#I might of airbrushed it a little bit too much though

[lukamitti]

This took a little too long to color

[connectionterminated13]

At approximately 12:42 pm on April 12, 2018

Hello there readers I decided to make a little Eleanor short, If you have stumbled across this and do not know the EleaLore, I suggest looking through the Eleanor tag on my Tumblr, But if you are too busy to do that the simple of it is this is my re-imagined version of Eleanor from the fazbear fright books! And this is a short story that I wrote for her. Now this was a Short finished quite quickly so I'm afraid that some of the Editing might not be up to snuff.. So forgive me if you would. And if you won't scroll past.

Please avoid all 2011, Words if you are triggered by:

#Death, slight descriptions of body horror, Religious implications And Eleanor being a silly lady

At approximately 12:42 pm on April 12, 2018 A woman boarded a bus in Oregon. If you asked three of the four other people on the bus what the woman looked like they would have described her simply. She was a pretty woman somewhere in her twenties carrying a backpack and wearing a simple purple dress and A golden heart pendant. Reddish orange hair was tied off in a simple braid. If you had asked Tommy Martins he would have had it a bit more detailed.

Tommy was the talking type, he worked overnight at a cafe downtown and was just going to his night shift when he saw her sit down next to him. And just like the others at first Tommy only really saw a beautiful woman. Yes she was interesting for the fact a lady like her was traveling so late at night but there wasn't really anything off about her until you looked a little closer. And being next to her was close and sure Tommy could have looked away after all he had a girl at home… but there had been something about the woman that had drawn his eye.

Maybe it was something about the way she held herself or the way the dress clung to her like it was stitched onto her body but the more he looked the more things felt wrong. Her skin was just a little bit too smooth and clear. Her hair was just a little bit too Silky and soft. All of the curves of her body were just a little bit too smooth. She looked almost hyperreal, like a woman in the fantasy of some young man. Like someone had airbrushed out all of her flaws, Tommy had thought with a strange shiver.

The woman said nothing, just looked him over like a lion sizing up prey and suddenly Tommy had felt like a jerk. He would have later laughed it off that it was just a trick of the bus light or the late night. He would then have told you he looked away and felt embarrassed and bad about it for the rest of the night.

If you had asked the woman how she felt about Tommy she would have told you he was a worm. After all that's how Eleanor felt about most people. She also probably would have killed you if you asked That night in particular, as she was quite mad. Which honestly didn't make much sense. 

The scam had gone perfectly, not a single hitch in the plan. Sarah was remarkably easy to trick, Eleanor could have probably told the girl she was a flying alien from space and still convinced her that she could grant wishes that she just appeared in the junkyard especially just for Sarah. Sarah was fun to rip apart,  Her flesh made perfect squelching noises and her bones broke easily. And of course it had been fun to stitch together again. 

Shoving things there, taping things here, it was all a good time!

And then being Sarah had been fun too. Sarah was a lonely girl but she got popular when Eleanor made her pretty and so Eleanor was popular and she had friends and they went to the movies and did girl things for 5 months. She let it go a month or two longer than usual because Sarah's Town had enough homeless people that Eleanor could steal Agony from but she could have probably been Sarah for oh give it to 2 years. 

But despite all that she was mad and concerned though she did not let it show on her fake face. She just sat there. Thinking about the sense. 

It was the same one she got when she ran into another of her kind. It was hard to describe in a way a human could understand. It was just an intrinsic knowledge that someone like you was near. But Eleanor had somehow known that this wasn't a close proximity, it was far away and that whatever creature she was sensing was just so big that knowledge of it passed through probably all of the other Agony creatures within the continent.

And all of this came to a point in Eleanor's head. Was this the Lord?

There was bits of evidence that pointed to it. How big in grand the sense was how it seemed to pull her towards it but on the other hand somehow it didn't feel like him. Of course Eleanor had never actually met her god in person so she wasn't completely sure what he felt like. But she knew he probably didn't feel like this.

This sense was like a dull pulsing drum beat in her head dragging her to a place somewhere in Utah. It was probably to assume that whatever this drum was it was beating in the heads of all of her contemporaries dragging them or repelling them away. How many would go like she was now to see where the music Led? How many would run away in fear like they did when she explained to them the Lord?

With a strange jerking motion her face momentarily falling into anger Eleanor thought of the others and how cowardly they all were. Tommy, who had been attempting not to look at Eleanor, found his eyes wandering back to the woman long enough to see her jolt like someone had hit her with a bolt of electricity, Her face temporarily falling into a deep dark red hot rage that later Tommy would never be able to properly describe.

Eleanor for her Parts did not care about what Tommy thought she had fallen back into her soft peaceful facade yet the thought of the Heretics who upon hearing her message head run or laughed at her made her more mad. 

Does them well they're cowards that's what they are little weasels, parasites. Those wild enough not to accept her scripture were weak after all blessed with Consciousness but scared trying to keep it up to care about much else. 

“Okay ma'am?” Tommy Said with an unintentional nervous stutter. 

“Yes, I think I am,” Eleanor said Softly. 

Tommy let out a small “oh” he didn't really know what to say to the woman. she seemed sick even but who was it his business to judge really?

So Tommy sort of shrunk back again up against the window trying not to look at the woman instead focusing on the uncomfortable bus chair with its blue carpet seat and back.

Eleanor continued to look at Tommy. He was scrawny. 40 something. He had the dark tan of a man who spent too much time in the sun. If you were to look at Eleanor you would see all the attributes Tommy had clocked as wrong but you also see the but you also see the glint of a snake in the grass staring down at a stupid little mouse who hasn't noticed the snake behind them sparkling in her eye.

It would have been so easy for Eleanor to reach forward softly and group the man's head in her hands and turn it ever so slightly. To snap those vital bones in his neck so quietly that no one would notice. 

Or if she wanted to have fun she could reach out and stick her hand through his back and out his chest. She could rummage through body and bone until she ripped out that beating black center of Agony that would form somewhere close to his heart. But she did not. 

For Eleanor held herself with the pride many of her species could never for she had a purpose; she served the Lord and what she did was for him. There was no use wasting agony when it could be given to him. That would be what she was doing if she reached over and ripped Tommy to shred. She had a full belly after all there was no need to gorge herself 

Tommy for his part could feel himself start to sweat and made the mistake of Opening up the mouth that over his 45 years of life had cost him so much.

“What's in the bag?” The words came out before Tommy could really think about it. They slipped through his mind and onto his tongue With the smoothness of water through a recently clean pipe.

Eleanor turned to him slowly, maybe she would kill him as a roadside snack after all her nerves were already thin and the man's squeaky voice piping up for a second time began to wear on them.

“Oh nothing, just some things I'm traveling with.” Eleanor unconsciously twirled her braid as Tommy scrambled for what to say next.

“Nice where are you heading? I mean… this late at night. for a lady… like you must be something really important huh?” Tommy wiped the sweat off of his brow it was just a woman and he had started the conversation he had to stop tying his mind in loops!

“But I don't really know. After all it would be a mighty big trip” Eleanor looked languidly out the window examining her fingers, Still covered in flesh at least to the human eye. 

That was the question wasn't? whether she would just go to the next scam or would she Find the center of this sense and convert it if it would listen to reason and if not..

“Well if you got a place in mind I mean you're already on the bus… why not head there! if it isn't too much trouble” The feeling that made Tommy want to squirm out of his skin was lessening. She was just a woman. yeah, sure, maybe a bit of a strange woman… but a normal woman, no less.

“You do make a point but it could be hard and it would take up an awful lot of time.” Eleanor batted her eyelashes slightly for a fact but the sniffling worm was right. Why not? It could even be the lord and her senses were wrong so why not check.

“Well the road on walked, and all that! Why not give it a try, Miss?” Tommy said with the first real and genuine smile he could produce since the woman stepped on board she wasn't that bad he had just been overreacting the night and something about the light had made him see flaws that weren't there.

Eleanor let herself smile too.

The man was right, it would be fun. He was smart for a bag of useless meat. And maybe for this bag of meat who had given her the little push she needed she would dance slightly over the line of her vows. One little snack for the road couldn't hurt.

“Can I have a hug?” Eleanor asked putting on her best puppy dog eyes And if you had seen her you would have done what Tommy did.

Tommy had hugged her gently, with the kindness of a man who thought he was hugging a strange lady with a big trip ahead of her. and after that hug Tommy had been silent until the bus driver had hollered for him to get off. It had only been after about 3 minutes of yelling the bus driver had realized Tommy had finally stopped talking for good 

No one ever asked Tommy's opinion on the night. Though if by some miracle you were able to reanimate his body for a moment he would have told you that as he felt his bones snapping the woman had whispered in his ear. But you can't. So you'll never know what he heard. None of the other men on the bus particularly cared as the woman had gotten off. 

If you had given any of those four men a million dollars to bet none of them would guess that at approximately 2:00 pm on April 12, 2018 The simple pretty woman walked off that bus with poor old Tommy's soul in her pocket and a smile on her face.

[rockethorse]

Do you have any tips or resources for improving at texturing? The stuff you’ve been sharing is brilliant— you capture the maxis feel so well!

Oh, thank you for asking, I'm quite flattered you think so! I have mostly been figuring stuff out through trial and error, so I'm hardly a texturing expert, but I can try and share what I've found works for me.

Firstly, wherever possible/practical I just steal from existing Maxis textures, LOL. Makes sense since we want to recreate that Maxis feel, right? If I can remember an existing texture that could be tweaked to work, then I go grab it at least as a reference. For example with the retextures of Alexander's little shorts-suit that I shared for the GoS challenge, I knew I wanted an oversized, hand-me-down denim jacket vibe... so why not go straight to the source and just grab a denim jacket texture from an adult mesh? Then it's just a matter of figuring out the "gaps" in the mapping and filling them in with airbrushing, clone tools, etc. Sometimes the final texture is completely different, but having the reference helped a lot. I'll also take or reference textures from TS3 and TS4 conversions.

On that note, I think it's immensely helpful for anyone working from a Maxis mesh to grab a UV map if possible. This thread of Maxis UV maps is great, but unfortunately not comprehensive - I can't find elder UV maps anywhere :( But still a great resource! It's especially helpful when you're changing something like necklines and shoes, which are often mapped awkwardly and make it really obvious when seams aren't aligned.

Full disclosure, I was already a digital artist, so I had a leg-up on certain aspects of learning to texture. But I still struggled a lot with hand-painting textures and would often get frustrated because what worked for my art didn't work with The Sims. Eventually I found brushes that worked best for me - this might differ from artist to artist, but I found that scaling airbrush tools down gave me the best balance of softness even for "hard" lines like seams, trim, etc. Using a harder brush stood out as looking too "digital" in-game.

Whenever I'm hand painting something from scratch, I first make sure my idea is possible by editing the alpha. I'll make the texture a bright floodfill like yellow, flatten any bump map, and then tweak the alpha how I'm imagining to see what parts are "meshed on" and where. This helps me figure out the boundaries of collars, necklines, hems, etc. in ways that aren't always obvious on a UV map. If the alpha can be edited the way I'm imagining, then I move on to adding small details like hems, buttons, etc.

Once I have these rough details, I start by adding "shape" to a flat colour with the airbrush tool. This means gradually building up shadows to give a sense of 3D. I often start from the sides to make sure the seams will be the same colour, though I do think it's best to go in afterwards with your UV maps to lighten up certain patches. Then I'll add highlights with the same technique, and start carving areas away to make folds and creases, etc. I do this before I add any texture. Often I'll start with a grey colour, to make recolouring easier later, but if I have a very specific colour in mind I'll do that one first and then make a desaturated version for recolouring later. Since I work with Maxis Match textures, it doesn't matter as much if you lose some detail with this process.

This process of building up a sense of 3D gradually and softly with the airbrush tool and shrinking the airbrush tool down to make finer lines instead of choosing an actual fine-line brush are the two biggest tips that I think improved my handpainted textures!

Also, and I mean this sincerely, but I make it look a bit crummy on purpose. EAxis textures are a wonderful blend of genuinely beautiful hand-painting and abhorrent photoskinning, all of which are flattened and smeared to squeeze onto 2000s hardware. Sometimes stretching or upscaling a texture is exactly what a recolour needs to achieve the "Maxis feel", you know? So don't stress too much about it. I always kind of laugh when I find myself obsessing over a tiny stray pixel or a mis-matched seam in my own content and then find the tackiest suit on MTS from 2004 like "looks great, unzip it". It's probably never gonna look as good in-game as it does in your graphics program anyway. Hair textures are where I truly embrace the fug because I know anyone who wants them is coming for exactly that. If people don't want smeary, slightly-dirty, mismatched-colour-groups hair textures, then they've probably found a different hair system that works for them, lol.

Oh, speaking of graphics programs, I use Krita for all my digital art and retexturing. If anyone is looking to get into making textures and doesn't have access to an art program, I highly recommend it for being free, open-source and powerful. If you're a beginner, then remember also that BodyShop crunches textures, especially for darker colours, so if your textures look pixellated in-game try using SimPE to build the DXTs instead for slightly different compression.

If it's an object I'm retexturing, I'll often clone the object in SimPE and then recolour the clone so that I can preview how it will look in SimPE without having to load the game. This isn't perfect, since there's no lighting in SimPE, so sometimes you won't notice little details that are meshed-on, but it's certainly faster than having to load the game every time, especially if you're making lots of little tweaks or stretching the object's mapping to its limits. I had to do this with the blackboards, the City Living toilets, and the bear chairs.

I think that's about it! If anyone has any more specific questions I can try and answer, and I'll try and add pictures that explain what I'm talking about a bit better the next time I go texture something. But in the end, I think "trial and error to find what works for you" is the best advice, along with "steal from other textures A LOT".

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay-adjacent Visuals: Jack's Lament

Can you feel me practically vibrating out of my skin???

On one hand, I'm a little sad because this is the last video I'll probably be making a post about for a while (though by the time you see this, Geoff might have uploaded a new video that I can actually talk about the visuals for (EDIT from future me: he did!), and if so, you'll be seeing a post for that one tomorrow), but on the other hand, this is my third (though in no particular order/ranking) favourite Geoff video on his channel so far, and I am so excited to finally be able to make a post for it!

Geoff's cover of Jack's Lament debuted on the 8th of October, 2023, though I didn't see it pop up in my YouTube recommended until the 29th (if you remember from my Hellfire post, I wasn't initially subscribed to Geoff or Voiceplay, and both channels somehow ended up dropping off my radar for a while. Jack's Lament was the first from either channel that I had seen in at least a year, and as soon as I saw that thumbnail, I knew it was going to be amazing, but oh my GOD it was even better (and with me stumbling upon Hellfire the very next day, well let's just say I was pulled even deeper down the Geoff/Voiceplay rabbithole than I had been the first time around 😅).

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll hit image limit on this one, or how much actual commentary I may have, but regardless, let's freaking go!

One hell of an opening shot, not gonna lie. Geoff's very-skeletal-looking hands playing the piano (in a beautiful way, might I add), immediately sets a very spooky/eerie vibe!

And this is one hell of an establishing shot! I mean goddamn there is a lot to take in here! Though one thing I will point out (that I actually only just noticed myself ^^;) is the Haunted Mansion headstone on the left, memorialising Madame Leota!

(Also shoutout to Pattycake Production Studios where this was filmed!)

I of course have to give a MASSIVE shoutout and kudos to Rick Underwood for the makeup job in this one, like holy christ he really outdid himself here! (and I can't thank him enough)

Ngl, if I don't come up with any other ideas between now and October, then I kinda wanna dress as "Jack Skellington Geoff" (Geoff Caskellington? 🤔), makeup and all (or just attempt the face makeup at least)

And seriously take a look at his hands! If it weren't for the super-high-definition closeup of his hands on the piano at the start, you'd be forgiven for thinking those are just really well-fitting gloves, but nope! An amazing airbrush job from Mr Underwood!

Also, if you look at his neck and chest in both this image and the previous one, you'll notice that he's got airbrushing going on there too, highlighting (or more accurately, shading) his ribs and other bones!

Finally, on the subject of the body paint job, if you've been paying attention to some of my other Geoff posts (and some of my Voiceplay posts), you might notice what's missing...

No necklace, and no rings! Had to remove them for costume/makeup/character purposes, rip. Must have felt a bit weird without them, but all that paint must have felt weird too, so maybe the weird feelings cancelled each other out? 😅

(His acting in this is of course 10/10 👌)

This video is one that I do actually know involved Geoff deliberately colouring his hair to make it grey, and it still looks as lovely as ever!

(Also this picture is a better one to check out the airbrushed detailing on his chest! (if you're gonna leave a couple of shirt buttons undone and your chest exposed, might as well take advantage of it! 😁))

The "moon" in this video is apparently just some big spotlight with a moon cover on it or something? Apparently you can fairly easily find them online or something, and you can in fact see the pole it's attached to underneath in this image here, but you likely wouldn't notice the pole if you weren't looking for it, and the usage of the moon is 100% perfect! (I've seen/heard one or two people wishing the moon was yellow like in the movie, but eh, it probably wouldn't have fitted the overall colour scheme of the video as much)

I had to include the "jumpscare" of course I had to! 😁

Also I can't get any good screencaps of it, but the way Geoff shifts from sombre on "a longing that I've never known," to more theatric/dramatic on "I'm a master of fright, and a demon of light" is so good, and the acting/choreography is absolute chefs kiss

"Bonjour!"

(For those of you not familiar with the original, the line "and I'm know throughout England and France" is part of the original song, but the "bonjour!" bit is not 😆)

A Geoff head not connected to the body! It's happened again! 😂

Also it's cool the way Geoff is quickly jumping/flashing from one point to another, reminds me of his Headless Horseman video

"No animal, nor man, can SCREAM like I can!"

What can I say, it's a very cool effect! Really ups the "oomph" factor of the little belt moment!

Tiny pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns in his eyes!!

"But who here, would ever understand..."

(I'm not even at half the maximum image limit yet, so I'm 100% just throwing in an extra screencap (or two) just because 😁)

Geoff pats the side of his leg to call for Zero the ghost dog, just in in the scene in the movie! (Also shoutout to Kathy, who I believe helped with puppeteering for this bit?)

"...that the pumpkin king, with the skeleton grin,"

(Freaking obsessed with this video, I tell ya!)

"The fame and praise, come year after year, does nothing for these empty tears"

This is the last shot before we see the gramophone logo (a very gorgeous shot btw), but there's a little bit of a bonus bit for those who stick around for the Patron credits!!

It starts to snow! Like at the end of the movie! It's a sign of hope and good things to come! <3

The original song is good for the movie, sure, but Geoff's cover feels like it has so much more depth (in more ways than one!) and emotion! And his vocal range is ugh god absolutely stunning and mindblowing! I cannot get enough, can never get enough!

But anyway, I hope you've been enjoying my Voiceplay/Voiceplay-adjacent posts! If there are any videos I've skipped over that you actually would like me to make a post on, please let me know! (And don't worry, I am planning to do all the 2017-onwards Christmas videos for both channels eventually - maybe as a Christmas In July thing?) I'm typing this on the 22nd of February, and if Voiceplay uploads a video in March that I wanna make a post on (nope), well you reading this will have already seen that post, and if Geoff uploads something in March that I wanna talk about (he did), then you'll see that post tomorrow (you will!). But otherwise, thanks for reading!

[spectraling]

Would you do a shading tutorial? How do you set the light and that wonderful white glow? What brushes are good and what program do you prefer? It would be nice if you could teach us how to do it so nicely 🥺 (btw Have a nice day!)

You too!

And sure! I love talking about art! Gonna put a keep reading on this one, though, it's gonna get a little long:

So, before I do any kind of shading or lighting I build up the illustration to this point, where I've settled on what the base shapes look like and what kind of colors I want to use as a base:

Once I have those local flat colors down, I do a pass of initial light and shadow before I start painting for real. This usually consists of multiple layers layered on top of each other, set to the multiply blending mode (that I totally always name and didn't do so after the fact for educational purposes). What multiply tends to do is darken and blend your colors with whatever color you put on the multiply layer. In this case it makes the color darker with a blueish tint.

Not sure how to explain this process if you've never used an editing software before, but I think it's fairly similar no matter what program you use. I lock the layers to the grouped flats so the shadows and light only appear on the figures and not on the whole canvas.

When painting it's usually a good idea to go from big shapes to small. I tend to flood the object(s) with whatever is my shadow color and then "carve out" the lights using a mask. You can just erase away if you want, but I recommend learning about how masks work because then you can more easily play around with the shapes.

I've noticed that doing it this way creates bigger and more consistent shapes rather than doing it the other way around. It also shortcuts you right into dramatic lighting territory lol, which was the goal here.

After that it's simply a matter of creating more layers with the same multiply setting to deepen shadows wherever it's needed. I also might add something like bounce light, subsurface scattering, ambient or secondary light sources to give some more life to the colors.

Final stage is render and clean-up, where I merge all of the shadow/lighting layers with the flats and lineart to have the entire object on one layer. I was terrified of doing this for the longest time, but it really makes the process so much easier. I always leave a copy of the original setup layers should I need to go back to it.

At this point most of your colors, shadows and lights have been sorted out so you can simply color pick from the source as you paint.

This is also where I add the rim light! Super effective way to make your object pop and add some drama! It's a fairly straight-forward process where you sort of outline the object with what is usually a pretty stark contrasting color. Don't forget that rim lights are *not* outlines, though! It's a light source, so it affects the object just like any other light. It doesn't only hug the outline of the object, but seeps into it at points where the light can reach:

You can play around with different blending modes for lighting, sometimes you get a really cool effect!

Lastly, that faint glow? Just a layer of using a soft airbrush in the same color as the light and paint it on top. Don't lock this layer to the object so that you can have the brush spill out a bit around the edges to create that soft glow effect.

And then you're pretty much done! There's a lot more to it, but I'd say that's a simple breakdown of how I usually approach paintings in the shading/lighting stage.

I don't make things out of thin air, though. One of the most important aspects of painting and drawing is reference! Go look at nature! Look at tons of paintings, drawings, photographs, illustrations and anything else that inspires you. For this particular piece I was very inspired by "The Garden of Hope" by James Gurney.

As for brushes and program it doesn't matter too much honestly, I'd say use whatever you're comfortable with. I still use Photoshop against my better judgement out of habit, but there's a bunch of alternatives out there like Procreate or Clip Studio Paint. You could also use something like Krita if you don't want to pay for it.

In my case I almost exclusively use the hard round brush (and airbrush as needed) that's default in Photoshop because it works fine for the kind of style I tend to go for, but there's....thousands of brushes out there. Just google it, you'll find free packs. Kyle T Webster has a pack that's pretty well-known, and that I also use occasionally. I'd say start with what's in the program of your choice by default, just to get a feel for it. It's easy to become overwhelmed by all the textures and shapes of custom brushes, but it can also be a lot of fun to play with so go ham if you want!

Hope that was somewhat helpful!

[the-firebird69]

It's like the airbrush it out of the movie you can see the zipper on the right on the right side with his left and he attached the top part and he attached the extra flap on the left of lambswool he can see where it's attached and you put those little doohickeys on and the extended the cuffs and extended the bottom with the cops should not have been extended and his shoulders are too small they probably tried to get big and he may have and shrunk down. My husband says he's threatened all the time so he's in this teeny car and he's begging he doesn't want to be big at the time and it's kind of payback and it might even be one of our cars and no it's not it's his the one he built in Australia it works pretty good it's kind of cheap though and it really fills it out. As Mr incredible he's only like 2 in taller than my husband his legs are teeny and his shoulders are just a bit wider 1 inch across wider and his muscles are a little bigger but he's really about the same size and the car is very small.

The mini of Meghan Markle in ours is not that small. He's getting a lot of interest right now people like that cuz they can put it inside things like trucks and so forth

And yeah their sales are up on ebikes and the kits are gone have gone through the roof. They say the numbers are astounding there's too many kids ordered and they can't make them that fast and people are making makeshift kits and it kind of works they're borrowing from mountain bikes and BMX bikes and who cares they don't can't ride them around and they find that the axles very solid and it's good enough and I'll tell you what they go pretty fast the best idea I've ever heard him have and people going after them and that's what triggered all this and he says no it's been brewing for a long time right now they're gearing up for another attack and it's going to be huge massive actually. There are other things going on but this is really the main event and it seems to be handling it well by comparison to what people thought it was an experience I mean he hasn't had a break to look at things or to rest or relax and it's about bombing people and really that's ridiculous it should not be that way but you know that's what they decide to do the empire is stepping it up and we block them and they were upset and then foreigners blocked them and they're upset and they're trying to get over there and they can't. Curious thing is he wants to know about the ships above and the hurricanes and we want to get working on it more right now we're going after them here and elsewhere so we can them and huge forces are getting ready to go down massive massive forces and they're going after The fleets of his and it's because his fleets are in the way of them hitting his forces he has about 30 million shifts but they're big and they're under full assault Mac Daddy Stan Biden and miscellaneous are sitting it out but their force is huge the foreigners are not attacking Tommy f right now but it is a massive assault and it's getting bigger. I suspect Tommy faluz's fleet he has to protect those areas or he won't have much of an influence topside

Hera

They're attacking four and they're pretty big and I see people walking around fat and then skinny and they're harassing them because they keep harassing the max and it's horrific and Stan is kind of hefty usually is in the character though but we shall see

Tmy f

We're not going after him right now we are a little

Macs

Did you see what they're doing they're going after areas that are near stand and they're near Biden and they are going to skirt them and then they will strike and it may be after tonight's letter we ask them if they think that that's what they're doing they'll be nowhere to refuel and they'll have to fight the empire and they want to take the ships and other and the warlock will try and take them too and it's going to get very ugly more shortly

Thor Freya

Olympus

[cumaeansibyl]

Crowley (A Repaint)

Check out this handsome lad!

Before+progress pics under the cut

Sometime in 2019, my sister-in-law Jenny came to visit, and she brought with her a rather large, heavy plaster snake:

He had originally belonged to her parents, and then come into her possession, and she had decided that it was time for him to find a new home. Okay, sure.

Then sometime this year it occurred to me, well, the poor lad could use a repaint. And I could try to match the original color, ooooorrrr I could be a nerd and paint him to match Crowley from the Good Omens miniseries...

So I got the go-ahead from all of the affected in-laws (my FIL and MIL's reaction was "oh good Lord where did we even get that" -- the answer is likely a thrift store in Saugatuck, aka Fire Island Midwest) and took him down from the top of the bookshelf to have a good look.

Immediately you can see that he's not only chipped and peeling, but also extremely dirty. (But a sweet face!)

Just a rowdy, dirty boy

Woof. This isn't strictly my fault for not dusting enough, though I don't dust enough; this was really caked in there, been there for years.

I did a little research and found that he's likely what's known as "carnival chalkware," molded plaster figures or plaques that were used as carnival game prizes before stuffed animals became the standard. Here's a good example of what he might have looked like before. I suspect his paint job was not original.

On advice from Discord, I set out to rough up his paint job just a little bit, very gently, so the primer would stick, and to clean out some of the worst dust without actually getting him too wet. I went through a lot of damp Q-tips getting up in between his scales.

Some time before this, Jenny had given Charles a little airbrush for his model train layouts, but he didn't know how to use one and hadn't tried it yet. Being home alone at this time and talking out loud to the snake on my table, I decided what the hell, I can read instructions, and went at it.

Primer looks great! Except then the fucking brush clogged and I had to take it all apart and rinse it. But I had proven that this would work.

Because the airbrush clogged so easily, I had to reduce the paint more, which led to a brief setback when I went too far in the other direction and it wouldn't stick at all:

No matter how much paint I sprayed on him, it slid right off. Depressing.

I eventually landed on the right consistency, and painted him pearl black, with a red belly and transparent red shimmer highlights. All that was left at the eyes.

Perfection.

Oh, believe me, I was sorely tempted, but instead I went with rhinestone eyes as in some of the original examples.

See? Him face

I didn't realize his eye sockets were so catawampus until I took this picture. I think it's quite charming. (This is where I made particular use of the red shimmer highlight, without which his face didn't have much definition.)

Thanks for reading! I hope you like him!

[harringtontmaa]

⚡ —  @munsontm​​​   sent  :    "I didn't fall in love with you, Steve. I hate that, falling in love. It sounds...not good? I was made to be in love with you. It was predetermined when I was born or some cosmic shit, ya know? That one day I'd find my way to you, and you to me. There's no chance in hell that you and me are some coincidence---though, is coincidence a cosmic occurrence too? It could be. Point is... this, us, that was destiny."

      AT FIRST GLANCE,  eddie wasn’t the kind of person who looked as though he would be particularly prone to such romantic notions as fate or destiny.  steve could still recall the way he had dubbed himself a cynic that night in the upside-down.  &  from the outside, eddie fit the bill.  his wardrobe was all creepy monsters  &  demons airbrushed onto rock-n-roll t-shirts, jackets heavily adorned with patches bearing satanic symbols  &  the names of metal bands with spiky logos, chains dangling from his belt, ink  &  steel pressed into his skin.  &  truth be told, he looked nothing like the imaginary person steve had always dreamed he would end up with.  but steve also knew by now that life didn’t always happen as you thought it would,  &  first impressions could be deceiving if you didn't bother to look past the surface layer.

                                                       &  eddie was no exception.  because when steve had finally looked a little closer at the other boy, he hadn’t wanted to look away.  eddie was so much more than metal  &  leather :  he was smart, he was funny, he was brave, he was passionate, he was  beautiful.  &  over time, steve had come to understand that the hard exterior eddie put up was built in part out of defensive instinct, intended to show his differences openly to keep those who might judge him for them away.  &  the worst part was that it had worked.  back in high school,  steve had given eddie a wide berth,  &  had treated him like shit the few times they'd found themselves in too close proximity to ignore each other altogether.  it always makes him a little bit sick to think about now, to imagine that he almost missed out on this life they’ve built together just because he hadn’t bothered to look properly.                  but that was years ago, when they were still young,  &  the lingering guilt is easy to move through when it has already been discussed  &  forgiven.  now, steve knows eddie better than anyone, is lucky enough to call him his boyfriend, his partner, the love of his life.  maybe he will even his husband, one day, if the courts will let them sign the documents.  &  he also knows that he’s the only person that eddie would say something like this to, the only one privileged enough to see the romantic side of himself that he keeps well hidden most of the time.  but between them, there are no secrets  —  steve knows eddie entirely,  &  eddie knows him back.  &  in spite of their differences  &  flaws  &  mistakes  &  vulnerable points, still love guides them forward, just as palpable today as it had been when they had first come together at the end of the world all those years ago.                                                  ❝ &  you say  i’m  a softie, ❞  steve teases, though his tone is gentle, undeniable emotion bleeding into his voice.  it doesn’t matter how long they’re together  —  how many times eddie tells him how he loves him,  hearing it always seems to strike steve directly in the heart.  it’s like a physical sensation, one that he still hasn’t gotten used to, leaving him flushed  &  breathless even after all these years.  &  suddenly he can’t stand the space between them, reaches out with both hands to take ahold of eddie’s hips  &  drag him in closer until their bodies slot together with both of steve’s arms looped around his lower back, natural  &  comfortable after all these years.             ❝ you know, i really don’t know if i believe in destiny or whatever... like if there’s some kind of plan to everything, or if things just kinda happen, ❞  steve says, fingertips slipping up underneath the hem of eddie’s shirt to trace lightly over his skin.  ❝ i just don’t know.  like i have literally no idea about any of that.  all i know is that being in love with you —  that isn’t something i have any control over.  i don’t think i could stop it even if i wanted to.  but it’s also like...  when it comes to actually being with you, that’s a choice.  &  i chose this, us.  i choose you, eddie. ❞  his neck bows until their foreheads press gently together, steve’s close gaze steady  &  warm on eddie’s face, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.  ❝ &  no matter what else happens in the meantime,  i’m going to wake up every day for the rest of my life  &  choose you all over again. ❞

[greyarts]

With winter having rolled in, ive been taking some time to work on an old hobby of mine that i dont think ive posted much about here. Bjds! I have 3 hujoos, the freya and freyr models as well as the fox that i dont recall the name of.

Anyway, while theyre all on the work table for some much needed love, the first up is the fox as he's the only one i havent at least started to customize. I wasnt sure what to do with him for the longest time, not wanting to do simply a grey fox. One thing lead to another and here we are with a marble fox kitsune. Only 2 tails because any more might actually kill me. Prepare for terrible sewing and questionable tactics.

We begin by making our camera as greasy as possible before attempting any pictures, and then we make a masking tape dress form for the fox. We then use paper towels and tape to create mockups of the outfit.

That went well and was wildly annoying but little did i know it was going to get far worse. We'll get there. Next i broke out my schmancy new airbrush that i hatelove because i dont have airbrish paint and i have to clean it A Lot. I got pretty good results with it though and im Very happy with the paintjob. Here is stage 1 with basic color blocking. Oh yeah, i sculpted on the head, cheek and ear fur with some epoxy! I also built up his lower jaw a bit, amd used my even schmancier new dremel to carve out his mouthline some more. The airbrush was crucial here as i needes thin layers of paint to help cover the epoxy. Please disregard the mess, i live like an Animal

Oh, i added epoxy fur to his chest, forearms, and calves too. Minor other adjustments but its small details. Stage 2 of paint! I switch between airbrush and a very small spotter brush and some heavily watered down acrylics to get the smaller spots on the hands and feet, and for the fur texture across the grey areas. I also took off about 5 years of my life by spraying msc without a mask on, forgetting how strong it was. I did maybe about 2 or 3 coats across all pieces, and the head got 4 to 5 coats. My pencils suck so i need more tooth. And also to protect it better from chipping.

In the meantime, i work on translating the paper clothing mockups into actual fabric and here is where i begin to regret my design choices. The pants didnt fit well enough the first time. So i ripped off the waistband and made a new pair. Which are also a little too tight, but you know what? I'm not resewing all of those pleats for a third time. I wont. So this is good enough. And yes i should have used blue thread on the shirt but i didnt have any and its been snowing like crazy so im not inclined to go get more. Some drawstrings needed to be added to the waist and ankles but other than that, we're looking good.

Ive hit image limit so this has come to a natural stopping point because i also need to wait on some more fabric to be delivered so i can do the coat next. After that comes the tails and final faceup work!

[parmelde]

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday NWarrior! 

I was so happy to write a little TOL fanfic for your birthday! Thank you for sharing your lovely comics and being an awesome person!  

If you haven’t read Temperature of Love go and do that!  It’s so gay and wonderful.  Fic is under the cut. General spoilers for the comic as a whole.  

Summary: Tamara’s birthday is coming up and the boys need to find her a present.  They break some rules, meet someone awesome, and know that they have the best friends in the world!  

“Hey boys,” Inga said, coming over and sitting down next to Brian and Demian at the lunch table.

“Hi Inga!” they chorused.  

“So Tamara’s birthday is coming up and I want to do something really special for her.  I need your help though.” Inga told them.

“Of course!” Demian said, grinning.

“What do you need us to do?” Brian asked.  

Inga grinned and told them of her plan. The boys were on board and couldn’t wait to celebrate Tamara’s birthday.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Okay, I’m not saying we should panic, I’m just saying Tamara’s birthday is coming up and we have no gift for her.” Demian said as they cuddled in bed that night after Inga talked to them.

“Maybe we can make her something?” Brian suggested.

“Except I’m horrible at making things, you know this.” Demian reminded him.

“I could make something from both of us?” Brian suggested again.

“Thank you for the offer honey, but I really feel like I need to get her something as well. Not just piggy back off of you and Igna.  I mean she’s one of my best friends and always helping me out.  I just want to do something for her for once that will make her happy.” Demian explained with a sigh.

“We’ll think of something!” Brian said.  “What does Tamara like?”

“Inga,” Demian laughed.  

“What about those cat shirts she always wears?” Brian suggested.  “You could get her one of those?”

“How though? We’re here at the academy.  The shirts are out in the world at the mall.” Demian hung his head in defeat.  

“Too bad we don’t have teleportation like Tamara, we could just sneak out and buy one and then come back.” Brian agreed.

“We might not have teleportation, but we can still sneak out.” Demian said, lifting his head and waving his phone that was lit up with a call from his mom.  Brian looked at him in confusion, but before he could ask Demian had answered the phone. “Hi mom!  I’m good. Brian and I are just hanging out. Actually, I have a favor to ask.”

********

“I cannot believe that you had your mom break us out of the academy!” Brian whispered as they snuck through the halls.  

“Shhh.” Demian said, bringing a finger in front of his lips to remind Brian they needed to be quiet as they were sneaking out of the academy.  Demian looked around the corner, the coast was clear. He hurried to a back door that he knew wasn’t locked and alarmed.  He quietly opened it and then slid outside, Brian close behind him. He made sure to leave the door partly opened so they could sneak back in.  There was a black car waiting across the street from them.  They quickly ran across the street and slid into the back seat of the car.  

“Hi mom!” Demian said as the car smoothly pulled away from the curb and down the street.  

“Hi boys! How are you doing?” Demian’s mom asked, grinning at them in the rearview mirror.  

“My heart is racing!” Brian admitted, holding tight to Demian’s hand.  

“Don’t worry Brian, we won’t get caught.” Demian reassured him, wrapping an arm around Brian. His heart was indeed racing. Demian usually enjoyed when Brian’s heart raced, at night when they were in bed, but not in this situation.  

“It will be okay Brian.” Demian’s mom said from the front seat.  “Breaking out of the academy is partly a tradition.  All though not as much of one anymore as it used to be.  My girlfriends could tell you stories of the things they got up to!” 

Brian took a steadying breath and snuggled more into Demian’s side.  It would be fine. Demian would be with him the whole time so his power would be fine. He was much better at it now.  Especially since he and Demian had talked and worked things out.  

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

By the time they got to the mall Brian’s heart had stopped racing at least a little bit.  Of course now they were going to be at the mall with a bunch of people, strangers.  Brian hadn’t been out in the “real world” in months now.  He took a deep breath as Demian’s mom parked the car and they got out and walked into the mall.  

“All right, let’s meet at the food court in an hour, sound good?” Demian’s mom asked. The boys nodded and waved goodbye as she went to do some shopping of her own.  

Brian smiled as Demian took his hand and led him to the tshirt store. They walked around looking at all the funny tshirts that were on the walls. There were a few that were okay, but none that really fit Tamara.  Sighing, they left not buying anything just yet.  

“I think there is another store on the other side of the mall that has some of the comics and things Tamara likes.” Demian said crossing over to look at the mall map.  “I just don’t remember what it’s called.”

“I don’t think the map will help us much then.” Brian said, titing his head to read the writing.  

“No, but I wanted to see where the bookstore was.  They have comics sometimes too.” Demian pointed to the map.  

“All right, then that’s where we should go!” Brian agreed.

They headed off in the direction of the bookstore weaving their way in between people and kiosk shops.  

“Brian look!” Demian said, coming to a sudden stop causing Brian to bump into him a little bit. Brian wrapped an arm around Demian and looked to where he was pointing. There was a kiosk with shirts and posters and an airbrush artist. They were painting a family that was sitting and posing. 

“Oh, do you want to get a painting?” Brian asked.

“No, well I mean at some point it would be fun, but look at the characters they have on some of the posters. That’s Tamara’s favorite game!” Demian walked over to the poster in question.  

“Oh you’re right!  That would be the perfect present!” Brian agreed. 

“I don’t remember these characters though, they look different.” Demian frowned in puzzlement.  

“That’s because they’re not from the game.” The artist said, coming over to talk to them. They had finished the family portrait. “I draw people in that style as though they were characters in the game.”  The artist explained.  

“Can you draw based on a picture, or do you need the people to be here in person?” Demian asked.

“A picture is fine.” the artist replied.  

Demian pulled out his phone and scrolled through his photos.  “This one?” he asked showing the artist the picture.  

“Oh, for sure, that is adorable! I’m NWarrior, they/them pronouns.” the artist introduced themselves.  

“I’m Demian, he/him, and this is my boyfriend Brian, he/him pronouns as well.”

“Nice to meet you boys!” NWarrior said.  “I have to say, Brian, I love your mascara.” 

“Oh! Thank you!” Brian blushed a little bit and Demian gave him a big smile and squeezed his hand.  

“Yes, he looks very good in mascara.” Demian gave Brian a small kiss on the cheek.

“Stop! You’re making me blush!” Brian gently pushed him away.  

“Oh my gosh, you two are just too adorable!” NWarrior grinned at them.  “So, who do you want me to draw?”

“This is our best friend, Tamara.” Demian said, showing them the picture again.  “It’s Tamara’s birthday coming up and she is always helping us and getting things for us and thinking of fun things for us to do. So we want to get her a present that she will love and thank her for all that she does as our friend.” Demain explained. 

“This is one of her favorite game series, so a picture of her as a character in that game will be the perfect gift!” Brian said.

“I love that! Do you want to watch me paint it?  If not, you can send the reference picture to my phone and pick up the painting in a few hours.” NWarrior offered.  

“That sounds good, we were also hoping to go to the bookstore and maybe get her a few comics too.” Demian said, opening his phone to get NWarrior’s number and send them the picture.  

They quickly exchanged numbers and made sure NWarrior had some good pictures for reference and then waved goodbye to continue on the way to the bookstore.  

They wandered through the shelves of books, looking for themselves as well as Tamara and Inga.  They were able to find some good books and checked out. 

“We need to go meet mom at the food court.” Demian said, checking the time.  

“Oh that’s good, because I’m hungry!” Brian laughed.

They made their way to the food court and found Demian’s mom. They got food and told his mom about the present they were getting Tamara and showed her some of the comics they had gotten as well. “This is all so sweet!  You boys are going to make Tamara’s day!” Demian’s mom said, smiling at them.

“We might even be better than Inga’s gift!” Demian joked.

“I don’t know, Inga’s got a pretty good one too.” Brian reminded him.  

“Well, I’m sure Tamara will appreciate and love all of them!” Demian’s mom said.  

“Oh, my phone!” Demian said as he felt it vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and looked at the message on the screen.  “Oh! NWarrior’s finished the painting!” 

“Let’s go pick it up!” Brian jumped up in excitement.  

The three quickly cleaned off their table and headed back across the mall to NWarrior’s kiosk.  

The boys waved and practically ran over to the kiosk once it was in sight.  NWarrior grinned at them.  “I’m glad you are so excited! Ready?” the boys nodded.  NWarrior turned around the poster they had painted.  The squeals and yells of excitement from the boys caused a few heads to turn.  

“It’s perfect!” They said. 

“I’m so glad that you like it!” NWarrior handed it over to Brian while Demian got his wallet out to pay.  

“We love it and Tamara will love it too.” Brian said.

“Yea, our screams will be nothing compared to hers.” Demian grinned, giving NWarrior a large tip for the wonderful painting.  

“Oh my, you all are so kind and generous.” NWarrior said as they received the payment and tip.  “I actually have a little something extra here for you two.” NWarrior handed over a small painting of Brian and Demian in a heart shape. “I had some extra time and you two were just too adorable to not draw!”  

Brian and Demian once again squealed and cheered very loudly.  “Can I give you a hug?” Demian asked. 

“Yes, please can we hug you?” Brian asked.

“Yes!” NWarrior replied and all three of them wrapped their arms around each other.  

“Okay, you are our artist from now on.  Anytime we want art done, we’re going to ask you.  Okay?” Demian asked.

“Repeat customers are a dream!” NWarrior replied.  

“Well we have your number so we will be in touch.” Demian waved his phone in the air. “Thank you so so much for all of your wonderful lovely work! You are truly amazing!”

Brian nodded in agreement.  “Yes, thank you for being so awesome!”

They said goodbye and made their way back to the car with Demian’s mom.  The whole car ride back they were both practically vibrating with excitement.  “I’m texting Inga to make sure she’s still distracting Tamara so we can sneak back in and hide the presents.” Demian said.

“Good idea, we also should probably try to calm down some.  I feel like I’m going to just blurt out everything the moment I see Tamara.” Brian said, trying to take a deep breath.  

Demian’s mom pulled over to the side of the road and parked the car.  They gave her quick hugs and thanked her for taking them to the mall and then quickly snuck back in through the door they had left propped open. They managed to not run into anyone and make it back to their room safe. They hid the presents and then collapsed onto the bed.  

“All of a sudden I’m exhausted.” Brian said, cuddling next to Demian.  

“Sneaking out and hiding things is tiring!” Demian agreed, yawning.  

In the next minute both of them were asleep.  

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Happy Birthday To You!” Demian, Brian, and Inga finished singing.  

Tamara grinned. “Thank you!” She took a deep breath and blew out the candles. Tamara got the first slice of cake and then Inga gave the boys each a piece before getting one for herself.  They all enjoyed the cake and ice cream.  

“All right, present time!” Demian said as they finished their last bites.  

“Yay! Presents!” Tamara clapped her hands in excitement.  

“Open these first.” Brian said, handing her a rectangular package.  

Tamara did so eagerly and grinned as she saw the comics.  “Ohhh!  These are the new series!  How did you get these?”

“We may have gone on a little adventure.” Demian winked at her.  

“Ohh! I want to hear that story!” Tamara exclaimed.

“There’s not much to tell, and we’re not as good as you and Inga at telling stories.” Brian shrugged. 

“Open this one next.” Demian said, handing over another rectangular package, this one a lot thinner.  

Tamara opened it and stared for a moment in silence to fully comprehend the picture, and then she screamed.  “OH MY GOD! AHHH!! OH MY GOD IT’S ME! AS A CHARACTER FROM MY FAVORITE GAME!  OH MY GOD! I’M A CAT!!!! A CAT FROM MY FAVORITE GAME! AHHHH OH MY GOD!!!” She continued to scream a combination of words and incoherent noises for the next five minutes before she finally calmed down enough to listen to Brian and Demian tell of how they snuck out of the mall and met a great artist and had them draw her for her birthday.  

“You are always doing so much for us, getting us things, taking us places, coming up with ideas of things for us to do, we wanted to let you know how much we love and appreciate you.” Demian explained.

“Yes, you are truly a wonderful friend Tamara and we wanted you to have a great birthday!” Brian added.

“Oh you guys!” Tamara said and pulled both of them into a hug.  Inga came around from behind and lifted them all up.  “I have the best friends in the world!” Tamara declared.  

Inga put them down and they let go of each other. Tamara’s smile was from ear to ear.  “Seriously, I love this so much.  I can’t wait to hang it up in my room!”  

“We also have the artists number so if we want other art we can ask them for future paintings. They’re very talented and nice and even drew an extra little picture of us.” Demian told Tamara.  

“Oh! Yay! I can’t wait to have them do another picture of Inga and I!” Tamara turned to find her girlfriend and got a second surprise of the day.  

Inga was standing in a field of flowers in a flowing robe.  “Holy buckets! How did you get all the flowers inside?!” Tamara asked. “Oh my god my girlfriend is so hot!” she said, somewhat quieter.  Tamara quickly made her way over to Inga.  

“Happy birthday my darling!” Inga said as she gave Tamara a hug and a kiss.  “You know my family runs a flower shop, so it just took a little work to have them set up a field of flowers for us to enjoy. You are always so kind and take us to so many wonderful places. I wanted to take you someplace this time.” 

“I know I said it before but I’ll say it again, best friends and girlfriends ever!” Tamara yelled and then kissed Inga.  

“And that’s our cue to leave!” Demian said heading towards the door with Brian.  

“Happy Birthday Tamara!” They said as they waved goodbye to the two kissing girls.

“Well, that was a very nice party and I’m glad Tamara was happy.” Demian said as they went back down the hall to their room.  

Brian nodded.  “It was worth it to see her face and reactions, I’m so glad we could make her feel happy and appreciated.” 

“We do have good friends, don’t we?” Demian said as they snuggled into bed.

“The best.” Brian agreed, giving him a kiss and smiling.  

They were great friends and he was so happy to have them in his life.

Fin

I hope you liked it! Thank you again for all of your lovely art and comics!  <3

[rainythefox]

Nightfall (CH.16)

Synopsis: Pre-Resident Evil 1, slight-AU/Canon Divergence. Claire Redfield comes home to visit her  brother Chris for the holidays but gets caught up in a dangerous game of  cat and mouse with Albert Wesker, the Captain of STARS, after stumbling  upon dark secrets. She can’t call the law; Wesker is the law, and she  can’t tell Chris. She is trapped…Claire/Wesker & Slight Chris/Jill (There’s Wesker & William Bromance too lol). Rated M for smut, language, violence, adult content.

AO3 Link

Chapter 16: Mine

Warning: this chapter contains lots of smut. You’ve been warned, okay? Okay! :P Because of this, only the first section of the chapter is available on Tumblr. Please follow the link to AO3 to read the rest. Thank you! :)

Okay, she knew her luck had taken a big dump recently, but this was ridiculous! If she thought the university job was difficult, she promptly changed her mind. That was a walk in the park compared to this. Claire stared at all the people. The exquisite party was happening at the ritzy Orient Restaurant on the second floor of the most luxurious hotel in the city, Central Hotel.

There had to be close to a hundred people here! The whole restaurant was closed to cater for the invitation-only event. Why did she even assume this “Christmas Party” was going to be just a group of rich, old dudes bragging all night? With how her luck has been, she should've known better!

Claire gaped at the man beside her who was unfortunately the closest thing she had to a friend at the moment. She recalled William’s little “briefing” on the drive over here.

“The party’s not gonna be that big. Just a simple “get in, get out”. You’ll be home in no time! Actually, you’ll probably be at Al’s home in no time!”

He was still rubbing his arm where she decked him.

“This is nothing like how you explained it!” she hissed.

But the mad scientist only half-heard her, his eyes lit up as though he was a kid about to enter his very first amusement park. Something in here was on his kill list because Claire overheard he wasn’t a stranger to parties, at least not to parties like this that could get him something he wanted. 

William was actually quite handsome all cleaned up in his suit. Claire had grown accustomed to his usual disheveled appearance that made him attractive in his own way.

He grinned slyly. “Oh relax, sweetheart. You’ll be fine. Most of these people are total bores…losers just out trying to feel important. They got nothing on you!” He winked at her. “You know what to do, who to find. Ada’s on your earpiece and Al and I are here to watch your back. Don’t worry. Al _definitely _won’t let you out of his sight. Just…don’t distract him too much. I need him focused tonight.”

“Are you fu-”

“Erica!” William nearly squealed, waving both arms and abruptly abandoning her. “Is that gown designed by Broca’s aphasia? Because I’m speechless!” 

Claire glared at the fickle bastard as he ditched her to join some other people standing around talking and drinking. She was on her own for now.

“Forget about him, Claire. Just focus on getting to Bennett. Best not drag this out longer than we have to and risk exposing ourselves,” Ada said on her earpiece.

“Okay,” she mumbled, and got into character, her natural Redfield bravado and assurance making it easy to stroll through the party like she owned the place.

It was a beautiful Asian restaurant. Most of the dark tables were accented with candles and glasses. The lounge-like chairs were colorful and comfy, and the tall ceilings gave way to soft LED string lights, oriental paintings and sectioned lattices. In warmer seasons, the same kind of setup could be seen on the massive balcony, but it was currently closed off.

She felt many eyes on her as she started her objective. But she only cared about one set of eyes as she discreetly scanned the place for them.

This many people here was both a blessing and a curse for her mission, and it could go either way real quick at any time. More people meant no room for mistakes, too many eyes. But on the other hand, this many people distracted amongst themselves could make it easy to get away with nearly anything.

Claire soon found the eyes she had been seeking, felt the familiar, pleasing burn on her skin they always caused. She traced them to an area with more people, where a grand, gold statue of Lord Yama sat. Directly in front of the god of death, Wesker was encircled by a small group, mostly beautiful women, and he charmed them effortlessly.

The younger Redfield had to keep herself from staring, also charmed by his chameleon smile, good looks, and striking black suit. Her nerves tingled from simmering blood. She couldn’t believe it. She was actually jealous?! Claire was angry with herself. How could she possibly feel anything of the sort over the man that was blackmailing her?

Besides...she knew Wesker well enough by now to know that it was all pretense. She was sickened and enthralled by how easily he could deceive and influence people. Ada was right. His calculating mind, his clever tongue, those were his deadliest weapons; not his hands, not his gun.

The statue of Yama was simply a backdrop to the true god of death in the room. His admirers probably had no clue and listened intently. The women batted their eyes, pushed out their chests, even the ones who had dates. And those men did nothing about it, perhaps too enthralled themselves or maybe it was the fact that Wesker had an uncanny ability to make most men around him submissive.

He may have looked like he was paying attention to them, his eyes concealed behind black shades, but Claire knew he was watching her. All of her. Every breath, every step, he was in complete tune. Something about that lit a fire in her belly so fierce, she trembled.

The jealousy she felt instantly crumbled. It didn’t matter if those women were rich or prettier or dressed in nicer dresses. They meant nothing to him. Not like she did.

And why was that, exactly?

Claire frowned, faltering mid-step, eyes still locked on Wesker across the room when she should've been moving on. She had some suspicions, if her gut and Ada and William were anything to go by. 

More importantly, why do you care?

“Claire?! Earth to Claire, hello?”

“Huh?”

“You aren’t exactly being inconspicuous staying in one spot drooling over Albert.”

Claire’s face flushed and she briskly walked away with a huff. “I’m not drooling!”

The first place she needed to check for her target would be the bar. Typical. It was in the back of the restaurant, low-lit, a massive, semi-circled bar with a marble countertop up against an airbrushed wall depicting a dragon floating through the clouds.

“Whatever you say, hun.”

Claire bit her tongue, taking a deep breath. “I was just happy to see him chatting up other women. Less problems for me.”

Ada sighed. “Claire, fishing is beneath you. First, they aren’t his type. More importantly, Albert detests easy women.”

That wasn’t her intention. “I wasn’t-”

“Unfortunately and fortunately for you, you are his type and are as difficult as they come. I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but you’re as close to obsession as he’s going to get romantically.”

The only fortune she could come up with was that it was unlikely Wesker would kill her. But obsession through people with sociopathic and psychopathic tendencies like Wesker were never a good thing. Her life might be spared at the end of all this...but at what cost?

Claire briskly pushed that thought aside, something cold and heavy dropping in the pit of her stomach. She needed to focus on finding Bennett and getting this over with. That was her excuse. After all, she wasn’t ready to acknowledge that her own growing infatuation would likely veer her into her captor’s arms for good.

She looked around the bar area. There were all kinds of high-status people attending Bard’s Christmas party. Doctors, politicians, city officials, even Mayor Warren and Chief Irons were here.

She recognized Mueller from Raccoon University having a casual conversation with the man that had to be her target. A picture was never granted, but a detailed description allowed her to quickly analyze him. It had to be him. Tall, average build, auburn hair and an anchor beard. He chatted with Mueller with a drink in his hand.

Just as Claire stepped their way, a strong grip snatched her wrist. She was spun around, coming face-to-face with Nathaniel Bard. He looked fine since the anaphylaxis she put him through with the shrimp, but the creep wasn't happy one bit with her, still keeping a painful grip on her arm.

"I knew I'd see your face again, girl. What happened at the university is all your fault."

Claire glared at him. "You're gonna be hurting more if you don't let me go right now."

The music and all the guests chatting around them helped conceal her threat from eavesdropping ears but the Spencer Memorial doctor heard her clearly.

He considered challenging her, lips pursing, but soon let her go after his eyes scanned the numerous faces within the party. "I know you're working with those two bastards. You have no idea how much harm you’ve caused me and several of my colleagues. Lowery was a good man, understand? He had a family. And now I’m trapped doing those two psychos’ bidding.”

“Maybe you aren’t the only one who is trapped.”

“Well then there’s more to your pretty face, isn’t there? They wouldn’t risk it otherwise.”

Who the fuck did this guy think he was? Claire clenched a fist, as it took all of her willpower not to break his damn nose. She had a job to do here. If she caused a scene in the middle of this party, especially with the man hosting it, then she could kiss her freedom and potentially Chris’s life goodbye.

She did let him in on what he was narrowly missing out on by grabbing his hand and twisting it slightly, squeezing hard on a pressure point. Just enough to make it really hurt, just enough to get her point across while looking like she was just holding his hand to nearly everyone else. “If my life didn’t hinge on fulfilling this job, you’d be on the floor with a broken fucking face, do you understand me?”

“Damn, Claire. I like your style,” Ada chimed in.

The younger Redfield ignored her and smiled, showing the guests they were having a pleasant conversation. Bard hissed in pain, quickly nodding. Claire released him and he jerked his hand away, shaking it off with a grimace.

“Listen, I’ll make the job easy for you. Just...do what you need to do and get out of here. Take those assholes with you. And never show your face at one of my social events ever again.”

“I’d love to, but it’s not my call. But...I have a feeling you know exactly who you can talk to about that.”

Bard scowled, rubbing his injured hand. He muttered something under his breath and motioned her to follow him, heading towards Bennett and Mueller in the back of the bar. “C’mon, and follow my lead.”

“Ugh, he better not screw this up.”

Bard put on a welcoming smile once they reached Mueller and Bennett’s table. Mueller recognized her, but didn’t say anything. She barely got a moment’s glare from him before he flashed Bard a guarded look, as if asking “what are you up to now?” The two men stood and the doctor shook their hands.

“Mr. Bennett! I trust you are enjoying the party? What kind of host would I be if I was neglecting my honored guest?”

He looked to be in his thirties maybe. His smile was warm as he nodded. He noticed Claire nearly right away, and there was a definite reaction of some kind. Attraction, she guessed, immediate infatuation. Great…

“Oh yes,” he said in a European accent. “I am grateful to you and Greg’s hospitality. You’ve made being so far from home much more bearable.”

“Good, good! It’s a shame your business partner couldn’t join us this evening. But I’m sure he had his reasons. You two are busy men, after all!”

Bennett nodded, composed yet amiable. “That we are. I’m sorry, but I have to ask, who is this beautiful young lady you have with you?”

Bard didn’t skip a beat in his front, presenting her with a grin like she was a piece of treasure up for auction.

“I know, stunning right? This is Elza. She’s one of my...assistants.”

The European man held out his hand with a handsome, friendly smile. It could’ve fooled anyone, and it almost fooled her. But her gut constricted at the last moment, her first indication something wasn’t right about this guy.

He took her hand and kissed it softly. “It is my utmost pleasure, Miss Elza. I’m Stephan Bennett. Please, just call me Stephan.”

Claire put on the sweetest smile she could muster, batting her lashes. “The pleasure’s all mine, Stephan.”

He looked her over, and although he was an attractive man, it made her skin crawl.

“Has Greg taken you up to your suite yet?” Bard asked cordially. “I’ve left you a little treat as a thank you for choosing to stay the night in Raccoon City’s famous Central Hotel!” 

Bennett ripped his eyes from Claire and shook his head at the host. “No, sir. I got the keycard to the room earlier, but wanted to check out the party before retreating for the night.” He presented a friendly, almost sheepish smile. “Honestly, I’m still a little messed up with the time zone changes. I didn’t think it would affect me this much.”

“That’s not a problem. My assistant and I will escort you up there. There’s a little bit of business I’d like to discuss with you anyway,” Bard replied.

“What about your party?”

“Eh, they’ll entertain themselves! Greg will take care of things while I’m gone. It won’t be but a few minutes.” Bennett glanced at Claire, expression unreadable, and Bard quickly added. “My assistant is completely trustworthy, don’t worry. She knows about our research.”

Bennett nodded, relieved. “Alright, lead the way, Nathaniel.”

Claire was uncertain what to do as Mueller shook hands with Bennett and bid them good night before heading for the bar. Her job was to stick a bug on the European businessman, probably so Wesker and William could track him straight to Aaron Roth. Leaving the party just tossed her whole plan into the garbage. This just got way riskier.

Nothing like winging a mission where my life’s literally at stake. What’s the worst that can happen?

“Great,” Ada whispered in her ear, not helping Claire’s gut feeling. “Wesker’s watching and listening through your piece. He says it’s fine. Just get that bug on Bennett without him knowing.”

Was that supposed to make her feel better that Wesker said it was fine? And how exactly was he able to do that anyway? That just made her earlier conversation with Ada a lot more awkward...

With a slight tick of her jaw, Claire composed herself with a friendly smile and followed the two men out of the restaurant and into the fancy, historical hotel.

They went to the lobby, a grand room with high ceilings, bright lights, and expensive carpet and decor. The elevator ride to the fifth floor seemed extra crowded, even though there were just three of them. Bard and Bennett chatted normally about their lives and careers. Claire didn’t like the frequent glances Bennett gave her. She waited for an opportunity, stayed vigilant with that inkling sprouting in her gut.

It got worse when Ada told her she lost visual on her from their location.

Wesker’s making you do this alone because he wants to see how you do, said a small voice in the back of her head. She didn’t have proof, but she wouldn’t put it past him.

She gave vague answers when Bennett asked her something, either curious and flirting or digging and deceiving. She wasn’t exactly sure.

Bennett scanned his card and held the door open to the big, two-bedroom suite. Bard strolled right on in but Claire hesitated, not wanting to put her back to these men. When she did, she felt his eyes all over her, and when he closed the door, he purposely brushed her to get by.

They stepped into the spacious living room first, accented with a bar and impressive kitchen. There was a home theater set up in the den, opposite a wall of glass that displayed downtown Raccoon City. Dark buildings silhouetted within soft glows of lights of all colors. Speckles of white rained down softly outside.

“You meant it when you said this suite had a view,” Bennett stated, drawn to the panorama.

Bard gave her a look, dipped his head in the direction of his “guest”, as if urging her to get her business done. Claire glared at him as he turned off to the bar instead.

“Yes, I did! And over here, something just for you, Mr. Bennett. Your favorite wine. All the way from home!”

“I don’t like this. Are you okay? Cough if you are.”

“How thoughtful of you, Dr. Bard. Thank you. You’ve gone out of your way to make me feel at home here.”

Claire didn’t like it either. She looked around, keeping up her appearance as she joined the men at the bar. She didn’t see any danger, but something like it was lurking about. Whatever it was, she was fine for now.

She coughed. “Oh, excuse me.”

Bennett watched her more than Bard, but she still couldn’t read his expression. Bard took the fancy bottle out of the container of ice. “Shall we have a glass while we talk?”

“Yes. I’d like that.”

That clicked an idea in her brain. Claire put a hand on Bard’s arm, mustering up the realest fake friendly smile she could handle, looking between the two men under thick lashes. “How about you gentlemen take a seat, get comfortable? Let me serve you.”

Bennett’s smile held something darker, but it was gone in a flash. Bard looked at her funny, but composed himself and slowly put the wine down on the counter. “Of course, Elza! You’re always the sweetest thing! Come, Stephan, over here.”

“What do you have planned, exactly?” Ada asked. “Ugh, I hate going by sound alone.”

Her cohorts had lied to her, she realized. William promised Wesker wouldn’t let her out of his sight and Ada said she would watch over her. Wesker didn’t say much to her before the party, but disclosed if she did what she was told, she would be fine. She was alone here and certainly felt something other than “fine” was coming her way.

The doctor and his guest went to the lounge chairs nearby, sitting across from each other. It was the perfect way for Claire to bug Bennett without him knowing. She opened the white wine and poured their glasses, giving them time to get settled in their seats and start talking. The more distracted they were, the better. It also gave her a moment to get the tiny tracking device ready.

The younger Redfield served Bennett first. She caressed her fingers up his arm, across his shoulder, stopped at the back of his neck, squeezing his collar gently. Her flirtatious smile was enough to distract him from Bard when she handed him his drink. She didn’t remain long, crossing to Bard and giving him his drink with the same smile, the same caress that made her skin crawl. She left them and returned to the bar, gathering up the wine bottle and ice bucket and placing them on the table in between the two men.

Claire eavesdropped on their conversation, but a lot of it made no sense to her. Big research, Sheena and Rockfort Island, Roth, Ashfords, prototypes, T-series. All similar topics that Wesker and William discussed and were involved with.

“You know, it’s strange how all of our business associates keep coming up dead or missing since we’ve been in town,” Bennett said after a long sip of his wine.

Bard grew quiet, confused, his fingers clenching around his wine glass. “What…do you mean?”

The European man looked at Claire, like he knew all of her secrets, not near as charming now. “You know what happened to them...don’t you, Miss Walker? Or should I call you Miss Redfield?”

Claire stiffened, nails digging into the chair arms. She dared not blink, glaring at him, keeping calm, but reeling underneath on how to react. He knew her name. Her _real _name.

Shit!

“Shit!” Ada echoed in her ear. “Claire, don’t do anything rash. Hang in there.”

It wasn’t as though she had much of a choice. She was on her own. Bard’s alarmed face told her everything. He was just as surprised as her, but would be too much of a coward to help her.

Claire took a deep breath. “I don’t know what happened to them.”

“I think Dr. Lowery would say otherwise.”

“How do you know my real name?”

The European businessman crossed one leg casually, swishing the wine in his glass, sharp eyes on her. “All it took was a little digging. You really shouldn’t use your mother’s maiden name as an alias, darling. Especially one as unique as hers.”

Cold steel bumped the back of her head. A gun.

Wesker had told her the same thing. Warned her.

She was careless to use it after not being prepared at the university. Now she was in real danger. The other wolves that Wesker claimed he was protecting her from had stalked her right into a corner. Then again, maybe he wasn’t expecting _this _pack. Or maybe he had and was ready to give her up as tribute for his own motives…

“Uh, Stephan, what’s going on, is t-this necessary?” Bard asked.

“Quiet, or you’ll have one to your head also.” Bennett motioned for Claire to stand. “My business partner, Aaron, would like to speak to you one-on-one, Miss Redfield. You have the time, right? You can help fill the gaps on what’s been happening to our dealings. We’re getting warm, but it seems as though everyone is too afraid to give us answers. Whoever you’re working for, we’ll cut you a nice deal if you expose them.”

Claire kept his gaze, defiant, silent. She had no choice but to comply. She had no weapons on her, no way to hide one in this dress. She slowly moved her hands down to her sides, preparing to push herself up, and felt it. The cold, metal coil of a corkscrew. She forgot she had brought it with her while serving the drinks.

Snatching it up between her fingers, she stood. The man who had the gun to her head pulled her out away from the chair. Bennett rose from his seat, finishing his drink and setting the empty glass down.

Bard shot up as well, looking between Claire and his guest, panicking. “Wh-What are you doing?”

There were two other men in suits now. They must’ve been hiding in the suite this whole time. Although they didn’t have weapons drawn, they were probably packing like the one behind her.

“Nathaniel, lying to me that she is your assistant? After what happened to Simon, I’m shocked. Someone’s got you cowering and afraid, just like Greg. Just like our friend the Police Chief.”

“I-It’s n-not what you think.”

Bennett nodded to the other men. They grabbed Bard by the arms, containing him. The European man pulled a gun equipped with a silencer from his suit jacket.

The doctor fought his captors. “Wait! No!”

Claire stabbed the man behind her in the groin with the corkscrew. He cried out as she spun, disarming him and shoving him away where he tumbled to the floor. She grabbed the bottle of wine and threw it at Bennett’s head just as he switched his gun on her. The bottle shattered on his face.

She didn’t get far with running. Not in that dress, not in those heels, before she was snatched by his men. A bash above her temple instantly made the world spin. Still, she fought, as weak as she suddenly felt.

Bennett was soaked, his face earning a few gashes from broken glass, blood mixing with golden-colored wine. He cursed, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. He grabbed her neck, squeezing hard.

“You little bitch! You’re lucky Aaron wants to speak with you, or you’d be dead!”

That’s when his arm snapped. Like a twig. He screamed. Claire, her vision still hazy from the blow to her head, realized he was attacked. His men were attacked; she was let go. A few blinks and she saw Wesker using some sort of martial arts to swiftly dispose of them. Not Bennett though. He raced away to his escape while holding his limp arm that flopped uselessly as he ran.

The STARS Captain had killed the other three. In seconds. With his hands. He paused, looking to the door where Bennett had fled, as if deciding whether to pursue him. He was over it in seconds though, grabbing her and pulling her to him. Not as rough as she had expected, but gentle wasn’t really in his nature.

“Hold still,” he commanded. She felt his hand on her head. He must’ve been examining the clout she had received. “Are you alright?”

There was some blood on his hand when he withdrew it, and she felt it trickling in her hair. It must’ve been just a small cut, otherwise it would’ve been all over her face by now.

“Yeah,” she said. And she was. It had only made her light-headed for a minute or so.

The nearby chair squeaked as it scooted on the carpet, and a muffled curse came from the other side. Wesker finally looked away from her, jaw clenching. He marched over to the furniture and kicked it. The chair crashed and skidded several feet away. Wesker seized Bard by the collar and picked him up, slamming him into the nearby bar counter. The sound his body made hitting the granite countertop made her flinch, and Bard’s yelp confirmed it.

“Wesker, wait, please! I d-didn’t know! I didn’t! I swear! He was gonna kill me too!”

“He was,” Claire confirmed. 

She had no idea why she defended the asshole, especially when he didn’t offer her any help before. But she could tell he was telling the truth. Wesker paused, but didn’t look at her, probably contemplating what to do with the doctor as he shuddered in his hands.

“Consider your...contract extended indefinitely,” Wesker growled, and shoved him over the other side of the bar. He put a couple fingers up to his ear, the same hidden piece she had. “Ada, William, we’re finished here. Ada, track Bennett. William, tell Irons he has a mess to clean up with Bard and Mueller.”

Bard got to his feet, shaken, his surprised eyes finding hers. The younger Redfield glared at him, a silent message he understood. She had spared him a cruel fate from the Devil. But she wouldn’t do it again.

She returned her gaze to the three bodies around her feet. The one she stabbed with the corkscrew had a snapped neck. The other two looked as though they had suddenly dropped dead, nothing to attribute to the hands of the STARS Captain. But she had seen it with her own eyes. And although it shouldn’t have, it lit a fierce fire in her lower belly, spreading when his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her towards the door.

The flames were fanned when he whispered in her ear, his hand squeezing her hip. “You did exceptionally well, dear heart. You make me proud.”

When Ada told her Wesker would want to take her home after seeing her in her dress, she had denied wanting him to, denied she wanted to go home with him willingly. But after what she saw, how he held her close to him like she was his, and his alone, how his breath upon her ear titillated her, made her receptive to him only, she could no longer deny it.

Claire wouldn’t be able to stand the drive there. She wanted him. Wanted him to take her. She was a liar; it wasn’t just a one-time fling or a mistake. It was going to happen again. And she wanted it to, and would do nothing to stop it.

[yourfriendslimey]

Clouds of Cream

Pt. 1

Summary- While taking a day to run weekly errands, you take the time to stop at your local cafe where a certain handsome barista happens to work...

Pairing: Mark Tuan x Reader

Genre: Fluff

author’s note: This part is mostly to establish base story, also later parts will contain sexual themes; however, i COULD also produce watered down versions for those of you who enjoy the story but don’t care for those kinds of things. lemme know. Anyways, enjoy <3

WC: 2342

Part. 1- I Never Got Your Name…

Your eyes pried themselves open as the morning sun snuck into your studio apartment. With a heavy arm, you reached over to the tiny bedside table and grabbed your phone. 8:00 a.m…. You groaned, tossed your phone onto the table and pulled the blanket over your face. It was Saturday, your day off work, so you could in theory sleep in. However, you knew if you didn’t get up now then the To-Do list tacked to the cork board above your desk would go unattended. Plus… You thought, sitting up haggardly…I could stop at the café while I’m out…

You had gone to Downtown Brews for the first time a few months ago with a close friend who swore up and down it had THE best coffee. He was right. Now you were all but addicted. The roasts were divine, and the pastries were nothing to scoff at. And often by chance, you were helped by the same barista who, if you dared to say so, was not too hard on the eyes. The barista…You felt guilty not knowing his name by now. Even though you saw him every time you walked through those doors, you never managed to read his nametag. You were always too…distracted.

You let your feet hang off the bed for a few moments while your mind began to wander. As you stood and made your way to your tiny bathroom, you wondered if he even really noticed you. Of course, he recognized your face. You were there all the time. At the counter, he would give a casual smile and in his cool tone say “Hey, y/n, nice to see you again? The usual?” They took names for orders, so yeah, he knew that too. He knew your regular order because it was well... your regular order. But that didn’t mean he really saw you. The café had a lot of regulars, he probably knew a few orders and names by heart. While brushing your teeth you became even more lost in thought… You leaned close the bathroom mirror, analyzing your face. It was still puffy, showing the aftermath of a late night’s sleep. You frowned a little. Maybe he has a girlfriend. Maybe you just weren’t his type. You fed into your dismay while taking a longer than usual shower.

With fresh breath and a newly showered body, you walked to your closet and pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans, an oversized t-shirt with your college mascot on the front, and a grey dad-hat. You might as well be comfortable while running around all day. You grabbed your backpack and tossed in your phone charger, wallet, and keys. You quickly snatched the list from the board and hurried out the front door before the demon that was procrastination could set in.

You groaned as you walked to the end of the hall, anticipating the journey you had to make down the stairs. The elevator was down and had been for months now. The landlord kept telling you someone would be in to fix it next month, but it seemed like next month never came. Instead, you frustratedly stomped down the stairs, each time cursing past you for wanting to live on the third floor.

The building you lived in was nowhere near fancy. But it was home at least. Unlike the buildings uptown, the lobby wasn’t big and beautiful with potted plants and delicate light fixtures. It was more of an extra wide hallway. The walls presented a sickly grey-green on the upper half, the bottom being slowly warping wood paneling. A large portion of the space was dedicated to old metal mailboxes and contained ceiling lights hanging on their last legs; more than half of them flickering or entirely dead. You decided to check your mail later. You never really got anything anyway.

Outside, you were met with a clear sky and smiling summer sun. A warm breeze danced through the branches and the sweet smell of mature flowers blessed your nose. You felt more energized by the perfection of the day and with newfound eagerness, began your walk to the café. You breathed easily, taking in your surroundings. It was around 9:00 a.m. now and most of the city was already awake. Busy men and women walked as fast as their legs could carry them. Some to their respective jobs and others you presumed, to use the day the same as you; going off to clear a long list of errands. The start of summer vacation also meant children with time to kill. Kids ran up and down the sidewalk, getting what you deemed an early start to their day’s mischief. A couple walked hand in hand, giggling and smiling. You could overhear them mention something about grabbing lunch later and maybe seeing a movie. Seeming them happy together sent you into a vivid daydream.

You saw the barista’s warm smile and kind eyes. You confidently sauntered up to the counter, cool as ice. You flashed a cheeky smile that caught him off-guard. “Hey there, what’ll it be?” he said with a fully flushed face. You leaned in real close and looked him in the eyes. With a stolen velvet tongue, you said “A tall, dark, and handsome…”

The cheesiness of the line snapped you out of your trance with a quiet laugh. Before you knew it, you found yourself standing in front of Downtown Brews. It sat gingerly on the corner, beckoning you inside. The coffee cup logo printed on the glass door a sight for sore eyes Through the large window you noticed that almost every seat was full. No big deal since you just wanted to grab something to eat while you walked. You pulled open the door, a small bell jingling overhead. You placed yourself at the end of the line, grateful that it wasn’t too long. The early morning rush had pretty much passed already. You scanned the peaceful scene. Even though it was full, the loudest noises were the clinking of mugs and forks. It was always like this no matter the time of day.

Downtown Brews had that affect on people. The café created a sanctuary away from the loudness of the city. It had a minimalistic look. Plain golden-brown wooden floors, beautifully simple wooden tables and chairs, and small hanging lights that seemed to float in the room. On each table was a centerpiece containing small purple wildflowers in cute white vases that looked like fine china. The walls were mostly windows, save for the left wall that made contact with that of the bookstore next door and the gray brick wall behind the counter. It was decorated with shelves lined with mugs, glasses, and more white vases with various plants and flowers scattered about. You noticed that every week, there was at least one new one. The owner of the place must have had a real love for flora.

You stood for what felt like ages, listening to some poor young intern order complicated coffees and various treats for what seemed to be an entire office. You anxiously switched your weight from one foot to the other, wondering if maybe today you would order something new. And then you saw him. The man who made your face hot and your head cloudy. He was always here when you were, not that you were going to complain about it. He looked so suave in his uniform. The white shirt, black slacks, and black apron on his waist seemed custom made for his slender frame. How could such simple clothes look so good on someone? Your hands felt clammy and your chest went tight. You hated and adored this feeling all at the same time. Taking a few quiet deep breaths, you set your sights back on the menu, busying your mind with deciding about what to order for breakfast.

You studied him as he switched places with another staff member and prepared his customer’s order. The café had a lovely practice. Whoever took your order would also prepare it. This allowed for a more personal experience that resulted in fewer messed up orders. The baristas took turns instinctually; based off who was the least busy.

You gawked at him, transfixed on his form. You watched as he grabbed a few pastries from the glass case in front of him, slid them into a small toaster oven and began fixing the drinks. Every movement was smooth and graceful. He was like an angel. His face was lit up with a precious smile as he handed over the massive order and with a nod chirped “Here you are! You coworkers better say thank you for this. Hope you have a good day.” The intern gave a rushed “Yes, thank you, you too,” and fixed her gaze on the cardboard trays of drinks stacked onto boxes of patisserie. She shuffled away with a sense of urgency you’d never seen.

The barista’s skin was almost glowing. It looked soft and flawless, almost like it had been airbrushed. But it was all too real. You heart began to race as the last person between you and the counter wandered off. You shook your head lightly, trying to snap yourself back to the now.

“Can I help who’s next, please?” the honey voice flooded your ears.

You nearly stumbled up to the register, eyes barely leaving the chalkboard menu hanging above. Even though you weren’t really looking, you could still feel the warmth of his smile. You met his eyes. “Hey y/n. How’s it going? Medium iced coffee with vanilla creamer, three sugars, and cocoa powder on top, right?” You felt the heat rising in your face.

“Hey, uh yeah. I mean, no.” Your voice was almost imprisoned in your throat, impulse taking over.

“Oh, did I get I get it wrong?” he let out a small chuckle and ran a hand through his beautiful hazelnut curls, “Sorry about that, guess I must be a bit tired if I’m forgetting-“

You didn’t mean to, but you cut him off “Not at all. I just wanna switch it up a bit. Today I think I’ll have a medium iced cold brew with sweet cream and caramel this time. And could I also have a cranberry muffin, please?” you smiled shyly, embarrassed knowing that you were obviously flustered.

He smiled wide and clasped his hands together. “Well I see we’re mixingg things up now,” he giggled quietly while punching your order into the automated screen, “Gotta keep me on my toes somehow.” Damn that smile- you took off your backpack and quickly pulled out your wallet. “Is that for here or to go?” He peered up at you, eyes doe-like. “To go, please.” You choked a little and could have sworn you saw a bit of disappointment in his eyes but passed it off. He told you the total and you handed him the cash. “Alrighty, I’ll have everything ready in about ten minutes.” You nodded and gave a small hum as he gave you your change.

You stepped off to the side and let your eyes follow him as he skillfully crafted your drink. His smile was replaced with a stern look as he focused on his task. You wondered if your mouth was watering from the aroma of coffee and hot muffin awaiting you or something else. Suddenly, it hit you that once again you avoided looking at his name tag. You instinctively avoided looking at one part of him too long. As a child mom had taught you it was rude to stare, and that sentiment stuck with you even now. You chastised yourself. It felt as though after you missed it the first time, it felt impolite to check now. But it was ruder to just not know. You always wanted to ask, but avoided it, thinking he would think you were a moron since he clearly has a nametag on. You silently huffed in frustration and made attempts to get a better look. However, you couldn’t get a clear view. If it wasn’t a machine in your way, it was one of the other baristas, or he was simply moving too much or he was turned away from you. Though you couldn’t deny that you enjoyed looking at his back almost as much as his front.

“Y/n, your order’s ready.” His smile had returned as he stepped up to the pickup area.

He held out a small brown paper bag and your drink. “Here you go. Have a good day, and I’ll see you soon.” His face was warm, his smile genuine. You beamed at him and gently took your things Your heart fluttered. Without even thinking, the words flew from your lips. “I’m sorry, I know I come here all the time, but um…” he leaned forward, placing his hands on the counter, “well I don’ actually know your name and i keep forgetting to ask…And it feels rude to not know since you’re such a good server.” He chuckled, raised an eyebrow and smirked. He shook his head lightly and let it drop to the side. “Tsk tsk tsk. And I thought we were friends.” His smile melted your heart. He stood tall and folded is arms.

You apologized again, telling him you knew he had a nametag on but you always forgot to look and began to ramble about feeling nervous to ask and the whole thing. He gently cut you off. “Don’t worry about it. It’s Mark. And now that you know, you better not forget.” He pointed a playfully stern finger at you. The name rang in your head. This man who occupied so much headspace finally had a name. A beautiful one. At least to you. You grinned, “I won’t, I promise. I’ll see you later, Mark.” You turned to leave and as you did, you were certain his smile had grown bigger and his cheeks pinker.

Mark....

[thewellbeingwarrior]

My Carer took this one of me this morning and I look like I am pouting for the camera! But actually I have to do this to control my jaw movement from my Dystonia 🤪😂😂🤣🤣😄otherwise I would look 👀 like I am “ gurning!” Which are not my words but a paramedic who before I took anti seizure medication I used to get ambulances a lot and anyway I had been asked if I had taken any amphetamines? Thanks a bunch I thought ! So otherwise l can end in photos too with the so called “ gurning look!” 😁🥴😯😧🥴🥴😲😐🥴🥴 it is’nt controlled with medication because they cannot find how to stop it!!! But anyway... here’s to explaining why I look like I am posing!! But ( Liz ) had said “ I have to take a picture of you because you are matching the bedding!! And you’re sunglasses 🕶 actually go with your necklace! “ That is not for a superficial super star look!” But again, if you have read my blogs? I have light sensitivity and my necklace was a “cool coincidence“ it matched, so she said I have to photograph you in bed!! Not a regular thing, but a funny take on glam! Difference... no makeup and no photoshop!! What is it about all this “ picture perfect?!!” Can’t we be our own authentic selves? A bit worse for wear at times?! As I have mentioned before I can’t brush my hair and it’s been lockdown and haven’t been to the hairdressers since before lockdown so it’s a case of “ tough luck!” and people have started having to deal with longer hair as my father told me recently! And well many women I am sure have had to just leave it all! In my case it’s a just got out of bed 🛌 look! You know the hair cut that is supposed to look like you were pulled through a hedge backwards kind??!! ... Well that one!! And actually it’s just as well, because I cannot imagine having to try straightening my hair even though it is straight I have to let it be because I cannot brush it! 🥴🤣🤣😂😂 So, that perfect just got out the salon look never happens! But actually, it’s so much easier to manage! If you have a disability I recommend it ( if you have thick hair?) just getting the weight razor cut off the top of your head to take the weight off! and some rough layers guys! What is wrong with many of us?! Why are so many people “ buying “ into this belief that we have to be perfect and airbrushed.. all the time?! It’s not the real you?! And although some of the pictures may look good ( but not real) I think 🤔 many people need to know that they are “ enough!” And in fact, I think 🤔 the less you wear when it comes to makeup (not that I can, nor use up my energy on it, let alone trying to be all perfect and again, my energy is limited! ) I think 🤔 the more you put on, the more you look different when you haven’t got it on. And then, many get into a cycle of trying to keep up a look through fear of what others might say on social media?? We’re not celebrities! and remember that they don’t look like they do either in real form! In fact you would be quite surprised! 😱 So, this is also my message, especially for those that have disabilities or are having a “ Oh my God!I look worse for wear day?!” So does everyone else get those days! But, let’s see ourselves also beyond the “ superficial image!” It’s great to look good and feel good , but it’s not all we are! We are much more than that! We get older and you cannot buy your own authentic personality in a shop they don’t sell them! 🥴🤣🤣😂😂😂 Have a pimple? so what if your hair doesn’t look like it’s come out of a salon!! Because we’re worth it ! we don’t need to be wearing L’Oréal to be worth it all the time! And the thing on my neck is a vitamin B12 patch that I bought to try out as an alternative to B12 injections it’s worth trying out “ every little helps!” as they say! 🤔🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼💫🌷🌷❤️🌍✌️✌️# no makeup # how the superficial look is damaging young girls # body image # stars without makeup # Vitamin B12 patches # the “ potential benefits” of taking vitamin B12 # Multi vitamin B drops # Dystonia # Functional Neurological Disorder # fibromyalgia # non epileptic seizures # muscle spasms # chronic pain

[artificialqueens]

Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, 2 (Branjie) (and background everyone) - Ortega

a/n: thank u for being so lovely to me about this rewrite! this chapter was tricky to rework but i solved it in the end wOO! as always love will always be appreciated so if it’s ur first time reading (or even if it’s not!) feel free to shoot some my way!! here we go with chapter 2 of strictly au 2: electric boogaloo (yes i will be making that joke every time i resubmit a new chapter xo)

fic summary: Strictly Come Dancing enters its 18th series and its producers, after being goaded by a rival dance show on its inclusivity, commission it to be an all-female cast. Unlike Akeria who’s just here to bone her potential dance partner, dancer Vanessa is ready to act like a professional.

And then TV presenter Brooke Lynn walks into the rehearsal room.

***

26th September 2020

Vanessa checks herself out in one of the full-length mirrors, her outfit a blur of red sequins and fringing and the flecks of glitter she’s spread across her collarbones and shoulders popping under the lights of the dressing room. She blinks slowly and carefully once, twice, then gives a little flutter of her immaculately-applied fake eyelashes.

“Makeup did a great job tonight,” she smiles appreciatively at herself. Akeria appears from behind her, squeezes her in a hug.

“Mm. Although I guess it helps when they get a canvas like mine to paint on,” she flutters her own falsies whilst framing her face with her hands, and Vanessa bats her away playfully. Suddenly they are nudged out of the way by Aja.

“Do you clowns mind? Some of us have to actually use these mirrors.”

“Yeah, let Aja in. She needs all the help she can get,” Shea calls from across the room, the girls giving a laugh and Aja giving a faux-wounded cry and dashing back across the room to whack Shea. Vanessa has missed this- the dressing room camaraderie, the gossiping and the occasional catfight. She’d marked out her territory in the long, white-and-metal room a few years ago when she’d befriended Akeria and Monique, and the three girls sit at the same three white vanity tables in the same three only-slightly-uncomfortable tan-stained white chairs, with their crushed water bottles and makeup bits and bobs and packets of dried fruit snacks scattered over the area like a bomb has gone off. The blast of hairdryers, hisses of hairspray cans, excited chatter and the playlist the dancers have all cultivated together combine to create one chaotic, noisy sound that Vanessa thinks is a little bit magical. It’s even more magical, more exciting and thrilling, now that she’s actually going to be partnered up with someone and have a proper Strictly journey.

“What’re y’all gonna teach as your first dance?” Monique asks, already touching up her eyeliner despite the fact she doesn’t need to.

“Hmph. Depends who I get,” Vanessa shrugs, a little thrum in her heart. “I wanna get some ballroom out of the way first though. Then it’s one less to choreograph.”

Monique hums in agreement. She knows Vanessa has limited ballroom experience, having competed almost exclusively in Latin competitions. Vanessa looks over at Jan and Jaida who are chatting excitedly with Plastique. They all knew each other from the ballroom circuit before they started on the show and Vanessa knows she’ll never be one of those dancers that exudes grace and poise, little paper dolls that float across the floor practically on tiptoe. Then again, those girls will never be a dancer like she is, all hips and curves, sass and fiery passion and playfulness. Well. Jaida probably could if she wanted to, but Vanessa remembers when the pros all did the Cell Block Tango number last year and Jaida kept getting the giggles at the sexiest parts and setting all the other girls off laughing. For one of the most attractive girls on the circuit, she balances it out with being a bit of a dork.    

“You sure you don’t wanna lead with your strong suit? Arrive with a bang, that sorta thing,” Akeria muses, and Vanessa shakes her head.

“It’s a long game, girl, you can’t peak too early.”

“Well my plan is to peak on the first night and then plateau. Tens across the board right through to the final,” Monique pipes up, touching her lashes and pulling a face at the mirror. Vanessa and Akeria share a long-suffering look and roll their eyes.

“Of course,” Akeria indulges her. “I’ll maybe do a Cha Cha Cha or somethin’.”

“Hey! I was gonna do a Cha Cha Cha!” Monique cries, appalled. Vanessa bursts out laughing.

“Bitch! There’s only about four dances you can pick from at the start anyway, if you wanted to be the only one doin’ it then lower your expectations,” she laughs at her friend. Monique narrows her eyes, turns around in her chair and calls on Crystal, hairspraying her long, dark wavy ponytail in place at her own vanity table. “Crys! What’re you doing for the first dance?”

Crystal turns around excitedly, looks to the ceiling in thought. “Oooh…some sort of samba, maybe? Start out difficult.”

Monique pouts, halfway to satisfied. “You heard what any of the other girls are doing?”

“Jaida’s undecided. Aja keeps talking about this vision she’s got for this rhumba to Chan Chan…oh! Jan’s doing a Cha Cha Cha.”

Vanessa stifles a laugh as Monique gives a wounded groan. “Damn it, Jan!”

Crystal laughs, shakes her ponytail out and shrugs. “To be fair, I think Jan’s planned out all her dances until she gets to the final. Nobody’s thought to tell her she might not get that far.”

“Hey! Heard that, asshole,” shouts Jan, a few tables down.

“Love you!” Crystal calls back, her voice typically high and sweet and ensuring nobody can ever get mad at her.

Talk turns to partners. It turns out Crystal’s got her eye on Jackie or Gigi, and Vanessa swears she can see a bit more blush appear on her cheeks when she tells her that Gigi was gunning for her as well. As some of the other girls who’re finished getting ready around them join in, Vanessa sneaks a look at her phone and idly scrolls to Instagram to find a certain comment that’s been running through her mind for the past month. A photo of her in the studio, it’s not even that cute; she’s got her old dance school hoodie on and a pair of black Primark leggings paired with her obnoxiously bright blue trainers, and she’s sitting on the floor fresh from her warmup holding her phone up to the mirror. Vanessa scrolls down, feels her heart give a little excited jump when she reaches the comment she was looking for.

bhytes:  😍😍😍

It’s dumb and embarrassing how much she’s scrolled Brooke Lynn’s profile since the girl followed her all those weeks ago. Vanessa had felt something inside her burst when she’d first seen the notification, and she still tries to tell herself she wasn’t disappointed when she saw that Brooke had followed most of the other pros too. Vanessa is only hung up on the girl because she’d be such a good partner. It’s not like they really flirted when they met, anyway- Brooke had just been joking around, and Vanessa had followed suit. Some jokes between two girls that had just met and had hit it off with each other stupidly well. It wasn’t anything more than that. Vanessa can’t take her eye off the ball this season; she’s in it to win, just like all the other girls. Being benched for two years has struck a determination in her that she’s not ready to let die. She remembers how confident Brooke was, how easily the moves came to her, how she dipped Vanessa safely and carefully but with such skill and how close they were pressed together when Vanessa came back up-

Alright, bitch. That’s enough of that.

Akeria yelling her name makes Vanessa jerk her head up from her screen, the other girls laughing at the surprise on her face.

“What are you even doing, Jesus,” Akeria mutters, grabbing her phone out of her hand. Vanessa gives a little squeak of outrage, trying not to blush as a shit-eating grin spreads across her friend’s face as she looks at Vanessa’s phone and the other dancers ask what she’s seen.

“Well, let’s just say we know who Vanjie wants to be partnered with,” Akeria smirks, the other girls descending into excited squawks as Vanessa clamours for her phone back and Akeria relents.

“Don’t make it weird, bitch, God,” Vanessa murmurs, trying not to be stung with embarrassment. Crystal pulls a sympathetic face, reaches out to place a comforting hand on Vanessa’s arm.

“Aw, Vanjie! It’s normal to get a lil’ crush on one of the celebrities, they’re all so beautiful and airbrushed.”

“Is it, though? Or are you just hung up on a certain model that you’ve not been able to stop mentioning every five minutes since you danced with her?” Jan quirks an eyebrow, the girls all laughing and screaming again. Vanessa thinks about bringing up Jan’s obvious infatuation with Jackie but then decides against it, remembering that her Mom always tells her people in glass homes shouldn’t throw rocks. Or whatever the saying was. Even though they moved here when Vanessa was two and she probably should be used to them by now she still hates figures of speech with a passion.

“Okay I don’t mind admitting it- whoever gets Asia O’Hara, you’re a lucky son of a bitch,” Akeria throws her hands up, and Monique rolls her eyes so hard that Vanessa momentarily worries for her vision.

“My God, Keeks! Mention it one more time, maybe there’s somebody livin’ in a fuckin’…croft in the Scottish Highlands that ain’t still aware you wanna climb Miss Asia like a tree.”

Vanessa bursts out laughing, joining the other girls. Shea whips her head around from her own mirror, her high, sleek ponytail tossing itself over her shoulder as she fixes them all with an unimpressed glare. “Oh my God, will you all stop being so horny on main for like, two goddamn minutes? Jeez. When was the last time y’all got laid, two thousand and fuckin’ ten?”

Aja laughs in outrage as she points an accusatory finger Shea’s way. “Hey, not all of us could marry a contestant, okay? Let these girls get laid already!”

As the girls all hoot and Shea looks ready to fire a playful comeback at her, one of the runners comes into the dressing room and shouts up a five minute warning. The dancers all explode with excited squeals and they all rush back to their dressing tables to do a last touch up of their makeup and strap themselves into their dance shoes. Vanessa feels her heart thrumming so loud and heavy in her chest that she regrets the Red Bull she’d sank earlier, her nerves suddenly consuming her. She walks into the corridor where some of the other girls are waiting, digs her feet into the soles of her shoes and takes two big deep, calming breaths like her first ever dance teacher taught her to do when the butterflies got all too much. They’re not getting their partners straight away- they’ve got the group dance to complete first, but after that they’ll be changing into uniform little white sparkly dresses and standing on the raised steps beside the dancefloor, ready for the celebrities to come out one by one. The very thought of seeing Brooke Lynn again, in person and all fake-tanned with a full face of makeup, is making Vanessa’s hands shake a little.

“Hey,” Courtney smiles at her, coming out to stand behind her in the corridor. “Good luck. You’ll be amazing.”

“Thanks, girl,” Vanessa smiles. Courtney is the Mom of the dancers, always looking out for the other girls and keeping the peace. Vanessa is appreciative of her calm presence just now.

“How’re you feeling?” Courtney asks, a little frown of concern on her face. She rolls her eyes at herself quickly as soon as the words are out of her mouth. “God. Sorry. Silly question.”

“I’m nervous as shit right now, I ain’t gon’ lie.”

Courtney smiles, takes her hand and squeezes it. “You’ll be fine. I’d be worried if you weren’t nervous to be honest. I still remember my first show. Just remember the dancing is the easy bit. It’s what you know. You’ve done it for two seasons already anyway, all that’s changed is that you get a partner! And that’s the best bit!”

Vanessa swallows, takes another deep breath. She looks at Courtney again. “You know before you get partnered? You ever get your hopes up for one particular celebrity?”

“God, obviously. It’s like when teachers say they don’t have favourites, but you know they do. Why?” Courtney gives her a wink which makes her blush out of embarrassment. “You got your eye on anyone specific?”

“Nah. It’s my first season competing, I’ll be happy with anyone! Can’t get too choosy.”

Courtney cocks a disbelieving eyebrow at her. “Hmm. You’re a bad liar, Vanjie, but I’ll leave you alone. Have fun out there! Break a leg.”

Vanessa’s stomach gives a dip as she throws Courtney a supportive smile and turns around in the line. Monique reaches back, squeezes her hand and whispers a good luck to her, and before she can get a chance to compose herself they’re all off snaking their way in single file through yellow strobe-lit corridors, then through a dark maze of black curtains and cables and electrical tape, and finally out into the muffled excitement of the audience and the hot glow of the stage lights from the rigging overhead. As the producers and runners dash about like panicked mice, Vanessa takes another shuddery deep breath and takes her place beside Vixen, thanking God the show isn’t live but also knowing they’re about to do the dance in one whole take. She’s done this before, it’s not new. She can do this. It’s what she loves.

“Right, ladies and gentlemen! Are we ready to make history? First same-sex series of Strictly Come Dancing?” a producer yells out, the audience whooping and cheering and stamping their feet. “And five…four…three…two…one…”  

The lights go up, the smile is plastered onto Vanessa’s face, and when she starts to dance everything she has been worrying about melts away. It sounds cheesy, Vanessa knows it, but when she dances her mind literally cannot think about a single thing other than the music and the rhythm and the moves unfolding as if she’s telling a story. Vanessa remembers days spent on the couch with her Mom and a bowl of popcorn watching Billy Elliot, Dance With Me, Dirty Dancing (even though that one was a 12 and Vanessa’s Mom always told her not to tell her Abuela she was allowing her to watch it) and falling in love with dancing. As the pros finish off their dance to rapturous applause, Vanessa wonders what eight-year-old her would make of it all. She’s on the biggest dancing show on UK TV and she’s about to actually compete in it. Jesus.

Backstage, Vanessa’s hands are shaking so much that they fumble with the zip at the back of her costume change. She is a bundle of nerves now that the dance is done- that’s the only part about tonight she can control, and it’s over. Shea sees her struggling, bats Vanessa’s hands out of the way firmly and hoists the zip up her spine. Vanessa feels like a six year old who’s just had to ask their teacher to help them get dressed after a P.E. lesson.

“Thanks,” she mutters, Shea giving her a tight smile in return.

“Stop worrying. You’ll just get yourself in a flap. What’re you scared of?” Shea asks her, her stern voice turning soft at the end of her sentence. Shea doesn’t have a lot of time for nonsense, but the time she does have is precious, so Vanessa sighs.

“I’m just…God, I don’t even know. Worried I get a dud on my first year, I guess. I want to showcase myself just as much as I want to showcase my teaching abilities, if that makes sense,” she shrugs, looking in the mirror and making sure none of her dark brown baby hairs are breaking free from their hairspray prison.

“If I can give you any advice for your first year, I’ll say this,” Shea continues, checking her own reflection out until a runner shoos them back into line with the other girls. “Don’t take it too serious. Establish yourself, yeah, but it’s more about having fun with whoever you’re partnered with. When I let go and did that I ended up winning. Now, shit, don’t tell anyone I’m giving you advice.”

Vanessa tries not to focus on the fact Shea has just mentioned winning. The thought makes her heart give a thud she’s convinced could land her in hospital. She thanks Shea, gives her a squeeze on her shoulder before the girls are led out onto the stage again. Vanessa is positioned on one of the upper levels in between Akeria and Jan. They give each other a smile of encouragement, and Vanessa reaches over to take Akeria’s hand.

“I hope you get who you want, Keeks,” she whispers, as the producers look ready to begin. Akeria squeezes her hand as a thank you and drops it just as the lights go up. Vanessa feels her stomach churn as she looks down. There’s Michelle, contestant-turned-presenter ready to look into the camera and start reading from the autocue, and she’s beside the table of four judges. Vanessa hasn’t had many dealings with the judges before- she hasn’t had to, but the four friendly-ish faces she’s only so much as smiled at backstage now seem so scary to her.

“Ready to go in three,” a producer calls out, and a hush falls over the audience. Vanessa feels herself wobble in her shoes, wonders if she’d get fired if she fainted on the first take. Before she can think too much about it, the lights flood the stage and Michelle is announcing the first celebrity to be partnered- Heidi Cheek, or, to her listeners, Heidi Nina Closet. She’s dressed in a black sparkly dress which contrasts those of the dancers, and Vanessa realises the costume designers’ vision straight away. Vanessa remembers Heidi- she’d been one of the girls she’d danced with after Brooke, and she was sweet and funny and approached learning with a cheerful sense of enthusiasm, even if it had taken her a couple of tries to get the moves right. Michelle asks her how she’s feeling.

“Excited! It’s so different to doin’ my radio show, you know? I’m not used to bein’ on camera. They didn’t tell me I’d be goin’ through makeup at all. Everyone wore their joggers and gym clothes in rehearsals so I just thought we’d all be wearin’ the same things,” Heidi begins, the audience laughing already. “Also these heels! I barely even wear shoes at work, Lord. I can’t walk in these so how I’ll dance in them I’ll never know. Least I don’t need to fake tan like some of these other girls. That whole dressin’ room smells like a pack of biscuits.”

As the audience give another laugh, Vanessa can feel her heart hammer frantically as Michelle turns to Heidi. “Okay, Heidi. This…is…it.”

The lights go down, and Vanessa wants nothing more than to squeeze her eyes shut but she knows the cameras will be giving close-ups and so she stands, poised and ready, practising her not-looking-disappointed face in case she gets partnered with her.

“Your Strictly Come Dancing 2020 pro is…”

Breathe, don’t forget to breathe. Don’t close your eyes. Stop clenching your fists.

“Antonia ‘Vixen’ Taylor!”

Vanessa lets out a massive sigh of relief, her smile huge and genuine as she claps for the newly paired couple. Vixen races across the stage and lets out an excited squeal, Heidi crushing her in a tight hug. Both girls are clearly happy about who they’ve been partnered up with. They give a short post-pairing interview where they both squeal about how enthused and excited they are and Michelle sends them up to the auditorium. Vanessa claps them again then lets out another sigh. One couple down, eleven to go.

Michelle, a seasoned professional, copes well with the stop-start way that pre-recorded TV is usually filmed. Vanessa, however, stands and frets and wobbles in her heels through the next five pairings. Blair St Clair is paired up with Courtney next, and both girls are content with their partner. Blair just seems happy she’s got somebody who won’t eat her for breakfast if she makes a mistake.

“I’m so happy I got paired up with a winner!” she beams in her interview, her arm linked with Courtney’s. “And we had so much fun on the induction day, she put up with me so well. Even though she had to re-teach me the steps about twelve times.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself! It wasn’t twelve!” Courtney soothes, then gives Michelle a cheeky smile. “More like ten.”

A clearly satisfied Peppermint is given to an equally happy Shea and, to her obvious delight, Akeria is paired with Asia. Jan gives an over-the-top display of sheer unadulterated celebration when she’s paired with Jackie and almost gives Vanessa tinnitus with the amount she screeches, and Vanessa finds herself beaming with joy when Gigi is paired with Crystal, both girls behaving like Care Bears when they reach each other, all soft cuddles and squeezing hands.

Michelle takes a quick drink of water, announces some special guest singer that nobody cares about to perform at the halfway point. The girls who’re waiting to be partnered are called off the stage and the fiftysomething country singer last relevant in 2006 begins setting up. Vanessa scans her eyes over the pros that are left. There’s her, Monique, Plastique, Aja, Phi Phi and Jaida.

“Who’s still not been partnered up?” Phi Phi hisses urgently, her face determined as she addresses the other girls.

“Yvie Oddly hasn’t got anyone yet,” Plastique mentions calmly. “Or the Love Island girl.”

“Farrah,” Aja corrects her, then pulls a face. “Scarlet Envy’s not got anyone yet either.”

“Has Brooke Lynn been given anyone?” Vanessa asks rhetorically, as if she hasn’t been waiting with every embryo she possesses for the girl to come out onto the stage.

“No,” Jaida shakes her head, oblivious to the fact Vanessa already knows the answer. “And there’s Monet and Willam. So there’s three…maybe four girls still left that we can win with.”

“Hey, Scarlet has potential,” Monique shrugs kindly. Plastique snorts.

“Potential to what? Earn the lowest scores ever recorded?”

Phi Phi covers her hand with her mouth as she giggles, and Vanessa frowns at them both.

“Nobody’s winning with Willam either. The woman’s treating the whole thing as a huge joke,” Phi Phi continues.

Vanessa can’t help but send a barb her way. “I don’t know, girl, she seemed pretty clued-up when she was with me. But I guess a bad teacher always blames her students.”

Plastique and Jaida let out a squeal which they muffle behind their hands. Monique grabs Vanessa for support as she splutters a laugh, and Phi Phi scowls at her. “Well I’m not the one that was-”

“Would y’all just shut the fuck up for, like, two minutes?” Aja hisses, lowering the rapidly escalating volume of the conversation. “Unless we wanna be picked up by the mic and get round two of the half-decaying Darius Rucker impersonator that’s out there.”

Aja is friendly and funny but she’s scary when she wants to be, so the girls take a telling and fall silent as the song is finished. It’s not long until they’re led back out onto stage and are assembled onto the same podium as last time, and the cameras are rolling again. Next out is Willam. It says a lot that the stage makeup manages to tone her down, the gentle grey smoke across her eyelids a far cry from the riot of glitter that had been scattered over them on induction day. Michelle begins the interview.

“Now, Willam, you starred in Brittania High a few years ago, that was a bit dance-y - do you think that’ll come in handy during your Strictly journey?” Michelle is asking her. Willam brushes a stray hair out of her face and shrugs.

“I mean, I didn’t do too much of the dancing? I was a leading lady so I got most of the ballads. And most of the lines. More a main character than a backing dancer, really. No shade to any of my ex castmates, of course. Except Detox. Rotted bitch.”

“CUT!”

Vanessa bites her lip hard to try to stop a laugh coming out. Willam looks amused, if a little perturbed. “Is that not allowed? It was just a joke, she knows I love her really. Family show? Oh, okay.”

Vanessa can’t help it and lets out a laugh along with some of the audience. Phi Phi’s face doesn’t move.

“Okay Willam, time to see who your partner will be.”

The lights go down again. Even though it’s now the seventh time this has happened, Vanessa still feels as if she’s surviving a near-death experience every time someone new is paired up. It would be good to be paired with Willam. She’d be fun. She’s got potential. She’d work hard. She wouldn’t be disappointed at all.

“…It’s Phi Phi O’Hara!”

Oh, fuck. Vanessa sucks her lips into her mouth, tries not to laugh as the fake smile takes hold on Phi Phi’s face like a mask as she runs over to Willam, gives her a polite hug. She is raging. Serves her right for being mean.

“Willam Belli! What an enormous…” Phi Phi tails off, gesturing at the woman beside her as she searches for the right word. “…pleasure…it is to be paired up with her!”

Vanessa catches eyes with Monique, almost splutters a laugh. Phi Phi’s delivering everything through gritted teeth. Willam is smiling beside her, although her gaze keeps darting up to someone in the auditorium. Vanessa wonders if there’s someone she would rather have been partnered with.

Phi Phi is led off smiling demonically, and then Yvie appears by Michelle’s side to be paired up next. She is given to Jaida, and both girls seem happy with their pairing. Next out is Farrah. Vanessa’s heart lifts. She didn’t get paired up with Farrah at all on induction day- they’re both too small to be each others’ partners and so far there’s been at least a little bit of a height difference to each pairing. Still, though…Vanessa can’t get too complacent. She puts her hands behind her back and crosses her fingers and hopes she won’t get chosen, feeling like she’s on her first day at Hogwarts and Michelle is holding the sorting hat.

“…Aja Rivera!”

Vanessa is almost sick with relief, but as Michelle interviews the new partners she can’t help but feel almost a little dizzy with nerves. There are only three celebrities left: Scarlet, Monet and, of course, Brooke Lynn. The producers stop filming and arrange Vanessa, Plastique and Monique on the same level so as they’re not too scattered across the stage.

“You look like you’re about to throw up. Or faint. Or maybe die,” Monique whispers to her, concerned. Plastique rolls her eyes.

“Leave her alone, Mo, it’s her first partner,” she chastises her. Vanessa is grateful for the sympathy and doesn’t acknowledge how right Monique is. She does feel as if she’s about to do all three of those things, possibly all at the same time. Just as she thinks things can’t get any more nervewracking, the lights go up, Michelle announces the next celebrity, and Brooke Lynn appears.

Vanessa feels as if all the air has been sucked out of the room. Brooke’s hair is tousled and swept over one shoulder, the black smoke of eyeshadow the makeup department blended onto her eyelids makes the green of her eyes pop, and the character heels and the fringing on her black sparkly dress means that Vanessa’s eyes can’t help but be drawn to her legs. This is the girl she’s been waiting for. If she gets Brooke, she knows she can go far, she knows she can do a lot. She hardly hears a word Brooke says in her interview, all Vanessa is doing is repeating prayer after prayer- she’s not even that religious but her Mom, Tia and Abuela combined have probably said enough Hail Marys on her behalf to garner her a decent amount of favour with whoever’s up there, so she gives it a go.

“Okay, Brooke, let’s see who is going to be partnered with you for your Strictly journey.”

The lights go down. Vanessa swears her heart stops beating. She casts her eyes to the ceiling, not daring to meet Brooke’s. Her palms are way too sweaty to be normal. She clasps them together but they’re still shaking like crazy. The room is silent save from the single drum beat that’s serving to build tension. It’s doing its job too well, Vanessa thinks. She swears this pause is longer than all the others put together. She can hear the catch in Michelle’s throat as she’s about to speak, her heart soaring high with anticipation.

“It’s-”

“Cut!”

There’s a groan from the audience. Vanessa is going to faint right here, right now, filming be damned.

“Sorry, we’ve got a problem with the lights, it’s hitting Plastique’s face all weird. Can we sort that?…Okay. Thanks.”

Vanessa is no longer nervous. She’s now just impatient. As she taps her foot frustratedly and sweeps a glance over the room, she’s determined not to look at Brooke. She wonders if she’s looking at her already. Unable to help herself, she sneaks a look and instantly meets Brooke’s eyes with her own. Her heart leaps as if someone’s just turned the key in its ignition. Brooke unsuccessfully stifles a smile, sends her a wink as if they’re the only two people in the room. Vanessa waggles her fingers in a wave, then snaps her gaze away as the producer silences the audience again. Michelle repeats her line, the lights go down again, and Vanessa’s not scared this time. She’s thinking it into existence. She knows it’s going to be her. Michelle just has to say it.

“…it’s Vanessa Mateo!”

Vanessa screams. She knows her face must be an absolute picture as she sinks to the ground in shock, gripping her face with both her hands. She can hear Monique and Plastique laughing and clapping above her, and she can barely walk in a straight line as she rises back up and dashes across to hug Brooke. Brooke’s smile is almost splitting her face, and she breaks away from Michelle and runs towards her, picking her up and twirling her round in a tight hug that Vanessa never wants to break free from. She’s done it. She and Brooke are partners. She gets to work with her for as long as they’re in the competition together. Maybe Vanessa will start going to mass after all.

“Oh my God,” Vanessa eventually says, as Brooke carries her in the hug for as long as she can manage then deposits her down beside Michelle who is laughing so hard Vanessa wonders if they’ll have to do another take. They do not. Instead, Brooke drapes an arm around Vanessa’s shoulder and pulls her close. Without knowing what possesses her, Vanessa takes her hand. She looks up at Brooke who’s looking down at her and they laugh together, sharing a ridiculously huge smile.

“Sorry. That was too much,” Brooke says apologetically. The audience laughs along with Vanessa.

“Uh, Vanessa,” Michelle starts, laughing a little through her question. “It’s your first year with a partner, I probably- well I don’t- need an answer, but I have to ask…how do you feel about being partnered with Brooke?”

“Listen,” Vanessa composes herself. She’s out of breath and her voice is hoarse from screeching, but she’s getting this out. “If you knew what this girl can do, you’d be screamin’ like a banshee too, Michelle. She’s so talented, I know she’s gonna be incredible…God, I can’t wait to win this whole thing with her.”

Everyone laughs again, but Vanessa’s only looking at Brooke. The girl’s eyes crinkle up when she smiles, and it only makes her look ten times more beautiful than she already is. Not that that’s weird. Just an observation.

“Brooke, how do you feel?”

Brooke looks back down at Vanessa, still smiling. “No, I’m the exact same. I know we kind of look like a bar chart together, but we just work. I knew I wanted to be her partner since induction day.”

Vanessa gives a happy sigh. She wants to wrap both her arms around Brooke and to not let go. Part of her feels like she’s lifting the glitterball already. Brooke is a trophy and Vanessa feels like a winner.

“Well, congratulations to the pair of you. One last time, give it up for Vanessa and Brooke Lynn!”

Vanessa drops her hand down and Brooke catches it in hers, the pair of them running past the audience and upstairs to the auditorium where the other girls are ready with excited squeals and hugs for them both. Vanessa accepts them all gladly, and when she is finally released she is positioned at the bannister beside her new dance partner. She turns to her and smiles, Brooke easily returning it, and Vanessa is suddenly bashful.

“Hey,” Brooke smiles at her cheekily.

“Hey,” Vanessa grins, looking to the floor awkwardly. “Sorry. If I freaked you out. Guess my reaction was kinda too much.”

“Girl, did you see me? I was spinning you round like a fucking windmill. If anyone should be apologising it should be me.”

They both laugh softly. Vanessa shrugs a little. “Least we know we’ll be good at lifts.”

Brooke raises her eyebrows and concedes, and Vanessa tries not to get too excited about the fact she can say the word we. They fall quiet as the producers call for hush and Scarlet is led out. As Vanessa listens to Scarlet’s interview, she can feel Brooke’s eyes on her and she turns to face her, unable to stop the smile creeping back onto her face. Brooke looks caught out for a second before she leans in close to Vanessa to whisper to her.

“I meant it, you know. I’m so happy I got you. I wasn’t just saying it for the cameras.”

Vanessa gives a happy sigh, places her hand over Brooke’s that’s clinging to the bannister. “Me too, girl. This is where it all begins. Let’s win this damn thing.”

They don’t let go of each others’ hands until the final pairing is announced.

[clannfearrunt]

Heres... Maps. The primary goals in making these maps were:

Get a view of what landmasses look like with the increased sea levels

Give myself relatively plausible (but definitely not scientifically accurate, i’m sure) guidelines for climates instead of making up complete bullshit. This will help me with vague biomes and global species distribution in the future, like I did for the former Japanese archipelago right there. 

Also, sorry about half-assing Antarctica; the distortion gets to be So Much I couldn’t figure out how to draw it, but I wanted a way for myself to remember the like... where it is... so I kept in that one island just floating by itself as a point of reference

Thoughts and such under cut

Comments: 

Thermohaline circulation is likely close to completely nonfunctional at the moment. All ocean currents in consideration are very shallow and wind-driven, and loses heat to the atmosphere much quicker. 

But at the same time, the earth itself is just plain warmer overall, so... idk how to accurately adjust for that. 

The overall global climate patterns are probably relatively unstable because of the above, fluctuating through warm periods and cold periods Relatively quickly? Like there’s this vague impression in my head that this is the case but I can’t articulate what it is that makes me think that. 

No you may not see my very bad ocean currents, they are an embarrassment and I know it

Also, needless to say, I didn’t move my continents because that’s so much more work :( My stuff’s not in the millions of years into the future anyways so

Location of Inkopolis based on the Mt.Nantai location thing I did ages ago; Location of Calamari County based on the Squid Sisters Stories mentioning that it is about 2 hours away from Inkopolis by train; Locations of other “notable cities” is just me looking at the map and thinking about what places might have cities it’s not based on anything out of canon.

OH right the reason the biomes in the Japan only map shift in odd places in the middle of a warmer area like that is elevation. It’s just clumsily airbrushed around higher areas, sorry. 

Notes on things that are driven by my Dark Desires only:

The poles are probably too warm for the rest of the model to be plausible but I really want... Cold, but habitable poles. The seas up there probably freeze dramatically every winter, though, because higher freshwater content -> lower salinity -> lower freezing point. 

I stretched the (very wet type) tropical savanna area up to the very southern tip of the jpn archipelago because.... because...!!!

The climate in Japan runs on the warmer end of what’s typical of the stated climate types at the moment, as the area is just kinda in a warm period right now.  

Cooled down Europe a little bit compared to the time period I was vaguely using as a point of reference to fuck things up from... because? My vague understanding of one of the effects of the weakening thermohaline circulation is that warm air tends builds up along the eastern coast of North America, and doesn’t reach Europe very well? So vaguely reflecting that a little bit, even though one of my new bad currents do actually carry warm water up in the area through a different route. 

IF people have been looking for an already-existing map like this to base their ideas off of, then feel free to reference these, whether you’re using it as is or adjusting a few things to reflect your own set of Desires. Because fuck doing this. Save yourself the trouble, especially if you’re like me and don’t understand ocean currents very good. 

There’s also this cool Eocene climate model as well from this paper [LINK], if people want a REALLY warm Earth instead. You’d have to adjust the landmasses to your needs of course, but it’s a neat point of reference to have!

I KNOW I’m forgetting to say all of my thoughts on these but I’m so tired of looking at these. Take it. Please look at it. Thank you

[dominodamsel]

Hi! I just found you through @revolutionaryduelist and I just wanna say 1, I LOVE your art, and 2, could I ask a lil’ about your art? What program(s) do you use? What brush do you use for your AMAZING lineart and how do you choose lineart colors?? What dark magic do you use to shade??? I find your use of color phenomenal! Have an amazing day! :-D

thanks for this nice ask! i use paint tool sai, specifically the anglicized version that you can find online.

lets draw bernie fire emblem and go through my process.

first off, my brushes.

this is the brush i use for sketching, coloring, and cleaning. sometimes for highlights in the eyes or the rough first patch of shading, i also use ink pen, just the default settings.

this is my blending brush. if you give it a texture, blending stuff wont look as boring as it otherwise might. 

now, let’s draw bernadetta.

(1) first of all, the rough sketch. i start out with just shapes and then just keep going, all on one layer.

(2) then, i clean that sketch up a little - not too much, you dont need it to look perfect. i dont like drawing lineart at all, so this is what i work with - the sketch, a bit cleaned up, put on multiply. i change the color of the sketch according to what im drawing. for example, if i draw a character like inigo, whos got brown skin and hair, ill end up with yellow, orange or red lineart. if i draw a character during the night, ill use blue lineart. if its dusk, maybe a strong purple. you can change this later, as well.

next, below, i fill in the colors, usually about a layer for each color i use. i usually start out with the hair and end with skin, but it doesnt really matter. try to use colors that vary in saturation and brightness - if everything is very saturated, things end up looking blinding, but if everything is desaturated, it might be boring to look at. this isnt a hard rule, of course, but for this kind of normal illustration with neutral lighting conditions, its good to keep in mind.

now, onto shading. here i used the ink pen for a moment. take your base color, in this case bernies purple hair. the highlight is less saturated, and moves up the color wheel, more toward a reddish tone. the shadow is more saturated, and moves down, toward a blue-ish purple. you can also make the highlight more saturated than the base and the shadow less saturated than the base, but i think its best to decide on one or the other. moving along the color wheel rather than just decreasing or increasing brightness will also help making the picture more vivid.

for hair and gauntlets, i just put on the shadow and highlight and blend it out with the blend tool. for skin and fabric, i use a different method.

first, add blush. blush should be far more saturated than the skin color. i added a touch of deep red in the middle as well for depth. this should be blended.

the shadows on the skin, however, i fill in with ink pen. some parts of this need hard lines, like the outside of the ear shadow, the lower side of the nose shadow, etc. you dont just want an airbrushed look, but a defined line. for this, i use a shade that is slightly more saturated than the base color, but not as saturated as the blush.

then, i add a lowlight color to make the shadow feel more dynamic and interesting. you can go many ways with this - if you check the coat in the next few images, youll see that i used a less saturated color to counteract the very orange shadow. in the case of her skin, i used a more saturated color that is very pink to mimic her hair. i cant really explain this step well, because most of the time, i get to that shade through experimenting.

blend some of the lowlight, but make sure not to ruin the harder lines of the shadow. i did it on the same layer as the base color because im lazy, but you could easily make a clipped layer, add the shadow, and then preserve opacity to make sure everything stays clean. for my purpes it doesnt really matter though since ill be going over the whole thing during cleaning again.

in the circled areas, i took the blush color and gently airbrushed some on for depth and warmth.

heres the rest of the shading. as i said, i used a less saturated reddish tone for the lowlight in the cape. for the bow and cape, i opted out of highlight, because i imagine them as made out of a sort of thick, unreflective fabric. 

now, all thats left to do is clean! i make a new layer atop everything, zoom in a bit, and go over it all with my brush and the eyedrop tool. a lot of my WIPs look like this, with a part of it very crisp and clean and most of it still sketchy and vague lol. colordrop from everywhere, and create something nice!

in the end, this is the finished picture! i turn the blend on my brush up and down depending on what im doing and what i need. the cleaning process takes the longest by far.

anyways, i hope this was helpful. if you have other questions, feel free to ask ‘em.