#did one circle with the default tool

[emuwarum]

Bird watches the sunset

#Emu does art #i love this birdy and I love this gorgeous sky and I love these hills I drew like how the bush looks from the car #made the birdy by drawing a giant uncooked rainbow ramen #then I cloned it and made a bunch of tiny ones #and then I smudged those together #cloned it so I could take specific sections as feathers then edit it together #four feathers through realised I could make a bird like this #did it #put it on a branch #started drawing the landscape and branch rough sketch #used the other smudge tool with blending on to draw everything except the sun #made the hills with green crescents of many shapes #the water was a lil weird #multiple things I drew in there. also dots so the light shines #did some splashy for the waterfall #then the sun #did one circle with the default tool #made a layer behind it #used the other smudge tool in orange then pink and purple #blend with dotty #go darker and darker purple blues #and made the branch with that smudge tool also #I think it’s actually called the blend roll but can’t check right now #and again with various shades of green drew needles #it’s one of those needle trees who knows which one #Love you bird who I completed with a migraine or something #Idk my head hurts and everything pain #I’ve been laying in my room in the dark for two hours #once again love you bird I’m gonna go back to my dark room now #oh also I can turn off the pen sensitivity that controls the size of stuff

[kayjayjwrites]

Like Bugs in a Rug: Chapter One

Summary: Azriel Shadowsinger, mysterious pretty boy extraordinaire himself, was head over heels in love with you for years. Everyone in the room could see it, except for you of course. A series of connected one-shots.

Chapter Word Count: 6,350

Chapter Content Warnings: fluff, some cursing, one bed trope, awkward but wholesome communication, AFAB Reader, Reader (You), some details about Reader's appearance but overall vague, canon plot spoilers as this is canon compliant-ish, reader low key being thirsty for Azzie

Note: Hello! Welcome to my first fic in like 10 years! This idea came about when I was having a hard time falling back asleep. I sometimes draft fanfiction when i'm trying to sleep. I don't often remember the plots come morning, but the memory of this one remained intact enough for me to jot down. I’m thinking this update is gonna be the longest chapter because it's both prologue and the first chapter, but I have terrible self control with word count limits. So I guess we’ll see what the next chapters bring, but they may be shorter!

Enjoy me 2am fugue state musings, there are likely typos~

It was all worth it. The decades of patience and silent suffering. The centuries of loneliness paying off just as you lost hope of ever leaving The Court of Nightmares. You and your father, Kier, expected a typical visit from the Inner Circle. The High Lord would threaten your father to keep him in line, you’d go unnoticed in the back of the throne room monitoring the interaction. Just like every other time they visited.

Except, the High Lord and his Inner Circle asked about you like you were the reason behind their visit. You had clocked the visit as odd as soon as only Rhysand, Feyre, and Mor arrived. The absence of both The General & Shadowsinger at the same time a rarity. Despite being related to Rhysand and Mor, you didn’t think they knew your name, so when they asked Kier about you, by name, your heart damn near fell out of your ass.

They wanted you to leave Hewn City to work with them. A Courtier of the Night Court, working alongside Nesta, Lady Death herself, of all people. They wanted you to start immediately now that the war with Hybern was over. Relations between Courts were strained, and upon learning of your talent, the High Lord deemed it a waste for you to be hidden away down here. He and the Inner Circle believed you did not belong in The Court of Nightmares. To anyone else, having the High Lord speak so highly of your child would have been an honor.

It was the most furious you’d ever seen Kier. Which was saying something. His emotions grew volatile in a blink of an eye, outraged by the absolute gall of the High Lord. How dare he come to his city and tell him that you weren’t meeting your full potential down here? At some point Kier stood up, snarling at Rhysand and the others like a wild animal. Kier, so lost in his anger, let his mental shields falter. Just for a second, but it was more than enough time for your powers to draw his wayward thoughts to you, like a magnet, his unspoken intentions seeped into your own mind. You were always terrible at blocking him out when he got like that.

Power. Kier's thoughts whispered to you. A spy for him in the Inner Circle. It disgusted you how predictable your father was, his intentions were always about how he could best use you for his own gain. It was the driving force behind your excessive training habits, desperate to protect yourself from the toxicity of his intentions. The more you failed at keeping him out, the more you hated him, and by default hated yourself.

Rhysand was right, you were wasted down here, and it wasn’t that your father didn’t see that, he didn’t care. He wasn’t furious with the High Lord for taking another daughter away from him, he was mad about losing a tool.

Well, your father could rot down here alone for all you cared.

You felt a lot of things in that moment. Intimidated by the prospect of working with Nesta, unsure of Mor’s morals and the rumors surrounding her, apprehensive of Rhysand and Feyre’s power, and not to mention all the unknown dynamics between the rest of the Inner Circle. But, despite all that uncertainty, you did not feel nervous about leaving Hewn City with them.

The first task Kier ever appointed you was to report on Rhysand and his Inner Circle’s intentions every time they visited. Either they all had flawless control over their mental shields, or their icy behavior was an act from the beginning. You never dared to share your suspicions with Kier, your father only wanted ammo for his hate, and he never took kindly to evidence that didn’t support his biases against High Lord Rhysand.

It felt a little too much like blind faith and a hunch for you to be 100% comfortable with the decision, but you decided to put your trust in these strangers anyway.

You would take the job.

Not to be a spy for Kier.

Not out of some duty to your High Lord or older sister.

It was time to live your life for you. Consequences be damned.

But, the focus of this story was not about moving to Velaris with Mor and getting to know the Inner Circle. It wasn’t about how much you rock as a diplomat for the Night Court. It wasn’t about how good it felt the first time sunlight touched your skin upon leaving the underground city. It wasn’t even about how you and Nesta became best friends. However good those stories may be.

However, this story is about Azriel Shadowsinger, and how the mysterious pretty boy extraordinaire himself, fell head over heels for you without you ever picking up on it. Yeah, that’s right, the girl who struggled to control her talent for hearing unspoken intentions never puzzled the pieces together. For literal years everyone else in the godforsaken room could tell the Spymaster was in love with you, except for you.

It all started with an argument with Rhysand a few assignments into your career as the Night Court Courtier. You felt like you could handle traveling between Courts without needing an escort, especially if you’d be meeting up with Nesta at the destination anyway. Rhysand did not agree, basically threatening to ground you if you didn’t allow someone to accompany you.

That was how Azriel had become your full-time travel partner. Rhysand appointed Azriel as an additional escort in case Nesta was pulled away.

You’d take this to your grave before ever admitting it, but Rhysand wasn’t wrong to be worried. There had been a good number of times where just that had happened. Nesta would be working the other side of the room, and having Azriel lingering nearby eased your nerves. Prythian was a vast Realm, and Rhys had been right in worrying about your adjustment.

It didn’t take too long for you to adapt once you had visited all the different Courts a few times. Yet, Azriel continued to go out of his way to accompany you to events. The first obvious sign of his affections for you came a couple years into your career.

The event was in a small Day Court town on the border of the Night Court, just under a day’s travel from Velaris on foot. Home to one of the libraries hit hardest by Amarantha’s looting, the entire town was celebrating the return of a sizable chunk of the stolen volumes. The gala was advertised to be a quaint dinner and cocktail hour. You suspected that scholars and book enthusiasts would be the bulk of those present. Although interested in going, Rhysand had High Lord duties to attend to that involved Nesta and the other Archeron sisters in the Summer Court. With a promise to fill everyone in on anything of interest, you packed a small overnight bag and waited for Mor to arrive home. You never developed the ability to winnow, so you needed someone to bring you.

Fussing with your hair in one of the numerous mirrors decorating Mor’s walls, you couldn’t help but smile at your reflection. Your time in Velaris, just over two years, had already begun to sooth a deep sadness you hadn’t realized had settled under your skin. It was obvious in the gentle way you gazed at your reflection, the healthy flush of your cheeks, and the warmth of your thoughts. Velaris looked good on you, and as you smoothed a hand down the shimmery sapphire blue fabric of the dress that clung to your curves, you thought the new formalwear looked good on you too.

Giddiness bubbled up in you at the idea of modeling the new dress for Mor. The excitement felt foreign still, after spending centuries believing Mor didn’t care to know her own little sister. You never thought you’d ever get the chance to gush over dresses with her. Kier hated everything Mor represented, and was cruel to her in ways that made you feel lucky in a perverse way. Your father may have manipulated and alienated you, filling your head with lies about your older sister, but it was never public. Kier made sure everyone in the Court of Nightmares knew that Mor was a useless whore and a traitor.

When Mor became a core member of the Inner Circle, and Rhysand put her in charge of Hewn City, you would wait for her to acknowledge you during her visits. Decades turned into a century, but the same hope would always rise up when Mor was due for a visit, only to be crushed when she ignored you. She never paid you a second of her time, just a fleeting look in passing as if you were another spectator. Knowing that she wasn’t ignoring you out of ill intent stung more, because you couldn’t bring yourself to hate her.

Kier may be your father, but that didn’t mean you had to be a fan of his intentions. You never believe the rumors he spread about Mor.

And then, the big reveal came. It turned out that to Mor, you were just another spectator. Mor didn’t know she had a younger sister at all. Keir hid you so well that no one realized you were related to him. A detail that made you feel so small when it came to light. You were just the shy woman in the background, taught to be pleasant when spoken to, a pretty little wallflower the rest of the time.

Later, when you asked about who first realized your identity, you got mixed accounts from the Inner Circle. Rhysand insisted that it was he who put the pieces together first. Stating that it came to him suddenly after Azriel submitted a report from a surveillance mission detailing an overheard conversation between you and Kier about your talents. Rhysand claimed that your powers reminded him of a variation of Mor’s. The rest of the Inner Circle credited Feyre for noting the resemblance between you, Kier, and The Morrigan the first time she noticed you loitering at the back of a council meeting.

When the truth was confirmed, and you agreed to go with them, Mor wept. She vowed to never leave you alone in The Court of Nightmares ever again, even for a second. That promise was your first experience with making a deal in the Night Court. Your clear surprise at the intricate tattoo that branded itself over the center of your sternum clued Mor, Rhysand, and Feyre in on how out of touch you were with common lore from your own Court. Mor wasted no time in winnowing you out of there after that. The both of you had heard enough of Keir’s nasty sneers and low-blow comments to last a lifetime.

Now, Mor’s cozy little home was also your cozy little home, if not a bit tight for two people. If someone asked you a decade ago if you thought you’d ever have a relationship with Mor you would advise them to seek out a healer.

And yet there you were, vibrating with things to tell her, anticipating her arrival with an almost goofy grin when…Azriel of all people winnowed into the living room.

Perplexed, but not totally disappointed, “Oh!” you said, clearly taken aback. “I was expecting Mor.”

Azriel huffed a low chuckle, dimples bracketing his amused half-smile. “Sorry to disappoint.”

You looked him over, dark circles under his eyes, droopy eyelids, posture leaning forward in a slight slouch. “Az, didn’t you just return from a long mission? Why aren’t you resting?”

“Wanted to escort you to the Day Court Library Gala, of course.”

The tenderness in his voice had warmth bubbling up from your chest. “That is very kind,” you started, making sure to meet his gaze so he knew you meant it, “but you look so tired, Az. I’ve visited the Day Court a bunch of times now and only need someone to winnow me there. As much as I enjoy having you accompany me to these things, I don’t want you to stretch yourself thin on my account. I’ve got this.”

“I know you’ve got this,” came his immediate reply, “as you’ve pointed out I’ve been gone for a few weeks. What if I offered to escort you because I missed you, hm?”

Despite yourself you felt a flush of heat in your cheeks at his teasing. You refused to use your powers on anyone in the inner circle, unwilling to violate their privacy without explicit consent. But you didn’t need your powers to read Azriel’s sincerity. It made it hard to meet his gaze, you turned back to running your fingers through your hair in the mirror, taking a moment to compose yourself. “Well alright then, I don’t think I can do anything more to tame my hair, we should be off then.”

You felt Azriel at your back, a gloved hand coming up to gently grasp your elbow, guiding your arm down as his hand trailed down the bare skin of your forearm to hold yours, turning you to face him. “Stop fussing, you look stunning, this dress is new, right? I think the color suits you.”

You smiled. “Thank you, I suppose you would like this color, now that I’m thinking about it,” with your free hand you held up the skirt of the floor length dress to the siphon on his wrist, marveling at the color match, “it looks like I did it on purpose.”

He hummed in acknowledgement as he pulled you closer into an almost embrace. “We should go now. Wouldn’t want to miss the opening speeches.”

You suppressed a shudder. Definitely from the way his breath tickled your ear, and not from the way his voice sounded as he tucked you into his chest. “You hate opening speeches.” You pointed out, remembering all the times he complained about how boring they were.

“I do, but you like them.” You’d never said as much aloud, but you did enjoy listening to people talk about things they were passionate about, and opening speeches tended to be just that. Of course the Spymaster had noticed.

If Azriel saw your smile before you hid your face against his leather-clad pec he didn’t let on. You pulled your hands free and looped your arms around his middle, clasping your fingers together under the base of his wings.

“I’m ready then, thank you for coming with me.” Your voice was muffled, unwilling to tilt your head up to talk to him in case your maddening blush was there. It didn’t seem to matter how many times you winnowed with Az, your whole face would go cherry red. Something Cassian never failed to poke fun at whenever he witnessed it.

Azriel wrapped his arms tightly around you, your body now flush to his. You focused on the sound of his wings rustling as he tucked them in closer. Anything to distract from the way your pulse spiked when you felt his lips brush against the crown of your head, his hold on you gentle, yet firm and protective as darkness folded around the both of you.

XxXx

Neither you nor Azriel realized the issue with your room reservation until much too late. Upon arrival in The Day Court the both of you hurried to the event. The gala wrapped up around midnight, and like most of the other guests staying in town, you and Azriel retired back to the nearby Inn. With your strappy heels in hand and a pleasant buzz from the alcohol, you felt positively bubbly. Paused in front of your room, you let Azriel rummage through the small black purse at your side for the key. After almost leading them into the wrong room, Azriel took it upon himself to find the correct room and unlock the door.

Minutes later you were still trying to suppress a smile at how Azriel reacted with such mortification when he realized you’d led them to the wrong room. The mental image of the great Shadowsinger so frantic in his efforts to stop you from further jostling the doorknob, had you letting out a laugh before you could stop it.

“It’s not funny.” He grumbled as he swung the wooden door to your room open, leading you inside. You were on the verge of poking fun at him some more when you caught a glimpse of the interior layout. Right, you had RSVP’d expecting to attend the gala alone. The realization sobered you up real fast.

The room was small, burgundy curtains concealing a sizable window, antique desk with tourist flyers stacked in a neat pile on top. A queen sized, four post bed situated in the middle of the room.

“I’ll take the floor—” Azriel started saying.

But you interrupted him. “—you should have the bed.”

“Absolutely not, what kind of gentleman would I be if I let a lady sleep on the floor while I hogged the whole bed.” He nodded, as if the conversation was over, and you had to fight the urge to roll your eyes at him.

“There’s not even enough space on the floor for you to stretch out Az. The room is basically only bed. It’s fine, I can use my extra clothes—”

You inhaled sharply, tensing at the thought of your overnight bag, left forgotten back at Mor's apartment. Your eyes darted to Azriel, meeting his gaze out of the corner of your eye, and you knew you didn’t need to say anything about it as he scoffed under his breath.

“You forgot your bag.” He observed.

Sighing, you ran a hand through your hair, your tight dress feeling like it was constricting around your chest as you contemplated sleeping in it. “I did indeed forget my bag.”

“We could just go back, we don’t have to stay here for the night.” Azriel pointed out, but the thought of cutting the trip short caused a ripple of disappointment to drop in your stomach.

“Or,” he continued with a hint of amusement, “I have an undershirt beneath my leathers. I changed before I met you at Mor’s, so it’s relatively clean. I was going to sleep in it tonight, but I would sacrifice my shirt for you if it meant you’d stop frowning like that.”

If you thought you were anxious before, Azriel’s suggestion sent your anxiety through the roof. You had always found Azriel attractive, even when you were still living in Hewn City. Who wouldn’t? That attraction grew into a bit of a crush when you first arrived in Velaris. He treated you with such care as you adjusted to living above ground, quiet, patient, and thoughtful.

Once it was apparent that you would be working closely with him you shut that shit down. You and him had spent a lot of time traveling together the last few years, always with separate sleeping arrangements, and never sharing clothing. You went out of your way to respect his privacy, give him space, all in hopes of being someone he one day could trust, like how you trusted him.

You could handle one night, sharing a bed, borrowing his shirt. That wouldn’t totally backfire on you in any way, right? Nodding to yourself once, you tried for an air of confidence as you talked around the nerves that have bloomed in your chest.

“Okay,” you agreed, “but if I change into your shirt you definitely can’t take the floor. I won’t let you sleep shirtless on the ground while I’m all tucked in and cozy in bed. I’ll only take up a sliver of it by myself anyway.”

He opened his mouth to object, his intentions written in the way his brow furrowed at you. But you barreled on anyway, “So, we share the bed tonight. Are you comfortable with that?”

His mouth snapped shut, eyes studying you for a tense moment as if you may be tricking him. You clasped your hands together in front of you, the longer you waited for him to respond the clammier your palms felt. Each second felt like an eternity and in no time at all you found yourself scrambling for a way to play off your idea as a joke.

Of course he wouldn’t want to share a bed with you. What in the world had you been thinking?

Maybe you could blame it on that deliciously fizzy drink you downed before leaving the gala, say you weren’t in your right mind. Pretend to not remember in the morning, as if this wasn’t going to be a moment you cringe about decades later. Would you be able to just laugh it off? Would Azriel be chill enough to let you live this down? You were probably so screwed.

He was still a little tense, but just before your panic truly took root Azriel began to nod his head like he...agreed with you?

“Yes, I think that is the most logical solution. The bed can definitely fit two.” Azriel finally said, and you tried to keep yourself from gaping at his response. But your surprise must have been all over your face because he went on to say, “I didn’t suggest it myself because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Wiping your hands down the front of your dress did little to help with the sweat. The pit that had been taking form in your stomach churned, your dread morphing into jittery nerves.

Then, as if you weren’t having a nervous breakdown right in front of him, the handsome lunatic started striping his leathers off. Dept hands tossing his gloves to the desk, he unclasped the chest pieces of his leathers, they fell to the floor with a thud. Then, the promised black undershirt was up over his head, and you were drinking in all his tattoos and corded muscles like you were a tactless teenager instead of a 300+ year old female.

A flash of movement from him, and you flinched when his shirt hit you square in the face. It was so big it draped over your head. You made a disgruntled noise, ignoring how delicious the shirt smelled as you removed it from your face, “Hey—!”

“If you’re done gawking at me like you’ve never seen a shirtless male, you can get ready for bed first.” He headed further into the room, collecting his chest piece off the floor and approaching the desk to place it with his gloves. He turned to face you, his butt propped against the desk as he gestured to the door his wingspan had been blocking from view. He crossed his arms over his bare chest, flexing his biceps, and you almost swooned at the sight. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Your fist tightened around the shirt, fighting the urge to toss it back at him out of spite. Embarrassment felt like hot iron under your skin, so instead you snapped your attention to the door he had pointed out–the bathroom. You knew you’d averted your gaze much too fast to seem unaffected by him. He chuckled, and you glowered at him as his head tilted to the side, watching you with a bemused expression. He looked about ready to comment further, but you waved him off with faux-annoyance and an exaggerated roll of your eyes. Clutching his shirt close to your chest, you escaped into the bathroom.

Subtle.

Pressing your back to the door, it closed under your weight. You paused there for a moment to focus on your breathing, your frazzled mind going a mile a minute. This was all so far out of your comfort zone, it wasn’t even funny. You never had to deal with handsome males in The Court of Nightmares, Kier didn’t let you socialize long enough for it to even be on your radar. Dating hadn’t quite made your list of top priorities upon arriving in Velaris either.

What little experience you did have was with a male named Allistair. You’d met him at Rita’s within your first year above ground. It was a fling of sorts that lasted a few months before you decided casual dating wasn’t for you. He was a perfectly adequate lover. At least you think he was. He was also your only lover. A nice enough companion as you acclimated to your new life. The times you had been intimate with that male had left you feeling…bereft. Seeing Allistair shirtless had been nothing like seeing Azriel shirtless.

And Azriel calling you out for ogling him so blatantly? Mother have mercy.

So now you were just expected to fall asleep next to him wearing his shirt after that? The situation almost made you want to laugh at the absurdity of it all. The last thing you wanted was to draw his suspicion by loitering against the door for too much longer, so you moved to the sink. Maybe splashing lukewarm water on your face would reveal that this had all been a weird ass nightmare.

Cupping water into your face a couple more times, you took in the smeared makeup dripping down your face in the mirror. Definitely not a dream.

Azriel was going to think you were in love with him for fucksake.

Snatching the nearby hand towel from the rack on the wall you soaked it, and got to work on scrubbing your face clean. You had to have a little more faith in Azriel. He wouldn’t let a single weird moment ruin over two years of amicable teamwork. But your personal relationship with him felt fragile to you at best. You can't let some tattoos and abs mess up what you considered to be the most solid friendship you’d made among the Inner Circle.

So what if he was hot as hell? You could co-exist with attractive people, it was legit a part of your job. You could salvage the situation, just change out of the dress you accidentally matched to the colors of his siphons, put his shirt on that smelled so strongly of him it gave you a headrush, and face him like you hadn't just been drooling over him.

You know, simple.

The hem of his t-shirt landed just above your knees, and the comfort you found in it was criminal. The black fabric was very soft and so baggy that you worried the wing slits in the back would shift forward in your sleep. It could reveal a little more than what you’d considered 'tasteful side boob'.

Resisting the urge to fuss in the mirror (because it wasn't like you were trying to look cute for anyone, right?), you exited the bathroom clean faced and a bit more settled than when you had entered.

Your bravado, however, was short lived. Azriel faced away from you in only his underwear, the rest of his leathers added to the pile on the desk. He was organizing his various knives on the bedside table closest to the main door.

He looked over his shoulder at you. Totally not catching you checking out his butt in the tight underpants. Cauldron boil you. Would it be weird if you marched yourself back into the bathroom to try the whole “not affected by sexy, almost nude Illyrian warrior” thing again?

Azriel inhaled sharply, and you snuck a glance at him. His attention was back on his knives, but there was a tension to him, almost like he was brooding. There might have been a light blush over his cheeks, but you felt weird analyzing him anymore than you already had out of habit. You clocked the change in his body language for what it was the instant he saw you in his shirt. Clenched jaw, tense shoulders, spine ramrod straight, wide eyed before averting his gaze, elevated heart rate–classic signs of attraction. Reactions he clearly didn’t want you to notice.

"I'm taking this side." He informed almost absently, patting the mattress. Leaving you with the window side.

You wandered to the desk to avoid observing him further, wishing that you could turn off the part of you that always seemed to be prying for more information. And then you felt it, his thoughts getting louder, his emotions growing wilder, reaching out to you. You slammed your mental shields up hard, a gross feeling taking root when it was too late.

Protect. Azriel’s intentions conveyed to you. Protect. Comfort. Provide. Here you were invading his private thoughts without his knowledge, while he was concerned with your wellbeing. What was the point of all that effort Rhysand put into teaching you how to better control your mental shields? It never worked when you needed it most. The failure stung, and you had to busy yourself with folding your dress in a neat square so you had something to keep your hands from shaking.

It was quiet for too long, and you struggled with recalling what he had said to you before you’d lost control. Something about the bed. "Sounds good to me." You decide on saying, placing your dress next to his leathers.

Azriel didn’t seem to find your reply out of the ordinary. Small mercies.

"I'll be out in a few minutes, then." His voice was rougher than before, and it sent chills down your spine. As soon as you heard the bathroom door click shut you scurried into bed. You couldn’t get under the covers fast enough, pulling the blankets up to your neck with a hefty sigh of relief.

It felt awesome to be laying down after such a long evening on your feet. Too bad you couldn’t enjoy it more, instead drowning under waves of shame. Maybe you’d never get a full handle on your powers. Maybe the Mother was teaching you a lesson in this life? You couldn’t fathom what the moral could be. You wanted more than anything to be able to mind your business.

You wished you could turn your brain off. Alas, even your guilt couldn’t stop you from reflecting and organizing what you’d just observed. Not only had you heard his intentions, but you also felt them. Unlike the sweet warmth of his thoughts, his gaze had felt like desire and bad decisions.

He didn’t seem like he was actively seeking to bed you. You reasoned that you were also an available female wearing nothing but his shirt and a pair of panties. You could only imagine how all of that must have chafed against his Illyrian instincts. Rhysand had once mentioned that Illyrians were possessive and protective at best, controlling and jealous at their worst.

Surely those possessive instincts were what you were picking up on, then. You were covered in his scent after all. That was the only logical explanation for his reaction, his instincts were telling him to protect you because you were vulnerable and wearing his clothing. Even if it didn’t quite sound right to you, it was the only explanation you were willing to entertain. You were barely friends, there was no way Azriel wanted to court you. The thought sent a fleeting pang of disappointment through you that you refused to examine.

Whatever. There wasn’t anything you could do to make the situation less messy right now. You were exhausted, and stewing on scenarios that would never amount to anything real was unlike you.

Snuggling further into the sheets, you decided it was best to just pretend you hadn’t noticed shit. The damage was done, Azriel wasn’t dumb, he at least knew he had flustered you. You weren’t going to draw any more attention to that tonight. Or tomorrow. Or ever. Everything about this night was a fluke.

Azriel returned from the bathroom, and you kept your focus on fluffing your pillows. Sitting up you tossed an extra pillow onto the floor, and you could feel as soon as his eyes landed on you that some of his…instincts…were still acting up. You pulled the comforter back up to your neck as he got into bed next to you. Turning on your side to face him you were determined to be normal. No more awkward gawking allowed tonight.

He stretched his arms up above his head, his joints popping a million times as he groaned in relief. You couldn't help chuckling at him, the fearsome Shadowsinger of the Night Court, doing something so mundane.

Scooting further onto the bed, Azriel rolled over to meet your gaze, his wings tucked close to his back as he settled. Most of his wingspan spilled over the side of the bed anyway. He surveyed you, eyes lingering along your tired but genuine smile, and you saw the stern tenseness slowly leave his body. "You sure you're comfortable with this?" He asked.

Your smile turned a tad warmer. This male was just so kind, so different from what you knew in Hewn City. "I am, I trust you Azriel." It was the truth. You didn't have friends growing up, and although you may have a long way to go before Azriel truly called you his friend, you considered him a dear (sexy) friend.

Your words seem to settle something in him, and you could have sworn you saw something almost affectionate flash across his face. You blink, and it's gone, but the fuzzy feeling it left in your chest remains.

Like he sensed your mushy thoughts, he ruined the moment. "So I have to ask you something, it’s serious.”

Your brows raised in bemused interest, the scenario with him wishing to court you snapping to the forefront of your mind again. He’d always been very attentive to you, but in a worried protective way. You’d never picked up on any romantic intentions from him before, and he’s not the type to make a decision like that on a whim. The chance was small, but you couldn’t 100% rule out him wanting to ask you out. Could you say no to him? Would you even want to say no? You’d never considered this as an option before!

He held your gaze, as if for dramatic effect and then with the seriousness of a top notch spymaster he asked you, “You have seen a shirtless male before...right?"

Maybe it was a mistake to consider this male kind, he was a menace all along.

You had never rolled your eyes so hard at someone. Unbelievable.

Turning away from him with enough force to toss your hair in his face, you are rewarded with the sound of his indignant grunt.

"Can you turn the light off please?" You snap, unable to rein in your annoyance. Unsettled by how it tasted almost like rejection.

"You didn't answer my question." He goaded, and you fell right for it.

"Yeah, because it's a silly question." You fire back.

He hummed at your response, "Doesn't seem like you think it's a silly question."

You would rather swallow your own tongue than admit to Azriel that you’d seen shirtless males, but he had been the first you’d enjoyed seeing shirtless.

Done with the line of questioning, you blindly flung your arm back, swatting at him. He startled at the contact, and he exhaled a scoff when you didn't stop flopping your arm at him after the first blow.

He caught your wrist, stilling your flailing. "Fine, fine, I'll drop it," He let go of your wrist, “for now.”

You shifted to burrow further into your pillows, totally not dwelling on how his big hand wrapped around your wrist made you feel dainty. The texture of his scars hadn’t made your heart skip a beat either. Nope. Not at all.

"Could you shut the light off please." You asked again with more venom than you intended. It bothered you how easy this male could get under your skin. He wasn’t even trying.

You felt his weight shifting, the bed frame squeaking a bit as he moved. "Anything for you, Princess." He shuffled a little more, and then the light went off, casting the both of you in darkness.

The nickname made you grimace into your pillow. No one had ever called you that before, and you really didn’t want it to catch on.

You felt him return to the position on his side facing you. Some moments passed in loud silence, and although you were the one that let the conversation drop, the residual tension in the room was killing you. There was no way you would be able to fall asleep, and you would bet that Azriel was stewing in the tension too.

"Az?" You whispered. His response was quick like he’d been waiting on edge for you to speak, "Yes?"

"Goodnight." And you found yourself meaning it. You hoped he got some sleep tonight despite the turmoil he had so effortlessly sowed in your stomach with his teasing. The prick.

You could practically hear the mischief in his voice. "Sleep well, princess."

Ugh. Your stomach coiled, but not in an entirely unpleasant way. Very dangerous. It was an inappropriate reaction, and you wrote it off as stress. However as hard as you wished to forget it, you wouldn’t be forgetting how Azriel had made you feel that night anytime soon.

Even your racing thoughts couldn’t stop sleep from finding you, putting you out of your misery.

And if you woke up to the sounds of song birds that morning, your face pressed against Azriel's neck, your body sprawled atop him while he slept on his back, then that was your business. No one would know if you relished being in his arms a few minutes longer than necessary. You wouldn’t confirm nor deny if one of his hands had looped through a wing hole of his borrowed shirt, his fingers resting just under your breast.

And so what if it had been the best sleep you'd gotten since leaving Hewn City. And if Azriel seemed more well rested than usual on your return to the Night Court, you certainly didn't notice that either.

XxXx

Next Chapter

#azriel x reader #acotar #azriel x you #friends to lovers #slow burn #one bed trope #one shot #one shot series #azriel #my writing #kayjaywrites #like bugs in a rug

[eddiediaaz]

hi, alie! i just wanted to say that your speak now + 911 gifsets are beautiful! i was also wondering how you did the little annotations on the lyrics, the underlines, the circles, the hearts and so on? they look so charming! did you do them in PS itself, or did you use another app?

ohhh thank you so much!! i free handed the red doodles here in photoshop and it's rather simple actually!

create a new color fill layer of the color of your choice (red in my case), but you can always change the color later if you want. you could even do this with a gradient fill layer if you want.

by default this color fill layer should already have a layer mask, but if there isn't one, make sure to add one. invert the layer mask so it becomes all black (select the layer mask thumbnail and hit ctrl + i to invert the layer mask).

select the brush tool and choose the settings of choice. for the speak now gifsets i used the regular hard round brush with 100% hardness and 1px size.

select the layer mask thumbnail again and choose the color white in the color picker area.

you can now draw your doodles onto the layer mask! i zoomed in quite a bit while drawing mine and went slow, so it's easier to see what you're doing since these are very thin lines and precise stuff. but the fun of it is also that it looks imperfect and hand drawn (in my opinion)!

if you're not satisfied, you can always erase your doodles whenever by going over them with a black color brush instead of white. here are the layers for the example gif:

as you can see, i did something very similar for the highlighter part, but with a different brush and different blending mode and opacity (multiply, 70%)

and that's it!! it's really fun to draw these doodles hehe. hope this helps! :)

#alie replies #Anonymous #photoshop #*ps help #tutorial #resource #completeresources #itsphotoshop #resourcemarket

[sage-nebula]

Summary: “…it wouldn’t be right. Sonic needs Tails, and that’s just a cosmic truth.” -Ian Flynn Tails made a promise to himself that he’d always be there to help Sonic, no matter what. He just didn’t expect “no matter what” to extend to an older version of him from another timeline. But even if it’s a Sonic who seems a little different than the one Tails has grown up knowing — or, okay, maybe a lot different — it’s still his big brother underneath it all, so how could he not at least try to be there for him? Well, his Sonic might have something to say about that. When it came to protecting Tails, nothing was ever going to stand in his way. Including himself. A collab between @sage-nebula and @skimmingmilk Inspired by the “bad end” of the 8 bit version of Sonic 2 Companion piece to the “Sometimes the Picket Fence isn’t Perfect” series

Having a workshop actually turned out better than Tails expected it to. He was able to keep so many more tools and materials on hand. He could build whatever he wanted and not have to worry about it fitting in a backpack or getting stolen! Well, theoretically things could still be stolen from the workshop, but he’d already installed an alarm system and was planning on adding a more customized security system when he had the time to figure that out.

For now, he had a more important project on his hands.

For the past week, Tails had been working on making a Chaos Emerald detection radar for Sonic. While he knew Sonic could sort of feel their presence whenever they were close enough to one, that was the thing, they still had to be close enough to one. With this radar, Tails was hoping to be able to narrow down their search radius so it’d be easier to pinpoint where they were if and when Sonic needed them.

Even if Robotnik had been quiet ever since his last attempt to mess with them, that didn’t mean he was going to stay quiet forever. They had to be prepared for whatever he tried to throw at them next. Knowing where to find the Chaos Emeralds so Sonic could go super just seemed to make the most logical sense.

After all, he’d made a promise.

Tails looked up from his workbench at the wall right in front of him. It was fairly empty, a blank canvas that had the potential to one day be home to cork boards and mounted tools, with blueprints of current or favorite projects pinned over one another to compete for his attention. For now, only one thing hung from a simple nail and wire. One thing, front and center, he always wanted to be sure he could see. His certificate of guardianship: a reminder that he and Sonic were family and that they’d always be together. That Sonic needed and wanted him around just as much as Tails needed and wanted him to be there.

Tails had made a promise to himself the night he’d come home after running away. A promise that he’d always be there for Sonic. After seeing what missing him for two days had done to him, Tails wouldn’t leave him on his own again. He didn’t know what exactly it was that he did to keep Sonic’s spirits high, but whatever it was he needed from him, Tails was going to do his best to be that. It was what he deserved after he went through the whole ordeal of getting guardianship over him just so they could stay together.

Legs swinging back and forth on his chair, too high up for his shoes to even skim the ground, Tails smiled to himself as he snapped the back panel to his radar in place, then twisted a final screw in to secure it. It was ready. He powered it on by pushing the big blue button on the front panel. The screen blinked to life with an orange glow. 

His tails spun in a happy circle as it calibrated the energy signature in the immediate area. He needed to zero out what it considered to be a “default” energy reading. With a small ding it successfully registered an approximation of what average chaos energy levels were when no emeralds were present.

“Perfect!” Tails spun his chair around in his excitement. “Time for a test run!” 

He fiddled with the dials until he increased the radar’s search radius from one mile to five. That seemed like a good place to start. Hopping down from his chair, Tails hurried out the open airplane hangar into the summer air. He left it open for the sea breeze to cool the workshop now that the weather was getting warmer. He also liked to listen for Sonic when he was out on his runs, just to prepare for any surprise attacks he might unleash on him. 

Oh wait. Speaking of surprises, Tails didn’t want Sonic to wonder where he was in the highly probable chance that he made it back to the workshop before Tails himself did. Whirling around, Tails sped back inside and grabbed a sheet of paper to quickly scribble a note for him. 

Hi Sonic! I’m testing my new project in the jungle, but I’ll be back soon! Promise! Love Tails. 

[Continue reading on AO3]

#sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #unbreakable bond #fic fix #fic: to rearrange the stars #skimmingthesurface #sth

[losergames]

how did you find the move from choicescript to twine?? I've been working on a project in choicescript but not really sure I want to host it there anymore

hello! thank you for the ask,

preface, i think both tools are great for what they were built for. i had a good time with choicescript and it was a good introduction to what variables can be used for and structuring an if game. if you don't care about UI/ appearance, then choicescript makes sense.

i will be real and say, the move to twine was difficult personally lmao because i had no experience with html, css, or javascript prior to the move -- but that shouldn't put you off. my personal approach to it was that it's a learning opportunity.

be prepared to be 'not good'. learning something new can be a really frustrating and discouraging process. things won't work the first time round, they never do, but keep reminding yourself that this is a process and the progress, and your understanding, will come with time! the best quality a dev can have is patience, especially in the if circle.

if you go into twine thinking about your long form game/project and try to port things immediately into a template, i think it will really mess with you. make something tiny first, like a tutorial game, and when you're ready move up to the long form stuff.

you don't have to do it my way, but the best way for me to learn was to just get hands on with twine templates other developers have made. get a feel for the twine programme, language, layout, interface etc etc. i will tell you right now the second day i started learning twine/ sugarcube i got stuck on how to //open// an imported file haha. learning is hard and it sucks but now i've built my own interface for my own game!

all this being said, you don't even HAVE to build an interface for your game -- it comes with a default UI that you can start using straight away. so, if you don't care about the ui/ aesthetics, twine can still be an option.

i do want to touch on publishing, because that is a huge aspect of if. twine is a free open source tool and choicescript is not. if you get to the point where you finish a game and can publish with cog/ hosted games, then just be aware that you do not //own// your own writing because it is in the choicescript language. you will only own the IP.

i was stubborn about choicescript for a very long time, i still think it has better accessibility //because// the interface is basic and the appeal of going through a publishing house is very understandable. they have a huge reach and an established audience so there's no doubt of your game having eyes on it.

twine has an advantage being open source because no one owns it. plus, it encourages self-publishing and i think that's a great thing to aspire to as a writer! i love chop shop even more now because i built and own the whole thing. technically, twine games don't even need to be on itch.io because they're just html files, so they can be hosted anywhere that supports html. if i had a website for example i could just embed it into a page.

obviously, i am going to have a lot of bias towards twine since i made the move myself haha. i'm not trying to put my own feelings into this because COG as a company was a whole other reason why i moved and that won't be discussed on this blog.

you don't have to move to twine if you don't want to publish through COG, i'm pretty sure choicescript games can be hosted on itch.io.

edit: from @/hpowellsmith in the replies: you can have a contract with Hosted Games to monetise a ChoiceScript game on itch or elsewhere online where you pay them a smaller percentage of revenue than if you're published through Hosted Games

i think if you're happy with choicescript and COG/ hosted games then go for it and, if not, there are other options out there!! it doesn't have to be twine but it's probably one of the better tools for interactive games and has a wealth of help guides/ tutorials.

sorry this was so LONG, but thanks for reading if you got this far anyways :^)

#general ask #sorry this got long! lmao #again i'm not trying to like lakeith stanfield you and scream GET OUT but just consider your options #choicescript just ended up not being the tool for me and that's okay #and good luck with your project! plus i can always help with twine problems if needed :-) #edited: read the replies too! good good advice and insight

[itstimewehavesomesoliddick]

I remember when the gameplay trailer for payday 3 came out you kinda vague posted about disliking it, did you ever elaborate on what you disliked?

@metalgeara-10cii-arc-210 sorry for the delay but here it is

Basically I've seen footage of the beta since then and some things aren't as bad as I thought but I still see a lot being wrong with it, some of my thoughts about it are below (tl;dr at the bottom)

The UI is worse, they had a perfect coop hud in payday 2, all it needed was to fit indicators for some of the new mechanics and it would have been fine, now you have to play a guessing game of which health bar is yours while going cross eyes because all you ammo and equipment stats are on the other side of the screen, and they got rid of the interaction circle for some reason, so instead of having a very clear indicator of how long an action takes, now you have to squint to look at a tiny square filling up (also they added a crosshair for filthy casuals)

I still have gripes with the gazillion particle effects on some things because unreal engine move, especially the grenades, turns out the flashbang also blinds you by making you not know what the fuck you're looking at thanks to patented Nvidia PhysX™ drivers

I still hate the new look of all the characters, heisters look unnaturally lanky (and the devs getting rid of the suits as the default outfit), all the SWAT guys look the same, all blue uniform black tacticool gear, which is a big departure from 2 where you could always easily tell SWAT tiers and types apart (even on normal the heavy SWATs had a distinctive white helmet and yellow shoulder pads), plus the new special enemy designs sucks, the bulldozer went from a bulky green (or full black) EOD guy that easily stood out in a crowd to basically a blue SWAT guy but bulkier, the Taser went from having a different silhouette and color palette to just another blue SWAT with a couple of yellow bits glued on him, the new grenadier is the same, same base color, just muted red bit, a gasmask (same color as balaclavas) and grenades on his chest to tell him apart, they also made the cloaker go from a stealthy ambusher that punished going around alone and rewarded watching your teammates' backs to a fast walljumping ninja

I also hate the new look of equipment, in the first two game all your equipment had this jury-rigged-with-hardware-store-parts look, medic bags were just that, a bag filled with pharmacy first aid supplies, the ammo bag was a bag full of gun store ammo boxes (before being a rucksack full of magazines), the old look of the turrets was and MP5 rigged to a raspberry pi with 2 motors inside of a tool case, now we have this futuristic self deploying milspec futuristic turret, or clean cases of kevlar plates, it really took away quite a bit of the aesthetic (like how the first hideout was a laundromat's basement)

Then there's mechanics like being able to shoot through a shield's viewport, which completely nullifies their purpose of rewarding teamplay by making someone need to flank them, and they're completely cheapened as an obstacle since you can just slide to stagger them (instead of breaking your leg by sliding on asphalt into a level 4 shield being held by SWAT operator wearing 30 pounds of gear), besides we already had an enemy invincible from the front unless you took an accurate shot, it was call a tan SWAT

Speaking of sliding, there's all the trend chasing flavor of the year mechanics, the sliding being one of them, there's the power meter that you fill with kills they stole from RAID:WW2 so you can pull a more powerful weapon out of your ass, sure some weapons in payday 2 were silly like that, but grenade launchers were usually balanced out by a poor ammo economy

Also now your armor doesn't automatically regenerate apparently (unless I'm getting this wrong), I really don't see the point of having two healthbars that don't regenerate on their own, I always thought the point of it was to allow you to pop out of cover and to reward some risk, now I don't know what they're trying to do

I'm also not a fan of the new skills system, basically they replaced the old one, which promoted teamplay with different trees/roles all bringing different things that helped the team, now it's closer to an ARPG, with 3 different effects that trigger buffs depending on conditions, effects that can stack and chain together etc, it's all very min-max-y, because ARPG mechanics is exactly what I wanted in my Heat (1995) simulator

Speaking of trend chasing, they seem to be copying the Modern Warfare reboots for this one, by both having the same tacticool animations as everyone else (especially the grenade throw) and by making the guns wildly shake from left to right because that's how recoil works apparently

Another domain they're emulating the MW reboot in is the sound, with guns that sound muffled and completely lack punch and bass like a sewing machine, whereas Payday 2's weapons sounded great, this might be due to Simon Viklund leaving, which also brings me to my next point:

No Bain = no buy, I know Simon hated doing the voice, and I'd have easily settled for Locke, but instead of a professional, experienced criminal mastermind or an Afrikaner veteran mercenary, we now have an irritating, sarcastic, quippy, annoying mission control

This also applies to the music, half of Payday was the fantastic soundtrack by Viklund and with him gone, I'm not sure I want to hear whatever they replaced him with

After audible pain, I can talk about a visual one, and the fact that even in the beta there's also eyepopping oversaturated CS:GO tier weapon skins plus weapon charms and stickers, which also shows their priority, I hated the weapon skins in Payday 2 since day 1, 95% of them looked terrible and I don't expect it to get any better, which also brings me to my final point

When I saw the menus for Payday 3, it was clear to me that they wouldn't be caught lacking a second time monetization wise. When Payday 2 released, it was never meant to have weapon skins or purchasable outfits, and those menus reflected that, but not in Payday 3, everything is already ready for it to be a live service game with all the gazillion DLC cosmetics you could imagine, the menus are all already set up to be filled with purchasable items down the line, leaks already showed "payday credits" so I have a feeling that we're already headed down microtransaction road, even with the cope of "muh it's just for cosmetics!", especially knowing their publisher Starbreeze (the same one that made them break their promise of never putting in microtransations in 2, they made that promise for the last game, yet now they're already implementing the framework for them before it got out of the beta)

TL;DR: Just like in many other cases, Payday started out as an indie franchise with a unique and interesting premise, then the sequel got popular and monetized, the studio grew, and now the latest entry is nearly unrecognizable from the original, completely diluted by time and the core studio founders leaving, they used to be a stone standing out of the river, now time has made them a grain of sand going with the current

Payday went from Heat (1995): The Videogame to Just Another Modern Shooter (Cops & Robbers flavor)

I might end up getting it much later down the line but I'll be real with you, I loved Payday since 1, I slowly watched it move further and further away from what it was and for this one, I'm not hyped at all

[fymagnificentwomcn]

Best of “Daily Sabah”

I promised this once and I think it might be surprising how it works in some way.

Of course after only like five minutes on the page I always feel disgusted by the hate towards Armenians, Greeks, Jews, conspiracy theories and shocked by the lack of self awareness with Evil Decadent West and great Turkey which has no problems whatsoever, only getting greater (basically Russian propaganda ,just exchange Ukrainians, Poles etc. for Armenians, Greeks, Jews, while EU and USA stay the same).

Let’s move to the series we will discuss - the portraits of historical figures from Ottoman history.

There are several rules that apply to all biographies:

1. All Ottoman padişahs were practically perfect by default and there was not a single one you would call bad, including those that used to be heavily criticised, like Ibrahim. A lot of them are child prodigies. If anyone is guilty of anything, it’s “greedy courtiers” (read: not from the sacred Imperial Family, unless some are misguided by them, like Şehzade Mustafa or those who murdered Sultan Osman).

2. All the women knew their place and were “intelligent and benevolent”. Usually are mentioned in one sentence of padişah’s bio saying they were beloved consort, insert the “intelligent and benevolent” stock phrase bit and number of kids (plus highlight that the padisah in question did not spend much time in harem, was monogamous or near it, and that women had small influence on him, everything else is slander). Basically they only took part in charity and defended their padişah husband or son, but God forbid were ambitious,, led factions and schemed or got involved in real politics - this is slander.

3. Normalization of violence - all opposition to current or future padisah is bad by default and all people who were executed deserved their death and it was always for the benefit of state. No what ifs, but also no evidence;) No, no scheming women as well, look parts 1 & 2. If the sovereign decided so, it must be the good decision for the state. Only greedy courtiers can make bad decisions. And Sultan Ahmed, who abolished the fratricide law and committed the biggest mistake ever. Fratricide was Constitutional (xD, yes Mehmed II wrote constitution) and basically involved no decision on the part of padişah - it simply had to be that way, no need to question it. It’s Constitution, after all. Going all automatic. No choice. Which is actually not true, but the simplified explanation of fratricide law, which is often circulating around even outside propaganda circles ( I might make a separate post on the topic one day tbh). Firstly, the law was not “ancient” or “eternal” or even “ several centuries old”. It was used as part of multiple civil conflicts emerging during Empire’s earliest era where the was no central power established and then condified by Mehmed the Conqueror in second half of 15th century. Moreover, it was not included in laws easily because fratricide is a huge sin in Islam. This is why the whole wording contains the phrase “most ulema agreed to it’. By no means it was unanimous and non-controversial matter. And the original intent was to make each padisah decide based on current situation and whether he deemed it necessary for maintenance of order (hence original wording “is acceptable”, not “must execute”.) Secondly, it was established in special moment when the state was still consolidating and beginning transformation to sedentary. Hence, it was used as tool in times when the state and its establishments were dispersed to determine central administration and was also to be used as tool in civil wars to end them.

Since the law clearly was shown to be outdated pretty soon (during Suleiman sedentary sultanate was pretty firmly established), and after Murad III conducted first slaughter of all his brothers living in palace in capital in 1574, the criticism among people was growing, and reached its climax when Mehmed III executed 19 brothers. It was different when princes were executed in provinces in aftermath of civil war, and it hit differenly when elder prince just killed his brothers automatically after ascending the throne (again it happened for the first time in 1574 ).

Presenting something as “constitutional” or “rooted in our statehood and laws since forever” erases the choice and culpability of a particular padisah. It enables to absolve him of individual decision and redirecting attention towards a bigger concept - the utmost important of statehood and order over individual, including padisah. Similarly, it never questions the concept of “order” as determined by a padisah in a particular context (brings to mind quote from MC Ibrahim - “Truth? Truth is what padisah wants believe”). It goes without saying this view is also closely connected with victim blaming. Moreover, the way they mention executions always places emotional focus with the poor monarch who just had no other choice but it hurt him so.

Erdo propaganda does not deny fratricide law existed and does not deny all sorts of violence in general - it chooses to normalize it instead and treat it as unavoidable and serving a higher purpose. I’ve seen from Erdoğan supporting Turks multiple statement in vein “This is how world works, accept it, war is part of life, everyone does it, only the strongest will survive” or applauding it “Sultan Murad was fearful and killed all those traitorous trouble stirrers, they all feared him, thanks to this he saved the state”. Normalization of violence stresses everyone is engaged in violence and erases difference between oppressor and victim.

Normalization of violence is important for contemporary authoritarian regimes, including Turkey. Making people indifferent to violent acts by showing this as normal process of human life and necessity. Same with victim blaming and not questioning whether the person persecuted by regime was punished justly - “it was necessary”. 

4. Ottoman system was perfect and was never in decline. We all know the famous “X ruined Empire”, but it does not come from Neo Ottomanists propaganda. It’s a take coming from (outdated) historiography by Young Turks (who were also nationalistic and misogynistic). The explanation is simple - for Neo Ottomanists the whole system was absolutely perfect, the system of succession also worked pretty well and there were no bad Sultans, everything was going great, only traitors supported by foreign agents, Free Masons and Zionists caused the collapse of Ottoman Empire. The system itself was chic and it was basically fairyland (back to point 2 with exemplary royal family always abiding by rules of Islam and patriotic feelings). Again, all crises were caused only by greedy subjects who caused problems to the Imperial Family and all the evil forces from outside. Nobody could cause the decline because in Neo Ottomanists’ view there was no real crisis, and the biggest danger came from outside.

This is why Sabah’s pieces might look alluring with their “pretty nice” and sympathetic descriptions of Imperial women and even give thus give impression of not being connected with Neo Ottomanists... but they are. Same with certain revisionism giving the allure of “hot takeism” or praising democratic & modern values, but by suggesting that the system of absolute monarchy not only promoted them, but even.. invented them (yes, they go as far). Positive propaganda is definitely more present in the historical series of articles.

Let’s move to examples:

Hürrem Sultan (Source)

Süleyman ruled for 46 years, people wanted to see Şehzade Mustafa take the throne instead of his elderly father. The close circle of Şehzade Mustafa encouraged him to seek power, and after some time, he began to talk at times as if he were the sultan. This made Süleyman suspicious about a possible plot against him, and when the sultan acquired evidence about the betrayal of his son, he executed Şehzade Mustafa. It is said that Hürrem, who wanted her children to sit on the throne after Süleyman, encouraged the Sultan to kill his own son. Some historians also blame Hürrem and her son-in-law Rüstem Pasha for encouraging Süleyman to kill his grand vizier, Pargalı İbrahim Pasha, and forgetting to mention what Şehzade and the grand vizier did to deserve this end. Perhaps Hürrem was not sorry about these incidents and perhaps she was happy with the results. However, she was not to blame for the executions of Şehzade Mustafa and Pargalı İbrahim Pasha. Mustafa had proven that he was not worthy of the Ottoman throne with his reckless behavior. Although he was courageous, he lacked two qualities that were more important: patience and cautiousness. Moreover, neither Süleyman nor Hürrem hesitated to execute their son Şehzade Beyazid when he stirred up a riot. During those times, the Ottoman sultans did not hesitate to sacrifice even their loved ones for the unity of the empire and the people – one of the reasons why the Ottoman Empire stood for centuries.

Do I even have to point out the obvious fact Hürrem could not execute Bayezid because she had been dead by this point? (and not like she would ever, she did intercede for his sake and it’s pretty certain he was the prince she supported for the throne... actually books which state that she supported Selim usually provide no evidence, only base it on assumption that “Hürrem ruined Empire” ... which is again a narrative not propagated by Neo Ottomanists but by Young Turks historians in the past, and it assumes she had to promote the son which was weak and easy to dominate, to make use of the badly working system).

In short: she executed her son but it was awesome. Very.. interesting approach. Putting on her something she could not even physically do, but as something that was actually praiseworthy.

Obviously, there is no questioning of Ibrahim’s or Mustafa’s guilt. “Forgetting to mention what they did” and not following with particular examples and evidence & sources backing up the claims. Going from “evidence of betrayal” to “Mustafa was reckless and impatient and this is why he didn’t deserve the throne” in the same article. So did he betray or was punished for imprudent actions? Very enlightening. And Suleiman’s only problem was getting old.

They are still not claiming outright rebellion, though, of course it will pop up soon.

 Kösem Sultan (Source)

Kösem Sultan was brought to the Ottoman palace as either Bosnian or Morean slave and given the name "Mahpeyker," meaning moon-like face in Persian language for her beauty.

The first source I’ve ever seen that does not at least mention the Greek claim. Hmm.

She practiced Sufism with her highly religious husband. Mahpeyker lived a quiet and peaceful life and looked after her children.

That’s her whole Haseki career according to Sabah🤦‍♀️ .

Yes, they say Kösem was good and should not be blamed for anything, but at the same time do a huge disservice by undermining her actual political skill and influence. They again focus mostly on her charity and motherhood, mostly removing her as a political agent otherwise. The description of Kösem's murder criticizes the murderers, but again removes Turhan’s (or Terhan’s xD) agency and actual role, instead of attributing actual action on the part of “bureaucrats supporting Terhan”. Typical narrative. Always only the bureaucrats. Never a member of the royal family (TBF in same vein they often devoid padisahs of agency at times, but at least then they compensate it by giving them other ‘great’ counteractions and ‘smart moves’ in addition to that).

Even today, fervent supporters of women's rights accuse her poking his nose into state affairs by saying that she put her "hennaed" fingers on state affairs. The period of "Sultanate of Women" in the Ottoman history was the outcome of a total political necessity. It took a short period of time and brought many benefits. Mahpeyker Sultan was always described as an ambitious woman, yet it is rarely mentioned that she took action with her patriotic feelings. Indeed, it was a sacrifice for Mahpeyker Sultan, whose sorrowful days were more than happy ones in her life, to carry heavy state affairs on her naïve shoulders at a troublesome period.

Now the people who slander Kösem are “fervent supporters of women’s rights” (xD) who want to discuss her contribution to the actual ruling of the state. Oh they finally admit SOW existed (read later, they sometimes deny its existence), but again “total necessity”; no women would ever have political ambition, she can only be forced to do it.

Her “naive shoulders” just tops it. Yes, do not slander her - she didn’t make good decisions but it was because she was naive. Hmmm... Yes great doing her actual justice, thanks. Maybe admit she could actually make sound decisions as a real politician?

And the Mehmed IV article suggested those who murdered her alleged (note this word choice in particular) she was taking part in state matters... according to them, neither Turhan nor Kösem truly ruled during that period, it was again a bunch of courtiers.

Now let’s move to the “Mighty sovereigns of Ottoman Throne” series. I will focus on padisahs from MC/K era, but all articles are “gold”.

Selim Yavuz (Source)

Some viziers and soldiers from the center wrote a letter to Şehzade Korkut, whom Sultan Selim loved very much and had assigned as the governor of Manisa. They stated that they wanted to see him as sultan and that the conditions were ready for this. Although it is said that Sultan Selim had these letters written to test his brother, he actually did not need such an action. Instead of informing his brother about the situation, Şehzade Korkut accepted the offer. Thereupon, he and all the other şehzades were executed. It is said that Sultan Selim was very upset when he made this decision for a greater purpose.

Poor little cutie 😭

It is said that he slept very little. He was not fond of harem life either. His only known wife was Hafsa Hatun, the daughter of the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray. She had a son named Şehzade Süleyman and six daughters.

Of course, though in this case, I might agree he was not much into harem life. Plus outdated info on Hafsa’s origins.

Suleiman (Source)

According to historic documents, he was generous, elegant, modest, dervish-spirited, devoted to his religion and did not act impulsively or did not do anything without consultation. He put the interests of the nation above everything, even his family. The criticism about him, especially the fact that he was under the influence of his family, are baseless allegations.

Like his father, he did not pay much attention to the harem life. His son Mustafa, born from his first wife Mahidevran, started to prepare a rebellion against his father after being persuaded to do so by those around him and was executed in 1553. From his second wife, Hürrem, a daughter named Mihrimah and sons named Mehmed, Selim, Bayezid and Cihangir reached adulthood. Mehmed, who his father loved very much, died of smallpox in 1543 at the age of 22. Cihangir also died in 1553. Şehzade Bayezid rebelled against his father and took refuge in Iran after being defeated. He was executed in 1562.

Basically whole article on absolute perfection and paragon of virtue. Again, sons were guilty and misguided. Women had no influence. This is the only mention of Hürrem in the whole article. Later she and Mahidevran are only referred to as “his two wives” to stress he was under no influence of them “- Historians say that his two wives and those around them were political factions and accuse the sultan of being under the influence of the second faction”. Plus Ibrahim had to die because he had too close relationship to the Sultan, but it was still not Sultan’s fault of giving him all these ranks. And both Mustafa and Bayezid were rebels, which in Bayezid’s case is true (but they do not discuss this in depth anyway), but with Mustafa again no evidence, not even mentioning any details because who cares. Guilty as charged. 

There is not a single evidence Mustafa ever rebelled, even from sources sympathetic to Suleiman (or even negative stuff said on him in sources).

Even those who try to decipher what influenced Suleiman’s decisions and try to understand his state of mind and how some actions of Mustafa could be read by him in certain way do not claim that Mustafa ever rebelled, like Zahit Atçil in his famous piece “Why did Suleiman execute Şehzade Mustafa?”. Atcil mentions Mustafa tried to gain support (e.g. got into diplomatic relations with Venice), but afterwards stresses that “Forming coalitions and seeking allies were perfectly legitimate moves for a candidate to the throne, and supporting a particular claimant constituted a way for various social groups (e.g., janissaries, viziers, scholars, middle-class citizens) to participate in imperial politics.” Atcil also adds that all candidates did seek for allies, only Mustafa was far more successful than his half-brothers in securing support. Mustafa in the letter to certain Ayas Pasha (not that one ;) mentioned yes he did want the throne, but stressed that it would be only after his father’s death, which sounds very much like MC Mustafa.

Ok correction they also mention Hürrem when they talk about Suleiman’s building endeavours and that he commissioned  “complex in the name of Hürrem Sultan”. Yes there are some doubts how much influence Hürrem could have in what that complex turned out to be, but this removes ALL of it. It’s only Suleiman’s and he named it in her honour.

And this is again just hilarious:

An anecdote is also told about this. During the Cold War, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, leader of Soviet Russia, saw Sultan Suleiman in his dream. In this dream, he asked the sultan: “You were in Hungary for almost two centuries. Before we were even in the country for 10 years, the people revolted. How did you manage that?" The sultan gave a historical answer: “After we conquered Hungary, we made Hungary our homeland and settled down. We did not require the people to speak Turkish. We did not declare the day we conquered the land as a Hungarian national holiday as you did.”

And all the references to how modern and pretty much democratic Suleiman’s rule was, sooo like the French Revolution! I don’t even have strength to delve into it all, but one point is clear - they do focus on the positive and actually do not portray democratic values as bad at all - they just twist everything to suggest such very absolutist system was actually protecting these values.

Selim II (Source)

The essay on Selim of course promotes similar view with respect to his father and his brothers, while Selim’s most admiring trait was obviously “obedience”. Plus, the piece removes Selim’s agency in the whole conflict with Bayezid. And according to sources he did scheme against his brother and reading letters contained e.g. in New Perspectives on Safavid Iran (”Am I my brother’s keeper? Negotiating corporate sovereignty and divine absolutism in sixteenth-century Turco-Iranian politics” essay by Colin Mitchell), we can see he actively participated in negotiations with Shah Tahmasp to have Bayezid executed.

Indeed, his brothers Mehmed and Cihangir fell ill and died. The ambitions of Şehzade Mustafa and Bayezid, who rose up against their fathers, cost them their lives. Şehzade Selim attained the blessing of patience and thus proved that he was the most worthy candidate for the throne. Patience is the most precious virtue of a statesman. Actually, his father was also inclined toward supporting Şehzade Selim to succeed him for the throne since he was an obedient son. He participated in expeditions with his father.

Now hold on truly tightly because shit gets really, really wild. Suddenly we learn Ottoman Empire in 16th century was run like modern democratic monarchy and that the Sultan even prevented colonialism! Not like Selim was simply not much into state affairs (which is no crime, but c’mon this explanation...). Again, I agree Selim used to get some unnecessary wank by historians, but Sabah goes wayyy into opposite extreme (and not only Sabah tbh).

Preventing colonialism

After ascending the throne, Sultan Selim II left government affairs in the hands of his prudent vizier and son-in-law, Sokollu (Sokullu) Mehmed Pasha. He was like the rulers of today's democratic European monarchies. But he was always alert for the ambitions of those around him. [..,] 

Upon the request of the Astrakhan sultan for help, the Russo-Turkish War, or Don-Volga-Astrakhan Campaign of 1569, was launched. It aimed to connect the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea by opening a channel at a point where the Volga River flowing into the Caspian Sea and the Don River flowing into the Sea of Azov come very close to each other, thus providing protection for Turkistan against Russian expansionism. The project was started; however, it could not be carried out due to winter and other reasons.The Crimean Khan Devlet I Giray, to whom Sultan Selim II sent aid, invaded Moscow and forced the Russians to make peace. Thus, he prevented Asia from falling into the hands of the colonialists. The Suez Canal project of the sultan, who wanted to strengthen his political and commercial dominance in the Indian Ocean, was not realized.

Again, the Russian Empire was seen as a significant foreign force that caused the collapse of Empire, hence that focus. Young Turks actually strove to have good relations with USSR.

Never mind the contradictory statements -”we prevented expansionism and colonialism by launching war” and again preventing colonialism while “wanting to strengthen political and commercial dominance in the Indian Ocean”. Aha.

It was allowed again during the reign of Sultan Selim II to compensate for the tax loss. As a matter of fact, non-Muslims can buy, sell and drink wine in an Islamic state as their religion allows it. In the Ottoman Empire, there were pubs belonging to non-Muslims. The government used to collect taxes from them, and Muslims could not enter these places. Some, who were unaware of this rule, thought that the sultan was fond of alcohol.

Some weird ass explanation why Selim could not be drunk. I find it hard to even follow this train of thought. Usually, it’s simple - no Muslim Caliph can be drunk because Islam forbade it and they were all paragons (thanks to certain charming person on IG explaining this train of thought to me and my friends).

He was not fond of harem life. His only beloved wife, Nurbanu Sultan, was one of the most benevolent women in history. She had Mimar Sinan build the Atik Valide Mosque in Üsküdar and its complex and the Toptaşı Bimarhane (mental hospital), which today serves in Bakırköy. There are many other charities she had commissioned. She brought water to Istanbul.

The sultan had eight sons named Murad, Mehmed, Ali, Süleyman, Mustafa, Cihangir, Abdullah and Osman and four daughters named Esmehan, Gevherhan, Fatma and Shah Sultan. The descendants of Esmahan's children born from Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and Gevherhan's from Piyale Pasha have survived to the present day.

Again they are contradicting themselves - they state Nurbanu was his only wife and no way he could spend much time in the harem. But then provide all the sons whose mother was not Nurbanu (except Murad of course). Aha.

Murad III (Source)

In some modern sources, his fondness for women is mentioned, which is not true. He lived with his only wife, Safiye Sultan, until the age of 30. He had many children, most of whom died in infancy, and Şehzade Mehmed ascended the throne as his successor.

Of course. Better not list the number of those kids not to make the reader doubt whether one woman could bear them all ;)

Mehmed III  (Source)

Although it is said that Sultan Mehmed III was under the influence of his Albanian-born mother Safiye Sultan because of his love and respect for her, this is an exaggeration. When he came to the throne, he had his brothers executed within the fratricidal framework of the organization law of Sultan Mehmed II in order to prevent future revolts under the claim of the throne. This decision, which the sultan made with great sadness, caused great indignation in Istanbul. This was the last application of the constitutional condition.

Again poor cookie had no choice because “CoNsTItuTiONal CoNdItIon” . Of course he was not under influence of his mother. This is the only time a woman is mentioned in this article. Handan and Halime do not exist. 

Ahmed I (Source)

Sultan Ahmed is regarded as a well-educated, intellectual and determined sovereign. He refrained from personal addictions and weaknesses. Along with many Ottoman sultans, his intellect developed at an early age. Although he was enthroned when he was a child, he managed to rule with great talent and wisdom.

A child prodigy. Bah, they were all child prodigies. 

The sultan was noted for a surprisingly good command of administrative matters and following them up, trying to assign matters to competent people, and directing and controlling his entourage. As soon as he ascended to the throne, the sultan sent women in the palace, including his grandmother Safiye Sultan to the old palace and did not let royal women meddle in politics.

Anyone surprised?  If you ask about Kösem, she is mentioned, her kids are listed and she is called you-guessed-it “benevolent and intelligent”. That’s all.

Finally, we come to finale paragraph entitled “Mercy and Disaster”

Almost everyone admits Sultan Ahmed I’s skills and goodwill, but some do not see him as a bright sovereign. This happens to be the destiny of sovereign who ruled during turbulent times and lacked capable aides.

But he was a child prodigy at the beginning of the article? 

What made them write the biggest criticism aimed at sovereign? Of course abolition of fratricide, which is deemed “disaster for Empire”. They remark Ahmed was compassionate, but that’s all. Otherwise the move was the biggest mistake. Also note the interlinking between mercy and disaster.

Mustafa I (Source)

We start by several paragraphs bemoaning the end of fratricide and again repeating what a disastrous (though merciful) act it was. They just cannot move on from this and it’s hilarious. They also try to rationalize Ahmed’s decision in several ways:

Sultan Mustafa I, the 15th of the Ottoman sultans, was born in Manisa in 1591 to Sultan Mehmed III and Halime Haseki. When his older brother, Sultan Ahmed I, ascended the throne, he strayed from the customs of previous sultans and did not have his brothers executed for the sake of the public; He didn't touch his brother.

Halime is mentioned by her name and already in the first paragraph! A success.

Plus they stress the “for public” bit for the purpose to show what can happen when you yield to opinion of subjects.

His mother was a smart and strong woman, though not as smart as Mahpeyker Kösem Sultan. She supported her son when faced with intrigues. His mother dictated the sultan's edicts.

Of course smart and going against intrigues. Actually not a single hint of criticism.

Kösem is also lucky to be mentioned as the person who could influence Mustafa climbing the throne! As acting for the protection of her sons, they see it as non-harmful to admit that. Especially since (as we will see) she’s mother of such paragons as Murad and Ibrahim ;)

Osman II (Source)

Osman had genius but he was young. Therefore, he could not properly use his education and genius. He was aware that the world changed and some things were not going well in the country, and he had plans to fix these.

Of course another prodigy.. .

A Polish army of 100,000 people that included Cossacks, Austrians and Hungarians were defeated after a tough battle, and Khotyn fell.

As a Polish person, I tell you Khotyn did not fall. And lying about that was Osman’s own propaganda that also enraged people against him.

In order to ensure the safety of the empire before departing for the campaign, he had his younger brother Şehzade Mehmed, who was one year younger than him, executed as prescribed by the fratricide rule of Mehmed II. Poor şehzade cursed the sultan as: “Osman, just like you deprived me of my life, I wish from Allah that your rule to be short”.

Again, matter-of-fact-tone and stressing it was “prescribed”. Suddenly no bemoaning fratricide was abolished? 

Murad IV (Source)

Hold on again please.

When he was just 10 years old, he started dressing as a commoner and wandering around the city, making plans for his future work as a result of the cooperation he would establish with the public. He would keep a list of those he could benefit from and those he would punish.

Yeah everyone allowed 10 year old prince (prodigy) to wander along steets like that. No biggie.

In the aftermath, Sultan Murad forbade smoking tobacco and ordered that the coffee shops, where people used to gather to drink coffee and smoke, be destroyed. The sultan would dress up as a local, mingle with the crowds and have those he caught smoking put to death. It is said that 20,000 people were sentenced to death in this way. As such, many bullies and tyrants were cleared off the streets.

Easy? He executed thousands of his people, but no biggie, they were all bullies and tyrants anyway. And how do we know this? They smoked.

Since his childhood was spent in revolutions, he was used to all kinds of disasters. The feeling of fear was alien to him. In eight years, he ordered the execution of a number of people who were considered untouchable until then, in order to show that there was no power above the authority of the state. Those who describe him as bloodthirsty don't take into account the anarchy of his time and how the people suffered from it. He tried to be a sultan that the public wished for.

Normalization of violence again. And are you talking about the same public he executed (see above)

Sultan Murad used to take opium extracts (morphine) given by the head physician in order to alleviate the pain of the gout disease he was suffering from. This made him feel tired and lethargic. Those who saw him staggering from time to time concluded that the sultan was consuming alcohol. Moreover, he reigned at a time in which alcohol was used for pain relief. The state dignitaries were not fond of the sultan's friends and would accuse them of getting the sultan accustomed to debauchery, which was far from the truth for him.

Again no way an Ottoman Sultan could be ever drunk. They were all perfect Muslims by default. He died from gout, not cirrhosis. No matter what everyone else says. And let’s also make him more sympathetic -you accuse poor cookie of drinking and he was simply trying to alleviate his pain!🤬

Although he was considered to have a harsh stance on political matters, he was tender-hearted.

Sure.

When they list the poets he sponsored, I love how they listed Nef’i without mentioning his ultimate fate ;)

A generation ago, Istanbul, where not a single murder had been committed in a whole year, was in turmoil. Sultan Murad took drastic measures to restore the old order in the most populous city of this world.

Lemme ever believe that no murder happened in the “most populous city of this world” during whole ass year ever.

He established a personal intelligence network throughout the empire. He reorganized the spy organization in Europe and transformed it into what it was during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. The most hidden secrets began to reach the Ottoman palace day by day.

He learned about the oppressors and the tyrants everywhere. He was able to execute bullies so quickly while passing through certain cities during his expedition because he knew them all by name.

Yeah his spy network make him watch all his subjects moves closely, but it was again about bullies and tyrants only as always. “Bullies and tyrants and oppressors” emerge so often in this article without calling one certain bully and tyrant and oppressor by that term. Whoop.

The rebels used to threaten to depose him with his brothers at every opportunity. He had three of his brothers executed, two during the Yerevan and one during the Baghdad expeditions, according to the old constitutional tradition. He left behind a less competent brother, from which the Ottoman dynasty continued.

Again “old cOnStItUtIonAl tradition” plus obligatory matter-of-fact tone. Better not remind our readers our earlier bemoaning of apparent abolition of it anyway? At least this time they spared us the stressing of how sorry and sad the little hapless woobie was.

No woman is mentioned in this article, only Kösem is mentioned next to Ahmed as Murad’s parents in opening paragraph.

All the long descriptions of his physical strength and what not our redneck could do, what distances he could run etc. let me no waste time on that please. Let’s move on to Ibrahim.

Ibrahim (Source)

Even textbooks describe this sultan as Deli Ibrahim, or Ibrahim the Mad. In fact, this is the imputation of 20th-century historians.

Do not get me wrong - tales about Ibrahim’s madness and his actions were exaggerated (the famous drowning of his concubines myth), but it’s hard to deny he had serious mental problems and it’s particularly ridiculous to maintain he only began to be called mad in 20th century (read: by Young Turks historians).

If anything, most tales were invented after his death as part of factional in-fighting and also by these who took part in the coup to remove any doubt that his deposition was a necessary move.

The rumors that Sultan Murad IV ordered his brother Ibrahim’s execution on his final days are not true. On the contrary, Murad sought out his brother before his death, bequeathed him the task of protecting the people and made amends.

Such sweet fairytale. While it is debated whether Murad ordered the execution or not, it’s the first time I hear him making amends and all that sentimental bulllshit.

After donning the turban of second Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab brought in from the Chamber of Blessed Mantle of the Prophet Muhammad, Ibrahim sat on the throne and prayed: "Oh God! You deem fit a weak subject like me for this post. May you make my nation happy during the days of my reign and make us both content with each other!" This incident is clear evidence that the sultan was not mad.

Absolutely irrefutable proof. A-ha.

Ibrahim was portrayed as a short-tempered and dissolute sultan who spent his days in the palace with beautiful girls, entirely clad in sable fur – a tale everyone believed. At a time when radiators or even stoves were nonexistent, in a humid city such as Istanbul, people living in high-ceiling places and homes used to burn wood in fireplaces. Therefore, almost everyone used to wear fur to keep themselves warm. Unlike today, however, fur was sewn on the inside of robes.

And everyone could afford fur, especially people who starved during this period. A-ha.

The sultan had some relief after Kazasker (chief judge) Hüseyin Efendi of Safranbolu, who was renowned in Istanbul for his "effective" prayers, recited the Quran to him and prayed for him. Hüseyin Efendi, who received much praise and gained popularity because of this incident, also came to be known as a spiritualist hodja (exorcist), leading to an increase in the sultan’s adversaries.

Now even Cinci, a character criticized in all sources no matter POV, gets redeemed. 

During the reign of Sultan Ibrahim, there were severe cold spells in which the Golden Horn and even the Bosporus froze. The cold led to increased demand for sable fur, with those who lived in proceeding centuries overlooking the cold and seeing the "sable era" as a period of debauchery. Young Turk-leaning early 20th-century historian Ahmed Refik Altınay also played a role in this. Exaggerated definitions such as “the reign of women,” “the reign of aghas,” or “the sable era” were coined by him.

However, the sultan did not allow for the women of palace, even his mother Mahpeyker Valide Sultan (queen mother), to take part in state affairs. This was why he sent the palace women, including his mother and sisters, into exile. Ibrahim was the last surviving male member of the Ottoman dynasty, and his efforts to have children were considered debaucherous. It is said that in his final days, he devoted himself to entertainment, however, this did not have a negative effect on state affairs since it was personal.

Yes, no woman had any influence during Ibrahim’s reign, including Kösem. In a way, maybe the only thing she did according to Sabah’s articles here is she might have influenced change in fratricide law, which was a bad thing anyway, since it came from her motherly instincts (typical woman and moreover naive as we know already). She had no political agenda or political career apart from royal motherhood. 

Like I don’t even have strength pointing out how many sources deny these “claims” with no evidence provided whatsover.

Instead we have them dismiss the mere idea “Sultanate of Women” ever existed.  

And of course they have to point out “Young Turk” invented this term and discussed women’s involvement in politics. It is worth pointing out that Altinay wrote about Armenian genocide which was committed by Young Turks and even today the ruling regime which is anti-Atatürk inclined denies it (and not only them, many Kemalists do too, sadly).

It’s true though that Altinay put many nonsensical accusations towards Ottoman women (which was also characteristic of time period, his work Kadinlar Saltanati began to be published in 1916 and it was truly first such work in Turkey), but what drives Sabah and Neo Ottomanist mad first and foremost is that a) he mentions they actually had the influence and were important political actors b) it means their great padisahs were actually influenced by women.. which constitutes great offence for these prodigies and paragons c) suggests mothers of their padisahs could be human and also do some bad things.

Women are not mentioned anymore in the Ibrahim article except Turhan in one sentence - “The late sultan’s spouse Hadice Terhan Haseki is regarded as one of the most famous and highly qualified women in Ottoman history”. Yes they spell Terhan both here and in the Kösem article all the time. No mention of her regency. No mention of Telli Humasah, Saliha Dilasub, Sekerpare, etc. whatsoever.

The sultan’s intolerance to injustice and his inability to keep his feelings secret decreased his supporters and drove them away.

His last Grand Vizier Hezarpare Ahmed Pasha did not shy from lying to the sultan regarding foreign affairs. Thus, the sultan did not have a single useful soul in this entourage, with sycophants and hypocrites bringing about the sultan's end.

Basically his only crime was that he was too good. Again only the evil courtiers around are at fault and caused his demise.

The coup’s description is of course totally biased in Sultan’s favour and framing him as absolutely completely innocent, and even the executioner did not want to do it. No mention of fetva being issued against Ibrahim for breaching so many laws. No mention of all the disruption and difficult situations of commonfolk during Ibrahim’s reign. No his reign was stable and everything was all right.

Sultan Ibrahim is described as generous and compassionate. He donated a lot to the poor. He paid attention to ensure the treasury revenues were collected regularly, spent properly and that wages were paid without delay. He used to covertly roam the city and monitored the people’s needs on the spot.

For the conclusion, let’s look at the Abdülhamid II article:

Sultan Abdülhamid always used civilized methods in foreign policy and acted in very subtle and clever ways. He understood the importance of propaganda, which is the most effective means of power of our time, and tried to use it in the most effective way for not offensive but defensive purposes against imperialist and colonialist policies.

Propaganda is actually anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist. A-ha.

Knowing what he could do and what he could not do, he followed an honorable path in politics. He was not a person of minor ideas and circles, and acted with lofty purposes like his ancestors. In this way, many political dangers were eliminated with small concessions.

From the collapse of the great empire within 10 years after his departure, it is clear that Abdülhamid extended the state’s life by 30 years with his mistakes and merits. The Ottoman Empire, one of the five largest in the world at the time, turned into a third-world country in the next 10 years.

Yeah only problems in paradise only appeared after Ottoman Empire fell, earlier it had been all dandy and all sultans had been dandy.

#ottoman history #history #magnificent century #muhteşem yüzyıl #idk how to tag it truly #but MC fandom should be most interested anyway #yes I am braindead now

[elvenbeard]

Okay, more Cyberpunk ramblings!!

I think what I so greatly enjoy about V as a character playing Cyberpunk so far is that I feel very very free with how I can play [him in my case]. This is far from the first game I’m playing with various dialogue options and such. But I saw a post earlier talking about Dragon Age: Origins (I need to go find it again) and how in that game you can really play very very different characters handling situations very differently based on your origins.

And it all makes sense. You can be a complete asshole in Origins, and you can be a complete asshole V, too, or not, and it still makes sense for you and is fun. I feel like in other games I played, including the other Dragon Age games, even though you had choices and all, you couldn’t really branch out that much and react to the world differently. While in Cyberpunk you get dialogue options based on the origin you choose, even, and they’re my absolute favourites to take because I feel like they’re giving me a better understanding of my own character, even if that sounds counter-intuitive.

It adds so much replay value to both these games, too like... A Dalish hunter vs. a human noble, vs. a circle mage or a dwarven outcast are going to experience their world very differently and make choices influenced by their past in the same way a Nomad, Streetkid, or Corporate V in the same room would probably have some troubles getting along or understanding each others choices.

And I think that’s really neat! 

Knowing myself though I know I will probably keep defaulting back to my “canon” V in future playthroughs, because I am quite attached to him by this point (not only but also because of how good the voice acting is!!) but I would also love to one day play at least through the main storyline with different origins and try stuff differently. Also see, if the other characters react any different to a different V or if me playing a different V will react differently to them! I do have my favourites, but I think this is a game that really gives you so many tools to see things from different perspectives with different experiences, e.g.... idk, I think my little corpo-rat walking into the Konpeki Plaza, or the Peralez’ apartment on that matter was definitely like, kind of melancholic about it all? Reminded of when that kind of insane luxury was to a degree normal, and he did a full 180 crashing in sleazy motels or abandoned buildings out of necessity. And on the other hand a street kid might just be jealous or in awe, a nomad might resent it all, or vice versa, and just... idk man, it’s such a good game with such good and interesting characters and worldbuilding. This is probably not all that deep, and as I said I’m rambling, but yes... It’s been a long time, probably actually since I played Dragon Age: Origins for the first time, that a game and a world captured me THIS much.  

#cyberpunk 2077 #my v #cyberpunk 2077 spoilers #sorta #I could ramble on about this for hours at this point probably XD #also every new character I meet is just so surprisingly good in their own way (or horrible) #can't think of someone I can't stand in terms of hating them as a character #lots of people to hate as persons though xDD but I love it #vincent ezaki

[simon-eriksson]

How do you make the gifs like the heartstopper clothes set with the arrows, fonts, and focus shots? They’re amazing and I want to learn your superpowers

Heyy!! thankfully you will not need superpowers just photoshop 

Tutorial for this gifset below the cut! Hope it makes sense im not that good at explaining things specially in english!

First obviously you make the background gif (sharpening, coloring, etc). Then you start adding the little things!

Fonts: In that gifset I used this font but you can choose whichever you like the most! I've reblogged some fonts in the past you can see them here.

The arrows: I used the arrows from this psd but you can google arrows from google with transparent background (png) and use that too! Once you placed them on the document (if you are uploading them from google you have to press file->place and select the .png, if you are using some from another psd you have to open that psd (file->open) and move the arrow layer from there to the gif you are editing) you move them around to the place you like, and then one of the most important things is the blending options. For these arrows (and in general) i used the drop shadow (right click on the arrow layer->blending options->drop shadow) option, so they don't get lost on the background, and in this case this is what the configuration looked like:

The difference with and without:

But i usually leave the default only changing the opacity (unless the background is very bright)

Focus shots: here is one of my fav feature clipping mask!!!

First you are going to make the gif you want to be the focus shots and edit it however you like. Then you are going to add a figure to the document, placing something from documents like before or using the shape tool (what i did in this case, choosing the ellipse one bc i wanted circles)

Then you adjust the circle whoever you like it (bigger, smaller, wider, higher) and then you accommodate this layer to the bottom (in this case to have it more organized i made of all the layers (the gif and its editing) a smart object (righ click->convert to smart object):

Then you select the layer(s) on the top right click->create clipping mask

and then it automatically looks like this:

After that, I convert everything together to a smart object and move it to the gifs im editing, placing it wherever i want to.

Finally i, once again, use blending options, in this case i put the drop shadow on its default setting + stroke and the configuration to the last one looked like this:

The difference with and without

and that's it! you have your gif! If you have any more questions don't be afraid to ask!

#ask #specificcity #tutorial #gif tutorial #my tutorial

[houseaeducan]

It is going to be SO funny to see how Lyra’s dynamic with Sera plays out bc generally I don’t think either would like each other at all bc Lyra is well. basically a younger version of Vivienne in every way that would matter in starting fights with Sera but I was thinking about her party comp and while I’m not really making an effort to bring rogues around until I get deft hands fine tools, once I do Lyra’s default rogue is??? I think going to HAVE to be Sera.

If she was in any other worldstate I think she would put up with Varric but in this one Varric literally helped Hawke massacre an entire circle which is the one thing that’s thrown everything Lyra thought she understood about the world into question (so did Cullen in this worldstate but 1) Lyra is a hypocrite with terrible taste in men and he’s acting soooooo angsty and tortured about it whereas Varric refuses to admit Hawke did anything wrong 2) they are going to break up over it). And Cole is a spirit (probably a demon! Scary!) so she’s not taking him anywhere until he becomes human. So she and Sera are suddenly going to have to start hanging out a lot and as incompatible as their personalities are Lyra’s choices on big plot decisions are probably more in line with Sera’s approval than any of my inquisitors who were actively trying to befriend her. All this to say is that it’s going to be hilarious if I end up playing out an unlikely friendship between these two girls who definitely can’t stand each other at first

#idk if this will happen it just occurred to me that depending on how approval is weighted it MIGHT and I do love that

[rosebloodcat]

How A Casual Alchemist Helped Build a Kingdom: Arrays

Roland carries pre-made arrays for emergencies. Normally, he doesn't need them. But that’s going to change.

Roland had always thought his fellow alchemists were never prepared enough. Sure, they always had weapons and combat training, but they always relied on their alchemy first. And it was their defining point, to a degree.

They would always default to their Signature alchemy over any other and had a dreadful habit of not carrying supplies with them. Which often meant they were never able to work on the fly. Especially if they got caught in a fight.

And since it was their Signature, it was criminally easy to disable them if one knew their reputation beforehand.

(So many of them relied on a singular premade array, and if they lost it they were practically helpless if they didn’t take to heart soldier’s training as well. Not to mention setting up counters to their arrays to make them useless.)

They never carried multiple Pre-Drawn Arrays with them. And Roland had seen this come back to bite them on plenty of occasions.

Because of that, Roland made sure to always be prepared. And he did that by keeping backup arrays on his person. Some were drawn on paper in his notebook, some were stitched into kerchiefs that he kept neatly folded in his pockets (and occasionally stuffed in his coat sleeves), not to mention that he always carried the supplies to make more on the spot.

And, if he’d had the presence of mind at the moment, he would have been glad for it when he’d spotted the magical blast of fire streaking through the cavern towards Evan.

Tiny, little Evan, who was standing there in shock, clutching his dagger in front of him like it was a shield. The terrified, cat-child whose world was crumbling apart around him. The child who couldn’t have been much older than his own son.

No, instead he’d ripped the stitched array from its hiding spot in his sleeve (a simple one for molding stonework), slammed it to the damp ground, and pushed.

In the span of a blink, a wall of stone had burst from the ground to shield Evan from the blast.

(And Arenella. Who wasn't dead, apparently. That was good. Also, when had she gotten there?)

Roland, despite the pain and exhaustion from the night pulling at him, kept his hand on the circle and refocused on the “Black Knight” and pushed a fresh shove into it.

Lightning from the array streaked over the ground a second time, raising vicious-looking spikes in its wake. Spikes that made the mouse-monster stagger back in a mix of chock and alarm, and lose its balance on the cliff’s edge. A shot from the pistol still clutched in his other hand, sent it over before the blasted thing could regain its footing. Its roar of pain and fury fading as it fell into the darkened depths.

It was gone. He’d gotten rid of it.

Now they had to escape before any of its fellow usurpers could catch up.

AN: I said I wasn't going to write something for my Ni no Kuni Crossover ideas. That was the entire reason I posted them for other people. I HAVE TOO MANY PROJECTS TO DEVOTE TIME TO A NEW AU. And then this showed up in my docs and I ordered myself to not post it until AT LEAST two days had passed.

...It's been two days. I cannot say if there will be more or if this will be the only bit of writing to appear.

Side note; I've decided that for the version in my head that won't be written (let's see how long I can keep that oath up), if Roland had become a State Alchemist, his title would have been related to him thinking ahead or always trying to be prepared.

So it would be something like the "Forward-Thinking" Alchemist or the "Ever-Ready" Alchemist.

Also, the idea of someone keeping extra tools or spare pre-drawn arrays made sense to me and I have no wonder why no other alchemists did it. (It was for drama/tension, I know. But still.)

#ni no kuni ll #ni no kuni 2 #the revenant kingdom #roland crane #evan pettiwhisker tildrum #aranella #alchemist roland #fullmetal alchimist brotherhood #fmab #fullmetal alchemist #fma #rosies writing #rosies fanfics #rosies fanfiction #i said i wouldnt #and then i did #gah #how a casual alchemist helped build a kingdom #hcahbk

[sylviegunpla]

Gunpla: RE/100 012 VIGNA GHINA II

Finally, a post about Gunpla!! This kit was a fun build, and also one of the first kits I "did up" by using some airbrush and spray cans. My inspiration was "shiny red car"... i think it came out only okay. This kit was the "sequel" kit to the Vigna Ghina, which was the first RE/100 i did and also the first kit my friend Kat gifted me. But I'll talk about that in another entry! So what did i do? Well first off, i applied the default sticker decals that came with the kit; i painted a few parts in an attempt to match the product images (some of which the kit suggested using stickers for). So for example

The yellow outline of the underlying helmet plate? That's painted on, i used masking, primer, and airbrush for that. Yeah a small job, but worth it. I used a bit of Molotow Liquid Chrome (I hadn't learned any better yet :P) too to accentuate some parts. The vent in the middle of the chest was also painted red. And the edges of the shoulder wings were also painted red. All of the red parts, before having stickers applied, were buffed to 10000 using godhand sanding tools, and then had Mr. Topcoat Gloss applied. Most (but not all) of the black parts were coated in Mr. Topcoat Matte. WIth some exceptions:

Because these pieces had other shiny parts, they got gloss coated (plus that circle on the back thruster-wing-thing, because that got painted. I forget why i felt i needed to paint that separately, but i did).

STats for nerds (I'm the nerd who keeps track of the stats):

I know that says i completed the build in 2020, but i actually spent a lot of time in 2021 Doing It Up as mentioned before, i don't exactly remember when that project ended though.

#Gunpla #VIGNA GHINA II #RE/100 #bandai

[lucienh]

Week 9 - In Design - May 5th

Hello everyone!! before I go into what we did this week I'm going to show my work on my in Illustrator from last week. *note due to having a lot of work due at the moment in other courses it's not fully finished to how I would like, like have the cows body being shaded and highlights on the spots and ears. But other than that I am happy with how it turned out and I think it looks cute.

here you can see it fully flat coloured with an added black background top allow the cow to pop more off the page as it's body contrast to the background. I also added in eye highlights. For the c colours of the spots and body I went through lots of different variations, changing the hue, saturation and brightness. On the right is what I decided on.

here is the cow mid way through adding the shadows. I ended up using the pen tool to draw them on then filling them in. I couldn't exactly remember how we did the shadows for the penguin, which Was a lot easier and fast. And I know I could have checked my post about it or Moodle but I had already started this. So that's on me for making it more time consuming for myself.

Here is a photo of all my layers, I tried to organise and name them but I forgot for some of them. I locked all the layers apart from the one I was working on as to not work on the wrong layer by mistake, which I have done.

And here is the final cow so far. As I said at the beginning there is definitely more that I'd like todo to it, but I am happy with how it is going.

Now onto this week! This week we started learning to use In Design. I had never used In Design prior to this year so this class was very helpful. We did a day prior in Graphic Design start to use it but was it was my first time using the software I was very confused with the terminology and mechanics. But after today everything makes a lot more sense.

We looked to start with about page layouts in terms of hierarchy of text size. like Heading, Subheadings and body text. And how this helps to tell the user what to look at. And discussed the readability and usability. Which I know a bit about already from take Digital Technology at high school, and in yr 11 we designed and coded websites for The Blind Foundation in NZ and had to focus on the usability and readability, especially for text and colour choices.

I also learnt about different tools and the shortcuts for changing tools and using them. some were similar to other adobe programs we have used which was nice. and Below is a photo of my notes about them.

In the class we looked at setting up a page, and also columns on the page and how to make them. below is before and after we added the columns.

We also looked at creating character and paragraph styles for our work. which allows you to highlight the text when click on your style and and it will add the style to it. and here are some screenshots when learning todo this.

This makes doing your work and layouts so much faster like having your own custom presets. we also learnt how todo this for things like creating bullet points and adjusting the margins for them. - I found this part a little bit more confusing, so something for me to work on.

once we did this we looked at importing images, making them to be circles and wrapping text around them. The importing images Is basically the same as other adobe software, it's like I'm pretty sure AI were it like them not embeds. But it might be PS not AI. but to move them around the page and adjust the size you need to hold shift+command. It does this was I'm pretty sure the images default have masks on them. I don't entirely remember how to put the images inside circles, well I thought I did but then tried in graphic design and did it wrong. So that is something I'd like to go over again at some point. We also added doodles to our images then erased them.

I gave my frog a moustache And was going to add a red barre soo it looked french.

Then we used the wrap text tool to wrap our tex around the frog image, which was pretty easy. Then we used the shortcut, command+return to slightly adjust the wrapping on the image and its location.

and all of these steps together left us with this!

I feel like this post may of not made a lot of sense as I was trying to wrap my head around everything while writing it, so it might be all over the show. But that is what we did in this weeks class. Im looking forward to learning more sand understanding it better as it will be very helpful in graphic design. There is probably also a bit I forgot to include but I know some if it is also in my (messy sadly) physical notes from class, so I can look through them as well.

[mainsballs]

Fun with words app

Fun with words app full version#

Related: Tablets for kids: the best children's tablets for 2021Īnd while it's important to limit screen time and give your child plenty of other outlets to channel their imagination and energy, there's no denying that in this digital age, early mobile literacy will be a valuable skill. Personal data regarding user performance on the tasks on this app are self-contained and not transmitted in any way, unless the user chooses to email them to someone else.ĭeveloped by licensed speech-language pathologist and author, Patti Hamaguchi, M.A., CCC-SLP.Though we can understand your reservations about getting your little one addicted to mobile-media before they're out of nappies, with the right toddler-friendly apps you can help your child learn, as well as develop their motor skills, problem-solving and reaction times. PRIVACY POLICY: We do NOT collect personal data from our users and have no ads. Settings allow the user to select pronouns he/she and the target syntax structures (Subject + verb,Subject + verb + subject or Subject + Verb + prepositional phrase). The child touches bubbles on a screen until a selected “prize” is found. *If past tense verb forms have been selected, the animation is shown only once and the narrator asks, “What happened?” If the user would like to target the verb only, this can be selected in the settings, with the question being asked, “What is the girl doing?” (or “What did the girl do?” for past tense)ħ) A reward game can be played at desired intervals, the “Pop It!” Game. (This can be de-selected within the settings if no desired) If used in therapy, the data tracking features on the left can be used. The child listens to the target phrase by touching a “Check” button that pops up, and compares to his own recording. The child taps “Record” and tries to formulate the target sentence, then touches “Stop”. If the verb is present tense, (which is the default) it snaps back and loops continually, without sound.Ħ) The child is asked, “What is happening? Tell me the whole sentence.” The circles below can be tapped to show the associated pictures or tapped again to hear the associated audio. (Choices for draw include: cat, spider, or cat).Ĥ) The narrator now voices each part of the sentence slowly, as the circles flip around, one at a time, to reveal the associated pictures: “The girl…is drawing…a cat.” Unless de-selected, the narrator will then model the sentence at a quicker speaking pace, “The girl is drawing a cat.” The child is complimented for the sentence and then instructed, “After the video, it will be YOUR turn to say the sentence.”ĥ) The animation that shows the sentence that was created (i.e., “The girl is drawing a cat”) is now shown, typically with a sound effect. Let's choose "draw".ģ) Choose your object or prepositional phrase: The last step is choosing something for the child to draw. (There are always 3 picture choices, such as draw, jump, or eat). You can even opt to select "he" and "she" for extra pronoun practice!Ģ) Then choose your verb: The next step is choosing something for the girl to do. Select the verbs from 39 choices or random, and choose the target sentence structures.īut this app does more! Play the "Build a Sentence" activity:ġ) Choose your subject: There are three character choices in this app: a boy, a girl, and a bear. Want to show animations simply to elicit sentences and verb forms? Just select the "Watch & Say" activity-also a great pre/post assessment tool.

Fun with words app full version#

This full version allows up to 75 users and groups and data tracking. It provides a fun way to visually show left to right sentence building (early literacy concepts) and sequence the parts of a sentence in the right order. This app is for the iPad and is our “full” version. This app is developed for language ages 3-6 with eye-popping color drawings and 266 delightful animations-a cutting-edge way to show and teach action words! For a demonstration of this app, please check out our YouTube video. If you love our First Phrases app, you’ll love this app too! Fun with Verbs & Sentences is the next step up for children who are learning to speak in sentences, understand past and present verb tensing, and formulate basic sentence structures.

#Fun with words app

[polarisdownloads]

Who made siri voice

Siri Suggestions for Shortcuts are supported on iPhone 6s or later, iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation or later), iPad Air 2 or later, and iPad mini 4 or later.

Works with AirPods (2nd generation), AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max.

Not supported on first-generation iPad, iPad 2, and first-generation iPad mini. “Hey Siri” is supported on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with iOS 8 or later while plugged in.

“Hey Siri” is supported on iPhone SE, iPhone 6s or later, iPad Pro (except 12.9-inch, 1st generation), and iPad (5th generation or later) without being plugged into power.

If you want, you can always disable Siri with CleanMyMac X. Now you have one more virtual Assistant on your Mac! It is a useful addition to any Mac computer.

Click on the circle icon in the top right corner to activate the Assistant.

Download CMMX here ( get a free version here).

It also gives tips on how to speed up my Mac when it freezes or goes slow: It's like an assistant, but it's solely focused on Mac maintenance. I found that I can use the CleanMyMac X Assistant tool to tell me about everything that happens on my Mac. For example, it suggests removing apps you rarely use. CleanMyMac X’s Assistant that suggests tips to speed up your Mac and what to delete. The legendary Mac cleanup app, CleanMyMac X by MacPaw, introduced their version of Mac Assistant that is tailored to Mac tune-up. She is an American voice artist from Vermont and a former backup singer for Roy Orbison and Burt Bacharach. That really is all there is to change Siri's voice, which you can do whenever you want or if you’re bored hearing the voice you normally interact with. However, every language may not be available in every country. Any change can be reverted to how it was originally.Īnyone can change these settings in any country. If you want to change it, go back to System Preferences and adjust the Siri voice again. With this change made, you've managed to modify the voice and language Siri uses. Pick the ones from those that you would prefer, and listen to what it sounds like before clicking to go ahead and use that audio preference. Within both drop-downs are a range of options.

Within Siri, it shows you options for Language and Siri Voice.

It is one of the most commonly accessed areas of the settings within a macOS. You can also get to System Preferences through Spotlight Search or Finder > Applications.

Go to System Preferences in the  Apple menu.

Changing these audio settings are pretty easy. It can converse with you in multiple languages and, in most cases, with male or female voice options. Thanks to consistent upgrades, Apple keeps making to Siri, it’s getting smarter and comes with a much wider range of accents and languages than it originally did. In the UK, for example, the voice is male and British. In America, this is an American female voice. In most cases, people stick with the default in-built voice for their country. The voice of Siri is tailored with a wide range of accent options. But to help you do it all by yourself, we’ve gathered our best ideas and solutions below.įeatures described in this article refer to the MacPaw site version of CleanMyMac X. So here's a tip for you: Download CleanMyMac to quickly solve some of the issues mentioned in this article.

#Who made siri voice

[embroidery-pro]

How to Digitize an applique Using SewArt

SewArt is a very inexpensive embroidery digitizing program, so its capabilities are sometimes underestimated. I could achieve with this cheap digitizing software. Of course you can use some of its automatic digitizing tools to convert JPG images into embroidery files. But did you know you can even digitize your decal designs using SewArt? How are applique designs different from normal machine embroidery designs?  How to Digitize a Decal Design Using SEWART Embroidering appliqué patterns on an embroidery machine is one thing. But what about creating one? SewArt makes it super easy. Of course, you can create a decal file from any shape, but for simplicity I decided to create a simple circular decal using the built-in circles in SewArt. That's how I do it. Start with a blank canvas When you start SewArt, you will see a blank canvas. Because we're creating the file from one of the SewArt shapes, you don't need to open the other file. Turn on grid I turned on the grid in the View menu to clearly see the size of the decal design I was creating.   Choose a built-in shape From the shape menu, I selected a circle and adjusted it to be about 3 inches in diameter. How do I know how big the circle is? I use the grid to guide me.   make a shape a color By default, shapes in SewArt have strokes and fills of different colors. Since I wanted a solid circle, I used the paint bucket tool to apply the same purple color to the stroke and fill to make the software interpret the circle as a solid color. All I had to do was click on the filled area and outline of the circle with the paint bucket tool to make the circle all purple. define stitches Now the circle can be used as the base for the decal design. Click the sewing machine icon to start creating some stitches This will take you to a new screen for defining the type of stitch. To create an application design, we must first select the appropriate settings. Select "Decal (Border)" in the top bar and make sure "5 Satin" is selected as the stitch type in the drop-down box. Then you need to choose the width and density of the stitches. Settings: Height controls the width of the stitch. I chose 30 for my stitch width, which is 30*0.1=3mm. For the density labeled "Length", I chose 2. The lower the length number, the tighter the seam. You may notice a color scale on the right. Although it looks like there is only one stitch wheel, SewArt actually creates three stitches . Since we selected Appliqué as the stitch type, SewArt will create the triple stitch as before: Place Stitch, Baste Stitch, and Trim Satin Stitch. SewArt will first prompt you to save the file as an image. Since you are working on the graphic on which the embroidery is based, you may need to save the modified image. Now save your embroidery file. You'll notice that there is an option to enable "Connect adjacent threads of the same color", which is checked. I was concerned about leaving it on, thinking it might remove the stop between placement, basting and the final satin stitch, but it turns out it doesn't affect the creation of these three stops. So you can keep the embroidery file open while saving it. Test out your new appliqué design In order to test out your design. You should always test out your embroidery and appliqué designs on some scrap fabric before stitching them on your finished product. Read the full article