#I did this like. faster than usual and different style etc etc so I feel like it looks a little odd

[sunnfish]

[ID: A digital illustration of Hirano Taiga and Kagiura Akira from Hirano to Kagiura, using a predominantly yellow and purple color palette. It depicts them sitting shoulder to shoulder at a table, with notes and papers spread around them, both holding pencils. Hirano is leaning over close to Kagiura to look at Kagiura’s paper, while Kagiura is looking at Hirano and slightly blushing. They otherwise have neutral expressions. /End ID]

Kagihira week day 1: studying

Also gonna be crossposting to Twitter (@/sunnnfish) I guess since the main event is there but my tumblr friends get this early. As a treat <3 also my brain is vibrating a mile a minute due the all the content I feel so ALIVE

[factual-fantasy]

26 ASKSKSS💖✨💖✨💖

@lathan-chillyfilm

The other Power-ups work differently to the Fire/Ice flowers..

Any power-ups that transform the bros bodies usually expend energy by just keeping them transformed. And even if the bros don't actively use that power, it'll eventually just drain itself away.

For example, the super shroom. Making Mario grow big and keeping him big consumes power. If he ate a super shroom and just stood there, eventually he would shrink back to normal. Running around. jumping, punching, that activity would make it drain faster though.

Same goes for the Super bell, mini mushroom, mega mushroom, super leaf, double cherry,,, etc. Just keeping the bros transformed consumes power. The fire/ice flowers don't transform the bros though. Mario and Luigi's bodies stay the same, they just become outlets to expel the flowers power. And if they don't use it.. well.. its gonna stay stored up in their bodies. And eventually freeze/burn them to death..

The only odd case when it comes to Power-ups is the 1-Up mushroom. It stores itself in the host's body, and doesn't effect the host or release its power unless it needs too. Mario could touch a 1-Up, and then 15 years later he dies and that's when the 1-Up will release its power. All though those 15 years Mario would have had 0 side effects from having it in his body. Its as if it didn't exist at all..

Its always possible I'll return to them! :00 As we've seen XDD

Hmm,, I haven't really thought too much about them other than the stuff I already talked about in the OG post..

But I was thinking that the imp species could have all these wacky and bizarre shapes at the end of their tails that dont really make sense..? Jevil's tail being this odd T/Y shape is actually rather bland/common. But other than that,, I cant really think of any other developments to their species <:/ Sorry! Thank you for taking interest though! :DD

@mason-gaylord

:DD thank you! I wish the same for you! :]]]

Oh man.. scary is what it looks like.

I can see them all just living on the octopod. Traveling around the ocean in hopes of finding livable waters. All grieving over the loss of their families.. I cant imagine the pain they'd suffer, the hardships they'd face.. and what they'd have to do to survive..

@kaiserdarken

Freddy is his best fweind <:'}

@the-cactus-taco

I have not played it actually.. is it any good? :0 Those Mallow and Geno characters sound neat! :)

(Also there was an OG one??)

Oof, my Gravity Falls era? What an unfortunate time to find me-

None the less I'm happy you stuck around! :DD It means the world to me, thank you so much!! 💖💖

XD I REALLY AM EVERYWHERE-

@rubydraft

WAAAAHHDGGB THANK YOU MUCHCH!!!!! 💖💖😭✨💖😭💖💖

Thank you so much! I'm flattered to hear it! :DD

Grillby did.. :(

@tallchest13-blog

DUUUUDE I HAVE A BIG SWORD TOO!! WE COULD BE BIG SWORD BUDDIES!! >>:0000✨⚔✨

:DD Well thank YOU for leaving me a kind comment! Very much appreciated! :}} 💖

If any of the three Octodads were to experience a hallucination, it would probably be either Natquik or Calico Jack. But since I'm going through a re-write of Natquik's backstory and I don't actually know how traumatizing his re-write will be... I'm gonna say that Calico Jack is most likely to have one.

Although I'm not sure what would cause it.. mayyybe an encounter with a creature in the everglades could remind him of a traumatizing experience he had..? And that panic could result in hallucinations? I actually know very little about how hallucinations work so its hard to say what would exactly trigger one to occur.. <:(

I have plans for them to encounter a lot of Kwazii's monsters in someway. :0

Wow, only my second? Man. I feel like I've done more style updates/redesigns than that. <XD I guess its only two-

(Also I'm glad you like them! :DD Thank you! )

@tanileaf

XD I'm glad you like them and the Queen! Thank you so much! :}}

@pinkbomb08

Well thank YOU for sticking around and sending me a nice message! Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you as well! :}}}

@kautar-21

MERRY LATE CHRISTMAS! :DDD Thank you so much! :}}

Also sorry, I don't take requests! But you just reminded me that I should probably go buy that book-

@flutehammer

Oooo that's interesting :0 I imagine that Barnacles would look like one of the Freddy's. As for the others I'm not sure! :o I know there was a FNAF fan game that had a cat and penguin animatronic though. Five nights at candy's was it.?

(Also thank you! Same to you! :D )

I don't know if its necessarily pain..? More like.. a panic attack maybe?

When they're separated, their systems are flooded with commands to seek out the other. And if they cant find th.em or reach them? Well.. those commands will get overwhelming.

But that doesn't mean that you cant do maintenance on them. My idea was that there's a simple procedure where you take both of them to parts and service, put one aside and put one on the work bench.. and then shut them both down at the same time. Then when the work is done, reactivate both of them and return them to their room. Easy!

As for why they designed them like this? The main idea I had was that having this A.I. meant that they would naturally follow each other around in a way that seemed natural. Fazbear entertainment really wanted their animatronics to seem life like, but they also don't want Fred and Spring to ever separate. They want them to always be in the same room for photo shoots and meet and greets.

This A.I. means that if Spring is talking to a guest and a kid tried to lead Fred by the hand to another room.. Fred would stop at the doorway and redirect himself and the kid back into the room. "Lets play here instead!" "My friends Spring Bonnie is here, lets play here instead!" Meanwhile Springs conversation remains uninterrupted. This in turn makes them seem more life like and also prevents them from seperating.

Its not very strong reasoning but its all I've got to be honest <XDD

Also as for Spring loosing Fred..? It would be impossible for him to function without Fred. If they scrapped one, they'd have to scrap the other..

Oh! No no, not Horrortale Papyrus. This Papyrus is one I made myself! :00

Do you mean help wanted 2? :0 If so I'm not sure yet.. I'm watching Markiplier's playthrough and he hasn't finished the game yet..

Also Sun is still the same old Sun as far as I've seen.. He's not my favorite animatronic personality wise.. <XD But I guess he's alright

@hexyz09

XD tbh with how insane the FNAF lore is getting now? I wouldn't be fazed if they came out with a storyline about falling into a different world through a closet-

@beryl-shade

I've made a couple doodles/drawings of Caine and he doesn't have the wind up hat thing.. But now that you mention it, that kind'a sound like this gals version of Caine :00

[single-malt-scotch]

Bdubs' typing style

saw a post that i felt did Not describe bdubs' typing habits correctly at all so i needed to make a post about it.

OLD typing style (like 2011 early years) bdubs kinda sucked at typing and grammar lol. He was a slow typer and spelled stuff wrong a lot (mostly big words. he would often voice how he didnt know how to spell sometimes as he did it. and then he'd spell it wrong lol). would type abbreviations too like bbl, brb, lol, np, etc. Sometimes he would type ones like "lol" in all caps. He would also shorten some words/spell them an alternate way like "gunna" instead of "gonna" or "lil" instead of "little"

He didn't really use emotes too much other than a basic :) or ;) usually. you could maybe throw in a :P or :D if you wanted but i mostly see the former.

He would not use other punctuation like apostrophes much if at all, sometimes use commas where needed, and not capitalize his sentences. would use periods if typing more than one sentence in the same message, and using question marks where needed, and sometimes exclamation marks if he felt the need (sometimes more than one if hes "mad"). he'd even use "..." in his sentences (usually without a space between words).

examples from mindcrack

NEW typing style- Bdubs is technically better at typing (lol). One of the issues with new videos though in order to find chat messages is that people often cut out any kind of chatting in edited videos. But i will describe what i can based off what we do see- (its not much different tbh)

A bit faster of a typer now but if you watch him actually type in videos/streams, you'll see him get stuck sometimes as he tries to figure out his sentences. but he does spell things correctly now for the most part.

Interestingly I would sometimes see in old videos where id see him typing some sentences in a more ~proper~ manner. ex one being "i look forward to seeing such things as these" at guude when he said he was recording something. In hermitcraft charity stream last year he whispered to etho "of course! with our prefect prowess" (screenshot below). which is not at all his *usual* way of typing, its more exaggerated on purpose.

this is funny to me that i have noted it so long ago, and then we have a guy who seems very into settings that would lend that kind of speech (all his bwb kingdoms, the king arc with ren where its VERY apparently used). that said he doesnt do this much- dont go overboard on this one! i feel its mainly when bragging about himself, or a few times where he thinks it would be amusing- he can be pretty sarcastic sometimes (outside of the king arc roleplaying)

He still doesn't use emotes much (i cant think of many new videos where he does, but i dont have as much reference in these new videos. i would play it safe and stick to the simple ones mentioned above. While he still doesn't punctuate his sentences as much and still doesn't capitalize, I feel like he types a bit more how he talks? using exclamations more to finish his sentences, sometimes a "?!", maybe more than one exclamation even- and usually when sounding "mad" in chat he will use all caps. sometimes a multiple !! or ??

from hermitcraft streams

sooo i hope that gives a good idea.

[potol0ver]

MC with DID

DID; Dissociative Identity Disorder, a disorder characterized by the presence of two or more personalities, usually formed as a result from trauma to avoid harmful memories.

A/N; I have DID and my brain keeps wanting to write headcannons about the bros and everyone else with an MC with DID- so this is what this post is! It’s extremely self indulgent but I’ll try my best to involve as much of the differences of personal accounts with DID as possible.

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

They’d all feel surprised by a condition like that. It would be a thing that’s more frequent in humans and very rare in angels and demons, they’d probably even show differently to, so needless to say they’re all intrigued in their own way.

All of them will probably ask about your alters, how many there are, how frequent (if at all) you switch alters, what personalities each alter has, etc.

Lucifer and Satan would definitely see the similarities of DID with the birth of Satan. Which leads to both of them shivering with the thought of being stuck in the same body as each other.

But for that reason they’d both feel like they have a deeper connection with you, even if it’s not the same, it’s similar enough to bond over it.

Levi and Satan would definitely find characters in their respective fiction stories that look/act like your alters.

Asmo would give your alters different wardrobes, makeup looks, and nail arts. He hast to make sure you all know he loves each and every one of you equally!

Beel would test you and see which alter likes different foods, he even makes it a game to see which alter is fronting just by what you eat.

Belphie would be the chillist, it’s not like he doesn’t care about you, he just takes it as “oh cool, that’s something I didn’t know, whatev’” although he would secretly pick up on the voice changes between your alters, even if they’re subtle. He’d even figure out which alters they belong to and call you by that alter name, just to tease you a little bit.

Mammon would brush it off as no big deal, which it truly isn’t to him, but he’ll make it his life goal to know which alter is fronting when ever he’s near you. Like it’s his right of passage as your “first”, it’s honestly just a sweet gesture. He will get mad that Belphie picked up in the voices faster than he did tho-

Satan it’d probably be a thing he didn’t realize could happen and now he’s deep diving in book and over all knowledge about DID, he hast to know! It’s intrigues him so much, besides his human has it, that’s enough reasoning for him. I can see him getting slightly worried about what MC went through to have this, but overall impressed by how resilient the human brain is.

Barbatos, Diavolo, and Simeon would think the same. They’d all secretly praise you and maybe even look up to you about how strong you are. (All if them would but these three especially.)

Luke, he’d want to draw all of your alters, no matter what they look like, and if it’s take awhile because of how many there might be. In the end you’ll have the drawings pinned on your wall collage style.

Solomon probably heard about it at one point or another, but never really looked into it. He’d become like a walking question air. He means it respectfully of course, he also wonders if it’ll have affect on your magic. Well now he knows what your next lesson will be.

All of them would help you remember stuff, I know for me I forgot small every day stuff, like the last time I showered, or if I had eaten. So they’d all remind you, maybe even have you write down when you’d last eaten and stuff on a note pad you carry around to help you. (If you’re ok with that idea of course. Knowing me I’d lose it 24/7)

If you have little alters, they’d love them to. Lucifer, Barbatos, and Simeon’s more paternal sides come out with them and definitely become a sort of parental figure towards them. Mammon would be the protective older brother towards them, Beel and Belphie would be the chill siblings to them, always down to cuddle and happily snack with them. Satan would read them books, Asmo would dress them up, and Levi would find games they both can play.

If you switch rapidly/out of no where, they’d all at first a little startled at how out of no where it could be, but it quickly falls into the normal. If you’d forget stuff between the switches, they’ll rewind a little and continue the convo like nothing happened.

Let’s be honest, there’s such a wide range of people here that your alters would come out more with certain people. So they’d all at one point realize this when you’re talking rather profoundly with Mammon and Levi, then on a dime acting similarly to Barb when he, Dia, and Lucifer come around. They’d all try to figure out which alter hangs around them more.

[onionpainter]

I have a question about your prep for oil painting, or more like when ur practicing. Do you use a specially treated paper to practice with oils (studies, quick thumbnail sketches, etc) before using canvas or do you just sketch ideas, layout on canvas and then under paint? I enjoy the medium a lot but I actually want to sketch and do studies in oil (without much drawing involved) but don’t want to waste canvas. Also hate painting gesso over stuff repeatedly. Is paper something you have tried? Any advise would be appreciated o wise onion painter

Ok, so as for my personal habits, I tend to do "Practices" digitally [I have a tablet and SAI] or sometimes on paper like so: [garlic is pencil on paper, rest are digital]. I do draw thumbnails but they are usually in marker or pencil in my sketchbook, and are little more than like, very stylized symbols representing subjects or different compositional patterns. Most of my painting planning and composition happens via digital photo collages.

The rest of my very long answer is under the readmore

I'll do colour studies occasionally if I'm feeling particularly anxious about a picture, OR if it has a colour range that I am yet unfamiliar with. I have done a couple colour studies for my current big picture with the cattle, one I did on location so I could have an example of the colours present in the landscape to my eye, and another of a seascape because this cattle picture will be my first significant effort to include the blue colour range into my vocabulary, and also to spend some hours painting clouds to get a feel for them. [for context, when I began with my current method of painting I began only painting white objects against back fabric with a value range from chromatic black to titanium white and then added in new colour ranges one by one once I was fluent in all of the preceding colour ranges] When it comes to your practice [and I mean "Practice" as in everything you paint overall] I think you might find canvas panels very helpful, as they take up very little space BUT they are still rigid and therefore don't need to be taped to a board or anything. They also come in a really wide variety of sizes and are very affordable. If you enjoy using canvas paper then you should continue what you are doing, but try different kinds of surfaces. Some people prefer to do oil paintings on sheets of copper. There will be a material that suits your style and your personality, you just have to find out what it is. I like belgian linen, but others may prefer gesso'd particle board.

You have several points going on in your question, so I will address them individually:

Not wanting to "Waste Canvas" Canvas is not a precious commodity. It is a raw material which can be used in the process of painting, therefore, its value lies in the work hours and expertise of the craftsperson who uses it. One of the most common uses of canvas is in art training. So you are not "wasting canvas" by using it for the purpose of learning the skills necessary for painting: that is a perfectly acceptable use for canvas, and all other materials. I'm not "wasting" a pair of hiking boots by walking at the bottom of a mountain, I'm using them, and if I don't use the boots at the bottom of the mountain I will never get to use them at the top.

Putting Gesso over oil paintings Don't do this. Gesso is a water based paint so it dries much faster than the oil beneath it. If you want to paint over a painting you can either paint over it with a neutral oil colour, OR, just do the new painting over it without the middle stage. Some things to watch out for if you reuse canvas this way: Ridge lines [bits of textured paint from the previous painting sticking up through your new painting might take away from it], oil layers [remember the fat over lean rule when choosing a canvas to paint over. if you have high concentrations of oil, aka fat, on the canvas already, it might be better to choose a different canvas], dryness [try to only paint over pictures that have had a good amount of time to dry.] Basically all of these warnings are to prevent cracking and other conservator problems with your paintings. A good painting can happen to your canvas at any time and it would be a shame to paint something you really like and have it crack later from poor application.

"Without much drawing involved" Painting is "mass drawing" [shapes not lines] with colour, so you can't really avoid drawing if you want to paint. This doesn't mean you have to use pencil or other dry mediums if you don't want to though, painting a value study [mass drawing] with oil is a very popular technique which many employ. I'd recommend that you look into "imprimatura" and "grisaille", two methods of value painting used for oil.

In conclusion, I don't want to get all "just be yourself" in here, but i'd recommend you research the different techniques and materials available to you and pick the one that has the fewest barriers to your work flow, feels the best to work with, and creates the final product that you want to create. If you were me I would tell you to work on belgian linen stretched canvases and occasional cotton canvas panels, but you may prefer something different so that advice may not be helpful. Keep at it!

[joeys-piano]

Writerly Questionnaire

... aka the first bit of writing I've done this week, other than work reports and audit workpapers and burning the midnight oil over with nothing but a red Teams icon. Thank you for tagging me @agirlandherquill! You've no idea what a bright spot this has been for my week.

About Me:

When did you first start writing?

I started officially posting my work December 2011. It was a Vocaloid fic inspired by one of the popular songs at the time.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

I don't write much angst anymore because of health reasons. I also don't write much fluff anymore for the same reasons. But it's perfectly fine for me to read it, though 🥰 My writing preferences are heavy introspection, slice of life, and flavors of horror.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you're often compared?

I don't think I have one. Nor do people compare me to other writers. I've been told my writing requires you to be in a certain mood to read it, so there's that.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

90% of the time I write while cuddled in bed, fuzzy under my favorite blanket, and a soft plush just staring at me as I write on my phone. Yes, I'm one of those writers.

Once upon a time, I used to be the writer who wrote on my laptop and at a desk. But life is too short for back, shoulder, and arm pain. So I write in bed, usually while lying down, and chip away at the work on my phone. I'm a faster writer on my laptop, but it's much easier for me to be creative when I'm not on a laptop. And really, at the end of the day after work, after sitting in front of a laptop all day, writing on my phone felt obvious.

What's your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Thinking to myself what kind of story I want to read but haven't found a writer who's written it.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Geographically, no. Emotionally, yes.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

I think the most recurring themes are "it's good you found people you can be yourself around" and "it's okay if you're just you". These don't surprise me at all.

The more I write about it, the more I feel comfortable being myself, too.

My Writing

What's your reason for writing?

If I hadn't followed the path of the writer, I would've been a video editor and would make music video-style edits for things I enjoy. But alas, I picked one or the other because both take a lot of time.

I write because there was this one point in 2014 where I wanted to quit as a writer because I didn't feel like I could write the things I envisioned and wasn't skilled enough to pull the things I wanted to do. In the nearly ten years since then, I've written a lot of stuff 2014 me didn't know I was capable of because the only way I really get better at anything is when I try. I try, and I "fail". But I gave effort, and that means something. Every little thing counts. I think I write at this point, in spite of how hard it is, is because I want to tell 2014 me what I wouldn't have experienced in my journey if I had stopped.

I've met my dearest friends through writing. I've gotten more comfortable with who I am because of writing. I have a career because of writing and get to give back to the creatives I admire and whom I want to see thrive in their art. I wouldn't be who I am today had I quit in 2014.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

Comments where people tell me they've reread a work again.

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who "gets" the human condition; as a talented world builder, as a role model, etc)

"Joey makes you laugh and cry, and sometimes both at the same time."

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Rhythm and vibes.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

Others have told me it's my characterizations. It's how I capture a distinct voice through the narrative.

But on an aesthetic note, that my writing is pretty.

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question)

It's a foggy mirror after a hot shower and I'm drawing a smiley face to unearth my reflection.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

Yeah.

It gives me something to talk to.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? if it's a mix of the two, which holds most influence?

It's a seesaw of both. Ultimately, it's my time I'm spending on a project. I might as well write something I enjoy.

---

Tagging nobody but @voxofthevoid.

[luckyshotwrites]

9, 10, 12 Drake... And Xander?

For the game, eh?

9. When they're sick what do they do to feel better?

Drake - In my story, vampires and vampire beasts alike don't get sick in the traditional sense. It hasn't been talked about yet, but besides their systems being very different than humans even though they share similar characteristics, they can't get sick. They do get weaker when they are closer to their "first rise" period , and in prolonged sunlight exposure, it won't make them sickly, but it can and will make them much more desperate for blood/feeling drained. So, in that case, Drake would try to get to a shadier, quieter, more desolate area if possible. (If sunlight exposure can't be avoided they wear baggier clothes and cover up as much as they can. A reason why Drake usually wears hoodies and the fact that he finds them comfortable).

Alexander - Even though Wendigos stem from vampire beasts, Alexander is different due to his Magus half. He can and does get sick, not as often as it was when he was younger. He recovers a lot faster than most people too. But, when he's sick, like most people he goes to his doctor. Reason being, Wendigo's or specifically Alexander, lose their cravings/motivation to hunt. So, he's at risk of starvation if his sickness lasts to long or of breaking into his monster form, then attack people without thinking.

10. Do they have any regrets?

YES. (Those'll be dived into more in the main story, but spoiler free/goofy ones).

Drake - He regrets losing Alexander's favorite game Yakuzi 0 and still not telling him that he lost it. Instead, anytime it's brought up, Drake says he's still working on it.

Alexander - He regrets leaving Sasha, (his cat) alone for nearly a whole day without food and water. (It was something that'll come up in the chapter i release today.).

12. Do they have any sense of style? Regardless of the answer do they believe they have a sense of style?

Drake - His style consists of hoodies, jeans, and tennis shoes. They work fine together because he only wears either black or grays. If he's going to special events though, he'll clean up. His mom and dad were very strict on his siblings and himself looking presentable for anything that would be considered a formal event. He doesn't like his hair being pulled back though. He feels vulnerable when his face is in full view of everyone.

Alexander - He knows what colors go together, but he doesn't really dress up unless pushed to, like when Wenna (drakes sister) did during his dates with Mara. He generally wears a lot of comfortable, athletic wear like tank tops, sweat pants, etc. Almost like he expects to get into a fight or have to run. (Unlike Drake's parent's, his mom and dad were very laxed with what they wore, especially his mom, she'd wear t-shirts and sweatpants a lot). It only bothered him with Lynette in the later chapters, I don't think you've got there yet, because she looked super ridiculous. xD

THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTIONS! Sorry I couldn't answer the regret one well enough. Little sprinkles of it are coming soon so I want to hold off for the chapter release.

HAVE A BOMBA DAY, BUCKAROO!!

[alecbicheno]

Forefront post: Prop modelling and texturing breakdown

18/08/2024

This prop was made by Georg Shao, a Junior Prop Artist at PUBG Studio. He wanted to work on his wood sculpting and texturing, and to make something old, so he decided on this old coffee bean grinder.

He started as standard, by gathering references, though he did something I haven’t really tried, which was to write a quick note on what was good about the reference, then organise each one using this method. He also had a useful tip on where to search for references. “One tip about gathering references is to search for pictures at online markets such as eBay or Etsy. Since people sell second-hand products, they tend to take close-up photos of them. This way, you can have great references of the surface details and study what the wear and tear of this particular object looks like.” (Levine & Shao, 2024) He also made a mention of using the search by image function on Google or Bing to find similar references.

For the modelling he used Maya, and began by looking for the actual dimensions online, then modelled the block out it in the same way it would be assembled in real life with the interlocking joins on the corners etc. He had trouble with the creating the metal handle on the top without having too many subdivisions and linked a tutorial which helped him to get the curviness but keep it low poly.

For the high poly it was simply subdivision, then export to ZBrush for damage and details, except for the round metal disc. “Only the high poly of the big round shapes was made using the DynaMesh Workflow in ZBrush. It is faster this way than making them SubD ready.” (Levine & Shao, 2024)

He talks about his process in ZBrush, going over what brushes he uses and why, then what he uses them for and also his reasoning for the differing levels of detail across the model. He also links another helpful tutorial on sculpting wood in ZBrush.

“In comparison to the top part, the rest of the wood pieces don’t have that many damaged areas.” (Levine & Shao, 2024)

He goes over how he made the metal part on top, talking about creating the letters and patterns on it, then how he finishes by sharpening some details.

I’m not very familiar with ZBrush but I found this quite insightful on how to achieve a wood texture and learning methods of detailing or lettering on an object, especially with the videos linked in the article and the recommended tutorials.

Next, it was the low poly. “I decimated the top wood part in ZBrush to create my low poly because I wanted to maintain its irregular shape. As for the rest of the model, I deleted the supporting edges of the high poly and optimized them.” (Levine & Shao, 2024)

For the UV unwrapping, he had a helpful bit of advice to free up space in the UV map, where if a part is less visible you can scale down the UVs up to 20%.

He talked about his baking process using Marmoset Toolbag, which I personally haven’t seen anyone do so it was interesting to read.  “For preparation, I shifted the movable parts for baking. If I kept the drawer inside the wood part, its AO would have been mostly black.” (Levine & Shao, 2024)

Afterwards he talked about his texturing process, where he usually has two steps, making a base material and adding details. After picking a wood to use as a base he “added color, height, and roughness variations using Fill Layers with different kinds of Directional Grunge Maps as masks.” (Levine & Shao, 2024)

He mentions details like how the fact wood had a bumpy surface usually, meaning there’s going to be less paint in a cavity but more on a bumpy part. So, to account for this, he makes an anchor point for the base wood folder for the varnish effect. The anchor point “is a single Fill Layer with the Color blending mode being set to overlay, low roughness value, and a little bit of height because the paint is going to have some thickness on top of the wood.” (Levine & Shao, 2024)

From here he created a mask which would deal with the damaged part and how they would be missing paint, and also set up a way using the base wood folder from, earlier to manually add or take away the varnish. He then began to paint on damage by copying the base wood folder again and using a black mask. After this it was simply a lot of observing the references and bringing those details into the textures. To do the metal on top, it was the same process of a base material then adding details, but the most important part was to add dust to give the vintage look. He also recommended another tutorial, this time on ArtStation which covers texturing.

His texturing process makes sense and I will definitely aim to be able to achieve this level of detail when texturing in future. Though in all honesty it was very complex and I don’t understand all of it due to my limited knowledge of Substance Painter. So, I’m going to start by looking at the recommended tutorials linked in the article, and go from there to gain a better understanding.

For his rendering setup, he sets up a diorama and a simple scene with neutral lighting. He used Pinterest to get inspiration for the diorama then worked in Unreal Engine 5, using the references as inspiration and Quixel Megascan models to set up said diorama. There were a few bits of advice for setting up a scene like this, such as ensuring the supporting assets don’t take away the focus, and setting up the camera angle first “so you can assemble the scene based only on what can be seen instead of working on unnoticeable details.” (Levine & Shao, 2024)

The lighting was simple, making use of the directional light, skylight, volumetric cloud, and sky atmosphere, all with the light mixer, which I haven’t actually used yet in Unreal Engine, so the next rendering I do in it I’ll be sure to use it. For the simple scene it was just a directional light and using a HDRI in skylight. He also adds shadows from things like plants to get a more interesting composition.

He went over a workflow involving go from Unreal to Davinci Resolve. I have never heard of this software before, but after a quick look I may give the free version a go.

Keeping the theme of this article going, he finishes off this article offering advice and reassurance, especially to newer artists. He explains how he’s spent over a year working on this model, encouraging you to not feel bad if a project takes a while to complete. He also says to not get lost in working on the details, as long as the details are logical, they’re fine and don’t need to be exactly like any references. Just remember the bigger picture.

He also says that “the most appealing props are the simplest but well-executed ones” (Levine & Shao, 2024) So basically presentation is key to ensuring your model is well received. Having a good-looking prop but with poor presentation won’t make it appealing, so try to make a scene perhaps with some other assets in the background and play with the depth of field, or anything which helps to make your model feel real.

“A single wood chair that has a nice balance of wear and tear and a good presentation can be a very nice portfolio piece.” (Levine & Shao, 2024)

To conclude, this article showcases his wonderful prop but also does a great job at explaining the process, despite me not understanding some of what he did. It was basically a very comprehensive guide to making a prop, with constant advice to the reader and linking useful resources for learning.

Throughout it I learned of all kinds of new things whether it be something in Unreal Engine, Substance Painter, or ZBrush, or even making me aware of a new software entirely such as DaVinci Resolve. But most of all it inspires me, as this is the level of prop making which I aspire to be at.

References

Levine, G. & Shao, G., 2024. Texturing a Vintage Coffee Bean Grinder in Substance 3D Painter. [Online] Available at: https://80.lv/articles/texturing-a-vintage-coffee-bean-grinder-in-substance-3d-painter/ [Accessed 18 August 2024].

[weregreatatcrime]

AYO CAN I GET UHHHH number 9, 22, 24, 29, 30 and can i get some fries with that?

Ask meme here!

9: How much time do you spend drawing on an average day?

Very hard to say just because when I'm hyperfocused on art I might spend two hours a day or so and fill up like ten pages a day, but then go like two weeks without touching my sketchbook lol. Currently not in a drawing mood so iiiiii haven't actually touched it in a sec. Last thing I drew were maps for dnd

22: Are you confident that you’re improving steadily?

Absolutely. To a degree. I'm positive that I've always been improving in my art, except for my health crisis in 2021(? Ish) when I spent two years without picking up the pencil. Both for mental health reasons and because I literally couldn't hold one lmfao.

Getting back into art after that was hard. Having to train myself to hold a pencil was rough and my skill definitely suffered. I don't think I've gotten back up to where I was in skill before that time. Sometimes it's really, really frustrating. But also I've found that I've gone a bit of a different style since then as well, which I think is really cool and interesting. Some things I'm picking back up faster than others. Fuck, sometimes I SHADE my art now. I never used to do that lmao

24: Do you feel jealous when you see other people’s art, or inspired? (Be honest!)

Nope! My personal journey with art has taught me a lot about the technical skills that go into art. My personal problems being unable to draw for so long taught me how to sit back and stop thinking about what I can't do, but to admire what others Can. I don't get jealous of other people's art- I'm just in awe of it. It's amazing what different people can create with different skill and ability sets and I think there's something real fucking magical about that. Sometimes I use other people's art as inspiration, seeing little techniques I wanna try out, but overall... idk. Leaving art for the reasons I did gave me a much bigger appreciation for everything about it and I just can't find it in myself to compare art because everything is unique and amazing

29: For traditional artists: How do you usually start on a big piece? (Light sketch, colored lead, sketchpaper, etc)

I use a really cool red toned oil pencil from Faber Castel for my under sketches! Then I follow it up with just normal pencil lines. If I'm feeling spicy, I'll lightly shade or add deeper values with the red. I'm a simple lad. My art is almost entirely sketches and anatomy work because that's what I love to do

30: What inspires you to not just make art, but to be a better artist?

*points up to 24* All of that. My personal experiences have given me a pretty solid love of all artwork and it all inspires me.

Most of all? Collaborative work of any sort. Fandoms are considered collaborative work. Drawing things for my own writing. Drawing things for a friend's writing. Drawing OCs interacting. Shipping friends' OCs, with each other or Canon ships! Making stupid funny shitposts that haunt the collective mindscape for years to come. (I don't think the Trollhunters Fandom will ever forgive me for Thiccmar) Writing something that inspires someone to draw. Drawing something that inspires someone to write. Art trades. Are collabs. Countless role-playing. My friends who commission me to draw or write them the craziest shit that I have an absolute ball with. Just stuff that makes other people see it and go "I can play with these toys too!"

Collaborative work fuels my fucking soul and I love love love getting to do things with other people, when I have the capability of doing so

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

220 of 2023

Do you have a sensitive gag reflex?

No, I don’t. It takes much to make feel like throwing up.

Where are you the most ticklish?

I used to be ticklish everywhere, but now it’s mostly on the right side of my body.

Can you manage to tickle yourself?

It doesn’t work like that.

What was the last situation to upset you?

Someone worrying too much and exaggerating.

Have you ever had an online argument?

More than once, but now that I’m in my 30s, I don’t engage in it. Don’t feed the trolls, they say.

Do you like to listen to music while filling out surveys?

Sometimes. Often it’s the TV in the background.

Do you ever eat/drink while you fill them out?

Sometimes.

Have you ever done a survey whilst high or drunk? How’d it go?

No. Maybe drunk in the past, but not now.

Are you at risk for any medical issues?

Well, I do have the diagnosis of epilepsy, so your guess.

The general subject of your last text conversation?

My younger cat being a comedian.

Would you rather talk about heartbreak, or history?

History. While I suck at dates, I know some events. Talking about feelings is difficult for me, though.

Is there anything near you that’s considered dangerous?

I don’t know, kitchen knives?

What is just down the hall from where you’re located?

Down the hall??

Do you ever do surveys at other peoples’ houses?

No. I need my laptop for that and I don’t take it anywhere.

Do any of your friends know you fill out surveys?

No, they don’t even know.

What is your least favorite question to answer?

Anything about movies. And about shirts, because I usually don’t even wear them. And all the boring/repetitive questions.

Do you like the controversial/​political surveys?

I don’t mind them, but they’re not my favourite.

Do you tend to answer with only a phrase or word, or do you elaborate?

I elaborate when I have something to say.

Who/What did you last spend time worrying about?

My husband getting depressed over his job. Thankfulmly he has changed it to something he likes better.

Has anyone ever told you that you needed to get a life? Did you?

Yeah, but I already had more life than he did.

How long do you spend on the phone each day, on average?

An hour? Too much already.

What was the last thing you prepared in the oven?

Mini pizzas, I think.

How about in the microwave? Are you more likely to use this?

Pancakes and yes, I’m more likely to use the microwave because it’s faster.

Is anything in your hair right now, like gel, hairspray, &etc?

No, I washed it.

How do you typically style your hair? Does it take long?

I just put some gel on it. And it takes less than one minute.

Name something unusual located near to you?

Does my cat count?

Would you try to be a hero in a hostage situation?

Nobody can predict it.

When were you last offered something illegal?

Long time ago, but it wasn’t fully illegal.

Did you accept or decline that offer?

No.

When was the last time you were up before the sun?

Today. I get up at 8am for medication and in winter here, the sun rises around 9am.

What are you most confident about? Most insecure about?

Most confident about my job, most insecure about my body.  And maybe personality.

When are you most likely to say something you don’t mean?

When I’m sleepy.

When was the last time that you saw fire?

I don’t remember.

Do you like wearing sunglasses? Why or why not?

No, I just don’t like how they look. But my eyes are sensitive to the light, so.

What do you think in general of girls with short hair?

To each their own.

How about guys with long hair?

To each their own, but some long-haired guys are attractive.

Where’s the best place to get your favorite dish?

The city of Ghent.

When are you most likely to fill out a survey?

At the evening.

What’s the last thing you put in your mouth?

Medication.

Last person you rode in a car with under the age of 20?

My husband’s son, he’s almost 17.

Last time you walked further than a block?

Every single day. I’m in a different city every day and I walk a lot.

Can you play guitar hero?

No and I’m not interested.

Name the last person that made you laugh?

My husband.

What brand of digital camera do you own?

Canon, but I also use my phone as it has an awesome camera.

If you could move somewhere else, would you?

Not necessarily, but I’d love to have the house here and in my hometown.

Have you ever seen somebody get shot?

No. It’s a rarity in Europe.

Where are you at right now?

On the couch in our living room.

[randynova]

𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐮 𝐎𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐢 𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ♡ 𝐆𝐍! 𝐒/𝐎

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A.N.: I hope you enjoy these and this is what I feel would apply to Shirou. At the moment, I am not taking requests but when I do, I will announce it! 

Also thank you, dear people, for liking my last NSFW headcanons! It really motivated to write this and made me feel better about my writing. I’m still gonna be inactive due to school but hey! My health is much better and I’m focusing on school at the moment.

Enjoy!

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Shiro is a 1,000 year old virgin and has no experience, but he knows a basic amount of knowledge about the world of sex and its wonders. Sort of.

But it’s only because he was so focused on the peace and happiness of his fellow beastmen that he neglected this aspect of himself. Plus, it never really came up and if it did, he got distracted with something else. 

So imagine when he meets his S/O, who may or may not be experienced or know more about sex than him. If you do have experience, cool! You can show and lead him steadily into the unknown. If you don’t, that’s okay! This will be a learning experience for both of you and you’ll both be at roughly the same pace.

Shirou is mainly vanilla for a majority of the time, being interested mainly in love-making at first rather than just ‘fucking’. It takes time for him to move into having sex for other reasons; such as stress-relieving, for fun, to experiment, etc. Be patient.

At first, Shirou’s natural instincts do kick in and he’ll automatically resort to the traditional doggy-style position. But don’t worry, he does start going into other positions as more time passes.

His favorites are missionary, modified doggy-style/leapfrog, cowgirl/cowboy, and the chairman. 

As time goes on, it’s discovered that Shirou is a bottom; please don’t argue with me on this. He’s between a power bottom and pillow prince. A perfect mix of wanting to show his S/O some pleasure and teasing them but also just sitting back and letting his S/O take the lead.

On the rare times that he tops, he has two preferences. Most times, he is still gentle but shows a possessive side and gets a bit rough. So prepare to be more sore than usual. I'll go more into detail in a bit. Very rarely does he get rough.

Shirou isn’t that kinky, I’m saying it now. As much as I love other fandoms, I just can’t see Shirou Ogami as being extremely kinky. He’ll have a few kinks that seem a bit extreme (no, not BDSM)  but that is once he gets really comfortable with his S/O.

But keep in mind, people change and I might write him indulging in certain kinks if you guys want me to. Like, I’m pretty open-minded but for certain things.

There is a safe word and all sexual activity must stop once it’s used. Shirou decided it to be “Beast Peace” as it kind of goes with the situation; you want peace, he wants peace, we all want peace. There is also a safe word for outside use and it’s mainly used when someone is upset, the occasional arguing/fighting has gotten to be too much, or when one of them is in a dangerous or uncomfortable situation. It’s “Spring on Jupiter.” 

Random SFW HC: He likes the song “Fly me to the Moon.”

Moving on, he has a praise kink. Tell him how good he’s doing, how handsome he is, how much you love him, how amazing it feels, and more. Hearing his S/O’s beautiful voice praising him in his most vulnerable state makes him feel euphoric and quite relaxed; it makes him feel loved.

He doesn’t really like dirty talk, but it’s mainly the degrading kind. His S/O can dirty talk to him only if they praise him while doing it. Once, his S/O tried the really dirty talk and he couldn’t take it, it actually hurt him a bit and he immediately stopped, using the safe-word.

If his S/O apologizes right away, he’ll forgive them. But if they don’t, he’ll be a bit cold and hurt for a while - he needs some alone time as being emotionally attacked while vulnerable made him feel threatened and attacked. He doesn’t wanna be hurt that way again.

Please, apologize right away if any slip ups do occur or else he’ll be emotionally distant for a bit.

He likes the occasional rough sex, as mentioned before. Maybe after a stressful day working to keep the peace in Beast City or just to let his pent-up emotions out somehow. This is the rare times he’ll top, like I mentioned before. He’ll ask before he does so though and if his S/O agrees, he takes them then and there. He likes doing it quick for a majority of the occasional times as he doesn't really like being rough with you. 

Let’s say you’re in the library.

Shirou pulls his pants and underwear down hastily, doing the same to you as he bends you over the couch’s arm. He quickly plunges himself into you, drilling his hips at an inhuman speed and relishing in the way your walls wrapped so snugly against his pulsing cock. One hand brushes against your hips, digging his nails into your skin while the other trailed over to your nether regions. The beastman quickly began to stimulate your sacred parts, his nimble fingers working wonders and pulling sweet and sinful sounds from your mouth . God, how lucky he is to have such an amazing person as you? Very lucky he was.

His hands leave their respectful places, one of his hands moving to your head and grabbing a fistful of hair, his finger clutching locks at their root. He yanked it back with one quick move and he threw his head back in bliss. 

Low growls rip from his throat, melting into soft whimpers as he picks up the pace, if it’s even possible. The quick , small moans he hears invigorates him and he releases your hair, his hands going back to their previous spots. He leans over, his hands never leaving their place as he bites your shoulder harshly. You yelp, groaning at the sensation of his teeth pricking your skin, sucking hungrily as if you were his last meal, surely leaving a dark welt.  

You shiver as you feel Shirou’s hot tongue run over the area, only to repeat the process on your neck. The hand on your hip left and soon Shirou’s arm wrapped itself around your waist, pulling your bodies closer. “So beautiful,” he whispers, his thrusts beginning to get messy and erratic. “You’re so good to me, [N/N]... Ah! Ngh..” He harshly thrusted into you. Shirou’s fingers, sensational love bites, and numbing thrusts soon became too much and you felt yourself unwind. You squeeze around him and release over his hand, releasing a loud and broken moan.

Shirou whimpered, his eyebrows knitting together and his jaw tightening at the pure ecstasy he was experiencing. With a few final quick and deep thrusts, Shirou releases his seed in you and lets out a low moan. Both of you stayed in that position for a few minutes, panting and indulging in the moment. You peered over your shoulder and smiled at your lover.

“That was… something, huh?”

I feel like some people wonder if he’ll go down on his S/O in his beastman form. The answer is yes. There are occasions where he gets so into it that he transforms subconsciously/involuntarily, but there are also occasions where he does it willingly.

The high chances of him turning into a beastman is when he’s stressed, gets overwhelmed, or if his S/O asks. 

Shirou’s moans are like a beautiful note being played by Apollo’s harp - absolute music to the ears. They’re soft, mellow moans that stimulate something within and they’re beautiful. Sometimes he whimpers, whines, or groans but his moans are the best.

He likes to try and stay quiet but soon the pleasure gets too much and he starts moaning a bit louder, whimpering his S/O’s name and muttering incoherent words of how he feels.

Let me get this out of the way - Shirou has howled in the bedroom before. He has howled many times in fact. But our wolfman can’t help it, I mean, you treat him like absolute royalty as you focus on his pleasure, making sure he’s satisfied no matter what. For example:

He feels himself being pushed over the edge as your velvet walls squeeze around his throbbing member, milking him for all he’s got as you bounce on his cock. Shirou’s hips wildly buck upwards, throwing his head back into the pillow whilst he shuts his eyes at the overwhelming pleasure that was enveloping his whole being.  He squeezes your hips tightly, digging his nails into your delicate skin. The beastman could hear the sweet sound of your voice, purring praises of how good he was and how well he was receiving you.

Small whimpers leave him, strained moans and pants roll off his tongue, and he’s muttering your name like a mantra. The euphoric ecstasy soon gets to be too much, feeling a familiar coil start to tighten and threaten to unwind. Shirou feels your walls tighten even more around him, noticing how you bounce faster on his cock and more erratically. You lean over and bury your face into his chest, your own climax fast approaching. 

Shirou growls, running his hands to your bottom and firmly grasping it, ramming his hips up at a godly speed. “Shirou, so.. Ah! So good!” You moan, everything becoming too much for you. You release a high-pitch moan, spilling your juices over your lover’s skin. 

Shirou soon followed, suddenly spilling his hot seed deep into you and releasing a deep, broken and raw howl; the sound of his howl was surely heard throughout the city.

Hopefully you enjoyed that little excerpt of one of the times Shirou howled in the bedroom.

Now let’s get into the kinks.

He likes mirror sex

He absolutely loves the way your face scrunches up in pleasure, how your eyes roll back as he bucks his hips into you, bouncing as both of you chase your own climaxes.

Seeing how he can make you crumble under his touch, moan and whimper his name, making eye contact as the knot in your stomach snaps.

*mwuah* Beautiful.

He likes having sex in different locations, but rarely.

Occasionally, he likes taking you on the kitchen counter, the couch, or the floor. His top three favorite places, right next to the bedroom of course.

You look like a whole meal in the kitchen? He’ll gently take you then and there on the counter, missionary or doggy-style, your choice.

Both of you happen to get a little handsy in the living room or get bored watching a movie, both of you will get a lil’ freaky. He takes you from behind, lifting your leg a bit as he inserts you slowly.

If you want to cockwarm, he’ll absolutely go along and just lie down with you like that. His member held firmly by your velvet walls.

Listen, the only reason you guys fuck on the floor is because on some instance, both of you will fall off the bed or couch and just continue your business without moving.

He sorta likes semi-public sex. 

You know how wolves have ruts and heats? Yeah, Shirou has that period of his testosterone levels rising and he goes f e r a l. 

He wants to fuck you here, he wants to fuck you there, he wants to fuck you everywhere. This man needs some sort of relief, alright? However, usually his self-control is pretty good and he can hold back from pouncing you in public - most of the time. 

If he can’t take it anymore and you happen to be out with him at the time, he will take you then and there. He drags you to a nearby closet or bathroom and fucks you raw, having your legs wrap around his waist as you bounce on his cock or he drills his length into you as he pushes you against the wall, thrusting and rutting until both of you reach that sweet release.

Luckily, he carries some tissues with him and cleans both of you up. He kisses your forehead and attempts to fix both of you up, trying to get rid of the fresh-sex look before either one of you step back out.

Shirou does not like to be called daddy/sir/master/etc. It makes him feel weird and uncomfortable. If his S/O tries to, he immediately shuts them down with a look, explaining how it makes him feel. He sees no point in it and rather be called by his name or a sweet nickname - he wants to keep this simple. I believe it's because he's had bad experiences with most authority figures so he feels a bit powerless and in some sort of danger.

If you want to call him that, then good luck because Shirou won’t accept it and only wants to be called by his name/nickname(s). If you don’t like it and keep pushing for it, Shirou will eventually suggest his S/O to find someone else if they can’t respect and accept the boundaries he has set.

And if you're thinking just because he's a bottom, he'll like it, you're wrong. Period.

That being said, Shirou won’t really indulge in the daddy/mommy kink, he feels uncomfortable. 

He has a biting kink. Shirou Ogami loves biting his S/O and leaving marks on their skin; it gives him a primal sense of intimacy. He won't do it right away though, he'll reveal it later in the relationship. 

Shiro loves grazing his teeth against your skin, nibbling it before sinking his teeth in, and sucking the soft flesh until he leaves a noticeable red welt behind.

The moans you make as he makes one feels him with pride and love.

Oh but hey! He loves them too! When his S/O gives him his own markings, he can't help but whimper and hold them close, feeling so happy that you, his mate, has decided to grace him with.

Now you may be wondering, "hey, does shirou have a breeding kink since he's a wolf??" 

Oh yeah, definitely. He has a breeding kink and wishes nothing more than to fill you to the brim with his cum if it means there's a chance you'll carry his pups. Even if his S/O can't have children, he still enjoys the thought of filling them up.

However, he is pretty shy about it and usually pulls out. If you two are using protection, he'll unload and just toss the condom in the trash.

Shirou is still gentle, he’ll only turn it up a notch if you beg him to reorganize your guts and milk him for all you got.

Oh, aftercare? Don’t worry! Shirou has already got that covered.  He’s already carrying you to the bathroom, running a nice hot bath for you and rummaging through the fridge for your favorite snacks. He returns and gently helps you bathe yourself. Once both of you are done, he carries you to your shared bed and pulls out your fav snacks, letting you happily eat them as he goes to take a quick shower. He joins you in bed soon afterwards and starts to softly rub all the places he hurt, muttering small apologies and praises.

He turns into his beastman form as he knows you love cuddling into his fluff, especially after sex. 

Remember how I said he likes “Fly Me to The Moon”? You two hum the song after sex, especially after a rough, draining session.

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©𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚢𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚊 || 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚍 || 𝚗𝚘 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜, 𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚜, 𝚌𝚘𝚙𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚎𝚝𝚌. 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚌𝚒𝚛𝚌𝚞𝚖𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜.

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[phoenixyfriend]

I am seized by a fatal need for courtroom ninja drama fic

But not serious courtroom drama. I'm talking Phoenix Wright style Nonsense.

(Some of this was provided by the folks over in @sloaners​‘ server, but the bulk of it was me spitballing nonsense at people who actually know the games, which I do not. I do paraphrase a few times to make it more feasible as a tumblr post/fic concept, rather than a rapidfire text conversation.)

Or one of those like. Reality TV paternity test things? But specifically in my mind the people involved in the actual paternity are a married couple and someone that joined them to be their third, and Clan Elders are throwing a fit about how the baby might not be the heir by blood! while the actual parents are like "I could not care less, this is our child, all three of us, please stop getting involved."

HashiMitoMada would be a VERY good option for the paternity nonsense, mostly because I can see Madara screeching at his own elders about how he already said Izuna would be his heir and he's not changing his mind!

Tobirama is just begging the paternity test to work faster off-screen because he's the only person with the machines to make it happen.

(Hashirama is just. Moping in a corner.)

"I just had to INVENT a paternity test that works before the birth! I had to figure out how to test amniotic fluid! If you assholes make me do something this stupid on such short notice again, I will be digging some shallow graves!" "...for who?" "I haven't decided yet."

Anyway, jumping back to like a Phoenix Wright-style murder investigation.

The victim was Danzo. Even the prosecution isn't actually that interested in making sure someone gets arrested, but they're legally obligated to do at least try. A bunch of people all acting really suspicious about who killed him. There is at least one shitty fake mustache-on-glasses disguise to provide a paper-thin alibi.

WAIT The other thing this gives us is ninjas in three-piece-suits but half of them wear the suits wrong. I’m talking mismatched buttons. The wrong way of tying their tie. Sewn-on-cufflinks. This is Naruto, for instance.

Tobirama would wear it properly, except he's rushing about in a lab coat, screaming at everyone to get out of his way because he's The Entire Forensics Team.

(This is the part where I have to confess that I have only seen the live-action movie of Phoenix Wright, as I don't game, so I just have the live action and tumblr osmosis.)

At this point, of course, we gotta ask: Who is the most Belligerent Witness And who is the Helpful™️ Witness that's super enthusiastic but entirely useless

I can see, say, Mito being a solid witness that both defense and prosecution are really thankful for.

Modern gen you have like... Sasuke and Neji are both incredibly belligerent witnesses. Neji at least is polite about it but pulls the "only answers with the absolute minimum of information."

Lee and Gai would have the over enthusiasm but forget to say actual vital testimony until pressed, and Naruto would love to help but might not be entirely sure what the case even is.

Shikamaru falls asleep when the lawyers consult their partners. Prosecution A consults Prosecution B for thirty-seven seconds, then turns around and the witness is asleep at the stand.

Tobi (as in Obito with mask) is an incredibly frustrating witness. They have to declare a recess just so all the lawyers can recover their blood pressure. "Can we please get someone up on the stand with this guy as a handler? I'm--I'm going to explode."

Gaara: Helpful. Polite. Answers with detail. Answers the spirit of the question as well as the letter. Includes more detail. That's too much detail. Gaara please stop telling us about the sounds that bones make.

His testimony just drags on forever.

Ninken can and will take the stand! Pakkun even enjoys it! Some ninken require translators.

ABURAME TRANSLATING FOR A RANDOM GIANT CENTIPEDE THAT WITNESSED A MURDER IN THE FOREST OF DEATH

There are arguments about whether or not the testimony can count since nobody else can confirm the translation except Other Aburame so how do they know the Aburame aren't part of the coverup.

"Okay, so this Danzo guy had like fifty shell companies but I think I found the route that leads back to him?" "Nah, that one goes to a guy that died eighty years ago that's still collecting pensions: his family lied and said he was still alive for the money." "Fuck!"

Also I just. I love the idea of Sasuke and Madara being the exact opposite kind of belligerent witness.

Also, Orochimaru answers with pretty much the exact kind of wording as Gaara, but where Gaara is trying to be helpful and provide detail for the sake of the case, and failing to see that it's maybe not necessary, Orochimaru just wants to see people squirm. ...similar thing happens with Sakura and Kabuto. Similar phrasing, very different energy.

I keep picturing all of Team Taka as part of Forensics and Evidence Collecting ajshakshjd

Juugo, holding up a rabbit: I found a witness.

Karin joins forensics and Tobirama nearly weeps from joy until he finds her criminal record "Shit, that was supposed to get thrown out when I turned eighteen."

Tobirama: I asked for an assistant, not a criminal. Karin: I'm on parole. Tobirama: That makes things worse. Karin: I know how to use a [concerningly advanced machine that I, a business major, cannot name]. Tobirama: ...never mind, I'm keeping you.

Karin: I know how to DNA sequence AND use LA-ICP-MS Tobirama: [weeps with joy]

Suigetsu would be great at blood splatter analysis. ...I think I read somewhere that blood spatter analysis is actually over in 'fake science that's pushed by cops and media but actually doesn't work' BUT apparently it’s in the Ace Attorney games so we’re going to ignore reality a bit. We’ve already got dogs and rabbits and centipedes as witnesses, what’s a bit of blood spatter?

He's also probably really good at cause of death stuff? Like looking at corpse and figuring out how long it took the victim to die, which blow did it, whether any damage was inflicted post-mortem, etc.

Sasuke is usually too busy playing Belligerent Witness but sometimes goes to join Taka for... uh... reasons.

Juugo: [takes the stand] Lawyer: Hey, uh, why's that Uchiha guy with him? The witness-- Judge: No, no, we need Uchiha Sasuke on hand when questioning Expert Animal Handler Juugo. Lawyer: ...why? Judge: Property damage.

(Sasuke as a work partner with Juugo, also moonlighting as a witness/suspect in Danzo's murder.)

One time they need Juugo but can't find him even though court is already in session and he said he'd be here, turns out he was lured away by Kakashi's army of dogs. Kakashi didn't notice until he turned to ask Pakkun if he could help find the missing expert.

Juugo is a decent lab assistant, I think?

Anyway.

Tobirama taking on Team Taka as his forensics team while Orochimaru is... hm... traveling the country to promote his new autobiography, which is outselling the newest Icha Icha to Jiraiya's ire.

Sloane suggested “a case where it's all the Sannin as suspects in a murder. They would be THE WORST, say... the murder of Hanzo.”

To which I suggested “The Sannin are all suspects but the people on trial are the Ame trio, maybe?”

Which garnered the response of “It could be a surprise upset IN COURT that the trio should be on trial.”

We love a court upset.

Suigetsu finds out that the cause of death was actually an entirely natural heart attack, but while he was determining this, the rest of the team and the lawyers found like eight conspiracies by Zetsu, three by Danzo, four by Orochimaru, and an entire network of nonsense by Sasori.

INO IS THE PSYCHIC. I know her thing in canon is reading minds but pls. Ino is Maya. The Spirit Medium.

Is the judge: 1. Hiruzen 2. Hashirama 3. Hagoromo 4. Mifune 5. The Daimyou

(Old dude with authority, optionally easily distracted/questionably competent. I'd have gone for impressive facial hair but only Mifune and Hagoromo have more than like... Hiruzen's weird soul patch.)

It's not a soul patch but I don't know what facial hair is called and I can't just call it a goat beard

Response commentary was as follows: The Daimyou would unfortunately be closer to the personality of the ace attorney judge, more blindly agreeing with things that sound good :joy: Hiruzen could be fun if only for the competing facial hair for a beard, yes xD Hagoromo would possibly be most buckwild tho WELCOME TO MOON COURT

I managed to get this far with like... NO idea who the judges were except “IDK maybe Kakashi?” but consider:

...HashiMada rival lawyers

Dropping over to Izuna vs. Touka for when Hashirama and Madara inevitably become suspects of something or other themselves and have to be witnesses.

(Tobirama's too busy running blood tests, Anija, let Touka handle it, she's better at people anyway.)

...Hashirama is like. Marginally more put-together than Madara, right? So that... makes him Edgeworth... somehow... That feels wrong but Madara as Edgeworth feels even more wrong.

Madara is very into screaming OBJECTION

ALSO consider: Friction when a doctor from a nearby hospital gets called in to provide expert testimony on something because Karin is like "no hey I should be the one doing this" and then she sees how cute Sakura is.

But also at some point Kakashi vs. Gai for a nonsense case. Their personalities are both VERY FUN for this sort of thing.

[marvellouslymadmim]

Hey! Aspiring fanfic writer here; I was wondering if you could talk a bit about your writing/editing process and how long it all takes.

Thanks!

Welp, roughly the same extremely long amount of time it takes to actually answer an ask, tbh 🙃

So...I only know how my brain works, and I can only tell you what works for me might not work for you, and that's OK. I'm breaking into two separate bits, because I almost never do writing and editing at the same time.

And as far as a timeline, honestly it just depends. On life factors, what my hormones are doing at the time (jfc like the week before my period, I have zero creativity, motivation, or attention span), if I'm having trouble with a particular scene, if I'm getting consistent positive feedback (yes, I can totally admit that I write faster when I know a particular reviewer is following along with every update), etc.

WRITING:

First, you gotta just...be fixated, I guess. Particularly if it's an AU, I sit with it for a long time before I ever write a word. I go over scenes, think about how the world changes, what stays the same, what *has* to stay the same to keep the characters true to their canon personalities. I sit with the characters for a long time, too--not just the main characters, but the supporting cast, too. In order to predict someone's future, you have to know their past. Most of our present actions are actually reactions to past events, when you think about it. The better you know your version of the character, the easier every other aspect of writing will be. I don't know how it is for other people, but I don't ever "feel" like I'm writing. I feel like I'm "witnessing", and the characters are simply doing whatever they wish. (***this is gonna be a thing during the editing process, too, so hang on to that)

Then once I have a general idea, I choose a title. Generally, I do not even start a word document until I have a proper title to put on it. The title is part of the theme and aesthetic to me, and it grounds me in the overall arc.

Once that's done, it's time for outlining. I generally wait until I feel this weird almost tingling in my left arm (weirder still bc I'm right handed) and I'm practically vibrating with a need to WRITE THIS STORY NOW. Then I put on some Bear McCreary (honestly, any videogame soundtrack will do, as they are literally designed to help you maintain focus and keep pace) and fucking go to town. For me, it helps to do this with pen and paper, so that I can go back up and squiggle little notes in the margin, rearrange the order, etc, far faster than I could on a computer.

Important note: the outline is not the end-all be-all. Some things don't make it to the final print. Some minor storylines get tossed or characters simply...take a different path than I expect. I will continue re-writing and updating the outline as I go along. On average, I usually have 5-8 outlines per story, and they're often 3-10 pages long. I also have a posted outline, which is a log of all the scenes that did make it to the final product. 

Then, it's the actual writing, at long last. I have found that I write best at the start of my day, before the noise and static of daily life comes in. So I wake up around 5am and spend 90minutes writing before beginning my workday routine. I have the Word app on my phone and may continue adding bits in throughout the day at work, if I get a moment. However, after 5pm my brain is usually fried and no more creativity happens. On weekends, I try to have one morning where I "sleep in" til 6am, and then write until at least 10am, sometimes 2pm, if I can get away with it.

The hardest part still is knowing when to transition and when to skip to the next chapter/scene/whatever. This is like...zero percent helpful, but I liken it to Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's definition of pornography: "I know it when I see it." It may seem like a scene is circling, and sometimes it means you gotta leave the room a bit earlier bc the scene has already served its purpose. Other times, it means ya gotta stay with it a bit longer, because there's something the character is trying to say. Give them patience, and give yourself patience, too. Explore the scene and its dynamics. You won't know til you know and even then, sometimes you won't be entirely sure. That's ok, too. Part of the process. Remember editing will happen and you can decide then (hell, you can literally re-edit after it's been published, I've done that before too and added a note on the next chapter for any readers who might have read the first version 🤷🏻‍♀️ not ideal but still functional).

EDITING:

I do simple edits (spelling, grammar, etc) just about every morning as I reread what I wrote the day before, which is a refresher course for the day's writing session. But big "real" editing generally doesn't happen until right before posting.

Now, here's the ***issue from writing: sometimes, something just "doesn't work" in a scene. Again, you'll know it when you see it. The words a character is saying feels clunky. The pacing feels off. Something just...ain't right. More often than not, it means either I haven't truly sat with a character long enough to know their true motivations/backstory, or I am not giving characters the proper time/space/impediment to make the actions or say the things they're currently making/saying. I'm trying to force the flow, rather than letting it ebb and breathe when it needs to.

Absolute ProTip: You spent HOURS writing this scene. It's got some REALLY GOOD moments and lines in it. It doesn't work but you can't just delete it. It's your LIFE. I struggle with this A LOT, and I have found a solution: create a second "outtakes" document to cut and paste those scenes into. Sometimes I still keep moments or bits of dialog. Sometimes I later use bits in a later scene. Sometimes I never look at it again but I still feel secure in knowing that if I wanted to go back and use the original scene instead, I totally can. I don't think I've actually ever gone back to the original, tbh, but it reduced my anxiety about deleting the scene and starting over.

So back to the scene that doesn't work. I take it apart, figure out *at what exact point* it stops working, then work back up a few lines to see where the shift actually begins. More often than not, it's because I'm having characters express their feelings in ways they actually wouldn't. (people very very very rarely actually say what they're thinking/feeling, and you have to relay it in other ways). So I have to keep the internal monologue of what they're actually feeling/thinking, while figuring out how that actually translates via tone, body language, and what they do and don't say.

The "something ain't working stage" can take LITERAL WEEKS. I sometimes have to walk away for awhile, or tackle it only on days when I know I have hours upon hours to truly work on it. I keep circling back around, and eventually, the knot works itself out. Persistence, and insistence that "good enough" isn't actually good enough, are key. (this is why you have to fixated on the story you want to tell--because some days, it's going to take every ounce of that obsession to keep you going and keep you on the track of telling the story you wanted to tell, rather than settling or switching to an easier tack)

Sometimes, editing is a breeze. I don't change much, I may go a little more into the character's inner world here or there. Once you've been doing this for awhile, you'll just know when a story hits all its marks--and you'll also know when it's not, when it could be more or do more, and you can figure out how to get it there. There isn't a precise formula for it, it's more like cooking without an actual recipe to follow--a dash here, a bit there, you'll know it when you taste it.

And I'll leave you with this unsolicited bit: just write. Write often, write about everything, write what makes YOU passionate and happy, and absolutely write for yourself. Edit the fuck out of it, if you need to. Get a beta reader, if you need to. Get someone to just bounce ideas off, if you need to. And don't post it until you're truly ready and it's something you genuinely want to share. If someone gives constructive criticism, take in on the chin and move on (keep the notes, if you think they're valid, and toss em if you don't--you'll never be everyone's style of writer, so know that sometimes, people just won't be the target audience). Know that you'll grow and you'll learn and you'll find your own voice and like any skill, you'll develop a second nature about it--all those parts where I say "you'll know it when you see it" or "you'll feel it" absolutely come from spending a literal lifetime (28 years) writing stories, and thirteen years of writing fanfic in particular. It's ok if you don't see it or feel it right away. It takes practice. And you will have an audience at every skill level, no matter what (finding that audience? different story altogether...).

All totaled, this process can take anywhere from 3months to over a year. Stories are like children, I've found: they each develop at their own pace, and some may need more time and assistance than others. But they're still pretty wonderful. (except the bratty stories. they're the worst 🙄)

[obxlife]

Green-eyed Monster (Rafe x Reader)

A/N: Okay so I haven’t done a Rafe request in a while but then I got this request and I was like YES! I feel like Rafe is super interesting to write about, and this request really gave me space to just do whatever I wanted lol. I hope you guys like this!

Pairing: Rafe x Reader

Word count: 2,898

Request: I don’t have anything specific but can I please req jealous/protective Rafe x reader?

Summary: Rafe notices all the looks that men throw in your direction, and he tries not to be jealous, but sometimes he just can’t help it.

Warnings: Swearing, underage drinking, etc. RAFE DOESN”T DO HARD DRUGS IN THIS FIC.

GREEN-EYED MONSTER

Rafe was pretty much pissed off at half of the boys at the party.

It had started an hour ago, though Rafe had been there much earlier to help Topper set up. You had arrived only forty minutes after it began, kissing Rafe on his cheek and then going off with your friends. Rafe had smiled at you and raked his eyes down your body, noticing how good you looked.

But as you usually did at parties, you had gone off with your friends with a promise to dance with him later.

You and Rafe had been best friends for as long as you could remember. You had met twelve years ago when you were both seven and going into first grade. Your family had just moved to the Outer Banks, and due to the fact that your father was best friends with Rafe’s father, Ward, during college, you had gone over to his house for brunch. It didn’t even take you two minutes to convince Rafe to go and play with you outside in the backyard. From then, you did everything together. You went to the same school and had the same group of friends until high school. It wasn’t that you grew apart, no. You just simply stopped hanging around each other at school because you were in different classes. Now, most of your friends weren’t acquainted with Rafe, and vice versa. This hadn’t put a strain on your relationship at all, in fact, you were still very close. You just didn’t seem as friends anymore in the eyes of most Kooks. 

Your supposed departure from Rafe made you gain attention from a lot of boys. See, most of the other Kooks from Figure Eight thought you had been dating him, and once they noticed you had stopped being around each other at school, they had assumed you and Rafe broke up. This caused them all to begin flirting with you. 

There was no denying that you were pretty. Like, no way of denying it. And Rafe took notice of your beauty as soon as he took notice of the boys that would flounce around you, trying to catch your attention. This was the moment he began to develop feelings for you. 

He thought it was going to be detrimental to your relationship. Rafe really did think so, but he was surprised to find that not much changed. He still laughed with you at the same jokes, and the physical contact you shared didn’t make him nervous, really. He couldn’t understand how he felt the same around you if he had just noticed his feelings for you. Why didn’t his heart race faster than normal when he was around you? Why didn’t he blush when you laughed at his ridiculous jokes?

Rafe had voiced out these thoughts to Jason, his best friend, one afternoon. 

“It’s because you’ve always been in love with her, dude.”

That made sense and Rafe soon came to realize that what Jason has said was completely true.

And so Rafe decided that voicing out his feelings was way too risky. He wouldn’t dare confess about them if there existed a chance that he would ruin what you had right now. It was one of the few things he had going on right now, and it was one of the few things that made him happy. So he remained silent and shut his mouth whenever he would see you talking to a boy or mentioning one of your male friends. He wouldn’t let his jealousy seep out around you.

Lucky for him, you never seemed interested in any of the boys that were surrounding you. Rafe loved the fact that you had never dated anyone as it made him feel as if there was a small possibility that you liked him back. All he could do was cross his fingers and hope that this was true.

And it was. You had never taken any notice into any other boy except for Rafe because you knew for a fact that you and Rafe were meant to be together. It was a feeling that had grown in you as you had grown with Rafe, and it was something you were sure was written in the stars (corny, yes, but true). You had decided long ago that you wouldn’t rush whatever was meant to happen between you and Rafe, as you knew it was bound to happen. The love you had for him was always and will always be there, as you were sure that he loved you too. 

This didn’t stop you from being jealous of all the girls that would look his way. Just as it was true that you were pretty, Rafe was as well. He was one of the prettiest boys in Figure Eight, and everybody seemed to take notice of that. But unlike Rafe, you didn’t let that bother you much. 

Rafe could only stare at you as you down shot after shot along with your friends. He smiled at how you were smiling until he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. 

“Damn, Y/N looks hot tonight,” Jason said to him. Rafe felt his jealousy burn his insides, but he didn’t take his anger out on Jason. Rafe knew he made these comments to rile him up. 

“Yeah, she does,” Rafe muttered, raking his eyes up along your long, exposed legs for the second time that night. 

Jason looked at his friends whose eyes were still trained on you. “Are you gonna ask her out tonight?”

Rafe shook his head before pressing a hand to his chin, which then moved to rub his eyes. 

“Why not?”

Rafe only continued to shake his head.

Jason didn’t understand why he did that to himself. Why Rafe would purposely keep himself from you when it was obvious you both wanted each other. He spent days trying to convince his friend to just make a move, but Rafe never budged. He was so sure you couldn’t love him. How could you if his own father didn’t?

Rafe shook his head one last time before downing his drink and turning away from where you were, wanting to distract himself. He never got the chance to do so as he heard your giggles float through the air. Spinning around once again, Rafe noticed how your hand was on a boy’s arm, and how he was staring intensely at you.

Real jealousy flared up his body this time, and Rafe stared at the boy’s hands. They were squeezing your waist softly, and all Rafe wanted to do was shove him away from you. 

But Rafe only walked forward to the table and stood behind you, trying to ignore you and the boy, as he searched for something stronger than beer. Bingo, he thought as he took out a bottle of whiskey that was full. He opened it and took a swig right there, as he felt your body walk away from where it had been. Rafe turned only his head to see that the boy was dragging you away to dance with him. He took another swig.

Your heart was thumping along to the music as you tried to dance to the beat to the song. The boy whose name you couldn’t remember had approached you a couple of minutes ago and ha wasted no time to ask you to dance. He had dark hair and light green eyes, but they weren’t the shade of green you wanted them to be. His hands were big, but not as big as Rafe’s. 

However, he was cute, and you settled with that for now. You wouldn’t probably even kiss him, just the thought of Rafe wouldn’t let you do that, but you could have fun and dance with the boy.

You felt his hands on your waist as they pulled you into him. Your back was pressed against his chest, and you swayed to the music together. He spun you around in his arms slowly, almost as if to prevent you from getting dizzy. You were now face to face, and he leaned down just enough to press his forehead against yours. Panicked, you turned your face away, not wanting him to come any closer. However, you continued to dance with him. Noticing his failed attempts, he spun you around again and continued to dance with you for a while. The boy was not giving up so easily.

Rafe stared. Hard. Most of the people around him had noticed that he was angry at someone at the dance floor, and they had noticed the pressure he was applying to the bottle in his hand. The people around him had moved back from him a little while ago, but Rafe hadn’t noticed. All he could notice was the boy’s hands on your body, sliding up and down its length. His forehead on yours. Your back on his chest.

You danced with the boy for a total of four songs, which meant that Rafe had gotten halfway through the bottle of whiskey. Wanting to dance with you, Rafe took a step forward, but he noticed how another boy had taken his place. This time, the boy was blond and had brown eyes. Rafe retreated back to where he had been standing.

The blond boy had outstretched his hand for you to take, and you had gladly accepted. You hadn’t seen Rafe approaching where you were standing. And so you had happily accepted the blond boy’s offer.

His hands were rougher than the last boy’s hands, and you felt it barely graze your exposed stomach. He was a lot more foolish and his style of dancing made laughs erupt from your lips. This caused Rafe’s hand to squeeze around the bottle he had in his hand even tighter. The last boy hadn’t even made you smile, but this boy was making you laugh almost as much as Rafe did, and this made him fume. Rafe was the one that was supposed to make you smile. Rafe was the one that was supposed to place his hands on your waist. Rafe and no one else. 

Taking another swig from the bottle, Rafe noticed he had emptied it down. Panic filled his mind for a few seconds, realizing that this was the most he had ever drunk in his life. He was probably going yo throw up or pass out, and that was not something he wanted.

Searching for Jason, he turned around in his place. Rafe dropped the bottle onto the table where he had retrieved it from and began to walk without direction. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

Topper had spun him around so fast that Rafe felt bile rising up his throat. He swallowed before looking at the younger boy.

“Hey, man,” Topper said. His eyes were worried and troubled. “You okay? You look kind of panicked.”

Rafe nodded but then shook his head. Topper laughed at his actions, noticing Rafe was completely and utterly wasted. 

“What have you been drinking?”

Rafe shrugged before muttering out, “Whiskey.”

“Only whiskey?”

Rafe nodded. Topper nodded as well.

“That’s good. You probably won’t throw up if you haven’t been mixing alcohol.”

Relief washed over Rafe as he felt a lot better than before. He gave Topper a lazy smile before turning towards the drink’s table again. He was stopped by Topper’s hand on his shoulder once again. “I didn’t say you could keep drinking, man,” he stated. Rafe pouted at him and pressed his hands together as if in a praying motion. 

“You’ll throw up for sure if you drink more.”

Rafe sighed and nodded his head. It was probably true. Topper let him go and Rafe turned to look at you. You were still dancing with the blond boy.

Rafe threw all of his previous restraints out the window and grabbed onto another whiskey bottle that was at the table. He opened it and walked away from the makeshift dance floor. 

Bottle after bottle went down Rafe’s neck until he could barely see. All that consumed him were his feelings and the need to tell all of the boys that had been flocking around you to back off because you were supposed to be his.

So he stumbled all the way to the dancefloor and reached his arms out to rip the boy on you away, but was stopped before he got the chance to do so. Jason stood looking at him with a disappointed expression. 

He managed to drag Rafe all the way up to Topper’s room, taking the bottle away from his hands and setting him on the bed. 

“What the fuck were you doing?”

Rafe could barely speak. Not that he wanted to. He was mad now. 

“Look, man,” Jason said. “Sleep, throw up, do whatever. But don’t leave and don’t talk to Y/N. You’ll regret it tomorrow.”

With that, Jason left. Rafe rested upon the bed and closed his eyes, the green-eyed monster still consuming his insides.

Meanwhile, you were searching for Rafe. You had promised him you would dance with him and you wanted to do so now. But for some reason, you couldn’t find him anywhere. You bumped into Topper, who was making out with a girl. You pulled him away just enough so he could reply to your question.

“He went upstairs with Jason.”

Trudging up the stairs, you noticed that all the rooms were closed. Where could Rafe be?

After opening at least three doors, you found Rafe draped across Topper’s bed. He looked tired and stressed and angry, and you wanted to make things better for him. He noticed you standing at the door, and you pouted at his expression.

“Hey,” you said as you sat down next to him. “Why are you up here?”

Rafe looked down from your face to the single broken thread on Topper’s duvet. He shrugged before muttering under his breath. You couldn’t hear what he said. 

“Do you want to dance with me?” you asked him. You knew Rafe well enough to notice that he didn’t want to speak about why he was upstairs. So you did what you would usually do to cheer him up at parties, which was to ask him to dance.

However, he shook his head. You furrowed your eyebrows. “Are you okay?”

Rafe shook his head, his muttering becoming more aggressive and more clear to your ears. You still couldn’t understand much of what he was saying but you could hear the occasional words. 

“Rafe,” you called out to him, not liking being ignored. 

Rafe stared at you and became angrier than before. What the hell?

“Rafe, what is wrong with you?”

Rafe pressed his hands to his head not wanting to lose his cool. But you kept pestering as you always did, knowing he would eventually crack and tell you.

“They’re all touching you!” he belted out. “And they’re talking to you and you do nothing about it and it makes me mad! But it shouldn’t and I know that, but it still does. I’m the one that should be touching you and making you laugh and making you smile. I’m the only one that’s supposed to be doing that. But you let them do that as well!”

He was panting and freaking out while you were shocked. 

“Can’t you see that it should be me? That I’m the one who loves you for who you are and not them.”

“Rafe,” you whispered out trying to reach for his hand. He was drunk, but if all of this was true (which you were sure of), you would kiss him. However, you wanted to calm him down first.

“No, Y/N,” Rafe said. “Let me finish. I know you don’t like me because you’re always with all those other guys but I love you, okay? As in, I’m in love with you. And I’m tired of you not knowing about it and having to carry this secret around.”

“Rafe, if you could please calm dow-”

“Why? So you can tell me you don’t love me back?” Rafe got defensive. “Look, I know already. So just spare me your pity an-”

And you kissed him. Even though his breath reeked of alcohol and his kissing was sloppy. Even though he was drunk and might not remember this tomorrow. Even though you had doubts about doing so, you kissed him. And you melted into his arms and tried to keep him stable upon his two feet. 

“Y/N, I-”

You only pressed your mouth to his again, trying to make your point clear. I love you, too, you tried to say through the kiss. I love you, too.

When you broke apart and he was panting you managed to say, “Rafe. I don’t care about all those other guys because I only think of you when I’m with them. It’s you. You’re it for me. I love you, too.”

Just as Rafe was going to place his lips on yours again, his eyes widened and he pressed his mouth against it and turned away and towards the bathroom. You sighed as you heard him empty his stomach. You walked in behind him, rubbing his back up and down.

“God, I hope you remember this in the morning,” you said to him with a teasing smile upon your face.

[rigelmejo]

Unrelated completely, regarding listening reading method:

I am genuinely so excited to test the listening reading method out wholeheartedly. When I looked up the method, few people were trying it with Chinese, and of the people I saw a lot were beginners with less vocabulary than I have which I think both made the task harder for them and made their progress look different than I imagine mine will.

For example, in my first attempts using listening reading method, I noticed I picked up a TON of words I could already read, and a TON of phrases I could already read but didn’t properly “chunk” until I heard them aloud. Whereas the beginners tended to document picking up entirely new words, and not understanding much of any paragraph for the first several chapters. Whereas again, because I had more vocabulary, my first chapters I listening reading method did I heard a TON of individual words/followed the main gist, and it took several chapters for me to start finally understanding full phrase chunks and sentence chunks together. I 100% think the listening reading method can work with mandarin, I just think since few people have tried it and shared the experience, I’m going to find out how much it can improve someone’s mandarin myself...

I saw people who did listening reading method with german, and Dutch, who like the creator of the method ended up going from 0 to B1-B2 listening and sometimes-reading* skill in 3-5 months (reading skill tended to depend on how much they focused on the actual text during target language audio/target language text portion). The people with the most success usually already had a foundation of several hundred or a couple thousand common words, and had seen some grammar summarized beforehand (both of which I have already done with mandarin). I’m extremely curious how far the listening reading method can take my reading skills specifically - since the method mainly improves listening, and reading is simply affected a bit as a consequence of picking up new words/reading target language text along with the audio during one of the steps. With Chinese I suspect I’ll have to do more Hanzi learning, and reading-only work like intensive reading, to supplement my reading skills. However I already do a lot of intensive reading, so maybe that will keep the skills relatively even.

I do know that only couple dozen hours of listening reading method already boosted my listening skills a TON. So listening reading method definitely improves listening skills, as it is intended to. The actual method suggests learners listen read through an entire novel in a week or two, then do another novel etc, at least 3 novels though potentially more - and redoing some novels again from the start if desired. For my kind of novels - like Guardian by Priest, that means 106+ chapters, 800+ pages, 30 minutes audio a chapter (53 hours for the English text-chinese audio portion, another 53 hours for the Chinese text-chinese audio portion, and lets say half as many hours to read it in English 26.5 hours). So that is 132.5+ hours to listen read to Guardian. The listening reading method assumes you do a few books, so let’s say around 3 books, 396 hours (roughly 400 hours). Well... no wonder people saw such improvements! 400 hours of listening to comprehensible input in a European language will get an English speaker quite far into learning. Most European languages according to FSI take around 600-750 hours for an English native speaker to learn. Listening reading method would fill a huge chunk of those hours, and if you focus on the reading portion too, then that should definitely at least be a solid foundation into B1 I can imagine.

Listening reading methods creator also tends to do these in 6-12 hour reading bursts per day - which I absolutely never do because I’m lazy and unable to focus on things for too long usually without switching things up. But like I’ve mentioned, even me just doing maybe 12 hours of listening reading method so far, in small 30 minute to 2 hour chunks, has been enough to make noticeable improvement in my listening comprehension. If someone is already intermediate and just wants to improve their listening skill, I think they’d see fast results like I have regarding their listening skill dragging up closer to their reading skill level.

When I read the listening reading method creators website, they sounded like 10 hours was about how long it took (for beginners in a language) to start parsing individual words and recognizing them, 30 hours to start hearing word chunks and phrases they could understand, and 60-100 hours to start comprehending a majority of the words.

I am therefore very curious what my rate of improvement will be. I do feel chinese study using the listening reading method at least for listening skills will see similar levels of improvement. I’m wondering if my listening skills will improve a bit faster, since I’m already past the “progress at 30 hours” mark expectations wise - I can hear many individual words, can hear many sentence chunks/phrases, and just struggle to follow some full sentences and catch brand new words until I’ve heard them several times. I do very much want to completely go through Guardian with this method - for many reasons lol. 1. Because I’ve been wanting to read it in english and I’ll have a chance to use that for study which is cool, 2. Because I’ve been wanting to read it in chinese and this makes it doable/more comprehensible for my current skill level (aka following along to the audiobook I will read at a less slow pace/comprehend more since the English will be fresh in my mind, compared to if I just read it extensively on its own), 3. Avenuex made a beautiful audiobook I adore and I’ll have an excuse to listen to it while actually comprehending everything since I’ll have the English and Chinese novel to look at while o read! So... once I’m through Guardian, I’ll be able to answer for myself what over 100 hours of progress doing the listening reading method produce, how well it works when using a book with a more complicated/high vocab style - which is sort of priest, reading challenge wise, and the kind of novel the listening reading method creator recommends using. Also, I’ll have read Guardian! ovo)/ and I will have read a full priest novel, so I’ll have picked up words by my favorite author that will hopefully make other priest novels easier to read (the same reason Tian Ya Ke may be helpful).

———-

Another thing people who have tried the listening reading method suggest doing first (particularly if studying a language much different than your native language, but for any language tbh). The creator of the method suggested: knowing a few hundred to a few thousand common words, and having looked at a grammar guide or overview prior. That’s something anyone who’s already a bit of a beginner, to low intermediate, probably has done or is doing. In addition, some people who have done this method suggested using something like sentence audio flashcards (in English and target language audio) and listening to them a few times, repeating them, until one felt comfortable with them. Generally common word/grammar ones, and you could do “listening reading” with those sentences too (reading them while listening to the audio). This would serve as a primer to learn the basics comfortably before going into listening reading novels. They suggested doing yjis would make the method work better - they got to B2 in Dutch in a handful of months of intensive listening reading by doing this beforehand and they think it helped a lot. While I think it’s not necessary, I do think of listening reading is hard, then getting a basis beforehand as a beginner and/or covering a easier basics common language material first will help. I use the Chinese SpoonFed Audio files which basically amounts to the same thing but no reading (if I used the flashcards still, it would include reading). So I do have some sentences/phrases/words I have a good listening foundation for already. Also, as mentioned, I do read, so for many common words and Hanzi I already can read them. I do think this advice is very good for beginners though, if they want to see noticable results sooner (versus 30-50 hours into listening reading before they start learning significant amounts - basically it just means they’d do 30-50 hours prestudy instead of basic common words/grammar, to make the listening reading initially less difficult). A total beginner could dive right into listening reading (just like my chaotic self first started to try to read Chinese knowing 500 words and brute forcing mdzs and guardian a few paragraphs at a time), it just means it’ll feel more difficult at first for a while, and they’ll be mostly learning basics for a while first before they build enough of a basis to comprehend more. Which is fine. It all just comes down to how much incompréhensibilty can you personally tolerate without giving up. The creator of the method? Can tolerate a TON. Me? I can tolerate a brutally large amount, surprisingly, but usually I need to comprehend had least the main idea and that’s a minimum of like 40-60% depending on which parts I’m comprehending. Most people will feel it’s unbearable until they can comprehend at least 80-90% (and I certainly PREFER material I comprehend that much of). And most people ideally are comfortable once they understand 95-98% (think reading a book in your native language with some unknown words you can figure out easily from context, or graded readers made to feel this easy with around this many unknown words for you to figure out in context, or maybe manhua/manga/comics once you’re a pretty decent intemediate level in a language etc).

[theonlyjourneythatmatters]

Another day, another pound

So I know I said I was going to post yesterday, but I had a very long day and I was tired, so I didn't feel like it. I've struggled this week with motivation and energy and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because of this heat- I don't know.

But with that said, I'm here now. And I've learned a few things! As I've said before, I am no expert and do not claim to be. I just know what's been working for me and that I can share that knowledge and experience with ya'll. So here we go.

What I learned this week:

It's better to get your bulk calories in at the beginning of the day. Breakfast should be your heaviest calorie meal. If you prefer a light breakfast, then focus your calories at lunch. This is because you're more likely to work off those calories during the day than you are at night after dinner. I know a lot of people prefer a heavy dinner- but this is a major reason why that weight doesn't come off like you want it to. You're not burning off those dinner calories!

Everything you do burns calories. Well, I didn't JUST learn this- I've known this. But for some reason, it didn't click! So don't think ONLY strenuous exercise will help you burn calories. Of course, exercise will help you burn them faster in a shorter amount of time, but if you can't get to the gym every day, you're still burning calories.

My apple watch tracks everything. I wear it from the time I get up in the morning til I'm ready to lay down for the night. And what's better than counting my steps? It counts the calories burned, too! Adding this at the end of the night helps me keep a better estimate of what I've taken in vs put out for the day for calories. Do yourself a favor- invest in something that keeps track of that (watch, fitbit, etc). It is well worth the money especially for weight loss.

Sundays are for meal-prep!!!

I meal prep for the following week(s) on Sundays. I typically prep every other Sunday for my work lunches. I do -not- meal prep for dinners.

Every Sunday, I prep my snacks for the week (usually strawberries and blue berries). If there's a new item I want to eat, I'll prep that up as well. Today, I wanted to add cabbage soup to the work lunch mix. SO, that's what I did. I made it in the instant pot, so this is the instant pot recipe- but this can be adapted for a regular stove top. I included pictures for reference so ya'll can see the sizes.

I also decided to meal-prep some breakfast; which I do not normally do. But the meal replacement shakes don't seem to be working as well as they had been previously, so I'm going to retire them for a bit.

Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

2 heads cabbage, medium; chopped in large chunks

3 pieces of thick sliced bacon (I used Great Value brand); chopped and cooked

1 15oz can tomato sauce (Great Value)

1 bag Premium matchstick carrots (Bolthouse Farms- 3.5 oz bag)

1 sweet Vidalia onion, medium size; chopped in small pieces

1 tbsp. of the following: course sea salt, ground black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, Slap ya Mama Cajun seasoning (or Tony Cacheres- I like my soup to have a bit of a kick, but you can decrease or increase this amount to suit your tastes)

7 cups water (divided- explained in steps)

Directions:

Put the instant pot on sauté and set for 20 minutes. Chop the 3 pieces of bacon into bite sized pieces and begin to cook them until brown. (I cooked mine a little longer so the crisp wasn't completely lost in the soup)

While the bacon is cooking, start cutting up both heads of cabbage. Cut them into 1-1 & 1/2 inch chunks after removing the core. Set aside in large bowl.

Once the bacon is cooked to your liking, add 1/2 cup of water to "deglaze" the pot. This gets up all of that stuck-to-the-bottom flavor that you need. DO NOT DRAIN THE BACON. We need the grease.

Begin to add the cabbage a hand full at a time, making sure it mixes with the water and bacon pieces. Allow each batch to wilt down some before adding the next batch. Continue with the cabbage until it's all incorporated. Once complete, add 1/2 cup of water.

Add the carrots and mix with the cabbage and bacon mixture.

Add all of your seasonings into 1 cup of water and pour over the top of the cabbage. You can mix it now if you want to, or you can wait.

Set the instant pot to pressure cook, and set for 10 minutes. Once the 10 minutes is passed, allow the pot to Natural Release for another 10 minutes. After the Natural Release is done, use the manual release. * NOTE: this is a dish with a good amount of liquid. Use a potholder to dish towel to put over the valve when you do the manual release to avoid any splattering liquids.

Once the pressure is released, stir the soup and taste test it. Add any seasonings you feel like it may need.

Chop the onion into small pieces and add it to the soup. Add the entire can of tomato soup, and 5 more cups of water. Stir well. Pressure cook for another 2 minutes and allow to Natural Release for another 10 minutes. Give it one last stir and taste test, and enjoy!

Step one: Sauté the bacon. Ya'll see all that bacony flavored goodness stuck to the bottom?? We WANT that.

Step two: Cut the cabbage. Size isn't that important- but you do want bigger pieces as cabbage likes to shrink!

Step Four & Five: Mix the cabbage and carrots and allow to wilt a little bit

Finished product: big bowl of deliciousness

This recipe yields 20 cups of soup, which is 10 full servings. There are 48 calories and and 4.8g of proteins in a single cup of soup- but I recommend 2 cups being the serving size.

*This recipe can be changed to fit your specific needs. I do not add meat to mine other than the bacon, but you can add chicken, stew meat, etc. You can also add different veggies. I sometimes add canned diced tomatoes but I didn't have any today. Just be mindful of the added calories and adjust the recipe to reflect that (especially if you're using a calorie counter that allows you to create customized meals).

I got 6 meals out of it (would have been the full 10 but I only had 6 available soup bowls); my husband and I had a bowl each, and so did my son. There was some left but no one wanted it so it got thrown out. It was delicious and filling. And the best part? SUPER low on calories! Most soups are; and I will be adding more to my blog as I make them! I make a knock-off Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano, so that might be my next endeavor!

Breakfast:

For this meal-prep, I used eggs, Conecuh sausage links, bacon (same as the one I used for the soup), and sausage patties.

Breakfast # 1: Scrambled eggs, thick sliced bacon, and Conecuh sausage

Ingredients

2 eggs, scrambled

1 tsp butter (I used Country Crock Churn Style)

1 tsp shredded cheese (I used shredded Colby and Monterey jack Great Value brand)

1 oz Conecuh sausage (you can use any type of sausage- I just prefer this brand)

1.5 slices of thick cut bacon (Great Value brand)

Course sea salt

Ground black pepper

Directions

Make 2 eggs, scrambled with butter and whatever seasonings of your choice

Add the cheese to the eggs when they're almost done cooking

Cook the bacon in the air fryer for 6 minutes (time varies depending on how crispy you like your bacon)

Cook the Conecuh in the air fryer for 7 minutes

Put the eggs in to a freezer-safe bowl

Cut the Conecuh and bacon into smaller pieces and put on top

Freeze

This recipe yields 1 full serving. It has 295 calories and 20.5 grams of protein.

Breakfast 2: Scrambled eggs, Conecuh sausage, and sausage patties

Ingredients

eggs, scrambled

1 tsp butter (I used Country Crock Churn Style)

1 tsp shredded cheese (I used shredded Colby and Monterey jack Great Value brand)

2 sausage patties (I used Tennessee Pride)

1 oz Conecuh sausage (any brand, this one is just my preference)

Course sea salt

Ground black pepper

Directions

Make 2 eggs, scrambled with butter and whatever seasonings of your choice

Add the cheese to the eggs when the eggs are almost done cooking

Cook the sausage patties in the air fryer for 8 minutes or until cooked through

Cook the Conecuh in the air fryer for 7 minutes

Put the eggs in to a freezer-safe bowl

Cut the Conecuh and sausage patties into smaller pieces and put on top

Freeze

This recipe yields 1 full serving. It has 481 calories and 29.6g of protein.

But enough of the recipes......

Like I stated previously, it's important to get the bulk of your calories during the day so you have the opportunity to burn them off. I've just been walking. I walk at work, I walk around the house- when I shop, that's when I get a lot of steps in.

Granted, walking doesn't burn a lot of calories. However, if you have your tracker on, throughout the entire day, you'll have burned at least 1 full meal off. It is also especially important to stay hydrated. Water no only helps with cutting down muscle pain (when you exercise), drinking a full 8 oz of water before each meal and after can help you feel fuller faster, and feel fuller longer.

I purchased a QuiFit 1 Gallon Water Bottle from Amazon. It arrived today and I plan to use it at work. I have the worst time drinking enough at work. The water from the sink tastes funny. We have a fountain that fills water bottles, but and don't always remember to bring a bottle of water that I can refill later. The simplest solution was to buy a water bottle and keep it at work.

I think that's all for today, guys. I have school work to do! I'll make a post later next week (unless something cool happens before then that I need to mention) that details what types of foods I eat for dinner since I do not meal prep those.

Have a great day, and thanks for reading!

XOXO, Lauren <3