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finnified · 3 years

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a list of things i absolutely love about / kind of analysis on hog hunt, compiled as i watch it for the second time:

(under the cut cos this got really long)

right near the beginning when they’re raising the anvil, she does this really cool transition from the light on the anvil to the light on the curtain in tubbo’s first few frames. it’s incredibly smooth and it works rlly well. the pattern is also continued to the shine on tubbo’s axe when he twists it to see his face in it which is also rlly neat.

i’ll probably point this out several times, but the use of perspective in this animatic is amazing. we first see it from phil standing on his balcony looking at the raised anvil, but the use of perspective is absolutely INCREDIBLE all throughout this animatic.

we see it right after this, actually, with the trees and the crow flying over it. not only is the perspective so cool here, but the motion with the feathers is also amazing.

i also love how whenever ghostbur shows up, the screen gets a little glitchy. i’m not sure what i like about it but it’s just kinda fitting with his static-y eyes and such.

PHILS CROWS!!

THE TRANSITION SCENE FROM TUBBO WALKING DOWN THE HALL OF THE WHITE HOUSE TO HIM PULLING OUT THE AXE AND SUDDENLY THE BUTCHER ARMY IS ALL THERE. that was so absolutely satisfying, with the sound effect of quackity’s torch and all. also ranboo is there which is <3

the transitions in this animatic really might be my favorite part. we get the bit with techno suiting up with his cape and his crown and then the really cool fog that allows him to appear outside with the butcher army, and we can see someone level their axe in front of them and BOOM techno appears out of the smoke, pulling the axe back and swinging. it’s AMAZING.

the swinging motion from that last scene allows a little bit of a still waving transition into the butcher army room, which is STUNNING by the way (and also ranboo) which then flawlessly pulls into phil and then the scene in phil’s house with the shattered glass visual and audio combination it’s AMAZING. the frame with phil’s chest in white on the black background with the only color being ghostbur’s blue is also really neat here as well.

i absolutely ADORE the frames where tubbo finds the compass, because you can hear and see the smirk in his voice and i love how the compass drops down on the little string and it’s just. so poggers. love that. the part directly after that where it zooms in on phil and you get the opportunity to see the weight of the situation from his perspective is AMAZING.

and the collection of frames after that that go in the flashes of light? quackity with his back to the screen, techno reading the letter (TECHNOGLASSES POG) phil’s compass slowly pointing forward to the viewer? the flash of phil standing on his balcony, and then the butcher army which gets cut off of view by one of phil’s crows, with the feathers in the background that morph into his wings? this sequence is so powerful, for a reason i can’t quite place, but i absolutely adore it.

THEN WE GET THAT PHIL SCENE THAT EVERYONE’S FAWNING OVER, AND RIGHTFULLY SO. the camera slowly pans down to phil’s face, and then his hat tips forward so the shadow can grow on his face, and then we get that really cool glitch effect where he turns all black with the white eyes and such. it’s so cool.

then we get the ‘i choose blood’ scene, which in all honesty i had to replay several times to properly get my thoughts down on. this whole bit is so incredibly smooth and flows so well, with techno’s cape and the butcher army readying their axes and then techno pulling the potions from seemingly nowhere and then the colored smoke again from earlier- which i quite literally can’t get enough of, sad-ist do your shoes need shinin ma’am, and then the whole sequence where tubbo is pinned by techno and screaming at quackity to do something, which transitions FLAWLESSLY into big q and carl. you can see techno’s shock even before he realizes quackity actually has carl, and i applaud sad-ist for being able to convey that much emotion even without techno’s eyes.

the spinning from the camera being right next to techno to right behind quackity is also amazing. i think the color of the background shifts slightly? which i think might represent something, but it sort of just stood out to me in the moment. the perspective when quack is talking and holding carl’s reigns is amazing, because it’s slightly below quack’s eye level, which gives us the impression of looking up at him, and also really allows us to see how much danger carl is actually in.

once again i applaud sad-ist for her ability to convey so much emotion in techno even with half of his face covered. his resignation of his own safety for carl’s is aggressively clear as he drops the cape and the crown away.

and then we get the phil sneaking out sequence, which i had to slow down to properly appreciate, but it’s REALLY cool. the blue handprint on the tree? the entire skull motif? (which my friend mysso pointed out) it ties back into The phil scene from this animatic earlier and i really love it.

then we have literally what might be my favorite scene in this animatic!! which is stupid maybe because it’s one of the less important scenes, but i love it nonetheless. it’s the scene where they’re walking techno into lmanburg and phil is on his balcony and says “you actually got him” which transitions into tubbo reminding him that he’s on house arrest and then techno running forward with the chains (which have their own noise, which i think is such a poggers detail) and demanding to know what they did to phil. i love absolutely everything about this scene, from (once again) the extreme amount of expression that techno has even with the mask to the fact that it takes both quackity and fundy to restrain him once he’s pissed off to once again the absolutely FLAWLESS motion in that bit. you can see the struggle happening perfectly with techno’s flailing and quackity reaching forward to grab his arm and all, and i love it.

the little short scene we get with techno shifting slightly side to side to imply walking slowly in time with the music is also really cool. detail in sad-ist’s animatics my beloved.

THEN WE HAVE THE PUNZ SCENE!!! i absolutely love this one because of the use of perspective as well. it flips from tubbo doing his speech to the rooftop with punz and dream, and dream slowly raises his hand and punz flips the ender pearl and then APPEARS on the ground, sheds the cape in a single movement (might honestly be my favorite singular motion in this animatic) tosses the potions, we see the beloved colored smoke again, and when it clears punz and ranboo are going at it. you get the amazing panic in tubbo’s voice with him screaming at big q to pull the lever, and techno’s iconic little ‘heh??’ and then-

anvil drops. here comes the best scene in this animatic.

we get a few seconds of techno staring up at the anvil in shock, holding the totem, and it’s super cool actually because at the very end of that you see the bottom of the anvil come into super sharp detail in the reflection of techno’s eye. it flashes to ghostbur on the outside, watching the anvil fall, and when the sound of impact comes the totem explodes. that frame on its own is amazing and i might make that my background just because of how dynamic it is, with the light exploding and everything, and THEN. THEN WE GET TECHNO’S ABSOLUTELY STUNNING REANIMATION SEQUENCE with the flesh wrapping back around him, being stitched together it’s the green totem threads, his skull underneath and the blood, it’s amazing. he jumps through the bars of the cage with the chains mostly broken except for one on his hand, and he runs off after dream who has carl. WHILE THIS IS HAPPENING, (and someone on tumblr just pointed it out,) techno is still actually reforming. one of his legs is only fully solid once he’s outside the cage and one of his arms is still reforming when he swings it through the bars- thats why he’s able to get out so easily, and that’s why it’s bleeding in the next few scenes.

dream in this animatic is terrifying, by the way. he’s the most inhuman we’ve ever seen him, with the hood always up and the shadow covering half the mask so there’s no way to see under it. i know a few people on tumblr have pointed out sad-ist’s design progression with dream (from very very human with the mask on the side to the mask on to the mask and the cape) but it’s so wonderful that i felt the need to say it again.

and then dream is gone and quackity is here. time for the most banger fight scene to ever be animated in the history of animated fight scenes!

the motion in this fight scene is amazing. techno never stops moving. he’s darting under quackity’s legs, twirling the pickaxe (he’s fighting with a pickaxe!) JUMPING OVER QUACKITY’S HEAD AND YANKING HIS AXE OUT FROM HIS GRASP WHICH IS HONESTLY THE COOLES THING, and that motion continues smoothly when you see the axe get imbedded in the wall, and then you get the ‘put it through your teeth’ which is AMAZING.

and then it slowly fades back to techno’s cabin, and then TOMMY!! he looks so soft in these few seconds when he’s here, and i love that for him, mostly because it shows how much he’s changed. the sound effects when the wither wall is dropping are flawless as well, and i know everyone is saying this as well but i literally cannot, CANNOT get over how techno does the spreading-his-arms-curling-his-fists thing in front of the wither vault like he did in the dawn of the sixteenth animatic in the revolutionary’s vault. we get those two frames- one with techno suddenly splashed in blood, and then the one where that blood turns green and we’re left with only the blood, techno’s eyes and tusks, and the very barest outline of the wither vault, all in the same bright green. techno’s laughter also draws out even through the closing scene, which is another nice touch.

overall? absolutely amazing animatic, so many things to point out and pick apart, and i am definitely going to watch it like eight hundred more times.

#charm.txt #hog hunt #technoblade #pov you are charm and your hog hunt commentary hit 1.8k words #i definitely don’t have a problem!#kudos to everyone who’s been posting about hog hunt btw bc ive been picking up a lot of little things to add to this from my dash #anyways #back to rewatching hog hunt for the fourth time #pleas give me clout for this by the way i actually worked on this a bit bahaha

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myblueeyedbuggers · 3 years

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My Boys

Chapter 9

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14

Pairings: Reader x Steve Rogers (best friend) Reader x Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 1851

Warnings: Slow Start, Language, Tiny bit of Fluff

Summary: After being abandoned by her parents in Brooklyn in 1929, y/n makes a living for herself by working for the Црни лабуд gang until she meets two boys in a back alley and her life slowing begins to change

So, hi again…I’m gonna be completely honest I’ve practically had no time to sit down and write for the past couple of weeks, college rained down tons of assignments and work kept asking me to do extra shifts. Hopefully you all understand the delay in updates, I’m determined to finish this book for you all, anyways I’ll shut up Enjoy 😊

Whoever decided to wake me up and drag me away from the glorious land of sleep will suffer my early morning wrath, slowly I opened my eyes and the outline of two very stupid and annoying boys filled my vision. “Have you two never heard the saying don’t tickle a sleeping dragon? I quite clearly need my beauty sleep!” why is it every time I threaten to murder these two they just start laughin’? what the hell is wrong with em?!, “ Well good mornin’ to you too doll face, as much as I’d like to stay here and trade threats mama wants you outta bed for breakfast so get ya butt moving” My eyes narrowed at Bucky as he started to follow Steve outta the room, the smirk on his face widening as I reluctantly moved out of bed.

I’ve only been here a week and I’ve nearly killed him at least 50 times, wait that’s not something I should be proud of is it? in my defence Barnes can be a right little shit when he wants to be! Two days ago, he thought it’d be funny to drench me with water in the middle of the day, it’s safe to say he didn’t climb down the tree for a fair few hours. The smell of bacon and pancakes made me completely forget whatever the hell I was talking about, I shouldn’t have rushed pulling my pants on cause my dumbass failed to see that the left leg got caught on the draw knob and I was once again hugging the floor with my bloody face. Great that didn’t hurt at all!

Right let’s check for damage, bruises? Nope scratches? Nope pride and dignity? That went a long time ago who am I kidding? “Y/N You comin down or what?!” Jesus Christ that boy has a voice like a flipping fog horn, I wouldn’t be surprised if they heard Steve in queens! “Yeah give me a minute will ya! No need to get your panties in a twist Stevie” I’m pretty sure I can hear Becca and Bucky laughin’ from up here. Okay enough time’s been spent getting dressed, at this rate the boys will have inhaled all the food…the thought alone is enough to terrifying!

“Right you lads better of left me at least one pancake and 3 strips of bacon or they’ll be hell to pay later” as a rule most people say good morning but I like to start the day with a decent dashing of threats and insults, cause I’m a friendly person…okay nope that’s a big pile of bullc**p and I know it. “Well mornin to you too y/n, the pancakes are on the table and the bacons on Bucks plate feel free to take some” a muffled sound of protest could be heard over my laughter as Bucky shot Steve a look of utter disbelief. “I think I’ll skip on the bacon then Stevie, by the looks of it Bucks already drooled all over it” Steve and I shared a look before we burst out laughing, Buck was glaring at the both of us with syrup dribbling down his chin and I gotta be honest it looked hilarious. “You guys done laughin’ at me yet or would you like to gang up on me some more?” is this boy dumb or somethin’? “Buck, I’d be on my deathbed and my final words would be some form of insult towards you”.

And there I go signing my death sentence again, at this point Steve wasn’t even on his chair anymore, instead he was lying on the floor completely pissin’ himself laughing while Bucky slowly stood up and started walking round the table. “Oh would you look at the time! Gotta go guys my appointment with the grim reaper’s in a minute!” hey y/n maybe it’s time you start running?! With a small shriek I turned and bolted out the backdoor with a pretty pissed off Barnes boy on my tail. The sunlight blinded me for a couple of seconds, so I was kinda running without knowing what was around me…and as per usual life decided to firmly kick my ass using the form of a bloody tree. A sharp stinging sensation spread across my entire face, huh reminds me of when I ran into that door…only that didn’t hurt half as much and there wasn’t an annoying brunette prick absolutely creasing with laughter behind me. I’m pretty sure that in the process of the tree b**tch slappin’ me I cut the left side of my cheek…oh would you look at that there’s the blood that should have stayed inside me, I couldn’t stop the small groan of pain that slipped outta my mouth, the lower half of my back was more than likely battered to all hell and the stinging in my cheek wasn’t helping either.

Apparently, the sound of my suffering seemed to break the idiot outta his little laughin’ session, I raised my eyebrows at him when it finally dawned on him that I hurt myself and that was pretty funny, all the colour drained from Bucky’s face, his eye’s widened when he noticed the lovely new edition to my face and pretty soon he reached a hand out to help me up. Such a gentleman… that’s if you replace the gentle bit with idiotic. The second I was on my feet, he pulled me into a hug and began checking my face and head, I’m hoping to god he can’t see my flamin’ cheeks cause I know for a fact he would never let me live that down. To be completely honest all I could concentrate on was the gentle touch on his hands on my cheek and the look on Bucky’s face, his eyes were completely focused on my cut. How have I never noticed that his eyes have the smallest flecks of green in them? Or how his dimples show when he frowns?… more importantly why do I feel both excited and terrified but somehow warm at the same time?

My little daze was broken when I realised that his lips were movin’ and I had no idea what the hell he just said, but he must of asked me a question cause he was lookin’ at me waitin’ for his answer. Bollocks. “What’d you say Buck?” Jesus Christ could I have been anymore obvious?! Maybe I should make a giant banner and smack him in the face with it, oh for godsake am I blushin’ again?!, the small smirk on his face grew into a sh*t eating grin as he threw his arm around my shoulders and dragged me back to the house. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say that you y/n were completely blow away by the masterpiece that is my face” oh great I’ve managed to inflate his ego even more, “Actually I wasn’t gonna say anythin’ but you’ve got a little somethin’ stuck in your front teeth” and just like that all the cockiness drained outta his body.

The arm around my shoulder disappeared rather quickly, to my amusement the boy next to me did as well, I could feel the little smirk on my face as I carried on walkin’ forward as he stayed behind more than likely doin’ that cute stupid thing with his eyes. Wait what did I just say?! What the heck is wrong with me these days? Its like a flippin’ alien’s taken over me and made me into a normal girl! .It feels all kinds of wrong. A sudden cough disrupts my inner monologue, my eyes roll to the sky as the smirk reappears on my face, I can’t help the laugh that escapes me when my gaze meets Bucky’s. He was stood with his hands on his hips, his eyes narrowed as I continued to laugh and slowly his face formed a pout as he waited for me to finish completely wetting myself with laughter. “You done yet?” his brow was pulled in as he tried to fight off the smile, “Do I actually have somethin’ in my teeth or were you just being a bully?”.

“Nah, just needed to keep your ego in check before it inflated and carried you away into the wind” Buck looked like I’d just shot him in the chest, I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughin’ at him as I turned and started walkin’ back to the house. “Ya know you can be a real piece of work when ya wanna be don’t ya?” thank you captain obvious! “I know I am, you know I do it out of love don’t ya?” I shot him a small smile as I wrapped an arm around his back and pulled him in for a side hug, Bucky shook his head with a small smile, but accepted the hug anyway. After that we stayed in a comfortable silence as we walked back towards the house, his arm never pulled away from me till we got inside, that was until Mrs Barnes walked into the kitchen and saw the cut on my cheek, to simply put it she completely freaked out.

I watched her quickly shoo everyone outta the kitchen, she somehow managed to pull a chair out and sit me down while grabbing a towel and bandages, question after question was fired at me while she gently started cleaning to cut. After a while the conversation died out, Mama B was completely fixated on cleaning the cut and if I’m honest the silence was peaceful, well it was for the 5 seconds it lasted.

Bucky burst through the door lookin’ like someone was trying to murder him, not that I could blame them, 2 seconds later Steve and Becca burst through the door armed with…wait is that eyeshadow and lipstick? I watched as Bucky backed into the corner, his eyes wide as he begged them both of them for mercy, whatever he did to piss the pair off clearly warranted this man hunt and there is no way in hell I wanted to stop it just before it got good. Soon enough Becca and Steve some how managed to pin down Buck, and despite the many protests, the pair managed to smear the lipstick all over his face and dump most of the eyeshadow in his hair.

I tried my hardest not to laugh I swear, but he looked like a very disturbed and demented fairy princess and I couldn’t hold it in anymore, soon enough we were all having a little laugh at the poor bloke, eventually Buck saw the funny side of it and he too joined in with the mess that was the Barnes family.

So, I’m gonna be honest here this is more of a filler chapter/character development hopefully it didn’t suck as much as I think it did XD Okay I’ll stop rambling, Thanks for reading!

Rose Xxx

#winter soldier x reader #winter soldier #captain america x reader #captain america #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers #mcu #fanfic #reader #reader insert #sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader

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love-minor-poltergeist · 4 years

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hello father >:] can i request some headcanons for a shy gender neutral s/o's first kiss with ash, ace, and hanzo? thank you for your service i will give you a kiss for your hard work

A/N: Pack it up boys, the himbos have arrived (plus one archer who REALLY needs a hug). This Is actually my first time writing for these three, so I think I went a little overboard making this.

Actually, now that I think about it, most of the Hcs down below kinda lean towards a “getting together +first kiss” than an actual established relationship. If you aren’t happy with this batch, be sure to let me know so I can redo these!!

(Read more placed due to lengthiness)

Additional note: I mostly wrote the Hanzo portion with the idea that you met before the short Dragons takes place. Hence why Genji is mentioned as dead or killed.

Ash Williams First Kiss Hcs:

When Ash was first dumped into the Entity’s realm, he had little intentions of bonding with his fellow survivors. He had figured that this entire mess was just fate deciding to fuck him over again. After all, why else would he suddenly be ripped away from Kelly and Pablo?

During the first few trials, Ash kept to himself for the most part. He still pulled his weight in trials, but he tried not to get too close to anyone. In his eyes, it’s better to be a lone wolf again to save himself the emotional heartache.

Of course, that plan eventually went out the window when you showed up.

You had been a lot meeker compared to the others, and despite himself, Ash couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit protective over you. As luck may have it, the older man ends up developing something of a small crush on you.

It eventually reaches the point where Ash’s tough “lone wolf” front begins to crumble around you. He becomes a comforting presence for you after trials, often doing so in the form of cracking jokes and telling stories from his younger years to help take your mind off of your circumstances.

It’s during these times that Ash ends up slipping in flirtatious remarks mid-conversation. And while a part of him warns him not to get his hopes up, he couldn’t help but grin whenever you gave him a flustered laugh and that shy smile he grew to love.

When the two of you finally share your first kiss, Ash can’t help but feel a mix of pride and bashful. Out of all the people you could’ve picked, you chose him, some washed-up, old fuck up, for your first kiss?

Well, he isn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Just as the two of you slowly pull away, Ash gently wraps an arm around your hip. He hasn’t felt this light in years. Cheeks flushed, the older man gently bumps his forehead against yours, cheeks stinging from how hard he was grinning.

“Gimme some sugar, baby.”

Ace Visconti First Kiss Hcs:

With his time in the fog, Ace managed to gain an amicable relationship with his fellow survivors. He and the older men around the campfire liked to play cards and chat. He's been friendly enough with the younger survivors, even earning the status of the "weird uncle" of the campfire.

And when you first showed up, Ace didn’t treat you too differently-- you were a bit more on the quiet and shy side, so he tried his best to keep you at ease if you were in trials together.

Then you started approaching him after the trials. It had started innocent enough-- casual conversation, plans for future trials, etc. But then Ace found himself fixating on smaller details about you-- how you quietly try to hold back a laugh at his god-awful jokes, the little secretive smiles you gave him whenever you watched him play poker, how quick you were to break eye contact with a bright flush….

Well shit. Ace doesn’t think he’s had a crush this bad since he was a schoolboy. And luckily for him, it seems that you felt the same-- unless he somehow misread the flustered glances you’d shoot his way when you think he wasn’t looking...

Ace ends up becoming a lot more...forward from then on. He flirts with you at any given chance. While a part of couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit bad teasing you like this, he can’t help but find your red face adorable.

When you finally share your first kiss, Ace was the one who took the initiative.

With a gentle yet firm grasp on your shoulder, the older man pulled you against his chest. Thin lips brush against your own, and the scruff of his facial hair lightly scratched against your cheeks. A nervous, elated giggle tumbled out of your throat, and you felt Ace grin against your lips.

“You know, you’re not that bad for a first timer. You feel like going another round?”

Hanzo Shimada First Kiss Hcs:

If you’re anxious about your lack of experience, don’t worry-- Hanzo’s cold and calm front hides a man plagued with demons. While Hanzo has had dates before, he’s never been as prolific with romance as he’s been with his training as the heir to the Shimada legacy.

After killing Genji and rejecting his birthright, Hanzo bore the weight of his grief and guilt in self-isolation-- wandering from nation to nation to hone his skills as a warrior. All the while killing any mercenaries after his head, courtesy of his former family.

In short-- romance was the farthest thing on Hanzo’s mind. There were moments where he had dwelled on the idea, but they were always very brief. He was a drifter with hardly a drop of honor to his name now. He had killed his brother before he had the chance to grow or fall in love. Why should he deserve what he had denied his younger brother?

And yet he had found himself envisioning a future with you.

Around you, Hanzo is given a brief respite from the ghosts of the past. You were a calming presence in his life, and he’s come to cherish the time you have together.

Though he isn’t the best at showing affection, the small touches and soft-eyed glances he gives you come from a place of love and need for connection; desperate to remind himself that you were real and that this all wasn’t a cruel dream.

Your first kiss is no different.

His hand tentatively reached out towards your cheek, his touch feather-light as Hanzo stared down at you with lidded eyes. You faintly make out the outline of his adam’s apple bob as he took in a shaky breath-- cheeks dusted with light pink. You felt your breath hitch in your throat as he drew near. He hesitated for a moment, but a gentle tug on his shirt collar spurs him forward.

His lips met your own, and his shoulders tensed for a moment, eyes widening. Your hand gently moved to hold his cheek, and you felt him melt beneath your touch.

As he slowly pulls away, eyes visibly bright and cheeks flushed, Hanzo gives you an almost boy-ish smile.

“Thank you for staying by my side....”

#my writing #requests #x reader #reader insert #dead by daylight #dead by daylight hc #gender-neutral reader #ash williams x reader #ace visconti #ace visconti x reader #ash williams #Overwatch #overwatch reader insert #dead by daylight x reader #hanzo shimada #hanzo shimada x reader

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simplysnexual · 4 years

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Got inspired by @doctor492 ‘s SCP!au with Erasermic! I don’t often post my stories so have mercy! I took some creative liberties with their abilities and such. I’m also not terribly educated when it comes to all the SCP lore.

Excerpts from a guard’s journal.

Day 1

My first day in this sector of the facility. There are 4 keter class anomalies in this sector. Two of which I am in charge of dealing with. These two are kinda...humanoid in appearance but I have yet to see more than quick glances. Training is extensive in this sector as one wrong move either means death or worse: the escape of a dangerous creature. Training has mostly been computerized and kinda boring. Can't wait to get to the hands on stuff.

Day 5

Finally onto some interesting stuff. I’ve had my first encounter with the SCP nicknamed Eraserhead. He...well I suppose it, though it does have a masculine body type. Plus its kinda weird calling such a humanoid creature an it so I’ll just say him. Anyway, he is a shadowy figure that appears to be made of an ever shifting inky mass. He has bright, misty yellow “eyes.” These eye-like features could be something else entirely their own but appear to act like eyes, blinking and fixating on whatever his attention is on. White cloth-like ribbons float around him constantly like thin snakes writhing in the air. Wispy outlines that look like hair also frame his head and face. I don't know much else about Eraserhead but I’m excited to learn more.

Day 7

First encounter with the “Voice Demon.” Yet another humanoid anomaly, this one more so than Eraserhead. The Voice Demon appears to be a 6’1” white male with long blonde hair. The most jaring and notably inhuman feature is its mouth. A wide maw stretches past the normal stretch of a human mouth, wrapping around all the way to its ears. Its, well I’d called this one a he too. He has lacerations around his throat that appear to have been stitched up and plucked at only to be stitched again. I don’t know for sure but I believe those injuries were inflicted by the Foundation…

Day 10

Something rather interesting happened today. On my usual rounds to check on the anomalies, I discovered Eraserhead standing at the plexi glass window of his containment unit. Mirroring him on the other side of the hall was the “Voice Demon.” The demon’s spirling green eyes seemed softer than his usual jaring glare. As could be said for Eraserhead. But shortly after they noticed my presence, they went back to the darker corners of their units.

Day 12

I’ve finally found out more about my two favorite SCPs. Turns out Eraserhead has the ability to not only control the writhing ribbons around him, but can also erase one function of the human body, such as the respiratory system or cardiac system. Pretty scary stuff right? A few guards have fallen to this creature’s abilities. I guess I have to be wary not to piss him off huh? As for the Voice Demon, his name is very fitting. His voice can reach beyond 177 decibels, a range passing which is dangerous to humans. This level of sound can burst cells in your lungs, shake your bones and even cause long term damage to your joints. I believe the facility tried to sever his vocal chords but found that not to be the source of his ability. I’ve yet to hear (hehe) of his ability being used or how they keep him from using it.

Day 16

First incident on my shift, A fellow guard wasn’t being so careful around Eraserhead’s unit. There's an existing rule that you don’t stick around the plexi glass viewing window of his unit. Apparently this guy forgot or didn’t listen to the warning. Dude’s respiratory system shut down and I found him after hearing his gasping wheezes. The SCP medical team took him away. I’m not sure where to but I have a feeling it wasn’t to a hospital…

Day 18

Caught my favorite two charges interacting across the hall again. I hid around the corner to see what they did away from prying eyes. They seemed to be making gestures to each other and after a bit I noticed the Voice Demon fogging up the glass with his breath and drawing things, cats and flowers and the like. Eraserhead’s yellow slits of eyes squinted like how mine do when I smile. Strange...but endearing. Humanizing almost...

Day 21

Found out what the Voice Demon’s smile looks like...Seems I made him laugh, not sure I can call it that but I’m guessing it was a laugh. I tripped on my idiot coworkers spilled coffee and kissed the floor. Once the Voice Demon made his laugh like noise, I turned to him and saw his lips had curved up and his eyes squinted. Eraserhead matched his squinting. I couldn’t help but smile myself...heh I guess I’m just as strange huh? Smiling at the strange and deadly creatures I guard from the world everyday. But hey it’s the little things that remind you of your humanity when you’re stuck in sterile white hallways all the time.

Day 25

A few guards went into Voice Demon’s unit to try to draw blood or something. Most came out with bleeding ears. Two came out in body bags after a gas filled the room to incapacitate the creature. I’m beginning to doubt the Foundation’s care for its employees…

Day 26

After reviewing the security footage of yesterday’s incident, I noticed the shifting form and writhing ribbons of Eraserhead had increased in their violent motion. His inky, ever-moving form had gone rough around the edges and his ribbons whipped as if in a tornado. Almost like...he was upset? Angered that his neighbor, maybe even his friend was hurt?

Day 31

Eraserhead and the Voice Demon are definitely friends of some sort. Yes I know I’m not supposed to humanize the anomalies but I can’t help myself. Their interactions continue and grow in complexity and frequency. It's kinda endearing to be honest. I don’t see much friendly interaction in this place. I feel just as trapped as they do sometimes…

Day 40

My first interaction with the Voice Demon. Guess I pissed off the facility or something cuz they sent me in ALONE to try to draw blood. I’d pretty much accepted my death sentence the second the doors closed behind me. But to my surprise the creature looked at me...curiously? I knelt down to try to seem less threatening and spoke to him like I would a scared child, like my siblings when they hid from a storm. Across the hall I caught a glimpse of Eraserhead’s form shifting violently again. I sat cross legged for a while, slowly trying to coax him over. I couldn’t believe it when the creature approached me and extended his arm for me. I held his wrist like I had when my little sister scraped her elbow. I spoke softly like I had to her as I took the Voice Demons blood, totally unaware of why but fixated on the sentience in his eyes.

Day 45

The facility sent me into Eraserhead’s unit after my success with the Voice Demon. They didn’t send me for blood, I don’t even know if he has blood?? I think they sent me in for the hell of it, to watch a keter class at work or see what this one did with a human actually in his unit not just outside his window. Turns out, not much. The creature merely stared me down before shifting away and turning his back on me. Without anything really interesting happening for a good while, the high ups let me back out. I’m just as much contained as they are these days. I haven’t been allowed to leave since the interaction with the Voice Demon. But I can’t find it in myself to regret it.

Day 50

I don’t trust this place anymore. The staggering number of guards lost in a month is beyond what could be just “accidents.” The measures they go to “contain” these creatures they label monsters are beyond what’s right. Nearly worse than what the creatures do themselves. A place which considers beating what I could nearly call a person into submission just doesn’t seem right.

Day 51

I treated the Voice demon’s wounds today. He seemed sedated as I worked with him as gently as I could. I talked softly to him, about nothing in general but just to give him some comfort, something to focus on. My heart nearly stopped when I heard his voice. It was only a soft. “Thank you.”. His voice was soft but raspy from lack of use. I met his gaze and that’s when I made my decision. I’m getting them out of here. Him and Eraserhead. After all, what use is it freeing a lone creature to face the world outside without a friend?

Day 55

This Foundation is run by idiots. All this secretive crap covers up their incompetence. But this plan isn’t going to go through without sacrifice. It’s worth it. Without my family around to need me anymore I’m happy to die for a good reason. I’ve faced death before just for this stupid Foundation’s fun. Tomorrow during shift change I’m cutting the power on the sector where Eraserhead and the Voice Demon reside. It’ll be just long enough for the locks to fail and let them escape. I hope they get far away from this hell hole and pathe their way in the outside world. And maybe….just maybe, remember me fondly.

This was the last entry written in the young man’s journal. SCP guard Scarleton lay dying in the glistening blood pooling around him. The red flashing of alarms briefly illuminating the hall in intervals. His dying sight was the Voice Demon’s toxic green eyes spilling over with tears as he grasped the only guard, hell the only human to treat him like anything other than a monster. One more little smile found the man’s lips as he showed his blood stained teeth, eyes sliding closed. “Go on….be free.” He let out a wet laugh and went still. A shifting black form took the arm of the green eyed creature and drug him away to follow through on the guard’s dying words.

#doctor492 #scp!au #erasermic #fanfic #erasermicscp!au #hizashi yamada #shouta aizawa

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ionica01 · 6 years

Text

A Cup of Magic 4

Opening the door to the cafe is like walking through a portal to a different dimension: the buzz and chitter-chatter, along with the sound of spoons stirring the honey in the tea mugs instantly surrounds Momo, replacing the isolation of the bathroom with the warm feeling of belonging. Sometimes, she feels like the cafe is a living organism, just as alive as the cells she studies every day, just as prone to evolving as they are.

Spotting Shouto is easy- he’s always sitting at the same table, and his bicolored hair isn’t exactly unnoticeable. He’s drinking his Calm Blitz, part of the cafe like an organelle- maybe he’s a mitochondria, Momo reasons.

She can’t deny the pang of disappointment she feels- she wasn’t there to take his order, which means she didn’t get to talk to him today. However, simply observing his focused look as he deciphers the notes is rewarding- he has this way of swirling his pen between his index and middle finger while he’s thinking that almost hypnotises Momo.

Perhaps he feels her staring, but he looks up and meets her eyes. He nods in greeting and tilts his head in an invitation for her to sit next to him. At least that’s how Momk interprets it- and he doesn’t look weirded out as she closes in on his table, so she’s most likely right.

“Is Uravity okay?” he asks as soon as Momo is within hearing range, sparing the barista in question a worried look. “Her face seemed very… red earlier,” he adds, to Momo’s concern. Ochako seemed just fine at the start of her shift- what has happened?

“I’ll go check and let you know,” she tells Shouto and leaves, the concern for her friend outclassing the interest for her customer.

Momo schools her face into that of a pleasant barista doing her best, and avoids the ‘worried friend’ look. Time has taught her that displaying your emotions made some feel uncomfortable, especially when it’s their health that put the wrinkles on your face in the first place.

So Momo slides behind the counter as per usual and picks up a cup from Sato’s hand to join Ochako near the cupboards brimming with herb mixtures. She fishes the vanilla and rooibos tea, without needing to read through the labels- after all, it was her that arranged them in the first place, and some mixes, such as the Rooibos Whisper, are her creation from scratch.

Momo steals a sideways glance at her friend, but notices nothing out of the ordinary. Ochako’s cheeks are their usual rosy colour, and she even hums a small tune as she filters the herbs out of the steaming hot water and lets the tea stream into a paper cup.

“You seem in a good mood,” Momo remarks, trying not to let her curiosity leak and sliding the pot out of Ochako’s hands to wash it. “Did something good happen?”

Ochako hums out of her little bubble of joy and smiles brightly. Her cheeks redden, and she presses both palms against them, covering her eyes half-way.

Momo tilts her head, giving up on keeping her curiosity in check. “What is it?” she pushes Ochako, poking at her shoulder. “Come on,” she grins when Ochako flushes even redder. That sounds like Mina, Momo catches herself thinking and pulls her hand from Ochako’s shoulder, but she talks anyway.

“You know that necklace Deku-kun gave me?” Momo nods- Ochako was absolutely ecstatic when her boyfriend gave her the silver necklace with a heart pendant. Momo’s eyes dart to Ochako’s neck and catch the sparkle of the item that hasn’t left the nape of her neck since her last birthday. “That half-and-half guy said it suits me! And when I told him it’s from my boyfriend, he said ‘Well, he has good taste.’”

Momo can imagine Shouto saying that with a stoic look, and understands immediately why Ochako’s face was flushed. A smile curls about her lips.

“So you’ve been reminded of Midoriya?” The wild red that covers Ochako’s cheekbones is a loud enough answer. “How long has it been since you last saw him?”

“He couldn’t make it to the Halloween party, so… two weeks?” The grin on Ochako’s face dampens. “He’s busy with his project and my training sessions are insane,” she deadpans. “But we talk daily!” Momo’s smile withers and she gives Ochako a friendly rub on the back. She smiles gratefully, but fails to keep in an ever-growing sigh. “It’s just- I miss him.”

“I’m sure he misses you too.”

“I know,” the woman sighs again. “Autumn is just so hectic, you know? And exams are coming up soon, so we probably won’t get to see each other until December. So this-” Ochako touches her necklace with a faraway look “-is really important to me. And it’s nice that strangers see it as part of my look, because that’s like saying that Deku-kun is part of me.”

Momo can’t help but hug her friend, ignoring the fact that she’s holding two hot cups of tea. Ochako awkwardly nuzzles her nose against Momo’s hair, unable to move her hands without spilling the drinks.

“Thanks, Momo.”

Creati just hums in return.

***

“Uravity is okay,” Momo assures Shouto after she chats with the customer sitting at the table next to his, delivering his order.

“That’s good,” the man agrees, stealing a glimpse at the bar. He squints, as if his eyes are focusing in on Ochako. “She looks somewhat… refreshed?”

“She is,” Momo chuckles. Shouto gives her a baffled look, oblivious to the consequences of his compliment, and Momo changes the subject swiftly. “By the way, Sato wanted you to name the mousse.”

“Name it?” Shouto repeats, as if the words haven’t sunken it just yet. “Me?” His mind obviously doesn’t label the association as possible.

“Yes. He says you played a part in the making, so you should name it.”

Shouto seems lost in thought for a few moments. “How do you name a dessert?” he muses, and Momo isn’t sure whether he’s talking to himself or to her. His eyes dart to her lazily, and they linger there, aimlessly searching for something. It seems like forever until he mutters, “Onyx.”

Momo’s breath catches in her throat, and she wonders whether she heard him right. “I beg your pardon?”

“Nothing,” he says and Momo thinks he must have just been thinking up possible names for the mousse. She doesn’t understand how onyx could have anything to do with it, though.

***

Shouto looks very tired when he reaches the counter the next day. There aren’t bags under his eyes, but a misty fog is courtaining the intelligent glint in his mismatched eyes, as if his sleep has been troubled.

Momo begins to fill in the usual when he stops her, “Actually, I’d like Hot Chocolate today.”

“Oh?” She ticks accordingly and throws him a somewhat intrigued sideway glance. “May I ask what caused the change?”

There’s a pause, and when Momo looks up to him, he’s biting his lower lip thoughtfully. The gesture fits his image so perfectly that she finds it hard to unglue her eyes from his lips- it’s as if he’s literally munching over his thoughts, tasting his words before he spits them, filtering them before letting them leave the prison of his mouth.

“I’ve been thinking of the name-thing, and I figured that tasting something different will give me an idea? I mean, I want to see why the Molten Enigma is a Molten Enigma.”

Momo hides a small smile. Has that kept him awake? “Well, I hope you find your inspiration.”

“Isn’t this where you say something like ‘The magic will come to you?’” He raises an eyebrow and thins his voice. His eyes betray both amusement and genuine curiosity.

Momo is on the boundary between laughing out loud or feeling insulted by his awful impersonation of her. However, the exchange caused the fog in his eyes to clear a bit, so she decides to take it seriously.

“Magic won’t solve your problems, Shouto. Only hard work can get you anywhere- magic just cushions your path.”

She sees him deflate, yet his eyes flicker, as if he’s achieved something. She doesn’t question it as she gives him back his change, along with a warm smile. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

***

Being subtle proves to be hard when your last customer doesn’t seem to realise that the sound of the broom brushing against the sparkling clean floor is a clue to leave. Momo steals the tenth exasperated glance at Shouto, who is intently staring at his hot chocolate mug, and finally gives up. With a sigh, she abandons the broom next to a wall, pretends not to hear Ochako’s chuckle, and sits down in front of Shouto. He doesn’t jerk when the chair screeches against the floor, nor when Momo leans her forearm on the table.

“You look troubled,” she states the obvious.

He lazily looks up to her and his shoulders slump. “It’s impossible,” he whispers, and his eyes widen slightly, as if saying it out loud makes the weight of the truth suddenly fall on him. “How do you guys name these things?” He sounds absolutely horrified- well, he actually sounds just a bit unarmed, but anything other than stoic is an extreme reaction for Shouto.

Momo reminds herself that laughing at one’s problems, no matter how trivial, is rude, yet the way he takes this so seriously is endearing. A small part of her mind registers another chuckle from Ochako, who’s cleaning up the bar, but she dismisses it, far too occupied with trying not to laugh at Shouto’s dejected expression.

“Usually, we think of something fun.” His face remains blank. “We try to figure out what was involved in the process of making that dish or drink and then we kinda code it.” His face still doesn’t betray any “enlightenment”, so Momo points to his cup.

“The Molten Enigma is Uravity’s. When she first started working here, she made a bet with Mina that she could make better hot chocolate than the powder we used. Fifteen minutes later, Mina called me saying we needed to get this on our menu. It was indeed delicious, but when I tried asking Ochako how she did it, she said it was her little secret.”

“So… Enigma.”

“Exactly. The molten part is more of an allusion to the hot chocolate.”

“Well, it is pretty dense,” Shouto hums, tracing the mug’s outline with his finger. “That’s a fitting name. I thought it was more like-” he stops himself all of a sudden, and his eyes lose their focus into the brown mix.

“Like?” Momo encourages him.

His voice is uncertain when he speaks again, “I thought it was something that went deeper, like the feelings you get when you drink the hot cocoa and this strange fuzziness spreads from your stomach to your guts and then floods your system.”

Momo covers her mouth with a hand so that Shouto can’t see the smile she can’t suppress. She has no right to think that him opening up like this is her achievement- it’s probably the Molten Enigma that did it.

“That’s what’s great about names,” she says in return. “Everyone finds their own meaning in them, and it doesn’t have to be the intended one, as long as it makes the moment special to them. It’s just like art, I think- everybody brings a part of themselves into their interpretation, and that’s truly meaningful.”

She doesn’t notice Shouto staring at her until he speaks up, and his voice is so soothing that it makes her search for the warmth in his eyes again. “Adventure,” is the only word that leaves the gates of his parted lips.

Momo says nothing, because she knows he’s searching for his own meaning in her eyes, and she lets him roam around until he finds it. He eventually regains his composure and dares a faint smile.

“I think I got it.”

***

“Creamy Adventure?” Shouto nods, gulping as he waits for Sato’s verdict. His eyes dart from the customer and newly initiated cook to the dessert, and his head bobs as he considers it. Momo wonders if he’s just putting up a show or if he’s really thinking, until the small creases around his eyes betray him.

Sato eventually meets Momo’s look for approval. She nods gravely, as if they are treating a matter of utmost importance. Ochako nods with them, stiff as a board when Shouto glances at her, but hiding a thumbs up when Momo winks. “It passes,” the cook eventually declares.

“Really?” There’s a flicker of excitement in Shouto’s eyes as he checks for honesty in the three baristas, and Momo can tell with a single glance that they all find his reaction adorable. Momo steels herself for the squeals Ochako will doubtlessly give her once they’re alone, and smiles at the thought.

“Really,” she says out loud, masking their game under a serious tone. “It’s A Cup of Magicish.”

“We are proud of you,” Uravity adds and can’t help patting his shoulder.

“You have gotten into the spirit!” Sato also praises him.

Momo notices Shouto stealing a glance at her and smiles encouragingly. She’s never seen him so needy or… vulnerable. If it was anyone else, she’d say it was just normally asking for recognition, but like this- he looks like he wants confirmation more.

“Thank you,” the boy bows all of a sudden, startling everyone.

“What are you doing? Get up!” Ochako awkwardly says, she and Sato fussing over the boy as they weaver between pulling him up and bowing themselves- they end up doing both.

Momo doesn’t, however, because her mind is busy trying to understand that last glimpse of his face that she caught. There was something hidden in his features, a feeling that he certainly didn’t display often because his mouth was crumbled into a clumsy smile and his eyes were bashfully looking for an escape, but not because he didn’t enjoy himself- rather, it seemed like this was new for him.

When he looks up again, something clicks in Momo’s mind and the word she was looking for pops up: gratefulness.

“Stop being so polite,” Ochako says and playfully jabs at his shoulder. “You’re part of the family now!”

Shouto’s lips part and his face softens into an unasked question. “Family?” he finally asks when he realises the word was so natural for the group that they didn’t need to explain it.

“Yes of course! Once you step behind the bar you’re one of us! Even more so if you’ve named a dish!” Ochako’s smile appears to be dazzling for Shouto, because he blinks as if she’s the sun, but his cheeks also warm with a dust of blood as if she burnt him, and he smiles like a kid that proudly smashed his first watermelon with his eyes closed.

If anything, his smile seems to have even more of an effect on Ochako, because she backs away a few steps before launching herself towards him and yelling “Family hug!”

Sato and Momo know it’s their cue to follow her and tangle their hands around each other, awkwardly sandwiching Shouto between them. For a moment, Momo’s afraid there’s too much affection for Shouto, but the grateful smile he wears on his face and the way he strangely wraps his hands around Momo and Ochako’s shoulders, drawing them closer as he gains confidence is enough to tell her otherwise.

Family- it’s probably something he has been longing after for a long while.

#a cup of magic #todomomo #todoroki shouto #yaoyorozu momo #uraraka ochako #sato rikido #coffee shop au #bnha #fanfic #mine

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mysticsparklewings · 5 years

Photo

Dancing Beads

I'll be honest with you guys, I've had a rough past couple of days. Heavy anxiety hanging over me like a thick fog, making it difficult to think straight, let alone work. That's why I submitted a WIP shot of this drawing earlier in the week. It was technically finished, but I just didn't have the stamina and focus to get it ready to post on Wednesday, and I pretty much knew that I wouldn't have it in me to make something else new to go up today. That said, I am feeling a little bit better and I hope that means I'm coming around the bend and will be truly back and ready to rock in another day or so. In the meantime, let's talk about the artwork, shall we? This is sort of an extended OOTD (Outfit Of The Day) drawing in a similar vein as this first OOTD drawing I ever did, OOTD: Witch Socks. I say extended and cut "OOTD" out of the title this time because of A. This drawing was done over 2-3 days and B. I obviously was no longer wearing the outfit by the time the drawing was finished. And also, secret reason C. I didn't actually wear this outfit out of the house; I just liked the way the colors worked together and thought it would make for a cute drawing. And honestly, even for someone like me who enjoys dressing eccentrically, I think this would've been a little too far over the edge to wear out and about anyway. (I promise it looks a lot more socially acceptable in the drawing than it did in person) It's funny though, my last OOTD drawing was heavily inspired by the socks I was wearing that day, which looked like witch boots (hence the title it had), and this time my funky socks are once again a key point, but this piece got named after the pose and a different accessory. ...And I just noticed that this OOTD also has a pose where my head is in-profile facing the left...huh... Anyway; the key player here is the little plastic shiny red bead necklaces. They aren't much here in the drawing, but they're what set this whole thing in motion. My mom was cleaning out her purse and found them, remembering that she'd meant to give them to me when she initially brought them home from something they did at work, and since I was right there I just slid them on until I could put them away properly. (I have something of a small collection of bead necklaces like this for reasons unbeknownst even to me.) And at some point I was just feeling really good and kind of cute/kooky that day, and that's more or less where the idea to draw my outfit was born. From there, I'm not really sure where the pose came from other than the very loose/swinging nature of the necklaces and I wanted something fun and dynamic. And I swear I've tried to draw or seen this pose somewhere before, but if I did it must've been something I never posted because I sure can't find it in my gallery. (Although it was at this point that I pretty much knew what the title for this was going to be ) And to be fair, I'm not sure the proportions/anatomy came out exactly right. At first, I thought the legs (or at least the calves) were too short, but then I re-evaluated and decided the arms were too long, so I shortened them and I feel like for the most part that fixed/evened things out. I just really didn't want to have to re-draw the feet because I felt like they (especially the one on the left) came out really good the first time. Weirdly enough, the hands didn't give me a ton of trouble the second time around, as I worried they might. And I also didn't have that much of a struggle getting the profile of the face right, which is unusual because of all the ways to draw a face, that's usually the one I have the most trouble with. Then again, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised since a while ago when I was last drawing people more consistently I did do more profile faces and hands than usual, but I don't know. It's just kinda weird to not have that much trouble with them when in the past they've been main problem areas for me, at least during the sketching phase. Either way, as far as the actual drawing part goes, I think the most difficult thing this time was the bodice area because I wanted to get the proportions pleasing to the eye, but the tank top to still have reasonable folds, and the overall flow to work with the rest of the piece. But even that still wasn't too bad. The beads also took a while, since I was indeed fully committed to drawing every individual bead, but that really wasn't difficult, it just required patience. Little did I know, the difficulties would come in transferring the sketch to where I wanted it. I think I've gotten my fill of alcohol markers, given three of my most recent drawings were little kitties done almost exclusively in those, and so that combined with just not having done much with colored pencils in general lately (other than as smaller detail things or using water-soluble ones more like paint than pencils), I decided to do a bit of a return-to-form and make use of an extra piece of toned gray paper I've had waiting around to be used since like March, and do some good ol' colored pencil work. The joke was on me because I was very quickly reminded why I haven't used the gray paper a ton, especially compared to the toned tan paper I have; for reasons I can't figure out, it's incredibly hard to see through the paper to transfer lines, even with my lightbox on the brightest setting! So after several minutes of disappointed pondering, I dug out a charcoal stick I've had sitting in a "junk" art supply box (of which I have two; they're just boxes where the random stuff I don't really use or reach for very often that I don't have a good way to organize ends up) for the last half of forever and scribbled on the back of where I'd already transferred the lines once onto a regular piece of white paper (having hoped the black ink lines would be easier to see through the gray paper, which they were, but it still wasn't enough) and then used a mechanical pencil with the point shoved in to transfer the lines onto the gray paper. It's a very round-about way to do it, but it worked. And I went with the charcoal this time instead of trying the gelato trick that I learned with my Fly By the Moon piece because I thought the gelatos might not work all that great with the colored pencils, and I also thought they might make more of a mess trying to transfer onto regular paper instead of onto canvas. This ended up being a good choice also because the charcoal I was able to mostly erase/lift after I touched up the transfer in a few places and then I went back in with proper ink lines to make sure I wouldn't lose them once I started coloring. The lines finally taken care of, I could finally get to the fun part: coloring. And after some behind-the-scenes swatching experiences made them seem better than I had previously remembered, I decided to use my Schpirerr Farben colored pencils. Though I did make the mistake of using my white Prismacolor as a base for the skin. Not that it was a mistake because a white base wasn't needed (it was, and for everything else I used the white from the Schpirerr Farben set as a base), but because the Prismacolor pencil being wax-based, where the Schpirerr Farbens are oil-based, there was a conflict of texture in the layering. Kind of luckily though, I went too dark with the shading on the skin originally and had to work in more layers to fix that, and in that process, I think I managed to get the texture thing mostly under control. I did purposely use that in the hair though, since hair normally has...well, you know, noticeable texture. Otherwise, coloring was a pretty basic colored pencil experience (for me, anyway). I'd put down a base, then the base color, then work on the shading, and as I did certain parts I'd go back and adjust others based on what felt right. I have to say, I think the main drawback to the Schpirerr Farben pencils is really that they only come in 72 colors. I was able to do some mixing and shading and things to get the colors to where I needed them to be (the purple-y blue and red-orange colors on the socks, in particular, I had to mix to get), but I was really missing the wider selection I get from Prismacolor (150) or the Faber Castell Polychromos (120). Which isn't a huge deal, but it is a point for having multiple sets of pencils (or if you're the brand and not the consumer, making larger sets/adding new colors), even if you're loyal to a particular set/brand. Especially if the pencils play well together; the more you have, the wider color range you have to pick from. Other than that, I can confirm they do still layer and blend really nicely without much fuss (as had been my impressions back when I first talked about them). They're just soft enough that it always surprises me when I go to add a layer and the color goes on better than I thought it would because I figured I'd reached my limit on layers already. Considering they've recently branched out and made a watercolor set recently, I'm not sure as to how much stock I should put in Schpirerr Farben possibly returning to their pencils and making more colors...Does the watercolor thing mean they've closed the book on the pencils and want to focus on other supplies now, or does that mean there's hope that they'll continue to innovate on their products, including potential upgrades to the pencils? I'm not sure. Either way, once I finished coloring the figure in, I went back over the ink lines where I'd gotten colored pencil over them and they'd faded/washed out as a result, and then did the white outline with my white gel pen. Then I left the drawing alone overnight because it was missing something, but I wasn't sure what and I couldn't think of anything that night. When I came back to it the next day, I ended up deciding on something slightly complicated; A soft purple PanPastel background with one triangle shape masked/blocked out, and one triangle done in washi tape. This would end up evolving from the second triangle just being bigger to it being a slightly different kind of triangle and going in the opposite direction. And also I changed my mind on which washi tape to use about three different times, finally settling on this metallic-printed on for a little more intrigue when you see the piece IRL. (Even though here on the scan it just looks dark and borderline out of place ) Then to "blend" the metallic into the drawing as a whole better, I added the little dots in the background around the head with a gold shadow gelly roll, since in-person the color looks really close to the metallic print on the tape and the dots kind of tie in the "beads" theme a little better. (Again, this doesn't translate as well into the scan, but I kinda knew that was a risk with both things when I put them down.) And I did go over a few of the beads on the necklaces with the same pen to tie everything all together. Then I signed it with my white gel pen, and I felt much better about calling it finished. And you know, it has its flaws and all, but I am pretty happy with how it turned out anyway. It's a little more simple and there's not a ton of deep meaning or impactful influence behind it or anything, it's not terribly experimental, but it's still a fleshed out, polished drawing. And I really enjoy that, as it gave me more room to just kind of hone in on and practice skills I'm already fairly comfortable with, and sometimes that's just what you need in art, you know? I'm not sure what I'll end up making to post next--I've got some ideas, of course, (never a shortage of those around here ) but I've been a little too muddled to settle on anything just yet, so we'll just have to wait and see. For now, I'm trying to focus more on being gentle with myself until I seem to be back up to snuff to really buckle down on stuff. ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

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asterinjapan · 7 years

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Of lakes and volcanoes: visiting Hakone

First things first: getting up early. I am so giddy and excited about being in Japan that I kinda stayed up – too late last night, so getting up by 6 AM was challenging to say the least, oops. I made it, though! My friend and I had agreed to meet at Shinjuku station by 7 AM, giving us enough time for the special limited train going to Hakone. One thing I forgot to keep in mind: Shinjuku station is big. Like, big-big, like, pretty-sure-it’s-one-o-the-biggest-if-not-the-biggest-station-in-the-world big. Oops. I made it to our agreed meeting place juuuust in time, but luckily we still had some time to grab a bite (breakfast starts at 7 AM at my hotel, so I didn’t have anything to eat yet). And after that, to the Romance Car!

That, uh, is the name of the special limited express train directly to Hakone-Yumoto station, haha. I asked my friend: apparently they call it Romance because riding a train like this should make you feel special, like a romance would. Alright. (Japanese trains often have names, by the way. See also: the Yamanote-line and all the bullet trains.) Anyway! We had some catching up to do, so time flew by and before we knew it, we’d made it to Hakone-Yumoto station.

After that, it’s still quite a trip. You see, Hakone is a national park, situated in the mountain area outside of Tokyo. Hakone-Yumoto is the first main station, and here you transfer to the next train, the Hakone Tozan (mountain climbing) train. Predictably, this train leads you up the mountains, and it has lovely views! The road is littered with hydrangea bushes. Sadly they’re out of season now, but since they bloom in June, there were still some left. Absolutely gorgeous. The mountains are steep and the train zigzags through the mountains, turning in some places to track back a little before taking the tracks further upwards.

And after that, another transfer! Okay, to be honest, you can do the whole trip by bus, but where’s the fun in that when you’re early and able to take the scenic route? We had Hakone Free Passes anyway, which allow free travel within the Hakone area with all modes of transport. So next up, the cable car! Unlike the one on Mount Koya last year, this one actually has quite some stops. We definitely weren’t the only ones today going into the mountains, so the cable car was pretty cramped, but we made it up just fine. Once again, lovely views, though less opportunities to take good pictures this time, haha.

The cable car goes from Goura to Sounzan station, and at Sounzan station, we had the scariest transfer: onto the ropeway! I was expecting to be internally screaming the whole way, but to be honest, it wasn’t that bad at all! The only scary bit was the fact that it went quite a bit faster than I was expecting, and the slight bumps along the way as it hit a strengthened point.

But all that trouble was quickly forgotten once the scenery came into view that we spent all this scenic traveling so far for. The ropeway leads you directly over Owakudani, a volcanic valley. This was my first time ever seeing a real live volcano, and wow, the sight was impressive! All these fumes and the barren landscape right in the middle of those green mountains around us. Actually, there was a volcanic explosion back in 2015, which made it impossible for about a year to take the ropeway. Things are a bit calmer now, although you’re still advised to stay away if you’re not in good health.

It’s really impressive to see the full forces of mother Nature, even though things are relatively calm now. The entire area reeks of sulfur for obvious reasons, and there’s a permanent fog from the fumes. It’s a stark reminder of how dangerous this country can actually be, with active volcanoes and earthquakes. It can be easy to forget in the middle of Tokyo.

But hey, there’s not all downsides to this! The area also provides plenty of hot springs, and it’s also used to boil eggs to the point of blackness. Pitch black! Naturally they’re a favourite souvenir, so we picked up a bag of 5 eggs and waited for them to cool down a bit so we could peel them. (Seriously, they were so hot I could barely hold one for longer than half a second, like they’ve literally just been lifted from the fiery pits of volcano.) The black eggs are said to provide longivity, and eating one should expand your life for 7 years. I had 3, so I guess I’ll live to be 121 years now then?Haha. Anyway, they mostly just taste like normal eggs, and once you peel off the black shell, there’s just a white egg with yellow yolk inside. Although to be honest, I would not have trusted it if the egg itself had been black too, pff.

After a small snack for lunch (since 3 eggs are. Quite a bit), we went on the ropeway again that led down the mountain hills. It was time for another impressive sight: Lake Ashi! (Ashinoko in Japanese. Some plates say ‘Lake Ashi’, but Ashi-no-ko already means ‘lake of Ashi’, so that’s redundant.) Ashi is a crater lake, formed when the volcano last erupted around 3000 years ago. It’s a popular spot for sightseeing, especially in clear weather when you can see Mount Fuji.

You might have guessed by my lack of ecxlamation marks, but not exactly a clear day today, haha. I wasn’t expecting to see Fuji at all during my trip, since the skies get hazy in summer, but it was still a slight disappointment, since most of the area tries to hype you up for Mount Fuji. Oh well. The mountain area is still lovely for sightseeing, so that’s what we did! Lake Ashi has numerous sightseeing cruises, that look like pirate ships because why not. (You can also rent one of those peddle boats shaped like swans, because once again, why not. But the Free Pass covers the pirate ships, so a pirate ship it is!) The ship makes its way across the lake in slightly over half an hour, hitting two stops before turning back. We got off at the second stop, Moto-Hakone-Ko, from where we had a nice sight of one of the red gates of the nearby Hakone shrine, right below the mountains where eh, Fuji should be somewhere. You know that one picture of Mount Fuji towering above a lake when you google Hakone? Yeah, that sight. If you squint your eyes and wish really, really hard, I’m sure you could have pretended to have seen Mount Fuji today, but there wasn’t a trace of it, not even a faint outline. Dang, that mountain (sleeping volcano, technically) sure is elusive.

Anyway, not to matter, because we had other impressive sights to take in! My friend wanted to visit a nearby art museum, the Narukawa Art Museum, which is probably not a place I would have visited for myself, but I’m glad we did. Although my legs were getting pretty tired at this point, the museum houses an impressive lection of traditional Japanese art paintings, most of them featuring sights from Europe. That was really a unusual sight: these familiar sights in a style that really reflects traditional Japanese paintings. Taking pictures was actually allowed, but ‘only for private use’, so I won’t put them on my blog just in case.

The museum prides itself on being situated riiiight across from Mount Fuji, so there’s this huge panorama window from where you can sip tea (or have an ice cream, which is what we did) and enjoy the lovely sight. Sigh. As I was saying, I hadn’t actually counted on seeing Mount Fuji, but they really rub it in everywhere, haha.

The museum was starting to close, so we rushed out and made it to our last visit for today: the aforementioned Hakone Shrine. It was a quick walk from the museum and led slightly uphill through a small forest trail, which made the red gates and lanterns stand out even more.

Quite some pictures later, we went back to the museum, since that was where the bus station is situated. We were in luck and caught the last express bus straight to Odawara station, just outside of Hakone. From Odawara, you can take a direct train back to Shinjuku. So that was neat!

We went out for a bite in Odawara, looked up where to find the castle for my visit later this trip (it’s like a 10 minute walk from the station, so that should be doable even for me, haha), and then headed towards the train.

So here I am, back in my hotel some some 14+ hours after leaving it this morning, whoa. I’ll hop in the shower after updating my blog – luckily today wasn’t super hot, a nice 24 C I think? It probably helped we went uphill. Tomorrow morning will be cloudy, but it should clear up in the afternoon. I’d revisit the Imperial Gardens if they weren’t closed on Fridays, yay. I have some other Tokyo sights to see though, so I’ll probably opt for those and keep it calm tomorrow.

Photos will be up in a few minutes, see you tomorrow!

#report #report: japan 2017 #japan 2017 #places: hakone

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