or escape and Rick will hunt your ass down till he "brings you home". If you die then he'll do one or more of four things, find and destroy what killed you, clone you, bring you back to life, and/or move on slowly and unhealthily.

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

Rick feels guilty even though he pretends not to. He'd consider letting you go if you let him baby safety proof you and your place. Then again it'll take a ton of begging.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

Losing his Diane and Beth play a huge part in these feelings. His isolation while grieving and travelling also plays a big part.

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

It really upsets him. At first he'll try to play it off or comfort you, but if he can't calm you he'll just get super drunk to numb the pain.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

I think most yanderes have a limit to their abilities; the scariest part about Rick is he can do almost anything, and he will use this against you.

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

His need for adventure. Rick can't go too long without one. If you're smart enough to jump through the many, many loops he sets up to keep you there then your best bet is to do it while he's out adventuring.

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

No, absolutely not; at least not physically. Mentally, however, Rick will scar you for life.

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

He doesn't worship you, actually, he expects to be worshiped. Rick does adore though. The man thinks you're borderline perfect; if there was a god it made you for him. He's definitely nicer to you than others, he'll give you weird trinkets and gadgets, and practically do anything you ask while complaining all for the goal of winning your favor and cause he's a simp.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

Surprisingly, Rick is patient while pining. He understands he's not the most desirable or friendly man. I'd say he can go for a year or so before he gets impatient, however if your life is threatened you are being taken home with him indefinitely.

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

I wouldn't necessarily say "break", but if you make him desperate enough he will 100% use mind control.

#rick and morty #c-137 rick x reader #rick sanchez x reader #rick x reader #yandere rick sanchez

271 notes · View notes

brother-emperors · 4 months

Note

how long do you typically spend drawing a comic page? I'm a perfectionist and I have a hard time keeping a reasonable working pace for comics

so I’m actually going to not answer this one (the answer is both less and more time than people think, and it depends) but instead I’m going to give you some advice on how to deal with perfectionism when it comes to making comics

the first thing is to see if you can kill your inner perfectionist, which basically means, can you get comfortable with imperfections? this is something that can be difficult to do, but it can also really take some weight off your shoulders if you can look at a line that’s a little squiggly instead of perfectly smooth and move on from it. there’s a whole page, a single wonky line, is like. fine, especially if you’re doing more than one page.

if not, that’s okay! we’re moving on to the 75%-80% rule, which is: figure out what giving 100% in art looks like for you, then find out what giving 70%-80% looks like. As a person, you can probably consistently give 80% to any given illustration, but doing 100% all the time is going to fuck you up in the long run. If you can get comfortable consistently giving a 80%, you can then decide when you want to crank it up for dramatic effect, or you can save going all in on something fun or a big project. if perfectionism is a hard habit to break, instead try it reframe it as giving a ‘perfect’ 80% instead of 100. it’s all about that overall visual consistency, baby!

comics can feel like doing seven or eight individual illustrations on a page (panels) and some people definitely tackle them this way, and that makes learning what you can consistently give without wanting to shove your hands into cement very important. If every panel is a solid 80%, the entire page looks Good (which means the entire page is working at 100% because you have visual consistency/coherency and that’s what matters)

ideally, you reach a point where you can gauge what a good 80% of what you can give looks like across an entire sequence. for me, Trikaranos is operating at 80% while Ex Voto is 70% (part of it is that Trikaranos is more demanding, while Ex Voto is more casual and vibes based, but for both I put a lot more work into formatting and lettering)

part of what can help with all of this is figuring out a good work pipeline that encourages finishing up a sequence to keep you from getting stuck agonizing on small details

a decent one is this

thumbnails > rough pencils > do tight pencils where you think you’ll need it (I do tight pencils on facial expressions, furniture if there are bodies on it, and perspective shots) > inks > colors > lettering

adjust it based on whatever your own needs are, etc.

what’s imperative to this is that you don’t do the pencils > inks > coloring stages in sequential order, but instead jump around so that you don’t burn your energy through it (in that there’s a drop in quality as you either get tired or start to rush). Jumping around lets you spread out your high energy points and it picks up the slack for when you want to just get it done, but also it forcibly keeps you from spending too much time on one specific thing. (which is why breaking it up into stages is important, instead something like finishing one whole page from pencils to colors and then doing the next one)

when I do single page comics, I usually alternate every other panel, when I do multi page comics, I’ll either alternate entire pages or I’ll do the first and last pages at the start, and then jump around the middle in whatever order I feel like.

whenever I find myself spending too much time on something, I will set a playlist that has either a 15 minute or half hour run time, and when I reach the last song, if I’m still fucking around focusing on one thing, I’ll make myself move in and return to it later. I do this the most with the inking stage so that I don’t over ink something (I find crosshatching relaxing, but it doesn’t often look good because I do too much in one place and it looks bad because it doesn’t work with the rest of the panels and then I have to start over), and then I can go back to a panel with fresh eyes later and decide whether or not more detail is necessary for the whole page to look good, or if it’s fine as is.

and ofc, the most important guideline of all: the Fuck It, We’re Done rule, which is at some point, you may look at a page and go ‘I don’t want to work on this any more, I’m tired, it’s not fun, I’ll be stuck here forever, etc’ and that’s when you put your pencil down, physically move back from the page, and figure out what the bare minimum amount of work you need to do in order for the whole page to be coherent is, do JUST THAT, and post it.

at the end of the day, it’s the whole page that’s important, not all the individual details, so try not to focus on too many small details early on, but instead go back and add them in closer to the end. You can clean up any line art mistakes that are bothering you here at this stage too.

finally, don’t zoom in too close on a digital canvas, especially if you’re doing pencils. there’s no reason for a reader to zoom in close like that unless you specifically want them too, spare your hands the agony of tiny details that won’t be seen when you upload it at viewer resolutions. I know artists who won’t go past 150% because those details won’t show up at print resolutions.

HEUGHGHHH this is so so long, but hopefully there is some helpful advice in there for you, anon

#ask tag #long post #art supply tag #like technically #it’s more like art advice but the same kind of deal #ymmv this is a very professional ‘I have deadlines to meet’ type of thing. because I had deadlines to meet lmao #this is also close to how the American industry pros go about doing it. so. spare yourself the student loan debt #and modify it away to suit your needs

47 notes · View notes