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lilacmiracle · 4 years

Text

The Terrifying Case of Iplier Manor - Chapter 1

Beta read by @mysterio-is-the-truth

Fandoms: Markiplier, Buzzfeed Unsolved

Note: Quotation marks are Ryan narrating, bold is Shane speaking, italics are Ryan speaking, both bold and italics is the psychic, both bold and italics and in all caps is the spirit box

(AO3) Words: 4,356

The video opens on a series of clips that are presumably filmed later in the episode. The first clip shows Ryan in front of a broken mirror while looking over at Shane, asking, breathlessly, “What the fuck?” The second clip shows Ryan, still in front of the broken mirror, with a bottle of what is presumably holy water. He sprays it at Shane. The third and final clip shows Ryan, Shane, and a new person, all in a different room, this one with a wood fireplace, with a flashlight that has been brightly turned on. The flashlight switches off, and Ryan screams very loudly.

The video then cuts to the intro for most ‘Supernatural’ episodes, with the building in the background being a version of the Manor, rendered in a 2-Dimensional style.

The video then cuts to Ryan and Shane standing in front of the double doors to the Manor, with Ryan on the right and Shane on the left.

“We are here at Iplier Manor, site of the Warfstache Disappearances, for this season’s finale and my one demon sacrifice for this season.”

I’m really fucking scared, man. I -- I don’t wanna do this.

It’s fiiiiiine. I mean, what’s the worst that’s gonna happen? Spooky lawyer ghosts?

We could die! We could disappear like those other people!

Only if the Colonel comes.

“This house, if it is, in fact, inhabited by a demon, is by far the most dangerous location that we have ever investigated. As such, we have brought in a psychic to help us in our investigation.”

The new person from the third clip steps into frame. She appears to be an older woman with short, gray hair and loose clothes. She is wearing loose necklaces and an abundance of bracelets that hang off of her wrists.

Hello, my name is Lily, and I am here to help these two with their investigation on this Manor right here.

With that, the Ghoul Boys™ and Lily head inside of the Manor.

I have a Bible and my holy water.

You’re gonna be fine, Ryan.

I sure hope so.

“This episode is going to be rather out of the ordinary with regards to our other demon investigations, considering the fact that we have already covered the history of this house in our last True Crime episode. However, there are a few odd occurrences inside of these walls that were not covered in that video.”

The video cuts to black, fading into a black-and-white image of Mark Iplier. Ryan’s narration continues.

“This Manor has a long history of misery, being the place of many a divorce and untimely death, all of which were ruled to be by natural causes. Things start getting weird when the actor Mark Iplier buys the house for himself and his new wife, Celine Iplier, in early 1913. Investigators found a diary that is believed to have been owned by Celine Iplier. The entries in this diary paint a terrible picture -- Mark was being twisted into the form of a monster, wrote one entry.”

The image on the video had shifted into an image of Celine when Ryan mentioned her. Now, it shows an image of aged paper, with a message written in practiced cursive. A female voice begins to read:

“Friday, February 20, 1914,

This house has become more and more oppressive. I sense darkness within it, and I think that Mark does as well. I am concerned, for if he feels what I can -- he is not trained in anything beyond our world, he has no access to what is past our mortal realm. For the house to make itself known, even to him, is a sign of something terrible.

I can feel him changing, shifting; he has been ever since he bought this place. Hell, he changed the moment he set foot through those damned doors. I don’t know what the house is twisting him into -- I just know that I won’t like the end result.”

There is a sound effect of the turning of a page, and the image onscreen is replaced by a new one -- another aged piece of paper, the same perfect penmanship, a different message that’s somehow even more ominous. The same voice begins to read:

“Wednesday, August 5, 1914,

Mark hasn’t gotten a job in months. He quit the studio in June, and he keeps telling me that he’ll try for a job with another. He’s not going to, and I don’t have to be psychic to see that. He keeps wasting away in his office, today is no different. He keeps going to the wine cellar, but whenever I go, no wine is missing.

I don’t know what he’s doing. Mark’s beginning to scare me -- he fired our butler. Again. He wouldn’t have done that two years ago. This Mark isn’t the one I married two years ago, either.

This house is twisting him, and I fear the image that he is being molded to. My concerns aren’t being listened to, either -- everyone’s saying it’s the stress of the War. That’s not it, wars don’t make men stay away from their wives for weeks at a time. Wars don’t make men fire staff member after staff member, or buy car after car, while doing nothing at all with the luxuries that they’ve bought. Wars don’t change men like Mark has changed.

I want my husband back. And I want this fucking house burned to the ground.”

Another page turn, another piece of paper. It’s still old, and still covered in Celine’s perfect handwriting. A new message is upon it.

“Friday, May 14, 1915,

Mark is dead, and whatever’s walking around in his body isn’t him. I’ve mourned and made my peace with that. The thing wearing his face is a selfish and awful monster.

It still hosts parties like Mark did -- the same poker nights that are always won by (the writing is redacted. Written over it, in white, is “The District Attorney,” despite the fact that the person that it must be referring to won’t even be the DA for another 5 years), the same cocktail parties for the sole purpose of social climbing. Those parties are the same as before, which is almost insulting. The only difference is that Mark, our friends and I used to make fun of the pompous jerks, afterward. Now he sends them home with everyone else. He never speaks to me, either.

Parties are the only times I see my brother anymore. I miss Damien, almost more than I miss Mark. But I know that Damien is within reach. I know that I can worm my way past the monster, if only for a few hours. But Mark is too far gone to even be contacted through the beyond. I fear that I will never see him again, even after I die. That almost scares me more than the monster.”

Another entry.

“Saturday, October 7, 1916,

William returned yesterday. He says to call him Colonel now, but I don’t think I ever will. It’s too impersonal, and it glorifies the War far too much. The War cost William his leg, and too many others their lives.

Will may be my only escape from the monster. He hasn’t let me leave this house in months, not even to see Damien. There’s a poker night on Tuesday, the 10th. I know that William will be there, and I know that the layout of the house will disorient him. When he gets lost in the house, I can find him. He’ll be away from ‘Mark,’ far enough away that I can convince him to run away with me. I know that he will, I know that he still loves me, even after our breakup, and even after my wedding.

I only have one chance to escape. William is my last hope, and if I fail, my fate will be at the hands of the monster.

At times like this, I think of my husband. My real husband. I miss Mark dearly, but I know that I could never bear to look at him if he came back. His image has been far too tainted by the thing that is wearing his face.

This will be my final entry. I am hiding this diary in the hopes that it may one day be found by those who may purchase this accursed Manor. Know that if I have mysteriously died or disappeared, it was caused by something taking the form of Mark Iplier.

Know that this Manor isn’t safe.”

Well that was something.

That was an adventure. We’ve got body snatchers, we’ve got cursed houses, we’ve got reclusive husbands. Hell, this would make a great book!

(wheeze)

“These diary entries tell the horrifying tale of Celine Iplier, who was terrorized by the demon within this very Manor. It took the form of her husband, Mark Iplier, whom she was later able to divorce. She regained her maiden name, which has now been lost, along with many other names of those present at the party almost exactly four years later.”

What’s weird -- and I mean it’s really fucking weird -- is she did still disappear mysteriously. With whatever made itself look like her ex-husband.

That is weird, yeah, but it’s also four years later. I think it’s a coincidence.

But it’s four years to the day!

Coincidence. Although -- this does paint Warfstache in a whole new light.

It does, actually. He’s the hero now!

Good for him.

“Speaking of Warfstache, we are now going to be entering the room that matched the location of his supposed ‘séance room.’ When it was investigated, there was no evidence of anything supernatural at all, though it doesn’t hurt to look.”

The crew enters the room, which is set up with a table in the center. Around it are three chairs, presumably meant for Shane, Ryan, and Lily. There are three lit candles sitting on the center of the table.

We are going to be performing a séance in this room, the one where Damien and Celine allegedly disappeared. We will be attempting to contact their departed spirits, in the hopes that they will be able to give us answers as to the events that transpired in this house.

Shane, Ryan, and Lily all sit at the table. They join hands around the table, encircling it.

Close your eyes, everyone.

Shane, Ryan, and Lily all close their eyes.

We are reaching out to one or both of the twins Damien and Celine, who disappeared in this house in the year 1920. If either of you are present, please send us a sign.

Nothing happens for a moment. The room is silent, the only light coming from the flames of the candles.

Lily visibly shudders.

Something is here. I do not know who, or what, it is. Ryan, if you could ask your first question?

Yes. Are you Damien or Celine?

I -- I just felt a “No.” In my head. I don’t think that it’s either of them.

Are you, or were you, human?

Another “No.”

Are you a demon?

Lily breathes deeply, as if steeling herself.

“Yes.”

Ryan visibly tenses. Shane continues his questioning.

Are you the demon that looked like the actor guy?

Lily becomes unnaturally still for a moment, as if she’s listening to something that nobody else can hear.

It -- it says that it never looked like him. It never possessed him. It just ... spoke to him. Are you intending to harm anyone in this circle tonight?

Silence. The video cuts ahead, almost imperceptibly, as everyone is still in the same position as before.

Fifteen minutes have passed with no answer. The demon has ended the séance.

Lily opens her eyes and releases Shane and Ryan’s hands. The others follow suit.

I’m really freaking out now.

You’ve got your holy water, man. And your Bible.

I -- yeah. I have holy water and I’m not afraid to use it.

You think it was telling the truth? About not possessing the guy?

Are you actually admitting that a real demon was talking to us?

I’m not admitting anything. I’m invested in the story, though.

The story.

Yeah, the story. Was the guy possessed like the wife says, or did he just become a total douche? Fame can do that to people, you know.

You didn’t need fame for that, you dick.

Shush, you.

“After the séance, we’re going to be walking around the Manor so that Lily can get a general sense of the place and if there’s anything that she can pick up on that we haven’t.”

I would just like to say, before we leave this room -- I can feel something here. Unrelated to the recent séance.

Ryan hesitates, then says,

Please elaborate.

Something ... bad ... happened here. In this room. I sense feelings of confusion, betrayal, loss ... regret. I -- hang on.

She moves to another area of the room, closing in on herself.

Something terrible happened, right in this spot. Somebody died right here. The thing is, though, I can usually sense if it’s a masculine or a feminine presence. I can definitively say that there was at least one masculine presence, the one that died in this spot. But the other ... seems to alternate between the two. And not in a natural way, either; it feels like a woman was possessed by something male. These ‘presences’ aren’t here right now, though, Ryan, you can relax.

Ryan had tensed up, but now he relaxed slightly after Lily told him to.

These are ... echoes of people that were here, ones that went through something awful. These echoes feel very similar to each other, at least, the masculine one and the feminine part of the other. I think that Damien and Celine did die here. I can also sense that they are still wandering this plane, still stuck roaming the mortal realm ... but they left this Manor long ago. We won’t see any of them tonight.

With that, she exits the room, beckoning for Shane and Ryan to follow.

“Our first stop is by an object that most paranormal investigators have agreed is one of the most active places in this Manor.”

The crew stops near a broken mirror on the first floor of the building. There is a large hole just to the left of the center of the mirror.

There is a lot of energy here. You boys might like to use your ‘Spirit Box’ here later. I can feel ... quite a lot, a lot of people, a lot of emotion, right here. I can feel an echo of a man, just over there.

She points to an area just past the mirror, towards what appears to be a room with large double doors leading outside. They are covered by curtains, and made almost completely of glass.

There is a sense of ... pity. Towards him, from someone over here. This mirror feels ... empty. Not empty as in ‘there’s nothing there,’ but empty as in apathetic. Someone fought desperately, kicked and screamed and did everything in their power to get someone, anyone, to help them ... but nobody came. So, they slowly gave up. The fight drained until they finally realized that nobody would, or even could, save them. Now they’re trapped in the eternal hell of the mirror, abandoned by those they thought to be friends. I ... don’t know where that came from, I’m sorry.

Don’t be.

Well, I can tell you that the presence in the mirror was human, but now they’re a spirit. Neither a masculine nor feminine presence, but I think that that discrepancy is a natural one. I can also feel ... something familiar, similar to the room we were in a few minutes ago.

The séance room?

Yes. It is only an echo, but it feels ... powerful. Very, very powerful. And ... angry. On a quest for revenge, hoping to right the wrongs done unto it. Them. It feels like multiple people in one echo, which ... I don’t like that. But ... that echo held the souls of Damien and Celine, but ... not. It was them, but broken. Only bits and pieces of their souls were pieced together into this ... amalgamation. I just ... I really don’t like the energy over here anymore. May we go on?

Of course.

Shane and Ryan hang back a bit.

That was intense. Maybe it possessed her? A bit? Or the thing in the mirror was lonely, and went kind of overboard in expressing itself. Maybe?

We can ask it with the Spirit Box later. Of course, I would not be at all opposed if you didn’t want to.

Why? You scared, Shane?

It’s loud and annoying and, frankly, if I don’t have to hear it then I wouldn’t mind at all.

Yeah, it is kind of loud and annoying.

Thank you.

But we’re still doing it.

*sigh*

The video cuts to the crew walking around various hallways and into various rooms. A few occasional creaks and thumps can be heard, but they’re all easily explainable as the house settling. It is uneventful, until Lily suddenly stops at the top of a balcony on the second floor. Shane and Ryan turn around to see her grasping at the rail with a white-knuckled grip, her eyes squeezed shut.

I ... someone died here. Someones, actually. Two people died in this general area.

Can you tell us if you have any idea of who?

Yes. I need a moment, though.

She walks back to a window that she had passed a moment ago. She kneels below it, her head bowed. She stands again.

I can feel it. A man died right here, very suddenly. I would say that I smell gunpowder, but I don’t smell it, I only sense it. This man wanted justice, he wanted answers for ... I’m sorry. I don’t know.

That’s alright. Can you give any more insight as to who he was?

Yes. Something about him is very ... fixed. He stuck to what he knew, and what he was familiar with. He always had a partner, even though none of them lived to tell the tale.

The Detective.

That seems to make sense, considering everything that I’m getting from him. I think his name was ... “Abe.”

Thank you. Now, can you tell us anything about the other death?

Yes. It was over here, I believe.

She walks back to the balcony, gripping the rail. She never looks over the edge, instead staring into the camera.

It was just as sudden as Abe’s. A gunshot. They were trying to help their partner, though they didn’t blame the culprit. Everyone was high-strung at the time, and the Detective was ‘poking the bear,’ at least, that’s what I’m getting from them.

Their partner ... this must be where the District Attorney died.

This feels eerily similar to the spirit in the mirror.

One could hear a pin drop, with how silent it got. After a moment, Lily continued.

They were shot, and then they fell over this balcony right here, all the way to the ground below.

Lily looks over the railing, gripping it with both hands. Her knuckles are white, when suddenly she reaches out, screaming,

IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, I SWEAR!

It echoes in the hall for a moment. Everyone, even Shane, stands there in stunned silence. Lily retracts her hand, resting both gently upon the railing. She looks down. Her eyes are closed. She murmurs, softly, almost to herself,

It’s not fair, is it?

Lily shudders and looks up and around, coming back to herself. She folds her arms tightly across her chest and breezes past the camera, murmuring,

I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ll be in the last room.

The video shows Shane and Ryan looking at each other in confusion and concern. The video shows the crew chasing after her for a bit, then cutting to a room with a couch and a fireplace, with a hardwood floor. It is the room that was shown in one of the clips that was played at the beginning of the video, the clip with the flashlights. Lily is there, with Shane and Ryan. Lily is standing in front of the fireplace.

Are you sure that you want to do this?

Yes, I’m sure. The flashlights will provide a mode of communication, so nothing will have to use me. This will actually be the safest thing that we have done thus far -- provided, of course, that we continue to adhere to the rules of proper conduct.

What are those? We haven’t heard of any kind of rules, except for not to directly incite anything to speak.

No, that’s not what I meant. You received general advice, of the kind that could be used in contact with any run-of-the-mill demon. This one, however, requires a bit of ... decorum. Most powerful demons are like that, and this Entity is no exception.

What are these rules, exactly?

You don’t need to worry, I’ll let you know if you come close to breaking any. Just continue as you were.

Okay, well, if you’re sure ...

“We are currently sitting in the room that contained the makeshift crime scene, that was supposed to belong to Mark Iplier. The area that the body supposedly occupied was in front of that fireplace right there -” he gestured over to the fireplace “- and it is also here that he reportedly died. Once again, this was covered in our True Crime video, however, there are a few supernatural elements that we neglected to mention. Specifically, Warfstache’s reports of the body having disappeared less than 24 hours after it was discovered.”

The “poof” strikes again.

(uneasy laughter)

“There is no evidence to suggest that this body was moved through supernatural means, in fact, there is also no real evidence to suggest that a body was even here in the first place. The crude shape of a body lying on the ground was constructed of white tape, however, it was not likely that it was constructed by actual authorities, given that no records definitively place a body in this spot.”

Not to mention that the tape structure had a dick on it.

Wait, really? Like, the real outline had a dick?

Yep.

(disbelieving laughter)

“Additionally, many tests have been performed in this area to determine whether any bodily fluids, fingerprints, or any kind of remnant of a human body was present in this area. All that was found was half of a thumbprint, which could not be identified.”

The thumbprint was in the general area of where the thumb would have been, judging from the tape, but that’s not enough conclusive evidence to say, “yes, Mark Iplier did die here.”

It could’ve been any thumbprint, from anyone who was making the tape thing.

Yeah. Personally, I think that it was Iplier’s, but some may not exactly be inclined to believe that.

Lily takes the end of Ryan’s narration as her cue to begin investigating the room for an echo or a presence of any kind.

There was death here, but ... I do not sense any emotion from the victim. That’s ... very odd.

The “victim?” So the person that died here, were they mur-

NO!!!

Ryan and Shane glance at each other in shock.

Don’t say that word. It’s a rule for this demon.

Ryan gives a shaky exhale.

Thanks.

But to answer your question ... yes. The victim was ... killed by someone else.

Do you have any idea who?

I ... barely. He seems very similar to the man I sensed earlier, the one who was pitied by something near the mirror. I know it isn’t much, but ...

Thanks anyway, Lily. Now, let’s get into Shane’s favorite part ...

It’s flashlight time!

A flashlight is set up as usual, with the setting almost hovering between on and off. It’s currently on, but it would be very easy to turn off completely.

Okay, my first question: is anyone or anything with us right now? Please turn the flashlight off if you are willing to communicate.

The flashlight doesn’t change for a bit. Then, slowly, it dims and turns off. Ryan tenses up immediately, while Shane hardly reacts.

For the record ... this does feel very similar to the demon from earlier.

If you’re a demon, turn it back on!

The flashlight turns on almost immediately. It is shining rather brightly, brighter than before. Ryan shrinks back a bit. Shane, however, is laughing.

Turn it off ... if you’re gonna kill us!

The light turns off, and Ryan screams. Shane laughs at Ryan’s reaction.

Okay, demon, just one more question before Ryan starts talking ... turn the flashlight back on if you’re gonna disappear us like those other guys.

The camera focuses on the flashlight for a few minutes, but it remains off.

Wow, we’re not even gonna be a mystery? You’re just gonna kill us and not even bother making it interesting? You have no taste.

Shane is shaking his head in mock disappointment as Ryan laughs uneasily.

I am gonna be slaughtered in cold blood, and when I do I want it to be a goddamned mystery! I wanna be on Buzzfeed Unsolved! Fuck you!

Ryan is laughing louder now, and is beginning to relax.

Okay, uh, let’s get down to business. Did you kill the inhabitants of this Manor in October of 1920?

The flashlight remains off, immobile.

I think I scared him off.

Try one more question, Ryan?

Okay. Did you enable, or help along in any way, the deaths of the inhabitants of this Manor in October 1920?

The flashlight remains off for a moment. Then, slowly, it dimly turns itself on. Ryan jumps, but doesn’t freak out as badly as before.

I ... I think that we’re done with the flashlights tonight.

Awww!

Shane pouts, while Ryan grabs the flashlight and turns it off. Lily stands, and nods at Ryan and Shane.

It seems that it is time to make my leave. Goodbye, you two.

Lily begins to walk away, as Ryan and Shane wave a short goodbye. Then as soon as she is about to leave the room, she stops and turns back.

Good luck. You’ll need it.

Then, she walks out of frame.

Tags: @lildevyl @ghostly-quest @turtlecrow @sandinthetardis

#markiplier #wkm #The Terrifying Case of Iplier Manor #The Terrifying Case of Iplier Manor - Chapter 1 #bfu #buzzfeed unsolved #wkm fic #ryan bergara #shane madej #Damien #Celine #wkm the seer #wkm the mayor #wkm the detective #wkm the colonel #wkm the actor #wkm the DA

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chicoriii · 4 years

Photo

🎶Made for @lovesquarefluffweek Day 1 - Concert 🎶

Please, click on the picture to see it in full resolution, it looks awful when small and Kwamis are hardly seen.

🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵

It’s the first time I take part in event like this. When I noticed concert day, I knew I need to do this, since instrumental music is my the biggest passion. I love jazz and classical piano so much, even though piano is not my favourite instrument.

It's great to combine my love for Miraculous and instrumental/classical music. I'm not a musician, but I can do it by drawing a fanart which illustrates music scene with my favourite side of Love Square.

🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵

It’s one of my first attempts at drawing humans from years, I’ve never been good at it, Miraculous gives me lots of motivations to improve my terrible skills. I prefer drawing things like animals or various creatures (so also Kwamis), but humans are getting more and more enjoyable. So there’s lots of anatomy mistakes and so on, but it’s not too bad for now, I guess. Despite I made many improvements during drawing it, there’s still something wrong with Marinette’s face and I couldn’t fix it enough.

🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵

Some background for this fanart:

I imagine it’s a first private concert which Adrien is playing specially for Marinette, he even rents a concert hall (he’s rich and romantic enough to something as much extravagant) when it’s not used. It’s not just one piece or two, he’s playing about 1-hour long piano recital (look at playlist below) only for his girlfriend (and magical creatures). It’s post-reveal, so Kwamis also can enjoy it without being hidden. While Tikki is excited about it not less than Marinette, Plagg is more interested in his Sugarcube, since he’s used to listening to Adrien’s piano and sometimes he’s playing with him. But rather cheerful jazzy-like improvised pieces, because he doesn’t like classical as much, especially sad compositions (Feast gave me some thoughts like these). Adrien decides to give a concert in a melancholic theme (so slow, soft, beautiful etc. pieces are played) to make this date as much romantic as he can. Even though blond boy is usually closing his eyes while playing on piano (like many instrumentalists), he can’t stop staring at his sweet girlfriend with his signature soft look™.

🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵

One of my the biggest wishes is to see a scene when Adrien is playing on piano specially for Marinette, any good composition (I don’t like that one from Heart Hunter), preferably classical one. And I’d love to see an episode with a classical instrumentalist based akuma, rock and pop are not the only musical genres out there.

Classical music (and instrumental music in general) is highly unappreciated, so I'm happy when it’s represented in media, especially kid shows. This is what I love the most about classic cartoons, there’s lots of classical music. The Cat Concerto, Tom and Jerry episode which won an Academy Award, is one of the best examples of very creative use of classical piece for a slapstick comedy. Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 was even played by two pianist, by classical and jazz ones.

Classical music can be enjoyed by anyone who has some passion to music at least. It’s a very eclectic type of music where you can find everything. Classical is not only over 1-hour symphonies, there’s also compositions shorter than typical radio-friendly song. It’s not only serious music, classical can be also playful with very catchy melodies. Everyone can find something for themselves.

🎹🎹🎹🎹 Playlist 🎹🎹🎹🎹

I'm also enjoying choosing played pieces so much and it's too hard, since there's tons of beautiful piano music, though I know only a very small part of classical world. It’s about one-hour long concert, so also recordings were chosen to last about 1 hour together.

As sonata is a musical form with several movements (usually three or four) and since not all of them fit melancholic theme of this concert, Adrien play only one or two selected movements. For example only the first movement of extremely popular Beethoven's Moonlight sonata - Adagio sostenuto - is that dark and sad piece which everyone knows. The shortest second movement Allegretto is still not fast but quite cheerful, while the last Presto agitato is... Check it yourself, it's one of my favourites music moments ever. 😊

I also decided to try selecting lesser-known compositions (but it doesn't mean they are all little-known) to promote them, so there's a chance than maybe someone gives this music a shot and discover something new to appreciate.

Fryderyk Chopin - Nocturne in B flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1 - I couldn't choose anything else for the beginning. Nocturnes are my favourites Chopin's compositions and this one I love the most. No word describe how much I adore it, it's the most beautiful piece ever composed.

Franz Schubert - Minuet in A Major, D. 334 - The first time I heard it, I thought about Adrien. I think this short sweet piece describes his childlike innocence quite well.

Fryderyk Chopin - Prelude Op.28 No.15 in D Flat Major, "Raindrop" - This thing is shown on the screen of Adrien's smartphone in few episodes (like Captain Hardrock), but for some reason it's not what's actually played. I have no idea if it was supposed to be played, but was changed after rendering was done or it's just an error. It's so nice composition, though not my favourite Chopin's prelude, even if it's the longest one. Unfortunately, the piece which is actually heard in the show is unknown for me, I'd love to discover it, but I can't. All I know it's definitely not any other Chopin's prelude.

Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110 - I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo and III. Adagio ma non troppo – Allegro ma non troppo - It’s almost the whole sonata, the only missing thing is the shortest second movement. It's probably my favourite piano sonata, so I couldn't not choosing it.

Franz Liszt - Consolation No. 3 in D-Flat Major, S. 172 - If once I wonder why I love this, this is because it's so Chopin-esque.

Franz Schubert - Piano Sonata No.16 in A minor D.845 - I. Moderato - I discovered this wonderful composition thanks to Nodame Cantabile, my favourite anime and manga ever, which is focused on classical music college students and professional classical musicians. Two main characters are also opposites who learn much from each other. I gave a link to the performance made specially for Nodame Cantabile, because I'm mostly attached to it. Usually this piece is played faster and it kills the atmosphere in my opinion. This rendition is the most emotional I've ever heard.

How would be this list without any French composers? I believe Ravel and Debussy are a mustm since they are the most known and important, I believe, and I also added something from Satie, because he wrote lots of soft compositions for piano solo. Chopin was also half-French (from his father), but: "Chopin's biographer Adam Zamoyski writes that he never considered himself to be French, despite his father's French origins, and always saw himself as a Pole." (source: Wikipedia) Besides Chopin's music is very Polish.

Maurice Ravel - Jeux d'eau

Claude Debussy - Rêverie

Erik Satie - Gnossiennes: No. 1 - Lent

Maurice Ravel - Ma mère l'Oye, M. 60: I. Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant - finish it with something very short but so beautiful.

🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵

Many beautiful things are missing, probably the most fitting for this concert would be Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3, since it's love music essentially, but it's too well-known (one of the most popular if not the most popular compostion by Liszt) and I'm kind of tired of this. I'm also very sad because of Chopin's Prelude in E Minor, but two pieces of the same composers are enough and this is his the most known prelude, too. I couldn't not recommend this jazz trio cover, because it's too good, too atmospheric though a different take on this theme.

Jazz musicians are often turning compositions into something much different. Everyone knows Beethoven's Für Elise, one of the best- known and (in my opinion) boring classical pieces in existence, but this jazz trio cover (sorry, I can’t find it outside of Spotify and other streaming services, it’s a very niche band) is just outstanding, I can't stop listening to it! Jazz arrangements of classical music is something I love so much.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanart #ml fanart #my art #lovesquarefluffweek2020 #adrienette #adrien agreste #marinete dupain cheng #plagg #tikki #kwami #kwamis #lovesquarefluffweek2020 day 1 concert #piano concert #classical music #chicoriii

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himb0i · 7 years

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!!!HEY!!! Someone asked for a hair tutorial, so I took some screencaps of the process while I worked on one of my commissions and wrote up my thoughts to go with it! If that’s something that interests you, click through the readmore!

Step 1: Lose the screencaps you took of your actual sketch, starting the tutorial off on a great note!

Whoops. I ended up drawing over my partially-rendered piece to reproduce it. (My actual sketch was much messier. You’ll be able to see a little bit of it later!) The actual Step 1 is: Draw head. Sketch hair. I rough in the shape of the skull, the facial features, and whatever part of the body is in-frame first. Then, I sketch in the hairline, highlighted in red. Hairlines come in all shapes, from rounded to square to widow’s peaks! Next, I draw in a part coming back from the hairline, following the curvature of the skull. From there I start drawing in “chunks” of hair, working front to back and from the part, out, in sweeping curves. All hair has at least little bit of lift- It grows up and out from the skull, then “droops” downwards. Depending on the texture, it may have more or less lift. This hair is fairly fine, so it falls down not far from the root, but even that little bit of volume makes it look more three dimensional. :v Pay attention to anywhere it parts around 3d objects and be mindful of which pieces go in front of your character’s shoulders (if any) and which pieces go behind (if any). Hair overlaps itself, too- Consider having pieces cross in front of and behind each other, or spiral together. This step can be messy and fairly imprecise, you just want a general shape to guide you later.

Next come the flat base colors. I choose and fill in my background color in a new layer beneath my sketch. On a layer above that (but still beneath the sketch!), I fill in behind my sketch with flat colors and a hard brush. I like to work from dark to light, so I pick a dark midtone or shadow color for this step- Since the character is going to be blonde, I went with a milk chocolate sort of color for the hair. You can see pieces of my original sketch here (everywhere but the face)- There are some bits showing through where they shouldn’t, like the jaw through the hair, but that’s fine. I lock my sketch opacity and change the color, usually to a brown, and set it to multiply, so I can blend it into the figure later. Then I merge it down onto my flat colors.

Like magic, the face appears!!! I neglect the hair for a while and do a rough render of the face. This isn’t quite what the final product will look like, but it’s a start. I’ve also pushed the hair around a little to reshape the face and removed the jaw lines in the hair. Around her shoulders I painted over some hair bits, but that’s going to be all covered later anyway. You can see how my rendering gets lighter than my base colors here, too.

For my darkest darks, mostly around the face, I colorpicked the bits of the sketch that were in the hair and filled in a little bit, mostly on the far side of the face where i felt like the edge was getting lost.

Keeping in mind what color the hair is going to be in the end, I pick a lighter midtone and start layering it over top of the base color. I’m using Clip Studio’s default oil brush here, since it picks up underlying colors and blends but preserves a fairly hard edge. You could get a similar effect with other low-opacity brushes. Keeping my hand light and my wrist loose, I start making quick strokes out from the roots, following the direction of the hair every time! My brush is just a little bit smaller than whatever “chunk” I’‘m working on to start..

...but as I start to build up more color, I progress to smaller and smaller brushes. Keeping your strokes really quick and messy creates a natural, organic streakiness that forms the beginning of your hair texture, and since the oil brush picks up a little bit of the underlying color on each stroke, the area you’re coloring gets closer and closer to your selected color every time you go over it. In this case, it’s getting brighter. So, keeping my brights concentrated towards my light source, I build up layers, and where I see those streaks starting to form I emphasize them and start dividing the chunks in my sketch into smaller segments. Since the sketch is on the same layer and a darker shade of brown, it almost immediately starts to blend away.

More texture! Also, roots. With a small brush I sharpened her hairline, and you can see the texture I’m emphasizing as I go, using a small brush to pick out pieces of hair. I’ve also swapped back to a darker brown for a few seconds to add furrows between pieces of hair that were solid beige from the last step.

This is what the whole head looks like at this point. That streaky swatch in the upper right corner is what I’m using next- it’s the “Painterly Sparse Bristle” brush from Frenden. It comes in a third party brush pack you can find with a quick Google, and I do love it- But you could get the same effect with a small brush and a few more strokes.I picked a lighter color for the next layer- I tried the color of the x on the left at first, and it was a little too grey, so I went with the one on the right.

Light hand, loose wrist, following the direction of the hair and avoiding the shadows with the sparse bristle brush to lighten the hair overall and add texture. The shape of the brush gives me more strands per stroke and cuts down on time. It’s a little patchy where my strokes begin and end, which is fine- It’s also still too grey, as it turns out.

I picked a soft yellow, a soft brush, and set a new layer to “soft light”, then shaded over the hair to brighten it up. Not a super standard step but it does explain the shift in hue. Then I merged it down. It’s a little bit blotchy, but that will blend away as I work.

Up close, the edges of that sparse bristle brush look kind of square and chunky. Yuck.

It��s fixable, though! I’m done adding new colors for a while. Instead, I zoom in closer and move around the piece, colorpicking off different parts of the hair and going in with the default oil brush at a tiny tiny size. I’m doing two things: Blending out the less appealing parts of those “sparse bristle” brush strokes, and emphasizing shadows and highlights to suit my taste. The orange section is untouched- The white section has been worked on a bit. Loose wrist, fast strokes, always in the direction of the hair! This is where I start making a lot of conscious decisions about my shading, refining a lot of the haphazard streaks into coherent shadows and highlights. Remember that the chunks of hair are objects in a three dimensional space that cast shadows on each other.

While I’m zoomed in close, smoothing things out, I tend to start picking out areas where loose or flyaway strands would work well. The idea here is to break outside of the boundaries of your sections with finer pieces and individual hairs. Disrupting the edges of the smooth shapes in a few places makes the hair look less like a sculpted helmet and more like..hair. You don’t have to do this everywhere- Just a few flyaway pieces can be enough to establish the illusion of a head of individual strands. I tend to go a little bit overboard for stylistic reasons, adding a few more than I strictly need to, and separating them a little bit further from the body of the hair than they might realistically be, almost like the flyaway pieces are being buoyed upwards by water or a breeze. This is just a matter of taste, though. :v

Something to remember: Whenever you’re working on details / zoomed in to a piece, you should zoom out and look at the piece as a whole, often. Otherwise you might find that something that looked good while you were really close to it looks out of place in the context of your painting as a whole!

Moving around the hair at a high zoom means you’re going to run into the ends of the hair, and if you’ve been working with blendy brushes they probably look like this.

This is another great place to put some loose strands. I use the default “darker pencil” tool at a small size and sharpen the edges up, then blend a little bit on top with the oil brush if I need to. A little bit of a sharper curve at the ends of the hair, where there’s less weight pulling it down, can add some life- I tend to go exaggerate here, too, making the ends a little bit floaty, or a lot floaty, or swirling the ends of straight hair into spirals. It adds a little bit of magic to an otherwise static portrait.

Do the whole head! This is the most time-consuming part, but it can be really soothing, too. Take your time and work steadily, section by section. :> Speaking of exaggerated swirls, that piece starting to twist up on the (viewer’s) far right is a good example- That hair probably wouldn’t twirl up that way, but it DOES add a little bit of visual interest! I don’t have any loose hairs on the outside of the outermost edges of the hair here, though.

And now I do. I like to add the loose hair on the outside edges on a layer beneath the figure- That way, I don’t have to worry about blending the ends into the rest of the hair. When I’m done, I merge the two layers together.

Anddd highlights! I picked the lighest coor I’d put down, made a new layer above the figure, set it to “Add-Glow”, and used light, short strokes with the sparse bristle brush. Avoiding the shadows, I arranged the highlights in horizontal bands, keeping them dense towards the light source and fading them out as they moved back.

At this point, I still have some work to do, especially on the face, and I’m guaranteed to do more with the hair along the way. But anything I do from here on out is going to be a repeat of one of the above steps- More blending, more flyaway hair, etc. :> I change things around a LOT as I work, so no part of a piece, hair included, is for sure done until the whole piece is polished up and saved! If you want to see how the finalized painting came out, hair and all, you can click here!

I hope this is helpful to someone! If there’s anything else you’d like me to break down, let me know, and I’ll see about documenting my process the next time it comes up.

#tutorial #art tutorial #art process #digital painting

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theseventhhex · 7 years

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Trevor de Brauw Interview

Trevor de Brauw

Chicago-based guitarist Trevor Shelley de Brauw (Pelican, RLYR) has announced the release of his first solo album – a collection of power-ambient compositions – entitled ‘Uptown’. Trevor Shelley de Brauw’s 20 year musical career has manifested as an exploration of the vast sonic possibilities of the guitar. ‘Uptown’ marks a departure from the riff-oriented song writing of Pelican, taking a plaintive approach that unravels the meditative depth of washed-out riffs, deconstructed drones, and carefully controlled feedback. The record is a stream of consciousness sustained for too long, an aural pendulum swinging between poles of murky distress and cathartic resolve that takes shape somewhere in the hazy valleys between rock, ambient and experimental music… We talk to Trevor about improvisation parenthood and being vegan…

TSH: Like previous works, was your approach to a lot of the material on your solo record very intuitive and not thinking in terms of intent?

Trevor: Definitely. Most of the songs would start by recording either kernels of ideas or improvisations and then I would go back and listen to what I had and think about how best to flesh the ideas out. Ultimately most of the performances on the record are improvised - just laying stuff down and then adding layers until things took on their own shape. When I started this album it was intended as a continuation of my Histoire project, in which improvised performance was something of an ideological guideline because the finished pieces were intended to act as a sonic journal; a specific moment in time captured in sound. This particular album deviated from that, particularly with regards to editing and even some moments where things are a little more thought out and composed, but I would say the earlier Histoire experiences informed the creation of this album.

TSH: Knowing you spent years refining compositions for ‘Uptown’, which factors would you say were most challenging?

Trevor: The biggest obstacle was carving out the free time to work on it; I am typically in three or four bands at a time and for the last 8 years I’ve been balancing those with a full time career/desk job, so most nooks and crannies in my schedule are full. There was also a certain lack of inertia that set in after the first couple of years - there were a couple of times that I thought the record was done and then I’d listen to all the material and realise that I didn’t have a set of pieces that would flow as an album, which got a bit demoralising.

TSH: Also, given the songs were birthed at vastly different times and places, do you feel this had some sort of varied effect on the end result?

Trevor: In some ways I suppose it must have. Insofar as one goes through tremendous personal changes over a long period of time, there are pieces on the album that were recorded by very different versions of myself. But one of the things that took so long was trying to amass a body of work that would flow as a cohesive album, so while the mentality and the approaches might vary from track-to-track, my hope is that those differences are not too obvious. I went through quite a few drafts of the album where the flow felt interrupted or stilted because there were too many jarring transitions or pieces that felt like they drifted off the path. I think these six pieces work together, perhaps, because the thread that ties them together is some sort of distillation of the constants in my persona.

TSH: With this body of work you, do you feel you were able to soundtrack certain sensations?

Trevor: It’s hard to say when you view them in retrospect. Because of the nature of their composition, the recordings evoke very specific moments and feelings, but I’m not sure if my memories of those emotions and sensations is through a veil of interpretation. They each act as a manifestation of the time in which they were created, but the specific sensations of those moments may be lost in the sands of time.

TSH: How would you assess the way you decided to incorporate the guitar throughout?

Trevor: Each piece was different. Some of them started on guitar, others started on electric piano or organ. With each of the recordings it was a matter of trying to figure out what sonic space needed to be filled, like grasping for puzzle pieces without having a guide to what the finished image was supposed to look like. Guitar ended up on most of the tracks because it’s the instrument I feel most comfortable playing, but in cases where it was not the primary instrument I made a point of trying to figure out whether it was even needed before going for it.

TSH: What’s the basic foundation for a track like ‘Turn Up For What’?

Trevor: That one started with the electric piano part. I love the sound of an electric piano drenched in reverb, so really it was just a matter of setting up that sound first and then seeing what ideas jumped out of my head. Once I had that initial piano track done I listened back and could hear saturated guitars in my head, so I dialled in a sound and improvised the two guitar tracks on top. The second one was intended to simply double the first, so I had to try and remember exactly what I played on the first pass - I came pretty close but the deviations from the original worked so I kept whatever “mistakes” ended up in there.

TSH: What aims did you outline whilst fleshing out ‘Distinct Frequency’?

Trevor: That one was a little more sonically adventurous. It was recorded around 10 years ago at this point, so the details of the recording are a little fuzzy in my memory. I think first I recorded the radio noise with a mic that was set up two rooms away. Then I started layering from there with electric piano and trombone (which I remember looping and then manipulating). I think the darkness and anxiety of the piece helps balance out some of the euphoria of some of the other pieces. It was recorded during the year that my wife and I lived in a farmhouse in rural North Carolina. We were never really accepted by the locals while we lived there and our time there felt a bit fraught and anxious. I think ‘Distinct Frequency’ is a pretty accurate sonic summary of some of the feelings of that time.

TSH: Was it gratifying to operate in your own lane with this record?

Trevor: Recording solo material tends to be less gratifying than playing with other musicians. There’s hurdles of communication when it comes to playing with others that can be challenging, but the rewards are far more immediate and palpable. Crafting these solo pieces is a pretty long process of trial and error, second guessing, labouring over details. And because of the experimental nature of the compositional process it often happens that all the time spent poring over stuff is in vain because the finished work is a failure. That said, there are elements of the process that are very gratifying - times when I was able to conceive of an idea and then execute it properly, the moment I was able to hold the finished record in my hand, and definitely most every time I play live as a solo act since the act of standing alone in front of people making this stuff is pretty daunting, so when it lands properly it feels extremely cathartic.

TSH: Is your former cat walking through the room in the background of one of the songs the only feature on this record?

Trevor: Yes, dearly departed Kitty Shelley de Brauw was my only guest. Uninvited, at that, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

TSH: Have you heard any compelling movie soundtracks in recent times?

Trevor: Several. I really, really dug the Room 237 soundtrack; it was a very cool reimagining of established tropes. It seemed really fitting that the soundtrack was an homage to a certain style when the film itself is about taking a deep dive into critical analysis, like they were both different ends to a similar goal. I also love the Beyond the Black Rainbow soundtrack. It definitely stands on its own, but it also just completely made the movie what it is.

TSH: What makes you feel not very nostalgic as a person?

Trevor: I think that’s probably something I said before I was a parent. I think it would be really difficult not to be nostalgic as a parent. You live with someone you love more than anything in the world and they change so rapidly that they’re practically a different person every few weeks. It makes you feel really precious about every single moment because it becomes crystal clear how fleeting everything in this life is. And once that epiphany takes hold it puts every experience in life into perspective… Before I was a parent I was always looking forward and didn’t really pause to reflect too much. I don’t think either approach is right or wrong, but I am very happy for everything parenthood has brought me, including the sense of nostalgia and reflection.

TSH: What do you admire mostly about Jaki Liebezeit’s drumming?

Trevor: What’s so riveting about Liebezeit is how he crafts these virtuosic intricate drum patterns but then renders them hypnotic by repeating them endlessly. I love just getting lost inside his seemingly effortless loops.

TSH: Also, your verdict on the latest Mount Eerie album…

Trevor: I love Mount Eerie. It is a very difficult album to listen to; it is a raw expression of unfathomable emotional pain, without any pretence about trying to romanticise or poeticise it. There’s not really anything like it.

TSH: Talk us through what lead to the following tweet ‘Daylight savings aka a plot to drive parents of young children insane.’…

Trevor: I think it was in reference to the most recent time change and the challenge of getting a four year old to wake up on time for school on time the next day. Adults tend to be a bit more resilient when it comes to sleep deprivation.

TSH: How long have you been a vegan?

Trevor: I’ve been vegan for 23 of my 39 years. At this point I’m so different from the person I was before I became vegan that it’s hard to conceive what role my diet could have played in that.

TSH: Finally, what are your intentions with your solo career as you look ahead?

Trevor: I’m most of the way through another album. Or that’s what I think now and eight years from now I’ll feel dumb for having said that. But with any luck I’ll wrap that up sooner than later and get it out at some point in the not too distant future. I definitely want to keep playing solo shows, including shows outside of Chicago if I can find a way of doing that.

Trevor de Brauw - “They Keep Bowing”

Uptown

#Interview #Trevor de Brauw

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