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yandereaffections · 1 year

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Peter Parker Masterlist (MCU)

this boy is gonna have a whole post just for himself cause damn

The Spider Boy

Headcannons

Pinning

14 and 46 with Peter Parker

“Dont you love me?”

“I’ll ruin you if I ever see you talking to my love again”

“I sent you more gifts! do you like them?”

Not Crushes Soul Mate

Comforting recently broken up Crush

Pretending to be a couple

Copycat trying to court Crush

Valentines Day

Yandere Copycat

Bullied S/o

Oblivious crush

S/o that loves Physical Affection

Panic attack comfort

S/o who doesnt believe in marriage

jealous cause the kissing scenes in your preforming play

Happy Birthday

Trying to get S/os parents approval

S/o with invisibility power

S/o with a bad home life

Aunt May finding out Peter kidnapped S/o

Kidnapping headcannons

Peter coming into S/os dimension via Movie

S/o who ran away/Disappeared

S/os a mermaid

starting college before him

Teenage pregnancy

Scary movie marathon

Pumpkin Carving contest

Married in LA

Zombie Apocalypse

S/o being frightened from watching horror movies alone

Post Infinity War, Ghost! Peter

First meeting, stalking, and taking pictures of Crush

S/o w/ superiority Complex

S/os the daughter of Tony Stark

Queen S/o

The type of Photos Peter will have of S/o

photoshoping himself into pictures with S/o

Manipulative S/o

“Dont say youre lonely, you have me!”

Halloween HC

“i love you, and ill do anything to prove it”

Body image issues

Yandere Crush

Dealing with another Yandere whose after you

crushs a weeb

Youtuber S/o

S/os protective best friend

Joining the side of his Villain S/o

Jealous cause S/o likes WWE

S/o whose close with their family

Touch starved S/o

“dont run away from me”+ “i need you”

Movie Star S/o

S/o who loves to be doted on

Movie Star S/o prt2

Jealous caused youre shipped with others

Being separated in classes

Jealous cause S/os spending more time with Ned

Jealous because of S/os protective, clingy Little sister

S/os parents finding out about his yandere traits

Youtuber! Peter obsessing over S/o

S/os friends trying to separate you

Someone else asks S/o to be their Valentine first

S/os father, Tony, not liking peter

Workaholic S/o

Popular S/o

Vampire S/o who feels bad for feeding

Touch starved Peter

Straight Forward S/o

S/o with a terrifying Father

Relaxing w/ you after Spiderman duties

S/o who finally escapes

Athletic S/o

Thinking your cheating

S/o who constantly loses her glasses

Druggie S/o

Childish Drunk S/o

S/o being taken advantage of

Jealous of your friendly Teacher

S/o hiding her chest

S/o Hiding behind him

Comforting Workaholic S/o

Constantly tired S/o

S/o who stalks, takes pictures, and steals peters underware

Trying to break up with Peter

Proposing to Peter

Suddenly jumping on peter for a piggy back ride

Taking a depression nap

Someon flirting with Naive S/o

Selfless Kidnapped S/o

S/os Parents disapprove of the relationship

Short S/o struggling to keep eyecontact

Fighting anyone who bullies peter

Online Crush coming to visit

pyromaniac S/o

Recharging after Finals

Villain S/o dating Peter to kill him

Stoping Server Workaholic S/o

Stopping S/o from fighting

Another yandere kidnapping S/o

S/os Suicide TW

S/o with acrylic nails

Pregnant S/o running away

Getting better score than Peter after he Tutored you

Surprised by how muscular Peter is

S/os a unknown Hero

Peter paranoid at S/os birthday party planning

Stalker S/o forgetting to turn of their cameras Flash

S/o that does archery

Voice actress + Cosplayer S/o

S/o coming to America for College

S/o on her period

S/o asking for tech help at ungodly hours

Emotionally immature affectionate S/o

Sterile S/o

Someone trying to get your pantie shot

Intimidating but sweet S/o

S/o whos chill with Peters yandere traits

Player S/o

S/o with negative affiliations

Learning Sign Language to Adopt a deaf child

Bad, corny pickup lines

College S/o bringing back gifts from their Home Land

embroidery w/ S/o

Avengers finding kidnapped S/o

Gamer Rage S/o

What kind of parent Peter is

S/o accidentally revealing their powers

S/o being harassed because of “Thin Privilege”

S/o Shuting down when kidnapped

Autistic S/o

Tourist Crush

Comforting S/o whose parents are divorcing

S/o who loves to do calligraphy

S/o who Friendzones everything

S/o hacking into Stark Industries

Gluten allergy S/o

Pissed S/o punching a whole in the wall

Starving Succubus S/o

The Purge + Hunted down

S/o whos not allowed to celebrate Halloween

S/o who is immune to Incubus Peter

Kuudere S/o + Haunted House

Overworked S/o due to parents

Stockholm S/o with a Crippling phobia of the outside world

Monster fucker S/o being disappointed she wasnt kidnapped by a Orc

Saying a Werewolf pun to Werewolf Peter

Kidnapped S/o asking for videogames

Stockholm S/o with a Crippling phobia of the outside world PRT2

Werewolf S/o

S/o that can bring dolls to life

Bad Necromancer S/o

Telepathic S/o

Demon S/o

Escaped Naga S/o

Monster S/o Attacking peter

S/o who speaks in older languages the angrier they get

S/o having a breakdown

S/o who is secretly a DJ

Going to halloween party with Dullahan S/o

Exhausted yard worker S/o

S/o not caring for their birthday anymore

Finding out S/os a harpy

Finding S/os sleeping on the streets

People Pleaser S/os friend commits suicide TW

Tsundere S/o

S/o being upset for what peter did in their dream

S/o sneaking out to go Black Friday shopping

S/o staying home for their birthday

Knowing Spidermans peter when he saves S/o

Android S/o finally showing a huge step in affectiom

S/o just moving to NY

S/o escaping to go to McDonalds

Independent Crush in a Zombie Apocalypse

Immortal S/o pranking people in brutal ways

“What if we ran away together, JK kidding… Unless?”

Crush trying to get peter and their friend together

Stalking S/o to their safety

S/o has hyphema

Darlings brothers are terrifying

S/o sneaking out to star gaze

Murdering someone S/o knows

Yandere S/o not liking Aunt May

Witch S/o giving peter a magic Romba

Artist Male S/o gifting peter a portrait of Uncle Ben

Kuundere S/os parents not supporting them

Cat girl/boy S/o

‘Dead’ s/o being found

Dotting on stressed peter

Succubus eating off of affection rather than lust

Bullied s/o fighting back

S/o who acts like a cat when they want his attention

S/os name is hard to pronounce

Yandere letters

1st generation immigrant S/o who isnt good at English

Bratty S/o

Drider

S/o has a friend thats basically their kid

S/o who forgets to eat

S/o who forgets to sleep

Joining S/o in gym

Darling with Fainting spells

S/o who forgets to take their meds

Depressed darling comfort

S/o addicted to monster energy drinks

Izuku Midoriya vs Peter Parker

S/os obsessed w/ space

Keeping naive S/o out of trouble

Male s/o that flirts alot

Motherly S/o

Hunted down by Werewolf peter

Aro S/o who loves physical affection

Pleasing

Pleasing prt2

NS FW alphabet A-Z

Sub Peter w/ Male S/o

Creampied w/ Male S/o

NS FW headcannons

Using your underwear

Jerking off in S/os bed when theyre away

Watching S/o masturbate through closet door

Omega peter convincing that hes a worthy mate. slightly NS FW

Breeding + Submissive

Breeding kink

Worked up in the middle of school

NON-CON Breeding kink

Sexually frustrated S/o

Sitting on Peters face

Indulging Male S/os dirty fantasy’s of Spiderman

Soulmate + Somnophilia

Sensory deprivation w/ Sub Peter

Somnophilia HC

Naga Peter NS FW HC

Somnophilia w/ male s/o

sending him sexy pics

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houseofbrat · 1 month

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As someone who works in PR I am ASTONISHED at how bad Kensington Palace is at all of this. It’s the most interesting part of the whole thing for me. Well that, and how much it seemingly vindicates H&M and Harry in particular in what he’s said about the firm and the media’s role in protecting the Heir at all costs.

Yeah I work in PR for a public company and anytime we want to put something out we have to run it up the chain - we need legal and Investor relations and executive approvals.

Even if KP and BP had their individual PR teams, which makes sense, there should still be one main central PR office that everyone answers to that manages the entire royal families PR, makes sure schedules and press opportunities and STRATEGY AND MESSAGING all aligns, before running up the chain for final approvals. There’d be a social team and a crisis team and government relations team and a branding team and a general “talent rep” kind of team, all working in tandem to serve the overall strategy for the royal family.

The fact that there are so many cooks in so many different kitchens is why the royal family has had so many PR disasters honestly for decades now. They’re truly doing it all wrong. So many Worst Practices here, not Best Practices.

It really doesn't seem like there is an overall PR team. Just the separate entities

Yeah and that’s the problem IMO. They are a business that should be run like a business. They should have the individual departments I suggested, and even more, working in tandem.

The fact that there are so many separate entities with different agendas and priorities is a huge part of their problem IMO.

But Charles has been transparent for the most part!! And photographed repeatedly. It’s so bizarre when compared to KP, and feels passive aggressive to me to be honest lolol.

They’re really so so so bad at this 😭😭😭😭 but the British public and the media lets them get away with it 🙃🙃🙃

For heaven’s sake. If she’s recovering nicely, why resort to recycling old photos?

Other sources are making a pretty good case for the fact that it’s a November photo, taken after Catherine and the children visited the baby bank.

Does nobody, and I mean nobody, know how to do PR in that place anymore? Now it's pin all of this on just-recovering-from-abdominal-surgery Kate? Why not on William since they were so proud about how he was the one that took the photo? Somehow they keep making everything ten times worse.

I’m sorry, but I don’t believe for a second that Kate personally edited that photo together in such a way that it had to be killed as inauthentic. The pulling of the photo is likely more about the refusal to provide metadata or the raw image for proof rather than silly Photoshop choices. That isn’t an issue of “mummy going wild on the computer,” it’s a larger organizational issue about trust, transparency, and KP’s overall poor approach to news orgs and the press lately.

Why is Kate taking the fall? Why is William such a lout to let an ill Kate put this on her own shoulders rather than admit KP made an error or say KP is going to reevaluate their practices and make a change?

Are college interns running Palace p.r.? Because I cannot understand how they're botching this so badly. If Kate couldn't/wouldn't pose for a legit photo, then just don't release anything. The Royals are basically dumping tankers of gas on the inferno by playing all these games.

Sorry, am I going insane? After saying they wouldn’t respond to these conspiracy theories, they

a) responded by putting out a doctored image,

b) responded to the backlash of doctored image by claiming the woman recovering from a medical issue was playing around in Photoshop, and

c) responded to the backlash of editing claims by putting out an image where the person in the photo is supposed to be Kate but could LITERALLY BE ANYBODY.

NONE OF YOU ARE FINDING THIS WEIRD? NONE?!

"Kate's Back"

Well, it is indeed a picture of Kate's back

Apparently the main symptom of her mysterious medical condition is that any photo with her in it immediately becomes grainy, blurry, or with people's wrists trying to escape into a fifth dimension.

Good Lord, I haven't followed a disaster story this closely since Oceangate Titan and this one may be even worse. The narrative is out of control and the rules have gone out the window.

They already lost control of the narrative at this point. No matter what they do now, they will be scrutinized more than they've ever been before. And they seem grossly unprepared for it.

She’s not even facing camera, how is this supposed to help? This just feeds the conspiracy theorists! headdesk

It's becoming a PR nightmare that only Olivia Pope can rescue.

Maybe the better question is that people are concerned about Kate's welfare, and most WERE okay with waiting under the timeline KP initially offered that is she will likely return by or after Easter.

However KP has mismanaged the messaging, and with that concern grows over how weird some of the updates are. The article explains why this medical time out is turning into an absolute PR crisis. It isn't so much about Kates right to medical privacy (she definitely deserves that )

It now is about institutional reliability, the heir William's arguably erratic or unusual behavior or his courtiers' comments, the mess with the all kill photoshopped/Frankensteined photo (which has never happened before with a palace released photo), the very different approaches from BP vs KP, etc etc. It's become bigger than Kate sad to say.

And ultimately now people are worried for her, in a way they wouldn't have been, because things have become so irregular and bungled. So the urgency to make sure she is safe and okay has become louder and more insistent.

“CNN is now reviewing all handout photos previously provided by Kensington Palace.”

“In editorial photography, photojournalists and editors commonly adjust a photograph’s exposure or color balance in order to more accurately reflect the scene. Most news organizations, including CNN, regard it as unacceptable to move, change or manipulate the pixels of an image. To do so would alter the reality of the situation the image is intended to document.”

“In the past, the family’s amateur photographs have been well received when posted on social media. But on this occasion, this photo was also released to media organizations as a handout and the palace wasn’t transparent about the fact it had been adjusted.

That will have damaged the trust between the palace and media organizations – many of which, like CNN, will likely be assessing all royal handouts. The editing storm has undermined the existing relationship and when public interest over any possible cover up escalates, as it has done recently, many news outlets will now have take that speculation more seriously.”

#my gif #reddit #PR fail #fail!#kensington palace #palace officials #William The Prince of OWN GOALS #William The Weak #William The Terrible #prince william #William The Prince of Wales #scandal!#ESCANDALO!!!#kate middleton #Catherine The Princess of Wales #british royal family #fleet street #media

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missvelvetsstuff · 2 months

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Just a Number

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Chapter 9

Warnings: swearing and angst

Notes: This kinda veered off into somewhere I didn't plan to take it but I can't seem to get off of this track so we'll see how it works out. Hopefully it's not too bad.

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Y/N looked up from the table when she heard thumping in the kitchen and stood when Jessie called her. Rushing to the kitchen "Jessie? Michael? What's going on?" And almost ran into her daughter.

Jessie looked at her mother, then to the floor before taking a deep breath "I'm not sure what all this means but Mikey and uncle John are up to something." She handed Y/N the phone.

Y/N took it from her and started reading the text messages between her son and adopted brother, her eyes growing wide. "MICHAEL! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Michael groaned from the kitchen which made her look at Jessie questioningly.

Jessie shrugged "He had it coming."

Y/N looked at her "You may be right, apparently he is working with your uncle to not only break me and James up but to frame him so his pardon is revoked. It explains the pictures I received a little while ago."

Jessie looked at her mother in shock "What pictures? What's going on?"

Before Y/N could answer Michael chuckled and groaned as he tried to stand "What's going on is I had to be the adult and end Moms affair with the Winter Soldier since she's too worried about getting fucked to see how dangerous he is."

Y/N clenched her jaw and stared at her son in shock "Get. Out." She pointed towards the front door.

Michael shook his head "No. You don't get to-"

"GET. OUT."

"No, Mom I-"

"GETTHEFUCKOUTOFMYHOUSE" she screeched "Get out, get out, get out" she kept yelling until he stumbled out the front door.

After she caught her breath she turned to her daughter.

"Jessie, call one of your brothers friends to pick him up. You can take the food with you. I need to be alone." and she walked away mindlessly until she found herself in her room.

Jessie called Michael's roommate and cleaned the kitchen. Before she left she sent a text to Dawn and let her know what happened.

When Dawn made it home 3 hours later the door to Y/N's room was half open, the light still on. She looked in and her sister was sitting on her bed staring off into space. She tapped on the door softly "You ok sissy?"

Y/N jumped at the sound "Oh, Hi. Did you run into Jessie on your way in?"

Dawn looked confused "Jessie texted me when she left, that was hours ago. Are you ok?"

Y/N looked at her confused "I don't know." as her eyes filled with tears.

Dawn hurried to comfort her, holding Y/N until the sobs calmed. "Why don't you try to get some sleep. I'll call work in the morning and tell them we can't make it."

Y/N looked at her sister with sad eyes "I don't know what to do sissy. Michael is being awful and apparently working with John, not only to come between me and James but to get his pardon revoked. I'm lost and can't find a way out of this mess."

She handed her phone to Dawn whose eyes grew wide when she saw the pictures.

"What is this fuckery?"

Y/N shrugged "I don't know. I want to believe that he wouldn't do something like that but I don't know what to think. Whoever she is, she looks younger and prettier than me so maybe he's better off with her."

Dawn's eye ticked, the way it always did when she was enraged "No Sissy. First of all you are beautiful and age is just a number. Maybe it's a deepfake or Photoshop? If Johnny is so determined to keep you two apart, he could have set this up. And if James is fucking someone else then he's a dirtbag that doesn't deserve you."

Y/N smiled sadly at her sister "I love you for saying that but you're a bit biased. Even if it's fake, I don't know if I can be in a relationship that 2 of the people I love are so determined to sabotage. Maybe being alone is best, we'll get a puppy or two and they can keep me company."

Dawn wiped the tears of Y/N's face "Well, we are getting puppies but I won't let our brother or my nephew destroy your happiness. Not after everything you've been through."

She stood and went to Y/N's dresser and pulled out a nightshirt. "Now go wash your face and put this on, we both need some sleep."

Y/N cleaned herself up and changed. When she came out of her bathroom she saw Dawn had turned the bed down and looked at her sadly, barely whispering "Please don't leave me alone."

"Don't worry, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." Dawn consoled as they climbed under the covers and curled up in bed.

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The next morning..........

"Come on Bucky, rise and shine. We have- Sam stopped short when he took in the scene in front of him. Bucky, naked on the floor rambling and Sharon, also naked, on the bed and barely covered.

"What the Hell is going on here? Why is she-? What happened?"

Sharon grinned like the proverbial cat "Exactly what it looks like, Sammy. Care to join us?"

Sam looked at her like she was crazy "I don't think so. What did you do to him?"

"You want the details? I never imagined you were into that sort of thing but we started-"

Sam put his hands up "No, no. Just stop."

He went to Bucky and tried to get his attention "Hey, Buck. What's going on?"

Bucky finally stopped babbling and looked up at him "I don't know. I don't remember anything past that game and drinking. She said we-" he couldn't finish that thought "and she has pictures. I don't remember but Y/N's gonna-" his face fell "she won't want me anymore and I didn't mean to do anything. You heard me tell Sharon no."

John walked in and scoffed "Dammit Barnes I knew you would do this to my sister. I won't let you get away with it."

Bucky was too lost in his own head to see it but Sam noticed the quick look between John and Sharon. He nodded his head "Ok, I see you two pulled some shit and I want to know right now what the Hell you think you are doing."

Sharon giggled "I just went after something I wanted, it's no more complicated than that. Your friend didn't mind when he was balls-"

Sam cut her off "I don't need to hear any more details of your alleged" he waved his hand around "whatever you claim this is. What I do know is that Barnes wouldn't sleep with you willingly and that you and Walker pulled something."

Johns phone rang and everyone looked at him. He shrugged "It's my wife, I better answer before she gets upset with me." As he walked out of the room Sam heard him say "Walker here, ma'am. Now's not a good time."

Sam looked at John as he walked away with confusion on his face then turned to Bucky offering a hand up "c'mon man let's get you some coffee."

Bucky looked up at his friend and took his hand "Yeah, coffee, sure."

When Sam helped him up they both remembered he was naked. Sam turned to look away "I'll wait out there." And quickly walked out.

Bucky grabbed his clothes, quickly threw them on and glared at Sharon

"I don't know what the Hell happened here except that you drugged me and I never wanted you. You need to stay the fuck away from me before I forget I'm a gentleman and beat you until you forget we ever met."

Sharon simply smirked as he left the room.

Sam and Bucky left the suite to find coffee and breakfast, passing John in the hall sounding very stressed on his phone call. His voice dropped to a whisper When he saw them "No, I can't, I-" Bucky could hear a womans voice raised at John "No, but ma'am, I didn't-" more indecipherable yelling "But, It isn't- no ma'am. Yes ma'am." When he ended the call he noticed them and tossed a fake laugh "The old ball and chain. You two are lucky, wives can be so demanding. Olivia is quite the taskmaster."

Sam and Bucky nod in passing but look at each other confused when the elevator doors close and they're alone. Bucky staring at his hands, still drowning in guilt and shame over whatever happened.

Sam nudges him "Did you hear how Walker was talking to his wife? He said yes ma'am a dozen times."

Bucky shrugged and grunted "yeah, so?"

Sam shook his head "Look man, I know you're in a spiral but we are still on a mission and need to keep our wits about us. I have never heard him talk to or about his wife like that, if he even answers her calls he's rude and calls her all kinds of names. I'd bet Redwing that's not his wife on the phone and whoever he is talking to has something to do with Sharon's grand seduction. I don't know how it all falls together but it's probably not good for us so watch your ass."

Bucky scoffed "I honestly don't see how this mission could get any worse since I've definitely lost the most amazing woman I've ever met."

Sam was ready to smack Bucky but knew he was hurting. "I don't know Buck, you could try telling her the truth when we get back."

Bucky looked at him like he was crazy "You're joking right? Tell Y/N that a super soldier was drugged and raped by Sharon Carter? What motive would Sharon have for doing that?"

Sam shook his head "I already said I don't know the end goal but I didn't drug you so it was her or John or both of them working for whoever he was on the phone with. Don't you believe in instinct and gut feelings? Well, I have both telling me that they are up to something."

Bucky sighed "It doesn't matter, if Sharon sent those pictures she said she has to Y/N then excuses aren't gonna be enough."

Sam patted his friend on the back "Then we will dig in and find out the details. I'm not letting you just give up on the first person who made you smile like that since I've known you. I've got your back, Buck."

Bucky gave Sam a weak smile and felt a flutter of hope deep inside. Maybe he could fix things.

When Bucky and Sam returned to the hotel room they were alert, fed and watching every little move or twitch from Sharon and John. They walked in to see them as they jumped away from each other on the couch.

John smirked "Hope you don't mind me having a taste of Sharon." He paused "Well, letting her have a taste of me would be more accurate. She's definitely more skilled than my wife."

John stood up and straightened his shirt "Since you left we were working on our next steps. Sharon spoke to a couple of her contacts and is sure the Power Broker is close."

Bucky stood back and let Sam deal with John because he knew he would lose it and try to beat his plans out of him but he had a bad feeling about all of this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning Y/N and Dawn slept late, at least late for them. It was almost 9am when Dawn woke up and decided to make some breakfast for Y/N that started and ended with mimosas and included her favorite foods. French toast, bacon and scrambled eggs.

Y/N woke up and smelled bacon, making her stomach growl but wondered why it was already light outside. She panicked for a moment, worried she was late for work but then she remembered yesterday. The drama with Michael and the pictures of James, intimate with someone else. She felt her heart clench and stomach drop. She laid there for a few minutes hoping, wishing it was all a bad dream but she knew it was pointless. It all really happened and she didn't know what to expect next.

She groaned and rolled out of bed to use the bathroom and freshen up to face the day. She honestly wasn't sure staying home was the best idea, maybe keeping busy at work would have been better. She shook her head and splashed some water on her face before putting on her bathrobe and slippers to shuffle into the kitchen and sliding into a chair in the breakfast nook.

Dawn turned to give her a hopeful smile

"Good morning sissy"

Y/N grumbled in response. "Yeah, awesome."

Dawn put a cup of coffee in front of her, followed by a plate full of food a few minutes later.

"You need to eat. Even if those pics are real and James is another jackass, your life isn't over. So at least eat a little and we're having a spa day."

She looked a little nervous "I didn't mean to spread your business but Pepper was very concerned so I told her and she scheduled us for the whole nine yards. We have an hour until the car she's sending gets here so put some food in your stomach so you don't get sick from the champagne." She winked before digging in to her plate.

Y/N was stunned and felt her eyes filling before she wiped the tears away with her napkin and tried to eat as much as she could.

That evening after returning from the spa Y/N and Dawn felt more relaxed and a little lighter. Y/N sat down in her room and got ready to call Jessie and check up on Michael when her phone rang. She looked at her phone and her heart sped up when she saw the caller was Bucky. She stared at the phone and jumped when it rang again.

"James?"

She heard him sigh "Y/N sweetheart, I can't tell you how good it is to hear your voice. I'm sorry I only have a minute but I needed to hear you one more time."

"James, are you ok? What's going on?"

He chuckled sadly "I'm better now but, I'm not really ok. I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry, I never meant to bring my drama into your life."

"What do you mean, James? I dont understand."

"I know doll and I have to go but want you to know-" the line went dead.

"James! Jamie! JAMIE! What's going on? Jamie?" She slid down the wall to the floor, staring at her phone as tears fell down her face. She sobbed "Jamie?" and curled up on the floor crying.

The doorbell followed by a loud crashing startled her awake a while later and Y/N started to panic.

"Dawn! You ok? Sissy?"

She heard shuffling in the entry and raced towards the sound to see Dawn holding up a hysterical Olivia who was clutching a letter in her hand and yelling about John being gone.

Y/N tried to take the letter from her but before she could, Olivia looked at her and then waved the paper in her face, trying to speak as she sobbed but the only words Y/N could understand were "Johnny's dead"

@supraveng @cjand10 @440mxs-wife @kandis-mom @dtba-grey81 @calwitch @ozwriterchick

Chapter 10

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #james bucky barnes x reader #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #angst with a happy ending #just a number #james bucky barnes x y/n #older reader

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armpirate · 6 months

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The Only One || JJK || Ch. 34

Pairings: mafia!jk x fem!reader

Genre: smut, angst, mafia, contract relationship

Warnings: Prostitution, torture, blood, use of drugs and weapons

Summary: You've always wished for a better life. Every single day at work, you were hoping something would change. Although you didn't think that change would come in the form of one mysterious man and a contract.

His controlling and selfish behaviour only wanted to keep you away from any other man that wasn't him, and you only had to wait for him.

Too bad you really thought you'd be smarter than Jeon Jungkook.

Previous || Next

MASTERLIST

Aprox. time of reading: 12 minutes

Chapter warnings: angst, triggering content, unexpected pregnancy, miscarriage, mention of abuse and prostitution

Jungkook was staring down at the files Sanhyuk presented him, he looked through every single picture in hopes to find the slightest sign of photoshop in them, he tried to find explanations to all the information that was gathered about the last three months, and how his father started moving as soon as Y/n came into the picture, using a fake name not to be caught. His fist clenched when he saw the several accords and deals Pedro had made with a new person out of nowhere, who was also from South Korea.

But the only thing that exposed him was that particular threat that only he used. He used it whenever he wanted to take revenge on someone who worked for him, or someone else from a different family. That was why most of the leads kept their significant others private, unless they knew it was serious enough to be unable to hide them. One of the men who sent it to Namjoon's apartment was the same person who was his father's closest bodyguard back in the day.

The information in those files went even further. There was no medical data on his father's death, but there was a report of a body going missing from the morgue a day before he was supposedly buried. Trying to confirm whether his father was the one in that coffin, Sanhyuk's men checked his grave, only to find a body that didn't belong to the leader of the old Bangtan, but a homeless man that died due to an overdose.

He had all the signs, he had all the proofs, but he still wanted to find an excuse, an explanation as to why Sanhyuk was probably playing with him and sending him to a trap.

—Mr. Jeon is alive? —Jin's shaky voice sounded over the speaker.

—How's that no one has seen him? —Yoongi asked later.

—And how the fuck did he get any information from Jungkook or Y/n? Someone's definitely working with him right now —Hoseok mentioned.

—It makes no sense —Taehyung interrupted them—. He was killed in front of you. Right, Jungkook?

But he was still focused on all the pieces he needed to tie together. Too focused on that to care about the conversation the members were having.

—Jungkook? —Hoseok tried to get the youngest's attention.

—I need to go to Spain —he muttered.

Namjoon sighed at that comment, knowing there would be no way to convince him to do the opposite. The rest of the members looked at their respective screens, hoping Jungkook would be back to his senses after a few seconds. But when he raised his eyes from the pile of papers and looked up at the big TV, the confidence that radiated through them told them everything they needed to know at that moment.

—You aren't sure Y/n is not okay —Namjoon tried to bring some peace into his head.

—The men that were reported to be around her by Chul were working for our family until my father died. Then, suddenly, they disappeared, and came back again exactly where she is. Do you want to call that a coincidence? —Jungkook blew— Y/n hasn't called in a whole day, and she isn't answering my calls either. And you want me to think she is okay? We don't even have news about Chul.

Jimin was awfully silent when his name dropped for a second time, gulping thick before all the eyes from the people in the video call landed on him.

—Chul was found dead in the truck of his car when I sent a group to check on him. That's why his location hasn't changed in the past twenty eight hours.

Namjoon sighed deeply with that new information, closing his eyes for a brief moment before his eyes met Jungkoko's over the screen.

—I can't stay here without doing anything —Jungkook commented.

—Let's work intelligently, then —Namjoon supported him.

Jungkook bit his lower lip, hiding his lip ring in his mouth while he looked down at the files, trying to get an idea of what he should do next.

—It'll take me half a day to get there —he sighed—. Jimin, you're only half an hour by plane.

—You expect me to mess with your father by myself? —the blond opened his eyes wide, before a smirk showed on his face— I love that. I'll put my people here to work. You mentioned Pedro has been meeting with him these months, so we'll work through him.

Jungkook nodded, looking at the rest of the members whose expressions were serious on that big screen.

—To the rest, just watch your backs. If he went to the lengths of doing this to Y/n, I can't imagine what he'll plan to do if he ever knows you helped me to get her out of there.

—We'll try to. But you're the one who needs to be the most careful —Yoongi reminded him—. Your father was known to be merciless, it didn't matter who it was.

What Jeon Jungho didn't know was that Jungkook could be even more dangerous than him, especially when it came to Y/n and her safety.

—I guess this means a change of plans? —Namjoon raised his eyebrow.

—Forget about the plan B we talked about.

Before, his plan B was running away with Y/n, retiring away from everything that could ever hurt her or damage her to give her the better life he had always promised. But there was no room for that plan anymore, not while his father was still alive and looking for the minimum chance to hurt them and erase them.

✸ ✸ ✸

Y/n felt cramps on the upper part of her arms, wishing there would be away to let go of the cables -although they were tied so tight around her wrists, that at some point they started feeling cold and numb, until she changed her position again, lifting them over her head so her wrists wouldn't be hanging on the material.

While being surrounded by the darkness, that cold gaze Jungkook's father gave her made her genuinely aware of how close her life was to ending. She had been pulling the buttons of fate for way too long, and that was the death sentence she was handed.

Sitting there, not feeling the lower half of her body because of staying in the same posture while laying in the cold ground, she thought of all the decisions she took before life got too complicated for her to survive.

She saw the pregnancy test she had taken only fifteen minutes before, staring at it as if that would change the result, as if that would change the fact that she was indeed pregnant when her life was just getting started.

Wrapping it in paper, she tried to hide the test, before she threw it in the small trash bin in her bathroom.

She was fucked. She was about to ruin all the plans her parents had for her. And that made her even more scared of their reaction.

The sound of the slap against her cheek deafened her while she fell to the ground, holding her burning cheek as if that would ease the pain, while her mother just looked at her as if she was one grotesque creature. Her father just looked at them, unable to defend her, not wanting to get in between them because, deep inside, he agreed with all the words that his wife was dedicating to their daughter. "How the hell are you not even thinking of an abortion? Do you have any idea what a baby would mean?".

And she knew, it scared her to know that another human being was growing inside of her, it scared her to know that she had two options, but she wasn't sure of the decision she wanted to take.

But the hesitation and doubt would pay her a heavy consequence the next day, while she made her way back home from high school and was unable to slip her key towards the door of the entrance. And it was when she looked at the right, that she was aware of a bag with all of her things inside. They weren't willing to give her support, they weren't willing to give her a roof to live under anymore. They didn't even give her the chance to say goodbye properly before they kicked her ass away. Hell. She wasn't even able to kick the main door, because the closed wall was keeping her from doing so. She cried, she begged, she fought with the door, but the only response she got was silence.

The same silence that received her when she went to Lucas' place, and the first thing that she received was rejection. Treated as if that baby was only hers, as if she had been the only one to blame for what happened. "The last thing I want is problems" his mother muttered, holding her clothes tight on a fist before she closed the door on her face.

She learned to live alone, more like she was forced to get herself out there and do something for a living. For her, for her future and the baby that was growing in her guts. She wasn't sure she wanted to have it, but it turned into the only thing that made her look forward into the future, that made her hopeful about what was ahead of her after all the darkness.

At least, until the third month. The pain on her back and lower belly almost made it impossible for her to go to work. She was barely able to stand straight without being forced to shrink. All her hope was gone when she saw all the blood, everything she was hopeful for was disappearing without her being able to stop it. She just saw it all unfold, falling to her knees and crying out loud while she hoped all of it was just a nightmare or an illusion that tiredness was playing in her mind.

She knew it wasn't.

She wasn't even able to mourn her loss properly, getting ready for work on the same day after cleaning up herself and ignoring the pain.

A few days later, her condition only got worse. And she thought that maybe it was due to the lack of sleep and the way she cried to sleep.

She didn't notice her skin was burning, her sight was blurrier with every minute that went by and her heart rate was so fast that it seemed she was close to collapse.

And she did.

She lost consciousness walking back to the small room she rented, in the middle of the rain. She was hopeful death was taking her finally, praying she'd be able to rest before her eyes closed slowly.

A few days later, she woke up in a hospital, while an old man was looking at her with a clear look that radiated concern. And that was by her side when she was told the miscarriage caused an infection that could've ended her life if it hadn't been for him. Just like the doctor said that, she added the impossibility of being able to have kids after the damage her uterus had suffered over the infection. But Y/n just took that information as if it was nothing, completely impassive over the situation. She wasn't expecting any good news, she wasn't expecting things to work the way she liked, and she knew there would be no way to change it. So she just reacted in the most heartless way she could.

Jorge looked after her although he didn't have to, he gave her a home and a proper job in his stationery although he had no compromise of responsibility with her. He did it naturally, and just that way he created a close bond with her, embracing her in his family, along with his small daughter that looked up to her as if she were her older sister.

Life was smiling back to her. But it was too good to be true.

Jorge had a heart attack out of nowhere that almost forced them to close the only income they had at that moment. And it was only when she was forced to take over all his responsibilities, that she was aware of all the debts and loans notices that were close to expire, and that she knew would only end up wrongly for all of them. She worked two jobs, but even then she wasn't able to get enough money to pay the bills and cover the debt.

Easy money was more difficult to find than she thought. Especially when she had to cover such a high quantity. One of the women that worked for the lender advised her to go to a club in one of the most expensive areas of Mallorca, assuring her she'd be able to get the money there.

The man in charge of that place smiled big when she explained her situation. Maybe she shouldn't have shown herself so desperate, maybe she shouldn't have begged for the money, but Jorge's life was more important than her pride in that moment. She owed it to him.

Pedro ignored her sobs when he made her strip in front of him to approve her for the job, and made her feel like an object for the first time when he looked away while she kneeled in front of him to suck him off like he asked her to.

He tied her to a debt she probably would have to pay for for the rest of her life in that place.

Everyday, the reflection she saw in the mirror of the club with the different outfits looked more unrealistic, as if she was seeing someone else and not herself every time she met her own eyes in the glass. Life turned into a thing she was forced to do, and she just went with the flow. Until she met Jungkook.

Maybe... Only maybe if she had taken better decisions in life, she wouldn't have been in that situation.

If she hadn't gotten pregnant at eighteen, her parents wouldn't have kicked her out of her home, her boyfriend wouldn't have broken up with her and she wouldn't have had to deal with such difficulties.

Maybe she didn't regret them that much. Maybe, only maybe, she was glad all of her decisions took her to him.

It was the second time she was face to face with Death, although she had never been so scared to die as she was in that moment. Not because of the idea of dying, but because she thought she wouldn't be able to properly say goodbye to the people she cared about. Once again, she disappeared from Jorge's and Carla's lives without saying a thing, and once again her chest was burning with pain at the idea of not being able to see Jungkook one last time to talk to him properly.

That idea terrified her, making her sob and breathe with difficulty, while her chest ached awfully. So focused in her own pain that she wasn't aware of a person breaking into the room she was in, until she felt the pressure on her wrists disappearing and the bag on her head being removed.

She didn't care who was in front of her. She just let her fist fly to their face, making them fall back to her side and setting the way free for her to run and escape.

The air got stuck in her lungs when a pair of arms stopped her, suddenly placing them on her chest and neck to keep her still. Again, she kicked his feet, she tried to move away, she battled against the person, hearing him huff and groan, before he spoke.

—Stay still, I'm on your side —but she still moved, trying to get away—. Shit, stop moving. You'll end up hurting yourself and Jungkook will kill me.

Her movements slowed down after his name dropped. It could easily be another trap, the man could be lying to her. Until she dared to look up over her shoulder, recognizing his face almost instantly.

He was there when Jungkook claimed her at the party. He was part of Bangtan, and he was there.

—I know, questions —he grabbed her arm by the elbow—. I'll explain it all in the car.

Getting to that place was easy, way too easy. Even if they had thrown breadcrumbs to guide their way to where they had her, they wouldn't have managed to find her as fast and easily as then.

Finding Pedro's car in front of the building was way too easy, to the point of making everything seem off since they stepped there. But that wasn't the moment to doubt the difficulty or guess what the test was. They all just needed to get out of there, and take her to the safe area that Jungkook told him to take her to.

Taglist: @kaiparkerwifes @sheylamc @amy2006jones @allamericanuniverse @00frenchfries00 @massivelyfullenthusiast

#fanfic #ff #jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkookxreader #jk #bts #wattpad #kookie #smut #jungkook smut #mafia!au #The Only One #reader insert #armpirate

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ryuichirou · 5 months

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Hey ryuichi, as an artist, how do you feel about Ai art? Do you think that Ai is going to replace artists? Do you think that Ai artists are real artists?

I'm curious to know your opinion on this matter.

Sorry for the late reply, Anon! I wanted to give you a more or less nuanced reply, so it took me some time to think about this topic.

I’ll start with the easy one: no, AI art isn’t going to replace all artists and it’s not going to completely eradicate art as we know it, because art doesn’t exist solely for the practical purposes. As long as people enjoy and feel passionate about making art, art is going to exist in one form or another. But that’s just stating the obvious.

And while there are people who are better or worse at coming up with prompts for the AI, as long as they don’t do any additional work based on the AI-generated image, I don’t consider it being art. I think art is about skill, taste and personality, and this simply isn’t it.

Are people going to lose jobs because of AI art? Unfortunately, it already happens, but it also doesn’t mean that artists are doomed and this is some kind of apocalypse. It’s very important to consider the scale of things, the possible developments, etc. Here are some points to consider…

First of all, if we’re talking about personal commissions and clients that opt to use AI instead of commissioning an artist for their project (or personal use), I wouldn’t say that it’s too much of a loss. I feel like this is exactly the type of clients who don’t tend to appreciate artists’ work and pay them fairly anyway, otherwise they wouldn’t even consider AI as an option. Many of these “clients” would never commission an artist anyway, so they’re not even a part of this client pool. I know that money is money, and some artists would gladly take even a low-paying job from a customer that often doesn’t treat them well (I’ve been there and speak from my personal experience back when I started to offer my commission services), but I am an idealist and think that we shouldn’t spend our time and energy on someone who doesn’t see any value in our work anyway. Not everyone has the luxury of throwing away people who pay you at least something, of course, these artists still need to eat, so that last statement remains an idealistic take from me, keep that in mind.

And if we’re talking about corporations that use AI instead of hiring artists, while it is a problem, I also feel like it’s going to backfire somehow – it kinda does already. Not necessarily in terms of the company getting backlash, but in terms of the lack of quality control over the AI art (if you don’t have any actual artists on board, how are you going to know if the art works or not?) and some other unexpected reasons that are definitely going to pop up.

AI is definitely going to transform the way we think about art and art-related jobs in general. Some jobs might get lost forever, but it happens all the time – there are other brand-new types of art-jobs that are going to start emerging out of thin air. Just like photography and Photoshop influenced the market and art in general, AI is going to do just that.

I’ll note that I don’t think companies are going to stop using AI altogether at any point of the near future though; it’s a very powerful and cost-effective tool, there is no way they are letting it go. AI is absolutely here to stay, and it’s going to evolve and become better and better, scarily better. But this is how I think we should approach it:

People whose work is used for the AI’s learning pool should abso-fucking-lutely give their consent to their work being used, or even better, be compensated for their participation. If there is a new AI that makes a point out of the participation in the learning process being voluntary and well-paid, I think it’d change the dynamic between artists and AI – so far it’s just stealing from them.

Ideally, AI should be used as a base and not the final product. Actual artists could get inspired by it during the brainstorming stage or work over it.

Whoever posts, produces or distributes content that was created with the help of an AI, should absolutely mark it accordingly. In my perfect world, there’re going to be laws about this lol In general, the whole thing needs to be reflected in law, so far it’s way too easy to abuse.

Not only marked, AI generated images should be banned from being sold lol You can press that button and type all the key words all you want, but the result is just a free image that anyone can use and cannot be monetized. I believe this final point would make the majority of AI users just abandon their desire to use it in general – if there’s no profit for them, they’ll drop out, and AI art can be used as a tool like it’s supposed to be.

As you can see, I have avoided saying that people who use AI art are “artists” because I don’t consider them artists. If they don’t transform anything and don’t bring anything new to the table, I, the most important person on this planet, will refuse to give them that title lol

As far as I know, actors and writers have achieved some guarantees against the use of AI during their strike..? I haven’t looked into it, so I don’t know. Also please, keep in mind that I’m mostly talking about illustrations, because this is what I do. AI affects other types of art too, and there might be nuance there that I’m not mentioning here.

In general, I don’t want to demonize AI, because I feel like it’s not a problem on itself, it’s the way people use it that’s brings problems for all of us. This is a very new technology, and we don’t know how to handle it just yet mostly because for the lack of the law system regulating it, this is why there are so many opportunities to abuse it.

Also also, when the novelty of the AI art wears off, we might end up with the resurgence of appreciation for “real human art” or something. We are waaaaay too prone to nostalgia not to go “god I miss it when actual people designed logos” one day, and believe me, whenever it happens, the companies are going to market their stuff as the REAL HUMAN ART by the REAL HUMAN PEOPLE so much that we’re going to get sick of it in 5 minutes lol. But hey, maybe it’ll end up being a reason to pay artists more.

Thank you for reading such a long reply! I don’t want for my blog to turn into a discussion board, so sorry in advance if you address this topic in future asks to give me links or examples and I won’t reply to you, but it depends on the number of asks. I’ll look through everything on my own.

#replies #about drawing

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somuchyoudontknow · 10 months

Text

Please, open your eyes!

I have talked about this topic with some friends in the dms but as everyone knows I don't get myself involved usually in blog wars and stay away from discussing any topic that might create an argument against any blog even in a slight manner. I try to stay away from it. I don't publish any asks in which a name of other blog has been mentionaed and people have complained about them.

But I need to say this and I will say it because people are getting hurt and when I know the truth I will not stay quiet. Staying quiet is like encouraging these bullies. I don't care if I get dragged by anyone but I will say what I know.

I am going to make one thing clear for everyone here. No blog is being watched by Chris' team nor Chris' team is going after anyone to shut them down. If you guys trust me, I have it on good authority from my journalist friend that "No Blog Is Being Watched By Chris' Team or Being Taken Down By His Team" They are not involved in threatening or bullying any fan If you are led to believe this, this is not true!

No celeb goes after fans. This is not how fandoms are controlled by celebs and their teams. Yes, they leak some stuff to fans to clear some rumors up, they launch cleaner accounts to clear up mess but they have bigger problems to deal with than to obssess over fans and shut down their blogs. Chris' team has been involved in driving particular narratives about this pr since sm was involved in this pr but they are not worried what some blogs say about him or how they make fun of him. Yes, they have breadcrumbed since this whole pr rs was intended to be created using hints about online activity but nothing else has been done.

They have not gone after LSA stalkers who literally stalk his house, leave balloons at his property. If they had to go after someone they would go after those crazy stalkers first, not after blogs who criticise him or call him out. They would go after crazy twitter accts photoshopping his face on Nazi generals, why no one is trying to doxx them, why aren't they getting any threats and only a few blogs of tumblr? Use your brain people! Do you want to be part of bullies? Do you want to create bad Karma for yourself by supporting crazy people? You might know deep inside that who could be behind all of this, you might have suspicions but some of you are ignoring the signs and are supporting some mad people. It doesn't mean if you like to hear about a celeb and someone is telling you what you like to hear, you close you eyes for all the other alarming signs. If you have suspicions for someone who might be involved in these activities, stop supporting that friend. If you don't you are also part of what they are doing. Please stop giving them attention in any way, stop interacting with them! It's been enough.

Chris' team is not associated to any blog. We just got proven a few days ago when we got a sighting from a gym how they proved their non association with any fan accts. If you keep your eyes open and look for signs, you would see people claiming to have sources to his team or having insiders have been proven wrong in a subtle way many times and they have been sent asks telling them they were wrong but seems like even after being rpoven wrong some blogs don't like to take the 'hint'. And believe me, this is going to keep happening. This is how celeb teams work! They operate in subtle way without making it obvious it is them clearing things up. They never do anything that can associate the celeb to any problematic fan acct directly. That would be so stupid to do such a thing! That would only ruin their reputation if it gets picked up by media. Just imagine if an online mag decides to write a story about how a celeb is manipulating and leaking things about his own private life and maybe about a pr contract for which him and his team have probably signed ndas to stay quiet, how would that look? Would any celeb and their team want that? Leaking stuff about a confidential PR contract to fans can get the said celeb into trouble, they can get fined by the parties involved. Why would they do such an idiot thing? No celeb is involved in doing petty things against fans. Don't be fooled. You are better than this.

As far as I have read Chris' energy, he is not the kind of a guy who would like to see people getting harmed because of himself. He would rather get himself hurt. He got involved in this PR, he will get out of it one day but I have never got any ill feelings from him towards his fans. He knows its his mess and he is dealing with it. He thinks his fans are disappointed. And also, he is not reading any fan acct or following fan gossip. He has bad anxiety and his team is keeping him away from SM for the sake of his mental health. Please, do not use this guy's name to threaten or hurt anyone or make up lies. If he ever gets to know this he would never like it. No one is perfect and Chris is also not a perfect guy. He is many things, call him messy or whatever but please he is not someone who would like to see people hurt just because of himself. That's not him.

If you want this toxicity to stop in this fandom stop supporting bullies. Unfollow them, do not interact with them! This is the only solution to bring back fandom's peace. Please, don't be a part of fandom's toxicity. People come here to enjoy. You can disagree with someone, state your opinion and be on your way if someone doesn't agree but calling bad names, dragging other blogs and now we have people hiding behind anon masks threatening people, no we are better than this. Stop being part of their madness just because you are a fan of a celeb who might not even get to know about you ever!

Again if you are suspicions about anyone, just unfollow them, unfollow negative people and say your peace. Do not go and send hate on anons to anyone. Just leave them. When they stop getting traffic they would go away. Don't give attention to them since this is what some people are hungry for.

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danidrabbles · 2 years

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Sweet

Notes: I wrote this little piece for @nobodys-baby-now‘s birthday! Vee, I thought it was only fair since you gave me your first ever finished Adrian fic for my birthday, I’d return the favour with my first ever finished Adrian fic for yours!

I won’t make it to sappy for reasons known to you and me, but: You’re an incredible friend and I am so happy to know you. Thank you for being there, for making me laugh, for coming up with AUs with me and for teaching me to love idiots-to-lovers even more than I already did. I hope you recognize some elements from this, and I really hope like this, happy birthday 🥳💖🧜‍♂️!

Pairing Adrian Chase/Vigilante x f!reader

Rating: T, I suppose (But my blog is very 18+, so no minors!)

Word count: 2.4k

Warnings: female reader + female pronouns, fluff, a sprinkle of angst, food mentions, bets (because they’re my brand), I’ve not watched Peacemaker in a bit so maybe OOC Adrian?... I’d say that’s it! Please let me know if I missed something!

------

It’s when you’re keeping watch during a mission that you notice it.

The poster is about the same size as you, with a large Ferris wheel at the centre, and at the credit of some underpaid graphic design employee, the smaller attractions and happy customers are photoshopped around it. With its size, bright colours and silly fonts, it’s all but screaming, ‘Notice me! Notice me!’ at you from across the street

A carnival is coming to Evergreen and is staying for a whooping two months.

The sight of the poster makes your stomach turn and your imagination run amok.

Perfect families enjoying an evening out.

Friends laughing and sharing cotton candy.

Dates holding hands and kissing atop the Ferris wheel.

It isn’t disgust, but certain jealousy that the images evoke – none of these things had really been a part of your life.

But it’s the last one in particular that gets you.

It’s not that you’re unsuccessful in the dating department. It’s just that the older you get, the more you realize people are only interested in one thing. People don’t often date you with the intention of getting to know you, or discovering if it is worth building something with you, it’s always about the physical – actually, thinking about it as you are, you can’t remember the last time someone even offered—

“I’ll take you.”

Adrian’s sudden appearance next to you nearly makes you jump.

“What?” you say highly, your voice letting on a lot more than you want it to when you whip your head around to look at him.

“The carnival,” he says. “You want to go, right? Someone who looks at a poster like that for a quick second just wants to know what it says, but you’re starring. Leads me to conclude you want to go.”

Briefly, as you stare at the red visor to try and read his expression, you wonder if you had been talking out loud earlier, with the way he’s apparently reading your mind right now. As a result, the sound you make in reply is non-committal; better to keep it in the middle. You don’t know exactly what he means with, “I’ll take you,” and the last thing you need is an awkward conversation about it during a mission.

To that, Adrian just nods, before adding, “I’m sorry I scared you.”

“You didn’t,” you scoff, willing the embarrassment that starts to flower up your body away.

“Yeah, right,” Adrian says, and you don’t have to try to read his expression this time, you know he’s twisting it into a sceptical look. “You almost jumped.”

“Shut up.”

------

The next couple weeks at work are incredibly hectic, which can be expected when one’s job is saving the world. There are stake-outs, dangerous infiltrations, long rides home in the van – and you’re on one of those rides now.

The late afternoon sun colours everyone’s exhausted but satiated faces in orange hues. Next to you, Adrian shuffles in place uncomfortably, hands placed at his sides to crack his back. He heaves a sigh of relief afterwards, at which point he decides to say, “We should go to the carnival tonight.”

His comment throws you off, and it’s not just because of the moment, it’s about him suggesting this at all. After weeks, you were sure Adrian had forgotten all about his offer, and even though you hate to admit it, it had made you upset. And now, just when you’re starting to get over your disappointment, he re-ignites your hope embarrassingly fast.

“I’m going to pick you up at eight,” he says.

His determination makes your lips curl into a small smile, but you’re not going to fold that easily. “Bold of you to assume that I don’t already have plans,” you say, faux-nonchalantly.

Adrian’s face turns to you so quick that you’re sure he’s hitting Emilia in the head with the back of his mask. “Are you going with someone else?”

It’s then that you remember that even the smallest drop of fake-nonchalance is enough for Adrian to believe it. “I’m just fucking with you,” you assure him after turning to face him. “I don’t have plans tonight.”

“Pfff, yeah, I totally knew that,” he says with a scoff, adjusting in place again and doing a terrible job of masking his relief. His visor stays on you for a bit longer, almost as if he’s waiting for something else.

“And I’m not going to the carnival with someone else,” you add.

“Okay, cool,” Adrian says, voice cheerful. He leaps to his feet just as the van comes to a stop outside of Henenlotter Video. “So, tonight, at eight?”

“See you at eight.”

As Adrian jumps from the back of the van and disappears to find his car, you swear you hear him say, “It’s a date.”

Despite your best efforts, you can’t push down the warm, fuzzy feeling that leaves you with.

------

Adrian, punctual as he is, parks his Sebring in front of the motel most of your team is staying in exactly at eight. After you get in, you notice the plain clothes he’s wearing are a sweater-and-jeans combination you’ve see him in before. His circle-framed glasses are perched on his nose, sliding down slightly, but quickly pushed in place again when he turns onto the street.

The carnival, it turns out, is close; close enough to have walked if you really wanted. When you raise this point with Adrian, he just scoffs, and murmurs something about dates picking you up being the first rule of going on dates, before he steps out of the car after parking on the overcrowded parking lot.

You’re quick to follow, and when you round the corner off the lot and into the carnival, it’s immediately clear Evergreen takes their carnivals seriously. It’s packed, bright lights flicker and change colour, there’s sounds coming from everywhere, and you stay plastered to Adrian side as he leads you through the crowd.

------

You notice fairly early into the evening that Adrian knows the carnival like the back of his hands. He knows where to get tickets quickly, where to get the best cotton candy, knows which machines have the highest success rate and he even shows you an arcade machine where he has the high score. It’s unexpectedly enjoyable to see Adrian so in his element outside of work, and the way his eyes light up when you ask him questions makes you beam in return.

When he’s in the middle of showing you a pinball machine, something you know how to use but you let him show you anyway, there’s something that catches Adrian’s eye that gives him pause. You follow his line of sight, and see a Shoot A Duck stand. A large man shows one of his customers how to use the gun, and just as he does, he gets tapped on the shoulder by a bald man. They exchange words and the bald man takes the large man’s place in the stand.

“This is our chance,” Adrian says when the large man disappears behind a curtain.

“What?” you ask confused, keeping an eye on your game as you do.

“I’ll explain later,” Adrian assures you. “Come on, this will be fun, I promise.”

The eagerness in his voice is hard to miss, and it makes you curious as to what ‘chance’ Adrian is talking about, so you leave your game behind. After a short walk and a five minute wait at the Shoot A Duck stand, you get your answer.

“You have thirty seconds, you can play for three, five or ten ducks,” the bald man explains when Adrian approaches the counter. “Which do you want?”

Adrian’s eyes sparkle with mischief when he looks at you, before turning back and replying, “I’ll shoot thirty, and then she gets to pick whatever she wants,” he replies, nodding at the prizes surrounding the ducks.

You bring a hand up to your face to hide your smile, immediately catching on to his plan.

Adrian can hit those thirty ducks with his eyes closed.

“You can play for three, five or ten ducks,” the man presses. “Or you can go.”

“Fine.” Adrian reaches for something in his pocket, then smashes a 100 dollar bill onto the counter, “I’ll add this, too. You win, you can keep this and my tickets. I win, she gets to pick whatever she wants.”

The man looks Adrian up and down and grins, Adrian’s smaller build clearly reason to count himself a rich man, and he agrees to the terms, then hands over the gun. “Good luck, little friend,” he says.

Adrian brings the gun up to his face, lining the sight on top up with his eye. It dawnes on you then that you get to see Adrian like you never get to see him – in Vigilante mode without his mask on. His expression is serious, concentrated, his stance is perfect… and then the man tells him it’s his time.

It’s over in a flash – thirty perfect shots, an extra one for good measure.

The man’s expression – open-mouthed, cheeks flushed, brows furrowed – is the biggest win of all.

Adrian takes his 100 dollar bill back from the counter, then turns to face you, beaming with pride. “So, what do you want?”

You bite your lip with a smile, before pointing towards a medium sized stuffed animal in the form of a bat. The bald man turns to retrieve Adrian’s winnings, then hands it over with some mellow words of congratulations.

The mood turns quick when the curtain at the back of the stand swings open, and the large man emerges.

“Adrian?!” he shouts, his voice like thunder. “I told you not to come back here!”

“Sorry, Casper. “Adrian blindly presses his prize to your chest, keeping eye contact with the large man as he backs away. Then, he takes your free hand and pulls you with him to make a run for it and disappear into the crowd. “No takebacks!” he shouts over his shoulder.

When the crowd clears and there’s more room to run, you zoom after your partner for the evening, clutching your prize close, until eventually you turn a corner where you can hide in case Casper follows after you. With a shared laugh, you catch your breaths, and you can’t help but voice your excitement.

“That was amazing,” you pant. “You were amazing; you should tell Chris about that tomorrow.”

“It was pretty great,” Adrian agrees, your compliments only adding to his flushed state.

You scan your surroundings as Adrian cleans his fogged up glasses, and realize you’ve ended up right next to the Ferris wheel.

“I want some more excitement,” you say, offering Adrian your outstretched hand. “Let’s get on there.”

------

From up here, you have a perfect outlook on the city.

“Didn’t think I’d ever say it, but Evergreen actually looks kind of pretty like this,” you say, referring to all the lights that are visible all the way to the horizon.

“That’s only because crime is so hard to see from up here,” Adrian replies tightly.

You whip your head back to him to offer him a witty retort, but when you do you find Adrian isn’t looking at the view. His head is bent down towards the floor of the cart, and as the carnival lights reflect in his glasses, you get brief glimpses at his narrowed eyes.

“Oh, my god,” you say, leaning back in your seat. “You’re afraid of heights.”

“No, I’m not!” Adrian says immediately, head still pointed down.

Your banter is suddenly interrupted when the Ferris wheel comes to a halt, making your cart sway back and forth. Adrian lets out a soft yelp, soft enough to have gone unnoticed had you not been paying attention to him, but loud enough to realize he really is afraid and that your time of teasing is over for now.

You scoot forward, your knees pressed up against his, and you close your hands over his balled fists. “Look at me,” you say softly, brushing your thumbs over his skin. “It’ll be just me, it’s so you can focus on something.”

It takes a second, and then you watch as Adrian lifts his head slowly, before opening his eyes at the same pace until they can meet yours. The change in him is instant; his shoulders drop, he lets out a deep breath and his balled fists uncurl until he can press his palms against his jeans.

“How’s that?” you ask.

“Distracting,” he offers up immediately.

The laugh you let out is stifled by the realization that it’s also distracting for you, and suddenly it’s silent between you, the carnival music but a cheery soundtrack at the very back of the moment you’re having together.

“Do you need more distraction?” The question leaves you before you even realized you were going to speak, and it might have made you overthink your entire evening had Adrian not all but jumped on the opportunity you were offering up with an eager,

“Yes.”

He’s already leaning in, and it makes you smile into the kiss that follows when you do the same. It’s soft, and chaste, and for reasons you’re not currently capable of examining, it makes your stomach flip when he doesn’t deepen the kiss. Instead, his hands fly up to your face to hold you, to brush his nose against yours and give you another quick peck.

Somewhere along the way, when you were clearly too involved in your shared moment to notice it, the Ferris wheel had started moving again, and when the usher opens your cart at the very bottom of the wheel to let the both of you out, you lead with your hand holding Adrian’s.

------

It’s approaching midnight when Adrian finishes explaining how his recent fear of heights came to be (falling out of a tree with a butterfly strapped to his back) and you’re making your way to the parking lot. The day had been long, full, and tiresome, and as a result you’re exhausted, but you don’t want it to end. You’re almost embarrassed to admit that the whole evening, including this very moment, feels a bit dream-like, because it’s unlike anything you ever experienced before.

“Did you have a good night?” Adrian asks, steering you both to his car.

You steal a glance at your intertwined fingers, reminding yourself this moment is very real, before looking up at Adrian. You find him looking expectant, lips pursed in anticipation of your verdict.

With a nod and a smile, you tell him, “You have no idea.”

#nobodys-baby-now #dani writing #adrian chase x reader #adrian chase x you #vigilante x reader #vigilante x you #adrian chase fanfiction #vigilante fanfiction #peacemaker fanfiction

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cinamun · 2 months

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Hey fren! I have a ton of questions. Lmk if I’m being too intrusive or nosey lol.

I love your story, I always have to give you your flowers when I write you!! All hail the Queen 🙌🏾🙌🏾💐💐💐

Ok my questions:

For starting out posting and editing, do you keep a schedule for yourself to stay organized? Rn I’m finally posting on my simblr after 3 years but I find myself just constantly taking screenies instead of posting and organizing the story. It feels chaotic lol the only organizing I’ve done just for game play in general is shopping for CC every other day (it’s an addiction)

A question I wanted to ask for a while is, if you are commissioning someone for poses what are the average prices you pay (or better yet, what do you think a good price is to pay for pose commission)? Sometimes I have these perfect poses in my head and when I’ve searched for hours I normally just end up giving up.

Lastly, I noticed your post from yesterday said you had 25 photos loaded in photoshop. Do you have all the art board (or images) side by side to edit them consistently and simultaneously?

Thank you if you answer!!

Good morning bestie!! Let me just go on ahead and adjust this crown right quick lol THANK YOU and I got you!

I'm chaotic and impulsive but I have a little bit of a routine. Follow me under the cut!

Okay, SO!! For the first question about posting and editing.... I usually have an idea for the next scene while working on the previous one. So when I go in-game for story updates, the idea is already there and I'm just setting up shots and making the scenes look good. I don't have a schedule other than my posting schedule, so when you mention last night, I was editing pics that I had taken earlier in the day or the day before. So my schedule is usually sitting in photoshop all night the day before I post.

For pose commissions, I've only done that twice. I've had real good luck over the years finding poses or animations for anything I've needed. I would say make an offer to donate to them if you know their shit is dope and move anywhere between $5 to $10 USD. For the poses I commissioned, they weren't released publically so that's extra special (tip them more!). Also keep in mind if you're asking for accessories to be used, how many sims are in the pose, etc. For pose searching, try to be as vague as you can. "ts4 cleaning poses" and then see what comes up is one example and don't shy away from animations! They work with pose player, most without WW and can make for some great screenshots.

I load up all the pictures in Photoshop plus whatever templates I'm using (like the texting one or the dust overlays), and edit in order of sequence. This is where all the dialogue happens so sometimes I edit out of order if I know the dialogue for one scene already and maybe not the others. I hope i'm making sense lol. I spend a lot of time on this part because the words might change given which picture I've decided on (some scenes I take multiple screenshots of and multiple angles and then decide later which one to use). I go pic by pic, doing editing and adding dialogue individually then saving them, closing them and moving on to the next one. Once I'm completely done then I flip through them a few times as if I were the reader to try and catch any typos, etc.

This got really long but let me know if that helps or if I can elaborate more!!

#ts4 storytelling tips

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reachartwork · 11 months

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As someone who struggles with plenty of disabilities that makes doing artistic endeavors an extremely difficult time, your work is not only inspiring but outright transformative. I plan on adapting the use of your tool to better help me with physical limitations that practice and introspective cannot solve or fix. It is as transformative and life-altering for the better as tools such as Photoshop and Paint.NET have been in my life prior, and the people who rail against this are all being played for fools by corporations who will never reward them for their bootlicking and treacherous speech. Every act of hate speech I have witnessed has put a black spot on every name and soul that warns me to stay the hell away from them. You do not deserve this treatment and vitriol. You are an amazingly creative and driven individual and I only wish I could find even a modicum of the motivation you have in advancing it further. I have always admired your cut and jib, your work, and your pioneering into new territories of artistic expression. I want you to know that at the very least, people like me who support and look up to you exist. Above all, we may be quiet and not step out in the spotlight to speak for you--but we're here. If you ever need a spot from it all, the shade welcomes you. Keep being you, the amazing person you are, and never ever forget someone like me looks upon you with childlike wonder and enthusiasm. You're incredible, and I only hope and ask you keep being as much as you can burden yourself.

much appreciated

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mrjakeparker · 1 year

Photo

First off, for anyone who needs a primer on AI Generated Art here's a concise video on the subject to get you up to speed: LINK I used Midjourney I started out with these prompts to see what I would get: Astronaut with a skull head +skull + skeleton + red spacesuit + character design + full body + red + sci-fi + star wars + Ralph McQuarrie + Jake Parker, cartoon, cartoon network, adventure time style. Then I thought I'd mix it up and see what prompts like octane render + 3d would give me. I didn't like what I was getting so I went back to my original prompts but added rubberhose animation + pixar + disney + 3d. The results were better, so I asked for more variations. When I got them I decided I was getting diminishing returns and called it a day. Lots of interesting ideas to put into my design, but no one design really felt like it nailed the vibe I got from my original design. After this experiment here's what I think:

1) AI Art Generators will only become more powerful/capable. So wishing it away is a waste of time. The only path forward is figuring it out how to implement it and how to regulate it. 2) With revolutionary technology comes a reorganization of status and power. The status quo HATES this and will do almost anything to stop it from happening.

AI Generated Art shifts the power (and wealth) of creating images from people who have training, to people who don't.

This reorganization happened in the 2000s when programs like Maya, 3D Studio Max, and Photoshop made art creation a lot more accessible to people who couldn't paint traditionally, or sculpt clay.

It allowed places like animation studios to be havens for creative people to make art who might not have been able to draw really well. Which really upset people who had trained to animate in 2D on paper, and who studied classical painting techniques. Which leads me to 3: 3) Not everyone who is creative can make art, and not everyone who can make art is creative. The creative people who could also adapt and learn new tools absolutely thrived in the new digital art world.

A lot of the art I've seen generated from AI is a lot like hearing someone impersonate English but who doesn't know the language. It sounds right, but they aren't actually saying anything.

4) I see these AI Art generators as tools. Another resource for creative people to add to their toolbox to make them even more creative. Or at the very least, make their job easier.

5) AI isn't an end to end problem solver for productions. There's still a needs to be an artist to translate it into something usable. Someone needs to interpret AI art into something a modeler can model, or set designer can build.

Example: After a producer plugs a bunch of prompts from a script into Midjourney they take it to the art dept. The crew gets a brief from an art director and instead of a lot of back and forth, the art director points at a page of AI art and says "Make it look like this"

6) Questions I’m still thinking about:

- Do these AI Art Generators actually undermine illustrators, photographers, concept artists? Or does it actually elevate these industries?

- Is it bad to democratize something like art creation?

- Who truly benefits from this shift in power? Where is the money flowing to?

- Should artists have the option of their artwork being removed from the AI generator's databases? Or is any art you post online free game? Does the AI generator do anything different than what an artist does who has strong stylistic influences from other artists?

7) I'm still learning about this, and still reading up on all the pros and cons.

I would love to know your thoughts.

We've been discussing it over on the Discord for a couple weeks now: LINK

I also posted this on IG and it blew up. I could not keep up with the comments. Over 750 of them! If you want to get a vibe check on what the broader art community thinks of this check it out here: LINK

-Jake

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skippyv20 · 6 months

Text

AI Images

I have been a long time follower and occasional poster on Skippy’s marvellous blog, but took some time out over the last months, or maybe even a year, because I had just had enough of the Sussex shenanigans. I was actually born and raised in Sussex, and my family still live there, so even worse.

My daily work is nothing very technical, but I have worked in SEO and web design for about 15 years, so do know a bit about the latest technology, though nothing about programming, just basic stuff.

I am shocked/not shocked (haha) but I have not seen any blogger/journalist/youtuber point out the obvious? All the pics I have seen of the duo and the “children” are AI images. A.I. (Artificial Intelligence is amazing) but there are certain things it typically doesn’t get right. Hands, for example, it does not do well. Look at MM’s huge long alien fingers in a pic holding her “child”. And I may not remember rightly, but didn’t “Archie” or someone in one of the pics have six toes or something?

Chair legs missing. As in the “christening” pic, when Catherine’s chair only had two legs.

“Lily” floating above the grass on her “birthday” pic.

When will the journos start telling the truth? All these photos and the terrible Halloween ones, where even Harry’s leg’s look like matchsticks are AI. All you need to do is enter an understandable “prompt” for the AI bot, and it will spit our various images you can choose from in just a minute.

I can’t make pics very well with my prompts because it is just a fun thing for me to try. But even so, I have made flyers, posters, etc., that I have sold using my simple (never studied it, just put in whatever came to mind) AI prompts. But there are people who know how to use prompts well, and create very realistic images for a few bucks. Just find a pic you want your kid to look like, and enter it into an AI image program, and tell it to mix it. It will generate a similar image, but not similar enough to say it is the same as the original. If you want a child pic or a family scene, there are people that do this extremely well, even on sites like Fiverr.com.

Hi! Welcome back, everyone needs a break from this circus at times. Thank YOU for staying with me, and the kind words. It means so much to me! You raise a very question, when will someone speak up? We keep waiting. The fancy AI/photoshopping tricks is such an insult to us all. We are not stupid….yet, the “that one” and her think we are, and get away with it….we know there are NO children…we know this….and the BRF knows it, yet they play along….❤️

#submission

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cherrypikkins · 8 months

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hello! I found you through one of your art tutorials and absolutely loved it, it's really inspired me to try it. I was just wondering, not being familiar with digital art, what set up/ app/ tools do you use (or recommend)? do I need a fancy tablet? thank you :)

I'm so glad to hear it! I hope wherever your drawing journey takes you, that you will keep having fun along the way :)

I am always glad to show my setup!

Let's start with the hardware!

Nowadays, I use a Wacom Cintiq 16, which I purchased this year for around $800 CAD.

This device very much on the fancy side but as someone who has done digital art for 20+ years, it has helped me complete my works in a much shorter amount of time. The Cintiq surface allows me to draw directly on the screen.

Before that, I used a tablet - the Wacom Intuos v4 S, which I received as a gift from my Dad. It held up for 10+ years and was still working excellently when I gave it away for my Mom to use. :) In 2009 I believe it was priced around $250 CAD.

The surface was a lot more matte when I purchased it and has since gotten shinier from all the abrasion and usage and skin contact. I remember it had a protective transparent sheet which I tore off on the first day of use. LOL

My desktop PC is i7 processor @ 3.20 GHz with Windows 10 64bit, 16gb, with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 video card. Monitor is 24". Notably I use my PC for other activities such as gaming.

Now let's talk about drawing programs!

My software of choice is PaintToolSai v2! It is very lightweight and has a smaller toolset compared to Photoshop or Clip Studio.

I favor it because I feel that it has a better response to pen input, which helps create higher quality lines. It is very stable and performs very well - I don't think I've ever had any crashes while using v2, which is still in development. The smaller price point helps. The current price is 5500JPY, which should be around $50 CAD these days? The price was lower when I purchased it years and years back, and I was able to upgrade to v2 without any additional cost.

As for what I recommend for a beginner? I admit, it's a little hard for me to say - the landscape of digital painting has changed so much over the past ten years that so many new tools and software have come out while I was still using Sai and my Intuos!

But if you start shopping around, there are some things that may factor into your decision. Please note that I will be speaking as someone who uses mainly desktop systems and tablets for digital art.

Price: The price of a good-quality drawing tablet can range from the $100s to the $1000s. If you are a beginner, you may not experience the benefits of a professional-standard tablet right away, so it's ok to start small! For software, there are quite a few free options to get you started, such as Medibang or Krita. If you have an iPad, Procreate is available on the store for $9.99, though you may need to invest in a stylus.

System Specs: If you have a laptop or a PC, be sure to double check your specs to make sure it can support the hardware and software of your choice! The requirements are less stringent than gaming, so at least i3 with 8gb RAM will work! You will also need to make sure you have enough storage space to hold large files. I've read that the sweet spot for storage is 128GB. If you are a beginner, you probably won't hit the limit in a short amount of time - just be aware that file sizes for digital art can reach 100s of MB depending on size and complexity.

Pressure Sensitivity: This is a measure of how sensitive your tablet is to pressure changes so that you can vary between solid/translucent and thin/thick lines as you are drawing. The recommendation for newcomers is 1,024 levels. Any less, and the experience may be lacking and the results less than satisfying.

Display Size: Tablet size can vary! Wacom Tablets in particular come in Small, Medium and Large. Make sure it can fit on your working space! I've had no problems creating art work using the smallest size, though it has caused a bit of wrist strain.

A monitor/display screen of at least HD quality with a resolution of at least 300dp is recommended! Screen size will also affect your experience. So, similar with gaming, consider what might be most comfortable for you!

Learning Curve: If you are drawing on a screenless tablet for the first time, then it may take some time to get used to the feeling of drawing the tablet surface while keeping your eyes on the monitor. Don't be discouraged if you're not getting the same results as you would using pen and paper! It will definitely feel different, but with time and practice you will gradually get accustomed to it.

Each software comes with its own toolset - some larger than others! For complex programs like Clip Studio and Photoshop, the number of features and the level of customization available can be overwhelming! That said, most software programs for digital art come with a standard set of basic tools, such as Brush, Select, Straight Line, Erase, Zoom, Copy + Paste, Undo etc. So it is perfectly feasible to get started using a complex program, familiarize yourself with the basics, and try some of the more advanced features once you get confident.

(Meanwhile, I am terrified of Clip Studio's seemingly endless features whenever I open it and usually find myself running back to Sai for safety lolol)

Public Opinion: Take caution when watching Youtube reviews, as artists (especially popular ones) are known to accept company sponsorships. Ask around if you can, take a look at the best, worst, and average customer reviews, and check out a public discussion like Reddit where opinions may differ! Take note of the good and bad experiences. And, where invited, ask artists like or not-like me. :)

I should note this far that I'm not sponsored by anyone or anything. ;;;; I swear on my Mom I'm not a Wacom plant. (That said I will gladly continue to sing my praises of PaintToolSai for free. It is an excellent program and please consider supporting the smaller devs!)

That's it! ...I think? I'm almost certain that there are at least one or two things that I've neglected to mention, but so far, those are the points I can think of, so I hope you find it useful. :)

Each digital art journey is different, and so your mileage may vary with the factors above! I do hope that as you get started with creating stuff digitally, that you have a fun and enjoyable experience.

I also invite other people to share their opinions, agreements, and disagreements to the points above! Especially if there is anything important that I may have missed. I hope this is helpful and thank you again everyone for your positive comments on my tutorials. :')

#tutorial #art #digital art

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scorpiongrassfield · 11 months

Text

Theo is Spooked... Again

Start | Prev

Pat laughs it off.

“I mean. It’s not really for us to decide, kid. Either it was or it wasn’t, factually. We have no say in the matter when it comes to reality,” they ramble.

This leaves Theo looking pensive, but less afraid.

It sounds like a distraction to you.

“Anyway, to answer your question, usually. Ghosts made from traumatic events are usually either angry or like. Sad and lost. Or both I guess,” Pat shrugs.

They gesture for you to eat more of your food.

You sigh, but dutifully comply.

Once you’ve eaten a few more bites you ask: “What kind of ghost is the shadow?”

“Dunno I’d have to meet them,” Pat say’s flippantly.

You give them a flat look.

A quick glance at Theo shows he’s doing the same.

Pat heaves a comical sigh. “Alright, I guess I can give you a hint this time since you’re having brain trouble,” they say, over dramatically.

Theo is trying not to laugh.

Pat winks at you.

“So. If I had to guess, I’d say this shadow is the sort of ghost with Unfinished Business,” Pat says.

“Oh?” Theo says, looking almost impressed.

“Yeah. This sort of ghost is usually pretty at peace with their own death, Except for they still feel like there’s something they still need to do. Look after their friend, feed their cat, tend their garden, stuff like that,” they explain.

That all makes sense to you.

But you aren’t sure it all adds up.

You can accept that the shadow is a ghost. And it does seem friendly and interested in helping you.

But you can’t reconcile that with the ghost you’re supposed to be looking for.

Your head kind of hurts as you think about it.

Theo and Pat both lapse into silence as you think, Pat chowing down and Theo simply staring off into space.

He fiddles with the glasses sticking out of his shirt pocket and its like something snaps inside your head.

You and Pat aren’t here to investigate a ghost. You’d forgotten that.

You still aren’t sure why Pat feels the need to lie to Theo to this extent, even as they begin to befriend him.

Maybe they’ve also forgotten? Memory issues do seem to be going around like the flu these days.

You run back over the conversation again. You can’t guess Pat’s motives for telling Theo his house is haunted.

It feels more like you’re the one that’s haunted.

“Oh. Myo-“ Theo cuts himself off. “Excise me, I misspoke. Sylv. It wasn’t your shadowy friend that lead you to my house today, was it?” Theo asks.

He suddenly seems… different. Like someone opened up photoshop and turned up the contrast and saturation on his very presence.

It seems that he remembers your earlier visit now. Had he been faking it before?

Pat wipes their mouth with a napkin before piping up. “I was wondering the same thing. I said you should stay in the cars since you… had a migraine,” Pat hesitates on the lie this time.

You realize you forgot to tell Pat about the woman.

Oops.

You could always lie.

It’s not like Pat doesn’t do it literally all the time.

But Theo is giving you this expectant look.

Like he knows what you’re supposed to say.

You sigh.

“I met this woman in the woods. She freaked out when she saw me and tried to attack me. So I went inside to get away from her,” you summarize.

Pat looks like their blood pressure just shot through the roof.

Upset would be an understatement.

“This Cannot keep happening,” they mutter.

“Patience,” Theo says reproachfully.

Pat deflates. “Okay. You’re right,” they nod, seemingly to themself.

They turn to you and look you right in the eye. “I’m not mad at you, especially since you don’t remember any promises you’ve made me about this. I’m glad you’re okay, good job getting to safety. We’ll discuss this further after I take a smoke break.” They say, like they’re checking phrases off a list.

Theo hands them a lighter on their way out.

That was… odd.

Now you’re alone with Theo again.

Except…

“You aren’t Theo, are you?” you say to the person who looks like Theo, but has entirely different body language from him.

“Oh. You’re observant, but are you connecting the dots?” says not-Theo.

“I’m trying,” you say. “Why’d you bring that up? You knew Pat would freak.”

“Ah. Pat cares about you though… They want to keep you safe,” not-Theo placates.

Something dawns on you.

“You’re the one that told me not to be alone!”

Not-Theo gives you a small smile.

“She’s a danger to all of us. There’s only so much I can do, off-script. Please go easy on me,” not-Theo pleads.

Then Pat is sidling back into the booth smelling of tobacco.

#choose your own adventure #interactive fiction #original writing #writeblr

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