#i use my black pen for my ultimate sketch step

[elenaire-marione-montes]

Third OC (Original Character): Marko Stjepan Mitrović/Aiarnāro Elnethīnye

The Red Flames danced upon the sea, Where lies an unyielding and fierce soul, Aearnor, his mother-name many knew by.

His eyes were the fury of a thousand suns, Burning brighter with passion and desire, Strides through the cities of the deathless darkness.

He was as more seductive as the harlots, Cunning as the tyrants, fierce as the warriors, And more handsome as many of mortal men.

Black tresses with silvery white streaks, Pale skin he has, adorned with the golden hues Clad in robes of the blood red and pure black.

A Peredhel born with the vampire blood, Light and shadows he belonged in both, He's clever with a mind sharp as a blade.

Fairest of all men, his beauty matched Ganymede's Admired by many, feared by some, His old soul was burned by the fires of resuscitation.

The Shrewdness of ages in his eyes, The passion of man in his heart, And the wholeness of a being in his spirit.

Overview:

Marko Stjepan Mitrović was the youngest twin son of Halatirnë II (Previous OC) by a Human-Vampire Count Šimun Mitrović of Vinkovci and twin brother of Aiardil Alatarāto (Aeardil Galadrod—First OC), the biological son of Lord Hrávahyalmo Altaluimë (Next OC). [Note: Their birth was the result of the real-life rare occurrence called Heteropaternal Superfecundation, which involved the fertilization of two eggs by two sperms from different fathers.] He was the only Peredhel (if not) who had his vampire lineage and the last scion of the last generation of the Mitrović Family since 1999. Marko now appeared in the Elemmírion Series on Wattpad. (Still ongoing)

Description of the artwork: The original form of Aiarnāro/Marko was described as waist-length, raven-haired with silver streaks (Same as his mother Halatirnë II), clad in blood-red robes, his skin was as pale as either alabaster or porcelain. He holds the Elder wand, which was wielded by Albus Dumbledore (Formerly), Lord Voldemort (briefly), and Harry Potter (after the Battle of Hogwarts). The background was supposed to be black and red gradient and a giant red fires/flames behind him.

Names: His name "Marko Stjepan" was the common Ataressë (Father-name) given by his father Šimun. Aiarnāro (Aearnor/Eärnáro) was his rare Amilessë (Mother-name) means "Sea of Fires/Flames" given by Halatirnë II herself, while his epessë (Aftername) was Undómielo "Evenstar", Elnethīnye "Star of the Evening" or Hesperus "Evening Star".

Bloodline: ½ Elda (Telerin);¼ Human; ¼ Vampire

#books #non canon #tolkien legendarium #wattpad #artwork #wizarding world #poem #reading #i use my black pen for my ultimate sketch step #my oc art #original character #elemmírë #watercolour art #watercolor painting #oc reveal #teleri #tolkien elves #The story is very Balkanized #Elemmírion #balkan #The Balkan Silmarillion #The Balkan Rip-off of the Silm Trash

[eunnieboo]

XP-PEN Artist 12 Pro Review!

hello! XP-PEN was kind enough to send me their Artist 12 Pro: LINE FRIENDS Edition for an honest review. i currently use a Wacom Cintiq 13HD, but i’m always interested in affordable alternatives, so i wanted to check it out!

in this review, i will be comparing the Artist 12 Pro to the tablet that i have - keep in mind it is an older version of the Cintiq 13HD, so i’m not sure what they’ve changed recently. but because Wacom is pretty consistent in terms of tablet quality, i believe this is a fair comparison.

so right out of the box, there’s a lot of fun, cute accessories that come with this particular collab. part of this tablet’s selling point is its portability, and i can definitely see why! it feels very light and slim (note: this is a display tablet, like the Cintiq 13HD, so it must be connected to a computer). i was also pleasantly surprised to see all the different adapters it came with!

the pen comes with eight additional nib replacements - my Cintiq originally came with five. i personally have a very light touch, so i’ve never had to replace my nibs before, but i think having extra is helpful for those who have a heavy hand. the portable stand also has one level compared to the Cintiq’s three, but i found the angle just fine.

this might be a personal preference, but i really appreciate how the cable plugs into the Artist 12 Pro. it’s something i wish i could change about my Cintiq - one wrong nudge will send my tablet screen flickering to black before booting up again.

i also love the 3-in-1 cable that the Artist Pro has, because it cuts down on the multiple cords i have running under my desk.

this tablet comes with eight buttons and a scroll wheel on the side. some people prefer using their keyboard, but i like using express keys because i don’t have to move my hand from the tablet at all. so this was a point in its favor for me! these are my shortcuts, for those who are curious:

the driver set-up and installation also went smoothly. i first tested the tablet on a MacBook Air before switching over to a desktop PC, so i got to experience the set-up on both MacOS and Windows. in my opinion, it's easier on a Windows device. it feels a lot more straightforward. while i was also able to successfully install the tablet driver on MacOS, it required a little more tinkering and some additional steps. i wouldn’t consider this enough to dissuade Mac users, i just personally enjoyed my experience on the PC more!

(full disclosure: i had some screen troubles when the tablet was connected to my MacBook, but this was because i had to hook it up via an adapter of my own. i didn’t want to pay $70 for the official Apple product so i got a cheaper one, which ended up being a clown move LOL :’) once i removed the adapter and connected the tablet to a PC, i no longer had any of these problems. just something to look out for if you’re considering using any usb-c adapters!)

now for the most important part: drawing on the tablet! first off, the laminated screen feels very nice. i personally dislike drawing on slippery glass screens (this is part of the reason why i struggle to draw on iPads without a textured screen protector), so the matte, non-glare finish is really satisfying. the active draw space is slightly smaller than my Cintiq (10.09″ x 5.67″ vs 11.75″ x 6.75″), but i personally like small to medium screens so that didn’t bother me.

i do believe the Cintiq 13HD is more precise when it comes to pen sensitivity and responsiveness - however, i feel like the Artist 12 Pro holds its own very well. i’ve been using my Cintiq for years, so i’m very used to how it feels. despite working on an unfamiliar tablet, i was able to sketch, ink, and color quite comfortably on the Artist Pro. while i noticed slight differences in pen precision, it simply resulted in me redoing some lines now and then, and that ended up being my only complaint. the colors looked just as vivid as they did on my Cintiq, and i was able to adjust the pressure settings in order to compensate for my light pen strokes.

in terms of cost effectiveness, my Cintiq 13HD was $700, while the Artist 12 Pro is $300. although the Cintiq moderately outperforms the Artist Pro in pen sensitivity, whether or not that warrants its price tag is up for debate. ultimately, it’s up to the individual to decide what’s more important to them: performance or value. you could go for a tablet that’s affordable, but has some room for improvement, or a tablet that performs slightly better, but is considerably more pricey.

though the Cintiq is twice as expensive, i wouldn’t consider it twice as good. but again, it really comes down to what’s most important for your workflow, and what guarantees you get your money’s worth. i’ve found that huge ranges of pen sensitivity or pen tilt are totally unnecessary for my art, but for some, that may be a deal breaker. personally, i was able to use both tablets well, and neither impeded my ability to draw.

my final verdict: if you are a hobbyist, looking to upgrade to a screen tablet, or trying to get into digital art, the Artist 12 Pro is definitely an option to consider! i think it’s a really solid display tablet, especially for its price point. though i can only speak for myself, my experience with the Artist Pro has been a positive one! XP-PEN seems to be a strong competitor for Wacom and its products, and i’m very eager to see how they grow from here.

⭐️ XP-PEN Official Website ⭐️ 🌱 Artist 12 Pro LINE FRIENDS Edition 🌱

#xp-pen #line friends #tablet review

[depressedacadamia]

Drunken Dares

Prompt + paring: Tattoo Parlour au, ‘night’ + Solangelo 

A/N:  Hellooo- i had the choice between a tattoo parlour au or a flowershop au but I'm already writing a pjo flowershop au so I thought I'd spice it up with a tattoo parlour au! I kinda wanted there to be a part two becuase I wanted a bit of bonding between the two so maybe if i remember, that may happen? Anyway- enjoy  <3 from phi phi!

Read on A03         Writersmonth 2021       Masterlist

“Do I really have to do this?” Will groaned slightly. It was late at night and here Meg was, pushing him in a tattoo parlour.

“Yep!” She hummed as she pushed him forward.He tripped over his own foot as he flung through the double doors. He was about to continue reluctantly before realising the short minion who had forced him here was no longer by his side.

He turned around and frowned. “ Meg? Why aren’t you coming in?”

“I’m underage,” She hummed.

“You know you can just stand to the side?” Will asked, a slightly desperate undettone to his statement which Meg noticed. He was begging her not to leave him in the scary dark tattoo parlour which was full of buff, scary people.

“Sorry- but I must not break the law!”

“Last week you happily started trying to drive my car!” Will yelled at the glass doors. Alas, his yells were ignored as Meg blissfully ignored him as she continued her walk home, leaving William Andrew Solace in a tattoo parlour.

What was he meant to do?Walk up to the guy at the counter and tell him that he wanted a tattoo? He should have never gotten drunk and played truth or dare- he should have known that the first thing Leo would dare him would be to taint his beautiful freckled skin. The worst part ultimately was the fact that he had to get it on his chest.

Perhaps the gods above saw Will’s freak out or perhaps Leo was simply being extra nice when he saw Will in the middle of the parlour looking so out of place it was painful but either way, the next thing Will knew, he was being taken by the wrist towards the counter by none other than Leonidas Valdez; the very bastard who had gotten him into this mess.

“I’m surprised you actually came,” Leo commented.

“Meg forced me,” Will grunted.

“So,” Leo sighed as he tapped at the cigarette in between his fingers, “ Do you know what you’re getting?”

“Uhh… no, not really., How does this work? You tell them what you want and then they stab at your body with a needle?”

Leo let out a small scoff which had smoke billowing out of his lips and nose as if he was a chimney. “ No, darling- they shave, sanitise and then they stab at your body with a needle.”

“That made me feel so much better.”

Ignoring the evident sarcasm, Leo simply smiled. “ You’re welcome, blondie.”

Wil, ruffling at his hair, mumbled, “Shut up.”

Leo, who was significantly enjoying teasing Will, was cut off by Piper- one of the last people Will expected to see at the tattoo parlor. But on a second look, the tattoos on her abdomen spiraling up to her breasts and arms made Will wonder why he never noticed them.

“Oh Will- you’re actually here?” Piper's surprised voice rang out.

“Unfortunately.”

“Well the artist is ready for you,” Piper ushered him towards the dark room, only illuminated by the UV lights.

Will visibly gulped. Leo and Piper couldn’t help but interlock eyes and snort a little- after all, it was simply adorable at how nervous this newbire was.

Will took small steps and the second he passed the door, it slammed shut.

What the fuck- do the doors here have a mind of their own?

“Come in- take a seat,” A voice commanded. Will, who didn’t really have any choice but to listen to what he was being told, fumbled around, trying to figure out where he was meant to be going. It seemed that Will, in his internal chaos, did not notice the tattoo artist's leg propped up to the side and therefore, when Will finally did notice the leg- it had been the hard way.

He tripped and the next thing he knew, his wrist had made a new best friend. Bruised and swollen, Will’s wrist heavily ached- forcing him to let out a small groan of pain.

“Fuck, are you okay?” the voice rang out. Will heard a relative amount of fumbling and heavy footsteps and suddenly the room was flooded with light.

The face that he was met with was not one he was expecting. The boy had mid length hair- while it wasn’t really long, it was flowing over the nape of his neck slightly and it looked like it really got in the way of his eyes. He watched as the boy seperated the pieces of hair covering his eyes, creating an effortless look.

His face radiated an emotion that Will couldn’t describe- sadness? Or was it simply the face of someone who was content with little?

“Are you okay?” The man asked. Will watched- he had never seen such dynamic expressions and the way this man's face morphed into an expression of concern had him wrapt with all.

Will could only nod stupidly, his hand still clutching at his bruised wrist.

“Dya mind if I have a look at that anyway?” The artist insisted as he grabbed a med kit and sat on his spinning chair before wheeling himself towards Will who now sat on the chair that he was originally appointed.

He gently cradled Will’s wrist between his fingers, turning it round and round. His face contorted between emotion of worry and concern.

“It’s okay,” Will re-assured . “ It’s not sprained or broken, just a bit of bruising and swelling. Should be gone by tomorrow morning.”

“You sure?”

“I’m a doctor.”

“Ah,” He smiled slightly. “ I shouldn’t question you, Dr..?”

“Solace- but Will is fine. How about you?”

“Nico- Now let's have a look at what you want huh?” He closed the notebook he had been creating designs in before Will walked in and pulled out a collection of the most popular designs so far.

“These are the trending ones currently but I can always pull out something else if you want. Or if you have your own design that you wanted, I can try with it,” Nico offered. He pulled out a cigarette and flicked his lighter.- once, twice and a third time before grunting and pulling out a different one. Will watched, hypnotized, as Nico lit the cigarette.

Nico looked up and caught Will staring and shyly asked. “ You don’t mind do you?”

“No… but you should try and refrain from smoking. It’s really, really bad for you and I say this as a doctor.”

“You’re the 4th person today who has said that.”

“I’m alarmed that you managed to smoke that many times today,” Will said with concern.

Ignoring what Will had said, Nico continued. “Anyway, have you chosen anything yet?”

Will let out a heavy breath. “ Ah, no. My friends kinda forced me here but nothing here really matches… me.”

“What about this flower? Or the skull? “

Will shrugged. “ I don't think I’d want those on my skin permanently”

Nico nodded and continued smoking, while Will flipped through the latest designs. Nothing seemed to catch his eye as much as something he could have sworn he saw earlier. It was a stylised sun tatoo- nothing necessarily special but it reminded him of his mum- and his home.

“Excuse me,” Wil started, causing Nico to put his cigarette down in the ashtray, “ I was just wondering if the designs in that were available?”

Will pointed to the notebook That Nico had closed earlier. He watched as Nico hesitated. His face seemed to be stuck between wanting to let Will sneak a peek but it also seemed to want to tell him to stop.

However, his hand simply made up his mind and shoved the book across the table in Will’s direction.

Daintily, with the utmost care, Will opened the first page and his eyes almost watered at the immense detail and beauty poured into these designs. It looked like the heart and soul of the artist had been etched into every little petal, every small ray and eventually after gaping at each page he found the design he had spotted earlier.

The sun wasn’t special but it held Will’s eyes so much that Nico told him, “ Close your mouth. You’re practically drooling.”

“This one,” Will pointed to the stylised sun, “ I want this one.”

Nico scanned his eyes over it before humming and nodding. He put out his cigarette and got up.

“Where d'ya want it?”

“Chest- left side,” Will blurted out. He didn’t know why he wanted it there- perhaps because he wanted the thing that reminded him of his mother to be as close to his heart as possible.

Nico nodded as he prepared everything. Then he turned to Will. “ You realise you’ll need to take off your shirt?”

Will blushed and looked away as he started unbuttoning the top of his shirt. Meg had dragged him out of the hospital as soon as his shift had ended and thrown him into the tattoo parlour and therefore he was still wearing a crisp white shirt.

“Do I need to take off the whole thing?”

Nico took a quick look at Will. The sight that met his eyes was surprising- he used to seeing the chest of his clients but for some reason the sight of a very attractive and intelligent young man before him was very different. He seemed to be looking away as a blush graced his cheeks and ears. His shirt was unbuttoned just enough for Nico to see Will’s muscled chest.

How did a doctor have enough time to work out like that?

“Uh... just a bit more, I don’t want the needle to catch on the side of your shirt.” Nico reiterated, even though he was lying.

“Okay, so now, I'm just going to clean the area and then I’ll trace the sketch before tattooing it on. Do you want red or black?”

“Uh- you can choose,” Will sighed, desperate to get it done and over with.

Nico nodded. He slipped on some gloves and wiped at Will’s chest with an antiseptic. Will flinched at the cold wipe and the soft touch of the artist before him .

“Sorry,” Will murmured, “ It’s cold.”

Nico simply nodded as he began sketching the outline of the tattoo. Will tipped his head back, unable to meet the eyes of Nico ro even look at what was happening. He could feel the tickly touch of the pen on his skin and the soft brush of Nico’s glove on his skin every once in a while.

“All done. Now for the painful part. You may feel like you’re getting stung by a bee a lot,” Nico warned. “Try not move a lot, it will make it harder for me.”

Will, who couldn’t formulate words at this point, simply nodded. “I’d let you squeeze my hand, but unfortunately- I need both,” Nico smiled as reassurance.

He heard the buzzing of the gun and braced himself. The needle poked and prodded as he expected and at times he did wish he had stolen some morphine from the hospital beforehand but all in all, he managed to get the tattoo without bursting into tears and without ruining hids tattoo.

“All done,'' Nico said as he covered the tattoo.

“When do I get to see it?” Will asked, curiously, happier that it was over.

“In a few days- it just needs to sink in.”

Wil sat there, unsure of what to do next. He had paid and was now just sitting in an empty room with his tattoo artist. Was he meant to just say goodbye? Wasn't that kind of harsh?

But Will realised, had this been anybody else or any other appointment- he wouldn't want to be staying for any extra time. Did he want to be friends with this guy? Maybe it was that- yes, it would be that. As someone who was socially awkward, Will knew that he liked hanging out with people; he simply wasn't very good at it

Just as he was going to ask for his number, Nico passed him a slip of paper. “ Here’s my number. Call me when you’re free.”

With that and a wink, Will was left in the empty tattoo room.

#writersmonth #solangelo #will solace #nico di angelo #leo valdez #piper mclean #meg mcaffery #will solace fic #nico di angelo fanfic #nico x will #will x nico #solangelo fanfic #leo valdez fanfic #piper mclean fanfic #meg mcaffery fanfic #nico x will fanfic #will x nico fanfic #solangelo fluff #will solace fanfic #hoo #pjo #pjo fanfic #hoo fanfic

[rainydayhogwartsimagines]

hi, could you do a draco x muggleborn reader headcanon where he falls in love with her throughout the years in hogwarts and she slowly introduces him into muggle things like tv shows and phones and basically her and hermionie always make fun of him and ron for not understanding !! i love your work btw

oh my God this idea is ADORABLE!

Draco was snooty. God that boy had something to say about everyone. But you saw past that and he became this really sweet guy. You two became these best friends and Draco actually began to hang out with the trio. Course his father was not exactly a big fan of him spending part of the summer at the Weasleys but Narcissa said "Lucius, he's making friends. Be nice." So Lucius sucked it up.

Draco absolutely adored you though and constantly talked about you. He was kind of sad that you never spent the summers in the Wizarding world. You always spent it in the muggle world with Hermione. This year though you spent part of it with the Weasleys before heading back to Hogwarts for your third year. When you walked in Draco was so FUCKING EXCITED. You brought a lot of weird things for Arthur to look at. "what's this?" Arthur asked, holding up a discman and making Harry snort. "It's a cd player." You answered. "... What's a cd?" Ron asked. "....Uhm.... Well crap." You muttered. You showed them what it was and they were mesmerized, along with Draco. You spent most of your time there showing the group different muggle devices. You had a blast, you and Draco spending a ton a time together.

However with the time you two spent together the more in love you two were. The last night you were there you sat outside on the back steps with Draco. "This was the best summer." You chuckled. Draco smiled. "Hey can I ask you something?" He asked. "What's up?" You asked. "...Do you feel like something has changed between us?" He asked. "Oh so you noticed it too! I've been thinking this was just a me thing. If I didn't know any better I'd even say that I--" you stopped yourself and cleared your throat. "what were you saying?"he asked. "N-nothing!" You lied. Draco got closer to your face and you leaned back, quickly turning red. "What were you saying?" He asked, a small smirk coming onto his lips. He knew damn well what was going on. "Drac-Draco I..." You saw that smug look and you squinted. This little shit knew you liked him. So you decided to play around too. You pulled him forward and kissed his nose, now wiping the smug look off of his face and making him blush. But two could play at this game. He kissed your cheek, making you grumble. This fucker was not winning. You gripped his shirt, yanking him forward and kissed him. To be honest, you shocked yourself. He pulled away. "I am so sorry I just got aggravated and--" he kissed you. He actually kissed you.

Well that led to you two dating. He was so happy around you, always smiling with his arm around you. School finally was back so he was seeing you every day. "I don't get it. Why not use a fucking pencil?" You asked. "I don't get that either." Hermione agreed. "It does make math WAY harder." Harry admitted. "What... What's uhm.." Ron struggled to ask. "Yeah, me and Ron are lost, what's a pencil?" Draco asked. "....Baby... Please tell me you're joking. Like PLEASE tell me you jackasses know what a pencil is?" You asked. "No?" Draco admitted. You sighed and got up. "I'm about show you." You said before disappearing. You came back with an unopened pack of pencils. "So this is like a pen. But you can erase your mistakes." You said. "....So it's a pen." Ron said. "No." You said. "So... It's not made for writing?" Draco asked. "no it is!" Hermione corrected. "So.... It's... it's a pen!" Ron said. "NO."

That argument went on for way too long. But you started showing them more. Draco loved seeing you draw though. Sitting under a tree by a lake in his arms as you sketched out a landscape. He finally got the idea of a pencil after watching you btw. But the one thing both boys took interest in was the sports. "Wait so you guys don't even keep up with muggle sports?" Hermione asked. "No. I mean, most wizards keep to careers in the wizarding world." Draco said. "Okay okay. Next summer we're teaching you baseball." You said. "Base... Base what?" Ron asked. "Baseball! Or what about rugby?" Hermione suggested. "We're not trying to break our necks." Harry said. "True. Well there's also hockey." You shrugged. Then a lightbulb practically popped over you. "We can do that this winter!" Hermione said.

And so you did, asking your parents to lend you some skates for the group along with hockey equipment. "Alright. Hockey is like football." You said. "...American or--" "English." Hermione said. "Okay. So why are we on ice?" Ron asked. "Added challenge." You said skating. Draco had never skated before and you chuckled. "you expect us to actually move on this?" He asked. "Darling, people do this all the time!" You said. He slid forward and nearly fell but you grasped his arm.

After teaching them how to skate though you taught them how to play. And oh boy you all got really into it. You stood by as a ref, watching them play nearly dying of laughter as Ron completely failed to understand how to be a goalie. As time passed you started teaching them more and more. "Dad is hellbent on knowing what the purpose of a rubber duck is." Ron said. "...I think that's just to make bathing fun." You shrugged. "But why? It's bathing." Draco asked. "Muggles are particularly boring and find enjoyment in yellow plastic ducks." Hermione answered. "That and star wars." You laughed. "...Star... What?" Ron asked. ".....We have failed as their friends." Harry said. "But they're not even that good--" you and Harry have Hermione horrified looks. "....Okay we'll show them!" She said. So that summer Draco managed to convinced his parents to let him stay with you with Ron, Harry and Hermione. You opened the door and Draco rose a brow. "....What in the world?" He asked looking at the tv in the livingroom. "this is a tv. A blessing to humanity." You said. "Amen to that." Harry nodded. You all watched the star wars movies. "DARTH IS WHAT!?" Draco gaped. "HOW-- WHAT!?" "OH MY GOD HE'S ANAKIN!?" Ron gaped. You were honestly just watching the boys' reaction. Your parents were just looking at them like "Have they never... Seen this before?"

When the movie ended Draco's mouth was open and Ron swallowed. "That was--" "Wicked." Ron said making you laugh. "So... they don't have television in the wizarding world?" Your dad asked. "No sir." Harry said. "So... how do you pass the time?" Your mom asked. "Quidditch." All of you said in unison. You did show them baseball, Draco being REALLY good at it actually. "Babe, you run!" You said. "What--" "DRACO. RUN. OVER HERE." Hermione said. He sprinted to first and you snorted. They were absolutely baffled by a gameboy. "What the hell is a Pikachu?" Ron asked. "Think thunderbird but cuter." You said showing him the Pokemon. But by far their favorite thing... Was doctor who. ThEY ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS SHOW. "THIS IS THE PEAK OF TV CHANGE MY MIND." Draco said after watching an episode. K9 was literally his favorite character. Ron just loved the Doctor as a whole. Your boyfriend... Christ he became such a fucking nerd.

But he was also very interested in cameras. You showed him some cameras like the polaroid and he loved taking pictures. Specifically of you. You loved it when he discovered more music for the discman. He was a really big fan of the Beatles actually. Harry listened to AC/DC After Sirius was like "kid you haven't lived till you heard back in black okay?" You loved to just sit in your room and read in draco's arms. There was a surprising lack of musical instruments in the wizarding world so when you admitted that you could play guitar that kind of blew their minds. See, the thing was is that they assumed that the instruments had to be enchanted in order to make music. Not that you had to be trained to play music. You played a couple of songs and Draco fell even harder for you. He loved listening to your voice, whether it was singing or talking he just loved listening to you. You actually taught Draco how to play and discovered he had a nice voice (Yes that is a subtle nod to Tom Felton who can actually sing.) Sometimes when you all would sleep in the living room Draco would sing you to sleep as you laid on his chest. Of course in the process you would lull everybody else to sleep. You spent years showing these too adorable goofballs muggle devices.

Later when you were seventeen came the ultimate Muggle lesson though. Cars. You decided to teach these two jackasses how to drive. You had gotten your license and decided to teach Draco how to drive. "So you're going to release your foot off the break--" "Oh God we're moving." Draco whined. "....Like not even one mile per hour. Now accelerate. Remember the gas?" You asked. "Yes.... Darling do we need to go faster than this!?" He asked. ".... Hermione can outwalk the car. Yes. Now accelerate!" You said. He tapped the gas and screamed when he moved making you snort. "Do you remember where the break is?" You asked. "I NEED A BREAK." he whined making you laugh. "Draco you're doing fine. Move forward." You said. "WE HAVE TO DO MORE!?" He asked.

Ron actually wasn't that bad. He wasn't as panicked driving the car and understood the process compared to Draco who ended up hyperventilating into a paper bag. "Babe... It wasn't even that bad." You said. "THEN YOU DRIVE BECAUSE THAT THING IS A DEATH TRAP!" he said. ".....Guys, wanna go to the mall!?" You asked with a slightly deranged look. So you drove and when you went past five miles Draco was flipping out. "WAHT THE FACK!?" Draco screamed. Everyone was dying of laughter after you all got out. "THIS IS MADDENING! WHY!? WHY DRIVE!? WHAT DO YOU GAIN!?" Draco asked. "if he's being this dramatic over a car wait till he finds out about a soft pretzel from the food court." Hermione said to you. The concept of a soft pretzel was hysterical to watch the two wizards try to grasp. "Yes, but pretzels aren't supposed to be soft." Ron said. "would you just eat the damn thing?" Hermione said. It was their favorite snack. "How dare they deprive us of this?" Draco asked. "fascist bastards." Ron muttered.

#draco fuckingmalfoy #draco imagine #draco malfoy #draco x reader #draco x y/n

[o-foramuse-of-fire]

Surprise! There’s actually a PART TWO to your Secret Santa gift @ubilupus! I didn’t know whether you wanted an AH or canon story, so I wrote BOTH! The two go together, as they both concern Jasper and Alice passing notes at the Law Library at the University of Michigan.

Summary: Jasper’s studying is interrupted. Post-BD.

Title: Apricity

Words: 1,401

Rating: G/K+

Read on: AO3 or FFN

Jasper sat in the grand Reading Room of the Law Library, soaking in the other students’ anxiety and releasing tranquility. It was only a few days before finals at the University of Michigan, and the Reading Room was packed with students eager for a quiet place on campus to study, due to the strict no-talking policy enforced at the Law Library. Jasper had witnessed several students throw out one of their own for a stray cough or cacophonous giggle. Jasper was doing his best to ease the tension in the room and provide a bit of supernatural focus. He himself was very engrossed in his textbook for his torts class. There were so many new cases to read about since the last time Jasper had gone to law school.

When Carlisle had announced his intention to return to medical school himself, the family had quickly decided they would all enroll as students and--as Emmett would say--give it the ole college try. It had been a while since the family had all gone to college together. Renesmee had already gone to college once--on her own, to get the true experience as Edward had explained it (Bella had scoffed at that). The family was spread across the school, in different majors and years. Rosalie was a sophomore majoring in Business, whereas Emmett was a junior majoring in Economics. They were planning an elaborate classroom romance for next semester.

Bella and Edward had decided to start as freshmen like Renesmee, though they had agreed to give her as much space as she needed. Bella had returned to her comfort of English Literature, while Edward set his sights on a degree in Classical Studies. Renesmee had majored in Biology her first go around, and was planning on expanding her knowledge through exploring Biomedical Engineering this time. Jacob had thought it would be funny to attend a rival school--“Cause some things just never die” he had joked with a smug grin--and had instituted a year-long bet on the outcomes of every Michigan vs Michigan State game, no matter the sport. Emmett was thrilled by the idea, and he and Jacob spent many hours cheerfully ribbing the other over their school’s sports team’s various wins and losses. Rosalie and Renesmee, on the other hand, found the whole thing utterly annoying.

Esme had vacillated between several graduate programs, before ultimately selecting a path in social work. She adored her classes and the opportunity to be a GSI and return to her teaching roots, and spent her free time refinishing and reupholstering the antique furniture she had purchased for their new house. And Alice was busying herself as a junior in Art and Design, as well as delighting in telling people that she was Edward’s older sister, enjoying their confusion as they processed the height difference.

Like she knew he was going to think of her--which she probably did--Alice’s honeysuckle and lilac scent suddenly drifted into the Reading Room. Jasper breathed her scent in deeply as it swirled around him like a caress. Alice stood at the far end of the hall, her beauty striking him dumb as always. She was dressed simply, all in black. Her knee-length black coat was unbuttoned, flaring out at her waist, revealing a form-fitting black cashmere dress. It must’ve started to snow outside, for a light dusting of crystalline snowflakes coated her ensemble. Alice shook the snowflakes out of her hair with a gentle flick of her hand. She glided over to him, her high-heeled boots effortlessly silent as only a vampire could be. Jasper held up a finger in warning as she approached his table. Alice gave an inaudible sigh, sinking into the chair across Jasper as he wrote a message to her on his notebook.

What are you doing here? I thought you had claimed the kiln for the next several hours.

There’s going to be a blizzard tonight. Emmett’s planning a snowball fight in the Arb at midnight.

The Arb, formally known as the Arboretum, was a stretch of forest, fields, and flowers protected and cultivated by the University. A river ran through the park, and the acreage was enough that the Cullens could play baseball or any other game without disturbing the other students. Stepping into the Arb was like entering another world and leaving the University far behind. Almost like walking through the wardrobe to Narnia.

I’ll be there.

I know. Alice added a spiral flourish to the ends of her letters. But I was thinking we could head over to the Arb early, just you and me, and scope out the terrain.

Jasper could feel the innuendo through the subtle change in Alice’s emotions. He smirked as he jotted down his response.

I really should finish this reading.

Alice’s emotions turned towards annoyance.

Why? I know that you’re going to pass, whether you stay here and read or come with me. So why not leave this place and have a little fun? You’ve been here for hours.

I like the atmosphere. You should appreciate it, too. It’s very beautiful. Maybe it’ll give you inspiration for one of your finals.

Alice scoffed, but her eyes lifted to the high ceiling with its elaborate design. Jasper felt her appreciation as she took in the stained glass windows, the Gothic arches, the stone and woodwork that evoked a sense of arcane knowledge. He watched the subdued electric light that emanated from the chandeliers reflect and twinkle in her eyes.

See? Stay a while, darlin.

Alice read Jasper’s message with a furrowed brow. She briskly wrote him back.

Why are we even passing notes? We can speak so quietly that no one would ever hear us.

It’s the principle of the thing.

Alice rolled her eyes.

C’mon, Jazz. I’ve been handling clay all afternoon. I’d much rather run my fingers over...marble.

Alice’s dainty fingers danced over Jasper’s thigh. He stifled a groan he knew would get him kicked out of the library, and gingerly removed her hand. He gave an apologetic rub of his thumb across the back of her hand as he drew his back. Alice begrudgingly returned her hands to herself. She propped her elbows on the table, interlaced her fingers, and lowered her chin to sit atop her hands. She batted her dark eyelashes at Jasper and pouted.

Temptress.

Alice laughed silently. She radiated joy, and Jasper could not help softening under her gaze. Even now, decades after their first meeting, Jasper still felt the same sense of awe as he had in that diner in Philadelphia. Alice’s emotions were so wonderfully pure and magnificent; a dazzling light in a sea of darkness. They reminded him every day how lucky he was to have her. How lucky he was that she found him and brought hope and love and purpose back into his life.

Jasper unzipped the bag that sat at his feet, closed his textbook, and deposited it into the bag. Alice raised an eyebrow at the action. She quickly scribbled a message on the notebook before Jasper could pack it away.

So that’s a yes?

You know I can’t say no to you.

Grinning broadly, Alice swept the notebook and pen off the table, clutching them to her chest. She darted out of the library as fast as the human charade would allow. Laughing to himself, Jasper hoisted his bag over one shoulder and followed his wife out into the Quad.

Outside, Alice was gazing at a tree whose branch was curved, heavy with the accumulating snow.  Icicles hung from the other branches like teardrop silver necklaces. The fresh snow sparkled prettily, as if thousands of minuscule diamonds were coating the ground.

“You know, maybe I will stay and sketch a while,” she teased. “Nothing like campus in the winter.”

Jasper swept Alice up in his arms, twirling her in a circle as snow flurries fell around them. He brought her close to him and kissed her deeply, her feet dangling in the air. Slowly, Jasper lowered Alice to the ground, but he didn’t break their kiss till her boots nestled in the snow.

“I don’t think so, ma’am,” he said cheekily.

And though the sun was hidden by a grey sky, Jasper could swear he felt its warmth spread through his body as Alice took his hand and skipped down the street.

#jalicesecretsanta20 #jalice fanfiction #jalice #my fic recs #twilight fanfiction #ubilupus #twilight renaissance #the twilight saga

[zombieratt]

Alright so forewarning this is LONG as FUCK specifically because i came up with this idea in early high school and was just today POSESSEd By the Spirit Of Musical Theatre to put it to paper— er Tumblr.

So without further ado:

DEAR EVAN HANSEN BUT EVAN ISNT A TERRIBLE PERSON AND CONNOR LIVES.

the beginning is the same, canon diverges just after waving through a window.

*this ended up getting written is script format? i also just sorta ignore alana’s whole exsistance bc in this version of the play she’s unnecessary*

In the moments before he talks to Connor evan decides to omit Zoe from his letter, having resolved himself to move on from her. (instead of being a hella creep.)

Connor: “dear Evan Hansen,” what are you writing letters to yourself? *he laughs*

Evan: its, uh, its for my therapist. its just a stupid little assignment that she says is supposed to help me process my feelings or— uh or something

Connor: hm. here. * hands Evan the letter*

Connor: your cast. no one’s signed it.

Evan: uh no. no one has.

Connor: gotta sharpie?

Evan: huh?

Connor: gotta sharpie? im gonna sign it.

Evan: *handing the sharpie to Connor* w- whuh uh why?

Connor: *shrugs* feels right.

Evan: i wish i could do that

Connor: what?

Evan: UH, IMEAN—

Connor: no wait- dude.

Evan: i mean uh, i meant that i wish i could just be, y’know impulsive like that.

Connor: Why Cant you be?

Evan: i uh, my heads pretty messed up, and stuff like that just, makes it worse i guess.

Connor: well theres some thing we have in common— were both fucked up in the head.

*the bell rings*

Evan: oh shoot! i missed the bus—

Connor: i’ll give you a ride.

Evan: are you sure i mean i can walk its not far-

Connor: all the more reason, i probably have to pass it on my way home anyway, cmon.

——

they meet Zoe in the parking lot

Zoe: I have Late practice today

Connor: whatever, gotta passenger.

Zoe: who the fuck would be crazy enough to trust your ability to drive?

Evan *being Brave*: Me Apparently?

Zoe: Uh, Evan Right?

Evan: yeah, uh, yeah.

Zoe *holding her hand out to be shaken*: i’m Zoe, we’ve met though right?

Evan wipes his hand on his shirt and shakes it: yeah, uh, nice to formally meet you, Zoe.

Zoe: i’m off, don’t kill him stoner.

Connor: i wont Princess

Evan breathing heavy: that was,, an eventful ten minutes.

Connor: oh fuck— you cool? or—

Evan: Panic Attack.

Connor: Right, uh

Connor: can you get in the car?

Evan: yeah

*car nonsense*

Connor: Can i start driving or do you want me to wait

Evan: Distractions are good,, Can Uh, Can you Talk about Stuff?

Connor: What stuff!??

Evan: any Stuff!

Connor: Is Zoe okay??

Evan: Sure?!

Connor: Uhh we don’t get along as well as we used to?

we were really close as kids, shes a huge asshole now but *fully venting now*

i kind of miss it you know? having someone to talk to and care about— and i still care about her— but its scary and i always fuck it up! not to mention the fact that our parents hate me— make her see me as some alien and not just a fucked up kid who wants to talk and — (more ranting that i dont feel like writing, but its a whole monologue bro)

Evan: Connor

Connor snaps his mouf shut: yeah

Evan: thanks

Connor: oh that, uh actually helped?

Evan: yeah focusing on your voice and whats real and stuff— it makes a difference.

Neither of them noticed that Connor was just sort of Driving. they end up at the park where in canon Connor commits Sewer-slide.

Evan: i didn’t know there was a park here.

Connor: huh, oh, yeah i guess i just sorta auto piloted, i come here to think.

Evan: About stuff?

Connor: Yeah, Stuff.

*the convo lulls*

Connor: do you have a laptop?

Evan: no, i uh, i left it at home? why?

Connor: give me a second

Connor walks to the car and grabs his back pack out of the back seat

Evan watches Quizzically from the swing-set

Connor pulls out a Sketch Pad and Pen, flipping to a clean page.

Connor: So tell me how to write one of those letters of yours.

Evan: uh, well you start like any other letter- just addressing it to yourself

Connor writing: Dear Connor Murphy,

Evan: and uh, my first one was supposed to be about my ideal summer vacation? since i started in middle school- but you don’t have to—

Connor: thats perfect.

Connor starts to sing for forever,

eventually Evan joins in there is a minor gay moment where they’re holding hands face to face.

the song ends with Connor hugging Evan.

Evan: its- its pretty late.

Connor obviously crying: just— just a couple more minutes.

Evan lets go and grabs Connors sketch book of the ground, closing it and handing it off to him: then how about this, labor day weekend- we actually go.

Connor: what are you talking about?

Evan: being spontaneous?

Connor: o-okay.

and it cuts to black.

theres a small montage here, as the set changes to Connor and Evans bedrooms

sincerely, me is a lament in this context, Connor and Evan are duetting from their respective rooms, writing to themselves.

(the lyrics are completely different and i will not be writing them here because thats too much fucking effort.

but they’re duetting from their bedrooms about making a connection to another person, feeling seen, for the first time. what it felt like and how they really want to keep it up but are afraid of making a mistake and ruining it.

its got some themes of waving thru a window, and a little bit of for forever, but its still largely the same notes just in a different key.)

after wards, Zoe knocks on Connors door to tell him dinner is ready to find him peacefully asleep.

requiem is the same, Zoe sees Connor as Dead to Her instead of actually dead, so some of the wording changes, so and so about how a monster doesn’t deserve peaceful rest etcetera.

school day happens, Connor doesn’t die, but the hot goss is that everyone saw Connor and Evan go home together after school, jared makes a shitty homophobic joke to Evan and Evan kind of tells him off about it. they argue and it culminates in Evan saying “well god forbid I’m friends with someone who isn’t YOU!” or smth like tht and it hits jared right the fuck at home man.

Connor says from the side lines: damn that was pretty hard core dude.

Evan: you have, no idea how long i’ve wanted to do that.

Connor honest to god l a u g h s, theres a number of people who hear it and lose their shit, Zoe being one of them: i have a pretty good idea, wanna get some lunch?

Evan: yeah, sure.

this general routine continues until labor day weekend, when they plan to go on their little escape. theres a short scene of Connor leaving the house with his keys and a backpack.

Connors mom confronts Zoe about his oddly upbeat attitude and hows he’s seemed differently lately Zoe Shrugs but decides to investigate his room.

she finds the letters. the first one is for forever, the theme plays as she reads it frantically, and is signed “Sincerely me (connor murphy)” so she knows its him, i f i could tell her begins but its a real duet between Connor and Zoe and at the end she resolves to try harder to connect to him.

Evan sings disappear to Connor after breaking into a formerly public park, in this context its him confessing that he broke his arm attempting su!c!de. Connor records it, for personal reference.

jared hacks Connors phone and steals the video, posting it to yt, in an effort to ruin their friendship.

Evan and Connor get in a little fight about it, and in the meantime Evan is called to the school to give an assembly because hes a phenomenal speaker and Disappear got like 1000000 views over night.

Zoe and Connor bond a little bit in a short scene before the assembly

Zoe: wheres Evan what happened?

Connor: Kleinman Did!

Zoe: what?

Connor: Why Do you care?

Zoe: because! you look happy around him!

Connor: i, i do?

Zoe: yeah? he could tell the worst joke ever written and you’d crack up. i haven’t heard you laugh like that in years Connor, maybe ever.

Connor: oh.

Zoe: Come back inside?

Connor: y, Yeah.

they all perform You Will Be Found together.

end act 1.

(no more dialogue from here i got tired)

to break in a glove is Connor’s dad trying to reconnect with him, it goes mediocrely, but Connor feels like hes being seen by his dad for the first time in years. its said in metaphors, but this is Connors dads way of saying that if Connor is willing to put in the work, so is he. they hug at the end, things are looking up. some talk of therapy is sprinkiled in the dialogue as they walk of stage together.

Only Us is Evan and Connor saying that they saved each other. its loosely romantic, as its a love song, but they don’t out right say that they’re in love or anything, they don’t know if theyre ready for that. its a promise. the song ends with Connor finally apologizing for pushing Evan over at the beginning of the show.

good for you is sung by jared only, as a power ballad, about losing people you didn’t treasure. its his attempt at an apology, but it ultimately fails, since jared is unable to take responsibility for his own actions. this is where jared and Evan go their separate ways.

Evan’s mom comforts him, as he sings words fail, which is about specifically jared, and how their rocky friendship is ruined and Evan pegs himself as the cause, instead of parents or perfect girl he uses metaphors that apply to best friends— maybe more. and talks about how he didn’t try, he was happy so he ignored that jared was hurting, and how that was really shitty of him. but instead of it being a generally somber song the end is lighter, because Connor is there— waving through his front window.

Evans mom sings So Big/So Small as Evan steps out the front door to embrace Connor and they mime talking about jared, hug and take hands. the house moves off stage in preparation for the finale.

Connor and Evan open the finale saying each others names, and sing it together as the test of the cast (minus jared) joins in, Evans mom taking his hand and Zoe Taking Connors, Evans mom the Murphys and Zoe break off to the back where Evan and Connor finish the final “all i see is sky for forever” while looking into each others eyes, and finish the musical by embracing (maybe kissing if thats ur jam).

#dear evan hansen #deh #connor murphy #evan hansen #zoe murphy #musicals #broadway #deh rewrite i guess? #this is more like the outline of a fic i’ll never write #kd.txt #i was posessed to write this #tree bros

[kittinoir]

Echoes of You Ch. 11

Read on Ao3

Marinette sighed and tapped her pen against the half-filled page of diary. She was halfway through recording her day, but she kept getting distracted. Of course, Adrien had that effect - but not in the usual way.

He’d missed yet another half day of school that afternoon and, for once, he hadn’t been at fencing club when she’d gone with Nino and Alya to drop off his homework. Her friend’s hadn’t seemed to find it weird, but she’d never known Adrien to not keep to the schedule she’d somehow accidentally memorized. 

Nino had ended up taking the homework with him, saying they’d worked out a system for sneaking the missed work past his dad, and worse, his dad’s nosy assistant, Nathalie. It made sense, she guessed. Gabriel Agreste was known for his strict and solitary life-style. 

But still, she couldn’t help but worry.

Frowning, Marinette flipped her diary closed and put it back in its’ nifty lock box. She remembered making the box to thwart Chloe, but she thought she remembered making it with a friend. When she’d asked Alya about, though, she’d said no. Still, the box came in handy. She could only imagine what Chloe would do if she got her hands on it. Chloe was somehow the only person not in her circle of friends who knew about her monstrous crush on Adrien, but she’d decided it was beneath her notice. However, Marinette imagined the copious paragraphs in her diary describing that very crush would not be.

She left the diary on her desk for the dress form in the corner. It had the muslin mock up pinned to it with the sketch pinned to the wall behind it but the drawing was still woefully lacking details. Maybe choosing Chat Noir for inspiration had been a mistake. She paused in front of the sketch, tracing the now-familiar shapes with her eyes, but inspiration wouldn’t strike. She couldn’t stop thinking about…

Adrien.

“Maybe I’ll just drop by,” Marinette said out our, grabbing her purse. “Just for a second. With some pastries. Real casually. Friends can drop by, right?”

It was like missing a step, she thought briefly, as she paused by the trap door and found she felt like she was waiting for a response from an empty room. She frowned, but stopped again as she again caught sight of her purse. 

“Why…do I keep bringing this with me?” she wondered, unslinging it. “It’s empty.”

But it had felt natural, she realized, to grab it as she’d left. It did match her clothes, she guessed. Still, better to leave it at home.

“Hi, mom!” Only two customers were browsing the bakery this close to the dinner hour. Marinette was careful to circumvent them, ducking behind the counter as the bell over the shop door chimed and snagging a box on her way by.

Sabine shot her daughter a grin as she snagged a few pastries and layered them in the box. Marinette swallowed a smile as she included some passionfruit macarons and their world-famous croissants.

“Uh, excuse me?” Marinette jumped, whacking her head on the shelf and nearly dumping the pastries onto the floor. “Can I get some service here?”

Marinette straightened and squinted over the counter. “Chloe Bourgeois?”

Chloe rolled her eyes, but the move lacked the usual attitude, like her heart wasn’t really in it. “I need a dozen macarons and a dozen chocolate chip cookies.”

Marinette frowned, confused, but reached for a box. Rule Number One in the bakery was always help the customer - even if they were a pain in the butt from your class who had bullied you for literal years. 

Still, a small part of her couldn’t help but feel bad for Chloe. The girl had hurt her, yes, and she’d made terrible choices, but now she was suffering terrible consequences. If Chloe had been her normal over-bearing, bratty self, Marinette might have been able to ignore it, but she just…took it all so stoically. The cold stares. The snide comments. It was no less than Chloe had done to any of them, but…

It all came back to Adrien.

Marinette had never known him to turn his back on anyone. Not even Chloe, not even when she deserved it - until now.

Which was probably why Marinette did what she did next.

“How’re you doing?”

Chloe’s head snapped around to stare at her one-time rival. “Ex-cuse me?”

Marinette fought the urge to roll her eyes. “I asked how you’re doing. Have you been…ok?” It was stupid. She knew that even as she asked, but how else did one ask how a classmate was coping with being totally frozen out?

“I’m great, Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe snapped, snatching the box out of Marinette’s hands. “Thanks for asking.”

The other girl stormed over to the cash register and Marinette scowled, grabbing her own box of pastries. A waste of time to even ask. She ducked out the back door to avoid any more scathing comments and made for the metro that would deliver her neatly across the street from the Agreste mansion. She must have thought of a dozen things to say by the time she arrived, but as usual, as soon as those massive iron gates came into view, every single one evaporated. 

Except the usual flush of giddiness was tainted by…anxiety? No, stronger. Foreboding.

As Marinette stood across the street, taking in the manse, a flood of confusion and fear swept over her, a storm like she hadn’t experienced in weeks. Part of her wanted to sprint right back down those stairs and back home. She was back on the edge of that precipice.

‘CHAT NOIR!’ The girl’s scream echoed across the Pont Neuf. A flash of gold, a boy in black was knocked back again and again. She could do little but watch as she desperately tried to free herself. The boy stumbled again, his back against the shallow wall. She saw the monsters’ horrible grin, all those teeth, as it struck again. The boys’ baton snapped in two, and he fell.

The girl screamed again, frantic desperation lending her strength to finally free herself. She didn’t bother trying to follow him; she dove into the frigid black waters closest to her and swam. Her lungs were close to bursting when she finally found him, but her relief was short lived as green light suddenly illuminated the water, revealing a familiar face. Shock made her gasp, and as silver bubbles raced for the surface, they were both abruptly drowning.

The images, ragged and disjointed as they were, slipped through Marinette’s fingers before she could even fully recognize them.

“I…” She hooked a strand of hair behind her ear with one shaky hand. “What was…” A half-faded dream? More like a nightmare. She glanced at the house again, but whatever it was had passed; only faint, fragile anticipation remained.

Rallying her resolve, Marinette stepped forward onto the sidewalk - and promptly into someone as they made for the metro. She managed to snag the hand-rail and keep herself from pitching completely down the stairs, but the box of pastries was not so fortunate. Croissants and macarons spilled across the sidewalk and down into the metro station.

“Oh my god!” Heat spilled across Marinette’s face, but it was hardly the first time she’d run into someone - or dropped a box full of baked good. “I am so sorry. And so clumsy. Sorry.”

“You said that already,” the boy said, brushing off his ornate jacket. At least, she thought it was a boy; a Venetian mask covered his face and a hood obscured his hair. “Watch where you’re going.”

The blush only got stronger, but Marinette scowled as she stooped for her ruined box. It wasn’t like she’d run into the guy on purpose. He didn’t have to be rude about it. “I’m sorry,” she said one more time, if only because she didn’t know what else to say. “Is your jacket…”

“Fine,” the boy snapped, brushing the last bits of dirt only he could see from the material. He froze. “I know you.”

“Um…I don’t think so,” Marinette said, glancing up from her inspection. “I mean…I think I’d know if we were friends.” Besides, her friends knew how clumsy she was. They never would have given her a hard time about it.

“I didn’t say we were friends,” the boy said. He leaned in, the purple and gold lacquer on the mask glinting from the shadow of his hood in the late-afternoon sun. “You’re the one who’s in love with Adrien.”

Marinette’s eyes went wide, and she was fairly sure her blush had blown all the way up to her hairline. No one but her girls - and quite possibly Nino - knew that secret. No one.

“I don’t - I’m not - I don’t have a crunch - I mean, a crush,” Marinette spluttered, frantically re-arranging her pastry box. “Certainly not on Adrien. We’re just…we’re just very good friends.” The words were bitter even as she fibbed; she couldn’t say them without remembering the times Adrien had used that exact same phrase. The difference was he meant it.

“Mhmm.” The mask tilted. “Is that why you’re outside the Agreste mansion with a box of gourmet pastries?”

Marinette straightened with as much dignity as she could muster. “Who are you anyway?”

But the question would have to wait as a tell-tale rumble rippled across the cobble-stones. Cries rose in the air as the people in the street stumbled and clung to anything around them. Marinette elected to drop the box for a second time and cling to the railing rather than risk tumbling into the annoying stranger a second time. He, on the other hand, seemed to navigate the tremor with relative ease, cursing up a storm as he anticipated each roll of the street. 

“These attacks are getting closer and closer together,” Marinette growled as the tremors finally began to abate. “Doesn’t Hawkmoth have a hobby or a job other than terrorizing us?”

“Wish I knew,” the boy said, sounding about as pleased as she did. He glanced towards the Agreste mansion, almost as though that had been his destination as well, but ultimately ended up turning away - in the direction the tremors had come from. “See you around, Lovebug.”

“I am not his Lovebug!” Marinette stamped her foot. Deja vu swept in again, but dispersed as the rumbling started back up. “Wait!” She scrambled after the boy, not nearly as graceful as he was. “What are you doing! Are you crazy? You can’t go that way.”

“I’m crazy? You’re the one following me,” the boy said, glancing back at her over his shoulder. 

“Seriously,” Marinette said, reaching for the boys arm as she caught up. “You could get killed. At best you’ll be a distraction.”

The boy pulled his arm away, slipping out of her grasp as he rounded a corner as easily as if she were made of air. “Go away,” he snapped, an edge in his voice. “Go hide. Leave it to the heroes.”

Marinette balled up her fists, wishing she’d worn her purse after all just to keep her hands busy. “They’re just people,” she snapped, following him down an alley. “We have to help them. Staying out of their way - that’s the best we can do.”

“Not all of us.” The boy paused at the mouth of the alley, looking out into the street beyond. Marinette peered over his shoulder and cringed as she beheld the fight. 

It was already in full swing. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir were out there, but they were getting tossed around pretty badly. Any time they tried to co-ordinate an attack the akuma would engage them, preventing any progress. Ladybug looked better than the first time Marinette had seen her, but she seemed to be lashing out, more desperate than focused, more scared than confident. 

Chat Noir, for all his skill, couldn’t pick up the slack. He was trying to run defense, but Ladybug couldn’t seem to antipode either her enemy or her partner. It wasn’t going well.

The boy in the mask seemed to feel the same way. He looked back at Marinette again. She got the distinct impression he was appraising her, measuring her worth behind that inscrutable mask.

“If you could do more,” he finally said, “Would you?”

“I - ” She ducked as another tremor rocked the alley, but made herself nod. “If I could. They shouldn’t have to do this alone. I…I want to help.”

“Not afraid of joining the list of casualties you seem so convinced of?”

“I’d rather be on it and go down swinging,” Marinette said. She was surprised to find it was the truth. The boy seemed to believe her, too.

He reached inside his huge coat, rummaging around inside a satchel she hadn’t realized he’d been concealing. Marinette felt again like she was on the brink, but this time there was light at the bottom of the crevice, an answer to her question. The boy finally produced a little black box with decorative red scrollwork on top and held it out to her.

“You just carry those around with you?”

He ignored her. “Ladybug and Chat Noir need help, Lovebug -”

“Marinette,” she hissed though gritted teeth.

“They need help, Marinette,” he repeated, unphased. “Will you use the Miraculous of the mouse to aide them in saving Paris, your home?”

Marinette nodded. “I will.” For the first time, serenity surrounded her. Every step was new, but it was like she’d walked the path a million times before. She wasn’t sure where it lead, but she wasn’t afraid of what she’d find when she got there. 

“Will you return the Miraculous to me, Salem, when the fight is done?”

“I…I will,” Marinette said. Her pulse was steady, even. She was ready.

“Then I give you the Miraculous of the mouse,” Salem said, tilting the lid back. A floating mouse burst forth in flash of pink light. Marinette fell back in surprise, but managed to keep from freaking out. She’d accepted this. She would do it. And it didn’t seem interest in crawling through her clothes.

“Marinette!” the mouse chirped, swirling around her head. “Marinette!”

“Hi there,” Marinette said. She couldn’t help but smile; its excitement was infections. Suddenly she remembered Chat Noir’s conversation from a few nights ago: Multimouse, right? Right…this all seemed… right. A little familiar. Didn’t it? Or had she dreamt it? She wasn’t sure anymore.

“Say ‘Mullo, let’s get squeaky’ while wearing the necklace,” Salem instructed as she lifted the jewellery from the box. “She grants the power of multiplication, but we warned, you only have five minutes. Don’t mess it up.”

“She knows!” Mullo chirped, swirling to a stop. “Oh, she knows!”

For the first time, Marinette thought that maybe she might. “I’m ready,” she said with a tight nod. “Mullo, let’s get squeaky!”

#echoes #echoes of you #writing #miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #fic #miraculous fic

[arthurhwalker]

reMarkable 2 Review

I had some requests for a review of this device, and I am glad to oblige in this case. I've been closely following digital pen stylus tech for about eight years. I'm just old enough that I still need to handwrite a lot of things to tap into my creativity, but greatly dislike clutter in my life.

The reMarkable is for the person that writes enough by hand to fill several notebooks a year. For someone that wants the tactile and somatic component of writing on paper to associate with their process. The new reMarkable 2 does basically what the reMarkable 1 did; faster, better, and with a much improved piece of hardware.

If you've read my previous review from May 2018, you know I basically raved about the first generation reMarkable. I had a few criticisms of the Gen 1, and a lot of that has been addressed with the Gen 2.

Support & User Experience

I've used a reMarkable tablet continuously for almost three years. I've never had a support issue with one. The software is updated regularly, features added, and user experience improved with each iteration.

There is really no comparisons to be made with that kind of uninterrupted usage. No smartphone, tablet, or computer you ever own will be that reliable. A 3-4 year old Thinkpad, running Linux, is about as close as it gets to that level of, switch-on-and-use, every day, without fail feeling.  

The reason is that the reMarkable 2 is leveraging the most reliable hardware, user input methods, stylus technology, and operating system basis available. My fear has always been that my reMarkable wouldn't be as reliable as a regular piece of paper, and a good pen. So far, that fear has never been realized with the reMarkable 1, or 2.

Pen Stylus Input

The majority of what one picks up and uses will be Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) stylus tech, with Microsoft Surface Products, or Wacom AES (Active Electrostatic) like that found in a lot of Asus, Dell, Lenovo, and so forth. The older Wacom EMR (Electromagnetic Resonance) is used less frequently, and usually only with their own products, or a version thereof with Samsung Phones and Tablets.

Of the three options, Wacom's EMR is still the best.

That's what you'll find on the reMarkable Tablet, and if you get their Marker Plus (it's the black one) it has the magical EMR eraser tip opposite the drawing point. There is no better pen stylus experience, for general use, sketching, handwriting capture, tilt sensitivity, and so forth.

The Marker Plus is $50 more than the regular Marker. It is worth it.

What if you're like me, and you have a drawer full of pen stylus products? Products that include the legendary Excalibur stylus pen that came with the Thinkpad Tablet 10 Gen 1, and worked with the EMR capable Thinkpad Yoga S1 from 2013? The one with the eraser tip, and sweet felt tip point? Will that stylus work?

Yes. Yes, yes it will.

However, the reMarkable Marker Plus just feels better. It's heft (19g) is perfect, eraser tip rounded to feel like the real thing, and tips that degrade gracefully without marking up the screen. Buy. The. Marker. Plus.

The Hardware

The manufacturer says that the reMarkable 2 gets 3 times the battery life of the 1, is 2 times as responsive (relative to rendering digital ink), and is the world's thinnest tablet at 0.19". Mostly, this is all of this seems to be true. Also, as mentioned before all the new Marker Plus has a built in eraser, all the new accessories snap together with magnets, and it charges with USB-c.

The screen is capacitive touch capable now. No more page turning buttons, and you can swipe down from the top to back out of a document or folder. You can turn pages with the swipe of a finger now. It takes a second to get the gestures down, but they're crisp and reliable once you do.

The tablet runs off of a dual core ARM process (a good thing, in my opinion).

My only quibble is that it is supposed to be able to connect to both 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz WiFi, but so far I've only gotten it to connect to 2.4. It might be something with my specific router, and I'm not sure if my experience is typical.

On the lower left hand side of the tablet there are 5 connection points. This suggests that the tablet may have the ability to connect to other accessories in the future. If reMarkable added a Plain Text Editor, and a keyboard cover to the reMarkable, I would be over the moon.

There is no evidence that they will do this, but a guy can dream. Having what's basically an e Ink Typewriter this thin and light would be the ultimate for this writer.

The Software

It is much the same experience as the reMarkable 1 with a few new additions.

You can convert your handwritten notes into text, cursive or block letters, and share by email. There is support for 33 languages.

With a Google Chrome plug-in, you can read web articles and pages on your reMarkable. If you're already battling with eye strain from looking at glowing screens all day, this is a nice feature.

Reading large PDFs and eBooks is still not crisp and snappy, but it is a vastly improved experience when compared to the reMarkable 1. Large graphically intense documents can be navigated without it taxing your patience. What I store on my reMarkable is vastly different now because of how much improved document handling has become.

I find the small sacrifice in speed rendering pages worth it, compared to the eye strain I get reading on other screens.

More pens, features, page templates, and ease of organizing have been added incrementally over time. With regard to the core functioning (Linux Based Codex OS) of the device, the manufacturer has only ever improved and supported the reMarkable.

Aesthetics

The reMarkable 1 was good for what it could do. It wasn't a bad looking product, but compared to the reMarkable 2, it was a rough prototype. Most tablets do not feel as nice in the hand as the reMarkable 2.

Rubber no-slip nubs on the back, rounded edges, satin finished glass and aluminum, make the tablet itself feel like it's from the future. I bought the Polymer Weave Book Folio, a step up from the regular Folio. A close friend got the same device and marker options as I did, but opted for the Premium Leather Folio.

Definitely, get the Book Folio, and if you can scrabble together the extra money, get the premium leather. That's my only regret is that I didn't spring for the best accessory offered. Is the Polymer Weave good? Absolutely, worth the $99. It is rigid, will protect your investment, and it's very classy looking.

My friend who picked up the Leather Folio is a graphic designer, and has greatly informed my sense of aesthetics over the years. She says the Leather Book Folio is well worth the extra. She is, most certainly, correct.

So, yeah, if you're going to get a reMarkable 2 and want a slightly used Polymer Weave Book Folio (mine), I'll let it go for cheap (so I can atone, and get the leather version, ha ha).

Value

The reMarkable 2 doesn't have a web browser, app store, Merge Dragons, audio player, or other third party applications. It won't replace your iPad, or Android Tablet. It will replace all the paper, notebooks, and pens in your life. This is especially true if you have a small scanner (like a Doxie), and leverage reMarkable's Smartphone app and cloud sync feature.

This tablet is for people that like paper, a lot, but don't want to carry it around or keep track of it. It is for people that fill 8-12 Moleskines a year, and mark up hundreds of pages of documents, for themselves, and others. It is for people that tap into their creativity by writing things down, sketching diagrams, and making lists.

The act of holding a pen or pencil against paper is a cognitive trigger, built into their implicit memory, every day, for years, that allows them to do their things.

$399 will buy a decent Samsung or Apple branded tablet, but neither of those is designed to emulate the experience of writing on paper like the reMarkable 2 tablet is. The reMarkable 2 will run you $399, a Marker Plus $99, and a Polymer Weave Folio $99, bringing it all to almost $600.

Unless you lurk reMarkable's website, and wait for a promotion. They did run a promotion for their pre-order, and will likely do something similar within a year of release. It is my recollection that the manufacturer ran at least two promotions for the Remarkable 1, and the savings were significant.

If you don't need one right this minute, check the website every week or so, their Amazon Store edifice, and whatever other options they have for your region.

Competitors

In the last few years, reMarkable has only acquired more competition in the e ink Tablet market. That competition varies depending on where you live in the world. In the US, no one makes a thing that directly competes. I looked at other products, didn't see anything that made me pull out my reMarkable 1 and make a list of pros and cons for comparison.

That isn't to say there isn't a better thing for your use case, but there wasn't for mine.

Final Thoughts

If I didn't drive this point home earlier, I'm going to make it now. The reMarkable 2 will not replace your laptop, mobile OS (iOS/Android) Tablet Device (meant to replace your laptop), or Smartphone. There isn't even a calculator app on the reMarkable 2.

The Remarkable 2 will replace the pens, pencils, highlighters, notebooks, and print outs cluttering up your daily carry bag, desk, and life. It's a digital paper option, not a personal computing option. When used for that purpose, it is exceptional, and well worth the investment.

#reMarkable #reMarkable Tablet 2 #E Ink #eink #linux #digital ink #review

[mysticsparklewings]

On The Edge

It feels like it's been quite some time since I sat down and got to work on a more involved mixed-media project. And in plenty of ways it has, but I have been working on other artsy projects behind the scenes, which I should be posting sometime soon, I hope. Anyway, this artwork had to be moved to the top of my priority list and also my upload schedule (some of those other projects are already finished, just back-logged) because this is my entry into the Arteza Awards hosted by, shocker, Arteza, and the deadline to enter was the 24th. I actually started working on this piece a week or two early, but me being me, I procrastinated and only just barely got it posted to Instagram with the appropriate tags (per the contest rules) with about 20 minutes to spare.  Then again, maybe that's a good thing because I've been known in the past to pull some of my better work out of thin air at the last minute. If that proves the case this time, it would certainly be to my advantage. Anyway. There was no set theme for the contest. The main rules were that you had to use Arteza supplies and they needed to be visible in the image posted to Instagram. I understand why, but I normally don't photograph my art with the supplies because I can usually get more accurate colors and proportions with a scan, and you can pretty much always see the details way better on a scan. But considering the prizes on offer, I wasn't about to let that stop me. I figured I'd just post the supply image first, then add the scan so you could swipe to see it. That way I could have my nice scanned version and still follow the rules. (Also, since they specify Instagram is the main platform for the contest, I'm assuming it doesn't matter if I don't post the supply picture everywhere else. If it does...whoops :P ) For reasons I don't think I should get into here, I knew I needed to go for something kind of high-impact when you first glance at it. But it also needed to not be too involved, lest I be working on it well after the entry window closed and my efforts become somewhat less valuable. I'm not exactly sure how, but this led me around to a concept I've had floating around in my head for a while: A girl (because I am one and know I can draw them better) standing on a mountain top, that looks as if she's one step from free-falling. Originally, I dreamed up this idea hoping to make it into an acrylic painting, but (aside from that fact that I didn't get around to executing the idea until now) I do not own Arteza'a acrylic paints (though I have wanted them for quite some time--It just hasn't happened yet) and also acrylics are not my strongest suit, so now did not seem like the time for an impulse-purchase that could compromise the integrity of my work and therefore my chances in the contest. Although for the day I do get my hands on their acrylics, I now have a solid idea to use to test them out.  ;) The Arteza supplies I do have at my disposal are their tube watercolors, woodless watercolor pencils, and 72 expert colored pencils. Which as I learned the last time entered a contest hosted by Arteza, is a fairly limited variety as to what I can actually do. The watercolors by far as the most versatile and my personal favorite of the three though, so they're what I used the most of here. Also, somewhere between deciding to run with my standing-on-the-edge idea and actually doing it, I also decided to add-in the wings in this constellation style I've used somewhere infrequently but am very fond of. As a result, the whole concept has a very similar feel to me as this artwork that I found here on dA years ago and fell so in love with that it spent a good few months as my desktop wallpaper. Obviously, the two images are very different, but to me the idea of the wings is similar: Their structural integrity to fly is questionable, as the wings in the original image appear to be made of glass. Maybe it matters, maybe not. Same thing here: Maybe the wings are really there and just look like a constellation, or maybe this girl just stood in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time. Is the girl even there? Is she real? Can she die? Does it matter if she falls? Would she choose to fly at all, whether the wings work or not? It's sort of a Schrodinger's Cat situation, and something about that is really intriguing to me. Anyway. I started out with a digital sketch this time, mostly to iron out the kinks with...well, everything. I knew getting the right pose would be difficult, and I actually had a pretty different one of her looking out over the edge, maybe clutching her chest or something, originally, but I just couldn't get it to work the way I wanted to and I really struggled to find references for it, so I went with the pose you see here, that I found references for by accident while looking for the other one. I have to admit, seeing the final product I think this pose might actually have been the better choice anyway. The mountain/cliff/whatever I was also having a hard time finding references for, at least for exactly what I wanted, so in the end I had to mostly wing it. I think it turned out okay, though. The wings were probably the most challenging part to plan because I wanted something between traditional butterfly/fairy wings and something that stretches out farther like bird or bat wings. I toyed with the lines for a long time until I got something I was happy with, and then I actually went in and did the constellation lines for both sides by hand instead of doing one side and making a flipped copy, because I wanted to make sure I kept the overall shape of the wing on the (our)right (her left), as after all the warping I did to get the original lines, I wasn't sure I could replicate the process again. I also drew 2 or 3 versions of a simple dress over the figure before giving up because I wasn't happy with how any of them were turning out and decided that I would instead preserve her modesty with magically misty cloud-things. Although, it's kind of a shame because that ended up mostly hiding the one piece of hair clinging over her left (our right) shoulder. :P But once the digital sketch was done so I had some idea of what I was doing, it was time to move on to the traditional, actual artwork. I cut a piece of my 100% cotton paper down to size (nice paper because I didn't want to be held back in that regard--go big or go home, as they say) and then held it up to me screen to trace my cliff lines into place, and some vague markers for the figure and her wings. My idea from the very beginning was to make the galaxy largely with watercolor in such a way that it gives the wings color and focus, without having to actually color all the individual segments. This means lighter colors towards the main area of the wings, and getting darker as I moved out/away from them. Now, because it has been a while since I was painting with watercolors regularly, I did set aside a smaller piece of the same paper and busted out a practice baby galaxy before diving into the final. I learned very quickly I was going to have to be extremely careful with my placement of this orangey color and black, less either of them ends up mixing with colors they weren't supposed to and leaving me with a big muddy mess. (The practice piece did survive though and I'll be posting it some other time.) Before I could get to the fun part [the galaxy] though, I painted the mountain with a mixture of black and blue, which actually went a lot smoother than I thought it would. It took several light layers of blending out the paint built up slowly, but ultimately I'm pretty happy with how the color for it turned out...Even if it's still kind of up for debate how much it looks like a "mountain" or "cliff-edge" or not.   With that out of the way, I cut some paper to act as a mask for that section and then spent far too long going back and forth, putting down layers of color and blending them out, dabbing color on and waiting for it to dry, rinse, repeat, trying to get the Galaxy portion just right. I was actually having a fair amount of trouble getting the right color balance, and as sometimes happens with these things, I was pretty worried about how it was looking before I went to bed that night. (I had procrastinated just long enough that I had 2 nights to do this is; the bulk of the painting took place on night 2) But the next day, once it was fully dry, it didn't look so bad. It did need just a few more touches before I went in and added the splatter/stars, though. So I broke out the colored pencils, which I really should have done sooner because they were much easier to blend out and had a bit more covering power over the watercolor than...more watercolor because watercolor is often transparent and there it can be hard to cover with it. Admittedly, I still had more worries about the "naked" galaxy, but then I went to splatter town with the white, added a few pointed stars, and as it usually does, that really brought everything together and made it look a lot better. Never underestimate the power of a good splatter-fest! ;)  I must say though, I underestimated the combination of the white watercolor and white colored pencil together when I moved on to the figure and wings. I was trying very hard to not use my white gel pen (because the rules for the contest didn't say if it was okay to use non-Arteza supplies in conjunction with Arteza supplies or not) and so I was sort of bending over backward to find another way with my limited resources. (Although I assumed using a lightbox to see the lines underneath the paint, as is a normal practice for me, wouldn't really matter because it's not like you can really tell from the final product anyway.) Still, even though a mixture of paint lifting, the white colored pencil, and the white watercolor were better than I expected, I still ended up having to punch the lines up a bit digitally to get them to pop the way I wanted them to. But oh well, at least it made a nice glowing effect and mostly worked for the cloud-mist covering. :P  Overall though, I do really like how it turned out. If it weren't a little on the small side I might actually consider using it as my new wallpaper/banner art everywhere. Maybe that's a conversion project of some kind for another day? Point being, I'm pleased. I probably won't place in the contest because I'm just too small of a fish in this pond, but I made some pretty art and it was mostly fun, so no harm done. :)  Actually, if this could maybe be the excuse my brain needs to get back into posting regularly, that would actually be really great. I miss it, despite what my most recent journal entry and my spotty activity levels might lead one to believe. If it is, I hope you guys don't mind seeing some crafty things thrown into the mix! :D  ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings 

____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

[canonicallywriting]

love at first sight? bullshit

lmao, this is the first chapter of Her hope yall enjoy

The cafe was completely empty, and the near-silence was buffered by the low music buzzing over the loudspeakers, giving the space a laidback ambiance. I could hear the bustling street outside, making my vivid loneliness ever so apparent. The walls of the cafe were layered in gray and obscure paintings while reds, oranges, and violets splashed into the cafe through the window. I was propped up against the cool stone of the back counter, using my thumb to scroll through my phone. Seconds after liking a girl’s picture a white banner came down with the name: Nathen.

Nathan:

Amelia, why are you liking girls’ pics again??? I thought you were gonna work past this

Amelia:

lol so I’m not allowed to like pictures now??

Nathan:

You know I’m just trying to help...

Amelia:

maybe it was a cosplayer but it’s not like I was hitting on her

Nathan:

that still encourages it!! don’t forget it was you who came to me about this..

Amelia:

no I just came out to you, it was YOU who set up this plan to “cure me” or some shit

Nathan:

your lucky im being so nice about this

Amelia:

you’re**

Nathan:

... you’re on thin ice

I was about to respond when the door of the cafe opened, initiating the bell from the door. I prepared myself for the simple “hi, how are you doing”, and “what would you like to order”. I glanced up to see who came in and my eyes widened. The sunset that poured in through the windows shone off of her blue hair like mirrors. Miniscule strands of blue framed her heart-shaped face and her warm, clouded brown eyes glazed over me. Her lips curled into a sweet smile as she walked to the register.

I could only stutter, “I, um, hi, how are you?”

She chuckled softly, “I’m good, you?”

“Uh, great,” I immediately blushed at how monotonous my voice was. “What would like to, um, get?”

She grinned at me, “A hot chocolate with extra whip.”

My stomach did flips at her smile, “Er, that’ll be three dollars and eighty-seven cents.” I gave her a lop-sided smile as she nodded while handing me a pile of cash and coins. “Uh, name?”

“Rain”. What a beautiful name. The smell of water and forest. Shimmering puddles on the street. Small dots splattering against the windows. I glanced up and watched her hair swing across her back as she walked to the corner of the cafe. She sat down and pulled out a sketch pad and pencil. Her left hand began to scurry away across the paper. As I finished up her hot chocolate, I grabbed the leather journal that sat next to my phone, allowing a soft residue to sit on my fingers.

“One hot chocolate for Rain,” I half-shouted. Her head jerked up at the sound of her name and she pushed herself out of the wooden chair. Her boots clicked against the tiled floor as she made her way to the counter. She nearly turned around and left but her eyes flickered to my journal on the counter.

“Do you write?”

“Yes. No. Kind of, “ I stuttered. She chuckled to herself as I rose my eyebrow.

“I’m sorry, it’s just you’re too adorable!” She gave me one last smile before going back to her corner. I felt my face heat up into a deep, flushed, red and I covered my face with my hands. I grasped for my journal, feeling at ease as I slipped it into my hands. I sifted through the rough pages until I found a blank one. Before I put graphite on paper, I glanced up at her. The red, orange, and violet of the sunset and painted themselves across her face and reflected off of the blue of her hair. Her melted chocolate eyes were illuminated by the sun, and my hand began scurrying away.

Vivid colors spill across her face

And her head is submerged in an ocean of blue,

Fire races through my veins when I look at her

And my stomach is like a den of butterflies

I am told how I feel is wrong

But I can’t help the emotions that sprint around my head

I am told I should deny it

But she shines brighter than gold

Like a guilty pleasure, she will be gone soon

So I flourish in her presence

Her eyes are like melting gold in the sunlight

And they comfort me

The gray layers around me

Encourage my loneliness

The molds they give me to fit into

And ultimately lock me in

Cannot hold me when I’m with her

- Amelia

I exhaled, relieved to let the tension out of my hands and onto paper. I glanced up, hoping to fill my eyes with her presence once more, but she was gone. I leaned back against the cold of the counter, relaxing. I’d probably never see her again, but girls are my outlet from the stuffy closet I live in. I turned towards the sink and pulled the handle for the cold water and liquid began spilling out. I cupped my hands beneath it and splashed water on face, clearing my head. Drying my hands with a towel, I fished my phone out of my pocket to check if Nathan had any more hideous things to say.

Nathan:

Remember that I can always tell your parents

I felt a lump grow in my throat. Waves of anxiety seemed to pass through me. I try to forget that he could easily ruin my life, but I attempt to keep those thoughts in the back of my head. Letting the water droplets dry on my face, I picked up my backpack and headed towards the entrance. I pushed the glass door open, feeling the wind rush into me. I took one last look as I let the door close so I could lock up. Just as I turned around, I swore I saw her, but it was just a trick of the light.

I began walking home, tugging my sweatshirt around my chilled bones. I fished earbuds out of my pocket, along with my phone, and plugged them into my ears. I listened to the music empty itself into my brain. I zoned out on the walk home, and soon enough, I arrived at my front door. The bleeding white steps that lead to the porch creaked beneath me and the dark maroon door ached as I pushed it ajar. The scene of my father sleeping on the couch and my mother heading upstairs slammed into my vision.

My mother’s normally bunned up hair was loose and sat tousled against her shoulders, her crisp suit was ruffled and the bags beneath her eyes. I gave her a meek smile as I slid past her and up the stairs. The hallway was dark and enveloped any light that passed through. I slipped into the last door on the right, and let my backpack loosen from my shoulders and drop to the floor. Posters were nailed to the wall and an acoustic guitar sat in the corner. The walls were layered in a vivid blue, almost exactly like the girl’s hair.

I plopped down onto my bed, letting the mattress cushion my fall, and laid there. My anxieties from earlier dispersed from my body temporarily as music still spilled faintly through my ears. As I sat there listening, I could hear my father rustle awake, and my mother racing down the stairs at the sound of his grunting. I closed my eyes, building internal walls to block out the sound, but it only continued.

Red brick bleeds off the walls of the school. Masses of bodies shuffle amongst each other and meaningless conversations ensue. Anxieties take the form of vibrant colors and threaten to burst me. I stand in the center and I’ve never felt so alone, only for a flash of bright blue to enclose around my vision.

I woke with a thick sweat enveloping my body. I glanced at the solid black alarm clock that sat on my nightstand. It illuminated a lime green, reading 3:24 AM. I sighed and threw my hand over my eyes. I grab my journal off of my nightstand and flip open to the last entry. My eyes glazed over the words, back and forth like a clock. Cannot hold me when I am with her. I continued reading the words, wishing they were true.

02-14-XX

Pools of anxieties sit in me when I’m around any girl. In a way, it’s like I’m tiptoeing on eggshells. Everything is so loud and in my face and when I try to push the boundaries everything starts hurtling back at me. I try to expand my comfort zone and someone, anyone, is standing in front of the door, blocking my way. Every time I think I can trust someone, they screw me over, and I can’t bear to stand up again.

- Amelia

I return to staring at the ceiling when the pen leaves the now-inked paper.

I whisper the words under my breath, “Every time I think I can trust someone, they screw me over.” My mind drifts back to when I first came out to Nathan. He was my best friend at the time, and he’d bought a massive bouquet of bright flowers and asked me to be his girlfriend.

I remember pulling his sweat encrusted hand aside and saying, “Nathan, I’m gay.” I had felt like hurling as the words came out of my mouth for, most likely, the first time ever. At first, he supported me, which was a blessing in our small, conservative town.

However, nothing around here seems to truly last, and soon enough, he was sent off to Jesus camp by his mother. In her words, it was to “reignite him”. But he came back a different person. He stopped calling me “Ames” and only by my full name. He immediately set up a plan to cure me. I initially rejected him, but he threatened my parents, and that was the last thing I needed.

I blinked rapidly, bringing my mind back to the present. I set the journal back on my nightstand. I thought about changing, but I stare at the ceiling, waiting for the overbearing silence of the room to be lessened and knock over dreamless sleep to come.

#thanks for reading #lol #i hope yall like it #its hella gay #lesbians #my dude #plz dm me with advice tho #i know its shitty

[elenaire-marione-montes]

Second OC (Original Character): Lady Halatirnë II

Halatirnë was the Fairest Among the women of all ages A radiant huntress, noble lady, And a current scion of the Eternal Flower Family. Her existence mirrored Lúthien's wit and grace, And surpassed the beauty of Helen, the Trojan Princess. She inherited the unusual Elven skills That remained undescribed by the tongue of the Mortals. A waist-length wavy hair streamed behind her Was as dark as black with the strands of silver, Her eyes were silvery grey like the pools of starlight Captivated the hearts of many who crossed her path. Her skin was fair and bright as porcelain Adorned with the hues of yellow-golden, Don her teal blue and orange dress Embroidered with the blossoms of watercress.

Halatirnë II Aiarlote (or Heledirwen II Aearlóth) was the eldest daughter of Lord Eärsarno and Nemmíriel Oiolótë, wife of Lord Hrávahyalmo Altaluimë (upcoming OC) and Count Šimun Mitrović and mother of Aiardil Alatarāto (First OC) and Aiarnāro Elnethīnye (Amilessë of Marko Stjepan Mitrović). Her brief backstory and appearance were mentioned in "The Long Ballad of Eärendil—The Post-Tolkien Legendarium Non-canon Story" (Ongoing). click the link above

In my artwork, Halatirnë was surrounded by the two endemic floras found in the Balkan Mainland—Lilium Bosniacum (Desno/right) was the emblematic flower of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the medieval Kraljevina Bosna (Kingdom of Bosnia) while Iris Croatica (Lijevo/Left) was the National Flower of Republika Hrvatska (Republic of Croatia). And also, a pair of Kingfishers flying around her.

Name(s):

The cilmessë "Halatirnë" was derived from Quenya: Halatir "Kingfisher". Her Ataressë was Sérmahtarë (Quenya: "Peace warrior") and Amilessë was Aiarindile/Aiarlóte (Telerin: Sea Lily/Sea Flower).

#books #non canon #tolkien legendarium #wattpad #wizarding world #poem #artwork #reading #elemmírë #eärendil #The long ballad of eärendil #oc art #my ocs #original character #watercolour art #watercolor painting #I use my black pen for my ultimate sketch step #headcanon #balkan #The story is very Balkanized #The story was set in Croatia Bosnia or somewhere #This character is a Balkan citizen but a pure Elven #sea elves #teleri #The Silm rip-off #The Balkanized Rip-off of the Silm #Basically one of the trashy Spin-offs of the Balkan Silmarillion

[jamiekturner]

Redesigning the mobile app that Tesla deserves - a UX case study

I want to preface this case study by stating that I have the utmost respect for the designers and engineers at Tesla, and this redesign is born out of a desire to further my own education as a designer.

There are only a few tech companies in the world, at least in my mind, that really, really, truly care about design and innovation. Companies that dare to ask the crazy questions. To push the envelope further. And in recent years, nobody is better at this to me than Tesla.

And when it comes to disrupting an industry, few can boast quite like Tesla. They have disrupted a market that has been happily uninterrupted for the good part of a century. And they have achieved this because of their almost zealous commitment to asking questions, and answering them just as fearlessly.

The questions can be small such as “Why can’t a car key be a card?” Or grander such as “Why have a dashboard and tactile controls, when you’ve got a 15-inch behemoth of a display in front of you?” And of course, the question that started it all: “Why can’t cars be electric?”

However, my purpose in this article is not to discuss why Tesla is such a great company, because you already know that. Rather, my goal here is to examine one aspect that I feel has always been lacking that certain sense of polish — Tesla’s mobile application. For a company that has worked on interfaces as inspired as the one in the Model 3, I feel that their mobile app, by contrast, is far removed from the company’s ideals and philosophy.

On top of this, the Model 3 key fob is a whopping $150 extra, making the mobile application the primary way for an owner to interact with their car.

Tesla and its customers not only need, but deserve a better experience.

And so about two months ago, I embarked on probably my most extensive personal project yet. What you’ll find below is a case study detailing my thought process, and the potential solutions to the issues I see with Tesla’s mobile app.

The Problem

Before outlining my solution, I want to first dive deeper into why I think the Tesla app deserves a redesign in the first place. I mentioned briefly that I feel it does not adhere to the standard of which I hold Tesla to. You see, when you sit in a Tesla, you have the sudden feeling that you have without a doubt just stepped into the future. It’s as though Elon himself had loaned the car from the year 2050 using the same time machine he probably uses to run all of his companies.

Seriously, pictures really don’t do it justice 

The first thing that struck me when I looked at their mobile app was just the pure visual language. Most of the icons are inconsistent with those in the car, and the layout is little more than a glorified table view; far less inspiring than the car’s own interface.

However, the visual language is far from what drove me to redesign the application, as my intention was not to create an “Unsolicited Redesign”. What really drove me to pursue this redesign was the fundamental core app experience.

Current Tesla interface, screenshots courtesy of my friend Aneesh Vempaty

As I’ve mentioned above, the application is structured in what is essentially a table view. In the right circumstances, this is an effective solution. However, what it means for this app is that most of the controls are hidden behind doors, sacrificing time and more importantly screen real estate. For example, opening the trunk remotely requires two taps, once inside the app. And the climate control page has three buttons taking up the entirety of a single page.

But it’s just two taps; why does it matter that much?

It matters, as this is the primary way many Tesla owners are interfacing with their car, due to the lack of a key fob. The application should not only be easy to use but also, more importantly, as quick as a key fob. And so I ask, why not bring all the buttons and interactions to the forefront of the experience?

However, I didn’t just want to make a glorified key fob, I felt that this app could be so much more. This app should be the application for your car. The ultimate, no holds barred, go-to app that you use each and every time before you drive. The mobile application that makes your neighbors just as jealous of your app as they are of your car.

The Solution

Initial Research

I didn’t want to limit my initial research to just Tesla users and owners. If I was to create the ultimate driver experience, I also needed to consider valuable insights from all types of car owners.

What I quickly found out through my extensive survey’s and interviews, was that there are three things that most users do or want to do before entering their car, and these are:

Maps and Navigation: “I can’t go anywhere without Google Maps.”

Climate Control: “Heat seaters are love; heat seaters are life.”

Audio Control: “Hand me the aux.”

Besides audio control (as Tesla automatically connects your music options through Bluetooth), these use cases are sorely missing or plainly underdeveloped in Tesla’s current build of their application. And so, I made sure to bring these core use cases to the forefront of my redesign.

Wireframes, Ideation, Process

Just like any other design project, I first took to pen and paper to ideate, experiment, and really just get everything that’s in my head out in the real world. I found it especially difficult with this project, because I was trying to restructure so much of the current nine pages into as much little space as possible.

Compounding this fact was that early on I had ruled out structuring this app with a conventional tab view, since this would put me back where I started, as it required many of the functions to take two or more taps to complete.

Whenever I design, I like to look at many different sources of inspiration, and not just solely the pure competition in the market that it resides in. Throughout the years, I’ve found that:

Creativity is often taking two points from opposite ends of the spectrum and bringing them together into one cohesive idea.

And when it comes to design, that is no different. So I looked not only into car applications, but also TV remotes, Apple’s Control Center, smart homes, camera apps, health apps, map apps, and, weirdly, a really cool application about bugs.

Peep the bug in the corner

And finally, through many iterations, critiques, reviews, a change from light to dark mode, two separate Sketch documents, and a lot of pixel pushing, I finally came to the screens that are presented today.

Core Experiences

Maps and Navigation

Although the Tesla app has a location page, this does no more than show you where you are in relation to your car. And users currently need to either enter the address they are going to once inside the car or turn to other map applications to navigate.

This obviously creates some friction to the overall experience of driving a Tesla. Sure the big touch screen is nice and fun to use, but that novelty runs out quick, and tapping away hunched over a big screen to enter in directions soon becomes clunky and annoying.

Users come from a place where entering information into Google Maps is not only the norm, but just so much faster and easier. Looking for a place on Yelp? You can immediately link out to maps, press “start”, and you’re done in no less than two taps.

Spicy pork please

Keeping in line with my principles, I chose to include the search bar in the middle of the application, so that it’s right at the user’s fingertips. This, of course, would sync with the navigation in your car, so anything entered into your phone would be immediately displayed in your car.

Now, users will not only experience the same convenience as they would from entering addresses in Google Maps, but more importantly experience a seamless transition from their phone to their car.

Augmented Reality Wayfinding

I want to bring your attention to an icon that you may have noticed on the right side of the search bar.

Through my various iterations, one feature that I wanted to add was a better way of finding your car. It’s honestly slightly embarrassing just how many times I’ve forgotten where I’ve parked my car. Although the map does help it’s not always the best tell of where it actually is. To solve this problem, I designed an Augmented Reality Wayfinder.

I have limited experience when it comes to engineering, but I thought that it would be possible for your phone to save the car’s elevation and location when you parked. This information could then be used to locate the car later.

From a user’s perspective it makes finding your car an easy and enjoyable experience. With a map, you first have to figure out how to orient yourself to it, and the compass can often be inaccurate. With this feature you don’t even have to think about where you’re going; you just point and go.

Climate Control

As mentioned above, I found that one of the fundamental steps of a user’s journey before starting their trip was setting all the climate controls in their car. Currently, all the Tesla app can do is change the air temperature.

Black Pink in your area…

The Model 3 already has a beautiful control panel for climate, so why not bring that to the app?

Animated icons are unconventional, but I felt it worked so perfectly as an on state here

By bringing users their entire suite of climate controls in a familiar package, it not only gives users more control than what they’ve previously had, but also makes interfacing between the car and the app a seamless and cohesive experience.

With my redesign, I have put more climate functionality into the same space as one of Tesla’s own table cells than they had included in their entire app. And because I have been able to remove the entire climate page, your most important controls are now just a single tap away.

3D Touch for more controls

Borrowing a pattern from iOS’s Control Center, I went a step further and added 3D touch capabilities to reveal more advanced options, so that users can access the same controls that are available inside their car.

General Improvements

Unlocking

In addition to these core use cases, I aimed to also add some quality of life improvements as well as a visual overhaul to the app. To start, I came back to the key fob. One of the sacrifices of giving up a standard key fob for a purely digital one is the loss of tactile feedback; drivers today are used to being able to access a variety of functions just through touch and feel.

“slide to unlock”

To accomplish this same effect, I designed a system that uses gestures and haptics, so now all a user has to do is swipe down anywhere and they will know exactly what they are doing, without ever having to look at it. This may seem slightly less intuitive at first than simply having buttons on the screen, but I think the tradeoff is worth it because it gives you back that sense of place that you get with a key fob.

Driver Settings

The icon in the top left corner accesses the hamburger menu. This is mostly a cleaned up version of the current application, but there are a few notable changes.

I’ve redesigned all their icons as well.

A great feature of Tesla vehicles is their ability to remember driver profiles — positioning of mirrors, seat, and steering wheel specific to each user. Currently, this can only be controlled through the car’s main interface. I wanted to be sure that these unique profiles were added to the app, enabling the car to know exactly who you are, and adjust these settings automatically when you approach the car.

Controls and Charging pages of Tesla’s current application

Two other changes I’ve made are to move the valet mode and the charge limit to the driver settings. I moved the valet mode because I felt it made more sense if this option was under account settings, as it is essentially an extension of the ability to sign in and out of different user accounts.

I also felt the battery charge limit could live as an account setting since its purpose is just to limit the maximum charge on the battery. As this is something that is modified rarely, it seems wasteful for this feature to take up the real estate of an entire page. In contrast, I moved the charge port button to the row of icons at the bottom of the main screen, since this is accessed frequently.

Summon

In the current application, Tesla chooses to occupy the top right corner of the screen with their loot box, and places their “Summon” feature in the table view below. To me, the only reason why Tesla would choose to prominently display their loot box icon is to use it as a marketing tool. Although I can see how this may be a justification, I feel it’s effect on your ability to refer a friend to buy a $35,000+ car is pretty negligible, and apparently so did the many Tesla owners I interviewed. So, I have decided to leave it only in the settings menu.

Tesla’s current loot box icon placement

I have decided to use this new found space for the summon remote, because, unlike the controls at the bottom of the screen, its function is more complex than simply changing a state or toggling a feature. Instead, it requires a full page with its own controls.

Look at the lights go!

Besides a visual refresh, the summon remote page stays mostly the same as the one on the current application. Although I have experimented with different interactions, I felt that the current model was effective at its job, and was probably backed by countless hours of research on what would feel the safest to pilot your $35,000 car from your phone.

Status Snapshot

The next area of improvement is what I call the “status snapshot”. As the name implies, this is simply an overview of how your car is doing. This information is kind of all over the place with the current application. For example, interior temperature is a caption underneath the climate table cell, and ‘parked’ just appears awkwardly underneath the battery.

In my model, these status indicators all reside in the same place, making it easy to assess your car at a glance. I felt that keeping the car as it is in the current application was also necessary as it provides the ability for visual indicators of the car status; such as whether or not a door has been left open.

The Bottom Row

By reorganizing the entire structure of the application, I was able to populate a second row of icons with additional necessary remote functions. This row is the closest extension of the key fob metaphor, as these are all functions you’d find on a typical key fob. As mentioned before, I took the open charge port button from the current app’s “Charging Page” and placed it here.

And, while I do have my gesture-based opening method for the frunk and trunk, I still wanted to include standard buttons for these actions as a secondary option. I also added an option to vent the windows and/or sunroof. Lastly, I combined flashing the lights and honking the horn into one “panic” button. Frankly, I don’t like the name, but looking at the many different key fobs on the market, the designation of “panic” for this kind of feature seemed to be an industry standard.

I’ve redesigned the icons as well to fit more closely with the inside of the car

Reflection

I started this redesign really as a challenge. A challenge for me to start a personal project, and to see it through to the end. And I’m so glad I did.

Throughout school, I’ve done projects I’ve been assigned to do. In my internships and client work, I have worked on products the businesses needed. However, this was an opportunity to do something for it and my own sake; to fully explore my own sense of creativity and passion for design.

And well maybe it’s because it’s my last year in college, but that existentialism really has started to hit me. I remember in high school, I’d stay up long nights, working tirelessly on creative projects and passions. I’d grind until to 2 or 3 AM forgoing sleep and studies, because that was the only time in the day that I could work on it. I’d zone out in school, not because I was bored, but because to focus on anything else would be remiss.

I’m lucky and grateful that I’ve been able to study a creative field, and even more lucky to pursue it as a career. And although creative work is my life now, I think I’ve forgotten just how important it is to still get away from it all and do something by myself, for myself.

Thanks for Reading

Thank you so much for reading through this case study! I really didn’t expect to write this much, but honestly I’d quite like to try it again sometime. Hope you enjoyed learning about my design and thought process, and I’d love to hear your feedback and learn from you!

Sketch, Principle, Photoshop, and After Effects were used in combination for this project.

Hi, my name is Matthew Farmer. I’m a digital product designer based in the Bay Area. Feel free to reach out through Email or LinkedIn.

Catch me on Instagram | Dribbble.

The post Redesigning the mobile app that Tesla deserves - a UX case study appeared first on Design your way.

from Web Development & Designing https://www.designyourway.net/blog/user-experience/redesigning-the-mobile-app-that-tesla-deserves/

[zak-animation]

BA1b Summary: Week 5

Animated Sketchbook Whilst I’ve begun to put a focus on the Digital Metamorphosis project, I still managed to complete a few pages in my sketchbook - primarily working on the ideas of visual memory and imagination. Last week, I explored the use of black ink to create random marks, blots and smudges and then finding characters, scenes and creatures amongst the masses. This week, I wanted to develop on this process by adding colour: and exploring how this would affect my thought and imagination process when designing and ultimately ‘decoding’ these marks.

The week began by independently researching the idea of a ‘deliberate accident’ in art further, as a way to add some theory and context behind these pages. This led me to explore the work of Justinus Kerner, a doctor and poet who produced ink smudges on hand-written letters. Kerner would later transform these accidental blots into a ‘bestiary of grotesque creatures of chance’ in his published book Klecksographien. Kerner would illustrate demons and creatures from these random shapes; a collection of skeletons, winged monsters and terrifying creatures. Whilst my illustrations aren’t terrifying, they are beginning to explore the idea of creature design in particular: something that might be a result of the complex shapes in the ink blots. Traditionally, animated characters and heroes follow simple shape structure and thus that may be a reason behind my primarily creature-based designs.

For this task, I experimented with a range of coloured inks in order to evoke a range of emotions.  Looking back, the red and dark pink pages were the most exciting, with some very interesting creature designs and character ideas based around repetitive brush techniques and blurry marks, something I felt evoked a strong sense of movement when drawing over them with a fine liner.

Finally, I wanted to experiment with mixing the inks and produced an earthy shade, which resulted in more mystical, calm deity-like beings. Interesting how my mind saw the red marks as more villainous and aggressive whilst the purple creatures seemed more morally ambiguous, and the earthy creations connoted more of a peaceful calm effect. To put it simply, this is colour theory in effect: how our mind reads colours as different meanings, picked up through our own personal life and the environment we’ve grown up in.

Next week, I want to move away from these ink blot creations and base my designs off existing sources, sketching real-life animals and natural features as a way to develop my understanding of animal anatomy and inspire my own more imagined and fantastical creature designs.  

Narrative Theory This week’s Narrative Research session introduced a range of new narrative concepts and theories, as we looked at Christopher Booker’s 7 Plot Types, experimental animation and delved into the psychological reasons in which humans tell (and consume) stories.

Whilst I’ve spoken about the purpose of stories before, I’ve never once looked into the concept at an academic level, such as the reasons established this week. Learning about the different plot types was interesting, and it was quite surprising just how many plots that I could think of which followed a specific plot perfectly. Despite this, I think it’s important for us, as animators and storytellers to challenge (at least one of) these narrative conventions. As an audience, we want to be entertained: not bored. Personally, I’ve always thought that subverting one area of a narrative structure almost ensures an engaging storyline. I consider storytelling a form of ‘edutainment; a way of educating our audience but sending them on a fun ride in the process. It’s these main reasons - to educate, inspire or entertain - that drive almost all stories today.

Additionally to this, I was able to further explore the steps of the Hero’s Journey, as described by writer Christopher Vogler. Writing about the steps in more detail has not only cemented my own understanding of the structure, but it’s inspired me to apply this narrative structure to my chosen film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This week, I’ve also been able to write up my initial ideas for this project: exploring my potential films to explore and the subject material they offer before reaching the conclusion of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Alongside being a film that everyone’s talking about, Into the Spider-Verse offers a variety of subjects to discuss: visual storytelling, cultural significance as ‘more than once wears the mask’, alongside ideas of adaption and interpretation. When collecting research for the film, I’m going to be exploring all facets of the storyline and film itself before honing in on a specific area, evidencing more than one analytical directions before I start writing the first draft.

Over these last five weeks, I’ve been able to explore a range of narrative theories and concepts from character archetypes, fairytale functions and heroes journeys. As a way to begin my research and analysis into my chosen film, I plan to revisit all of these narrative ideas and concepts introduced on this blog and apply them to Spider-Man. Next week, I specifically want to break down the film’s plot using Vogler’s interpretation of the Hero’s Journey, a subject we explored just recently.

Next week, I will begin collecting research sources for my essay exploring Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (through online videos, books and any other media of discussion) and decide on an essay question. It’s a little early to begin doing this, however I want to start work on this project ahead of time rather than leaving it till last minute. Whilst this wasn’t the case in the last unit, I did feel somewhat rushed, and want to begin writing a first draft for my self-proposed deadline of 29th January, in preparation for our tutorial.

Digital Principles This week in Digital Principles, I’ve put a focus on practical development and experimentation: designing the main elements of the sequence in Illustrator and After Effects in the simple flat design aesthetic I’ve established so far. As a reflection of the week as a whole, I feel like I’m making good progress in this project and will (hopefully) be able to produce a final sequence I’m proud of.

The week began in Illustrator, as I created a series of Heptapod language icons for my animation. By simply using shape layers, my new illustration follows my design language; smooth with visually pleasing arcs created using bezier curves and the pen tool within After Effects. It’s much more visually appealing and consistent with my own sequence.

I’ve managed to complete a full iteration of my first sequence, in which we pan upwards through the alien ship. For this animation, I decided to take it upon myself to learn After Effects in more detail past simply playing around with shape layers, and watched a series of online tutorials to fully grasp the idea of a virtual camera within the software. This is something I briefly explored last week, and through iterative development, I’ve been able to complete the first sequence.

It’s not a perfect sequence, however. Whilst the camera motion is smooth, and the final zoom into the Alien Window is appropriately cinematic, I can definitely improve this first scene. Firstly, I’m very tempted to add Louise and Ian to the Window Room, in the form of small silhouettes in the iconic orange hazmat suits. This is an idea I explored initially in the project, and it’s something I’d like to include in this sequence.

To summarise, I’m really enjoying working on this brief. It’s the project I’ve devoted the most time to, and I’ve found a new approach to animation in the medium of motion graphics. What I like about my approach to this project is my experimentation with new software; rather than working directly from a hand-drawn reference, I’ve challenged myself to learn After Effects in detail.

Next week, I plan to continue the animation process: completing the heptapod language sequence using offset trim paths, and begin work on the actual transformation between the final heptapod icon and the Shell, using keyframes paths. I’ve written a plan for my final piece, and so at this point it’s simply a matter of completing the sequence through iterative development. As a whole, I’m happy with the amount of progress I’ve been able to make this week on the project, and look forward to the next.

#ba1b:weeklysummary #ba1b:digitalprinciples #ba1b:animatedsketchbook #ba1b:narrativetheory

[bing-suho]

VOLTRON COLLEGE!AU KEEF (KOREAN!KEITH) - moody art major with focus on mural arts + art as restorative medium - keith as low income who used to do graffiti but then saw how mural arts actually change communities - KEITH WHO VOLUNTEERS AT PUBLIC SCHOOL AFTERSCHOOL ARTS PEOGRAM - KEITH WHO WILL FORGET TO EAT SOMETIMES WHEN HES RLY CONCENTRATING ON HIS WORK UNTIL EITHER SHIRO OR HUNK (later lance) REMINDS HIM TO EAT AND FORCES HIM AWAY FROM HIS ART TO TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF - keith who is SICK OF CULTURAL APPROPRIATION BULLSHIT IN ART COMMUNITY - keith as hellllla gayyyYyYy - KEITH IN DIRTY DOCS AND RIPPED BLACK JEANS + RED SHIRT THATS BEEN STRETCHED AT THE NECK AND HIS HAIR IN A PONY TAIL USUALLY (but he still had a mullet!!!!!!!) - KEITH FROM TEXAS - KEITH WHO LIVES WITH HIS COUSIN SHIRO AFTER HIS PARENTS DISOWNED HIM AFTER BEING OUTED - KEITH WHO DECIDES ITS BETTER NOT TO OPEN UP BC OF THAT(until ppl HIS SUPPORTIVE AF FRIENDS change his mind) - AWKWARD BB KEITH WHO NEVER??? HAD REAL FRIENDS??? - KEITHS BEEN WORKING SINCE HES BEEN IN HS SAVING UP FOR COLLEGE/ADULTHOOD - Keith who also works at campus bookstore across the street from lance and likes TO READ?????? - KEITH WITH HEADPHONES AND STILL LISTENS TO ANGSTY EMO/SCREAMO MUSIC - KEITH WHO ALSO LISTENS TO PODCASTS ESP ABT S P A C E - KEITH WHO DID TRACK AND FIELD IN HS AND CONTINUES TO RUN LONG DISTANCE TO KEEP IN SHAPE + ZONE OUT/MEDITATE/DESTRESS (think that one taekook fic i gave yall but less angst or the same lvl) - KEITH AS A CAT PERSON AND LOVES SOFT PLUSHIE THINGS BC THEY C O M F O R T HIM - keith who hates lance's guts/attitude when he initially meets him and makes assumptions abt him as a "typical frat bro" and complains to shiro one day and shiro fuckin defends lance by telling keith abt how lance is the one who doesnt tolerate toxic masculinity practices at ALL and is the one who brings it up during meetings AND THEN KEITH KEEPS LEARNING DIFF DIMENSIONS OF LANCE AND WELL SHIT - KEITH AS ULTIMATE LIGHTWEIGHT WITH PIDGE - KEITH WHO IS NATURALLY GIFTED ATHLETICALLY AND ARTISTICALLY (that doesnt mean he works FUCKING hard) - keith who sort of fumes into the library and tries to burn down the math section BC FUCK MATH WHO THE FUCK CREATED THIS BULLSHIT ALL U NEED IN LIFE IS ADDITION SUBTRACTION MULTI AND DIV until hunk + lance + pidge try to stop him and help him with his math hw and shiro will be there for moral support bc shiro is just as clueless abt math as keith is 😀 - keith who is gets caught up in everyone's competition during monopoly but is a p okay player - keith who bumps into lance after volunteering at the afterschool program and begrudgingly says hell treat lance to boba as payback for math tutoring bc pidge and hunk both arent the best at explaining concepts sometimes and lance's were the easiest to understand I JUST DONT WANT TO BE IN DEBT TO YOU OKAY? (lance offers indiv tutoring and keith initally REFUSES until he sees the practice midterm and ???? what the fuck are these symbols FUCK) LANCEEEE MA BOOIII (CUBAN!LANCE) - lance as marxist econ major who DOES MAJOR RESEARCH ON #FIGHTFOR15 AND CUBAN/LATIN AM ECON POLICY ESP DURING US IMPERIALISM AND HOW THISE AFFECTS HAVE LASTING EFFECTS ON LABOR + ECON - LANCE AS BISEXUAL AS HELL - lance who TUTORS AT SAME PUBLIC SCHOOL AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM EXCEPT MATH - LANCE WHO's FROM FLORIDA AND IS FIRST IN THE FAMILY FOR COLLEGE - LANCE WHO SEES HIS FAMILY GO THRU WAGE THEFT FUELING HIS WORK IN UNDOCU LABOR RIGHTS AND ECON POLICIES - lance who joins latinx affinity club with hunk (whos half filipinx) and while hunk is the master chef taste+recipe wise NO ONE MAKES _______ LIKE LANCE CAN BC HIS ABUELITA TAUGHT HIM THE FAMILY RECIPE - LANCE AS A FRAT BOI WHO FUCKIN SERVES AT BEER PONG AND FLIP CUP - lance as vp of said frat and wont let shiro pick the music at parties bc shiro only listens to old 80's classics, shiro we live in the 21ST CENTURY THESE PPL WANT BEYONCE AND NICKI OKAH (lance who listens to hella pop music) - lance who KNOWS HOW TO DANCE AND RELIGIOUSLY GOES TO ZUMBA CLASS WITH ALLURA WHO DRAGS PIDGE's LAZY ASS AS CARDIO BEFORE DOING HIS MUSCLE WORKOUT WITH HUNK AND SHIRO - lance who works at the campus hip coffeeshop/cafe and fucking snapchats the shit out of his shift - LANCE WHO LEARNS ABT HOW DRAWING/DOODLING CAN HELP WITH ANXIETY FROM KEITH AND STARTS TO CARRY AROUND A SKETCH NOTEBOOK - LANCE WHO IS EQUALLY AS GOOD WITH KIDS AS KEITH IS BC HELLO? SIBLINGS??? - LANCE AS AN ANIMAL PERSON BUT LEANS TOWARDS DOGS - lance who needs to be alone at the library when studying and mutters to himself softly a lot when thinking but is on top of his group project/study game with HELLA STUDY GUIDES + tutor tips - lance who chews on pen tips 😭 - LANCE WHO HAS ANXIETY THAT HE ISNT GOOD ENOUGH/SMART ENOUGH AT SCHOOL AND CONSTANTLY THINKS ABT THE SACRIFICE HIS PARENTS AND SIBLINGS MADE FOR HIM TO GO TO SCHOOL AND HIDES HIS ANXIETY+LOW SELF-ESTEEM BY TRYING TO BE RLY EXTROVERTED AND FUN AND FLIPPANT LANCE WHO OVERCOMPENSATES - lance who is initially jealous of keith's "easy" art degree until he fuckin sees the work that keith puts into his art AND THEN APOLOGIZES FOR UNDERESTIMATING KEITH - LANCE WHO ALWAYS LOSES AT MONOPOLY AND STARTS RANTING ABT DECAYING FORMS OF CAPITALISM SHEEREROOOOOOH - shiro as a senior after taking a gap year from a life-threatening injury on his arm FROM A CAR ACCIDENT (SHIRO WITH A PROSTHETIC LIMB??) - SHIRO WHO IS SCARED OF CARS IN RELATION TO INJURY WILL TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORT UNLESS HE HAS TO TAKE A CAR - SHIRO AS A POLI SCI MAJOR BUT HES NOT A BRO AND INTERSECTIONAL AF - SHIRO WHO IS STARSTRUCK WITH ALLURA's BRILLIANCE IN A CLASS THEY TOOK TOGETHER ONE TIME - Shiro who gets approached by allura for his insightful comment about aapi's for blm during a blm meeting AND THEY CONNECT - SHIRO AS FRAT PREZ AND STARTS CHANGING FRAT CULTURE TO BE LESS TOXIC/PATRIARCHAL/FUCKEDUP - Shiro who has to do rehab for his arm but also works out!!!!!!!!!!! HUNK WHO SPOTS HIM AND MAKES SURE SHIRO ISNT RUINING HIMSELF - SHIRO WHO ALWAYS CONSIDERED KEITH A LITTLE BROTHER SINCE THEY WERE KIDS AND RLY WORRIES FOR HIM SHIRO BEING AWARE OF KEITH's HURT AROUND BEING DISOWNED - SHIRO WHO WANTS TO BE AN IMMIGRATION LAWYER????? - SHIRO WHO GREW UP NORMAL MIDDLE CLASS (will think of family tree later) - shiro who listens to classic 80's pop and rock HE IS A REAL DAD - SHIRO WHO MAKES SURE EVERYONE IS SAFE WHEN PARTYING AND DRINKING ENOUGH WATER (ESP LANCE AND KEITH WHEN HE DOES COME TO PARTIES) - SHIRO WHO GETS ACTUALLY HELLA TACTICAL WHEN GAMING WITH HUNK LANCE AND PIDGE TO THEIR SURPRISE (the unknowlingly competitive type) - shiro who is merciless at monopoly/settlers of catan - DEMISEXUAL SHIRO B Y E PIDGE - GENDERQUEER!pidge - White!pidge (is this even, like a thing or do we already assume pidge is white?) - aromantic!pidge - Pidge as compsci/math slave major who always ends up doing their allnighters to finish their labs - pidge who lives off caffeine - PIDGE WHO IS SICK OF SHITT CISMEN IN GENERAL + MALE DOMINATED TECH INDUSTRY AND WANTS TO EMPOWER WOC/QTPOC IN TECH - pidge who is MORE ruthless during monopoly than shiro - pidge who is a fuckin genius at video games will whoop anyone's ass - PIDGE WHO IS AFRAID NO ONE RLY LIKES THEM AND USES SARCASM AS A DEFENSE MECHANISM - PIDGE FROM A DIVORCED FAMILY AND ADDS TO THEIR GENERAL DISTRUST IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS - PIDGE WHO HASNT MET THEIR BROTHER IN 10 YEARS BC OF THE DIVORCE - Pidge who met lance and hunk in compsci 101 when lance accidentally stepped on pidge's toe when they hadnt had their morning coffee yet (pidge hisses extremely loudly at lance and hunk giving them death glares) - pidge who forgives lance (and in extension hunk) and started hangin after lance got them an aesthetic avocado toast on the house the next day at the cafe - pidge who actually has a hella basic instagram + PIDGE WHO IS OBSESSED WITH GETTING THE PERFECT FOOD SHOT FOR THE INSTA - pidge and lance's snapchat streak is over 9000 - PIDGE WHO CANT EAT SPICY FOOD (i'm FUCKIN WHITE STOP LAUGHING GUYS) - pidge who studies with hunk in the library bc they need background noise/study partners until lance emerges from the quiet floor and they all do a study break leave to get fruit snacks - PIDGE AS LIGHTWEIGHT - PIDGE WHO IS ALSO COERCED INTO BIRD CLUB AT FIRST AND STAYS FOR THE MEMES WAIT HUNKKKKKKKK - hunk as PREMED/VETERNIARY TRACT - HUNK WHO VOLUNTEERS AT ANIMAL SHELTERS AND IS ALSO A ENV JUSTICE ACTIVIST - HUNK WHO LOVES ALL ANIMALS AND IS THE FAIRY OF ANIMALS IS GOOD WITH ALL OF THEM - HUNK AND LANCE AS FIRST YR ROOMMATES TURNED BFFS - HUNK WHO DESTRESSES BY COOKING/BAKING OBVS - Hunk who is actually p insecure abt his body type and isnt comfortable with showing a lot of skin - HUNK WHO WAS BULLIED FOR BEING "GIRLY" AS A CHILD AND WILL NOT STAND FOR THAT KIND OF SHIT AT ALL HE IS INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST AF BC FUCK GENDER EXPECTATIONS AND MACHISMO - HUNK WHO IS THE BEST SPOTTER FOR WORKOUTS - hunk who cant touch HIS TOES BB - HUNK AS HALF FILIPINX/LATINX - hunk who comes from the east coast but cant stand the cold at all and wears 50 layers - HUNK WHO RUSHES FRATS WITH LANCE BC HE WAS WORRIED ABT LANCE GETTING TOO FUCKED UP AND KINDA ENDS UP IN A FRAT I GUESS BUT HE LIKES SHIRO's LEADERSHIP AROUND GENDER EXPECTATIONS - Hunk who'll be the realest with anyone being an asshole, even if its his friends - HUNK WHO IS PERCEPTIVE AF ESP WITH LANCE WHO TRIES TO HIDE HIS ANXIETY/LOW-SELF ESTEEM - HUNK WHO FUCKIN KILLS AT KNITTING - HUNK IS IN BIRD CLUB BC ACTUAL INTEREST W A I T - Hunk who gets regular morning coffee check-ins with allura and buys coffe for pidge when they come crawling into the cafe - HUNK WHO ACTUALLY RLY LIKES THE BACHELORETTE AND WATTES WITH ALLURA - HUNK WHO MEETS SHAY WHO ALSO VOLUNTEERS AT THE SHELTER AND HAVE A WARM SHY BUDDING RELATIONSHIP ALLURAAAAA MY QUEEEN - Black!Allura - allura who was adopted after living in foster care for so long (Corran adopts her) - Ethnic studies and polisci double major allura who DOES NOT tolerate polisci bros/toxic af bros in general - ALLURA WHO WANTS TO BE A CRIMINAL JUSTICE LAWYER - ALLURA GOES TO ZUMBA WITH LANCE AND FUCKIN KILLS THE ROUTINE BOTH BOND OVER DANCING - fierce sorority queen who believes greek life shud be accessible to all fuck this elitist bullshit - ALLURA IS AS OBSESSED WITH INSTAPERFECT SHOTS AS PIDGE IS - allura who meets shiro at a #blacklivesmatter meeting and hits it off - ALLURA WHO HAS A RLY STRONG SENSE OF JUSTICE but sometimes it makes her rigid when it comes to giving ppl the benefit of the doubt which she did with keith+lance until she gets to know them better + apologizes for making assumptions - CORRAN's NICK NAME FOR ALLURA IS PRINCESS OFC - allura who sees a father figure in corran b l e s s - ALLURA WHO IS AFRAID OF COMMITMENT DUE TO EXP IN FOSTER HOMES AND SHIRO BEING UNDERSTANDING OF THAT - allura who gets competitive at all games MOST ESP with monopoly - allura who works at the cafe with lance - ALLURA ASKS HUNK TO TEACH HER HOW TO KNIT (SHE KINDA SUCKS BUT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!!!!) AND THEY BOTH WATCH THE BACHELORETTE TOGETHER - ALLURA WHO KNOWS MARTIAL ARTS - allura who drinks tea instead of coffee - allura who will join hunk and pidge at the library bc she also needs background noise to work - allura who teaches shiro math bc shiro is actually useless at math - allura who is actually heavy weight af when it comes to alcohol - ALLURA JOINS BIRD CLUB BC THEY ARE JUST FLUFF BALLS OF SOFTNESS (hunk: what bird is that allura: A GOOD BERB) - ALLURA HAS 3 HAMSTERS AS PETS OFC???? CORAN - your eccentric ass prof in the soci/anth dept with an INSANE mustache - teaches intro to soci/anth which a lot of students take for requirement credits - fuckin speaks 7 languages (two of them are coding lang to pidge's surprise) - loves puns + trivia - invites allura's study group for dinner and burns the pasta so hunk and him end up collaborating with the crew making dinner fest - your favorite uncle - always gives wise ass advice in times if need but will usually give out badly translated sayings (he speaks 7 lang give a break) - rigorous activist scholar - is mistaken for "easy prof" bc of his air-headed nature but actually doesnt take bullshit papers esp for a course that introduces race theory to a lot of privileged straight cismen (who underestimate coran) - will fuck u up with knowledge - asks lance for skin care tips and they bond over latinx music (lance hella impressed with coran's dancing actually) - cooks with hunk - pidge exasperately tries to teach coran abt sns: what is this chat that snaps??????? and these instant grams???? - shiro allura and him with have deep ass convos about systems of oppression + lance sometimes when he gets a chance to join + keith who will quietly absorb their convo if he's nearby (but pretend to read a book) - everyone needs to REST BC SELF CARE IS IMPT DONT KILL YOURSELVES BC OF THESE UNREASONABLE DEADLINES - voltron crew all take coran's class for variety of reasons and meet each other when they all rush to office hours and only to find coran's mess of trying to throw popcorn into his mouth - will stop by library during midterms and finals to give out encouraging messages + snacky snacks (will sneak extra for voltron crew's table) some moments id like to consider (klance and otherwise): - LANCE SEEING THE GWIYOMI VIDEO AND FORCING KEITH TO DO IT IN A GAME OF TRUTH AND DARE AND KEITH DOES IT A GLARE THAT FUCKIN BURNS UNIVERSES AND LANCE AND PIDGE RECORDS THAT SHIT shiro sigh-laughs hunk laughs nervously next to keith allura laughs brightly corran does not know what the fuck keith is doing - Keith and Lance find out they listen to the same NASA podcast when lance annoyingly takes out keith's headphones while abt to enter the school for afterschool program - Keith searches out soft things when he's drunk like hunk's hair or pidges sweater or lance's skin-WHATINTHEFUCK - lance teaches keith how to REALLY dance when he brings voltron crew to a latinx heritage month party (and keith secretly enjoys it) - keith had a big ol crush on lance the minute he saw him until he started acting like a "frat bro" and was turned off (but not rly?) - SHIRO AND KEITH GO HAVE BROTHER BONDING DATES AT SHIRO's INSTANCE BUT KEITH LOVES IT INSIDE - lance and hunk both cry when they watch titanic together - pidge lance and hunk become better friends over avocado toast and rly annoying debugging procedures during lab in compsci101 - they also bond over video games - the voltron crew have board game bight which usually ends up being monopoly and things get fuckin ruthless - the crew once tried to play mario party wii but people broke windows when their remotes went flying off their wrists and they vowed to never play again - they all meet each other (like ALL of them) in corab's intro to socianth class and create a study group-ish thing for it - lance and hunk rush shiro's frat thinking its gna be rly shit but shiro genuinely wants to do teamwork bullding exercises and talk abt feelings and lance and hunk are fuckin set on a frat if shiro's gna lead it - hunk will secretly let keith play with the cats in the shelter - hunk will also secretly let lance play with the dogs - pidge starts to memorize the zumba moves unconsciously and their body will move automatically when they hear the musIC FUCK - they all go out for kbbq on keith's bday bc keith loves korean food bc its home before his home abandoned him and voltron fam try to repaint those memories of hurt with memories of love and NEW family B Y E keith is kinda speechless - keith shows lance how to make ssam with lettuce garlic kimchi meat and miso paste and laughs as lance stuffs it into his mouth - allura fuckin kills at meat grilling - pidge refuses to eat veggies until hunk gives them the mom look - corran is vegetarian but loves seeing his students sated and full - shiro and allura keep their pinkies intertwined the entire bbq when they can under the table - keith and lance hook up once after a frat party one night and the morning after they kinda ??????? oh?kay????? thishappened???? at the memory until they fuckin realize theyre attracted to each other - keith gets slurs thrown at him by other frat fuckbois and lance goes fuckin livid until hunk is there to stop an imminent fight and hunk gives off some p threatening vibes to fuckbois - voltron crew help pidge try to reconnect with their brother by calling diff numbers going thru yellow pages - keith recommends books for lance to read and lance makes keith playlists and tells him to "listen to smth bubblegum happy for one" (keith kinda likes it?) - the art kids start to recognize lance when he drops by to pick keith up to go home together after the program js over - they all do secret santa at coran's house for christmas - coran gives shiro some salad tongs that are decorated with rhinestones he found in a vintage store and shiro is just ??? okay?? (he uses it when they all have dinner at shiro's place a few weeks later) jk coran also gives him some hella effective medicine for muscle and bone ache for his injury hes not that insensitive - shiro gives hunk a rly nice apron that says youre a FINEapple and baking mittens and hunk almost cries - hunk gets allura like new knitting needles and yarn as well as hand-knit cap. allura squeals bc FLUFFY - allura gets keith some good books both nonfiction and fiction + live podcast tix (she got from a raffle) and keith's eyes glows a little brighter - keith gets pidge some yellow tinted glasses bc "pidge your eyes are gna get worse and youre basically already blind" and a fisheye camera lense for smartphones and pidge yeLLS AESTHETIC PHOTOOOOOOOS YESSSSS - pidge gets lance some face masks and a customized snapback that says QUIZNAK on it and lance's eyes go all sparkly ✨✨ - lance gets corran some bombass latinx music cds from his favorite artists and a mustache care kit that coran just "✨✨"'s at - for dem romance: keith invites lance to the podcast with him and lance just smiles his lopsided truly happy smile while handing keith some cute hair-ties ("??? what am i supposed to do with these????" "wear them so that u can look even cuter than u already are????" keith goes beet red and punches lance in the shoulder as lance laughs. lance finds keith wearing them the next day) - shiro gives allura a note planner with her favorite quote on the front and allura gives shiro a handknit scarf its zSo fuckin SWEEET - hunk and shay go in their first dare - pidge and coran have rly fuckin good hot chocolate on the kitchen island and revel in their friends' happiness and recount good memories of the past year - they then bring out the wine and the karaoke machine - pidge gets p drunk and both them and lance sing one of the zumba songs pidge can somehow remember all the lyrics to hoW THE FUCK do I RMEMmber this?!?! (allura laughs evilily) - allura fuckin perfectly raps superbass - lance sings taylor swift ironically but not rly - corran tries to sing a thai song and its gets like awk quiet as ppl are like ?? okay ?? - HUNK STARTS TO BELT OUT BONJOVI AND SHIROS LIKE HELL YE AND JOINS IN - shiro then tries to sing country music but everyone reaches for the cancel button - shiro and allura sing Lucky (jason mraz and colbie caliat or smth) - pidge starts to sing linkin park's numb and gets rly into it. everyone is hype esp keith - keith tries to sing screamo song next but lance cancels before he can start and instead turn on the tune of gwiyomi from his phone and keith chases after lance with intent to kill lance cackling he runs away everyone else shrugs and continues as if nothing happened (keith and lance later return looking a little disheveled and everyone gives them knowing looks: lance averts his eyes and starts to whistle while keith just goes rly red and face palms) - everyone gets spectacularly drunk and decide to all sing bohemian rhapsody together. it kinda works. - They all go to the beach one summer

#voltron #fuck me was awake until 3 am writimg this after ONE stupid post #mine

[frenchibi]

Tagged~

Ok, hold on to your hats people because this is going to be a long-ass post. I have been told my cuts don’t work on mobile (?? TUMBLR PLS) so if this doesn’t work I sincerely apologize in advance for a lot of scrolling :’) Alright so I was tagged... like 6 times I think? And I’m just going to answer them all in here xD

Also I’m gonna tag a bunch of people and you can just... decide which ones you want to do, do several, do all of them, do none at all - whatever you prefer xD @cheatos @chxngsey @fairylights101writes @cheetahleopard @snowflakers @notinvidia @anyadisee @tallihoo @lalikaa @seijouho @astersandstuffs @phea-chan @owlkaashi-keiji @heirxx @thehibiscusthief @screamingnitrogenchallenge @fandang1

...alright, let the oversharing begin :’)

1. Tagged by @grand-king-toru (thank you, and you’re tagged in all the other ones too, obviously!!) and @queeniwaizumi (your tag was a little different but basically all your questions were in this one too so I didn’t do it separately FORGIVE ME TAT - and ofc you’re tagged too!!)

Favourite place: My apartment, or on top of a mountain, or in my car, or at my mom’s house, or in a Café in the center of my city where I can sketch people Relationship status: Single Favourite colour: Phtalo blue and magenta Pets: I have allergies :’) Last song I listened to: We Know The Way from Moana Favourite tv show: If we’re talking anime, it’s Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (by a MILE). As for non-anime shows, I’m currently enjoying A Series of Unfortunate Events very much (those books were my childhood & I’m so pumped for this series you have no idea) First Fandom: Harry Potter probably, first anime fandom was Inuyasha Hobbies: writing, drawing, singing, skiing, driving my siblings places (being the oldest is GreatTM), currently trying to learn to play the guitar Books I’m currently reading: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (and 50 others I started in Better Days™ when I had more time for reading) Favourite book: Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness, Harry Potter by JKR, Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianne Wynne Jones, Die Stadt der Träumenden Bücher by Walter Moers Worst thing you’ve ever eaten/tasted: Milk that had gone off. It’s gross. Living alone is hard, please don’t make the mistakes I did.

2. Tagged by @seidou-chan (thank you, you’re also obviously tagged in all the others as well~)

Name: call me French :D Nickname: French, Frenchie Gender: female Sign: Pisces Height: 155cm Sexual Orientation: Pansexual Hogwarts house: Gryffindor/Ravenclaw Favourite colour: (see above) xD Favourite animal: Dolphins, Turtles, Owls Time right now: 1:15pm Average hours of sleep: Ideally 8, currently 3, I probably need to see a doctor about this Cat or dog person: Allergies :’) (tbh I love both ok) Favourite fictional character from Harry Potter: Ginny Weasley (, Sirius Black, Molly Weasley, Hermione Granger, Bellatrix Lestrange) Number of blankets you sleep with: One Favourite singer or band: currently Of Monsters and Men Dream trip: Cities! I love sightseeing :D Also Skiing, always skiing. Dream job: Musical singer/actress When was this blog created: 20..13? Started out as a Supernatural blog xD When did your blog reach its peak: Still climbing hopefully What made you decide to make a tumblr: blame @notinvidia

3. Tagged by @marleeb (ty friend, we haven’t talked much yet so sorry for the spam of information here xD Feel free to do whichever of these tags interests you :D)

5 things you’ll find in my bag: Notebooks (at least 3) Assorted pens Allergy medication My wallet Haikyuu keychains :D

(see also this post)

5 things you’ll find in my bedroom: An enormous bookshelf (ca 1,5k books, 850 mangas) Assorted recording devices & equipment A large easel and all sorts of art supplies (acrylics, aquarelles, watercolors, pastels, colored pencils, crayons, markers, modeling paste, ink, soapstone) The door to my kitchen xD My workspace w/ computers and legal dictionaries ^^

5 things I’ve always wanted to do in life: Publish a novel Raise children Own a house with a private library and a large conservatory full of plants Perform on a large stage (did that, was amazing, love to do it again) Become a translator (lol I had no idea what i was signing up for)

5 things that make me happy: Singing (is the ultimate joy of my life) and performing w/ my choir Getting feedback for my writing (makes me ecstatic ngl) and exchanging ideas with people My brilliant, lovely, multi-facetted family My warm, patient and understanding friends Being able to create, and share my ideas to people who care about them :D 5 things I’m currently into: Moana (it has consumed my life and my life is infinitely better for it) Haikyuu (and the wonderful people I’ve met through it) My original stories (which I cannot wait to work on more) A Series of Unfortunate Events (the netflix series is so great and it really lives up to the books in my opinion??) Wasting time on tumblr and ignoring the BA-thesis that I need to be writing (and my work because why be responsible)

5 things on my to-do list: *cringes* my thesis My invoices & VAT returns Get someone to help me change a lightbulb (this is not a joke, I’m short) Finish writing two letters to friends that I’m working on :D (though this one I’m looking forward to) Finish writing the 60+ fics I’ve started and work on my original projects too :’)

(what a boring to-do list is2g)

5 things people may not know about me: I OVERSHARE ALL THE TIME (you knew that) I’m a legal translator (German/English) and I work freelance I am allergic to EVERYTHING I…really love…girls… I speak 4 languages (and a fifth one barely) :D

4. Tagged by @ghost--fox (this was a while back and I’m sorry for being so slow ;-; THANK YOU FOR TAGGING ME!!! I did your other tag too, below this one :D - obviously you’re tagged in any of the above if you feel like it xD)

Rules: Put your music on “Shuffle” List the first 10 songs Tag 10 people

1. Avicii – Hey Brother 2. Nothing’s Carved In Stone – Spirit Inspiration (Zetsuen no Tempest Opening) 3. Suzanne Vega – The Queen and the Soldier (I’m gonna base an AU on this just you wait) 4. The Cab - Endlessly 5. Blue Stahli – Anti You 6. Ramin Karimloo – Show Me Light (Have I yelled about how much I love him? I love him!!) 7. All Time Low – Cinderblock Garden 8. Genesis – Follow You Follow Me (I have no regrets, love me some 80s Phil Collins) 9. Ayumi Hamazaki – Dearest (Inuyasha Ending) 10. Nightmare – Sekai Wo (Death Note Opening)

5. Tagged again by @ghost--fox :D THANK YOU!!

A - Age: 21 soon xD B - Biggest fear: not making a difference C - Current time: 2:08pm (this took long omg) D - Drink you last had: I actually bought a fresh coconut and drank it :0 (my allergies are like “uhm girl that was a bad choice” but tbh it was worth it) E - Every day starts with: Removing my retainer and taking my allergy meds F - Favorite song: Empire by Of Monsters and Men and Invincible by Hedley G - Ghosts, are they real: Idk fam H - Hometown: Munich I - In love with: being inspired & motivated?? it’s the BEST?? J - Jealous of: healthy people K - Killed someone: couldn’t even if I wanted to L - Last time you cried: Out of frustration in December M - Middle name: Johanna (after my grandmother) N - Number of siblings: 4 (3 + an older step-sister I see twice a year) O - One wish: Stop using religion as an excuse for hate crimes P - Person you last called/texted: My dad/my friend Nina respectively Q - Questions you’re always asked: Can you chill? / Can you drive me to [place]? / How’s it going with your thesis? - pls But also: Are you doing okay? / Do you need me to listen? / Sing with me? – YES THANK YOU R - Reasons to smile: Fanfiction and fanart exists. Hot chocolate, tea and fluffy blankets. Music, Art, Books, Stories. Stars & the sky. Brilliant people are making brilliant things every day. A small act of kindness from you to a stranger can make all the difference. S - Song last sang: The Lasset uns nicht zerteilen chorus from Bach’s Johannespassion in my singing lesson (in preparation for our next choir concert), and then assorted Hamilton songs on my drive home xD T - Time you woke up: 7am U - Underwear color: dark blue V- Vacation destination: Cities w/ lots of art & culture :D W - Worst habit: biting my fingernails & cuticles I HATE MYSELF X - X-rays you’ve had: lots for my teeth (wrecked a tooth and used to have braces also), one for my knee after a hiking accident Y - Your favorite food: lasagna (w/ meat or spinach honestly I like both a lot) Z - Zodiac sign: Pisces

...and lastly, 6. Tagged by  @missellaineous (this is also super old I apologize but I liked your questions so :D - feel free to do any of the other tags if you want xD)

1. What can’t you sleep without? My phone. Literally I use it as an alarm clock xD 2. What are your favorite kind of socks? :0 I like big fluffy warm ones – and also I like skiing socks because they fit really tightly and they’re also super warm xD 3. What’s your favorite snack/meal/drink? Atm I am very weak for cookies (I have… phases. At one point I ate so many gummy bears that now I just cannot), my favorite food is lasagna and my favorite drink is water or tea (no milk, no sugar, I dislike sweet drinks except if it’s hot chocolate xD) 4. What’s your favorite kind of weather? …do you know the artist Yuumei? A lot of her pictures have spectacular skies that are like… the sun breaking through dark clouds after a storm? That. That’s my favorite weather. It’s so… motivational and  hopeful? Idk, but I love it. 5. What do you like to listen to/do to relax and feel better when you’re upset? I love the songs from musicals because they’re great to sing along to and singing always improves my mood :D I have endless love for Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera and Hamilton atm. Also what always helps me is, in my mom’s words, to “talk to someone who doesn’t hate you”. Because I tend to hate on myself a lot when I’m upset (for not being better, happier, healthier, enough) and it helps to talk to my friends, who objectively don’t think I’m as awful as I tend to think I am ^^ And they’re all really kind and understanding (and/or blunt when I need someone to tell me to snap out of it). 6. What’s your favorite store to shop at? HOO BOY ok I love bookstores (because duh, books) and lately I’ve also been loving Muji a lot? xD Also we have an art supply chain here in Germany that has GREAT STUFF and I always go overboard xD 7. What color do you wear the most? Black probably, but that’s because most of my pants/leggings are black. Other than that I own a lot of blue and also a lot of red, esp. dresses :D 8. What’s your favorite (video/board/social/party) game to play? That’s hard?? I don’t play a lot of video games but I absolutely adored Undertale. Funnily enough we play card & board games a lot when we meet with my old friends from school, but tbh I don’t have a favorite. I recently learned how to play Skat, which is really enjoyable? (Google tells me apparently that’s mainly a German thing, ok.) And, eh, I’m not a big fan of parties & party games ^^ 9. Any guilty pleasures? When I have time, I watch objectively bad or cliché anime and write commentary xD Also I spend way too much time playing The Sims if I’m totally honest... and scrolling through my dash. Damn. 10. If you could go anywhere (in real life or in fiction), where would it be? Or fiction??? HOGWARTS?!?! Teach me all the magic pls?! …ok but for real though I would love to visit some of my online friends :’)

Alright that’s it, thank you all again and sorry I’m slow and this is a huge post full of way too much information, I’m gonna let myself out now

#French speaks #tagged #I'm seriously so sorry this exploded

[trickedcoffee]

The Winter Court

A scream echoed through the forest, scattering the prowling animals of the night. It came from a throat, and thought one might have taken it for human, it was not the scream of the stage or the films – there was nothing practised about it, no decorum, communication or charm. It had less meaning than the cries of owls, less even than a roll of thunder.

The hunters were moving in unison towards the source of the scream. It had been a fine hunt, all the finer for reaching its end.

The moon was full that night, slung low and heavy over the horizon, its red-orange light darkening more than it illumined. By contrast, the stars shone high and bright in the clear skies, promising nights frozen to stillness and hunger that makes wolves of men.

The morning sun washed down the spires and roofs of the city, flooding down avenues and trickling through alleyways in a tide of crimson. A dog sleeping on the steps of Our Lady of Tyrants twitched in annoyance at the light shining through its eyelids, shaking itself with a low grumble before trotting off in search of scraps to steal.

Inside the Tempest, Jean waited. His glass shook against his lips and a single drop escaped, falling onto his shirt and leaving a small red stain on the white cloth. He had been idly drawing patterns in a puddle of spilled liquid as he waited, and spirals and concentric circles dotted the table’s surface. The years of accumulated grime coating the window by his head struggled valiantly against the dawn light, but ultimately succumbed. Jean could no longer deny the fact that Pierre wasn’t coming.

His mood was as grey as the people he passed on the streets, hurrying to tall offices of metal and stone. There were days, when his clothes hung a little looser about him and the fog of his own breath was the first thing he saw upon awakening, that he wished he were one of them. At such times he told himself that the rewards of the artist’s life were worth the sacrifices. Sometimes he even believed himself – but truthfully, it was fear that kept him going, the fear of waking up at fifty and realising he had sleepwalked his life away.

His attic room was as he had left – clothes strewn across the floor, desk bare save for a pile of blank pages and a pen (though reams of paper overflowed from the wastepaper basket, their surfaces an inky mess of scores and scribbles), large, old-fashioned mirror leaning against the only bare wall (finer than anything else in the room), narrow bed pushed into a corner (optimistically made with newly-bought sheets) into which he flung himself, still dressed, and tumbled into the uneasy sleep of the drunk.

He awoke with the sun high in the sky, blinking confused images of pale and burning hands from his eyes. In his belly, hunger and nausea were fighting for dominance. Hunger emerged the victor, forcing him to his feet. To the Tabby’s Penitence, for strong coffee and over-priced pastries.

By the time he had reached the dregs of his coffee he was no longer alone. Alexia and Christian, both former lovers and sometime friends, had imposed themselves at Jean’s table.

Christian smiled, a cigarette dangling from rouged lips.

“Aren’t you just the little lost lamb. Whatever’s the matter? And don’t tell me you’ve been rejected by another publisher – I know for a fact it’s been months since you’ve finished anything.”

Alexia fondly slapped Christian across the cheek.

“Do let him alone. Can’t you tell love-sickness when you see it?”

Her hair was stained black in accordance with fashion, her clothes cut in an androgynous, loose style which revealed nothing of what lay underneath.

She leaned forward, palms pressed flat against the table.

“So, who is it this time? Cynthia? That little tart Damien? Not Marcus again, I hope, I’m not tattooing over another poor impulse.”

“No one you know. He works at that antiques place down Martyrs’ Avenue, Artemys’.”

“Aren’t you a little old to be chasing after shop boys?”

“It isn’t like that! He’s older than I am, I think.”

There was a lapse in the conversation as mugs were exchanged for ruby glasses of sea-dark wine. Christian took a long draught, staining lip and glass both.

“Tell us about this boy you’ve found. Does he have the face of Apollo and the body of Adonis? The voice of a songbird? Have you found salvation in his eyes? Does you heart beat in time to the fluttering of his eyelashes? Is he hung like a donkey?”

“Don’t be crude,” said Jean.

It was evening when they met. A door opened, setting off a bell in some dusty corner. A young man entered, blonde hair darkened with grease, clothes at least two seasons out of fashion. He had the easy smirk of the seducer, with enough of a youthful flush that the hopeful could still believe in innocence.

(“Deceiving only yourself,” interjected Christian.

“Shh!”)

The door slammed shut behind him. The sounds of the street dropped to a soft hush, as though far more than a few inches of flimsy wood separated inside from out. The dark windows reflected the shop’s golden interior back at itself.

The shop was a seller of beautiful trivialities, tarnished and worn-smooth in places by the hands of their many owners, makers and occasionally uses entirely forgotten. A cobweb-draped chandelier shed the only light in the crowded room, whose thousand reflections off burnished metal and glass faces surrounded the viewer.

One corner was entirely devoted to books, half of them missing spines or covers, some so decrepit that one feared to open them lest they disintegrate entirely. A nearby shelf contained only timepieces, from watches to mantel clocks, all sitting in the looming shadow of a grandfather clock. Those that still worked were ticking out of sync with one another. There was a cabinet that was given over to the display of cats, made of wood or metal or glass. Lying atop was a very poor taxidermy of a cat in repose.

A painting hung from the far wall, all forest greens and earthy browns, as soft as a tapestry’s weave. The freely-worked paint made it difficult to make out any details beyond the pale woman in the foreground – was that a deer half-hidden behind a tree, or a man?

“Can I help you?”

A previously unnoticed figure stepped from the shadows. He had a boyish face, though soft creases around the eyes and wide, ironic mouth belied his true age. He wore a suit jacket tailored to someone a good few inches broader in the shoulders than he, which accentuated the slimness of his hips –

(“And limpid eyes and pouting lips and a firm arse – we can fill in the details ourselves.”)

Jean took a step towards him, the floorboards creaking underfoot.

“I find myself in want of a mirror,” he said. “One that has seen a thousand faces, that it will not flinch from my own.”

“Do you think yourself as hideous as all that?”

“Certainly not, but my mirror must; I can hardly stand to look at the face it shows me.”

The shop boy smiled a little.

“Well,” he said. “We have one that might suit your needs. Came to us from a widow selling off her late husband’s possessions. It had once, so she claimed, hung in the drawing room of a grand house whose family’s name she wouldn’t – or couldn’t – give, only that they were very old, and very wealthy, before their fall into scandal and obscurity.”

Pierre – for this, as Jean ascertained, was the shop boy’s name – lead Jean through the maze of the abandoned and the forgotten. As he passed the cat cabinet, the taxidermied cat yawned, stretched, and turned its fantastically ugly face towards Jean defiantly.

In a dark corner hung a very old mirror, prodigious surface blanketed in a thick layer of dust. The wooden frame had been carved to resemble a wreath of leaves, and though most had worn away, a few flakes of gold leaf still clung to its folds.

With the corner of his coat that was the furthest from being clean, Jean swept off the dust.

Unlike its modern counterparts, it was not so forwards as to offer up an unapologetically accurate reflection. Rather it flattered, and softened, and a certain slight distortion slimmed the viewer. The backing was unusual – bronze, perhaps – that cast a golden hue over the image, capable of rendering even the most spartan of rooms dangerously decadent and softly sinister. This tint brought out the glints of gold in Jean’s eyes and hair, while gently blurring the rest of his face into the background. Pierre’s dark eyes stood out over his shoulder like burning coal.

“How much?”

Pierre gave a number – far more than Jean could sensibly afford.

“I’ll take it.”

The mirror was delivered that very night, wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine, by Pierre himself.

It was carefully leant against the fall, still covered, and promptly forgotten about.

There are some rooms that are too small for one person but just right for two. Beds can be much the same.

It began lazily. Like painters they carefully sketched out the contours of their creation in the curves and dips of each other. Jean took a particular delight in the hollows of Pierre’s collarbones, and spent a considerable amount of time exploring the possibilities suggested therein.

Somehow or other Jean found himself stripped bare, pinned to the mattress by the thighs of a fully-clothed Pierre. He reached upwards to rectify the matter, but such thoughts were quickly dashed by a somewhat distracting grind of Pierre’s hips.

Pierre picked up a half-empty wine bottle from the selection beside the bed, unstoppered it with his teeth and exsanguinated it over Jean’s torso.

His hands slid down Jean, neck to navel, leaving slick, bloody tracks in their wake as Jean arched like Christ in ecstasy.

What followed was a timeless reverie of caresses and gasps, of fingers and teeth, far too intimate and strange to be lingered over in the cold light of day.

(Christian pouted.)

Though in the moment of highest passion, Jean could have sworn that Pierre’s eyes turned inky black, corner to corner.

The next morning, he awoke from dreams of dead dogs to sunlight spilling over ruined sheets, quite alone.

Inside the Tabby’s Penitence, lamps were being lit against the encroaching darkness, though it was not yet five o’clock. The same instincts that drive birds south and bears to deep places were filling the pub with souls seeking warmth, wine and company. Spirits were beginning to rise, and to flow.

“So far so good,” said Alexia. “You have a quick fuck, he’s gone come morning, and you’re left pining. Aren’t you a little too old to be drawn into these childish games? Lord knows you’ve been on the other side often enough.”

Jean took a sip of wine that put the glass down, grimacing. “There was a note. Pinned to the mirror’s wrappings. Come to the Tempest this evening. If I’m not there, don’t come looking for me.”

He seemed distracted for a moment. “I unwrapped the mirror after reading the note. It looked… different? Than it had when I bought it, I mean. More amber than golden. Probably just the lighting. I stood naked in front of it, I don’t know for how long. I couldn’t get it out of my head that I looked just like a nymph – like a forest nymph, spied upon while bathing or some such.”

Alexia waved a dismissive hand. “And that evening? You went, I assume.”

“Last night. Yes. He wasn’t there.”

She scoffed. “There you have it then. Blown, then blown off. I recommend you get thoroughly pissed and try to forget about him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Christian interjected. “He obviously wants you to pursue him. Why else tell you not to?”

“You really are such a man sometimes,” laughed Alexia.

Christian swallowed the last of his wine. “God this is swill. Shall we have another?”

The conversation soon turned to other matters and several hours later Jean found himself stumbling home.

The wine he had drunk burned in his belly and skin, and sleep poured over him in fevered waves.

Half-awake he dreamed he lay entranced within a bower. His four walls had been transformed into trees and thicket, his bed fashioned from heather and fallen boughs.

Only the mirror remained as it was (though, he thought dimly, surely he shouldn’t be able to see it from where he lay?), its surface glimmering darkly, reflecting nothing.

It drew his gaze terribly as a thrumming silence filled his ears and fear rose in gorge, but he could not, would not, look away.

Morning came reluctantly.

Jean washed his face, and dressed, and left.

The antiques shop was very different in the morning light. Sun streaming through the windows set alight streams of dust hanging in the air and exposed the unwanted, broken objects for the tat that they were.

A man stepped forward, not younger than sixty, limbs knotted with sinew, eyes undimmed. His hair was pure white – he had clearly not adopted the habit of hiding the signs of age with dyes.

He spoke with a deep, growling voice.

“Good morning, young sir. I am Artemys. May I be of any assistance?”

“I’m looking for someone. Pierre. I believe he works here?”

A ray of sunlight caught Artemys’ eyes so that they seemed to flash for a moment.

“Indeed? And what would sir want with him, I wonder.”

“I was just hoping for a word. He sold me a mirror the other day, and-”

“If you have found fault with anything sold here, I would be glad to be of assistance.”

“Oh! No, it’s nothing like that. I was just hoping to speak to him.”

“I see. I’m afraid you are out of luck. As of yesterday, he no longer works here.”

“May I ask why?”

“It was a result of his own choices. Far be it from me to gossip.”

“I see… in that case, might I ask where he lives?”

Artemys’ eyebrows rose.

“I do not keep such close tabs on my employees as you might wish, nor should I bandy about that information if I did.”

Jean’s heart sank. “Then I must thank you for you time.”

“A moment,” said Artemys, and with a snake-quick movement grasped Jean by the jaw and tilted his face each way.

“Pretty…”

Jean slapped his hand away and backed off.

“You know,” said Artemys cheerily, “you really shouldn’t have come here.”

Jean stumbled backwards out of the door and didn’t stop running until he was far away.

The midday sun shone on the thousand glittering panes of light that coated the floor of his room like pieces of broken sky.

Against the wall the mirror’s frame still lent, backing bare, the bronze metal softly reflecting dim shapes.

No sign of a break-in, naturally. The door had been locked, the window opened onto a thirty-foot drop into the icy river.

Mechanically, Jean swept up the glass, wrapping the broken pieces in an old blanket.

He wrote till evening. He found himself unable to string together anything resembling a coherent narrative, so allowed it to become an almost masturbatory exercise in scene and form. Again and again he was drawn to images of beautiful boys full of arrows, set upon by hounds, heads yanked back by the hair to expose the throat.

And then night came. Sleep did not find him, as though through his writing his dreams had already taken their fill.

A church bell struck one as an impulse did Jean. By candlelight he unfurled the blanket, exposing its shattered insides. A rummage through a drawer produced an old tube of glue, with which we stuck the glass back into their frame, shard by painstaking shard, like a jigsaw where all the pieces are identical.

The bell had sounded nine more times before he finished.

The artist in him could not help but be disappointed. He had half-expected and half-hoped that there would be a piece missing – a dramatic scar in its centre, just where his heart would rest – or that the glass would glow white-hot and fuse together seamlessly, perhaps rewarding him with a glimpse of something strange and forbidden for his efforts.

But the mirror had only ever been a mirror – and hardly even that now, as its spiderweb of cracks and distorting smudges of dried glue rendered it unusable.

And now sleep remembered him, weighing down on his eyelids irresistibly. His dreams that night were full of darkness, and of cold, and of a hunter with a laughing mouth.

Weeks later. A group of the young – but not as young as they were – gathered to drink, and to talk.

“Is Jean not coming?” asked one.

“Yes, where has he got to? I haven’t seen him in simply ages,” replied another.

A third leaned in conspiratorially. “I saw him the other day, you know, down Martyrs’ Avenue. I think he’s got a job at a place there. Looked like he hadn’t slept for weeks. Pale as anything. Stared through me like I wasn’t even there.”

“Turned to the needle, no doubt.”

“Such a shame. I always did say he very nearly had talent.”

#my dumb writing #writing #original writing #the winter court