#but I like to challenge myself with more difficult angles
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justgleekout · 2 years ago
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here to feed the kink 😌
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kusin-tisdag · 2 months ago
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How to take screenshots and edit (when it's just not your thing)
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Alright-y!
So, I have over the years learned how to use reshade and to edit my pictures. I am really not a natural on these things, so this is very much to help others who are as aesthetically challenged as I am. I have to have certain "rules" to follow, because I can rarely just see if a picture will turn out well or not.
We all need to realize where I started. We're talking using FRAPS to take screenshots and then running holy colours batman! to get some sort of effect.
Now, I'm not one to buy fancy stuff and to pirate certain programs isn't really my thing either. So we mend and make do!
Also, I am by far very good at taking screenshots and edit, but I have learned things and hope that it might be useful for someone!
A word on light
One thing I've learned is to work with is light. Where the light is is where the focus will go. This doesn't mean that a person has to be in the spotlight, but if they aren't - try to make that a more conscious choice. I am no pro at this, but I have to say that some of my favorite screenshots are where the light is just good. It focuses the eye or it just give a vibe.
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(and yes, for some reason all of my faves are of Agnes, which is a bit annoying since Amanda is my fav-character, lol)
This is also where reLight comes in handy. Yes, it's behind a paywall but there are ways that you will have to figure out yourself.
Great tutorial here on reLight by @pictureamoebae! (if you want to really understand reshade, do check out their tumblr. So many helpful tips and tricks!)
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Posing
Posing is fun! I don't fully story-tell with my sims, most of it is gameplay. But I do like to pose for family pictures or to enhance something that is going on.
What you need is Andrew's Pose Player and Teleport Any Sim or Wicked Whims.
Now, I haven't figured out how to use WW for children and younger to pose, so I use both. And I like @ts4-poses to find poses. Eventually, you'll find your favorite creators and can follow them directly.
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Angles and vibes
Here's a trick. Work with angles. I am a master of pictures with zero vibe, just a face. Those can be ok, and sometimes that's what you have - but try to angle your shot a little.
Or add clutter, focus on that and let something out of focus happen in the background.
Or just go higher, take the screenshot from above.
Or don't focus on your sim at all, focus on something else that adds to the story/post.
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Take the screenshot
The light is good, the angle great, the poses are in place and now, we need to take the actual screenshots.
I am a huge fan of reshade, I use version 4.9.1 because that works for me and the presets I use. No need to update reshade unless it becomes too old.
It can be really difficult to to find a preset that you like. I mostly use birdie by @monasims, tawhay by @windslar and paperbacks by @literalite. But I have tried many.
I like this youtube-tutorial on how to make your own preset, which also helps if you wish to modify one that you've downloaded. I do always recommend learning how to use ADOF and CinematicDOF to help focus the image on what you want to capture. I also strongly recommend @pictureamoebae's Foundation.
To take pictures, use the tab-key to leave the UI behind and use Q and E to go down/up in your game and then the mouse to angle. I use print-screen to take my screenshot, but that's something you set up when installing reshade so that's different for everyone.
And now you have your screenshot and it's time to open an editing program. Cheap as I am, I open GIMP.
Let's edit!
I don't use many steps. Since I can't use fancy photoshop actions I have to make all the steps by myself and well - I am human and therefor lazy.
Resize and start to think of a post
First things first. I cut my pictures to work for the tumblr ratio. I actually don't resize them smaller anymore - because when I change layout on my tumblr I just feel as if it messes it up. Now, I don't have a huge screen and my screenshots aren't massive, so it's not necessary either.
My images will be 1017x1017, 1525 x 1017 or 678 x 1017.
Once this is done, I also try to look at how they will go together. If I want a post of just squares I need to have an even number of images. Sometimes I want a landscape image as a sort of heading, or one in the middle with squares around it. It depends on what I want to convey.
This is by no means something that comes natural to me - I am aesthetically challenged after all. Sometimes, I just have 5 images and have to make do.
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Resized
Topaz Clean
Yup, it's awesome. No, it doesn't come with GIMP. Yes, there are ways to work around this. You will have to find those ways on your own.
But I have to say, it does makes wonder for the images. I have completely stolen @sojutrait 's settings because I really like her style and therefor - I copy. I have added a bit more sharpening, but otherwise it's completely hers.
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Topaz Clean:ed
Curves
Curves my beloved! I use curves for two things! Take out the yellow (aka increase the blue) and to brighten/darken the image!
I do sometimes matte the image too and here's a good tutorial for GIMP users on how to use curves in GIMP (for a matte look)
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Less yellow/more blue
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Brighten the brights (but I did not brighten the darker parts)
Layers, curves and increase the light where needed
Now, remember that we need light? Sometimes, a screenshot just doesn't have the right light. So I duplicate the layer, use the free marking tool around what I wish was brighter and put that on a new layer.
Then I use curves to lighten the layer with what I want to brighten and to make darker the layer with what I want to put less focus on (here's an ok youtube video on the subject).
Below, you can see the effect on my images.
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Sharpen
Pretty basic. I subtly sharpen the image again. Even if I use the sharpening in topaz clean I do like to add an extra touch before it's time to save and move on.
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So sharp!
PSD and UI
I do like to use psd's now and then. I mainly use @windslar's psd-collections and @deathbypufferfish's Build-a-Sim Icon Pack.
It's mostly to help give some info about the post or when my sims age up and I want to show their traits.
I do use the UI-info sometimes. If I do, I go into Game Options in the game > Accessibility > UI-scale and just drag that up a bit. Then I copy/paste that part onto the image I'm using.
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Done!
That's pretty much it. Thing is, to post good edits you have to actually take good screenshots. As annoying as it is, it's like cooking: it all comes down to the ingredients. I hate cooking Yes, editing does help but I think my main journey has been to learn to take better screenshots from the start.
The picture below is from resized to done.
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Hope this might help someone! I will probably learn more and more as I continue to post, but this is where I am so far in my journey!
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cyberl6ve · 11 months ago
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𝐒𝐎𝐅𝐓! 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒 — 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄
CHECK 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 FOR MORE!! (SFW!!)
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𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒
── .✦ : The Sturniolo triplets had bought out a zoo for a day. Around the campfire, Chris strummed his guitar and serenaded Y/N with "Can't Help Falling in Love" while Matt and Nick were away. It was a moment of shy confession and budding romance, captured under the stars.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ : 𝐀𝐬 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, I couldn't help but feel a flutter of anticipation. The night sky was clear and the sound of Chris's guitar filled the air.
“We'll be back soon,” Nick assured me with a smile before he and Matt disappeared into the darkness.
I turned my attention to Chris, his nimble fingers skillfully tuning the acoustic guitar that he'd apparently retrieved from somewhere. As he strummed a few experimental chords, I couldn't help but ask, “Where did you get that from?” I chuckled.
Chris looked up at me with a grin, his fingers still busy tweaking the guitar's tuning. He gestured vaguely over his shoulder, replying, “It was somewhere over there.”He chuckled at my wide-eyed expression, the sound of the strings twanging softly in the night air.
I couldn't help but laugh at the casual way he dismissed my question. “Over there” wasn't exactly a precise answer, but it was typical Chris— always doing his own thing, effortlessly cool.
As he continued to tune the guitar, I found myself watching his fingers, the way they moved over the instrument with practiced ease.
The flickering firelight cast shadows on his face, accentuating the sharp angles of his jaw and the dark sweep of his eyelashes.
He struck a chord, the sound of it soft yet clear in the quiet of the night. He looked up and caught me staring, a hint of a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.
“See something you like?” he teased, his eyes glittering with amusement. I quickly looked away, feeling my cheeks grow warm.
I hadn't meant to be caught staring, but there was something about him in this moment— the way he seemed so at ease with the guitar, his easy confidenc— that was disarmingly attractive.
I tried to salvage my dignity, replying with a dismissive shrug, “I was just trying to see if you can actually play.”
His response was a low, rumbling chuckle that sent a shiver down my spine. “Come here and find out,” he offered, patting the seat beside him.
Reluctantly, I made my way over to where he sat and lowered myself into the seat. He shifted the guitar in his lap, his knee brushing against mine. There was something strangely intimate about being this close to him, his body heat mingling with my own.
He looked at me, his expression a mix of challenge and amusement. “What do you want to hear?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
I found myself tongue-tied for a moment, his gaze making it difficult to concentrate. “U-um... anything,” I managed to say, my voice a little breathless.
Chris settled the guitar onto his lap, his fingers beginning to glide over the strings in a gentle melody. As the opening chords echoed around the campsite, he cleared his throat softly and began to sing.
“Wise men say... only fools rush in...”
The lyrics wove a spell around us, his voice, usually used for banter and laughter, suddenly soft and tender. The song continued, his eyes never leaving mine.
“But I can't help falling in love with you.”
I couldn't help but let a small smile tug at the corners of my mouth. His voice, while usually used for jest and joking, had taken on a new tone— a soft, tender lilt that sent a flutter through my heart.
The fire crackled quietly in the background, the sounds of the night melting away as I was completely enthralled by his singing. The lyrics were about love, yes, but in this moment, they seemed to be about something else entirely— unvoiced feelings and unspoken hopes.
Chris continued to sing, his eyes now tracing the lines of my face, his voice lowering to a softer note as he strummed the guitar.
“Shall I stay?”
The words hung in the air, each syllable carrying a weight I'd never noticed before. The firelight cast a warm glow over everything, the shadows playing across his face as his lips shaped the lyrics.
“Would it be a sin”
The guitar strings thrummed under his fingers, and it was as if with each chord, he was pulling me in further, his voice wrapping around me like a caress.
“If I can't help falling in love with you...”
His gaze was unwavering, pinning me in place as the final notes of the song seemed to linger in the air.
Chris's voice was now barely above a whisper, the words more of a confession than a song.
“Take my hand... take my whole life, too.”
His voice seemed fraught with an odd vulnerability, a vulnerability I'd never seen before. He continued to look at me, his gaze almost a plea.
“For I can't help falling in love with you,”
The last word, “you”, was whispered so quietly, it was barely audible. It sounded like a secret, something only meant for me to hear.
He stared straight at me, his gaze so intense, it was like he was trying to tell me something without quite saying the words aloud.
The silence that followed was deafening. My heart was pounding in my chest, the air practically thrumming with tension. The song had been so intimate, so filled with a quiet intensity, that it felt like a silent conversation that went beyond words.
Chris was still looking at me, his expression a mix of determination and vulnerability. The firelight played across his features, giving the moment a dreamlike quality.
A sudden, intense urge compelled me to reach out, my fingers brushing lightly against his cheek. He didn't startle; in fact, he almost seemed to lean into my touch, his eyelids lowering slightly as if he were savoring the feeling.
His skin was warm under my fingertips, the faintest hint of stubble scratching against my palm. The moment felt fragile, like a bubble that could burst at any moment.
As I pulled my hand back, his hand shot up, capturing my wrist in a loose grip. Our gazes locked, and something in his eyes changed. The vulnerability was replaced with something darker, a look I'd never seen on him before.
He tugged me forward, closing the distance between us in an instant. His lips met mine in a bruising kiss, a wave of heat and sensation that left me reeling.
His lips were shockingly hot against mine, the kiss intense yet somehow soft and loving simultaneously. It was like a storm and a caress all at once, his mouth moving against mine with a raw, unbridled passion.
I was lost in the sensation of it, the kiss consuming my every thought, every sense. It was as if the world had fallen away, leaving only the two of us and the fire heating our skin.
He shifted forward, his free hand moving to cup my face, gentle fingers tilting my head back to give him better access to my mouth. His thumbs traced my jawline, the touch both tender and possessive.
The kiss continued, each kiss a claiming, a silent declaration of an unnamed emotion. My fingers clutched at the fabric of his brown hoodie, grounding me amidst the whirlwind of sensations.
The kiss continued, his mouth moving against mine with a familiar ease that I hadn't expected. It was clear he'd done this before, but there was a passion and a tenderness to this kiss that felt new.
His hand was still around my wrist, keeping me close, his thumb tracing gentle circles against my heated skin. I clung to his hoodie, my fingers gripping the fabric tightly as if he were the only solid thing in a world that felt like it was spinning out of control.
Finally, he broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against mine as we both struggled to catch our breath. His eyes were half-lidded, darkened with an emotion I couldn't quite identify.
His chest was heaving, the rise and fall of it pressed against me. The night air seemed cool against my wet lips, a stark contrast to the heat that still rolled off his body.
Chris's grip on my hand tightened, his fingers squeezing mine slightly. He took a deep breath, his gaze still trained on me.
“I'm in love with you,” he confessed, his voice soft and yet somehow firm.
My heart skipped a beat, the words sinking in and sending a fresh wave of emotions coursing through me. “I'm in love with you too,” I replied, the truth spoken aloud for the first time.
Chris's face broke into a smile, a real, genuine smile that lit up his eyes. He let out a shaky breath, his thumb rubbing against my knuckles.
But just as the moment of stillness settled around us, two familiar voices shattered the quiet.
“Finally!”
Matt and Nick burst into our view, their faces filled with glee. They'd clearly been watching the whole scene unfold, and judging by the obnoxious grins on their faces, they were ecstatic.
“Only took you guys long enough,” Matt said, slapping Chris on the back, hard enough to earn a grunt.
Nick nodded, looking far too pleased with himself. “We were taking bets on how long it'd take you to confess” he admitted, his smirk widening.
Matt turned to Nick with a sly smirk. “You owe me” he said, holding out his palm expectantly.
Nick rolled his eyes but fished a twenty dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it over begrudgingly. “You're lucky I'm a man of my word,” he grumbled.
We all laughed, the tension from the confession broken by the absurdity of the moment. I couldn't help but lean into Chris's shoulder, suddenly feeling a little shy. He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me closer, our bodies fitting together like pieces of a puzzle.
It was later in the night. The fire was low, the embers smoldering in the pit as Matt and Nick gathered materials for s'mores. Chris stood next to me, carefully laying marshmallows on skewers. I was watching him, amused, when I suddenly held up my phone.
“Smile for the camera,” I instructed, a smirk tugging at his lips.
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Chris looked up, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Did you take it?” he teased, looking amused. I nodded, my thumb poised over the screen.
“Yeah. It’s Proof that the great Chris Sturniolo can make a perfect s'more.” I chuckled using the picture as my new lock screen.
Chris chuckled, his eyes dancing with amusement as he looked at me. He leaned closer, closing the distance between us.
“You’re incredible,” he murmured, his words a whisper against my lips. Before I could even respond, he leaned in and kissed me, the touch soft yet tinged with a hint of possessiveness, as if he were claiming me as his own.
The night deepened, the sound of laughter and crackling fire mixing in a chorus that echoed through the zoo. Chris and I sat close, our bodies pressed against each other's, a silent understanding hanging in the air. The warm light from the fire cast a golden hue over us, the shadows dancing on Chris's face and the planes of his body.
As the night continued to weave its spell, it felt like something had irrevocably shifted. There was no need for words— the quiet, tender moment was enough.
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Authors Note: Decided to take a break from the smut today. This story is literally so adorable i love it so much :,)
updating another ‘Heartbreak Race’ chapter today or might make a short story for Matt OR maybe both, i’m not sure yet but be on the look out ! :)
HAPPY FRIDAY!! REMEMBER YOURE LOVED AND APPRECIATED!!
© CYBERL6VE
𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒 (⭑.ᐟ) — @st6rify @lovekaiya @b2cute @stvrnioloxz @yourfavadri56
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shsl-hubris-guy · 3 months ago
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If you got to rewrite the Danganronpa series with the creative restriction that you can't change more than one survivor per game (as in, swapping one alive and one dead person) and freely move the deaths around (can you tell I didn't like Hiyoko's death?)
What changes would you make?
You've made good points of Kodaka completely lacking tact when handling serious subjects, like all the sexual stuff in these games about teenagers, or more personal issues with him like racism, but I'm curious how those kinda issues can be fixed
- Timeline Autism Anon
Oh, timeline anon. Sweet timeline anon. You have unleashed the beast.
So, you're specifying that the only change that can be made to the characters' order is that one dear and one living character can swap, no more shuffling beyond that. Intriguing. I've never worked under such constraints, but I welcome the challenge! And hell, for the fun of it, I'll even include UDG
TRIGGER HAPPY HAVOC- ONE SWAP
I'm saving Celeste here, 100%. While I did consider saving Taka at first, I think ultimately there's some foiling and narrative contrast to be has between his death and Hina's survival that I wouldn't want to go to waste but having them both live, and Celeste as the antagonist is just too tempting to pass up. It should come as no surprise, then, that the one I'm swapping in as the chapter 3 killer is Byakuya.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's break this down, chapter by chapter, on how I'd alter THH's overall story even with this being the only change to the roster order
CH 1
While I'm unable to save either Sayaka or Leon (or Mukuro) here, we can give a little more screentime to Leon, namely by giving him some more character scenes here and there. My first thought is to have him see Makoto and Sayaka in the hall on their way to the gym and offer to join them (safety in numbers) and ends up also being part of the "dream" conversation. There's some contrast to be has there between him and Sayaka as he insists on hating his talent and trying to find a new dream, and a couple different angles you could take with it. I think game leans towards him being shallow and lazy at first, but I'd much prefer an interpretation where he doesn't know what his dream is and supposes it's to find something he's passionate about.
CH 2
Step 1. Make Chihiro and Mondo trans (fem and masc respectively). Step 2. Really really push against gender norms and the idea of having to 'pass' and why that's harmful.
Bonus step! Jack is a fictive of a fictional murderer from one of Byakuya's fav mystery novels. Also she and Toko aren't the only alters. Also also they didn't continue to be in love with him after he outs them
CH 3
Ah, the meat of the changes. Having Byakuya as the ultimate killer is made even more difficult by the fact that Hifumi is both killer and victim, meaning that Byakuya can only be the killer of Hifumi and Hifumi must have a reason to kill Taka. So what do we do?
Byakuya has harped on the idea that you can't judge the motivations of others by your own experiences from the very beginning of the game. It stands to reason, then, that he could be inspired to take advantage of the money motive by knowing that no one in the class would suspect him, the ultimate Rich Guy, as killing for what's loose change to him, only for him to fall to his own logic. Makoto and Kyoko are smart enough to put together that he could take advantage of everyone else's assumptions, and Kyoko in particular doesn't make assumptions outright. So we have a reasonable and flawed-in-character motivation for him to act now.
So, why does Hifumi kill Taka? If Byakuya is the killer, does he end up being the one to steal Alter Ego? I think no. In this case, I think it's Hifumi himself who breaks, developing a connection to Alter Ego that turns to obsession when the rest of the class pointedly tells him no, and plots to escape with her. In his desperation, I think I'd like to play off of his almost-friendship with Toko to have her unknowingly play a part in his murder plan by swiping the laptop, appealing to her own hopeless romantic side to convince her to take it while he enacts his plan to kill Kiyondo. (Sidenote: give Kiyondo some FTEs, and have people actually mourn his death more. His death as a result of his isolation works much better if Makoto AT LEAST is aware that his death was preventable had they paid attention.)
Now, here's where things get interesting. Byakuya doesn't follow the nighttime rule, so assuming Hifumi goes through with killing Taka at night, he could find the body before anyone else. That let's him know another murder case is already taking place, and gives him the final push to act now. Hifumi is a sloppy killer, and Byakuya can take advantage of that. So he quickly retraces Hifumi's steps to find him attempting to pin the crime on Hiro, and does a bit of 'messing with the scene' again, only this time, he adds a corpse of his own.
The plan is easy. Kill Hifumi, leave all the easily-torn-apart evidence of Hiro being framed, let the class connect the dots. Hiro found out he was being framed and tried to silence Hifumi, but was too stupid to clean up after himself. Even if they manage to prove Hiro's innocence somehow, Byakuya actually *knows* to pick up after himself. He can remove any implication that he was ever there.
His mistake was Toko. Toko still had the laptop. And when Hifumi never arrived, she went out, not to find Hifumi, but to find Byakuya. Because Toko isn't stupid. Because Toko learned firsthand mere days ago that Byakuya CANNOT be trusted. And she finds him somewhere he shouldn't be, using the trash room key he stole off of Hifumi to dispose of the evidence. And in the end, it's Toko's testimony that proves his undoing. See, he knew she saw him. He just assumed she wouldn't speak out against him. He assumed he knew her motivations, that he was better. He wasn't.
His other mistake was Hiro. Hiro, for everything his classmates see him as, isn't stupid, and giving Makoto the chance to stand up for him and help clear his name the way Kyoko did in chapter 1 would be really great and was literally entirely possible to do within the main game without changing anything, seriously, why were they allergic to giving Hiro character moments or positive connections outside of gags that punch down-
CH 4
This one is easy. If you've ever seen the stageplay, you probably have a good idea of what I'm adding here. Celeste takes advantage of Sakura's sacrifice by being the only one not to attack her, helping her lock the door and watching her drink the poison, only to then turn on her and begin attacking, turning the case into a 50/50 gamble. Hina watches her do it. And Celeste stays in the room, waiting for her to find the others and break in. They won't let Hina kill her, no matter how much she wants to. That would just make her the new blackened.
I think Hina's downward spiral would be elevated by having such a specific target at first, only for Kyoko and Makoto to discover even more wounds and have to find the source of the injuries. Pushing her to try and tank the trial and kill everyone who hurt Sakura at once would be an especially interesting angle, her betting on it being the poison not to save everyone, but to kill everyone, Celeste included. Of course, the majority would likely end up voting Sakura regardless, and that leaves Hina to try and pick up the pieces after hearing Sakura's letter, and leaves Celeste- Taeko- to live with the consequences of her actions, having lost the gamble and lost everything.
CH 5
I think this is a Hiro opportunity to have him act like the older brother figure he was meant to be, particularly for Hina. I mean, she went through the fucking ringer last chapter, she deserves some space to sit with it and come to forgive herself, and Hiro, who was first to attack Sakura, being the one to give her that time and genuinely apologize would be a great moment for both of them. Similarly, I think Toko and Jack getting more comfortable with the other members of the cast and being less of a nuisance would be awesome. Jack is literally a serial killer alter; who better than her to sympathize with Taeko's insatiable desires? She could get Taeko to be more comfortable as herself, and we'd actually get to see glimpses of that deep-seated insecurity she really has. Alternatively, the two of them being manga buddies would really work too.
Anyways, I think Taeko would have a looooooot of work to do to regain everyone's favor, and honestly, I'm fine with her not earning it back outright, instead making it clear she's given up on adaptation but wants to throw herself into escaping and uncovering the mastermind instead. And while there'd definitely be a divide within the cast, I think Makoto would be the one to convince them a truce for the sake of freedom is the best course of action.
Now, the whole Mukuro-corpse shenanigan would def still be happening, but having Taeko Yasuhiro, professional liar, here to identify the similarities between Mukuro's body and "Junko's" would certainly make for an interesting mix-up. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it could perhaps be Taeko who's now blamed and framed for the murder, and that the class' new apprehension for her working against her would make for a pretty damning verdict, especially when Kyoko is forced to protect herself.
(Taeko surviving the execution being a shining symbol of her gambler's luck would also go so hard if she has a character moment figuring out what's going on and places her bets on Kyoko, but maybe that's just the Celesgiri shipper in me talking who's to say lol)
CH 6
Mostly same, only Makoto and Kyoko work together to rescue Taeko while the others use Kyoko's secret tool to investigate without technically breaking rules. It'd give each character something unique to provide to the final trial, and maybe even a split POV style investigation amongst the entire cast? Hell, if we're going that far, switching into Taeko in chapter 5 could be a strong move as well.
This has honestly gotten. Very rambly. I should've anticipated how much I would have to say about this but oh well lol. I will do the other games Later someone remind me
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itsaspectrumcomic · 10 months ago
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Hello,
I really enjoy your comic. Both from aesthetic and informative point of viev. I have a question about begging stages of your crative process. How did you pick a suitalbe art style for a comic of that sort? I'm asking because I want to illustrate my struggles with OCD in similar form (I can never find any good representation of OCD in media and it's so often used as a comic relief I'm sick of it, so I thought if i want to see it I'd betterdraw it myself) However my usual art style is way too complicated for a comic like that and i don't know how to simlify it without copying anyone else's style.
I am aware asking you about art related advice might be too much, so you don't have to respond. But your comics are really good and i wanted to ask about it a person who does it well. And please tell me if me asking is inappropriate, I have trouble discerning what i am allowed to ask for and what is impolite.
I apologise if my message is unclear. My way of communicating tends to be chaotic and I'm afraid I'll be misunderstood so I tend to talk way too much. Also English is not my first language.
Thank you for hearing me out.
Don't worry, I'm very happy to talk about my art process!
I deliberately simplified my art style for It's a Spectrum since I wanted to be able to draw them quickly and get my ideas across clearly without worrying too much about the art being 'good enough'. My usual art style is closer to what I'm using for my graphic novel:
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They have more realistic eyes! And body proportions! They actually have noses!
For It's a Spectrum I focused on simplfying the things I find more difficult or time consuming like eyes, clothes, shading, and backgrounds, and I avoid drawing more complicated poses or angles unless it's necessary to get my point across.
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Dots for eyes, no background, just head and shoulders, didn't even draw hands for this one.
One way to learn to simplify your art is by trying to draw really quickly without losing the most important parts of the drawing. Have you seen those drawing challenges where you have 10 minutes to draw an object, then 5 minutes, then 1 minute, then 10 seconds? That's a really good way to practice because in the end you're forced to avoid adding any detail that isn't completely necessary.
Also, look at other comics with styles you like! There's nothing wrong with taking inspiration and mix and matching different aspects into your own work. At first your art might start off looking similar to others, but the more different people you're inspired by and the more you draw your own work, the more you'll develop your own style.
If you do make any illustrations about OCD, feel free to send them my way! I would love to see them :)
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rocketbirdie · 5 months ago
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Have you ever drawn Sephiroth? Also my favorite post of urs is Cloud and Zack chained together and getting caught by a poll XD ALSO ALSO how do u find an art style?? I've been asking this question to a lot of ppl but never get anything that helps me- my "art style" is always inconsistent and I'm trying to do something that expression how I feel as a person while drawing a character (but maybe it's because as a person I'm all over the place and I can't pinpoint how to express myself) I can give a little ref for a few of my drawing to show how inconsistent they are😓 though some things stay the same a lot of other things change (people say I'm hard on myself but I feel like it needs to look a certain way for me to like it ig also also also the 2nd drawing was a fixed version of the og because it was well elongated.. can you tell im no good at anatomy-?)
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ANYWAYS SORRY FOR THE RANT!! 😓
HI NO WORRIES FOR THE RANT!! Regretfully I have not drawn a whole lot of Sephiroth... perhaps that shall change someday? 🤔
Hmm I think I know what most people's advice would be, like "oh don't worry about art style just do whatever you like!" and yes, that's kinda true, but it's not really helpful. So here's my thoughts on the matter:
I find that the best approach to finding a style that fits you is to start by identifying your own tastes in art. Instead of worrying about consistency, focus on finding brushes/tools that feel good to use, colors and lines that appeal to you, and then play around with those. You'll find it a lot easier to make art that you like if you let yourself have fun with it, as opposed to subjecting it to pass/fail criteria.
For example, it's probably not surprising to hear that I love vibrant, colorful geometric art. I struggled for so long trying to use fancy brushes and weighted paintstrokes to make more realistic portraits, and it frustrated me because even if other people said it looked great, nothing I made looked right to me. Turns out it was my toolkit hiding my own art style from me. The moment I switched to solid colors and the goofy default pen setting, BOOM. Suddenly I was on a roll.
As for anatomy, you're already doing great!! My trick for anatomy (and for anything at all, really) is to break it down into simple 3d shapes. Fun fact, almost everything with the human body is just varying cylinders. Your neck? Cylinder. Hand? 5 cylinders attached to a cylinder that's been slightly squished. Torso? That's cylinder, babe! Arms? Legs? You guessed it, cylinders.
Challenge yourself HARD, EARLY. Don't wait until you think you're "good enough" to do a big intimidating project, or else you'll be waiting forever. Draw those difficult angles, perspectives, and compositions NOW, not later! It'll make the things that you're already good at feel ridiculously easy, and make those things come naturally to you, enabling you to focus your efforts into the stuff you do want to get better at.
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alicelufenia · 4 months ago
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Book 1 of Pale Lights is complete! As usual, my thoughts below
I don't know why it is but it seems every time I finish an ErraticErrata book it is ALWAYS late at night, and then I immediately write up my thoughts while half dead with sleep until 3am. So I thought maybe I'd cut myself some slack this time and sleep on it. Hence I'm writing this the afternoon of the next day.
To start us off, holy shit there were SO MANY characters! I still stand by what I said before, this is a sign of EE's growth as a writer, that he's willing to put so much into all of these characters, and the nature of the story means that basically only two are more or less easy to guess they make it through: Tristan and Angharad, our two POV protagonists. And I even saw some comments from when book 1 was ongoing hedging bets that we might even lose one of them! Which I'm glad we didn't, as I not only like them both, if one were to go it'd probably be Angharad, and ain't no way I'm abiding the female co-star dying over her male counterpart.
Still though, the lack of plot armor for almost everyone was a refreshingly bold decision. We lost some people along the way I thought we'd at least see them stick around, but more on that later.
First off, the world building: this is such a compelling setting to me. The perpetual dark/night angle taking the form of a cavern world so vast it has oceans and weather patterns, is really unique I think! Though it's honestly a bit difficult to picture what shape the world takes, and how much are assumptions from the inhabitants. Like the descriptions of how Glare shines down through "cracks" in firmament above suggests maybe a planet tidally locked with its star, causing sunlight to shine constantly and making the surface uninhabitable, which is why people live underground. But it's less a cave and more like a whole biosphere, with full on islands and continents and different ethnicities throughout, with darker skin trending in the areas with more Glare (understandably). On top of that, while the explanation of cracks letting the perpetual light through has plausibility, there are also stars present? That move in a way they can be used for navigation? There's astronomy in this world???
I'm still very confused as to the nature of this setting, is what I'm saying.
Moving on, I love our main character duo! First off, Tristan is a lot of fun as a classical thief with more wits than combat skills. I don't think he ever is in a straight forward brawl at any point, always trying to blindside or avoid the fighting. His contract with Fortuna had me intrigued from the first page. Also, I see you EE with the chiding immaterial impossibly gorgeous spirit companion draped in red with golden eyes (really, even the golden eyes?) and companion to the inner monologue-heavy MC. Good thing Tristan is ace-aro or that could get awkward.
And then to contrast we have Angharad, who is his counterpart in everything: she's an incredible badass fighter, noble and privileged until recent, honorable duelist and trusting to the nth degree, her patron is an eldritch horror who rarely appears and barely says anything, and there's not a streetsmart bone in her body. She's like if someone brought a Paladin to a game of Blades in the Dark, and I am SO here for it. When the scumbag in their midst murders a man in desperation while they're all trying to flee from monsters, and her response is to immediately challenge him to an honor duel I knew we had something special here. And then it ACTUALLY PAYS OFF in the end! I need you to know I'm snorting her like cocaine, they can never make me hate you Angharad.
I'm saying it already, if Minthara Baenre is my EVIL WIFE, and Catherine Foundling is my GREMLIN DAUGHTER, then Angharad Tredegar is my SWORD LESBIAN NIECE. I relate a concerning amount to her uncle in that regard, I too would take out an 84 year advance to throw infinite money at her to keep her alive and let her do whatever she wants.
Speaking of scumbags, Tupoc Xical (you have no idea how much my mind kept reading Tupac throughout this book) was a surprisingly entertaining addition! This guy was the Worst in every group he was in, but managed to stay funny the whole time. He survived a week on the island with everyone wanting him dead and still got what he wanted at the end-WAIT A MINUTE. It's Kairos! Again!!
Okay I think that's the last comparison to PGTE, they're completely different stories and deserve to be analyzed on their own merits.
For the (surviving) companions to each of our main protagonists, I already love the relationship forming between Tristan and Maryam. He spends almost the whole book wary of showing any trust, but even then everyone else considered the two joined at the hip pretty much from the start. Meanwhile I'm not sure what I think of Song just yet. Her chemistry with Angharad isn't as well developed compared to Tristan and Maryam, at least in book 1, given how much attention Isobel drew from Angharad pretty much up until her death.
Which brings me to both long-running companions who didn't make it to the end; Yong and Tristan probably had, for so long, a close relationship, and their falling out was surprising in its finality, Yong pretty much drawing the line at not just Tristan scheming to use the Watchmen as bait, but also didn't tell any of his companions about it. Yong's self-inflicted death weighs on Tristan, and I really wanna see where he grows from here, especially if he's willing to trust more, starting with reaching out to Maryam.
Isobel and Angharad, by comparison, are a super complicated pair. A large proportion of Angharad's judgement from the beginning of the book through towards the last act can be called into question given the nature of Isobel's contract. When the truth finally comes out, it understandably leads to a schism, and while I know it's a bad decision on the characters' behalfs, I love that this was then turned around into them "starting from a clean slate" and basically staying together despite this, albeit with Angharad now having full knowledge of how Isobel's contract works. To the chagrin of everyone around them, Song especially.
Unfortunately it is not to last, with Isobel dying unceremoniously in the charge to the last town and the third trial. This one honestly surprised me more than Yong, who I always thought had a high chance of going out before the end being the older mentor type with a troubled past. Isobel seemed primed to turn over a new leaf, maybe exit the story in some other way as she had no intention of completing to the end. In hindsight given that the last town was secretly overrun by cannibalistic devils in disguise, her actual chances weren't all that great, and at least a bullet from a cultist avoided being eaten and puppeted by a devil.
But man, I just feel so bad for Angharad, she really got the short end of relationships in this book, and her competition is the ace-aro cum demiromantic. At least Tristan has Maryam, and while Angharad and Song are showing signs of interest, like I said the chemistry just isn't there, almost in opposition to her and Isobel where there was, essentially, too much chemistry you could say. I'm willing to give them a chance, and with the next book being almost twice as long (keeping with tradition) I'm sure they'll have plenty of time, given they'll be in the same cabal.
Incidentally, I might as well address the "Song killed Isobel" conspiracy, as of literally only having read book 1. I had my worries at first, that either she or Brun might have killed Isobel in the chaos of fleeing. Then a few chapters later Brun gets revealed when he tries to kill Angharad, so it definitely wasn't him. Now, the problem with it being Song is threefold.
First, there really isn't any reason for her to have killed her; sure she was irritated at Angharad still seeing Isobel, but at that point Isobel was no longer a major player; all her other fellow infanzones were either dead or estranged, and she was going to drop out literally after reaching the next town. Second, the only real "evidence" was that Isobel died as if she were facing toward Brun and Song, away from where they were all running. Which Angharad immediately guesses the musket ball to the cheek spun her around, which everyone in comments called naive at the time, except then Lan dies to a cultist's musket in the exact same way a few chapters later, and Angharad witnesses that one.
Third and final though, Angharad is Song's pick for the Scholomance, and Song (presumably) wants to be on good terms with her just in general, being in the same cabal and all. Why would she jeopardize that for basically nothing? I know I don't really know anything about her right now, but I feel safe calling this conspiracy theory bust. Please, I just want Angharad to catch a break 💔
Moving on already, the last three surviving trial takers honestly intrigue me. Ferranda, Zenzele, and Shalini are like a second party to our main protagonists that have only occasionally crossed over. We've seen less of them than half the dead characters. Given they've all lost someone along the way, and seemed to have bonded as a result, I'd like to see more of them. But unless they're gonna make a surprise appearance at Murder Harvard, I don't know how we'd get to do that unless we get a return of interludes next book.
Well, arriving at the end, we have 7 survivors (and Tupoc) with at least 5 heading to Scholomance. There was a real whittling down this first go around. I'm guessing the next book will have a very different feel now that our main cast is settled. Mostly.
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So, who of the figures in the main header are our protagonists? Best guess I have so far are, from left to right: Song (only one with a musket, also she's TINY), Angharad (Tall Queen, and wielding a saber), Tristan (Yong's pistol, and maybe a mask since he's in the super secret covenant. Also standing on a box cause ain't no way he's that tall), Maryam (wields Signs, probably a hidden dagger), and two characters we've yet to meet (sword and blunderbuss wielders).
Oh, and based on the epilogue I can already tell this is gonna be one hell of a school. Tristan's boss in the secret covenant (haven't gotten the names down yet) is a god-damned devil (albeit on the Watch's side instead of Pandemonium), and "Abuela",is some sort of shapechanging abomination and is going to be both very entertaining and potentially very uncomfortable to be around in scenes.
But never mind that, anyone up for a bit of treason?
Until next time.
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th3-0bjectivist · 10 months ago
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Face # 7: Baby Frog ruminates
To recap once more, this year (2024) I have been trying to draw faces, all year long. Being an outsider artist, I never had anyone teach me how to do it. So once again, I will just teach myself by doing it over and over in different variations. Recently I went out on a few dates with this single mom, her name is Britt. No spark, no problem, we kind of became friends instead. I’ve been over to her place a few times and met her infant boy. I won’t give you the boy’s name, but I call him Baby Frog because he’s got a bit of a froggy face going on. He’s like all other babies. He loves to laugh, and he gets fussy sometimes, but he also makes this stone-cold face when I’m talking to his mom, like I owe him money, or like he knows something about my mother.
Out of any of the drawings I’ve done for this series, this one was by far the easiest. Babies have these fat, lumpy faces that basically have no definition. This kid has eyes that are deep brown, and they're HUGE, so when he’s just kind of passive and staring at something he kinda looks like he’s a possessed stone golem. Britt puts him in funny hats that make his head look like a big, chubby mushroom stalk. He drools uncontrollably all the time. When I’m over at Britt’s place I sometimes wish I could get away with an infant’s social behavior and fashions. I often wonder if the Baby Frog is in deep thought when he just stares away like he does, and I wonder if he’ll have the same steely glance as an adult, because it’s somewhat intimidating even at his age. I’ve come to like Baby Frog a lot, and he has enjoyed my company as well. I’m around few babies these days, and despite their awkward mannerisms, I still like them better than adults. Infants are just honest. Drawing faces has been generally difficult, next time I’ll try an adult face at a dynamic angle. I’ve got to keep challenging myself, and I’m still not VERY good at this. More to come!
Face # 1: Click here
Face # 2: Click here
Face # 3: Click here
Face # 4: Click here
Face # 5: Click here
Face # 6: Click here
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turbo-tsundere · 4 months ago
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i'm glad to see the positive asks coming up at great timing ;w; i hope you're doing okay! please take breaks whenever you need, and take your time. it's a strange question, but i was wondering if drawing gonta and kokichi has ever given you any practice at drawing a certain aspect of their character (anatomy, clothes, nature...?) i'm really curious!
Thank you, I'm trying my best (• 7 • ) Thought current issue is that I want to draw SO badly but caaaan't, because I'm too busy grrrrrrrrr wr I missedGonta'sbirthdayAGAIN. Oh well, maybe next time but ghhhh *frustrated cat noises*...
Regarding your question, it's not weird at all. I do hope though I understood it correctly, because the way I see it, drawing anything is always simultaneously practicing it, whether it's a warm-up sketch, or finished drawing... But perhaps "Did you have to practice/learn stuff to properly draw these characters or things symbolic to them" is more in line of what you wanted to know?
Then yes, absolutely, there was quite a bit of that!... So this is going to be a very long one.
When it comes to Gonta... oh boy. I'm not underestimating by saying pretty much every single aspect of his design is something I struggle with. Long and slightly wavy hair is the most difficult kind for me to draw, and I keep forgetting the exact shape of his quadruple ahoge. I've difficulty with narrow faces (and his wide neck doesn't make things easier in that regard xD), and I didn't draw that many muscular characters like him in the past (I did draw a lot of over-exaggerated, blockier fantasy characters, but somehow this wasn't helpful for my brain because ????? ...Well, they often have disproportionately massive joints and way different skeletal structure that doesn't exactly make sense tbh).
Drawing suits is my bane, especially lapels; if it looks good, it's because due to my stubbornness I redrew it 5-15 times. I generally struggle with kimonos, suits and certain types of uniforms - anything that's formal wear made of relatively stiff fabric that creates little to no folds and has to fit well and relatively snug, but still obscures anatomy...
Gonta's glasses gave me trouble, too: I didn't know I was drawing their perspective wrong until I studied photos, videos, or 3D models of people who happened to wear similar models...
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(How I instinctively drew glasses vs how they're apparently supposed to look at specific angles. It feels so unintuitive and surprising for me to see the farther lens stick out so much... kinda funny, considering I wear glasses myself, albeit rectangular ones.)
Even his eyebrows turned out to be a challenge, because they start thin in inner corners, then get thicker as they spread outwards - this made me realize that I tend to draw my own characters with an exact opposite shape xD... It took a while to get a hang of how they'd look while expressing different emotions (but I think they are cool the way they split at the end!)
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I pretty much had to actively practice all of the above. It was difficult but rewarding, and especially at the beginning of my brainrot I really dove into the research, studying details, collecting all sorts of references both realistic and stylized, and working on how to translate Gonta into "my style" (which imo ended up more like a hybrid between my own style and DR one) to represent him and his vibe as accurately as possible (it's generally my philosophy with fanart).
On a side note, imo Gonta has a great design. He combines simple elements and colour palette - wild long hair, brown suit, glasses, barefoot - and not too many small ornaments (bug box, lapel pin), but they result in something unique and distinct. I find that school of character design really clever, and oddly more difficult than designing overly elaborate ones.
Going back to the topic of the practice, it was beneficial even for subjects besides Gonta himself. For example, getting a hang of how to draw beefier, more pronounced anatomy helped me understand it better in general, and be able to draw more lean characters as well. (I do have trouble with subtle things like how a ribcage connects to the waist, then hips, or how shoulders look at specific angles etc.)
Or when I had to research bugs for some of the fanarts, it made me realize how much more complex their anatomy is, and how despite the infinite variety of species there is always a certain consistency to it. I started appreciating them so much more... my previous default was rather neutral leaning on slightly positive, but I was scared stiff of mantises when I was a kid. Now I find them genuinely beautiful, endearingly dramatic with their patterns and behaviour... And see bugs as so cute overall. I guess Gonta would be happy to know that?
Thanks to him I managed to return to more painterly and sketchy techniques, too (For a few years before playing V3, I used to draw a lot more lineart heavy works with anime-like shading, and I was worried if I'll be able to stray away from that).
In the end, every fanart is always an exercise in something, like "oh let's try those golden/metallic digital paints, let's try dark colours/hair underwater study, or high contrast, etc., etc..
Gonta was tough to draw, still is, and I'm definitely not done learning and making mistakes, but I don't mind... and I think it's a good thing to feel about something, when you want to keep doing it even if it isn't always a walk in the park. He's definitely a FUN variety of challenging. I only hope I will be able to keep finding time and energy to keep on going.
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Kokichi on the other hand isn't particularly difficult to draw, even if it wasn't the case at first, though for mostly emotional reasons. On a technical level, he's nicely effortless, though there are some tricky aspects to his design, like how his hair works in a 3D space.
I even made myself a little "guide" in the beginning, to help me understand just that. I'd draw his "base" hair and add these signature strands.
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Funny how... casual he looks without them? Fandom usually depicts all of his hair curled outwards, even I do that quite a bit, while in canon, oddly enough, it's just a few strands that seem longer than the rest of his hair. His hair is also simply black with purple tips, not all purple like he's often depicted.
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(Behold, a wet cat Kokichi doodle from the depths of my fanart folder. YES, those are hair rollers.)
It's interesting how characters are often drawn the way they "feel", rather than by strictly adhering to their design, and how it leads to accentuating some design elements...
Oh right, I also had no clue how to draw Kokichi's face at first, how to interpret it into something more realistic; this character named Doa from Blade of the Immortal by Samura has served me as an accidental inspiration in translating his features into something closer to my own style. The checkered hat and big guy companion may or may not have contributed to grabbing my attention.
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(panels from Hiroaki Samura's manga)
The way I draw Kokichi has changed since, getting closer to his original style, but it's thanks to her that things clicked into place, and I managed to finally draw the fanart that I was actually satisfied with, this one specifically. (Also it may or may not have inspired me to muse about BotI ougoku AU for like 54 seconds.)
But all in all, Kokichi is really pleasant to illustrate, and what I enjoy practicing the most is his baggy shirt and, again, his hair.
Also the scarf. I really enjoy drawing drapery and baggy clothes, but I specifically like to draw this checkerboard pattern by hand and merge it directly with the lineart and shadows - so it's more like a bunch of abstract shapes creating an object, rather than clearly separated lines, shadows and colours. It helps with accentuating the dimensionality of his scarf (which I always felt like is some sort of infinity scarf, since there aren't any ties visible on his concept design...). I know using a pattern would be much faster and easier work, but I just like drawing it, so I don't mind putting in that little extra work in there.
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(I really love hatching, too. I actually don't like linearting all that much lol, unless I merge and structurally "support" it with hand-drawn textures or thicker brushtrokes - it's nice to test out different brushes just for that purpose.)
To sum it up: yep, I was given an opportunity to practice a ton of things thanks to those two lovely messes. I still am, and certainly still will - even if some of those might be simply re-learning stuff I got rusty at, bc no art skill is ever a static one, for better or for worse.
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mango-jpeg · 6 months ago
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2024 writing retrospective (shamelessly copying dex, sorry. ur an icon)
i posted something every month of this year ! which is not something i set out to do but once i realized i was halfway through i had to see it through (<- guy whose biggest motivator is committing to the bit)
one takeaway from this was the value of just sitting on a fic for a few weeks… i always want to post as soon as a thing’s done, while i’m still riding the high of completing a project, but giving myself time and distance to edit is good, actually. whoda thot
also confirmed the value of setting arbitrary deadlines - birthday fics were also great for this lol - these days i've set sunday as a soft, rolling deadline (if it's not ready by this sunday i'll wait a week (so i'd better finish it))
bit of a grab bag year in terms of fandoms and pairings, and that was really fun for me !! there are some i’d like to return to if i can think of a new angle (yaoqing trio) others i might leave behind (i think covid erased argenthill from my brain)
also a year where i challenged myself a little and - probably because i posted so regularly - feel i’ve improved a bit
singularity was tough to string together but through the sort of episodic format i got better at writing little chunks. linger a little longer was like puuure character study, very scary. i feel like i have a middling understanding of action but gunfights - instead of swordfights or hand-to-hand - were a challenge in hard feelings
all the king’s horses was a sort of surreal experience. the basic idea and structure came together quite suddenly but it was difficult to write in the limited time i gave myself. also funnily a return to form for me (used to only write angst lol) while at the same time felt very different from my usual
more and more i enjoy writing longer, sillier fics, which are much harder to write than pwp and simply do not do numbers in the same way lol. this is fine - i write for myself first, & i've been writing porn longer so ofc it's easier and probably better - but it has meant that i appreciate comments more and more all the time :~)
coincidentally began and ended the year reading books about writing:
Consider This is very much a how-to guide with practical advice that was interesting and thoughtful. got me thinking about form/organization
Track Changes is a history of word processors that made me think about how my own creative process is irrevocably tied up in specific technology. really cool read
wips i’m carrying into the new year: kaeluc royalty au (still), olympic year (yes, still), welt/caelus/dan heng + whipped cream (...)
ideas i’m starting the year off with: ryudate 5+1, singularity sequel, kaeluc outsider pov, chiscara!!!
i’m very excited to finally take part in a ship week (nsfw akishinji week) which is something i’ve wanted to do for literally years. yippee!!
as always, a goal for this year is to write more comments on fic + art, it's just a muscle i'm always working on
i’d still like to write more for/with others - requests are fun but i get very few... is it weird to request requests ?
my other goal for the year is really to uhh write less. sad. gotta make the diss work a priority
these liner notes are excruciating to write but i think after 2 years i'll stick w them a little longer. they're good practice in organizing and expressing my thoughts
i hope it's a yaoiful year for all !!! see u in march <3
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riftdancing · 7 months ago
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99+ Notifications?!
99+ NOTIFICATIONS?! Tumblr what do you MEAN?? ALL I DID WAS SLEEP.
...And post my wrapped.
...And maybe a new screenshot of Siyoh.
We're not counting that last one.
Originally I had panned to try and respond individually to people, but the overwhelming amount of feedback and kind words on my wrapped has left me slack jawed and feeling many feels.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Thank you so much for your kind words and for appreciating my work.
There are a few key components to my work. Things I try very hard to keep in mind while composing a shot.
1.) Lighting: Especially in my after effects because it still has to match the original lighting of the screenshot. Which means things like rotating sun beams and making sure the reflection of light is bouncing off the right places. It probably helps that I did years of photography lessons with my Mother in real life before ever bringing this knowledge to the screenshot world.
2.) Pose anatomy & the illusion of motion in a still picture: Admittedly, its a hard thing to capture. I've been doing this sort of posing for years before FFXIV so I have lots of experience and first hand knowledge in knowing how bodies move and how muscles/joints connect. That being said, I still challenge myself every day to continue to progress in this area. Especially with occasionally pushing anatomy post where it goes realistically for the sake of exaggerated expression. Like how 2D animation will always show more expression than 3D, but I also feel like this is a difficult line to toe.
3.) Photo Angle and Scene Composition: Admittedly, I still struggle with this sometimes. In fact, if a screenshot doesn't get posted or chosen to be shown on tumblr or to other people, this is usually the culprit. I'm very picky about it. Sometimes I'll let a screenshot sit for hours and come back to it whilst trying to decide if I like the angle in which I captured the scene. I can think of at least five shots off the top of my head which didn't make it to the editing phase because of this. Loved the idea, hated the execution. Which is NOT to say I hate my work. I love my work. Even the stuff I don't post. But I believe its healthy to have your own sense of constructive criticism along side pride and love for your work. This is how we grow. I also might have deleted a few posts after growing frustrated with their final composition weeks after.
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Here are a few examples of things which didn't quite make it to the cutting room floor or had their scene composition/posing revised into better shots. I still love them! I think some of them are great in their own ways, they just weren't particularly capturing what I was fully after.
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So what does this bring me to?
Your comments. I am so overwhelmed.
All of your sweet comments touched on these three key points and I cannot express how warm and fuzzy that made me feel. It gave me such a HUGE sense of pride knowing I am able to accomplish what I set out to do. And I only ever want to continuously improve on that (and more)!
I'm going to set some new goals for myself in 2025. But all the kind tags was exactly the kind of motivational boost to keep me going in the new year and to continue to figure out new tools to enhance my skill set as I go.
Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.
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awriternamedart · 9 months ago
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yall know what time it is
For funsies whenever I do challenge stuff like this, I like to look back on the work I put and think over the decisions I made while on a time crunch!!
And since Sampard Week has come to an end once again, I might as well make the review public and open for the masses to see.
Each oneshot will be graded on a 0-10 scale determined by how much I think i put into the oneshot- by effort, consistency, continuity, characterization, and enjoyment in making. I will attempt to be fair to myself, its been a rough and stressful week on top of it, so lets just dive in headfirst!
all fics will be linked in this post as well, so consider it a masterpost of sorts.
Day 1 - Flowers | 6/10
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Honestly this one was difficult. I was really struggling with the angle to take with this oneshot, and it took me more then a bit to settle on a draft I liked and could continue with. It was definitely more of an art prompt then a writing prompt, being so broad and vague means making a story out of it can be rather daunting or difficult. But in the end, Im content with how it turned out, even if it was the start of my mental deterioration with writing Sampo. So a bit of a rough start, but overall it works.
Day 2 - Traveling | 5/10
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I love this one, I genuinely do. But uh- this was sampard week. not gepard is an uncle and sampos just there week. ADAJRJSJFJ
Seriously- I loved writing this, but I also found it to deviate a little to much towards the end from the original meaning for the post. It was meant to be a lot less focused on Luka and more on Gepard getting heatstroke and Sampo being Sampo. Not to mention, this fic has.. alot of errors.... I recently switched over to a new writing software, and it was after this fic that I learned where the autocorrect button was. Yeesh.
Day 3 - Neighbors | 8/10
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This one? Good shit.
I LOVED writing this one. Since it was a 5+1, I felt like I could take it a bit easier with the scenes, and it meant I could delve a bit more into Sampo's character in a more modern setting. While this fic is truly where my frustrations with writing Sampo came to light, I feel like I did a good job at making peace with the part of me that yells the universe is gonna collapse if I dare to take a step to far from canon behavior. Its cute, its sweet, Gepard worked at FNaF, we had fun.
Day 4 - Domestic | 0/10.
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i did not write. I cannot review writing where THERE IS NONE AHDHAJR
I do think this is a cute doodle for barely 15 minutes - i.. mixed up the band au days and skipped ahead mentally and forgot domestic was a prompt.. so uh yeah this entire came out of my panic of realizing oh shit. I dont have time to write a oneshot. and i dont have any ideas. BAM. so yeah a doodle!
Day 5 - Band AU | 7/10
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i love plotless sillies.
Honestly this fic was meant to have a LOT more plot. It was originally Sampo going to a mechanical fever concert to check out the band since he wanted to audition as their drummer and then he just started crushing on the bassist. But then I went - im already being ultra indulgent by giving Gepard a bass and Sampo fishnet. And I want them to make out.
so yeah, i basically just went down the route of indulgence. I do wish I had written more- but it was during the writing of this oneshot that my stress had shot to an all time high and I ended up getting really sick from it for the rest of the week. So it has a lot of missed potential and while its good as it is, its one I would adore re-writing one day to give it a bit more oumph.
Day 6-7 - Dreams, Free Day | 8/10
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As per last year, free day I did an Akrasia one shot. (For those of you who dont know, Akrasia is my sampard longfic that is an Alternate Canon based around the idea of what if Gepard went to the underground with the trailblazers) And I was like eh why the fuck not - Akrasia just turned a year old, so !!
And thus, this was born. I had no idea what to do for Day 6's prompt either, and as I sat on it over the week I realized that it would be best to combine the two as it would one- give me a rest day to hang out and touch grass and two- let me get a bit more in touch with the concept and explore it further. Akrasia is in a bit of a tight spot right now - I want to do more with it , but Im afraid of writing something that will conflict with a promise I made to write Akrasia's sequel should we go back to Belobog with a Sampo-central storyline. Which is why this oneshot is sent so far in the future, and even then I didnt do NEARLY as much as I wanted to. I wanted to more deeply establish the strain on them both for Sampo coming back, for the deeply seeded fear of failure that was planter in Gepards heart. I wanted to explore a bit more of Gepards arm lore since its a huge part of Akrasias base storyline, I wanted to touch a bit more on Sampo dodging around the universe after the Trailblazers, but in the end I am content and even happy with what came out of it. Their both just tired and deserve to rest with each other at the end of the day.
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Aaand yeah thats about it. honestly surprised i survived the week , and even more so that I managed to finish on time , with almost every fic being nearly 3k words.
At the end I understand a few more flaws in my work - i use to many commas and tied together sentances, I struggle with overly formal word choice, etc - but its alot of fun to test these kinda things out. See where I was last year and know that I did better this year .
and lets hopefully do it again - next year :3
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2headedmonsta · 3 months ago
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Been going around to different fursuit maker to see what there idea I have.
Been thinking on making myself a fursuit but wanted something different from so I been thinking on reclaimed materials
(( note I am no fursuit maker but seen video on YouTube how to make a fursuit )).
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Option one.
A old sofa/couch that isn't 500 dollars. But what I been seeing around my area that under 500 dollars are those old flower couches/ sofa
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(( image of Random type of couch from Google that I talking about ))
This would make a really unique way of making a fursuit
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Option two.
Reclaimed denim from old blue jeans or old denim clothing that I can find cheap and isn't valuable.
Use the demin to create a fursuit. Instead of using artificial fur like regular fursuits do I'll use denim.
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Note. If I do this all reclaimed materials will be cleaned and disinfected for safety to use it without cozing sickness and to just be clean.
But just wanted to see the few fursuit maker I seem on this site think if this idea
@wolfie-777
Okay! This has been in my inbox a few days but also my brain has been mush lately. Better late than never? Thanks for being patient.
Firstly - love the idea of unconventional materials and upcycling stuff otherwise destined for a dumpster. That's rad af. But also I'm not a fabric or fursuit expert, just an enthusiastic personal hobbyist.
So with either of these proposals you are definitely going to get a wildly unconventional looking fursuit. Could be cool as hell! But definitely be ready to spend some real time on your character design or risk turning out looking like Cousin It if they were made of thrift store leftovers instead of hair. Or a value village muppet. I think either of these unusual fabrics might be most workable from a purely visual design angle if you used them either as accents on a more standard design with fur or with a plushie-like fursona as clearly neither denim nor sofas are furry.
Option 1 - The upcycled sofa. Carefully dismantled and very very thoroughly cleaned you could get big, useable pieces of a cool looking fabric out of this! It might take a lot of cleaning for both hygiene and smells that might cling to it. Even a mild lingering odor would get really unpleasant really quickly when wearing the finished item. Hygiene is also a big concern; smoke, mold, animal pee/poo, mystery stains, lots of gross possibilities to account for on a secondhand couch. I have never considered using upholstery fabrics for wearable items, but the weight/drape/stretch, or lack of stretch, could really present a big challenge. You would also need to consider how the material frays, if it frays a lot you could end up with lumpy, bulky seams that you don't want. Can your sewing machine handle the thick material? All of this can add up to something that will be really, really hard to get nice shapes and contours out of, and fursuits are a lot of soft curvy shapes. Overall this seems pretty difficult on top of the challenge that fursuit making already is.
I would definitely advise against using the foam or stuffing from an upcycled couch. You have no way of knowing what a thrifted couch has been exposed to and cleaning stuffing or foam thoroughly and safely enough for a wearable item just isn't going to be worth it. Plus those materials are likely to be too difficult to sculpt into the shapes you want, especially when worn out second hand. Too dense or squishy or spongy, or aged and crumbly. It's just not going to be worth your effort.
Option 2 - Upcycled denim. The first thing that comes to my mind here is a doodle bear, and that's pretty cute! Denim is accessible and easy to wash and care for. But! It's stiff and not drapey and doesn't come in very big pieces when you're thrifting old garments. Also there are about a billion different washes and shades so achieving uniform color would be quite hard, especially limited by buying second hand. So that sounds like it would be quite a lot more seams and sewing for a very patchwork-y visual when all is said and done. Also, like with upholstery fabric, a stiff material is going to be hard to make nice, natural looking curves out of.
Ultimately, my verdict is that the idea is admirable and creative, but likely to be prohibitively difficult for a new maker and a lot of extra work for something that is unlikely to have a similar look/vibe to a conventionally constructed fursuit. I think these materials would be more workable if used as accents with more standard faux fur/fleece/minky. Like a reclaimed material tummy, inner ears, paws pads, or wing membrane. Constructing 100% from these materials is not a choice I would personally make, but I'm not your mom so you do you, booboo!
Advice:
I would suggest maybe making test plushie or simple hand paws out of the materials you're considering using to see how you feel about actually working with them before you commit something as complex as a fursuit. Test drive them on a bite size project first!
If you're looking for fursuit making tutorials and info I always suggest checking out matrices.net - she has tutorials on absolutely everything from super basics to super advanced. Kloof suits YouTube has been a good resource for me as well. Spiltgrapesoda patterns are really nice to use and it sounds like they may have some good teaching resources on their patreon. All of these folks are immensely skilled, lovely people to speak to, and may be reachable via their various socials for more specific advice if you want to pursue any specifics with a more skilled maker.
Hope that helps and happy crafting! I would love to see how your upcycled projects turn out :3
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montes-musings · 29 days ago
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Do you guys have OCs you've never been able to let go of?
Like most art kids I spent most of my time living in a different world than the one I was in. Much of that time too was in worlds I created with friends; that's what started my love of collaboration. None of the worlds I had were just mine, which led to learning how to communicate and share ideas with other people.
As I got older and make-believe became 'childish' I kept these stories and built upon them. Still with the same friends (I've been lucky to have friends I've known since childhood), but our stories became secret. Texting about them, using online messaging to keep an ongoing RP, or even notebooks that we'd pass back and forth in between classes.
Sharing my OCs was scary. I loved them, but was afraid of the societal perception of still having 'imaginary friends.' Then I pursued art, more specifically animation. Animation is FULL of artists who have OCs that turn into incredible shows, and even looking back on characters like Superman, or Spiderman, or the Looney Toons, those are all characters that someone 'made up' and had a connection with.
However, that didn't mean I was comfortable. For one, what if my characters were 'bad?' and two, all of my characters have been attached to stories with friends who are not in art. I'd be taking credit for something they created. It has always been difficult to let that side of the conversation fade.
My decision doesn't have to be to stop though. There is nothing wrong with giving credit and moving forward. It's just the same as getting commissioned to draw someone's DND character or getting hired to work as a vis dev artist and saying what the project is for!
Plus I've always been touched when someone remembers my OCs or shows interest in them. I also believe that if I am thinking about these worlds and how much they mean to me, how can I possibly believe that my friends don't feel the same sometimes? Just as we miss being able to run around and play princesses, or treasure hunters, I think my friends feel the nostalgia of worlds we build with complex political systems, magic, love, friendship, and ultimately play. As adults though, we find ourselves pressured to forget trivial things like that.
The older I get, the more I take pride in my stories, that I never gave up on them. That even though my friends aren't in art, they can see that they too can be creative.
With DND and the rise of things like Dimension 20 and Critical Role, I think it's becoming less stigmatized to have OCs again. I wonder how many people will go back to childhood memories and dust off a box to open it up and lend a hand in pulling out an old friend or two they thought was lost forever as soon as they filled out their taxes the first time.
As for me and this drawing: this is @queenofthetemplars OC and mine, with their daughter (also mine) playing what I assume to be a game of Rummy.
The thought of the three of them playing, Kaori (the child) and her dad (Shikaku) being the two actual players while her mother (Luna) initially sits out, only to look over her daughter's shoulders to help Kaori beat her calm, collective dad was heart warming to me. I initially drew 3-4 versions of this sketch at various angles because the perspective wasn't working. Finally deciding that instead of Luna looking fondly at the two of them playing I could have more narrative with her backseat playing.
I've been trying to challenge myself more with perspective and foreshortening, especially with character interaction, as my favorite art pieces tend to be narrative driven. Hopefully I'll have the courage to post more of these in the future.
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theempressofthenile · 1 year ago
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LIGHTS, CAMERAS, ACTION - BEING YOUR MOST MAGNETIC, PHOTOGENIC SELF ; MANIFESTATION 101
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Hey ! So I wanted to share my thoughts on being more magnetic with your persona and growing into your most photogenic self. As someone who didn't like taking pictures, and was always stuck with the same selfie pics being shot from my left angle I had decided to put myself into different boxes until I eventually stuck my foot out of them. At some point, I felt rather estranged to photography, not liking how I looked or felt and my my my did it show on camera. I had a vision of me being my most picturesque, most striking, beautiful self, and knew that if my mind could see it then it meant it we're possible. And I mean, to be honest, I had done it so many times before I was just unaware of it. And for me, even when your unaware of it the potential is there, it just needs more work.
So now, I'm ready to share what I've learned with obtaining a more photogenic persona. If you've had dreams of being a supermodel, a star or someone who just likes to be photographed a lot then this is for you. I'll try to make this super sweet and easy for you guys and give some tips on how to manifest your best photogenic self.
First tip : Start small. Get that camera phone and start taking pictures from unusual angles.
Sometimes it hurts to see ourselves in a way that doesnt match the vision we see for ourselves and thats okay. It takes work and practice but don't give up..
Now if you didn't like some of the pictures, what emotion do you feel? Shame? embarassed? cringey? I ask because our emotions play heavily into our reflection, and a lot of how you feel can reflect back to you on the photo.
When you're looking straight into the mirror, you gotta feel it. Feel allll of it. And leave no crumbs.
If you're not use to feeling like your 'that girl' then baby you gotta make it that way. I aint never said it would be easy, but I never said it could get difficult. Be a star! DONT BE AFRAID TO SHIT ON EM!!!!
Now when focusing on trying to manifest this desire, who are some super models, ig babes, or people who inspire you to be more photogenic look like? Vision boards are a great way to create a space for your vision to come to light because the focus is on the energy and less on the individual of liking.
When meditating on your desire, affirmations around photoshoots, feeling beautiful, and being a model work to the t. It's even best to program your mind into believing them while doing the thing.
So when your practicing, challenge your mind while focusing on some new poses. Your mind will begin to follow divine instruction through intuitive based thinking and you'll flow deeper into the subject at hand. No need to control every aspect, this is simply watering a plant. We got to plant the seed just to see it through babies.
Play with yourself, baby you gotta have fun! I wan't yall to shake off those insecurities because I promise you the roots of them aren't from your own tree. So weed them out and start all over. You deserve to see yourself in a new, beautiful light. This is your world, we just livin' in it.
It all starts off with the poses, make them worth it! Whenever you feel uncomfortable thats when you keep going because THAT'S what starts this train up until we get ready to go into the finish line. Like I said before, this doesn't come easy if you're not use to allowing yourself to freely pose and feeling good as hell while doing it.
You manifest it by forcing yourself into this new formation. When you look into the camera, you need to feel that you are the supermodel of the moment. Even if it doesn't feel real, even if you have to fight with yourself. The thing is. We are born with a certain ability to manifest the desires of our reality. Everything can be ours, if you just see it through.
Mirror Magic should be one of the main focus for practicing and developing your skill. Because the camera is reflecting back to you what you see. You ever took a picture of yourself and just hated it, but other people did? It starts with how your mind reacts to certain things based of emotion. So when I say try focusing on poses and doing affirmations in the mirror I want you to appreciate your beauty and also understand that your beauty is indescribable and can't be duplicated. I want more of y'all to understand that your thoughts can sometimes play tricks on you... so if you feel like you're not photogenic than your commiting to downplaying yourself and thats the lowest frequency to be on. You get what I mean?
Being confident puts you in a neutral/higher frequency than most, so you always gotta stand ten toes on your magic, your beauty, your essence, and your light. I hope this message can help a babe be her most photogenic self. Have fun, and be yourself! Bye babies.
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true-blue-sonic · 2 months ago
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I imagine whenever Espio and Silver sneak out, they probably entertain in some tavern or go sight-seeing which got some of the crew thinking they are on a date.
I do have a snippet about this I can upload without it containing spoilers ^-^ Tavern scenes are not my forte since I've never gone to one myself, but I think sightseeing would be something they both enjoy! This Silver loves nature too <3 Unfortunately Espio will need some time to learn to appreciate life in the ocean, haha!
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“You’re doing great, Espio,” the hedgehog chirped, floating lavishly on his back in a shallow bay just outside a small town’s harbour. “Just kick your legs, like that!”
Espio’s frown couldn’t possibly have been more sour from where he was clutching a repurposed empty barrel like a life-line; which Silver figured it indeed constituted for in this moment. “This is awful,” the chameleon hissed, helplessly floundering.
“It’s important!! If you ever go overboard, you need to know this.” Swimming closer with a lavish backstroke Silver shot his most disarming smile at the other, who did indeed avert his eyes with a deep sigh and slightly-reddening cheeks. Learning to swim was intensive, the hedgehog knew also, and thus Silver gently directed Espio closer to the shore where they both could at least stand on the sandy underground.
“Thanks,” Espio muttered, clutching the barrel still as Silver flopped around onto his feet. “I appreciate your tenacity, but this is hopeless. Ninja are not made to swim.”
“I mean, I guess swimming stealthily is difficult if you need to get up for air each time,” Silver agreed, relaxing at the small waves hitting his midriff and the white light of the sun flickering over the ocean.
“That, or ‘the ocean’ does not exactly constitute ‘the shadows’.”
Flicking his ears at his friend’s salty tone of voice Silver grinned, drawing a deep breath before pulling his head underwater in full. Espio seemed to greatly dislike the ocean, but luckily there were some things here that could perhaps sway his opinion... Pulling himself along the sandy bottom Silver beamed as something smooth hit his fingertips, the hedgehog pulling it out with one hand and giving Espio’s sides underwater a poke with his other as he resurfaced. “Look, though!” he smiled, a large pink shell in his hands. “You can’t find this in the shadows either, can you?”
“Well, no, but still,” Espio huffed, though he did carefully reach out... to grasp Silver’s hand, twisting it gently to look at the shell from all angles. Shoulders hitching up the hedgehog muffled some weird noise, his stomach right back to all those weird flutters he felt on occasion around the chameleon. “Intricate craftsmanship. Mother Nature truly is gorgeous,” the other eventually spoke, smile on his face.
“Uh- Uh huh.”
“I must say, this whole beach is.”
“Yeah... This is where Blaze taught me to swim too, years back,” Silver agreed, clearing his throat awkwardly to find his voice again.
"Fond memories of a past time."
Rubbing his head Silver mumbled back something he couldn’t discern, eyes studying the sky above. They couldn’t go back to the Fortuna Robotnik too late, lest Captain Robotnik would wake up from his afternoon beauty nap, figure out his two swabbies had snuck out, and unleash his usual ire on them... “Okay!! I have one final task for you, and then you have graduated Silver’s Very Beginner Swimming Class For People Who Hate Water,” he smiled at his friend.
“Oh goodie. What do you have in mind.”
“I want you to go under too and find a shell also. Doesn’t need to be a big one- really, anything is fine.”
“You are trying to kill me,” Espio grumbled... though definitely ninja were stubborn enough to not back down from a challenge, Silver smiled as the chameleon drew a deep breath all the same and pushed his body underwater too. Clumsily, and awkwardly, and one hand wildly flailed as the hedgehog laughed and moved to grasp it...
Spending time like this truly was nice, he mused to himself.
With a hacking cough Espio surfaced again, the chameleon looking positively soaked despite the lack of fur on his body. “Here,” got grumbled, a little brown shell pushed right into Silver’s hand. “The best I can do. I’m done for today.”
“I’m proud of you, Espio,” Silver purred, and if the way the chameleon refused to meet his gaze was any indication he figured he had not heard that very often in his life.
Helping Espio to the shore in full the hedgehog whistled a little tune. His own fur dripped around his body also, heavy and water-laden... “Hey!!” Espio cried out as Silver tucked his arms to his body and shook it all out, cackling manically at the look of pure affronted disdain sent his way. “Now I’m all wet!”
“You already were,” Silver smirked back, turning tail and running over the sandy undergrowth as Espio cut to the chase.
“Don’t you dare torment the ninja like that!”
“Ninja can’t catch me~”
“We’ll see about that!”
Indeed neither hedgehog nor chameleon catching each other after all the two stumbled to a halt at the edge of the little harbour town, Silver pressing a finger against his lips to make Espio quiet down. “Don’t let them see you.”
“Roger,” the mumbled response came, both teens tiptoeing around the busy centres and the people. Acting as normal as possible as they approached the Fortuna Robotnik Silver swallowed, gesturing for Espio to climb onboard the plank first before following. Hopefully they had made it in time...
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