#thinner groove

[mediumgayitalian]

“I want you to have this.”

“Will —”

“Nico,” Will interrupts, voice stern, “take it.”

He fiddles with the clasp of his watch, sliding it off and holding it between them. The Celestial bronze frame has long since worn smooth, leather straps molded to the shape of Will’s wrist after years and years of use. He can even see the indent on the side of the bottom strap, where the Ace bandage Will often fidgets with has worn a groove.

“Please.”

Nico glances up to meet Will’s wide, pleading blue eyes. They’re darker, in the setting sun; almost midnight blue. Like the Raleigh reflection that colours the sky happens somehow in the tiny rings of his irises, too.

He sighs, holding out his wrist. Will’s expression melts into something almost relieved, corners of his lips turned up in a grateful smile. He wraps his warm hands around Nico’s forearm and fingertips, flipping over his arm, and presses the cool watch face the the middle of his wrist, buckling up the straps. Nico’s wrists are thinner than Will’s, and the worn-wide hole third down from the tip of the strap is skipped for the long-forgotten fifth. The watch fits comfortably and snugly, light enough that Nico almost — almost — forgets it’s there.

“It’s nothing like Percy’s,” he says quietly. His hands linger on the skin of Nico’s forearm, blunt fingernails picking at the watch’s grooves. “It can’t protect you. It doesn’t have a shield or a sword or anything like that. It’s just a watch.”

Nico hums. Gently, careful not to shrug off Will’s hands, he brings the watch closer to his face, inspecting it. There are nicks and chips, as expected for a watch Will has worn longer than Nico has known him, but there’s not a flaw in sight. It even ticks, pleasantly, a sound almost musical.

“Beckendorf?”

A tiny, punched-out sigh slumps from Will’s mouth.

“Yeah.”

“I can tell.” He taps his thumb on the face. “He did good work.”

“He gave it to me when I was eight,” Will says softly. “I used to — freak out, a lot. My anxiety was a lot worse as a kid. I’d panic if someone was late to breakfast, if I woke up late and no one was in the cabin. I didn’t like not knowing when things were supposed to happen.” Will’s lips quirk up. “Set it on the table when he walked by me one day. Didn’t say a word, just mussed my hair and smiled at me like he didn’t just fix my shit better than Xanax ever could.” His smile turned wry. “I had the hugest crush on him for years.”

It startles a laugh out of Nico, the admission, imagining Will’s motormouth trailing after Beckendorf, his bemused indulgence.

“There’s no way he didn’t know, either. I am not a subtle person.”

His shoulders shake. Gods, what a sight. He’s almost sad he missed it — he’ll have to ask Clarisse or Annabeth about it. Hell, maybe even Chiron. Will even looks like he’ll allow him, wide grin on his face, red as his ears may be.

“Not a bad choice,” Nico agrees, calming down a little. The watch feels heavier, now, knowing the significance, and he looks at it, lips pursing. “You sure you want me to take it?”

Will’s hand drags down his his arm until it rests in the palm of his hands for one, two, three seconds; glancing up at Nico, glancing down, nodding to himself. He twists their fingers together, squeezing. Nico’s breath hitches.

“You know how my energy kinda — goes everywhere?”

Nico nods. Will has more healing ability than pretty much anyone the camp has seen — and the more power, the harder it is to control. He’s got a pretty good handle on it, but if you stand near enough to him while he’s healing it’s impossible not to feel the affects; the ease to your joints, soothing of your tense muscles, pleasant warmth over your skin. Nico has been healed of scrapes and bruises just by virtue of one of Will’s beaming smiles, he’s gotten so good. Nico only wishes it didn’t drain him.

“I’ve been wearing that watch over seven years,” Will says. His fingers twitch. “The bronze is magic, of course, but that leather — that leather was living, once. Beckendorf made the whole thing with his bare hands ‘cause he saw me struggling. As far as ordinary objects go —” Will shrugs helplessly. “Might as we’ll be a sponge. It’s been absorbing my magic nonstop for nearly a decade. It’s as connected to me as my eyes, my hair.”

Almost absentmindedly, his free hand reaches out for Nico’s. He curls their fingers together, meeting them in the middle, and squeezes, hard enough to ground. Will blinks back into focus.

“I can feel you wearing it,” he whispers. “Your — heartbeat, vitals. Your life force.” He brings their clasped hands close to his chest, tapping right above his heart. “Here. I can feel you.”

Nico holds his breath. “Not just ‘cause you’re close to me?”

“No. I’ve never felt it like this before. Started the second you put on that watch. Focus for a second, can you feel it?”

Closing his eyes, he tries — imagining the click of the watch, gentle and soft, and the rise and swell of Will’s breathing. It’s in his hands, at first, every place they’re clutching Will’s, but in a second he can almost feel it pound — the ka-thump, ka-thump, ka-thump of Will’s heart, right next to his. The knot of anxiety in his stomach that isn’t his. The worry, golden and protective, spilling over him in waves.

“An empathy link,” Nico breathes. He stares at Will in pure awe. “You — you made an empathy link.”

That kind of life-force magic…you have to be deeply connected to the core of basically everything to access it. Satyrs have it easy, being nature spirits. Gods spend so long grappling with time that they can manage, too.

But mortals? Even half-divine ones?

Nico has spent a lot of time with the mythical, alive and dead. He’s met theoi from pantheons forgotten to every living soul, foreign to even most of the dead. He knows his history twice over and backwards.

He’s never heard of that before.

“Holy shit, Will.”

“Just — come back to me,” Will says. He tugs on Nico’s arms and faces him head-on, eyes now almost black that the sun has set down. “Promise me, Nico. Stay safe. Stay outta trouble as much as you can. Keep your head on straight. And —” He squeezes their hands together, to hide the tremble in his fingers. “I mean it, okay? Come back to me.”

Slowly, giving him time to pull away, Nico frees his hands, sliding them up to cup Will’s face. He pulls him down, standing on his tiptoes to meet him halfway, and lingers, breath mixing, warm, in the millimeters of space between them.

“I promise,” he whispers. “I swear it, Will, I’ll come back to you. I swear it on the Styx.”

Thunder rumbles above them.

“Good.”

Will closes the tiny stretch of space separating them, and their hearts beat in tapping harmony.

#i just think will has an insane handle on Actual Life you know #we could go ham with his powers not just nicos #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #hoo #heroes of olympus #pjo hoo toa #nico di angelo #will solace #nico di angelo/will solace #solangelo #first kiss #nico/will #will/nico #soft #soft solangelo #powerful will solace #like…..let’s be so real #whipped nico di angelo #my writing #fic #100 ways #100 ways to say i love you #longpost

[theladyofmanyfandomsfanfiction]

Imagine some sweet banter with Sanji in the kitchen…

“You want to take this outside?” Patty frowned, slightly bothered by Sanji’s laid back attitude after slowing the line.

“Are you asking me to dance because I kind of had my eye on that blonde at Table 8?” Sanji smirked as he walked down the aisle, slipping the tweezers into his apron.

Thriving on the buzz of the kitchen rush, you manoeuvred around Patty with a tray of desserts in your hand with a spin and landed in stride with Sanji in the aisle.

“It’s adorable that you think you have a chance with her, Sanji.” You teased and glanced back at Patty speaking a little louder so he could hear. “I’m certain that Miss Table 8 prefers men with coloured hair.”

The cooks chuckled and nudged Patty with cheers of encouragement. He may have been a little gruff on the edges but you grew to break down his walls just enough to brighten up his day.

Returning to the task at hand, you moved aside a bowl of frosting and set the tray down as Sanji did the same.

As the two of you fell into the usual groove, he leaned in a little.

“Feeling a tad bit jealous there?” The cook smirked.

You quirked a brow and dipped your finger in the icing bowl that you had experimented with earlier that day (only for Zeff to throw a fit about it).

“Oh Sanji, if only there was something to be jealous of.” You pressed the decadent cream onto the tip of his nose and smiled at your artistic work.

Stepping back with a laugh, Sanji wiped your attack off and admit his defeat. He needed to be careful otherwise his heart would physically jump into his eyes.

Your eyes caught the beautifully constructed fish on the plate and pat his shoulder. “Zeff’s going to throw you into the East Blue if he sees that.” You warned.

Sanji pressed his hands over his heart, his brows knit together curiously. “Are you offering to resuscitate me?”

You held your gaze but as the weight of his words settled into your mind, your eyes briefly flickered to his lips. If you kissed him, you’d need resuscitation immediately after.

Shaking your head at his antics, you smiled and made your way back to your station. Perhaps you could calm your racing heart when there was a sea of people blocking the blonde from your view.

It was better not to reply and let him win this playful round.

Despite being in a kitchen, there was something different brewing between the two of you.

Proud of himself when you folded, Sanji began his return to his chopping boards when the kitchen doors opened and Zeff called him back almost immediately. Upon returning to the table, Sanji explained his pride and joy of the evening.

His True Bluefin Sauté.

“The day the Baratie serves something like that is the day hell freezes over.” Zeff snapped and the clatter of plates told you that he had binned the dish.

Oh boy… You took in a deep breath while trying not to be so distracted by the duo. Twenty seconds of background shouting later, your timer went off and you swapped pastry trays filling the kitchen with the sweet smell of sticky date pudding.

Zeff snapped his fingers at you as you were bringing the latest delicacy over. “Change aprons, you’re my ‘second’ from now on.”

You placed the tray down and called for a server to take the desserts to their respected tables before shaking your head at the owner of the Baratie.

“Zeff, I can’t. I mean, I could but I’m working on the fruit pies. They’re delicate and need-”

“I know, they need your undivided attention. Patty can keep an eye on them. I want you overseeing this kitchen now. No more dual sous-chefs. Seems like the list of people I can trust is growing thinner by the day.” Zeff instructed and looked at Sanji.

“You’re off the line. Now get out there and wait the tables. Go!”

Shoulders tense, Sanji tugged off his apron and threw it on the table. From the way you saw his jaw clench, you knew he was holding back some unsavoury comments. Once the furious cook had changed and left the kitchen, Zeff turned to where you had been watching Sanji and picked up on the sadness in your eyes.

“And you - don’t even think about letting that Little Eggplant pick up so much as a fork in here. Understood?”

You had almost not replied if the man hadn’t snapped his fingers. Focusing back, you realised he was staring at you with a hardened expression

“Yes, chef.” You nodded half-heartedly.

Zeff grunted and then disappeared to another part of the restaurant.

Patty walked by to set a new dish down on the table in front of you and handed you a fresh apron. He also noted the way your posture sank with Sanji’s absence.

“Come on, this kitchen isn’t going to run itself.” He said kindly. "You can see him later."

Masterlist here (for more One Piece)

#theladyofmanyfandoms #theladyofmanyfandomsfanfiction #gif is not mine #vinsmoke sanji x y/n #sanji vinsmoke x you #sanji x y/n #vinsmoke sanji x reader #vinsmoke sanji imagine #sanji vinsmoke imagine #sanji x you #sanji vinsmoke x reader #sanji imagine #sanji x reader #sanji opla x reader #opla x y/n #opla!sanji x reader #opla imagine #sanji opla imagine #opla!sanji imagine #opla x reader

[oletus-writer]

Pinhead NSFW Alphabet

Warnings: nsfw, heavy bdsm themes

Authors note: this got deleted once, and I’m really tired, so it may be bad. sorry about that

A = Aftercare (what they're like after sex)

Mortal, what is that? Why is that required? Many of those the cenobite has tortured did not require nor ask for aftercare, to be pampered after experiencing such pain and pleasure. The most you’ll get from them would be them taking care of your wounds and getting you a drink. Perhaps with time they’ll get better at it.

B = Body part (their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner's)

They like your entire body, how it can fit so much pleasure on every inch of it, how they can rake knives through your back and run their cold tongue against your chest, the pins in their head running grooves into your skin. They do not understand the concept of vanity, and do not have a favourite part of themselves, but they do like how their hands are able to inflict such feelings…

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Their cum is a bit sticky and strange-tasting, a bit bitter. Today I found out about slugging in a sexual way, and, though they are rather open with regards to paraphilias, I don’t believe they see the pleasure in slugging.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

There’s not many secrets that Pinhead keeps, in regards to sex, but they will keep in mind what your boundaries are, and will not mention the kinks they think you won’t like.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they're doing?)

If you’re talking about experience in regards to inflicting pain, then yes, they are rather experienced, but when it comes to sex? They don’t remember the last time they thought of having sex.

F = Favourite position (this goes without saying)

I doubt suspension sex counts as a sex position, but regardless, it’s their favourite way to subject you to the ideas in their mind. However, if you want vanilla sex, missionary works just fine.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

There are no jokes in Pinhead’s bedroom, as you may need to explain the jokes to them, which would ruin the mood.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes?)

There is no hair to see whether or not the carpet matches the drapes, but their pubic hair is black, slightly thinner, and not groomed at all. Naturally, they don’t mind if you trim yours, as they do not understand why mortals are so hung up about it.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? are they romantic?)

If you count intimacy as stroking your face while crying from pain, then sure, there’s a bit of intimacy, but there’s no kisses, no words of comfort, no candles (unless they want to burn you).

J = Jack off (masturbation headcannon)

As I’ve said before, they’re not too focused on sex, and would rather take out their frustrations by torturing people. They don’t masturbate often, unless it’s to snuff films.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

It would be easier to list the things they won’t do, which is not much, but if you want to see some of the stuff they might be into, so here’s a wikipedia link to a list of paraphilias.

L = Location (favourite places to have sex)

Whatever realm of hell they can send you to that is private and gives them free rein of their powers is a good location to have sex. They’re also not opposed to fucking you in the mortal realm, but they feel a bit more comfortable in hell.

M = Motivation (what turns them on?)

There’s not much you could do to turn them on, outside of torture, and their libido is less of a libido and more of a carnal desire to injure someone until every inch of their skin has been occupied with wounds. At first, flashy and revealing clothing may not do much for them, but if you introduce the concept of dressing up during sex, then they may get horny when they see you wearing such outfits. (Pavlov’s dog them)

N = No (what turns them off?)

It is rather hard to say that something turns them off, as they are very open minded when it comes to kinks and fetishes, to the point where it becomes a flaw. Don’t intraduce them to things that you yourself don’t want to try, as they’d definitely want to see what it’s all about. Why do mortals aroused by sunlight (actirasty)? Why do they like trees in a sexual way (dendrophilia)? Assisting people with automobiles particularly those stuck in the mud, snow, etc (pedal pumping)?? (I could go on) How creative your species are.

O = Oral (do they prefer giving or receiving? how skilled are they?)

Unless you really like pain, it is I’ll advised to have Pinhead give you oral, and for that exact reason, they are not too skilled at it. When it comes to this, they would be rather awkward, and it may take a while for them to get the hang of it.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual?)

They are ruthless when it comes to inflicting pain, only pausing a few times to admire their work, or for you to savour the feelings of pleasure and pain. In regards to penetrative sex, they set a fast pace, as they would not like to be bored during sex.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies)

It seems to be a waste of time, as they are unable to show the full extent of the ideas they have planned, and it is more likely that quickies with them becomes full-blown sessions.

R = Risk (are they experimental? do they take risks?)

As stated before, they are willing to do about anything, regardless of whether or not they understand why you mortals enjoy such thing.

S = Stamina (how long do they last?)

They are a cenobite, and therefore does not have any concept of fatigue, but that doesn’t mean they want to last forever. After ten rounds or so, they’d start to get bored of it, but most likely, you won’t last that long to see them decide they’ve had enough.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them?)

If you count the strange contraptions they are able to summon as toys, then yes, they do own quite a few, which are often put to use. However, they have not known of the more common sex toys, such as vibrators, and, once introduced to them, may use them occasionally, although perhaps not in places where they were made to be used.

U = Unfair (how much do they like to tease?)

They don’t like teasing too much, as they would rather get to the meat of it, but will edge you and deny orgasms in the name of pleasure and pain. Pinhead themselves does not particularly enjoy being tortured, but things such as whipping, cutting, and breaking bones are not completely off the table.

V = Volume (how loud are they?)

Unless you top them, they’re going to be quiet. Even if you do take the role of dominant, there’s going to be a few grunts and heavy breathing, unless you do something game changing. Then they’re going to release a suppressed moan, and tilt their head away in embarrassment.

W = Wild card (a random headcannon for the character)

If you ever tell them about the kink forniphilia, or turning humans into furniture, they thought you meant skinning them, tanning them, and all the other processes that turns them into leather, which is then used for, say, a chair.

X = X-ray (let's see what's going on under those clothes)

Pinhead was originally played by a man, and, according to Hellbound: Hellraiser II, was originally a man before they became a cenobite, so they do indeed have a penis. It is of average length, around 5.8 inches (14.7 cm) and a bit thinner than average.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

If by sex drive you mean the desire to experience new forms of pleasure and pain, then yes, they have a high sex drive. In terms of applying that to sex, they did not know of the concept of bdsm before, but after finding out about it, they were eager to partake in it.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Cenobites don’t fall asleep, so don’t expect to see them with their guard lowered, looking so peaceful in their sleep. The closest you’ll get is when they close their eyes for a while, a wave of bliss on their face as they’re imagining torture.

#pinhead #hellraiser #pinhead x reader #dbd x reader #dead by daylight x reader #dead by daylight #dbd pinhead #dbd pinhead x reader

[snek-panini]

Happy Halloween! Have a book:

This is Siren's Song by @kedreeva (Hi! I asked to bind your fic months ago, sorry it took so long XD). It's an incredible Good Omens siren AU, which needs no introduction from me but it gets one anyway. It's one of the most in-character fics I've ever read, tackles a lot of the most resonant themes of the original (love in the context of aromanticism and asexuality, human labels in the context of non-human perspective), and has incredible world-building. Later parts of the fic always make me cry but they're good tears. You'll see. When I first learned that fanbinding was a thing and started looking into how to do it, this was one of the first fics I thought of. It just took me a while to learn the skills I needed before I could do it.

More pics and process talk under the cut!

So the cover up there is black faux leather and momi paper that I bought...about two years ago? And just kept on hand till I was ready to do this project. This is the first time I've worked with it and it was fairly nice, though harder to get a nice crease into than lokta or chiyogami. It felt very fragile when I was handling it but I didn't have any issues with tearing or glue bleed-through like I thought I might. It did bleed some color when I got it damp with the glue, and it took way longer to dry than normal, but once that was done it's been fine. Which is nice because I have a lot left over, so it'll probably be making many future appearances in my binds.

Look! It's rounded! I got a backing setup recently and this is my first time using it. It was Very Hard and I am not very good at it yet. But I think it looks pretty good for a first attempt, and there was really no other way to mitigate the spine swell on this one. I used a thick paper so I've got a thick book. I also tried something new with the case, though it isn't visible. Usually I make the text block and the case separately and then attach them as the last step, but for this one I actually built the case around the text. Like, boards attached to mull/tapes (sandwiched between thinner boards, with grooves cut for them so there are no bulges), then covered with momi, then leather corners and spine, then paste down the endpaper. It's got an oxford hollow, too! The tapes and mull actually wrap around the outside of the boards instead of the inside like I've done before. Endpapers are my favorite feather chiyogami. Combined with the marbled momi they make for a very opulent look, and I had just barely enough to do this. Like, down to the millimeter. I had to trim the edges and then glue the endpapers after to be sure they were right. I'm glad they were, because I didn't have a backup plan. Handmade endbands, colors picked to match the cover. Also, last note, I got the corner bits right for the first time. Measured properly, with no weird pointy bits that come out at funny angles. Very proud.

Title page and bookmark/interior shot. Did you know that some basic fonts in MS Word look different when you use a huge font size? Because I didn't until I made this title page. That's Parchment for the title, and it only gets those swirly bits around the capital letters if you take it to 26pt or higher (I used 72 here). Now I wonder if any of the other fonts have easter eggs in them like that. The ribbon is very fancy, to go along with the rich endpaper/cover combo. I think it's pretty appropriate for a mythological golden age of piracy story, as are the text ornaments:

Chapter header image, chapter end image, and section break image. It was a very image-heavy typeset. I was originally planning to only have a header and a section break, but I couldn't decide whether I liked the ships or the book/shell/feather better, and they both suited the story so well that I just went with both. Again, opulent, but I think it fits. All the images came from rawpixel, all I did was resize them.

There was a small error in the trimming process. Comes of having to calculate so closely the exact amount you can trim off, that you have to trim off so your slightly-too-small endpapers fit. I think something got misaligned when I poked the sewing holes because only the first signature is like this. The rest of the book has a more appropriately-sized margin between the page number and the edge. I got very lucky here, and I know it, and I'm never cutting it this close (lol) again. Next time we just order another sheet of chiyogami.

And that's it! I have one author's copy and one new bind in progress right now (that's taking a while because I'm learning more new stuff for it), and then I have two Christmas gift books to do, so it might be a bit before I have another book to share.

#bookbinding #fanbinding #snek makes books #good omens #fic rec #this one was months in the making #maybe years if you consider i bought the momi in 2021 #long before i started working on the typeset #i love it so much though #when i was done i wanted to carry it around all day and show it to people #like a kid who wants you to put their drawing on the fridge

[ntls-24722]

What your secrets to draw such good dj ?

So while back i did a bunch of DJ studies and that's probably why my style for drawing him changed to what it is now, I'll give you my like ... general notes from what i got from it!

so main frames - 2 rectangles, around the same size and crossed over like that. That gives the general shape for the head, but then there's also the cheeks that go a little bit outside of this general frame, which are crucial to where everything is placed.

So the orange area is the part that spans from the top part of the middle rectangle (outlined in pink) and the bottom of his cheeks. It's where the bottom part of his nose is, and where his mouth ends at the top.

So the bulk of his mouth generally ends around the 2 green lines, but then it curves to at least meet the middle of the cheeks, in cyan. In this static expression I like to make the bottom of the mouth touch the bottom line as well, like this

His top teeth ride along the green lines, and his bottom teeth is slightly shorter than his top ones. For the sharp/flat keys on his keyboard teeth, bible accurate DJ has them on the bottom and in sets of 2 (blue) but I like to make them accurate to actual piano keys (red), but it does make it harder to draw his gums.

Also, DJ has a gummy smile - most of the time his mouth is open and his gums are a little visible but when he closes his teeth, the gums take up a half or a third of his teeth!

His eyes. Not a lot of notes other than a quarter of his eyes are flush with this little crease in the nose. Also, no notes on eyebrows. I usually make them either barely clinging onto his face or outright floating lol

After all that, curve out the outer "frame" of the face! I also add a little bulge from the cheek to the top of the head (pink). Not very accurate to actual DJ but a lot of this wasn't accurate either.

Bonus stuff that I personally add a bunch:

I either only draw his bottom lip coming out from the middle of his mouth or I also add a toned top lip! If there's a top lip, if the expression allows it, I also add a philtrum groove and some smile lines. That and a big ole nose bridge

Sorry if this answer was kinda robotic, but!! that's how ya boy does it. In my older works (and Comet, since I've just decided my old stylization is now just how Comet looks) I used to not do all this, and i also used to make his face a little thinner? I would barely curve out the edges of the frame and instead of most of the proportional stuff with the cheeks, i just drew his huge smile right in the middle and the spacing/placement of everything was mainly the result of trying to fit everything around the smile - DJ's awardwinning smile was what completely dictated the entire face and somehow i got really consistent results outta that.

#ntls-24722 #ask #djmm #dj music man #comet

[chubsonthemoon]

GUESS WHOSE BOOK ARRIVED TODAYYYYYY SO NOW I GET TO POST PICS!!!!

This is To Hell and Back Again, by dear dear @perexcri. Cover design by @byierficrecs (thank you SO much for letting me use your design!). Binding by me!

I'm not in ST fandom, but I had the pleasure of skimming this fic while I was typesetting, and can I just say? I'm rooting for these kids SO hard. I'd go to hell and back again for them--[GUNSHOT]

But in all seriousness, Leah's writing is whip-smart, sincere, and funny as hell. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who is a fan of these crazy kids. Her ao3 is a veritable treasure trove of excellent byler stories, which you should absolutely check out right now go do it!!!

As usual, process chatter and more pics, under the cut! <3

WORD COUNT: 144k

FONTS:

Title: Hellprint

Heading/Chapter Headings/Spine Titling: Norwester

C4 Summary: Roboto Condensed

Main Body Text: Garamond

COVER MATERIAL: Epson Premium Presentation Paper Matte, printed on my Epson Ecotank (more on that later baha)

HEADBANDS: Trebizond silk thread in the colors Garnet and Black

EDGE PAINTING: Acrylic paint in Crimson and Black

TITLING: Red iron-on foil for the text and white HTV for my maker's mark. Cut by Charlotte, my Cricut!

BINDING:

This was my first go at a German Bradel binding! I've seen lots of Renegade folks use this method and am so psyched I got around to trying it myself. I modified DAS's approach a bit and tipped on endpapers instead of sewing them in (there were a lot of new things to learn so I decided to shelve sewn endpapers for the next binding XD). I also only had 2.0 mm bookboard instead of 1.0 mm, so instead of layering two of the same boards like DAS did, I instead used one 2.0 mm board and one very thin piece of cardboard to create the groove for the hinge. The original article that DAS bases his video on actually uses boards of two different sizes too--a "thick" board and a "thin" board--but I still want to experiment with DAS's way of doing it, especially since I think it'll be easier to do cutouts on thinner board.

As far as matching the groove with the hinge, I think I did pretty okay for my first try! One board is definitely better fitting than the other though baha. There's always room for improvement, but hey that's where half the fun is anyway (and also you can't tell after the case-in whew), so I'm not stressed about it :D

COLOR SCHEME:

Nearly all of my design decisions for the color scheme were based off of @byierficrecs's gorgeous cover design! They were so generous in letting me use their cover and answering my questions about fonts, for which I can't thank them enough. And with so many wonderful elements to work with, it was so much fun to tease out the elements I loved from their work!

I decided to keep with the theme of red/black, which I also thought was fitting for a ST fic set largely in the Upside Down. Thus, black painted edges with red vines, as a kind of inverted, "upside down" continuation of the cover:

Even the thread I used to sew the signatures is red/black! :3 (please also ignore how the picture of the textblock is not focused on the actual textblock ajsldkfjs it was very late when I took that photo)

COVER PRINTING:

This was my first time printing a cover on my new printer (!!!), and BOY oh boy was it an adventure. Figuring out the dimensions took a second, but not as long as it took me to figure out what settings produced something I was happy with. Behold, all my test prints:

Very long story short, let's just say now I understand why being a prepress color specialist is literally a career you can have in publishing LOL.

Also, for some reason I could only sometimes get the bleed to work? Basically what I ended up doing was painting over the parts where the design didn't quite extend over the turn-ins, using with the same black acrylic paint I used for the edges. You can see this more clearly in the photos I took of the groove, and the endpapers covered the messy bits when I cased in:

THE MAIN INGREDIENT: LOVE

Finally!! The most important part of the process!!! HI LEAH ILY!!!! This fic is special for a lot of personal reasons, but chief among them is LOVE!!!! Your A/N's made me tear up when I first read it, because AH! You read my words of love!!! And went and wrote hundreds of thousands of your own words of love!!! And now I hope I've given that love back once again :3 And on and on we go, ad infinitum, until we are relieved of the curse of literacy and greet whatever comes after all this, thanks be to Todd. But until then, I'm so glad I get to shoot holes out of bagels and scream about radioactive tumblr posts and cry over fake people with you, friend :] Truly, peace and love on FUCKING Planet Earth. We are making it and we will all go together when we--[ANOTHER GUNSHOT]

I'm so excited to see where we're going, and what other stories we have to tell. But for now: EEEEEEEE YOU WROTE A BOOK!!!!!!!

<33333!!!

#Stranger Things #Byler #bookbinding #fanbinding #ficbinding #To Hell and Back Again #perexcri #friend fic! #<333

[violettduchess]

Ikepri Walter X reader? Pretty please?

A/N: Ah anon....this was such a spark that set off a veritable forest fire of ideas. Thank you for the ask. I hope you enjoy the result!

I also want to thank everyone who voted in all my Walter polls. You guys decided Walter has black hair, gray eyes, is tall and slender and wears glasses 💜

I have not read translations of Gilbert's route so apologies if this diverges from canon.

Walter (the court physician of Obsidian) x Reader

"Der Anfang" is German for: the beginning

WC: ~2k

Everything feels strange here. The dark castle walls waver like shadows in the pale firelight of the sconces. The carpeting underfoot is thinner than in Rhodolite's elegant palace. You can feel the grooves between the stone flooring as you walk, chamberstick in hand. You realize now the meager light of your little flame won’t do much to combat the darkness that seems to linger in the corners of Obsidian but it feels better than being empty-handed.

All you are looking for is a place where you can step outside and breathe freely. Ever since your arrival here, ever since him, you’ve felt like your lungs are being held within an iron grasp, a fist that won’t let you get a breath deep enough to feel steady. And all that shallow breathing has you spinning as you tiptoe down a winding set of stairs, fingertips brushing the cold walls. At the bottom is a wooden door and relief floods you when you press down on the iron handle and it opens easily.

Freedom.

You’ve wandered outside from a smaller side tower that opens onto a narrow earthen path. If memory serves, this will take you to the herb garden. Thankfully, you no longer need your chamberstick. The full moon glows, gilding the world in soft, silver light. Kneeling, you set it down on a small bench at the beginning of the path and continue by moonlight. A glance over your shoulder shows you the castle, dark and imposing as it stretches its pointed towers towards the sky. Is he asleep? He’s said he doesn’t sleep much and the dark circle under his crimson eye attests to that. What would he do, if he knew you were wandering outside the castle alone? Your body contracts in a shudder. Nothing good.

He hasn’t harmed you…..and yet his smiles are sharp, so sharp it feels like they could slice you as easily as a bladed weapon. And his eye…..there is no light there. When you stare into the depth of all that red, it feels like you’re staring into an abyss.

Red like a warning.

Red like danger.

Red like blood.

You reach the iron gate of the herb garden and let yourself in. Maybe you’ll be able to find some chamomile or lavender. Something to help calm the mind, keep your nerves steady. It’s nightfall, yes, but that luminous moon is doing her best to guide you.

It’s when you take a turn down the dirt path that you notice another figure kneeling there. Hearing your approach, the man turns his head and his face is colored by surprise.

“What on earth are you doing out here, Fräulein?” 

Walter, the court physician, wipes the dirt from his hands as he regards you, head tilted to one side. He’s a tall man, taller than Gilbert, with soft black curls which are just the slightest bit too long, brushing the starched collar of his white shirt, and intelligent gray eyes the color of mist when it rolls across hills and fields on a brisk autumn morning. They’re framed by round glasses which he has a habit of adjusting, even if they haven’t slipped down the bridge of his aquiline nose.

“I–I wanted to catch a breath of fresh air.”

“At this hour?”

“I could ask you the same question, doctor.”

He glances past you towards the garden gate, as if looking for something. Or maybe someone. His brow creases slightly and those gray eyes are a fog that obscures his thoughts, storm clouds that block the blue sky. Several seconds pass before he lets out a breath, his shoulders relaxing as he turns back to his herb gathering.

“Well, then you can make yourself useful." He gestures towards the plant he is currently kneeling in front of. “I’m gathering Agranise.”

You sink down beside him, looking at the many stalks of leafy green plants dotted with small red-yellow blossoms. The scent hits you now that you are near, something sweet yet bitter, like an orange just going foul.

“If I remember correctly, Agranise is extremely acrid. And poisonous if taken in large doses.” You glance at him and he nods in confirmation. 

“Ja,” he murmurs as he reaches forward, carefully plucking the dark green leaves from their stems. “But in small doses, it is a considerable tool for pain management.” 

You watch him at first, noting how careful his long fingers are, how exact, as he breaks each leaf as far down the stem as possible before putting them into a glass jar you had not noticed at first. It's nestled safely against the small wicker basket he’s brought along. Carefully you mimic his action, reaching for the plant and plucking a leaf free. You work in silence for several minutes, the only sound is the occasional rustle of foliage when the night breeze sweeps through the garden as if checking on you both.

It’s you who breaks the quiet.

“How sick is he?”

Maybe you shouldn’t ask. He may not even answer but there is no denying who you are gathering these potent herbs for. Walter’s hand stills for a moment just as his fingers clasp a leaf stem and you can feel the internal debate he has with himself as he considers your question.

“The care is…..palliative,” he finally answers. “He must drink his tonics and it keeps the worst of it at bay.”

You pause, sitting back on your heels as Walter leans forward. His profile reminds you of ancient busts you’ve encountered in museums, the ones of emperors and distant kings who ruled the lands before they were what they are today. He carries a quiet nobility to him, even if he isn’t titled. In the museums, you would spend a long time studying those sculptures, those faces, wondering what kind of people they really were, off the pages of history and in the flesh. You find yourself wanting to study Walter the same way.

Your gaze, so steady and patient, unnerves him and he clears his throat, turning away from you and your bright, intelligent eyes.

“Can nothing be done?” Your words are hushed, like moonlight filtered through a haze of fog.

He grows still again, his head tilting downwards. Part of him longs to unburden his heart, to scream into the night yes, yes there is but he won’t do it, stubborn man, he will not undergo the surgery that would save his very life. But he also knows his role as a part of the Obsidian court. And he knows Gilbert, knows the ease in which he snaps his fingers and ends a life he deems dishonest. Unworthy. Traitorous.

The doctor rises, a single elegant motion, setting the jar inside the basket and motioning for you to follow him. You do, down the ribboned dirt path until he comes to a corner of the garden that takes your breath away. Hundreds of white flowers, almost pearlescent in the moonlight, stretch up towards the sky. A sigh of wonder escapes you as you walk over, kneeling down to get a better look at them. Their petals are white, veined with glimmering silver, and the round center a soft, glowing lavender. The scent is as haunting as the sight of them, something darkly floral with a hint of a honey-like sweetness.

You look up at Walter as he sinks down next to you.

“I’ve never seen these before. They’re stunning.”

He nods slowly and you notice how his gaze takes in the sight of them. His mouth is curved in a slight smile, his expression relaxed in appreciation.

“It’s called Night Ambrosia. They are incredibly rare. Although native to Obsidian, I believe this garden is the only place in the entire country where they still grow.”

Somehow his face is even more arresting than the flowers laid out before you. 

“What happened to them?”

He sighs. “They are beautiful but they require vigilant care. They have very exacting needs, from soil acidity to light exposure to their water source.” He turns his head to meet your gaze. “It is tiring work to keep them alive. And for flowers that only bloom at night…..it is too much effort for most.”

“But you do it.” Your voice is hushed, something about the night and the garden and Walter’s soft, almost sad expression doesn’t allow you to speak above a whisper. 

“Ja.” And he turns his head to glance at the castle, a dark outline against the quiet night.  “Someone must.”

Gilbert.

Emotion tightens your throat like silken cords. He’s not just talking about the flowers, but about the prince he is so desperately working to keep alive. The one so many fear and would love nothing more than to see crushed underfoot, a flower petal under someone’s unrelenting bootheel. An image of Chevalier’s heavy navy and gold boots appears suddenly in your mind, sending a shudder like ice water down your spine.

“Are they poisonous?”, you ask, wondering just how far the metaphor between flower and prince goes. 

In answer, Walter leans forward and gently plucks one with his bare hand. You notice a thin white scar that cuts across the top of it and wonder what happened. Maybe someday you’ll find the chance to ask.

And then he surprises you, turning and offering you the delicate blossom, the one that looks like moonlight’s kiss made real. For a moment, you are lost in the soft, almost unearthly silver of his eyes, suspended in a space where they are all you can see, a beauty so devastating it feels like it may break your heart.

You take the Night Ambrosia from him, your fingers brushing against his. His skin is warmer than you would have thought and for some reason that knowledge sends a pulse of something unexpected through you, a collision of awareness and sensation. He feels it too. He must. Because you look away at the same time, severing the thread of connection. He clears his throat, rising unsteadily to his feet as he wipes his trembling hands hurriedly on his black jacket. 

Der Wolf beisst das Schaf um Kleinigkeit. The Wolf will find any reason to bite the Sheep.

Tonight has been a risk he should not take again. Not just for him, but for you as well.

“The hour is late, Fräulein. I believe it is best for us both to return to the castle.”

Your heart is rocking like a boat on the water, upheaved by a violent wind, but you manage to mask your fluster with a quick smile.

“Of course.” You start down the path but turn when he isn’t following you. “Doctor? Are you coming?”

He has knelt back down, busying himself by pretending to look through the various glass jars in his basket. “Go on. I need a moment to confirm I have gathered everything necessary.”

“Ah....well...then....good night.” Why is it hard for you to leave?

He waves a hand, not looking up. “Gute Nacht.”

You turn again, heading back to the castle, unaware of how Walter looks up when he loses the sound of your steps, his eyes following your back as you grow more and more distant, a figure shrinking into the darkness of night.

When you finally disappear from sight, he exhales slowly, removing his glasses to rub at his eyes, willing the unsettling feeling of interest to disappear. And somewhere in the back of his rational mind, knowing it won’t.

As for you.....you fall asleep that night with the lunar blossom on your nightstand, its argent petals echoing the afterglow of emotion your meeting with Walter has left across your heart.

Tagging: @aquagirl1978 @alexxavicry @queengiuliettafirstlady @rhodolitesrose @ikemen-writer @bellerose-arcana @thewitchofbooks @aria-chikage @redheadkittys @tele86 @dear-mrs-otome @firestar-otomeobsessed @curious-skybunny @rhodoliteschaos @kpop-and-otome @writingwhimsey @mxrmaid-poet @silver-dahlia @wendolrea @otomefoxystar @nightfoxqueen @myonlyjknight @queen-dahlia @aceuuuuu @scorchieart @bubblexly @joiedecombat

#ikemen series #ikemen prince #ikepri #ikepri walter #ikemen gilbert #ikepri gilbert #gilbert von obsidian #i need to tag gil because this isnt possible without him #ikemen fanfiction #ikemen fanfic #otome fanfiction #otome fanfic #violettwrites

[broflovski-brah]

south park body headcanons (im imagining late teens/20s here) - agree or disagree?

stan: 5’10”. stocky, not fat but not super muscular, although it would be easy for him to put on muscle if he wanted to. just doesn’t prioritize it over his creative stuff. strong biceps and shoulders but he got that beer gut. love it.

kyle: 6’2”. lean string bean. conventionally thin with a sleeper build, strong arms and visible abs bc he’s more into sports/working out than the others. he goes on 6am runs and does pushups in the morning let’s be real. and i like the thought of him being awkwardly taller then the other 3.

cartman: 5’8”. he is still volumptious! i don’t care what anyone says. that boy will not mature to be a muscle monster alpha. whatevea whateva, he does what he wants! which would be eating lots of kfc and liane’s cooking. and not working it off. terrible team player and has no sportsmanship, he would not be in any sports.

kenny: 5’6”. he’s the shortest because he was malnourished as a child but we love a short king. scrawny but could hold up in a fight, a little muscular from doing random jobs + i think he’d do football or track.

Stan: Agree. He’s got a bit of a tummy but that never hurt anyone. I kinda picture him being built kinda like Pacha from Emperor’s New Groove. Not quite as chubby but you get the picture. He’s solid. If you throw him at a moving truck he’d ricochet off. Randy probably insisted that he ate more ‘rich people food’ which contributed to his broadness, because Randy kept feeding him too much to ‘make him look like a real rich guy’. Hes got the quarterback build. Hes overweight but most of it is because he’s just solid in high school.

Kyle: Agree! Kyle w/sleepers build is now a fav hdc of mine. i feel like he was that one kid as a freshman who was absolutely rail thin because every calorie he ate went to his height instead of his muscles, but then junior year hits and he suddenly starts gaining muscle. He has a very strict workout routine and likes going for morning runs while the sun’s rising. It helps him clear his head. His immediate response to stress is to exercise. He has a ton of random growth spurts and when he’s at the bus stop with the other 3 the summer after 8th grade he just looms over them, lmao-he’s absolutely strong though. Just because he was rail thin as a freshman did not mean he was weak.

Cartman: Absolutely! I hate when people make Cartman suddenly buff, as if he would give up Cheesy Poofs and Butterwich Sabdwixhes He’s still a chubby boy even in his teen years. Hes that one kid who walks the mile in gym because he ‘doesn’t feel like running today’. Whenever his team loses usually because of him he absolutely throws a fit. He hit Kyle in the head with a baseball bat and nearly split his head open in eighth grade because he lost. Hes thrown kickballs in fits of rage and gives no fucks. Whenever he wins you don’t stop hearing it from him for months afterwards. He would never lift a finger to work off all the KFC and Cheesy Poifs he eats. I don’t care what people say. He’s not gonna suddenly have a change of heart and work off all that. It’s not in character for him. Just look at him in “Raising the Bar”.

Kenny: Agree! He probably has scars on his body from doing stupid shit for money. He didn’t have much to go off of, like you said, because he was malnourished as a kid. I do like to think his friends (mainly Butters and Kyle) start noticing Kenny is way thinner than they thought, and start giving him food, so he does eventually have his growth spurt, but he’s definitely not the tallest. His hands and arms are probably really calloused from random jobs he’s picked up. He’s extremely scrappy and could probably kick ass in a fight, even if he’s malnourished. In his teen years his friends start letting him shower at their place. He starts taking better care of his body as well, with the help of his friends. Hes a tiny little thing tho. I don’t see him being gigantic, but he’s not like-elf sized either.

Agree 100% with these!!

#south park #eric cartman #stan marsh #kyle broflovski #kenny mccormick #south park headcanons

[cabezadeperro]

#11 laying their hand on the other's neck with cody/obi wan or cody/fox? love your writing <3

hi anon! thanks ❤️

i chose codywan, because it's been a while lol. established relationship, takes place during the war. T, 990w.

---

Cody chokes on dust, heart beating hard within his chest, and vaults over the overturned speeder seconds before the mortar shell hits the ground. The impact rattles his brain within his skull, and he curses with gritted teeth, his back against the belly of the vehicle and the heels of his boots digging grooves in the overturned dirt of the street. He can feel the thump-thump-thump of the cannons against the hard-packed earth—they’re getting closer, making their way through the little town. Cody swallows thickly, trying to think his way around the problem, trying to put away his fury and his frustration—intelligence said Grievous had moved on from the sector, but so what. 

He can feel his men’s attention on him. Boil’s watching him from the alley on the other side of the street, the white of his armour turned dusty orange with dust, and a trooper whose name he doesn’t know is at Cody’s side. He must have followed when Cody jumped over the speeder—that’s the only reason he’s not dead. Cody looks around the felled speeder and sees a twitching pair of white boots, blood on the dirt, hands scrabbling at the rubble of what used to be a house. He’s one of the new kids, his armour clear of paint, the chest plate not sitting quite right on his thinner chest, and he kneels there, rifle hugged against his chest, shaking so hard his shell is rattling.

The general is—somewhere. He took three squads and a few speeders and took the mountain path. If everything went well, he should be on his way back, and the tactical droid should be gone, but that matters little. Cody has half a company and a couple hundred battle droids bearing down, and Kenobi might get there on time, or he might not.

He’s terrified. He’s sweating under his blacks, his heart beating so hard he feels dizzy, and it’s like his lungs have stopped functioning properly, oxygen not quite making it to his chest, to his brain. Cody licks his lips and starts barking orders, and when they move out, he makes sure the kid is behind him.

Cody gets them through. He shoots and reloads and keeps on moving, his HUD a riot of colour, his ears ringing with the noise of falling shells, with his men’s screams, with his own choking breaths. Later he will be able to recount every single choice he made, every single move, he will be able to explain everything he did and didn’t do, but it will feel as if he’s talking about somebody else. First, the horror; then, everything else, his mind doing its best to excise the horror, to save Cody from himself.

Cody gets them through, Cody gets himself through it and back to base, back to the tent he shares with the general. Kenobi’s not there—Cody saw him, a flash of tan crossing the camp towards the command centre; he knows he’s alright—but he’ll be back soon. His post-action debriefs to the Council are short, mostly out of necessity, and as much as the man enjoys talking he never talks to them long.

Cody exhales. He takes off his helmet for the first time in hours and blinks at the dim darkness within the tent, ears still ringing. He wants to sit down, but he’s disgusting, and he doesn’t want to get his bedsheets dirty: in the end, it occurs to him he can just sit down on the tarp on the floor, and that’s what he does. He leaves his bucket at his side and tugs off his gloves, his gauntlets, his bracers, and then starts it on his boots, leaving it all where it falls, a certain kind of spiteful pleasure in the implied disrespect.

Everything hurts. Cody wiggles his bare toes and scoots backwards until his spine bumps against his locker, and then he stays there, surrounded by armour debris. He leans back, looks at the ceiling of the tent, and thinks: I want a shower. I’m hungry. I should eat something and get back to work.

And he will do all of those things, but not yet. First, he closes his eyes and breathes out, sitting alone in his tent, his men talking and walking and working just beyond its thin walls, and he kind of wants to cry, kind of wants to get in bed and never come out again. 

“Commander?”

Heck. 

Cody lifts his bed. Kenobi’s back, looking as tired and grimy as Cody feels. His eyebrows are raised: he looks down at the armour pieces on the floor, at Cody sitting there, half out of his blacks, and he sighs.

He starts picking up the armour pieces and stacking up on Cody’s rack. He’s slower than Cody, than any of Cody’s brothers—he’s half-taking his time, his curiosity obvious in the way he holds the plastoid alloy, half-finding out where everything goes on the fly. Cody should stand up and tell him to leave it, but he doesn’t want to, and the general seems more than happy to find himself picking up after Cody, so Cody lets him be.

Once he’s done he toes off his boots and then goes to sit with Cody on the ground, shoulder to shoulder. Cody huffs and moves to the side, and when Kenobi raises an arm in invitation, Cody ducks under it, leans his head against Kenobi’s shoulder. Kenobi shifts under his weight, and they resettle, Kenobi with his right hand on Cody’s neck, right over his pulse, Cody wrapping tired fingers around a bony knee.

Kenobi rubs his cheek on Cody’s curls, brushes a kiss against the scar of his temple. 

“Cody. Commander mine. You stink,” he says. Cody can feel his lips moving against his skin, his moustache soft.

He pinches him, hard, in the thigh. Kenobi jumps and curses at him, but he doesn’t move away,  and Cody grins, and closes his eyes.

#codywan #commander cody #obi wan kenobi #june prompts #maría writes #aaaand. we're done with this batch of prompts lol #i'll probably open prompts again sometime this weekend

[signorinaclaudiacardinale]

"The Next Goddess of Love" by Alberto Moravia:

The well-known novelist attempted an analysis of C.C as a woman based on a detailed, almost clinical study of her body.

"The next Goddess of Love" as Moravia calls her, is seen as an object, destined in the quality of her physical presence to become a myth in the eyes of the viewer.

A.M: Let's proceed, describe your hair. C.C: I have long hair. A.M: How long? C.C: When it is down it reaches 5 centimeters above my waist. A.M: So you would say that your hair covers your back, almost to your waist. What color is it? C.C: Chestnut brown. A.M: It is not enough to say that it is brown. I would say that you have brown hair with quite bright red highlights. In addition, your hair is slightly wavy so that it does not fall limp and lifeless on your chest and shoulders, but rather has an appearance of vitality and movement as its waves follow the curves of your body.

A.M: What are your ears like? C.C: Since I was a child I had inferiority because my ears stick out a little from my head, they flutter in the breeze as the saying goes. A.M: They are nice, without a lobe that is too big, maybe your ears are a little big but it is not bad because they are a sign of longevity. Your eyes are black, right?

C.C: No, they are dark brown but shiny and luminous. My eyes are not that big and they are deep. A.M: I could add that the white ones are almost blue, like children's. And now, if you would be so kind as to laugh at me. C.C: How do you expect me to laugh? Special order?

A.M: You are laughing right now. I see that when you laugh, your eyes turn into two black slits. Now your nose. C.C: It is straight, slightly upturned, a little wide at the bridge and very narrow at the nostrils. It has a small groove at the tip. My eyebrows start at my nose and curve into two very regular arcs. A.M: Your nose is small but distinctive. I would say that it has a classic appearance but timed by modern sensuality, like Michelangelo's female figures. What about your mouth?

C.C: The upper lip is thinner than the lower lip, which is fleshy and protrudes a little with the corners down. A.M: How would you characterize your expression? C.C: A little stubborn, don't you think? A.M: Not only stubborn, moody, contemptuous and above all somewhat country, rustic. But your mouth completely changes its expression when you laugh. He loses his stubborn, peasant appearance and becomes… What does become?

C.C: I only know what happens to my face when I laugh, two dimples appear on my cheeks. The edge of my lip curves up so that it almost touches the tip of my nose and my nose wrinkles at the corners of my eyes. Who knows why? A.M: Because your laugh is strong, open, irresistible, like that of a girl bursting with happiness and giving free rein to her shyness. And how would you say what your teeth are like?

C.C: White, very regular but childish. A.M: I can see almost all of them when you laugh. I can also see a little bit of your gums, which are red and make an attractive contrast to the whiteness of your teeth. Your smile, or rather your laugh, takes us to the shape of your face, what is it like?

C.C: My chin is round, my jaw is small and curves towards my chin at an obtuse angle. I could say that my face shape is triangular. A.M: This shape gives it the appearance of an archaic, primordial childish face, raised towards the light. I see your long, round and robust neck, you realize that, right? C.C: Yes, my neck is long and people tell me that I always keep it stiff and straight, how should I put it? With a somewhat proud, disdainful look.

A.M: Now let's see your hands, let me see them. Your hands are understandable only if one realizes that your arms are long and thin and your wrists are very delicate. But how would you describe your hands?

C.C: I'm afraid they are not very feminine. A.M: They are a little square, the fingers are somewhat spatulated, the palm is not very fleshy, the midlines are deep and red. You have the hands of a child or a woman that are probably thin and dry but you are not thin and dry. It's quite the opposite and this brings us to your body. What are your shoulders like? C.C: They are full, round, completely feminine and graceful; nothing sharp or angular.

A.M: And your chest? C.C: I have a high chest. A.M: I would add that it is full and shapely since your bust measurement is 37 inches. What about your hips? C.C: I wish they were wide. A.M: Why? Wide hips are one of the characteristics of your body.Can you tell me about your legs?

C.C: They are straight and strong, not so thin and they have 3 dimples. A.M: What do you mean? C.C: They say that for the legs to be truly beautiful they must be delimited by three small grooves, even if they are very straight and very soft: One between the foot and the calf, another between the calf and the knee and another between the knee and the thigh. I have all three. A.M: Finally, how would you describe your beauty? C.C: I don't know if I'm really beautiful. I believe I'm strange-looking".

~This post has been a bit long but I have summarized the original interview from the book (I do not put more spoilers) Originally I took this summary from an Italian magazine from 1966. Personally I like this physical study that in the eyes of Moravia is different than in the eyes of Claudia Cardinale herself who is the owner of her attributes. Sometimes the defects that one sees in oneself are the beautiful characteristic in other eyes. I hope you liked the post 💖.~

#claudia cardinale #alberto moravia #interview #italian interview #1962 #60s #esquire #actress #photology

[fernifox]

I made a box! >:)

It won me judges choice in a cosplay masquerade,,,, hit them in the feelings you know?

How I did it under the cut

First things first! I cut out 0.5cm EVA foam squares that were roughly 11 inches on each side (I used paper as a template just to make sure I get a proper right angle). It makes a decent sized box but not too big to carry around (the actual box from the episode of sabo is a little bit more rectangular but I wanted to make it easier on myself). I couldn’t find my heat gun at the time so I just flattened it out with an iron (Put some parchment paper in between to reduce the risk of leaving iron marks on it). It’s probably easier to iron it flat anyways, also be sure to put something flat and heavy over it so it will actually stay flat (I used this glass clay/cutting mat I have).

Next I sketched out where each board would. I chose to divide it into 6 boards wide (each board was roughly 2 inches, last board was a little thinner but you wouldn’t notice looking at it). There are two boards with a cross and two that are just bordered. Then you’ll want to take an exacto knife and cut semi deep cuts along each board (not all the way through!). Then a little lighter you’ll add the wood grain marks (don’t be me and forget to sharpen your knife while cutting them, if it doesn’t cut the top layer your marks will disappear when you hit it with the heat gun). They don’t have to be perfect, just simple flowy lines with the occasional tree knot.

On the other side you’ll want to figure out how you want to put your box together, the front and back pieces are the cross pieces, make sure the boarders are on the top and bottom (neater panels on the most visible sides). Your left and right pieces will have the boarders on the sides and the top piece and bottom piece will have the boarders touching the front and back pieces. The top piece and all of the edges touching it will not be cut. On the side pieces and bottom pieces you will need to measure and mark about 0.5cm away from the edge and trim it away and an angle, so when you assemble the box they’ll fit together nicely (once again do not cut away the top edges because that’s where you’ll put the hinge and Velcro so you can open it and store stuff inside!). Once you’re done you can use a heat gun on the wood grain to open the cuts so it’ll define each board and groove. Lastly you’ll sand down the pieces so the paint and glue will stick (also so you can smoothen out the edge cuts if you aren’t good at cutting angles like me).

When I glued it I used a cement glue to make it a bit sturdier and cleaner than hot glue would be and then I filled in all of the seams (on the inside and outside) with some cosplay foam clay. I decided I wanted to make it a little bit sturdier so I took a bunch of popsicle sticks I happened to have laying around and glued them together to make a frame around the inside edges of the box and then glued it in. Once the foam clay was dry I sanded down it a little to make it smoother and so paint would stick to it.

I didn’t take a picture of this but I preemptively cut slits into the back of the box where the straps would go in. I used some basic nylon straps that I got and cut them in half so they were a good length to use as backpack straps. I tried to mark where I cut on the image below. If you cut in the board seams then it makes a kind of invisible hole to slip the straps in later (try fitting the straps in now just to make sure it is the right size, this will hopefully reduce damage to the paint later).

When I started painting I painted the inside a solid brown color just so you wouldn’t just see white when you open it (you don’t have to get fancy with it tho). On the outside I mixed up a lighter brown color and placed it as the base, then I went back and mixed in darker shades of brown and some lighter shades of yellows brown to add onto the texture of the wood. It took me an entire day to do and I’m glad I didn’t run out of paint (every side is painted with texture, even the bottom).

Once I was done painting I decided that in order to help strengthen the straps I wanted to add to the box I cut of some foam bits to stick on the ends of them (that way if the glue on the straps fail then the foam bits would keep the straps in the box) and I painted them a solid brown so they wouldn’t be too visible on the box. Then I sprayed the painted box with a clear glaze that way it’d make the paint on the box sturdier (less scratching) and so it wouldn’t stick to stuff and rip off. I let the glaze dry overnight (going to continue this in a reblog because I ran out of images).

Here’s the link to the full post

#one piece #3 sake cups #sakazuki cups #asl bros #one piece cosplay #cosplay props #cosplay #my art #art #fanart #one piece fanart #marineford spoilers #ig? #I’m trying to be super vague with this so if you know you know but if you don’t you will eventually

[13leaguestories]

~Shaph~

Classification: Botanical

Place of Origin: Stronoe, Comarus System

Usually standing around 5'7 to 6'2 and weighing anywhere between 200 to 300 pounds, most of their weight is attributed to bulkiness and well-defined muscles but exceptions exist. They possess four arms of the same length, four thick fingers on each, one of those fingers being an opposable thumb. Feet are similar, having only four toes. Their skin is made up of coarse material that many compare to the feeling of wood but being of the same hardiness of chitin.

Face wise, Shaphs share the same general structure as Terrans. Their eyes sit in the same position with a distinct sclera and pupil. They range in colors from green, blues, browns, blacks, and greys. The skin tones are typically grey or brown with the minority possessing much darker tones. Noses are thin and down-turned with two thin slits acting as their nasal vestibule. They have small, pointed ears that follow the groove of their extended skulls, also known as roots. Their mouth is a mix of both visible mandibles and lips, the top being the mandible and the lower actually being a lip. The overlap of the mandible and lip disallows the mouth from fully closing and creates a small hole that aids the species in breathing.

Each Shaph is born with one of three different facial markings which act as the only visual identifier to an individual's sex. The first sex and marking is called 'pisu', known as "web" in the Terran tongue. The marking appears as a large diamond that stretches from the upper bridge of the nose to the bottom of the lip, and to the outer area of both eyes. Six medium-sized lines branch off of it with a thinner line on the nose forming a circle. A pisu supplies a range of genetic markers in the fertilization process.

The second sex and marking is known as 'syutnu' or the "arrow." This marking is a thick line resting on the bridge of their nose with two thinner lines branching off at the bottom and stretching to both sides of the jaw. A syutnu also supplies genetic material. But while the pisu more so supplies a list, the syutnu allows boxes to be checked in the creation.

The third is known as the 'wumt' also commonly referred to as the 'foundation, base, or bark.' Two jagged lines that are not always similiar to another of the same sex, vertically covers the eyes. It reaches from the base of the roots to the jaw. The wumt supplies the DNA and basic constructs for the offspring.

Shaphs are a genderless race and do not recognize the use of pronouns. Instead they simply use their names. Each sex is needed in the process with the wumt beginning the fertility process and creating the sprout that is needed to be further fertilized by the other two sexes. These are always a faded white/light grey color.

The species possess the ability to enter a camouflage mode, similar to that of a chameleon. While in this mode they secrete a toxic thin smoke that is lethal to some species. Though not toxic to the Shaph, water usually causes allergic reactions. The species hydrate through toxins that exist in the air of only a few planets. When not on these planets, they typically are shown to wear lower face masks that keep water out of their systems.

Art by Beto Miranda

#13leaguesstories #horizon #horizon art

[cupcakestreets]

Fren wants more ask game emojis??? Okay.

☕️ and 🎼 plus 📚

Yeah, dynamism is a bitch, so I don't blame you at all for getting nervous about it. Of course, the biggest change you can make is foreshortening and perspective, but that takes finding a source that can teach you in a way you understand, a lot of studying, and then trial and error. Which is worth doing, we (I'm saying this to myself too) really should study that. And it's a nightmare because first, you gotta find a source that explains the material in a way that makes sense to you, then you have to find a way to make the studying more fun and worst of all, you have to actually commit and do it. With foreshortening and dynamic posing in particular, the study can take a long while to complete because it does demand an understanding of anatomy, breaking the body down into simple volumes, applying perspective to each piece then knowing how to shade each volume correctly. So, depending on where you are with all those components, you may have to backtrack further.

So, what little changes can be made to increase dynamism in the interim? A pretty easy one is Rim Lighting, pure white is common, and so is really dropping the color values paired with a vibrant colored rim light (red, cyan, magenta are popular). Pushing the shading a bit more will help accentuate bent limbs, rotated torso's, overlapping body parts without having to go ham on foreshortening. Exaggeration of shapes like how Sonic uses big ass hands and big ass feet. Or the Big Pant Big Jackt meme and its variants from Twitter/X. You can try making frames and having feet, limbs, weapons or the top of the character's head extending past the border (typically the more, the better because if it's too little, it reads as a mistake than a choice). Line weight variation is pretty easy (thicker lines towards the shadows, thinner towards light source). Or extending certain lines past the outline and into the shape to create a more 3D look. While the whole trend of "fixing" other artist's art is controversial, one good thing I've learned from watching a few vids is the idea of using the Liquify tool on a finished piece to exaggerate the line of action on something a bit too static.

I hope you don't mind the ramble. If you're interested, I can send you a link to some vids or my playlist of tutorials I've saved.

Spice.

☕ Do you do warmup sketches before drawing? (Bonus: do you have any to share?)

No I do not do warm up sketches i just get straight into it usually. So no bonus sketches but he's a doodle page of my robot oc L-11AC

🎼 Your favorite music to draw to right now?

Future Funk music! It keeps me awake and i can groove~

📚 How many layers do you typically use?

Max i use is 50 layers, but i think i use 20-30 layers daily

Also thank you for comments too! These are literally all the things i think about. Still i do try to teach myself new stuff when i can

#artist ask meme

[hysteria-things]

You can't touch this

You can't touch this

You can't touch this

You can't touch this

My, my, my, my

(You can't touch this)

Music hits me so hard

Makes me say "Oh, my Lord

Thank you for blessing me

With a mind to rhyme and two hyped feet"

It feels good when you know you're down

A super dope homeboy from the Oaktown

And I'm known as such

And this is a beat, uh, you can't touch

I told you, homeboy

You can't touch this

Yeah, that's how we livin', and ya know

You can't touch this

Look in my eyes, man

You can't touch this

Yo, let me bust the funky Iyrics

You can't touch this

Fresh new kicks and pants

You got it like that

Now you know you wanna dance

So, move outta your seat

And get a fly girl

And catch this beat

While it's rolling

Hold on

Pump a little bit and let 'em know it's going on

Like that, like that

Cold on a mission, so fall on back

Let 'em know that you're too much

And this is a beat, uh, they can't touch

Yo, I told you

You can't touch this

Why you standing there, man?

You can't touch this

Yo, sound the bell, school's in, sucker

You can't touch this

Give me a song or rhythm

Making them sweat, that's what I'm giving them

Now, they know

You talk about the Hammer

When you're talkin 'bout a show

That's hyped and tight

Singers are sweatin'

So pass them a wipe or a tape

To learn

What it's gonna take in the 90's to burn

The chart's legit

Either work hard or you might as well quit

That's word, because, you know

You can't touch this

You can't touch this

Break it down!

Stop, Hammer time!

"Go with the flow", it is said

If you can't groove to this, then you probably are dead

So, wave your hands in the air

Bust a few moves

Run your fingers through your hair

This is it, for a winner

Dance to this and you're gonna get thinner

Now move, slide your rump

Just for a minute, let's all do the bump

(Bump, bump, bump)

Yeah

You can't touch this

Look, man

You can't touch this

You'll probably get hyped, boy, 'cause you know you can't

You can't touch this

Ring the bell, school's back in

Break it down!

Stop, Hammer time!

You can't touch this

You can't touch this

You can't touch this

Break it down!

Stop, Hammer time!

Every time you see me

That Hammer's just so hype

I'm dope on the floor

And I'm magic on the mic

Now, why would I ever

Stop doing this

With others making records

That just don't hit?

I toured around the world

From London to The Bay

It's "Hammer! Go, Hammer! MC Hammer! Yo, Hammer!"

And the rest can go and play

"U Can't Touch This"

You can't touch this

You can't touch this

Yeah

You can't touch this

I told you

You can't touch this

Too hype, you can't touch this

Yo, we're outta here

You can't touch this

very inspirational

#. ˚ ◞ ♡ haleigh’s inbox!

[archaicanathema]

Pumpkins have a thick skin, by that i mean literally. It is aboht 0.5in in thickness, which is way thicjer than any fruit normally, minus very few exceptions. (Such as watermelon)

They do not have a protective interior. Such as an orange or the smaller variant, clementine. This i forget. Quite often. Oranges and pumpkins are similar in a lot of ways. Thick skin, orange colored and bright , both fruits, and are usually "standing" so to speak qhen harvested, et cetera.

Hence my problem; oranges are MADE to be cut into slices. Such as an apple. And this works well for oranges. Similar, considering i often forget these fruits dont have thinner "membranes" so to speak, i think it would be reasonable to cut them similar ways. After all, they have grooves in them. Where, in my opinion, they should be sliced.

But where are they cut, dear archiac?

From the top. They are cut around the portion where it was cut from its plant.

In a circle shape.

Why are they not cut into SLICES? It infuriates me.

Why do they have these "ridges" if they do not have organized insides? Why is it, esswntially, a jumbled mess inside? It doesnt make sense to my brain.

All other fruits havw organized insides. They make since. You peel the skin off an apple? It reveals its nicely organized deliciousness.

A pumpkin is very complex, confusing, and has no order.

Therefore, as a fruit in of itself, I do not like pumpkins.

Thanks

Do me a favor and look up "sliced pumpkin" and look at the images.

#archaic conversations #river kisser of the wind god

[rhaenyras]

Three years ago, I moved to Canada after having spent most of my life in the UK, where I had been in a serious relationship for 5 years. Moving to Canada was supposed to be my time. Nine months after the move, I met a wonderful guy. He is the complete opposite of my ex, outdoorsy, fun and outspoken, and we have many a debate, which is something I have felt I needed. Although we do have many differences in personality, I feel it works because my ex and I were so similar that there was no spark.

My boyfriend and I have a lot of spark. By this, I mean we have a lot more arguments than I am used to, or that my nerves are used to. I am by nature quite an easygoing person who avoids confrontation if necessary (this doesn’t mean that I am a doormat). At first, I thought it was fine. We are both passionate people and I feel a bit of fire is healthy. However, the arguing is becoming more and more of the central focus. This has led me to start questioning the overall relationship.

I love my boyfriend and want to live with him and spend my life with him. But he makes me very sad and exhausted. I feel as if, to an extent, the level of arguing has driven me to become almost a shell of myself. I no longer argue as passionately or “stick to my guns”, because I can’t bear it. My boyfriend can be very abrupt and argumentative. He is very good with words and perhaps I am not, or I am not used to having to make such an effort to win arguments because it is not in my nature. I always try to do right by him, but a lot of the time things seem to get twisted as me doing the wrong thing.

I honestly don’t know what to do or how to turn this around. In the back of my mind I have had the thought that it should end.

when two headstrong personalities meet and fall in love, something (or someone) has got to give. obviously all the unnecessary conflict has burned you out a little bit, so now you're the one who's taking a step back and letting him win all the arguments for the sake of peace. a little fire is healthy and it keeps the passion alive even in long-standing relationships, yes, but too much of it can burn the relationship to a crisp. it sounds like at first you two were on the same wavelength, very in sync, as your individual energies matched each other's, but now his personality is progressively taking over while your own flame is wearing thinner. if i were you, I'd try to salvage the salvageable in your relationship by talking to him. he cannot argue alone. two must play that game. but if you remain calm and rational, he'll have to hear you out and communicate with you without arguing or screaming. let him politely know how tired and exhausted this is making you. talking about your diverging views with phlegm and empathy will allow you to save up on precious energies that would only go wasted in another pointless scorched earth argument. if the love is still there, under the ashes of all those unsettled disagreements, then you'll both have to take steps to meet the other halfway eventually. a battle of wits can be fun and stimulating when at its root it is mostly superficial and can be solved with steamy sex, but after a while the fights wear a groove in the relationship and a pattern is established, grudges are planted. so keep that in mind for this relationship or your next. I'm positive you two will be able to solve it like sensible adults and will go back to a healthy balance of fire and water in your couple 🙏🏻

#I've met a few such men in my life #all of them were fire signs lol #they could make me burn in ways my husband cannot sadly #and i did match their energy. the polarity between us was magnetic and palpable #but sadly i had to let them go because i needed stability in my life and mental health #i did want to get married eventually lol and those guys could provide great talking points and intellectual challenges #but they never could have given me what my husband gave me #the key is figuring out what you want and going after it #men come in all sorts of shapes and forms #you'll simply find the right one for you later on if this one won't fit #i know it sounds cynical but it's what I've learned so far from life #ask #anon #anonymous