#at least for high effort sketches

[awkwardpossum0]

Sky sketch :D

#he #my favorite link #tied with Spirit Tracks #me when tryna do a digital sketch #in the style that I do my traditional sketches #at least for high effort sketches #i love only using one pen #the only brush for me fr #man #i saw another artists post #that used a similar pose #so i used it as a reference #but i didnt follow or save the post #so it has poofed from my life #art #the legend of zelda #digital art #linked universe #zelda #linked universe au #drawing #fanart #lu sky #sky linked universe

[jenscx]

LET ME IN — yu jimin x f!reader

you return to your hometown after being overseas for years. there was no possible way for you to anticipate your old high school sweetheart waiting at the airport.

TAGS — angst, little fluff, exes to lovers, happy ending, high school sweetheart, cursing

WORDCOUNT — 5.1k

the sweater that you had picked out today, feels unfamiliar on your skin. it’s the one which reads, ‘seniors of 2018’. it’s the one you had never gone near, leaving it to rot in your closet. it’s the one that holds the most painful memories for you. how could a piece of clothing cause you so much pain?

frankly, you know why. it’s the one jimin had given to you as you left for the train to the airport. “something to remember me by,” she had stated after pulling it over the top of your head.

you had huffed, playfully asking, “how could i ever forget you?”

your closet had witnessed your stares— or rather glares at the sweater. not until an hour had passed, when you finally heaved a sigh and grabbed it off the hanger that was situated at the corner of the closet. it’s just because it’s comfortable, you had reasoned before. and it didn’t matter what you wore underneath the puffer jacket, it would end up covered.

of course, these were all excuses, trying to deny the very fact that it just reminded you of jimin. and you were very welcoming towards such reminders.

reminders of what?

you shake your head, picturing a blank canvas before the melodic laughter filled your ears. jimin’s laugh.

the screeching of your luggage’s wheels distract you. aeri’s standing at the door, a hand on your suitcase.

“hey girl,” she checks the watch on her wrist, “we gotta go. flight’s at 2.”

you nod, ignoring the fact that you had spent almost two whole hours thinking about the repercussions of returning back to… home? could you even call it that?

aeri seems to notice your inner turmoil, since in the taxi, she places a comforting hand over yours, sending you a small smile. while it didn’t really settle your nerves, you appreciated the effort nonetheless.

the journey to the boarding gate is like a fever dream. your airpods betraying you, randomly shuffling to a girls’ generation song. it was like a cry back to the past, when you and jimin would listen to girls’ generation songs together.

for jimin, you had complied.

you open your eyes, you can only see the back of someone’s head above the aeroplane’s seat. if you keep your eyes closed for too long, you might start to envision a blur of jimin’s perfect eyes, her nose, her lips that were always pursed in disappointment when she caught you and minjeong stealing her snacks…

the realisation that you can’t remember the face that once made you the happiest girl on the planet hits hard. it hits harder than the guilt and misery you felt when jimin, a week after you had left korea, sent a flurry of messages that went unresponded.

“i didn’t know you liked girls’ generation,” aeri comments. startled, you stare at your phone, the lock screen wallpaper being jimin’s back displaying girls’ generation’s holiday night baseball t-shirt. the girl had forced you to buy matching ones with her, you recall bitterly.

“i don’t,” you answer coolly, swiftly turning off your phone. aeri eyes you weirdly but eventually lets you off the hook and leans back into her seat.

the rest of the thirteen hours flight, you busy yourself with work— leftovers from the time before break, drafts of sketches, thesis statements and long-winded essays. while a plane was not the best environment to finish a full drawing, you could at least make some rough sketches. somehow, your pencil graphite gravitates from sturdy, concrete buildings to soft cheekbones, hooded eyes, pouty lips.

shit, you blink, taking in your subconscious sketch of a woman, familiar to your past.

almost instantly shutting your sketchbook shut, you ignore the implications of what your mind was telling you. the crew neck sweater itches at your neck. it’s almost like the words embroidered on the cotton burn into your heart, to always make you remember and recall the time before messy relationships, longing feelings and just enjoying the present time.

time. you didn’t have much of it anyway.

maybe this trip would allow you to make peace with the past. you wouldn’t flinch whenever your friends would talk about league of legends champion, ‘katarina’, or you wouldn’t immediately decline movie night with aeri in fear that one of the actresses would look eerily similar to jimin.

allowing your brain to wander past your comfort zone, you wonder what she's doing now. was she a flight stewardess? did she manage to finally get better at pubg? was her favourite colour still blue? did she still have that sparkle in her eyes when food was brought up?

the last thought makes you chuckle, reminiscing how excited jimin was whenever food was involved. when yizhuo would bring back mala snacks from china, jimin would be gone in a flash.

(so would yizhuo’s snacks, you can’t count the number of times you were forced to lie about who the perpetrator was.

maybe it was worth it when jimin would beam at you, flashing a bright smile that rivalled the shine of diamonds).

with bittersweet memories, you drift off. sleepless nights made up for, by just giving yourself permission to think about her.

you dream of crashing waves, two people on the shore, just sitting down and gazing at the scenery. the sunset’s everlasting in this timeline. like time doesn’t exist and all they did was stare at the deep ocean.

before you even get to see their faces, the announcement rings throughout the flight.

you sigh deeply, catching the attention of aeri.

“you okay? you slept so soundly, i thought you died,” the japanese girl asks worriedly. you laugh, it was the best sleep you ever got, and it was on an aeroplane.

strange how our consciousness works.

“i’m good,” this time you weren’t lying.

you stare at the glass doors, wondering if minjeong had told anyone else to come fetch you. it wasn’t a far fetched thought, maybe the girl had asked yizhuo to come as well. the chinese girl would kill minjeong if she didn’t tell her about your arrival back in korea after what? three, almost four years?

“hey, i asked my friend to pick us up and she might have brought someone else,” you warn aeri.

“oh that’s fun… why do you sound so scared?”

“because, the other girl is a little overbearing,” you scoff, “she might try to climb you, just a warning.”

aeri widens her eyes as you two drag your luggage to the gates.

she gapes, “no kidding? is she a koala or something?”

“something like that,” you shrug.

the doors open. it’s your first step (not really) into korea. the air is the same anywhere else, but the feeling isn’t.

it’s the feeling of uncertainty. the feeling of fear. aeri clasps your free hand tightly in hers, sensing your hesitance.

your gaze glides over the crowd of people waiting for their own family. aeri makes a noise of recognition and she pulls you to the side, you finally spot someone familiar.

“minjeong…!” you call out, voice going silent at the sight of a girl that is most definitely not minjeong.

it’s not yizhuo either, that’s for sure.

“did minjeong get plastic surgery or something?”

you want to run.

“because… that’s not— that’s not minjeong,” you whisper, “that’s yu jimin.”

aeri deadpans, “you say that like i know who the hell she is.”

you want to kill minjeong. and maybe jimin wants to kill aeri with how hard she’s glaring at her.

jimin only trots slowly towards you.

jimin’s eyes dart from aeri’s face back to yours, her hard, cold gaze trailing down to your sweater that has come uncovered by the puffer jacket. your eyes narrow when she raises an eyebrow at you, as if asking you, “why are you wearing that?”

you don’t answer her, because you don’t know either.

“i’m jimin, y/n’s—”

“friend,” you interrupt, quickly turning away to avoid the flash of hurt on jimin’s face.

the mentioned girl recovers quickly, putting on a fake smile, “classmate of y/n from high school.”

“i’m uchinaga aeri, y/n’s roommate, thank you for picking us up!” aeri grins widely, ignoring the deadly lasers pointing her way.

“where are you staying, if i may ask?” jimin’s sharp tone doesn’t go unnoticed by you.

“with y/n—”

you cover aeri’s mouth, knowing how jimin gets, “it’s none of your business.”

your roommate makes a noise of indignation and licks a long strip across your palm. you groan, taking it off her mouth and wiping it on her jacket.

“that’s so gross,” you mutter in english.

“your english has gotten better,” jimin notes as the three of you walk to her car.

you don’t know what to say, so you stay silent.

“where do you stay, jimin-ssi?” aeri makes small talk to cover up the awkward silence. you thank her internally.

jimin stares at you through the mirror, “with y/n.”

you bite your lip, nervous at what jimin might say next. you had never told aeri about your complicated relationship with jimin and you didn’t plan to. only because of kim minjeong meddling in, now it seems like everything has to be uncovered again.

“she’s a bad roommate, right?” surprisingly, aeri ignores jimin’s statement and instead continues to complain about you.

you’re shocked, to say the least. you thought aeri would have started blabbing and asking probing questions about your past roommate situation. or maybe she noticed your sullen look.

“i thought four years would have been enough for her to change her bad habits,” jimin says.

you know for a fact she isn’t talking about the same thing as aeri. jimin was even worse than you as a roommate; eating your secret snack stash, never cleaning up the pile of laundry she had in her room and always invading your alone time in bed.

“many things have changed,” you mumble, “i’m not the same as before.”

the car goes silent, jimin probably analysing your words while aeri pouts, confused by the strange tension you had with your so-called friend.

“if you desire something enough, you’d want it to stay the same forever.”

you retort, “change is inevitable.”

aeri says quietly in the corner, “i know the guy who said that, his name is like john, or something.”

struggling to keep your laughter silent, you splutter in aghast at aeri’s sudden general knowledge.

“you’re so strange,” you comment.

aeri laughs, “i know, but you like me for that, right?”

(“—only had a brain the size of a walnut, that’s why the stegosaurus was one of the dumbest dinosaurs!” jimin reads out loud from your bed.

you stand at your vanity, finishing up your skincare, trying not to laugh at jimin’s absurd dinosaur facts, “you’re so weird.”

“you like that about me though?”)

you sense how intimate the conversation feels for the both of you, so you stop answering aeri and instead focus on jimin. her grip on the steering wheel has tightened significantly, eyes burning with something you can’t identify.

“you’re being annoying again, go to sleep or something, it’s a long drive from here to my house—” you halt in the middle of your sentence, finally questioning the very fact of… why?

why is yu jimin here? even if minjeong asked her to, why? the jimin you knew would never do this. the jimin you knew would never give up her sleeping time just to fetch an old friend, who she maybe had something going on with, and a stranger? yizhuo had friends from china who were visiting, and even then, jimin refused to fetch them from the airport. she was the only one in your friend group with a licence so it only made sense to ask her.

you try to bury yourself in the sweater even more. it was fine for now. seeing jimin in the flesh. but maybe you were so jet lagged that you hadn’t made sense of the situation yet.

the only sensible thing to do for now, was to let yourself escape into dreamland and wait for the morning after.

you can only anticipate it would be full of awkward silence, tension-filled gazes, hesitant actions.

it’s difficult to fall asleep. you decide to blame your insomnia on the nap you had during the flight. even when you know it’s because of the deeply asleep body, separated by a thin wall.

you’re sitting upright, staring at the unveiled moon. it’s stunning, not like the sun which literally glares. the moon is calming, easing you into the next day, all while making you feel… loneliness.

how could you feel lonely even with so many people around you?

(“do you think soulmates exist?” you had asked, curious of jimin’s take on such tales.

the girl seems taken aback, but she ultimately replies, “if they do, i think you’re mine.”)

you clench the duvet in your fists tightly, mind grasping at any other thought than of yu jimin. it’s unfortunate that you seem to enjoy the pain and torture past memories bring with how often your brain wanders through them.

maybe it’s time to come clean with yourself.

you were back in your hometown. you were staying in the same apartment as you did before you left. one that you shared with yu jimin; one that you called home.

eyes starting to become watery, you wipe them off and take a seat at your desk. if you were going to stay awake the rest of the night, might as well get work done. pulling out your sketchbook, the first page to be opened is the drawing of jimin from the flight. the realisation slaps you.

how long would it take someone to get over the love of their life?

for you, maybe eternity.

the door creaks open slightly. your head turns sharply, hand instinctively covering the drawing.

“y/n…?”

“jimin,” you inhale, “why are you still awake?”

she doesn’t bother to answer you and instead chooses to sit on your bed. once you notice the pyjamas she’s wearing, you feel daggers stab into your heart. it’s one of your many matching pyjamas with her. you hadn’t touched any of them since you left korea.

“are you dating aeri?” she asks.

you know what she’s secretly trying to ask.

“no, she’s just a friend.”

“that’s what they always say,” jimin scoffs. her tone doesn’t sit right with you.

with a sudden urge to defend your friendship with aeri, you shoot back, “i recall you saying that about lee jeno too.”

your words clearly strike a chord in jimin, her eyes widen, hurtful remarks at the tip of her tongue. yet, she merely looks away. you hate how beautiful she looks in the moonlight.

“y’know, technically we’re still dating.”

“what are you talking about?” you ask, bewildered.

jimin rolls her eyes, “we never explicitly broke up, you only ghosted me. technically we’re still together.”

“stop spouting nonsense.”

the girl only pouts in annoyance. you hate how your heartstrings tug at her cute expression. right now, yu jimin had to be anything but cute.

“and i didn’t ghost you, i was busy.” the lie slips out easily, revealing how used you are to saying it. jimin, of course, doesn’t believe you. she had never.

jimin frowns.

“you always say that too.”

she stands up, walking bit by bit closer to you. your hand grips the sketchbook protectively.

placing a hand onto the back of your chair, jimin smirks, leaning in. you hate how attractive she looks.

her now blonde locks form a curtain around your faces, preventing any outsider to peek in and see what you were doing.

“i think you’re a bad friend,” jimin claims.

“what?”

you can’t take your eyes off her fluttering eyelashes, her red nose, probably from the cold, and her eyes filled with determination.

“you lied to aeri,” she whispers, “since when were we ever just friends?”

a lump forms in your throat. your heart constricts. you can barely even say a word. you’re speechless.

“we’re barely even friends, roommates, probably,” you splutter out.

“yeah?”

“yeah.” jimin eyes you with an amused expression, lips twitching with the threat of a big, wide smile. you realise your words bid you no help, only further supplying as a challenge for jimin— for you to admit that you were more than friends. no words needed to be exchanged about that fact, but you being you, after fulfilling years of ghosting, would never admit that you harboured any sort of feelings for jimin after being the main reason why your relationship fell apart.

you would argue that your absence was just a contributing factor. the real trigger came in the form of lee jeno, a man that you could say with your whole heart and soul, you hated with every bone in your body.

after you had left, with a promise to stay in contact with jimin, you realised how hard it was to maintain your relationship status. and when jimin posted countless instagram stories of jeno, you realised again that maybe it was best to break it off.

never in the duration of your ‘ghosting stage’ had you ever told jimin the real reason for your sudden coldness. madly jealous and insecure, you decided to disappear. disappear just from jimin though.

“i’ve always been curious,” jimin pulls back from your intense gaze, “why you started being so distant, cold and indifferent. tell me, will you?”

“that’s just my personality.” a direct white lie, you decide to tell.

“i was heartbroken,” she ignores you and continues her monolouge, “my girlfriend decides to ghost me, and just me. made me think i did something wrong.”

you lick your lips, suddenly feeling your throat constrict up. no longer was this just banter, the conversation was steering into uncharted territory.

“it wasn’t just you,” you desperately argue, trying to direct the conversation away, “moving to another country isn’t easy.”

“you’re pretending our whole relationship didn’t exist. maybe in your eyes it meant nothing, but for me, it was everything. don’t you know every single day i have nightmares? the craziest thing is that all the demons in my nightmares have your smile,” jimin whispers fiercely, “and yet, i stay faithful to those nightmares, even if i wake up crying for someone who didn’t even bother answering my calls. you may have only been in the states, but it felt like you were on another planet. i was the last person to know you were coming back, even though you promised me; promised that if you were to return, i would be the first person to—”

you can’t control yourself. hearing her words makes your blood boil. the pumping of your heart only accelerates further as you lift up your hand, delivering a heavy slap across her face. how dare she? how dare she act as if everything was your fault? how could she accuse your devotion and adoration for her?

“don’t act like you’re the fucking victim, karina,” you hiss, your words even more painful than the stinging red on jimin’s cheek, “the first morning after, i sent you so many texts, barely even seen. then i see your story. were you acting when you said you were sad about me leaving? or were you happy to finally say that you don’t have a girlfriend anymore?”

jimin cradles her cheek in her hand, eyes narrowing when you finally confess the real reason. you can tell she doesn’t remember anything. her not even knowing what she did that made you feel unneeded only drives the blade deeper into your heart.

“drinking at a club with lee jeno,” you say his name with venom, voice gradually getting louder and louder. remembering that aeri’s only a few walls away, you try to control your emotions. “could you not understand how i felt— you said nothing would come between us and the first week away from home, constantly ignoring me for some guy.”

(“call me when your plane lands,” jimin said, playing with the hem of her sweater on you.

“isn’t it gonna be midnight in korea when i land?”

the girl merely chuckles, “i’ll be up all night just to hear your voice.”)

the realisation strikes you like a lightning bolt.

“this was a mistake.”

“what?”

“this… me coming back. i should have just stayed in the states but fuck, i let aeri convince me,” you run your fingers through your tousled hair, stressed. jimin was going to cause you to have white hair.

the redness on jimin’s cheek is still there. you feel slightly guilty for ruining her clear complexion.

“that was just how i coped with you leaving,” jimin explains.

you purse your lips, placing your open palms on jimin’s chest. maybe she thinks you’re about to cave in since she sighs in relief. however, instead of pulling her in, you push her until her back is touching your door.

“i don’t need an explanation, or an apology,” you say firmly, “i need time alone away from you.”

“you’ve had 4 years to yourself,” jimin states bitterly.

“i’m sorry for slapping you, but please, either show me your actions matching your words, or just get out of my life for good.”

jimin sighs again, this one full of exasperation.

“go,” you mutter under your breath.

the knife drives deep into your already ruined heart as you push her away. the girl scoffs, grasping your open palms into her hands, intertwining your fingers.

“if you insist on pushing me away, i’ll get rid of any possibility of us being together again. just let me into your heart again,” she throws your hands away and slams the door. the loud bang echoes in your ears, but not as loudly as her words. it only takes a few seconds for you to collapse onto the floor, sobs wrecking your whole body.

“morning,” aeri yawns, “i heard a loud bang last night, was that you or is your apartment haunted?”

you drizzle maple syrup onto your stacked pancakes, sending a bittersweet smile to your friend. your night was spent tossing and turning, both guilt and anger consuming you. when the clock ticked at four in the morning, you finally let yourself think about how jimin made you feel. even if she went to drink right after you left, you should have communicated with her instead of ghosting her. you knew for a fact that she was heartbroken based on the numerous texts your friends had sent you.

fuck, you groan into your pillow. getting up from your bed, your eyes roam the room, eventually landing on the sketchbook at your desk. you never finished that drawing on the plane. after considering (or more likely procrastination), you sit down, pouring your hours and feelings into your drawings. countless of them filled up the sketchbook’s pages. the drawings’ subjects all looked eerily similar to jimin. her pointed nose, soft gaze were all captured in the pages. you finally come to terms with it. you were still in love with her. after all, she was your only muse. thinking about her words from before, you knew that she meant them. spending years waiting for someone who was basically a ghost couldn’t have been easy.

you were going to do something about it.

barely getting any sleep last night, you woke up earlier than usual and decided to prepare breakfast. aeri had woken up an hour after, stomach growling and eyes gleaming at the pancakes.

“by the way,” she says, mouth full of pancake, “i’m meeting up with a friend today and she’s bringing someone too. wanna go with me on a double date?”

fate must be messing with you since right as aeri says the words ‘double date’, yu jimin walks in. her hair tousled, puffed cheeks and eyes narrowing. you stiffen, focusing on picking at your pancakes instead. unbeknownst to you, once jimin spots the lone plate of breakfast on the counter, her gaze softens.

“do you know who your friend’s bringing…?” you whisper softly, trying not to catch the attention of jimin.

aeri, although you love her, says in the loudest voice possible, “somi will be your date! i think she’s your type.”

the scraping of the metal fork makes you squeeze your eyes shut, mentally preparing for jimin’s outburst.

“so-mi,” jimin clicks her tongue.

aeri nods, stuffing her face with more food.

she turns to you, “and you’re going on a date with her?”

“double date with me,” aeri clarifies, “don’t worry jimin-ssi, i’ll be there to protect y/n! y’know in college i always had to pick y/n up from her bad dates. her taste in guys suck.”

“seems like her taste in girls has been downgraded,” jimin comments, smirking. you roll your eyes, wanting nothing more than for her to shut up. aeri guffaws, taking out her phone. “i’ll show you somi’s instagram account and you can decide for yourself, y/n,” she says.

you nod, deciding not to say anything in case jimin flares up. somi’s very pretty, anyone would agree. she had her own attractive style and seemed really confident. you liked that. aeri wasn’t wrong to say that somi was your type. it was just unfortunate that your heart was in the hands of another girl.

while scrolling on aeri’s phone, her alarm rings, reading, ‘brunch with yunny.’

“ah! yunjin wanted to meet earlier, just the two of us,” aeri smiles, “text me later if you wanna join!” she stands up from the table. you’re astonished by how fast she managed to finish those pancakes, her stack was evidently taller than yours. jimin glances at you, amazed as well.

“did she inhale those…?”

“i’ve got no fucking clue,” you mumble, digging into your own. jimin only chuckles and you hate how it makes your heart clench up in affection.

the silence is deafening. without aeri, the air thickens with tension between you and jimin, filled with nostalgia and regret. it feels just like last time— you and jimin eating breakfast together at that very same table, giggling about whatever trouble your friends got into the previous day.

“hey, about yesterday—”

“it’s fine,” you interrupt, “is your cheek okay?”

jimin swallows hard, “yes, it doesn’t hurt at all.”

“don’t lie, come here,” you instruct, “i’ve known you for so long, you can’t lie to me.”

she just laughs, showing you the slightly bruised side of her face. you feel guilt wreck you. no matter how angry you were, you shouldn’t have laid a hand on her.

“did you ice it?”

jimin shakes her head. you sigh, getting up and taking an ice pack out of the freezer. it’s too easy for you to return to past habits, moving around the kitchen like it was 2018 and jimin was the love of your life (she still is). wrapping the ice pack in a towel, you inch closer to jimin, holding it to her cheek. she winces slightly and you resist the urge to hold her hand in comfort.

“y/n…”

“hm?”

the girl seems so small now— her posture deflated, eyes barely meeting yours, biting her lip nervously. you have a feeling you know what she’s about to ask.

“are you going on that date with soyoung?” you laugh loudly, catching jimin off guard.

“jimin, her name’s somi.”

pouting, jimin turns away from you, making your hand falter. “hey, i need to ice your face.”

“i won’t let you unless you answer my question.” she’s so childish it’s adorable. the tension has gone, now filled with uncertainty instead.

“i don’t have anyone to spend the afternoon with. minjeong and yizhuo are busy today,” you explain.

“you have me,” she mutters.

ignoring her, you answer, “aeri seemed really excited for us to meet.”

“you spent all your time in the states with her, you should spend time with your friends here,” jimin retorts.

her hesitance to even admit she wants to spend time with you makes you want to tease her.

“oh? you’re right,” jimin perks up like a puppy. cute, you think. “i should text yujin if she wants to go out, remember her? she was our student council president.”

rolling her eyes, jimin swats at your hand nursing her bruise. it’s too easy for you to return to past habits, bantering with jimin like she was the only girl you’ve ever loved (she was).

it’s too easy. between the choice of going out with aeri to meet someone new and staying in with jimin. it’s such an easy choice to make.

you bring the ice pack away from her face, choosing to caress her cheek lovingly instead. she sighs, content, leaning into your touch.

“jimin,” you gulp, “i’m sorry for these past few years.”

her eyes gaze up at you, “it’s okay. i’ve come to terms with it. i honestly wasn’t expecting you to come back.”

“i wasn’t planning to either, but aeri wanted to.”

“good thing she convinced you, huh?” jimin smiles, “at least i know i was the reason for our break up.”

“it’s only a relationship if there are two people,” you say, “it was my fault too.”

her eyes momentarily flicker to your lips, it doesn’t go unnoticed by you.

“i know these years haven’t been easy on both of us, but if you’re willing to, i think i’m okay with giving us a second chance,” you confess, “even if you hurt me again, i still want you. i just want you. you’ve always been the only one in here.” you point at your heart.

jimin’s eyes shoot straight up, finally breaking into a wide smile, “seriously? even after what i said last night? i’m not complaining but like… you were pretty angry. i just wanted to know why you ghosted me and i agree, i deserved it. but why the sudden change?”

“i mean,” you shrug, “it was what you said that made me think about this. i didn’t want you to stop loving me, because i’ve never stopped loving you.”

“you love me?”

“i love you.”

“this is so crazy, you went from slapping me to…” she trails off, grasping your chin and bringing you into a kiss. her lips were so, so, soft. you wondered why you even let her go. once your lips met, you felt her sigh before smiling into your mouth. catching your breath, you run your fingers through her blonde hair.

“still going on that date with suki?”

“jimin, you know her name’s somi.”

“whatever, i love you too.”

#aespa #aespa x reader #karina x reader #yu jimin x reader #jimin x reader

[traaanskimkitsuragi]

there are many benefits to being a marine biologist

#i lied im doing the dr sprites now #WELL #its more like #i realised i can work on multiple things at the same time #i still wanna do the pinup stuff and i have a wip sketch of the one for yang rn #but i rlly rlly rlly wanted to sketch at least some of the dr sprites #maki looks the exact same bc its just. his priest uniform so i cant really change that #but the others will have some p diff designs :] esp the older adults since ill be aging them wayyy down #i have everyones talents written down as well #honestly the fact that the pinup ones are super high effort means i cant do them back to back anyway #the one for dhairya almost murdered me w how hard it was #these are way more chill in comparison

[danse--macabre]

unpopular astarion headcanons r.e. mirrors and reflections:

while I love the memes around this, I don't think, unless you had a particularly charismatic tav/durge, the whole party would draw him / contribute to some kind of spell where he could see his reflection. Obviously there's room for difference given how many routes your playthrough can take, but generally: he's not universally loved in the same way Karlach is, he's not the heart of the party, he's mostly clinging to the edge of it (and that's fine!)

I think showing him his reflection would impact him deeply and therefore if it is done at the wrong time/place, he'd actually resent the person who did it. this is because you're making him appear vulnerable.

e.g. if the venue is too public, if the others could see, he'd dislike the fact that others can see a moment of vulnerability

alternatively: if your approval with astarion is too low, he'd automatically distrust it / question your motives. this is someone who simply does not believe that people will be kind unprompted to strangers (because doing so violates his worldview and in some ways makes his abuse feel crueller -- if no one cares, there's a logic to what happened to him, at least)

the more permanent the method, the more effort put in, the more likely he is to have mixed/negative feelings towards it. a sketch is a kindness, but not one that requires a great sacrifice or planning - it's easy to dismiss as a fleeting gesture (while he will keep it, obviously, to look at, because he's not that willing to believe his own bullshit).

in contrast, if a permanent method of showing his reflection was given - e.g. a charmed mirror that casts a spell - I think astarion, with a high approval PC, would feel on some level obligated to pay that 'debt' back. astarion strikes me as someone who distrusts thoughtful, non-flippant gifts because again, he's used to transactional relationships.

I also think it might strike at an insecurity: the knowledge that astarion lacks autonomy/independence to deal with his own issues by himself, and, with some bitterness, is dependent on the PC to help him. if you give astarion an enchanted mirror, he, on some level, feels he is dependent on your magic and your supply of magical items to gain access to an element of his humanity. that doesn't entirely sit comfortably with him.

the "best" way to deal with this? let astarion figure out how to handle this himself. for example: gifting him a 'mirror image' spell scroll or something similar. give him time to study the scroll and he'll find a way to cast that spell himself. mechanically, astarion isn't a wizard, but narratively, his default class is arcane trickster, he has access to magic, I don't think it is really that much of a stretch to believe he could achieve that. in general, I think handing astarion the tools to achieve his own goals by himself will be more appreciated than handing that to him on a plate.

however! counterargument to consider: it may be more valuable in the long run to confront astarion's fear of dependence and the sense of reliance that exists particularly in a tav run, where you the PC have 'saved' him without needing to be saved in return. he needs to realise that the PC isn't expecting anything in return for friendship/romance.

either way, i think showing astarion his reflection is going to be more fraught than one might expect - a generous gift, obviously, he will take (he's been poor and starving enough not to turn it down), but there might be some tension beneath any show of gratitude your receive (or he might feign disinterest, if approval/trust is low enough!)

#astarion #bg3

[krembruleed]

alright, the other day i loosely implied that i would make a behind the scenes/tutorial type of thing. momma didn't raise no liar, so here goes nothing i guess!

step 1) rough sketch

honestly i skip this entirely if have a really concrete idea of what i want to do. sometimes compositions are just beamed into my brain from On High and a sketch is unnecessary.

step 2) 3d ref

this is where i refine the composition, lighting, camera angles, props, etc. i use DAZ studio for model posing and blender for almost everything else (props, horns, lighting, rendering).

here's a 10 minute video on how to pose models in DAZ if you're interested in doing something like this! it's not very hard! basic posing requires almost no technical know-how.

i've heard magicposer and virt-a-mate are also good for model posing, but i don't have any experience with either program.

after i'm done posing, i transfer the models to blender so i can work on props, environment, and lighting because doing it in DAZ is ass. you can see that i went overboard on the ref for the paladin i worked on last year by modelling armor.

step 3) lineart

at this stage i'm synthesizing my 3d models, reference images, and style choices into lines.

the 3d likeness of my models is poor because I don't have time for that shit, so this is where my humongous folder full of bg3 screenshots comes into play.

for example: looking at my screenshots, astarion's forehead tilts back towards the back of his skull, much more so than my reference model. his chin and jaw are sharper and longer, and the transition between his brow ridge and nose is almost a straight line. if i combine the information from my 3d model and astarion's face, i get something like this:

3d models aren't fleshy (ie, tummy rolls, wrinkles, muscle deformations, butt squish) unless one puts in A LOT of effort like absolute madman chris jones.

you guys know bernini, right? he has a couple great examples of this. see how hades' hands press in on persephone's leg?

this is what we want to add in the lineart because it's too much effort for 3d. laziness is king.

i guess i draw clothes at this stage too, but for some reason there aren't many in this image. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

step 4) base color

i have a little color picked palette that i use for everybody so i get their skintones right before i start messing with colored lighting. i'll use overlay and hard/soft light layers clipped to the base layer during the shading step later.

step 5) shading

if you thought we were done with the 3d part, guess again! i posterize my 3d reference so i can see the shapes of the shadows and highlights better. if i'm not feeling it, i can go back to 3d and change the lighting really easily.

could I make a cel shader for this? yes. am I going to? No. custom shaders are for people with intelligence and I am fresh out. posterization it is.

from there, i do a pretty standard cel shading deal that i usually blur and set to low opacity. (for this image i stuck to no blur because i had been looking at a lot of morebird's art and was really feeling the hard edges)

photoshop is what i use for final rendering because it has bangin tools. the brush customization alone make ps worth it, but i also particularly abuse puppet warp, noise generation, the camera raw filter, and layer styles.

step 6) background

i put the least effort possible into a background and then i blur it into oblivion so you can't fathom the depths of my ineptitude.

and then i have a finished image! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

#art tutorial #this got long!! the rest is under the cut #i encourage everyone to try out DAZ and blender! theyre both free!! #i love goofing around in 3d

[pollenallergie]

Eddie-isms

Since the last set of miscellaneous best friend!Eddie headcanons I posted did so well, I figured I’d type up some more. :)

18+

do not interact if you’re under 18 years old!

Eddie makes fun of you for being lactose intolerant. “Bunny, you can’t even digest ice cream correctly. It’s like god wanted you to live a joyless life.” <3

Eddie sneezes obnoxiously loud. He doesn’t really do it on purpose, he’s just a naturally loud sneezer. <3

Remember how I said Eddie loves naps? Yeah, if he gets bored with whatever he’s doing, he’ll just drag you back to the bedroom for an impromptu nap and you kind of just have to accept it. <3

Eddie will challenge you to a burping contest and he expects you to put in genuine effort every single time because “this is not a game, this is serious shit.” <3

Eddie takes periodic breaks from smoking and drinking to make sure that he doesn’t build up too high of a tolerance. During these breaks he simply replaces drugs with sugar, which is somehow worse. He’s like a hyper little kid on Halloween night. <3

Eddie still goes to a pediatrician/family medicine doctor and he gets very upset when they don’t offer him a lollipop and a sticker at the end of his appointment. “Why did I even show up? What’s the point in me even being here if they’re not gonna give me anything, jitterbug? I really fucking wanted that Gandalf sticker. This is horseshit.” <3

Eddie calls french toast “eggy-loaf.” No one knows where he got that name from, but he’s been calling it that for as long as you’ve known him. <3

Eddie’s gotten poison ivy way too many times to count. He got it on his dick twice in the summer of ‘84. Wayne laughed at him both times. <3

Most of the mugs in the Munsons’ collection are technically Wayne’s, but the Garfield mug? That’s 100% Eddie’s. He got it on a road trip with Wayne when he was ten and has heralded it as one of his most prized possessions ever since. Interestingly, when Eddie drinks coffee in the morning, he uses one of Wayne’s mugs because he refuses to use his special Garfield mug for anything other than hot cocoa and soup. One time you made the mistake of brewing Eddie some tea in his Garfield mug while he was sick. Of course, Eddie still drank the tea because he’s not wasteful, but he did so while glaring at you ceaselessly. <3

Eddie is a lighter thief… and a scrunchie thief… and a pencil thief… and a t-shirt thief. Basically anything that you own also belongs to Eddie and he will take it without warning. In his defense, he doesn’t mean to steal anything from you, he just borrows your stuff and forgets to give it back to you. <3

Eddie draws little sketches for you all the time. For example, he once drew you a picture of your favorite flower cradled in the bony hand of a skeleton; it was actually insanely good. However, instead of giving them to you like a normal person, he folds them into paper airplanes and throws them at you as hard as he can. <3

Eddie says “safety” every single time he farts. <3

Eddie almost always has a tiny piece of gravel caught in his shoe, it’s the bane of his existence. <3

Eddie is surprisingly strong (as we all know) and he uses that strength for nefarious purposes, like body slamming you onto the couch for no fucking reason; something he does almost daily. He always finishes this epic move by pinning you down and counting to three. Then he’ll spend the next two minutes celebrating his “victory.” <3

When Eddie gets really excited, he’ll grab your hand and squeeze it just a little too tight. He doesn’t even really mean to do that, or at least he doesn’t mean to squeeze quite so hard, but he can’t really contain himself when he gets all hyped up. <3

You’ve learned not to talk about how heavy/big you are around Eddie because he almost sees it as a challenge. “What, so you think I can’t pick you up? You think I can’t lift that much? You think I’m a whimp, huh?” He’ll then hoist you into the air just to prove a point. <3

Also, whenever you talk badly about yourself in front of him, he makes you say three things that you like about yourself off the top of your head. It’s a trick that you started using on him during the dark days of puberty and, honestly, you regret teaching it to him. <3

Eddie is insanely competitive when it comes to board games, especially Pictionary. <3

Eddie often randomly challenges you to thumb wars and, when you don’t accept, he pouts like a baby. <3

Whenever Eddie’s hands get cold, he’ll sneak up behind you and press them against your cheeks or the back of your neck just to shock you. <3

Eddie loves it when you torment him like he does to you because he thinks you look especially beautiful when you’re being ornery. <3

Eddie talks about you to the new Hellfire members as if you’re dead and not just away at college. “Our very own Hellfire queen, the beloved bearer of snacks, may her memory live on forever,” He declares theatrically. “Oh, damn, how’d she die?” One of the freshmen asks. Gareth sighs, “She’s not dead, Munson’s just a dweeb.” <3

He impersonates Yoda… like a lot, one could even say he does it a little too often. <3

“Grub, can you turn your music down a bit? I’m trying to study.” “Do or do not. There is no try.” “Eddie!” <3

Also slips into Shakespearean mode every now and then. <3

“Hey, grub, should I wear my hair up or down with this dress?” “To wear it up or to wear it down, that is the question.” “Dude, you’re such a dork.” <3

He’s tried to create a special friendship handshake for the two of you multiple times, but the problem is he makes them way too complicated so neither of you can remember them. <3

Any time you have ever worn a two piece swimsuit in front of him, he’s blown a raspberry on your tummy. He doesn’t do it to embarrass you or to make you feel insecure about your belly, quite the opposite, he likes your belly so much that he can’t suppress the primal urge to blow a raspberry on it every time he sees it. In his mind, it makes perfect sense, but, in yours, not so much. <3

Eddie physically cannot go twenty-four hours without seeing you or, at least, talking to you on the phone. <3

Eddie will take you and your friends to see a rom-com if you ask him too. If it’s good enough, he’ll even secretly enjoy it too. <3

Eddie actually really enjoys hanging out with you and your friends, so much so that he’ll forever be bitter about the fact that he’s not allowed to come to your group sleepovers. Of course, you want to invite him, but they typically take place at one of your friends houses and, given that he is a dude that’s attracted to women and that has the capacity to knock up the majority of your friend group, none of their parents are super fond of the idea of him spending the night with you guys. He gets it, obviously not everyone can be as forward thinking as your angel of a mom, but it still sucks nonetheless. </3

You try to make up for that by doing some of the same activities at your sleepovers with him; face masks, hair braiding, makeovers, taking the quizzes in your copy of this month’s issues of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen Magazine, etc. Honestly, Eddie has had to lie on so many of those goddamn quizzes, just so you wouldn’t find out that he’s hopelessly in love with you. <3

Eddie makes NPCs for his Hellfire campaigns that are inspired by you; it’s his way of including you in the campaigns while you’re away at college. He’ll even fill you in on how your NPCs are fairing in the campaigns every Friday over the phone after he gets home from the club’s meetings. <3

Eddie kinda uses Philby as his therapist. Whenever he’s had a hard day, he’ll take your dog on a long walk, talking through whatever’s on his mind all the while. You accidentally caught them in the midst of one of these therapy sessions once and Eddie’s face went beet red from embarrassment. <3

Eddie’s brain short-circuits every single time you boop his nose (which is often, because how could you not?). It’s like his reset button. He’ll just be rambling on and on about something, most likely either an upcoming campaign or a sick guitar riff he came up with the other day, and you’ll just give that sweet little nose of his a quick, audible boop and suddenly the words are dying on his tongue. His cheeks flush a sweet rosy hue and his mouth parts in an inaudible gasp. It’s a rare moment of speechlessness for him, as if that one affectionate touch was enough to halt his ever-racing thoughts. Unfortunately, the more often you boop his nose, the more quickly he begins to recover, but that initial moment of quiet shock never fully goes away. <3

When Eddie was a kid, he couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. The holiday season was always so stressful for him because he constantly had to fight the urge to tell people what he’d made for them. In fact, back then, you all frequently received your presents from him weeks before Christmas because, as soon as he would finish making them, he’d get so excited to give them to you that he just couldn’t wait. <3

Now that he’s older, Eddie’s gotten way too good at keeping secrets… for the most part. If someone confides in him about something serious or wholly private in nature, then he’ll take that shit to the grave with him, won’t tell a single soul about it. However, when it comes to less severe secrets, Eddie tends to make an exception, at least for you. Case in point, you know about all of the Hellfire boys’ crushes simply because Eddie cannot keep his big mouth shut. <3

Eddie has this general disposition about him that just makes it so easy to confide in him and many of his customers frequently take advantage of that, venting to him about their shitty parents or opening up to him about whatever’s stressing them out. He always listens to them attentively and without judgment, and, occasionally, he’ll even offer them some genuinely good advice. Truthfully, Eddie gives great advice, the problem is that he often doesn’t follow this advice himself. <3

Eddie writes poetry and, sometimes, he’ll even read his poems to you, but only the ones that he’s really confident in and that, importantly, are not about you. <3

Eddie’s not worried about being stuck in the friend zone, mostly because he’s worried about a second, worse thing: the brother zone. Due to how close your families are and how long you’ve known each other, Eddie worries that you see him as nothing more than a brotherly figure and the thought of that kills him because is it even possible to get out of the brother zone?? The way Eddie sees it, at least the friend zone might, maybe have the potential for future upward mobility. The brother zone, however, might as well be a limitless vat of swiftly drying cement, because once you’re there, you’re there for life. </3

Given how close Eddie and your mom are, she’s told him many times that, if he’s comfortable with it, he can call her mom. However, Eddie refuses to do that. Not because he’s uncomfortable with it, but because he refuses to do anything to further increase his chances of ending up in the goddamn brother zone. </3

He’s irrationally afraid of ladybugs. Whenever one lands near him, he freaks out, much like most people do when wasps start buzzing around them. Unlike most people, he’s not too bothered by wasps, just ladybugs. Fuck ladybugs. <3

Eddie really enjoys baths, but his trailer doesn’t have a tub, so your mom lets him use the one in her trailer while she’s at work. He’d spend all day there if he could. However, he also gets really lonely, so he forces you to sit just outside the bathroom, talking to him through the closed door. <3

He also gets lonely while he poops, but he feels like asking you to sit on the other side of the door to talk to him while he poops is just a tad too intimate, so, while the two of you are still just friends, he’ll make do with reading the ingredients on your shampoo bottle. But if (when) the two of you ever start dating, that shit will be fair game (pun intended?). <3

Eddie likes to play footsie with you whenever you’re sat across from each other at a table. It doesn’t matter if the two of you are eating at your favorite diner, reading books at the public library, or simply sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, sipping on some coffee, the man will initiate it anywhere. This is also to his detriment, though, because it means that he ends up with a lot of awkward boners in public places. Oopsie. <3

He likes letting you do his makeup and paint his nails. Really, the man will take any opportunity for you to dote on him. <3

He secretly loves it when you call him Eddie Bear or Teddy, but he’ll never tell you that. <3

He spends way too much time looking at you, studying and admiring all the features that make up your pretty face. How you fail to notice his incessant staring is beyond him. <3

Eddie very much enjoys clinging onto you like a sloth. Oddly enough, he kinda wishes that he could go eight days without needing to poop or eat, like sloths can, just so he could get to really maximize the amount of time that he gets to hold you. <3

Eddie’s weird, really weird. Adorable and unexpectedly charming, but also weird. He worries that he’s off-putting, but your mom tells him that he’s just eccentric and that the right person will like that about him. He hopes that person is you. <3

He’s kind of obsessed with you; talks about you all the time, craves your attention 24/7, would do anything for you, etc. Just as Eddie used to say when he was little, he loves you long time. <3

Eddie Munson is the biggest hopeless romantic on this side of the Mississippi River. <3

#jitterbug and grub #eddie munson x reader #best friend au #best friend!eddie #best friend!eddie munson #eddie munson #eddie munson thoughts #stranger things #stranger things 4 #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson hc #eddie munson x reader fluff #eddie stranger things #eddie munson headcanon #eddie munson headcanons #stranger things hc #stranger things fluff #stranger things au #stranger things vol 4 #pol’s greatest hits

[eltanin0]

I just found this blog and I noticed that a lot of your stuff seems, well, oddly 3D. I don't mean like in a bad way but it feels like rendered but untextured 3D models? I kinda want to ask what your art process is (sorry for mini-rant)

thanks for checking out my blog! and no need to apologize for anything.

hmm, my art process. honestly i have no idea what to say, i dont know how people normally answer this question so i cant base it off anything either. i'm still kinda new to this whole art thing but i'll try and answer, super sorry if i get this completely wrong and this was all a waste of time.

i guess i'll just talk about how i draw things step by step? for the high effort pieces at least.

ok, so for starters like step 0. when it's a high effort piece, i can already see the image in my mind. i see the pose, i see the general lighting, the layout of stuff, but it's a bit blurry. if i cant see this mental image, the drawing usually comes out extremely poorly.

this is kind of an example of what i see in my head? this might be all useless info idk, but this is i guess where i start.

well step 1 is just the sketch and line. i start with just sketching the general shapes, then slowly refining it until it fits close enough to the image in my head. then in the line layer i'll fix any mistakes the sketch had and add more details to it. oh and for brush, it's just a round brush, like default. i dont know how much of a difference using a drawing tablet does, but i dont use one so... yeah.

i should've put more effort into the sketch for this drawing, but i did not.

next i do flat colors. pretty simple, i just select the smart select the outside of the line layer, invert the selection and now i can't paint outside the lines. i dont really think about what colors i use, i just use whatever the characters normal colors are.

next i do the shading, but first. i duplicate flat layer and recolor it to like a cream color

like so. for high effort pieces, i was told online to shade in pretty much black and white. now actually onto shading. there's 2 kinda shading i do, 1 from the proper light source, and 1 that's kinda just a shadow because things are close together (like corners and stuff). and i'll shade them on separate layers so i can adjust them individually however i want. oh right, i'll either use a very dark color, pretty much black and the the layer blending mode set to multiply. or i'll use a light kind of gray, tinted slightly yellow or something and set the layer blend mode to difference. then i just use a soft air brush and shade in the ways i described above. shading from regular light source, and the corner stuff thing.

normal lightsource - - - - - corner thing

then toggle both layers on and mess with the opacity of each layer until you get what you want.

then you can toggle the normal flats layer, the one that has color and it should apply the shading decently. you can mess with the opacity again on the shadows.

next i do lighting. i just grab a very light color, usually pretty close to white and set the layer blend mode to overlay. then i use a soft airbrush and "light" it? idk i just do like the opposite of the normal shadows, lighter the closer it is to the light source

mess around with the opacity as usual. then i do pretty much the same thing if there's another light source. in this case there was a blue light kinda coming from underneath, so i did that.

now from here i would go back to the flats layer, make a copy, and mess around with different layer styles and properties and settings. sometimes just messing around is useful. in this case, i felt it was too bright and colorful, so i decreased the brightness and saturation of it.

i think it helped a little bit but who knows.

now i do some kinda highlights and details. i grabbed the colors that were in the background and used those. it was a weird pale blue. i had 2 layers for this, 1 of them was specifically for his antenna things at the top, and one was just for his "skin". anyway, the antenna layer was normal, just kinda gave it an outline with the random reflective circles you see normally in pictures, no thoughts behind them. the skin tho had the layer blend mode set to soft light, i thought it looked best this way. it was just more random things to imply it was slightly reflective.

together the layers looked like this. i think it makes him look glossier which is what i was aiming for.

next, and it pretty much the end for pebbles, i got someone to look at it and let me know if they think anything was missing. they said it looked a little unsaturated. which it does. so i made a new layer, set the blend mode to saturation, grabbed the airbrush and made it pretty inline with the lighting layer.

that's kinda it. the background i didnt really care about, just drew and colored it. blurred it a bunch and added a bunch of shadows. i did add some like, "overshadows" is what i call it, i just draw some big shadows down the screen as the top layer.

but yeah thats literally everything i did to draw this. i would like to apologize if this was not at all what you wanted to know, i'm certain i've screwed this up bigtime. super sorry for wasting your time. if there's anything i can do to help, please ask. i owe you a proper answer to your question, i'm just really dumb. sorry for rambling. sorry. and sorry if the drawing i used for example didnt showcase what you wanted to know.

also, i really like your art! please keep up the great work!

#i think i did this all wrong #i'm so sorry #i feel incredibly stupid #:I #rambling :I #now everyone get's to see how little i know about drawing

[lullabyes22-blog]

Snippet - Forward, but Never Forget/XOXO - It's Not Me

Young Silco is fierce.

Young Sevika is fiercer.

But Jericho is fearsome.

Forward but Never Forget/XOXO

Mild NSFW

Snippet:

After a while, Silco felt the hot weight of her stare. When he looked up, she said, "You look like crap, Sil."

"Oh?"

"You don't even notice, do you?" Her eyes raked him up and down. "You're like a wraith. Could cut somebody with those cheekbones."

"A few missed meals. That's all."

"You need a good old-fashioned bender," she said bluntly. "With a big bottle of single-malt. The good stuff. Not the swill they're peddling lately." She took another swallow of gin, and made a face. "Some days, I'd swear it’s battery acid."

"I can’t." Silco swirled his cup absently. "Five rats—" runners"—missing. Five-hundred pounds of chaff—" bullets "—needing to be shipped. A dozen crates of sardines—" rifles "—waiting to be delivered." His fingers tapped out the numbers. "And that's not even half the list. I'll be old and grey before this is done."

Sevika's eyes grew pensive. "Old. Grey. Like Nandi."

"Your sister was barely twenty-seven."

"No. But now she's—" In an urn. With effort, she caught herself. "You remember the lines on her forehead. The way she'd squint. She always said her eyesight was getting worse. It was the smog, she’d say. It's like a sneak-thief. You get so used to the haze, you don't see what it's doing to your body."  She rubbed her own eyes. "Sometimes, I feel it too. A tightness here." She tapped between her brows. "Like a thread pulling through a needle."

Silco smiled, barely. "That's a migraine, love."

"It's a pain in the ass." She drained her cup, setting it aside. "But every day, I’m sorry she can't feel it. Can't see the rust on the stairwell. Can't see the cobwebs strung in the hallways. Can't see the gasoline rainbows in the puddles." Her lips pinched at the corners. "She had a rough life. But she still saw beauty in the ugliest things.” A wry aside, “Guess that's why she picked you."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm kidding, Sil." She elbowed him. "You were good for her.  Nothing like the louts here."

"She was easy to be good to." His fingertip circled the rim of his cup. "Sometimes I wonder..."

"What?"

He fell quiet, his eyes hooded. "Maybe I wasn't good enough."

"Bullshit. I knew my sister. She didn’t get the life she deserved, but you made her happy. She'd say so, if she could." 

Silco nodded. It seemed the thing to do.

Sevika's scrutiny didn't abate. "She'd also say you need some shut-eye. When's the last time you had a decent sleep?"

"When's the last time I had a decent anything?" Silco lifted his cup, and drained the dregs. Bitter in, bitter out. His lips sketched the barest smile. "At least the company's good."

"Company's always good." Sevika took a bite out of the bergamot. Juice twinkled on her chin. Her tongue ran over her lips, an idle provocation. "I could make it better."

Silco's features stilled around the smile. "What?"

"You heard me."

"You can’t be drunk already."

"Please." She dropped back on her elbows, so her breasts stood up between the loose folds of her shawl. Heavy handfuls, the nipples taut against the fabric. Sevika never bothered with binders back then. "I'm dead sober. And I've never needed liquor to speak my mind."

"Not if your mind's—" He stopped, a sharp swallow like a barb. "—what it is."

"And what is it, exactly? Bent? Broken?"

"You've had a skinful of hurt."

"Wouldn't mind a skinful. Or two fistfuls, and a mouthful, for good measure." At his stare: "Sisters aren't like brothers, Sil. We'd tell each other everything. I mean: everything."

"Everything," he echoed, flat. "Or whatever you'd pester Nandi into sharing."

"Same difference." Her grin held a sly curl. "She told me you had hands made for music. Not the kind played on the fiddle. You'd strum her until she nearly sang the building down." She nudged his leg. "That's high praise. My sister was picky as hell. I can count on one hand how many men made it past our threshold. But you..." She laughed, but not merrily. "She'd do everything short of tying you up in a bow to keep you from walking out."

"She didn't need to tie me up." He set the cup aside. "Four years, I never looked elsewhere."

"Yeah, you were a rarity." She tipped her chin. "Maybe that's why I'm asking. ‘Cause I know you're worth the gamble."

He shook his head. "This isn't a game, Sevika."

"You think I'm playing?" 

"With my last nerve, yes."

"Am I?" She tugged the neckline of her halter, and for moment he saw a glimpse of areola, deep bronze on the paler breast. "Then why're you still here?"

His skin prickled under his clothes. The heat, the heaviness, the memory. Nandi's breasts, the dark smoothness of her thighs. Silco's own hands, tracing her freckles. His lips following. Nandi, sighing: "Here. Here. Here." A constellation, with him as the shooting star.

Where had he fallen? A thousand miles away with her blood-sister.

Her sister, who'd always been listening through the door. Whose presence was a visceral echo of Nandi's, but whose eyes were different: hard, hungry, never satisfied.

Like him.

"Sil?" Sevika's tone downshifted. "Hey—where are you going?"

"Back to work." He rose, dusting off his lap. "I’ve heard enough."

"Hey, c'mon!" A tug on his sleeve. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm not good at this stuff."

"Good at what?" A bite of temper cracked through his calm. "Toying with Nandi’s leftovers?"

She flinched but held firm. "It's not like that."

"What, then?"

"She's gone. You are too. I never see you anywhere. Days, you're cooped up in the Drop. Nights, you're never at your flat. You're not grieving, Sil. You're running." Her fingers tightened around his sleeve. "I'm just… worried."

"So you thought you'd screw it out of me?" He slipped free of her hold. "I've no time for this, Sevika."

"You NEVER have time!" she exploded, and several diners glanced their way. "Not for me, or anyone! You think you're the only one hurting? There's plenty of us going through the same thing, and you're shutting us all out! If you go down, so does this whole fucking city!" Her breath hitched, once. "I don't know what else to do. How else to get your attention."

Silco's face didn't shift. "My attention isn't for sale."

"And the rest of you?" She gestured angrily. "That's fair game?"

"That's not your business."

"Then whose is it? The slags who pant after you in the Drop? The cutthroats who creep after you in the ginnels? The drecks and the dregs whispering in your ears whenever you pass?" She barked a harsh laugh. "Half of 'em would sell their soul for a chance. The other half already sold theirs. But it's the people who matter you're running from!"

Silco's temper, already frayed from nightly arguments with Vander, tugged at its seams.

"I am trying," he hissed, "to keep everything from falling apart."

"By hiding behind your maps and plans and lists?"

"Better than ash in an urn." His stare went inexorably dark. "Now unless you'd like us all to end up in one, I suggest we drop this."

Sevika fell silent. In the background, Jericho's fry-pan sent up a cloud of sizzling steam. The heat seeped in, threading into Silco's veins. His cup was empty, but his hand stayed clenched around it. The cold cut through the warm haze, a tether to sanity.

He waited for Sevika to speak. To curse him out. To signal the end of this conversation. To do anything but sit there, with that strange expression on her face. Like he'd gutted her. 

Finally, she whispered. "Can I kiss you?"

He blinked. "What?"

"Just a kiss." She bit her lip. "That’s all."

"Why?"

"Because."  The red shawl slid down her bare shoulder. "Because I haven't kissed anyone since she died."

"You'll find your pick of punters."

"I don't want punters!"

"Then find a sweetheart. A regular. Someone to—"

"To what? Fill the gap?” She tossed her head, miserably defiant. “Already got a hundred gaps in me. Got a hole the size of the fucking sun. And the worst part is, everyone keeps trying to fill it. With booze. With drugs. With empty promises. It’s all bullshit! I try to eat, and nothing stays down. I try to sleep, and all I see is blood. I try to breathe, and all I feel is—is—" She hauled in a sharp breath. "I miss her, Sil. Every fucking minute. I can't take it anymore! I need a fix. Something. Anything!"

Silco was silent. For a moment, all he could see was the corpse on the steel table. The ash in the urn. The blood on his knife.

The dark, and what lay inside.

"It's not me." His voice echoed back at him; hollow. Like he was on ether. "Whatever's your fix, Sevika. It's not me."

He turned on his heel. He was ready to escape into the night. Down into the labyrinth of his own creation. Anything to flee the pain in Sevika's eyes. All his deepest hurts were mirrored there. Two orphans, born in a city built on odds. And the odds were rigged against them.

Rigged forever—unless they broke free.

He started to walk off. The half-full pitcher bounced hard off his shoulder with a metallic clang. Gin sprayed everywhere. He spun, and Sevika was right before him: tall as a Valkyrie, her eyes full of fire. Seizing a fistful of his collar, she shoved him against the table.

"You selfish rat! You'd leave me to go cold-turkey, wouldn't you? Leave me to rot, with nothing but the nightmares in my head? All for what? Because I'm not HER?" She shook him. "Well, fuck that! I've lost my sister! I won't lose you, too! You can kiss me, or hit me, or do whatever you want to me! But don't fucking walk away from me. Not after—"

Whatever she said next was lost. Jericho's bristling silhouette arrested them both. A butcher knife was brandished in his fist.

"W̶̼͒̆ḧ̴̼͚́a̴͈͌t̶̼̻̄̈́'̵̫̌s̵͇͚͛ ̷̫͒̿t̷͎̺̉̕ḧ̶̖̹́e̶̥̜̾ ̷̖͒͊ŕ̵̪̯̑ǘ̷̙c̸͕̙̓̚k̴̞̭̀͆u̸͔̒͝s̸̪̜̐?̸̡̑ͅ?"

Sevika and Silco traded a glance.  Instinctively, Silco encircled Sevika and put her behind him. He took a step forward. "My fault. Always making the girls cry."

The hulking chef's eyes slitted. "M̴̛̩͈̋͒o̴͙͎̻̝͈͐v̸̭͖̠̭̌͆͐̎ě̸͕̥̘͓͚̂.̶̡̛͖̹̙͂̓͆̀ ̴͙̰̆̌S̸̘̐́̔h̸͓͍̉̒̇̈́̈e̴͎̤͕͙͂́̀̓̃'̵͎̞̞̇̒͠s̷̩̜͚̅̓͋ ̷̺͚̰̍͝g̴̛͔̅̒͆̋o̵̟̳̥̿̚t̴͓͍̙̟͙́͆̈́͗ ̴̯̤͙̬̑̚t̸̡̼͉̥̤̋́̀͐o̷͓̻̲̓ ̴̳̓́̂̊͝p̷̡͇̑̿͒̈́a̵̟̺͒͐̃ẏ̵͍͈̃̽̍̑."

Silco raised his palms. "Put it on my tab. All of it. You know I'm good."

"Y̵͖͗͋̍͊o̸͍͕̫̯̣̔u̷̙̟͕̤͂̿͋'̵̪̪̗̃̌ͅr̸̪̬̺̣͑͑̍͘ĕ̶̬̿̀ ̴̧̰̹̕͜s̴̨͙̫̝̅̀ĉ̵͎͗͂͝ȃ̴̡̙̣̆̅͐͌r̷̡̊͂́ǐ̸̼͔̉͛͝n̷̡͍̱̫̆g̶̯͚͔̠̏̽̈ ̵̡͑̏̎̅̕m̸̨͈͕͐̊̋̈́̓ÿ̵̩̲͖̙́ ̴̛̫̱̬̑̈́c̸̛̜͝u̵̢̻͍̭̔ș̴̫̀ͅẗ̶̹͕̥̰̖͑͠o̸͕̗͍̔ͅm̴̙̖̿́e̷͉͇̺̖̠̿̄̓̈́ŗ̶̉̆͑ş̵̲̬̾͛͌͂͝ ̶̣̮̺̋̇͊͝o̷͈̱̟͛f̴̮̀̀f̸̬̼͇́̿͆̂̉.̴͔͓̐̅̀̃͜͜͜͠"

"It's over. It won't happen again." Silco dug into his pocket, and pressed a few coins into the Vastayan’s hand. "For the pitcher."

Jericho's maw was still bridling. But coin smoothed the creases. "Ṱ̵̢̼́̄͝͝r̷̰̩̒̋o̴͚̾u̷̢͑̔ḇ̶̱̹̓͑͆́ĺ̷̹̚ȇ̷͍̣̱m̷̱͋̀̚ȧ̴͓̭̤̈́͘k̷̺̖̹̎̕e̶̪͖̠͎͆̑͛r̴̛͚̰͜s̵͖͕͙̫̔͌.̴̜̝͔̓̏͜ ̸̯̜͗̅̏͜͝B̵͔̾͑́o̵̳͈̯̜̐͋̇t̵̢͔̗̆h̶̩̜̫͗̒ ̴̰̺̇̓̒o̸̳͉͓̻̔́f̸̯̪̊̿̀ ̶̮̰͈͕̿y̵̨̘̅͂͝o̶͔̍͗̈́̾u̶̥͇͐̆͐.̷"

"We'll be off."

#arcane league of legends #arcane #arcane silco #silco #forward but never forget/xoxo #forward (never forget)/xoxo #arcane sevika #sevika #silco x sevika #sevilco #arcane jericho #snippet #young silco #young sevika

[688199]

marinette is FAR from being a “normal girl, with a normal life” (general criticism, and analysis of the location concept art)

pardon any mistakes, this is a rant post lmaoo

first and foremost, she is the daughter of paris’s most popular bakery. everyone knows it. and it's not loved the same way a long time neighbourhood bakery is loved. sleek high class interior design, like i bet a simple croissant costs 4 euros or smth.

now how about the earlier bakery design?

cluttered, lots of bread stacked everywhere, but it coneys well their love for baking. wonder why those "run down eating places" are always the one that have the greatest tasting food? it's because their heart is in cooking the meal. tbh, reminds me of the bakery in kikis delivery service actually. and why does these two bakeries feel so much nicer despite being so simple looking? because you can feel the hardwork (oh and the brown is a true vibe). full offence but the neatness of the current bakery feels like its a corporate business.

two, while she goes to a public school, it’s like the kids of all the most rich and famous citizens of paris are gathered there. adrien, model and son of renowned fashion designer. chloe, daughter of the mayor. juleka, daughter of famous rock star, alix, daughter of historian at louvre. mylene, daughter of a leading mine performer that had his posters plastered everywhere. that’s like just some of i remember. definitely not normal. unfortunately no concept art of the school. but knowing that the PV did reference marinette's bedroom, im going to assume the school design existed as a brief sketch.

this seems like a classy, rich college, same like the current one. but the design is better, imo, looks more school-ish. and third, it’s so clear that marinette is super rich. like man what the hell that room is thrice the size of mine. yet it lacks so much personality. what does this tell us about her? she likes pink. i seriously cannot find anything here that stands out to me.

this is why i much prefer the concept art locations. at least they look sort of middle class. it also gives marinette a “cozy” vibe, and someone who makes the best out of a given situation.

marinette is given the attic room. lots of beams, not very well furnished. yet she takes advantage of a seemingly bad room by using the beams to place boxes and toys. she also uses cloth to decorate the place, showing her appreciation of cloth design. it’s small, but has character, compared to marinette’s pink spacious room that’s a mess to look at.

furthermore the rooftop clearly isn’t meant to be used like that. but she adds little features to it, such as a simplistic bird house, wood planks to allow an even surface to place stuff/ sit, and a tent tied down by random pink strings and ribbons. it shows how she’s adaptable, creative and caring (bird house). plus it alludes to a sense of defiance and her “wanting to take a break”.

on the other hand, the current (it’s not even called a rooftop it’s called a balcony) is in big open space, smack right in front of the eifel tower, nicely floored with a proper fence and proper table for teapot. nothing here is "make shift" like the previous design. even if marinette did spend time making this place nice, how can we tell? there's nothing that hints to us that she worked on it. it doesn’t convey anything about marinette to us anymore, other than: “oh holy shit she's pretty rich”.

even this even earlier design is simple, but still says more about marinette than the current balcony. she carried her teapot all the way up there even though it's insanely difficult to. this tells us she's willing to put extra effort into things.

you could say im looking too deep into things. but i really am not. people fail to understand that even art, animation and film, every little detail, no matter how small, is important and should tell us the personality of the character.

with all the choices made in the series, how could you convince anyone that marinette is supposed to be normal? the whole concept of marinette and ladybug is that she looks average on the surface, but is capable of being a superhero due to all these favourable character traits of hers that tend to be overlooked. marinette dupain cheng? writers can't even make her look average for gods sake. from her appearance (stereotypically good-looking instead of charmingly cute, there's a difference), and her life in general (blessed with all the chances in the world that basically spoon feeds her her dream).

its exactly like those famous hollywood stars saying how much they suffered before they could succeed. except they were rich from the start with famous parents.

#ladybugclassic #miraculous ladybug criticism #mlb #ladybug pv #i hate everything about the show on god #marinette cheng

[pluralthey]

could we get some facts abt jessies sister/their dynamic .. she is so cool i love her design

emily is older than jessie -- not by a lot, like 2 years, always just a little bit ahead of her. jessie's always felt overshadowed by emily and is a little resentful of this, but moreso deeply wants emily's approval. she wants emily to laugh at her jokes, she wants emily to think she's smart, she wants to win against emily when they play games and then get a pat on the back from her. i think it's a pretty standard youngest-eldest dynamic. emily sees jessie as another part of her life that makes her look better. how poorly jessie is doing can correlate a lot with how much effort she feels she has to put into keeping up her own appearances at a given time. she has an air of confidence by the reassurance that she's always going to be the better between the two of them in the same way jessie has an inferiority complex from the dynamic no matter how much power she has. prior to the story she's also taken care of jessie as their parents have become older and less physically able to keep up with doing so. she lives at home with them specifically to help her parents and jessie function -- still, this is moreso about taking care of jessie than of her parents, because jessie helps their parents a lot physically. that's a less charitable/more clinical way to describe their dynamic; a lot of the more complicated, unpleasant emotions are entirely subconscious. they are really close. you'll see jessie go to emily when she's feeling uncertain or being vulnerable than her parents a lot in the story, like with her powers and about starting to see this chick she likes. conversely, you'll not see much of emily opening up to jessie for emotional support because she does not see the both of them as equals. she's probably one of the most chill people about jessie's powers simply because she can't wrap her head around jessie surpassing her (in addition to feeling like someone important to jessie whom she wouldn't harm). she's also probably one of the most direct people about asking jessie for "wishes" or favors with the god powers lmfao. about emily herself outside of jessie, she's still a pretty chill person. at least part of it is from her dad, who is also very difficult to upset. she neglects some of her social life for the sake of family, but she's not really introverted. i'm still working on her profession specifically, i know she's in the same field as shiloh (tech) and 100% works on indie games (i don't think she's like, created one from the creative side beyond sparse input to a small team) to some degree. dunno if i would say this is her primary income by any means. she also participated in speedrunning communities primarily as a glitch hunter, but the hobby has been put on the backburner since she has more responsibilities. what can i say, she's a gamer girl............ she loves to figure out how to make things break and freak out, specifically. this can extend to other areas of her life as well. the dog in that one sketch comic, trouble, is also emily's dog. trouble died a couple years prior to the start of the comic, but is revived early in at the behest of emily, whose first attempt at trying to use the powers herself is trying to revive trouble. they're best buddies. their dynamic changes drastically once trouble can "talk" but i think emily handles it well (eg. when trouble says "now you sit" she laughs and sits) also, she IS trans. she started transitioning at the end of high school and by 32 she's had like every surgery known to man and is just chilling. she's also bisexual, which kind of grinds jessie's gears because it means she can't even be The Gay One in the family.

thanks for asking, i'm love answering questions about these creatures

#not art #ask #asks #idletry #sorry they're not like a random list of facts like they used to be i kind of try to contain things to being relevant to the story now #yeah the speedrunning is relevant-- #not in an exciting way

[blazehedgehog]

What do you think of AI stuff like DAll-E or Midjourney?

It's not as useful as some people want you to believe. A lot of people pushing for the acceptance of this kind of software are the same tech bros that invested in crypto currency and were trying to sell you NFTs, which should tell you enough.

All of this "it's democratizing art!" and "finally, people can make art even if they don't have natural talent!" is snake oil.

You know where my "natural talent" came from? I started drawing when I was 4 or 5 years old. I drew at least one thing per day for over 20 years. I earned the ability to crank out dumb doodles on a whim.

You can't just show up one day and think you deserve to make artwork without putting in the work to learn and get good at it. Art's importance comes from the length of time needed to learn to master it. And I don't just mean drawings, I mean music, film, food, everything. No matter what it is, effort is value.

Financial value, sentimental value, it doesn't matter. All value is derived from the effort required to make it.

If you can just push a button and churn out artwork en masse, that devalues the importance of art. I mentioned this back with the Martin Scorsese ask, but it's like, which has more value? An original hand-made piece of artwork, or a print of that artwork? Prints are easy to mass produce. You can get a nice, high quality, glossy print of the Mona Lisa almost for free at this point. But the actual Mona Lisa, the original product, is actually valuable beyond value.

Art prints are literally just replicating a single file over and over and over again, but the original is one-of-a-kind and where all the effort is most evident. All the layers of paint can be felt as DaVinci sought perfection in his work. That's what makes it special. That's what makes it important.

My uncle does woodworking. He's so good at it, he gave my Mom an end table that looks like it came from a high-tier furniture store. A mass-produced end table like that would be at least $100. He made it by hand. It is beautiful. I will treasure that end table forever.

Effort is value.

If you spend any length of time looking at art websites where AI art is allowed (such as deviantart or pixiv), what you'll often find is these AI art chumps submitting massive amounts of artwork. They'll submit 10, 20, 40+ images a day, all from the same prompt, all with slight differences, because to them, every single thing the generator produces is worth submitting.

Even when I was drawing regularly, I could only really do maybe one finished piece per day. Two if you were lucky. Not only because sketching, inking, coloring and shading would take so long, but because after I was done the tank was empty. I'd used up all my effort for the day and had no more creativity left to give.

All the claims of "letting people without artistic talent generate art" are bogus because it throws the whole signal-to-noise ratio out of wack. Too much signal in itself becomes noise. And it devalues the effort that real artwork takes, because real artwork is now part of that noise, instead of rising above it.

When anyone can vomit out hundreds or even thousands of AI generated images that are of decent-to-good quality, a lot of what would be considered "b-tier" artwork ceases to be important anymore.

In a world where AI generated images are normalized, only the top 0.1% of artwork (your Mona Lisas) are considered to have real value. And who benefits the most from that kind of stuff? Rich people. Rich people who can afford to drop a million dollars on a historic piece of hand-crafted artwork. And just to be clear: these are exactly the same people who are trying to sell you on how important AI generator software is going to be going forward.

Or to simplify it even more: the people who stand to profit the most from AI "art" are the ones trying the hardest to sell you on its benefits. Because it benefits them more than it will ever benefit you.

Because, full disclosure, over this last week, a friend of mine has been having a lot of fun with Bing's new image generator feature, and I couldn't help but also play with the toy. The quality of images it can generate is shocking.

Microsoft, in their endless desperation to get anyone to use Bing on purpose, is clearly playing with fire here.

When effort is value and value is effortless, nothing has any value anymore.

I understand how, if you aren't an artist, this is all probably incredibly difficult to comprehend. The lure of fast and easy artwork from a simple line of text is a net gain to you, and nothing else really matters to your perspective. But imagine all of the up-and-coming artists who get completely pushed out of the conversation because of how easy it is to crap out endless AI generator output. I spent 20 years drawing every day for results that can be beaten in 20 seconds.

How many future artists is that going to discourage? There's a lot of buzz, now more than ever, about "late stage capitalism" and the way that's manifesting in our lives. When AI generated images are "good enough", how is that going to change the world around us?

You can't just think, "we'll figure something out" because the people trying to control this narrative do not have your best interests in mind. The people trying to control this narrative think they still don't have enough money yet even though there's not much money left to give them.

Their solution is to stop paying people to do work that they can get a computer to do for free, even if it means destroying the entire foundation of human culture. Long term destruction for short term gain. The same old story.

Are they going to get away with it?

(Another good ask along this line is over here, from February.)

#questions #Anonymous #dalle #dall-e #midjourney #bing #ai art #effort is value #ai

[ownedbythescribe]

Kaedehara Kazuha | Longer Way Ahead

ıllı Synopsis: Amidst the troubles of life, Kazuha was allured by the gleam in your eyes. He longed to know your name and take his chance. Will you let him?

ıllı Genre: Fluff, Romance, Modern AU

ıllı Notes: Gender Neutral Reader

ıllı Inspiration: Da Capo - Honkai Impact 3rd

ıllı A/N: I really liked this one! It’s challenging not to make the characters OOC, but I tried! I hope you guys enjoy!

“Hey, Kazuha, are you all right?” Heizou asked, tapping his friend on the shoulder, who seemed high-strung on the number plastered on his exam paper. He could see the distress in his eyes and wished to know if he would like to talk about it.

“Y-Yeah, but I don’t think my guardian will be happy with the score I got. I might get an earful later when I come home.” Kazuha joked, but his friend could hear the uneasiness in his voice. Recalling the plans of the boys after school, Heizou urged his disheartened friend to join them in the arcade to de-stress. The platinum-blond male shook his head no as he wanted to be alone in his thoughts later. There were things he needed to evaluate regarding his performance.

“All right. Give me a call if you ever change your mind.” He patted his shoulder again before drifting to Venti and Aether.

College was the last thing Kazuha had in mind after his family perished in a fire incident. According to the police, it was deliberate, considering the chemicals found near their backyard where the flames started. It took months before the criminal was apprehended. Afterward, he was taken in by Beidou. He thought he would graduate high school and get a job at the cat cafe, but she insisted on getting a college degree. Here he was now, studying philosophy, and his disappointment was immeasurable.

Kazuha let out a dispirited sigh as he glanced at the paper in his hand. It was not uncommon to undertake mathematics during the first year. But to perform poorly because he disliked the subject, thus refusing to exert effort? It upset him. His father did not raise him to be lackadaisical. He knew he should have at least tried to understand it because how much more once he entered his second and third years? Critical thinking would be his valuable tool, and mathematics provided that challenge.

“Not to mention, the preliminary exams are coming. This feels so overwhelming.” He murmured, sitting on one of the stone benches in the university's garden. It was already 4 in the afternoon, yet only a few students were in sight. He was grateful for the opportunity to be alone and wallow in self-pity. Or so he thought he was alone because not far from him, he heard someone singing.

“There used to be a story teller, who always painted the sunshine and the rain.”

It was a bit off-tune, but the soft voice made up for it. Kazuha glanced around to spot where it came from until it landed on your figure.

“One has to eventually grow up. Spending a lifetime to taste love and pain”

As if in a trance, Kazuha watched you sketch the scenery ahead. Your eyes gleamed in adoration as your hands hovered above the sketchbook. He felt like he was watching a magician splash colors on a dry canvas. It was—No, you were breathtaking.

“Never can we suspend the time. Having to leave the tracks behind. There is a longer way ahead, after all.” You continued, applying colors that you thought would suit the leaves. You hummed the rest of the song until the last part. It was your favorite line.

“May you, the beauty of this world, always shine.” A smile unconsciously made its way to Kazuha’s lips. He intently listened to you hum, the feelings of disappointment and self-pity vanishing like smoke in the wind.

The lyrics of the song encouraged him to see beyond. To understand that he might have failed, but it did not mean the end of the world. It was a realization of the failure he did not see, a lesson he needed to be taught. With a new determination, he texted Xiao and asked if he could tutor him the next day regarding the exam they recently took.

In the next succeeding days, the platinum-blond male took mathematics seriously. He would question Xiao and Heizou, occasionally Scaramouche if he was in the area, about the items he was unsure of. He got the hang of advanced analytical geometry and basic logic, always practicing when he had the time. Kazuha never forgot about you. In fact, he would return to the gardens from time to time, hoping to hear you again. Those times were rare, knowing that you were on a different course. He thought of asking his friends if they knew you.

“A person singing in the campus garden? Is that a ghost story, Kazuha?” Aether shuddered, unable to seize the chill creeping down his spine at the thought of a ghost in the university.

“No, they’re a real person. I would see them sketch around buildings, trees, and even people. They also love to sing. Hmm… they have (E/C) eyes and (H/C) hair.” He described. Heizou thought for a moment until he remembered an art student who was a friend of Venti. He immediately glanced at the drunkard.

“It’s (Y/N). How could you not recognize those traits, Venti? You basically hang out with them every week with Nilou and Thoma.” He chided. Venti rose from his seat and pouted. He said that other people also had those features, but the up-and-coming detective told him that you were the only one who loved to sing out in the open, even if it was off-key at times.

‘They love dissing them, huh?’ Kazuha thought. He loved your voice, really. Not to mention, the way you sang made him melt. Now that he discovered your name, he wished he could talk to you, maybe ask you out for a coffee date. His interest in you was growing each day.

Heizou noticed the smile blooming on his friend’s face. He smirked and nudged Venti, who also noticed the sentiment. It looked like your wish to have a boyfriend was coming down like a shooting star. Venti took out his phone and chatted, asking if you were free this afternoon. You said yes. Venti was about to ruin the surprise when Heizou pinched his side and grabbed the drunkard’s phone.

“Ouch! What the heck?” Venti gasped. Heizou ignored him and typed that he would like to meet up later for coffee.

“Hmm? Coffee with Venti? That’s a bit strange. He always, I mean always, asks people out for alcohol and not this. Does he want something?” You thought, frowning at the possibilities your friend might ask of you. A soft sigh left your lips before replying that you would see him later.

Heizou grinned before replying, “Great! See you!”. He returned the phone to the drunkard, then turned to the crimson-eyed male.

“Kazuha, they’re free later. I say you go ask them for a coffee.” The maroon head teased. Kazuha was stunned at the opportunity, and he could feel his cheeks flush. He stammered a response that Heizou could only imagine as he would try.

After class, Kazuha felt quite nervous. He had a silver tongue, yes, but it did not mean he could not feel emotions such as anxiety from time to time. He reached the rendezvous point and saw you sitting on the bench. The sketchbook laid open on your lap as you hummed the same song he heard when he first saw you. With a little bit of courage, he asked.

“(Y/N)… right?” You glanced up and saw a handsome guy rubbing his neck in embarrassment. The first thing you noticed was the red streak in his platinum blond hair that strangely suited him. The alluring crimson eyes also seemed to look past your soul. Noting that you were staring, you shuffled in your seat and replied.

“Yes, but may I know who’s asking?” You politely regarded. The male took a look at your masterpiece and relaxed. He told you that Venti was his classmate and asked him to tell you he could not come because Heizou dragged him away to help with their project. He added that they withheld it for too long because of the drunkard’s antics.

‘He could have texted me earlier. Geez.’ You frowned. It would have saved you time to nap instead of waiting. With a sigh, you thanked the male and took your things.

Kazuha was alarmed that you were already leaving, so he used what little courage he had to ask if you wanted to grab some coffee. You asked him why, suspicious of the act. He stiffened before noting how you looked dejected that your friend could not come.

“Venti mentioned that you like the cafe by the library. So… if you don’t mind, that is.” He could not look you in the eyes, but your mind was already doing wonders. Piecing the obvious, you shook your head in mirth. Venti set you up, and he had another accomplice by the looks of it. Otherwise, he would have already blown it.

“Hmm. I don’t know, but you’re right. I do like the cafe by the library, and I suppose Venti also told you that I favor the mild sweets they serve there?” You teased. Kazuha sheepishly laughed. Busted.

Well, he was a cute guy. This might also be the chance you have been waiting for all your life. Venti was not an idiot to set you up with the wrong person.

“You must already know me, but I’m (Y/N). It’s nice to meet you.” You placed your hand in front for a handshake. He took it and also said his name.

“I’m Kazuha. Shall we go then?” He urged. You grinned and took his hand in yours.

“Sure! I hope they still have their special drink. You should try it!” Kazuha was beyond elated. There really was a longer way ahead, a future looking to.

BONUS:

“You know, you could have just talked to me. I always see you nearby when I draw. I hope you don’t mind that I often sing off-tune. It’s just my way to de-stress at times.” You bashfully said. Kazuha flushed once more before chuckling.

“I didn’t know, but I’m happy you gave me this chance. Don’t worry about your singing. I love it.” He confessed. It was now your turn to blush. He was too adorable and honest!

“Okay….” You murmured. He squeezed your intertwined fingers, smiling contently.

Please don’t copy or repost my stories, but notes and reblogs are always appreciated!

#SoundCloud #genshin impact #genshin #fluff #romance #genshin x reader #kazuha x reader #kazuha #kaedehara kazuha #genshin kaedehara #Spotify

[starflungwaddledee]

so i know your au focuses on bandee, but i was thinking of doing this for morpho magolor so i want your input

do you think it would be possible for morpho magolor to obtain a traitor form one way or another? i sketched a concept but i don;t know where it would fit

I'm just asking because you're the chrysalis au creator

responding to these (i got your other messages too), and while i don't mind you asking my input, i will say you absolutely don't have to ask me or anything! especially because it can take me some time to reply!

chrysalis au is very specifically about the scenario wherein morpho possesses bandee in its attempts to get to kirby. that's about the beginning and end of the plot of it on my end! morpho 'possession' designs or plotlines as a whole are not something i have universal decree over, and there are plenty of other really cool ones out there!

also, for what it's worth i did eventually find that really banger morpho magolor design i'd mentioned seeing before, and it was by @deafeninggardenerpanda here and also here. i could not possibly design anything that slaps harder than this one does. the shape language. the colours. the fkn... the tails on the cloak. the style of the hood. the single antenna. delicious.

anyway. the fact that chrysalis au focuses on bandee because he is My favourite little guy (or at least tied for it, with magolor) is kind of the point! you can make your own aus about your own morpho magolor headcanons that have nothing to do with mine and aren't beholden to my ideas in any way!

if you're simply curious about what i would creatively do with magolor in this sort of situation wrt traitor magolor in particular, i don't see any reason why morpho couldn't obtain the traitor form. i'd probably go with either...

1: it simply arrives later and possesses traitor magolor. traitor magolor, and perhaps especially soul magolor, is arguably only passably alive in the first place, so i think the butterfly wouldn't have any difficulties with reaping him. he'd presumably also already be fighting kirby, so if morpho's goal is to battle kirby, easy segue. 2: it puppets the already possessed morpho magolor towards the crown and makes him put it on his head without permission. imo there's a high chance that morpho knows exactly what would happen, far more than magolor ever did, so it would likely engineer the circumstance to obtain the increase in power from the crown.

while i don't think the crown poses a risk to morpho itself, i'm not sure if it would particularly enjoy battling the master crown for control of the body it's possessing. the power hike would have to be well worth the effort. i suppose worst case scenario (for morpho at least) is that it would just ditch whatever was left of traitor/soul magolor, and go on to the next body.

#best of luck with your AU!!! you should simply have fun with it and write whatever brings you personally the most joy! #that's what i do!! #also if you are ever wondering why it takes me a while to answer some asks it's because i have over 75 in my inbox rn!! #actually once i answer these two it will be precisely 75. and i earnestly want to get to all of them. but... yknow. takes time! takes time. #i'm planning to do some big batch answers over the next month tho so hopefully that'll help! #asks #morpho

[thehandwixard]

As a fashoin fan, a splatoon fan, and a splatoon fashion fan, i gotta ask. What do you think pearl and marina would wear for their wedding

hmm, im definitely getting bonuses from the fact basically every other piece of off the hook's splatfest art has different outfits for them so its pretty easy to get a feel for what they'd go for. i think both pearl and marina are equally likely to either pick a dress or suit, but lets assume a dress for both of them.

marina is fairly easy, she has these absolutely adorable ways of putting her hair up in certain pictures, and her ears are pierced

so giving her a big, delicate gold earring and a cute updo around this style would be perfectly fitting for her. shes actually worn off the hook logo earrings before too! she is exactly the kind of person who would wear them to her actual wedding. fitting with an updo, she would probably wear a dress, and marina is.. pretty universally associated with tight-fitting dresses, at least on the torso.

however, with the wavyness of her hair and the general... vibe she would have for a wedding im really picturing a princess dress skirt for her, against all odds. something still elegant, but very very fluffy. sleeveless, probably. i could also see her with a tasteful, but obviously kind of.. industrial hair accessory, like a twist of thick wire. shed just go for the fairytale perfect wedding i know she would. shoes are basically an afterthought with that kind of dress, though i think these kind of strappy, cute sandals would be fun in a fancy style. she doesnt want to be even taller than pearl on their wedding..

she seems like the type to enjoy light patterns, so maybe some tasteful seaweed/comb jelly bioluninescence patterns on the skirt. id feel weird leaving her arms bare even though i dont think this look would need jewelry, so maybe she has dual corsages or something. ill sketch this later.

now. pearl is difficult. marina has the bonus of generally being well-put together and feminine in even casual photos, especially when compared to the squid sisters. meanwhile, pearl has a generally punk princess vibe, which doesnt translate well to a formal wedding. good thing this isnt one.

i do think she would make an effort to be classy, obviously, but most of her more dressed up looks are either still business casual or costumes

but we can work with this. an immediate idea i had was a crown with a veil on it, and she would go for that. one of my favorite more formal pearl looks is this one, for salty vs sweet popcorn

and i think it mirrors her current design for damp socks in a cute way, forgoing the more pop high collar for a more mature and gentle v-neckline with straps. in contrast to marina, i think she would have the more gentle silhouette in general, more flowing outward than a sudden ball gown puff, though it would be shorter (and much easier to dance in). of course, i think she would also have sheer ruffles all over to match with marina.

shoes are.. a toss-up? i'm going to throw a dart and say just... really nice white boots like these. maybe some tasteful but still very bold decals

or one of these simple clunky heel type things. but that would have to be iridescent in some way. give and take.

Color palettes are... tough. i think in splatoon white weddings wouldnt mean much, but maybe the palette of the shoes they designed in 2 could work very well as contrasts. pearl's pastel pinks, vermillion, and light teal with marina's turquoise, gold, and purple.

i think the palette would generally be tied together with light aqua though. they both look good in it

#sketches will appear. #im so sad that my absolute favorite pearl and marina looks dont translate perfectly to wedding outfits #i.e the tsubuan vs koshian splatfest art #so perfect #imagine that for marina's palette at least

[natedraws]

I didn't do as many completed projects this year as I have previously so the selection isn't as "high quality" as I'd like but still a fun year! I wouldn't say that it was my best but some improvements have definately been made.

Last year was my first year ever experiencing burnout which made producing art outside of work much harder for me. I have about a million unfinished sketches sitting that will never be completed and that makes me a bit sad - but that's okay! I could tell myself I can work on them this year, but I'd much prefer to turn the year over on a blank slate instead of feeling pressured by past incompleted personal projects.

In 2024 there are a few things I would like to focus on going forward in regards to my work. Firstly is to get back to that childlike passion of just creating whatever I'd like to. I often find myself not pushing to finish something personal ( because I could be using that effort to make much needed money instear ). Or if I do convince myself to finish a piece for me, it must be the highest quality "best thing I've ever drawn" so that it is at the very least portfolio worthy. I worry way too much if I've drawn something and it doesn't look as impressive as a piece I have previously made, everything I put out must be better than the last otherwise myself as an artist is no good. I'm going to try my hardest to just draw things for fun, and for the joy of creating. Leaving behind the mindset of perfectionism that often comes when you start doing art professionaly.

Secondly I would like to do more art trades. These days I know most of us ( myself included ) do not have the spare funds to commission our favorite artists, and art trades are a way to support artists you love and sharing creation with each-other. When I do art trades, I do them with anyone regardless of "skill" or meduim. It can be anything, sewing, needlework, beadwork, sculpting the possibilities are endless. At the moment I operate trades on a "feel free to ask me and if I'm free then I will get back to you and let you know" basis ( mainly because I myself am too shy to ask fellow artists to trade aswell lol ). However I do ask for some time spare before being asked at the moment as I am still struggling greatly from burnout 🙏.

Lastly I want to explore other meduims more. I made two succesful hand-sewn plush from scratch last year and I would like to continue on making more if I'm able to ( pending supplies cost ). My personal goal for that is to make 3 original plush in 2023. I would also like to do more personal cross-stitch projects where I am making my own patterns ( no I will never take commissions for cross-stitch projects - I do not want the joy from it taken from me, please don't ask! ). I would also like to start drawing in a sketchbook again, something I haven't done for around 6 years now.

If you have any goals relating to art for 2024 please feel free to share them! I can't wait to see what we all create : )

#not sure what to tag this as so I'm just gonna leave it without any!

[skeleboys-askblog]

✧Here’s some of mod Scorpii’s headcanons for Calibri while I work on his designs.✧

(Also!! Me and Bee’s headcanons might not always line up with each other’s so we’ll be labeling them and tagging them with either #Scorpii’s headcanons🦂 or #Bee’s headcanons🐝 respectively!!! Ty :-)!!!)

✧I think Calibri would be a total deadhead!! He’s really into psychedelic rock and has a Grateful Dead hoodie he wears everywhere.

✧He definitely flunked high school really bad. He’d show up to class absolutely zooted at 7 A.M. and just coast through the day on nothing but vibes and the edible in his pocket. Papyrus made him at least get his GED afterwards.

✧He totally models his guitar playing after Jimi Hendrix, and Napstaton samples his riffs for his music.

✧That being said!! Calibri definitely has access to Napstaton’s official social media and posts the worst things imaginable on his professional account. It’s always like low res images of Goku with captions like “shidded” and then nothing else.

✧Calibri is the chill homie harboring an unfathomable amount of sadness.

✧Like, his inferiority complex has only gotten worse with age (He’d be about 19-21 in our future au) To be honest, he’s a total basket case that really wants to change, but is too scared to put in the effort.

✧He brings a “we should all quit” vibe to the work place that managers don’t really like.

✧Expanding on that; he’s been fired from pretty much every single job he’s had until Napstaton gave him a job at his record store/radio station.

✧He previously worked at a movie theater and helped kids sneak in to shows through the back, but eventually got caught.

✧Calibri can give you solid music recommendations based on your vibes alone and he’s got a 99% success rate.

✧He asked Trajan to be his trip sitter one time, but as soon as the shrooms hit he got terrified of Trajan’s four eyes and locked himself in the laundry room.

✧He and Hapstablook love to cook together!! He also cooks with Sans too, but it can get to be a really exhausting couple of hours trying to wrangle him into actually cooking the taco meat. So Calibri really values his time with Hapstablook cause it’s usually just a very sweet and calming experience.

✧The bandana in my new design for him is from his uncle Sans 🫶 he has like, a million and wanted Calibri to match with him.

✧He’d rather die than cut his hair.

✧Calibri’s style now leans more into a hippie-punk kinda look, mainly cause he aligns himself with most of the ideals of both subcultures.

Here’s my sketch of his new design so far!! I’ll have a more confident piece for him, this is just a lazy slap-together.

He’s got on that stupid Grateful Dead hoodie and a battle vest full of patches of all his favorite artists.

Never ditched the chucks! He still rocks with his converse- and his fingerless gloves.

He doesn’t tie his hair up as often anymore, but he does dress it up with that bandana that I mentioned!

His tank top underneath has a Misfits logo on it 💪

And that’s a crazy ass monster boof from the Hot-Lands so who knows what’s actually in it.

-Scorpii

#calibri underswap #papyton ship kids #Scorpii’s headcanons🦂 #calibri #underswap #papyton #papyton ship children #not an ask